bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Radiocaesium partitioning in Japanese cedar forests following the “early” phase of Fukushima fallout redistribution
Authors: Coppin Frederic , Hurtevent Pierre , Loffredo Nicolas , Simonucci Caroline , Julien Anthony , Gonze Marc-Andre , Nanba Kenji , Onda Yuichi , Thiry Yves 
Published: November 2016

AbstractOur study focused on radiocaesium (137Cs) partitioning in forests, three vegetation periods after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.137Cs distribution in forest components (organic and mineral soil layers as well as tree compartments: stem, bark, needles, branches and roots) was measured for two Japanese cedar stand ages (17 and 33 years old). The results showed that around 85% of the initial deposit was found in the forest floor and topsoil. For the youngest stand almost 70% of the deposit is present in the forest floor, whereas for the oldest stand 50% is present in the 0–3 cm mineral soil layer. For trees, old and perennial organs (including dead and living needles and branches, litter fall and outer bark) directly exposed to the fallout remained the most contaminated. The crown concentrated 61–69% of the total tree contamination. Surprisingly the dead organs concentrated 25 ± 9% (young cedars) to 36 ± 20% (mature cedar) of the trees’ residual activity, highlighting the importance of that specific compartment in the early post-accident phase for Japanese cedar forests. Although the stem (including bark) represents the highest biomass pool, it only concentrates 3.3% and 4.6% of the initial137Cs deposit for mature and young cedars, respectively.
Brain-inspired speech segmentation for automatic speech recognition using the speech envelope as a temporal reference
Authors: Lee Byeongwook , Cho Kwang-Hyun 
Published: November 2016

AbstractSpeech segmentation is a crucial step in automatic speech recognition because additional speech analyses are performed for each framed speech segment. Conventional segmentation techniques primarily segment speech using a fixed frame size for computational simplicity. However, this approach is insufficient for capturing the quasi-regular structure of speech, which causes substantial recognition failure in noisy environments. How does the brain handle quasi-regular structured speech and maintain high recognition performance under any circumstance? Recent neurophysiological studies have suggested that the phase of neuronal oscillations in the auditory cortex contributes to accurate speech recognition by guiding speech segmentation into smaller units at different timescales. A phase-locked relationship between neuronal oscillation and the speech envelope has recently been obtained, which suggests that the speech envelope provides a foundation for multi-timescale speech segmental information. In this study, we quantitatively investigated the role of the speech envelope as a potential temporal reference to segment speech using its instantaneous phase information. We evaluated the proposed approach by the achieved information gain and recognition performance in various noisy environments. The results indicate that the proposed segmentation scheme not only extracts more information from speech but also provides greater robustness in a recognition test.
Inter-annual maintenance of the fine-scale genetic structure in a biennial plant
Authors: Valverde Javier , Gómez José María , García Cristina , Sharbel Timothy F. , Jiménez María Noelia , Perfectti Francisco 
Published: November 2016

AbstractWithin plant populations, space-restricted gene movement, together with environmental heterogeneity, can result in a spatial variation in gene frequencies. In biennial plants, inter-annual flowering migrants can homogenize gene frequencies between consecutive cohorts. However, the actual impact of these migrants on spatial genetic variation remains unexplored. Here, we used 10 nuclear microsatellite and one plastid genetic marker to characterize the spatial genetic structure within two consecutive cohorts in a population of the biennial plantErysimum mediohispanicum(Brassicaceae). We explored the maintenance of this structure between consecutive flowering cohorts at different levels of complexity, and investigated landscape effects on gene flow. We found that cohorts were not genetically differentiated and showed a spatial genetic structure defined by a negative genetic-spatial correlation at fine scale that varied in intensity with compass directions. This spatial genetic structure was maintained when comparing plants from different cohorts. Additionally, genotypes were consistently associated with environmental factors such as light availability and soil composition, but to a lesser extent compared with the spatial autocorrelation. We conclude that inter-annual migrants, in combination with limited seed dispersal and environmental heterogeneity, play a major role in shaping and maintaining the spatial genetic structure among cohorts in this biennial plant.
Reduction of randomness in seismic noise as a short-term precursor to a volcanic eruption
Authors: Glynn C. C. , Konstantinou K. I. 
Published: November 2016

AbstractAmbient seismic noise is characterized by randomness incurred by the random position and strength of the noise sources as well as the heterogeneous properties of the medium through which it propagates. Here we use ambient noise data recorded prior to the 1996 Gjálp eruption in Iceland in order to show that a reduction of noise randomness can be a clear short-term precursor to volcanic activity. The eruption was preceded on 29 September 1996 by a Mw ~5.6 earthquake that occurred in the caldera rim of the Bárdarbunga volcano. A significant reduction of randomness started occurring 8 days before the earthquake and 10 days before the onset of the eruption. This reduction was observed even at stations more than 100 km away from the eruption site. Randomness increased to its previous levels 160 minutes after the Bárdarbunga earthquake, during which time aftershocks migrated from the Bárdarbunga caldera to a site near the Gjálp eruption fissure. We attribute this precursory reduction of randomness to the lack of higher frequencies (>1 Hz) in the noise wavefield caused by high absorption losses as hot magma ascended in the upper crust.
Phenotypic and functional characterization of the major lymphocyte populations in the fruit-eating bat Pteropus alecto
Authors: Martínez Gómez Julia María , Periasamy Pravin , Dutertre Charles-Antoine , Irving Aaron Trent , Ng Justin Han Jia , Crameri Gary , Baker Michelle L. , Ginhoux Florent , Wang Lin-Fa , Alonso Sylvie 
Published: November 2016

AbstractThe unique ability of bats to act as reservoir for viruses that are highly pathogenic to humans suggests unique properties and functional characteristics of their immune system. However, the lack of bat specific reagents, in particular antibodies, has limited our knowledge of bat’s immunity. Using cross-reactive antibodies, we report the phenotypic and functional characterization of T cell subsets, B and NK cells in the fruit-eating bat Pteropus alecto. Our findings indicate the predominance of CD8+ T cells in the spleen from wild-caught bats that may reflect either the presence of viruses in this organ or predominance of this cell subset at steady state. Instead majority of T cells in circulation, lymph nodes and bone marrow (BM) were CD4+ subsets. Interestingly, 40% of spleen T cells expressed constitutively IL-17, IL-22 and TGF-β mRNA, which may indicate a strong bias towards the Th17 and regulatory T cell subsets. Furthermore, the unexpected high number of T cells in bats BM could suggest an important role in T cell development. Finally, mitogenic stimulation induced proliferation and production of effector molecules by bats immune cells. This work contributes to a better understanding of bat’s immunity, opening up new perspectives of therapeutic interventions for humans.
Non-RVD mutations that enhance the dynamics of the TAL repeat array along the superhelical axis improve TALEN genome editing efficacy
Authors: Tochio Naoya , Umehara Kohei , Uewaki Jun-ichi , Flechsig Holger , Kondo Masaharu , Dewa Takehisa , Sakuma Tetsushi , Yamamoto Takashi , Saitoh Takashi , Togashi Yuichi , Tate Shin-ichi 
Published: November 2016

AbstractTranscription activator-like effector (TALE) nuclease (TALEN) is widely used as a tool in genome editing. The DNA binding part of TALEN consists of a tandem array of TAL-repeats that form a right-handed superhelix. Each TAL-repeat recognises a specific base by the repeat variable diresidue (RVD) at positions 12 and 13. TALEN comprising the TAL-repeats with periodic mutations to residues at positions 4 and 32 (non-RVD sites) in each repeat (VT-TALE) exhibits increased efficacy in genome editing compared with a counterpart without the mutations (CT-TALE). The molecular basis for the elevated efficacy is unknown. In this report, comparison of the physicochemical properties between CT- and VT-TALEs revealed that VT-TALE has a larger amplitude motion along the superhelical axis (superhelical motion) compared with CT-TALE. The greater superhelical motion in VT-TALE enabled more TAL-repeats to engage in the target sequence recognition compared with CT-TALE. The extended sequence recognition by the TAL-repeats improves site specificity with limiting the spatial distribution of FokI domains to facilitate their dimerization at the desired site. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the non-RVD mutations alter inter-repeat hydrogen bonding to amplify the superhelical motion of VT-TALE. The TALEN activity is associated with the inter-repeat hydrogen bonding among the TAL repeats.
pH-responsive Virus-like Nanoparticles with Enhanced Tumour-targeting Ligands for Cancer Drug Delivery
Authors: Biabanikhankahdani Roya , Alitheen Noorjahan Banu Mohamed , Ho Kok Lian , Tan Wen Siang 
Published: November 2016

AbstractMultifunctional nanocarriers harbouring specific targeting moieties and with pH-responsive properties offer great potential for targeted cancer therapy. Several synthetic drug carriers have been studied extensively as drug delivery systems but not much information is available on the application of virus-like nanoparticles (VLNPs) as multifunctional nanocarriers. Here, we describe the development of pH-responsive VLNPs, based on truncated hepatitis B virus core antigen (tHBcAg), displaying folic acid (FA) for controlled drug delivery. FA was conjugated to a pentadecapeptide containing nanoglue bound on tHBcAg nanoparticles to increase the specificity and efficacy of the drug delivery system. The tHBcAg nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) demonstrated a sustained drug release profile in vitro under tumour tissue conditions in a controlled manner and improved the uptake of DOX in colorectal cancer cells, leading to enhanced antitumour effects. This study demonstrated that DOX-PAA can be packaged into VLNPs without any modification of the DOX molecules, preserving the pharmacological activity of the loaded DOX. The nanoglue can easily be used to display a tumour-targeting molecule on the exterior surface of VLNPs and can bypass the laborious and time-consuming genetic engineering approaches.
A high-throughput small molecule screen identifies synergism between DNA methylation and Aurora kinase pathways for X reactivation
Authors: Lessing Derek , Dial Thomas O. , Wei Chunyao , Payer Bernhard , Carrette Lieselot L. G. , Kesner Barry , Szanto Attila , Jadhav Ajit , Maloney David J. , Simeonov Anton , Theriault Jimmy , Hasaka Thomas , Bedalov Antonio , Bartolomei Marisa S. , Lee Jeannie T. 
Published: November 2016

Significance
In mammalian female cells, nearly all genes are silenced on one of two X chromosomes. Heterozygous females with “dominant” X-linked diseases, such as Rett syndrome, may benefit from pharmacological reactivation of the silent, healthy allele in affected organs. Toward establishing proof of concept, here we carry out a primed screen of a large library of small molecules for compounds that can reactivate expression from the inactive X (Xi). We identify a combination of compounds that inhibits the DNA methylation and Aurora kinase pathways and demonstrate that the two pathways act synergistically to repress genes on the Xi, including genes involved in X-linked disease.
Analysis of de novo sequencing and transcriptome assembly and lignocellulolytic enzymes gene expression of Coriolopsis gallica HTC
Authors: Chen Yuehong , Cao Qinghua , Tao Xiang , Shao Huanhuan , Zhang Kun , Zhang Yizheng , Tan Xuemei 
Published: November 2016

Abstract
White-rot basidiomycete Coriolopsis gallica HTC is one of the main biodegraders of poplar. In our previous study, we have shown the strong capacity of C. gallica HTC to degrade lignocellulose. In this study, equal amounts of total RNA fromC. Gallica HTC cultures grown in different conditions were pooled together. Illumina paired-end RNA sequencing was performed, and 13.2 million 90-bp paired-end reads were generated. We chose the Merged Assembly of Oases data-set for the following blast searches and gene ontology analyses. The reads were assembled de novo into 28,034 transcripts (≥ 100 bp) using combined assembly strategy MAO. The transcripts were annotated using Blast2GO. In all, 18,810 transcripts (≥100 bp) achieved BLASTX hits, of which, 7048 transcripts had GO term and 2074 had ECs. The expression level of 11 lignocellulolytic enzyme genes from the assembled C. gallica HTC transcriptome were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that expression levels of these genes were affected by carbon source and nitrogen source at the level of transcription. The current abundant transcriptome data allowed the identification of many new transcripts in C. gallica HTC. Data provided here represent the most comprehensive and integrated genomic resources for cloning and identifying genes of interest from C. gallica HTC. Characterization of C. gallica HTC transcriptome provides an effective tool to understand mechanisms underlying cellular and molecular functions of C. gallica HTC.
Severity of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Lower Respiratory Tract Infection With Viral Coinfection in HIV-Uninfected Children
Authors: Mazur Natalie I. , Bont Louis , Cohen Adam L. , Cohen Cheryl , von Gottberg Anne , Groome Michelle J. , Hellferscee Orienka , Klipstein-Grobusch Kerstin , Mekgoe Omphile , Naby Fathima , Moyes Jocelyn , Tempia Stefano , Treurnicht Florette K. , Venter Marietje , Walaza Sibongile , Wolter Nicole , Madhi Shabir A. ,   for the South African Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) Surveillance Group
Published: November 2016

Abstract

Background.
Molecular diagnostics enable sensitive detection of respiratory viruses, but their clinical significance remains unclear in pediatric lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). We aimed to determine whether viral coinfections increased life-threatening disease in a large cohort.

Methods.
Molecular testing was performed for respiratory viruses in nasopharyngeal aspirates collected from children aged &lt;5 years within 24 hours of hospital admission during sentinel surveillance for severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) hospitalization conducted in South Africa during February 2009–December 2013. The primary outcome was life-threatening disease, defined as mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit admission, or death.

Results.
Of 2322 HIV-uninfected children with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)–associated LRTI, 1330 (57.3%) had RSV monoinfection, 38 (1.6%) had life-threatening disease, 575 (24.8%) had rhinovirus, 347 (14.9%) had adenovirus (ADV), and 30 (1.3%) had influenza virus. RSV and any other viral coinfection was not associated with severe disease (odds ratio [OR], 1.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], OR, 0.74; 95% CI, .39–1.4), ADV coinfection had increased odds of life-threatening disease (adjusted OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.6–7.2; P = .001), and influenza coinfection had increased odds of life-threatening disease and prolonged length of stay (adjusted OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.0–4.5; P = .05) compared with RSV monoinfection.

Conclusions.
RSV coinfection with any respiratory virus is not associated with more severe disease when compared to RSV alone in this study. However, increased life-threatening disease in RSV-ADV and RSV-influenza coinfection warrants further study.
Collective Bargaining, Equality and Migration: The Journey to and from Brexit
Authors: Novitz Tonia 
Published: November 2016

Abstract
Bob Simpson has documented the evolution of collective labour laws in the UK over several decades and his scholarship reminds us of their intended and unintended consequences. In the highly politically charged context of the 2016 Brexit vote, this article considers how UK and European Union (EU) laws have shaped the nature and scope of collective bargaining in the UK and, thereby, income differentials and equal treatment in the workplace. While it would be possible to provide for equality of treatment between local British and migrant labour in ways that reduce social tensions, instead we have witnessed the imposition of legal frameworks that place workers in a position of competition rather than solidarity. The mistrust of current forms of migration from the EU seems to have been one key part of the journey towards the Brexit vote. An important question is what comes afterwards. If Brexit does not proceed, we should be contemplating reform at both UK and EU levels; but the problems identified here seem unlikely to evaporate in the event of either ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ Brexit. The article concludes that the UK situation offers a salutary reminder to other EU States of the dangers of dismantling systems of sectoral bargaining and mechanisms for extension of collective agreements.
Persistent pain after motor vehicle collision: comparative effectiveness of opioids vs nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs prescribed from the emergency department—a propensity matched analysis
Authors: Beaudoin Francesca L. , Gutman Roee , Merchant Roland C. , Clark Melissa A. , Swor Robert A. , Jones Jeffrey S. , Lee David C. , Peak David A. , Domeier Robert M. , Rathlev Niels K. , McLean Samuel A. 
Published: November 2016

Abstract
Each year millions of Americans present to the emergency department (ED) for care after a motor vehicle collision (MVC); the majority (>90%) are discharged to home after evaluation. Acute musculoskeletal pain is the norm in this population, and such patients are typically discharged to home with prescriptions for oral opioid analgesics or nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The influence of acute pain management on subsequent pain outcomes in this common ED population is unknown. We evaluated the effect of opioid analgesics vs NSAIDs initiated from the ED on the presence of moderate to severe musculoskeletal pain and ongoing opioid use at 6 weeks in a large cohort of adult ED patients presenting to the ED after MVC (n = 948). The effect of opioids vs NSAIDs was evaluated using an innovative quasi-experimental design method using propensity scores to account for covariate imbalances between the 2 treatment groups. No difference in risk for moderate to severe musculoskeletal pain at 6 weeks was observed between those discharged with opioid analgesics vs NSAIDs (risk difference = 7.2% [95% confidence interval: −5.2% to 19.5%]). However, at follow-up participants prescribed opioids were more likely than those prescribed NSAIDs to report use of prescription opioids medications at week 6 (risk difference = 17.5% [95% confidence interval: 5.8%-29.3%]). These results suggest that analgesic choice at ED discharge does not influence the development of persistent moderate to severe musculoskeletal pain 6 weeks after an MVC, but may result in continued use of prescription opioids. Supported by NIAMS R01AR056328 and AHRQ 5K12HS022998.
Facilitated temporal summation of pain correlates with clinical pain intensity after hip arthroplasty
Authors: Izumi Masashi , Petersen Kristian Kjær , Laursen Mogens Berg , Arendt-Nielsen Lars , Graven-Nielsen Thomas 
Published: November 2016

Abstract
Widespread hyperalgesia has been found in patients with painful hip osteoarthritis (OA) which can be normalized after total hip arthroplasty (THA) if patients have no residual postoperative pain. This study characterized the preoperative somatosensory profiles and provided possible interpretation of underlying pain mechanisms that might influence the development of postoperative pain. Forty hip OA patients with unilateral pain were assessed before and 6 weeks post-THA and compared with 40 asymptomatic control subjects. Hip pain intensity at rest and while walking was assessed on a visual analogue scale (VAS). Bilateral cuff algometry from the thighs was used to assess the cuff pressure pain thresholds, pressure values at VAS scores equal with 6 cm (PVAS6), cuff pressure tolerance, and temporal summation of pain (TSP) quantified by an increase in VAS scores to repeated phasic cuff stimulations. Correlations between hip pain VAS post-THA and preoperative quantitative sensory testing results were analyzed. Post-THA hip pain VAS scores decreased (P < 0.05) compared with pre-THA. The cuff pressure pain threshold, PVAS6, and cuff pressure tolerance were significantly lower bilaterally in both patients with pre-THA and post-THA compared with controls (P < 0.05). Temporal summation of pain was facilitated bilaterally in patients with pre-THA compared with controls and normalized after THA in postoperative pain-free patients (P < 0.05). Postoperative hip pain VAS scores correlated with preoperative ipsilateral TSP (r = 0.44, P < 0.05). Bilateral pressure pain hypersensitivity and facilitated TSP were demonstrated in patients with preoperative hip OA. Although persistent postoperative pain is known as multifactorial, greater preoperative TSP was associated with greater pain and less reduction in pain after THA.
Psychosocial factors predict opioid analgesia through endogenous opioid function
Authors: Burns John W. , Bruehl Stephen , France Christopher R. , Schuster Erik , Orlowska Daria , Buvanendran Asokumar , Chont Melissa , Gupta Rajnish K. 
Published: November 2016

Abstract
Use of opioid analgesics for management of chronic nonmalignant pain has become common, yet there are presently no well-validated predictors of optimal opioid analgesic efficacy. We examined whether psychosocial factors (eg, depressive symptoms) predicted changes in spontaneous low back pain after administration of opioid analgesics, and whether endogenous opioid (EO) function mediated these relationships. Participants with chronic low back pain but who were not chronic opioid users (N = 89) underwent assessment of low back pain intensity pre- and post-drug in 3 (counterbalanced) conditions: (1) placebo, (2) intravenous naloxone, and (3) intravenous morphine. Comparison of placebo condition changes in back pain intensity to those under naloxone and morphine provided indexes of EO function and opioid analgesic responses, respectively. Results showed that (1) most psychosocial variables were related significantly and positively to morphine analgesic responses for low back pain, (2) depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, pain catastrophizing, and pain disability were related negatively to EO function, and (3) EO function was related negatively to morphine analgesic responses for low back pain. Bootstrapped mediation analyses showed that links between morphine analgesic responses and depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, pain catastrophizing, and perceived disability were partially mediated by EO function. Results suggest that psychosocial factors predict elevated analgesic responses to opioid-based medications, and may serve as markers to identify individuals who benefit most from opioid therapy. Results also suggest that people with greater depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, pain catastrophizing, and perceived disability may have deficits in EO function, which may predict enhanced response to opioid analgesics.