bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Temporal Scalp Thickness, Body Mass Index, and Suprafascial Placement of Receiver Coil of the Cochlear Implant
Authors: Ozturan Orhan , Yenigun Alper , Senturk Erol , Calim Omer Faruk , Aksoy Fadlullah , Eren Sabri Baki 
Published: September 2017

Objective:
The objectives of this study are to demonstrate the relationship between the thickness of the temporal scalp and body mass index (BMI), age, and sex, and to present the surgical technique which we perform in patients with a thick scalp.

Materials and Methods:
This is a retrospective, cross-sectional study. This study was performed in a tertiary referral center. Cranial computed tomography images of 469 subjects were included in the study. These subjects were evaluated according to BMI, age, and sex. These individuals were divided into 6 groups based on the BMI levels. Differences between the groups were compared in terms of temporal scalp thickness. In 5 patients with a mean scalp thickness of 9.7 mm, the receiver coil was placed over the temporal muscle fascia through a transmuscular incision without surgical thinning of the skin flap.

Results:
Average scalp thickness was measured as significantly higher in males than in females, with advancing age, and increasing levels of BMI. In 5 adult patients with a scalp thickness measured as ≥7 mm who underwent cochlear implantation, suprafacial placement of the receiver coil achieved successful surgical and audiological results.

Conclusion:
Thinning of the skin flap is recommended in patients with a scalp thickness ≥ 7 mm to provide effective transmission, minimalized power requirement, and magnet retention. Suprafascial placement of the receiver coil can be recommended in patients with a thick scalp without any excisional thinning impairing integrity and vascularity of the skin.
Endocytosis of Red Blood Cell Microparticles by Pulmonary Endothelial Cells is Mediated By Rab5
Authors: Kim Young , Abplanalp William A. , Jung Andrew D. , Schuster Rebecca M. , Lentsch Alex B. , Gulbins Erich , Caldwell Charles C. , Pritts Timothy A. 
Published: September 2017

ABSTRACT
Microparticles are submicron vesicles shed from aging erythrocytes as a characteristic feature of the red blood cell (RBC) storage lesion. Exposure of pulmonary endothelial cells to RBC-derived microparticles promotes an inflammatory response, but the mechanisms underlying microparticle-induced endothelial cell activation are poorly understood. In the present study, cultured murine lung endothelial cells (MLECs) were treated with microparticles isolated from aged murine packed RBCs or vehicle. Microparticle-treated cells demonstrated increased expression of the adhesion molecules ICAM and E-selectin, as well as the cytokine, IL-6. To identify mechanisms that mediate these effects of microparticles on MLECs, cells were treated with microparticles covalently bound to carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) and cellular uptake of microparticles was quantified via flow cytometry. Compared with controls, there was a greater proportion of CFSE-positive MLECs from 15 min up to 24 h, suggesting endocytosis of the microparticles by endothelial cells. Colocalization of microparticles with lysosomes was observed via immunofluorescence, indicating endocytosis and endolysosomal trafficking. This process was inhibited by endocytosis inhibitors. SiRNA knockdown of Rab5 signaling protein in endothelial cells resulted in impaired microparticle uptake as compared with nonsense siRNA-treated cells, as well as an attenuation of the inflammatory response to microparticle treatment. Taken together, these data suggest that endocytosis of RBC-derived microparticles by lung endothelial cells results in endothelial cell activation. This response seems to be mediated, in part, by the Rab5 signaling protein.
Paediatric traumatic brain injury: prognostic insights and outlooks
Authors: Au Alicia K. , Clark Robert S.B. 
Published: September 2017

Purpose of review
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in children. Prognostication of outcome following TBI is challenging in this population and likely requires complex, multimodal models to achieve clinically relevant accuracy. This review highlights injury characteristics, physiological indicators, biomarkers and neuromonitoring modalities predictive of outcome that may be integrated for future development of sensitive and specific prognostic models.

Recent findings
Paediatric TBI is responsible for physical, psychosocial and neurocognitive deficits that may significantly impact quality of life. Outcome prognostication can be difficult in the immature brain, but is aided by the identification of novel biomarkers (neuronal, astroglial, myelin, inflammatory, apoptotic and autophagic) and neuromonitoring techniques (electroencephalogram and MRI). Investigation in the future may focus on assessing the prognostic ability of combinations of biochemical, protein, neuroimaging and functional biomarkers and the use of mathematical models to develop multivariable predication tools to improve the prognostic ability following childhood TBI.

Summary
Prognostication of outcome following paediatric TBI is multidimensional, influenced by injury severity, age, physiological factors, biomarkers, electroencephalogram and neuroimaging. Further development, integration and validation of combinatorial prognostic algorithms are necessary to improve the accuracy and timeliness of prognosis in a meaningful fashion.
LDJump: Estimating Variable Recombination Rates from Population Genetic Data
Authors: Hermann Philipp , Heissl Angelika , Tiemann-Boege Irene , Futschik Andreas 
Published: September 2017

AbstractAs recombination plays an important role in evolution, its estimation, as well as, the identification of hotspot positions is of considerable interest. We propose a novel approach for estimating historical recombination along a chromosome that involves a sequential multiscale change point estimator. Our method also permits to take demography into account. It uses a composite likelihood estimate and other summary statistics within a regression model fitted on suitable scenarios. Our proposed method is accurate, computationally fast, and provides a parsimonious solution by ensuring a type I error control against too many changes in the recombination rate. An application to human genome data suggests a good congruence between our estimated and experimentally identified hotspots. Our method is implemented in theR-packageLDJump, which is freely available fromhttps://github.com/PhHermann/LDJump.
Memory entrainment by visually evoked theta-gamma coupling
Authors: Köster Moritz , Martens Ulla , Gruber Thomas 
Published: September 2017

AbstractIt is an integral function of the human brain to sample novel information from the environment and to update the internal representation of the external world. The formation of new memories is assumed to be orchestrated by neuronal oscillations, the rhythmic synchronization of neuronal activity within and across cell assemblies. Specifically, successful encoding of novel information is associated with increased theta oscillations (3-8Hz) and theta coupled gamma activity (40-120Hz), and a decrease in alpha oscillations (8-12Hz). However, given the correlative nature of neurophysiological recordings, the causal role of neuronal rhythms in human memory encoding is still unclear. Here, we experimentally enhance the formation of novel memories by a visual brain stimulation at an individually adjusted theta frequency, in contrast to the stimulation at an individual alpha frequency. Critically, the memory entrainment effect by the theta stimulation was not explained by theta powerper se, but was driven by visually evoked theta-gamma coupling in wide spread cortical networks. These findings provide first evidence for a functional role of the theta rhythm and the theta-gamma neuronal code in human episodic memory. Yet more strikingly, the entrainment of mnemonic network mechanisms by a simplistic visual stimulation technique provides a proof of concept that internal rhythms align with visual pacemakers, which can entrain complex cognitive functions in the wake human brain.
Targeting temporal dynamics of microenvironmental factors halts tumor migration and alleviates effects of dynamic tumor heterogeneity
Authors: Singh Manjulata , Tian Xiao-Jun , Donnenberg Vera S. , Watson Alan M , Zhang Jingyu , Stabile Laura P. , Watkins Simon C. , Xing Jianhua , Sant Shilpa 
Published: September 2017

SummaryTargeting microenvironmental factors that foster migratory cell phenotypes is a promising strategy for halting tumor migration. However, lack of mechanistic understanding of the process impedes pharmaceutical drug development. Using a novel 3D microtumor model with tight control over tumor size, we recapitulated tumor size-induced hypoxic microenvironment and emergence of migratory phenotypes in epithelial T47D breast microtumors as well as those of patient-derived primary metastatic breast cancer cells, mesothelioma cells and lung cancer xenograft cells (PDX). The microtumor models from various patient-derived tumor cells and PDX cells revealed upregulation of tumor secretome, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9), fibronectin (FN), and soluble E-cadherin (sE-CAD) consistent with the clinically reported elevated levels of FN and MMP9 in the patient breast tumors compared to healthy mammary gland. We further showed that the tumor secretome induces migratory phenotype in non-hypoxic, non-migratory small microtumors. Subsequent mathematical model analysis identified a two-stage microtumor progression and migration mechanism, i.e., hypoxia induces migratory phenotype in the early initialization stage, which then becomes self-sustained through positive feedback loop established among the secretome. Both computational and experimental studies showed that inhibition of tumor secretome effectively halts microtumor migration despite tumor heterogeneity, while inhibition of the hypoxia is effective only within a time window and is compromised by tumor-to-tumor variation of the growth dynamics, supporting our notion that hypoxia initiates migratory phenotypes but does not sustain it. In summary, we show that targeting temporal dynamics of evolving microenvironments during tumor progression can halt and bypass major hurdle of tumor heterogeneity.
Non-canonical circadian oscillations inDrosophilaS2 cells drive gene-expression cycles coupled to metabolic oscillations
Authors: Rey Guillaume , Milev Nikolay B. , Valekunja Utham K. , Ch Ratnasekhar , Ray Sandipan , Dos Santos Mariana Silva , Nagy Andras D. , Antrobus Robin , MacRae James I. , Reddy Akhilesh B. 
Published: September 2017

ABSTRACTCircadian rhythms are cell-autonomous biological oscillations with a period of about 24 hours. Current models propose that transcriptional feedback loops are the principal mechanism for the generation of circadian oscillations. In these models,DrosophilaS2 cells are generally regarded as ‘non-rhythmic’ cells, as they do not express several canonical circadian components. Using an unbiased multi-omics approach, we made the surprising discovery thatDrosophilaS2 cells do in fact display widespread daily rhythms. Transcriptomics and proteomics analyses revealed that hundreds of genes and their products are rhythmically expressed in a 24-hour cycle. Metabolomics analyses extended these findings and illustrated that central carbon metabolism and amino acid metabolism are the main pathways regulated in a rhythmic fashion. We thus demonstrate that daily genome-wide oscillations, coupled to metabolic cycles, take place in eukaryotic cells without the contribution of known circadian regulators.
Urinary candidate biomarkers in an experimental autoimmune myocarditis rat model
Authors: Zhao Mindi , Wu Jiangqiang , Li Xundou , Gao Youhe 
Published: September 2017

AbstractUrine is a better source than plasma for biomarker studies, as it can accumulate all changes in the body. Various candidate urinary biomarkers of physiological conditions, kidney disease and even brain dysfunction, have been detected in urine; however, urine has rarely been used to reflect cardiac diseases. As the clinical presentations of myocarditis are heterogeneous, reliable and sensitive diagnostic biomarkers of myocarditis are very important. In this study, candidate urinary biomarkers in the myosin-induced autoimmune myocarditis rat models were characterized using the isobaric tandem mass tag labeling approach coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry. Compared with controls, forty-six urinary proteins were significantly changed in the myocarditis rats; among them, ten had previously been associated with myocarditis, twelve corresponding gene products have been annotated as mainly cardiovascular network genes by the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis, and four urinary proteins were validated by western blot.
Binding language: Structuring sentences through precisely timed oscillatory mechanisms
Authors: Segaert Katrien , Mazaheri Ali , Hagoort Peter 
Published: September 2017

AbstractSyntactic binding refers to combining words into larger structures. Using EEG, we investigated the neural processes involved in syntactic binding. Participants were auditorily presented two-word sentences (i.e. a pronoun and pseudoverb such as ‘she dotches’, for which syntactic binding can take place) and wordlists (i.e. two pseudoverbs such as ‘pob dotches’, for which no binding can occur). Comparing these two conditions, we targeted syntactic binding while minimizing contributions of semantic binding and of other cognitive processes such as working memory. We found a converging pattern of results using two distinct analysis approaches: one approach using frequency bands as defined in previous literature, and one data-driven approach in which we looked at the entire range of frequencies between 3-30 Hz without the constraints of pre-defined frequency bands. In the syntactic binding (relative to the wordlist) condition, a power increase was observed in the alpha and beta frequency range shortly preceding the presentation of the target word that requires binding, which was maximal over frontal-central electrodes. Our interpretation is that these signatures reflect that language comprehenders expect the need for binding to occur. Following the presentation of the target word in a syntactic binding context (relative to the wordlist condition), an increase in alpha power maximal over a left lateralized cluster of frontal-temporal electrodes was observed. We suggest that this alpha increase relates to syntactic binding taking place. Taken together, our findings suggest that increases in alpha and beta power are reflections of distinct the neural processes underlying syntactic binding.
Whole-Brain Vasculature Reconstruction at the Single Capillary Level
Authors: Di Giovanna Antonino Paolo , Tibo Alessandro , Silvestri Ludovico , Müllenbroich Marie Caroline , Costantini Irene , Allegra Mascaro Anna Letizia , Sacconi Leonardo , Frasconi Paolo , Pavone Francesco Saverio 
Published: September 2017

ABSTRACTThe distinct organization of the brain’s vascular network ensures that it is adequately supplied with oxygen and nutrients. However, despite this fundamental role, a detailed reconstruction of the brain-wide vasculature at the capillary level remains elusive, due to insufficient image quality using the best available techniques. Here, we demonstrate a novel approach that improves vascular demarcation by combining CLARITY with a vascular staining approach that can fill the entire blood vessel lumen and imaging with light-sheet fluorescence microscopy. This method significantly improves image contrast, particularly in depth, thereby allowing reliable application of automatic segmentation algorithms, which play an increasingly important role in high-throughput imaging of the terabyte-sized datasets now routinely produced. Furthermore, our novel method is compatible with endogenous fluorescence, thus allowing simultaneous investigations of vasculature and genetically targeted neurons. We believe our new method will be valuable for future brain-wide investigations of the capillary network.
Evaluating the Role of Cell-free Fetal DNA in Inflammation and Spontaneous Preterm Birth
Authors: van Boeckel Sara R , MacPherson Heather , Davidson Donald J , Norman Jane E , Stock Sarah J 
Published: September 2017

AbstractPreterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality. While spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) is the cause of over 70% of PTB, the pathogenesis behind sPTB remains unclear. Cell-free fetal DNA (cff-DNA) originates from the placenta and is increased in women who develop PTB. It has been demonstrated that fetal DNA is hypomethylated and is pro-inflammatory. The pro-inflammatory properties of placental-derived DNA, the effects of placental inflammation on the production of cff-DNA, and its significance in the pathogenesis of PTB are unknown.Using a human placental explant model, we analysed the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation on cff-DNA production, and used the cff-DNA generated by these explants to examine the methylation profile andin-vitropro-inflammatory properties of cff-DNA. LPS caused significant production of TNF-α from placental explants, but did not significantly increase the cff-DNA production. Placental-derived cff-DNA, was found to have a small proportion of unmethylated CpG motifs, but was more similar to adult DNA than to more highly unmethylated E-coli DNA. However, cff-DNA did not elicit production of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and CXCL10) by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from pregnant women. Furthermore, in contrast to LPS, intra-uterine injections of mouse placental DNA did not decrease time to delivery in anin-vivomouse PTB model compared to control animals.This study demonstrates that placental inflammation does not increase the production of cff-DNA in placental explants, and cff-DNA alone is not sufficient to elicit an inflammatory response in human PBMC culturesex-vivo.It also shows that mouse placental DNA does not cause PTBin-vivo.This suggests that cff-DNA might be predominantly an effect of parturition and not a principal causative agent.
Sweeping genomic remodeling through repeated selection of alternatively adapted haplotypes occurs in the first decades after marine stickleback colonize new freshwater ponds
Authors: Bassham Susan , Catchen Julian , Lescak Emily , von Hippel Frank A. , Cresko William A. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractHeterogeneous genetic divergence can accumulate across the genome when populations adapt to different habitats while still exchanging alleles. How long does diversification take and how much of the genome is affected? When divergence occurs in parallel from standing genetic variation, how often are the same haplotypes used? We explore these questions using RAD-seq genotyping data, and show that broad-scale genomic re-patterning, fueled by standing variation, can emerge in just dozens of generations in replicate natural populations of threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus). After the catastrophic 1964 Alaskan earthquake, marine stickleback colonized newly created ponds on seismically uplifted islands. We find that freshwater fish in these young ponds differ from their marine ancestors across the same genomic segments previously shown to have diverged in much older lake populations. Outside of these core divergent regions the genome shows no population structure across the ocean-freshwater divide, consistent with strong local selection acting in alternative environments on stickleback populations still connected by significant gene flow.Reinforcing this inference, a majority of divergent haplotypes that are at high frequency in ponds are shared across independent freshwater populations and are detectable, at low frequency, in the sea even across great geographic distances. Building upon previous work in this model species for population genomics, our data suggest that a long history of divergent selection and gene flow across stickleback in oceanic and freshwater habitats has created balanced polymorphism in large genomic blocks of alternatively adapted DNA sequences, ultimately stoking - and potentially channeling - rapid, parallel evolution.
Winter warming effects on tundra shrub performance are species‐specific and dependent on spring conditions
Authors: Krab Eveline J. , Roennefarth Jonas , Becher Marina , Blume‐Werry Gesche , Keuper Frida , Klaminder Jonatan , Kreyling Juergen , Makoto Kobayashi , Milbau Ann , Dorrepaal Ellen 
Published: September 2017

Abstract

Climate change‐driven increases in winter temperatures positively affect conditions for shrub growth in arctic tundra by decreasing plant frost damage and stimulation of nutrient availability. However, the extent to which shrubs may benefit from these conditions may be strongly dependent on the following spring climate. Species‐specific differences in phenology and spring frost sensitivity likely affect shrub growth responses to warming. Additionally, effects of changes in winter and spring climate may differ over small spatial scales, as shrub growth may be dependent on natural variation in snow cover, shrub density and cryoturbation.

We investigated the effects of winter warming and altered spring climate on growing‐season performance of three common and widespread shrub species in cryoturbated non‐sorted circle arctic tundra. By insulating sparsely vegetated non‐sorted circles and parts of the surrounding heath with additional snow or gardening fleeces, we created two climate change scenarios: snow addition increased soil temperatures in autumn and winter and delayed snowmelt timing without increasing spring temperatures, whereas fleeces increased soil temperature similarly in autumn and winter, but created warmer spring conditions without altering snowmelt timing.

Winter warming affected shrub performance, but the direction and magnitude were species‐specific and dependent on spring conditions. Spring warming advanced, and later snowmelt delayed canopy green‐up. The fleece treatment did not affect shoot growth and biomass in any shrub species despite decreasing leaf frost damage in Empetrum nigrum. Snow addition decreased frost damage and stimulated growth of Vaccinium vitis‐idaea by c. 50%, while decreasing Betula nana growth (p < .1). All of these effects were consistent the mostly barren circles and surrounding heath.

Synthesis. In cryoturbated arctic tundra, growth of Vaccinium vitis‐idaea may substantially increase when a thicker snow cover delays snowmelt, whereas in longer term, warmer winters and springs may favour E. nigrum instead. This may affect shrub community composition and cover, with potentially far‐reaching effects on arctic ecosystem functioning via its effects on cryoturbation, carbon cycling and trophic cascading. Our results highlight the importance of disentangling effects of winter and spring climate change timing and nature, as spring conditions are a crucial factor in determining the impact of winter warming on plant performance.