bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dissecting genetic architecture of startle response in Drosophila melanogaster using multi-omics information
Authors: Xue Angli , Wang Hongcheng , Zhu Jun 
Published: September 2017

AbstractStartle behavior is important for survival, and abnormal startle responses are related to several neurological diseases.Drosophila melanogasterprovides a powerful system to investigate the genetic underpinnings of variation in startle behavior. Since mechanically induced, startle responses and environmental conditions can be readily quantified and precisely controlled. The 156 wild-derived fully sequenced lines of theDrosophilaGenetic Reference Panel (DGRP) were used to identify SNPs and transcripts associated with variation in startle behavior. The results validated highly significant effects of 33 quantitative trait SNPs (QTSs) and 81 quantitative trait transcripts (QTTs) directly associated with phenotypic variation of startle response. We also detected QTT variation controlled by 20 QTSs (tQTSs) and 73 transcripts (tQTTs). Association mapping based on genomic and transcriptomic data enabled us to construct a complex genetic network that underlies variation in startle behavior. Based on principles of evolutionary conservation, human orthologous genes could be superimposed on this network. This study provided both genetic and biological insights into the variation of startle response behavior ofDrosophila melanogaster, and highlighted the importance of genetic network to understand the genetic architecture of complex traits.
Lecithin derived from ω-3 PUFA fortified eggs decreases blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats
Authors: Nowacki Dorian , Martynowicz Helena , Skoczyńska Anna , Wojakowska Anna , Turczyn Barbara , Bobak Łukasz , Trziszka Tadeusz , Szuba Andrzej 
Published: September 2017

AbstractHypertension is the most common risk factor for stroke, coronary heart disease and heart failure, which are the leading causes of death worldwide. Dietary patterns and supplements intakes are becoming important factors in the hypertension. The aim of this study was to estimate the effects of new generation egg yolk phospholipids rich in lecithin (SL) esterified with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids on blood pressure in hypertensive rats (SHR). Here we have reported that lecithin (SL) derived from egg yolk lowers blood pressure in pathology of hypertension. The SHR rats treated with SL had significantly lower blood pressure than control group (157/104 vs. 178/121 mmHg; P < 0.05) and down-regulated mesenteric artery over-response to norepinephrine and potassium chloride, giving similar arterial response as for normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). Hypertensive rats treated by SL demonstrated significantly lower serum level of inflammatory factors. This work also indicates that SL treatment lowers heart rate and reduces the serum level of oxidative stress marker - nitrotyrosine - by 30–34% in both hypertensive and normotensive animals. Phospholipids with lecithin derived from PUFA fortified eggs may be a valuable dietary supplement in prophylaxis of hypertension and in patients with hypertension, however, this requires further studies on humans.
Synergetic effect of the Onion CHI gene on the PAP1 regulatory gene for enhancing the flavonoid profile of tomato skin
Authors: Lim Wansang , Li Jiarui 
Published: September 2017

AbstractTomatoes are known to have ameliorative effects on cardiovascular disease and cancer. The nutritional value of tomatoes can be enhanced by increasing flavonoids content through genetic modification. The regulatory gene PAP1 (production of anthocyanin pigment 1) from Arabidopsis is reported to increase initial flavonoid flux and anthocyanin content. The structural gene CHI from Alium cepa increases flavonol content. However, the number of structural genes that can be transferred to plants is limited. To solve this problem, for the first time, we produced gene stacking transgenic tomato, in which Arabidopsis PAP1 (production of anthocyanin pigment 1) was stacked with an onion CHI by crossing. This procedure resulted in increased rutin and total anthocyanin content of as much as 130 and 30 times more, respectively, than the content in wild tomato skin, compared with 2.3 and 3 times more flavonol content, and 1 and 1.5 times more anthocyanin content in unstacked FLS and PAP1 tomatoes, respectively.
Temperature-dependent sex-reversal by a transformer-2 gene-edited mutation in the spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii
Authors: Li Jianwei , Handler Alfred M. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractFemale to male sex reversal was achieved in an emerging agricultural insect pest, Drosophila suzukii, by creating a temperature-sensitive point mutation in the sex-determination gene, transformer-2 (tra-2), using CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated) homology-directed repair gene-editing. Ds-tra-2
ts2
mutants developed as normal fertile XX and XY adults at permissive temperatures below 20 °C, but at higher restrictive temperatures (26 to 29 °C) chromosomal XX females developed as sterile intersexuals with a predominant male phenotype, while XY males developed with normal morphology, but were sterile. The temperature-dependent function of the Ds-TRA-2ts2 protein was also evident by the up- and down-regulation of female-specific Ds-Yolk protein 1 (Ds-Yp1) gene expression by temperature shifts during adulthood. This study confirmed the temperature-dependent function of a gene-edited mutation and provides a new method for the more general creation of conditional mutations for functional genomic analysis in insects, and other organisms. Furthermore, it provides a temperature-dependent system for creating sterile male populations useful for enhancing the efficacy of biologically-based programs, such as the sterile insect technique (SIT), to control D. suzukii and other insect pest species of agricultural and medical importance.
Diesel soot aging in urban plumes within hours under cold dark and humid conditions
Authors: Eriksson A. C. , Wittbom C. , Roldin P. , Sporre M. , Öström E. , Nilsson P. , Martinsson J. , Rissler J. , Nordin E. Z. , Svenningsson B. , Pagels J. , Swietlicki E. 
Published: September 2017

AbstractFresh and aged diesel soot particles have different impacts on climate and human health. While fresh diesel soot particles are highly aspherical and non-hygroscopic, aged particles are spherical and hygroscopic. Aging and its effect on water uptake also controls the dispersion of diesel soot in the atmosphere. Understanding the timescales on which diesel soot ages in the atmosphere is thus important, yet knowledge thereof is lacking. We show that under cold, dark and humid conditions the atmospheric transformation from fresh to aged soot occurs on a timescale of less than five hours. Under dry conditions in the laboratory, diesel soot transformation is much less efficient. While photochemistry drives soot aging, our data show it is not always a limiting factor. Field observations together with aerosol process model simulations show that the rapid ambient diesel soot aging in urban plumes is caused by coupled ammonium nitrate formation and water uptake.
COUP-TFII is required for morphogenesis of the neural crest-derived tympanic ring
Authors: Hsu Wen-Hsin , Chen Chun-Ming , You Li-Ru 
Published: September 2017

AbstractChicken Ovalbumin Upstream Promoter-Transcription Factor II (COUP-TFII) plays pivotal roles in cell growth, cell differentiation, and cell fate determination. Although genome-wide studies have identified COUP-TFII binding on gene sets mainly involved in neural crest cell (NCC) development and craniofacial morphogenesis, the direct functional connection between COUP-TFII and NCCs in vivo has not been well characterized. In this study, we show that COUP-TFII is expressed in the subpopulation of NCCs and its derivatives, and targeted ablation of COUP-TFII in mouse NCCs results in markedly shortened and bifurcated tympanic rings, which in turn disturb the caudal direction of external acoustic meatus invagination. However, formation of the manubrium of the malleus (MM) in Wnt1-Cre/+;COUP-TFII
flox/flox
mice is not perturbed, suggesting that the rostral half of the tympanic ring is sufficient to support proper MM development. Interestingly, we found that loss of COUP-TFII up-regulates Sox9 in the tympanic ring primordium and affects the distribution of preosteoblasts before mesenchymal condensation. Together, our results demonstrate that COUP-TFII plays an essential role in regulating the patterning of the NCC-derived tympanic ring.
Expelled grains from an unseen parent body around AU Microscopii
Authors: Sezestre É. , Augereau J.-C. , Boccaletti A. , Thébault P. 
Published: September 2017

Context. Recent observations of the edge-on debris disk of AU Mic have revealed asymmetric, fast outward-moving arch-like structures above the disk midplane. Although asymmetries are frequent in debris disks, no model can readily explain the characteristics of these features.
Aims. We present a model aiming to reproduce the dynamics of these structures, more specifically their high projected speeds and their apparent position. We test the hypothesis of dust emitted by a point source and then expelled from the system by the strong stellar wind of this young M-type star. In this model we make the assumption that the dust grains follow the same dynamics as the structures, i.e., they are not local density enhancements.
Methods. We perform numerical simulations of test particle trajectories to explore the available parameter space, in particular the radial location R0 of the dust producing parent body and the size of the dust grains as parameterized by the value of β (ratio of stellar wind and radiation pressure forces over gravitation). We consider the cases of a static and of an orbiting parent body.
Results. We find that for all considered scenarios (static or moving parent body), there is always a set of (R0,β) parameters able to fit the observed features. The common characteristics of these solutions is that they all require a high value of β, of around 6. This means that the star is probably very active, and the grains composing the structures are submicronic in order for observable grains to reach such high β values. We find that the location of the hypothetical parent body is closer in than the planetesimal belt, around 8 ± 2 au (orbiting case) or 28 ± 7 au (static case). A nearly periodic process of dust emission appears, of 2 yr in the orbiting scenarios and 7 yr in the static case.
Conclusions. We show that the scenario of sequential dust releases by an unseen point-source parent body is able to explain the radial behavior of the observed structures. We predict the evolution of the structures to help future observations discriminate between the different parent body configurations that have been considered. In the orbiting parent body scenario, we expect new structures to appear on the northwest side of the disk in the coming years.
Supercritical Fluid Chromatography in Natural Product Analysis – An Update
Authors: Gibitz Eisath Nora , Sturm Sonja , Stuppner Hermann 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThe wide chemical diversity of natural products has challenged analysts all over the world and has been a driving force for the development of innovative technologies since decades. In the last years, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has finally emerged from the shadow of liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC) and has become a powerful tool in modern natural product analysis. Whereas in the past the technique had mainly been restricted to a small group of nonpolar compounds, it has largely expanded its suitability in the last years and has demonstrated possibilities without boundaries. This mini-review, focused on the latest applications, provides a brief update on the current status of SFC in natural product analysis with the aim to demonstrate its applicability for both polar and nonpolar plant constituents. The approaches cover the whole range of polarity, including carotenoids, flavonoids, water-unstable ginkgolides, and even highly polar triterpene saponins with several sugar residues.
Der hypertensive Notfall
Authors: Bönner Gerd 
Published: September 2017

AbstractHypertensive urgency and hypertensive emergency are associated with sudden, massive rise in blood pressure. An acute increase in blood pressure to values above 180/120 mmHg is considered critical. If not treated in time, it can quickly enter a life-threatening hypertensive emergency. The symptoms or organ damage determine the assessment as a crisis or an emergency. Rapid action is required. The therapy depends on the severity and the organ involvement. However the general principal is to avoid therapeutically induced hypotension.
Therapieziele bei der Hypertoniebehandlung
Authors: Düsing Rainer 
Published: September 2017

AbstractThe optimal target blood pressure (BP) in the treatment of hypertensive patients remains controversial. Recently, the systolic blood pressure trial (SPRINT) has proposed that a target systolic blood pressure of < 120 mmHg provides prognostic benefit in elderly hypertensive patients at high cardiovascular risk. The results of SPRINT contrast with several other intervention trials which have investigated the effect of intense BP lowering (Secondary Prevention of Small Subcortical Strokes [SPS3], Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes [ACCORD], Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation [HOPE]-3). The differences in outcomes in SPRINT vs. other intervention trials are, to a large extend, due to an "unobserved" BP measurement procedure utilized in the SPRINT trial. Thus, a BP goal of < 120 mmHg, at least by conventional BP measurement, remains unproven. Independent of SPRINT the controversial evidence with respect to BP targets calls for further studies and, possibly, for more individualized treatment goals.
Polyphenol-Enriched Fractions of Cyclopia intermedia Selectively Affect Lipogenesis and Lipolysis in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes
Authors: Jack Babalwa , Malherbe Christiaan , Willenburg Elize , de Beer Dalene , Huisamen Barbara , Joubert Elizabeth , Muller Christo , Louw Johan , Pheiffer Carmen 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
Cyclopia species are increasingly investigated as sources of phenolic compounds with potential as therapeutic agents. Recently, we demonstrated that a crude polyphenol-enriched organic fraction (CPEF) of Cyclopia intermedia, currently forming the bulk of commercial production, decreased lipid content in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and inhibited body weight gain in obese db/db mice. The aim of the present study was to determine whether a more effective product and/or one with higher specificity could be obtained by fractionation of the CPEF by purposely increasing xanthone and benzophenone levels. Fractionation of the CPEF using high performance counter-current chromatography (HPCCC) resulted in four fractions (F1–F4), predominantly containing iriflophenone-3-C-β-D-glucoside-4-O-β-D-glucoside (benzophenone: F1), hesperidin (flavanone: F2), mangiferin (xanthone: F3), and neoponcirin (flavone: F4), as quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD), and confirmed by LC-DAD with mass spectrometric (MS) and tandem MS (MSE) detection. All fractions inhibited lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes and decreased lipid content in mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes, although their effects were concentration-dependent. F1–F3 stimulated lipolysis in mature adipocytes. Treatment of mature adipocytes with F1 and F2 increased the messenger RNA expression of hormone sensitive lipase, while treatment with F1 and F4 increased uncoupling protein 3 expression. In conclusion, HPCCC resulted in fractions with different phenolic compounds and varying anti-obesity effects. The activities of fractions were lower than the CPEF; thus, fractionation did not enhance activity within a single fraction worthwhile for exploitation as a nutraceutical product, which illustrates the importance of considering synergistic effects in plant extracts.
Phase field simulation of microstructures of Mg and Al alloys
Authors: Liu H. , Nie J. F. 
Published: September 2017

The phase field method has recently emerged as a powerful and versatile tool for mesoscale simulation of microstructure evolution in Mg and Al alloys. It permits the study of the evolution of arbitrary and complex microstructures without any presumption. This article provides a review of applications of the phase-field method in Mg and Al alloys. It covers the evolution of dendrites, the equilibrium shape of some key strengthening precipitates, the effect of pre-existing precipitates and dislocations on the distribution of precipitates, and strengthening effects caused by plate-shaped precipitates that are often encountered in Mg and Al alloys. To further improve the accuracy of the phase field simulation results and to further expand the phase field method to predict mechanical properties, the phase field method needs to be integrated with other methods to establish a multi-scale approach. This integration and its application on Mg and Al alloys are also reviewed. This paper is part of a thematic issue on Light Alloys.
Amino acid residues critical for DNA binding and inducer recognition in CbnR, a LysR-type transcriptional regulator from Cupriavidus necator NH9
Authors: Moriuchi Ryota , Takada Kaori , Takabayashi Masae , Yamamoto Yuko , Shimodaira Jun , Kuroda Naoko , Akiyama Emiko , Udagawa Mayumi , Minai Ryoichi , Fukuda Masao , Senda Toshiya , Ogawa Naoto 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
CbnR, a LysR-type transcriptional regulator from Cupriavidus necator NH9, activates the transcription of chlorocatechol-degradative enzymes. To activate the transcription, CbnR needs to bind not only to the cbnA promoter but also to the inducer. In this study, the transcriptional activity and DNA-binding activity of twenty-five mutants of CbnR were analyzed. Of the 17 mutants of the DNA-binding domain, 11 mutants lost their ability to activate transcription. While most mutants without transcriptional activation did not show DNA-binding activity, Asn17Ala, Gln29Ala, and Pro30Ala retained DNA-binding activity, suggesting that transcriptional activation by CbnR requires more than its binding to promoter DNA. Of the 8 mutants of the regulatory domain, 6 mutants changed their responses to the inducer, when compared with wild-type CbnR. Interestingly, Arg199Ala and Val246Ala induced constitutive expression of the cbnA promoter without the inducer, suggesting that these mutations brought about a conformational change mimicking that induced by the inducer molecule.
Inhibition of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase impairs the benzyl isothiocyanate-induced accumulation of autophagic molecules and Nrf2 in human colon cancer cells
Authors: Liu Xiaoyang , Abe-Kanoh Naomi , Liu Yujia , Zhu Beiwei , Munemasa Shintaro , Nakamura Toshiyuki , Murata Yoshiyuki , Nakamura Yoshimasa 
Published: September 2017

Abstract
The regulating role of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) in benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC)-induced Nrf2 activation, contributing to the inducible expression of cytoprotective genes, was investigated. BITC significantly enhanced the accumulation of Nrf2 as well as autophagic molecules in human colorectal cancer HCT-116 cells. Experiments using a PI3K-specific inhibitor suggested that PI3K plays the key role in the non-canonical Nrf2 activation by BITC.
Is it possible to diagnose benign positional paroxysmal vertigo from primary care referrals to ENT clinic?
Authors: Yuen Jason , Rashid Mamun , Webber Caitlin , Prior Matthew 
Published: September 2017

Background:
Ear, nose and throat (ENT) departments commonly receive referrals of dizzy patients from primary care. It is important to distinguish complex cases of dizziness without straightforward diagnoses from simple benign positional paroxysmal vertigo (BPPV) when triaging patients such that appropriate resources are diverted to the patients who need them.

Objective:
To assess efficiency in identifying BPPV among dizzy patients from GP referral letters.

Methods:
Four doctors with different ENT experience and one senior nurse participated to identify BPPV cases from primary care referral letters before the patients’ clinic appointments. The diagnoses subsequently made in clinic were used to compare against the predictions made.

Results:
Forty-nine patients were included, of which 22% were diagnosed BPPV in clinic. The overall predictions were poor among the participants. The positive predictive values (PPV) varied between 0.23 and 0.35. Negative predictive values (NPV) varied between 0.78 and 0.86. The commonly described clinical features of BPPV also had low PPV of less than 0.3.

Conclusions:
The accuracy to identify BPPV from referral letters alone is poor among doctors of different experience. We believe this is due to insufficient details in the current letters. The introduction of referral proformas would likely aid diagnosis.
Quality of biological images, reconstructed using localization microscopy data
Authors: Ruszczycki Błażej , Bernas Tytus 
Published: September 2017

Abstract

Motivation
Fluorescence localization microscopy is extensively used to study the details of spatial architecture of subcellular compartments. This modality relies on determination of spatial positions of fluorophores, labeling an extended biological structure, with precision exceeding the diffraction limit. Several established models describe influence of pixel size, signal-to-noise ratio and optical resolution on the localization precision. The labeling density has been also recognized as important factor affecting reconstruction fidelity of the imaged biological structure. However, quantitative data on combined influence of sampling and localization errors on the fidelity of reconstruction are scarce. It should be noted that processing localization microscopy data is similar to reconstruction of a continuous (extended) non-periodic signal from a non-uniform, noisy point samples. In two dimensions the problem may be formulated within the framework of matrix completion. However, no systematic approach has been adopted in microscopy, where images are typically rendered by representing localized molecules with Gaussian distributions (widths determined by localization precision).

Results
We analyze the process of two-dimensional reconstruction of extended biological structures as a function of the density of registered emitters, localization precision and the area occupied by the rendered localized molecule. We quantify overall reconstruction fidelity with different established image similarity measures. Furthermore, we analyze the recovered similarity measure in the frequency space for different reconstruction protocols. We compare the cut-off frequency to the limiting sampling frequency, as determined by labeling density.

Availability and implementation
The source code used in the simulations along with test images is available at https://github.com/blazi13/qbioimages.

Supplementary information
Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.