bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Melt extruded nanocomposites of polybutylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate (PBAT) with phenylbutyl isocyanate modified cellulose nanocrystals
Authors: Morelli Carolina L , Belgacem Naceur , Bretas Rosario E. S. , Bras Julien 
Published: May 2016

ABSTRACTTraditional commodity polymers are widely used in several disposable or short‐life items and take hundreds of years to decompose in nature. These polymers could be replaced in several uses by biodegradable polymers, like polybutylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate (PBAT) studied in this work. For this, nonetheless, it is necessary to improve some of the PBAT properties, like mechanical resistance and barrier properties. In this work, cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) were incorporated in PBAT with this intention, through melt extrusion. Aiming to avoid CNC aggregation during the drying and extrusion process, a CNC chemical modification with phenylbutyl isocyanate was done. It was possible to obtain PBAT‐CNC melt extruded composites with an elastic modulus 55% higher and water vapor permeability 63% lower than the values of the pure polymer, without compromising PBAT biodegradation. Therefore, the composites prepared with these enhanced properties have great potential as substitutes for traditional commodity polymers. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43678.
Dispersion polymerization of methyl methacrylate with three types of comblike fluorinated stabilizers in supercritical carbon dioxide
Authors: Haruki Masashi , Kodama Yuya , Tachimori Kai , Kihara Shin‐Ichi , Takishima Shigeki 
Published: May 2016

ABSTRACTDispersion polymerizations of methyl methacrylate in supercritical carbon dioxide were conducted with three types of comblike fluorinate polymer stabilizers: poly(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,9,9,10,10,10‐heptadecafluorodecyl methacrylate) (PHDFDMA), poly(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8‐tridecafluorooctyl methacrylate) (PTDFOMA), and poly(2,2,3,3,3‐pentafluoropropyl methacrylate) (PPFPMA). The effect of the polymerization pressure was not significant on the mean diameters of the poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) particles from 20 to 40 MPa. However, the coefficients of variation of the particle diameters produced at 20 MPa (
, where
is the number‐basis mean particle diameter), where the heterogeneous phase was found before polymerization, were larger than those produced at 30 and 40 MPa, where the homogeneous phase was found. The mean size of the PMMA obtained with PTDFOMA and PPFPMA strongly depended on the stabilizer concentration compared with that obtained with PHDFDMA. Moreover, the mean size decreased as the carbon dioxide‐philic side chain length increased. As shown by the results of this study, the best stabilizer among the three types of stabilizers for producing PMMA particles was PHDFDMA. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43813.
Gene transcription repression in Clostridium beijerinckii using CRISPR‐dCas9
Authors: Wang Yi , Zhang Zhong‐Tian , Seo Seung‐Oh , Lynn Patrick , Lu Ting , Jin Yong‐Su , Blaschek Hans P. 
Published: May 2016

ABSTRACTCRISPR‐Cas9 has been explored as a powerful tool for genome engineering for many organisms. Meanwhile, dCas9 which lacks endonuclease activity but can still bind to target loci has been engineered for efficient gene transcription repression. Clostridium beijerinckii, an industrially significant species capable of biosolvent production, is generally difficult to metabolically engineer. Recently, we reported our work in developing customized CRISPR‐Cas9 system for genome engineering in C. beijerinckii. However, in many cases, gene expression repression (rather than actual DNA mutation) is more desirable for various biotechnological applications. Here, we further demonstrated gene transcription repression in C. beijerinckii using CRISPR‐dCas9. A small RNA promoter was employed to drive the expression of the single chimeric guide RNA targeting on the promoter region of amylase gene, while a constitutive thiolase promoter was used to drive Streptococcus pyogenes dCas9 expression. The growth assay on starch agar plates showed qualitatively significant repression of amylase activity in C. beijerinckii transformant with CRISPR‐dCas9 compared to the control strain. Further amylase activity quantification demonstrated consistent repression (65–97% through the fermentation process) on the activity in the transformant with CRISPR‐dCas9 versus in the control. Our results provided essential references for engineering CRISPR‐dCas9 as an effective tool for tunable gene transcription repression in diverse microorganisms. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 2739–2743. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A repeat protein‐based DNA polymerase inhibitor for an efficient and accurate gene amplification by PCR
Authors: Hwang Da‐Eun , Shin Yong‐Keol , Munashingha Palinda Ruvan , Park So‐Yeon , Seo Yeon‐Soo , Kim Hak‐Sung 
Published: May 2016

ABSTRACTA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using a thermostable DNA polymerase is the most widely applied method in many areas of research, including life sciences, biotechnology, and medical sciences. However, a conventional PCR incurs an amplification of undesired genes mainly owing to non‐specifically annealed primers and the formation of a primer‐dimer complex. Herein, we present the development of a Taq DNA polymerase‐specific repebody, which is a small‐sized protein binder composed of leucine rich repeat (LRR) modules, as a thermolabile inhibitor for a precise and accurate gene amplification by PCR. We selected a repebody that specifically binds to the DNA polymerase through a phage display, and increased its affinity to up to 10 nM through a modular evolution approach. The repebody was shown to effectively inhibit DNA polymerase activity at low temperature and undergo thermal denaturation at high temperature, leading to a rapid and full recovery of the polymerase activity, during the initial denaturation step of the PCR. The performance and utility of the repebody was demonstrated through an accurate and efficient amplification of a target gene without nonspecific gene products in both conventional and real‐time PCRs. The repebody is expected to be effectively utilized as a thermolabile inhibitor in a PCR. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 2544–2552. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Optimum alcohol concentration for chain elongation in mixed‐culture fermentation of cellulosic substrate
Authors: Lonkar Sagar , Fu Zhihong , Holtzapple Mark 
Published: May 2016

ABSTRACTMedium‐chain fatty acids (MCFA, e.g., caproic, heptanoic, caprylic acid) are more valuable than short‐chain fatty acids (SCFA, e.g., acetic, propionic, butyric, valeric acid). SCFAs are major products in methane‐inhibited mixed‐culture anaerobic fermentation. By feeding ethanol to the fermentor, MCFA formation is enhanced through chain elongation. Microorganisms such as Clostridium kluyveri elongate short‐chain acids by combining them with alcohol. Very low ethanol concentration reduces chain elongation rates, whereas very high ethanol concentrations inhibit microorganisms. To maximize MCFA production, different ethanol concentrations were investigated in the mixed‐culture fermentation of office paper and chicken manure. At 10 g/L ethanol concentration, 10 g/L MCFA was formed. High ethanol concentrations (above 40 g/L) inhibit microorganisms resulting in no chain elongation. For chain elongation, propanol was found to be more inhibitory than ethanol. The data suggest that MCFA production will increase by continuously extracting MCFA and maintaining 5–10 g/L ethanol concentration by periodic addition. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 2597–2604. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Using the PyMOL application to reinforce visual understanding of protein structure
Authors: Rigsby Rachel E. , Parker Alison B. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractVisualization of chemical concepts can be challenging for many students. This is arguably a critical skill for beginning students of biochemistry to develop, since new information is often presented visually in the form of textbook figures. It is recommended that visual literacy be explicitly taught in the classroom rather than assuming that students will develop this skill on their own. The activity described here is designed to assist students in their development of understanding of basic representations of protein three‐dimensional structure as well as various types of ligands (small molecules, ions) through the use of the iPad application PyMOL. It has been used as a laboratory exercise but can also be used in a typical 50‐minute class period with a portion of the activity assigned as homework. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44(5):433–437, 2016.
Targeting change: Assessing a faculty learning community focused on increasing statistics content in life science curricula
Authors: Parker Loran Carleton , Gleichsner Alyssa M. , Adedokun Omolola A. , Forney James 
Published: May 2016

AbstractTransformation of research in all biological fields necessitates the design, analysis and, interpretation of large data sets. Preparing students with the requisite skills in experimental design, statistical analysis, and interpretation, and mathematical reasoning will require both curricular reform and faculty who are willing and able to integrate mathematical and statistical concepts into their life science courses. A new Faculty Learning Community (FLC) was constituted each year for four years to assist in the transformation of the life sciences curriculum and faculty at a large, Midwestern research university. Participants were interviewed after participation and surveyed before and after participation to assess the impact of the FLC on their attitudes toward teaching, perceived pedagogical skills, and planned teaching practice. Overall, the FLC had a meaningful positive impact on participants' attitudes toward teaching, knowledge about teaching, and perceived pedagogical skills. Interestingly, confidence for viewing the classroom as a site for research about teaching declined. Implications for the creation and development of FLCs for science faculty are discussed. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44(6):517–525, 2016.
Hollow Gold Cages and Their Topological Relationship to Dual Fullerenes
Authors: Trombach Lukas , Rampino Sergio , Wang Lai‐Sheng , Schwerdtfeger Peter 
Published: May 2016

AbstractGolden fullerenes have recently been identified by photoelectron spectra by Bulusu et al. [S. Bulusu, X. Li, L.‐S. Wang, X. C. Zeng, PNAS 2006, 103, 8326–8330]. These unique triangulations of a sphere are related to fullerene duals having exactly 12 vertices of degree five, and the icosahedral hollow gold cages previously postulated are related to the Goldberg–Coxeter transforms of C20 starting from a triangulated surface (hexagonal lattice, dual of a graphene sheet). This also relates topologically the (chiral) gold nanowires observed to the (chiral) carbon nanotubes. In fact, the Mackay icosahedra well known in gold cluster chemistry are related topologically to the dual halma transforms of the smallest possible fullerene C20. The basic building block here is the (111) fcc sheet of bulk gold which is dual to graphene. Because of this interesting one‐to‐one relationship through Euler's polyhedral formula, there are as many golden fullerene isomers as there are fullerene isomers, with the number of isomers Niso increasing polynomially as
). For the recently observed
,
, and
we present simulated photoelectron spectra including all isomers. We also predict the photoelectron spectrum of
. The stability of the golden fullerenes is discussed in relation with the more compact structures for the neutral and negatively charged Au12 to Au20 and Au32 clusters. As for the compact gold clusters we observe a clear trend in stability of the hollow gold cages towards the (111) fcc sheet. The high stability of the (111) fcc sheet of gold compared to the bulk 3D structure explains the unusual stability of these hollow gold cages.
How do you write and present research well? 12—Design graphs to fit within the journal column width
Authors: Patience Gregory S. , Boffito Daria C. , Patience Paul A. 
Published: May 2016

Abstract
Understanding typography — e.g. font types, typefaces, character height, line weight — can help create an aesthetic graph. Identify all correct approximations for a 0.35 mm thick line.[1,2] (Multiple answers.)

1 pt
1.3 px
0.08 em
0.35 pt The values in (a), (b), (c) and (d) equal 0.35 mm.
Increased incidence of FBXW7 and POLE proofreading domain mutations in young adult colorectal cancers
Authors: Kothari Nishi , Teer Jamie K. , Abbott Andrea M. , Srikumar Thejal , Zhang Yonghong , Yoder Sean J. , Brohl Andrew S. , Kim Richard D. , Reed Damon R. , Shibata David 
Published: May 2016

BACKGROUNDThe incidence and outcomes of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) varies by age. Younger patients tend to have sporadic cancers that are not detected by screening and worse survival. To understand whether genetic differences exist between age cohorts, the authors sought to characterize unique genetic alterations in patients with CRC.METHODSIn total, 283 patients who were diagnosed with sporadic CRC between 1998 and 2010 were identified and divided by age into 2 cohorts—ages ≤45 years (the younger cohort) and ≥65 years (the older cohort)—and targeted exome sequencing was performed. The Fisher exact test was used to detect differences in mutation frequencies between the 2 groups. Whole exome sequencing was performed on 21 additional younger patient samples for validation. Findings were confirmed in The Cancer Genome Atlas CRC data set.RESULTSIn total, 246 samples were included for final analysis (195 from the older cohort and 51 from the younger cohort). Mutations in the FBXW7 gene were more common in the younger cohort (27.5% vs 9.7%; P = .0022) as were mutations in the proofreading domain of polymerase ε catalytic subunit (POLE) (9.8% vs 1%; P = .0048). There were similar mutation rates between cohorts with regard to TP53 (64.7% vs 61.5%), KRAS (43.1% vs 46.2%), and APC (60.8% vs 73.8%). BRAF mutations were numerically more common in the older cohort, although the difference did not reach statistical significance (2% vs 9.7%; P = .082).CONCLUSIONSIn this retrospective study, a unique genetic profile was identified for younger patients who have CRC compared with patients who are diagnosed at an older age. These findings should be validated in a larger study and could have an impact on future screening and treatment modalities for younger patients with CRC. Cancer 2016. © 2016 American Cancer Society. Cancer 2016;122:2828–2835. © 2016 American Cancer Society
Malignancy‐associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in adults: Relation to hemophagocytosis, characteristics, and outcomes
Authors: Tamamyan Gevorg N. , Kantarjian Hagop M. , Ning Jing , Jain Preetesh , Sasaki Koji , McClain Kenneth L. , Allen Carl E. , Pierce Sherry A. , Cortes Jorge E. , Ravandi Farhad , Konopleva Marina Y. , Garcia‐Manero Guillermo , Benton Christopher B. , Chihara Dai , Rytting Michael E. , Wang Sa , Abdelall Waleed , Konoplev Sergej N. , Daver Naval G. 
Published: May 2016

BACKGROUNDMalignancy‐associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in adults is a highly lethal disorder. Knowledge gaps have resulted in under diagnosis or delayed diagnosis.METHODSThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center pathology database (1991‐2014) was retrospectively interrogated for the keywords “hemophagocytosis” and/or “lymphohistiocytosis.” Seventy‐seven adult patients were identified. All had an underlying malignancy. Sixteen patients who had insufficient documentation were excluded.RESULTSThe majority of patients who had pathologic evidence of hemophagocytosis/lymphohistiocytosis had an incomplete workup to confirm or refute HLH using the 2004 HLH criteria (HLH‐2004; n = 8 variables), which is a common problem in adult HLH. Only 13 of 61 patients (21%) met the HLH‐2004 diagnostic criteria based on available retrospective data. To identify potentially missed cases of HLH, the published literature was reviewed, and selected additional variables known to be associated with adult HLH were selected, resulting in extended diagnostic criteria of 18 variables. Thirty‐five patients met the extended criteria, and 33 had follow‐up data available. The median overall survival of the 13 patients who met both the extended criteria and the HLH‐2004 criteria was similar to that of the 20 patients who met the extended criteria but NOT the HLH‐2004 criteria (1.43 vs 1.76 months, respectively; P = .34) indicating a similar underlying, aggressive, systemic process. Twenty‐six patients did not meet either criteria, and 17 had follow‐up data available. The median overall survival of the 17 patients who had pathologic hemophagocytosis or lymphohistiocytosis but met neither criteria was significantly superior to the survival of those who met both the extended criteria and the HLH‐2004 criteria and those who met the extended criteria but not the HLH‐2004 criteria (17.27 vs 1.43 vs 1.76, respectively; P = .002).CONCLUSIONSThe addition of diagnostic laboratory variables that are more easily and rapidly available in smaller institutions and primary care settings than the HLH‐2004 variables may be a good surrogate to raise early suspicion of malignancy‐associated HLH. Prospective validation is warranted. Cancer 2016. © 2016 American Cancer Society. Cancer 2016;122:2857–2866. © 2016 American Cancer Society
Helping parents live with the hole in their heart: The role of health care providers and institutions in the bereaved parents' grief journeys
Authors: Snaman Jennifer M. , Kaye Erica C. , Torres Carlos , Gibson Deborah V. , Baker Justin N. 
Published: May 2016

BACKGROUNDBereaved parents experience significant psychosocial and health sequelae, suggesting that this population may benefit from the ongoing extension of support and resources throughout the grief journey. The interaction of hospital staff with patients and families at the end of a child's life and after death profoundly affects parental grief, offering a unique opportunity for the medical community to positively impact the bereavement experience. The current study was conducted to explore the role of the health care team and medical institutions in the grief journeys of parents whose child died a cancer‐related death.METHODSEleven bereaved parents participated in 2 focus groups. Responses to each of the 3 main prompts were coded and analyzed independently using semantic content analysis techniques.RESULTSFour main concepts were identified within the parental narratives, including the importance of strong and ongoing relationships between providers and bereaved families, the importance of high‐quality communication, the effect of negative experiences between providers and families on parental grief, and the importance of the institution's role in the grief journeys of bereaved parents.CONCLUSIONSBereaved parents consistently identified the critical role played by medical staff and medical institutions throughout the grief journey. Key components of bereavement support identified by parents should serve to guide the actions of providers as well as provide a template for the development of a comprehensive bereavement program within an institution. Cancer 2016. © 2016 American Cancer Society. Cancer 2016;122:2757–2765. © 2016 American Cancer Society.
Low‐power and low‐noise complementary metal oxide semiconductor distributed amplifier using the gain‐peaking technique
Authors: Izadi Saadi Rokhsare , Hakimi Ahmad 
Published: May 2016

SummaryThis paper presents an improved topology for ultra‐low‐power complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) distributed amplifier (DA) based on modified folded cascode gain cells. The proposed CMOS‐DA can be applicable in low‐supply‐voltage applications, because of the use of folded gain cell's structure. The proposed DA decreases power consumption by employing the forward body biasing network, while maintains high gain. By using a gain‐peaking inductor at the gate of the transistor, the proposed DA structure achieved to the gain flatness in high frequencies while the bandwidth is improved as well. In addition, employing RC network at the body terminal improves the noise performance of the proposed DA. The DA architecture consists of three amplification stages. Detailed analysis is provided for the proposed folded cascode DA. According to the post‐layout simulation results of the proposed amplifier using a 0.13‐µm CMOS process, DA achieves power gain of 17.3 ± 0.8 dB in bandwidth of 14.5 GHz, a good input third‐order intercept point (IIP3) of +5.5 dBm. The minimum noise figure is 1.8–5 dB, and input and output return losses are less than −11.5 dB and −10 dB, respectively, and the proposed structure consumes 12 mW from a 0.5 V voltage supply. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Antinociceptive Effect of Racemic Flurbiprofen and Caffeine Co‐Administration in an Arthritic Gout‐Type Pain in Rats
Authors: Liévano‐Reyes Ricardo , Pérez‐Méndez Hermínia Ines , Solís‐Oba Aida , Jaramillo‐Morales Osmar Antonio , Espinosa‐Juárez Josué Vidal , López‐Muñoz Francisco Javier 
Published: May 2016

Abstract

Preclinical Research

Drug combinations are routinely used in the treatment of pain. In drug associations, adjuvants such as caffeine, are employed with different non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatories drugs (NSAIDs), however, at present does not exist studies showing the effect of the combination of racemic flurbiprofen (rac‐Flur) in association with caffeine. The objective of this work was to evaluate the combination of rac‐Flur + caffeine oral in arthritic gout‐type pain in rats. The antinociceptive effects of the rac‐Flur alone and in combination with caffeine were analyzed on a pain‐induced functional impairment model in rat. rac‐Flur induced a dose‐dependent antinociceptive effect and caffeine did not present any effect. The combination of rac‐Flur and caffeine achieve a higher percentage of antinociceptive effect compared with the individual administration of rac‐Flur. The dose‐response curve (DRCs) shows that the combination of rac‐Flur (31.6 mg/kg) + caffeine (17.8 mg/kg) exhibited the maximal antinociceptive efficacy (294.0 ± 21.2 area units), while rac‐Flur alone (31.6 mg/kg) showed 207.2 ± 35.2 au, thus indicating an increase in efficacy (potentiation). Furthermore, the DRCs of the combinations presented a displacement to the left, indicating a change in the potency. Caffeine is able to increase the effect of rac‐Flur in the arthritic gout‐type pain in rats. Drug Dev Res 77 : 192–198, 2016.   © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Experience‐dependent changes in the development of face preferences in infant rhesus monkeys
Authors: Parr Lisa A. , Murphy Lauren , Feczko Eric , Brooks Jenna , Collantes Marie , Heitz Thomas R. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractIt is well known that early experience shapes the development of visual perception for faces in humans. However, the effect of experience on the development of social attention in non‐human primates is unknown. In two studies, we examined the effect of cumulative social experience on developmental changes in attention to the faces of unfamiliar conspecifics or heterospecifics, and mom versus an unfamiliar female. From birth, infant rhesus monkeys preferred to look at conspecific compared to heterospecific faces, but this pattern reversed over time. In contrast, no consistent differences were found for attention to mom's face compared to an unfamiliar female. These results suggest differential roles of social experience in shaping the development of face preferences in infant monkeys. Results have important implications for establishing normative trajectories for the development of face preferences in an animal model of human social behavior.