bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Disruption of the structural and functional features of surfactant protein A by acrolein in cigarette smoke
Authors: Takamiya Rina , Uchida Koji , Shibata Takahiro , Maeno Toshitaka , Kato Masaki , Yamaguchi Yoshiki , Ariki Shigeru , Hasegawa Yoshihiro , Saito Atsushi , Miwa Soichi , Takahashi Hiroki , Akaike Takaaki , Kuroki Yoshio , Takahashi Motoko 
Published: August 2017

AbstractThe extent to which defective innate immune responses contribute to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is not fully understood. Pulmonary surfactant protein A (SP-A) plays an important role in regulating innate immunity in the lungs. In this study, we hypothesised that cigarette smoke (CS) and its component acrolein might influence pulmonary innate immunity by affecting the function of SP-A. Indeed, acrolein-modified SP-A was detected in the lungs of mice exposed to CS for 1 week. To further confirm this finding, recombinant human SP-A (hSP-A) was incubated with CS extract (CSE) or acrolein and then analysed by western blotting and nanoscale liquid chromatography-matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. These analyses revealed that CSE and acrolein induced hSP-A oligomerisation and that acrolein induced the modification of six residues in hSP-A: His39, His116, Cys155, Lys180, Lys221, and Cys224. These modifications had significant effects on the innate immune functions of hSP-A. CSE- or acrolein-induced modification of hSP-A significantly decreased hSP-A’s ability to inhibit bacterial growth and to enhance macrophage phagocytosis. These findings suggest that CS-induced structural and functional defects in SP-A contribute to the dysfunctional innate immune responses observed in the lung during cigarette smoking.
Age-related changes in crowding and reading speed
Authors: Liu Rong , Patel Bhavika N. , Kwon MiYoung 
Published: August 2017

AbstractCrowding, the inability to recognize objects in clutter, is known to play a role in developmental changes in reading speed. Here, we investigated whether crowding also plays a role in age-related changes in reading speed. We recruited 18 young (mean age: 22.6 ± 3.5; range: 18~31) and 21 older adults (mean age: 58.2 ± 7.0; range: 50~73) with normal vision. Reading speed was measured with short blocks of text. The degree of crowding was determined by measuring crowding zone (the distance between a target and flankers required to yield a criterion recognition accuracy) and the size of the visual span (an uncrowded window in the visual field within which letters can be recognizable reliably). Measurements were made across the central 16-degree visual field using letter-recognition tasks. Our results showed that, compared to young adults, older adults exhibited significantly slower reading speed (a decrease by 30%) and larger crowding: an enlargement of crowding zone (an increase by 31%) and shrinkage of the visual span (a decrease by 6.25 bits). We also observed significant correlations between reading speed and each of the crowding measures. Our results suggest that crowding increases with age. Age-related changes in crowding may in part explain slower reading in older adults.
Phylogeny and morphological analyses of Penicillium section Sclerotiora (Fungi) lead to the discovery of five new species
Authors: Wang Xin-Cun , Chen Kai , Zeng Zhao-Qing , Zhuang Wen-Ying 
Published: August 2017

AbstractPhylogeny of Penicillium section Sclerotiora is still limitedly investigated. In this study, five new species of Penicillium are identified from the samples collected from different places of China, and named P. austrosinicum, P. choerospondiatis, P. exsudans, P. sanshaense and P. verrucisporum. The conidiophores of P. austrosinicum and P. exsudans are monoverticillate like most members of the section, while the rest species are biverticillate similar to the only two species P. herquei and P. malachiteum previously reported in the section Sclerotiora. The phylogenetic positions of the new taxa are determined based on the sequence data of ITS, BenA, CaM and RPB2 regions, which reveals that all the species with biverticillate condiophores form a well-supported subclade in the section. The new Penicillium species clearly differ from the existing species of the genus in culture characteristics on four standard growth media, microscopic features, and sequence data. Morphological discrepancies are discussed between the new species and their allies.
Identification, synthesis and biological activity of alkyl-guanidine oligomers as potent antibacterial agents
Authors: Zamperini C. , Maccari G. , Deodato D. , Pasero C. , D’Agostino I. , Orofino F. , De Luca F. , Dreassi E. , Docquier J. D. , Botta M. 
Published: August 2017

AbstractIn the last two decades, the repertoire of clinically effective antibacterials is shrinking due to the rapidly increasing of multi-drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria. New chemical classes with innovative mode of action are required to prevent a return to the pre-antibiotic era. We have recently reported the identification of a series of linear guanidine derivatives and their antibacterial properties. A batch of a promising candidate for optimization studies (compound 1) turned out to be a mixture containing two unknown species with a better biological activity than the pure compound. This serendipitous discovery led us to investigate the chemical nature of the unknown components of the mixture. Through MS analysis coupled with design and synthesis we found that the components were spontaneously generated oligomers of the original compound. Preliminary biological evaluations eventually confirmed the broad-spectrum antibacterial activity of this new family of molecules. Interestingly the symmetric dimeric derivative (2) exhibited the best profile and it was selected as lead compound for further studies.
Non-diffraction propagation of acoustic waves in a rapidly modulated stratified medium
Authors: Zhu Xing-Feng , Wei Qi , Cheng Ying , Wu Da-Jian , Liu Xiao-Jun 
Published: August 2017

AbstractA rapidly modulated stratified medium with a large mass density modulation depth (LMMD) is proposed to achieve non-diffraction propagation (NDP) of acoustic waves. It is found that the NDP in LMMD medium is independent of the incident angle and can be operated in a broad-band manner. Such an NDP is robust and is unhampered by medium losses. An effective medium theory (EMT) is developed for acoustic waves propagating in the LMMD medium based on the first-principles method. The LMMD EMT is verified by using the transfer-matrix method (TMM) for both propagating and evanescent waves. Furthermore, we discuss the influence of the geometry on NDP, and finite element simulations are conducted to verify the NDP in the LMMD medium.
Amygdala-centred functional connectivity affects daily cortisol concentrations: a putative link with anxiety
Authors: Hakamata Yuko , Komi Shotaro , Moriguchi Yoshiya , Izawa Shuhei , Motomura Yuki , Sato Eisuke , Mizukami Shinya , Kim Yoshiharu , Hanakawa Takashi , Inoue Yusuke , Tagaya Hirokuni 
Published: August 2017

AbstractThe amygdala plays a critical role in emotion. Its functional coupling with the hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex extending to a portion of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is implicated in anxiogenesis and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system regulation. However, it remains unclear how amygdala-centred functional connectivity (FC) affects anxiety and cortisol concentrations in everyday life. Here, we investigate the relationship between daily cortisol concentrations (dCOR) and amygdala-centred FC during emotional processing in forty-one healthy humans. FC analyses revealed that higher dCOR predicted strengthened amygdala-centred FC with the hippocampus and cerebellum, but inhibited FC with the supramarginal gyrus and a perigenual part of the ACC (pgACC) when processing fearful faces (vs. neutral faces). Notably, the strength of amygdala-hippocampus FC mediated the positive relationship between cortisol and anxiety, specifically when the effect of amygdala-pgACC FC, a presumptive neural indicator of emotional control, was taken into account. Individuals with diminished connectivity between the amygdala and pgACC during fear-related processing might be more vulnerable to anxiogenesis as it pertains to greater circulating cortisol levels in everyday life. Individual functional patterns of amygdala-hippocampal-pgACC connectivity might provide a key to understand the complicate link between cortisol and anxiety-related behaviors.
Computer‐aided design‐based circuit model of microstrip line for terahertz interconnects technology
Authors: Awasthi Yogendra K. , Singh Himanshu , Sharma Manish , Kumari Sarita , Verma Anand K. 
Published: August 2017

In this study, presented a computer‐aided design‐based circuit model which is applicable to microstrip transmission line for terahertz interconnects technology in circuit simulator. Comparison of modified Kirschning and Jansen for dispersion and modified characteristic impedance for characteristic impedance models with full‐wave electromagnetic (EM) simulator are investigated which shows < 1% deviation for w/h range 0.1 ≤ w/h ≤ 100, conductor thickness 0.001 ≤ t/h ≤ 0.2, wavelength range 8.7 μm ≤ λg ≤ 8.7 m and substrate permittivity 1.0 ≤ ɛ r ≤ 200. Modified conductor loss for conductor loss and modified dielectric loss (MDL) for dielectric loss are also investigated and compared with EM simulator, which shows deviation of < 1 dB for above said electrical and physical sets of range of parameters. Calculation of line parameters: (f, t), (f, α), R (f), L (f), C (f), G (f) by using the effect of dispersion, characteristic impedance and losses which shows < 1% deviation with experimental data available. Accuracy of the circuit model are also verified for interconnects made by aluminium (σ o = 3.7 × 107 S/m), tungsten (σ o = 1.0 × 107 S/m) and tungsten–silicide (σ o = 3.3 × 106 S/m) conductors which used in very large scale integration/ultra large scale integration (VLSI/ULSI) technology.
MicroRNA-mediated disruption of dendritogenesis during a critical period of development influences cognitive capacity later in life
Authors: Lin Quan , Ponnusamy Ravikumar , Widagdo Jocelyn , Choi Jung A. , Ge Weihong , Probst Christine , Buckley Tyler , Lou Mimi , Bredy Timothy W. , Fanselow Michael S. , Ye Keqiang , Sun Yi E. 
Published: August 2017

SignificanceThis study expands our knowledge of small noncoding RNAs and their important roles in brain development and cognitive function. We describe a mechanism by which dendritic morphology and synaptic formation are altered during a critical period of development, eventually leading to altered capacity for learning and memory later in life.
Dynamic Phase Synchrony based Ranked Spatio-Temporal Clustering for Tracking Time-Resolved Functional Brain Networks
Authors: Aggarwal Priya , Gupta Anubha 
Published: August 2017

AbstractOf late, there has been a growing interest in studying brain networks, particularly, for understanding spontaneous temporal changes in functional brain networks. Recently, phase synchrony based methods have been proposed to track instantaneous time-resolved functional connectivity without any need of windowing the data. This paper extends one such recently used phase synchrony measure in two steps. First, multiple temporal models are built from four-mode tensor that are further clustered to detect dynamic brain network communities. This clustering is based on spatio-temporal data and hence, is named as Spatio-Temporal Clustering (STC). Second, a method is proposed to rank all the communities allowing the proposed model to deal with multiple communities of differing time evolution. This helps in the comparison of network communities, especially, when available communities are too dense to provide relevant information for comparison. The ranking of communities allows for the dimensionality reduction of communities, while still maintaining the key brain networks. Intrinsic time-varying functional connectivity has been investigated for large scale brain networks, including default-mode network (DMN), visual network (VN), cognitive control network (CCN), auditory network (AN), etc. The proposed method provides a new complementary tool to investigate dynamic network states at a high temporal resolution and is tested on resting-state functional MRI data of 26 typically developing controls (TDC) and 35 autism spectrum disorder (ASD) subjects. Simulation results demonstrate that ASD subjects have altered dynamic brain networks compared to TDC.
Role of Immune Checkpoint Proteins in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Authors: Habiel David M , Espindola Milena , Kitson Chris , Azzara Anthony , Coelho Ana Lucia , Hogaboam Cory M 
Published: August 2017

AbstractIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fibrotic lung disease, with unknown etiopathogenesis and suboptimal therapeutic options. Due to the lack of clinical efficacy of standard immuno-suppressants in IPF, the role of the immune response in this disease remains elusive. Nevertheless, previous reports have shown that increased T cell numbers and phenotype is predictive of prognosis in IPF, suggesting that these cells might have a role in this disease. Transcriptomic analysis of CD3+T cells isolated from IPF lungs removed prior to lung transplant (i.e. explant lung) revealed a loss of CD28 expression and both elevated checkpoint and lymphocyte activation pathways. Flow cytometric analysis of a mixture of immune and non-immune cells isolated from explanted IPF lungs showed elevated PD-1 and CTLA4 protein expression on CD4-lymphocytes and PD-L1 expression on EpCAM+and CD45-EpCAM-cells. Lung remodeling and loss of BAL surfactant protein C were observed in NOD SCID IL-2Rγ-/-(NSG) mice that received an intravenous injection of a mixture of IPF cells, including purified IPF T cells. Finally, in humanized NSG mice, anti-CTLA4, but not anti-PD1, mAb treatment induced an expansion of CD3+T cells and accelerated lung fibrosis. Together, these results demonstrate that IPF T cells are profibrotic but the immune checkpoint protein, CTLA-4, appears to limit this effect in IPF.
Tau directs intracellular trafficking by regulating the forces exerted by kinesin and dynein teams
Authors: Chaudhary Abdullah R. , Berger Florian , Berger Christopher L. , Hendricks Adam G. 
Published: August 2017

AbstractOrganelles, proteins, and mRNA are transported bidirectionally along microtubules by plus-end directed kinesin and minus-end directed dynein motors. Microtubules are decorated by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) that organize the cytoskeleton, regulate microtubule dynamics and modulate the interaction between motor proteins and microtubules to direct intracellular transport. Tau is a neuronal MAP that stabilizes axonal microtubules and crosslinks them into bundles. Dysregulation of tau leads to a range of neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Tau reduces the processivity of kinesin and dynein by acting as an obstacle on the microtubule. Single-molecule assays indicate that kinesin-1 is more strongly inhibited than kinesin-2 or dynein, suggesting tau might act to spatially modulate the activity of specific motors. To investigate the role of tau in regulating bidirectional transport, we isolated phagosomes driven by kinesin-1, kinesin-2, and dynein and reconstituted their motility along microtubules. We find that tau biases bidirectional motility towards the microtubule minus-end in a dose-dependent manner. Optical trapping measurements show that tau increases the magnitude and frequency of forces exerted by dynein through inhibiting opposing kinesin motors. Mathematical modeling indicates that tau controls the directional bias of intracellular cargoes through differentially tuning the processivity of kinesin-1, kinesin-2, and dynein. Taken together, these results demonstrate that tau modulates motility in a motor-specific manner to direct intracellular transport, and suggests that dysregulation of tau might contribute to neurodegeneration by disrupting the balance of plus- and minus-end directed transport.Synopsis and Graphical Table of ContentsWe isolated endogenous cargoes, along with a complement of kinesin-1, kinesin-2, and dynein motors, and reconstituted their bidirectional motility in vitro. We find that tau, a microtubule-associated protein that stabilizes microtubules in neuronal axons, directs bidirectional cargoes towards the microtubule minus end by tuning the balance of forces exerted by kinesin and dynein teams. These results suggest a general mechanism for regulating the transport of intracellular cargoes through modulating the relative activity of opposing motor teams.
An eco asset ontology towards effective eco asset management
Authors: Zeb Jehan 
Published: August 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop an ontology of eco or natural assets to represent eco asset knowledge at two levels: eco asset metal model and eco asset ontology (EA_Onto). The three objectives of this paper are to: define eco assets explicitly to reach a common understanding of the terms; evaluate the ontology; and discuss a potential area of application.Design/methodology/approachA seven-step methodology was used to develop the proposed ontology: define the scope; develop the eco asset meta model (EA_MM), define taxonomy, code ontology, capture ontology, evaluate ontology and document ontology.FindingsThe EA_MM was developed to represent eco asset domain knowledge, which was further extended to develop the EA_Onto, explicitly defining the eco asset knowledge in asset management. As a part of evaluation, it was found that the knowledge representation is consistent, concise, clear, complete and correct.Practical implicationsTheoretically, the proposed ontology is a significant contribution to the body of knowledge in asset management. Practically, the knowledge representation provides a common understanding of eco assets for asset management experts. In addition, it will be used in applications for effective eco asset management.Originality/valueThe current literature lacks explicit declaration of eco assets, how they are related to built environment for effective integration and how asset management functions are to be applied to accomplish effective eco asset management. Presently, eco assets are managed on an ad hoc basis, which need to be explicitly defined through developing an EA_Onto for implementation in applications for effective eco asset management.
Photoperiodic cues regulate phenological carry‐over effects in an herbivorous insect
Authors: Salis Lucia , van den Hoorn Erik , Beersma Domien G. M. , Hut Roelof A. , Visser Marcel E. 
Published: August 2017

AbstractTo maximise their fitness, organisms need to synchronise their phenology with the seasonal variation in environmental conditions. Most phenological traits are affected by environmental abiotic cues such as photoperiod, temperature and rainfall. When individuals with complex life cycles fail to match one of the stages with the favourable environment, the negative conditions experienced may lead to carry‐over effects and, thus, influence fitness in subsequent stages.In the winter moth, an herbivorous insect with an annual life cycle, timing of egg‐hatching in spring is strongly influenced by temperature and varies from year to year. To investigate whether the phenological variation in egg‐hatching date affects subsequent stages, we analysed data on egg‐hatching date and adult catching date (considered here to be a proxy for adult eclosion date) from our long‐term study (1994–2014). Furthermore, we experimentally manipulated the photoperiod experienced by newly hatched larvae and recorded the phenology of their subsequent life cycle stages.In the long‐term field study, we found that the timing of winter moth egg‐hatching in spring varied strongly from year to year. Interestingly, however, the timing of adult eclosion date in winter showed little inter‐annual variation. In line with these findings, our experimental data showed that the winter moth shortened the duration of their pupal development when they experienced a late spring photoperiod as a larva, and prolonged pupal development when experiencing early spring photoperiod. The effects of the larval photoperiodic treatments persisted during egg development in the following generation.The results show that a phenological shift that occurs during an early life stage is partially compensated during subsequent stages and suggest that the mechanism underlying this compensation is mediated by photoperiod. Winter moths regulated their phenology in such a way that the variation in the egg‐hatching stage was not carried over to the next life cycle stages. This has strong effects on fitness as it (1) ensures the synchronisation of adult eclosion during the mating period and (2) is likely to reduce potentially negative fitness consequences of phenological mismatches in egg‐hatching in the following generation. Overall, these findings stress the importance of understanding phenological carry‐over effects to forecast the impact of global change in species with complex life cycles.Aplain language summaryis available for this article.
A randomized blinded comparative study of clinical response to surface anatomy guided injection versus sonography guided injection of hyaloronic acid in patients with primary knee osteoarthritis
Authors: Kianmehr Nahid , Hasanzadeh Atefeh , Naderi Farrokh , Khajoei Sholeh , Haghighi Anousheh 
Published: August 2017

AbstractBackground and aimComparison between the effect of sonographic guided and blind knee injection of hyaluronic acid has been evaluated in this study.Methods and materialsSixty‐one patients with primary knee osteoarthritis were randomly allocated into two groups and received intrabursal injection of hyaloronic acid over 3 weeks. The difference between baseline amounts of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score and visual analogue scale (VAS) score and these amounts after 6 and 12 weeks were calculated and subsequently compared between the two groups.ResultsAmong all scores and indices, WOMAC pain and function subscales changed significantly (both in the short‐term and long‐term follow‐up). The mean differences of WOMAC subscale pain in those who had received intra‐articular injection under the guidance of sonography were significantly higher than those in patients who had received blind injections after 6 and 12 weeks. The mean differences of WOMAC subscale function in those who had received ultrasonography guided intra‐articular injection were significantly higher than those in patients, who had received blind injections after 6 and 12 weeks. The mean in differences of the 10‐cm VAS (both at rest and after 50‐feet walk) in the two groups was statistically significant after 6 weeks, but did not remain significant after 12 weeks.ConclusionApplication of sonography might improve the response of patients to intra‐articular injection of hyaloronic acid, at least in certain clinical indices.