bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
SparRec: An effective matrix completion framework of missing data imputation for GWAS
Authors: Jiang Bo , Ma Shiqian , Causey Jason , Qiao Linbo , Hardin Matthew Price , Bitts Ian , Johnson Daniel , Zhang Shuzhong , Huang Xiuzhen 
Published: October 2016

AbstractGenome-wide association studies present computational challenges for missing data imputation, while the advances of genotype technologies are generating datasets of large sample sizes with sample sets genotyped on multiple SNP chips. We present a new framework SparRec (Sparse Recovery) for imputation, with the following properties: (1) The optimization models of SparRec, based on low-rank and low number of co-clusters of matrices, are different from current statistics methods. While our low-rank matrix completion (LRMC) model is similar to Mendel-Impute, our matrix co-clustering factorization (MCCF) model is completely new. (2) SparRec, as other matrix completion methods, is flexible to be applied to missing data imputation for large meta-analysis with different cohorts genotyped on different sets of SNPs, even when there is no reference panel. This kind of meta-analysis is very challenging for current statistics based methods. (3) SparRec has consistent performance and achieves high recovery accuracy even when the missing data rate is as high as 90%. Compared with Mendel-Impute, our low-rank based method achieves similar accuracy and efficiency, while the co-clustering based method has advantages in running time. The testing results show that SparRec has significant advantages and competitive performance over other state-of-the-art existing statistics methods including Beagle and fastPhase.
Purification and Characterization of a Novel Cold Shock Protein-Like Bacteriocin Synthesized by Bacillus thuringiensis
Authors: Huang Tianpei , Zhang Xiaojuan , Pan Jieru , Su Xiaoyu , Jin Xin , Guan Xiong 
Published: October 2016

AbstractBacillus thuringiensis (Bt), one of the most successful biopesticides, may expand its potential by producing bacteriocins (thuricins). The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial potential of a novel Bt bacteriocin, thuricin BtCspB, produced by Bt BRC-ZYR2. The results showed that this bacteriocin has a high similarity with cold-shock protein B (CspB). BtCspB lost its activity after proteinase K treatment; however it was active at 60 °C for 30 min and was stable in the pH range 5–7. The partial loss of activity after the treatments of lipase II and catalase were likely due to the change in BtCspB structure and the partial degradation of BtCspB, respectively. The loss of activity at high temperatures and the activity variation at different pHs were not due to degradation or large conformational change. BtCspB did not inhibit four probiotics. It was only active against B. cereus strains 0938 and ATCC 10987 with MIC values of 3.125 μg/mL and 0.781 μg/mL, and MBC values of 12.5 μg/mL and 6.25 μg/mL, respectively. Taken together, these results provide new insights into a novel cold shock protein-like bacteriocin, BtCspB, which displayed promise for its use in food preservation and treatment of B. cereus-associated diseases.
Molecular characterization of host-parasite cell signalling in Schistosoma mansoni during early development
Authors: Ressurreição Margarida , Elbeyioglu Firat , Kirk Ruth S. , Rollinson David , Emery Aidan M. , Page Nigel M. , Walker Anthony J. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractDuring infection of their human definitive host, schistosomes transform rapidly from free-swimming infective cercariae in freshwater to endoparasitic schistosomules. The ‘somules’ next migrate within the skin to access the vasculature and are surrounded by host molecules that might activate intracellular pathways that influence somule survival, development and/or behaviour. However, such ‘transactivation’ by host factors in schistosomes is not well defined. In the present study, we have characterized and functionally localized the dynamics of protein kinase C (PKC) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation during early somule development in vitro and demonstrate activation of these protein kinases by human epidermal growth factor, insulin, and insulin-like growth factor I, particularly at the parasite surface. Further, we provide evidence that support the existence of specialized signalling domains called lipid rafts in schistosomes and propose that correct signalling to ERK requires proper raft organization. Finally, we show that modulation of PKC and ERK activities in somules affects motility and reduces somule survival. Thus, PKC and ERK are important mediators of host-ligand regulated transactivation events in schistosomes, and represent potential targets for anti-schistosome therapy aimed at reducing parasite survival in the human host.
A unified theory of calcium alternans in ventricular myocytes
Authors: Qu Zhilin , Liu Michael B. , Nivala Michael 
Published: October 2016

AbstractIntracellular calcium (Ca2+) alternans is a dynamical phenomenon in ventricular myocytes, which is linked to the genesis of lethal arrhythmias. Iterated map models of intracellular Ca2+ cycling dynamics in ventricular myocytes under periodic pacing have been developed to study the mechanisms of Ca2+ alternans. Two mechanisms of Ca2+ alternans have been demonstrated in these models: one relies mainly on fractional sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release and uptake, and the other on refractoriness and other properties of Ca2+ sparks. Each of the two mechanisms can partially explain the experimental observations, but both have their inconsistencies with the experimental results. Here we developed an iterated map model that is composed of two coupled iterated maps, which unifies the two mechanisms into a single cohesive mathematical framework. The unified theory can consistently explain the seemingly contradictory experimental observations and shows that the two mechanisms work synergistically to promote Ca2+ alternans. Predictions of the theory were examined in a physiologically-detailed spatial Ca2+ cycling model of ventricular myocytes.
THz-circuits driven by photo-thermoelectric, gate-tunable graphene-junctions
Authors: Brenneis Andreas , Schade Felix , Drieschner Simon , Heimbach Florian , Karl Helmut , Garrido Jose A. , Holleitner Alexander W. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractFor future on-chip communication schemes, it is essential to integrate nanoscale materials with an ultrafast optoelectronic functionality into high-frequency circuits. The atomically thin graphene has been widely demonstrated to be suitable for photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices because of its broadband optical absorption and its high electron mobility. Moreover, the ultrafast relaxation of photogenerated charge carriers has been verified in graphene. Here, we show that dual-gated graphene junctions can be functional parts of THz-circuits. As the underlying optoelectronic process, we exploit ultrafast photo-thermoelectric currents. We describe an immediate photo-thermoelectric current of the unbiased device following a femtosecond laser excitation. For a picosecond time-scale after the optical excitation, an additional photo-thermoelectric contribution shows up, which exhibits the fingerprint of a spatially inverted temperature profile. The latter can be understood by the different time-constants and thermal coupling mechanisms of the electron and phonon baths within graphene to the substrate and the metal contacts. The interplay of the processes gives rise to ultrafast electromagnetic transients in high-frequency circuits, and it is equally important for a fundamental understanding of graphene-based ultrafast photodetectors and switches.
Antigen-affinity controls pre-germinal center B cell selection by promoting Mcl-1 induction through BAFF receptor signaling
Authors: Wensveen Felix M. , Slinger Erik , van Attekum Martijn HA , Brink Robert , Eldering Eric 
Published: October 2016

AbstractUpon antigen encounter, the responsive B cell pool undergoes stringent selection which eliminates cells with low B cell receptor (BCR) affinity. Already before formation of the germinal center, activated B cells of low-affinity are negatively selected in a process that is molecularly not well understood. In this study, we investigated the mechanism behind pre-GC affinity-mediated B cell selection. We applied affinity mutants of HEL antigen and found that rapidly after activation B cells become highly dependent on the cytokine BAFF. Moreover, expression of BAFF receptor CD268 is regulated in a BCR-affinity dependent fashion. High affinity responses via BAFF correlated with PI3K activation, which controlled expression of the pro-survival protein Mcl-1, and thereby increased survival. In the presence of excess BAFF, or in absence of the Mcl-1 antagonist Noxa, more low-affinity B cells survived the first two days after antigen encounter. This resulted in increased numbers of antigen-specific B cells of low affinity upon immunization and reduced the overall affinity of cells that contributed to the germinal center reaction. Our findings elucidate a crucial molecular pathway of B cell selection in the earliest phases of activation by identifying a novel link between BCR affinity and BAFF-R signaling towards Mcl-1.
Investigation of bacterial effects of Asian dust events through comparison with seasonal variability in outdoor airborne bacterial community
Authors: Park Jonguk , Ichijo Tomoaki , Nasu Masao , Yamaguchi Nobuyasu 
Published: October 2016

AbstractAtmospheric bacterial dispersion with aeolian dust has been reported to have a potential impact on public health and ecosystems. Asian dust is a major aeolian event that results in an estimated 4 million tons of Asian dust particles falling in Japan annually, 3,000–5,000 km away from their source regions. However, most studies have only investigated the effects of Asian dust during dust seasons. Therefore, in this study, outdoor bacterial abundance and community composition were determined by 16S rRNA quantitative PCR and amplicon sequencing, respectively, and compared on Asian and non-Asian dust days (2013–2015; 44 samples over four seasons). Seasonal variations in bacterial abundance of non-Asian dust days were not observed. Bacterial abundance of individual samples collected on non-Asian dust days changed dynamically relative to Asian dust days, with bacterial abundance occasionally reaching those of Asian dust days. The bacterial community composition on non-Asian dust days was rather stable seasonally, and did not differ from that on Asian dust days. These results indicate that bacteria in Asian dust does not immediately influence indigenous bacterial communities at the phylum/class level in distant downwind areas; accordingly, further studies of bacterial communities in downwind areas closer to the dust source are warranted.
Can a Commercially Available Auditory Training Program Improve Audiovisual Speech Performance?
Authors: Rishiq Dania , Rao Aparna , Koerner Tess , Abrams Harvey 
Published: October 2016

PurposeThe goal of this study was to determine whether hearing aids in combination with computer-based auditory training improve audiovisual (AV) performance compared with the use of hearing aids alone.MethodTwenty-four participants were randomized into an experimental group (hearing aids plus ReadMyQuips [RMQ] training) and a control group (hearing aids only). The Multimodal Lexical Sentence Test for Adults (Kirk et al., 2012) was used to measure auditory-only (AO) and AV speech perception performance at three signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Participants were tested at the time of hearing aid fitting (pretest), after 4 weeks of hearing aid use (posttest I), and again after 4 weeks of RMQ training (posttest II).ResultsResults did not reveal an effect of training. As expected, interactions were found between (a) modality (AO vs. AV) and SNR and (b) test (pretest vs. posttests) and SNR.ConclusionData do not show a significant effect of RMQ training on AO or AV performance as measured using the Multimodal Lexical Sentence Test for Adults.
Exploring the Clinical Utility of Relative Fundamental Frequency as an Objective Measure of Vocal Hyperfunction
Authors: Roy Nelson , Fetrow Rebecca A. , Merrill Ray M. , Dromey Christopher 
Published: October 2016

Purpose
Vocal hyperfunction, related to abnormal laryngeal muscle activity, is considered the proximal cause of primary muscle tension dysphonia (pMTD). Relative fundamental frequency (RFF) has been proposed as an objective acoustic marker of vocal hyperfunction. This study examined (a) the ability of RFF to track changes in vocal hyperfunction after treatment for pMTD and (b) the influence of dysphonia severity, among other factors, on the feasibility of RFF computation.

Method
RFF calculations and dysphonia severity ratings were derived from pre- and posttreatment recordings from 111 women with pMTD and 20 healthy controls. Three vowel–voiceless consonant–vowel stimuli were analyzed.

Results
RFF onset slope consistently varied as a function of group (pMTD vs. controls) and time (pretherapy vs. posttherapy). Significant correlations between RFF onset cycle 1 and dysphonia severity were observed. However, in many samples, RFF could not be computed, and adjusted odds ratios revealed that these unanalyzable data were linked to dysphonia severity, phonetic (vowel–voiceless consonant–vowel) context, and group (pMTD vs. control).

Conclusions
RFF onset appears to be sensitive to the presence and degree of suspected vocal hyperfunction before and after therapy. The large number of unanalyzable samples (related especially to dysphonia severity in the pMTD group) represents an important limitation.
A revised moving cluster distance to the Pleiades open cluster
Authors: Galli P. A. B. , Moraux E. , Bouy H. , Bouvier J. , Olivares J. , Teixeira R. 
Published: October 2016

Context.The distance to the Pleiades open cluster has been extensively debated in the literature over several decades. Although different methods point to a discrepancy in the trigonometric parallaxes produced by the Hipparcosmission, the number of individual stars with known distances is still small compared to the number of cluster members to help solve this problem.Aims.We provide a new distance estimate for the Pleiades based on the moving cluster method, which will be useful to further discuss the so-called Pleiades distance controversy and compare it with the very precise parallaxes from theGaiaspace mission.Methods.We apply a refurbished implementation of the convergent point search method to an updated census of Pleiades stars to calculate the convergent point position of the cluster from stellar proper motions. Then, we derive individual parallaxes for 64 cluster members using radial velocities compiled from the literature, and approximate parallaxes for another 1146 stars based on the spatial velocity of the cluster. This represents the largest sample of Pleiades stars with individual distances to date.Results.The parallaxes derived in this work are in good agreement with previous results obtained in different studies (excluding Hipparcos) for individual stars in the cluster. We report a mean parallax of 7.44 ± 0.08 mas and distance of 134.4+2.9-2.8pc that is consistent with the weighted mean of 135.0 ± 0.6 pc obtained from the non-Hipparcosresults in the literature.Conclusions.Our result for the distance to the Pleiades open cluster is not consistent with the Hipparcoscatalog, but favors the recent and more precise distance determination of 136.2 ± 1.2 pc obtained from Very Long Baseline Interferometry observations. It is also in good agreement with the mean distance of 133 ± 5 pc obtained from the first trigonometric parallaxes delivered by theGaiasatellite for the brightest cluster members in common with our sample.
Corrosion-fatigue testing of Ni-based superalloy RR1000
Authors: Child D. J. , Meldrum J. , Onwuarolu P. 
Published: October 2016

Operation of gas turbines at high temperatures can lead to corrosion of turbine materials. A programme was designed to understand the corrosion-fatigue behaviour of two grain size variants of RR1000 under cyclic loading at elevated. Tests were conducted on cylindrical specimens under a range of loading conditions. Results indicated that salted specimens tested in air-SO x had shorter fatigue lives than unsalted specimens tested in air, and this deficit was dependent on stress and/or test duration. Examination of specimens showed that the extent of corrosion was dependent on exposure time and stress. Additional salt loading resulted in faster initial pit growth which led to lower fatigue lives at higher stresses. This paper is part of a thematic issue on the 9th International Charles Parsons Turbine and Generator Conference. All papers have been revised and extended before publication in Materials Science and Technology.
Walleye Population and Fishery Responses after Elimination of Legal Harvest on Escanaba Lake, Wisconsin
Authors: Haglund Justin M. , Isermann Daniel A. , Sass Greg G. 
Published: October 2016

Abstract
Implementing harvest regulations to eliminate or substantially reduce (≥90%) the exploitation of Walleyes Sander vitreus in recreational fisheries may increase population size structure, but these measures also could reduce angler effort because many Walleye anglers are harvest oriented. We analyzed data collected during 1995–2015 to determine whether Walleye population and fishery metrics in Escanaba Lake, Wisconsin, changed after a minimum TL limit of 71 cm with a one-fish daily bag limit was implemented in 2003. This change eliminated the legal harvest of Walleyes after several decades during which annual exploitation averaged 34%. We detected a significant increase in the loge density of adult females after the regulation change, but the loge density of all adults and adult males did not differ between periods. Mean TL of adult males was significantly greater after the regulation change, but the mean TL of females and the proportional size distribution of preferred-length fish (≥51 cm TL) were similar between periods. Sex-specific mean TLs at age 5 did not differ between periods. Loge density of age-0 Walleyes did not change after 2003, but variation in age-0 density was lower. Total angler effort and the effort for anglers targeting Walleyes were significantly lower (35% and 60% declines, respectively) after the regulation change, whereas catch rates for both angler categories did not differ between periods. Our results suggest that implementing highly restrictive regulations that greatly reduce or eliminate legal harvest will not always increase angler catch rates and population size structure. Highly restrictive regulations may also deter anglers from using a fishery when many other fisheries are available. Our findings are useful for fishery managers who may work with anglers holding the belief that lower exploitation is a potential remedy for low Walleye size structure, even when density and growth suggest that there is limited potential for improvement.
Received December 11, 2015; accepted July 21, 2016 Published online October 20, 2016
A new sarasinoside congener, sarasinoside M2, from a marine sponge collected in the Solomon Islands
Authors: Puilingi Clyde Gorapava , Kudo Yuta , Cho Yuko , Konoki Keiichi , Yotsu-Yamashita Mari 
Published: October 2016

Abstract
A new sarasinoside congener (sarasinoside M2) and known sarasinoside B1 were obtained from a marine sponge. Sarasinoside M2 was suggested to have the same aglycon as sarasinoside M although the internal glucose in its sugar moiety is replaced by xylose. Sarasinosides B1 and M2 showed moderate cytotoxicity (approximate IC50 5–18 μM) toward Neuro-2a and HepG2 cell lines.
Severe to profound hearing impairment
Authors: Hjaldahl Jennie , Widén Stephen , Carlsson Per-Inge 
Published: October 2016

Objective:
The objective of this study is to determine whether various demographic variables are associated with hearing aid (HA) and cochlear implant (CI) use and participation in extended audiological rehabilitation among patients with severe to profound hearing loss (HL), and to compare the use of unilateral and bilateral HAs.

Study design:
Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to analyze general HA use, binaural HA use, CI use and participation in extended audiological rehabilitation. A total of 2297 adult patients from The Swedish Quality Register of Otorhinolaryngology with a PTA4 (0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz) ≥ 70 dB HL in the better ear were included.

Results:
The degree of HL was associated with HA and CI use and participation in extended audiological rehabilitation. The patients with at least a college degree were more likely to use bilateral HAs, have a CI and participate in audiological rehabilitation, compared with those with elementary school education. The sex distribution was evenly divided, but the men indicated a lower level of participation in extended audiological rehabilitation. No significant associations where found for sex and HA or CI use.

Conclusion:
The degree of HL was the strongest factor associated with the use of HAs, CI and extended audiological rehabilitation among the patients.
Competing controllers and agreement potential
Authors: Chumakina Marina , Bond Oliver 
Published: October 2016

AbstractArchi presents a number of challenging problems for syntactic theory as a result of the (semi-)predictable non-uniformity within the agreement system. An adequate model must account for the behaviour of atypical controllers of agreement, such as coordinated noun phrases and other controllers capable of triggering semantic (rather than syntactic) agreement. Additional challenges are introduced by biabsolutive constructions in which there is more than one possible absolutive candidate as the controller for agreement. In such cases different agreement targets within an apparently monoclausal structure may be controlled by absolutive arguments with different grammatical functions. Variability is also encountered by virtue of differences in the agreement potential of items within a lexical class. This poses a particular problem for theories of syntax which assume that the agreement potential of lexical items is determined by their position in syntactic structure rather than lexically or morphologically determined properties of the word form.
Prosodic characteristics of Reference French
Authors: Astésano Corine 
Published: October 2016

AbstractAfter a brief overview of the phonological and physical parameters of prosody and its main functions in language, this chapter presents the French prosodic system and its specificities with regard to other languages. The French accentuation system, phonetic characteristics of accentuation, and prosodic phrasing are presented in a metrical-descriptive framework, with explicit reference to the tight relationship between accentuation and constituency. This chapter also addresses the issue of the phonological status of accentuation in French. Phonostylistic prosodic variation is discussed with reference to the PFC corpus and the chapter provides the reader with a simple technique to perceptually locate independent, relevant prosodic cues in the corpus. The chapter concludes that comparing laboratory speech models with more spontaneous speech styles is a necessary step to refining those prosodic primitives and applying speech technologies, such as tools for automatic detection of prosodic events, to large corpora.