bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Neophilia and Old Master paintings: changes in consumer choice and the evolution of art auctions in the eighteenth century
Authors: BLONDÉ BRUNO , LYNA DRIES 
Published: December 2016

abstractOver the course of the eighteenth century the Austrian Netherlands witnessed the emergence of specialised art auctions. In this article we argue that both the evolution of the auctions and of the prices paid for works of art at the auctions can only be understood as a response to changes in consumer culture during the eighteenth century. Although auctions rapidly gained in importance as a commercial arena through which Old Masters could be resold in Antwerp and Brussels, the prices paid for art saw only modest movement during the 1700s, but then collapsed at the end of the century. By analysing both how local demand for art in Austrian Netherlands failed to absorb the abundant supply of paintings during this period, and how this created a flourishing export market, the study reported here maps the mechanisms that ensured the – often permanent – movement of Flanders’ artistic legacy to collections and museums abroad.
The Legal Ethical Backbone of Conscientious Refusal
Authors: MUNTHE CHRISTIAN , NIELSEN MORTEN EBBE JUUL 
Published: December 2016

Abstract:This article analyzes the idea of a legal right to conscientious refusal for healthcare professionals from a basic legal ethical standpoint, using refusal to perform tasks related to legal abortion (in cases of voluntary employment) as a case in point. The idea of a legal right to conscientious refusal is distinguished from ideas regarding moral rights or reasons related to conscientious refusal, and none of the latter are found to support the notion of a legal right. Reasons for allowing some sort of room for conscientious refusal for healthcare professionals based on the importance of cultural identity and the fostering of a critical atmosphere might provide some support, if no countervailing factors apply. One such factor is that a legal right to healthcare professionals’ conscientious refusal must comply with basic legal ethical tenets regarding the rule of law and equal treatment, and this requirement is found to create serious problems for those wishing to defend the idea under consideration. We conclude that the notion of a legal right to conscientious refusal for any profession is either fundamentally incompatible with elementary legal ethical requirements, or implausible because it undermines the functioning of a related professional sector (healthcare) or even of society as a whole.
Second malignancies in the context of lenalidomide treatment: an analysis of 2732 myeloma patients enrolled to the Myeloma XI trial
Authors: Jones J R , Cairns D A , Gregory W M , Collett C , Pawlyn C , Sigsworth R , Striha A , Henderson R , Kaiser M F , Jenner M , Cook G , Russell N H , Williams C , Pratt G , Kishore B , Lindsay J , Drayson M T , Davies F E , Boyd K D , Owen R G , Jackson G H , Morgan G J ,   on behalf of the NCRI Haemato-Oncology CSG
Published: December 2016

AbstractWe have carried out the largest randomised trial to date of newly diagnosed myeloma patients, in which lenalidomide has been used as an induction and maintenance treatment option and here report its impact on second primary malignancy (SPM) incidence and pathology. After review, 104 SPMs were confirmed in 96 of 2732 trial patients. The cumulative incidence of SPM was 0.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.4–1.0%), 2.3% (95% CI 1.6–2.7%) and 3.8% (95% CI 2.9–4.6%) at 1, 2 and 3 years, respectively. Patients receiving maintenance lenalidomide had a significantly higher SPM incidence overall (P=0.011). Age is a risk factor with the highest SPM incidence observed in transplant non-eligible patients aged >74 years receiving lenalidomide maintenance. The 3-year cumulative incidence in this group was 17.3% (95% CI 8.2–26.4%), compared with 6.5% (95% CI 0.2–12.9%) in observation only patients (P=0.049). There was a low overall incidence of haematological SPM (0.5%). The higher SPM incidence in patients receiving lenalidomide maintenance therapy, especially in advanced age, warrants ongoing monitoring although the benefit on survival is likely to outweigh risk.
Use of plankton-derived vitamin B1 precursors, especially thiazole-related precursor, by key marine picoeukaryotic phytoplankton
Authors: Paerl Ryan W , Bouget Francois-Yves , Lozano Jean-Claude , Vergé Valérie , Schatt Philippe , Allen Eric E , Palenik Brian , Azam Farooq 
Published: December 2016

Abstract
Several cosmopolitan marine picoeukaryotic phytoplankton are B1 auxotrophs requiring exogenous vitamin B1 or precursor to survive. From genomic evidence, representatives of picoeukaryotic phytoplankton (Ostreococcus and Micromonas spp.) were predicted to use known thiazole and pyrimidine B1 precursors to meet their B1 demands, however, recent culture-based experiments could not confirm this assumption. We hypothesized these phytoplankton strains could grow on precursors alone, but required a thiazole-related precursor other the well-known and extensively tested 4-methyl-5-thiazoleethanol. This hypothesis was tested using bioassays and co-cultures of picoeukaryotic phytoplankton and bacteria. We found that specific B1-synthesizing proteobacteria and phytoplankton are sources of a yet-to-be chemically identified thiazole-related precursor(s) that, along with pyrimidine B1 precursor 4-amino-5-hydroxymethyl-2-methylpyrimidine, can support growth of Ostreococcus spp. (also Micromonas spp.) without B1. We additionally found that the B1-synthesizing plankton do not require contact with picoeukaryotic phytoplankton cells to produce thiazole-related precursor(s). Experiments with wild-type and genetically engineered Ostreococcus lines revealed that the thiazole kinase, ThiM, is required for growth on precursors, and that thiazole-related precursor(s) accumulate to appreciable levels in the euphotic ocean. Overall, our results point to thiazole-related B1 precursors as important micronutrients promoting the survival of abundant phytoplankton influencing surface ocean production and biogeochemical cycling.
Functional and structural characterization of a novel putative cysteine protease cell wall-modifying multi-domain enzyme selected from a microbial metagenome
Authors: Faheem Muhammad , Martins-de-Sa Diogo , Vidal Julia F. D. , Álvares Alice C. M. , Brandão-Neto José , Bird Louise E. , Tully Mark D. , von Delft Frank , Souto Betulia M. , Quirino Betania F. , Freitas Sonia M. , Barbosa João Alexandre R. G. 
Published: December 2016

AbstractA current metagenomics focus is to interpret and transform collected genomic data into biological information. By combining structural, functional and genomic data we have assessed a novel bacterial protein selected from a carbohydrate-related activity screen in a microbial metagenomic library from Capra hircus (domestic goat) gut. This uncharacterized protein was predicted as a bacterial cell wall-modifying enzyme (CWME) and shown to contain four domains: an N-terminal, a cysteine protease, a peptidoglycan-binding and an SH3 bacterial domain. We successfully cloned, expressed and purified this putative cysteine protease (PCP), which presented autoproteolytic activity and inhibition by protease inhibitors. We observed cell wall hydrolytic activity and ampicillin binding capacity, a characteristic of most bacterial CWME. Fluorimetric binding analysis yielded a Kb of 1.8 × 105 M−1 for ampicillin. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) showed a maximum particle dimension of 95 Å with a real-space Rg of 28.35 Å. The elongated molecular envelope corroborates the dynamic light scattering (DLS) estimated size. Furthermore, homology modeling and SAXS allowed the construction of a model that explains the stability and secondary structural changes observed by circular dichroism (CD). In short, we report a novel cell wall-modifying autoproteolytic PCP with insight into its biochemical, biophysical and structural features.
Structural Analysis of Glycine Sarcosine N-methyltransferase from Methanohalophilus portucalensis Reveals Mechanistic Insights into the Regulation of Methyltransferase Activity
Authors: Lee Yi-Ru , Lin Te-Sheng , Lai Shu-Jung , Liu Mu-Sen , Lai Mei-Chin , Chan Nei-Li 
Published: December 2016

AbstractMethyltransferases play crucial roles in many cellular processes, and various regulatory mechanisms have evolved to control their activities. For methyltransferases involved in biosynthetic pathways, regulation via feedback inhibition is a commonly employed strategy to prevent excessive accumulation of the pathways’ end products. To date, no biosynthetic methyltransferases have been characterized by X-ray crystallography in complex with their corresponding end product. Here, we report the crystal structures of the glycine sarcosine N-methyltransferase from the halophilic archaeon Methanohalophilus portucalensis (MpGSMT), which represents the first structural elucidation of the GSMT methyltransferase family. As the first enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of the osmoprotectant betaine, MpGSMT catalyzes N-methylation of glycine and sarcosine, and its activity is feedback-inhibited by the end product betaine. A structural analysis revealed that, despite the simultaneous presence of both substrate (sarcosine) and cofactor (S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine; SAH), the enzyme was likely crystallized in an inactive conformation, as additional structural changes are required to complete the active site assembly. Consistent with this interpretation, the bound SAH can be replaced by the methyl donor S-adenosyl-L-methionine without triggering the methylation reaction. Furthermore, the observed conformational state was found to harbor a betaine-binding site, suggesting that betaine may inhibit MpGSMT activity by trapping the enzyme in an inactive form. This work implicates a structural basis by which feedback inhibition of biosynthetic methyltransferases may be achieved.
Reevaluation of Performance of Electric Double-layer Capacitors from Constant-current Charge/Discharge and Cyclic Voltammetry
Authors: Allagui Anis , Freeborn Todd J. , Elwakil Ahmed S. , Maundy Brent J. 
Published: December 2016

AbstractThe electric characteristics of electric-double layer capacitors (EDLCs) are determined by their capacitance which is usually measured in the time domain from constant-current charging/discharging and cyclic voltammetry tests, and from the frequency domain using nonlinear least-squares fitting of spectral impedance. The time-voltage and current-voltage profiles from the first two techniques are commonly treated by assuming ideal SsC behavior in spite of the nonlinear response of the device, which in turn provides inaccurate values for its characteristic metrics. In this paper we revisit the calculation of capacitance, power and energy of EDLCs from the time domain constant-current step response and linear voltage waveform, under the assumption that the device behaves as an equivalent fractional-order circuit consisting of a resistance Rs in series with a constant phase element (CPE(Q, α), with Q being a pseudocapacitance and α a dispersion coefficient). In particular, we show with the derived (Rs, Q, α)-based expressions, that the corresponding nonlinear effects in voltage-time and current-voltage can be encompassed through nonlinear terms function of the coefficient α, which is not possible with the classical RsC model. We validate our formulae with the experimental measurements of different EDLCs.
Quantitative analysis of nonadiabatic effects in dense H3S and PH3 superconductors
Authors: Durajski Artur P. 
Published: December 2016

AbstractThe comparison study of high pressure superconducting state of recently synthesized H3S and PH3 compounds are conducted within the framework of the strong-coupling theory. By generalization of the standard Eliashberg equations to include the lowest-order vertex correction, we have investigated the influence of the nonadiabatic effects on the Coulomb pseudopotential, electron effective mass, energy gap function and on the 2Δ(0)/TC ratio. We found that, for a fixed value of critical temperature (178 K for H3S and 81 K for PH3), the nonadiabatic corrections reduce the Coulomb pseudopotential for H3S from 0.204 to 0.185 and for PH3 from 0.088 to 0.083, however, the electron effective mass and ratio 2Δ(0)/TC remain unaffected. Independently of the assumed method of analysis, the thermodynamic parameters of superconducting H3S and PH3 strongly deviate from the prediction of BCS theory due to the strong-coupling and retardation effects.
Plant-derived cis-β-ocimene as a precursor for biocompatible, transparent, thermally-stable dielectric and encapsulating layers for organic electronics
Authors: Bazaka Kateryna , Destefani Ryan , Jacob Mohan V. 
Published: December 2016

AbstractThis article presents low-temperature, one-step dry synthesis of optically transparent thermally-stable, biocompatible cis−β−ocimene-based thin films for applications as interlayer dielectric and encapsulating layer for flexible electronic devices, e.g. OLEDs. Morphological analysis of thin films shows uniform, very smooth (Rq < 1 nm) and defect-free moderately hydrophilic surfaces. The films are optically transparent, with a refractive index of ~1.58 at 600 nm, an optical band gap of ~2.85 eV, and dielectric constant of 3.5−3.6 at 1 kHz. Upon heating, thin films are chemically and optically stable up to at least 200 °C, where thermal stability increases for films manufactured at higher RF power as well as for films deposited away from the plasma glow. Heating of the sample increases the dielectric constant, from 3.7 (25 °C) to 4.7 (120 °C) at 1 kHz for polymer fabricated at 25 W. Polymers are biocompatible with non-adherent THP–1 cells and adherent mouse macrophage cells, including LPS-stimulated macrophages, and maintain their material properties after 48 h of immersion into simulated body fluid. The versatile nature of the films fabricated in this study may be exploited in next-generation consumer electronics and energy technologies.
Contributions of rational soil tillage to compaction stress in main peanut producing areas of China
Authors: Shen Pu , Wu Zhengfeng , Wang Chunxiao , Luo Sheng , Zheng Yongmei , Yu Tianyi , Sun Xuewu , Sun Xiushan , Wang Caibin , He Xinhua 
Published: December 2016

AbstractTillage intensities largely affect soil compaction dynamics in agro-ecosystems. However, the contribution of tillage intensities on compaction changes in underground peanut (Arachis hypogaea) fields has not been quantified. We thus aimed to better understand the role of soil tillage intensities in mitigation of compaction stress for peanuts. Using three field tillage experiments in major Chinese peanut producing areas, we quantified the effects of (1) no tillage, (2) shallow (20 cm) plowing, (3) deep (30 cm) plowing and (4) deep (30 cm) loosening on changes in soil bulk density at 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm and 20–30 cm depths, roots and pods growth, and nutrient accumulation. Results showed that tillage management effectively mitigated soil compaction stress for peanut growth and production. Greater beneficial improvement for the underground growth of roots and pods, and N accumulation ranked as deep plowing > shallow plowing and deep loosening. Respective increases of 7.5% and 4.6% in root biomass productions and peanut yields were obtained when soil bulk density was decreased by 0.1 g cm−3. Our results suggest that the mitigation of soil compaction stress by deep plowing could be a key tillage strategy for increasing peanut yields in the field.
Aldosterone induces rapid sodium intake by a nongenomic mechanism in the nucleus tractus solitarius
Authors: Qiao Hu , Hu Bo , Zhou Hong , Yan Jianqun , Jia Ru , Lu Bo , Sun Bo , Luo Xiao , Fan Yuanyuan , Wang Nan 
Published: December 2016

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to determine whether aldosterone has a rapid action in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) that increases sodium intake, and to examine whether this effect of aldosterone, if present, is mediated by G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER). Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats with a stainless-steel cannula in the NTS were used. Aldosterone was injected into the NTS at the doses of 1, 5, 10 and 20 ng 0.1 μl−1. A rapid dose-related increase of 0.3 M NaCl intake was induced within 30 min and this increase was not suppressed by the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonist spironolactone (10 ng 0.1 μl−1). Water intake was not affected by aldosterone. The GPER agonist G-1 produced a parallel and significant increase in sodium intake, while pre-treatment with GPER antagonist G15 (10 ng 0.1 μl−1) blocked the G-1 or aldosterone-induced rapid sodium intake. In addition, sodium intake induced by sodium depletion or low-sodium diet fell within 30 min after injection into the NTS of the MR antagonist spironolactone, while G15 had no effect. Our results confirm previous reports, and support the hypothesis that aldosterone evokes rapid sodium intake through a non-genomic mechanism involving GPER in NTS.
Set anode potentials affect the electron fluxes and microbial community structure in propionate-fed microbial electrolysis cells
Authors: Hari Ananda Rao , Katuri Krishna P. , Logan Bruce E. , Saikaly Pascal E. 
Published: December 2016

AbstractAnode potential has been shown to be a critical factor in the rate of acetate removal in microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), but studies with fermentable substrates and set potentials are lacking. Here, we examined the impact of three different set anode potentials (SAPs; −0.25, 0, and 0.25 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode) on the electrochemical performance, electron flux to various sinks, and anodic microbial community structure in two-chambered MECs fed with propionate. Electrical current (49–71%) and CH4 (22.9–41%) were the largest electron sinks regardless of the potentials tested. Among the three SAPs tested, 0 V showed the highest electron flux to electrical current (71 ± 5%) and the lowest flux to CH4 (22.9 ± 1.2%). In contrast, the SAP of −0.25 V had the lowest electron flux to current (49 ± 6%) and the highest flux to CH4 (41.1 ± 2%). The most dominant genera detected on the anode of all three SAPs based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing were Geobacter, Smithella and Syntrophobacter, but their relative abundance varied among the tested SAPs. Microbial community analysis implies that complete degradation of propionate in all the tested SAPs was facilitated by syntrophic interactions between fermenters and Geobacter at the anode and ferementers and hydrogenotrophic methanogens in suspension.
TREM-2 promotes acquired cholesteatoma-induced bone destruction by modulating TLR4 signaling pathway and osteoclasts activation
Authors: Jiang Huaili , Si Yu , Li Zhuohao , Huang Xi , Chen Suijun , Zheng Yiqing , Xu Guo , Chen Ximing , Chen Yubin , Liu Yi , Xiong Hao , Huang Qiuhong , Liang Maojin , Zhang Zhigang 
Published: December 2016

AbstractTriggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM) has been broadly studied in inflammatory disease. However, the expression and function of TREM-2 remain undiscovered in acquired cholesteatoma. The expression of TREM-2 was significantly higher in human acquired cholesteatoma than in normal skin from the external auditory canal, and its expression level was positively correlated with the severity of bone destruction. Furthermore, TREM-2 was mainly expressed on dendritic cells (DCs). In human acquired cholesteatoma, the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2, MMP-8 and MMP-9) were up-regulated, and their expression levels were positively correlated with TREM-2 expression. Osteoclasts were activated in human acquired cholesteatoma. In an animal model, TREM-2 was up-regulated in mice with experimentally acquired cholesteatoma. TREM-2 deficiency impaired the maturation of experimentally acquired cholesteatoma and protected against bone destruction induced by experimentally acquired cholesteatoma. Additional data showed that TREM-2 up-regulated IL-1β and IL-6 expression via TLR4 instead of the TLR2 signaling pathway and promoted MMP-2 and MMP-8 secretion and osteoclast activation in experimentally acquired cholesteatoma. Therefore, TREM-2 might enhance acquired cholesteatoma-induced bone destruction by amplifying the inflammatory response via TLR4 signaling pathways and promoting MMP secretion and osteoclast activation.
High-speed swept source optical coherence Doppler tomography for deep brain microvascular imaging
Authors: Chen Wei , You Jiang , Gu Xiaochun , Du Congwu , Pan Yingtian 
Published: December 2016

AbstractNoninvasive microvascular imaging using optical coherence Doppler tomography (ODT) has shown great promise in brain studies; however, high-speed microcirculatory imaging in deep brain remains an open quest. A high-speed 1.3 μm swept-source ODT (SS-ODT) system is reported which was based on a 200 kHz vertical-cavity-surface-emitting laser. Phase errors induced by sweep-trigger desynchronization were effectively reduced by spectral phase encoding and instantaneous correlation among the A-scans. Phantom studies have revealed a significant reduction in phase noise, thus an enhancement of minimally detectable flow down to 268.2 μm/s. Further in vivo validation was performed, in which 3D cerebral-blood-flow (CBF) networks in mouse brain over a large field-of-view (FOV: 8.5 × 5 × 3.2 mm3) was scanned through thinned skull. Results showed that fast flows up to 3 cm/s in pial vessels and minute flows down to 0.3 mm/s in arterioles or venules were readily detectable at depths down to 3.2 mm. Moreover, the dynamic changes of the CBF networks elicited by acute cocaine such as heterogeneous responses in various vessel compartments and at different cortical layers as well as transient ischemic events were tracked, suggesting the potential of SS-ODT for brain functional imaging that requires high flow sensitivity and dynamic range, fast frame rate and a large FOV to cover different brain regions.
Urban-development-induced Changes in the Diversity and Composition of the Soil Bacterial Community in Beijing
Authors: Yan Bing , Li Junsheng , Xiao Nengwen , Qi Yue , Fu Gang , Liu Gaohui , Qiao Mengping 
Published: December 2016

AbstractNumerous studies have implicated urbanization as a major cause of loss of biodiversity. Most of them have focused on plants and animals, even though soil microorganisms make up a large proportion of that biodiversity. However, it is unclear how the soil bacterial community is affected by urban development. Here, paired-end Illumina sequencing of the 16 S rRNA gene at V4 region was performed to study the soil microbial community across Beijing’s built-up area. Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Verrucomicrobia, Planctomycetes, and Chloroflexi were the dominant phyla in all samples, but the relative abundance of these phyla differed significantly across these concentric zones. The diversity and composition of the soil bacterial community were found to be closely correlated with soil pH. Variance partitioning analysis suggested that urban ring roads contributed 5.95% of the bacterial community variation, and soil environmental factors explained 17.65% of the variation. The results of the current work indicate that urban development can alter the composition and diversity of the soil microbial community, and showed pH to be a key factor in the shaping of the composition of the soil bacterial community. Urban development did have a strong impact on the bacterial community of urban soil in Beijing.