bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Estrogen-Related Factors in the Frontal Lobe of Alzheimer’s Disease Patients and Importance of Body Mass Index
Authors: Honma Naoko , Saji Shigehira , Mikami Tetuo , Yoshimura Noriko , Mori Seijiro , Saito Yuko , Murayama Shigeo , Harada Nobuhiro 
Published: April 2017

AbstractEstrogens play a physiologically important role in the brain, but controversies exist regarding the association between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and estrogens. Estrogen-related factors were comprehensively examined in frontal lobe tissues from autopsied AD patients, and compared with controls. Concentrations of estrogens, expression of estrogen receptors (ERs), and estrogen-metabolizing enzymes (EMEs) which are important for determining the peripheral estrogen concentrations, were examined using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, immunohistochemistry, and quantitative real-time PCR, respectively. Body mass index (BMI), known to correlate with the serum estrogen concentrations, was also taken into consideration. There were no significant differences in estrogen concentrations or each EME level between the two groups in both the cortex and white matter, whereas glial nuclear ER-β expression was significantly lower in white matter from the AD group than the control group (Allred score, 3.2 ± 0.3 and 6.5 ± 0.3, respectively. P < 0.0001). Estrogen concentrations were found to closely correlate with BMI, particularly in controls. ER-β loss in the white matter from the AD group suggests the necessity of studying the effects of estrogens on glias as well as neurons in the etiology of AD. The correlation between BMI and estrogen concentrations in the frontal lobe suggests the importance of non-brain sources of estrogens.
Recombinant Slit2 Reduces Surgical Brain Injury Induced Blood Brain Barrier Disruption via Robo4 Dependent Rac1 Activation in a Rodent Model
Authors: Sherchan Prativa , Huang Lei , Akyol Onat , Reis Cesar , Tang Jiping , Zhang John H. 
Published: April 2017

AbstractBrain tissue surrounding surgical resection site can be injured inadvertently due to procedures such as incision, retractor stretch, and electrocauterization when performing neurosurgical procedures, which is termed as surgical brain injury (SBI). Blood brain barrier (BBB) disruption due to SBI can exacerbate brain edema in the post-operative period. Previous studies showed that Slit2 exhibited vascular anti-permeability effects outside the brain. However, BBB protective effects of Slit2 following SBI has not been evaluated. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether recombinant Slit2 via its receptor roundabout4 (Robo4) and the adaptor protein, Paxillin were involved in reducing BBB permeability in SBI rat model. Our results showed that endogenous Slit2 increased in the surrounding peri-resection brain tissue post-SBI, Robo4 remained unchanged and Paxillin showed a decreasing trend. Recombinant Slit2 administered 1 h before injury increased BBB junction proteins, reduced BBB permeability, and decreased neurodeficits 24 h post-SBI. Furthermore, recombinant Slit2 administration increased Rac1 activity which was reversed by Robo4 and Paxillin siRNA. Our findings suggest that recombinant Slit2 reduced SBI-induced BBB permeability, possibly by stabilizing BBB tight junction via Robo4 mediated Rac1 activation. Slit2 may be beneficial for BBB protection during elective neurosurgeries.
Genetic variants of PTPN2 are associated with lung cancer risk: a re-analysis of eight GWASs in the TRICL-ILCCO consortium
Authors: Feng Yun , Wang Yanru , Liu Hongliang , Liu Zhensheng , Mills Coleman , Han Younghun , Hung Rayjean J. , Brhane Yonathan , McLaughlin John , Brennan Paul , Bickeboeller Heike , Rosenberger Albert , Houlston Richard S. , Caporaso Neil E. , Teresa Landi Maria , Brueske Irene , Risch Angela , Ye Yuanqing , Wu Xifeng , Christiani David C. , Amos Christopher I. , Wei Qingyi 
Published: April 2017

AbstractThe T-cell protein tyrosine phosphatase (TCPTP) pathway consists of signaling events mediated by TCPTP. Mutations and genetic variants of some genes in the TCPTP pathway are associated with lung cancer risk and survival. In the present study, we first investigated associations of 5,162 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 43 genes of this TCPTP pathway with lung cancer risk by using summary data of six published genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of 12,160 cases and 16,838 controls. We identified 11 independent SNPs in eight genes after correction for multiple comparisons by a false discovery rate <0.20. Then, we performedin silicofunctional analyses for these 11 SNPs by eQTL analysis, two of which,PTPN2SNPs rs2847297 and rs2847282, were chosen as tagSNPs. We further included two additional GWAS datasets of Harvard University (984 cases and 970 controls) and deCODE (1,319 cases and 26,380 controls), and the overall effects of these two SNPs among all eight GWAS studies remained significant (OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.92–0.98, andP = 0.004 for rs2847297; OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.92–0.99, andP = 0.009 for rs2847282). In conclusion, thePTPN2rs2847297 and rs2847282 may be potential susceptible loci for lung cancer risk.
Flexible metal-semiconductor-metal device prototype on wafer-scale thick boron nitride layers grown by MOVPE
Authors: Li Xin , Jordan Matthew B. , Ayari Taha , Sundaram Suresh , El Gmili Youssef , Alam Saiful , Alam Muhbub , Patriarche Gilles , Voss Paul L. , Paul Salvestrini Jean , Ougazzaden Abdallah 
Published: April 2017

AbstractPractical boron nitride (BN) detector applications will require uniform materials over large surface area and thick BN layers. To report important progress toward these technological requirements, 1~2.5 µm-thick BN layers were grown on 2-inch sapphire substrates by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). The structural and optical properties were carefully characterized and discussed. The thick layers exhibited strong band-edge absorption near 215 nm. A highly oriented two-dimensional h-BN structure was formed at the film/sapphire interface, which permitted an effective exfoliation of the thick BN film onto other adhesive supports. And this structure resulted in a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) device prototype fabricated on BN membrane delaminating from the substrate. MSM photodiode prototype showed low dark current of 2 nA under 100 V, and 100 ± 20% photoconductivity yield for deep UV light illumination. These wafer-scale MOVPE-grown thick BN layers present great potential for the development of deep UV photodetection applications, and even for flexible (opto-) electronics in the future.
Photoacoustic imaging reveals hidden underdrawings in paintings
Authors: Tserevelakis George J. , Vrouvaki Ilianna , Siozos Panagiotis , Melessanaki Krystallia , Hatzigiannakis Kostas , Fotakis Costas , Zacharakis Giannis 
Published: April 2017

AbstractA novel, non-invasive, imaging methodology, based on the photoacoustic effect, is introduced in the context of artwork diagnostics with emphasis on the uncovering of hidden features such as underdrawings or original sketch lines in paintings. Photoacoustic microscopy, a rapidly growing imaging method widely employed in biomedical research, exploits the ultrasonic acoustic waves, generated by light from a pulsed or intensity modulated source interacting with a medium, to map the spatial distribution of absorbing components. Having over three orders of magnitude higher transmission through strongly scattering media, compared to light in the visible and near infrared, the photoacoustic signal offers substantially improved detection sensitivity and achieves excellent optical absorption contrast at high spatial resolution. Photoacoustic images, collected from miniature oil paintings on canvas, illuminated with a nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm on their reverse side, reveal clearly the presence of pencil sketch lines coated over by several paint layers, exceeding 0.5 mm in thickness. By adjusting the detection bandwidth of the optically induced ultrasonic waves, photoacoustic imaging can be used for looking into a broad variety of artefacts having diverse optical properties and geometrical profiles, such as manuscripts, glass objects, plastic modern art or even stone sculpture.
Root-mediated sex recognition in a dioecious tree
Authors: Dong Tingfa , Li Junyu , Liao Yongmei , Chen Bin J. W. , Xu Xiao 
Published: April 2017

AbstractRecent studies have demonstrated that plants can determine the identity of neighbouring roots (e.g., self and non-self, kin and non-kin), but whether they can discriminate by sex remains an open question. Here, we predict that dioecious plants can modulate their root performance in response to local root conditions related to sex. Female and malePopulus cathayanacuttings were planted in a greenhouse in root-owner (one individual without a root neighbour) or root-sharer pairs (two individuals with roots neighbouring each other) with equal amounts of nutrients and space per plant in three combinations (females–females, males–males or females–males); root morphology, biomass and allocation were investigated.P.cathayanaroot-sharers altered their root growth in same-sex but not in different-sex combinations. Females enhanced root growth and allocation but decreased root proliferation (greater diameter with reduced branching and specific root length) in the presence of a female root neighbour, while males reduced root growth but increased root morphological proliferation in contact with another male. Therefore, the effect of a neighbour of the same sex differed from that of a neighbour of the opposite sex, which suggests that these plants can recognize the sexual identity of their neighbours.
Effects of sintering temperature on surface morphology/microstructure, in vitro degradability, mineralization and osteoblast response to magnesium phosphate as biomedical material
Authors: Wang Zhiwei , Ma Yuhai , Wei Jie , Chen Xiao , Cao Liehu , Weng Weizong , Li Quan , Guo Han , Su Jiacan 
Published: April 2017

AbstractMagnesium phosphate (MP) was fabricated using a chemical precipitation method, and the biological performances of MP sintered at different temperatures as a biomedical material was investigated. The results indicated that the densification and crystallinity of MP increased as the sintering temperature increased. As the sintering temperature increased, the degradability of MP in PBS decreased, and the mineralization ability in SBF significantly increased. In addition, the MP sintered at 800 °C (MP8) possessed the lowest degradability and highest mineralization ability. Moreover, the positive response of MG63 cells to MP significantly increased as the sintering temperature increased, and MP8 significantly promoted the cell spreading, proliferation, differentiation and expressions of osteogenic differentiation-related genes. Faster degradation of MP0 resulted in higher pH environments and ion concentrations, which led to negative responses to osteoblasts. However, the appropriate degradation of MP8 resulted in suitable pH environments and ion concentrations, which led to positive responses to osteoblasts. This study demonstrated that the sintering temperature substantially affected the surface morphology/microstructure, degradability and mineralization, and osteoblasts response to magnesium phosphate.
Water-carbon dioxide solid phase equilibria at pressures above 4 GPa
Authors: Abramson E. H. , Bollengier O. , Brown J. M. 
Published: April 2017

AbstractA solid phase in the mixed water-carbon dioxide system, previously identified as carbonic acid, was observed in the high-pressure diamond-anvil cell. The pressure-temperature paths of both its melting and peritectic curves were measured, beginning at 4.4 GPa and 165 °C (where it exists in a quadruple equilibrium, together with an aqueous fluid and the ices H2O(VII) and CO2(I)) and proceeding to higher pressures and temperatures. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed a triclinic crystal with unit cell parameters (at 6.5 GPa and 20 °C) of a = 5.88 Å, b = 6.59 Å, c = 6.99 Å, α = 88.7°, β = 79.7°, and γ = 67.7°. Raman spectra exhibit a major line at ~1080 cm−1 and lattice modes below 300 cm−1.
Biochemistry of malaria parasite infected red blood cells by X-ray microscopy
Authors: Kapishnikov S. , Leiserowitz L. , Yang Y. , Cloetens P. , Pereiro E. , Awamu Ndonglack F. , Matuschewski K. , Als-Nielsen J. 
Published: April 2017

AbstractRed blood cells infected by the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum are correlatively imaged by tomography using soft X-rays as well as by scanning hard nano-X-ray beam to obtain fluorescence maps of various elements such as S and Fe. In this way one can deduce the amount of Fe bound either in hemoglobin or in hemozoin crystals in the digestive vacuole of the malaria parasite as well as determine the hemoglobin concentrations in the cytosols of the red blood cell and of the parasite. Fluorescence map of K shows that in the parasite’s schizont stage the K concentration in the red blood cell cytosol is diminished by a factor of seven relative to a pristine red blood cell but the total amount of K in the infected red blood cell is the same as in the pristine red blood cell.
Effects of root spatial distribution on the elastic-plastic properties of soil-root blocks
Authors: Li Yunpeng , Wang Yunqi , Wang Yujie , Ma Chao 
Published: April 2017

AbstractPlant roots significantly influence soil properties, especially in soil beyond the limited area surrounding the main root stem. Some bias results may be generated if plastic properties of soil are merely used in evaluating slope stability without considering the effects of plant roots. In this research, effects of root spatial distribution on the elastic-plastic characteristics of soil-root blocks were examined. Triaxial tests and the Duncan-Chang model were used to analyze the correlation between root spatial characteristics and soil elastic-plastic properties. Safety factors of vegetated slopes were calculated to investigate the effect of roots on slope stability. The limit stress of remoulded soil was 103.52% to 231.61% greater than undisturbed soil in shallow soil layers. Increased root quantity led to an increased the failure ratio of soil bulk and the initial tangent modulus increased with root diameter. When calculating the safety factor of vegetated slopes, soil indexes for soil beyond the small cylinder surrounding the main stem should be properly considered to avoid safety factor overestimation.
A universal primer-independent next-generation sequencing approach for investigations of norovirus outbreaks and novel variants
Authors: Fonager Jannik , Stegger Marc , Rasmussen Lasse Dam , Poulsen Mille Weismann , Rønn Jesper , Andersen Paal Skytt , Fischer Thea Kølsen 
Published: April 2017

AbstractNorovirus (NoV) is the most common cause of non-bacterial gastroenteritis and is a major agent associated with outbreaks of gastroenteritis. Conventional molecular genotyping analysis of NoV, used for the identification of transmission routes, relies on standard typing methods (STM) by Sanger-sequencing of only a limited part of the NoV genome, which could lead to wrong conclusions. Here, we combined a NoV capture method with next generation sequencing (NGS), which increased the proportion of norovirus reads by ~40 fold compared to NGS without prior capture. Of 15 NoV samples from 6 single-genotype outbreaks, near full-genome coverage (>90%) was obtained from 9 samples. Fourteen polymerase (RdRp) and 15 capsid (cap) genotypes were identified compared to 12 and 13 for the STM, respectively. Analysis of 9 samples from two mixed-genotype outbreaks identified 6 RdRp and 6 cap genotypes (two at >90% NoV genome coverage) compared to 4 and 2 for the STM, respectively. Furthermore, complete or partial sequences from the P2 hypervariable region were obtained from 7 of 8 outbreaks and a new NoV recombinant was identified. This approach could therefore strengthen outbreak investigations and could be applied to other important viruses in stool samples such as hepatitis A and enterovirus.
The Neuromuscular Origins of Kinematic Variability during Perturbed Walking
Authors: Stokes Heather E. , Thompson Jessica D. , Franz Jason R. 
Published: April 2017

AbstractWe investigated the neuromuscular contributions to kinematic variability and thus step to step adjustments in posture and foot placement across a range of walking speeds in response to optical flow perturbations of different amplitudes using a custom virtual environment. We found that perturbations significantly increased step width, decreased step length, and elicited larger trunk sway compared to normal walking. However, perturbation-induced effects on the corresponding variabilities of these measurements were much more profound. Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that: (1) perturbations increased EMG activity of the gluteus medius and postural control muscles during leg swing, and increased antagonist leg muscle coactivation during limb loading in early stance, and (2) changes in the magnitude of step to step adjustments in postural sway and lateral foot placement positively correlated with those of postural control and gluteus medius muscle activities, respectively, in response to perturbations. However, (3) interactions between walking speed and susceptibility to perturbations, when present, were more complex than anticipated. Our study provides important mechanistic neuromuscular insight into walking balance control and important reference values for the emergence of balance impairment.
Imaging the dynamics of cardiac fiber orientation in vivo using 3D Ultrasound Backscatter Tensor Imaging
Authors: Papadacci Clement , Finel Victor , Provost Jean , Villemain Olivier , Bruneval Patrick , Gennisson Jean-Luc , Tanter Mickael , Fink Mathias , Pernot Mathieu 
Published: April 2017

AbstractThe assessment of myocardial fiber disarray is of major interest for the study of the progression of myocardial disease. However, time-resolved imaging of the myocardial structure remains unavailable in clinical practice. In this study, we introduce 3D Backscatter Tensor Imaging (3D-BTI), an entirely novel ultrasound-based imaging technique that can map the myocardial fibers orientation and its dynamics with a temporal resolution of 10 ms during a single cardiac cycle, non-invasively and in vivo in entire volumes. 3D-BTI is based on ultrafast volumetric ultrasound acquisitions, which are used to quantify the spatial coherence of backscattered echoes at each point of the volume. The capability of 3D-BTI to map the fibers orientation was evaluated in vitro in 5 myocardial samples. The helicoidal transmural variation of fiber angles was in good agreement with the one obtained by histological analysis. 3D-BTI was then performed to map the fiber orientation dynamics in vivo in the beating heart of an open-chest sheep at a volume rate of 90 volumes/s. Finally, the clinical feasibility of 3D-BTI was shown on a healthy volunteer. These initial results indicate that 3D-BTI could become a fully non-invasive technique to assess myocardial disarray at the bedside of patients.
PID1 increases chemotherapy-induced apoptosis in medulloblastoma and glioblastoma cells in a manner that involves NFκB
Authors: Xu Jingying , Ren Xiuhai , Pathania Anup Singh , Fernandez G. Esteban , Tran Anthony , Zhang Yifu , Moats Rex A. , Shackleford Gregory M. , Erdreich-Epstein Anat 
Published: April 2017

AbstractPhosphotyrosine Interaction Domain containing 1 (PID1; NYGGF4) inhibits growth of medulloblastoma, glioblastoma and atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor cell lines. PID1 tumor mRNA levels are highly correlated with longer survival in medulloblastoma and glioma patients, suggesting their tumors may have been more sensitive to therapy. We hypothesized that PID1 sensitizes brain tumors to therapy. We found that PID1 increased the apoptosis induced by cisplatin and etoposide in medulloblastoma and glioblastoma cell lines. PID1 siRNA diminished cisplatin-induced apoptosis, suggesting that PID1 is required for cisplatin-induced apoptosis. Etoposide and cisplatin increased NFκB promoter reporter activity and etoposide induced nuclear translocation of NFκB. Etoposide also increased PID1 promoter reporter activity, PID1 mRNA, and PID1 protein, which were diminished by NFκB inhibitors JSH-23 and Bay117082. However, while cisplatin increased PID1 mRNA, it decreased PID1 protein. This decrease in PID1 protein was mitigated by the proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, suggesting that cisplatin induced proteasome dependent degradation of PID1. These data demonstrate for the first time that etoposide- and cisplatin-induced apoptosis in medulloblastoma and glioblastoma cell lines is mediated in part by PID1, involves NFκB, and may be regulated by proteasomal degradation. This suggests that PID1 may contribute to responsiveness to chemotherapy.
Complexity analysis of fNIRS signals in ADHD children during working memory task
Authors: Gu Yue , Miao Shuo , Han Junxia , Zeng Ke , Ouyang Gaoxiang , Yang Jian , Li Xiaoli 
Published: April 2017

AbstractAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder in children. Neuroimaging studies have revealed abnormalities of neural activities in some brain regions, including the frontal cortex, striatum, cerebellum, and occipital cortex. Recently, some investigators have demonstrated that nonlinear complexity analysis of neural activity may provide a new index to indicate ADHD. In the present study, we used the permutation entropy (PE) to measure the complexity of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals in children with and without ADHD during a working memory task, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between the PE values and the cortical activations, and the different PE values between the children with and without ADHD. We found that PE values exhibited significantly negative correlation with the cortical activations (r = −0.515, p = 0.003), and the PE values of right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in ADHD children were significantly larger than those in normal controls (p = 0.027). In addition, the PE values of right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were positively correlated to the ADHD index (r = 0.448, p = 0.012). These results suggest that complexity analysis of fNIRS signals could be a promising tool in diagnosing children with ADHD.
Imaging atherosclerosis in rheumatoid arthritis: evidence for increased prevalence, altered phenotype and a link between systemic and localised plaque inflammation
Authors: Skeoch S. , Cristinacce P. L. Hubbard , Williams H. , Pemberton P. , Xu D. , Sun J. , James J. , Yuan C. , Hatsukami T. , Hockings P. D. , Alexander M. Y. , Waterton J. C. , Bruce I. N. 
Published: April 2017

AbstractIn rheumatoid arthritis (RA), chronic inflammation is thought to drive increased cardiovascular risk through accelerated atherosclerosis. It may also lead to a more high-risk plaque phenotype. We sought to investigate carotid plaque phenotype in RA patients using Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) and Fludeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography(FDG-PET). In this pilot study, RA patients and age/sex-matched controls were evaluated for cardiovascular risk factors and carotid plaque on ultrasound. Subjects with plaque >2 mm thick underwent DCE-MRI, and a subgroup of patients had FDG-PET. Comparison of MRI findings between groups and correlation between clinical, serological markers and imaging findings was undertaken. 130 patients and 62 controls were recruited. Plaque was more prevalent in the RA group (53.1% vs 37.0%, p = 0.038) and was independently associated with IL6 levels (HR[95%CI]: 2.03 [1.26, 3.26] per quartile). DCE-MRI data were available in 15 patients and 5 controls. Higher prevalence of plaque calcification was noted in RA, despite similar plaque size (73.3% vs 20%, p = 0.04). FDG-PET detected plaque inflammation in 12/13 patients scanned and degree of inflammation correlated with hs-CRP (r = 0.58, p = 0.04). This study confirms increased prevalence of atherosclerosis in RA and provides data to support the hypothesis that patients have a high-risk plaque phenotype.