bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Physical understanding of the tropical cyclone wind-pressure relationship
Authors: Chavas Daniel R. , Reed Kevin A. , Knaff John A. 
Published: November 2017

AbstractThe relationship between the two common measures of tropical cyclone intensity, the central pressure deficit and the peak near-surface wind speed, is a long-standing problem in tropical meteorology that has been approximated empirically yet lacks physical understanding. Here we provide theoretical grounding for this relationship. We first demonstrate that the central pressure deficit is highly predictable from the low-level wind field via gradient wind balance. We then show that this relationship reduces to a dependence on two velocity scales: the maximum azimuthal-mean azimuthal wind speed and half the product of the Coriolis parameter and outer storm size. This simple theory is found to hold across a hierarchy of models spanning reduced-complexity and Earth-like global simulations and observations. Thus, the central pressure deficit is an intensity measure that combines maximum wind speed, storm size, and background rotation rate. This work has significant implications for both fundamental understanding and risk analysis, including why the central pressure better explains historical economic damages than does maximum wind speed.
A mathematical model of the impact of insulin secretion dynamics on selective hepatic insulin resistance
Authors: Zhao Gang , Wirth Dagmar , Schmitz Ingo , Meyer-Hermann Michael 
Published: November 2017

AbstractPhysiological insulin secretion exhibits various temporal patterns, the dysregulation of which is involved in diabetes development. We analyzed the impact of first-phase and pulsatile insulin release on glucose and lipid control with various hepatic insulin signaling networks. The mathematical model suggests that atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) undergoes a bistable switch-on and switch-off, under the control of insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2). The activation of IRS1 and IRS2 is temporally separated due to the inhibition of IRS1 by aPKC. The model further shows that the timing of aPKC switch-off is delayed by reduced first-phase insulin and reduced amplitude of insulin pulses. Based on these findings, we propose a sequential model of postprandial hepatic control of glucose and lipid by insulin, according to which delayed aPKC switch-off contributes to selective hepatic insulin resistance, which is a long-standing paradox in the field.
Paradoxes in leaky microbial trade
Authors: Kallus Yoav , Miller John H. , Libby Eric 
Published: November 2017

AbstractMicrobes produce metabolic resources that are important for cell growth yet leak into the environment. Other microbes can use these resources, adjust their own metabolic production accordingly, and alter the resources available for others. We analyze a model in which metabolite concentrations, production regulation, and population frequencies coevolve in the simple case of two cell types producing two metabolites. We identify three paradoxes where changes that should intuitively benefit a cell type actually harm it. For example, a cell type can become more efficient at producing a metabolite and its relative frequency can decrease—or alternatively the total population growth rate can decrease. Another paradox occurs when a cell type manipulates its counterpart’s production so as to maximize its own instantaneous growth rate, only to achieve a lower final growth rate than had it not manipulated. These paradoxes highlight the complex and counterintuitive dynamics that emerge in simple microbial economies.
A new antagonist for CCR4 attenuates allergic lung inflammation in a mouse model of asthma
Authors: Zhang Yang , Wu Yinfang , Qi Hui , Xiao Junhai , Gong Hongwei , Zhang Yan , Xu Enquan , Li Song , Ma Dalong , Wang Ying , Li Wen , Shen Huahao 
Published: November 2017

AbstractCCR4 is highly expressed on Th2 cells. CCR4 ligands include CCL22 and CCL17. Chemokine-like factor 1 can also mediate chemotaxis via CCR4. We designed and synthetized novel CCR4 antagonists, which were piperazinyl pyridine derivatives, for disrupting the interaction between three ligands and CCR4. We also determined whether these novel CCR4 antagonists could alleviate allergic asthma in a mouse. For identifying the potent compounds invitro, we used chemotaxis inhibition and competition binding assays induced by CCL22, CCL17 and one of CKLF1’s C-terminal peptides, C27. We found compound 8a which showed excellent potency in blocking the interaction of CCR4 and its three ligands. For studying the specificity of compounds, we chose chemotaxis inhibition assays with different receptors and ligands. We found compound 8a had excellent receptor specificity and exerted few influence on the interaction of other receptors and their ligands. In the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, compound 8a had no obvious cytotoxicity till the higher concentration (16 μM). For determining the potency of compounds in blocking the interaction of CCR4 invivo, we used the ovalbumin induced allergic asthma model in mice. Our study demonstrated that CCR4 blockaded by compound 8a effectively attenuated airway hyperresponsiveness, airway eosinophilia and Th2 cytokines.
The study on the association between Beijing genotype family and drug susceptibility phenotypes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Beijing
Authors: Liu Yi , Jiang Xiaoying , Li Wensheng , Zhang Xuxia , Wang Wei , Li Chuanyou 
Published: November 2017

AbstractThe predominant prevalent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) lineage was the Beijing genotype family in Beijing. There has been no systematic study on the association between drug resistance and Beijing genotype. Here we collected 268 M. tb strains, analyzed the background information and the bacteriological characteristics. The mean age of the cases was 40.12 years; male patients were almost three times than female patients. After genotyping analyzation, 81.7% (219/268) strains were categorized as Beijing genotype; no significant difference was observed between Beijing and non-Beijing genotype in gender, age and treatment history. Drug susceptibility testing (DST) analyzation demonstrated that 172 (64.2%) strains were fully sensitive to all drugs (Isoniazid, Rifampin, Streptomycin, and Ethambutol), while 96 (35.8%) strains were resistant to at least one of the drugs. Beijing genotype strains exhibited a significantly higher clustering rate. However, no significant association relationship was observed between drug resistance and Beijing genotype family. The study provided insights into the genotype diversity and revealed that the frequencies of drug-resistance of Beijing genotype strains.It would be helpful for the establishment of the efficient tuberculosis (TB) prevention and control strategy in Beijing.
Cascading Failures in Interdependent Networks with Multiple Supply-Demand Links and Functionality Thresholds
Authors: Di Muro M. A. , Valdez L. D. , Aragão Rêgo H. H. , Buldyrev S. V. , Stanley H. E. , Braunstein L. A. 
Published: November 2017

AbstractVarious social, financial, biological and technological systems can be modeled by interdependent networks. It has been assumed that in order to remain functional, nodes in one network must receive the support from nodes belonging to different networks. So far these models have been limited to the case in which the failure propagates across networks only if the nodes lose all their supply nodes. In this paper we develop a more realistic model for two interdependent networks in which each node has its own supply threshold, i.e., they need the support of a minimum number of supply nodes to remain functional. In addition, we analyze different conditions of internal node failure due to disconnection from nodes within its own network. We show that several local internal failure conditions lead to similar nontrivial results. When there are no internal failures the model is equivalent to a bipartite system, which can be useful to model a financial market. We explore the rich behaviors of these models that include discontinuous and continuous phase transitions. Using the generating functions formalism, we analytically solve all the models in the limit of infinitely large networks and find an excellent agreement with the stochastic simulations.
Apolipoprotein M mediates sphingosine-1-phosphate efflux from erythrocytes
Authors: Christensen Pernille M. , Bosteen Markus H. , Hajny Stefan , Nielsen Lars B. , Christoffersen Christina 
Published: November 2017

AbstractSphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive lipid implicated in e.g. angiogenesis, lymphocyte trafficking, and endothelial barrier function. Erythrocytes are a main source of plasma S1P together with platelets and endothelial cells. Apolipoprotein M (apoM) in HDL carries 70% of plasma S1P, whereas 30% is carried by albumin. The current aim was to investigate the role of apoM in export of S1P from human erythrocytes. Erythrocytes exported S1P more efficiently to HDL than to albumin, particularly when apoM was present in HDL. In contrast, export of sphingosine to HDL was unaffected by the presence of apoM. The specific ability of apoM to promote export of S1P was independent of apoM being bound in HDL particles. Treatment with MK-571, an inhibitor of the ABCC1 transporter, effectively reduced export of S1P from human erythrocytes to apoM, whereas the export was unaffected by inhibitors of ABCB1 or ATPase. Thus, ABCC1 could be involved in export of S1P from erythrocytes to apoM.
Visible and UV photo-detection in ZnO nanostructured thin films via simple tuning of solution method
Authors: Khokhra Richa , Bharti Bandna , Lee Heung-No , Kumar Rajesh 
Published: November 2017

AbstractThis study demonstrates significant visible light photo-detection capability of pristine ZnO nanostructure thin films possessing substantially high percentage of oxygen vacancies $$({V}_{o}{\rm{s}})$$

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and zinc interstitials $$(Z{n}_{i}{\rm{s}})$$

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, introduced by simple tuning of economical solution method. The demonstrated visible light photo-detection capability, in addition to the inherent UV light detection ability of ZnO, shows great dependency of $${V}_{o}{\rm{s}}$$

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and $$Z{n}_{i}{\rm{s}}$$
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with the nanostructure morphology. The dependency was evaluated by analyzing the presence/percentage of $${V}_{o}{\rm{s}}$$

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and $$Z{n}_{i}{\rm{s}}$$
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using photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. Morphologies of ZnO viz. nanoparticles (NPs), nanosheets (NSs) and nanoflowers (NFs), as a result of tuning of synthesis method contended different concentrations of defects, demonstrated different photo-detection capabilities in the form of a thin film photodetector. The photo-detection capability was investigated under different light excitations (UV; 380~420 nm, white ; λ > 420 nm and green; 490~570 nm). The as fabricated NSs photodetector possessing comparatively intermediate percentage of $${V}_{o}{\rm{s}}$$

V

o

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~ 47.7% and $$Z{n}_{i}{\rm{s}}$$
Z

n

i

s
~ 13.8% exhibited superior performance than that of NPs and NFs photodetectors, and ever reported photodetectors fabricated by using pristine ZnO nanostructures in thin film architecture. The adopted low cost and simplest approach makes the pristine ZnO-NSs applicable for wide-wavelength applications in optoelectronic devices.
Valproic Acid Sensitizes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells to Proton Therapy by Suppressing NRF2 Activation
Authors: Yu Jeong Il , Choi Changhoon , Shin Sung-Won , Son Arang , Lee Ga-Haeng , Kim Shin-Yeong , Park Hee Chul 
Published: November 2017

AbstractAlthough efficacy of combined histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors and conventional photon radiotherapy is being tested in clinical trials, their combined effect with proton beam radiotherapy has yet to be determined. Here, we compared combined effect of valproic acid (VPA), a class I and II HDAC inhibitor and antiepileptic drug with proton and photon irradiation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells in vitro and in vivo. We found that VPA sensitized more Hep3B cells to proton than to photon irradiation. VPA prolonged proton-induced DNA damage and augmented proton-induced apoptosis. In addition, VPA further increased proton-induced production of intracellular reactive oxygen species and suppressed expression of nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (NRF2), a key transcription factor regulating antioxidant response. Downregulation of NRF2 by siRNA transfection increased proton-induced apoptotic cell death, supporting NRF2 as a target of VPA in radiosensitization. In Hep3B tumor xenograft models, VPA significantly enhanced proton-induced tumor growth delay with increased apoptosis and decreased NRF2 expression in vivo. Collectively, our study highlights a proton radiosensitizing effect of VPA in HCC cells. As NRF2 is an emerging prognostic marker contributing to radioresistance in HCC, targeting NRF2 pathway may impact clinical outcome of proton beam radiotherapy.
Prediction of Visual Field Progression in Patients with Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma, Mainly Including Normal Tension Glaucoma
Authors: Nitta Koji , Wajima Ryotaro , Tachibana Gaku , Inoue Sachie , Ohigashi Tatsuya , Otsuka Naomi , Kurashima Hiroaki , Santo Kazunori , Hashimoto Masayo , Shibahara Hidetoshi , Hirukawa Mai , Sugiyama Kazuhisa 
Published: November 2017

AbstractAn objective method to predict individual visual field progression will contribute to realise personalised medication. The purpose of this study was to establish a predictive formula for glaucomatous visual field progression in patients with Primary open-angle glaucoma, mainly including normal tension glaucoma. This study was a large-scale, longitudinal and retrospective study including 498 eyes of 312 patients visiting from June 2009 to May 2015. In this analysis, 191 eyes of 191 patients meeting all eligible criteria were used. A predictive formula to calculate the rate of glaucomatous visual field progression (mean deviation slope) was obtained through multivariate linear regression analysis by adopting “Angle of Retinal Nerve Fibre Layer Defect” at the baseline, “Vertical Cup-Disc ratio” at the baseline, “Presence or absence of Disc Haemorrhage” during the follow-up period, and “Mean IOP change (%)” during the follow-up period as predictors. Coefficient of determination of the formula was 0.20. The discriminative ability of the formula was evaluated as moderate performance using receiver operating characteristic analysis, and the area under the curve was approximately 0.75 at all cut-off values. Internal validity was confirmed by bootstrapping. The predictive formula established by this type of approach might be useful for personalised medication.
AAV-mediated transcription factor EB (TFEB) gene delivery ameliorates muscle pathology and function in the murine model of Pompe Disease
Authors: Gatto Francesca , Rossi Barbara , Tarallo Antonietta , Polishchuk Elena , Polishchuk Roman , Carrella Alessandra , Nusco Edoardo , Alvino Filomena Grazia , Iacobellis Francesca , De Leonibus Elvira , Auricchio Alberto , Diez-Roux Graciana , Ballabio Andrea , Parenti Giancarlo 
Published: November 2017

AbstractPompe disease (PD) is a metabolic myopathy due to acid alpha-glucosidase deficiency and characterized by extensive glycogen storage and impaired autophagy. We previously showed that modulation of autophagy and lysosomal exocytosis by overexpression of the transcription factor EB (TFEB) gene was effective in improving muscle pathology in PD mice injected intramuscularly with an AAV-TFEB vector. Here we have evaluated the effects of TFEB systemic delivery on muscle pathology and on functional performance, a primary measure of efficacy in a disorder like PD. We treated 1-month-old PD mice with an AAV2.9-MCK-TFEB vector. An animal cohort was analyzed at 3 months for muscle and heart pathology. A second cohort was followed at different timepoints for functional analysis. In muscles from TFEB-treated mice we observed reduced PAS staining and improved ultrastructure, with reduced number and increased translucency of lysosomes, while total glycogen content remained unchanged. We also observed statistically significant improvements in rotarod performance in treated animals compared to AAV2.9-MCK-eGFP-treated mice at 5 and 8 months. Cardiac echography showed significant reduction in left-ventricular diameters. These results show that TFEB overexpression and modulation of autophagy result in improvements of muscle pathology and of functional performance in the PD murine model, with delayed disease progression.
Action Categorization in Rhesus Monkeys: discrimination of grasping from non-grasping manual motor acts
Authors: Nelissen Koen , Vanduffel Wim 
Published: November 2017

AbstractThe ability to recognize others’ actions is an important aspect of social behavior. While neurophysiological and behavioral research in monkeys has offered a better understanding of how the primate brain processes this type of information, further insight with respect to the neural correlates of action recognition requires tasks that allow recording of brain activity or perturbing brain regions while monkeys simultaneously make behavioral judgements about certain aspects of observed actions. Here we investigated whether rhesus monkeys could actively discriminate videos showing grasping or non-grasping manual motor acts in a two-alternative categorization task. After monkeys became proficient in this task, we tested their ability to generalize to a number of untrained, novel videos depicting grasps or other manual motor acts. Monkeys generalized to a wide range of novel human or conspecific grasping and non-grasping motor acts. They failed, however, for videos showing unfamiliar actions such as a non-biological effector performing a grasp, or a human hand touching an object with the back of the hand. This study shows the feasibility of training monkeys to perform active judgements about certain aspects of observed actions, instrumental for causal investigations into the neural correlates of action recognition.
Brain activation induced by chronic psychosocial stress in mice
Authors: Laine Mikaela A , Sokolowska Ewa , Dudek Mateusz , Callan Saija-Anita , Hyytiä Petri , Hovatta Iiris 
Published: November 2017

AbstractChronic psychosocial stress is a well-established risk factor for neuropsychiatric diseases. Abnormalities in brain activity have been demonstrated in patients with stress-related disorders. Global brain activation patterns during chronic stress exposure are less well understood but may have strong modifying effects on specific brain circuits and thereby influence development of stress-related pathologies. We determined neural activation induced by chronic social defeat stress, a mouse model of psychosocial stress. To assess chronic activation with an unbiased brain-wide focus we used manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) and immunohistochemical staining of ∆FOSB, a transcription factor induced by repeated neural activity. One week after 10-day social defeat we observed significantly more activation in several brain regions known to regulate depressive and anxiety-like behaviour, including the prefrontal cortex, bed nucleus of stria terminalis, ventral hippocampus and periaqueductal grey in stressed compared to control mice. We further established that the correlation of ∆FOSB positive cells between specific brain regions was altered following chronic social defeat. Chronic activation of these neural circuits may relate to persistent brain activity changes occurring during chronic psychosocial stress exposure, with potential relevance for the development of anxiety and depression in humans.
Large area imaging of forensic evidence with MA-XRF
Authors: Langstraat Kirsten , Knijnenberg Alwin , Edelman Gerda , van de Merwe Linda , van Loon Annelies , Dik Joris , van Asten Arian 
Published: November 2017

AbstractThis study introduces the use of macroscopic X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) for the detection, classification and imaging of forensic traces over large object areas such as entire pieces of clothing and wall paneling. MA-XRF was sufficiently sensitive and selective to detect human biological traces like blood, semen, saliva, sweat and urine on fabric on the basis of Fe, Zn, K, Cl and Ca elemental signatures. With MA-XRF a new chemical contrast is introduced for human stain detection and this can provide a valuable alternative when the evidence item is challenging for conventional techniques. MA-XRF was also successfully employed for the chemical imaging and classification of gunshot residues (GSR). The full and non-invasive elemental mapping (Pb, Ba, Sr, K and Cl) of intact pieces of clothing allows for a detailed shooting incident reconstruction linking firearms and ammunition to point of impact and providing information on the shooting angle. In high resolution mode MA-XRF can even be used to provide information on the shooting order of different ammunition types. Finally, by using the surface penetration of X-rays we demonstrate that the lead signature of a bullet impact can be easily detected even if covered by multiple layers of wall paint or human blood.
Birth of an oceanic spreading center at a magma-poor rift system
Authors: Gillard Morgane , Sauter Daniel , Tugend Julie , Tomasi Simon , Epin Marie-Eva , Manatschal Gianreto 
Published: November 2017

AbstractOceanic crust is continuously created at mid-oceanic ridges and seafloor spreading represents one of the main processes of plate tectonics. However, if oceanic crust architecture, composition and formation at present-day oceanic ridges are largely described, the processes governing the birth of a spreading center remain enigmatic. Understanding the transition between inherited continental and new oceanic domains is a prerequisite to constrain one of the last major unsolved problems of plate tectonics, namely the formation of a stable divergent plate boundary. In this paper, we present newly released high-resolution seismic reflection profiles that image the complete transition from unambiguous continental to oceanic crusts in the Gulf of Guinea. Based on these high-resolution seismic sections we show that onset of oceanic seafloor spreading is associated with the formation of a hybrid crust in which thinned continental crust and/or exhumed mantle is sandwiched between magmatic intrusive and extrusive bodies. This crust results from a polyphase evolution showing a gradual transition from tectonic-driven to magmatic-driven processes. The results presented in this paper provide a characterization of the domain in which lithospheric breakup occurs and enable to define the processes controlling formation of a new plate boundary.