bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Chloride Channels are Involved in the Development of Atrial Fibrillation – A Transcriptomic and proteomic Study
Authors: Jiang Yi-Yao , Hou Hai-Tao , Yang Qin , Liu Xiao-Cheng , He Guo-Wei 
Published: August 2017

AbstarctElectrical and structural remodeling processes are contributors to the self-perpetuating nature of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, their correlation has not been clarified. In this study, human atrial tissues from the patients with rheumatic mitral valve disease in either sinus rhythm or persistent AF were analyzed using a combined transcriptomic and proteomic approach. An up-regulation in chloride intracellular channel (CLIC) 1, 4, 5 and a rise in type IV collagen were revealed. Combined with the results from immunohistochemistry and electron microscope analysis, the distribution of type IV collagen and effects of fibrosis on myocyte membrane indicated the possible interaction between CLIC and type IV collagen, confirmed by protein structure prediction and co-immunoprecipitation. These results indicate that CLICs play an important role in the development of atrial fibrillation and that CLICs and structural type IV collagen may interact on each other to promote the development of AF in rheumatic mitral valve disease.
Long distance invisibility system to hide dynamic objects with high selectivity
Authors: Cheng Qiluan , Tan Zuojun , Wang Hui , Wang Guo Ping 
Published: August 2017

AbstractWith the development of invisibility technology, invisibility devices have now become more practical, with properties such as working at visible wavelengths, using natural materials, and hiding macroscopic objects. Recently, the cloaking of dynamic objects was experimentally realized using ray-optics. Here, based on a phase retrieval algorithm and phase conjugation technology, we design and fabricate a system to hide dynamic objects that changes at speeds faster than 8 seconds per frame. Different from shell cloaks and carpet-like cloaks, which conceal the entire region covered by the cloak, our system works when the object is at a distance and hides only the selected part of an object when the entire object is within the working area of the system. We experimentally demonstrate the concealment of a millimeter-scale object at different wavelengths. We believe that our work may provide a new approach to hiding objects in real life and may also be applicable in biological imaging and atmospheric imaging.
Revealing the mystery of metabolic adaptations using a genome scale model of Leishmania infantum
Authors: Subramanian Abhishek , Sarkar Ram Rup 
Published: August 2017

AbstractHuman macrophage phagolysosome and sandfly midgut provide antagonistic ecological niches for Leishmania parasites to survive and proliferate. Parasites optimize their metabolism to utilize the available inadequate resources by adapting to those environments. Lately, a number of metabolomics studies have revived the interest to understand metabolic strategies utilized by the Leishmania parasite for optimal survival within its hosts. For the first time, we propose a reconstructed genome-scale metabolic model for Leishmania infantum JPCM5, the analyses of which not only captures observations reported by metabolomics studies in other Leishmania species but also divulges novel features of the L. infantum metabolome. Our results indicate that Leishmania metabolism is organized in such a way that the parasite can select appropriate alternatives to compensate for limited external substrates. A dynamic non-essential amino acid motif exists within the network that promotes a restricted redistribution of resources to yield required essential metabolites. Further, subcellular compartments regulate this metabolic re-routing by reinforcing the physiological coupling of specific reactions. This unique metabolic organization is robust against accidental errors and provides a wide array of choices for the parasite to achieve optimal survival.
Applications of unmanned aerial vehicles in intertidal reef monitoring
Authors: Murfitt Sarah L. , Allan Blake M. , Bellgrove Alecia , Rattray Alex , Young Mary A. , Ierodiaconou Daniel 
Published: August 2017

AbstractMonitoring of intertidal reefs is traditionally undertaken by on-ground survey methods which have assisted in understanding these complex habitats; however, often only a small spatial footprint of the reef is observed. Recent developments in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide new opportunities for monitoring broad scale coastal ecosystems through the ability to capture centimetre resolution imagery and topographic data not possible with conventional approaches. This study compares UAV remote sensing of intertidal reefs to traditional on-ground monitoring surveys, and investigates the role of UAV derived geomorphological variables in explaining observed intertidal algal and invertebrate assemblages. A multirotor UAV was used to capture <1 cm resolution data from intertidal reefs, with on-ground quadrat surveys of intertidal biotic data for comparison. UAV surveys provided reliable estimates of dominant canopy-forming algae, however, understorey species were obscured and often underestimated. UAV derived geomorphic variables showed elevation and distance to seaward reef edge explained 19.7% and 15.9% of the variation in algal and invertebrate assemblage structure respectively. The findings of this study demonstrate benefits of low-cost UAVs for intertidal monitoring through rapid data collection, full coverage census, identification of dominant canopy habitat and generation of geomorphic derivatives for explaining biological variation.
Targeting cholesterol homeostasis in lung diseases
Authors: Sallese Anthony , Suzuki Takuji , McCarthy Cormac , Bridges James , Filuta Alyssa , Arumugam Paritha , Shima Kenjiro , Ma Yan , Wessendarp Matthew , Black Diane , Chalk Claudia , Carey Brenna , Trapnell Bruce C. 
Published: August 2017

AbstractMacrophages are critical to organ structure and function in health and disease. To determine mechanisms by which granulocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) signaling normally maintains surfactant homeostasis and how its disruption causes pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), we evaluated lipid composition in alveolar macrophages and lung surfactant, macrophage-mediated surfactant clearance kinetics/dynamics, and cholesterol-targeted pharmacotherapy of PAP in vitro and in vivo. Without GM-CSF signaling, surfactant-exposed macrophages massively accumulated cholesterol ester-rich lipid-droplets and surfactant had an increased proportion of cholesterol. GM-CSF regulated cholesterol clearance in macrophages in constitutive, dose-dependent, and reversible fashion but did not affect phospholipid clearance. PPARγ-agonist therapy increased cholesterol clearance in macrophages and reduced disease severity in PAP mice. Results demonstrate that GM-CSF is required for cholesterol clearance in macrophages, identify reduced cholesterol clearance as the primary macrophage defect driving PAP pathogenesis, and support the feasibility of translating pioglitazone as a novel pharmacotherapy of PAP.
PD-L1 expression in lung cancer and its correlation with driver mutations: a meta-analysis
Authors: Zhang Minghui , Li Guoliang , Wang Yanbo , Wang Yan , Zhao Shu , Haihong Pu , Zhao Hongli , Wang Yan 
Published: August 2017

AbstractAlthough many studies have addressed the prognostic value of programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in lung cancer, the results remain controversial. A systematic search of the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases was performed to identify the correlation between PD-L1 expression and driver mutations and overall survival (OS). This meta-analysis enrolled a total of 11,444 patients for 47 studies, and the pooled results showed that increased PD-L1 expression was associated with poor prognosis (HR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.19–1.65, P < 0.001). In subgroup analysis stratified according to histology types, the pooled results demonstrated that increased PD-L1 expression was an unfavorable prognostic factor for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (HR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.05–1.52, P = 0.01) and pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) (HR = 3.04, 95% CI: 1.19–7.77, P = 0.02), rather than small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (HR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.27–1.39, P = 0.24). The pooled ORs indicated that PD-L1 expression was associated with gender, smoking status, histology, differentiation, tumour size, lymph nodal metastasis, TNM stage and EGFR mutation. However, PD-L1 expression was not correlated with ALK rearrangement and KRAS mutations.
Novel quinolone chalcones targeting colchicine-binding pocket kill multidrug-resistant cancer cells by inhibiting tubulin activity and MRP1 function
Authors: Lindamulage I. Kalhari , Vu Hai-Yen , Karthikeyan Chandrabose , Knockleby James , Lee Yi-Fang , Trivedi Piyush , Lee Hoyun 
Published: August 2017

AbstractAgents targeting colchicine-binding pocket usually show a minimal drug-resistance issue, albeit often associated with high toxicity. Chalcone-based compounds, which may bind to colchicine-binding site, are found in many edible fruits, suggesting that they can be effective drugs with less toxicity. Therefore, we synthesized and examined 24 quinolone chalcone compounds, from which we identified ((E)-3-(3-(2-Methoxyphenyl)-3-oxoprop-1-enyl) quinolin-2(1H)-one) (CTR-17) and ((E)-6-Methoxy-3-(3-(2-methoxyphenyl)-3-oxoprop-1-enyl) quinolin-2(1H)-one) (CTR-20) as promising leads. In particular, CTR-20 was effective against 65 different cancer cell lines originated from 12 different tissues, largely in a cancer cell-specific manner. We found that both CTR-17 and CTR-20 reversibly bind to the colchicine-binding pocket on β-tubulin. Interestingly however, both the CTRs were highly effective against multidrug-resistant cancer cells while colchicine, paclitaxel and vinblastine were not. Our study with CTR-20 showed that it overcomes multidrug-resistance through its ability to impede MRP1 function while maintaining strong inhibition against microtubule activity. Data from mice engrafted with the MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast cancer cells showed that both CTR-17 and CTR-20 possess strong anticancer activity, alone or in combination with paclitaxel, without causing any notable side effects. Together, our data demonstrates that both the CTRs can be effective and safe drugs against many different cancers, especially against multidrug-resistant tumors.
The effect of body mass index and physical activity on hypertension among Chinese middle-aged and older population
Authors: Li Wenzhen , Wang Dongming , Wu Chunmei , Shi Oumin , Zhou Yanfeng , Lu Zuxun 
Published: August 2017

AbstractFew studies have been conducted to explore the independent and combined associations of body mass index (BMI) and physical activity with risk of hypertension in Chinese population. A cross-sectional study of 5291 individuals (aged ≥ 40 years) selected using multi-stage sampling method was conducted from October 2013 to December 2015. In the present analysis, 55.64% of the participants were women, and the mean age of participants was 55.37 ± 10.56. Compared with individuals in normal group, the risks of hypertension were nearly double in overweight subjects (odds ratio [OR] 1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.53–2.05) and more than three times higher in obese subjects (3.23, 2.62–4.13). Multi-adjusted odds for hypertension associated with low, moderate, and high physical activity were 1.44 (1.17–1.86), 1.40 (1.09–1.79) and 1.000, respectively. In comparison with normal weight subjects who reported high levels of physical activity, subjects who reported both low levels of physical activity and obesity showed the highest risk of hypertension (5.89, 3.90–8.88). In conclusion, both elevated BMI and reduced physical activity appear to play an important role in the risk of hypertension among Chinese middle-aged and older population. The risk of hypertension associated with overweight and obesity can be reduced considerably by increased physical activity levels.
Genetic association study of common variants in TGFB1 and IL-6 with developmental dysplasia of the hip in Han Chinese population
Authors: Ma Wenlong , Zha Zhuqing , Chen Ke , Chen Honggan , Wu Yixin , Ma Jianbing , Zeng Sixiang , Zhi Liqiang , Yao Shuxin 
Published: August 2017

AbstractDevelopmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a congenital or developmental deformation or misalignment of the hip joint that is affected by environmental and genetic factors. Recently, polymorphisms in both TGFB1 and IL-6 have been identified as being significantly associated with hip osteoarthritis in Caucasians. In this study, we conducted a case-control study involving 4,206 Han Chinese individuals to investigate the effects of TGFB1 and IL-6 on the disease status and severity of DDH. A total of 32 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected to ensure coverage of the two genetic loci. We found SNP rs1800470 in TGFB1 (OR = 1.255, P = 0.0004) and rs1800796 (OR = 0.84, P = 0.0228) in IL-6 to be significantly associated with DDH in this cohort. Further haplotype-based analysis replicated this significant result. Another SNP in IL-6, rs1800796, showed a marginally significant association with DDH. As a non-synonymous SNP, rs1800470 alters the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide encoded by TGFB1; however, bioinformatics analyses revealed that this SNP has limited functional significance. No significant results were obtained in an association study focusing on the severity of DDH and epistasis analysis. Our findings support an important role for TGFB1 in the risk of DDH. Further research is needed to validate the weak association between rs1800796 in IL-6 and DDH.
ERRα regulates the growth of triple-negative breast cancer cells via S6K1-dependent mechanism
Authors: Berman Adi Y , Manna Subrata , Schwartz Naomi S , Katz Yardena E , Sun Yang , Behrmann Catherine A , Yu Jane J , Plas David R , Alayev Anya , Holz Marina K 
Published: August 2017

AbstractEstrogen-related receptor alpha (ERRα) is an orphan nuclear factor that is a master regulator of cellular energy metabolism. ERRα is overexpressed in a variety of tumors, including ovarian, prostate, colorectal, cervical and breast, and is associated with a more aggressive tumor and a worse outcome. In breast cancer, specifically, high ERRα expression is associated with an increased rate of recurrence and a poor prognosis. Because of the common functions of ERRα and the mTORC1/S6K1 signaling pathway in regulation of cellular metabolism and breast cancer pathogenesis, we focused on investigating the biochemical relationship between ERRα and S6K1. We found that ERRα negatively regulates S6K1 expression by directly binding to its promoter. Downregulation of ERRα expression sensitized ERα-negative breast cancer cells to mTORC1/S6K1 inhibitors. Therefore, our results show that combinatorial inhibition of ERRα and mTORC1/S6K1 may have clinical utility in treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, and warrants further investigation.
Detecting and Learning New Words: The Impact of Advancing Age and Hearing Loss
Authors: Pittman Andrea L. , Stewart Elizabeth C. , Odgear Ian S. , Willman Amanda P. 
Published: August 2017

Purpose
Lexical acquisition was examined in children and adults to determine if the skills needed to detect and learn new words are retained in the adult years. In addition to advancing age, the effects of hearing loss were also examined.

Method
Measures of word recognition, detection of nonsense words within sentences, and novel word learning were obtained in quiet for 20 children with normal hearing and 21 with hearing loss (8–12 years) as well as for 15 adults with normal hearing and 17 with hearing loss (58–79 years). Listeners with hearing loss were tested with and without high-frequency acoustic energy to identify the type of amplification (narrowband, wideband, or frequency lowering) that yielded optimal performance.

Results
No differences were observed between the adults and children with normal hearing except for the adults' better nonsense word detection. The poorest performance was observed for the listeners with hearing loss in the unaided condition. Performance improved significantly with amplification to levels at or near that of their counterparts with normal hearing. With amplification, the adults performed as well as the children on all tasks except for word recognition.

Conclusions
Adults retain the skills necessary for lexical acquisition regardless of hearing status. However, uncorrected hearing loss nearly eliminates these skills.
Development of Phase Locking and Frequency Representation in the Infant Frequency-Following Response
Authors: Van Dyke Katlyn B. , Lieberman Rachel , Presacco Alessandro , Anderson Samira 
Published: August 2017

Purpose
This study investigates the development of phase locking and frequency representation in infants using the frequency-following response to consonant–vowel syllables.

Method

The frequency-following response was recorded in 56 infants and 15 young adults to 2 speech syllables (/ba/ and /ga/), which were presented in randomized order to the right ear. Signal-to-noise ratio and F
sp
analyses were used to verify that individual responses were present above the noise floor. Thirty-six and 39 infants met these criteria for the /ba/ or /ga/ syllables, respectively, and 31 infants met the criteria for both syllables. Data were analyzed to obtain measures of phase-locking strength and spectral magnitudes.

Results
Phase-locking strength to the fine structure in the consonant–vowel transition was higher in young adults than in infants, but phase locking was equivalent at the fundamental frequency between infants and adults. However, frequency representation of the fundamental frequency was higher in older infants than in either the younger infants or adults.

Conclusion
Although spectral amplitudes changed during the first year of life, no changes were found with respect to phase locking to the stimulus envelope. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining these measures of phase locking and fundamental pitch strength in infants as young as 2 months of age.
Respiratory and Laryngeal Changes With Vocal Loading in Younger and Older Individuals
Authors: Sundarrajan Anusha , Huber Jessica E. , Sivasankar M. Preeti 
Published: August 2017

PurposeThe objective of the current study was to investigate the effects of age and vocal loading on the respiratory and laryngeal systems.MethodFourteen younger (M= 20 years) and 13 older (M= 75 years) healthy individuals participated in a 40-min vocal loading challenge in the presence of 70-dB background noise. Respiratory kinematic and laryngeal measurements were obtained before and after the challenge.ResultsFollowing the loading challenge, participants in both groups reported greater speaking effort. Sound pressure level increased in the older group and decreased in the younger group after loading. Younger adults, but not older adults, used lower lung volume initiations and higher lung volume terminations after loading. Cepstral peak prominence increased with loading in both groups, but this change was of small magnitude and not clinically significant.ConclusionsThe negative effects of loading were observed in respiratory and laryngeal measures, although the pattern of changes differed across the groups. These data increase our knowledge of underlying respiratory and laryngeal physiological changes following a loading challenge and may reflect some of the physiologic mechanisms underlying vocal fatigue.
Passively Q‐switched O‐band praseodymium doped fluoride fibre laser with PVA/graphene based SA
Authors: Ahmad H. , Aidit S.N. , Thambiratnam K. , Tiu Z.C. 
Published: August 2017

A 1.3 μm Q‐switched fibre laser using a praseodymium doped fluoride fibre and a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/graphene based saturable absorber (SA) is proposed and demonstrated. Stable Q‐switched outputs are obtained over a pumping range between 472.4 and 567.2 mW at 1.02 μm. A pulse repetition rate and pulse width of 34.86 kHz and 3.50 μs, respectively, is obtained at a maximum pump power of 567.2 mW along with an average output power of 25 µW and output energy of 0.73 nJ. The Q‐switched pulses have a 1.8 nm full width at half maximum and 32 dB signal‐to‐noise ratio.
Numerical busbar differential protection using generalised alpha plane
Authors: Jena Soumitri , Bhalja Bhavesh R. 
Published: August 2017

This study presents a digital differential busbar protection scheme based on generalised alpha plane approach which combines the benefits of percentage differential approach and two‐restrain alpha plane approach. The proposed scheme utilises one cycle current transformer (CT) secondary current signals of all the bays connected to the busbar to map the operating points on a complex alpha plane. The proposed scheme has been evaluated by modelling an existing 400 kV Indian power generating station in PSCAD/EMTDC software package. The performance of the proposed scheme has been evaluated on large numbers of cases with wide variation in system and fault parameters. In order to verify authenticity of the proposed scheme, a laboratory prototype of the proposed busbar protection scheme has been developed. From the developed prototype, CT secondary current signals are captured during internal faults and external fault with CT saturation condition. Comparison between the simulation and prototype results clearly shows the effectiveness of the proposed scheme in terms of higher sensitivity during internal faults and better stability in case of external faults. The proposed protection scheme has a high response speed (around 5 ms) and hence can be considered on par with modern busbar protection schemes.