bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Apocynin Suppresses Lipopolysaccharide‐Induced Inflammatory Responses Through the Inhibition of MAP Kinase Signaling Pathway in RAW264.7 Cells
Authors: Hwang Young‐Jae , Lee Sung Joon , Park Jin‐Young , Chun Wanjoo , Nam Seung‐Joo , Park Jin Myung , Park Sung Chul , Choi Dae Hee , Kang Chang Don 
Published: August 2016

ABSTRACTApocynin, an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase, exhibits anti‐inflammatory properties in ulcerative colitis. However, the underlying mechanism by which apocynin exerts this effect has not been clearly demonstrated. The objective of this study was to elucidate the anti‐inflammatory mechanism of apocynin in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐challenged RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Apocynin inhibited LPS‐induced extracellular secretion of the pro‐inflammatory mediators, nitric oxide (NO) and PGE2 and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase‐2. Apocynin also suppressed LPS‐induced secretion of the pro‐inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor‐α and LPS‐induced degradation of IκB, which retains NF‐κB in the cytoplasm, consequently inhibiting the transcription of pro‐inflammatory genes by NF‐κB in the nucleus. To elucidate the underlying anti‐inflammatory mechanism of apocynin, the involvement of the mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinases, c‐jun N‐terminal kinase, extracellular signal‐regulated kinases, and p38 was examined. Apocynin attenuated LPS‐induced activation of all three MAP kinases in a concentration‐dependent manner. The present study demonstrates apocynin exerts anti‐inflammatory activity via the suppression of MAP kinase signaling pathways in LPS‐challenged RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Drug Dev Res, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Environmental controls on canopy foliar nitrogen distributions in a Neotropical lowland forest
Authors: Balzotti Christopher S. , Asner Gregory P. , Taylor Philip G. , Cleveland Cory C. , Cole Rebecca , Martin Roberta E. , Nasto Megan , Osborne Brooke B. , Porder Stephen , Townsend Alan R. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractDistributions of foliar nutrients across forest canopies can give insight into their plant functional diversity and improve our understanding of biogeochemical cycling. We used airborne remote sensing and partial least squares regression to quantify canopy foliar nitrogen (foliar N) across ~164 km2 of wet lowland tropical forest in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. We determined the relative influence of climate and topography on the observed patterns of foliar N using a gradient boosting model technique. At a local scale, where climate and substrate were constant, we explored the influence of slope position on foliar N by quantifying foliar N on remnant terraces, their adjacent slopes, and knife‐edged ridges. In addition, we climbed and sampled 540 trees and analyzed foliar N in order to quantify the role of species identity (phylogeny) and environmental factors in predicting foliar N. Observed foliar N heterogeneity reflected environmental factors working at multiple spatial scales. Across the larger landscape, elevation and precipitation had the highest relative influence on predicting foliar N (30% and 24%), followed by soils (15%), site exposure (9%), compound topographic index (8%), substrate (6%), and landscape dissection (6%). Phylogeny explained ~75% of the variation in the field collected foliar N data, suggesting that phylogeny largely underpins the response to the environmental factors. Taken together, these data suggest that a large fraction of the variance in foliar N across the landscape is proximately driven by species composition, though ultimately this is likely a response to abiotic factors such as climate and topography. Future work should focus on the mechanisms and feedbacks involved, and how shifts in climate may translate to changes in forest function.
When does seed limitation matter for scaling up reforestation from patches to landscapes?
Authors: Caughlin T. Trevor , Elliott Stephen , Lichstein Jeremy W. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractRestoring forest to hundreds of millions of hectares of degraded land has become a centerpiece of international plans to sequester carbon and conserve biodiversity. Forest landscape restoration will require scaling up ecological knowledge of secondary succession from small‐scale field studies to predict forest recovery rates in heterogeneous landscapes. However, ecological field studies reveal widely divergent times to forest recovery, in part due to landscape features that are difficult to replicate in empirical studies. Seed rain can determine reforestation rate and depends on landscape features that are beyond the scale of most field studies. We develop mathematical models to quantify how landscape configuration affects seed rain and forest regrowth in degraded patches. The models show how landscape features can alter the successional trajectories of otherwise identical patches, thus providing insight into why some empirical studies reveal a strong effect of seed rain on secondary succession, while others do not. We show that seed rain will strongly limit reforestation rate when patches are near a threshold for arrested succession, when positive feedbacks between tree canopy cover and seed rain occur during early succession, and when directed dispersal leads to between‐patch interactions. In contrast, seed rain has weak effects on reforestation rate over a wide range of conditions, including when landscape‐scale seed availability is either very high or very low. Our modeling framework incorporates growth and survival parameters that are commonly estimated in field studies of reforestation. We demonstrate how mathematical models can inform forest landscape restoration by allowing land managers to predict where natural regeneration will be sufficient to restore tree cover. Translating quantitative forecasts into spatially targeted interventions for forest landscape restoration could support target goals of restoring millions of hectares of degraded land and help mitigate global climate change.
Setting spatial conservation priorities despite incomplete data for characterizing metapopulations
Authors: Fullerton A. H. , Anzalone S. , Moran P. , Van Doornik D. M. , Copeland T. , Zabel R. W. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractManagement of spatially structured species poses unique challenges. Despite a strong theoretical foundation, practitioners rarely have sufficient empirical data to evaluate how populations interact. Rather, assumptions about connectivity and source–sink dynamics are often based on incomplete, extrapolated, or modeled data, if such interactions are even considered at all. Therefore, it has been difficult to evaluate whether spatially structured species are meeting conservation goals. We evaluated how estimated metapopulation structure responded to estimates of population sizes and dispersal probabilities and to the set of populations included. We then compared outcomes of alternative management strategies that target conservation of metapopulation processes. We illustrated these concepts for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Snake River, USA. Our description of spatial structure for this metapopulation was consistent with previous characterizations. We found substantial differences in estimated metapopulation structure when we had incomplete information about all populations and when we used different sources of data (three empirical, two modeled) to estimate dispersal, whereas responses to population size estimates were more consistent. Together, these findings suggest that monitoring efforts should target all populations occasionally and populations that play key roles frequently and that multiple types of data should be collected when feasible. When empirical data are incomplete or of uneven quality, analyses using estimates produced from an ensemble of available datasets can help conservation planners and managers weigh near‐term options. Doing so, we found trade‐offs in connectivity and source dominance in metapopulation‐level responses to alternative management strategies that suggest which types of approaches may be inherently less risky.
Landscape variation in tree regeneration and snag fall drive fuel loads in 24‐year old post‐fire lodgepole pine forests
Authors: Nelson Kellen N. , Turner Monica G. , Romme William H. , Tinker Daniel B. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractEscalating wildfire in subalpine forests with stand‐replacing fire regimes is increasing the extent of early‐seral forests throughout the western USA. Post‐fire succession generates the fuel for future fires, but little is known about fuel loads and their variability in young post‐fire stands. We sampled fuel profiles in 24‐year‐old post‐fire lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) stands (n = 82) that regenerated from the 1988 Yellowstone Fires to answer three questions. (1) How do canopy and surface fuel loads vary within and among young lodgepole pine stands? (2) How do canopy and surface fuels vary with pre‐ and post‐fire lodgepole pine stand structure and environmental conditions? (3) How have surface fuels changed between eight and 24 years post‐fire? Fuel complexes varied tremendously across the landscape despite having regenerated from the same fires. Available canopy fuel loads and canopy bulk density averaged 8.5 Mg/ha (range 0.0–46.6) and 0.24 kg/m3 (range: 0.0–2.3), respectively, meeting or exceeding levels in mature lodgepole pine forests. Total surface‐fuel loads averaged 123 Mg/ha (range: 43–207), and 88% was in the 1,000‐h fuel class. Litter, 1‐h, and 10‐h surface fuel loads were lower than reported for mature lodgepole pine forests, and 1,000‐h fuel loads were similar or greater. Among‐plot variation was greater in canopy fuels than surface fuels, and within‐plot variation was greater than among‐plot variation for nearly all fuels. Post‐fire lodgepole pine density was the strongest positive predictor of canopy and fine surface fuel loads. Pre‐fire successional stage was the best predictor of 100‐h and 1,000‐h fuel loads in the post‐fire stands and strongly influenced the size and proportion of sound logs (greater when late successional stands had burned) and rotten logs (greater when early successional stands had burned). Our data suggest that 76% of the young post‐fire lodgepole pine forests have 1,000‐h fuel loads that exceed levels associated with high‐severity surface fire potential, and 63% exceed levels associated with active crown fire potential. Fire rotations in Yellowstone National Park are predicted to shorten to a few decades and this prediction cannot be ruled out by a lack of fuels to carry repeated fires.
Maximum Power Point Tracking to Increase the Power Production and Treatment Efficiency of a Continuously Operated Flat‐Plate Microbial Fuel Cell
Authors: Song Young Eun , Boghani Hitesh C. , Kim Hong Suck , Kim Byung Goon , Lee Taeho , Jeon Byong‐Hun , Premier Giuliano C. , Kim Jung Rae 
Published: August 2016

AbstractA logic‐based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and LabVIEW interface for digitally controlled variable resistive load were developed and applied to a continuously operating flat‐plate microbial fuel cell (FPM). The interaction between the designed MPPT algorithm and electrochemically active microbial performance on the electrode was demonstrated to track the maximal performance of FPM system. MPPT could dynamically derive the optimal performance from varied operating conditions of FPMs such as organic concentration, flow rate, and sampling interval, and produce a maximum power density of 88.0 W m−3. The results provide essential information to build an automatic control strategy to achieve the maximum performance from field scale microbial fuel cells for applications to sustainable bioenergy recovery from various biomass feedstocks.
A proactive task set influences how response inhibition is implemented in the basal ganglia
Authors: Leunissen Inge , Coxon James P. , Swinnen Stephan P. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractIncreasing a participant's ability to prepare for response inhibition is known to result in longer Go response times and is thought to engage a “top‐down fronto‐striatal inhibitory task set.” This premise is supported by the observation of anterior striatum activation in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analyses that focus on uncertain versus certain Go trials. It is assumed that setting up a proactive inhibitory task set also influences how participants subsequently implement stopping. To assess this assumption, we aimed to manipulate the degree of proactive inhibition in a modified stop‐signal task to see how this manipulation influences activation when reacting to the Stop cue. Specifically, we tested whether there is differential activity of basal ganglia nuclei, namely the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and anterior striatum, on Stop trials when stop‐signal probability was relatively low (20%) or high (40%). Successful stopping was associated with increased STN activity when Stop trials were infrequent and increased caudate head activation when Stop trials were more likely, suggesting a different implementation of reactive response inhibition by the basal ganglia for differing degrees of proactive response control. Hum Brain Mapp 37:4706–4717, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Muscle fibre capillarization is a critical factor in muscle fibre hypertrophy during resistance exercise training in older men
Authors: Snijders Tim , Nederveen Joshua P. , Joanisse Sophie , Leenders Marika , Verdijk Lex B. , van Loon Luc J.C. , Parise Gianni 
Published: August 2016

AbstractBackgroundAdequate muscle fibre perfusion is critical for the maintenance of muscle mass; it is essential in the rapid delivery of oxygen, nutrients and growth factors to the muscle, stimulating muscle fibre growth. Muscle fibre capillarization is known to decrease substantially with advancing age. However, whether (relative) low muscle fibre capillarization negatively impacts the muscle hypertrophic response following resistance exercise training in older adults is unknown.MethodsTwenty‐two healthy older men (71 ± 1 years) performed 24 weeks of progressive resistance type exercise training. To assess the change in muscle fibre characteristics, percutaneous biopsies from the vastus lateralis muscle were taken before and following 12 and 24 weeks of the intervention programme. A comparison was made between participants who had a relatively low type II muscle fibre capillary‐to‐fibre perimeter exchange index (CFPE; LOW group) and high type II muscle fibre CFPE (HIGH group) at baseline. Type I and type II muscle fibre size, satellite cell, capillary content and distance between satellite cells to the nearest capillary were determined by immunohistochemistry.ResultsOverall, type II muscle fibre size (from 5150 ± 234 to 6719 ± 446 µm2, P < 0.05) and satellite cell content (from 0.058 ± 0.006 to 0.090 ± 0.010 satellite cells per muscle fibre, P < 0.05) had increased significantly in response to 24 weeks of resistance exercise training. However, these improvements where mainly driven by differences in baseline type II muscle fibre capillarization, whereas muscle fibre size (from 5170 ± 390 to 7133 ± 314 µm2, P < 0.05) and satellite cell content (from 0.059 ± 0.009 to 0.102 ± 0.017 satellite cells per muscle fibre, P < 0.05) increased significantly in the HIGH group, no significant changes were observed in LOW group following exercise training. No significant changes in type I and type II muscle fibre capillarization were observed in response to 12 and 24 weeks of resistance exercise training in both the LOW and HIGH group.ConclusionsType II muscle fibre capillarization at baseline may be a critical factor for allowing muscle fibre hypertrophy to occur during prolonged resistance exercise training in older men.
Plant uptake of metals, transfer factors and prediction model for two contaminated regions of Kosovo
Authors: Zogaj Muhamet , Düring Rolf‐Alexander 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThe bioavailability and plant uptake of heavy metals (HM), as well as finding the most reliable methods for the prediction of availability, continues to be one of the most crucial problems in agricultural and environmental studies. In agricultural soils from two regions in Kosovo, known for its metal pollution, we collected 60 soil and plant samples (wheat, corn, potatoes, and grass). Heavy metals were extracted from soil with aqua regia (pseudototal concentration), NH4OAc‐EDTA (potential bioavailable), and NH4NO3 (mobile fraction), plant samples were digested with HNO3/H2O2 (microwave assisted extraction). The pseudo total content of Cd, Pb, and Zn showed high value in Mitrovice (mean: Cd–2.92, Pb–570.15, and Zn–522.86 mg kg−1), whereas in Drenas region Ni and Cr showed high value with a mean 258.54 and 203.22 mg kg−1. Also, the potential bioavailability and mobile form of these metals were increased in Mitrovice (mean: Cd–1.59, Pb–217.05, Zn–522.86 mg kg−1, respectively Cd–0.17, Pb–0.64, and Zn–15.45 mg kg−1), compared to Drenas. Cd and Pb were elevated in potato tubers (mean Cd–0.48 and Pb–0.85 mg kg−1). The TF was higher for micronutrients (Zn and Cu) than for non‐essential metals (Cd and Pb). Multiple regression analysis showed a good model for prediction of Cd, Pb and Zn content in plant with significance 99.9%, whereas this model was not significant for Cu, Cr, and Ni. Soil pH played a significant role in the content of Cd and Zn in wheat and potato plants. Clay content also showed significance in Cd concentration in wheat and potato plants, while carbon content was significant for Cd in grass plants, as well as for Zn in wheat and grass plants.
Power‐ and polarization dependence of two photon luminescence of single CdSe nanowires with tightly focused cylindrical vector beams of ultrashort laser pulses
Authors: Wang Xiao , Zhuang Xiujuan , Wackenhut Frank , Li Yunyun , Pan Anlian , Meixner Alfred J. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractWe investigate two‐photon luminescence (TPL) of single CdSe nanowires (NWs) excited by tightly focused cylindrical vector beams of 150 fs pulses, achieving an optical resolution better than λ/4. Comparing the TPL images recorded by scanning the nanowires through the focal fields created either by a radially or an azimuthally polarized vector beam we observe a distinct anisotropic excitation efficiency which depends on the orientation of the electric field component with respect to the nanowire. The excitation anisotropy of the linear photoluminescence (PL) and TPL can directly be derived from the respective image patterns. Our results show that the highest TPL signal from a single NW is detected when the electric excitation field is parallel to the long axis of the NW, i.e. about one order of magnitude stronger than that excited along the short axis. We attribute the TPL to an emission mechanism based on the recombination of free carriers, which exhibits a fourth order excitation power dependence in low power regime and a second order power dependence in high power regime.
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A 24‐channel shim array for the human spinal cord: Design, evaluation, and application
Authors: Topfer Ryan , Starewicz Piotr , Lo Kai‐Ming , Metzemaekers Karl , Jette Donald , Hetherington Hoby P. , Stikov Nikola , Cohen‐Adad Julien 
Published: August 2016

PurposeA novel multichannel shim array is introduced to improve MRI and spectroscopic studies of the human spinal cord.MethodsTwenty‐four–channel shim and 8‐channel transceiver arrays were designed to insert into the patient bed table to lie in close proximity to the subject's spine. The reference field patterns of each of the shim channels (Hz/A) were determined empirically via gradient echo field mapping and subsequently used to demonstrate shim performance at 3 Tesla using an ex vivo phantom, which incorporated a fixed human spine. The shim was further demonstrated on five healthy volunteers.ResultsApplication of the shim to the ex vivo phantom reduced the standard deviation of the field over the spinal volume of interest (123.4 cm3) from an original 51.3 Hz down to 32.5 Hz, amounting to an improvement in field homogeneity of 36.6%. In vivo, the spine shim resulted in an average improvement in field homogeneity of 63.8 ± 15.4%.ConclusionThe localized spine shim offers a promising new means of correcting magnetic field distortion in the spinal cord. Magn Reson Med 76:1604–1611, 2016. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
Effects of a stocking on plantar sensation in individuals with and without ankle instability
Authors: Burcal Christopher J. , Hoch Matthew C. , Wikstrom Erik A. 
Published: August 2016

ABSTRACTIntroductionIt is unknown whether footwear has a beneficial or deleterious effect on cutaneous sensitivity. We aimed to test a preliminary model of footwear and its effect on tactile perception among groups of controls, copers, and chronic ankle instability participants. Methods: Light‐touch thresholds were obtained for 45 participants (age: 20.2 ± 2.8 years; height: 167.6 ± 9.8 cm; mass: 66.3 ± 14.7 kg) using Semmes‐Weinstein monofilaments at the head of the first metatarsal (1MT), base of the fifth metatarsal (5MT), and calcaneus (CAL). Baseline measurements were compared with those taken after wearing a nylon stocking for 5 min. Results: Thresholds were increased at all 3 sites when the stocking was worn (P < 0.05). Controls had an increase at 1MT, copers had an increase at 5MT and CAL, and chronic ankle instability had an increase at CAL. Conclusions: Cutaneous thresholds increase when subjects wear a nylon stocking, a model for the sensory effects of footwear. A history of ankle injury appears to influence which sites have altered sensibility. Muscle Nerve, 2016. Muscle Nerve 55: 513–519, 2017
Functional and structural changes of the urinary bladder following spinal cord injury; treatment with alpha lipoic acid
Authors: Ekiz Arif , Özdemir‐Kumral Zarife Nigâr , Erşahin Mehmet , Tuğtepe Halil , Öğünç Ayliz Velioğlu , Akakın Dilek , Kıran Demir , Özsavcı Derya , Biber Necat , Hakan Tayfun , Yeğen Berrak Ç. , Şener Göksel , Toklu Hale Z. 
Published: August 2016

BACKGROUND & AIMAlpha lipoic acid (LA) was shown to exert neuroprotection in trauma‐induced spinal cord injury (SCI), which is frequently associated with urinary bladder complaints in patients with SCI. Accordingly, the protective effects of LA on biochemical and histological changes in bladder as well as functional studies were assessed.METHODSWistar albino rats were divided as control, SCI, and LA (50 mg/kg/day, ip) treated SCI groups (SCI+LA). The standard weight‐drop (100 g/cm force at T10) method was used to induce a moderately severe SCI. One week after the injury, neurological examination was performed and the rats were decapitated. Bladder samples were taken for histological examination, functional (isolated tissue bath) studies, and for the measurement of biochemical parameters (malondialdehyde, MDA; gluthathione, GSH; nerve growth factor, NGF; caspase‐3, luminol and lucigenin chemiluminescences).RESULTSSCI caused a significant (P < 0.001) increase in the detrusor muscle thickness. It increased the contractility responses to carbachol and relaxation responses to papaverine (P < 0.05–0.001). There were also significant alterations in MDA, caspase‐3, luminol, and lucigenin chemiluminescences with concomitant decreases in NGF and GSH (P < 0.05). LA treatment reversed histological and functional (contraction and relaxation responses) changes induced by SCI (P < 0.05–0.001), but no significant recovery was observed in the impaired neurological functions.CONCLUSIONThese results indicate that LA have a beneficial effect in improving the bladder tonus via its antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory actions following SCI.