bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An Upgrading Procedure for Adaptive Assessment of Knowledge
Authors: Anselmi Pasquale , Robusto Egidio , Stefanutti Luca , de Chiusole Debora 
Published: April 2016

AbstractIn knowledge space theory, existing adaptive assessment procedures can only be applied when suitable estimates of their parameters are available. In this paper, an iterative procedure is proposed, which upgrades its parameters with the increasing number of assessments. The first assessments are run using parameter values that favor accuracy over efficiency. Subsequent assessments are run using new parameter values estimated on the incomplete response patterns from previous assessments. Parameter estimation is carried out through a new probabilistic model for missing-at-random data. Two simulation studies show that, with the increasing number of assessments, the performance of the proposed procedure approaches that of gold standards.
Double Dispersion for Double Diffusive Boundary Layer in Non-Darcy Saturated Porous Medium Filled by a Nanofluid
Authors: Bouaziz A. M. , Hanini S. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractThis work investigates mainly the double dispersion on the double diffusive convective boundary layer between a vertical plate immersed into a non-Darcy saturated porous medium with a nanofluid. The similarity transformations are involved and the governing system of nonlinear partial differential equations is converted into a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Results are displayed graphically to illustrate the influence of δ, and ξ on the velocity, the temperature and concentration of the species profiles. Two interesting cases are treated, isothermal and non-isothermal wall plate. For a nanofluid, the rate of mass transfer is affected strongly by the double dispersion while the rate of heat transfer coefficient is less sensitive to it.
Leptin changes differentiation fate and induces senescence in chondrogenic progenitor cells
Authors: Zhao X , Dong Y , Zhang J , Li D , Hu G , Yao J , Li Y , Huang P , Zhang M , Zhang J , Huang Z , Zhang Y , Miao Y , Xu Q , Li H 
Published: April 2016

AbstractBody weight is a component of the mechanical theory of OA (osteoarthritis) pathogenesis. Obesity was also found to be a risk factor for digital OA involving non-weight-bearing joints, which suggested that metabolism influences the occurrence and progression of OA. The metabolic origin of OA has been partially attributed to the involvement of adipokines, such as leptin, the levels of which are significantly and positively correlated with cartilage degeneration in OA patients. However, the mechanisms by which leptin-induced cartilage degeneration occurs are poorly understood. The discovery of chondrogenic progenitor cells (CPCs) opened up new opportunities for investigation. Investigating the effects of leptin on differentiation and proliferation in CPCs would increase our understanding of the roles played by leptin in the aetiology and development of OA. Here, CPCs were harvested using single-cell sorting from rat cartilage tissues to obtain mesenchymal stem-like cells, which possess clonogenicity, proliferation and stemness. High doses of leptin decreased the ability of the CPCs to migrate, inhibited their chondrogenic potential and increased their osteogenic potential, suggesting that leptin changes differentiation fates in CPCs. High doses of leptin induced cell cycle arrest and senescence in CPCs by activating the p53/p21 pathway and inhibiting the Sirt1 pathway. Inhibiting the Sirt1 pathway accelerated cartilage senescence in knockout (KO) mice. Activating the leptin pathway induced higher Ob-Rb expression and was significantly correlated with cartilage degeneration (lower levels of Coll-2) and tissue senescence (higher levels of p53/p21 and lower levels of Sirt1) in OA patients, suggesting that leptin-induced CPCs senescence contributes to the development of OA. Taken together, our results reveal new links between obesity and cartilage damage that are induced by leptin-mediated effects on cell behaviour and senescence.
Activation of PPARγ/P53 signaling is required for curcumin to induce hepatic stellate cell senescence
Authors: Jin H , Lian N , Zhang F , Chen L , Chen Q , Lu C , Bian M , Shao J , Wu L , Zheng S 
Published: April 2016

AbstractActivation of quiescent hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is the major event in hepatic fibrogenesis, along with enhancement of cell proliferation and overproduction of extracellular matrix. Although inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis are potential strategies to block the activation of HSCs, a better understanding of the senescence of activated HSCs can provide a new therapeutic strategy for prevention and treatment of liver fibrosis. The antioxidant curcumin, a phytochemical from turmeric, has been shown to suppress HSC activation in vitro and in vivo. The current work was aimed to evaluate the effect of curcumin on senescence of activated HSCs and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. In this study, curcumin promoted the expression of senescence marker Hmga1 in rat fibrotic liver. In addition, curcumin increased the number of senescence-associated β-galactosidase-positive HSCs in vitro. At the same time, curcumin induced HSC senescence by elevating the expression of senescence markers P16, P21 and Hmga1, concomitant with reduced abundance of HSC activation markers α-smooth muscle actin and α1(I)-procollagen in cultured HSCs. Moreover, curcumin affected the cell cycle and telomerase activity. We further demonstrated that P53 pharmacological inhibitor pifithrin-α (PFT-α) or transfection with P53 siRNA abrogated the curcumin-induced HSC senescence in vitro. Meanwhile, curcumin disruption of P53 leading to increased senescence of activated HSCs was further verified in vivo. Further studies indicated that curcumin promoted the expression of P53 through a PPARγ activation-dependent mechanism. Moreover, promoting PPARγ transactivating activity by a PPARγ agonist 15d-PGJ2 markedly enhanced curcumin induction of senescence of activated HSCs. However, the PPARγ antagonist PD68235 eliminated curcumin induction of HSC senescence. Taken together, our results provided a novel insight into the mechanisms underlying curcumin inhibition of HSC activation through inducing senescence.
Using the incidence and impact of behavioural conditions in guide dogs to investigate patterns in undesirable behaviour in dogs
Authors: Caron-Lormier Geoffrey , Harvey Naomi D. , England Gary C. W. , Asher Lucy 
Published: April 2016

AbstractThe domestic dog is one of our most popular companions and longest relationships, occupying different roles, from pet to working guide dog for the blind. As dogs age different behavioural issues occur and in some cases dogs may be relinquished or removed from their working service. Here we analyse a dataset on working guide dogs that were removed from their service between 1994 and 2013. We use the withdrawal reasons as a proxy for the manifestation of undesirable behaviour. More than 7,500 dogs were in the dataset used, 83% of which were retired (due to old age) and 17% were withdrawn for behavioural issues. We found that the main reasons for behaviour withdrawal were environmental anxiety, training and fear/aggression. Breed and sex had an effect on the odds of dogs being withdrawn under the different reasons. The age at withdrawal for the different withdrawal reasons suggested that dogs were more likely to develop fear/aggression related issues early on, whilst issues related to training could develop at almost any age. We found no evidence for heterosis effecting behaviour. We believe that this work is relevant to the pet dog population and had implications for understanding ageing and genetic influences on behaviour.
Siderophore biosynthesis coordinately modulated the virulence-associated interactive metabolome of uropathogenic Escherichia coli and human urine
Authors: Su Qiao , Guan Tianbing , Lv Haitao 
Published: April 2016

AbstractUropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) growth in women’s bladders during urinary tract infection (UTI) incurs substantial chemical exchange, termed the “interactive metabolome”, which primarily accounts for the metabolic costs (utilized metabolome) and metabolic donations (excreted metabolome) between UPEC and human urine. Here, we attempted to identify the individualized interactive metabolome between UPEC and human urine. We were able to distinguish UPEC from non-UPEC by employing a combination of metabolomics and genetics. Our results revealed that the interactive metabolome between UPEC and human urine was markedly different from that between non-UPEC and human urine, and that UPEC triggered much stronger perturbations in the interactive metabolome in human urine. Furthermore, siderophore biosynthesis coordinately modulated the individualized interactive metabolome, which we found to be a critical component of UPEC virulence. The individualized virulence-associated interactive metabolome contained 31 different metabolites and 17 central metabolic pathways that were annotated to host these different metabolites, including energetic metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and gut microbe metabolism. Changes in the activities of these pathways mechanistically pinpointed the virulent capability of siderophore biosynthesis. Together, our findings provide novel insights into UPEC virulence, and we propose that siderophores are potential targets for further discovery of drugs to treat UPEC-induced UTI.
Automated Chemotactic Sorting and Single-cell Cultivation of Microbes using Droplet Microfluidics
Authors: Dong Libing , Chen Dong-Wei , Liu Shuang-Jiang , Du Wenbin 
Published: April 2016

AbstractWe report a microfluidic device for automated sorting and cultivation of chemotactic microbes from pure cultures or mixtures. The device consists of two parts: in the first part, a concentration gradient of the chemoeffector was built across the channel for inducing chemotaxis of motile cells; in the second part, chemotactic cells from the sample were separated and mixed with culture media to form nanoliter droplets for encapsulation, cultivation, enumeration and recovery of single cells. Chemotactic responses were assessed by imaging and statistical analysis of droplets based on Poisson distribution. An automated procedure was developed for rapid enumeration of droplets with cell growth, following with scale-up cultivation on agar plates. The performance of the device was evaluated by the chemotaxis assays of Escherichia coli (E. coli) RP437 and E. coli RP1616. Moreover, enrichment and isolation of non-labelled Comamonas testosteroni CNB-1 from its 1:10 mixture with E. coli RP437 was demonstrated. The enrichment factor reached 36.7 for CNB-1, based on its distinctive chemotaxis toward 4-hydroxybenzoic acid. We believe that this device can be widely used in chemotaxis studies without necessarily relying on fluorescent labelling and isolation of functional microbial species from various environments.
Interleukin-10 deficiency impairs regulatory T cell-derived neuropilin-1 functions and promotes Th1 and Th17 immunity
Authors: Wang Shimin , Gao Xiang , Shen Guobo , Wang Wei , Li Jingyu , Zhao Jingyi , Wei Yu-Quan , Edwards Carl K. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractRegulatory T cells (Tregs) expand in peripheral lymphoid organs and can produce immunosuppressive cytokines to support tumor growth. IL-10 abrogation efficiently induces Treg formation but dampens tumoral neuropilin-1 (Nrp-1) Treg signaling, which simultaneously augments Th1 and Th17 immunity. These effects are associated with the plasticity and stability of Tregs and effector T cell functions that can limit tumorigenesis. Within the tumor microenvironment, there appears to be a “mutual antagonism” between immunoenhancement and immunosuppression mechanisms, eventually leading to decreased metastasis. In contrast, tumor progression is paralleled by a reduction in Nrp-1-producing Tregs controlled by the IL-10 and TGF-β1 levels. However, Th1, Th17 and Treg immunity is primarily regulated by IL-10 or Nrp-1 and not TGF-β1 except when combined with IL-10. These results emphasize the important implications for the therapeutic use of Tregs. The number of Treg cells must be maintained in a healthy and dynamic homeostatic range to prevent malignant diseases. Moreover, Treg-mediated immunosuppression can be limited by reducing tumor-derived Treg Nrp-1 levels.
Abattoir-based estimates of mycobacterial infections in Cameroon
Authors: Egbe N. F. , Muwonge A. , Ndip L. , Kelly R. F. , Sander M. , Tanya V. , Ngwa V. Ngu , Handel I. G. , Novak A. , Ngandalo R. , Mazeri S. , Morgan K. L. , Asuquo A. , Bronsvoort B. M. de C. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractMycobacteria cause major diseases including human tuberculosis, bovine tuberculosis and Johne’s disease. In livestock, the dominant species isM. boviscausing bovine tuberculosis (bTB), a disease of global zoonotic importance. In this study, we estimated the prevalence of Mycobacteria in slaughter cattle in Cameroon. A total of 2,346 cattle were examined in a cross-sectional study at four abattoirs in Cameroon. Up to three lesions per animal were collected for further study and a retropharyngeal lymph node was collected from a random sample of non-lesioned animals. Samples were cultured on Lowenstein Jensen media and the BACTEC MGIT 960 system, and identified using the Hain®Genotype kits. A total of 207/2,346 cattle were identified with bTB-like lesions, representing 4.0% (45/1,129), 11.3% (106/935), 23.8% (38/160) and 14.8% (18/122) of the cattle in the Bamenda, Ngaoundere, Garoua and Maroua abattoirs respectively. The minimum estimated prevalence ofM. boviswas 2.8% (1.9–3.9), 7.7% (6.1–9.6), 21.3% (15.2–28.4) and 13.1% (7.7–20.4) in the four abattoirs respectively. OneM. tuberculosisand threeM. bovisstrains were recovered from non-lesioned animals. The high prevalence ofM. bovisis of public health concern and limits the potential control options in this setting without a viable vaccine as an alternative.
Observed 3D Structure, Generation, and Dissipation of Oceanic Mesoscale Eddies in the South China Sea
Authors: Zhang Zhiwei , Tian Jiwei , Qiu Bo , Zhao Wei , Chang Ping , Wu Dexing , Wan Xiuquan 
Published: April 2016

AbstractOceanic mesoscale eddies with horizontal scales of 50–300 km are the most energetic form of flows in the ocean. They are the oceanic analogues of atmospheric storms and are effective transporters of heat, nutrients, dissolved carbon, and other biochemical materials in the ocean. Although oceanic eddies have been ubiquitously observed in the world oceans since 1960s, our understanding of their three-dimensional (3D) structure, generation, and dissipation remains fragmentary due to lack of systematic full water-depth measurements. To bridge this knowledge gap, we designed and conducted a multi-months field campaign, called the South China Sea Mesoscale Eddy Experiment (S-MEE), in the northern South China Sea in 2013/2014. The S-MEE for the first time captured full-depth 3D structures of an anticyclonic and cyclonic eddy pair, which are characterized by a distinct vertical tilt of their axes. By observing the eddy evolution at an upstream versus downstream location and conducting an eddy energy budget analysis, the authors further proposed that generation of submesoscale motions most likely constitutes the dominant dissipation mechanism for the observed eddies.
Planktonic events may cause polymictic-dimictic regime shifts in temperate lakes
Authors: Shatwell Tom , Adrian Rita , Kirillin Georgiy 
Published: April 2016

AbstractWater transparency affects the thermal structure of lakes and within certain lake depth ranges, it can determine whether a lake mixes regularly (polymictic regime) or stratifies continuously (dimictic regime) from spring through summer. Phytoplankton biomass can influence transparency but the effect of its seasonal pattern on stratification is unknown. Therefore we analysed long term field data from two lakes of similar depth, transparency and climate but one polymictic and one dimictic and simulated a conceptual lake with a hydrodynamic model. Transparency in the study lakes was typically low during spring and summer blooms and high in between during the clear water phase (CWP), caused when zooplankton graze the spring bloom. The effect of variability of transparency on thermal structure was stronger at intermediate transparency and stronger during a critical window in spring when the rate of lake warming is highest. Whereas the spring bloom strengthened stratification in spring, the CWP weakened it in summer. The presence or absence of the CWP influenced stratification duration and under some conditions determined the mixing regime. Therefore seasonal plankton dynamics, including biotic interactions that suppress the CWP, can influence lake temperatures, stratification duration and potentially also the mixing regime.
Green self-assembly of zein-conjugated ZnO/Cd(OH)Cl hierarchical nanocomposites with high cytotoxicity and immune organs targeting
Authors: Wang Hua-Jie , Cao Ying , Wang Cai-Feng , Cui Shi-Zhong , Mi Li-Wei , Miyazawa Teruo 
Published: April 2016

AbstractInorganic nanomedicines in the fight against cancer have progressed rapidly during recent years, with the synergistic advantages of multifunctional nanosystems compared to single component. Herein, a drug-combination opinion was introduced into “nanomedicine” based on the understanding of Trojan horse-anti-tumor mechanism of inorganic nano-medicines. Moreover, we reported the green and facile synthesis route of mono-dispersed and rod-like zein-conjugated ZnO/Cd(OH)Cl hierarchical nanocomposites. We found that the nanocomposites exhibited high-efficiency killing ability to tumor cells through lipid peroxidation mediated-membrane disintegration route. The safety studies in BALB/c mice didn’t detect injection anaphylaxis, hemolysis and cytotoxicity. More interestingly, the nano-composites could specially accumulate in liver and kidney, which will be helpful for targeting cure to these regional cancers.
Have GRACE satellites overestimated groundwater depletion in the Northwest India Aquifer?
Authors: Long Di , Chen Xi , Scanlon Bridget R. , Wada Yoshihide , Hong Yang , Singh Vijay P. , Chen Yaning , Wang Cunguang , Han Zhongying , Yang Wenting 
Published: April 2016

AbstractThe Northwest India Aquifer (NWIA) has been shown to have the highest groundwater depletion (GWD) rate globally, threatening crop production and sustainability of groundwater resources. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites have been emerging as a powerful tool to evaluate GWD with ancillary data. Accurate GWD estimation is, however, challenging because of uncertainties in GRACE data processing. We evaluated GWD rates over the NWIA using a variety of approaches, including newly developed constrained forward modeling resulting in a GWD rate of 3.1 ± 0.1 cm/a (or 14 ± 0.4 km3/a) for Jan 2005–Dec 2010, consistent with the GWD rate (2.8 cm/a or 12.3 km3/a) from groundwater-level monitoring data. Published studies (e.g., 4 ± 1 cm/a or 18 ± 4.4 km3/a) may overestimate GWD over this region. This study highlights uncertainties in GWD estimates and the importance of incorporating a priori information to refine spatial patterns of GRACE signals that could be more useful in groundwater resource management and need to be paid more attention in future studies.
Carrier-induced transient defect mechanism for non-radiative recombination in InGaN light-emitting devices
Authors: Bang Junhyeok , Sun Y. Y. , Song Jung-Hoon , Zhang S. B. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractNon-radiative recombination (NRR) of excited carriers poses a serious challenge to optoelectronic device efficiency. Understanding the mechanism is thus crucial to defect physics and technological applications. Here, by using first-principles calculations, we propose a new NRR mechanism, where excited carriers recombine via a Frenkel-pair (FP) defect formation. While in the ground state the FP is high in energy and is unlikely to form, in the electronic excited states its formation is enabled by a strong electron-phonon coupling of the excited carriers. This NRR mechanism is expected to be general for wide-gap semiconductors, rather than being limited to InGaN-based light emitting devices.
Structural, electron transportation and magnetic behavior transition of metastable FeAlO granular films
Authors: Bai Guohua , Wu Chen , Jin Jiaying , Yan Mi 
Published: April 2016

AbstractMetal-insulator granular film is technologically important for microwave applications. It has been challenging to obtain simultaneous high electrical resistivity and large saturation magnetization due to the balance of insulating non-magnetic and metallic magnetic components. FeAlO granular films satisfying both requirements have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition. The as-deposited film exhibits a high resistivity of 3700 μΩ∙cm with a negative temperature coefficient despite that Fe content (0.77) exceeds the percolation threshold. This originates from its unique microstructure containing amorphous Fe nanoparticles embedded in Al2O3 network. By optimizing the annealing conditions, superior electromagnetic properties with enhanced saturation magnetization (>1.05 T), high resistivity (>1200 μΩ∙cm) and broadened Δf (>3.0 GHz) are obtained. Phase separation with Al2O3 aggregating as inclusions in crystallized Fe(Al) matrix is observed after annealing at 673 K, resulting in a metallic-like resistivity. We provide a feasible way to achieve both high resistivity and large saturation magnetization for the FeAlO films with dominating metallic component and show that the microstructure can be tuned for desirable performance.
Wheatstone bridge configuration for evaluation of plasmonic energy transfer
Authors: Gosciniak J. , Mooney M. , Gubbins M. , Corbett B. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractWe propose an internal (on-chip) Wheatstone bridge configuration to evaluate the efficiency of near-field transducers (NFT) as used in heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR). The electric field enhancement between the transducer and the image plane is monitored by measuring the resistance of metal electrodes composing the image plane. The absorption of the enhanced electric field causes an increase in the metal temperature and thereby, in its resistance whose variation is monitored with an internal Wheatstone bridge which is accurately balanced in the absence of the electric field.
Growth factor restriction impedes progression of wound healing following cataract surgery: identification of VEGF as a putative therapeutic target
Authors: Eldred Julie A. , McDonald Matthew , Wilkes Helen S. , Spalton David J. , Wormstone I. Michael 
Published: April 2016

AbstractSecondary visual loss occurs in millions of patients due to a wound-healing response, known as posterior capsule opacification (PCO), following cataract surgery. An intraocular lens (IOL) is implanted into residual lens tissue, known as the capsular bag, following cataract removal. Standard IOLs allow the anterior and posterior capsules to become physically connected. This places pressure on the IOL and improves contact with the underlying posterior capsule. New open bag IOL designs separate the anterior capsule and posterior capsules and further reduce PCO incidence. It is hypothesised that this results from reduced cytokine availability due to greater irrigation of the bag. We therefore explored the role of growth factor restriction on PCO using human lens cell and tissue culture models. We demonstrate that cytokine dilution, by increasing medium volume, significantly reduced cell coverage in both closed and open capsular bag models. This coincided with reduced cell density and myofibroblast formation. A screen of 27 cytokines identified nine candidates whose expression profile correlated with growth. In particular, VEGF was found to regulate cell survival, growth and myofibroblast formation. VEGF provides a therapeutic target to further manage PCO development and will yield best results when used in conjunction with open bag IOL designs.