bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fabrication of chelate‐setting α‐tricalcium phosphate cement using sodium citrate and sodium alginate as mixing solution and its in vivo osteoconductivity
Authors: Konishi Toshiisa , Lim Poon Nian , Honda Michiyo , Nagaya Masaki , Nagashima Hiroshi , Thian Eng San , Aizawa Mamoru 
Published: November 2017

AbstractMoldable and injectable calcium‐phosphate cements (CPCs) are material candidates for bone replacement applications. In the present study, we examined the effectiveness of sodium alginate and sodium citrate additives to the liquid phase of CPC, in improving its handling property as well as mechanical strength. The use of these additives enhanced the handling property significantly, in terms of consistency as compared to CPC without additives due to the liquefying effect caused by the adsorption of citrate ions on the cement particles. Sodium alginate and sodium citrate were added to CPC, which was set by the chelate‐bonding capability of inositol phosphate, and was composed of mainly α‐tricalcium phosphate (α‐TCP) phase (>90%). The compressive strength of the CPC containing sodium alginate and sodium citrate was 3.4 ± 0.3 MPa, which was significantly higher than cement without additives. Furthermore, this cement exhibited favorable osteoconductivity and bioresorbability, and remained the α‐TCP phase after 4‐week implantation in a pig tibiae model. These results suggested that the cement is a potential candidate as a bioresorbable paste‐like artificial bone. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 106B: 2361–2370, 2018.
Novel N‐propylphthalimide‐ and 4‐vinylbenzyl‐substituted benzimidazole salts: Synthesis, characterization, and determination of their metal chelating effects and inhibition profiles against acetylcholinesterase and carbonic anhydrase enzymes
Authors: Sarı Yakup , Aktaş Aydın , Taslimi Parham , Gök Yetkin , Gulçin İlhami 
Published: November 2017

AbstractThe novel N‐propylphthalimide‐substituted and 4‐vinylbenzyl‐substituted N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) precursors were synthesized by N‐substituted benzimidazolium with aryl halides. The novel N‐propylphthalimide‐substituted and 4‐vinylbenzyl‐substituted NHC precursors have been characterized by using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FTIR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis techniques. They were tested for the inhibition of AChE and hCA enzymes and demonstrated efficient inhibition profiles with Ki values in the range of 351.0–1269.9 nM against hCA I, 346.6–1193.1 nM against hCA II, and 19.0–76.3 nM against AChE. On the other hand, acetazolamide, a clinically used molecule, utilized as CA inhibitor, obtained a Ki value of 1246.7 nM against hCA I and 1407.6 nM against hCA II. Additionally, tacrine inhibited AChE and obtained a Ki value of 174.6 nM.
Co‐production of 2,3‐BDO and succinic acid using xylose by Enterobacter cloacae
Authors: Wu Jing , Liu Hong‐Juan , Yan Xiang , Zhou Yu‐Jie , Lin Zhang‐Nan , Cheng Ke‐Ke , Zhang Jian‐An 
Published: November 2017

AbstractBACKGROUND2,3‐Butanediol and succinic acid are staple chemicals that are widely used in the chemical industry. In this study, a new strategy for the simultaneous fermentation of 2,3‐butanediol and succinic acid by Enterobacter cloacae using xylose was developed. The mechanism by which the succinic acid pathway was enhanced during 2,3‐butanediol fermentation in E. cloacae was studied. In addition, the sodium bicarbonate feeding mode and time, pH, and aeration rate were optimized. Fed‐batch fermentation was performed under the optimal conditions using industrial xylose as a raw material.RESULTSThe succinic acid pathway was enhanced by the addition of sodium bicarbonate during 2,3‐butanediol fermentation. Interestingly, a simple increase of the initial pH had no effect on the production of succinic acid. The sodium bicarbonate feeding mode and time, pH and aeration rate were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, including a sodium bicarbonate feeding mode of 2 and time of 12 h, a pH of 6.5 and an aeration rate of 0.4 vvm, a maximum of 40.67 g L‐1 of 2,3‐butanediol and 21.79 g L‐1 of succinic acid were obtained after a 72 h fed‐batch fermentation when xylose was used as raw material, with a total 2,3‐butanediol + succinic acid yield of 0.69 mol mol‐1 xylose.CONCLUSION2,3‐Butanediol and succinic acid were produced in a single fermentation step using E. cloacae. The production of 2,3‐butanediol and succinic acid was enhanced by controlling the sodium bicarbonate feeding mode and time, pH, and aeration rate. This type of fermentation provides a promising means of lowering the cost of production of these chemicals by reducing the fermentation operating time and fermentation equipment maintenance. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Macroscopic and microscopic analyses in flexor tendons of the tarsometatarso‐phalangeal joint of ostrich (Struthio camelus) foot with energy storage and shock absorption
Authors: Zhang Rui , Han Dianlei , Luo Gang , Ling Lei , Li Guoyu , Ji Qiaoli , Li Jianqiao 
Published: November 2017

AbstractFlexor tendons function as energy storage and shock absorption structures in the tarsometatarso‐phalangeal joint (TMTPJ) of ostrich feet during high‐speed and heavy‐load locomotion. In this study, mechanisms underlying the energy storage and shock absorption of three flexor tendons of the third toe were studied using histology and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Macroscopic and microscopic structures of the flexor tendons in different positions of TMTPJ were analyzed. Histological slices showed collagen fiber bundles of all flexor tendons in the middle TMTPJ were arranged in a linear‐type, but in the proximal and distal TMTPJ, a wavy‐type arrangement was found in the tendon of the M. flexor digitorum longus and tendon of the M. flexor perforans et perforatus digiti III, while no regular‐type was found in the tendon of the M. flexor perforatus digiti III. SEM showed that the collagen fiber bundles of flexor tendons were arranged in a hierarchically staggered way (horizontally linear‐type and vertically linear‐type). Linear‐type and wavy‐type both existed in the proximal TMTPJ for the collagen fiber bundles of the tendon of the M. flexor perforatus digiti III, but only the linear‐type was found in the distal TMTPJ. A number of fibrils were distributed among the collagen fiber bundles, which were likely effective in connection, force transmission and other functions. The morphology and arrangement of collagen fiber bundles were closely related to the tendon functions. We present interpretations of the biological functions in different positions and types of the tendons in the TMTPJ of the ostrich feet.
Ultrastructure of endocrine pancreatic granules during pancreatic differentiation in the grass snake, Natrix natrix L. (Lepidosauria, Serpentes)
Authors: Kowalska Magdalena , Rupik Weronika 
Published: November 2017

AbstractWe used transmission electron microscopy to study the pancreatic main endocrine cell types in the embryos of the grass snake Natrix natrix L. with focus on the morphology of their secretory granules. The embryonic endocrine part of the pancreas in the grass snake contains four main types of cells (A, B, D, and PP), which is similar to other vertebrates. The B granules contained a moderately electron‐dense crystalline‐like core that was polygonal in shape and an electron‐dense outer zone. The A granules had a spherical electron‐dense eccentrically located core and a moderately electron‐dense outer zone. The D granules were filled with a moderately electron‐dense non‐homogeneous content. The PP granules had a spherical electron‐dense core with an electron translucent outer zone. Within the main types of granules (A, B, D, PP), different morphological subtypes were recognized that indicated their maturity, which may be related to the different content of these granules during the process of maturation. The sequence of pancreatic endocrine cell differentiation in grass snake embryos differs from that in many vertebrates. In the grass snake embryos, the B and D cells differentiated earlier than A and PP cells. The different sequence of endocrine cell differentiation in snakes and other vertebrates has been related to phylogenetic position and nutrition during early developmental stages.
Mapping brown adipose tissue based on fat water fraction provided by Z‐spectral imaging
Authors: Scotti Alessandro , Tain Rong‐Wen , Li Weiguo , Gil Victoria , Liew Chong Wee , Cai Kejia 
Published: November 2017

BackgroundBrown adipose tissue (BAT) has a great relevance in metabolic diseases and has been shown to be reduced in obesity and insulin resistance patients. Currently, Dixon MRI is used to calculate fat‐water fraction (FWF) and differentiate BAT from white adipose tissue (WAT). However, it may fail in areas of phase wrapping and introduce fat‐water swapping artifacts.PurposeTo investigate the capacity of the Z‐spectrum imaging (ZSI) for the identification of BAT in vivo.Study TypeRetrospective study. Specimens: WAT, BAT, and lean tissue from healthy mice. Animals: Four C57BL/6 healthy mice. Population: Five healthy volunteers.Field Strength9.4T, 3T for volunteers.SequenceZ‐Spectra data were fitted to a model with three Lorentzian peaks reflecting the direct saturation of tissue water (W) and methylene fat (F), and the magnetization transfer from the semi‐solid tissues. The peak amplitudes of water and fat were used to map the FWF. The novel FWF metric was calibrated with an oil and water mixture phantom and validated in specimens, mice and human subjects.AssessmemtFWF distribution was compared with published works and values compared with Dixon's MRI results.Statistical TestsComparisons were performed by t‐tests.ResultsZSI clearly differentiated WAT, BAT, and lean tissues by having FWF = 1, 0.5, and 0, respectively. Calibration with oil mixture phantoms revealed a linear relationship between FWF and the actual fat fraction (R2 = 0.98). In vivo experiments in mice confirmed in vitro results by showing FWF = 0.6 in BAT. FWF maps of human subjects showed the same FWF distribution as Dixon's MRI (P > 0.05). ZSI is independent from B0 field inhomogeneity and fat‐water swapping because both lipid and water frequency offsets are determined simultaneously during Z‐spectral fitting.Data ConclusionZSI can derive artifact‐free FWF maps, which can be used to identify BAT distribution in vivo noninvasively.Level of Evidence: 1Technical Efficacy: Stage 1J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:1527–1533.
Integrating soft and hard tissues via interface tissue engineering
Authors: Patel Sahishnu , Caldwell Jon‐Michael , Doty Stephen B. , Levine William N. , Rodeo Scott , Soslowsky Louis J. , Thomopoulos Stavros , Lu Helen H. 
Published: November 2017

ABSTRACTThe enthesis, or interface between bone and soft tissues such as ligament and tendon, is prone to injury and often does not heal, even post surgical intervention. Interface tissue engineering represents an integrative strategy for regenerating the native enthesis by functionally connecting soft and hard tissues and thereby improving clinical outcome. This review focuses on integrative and cell‐instructive scaffold designs that target the healing of the two most commonly injured soft tissue‐bone junctions: tendon‐bone interface (e.g., rotator cuff) and ligament‐bone interface (e.g., anterior cruciate ligament). The inherent connectivity between soft and hard tissues is instrumental for musculoskeletal motion and is therefore a key design criterion for soft tissue regeneration. To this end, scaffold design for soft tissue regeneration have progressed from single tissue systems to the emerging focus on pre‐integrated and functional composite tissue units. Specifically, a multifaceted, bioinspired approach has been pursued wherein scaffolds are tailored to stimulate relevant cell responses using spatially patterned structural and chemical cues, growth factors, and/or mechanical stimulation. Moreover, current efforts to elucidate the essential scaffold design criteria via strategic biomimicry are emphasized as these will reduce complexity in composite tissue regeneration and ease the related burden for clinical translation. These innovative studies underscore the clinical relevance of engineering connective tissue integration and have broader impact in the formation of complex tissues and total joint regeneration. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:1069–1077, 2018.
Stability of warfarin sodium tablets repackaged in dose administration aids
Authors: Mendes Rugno Caynan , Graan Joseph , Hanna Patrichia , Pelpola Kankanamge Oshani , Sharifi Zaki , Valery Celine , Thrimawithana Thilini R. 
Published: November 2017

AbstractBackgroundDose administration aids (DAAs) are designed to assist patients to better manage their medicines. However, removal of a medicine from the original packaging invalidates the physicochemical stability guaranteed by the manufacturer. A few studies have investigated the stability of warfarin sodium; nevertheless there is no data available to suggest the stability of warfarin sodium in DAAs.AimTo determine the stability of warfarin sodium tablets stored in DAAs and original packaging over a period of 8 weeks.MethodsTablets were removed from primary packaging and repackaged into DAAs as whole tablets. DAAs and original packs were stored at controlled room temperature (25°C/60% relative humidity (RH)), accelerated (40°C/75% RH) and ‘uncontrolled room temperature’ (19–21°C and 38–50% RH) conditions for up to 8 weeks. The chemical stability was evaluated using a validated high‐performance liquid chromotography method. Tablet hardness was determined using a texture analyser and dissolution profile was determined using a US Pharmacopeia apparatus 2. X‐ray powder diffraction was used to investigate the crystalline structure of warfarin sodium.ResultsThere was no significant change in warfarin content at 8 weeks. Tablet hardness increased significantly when stored at accelerated and controlled room temperature conditions. Hardness of tablets stored in original packaging was comparable to that of DAAs at 8 weeks. The dissolution profile of tablets stored in original containers at accelerated conditions for 8 weeks was significantly different to that of baseline.ConclusionsRepackaging of warfarin sodium tablets into DAAs does not affect the chemical stability. However, tablets should be stored in a cool, dry place to minimise the effects on physical properties.
No flood effect on recruitment in a Louisiana black bear population
Authors: Clark Joseph D. , O'Connell‐Goode Kaitlin C. , Lowe Carrie L. , Murphy Sean M. , Maehr Sutton C. , Davidson Maria , Laufenberg Jared S. 
Published: November 2017

ABSTRACTA flood event in 2011 had minor impacts on apparent survival and movement probabilities of a small, isolated population of Louisiana black bears (Ursus americanus luteolus) in the Upper Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana, USA. However, the potential effects of the flood on recruitment of juveniles into the population, then listed as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act, were not evaluated. We used hair trapping data collected from 2007 to 2015 and Pradel temporal symmetry models in a robust‐design framework to investigate changes in per capita recruitment that could have resulted from the flood. We detected 91 bears (37 M:54 F) within the flooded area during our study period, ranging from 21 to 44 individuals/year. Models that tested for reduced recruitment resulting from the flood were not supported more than models with constant recruitment, and the population growth rate did not decline. Although we documented marginally lower recruitment following the 2011 flood, lag effects and detectability biases complicated our analysis. We suggest that wildlife managers continue monitoring recruitment and survival in this recently delisted black bear population given the potential for heightened flood frequency and severity in the future. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.
Reviewing our options: Managing water‐limited soils for conservation and restoration
Authors: Hobley Eleanor , Garcia‐Franco Noelia , Hübner Rico , Wiesmeier Martin 
Published: November 2017

AbstractThe Food and Agriculture Organization considers around a quarter of global land to be degraded. Of particular concern are threats to soils in water‐limited regions, which are critical to food and economic security in countries across the globe but are under increasing pressure due to human use and climatic forcing. These soils have been used to feed and provide resources and services to human societies for millennia, with earliest land‐uses dating back to prehistoric times. With the adoption of modern, frequently unsuitable agricultural practices combined with the population pressures and shifting consumption patterns, soils in water‐limited regions have come under threat, resulting in degradation and in worst‐case scenarios, desertification. Here, we review the current state of soils in water‐limited environments and provide a guide to management for conservation and restoration of these fragile soils. Options to manage specific threats to soil functionality, namely, erosion, soil salinity, loss of functionality due to landscape homogenization, degradation of soil organic matter, and climate vulnerability are presented for specific land‐uses using a whole‐system approach management framework.
10‐Channel Mode (de)multiplexer with Dual Polarizations
Authors: Dai Daoxin , Li Chenlei , Wang Shipeng , Wu Hao , Shi Yaocheng , Wu Zhihang , Gao Shiming , Dai Tingge , Yu Hui , Tsang Hon‐Ki 
Published: November 2017

AbstractA dual‐polarization 10‐channel mode (de)multiplexer is proposed and realized with cascaded dual‐core adiabatic tapers on a silicon‐on‐insulator (SOI) platform. The mode demultiplexer has a 2.3 μm‐wide multimode bus waveguide, which supports six mode‐channels of TE polarization and four mode‐channels of TM polarization. These ten mode‐channels are (de)multiplexed with five cascaded dual‐core adiabatic tapers based on SOI nanowires. The widths for these dual‐cores are chosen optimally according to the dispersion curves of the dual‐core SOI nanowire, so that the desired highest‐order modes of TE‐ and TM‐polarizations are extracted simultaneously. These two extracted mode‐channels are coupled very efficiently to the fundamental modes of TE‐ and TM‐polarizations (TE0 and TM0) in the narrow waveguide, respectively, which are then separated by using a polarization beam splitter based on bent directional couplers. A chip consisting of a pair of 10‐channel mode (de)multiplexers is fabricated and then tested with data transmission of 30Gbps/channel. The measurement results show that all TM‐ and TE mode‐channels have low crosstalks (–15∼–25 dB) and low excess losses (0.2∼1.8 dB) over a broad wavelength band of ∼90 nm, which makes it WDM (wavelength‐division‐multiplexing)‐compatible and thus suitable for high capacity on‐chip optical interconnects.
Photon Upconversion Kinetic Nanosystems and Their Optical Response
Authors: Liu Haichun , Huang Kai , Valiev Rashid R. , Zhan Qiuqiang , Zhang Yong , Ågren Hans 
Published: November 2017

AbstractLanthanide‐doped photon upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are capable of converting low‐intensity near‐infrared light to UV and visible emission through the synergistic effects of light excitation and mutual interactions between doped ions. UCNPs have attracted strong interest as unique spectrum converters and found a multitude of applications in areas like biomedical imaging, energy harvesting and information technology. UCNPs are distinct from many other types of luminescent materials in terms of the involvement of a host lattice and multiple optical centers, i.e., trivalent lanthanide ions with manyfolds of accessible long‐lived energy states, in individual nanoparticles. The mutual interactions between these optical centers, i.e., sequential energy transfers, make them operate as an integrated unit and co‐determine the luminescence kinetics and other optical properties of the individual nanoparticle. Thus, each nanoparticle consititutes a kinetic optical system. In this work, we explore UCNPs from the outset of being such kinetic optical systems and review their physical formation, the underlying photophysics, macroscopic statistical description, and their response to various optical stimuli in the spectral, polarization, intensity, temporal and frequency domains, and demonstrate ways that their optical output can be optimized by manipulating the excitation schemes. Our review highlights upconversion nanotechnology as an interdisciplinary field across chemistry, physics and biomedical engineering, with great future possibilities, flexibility and ramifications. We outline some of the potential directions of upconversion nanoparticle research.
Caffarelli–Kohn–Nirenberg inequalities on Lie groups of polynomial growth
Authors: Yacoub Chokri 
Published: November 2017

AbstractIn the setting of a Lie group of polynomial volume growth, we derive inequalities of Caffarelli–Kohn–Nirenberg type, where the weights involved are powers of the Carnot–Caratheodory distance associated with a fixed system of vector fields which satisfy the Hörmander condition.The use of weak spaces is crucial in our proofs and we formulate these inequalities within the framework of Lorentz spaces (a scale of (quasi)‐Banach spaces which extend the more classical Lebesgue spaces) thereby obtaining a refinement of, for instance, Sobolev and Hardy–Sobolev inequalities.
Resveratrol Ameliorates the Severity of Fibrogenesis in Mice with Experimental Chronic Pancreatitis
Authors: Xia Yixuan , Xiao Hai‐Tao , Liu Kanglun , Zhang Hong‐Jie , Tsang Siu Wai 
Published: November 2017

ScopeResveratrol is generally considered beneficial to health‐span and longevity since this dietary stilbenoid has been scrutinized for its activating property on the “rescue gene” sirtuin‐1 that promotes cellular survival under stress. In addition to its antiaging property, our previous in vitro studies revealed that resveratrol notably inhibits the production of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs), the classic effector cells against pancreatic injury.ObjectiveWe aim to extrapolate resveratrol intervention to the management of fibrogenesis in mice with chronic pancreatitis.Methods and resultsC57/BL6 mice are given repetitive injections of cerulein (50 μg kg–1 h–1) for 6 weeks for the induction of chronic pancreatitis. We demonstrate that the oral administration of resveratrol (20 mg kg–1 d–1) effectively attenuated PSC activation, ECM deposition, fibrogenesis, and acinar atrophy in the pancreatitic parenchyma of cerulein‐induced mice, as the damage index score was improved by 45.5%. The enhanced cell survival and preserved acinar integrity by resveratrol plausibly involves a perpetuated nuclear accumulation of Mist1 and a negative modulation of the Akt and p38 MAPK pathways.ConclusionWe suggest that resveratrol is potentially a nutraceutical for the mitigations of pancreatic fibrosis in chronic pancreatitis for which no effective therapeutic measure is currently available.