bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hemispheric Asymmetry of Endogenous Neural Oscillations in Young Children: Implications for Hearing Speech In Noise
Authors: Thompson Elaine C. , Woodruff Carr Kali , White-Schwoch Travis , Tierney Adam , Nicol Trent , Kraus Nina 
Published: January 2016

AbstractSpeech signals contain information in hierarchical time scales, ranging from short-duration (e.g., phonemes) to long-duration cues (e.g., syllables, prosody). A theoretical framework to understand how the brain processes this hierarchy suggests that hemispheric lateralization enables specialized tracking of acoustic cues at different time scales, with the left and right hemispheres sampling at short (25 ms; 40 Hz) and long (200 ms; 5 Hz) periods, respectively. In adults, both speech-evoked and endogenous cortical rhythms are asymmetrical: low-frequency rhythms predominate in right auditory cortex and high-frequency rhythms in left auditory cortex. It is unknown, however, whether endogenous resting state oscillations are similarly lateralized in children. We investigated cortical oscillations in children (3–5 years; N = 65) at rest and tested our hypotheses that this temporal asymmetry is evident early in life and facilitates recognition of speech in noise. We found a systematic pattern of increasing leftward asymmetry for higher frequency oscillations; this pattern was more pronounced in children who better perceived words in noise. The observed connection between left-biased cortical oscillations in phoneme-relevant frequencies and speech-in-noise perception suggests hemispheric specialization of endogenous oscillatory activity may support speech processing in challenging listening environments and that this infrastructure is present during early childhood.
The role of PD-L1 in the radiation response and clinical outcome for bladder cancer
Authors: Wu Chun-Te , Chen Wen-Cheng , Chang Ying-Hsu , Lin Wei-Yu , Chen Miao-Fen 
Published: January 2016

AbstractIdentification of potential factors that can stratify a tumor’s response to specific therapies will aid in the selection of cancer therapy. The aim was to highlight the role of programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) in bladder cancer. In this study, 92 of muscle-invasive bladder cancers and 28 of non- muscle invasive bladder cancers were selected for immunohistochemical staining analysis. Furthermore, human and murine bladder cancer cell lines were used to examine the correlation between PD-L1 and radiation response. Our data revealed that PD-L1 was overexpressed in the bladder tumor specimens compared with adjacent non-malignant specimens. Furthermore, the staining of PD-L1 was significantly linked to higher clinical stage, lower complete response rates and reduced disease-free survival rates. By in vitro and in vivo experiments, irradiation up-regulated the expression of PD-L1 in tumor cells and its increase correlated with the irradiation dose. In immunocompetent mouse models, blocking PD-L1 induced a longer tumour growth delay following irradiation. The inhibition of T cell functions including proliferation and cytotoxicity against tumor cells was responsible to the effects of PD-L1 on radiation response. In conclusion, PD-L1 could be a significant clinical predictor for clinical stage and treatment response of bladder cancer.
Anisotropic lattice response induced by a linearly-polarized femtosecond optical pulse excitation in interfacial phase change memory material
Authors: Makino Kotaro , Saito Yuta , Fons Paul , Kolobov Alexander V. , Nakano Takashi , Tominaga Junji , Hase Muneaki 
Published: January 2016

AbstractOptical excitation of matter with linearly-polarized femtosecond pulses creates a transient non-equilibrium lattice displacement along a certain direction. Here, the pump and probe pulse polarization dependence of the photo-induced ultrafast lattice dynamics in (GeTe)2/(Sb2Te3)4 interfacial phase change memory material is investigated under obliquely incident conditions. Drastic pump polarization dependence of the coherent phonon amplitude is observed when the probe polarization angle is parallel to the c–axis of the sample, while the pump polarization dependence is negligible when the probe polarization angle is perpendicular to the c–axis. The enhancement of phonon oscillation amplitude due to pump polarization rotation for a specific probe polarization angle is only found in the early time stage (≤2 ps). These results indicate that the origin of the pump and probe polarization dependence is dominantly attributable to the anisotropically-formed photo-excited carriers which cause the directional lattice dynamics.
Barbed versus traditional sutures for wound closure in knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Zhang Wei , Xue Deting , Yin Houfa , Xie Hui , Ma Honghai , Chen Erman , Hu Dongcai , Pan Zhijun 
Published: January 2016

AbstractSutures are an increasing focus of research in knee arthroplasty (KA). Whether knotless barbed sutures (KBS) are safe and efficient in KA remains controversial. The objective of our study is to compare the clinical outcomes of KA according to wound closure method: KBS versus knotted traditional sutures (KTS). To clarify this, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nine articles involving 10 studies were included in this study. The dataset consisted of 1729 patients with 1754 KA. Among these, 814 patients’ wounds were closed with KBS and 915 with KTS. Our analysis indicates that KBS is preferable for KA wound closure given its shorter wound closure time and lower total cost; postoperative Knee Society scores and complication rates were similar to those of surgeries using KTS. The subgroup analysis revealed that closure of arthrotomy with KBS appears to be associated with a lower risk of complications. This meta-analysis indicates that use of KBS in KA reduces operative time and cost. KBS is the preferred option for wound closures, including arthrotomy and reattachment of subcutaneous and subcuticular tissues. Given the possible biases, adequately powered and better-designed studies with longer follow-up are required to reach a firmer conclusion.
Temporal Succession of Ancient Phytoplankton Community in Qinghai Lake and Implication for Paleo-environmental Change
Authors: Li Gaoyuan , Dong Hailiang , Hou Weiguo , Wang Shang , Jiang Hongchen , Yang Jian , Wu Geng 
Published: January 2016

AbstractTibetan lake sediments in NW China are sensitive recorders of climate change. However, many important plankton members do not leave any microscopic features in sedimentary records. Here we used ancient DNA preserved in Qinghai Lake sediments to reconstruct the temporal succession of plankton communities in the past 18,500 years. Our results showed that seven classes and sixteen genera of phytoplankton in the lake underwent major temporal changes, in correlation with known climatic events. Trebouxiophyceae and Eustigmatophyceae were predominant during the cold periods, whereas Chlorophyceae, Phaeophyceae, Xanthophyceae, Bacillariophyceae and Cyanophyceae were abundant during the warm periods. The inferred changes in temperature, nutrients, precipitation and salinity, as driven by the Westerlies and summer Monsoon strength, likely contributed to these observed temporal changes. Based on these correlations, we propose the phytoplankton index as a proxy to reconstruct the stadial versus interstadial climate change history in Qinghai Lake. This taxon-specific index is free of terrestrial contamination, sensitive to short-term climatic oscillations and continuous in recording all climatic events in the lake. The validity of this index and its applicability to other lakes is demonstrated by its good correlations with multiple climate records of Qinghai Lake and another lake on the Tibetan Plateau, Kusai Lake.
Circulating Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Is A Sensitive Biomarker for Severe Ischemia/reperfusion Injury in Patients with Liver Transplantation
Authors: Ye Dewei , Li Huating , Wang Yudong , Jia Weiping , Zhou Jian , Fan Jia , Man Kwan , Lo Chungmau , Wong Chiming , Wang Yu , Lam Karen S.L. , Xu Aimin 
Published: January 2016

AbstractHepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a major cause of morbidity and mortality after liver surgery. Therefore, it is important to identity reliable biomarkers to assist early diagnosis of hepatic I/R injury. This study aimed to investigate the potential of serum levels of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) as a biomarker for hepatic I/R injury in patients with liver transplantation. Two independent cohorts of liver transplantation patients were recruited for determination of serum levels of FGF21, ALT and AST. The results demonstrated that serum FGF21 at 2 hours post-reperfusion in cohort-1 exhibited an approximately 20-fold elevation relative to those in healthy subjects. In blood samples dynamically collected in cohort-2, a dramatic increase in serum FGF21 levels (~25-fold) was observed at two hours after surgery, whereas the peak levels of serum ALT and AST were detected only after 24 hours. Temporal correlation analysis demonstrated a significant association of peak serum levels of FGF21 at 2 hours with the magnitude of the increase in both serum ALT and AST levels at 24 hours post transplantation. In conclusion, serum FGF21 may represent a sensitive and specific prognostic biomarker for early detection of I/R injury in patients with liver transplantation.
Whole-genome sequencing of the endangered bovine species Gayal (Bos frontalis) provides new insights into its genetic features
Authors: Mei Chugang , Wang Hongcheng , Zhu Wenjuan , Wang Hongbao , Cheng Gong , Qu Kaixing , Guang Xuanmin , Li Anning , Zhao Chunping , Yang Wucai , Wang Chongzhi , Xin Yaping , Zan Linsen 
Published: January 2016

AbstractGayal (Bos frontalis) is a semi-wild and endangered bovine species that differs from domestic cattle (Bos taurus and Bos indicus) and its genetic background remains unclear. Here, we performed whole-genome sequencing of one Gayal for the first time, with one Red Angus cattle and one Japanese Black cattle as controls. In total, 97.8 Gb of sequencing reads were generated with an average 11.78-fold depth and >98.44% coverage of the reference sequence (UMD3.1). Numerous different variations were identified, 62.24% of the total single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) detected in Gayal were novel and 16,901 breed-specific nonsynonymous SNPs (BS-nsSNPs) that might be associated with traits of interest in Gayal were further investigated. Moreover, the demographic history of bovine species was first analyzed and two population expansions and two population bottlenecks were identified. The obvious differences among their population sizes supported that Gayal was not B. taurus. The phylogenic analysis suggested that Gayal was a hybrid descendant from crossing of male wild gaur and female domestic cattle. These discoveries will provide valuable genomic information regarding potential genomic markers that could predict traits of interest for breeding programs of these cattle breeds and may assist relevant departments with future conservation and utilization of Gayal.
Meristem maintenance, auxin, jasmonic and abscisic acid pathways as a mechanism for phenotypic plasticity in Antirrhinum majus
Authors: Weiss Julia , Alcantud-Rodriguez Raquel , Toksöz Tugba , Egea-Cortines Marcos 
Published: January 2016

AbstractPlants grow under climatic changing conditions that cause modifications in vegetative and reproductive development. The degree of changes in organ development i.e. its phenotypic plasticity seems to be determined by the organ identity and the type of environmental cue. We used intraspecific competition and found that Antirrhinum majus behaves as a decoupled species for lateral organ size and number. Crowding causes decreases in leaf size and increased leaf number whereas floral size is robust and floral number is reduced. Genes involved in shoot apical meristem maintenance like ROA and HIRZ, cell cycle (CYCD3a; CYCD3b, HISTONE H4) or organ polarity (GRAM) were not significantly downregulated under crowding conditions. A transcriptomic analysis of inflorescence meristems showed Gene Ontology enriched pathways upregulated including Jasmonic and Abscisic acid synthesis and or signalling. Genes involved in auxin synthesis such as AmTAR2 and signalling AmANT were not affected by crowding. In contrast, AmJAZ1, AmMYB21, AmOPCL1 and AmABA2 were significantly upregulated. Our work provides a mechanistic working hypothesis where a robust SAM and stable auxin signalling enables a homogeneous floral size while changes in JA and ABA signalling maybe responsible for the decreased leaf size and floral number.
Influence of Electric Fields and Conductivity on Pollen Tube Growth assessed via Electrical Lab-on-Chip
Authors: Agudelo Carlos , Packirisamy Muthukumaran , Geitmann Anja 
Published: January 2016

AbstractPollen tubes are polarly growing plant cells that are able to rapidly respond to a combination of chemical, mechanical and electrical cues. This behavioural feature allows them to invade the flower pistil and deliver the sperm cells in highly targeted manner to receptive ovules in order to accomplish fertilization. How signals are perceived and processed in the pollen tube is still poorly understood. Evidence for electrical guidance in particular is vague and highly contradictory. To generate reproducible experimental conditions for the investigation of the effect of electric fields on pollen tube growth we developed an Electrical Lab-on-Chip (ELoC). Pollen from the species Camellia displayed differential sensitivity to electric fields depending on whether the entire cell or only its growing tip was exposed. The response to DC fields was dramatically higher than that to AC fields of the same strength. However, AC fields were found to restore and even promote pollen growth. Surprisingly, the pollen tube response correlated with the conductivity of the growth medium under different AC frequencies—consistent with the notion that the effect of the field on pollen tube growth may be mediated via its effect on the motion of ions.
Organic devices based on nickel nanowires transparent electrode
Authors: Kim Jeongmo , da Silva Wilson Jose , bin Mohd Yusoff Abd. Rashid , Jang Jin 
Published: January 2016

AbstractHerein, we demonstrate a facile approach to synthesize long nickel nanowires and discuss its suitability to replace our commonly used transparent electrode, indium-tin-oxide (ITO), by a hydrazine hydrate reduction method where nickel ions are reduced to nickel atoms in an alkaline solution. The highly purified nickel nanowires show high transparency within the visible region, although the sheet resistance is slightly larger compared to that of our frequently used transparent electrode, ITO. A comparison study on organic light emitting diodes and organic solar cells, using commercially available ITO, silver nanowires and nickel nanowires, are also discussed.
Nimbolide inhibits pancreatic cancer growth and metastasis through ROS-mediated apoptosis and inhibition of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition
Authors: Subramani Ramadevi , Gonzalez Elizabeth , Arumugam Arunkumar , Nandy Sushmita , Gonzalez Viviana , Medel Joshua , Camacho Fernando , Ortega Andrew , Bonkoungou Sandrine , Narayan Mahesh , Dwivedi Alok kumar , Lakshmanaswamy Rajkumar 
Published: January 2016

AbstractThe mortality and morbidity rates of pancreatic cancer are high because of its extremely invasive and metastatic nature. Its lack of symptoms, late diagnosis and chemo–resistance and the ineffective treatment modalities warrant the development of new chemo–therapeutic agents for pancreatic cancer. Agents from medicinal plants have demonstrated therapeutic benefits in various human cancers. Nimbolide, an active molecule isolated from Azadirachta indica, has been reported to exhibit several medicinal properties. This study assessed the anticancer properties of nimbolide against pancreatic cancer. Our data reveal that nimbolide induces excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), thereby regulating both apoptosis and autophagy in pancreatic cancer cells. Experiments with the autophagy inhibitors 3-methyladenine and chloroquine diphosphate salt and the apoptosis inhibitor z-VAD-fmk demonstrated that nimbolide-mediated ROS generation inhibited proliferation (through reduced PI3K/AKT/mTOR and ERK signaling) and metastasis (through decreased EMT, invasion, migration and colony forming abilities) via mitochondrial-mediated apoptotic cell death but not via autophagy. In vivo experiments also demonstrated that nimbolide was effective in inhibiting pancreatic cancer growth and metastasis. Overall, our data suggest that nimbolide can serve as a potential chemo–therapeutic agent for pancreatic cancer.
Semantic interrogation of a multi knowledge domain ontological model of tendinopathy identifies four strong candidate risk genes
Authors: Saunders Colleen J. , Jalali Sefid Dashti Mahjoubeh , Gamieldien Junaid 
Published: January 2016

AbstractTendinopathy is a multifactorial syndrome characterised by tendon pain and thickening and impaired performance during activity. Candidate gene association studies have identified genetic factors that contribute to intrinsic risk of developing tendinopathy upon exposure to extrinsic factors. Bioinformatics approaches that data-mine existing knowledge for biological relationships may assist with the identification of candidate genes. The aim of this study was to data-mine functional annotation of human genes and identify candidate genes by ontology-seeded queries capturing the features of tendinopathy. Our BioOntological Relationship Graph database (BORG) integrates multiple sources of genomic and biomedical knowledge into an on-disk semantic network where human genes and their orthologs in mouse and rat are central concepts mapped to ontology terms. The BORG was used to screen all human genes for potential links to tendinopathy. Following further prioritisation, four strong candidate genes (COL11A2,ELN,ITGB3,LOX) were identified. These genes are differentially expressed in tendinopathy, functionally linked to features of tendinopathy and previously implicated in other connective tissue diseases. In conclusion, cross-domain semantic integration of multiple sources of biomedical knowledge and interrogation of phenotypes and gene functions associated with disease, may significantly increase the probability of identifying strong and unobvious candidate genes in genetic association studies.
Common SNP in hsa-miR-196a-2 increases hsa-miR-196a-5p expression and predisposes to idiopathic male infertility in Chinese Han population
Authors: Lu Jing , Gu Hao , Tang Qiuqin , Wu Wei , Yuan Beilei , Guo Dan , Wei Yongyue , Sun Hong , Xia Yankai , Ding Hongjuan , Hu Lingqing , Chen Daozhen , Sha Jiahao , Wang Xinru 
Published: January 2016

AbstractMicroRNA plays an important role in spermatogenesis. Whether pre-miRNAs polymorphisms are associated with idiopathic male infertility remains obscure. In this study, 1378 idiopathic infertile males and 486 fertile controls were included between 2006 and 2014. Genotype of three polymorphisms (hsa-mir-146a rs2910164, hsa-mir-196a-2 rs11614913 and hsa-mir-499 rs3746444) and expression of miRNA in seminal plasma were examined by TaqMan method. The role of hsa-miR-196a-5p in cell proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle were also examined in GC-2 cells. Our results demonstrated that rs11614913 of hsa-miR-196a-2 was significantly associated with idiopathic infertility (TT vs. CT: P = 0.014; TT vs. CC: P = 0.005; TT vs. CT + CC: P = 0.003). In following stratified analysis, we found that rs11614913 exhibited a significantly higher risk of asthenospermia, oligozoospermia and azoospermia. However, no significant association was observed between the other two polymorphisms and idiopathic male infertility risk. In a genotype-expression correlation analysis, rs11614913 CC was significantly associated with elevated expression of hsa-miR-196a-5p (P < 0.05). Additionally, apoptosis levels were significantly increased in hsa-miR-196a-5p mimic treated GC-2 cells, while decreased in hsa-miR-196a-5p inhibitor treated GC-2 cells. Our data revealed a significant relationship between hsa-miR-196a-2 polymorphism and idiopathic male infertility.
Carbon and nitrogen additions induce distinct priming effects along an organic-matter decay continuum
Authors: Qiao Na , Xu Xingliang , Hu Yuehua , Blagodatskaya Evgenia , Liu Yongwen , Schaefer Douglas , Kuzyakov Yakov 
Published: January 2016

AbstractDecomposition of organic matter (OM) in soil, affecting carbon (C) cycling and climate feedbacks, depends on microbial activities driven by C and nitrogen (N) availability. However, it remains unknown how decomposition of various OMs vary across global supplies and ratios of C and N inputs. We examined OM decomposition by incubating four types of OM (leaf litter, wood, organic matter from organic and mineral horizons) from a decay continuum in a subtropical forest at Ailao Mountain, China with labile C and N additions. Decomposition of wood with high C:N decreased for 3.9 to 29% with these additions, while leaf decomposition was accelerated only within a narrow C:N range of added C and N. Decomposition of OM from organic horizon was accelerated by high C:N and suppressed by low C:N, but mineral soil was almost entirely controlled by high C:N. These divergent responses to C and N inputs show that mechanisms for priming (i.e. acceleration or retardation of OM decomposition by labile inputs) vary along this decay continuum. We conclude that besides C:N ratios of OM, those of labile inputs control the OM decay in the litter horizons, while energy (labile C) regulates decomposition in mineral soil. This suggests that OM decomposition can be predicted from its intrinsic C:N ratios and those of labile inputs.
Global selection of Plasmodium falciparum virulence antigen expression by host antibodies
Authors: Abdi Abdirahman I. , Warimwe George M. , Muthui Michelle K. , Kivisi Cheryl A. , Kiragu Esther W. , Fegan Gregory W. , Bull Peter C. 
Published: January 2016

AbstractParasite proteins called PfEMP1 that are inserted on the surface of infected erythrocytes, play a key role in the severe pathology associated with infection by the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite. These proteins mediate binding of infected cells to the endothelial lining of blood vessels as a strategy to avoid clearance by the spleen and are major targets of naturally acquired immunity. PfEMP1 is encoded by a large multi-gene family called var. Mutually-exclusive transcriptional switching between var genes allows parasites to escape host antibodies. This study examined in detail the patterns of expression of var in a well-characterized sample of parasites from Kenyan Children. Instead of observing clear inverse relationships between the expression of broad sub-classes of PfEMP1, we found that expression of different PfEMP1 groups vary relatively independently. Parasite adaptation to host antibodies also appears to involve a general reduction in detectable var gene expression. We suggest that parasites switch both between different PfEMP1 variants and between high and low expression states. Such a strategy could provide a means of avoiding immunological detection and promoting survival under high levels of host immunity.