bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Physiological and production responses when feeding Aspergillus oryzae to dairy cows during short-term, moderate heat stress
Authors: Ominski K. H. , Wittenberg K. M. , Kennedy A. D. , Moshtaghi-Nia S. A. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractDairy operations located in many temperate climates experience a decline in milk production associated with short-term moderate heat stress during the summer months. The duration and intensity of this heat stress differs dramatically from the sustained, intense heat experienced in many tropical and subtropical countries where the vast majority of heat stress research has been conducted. As such, many of the strategies utilized to ameliorate production losses associated with sustained, intense heat may not be effective in temperate climates. The objective of this research was to characterize the production responses of lactating dairy cows during and after short-term, moderate heat exposure and, to determine if feeding a fungal culture, Aspergillus oryzae, during a 5-day heat stress period, could effectively alleviate the associated production losses. In a two-period, cross-over design, eight mature lactating cows were given a total mixed ration with or without Aspergillus oryzae. Each 15-day period consisted of a 5-day thermoneutral phase, a 5-day heat stress phase and a 5-day thermoneutral recovery phase. When exposed to moderate heat stress for a 5-day period, cows experienced a rise in vaginal temperature and a decline in dry-matter intake. Following the 5-day heat stress phase, milk yield declined by a factor of 0·09. Supplementation with Aspergillus oryzae had no effect on vaginal temperature, dry-matter intake, water intake, milk yield or milk components. These data indicate that short-term, moderate heat stress, which occurs during the spring and summer months in temperate climates, will significantly decrease production in the lactating cow. Addition of fungal cultures to the diet during the period of imposed heat did not ameliorate production losses associated with this type of heat stress.
Effect of childhood nutrition counselling on intelligence in adolescence: a 15-year follow-up of a cluster-randomised trial
Authors: Munhoz Tiago N , Santos Iná S , Karam Simone de M. , Martines Jose , Pelto Gretel , Barcelos Raquel , Gonçalves Helen , Valle Neiva CJ , Anselmi Luciana , Matijasevich Alicia 
Published: May 2017

AbstractObjectiveThe present study aimed to assess the effects of an early childhood nutrition counselling intervention on intelligence (as measured by the intelligence quotient (IQ)) at age 15–16 years.DesignA single-blind, cluster-randomised trial.SettingIn 1998, in Southern Brazil, mothers of children aged 18 months or younger were enrolled in a nutrition counselling intervention (n 424). Counselling included encouragement and promotion of exclusive breast-feeding until 6 months of age and continued breast-feeding supplemented by protein-, lipid- and carbohydrate-rich foods after age 6 months up to age 2 years. The control group received routine feeding advice. In 2013, the fourth round of follow-up of these individuals, at the age of 15–16 years, was undertaken. IQ was assessed using the short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III). Mental disorders (evaluated using the Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA)) and self-reported school failure, smoking and alcohol use were also investigated. Adjusted analyses were conducted using a multilevel model in accordance with the sampling process.SubjectsAdolescents, mean (sd) age of 15·4 (0·5) years (n 339).ResultsMean (sd) total IQ score was lower in the intervention group than the control group (93·4 (11·4) and 95·8 (11·2), respectively) but the association did not persist after adjustment. The prevalence of any mental disorders was similar between intervention and control groups (23·1 and 23·5 %, respectively). There were no differences between groups regarding school failure, smoking and alcohol use.ConclusionsNutrition counselling intervention in early childhood had no effect on intelligence measured during adolescence.
The Right of Access to Environmental Information and Legal Transplant Theory: Lessons from London and Beijing
Authors: Whittaker Sean 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThis article analyzes the potential for legal transplant theory to strengthen the legal regimes that guarantee the right of access to environmental information in England and China. Guaranteed by the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, the right has a substantial impact on how individuals can act as environmental stewards. However, despite the framework provided by the Aarhus Convention, there are shortcomings in how these states guarantee the right when compared with the obligations set by the provisions of the Convention. The article applies Alan Watson’s legal transplant theory to the environmental information regimes in England and China and considers the likelihood of each jurisdiction sourcing legal reforms from the other. It also seeks to identify common trends shared by each jurisdiction and the impact of the Aarhus Convention on such transplants.
MOF as an evolutionarily conserved histone crotonyltransferase and transcriptional activation by histone acetyltransferase-deficient and crotonyltransferase-competent CBP/p300
Authors: Liu Xiaoguang , Wei Wei , Liu Yuting , Yang Xueli , Wu Jian , Zhang Yang , Zhang Qiao , Shi Tieliu , Du James X , Zhao Yingming , Lei Ming , Zhou Jin-Qiu , Li Jiwen , Wong Jiemin 
Published: May 2017

AbstractRecent studies indicate that histones are subjected to various types of acylation including acetylation, propionylation and crotonylation. CBP and p300 have been shown to catalyze multiple types of acylation but are not conserved in evolution, raising the question as to the existence of other enzymes for histone acylation and the functional relationship between well-characterized acetylation and other types of acylation. In this study, we focus on enzymes catalyzing histone crotonylation and demonstrate that among the known histone acetyltransferases, MOF, in addition to CBP and p300, also possesses histone crotonyltransferase (HCT) activity and this activity is conserved in evolution. We provide evidence that CBP and p300 are the major HCTs in mammalian cells. Furthermore, we have generated novel CBP/p300 mutants with deficient histone acetyltransferase but competent HCT activity. These CBP/p300 mutants can substitute the endogenous CBP/p300 to enhance transcriptional activation in the cell, which correlates with enhanced promoter crotonylation and recruitment of DPF2, a selective reader for crotonylated histones. Taken together, we have identified MOF as an evolutionarily conserved HCT and provide first cellular evidence that CBP/p300 can facilitate transcriptional activation through histone acylation other than acetylation, thus supporting an emerging role for the non-acetylation type of histone acylation in transcription and possibly other chromatin-based processes.
Alpine soil carbon is vulnerable to rapid microbial decomposition under climate cooling
Authors: Wu Linwei , Yang Yunfeng , Wang Shiping , Yue Haowei , Lin Qiaoyan , Hu Yigang , He Zhili , Van Nostrand Joy D , Hale Lauren , Li Xiangzhen , Gilbert Jack A , Zhou Jizhong 
Published: May 2017

Abstract
As climate cooling is increasingly regarded as important natural variability of long-term global warming trends, there is a resurging interest in understanding its impact on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Here, we report a soil transplant experiment from lower to higher elevations in a Tibetan alpine grassland to simulate the impact of cooling on ecosystem community structure and function. Three years of cooling resulted in reduced plant productivity and microbial functional potential (for example, carbon respiration and nutrient cycling). Microbial genetic markers associated with chemically recalcitrant carbon decomposition remained unchanged despite a decrease in genes associated with chemically labile carbon decomposition. As a consequence, cooling-associated changes correlated with a decrease in soil organic carbon (SOC). Extrapolation of these results suggests that for every 1 °C decrease in annual average air temperature, 0.1 Pg (0.3%) of SOC would be lost from the Tibetan plateau. These results demonstrate that microbial feedbacks to cooling have the potential to differentially impact chemically labile and recalcitrant carbon turnover, which could lead to strong, adverse consequences on soil C storage. Our findings are alarming, considering the frequency of short-term cooling and its scale to disrupt ecosystems and biogeochemical cycling.
Decoding and reprogramming fungal iterative nonribosomal peptide synthetases
Authors: Yu Dayu , Xu Fuchao , Zhang Shuwei , Zhan Jixun 
Published: May 2017

AbstractNonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) assemble a large group of structurally and functionally diverse natural products. While the iterative catalytic mechanism of bacterial NRPSs is known, it remains unclear how fungal NRPSs create products of desired length. Here we show that fungal iterative NRPSs adopt an alternate incorporation strategy. Beauvericin and bassianolide synthetases have the same C1-A1-T1-C2-A2-MT-T2a-T2b-C3 domain organization. During catalysis, C3 and C2 take turns to incorporate the two biosynthetic precursors into the growing depsipeptide chain that swings between T1 and T2a/T2b with C3 cyclizing the chain when it reaches the full length. We reconstruct the total biosynthesis of beauvericin in vitro by reacting C2 and C3 with two SNAC-linked precursors and present a domain swapping approach to reprogramming these enzymes for peptides with altered lengths. These findings highlight the difference between bacterial and fungal NRPS mechanisms and provide a framework for the enzymatic synthesis of non-natural nonribosomal peptides.
Complementary information derived from CRISPR Cas9 mediated gene deletion and suppression
Authors: Rosenbluh Joseph , Xu Han , Harrington William , Gill Stanley , Wang Xiaoxing , Vazquez Francisca , Root David E. , Tsherniak Aviad , Hahn William C. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractCRISPR-Cas9 provides the means to perform genome editing and facilitates loss-of-function screens. However, we and others demonstrated that expression of the Cas9 endonuclease induces a gene-independent response that correlates with the number of target sequences in the genome. An alternative approach to suppressing gene expression is to block transcription using a catalytically inactive Cas9 (dCas9). Here we directly compare genome editing by CRISPR-Cas9 (cutting, CRISPRc) and gene suppression using KRAB-dCas9 (CRISPRi) in loss-of-function screens to identify cell essential genes. CRISPRc identified 98% of previously defined cell essential genes. After optimizing library construction by analysing transcriptional start sites (TSS), CRISRPi identified 92% of core cell essential genes and did not show a bias to regions involved in copy number alterations. However, bidirectional promoters scored as false positives in CRISRPi. We conclude that CRISPRc and CRISPRi have different off-target effects and combining these approaches provides complementary information in loss-of-function genetic screens.
Mir-132/212 is required for maturation of binocular matching of orientation preference and depth perception
Authors: Mazziotti Raffaele , Baroncelli Laura , Ceglia Nicholas , Chelini Gabriele , Sala Grazia Della , Magnan Christophe , Napoli Debora , Putignano Elena , Silingardi Davide , Tola Jonida , Tognini Paola , Arthur J. Simon C. , Baldi Pierre , Pizzorusso Tommaso 
Published: May 2017

AbstractMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to mediate post-transcriptional gene regulation, but their role in postnatal brain development is still poorly explored. We show that the expression of many miRNAs is dramatically regulated during functional maturation of the mouse visual cortex with miR-132/212 family being one of the top upregulated miRNAs. Age-downregulated transcripts are significantly enriched in miR-132/miR-212 putative targets and in genes upregulated in miR-132/212 null mice. At a functional level, miR-132/212 deletion affects development of receptive fields of cortical neurons determining a specific impairment of binocular matching of orientation preference, but leaving orientation and direction selectivity unaltered. This deficit is associated with reduced depth perception in the visual cliff test. Deletion of miR-132/212 from forebrain excitatory neurons replicates the binocular matching deficits. Thus, miR-132/212 family shapes the age-dependent transcriptome of the visual cortex during a specific developmental window resulting in maturation of binocular cortical cells and depth perception.
A light-driven artificial flytrap
Authors: Wani Owies M. , Zeng Hao , Priimagi Arri 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThe sophistication, complexity and intelligence of biological systems is a continuous source of inspiration for mankind. Mimicking the natural intelligence to devise tiny systems that are capable of self-regulated, autonomous action to, for example, distinguish different targets, remains among the grand challenges in biomimetic micro-robotics. Herein, we demonstrate an autonomous soft device, a light-driven flytrap, that uses optical feedback to trigger photomechanical actuation. The design is based on light-responsive liquid-crystal elastomer, fabricated onto the tip of an optical fibre, which acts as a power source and serves as a contactless probe that senses the environment. Mimicking natural flytraps, this artificial flytrap is capable of autonomous closure and object recognition. It enables self-regulated actuation within the fibre-sized architecture, thus opening up avenues towards soft, autonomous small-scale devices.
Comparative transcriptomic analysis indicates genes associated with local and systemic resistance to Colletotrichum graminicola in maize
Authors: Miranda Vívian de Jesus , Porto William Farias , Fernandes Gabriel da Rocha , Pogue Robert , Nolasco Diego Oliveira , Araujo Ana Claudia Guerra , Cota Luciano Viana , Freitas Camila Guimarães de , Dias Simoni Campos , Franco Octavio Luiz 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThe hemibiotrophic fungus Colletotrichum graminicola may cause severe damage to maize, affecting normal development of the plant and decreasing grain yield. In this context, understanding plant defense pathways at the inoculation site and systemically in uninoculated tissues can help in the development of genetic engineering of resistance against this pathogen. Previous work has discussed the molecular basis of maize - C. graminicola interaction. However, many genes involved in defense have not yet been exploited for lack of annotation in public databases. Here, changes in global gene expression were studied in root, male and female inflorescences of maize under local and systemic fungal infection treatments, respectively. RNA-Seq with qPCR was used to indicate genes involved in plant defense. We found that systemic acquired resistance induction in female inflorescences mainly involves accumulation of salicylic acid (SA)-inducible defense genes (ZmNAC, ZmHSF, ZmWRKY, ZmbZIP and PR1) and potential genes involved in chromatin modification. Furthermore, transcripts involved in jasmonic acid (JA) and ethylene (ET) signaling pathways were also accumulated and may participate in plant immunity. Moreover, several genes were functionally re-annotated based on domain signature, indicating novel candidates to be tested in strategies involving gene knockout and overexpression in plants.
Aβ42 pentamers/hexamers are the smallest detectable oligomers in solution
Authors: Wolff Martin , Zhang-Haagen Bo , Decker Christina , Barz Bogdan , Schneider Mario , Biehl Ralf , Radulescu Aurel , Strodel Birgit , Willbold Dieter , Nagel-Steger Luitgard 
Published: May 2017

AbstractAmyloid β (Aβ) oligomers may play a decisive role in Alzheimer’s disease related neurodegeneration, but their structural properties are poorly understood. In this report, sedimentation velocity centrifugation, small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and molecular modelling were used to identify the small oligomeric species formed by the 42 amino acid residue long isoform of Aβ (Aβ42) in solution, characterized by a sedimentation coefficient of 2.56 S, and a radius of gyration between 2 and 4 nm. The measured sedimentation coefficient is in close agreement with the sedimentation coefficient calculated for Aβ42 hexamers using MD simulations at µM concentration. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report detailing the Aβ42 oligomeric species by SANS measurements. Our results demonstrate that the smallest detectable species in solution are penta- to hexamers. No evidences for the presence of dimers, trimers or tetramers were found, although the existence of those Aβ42 oligomers at measurable quantities had been reported frequently.
Office paper decorated with silver nanostars - an alternative cost effective platform for trace analyte detection by SERS
Authors: Oliveira Maria João , Quaresma Pedro , Peixoto de Almeida Miguel , Araújo Andreia , Pereira Eulália , Fortunato Elvira , Martins Rodrigo , Franco Ricardo , Águas Hugo 
Published: May 2017

AbstractFor analytical applications in portable sensors to be used in the point-of-need, low-cost SERS substrates using paper as a base, are an alternative. In this work, SERS substrates were produced on two different types of paper: a high porosity paper (Whatman no. 1); and a low porosity paper (commercially available office paper, Portucel Soporcel). Solutions containing spherical silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and silver nanostars (AgNSs) were separately drop-casted on hydrophilic wells patterned on the papers. The porosity of the paper was found to play a determinant role on the AgNP and AgNS distribution along the paper fibres, with most of the nanoparticles being retained at the illuminated surface of the office paper substrate. The highest SERS enhancements were obtained for the office paper substrate, with deposited AgNSs. A limit of detection for rhodamine-6G as low as 11.4 ± 0.2 pg could be achieved, with an analytical enhancement factor of ≈107 for this specific analyte. The well patterning technique allowed good signal uniformity (RSD of 1.7%). Besides, these SERS substrates remained stable after 5 weeks of storage (RSD of 7.3%). Paper-induced aggregation of AgNPs was found to be a viable alternative to the classical salt-induced aggregation, to obtain a highly sensitive SERS substrates.
When agreement-accepting free-riders are a necessary evil for the evolution of cooperation
Authors: Martinez-Vaquero Luis A. , Han The Anh , Pereira Luís Moniz , Lenaerts Tom 
Published: May 2017

AbstractAgreements and commitments have provided a novel mechanism to promote cooperation in social dilemmas in both one-shot and repeated games. Individuals requesting others to commit to cooperate (proposers) incur a cost, while their co-players are not necessarily required to pay any, allowing them to free-ride on the proposal investment cost (acceptors). Although there is a clear complementarity in these behaviours, no dynamic evidence is currently available that proves that they coexist in different forms of commitment creation. Using a stochastic evolutionary model allowing for mixed population states, we identify non-trivial roles of acceptors as well as the importance of intention recognition in commitments. In the one-shot prisoner’s dilemma, alliances between proposers and acceptors are necessary to isolate defectors when proposers do not know the acceptance intentions of the others. However, when the intentions are clear beforehand, the proposers can emerge by themselves. In repeated games with noise, the incapacity of proposers and acceptors to set up alliances makes the emergence of the first harder whenever the latter are present. As a result, acceptors will exploit proposers and take over the population when an apology-forgiveness mechanism with too low apology cost is introduced, and hence reduce the overall cooperation level.
Stroke triggers nigrostriatal plasticity and increases alcohol consumption in rats
Authors: Huang Cathy C. Y. , Ma Tengfei , Roltsch Hellard Emily A. , Wang Xuehua , Selvamani Amutha , Lu Jiayi , Sohrabji Farida , Wang Jun 
Published: May 2017

AbstractExcessive alcohol consumption is a known risk factor for stroke, but the effect of stroke on alcohol intake is unknown. The dorsomedial striatum (DMS) and midbrain areas of the nigrostriatal circuit are critically associated to stroke and alcohol addiction. Here we sought to explore the influence of stroke on alcohol consumption and to uncover the underlying nigrostriatal mechanism. Rats were trained to consume alcohol using a two-bottle choice or operant self-administration procedure. Retrograde beads were infused into the DMS or midbrain to label specific neuronal types, and ischemic stroke was induced in the dorsolateral striatum (DLS). Slice electrophysiology was employed to measure excitability and synaptic transmission in DMS and midbrain neurons. We found that ischemic stroke-induced DLS infarction produced significant increases in alcohol preference, operant self-administration, and relapse. These increases were accompanied by enhanced excitability of DMS and midbrain neurons. In addition, glutamatergic inputs onto DMS D1-neurons was potentiated, whereas GABAergic inputs onto DMS-projecting midbrain dopaminergic neurons was suppressed. Importantly, systemic inhibition of dopamine D1 receptors attenuated the stroke-induced increase in operant alcohol self-administration. Our results suggest that the stroke-induced DLS infarction evoked abnormal plasticity in nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons and DMS D1-neurons, contributing to increased post-stroke alcohol-seeking and relapse.
Tuning the photoexcitation response of cyanobacterial Photosystem I via reconstitution into Proteoliposomes
Authors: Niroomand Hanieh , Mukherjee Dibyendu , Khomami Bamin 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThe role of natural thylakoid membrane housing of Photosystem I (PSI), the transmembrane photosynthetic protein, in its robust photoactivated charge separation with near unity quantum efficiency is not fundamentally understood. To this end, incorporation of suitable protein scaffolds for PSI incorporation is of great scientific and device manufacturing interest. Areas of interest include solid state bioelectronics, and photoelectrochemical devices that require bio-abio interfaces that do not compromise the photoactivity and photostability of PSI. Therefore, the surfactant-induced membrane solubilization of a negatively charged phospholipid (DPhPG) with the motivation of creating biomimetic reconstructs of PSI reconstitution in DPhPG liposomes is studied. Specifically, a simple yet elegant method for incorporation of PSI trimeric complexes into DPhPG bilayer membranes that mimic the natural thylakoid membrane housing of PSI is introduced. The efficacy of this method is demonstrated via absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy measurements as well as direct visualization using atomic force microscopy. This study provides direct evidence that PSI confinements in synthetic lipid scaffolds can be used for tuning the photoexcitation characteristics of PSI. Hence, it paves the way for development of fundamental understanding of microenvironment alterations on photochemical response of light activated membrane proteins.