bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Association of Increased Serum Leptin with Ameliorated Anemia and Malnutrition in Stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease Patients after Parathyroidectomy
Authors: Jiang Yao , Zhang Jingjing , Yuan Yanggang , Zha Xiaoming , Xing Changying , Shen Chong , Shen Zhixiang , Qin Chao , Zeng Ming , Yang Guang , Mao Huijuan , Zhang Bo , Yu Xiangbao , Sun Bin , Ouyang Chun , Xu Xueqiang , Ge Yifei , Wang Jing , Zhang Lina , Cheng Chen , Yin Caixia , Zhang Jing , Chen Huimin , Ma Haoyang , Wang Ningning 
Published: June 2016

AbstractLeptin is an adipokine that regulates various metabolism, but its association with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT), a clinical manifestation of chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD), remains obscure. Parathyroidectomy (PTX) is recommended for severe SHPT patients. Here, the associations between circulating leptin and clinical characteristics in CKD patients were investigated. Effects of PTX on leptin production were analyzed in vivo and in vitro. Controls and CKD patients had approximate serum leptin levels in that a larger proportion of CKD patients with body mass index (BMI) <23 kg/m2. Serum leptin was related to anemia, albumin, and bone metabolism disorders in CKD patients. Lower intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) was related with higher leptin in PTX patients group. Severe SHPT inhibited uremia-enhanced leptin production in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, which was attenuated after PTX. High levels of PTH were found to reduce Akt phosphorylation and leptin production in vitro but high levels of calcium and phosphorus were not. Successful PTX was found to improve anemia and malnutrition in severe SHPT patients, and this was correlated with increased circulating leptin levels via up-regulated Akt signaling in adipocytes. These findings indicated the therapeutic potential of leptin and related target pathway for improving survival and quality of life in CKD.
Uncovering ancient transcription systems with a novel evolutionary indicator
Authors: Adachi Naruhiko , Senda Toshiya , Horikoshi Masami 
Published: June 2016

AbstractTBP and TFIIB are evolutionarily conserved transcription initiation factors in archaea and eukaryotes. Information about their ancestral genes would be expected to provide insight into the origin of the RNA polymerase II-type transcription apparatus. In obtaining such information, the nucleotide sequences of current genes of both archaea and eukaryotes should be included in the analysis. However, the present methods of evolutionary analysis require that a subset of the genes should be excluded as an outer group. To overcome this limitation, we propose an innovative concept for evolutionary analysis that does not require an outer group. This approach utilizes the similarity in intramolecular direct repeats present in TBP and TFIIB as an evolutionary measure revealing the degree of similarity between the present offspring genes and their ancestors. Information on the properties of the ancestors and the order of emergence of TBP and TFIIB was also revealed. These findings imply that, for evolutionarily early transcription systems billions of years ago, interaction of RNA polymerase II with transcription initiation factors and the regulation of its enzymatic activity was required prior to the accurate positioning of the enzyme. Our approach provides a new way to discuss mechanistic and system evolution in a quantitative manner.
Monitoring tetracycline through a solid-state nanopore sensor
Authors: Zhang Yuechuan , Chen Yanling , Fu Yongqi , Ying Cuifeng , Feng Yanxiao , Huang Qimeng , Wang Chao , Pei De-Sheng , Wang Deqiang 
Published: June 2016

AbstractAntibiotics as emerging environmental contaminants, are widely used in both human and veterinary medicines. A solid-state nanopore sensing method is reported in this article to detect Tetracycline, which is based on Tet-off and Tet-on systems. rtTA (reverse tetracycline-controlled trans-activator) and TRE (Tetracycline Responsive Element) could bind each other under the action of Tetracycline to form one complex. When the complex passes through nanopores with 8 ~ 9 nanometers in diameter, we could detect the concentrations of Tet from 2 ng/mL to 2000 ng/mL. According to the Logistic model, we could define three growth zones of Tetracycline for rtTA and TRE. The slow growth zone is 0–39.5 ng/mL. The rapid growth zone is 39.5−529.7 ng/mL. The saturated zone is > 529.7 ng/mL. Compared to the previous methods, the nanopore sensor could detect and quantify these different kinds of molecule at the single-molecule level.
Expression of AtMed15 of Arabidopsis in yeast causes flocculation and increases ethanol production in yeast culture
Authors: Dahiya Pradeep , Bhat Divya S. , Thakur Jitendra K. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractMediator, a multiprotein complex involved in transcription of class II genes, was first discovered in yeast and then characterized in many metazoans revealing a striking structural conservation of the complex. However, sequences of Mediator subunits are not well conserved raising a question on the functional conservation of these individual subunits. In this study, expression of Med15 of Arabidopsis (AtMed15) in gal11∆ yeast could not complement the function of ScGal11 in galactose metabolism and resistance against cycloheximide. Surprisingly, AtMed15 changed the morphology of the yeast cells. The cells adhered strongly on the surface of the agar media and showed robust flocculation in the liquid media without affecting the growth. The AtMed15-induced adhesion and flocculation were observed in different carbon sources. Calcium-assisted cell wall-bound mannan-binding proteins were found to be involved in this flocculation, which was unaffected by wide fluctuation of pH or temperatures revealing its constitutive robust nature. Expression of few flocculation related Flo genes was up-regulated in these cells. Interestingly, there was significant increase in ethanol production by the yeast expressing AtMed15. Robust and constitutive flocculation and increased ethanol production by yeast cells harbouring AtMed15 indicate an opportunity of its important usage in biotechnology industries.
Enhance nisin yield via improving acid-tolerant capability of Lactococcus lactis F44
Authors: Zhang Jian , Caiyin Qinggele , Feng Wenjing , Zhao Xiuli , Qiao Bin , Zhao Guangrong , Qiao Jianjun 
Published: June 2016

AbstractTraditionally, nisin was produced industrially by using Lactococcus lactis in the neutral fermentation process. However, nisin showed higher activity in the acidic environment. How to balance the pH value for bacterial normal growth and nisin activity might be the key problem. In this study, 17 acid-tolerant genes and 6 lactic acid synthetic genes were introduced in L. lactis F44, respectively. Comparing to the 2810 IU/mL nisin yield of the original strain F44, the nisin titer of the engineered strains over-expressing hdeAB, ldh and murG, increased to 3850, 3979 and 4377 IU/mL, respectively. These engineered strains showed more stable intracellular pH value during the fermentation process. Improvement of lactate production could partly provide the extra energy for the expression of acid tolerance genes during growth. Co-overexpression of hdeAB, murG and ldh(Z) in strain F44 resulted in the nisin titer of 4913 IU/mL. The engineered strain (ABGL) could grow on plates with pH 4.2, comparing to the surviving pH 4.6 of strain F44. The fed-batch fermentation showed nisin titer of the co-expression L. lactis strain could reach 5563 IU/mL with lower pH condition and longer cultivation time. This work provides a novel strategy of constructing robust strains for use in industry process.
The feeding habit of sea turtles influences their reaction to artificial marine debris
Authors: Fukuoka Takuya , Yamane Misaki , Kinoshita Chihiro , Narazaki Tomoko , Marshall Greg J. , Abernathy Kyler J. , Miyazaki Nobuyuki , Sato Katsufumi 
Published: June 2016

AbstractIngestion of artificial debris is considered as a significant stress for wildlife including sea turtles. To investigate how turtles react to artificial debris under natural conditions, we deployed animal-borne video cameras on loggerhead and green turtles in addition to feces and gut contents analyses from 2007 to 2015. Frequency of occurrences of artificial debris in feces and gut contents collected from loggerhead turtles were 35.7% (10/28) and 84.6% (11/13), respectively. Artificial debris appeared in all green turtles in feces (25/25) and gut contents (10/10), and green turtles ingested more debris (feces; 15.8 ± 33.4 g, gut; 39.8 ± 51.2 g) than loggerhead turtles (feces; 1.6 ± 3.7 g, gut; 9.7 ± 15.0 g). In the video records (60 and 52.5 hours from 10 loggerhead and 6 green turtles, respectively), turtles encountered 46 artificial debris and ingested 23 of them. The encounter-ingestion ratio of artificial debris in green turtles (61.8%) was significantly higher than that in loggerhead turtles (16.7%). Loggerhead turtles frequently fed on gelatinous prey (78/84), however, green turtles mainly fed marine algae (156/210), and partly consumed gelatinous prey (10/210). Turtles seemed to confuse solo drifting debris with their diet, and omnivorous green turtles were more attracted by artificial debris.
Scoparone affects lipid metabolism in primary hepatocytes using lipidomics
Authors: Zhang Aihua , Qiu Shi , Sun Hui , Zhang Tianlei , Guan Yu , Han Ying , Yan Guangli , Wang Xijun 
Published: June 2016

AbstractLipidomics, which focuses on the global study of molecular lipids in biological systems, could provide valuable insights about disease mechanisms. In this study, we present a nontargeted lipidomics strategy to determine cellular lipid alterations after scoparone exposure in primary hepatocytes. Lipid metabolic profiles were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and a novel imaging TransOmics tool has been developed for the analysis of high-resolution MS data, including the data pretreatment, visualization, automated identification, deconvolution and quantification of lipid species. Chemometric and statistical analyses of the obtained lipid fingerprints revealed the global lipidomic alterations and tested the therapeutic effects of scoparone. Identification of ten proposed lipids contributed to the better understanding of the effects of scoparone on lipid metabolism in hepatocytes. The most striking finding was that scoparone caused comprehensive lipid changes, as represented by significant changes of the identificated lipids. The levels of identified PG(19:1(9Z)/14:0), PE(17:1(9Z)/0:0), PE(19:1(9Z)/0:0) were found to be upregulated in ethanol-induced group, whereas the levels in scoparone group were downregulated. Lipid metabolism in primary hepatocytes was changed significantly by scoparone treatment. We believe that this novel approach could substantially broaden the applications of high mass resolution mass spectrometry for cellular lipidomics.
Genetic structure of Populus hybrid zone along the Irtysh River provides insight into plastid-nuclear incompatibility
Authors: Zeng Yan-Fei , Zhang Jian-Guo , Duan Ai-Guo , Abuduhamiti Bawerjan 
Published: June 2016

AbstractIn plants, the maintenance of species integrity despite hybridization has often been explained by the co-adaption of nuclear gene complexes. However, the interaction between plastid and nuclear sub-genomes has been underestimated. Here, we analyzed the genetic structure of aPopulus albaandP. tremulahybrid zone along the Irtysh River system in the Altai region, northwest China, using both nuclear microsatellites and plastid DNA sequences. We found high interspecific differentiation, although the hybridP. × canescenswas prevalent. Bayesian inference classified most hybrids into F1, followed by a few back-crosses toP. albaand fewer F2 hybrids and back-crosses toP. tremula, indicating a few introgressions but preference towardP. alba. When plastid haplotypes in parental species were distinct,P. × canescenscarried the haplotypes of both parents, but showed significant linkage between intraspecific haplotype and nuclear genotypes at several microsatellite loci. Selection, rather than migration and assortative mating, might have contributed to such plastid-nuclear disequilibria. By removing later-generated hybrids carrying interspecific combinations of haplotype and nuclear genotypes, plastid-nuclear incompatibility has greatly limited the gene exchange betweenP. albaandP. tremula viabackcrossing with hybrids, demonstrating a significant association between plastid haplotype and the proportion of nuclear admixture.
Exercise in an electrotactic flow chamber ameliorates age-related degeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Chuang Han-Sheng , Kuo Wan-Jung , Lee Chia-Lin , Chu I-Hua , Chen Chang-Shi 
Published: June 2016

AbstractDegeneration is a senescence process that occurs in all living organisms. Although tremendous efforts have been exerted to alleviate this degenerative tendency, minimal progress has been achieved to date. The nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), which shares over 60% genetic similarities with humans, is a model animal that is commonly used in studies on genetics, neuroscience and molecular gerontology. However, studying the effect of exercise on C. elegans is difficult because of its small size unlike larger animals. To this end, we fabricated a flow chamber, called “worm treadmill,” to drive worms to exercise through swimming. In the device, the worms were oriented by electrotaxis on demand. After the exercise treatment, the lifespan, lipofuscin, reproductive capacity and locomotive power of the worms were analyzed. The wild-type and the Alzheimer’s disease model strains were utilized in the assessment. Although degeneration remained irreversible, both exercise-treated strains indicated an improved tendency compared with their control counterparts. Furthermore, low oxidative stress and lipofuscin accumulation were also observed among the exercise-treated worms. We conjecture that escalated antioxidant enzymes imparted the worms with an extra capacity to scavenge excessive oxidative stress from their bodies, which alleviated the adverse effects of degeneration. Our study highlights the significance of exercise in degeneration from the perspective of the simple life form, C. elegans.
Magneto-optical plasmonic heterostructure with ultranarrow resonance for sensing applications
Authors: Ignatyeva Daria O. , Knyazev Grigory A. , Kapralov Pavel O. , Dietler Giovanni , Sekatskii Sergey K. , Belotelov Vladimir I. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractCurrently, sensors invade into our everyday life to bring higher life standards, excellent medical diagnostic and efficient security. Plasmonic biosensors demonstrate an outstanding performance ranking themselves among best candidates for different applications. However, their sensitivity is still limited that prevents further expansion. Here we present a novel concept of magnetoplasmonic sensor with ultranarrow resonances and high sensitivity. Our approach is based on the combination of a specially designed one-dimensional photonic crystal and a ferromagnetic layer to realize ultralong-range propagating magnetoplasmons and to detect alteration of the environment refractive index via observation of the modifications in the Transversal Magnetooptical Kerr Effect spectrum. The fabrication of such a structure is relatively easy in comparison with e.g. nanopatterned samples. The fabricated heterostructure shows extremely sharp (angular width of 0.06°) surface plasmon resonance and even sharper magnetoplasmonic resonance (angular width is 0.02°). It corresponds to the propagation length as large as 106 μm which is record for magnetoplasmons and promising for magneto-optical interferometry and plasmonic circuitry as well as magnetic field sensing. The magnitude of the Kerr effect of 11% is achieved which allows for detection limit of 1∙10−6. The prospects of further increase of the sensitivity of this approach are discussed.
Systems pharmacology to investigate the interaction of berberine and other drugs in treating polycystic ovary syndrome
Authors: Wang Yu , Fu Xin , Xu Jing , Wang Qiuhong , Kuang Haixue 
Published: June 2016

AbstractPolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common multifactorial endocrine disorder among women of childbearing age. PCOS has various and heterogeneous clinical features apart from its indefinite pathogenesis and mechanism. Clinical drugs for PCOS are multifarious because it only treats separate symptoms. Berberine is an isoquinoline plant alkaloid with numerous biological activities, and it was testified to improve some diseases related to PCOS in animal models and in humans. Systems pharmacology was utilized to predict the potential targets of berberine related to PCOS and the potential drug-drug interaction base on the disease network. In conclusion, berberine is a promising polypharmacological drug for treating PCOS, and for enhancing the efficacy of clinical drugs.
Profiling of differentially expressed microRNAs in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy
Authors: Zhang Hongliang , Liu Shenghua , Dong Tianwei , Yang Jun , Xie Yuanyuan , Wu Yike , Kang Kang , Hu Shengshou , Gou Deming , Wei Yingjie 
Published: June 2016

AbstractArrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a kind of primary cardiomyopathy characterized by the fibro-fatty replacement of right ventricular myocardium. Currently, myocardial microRNAs have been reported to play critical role in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular pathophysiology. So far, the profiling of microRNAs in ARVC has not been described. In this study, we applied S-Poly (T) Plus method to investigate the expression profile of microRNAs in 24 ARVC patients heart samples. The tissue levels of 1078 human microRNAs were assessed and were compared with levels in a group of 24 healthy controls. Analysis of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) supported the 21 validated microRNAs to be miRNA signatures of ARVC, eleven microRNAs were significantly increased in ARVC heart tissues and ten microRNAs were significantly decreased. After functional enrichment analysis, miR-21-5p and miR-135b were correlated with Wnt and Hippo pathway, which might involve in the molecular pathophysiology of ARVC. Overall, our data suggested that myocardial microRNAs were involved in the pathophysiology of ARVC, miR-21-5p and miR-135b were significantly associated with both the myocardium adipose and fibrosis, which was a potential disease pathway for ARVC and might to be useful as therapeutic targets for ARVC.
Suppressing male spermatogenesis-associated protein 5-like gene expression reduces vitellogenin gene expression and fecundity in Nilaparvata lugens Stål
Authors: Ge Lin-Quan , Xia Ting , Huang Bo , Song Qi-Sheng , Zhang Hong-Wei , Stanley David , Yang Guo-Qing , Wu Jin-Cai 
Published: June 2016

AbstractIn our previous study with the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, triazophos (tzp) treatments led to substantial up-regulation of a male spermatogenesis-associated protein 5-like gene (NlSPATA5) compared to untreated controls. Mating with tzp-treated males significantly increased fecundity (as numbers of eggs laid), relative to females mated with untreated males. Because SPATA5 acts in mammalian sperm development and is expressed in testes, we posed the hypothesis that NlSPATA5 occurs in BPH seminal fluid and it operates in fecundity via mating. We tested the hypothesis by investigating the influence of suppressing NlSPATA5 expression in BPH males on fecundity. Reduced expression of NlSPATA5 led to decreased male accessory gland protein content and reproductive system development compared to controls. These changes in males led to prolonged pre-oviposition periods and decreased fecundity in females. For both genders, we recorded no difference in the body weight, oviposition periods, and longevity compared to controls. NlSPATA5 suppression in males also led to decreased fat body and ovarian protein content, yeast-like symbionts abundance and ovarian development as well as vitellogenin gene expression in their mating partners. We infer that increased NlSPATA5 expression may be one molecular mechanism of tzp-driven reproduction and population increases in BPH.
Male-biased sex ratio does not promote increased sperm competitiveness in the seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus
Authors: McNamara Kathryn B. , Robinson Stephen P. , Rosa Márta E. , Sloan Nadia S. , van Lieshout Emile , Simmons Leigh W. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractSperm competition risk and intensity can select for adaptations that increase male fertilisation success. Evolutionary responses are examined typically by generating increased strength of sexual selection via direct manipulation of female mating rates (by enforcing monandry or polyandry) or by alteration of adult sex ratios. Despite being a model species for sexual selection research, the effect of sexual selection intensity via adult sex-ratio manipulation on male investment strategies has not been investigated in the seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus. We imposed 32 generations of experimental evolution on 10 populations of beetles by manipulating adult sex ratio. Contrary to predictions, males evolving in male-biased populations did not increase their testes and accessory gland size. This absence of divergence in ejaculate investment was also reflected in the fact that males from male-biased populations were not more successful in either preventing females from remating, or in competing directly for fertilisations. These populations already demonstrate divergence in mating behaviour and immunity, suggesting sufficient generations have passed to allow divergence in physiological and behavioural traits. We propose several explanations for the absence of divergence in sperm competitiveness among our populations and the pitfalls of using sex ratio manipulation to assess evolutionary responses to sexual selection intensity.
Shape and size constraints on dust optical properties from the Dome C ice core, Antarctica
Authors: Potenza M. A. C. , Albani S. , Delmonte B. , Villa S. , Sanvito T. , Paroli B. , Pullia A. , Baccolo G. , Mahowald N. , Maggi V. 
Published: June 2016

AbstractMineral dust aerosol (dust) is widely recognized as a fundamental component of the climate system and is closely coupled with glacial-interglacial climate oscillations of the Quaternary period. However, the direct impact of dust on the energy balance of the Earth system remains poorly quantified, mainly because of uncertainties in dust radiative properties, which vary greatly over space and time. Here we provide the first direct measurements of the aerosol optical thickness of dust particles windblown to central East Antarctica (Dome C) during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and the Holocene. By applying the Single Particle Extinction and Scattering (SPES) technique and imposing preferential orientation to particles, we derive information on shape from samples of a few thousands of particles. These results highlight that clear shape variations occurring within a few years are hidden to routine measurement techniques. With this novel measurement method the optical properties of airborne dust can be directly measured from ice core samples and can be used as input into climate model simulations. Based on simulations with an Earth System Model we suggest an effect of particle non-sphericity on dust aerosol optical depth (AOD) of about 30% compared to spheres and differences in the order of ~10% when considering different combinations of particles shapes.