bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Detecting Lateral Motion using Light’s Orbital Angular Momentum
Authors: Cvijetic Neda , Milione Giovanni , Ip Ezra , Wang Ting 
Published: October 2015

AbstractInterrogating an object with a light beam and analyzing the scattered light can reveal kinematic information about the object, which is vital for applications ranging from autonomous vehicles to gesture recognition and virtual reality. We show that by analyzing the change in the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of a tilted light beam eclipsed by a moving object, lateral motion of the object can be detected in an arbitrary direction using a single light beam and without object image reconstruction. We observe OAM spectral asymmetry that corresponds to the lateral motion direction along an arbitrary axis perpendicular to the plane containing the light beam and OAM measurement axes. These findings extend OAM-based remote sensing to detection of non-rotational qualities of objects and may also have extensions to other electromagnetic wave regimes, including radio and sound.
Intravenous infusion of H2-saline suppresses oxidative stress and elevates antioxidant potential in Thoroughbred horses after racing exercise
Authors: Yamazaki Masahiko , Kusano Kanichi , Ishibashi Toru , Kiuchi Masataka , Koyama Katsuhiro 
Published: October 2015

AbstractUpon intensive, exhaustive exercise, exercise-induced reactive oxygen species may exceed the antioxidant defence threshold, consequently resulting in muscular damage or late-onset chronic inflammation. Recently, the therapeutic antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of molecular hydrogen (H2) for human rheumatoid arthritis have been demonstrated. However, it is also important to clarify the effects of administrating H2 in large animals other than humans, as H2 is thought to reach the target organ by passive diffusion upon delivery from the blood flow, indicating that the distance from the administration point to the target is critical. However, data on the effects of H2 on oxidative stress in real-life exhaustive exercise in large animals are currently lacking. We here investigated 13 Thoroughbred horses administered intravenous 2-L saline with or without 0.6-ppm H2 (placebo, N = 6; H2, N = 7) before participating in a high-intensity simulation race. Intravenous H2-saline significantly suppressed oxidative stress immediately, 3 h and 24 h after the race, although the antioxidant capability was not affected throughout the study. The serum creatine kinase, lactate and uric acid levels were increased in both groups. Taken together, these results indicate that intravenous H2-saline can significantly and specifically suppress oxidative stress induced after exhaustive racing in Thoroughbred horses.
Comparison of medetomidine, thiopental and ketamine/midazolam anesthesia in chick embryos for in ovo Magnetic Resonance Imaging free of motion artifacts
Authors: Waschkies Conny , Nicholls Flora , Buschmann Johanna 
Published: October 2015

AbstractNon-invasive assessment of the perfusion capacity of tissue engineered constructs grown on the chorioallantoic membrane by MRI is often hampered by motion artifacts. Therefore, we examined the suitability of three anesthetic regimes for sufficient sedation of the chick embryo. Medetomidine at a dosage of 0.3 mg/kg, was compared to thiopental at 100 mg/kg and ketamine/midazolam at 50 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg, respectively. These soluble anesthetics were applied by dropping a total volume of 0.3 mL onto the surface of the CAM. Motion was videotaped through the window of the eggshell and scored semi-quantitatively. Medetomidine performed best in terms of reduced motion; onset of anesthesia occurred within 10 minutes and for the following 30 minutes, allowing proper in vivo MRI measurements. The other regimen were not sedating deep enough (ketamine/midazolam) and not long enough (thiopental). In sum, medetomidine allows proper sedation for MRI assessment of the perfusion capacity in a tissue engineered construct placed on the CAM.
Lactate dehydrogenase-A inhibition induces human glioblastoma multiforme stem cell differentiation and death
Authors: Daniele Simona , Giacomelli Chiara , Zappelli Elisa , Granchi Carlotta , Trincavelli Maria Letizia , Minutolo Filippo , Martini Claudia 
Published: October 2015

AbstractTherapies that target the signal transduction and metabolic pathways of cancer stem cells (CSCs) are innovative strategies to effectively reduce the recurrence and significantly improve the outcome of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). CSCs exhibit an increased rate of glycolysis, thus rendering them intrinsically more sensitive to prospective therapeutic strategies based on the inhibition of the glycolytic pathway. The enzyme lactate dehydrogenase-A (LDH-A), which catalyses the interconversion of pyruvate and lactate, is up-regulated in human cancers, including GBM. Although several papers have explored the benefits of targeting cancer metabolism in GBM, the effects of direct LDH-A inhibition in glial tumours have not yet been investigated, particularly in the stem cell subpopulation. Here, two representative LDH-A inhibitors (NHI-1 and NHI-2) were studied in GBM-derived CSCs and compared to differentiated tumour cells. LDH-A inhibition was particularly effective in CSCs isolated from different GBM cell lines, where the two compounds blocked CSC formation and elicited long-lasting effects by triggering both apoptosis and cellular differentiation. These data demonstrate that GBM, particularly the stem cell subpopulation, is sensitive to glycolytic inhibition and shed light on the therapeutic potential of LDH-A inhibitors in this tumour type.
Multiple Simulated Annealing-Molecular Dynamics (MSA-MD) for Conformational Space Search of Peptide and Miniprotein
Authors: Hao Ge-Fei , Xu Wei-Fang , Yang Sheng-Gang , Yang Guang-Fu 
Published: October 2015

AbstractProtein and peptide structure predictions are of paramount importance for understanding their functions, as well as the interactions with other molecules. However, the use of molecular simulation techniques to directly predict the peptide structure from the primary amino acid sequence is always hindered by the rough topology of the conformational space and the limited simulation time scale. We developed here a new strategy, named Multiple Simulated Annealing-Molecular Dynamics (MSA-MD) to identify the native states of a peptide and miniprotein. A cluster of near native structures could be obtained by using the MSA-MD method, which turned out to be significantly more efficient in reaching the native structure compared to continuous MD and conventional SA-MD simulation.
Spontaneous symmetry breaking in vortex systems with two repulsive lengthscales
Authors: Curran P. J. , Desoky W. M. , Milos̆ević M. V. , Chaves A. , Laloë J.-B. , Moodera J. S. , Bending S. J. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractScanning Hall probe microscopy (SHPM) has been used to study vortex structures in thin epitaxial films of the superconductor MgB2. Unusual vortex patterns observed in MgB2 single crystals have previously been attributed to a competition between short-range repulsive and long-range attractive vortex-vortex interactions in this two band superconductor; the type 1.5 superconductivity scenario. Our films have much higher levels of disorder than bulk single crystals and therefore both superconducting condensates are expected to be pushed deep into the type 2 regime with purely repulsive vortex interactions. We observe broken symmetry vortex patterns at low fields in all samples after field-cooling from above Tc. These are consistent with those seen in systems with competing repulsions on disparate length scales and remarkably similar structures are reproduced in dirty two band Ginzburg-Landau calculations, where the simulation parameters have been defined by experimental observations. This suggests that in our dirty MgB2 films, the symmetry of the vortex structures is broken by the presence of vortex repulsions with two different lengthscales, originating from the two distinct superconducting condensates. This represents an entirely new mechanism for spontaneous symmetry breaking in systems of superconducting vortices, with important implications for pinning phenomena and high current density applications.
Detecting the existence of an invisibility cloak using temporal steering
Authors: Chen Shin-Liang , Chao Ching-Shiang , Chen Yueh-Nan 
Published: October 2015

AbstractAn invisibility cloak provides a way to hide an object under the detection of waves. A good cloak guides the incident waves through the cloaking shell with few distortion. Even if one day a nearly perfect cloak is built, some important quantum effects, such as dephasing of the electron spin or photon polarization, may still remain. In this work, we consider the possibility that using the temporal steering of these degrees of freedom to detect the existence of an invisibility cloak.
The SUMO Protease SENP3 Orchestrates G2-M Transition and Spindle Assembly in Mouse Oocytes
Authors: Huang Chun-Jie , Wu Di , Khan Faheem Ahmed , Huo Li-Jun 
Published: October 2015

AbstractOocyte meiosis is a transcription quiescence process and the cell-cycle progression is coordinated by multiple post-translational modifications, including SUMOylation. SENP3 an important deSUMOylation protease has been intensively studied in ribosome biogenesis and oxidative stress. However, the roles of SENP3 in cell-cycle regulation remain enigmatic, particularly for oocyte meiotic maturation. Here, we found that SENP3 co-localized with spindles during oocyte meiosis and silencing of SENP3 severely compromised the M phase entry (germinal vesicle breakdown, GVBD) and first polar body extrusion (PBI). The failure in polar body extrusion was due to the dysfunction of γ-tubulin that caused defective spindle morphogenesis. SENP3 depletion led to mislocalization and a substantial loss of Aurora A (an essential protein for MTOCs localization and spindle dynamics) while irregularly dispersed distribution of Bora (a binding partner and activator of Aurora A) in cytoplasm instead of concentrating at spindles. The SUMO-2/3 but not SUMO-1 conjugates were globally decreased by SENP3 RNAi. Additionally, the spindle assembly checkpoint remained functional upon SENP3 RNAi. Our findings renew the picture of SENP3 function by exploring its role in meiosis resumption, spindle assembly and following polar body emission during mouse oocyte meiotic maturation, which is potentially due to its proteolytic activity that facilitate SUMO-2/3 maturation.
Single Canonical Model of Reflexive Memory and Spatial Attention
Authors: Patel Saumil S. , Red Stuart , Lin Eric , Sereno Anne B. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractMany neurons in the dorsal and ventral visual stream have the property that after a brief visual stimulus presentation in their receptive field, the spiking activity in these neurons persists above their baseline levels for several seconds. This maintained activity is not always correlated with the monkey’s task and its origin is unknown. We have previously proposed a simple neural network model, based on shape selective neurons in monkey lateral intraparietal cortex, which predicts the valence and time course of reflexive (bottom-up) spatial attention. In the same simple model, we demonstrate here that passive maintained activity or short-term memory of specific visual events can result without need for an external or top-down modulatory signal. Mutual inhibition and neuronal adaptation play distinct roles in reflexive attention and memory. This modest 4-cell model provides the first simple and unified physiologically plausible mechanism of reflexive spatial attention and passive short-term memory processes.
Toxicological and biochemical analyses demonstrate no toxic effect of Cry1C and Cry2A to Folsomia candida
Authors: Yang Yan , Chen Xiuping , Cheng Lisheng , Cao Fengqin , Romeis Jörg , Li Yunhe , Peng Yufa 
Published: October 2015

AbstractCollembolans are common soil arthropods that may be exposed to insecticidal proteins produced in genetically engineered (GE) plants by ingestion of crop residues or root exudates. In the present study, a dietary exposure assay was validated and used to assess the lethal and sublethal effects of twoBacillus thuringiensis(Bt) insecticidal proteins, Cry1C and Cry2A, onFolsomia candida. Using the insecticidal compounds potassium arsenate (PA), protease inhibitor (E-64) andGalanthus nivalisagglutinin (GNA) mixed into Baker’s yeast, we show that the assay used can detect adverse effects onF. candida. Survival and development were significantly reduced whenF. candidawas fed a diet containing PA, E-64 and GNA at 9, 75 and 100 μg/g diet, respectively, but not when fed a diet containing 300 μg/g Cry1C or 600 μg/g Cry2A. The activities of test antioxidant-, detoxification- and digestion-related enzymes inF. candidawere unaltered by a diet containing 300 μg/g Cry1C or 600 μg/g Cry2A, but were significantly increased by a diet containing 75 μg/g E-64. The results confirm that Cry1C and Cry2A are not toxic toF. candidaat concentrations that are much higher than those encountered under field conditions.
Sclerostin Antibody Treatment Increases Bone Formation, Bone Mass and Bone Strength of Intact Bones in Adult Male Rats
Authors: Suen Pui Kit , Zhu Tracy Y. , Chow Dick Ho Kiu , Huang Le , Zheng Li-Zhen , Qin Ling 
Published: October 2015

AbstractWe investigated the systemic effect of sclerostin monoclonal antibody (Scl-Ab) treatment on intact non-operated bones in an open osteotomy male Sprague Dawley (SD) rat model. Six-month-old male SD rats were subjected to transverse osteotomy at the right femur mid-shaft. Rats were injected subcutaneously with vehicle or Scl-Ab (25 mg/kg, 2 times per week) treatment for 9 weeks. Compared with vehicle control, Scl-Ab treatment significantly improved trabecular and cortical bone mass and microarchitecture at L5 vertebrae and left femora by micro-CT at week 6 and 9. Mechanical testing showed that Scl-Ab treatment resulted in significantly higher stiffness, energy to failure and ultimate load at the femora at week 9. Mineral apposition rate, mineralizing surface and bone formation rate on the trabecular bone in the distal femora was significantly increased in Scl-Ab group at week 6 and 9. The administered Scl-Ab was localized in the osteocytes and beta-catenin was strongly expressed in osteoblasts. Scl-Ab treatment significantly increased serum P1NP level and there was no between-group difference in serum level of CTX-1. In conclusion, Scl-Ab treatment could induce rapid and sustained increase in bone formation, bone mass and bone strength in non-operated bones. Sclerostin inhibition might be advantageous to prevent secondary fracture(s).
Metformin Attenuates Testosterone-Induced Prostatic Hyperplasia in Rats: A Pharmacological Perspective
Authors: Mosli Hala H. , Esmat Ahmed , Atawia Reem T. , Shoieb Sherif M. , Mosli Hisham A. , Abdel-Naim Ashraf B. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractBenign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is uncontrolled proliferation of prostate tissue. Metformin, a widely prescribed anti-diabetic agent, possesses anticancer activity through induction of apoptotic signaling and cell cycle arrest. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of metformin against experimentally-induced BPH in rats. Treatment with 500 and 1000 mg/kg metformin orally for 14 days significantly inhibited testosterone-mediated increase in the prostate weight & prostate index (prostate weight/body weight [mg/g]) and attenuated the pathological alterations induced by testosterone. Mechanistically, metformin significantly protected against testosterone-induced elevation of estrogen receptor-α (ER-α) and decrease of estrogen receptor-β (ER-β) expression, with no significant effect of androgen receptor (AR) and 5α-reductase expression. It decreased mRNA expression of IGF-1 and IGF-1R and protein expression ratio of pAkt/total Akt induced by testosterone. Furthermore, it significantly ameliorated testosterone–induced reduction of mRNA expression Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, P21 and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and AMPK [PT-172] activity. In conclusion, these findings elucidate the effectiveness of metformin in preventing testosterone-induced BPH in rats. These results could be attributed, at least partly, to its ability to enhance expression ratio of ER-β/ER-α, decrease IGF-1, IGF-1R and pAkt expressions, increase P21, PTEN, Bax/Bcl-2 expressions and activate AMPK with a subsequent inhibition of prostate proliferation.
From light-harvesting to photoprotection: structural basis of the dynamic switch of the major antenna complex of plants (LHCII)
Authors: Liguori Nicoletta , Periole Xavier , Marrink Siewert J. , Croce Roberta 
Published: October 2015

AbstractLight-Harvesting Complex II (LHCII) is largely responsible for light absorption and excitation energy transfer in plants in light-limiting conditions, while in high-light it participates in photoprotection. It is generally believed that LHCII can change its function by switching between different conformations. However, the underlying molecular picture has not been elucidated yet. The available crystal structures represent the quenched form of the complex, while solubilized LHCII has the properties of the unquenched state. To determine the structural changes involved in the switch and to identify potential quenching sites, we have explored the structural dynamics of LHCII, by performing a series of microsecond Molecular Dynamics simulations. We show that LHCII in the membrane differs substantially from the crystal and has the signatures that were experimentally associated with the light-harvesting state. Local conformational changes at the N-terminus and at the xanthophyll neoxanthin are found to strongly correlate with changes in the interactions energies of two putative quenching sites. In particular conformational disorder is observed at the terminal emitter resulting in large variations of the excitonic coupling strength of this chlorophyll pair. Our results strongly support the hypothesis that light-harvesting regulation in LHCII is coupled with structural changes.
Mixed-mode resins: taking shortcut in downstream processing of raw-starch digesting α-amylases
Authors: Lončar Nikola , Slavić Marinela Šokarda , Vujčić Zoran , Božić Nataša 
Published: October 2015

AbstractBacillus licheniformis 9945a α-amylase is known as a potent enzyme for raw starch hydrolysis. In this paper, a mixed mode Nuvia cPrime™ resin is examined with the aim to improve the downstream processing of raw starch digesting amylases and exploit the hydrophobic patches on their surface. This resin combines hydrophobic interactions with cation exchange groups and as such the presence of salt facilitates hydrophobic interactions while the ion-exchange groups enable proper selectivity. α-Amylase was produced using an optimized fed-batch approach in a defined media and significant overexpression of 1.2 g L−1 was achieved. This single step procedure enables simultaneous concentration, pigment removal as well as purification of amylase with yields of 96% directly from the fermentation broth.
2.4 Silicon-Mediated Multicomponent Reactions
Authors: Wan J. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractSilicon reagents are commonly employed in organic synthesis as catalysts or promoters because of their availability and versatile catalytic activity. Some typical silicon reagents, such as trimethylsilyl halides (where the halide is chlorine or iodine) or trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate, are known to be capable of acting as Lewis acids, Brønsted acids (upon hydrolysis), and water scavengers. This section presents an overview of the particularly broad application of silicon reagents in multicomponent reactions. Silicon-mediated multicomponent processes that lead to both cyclic and acyclic products are summarized.
Passive immunotherapy targeting amyloid-β reduces cerebral amyloid angiopathy and improves vascular reactivity
Authors: Bales Kelly R. , O’Neill Sharon M. , Pozdnyakov Nikolay , Pan Feng , Caouette David , Pi YeQing , Wood Kathleen M. , Volfson Dmitri , Cirrito John R. , Han Byung-Hee , Johnson Andrew W. , Zipfel Gregory J. , Samad Tarek A. 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Prominent cerebral amyloid angiopathy is often observed in the brains of elderly individuals and is almost universally found in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Cerebral amyloid angiopathy is characterized by accumulation of the shorter amyloid-β isoform(s) (predominantly amyloid-β40) in the walls of leptomeningeal and cortical arterioles and is likely a contributory factor to vascular dysfunction leading to stroke and dementia in the elderly. We used transgenic mice with prominent cerebral amyloid angiopathy to investigate the ability of ponezumab, an anti-amyloid-β40 selective antibody, to attenuate amyloid-β accrual in cerebral vessels and to acutely restore vascular reactivity. Chronic administration of ponezumab to transgenic mice led to a significant reduction in amyloid and amyloid-β accumulation both in leptomeningeal and brain vessels when measured by intravital multiphoton imaging and immunohistochemistry. By enriching for cerebral vascular elements, we also measured a significant reduction in the levels of soluble amyloid-β biochemically. We hypothesized that the reduction in vascular amyloid-β40 after ponezumab administration may reflect the ability of ponezumab to mobilize an interstitial fluid pool of amyloid-β40 in brain. Acutely, ponezumab triggered a significant and transient increase in interstitial fluid amyloid-β40 levels in old plaque-bearing transgenic mice but not in young animals. We also measured a beneficial effect on vascular reactivity following acute administration of ponezumab, even in vessels where there was a severe cerebral amyloid angiopathy burden. Taken together, the beneficial effects ponezumab administration has on reducing the rate of cerebral amyloid angiopathy deposition and restoring cerebral vascular health favours a mechanism that involves rapid removal and/or neutralization of amyloid-β species that may otherwise be detrimental to normal vessel function.
Electromagnetic Navigation Bronchoscopy–directed Pleural Tattoo to Aid Surgical Resection of Peripheral Pulmonary Lesions
Authors: Tay Jun H. , Wallbridge Peter D. , Larobina Marco , Russell Prudence A. , Irving Louis B. , Steinfort Daniel P. 
Published: October 2015

Background:
Limited (wedge) resection of pulmonary lesions is frequently performed as a diagnostic/therapeutic procedure. Some lesions may be difficult to locate thoracoscopically with conversion to open thoracotomy or incomplete resection being potential limitations to this approach. Multiple methods have been described to aid video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical (VATS) wedge resection of pulmonary nodules, including hookwire localization, percutaneous tattoo, or intraoperative ultrasound. We report on our experience using electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopic dye marking of small subpleural lesions to aid VATS wedge resection.

Methods:
A retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients undergoing VATS wedge resection of peripheral lesions. Preoperative bronchoscopy with electromagnetic navigation was utilized to guide a 25 G needle to within/adjacent to the target lesion with injection of 1 mL of methylene blue or indigo carmine under fluoroscopic vision.

Results:
Six patients underwent bronchoscopic marking of peripheral pulmonary lesions, navigation deemed successful in all patients, with no procedural complications. Surgery was performed within 24 hours of bronchoscopic marking. Pleural staining by dye was visible thoracoscopically in all 6 lesions either adjacent to or overlying the lesion. All lesions were fully excised with wedge resection. Pathologic examination confirmed accuracy of dye staining.

Conclusions:
Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopic dye marking of peripheral lesions is feasible, without complications commonly associated with percutaneous marking procedures. Further experience is required but early findings suggest that this method may have utility in aiding minimally invasive resection of small subpleural lesions.