bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Discriminative imaging of maternal and fetal blood flow within the placenta using ultrafast ultrasound
Authors: Osmanski Bruno-Felix , Lecarpentier Edouard , Montaldo Gabriel , Tsatsaris Vassilis , Chavatte-Palmer Pascale , Tanter Mickael 
Published: September 2015

AbstractBeing able to map accurately placental blood flow in clinics could have major implications in the diagnosis and follow-up of pregnancy complications such as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Moreover, the impact of such an imaging modality for a better diagnosis of placental dysfunction would require to solve the unsolved problem of discriminating the strongly intricated maternal and fetal vascular networks. However, no current imaging modality allows both to achieve sufficient sensitivity and selectivity to tell these entangled flows apart. Although ultrasound imaging would be the clinical modality of choice for such a problem, conventional Doppler echography both lacks of sensibility to detect and map the placenta microvascularization and a concept to discriminate both entangled flows. In this work, we propose to use an ultrafast Doppler imaging approach both to map with an enhanced sensitivity the small vessels of the placenta (~100 μm) and to assess the variation of the Doppler frequency simultaneously in all pixels of the image within a cardiac cycle. This approach is evaluated in vivo in the placenta of pregnant rabbits: By studying the local flow pulsatility pixel per pixel, it becomes possible to separate maternal and fetal blood in 2D from their pulsatile behavior. Significance Statement: The in vivo ability to image and discriminate maternal and fetal blood flow within the placenta is an unsolved problem which could improve the diagnosis of pregnancy complications such as intrauterine growth restriction or preeclampsia. To date, no imaging modality has both sufficient sensitivity and selectivity to discriminate these intimately entangled flows. We demonstrate that Ultrafast Doppler ultrasound method with a frame rate 100x faster than conventional imaging solves this issue. It permits the mapping of small vessels of the placenta (~100 μm) in 2D with an enhanced sensitivity. By assessing pixel-per-pixel pulsatility within single cardiac cycles, it achieves maternal and fetal blood flow discrimination.
Surfactant-Templated Synthesis of Polypyrrole Nanocages as Redox Mediators for Efficient Energy Storage
Authors: Ahn Ki-Jin , Lee Younghee , Choi Hojin , Kim Min-Sik , Im Kyungun , Noh Seonmyeong , Yoon Hyeonseok 
Published: September 2015

AbstractPreparation of conducting-polymer hollow nanoparticles with different diameters was accomplished by surfactant templating. An anionic surfactant, namely sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, formed vesicles to template with the pyrrole monomer. Subsequent chemical oxidative polymerization of the monomer yielded spherical polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles with hollow interiors. The diameter of the hollow nanoparticles was easily controlled by adjusting the concentration of the surfactant. Subsequently, the size-dependent electrochemical properties of the nanoparticles, including redox properties and charge/discharge behavior, were examined. By virtue of the structural advantages, the specific capacitance (max. 326 F g−1) of PPy hollow nanoparticles was approximately twice as large as that of solid PPy nanospheres. The hollow PPy nanostructure can easily be used as a conductive substrate for the preparation of metal/polymer nanohybrids through chemical and electrochemical deposition. Two different pseudocapacitive metal-oxide clusters were readily deposited on the inner and outer surfaces of the hollow nanoparticles, which resulted in an increase in the specific capacitance to 390 F g−1. In addition, the hollow nanoparticles acted as a nanocage to prevent metal ion leaching during charge/discharge, thus allowing an excellent capacitance retention of ca. 86%, even following 10,000 cycles.
Large orb-webs adapted to maximise total biomass not rare, large prey
Authors: Harmer Aaron M. T. , Clausen Philip D. , Wroe Stephen , Madin Joshua S. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractSpider orb-webs are the ultimate anti-ballistic devices, capable of dissipating the relatively massive kinetic energy of flying prey. Increased web size and prey stopping capacity have co-evolved in a number orb-web taxa, but the selective forces driving web size and performance increases are under debate. The rare, large prey hypothesis maintains that the energetic benefits of rare, very large prey are so much greater than the gains from smaller, more common prey that smaller prey are irrelevant for reproduction. Here, we integrate biophysical and ecological data and models to test a major prediction of the rare, large prey hypothesis, that selection should favour webs with increased stopping capacity and that large prey should comprise a significant proportion of prey stopped by a web. We find that larger webs indeed have a greater capacity to stop large prey. However, based on prey ecology, we also find that these large prey make up a tiny fraction of the total biomass (=energy) potentially captured. We conclude that large webs are adapted to stop more total biomass and that the capacity to stop rare, but very large, prey is an incidental consequence of the longer radial silks that scale with web size.
MicroRNA profiles in hippocampal granule cells and plasma of rats with pilocarpine-induced epilepsy – comparison with human epileptic samples
Authors: Roncon Paolo , Soukupovà Marie , Binaschi Anna , Falcicchia Chiara , Zucchini Silvia , Ferracin Manuela , Langley Sarah R. , Petretto Enrico , Johnson Michael R. , Marucci Gianluca , Michelucci Roberto , Rubboli Guido , Simonato Michele 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe identification of biomarkers of the transformation of normal to epileptic tissue would help to stratify patients at risk of epilepsy following brain injury and inform new treatment strategies. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an attractive option in this direction. In this study, miRNA microarrays were performed on laser-microdissected hippocampal granule cell layer (GCL) and on plasma, at different time points in the development of pilocarpine-induced epilepsy in the rat: latency, first spontaneous seizure and chronic epileptic phase. Sixty-three miRNAs were differentially expressed in the GCL when considering all time points. Three main clusters were identified that separated the control and chronic phase groups from the latency group and from the first spontaneous seizure group. MiRNAs from rats in the chronic phase were compared to those obtained from the laser-microdissected GCL of epileptic patients, identifying several miRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-23a-5p, miR-146a-5p and miR-181c-5p) that were up-regulated in both human and rat epileptic tissue. Analysis of plasma samples revealed different levels between control and pilocarpine-treated animals for 27 miRNAs. Two main clusters were identified that segregated controls from all other groups. Those miRNAs that are altered in plasma before the first spontaneous seizure, like miR-9a-3p, may be proposed as putative biomarkers of epileptogenesis.
Spatiotemporal patterns of non-genetically modified crops in the era of expansion of genetically modified food
Authors: Sun Jing , Wu Wenbin , Tang Huajun , Liu Jianguo 
Published: September 2015

AbstractDespite heated debates over the safety of genetically modified (GM) food, GM crops have been expanding rapidly. Much research has focused on the expansion of GM crops. However, the spatiotemporal dynamics of non-genetically modified (non-GM) crops are not clear, although they may have significant environmental and agronomic impacts and important policy implications. To understand the dynamics of non-GM crops and to inform the debates among relevant stakeholders, we conducted spatiotemporal analyses of China’s major non-GM soybean production region, the Heilongjiang Province. Even though the total soybean planting area decreased from 2005 to 2010, surprisingly, there were hotspots of increase. The results also showed hotspots of loss as well as a large decline in the number and continuity of soybean plots. Since China is the largest non-GM soybean producer in the world, the decline of its major production region may signal the continual decline of global non-GM soybeans.
‘Obesity’ is healthy for cetaceans? Evidence from pervasive positive selection in genes related to triacylglycerol metabolism
Authors: Wang Zhengfei , Chen Zhuo , Xu Shixia , Ren Wenhua , Zhou Kaiya , Yang Guang 
Published: September 2015

AbstractCetaceans are a group of secondarily adapted marine mammals with an enigmatic history of transition from terrestrial to fully aquatic habitat and subsequent adaptive radiation in waters around the world. Numerous physiological and morphological cetacean characteristics have been acquired in response to this drastic habitat transition; for example, the thickened blubber is one of the most striking changes that increases their buoyancy, supports locomotion and provides thermal insulation. However, the genetic basis underlying the blubber thickening in cetaceans remains poorly explored. Here, 88 candidate genes associated with triacylglycerol metabolism were investigated in representative cetaceans and other mammals to test whether the thickened blubber matched adaptive evolution of triacylglycerol metabolism-related genes. Positive selection was detected in 41 of the 88 candidate genes and functional characterization of these genes indicated that these are involved mainly in triacylglycerol synthesis and lipolysis processes. In addition, some essential regulatory genes underwent significant positive selection in cetacean-specific lineages, whereas no selection signal was detected in the counterpart terrestrial mammals. The extensive occurrence of positive selection in triacylglycerol metabolism-related genes is suggestive of their essential role in secondary adaptation to an aquatic life and further implying that ‘obesity’ might be an indicator of good health for cetaceans.
High diversity and rapid diversification in the head louse, Pediculus humanus (Pediculidae: Phthiraptera)
Authors: Ashfaq Muhammad , Prosser Sean , Nasir Saima , Masood Mariyam , Ratnasingham Sujeevan , Hebert Paul D. N. 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe study analyzes sequence variation of two mitochondrial genes (COI, cytb) inPediculus humanusfrom three countries (Egypt, Pakistan, South Africa) that have received little prior attention and integrates these results with prior data. Analysis indicates a maximum K2P distance of 10.3% among 960 COI sequences and 13.8% among 479 cytb sequences. Three analytical methods (BIN, PTP, ABGD) reveal five concordant OTUs for COI and cytb. Neighbor-Joining analysis of the COI sequences confirm five clusters; three corresponding to previously recognized mitochondrial clades A, B, C and two new clades, “D” and “E”, showing 2.3% and 2.8% divergence from their nearest neighbors (NN). Cytb data corroborate five clusters showing that clades “D” and “E” are both 4.6% divergent from their respective NN clades. Phylogenetic analysis supports the monophyly of all clusters recovered by NJ analysis. Divergence time estimates suggest that the earliest split ofP. humanusclades occured slightly more than one million years ago (MYa) and the latest about 0.3 MYa. Sequence divergences in COI and cytb among the five clades ofP. humanusare 10X those in their human host, a difference that likely reflects both rate acceleration and the acquisition of lice clades from several archaic hominid lineages.
Mesoporous CLEAs-silica composite microparticles with high activity and enhanced stability
Authors: Cui Jiandong , Jia Shiru , Liang Longhao , Zhao Yamin , Feng Yuxiao 
Published: September 2015

AbstractA novel enzyme immobilization approach was used to generate mesoporous enzymes-silica composite microparticles by co-entrapping gelatinized starch and cross-linked phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) aggregates (CLEAs) containing gelatinized starch into biomemitic silica and subsequently removing the starch by α-amylase treatment. During the preparation process, the gelatinzed starch served as a pore-forming agent to create pores in CLEAs and biomimetic silica. The resulting mesoporous CLEAs-silica composite microparticles exhibited higher activity and stability than native PAL, conventional CLEAs and PAL encapsulated in biomimetic silica. Furthermore, the mesoporous CLEAs-silica composite microparticles displayed good reusability due to its suitable size and mechanical properties and had excellent stability for storage. The superior catalytic performances were attributed to the combinational unique structure from the intra-cross-linking among enzyme aggregates and hard mesoporous silica shell, which not only decreased the enzyme-support negative interaction and mass-transfer limitations, but also improved the mechanical properties and monodispersity. This approach will be highly beneficial for preparing various bioactive mesoporous composites with excellent catalytic performance.
Effect of exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields on melatonin levels in calves is seasonally dependent
Authors: Kolbabová Tereza , Pascal Malkemper E. , Bartoš Luděk , Vanderstraeten Jacques , Turčáni Marek , Burda Hynek 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe question of health effects of extremely low frequency (50/60 Hz) magnetic fields (ELFMF) has been widely discussed, but the mechanisms of interaction of these fields with biological systems for intensities relevant to human and animal exposure are still under question. The melatonin (MLT) hypothesis suggests that exposure to ELFMF might decrease MLT production thereby promoting cancerogenesis. So far, most studies of MLT secretion under exposure to ELFMF reported negative or inconsistent results. Here, we measured salivary MLT in 1–2 months old cattle calves exposed to 50 Hz-MF in the hundreds of nT-range. We found an inhibitory effect of the ELFMF upon MLT secretion in winter (in accordance with the MLT hypothesis). In contrast, in summer, MLT concentration was increased by ELFMF exposure (contrary to the MLT hypothesis). The inhibitory effect in winter was much stronger than the positive effect in summer. We hypothesize that this season-dependent effect upon MLT synthesis might by mediated by an effect of ELFMF upon the serotonin metabolism and conclude that future tests of ELFMF effects should also measure serotonin levels and consider association with the seasonal effects (photoperiod or temperature) during the exposure.
Unprecedented reactions: from epichlorohydrin to epoxyglycidyl substituted divinyl ether and its conversion into epoxyglycidyl propargyl ether
Authors: Yao Yiwu , Li Zheng , Qiu Yatao , Bai Jinhong , Su Jinyue , Zhang Dayong , Jiang Sheng 
Published: September 2015

AbstractThe reaction of epichlorohydrin with concentrated sodium hydroxide in hexane under phase transfer conditions has surprisingly led to the formation of the symmetrical di(3-epoxyglycidyl-1-propenyl) ether 1 which contains both nucleophilic and electrophilic moieties. When it was reacted with n-butyllithium, intermediate 1 once again surprisingly generated epoxyglycidyl propargyl ether, which was further reacted in situ with a variety of benzaldehydes to furnish the corresponding substituted propargylic alcohols in good yields. While the reaction is operationally simple, it provides a powerful method for the synthesis of the important products from commodity materials such as epichlorohydrin. Moreover, these reactions may have revealed that some fundamental properties of the hydroxide anion in those once thought straightforward reactions are not well understood. A careful analysis of the experimental data suggests that an unprecedented concerted elimination of the epoxyglycidyl ether with sodium hydroxide may be operative and an alpha deprotonation followed by alpha elimination of the di(3-epoxyglycidyl-1-propenyl) ether with alkyllithium may have been involved.
Highly efficient CRISPR/Cas9-mediated transgene knockin at the H11 locus in pigs
Authors: Ruan Jinxue , Li Hegang , Xu Kui , Wu Tianwen , Wei Jingliang , Zhou Rong , Liu Zhiguo , Mu Yulian , Yang Shulin , Ouyang Hongsheng , Yanru Chen-Tsai Ruby , Li Kui 
Published: September 2015

AbstractTransgenic pigs play an important role in producing higher quality food in agriculture and improving human health when used as animal models for various human diseases in biomedicine. Production of transgenic pigs, however, is a lengthy and inefficient process that hinders research using pig models. Recent applications of the CRISPR/Cas9 system for generating site-specific gene knockout/knockin models, including a knockout pig model, have significantly accelerated the animal model field. However, a knockin pig model containing a site-specific transgene insertion that can be passed on to its offspring remains lacking. Here, we describe for the first time the generation of a site-specific knockin pig model using a combination of CRISPR/Cas9 and somatic cell nuclear transfer. We also report a new genomic “safe harbor” locus, named pH11, which enables stable and robust transgene expression. Our results indicate that our CRISPR/Cas9 knockin system allows highly efficient gene insertion at the pH11 locus of up to 54% using drug selection and 6% without drug selection. We successfully inserted a gene fragment larger than 9 kb at the pH11 locus using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Our data also confirm that the gene inserted into the pH11 locus is highly expressed in cells, embryos and animals.
A size-dependent structural evolution of ZnS nanoparticles
Authors: Khalkhali Mohammad , Liu Qingxia , Zeng Hongbo , Zhang Hao 
Published: September 2015

AbstractRecently, ZnS quantum dots have attracted a lot of attention since they can be a suitable alternative for cadmium-based quantum dots, which are known to be highly carcinogenic for living systems. However, the structural stability of nanocrystalline ZnS seems to be a challenging issue since ZnS nanoparticles have the potential to undergo uncontrolled structural change at room temperature. Using the molecular dynamics technique, we have studied the structural evolution of 1 to 5 nm freestanding ZnS nanoparticles with zinc-blende and wurtzite crystal structures. Simulation results revealed that relaxed configurations of ZnS nanoparticles larger than 3 nm consist of three regions: a) a crystalline core, b) a distorted network of 4-coordinated atoms environing the crystalline core and c) a surface structure made entirely of 3-coordinated atoms. Decreasing the size of ZnS nanoparticle to 2 nm will cause the crystalline core to disappear. Further reducing the size will cause all of the atoms to become 3-coordinated. Dipole moments of zinc-blende and wurtzite nanoparticles are in the same range when the nanoparticles are smaller than 3 nm. Increasing the size makes dipole moments converge to the bulk values. This makes zinc-blende and wurtzite nanoparticles less and more polar, respectively.
Nonverbal Working Memory as a Predictor of Anomia Treatment Success
Authors: Harnish Stacy M. , Lundine Jennifer P. 
Published: September 2015

Purpose
The purpose of the study was to determine (a) reliability of the spatial span as a nonverbal working memory (WM) task in individuals with aphasia, (b) whether participation in anomia treatment changed spatial span scores, and (c) the degree to which visuospatial WM predicted response to anomia treatment.

Method
Eight individuals with chronic aphasia were repeatedly assessed on the forward and backward conditions of the spatial span over 4 weeks while undergoing treatment for anomia. Experiment 1 assessed reliability of the spatial span conditions and determined whether span scores changed after beginning anomia treatment. Experiment 2 investigated the spatial span as a predictor of anomia treatment success.

Results

Results of Experiment 1 showed that 7 participants demonstrated stability of the forward condition of the spatial span, and 5 participants demonstrated stability of the backward condition across all sessions (
p
= .05). No participants showed an effect of aphasia treatment on span performance in either condition. Experiment 2 found that the backward span condition significantly predicted anomia treatment effect size,
F
(1, 6) = 15.202,
p
= .008.

Conclusions
Visuospatial WM abilities were highly predictive of response to anomia treatment, supporting an account of WM that includes a central processing mechanism.
Feeding Frequency and Rate Effects on Growth and Physiology of Juvenile Genetically Improved Farmed Nile Tilapia
Authors: Huang Qing , Huang Kai , Ma Yanqun , Qin Xi , Wen Yanhong , Sun Lei , Tang Lining 
Published: September 2015

Abstract
To establish an effective feeding regime for the aquaculture of genetically improved farmed Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (GIFT), this experiment investigated the effects of feeding frequency and daily ration on the growth of GIFT fry (initial weight, ca. 0.85 g). A factorial experiment design of two feeding frequencies (2 and 3 meals/d) and five feeding rates (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10% body weight per day [BW/d]) was carried out over 70 d with three replicates for each treatment. At the end of the experiment, fish from each treatment were sampled for the growth metrics of final body weight (Wt), weight gain rate (WGR), survival rate (SR), specific growth rate (SGR), and feed conversion ratio (FCR), as well as body composition and plasma metabolite measurements and histopathological analysis. The feeding frequency had a significant (P &lt; 0.05) effect only on the Wt of fish. Feeding rates had highly significant effects on all the growth metrics (P &lt; 0.01) except SR. The largest WGR and SGR were both observed in the fish receiving 6% BW/d at both feeding frequencies. The largest Wt was observed in the fish fed two meals daily at a 6% feeding rate. The relatively lower hepatosomatic index, liver contents, and body lipid also indicated better performance in fish that received 6% BW/d. In conclusion, these results suggest that a feeding rate of 6% BW/d and a feeding frequency of 2 meals/d is the most favorable protocol for the growth and physiological balance of GIFT during the fry phase.