bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Marked alterations of neutrophil functions during sepsis-induced immunosuppression
Authors: Demaret Julie , Venet Fabienne , Friggeri Arnaud , Cazalis Marie-Angélique , Plassais Jonathan , Jallades Laurent , Malcus Christophe , Poitevin-Later Francoise , Textoris Julien , Lepape Alain , Monneret Guillaume 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
Severe septic syndromes deeply impair innate and adaptive immunity and are responsible for sepsis-induced immunosuppression. Although neutrophils represent the first line of defense against infection, little is known about their phenotype and functions a few days after sepsis, when the immunosuppressive phase is maximal (i.e., between d 3 and 8). The objective of the present study was to perform, for the first time, a global evaluation of neutrophil alterations in immunosuppressed septic patients (at d 3–4 and d 6–8) using phenotypic and functional studies. In addition, the potential association of these parameters and deleterious outcomes was assessed. Peripheral blood was collected from 43 septic shock patients and compared with that of 23 healthy controls. In the septic patients, our results highlight a markedly altered neutrophil chemotaxis (functional and chemokine receptor expressions), oxidative burst, and lactoferrin content and an increased number of circulating immature granulocytes (i.e., CD10dimCD16dim). These aspects were associated with an increased risk of death after septic shock. In contrast, phagocytosis and activation capacities were conserved. To conclude, circulating neutrophils present with phenotypic, functional, and morphologic alterations a few days after sepsis onset. These dysfunctions might participate in the deleterious role of sepsis-induced immunosuppression. The present results open new perspectives in the mechanisms favoring nosocomial infections after septic shock. They deserve to be further investigated in a larger clinical study and in animal models recapitulating these alterations.
Notable Effects of the Metal Salts on the Quenching Reaction of Singlet Oxygen by α-Tocopherol in Ethanol Solution
Authors: Mukai Kazuo , Nakamura Asuka , Nagaoka Shin-ichi , Ouchi Aya , Azuma Nagao 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
Measurement of the quenching rate constant (kQ) of singlet oxygen (1O2) by α-tocopherol was performed in ethanol solution including four kinds of alkali and alkaline earth metal salts (NaClO4, Mg(ClO4)2, MgCl2, and CaCl2) by varying concentrations of metal salts. A remarkable effect of metal salts on the kQ value of α-tocopherol was observed. The 1O2-quenching rate constant (kQ) decreased notably with increasing concentrations of metal salts, and reached a constant value for each salt at high concentration of the salt. For example, the kQ value (9.48 × 107 M−1 s−1) obtained in the presence of 20 mM of Mg(ClO4)2 was 46% of that (2.06 × 108 M−1 s−1) in the absence of metal salt. The kQ value decreased in the order of no metal salt &gt; NaClO4 &gt; CaCl2 &gt; MgCl2 ≈ Mg(ClO4)2 at the same concentration of the metal salts. The metal salts having a smaller ionic radius and a larger charge of the cation gave a smaller kQ value. Effects of anions were negligible. These metal cations coexist with α-tocopherol in foods and biological systems, suggesting that the metal cations may give a notable effect to the 1O2-quenching rate constant (kQ).
Recent Advances in Phosphorescent Pt(II) Complexes Featuring Metallophilic Interactions: Properties and Applications
Authors: Aliprandi Alessandro , Genovese Damiano , Mauro Matteo , De Cola Luisa 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
Supramolecular weak interactions can be used for preparing functional self-assembled architectures by powerful bottom-up approaches. In particular, when closed-shell metallophilic and π–π interactions between adjacent transition-metal complexes are established, profound changes in compounds’ properties are obtained and novel features often achieved. In this Review, the most recent advances in the field of luminescent platinum(II) complexes aggregating through Pt–Pt interactions are highlighted and their potential application in different fields presented and discussed.
Boosting of the Performance of Perovskite Solar Cells through Systematic Introduction of Reduced Graphene Oxide in TiO2 Layers
Authors: Umeyama Tomokazu , Matano Daichi , Baek Jinseok , Gupta Satyajit , Ito Seigo , Subramanian Vaidyanathan (Ravi) , Imahori Hiroshi 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
The effects of the inclusion of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) in TiO2 layers on performance of perovskite solar cells were systematically investigated. For this purpose, a wet chemical approach was examined to embed graphene oxide (GO) across the thickness of compact TiO2 (cTiO2) and mesoporous TiO2 (mTiO2) layers, which was followed by a thermally driven in situ conversion from GO to RGO. The presence of RGO at loadings of 0.15 wt % in the cTiO2 layer and of 0.015 wt % in the mTiO2 layer led to a power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 6.6% to 9.3% by 40% increase.
Villain of Molecular Biology: Why are we not reproducible in research?
Authors: Bhardwaj Vikash 
Published: July 2015

Worldwide, there is an issue of irreproducibility in life science research. In the USA alone $28 billion per year spent on preclinical research is not reproducible. Within this opinion article, I provide a brief historical account of the discovery of the Watson-Crick DNA model and introduce another neglected model of DNA. This negligence may be one of the fundamental reasons behind irreproducibility in molecular biology research.
Community detection in social networks
Authors: Wang Meng , Wang Chaokun , Yu Jeffrey Xu , Zhang Jun 
Published: July 2015

Revealing the latent community structure, which is crucial to understanding the features of networks, is an important problem in network and graph analysis. During the last decade, many approaches have been proposed to solve this challenging problem in diverse ways, i.e. different measures or data structures. Unfortunately, experimental reports on existing techniques fell short in validity and integrity since many comparisons were not based on a unified code base or merely discussed in theory.
We engage in an in-depth benchmarking study of community detection in social networks. We formulate a generalized community detection procedure and propose a procedure-oriented framework for benchmarking. This framework enables us to evaluate and compare various approaches to community detection systematically and thoroughly under identical experimental conditions. Upon that we can analyze and diagnose the inherent defect of existing approaches deeply, and further make effective improvements correspondingly.
We have re-implemented ten state-of-the-art representative algorithms upon this framework and make comprehensive evaluations of multiple aspects, including the efficiency evaluation, performance evaluations, sensitivity evaluations, etc. We discuss their merits and faults in depth, and draw a set of take-away interesting conclusions. In addition, we present how we can make diagnoses for these algorithms resulting in significant improvements.
Growing a graph matching from a handful of seeds
Authors: Kazemi Ehsan , Hassani S. Hamed , Grossglauser Matthias 
Published: July 2015

In many graph--mining problems, two networks from different domains have to be matched. In the absence of reliable node attributes, graph matching has to rely on only the link structures of the two networks, which amounts to a generalization of the classic graph isomorphism problem. Graph matching has applications in social--network reconciliation and de-anonymization, protein--network alignment in biology, and computer vision.
The most scalable graph--matching approaches use ideas from percolation theory, where a matched node pair "infects" neighbouring pairs as additional potential matches. This class of matching algorithm requires an initial seed set of known matches to start the percolation. The size and correctness of the matching is very sensitive to the size of the seed set.
In this paper, we give a new graph--matching algorithm that can operate with a much smaller seed set than previous approaches, with only a small increase in matching errors. We characterize a phase transition in matching performance as a function of the seed set size, using a random bigraph model and ideas from bootstrap percolation theory. We also show the excellent performance in matching several real large-scale social networks, using only a handful of seeds.
Glass-forming ability and mechanical properties of a Zr52.8Cu29.1Ni7.3Al9.8Y1bulk metallic glass prepared by hereditary process
Authors: Lu Shuaidan , Sun Shuchen , Huang Xiaoxiao , Zhu Xiaoping , Tu Ganfeng , Li Kuanhe 
Published: July 2015

AbstractZr-based bulk metallic glass possesses the highest potential as a structural material among metallic glasses. However, the production conditions have a great effect on its glass-forming ability (GFA) and mechanical characteristics. In this paper, an attempt was made to find the effect of a hereditary structure on the GFA and mechanical properties of a solid Zr52.8Cu29.1Ni7.3Al9.8Y1bulk metallic glass in order to evaluate a novel process of using binary alloys as precursors, which have a hereditary relation to the aim metallic glass (MGs). When the quenching temperature is below the threshold overheating temperature, the hereditary process can improve the GFA and compressive strength obviously. At a quenching temperature of 1523 K, the hereditary process can improve the supercooled liquid region ΔTxfrom 33 K to 55 K and the compressive strength from 1555 MPa to 1652 MPa.
Hypomagnesemia due to two novel TRPM6 mutations
Authors: Coulter Michelle , Colvin Caroline , Korf Bruce , Messiaen Ludwine , Tuanama Benjamin , Crowley Michael , Crossman David K. , McCormick Kenneth 
Published: July 2015

AbstractAlthough most hypocalcemia with hypomagenesemia in the neonatal period is due to transient neonatal hypoparathyroidism, magnesium channel defects should also be considered.We report a case of persistent hypomagnesemia in an 8-day-old Hispanic male who presented with generalized seizures. He was initially found to have hypomagnesemia, hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia and normal parathyroid hormone. Serum calcium normalized with administration of calcitriol and calcium carbonate. Serum magnesium improved with oral magnesium sulfate. However, 1 week after magnesium was discontinued, serum magnesium declined to 0.5 mg/dL. Magnesium supplementation was immediately restarted, and periodic seizure activity resolved after serum magnesium concentration was maintained above 0.9 mg/dL. The child was eventually weaned off oral calcium and calcitriol with persistent normocalemia. However, supraphysiologic oral magnesium doses were necessary to prevent seizures and maintain serum magnesium at the low limit of normal.As his clinical presentation suggested primary renal magnesium wastage,Two novel
Putting the pieces together: cryptorchidism – do we know everything?
Authors: Komarowska Marta Diana , Hermanowicz Adam , Debek Wojciech 
Published: July 2015

AbstractCryptorchidism is one of the most common birth defects in male children, and it has a potential impact on future health. It is the best-characterized risk factor for reduced fertility and testicular cancer. However, the etiology of cryptorchidism remains largely unknown. In the literature, we find different opinions and theories on this topic. Probably, the etiology is multifactorial, and hormonal, genetic and environmental factors may regulate testicular development and descent from intra-abdominal location into the bottom of the scrotum. The descent of the testis is a complex, two-stage process. A critical role in testicular descent has been attributed to androgens, insulin-like hormone 3 (insl3) and anti-Müllerian hormone. It is believed that interaction between Leydig and Sertoli cells may cause impaired spermatogenesis. Based on recent knowledge of germ cell development, it is believed that the best treatment for undescended testis is orchiopexy between 6th and 12th month of life. Long follow-up studies are needed to focus on the effect of this recommendation.
Are obesity and metabolic syndrome associated with plasma adropin levels in children?
Authors: Kocaoglu Celebi , Buyukinan Muammer , Erdem Said Sami , Ozel Ahmet 
Published: July 2015

AbstractStudies performed on mice suggest that adropin is a peptide hormone playing a role in metabolic homeostasis and prevention of obesity-associated insulin resistance. Our study was conducted to investigate the role of adropin in children with obesity or metabolic syndrome. The study group consisted of 70 patients, including 42 obese and 28 with metabolic syndrome, and 26 healthy volunteers. After anthropometric variables and blood pressure of all participants were measured, serum lipids were analyzed, liver USG and oral glucose tolerance test were performed, and HOMA-IR values were calculated. Plasma adropin levels were collectively analyzed from collected plasma samples. In patient and control groups, no difference was observed in the levels of adropin (327.7±124.7 vs. 344.6±208.5 ng/L, respectively). The adropin levels of metabolic syndrome, obesity, and control groups also showed no difference (316±142.3, 335.8±112.5, and 344.6±208.5 ng/L, respectively). While the adropin levels of patients with and without hepatic steatosis were 319.6±123.7 and 347.8±128.7 ng/L, respectively, patients with HOMA-IR values of <3.16 and ≥3.16 had levels 342.3±124.8 and 296.5±136.7 ng/L, respectively. Although statistically insignificant, our findings are considered to support the hypothesis suggesting a nexus between adropin and obesity and metabolic syndrome. Small sample size in our study may have prevented our results to reach a more significant level. So, long-term follow-up studies with large population are needed to enlighten the role of adropin in metabolic homeostasis.
Genotype-Frequency Estimation from High-Throughput Sequencing Data
Authors: Maruki Takahiro , Lynch Michael 
Published: July 2015

AbstractRapidly improving high-throughput sequencing technologies provide unprecedented opportunities for carrying out population-genomic studies with various organisms. To take full advantage of these methods, it is essential to correctly estimate allele and genotype frequencies, and here we present a maximum-likelihood method that accomplishes these tasks. The proposed method fully accounts for uncertainties resulting from sequencing errors and biparental chromosome sampling and yields essentially unbiased estimates with minimal sampling variances with moderately high depths of coverage regardless of a mating system and structure of the population. Moreover, we have developed statistical tests for examining the significance of polymorphisms and their genotypic deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. We examine the performance of the proposed method by computer simulations and apply it to low-coverage human data generated by high-throughput sequencing. The results show that the proposed method improves our ability to carry out population-genomic analyses in important ways. The software package of the proposed method is freely available from https://github.com/Takahiro-Maruki/Package-GFE.
Silver Nanoparticles for Catalysis of Hydrogen Peroxide Decomposition: Atomistic Modeling
Authors: Paulsen Riley T. , Kilin Dmitri S. 
Published: July 2015

ABSTRACTThe interest in adopting hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) rocket propulsion systems has rekindled because H2O2 is more environmentally friendly than alternative propellants, has a high density to maximize the oxidizer-to-fuel ratio, and is able to be stored non-cryogenically. Simulations utilizing ab initio molecular dynamics have been generated to analyze the decomposition of H2O2 on the surface of a silver (Ag) metal cluster. The electronic structure for an atomic model of gaseous H2O2 molecules in the vicinity of an Ag13 cluster – one central Ag atom coordinated by the remaining twelve Ag atoms – was analyzed through density functional theory (DFT). After undergoing thermalization, the system was equilibrated at a high temperature of approximately 2000 K. The molecular dynamics did confirm that the Ag catalyst functions in facilitating the H2O2 decomposition to the final products of water and oxygen, while that the overall mechanism contains several intermediates.
Production of Biohydrogen from Wastewater by Klebsiella oxytoca ATCC 13182
Authors: Thakur Veena , Tiwari K. L. , Jadhav S. K. 
Published: July 2015

ABSTRACT: Production of biohydrogen from distillery effluent was carried out by using Klebsiella oxytoca ATCC 13182. The work focuses on optimization of pH, temperature, and state of bacteria, which are the various affecting factors for fermentative biohydrogen production. Results indicates that at 35 °C for suspended cultures, the production was at its maximum (i.e., 91.33 ± 0.88 mL) when compared with other temperatures. At 35 °C and at pH 5 and 6, maximum productions of 117.67 ± 1.45 and 111.67 ± 2.72 mL were observed with no significant difference. When immobilized, Klebsiella oxytoca ATCC 13182 was used for biohydrogen production at optimized conditions, production was 186.33 ± 3.17 mL. Hence, immobilized cells were found to be more advantageous for biological hydrogen production over suspended form. Physicochemical analysis of the effluent was conducted before and after fermentation and the values suggested that the fermentative process is an efficient method for biological treatment of wastewater.
Influencing Factors for Organic Spill Recovery Performance with a Novel Polypropylene‐Methacrylate Sorbent
Authors: Li Shaoning , Wei Junfu , Chen Yuan , Cui Li , Zhang Yue , Dai Zhao , Zhao Shihuai 
Published: July 2015

ABSTRACT: Insoluble organic matter released to the water body through accidental spillage imposes serious damage on the environment. Polypropylene (PP) fiber and methacrylate resin, however, end up in certain morphology or low sorption capacity after a single use. In this study, a novel sorbent was prepared by radiation‐induced graft polymerization of butyl methacrylate (BMA) onto PP fiber matrix to retain the advantages of both PP fibers and methacrylate resins to overcome the shortcomings of each used alone. The different parameters including irradiation power, irradiation time and monomer concentration that effect the grafting degree of grafted fiber were studied. The resulting grafted fibers (PP‐g‐BMA) were evaluated in this study in terms of sorption capacity, retention behaviors and reusability properties. The investigation revealed that the homopolymerization rate, organic matter temperature and pH values of organic‐over‐water aqueous solution are the most important factors in the sorption performance of polypropylene grafted fiber sorbent.
Decolourization of Methylene Blue in Water Using Bentonite Impregnated with Ti and Ag as Photocatalyst
Authors: Wu Edward Ming‐Yang , Kuo Shu‐Lung 
Published: July 2015

ABSTRACT: This article used bentonite impregnated with titanium and silver, respectively, as photocatalyst, to degrade methylene blue (MB) under conditions of MB solutions exposed to sodium lamp and sunlight. Due to the semi‐conducting properties of synthesized bentonite catalysts, when exposed to sodium lamp and sunlight, catalyst particles are excited for photocatalysis to achieve decolourization. After an FT‐IR analysis, this study finds that smectite catalysts have significant and complicated wave crests between the fingerprint area with wave numbers 415~600 cm−1 and 750~1170 cm−1. The bentonite impregnated with Ti4+ (Sm‐Ti) and with Ag+ (Sm‐Ag) removes MB through the mechanisms of adsorption and degradation, while the commercial product of titanium dioxide (TiO2) only exhibits the capability of MB degradation. At present, a heterogeneous photocatalytic system has been fully applied for use in daily life, with its efficiency determined by the free radical action of electrons and holes, the generation efficiency of ·OH.
In‐stream Physical Heterogeneity, Rainfall Aided Flushing, and Discharge on Stream Water Quality
Authors: Gomes Pattiyage I. A. , Wai Onyx W. H. 
Published: July 2015

ABSTRACT: Implications of instream physical heterogeneity, rainfall‐aided flushing, and stream discharge on water quality control have been investigated in a headwater stream of a climatic region that has contrasting dry and wet seasons. Dry (low flow) season's physical heterogeneity showed a positive correlation with good water quality. However, in the wet season, physical heterogeneity showed minor or no significance on water quality variations. Furthermore, physical heterogeneity appeared to be more complementary with good water quality subsequent to rainfall events. In many cases stream discharge was a reason for poor water quality. For the dry season, graywater inputs to the stream could be held responsible. In the wet season, it was probably the result of catchment level disturbances (e.g., regulation of ephemeral freshwater paths). Overall, this study revealed the importance of catchment‐based approaches on water quality improvement in tandem with in‐stream approaches framed on a temporal scale.
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Can Be Prevented by Lifestyle Intervention: The Finnish Gestational Diabetes Prevention Study (RADIEL)
Authors: Koivusalo Saila B. , Rönö Kristiina , Klemetti Miira M. , Roine Risto P. , Lindström Jaana , Erkkola Maijaliisa , Kaaja Risto J. , Pöyhönen-Alho Maritta , Tiitinen Aila , Huvinen Emilia , Andersson Sture , Laivuori Hannele , Valkama Anita , Meinilä Jelena , Kautiainen Hannu , Eriksson Johan G. , Stach-Lempinen Beata 
Published: July 2015

OBJECTIVETo assess whether gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) can be prevented by a moderate lifestyle intervention in pregnant women who are at high risk for the disease.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSTwo hundred ninety-three women with a history of GDM and/or a prepregnancy BMI of ≥30 kg/m2 were enrolled in the study at &lt;20 weeks of gestation and were randomly allocated to the intervention group (n = 155) or the control group (n = 138). Each subject in the intervention group received individualized counseling on diet, physical activity, and weight control from trained study nurses, and had one group meeting with a dietitian. The control group received standard antenatal care. The diagnosis of GDM was based on a 75-g, 2-h oral glucose tolerance test at 24–28 weeks of gestation.RESULTSA total of 269 women were included in the analyses. The incidence of GDM was 13.9% in the intervention group and 21.6% in the control group ([95% CI 0.40–0.98%]; P = 0.044, after adjustment for age, prepregnancy BMI, previous GDM status, and the number of weeks of gestation). Gestational weight gain was lower in the intervention group (−0.58 kg [95% CI −1.12 to −0.04 kg]; adjusted P = 0.037). Women in the intervention group increased their leisure time physical activity more and improved their dietary quality compared with women in the control group.CONCLUSIONSA moderate individualized lifestyle intervention reduced the incidence of GDM by 39% in high-risk pregnant women. These findings may have major health consequences for both the mother and the child.