bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
TGF-βl Suppresses Inflammation in Cell Therapy for Intervertebral Disc Degeneration
Authors: Yang Huilin , Cao Cheng , Wu Chunshen , Yuan Chenxi , Gu Qiaoli , Shi Qing , Zou Jun 
Published: August 2015

AbstractRecent studies suggest that cell therapy may be an effective way to repair intervertebral disc degeneration. As a strong immune suppressor, TGF-β1 has been shown to inhibit inflammation respond effectively. The objective of this study was to explore the effects of TGF-β1 during bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells-based therapy for disc degeneration. In vitro assays demonstrated that co-culturing of nucleus pulposus cells with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells resulted in significantly higher levels of TGF-βl secretion. This increase inhibited IκB phosphorylation and NF-κB activation, detected by western blot analysis. Meanwhile, in a rabbit model, MRI analysis revealed significant recovery of signal intensity in the degenerative discs of rabbits receiving cells transplantation, than receiving cells treated with a TGF-β1 inhibitor or saline. These findings indicated that enhanced TGF-β1 production recovered the degeneration of intervertebral disc. And also immunohistochemical staining detected enhanced collagen II expression in the rabbits treated with cell transplantation. However, the NF-κB positive cells were significantly less than other two control groups. Thus, cell therapy promoted TGF-β1 expression in nucleus pulposus, leading to anti-inflammatory effects via the inhibition of NF-κB and the amelioration of disc degradation due to increased expression of collagen II and aggrecan in degenerative intervertebral disc.
Quantitative analysis of recombination between YFP and CFP genes of FRET biosensors introduced by lentiviral or retroviral gene transfer
Authors: Komatsubara Akira T. , Matsuda Michiyuki , Aoki Kazuhiro 
Published: August 2015

AbstractBiosensors based on the principle of Förster (or fluorescence) resonance energy transfer (FRET) have been developed to visualize spatio-temporal dynamics of signalling molecules in living cells. Many of them adopt a backbone of intramolecular FRET biosensor with a cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) and yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) as donor and acceptor, respectively. However, there remains the difficulty of establishing cells stably expressing FRET biosensors with a YFP and CFP pair by lentiviral or retroviral gene transfer, due to the high incidence of recombination between YFP and CFP genes. To address this, we examined the effects of codon-diversification of YFP on the recombination of FRET biosensors introduced by lentivirus or retrovirus. The YFP gene that was fully codon-optimized to E.coli evaded the recombination in lentiviral or retroviral gene transfer, but the partially codon-diversified YFP did not. Further, the length of spacer between YFP and CFP genes clearly affected recombination efficiency, suggesting that the intramolecular template switching occurred in the reverse-transcription process. The simple mathematical model reproduced the experimental data sufficiently, yielding a recombination rate of 0.002–0.005 per base. Together, these results show that the codon-diversified YFP is a useful tool for expressing FRET biosensors by lentiviral or retroviral gene transfer.
Biogeography of Nocardiopsis strains from hypersaline environments of Yunnan and Xinjiang Provinces, western China
Authors: He Song-Tao , Zhi Xiao-Yang , Jiang Hongchen , Yang Ling-Ling , Wu Jin-Yuan , Zhang Yong-Guang , Hozzein Wael N. , Li Wen-Jun 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThe genus Nocardiopsis is a widespread group within the phylum Actinobacteria and has been isolated from various salty environments worldwide. However, little is known about whether biogeography affects Nocardiopsis distribution in various hypersaline environments. Such information is essential for understanding the ecology of Nocardiopsis. Here we analyzed 16S rRNA, gyrB, rpoB and sodA genes of 78 Nocardiopsis strains isolated from hypersaline environments in Yunnan and Xinjiang Provinces of western China. The obtained Nocardiopsis strains were classified into five operational taxonomic units, each comprising location-specific phylo- and genotypes. Statistical analyses showed that spatial distance and environmental factors substantially influenced Nocardiopsis distribution in hypersaline environments: the former had stronger influence at large spatial scales, whereas the latter was more influential at small spatial scales.
Nematic Liquid Crystal on a Two Dimensional Hexagonal Lattice and its Application
Authors: Arslan Shehzad Muhammad , Hoang Tien Dung , Waqas Iqbal M , Eom Jonghwa , Park J. H. , Hwang Chanyong , Seo Yongho 
Published: August 2015

AbstractWe have studied the alignment of liquid crystal adsorbed onto graphene and hexagonal boron nitride by using a polarized optical microscope. From the experimental data, it was found that there were 6 different alignment orientations of the liquid crystal molecules on a single crystal substrate. This result has never been reported and is quite different from other previous results. As the hexagonal lattice has a threefold rotational symmetry, three different alignment orientations were expected, but our result seems counter-intuitive. We explain this result considering the bending of the tail of the liquid crystal molecules. Using this anchoring effect with six accurate discrete angles, a novel non-volatile display can be developed with micron-scale pixel size, due to the molecular level accuracy of the alignment.
Chirped pulse Raman amplification in warm plasma: towards controlling saturation
Authors: Yang X. , Vieux G. , Brunetti E. , Ersfeld B. , Farmer J. P. , Hur M. S. , Issac R. C. , Raj G. , Wiggins S. M. , Welsh G. H. , Yoffe S. R. , Jaroszynski D. A. 
Published: August 2015

AbstractStimulated Raman backscattering in plasma is potentially an efficient method of amplifying laser pulses to reach exawatt powers because plasma is fully broken down and withstands extremely high electric fields. Plasma also has unique nonlinear optical properties that allow simultaneous compression of optical pulses to ultra-short durations. However, current measured efficiencies are limited to several percent. Here we investigate Raman amplification of short duration seed pulses with different chirp rates using a chirped pump pulse in a preformed plasma waveguide. We identify electron trapping and wavebreaking as the main saturation mechanisms, which lead to spectral broadening and gain saturation when the seed reaches several millijoules for durations of 10’s – 100’s fs for 250 ps, 800 nm chirped pump pulses. We show that this prevents access to the nonlinear regime and limits the efficiency and interpret the experimental results using slowly-varying-amplitude, current-averaged particle-in-cell simulations. We also propose methods for achieving higher efficiencies.
Synchronous primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and gastric adenocarcinoma: analysis of 41 cases treated in a single institution
Authors: Li Xuyan , Lin Suiling , Zhang Yuling , Wang Hongbiao 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThe present study investigated the treatment and survival outcomes of patients with synchronous primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and gastric adenocarcinoma. The medical records of 10,783 patients with primary esophageal squamous cancer treated at our institution between 1995 and 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Overall survival (OS) rates were calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. The incidence was 0.38% (41/10,783). Of these 41 patients, 26 underwent curative surgery, ten received palliative chemotherapy or radiotherapy and five received no treatment. The median OS of the surgery, palliative-therapy and treatment-free groups was 17.1, 9.0 and 3.8 months, respectively. The 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year OS rates for the surgery group were 77%, 45%, 33% and 19%, respectively. No significant differences in median OS were observed between the surgery group and the historical cohort of isolated esophageal cancer (n = 186) (17.1 vs. 21.0 months, P = 0.061) or isolated gastric cancer (n = 51) (17.1 vs. 28.9 months, P = 0.875), or between the palliative-therapy group and its corresponding historical cohort (n = 30) (9.0 vs. 8.3 months, P = 0.862). The survival outcomes of patients with synchronous primary esophageal squamous and gastric cancers were not worse than those of patients with isolated esophageal cancer or isolated gastric cancer.
Realizing up-conversion fluorescence tuning in lanthanide-doped nanocrystals by femtosecond pulse shaping method
Authors: Zhang Shian , Yao Yunhua , Shuwu Xu , Liu Pei , Ding Jingxin , Jia Tianqing , Qiu Jianrong , Sun Zhenrong 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThe ability to tune color output of nanomaterials is very important for their applications in laser, optoelectronic device, color display and multiplexed biolabeling. Here we first propose a femtosecond pulse shaping technique to realize the up-conversion fluorescence tuning in lanthanide-doped nanocrystals dispersed in the glass. The multiple subpulse formation by a square phase modulation can create different excitation pathways for various up-conversion fluorescence generations. By properly controlling these excitation pathways, the multicolor up-conversion fluorescence can be finely tuned. This color tuning by the femtosecond pulse shaping technique is realized in single material by single-color laser field, which is highly desirable for further applications of the lanthanide-doped nanocrystals. This femtosecond pulse shaping technique opens an opportunity to tune the color output in the lanthanide-doped nanocrystals, which may bring a new revolution in the control of luminescence properties of nanomaterials.
Generation of clonal zebrafish line by androgenesis without egg irradiation
Authors: Hou Jilun , Fujimoto Takafumi , Saito Taiju , Yamaha Etsuro , Arai Katsutoshi 
Published: August 2015

AbstractGeneration of clonal zebrafish will facilitate large-scale genetic screening and help us to overcome other biological and biotechnological challenges due to their isogenecity. However, protocols for the development of clonal lines have not been optimized. Here, we sought to develop a novel method for generation of clonal zebrafish by androgenesis induced by cold shock. Androgenetic zebrafish doubled haploids (DHs) were induced by cold shock of just-fertilized eggs and the eggs were then heat shocked to double the chromosome set. The yield rate of putative DHs relative to the total number of eggs used was 1.10% ± 0.19%. Microsatellite genotyping of the putative DHs using 30 loci that covered all 25 linkage groups detected no heterozygous loci, confirming the homozygosity of the DHs. Thus, a clonal line was established from sperm of a DH through a second cycle of cold-shock androgenesis and heat-shock chromosome doubling, followed by genetic verification of the isogenic rate confirming the presence of identical DNA fingerprints by using amplified fragment length polymorphism markers. In addition, our data provided important insights into the cytological mechanisms of cold-shock–induced androgenesis.
Ductal activation of oncogenic KRAS alone induces sarcomatoid phenotype
Authors: Fu Yong , Cruz-Monserrate Zobeida , Helen Lin H. , Chung Yiyin , Ji Baoan , Lin Szu-min , Vonderfecht Steven , Logsdon Craig D. , Li Chien-Feng , Ann David K. 
Published: August 2015

AbstractSalivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is an uncommon, but aggressive malignant tumor with a high mortality rate. Herein, we reported the detection of somatic KRAS A146T and Q61H mutations in 2 out of 4 (50%) sarcomatoid SDC variants. Transgenic mice carrying the human oncogenic KRASG12V, which spatiotemporal activation by tamoxifen (TAM)-inducible Cre recombinase Ela-CreERT in the submandibular gland (SMG) ductal cells, was established and characterized. Visible carcinoma was detected as early as day-15 following oncogenic KRASG12V induction alone and these tumors proliferate rapidly with a median survival of 28-days accompanied with histological reminiscences to human sarcomatoid SDC variants. Moreover, these tumors were resistant to cetuximab treatment despite augmented EGFR signaling, attesting its malignancy. Our findings suggest that LGL-KRasG12V;Ela-CreERT transgenic mice could serve as a useful preclinical model for investigating underlying mechanisms and developing potential therapies.
In silico mechanistic analysis of IRF3 inactivation and high-risk HPV E6 species-dependent drug response
Authors: Shah Masaud , Anwar Muhammad Ayaz , Park Seolhee , Jafri Syyada Samra , Choi Sangdun 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThe high-risk human papillomavirus E6 (hrHPV E6) protein has been widely studied due to its implication in cervical cancer. In response to viral threat, activated kinases phosphorylate the IRF3 autoinhibitory domain, inducing type1 interferon production. HPV circumvents the antiviral response through the possible E6 interaction with IRF3 and abrogates p53’s apoptotic activity by recruiting E6-associated protein. However, the molecular mechanism of IRF3 inactivation by hrHPV E6 has not yet been delineated. Therefore, we explored this mechanism through in silico examination of protein-protein and protein-ligand docking, binding energy differences and computational alanine mutagenesis. Our results suggested that the LxxLL motifs of IRF3 binds within the hydrophobic pocket of E6, precluding Ser-patch phosphorylation, necessary for IRF3 activation and interferon induction. This model was further supported by molecular dynamics simulation. Furthermore, protein-ligand docking and drug resistance modeling revealed that the polar patches in the pocket of E6, which are crucial for complex stability and ligand binding, are inconsistent among hrHPV species. Such variabilities pose a risk of treatment failure owing to point mutations that might render drugs ineffective and allude to multi-drug therapy. Overall, this study reveals a novel perspective of innate immune suppression in HPV infections and suggests a plausible therapeutic intervention.
Coping profiles of young Athletes in their everyday life: A three‐wave two‐month study†
Authors: Martinent Guillaume , Decret Jean‐Claude 
Published: August 2015

AbstractYoung athletes in intensive training settings are confronted with a series of daily stressors although they have a smaller and less flexible coping repertoire than adults. Moreover, previous studies neglected the multivariate nature of coping. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to first identify coping profiles of young athletes in response to daily stressors related to their competitive sport involvement. Second, the study examined: (a) if such profiles were similar across the three waves, (b) how many participants belonged to the same profile along the three waves, and (c) whether individuals from distinct profiles differed on burnout, stress, and recovery. One hundred and forty‐seven young table‐tennis players involved in intensive training settings completed the CICS, RESTQ‐Sport, and ABQ three times during a 2‐month period. Cluster analyses indicated three similar clusters across the three waves: task‐oriented coping, distraction‐ and disengagement‐oriented coping, and low coping profiles. The distribution of athletes significantly varied across waves. Burnout, stress, and recovery significantly differed across the coping profiles. Athletes from the task‐oriented coping profile were characterized by the best psychological adjustment (high scores of recovery and low scores of stress and burnout). In contrast, athletes from the distraction‐ and disengagement‐oriented coping profile were characterized by the worst psychological adjustment (high scores of stress and burnout and low scores of recovery). These findings highlighted that the coping profiles allow examining coping within a holistic approach, teasing out the complex associations with key outcomes, such as burnout, stress, and recovery.
Unilateral eccentric resistance training: A direct comparison between isokinetic and dynamic constant external resistance modalities
Authors: Coratella Giuseppe , Milanese Chiara , Schena Federico 
Published: August 2015

AbstractAim of the study was to compare the effects of unilateral eccentric‐only training using constant velocity vs. constant external load. Forty‐seven participants were randomized in isokinetic (IK), dynamic constant external resistance (DCER) unilateral eccentric training or control groups. Knee extension 1RM and isometric, eccentric and concentric knee extensors peak torque, as well as changes in vastus lateralis fascicle pennation angle, fascicle length, muscle thickness, and quadriceps fat‐free mass were measured. Both IK and DCER training consisted in 5 × 8 eccentric‐only repetitions, 2d/w, for 6 weeks. IK and DCER training sessions were matched for total volume. After training, both IK and DCER similarly increased 1RM (respectively, +4.4 kg, CI95% 1.8–7.0 and +5.5 kg, CI95% 3.3–7.9), isometric (respectively, +34.5 N/m, CI95% 23.0–45.9 and +15.8, CI95% 5.4–26.2) and concentric peak torque (respectively, +17.0 N/m, CI95% 6.6 to +27.4 and 12.2 CI95% 2.8–21.7). IK increased eccentric peak torque significantly more than DCER (respectively, +84.2 N/m, CI95% 66.3–102.1 and +38.2 N/m, CI95% 21.9–54.4). Both IK and DCER similarly increased fascicle length (respectively, +14.7 mm, CI95% 5.4–24.0 and +14.4 mm, CI95% 5.4–23.3) and muscle thickness (respectively, +3.3 mm, CI95% 1.5–5.1, and +4.1 mm, CI95% 2.5–5.7). Matching the training volume resulted in similar adaptations comparing eccentric‐only IK or DCER resistance training. Both in rehabilitation and in training practice, the use of easily available gym devices can be a good substitute for expensive and often unavailable IK devices.
Exercise training modifies walking kinematics and energy cost in obese adolescents: A pilot controlled trial
Authors: Delextrat Anne , Matthew Dionne , Brisswalter Jeanick 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThe aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a weight loss intervention based on physical exercise on the relationship between energy cost and stride frequency during walking in obese teenagers. Participants aged 13–16 years old were assigned to a training (n = 14) and control (n = 10) groups. During eight weeks, the training group performed three 60‐min weekly sessions of high‐intensity intermittent activities coupled with aerobic training. Body composition, gait parameters and energy cost during 4‐min walking bouts at participants’ most comfortable speed and preferred stride frequency (PSF), PSF‐10%, PSF + 10%, PSF‐20% and PSF + 20% were measured before and after intervention. The effects of training and stride frequencies on the energy cost of walking were analysed by an ANOVA with repeated measures. The main results showed that the exercise intervention induced a significant increase in walking speed (+23.2%), and significant decreases in body mass (−1.4%), body fat percentage (−2.1%) and energy cost of walking at various frequencies (decreases ranging from −10.5% to −20.4%, p < .05). In addition, significantly greater decreases were shown at high frequencies (p < .05). No significant differences were shown in the control group (p > .05). These results suggest that this type of training is beneficial to reduce walking energy cost of obese teenagers, in particular at high frequencies. This should improve their well‐being during daily activities.
The Final Two
Authors: Blackwood Stephen 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThis chapter continues the work of the previous one by examining the final two metres that are repeated in the Consolation, anapaestic dimeter and glyconic, which occur four times each. It is argued that each successive repetition intentionally recalls the earlier instances of the same sound and that these acoustic recollections play a dynamic, complex role in the prisoner’s therapy, each resonating purposefully with the others.
Aliens and Strangers?
Authors: Strhan Anna 
Published: August 2015

AbstractIn this work of qualitative sociology, Anna Strhan offers an in-depth study of the everyday lives of members of a conservative evangelical Anglican church in London. ‘St John’s’ is a vibrant church, with a congregation of young and middle-aged members, one in which the life of the mind is important, and faith is both a comfort and a struggle—a way of questioning the order of things within society and for themselves. The congregants of St John’s see themselves as increasingly countercultural, moving against the grain of wider culture in London and in British society, yet they take pride in this, and see it as a central element of being Christian. This book reveals the processes through which the congregants of St John’s learn to understand themselves as ‘aliens and strangers’ in the world, demonstrating the precariousness of their projects of staking out boundaries of moral distinctiveness. Through focusing on their interactions within and outside the church, Strhan shows how the everyday experiences of these evangelicals are simultaneously shaped by the secular norms of their workplaces and other city spaces and by the moral and temporal orientations of their faith that rub against these. Thus their self-identification as ‘aliens and strangers’ both articulates and constructs an ambition to be different from others around them in the city, rooted in a consciousness of the extent to which their hopes, concerns, and longings are simultaneously shaped by their being in the world.
Dividing the Subject
Authors: Strhan Anna 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThis chapter draws together the concepts of body pedagogics, interrelationality, and ethical subjectivity to develop an approach to examining questions of coherence and fragmentation, and the formation of ‘religious’ subjects in ‘secular’ times and places. To understand evangelicals’ lived experiences requires attending not only to their embodied practices but also to their sense of relationship with God, and the chapter considers what it means to take the personality of God seriously as an actor in shaping evangelicals’ subjectivities. The final section of the chapter develops an approach to studying the formation of ethical subjectivity as a fully interrelational, embodied process, drawing on the work of Michel Foucault, Georg Simmel, and Emmanuel Levinas.
The Listening ‘I’
Authors: Strhan Anna 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThis chapter addresses the formation of evangelicals as listening subjects, concentrating on the processes through which they develop an orientation towards transcendence through this. It considers what it means to listen in modernity, drawing on Michel de Certeau’s argument that the loss of the ability to hear God speak is associated with a fracturing of meaning as individuals understand themselves as authors of their own meanings and identities. The chapter describes the techniques through which members of the church seek to form themselves as listening subjects, and discusses the significance of ‘rationality’ in this. The chapter then explores how church members’ modes of listening are an interruption to the everyday rhythms of the city, encouraging them to seek to know God as a source of coherence and meaning, and to discipline their minds and bodies in attentiveness to the demand to listen to Him.
Injected Power
Authors: Le Bot A. 
Published: August 2015

Abstract
This chapter provides many useful relationships to evaluate the power supplied to a subsystem by external sources. The notions of mobility and conductance are introduced and their importance for point or distributed sources is discussed. A statistical estimation of the mobility is realized. Many examples of mobilities of infinite systems are given. It is shown that the mean mobility of a finite system is equal to the mobility of the infinite system.