bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Invasiveness and metastasis of retinoblastoma in an orthotopic zebrafish tumor model
Authors: Chen Xiaoyun , Wang Jian , Cao Ziquan , Hosaka Kayoko , Jensen Lasse , Yang Huasheng , Sun Yuping , Zhuang Rujie , Liu Yizhi , Cao Yihai 
Published: July 2015

AbstractRetinoblastoma is a highly invasive malignant tumor that often invades the brain and metastasizes to distal organs through the blood stream. Invasiveness and metastasis of retinoblastoma can occur at the early stage of tumor development. However, an optimal preclinical model to study retinoblastoma invasiveness and metastasis in relation to drug treatment has not been developed. Here, we developed an orthotopic zebrafish model in which retinoblastoma invasion and metastasis can be monitored at a single cell level. We took the advantages of immune privilege and transparent nature of developing zebrafish embryos. Intravitreal implantation of color-coded retinoblastoma cells allowed us to kinetically monitor tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Further, interactions between retinoblastoma cells and surrounding microvasculatures were studied using a transgenic zebrafish that exhibited green fluorescent signals in blood vessels. We discovered that tumor cells invaded neighboring tissues and blood stream when primary tumors were at the microscopic sizes. These findings demonstrate that retinoblastoma metastasis occurs at the early stage and antiangiogenic drugs such as Vegf morpholino and sunitinib could potentially interfere with tumor invasiveness and metastasis. Thus, this orthotopic retinoblastoma model offers a new and unique opportunity to study the early events of tumor invasion, metastasis and drug responses.
Magnetic moment formation due to arsenic vacancies in LaFeAsO-derived superconductors
Authors: Kikoin Konstantin , Drechsler Stefan-Ludwig , Koepernik Klaus , Málek Jiři , van den Brink Jeroen 
Published: July 2015

AbstractArsenic vacancies in LaFeAsO-derived superconductors are nominally non-magnetic defects. However, we find from a microscopic theory in terms of an appropriately modified Anderson-Wolff model that in their vicinity local magnetic moments form. They can arise because removing an arsenic atom breaks four strong, covalent bonds with the neighboring iron atoms. The moments emerging around an arsenic vacancy orient ferromagnetically and cause a substantial enhancement of the paramagnetic susceptibility in both the normal and superconducting state. The qualitative model description is supported by first principles band structure calculations of the As-vacancy related defect spectrum within a larger supercell.
Band Alignment and Controllable Electron Migration between Rutile and Anatase TiO2
Authors: Mi Yang , Weng Yuxiang 
Published: July 2015

AbstractTiO2 is the most promising semiconductor for photocatalytic splitting of water for hydrogen and degradation of pollutants. The highly photocatalytic active form is its mixed phase of two polymorphs anatase and rutile rather than their pristine compositions. Such a synergetic effect is understood by the staggered band alignment favorable to spatial charge separation. However, electron migration in either direction between the two phases has been reported, the reason of which is still unknown. We determined the band alignment by a novel method, i.e., transient infrared absorption-excitation energy scanning spectra, showing their conduction bands being aligned, thus the electron migration direction is controlled by dynamical factors, such as varying the particle size of anatase, putting electron or hole scavengers on either the surface of anatase or rutile phases, or both. A quantitative criterion capable of predicting the migration direction under various conditions including particle size and surface chemical reactions is proposed, the predictions have been verified experimentally in several typical cases. This would give rise to a great potential in designing more effective titania photocatalysts.
Hierarchical Nanotube-Constructed Porous TiO2-B Spheres for High Performance Lithium Ion Batteries
Authors: Cai Yi , Wang Hong-En , -Zhuan Huang Shao , Jin Jun , Wang Chao , Yu Yong , Li Yu , Su Bao-Lian 
Published: July 2015

AbstractHierarchically structured porous TiO2-B spheres have been synthesized via a hydrothermal process using amorphous titania/oleylamine composites as a self-sacrificing template. The TiO2-B spheres are constructed by interconnected nanotubes and possess a high specific surface area of 295 m2 g-1. When evaluated as an anode material in lithium-half cells, the as-obtained TiO2-B material exhibits high and reversible lithium storage capacity of 270 mA h g-1 at 1 C (340 mA g-1), excellent rate capability of 221 mA h g-1 at 10 C and long cycle life with over 70% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 10 C. The superior electrochemical performance of TiO2-B material strongly correlates to the synergetic superiorities with a combination of TiO2-B polymorph, hierarchically porous structure, interconnected nanotubes and spherical morphology. Post-mortem structural analyses reveal some discrete cubic LiTiO2 nanodots formed on the outer surfaces of TiO2-B nanotubes, which might account for the slight capacity loss upon prolonged electrochemical cycling.
Responding to the challenge of untreatable gonorrhea: ETX0914, a first-in-class agent with a distinct mechanism-of-action against bacterial Type II topoisomerases
Authors: Basarab Gregory S. , Kern Gunther H. , McNulty John , Mueller John P. , Lawrence Kenneth , Vishwanathan Karthick , Alm Richard A. , Barvian Kevin , Doig Peter , Galullo Vincent , Gardner Humphrey , Gowravaram Madhusudhan , Huband Michael , Kimzey Amy , Morningstar Marshall , Kutschke Amy , Lahiri Sushmita D. , Perros Manos , Singh Renu , Schuck Virna J. A. , Tommasi Ruben , Walkup Grant , Newman Joseph V. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractWith the diminishing effectiveness of current antibacterial therapies, it is critically important to discover agents that operate by a mechanism that circumvents existing resistance. ETX0914, the first of a new class of antibacterial agent targeted for the treatment of gonorrhea, operates by a novel mode-of-inhibition against bacterial type II topoisomerases. Incorporating an oxazolidinone on the scaffold mitigated toxicological issues often seen with topoisomerase inhibitors. Organisms resistant to other topoisomerase inhibitors were not cross-resistant with ETX0914 nor were spontaneous resistant mutants to ETX0914 cross-resistant with other topoisomerase inhibitor classes, including the widely used fluoroquinolone class. Preclinical evaluation of ETX0914 pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics showed distribution into vascular tissues and efficacy in a murine Staphylococcus aureus infection model that served as a surrogate for predicting efficacious exposures for the treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections. A wide safety margin to the efficacious exposure in toxicological evaluations supported progression to Phase 1. Dosing ETX0914 in human volunteers showed sufficient exposure and minimal adverse effects to expect a highly efficacious anti-gonorrhea therapy.
Digestion of Nucleic Acids Starts in the Stomach
Authors: Liu Yu , Zhang Yanfang , Dong Ping , An Ran , Xue Changhu , Ge Yinlin , Wei Liangzhou , Liang Xingguo 
Published: July 2015

AbstractThe ingestion of nucleic acids (NAs) as a nutritional supplement or in genetically modified food has attracted the attention of researchers in recent years. Discussions over the fate of NAs led us to study their digestion in the stomach. Interestingly, we found that NAs are digested efficiently by human gastric juice. By performing digests with commercial, recombinant and mutant pepsin, a protein-specific enzyme, we learned that the digestion of NAs could be attributed to pepsin rather than to the acidity of the stomach. Further study showed that pepsin cleaved NAs in a moderately site-specific manner to yield 3′-phosphorylated fragments and the active site to digest NAs is probably the same as that used to digest protein. Our results rectify the misunderstandings that the digestion of NAs in the gastric tract begins in the intestine and that pepsin can only digest protein, shedding new light on NA metabolism and pepsin enzymology.
Studying biological membranes with extended range high-speed atomic force microscopy
Authors: Nievergelt Adrian P. , Erickson Blake W. , Hosseini Nahid , Adams Jonathan D. , Fantner Georg E. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractHigh—speed atomic force microscopy has proven to be a valuable tool for the study of biomolecular systems at the nanoscale. Expanding its application to larger biological specimens such as membranes or cells has, however, proven difficult, often requiring fundamental changes in the AFM instrument. Here we show a way to utilize conventional AFM instrumentation with minor alterations to perform high-speed AFM imaging with a large scan range. Using a two—actuator design with adapted control systems, a 130 × 130 × 5 μm scanner with nearly 100 kHz open—loop small-signal Z—bandwidth is implemented. This allows for high-speed imaging of biologically relevant samples as well as high-speed measurements of nanomechanical surface properties. We demonstrate the system performance by real-time imaging of the effect of charged polymer nanoparticles on the integrity of lipid membranes at high imaging speeds and peak force tapping measurements at 32 kHz peak force rate.
iCut: an Integrative Cut Algorithm Enables Accurate Segmentation of Touching Cells
Authors: He Yong , Gong Hui , Xiong Benyi , Xu Xiaofeng , Li Anan , Jiang Tao , Sun Qingtao , Wang Simin , Luo Qingming , Chen Shangbin 
Published: July 2015

AbstractIndividual cells play essential roles in the biological processes of the brain. The number of neurons changes during both normal development and disease progression. High-resolution imaging has made it possible to directly count cells. However, the automatic and precise segmentation of touching cells continues to be a major challenge for massive and highly complex datasets. Thus, an integrative cut (iCut) algorithm, which combines information regarding spatial location and intervening and concave contours with the established normalized cut, has been developed. iCut involves two key steps: (1) a weighting matrix is first constructed with the abovementioned information regarding the touching cells and (2) a normalized cut algorithm that uses the weighting matrix is implemented to separate the touching cells into isolated cells. This novel algorithm was evaluated using two types of data: the open SIMCEP benchmark dataset and our micro-optical imaging dataset from a Nissl-stained mouse brain. It has achieved a promising recall/precision of 91.2 ± 2.1%/94.1 ± 1.8% and 86.8 ± 4.1%/87.5 ± 5.7%, respectively, for the two datasets. As quantified using the harmonic mean of recall and precision, the accuracy of iCut is higher than that of some state-of-the-art algorithms. The better performance of this fully automated algorithm can benefit studies of brain cytoarchitecture.
Crystalline Ni3C as both carbon source and catalyst for graphene nucleation: a QM/MD study
Authors: Jiao Menggai , Li Kai , Guan Wei , Wang Ying , Wu Zhijian , Page Alister , Morokuma Keiji 
Published: July 2015

AbstractGraphene nucleation from crystalline Ni3C has been investigated using quantum chemical molecular dynamics (QM/MD) simulations based on the self-consistent-charge density-functional tight-binding (SCC-DFTB) method. It was observed that the lattice of Ni3C was quickly relaxed upon thermal annealing at high temperature, resulting in an amorphous Ni3C catalyst structure. With the aid of the mobile nickel atoms, inner layer carbon atoms precipitated rapidly out of the surface and then formed polyyne chains and Y-junctions. The frequent sinusoidal-like vibration of the branched carbon configurations led to the formation of nascent graphene precursors. In light of the rapid decomposition of the crystalline Ni3C, it is proposed that the crystalline Ni3C is unlikely to be a reaction intermediate in the CVD-growth of graphene at high temperatures. However, results present here indicate that Ni3C films can be employed as precursors in the synthesis of graphene with exciting possibility.
Electron—phonon Coupling and the Superconducting Phase Diagram of the LaAlO3—SrTiO3 Interface
Authors: Boschker Hans , Richter Christoph , Fillis-Tsirakis Evangelos , Schneider Christof W. , Mannhart Jochen 
Published: July 2015

AbstractThe superconductor at the LaAlO3—SrTiO3 interface provides a model system for the study of two-dimensional superconductivity in the dilute carrier density limit. Here we experimentally address the pairing mechanism in this superconductor. We extract the electron—phonon spectral function from tunneling spectra and conclude, without ruling out contributions of further pairing channels, that electron—phonon mediated pairing is strong enough to account for the superconducting critical temperatures. Furthermore, we discuss the electron—phonon coupling in relation to the superconducting phase diagram. The electron—phonon spectral function is independent of the carrier density, except for a small part of the phase diagram in the underdoped region. The tunneling measurements reveal that the increase of the chemical potential with increasing carrier density levels off and is zero in the overdoped region of the phase diagram. This indicates that the additionally induced carriers do not populate the band that hosts the superconducting state and that the superconducting order parameter therefore is weakened by the presence of charge carriers in another band.
Serum proteomic profiling of major depressive disorder
Authors: Bot M , Chan M K , Jansen R , Lamers F , Vogelzangs N , Steiner J , Leweke F M , Rothermundt M , Cooper J , Bahn S , Penninx B W J H 
Published: July 2015

AbstractMuch has still to be learned about the molecular mechanisms of depression. This study aims to gain insight into contributing mechanisms by identifying serum proteins related to major depressive disorder (MDD) in a large psychiatric cohort study. Our sample consisted of 1589 participants of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety, comprising 687 individuals with current MDD (cMDD), 482 individuals with remitted MDD (rMDD) and 420 controls. We studied the relationship between MDD status and the levels of 171 serum proteins detected on a multi-analyte profiling platform using adjusted linear regression models. Pooled analyses of two independent validation cohorts (totaling 78 MDD cases and 156 controls) was carried out to validate our top markers. Twenty-eight analytes differed significantly between cMDD cases and controls (P<0.05), whereas 10 partly overlapping markers differed significantly between rMDD cases and controls. Antidepressant medication use and comorbid anxiety status did not substantially impact on these findings. Sixteen of the cMDD-related markers had been assayed in the pooled validation cohorts, of which seven were associated with MDD. The analytes prominently associated with cMDD related to diverse cell communication and signal transduction processes (pancreatic polypeptide, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, ENRAGE, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist and tenascin-C), immune response (growth-regulated alpha protein) and protein metabolism (von Willebrand factor). Several proteins were implicated in depression. Changes were more prominent in cMDD, suggesting that molecular alterations in serum are associated with acute depression symptomatology. These findings may help to establish serum-based biomarkers of depression and could improve our understanding of its pathophysiology.
Development of a blood-based molecular biomarker test for identification of schizophrenia before disease onset
Authors: Chan M K , Krebs M-O , Cox D , Guest P C , Yolken R H , Rahmoune H , Rothermundt M , Steiner J , Leweke F M , van Beveren N J M , Niebuhr D W , Weber N S , Cowan D N , Suarez-Pinilla P , Crespo-Facorro B , Mam-Lam-Fook C , Bourgin J , Wenstrup R J , Kaldate R R , Cooper J D , Bahn S 
Published: July 2015

AbstractRecent research efforts have progressively shifted towards preventative psychiatry and prognostic identification of individuals before disease onset. We describe the development of a serum biomarker test for the identification of individuals at risk of developing schizophrenia based on multiplex immunoassay profiling analysis of 957 serum samples. First, we conducted a meta-analysis of five independent cohorts of 127 first-onset drug-naive schizophrenia patients and 204 controls. Using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, we identified an optimal panel of 26 biomarkers that best discriminated patients and controls. Next, we successfully validated this biomarker panel using two independent validation cohorts of 93 patients and 88 controls, which yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.97 (0.95–1.00) for schizophrenia detection. Finally, we tested its predictive performance for identifying patients before onset of psychosis using two cohorts of 445 pre-onset or at-risk individuals. The predictive performance achieved by the panel was excellent for identifying USA military personnel (AUC: 0.90 (0.86–0.95)) and help-seeking prodromal individuals (AUC: 0.82 (0.71–0.93)) who developed schizophrenia up to 2 years after baseline sampling. The performance increased further using the latter cohort following the incorporation of CAARMS (Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental State) positive subscale symptom scores into the model (AUC: 0.90 (0.82–0.98)). The current findings may represent the first successful step towards a test that could address the clinical need for early intervention in psychiatry. Further developments of a combined molecular/symptom-based test will aid clinicians in the identification of vulnerable patients early in the disease process, allowing more effective therapeutic intervention before overt disease onset.
Alterations in circadian entrainment precede the onset of depression-like behavior that does not respond to fluoxetine
Authors: Spulber S , Conti M , DuPont C , Raciti M , Bose R , Onishchenko N , Ceccatelli S 
Published: July 2015

AbstractGrowing evidence links adverse prenatal conditions to mood disorders. We investigated the long-term behavioral alterations induced by prenatal exposure to excess glucocorticoids (dexamethasone—DEX). At 12 months, but not earlier, DEX-exposed mice displayed depression-like behavior and impaired hippocampal neurogenesis, not reversible by the antidepressant fluoxetine (FLX). Concomitantly, we observed arrhythmic glucocorticoid secretion and absent circadian oscillations in hippocampal clock gene expression. Analysis of spontaneous activity showed progressive alterations in circadian entrainment preceding depression. Circadian oscillations in clock gene expression (measured by means of quantitative PCR) were also attenuated in skin fibroblasts before the appearance of depression. Interestingly, circadian entrainment is not altered in a model of depression (induced by methylmercury prenatal exposure) that responds to FLX. Altogether, our results suggest that alterations in circadian entrainment of spontaneous activity, and possibly clock gene expression in fibroblasts, may predict the onset of depression and the response to FLX in patients.
Heritability estimates of the Big Five personality traits based on common genetic variants
Authors: Power R A , Pluess M 
Published: July 2015

AbstractAccording to twin studies, the Big Five personality traits have substantial heritable components explaining 40–60% of the variance, but identification of associated genetic variants has remained elusive. Consequently, knowledge regarding the molecular genetic architecture of personality and to what extent it is shared across the different personality traits is limited. Using genomic-relatedness-matrix residual maximum likelihood analysis (GREML), we here estimated the heritability of the Big Five personality factors (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness for experience) in a sample of 5011 European adults from 527 469 single-nucleotide polymorphisms across the genome. We tested for the heritability of each personality trait, as well as for the genetic overlap between the personality factors. We found significant and substantial heritability estimates for neuroticism (15%, s.e.=0.08, P=0.04) and openness (21%, s.e.=0.08, P<0.01), but not for extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness. The bivariate analyses showed that the variance explained by common variants entirely overlapped between neuroticism and openness (rG=1.00, P <0.001), despite low phenotypic correlation (r=−0.09, P <0.001), suggesting that the remaining unique heritability may be determined by rare or structural variants. As far as we are aware of, this is the first study estimating the shared and unique heritability of all Big Five personality traits using the GREML approach. Findings should be considered exploratory and suggest that detectable heritability estimates based on common variants is shared between neuroticism and openness to experiences.
Milk Flow Rates From Bottle Nipples Used for Feeding Infants Who Are Hospitalized
Authors: Pados Britt F. , Park Jinhee , Thoyre Suzanne M. , Estrem Hayley , Nix W. Brant 
Published: July 2015

PurposeThis study tested the milk flow rates and variability in flow of currently available nipples used for bottle-feeding infants who are hospitalized.MethodClinicians in 3 countries were surveyed regarding nipples available to them for feeding infants who are hospitalized. Twenty-nine nipple types were identified, and 10 nipples of each type were tested by measuring the amount of infant formula expressed in 1 min using a breast pump. Mean milk flow rate (mL/min) and coefficient of variation were used to compare nipples within brand and within category (i.e., Slow, Standard, Premature).ResultsFlow rates varied widely between nipples, ranging from 2.10 mL/min for the Enfamil Cross-Cut to 85.34 mL/min for the Dr. Brown's Y-Cut Standard Neck. Variability of flow rates among nipples of the same type ranged from a coefficient of variation of 0.05 for Dr. Brown's Level 1 Standard- and Wide-Neck to 0.42 for the Enfamil Cross-Cut. Mean coefficient of variation by brand ranged from 0.08 for Dr. Brown's to 0.36 for Bionix.ConclusionsMilk flow is an easily manipulated variable that may contribute to the degree of physiologic instability experienced by infants who are medically fragile during oral feeding. This study provides clinicians with information to guide appropriate selection of bottle nipples for feeding infants who are hospitalized.