bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assesment of apoptosis induced changes in scattering using optical coherence tomography
Authors: de Bruin Daniel M. , Broekgaarden Mans , van Gemert Martin J. C. , Heger Michal , de la Rosette Jean J. , Van Leeuwen Ton G. , Faber Dirk J. 
Published: November 2015

The aim of this study is to identify changes in scattering with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and relate these measurements with mitochondrial changes during the initiation of apoptosis.Human retinal pigment epithelial cells were cultured and apoptosis was induced using 10% alcohol. Using the attenuation coefficient and backscattering, changes were measured during cell death in a cell‐pellet and monolayer respectively. To confirm apoptosis, fluorescent activated cell sorting was used. Mitochondrial activity during apoptosis was assessed using an oxidative stress assay and fluorescent confocal microscopy.Pelleted apoptotic cells measured with OCT showed a clear rise while untreated cells showed a very small increase in attenuation coefficient. Monolayered apoptotic cells displayed a distinct increase, while untreated cells showed a small increase in the backscattering. Apoptosis was confirmed by FACS experiments. Mitochondrial changes during the onset of apoptosis were also measured.The results demonstrate that apoptotic cell death could be monitored in real‐time by OCT. Changes in the scattering after induction of apoptosis are likely to be related to changes in the intracellular morphology. Oxidative stress‐induced mitochondrial swelling could be responsible for the initial increase, while cell blebbing and secondary necrosis subsequently for the observed decrease in scattering.
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Characterization and antipathogenic evaluation of a novel quaternary phosphonium tripolyacrylamide and elucidation of the inactivation mechanisms
Authors: Xue Yan , Xiao Huining 
Published: November 2015

AbstractTo mitigate the crisis of pathogen‐caused disease outbreaks, developing novel disinfection agents with broad‐spectrum antipathogenic performance is a severe task. In this work, an antipathogenic tripolyacrylamide containing aliphatic quaternary phosphonium salt (QPS) was prepared. To confirm the broad‐spectrum antipathogenic activity of the as‐prepared polymer, the in vitro antibacterial performance was evaluated against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and viral inactivation was assessed against influenza virus and adenovirus as well. The polymers exhibited higher bactericidal activity against S. aureus than E. coli in terms of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), while possessing much lower MIC values compared with their corresponding compound. The morphological alterations in polymer treated E. coli, captured by atomic force microscopy, confirmed the membrane‐acting antibacterial mechanism of polymeric QPS. The plaque reduction assay performed on influenza virus and adenovirus demonstrated the as‐prepared tripolymer could efficiently inactivate both enveloped and non‐enveloped viruses, and the two different antiviral mechanisms were elucidated correspondingly. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 747–757, 2016.
SyntheticPAMPSgel activatesBMP/Smad signaling pathway inATDC5 cells, which plays a significant role in the gel‐induced chondrogenic differentiation
Authors: Goto Keiko , Kimura Taichi , Kitamura Nobuto , Semba Shingo , Ohmiya Yoshihiro , Aburatani Sachiyo , Matsukura Satoko , Tsuda Masumi , Kurokawa Takayuki , Ping Gong Jian , Tanaka Shinya , Yasuda Kazunori 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe purposes of this study were to identify signaling pathways that were specifically activated in ATDC5 cells cultured on poly (2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) gel in insulin‐free maintenance medium and to evaluate the significance of the determined signaling pathways in the chondrogenic differentiation induced by this gel. In this study, ATDC5 cells cultured on PAMPS gel using the maintenance medium without insulin (PAMPS Culture) were compared with cells cultured on polystyrene using the differentiation medium containing insulin (PS‐I Culture). The microarray analysis, Western blot analysis, and real‐time PCR analysis demonstrated that the TGF‐β/BMP signaling pathway was significantly enhanced at Days 1, 2, and 3 in the PAMPS Culture when compared with the PS‐I Culture. Inhibition of the BMP type‐I receptor reduced the phosphorylation level of Smad1/5 and expression of type‐2 collagen and aggrecan mRNA in the cells accompanied by a reduction in cell aggregation at Day 13 in the PAMPS Culture. The inhibition of the TGF‐β/BMP signaling pathway significantly inhibited the chondrogenic differentiation induced by the PAMPS gel. The present study demonstrated that synthetic PAMPS gel activates the TGF‐β/BMP/Smad signaling pathway in the ATDC5 cells in the absence of insulin, and that this activation plays a significant role in the chondrogenic differentiation induced by PAMPS gel. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 734–746, 2016.
BET Protein BRDT Complexes With HDAC1, PRMT5, and TRIM28 and Functions in Transcriptional Repression During Spermatogenesis
Authors: Wang Li , Wolgemuth Debra J. 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACTThe expression of BRDT, a member of the BET sub‐family of double bromodomain‐containing proteins, is restricted to the male germ line, specifically to pachytene‐diplotene spermatocytes and early spermatids. We previously showed that loss of the first bromodomain of BRDT by targeted mutagenesis (BrdtΔBD1) resulted in sterility and abnormalities in spermiogenesis, but little is known about BRDT's function at the molecular level. As part of studies designed to identify BRDT‐interacting proteins we stably introduced a FLAG‐tagged BRDT cDNA into 293T cells, which do not normally express BRDT. Affinity‐purification of FLAG‐tagged BRDT complexes indicated that BRDT has novel interactions with the histone deacetylase HDAC1, the arginine‐specific histone methyltransferase 5 PRMT5, and the Tripartite motif‐containing 28 protein TRIM28. Immunofluorescent microscopy revealed that BRDT co‐localized with each of these proteins in round spermatids and co‐immunoprecipitation of testicular extracts showed that these proteins interact with BRDT. Furthermore, they bind the promoter of H1t, a putative target of BRDT‐containing complexes. This binding of H1t was lost in mice expressing the BrdtΔBD1 mutant protein and concomitantly, H1t expression was elevated in round spermatids. Our study reveals a role for BRDT‐containing complexes in the repression of gene expression in vivo that correlates with dramatic effects on chromatin remodeling and the progression of spermiogenesis. J. Cell. Biochem. 117: 1429–1438, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Dysregulation of Norepinephrine Release in the Absence of Functional Synaptotagmin 7
Authors: Shih Alvin M. , Varghese Lincy , Bittar Alice , Park Sung‐Hoon , Chung Jin Mo , Shin Ok‐Ho 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACTSynaptotagmin 7 (Syt7) is expressed in cardiac sympathetic nerve terminals where norepinephrine (NE) is released in both Ca2+‐dependent exocytosis and Ca2+‐independent norepinephrine transporter (NET)‐mediated overflow. The role of Syt7 in the regulation of NE release from cardiac sympathetic nerve terminals is tested by employing a Syt7 knock‐in mouse line that expresses a non‐functional mutant form of Syt7. In cardiac sympathetic nerve terminals prepared from these Syt7 knock‐in mice, the Ca2+‐dependent component of NE release was diminished. However, these terminals displayed upregulated function of NET (∼130% of controls) and a significant increase in Ca2+‐independent NE overflow (∼140% of controls), which is greater than the Ca2+‐dependent component of NE exocytosis occurring in wild‐type controls. Consistent with a significant increase in NE overflow, the Syt7 knock‐in mice showed significantly higher blood pressures compared to those of littermate wild‐type and heterozygous mice. Our results indicate that the lack of functional Syt7 dysregulates NE release from cardiac sympathetic nerve terminals. J. Cell. Biochem. 117: 1446–1453, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Liver apparent diffusion coefficient repeatability with individually predetermined optimal cardiac timing and artifact elimination by signal filtering
Authors: Metens Thierry , Absil Julie , Denolin Vincent , Bali Maria Antonietta , Matos Celso 
Published: November 2015

PurposeTo prospectively assess liver ADC (apparent diffusion coefficient) repeatability from cardiac‐triggered diffusion‐weighted images obtained with an individually predetermined optimal cardiac time window minimizing cardiac‐related effects and to evaluate a signal filtering method aimed at artifact elimination.Materials and MethodsAfter Institutional Review Board approval and written informed consent, eight healthy volunteers underwent four repetitions of respiratory‐triggered diffusion‐weighted sequences (3T, b: 0,150,500 s/mm2) without (RTnoCT, 51 sec) and with individually optimized cardiac triggering (RTCT, 306 sec). The optimal cardiac delay was individually predetermined using a 5‐second breath‐hold sequence. Monoexponential liver ADC and left‐to‐right‐liver ADC ratio were computed from region of interest (ROI) signal measurements (two independent readers). A filtering method, excluding signal intensities lower than the mean intensity at fixed b‐value, provided ADC recalculation. Limits‐of‐agreement (LOAs) from 95% confidence intervals for differences across the four repetitions provided the variability range.ResultsFor Reader 1 (Reader 2), left‐to‐right‐liver ADC ratios were significantly higher in RTnoCT 1.51 (1.52) than in RTCT 1.12 (1.15), P = 0.012 (P = 0.017). Respectively for RTnoCT and RTCT: left liver LOAs were ±835 (±775), ± 315 (±369) 10‐6mm2/s; right liver LOAs were ±392 (±445), ± 172 (±140) 10‐6mm2/s: LOAs were larger in the left than in the right lobe (both P < 0.001). After filtering, left liver ADC LOAs narrowed to ±650 (±367) 10‐6mm2/s, P = 0.17 (P < 0.001); ± 152 (±208) 10‐6mm2/s (both P < 0.002) and left‐to‐right‐liver ADC ratio decreased to 1.28 (1.20), P = 0.017 (P = 0.012); 1.09 (1.08), P = 0.106 (P = 0.105).ConclusionCompared to noncardiac‐triggered acquisitions, individually optimized cardiac‐triggered acquisitions improved ADC repeatability in both liver lobes and reduced ADC differences between left and right liver. Left liver ADC repeatability was further improved after signal filtering. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;43:1100–1110.
Axial Dystonia Mimicking Stiff Person Syndrome
Authors: Balint Bettina , Meinck Hans‐Michael , Bhatia Kailash P. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractBoth isolated axial dystonia and stiff person syndrome (SPS) are rare conditions that can look deceivingly similar. Here, we present three cases of axial dystonia resembling SPS with video documentation in order to illustrate the phenomenological similarities. We discuss clinical and paraclinical approaches to help distinction with its obvious implications for further management.
Molecular response of chorioretinal endothelial cells to complement injury: implications for macular degeneration
Authors: Zeng Shemin , Whitmore S Scott , Sohn Elliott H , Riker Megan J , Wiley Luke A , Scheetz Todd E , Stone Edwin M , Tucker Budd A , Mullins Robert F 
Published: November 2015

AbstractAge‐related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common, blinding disease of the elderly in which macular photoreceptor cells, retinal pigment epithelium and choriocapillaris endothelial cells ultimately degenerate. Recent studies have found that degeneration of the choriocapillaris occurs early in this disease and that endothelial cell drop‐out is concomitant with increased deposition of the complement membrane attack complex (MAC) at the choroidal endothelium. However, the impact of MAC injury to choroidal endothelial cells is poorly understood. To model this event in vitro, and to study the downstream consequences of MAC injury, endothelial cells were exposed to complement from human serum, compared to heat‐inactivated serum, which lacks complement components. Cells exposed to complement components in human serum showed increased labelling with antibodies directed against the MAC, time‐ and dose‐dependent cell death, as assessed by lactate dehydrogenase assay and increased permeability. RNA‐Seq analysis following complement injury revealed increased expression of genes associated with angiogenesis including matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐3 and −9, and VEGF‐A. The MAC‐induced increase in MMP9 RNA expression was validated using C5‐depleted serum compared to C5‐reconstituted serum. Increased levels of MMP9 were also established, using western blot and zymography. These data suggest that, in addition to cell lysis, complement attack on choroidal endothelial cells promotes an angiogenic phenotype in surviving cells. Copyright © 2015 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Neighbours Helping Neighbours in Multi‐ethnic Context
Authors: Fong Eric , Hou Feng 
Published: November 2015

AbstractA key topic in population and urban studies is neighbourhood social relations. The topic has significant implications for the larger debate about friendship patterns in contemporary North American society. Ties among neighbours provide social support, foster social relations, and facilitate social capital. Our study explores how the exchange of favours among neighbours, a key component in developing and maintaining social relations among neighbours, is related to co‐ethnic proportion, length of time in the neighbourhood, and family life cycle. Our discussion differentiates between relations within groups and overall relations in the neighbourhood. We merged the 2008 Canadian General Social Survey with 2006 Canadian census tract data to explore these issues. The findings present an optimistic view of a diversified society. Most members of the groups included in the analysis experience favour exchange with neighbours. Although co‐ethnic proportion and duration in the neighbourhood do not relate to favour exchange in neighbourhoods for minorities and immigrants, these factors are significant for local‐born population. In addition, as minorities and immigrants marry, their family needs may encourage them to develop social relations with neighbours. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Consequences of misspecified mental models: Contrasting effects and the role of cognitive fit
Authors: Martignoni Dirk , Menon Anoop , Siggelkow Nicolaj 
Published: November 2015

Research summary: Mental models, reflecting interdependencies among managerial choice variables, are not always correctly specified. Mental models can be underspecified, missing interdependencies, or overspecified, containing nonexistent interdependencies. Using a simulation model, we find that under‐ and overspecification have opposite effects on exploration, and thereby, performance. The effects are also opposite, depending on whether a manager controls all choice variables. The mechanism underlying our results is a feedback loop: misspecified mental models influence managerial learning about the effectiveness of choices; this learning guides how the environment is explored, which in turn, affects which information will be generated for future learning. We explore implications of these results for strategic management and introduce the notion of “cognitive fit” between the mental model of the decision‐maker and the strategic environment.Managerial summary: Managers often rely on mental models to guide their decision‐making. These mental models, however, are often misspecified, that is, more or less complex than the situation managers are facing. Using a simulation model, we study the consequences of such misspecified mental models. We find that the performance implications of misspecified mental models crucially depend on whether the manager controls all choice variables. We identify situations in which simpler mental models are better than overly complex ones, and vice versa. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A new approach for calculating the internal forces, moments and deflections of sandwich panels with reinforced concrete facings
Authors: Müller Frank , Kohlmeyer Christian , Schnell Jürgen 
Published: November 2015

AbstractSoftware for calculating the internal forces, moments and deflections of sandwich elements with reinforced concrete facings has been developed as part of a research project at Technische Universität Kaiserslautern. Sandwich elements with stiff concrete facings are internally statically indeterminate. Cracking of the concrete facings leads to a redistribution of the internal forces and moments over the length and across the cross‐section of the element. This redistribution must be considered in the structural design of such elements.An existing program for calculating metal‐faced sandwich elements was considerably extended by an iterative approach that allows the internal forces and moments to be calculated with the exact stiffness of the cracked facings. This iterative approach and the calculation algorithm behind the new software, called swe2+, are explained in this paper. A verification of the calculation results and a parametric study of a two‐span sandwich element are also presented.
Is pelvic organ support different between young nulliparous African and Caucasian women?
Authors: Shek K. L. , Krause H. G. , Wong V. , Goh J. , Dietz H. P. 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACTObjectiveThere seems to be substantial variation in the prevalence of pelvic floor disorders between different ethnic groups. This may be due partially to differences in pelvic floor structure and functional anatomy. To date, data on this issue are sparse. The aim of this study was to compare hiatal dimensions, pelvic organ descent and levator biometry in young, healthy nulliparous Caucasian and African women.MethodsHealthy nulliparous non‐pregnant volunteers attending a local nursing school in Uganda were invited to participate in this study during two fistula camps. All volunteers underwent a simple physician‐administered questionnaire and a four‐dimensional translabial ultrasound examination. Offline analysis was performed to assess hiatal dimensions, pelvic organ descent, levator muscle thickness and area. To compare findings with those obtained in nulliparous non‐pregnant Caucasians, we retrieved the three‐dimensional/four‐dimensional ultrasound volume datasets of a previously published study.ResultsThe dataset of 76 Ugandan and 49 Caucasian women was analyzed. The two groups were not matched but they were comparable in age and body mass index. All measurements of hiatal dimensions and pelvic organ descent were significantly higher among the Ugandans (all P ≤ 0.01); however, muscle thickness and area were not significantly different between the two groups.ConclusionsSubstantial differences between Caucasian and Ugandan non‐pregnant nulliparae were identified in this study comparing functional pelvic floor anatomy. It appears likely that these differences in functional anatomy are at least partly genetic in nature. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
A multi‐mode IFFT/FFT processor for IEEE 802.11ac: design and implementation
Authors: Ali Abdelmohsen , Hamouda Walaa 
Published: November 2015

AbstractIn this paper, we present 64/128/256/512‐point inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT)/FFT processor for single‐user and multi‐user multiple‐input multiple‐output orthogonal frequency‐division multiplexing based IEEE 802.11ac wireless local area network transceiver. The multi‐mode processor is developed by an eight‐parallel mixed‐radix architecture to efficiently produce full reconfigurability for all multi‐user combinations. The proposed design not only supports the operation of IFFT/FFT for 1–8 different data streams operated by different users in case of downlink transmission, but also, it provides different throughput rates to meet IEEE 802.11ac requirements at the minimum possible clock frequency. Moreover, less power is needed in our design compared with traditional software approach. The design is carefully optimized to operate by the minimum wordlengths that fulfill the performance and complexity specifications. The processor is designed and implemented on Xilinx Vertix‐5 field programmable gate array technology. Although the maximum clock frequency is 377.84 MHz, the processor is clocked by the operating sampling rate to further reduce the power consumption. At the operation clock rate of 160 MHz, our proposed processor can calculate 512‐point FFT with up to eight independent data sequences within 3.2~μs meeting IEEE 802.11ac standard requirements. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Large‐scale control site selection for population monitoring: An example assessing sage‐grouse trends
Authors: Fedy Bradley C. , O'Donnell Michael S. , Bowen Zachary H. 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACTHuman impacts on wildlife populations are widespread and prolific and understanding wildlife responses to human impacts is a fundamental component of wildlife management. The first step to understanding wildlife responses is the documentation of changes in wildlife population parameters, such as population size. Meaningful assessment of population changes in potentially impacted sites requires the establishment of monitoring at similar, nonimpacted, control sites. However, it is often difficult to identify appropriate control sites in wildlife populations. We demonstrated use of Geographic Information System (GIS) data across large spatial scales to select biologically relevant control sites for population monitoring. Greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hearafter, sage‐grouse) are negatively affected by energy development, and monitoring of sage‐grouse population within energy development areas is necessary to detect population‐level responses. We used population data (1995–2012) from an energy development area in Wyoming, USA, the Atlantic Rim Project Area (ARPA), and GIS data to identify control sites that were not impacted by energy development for population monitoring. Control sites were surrounded by similar habitat and were within similar climate areas to the ARPA. We developed nonlinear trend models for both the ARPA and control sites and compared long‐term trends from the 2 areas. We found little difference between the ARPA and control sites trends over time. This research demonstrated an approach for control site selection across large landscapes and can be used as a template for similar impact‐monitoring studies. It is important to note that identification of changes in population parameters between control and treatment sites is only the first step in understanding the mechanisms that underlie those changes. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.