bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A novel electroporation system for efficient molecular delivery into Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with a 3-dimensional microelectrode
Authors: Kang Seongsu , Kim Kwon-Ho , Kim Yeu-Chun 
Published: November 2015

AbstractElectroporation is one of the most widely used transfection methods because of its high efficiency and convenience among the various transfection methods. Previous micro-electroporation systems have some drawbacks such as limitations in height and design, time-consuming and an expensive fabrication process due to technical constraints. This study fabricates a three dimensional microelectrode using the 3D printing technique. The interdigitated microstructure consisting of poly lactic acid was injected by a 3D printer and coated with silver and aluminum with a series of dip-coatings. With the same strength of electric field (V cm−1), a higher efficiency for molecular delivery and a higher cellular viability are achieved with the microelectrode than with a standard cuvette. In addition, this study investigates chemicophysical changes such as Joule heating and dissolved metal during electroporation and showed the micro-electroporation system had less chemicophysical changes. It was concluded that the proposed micro-electroporation system will contribute to genetic engineering as a promising delivery tool and this combination of 3D printing and electroporation has many potential applications for diverse designs or systems.
Evolving pneumococcal serotypes and sequence types in relation to high antibiotic stress and conditional pneumococcal immunization
Authors: Su Lin-Hui , Kuo An-Jing , Chia Ju-Hsin , Li Hsin-Chieh , Wu Tsu-Lan , Feng Ye , Chiu Cheng-Hsun 
Published: November 2015

AbstractIn Taiwan, beginning in 2013, the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) was provided free of charge to children 2–5 years of age. In 2014, this was extended to children 1–5 years old. During 2012–2014, 953 cases of culture-confirmed pneumococcal disease (CCPD), including 104 invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), were prospectively identified and analyzed at a 3,700-bed hospital in Taiwan. From 2012 to 2014, the incidence per 10,000 admissions decreased from 26.7 to 20.4 for CCPD (P < 0.001) and from 3.2 to 1.9 for IPD (P < 0.05). Significant reduction of PCV13 serotypes was firstly noted in children in 2013 and extended to both paediatric and adult populations in 2014. Simultaneously, the incidence per 10,000 admissions of non-PCV13 serotypes increased from 6.1 in 2012 to 9.3 in 2014 (P < 0.005). The most prevalent non-PCV13 serotypes were 15A, 15B and 23A, each containing a predominant clone, ST6315A, ST8315B and ST33823A. From 2012 to 2014, isolates with penicillin minimum inhibitory concentrations >2 mg/L decreased from 27.8% to 8.1% (P < 0.001) among all isolates. PCV13 immunization in young children demonstrated an early protective effect in all ages. However, in the elderly, the effect was compromised by an emergence of non-PCV13 serotypes.
Notching early repolarization pattern in inferior leads increases risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmias in patients with acute myocardial infarction: a meta-analysis
Authors: Zhang Zhiwei , Letsas Konstantinos P. , Yang Yajuan , Korantzopoulos Panagiotis , Li Guangping , Yan Gan-Xin , Liu Tong 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe aim of this of this meta-analysis was to examine the potential association between certain early repolarization (ER) characteristics and ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VTAs) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We searched PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases for records published until December 2014. Of the 658 initially identified records, 7 studies with a total of 1,565 patients (299 with ER and 1,266 without ER) were finally analyzed. Overall, patients with ER displayed a higher risk of VTAs following AMI compared to patients without ER [odds ratio (OR): 3.75, 95% CI: 2.62–5.37, p < 0.00001]. Subgroup analyses showed that the diagnosis of ER prior to AMI onset is a better predictor of VTAs (OR: 5.70, p < 0.00001) compared to those diagnosed after AMI onset (OR: 2.60, p = 0.00001). Remarkably, a notching morphology was a significant predictor of VTAs compared to slurring morphology (OR: 3.85, p = 0.002). Finally, an inferior ER location (OR: 8.85, p < 0.00001) was significantly associated with increased risk of VTAs in AMI patients. In conclusion, our meta-analysis suggests that ER pattern is associated with greater risk of VTAs in patients with AMI. A notched ER pattern located in inferior leads confers the highest risk for VTAs in AMI.
Monocyte-derived extracellular Nampt-dependent biosynthesis of NAD+ protects the heart against pressure overload
Authors: Yano Masamichi , Akazawa Hiroshi , Oka Toru , Yabumoto Chizuru , Kudo-Sakamoto Yoko , Kamo Takehiro , Shimizu Yu , Yagi Hiroki , Naito Atsuhiko T. , Lee Jong-Kook , Suzuki Jun-ichi , Sakata Yasushi , Komuro Issei 
Published: November 2015

AbstractNicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt) catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the salvage pathway for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) biosynthesis and thereby regulates the deacetylase activity of sirtuins. Here we show accommodative regulation of myocardial NAD+ by monocyte-derived extracellular Nampt (eNampt), which is essential for hemodynamic compensation to pressure overload. Although intracellular Nampt (iNampt) expression was decreased in pressure-overloaded hearts, myocardial NAD+ concentration and Sirt1 activity were preserved. In contrast, iNampt was up-regulated in spleen and monocytes and circulating eNampt protein and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), a key precursor of NAD+, were significantly increased. Pharmacological inhibition of Nampt by FK866 or depletion of monocytes/macrophages by clodronate liposomes disrupted the homeostatic mechanism of myocardial NAD+ levels and NAD+-dependent Sirt1 activity, leading to susceptibility to cardiomyocyte apoptosis and cardiac decompensation in pressure-overloaded mice. These biochemical and hemodynamic defects were prevented by systemic administration of NMN. Our studies uncover a crucial role of monocyte-derived eNampt in myocardial adaptation to pressure overload and highlight a potential intervention controlling myocardial NAD+ against heart failure.
Knockout crickets for the study of learning and memory: Dopamine receptor Dop1 mediates aversive but not appetitive reinforcement in crickets
Authors: Awata Hiroko , Watanabe Takahito , Hamanaka Yoshitaka , Mito Taro , Noji Sumihare , Mizunami Makoto 
Published: November 2015

AbstractElucidation of reinforcement mechanisms in associative learning is an important subject in neuroscience. In mammals, dopamine neurons are thought to play critical roles in mediating both appetitive and aversive reinforcement. Our pharmacological studies suggested that octopamine and dopamine neurons mediate reward and punishment, respectively, in crickets, but recent studies in fruit-flies concluded that dopamine neurons mediates both reward and punishment, via the type 1 dopamine receptor Dop1. To resolve the discrepancy between studies in different insect species, we produced Dop1 knockout crickets using the CRISPR/Cas9 system and found that they are defective in aversive learning with sodium chloride punishment but not appetitive learning with water or sucrose reward. The results suggest that dopamine and octopamine neurons mediate aversive and appetitive reinforcement, respectively, in crickets. We suggest unexpected diversity in neurotransmitters mediating appetitive reinforcement between crickets and fruit-flies, although the neurotransmitter mediating aversive reinforcement is conserved. This study demonstrates usefulness of the CRISPR/Cas9 system for producing knockout animals for the study of learning and memory.
Sampling frequency affects estimates of annual nitrous oxide fluxes
Authors: Barton L. , Wolf B. , Rowlings D. , Scheer C. , Kiese R. , Grace P. , Stefanova K. , Butterbach-Bahl K. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractQuantifying nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes, a potent greenhouse gas, from soils is necessary to improve our knowledge of terrestrial N2O losses. Developing universal sampling frequencies for calculating annual N2O fluxes is difficult, as fluxes are renowned for their high temporal variability. We demonstrate daily sampling was largely required to achieve annual N2O fluxes within 10% of the ‘best’ estimate for 28 annual datasets collected from three continents—Australia, Europe and Asia. Decreasing the regularity of measurements either under- or overestimated annual N2O fluxes, with a maximum overestimation of 935%. Measurement frequency was lowered using a sampling strategy based on environmental factors known to affect temporal variability, but still required sampling more than once a week. Consequently, uncertainty in current global terrestrial N2O budgets associated with the upscaling of field-based datasets can be decreased significantly using adequate sampling frequencies.
Farnesylated and methylated KRAS4b: high yield production of protein suitable for biophysical studies of prenylated protein-lipid interactions
Authors: Gillette William K. , Esposito Dominic , Abreu Blanco Maria , Alexander Patrick , Bindu Lakshman , Bittner Cammi , Chertov Oleg , Frank Peter H. , Grose Carissa , Jones Jane E. , Meng Zhaojing , Perkins Shelley , Van Que , Ghirlando Rodolfo , Fivash Matthew , Nissley Dwight V. , McCormick Frank , Holderfield Matthew , Stephen Andrew G. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractPrenylated proteins play key roles in several human diseases including cancer, atherosclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. KRAS4b, which is frequently mutated in pancreatic, colon and lung cancers, is processed by farnesylation, proteolytic cleavage and carboxymethylation at the C-terminus. Plasma membrane localization of KRAS4b requires this processing as does KRAS4b-dependent RAF kinase activation. Previous attempts to produce modified KRAS have relied on protein engineering approaches or in vitro farnesylation of bacterially expressed KRAS protein. The proteins produced by these methods do not accurately replicate the mature KRAS protein found in mammalian cells and the protein yield is typically low. We describe a protocol that yields 5–10 mg/L highly purified, farnesylated and methylated KRAS4b from insect cells. Farnesylated and methylated KRAS4b is fully active in hydrolyzing GTP, binds RAF-RBD on lipid Nanodiscs and interacts with the known farnesyl-binding protein PDEδ.
IL-10-producing CD4+ T cells negatively regulate fucosylation of epithelial cells in the gut
Authors: Goto Yoshiyuki , Lamichhane Aayam , Kamioka Mariko , Sato Shintaro , Honda Kenya , Kunisawa Jun , Kiyono Hiroshi 
Published: November 2015

AbstractFucosylated glycans on the surface of epithelial cells (ECs) regulate intestinal homeostasis by serving as attachment receptors and a nutrient source for some species of bacteria. We show here that epithelial fucosylation in the ileum is negatively regulated by IL-10-producing CD4+ T cells. The number of fucosylated ECs was increased in the ileum of mice lacking T cells, especially those expressing αβ T cell receptor (TCR), CD4 and IL-10. No such effect was observed in mice lacking B cells. Adoptive transfer of αβTCR+ CD4+ T cells from normal mice, but not IL-10-deficient mice, normalized fucosylation of ECs. These findings suggest that IL-10-producing CD4+ T cells contribute to the maintenance of the function of ECs by regulating their fucosylation.
Bridging the Gap between RF and Optical Patch Antenna Analysis via the Cavity Model
Authors: Unal G. S. , Aksun M. I. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractAlthough optical antennas with a variety of shapes and for a variety of applications have been proposed and studied, they are still in their infancy compared to their radio frequency (rf) counterparts. Optical antennas have mainly utilized the geometrical attributes of rf antennas rather than the analysis tools that have been the source of intuition for antenna engineers in rf. This study intends to narrow the gap of experience and intuition in the design of optical patch antennas by introducing an easy-to-understand and easy-to-implement analysis tool in rf, namely, the cavity model, into the optical regime. The importance of this approach is not only its simplicity in understanding and implementation but also its applicability to a broad class of patch antennas and, more importantly, its ability to provide the intuition needed to predict the outcome without going through the trial-and-error simulations with no or little intuitive guidance by the user.
Species, Abundance and Function of Ammonia-oxidizing Archaea in Inland Waters across China
Authors: Zhou Leiliu , Wang Shanyun , Zou Yuxuan , Xia Chao , Zhu Guibing 
Published: November 2015

AbstractAmmonia oxidation is the first step in nitrification and was thought to be performed solely by specialized bacteria. The discovery of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) changed this view. We examined the large scale and spatio-temporal occurrence, abundance and role of AOA throughout Chinese inland waters (n = 28). Molecular survey showed that AOA was ubiquitous in inland waters. The existence of AOA in extreme acidic, alkaline, hot, cold, eutrophic and oligotrophic environments expanded the tolerance limits of AOA, especially their known temperature tolerance to −25 °C and substrate load to 42.04 mM. There were spatio-temporal divergences of AOA community structure in inland waters and the diversity of AOA in inland water ecosystems was high with 34 observed species-level operational taxonomic units (OTUs; based on a 15% cutoff) distributed widely in group I.1b, I.1a and I.1a-associated. The abundance of AOA was quite high (8.5 × 104 to 8.5 × 109 copies g−1) and AOA outnumbered ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in the inland waters where little human activities were involved. On the whole AOB predominate the ammonia oxidation rate over AOA in inland water ecosystems and AOA play an indispensable role in global nitrogen cycle considering that AOA occupy a broader habitat range than AOB, especially in extreme environments.
Cholesterol induces lipoprotein lipase expression in a tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Authors: Zhang Linqiang , Zhang Zhiguo , Li Yunhai , Liao Shasha , Wu Xiaoyun , Chang Qing , Liang Bin 
Published: November 2015

AbstractAnimal models are indispensible to investigate the pathogenesis and treatments of non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD). Altered cholesterol metabolism has been implicated into the pathogenesis of NAFLD. Here, using high fat, cholesterol and cholate diet (HFHC), we generated a novel tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) model of NAFLD, which displayed dyslipidemia with increased levels of plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c) and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c), but decreased level of triglycerides (TG). Liver histopathology and genes expression indicated that HFHC diet successfully induced liver steatosis to inflammation and fibrosis progressively within 10 weeks. Moreover, HFHC induced the transcriptional expression of lipoprotein lipase (lpl) in the liver, but repressed the expression of LDL receptor and the endogenous synthesis pathway and excretion of cholesterol. Notably, Poloxamer 407 (P-407) inhibition of LPL improved the severity of steatosis and reduced inflammation. These results illustrated that LPL plays an important role in cholesterol metabolism in NAFLD and the tree shrew may be a valuable animal model for further research into NAFLD.
Deacetylation-mediated interaction of SIRT1-HMGB1 improves survival in a mouse model of endotoxemia
Authors: Hwang Jung Seok , Choi Hyuk Soo , Ham Sun Ah , Yoo Taesik , Lee Won Jin , Paek Kyung Shin , Seo Han Geuk 
Published: November 2015

AbstractInflammatory signal-mediated release of high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a damage-associated molecular pattern or alarmin. The inflammatory functions of HMGB1 have been extensively investigated; however, less is known about the mechanisms controlling HMGB1 release. We show that SIRT1, the human homolog of theSaccharomyces cerevisiaeprotein silent information regulator 2, which is involved in cellular senescence and possibly the response to inflammation, forms a stable complex with HMGB1 in murine macrophage RAW264.7 cells. SIRT1 directly interacted with HMGB1 via its N-terminal lysine residues (28–30) and thereby inhibited HMGB1 release to improve survival in an experimental model of sepsis. By contrast, inflammatory stimuli such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and tumor necrosis factor-α promoted HMGB1 release by provoking its dissociation from SIRT1 dependent on acetylation, thereby increasing the association between HMGB1 and chromosome region maintenance 1, leading to HMGB1 translocation.In vivoinfection with wild-type SIRT1 and HMGB1K282930R, a hypo-acetylation mutant, improved survival (85.7%) during endotoxemia more than infection with wild-type SIRT1 and HMGB1-expressing adenovirus, indicating that the acetylation-dependent interaction between HMGB1 and SIRT1 is critical for LPS-induced lethality. Taken together, we propose that SIRT1 forms an anti-inflammatory complex with HMGB1, allowing cells to bypass the response to inflammation.
Chemical-Free Technique to Study the Ultrastructure of Primary Cilium
Authors: Mohieldin Ashraf M. , AbouAlaiwi Wissam A. , Gao Min , Nauli Surya M. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractA primary cilium is a hair-like structure with a width of approximately 200 nm. Over the past few decades, the main challenge in the study of the ultrastructure of cilia has been the high sensitivity of cilia to chemical fixation, which is required for many imaging techniques. In this report, we demonstrate a combined high-pressure freezing (HPF) and freeze-fracture transmission electron microscopy (FFTEM) technique to examine the ultrastructure of a cilium. Our objective is to develop an optimal high-resolution imaging approach that preserves cilia structures in their best natural form without alteration of cilia morphology by chemical fixation interference. Our results showed that a cilium has a swelling-like structure (termed bulb), which was previously considered a fixation artifact. The intramembrane particles observed via HPF/FFTEM indicated the presence of integral membrane proteins and soluble matrix proteins along the ciliary bulb, which is part of an integral structure within the ciliary membrane. We propose that HPF/FFTEM is an important and more suitable chemical-free method to study the ultrastructure of primary cilia.
Bub1 is required for maintaining cancer stem cells in breast cancer cell lines
Authors: Han Jeong Yoon , Han Yu Kyeong , Park Ga-Young , Kim Sung Dae , Geun Lee Chang 
Published: November 2015

AbstractBreast cancer is a leading cause of death among women worldwide due to therapeutic resistance and cancer recurrence. Cancer stem cells are believed to be responsible for resistance and recurrence. Many efforts to overcome resistance and recurrence by regulating cancer stem cells are ongoing. Bub1 (Budding uninhibited by benzimidazoles 1) is a mitotic checkpoint serine/threonine kinase that plays an important role in chromosome segregation. Bub1 expression is correlated with a poor clinical prognosis in patients with breast cancer. We identified that depleting Bub1 using shRNAs reduces cancer stem cell potential of the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line, resulting in inhibited formation of xenografts in immunocompromised mice. These results suggest that Bub1 may be associated with cancer stem cell potential and could be a target for developing anti-breast cancer stem cell therapies.
Mid-infrared ultrafast laser pulses induced third harmonic generation in nitrogen molecules on an excited state
Authors: Xie Hongqiang , Li Guihua , Yao Jinping , Chu Wei , Li Ziting , Zeng Bin , Wang Zhanshan , Cheng Ya 
Published: November 2015

AbstractWe report on generation of third harmonic from nitrogen molecules on the excited state with a weak driver laser pulse at a mid-infrared wavelength. The excited nitrogen molecules are generated using a circularly polarized intense femtosecond pulse which produces energetic electrons by photoionization to realize collisional excitation of nitrogen molecules. Furthermore, since the third harmonic is generated using a pump-probe scheme, it enables investigation of the excited-state dynamics of nitrogen molecules produced under different conditions. We also perform a comparative investigation in excited argon atoms, revealing different decay dynamics of the molecules and atoms from the excited states in femtosecond laser induced filaments.
Neither Single nor a Combination of Routine Laboratory Parameters can Discriminate between Gram-positive and Gram-negative Bacteremia
Authors: Ratzinger Franz , Dedeyan Michel , Rammerstorfer Matthias , Perkmann Thomas , Burgmann Heinz , Makristathis Athanasios , Dorffner Georg , Loetsch Felix , Blacky Alexander , Ramharter Michael 
Published: November 2015

AbstractAdequate early empiric antibiotic therapy is pivotal for the outcome of patients with bloodstream infections. In clinical practice the use of surrogate laboratory parameters is frequently proposed to predict underlying bacterial pathogens; however there is no clear evidence for this assumption. In this study, we investigated the discriminatory capacity of predictive models consisting of routinely available laboratory parameters to predict the presence of Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteremia. Major machine learning algorithms were screened for their capacity to maximize the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC) for discriminating between Gram-positive and Gram-negative cases. Data from 23,765 patients with clinically suspected bacteremia were screened and 1,180 bacteremic patients were included in the study. A relative predominance of Gram-negative bacteremia (54.0%), which was more pronounced in females (59.1%), was observed. The final model achieved 0.675 ROC-AUC resulting in 44.57% sensitivity and 79.75% specificity. Various parameters presented a significant difference between both genders. In gender-specific models, the discriminatory potency was slightly improved. The results of this study do not support the use of surrogate laboratory parameters for predicting classes of causative pathogens. In this patient cohort, gender-specific differences in various laboratory parameters were observed, indicating differences in the host response between genders.
Non-periodic outbreaks of recurrent epidemics and its network modelling
Authors: Zheng Muhua , Wang Chaoqing , Zhou Jie , Zhao Ming , Guan Shuguang , Zou Yong , Liu Zonghua 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe study of recurrent epidemic outbreaks has been attracting great attention for decades, but its underlying mechanism is still under debate. Based on a large number of real data from different cities, we find that besides the seasonal periodic outbreaks of influenza, there are also non-periodic outbreaks, i.e. non-seasonal or non-annual behaviors. To understand how the non-periodicity shows up, we present a network model of SIRS epidemic with both time-dependent infection rate and a small possibility of persistent epidemic seeds, representing the influences from the larger annual variation of environment and the infection generated spontaneously in nature, respectively. Our numerical simulations reveal that the model can reproduce the non-periodic outbreaks of recurrent epidemics with the main features of real influenza data. Further, we find that the recurrent outbreaks of epidemic depend not only on the infection rate but also on the density of susceptible agents, indicating that they are both the necessary conditions for the recurrent epidemic patterns with non-periodicity. A theoretical analysis based on Markov dynamics is presented to explain the numerical results. This finding may be of significance to the control of recurrent epidemics.