bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The C. elegans Crumbs family contains a CRB3 homolog and is not essential for viability
Authors: Waaijers Selma , Ramalho João Jacob , Koorman Thijs , Kruse Elisabeth , Boxem Mike 
Published: February 2015

ABSTRACT
Crumbs proteins are important regulators of epithelial polarity. In C. elegans, no essential role for the two described Crumbs homologs has been uncovered. Here, we identify and characterize an additional Crumbs family member in C. elegans, which we termed CRB-3 based on its similarity in size and sequence to mammalian CRB3. We visualized CRB-3 subcellular localization by expressing a translational GFP fusion. CRB-3::GFP was expressed in several polarized tissues in the embryo and larval stages, and showed apical localization in the intestine and pharynx. To identify the function of the Crumbs family in C. elegans development, we generated a triple Crumbs deletion mutant by sequentially removing the entire coding sequence for each crumbs homolog using a CRISPR/Cas9-based approach. Remarkably, animals lacking all three Crumbs homologs are viable and show normal epithelial polarity. Thus, the three C. elegans Crumbs family members do not appear to play an essential role in epithelial polarity establishment.
Rab40C is a novel Varp-binding protein that promotes proteasomal degradation of Varp in melanocytes
Authors: Yatsu Ayaka , Shimada Hikaru , Ohbayashi Norihiko , Fukuda Mitsunori 
Published: February 2015

ABSTRACT
Varp (VPS9-ankyrin repeat protein) was originally identified as an activator of small GTPase Rab21 through its VPS9 domain, but it has subsequently been shown to function as a Rab32/38 effector through its first ANKR1 domain. Although these functions of Varp are important for melanogenesis, Varp contains a second ANKR2 domain, whose function remained completely unknown. Here we identified Rab40C, an atypical Rab containing a SOCS box that recruits a ubiquitin ligase complex, as a novel ANKR2-binding protein and investigated its involvement in melanogenic enzyme trafficking in melanocytes. The results showed that overexpression of Rab40C in melanocytes caused a dramatic reduction in melanogenic enzyme Tyrp1 signals by promoting proteasomal degradation of Varp in a SOCS-box-dependent manner and that knockdown of Rab40C in melanocytes caused an increase in the amount of Varp. Intriguingly, Rab40C knockdown also caused a dramatic reduction in Tyrp1 signals, the same as Varp overexpression did. These findings indicated that Rab40C is a previously unexpected regulator of Tyrp1 trafficking in melanocytes through controlling the proteasomal degradation of Varp.
Strategies for swimming: explorations of the behaviour of a neuro-musculo-mechanical model of the lamprey
Authors: Williams Thelma L. , McMillen Tyler 
Published: February 2015

ABSTRACT
Experiments were performed on a neuro-musculo-mechanical model of a lamprey, to explore the strategies for controlling swimming speed. The muscle component of the model was based on previous experiments on isolated lamprey muscle. The patterns of muscle activation were those found in EMG studies on swimming lampreys. The fluid mechanics were modelled with G.I. Taylor's simplification. Tail beat frequencies of 2–6 sec−1 were combined with muscle activation strengths of 0.1% to 20% of maximum tetanic isometric strength. The resulting forward swimming speed and changing body shape were recorded. From the changing body shape the speed of the backward-travelling wave of curvature was calculated, as well as the ratio between the speeds of the waves of activation and curvature. For any given activation strength there was a tail beat frequency that gave maximal forward speed. Furthermore, for all the combinations of activation strength and tail beat frequency that gave such maximum swimming speeds, the ratio of the speed of the wave of curvature to the wave of muscle activation was approximately 0.75. This is similar to the ratio found in swimming lampreys.
Loss of BMPR2 leads to high bone mass due to increased osteoblast activity
Authors: Lowery Jonathan W. , Intini Giuseppe , Gamer Laura , Lotinun Sutada , Salazar Valerie S. , Ote Satoshi , Cox Karen , Baron Roland , Rosen Vicki 
Published: February 2015

ABSTRACT
Imbalances in the ratio of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) versus activin and TGFβ signaling are increasingly associated with human diseases yet the mechanisms mediating this relationship remain unclear. The type 2 receptors ACVR2A and ACVR2B bind BMPs and activins but the type 2 receptor BMPR2 only binds BMPs, suggesting that type 2 receptor utilization might play a role in mediating the interaction of these pathways. We tested this hypothesis in the mouse skeleton, where bone mass is reciprocally regulated by BMP signaling and activin and TGFβ signaling. We found that deleting Bmpr2 in mouse skeletal progenitor cells (Bmpr2-cKO mice) selectively impaired activin signaling but had no effect on BMP signaling, resulting in an increased bone formation rate and high bone mass. Additionally, activin sequestration had no effect on bone mass in Bmpr2-cKO mice but increased bone mass in wild-type mice. Our findings suggest a novel model whereby BMPR2 availability alleviates receptor-level competition between BMPs and activins and where utilization of ACVR2A and ACVR2B by BMPs comes at the expense of activins. As BMP and activin pathway modulation are of current therapeutic interest, our findings provide important mechanistic insight into the relationship between these pathways in human health.
The integrin expression profile modulates orientation and dynamics of force transmission at cell–matrix adhesions
Authors: Balcioglu Hayri E. , van Hoorn Hedde , Donato Dominique M. , Schmidt Thomas , Danen Erik H. J. 
Published: February 2015

ABSTRACT
Integrin adhesion receptors connect the extracellular matrix (ECM) to the cytoskeleton and serve as bidirectional mechanotransducers. During development, angiogenesis, wound healing and cancer progression, the relative abundance of fibronectin receptors, including integrins α5β1 and αvβ3, changes, thus altering the integrin composition of cell–matrix adhesions. Here, we show that enhanced αvβ3 expression can fully compensate for loss of α5β1 and other β1 integrins to support outside-in and inside-out force transmission. α5β1 and αvβ3 each mediate actin cytoskeletal remodeling in response to stiffening or cyclic stretching of the ECM. Likewise, α5β1 and αvβ3 support cellular traction forces of comparable magnitudes and similarly increase these forces in response to ECM stiffening. However, cells using αvβ3 respond to lower stiffness ranges, reorganize their actin cytoskeleton more substantially in response to stretch, and show more randomly oriented traction forces. Centripetal traction force orientation requires long stress fibers that are formed through the action of Rho kinase (ROCK) and myosin II, and that are supported by α5β1. Thus, altering the relative abundance of fibronectin-binding integrins in cell–matrix adhesions affects the spatiotemporal organization of force transmission.
Constitutive negative regulation in the processing of the anti-Müllerian hormone receptor II
Authors: Hirschhorn Tal , di Clemente Nathalie , Amsalem Ayelet R. , Pepinsky R. Blake , Picard Jean-Yves , Smorodinsky Nechama I. , Cate Richard L. , Ehrlich Marcelo 
Published: February 2015

ABSTRACT
The levels and intracellular localization of wild-type transforming growth factor β superfamily (TGFβ-SF) receptors are tightly regulated by endocytic trafficking, shedding and degradation. In contrast, a main regulatory mechanism of mutation-bearing receptors involves their intracellular retention. Anti-Müllerian hormone receptor II (AMHRII, also known as AMHR2) is the type-II receptor for anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), a TGFβ-SF ligand that mediates Müllerian duct regression in males. Here, we studied AMHRII processing and identified novel mechanisms of its constitutive negative regulation. Immunoblot analysis revealed that a significant portion of AMHRII was missing most of its extracellular domain (ECD) and, although glycosylated, was unfolded and retained in the endoplasmic reticulum. Exogenous expression of AMHRII, but not of type-II TGF-β receptor (TβRII, also known as TGFR2), resulted in its disulfide-bond-mediated homo-oligomerization and intracellular retention, and in a decrease in its AMH-binding capacity. At the plasma membrane, AMHRII differed from TβRII, forming high levels of non-covalent homomeric complexes, which exhibited a clustered distribution and restricted lateral mobility. This study identifies novel mechanisms of negative regulation of a type-II TGFβ-SF receptor through cleavage, intracellular retention and/or promiscuous disulfide-bond mediated homo-oligomerization.
Complementary probes reveal that phosphatidylserine is required for the proper transbilayer distribution of cholesterol
Authors: Maekawa Masashi , Fairn Gregory D. 
Published: February 2015

ABSTRACT
Cholesterol is an essential component of metazoan cellular membranes and it helps to maintain the structural integrity and fluidity of the plasma membrane. Here, we developed a cholesterol biosensor, termed D4H, based on the fourth domain of Clostridium perfringens theta-toxin, which recognizes cholesterol in the cytosolic leaflet of the plasma membrane and organelles. The D4H probe disassociates from the plasma membrane upon cholesterol extraction and after perturbations in cellular cholesterol trafficking. When used in combination with a recombinant version of the biosensor, we show that plasmalemmal phosphatidylserine is essential for retaining cholesterol in the cytosolic leaflet of the plasma membrane. In vitro experiments reveal that 1-stearoy-2-oleoyl phosphatidylserine can induce phase separation in cholesterol-containing lipid bilayers and shield cholesterol from cholesterol oxidase. Finally, the altered transbilayer distribution of cholesterol causes flotillin-1 to relocalize to endocytic organelles. This probe should be useful in the future to study pools of cholesterol in the cytosolic leaflet of the plasma membrane and organelles.
Badiou in China?: Re-translations of French Maoism and inaesthetics
Authors: Wright Colin 
Published: February 2015

Abstract
This article explores the origins of Alain Badiou’s philosophy of art in his engagements with Maoism in order to speculate about the potential impact of that philosophy on contemporary Chinese art and art criticism. Utilizing the broad concept of ‘translation’, the article first situates Badiou’s position on art in relation to the translation of Maoism in France and his personal participation in France’s experience of May 1968. It is then argued that French Maoism was interpreted through pre-existing avant-gardist models of aestheticized politics that largely departed from what was happening in China during the Cultural Revolution. By understanding Badiou’s critique of the depoliticizing effects of this avant-gardist conflation of art and politics, it is possible to understand more clearly his later concept of ‘inaesthetics’. Although it is a theoretical piece, this article aims to encourage a mutual ‘translation’ between Badiou’s work and contemporary Chinese art and art criticism.
Tracing the body aesthetics in contemporary Chinese art: Hong Kong sculptor Ho Siu Kee as a case study
Authors: Fok Silvia 
Published: February 2015

Abstract
This article attempts to define body aesthetics in contemporary Chinese art. By tracing the body aesthetics in Hong Kong Sculptor Ho Siu Kee’s artistic development in the past two decades, it will argue that Ho’s artworks exploring the body and extension of the body as themes and mediums entail a certain kind of body aesthetics that is unprecedented in the history of contemporary Chinese art. It will also examine how Ho’s adoption of contraption parallels his western counterparts. Most importantly it will examine the ways he has developed his sculptural forms emphasizing modification of the body, bodily movement, contraptions, the art of measurement with regard to the body, materialization of bodily measurement and fine craftsmanship that transcend his western counterparts. His art as a whole can be interpreted in a fluid manner that goes beyond the boundaries of performance art, installation art, conceptual art, photography, video art and sculpture.
The ‘post-human’ Internet dimension: Ai Weiwei and Cao Fei online
Authors: Thomas Taliesin 
Published: February 2015

Abstract
This article presents an argument for the Internet as a novel ‘post-human’ dimension where individuals around the world can explore possibilities for social engagement in a virtual environment beyond the confines of their ‘real’ lives. Artists take to the Internet to conceive original forms of aesthetic expression outside of ordinary objective existence; the diversity encountered within the Internet realm reflects the complexity of our human condition in the twenty-first century. While the authorities in mainland China continue to patrol cyberspace in an effort to maintain control over actual society, some Chinese artists are finding ways to engage the digital sphere to create virtual communities, political opportunities and sensual experiences that transcend corporeal and ideological borders – ostensibly the post-human environs of the Internet surpasses our human reality. Through their dynamic use of social media and other online platforms, artists such as Ai Weiwei and Cao Fei are redefining social activism and artistic praxis in China today.
Transforming human and beast: Hybridization and diasporic identities in Daniel Lee’s art
Authors: Turner Ming 
Published: February 2015

Abstract
China-born and Taiwan-educated artist Daniel Lee has been based in New York since the early 1990s. He became internationally well known for his 1993 series Manimals, which comprised hybridized forms of humans and the signs of the twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac. Through utilizing technology and computer programs, Lee creates powerful images and videos with a strong reference to his cultural heritage and the symbols of modern life. Manimals resembles different personalities through hybridized images of people and animals, and this kind of artistic technique demonstrates the artist’s sense of nostalgia towards his homeland and the roots of his culture. The concept of hybridity has been widely argued by Homi Bhabha, and it can be visualized in the transformation of conflicting, yet powerful, images by Lee. In 2004, Lee created the series Harvest, through which he personified different farm animals as musicians, dancers and performers who seemed to be having a party. Lee manifests his diasporic identities and cultural heritage in his art, but it is only in recent years that he has gradually begun to dilute the references to oriental aesthetics in his work. With a theoretical consideration of hybridity and diasporic studies, this article explores the different themes throughout his career as an artist and also examines selected series of his works.
Contemporary Chinese ink paintings: The dawn of a rock renaissance
Authors: Wang Olivia 
Published: February 2015

Abstract
This article focuses on eight contemporary Chinese ink artists who paint scholars’ rocks. Their interpretations of the rock demonstrate the diversity of their perspectives and talents. Although each artist has his or her unique interpretation of the rock, they are united in their desire to revitalize ink painting and its associated literati tradition. This article will first present a brief introduction of the history of collecting and painting rocks in literati culture. This will be followed by discussions of the work of each of the artists in question. It shall be argued that while these artists use the rock – a traditional object of scholarly contemplation – and brush and ink as their main point of reference, they are actively engaged in bringing their work into the present. The work of these artists demonstrates that image and technical skills do not need to be entirely novel to be contemporary.
Measures of Distance (to HomeShop): A conversation with Elaine W. Ho and Edward Sanderson
Authors: Gladston Paul 
Published: February 2015

Abstract
In this conversation artist Elaine W. Ho and critic Edward Sanderson discuss contemporary independent artistic initiatives and collectives in the People’s Republic of China. In particular, Ho and Sanderson focus on the activities of HomeShop, a community-oriented art collective that occupied a shop front space in Beijing between 2008 and 2013 of which Ho is a founder. A key aspect of the discussion is the difficulty involved in sustaining and measuring the impact of collective practices that not only problematize the boundary between art and community, but that also challenge as well as occupy space within conventional sociocultural structures.
Teaching contemporary art history in China
Authors: Carrier David 
Published: February 2015

Abstract
In 2009, the author spent a semester teaching western art history to Chinese students in Beijing. And he was also able to review contemporary art exhibitions in that city. He has published books on the methodologies of art history, on the art museum and on a world art history. Therefore, this article draws some lessons from that experience, in light of these publications. To what extent can histories of art in China be modelled on narratives about western art? And, in what ways, does the art historian need to consider the distinctive features of Chinese culture? When the possibilities for misunderstanding by a foreigner are so obvious, how is it possible to develop plausible interpretations of contemporary art? A great deal of recent English-language art writing is being translated into Chinese. And yet, the availability of such cultural exchanges does not necessarily answer these questions. But here it is necessary to consider political issues, which are not easy to resolve.
Reviews
Authors: Hill Katie , Gladston Paul , Carrier David 
Published: February 2015

Abstract
Book from the Ground. From Point to Point, Xu Bing (2014) Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 128 pp., ISBN: 9780262027083, h/bk, £17.95
The Book About Xu Bing’s Book from the Ground, Mathieu Borysevicz (ed.) (2014) Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 160 pp., ISBN: 9780262027427, h/bk, £17.95
Modern Poetry in China: A Visual-Verbal Dynamic, Paul Manfredi (2014) Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 244 pp. ISBN: 9781604978629, h/bk £35.00
Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 11 December 2013–6 April 2014
Octarepeat region flexibility impacts prion function, endoproteolysis and disease manifestation
Authors: Lau Agnes , McDonald Alex , Daude Nathalie , Mays Charles E , Walter Eric D , Aglietti Robin , Mercer Robert CC , Wohlgemuth Serene , van der Merwe Jacques , Yang Jing , Gapeshina Hristina , Kim Chae , Grams Jennifer , Shi Beipei , Wille Holger , Balachandran Aru , Schmitt‐Ulms Gerold , Safar Jiri G , Millhauser Glenn L , Westaway David 
Published: February 2015

AbstractThe cellular prion protein (PrPC) comprises a natively unstructured N‐terminal domain, including a metal‐binding octarepeat region (OR) and a linker, followed by a C‐terminal domain that misfolds to form PrPSc in Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease. PrPC β‐endoproteolysis to the C2 fragment allows PrPSc formation, while α‐endoproteolysis blocks production. To examine the OR, we used structure‐directed design to make novel alleles, ‘S1’ and ‘S3’, locking this region in extended or compact conformations, respectively. S1 and S3 PrP resembled WT PrP in supporting peripheral nerve myelination. Prion‐infected S1 and S3 transgenic mice both accumulated similar low levels of PrPSc and infectious prion particles, but differed in their clinical presentation. Unexpectedly, S3 PrP overproduced C2 fragment in the brain by a mechanism distinct from metal‐catalysed hydrolysis reported previously. OR flexibility is concluded to impact diverse biological endpoints; it is a salient variable in infectious disease paradigms and modulates how the levels of PrPSc and infectivity can either uncouple or engage to drive the onset of clinical disease.
Intravenous glucocorticoid therapy for Graves' ophthalmopathy and acute liver damage: an epidemiological study
Authors: Sisti Eleonora , Coco Barbara , Menconi Francesca , Leo Marenza , Rocchi Roberto , Latrofa Francesco , Profilo Maria Antonietta , Mazzi Barbara , Albano Eleonora , Vitti Paolo , Marcocci Claudio , Brunetto Maurizia , Marinò Michele 
Published: February 2015

ObjectiveIntravenous glucocorticoid (i.v.GC) pulse therapy for Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) can be associated with acute liver damage (ALD), which was roughly estimated to occur in ∼1% of patients, with an overall mortality of 0.4%. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of ALD after the introduction of a series of exclusion criteria and preventive measures.DesignRetrospective evaluation of all consecutive patients candidate to i.v.GC over a period of 5 years.MethodsThe study includes 376 GO patients candidate to i.v.GC. Several liver tests were performed before, during, and after i.v.GC. To prevent ALD morbidity and mortality, the following measures were applied: i) exclusion of patients with active viral hepatitis and/or severe liver steatosis; ii) reduction in the GC dose, frequency, and number of pulses; and iii) administration of oral GC after i.v.GC, and also during i.v.GC in patients positive for nonorgan-specific autoantibodies (to prevent autoimmune hepatitis due to immune rebound). ALD was defined as an increase in alanine aminotransferase ≥300 U/l.ResultsA total of 353 patients were given i.v.GC and 23 were excluded for various conditions. ALD was detected in 4/376 patients candidate to i.v.GC, resulting in a morbidity of 1.06%. One patient recovered spontaneously and three after additional treatment with oral GC, given to re-establish immune suppression in the suspect of an autoimmune hepatitis.ConclusionsALD related to i.v.GC is a relatively rare adverse event. Provided an accurate selection of patients and a series of preventive measures are applied, i.v.GC is a safe treatment for the liver.
Vitamin D3 increases in abdominal subcutaneous fat tissue after supplementation with vitamin D3
Authors: Didriksen Allan , Burild Anders , Jakobsen Jette , Fuskevåg Ole Martin , Jorde Rolf 
Published: February 2015

ObjectiveThe objective was to assess the amount of vitamin D3stored in adipose tissue after long-term supplementation with high dose vitamin D3.DesignA cross-sectional study on 29 subjects with impaired glucose tolerance who had participated in a randomized controlled trial with vitamin D320 000 IU (500 μg) per week vs placebo for 3–5 years.MethodsAbdominal subcutaneous fat tissue was obtained by needle biopsy for the measurements of vitamin D3and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3(25(OH)D3). Body fat was measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and serum 25(OH)D3level was quantified.ResultsIn the subjects given vitamin D3, the median concentrations of serum 25(OH)D3, fat vitamin D3, and fat 25(OH)D3were 99 nmol/l, 209 ng/g, and 3.8 ng/g, respectively; and correspondingly in the placebo group 62 nmol/l, 32 ng/g, and 2.5 ng/g. If assuming an equal amount of vitamin D3stored in all adipose tissue in the body, the median body store was 6.6 mg vitamin D3and 0.12 mg 25(OH)D3in those given vitamin D3.ConclusionsSubcutaneous adipose tissue may store large amounts of vitamin D3. The clinical importance of this storage needs to be determined.