bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Using Capillary Electrophoresis to Investigate Protein Conformational and Compositional Heterogeneity
Authors: Grosas Aidan B. , Du Plessis Mar‐dean , Thevarajah Joel J. , Gaborieau Marianne , Carver John A. , Castignolles Patrice 
Published: April 2024

AbstractDetailed insights into protein structure/function relationships require robust characterization methodologies. Free‐solution capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a unique separation technique which is sensitive to the conformation and/or composition of proteins, and therefore provides information on the heterogeneity of these properties. Three unrelated, conformationally/compositionally‐altered proteins were separated by CE. An electrophoretic mobility distribution was determined for each protein along with its conformational and/or compositional heterogeneity. The CE results were compared with molar mass distributions obtained from size‐exclusion chromatography coupled to light scattering (SEC‐MALS). Bovine serum albumin multimers and two monomeric species were separated, highlighting variations in conformational/compositional heterogeneity among the multimers. Analysis of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase resolved two monomeric conformers and various tetrameric species, illustrating the impact of zinc ion removal and disulfide bond reduction on the protein's heterogeneity. The apo (calcium‐free) and holo forms of bovine α‐lactalbumin were separated and differences in the species’ heterogeneity were measured; by contrast, the SEC‐MALS profiles were identical. Comparative analysis of these structurally unrelated proteins provided novel insights into the interplay between molar mass and conformational/compositional heterogeneity. Overall, this study expands the utility of CE by demonstrating its capacity to discern protein species and their heterogeneity, properties which are not readily accessible by other analytical techniques.
Case report: Emerging BRCA mutation confers benefit from olaparib after chemotherapy intolerance in advanced triple‐negative breast cancer
Authors: Shen Xia‐Bo , Wu Jia‐Yi , Li Jia‐ying , Shao Xi‐Ying , Wang Xiao‐Jia 
Published: April 2024

Key Clinical MessageIn a patient with metastatic breast cancer, an acquired BRCA mutation in the BRCA gene was detected, resulting in benefits from olaparib treatment. This underscores the importance of ongoing genetic phenotype testing after paclitaxel chemotherapy.AbstractTriple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) is associated with a poor prognosis and elevated mortality risk. BRCA mutations are commonly regarded as prevalent mutations in TNBC patients, strongly associated with congenital familial heredity. Dynamic changes in mutation sites, however, are rarely reported. In this case report, we report a 59‐year‐old TNBC patient who developed pulmonary metastases post‐chemoradiotherapy. No BRCA mutations were detected through NGS. After 7.6 months of nab‐paclitaxel treatment, the patient experienced progression of lung metastases, and BRCA mutations were detected through NGS testing. Subsequent administration of olaparib resulted in a reduction in lung metastasis, demonstrating significant therapeutic efficacy. This case underscores the infrequent occurrence of treatment‐induced BRCA mutations and emphasizes the significance of dynamic NGS genetic testing for real‐time assessment of a patient's mutational status.
Concepts of Ethylene Carbonylation with Hydrogen Gas and In‐Situ Generated Hydrogen
Authors: Zhang Yinpan , Guo Qiang , Wang Feng 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe carbonylation reaction of olefins is one of the significant pathways for the synthesis of oxygen‐containing compounds such as aldehydes, esters, and amides. The ethylene carbonylation reactions have drawn much interest since they produce important chemicals such as propionaldehyde and methyl propionate, which are crucial intermediates for the synthesis of polymers. Moreover, ethylene carbonylation, coupled with C−C bond formation, shows great promise for the synthesis of 3‐pentanone. However, due to the presence of various competing reactions, balancing the activity and selectivity of ethylene carbonylation reactions has remained a challenge. This concept article aims at describing the recent advances in the ethylene carbonylation with different hydrogen sources.
Vegetation and animal production in pastures sprayed for western ragweed control
Authors: Harmoney Keith , Jaeger John , Hadle Jacob 
Published: April 2024

AbstractWestern ragweed (Ambrosia psilostachya DC) is one of the most common perennial, native forbs of western US rangelands. Cattle consume small quantities of western ragweed in their diets when present in the forage sward, and forage nutritive value tends to be greater than the associated grass component in those swards. Yet, many producers view western ragweed as an undesirable forb in rangelands. We conducted a study over two years to compare vegetative and stocker animal productivity in pastures that were either sprayed with dicamba at 6 oz/acre (0.19 lb a.i./acre) for western ragweed control or were left unsprayed. Pastures started the study with high western ragweed densities (>9 western ragweed plants/ft2) before pasture treatment, and spraying with dicamba significantly reduced western ragweed density and yield compared to unsprayed pastures (0.2 vs. 3.5 ragweed plants/ft2, and 0 vs. 206 lb/acre, respectively). Grass production and total vegetation production were similar between treatments. Crude protein and total digestible nutrients of western ragweed was greater than grass at all mid‐season and end of season sampling dates both years. Stocker animal gain was not different between pastures sprayed for ragweed control and pastures left unsprayed in either year, nor when averaged over the two years (189 vs. 188 lb/head, sprayed vs. unsprayed, respectively). Beef production per acre was also similar. The spray treatment was an added expense that did not result in greater total forage, grass, or animal production. With natural fluctuations in western ragweed population densities due to weather patterns, producers will likely experience little benefit from spraying for western ragweed alone in pasture.
Directed Evolution and Immobilization of Lactobacillus brevis Alcohol Dehydrogenase for Chemo‐Enzymatic Synthesis of Rivastigmine
Authors: Su Guorong , Ran Lu , Liu Chang , Qin Zhaoyang , Teng Huailong , Wu Shuke 
Published: April 2024

AbstractRivastigmine is one of the several pharmaceuticals widely prescribed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. However, its practical synthesis still faces many issues, such as the involvement of toxic metals and harsh reaction conditions. Herein, we report a chemo‐enzymatic synthesis of Rivastigmine. The key chiral intermediate was synthesized by an engineered alcohol dehydrogenase from Lactobacillus brevis (LbADH). A semi‐rational approach was employed to improve its catalytic activity and thermal stability. Several LbADH variants were obtained with a remarkable increase in activity and melting temperature. Exploration of the substrate scope of these variants demonstrated improved activities toward various ketones, especially acetophenone analogs. To further recycle and reuse the biocatalyst, one LbADH variant and glucose dehydrogenase were co‐immobilized on nanoparticles. By integrating enzymatic and chemical steps, Rivastigmine was successfully synthesized with an overall yield of 66 %. This study offers an efficient chemo‐enzymatic route for Rivastigmine and provides several efficient LbADH variants with a broad range of potential applications.
Iridium Pyridylpyrrolides Hyperpolarised by Para‐Hydrogen
Authors: Majchrzak Rebecca M. , Norcott Philip L. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractChemical activation of the nuclear singlet state of dihydrogen, para‐hydrogen, can dramatically increase the sensitivity of magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging. Here, we show that the highly reversible activation of para‐hydrogen by an iridium pyridylpyrrolide complex is capable of producing this hyperpolarisation effect. Bound alkene ligands exhibit signal enhancement without reduction to alkanes, which is in contrast to the most widely used hyperpolarisation catalysts. The complex is recoverable due to the highly reversible binding and release of H2, and result in enhanced hydride signals in a wide range of coordinating and non‐coordinating deuterated solvents. Synthetic modification of the ligand substituents and the addition of co‐ligands show a strong dependence of chemical structure on reactivity, which reveals an untapped potential to exploit pyridylpyrrolides as ligands in the development of tunable para‐hydrogen induced hyperpolarisation catalysts or molecular probes.
Heptagonal Molecular Tiling via Self‐Assembly of Heptagonal Phenylene‐Ethynylene Macrocycle at the Liquid–Solid Interface
Authors: Honda Kento , Tahara Kazukuni 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe molecular‐level scrutinization of on‐surface tiling garners considerable interest among scientists. Herein, we demonstrate molecular‐level heptagonal tiling using the self‐assembly of a heptagonal meta‐phenylene‐ethynylene macrocycle featuring 14 long alkoxy substituents at the liquid–graphite interface using scanning tunneling microscopy. This heptagonal macrocycle produces an antiparallel pattern at the 1‐phenyloctane–graphite interface through van der Waals interactions between the alkoxy chains. This pattern resembles the densely packed pattern of heptagonal tiles, albeit with variations in the orientations and spacing of heptagonal cores owing to intermolecular interactions between the alkoxy chains. Conversely, at the 1,2,4‐trichlorobenzene–graphite interface, the heptagonal molecule forms an oblique pattern composed of four independent molecular orientations. This phenomenon arises from core distortion induced by the coadsorption of the solvent molecules within the intrinsic macrocyclic pores. This study elucidates the design strategy – specifically, the choice of heptagonal molecular building block – for heptagonal tiling and fills a crucial gap in the field of two‐dimensional crystal engineering.
Flow coupling analysis and evaluation of different working conditions for crude oil storage tanks under dynamic heating
Authors: Li Yang , Liang Zhuo , Chen Hongwei , Xiong Yue , Xu Chi , Su Haoyu 
Published: April 2024

AbstractDuring periods of sharp demand increase, there is a need for significant expansion in the fundamental requirements for crude oil storage. As demand rapidly escalates, the prerequisites for crude oil storage necessitate substantial expansion. To scientifically and effectively reduce energy waste associated with heating oil, it is essential to study the heating methods and efficiency of crude oil storage tanks. Considering environmental temperature, solar radiation, and the physical properties of the oil, we have proposed a new heating model to elucidate the dynamic heating process of large floating roof storage tanks equipped with coils. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software was used to analyze the impact of the dynamic heating model on the temperature and velocity fields within the floating roof tank, taking into account different initial oil temperatures, oil levels, wind speeds, and types of crude oil during the winter heating process. Additionally, the research suggests the optimal maintenance heating temperature and duration for crude oil storage tanks during the winter season, introducing heating efficiency and inhomogeneity of temperature field as two evaluation metrics to compare the advantages of the dynamic heating method over traditional heating methods. This study provides fresh insights into the coil heating domain in crude oil storage tanks.
The future is transient: Barriers and opportunities for improved UK water resource climate change assessments using the enhanced Future Flows and Groundwater (eFLaG) climate service products
Authors: Durant Mason , Hall Eleanor , Morris Anna , Walburn Grace , Wilcox Amy , Counsell Chris 
Published: April 2024

AbstractUK water resources face a number of challenges when planning for an uncertain future. Climate change impacts and what future droughts might look like can be a significant contributor to this uncertainty. Recent and potential future developments (e.g. ever‐finer resolutions) in climate modelling offer the potential for running bias‐corrected transient future scenarios through hydrological, hydrogeological and water supply models, providing users with droughts of differing severity, frequency, spatial extent and duration to those experienced historically, incorporating changes over time and an understanding of climate model uncertainty. The recent enhanced Future Flows and Groundwater (eFLaG) project sought to demonstrate a climate service using these transient scenarios, with the aim of enhancing the resilience of the water industry to drought events and complementing existing approaches. The project demonstrated the use of this transient climate change information within a water resource setting, using a variety of hydrological and water resource models to help illuminate potential gaps and issues with such an approach. If we are to realise the potential of transient scenarios, a number of barriers – both scientific and organisational – need to be overcome. We present a road map for the future based on outcomes from the eFLaG project, as well as ways the eFLaG projections could be used to improve system resilience in the present.
Embryonal sarcoma of the liver in pediatric and young adult patients: A report from Children’s Oncology Group study ARST0332
Authors: Spunt Sheri L. , Xue Wei , Gao Zhengya , Hayes Dixon Andrea , Million Lynn , Polites Stephanie F. , Vasudevan Sanjeev A. , Kao Simon C. , McCarville M. Beth , Parham David M. , Barkauskas Donald A. , Cai Zhongjie , Cost Carrye , Mascarenhas Leo , Weiss Aaron R. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBackgroundEmbryonal sarcoma of the liver (ESL) is a rare mesenchymal tumor most common in childhood; the optimal treatment approach is uncertain. The clinical features and outcomes of patients with ESL enrolled in a Children’s Oncology Group (COG) clinical trial that evaluated a risk‐based strategy for treating soft tissue sarcomas in patients aged <30 years were evaluated.MethodsThis subset analysis included patients with ESL enrolled in COG study ARST0332. Central review of records, pathology, and imaging confirmed the diagnosis, presenting features, and surgery extent and complications. All patients received dose‐intensive ifosfamide/doxorubicin chemotherapy, with cycle timing dependent on surgery and radiotherapy. Tumor resection occurred before study entry or after four cycles of chemotherapy; radiotherapy for residual tumor was optional.ResultsThirty‐nine eligible/evaluable patients with ESL were analyzed. All tumors were >10 cm in diameter; four were metastatic. Tumor resection was performed upfront in 23 and delayed in 16. Positive surgical margins (n = 6) and intraoperative tumor rupture (n = 6) occurred only in upfront resections. Eight patients received radiotherapy. Estimated 5‐year event‐free and overall survival were 79% (95% confidence interval [CI], 65%–93%) and 95% (95% CI, 87%–100%), respectively. Positive margins increased the local recurrence risk. One of 13 patients with documented hemorrhagic ascites and/or tumor rupture developed extrahepatic intra‐abdominal tumor recurrence.ConclusionsThe treatment strategy used in ARST0332 achieved favorable outcomes for patients with ESL despite a substantial proportion having high‐risk disease features. Deferring tumor resection until after neoadjuvant chemotherapy may decrease the risk of intraoperative tumor rupture and improve the likelihood of adequate surgical margins.
Fast gathering despite a linear number of weakly Byzantine agents†
Authors: Hirose Jion , Nakamura Junya , Ooshita Fukuhito , Inoue Michiko 
Published: April 2024

SummaryIn this work, we study the gathering problem to make multiple agents, who are initially scattered in arbitrary networks, meet at the same node. The network has agents with unique identifiers (IDs), and of them are weakly Byzantine agents that behave arbitrarily, except for falsifying their identifiers. These agents behave in synchronous rounds, and they may start an algorithm at different rounds. Each agent cannot leave information at a node. We propose herein a deterministic algorithm that efficiently achieves gathering with a simultaneous termination having a small number of non‐Byzantine agents. The proposed algorithm concretely works in rounds if the agents know the upper bound on the number of nodes, and at least non‐Byzantine agents exist, where is the length of the largest ID among agents, and is the number of rounds required to explore any network composed of nodes. The literature presents two efficient gathering algorithms with a simultaneous termination. The first algorithm assumes that agents know the number of nodes and achieves the gathering in rounds in the presence of any number of Byzantine agents, where is the length of the largest ID among non‐Byzantine agents. The second algorithm assumes both that agents know and that at least non‐Byzantine agents exist, and it achieves the gathering in rounds. The proposed algorithm is faster than the first existing algorithm and requires fewer non‐Byzantine agents than the second existing algorithm if is given to agents. We propose herein a new technique to simulate a Byzantine consensus algorithm for synchronous message‐passing systems on agent systems to reduce the number of agents.
Multistep Biooxidation of 5‐(Hydroxymethyl)furfural to 2,5‐Furandicarboxylic Acid with H2O2 by Unspecific Peroxygenases
Authors: Swoboda Alexander , Zwölfer Silvie , Duhović Zerina , Bürgler Moritz , Ebner Katharina , Glieder Anton , Kroutil Wolfgang 
Published: April 2024

Abstract5‐(Hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) is a key platform chemical derived from renewable biomass sources, holding great potential as starting material for the synthesis of valuable compounds, thereby replacing petrochemical‐derived counterparts. Among these valorised compounds, 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) has emerged as a versatile building block. Here we demonstrate the biocatalytic synthesis of FDCA from HMF via a one‐pot three‐step oxidative cascade performed via two operative steps under mild reaction conditions employing two unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs) using hydrogen peroxide as the only oxidant. The challenge of HMF oxidation by UPOs is the chemoselectivity of the first step, as one of the two possible oxidation products is only a poor substrate for further oxidation. The unspecific peroxygenase from Marasmius oreades (MorUPO) was found to oxidize 100 mM of HMF to 5‐formyl‐2‐furoic acid (FFCA) with 95 % chemoselectivity. In the sequential one‐pot cascade employing MorUPO (TON up to 13535) and the UPO from Agrocybe aegerita (AaeUPO, TON up to 7079), 100 mM of HMF were oxidized to FDCA reaching up to 99 % conversion and yielding 861 mg isolated pure crystalline FDCA, presenting the first example of a gram scale biocatalytic synthesis of FDCA involving UPOs.
Junctional adhesion molecule‐A deficient mice are protected from severe experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis
Authors: Berve Kristina , Michel Julia , Tietz Silvia , Blatti Claudia , Ivan Daniela , Enzmann Gaby , Lyck Ruth , Deutsch Urban , Locatelli Giuseppe , Engelhardt Britta 
Published: April 2024

AbstractIn multiple sclerosis and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), early pathological features include immune cell infiltration into the central nervous system (CNS) and blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption. We investigated the role of junctional adhesion molecule‐A (JAM‐A), a tight junction protein, in active EAE (aEAE) pathogenesis. Our study confirms JAM‐A expression at the blood–brain barrier and its luminal redistribution during aEAE. JAM‐A deficient (JAM‐A−/−) C57BL/6J mice exhibited milder aEAE, unrelated to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein‐specific CD4+ T‐cell priming. While JAM‐A absence influenced macrophage behavior on primary mouse brain microvascular endothelial cells (pMBMECs) under flow in vitro, it did not impact T‐cell extravasation across primary mouse brain microvascular endothelial cells. At aEAE onset, we observed reduced lymphocyte and CCR2+ macrophage infiltration into the spinal cord of JAM‐A−/− mice compared to control littermates. This correlated with increased CD3+ T‐cell accumulation in spinal cord perivascular spaces and brain leptomeninges, suggesting JAM‐A absence leads to T‐cell trapping in central nervous system border compartments. In summary, JAM‐A plays a role in immune cell infiltration and clinical disease progression in aEAE.
Multitarget direction of arrival trajectory estimation using BiLSTM and sequential allocation
Authors: Banadkoki Sahar Barzegari , Ferdosizadeh Naeiny Mahmoud 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe purpose of this study is multiple source direction of arrival (DoA) trajectory estimation using bidirectional long short‐term memory (BiLSTM) artificial neural network and sequential direction assignment. Conventional DoA tracking algorithms suffer from the necessity of accurate prior information and complex modeling. But in this article, the DoA trajectory estimation has been transformed into a mapping problem between a sequence of sample correlation matrices and a limited number of sampled directions from the corresponding trajectories. For this aim, several challenges must be resolved. One of these challenges is to define a hypothesis space of nonlinear and distinct trajectories, provided that they include most of the possible movement scenarios in the desired angular range. The second one is the lack of uniqueness between the sample correlation matrices and different permutations of DoAs. The last one is the assignment of the estimated DoAs to the corresponding trajectories. This article proposes polynomials for the path modeling of the moving sources. Then, directions and slopes of the paths at certain times are defined as the outputs of two separate BiLSTM networks. Finally, the directions and slopes of the paths are used for the sequential assignment of DoAs to the different trajectories. Simulation results indicate that the proposed method not only estimates the DoA trajectories of moving sources accurately, but also it significantly performs better than compressed sensing‐based and subspace‐based methods.