bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Investigating the tribological characteristics of copper surface composites reinforced with high entropy alloy (AlCoCrCuFe) through friction stir processing
Authors: Soundararajan Seenivasan , Muthukutti Gopal Pudhupalayam , Kumarasamy Soorya Prakash , Vijayananth Kavimani , Barik Debabrata , Sharma Prabhakar , Paramasivam Prabhu 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe present investigation focuses on the fabrication of Copper-High Entropy Alloy (HEA) surface Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) using the solid-state Friction Stir Process (FSP) and the characterization of wear characteristics. Higher hardness values at the level of 770HV were the cornerstone in its selection, in addition to identifying several appropriate considerations for combining the AlCoCrCuFe HEA in Cu-HEA surface MMCs. Because of the combination of FSP and HEA, the produced composite had a fine microstructure and increased hardness. The wear test is carried out using pin-on-disc equipment for all conceivable parameter combinations to thoroughly analyze wear qualities, with velocity, load, as well as sliding distance chosen as input parameters. The wear rate decreases dramatically with HEA additions and rises with sliding velocity, load, and sliding distance. The impact of HEA addition on the Coefficient of Friction (CoF) during a dry sliding wear test is opposed to its influence on wear rate. The wear parameters such as load, sliding speed, and sliding distance possess a positive correlation with the wear rate and a negative correlation with a coefficient of friction. The applied load has a severe effect on wear rate and CoF when compared to other wear parameters considered. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micrographs of the worn surface were utilized to analyze the wear process, which clearly showed that the copper’s wear resistance improved with the addition of HEA.
Morphological and metabolic asymmetries of the thalamic subregions in temporal lobe epilepsy predict cognitive functions
Authors: Tung Hsin , Tsai Shih-Chuan , Huang Pu-Rong , Hsieh Peiyuan F. , Lin Yi-Ching , Peng Syu-Jyun 
Published: December 2023

AbstractBoth morphological and metabolic imaging were used to determine how asymmetrical changes of thalamic subregions are involved in cognition in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). We retrospectively recruited 24 left-TLE and 15 right-TLE patients. Six thalamic subnuclei were segmented by magnetic resonance imaging, and then co-registered onto Positron emission tomography images. We calculated the asymmetrical indexes of the volumes and normalized standard uptake value ratio (SUVR) of the entire and individual thalamic subnuclei. The SUVR of ipsilateral subnuclei were extensively and prominently decreased compared with the volume loss. The posterior and medial subnuclei had persistently lower SUVR in both TLE cases. Processing speed is the cognitive function most related to the metabolic asymmetry. It negatively correlated with the metabolic asymmetrical indexes of subregions in left-TLE, while positively correlated with the subnuclei volume asymmetrical indexes in right-TLE. Epilepsy duration negatively correlated with the volume asymmetry of most thalamic subregions in left-TLE and the SUVR asymmetry of ventral and intralaminar subnuclei in right-TLE. Preserved metabolic activity of contralateral thalamic subregions is the key to maintain the processing speed in both TLEs. R-TLE had relatively preserved volume of the ipsilateral thalamic volume, while L-TLE had relatively decline of volume and metabolism in posterior subnucleus.
Stimulus awareness is associated with secondary somatosensory cortex activation in an inattentional numbness paradigm
Authors: Peters Antje , Bruchmann Maximilian , Dellert Torge , Moeck Robert , Schlossmacher Insa , Straube Thomas 
Published: December 2023

AbstractWhile inattentional blindness and deafness studies have revealed neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) without the confound of task relevance in the visual and auditory modality, comparable studies for the somatosensory modality are lacking. Here, we investigated NCC using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in an inattentional numbness paradigm. Participants (N = 44) received weak electrical stimulation on the left hand while solving a demanding visual task. Half of the participants were informed that task-irrelevant weak tactile stimuli above the detection threshold would be applied during the experiment, while the other half expected stimuli below the detection threshold. Unexpected awareness assessments after the experiment revealed that altogether 10 participants did not consciously perceive the somatosensory stimuli during the visual task. Awareness was not significantly modulated by prior information. The fMRI data show that awareness of stimuli led to increased activation in the contralateral secondary somatosensory cortex. We found no significant effects of stimulus awareness in the primary somatosensory cortex or frontoparietal areas. Thus, our results support the hypothesis that somatosensory stimulus awareness is mainly based on activation in higher areas of the somatosensory cortex and does not require strong activation in extended anterior or posterior networks, which is usually seen when perceived stimuli are task-relevant.
Temporal segmentation of EEG based on functional connectivity network structure
Authors: Xu Zhongming , Tang Shaohua , Liu Chuancai , Zhang Qiankun , Gu Heng , Li Xiaoli , Di Zengru , Li Zheng 
Published: December 2023

AbstractIn the study of brain functional connectivity networks, it is assumed that a network is built from a data window in which activity is stationary. However, brain activity is non-stationary over sufficiently large time periods. Addressing the analysis electroencephalograph (EEG) data, we propose a data segmentation method based on functional connectivity network structure. The goal of segmentation is to ensure that within a window of analysis, there is similar network structure. We designed an intuitive and flexible graph distance measure to quantify the difference in network structure between two analysis windows. This measure is modular: a variety of node importance indices can be plugged into it. We use a reference window versus sliding window comparison approach to detect changes, as indicated by outliers in the distribution of graph distance values. Performance of our segmentation method was tested in simulated EEG data and real EEG data from a drone piloting experiment (using correlation or phase-locking value as the functional connectivity strength metric). We compared our method under various node importance measures and against matrix-based dissimilarity metrics that use singular value decomposition on the connectivity matrix. The results show the graph distance approach worked better than matrix-based approaches; graph distance based on partial node centrality was most sensitive to network structural changes, especially when connectivity matrix values change little. The proposed method provides EEG data segmentation tailored for detecting changes in terms of functional connectivity networks. Our study provides a new perspective on EEG segmentation, one that is based on functional connectivity network structure differences.
Impaired neuronal activity as a potential factor contributing to the underdeveloped cerebrovasculature in a young Parkinson’s disease mouse model
Authors: Jeong Jin-Young , Lee Hyun Jung , Kim Namsuk , Li Yan , Rah Jong-Cheol , Oh Won-Jong 
Published: December 2023

AbstractMisfolding of α-synuclein (α-Syn) in the brain causes cellular dysfunction, leading to cell death in a group of neurons, and consequently causes the progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although many studies have demonstrated the pathological connections between vascular dysfunction and neurodegenerative diseases, it remains unclear how neuronal accumulation of α-Syn affects the structural and functional aspects of the cerebrovasculature to accelerate early disease progression. Here, we demonstrated the effect of aberrant α-Syn expression on the brain vasculature using a PD mouse model expressing a familial mutant form of human α-Syn selectively in neuronal cells. We showed that young PD mice have an underdeveloped cerebrovasculature without significant α-Syn accumulation in the vasculature. During the early phase of PD, toxic α-Syn was selectively increased in neuronal cells, while endothelial cell proliferation was decreased in the absence of vascular cell death or neuroinflammation. Instead, we observed altered neuronal activation and minor changes in the activity-dependent gene expression in brain endothelial cells (ECs) in young PD mice. These findings demonstrated that neuronal expression of mutant α-Syn in the early stage of PD induces abnormal neuronal activity and contributes to vascular patterning defects, which could be associated with a reduced angiogenic potential of ECs.
Inflammatory mediators drive neuroinflammation in autism spectrum disorder and cerebral palsy
Authors: Than Uyen Thi Trang , Nguyen Liem Thanh , Nguyen Phuong Hoang , Nguyen Xuan-Hung , Trinh Dong Phuong , Hoang Diem Huong , Nguyen Phuong Anh Thi , Dang Van Duc 
Published: December 2023

AbstractInflammation conditions are associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and cerebral palsy (CP), primarily observed in the peripheral immune system. However, the extent of neuro-inflammation and neuro-immune dysregulation remains poorly studied. In this study, we analyzed the composition of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to uncover the inflammatory mediators driving the neuro-immune system in ASD and CP patients. Our findings revealed that ASD patients had elevated levels of four inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-4, IL-21, and BAFF) compared to controls, while CP patients exhibited increased levels of eight inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, GM-CSF, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17A and IL-12), one anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10), and five growth factors (GFs) (NGF-β, EGF, GDF-15, G-CSF and BMP-9) compared to both controls and ASD patients. Additionally, intrathecal infusion of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) led to a slight decrease in TGF-β and GDF-15 levels in the CSF of ASD and CP patients, respectively. Our study provides new insights into the molecular composition of CSF in ASD and CP patients, with the potential to develop more effective diagnosis methods and improved treatment for these diseases.Clinical trial registration CSF samples used in this study are from clinical trials NCT03225651, NCT05307536, NCT02569775, NCT03123562, NCT02574923, NCT05472428 and previous reports [7, 9, 17–19].
Mendelian randomization study reveals the relationship between dietary factors and respiratory diseases
Authors: Lai Wei , Li Guorui , Peng Dunyu , Li Ning , Wang Wei 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe existence of causal relationship between dietary factors and respiratory diseases is uncertain. We comprehensively investigated the association between dietary factors and respiratory diseases by using Mendelian randomization (MR). Genetic variants linked to dietary factors were selected as instrumental variables with genome-wide significance. These instrumental variables were obtained from large GWAS databases. These databases include Biobank, the FinnGen study, and other large consortia. We used multivariate MR analyses to control the effects of smoking and education. Median analysis was conducted to evaluate whether body mass index (BMI) played a role in dietary factors in respiratory diseases. Dried fruit intake was found to be associated with a decreased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR: 0.211; 95% CI 0.117–0.378; P < 0.001) and asthma (OR: 0.539; 95% CI 0.357–0.815; P = 0.003). Conversely, pork intake was associated with an increased risk of international pharmaceutical federation (IPF) (OR: 1.051*102, 95% CI 4.354–2.56*103, P = 0.004). However, no significant associations were observed between the 20 dietary factors and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). In addition, multivariate MR analyses showed that the above results were unchanged in smoking and nonsmoking populations, while the effect of dried fruit intake on asthma was significantly attenuated after corrective education. The results of the mediator variable analysis indicated that BMI could serve as a mediator of the above results. This study found that dried fruits slowed the progression of COPD and asthma, while pork promoted IPF. However, no effect of dietary factors on OSA was found. Meanwhile, we showed that the above results were unchanged in smoking and non-smoking populations. In contrast, education could influence the role of diet on asthma, and BMI could be used as a mediating variable to influence the above results.
Effects of short- and long-term TSH suppression on lumbar bone mineral density in both genders using PET/CT
Authors: Einspieler Holger , Walter Christoph , Hacker Marcus , Karanikas Georgios , Tamandl Dietmar 
Published: December 2023

AbstractIatrogenic subclinical hyperthyroidism is induced intentionally in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer to reduce the risk of tumor recurrence. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the effect of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) suppressive therapy on bone mineral density in men and women. Two cohorts of endocrine cancer patients were compared. In cohort A, 42 patients with long-lasting suppressed serum TSH were assessed. Cohort B consisted of 41 euthyroid patients. Bone density was measured in the L1-L4 lumbar vertebrae of all patients using PET/CT scans performed for cancer staging. In 17 patients of cohort A who received a second PET/CT scan, bone density was measured again to provide longitudinal analysis. A non-significant difference in age (p = .572) and equal distribution of sex (p = .916) was determined when comparing both cohorts. A significant difference (p = .011) with a moderate effect (η2 = .08; 20.4%) was observed regarding higher bone mineral density (BMD^HU) in cohort B with normal TSH levels (M 160.63 ± 54.7 HU) versus cohort A under TSH suppression therapy (M 127.9 ± 59.5 HU) for a mean duration of 4.45 ± 2.64 years. Furthermore, no significant change in BMD^HU (p = .786) was found in those patients who received a second PET/CT scan after a mean observation time of 2.3 ± 1.2 years. In conclusion, long-lasting TSH suppression therapy caused a statistically significant decrease in BMD^HU while short-lasting therapy didn't. Therefore, we can assume a higher likelihood of osteoporosis in those patients under prolonged TSH suppression.
Depth-aware pose estimation using deep learning for exoskeleton gait analysis
Authors: Wang Yachun , Pei Zhongcai , Wang Chen , Tang Zhiyong 
Published: December 2023

AbstractIn rehabilitation medicine, real-time analysis of the gait for human wearing lower-limb exoskeleton rehabilitation robot during walking can effectively prevent patients from experiencing excessive and asymmetric gait during rehabilitation training, thereby avoiding falls or even secondary injuries. To address the above situation, we propose a gait detection method based on computer vision for the real-time monitoring of gait during human–machine integrated walking. Specifically, we design a neural network model called GaitPoseNet, which is used for posture recognition in human–machine integrated walking. Using RGB images as input and depth features as output, regression of joint coordinates through depth estimation of implicit supervised networks. In addition, joint guidance strategy (JGS) is designed in the network framework. The degree of correlation between the various joints of the human body is used as a detection target to effectively overcome prediction difficulties due to partial joint occlusion during walking. Finally, a post processing algorithm is designed to describe patients’ walking motion by combining the pixel coordinates of each joint point and leg length. Our advantage is that we provide a non-contact measurement method with strong universality, and use depth estimation and JGS to improve measurement accuracy. Conducting experiments on the Walking Pose with Exoskeleton (WPE) Dataset shows that our method can reach 95.77% PCKs@0.1, 93.14% PCKs@0.08 and 3.55 ms runtime. Therefore our method achieves advanced performance considering both speed and accuracy.
Electrospun PVDF/aromatic HBP of 4th gen based flexible and self-powered TENG for wearable energy harvesting and health monitoring
Authors: Gunasekhar Ramadasu , Reza Mohammad Shamim , Kim Kap Jin , Prabu Arun Anand , Kim Hongdoo 
Published: December 2023

AbstractIn recent times, high-performance wearable electronic devices that can transform mechanical force into electrical energy for biomedical monitoring applications are receiving an increasing amount of attention. In the present study, we focused on a flexible, self-powered and wearable triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) based on electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/aromatic hyperbranched polyester of 4th generation (Ar.HBP-G4, 0–40 wt.-% w.r.t. PVDF content) blend nanoweb as tribo-negative layer and melt-blown thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) as tribo-positive layer for energy harvesting and human health monitoring applications. Among the varying Ar.HBP-G4 content used, incorporation of Ar.HBP-G4 (10 wt.-%) in PVDF (P-Ar.HBP-G4-10) showed higher increase in the triboelectric output voltage when compared to pristine PVDF and other Ar.HBP-G4 weight ratios. The optimized P-Ar.HBP-G4-10/TPU based TENG exhibited a peak-to-peak voltage (Vp-p) of 124.4 V under an applied load of 9.8 N and frequency 1 Hz which is superior to many other TENGs reported elsewhere. Higher triboelectric performance of P-Ar.HBP-G4 blend based TENG compared to that of neat PVDF is attributed to the effect of Ar.HBP-G4-10 in enhancing the degree of crystallinity and polar β-crystalline phase content (98.3%) in PVDF. The ability of the TENG to power up portable electronic devices is demonstrated when it is powered for 750 s while connected through a capacitor and a rectifier, and the TENG was able to operate 45 light-emitting diodes directly. Evaluation of the triboelectric output of the TENG device attached to different parts of the human body reveal significantly better output voltage and sensitivity for human health monitoring. The results of this work pave a new way to develop TENG based on P-Ar.HBP-G4 nanowebs for sustainable energy generation and wearable healthcare monitoring systems.
B. subtilis MutS2 splits stalled ribosomes into subunits without mRNA cleavage
Authors: Park Esther N , Mackens-Kiani Timur , Berhane Rebekah , Esser Hanna , Erdenebat Chimeg , Burroughs A Maxwell , Berninghausen Otto , Aravind L , Beckmann Roland , Green Rachel , Buskirk Allen R 
Published: December 2023

AbstractStalled ribosomes are rescued by pathways that recycle the ribosome and target the nascent polypeptide for degradation. In E. coli, these pathways are triggered by ribosome collisions through the recruitment of SmrB, a nuclease that cleaves the mRNA. In B. subtilis, the related protein MutS2 was recently implicated in ribosome rescue. Here we show that MutS2 is recruited to collisions by its SMR and KOW domains, and we reveal the interaction of these domains with collided ribosomes by cryo-EM. Using a combination of in vivo and in vitro approaches, we show that MutS2 uses its ABC ATPase activity to split ribosomes, targeting the nascent peptide for degradation through the ribosome quality control pathway. However, unlike SmrB, which cleaves mRNA in E. coli, we see no evidence that MutS2 mediates mRNA cleavage or promotes ribosome rescue by tmRNA. These findings clarify the biochemical and cellular roles of MutS2 in ribosome rescue in B. subtilis and raise questions about how these pathways function differently in diverse bacteria.
Molecular mechanism of allosteric activation of the CRISPR ribonuclease Csm6 by cyclic tetra-adenylate
Authors: Du Liyang , Zhu Qinwei , Lin Zhonghui 
Published: December 2023

AbstractType III CRISPR systems are innate immune systems found in bacteria and archaea, which produce cyclic oligoadenylate (cOA) second messengers in response to viral infections. In these systems, Csm6 proteins serve as ancillary nucleases that degrade single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) upon activation by cOA. In addition, Csm6 proteins also possess cOA-degrading activity as an intrinsic off-switch to avoid degradation of host RNA and DNA that would eventually lead to cell dormancy or cell death. Here, we present the crystal structures of Thermus thermophilus (Tt) Csm6 alone, and in complex with cyclic tetra-adenylate (cA4) in both pre- and post-cleavage states. These structures establish the molecular basis of the long-range allosteric activation of TtCsm6 ribonuclease by cA4. cA4 binding induces significant conformational changes, including closure of the CARF domain, dimerization of the HTH domain, and reorganization of the R-X4-6-H motif within the HEPN domain. The cleavage of cA4 by the CARF domain restores each domain to a conformation similar to its apo state. Furthermore, we have identified hyperactive TtCsm6 variants that exhibit sustained cA4-activated RNase activity, showing great promise for their applications in genome editing and diagnostics.
S-nitrosylation of AMPKγ impairs coronary collateral circulation and disrupts VSMC reprogramming
Authors: Bai Wenwu , Guo Tao , Wang Han , Li Bin , Sun Quan , Wu Wanzhou , Zhang Jiaxiong , Zhou Jipeng , Luo Jingmin , Zhu Moli , Lu Junxiu , Li Peng , Dong Bo , Han Shufang , Pang Xinyan , Zhang Guogang , Bai Yongping , Wang Shuangxi 
Published: December 2023

AbstractCollateral circulation is essential for blood resupply to the ischemic heart, which is dictated by the contractile phenotypic restoration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). Here we investigate whether S-nitrosylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a key regulator of the VSMC phenotype, impairs collateral circulation. In rats with collateral growth and development, nitroglycerin decreases coronary collateral blood flow (CCBF), inhibits vascular contractile phenotypic restoration, and increases myocardial infarct size, accompanied by reduced AMPK activity in the collateral zone. Nitric oxide (NO) S-nitrosylates human recombinant AMPKγ1 at cysteine 131 and decreases AMP sensitivity of AMPK. In VSMCs, exogenous expression of S-nitrosylation-resistant AMPKγ1 or deficient NO synthase (iNOS) prevents the disruption of VSMC reprogramming. Finally, hyperhomocysteinemia or hyperglycemia increases AMPKγ1 S-nitrosylation, prevents vascular contractile phenotypic restoration, reduces CCBF, and increases the infarct size of the heart in Apoe-/- mice, all of which is rescued in Apoe-/-/iNOSsm-/- mice or Apoe-/- mice with enforced expression of the AMPKγ1-C130A mutant following RI/MI. We conclude that nitrosative stress disrupts coronary collateral circulation during hyperhomocysteinemia or hyperglycemia through AMPK S-nitrosylation.
How plants manage pathogen infection
Authors: Jian Yinan , Gong Dianming , Wang Zhe , Liu Lijun , He Jingjing , Han Xiaowei , Tsuda Kenichi 
Published: December 2023

AbstractTo combat microbial pathogens, plants have evolved specific immune responses that can be divided into three essential steps: microbial recognition by immune receptors, signal transduction within plant cells, and immune execution directly suppressing pathogens. During the past three decades, many plant immune receptors and signaling components and their mode of action have been revealed, markedly advancing our understanding of the first two steps. Activation of immune signaling results in physical and chemical actions that actually stop pathogen infection. Nevertheless, this third step of plant immunity is under explored. In addition to immune execution by plants, recent evidence suggests that the plant microbiota, which is considered an additional layer of the plant immune system, also plays a critical role in direct pathogen suppression. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of how plant immunity as well as microbiota control pathogen growth and behavior and highlight outstanding questions that need to be answered.