bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Association of metallothionein 2A rs10636 with low mean corpuscular volume (MCV), low mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) in healthy Taiwanese
Authors: Chen Rong-Fu , Chen Po-Ming , Pan Chau-Shiung , Huang Chieh-Cheng , Chiang En-Pei Isabel 
Published: January 2023

AbstractHuman metallothionein-2A (MT2A) protein participates in metal homeostasis, detoxification, oxidative stress reduction, and immune defense. It decreases heavy metal ions and reactive oxygen species (ROS) during injury of cells and tissues. The single nucleotide polymorphisms at the MT2A gene have been associated in various human diseases including cancer. The current study aimed to elucidate associations between MT2A genotypes with the clinical, biochemical, and molecular characteristics that potentially related to lowered MT2A ex-pression. One hundred and forty-one healthy Taiwanese subjects were enrolled from Changhua Show-Chwan Memorial Hospital. Clinical, biochemical and molecular characteristics including the frequent minor allele SNPs, rs28366003 and rs10636, within the MT2A gene were determined. The genotype distribution of MT2A rs10636 fits the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The significant associations with gradually decline of mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) were identified with MT2A rs10636 and rs28366003 using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey’s analysis as a post hoc test. We further validated the correlations between the expressions of genes in erythropoiesis, cholesterol synthesis, platelet synthesis, insulin with MT2A using the web-based Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) databases. The results revealed that hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), erythropoietin (EPO), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) mRNA ex-pression are significantly correlated with MT2A mRNA expression. In conclusion, these results suggested that genetic variations of MT2A rs10636 and rs28366003 might be an important risk factor for erythropoiesis in the Taiwanese general population.
Influence of variability in the cyclooxygenase pathway on cardiovascular outcomes of nephrosclerosis patients
Authors: González Luz M. , Robles Nicolás R. , Mota-Zamorano Sonia , Valdivielso José M. , González-Rodríguez Laura , López-Gómez Juan , Gervasini Guillermo 
Published: January 2023

AbstractNephrosclerosis patients are at an exceptionally high cardiovascular (CV) risk. We aimed to determine whether genetic variability represented by 38 tag-SNPs in genes of the cyclooxygenase pathway (PTGS1, PTGS2, PTGES, PTGES2 and PTGES3) leading to prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis, modified CV traits and events in 493 nephrosclerosis patients. Additionally, we genotyped 716 controls to identify nephrosclerosis risk associations. The addition of three variants, namely PTGS2 rs4648268, PTGES3 rs2958155 and PTGES3 rs11300958, to a predictive model for CV events containing classic risk factors in nephrosclerosis patients, significantly enhanced its statistical power (AUC value increased from 78.6 to 87.4%, p = 0.0003). Such increase remained significant after correcting for multiple testing. In addition, two tag-SNPs (rs11790782 and rs2241270) in PTGES were linked to higher systolic and diastolic pressure [carriers vs. non-carriers = 5.23 (1.87–9.93), p = 0.03 and 5.9 (1.87–9.93), p = 0.004]. PTGS1(COX1) rs10306194 was associated with higher common carotid intima media thickness (ccIMT) progression [OR 1.90 (1.07–3.36), p = 0.029], presence of carotid plaque [OR 1.79 (1.06–3.01), p = 0.026] and atherosclerosis severity (p = 0.041). These associations, however, did not survive Bonferroni correction of the data. Our findings highlight the importance of the route leading to PGE2 synthesis in the CV risk experienced by nephrosclerosis patients and add to the growing body of evidence pointing out the PGE2 synthesis/activity axis as a promising therapeutic target in this field.
Incidence and impact of new-onset postoperative arrhythmia after surgery of the lower gastrointestinal tract
Authors: Rühlmann Felix , Hedicke Mara Sophie , Engelhardt Deborah , Mackert Alma Franziska , Tichelbäcker Tobias , Leha Andreas , Bernhardt Markus , Ghadimi Michael , Perl Thorsten , Azizian Azadeh , Gaedcke Jochen 
Published: January 2023

AbstractPostoperative arrhythmias (PAs) are common events and have been widely investigated in cardiothoracic surgery. Within visceral surgery, a recent study revealed a significant occurrence of PA in esophageal resections. In contrast, PA in lower gastrointestinal surgery is rarely investigated and has been rudimentary described in the medical literature. The present work is a retrospective cohort study of 1171 patients who underwent surgery of lower gastrointestinal tract between 2012 and 2018. All included patients were treated and monitored in the intensive care unit (ICU) or intermediate care unit (IMC) after surgery. Follow-up, performed between January and May 2021, was obtained for the patients with PA investigating the possible persistence of PA and complications such as permanent arrhythmia or thromboembolic events after discharge. In total, n = 1171 patients (559 female, 612 male) without any history of prior arrhythmia were analyzed. Overall, PA occurred in n = 56 (4.8%) patients after surgery of the lower GI. The highest incidence of PA was seen in patients undergoing bowel surgery after mesenteric ischaemia (26.92%), followed by cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC; 16.67%). PA was significantly associated with higher age (72 years (IQR 63–78 years) vs. 64 years (IQR 55–73.5 years), p < 0.001) and longer length of stay in the ICU (median 15 days (IQR 5–25 days) vs. median 2 days (IQR 1–5 days), p < 0.001). PA was independently associated with organ failure (OR = 4.62, 95% CI 2.11–10.11, p < 0.001) and higher in-house mortality (OR = 3.37, 95% CI 1.23–9.28, p < 0.001). In median, PA occurred 66.5 h after surgery. In follow-up, 31% of all the patients with PA showed development of permanent arrhythmia. The incidence of PA after lower GI surgery is comparatively low. Its occurrence, however, seems to have severe implications since it is significantly associated with higher rates of organ failure and in-house mortality. Also, compared to the general population, the development of permanent arrhythmia is significantly higher in patients who developed new-onset PA.
Mapping the diffusion pattern of 1O2 along DNA duplex by guanine photooxidation with an appended biphenyl photosensitizer
Authors: Kanamori Takashi , Kaneko Shota , Hamamoto Koji , Yuasa Hideya 
Published: January 2023

AbstractTo realize nucleic acid-targeting photodynamic therapy, a photosensitizer should be attached at the optimal position on a complementary oligonucleotide, where a guanine photooxidation is maximized. Here we show the photooxidation of 22 DNA duplexes with varied lengths between a1O2-generating biphenyl photosensitizer attached at a midchain thymine in a strand and the single guanine reactant in the other strand. The best photooxidation efficiencies are achieved at 9, 10, and 21 base intervals, which coincides with the pitch of 10.5 base pairs per turn in a DNA duplex. The low efficiencies for near and far guanines are due to quenching of the biphenyl by guanine and dilution of1O2by diffusion, respectively. The1O2-diffusion mapping along DNA duplex provides clues to the development of efficient and selective photosensitizer agents for nucleic acid-targeting photodynamic therapy, as well as an experimental demonstration of diffusion of a particle along cylindrical surface in molecular level.
Towards a high-density photonic tensor core enabled by intensity-modulated microrings and photonic wire bonding
Authors: Luan Enxiao , Yu Shangxuan , Salmani Mahsa , Nezami Mohammadreza Sanadgol , Shastri Bhavin J. , Chrostowski Lukas , Eshaghi Armaghan 
Published: January 2023

AbstractWe propose a photonic processing unit for high-density analog computation using intensity-modulation-based microring modulators (IM-MRMs). The output signal at the fixed resonance wavelength is directly intensity modulated by changing the extinction ratio (ER) of the IM-MRM . Thanks to the intensity-modulated approach, the proposed photonic processing unit is less sensitive to the inter-channel crosstalk. Simulation results reveal that the proposed design offers a maximum of 17-fold increase in wavelength channel density compared to its wavelength-modulated counterpart. Therefore, a photonic tensor core of size 512 $$\times $$
×
512 can be realized by current foundry lines. A convolutional neural network (CNN) simulator with 6-bit precision is built for handwritten digit recognition task using the proposed modulator. Simulation results show an overall accuracy of 96.76%, when the wavelength channel spacing suffers a 3-dB power penalty. To experimentally validate the system, 1000 dot product operations are carried out with a 4-bit signed system on a co-packaged photonic chip, where optical and electrical I/Os are realized using photonic and electrical wire bonding techniques. Study of the measurement results show a mean squared error (MSE) of 3.09$$\times $$
×
10$$^{-3}$$

-
3

for dot product calculations. The proposed IM-MRM, therefore, renders the crosstalk issue tractable and provides a solution for the development of large-scale optical information processing systems with multiple wavelengths.
Effects of the direction of Kinesio taping on sensation and postural control before and after muscle fatigue in healthy athletes
Authors: Hung Min-Hao , Chen Hui-Ya , Chang Yun-Chi , Chiu Chun-Wen , Chang Hsiao-Yun 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn this study, Kinesio tape (KT) was applied in two different directions to the gastrocnemius muscle, the most important muscle in stance stability, to investigate the effect of different taping directions on overall balance and sensation systems before versus after muscle fatigue. The participants, comprising 45 healthy athletes, were randomly divided into three groups: the placebo taping group (PTG), the facilitation KT group (FKTG), and the inhibition KT group (IKTG). The tests involved in this study were a balance test, a superficial sensory function test, and a combined cortical sensation test. The data from these tests were collected before taping, after taping and a 10-min rest, and immediately after continuous heel raises were performed to fatigue. The results of the balance tests showed no significant group × time interaction, whether subjects stood barefoot on one foot or stood on a soft mat with eyes open or closed (p > 0.05). Only the sway distance and sway velocity of the center of pressure (COP) when subjects stood barefoot on one foot with eyes open were significantly higher in the inhibition taping group than in the placebo taping group (p < 0.05). In addition, significant differences were noted in the sway area and sway distance of the COP before taping, after taping, and after exercise to fatigue when the participants stood on the soft mat with their eyes open (p < 0.05). When the participants stood on the soft mat on one foot with their eyes closed, no significant differences were noted among the groups. When subjects stood on a soft mat on one foot with eyes open, significant improvements were noted after fatiguing exercise versus before taping for all three groups (p < 0.05). The results of the superficial sensory test showed no significant group × time interaction and no difference among the three taping conditions or before/after taping and after fatiguing exercise. Only in the two-point discrimination test was a sensory difference observed, with the facilitation taping group having a significantly shorter discrimination distance than the placebo taping and inhibition taping groups (p < 0.05). The present study showed that KT application for a simple balance task (e.g., barefoot on a hard floor with eyes open) may slightly influence postural control, especially when the inhibition method is used. However, more difficult balance tasks (e.g., barefoot on a soft mat with eyes closed) show no effect of KT application—either the facilitation method or the inhibition method—on posture control.
Owner-rated hyperactivity/impulsivity is associated with sleep efficiency in family dogs: a non-invasive EEG study
Authors: Carreiro Cecília , Reicher Vivien , Kis Anna , Gácsi Márta 
Published: January 2023

AbstractSubjective sleep disturbances are reported by humans with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, no consistent objective findings related to sleep disturbances led to the removal of sleep problems from ADHD diagnostic criteria. Dogs have been used as a model for human ADHD with questionnaires validated for this purpose. Also, their sleep physiology can be measured by non-invasive methods similarly to humans. In the current study, we recorded spontaneous sleep EEG in family dogs during a laboratory session. We analyzed the association of sleep macrostructure and deep sleep (NREM) slow-wave activity (SWA) with a validated owner-rated ADHD questionnaire, assessing inattention (IA), hyperactivity/impulsivity (H/I) and total (T) scores. Higher H/I and T were associated with lower sleep efficiency and longer time awake after initial drowsiness and NREM. IA showed no associations with sleep variables. Further, no association was found between ADHD scores and SWA. Our results are in line with human studies in which poor sleep quality reported by ADHD subjects is associated with some objective EEG macrostructural parameters. This suggests that natural variation in dogs’ H/I is useful to gain a deeper insight of ADHD neural mechanisms.
Heart failure decouples the precuneus in interaction with social cognition and executive functions
Authors: Schroeter Matthias L. , Godulla Jannis , Thiel Friederike , Taskin Birol , Beutner Frank , Dubovoy Vladimir K. , Teren Andrej , Camilleri Julia , Eickhoff Simon , Villringer Arno , Mueller Karsten 
Published: January 2023

AbstractAging increases the risk to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Cardiovascular diseases might accelerate this process. Our study aimed at investigating the impact of heart failure on brain connectivity using functional magnetic resonance imaging at resting state. Here we show brain connectivity alterations related to heart failure and cognitive performance. Heart failure decreases brain connectivity in the precuneus. Precuneus dysconnectivity was associated with biomarkers of heart failure—left ventricular ejection fraction and N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide—and cognitive performance, predominantly executive function. Meta-analytical data-mining approaches—conducted in the BrainMap and Neurosynth databases—revealed that social and executive cognitive functions are mainly associated with those neural networks. Remarkably, the precuneus, as identified in our study in a mid-life cohort, represents one central functional hub affected by Alzheimer’s disease. A long-term follow-up investigation in our cohort after approximately nine years revealed more severe cognitive impairment in the group with heart failure than controls, where social cognition was the cognitive domain mainly affected, and not memory such as in Alzheimer’s disease. In sum, our results indicate consistently an association between heart failure and decoupling of the precuneus from other brain regions being associated with social and executive functions. Further longitudinal studies are warranted elucidating etiopathological mechanisms.
Developmental changes in the extent of drug binding to rat plasma proteins
Authors: Qiu Fiona , Dziegielewska Katarzyna M. , Huang Yifan , Habgood Mark D. , Fitzpatrick Georgia , Saunders Norman R. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractBinding of therapeutics to proteins in blood plasma is important in influencing their distribution as it is their free (unbound) form that is able to cross cellular membranes to enter tissues and exert their actions. The concentration and composition of plasma proteins vary during pregnancy and development, resulting in potential changes to drug protein binding. Here, we describe an ultrafiltration method to investigate the extent of protein binding of six drugs (digoxin, paracetamol, olanzapine, ivacaftor, valproate and lamotrigine) and two water soluble inert markers (sucrose and glycerol) to plasma proteins from pregnant and developing rats. Results showed that the free fraction of most drugs was lower in the non-pregnant adult plasma where protein concentration is the highest. However, plasma of equivalent protein concentration to younger pups obtained by diluting adult plasma did not always exhibit the same extent of drug binding, reinforcing the likelihood that both concentration and composition of proteins in plasma influence drug binding. Comparison between protein binding and brain drug accumulation in vivo revealed a correlation for some drugs, but not others. Results suggests that plasma protein concentration should be considered when using medications in pregnant and paediatric patients to minimise potential for fetal and neonatal drug exposure.
Simultaneous bioremediation of phenol and tellurite by Lysinibacillus sp. EBL303 and characterization of biosynthesized Te nanoparticles
Authors: Hosseini Firooz , Lashani Elham , Moghimi Hamid 
Published: January 2023

AbstractAromatic compounds and metalloid oxyanions are abundant in the environment due to natural resources and industrial wastes. The high toxicity of phenol and tellurite poses a significant threat to all forms of life. A halotolerant bacterium was isolated and identified asLysinibacillussp. EBL303. The remediation analysis shows that 500 mg/L phenol and 0.5 mM tellurite can be remediated entirely in separate cultures within 74 and 56 h, respectively. In addition, co-remediation of pollutants resulted in the same phenol degradation and 27% less tellurite reduction within 98 h. Since phenol and tellurite exhibited inhibitory behavior, their removal kinetics fitted well with the first-order model. In the characterization of biosynthesized tellurium nanoparticles (TeNPs), transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, FE-SEM, and dispersive X-ray (EDX) showed that the separated intracellular TeNPs were spherical and consisted of only tellurium with 22–148 nm in size. Additionally, investigations using X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy revealed proteins and lipids covering the surface of these amorphous TeNPs. Remarkably, this study is the first report to demonstrate the simultaneous bioremediation of phenol and tellurite and the biosynthesis of TeNPs, indicating the potential ofLysinibacillussp. EBL303 in this matter, which can be applied to environmental remediation and the nanotechnology industry.
Involvement of JNK signaling in Aspergillus fumigatus-induced inflammatory factors release in bronchial epithelial cells
Authors: Cui Xiao , Chen Fangyan , Zhao Jingya , Li Dingchen , Hu Mandong , Chen Xue , Zhang Yulin , Han Li 
Published: January 2023

AbstractAspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) is an important fungal pathogen and its conidia can be inhaled and interact with airway epithelial cells; however, the release of inflammatory factors from bronchial epithelial cells upon A. fumigatus infection and its regulation remained unclear. Here it was demonstrated that the release of IL-27, MCP-1 and TNF-α from BEAS-2B cells were upregulated upon stimulation by conidia, while mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway was activated. Further, the inhibition of JNK, but not p38 and ERK, could inhibit inflammatory factors release and the LC3II formation in BEAS-2B cells induced by A. fumigatus conidia. In addition, an inhibitor of autophagy, bafilomycin A1 was able to significantly down-regulate the release of inflammatory factors in BEAS-2B cells upon A. fumigatus conidia, while rapamycin could reverse the effect of JNK inhibitor on IL-27 and TNF-α release. Taken together, these data demonstrated that JNK signal might play an important role in inflammatory factor release regulated by autophagy in bronchial epithelial cells against A. fumigatus infection.
Neutralization activity of IgG antibody in COVID‑19‑convalescent plasma against SARS-CoV-2 variants
Authors: Tsuchiya Kiyoto , Maeda Kenji , Matsuda Kouki , Takamatsu Yuki , Kinoshita Noriko , Kutsuna Satoshi , Hayashida Tsunefusa , Gatanaga Hiroyuki , Ohmagari Norio , Oka Shinichi , Mitsuya Hiroaki 
Published: January 2023

AbstractCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We evaluated the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels, anti-spike (S)-immunoglobulin G (IgG) and anti-nucleocapsid (N)-IgG, and the neutralization activity of IgG antibody in COVID‑19‑convalescent plasma against variants of SARS-CoV-2, alpha, beta, gamma, delta, kappa, omicron and R.1 strains. The study included 30 patients with clinically diagnosed COVID-19. The anti-S-IgG and anti-N-IgG levels ranged from 30.0 to 555.1 and from 10.1 to 752.6, respectively. The neutralization activity (50% inhibition concentration: IC50) for the wild-type Wuhan strain ranged from < 6.3 to 81.5 µg/ml. IgG antibodies were > 100 µg/ml in 18 of 30 (60%) subjects infected with the beta variant. The IC50 values for wild-type and beta variants correlated inversely with anti-S-IgG levels (p < 0.05), but no such correlation was noted with anti-N-IgG. IgG antibodies prevented infectivity and cytopathic effects of six different variants of concern in the cell-based assays of wild-type, alpha, gamma, delta, kappa and R.1 strains, but not that of the beta and omicron strains. IgG is considered the main neutralizing activity in the blood, although other factors may be important in other body tissues.
Genomic analysis of an ultrasmall freshwater green alga, Medakamo hakoo
Authors: Kato Shoichi , Misumi Osami , Maruyama Shinichiro , Nozaki Hisayoshi , Tsujimoto-Inui Yayoi , Takusagawa Mari , Suzuki Shigekatsu , Kuwata Keiko , Noda Saki , Ito Nanami , Okabe Yoji , Sakamoto Takuya , Yagisawa Fumi , Matsunaga Tomoko M. , Matsubayashi Yoshikatsu , Yamaguchi Haruyo , Kawachi Masanobu , Kuroiwa Haruko , Kuroiwa Tsuneyoshi , Matsunaga Sachihiro 
Published: January 2023

AbstractUltrasmall algae have attracted the attention of biologists investigating the basic mechanisms underlying living systems. Their potential as effective organisms for producing useful substances is also of interest in bioindustry. Although genomic information is indispensable for elucidating metabolism and promoting molecular breeding, many ultrasmall algae remain genetically uncharacterized. Here, we present the nuclear genome sequence of an ultrasmall green alga of freshwater habitats,Medakamo hakoo. Evolutionary analyses suggest that this species belongs to a new genus within the class Trebouxiophyceae. Sequencing analyses revealed that its genome, comprising 15.8 Mbp and 7629 genes, is among the smallest known genomes in the Viridiplantae. Its genome has relatively few genes associated with genetic information processing, basal transcription factors, and RNA transport. Comparative analyses revealed that 1263 orthogroups were shared among 15 ultrasmall algae from distinct phylogenetic lineages. The shared gene sets will enable identification of genes essential for algal metabolism and cellular functions.