bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Accurate modulation of photoprinting under stiffness imaging feedback for engineering ECMs with high-fidelity mechanical properties
Authors: Li Xin , Wang Huaping , Dong Xinyi , Shi Qing , Sun Tao , Shimoda Shingo , Huang Qiang , Fukuda Toshio 
Published: June 2022

AbstractEngineered extracellular matrices (ECMs) that replicate complex in-vivo features have shown great potential in tissue engineering. Biocompatible hydrogel microstructures have been widely used to replace these native ECMs for physiologically relevant research. However, accurate reproduction of the 3D hierarchical and nonuniform mechanical stiffness inside one integrated microstructure to mimic the complex mechanical properties of native ECMs presents a major challenge. Here, by using digital holographic microscopy (DHM)-based stiffness imaging feedback, we propose a novel closed-loop control algorithm to achieve high-accuracy control of mechanical properties for hydrogel microstructures that recapitulate the physiological properties of native ECMs with high fidelity. During photoprinting, the photocuring area of the hydrogel is divided into microscale grid areas to locally control the photocuring process. With the assistance of a motorized microfluidic channel, the curing thickness is controlled with layer-by-layer stacking. The DHM-based stiffness imaging feedback allows accurate adjustment of the photocuring degree in every grid area to change the crosslinking network density of the hydrogel, thus enabling large-span and high-resolution modulation of mechanical properties. Finally, the gelatin methacrylate was used as a typical biomaterial to construct the high-fidelity biomimetic ECMs. The Young’s modulus could be flexibly modulated in the 10 kPa to 50 kPa range. Additionally, the modulus gradient was accurately controlled to within 2.9 kPa. By engineering ECM with locally different mechanical properties, cell spreading along the stiff areas was observed successfully. We believe that this method can regenerate complex biomimetic ECMs that closely recapitulate in-vivo mechanical properties for further applications in tissue engineering and biomedical research.
Splicing mutations in the CFTR gene as therapeutic targets
Authors: Deletang Karine , Taulan-Cadars Magali 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThe marketing approval, about ten years ago, of the first disease modulator for patients with cystic fibrosis harboring specific CFTR genotypes (~5% of all patients) brought new hope for their treatment. To date, several therapeutic strategies have been approved and the number of CFTR mutations targeted by therapeutic agents is increasing. Although these drugs do not reverse the existing disease, they help to increase the median life expectancy. However, on the basis of their CFTR genotype, ~10% of patients presently do not qualify for any of the currently available CFTR modulator therapies, particularly patients with splicing mutations (~12% of the reported CFTR mutations). Efforts are currently made to develop therapeutic agents that target disease-causing CFTR variants that affect splicing. This highlights the need to fully identify them by scanning non-coding regions and systematically determine their functional consequences. In this review, we present some examples of CFTR alterations that affect splicing events and the different therapeutic options that are currently developed and tested for splice switching.
Comprehensive characterization of posttranscriptional impairment-related 3′-UTR mutations in 2413 whole genomes of cancer patients
Authors: Wei Wenqing , Gao Wenyan , Li Qinglan , Liu Yuhao , Chen Hongyan , Cui Yongping , Sun Zhongsheng , Liu Zhihua 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThe 3′ untranslated region (3′-UTR) is the vital element regulating gene expression, but most studies have focused on variations in RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), miRNAs, alternative polyadenylation (APA) and RNA modifications. To explore the posttranscriptional function of 3′-UTR somatic mutations in tumorigenesis, we collected whole-genome data from 2413 patients across 18 cancer types. Our updated algorithm, PIVar, revealed 25,216 3′-UTR posttranscriptional impairment-related SNVs (3′-UTR piSNVs) spanning 2930 genes; 24 related RBPs were significantly enriched. The somatic 3′-UTR piSNV ratio was markedly increased across all 18 cancer types, which was associated with worse survival for four cancer types. Several cancer-related genes appeared to facilitate tumorigenesis at the protein and posttranscriptional regulation levels, whereas some 3′-UTR piSNV-affected genes functioned mainly via posttranscriptional mechanisms. Moreover, we assessed immune cell and checkpoint characteristics between the high/low 3′-UTR piSNV ratio groups and predicted 80 compounds associated with the 3′-UTR piSNV-affected gene expression signature. In summary, our study revealed the prevalence and clinical relevance of 3′-UTR piSNVs in cancers, and also demonstrates that in addition to affecting miRNAs, 3′-UTR piSNVs perturb RBPs binding, APA and m6A RNA modification, which emphasized the importance of considering 3′-UTR piSNVs in cancer biology.
αKlotho decreases after reduced weight-bearing from both spaceflight and hindlimb unloading
Authors: Willey Jeffrey S. , Aunon-Chancellor Serena , Miles Lauren A. , Moore Joseph E. , Mao Xiao W. , Wallace Robert W. , Foy Matthew C. 
Published: June 2022

AbstractAlpha(α)Klotho, a soluble transmembrane protein, facilitates calcium-phosphorus homeostasis through feedback between bone and kidney and is a potential systemic biomarker for bone-kidney health during spaceflight. We determined if: (1) plasma αKlotho was reduced after both spaceflight aboard the ISS and hindlimb unloading (HU); and (2) deficiency could be reversed with exercise. Both spaceflight and HU lowered circulating plasma αKlotho: plasma αKlotho recovered with exercise after HU.
Experimental study of quantum uncertainty from lack of information
Authors: Zhao Yuan-Yuan , Rozpędek Filip , Hou Zhibo , Wu Kang-Da , Xiang Guo-Yong , Li Chuan-Feng , Guo Guang-Can 
Published: June 2022

AbstractQuantum uncertainty is a well-known property of quantum mechanics that states the impossibility of predicting measurement outcomes of multiple incompatible observables simultaneously. In contrast, the uncertainty in the classical domain comes from the lack of information about the exact state of the system. One may naturally ask, whether the quantum uncertainty is indeed a fully intrinsic property of the quantum theory, or whether similar to the classical domain lack of knowledge about specific parts of the physical system might be the source of this uncertainty. This question has been addressed in the previous literature where the authors argue that in the entropic formulation of the uncertainty principle that can be illustrated using the so-called, guessing games, indeed such lack of information has a significant contribution to the arising quantum uncertainty. Here we investigate this issue experimentally by implementing the corresponding two-dimensional and three-dimensional guessing games. Our results confirm that within the guessing-game framework, the quantum uncertainty to a large extent relies on the fact that quantum information determining the key properties of the game is stored in the degrees of freedom that remain inaccessible to the guessing party. Moreover, we offer an experimentally compact method to construct the high-dimensional Fourier gate which is a major building block for various tasks in quantum computation, quantum communication, and quantum metrology.
Semen Ziziphi Spinosae attenuates blood–brain barrier dysfunction induced by lipopolysaccharide by targeting the FAK-DOCK180-Rac1-WAVE2-Arp3 signaling pathway
Authors: Liu Huayan , Zhang Xin , Liu Yujiao , Xin Nian , Deng Yulin , Li Yujuan 
Published: June 2022

AbstractSemen Ziziphi Spinosae (SZS) has been extensively used in the daily diet as a functional food for neuroprotective health-benefit in China for many years. However, the neuroprotective mechanism of SZS associated with blood–brain barrier (BBB) integrity remains unexplored. The present study suggests SZS could protect against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced BBB dysfunction. Proteomics indicate that 135 proteins in rat brain are significantly altered by SZS. These differentially expressed proteins are mainly clustered into cell–cell adhesion and adherens junctions, which are closely related with BBB integrity. SZS reversed LPS-induces BBB breakdown by activating the FAK-DOCK180-Rac1-WAVE2-Arp3 pathway. Molecular docking between signaling pathway proteins and identified SZS components in rat plasma reveals that 6”‘-feruloylspinosin, spinosin, and swertisin strongly binds to signaling proteins at multiple amino acid sites. These novel findings suggest a health benefit of SZS in prevention of cerebral diseases and contributes to the further application of SZS as a functional food.
Rapid learning of a phonemic discrimination in the first hours of life
Authors: Wu Yan Jing , Hou Xinlin , Peng Cheng , Yu Wenwen , Oppenheim Gary M. , Thierry Guillaume , Zhang Dandan 
Published: June 2022

AbstractHuman neonates can discriminate phonemes, but the neural mechanism underlying this ability is poorly understood. Here we show that the neonatal brain can learn to discriminate natural vowels from backward vowels, a contrast unlikely to have been learnt in the womb. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, we examined the neuroplastic changes caused by 5 h of postnatal exposure to random sequences of natural and reversed (backward) vowels (T1), and again 2 h later (T2). Neonates in the experimental group were trained with the same stimuli as those used at T1 and T2. Compared with controls, infants in the experimental group showed shorter haemodynamic response latencies for forward vs backward vowels at T1, maximally over the inferior frontal region. At T2, neural activity differentially increased, maximally over superior temporal regions and the left inferior parietal region. Neonates thus exhibit ultra-fast tuning to natural phonemes in the first hours after birth.
CoV2K model, a comprehensive representation of SARS-CoV-2 knowledge and data interplay
Authors: Alfonsi Tommaso , Al Khalaf Ruba , Ceri Stefano , Bernasconi Anna 
Published: June 2022

AbstractSince the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many research organizations have studied the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus; a body of public resources have been published for monitoring its evolution. While we experience an unprecedented richness of information in this domain, we also ascertained the presence of several information quality issues. We hereby propose CoV2K, an abstract model for explaining SARS-CoV-2-related concepts and interactions, focusing on viral mutations, their co-occurrence within variants, and their effects. CoV2K provides a clear and concise route map for understanding different connected types of information related to the virus; it thus drives a process of data and knowledge integration that aggregates information from several current resources, harmonizing their content and overcoming incompleteness and inconsistency issues. CoV2K is available for exploration as a graph that can be queried through a RESTful API addressing single entities or paths through their relationships. Practical use cases demonstrate its application to current knowledge inquiries.
Paired field and water measurements from drainage management practices in row-crop agriculture
Authors: Abendroth L. J. , Chighladze G. , Frankenberger J. R. , Bowling L. C. , Helmers M. J. , Herzmann D. E. , Jia X. , Kjaersgaard J. , Pease L. A. , Reinhart B. D. , Strock J. , Youssef M. 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThis paper describes a multi-site and multi-decadal dataset of artificially drained agricultural fields in seven Midwest states and North Carolina, USA. Thirty-nine research sites provided data on three conservation practices for cropland with subsurface tile drainage: saturated buffers, controlled drainage, and drainage water recycling. These practices utilize vegetation and/or infrastructure to minimize off-site nutrient losses and retain water in the landscape. A total of 219 variables are reported, including 90 field measurement variables and 129 management operations and metadata. Key measurements include subsurface drain flow (206 site-years), nitrate-N load (154 site-years) and other water quality metrics, as well as agronomic, soil, climate, farm management and metadata records. Data are published at the USDA National Agricultural Library Ag Data Commons repository and are also available through an interactive website at Iowa State University. These multi-disciplinary data have large reuse potential by the scientific community as well as for design of drainage systems and implementation in the US and globally.
China industrial environmental database 1998–2015
Authors: Qian Haoqi , Ren Feizhou , Gong Yanran , Ma Rong , Wei Wendong , Wu Libo 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThere has been a rapid-growing trend in studying China’s environmental problems in the past decade. However, the existing environmental statistics data are far from meeting researchers’ requirements. The biggest problem is that the official environmental statistics data are only provided at either regional level or sectoral level. Considering the huge heterogeneities in different regions and sectors, researchers are unable to conduct comprehensive policy evaluations. In this study, we constructed the time-series industrial environmental database for China (CIED) at both regional and sectoral level. The database includes totally 31 regions and four types of pollutants: chemical oxygen demand (COD), sulphur dioxide (SO2), ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N), and nitrogen oxide (NOX). This study also clarifies several important concepts for researchers to better understand China’s official environmental statistics data.
Tweet topics and sentiments relating to distance learning among Italian Twitter users
Authors: Stracqualursi Luisa , Agati Patrizia 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThe outbreak of COVID-19 forced a dramatic shift in education, from in-person learning to an increased use of distance learning over the past 2 years. Opinions and sentiments regarding this switch from traditional to remote classes can be tracked in real time in microblog messages promptly shared by Twitter users, who constitute a large and ever-increasing number of individuals today. Given this framework, the present study aims to investigate sentiments and topics related to distance learning in Italy from March 2020 to November 2021. A two-step sentiment analysis was performed using the VADER model and thesyuzhetpackage to understand the overall sentiments and emotions. A dynamic latent Dirichlet allocation model (DLDA) was built to identify commonly discussed topics in tweets and their evolution over time. The results show a modest majority of negative opinions, which shifted over time until the trend reversed. Among the eight emotions of thesyuzhetpackage, ‘trust’ was the most positive emotion observed in the tweets, while ‘fear’ and ‘sadness’ were the top negative emotions. Our analysis also identified three topics: (1) requests for support measures for distance learning, (2) concerns about distance learning and its application, and (3) anxiety about the government decrees introducing the red zones and the corresponding restrictions. People’s attitudes changed over time. The concerns about distance learning and its future applications (topic 2) gained importance in the latter stages of 2021, while the first and third topics, which were ranked highly at first, started a steep descent in the last part of the period. The results indicate that even if current distance learning ends, the Italian people are concerned that any new emergency will bring distance learning back into use again.
Effects of soil properties on heavy metal bioavailability and accumulation in crop grains under different farmland use patterns
Authors: Xu Decong , Shen Zhangjun , Dou Changming , Dou Zhiyong , Li Yang , Gao Yi , Sun Qingye 
Published: June 2022

AbstractMining activities have increased the accumulation of heavy metals in farmland soil and in food crops. To identify the key soil properties influencing heavy metal bioavailability and accumulation in food crops, 81 crop samples and 81 corresponding agricultural soil samples were collected from rape, wheat, and paddy fields. Heavy metal (copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn)) concentrations in soils and rape, wheat, rice grains were determined using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, and soil physicochemical properties (pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, available phosphorus, and available potassium (AK)) were analyzed. Soil extractable metals were extracted using various single extractants (DTPA, EDTA, NH4OAc, NH4NO3, and HCl). The average concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, and Mn in the soil samples all exceeded the local geochemical background value (background values of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, and Mn are 43.0, 81.0, 28.5, 0.196, and 616 mg/kg, respectively), and Cd over-standard rate was the highest, at 98%. Furthermore, soil total Cd concentrations (0.1–24.8 mg/kg) of more than 86% of the samples exceeded the soil pollution risk screening value (GB 15618-2018). The sources of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, and Mn in soils were mainly associated with mining activities. The key factors influencing heavy metal bioavailability were associated with the types of extractants (complexing agents or neutral salt extractants) and the metals. Cd and Pb concentrations in most wheat and rice grain samples exceeded the maximum allowable Cd and Pb levels in food, respectively, and Cd concentrations in approximately 10% of the rice grain samples exceeded 1.0 mg/kg. Furthermore, rice and wheat grains exhibited higher Cd accumulation capacity than rape grains, and despite the high soil Cd concentrations in the rape fields, the rape grains were safe for consumption. High soil pH and AK restricted Cd and Cu accumulation in wheat grains, respectively. Soil properties seemed to influence heavy metal accumulation in rice grains the most.
Elevated AST/ALT ratio is associated with all-cause mortality in patients with stable coronary artery disease: a secondary analysis based on a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Liu Xiaobo , Liu Peng 
Published: June 2022

AbstractThe aim of this study is to explore the association between the aspartate amino transferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio and all-cause mortality (ACM) in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) patients treated by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The study is a secondary analysis of a retrospective cohort study involving 203 stable CAD patients. Patients were divided into two groups, based on the optimal AST/ALT ratio threshold calculated by the ROC curve (low group: AST/ALT ratio < 1.40; high group: AST/ALT ratio ≥ 1.40). Results were compared using hazard ratio (HR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI). ACM occurred in 18 patients after an average follow-up time of 749 (435–1122) days. Among them, ACM occurred in 6 patients in the low group and 12 patients in the high group, with significant differences between the groups (4.65% versus 16.22%, P value = 0.005). In the Kaplan–Meier analysis, an elevated AST/ALT ratio was associated with increased ACM in stable ACD patients (HR 3.78, 95% CI 1.44–9.93, P value < 0.001). An elevated AST/ALT ratio was still found to be an independent prognostic factor for ACM (HR 2.93, 95% CI 1.08–7.91, P value = 0.034) after adjusting for potential confounders. Therefore, an elevated AST/ALT ratio is an independent prognostic factor for ACM in stable ACD patients.
Quantitative evaluation of the vertical mobility of the first tarsometatarsal joint during stance phase of gait
Authors: Maeda Noriaki , Ikuta Yasunari , Tashiro Tsubasa , Arima Satoshi , Morikawa Masanori , Kaneda Kazuki , Ishihara Honoka , Brand Andreas , Nakasa Tomoyuki , Adachi Nobuo , Urabe Yukio 
Published: June 2022

AbstractWe determined how the in vivo mobility of the first tarsometatarsal (TMT) joint can be quantified during gait. Twenty-five healthy participants (12 females) with no history of foot disorders were included. Non-invasive ultrasound (US) with a three-dimensional motion analysis (MA) system was used to evaluate the kinematic characteristics of first TMT joint during stance phase of gait. US probe was positioned longitudinally above the first TMT joint and adjusted to its proximal dorsal prominence. Gait analysis was conducted by the MA system starting with the activation of B-mode US video at 80 frames per second and 60-mm depth for simultaneous capture. During stance phase, the first metatarsal was translated dorsally with respect to the medial cuneiform, returning to a neutral level at toe-off in all subjects. During middle stance phase, the medial cuneiform was stable in males but displaced in the plantar direction in females and was the primary contributor to the differences in sagittal mobility observed between groups. Quantitatively measuring sagittal mobility of the first TMT joint could be useful for the early detection of foot abnormalities. The dynamic characteristics of the medial cuneiform during gait in healthy females may be associated with a high prevalence of hallux valgus.
Lower number of modifiable risk factors was associated with reduced atrial fibrillation incidence in an 18-year prospective cohort study
Authors: Son Mi Kyoung , Song Dae Sub , Lee Kyoungho , Park Hyun-Young 
Published: June 2022

AbstractPrevention strategies for atrial fibrillation (AF) are lacking. This study aimed to identify modifiable risk factors (MRFs) and estimate their impact on AF in the midlife general population. We assessed 9049 participants who were free of prevalent AF at baseline from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study. Cox models with time-varying assessment of risk factors were used to identify significant MRFs for incident AF. The MRF burden was defined as the proportion of visits with MRFs during follow-up. Over a median follow-up of 13.1 years, 182 (2.01%) participants developed AF. Three MRFs, including systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg, obesity with central obesity, and an inactive lifestyle were significantly associated with incident AF. Among participants with 3, 2, 1, and 0 MRFs at baseline, 16 (3.9%), 51 (2.5%), 90 (1.8%) and 25 (1.5%) had incident AF, respectively. Compared to participants with three MRFs, those with one or no MRFs had a decreased risk of AF (hazard ratio [95% CI] for one MRF, 0.483 [0.256–0.914]; and for no MRF, 0.291 [0.145–0.583]). A decreasing MRF burden was associated with reduced AF risk (hazard ratio [95% CI] per 10% decrease in burden for SBP ≥ 140 mmHg, 0.937 [0.880–0.997]; for obesity with central obesity, 0.942 [0.907–0.978]; for inactivity, 0.926 [0.882–0.973]). Maintaining or achieving MRF ≤ 1 was associated with decreased AF risk, suggesting that minimizing the burden of MRF might help prevent AF.