bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Optimized production and fluorescent labeling of SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles
Authors: Gourdelier Manon , Swain Jitendriya , Arone Coline , Mouttou Anita , Bracquemond David , Merida Peggy , Saffarian Saveez , Lyonnais Sébastien , Favard Cyril , Muriaux Delphine 
Published: August 2022

AbstractSARS-CoV-2 is an RNA enveloped virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic that conducted in 6 million deaths worldwide so far. SARS-CoV-2 particles are mainly composed of the 4 main structural proteins M, N, E and S to form 100 nm diameter viral particles. Based on productive assays, we propose an optimal transfected plasmid ratio mimicking the viral RNA ratio in infected cells. This allows SARS-CoV-2 Virus-Like Particle (VLPs) formation composed of the viral structural proteins M, N, E and mature S. Furthermore, fluorescent or photoconvertible VLPs were generated by adding a fluorescent protein tag on N or M mixing with unlabeled viral proteins and characterized by western blots, atomic force microscopy coupled to fluorescence and immuno-spotting. Thanks to live fluorescence and super-resolution microscopies, we quantified VLPs size and concentration. SARS-CoV-2 VLPs present a diameter of 110 and 140 nm respectively for MNE-VLPs and MNES-VLPs with a concentration of 10e12 VLP/ml. In this condition, we were able to establish the incorporation of the Spike in the fluorescent VLPs. Finally, the Spike functionality was assessed by monitoring fluorescent MNES-VLPs docking and internalization in human pulmonary cells expressing or not the receptor hACE2. Results show a preferential maturation of S on N(GFP) labeled VLPs and an hACE2-dependent VLP internalization and a potential fusion in host cells. This work provides new insights on the use of non-fluorescent and fluorescent VLPs to study and visualize the SARS-CoV-2 viral life cycle in a safe environment (BSL-2 instead of BSL-3). Moreover, optimized SARS-CoV-2 VLP production can be further adapted to vaccine design strategies.
COVID-19 mortality surveillance in Lebanon
Authors: Abou-Abbas Linda , Nasser Zeina , Baaklini Mario , Cheaito Lina , Karout Jeanette , Sweidan Hawraa , Jouni Abbas , Ghosn Nada , Hassan Hamad 
Published: August 2022

AbstractSince the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Epidemiological surveillance program of the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health has launched a rapid surveillance system for collecting COVID-19-related mortality data. In this study, we document the Lebanese experience of COVID-19 mortality surveillance and provide an analysis of the epidemiological characteristics of confirmed deaths. The implementation of the rapid COVID-19 mortality surveillance system, data sources, and data collection were described. A retrospective descriptive analysis of the epidemiological characteristics of confirmed cases occurring in Lebanon between February 20, 2020, and September 15, 2021, was performed. Epidemiological curves of Covid-19 confirmed cases and deaths as well as the geographic distribution map of mortality rates were generated. Between February 21, 2020, and September 15, 2021, a total of 8163 COVID-19-related deaths were reported with a predominance of males (60.4%). More than 60% were aged 70 years or above. Of all deaths, 84% occurred at hospitals and 16% at home. The overall cumulative mortality rate was 119.6 per 100,000. The overall case fatality ratio (CRF) was 1.3%. Of the total deaths, 82.2% had at least one underlying medical condition. The top reported COVID-19 comorbidities associated with COVID-19-related deaths are cardiovascular diseases including hypertension (59.1%), diabetes (37.2%), kidney diseases including dialysis (11%), cancer (6.7%), and lung diseases (6.3%). The CFR was 30.9% for kidney diseases, 20.2% for cancer, 20.2% for lung diseases, 18.1% for liver diseases, 14% for diabetes, and 12.2% for cardiovascular diseases. Considering the limited human and financial resources in Lebanon due to the economic and political crisis, the rapid mortality surveillance system can be considered successful. Improving this system is important and would contribute to better detection of deaths from emerging and re-emerging diseases during health crises.
Modelling representations in speech normalization of prosodic cues
Authors: Si Chen , Zhang Caicai , Lau Puiyin , Yang Yike , Li Bei 
Published: August 2022

AbstractThe lack of invariance problem in speech perception refers to a fundamental problem of how listeners deal with differences of speech sounds produced by various speakers. The current study is the first to test the contributions of mentally stored distributional information in normalization of prosodic cues. This study starts out by modelling distributions of acoustic cues from a speech corpus. We proceeded to conduct three experiments using both naturally produced lexical tones with estimated distributions and manipulated lexical tones with f0 values generated from simulated distributions. State of the art statistical techniques have been used to examine the effects of distribution parameters in normalization and identification curves with respect to each parameter. Based on the significant effects of distribution parameters, we proposed a probabilistic parametric representation (PPR), integrating knowledge from previously established distributions of speakers with their indexical information. PPR is still accessed during speech perception even when contextual information is present. We also discussed the procedure of normalization of speech signals produced by unfamiliar talker with and without contexts and the access of long-term stored representations.
Sacubitril/valsartan (LCZ696) ameliorates hyperthyroid-induced cardiac hypertrophy in male rats through modulation of miR-377, let-7 b, autophagy, and fibrotic signaling pathways
Authors: Khamis Tarek , Alsemeh Amira Ebrahim , Abdullah Doaa M. 
Published: August 2022

AbstractHyperthyroidism is associated with cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and increased risk of cardiovascular mortality. Sacubitril/valsartan (LCZ696) is a new combined drug that has shown promise for the treatment of hyperthyroidism-associated heart failure; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms, including the contributions of epigenetic regulation, remain unclear. The present study was designed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of LCZ696 and the potential contributions of microRNA regulation in a rat model of hyperthyroidism-induced cardiac hypertrophy. Cardiac hypertrophy was induced by intraperitoneal administration of levothyroxine. Sixty adult male Wistar rats were randomly allocated to four equal groups (15 rats each): control, cardiac hypertrophy (CH), CH + valsartan, and CH + LCZ696. Treatment with LCZ696 or valsartan significantly improved hemodynamic abnormalities, normalized serum concentrations of natriuretic peptide, fibroblast growth factor-23, and cardiac inflammatory markers compared to CH group rats. Treatment with LCZ696 or valsartan also normalized myocardial expression levels of autophagy markers, fibrotic markers, PPAR-ϒ, mir-377, and let-7b. In addition, both valsartan and LCZ696 ameliorated collagen deposition, ventricular degeneration, and various ultrastructural abnormalities induced by levothyroxine. The beneficial effects of LCZ696 were superior to those of valsartan alone. The superior efficacy of LCZ696 may be explained by the stronger modulation of miR-377 and let-7b.
Influence of temperature gradient of slab track on the dynamic responses of the train-CRTS III slab track on subgrade nonlinear coupled system
Authors: Xu Qingyuan , Sun Shengwei , Xu Yi , Hu Changlin , Chen Wei , Xu Lei 
Published: August 2022

AbstractTemperature is an important load for ballastless track. However, there is little research on the system dynamic responses when a train travels on a ballastless track under the temperature gradient of ballastless track. Considering the moving train, temperature gradient of slab track, gravity of slab track, and the contact nonlinearity between interfaces of slab track, a dynamic model for a high-speed train runs along the CRTS III slab track on subgrade is developed by a nonlinear coupled way in ANSYS. The system dynamic responses under the temperature gradient of slab track with different amplitudes are theoretically investigated with the model. The results show that: (1) The proportions of the initial force and stress caused by the temperature gradient of slab track are different for different calculation items. The initial fastener tension force and positive slab bending stress have large proportions exceeding 50%. (2) The maximum dynamic responses for slab track are not uniform along the track. The maximum slab bending stress, slab acceleration, concrete base acceleration appear in the slab middle, at the slab end, and at the concrete base end, respectively. (3) The maximum accelerations of track components appear when the fifth or sixth wheel passes the measuring point, and at least two cars should be used. (4) The temperature gradient of slab track has a small influence on the car body acceleration. However, the influences on the slab acceleration, concrete base acceleration, fastener tension force are large, and the influence on the slab bending stress is huge.
Intracellular hemin is a potent inhibitor of the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv10.1
Authors: Sahoo Nirakar , Yang Kefan , Coburger Ina , Bernert Alisa , Swain Sandip M. , Gessner Guido , Kappl Reinhard , Kühl Toni , Imhof Diana , Hoshi Toshinori , Schönherr Roland , Heinemann Stefan H. 
Published: August 2022

AbstractHeme, an iron-protoporphyrin IX complex, is a cofactor bound to various hemoproteins and supports a broad range of functions, such as electron transfer, oxygen transport, signal transduction, and drug metabolism. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of heme as a non-genomic modulator of ion channel functions. Here, we show that intracellular free heme and hemin modulate human ether à go-go (hEAG1, Kv10.1) voltage-gated potassium channels. Application of hemin to the intracellular side potently inhibits Kv10.1 channels with an IC50 of about 4 nM under ambient and 63 nM under reducing conditions in a weakly voltage-dependent manner, favoring inhibition at resting potential. Functional studies on channel mutants and biochemical analysis of synthetic and recombinant channel fragments identified a heme-binding motif CxHx8H in the C-linker region of the Kv10.1 C terminus, with cysteine 541 and histidines 543 and 552 being important for hemin binding. Binding of hemin to the C linker may induce a conformational constraint that interferes with channel gating. Our results demonstrate that heme and hemin are endogenous modulators of Kv10.1 channels and could be exploited to modulate Kv10.1-mediated cellular functions.
Human serum albumin (HSA) regulates the expression of histone-like nucleoid structure protein (H-NS) in Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Escalante Jenny , Nishimura Brent , Tuttobene Marisel R. , Subils Tomás , Pimentel Camila , Georgeos Nardin , Sieira Rodrigo , Bonomo Robert A. , Tolmasky Marcelo E. , Ramirez Maria Soledad 
Published: August 2022

AbstractAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Acinetobacter baumannii is listed among the most threatening pathogens. A. baumannii is mainly a nosocomial pathogen with a distinctive ability to survive in multiple environments. These characteristics together with this bacterium’s ability to acquire antibiotic resistance determinants make it a notorious pathogen. The presence of human serum albumin (HSA) is associated with modification of expression levels in numerous genes. The presence of HSA in the culture medium is also correlated with a reduction in levels of the global suppressor histone-like nucleoid structure protein, H-NS. Comparative transcriptome analysis of the wild type and isogenic Δhns strains cultured in lysogeny broth (LB) in the presence or absence of HSA revealed that the expression of a subset of eleven genes are modified in the Δhns cultured in LB and the wild-type strain in the presence of HSA, pointing out these genes as candidates to be regulated by the presence of HSA through H-NS. Six and five of these genes were up- or down-regulated, respectively. Three of these genes have functions in quorum sensing (acdA, kar and fadD), one in quorum quenching (aidA), two in stress response (katE, ywrO), three in metabolism (phaC, yedL1, and yedL2), one in biofilm formation (csuAB), and one in β-oxidation of fatty acids (fadA). The regulation of these genes was assessed by: (i) transcriptional analysis and qPCR at the transcriptional level; and (ii) by determining the phenotypic characteristics of each function. The results of these studies support the hypothesis that HSA-mediated reduction of H-NS levels may be one very important regulatory circuit utilized by A. baumannii to adapt to selected environments, such as those where HSA-containing human fluids are abundant.
High low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level is associated with an increased risk of incident early-onset vasomotor symptoms
Authors: Choi Hye Rin , Chang Yoosoo , Kim Yejin , Kang Jeonggyu , Kwon Min-Jung , Kwon Ria , Lim Ga-Young , Kim Kye-Hyun , Kim Hoon , Hong Yun Soo , Zhao Di , Cho Juhee , Guallar Eliseo , Park Hyun-Young , Ryu Seungho 
Published: August 2022

AbstractWe investigated the associations between serum lipid profiles and risk of early-onset vasomotor symptoms (VMSs) in premenopausal women. This cohort study comprised 2,540 premenopausal women aged 42–52 years without VMSs at baseline (median follow-up: 4.4 years). VMSs, including hot flashes and night sweats, were assessed using the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire (Korean version). Early-onset VMSs were defined as VMSs that occurred premenopause; moderate/severe VMSs were defined as a score of ≥ 3 points (range: 0 to 6, 6 being most bothersome). Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the development of VMSs across the lipid levels. Higher low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels were positively associated with increased risk of early-onset VMSs. Compared to the < 100 mg/dL LDL group, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident VMSs were 1.19 (1.03–1.37) and 1.20 (1.03–1.40) in participants with LDL cholesterol levels of 100–129 mg/dL and ≥ 130 mg/dL, respectively (Pfor trend = 0.027). The multivariable-adjusted HR for incident moderate/severe VMSs was 1.37 (95% CI: 1.08–1.73) in participants with LDL ≥ 130 mg/dL, compared to those with LDL < 100 mg/dL. Meanwhile, triglycerides and total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were not significantly associated with early-onset VMSs risk in premenopausal women. Premenopausal women with high serum LDL cholesterol concentrations had a higher risk of incident early-onset VMSs. Further studies should confirm our findings and examine whether LDL-lowering interventions reduce the risk of early-onset VMSs among women during menopause transition.
High-performance paper-based biocathode fabricated by screen-printing an improved mesoporous carbon ink and by oriented immobilization of bilirubin oxidase
Authors: Loew Noya , Shitanda Isao , Goto Himeka , Watanabe Hikari , Mikawa Tsutomu , Tsujimura Seiya , Itagaki Masayuki 
Published: August 2022

AbstractIn this study, the performance of a paper-based, screen-printed biofuel cell with mesoporous MgO-templated carbon (MgOC) electrodes was improved in two steps. First, a small amount of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was added to the MgOC ink. Next, the cathode was modified with bilirubin prior to immobilizing the bilirubin oxidase (BOD). The CMC increased the accessibility of the mesopores of the MgOC, and subsequently, the performance of both the bioanode and biocathode. CMC also likely increased the stability of the electrodes. The pre-modification with bilirubin improved the orientation of the BOD, which facilitated direct electron transfer. With these two steps, an open circuit potential of 0.65 V, a maximal current density of 1.94 mA cm−2, and a maximal power density of 465 μW cm−2 was achieved with lactate oxidase as bioanode enzyme and lactate as fuel. This is one of the highest reported performances for a biofuel cell.
Metabolite biomarker discovery for human gastric cancer using dried blood spot mass spectrometry metabolomic approach
Authors: Wu Xue , Ao Huaixuan , Gao Hui , Zhu Zhitu 
Published: August 2022

AbstractAs one of the most common malignancies, gastric cancer (GC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in China. GC is asymptomatic in early stages, and the majority of GC mortality is due to delayed symptoms. It is an urgent task to find reliable biomarkers for the identification of GC in order to improve outcomes. A combination of dried blood spot sampling and direct infusion mass spectrometry (MS) technology was used to measure blood metabolic profiles for 166 patients with GC and 183 healthy individuals, and 93 metabolites including amino acids, carnitine/acylcarnitines and their derivatives, and related ratios were quantified. Multiple algorithms were used to characterize the changes of metabolic profiles in patients with GC compared to healthy individuals. A biomarker panel was identified in training set, and assessed by tenfold cross-validation and external test data set. After systematic selection of 93 metabolites, a biomarker panel consisting of Ala, Arg, Gly, Orn, Tyr/Cit, Val/Phe, C4-OH, C5/C3, C10:2 shows the potential to distinguish patients with GC from healthy individuals in tenfold cross-validation model (sensitivity: 0.8750, specificity: 0.9006) and test set (sensitivity: 0.9545, specificity: 0.8636). This metabolomic analysis makes contribution to the identification of disease-associated biomarkers and to the development of new diagnostic tools for patients with GC.
An integrative analysis to reveal that CLEC2B and ferroptosis may bridge the gap between psoriatic arthritis and cancer development
Authors: Li Xiaobin , Tao Xiaohua , Ding Xiaoxia 
Published: August 2022

AbstractPatients with cutaneous psoriasis (PsC) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are reported with increased cancer risk, but the underlying mechanism is less clear, especially the association between the presence of PsA and cancer risk. Motivated by the role of ferroptosis in the progression of cancers as well as inflammation response in psoriasis, this experiment attempts to investigate the relationship between ferroptosis regulators and hub genes in PsA by bioinformatic analysis. The findings revealed an exclusive correlation between CISD1 (ferroptosis regulator) and CLEC2B (hub gene) in PsA group as well as multiple cancer types. Furthermore, CLEC2B was discovered differentially expressed in a variety of cancers and is closely associated with immune cell infiltration as well as immune checkpoints. These results indicate that ferroptosis may act as a bridge between psoriatic arthritis and the onset of certain malignancies.
Hole doping in a negative charge transfer insulator
Authors: Patel Ranjan Kumar , Patra Krishnendu , Ojha Shashank Kumar , Kumar Siddharth , Sarkar Sagar , Saha Akash , Bhattacharya Nandana , Freeland John W. , Kim Jong-Woo , Ryan Philip J. , Mahadevan Priya , Middey Srimanta 
Published: August 2022

AbstractRENiO3 is a negative charge transfer energy system and exhibits a temperature-driven metal-insulator transition (MIT), which is also accompanied by a bond disproportionation (BD) transition. In order to explore how hole doping affects the BD transition, we have investigated the electronic structure of single-crystalline thin films of Nd1−xCaxNiO3 by synchrotron based experiments and ab-initio calculations. Here we show that for a small value of x, the doped holes are localized on one or more Ni sites around the dopant Ca2+ ions, while the BD state for the rest of the lattice remains intact. The effective charge transfer energy (Δ) increases with Ca concentration and the formation of BD phase is not favored above a critical x, suppressing the insulating phase. Our present study firmly demonstrates that the appearance of BD mode is essential for the MIT of the RENiO3 series.
Topological transitions in the presence of random magnetic domains
Authors: Sun Huimin , Huang Yu , Zhang Peng , He Mengyun , Fu Yu , Wang Kang L. , He Qing Lin 
Published: August 2022

AbstractThe Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition is a topological transition driven by topological defects at a characteristic temperature, below which vortex-antivortex pairs bound and dissociate into free vortices above. Such transitions have been observed in superfluid helium films, superconducting films, quantum Hall systems, planar Josephson junction arrays, graphene, and frustrated magnets. Here we report the BKT-like transition in a quantum anomalous Hall insulator film. This system is a 2D ferromagnet with broken time-reversal symmetry, which results in quantized chiral/antichiral edge states around the boundaries of the magnetic domains/antidomains. The bindings and unbindings of these domain-antidomain pairs can take the roles played by vortex-antivortex pairs while the chirality takes over the vorticity, which drive the system to undergo the BKT-like transition. This multidomain network can be manipulated by coherent/competitive mechanisms like the applied dc current, perpendicular magnetic field, and temperature, the combination of which forms a line of critical points.
DNA-mediated assembly of a gold-nanoparticle film with controllable sonic behavior detected by novel electric-induced ultrasound
Authors: Wang Peng , Zhang Jie , Lu Yunhao , Guo Zhaobin , Jiang Qing , Sun Jianfei 
Published: August 2022

DNA-functionalized GNPs were employed as building blocks to establish two-dimensional films via LBL assembly and their sonic behavior could be regulated through altering the sequence of SH-DNA and linker DNA in a controllable manner detected by electric-induced ultrasound.
A novel buffering fault‐tolerance approach for network on chip (NoC)
Authors: Jafarzadeh Nima , Jalili Ahmad , Alzubi Jafar A. , Rezaee Khosro , Liu Yang , Gheisari Mehdi , Sadeghi Bigham Bahram , Javadpour Amir 
Published: August 2022

AbstractNetwork‐on‐Chip (NoC) is a key component in chip multiprocessors (CMPs) as it supports communication between many cores. NoC is a network‐based communication subsystem on an integrated circuit, most typically between modules in a system on a chip (SoC). Designing a reliable NoC against failures that can prevent failure using some measures or preventing error or system failure while failure happens and proper performance became a significant concern. For a reliable design against failures, first, the system should be analysed to discover the critical points. Hence, in this research, it is tried first to investigate the scale of fault tolerance effect on the mechanism in the router on the network by injecting simulated errors, and then these errors are prevented. As the major novelty, the authors implemented a router on a synchronised network and calculated the network buffering fault tolerance by injecting error in the buffer. Specifically, a new method for improving fault tolerance is proposed, which uses the existing resources efficiently. So, it does not impose any overhead on hardware and improves the error tolerance scale. The authors also evaluate it from different perspectives to show its superior performance.