bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prediction of autistic tendencies at 18 months of age via markerless video analysis of spontaneous body movements in 4-month-old infants
Authors: Doi Hirokazu , Iijima Naoya , Furui Akira , Soh Zu , Yonei Rikuya , Shinohara Kazuyuki , Iriguchi Mayuko , Shimatani Koji , Tsuji Toshio 
Published: October 2022

AbstractEarly intervention is now considered the core treatment strategy for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Thus, it is of significant clinical importance to establish a screening tool for the early detection of ASD in infants. To achieve this goal, in a longitudinal design, we analyzed spontaneous bodily movements of 4-month-old infants from general population and assessed their ASD-like behaviors at 18 months of age. A total of 26 movement features were calculated from video-recorded bodily movements of infants at 4 months of age. Their risk of ASD was assessed at 18 months of age with the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlerhood, a widely used screening questionnaire. Infants at high risk for ASD at 18 months of age exhibited less rhythmic and weaker bodily movement patterns at 4 months of age than low-risk infants. When the observed bodily movement patterns were submitted to a machine learning-based analysis, linear and non-linear classifiers successfully predicted ASD-like behavior at 18 months of age based on the bodily movement patterns at 4 months of age, at the level acceptable for practical use. This study analyzed the relationship between spontaneous bodily movements at 4 months of age and the ASD risk at 18 months of age. Experimental results suggested the utility of the proposed method for the early screening of infants at risk for ASD. We revealed that the signs of ASD risk could be detected as early as 4 months after birth, by focusing on the infant’s spontaneous bodily movements.
Proteomic consequences of TDA1 deficiency in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Protein kinase Tda1 is essential for Hxk1 and Hxk2 serine 15 phosphorylation
Authors: Müller Henry , Lesur Antoine , Dittmar Gunnar , Gentzel Marc , Kettner Karina 
Published: October 2022

AbstractHexokinase 2 (Hxk2) ofSaccharomyces cerevisiaeis a dual function hexokinase, acting as a glycolytic enzyme and being involved in the transcriptional regulation of glucose-repressible genes. Relief from glucose repression is accompanied by phosphorylation of Hxk2 at serine 15, which has been attributed to the protein kinase Tda1. To explore the role of Tda1 beyond Hxk2 phosphorylation, the proteomic consequences ofTDA1deficiency were investigated by difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) comparing a wild type and a Δtda1deletion mutant. To additionally address possible consequences of glucose repression/derepression, both were grown at 2% and 0.1% (w/v) glucose. A total of eight protein spots exhibiting a minimum twofold enhanced or reduced fluorescence uponTDA1deficiency was detected and identified by mass spectrometry. Among the spot identities are—besides the expected Hxk2—two proteoforms of hexokinase 1 (Hxk1). Targeted proteomics analyses in conjunction with 2D-DIGE demonstrated thatTDA1is indispensable for Hxk2 and Hxk1 phosphorylation at serine 15. Thirty-six glucose-concentration-dependent protein spots were identified. A simple method to improve spot quantification, approximating spots as rotationally symmetric solids, is presented along with new data on the quantities of Hxk1 and Hxk2 and their serine 15 phosphorylated forms at high and low glucose growth conditions. The Δtda1deletion mutant exhibited no altered growth under high or low glucose conditions or on alternative carbon sources. Also, invertase activity, serving as a reporter for glucose derepression, was not significantly altered. Instead, an involvement of Tda1 in oxidative stress response is suggested.
Sarcomere dynamics revealed by a myofilament integrated FRET-based biosensor in live skeletal muscle fibers
Authors: Martin Ashley A. , Thompson Brian R. , Davis Jonathan P. , Vang Hluechy , Hahn Dongwoo , Metzger Joseph M. 
Published: October 2022

AbstractThe sarcomere is the functional unit of skeletal muscle, essential for proper contraction. Numerous acquired and inherited myopathies impact sarcomere function causing clinically significant disease. Mechanistic investigations of sarcomere activation have been challenging to undertake in the context of intact, live skeletal muscle fibers during real time physiological twitch contractions. Here, a skeletal muscle specific, intramolecular FRET-based biosensor was designed and engineered into fast skeletal muscle troponin C (TnC) to investigate the dynamics of sarcomere activation. In transgenic animals, the TnC biosensor incorporated into the skeletal muscle fiber sarcomeres by stoichiometric replacement of endogenous TnC and did not alter normal skeletal muscle contractile form or function. In intact single adult skeletal muscle fibers, real time twitch contractile data showed the TnC biosensor transient preceding the peak amplitude of contraction. Importantly, under physiological temperatures, inactivation of the TnC biosensor transient decayed significantly more slowly than the Ca2+ transient and contraction. The uncoupling of the TnC biosensor transient from the Ca2+ transient indicates the biosensor is not functioning as a Ca2+ transient reporter, but rather reports dynamic sarcomere activation/ inactivation that, in turn, is due to the ensemble effects of multiple activating ligands within the myofilaments. Together, these findings provide the foundation for implementing this new biosensor in future physiological studies investigating the mechanism of activation of the skeletal muscle sarcomere in health and disease.
Influence of the pulse repetition rate on the acoustic output of ballistic pressure wave devices
Authors: Reinhardt Nina , Wegenaer Jens , de la Fuente Matías 
Published: October 2022

AbstractBallistic devices that generate radial pressure waves are used for the treatment of different therapeutic indications. In order to assess the effectiveness of these devices and to interpret and transfer the results of clinical trials, it is important to know their acoustic output. In this paper, two ballistic devices and their reproducibility at different clinically relevant settings were investigated in the same in-vitro test setup. Pressure curves were measured in water at different intensity levels and pulse repetition rates. The sound field parameters (peak pressures, positive pulse intensity integral) were calculated from the pressure curves. Additionally, the surface velocity of the applicator was determined in air using a vibrometer. Both devices show a good pulse-to-pulse reproducibility. While the peak maximum pressure and the positive pulse intensity integral decrease only slightly (pmax up to 12%, PII+ up to 18.8%) comparing 1 Hz and 25 Hz for one device, they drop sharply (pmax up to 68.4%, PII+ up to 90.2%) for the other device comparing 1 Hz to 21 Hz. The same effect was observed in the vibrometer measurements. The results show that with increasing pulse repetition rate the stability of the parameters varies between different devices. Hence, all sound field parameters should be compared before transferring settings from one device to another.
Evidence for the early Toarcian Carbon Isotope Excursion (T-CIE) from the shallow marine siliciclastic red beds of Arabia
Authors: Alnazghah Mahmoud , Koeshidayatullah Ardiansyah , Al-Hussaini Abdulkarim , Amao Abduljamiu , Song Haijun , Al-Ramadan Khalid 
Published: October 2022

AbstractThe Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE) and its corresponding Carbon Isotope Excursion (CIE) have been reported widely across the Tethyan region and globally. In Arabia, and based on ammonite dating, the time window of the T-OAE coincided with the deposition of the reddish siliciclastic unit of the Marrat Formation. However, no evidence of the T-OAE/CIE was ever reported from Arabia because these red beds were previously interpreted as continental deposits. Recently, these red beds have been recognized as shallow marine deposits which opened an opportunity to assess the occurrence and expression of T-OAE–CIE in Arabia. In this study, a multiproxy geochemical characterization was performed on the Toarcian Marrat Formation to infer the chemistry of the paleowater column and identify intervals of possible T-OAE/CIE in Arabia. While the low concentrations of redox-sensitive elements (Mo, U, V, Cr) may indicate a shallow oxic marine settings, the coupled negative δ13Corganic excursion and apparent increase in the chemical weathering suggests that the deposition of Marrat red beds coincided with the development of T-CIE and possibly time-equivalent to the T-OAE globally. The origin of reddening is interpreted to have occurred during the middle Marrat deposition due to the stabilization of unstable hydrous iron oxides to hematite under oxic marine conditions. The proposed model further indicates the possible development of source rocks in the deep, anoxic environment counterpart where the T-OAE may be expressed. Since our study documents the first record of the T-CIE and discuss the origin of shallow marine siliciclastic red beds in the Arabian Plate, this will have significant implications for the overall understanding of the T-CIE globally and for hydrocarbon exploration through realizations of potential new source rocks associated with the OAEs in the Toarcian and other time intervals.
Neuromedin U-deficient rats do not lose body weight or food intake
Authors: Yokogi Kyoka , Goto Yuki , Otsuka Mai , Ojima Fumiya , Kobayashi Tomoe , Tsuchiba Yukina , Takeuchi Yu , Namba Masumi , Kohno Mayumi , Tetsuka Minami , Takeuchi Sakae , Matsuyama Makoto , Aizawa Sayaka 
Published: October 2022

AbstractStudies in genetically modified mice establish that essential roles of endogenous neuromedin U (NMU) are anorexigenic function and metabolic regulation, indicating that NMU is expected to be a potential target for anti-obesity agents. However, in central administration experiments in rats, inconsistent results have been obtained, and the essential role of NMU energy metabolism in rats remain unclear. This study aims to elucidate the role of endogenous NMU in rats. We generated NMU knockout (KO) rats that unexpectedly showed no difference in body weight, adiposity, circulating metabolic markers, body temperature, locomotor activity, and food consumption in both normal and high fat chow feeding. Furthermore, unlike reported in mice, expressions of Nmu and NMU receptor type 2 (Nmur2) mRNA were hardly detectable in the rat hypothalamic nuclei regulating feeding and energy metabolism, including the arcuate nucleus and paraventricular nucleus, while Nmu was expressed in pars tuberalis and Nmur2 was expressed in the ependymal cell layer of the third ventricle. These results indicate that the species–specific expression pattern of Nmu and Nmur2 may allow NMU to have distinct functions across species, and that endogenous NMU does not function as an anorexigenic hormone in rats.
Quantifying neuro-motor correlations during awake deep brain stimulation surgery using markerless tracking
Authors: Tekriwal Anand , Baker Sunderland , Christensen Elijah , Petersen-Jones Humphrey , Tien Rex N. , Ojemann Steven G. , Kern Drew S. , Kramer Daniel R. , Felsen Gidon , Thompson John A. 
Published: October 2022

AbstractThe expanding application of deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy both drives and is informed by our growing understanding of disease pathophysiology and innovations in neurosurgical care. Neurophysiological targeting, a mainstay for identifying optimal, motor responsive targets, has remained largely unchanged for decades. Utilizing deep learning-based computer vision and related computational methods, we developed an effective and simple intraoperative approach to objectively correlate neural signals with movements, automating and standardizing the otherwise manual and subjective process of identifying ideal DBS electrode placements. Kinematics are extracted from video recordings of intraoperative motor testing using a trained deep neural network and compared to multi-unit activity recorded from the subthalamic nucleus. Neuro-motor correlations were quantified using dynamic time warping with the strength of a given comparison measured by comparing against a null distribution composed of related neuro-motor correlations. This objective measure was then compared to clinical determinations as recorded in surgical case notes. In seven DBS cases for treatment of Parkinson’s disease, 100 distinct motor testing epochs were extracted for which clear clinical determinations were made. Neuro-motor correlations derived by our automated system compared favorably with expert clinical decision making in post-hoc comparisons, although follow-up studies are necessary to determine if improved correlation detection leads to improved outcomes. By improving the classification of neuro-motor relationships, the automated system we have developed will enable clinicians to maximize the therapeutic impact of DBS while also providing avenues for improving continued care of treated patients.
Genetic causal inference between amblyopia and perinatal factors
Authors: Lee Ju-Yeun , Lee Sangjun , Park Sue K. 
Published: October 2022

AbstractAmblyopia is a common visual disorder that causes significant vision problems globally. Most non-ocular risk factors for amblyopia are closely related to the intrauterine environment, and are strongly influenced by parent-origin effects. Parent-origin perinatal factors may have a direct causal inference on amblyopia development; therefore, we investigated the causal association between perinatal factors and amblyopia risk using a one-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) with data from the UK Biobank Cohort Data (UKBB). Four distinct MR methods were employed to analyze the association between three perinatal factors (birth weight [BW], maternal smoking, and breastfeeding) and amblyopia risk, based on the summary statistics of genome-wide association studies in the European population. The inverse variance weighting method showed an inverse causal association between BW and amblyopia risk (odds ratio, 0.48 [95% CI, 0.29–0.80]; p = 0.004). Maternal smoking and breastfeeding were not causally associated with amblyopia risk. Our findings provided a possible evidence of a significant genetic causal association between low BW and increased amblyopia risk. This evidence may highlight the potential of BW as a predictive factor for visual maldevelopment and the need for careful management of amblyopia risk in patients with low BW.
Ecological and evolutionary trends of body size in Pristimantis frogs, the world's most diverse vertebrate genus
Authors: Acevedo Aldemar A. , Palma R. Eduardo , Olalla-Tárraga Miguel Ángel 
Published: October 2022

AbstractBody size is a key organismal trait. However, the environmental and evolutionary factors that drive body size patterns at the interspecific level remain unclear. Here, we explored these relationships between phenotype-environment using neotropical frogs ofPristimantis, the world’s most diverse vertebrate genus. We analyzed: (a) whether this group follows the Rensch’s rule, a trend of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) to increase with size when males are the larger sex; (b) whether environmental constraints have influenced body size variation; and (c) how the rates of body size evolution have varied over time. Analyses were based on two information sources, the first one including body sizes of ~ 85% (495 species) of known species in the genus, and a second one incorporating molecular phylogenetic information for 257 species. Our results showed that allPristimantisspecies exhibited marked SSD but did not follow Rensch’s rule. We found that the models that best explained body size in males, females, and SSD contained environmental variations in temperature, precipitation, and elevation as predictors. In turn, body size has evolved toward an optimum, with a decelerating rate of evolution differentiated between the largePristimantisclades.
Morphological diversity and molecular phylogeny of five Paramecium bursaria (Alveolata, Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea) syngens and the identification of their green algal endosymbionts
Authors: Spanner Christian , Darienko Tatyana , Filker Sabine , Sonntag Bettina , Pröschold Thomas 
Published: October 2022

AbstractParamecium bursaria is a mixotrophic ciliate species, which is common in stagnant and slow-flowing, nutrient-rich waters. It is usually found living in symbiosis with zoochlorellae (green algae) of the genera Chlorella or Micractinium. We investigated P. bursaria isolates from around the world, some of which have already been extensively studied in various laboratories, but whose morphological and genetic identity has not yet been completely clarified. Phylogenetic analyses of the SSU and ITS rDNA sequences revealed five highly supported lineages, which corresponded to the syngen and most likely to the biological species assignment. These syngens R1–R5 could also be distinguished by unique synapomorphies in the secondary structures of the SSU and the ITS. Considering these synapomorphies, we could clearly assign the existing GenBank entries of P. bursaria to specific syngens. In addition, we discovered synapomorphies at amino acids of the COI gene for the identification of the syngens. Using the metadata of these entries, most syngens showed a worldwide distribution, however, the syngens R1 and R5 were only found in Europe. From morphology, the syngens did not show any significant deviations. The investigated strains had either Chlorella variabilis, Chlorella vulgaris or Micractinium conductrix as endosymbionts.
Quiescent innate and adaptive immune responses maintain the long-term integrity of corneal endothelium reconstituted through allogeneic cell injection therapy
Authors: Toda Munetoyo , Ueno Morio , Yamada Jun , Hiraga Asako , Asada Kazuko , Hamuro Junji , Sotozono Chie , Kinoshita Shigeru 
Published: October 2022

AbstractThis study aims to clarify the immunogenicity in acquired and innate immune responses of cultured human corneal endothelial cells (hCECs) applied for cell injection therapy, a newly established modality for corneal endothelium failures. Thirty-four patients with corneal endothelial failure received injection of allogeneic hCEC suspension into anterior chamber. No sign of immunological rejection was observed in all 34 patients during the 5–8 years postoperative follow-up period. Cell injection therapy was successful in 2 patients treated for endothelial failure after penetrating keratoplasty and one patient with Descemet membrane stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty failure. ELISPOT assays performed in allo-mixed lymphocyte reaction to the alloantigen identical to that on the injected hCECs, elicited sparse IFN-γ-specific spots in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients who received hCEC injection. The therapy generated simple and smooth graft-host junctions without wound stress. The injection of C57BL/6 CECs into the anterior chamber of BALB/c mice, which rejected C57BL/6 corneas 6 weeks ago, induced no sign of inflammatory reactions after the second challenge of alloantigen. Collectively, injection of the hCEC cell suspension in the aqueous humor induces immune tolerance that contributes to the survival of the reconstituted endothelium.
Experimentally increased snow depth affects high Arctic microarthropods inconsistently over two consecutive winters
Authors: Krab Eveline J. , Lundin Erik J. , Coulson Stephen J. , Dorrepaal Ellen , Cooper Elisabeth J. 
Published: October 2022

AbstractClimate change induced alterations to winter conditions may affect decomposer organisms controlling the vast carbon stores in northern soils. Soil microarthropods are particularly abundant decomposers in Arctic ecosystems. We studied whether increased snow depth affected microarthropods, and if effects were consistent over two consecutive winters. We sampled Collembola and soil mites from a snow accumulation experiment at Svalbard in early summer and used soil microclimatic data to explore to which aspects of winter climate microarthropods are most sensitive. Community densities differed substantially between years and increased snow depth had inconsistent effects. Deeper snow hardly affected microarthropods in 2015, but decreased densities and altered relative abundances of microarthropods and Collembola species after a milder winter in 2016. Although increased snow depth increased soil temperatures by 3.2 °C throughout the snow cover periods, the best microclimatic predictors of microarthropod density changes were spring soil temperature and snowmelt day. Our study shows that extrapolation of observations of decomposer responses to altered winter climate conditions to future scenarios should be avoided when communities are only sampled on a single occasion, since effects of longer-term gradual changes in winter climate may be obscured by inter-annual weather variability and natural variability in population sizes.
Analysis of distributed ledger technologies for industrial manufacturing
Authors: Nguyen Lam Duc , Bröring Arne , Pizzol Massimo , Popovski Petar 
Published: October 2022

AbstractIn recent years, industrial manufacturing has undergone massive technological changes that embrace digitalization and automation towards the vision of intelligent manufacturing plants. With the aim of maximizing efficiency and profitability in production, an important goal is to enable flexible manufacturing, both, for the customer (desiring more individualized products) and for the manufacturer (to adjust to market demands). Manufacturing-as-a-service can support this through manufacturing plants that are used by different tenants who utilize the machines in the plant, which are offered by different providers. To enable such pay-per-use business models, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is a viable option to establish decentralized trust and traceability. Thus, in this paper, we study potential DLT technologies for efficient and intelligent integration of DLT-based solutions in manufacturing environments. We propose a general framework to adapt DLT in manufacturing, and then we introduce the use case of shared manufacturing, which we utilize to study the communication and computation efficiency of selected DLTs in resource-constrained wireless IoT networks.