bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Microglia sequelae: brain signature of innate immunity in schizophrenia
Authors: Rodrigues-Neves A. Catarina , Ambrósio António. F. , Gomes Catarina A. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractSchizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder with significant impact on individuals and society. The current pharmacologic treatment, which principally alleviates psychosis, is focused on neurotransmitters modulation, relying on drugs with severe side effects and ineffectiveness in a significant percentage of cases. Therefore, and due to difficulties inherent to diagnosis and treatment, it is vital to reassess alternative cellular and molecular drug targets. Distinct risk factors – genetic, developmental, epigenetic, and environmental – have been associated with disease onset and progression, giving rise to the proposal of different pathophysiological mechanisms and putative pharmacological targets. Immunity is involved and, particularly microglia – innate immune cells of the central nervous system, critically involved in brain development – have captured attention as cellular players. Microglia undergo marked morphologic and functional alterations in the human disease, as well as in animal models of schizophrenia, as reported in several original papers. We cluster the main findings of clinical studies by groups of patients: (1) at ultra-high risk of psychosis, (2) with a first episode of psychosis or recent-onset schizophrenia, and (3) with chronic schizophrenia; in translational studies, we highlight the time window of appearance of particular microglia alterations in the most well studied animal model in the field (maternal immune activation). The organization of clinical and translational findings based on schizophrenia-associated microglia changes in different phases of the disease course may help defining a temporal pattern of microglia changes and may drive the design of novel therapeutic strategies.
Unconventional short-range structural fluctuations in cuprate superconductors
Authors: Pelc D. , Spieker R. J. , Anderson Z. W. , Krogstad M. J. , Biniskos N. , Bielinski N. G. , Yu B. , Sasagawa T. , Chauviere L. , Dosanjh P. , Liang R. , Bonn D. A. , Damascelli A. , Chi S. , Liu Y. , Osborn R. , Greven M. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThe interplay between structural and electronic degrees of freedom in complex materials is the subject of extensive debate in physics and materials science. Particularly interesting questions pertain to the nature and extent of pre-transitional short-range order in diverse systems ranging from shape-memory alloys to unconventional superconductors, and how this microstructure affects macroscopic properties. Here we use neutron and X-ray diffuse scattering to uncover universal structural fluctuations in La2-xSrxCuO4 and Tl2Ba2CuO6+δ, two cuprate superconductors with distinct point disorder effects and with optimal superconducting transition temperatures that differ by more than a factor of two. The fluctuations are present in wide doping and temperature ranges, including compositions that maintain high average structural symmetry, and they exhibit unusual, yet simple scaling behaviour. The scaling regime is robust and universal, similar to the well-known critical fluctuations close to second-order phase transitions, but with a distinctly different physical origin. We relate this behaviour to pre-transitional phenomena in a broad class of systems with structural and magnetic transitions, and propose an explanation based on rare structural fluctuations caused by intrinsic nanoscale inhomogeneity. We also uncover parallels with superconducting fluctuations, which indicates that the underlying inhomogeneity plays an important role in cuprate physics.
Climate change and land-use change impacts on future availability of forage grass species for Ethiopian dairy systems
Authors: Brychkova Galina , Kekae Kelebogile , McKeown Peter C. , Hanson Jean , Jones Chris S. , Thornton Philip , Spillane Charles 
Published: November 2022

AbstractForage grasses are central feed resources for livestock globally. In Ethiopian dairy systems, they serve as feed sources during both wet and dry seasons, yet escalating climate change could threaten forage supply. Here, we investigate projected climate change impacts on three forage grasses currently recommended for Ethiopian dairy systems. We determine areas of geographical suitability for each species using three climate projections generated by General Circulation Models (GCMs) and calculate their ability to meet predicted dry matter demand under four scenarios for livestock intensification and land availability. By 2050, Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) is likely to be negatively affected by climate change in regions such as Tigray, while Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) and Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus) may have improved suitability under future climates. Our findings suggest that feed demands could theoretically be met by production of these forage grasses under current and future climates. However, if land availability is reduced and herd composition shifts towards higher-productivity exotic breeds, forage resources will not meet cattle demand even with improved agronomic management.
Examining the impact of zinc on horizontal gene transfer in Enterobacterales
Authors: Ekhlas Daniel , Soro Arturo B. , Leonard Finola C. , Manzanilla Edgar G. , Burgess Catherine M. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractAntimicrobial resistance is one of the main international health concerns for humans, animals, and the environment, and substantial efforts have focused on reducing its development and spread. While there is evidence for correlations between antimicrobial usage and antimicrobial resistance development, specific information on the effect of heavy metal/antimicrobial usage on bacterial conjugation is more limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of zinc and antimicrobials in different concentrations on horizontal gene transfer of an ampicillin resistance gene, using a multi-drug resistant Escherichia coli donor strain and three different Salmonella enterica serovars as recipient strains. Differences in conjugation frequencies for the different Salmonella recipients were observed, independent of the presence of zinc or the antimicrobials. Selective pressure on the recipient strains, in the form of ampicillin, resulted in a decrease in conjugation frequencies, while, the presence of rifampicin resulted in increases. Zinc exposure affected conjugation frequencies of only one of the three recipient strains, thus the effect of zinc on conjugation frequencies seemed to be concentration and strain dependent. Furthermore, differences in growth rates due to plasmid carriage were observed for one of the Salmonella strains.
Association of right precuneus compression with apathy in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: a pilot study
Authors: Chadani Yoshihiro , Kashibayashi Tetsuo , Yamamoto Takahiro , Tsuda Atsushi , Fujito Ryoko , Akamatsu Masanori , Kamimura Naoto , Takahashi Ryuichi , Yamagami Takuji , Furuya Hirokazu , Ueba Tetsuya , Saito Motoaki , Inoue Keiji , Kazui Hiroaki 
Published: November 2022

AbstractApathy is frequently observed in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) and worsens cognitive impairment and gait disturbance. In this study, we evaluated the regions associated with apathy in iNPH using statistical imaging analysis on the whole brain, both in terms of cerebral blood flow and gray matter volume. Twenty-seven patients with iNPH were assigned to two groups based on their scores on the neuropsychiatric inventory items related to apathy; 18 patients were assigned to the group with apathy (iNPH + APA) and 9 to the group without apathy (iNPH − APA). The magnetic resonance images and cerebral blood flow single-photon emission computed tomography data of the two groups were compared using statistical parametric mapping 12. The regional gray matter volume of the right precuneus was significantly larger in the iNPH + APA group than in the iNPH − APA group, but the regional cerebral blood flow in any region of the brain was not significantly different between the two groups. These results suggested that the larger gray matter volume, which is thought to reflect gray matter compression, in the precuneus might be involved in apathy in iNPH.
New evidence of the emergence of the East Asian monsoon in the early Palaeogene
Authors: Su Li-Fei , Zhang Qian-Qian , Sun Yan-Kun , Zhang Shao-Liang , Smith Thierry , Li Cheng-Sen 
Published: November 2022

AbstractPrevious palaeoenvironmental reconstructions have implied that East Asia was dominated by a zonal climate pattern during the Eocene, with an almost latitudinal arid/semiarid band at ~ 30° N. However, this long-standing model has recently been challenged by growing body of multidisciplinary evidence. Some studies indicated that central China was characterized by climatic fluctuations between humid and drier conditions during the Early Eocene, akin to the present East Asian monsoon (EAM) regime. Using palynological assemblages in the Tantou Basin, central China, we quantitatively reconstructed climate changes from the Late Palaeocene to Early Eocene to better understand climate change in central China. Palynological assemblages revealed that the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest in this area received no less than 800 mm of annual precipitation and experienced a climate change from warm and wet to relatively cool and dry. According to palaeoclimate curves, a sudden climate change occurred in the Early Eocene, with the mean annual temperature and precipitation decreasing by 5.1 °C and 214.8 mm, respectively, and the climate became very similar to the present climate, which is controlled by the monsoon. Therefore, this significant climate change during the Early Eocene may signal the emergence of the EAM in East Asia.
Cordyceps cicadae and Cordyceps gunnii have closer species correlation with Cordyceps sinensis: from the perspective of metabonomic and MaxEnt models
Authors: Zhang Min , Sun Xiao , Miao Yujing , Li Minhui , Huang Linfang 
Published: November 2022

AbstractCordyceps sinensis is a second-class nationally-protected medicinal fungus and functional food. Cordyceps sinensis resources are endangered, and finding new medicinal materials is a fast and economical way to meet the current demonstrated demand, which can effectively solve the shortage of C. sinensis resources. In this study, the metabolite characteristics of Cordyceps were comprehensively revealed by LC-QTOF-MS technology. The maxent model can be used to predict the habitat suitability distribution of Cordyceps and screen out the main climatic factors affecting its distribution. The correlation model between climate factors and chemical components was established by Pearson correlation analysis. Finally, based on the analysis of climate factors and metabolites, we will analyze the high correlation species with C. sinensis, and develop them as possible alternative species of C. sinensis in the future. The results showed that the suitable area of Cordyceps cicadae demonstrated a downward trend, while that of C. sinensis, Cordyceps militaris and Cordyceps gunnii demonstrated an upwards trend. The suitable areas all shifted to the northwest. The temperature seasonality and max temperature of the warmest month are the maximum climatic factors affecting nucleosides. Compared with C. sinensis, the metabolic spectrum similarities of C. cicadae, C. militaris, and C. gunnii were 94.42%, 80.82%, and 91.00%, respectively. Cordyceps sinensis, C. cicadae, and C. gunnii were correlated well for compounds and climate factors. This study will explore whether C. cicadae, C. militaris and C. gunnii can be used as substitutes for C. sinensis. Our results may provide a reference for resource conservation and sustainable utilization of endangered C. sinensis.
Experiment on monitoring leakage of landfill leachate by parallel potentiometric monitoring method
Authors: Hu Xinmin , Han Yalu , Wang Yong , Zhang Xiaopei , Du Lizhi 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThe accumulation of municipal solid waste (MSW) in landfills often becomes a serious pollution source of geological environment and groundwater. The geological environment is the carrier of the landfill, and also the main pollution object of the landfill. The main pollution modes of the landfill site to the surrounding geological environment are purging, flushing, leachate, etc. If the leachate leakage cannot be found and repaired in time, it will cause serious harm to the geological environment and groundwater. The cost of geological environment and groundwater sampling through borehole surveys is high. Therefore, monitoring the seepage path and migration law of leachate is of great significance for determining the pollution range of the landfill site. In this study, by adjusting the grids of different sizes and changing the flow rate of leachate, the monitoring of fluid migration of different types of leachate was strengthened. The results show that the parallel potential monitoring method can quickly reflect the location and number of leachate points and the migration law of leachate. It provides effective reference data for landfill leachate monitoring.
C1QA, C1QB, and GZMB are novel prognostic biomarkers of skin cutaneous melanoma relating tumor microenvironment
Authors: Liang Zhuoshuai , Pan Lingfeng , Shi Jikang , Zhang Lianbo 
Published: November 2022

AbstractSkin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is the most lethal form of skin cancers owing to high invasiveness and high metastatic potential. Tumor microenvironment (TME) provides powerful evidences for discerning SKCM, raising the prospect to identify biomarkers of SKCM. Based on the transcriptome profiles of patients with SKCM and the corresponding clinical information from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we used ESTIMATE algorithm to calculate ImmuneScore and StromalScore and identified the TME-Related differentially expressed genes (DEGs), than the intersected TME-Related DEGs were used for subsequent functional enrichment analysis. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) analysis was used to identify the functionality-related DEGs and univariate Cox regression analysis was used to identify the survival-related DEGs. Furthermore, SKCM-related DEGs were identified based on two Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. Finally, we intersected functionality-related DEGs, survival-related DEGs, and SKCM-related DEGs, ascertaining that six DEGs (CCL4, CXCL10, CCL5, GZMB, C1QA, and C1QB) function as core TME-related genes (CTRGs). Significant differences of GZMB, C1QA, and C1QB expressions were found in gender and clinicopathologic staging of SKCM. High levels of GZMB, C1QA, and C1QB expressions were associated with favorable prognosis. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) showed that cell–cell interaction, cell behavior, and intracellular signaling transduction may be mainly involved in both C1QA, C1QB and GZMB expressions and metabolism of phospholipid and amino acid, transcription, and translation may be implicated in low GZMB expressions. C1QA, C1QB, and GZMB are novel SKCM-relating CTRGs, providing promising immune-related prognostic biomarkers for SKCM.
Sensory stimulation for upper limb amputations modulates adaptability of cortical large-scale systems and combination of somatosensory and visual inputs
Authors: Ding Keqin , Chen Yunru , Bose Rohit , Osborn Luke E. , Dragomir Andrei , Thakor Nitish V. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractTouch-like phantom limb sensations can be elicited through targeted transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (tTENS) in individuals with upper limb amputation. The corresponding impact of sensory stimulation on cortical activity remains an open question. Brain network research shows that sensorimotor cortical activity is supported by dynamic changes in functional connections between relevant brain regions. These groups of interconnected regions are functional modules whose architecture enables specialized function and related neural processing supporting individual task needs. Using electroencephalographic (EEG) signals to analyze modular functional connectivity, we investigated changes in the modular architecture of cortical large-scale systems when participants with upper limb amputations performed phantom hand movements before, during, and after they received tTENS. We discovered that tTENS substantially decreased the flexibility of the default mode network (DMN). Furthermore, we found increased interconnectivity (measured by a graph theoretic integration metric) between the DMN, the somatomotor network (SMN) and the visual network (VN) in the individual with extensive tTENS experience. While for individuals with less tTENS experience, we found increased integration between DMN and the attention network. Our results provide insights into how sensory stimulation promotes cortical processing of combined somatosensory and visual inputs and help develop future tools to evaluate sensory combination for individuals with amputations.
Opportunities and short-comings of the axolotl salamander heart as a model system of human single ventricle and excessive trabeculation
Authors: Meyer Sophie , Lauridsen Henrik , Pedersen Kathrine , Andersson Sofie Amalie , van Ooij Pim , Willems Tineke , Berger Rolf M. F. , Ebels Tjark , Jensen Bjarke 
Published: November 2022

AbstractFew experimental model systems are available for the rare congenital heart diseases of double inlet left ventricle (DILV), a subgroup of univentricular hearts, and excessive trabeculation (ET), or noncompaction. Here, we explore the heart of the axolotl salamander (Ambystoma mexicanum, Shaw 1789) as model system of these diseases. Using micro-echocardiography, we assessed the form and function of the heart of the axolotl, an amphibian, and compared this to human DILV (n = 3). The main finding was that both in the axolotl and DILV, blood flows of disparate oxygen saturation can stay separated in a single ventricle. In the axolotl there is a solitary ventricular inlet and outlet, whereas in DILV there are two separate inlets and outlets. Axolotls had a lower resting heart rate compared to DILV (22 vs. 72 beats per minute), lower ejection fraction (47 vs. 58%), and their oxygen consumption at rest was higher than peak oxygen consumption in DILV (30 vs. 17 ml min−1 kg−1). Concerning the ventricular myocardial organization, histology showed trabeculations in ET (n = 5) are much closer to the normal human setting than to the axolotl setting. We conclude that the axolotl heart resembles some aspects of DILV and ET albeit substantial species differences exist.
Characterisation of urban environment and activity across space and time using street images and deep learning in Accra
Authors: Nathvani Ricky , Clark Sierra N. , Muller Emily , Alli Abosede S. , Bennett James E. , Nimo James , Moses Josephine Bedford , Baah Solomon , Metzler A. Barbara , Brauer Michael , Suel Esra , Hughes Allison F. , Rashid Theo , Gemmell Emily , Moulds Simon , Baumgartner Jill , Toledano Mireille , Agyemang Ernest , Owusu George , Agyei-Mensah Samuel , Arku Raphael E. , Ezzati Majid 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThe urban environment influences human health, safety and wellbeing. Cities in Africa are growing faster than other regions but have limited data to guide urban planning and policies. Our aim was to use smart sensing and analytics to characterise the spatial patterns and temporal dynamics of features of the urban environment relevant for health, liveability, safety and sustainability. We collected a novel dataset of 2.1 million time-lapsed day and night images at 145 representative locations throughout the Metropolis of Accra, Ghana. We manually labelled a subset of 1,250 images for 20 contextually relevant objects and used transfer learning with data augmentation to retrain a convolutional neural network to detect them in the remaining images. We identified 23.5 million instances of these objects including 9.66 million instances of persons (41% of all objects), followed by cars (4.19 million, 18%), umbrellas (3.00 million, 13%), and informally operated minibuses known as tro tros (2.94 million, 13%). People, large vehicles and market-related objects were most common in the commercial core and densely populated informal neighbourhoods, while refuse and animals were most observed in the peripheries. The daily variability of objects was smallest in densely populated settlements and largest in the commercial centre. Our novel data and methodology shows that smart sensing and analytics can inform planning and policy decisions for making cities more liveable, equitable, sustainable and healthy.
Associations between subcutaneous adipocyte hypertrophy and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Authors: Holmer Magnus , Hagström Hannes , Chen Ping , Danielsson Olof , Aouadi Myriam , Rydén Mikael , Stål Per 
Published: November 2022

AbstractAdipocyte hypertrophy and expression of adipokines in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) have been linked to steatosis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and fibrosis in morbidly obese (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2) subjects. It is unknown if this is also true for subjects with NAFLD with lesser degrees of obesity (BMI < 35 kg/m2). Thirty-two subjects with biopsy-proven NAFLD and 15 non-diabetic controls matched for BMI underwent fine-needle biopsies of SAT. Adipocyte volume was calculated. RNA-sequencing of SAT was performed in a subset of 20 NAFLD patients. Adipocyte volume and gene expression levels were correlated to the presence of NASH or significant fibrosis. Subjects with NAFLD had larger adipocyte volume compared with controls, (1939 pL, 95% CI 1130–1662 vs. 854 pL, 95% CI 781–926, p < 0.001). There was no association between adipocyte volume and the presence of NASH. Gene expression of adipokines previously described to correlate with NASH in morbid obesity, was not associated with NASH or fibrosis. Our results suggest that persons with NAFLD have larger SAT adipocytes compared with controls and that adipocytes are involved in the pathophysiology of hepatic steatosis in NAFLD. However, adipocyte volume was not associated with NASH or fibrosis in NAFLD subjects with varying degrees of obesity.
Hybrid fractal acoustic metamaterials for low-frequency sound absorber based on cross mixed micro-perforated panel mounted over the fractals structure cavity
Authors: Singh Sanjeet Kumar , Prakash Om , Bhattacharya Shantanu 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThe proposed work enumerates a hybrid thin, deep-subwavelength (2 cm) acoustic metamaterials acting as a completely new type of sound absorber, showing multiple broadband sound absorption effects. Based on the fractal distribution of Helmholtz resonator (HRs) structures, integrated with careful design and construct hybrid cross micro-perforated panel (CMPP) that demonstrate broad banding approximately one-octave low-frequency sound absorption behavior. To determine the sound absorption coefficient of this novel type of metamaterial, the equivalent impedance model for the fractal cavity and the micro-perforated Maa’s model for CMPP are both used. We validate these novel material designs through numerical, theoretical, and experimental data. It is demonstrated that the material design possesses superior sound absorption which is primarily due to the frictional losses of the structure imposed on acoustic wave energy. The peaks of different sound absorption phenomena show tunability by adjusting the geometric parameters of the fractal structures like cavity thickness ‘t’, cross perforation diameter of micro perforated panel, etc. The fractal structures and their perforation panel are optimized dimensionally for maximum broadband sound absorption which is estimated numerically. This new kind of fractals cavity integrated with CMPP acoustic metamaterial has many applications as in multiple functional materials with broad-band absorption behavior etc.