bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Vancomycin heteroresistance among methicillin-resistant clinical isolates S. haemolyticus, S. hominis, S. simulans, and S. warneri
Authors: Szemraj Magdalena , Lisiecki Paweł , Glajzner Paulina , Szewczyk Eligia M. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractBesides being an essential part of the skin microbiome, coagulase-negative staphylococci are the etiological factors of serious infections. The aim of the study was to evaluate the heteroresistance to vancomycin and the potential antimicrobial efficacy of teicoplanin and daptomycin against the multiresistant strains of S. haemolyticus, S. hominis, S. warneri, and S. simulans. The study covered 80 clinical coagulase-negative staphylococci. Teicoplanin, vancomycin, and daptomycin MICs for the tested strains were determined according to EUCAST recommendation. The vanA and vanB genes were searched. The brain heart infusion screen agar method detected vancomycin heteroresistance. The population analysis profile method and analysis of autolytic activity were applied for the strains growing on BHI containing 4 mg/L vancomycin. Seven S. haemolyticus, two S. hominis, and two S. warneri strains presented a heterogeneous resistance to vancomycin. Their subpopulations were able to grow on a medium containing 4–12 mg/L of vancomycin. Monitoring heteroresistance to peptide antibiotics, which are often the last resort in staphylococcal infections, is essential due to the severe crisis in antibiotic therapy and the lack of alternatives to treat infections with multiresistant strains. Our work highlights the selection of resistant strains and the need for more careful use of peptide antibiotics.
Methionine addition improves the acid tolerance of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum by altering cellular metabolic flux, energy distribution, lipids composition
Authors: Meng Qiang , Li Yueyao , Yuan Yuxin , Wu Shaowen , Shi Kan , Liu Shuwen 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThis paper reported a wine-derived lactic acid bacterium, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum XJ25, which exhibited higher cell viability under acid stress upon methionine supplementation. Cellular morphology and the composition of the cytomembrane phospholipids revealed a more solid membrane architecture presented in the acid-stressed cells treated with methionine supplementation. Transcriptional analysis showed L. plantarum XJ25 reduced methionine transport and homocysteine biosynthesis under acid stress. Subsequent overexpression assays proved that methionine supplementation could alleviate the cell toxicity from homocysteine accumulation under acid stress. Finally, L. plantarum XJ25 employed energy allocation strategy to response environmental changes by balancing the uptake methionine and adjusting saturated fatty acids (SFAs) in membrane. These data support a novel mechanism of acid resistance involving methionine utilization and cellular energy distribution in LAB and provide crucial theoretical clues for the mechanisms of acid resistance in other bacteria.
Identity of AI
Authors: Devedzic Vladan 
Published: November 2022

AbstractWith the explosion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an area of study and practice, it has gradually become very difficult to mark its boundaries precisely and specify what exactly it encompasses. Many other areas of study are interwoven with AI, and new research and development topics that require interdisciplinary approach frequently attract attention. In addition, several AI subfields and topics are home to long-time controversies that give rise to seemingly never-ending debates that further obfuscate the entire area of AI and make its boundaries even more indistinct. To tackle such problems in a systematic way, this paper introduces the concept of identity of AI (viewed as an area of study) and discusses its dynamics, controversies, contradictions, and opposing opinions and approaches, coming from different sources and stakeholders. The concept of identity of AI emerges as a set of characteristics that shape up the current outlook on AI from epistemological, philosophical, ethical, technological, and social perspectives.
A 3D-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human neural culture model to study certain molecular and biochemical aspects of Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Prasannan Preeti , Siney Elodie , Chatterjee Shreyasi , Johnston David , Shah Mohammad , Mudher Amrit , Willaime-Morawek Sandrine 
Published: November 2022

Abstract

Purpose
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) early pathology needs better understanding and models. Here, we describe a human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)-derived 3D neural culture model to study certain aspects of AD biochemistry and pathology.

Method
iPSCs derived from controls and AD patients with Presenilin1 mutations were cultured in a 3D platform with a similar microenvironment to the brain, to differentiate into neurons and astrocytes and self-organise into 3D structures by 3 weeks of differentiation in vitro.

Results
Cells express astrocytic (GFAP), neuronal (β3-Tubulin, MAP2), glutamatergic (VGLUT1), GABAergic (GAD65/67), pre-synaptic (Synapsin1) markers and a low level of neural progenitor cell (Nestin) marker after 6 and 12 weeks of differentiation in 3D. The foetal 3R Tau isoforms and adult 4R Tau isoforms were detected at 6 weeks post differentiation, showing advanced neuronal maturity. In the 3D AD cells, total and insoluble Tau levels were higher than in 3D control cells.

Conclusion
Our data indicates that this model may recapitulate the early biochemical and pathological disease features and can be a relevant platform for studying early cellular and biochemical changes and the identification of drug targets.
Signal corrector and decoupling estimations for UAV control
Authors: Wang X. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractFor a class of uncertain systems with large-error sensing, the low-order stable signal corrector and observer are presented for signal correction and uncertainty estimation according to completely decoupling estimation. The model-free signal corrector can reject the bounded stochastic disturbance/error in global position sensing, and system uncertainty can be estimated by the observer, even the existence of large disturbance in position sensing. Furthermore, a general form of signal corrector is given. The describing function method is used to analyse the robustness of the corrector in frequency domain, and the parameter selection rules are presented. The merits of the signal corrector includes its model free, gain-bounded stable structure, sufficient rejection of bounded stochastic disturbance/error in sensing and ease of parameters’ regulation. The corrector and observer are applied to a UAV navigation and control for large disturbance/error corrections in position/attitude angle and the uncertainties estimation in the UAV flight dynamics. The control laws are designed according to the correction-estimation results. Finally, experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
A framework for ‘configuring participation’ in living labs
Authors: Akasaka Fumiya , Mitake Yuya , Watanabe Kentaro , Shimomura Yoshiki 
Published: November 2022

AbstractIn recent years, ‘living lab (LL)’, a design approach that actively involves users as partners from the early stage of the design process, has been attracting much attention. Compared with the traditional participatory design or co-design approaches, one of the distinctive features of the LL approach is that the process of and opportunity for user participation tends to be long-term and complex. Thus, LL practitioners must appropriately plan and design effective integration of user participation into the design process to promote co-creation with users. In other words, LL practitioners are required to ‘configure user participation’ for the effective promotion of co-creation. However, to date, the knowledge on how to properly configure long-term and complex user participation in LLs has not been systematically clarified, nor have its methodologies been developed. This study develops a novel framework for configuring user participation in LLs. Through a literature review and analysis on LL case studies, we identified the 11 key elements in five categories that should be considered while configuring user participation in LLs. Furthermore, on the basis of the identified elements, we developed a novel framework for configuring user participation in LLs, which is called the participation blueprint. We have demonstrated its use and have also discussed its theoretical and practical contributions to the LL and co-design research community.
A comparative study of experiments with numerical simulations of free-stream turbulence transition
Authors: Mamidala Santhosh B. , Weingärtner André , Fransson Jens H.M. 
Published: November 2022

To date, very few careful and direct comparisons between experiments and direct numerical simulations (DNS) have been published on free-stream turbulence (FST) induced boundary layer transition, whilst there exist numerous published works on the comparison of canonical turbulent boundary layers. The primary reason is that the former comparison is vastly more difficult to carry out simply because all known transition scenarios have large energy gradients and are extremely sensitive to surrounding conditions. This paper presents a detailed comparison between new experiments and available DNS data of the complex FST transition scenario in a flat plate boundary layer at turbulence intensity level about

$Tu = 3\,\%$

and FST Reynolds number about

$Re_{{fst}} = 67$

. The leading edge (LE) pressure gradient distribution and the full energy spectrum at the LE are identified as the two most important parameters for a satisfying comparison. Matching the LE characteristic FST parameters is not enough as previously thought, which is illustrated by setting up two experimental FST cases with about the same FST integral parameters at the LE but with different energy spectra. Finally, an FST boundary layer penetration depth (PD) measure is defined using DNS, which suggests that the PD grows with the downstream distance and stays around 20 % of the boundary layer thickness down to transition onset. With this result, one cannot rule out the significance of the continuous FST forcing along the boundary layer edge in this transition scenario, as indicated in previous studies.
Estimation of alcohol demand elasticity: Consumption of wine, beer, and spirits at home and away from home
Authors: Čiderová Tereza , Ščasný Milan 
Published: November 2022

AbstractMost of the previous research examined the demand for alcohol consumed at the off-trade (consumed at home). However, some consumers might prefer to consume alcohol on-trade (away from home) or switch between on-trade and off-trade consumption as a reaction to price or income change. We estimate the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System consisting of three broad alcohol categories, consumed on-trade and off-trade, to derive own-price, cross-price, and income elasticities. Selectivity due to the high censoring is treated, and special attention is paid to quality-adjusted price. Beer consumption is the most responsive to income as well as own price changes, while spirits are the least responsive. The own-price elasticity of wine is –0.66 and –1.00 at on-trade and off-trade, respectively. Beer is more price responsive, spirits are less price responsive, and consumption reacts weaker in the off-trade market. Own-price elasticities of demand range between –1.20 and –0.41 at the off-trade and between –1.51 and –0.63 at the on-trade alcohol market. Increasing the price of wine in one market decreases wine consumption in another one. Between the two markets, wine and spirits are complementary, and wine and beer are substitutes in both markets.
The circadian rhythm regulates branched-chain amino acids metabolism in fast muscle of Chinese perch (Siniperca chuatsi) during short-term fasting by Clock-KLF15-Bcat2 pathway
Authors: Zhu Xin , Liu Jingjie , Cai Minglang , Bao Lingsheng , Pan Yaxiong , Wu Ping , Chu Wuying , Zhang Jianshe 
Published: November 2022

AbstractAs an internal time-keeping mechanism, circadian rhythm plays crucial role in maintaining homoeostasis when in response to nutrition change; meanwhile, branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) in skeletal muscle play an important role in preserving energy homoeostasis during fasting. Previous results from our laboratory suggested that fasting can influence peripheral circadian rhythm and BCAA metabolism in fish, but the relationship between circadian rhythm and BCAA metabolism, and whether circadian rhythm regulates BCAA metabolism to maintain physiological homoeostasis during fasting remains unclear. This study shows that the expression of fifteen core clock genes as well as KLF15 and Bcat2 is highly responsive to short-term fasting in fast muscle of Siniperca chuatsi, and the correlation coefficient between Clock and KLF15 expression is enhanced after fasting treatment. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the transcriptional expression of KLF15 is regulated by Clock, and the transcriptional expression of Bcat2 is regulated by KLF15 by using dual-luciferase reporter gene assay and Vivo-morpholinos-mediated gene knockdown technique. Therefore, fasting imposes a dynamic coordination of transcription between the circadian rhythm and BCAA metabolic pathways. The findings highlight the interaction between circadian rhythm and BCAA metabolism and suggest that fasting induces a switch in KLF15 expression through affecting the rhythmic expression of Clock, and then KLF15 promotes the transcription of Bcat2 to enhance the metabolism of BCAA, thus maintaining energy homoeostasis and providing energy for skeletal muscle as well as other tissues.
Locked in, logged out: pandemic and ride-hailing in South Africa and Kenya
Authors: Anwar Mohammad Amir , Otieno Elly , Stein Malte 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThis article examines the impact of the pandemic on ride-hailing drivers and their mitigation strategies during lockdown in Africa. Ride-hailing has emerged as one of the latest paid-work opportunities for the continent's many unemployed. Yet, ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Bolt misclassify drivers to avoid regulation and responsibilities towards workers’ welfare. Drawing on 34 in-depth interviews with ride-hailing drivers, driver representatives and trade unions in South Africa and Kenya, this article makes two arguments. First, the gig economy in Africa provides work opportunities for the unemployed on the continent and simultaneously vitiates the working conditions through the commodification and informalisation of work. Second, the state-directed emergency measures act as a veneer to capital's efforts to commodify labour and the gig economy platforms have emerged as primary tools for it. Our account points to an urgent need for better regulatory systems to hold platform companies accountable and a collective bargaining mechanism in the gig economy.
Companies in the Early Modern World: A Review of Recent Literature
Authors: Odegard Erik 
Published: November 2022

AbstractChartered companies provided one solution for the problems posed by long-distance trade in the early modern world. Accordingly, these organisations have been studied exhaustively. Yet the field is by no means depleted, as the books reviewed here attest. These six books cover questions ranging from whether the chartered companies acted as real business organisations or rather as appendages of state power, the relations between companies and states, the institutional development of the corporate form, and the nature of some of these companies as “company-states.” In addition, two edited volumes deal with specific aspects of the chartered companies and with noncorporate forms of merchant organisation. The works raise new questions and engage in ongoing debates. The review also raises a number of issues which could be addressed in future research, including the dominance of the East India Companies in our understanding of the corporate form as a whole.
The Welfare Diffusion Objection to Prioritarianism
Authors: Francis Tomi 
Published: November 2022

AbstractAccording to the Welfare Diffusion Objection, we should reject Prioritarianism because it implies the ‘desirability of welfare diffusion’: the claim that it can be better for there to be less total wellbeing spread thinly between a larger total number of people, rather than for there to be more total wellbeing, spread more generously between a smaller total number of people. I argue that while Prioritarianism does not directly imply the desirability of welfare diffusion, Prioritarians are nevertheless implicitly committed to certain principles for comparing different-number populations which, together with the Prioritarian same-person axiology, imply the desirability of welfare diffusion.
Applications of butyric acid in poultry production: the dynamics of gut health, performance, nutrient utilization, egg quality, and osteoporosis
Authors: El-Saadony Mohamed T. , Umar Muhammad , Hassan Faiz-ul , Alagawany Mahmoud , Arif Muhammad , Taha Ayman E. , Elnesr Shaaban S. , El-Tarabily Khaled A. , Abd El-Hack Mohamed E. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractDue to the increasing demand for antibiotic-free livestock products from the consumer side and the ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters, the poultry feed industry is increasingly interested in developing more alternatives to cope with this problem. Organic acids (butyric acid) have many beneficial effects on poultry health, performance, and egg quality when used in their diet, thus they can be considered for the replacement of antibiotics in livestock production systems. Butyric acid is most efficacious against pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli, and stimulates the population of beneficial gut bacteria. It is a primary energy source for colonocytes and augments the differentiation and maturation of the intestinal cells. Collectively, butyric acid should be considered as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters, because it reduces pathogenic bacteria and their toxins, enhancing gut health thereby increasing nutrient digestibility, thus leading to improved growth performance and immunity among birds. The possible pathways and mechanisms through which butyric acid enhances gut health and production performance are discussed in this review. Detailed information about the use of butyric acid in poultry and its possible benefits under different conditions are also provided, and the impacts of butyric acid on egg quality and osteoporosis are noted.
On the Predictability of the Extreme Drought in East Africa During the Short Rains Season
Authors: Doi Takeshi , Behera Swadhin K. , Yamagata Toshio 
Published: November 2022

AbstractMany parts of East Africa experienced extremely dry conditions during the short rains season of October–December 2021. It was predicted a few months before by the ensemble seasonal prediction system based on the SINTEX‐F climate model. The analysis of co‐variability of inter‐member anomalies has revealed that the 2021 negative Indian Ocean Dipole was responsible for these unusually dry conditions over East Africa. We also show that a hybrid statistical‐dynamical framework is more skillful than the SINTEX‐F model at predicting drought in East Africa on longer lead time, which may help people to take necessary mitigation measures to reduce the devastating impact of the drought.
VIP152 is a selective CDK9 inhibitor with pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo efficacy in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Authors: Sher Steven , Whipp Ethan , Walker Janek , Zhang Pu , Beaver Larry , Williams Katie , Orwick Shelley , Ravikrishnan Janani , Walker Brandi , Perry Elizabeth , Gregory Charles , Purcell Matthew , Pan Alexander , Yan Pearlly , Alinari Lapo , Johnson Amy J. , Frigault Melanie M. , Greer Joy M. , Hamdy Ahmed , Izumi Raquel , Mo Xiaokui , Sampath Deepa , Woyach Jennifer , Blachly James , Byrd John C. , Lapalombella Rosa 
Published: November 2022

AbstractChronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is effectively treated with targeted therapies including Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors and BCL2 antagonists. When these become ineffective, treatment options are limited. Positive transcription elongation factor complex (P-TEFb), a heterodimeric protein complex composed of cyclin dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) and cyclin T1, functions to regulate short half-life transcripts by phosphorylation of RNA Polymerase II (POLII). These transcripts are frequently dysregulated in hematologic malignancies; however, therapies targeting inhibition of P-TEFb have not yet achieved approval for cancer treatment. VIP152 kinome profiling revealed CDK9 as the main enzyme inhibited at 100 nM, with over a 10-fold increase in potency compared with other inhibitors currently in development for this target. VIP152 induced cell death in CLL cell lines and primary patient samples. Transcriptome analysis revealed inhibition of RNA degradation through the AU-Rich Element (ARE) dysregulation. Mechanistically, VIP152 inhibits the assembly of P-TEFb onto the transcription machinery and disturbs binding partners. Finally, immune competent mice engrafted with CLL-like cells of Eµ-MTCP1 over-expressing mice and treated with VIP152 demonstrated reduced disease burden and improvement in overall survival compared to vehicle-treated mice. These data suggest that VIP152 is a highly selective inhibitor of CDK9 that represents an attractive new therapy for CLL.
Altered purinergic receptor expression in the frontal cortex in schizophrenia
Authors: Alnafisah Rawan , Lundh Anna , Asah Sophie M. , Hoeflinger Julie , Wolfinger Alyssa , Hamoud Abdul-rizaq , McCullumsmith Robert E. , O’Donovan Sinead M. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractATP functions as a neurotransmitter, acting on the ubiquitously expressed family of purinergic P2 receptors. In schizophrenia (SCZ), the pathways that modulate extracellular ATP and its catabolism to adenosine are dysregulated. However, the effects of altered ATP availability on P2 receptor expression in the brain in SCZ have not been assessed. We assayed P2 receptor mRNA and protein expression in the DLPFC and ACC in subjects diagnosed with SCZ and matched, non-psychiatrically ill controls (n = 20–22/group). P2RX7, P2RX4 and male P2RX5 mRNA expression were significantly increased (p < 0.05) in the DLPFC in SCZ. Expression of P2RX7 protein isoform was also significantly increased (p < 0.05) in the DLPFC in SCZ. Significant increases in P2RX4 and male P2RX5 mRNA expression may be associated with antipsychotic medication effects. We found that P2RX4 and P2RX7 mRNA are significantly correlated with the inflammatory marker SERPINA3, and may suggest an association between upregulated P2XR and neuroinflammation in SCZ. These findings lend support for brain-region dependent dysregulation of the purinergic system in SCZ.
Epigenetic silencing by the SMC5/6 complex mediates HIV-1 latency
Authors: Irwan Ishak D. , Bogerd Hal P. , Cullen Bryan R. 
Published: November 2022

AbstractAfter viral entry and reverse transcription, HIV-1 proviruses that fail to integrate are epigenetically silenced, but the underlying mechanism has remained unclear. Using a genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screen, we identified the host SMC5/6 complex as essential for this epigenetic silencing. We show that SMC5/6 binds to and then SUMOylates unintegrated chromatinized HIV-1 DNA. Inhibition of SUMOylation, either by point mutagenesis of the SMC5/6 component NSMCE2—a SUMO E3 ligase—or using the SUMOylation inhibitor TAK-981, prevents epigenetic silencing, enables transcription from unintegrated HIV-1 DNA and rescues the replication of integrase-deficient HIV-1. Finally, we show that blocking SMC5/6 complex expression, or inhibiting its SUMOylation activity, suppresses the establishment of latent HIV-1 infections in both CD4+ T cell lines and primary human T cells. Collectively, our data show that the SMC5/6 complex plays a direct role in mediating the establishment of HIV-1 latency by epigenetically silencing integration-competent HIV-1 proviruses before integration.