bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Changes in Great Plains Low‐Level Jet Structure and Associated Precipitation Over the 20th Century
Authors: Ferguson Craig R. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe U.S. Great Plains warm season climate is inextricably linked to the frequency and structure of the region's southerly low‐level jet. In the present‐day climate (1977–2009), low‐level jets are shown to occur on 26%, 46%, and 62% of May–September days in the northern (NGP), central (CGP) and southern (SGP) Great Plains, respectively, and account for at least 26%, 25%, and 36% of those region's precipitation during the same period. A shortcoming of previous research has been a failure to treat upper‐level dynamically coupled, or cyclone‐induced jets, separately from jets that are relatively uncoupled from synoptic flow. Differentiating between jet types is essential to proper mechanistic diagnosis and attribution of jet‐related wind, precipitation, and temperature changes to their local land or remote oceanic forcing. Using a new CERA‐20C objective dynamical jet classification dataset, this study achieves the first quantitative assessment of changes in coupled and uncoupled jets between 1901 and 2010 for NGP, CGP, and SGP. Declines in warm season jet frequency are pinpointed to July–September jets. In the NGP and CGP, both jet types have undergone significant increases in speed and height with concomitant decreases in CAPE and precipitation. NGP uncoupled jet and CGP coupled jet precipitation has decreased by 0.5 and 0.8 mm day−1, respectively, which accounts for 41%–44% of total May–September precipitation decreases between 1905–1937 and 1977–2009. A dynamic situation in which synoptic and local soil moisture changes drive opposite jet responses is discussed.
Impact of Displacement Direction Relative to Heterogeneity on Averaged Capillary Pressure‐Saturation Curves
Authors: Shokri Javad , Godinez‐Brizuela Omar E. , Erfani Hamidreza , Chen Yongqiang , Babaei Masoud , Berkowitz Brian , Niasar Vahid 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe capillary pressure‐saturation relation is one of the key constitutive equations used for modeling multiphase (or partially saturated) flow in porous materials. It is known that this empirical relation depends strongly on dynamic conditions, but the impact of a heterogeneity interface on this relationship has been studied less. The present study employed optical imaging to visualize two‐phase drainage under different injection rates and two flow directions, in a heterogeneous micromodel. By analyzing the curvatures of the fluid‐fluid interfaces, the averaged capillary pressures for the coarse and fine sections of the micromodel, and the entire micromodel were estimated. Results show that the capillary pressure‐saturation relation in the vicinity of a heterogeneity interface does not follow the conventional models proposed in the literature. The averaged capillary pressure over the entire micromodel for the fine‐to‐coarse (FtC) direction shows decreasing capillary pressure with decreasing wetting phase saturation. However, in the coarse‐to‐fine direction, a non‐monotonic trend was observed. These initial findings highlight the gaps in the knowledge of upscaling capillary pressure in heterogeneous porous materials. Moreover, discontinuity in saturation was clearly more pronounced for the FtC direction, as a result of lower entry capillary resistance against the flow in the coarse section.
Developmental oxidative stress leads to T-type Ca2+ channel hypofunction in thalamic reticular nucleus of mouse models pertinent to schizophrenia
Authors: El Khoueiry Corinne , Cabungcal Jan-Harry , Rovó Zita , Fournier Margot , Do Kim Q. , Steullet Pascal 
Published: January 2022

AbstractImpairment of parvalbumin interneurons induced by oxidative stress (OxS) is a “hub” on which converge several genetic and environmental risk factors associated with schizophrenia. In patients, this could be a mechanism leading to anomalies of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) whose major neuronal population expresses parvalbumin. The TRN shapes the information flow within thalamo-cortical circuits. The low-threshold voltage-gated T-type Ca2+ (T-Ca2+) channels (CaV3.2, CaV3.3) contribute to the excitability and rhythmic bursting of TRN neurons which mediates cortical sleep spindles, known to be affected in schizophrenia. Here, we investigated the impact of OxS during postnatal development and adulthood on firing properties and T-Ca2+ channels of TRN neurons. In Gclm knock-out (KO) mice, which display GSH deficit and OxS in TRN, we found a reduction of T-Ca2+ current density in adulthood, but not at peripuberty. In KO adults, the decreased T-Ca2+ currents were accompanied with a decrease of CaV3.3 expression, and a shift towards more hyperpolarized membrane potentials for burst firing leading to less prominent bursting profile. In young KO mice, an early-life oxidative challenge precipitated the hypofunction of T-Ca2+ channels. This was prevented by a treatment with N-acetylcysteine. The concomitant presence of OxS and hypofunction of T-Ca2+ channels were also observed in TRN of a neurodevelopmental model relevant to psychosis (MAM mice). Collectively, these data indicate that OxS-mediated T-Ca2+ hypofunction in TRN begins early in life. This also points to T-Ca2+ channels as one target of antioxidant-based treatments aiming to mitigate abnormal thalamo-cortical communication and pathogenesis of schizophrenia.
A genome-wide association study of serum proteins reveals shared loci with common diseases
Authors: Gudjonsson Alexander , Gudmundsdottir Valborg , Axelsson Gisli T. , Gudmundsson Elias F. , Jonsson Brynjolfur G. , Launer Lenore J. , Lamb John R. , Jennings Lori L. , Aspelund Thor , Emilsson Valur , Gudnason Vilmundur 
Published: January 2022

AbstractWith the growing number of genetic association studies, the genotype-phenotype atlas has become increasingly more complex, yet the functional consequences of most disease associated alleles is not understood. The measurement of protein level variation in solid tissues and biofluids integrated with genetic variants offers a path to deeper functional insights. Here we present a large-scale proteogenomic study in 5,368 individuals, revealing 4,035 independent associations between genetic variants and 2,091 serum proteins, of which 36% are previously unreported. The majority of both cis- and trans-acting genetic signals are unique for a single protein, although our results also highlight numerous highly pleiotropic genetic effects on protein levels and demonstrate that a protein’s genetic association profile reflects certain characteristics of the protein, including its location in protein networks, tissue specificity and intolerance to loss of function mutations. Integrating protein measurements with deep phenotyping of the cohort, we observe substantial enrichment of phenotype associations for serum proteins regulated by established GWAS loci, and offer new insights into the interplay between genetics, serum protein levels and complex disease.
PHOSPHATE STARVATION RESPONSE transcription factors enable arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis
Authors: Das Debatosh , Paries Michael , Hobecker Karen , Gigl Michael , Dawid Corinna , Lam Hon-Ming , Zhang Jianhua , Chen Moxian , Gutjahr Caroline 
Published: January 2022

AbstractArbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is a widespread symbiosis between roots of the majority of land plants and Glomeromycotina fungi. AM is important for ecosystem health and functioning as the fungi critically support plant performance by providing essential mineral nutrients, particularly the poorly accessible phosphate, in exchange for organic carbon. AM fungi colonize the inside of roots and this is promoted at low but inhibited at high plant phosphate status, while the mechanistic basis for this phosphate-dependence remained obscure. Here we demonstrate that a major transcriptional regulator of phosphate starvation responses in rice PHOSPHATE STARVATION RESPONSE 2 (PHR2) regulates AM. Root colonization of phr2 mutants is drastically reduced, and PHR2 is required for root colonization, mycorrhizal phosphate uptake, and yield increase in field soil. PHR2 promotes AM by targeting genes required for pre-contact signaling, root colonization, and AM function. Thus, this important symbiosis is directly wired to the PHR2-controlled plant phosphate starvation response.
Focused ultrasound excites cortical neurons via mechanosensitive calcium accumulation and ion channel amplification
Authors: Yoo Sangjin , Mittelstein David R. , Hurt Robert C. , Lacroix Jerome , Shapiro Mikhail G. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractUltrasonic neuromodulation has the unique potential to provide non-invasive control of neural activity in deep brain regions with high spatial precision and without chemical or genetic modification. However, the biomolecular and cellular mechanisms by which focused ultrasound excites mammalian neurons have remained unclear, posing significant challenges for the use of this technology in research and potential clinical applications. Here, we show that focused ultrasound excites primary murine cortical neurons in culture through a primarily mechanical mechanism mediated by specific calcium-selective mechanosensitive ion channels. The activation of these channels results in a gradual build-up of calcium, which is amplified by calcium- and voltage-gated channels, generating a burst firing response. Cavitation, temperature changes, large-scale deformation, and synaptic transmission are not required for this excitation to occur. Pharmacological and genetic inhibition of specific ion channels leads to reduced responses to ultrasound, while over-expressing these channels results in stronger ultrasonic stimulation. These findings provide a mechanistic explanation for the effect of ultrasound on neurons to facilitate the further development of ultrasonic neuromodulation and sonogenetics as tools for neuroscience research.
Fragmentation in turbulence by small eddies
Authors: Qi Yinghe , Tan Shiyong , Corbitt Noah , Urbanik Carl , Salibindla Ashwanth K. R. , Ni Rui 
Published: January 2022

AbstractFrom air-sea gas exchange, oil pollution, to bioreactors, the ubiquitous fragmentation of bubbles/drops in turbulence has been modeled by relying on the classical Kolmogorov-Hinze paradigm since the 1950s. This framework hypothesizes that bubbles/drops are broken solely by eddies of the same size, even though turbulence is well known for its wide spectrum of scales. Here, by designing an experiment that can physically and cleanly disentangle eddies of various sizes, we report the experimental evidence to challenge this hypothesis and show that bubbles are preferentially broken by the sub-bubble-scale eddies. Our work also highlights that fragmentation cannot be quantified solely by the stress criterion or the Weber number; The competition between different time scales is equally important. Instead of being elongated slowly and persistently by flows at their own scales, bubbles are fragmented in turbulence by small eddies via a burst of intense local deformation within a short time.
Antisite defect qubits in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides
Authors: Tsai Jeng-Yuan , Pan Jinbo , Lin Hsin , Bansil Arun , Yan Qimin 
Published: January 2022

AbstractBeing atomically thin and amenable to external controls, two-dimensional (2D) materials offer a new paradigm for the realization of patterned qubit fabrication and operation at room temperature for quantum information sciences applications. Here we show that the antisite defect in 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) can provide a controllable solid-state spin qubit system. Using high-throughput atomistic simulations, we identify several neutral antisite defects in TMDs that lie deep in the bulk band gap and host a paramagnetic triplet ground state. Our in-depth analysis reveals the presence of optical transitions and triplet-singlet intersystem crossing processes for fingerprinting these defect qubits. As an illustrative example, we discuss the initialization and readout principles of an antisite qubit in WS2, which is expected to be stable against interlayer interactions in a multilayer structure for qubit isolation and protection in future qubit-based devices. Our study opens a new pathway for creating scalable, room-temperature spin qubits in 2D TMDs.
Improved gRNA secondary structures allow editing of target sites resistant to CRISPR-Cas9 cleavage
Authors: Riesenberg Stephan , Helmbrecht Nelly , Kanis Philipp , Maricic Tomislav , Pääbo Svante 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe first step in CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing is the cleavage of target DNA sequences that are complementary to so-called spacer sequences in CRISPR guide RNAs (gRNAs). However, some DNA sequences are refractory to CRISPR-Cas9 cleavage, which is at least in part due to gRNA misfolding. To overcome this problem, we have engineered gRNAs with highly stable hairpins in their constant parts and further enhanced their stability by chemical modifications. The ‘Genome-editing Optimized Locked Design’ (GOLD)-gRNA increases genome editing efficiency up to around 1000-fold (from 0.08 to 80.5%) with a mean increase across different other targets of 7.4-fold. We anticipate that this improved gRNA will allow efficient editing regardless of spacer sequence composition and will be especially useful if a desired genomic site is difficult to edit.
Polyamide-based membranes with structural homogeneity for ultrafast molecular sieving
Authors: Shen Liang , Cheng Ruihuan , Yi Ming , Hung Wei-Song , Japip Susilo , Tian Lian , Zhang Xuan , Jiang Shudong , Li Song , Wang Yan 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThin-film composite membranes formed by conventional interfacial polymerization generally suffer from the depth heterogeneity of the polyamide layer, i.e., nonuniformly distributed free volume pores, leading to the inefficient permselectivity. Here, we demonstrate a facile and versatile approach to tune the nanoscale homogeneity of polyamide-based thin-film composite membranes via inorganic salt-mediated interfacial polymerization process. Molecular dynamics simulations and various characterization techniques elucidate in detail the underlying molecular mechanism by which the salt addition confines and regulates the diffusion of amine monomers to the water-oil interface and thus tunes the nanoscale homogeneity of the polyamide layer. The resulting thin-film composite membranes with thin, smooth, dense, and structurally homogeneous polyamide layers demonstrate a permeance increment of ~20–435% and/or solute rejection enhancement of ~10–170% as well as improved antifouling property for efficient reverse/forward osmosis and nanofiltration separations. This work sheds light on the tunability of the polyamide layer homogeneity via salt-regulated interfacial polymerization process.
A combination of multiple autoantibodies is associated with the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive impairment
Authors: Shim Sung-Mi , Koh Young Ho , Kim Jong-Hoon , Jeon Jae-Pil 
Published: January 2022

AbstractAutoantibodies are self-antigen reactive antibodies that play diverse roles in the normal immune system, tissue homeostasis, and autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases. Anti-neuronal autoantibodies have been detected in neurodegenerative disease serum, with unclear significance. To identify diagnostic biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), we analyzed serum autoantibody profiles of the HuProt proteome microarray using the discovery set of cognitively normal control (NC, n = 5) and AD (n = 5) subjects. Approximately 1.5-fold higher numbers of autoantibodies were detected in the AD group (98.0 ± 39.9/person) than the NC group (66.0 ± 39.6/person). Of the autoantigen candidates detected in the HuProt microarray, five autoantigens were finally selected for the ELISA-based validation experiment using the validation set including age- and gender-matched normal (NC, n = 44), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 44) and AD (n = 44) subjects. The serum levels of four autoantibodies including anti-ATCAY, HIST1H3F, NME7 and PAIP2 IgG were significantly different among NC, MCI and/or AD groups. Specifically, the anti-ATCAY autoantibody level was significantly higher in the AD (p = 0.003) and MCI (p = 0.015) groups compared to the NC group. The anti-ATCAY autoantibody level was also significantly correlated with neuropsychological scores of MMSE (rs = − 0.229,p = 0.012), K-MoCA (rs = − 0.270,p = 0.003), and CDR scores (rs = 0.218,p = 0.016). In addition, a single or combined occurrence frequency of anti-ATCAY and anti-PAIP2 autoantibodies was significantly associated with the risk of MCI and AD. This study indicates that anti-ATCAY and anti-PAIP2 autoantibodies could be a potential diagnostic biomarker of AD.
Effects of root restriction on phytohormone levels in different growth stages and grapevine organs
Authors: Li Jiajia , Li Dongmei , Liu Boyang , Wang Ruiqi , Yan Yixuan , Li Guanhan , Wang Lei , Ma Chao , Xu Wenping , Zhao Liping , Li Xiangyi , Wang Shiping 
Published: January 2022

AbstractPhytohormones play important roles in germination, blossom, senescence, abscission of plants by a series of signal transduction and molecular regulation. The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of root restriction (RR) cultivation on plant endogenous hormone variation tendency at different growth stages in diverse organs or tissues. ‘Muscat Hamburg’ (Vitis ‘Muscat of Alexandria’ × Vitis ‘Trollinger’) grapevine was used as test material. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used to quantify hormone levels, qRT-PCR was used to quantify the expression of genes related to hormone biosynthesis pathway, and determined parameters of growth and photosynthetic, aiming to investigate the influence of root restriction on the formation and metabolism of phytohormones, as well as the degree of correlation between phytohormones and plant growth and photosynthetic intensity under root restriction. By measuring the photosynthetic rate of leaves at the stages of core-hardening, veraison and maturity, it was found that root restriction could reduce most photosynthetic parameters. The results also revealed that RR treatment increased abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), zeatin riboside (ZR), N6-(delta 2-isopentenyl)-adenine nucleoside (iPR) concentrations, while reduced auxin (IAA), 3-indolepropionic acid (IPA), 3-indolebutyric acid (IBA), gibberellin A3(GA3), zeatin (ZT), N6-(delta 2-Isopentenyl)-adenine (iP), kinetin (KT), jasmonic acid (JA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) concentrations in most organs and at most developmental stages. RT-qPCR was carried out to further explore the effect of root restriction on genes expression of ABA, SA and IAA biosynthesis pathways at molecular level. Meanwhile, through correlation analysis, we found that different phytohormones contributed differently to physiological indicators, there existed strong correlation of ABA, KT, MeJA, iPR, SA, JA with leaf photosynthesis, GA3, IBA, ZR, IAA, ZT with fruit quality. In addition, we also found that the shoot growth related parameters were closely correlated with JA, IPA and iP. To sum up, our results suggested that RR treatment could significantly increase soluble solid content, regulate the growth and photosynthesis of grapevine, by affecting the biosynthesis of phytohormones. It could further prove that root restriction was a feasible technique to ameliorate the phenomenon of low quality in grape berry in southern China.
Clinical characteristics of geriatric patients with non-specific chronic low back pain
Authors: Sakai Yoshihito , Wakao Norimitsu , Matsui Hiroki , Watanabe Tsuyoshi , Iida Hiroki , Watanabe Ken 
Published: January 2022

AbstractA comprehensive analysis of clinical information in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) was performed to clarify the clinical characteristics of geriatric LBP from the perspective of body composition, spinal alignment, and blood findings related to senescence. We enrolled 203 patients with an average age of 79.0 years (77 men and 126 women), with non-specific CLBP as a single-center prospective cohort study, the patients were compared with age- and sex-matched controls without CLBP using a propensity score-matching. We performed laboratory analysis, radiographic evaluations for global spinal parameter and lumbar degeneration, and body composition analysis using whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. We observed a higher red blood cell distribution width (RDW) (p < 0.001), which is an index of aging, as well as a lower vitamin D level (p = 0.002), skeletal muscle mass index (p = 0.045) and a higher fat mass (p = 0.007) in patients with CLBP. Moreover, patients with geriatric CLBP had significantly lower lumbar lordosis (p = 0.024), and higher sagittal vertical axis (p = 0.006) was correlated with lower extremity and trunk muscle mass (p < 0.001), independent of lumbar degeneration. Geriatric patients with CLBP have sarcopenic fat accumulation and spinal sagittal malalignment with senescent status, such as elevated RDW and hypovitaminosis D.
The cellulose fibers functionalized with star-like zinc oxide nanoparticles with boosted antibacterial performance for hygienic products
Authors: Onyszko M. , Markowska-Szczupak A. , Rakoczy R. , Paszkiewicz O. , Janusz J. , Gorgon-Kuza A. , Wenelska K. , Mijowska E. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractBacterial infectious diseases are serious health problem which extends to economic and social complications. Moreover, bacterial antibiotic resistance, lack of suitable vaccine or emergence of new mutations is forcing the development of novel antimicrobial agents. The objective of this study is to synthesize and characterize star-like zinc oxide nanoparticles for the application of antibacterial activities in cellulose based hygiene products. ZnO NPs were in situ synthesized via precipitation method on the surface of cellulose fibers. Since bactericidal activity of nanoparticles in part depends on the concentration in the growth medium, various amount of ZnO was incorporated into cellulose matrix ranging from 1 to 3 wt%. Microscopic (TEM, SEM) and spectroscopic (FT-IR, XRD) methods were utilized to investigate the final products. The infrared absorption spectra analysis supported by theoretical finding that during the reaction, ZnO nanoparticles could be bonded with cellulose fibers via hydrogen bonding. The yield of functionalization was determined through thermogravimetric analysis. Collected data proved the successful functionalization of the cellulose fibers with nanoparticles. Static contact angle measurements were carried out showing absorptive character of as prepared fabrics. All the samples were tested for the antibacterial properties and the results were compared to the samples prepared from the pristine cellulose fibers. Moreover, mechanical tests were performed revealing that the addition of only 2 wt% of the nanofiller boosted tensile, tearing and bursting strength by a factor of 1.6, 1.4 and 2.2 in comparison to unfunctionalized paper sample, respectively. Fabricated fabric presenting high hydrophilicity and antibacterial properties have gained increased applications in fabric industry, including hygiene product industry and hence the result of this study would be a welcomed option.
Structural and morphological changes of breast cancer cells induced by iron(ii) complexes
Authors: Nel Janske , Siniscalco David , Hognon Cécilia , Bouché Mathilde , Touche Nadége , Brunner Émilie , Gros Philippe C. , Monari Antonio , Grandemange Stéphanie , Francius Grégory 
Published: January 2022

Iron(ii)-based complexes were able to penetrate into the cytoplasm without disrupting the cell membrane. The complexes induced size, morphological, stiffness and cytoarchitectural changes in both triple negative breast cancer and normal cells.