bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Droplet evaporation on porous fabric materials
Authors: Gonçalves Marta , Kim Jin Young , Kim Yeseul , Rubab Najaf , Jung Narina , Asai Takeshi , Hong Sungchan , Weon Byung Mook 
Published: January 2022

AbstractDroplet evaporation on porous materials is a complex dynamic that occurs with spontaneous liquid imbibition through pores by capillary action. Here, we explore water dynamics on a porous fabric substrate with in-situ observations of X-ray and optical imaging techniques. We show how spreading and wicking lead to water imbibition through a porous substrate, enhancing the wetted surface area and consequently promoting evaporation. These sequential dynamics offer a framework to understand the alterations in the evaporation due to porosity for the particular case of fabric materials and a clue of how face masks interact with respiratory droplets.
Variation in excess all-cause mortality by age, sex, and province during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
Authors: Henry Nathaniel J. , Elagali Ahmed , Nguyen Michele , Chipeta Michael Give , Moore Catrin E. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractAlthough previous evidence suggests that the infection fatality rate from COVID-19 varies by age and sex, and that transmission intensity varies geographically within countries, no study has yet explored the age-sex-space distribution of excess mortality associated with the COVID pandemic. By applying the principles of small-area estimation to existing model formulations for excess mortality, this study develops a novel method for assessing excess mortality across small populations and assesses the pattern of COVID excess mortality by province, year, week, age group, and sex in Italy from March through May 2020. We estimate that 53,200 excess deaths occurred across Italy during this time period, compared to just 35,500 deaths where COVID-19 was registered as the underlying cause of death. Out of the total excess mortality burden, 97% of excess deaths occurred among adults over age 60, and 68% of excess deaths were concentrated among adults over age 80. The burden of excess mortality was unevenly distributed across the country, with just three of Italy’s 107 provinces accounting for 32% of all excess mortality. This method for estimating excess mortality can be adapted to other countries where COVID-19 diagnostic capacity is still insufficient, and could be incorporated into public health rapid response systems.
Audiovisual integration in the Mauthner cell enhances escape probability and reduces response latency
Authors: Martorell Nicolás , Medan Violeta 
Published: January 2022

AbstractFast and accurate threat detection is critical for animal survival. Reducing perceptual ambiguity by integrating multiple sources of sensory information can enhance perception and reduce response latency. However, studies addressing the link between behavioral correlates of multisensory integration and its underlying neural basis are rare. Fish that detect an urgent threat escape with an explosive behavior known as C-start. The C-start is driven by an identified neural circuit centered on the Mauthner cell, an identified neuron capable of triggering escapes in response to visual and auditory stimuli. Here we demonstrate that goldfish can integrate visual looms and brief auditory stimuli to increase C-start probability. This multisensory enhancement is inversely correlated to the salience of the stimuli, with weaker auditory cues producing a proportionally stronger multisensory effect. We also show that multisensory stimuli reduced C-start response latency, with most escapes locked to the presentation of the auditory cue. We make a direct link between behavioral data and its underlying neural mechanism by reproducing the behavioral data with an integrate-and-fire computational model of the Mauthner cell. This model of the Mauthner cell circuit suggests that excitatory inputs integrated at the soma are key elements in multisensory decision making during fast C-start escapes. This provides a simple but powerful mechanism to enhance threat detection and survival.
Green electrochemical method for the synthesis of nitro and azo derivatives based on mefenamic acid
Authors: Amooshahi Parvaneh , Khazalpour Sadegh , Amani Ameneh , Masoumi Hossein 
Published: January 2022

AbstractElectrochemical study of mefenamic acid (MFA) was carried out with details in water/ethanol mixture by the various voltammetric techniques. The results showed that the oxidation of MFA is highly dependent on pH and follows the Eir mechanism. The EpA1-pH diagram plotted based on the differential pulse voltammograms shows two linear segments, 66 and 26 mV/pH slope. Also, the diffusion coefficient and the surface excess, Ӷ* of MFA in aqueous buffered solution, determined by using the single potential-step chronoamperometry and chronocoulometry methods. Electrochemical nitration of MFA in an aqueous solution and the presence of nitrite ion (1) were both investigated by the cyclic voltammetry and controlled-potential coulometry techniques. Our results indicate that the oxidized form of MFA participates in a Michael-type addition reaction with nitrite ion (1) to form the corresponding Nitromefenamic acids (MFA-4-NO2 and MFA-5-NO2). Also, in another part, a computational study based on the density functional theory (DFT/B3LYP) was performed for the prediction of the best possible pathway in the nucleophilic addition of nitrite ion (1). The electrochemical reduction of produced nitromefenamic acids was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and controlled-potential coulometry techniques. Eventually, two new azo derivatives have been generated via electroreduction of produced nitromefenamic acids and conduction of diazotization reaction, respectively. Both nitro and azo products are approved as paints.
Genome-wide methylation analyses identifies Non-coding RNA genes dysregulated in breast tumours that metastasise to the brain
Authors: Pangeni Rajendra P. , Olivaries Ivonne , Huen David , Buzatto Vannessa C. , Dawson Timothy P. , Ashton Katherine M. , Davis Charles , Brodbelt Andrew R. , Jenkinson Michael D. , Bièche Ivan , Yang Lu , Latif Farida , Darling John L. , Warr Tracy J. , Morris Mark R. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractBrain metastases comprise 40% of all metastatic tumours and breast tumours are among the tumours that most commonly metastasise to the brain, the role that epigenetic gene dysregulation plays in this process is not well understood. We carried out 450 K methylation array analysis to investigate epigenetically dysregulated genes in breast to brain metastases (BBM) compared to normal breast tissues (BN) and primary breast tumours (BP). For this, we referenced 450 K methylation data for BBM tumours prepared in our laboratory with BN and BP from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Experimental validation on our initially identified genes, in an independent cohort of BP and in BBM and their originating primary breast tumours using Combined Bisulphite and Restriction Analysis (CoBRA) and Methylation Specific PCR identified three genes (RP11-713P17.4, MIR124-2, NUS1P3) that are hypermethylated and three genes (MIR3193, CTD-2023M8.1 and MTND6P4) that are hypomethylated in breast to brain metastases. In addition, methylation differences in candidate genes between BBM tumours and originating primary tumours shows dysregulation of DNA methylation occurs either at an early stage of tumour evolution (in the primary tumour) or at a later evolutionary stage (where the epigenetic change is only observed in the brain metastasis). Epigentic changes identified could also be found when analysing tumour free circulating DNA (tfcDNA) in patient’s serum taken during BBM biopsies. Epigenetic dysregulation of RP11-713P17.4, MIR3193, MTND6P4 are early events suggesting a potential use for these genes as prognostic markers.
A neurophysiologically interpretable deep neural network predicts complex movement components from brain activity
Authors: Kumar Neelesh , Michmizos Konstantinos P. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe effective decoding of movement from non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) is essential for informing several therapeutic interventions, from neurorehabilitation robots to neural prosthetics. Deep neural networks are most suitable for decoding real-time data but their use in EEG is hindered by the gross classes of motor tasks in the currently available datasets, which are solvable even with network architectures that do not require specialized design considerations. Moreover, the weak association with the underlying neurophysiology limits the generalizability of modern networks for EEG inference. Here, we present a neurophysiologically interpretable 3-dimensional convolutional neural network (3D-CNN) that captured the spatiotemporal dependencies in brain areas that get co-activated during movement. The 3D-CNN received topography-preserving EEG inputs, and predicted complex components of hand movements performed on a plane using a back-drivable rehabilitation robot, namely (a) the reaction time (RT) for responding to stimulus (slow or fast), (b) the mode of movement (active or passive, depending on whether there was an assistive force provided by the apparatus), and (c) the orthogonal directions of the movement (left, right, up, or down). We validated the 3D-CNN on a new dataset that we acquired from an in-house motor experiment, where it achieved average leave-one-subject-out test accuracies of 79.81%, 81.23%, and 82.00% for RT, active vs. passive, and direction classifications, respectively. Our proposed method outperformed the modern 2D-CNN architecture by a range of 1.1% to 6.74% depending on the classification task. Further, we identified the EEG sensors and time segments crucial to the classification decisions of the network, which aligned well with the current neurophysiological knowledge on brain activity in motor planning and execution tasks. Our results demonstrate the importance of biological relevance in networks for an accurate decoding of EEG, suggesting that the real-time classification of other complex brain activities may now be within our reach.
Geometry of rare regions behind Griffiths singularities in random quantum magnets
Authors: Kovács István A. , Iglói Ferenc 
Published: January 2022

AbstractIn many-body systems with quenched disorder, dynamical observables can be singular not only at the critical point, but in an extended region of the paramagnetic phase as well. These Griffiths singularities are due to rare regions, which are locally in the ordered phase and contribute to a large susceptibility. Here, we study the geometrical properties of rare regions in the transverse Ising model with dilution or with random couplings and transverse fields. In diluted models, the rare regions are percolation clusters, while in random models the ground state consists of a set of spin clusters, which are calculated by the strong disorder renormalization method. We consider the so called energy cluster, which has the smallest excitation energy and calculate its mass and linear extension in one-, two- and three-dimensions. Both average quantities are found to grow logarithmically with the linear size of the sample. Consequently, the energy clusters are not compact: for the diluted model they are isotropic and tree-like, while for the random model they are quasi-one-dimensional.
Hippophae rhamnoides L. leaf and twig extracts as rich sources of nutrients and bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity
Authors: Kubczak Małgorzata , Khassenova Ainur B. , Skalski Bartosz , Michlewska Sylwia , Wielanek Marzena , Skłodowska Maria , Aralbayeva Araylim N. , Nabiyeva Zhanar S. , Murzakhmetova Maira K. , Zamaraeva Maria , Bryszewska Maria , Ionov Maksim 
Published: January 2022

AbstractPlants have served for centuries as sources of compounds useful for human health such as antioxidant, anti-diabetic and antitumor agents. They are also rich in nutrients that improve the human diet. Growing demands for these compounds make it important to seek new sources for them.Hippophae rhamnoidesL. is known as a plant with health-promoting properties. In this study we investigated the chemical composition and biological properties of bioactive components of ethanol extracts from leaves and twigs ofH. rhamnoidesL. Chemical components such as the total content of phenolic compounds, vitamins and amino acids and the antioxidant activities of these compounds in cellular and cell-free systems were assessed. The results suggest that the studied extracts are rich in bioactive compounds with potent antioxidant properties. Cytotoxicity and hemotoxicity assays showed that the extracts had low toxicity on human cells over the range of concentrations tested. Interaction with human serum albumin was investigated and conformational changes were observed. Our results indicate that leaf and twig extracts ofH. rhamnoidesL. should be considered as a non-toxic source of bioactive compounds which may be of interest to the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.
Clinical characterization and possible pathophysiological causes of the Deventilation Syndrome in COPD
Authors: Schellenberg Mavi Dorothea , Imach Sandra , Iberl Gabriele , Kirchner Marietta , Herth Felix , Trudzinski Franziska 
Published: January 2022

AbstractIn daily routine, many COPD patients report early onset augmented dyspnea following use of NIV (Deventilation Syndrome, DVS) as a negative side-effect. The aim of this study is the clinical characterization and concrete definition of DVS. This monocenter prospective observational study collected demographic, physiologic and symptomatic data from 67 in-patients with severe COPD Gold III–IV and chronic hypercapnic failure before, during and after use of an established NIV. During their inpatient follow-up, we examined patients during the first hour after termination of nocturnal NIV. DVS was defined by the authors as an increase of ≥ 2 points on the Borg scale during the first 30 min in patients who reported repeated dyspnea after the use of NIV. We monitored cardiovascular and respiratory data and measured diaphragm excursion. Subjective dyspnea was documented by use of the Borg scale and questionnaires. In addition, respirator and demographic data were collected. DVS occurred in 58% of our COPD patient collective, showing predominant emphysema phenotype. Patients with DVS were more severely ill than non-DVS concerning bronchial obstruction (FEV1 0.6 vs. 0.8 l, p < 0.05) and hypercapnia during spontaneous breathing (pre NIV pCO2: 54.5 vs. 49.3 mmHg, p < 0.02). DVS patients showed significantly higher respiratory rates (RR) (20.1 vs. 18.1/min p < 0.05) after termination of NIV. This trial characterizes and defines early onset augmented dyspnea after the use of NIV, referred to as DVS. It is hereby brought to attention as a frequent side effect of long-term home ventilation and possible pathophysiologic mechanisms are elucidated.
A novel graph mining approach to predict and evaluate food-drug interactions
Authors: Rahman Md. Mostafizur , Vadrev Srinivas Mukund , Magana-Mora Arturo , Levman Jacob , Soufan Othman 
Published: January 2022

AbstractFood-drug interactions (FDIs) arise when nutritional dietary consumption regulates biochemical mechanisms involved in drug metabolism. This study proposes FDMine, a novel systematic framework that models the FDI problem as a homogenous graph. Our dataset consists of 788 unique approved small molecule drugs with metabolism-related drug-drug interactions and 320 unique food items, composed of 563 unique compounds. The potential number of interactions is 87,192 and 92,143 for disjoint and joint versions of the graph. We defined several similarity subnetworks comprising food-drug similarity, drug-drug similarity, and food-food similarity networks. A unique part of the graph involves encoding the food composition as a set of nodes and calculating a content contribution score. To predict new FDIs, we considered several link prediction algorithms and various performance metrics, including the precision@top (top 1%, 2%, and 5%) of the newly predicted links. The shortest path-based method has achieved a precision of 84%, 60% and 40% for the top 1%, 2% and 5% of FDIs identified, respectively. We validated the top FDIs predicted using FDMine to demonstrate its applicability, and we relate therapeutic anti-inflammatory effects of food items informed by FDIs. FDMine is publicly available to support clinicians and researchers.
Oxidative stress alleviating potential of galactan exopolysaccharide from Weissella confusa KR780676 in yeast model system
Authors: Kavitake Digambar , Veerabhadrappa Bhavana , Sudharshan S. J. , Kandasamy Sujatha , Devi Palanisamy Bruntha , Dyavaiah Madhu , Shetty Prathapkumar Halady 
Published: January 2022

AbstractIn the present study, galactan exopolysaccharide (EPS) from Weissella confusa KR780676 was evaluated for its potential to alleviate oxidative stress using in vitro assays and in vivo studies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (wild type) and its antioxidant (sod1∆, sod2∆, tsa1∆, cta2∆ and ctt1∆), anti-apoptotic (pep4∆ and fis1∆) and anti-aging (sod2∆, tsa1∆ and ctt1∆)) isogenic gene deletion mutants. Galactan exhibited strong DPPH and nitric oxide scavenging activity with an IC50 value of 450 and 138 µg/mL respectively. In the yeast mutant model, oxidative stress generated by H2O2 was extensively scavenged by galactan in the medium as confirmed using spot assays followed by fluorescencent DCF-DA staining and microscopic studies. Galactan treatment resulted in reduction in the ROS generated in the yeast mutant cells as demonstrated by decreased fluorescence intensity. Furthermore, galactan exhibited protection against oxidative damage through H2O2 -induced apoptosis inhibition in the yeast mutant strains (pep4∆ and fis1∆) leading to increased survival rate by neutralizing the oxidative stress. In the chronological life span assay, WT cells treated with galactan EPS showed 8% increase in viability whereas sod2∆ mutant showed 10–15% increase indicating pronounced anti-aging effects. Galactan from W. confusa KR780676 has immense potential to be used as a natural antioxidant for nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and food technological applications. As per our knowledge, this is the first report on in-depth assessment of in vivo antioxidant properties of a bacterial EPS in a yeast deletion model system.
An integrated framework for identifying clinical-laboratory indicators for novel pandemics: COVID-19 and MIS-C
Authors: Nahari Adam D. , Son Mary Beth F. , Newburger Jane W. , Reis Ben Y. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractDuring the critical early stages of an emerging pandemic, limited availability of pathogen-specific testing can severely inhibit individualized risk screening and pandemic tracking. Standard clinical laboratory tests offer a widely available complementary data source for first-line risk screening and pandemic surveillance. Here, we propose an integrated framework for developing clinical-laboratory indicators for novel pandemics that combines population-level and individual-level analyses. We apply this framework to 7,520,834 clinical laboratory tests recorded over five years and find clinical-lab-test combinations that are strongly associated with SARS-CoV-2 PCR test results and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) diagnoses: Interleukin-related tests (e.g. IL4, IL10) were most strongly associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and MIS-C, while other more widely available tests (ferritin, D-dimer, fibrinogen, alanine transaminase, and C-reactive protein) also had strong associations. When novel pandemics emerge, this framework can be used to identify specific combinations of clinical laboratory tests for public health tracking and first-line individualized risk screening.
Citrin mediated metabolic rewiring in response to altered basal subcellular Ca2+ homeostasis
Authors: Koshenov Zhanat , Oflaz Furkan E. , Hirtl Martin , Gottschalk Benjamin , Rost Rene , Malli Roland , Graier Wolfgang F. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractIn contrast to long-term metabolic reprogramming, metabolic rewiring represents an instant and reversible cellular adaptation to physiological or pathological stress. Ca2+ signals of distinct spatio-temporal patterns control a plethora of signaling processes and can determine basal cellular metabolic setting, however, Ca2+ signals that define metabolic rewiring have not been conclusively identified and characterized. Here, we reveal the existence of a basal Ca2+ flux originating from extracellular space and delivered to mitochondria by Ca2+ leakage from inositol triphosphate receptors in mitochondria-associated membranes. This Ca2+ flux primes mitochondrial metabolism by maintaining glycolysis and keeping mitochondria energized for ATP production. We identified citrin, a well-defined Ca2+-binding component of malate-aspartate shuttle in the mitochondrial intermembrane space, as predominant target of this basal Ca2+ regulation. Our data emphasize that any manipulation of this ubiquitous Ca2+ system has the potency to initiate metabolic rewiring as an instant and reversible cellular adaptation to physiological or pathological stress.
Transfected plasmid DNA is incorporated into the nucleus via nuclear envelope reformation at telophase
Authors: Haraguchi Tokuko , Koujin Takako , Shindo Tomoko , Bilir Şükriye , Osakada Hiroko , Nishimura Kohei , Hirano Yasuhiro , Asakawa Haruhiko , Mori Chie , Kobayashi Shouhei , Okada Yasushi , Chikashige Yuji , Fukagawa Tatsuo , Shibata Shinsuke , Hiraoka Yasushi 
Published: January 2022

AbstractDNA transfection is an important technology in life sciences, wherein nuclear entry of DNA is necessary to express exogenous DNA. Non-viral vectors and their transfection reagents are useful as safe transfection tools. However, they have no effect on the transfection of non-proliferating cells, the reason for which is not well understood. This study elucidates the mechanism through which transfected DNA enters the nucleus for gene expression. To monitor the behavior of transfected DNA, we introduce plasmid bearing lacO repeats and RFP-coding sequences into cells expressing GFP-LacI and observe plasmid behavior and RFP expression in living cells. RFP expression appears only after mitosis. Electron microscopy reveals that plasmids are wrapped with nuclear envelope (NE)‒like membranes or associated with chromosomes at telophase. The depletion of BAF, which is involved in NE reformation, delays plasmid RFP expression. These results suggest that transfected DNA is incorporated into the nucleus during NE reformation at telophase.