julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Growth and fragmentation of centimetre-sized dust aggregates: the dependence on aggregate size and porosity
2013-09-09

We carry out three-dimensional Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics simulations of\\nspherical homogeneous SiO2 dust aggregates to investigate how the mass and the\\nporosity of the aggregates affects their ability to survive an impact at\\nvarious different collision velocities (between 1 - 27.5m/s). We explore how\\nthe threshold velocities for fragmentation vary with these parameters.\\nCrucially, we find that the porosity plays a part of utmost importance in\\ndetermining the outcome of collisions. In particular, we find that aggregates\\nwith filling factors &gt;37% are significantly weakened and that the velocity\\nregime in which the aggregates grow is reduced or even non-existent (instead,\\nthe aggregates either rebound off each other or break apart). At filling\\nfactors less than ~37% we find that more porous objects are weaker but not as\\nweak as highly compact objects with filling factors &gt;37%. In addition we find\\nthat (for a given aggregate density) collisions between very different mass\\nobjects have higher threshold velocities than those between very similar mass\\nobjects. We find that fragmentation velocities are higher than the typical\\nvalues of 1m/s and that growth can even occur for velocities as high as\\n27.5m/s. Therefore, while the growth of aggregates is more likely if collisions\\nbetween different sized objects occurs or if the aggregates are porous with\\nfilling factor &lt;37%, it may also be hindered if the aggregates become too\\ncompact.\\n
Fluctuations in phenylalanine concentrations in phenylketonuria: A review of possible relationships with outcomes
2013-09-09

Fluctuations in blood phenylalanine concentrations may be an important determinant of intellectual outcome in patients with early and continuously treated phenylketonuria (PKU). This review evaluates the studies on phenylalanine fluctuations, factors affecting fluctuations, and if stabilizing phenylalanine concentrations affects outcomes, particularly neurocognitive outcome. Electronic literature searches of Embase and PubMed were performed for English-language publications, and the bibliographies of identified publications were also searched. In patients with PKU, phenylalanine concentrations are highest in the morning. Factors that can affect phenylalanine fluctuations include age, diet, timing and dosing of protein substitute and energy intake, dietary adherence, phenylalanine hydroxylase genotype, changes in dietary phenylalanine intake and protein metabolism, illness, and growth rate. Even distribution of phenylalanine-free protein substitute intake throughout 24h may reduce blood phenylalanine fluctuations. Patients responsive to and treated with 6R-tetrahydrobiopterin seem to have less fluctuation in their blood phenylalanine concentrations than controls. An increase in blood phenylalanine concentration may result in increased brain and cerebrospinal fluid phenylalanine concentrations within hours. Although some evidence suggests that stabilization of blood phenylalanine concentrations may have benefits in patients with PKU, more studies are needed to distinguish the effects of blood phenylalanine fluctuations from those of poor metabolic control.
Autonomic hypoactivity in boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the influence of methylphenidate
2013-09-09

This is the first study to unravel (1) a general autonomic hypoactivity in ADHD children at baseline and in response to low arousing neutral and highly arousing emotional stimuli, and (2) hints that MPH normalizes this hypoactivity. Results contribute to the understanding of ADHD aetiology and MPH functionality, and are consistent with the cognitive-energetic model of ADHD.
Pentacene on Ag(111): Correlation of Bonding Distance with Intermolecular Interaction and Order
2013-09-09

We report coverage and temperature dependent bonding distances of vacuum-sublimed pentacene (PEN) submonolayers on Ag(111) obtained by the X-ray standing wave technique. The average vertical bonding distance of 2.98 Å at room temperature for 0.50 monolayer (ML) coverage increases to 3.12 Å for 0.75 ML due to competing intermolecular and adsorbate-substrate interactions. In contrast, decreasing the temperature from 295 to 145 K does not impact the bonding distance despite the concomitant transition from a "liquidlike" to an ordered molecular arrangement. In combination with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results, we could identify "soft chemisorption" with a subtle balance of molecule-molecule and substrate-molecule interactions as being responsible for this special adsorption behavior. Thus our study sheds light not only on the interface between PEN and Ag(111), but also on fundamental adsorption processes of organic adsorbates on metals in the context of chemi- and physisorption.
Correction: The Effect of Three-Monthly Albendazole Treatment on Malarial Parasitemia and Allergy: A Household-Based Cluster-Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
2013-09-09

Background: Helminth infections are proposed to have immunomodulatory activities affecting health outcomes either detrimentally or beneficially.We evaluated the effects of albendazole treatment, every three months for 21 months, on STH, malarial parasitemia and allergy. Methods and Findings:A household-based cluster-randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in an area in Indonesia endemic for STH.Using computer-aided block randomization, 481 households (2022 subjects) and 473 households (1982 subjects) were assigned to receive placebo and albendazole, respectively, every three months.The treatment code was concealed from trial investigators and participants.Malarial parasitemia and malaria-like symptoms were assessed in participants older than four years of age while skin prick test (SPT) to allergens as well as reported symptoms of allergy in children aged 5-15 years.The general impact of treatment on STH prevalence and body mass index (BMI) was evaluated.Primary outcomes were prevalence of malarial parasitemia and SPT to any allergen.Analysis was by intention to treat.At 9 and 21 months post-treatment 80.8% and 80.1% of the study subjects were retained, respectively.The intensive treatment regiment resulted in a reduction in the prevalence of STH by 48% in albendazole and 9% in placebo group.Albendazole treatment led to a transient increase in malarial parasitemia at 6 months post treatment )) and no statistically significant increase in SPT reactivity ) at 9 months or 1.37 (0.93-2.01)21 months).No effect of anthelminthic treatment was found on BMI, reported malaria-like-and allergy symptoms.No adverse effects were reported. Conclusions:The study indicates that intensive community treatment of 3 monthly albendazole administration for 21 months over two years leads to a reduction in STH.This degree of reduction appears safe without any increased risk of malaria or allergies.
Tungsten Oxychloride Compounds Containing [W6O6Cl12]n–(n = 2, 3) Clusters
2013-09-09

Abstract Three tungsten oxychloride clusters containing the nearly D 3 d symmetric [(W 6 O 6 i Cl 6 i )Cl 6 a ] n – ( n = 2, 3) core were prepared from the cluster acid (H 5 O 2 ) 2 [W 6 O 6 Cl 12 ] · 4H 2 O and structurally characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. The copper compound [Cu(H 2 O) 4 ][W 6 O 6 Cl 12 ] · 12H 2 O releases water molecules to yield [Cu(H 2 O) 6 ][W 6 O 6 Cl 12 ]. Both compounds are represented as diamagnetic clusters, having 14 electrons in W–W bonding states. Magnetic measurements on the calcium compound [Ca(H 2 O) 7 ] 2 [W 6 O 6 Cl 12 ]Cl revealed a paramagnetic cluster having 15 valence electrons.
Triggering of Suicidal Erythrocyte Death by Celecoxib
2013-09-10

The selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor celecoxib triggers apoptosis of tumor cells and is thus effective against malignancy. The substance is at least partially effective through mitochondrial depolarization. Even though lacking mitochondria, erythrocytes may enter apoptosis-like suicidal death or eryptosis, which is characterized by cell shrinkage and by phosphatidylserine translocation to the erythrocyte surface. Eryptosis may be triggered by increase of cytosolic Ca2+-activity ([Ca2+]i). The present study explored whether celecoxib stimulates eryptosis. Forward scatter was determined to estimate cell volume, annexin V binding to identify phosphatidylserine-exposing erythrocytes, hemoglobin release to depict hemolysis, and Fluo3-fluorescence to quantify [Ca2+]i. A 48 h exposure of human erythrocytes to celecoxib was followed by significant increase of [Ca2+]i (15 μM), significant decrease of forward scatter (15 μM) and significant increase of annexin-V-binding (10 μM). Celecoxib (15 μM) induced annexin-V-binding was blunted but not abrogated by removal of extracellular Ca2+. In conclusion, celecoxib stimulates suicidal erythrocyte death or eryptosis, an effect partially due to stimulation of Ca2+ entry.
Isn’t it ironic? Neural Correlates of Irony Comprehension in Schizophrenia
2013-09-10

Ironic remarks are frequent in everyday language and represent an important form of social cognition. Increasing evidence indicates a deficit in comprehension in schizophrenia. Several models for defective comprehension have been proposed, including possible roles of the medial prefrontal lobe, default mode network, inferior frontal gyri, mirror neurons, right cerebral hemisphere and a possible mediating role of schizotypal personality traits. We investigated the neural correlates of irony comprehension in schizophrenia by using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In a prosody-free reading paradigm, 15 female patients with schizophrenia and 15 healthy female controls silently read ironic and literal text vignettes during fMRI. Each text vignette ended in either an ironic (n = 22) or literal (n = 22) statement. Ironic and literal text vignettes were matched for word frequency, length, grammatical complexity, and syntax. After fMRI, the subjects performed an off-line test to detect error rate. In this test, the subjects indicated by button press whether the target sentence has ironic, literal, or meaningless content. Schizotypal personality traits were assessed using the German version of the schizotypal personality questionnaire (SPQ). Patients with schizophrenia made significantly more errors than did the controls (correct answers, 85.3% vs. 96.3%) on a behavioural level. Patients showed attenuated blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response during irony comprehension mainly in right hemisphere temporal regions (ironic>literal contrast) and in posterior medial prefrontal and left anterior insula regions (for ironic>visual baseline, but not for literal>visual baseline). In patients with schizophrenia, the parahippocampal gyrus showed increased activation. Across all subjects, BOLD response in the medial prefrontal area was negatively correlated with the SPQ score. These results highlight the role of the posterior medial prefrontal and right temporal regions in defective irony comprehension in schizophrenia and the mediating role of schizotypal personality traits.
Temperature Dependent Luminescence and Dephasing of Gold Nanorods
2013-09-10

In this study we demonstrate the impact of temperature on the luminescence emission of plasmonic nanoparticles. We examine the optical properties of single gold nanorods (GNRs) in the temperature range 1.6–295 K by confocal microscopy. Decreasing temperature leads to a reduction of the full width at half-maximum (fwhm) of the luminescence spectra, thus we can conclude that the damping of the plasmonic oscillation is strongly reduced. The main contribution to the dephasing mechanism is electron–phonon scattering and we are able to determine its contribution to the dephasing using quantitative simulations, which can describe the temperature dependent dephasing of plasmonic nanoparticles.
A Toxicogenomic Approach for the Prediction of Murine Hepatocarcinogenesis Using Ensemble Feature Selection
2013-09-10

The current strategy for identifying the carcinogenicity of drugs involves the 2-year bioassay in male and female rats and mice. As this assay is cost-intensive and time-consuming there is a high interest in developing approaches for the screening and prioritization of drug candidates in preclinical safety evaluations. Predictive models based on toxicogenomics investigations after short-term exposure have shown their potential for assessing the carcinogenic risk. In this study, we investigated a novel method for the evaluation of toxicogenomics data based on ensemble feature selection in conjunction with bootstrapping for the purpose to derive reproducible and characteristic multi-gene signatures. This method was evaluated on a microarray dataset containing global gene expression data from liver samples of both male and female mice. The dataset was generated by the IMI MARCAR consortium and included gene expression profiles of genotoxic and nongenotoxic hepatocarcinogens obtained after treatment of CD-1 mice for 3 or 14 days. We developed predictive models based on gene expression data of both sexes and the models were employed for predicting the carcinogenic class of diverse compounds. Comparing the predictivity of our multi-gene signatures against signatures from literature, we demonstrated that by incorporating our gene sets as features slightly higher accuracy is on average achieved by a representative set of state-of-the art supervised learning methods. The constructed models were also used for the classification of Cyproterone acetate (CPA), Wy-14643 (WY) and Thioacetamid (TAA), whose primary mechanism of carcinogenicity is controversially discussed. Based on the extracted mouse liver gene expression patterns, CPA would be predicted as a nongenotoxic compound. In contrast, both WY and TAA would be classified as genotoxic mouse hepatocarcinogens.
Synthetic Chondramide A Analogues Stabilize Filamentous Actin and Block Invasion by Toxoplasma gondii
2013-09-10

Apicomplexan parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii rely on actin-based motility to cross biological barriers and invade host cells. Key structural and biochemical differences in host and parasite actins make this an attractive target for small-molecule inhibitors. Here we took advantage of recent advances in the synthesis of cyclic depsipeptide compounds that stabilize filamentous actin to test the ability of chondramides to disrupt growth of T. gondii in vitro. Structural modeling of chondramide A (2) binding to an actin filament model revealed variations in the binding site between host and parasite actins. A series of 10 previously synthesized analogues (2b-k) with substitutions in the β-tyrosine moiety blocked parasite growth on host cell monolayers with EC50 values that ranged from 0.3 to 1.3 μM. In vitro polymerization assays using highly purified recombinant actin from T. gondii verified that synthetic and natural product chondramides target the actin cytoskeleton. Consistent with this, chondramide treatment blocked parasite invasion into host cells and was more rapidly effective than pyrimethamine, a standard therapeutic agent. Although the current compounds lack specificity for parasite vs host actin, these studies provide a platform for the future design and synthesis of synthetic cyclic peptide inhibitors that selectively disrupt actin dynamics in parasites.
A novel intronic promoter of the Crem gene induces small ICER (smICER) isoforms
2013-09-10

The transcription factors cAMP‐responsive element binding protein (CREB) and cAMP‐responsive element modulator (CREM) regulate gene transcription in response to elevated cAMP levels. The Crem isoform inducible cAMP early repressor ( Icer ) is transcribed by the internal promoter P2 as a critical regulator of multiple cellular processes. Here, we describe a novel inducible Crem isoform, small Icer ( smIcer ), regulated by a newly identified promoter (P6). ChIP revealed binding of CREB to P6 in human and mouse myocardium. P6 activity was induced by constitutively active CREB or stimulation of adenylyl cyclase. In mice, smIcer mRNA was ubiquitously expressed and transiently induced by β‐adrenoceptor stimulation e.g., in heart and lung. SmICER repressed both basal and cAMP‐induced activities of P6 and P2 promoters. Stimulation of adenylyl cyclase induced P2 and P6 in cell type‐specific manner. Alternative translational start sites resulted in three different smICER proteins, linked to increased apoptosis sensitivity. In conclusion, the Crem gene provides two distinct and mutually controlled mechanisms of a cAMP‐dependent induction of transcriptional repressors. Our results suggest not only that smICER is a novel regulator of cAMP‐mediated gene regulation, but also emphasize that biological effects that have been ascribed solely to ICER, should be revised with regard to smICER.—Seidl, M. D., Nunes, F., Fels, B., Hildebrandt, I., Schmitz, W., Schulze‐Osthoff, K., and Müller, F. U. A novel intronic promoter of the Crem gene induces small ICER (smICER) isoforms. FASEB J . 28, 143–152 (2014). www.fasebj.org
Autonomy in Neuroethics: Political and Not Metaphysical
2013-09-11

This article examines and refutes the claims that neuroscientific evidence renders autonomy “quixotic” and thus supports a shift toward paternalism in medical and political decision-making. The author argues that the notion of autonomy has been mistakenly associated with the metaphysical concept of free will, and offers a political definition of autonomy to clarify how responsibility is implicitly grounded in the legal and political system: An agent acts autonomously when she/he (a) endorses decisions and acts in accord with internal motivational states, (b) shows commitment to them in the absence of undue coercion and compulsion, and (c) could as a reasonable and rational person continue to do so after a period of informed critical reflection. The author further argues that neuroscientific findings confirm the assumption that humans are fundamentally fallible social creatures and explain the mechanisms of openness to the social world, which can be and sometimes are abused. A naturalistic framework does not dispute autonomy or rights, but it does point toward means of manipulation and toward areas in which further legal protection of rights and autonomous choice is needed. The author concludes by clarifying the ideal-typical degrees of coercion (indirect, direct and total) and compulsion (mild, severe and total) that serve the purpose of qualifying reduction of autonomy and responsibility in certain cases, and elaborating the middle-ground position between the “moral” and “brain disease” model of addiction.
Long‐term neurobiological consequences of early postnatal hCMV‐infection in former preterms
2013-09-11

Abstract Early postnatal infection with human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) may contribute to an adverse cognitive outcome in early preterm‐born children (PT). We here set out to explore whether long‐term neurobiological consequences of such an infection are detectable using fMRI in children and adolescents who were born very preterm and who either did (PT hCMV+ ) or did not (PT hCMV− ) suffer from an early postnatal hCMV‐infection, when compared with typically developing healthy control (HC) subjects. Overall, data from 71 children and adolescents could be included, 34 PT (of which 15 were PT hCMV + and 19 were PT hCMV− ) and 37 HC. Using a recently established “dual use” fMRI task, we investigated language and visuospatial functions. There were significant activation differences in the left hippocampus (PT &gt; HC and PT hCMV+ &gt; HC), and in the right anterior cingulate cortex (PT hCMV− &gt; PT hCMV+ ) when performing the language task. Surprisingly, only a small region in the occipital cortex showed a significant activation difference (HC &gt; PT HCMV− ) when performing the visuospatial task. Targeted analyses revealed differences in gray matter volume, but not density, in several brain regions. Our results suggest that long‐term neurobiological consequences of an early postnatal hCMV infection are detectable even in older children and adolescents formerly born very preterm, compatible with a higher effort when performing a cognitive task. This suggests that measures to prevent such an infection are warranted. Furthermore, an interrelation of brain structure and function was detected that may constitute a severe confound when using fMRI to compare structurally differing groups. Hum Brain Mapp 35:2594–2606, 2014 . © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A note on inverse mean curvature flow in cosmological spacetimes
2013-09-11

In Gerhardt proves longtime existence for the inverse mean curvature flow in globally hyperbolic Lorentzian manifolds with compact Cauchy hypersurface, which satisfy three main structural assumptions: a strong volume decay condition, a mean curvature barrier condition and the timelike convergence condition. Furthermore, it is shown in that the leaves of the inverse mean curvature flow provide a foliation of the future of the initial hypersurface.We show that this result persists, if we generalize the setting by leaving the mean curvature barrier assumption out. For initial hypersurfaces with sufficiently large mean curvature we can weaken the timelike convergence condition to a physically relevant energy condition.
Impact of Preoperative Anemia on Oncologic Outcomes of Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma Treated with Radical Nephroureterectomy
2013-09-12

Preoperative anemia is an independent predictor of disease recurrence and cancer specific mortality. It is associated with aggressive tumor features in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma treated with radical nephroureterectomy. Hemoglobin is a promising marker for patient counseling and risk stratification for additional treatment decision making.
Management of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy with direct factor Xa inhibitor rivaroxaban in Klippel–Trénaunay syndrome
2013-09-12

Klippel-Trénaunay syndrome (KTS) is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by malformation of lymph and blood vessels as well as growth disturbance of soft tissue and bone. The clinical picture is variable and associated with an increased risk of thromboembolic events mediated by intravascular coagulopathy in venous malformations. Here, we report on a male patient with KTS suffering from recurrent deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and life-threatening bleeding due to consumptive coagulopathy. Furthermore, we describe the successful long-term anticoagulant management with rivaroxaban.