julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
The Angiotensin-(1–7)/Mas Axis Improves Pancreatic β-Cell Function in Vitro and in Vivo
2016-10-07

The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2/angiotensin (Ang)-(1-7)/Mas axis of the renin-angiotensin system often opposes the detrimental effects of the angiotensin-converting enzyme/Ang II/Ang II type 1 receptor axis and has been associated with beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis, whereas underlying mechanisms are mostly unknown. Here we investigate the effects of Ang-(1-7) and its receptor Mas on β-cell function. Isolated islets from Mas-deficient and wild-type mice were stimulated with Ang-(1-7) or its antagonists and effects on insulin secretion determined. Islets' cytoplasmic calcium and cAMP concentrations, mRNA amounts of Ins1, Ins2, Pdx1, and Mafa and effects of inhibitors of cAMP downstream signaling were determined. Ang-(1-7) was also applied to mice by osmotic pumps for 14 days and effects on glucose tolerance and insulin secretion were assessed. Ang-(1-7) increased insulin secretion from wild-type islets, whereas antagonists and genetic Mas deficiency led to reduced insulin secretion. The Mas-dependent effects of Ang-(1-7) on insulin secretion did not result from changes in insulin gene expression or changes in the excitation-secretion coupling but from increased intracellular cAMP involving exchange protein activated directly by cAMP. Administration of Ang-(1-7) in vivo had only marginal effects on glucose tolerance in wild-type mice but still resulted in improved insulin secretion from islets isolated of these mice. Interestingly, although less pronounced than in wild types, Ang-(1-7) still affected insulin secretion in Mas-deficient islets. The data indicate a significant function of Ang-(1-7) in the regulation of insulin secretion from mouse islets in vitro and in vivo, mainly, but not exclusively, by Mas-dependent signaling, modulating the accessory pathway of insulin secretion via increase in cAMP.
Effects of Emotional Intelligence on the Impression of Irony Created by the Mismatch between Verbal and Nonverbal Cues
2016-10-07

Emotional information is conveyed through verbal and nonverbal signals, with nonverbal cues often being considered the decisive factor in the judgment of others' emotional states. The aim of the present study was to examine how verbal and nonverbal cues are integrated by perceivers. More specifically, we tested whether the mismatch between verbal and nonverbal information was perceived as an expression of irony. Moreover, we investigated the effects of emotional intelligence on the impression of irony. The findings revealed that the mismatch between verbal and nonverbal information created the impression of irony. Furthermore, participants higher in emotional intelligence were faster at rating such stimuli as ironic expressions.
Including Bioconcentration Kinetics for the Prioritization and Interpretation of Regulatory Aquatic Toxicity Tests of Highly Hydrophobic Chemicals
2016-10-07

Worldwide, regulations of chemicals require short-term toxicity data for evaluating hazards and risks of the chemicals. Current data requirements on the registration of chemicals are primarily based on tonnage and do not yet consider properties of chemicals. For example, short-term ecotoxicity data are required for chemicals with production volume greater than 1 or 10 ton/y according to REACH, without considering chemical properties. Highly hydrophobic chemicals are characterized by low water solubility and slow bioconcentration kinetics, which may hamper the interpretation of short-term toxicity experiments. In this work, internal concentrations of highly hydrophobic chemicals were predicted for standard acute ecotoxicity tests at three trophic levels, algae, invertebrate, and fish. As demonstrated by comparison with maximum aqueous concentrations at water solubility, chemicals with an octanol-water partition coefficient (K<sub>ow</sub>) greater than 10<sup>6</sup> are not expected to reach sufficiently high internal concentrations for exerting effects within the test duration of acute tests with fish and invertebrates, even though they might be intrinsically toxic. This toxicity cutoff was explained by the slow uptake, i.e., by kinetics, not by thermodynamic limitations. Predictions were confirmed by data entries of the OECD's screening information data set (SIDS) (n = 746), apart from a few exceptions concerning mainly organometallic substances and those with inconsistency between water solubility and K<sub>ow</sub>. Taking error propagation and model assumptions into account, we thus propose a revision of data requirements for highly hydrophobic chemicals with log K<sub>ow</sub> > 7.4: Short-term toxicity tests can be limited to algae that generally have the highest uptake rate constants, whereas the primary focus of the assessment should be on persistence, bioaccumulation, and long-term effects.
Calibration bias of experimentally determined chlorine isotope enrichment factors: the need for a two‐point calibration in compound‐specific chlorine isotope analysis
2016-10-07

Rationale The recent development of compound‐specific online chlorine isotope analysis ( 37 Cl‐CSIA) methods has fostered dual chlorine–carbon isotope studies to gain better insights into sources and environmental transformation reactions of chlorinated ethenes. One‐point and two‐point calibration schemes are currently used to convert raw data to the international δ 37 Cl SMOC scale, but a critical evaluation of best practices to arrive at reliable δ 37 Cl SMOC signatures and enrichment factors was missing and is presented here. Methods Aqueous solutions of neat perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene (TCE) and aqueous samples from a TCE biodegradation experiment with pure cultures of Desulfitobacterium hafniense Y51 were analysed for their chlorine isotope ratios using GC/qMS and GC/IRMS. The δ 37 Cl SMOC values were obtained using one‐point and two‐point calibration schemes. Chlorine isotope enrichment factors, ε Cl , were calculated using both approaches and the corresponding bias of δ 37 Cl SMOC values introduced by the different types of calibration was determined. Results Different calibration methods resulted in significant differences (up to 30%) in both δ 37 Cl signatures and ε Cl values. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that a two‐point calibration together with comprehensive information on reference materials is indispensable and should become standard practice for reliable 37 Cl‐CSIA of organic compounds. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.
Development and validation of a capillary electrophoresis method for the characterization of sulfoethyl cellulose
2016-10-07

To characterize sulfoethyl cellulose el samples, a capillary electrophoresis method was developed and validated sulfoethyl cellulose el was hydrolyzed, and the resulting d ‐glucose derivatives were analyzed after reductive amination with 4‐aminobenzoic acid using 150 mM boric acid, pH 9.5, as background electrolyte at 20°C and a voltage of 28 kV. Peak identification was derived from capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometry using 25 mM ammonia adjusted to pH 6.2 by acetic acid as electrolyte. Besides mono‐, di‐, and trisulfoethyl d ‐glucose small amounts of disaccharides could be identified resulting from incomplete hydrolysis. The linearity of the borate buffer‐based capillary electrophoresis method was evaluated using d ‐glucose in the concentration range of 3.9–97.5 μg/mL, while limits of detection and quantification derived from the signal‐to‐noise ratio of 3 and 10 were 0.4 ± 0.1 and 1.2 ± 0.3 μg/mL, respectively. Reproducibility and intermediate precision were determined using a hydrolyzed sulfoethyl cellulose el sample and ranged between 0.2 and 8.8% for migration times and between 0.3 and 10.4% for peak area. The method was applied to the analysis of the degree of substitution of synthetic sulfoethyl cellulose el samples obtained by variation of the synthetic process and compared to data obtained by elemental analysis.
Afghan modern: the history of a global nation
2016-10-07

Crews announces his intention of challenging the dominant media narrative of Afghanistan as a backward, isolated nation mired in tribalism and xenophobia. Afghan Modern, however, makes for an engag...
“Oh make thy selfe with holy mourning blacke”: Aspects of Drama and Performance in John Donne’sHoly Sonnet“Oh My Black Soule”
2016-10-07

Abstract This article provides a close reading of John Donne’s Holy Sonnet “Oh My Black Soule” with regard to its dramatic and performative qualities. The opening line of the poem contains an allusion to the morality play Everyman ; moreover, in this sonnet, the speaker addresses his soul as if he were on a stage; and, in the end, he finds a resolution to the inner conflict that is being described in the course of the poem. Drama is thus significant in three ways: the speaker witnesses a drama of the soul, which is summoned, and reacts to it; he takes part in the drama and its performance as the speaker of a soliloquy; and a drama (in the sense of conflict) goes on within himself. The sonnet is the enactment of a drama of salvation and an expression of the innermost fears and prayers of the speaker who, eventually, finds a resolution and comes to a happy ending. While these three dimensions are all equally linked to the dramatic and performative qualities of this poem, the focus will be on the second aspect and the question how the Holy Sonnet may add to our understanding of the soliloquy, the communicative form which became most popular on the stage at the time John Donne wrote this poem.
Ribociclib as First-Line Therapy for HR-Positive, Advanced Breast Cancer
2016-10-08

Among patients receiving initial systemic treatment for HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, the duration of progression-free survival was significantly longer among those receiving ribociclib plus letrozole than among those receiving placebo plus letrozole, with a higher rate of myelosuppression in the ribociclib group. (Funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01958021 .).
E2A-PBX1 Remodels Oncogenic Signaling Networks in B-cell Precursor Acute Lymphoid Leukemia
2016-10-08

Abstract There is limited understanding of how signaling pathways are altered by oncogenic fusion transcription factors that drive leukemogenesis. To address this, we interrogated activated signaling pathways in a comparative analysis of mouse and human leukemias expressing the fusion protein E2A-PBX1, which is present in 5%–7% of pediatric and 50% of pre-B-cell receptor (preBCR+) acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). In this study, we describe remodeling of signaling networks by E2A-PBX1 in pre-B-ALL, which results in hyperactivation of the key oncogenic effector enzyme PLCγ2. Depletion of PLCγ2 reduced proliferation of mouse and human ALLs, including E2A-PBX1 leukemias, and increased disease-free survival after secondary transplantation. Mechanistically, E2A-PBX1 bound promoter regulatory regions and activated the transcription of its key target genes ZAP70, SYK, and LCK, which encode kinases upstream of PLCγ2. Depletion of the respective upstream kinases decreased cell proliferation and phosphorylated levels of PLCγ2 (pPLCγ2). Pairwise silencing of ZAP70, SYK, or LCK showed additive effects on cell growth inhibition, providing a rationale for combination therapy with inhibitors of these kinases. Accordingly, inhibitors such as the SRC family kinase (SFK) inhibitor dasatinib reduced pPLCγ2 and inhibited proliferation of human and mouse preBCR+/E2A-PBX1+ leukemias in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, combining small-molecule inhibition of SYK, LCK, and SFK showed synergistic interactions and preclinical efficacy in the same setting. Our results show how the oncogenic fusion protein E2A-PBX1 perturbs signaling pathways upstream of PLCγ2 and renders leukemias amenable to targeted therapeutic inhibition. Cancer Res; 76(23); 6937–49. ©2016 AACR.
Unifying time evolution and optimization with matrix product states
2016-10-10

We show that the time-dependent variational principle provides a unifying framework for time-evolution methods and optimization methods in the context of matrix product states. In particular, we introduce a new integration scheme for studying time evolution, which can cope with arbitrary Hamiltonians, including those with long-range interactions. Rather than a Suzuki-Trotter splitting of the Hamiltonian, which is the idea behind the adaptive time-dependent density matrix renormalization group method or time-evolving block decimation, our method is based on splitting the projector onto the matrix product state tangent space as it appears in the Dirac-Frenkel time-dependent variational principle. We discuss how the resulting algorithm resembles the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) algorithm for finding ground states so closely that it can be implemented by changing just a few lines of code and it inherits the same stability and efficiency. In particular, our method is compatible with any Hamiltonian for which ground-state DMRG can be implemented efficiently. In fact, DMRG is obtained as a special case of our scheme for imaginary time evolution with infinite time step.
Subclinical Disease Burden as Assessed by Whole-Body MRI in Subjects With Prediabetes, Subjects With Diabetes, and Normal Control Subjects From the General Population: The KORA-MRI Study
2016-10-10

Detailed pathophysiological manifestations of early disease in the context of prediabetes are poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the extent of early signs of metabolic and cardio-cerebrovascular complications affecting multiple organs in individuals with prediabetes. Subjects without a history of stroke, coronary artery disease, or peripheral artery disease were enrolled in a case-control study nested within the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg (KORA) FF4 cohort and underwent comprehensive MRI assessment to characterize cerebral parameters (white matter lesions, microbleeds), cardiovascular parameters (carotid plaque, left ventricular function, and myocardial late gadolinium enhancement [LGE]), and metabolic parameters (hepatic proton-density fat fraction [PDFF] and subcutaneous and visceral abdominal fat). Among 400 subjects who underwent MRI, 103 subjects had prediabetes and 54 had established diabetes. Subjects with prediabetes had an increased risk for carotid plaque and adverse functional cardiac parameters, including reduced early diastolic filling rates as well as a higher prevalence of LGE compared with healthy control subjects. In addition, people with prediabetes had significantly elevated levels of PDFF and total and visceral fat. Thus, subjects with prediabetes show early signs of subclinical disease that include vascular, cardiac, and metabolic changes, as measured by whole-body MRI after adjusting for cardiometabolic risk factors.
Sleep’s role in the reconsolidation of declarative memories
2016-10-10

Sleep is known to support the consolidation of newly encoded and initially labile memories. Once consolidated, remote memories can return to a labile state upon reactivation and need to become reconsolidated in order to persist. Here we asked whether sleep also benefits the reconsolidation of remote memories after their reactivation and how reconsolidation during sleep compares to sleep-dependent consolidation processes. In three groups, participants were trained on a visuo-spatial learning task in the presence of a contextual odor. Participants in the 'reconsolidation' group learned the task on day 1. On day 2, they were subjected to a reactivation procedure by presenting the odor cue and a mock recall test in the learning context before a 40-min sleep or wake period. Participants in the 'remote consolidation' group followed the same procedure but did not receive reactivation on day 2. Participants in the 'recent consolidation' group skipped the procedure on day 1 and learned the task immediately before the sleep or wake period. After the sleep or wake interval, memory stability was tested in all subjects. The results show that this short 40-min sleep period significantly facilitated the reconsolidation of reactivated memories, whereas the consolidation of non-reactivated remote memories was less affected and recently encoded memories did not benefit at all. These findings tentatively suggest that sleep has a beneficial effect on the reconsolidation of remote memories, acting at a faster rate than sleep-associated consolidation.
Snap Your Fingers! An ERP/sLORETA Study Investigating Implicit Processing of Self- vs. Other-Related Movement Sounds Using the Passive Oddball Paradigm
2016-10-10

So far, neurophysiological studies have investigated implicit and explicit self-related processing particularly for self-related stimuli such as the own face or name. The present study extends previous research to the implicit processing of self-related movement sounds and explores their spatio-temporal dynamics. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were assessed while participants (N = 12 healthy subjects) listened passively to previously recorded self- and other-related finger snapping sounds, presented either as deviants or standards during an oddball paradigm. Passive listening to low (500 Hz) and high (1000 Hz) pure tones served as additional control. For self- vs. other-related finger snapping sounds, analysis of ERPs revealed significant differences in the time windows of the N2a/MMN and P3. An subsequent source localization analysis with standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) revealed increased cortical activation in distinct motor areas such as the supplementary motor area (SMA) in the N2a/mismatch negativity (MMN) as well as the P3 time window during processing of self- and other-related finger snapping sounds. In contrast, brain regions associated with self-related processing [e.g., right anterior/posterior cingulate cortex (ACC/PPC)] as well as the right inferior parietal lobule (IPL) showed increased activation particularly during processing of self- vs. other-related finger snapping sounds in the time windows of the N2a/MMN (ACC/PCC) or the P3 (IPL). None of these brain regions showed enhanced activation while listening passively to low (500 Hz) and high (1000 Hz) pure tones. Taken together, the current results indicate (1) a specific role of motor regions such as SMA during auditory processing of movement-related information, regardless of whether this information is self- or other-related, (2) activation of neural sources such as the ACC/PCC and the IPL during implicit processing of self-related movement stimuli, and (3) their differential temporal activation during deviance (N2a/MMN – ACC/PCC) and target detection (P3 – IPL) of self- vs. other-related movement sounds.
ParasiticCuscutafactor(s) and the detection by tomato initiates plant defense
2016-10-10

Dodders (<i>Cuscuta</i> spp.) are holoparasitic plants that enwind stems of host plants and penetrate those by haustoria to connect to the vascular bundles. Having a broad host plant spectrum, <i>Cuscuta</i> spp infect nearly all dicot plants - only cultivated tomato as one exception is mounting an active defense specifically against <i>C. reflexa</i>. In a recent work we identified a pattern recognition receptor of tomato, "Cuscuta Receptor 1" (CuRe1), which is critical to detect a "Cuscuta factor" (CuF) and initiate defense responses such as the production of ethylene or the generation of reactive oxygen species. CuRe1 also contributes to the tomato resistance against <i>C. reflexa</i>. Here we point to the fact that CuRe1 is not the only relevant component for full tomato resistance but it requires additional defense mechanisms, or receptors, respectively, to totally fend off the parasite.
AFP-producing adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction: report of a case with atypical immunohistochemical findings responding to palliative chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel (FLOT regime)
2016-10-10

AFP-producing adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and esophagogastric junction are rare tumor diseases. These tumors show an aggressive behavior characterized by early occurrence of liver metastases and mimic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A general recommendation for palliative therapy is not established for these special tumors.Here we report about a 61-year-old man with multiple liver metastases and high serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level. First, HCC was suspected, but further evaluation showed an AFP-producing adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction with unusual findings on further immunohistochemical analysis. Palliative chemotherapy with FLOT (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) regime showed a 9 month duration of partial response.
Effect of management on rangeland phytomass, cover and condition in two biomes in South Africa
2016-10-10

In rangelands, grazing management is a main driver of rangeland condition. Due to masking effects of seasonal climate fluctuations, little is known about (dis)similarity of management effects on rangeland condition and forage provision across major dryland biomes. Taking a macro-ecological perspective, we analysed if management effects differed between South Africa's central grassland and Kalahari savanna biomes. We recorded proxies of forage provision (phytomass, vegetation cover and their ratio) over five seasons, annual rainfall to account for seasonal climate fluctuations, and rangeland condition (through relative abundances of increaser and decreaser species). Regarding forage provision, we found effects of management for the savanna, where, irrespective of rainfall, rotational grazing management resulted in higher phytomass and phytomass–cover ratios than management with continuous grazing. In the grassland, however, this difference was only discernible for phytomass–cover ratio in two years with above-average antecedent rainfall. This suggests that management effects are biome-dependent and that modulating effects of annual rainfall are stronger in the grassland. In either biome, management effects on the dominance of increaser and decreaser species were negligible, i.e. rangeland condition did not differ across management types in either biome. We conclude that investigations on management effects should account for interactions with biome and rainfall.
An Interactive Information Visualization Approach to Physically-Based Rendering
2016-10-10

In this work, we present a novel information visualization tool to gain insight into the light transport in a physically-based rendering setting. The tool consists of a sampling-based data reduction technique, an extended interactive parallel coordinates plot providing an overview of the attributes linked to each light sample, 2D and 3D heat maps to represent different aspects of the rendering process, as well as a three-dimensional view to display and animate the light path transportation throughout the scene. We show several applications including differential light transport visualization for scene analysis, lighting and material optimization, reduction of rendering artifacts, and user-guided importance sampling.
XIPE: the x-ray imaging polarimetry explorer
2016-10-11

XIPE, the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer, is a mission dedicated to X-ray Astronomy. At the time of writing XIPE is in a competitive phase A as fourth medium size mission of ESA (M4). It promises to reopen the polarimetry window in high energy Astrophysics after more than 4 decades thanks to a detector that efficiently exploits the photoelectric effect and to X-ray optics with large effective area. XIPE uniqueness is time-spectrally-spatially- resolved X-ray polarimetry as a breakthrough in high energy astrophysics and fundamental physics. Indeed the payload consists of three Gas Pixel Detectors at the focus of three X-ray optics with a total effective area larger than one XMM mirror but with a low weight. The payload is compatible with the fairing of the Vega launcher. XIPE is designed as an observatory for X-ray astronomers with 75 % of the time dedicated to a Guest Observer competitive program and it is organized as a consortium across Europe with main contributions from Italy, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Poland, Sweden.