Scientific Reports Biology Table of Contents e-alert: 19 May 2015

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19 May 2015      • Visit Scientific Reports • Submit your manuscript to Scientific Reports     Welcome to your Table of Contents e-alert for Scientific Reports         As a new online, open access journal, Human Genome Variation provides articles, reports, and database on variation and variability in the human genome for research community. Some examples of the latest content:  Pathway activation strength is a novel independent prognostic biomarker for cetuximab sensitivity in colorectal cancer patients.           Biological Sciences               Brain structural alterations associated with young women with subthreshold depression ▶     Haijiang Li, Dongtao Wei, Jiangzhou Sun et al.     Neuroanatomical abnormalities in patients with major depression disorder (MDD) have been attracted great research attention. However, the structural alterations associated with …             DNA immunoprecipitation semiconductor sequencing (DIP-SC-seq) as a rapid method to generate genome wide epigenetic signatures ▶     John P. Thomson, Angie Fawkes, Raffaele Ottaviano et al.     Modification of DNA resulting in 5-methylcytosine (5 mC) or 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) has been shown to influence the local chromatin environment and affect transcription. …             The evolution of the gut microbiota in the giant and the red pandas ▶     Ying Li, Wei Guo, Shushu Han et al.     The independent dietary shift from carnivore to herbivore with over 90% being bamboo in the giant and the red pandas is of great interests to biologists. Although previous …             High-Throughput Microfluidic Platform for 3D Cultures of Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Towards Engineering Developmental Processes ▶     Paola Occhetta, Matteo Centola, Beatrice Tonnarelli et al.     The development of in vitro models to screen the effect of different concentrations, combinations and temporal sequences of morpho-regulatory factors on stem/progenitor cells is …             Serum FGF21 levels are associated with brown adipose tissue activity in humans ▶     Mark J.W. Hanssen, Evie Broeders, Ricardo J. Samms et al.     The obesity pandemic has spurred a need for novel therapies to prevent and treat metabolic complications. The recent rediscovery of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in humans made this …             Protein stabilization utilizing a redefined codon ▶     Kazumasa Ohtake, Atsushi Yamaguchi, Takahito Mukai et al.     Recent advances have fundamentally changed the ways in which synthetic amino acids are incorporated into proteins, enabling their efficient and multiple-site incorporation, in …             Licochalcone A-induced human gastric cancer BGC-823 cells apoptosis by regulating ROS-mediated MAPKs and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways ▶     Wenjin Hao, Xuan Yuan, Lina Yu et al.     Both phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT and mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascades play an important role in cell proliferation, survival, angiogenesis, …             An alignment-free method to find and visualise rearrangements between pairs of DNA sequences ▶     Diogo Pratas, Raquel M. Silva, Armando J. Pinho et al.     Species evolution is indirectly registered in their genomic structure. The emergence and advances in sequencing technology provided a way to access genome information, namely to …             Proteomic analysis of three gonad types of swamp eel reveals genes differentially expressed during sex reversal ▶     Yue Sheng, Wei Zhao, Ying Song et al.     A variety of mechanisms are engaged in sex determination in vertebrates. The teleost fish swamp eel undergoes sex reversal naturally and is an ideal model for vertebrate sexual …             Single-cell Migration Chip for Chemotaxis-based Microfluidic Selection of Heterogeneous Cell Populations ▶     Yu-Chih Chen, Steven G. Allen, Patrick N. Ingram et al.     Tumor cell migration toward and intravasation into capillaries is an early and key event in cancer metastasis, yet not all cancer cells are imbued with the same capability to do …             The cytosolic tail of the tumor marker protein Trop2 - a structural switch triggered by phosphorylation ▶     Miha Pavšič, Gregor Ilc, Tilen Vidmar et al.     Trop2 is a transmembrane signaling glycoprotein upregulated in stem and carcinoma cells. Proliferation-enhancing signaling involves regulated intramembrane proteolytic release of …             Modulation of Igβ is essential for the B cell selection in germinal center ▶     Kagefumi Todo, Orie Koga, Miwako Nishikawa et al.     The positive and negative selection of antigen-reactive B cells take place in the germinal center (GC) during an immune responses. However, the precise molecular mechanisms …             MicroRNA-23b Promotes Avian Leukosis Virus Subgroup J (ALV-J) Replication by Targeting IRF1 ▶     Zhenhui Li, Biao Chen, Min Feng et al.     Avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) can cause several different leukemia-like proliferative diseases in the hemopoietic system of chickens. Here, we investigated the …             A systems-biological study on the identification of safe and effective molecular targets for the reduction of ultraviolet B-induced skin pigmentation ▶     Ho-Sung Lee, Myeong-Jin Goh, Junil Kim et al.     Melanogenesis is the process of melanin synthesis through keratinocytes-melanocytes interaction, which is triggered by the damaging effect of ultraviolet-B (UVB) rays. It is …             Ultra High-Resolution In vivo Computed Tomography Imaging of Mouse Cerebrovasculature Using a Long Circulating Blood Pool Contrast Agent ▶     Zbigniew Starosolski, Carlos A. Villamizar, David Rendon et al.     Abnormalities in the cerebrovascular system play a central role in many neurologic diseases. The on-going expansion of rodent models of human cerebrovascular diseases and the …             The Smc5-Smc6 heterodimer associates with DNA through several independent binding domains ▶     Marc-André Roy, Thillaivillalan Dhanaraman, Damien D’Amours     The Smc5-6 complex is required for the maintenance of genome integrity through its functions in DNA repair and chromosome biogenesis. However, the specific mode of action of Smc5 …             Comparative analysis of potassium deficiency-responsive transcriptomes in low potassium susceptible and tolerant wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) ▶     Li Ruan, Jiabao Zhang, Xiuli Xin et al.     Potassium (K+) deficiency as a common abiotic stress can inhibit the growth of plants and thus reduce the agricultural yields. Nevertheless, scarcely any development has been …             Curcumin-Encapsulated Polymeric Micelles Suppress the Development of Colon Cancer In Vitro and In Vivo ▶     Xi Yang, Zhaojun Li, Ning Wang et al.     To develop injectable formulation and improve the stability of curcumin (Cur), Cur was encapsulated into monomethyl poly (ethylene glycol)-poly (ε-caprolactone)-poly …             Highly reproductive Escherichia coli cells with no specific assignment to the UAG codon ▶     Takahito Mukai, Hiroko Hoshi, Kazumasa Ohtake et al.     Escherichia coli is a widely used host organism for recombinant technology, and the bacterial incorporation of non-natural amino acids promises the efficient synthesis of proteins …             Phylogeography of Nanorana parkeri (Anura: Ranidae) and multiple refugia on the Tibetan Plateau revealed by mitochondrial and nuclear DNA ▶     Jun Liu, Cuimin Wang, Dongli Fu et al.     Quaternary climatic changes have been recognized to influence the distribution patterns and evolutionary histories of extant organisms, but their effects on alpine species are not …             Optogenetic control of nerve growth ▶     Seongjun Park, Ryan A. Koppes, Ulrich P. Froriep et al.     Due to the limited regenerative ability of neural tissue, a diverse set of biochemical and biophysical cues for increasing nerve growth has been investigated, including …             Unraveling novel TF-miRNA regulatory crosstalk in metastasis of Soft Tissue Sarcoma ▶     Devyani Samantarrai, Mousumi Sahu, Jyoti Roy et al.     Cancer metastasis is a disease of extreme clinical relevance, as it is responsible for more than 90% of cancer-associated mortality. The molecular mechanism and critical …             In vitro properties of designed antimicrobial peptides that exhibit potent antipneumococcal activity and produces synergism in combination with penicillin ▶     Cheng-Foh Le, Mohd Yasim Mohd Yusof, Hamimah Hassan et al.     Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent a promising class of novel antimicrobial agents owing to their potent antimicrobial activity. In this study, two lead peptides from …             Single cell resolution in vivo imaging of DNA damage following PARP inhibition ▶     Katherine S. Yang, Rainer H. Kohler, Matthieu Landon et al.     Targeting DNA repair pathways is a powerful strategy to treat cancers. To gauge efficacy in vivo, typical response markers include late stage effects such as tumor shrinkage, …             Spatial mapping of the biologic effectiveness of scanned particle beams: towards biologically optimized particle therapy ▶     Fada Guan, Lawrence Bronk, Uwe Titt et al.     The physical properties of particles used in radiation therapy, such as protons, have been well characterized, and their dose distributions are superior to photon-based …             Circulating microRNAs are promising novel biomarkers for drug-resistant epilepsy ▶     Jun Wang, Lan Tan, Lin Tan et al.     MicroRNAs (miRNAs) open up a new field for molecular diagnosis for cancer and other diseases based on their stability in serum. However, the role of circulating miRNAs in …             Basal protein phosphatase 2A activity restrains cytokine expression: role for MAPKs and tristetraprolin ▶     Md. Mostafizur Rahman, Nowshin N. Rumzhum, Jonathan C. Morris et al.     PP2A is a master controller of multiple inflammatory signaling pathways. It is a target in asthma; however the molecular mechanisms by which PP2A controls inflammation warrant …             Chronic hypoxia in pregnancy affected vascular tone of renal interlobar arteries in the offspring ▶     Jiaqi Tang, Zhoufeng Zhu, Shuixiu Xia et al.     Hypoxia during pregnancy could affect development of fetuses as well as cardiovascular systems in the offspring. This study was the first to demonstrate the influence and related …             Assessment of predation risk through referential communication in incubating birds ▶     Toshitaka N. Suzuki     Parents of many bird species produce alarm calls when they approach and deter a nest predator in order to defend their offspring. Alarm calls have been shown to warn nestlings …             Altered white matter integrity in individuals with cognitive vulnerability to depression: a tract-based spatial statistics study ▶     Jing Xiao, Yini He, Chad M. McWhinnie et al.     The microstructure of white matter in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) has been demonstrated to be abnormal. However, it remains unclear whether these changes exist …             Common Oncogene Mutations and Novel SND1-BRAF Transcript Fusion in Lung Adenocarcinoma from Never Smokers ▶     Jin Sung Jang, Adam Lee, Jun Li et al.     Lung adenocarcinomas from never smokers account for approximately 15 to 20% of all lung cancers and these tumors often carry genetic alterations that are responsive to targeted …             Circulating mRNA Profiling in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Identifies FAM84B As A Biomarker In Predicting Pathological Response to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation ▶     Feng-Ming Hsu, Jason Chia-Hsien Cheng, Yih-Leong Chang et al.     Esophageal cancer patients with pathological complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemoradiation (CRT) have favorable outcomes. Currently, there was no reliable biomarker …             Curcumin Pyrazole and its derivative (N-(3-Nitrophenylpyrazole) Curcumin inhibit aggregation, disrupt fibrils and modulate toxicity of Wild type and Mutant α-Synuclein ▶     Nuzhat Ahsan, Satyendra Mishra, Manish Kumar Jain et al.     Accumulating evidence suggests that deposition of neurotoxic α-synuclein aggregates in the brain during the development of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease can …             Piperlongumine and immune cytokine TRAIL synergize to promote tumor death ▶     Jiahe Li, Charles C. Sharkey, Michael R. King     Malignant transformation results in increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Adaption to this toxic stress allows cancer cells to proliferate. Recently, piperlongumine …             SMAD3 deficiency promotes vessel wall remodeling, collagen fiber reorganization and leukocyte infiltration in an inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm mouse model ▶     Xiaohua Dai, Jianbin Shen, Neeraja Priyanka Annam et al.     TGF-β signaling plays critical roles in the pathogenesis of aneurysms; however, it is still unclear whether its role is protective or destructive. In this study, we investigate …             Propagation of pure fetal and maternal mesenchymal stromal cells from terminal chorionic villi of human term placenta ▶     Smitha Mathews, K. Lakshmi Rao, K. Suma Prasad et al.     Long term propagation of human fetal mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) in vitro has proven elusive due to limited availability of fetal tissue sources and lack of appropriate …             Interfacing low-energy SAW nebulization with Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry for the analysis of biological samples ▶     Karina Tveen-Jensen, Frank Gesellchen, Rab Wilson et al.     Soft ionization methods for the introduction of labile biomolecules into a mass spectrometer are of fundamental importance to biomolecular analysis. Previously, electrospray …             Evaluating information content of SNPs for sample-tagging in re-sequencing projects ▶     Hao Hu, Xiang Liu, Wenfei Jin et al.     Sample-tagging is designed for identification of accidental sample mix-up, which is a major issue in re-sequencing studies. In this work, we develop a model to measure the …             Rhodobacter sphaeroides mutants overexpressing chlorophyllide a oxidoreductase of Blastochlorisviridis elucidate functions of enzymes in late bacteriochlorophyll biosynthetic pathways ▶     Yusuke Tsukatani, Jiro Harada, Jiro Nomata et al.     In previous studies we have demonstrated that chlorophyllide a oxidoreductases (CORs) from bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) a-producing Rhodobacter species and BChl b-producing …             Rapid and retrievable recording of big data of time-lapse 3D shadow images of microbial colonies ▶     Hiroyuki Ogawa, Senshi Nasu, Motomu Takeshige et al.     We formerly developed an automatic colony count system based on the time-lapse shadow image analysis (TSIA). Here this system has been upgraded and applied to practical rapid …             Neurological morphofunctional differentiation induced by REAC technology in PC12. A neuro protective model for Parkinson’s disease ▶     Margherita Maioli, Salvatore Rinaldi, Rossana Migheli et al.     Research for the use of physical means, in order to induce cell differentiation for new therapeutic strategies, is one of the most interesting challenges in the field of …             Helical Growth of Aluminum Nitride: New Insights into Its Growth Habit from Nanostructures to Single Crystals ▶     Xing-Hong Zhang, Rui-Wen Shao, Lei Jin et al.     By understanding the growth mechanism of nanomaterials, the morphological features of nanostructures can be rationally controlled, thereby achieving the desired physical …             Evolutionary origin and demographic history of an ancient conifer (Juniperus microsperma) in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau ▶     Hui-Ying Shang, Zhong-Hu Li, Miao Dong et al.     All Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) endemic species are assumed to have originated recently, although very rare species most likely diverged early. These ancient species provide an …             Black tea protects against hypertension-associated endothelial dysfunction through alleviation of endoplasmic reticulum stress ▶     Wai San Cheang, Ching Yuen Ngai, Ye Yen Tam et al.     Hypertensive patients have been found to be associated with elevated levels of homocysteine, known as hyperhomocysteinemia. Homocysteine (Hcy) can induce endoplasmic reticulum …             Impaired cell envelope resulting from arcA mutation largely accounts for enhanced sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide in Shewanella oneidensis ▶     Fen Wan, Yinting Mao, Yangyang Dong et al.     Oxidative stress is one of the major challenges that Shewanella encounter routinely because they thrive in redox-stratified environments prone to reactive oxygen species (ROS) …             A Multiplexed Device Based on Tunable Nanoshearing for Specific Detection of Multiple Protein Biomarkers in Serum ▶     Ramanathan Vaidyanathan, Lara Michelle van Leeuwen, Sakandar Rauf et al.     Microfluidic flow based multiplexed devices have gained significant promise in detecting biomarkers in complex biological samples. However, to fully exploit their use in …             Genome-wide transcriptome profiling provides insights into floral bud development of summer-flowering Camellia azalea ▶     Zhengqi Fan, Jiyuan Li, Xinlei Li et al.     The transition from vegetative to reproductive growth in woody perennials involves pathways controlling flowering timing, bud dormancy and outgrowth in responses to seasonal cues. …             CfLec-3 from scallop: an entrance to non-self recognition mechanism of invertebrate C-type lectin ▶     Jialong Yang, Mengmeng Huang, Huan Zhang et al.     A C-type lectin (CfLec-3) from Chlamys farreri with three carbohydrate-recognition domains (CRDs) was selected to dissect the possible mechanisms of PAMP binding and functional …             Real-time monitoring of cell protrusion dynamics by impedance responses ▶     Paolo Armando Gagliardi, Alberto Puliafito, Laura di Blasio et al.     Cellular protrusions are highly dynamic structures involved in fundamental processes, including cell migration and invasion. For a cell to migrate, its leading edge must form …             Notes on stochastic (bio)-logic gates: computing with allosteric cooperativity ▶     Elena Agliari, Matteo Altavilla, Adriano Barra et al.     Recent experimental breakthroughs have finally allowed to implement in-vitro reaction kinetics (the so called enzyme based logic) which code for two-inputs logic gates and mimic …             Retinoic acid homeostasis through aldh1a2 and cyp26a1 mediates meiotic entry in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) ▶     Ruijuan Feng, Lingling Fang, Yunying Cheng et al.     Meiosis is a process unique to the differentiation of germ cells. Retinoic acid (RA) is the key factor controlling the sex-specific timing of meiotic initiation in tetrapods; …             Functional Characterization of Novel Sesquiterpene Synthases from Indian Sandalwood, Santalum album ▶     Prabhakar Lal Srivastava, Pankaj P. Daramwar, Ramakrishnan Krithika et al.     Indian Sandalwood, Santalum album L. is highly valued for its fragrant heartwood oil and is dominated by a blend of sesquiterpenes. Sesquiterpenes are formed through cyclization …             Flatworms have lost the right open reading frame kinase 3 gene during evolution ▶     Bert Breugelmans, Brendan R. E. Ansell, Neil D. Young et al.     All multicellular organisms studied to date have three right open reading frame kinase genes (designated riok-1, riok-2 and riok-3). Current evidence indicates that riok-1 and …             Enzyme-activated intracellular drug delivery with tubule clay nanoformulation ▶     Maria R. Dzamukova, Ekaterina A. Naumenko, Yuri M. Lvov et al.     Fabrication of stimuli-triggered drug delivery vehicle s is an important milestone in treating cancer. Here we demonstrate the selective anticancer drug delivery into human cells …             Acidification reduced growth rate but not swimming speed of larval sea urchins ▶     Kit Yu Karen Chan, Eliseba García, Sam Dupont     Swimming behaviors of planktonic larvae impact dispersal and population dynamics of many benthic marine invertebrates. This key ecological function is modulated by larval …             Number of Nanoparticles per Cell through a Spectrophotometric Method - A key parameter to Assess Nanoparticle-based Cellular Assays ▶     Juan D. Unciti-Broceta, Victoria Cano-Cortés, Patricia Altea-Manzano et al.     Engineered nanoparticles (eNPs) for biological and biomedical applications are produced from functionalised nanoparticles (NPs) after undergoing multiple handling steps, giving …             A biochemical network can control formation of a synthetic material by sensing numerous specific stimuli ▶     Ju Hun Yeon, Karen Y. T. Chan, Ting-Chia Wong et al.     Developing bio-compatible smart materials that assemble in response to environmental cues requires strategies that can discriminate multiple specific stimuli in a complex milieu. …             Early Miocene elevation in northern Tibet estimated by palaeobotanical evidence ▶     Bin Sun, Yu-Fei Wang, Cheng-Sen Li et al.     The area and elevation of the Tibetan Plateau over time has directly affected Asia’s topography, the characteristics of the Asian monsoon, and modified global climate, but in …             Morphological Characterisation of Unstained and Intact Tissue Micro-architecture by X-ray Computed Micro- and Nano-Tomography ▶     Lucy A. Walton, Robert S. Bradley, Philip J. Withers et al.     Characterisation and quantification of tissue structures is limited by sectioning-induced artefacts and by the difficulties of visualising and segmenting 3D volumes. Here we …             Tracking of dendritic cell migration into lymph nodes using molecular imaging with sodium iodide symporter and enhanced firefly luciferase genes ▶     Ho Won Lee, Seung Yun Yoon, Thoudam Debraj Singh et al.     We sought to evaluate the feasibility of molecular imaging using the human sodium iodide symporter (hNIS) gene as a reporter, in addition to the enhanced firefly luciferase …             Optogenetic stimulation of mPFC pyramidal neurons as a conditioned stimulus supports associative learning in rats ▶     Guang-yan Wu, Guo-long Liu, Hui-min Zhang et al.     It is generally accepted that the associative learning occurs when a behaviorally neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) is paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) in …             Rational design of metallic nanocavities for resonantly enhanced four-wave mixing ▶     Euclides Almeida, Yehiam Prior     Optimizing the shape of nanostructures and nano-antennas for specific optical properties has evolved to be a very fruitful activity. With modern fabrication tools a large variety …             An Integrated Metagenomics/Metaproteomics Investigation of the Microbial Communities and Enzymes in Solid-state Fermentation of Pu-erh tea ▶     Ming Zhao, Dong-lian Zhang, Xiao-qin Su et al.     Microbial enzymes during solid-state fermentation (SSF), which play important roles in the food, chemical, pharmaceutical and environmental fields, remain relatively unknown. In …             Higher-order repeat structure in alpha satellite DNA occurs in New World monkeys and is not confined to hominoids ▶     Penporn Sujiwattanarat, Watcharaporn Thapana, Kornsorn Srikulnath et al.     Centromeres usually contain large amounts of tandem repeat DNA. Alpha satellite DNA (AS) is the most abundant tandem repeat DNA found in the centromeres of simian primates. The …             Skeletal plasticity in response to embryonic muscular activity underlies the development and evolution of the perching digit of birds ▶     João Francisco Botelho, Daniel Smith-Paredes, Sergio Soto-Acuña et al.     Most birds have an opposable digit 1 (hallux) allowing the foot to grasp, which evolved from the non-opposable hallux of early theropod dinosaurs. An important morphological …             Hippocampal memory enhancing activity of pine needle extract against scopolamine-induced amnesia in a mouse model ▶     Jin-Seok Lee, Hyeong-Geug Kim, Hye-Won Lee et al.     We evaluated the neuropharmacological effects of 30% ethanolic pine needle extract (PNE) on memory impairment caused by scopolamine injection in mice hippocampus. Mice were orally …             Finding and tracing human MSC in 3D microenvironments with the photoconvertible protein Dendra2 ▶     Hugo R. Caires, Maria Gomez-Lazaro, Carla M. Oliveira et al.     Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells (MSC) are a promising cell type for cell-based therapies - from tissue regeneration to treatment of autoimmune diseases - due to their capacity to …             Quantitative assessment of the association between AXIN2 rs2240308 polymorphism and cancer risk ▶     Juan Gong, Yuan Jiang, Ningbo Hao et al.     Axin2 is involved in the regulation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway and implicated in cancer development and progression. The association between AXIN2 rs2240308 polymorphism and cancer …             Noise-robust recognition of wide-field motion direction and the underlying neural mechanisms in Drosophila melanogaster ▶     Yoshinori Suzuki, Hideaki Ikeda, Takuya Miyamoto et al.     Appropriate and robust behavioral control in a noisy environment is important for the survival of most organisms. Understanding such robust behavioral control has been an …             Impact of spatial dispersion, evolution, and selection on Ebola Zaire Virus epidemic waves ▶     Taj Azarian, Alessandra Lo Presti, Marta Giovanetti et al.     Ebola virus Zaire (EBOV) has reemerged in Africa, emphasizing the global importance of this pathogen. Amidst the response to the current epidemic, several gaps in our knowledge …             Prognostic value of meta-signature miRNAs in renal cell carcinoma: an integrated miRNA expression profiling analysis ▶     Kun Tang, Hua Xu     To identify a robust panel of microRNA (miRNA) signatures that can distinguish renal cell carcinoma (RCC) from normal kidney using miRNA expression levels. We performed a …             Trichostatin A specifically improves the aberrant expression of transcription factor genes in embryos produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer ▶     Kimiko Inoue, Mami Oikawa, Satoshi Kamimura et al.     Although mammalian cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been established in various species, the low developmental efficiency has hampered its practical …             Marine lipopeptide Iturin A inhibits Akt mediated GSK3β and FoxO3a signaling and triggers apoptosis in breast cancer ▶     Goutam Dey, Rashmi Bharti, Gunaseelan Dhanarajan et al.     Akt kinase is a critical component of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, which is frequently over expressed in human cancers including breast. Therapeutic regimens for inhibiting …             Inhibition of STAT3, FAK and Src mediated signaling reduces cancer stem cell load, tumorigenic potential and metastasis in breast cancer ▶     Ravi Thakur, Rachana Trivedi, Namrata Rastogi et al.     Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsible for aggressive tumor growth, metastasis and therapy resistance. In this study, we evaluated the effects of Shikonin (Shk) on breast …             Delivery of a mucin domain enriched in cysteine residues strengthens the intestinal mucous barrier ▶     Valérie Gouyer, Laurent Dubuquoy, Catherine Robbe-Masselot et al.     A weakening of the gut mucous barrier permits an increase in the access of intestinal luminal contents to the epithelial cells, which will trigger the inflammatory response. In …             Multivalent Aptamer/Gold Nanoparticle–Modified Graphene Oxide for Mass Spectrometry–Based Tumor Tissue Imaging ▶     Rong-Cing Huang, Wei-Jane Chiu, Irving Po-Jung Lai et al.     The protein mucin1 (MUC1) is an attractive target for cancer biomarkers because it is overexpressed in most adenocarcinomas. In this study, we exploited a MUC1-binding aptamer …             Fat/carbohydrate ratio but not energy density determines snack food intake and activates brain reward areas ▶     Tobias Hoch, Silke Kreitz, Simone Gaffling et al.     The snack food potato chips induces food intake in ad libitum fed rats, which is associated with modulation of the brain reward system and other circuits. Here, we show that food …             Soft X-Ray Microscopy Radiation Damage On Fixed Cells Investigated With Synchrotron Radiation FTIR Microscopy ▶     A. Gianoncelli, L. Vaccari, G. Kourousias et al.     Radiation damage of biological samples remains a limiting factor in high resolution X-ray microscopy (XRM). Several studies have attempted to evaluate the extent and the effects …             A new gender-specific model for skin autofluorescence risk stratification ▶     Muhammad S. Ahmad, Zoheir A. Damanhouri, Torben Kimhofer et al.     Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) are believed to play a significant role in the pathophysiology of a variety of diseases including diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. …             Exosomes derived from alcohol-treated hepatocytes horizontally transfer liver specific miRNA-122 and sensitize monocytes to LPS ▶     Fatemeh Momen-Heravi, Shashi Bala, Karen Kodys et al.     Hepatocyte damage and inflammation in monocytes/macrophages are central to the pathogenesis of alcoholic hepatitis (AH). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate all of these processes. …             Oblongifolin C inhibits metastasis by up-regulating keratin 18 and tubulins ▶     Xiaoyu Wang, Yuanzhi Lao, Naihan Xu et al.     Tumor metastasis is the main cause of cancer-related patient death. In this study, we performed a wound healing migration screen to search for a metastatic inhibitor within our …             Lung microbiota across age and disease stage in cystic fibrosis ▶     Bryan Coburn, Pauline W. Wang, Julio Diaz Caballero et al.     Understanding the significance of bacterial species that colonize and persist in cystic fibrosis (CF) airways requires a detailed examination of bacterial community structure …             Role of the Tau N-terminal region in microtubule stabilization revealed by new endogenous truncated forms ▶     Maxime Derisbourg, Coline Leghay, Giovanni Chiappetta et al.     Tau is a central player in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related Tauopathies, where it is found as aggregates in degenerating neurons. Abnormal post-translational modifications, …             Caffeine-induced increase in voluntary activation and strength of the quadriceps muscle during isometric, concentric and eccentric contractions ▶     Martin Behrens, Anett Mau-Moeller, Matthias Weippert et al.     This study investigated effects of caffeine ingestion (8 mg/kg) on maximum voluntary torque (MVT) and voluntary activation of the quadriceps during isometric, concentric and …             Chitosan encapsulation modulates the effect of capsaicin on the tight junctions of MDCK cells ▶     M. Kaiser, S. Pereira, L. Pohl et al.     Capsaicin has known pharmacological effects including the ability to reversibly open cellular tight junctions, among others. The aim of this study was to develop a strategy to …             Nano titania aided clustering and adhesion of beneficial bacteria to plant roots to enhance crop growth and stress management ▶     N. G. M. Palmqvist, S. Bejai, J. Meijer et al.     A novel use of Titania nanoparticles as agents in the nano interface interaction between a beneficial plant growth promoting bacterium (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens UCMB5113) and …             Monitoring Brain Activity with Protein Voltage and Calcium Sensors ▶     Douglas A. Storace, Oliver R. Braubach, Lei Jin et al.     Understanding the roles of different cell types in the behaviors generated by neural circuits requires protein indicators that report neural activity with high spatio-temporal …             Limited Sexual Reproduction and Quick Turnover in the Population Genetic Structure of Phytophthora infestans in Fujian, China ▶     Wen Zhu, Li-Na Yang, E-Jiao Wu et al.     The mating system plays an important role in the spatiotemporal dynamics of pathogen populations through both its direct and indirect impact on the generation and distribution of …             Comparative analysis of the Dicer-like gene family reveals loss of miR162 target site in SmDCL1 from Salvia miltiorrhiza ▶     Fenjuan Shao, Deyou Qiu, Shanfa Lu     DCL1, the core component for miRNA biogenesis, is itself regulated by miR162 in Arabidopsis. MiRNA-mediated feedback regulation of AtDCL1 is important to maintain the proper …             Retinoic acid receptor beta and angiopoietin-like protein 1 are involved in the regulation of human androgen biosynthesis ▶     Sameer S. Udhane, Amit V. Pandey, Gaby Hofer et al.     Androgens are essential for sexual development and reproduction. However, androgen regulation in health and disease is poorly understood. We showed that human adrenocortical …             Multielement stoichiometry of submerged macrophytes across Yunnan plateau lakes (China) ▶     Wei Xing, Haoping Wu, Qiao Shi et al.     Stoichiometric homeostasis of element composition is one of the central concepts of ecological stoichiometry. We analyzed concentrations of macroelements (C, N, P, Ca, K, Mg, S), …             Label-Free Capacitance-Based Identification of Viruses ▶     Mahmoud Al Ahmad, Farah Mustafa, Lizna M. Ali et al.     This study was undertaken to quantitate a single virus suspension in culture medium without any pre-processing. The electrical capacitance per virus particle was used to identify …             A hybrid-membrane migration method to isolate high-purity adipose-derived stem cells from fat tissues ▶     Akon Higuchi, Ching-Tang Wang, Qing-Dong Ling et al.     Human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) exhibit heterogeneous characteristics, indicating various genotypes and differentiation abilities. The isolated hADSCs can possess …             Effect of targeted estrogen delivery using glucagon-like peptide-1 on insulin secretion, insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis ▶     Joseph P. Tiano, Chandra R. Tate, Bin S. Yang et al.     The female estrogen 17β-estradiol (E2) enhances pancreatic β-cell function via estrogen receptors (ERs). However, the risk of hormone dependent cancer precludes the use of …             Hepatitis B virus replication and sex-determining region Y box 4 production are tightly controlled by a novel positive feedback mechanism ▶     Jian Shang, Yuan Zheng, Xiaohong Guo et al.     Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major cause of liver diseases. However, the mechanisms underlying HBV infection and pathogenesis remain largely unknown. The …             Reliability of neuronal information conveyed by unreliable neuristor-based leaky integrate-and-fire neurons: a model study ▶     Hyungkwang Lim, Vladimir Kornijcuk, Jun Yeong Seok et al.     We conducted simulations on the neuronal behavior of neuristor-based leaky integrate-and-fire (NLIF) neurons. The phase-plane analysis on the NLIF neuron highlights its spiking …             Plasma Membrane Proteolipid 3 Protein Modulates Amphotericin B Resistance through Sphingolipid Biosynthetic Pathway ▶     Vinay K. Bari, Sushma Sharma, Md. Alfatah et al.     Invasive opportunistic fungal infections of humans are common among those suffering from impaired immunity, and are difficult to treat resulting in high mortality. Amphotericin B …             Negative regulatory roles of DE-ETIOLATED1 in flowering time in Arabidopsis ▶     Min-Young Kang, Soo-Cheul Yoo, Hye-Young Kwon et al.     Arabidopsis flowers early under long days (LD) and late under short days (SD). The repressor of photomorphogenesis DE-ETIOLATED1 (DET1) delays flowering; det1-1 mutants flower …             Dot1 histone methyltransferases share a distributive mechanism but have highly diverged catalytic properties ▶     Iris J. E. Stulemeijer, Dirk De Vos, Kirsten van Harten et al.     The conserved histone methyltransferase Dot1 establishes an H3K79 methylation pattern consisting of mono-, di- and trimethylation states on histone H3 via a distributive …             Development of a Serological Assay for the Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) Anellovirus, ZcAV ▶     Elizabeth Fahsbender, Karyna Rosario, John P. Cannon et al.     New diseases in marine animals are emerging at an increasing rate, yet methodological limitations hinder characterization of viral infections. Viral metagenomics is an effective …             Structural basis for epitope masking and strain specificity of a conserved epitope in an intrinsically disordered malaria vaccine candidate ▶     Rodrigo A. V. Morales, Christopher A. MacRaild, Jeffrey Seow et al.     Merozoite surface protein 2 (MSP2) is an intrinsically disordered, membrane-anchored antigen of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. MSP2 can elicit a protective, albeit …             Chromosome microduplication in somatic cells decreases the genetic stability of human reprogrammed somatic cells and results in pluripotent stem cells ▶     Yang Yu, Liang Chang, Hongcui Zhao et al.     Human pluripotent stem cells, including cloned embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells, offer a limitless cellular source for regenerative medicine. However, their …             Activity of Novel Synthetic Peptides against Candida albicans ▶     Kah Yean Lum, Sun Tee Tay, Cheng Foh Le et al.     Candida spp. are the most common causes of fungal infections worldwide. Among the Candida species, Candida albicans remains the predominant species that causes invasive …             A method for human teratogen detection by geometrically confined cell differentiation and migration ▶     Jiangwa Xing, Yi-Chin Toh, Shuoyu Xu et al.     Unintended exposure to teratogenic compounds can lead to various birth defects; however current animal-based testing is limited by time, cost and high inter-species variability. …             Tipping points and early warning signals in the genomic composition of populations induced by environmental changes ▶     Jacobo Aguirre, Susanna Manrubia     We live in an ever changing biosphere that faces continuous and often stressing environmental challenges. From this perspective, much effort is currently devoted to understanding …             A point mutation in the extracellular domain of KIT promotes tumorigenesis of mast cells via ligand-independent auto-dimerization ▶     Yosuke Amagai, Akira Matsuda, Kyungsook Jung et al.     Mutations in the juxtamembrane and tyrosine kinase domains of the KIT receptor have been implicated in several cancers and are known to promote tumorigenesis. However, the …             Mapping paddy rice planting area in wheat-rice double-cropped areas through integration of Landsat-8 OLI, MODIS, and PALSAR images ▶     Jie Wang, Xiangming Xiao, Yuanwei Qin et al.     As farmland systems vary over space and time (season and year), accurate and updated maps of paddy rice are needed for studies of food security and environmental problems. We …             Proteomic-based biotyping reveals hidden diversity within a microalgae culture collection: An example using Dunaliella ▶     Kaveh Emami, Ethan Hack, Andrew Nelson et al.     Accurate and defendable taxonomic identification of microalgae strains is vital for culture collections, industry and academia; particularly when addressing issues of …             Phase-contrast zoom tomography reveals precise locations of macrophages in mouse lungs ▶     Martin Krenkel, Andrea Markus, Matthias Bartels et al.     We have performed x-ray phase-contrast tomography on mouse lung tissue. Using a divergent x-ray beam generated by nanoscale focusing, we used zoom tomography to produce …             Convertible MRI contrast: Sensing the delivery and release of anti-glioma nano-drugs ▶     Liang Zhang, Zhongwei Zhang, Ralph P. Mason et al.     There is considerable interest in developing nanohybrids of imaging contrast agents and drugs for image-guided drug delivery. 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