bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cell chirality: emergence of asymmetry from cell culture
Authors: Wan Leo Q. , Chin Amanda S. , Worley Kathryn E. , Ray Poulomi
Published: November 2016

Increasing evidence suggests that intrinsic cell chirality significantly contributes to the left–right (LR) asymmetry in embryonic development, which is a well-conserved characteristic of living organisms. With animal embryos, several theories have been established, but there are still controversies regarding mechanisms associated with embryonic LR symmetry breaking and the formation of asymmetric internal organs. Recently,in vitrosystems have been developed to determine cell chirality and to recapitulate multicellular chiral morphogenesis on a chip. These studies demonstrate that chirality is indeed a universal property of the cell that can be observed with well-controlled experiments such as micropatterning. In this paper, we discuss the possible benefits of thesein vitrosystems to research in LR asymmetry, categorize available platforms for single-cell chirality and multicellular chiral morphogenesis, and review mathematical models used forin vitrocell chirality and its applications inin vivoembryonic development. These recent developments enable the interrogation of the intracellular machinery in LR axis establishment and accelerate research in birth defects in laterality.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘Provocative questions in left–right asymmetry’.
Identifying genetic variants that affect viability in large cohorts
Authors: Mostafavi Hakhamanesh , Berisa Tomaz , Day Felix R , R B Perry John , Przeworski Molly , Pickrell Joseph K
Published: November 2016

A number of open questions in human evolutionary genetics would become tractable if we were able to directly measure evolutionary fitness. As a step towards this goal, we developed a method to examine whether individual genetic variants, or sets of genetic variants, currently influence viability. The approach consists in testing whether the frequency of an allele varies across ages, accounting for variation in ancestry. We applied it to the Genetic Epidemiology Research on Aging (GERA) cohort and to the parents of participants in the UK Biobank. Across the genome, we find only a few common variants with large effects on age-specific mortality: tagging theAPOEε4 allele and nearCHRNA3. These results suggest that when large, even late onset effects are kept at low frequency by purifying selection. Testing viability effects of sets of genetic variants that jointly influence one of 42 traits, we detect a number of strong signals. In participants of the UK Biobank study of British ancestry, we find that variants that delay puberty timing are enriched in longer-lived parents (P~6×10−6for fathers andP~2×10−3for mothers), consistent with epidemiological studies. Similarly, in mothers, variants associated with later age at first birth are associated with a longer lifespan (P~1×10−3). Signals are also observed for variants influencing cholesterol levels, risk of coronary artery disease, body mass index, as well as risk of asthma. These signals exhibit consistent effects in the GERA cohort and among participants of the UK Biobank of non-British ancestry. Moreover, we see marked differences between males and females, most notably at theCHRNA3locus, and variants associated with risk of coronary artery disease and cholesterol levels. Beyond our findings, the analysis serves as a proof of principle for how upcoming biomedical datasets can be used to learn about selection effects in contemporary humans.
Vaccination has minimal impact on the intrahost diversity of H3N2 influenza viruses
Authors: Debbink Kari , McCrone John T. , Petrie Joshua G. , Truscon Rachel , Johnson Emileigh , Mantlo Emily K. , Monto Arnold S. , Lauring Adam S.
Published: November 2016

While influenza virus diversity and antigenic drift have been well characterized on a global scale, the factors that influence the virus’ rapid evolution within and between human hosts are less clear. Given the modest effectiveness of seasonal vaccination, vaccine-induced antibody responses could serve as a potent selective pressure for novel influenza variants at the individual or community level. We used next generation sequencing of patient-derived viruses from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of vaccine efficacy to characterize the diversity of influenza A virus and to define the impact of vaccine-induced immunity on within-host populations. Importantly, this study design allowed us to isolate the impact of vaccination while still studying natural infection. We used pre-season hemagglutination inhibition and neuraminidase inhibition titers to quantify vaccine-induced immunity directly and to assess its impact on intrahost populations. We identified 166 cases of H3N2 influenza over 3 seasons and 5119 person-years. We obtained whole genome sequence data for 119 samples and used a stringent and empirically validated analysis pipeline to identify intrahost single nucleotide variants at ≥1% frequency. Phylogenetic analysis of consensus hemagglutinin and neuraminidase sequences showed no stratification by pre-season HAI and NAI titer, respectively. In our study population, we found that the vast majority of intrahost single nucleotide variants were rare and that very few were found in more than one individual. Most samples had fewer than 15 single nucleotide variants across the entire genome, and the level of diversity did not significantly vary with day of sampling, vaccination status, or pre-season antibody titer. Contrary to what has been suggested in experimental systems, our data indicate that seasonal influenza vaccination has little impact on intrahost diversity in natural infection and that vaccine-induced immunity may be only a minor contributor to antigenic drift at local scales.
Estimation of sub-epidemic dynamics by means of Sequential Monte Carlo Approximate Bayesian Computation: an application to the Swiss HIV Cohort Study
Authors: Neke Ibeh , Aris-Brosou Stéphane
Published: November 2016

Our ability to accurately infer transmission patterns of infectious diseases is critical to monitor both their spread and the efficacy of public health policies. The use of phylogenetic methods for the reconstruction of viral ancestral relationships has garnered increasing interest, particularly in the characterization of HIV epidemics and sub-epidemics. In the case of this virus, the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) contains a wide breadth of genomic data that have been widely used as a means of applying such methods. However, current approaches for quantifying the epidemiological dynamics of diseases are computationally intensive, and fail to scale well with this magnitude of data. To address this issue, we re-implement an Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) approach based on sequential Monte Carlo (SMC). By means of simulations, we demonstrate that our implementation is capable of inferring key epidemiological parameters of the Swiss HIV epidemic accurately, and that sampling intensity has no significant effect on the accuracy of our estimates. Applied to a subset of HIV sequences from the SHCS, we show that we can distinguish sub-epidemics that are circulating in culturally distinct Swiss regions. Given these findings, we propose that ABC-SMC samplers will allow us to evaluate the impact of new public health policies, such as the implementation of a needle exchange program in the case of HIV, based on genetic data sampled before and after the implementation of a new policy.
Deep learning with feature embedding for compound-protein interaction prediction
Authors: Wan Fangping , Zeng Jianyang (Michael)
Published: November 2016

Accurately identifying compound-protein interactionsin silicocan deepen our understanding of the mechanisms of drug action and significantly facilitate the drug discovery and development process. Traditional similarity-based computational models for compound-protein interaction prediction rarely exploit the latent features from current available large-scale unlabelled compound and protein data, and often limit their usage on relatively small-scale datasets. We propose a new scheme that combines feature embedding (a technique of representation learning) with deep learning for predicting compound-protein interactions. Our method automatically learns the low-dimensional implicit but expressive features for compounds and proteins from the massive amount of unlabelled data. Combining effective feature embedding with powerful deep learning techniques, our method provides a general computational pipeline for accurate compound-protein interaction prediction, even when the interaction knowledge of compounds and proteins is entirely unknown. Evaluations on current large-scale databases of the measured compound-protein affinities, such as ChEMBL and BindingDB, as well as known drug-target interactions from DrugBank have demonstrated the superior prediction performance of our method, and suggested that it can offer a useful tool for drug development and drug repositioning.
PRDX6 inhibits neurogenesis of neural precursor cells through downregulation of wdfy1 mediated TLR4 signal
Authors: Park Mi Hee , Son Dong Ju , Nam Kyoung Tak , Kim So Young , Oh Sang Yeon , Song Min Ji , Chun Hyung Ok , Lee Tae Hyung , Hong Jin Tae
Published: November 2016

Impaired neurogenesis has been associated with brain disorders. The role of peroxiredoxin 6 (PRDX6) in the neurodegenerative diseases is very controversial. To demonstrate the role of PRDX6 in neurogenesis, we compared neurogenesis ability and studied the molecular mechanisms. It was found that the neurogenesis of neural stem cells and expression of the marker protein were lowered in PRDX6 Tg-mice compared with non-tg mice. Moreover, the expression of wdfy1 was dramatically decreased in PRDX6-Tg mice, also, we observed that wdfy1 siRNA decreases the differentiation ability of primary neural stem cells to astrocyte and neuronal cells as well as PC12 cells. However, knockdown of PRDX6 recovered neurogenesis in the brain of PRDX6-Tg mice as well as PC-12 cells. We also showed that TLR4 was dramatically reduced in PRDX6 Tg mice as well as PC-12 cells and PRDX6 overexpression reduced neurogenesis was rescued after treatment of TLR4 siRNA. We further found that reduced TLR4 expression and neurogenesis was reversed in the neuron from PRDX6-Tg mice as well as PC12 cells by introduction of wdfy1 plasmid. Moreover, TLR4 siRNA reduced neurogenesis and wdfy1 expression. This study indicated that PRDX6 inhibits neurogenesis of neural precursor cells through TLR4 dependent downregulation of wdfy1.
Growth and structural and physical properties of diisopropylammonium bromide molecular single crystals
Authors: Yadav Harsh , Sinha Nidhi , Goel Sahil , Hussain Abid , Kumar Binay
Published: November 2016

Large single crystals of the promising molecular organic ferroelectric diisopropylammonium bromide (DIPAB) have been grown by the solution technique. A structural study was performed using single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The twin element of a selected DIPAB crystal was identified by a morphological study. Intermolecular interactions present in the grown crystal were explored by Hirshfeld surface (three-dimensional) and fingerprint plot (two-dimensional) studies. In UV–vis spectroscopy, the DIPAB crystal has shown high transparency with a wide direct band gap of 5.65 eV. In the photoluminescence spectrum, sharp UV and blue emissions were observed at 370, 392, 417 and 432 nm. The electrical properties were investigated by measuring the dielectric constant (ɛ) and loss (tanδ) of the grown crystal. The DIPAB crystal exhibits a promising piezoelectric charge coefficient (d
33) value of 18 pC N−1, which makes it suitable for transducer applications. A high ferroelectric Curie temperature (T
c ≃ 425 K) with high remnant polarization (20.52 µC cm−2) and high coercive field (12.25 kV cm−1) were observed in the as-grown crystal. Vickers microhardness analysis shows that the value of Meyer's index (n = 7.27) belongs to the soft material range, which was also confirmed by void analysis along three crystallographic axes. It is shown that the DIPAB crystal has potential for optical, ferroelectric and piezoelectric applications.
Crystal structures of hydrogen-bonded co-crystals as liquid crystal precursors: 4-(n-pentyloxy)benzoic acid–(E)-1,2-bis(pyridin-4-yl)ethene (2/1) and 4-(n-hexyloxy)benzoic acid–(E)-1,2-bis(pyridin-4-yl)ethene (2/1)
Authors: Tabuchi Yohei , Gotoh Kazuma , Ishida Hiroyuki
Published: November 2016

The crystal structures of title hydrogen-bonded co-crystals, 2C12H16O3·C12H10N2, (I), and 2C13H18O3·C12H10N2, (II), have been determined at 93 K. In (I), the asymmetric unit consists of one 4-(n-pentyloxy)benzoic acid molecule and one half-molecule of (E)-1,2-bis(pyridin-4-yl)ethene, which lies about an inversion centre. The asymmetric unit of (II) comprises two crystallographically independent 4-(n-hexyloxy)benzoic acid molecules and one 1,2-bis(pyridin-4-yl)ethene molecule. In each crystal, the acid and base components are linked by O—H...N hydrogen bonds, forming a linear hydrogen-bonded 2:1 unit of the acid and the base. The 2:1 units are linkedviaC—H...π and π–π interactions [centroid–centroid distances of 3.661 (2) and 3.909 (2) Å for (I), and 3.546 (2)–3.725 (4) Å for (II)], forming column structures. In (II), the base molecule is orientationally disordered over two sets of sites approximately around the N...N molecular axis, with an occupancy ratio of 0.647 (4):0.353 (4), and the average structure of the 2:1 unit adopts nearly pseudo-C2symmetry. Both compounds show liquid-crystal behaviour.
Redetermination ofcatena-poly[[chloridolead(II)]-μ2-chlorido-di-μ2-thiourea-κ4S:S] at 100 K
Authors: Zouihri Hafid , Yamni Khalid , Messouss Youssef , Tijani Najib , Messaoudi Lahcen
Published: November 2016

Although the structure rerefinement (CCD data at 100 K) of the polymeric lead(II) thiourea complex, [PbCl2·2tu]nwhere (tu = SCN2H4), basically confirmed the previous study based on integrated Weissenberg data recorded at room temperature [Nardelli & Fava (1959).Acta Cryst.12, 727–732]; all atomic positions could be determined with significantly higher precision and accuracy. In addition, all H atoms could be located from difference maps, revealing details of the hydrogen-bonding scheme.
4-Ammonio-5-methoxy-2-methylbenzenesulfonate
Authors: Kennedy Alan R. , Silva de Moraes Lygia
Published: November 2016

The title compound, C8H11NO4S, crystallizes as a zwitterion, with the negatively charged benzenesulfonate group and the positively charged NH3+group in mutuallyparapositions. All the non-H atoms, except for one O atom of the sulfonate group, lie on a crystallographic mirror plane (Z′ = 1/2). In the crystal, the hydrogen-bonding structure is two-dimensional, propagating in thec-axis direction through a bifurcated hydrogen bond between the NH3+and the SO3−groups, and in theb-axis direction through anR22(16) ring motif involving the same functional groups. This latter hydrogen bonding is supported by offset π–π interactions [intercentroid distance = 3.8114 (4) Å].
Carbon emissions and industrial growth: an ARDL analysis for Pakistan
Authors: Attari Muhammad Irfan Javaid , Hussain Matloub , Javid Attiya Y.
Published: November 2016

Purpose

This paper is a direct extension of the work by Hussain et al. (2012). They have investigated a long-term relationship between climatic change and economic growth in case of Pakistan. Agricultural sector plays an important role in economic field, whereas industrial sector is the main source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. Therefore, this study aims to replace economic growth variable with industrial growth in case of Pakistan.

Design/methodology/approach

Investigation is made on the basis of the environmental Kuznets curve by using the time series data during the period 1971-2009. The per capital carbon dioxide (CO2) emission is used as an environmental indicator and per capita industrial income as the economic indicator. Different econometric tools including augmented Dickey–Fuller, autoregressive distributed lag and Granger-causality test are used to verify this relationship.

Findings

The empirical findings will help the policy-makers of Pakistan in developing new standards and monitoring networks for reducing CO2 emission. It is essential to extend the current research work at provincial and different sectors levels in order to have clear understanding about the impact of current emission rate.

Originality/value

This study replaces economic growth variable with industrial growth in case of Pakistan because the industrial sector is the main source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. This study is to investigate a long-term relationship between climatic change and industrial growth in case of Pakistan.
A business network perspective on local content in emerging African petroleum nations
Authors: Owusu Richard Afriyie , Vaaland Terje I.
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The paper aims to identify and analyze the actors and their interrelationships in realizing local content objectives in African oil- and gas-producing nations.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper includes content analysis of relevant research papers and reports within the oil and gas industry, local content and industrial networks published between 2000 and 2014.

Findings

The study developed a framework that integrates the literature on local content with the industrial network theory. The framework classifies the various critical actors for achieving local content, proposing that achieving local content requires the development of business network links and a resource alignment among local companies and institutions and foreign companies and institutions, in addition to multinational oil companies.

Research limitations/implications

The framework of this study contributes to an emerging theory on local content by integrating the industrial network theory, which provides specific frameworks for analyzing embedded business environments, along with the previous economic and legal-based studies of local content achievement.

Practical implications

The way the relevant actors organize their resources and business networks provides potential for local content in an emerging oil and gas industry in Africa.

Originality/value

The paper is one of the few to integrate studies of local content with the industrial network theory. The literature review provides a summary window of the research on the subject over a 14-year period.
Generating adequacy analysis of Mexico’s national interconnected power system
Authors: Conde-López Luis , Gutiérrez-Alcaraz Guillermo , Singh S.N.
Published: November 2016

Purpose

Long-term reliability analysis of generation capacity based on the forecasted load demand helps to identify the optimal generation expansion plan of the system. This paper analyzes the generation adequacy of Mexico’s National Interconnected Power System (MNIPS) using loss of load expectation (LOLE) and loss of energy expectation (LOEE) indices.

Design/methodology/approach

These indices are calculated through an analytical (recursive) method and are then compared with values recommended by the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC). Weekly indices are computed to analyze the load curtailment options that may occur in some periods.

Findings

Forecasted values, including load and generation capacity considering maintenance schedules, additions of new generating units and permanently shut down units in accordance with the long-term expanding-system plan have been considered. The load forecast uncertainty is also included.

Originality/value

This is original work.
The relationship between house prices and demographic variables
Authors: Reed Richard
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The process for examining the value of house prices in an urban city has given limited attention, if any, to demographic variables associated with urban geography. Although the disciplines of property/real estate and demography have moved closer, little progress has been made when modelling house prices using population-related data in the field of urban geography to explain the level of house prices.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes an innovative model to examine the influence of population variables on the level of house prices. It used a two-stage approach as follows: principal components analysis (PCA) identified social dimensions from a range of demographic variables, which were then retained for further analysis. This information was sourced from two Australian Bureau of Statistics censuses undertaken involving all Melbourne residents during 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011; multiple regression analysis examined the relationship between the retained factor scores from the PCA (as independent variables) and established residential house prices (as the dependent variable).

Findings

The findings confirm the demographic profile of each household, which is directly related to their decisions about housing location and house prices. Based on a case study of Melbourne, Victoria, it was demonstrated that households with specific demographic characteristics are closely related to a certain level of house prices at the suburban level.

Originality/value

This is an innovative study which has not been previously undertaken for an extended period of time to facilitate an analysis of change over time.
Determining customers’ preferences for housing attributes in India
Authors: Kumar Gupta Vijay , Malhotra Gunjan
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand customers’ preferences for housing attributes in India.

Design/methodology/approach

The study highlights the attributes important to the customer when purchasing residential property. The Kano model has been used to understand these preferences of consumers. The data are collected across Delhi and the National Capital Region and have been analyzed using the cross-tabulation approach.

Findings

Demographics of the consumers play an important role in deciding purchase of residential real estate. Because of their income level, Indian consumers prefer low-rise residential complexes.

Originality/value

The study helps to understand the diverse behavior of Indian consumers when they invest in the real estate sector, especially residential.
Landmark buildings and diversification opportunities in the residential market
Authors: Gibilaro Lucia , Mattarocci Gianluca
Published: November 2016

Purpose

This article aims to analyze the performance and risk of landmark building in the housing sector and to evaluate their usefulness for a diversification strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

After comparing summary statistics on the performance of landmark building with respect to other types of housing investments, the article evaluates their usefulness for a diversification strategy. The role of landmark buildings is studied using the modern portfolio theory and evaluating the role of this type of asset in the optimal asset allocation. The analysis is performed considering both the risk/return trade-off in a one-year and a multiple-year time horizon.

Findings

The results show that a landmark building can be a good investment opportunity, especially for high-risk/return investors. A not perfect correlation of the returns of this asset class with other types of housing investments implies the existence of a minimum investment in this asset class for almost all portfolios on the efficient frontier. Results are robust with respect to the length of the investment time horizon.

Originality/value

The article presents a unique analysis of intra-housing market diversification opportunities focusing on the role of landmark building in the portfolio construction. Empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that real estate investors can take advantage of investing in landmark buildings in the residential sector as well because there are no reasons to limit such investments to trophy buildings in the office and commercial sectors.
Prioritisation of key attributes influencing the decision to purchase a residential property in Malaysia
Authors: Mohd Thas Thaker Hassanudin , Chandra Sakaran K.
Published: November 2016

Purpose

This study aims to explicitly explore the criteria or attributes that would influence buyer decision on purchasing residential property in Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

Generally, a total of 80 respondents participated in this study, and they hail from two states in Malaysia, namely, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. This study has structured the respondents’ demographic profiles into different categories such as gender, age, marital status, race, education, type of buyer and income level. For the purpose of analysis, this study has incorporated a versatile fuzzy approach known as the analytic hierarchy process to fulfil the objective of study. From the previous literatures, the extracted variables consist of home amenities, location, pricing, developer, financing, structural factor and community amenities.

Findings

The results from priority vector indicate that buyers give higher rank to the pricing (0.2330) criteria as the most influencing factor in buying residential property, followed by other criteria such as community amenities (0.1450), location (0.1430), financing (0.1420), structural factor (0.1260), home amenities (0.1060) and developer (0.1040) in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. In addition, the consistency index of 0.00384, which is lower than 0.10 (rule of thumb), postulates that the respondents clearly understood the question requirements and there is no inconsistency involved in the result.

Research limitations/implications

This study attempts to discover how all those seven elements influence buyer decision on purchasing residential property. The results indicate that the outcome seems to be reliable and justifiable with the current period in the context of Malaysia housing sector.

Originality/value

This study is expected to provide more insights into the consistency of attributes that influence the purchase of residential property in the context of Malaysia. The points highlighted in this study are expected to benefit various parties such as potential home buyers, housing developers, marketers and government policy regulators, as well as academic institutions, to design a better policy or blueprint that can enhance the development of the housing sector in Malaysia.
Ranking of collusive behaviour in Indian agro-supply chain using interval 2-tuple linguistic TOPSIS method
Authors: Gupta Rachita , Shankar Ravi
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to develop a model for the prioritization of collusive behaviours within Indian food grain supply chain (FGSC) to enable government authorities, entrusted with the task of public distribution, to address those frauds based on their priority for making an existing supply chain more sustainable.

Design/methodology/approach

An interval 2-tuple linguistic Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (ITL-TOPSIS) method has been used to deal with the problem of prioritization of frauds under incomplete and uncertain information. Unlike traditional methods, this methodology offers an ability to make informed decisions, without loss of information, while factoring in various ambiguities.

Findings

The outcome indicates that the most severe fraud is adulteration, which adversely impacts the health of a person. Bogus Ration Card comes next, as it results into the distribution of grains to non-poor, ineligible population rather than the deserving beneficiaries. Next is diversion, where diverted food grains end up being sold at much higher rates than specified subsidized rates. Theft is least severe, as this would not affect FGSC much until done on large scale.

Research limitations/implications

More decision-makers can be consulted to entertain more uncertainty and ambiguity. Also, a comparative study can be performed using different methodologies.

Practical Implications

The proposed modelling could empower various governmental and non-governmental regulatory bodies in formulation of food policies to effectively tackle the problem of inappropriate delivery of food to the unintended population and to take necessary informed decisions for ensuring food security and safety to the society at large.

Originality/value

There is a dearth of studies related to the prioritization of frauds within FGSC. This research bridges the gap in literature by providing a decision-making framework for prioritizing collusive behaviour under ambiguous and uncertain information.
Contrasting long‐term effects of transient anthropogenic edges and forest fragment size on generalist and specialist deadwood‐dwelling fungi
Authors: Ruete Alejandro , Snäll Tord , Jonsson Bengt Gunnar , Jönsson Mari
Published: November 2016

Forests are becoming increasingly fragmented world‐wide, creating forest patches with reduced area and greater exposure to human land uses along fragment edges. In this study, we predict the future impacts of anthropogenic edges and fragment size on the future occupancy of deadwood‐dwelling fungi in boreal old‐growth forest fragments.

We used Bayesian models fitted to empirical data to predict 40 years of occupancy dynamics of logs by a group of old‐growth forest indicator fungi and two common fungi under different scenarios of clear‐cutting in adjacent forest (0%, 25%, 50% and 100%) and fragment sizes (1–20 ha).

Small fragment size (1–3·14 ha) and intensified forestry with 50–100% clear‐cutting of forest around old‐growth forest fragments lead to lower predicted occupancy of old‐growth indicator fungi while common generalist species like Fomitopsis pinicola increased.

There was a trade‐off between fragment size and management, where increasing fragment size buffered the negative long‐term effects from increased adjacent clear‐cutting. These changes in fungal occupancy at the edge should be accounted for when working towards conservation targets for protected areas, such as the Aichi target 11.

Synthesis and applications. Preserve what is left – but buffer for change. Small forest fragments often represent the last vestiges of high habitat quality (i.e. species, structures) in managed forest landscapes. As effective area‐based conservation measures for the long‐term occupancy of old‐growth fungi, small fragments need to be managed to protect species from degrading transient edge effects. Management should focus on increasing the size of conservation areas with permanent buffer zones. Alternatively, non‐simultaneous adjacent clear‐cutting in a way that reduces the edge effect over time (i.e. dynamic buffers) may increase the effective area and improve performance of set‐asides in protecting species of special concern for conservation.
The carry‐over effects of pollen shortage decrease the survival of honeybee colonies in farmlands
Authors: Requier Fabrice , Odoux Jean‐François , Henry Mickaël , Bretagnolle Vincent
Published: November 2016

Many studies have reported honeybee colony losses in human‐dominated landscapes. While bee floral food resources have been drastically reduced over past decades in human‐dominated landscapes, no field study has yet been undertaken to determine whether there is a carry‐over effect between seasonal disruption in floral resource availability and high colony losses.

We investigated if a decline in the harvest of pollen by honeybees in spring affected managed honeybee colony dynamics (brood size, adult population and honey reserves) and health (Varroa mite loads and colony survival) throughout the beekeeping season.

A decline in pollen harvest was associated with a direct reduction in brood production, leading to a negative effect on the adult population size later in the season, and lower honey reserves before the onset of winter. Furthermore, the decline in pollen harvest negatively impacted the health of the colony, resulting in higher Varroa mite loads and higher seasonal and winter colony losses.

Early‐warning signs of these carry‐over effects were identified, showing that preferential investment in honey reserves instead of brood production early in the season increased the decline in pollen harvest and its associated carry‐over effects.

Synthesis and applications. The results suggest that the decline in pollen harvest may have been overlooked as a cause of pollen shortage and associated bee colony losses. Strategies to avoid such losses in intensive farmland systems include (i) limiting or avoiding honey harvests in spring, (ii) monitoring colonies for early‐warning signals of colony failure and (iii) increasing the amount of floral resources available through wise land‐use management.
Scenarios of habitat management options to reduce predator impacts on nesting waders
Authors: Laidlaw Rebecca A. , Smart Jennifer , Smart Mark A. , Gill Jennifer A.
Published: November 2016

Wetland ecosystems throughout the world are threatened by drainage and intensification of agriculture. Consequently, many wetland species of conservation concern are now restricted to fewer and smaller sites, and maintaining these species often requires intensive habitat management.

In Western Europe, breeding wader populations have declined severely as a result of wetland degradation, but very high levels of predation on eggs and chicks are now preventing population recovery. Wet grassland management for breeding waders has focussed on providing suitable nesting habitats, but the potential for management of landscape features to influence predation rates remains largely unknown.

Using a 7‐year study of breeding lapwing Vanellus vanellus and redshank Tringa totanus we first identify features that influence nest predation, and then use this information to compare the magnitude of change in nest predation rates that could potentially result from future landscape management scenarios.

As lapwing nest predation rates are higher (i) in fields further from patches of tall vegetation, (ii) close (<50 m) to field edges in wet fields, (iii) further from field edges in dry fields and (iv) in areas of low lapwing nesting density, we modelled a series of realistic scenarios in which the area of tall vegetation and the extent and distribution of surface water were varied across the reserve, to quantify the magnitude of change in nest predation rate that could potentially have been achieved through management.

Modelled scenarios of changes in surface water and area of tall vegetation indicated that reduced surface flooding combined with removal of tall vegetation could result in significant increases in lapwing nest predation rates in areas with low nesting densities and nests in field centres. By contrast, a ~20% reduction in nest predation, corresponding to ~100 more chicks hatching per year, is predicted in scenarios with expansion of tall vegetation in areas with high lapwing nest density and nests close to field edges.

Synthesis and applications. These management scenarios suggest that, for breeding waders in wet grassland landscapes, creating areas of tall vegetation and concentrating surface flooding (to encourage high nesting densities and influence nesting distribution) can potentially help to reduce the unsustainably high levels of nest predation that are preventing population recovery.
Demographic stimulation of the obligate understorey herb,Panax quinquefoliusL., in response to natural forest canopy disturbances
Authors: Chandler Jennifer L. , McGraw James B.
Published: November 2016

Natural and anthropogenic forest canopy disturbances significantly alter forest dynamics and lead to multi‐dimensional shifts in the forest understorey. An understorey plant's ability to exploit alterations to the light environment caused by canopy disturbance leads to changes in population dynamics. The purpose of this work was to determine if population growth of a species adapted to low light increases in response to additional light inputs caused by canopy disturbance, or alternatively, declines due to long‐term selection under low light conditions.

To address this question, we quantified the demographic response of an understorey herb to three contrasting forest canopy disturbances (ice storms, tent caterpillar defoliation and lightning strikes) that encompass a broad range of disturbance severity. We used a model shade‐adapted understorey species,Panax quinquefolius, to parameterize stage‐based matrix models. Asymptotic growth rates, stochastic growth rates and simulations of transient dynamics were used to quantify the population‐level response to canopy disturbance. Life table response experiments were used to partition the underlying controls over differences in population growth rates.

Population growth rates at all three disturbed sites increased in the transition period immediately after the canopy disturbance relative to the transition period prior to disturbance. Stochastic population models revealed that growth rates increased significantly in simulations that included disturbance matrices relative to those simulations that excluded disturbance. Additionally, transient models indicated that population size (n) was larger for all three populations when the respective disturbance matrix was included in the model.

Synthesis. Obligate shade species are most likely to be pre‐adapted to take advantage of canopy gaps and light influx to a degree, and this pre‐adaptation may be due to long‐term selection under dynamic old growth forest canopies. We propose a model whereby population performance is represented by a parabolic curve where performance is maximized under intermediate levels of canopy disturbance. This study provides new evidence to aid our understanding of the population‐level response of understorey herbs to disturbances whose frequency and intensity are predicted to increase as global climates continue to shift.
Buffering curves of ideal whey fractions obtained from a cascade membrane separation process
Authors: Wolfschoon Pombo Alan F , Spiegel Thomas L , Hernandez‐Zenil Erick
Published: November 2016

Skimmed milk was fractionated via a cascade system: Graphic plotting of microfiltration (MF); ultrafiltration (UF); nanofiltration (NF); and reverse osmosis (RO). The buffering curves of each fraction were studied over the pH range 4–7. Depending on their composition, the individual permeate streams showed different buffering capacity values and pH ranges where the buffering occurred. The concentration of active buffering substances in the permeates decreased (in mmol/L) from ~26.6 (MF) to ~17.4 (UF) to 1.39 (NF) to 0.07 (RO). Contributions to the total buffering capacity for MF permeate, which represents the serum phase of milk, were ~37% from whey proteins and ~63% from milk salts (especially citrates, phosphates and carbonates) including lactose and water.
Oral Toxicity of Cold Plasma‐Treated Edible Films for Food Coating
Authors: Han Sung Hee , Suh Hyung Joo , Hong Ki Bae , Kim Su Yeon , Min Sea C.
Published: November 2016

No prior research has investigated whether the cold plasma treatment (CPT) resulted in the formation of toxic compounds. Therefore, this study carried out the experiment to check the safety of edible films treated with cold plasma by examining their acute and subacute oral toxicity in a rat model. Single‐dose acute (5000 mg/kg body weight) and 14‐d subacute (1000 mg/kg body weight/day) oral toxicity of cold plasma‐treated edible films was assessed for male and female Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats. Rats administered 5000 mg/kg of edible film did not show the signs of acute toxicity or death after 14 d of observation. Similarly, no signs of acute toxicity or death were recorded during 14 d in rats administered 1000 mg/kg/day of edible film treated with cold plasma. Although changes in the levels of several blood components (hematocrit, hemoglobin, bilirubin, creatinine, and aspartate aminotransferase) of samples were observed, the changes compared to the control were considered to be toxicologically irrelevant as their levels were within normal physiological ranges. Macroscopic analysis showed there were no changes in color or texture of representative liver sections of SD rats following the oral administration of edible films with CPT (F‐CP) or without CPT (F‐NT). The results demonstrate that the cold plasma‐treated edible film possessed very low toxicity, suggesting that CPT does not generate harmful by‐products in the edible film.
Resources for phylogenomic analyses of Australian terrestrial vertebrates
Authors: Bragg Jason G. , Potter Sally , Bi Ke , Catullo Renee , Donnellan Stephen C. , Eldridge Mark D. B. , Joseph Leo , Keogh J. Scott , Oliver Paul , Rowe Kevin C. , Moritz Craig
Published: November 2016

High‐throughput sequencing methods promise to improve our ability to infer the evolutionary histories of lineages and to delimit species. These are exciting prospects for the study of Australian vertebrates, a group comprised of many globally unique lineages with a long history of isolation. The evolutionary relationships within many of these lineages have been difficult to resolve with small numbers of loci, and we now know that many lineages also exhibit substantial cryptic diversity. Here, we present a set of phylogenetically diverse transcriptome resources to enable exon‐based sequence capture studies of Australian vertebrates, including transcriptome sequences for four species of birds, four frogs, seven lizards and seven mammals. We also use exon data from the marsupial transcriptomes we generated to examine an approach for choosing a moderate number (dozens or hundreds) of phylogenetically informative exons based on a single transcriptome sequence, and a relatively distant reference genome.
Female audit committee members and their influence on audit fees
Authors: Aldamen Husam , Hollindale Janice , Ziegelmayer Jennifer L.
Published: November 2016

We test the relationship between female representation on the audit committee and audit fees for 624 Australian companies in the year 2011. A positive relationship is found, leading to the conclusion that female presence on audit committees influences the quality of the external audit. Further, we find that gender is the significant audit committee characteristic in predicting audit quality and that women on the audit committee strengthen the positive relationship between firm size and audit fees, and between risk and audit fees. Conversely, we find that female representation dampens the positive relationship between complexity and audit fees.
Effect of chronic glomerulonephritis on the semen quality and cytokines in the semen of infertile males
Authors: Zhang Huina , Ying Yingfen , Chen Yilu , Lu Xiaosheng , Huang Yonggang
Published: November 2016

Problem

The effects of chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) on semen quality and cytokine levels in the semen of infertile males remain undetermined.

Method of study

Fifty‐eight semen samples from normal males and CGN males with and without infertility, respectively, were analyzed.

Results

Semen volume, semen pH, sperm density, percentage of forward movement of sperm, sperm activate rate, sperm survival rate, and rate of normal sperm morphology of infertility males with CGN were significantly lower than those of CGN males without infertility and normal males (P<.05). In addition, the blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels and interleukin (IL)‐17 and IL‐18 levels in infertility males with CGN were significantly higher than those of CGN males without infertility and normal males (P<.05).

Conclusions

CGN increased the blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels, which induced abnormal expression of IL‐17 and IL‐18, and negatively affected male semen quality and might result in male infertility.
Hope in Hebron: The Political Affects of Activism in a Strangled City
Authors: Griffiths Mark
Published: November 2016

The negative affects of this violent occupation—fear, threat, humiliation—quell hope, setting limits on the potentials of political agency. This article documents the corporeality of the Occupation in Hebron, evoking the body as materially contingent to explore agential capacities within the delimiting affects of the violent sensorium. Drawing on fieldwork with Palestinian activists engaged in providing political tours of Hebron, I argue that by reappropriating the violent affects of occupation, this form of activism demonstrates agency that resists “political depression”. Theoretically, I argue further, at hand is an empirical account of the “autonomy of affect” giving rise to critical hope amid a sensorium of fear. The research presented, therefore, contributes to addressing a key question for resistance in Palestine (and beyond): how fear—a predominant affective register of contemporary politics—might be harnessed towards (renewed) political agency and resistance to oppression.
Numerical Analyses for Low Reynolds Flow in a Ventricular Assist Device
Authors: Lopes Guilherme , Bock Eduardo , Gómez Luben
Published: November 2016

Scientific and technological advances in blood pump developments have been driven by their importance in cardiac patient treatments and in the expansion of life quality in assisted people. To improve and optimize the design and development, numerical tools were incorporated into the analyses of these mechanisms and have become indispensable in their advances. This study analyzes the flow behavior with low impeller Reynolds number, for which there is no consensus on the full development of turbulence in ventricular assist devices (VAD). For supporting analyses, computational numerical simulations were carried out in different scenarios with the same rotation speed. Two modeling approaches were applied: laminar flow and turbulent flow with the standard, RNG and realizable κ − ε; the standard and SST κ − ω models; and Spalart–Allmaras models. The results agree with the literature for VAD and the range for transient flows in stirred tanks with an impeller Reynolds number around 2800 for the tested scenarios. The turbulent models were compared, and it is suggested, based on the expected physical behavior, the use of
RNG, standard and SST
, and Spalart–Allmaras models to numerical analyses for low impeller Reynolds numbers according to the tested flow scenarios.
Randomised clinical trial: exploratory phase 2 study of ONO‐2952 in diarrhoea‐predominant irritable bowel syndrome
Authors: Whitehead W. E. , Duffy K. , Sharpe J. , Nabata T. , Bruce M.
Published: November 2016

Background

ONO‐2952 is a novel and selective inhibitor of translocator protein 18 kDa that reduces stress‐induced defecation and visceral hyperalgesia in rat models.

Aim

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ONO‐2952 in females with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea in an exploratory proof‐of‐concept study.

Methods

A randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study was conducted at 49 US centres. Two hundred subjects with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea (Rome III criteria) were randomised to ONO‐2952 20 mg, or 60 mg, or placebo. Subjects recorded irritable bowel syndrome symptoms daily during a 2‐week baseline period, the 4‐week treatment period and for 4 weeks post‐treatment. The co‐primary endpoints were change from baseline to week 4 in abdominal pain, stool consistency and stool frequency.

Results

Improvements in irritable bowel syndrome symptoms were seen with ONO‐2952 over placebo in per‐protocol analyses for all three co‐primary endpoints, but these did not reach statistical significance at the 5% level. The largest improvement was seen with ONO‐2952 60 mg. ONO‐2952 was well tolerated with a safety profile similar to that of placebo. Most adverse events were mild or moderate in severity and not treatment related.

Conclusion

ONO‐2952 showed evidence of clinical efficacy in reducing irritable bowel syndrome‐related symptoms in female subjects with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea, and further evaluation is, therefore, warranted to assess its potential as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea (NCT01844180).