bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Information for decision-making in in-house and outsourced real estate management organisations
Authors: Palm Peter
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the real estate owner (decision maker) insures being able to make informed decisions and how they differ according to organisational form.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is based on an interview study of nineteen firm representatives, six decision makers and thirteen management representatives, all from Swedish commercial real estate sector.

Findings

The study concludes that, regardless of organisational setting, the industry has a plan regarding handling information. The decision makers have all secured themselves access to the required/desired information. How this is done and what kind of information it is however differ, if the real estate management is in-house or outsourced. Furthermore, a clear focus on financial and contractual information is evident in both organisational settings.

Research limitations/implications

The research in this paper is limited to Swedish commercial real estate sector.

Practical implications

The insight the paper provides regarding required information can shed light on how information systems are built and how to improve your information sharing.

Originality/value

It provides an insight regarding how the industry, depending on organisation setting, prioritises different information and how the decision maker secures access to it.
Application of unstructured grid finite-volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM) to the Yangtze River hypoxic zone
Authors: Wan Zhanhong , Ren Zongfu , Wang Xiaochun , Zheng Honghao
Published: November 2016

Purpose

To observe the relations between three important factors resulting in estuarial Hypoxia phenomena of Yangtze River – wind, river flow, and stratification. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the possible reasons why hypoxia occurs in late spring and disappears in October.

Design/methodology/approach

To overcome the difficulty in examining the role of physical and biological factors affecting hypoxia based on measurement alone, finite-volume community ocean model (FVCOM) was introduced into the investigation. Observed freshwater flux data from Yangtze River, monthly averaged wind speed data, and other observed data were input into the model; the accuracy of which was validated with various kinds of data. The authors used the trajectories of Lagrangian particles from Yangtze River to study the regions of strong riverine influence under different wind forcing conditions and compared the simulation results with former observations.

Findings

Trade wind is a significant factor to influence the forming and receding of hypoxia across the Yangtze River.

Originality/value

Using FVCOM to investigate estuary hypoxia is more economical and effective.
Bank risk-taking in the MENA region
Authors: Selma Mokni Rim Ben , Rajhi Mohamed Tahar , Rachdi Houssem
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate determinants of risk-taking in Islamic banks and conventional banks located in the MENA region.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical study covers a sample of 15 conventional and 15 Islamic banks for the period 2002-2009. The authors estimate models using both generalized least square random effect and generalized method of moments system approaches.

Findings

The results of the empirical analysis show that the determinants’ risk-taking significance varies between Islamic and conventional banks.

Originality/value

The main aim is to develop a comprehensive model that integrates macroeconomic determinants, industry-specific determinants, and bank-specific determinants. This paper performs a comparison of the risk-taking between two different banking systems in the MENA region.
Intergenerational equity and social discount rates: what have we learned over recent decades?
Authors: Roche Julian
Published: November 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine what the significant contributions to the intergenerational equity and social discount rate (SDR) literature have been over recent decades and presents what policy progress has been made as a result.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach has been that of a literature survey.

Findings

The paper observes that only when academics agree, however, they can influence policy, as one major policy change for SDR demonstrates.

Research limitations/implications

Further research can analyse the application of SDRs in other jurisdictions.

Practical implications

A formal process of demonstrating academic consensus and its application to policy is recommended.

Social implications

SDRs are extremely important for government decision making. Spreading knowledge about how SDRs are created and used is therefore of great social importance.

Originality/value

This paper could usefully be read by government officials, as well as academics, worldwide. It is a contribution to knowledge not just in its subject matter but also in analysing the frontier between academic knowledge and progress on the one hand, and government decision making on the other.
Effects of fluid inertia forces in ferrofluid lubricated circular stepped squeeze films – Shliomis model
Authors: Lin Jaw-Ren , Hung Tzu-Chen , Hu Shu-Ting
Published: November 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to study the inertia squeeze film characteristics between ferrofluid-lubricated circular stepped disks. Owing to the development of modern machine systems, the application of ferrofluids has received great attention. Because the circular disks are a special situation of circular stepped squeeze films, a further study of fluid inertia force effects on the ferrofluid-lubricated circular stepped squeezing mechanism is motivated.

Design/methodology/approach

On the basis of the ferrohydrodynamic flow model of Shliomis incorporating the momentum integral method, the effects of fluid inertia forces in ferrofluid-lubricated circular stepped squeeze films in the presence of external magnetic fields are investigated in this study. Analytical solutions of squeeze film performances are derived.

Findings

The fluid inertia force effects provide an increased load capacity and a longer squeeze film time for the ferrofluid-lubricated circular stepped squeeze film, especially for a larger value of the inertia parameter, the Langevin parameter and the volume concentration and a smaller value of the radius ratio and the step height ratio.

Originality/value

For engineering applications, numerical tables for squeeze film loads of circular stepped disks are also provided in this paper.
Evidence for a stochastic geometry of biodiversity: the effects of species abundance, richness and intraspecific clustering
Authors: Chacón‐Labella Julia , de la Cruz Marcelino , Escudero Adrián
Published: November 2016

Most ecological theories that aim to explain coexistence in megadiverse communities employ a set of three rules to describe the stochastic geometry of biodiversity: (i) individuals exhibit intraspecific clustering; (ii) species abundances vary according to a log‐normal distribution and (iii) the spatial arrangement between species is independent. The first two rules have received strong empirical support, but the third remains largely unexplored.

To address this deficiency, we evaluated the independent species arrangement rule in a species‐rich shrubland and its potential drivers, that is, the levels of species richness and intraspecific clustering exhibited by a given species at different scales, and the relative abundance of such species in the community.

We found that interspecific associations were rare and that independence was positively related to species richness and intraspecific clustering, but negatively related to relative species abundances.

Synthesis. Our results agree with the independent species arrangement rule and they provide empirical support for the stochastic geometry of biodiversity. In the context of species‐rich plant communities, the likelihood of two species encountering is very small. However, our study demonstrated a novel feature of this context, where both intraspecific clustering (due limitations on dispersal) and relative species abundances play fundamental roles in determining the probability of two species encountering and interacting, especially at very fine spatial scales.
Decade‐long time delays in nutrient and plant species dynamics during eutrophication and re‐oligotrophication of Lake Fure 1900–2015
Authors: Sand‐Jensen Kaj , Bruun Hans Henrik , Baastrup‐Spohr Lars
Published: November 2016

A central topic in nature conservation and ecological restoration is the potential of ecosystems to recover after the reduction of negative anthropogenic impacts. Often, protracted delays in biotic response to abiotic change have been observed.

We analysed a unique long‐term data series in Lake Fure, Denmark, spanning the transformation from pristine environmental conditions in the early 1900s through a period (1920–1970) of eutrophication – from accelerating sewage input of phosphorus (P) – and subsequent re‐oligotrophication after sewage cleaning (1970–2015). We examine time delays between P inputs, in‐lake P concentrations and the richness and composition of submerged macrophyte communities.

Lake P concentration exhibited decade‐long delays in response to periods of increasing or decreasing P inputs. It took 40 years and a 25‐fold increase in P input before P concentrations suddenly took off in the 1960s, reflecting profound sediment accumulation. Following reduced P input from c. 1970, it took 5 years before P concentrations showed the first signs of a decline. In 2014, water P concentration was still markedly higher than in 1931, despite much lower P inputs, because of elevated sediment release.

Fifty years of eutrophication led to a reduction in aquatic macrophyte richness from 36 species to 12. Species’ responses were closely related to their growth strategy and depth distribution. Deep‐growing mosses, charophytes and short angiosperms disappeared, while tall angiosperms survived and pollution‐tolerant macroalgae colonized and spread. Subsequently, 45 years of oligotrophication led to clearer waters, macrophyte richness recovering to 28 species and some charophytes and short angiosperms reappearing. Dominance of pollution‐tolerant macroalgae persisted, however. Change in species dominance takes longer than colonization by new species.

Synthesis. Time delays of P concentrations, water clarity and macrophyte richness and composition were long and complex. Neglecting growth strategies of species makes application of extinction debt and colonization credit concepts dubious, because numbers of oligotrophic species decrease and eutrophic species increase concomitantly during eutrophication and vice versa during oligotrophication. Although the original high species richness may be attained, it is unlikely that the original species composition is restored because many oligotrophic species have vanished from the regional species pool.
Sampling for Patient Exit Interviews: Assessment of Methods Using Mathematical Derivation and Computer Simulations
Authors: Geldsetzer Pascal , Fink Günther , Vaikath Maria , Bärnighausen Till
Published: November 2016

Objective

(1) To evaluate the operational efficiency of various sampling methods for patient exit interviews; (2) to discuss under what circumstances each method yields an unbiased sample; and (3) to propose a new, operationally efficient, and unbiased sampling method.

Study Design

Literature review, mathematical derivation, and Monte Carlo simulations.

Principal Findings

Our simulations show that in patient exit interviews it is most operationally efficient if the interviewer, after completing an interview, selects the next patient exiting the clinical consultation. We demonstrate mathematically that this method yields a biased sample: patients who spend a longer time with the clinician are overrepresented. This bias can be removed by selecting the next patient who enters, rather than exits, the consultation room. We show that this sampling method is operationally more efficient than alternative methods (systematic and simple random sampling) in most primary health care settings.

Conclusion

Under the assumption that the order in which patients enter the consultation room is unrelated to the length of time spent with the clinician and the interviewer, selecting the next patient entering the consultation room tends to be the operationally most efficient unbiased sampling method for patient exit interviews.
Attachment and couple satisfaction as predictors of expressed emotion in women facing breast cancer and their partners in the immediate post‐surgery period
Authors: Favez Nicolas , Cairo Notari Sarah , Antonini Tania , Charvoz Linda
Published: November 2016

Objectives

To investigate expressed emotion (EE) in couples facing breast cancer in the immediate post‐surgery period. EE may be predictive of psychological disturbances that hinder both partners’ capacities to cope with the stress of the disease. Severity of the disease, attachment tendencies, and couple satisfaction were tested as predictors of EE.

Design

The design was cross‐sectional. Couples (N = 61) were interviewed 2 weeks after the women's breast surgery.

Methods

Expressed emotion was assessed in women and in partners with the Five‐Minute Speech Sample, with a focus on overt and covert criticisms. Self‐reported EE, attachment tendencies, and couple satisfaction were assessed with questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed to test the predictors and possible interactions between them.

Results

Both partners expressed overt and covert criticisms; women expressed more overt criticisms than did their partners. Cancer stage was inversely related to the number of overt criticisms in women and to the number of covert criticisms in partners. Regression analyses showed that in women, higher attachment anxiety and lower couple satisfaction were positive predictors of overt criticisms; in partners, a higher cancer stage was a negative predictor of overt and covert criticisms.

Conclusions

Practitioners should pay attention to the couple relationship in breast cancer. EE is most likely to appear when the cancer stage is low, showing that even when the medical prognosis is optimal, relational and emotional disturbances may occur.

Statement of contribution

What is already known on this subject?

The couple relationship is of paramount importance in breast cancer.

Expressed emotion (EE) is related to negative individual and relational psychological outcomes in psychiatric and somatic diseases.

Expressed emotion has not yet been studied in the context of breast cancer.

What does this study add?

Expressed emotion is present in breast cancer situations, especially when the cancer stage is low.

There was more EE in women than in their partners.

Cancer stage, attachment tendencies, and couple satisfaction are predictors of EE.
Microsecond molecular dynamics simulations provide insight into the ATP‐competitive inhibitor‐induced allosteric protection of Akt kinase phosphorylation
Authors: Mou Linkai , Cui Tongwei , Liu Weiguang , Zhang Hong , Cai Zhanxiu , Lu Shaoyong , Gao Guojun
Published: November 2016

Akt is a serine/threonine protein kinase, a critical mediator of growth factor‐induced survival in key cellular pathways. Allosteric signaling between protein intramolecular domains requires long‐range communication mediated by hotspot residues, often triggered by ligand binding. Here, based on extensive 3 μs explicit solvent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of Akt1 kinase domain in the unbound (apo) and ATP‐competitive inhibitor, GDC‐0068‐bound states, we propose a molecular mechanism for allosteric regulation of Akt1 kinase phosphorylation by GDC‐0068 binding to the ATP‐binding site. MD simulations revealed that the apo Akt1 is flexible with two disengaged N‐ and C‐lobes, equilibrated between the open and closed conformations. GDC‐0068 occupancy of the ATP‐binding site shifts the conformational equilibrium of Akt1 from the open conformation toward the closed conformation and stabilizes the closed state. This effect enables allosteric signal propagation from the GDC‐0068 to the phosphorylated T308 (pT308) in the activation loop and restrains phosphatase access to pT308, thereby protecting the pT308 in the GDC‐0068‐bound Akt1. Importantly, functional hotspots involved in the allosteric communication from the GDC‐0068 to the pT308 are identified. Our analysis of GDC‐0068‐induced allosteric protection of Akt kinase phosphorylation yields important new insights into the molecular mechanism of allosteric regulation of Akt kinase activity.
Effects of roads and land use on frog distributions across spatial scales and regions in the Eastern and Central United States
Authors: Marsh David M. , Cosentino Bradley J. , Jones Kara S. , Apodaca Joseph J. , Beard Karen H. , Bell Jane Margaret , Bozarth Christine , Carper Derrick , Charbonnier Julie F. , Dantas Andreia , Forys Elizabeth A. , Foster Miran , General Jaquelyn , Genet Kristen S. , Hanneken Macie , Hess Kyle R. , Hill Shane A. , Iqbal Faisal , Karraker Nancy E. , Kilpatrick Eran S. , Langen Tom A. , Langford James , Lauer Kathryn , McCarthy Alison J. , Neale Zoey , Patel Saumya , Patton Austin , Southwick Cherie , Stearrett Nathaniel , Steijn Nicholas , Tasleem Mohammad , Taylor Joseph M. , Vonesh James R.
Published: November 2016

Aim

Understanding the scales over which land use affects animal populations is critical for conservation planning, and it can provide information about the mechanisms that underlie correlations between species distributions and land use. We used a citizen science database of anuran surveys to examine the relationship between road density, land use and the distribution of frogs and toads across spatial scales and regions of the United States.

Location

Eastern and Central United States.

Methods

We compiled data on anuran occupancy collected from 1999 to 2013 across 13 states in the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program, a citizen science survey of calling frogs. These data were indexed to measures of land use within buffers ranging from 300 m to 10 km.

Results

The negative effects of road density and development on anuran richness were strongest at the smallest scales (300–1000 m), and this pattern was consistent across regions. In contrast, the relationships of anuran richness to agriculture and forest cover were similar across local scales but varied among regions. Richness had a negative relationship with agriculture/forest loss in the Midwest but a positive relationship with agriculture in the Northeast. Anuran richness was more closely related to primary/secondary road density than to rural road density, and the negative effects of larger roads increased at smaller scales. Individual species differed in the scales over which roads and development affected their distributions, but these differences were not closely related to either body size or movement ability.

Main conclusions

This study further refines our understanding of the relationship between roads and amphibian populations and highlights the need for research into the specific mechanisms by which roads affect amphibians. Additionally, we find that relationships between land use and species richness can differ substantially across regions, demonstrating that one should use caution in generalizing from one region to another, even when species composition is similar.
Root and root canal morphology of the permanent dentition in a Caucasian population: a cone‐beam computed tomography study
Authors: Martins J. N. R. , Marques D. , Mata A. , Caramês J.
Published: November 2016

Aim

To investigate in vivo the number of roots, the configuration of the root canal system and the root canal splitting and merging levels in the permanent dentition of a Caucasian population.

Methodology

A total of 11 892 teeth were inspected in cone‐beam computed tomography examinations that were collected from a pre‐existing database. The number of roots was identified, and canal configurations were classified according to Vertucci's classification and its supplemental configurations. In addition, the merging and separation positions along the length of the root canal were identified. The Z‐test was used to analyse the differences between independent groups. A value of P < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results

The majority of tooth types had considerable variation in the number of roots and root canal configuration types. Radix entomolaris and paramolaris were rare occurrences. The mesiobuccal root of the maxillary first and second molars had two root canals in 71% and 44% of cases, respectively. Nearly 30% of the mandibular incisors had two root canals. Root canal merging and splitting appeared more often in mandibular teeth. Merging was more common in the middle third of the root canal in the maxillary teeth and in the middle and apical thirds in mandibular teeth. Root canal splitting did not exhibit a tendency, and their position along the length of the root canal varied from tooth to tooth.

Conclusion

Clinicians must be aware that each tooth may display several types of root canal configuration. However, a greater variability in root canal configuration was found in maxillary second premolars and in the mesiobuccal roots of maxillary molars. Main root canal merging and splitting may also be expected to occur at any level of the root canal.
‘Framed’: Terminating the Parenting Rights of Parents with Intellectual Disability in Iceland
Authors: Sigurjónsdóttir Hanna Björg , Rice James Gordon
Published: November 2016

Background

The aim was to investigate the role of measured intellectual function in framing parents as ‘unfit’ in child custody deprivation cases.

Method

Grounded theory was used to analyse a national sample of custody deprivation cases in Iceland 2002–2014.

Results

The terminology used to evaluate and describe the intellectual and developmental status of parents in child deprivation custody cases served as a device to define and shape the ‘unfit parent’. Intellect itself, whether as low, average or even above average at times acts as a master narrative which informs and explains all manner of perceived parental deficiencies.

Conclusion

The intellectual and developmental status served as a yardstick of identifying, understanding and interpreting the unfit parent. As a tool to achieve an end, parents were framed in language and culture using underlying belief set to make sense of events and issues.
Repeated otilonium bromide administration prevents neurotransmitter changes in colon of rats underwent to wrap restraint stress
Authors: Traini Chiara , Evangelista Stefano , Girod Vincent , Faussone‐Pellegrini Maria Simonetta , Vannucchi Maria Giuliana
Published: November 2016

Otilonium bromide (OB) is a spasmolytic drug successfully used for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Its efficacy has been attributed to the block of L‐ and T‐type Ca2+ channels and muscarinic and tachykinin receptors in the smooth muscle. Furthermore, in healthy rats, repeated OB administration modified neurotransmitter expression and function suggesting other mechanisms of action. On this basis, we investigated whether repeated OB treatment prevented the functional and neurochemical changes observed in the colon of rats underwent to wrap restrain stress (WRS) a psychosocial stressor considered suitable to reproduce the main IBS signs and symptoms. In control, WRS and OB/WRS rats functional parameters were measured in vivo and morphological investigations were done ex vivo in the colon. The results showed that OB counteracts most of the neurotransmitters changes caused by WRS. In particular, the drug prevents the decrease in SP‐, NK1r‐, nNOS‐, VIP‐, and S100β‐immunoreactivity (IR) and the increase in CGRP‐, and CRF1r‐IR. On the contrary, OB does not affect the increase in CRF2r‐IR neurons observed in WRS rats and does not interfere with the mild mucosal inflammation due to WRS. Finally, OB per se increases the Mr2 expression in the muscle wall and decreases the number of the myenteric ChAT‐IR neurons. Functional findings show a significantly reduction in the number of spontaneous abdominal contraction in OB treated rats. The ability of OB to block L‐type Ca2+ channels, also expressed by enteric neurons, might represent a possible mechanism through which OB exerts its actions.
Prognostic value of a simplified method for periodontal risk assessment during supportive periodontal therapy
Authors: Trombelli Leonardo , Minenna Luigi , Toselli Luca , Zaetta Antonio , Checchi Luigi , Checchi Vittorio , Nieri Michele , Farina Roberto
Published: November 2016

Aim

To evaluate the association between risk scores generated with a simplified method for periodontal risk assessment (Perio Risk), and tooth loss as well as bone loss during supportive periodontal therapy (SPT).

Materials & Methods

Data related to 109 patients (42 males; mean age: 42.2 ± 10.2 years, range 22–62) enrolled in a SPT programme for a mean period of 5.6 years were retrospectively obtained at two specialist periodontal clinics. Patients were stratified according to Perio Risk score (on a scale from 1 – low risk to 5 – high risk) as calculated at the end of active periodontal therapy. Risk groups were compared for tooth loss as well as the changes in radiographic bone levels occurred during SPT.

Results

The mean number of teeth lost per patient during SPT varied from 0 to 1.8 ± 2.5 for patients with a risk score of 1 and 5 respectively (p = 0.041). Mean radiographic bone loss during SPT was ≤0.5 mm in all risk groups, without significant inter‐group differences.

Conclusions

Periodontal risk assessment according to Perio Risk may help to identify patients at risk for tooth loss during SPT.
A retrospective study on periodontal disease progression in private practice
Authors: Nibali Luigi , Sun Chuanming , Akcalı Aliye , Meng Xsuan , Tu Yu‐Kang , Donos Nikos
Published: November 2016

Background

Only a handful of studies have assessed tooth loss risk in chronic periodontitis patients following active therapy and factors associated with it.

Aims

The aim of this retrospective study was to assess tooth loss in a cohort of chronic periodontitis patients undergoing maintenance care in a UK private practice setting.

Materials and Methods

One hundred chronic periodontitis patients treated with active periodontal therapy were followed up in supportive periodontal therapy (SPT) for at least 5 years. Tooth loss rates and the effect of patient and tooth factors on tooth loss were assessed. Existing patient‐based prognosis systems and a novel tooth‐based prognosis system were tested for their association with tooth loss.

Results

Excluding third molars, 34 teeth were extracted during SPT, with an overall average tooth loss of 0.06 teeth/patient/year (0.02 for periodontal reasons). Multivariable analysis showed that age, patient prognosis based on the Periodontal Risk Assessment system, tooth prognosis, furcation involvement and previous endodontic therapy were significantly associated with tooth loss during SPT.

Conclusion

Good overall stability and a small tooth loss rate were observed in this cohort of chronic periodontitis cases under SPT in private practice. Patient‐based and tooth‐based prognosis systems may be used to estimate the risk of tooth loss.
Personality Makes a Difference: Attachment Orientation Moderates Theory of Planned Behavior Prediction of Cardiac Medication Adherence
Authors: Peleg Shira , Vilchinsky Noa , Fisher William A. , Khaskia Abed , Mosseri Morris
Published: November 2016

Objective

To achieve a comprehensive understanding of patients' adherence to medication following acute coronary syndrome (ACS), we assessed the possible moderating role played by attachment orientation on the effects of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC), as derived from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1991), on intention and reported adherence.

Method

A prospective longitudinal design was employed. During hospitalization, ACS male patients (N = 106) completed a set of self‐report questionnaires including sociodemographic variables, attachment orientation, and measures of TPB constructs. Six months post‐discharge, 90 participants completed a questionnaire measuring adherence to medication.

Results

Attachment orientations moderated some of the predictions of the TPB model. PBC predicted intention and reported adherence, but these associations were found to be significant only among individuals with lower, as opposed to higher, attachment anxiety. The association between attitudes and intention was stronger among individuals with higher, as opposed to lower, attachment anxiety. Only among individuals with higher attachment avoidance, subjective norms were negatively associated with intention to take medication.

Conclusions

Cognitive variables appear to explain both adherence intention and behavior, but differently, depending on individuals' attachment orientations. Integrating personality and cognitive models may prove effective in understanding patients' health behaviors.
Differential expression of cucumber RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase 1 genes during antiviral defence and resistance
Authors: Leibman Diana , Kravchik Michael , Wolf Dalia , Haviv Sabrina , Weissberg Mira , Ophir Ron , Paris Harry S. , Palukaitis Peter , Ding Shou‐Wei , Gaba Victor , Gal‐On Amit
Published: November 2016

RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase 1 (RDR1) plays a crucial role in plant defence against viruses. In this study, it was observed that cucumber, Cucumis sativus, uniquely encodes a small gene family of four RDR1 genes. The cucumber RDR1 genes (CsRDR1a, CsRDR1b and duplicated CsRDR1c1/c2) shared 55%–60% homology in their encoded amino acid sequences. In healthy cucumber plants, RDR1a and RDR1b transcripts were expressed at higher levels than transcripts of RDR1c1/c2, which were barely detectable. The expression of all four CsRDR1 genes was induced by virus infection, after which the expression level of CsRDR1b increased 10–20‐fold in several virus‐resistant cucumber cultivars and in a broad virus‐resistant transgenic cucumber line expressing a high level of transgene small RNAs, all without alteration in salicylic acid (SA) levels. By comparison, CsRDR1c1/c2 genes were highly induced (25–1300‐fold) in susceptible cucumber cultivars infected with RNA or DNA viruses. Inhibition of RDR1c1/c2 expression led to increased virus accumulation. Ectopic application of SA induced the expression of cucumber RDR1a, RDR1b and RDRc1/c2 genes. A constitutive high level of RDR1b gene expression independent of SA was found to be associated with broad virus resistance. These findings show that multiple RDR1 genes are involved in virus resistance in cucumber and are regulated in a coordinated fashion with different expression profiles.
Molybdenum and phosphorus limitation of moss‐associated nitrogen fixation in boreal ecosystems
Authors: Rousk Kathrin , Degboe Jefferson , Michelsen Anders , Bradley Robert , Bellenger Jean‐Philippe
Published: November 2016

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) performed by moss‐associated cyanobacteria is one of the main sources of new nitrogen (N) input in pristine, high‐latitude ecosystems. Yet, the nutrients that limit BNF remain elusive. Here, we tested whether this important ecosystem function is limited by the availability of molybdenum (Mo), phosphorus (P), or both.

BNF in dominant mosses was measured with the acetylene reduction assay (ARA) at different time intervals following Mo and P additions, in both laboratory microcosms with mosses from a boreal spruce forest and field plots in subarctic tundra. We further used a 15N2 tracer technique to assess the ARA to N2 fixation conversion ratios at our subarctic site.

BNF was up to four‐fold higher shortly after the addition of Mo, in both the laboratory and field experiments. A similar positive response to Mo was found in moss colonizing cyanobacterial biomass. As the growing season progressed, nitrogenase activity became progressively more P limited. The ARA : 15N2 ratios increased with increasing Mo additions.

These findings show that N2 fixation activity as well as cyanobacterial biomass in dominant feather mosses from boreal forests and subarctic tundra are limited by Mo availability.
Reduction in Dietary Acrylamide Exposure—Impact of Potatoes with Low Acrylamide Potential
Authors: Tran Nga L. , Barraj Leila M. , Collinge Susan
Published: November 2016

Acrylamide forms primarily from a reaction between reducing sugars (e.g., glucose and fructose) and an amino acid (asparagine, Asn) formed naturally in foods, including potatoes. This reaction occurs when carbohydrate‐rich foods are heated at temperatures above 120 °C. Multiple potato varieties were transformed with potato genomic DNA that results in down‐regulation of the expression of the asparagine synthetase‐1 gene (Asn1), significantly reducing synthesis of free Asn, and consequently lowering the potential to form acrylamide during cooking. These potatoes with low acrylamide potential (LAP) were tested in agronomic trials, and processed into French fries and potato chips. Decreased levels of acrylamide were measured in these cooked food products when derived from LAP potatoes compared with those derived from conventional potatoes. These reductions can be directly attributed to reduction in Asn levels in the LAP potatoes. The corresponding average reduction in exposure to acrylamide from French fry and potato chip consumption is estimated to be 65%, which would amount to approximately a 25% reduction in overall dietary exposure. Considering that children consume nearly three times more acrylamide than adults on a per kg body weight basis, they would experience the most impact from the reduced acrylamide associated with LAP potatoes. The potential public health impacts, in context of dietary acrylamide exposure reduction, are discussed in this study.
CARDIAC MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF PATENT DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS IN THREE DOGS
Authors: Lee Youngjae , Jung Jaihyun , Park Junyong , Jeong Jiyoon , Jeon Seokho , Park Sunyoung , Chang Jinhwa , Kang Ji‐Houn , Lee Chulhyun , Chang Dongwoo
Published: November 2016

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is the most common congenital cardiovascular disorder in dogs and requires an accurate diagnosis for an appropriate treatment. Cardiac MRI (cMRI) has been reported as a method for characterization of canine thoracic vasculature. However, to the authors’ knowledge, no published studies describe evaluation of canine PDA through cMRI. Three dogs were selected for this exploratory study. Electrocardiogram gating and breath‐hold techniques were performed using a 3T MR scanner. Both black blood imaging and bright blood cine acquisitions were performed. Quantification of stroke volume (SV) and shunting volume were calculated using a stack of short‐axis cine images. Additional 4D (three‐spatial dimensions plus time)‐TRAK (time‐resolved MR angiography with keyhole) sequences were conducted in patient 2 to verify other vasculature abnormality. Black blood images clearly depicted the course of the ductus from the descending aorta to the pulmonary artery in all three dogs. Morphological evaluation of PDA classified patients 1 and 2 as Type 2a and patient 3 as Type 1. Patient 2 was confirmed to have a concurrent persistent left cranial vena cava. Left ventricular SV, right ventricular SV, and left‐to‐right SV ratio were 12.4 ml, 3.36 ml, and 3.704, respectively, in patient 1; 6.85 ml, 1.22 ml, and 5.60 in the patient 2; and 3.67 ml, 2.14 ml, and 1.702 in patient 3. Findings indicated that cMRI is a feasible method for characterizing the morphology of PDA and extracardiac vasculature anomalies in dogs.
The Embellishment of Bottom Line through Hyperbole of Accrued Earnings: A Case of Deliberate Earnings Management of a Non-bank Financial Institution Enlisted in Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange
Authors: Abedin Md. Thasinul
Published: November 2016

The study has tried to find out the key parameters through which a non-bank financial institution can embellish its earnings. The study has found that loan loss provisions increases in line with the increase in loan and advances and interest suspense. Moreover, non-bank financial institutions always report other assets except accounts receivable figure which foreshadows an existence of deliberate inflation of earnings. The study has found a positive impact of total loan loss provisions and interest suspense on accrued income, a clear message that non-bank financial institutions always report more accrued earnings to safeguard their profit. Increase in accrued income in line with total loan loss provision and interest suspense is also validated by increase in accrued income with respect to other assets except accounts receivable figure even though the impact of other assets on accrued income is insignificant at 5% level, an accounting channel through which excess other assets except accounts receivable would be inflated for excess increase in accrued income. The study has deduced that other assets except accounts receivable is a reserve bank for discretionary inflation of earnings even though it is insignificant. The study has used time series monthly data of International Leasing and Financial Services Limited, a non-bank financial institution from 2009-2015 reported in the Statement of NBDC sent to Bangladesh Bank each month. Two-time series models have been used in this study. The first model has tried to find out the impact of loan and advances, interest suspense, and other assets except accounts receivable on total loan loss provision. In the first model, there is a significant impact of loan and advances, interest suspense, and other assets except accounts receivable on total loan loss provision. The second model has tried to discern the impact of total loan loss provision, interest suspense, and other assets on accrued income along with other independent variables namely-loan and advances, total fixed assets, and operating income. The study has found a significant positive impact of total loan loss provision and interest suspense on accrued income and insignificant impact of other assets except accounts receivable on accrued income. For both models, there is no long-run relationship among the variables.
Supported housing and housing support for the psychiatrically disabled – Background, population, policies, practices and current challenges
Authors: Brunt David , Tibblin Lena
Published: November 2016

This article presents an overview of the development of supported housing and housing support for the psychiatrically disabled in Sweden as well as a short résumé of the major policies, reforms and agencies that have influenced this development, in particular the Mental Health Care reform of 1995 and the National Agency for the Co-ordination of Psychiatric Services. Characteristics of the residents and residences are described. The specific role of the care assessment officer in the light of three case examples is discussed and the current challenges facing the providers of housing and support for the psychiatrically disabled in Sweden are presented.
Pacemaker and ICD oversensing induced by movements near the MRI scanner bore
Authors: Mattei E. , Censi F. , Calcagnini G. , Falsaperla R. , Genovese E. , Napolitano A. , Cannatà V.
Published: November 2016

Purpose:

The effect of the movement near the MRI scanner bore for people with a pacemaker (PM) or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is experimentally evaluated and discussed.

Methods:

The authors performed in vitro measurements on a saline‐filled human‐shaped phantom (male, 170 cm height), equipped first with an MR‐conditional PM (bicameral configuration, DDD programming), then with an MR‐conditional ICD (biventricular configuration, detection algorithms enable but shock delivery disable). Both the devices were able to transmit in real‐time the detected cardiac activity (electrograms) while moving the phantom around the MRI scanner. The phantom was also equipped with an accelerometer and a magnetic field probe to measure the angular velocity and the magnetic field variation during the experiment. Unipolar versus bipolar sensing mode and maximum sensitivity versus nominal settings were tested.

Results:

The sensing functions of the PM and ICD systems began to react to motion induced electromagnetic interference starting at an angular velocity as low as 2 rad/s (|dB/dT| = 2 T/s). The motion induced EMI in PM and ICD systems was interpreted as sensed intrinsic heartbeats which resulted in inappropriate pacing inhibition and arrhythmia classification. At the maximum speed of about 6 rad/s (|dB/dT| = 3 T/s), the induced EMI affected classification of ectopic beats and two episodes of VF were inappropriately recorded.

Conclusions:

These results demonstrate that motion in and around an MR scanner can induce EMI significant enough to be misinterpreted by implanted PMs and ICDs leading to inappropriate changes in therapy. These findings highlight that PM or ICDs, including MR‐conditional systems should not enter the MRI room, except in case of an examination under specified conditions.
Reconfigurable origami-inspired acoustic waveguides
Authors: Babaee Sahab , Overvelde Johannes T. B. , Chen Elizabeth R. , Tournat Vincent , Bertoldi Katia
Published: November 2016

Researchers use reconfigurable origami-inspired metamaterials to guide and redirect the propagation of sound.
The wanderers
Authors: Gibbons Ann
Published: November 2016

Fossils of the first human ancestors to trek out of Africa reveal primitive features and a brutal way of life.
On the clock
Authors: Ray L. Bryan , Travis John
Published: November 2016

Our bodies' internal timepieces drive daily rhythms and influence health
Directed evolution of cytochrome c for carbon–silicon bond formation: Bringing silicon to life
Authors: Kan S. B. Jennifer , Lewis Russell D. , Chen Kai , Arnold Frances H.
Published: November 2016

Bringing carbon-silicon bonds to life

Organic compounds containing silicon are important for a number of applications, from polymers to semiconductors. The catalysts used for creating carbon-silicon bonds, however, often require expensive trace metals or have limited lifetimes. Borrowing from the ability of some metallo-enzymes to catalyze other rare carbene insertion reactions, Kan
et al.
used heme proteins to form carbon-silicon bonds across a range of conditions and substrates (see the Perspective by Klare and Oestreich). Directed evolution experiments using cytochrome c from
Rhodothermus marinus
improved the reaction to be 15 times more efficient than industrial catalysts.

Science
, this issue p.
1048
; see also p.
970
Closing the loop
Authors: Levine Beth
Published: November 2016

The ATG conjugation system is not essential for autophagosome formation in mammals
Genome Sequencing and Analysis of the Filamentous Fungus
Penicillium sclerotiorum
113, Isolated after Hurricane Sandy
Authors: Yin Guohua , Zhang Yuliang , Pennerman Kayla K. , Hua Sui Sheng T. , Huang Qixing , Guo Anping , Liu Zhixin , Bennett Joan W.
Published: November 2016

Penicillium sclerotiorum
is a distinctive species within the genus
Penicillium
that usually produces vivid orange to red colonies, sometimes with colorful sclerotia. Here, we report the first draft genome sequence of
P. sclerotiorum
strain 113, isolated in 2013 in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy from a flooded home in New Jersey.
Performance of Vitek 2 for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia with Vitek 2 (2009 FDA) and CLSI M100S 26th Edition Breakpoints
Authors: Bobenchik April M. , Deak Eszter , Hindler Janet A. , Charlton Carmen L. , Humphries Romney M.
Published: November 2016

The performances of Vitek 2 AST-GN69 and AST-XN06 cards were compared to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) reference broth microdilution (BMD) for 99 isolates of
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
, 26
Acinetobacter baumannii
isolates, and 11
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
isolates. In total, 15 antimicrobials were evaluated, with 11 for
P. aeruginosa
, 14 for
A. baumannii
, and 2 for
S. maltophilia
. Categorical agreement (CA) was assessed using both Vitek 2 breakpoints and 2016 CLSI M100S 26th edition breakpoints. The essential agreement values for
P. aeruginosa
,
A. baumannii
, and
S. maltophilia
were 99.5%, 99.2%, and 100%, respectively. The CA values for
P. aeruginosa
,
A. baumannii
, and
S. maltophilia
were 94.1%, 92.7%, and 95.5%, respectively, by the Vitek 2 breakpoints, and 93.4%, 92.3%, and 95.5%, respectively, by the CLSI breakpoints. Overall, the Vitek 2 performance was comparable to that of BMD using both Vitek 2 breakpoints and 2016 CLSI M100S 26th edition breakpoints. Improved performance was noted for the reformulated piperacillin-tazobactam and imipenem found on the AST-GN69 card, with no very major or major errors noted when using the CLSI breakpoints.
Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-Anchored Anti-HIV scFv Efficiently Protects CD4 T Cells from HIV-1 Infection and Deletion in hu-PBL Mice
Authors: Ye Chaobaihui , Wang Weiming , Cheng Liang , Li Guangming , Wen Michael , Wang Qi , Zhang Qing , Li Dan , Zhou Paul , Su Lishan
Published: November 2016

Despite success in viral inhibition and CD4 T cell recovery by highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART), HIV-1 is still not curable due to the persistence of the HIV-1 reservoir during treatment. One patient with acute myeloid leukemia who received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from a homozygous
CCR5
Δ32 donor has had no detectable viremia for 9 years after HAART cessation. This case has inspired a field of HIV-1 cure research focusing on engineering HIV-1 resistance in permissive cells. Here, we employed a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-scFv X5 approach to confer resistance of human primary CD4 T cells to HIV-1. We showed that primary CD4 T cells expressing GPI-scFv X5 were resistant to CCR5 (R5)-, CXCR4 (X4)-, and dual-tropic HIV-1 and had a survival advantage compared to control cells
ex vivo
. In a hu-PBL mouse study, GPI-scFv X5-transduced CD4 T cells were selected in peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues upon HIV-1 infection. Finally, GPI-scFv X5-transduced CD4 T cells, after being cotransfused with HIV-infected cells, showed significantly reduced viral loads and viral RNA copy numbers relative to CD4 cells in hu-PBL mice compared to mice with GPI-scFv AB65-transduced CD4 T cells. We conclude that GPI-scFv X5-modified CD4 T cells could potentially be used as a genetic intervention against both R5- and X4-tropic HIV-1 infections.

IMPORTANCE
Blocking of HIV-1 entry is one of most promising approaches for therapy. Genetic disruption of the HIV-1 coreceptor CCR5 by nucleases in T cells is under 2 clinical trials and leads to reduced viremia in patients. However, the emergence of viruses using the CXCR4 coreceptor is a concern for therapies applying single-coreceptor disruption. Here, we report that HIV-1-permissive CD4 T cells engineered with GPI-scFv X5 are resistant to R5-, X4-, or dual-tropic virus infection
ex vivo
. In a preclinical study using hu-PBL mice, we show that CD4 T cells were protected and that GPI-scFv X5-transduced cells were selected in HIV-1-infected animals. Moreover, we show that GPI-scFv X5-transduced CD4 T cells exerted a negative effect on virus replication
in vivo
. We conclude that GPI-scFv X5-modified CD4 T cells could potentially be used as a genetic intervention against both R5- and X4-tropic HIV-1 infections.