bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fitness landscape of the human immunodeficiency virus envelope protein that is targeted by antibodies
Authors: Louie Raymond H. Y. , Kaczorowski Kevin J. , Barton John P. , Chakraborty Arup K. , McKay Matthew R.
Published: January 2018

Significance

An effective vaccine for HIV is still not available, although recent hope has emerged through the discovery of antibodies capable of neutralizing diverse HIV strains. Nonetheless, there exist mutational pathways through which HIV can evade known broadly neutralizing antibody responses. An ideal vaccine would elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies that target parts of the virus’s spike proteins where mutations severely compromise the virus’s fitness. Here, we employ a computational approach that allows estimation of the fitness landscape (fitness as a function of sequence) of the polyprotein that comprises HIV’s spike. We validate the inferred landscape through comparisons with diverse experimental measurements. The availability of this fitness landscape will aid the rational design of immunogens for effective vaccines.
CFH
and
ARMS2
genetic risk determines progression to neovascular age-related macular degeneration after antioxidant and zinc supplementation
Authors: Vavvas Demetrios G. , Small Kent W. , Awh Carl C. , Zanke Brent W. , Tibshirani Robert J. , Kustra Rafal
Published: January 2018

Significance

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe vision loss in the elderly and has major economic and quality-of-life impact. Prophylactic high-dose zinc and antioxidant supplements treatments are typically recommended with the assumption of homogeneously distributed benefit and risk of developing neovascular AMD. We show that individual variation at
complement factor H
and
age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2
, genes which predispose to AMD, also determines the effectiveness of nutritional prophylaxis. Some individuals paradoxically experience worsening disease with treatment, while others experience greater than average benefit. These divergent responses are difficult to identify when treatment effects have long latency. Understanding individual variations in prophylactic treatment response should inform future research and optimize health outcomes.
TRPM4 and TRPM5 are both required for normal signaling in taste receptor cells
Authors: Dutta Banik Debarghya , Martin Laura E. , Freichel Marc , Torregrossa Ann-Marie , Medler Kathryn F.
Published: January 2018

Significance

It is currently thought that the transduction of bitter, sweet, and umami stimuli in taste cells depends on G protein-coupled receptor signaling with transient receptor potential melastatin 5 (TRPM5) acting as a common downstream component. However, in the absence of TRPM5, mice have a reduced, but not abolished, ability to detect these stimuli, suggesting that a TRPM5-independent pathway also contributes to taste transduction. Here, we identify a critical role for the TRPM4 channel in the detection of these taste qualities. Deletion of either TRPM4 or TRPM5 impairs sensitivity to bitter, sweet, and umami stimuli, and loss of both TRPM4 and TRPM5 abolishes taste responses to these stimuli. Our results show that both TRPM4 and TRPM5 are required and sufficient for the transduction of bitter, sweet, and umami stimuli.
DNA double-strand break response factors influence end-joining features of IgH class switch and general translocation junctions
Authors: Panchakshari Rohit A. , Zhang Xuefei , Kumar Vipul , Du Zhou , Wei Pei-Chi , Kao Jennifer , Dong Junchao , Alt Frederick W.
Published: January 2018

Significance

B lymphocytes change the type of antibody they express to combat infections though a DNA breakage and joining process termed antibody class switch recombination (CSR). During CSR, DNA breaks are introduced into two specific regions of the antibody locus, and these two DNA breaks are joined to make the new form of the antibody gene. Like other genomic breaks, CSR DNA breaks activate a cellular DNA damage response pathway that helps ensure their proper repair. We now show that, when certain components of the DNA damage response pathway are inactivated, B-cell CSR junctions show different molecular signatures, indicating that they are repaired by a less-efficient alternative DNA repair pathway instead of the normal general cellular DNA break repair pathway.
Facilitating coproduction: the role of leadership in coproduction initiatives in the UK
Authors: Bussu Sonia , Tullia Galanti Maria
Published: January 2018

The concept of coproduction primarily refers to direct user involvement in the production of services. This paper identifies the main dimensions of this broad and at times fuzzy concept and focuses on types and styles of leadership that can emerge from, and sustain, effective coproduction practice. We do so by carrying out a narrative review of cases of coproduction in the UK, with a focus on the role of citizens, bureaucrats and, specifically, local politicians, to unpick how the latter can facilitate or hinder coproductive processes. The analysis distances itself from a traditional understanding of leadership to examine relational dynamics rather than organisation structures as the key variable of leadership within coproductive practices.
Worry About Deportation and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among Adult Women: The Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas Study
Authors: Torres Jacqueline M , Deardorff Julianna , Gunier Robert B , Harley Kim G , Alkon Abbey , Kogut Katherine , Eskenazi Brenda
Published: January 2018

Background

U.S. Latinos report high levels of concern about deportation for themselves or others. No previous research has tested the link between worry about deportation and clinical measures of cardiovascular risk.

Purpose

We estimate the associations between worry about deportation and clinically measured cardiovascular risk factors.

Methods

Data come from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas study. The analytic sample includes 545 Mexican-origin women.

Results

In multivariable models, reporting a lot of worry about deportation was significantly associated with greater body mass index, greater risk of obesity, larger waist circumference, and higher pulse pressure. Reporting moderate deportation worry was significantly associated with greater risk of overweight and higher systolic blood pressure. Significant associations between worry about deportation and greater body mass index, waist circumference, and pulse pressure, respectively, held after correcting for multiple testing at p < .05.

Conclusions

Worry about deportation may be an important cardiovascular risk factor for ethnic minority populations in the USA.
Colonizing the Canon: Metonymy and Metropolitan Fiction
Authors: Yee Jennifer
Published: January 2018

The geographical focus of the French realist and naturalist novel is overwhelmingly on metropolitan France. However, a postcolonial reading of these metropolitan novels reveals links to France’s colonies that cannot easily be reduced to colonialist propaganda. Such a reading deploys modes that might be qualified as suspicious (Ross Chambers) or contrapuntal (Edward Said). It reveals off-stage spaces that can be approached in terms of Foucault’s ‘colonial heterotopias’ or Bakhtin’s distinction between adventure and everyday chronotopes. This article examines off-stage colonial heterotopias that appear through metonymy. Drawing on cultural studies and ‘thing theory’ it reads inanimate objects — imported colonial goods, or fake exotic objects manufactured in Paris — as metonymically suggesting a broader history beyond France. Such objects sometimes point to events that are usually passed over in silence, such as the Haitian Revolution. They expose consumerism as imperialist voracity or nostalgia for slave-ownership. And at times they show us Romantic exotic posing as part of the July Monarchy’s use of the Algerian conquest for self-publicity. Metonymy thus brings colonialism into the metropolitan text by the side door. At the same time, colonial metonymy introduces a disturbance within the realist machine. It breaks up the continuity of spatial and conceptual proximity, since an object imported from Algeria circulates within metropolitan space but points towards North Africa. And while the realist mode usually depends on verisimilitude or familiarity, colonial metonymy self-consciously confronts the reader with something that is not familiar and does not obviously belong in the metropolitan context.
‘We Were All Strangers Here’: Time, Space, and Postcolonial Anxiety in Traversay’s
Les Amours de Zémédare et Carina, et description de l’île de la Martinique
Authors: McCusker Maeve
Published: January 2018

A sense of dislocation, unsettlement, and exile — what V. S. Naipaul calls the ‘enigma of arrival’ — was the destiny of all who migrated to the Antilles under the plantation regime, although this enigma was experienced in radically different ways by masters and slaves. While much scholarship exists on how ‘black’ writers engaged with space and time in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, earlier Antillean writers have generally not been interrogated in terms of their exploration of the chronotopes of island and plantation. For these writers, fiction was a medium through which to explore and accentuate the exotic: nineteenth-century novels routinely present idealized, mysterious, magical, or forbidding landscapes. Fiction also provided a powerful vehicle for domesticating the alien, through a pronounced recourse to (apparently) objective detail and quantifiable data. This article examines the first known, and almost entirely neglected, Martiniquan novel, Traversay’s
Les Amours de Zémédare et Carina
, a novel that exemplifies this tension between the urge to make strange and the urge to chart, define, and explain. In its treatment of time — in particular its use of prolepsis — and in the presentation of space — gardens, trees, geological formations — the novel exemplifies the ambivalence and anxiety so commonly identified with more recent postcolonial writing.
The High Time Resolution Universe Pulsar Survey – XIII. PSR J1757−1854, the most accelerated binary pulsar
Authors: Cameron A D , Champion D J , Kramer M , Bailes M , Barr E D , Bassa C G , Bhandari S , Bhat N D R , Burgay M , Burke-Spolaor S , Eatough R P , Flynn C M L , Freire P C C , Jameson A , Johnston S , Karuppusamy R , Keith M J , Levin L , Lorimer D R , Lyne A G , McLaughlin M A , Ng C , Petroff E , Possenti A , Ridolfi A , Stappers B W , van Straten W , Tauris T M , Tiburzi C , Wex N
Published: January 2018

We report the discovery of PSR J1757−1854, a 21.5-ms pulsar in a highly-eccentric, 4.4-h orbit with a neutron star (NS) companion. PSR J1757−1854 exhibits some of the most extreme relativistic parameters of any known pulsar, including the strongest relativistic effects due to gravitational-wave damping, with a merger time of 76 Myr. Following a 1.6-yr timing campaign, we have measured five post-Keplerian parameters, yielding the two component masses (mp = 1.3384(9) M⊙ and mc = 1.3946(9) M⊙) plus three tests of general relativity, which the theory passes. The larger mass of the NS companion provides important clues regarding the binary formation of PSR J1757−1854. With simulations suggesting 3-σ measurements of both the contribution of Lense–Thirring precession to the rate of change of the semimajor axis and the relativistic deformation of the orbit within ∼7–9 yr, PSR J1757−1854 stands out as a unique laboratory for new tests of gravitational theories.
Utility of Perioperative Lung Ultrasound in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery
Authors: Song In-Kyung , Kim Eun-Hee , Lee Ji-Hyun , Kang Pyoyoon , Kim Hee-Soo , Kim Jin-Tae
Published: January 2018

Background

Pediatric cardiac patients are at risk for perioperative respiratory insufficiency. The objective of this study was to assess the utility of perioperative lung ultrasound examination in pediatric cardiac surgery.

Methods

In this randomized, controlled trial, children (5 yr old or younger) undergoing cardiac surgery were allocated into a control (n = 61) or intervention (n = 61) group. The control group received only lung ultrasound examinations at the end of surgery and 6 to 12 h after surgery. The intervention group received lung ultrasound examinations and an ultrasound-guided recruitment maneuver depending on ultrasound findings after inducing anesthesia, at the end of surgery, and 6 to 12 h after surgery. Primary outcomes were incidences of intra- and postoperative desaturation, and postoperative pulmonary complications. Multiple comparisons were corrected (P ≤ 0.017) in the primary outcome analysis.

Results

Of the 120 children included in the analysis, postoperative desaturation (64% vs. 27%; P < 0.001; odds ratio [OR], 0.210; 95% CI, 0.097 to 0.456) occurred more in the control group. The incidences of intraoperative desaturation (36% vs. 19%; P = 0.033; OR, 0.406; 95% CI, 0.176 to 0.939) and postoperative pulmonary complications (12% vs. 3%; P = 0.093; OR, 0.271; 95% CI, 0.054 to 1.361) were similar between the groups. Lung ultrasound scores were better in the intervention group than in the control group. Duration of mechanical ventilation was longer in the control group than in the intervention group (38 ± 43 vs. 26 ± 25 h; 95% CI of mean difference, 0 to 25; P = 0.048).

Conclusions

Perioperative lung ultrasound examination followed by ultrasound-guided recruitment maneuver helped decrease postoperative desaturation events and shorten the duration of mechanical ventilation in pediatric cardiac patients.
Reappraisal of Morphologic Differences Between Renal Medullary Carcinoma, Collecting Duct Carcinoma, and Fumarate Hydratase–deficient Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Ohe Chisato , Smith Steven C. , Sirohi Deepika , Divatia Mukul , de Peralta-Venturina Mariza , Paner Gladell P. , Agaimy Abbas , Amin Mitual B. , Argani Pedram , Chen Ying-Bei , Cheng Liang , Colecchia Maurizio , Compérat Eva , Werneck da Cunha Isabela , Epstein Jonathan I. , Gill Anthony J. , Hes Ondřej , Hirsch Michelle S. , Jochum Wolfram , Kunju Lakshmi P. , Maclean Fiona , Magi-Galluzzi Cristina , McKenney Jesse K. , Mehra Rohit , Nesi Gabriella , Osunkoya Adeboye O. , Picken Maria M. , Rao Priya , Reuter Victor E. , de Oliveira Salles Paulo Guilherme , Schultz Luciana , Tickoo Satish K. , Tomlins Scott A. , Trpkov Kiril , Amin Mahul B.
Published: January 2018

Renal medullary carcinomas (RMCs) and collecting duct carcinomas (CDCs) are rare subsets of lethal high-stage, high-grade distal nephron-related adenocarcinomas with a predilection for the renal medullary region. Recent findings have established an emerging group of fumarate hydratase (FH)-deficient tumors related to hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (HLRCC-RCCs) syndrome within this morphologic spectrum. Recently developed, reliable ancillary testing has enabled consistent separation between these tumor types. Here, we present the clinicopathologic features and differences in the morphologic patterns between RMC, CDC, and FH-deficient RCC in consequence of these recent developments. This study included a total of 100 cases classified using contemporary criteria and ancillary tests. Thirty-three RMCs (SMARCB1/INI1-deficient, hemoglobinopathy), 38 CDCs (SMARCB1/INI1-retained), and 29 RCCs defined by the FH-deficient phenotype (FH−/2SC+ or FH±/2SC+ with FH mutation, regardless of HLRCC syndromic stigmata/history) were selected. The spectrum of morphologic patterns was critically evaluated, and the differences between the morphologic patterns present in the 3 groups were analyzed statistically. Twenty-five percent of cases initially diagnosed as CDC were reclassified as FH-deficient RCC on the basis of our contemporary diagnostic approach. Among the different overlapping morphologic patterns, sieve-like/cribriform and reticular/yolk sac tumor–like patterns favored RMCs, whereas intracystic papillary and tubulocystic patterns favored FH-deficient RCC. The tubulopapillary pattern favored both CDCs and FH-deficient RCCs, and the multinodular infiltrating papillary pattern favored CDCs. Infiltrating glandular and solid sheets/cords/nested patterns were not statistically different among the 3 groups. Viral inclusion–like macronucleoli, considered as a hallmark of HLRCC-RCCs, were observed significantly more frequently in FH-deficient RCCs. Despite the overlapping morphology found among these clinically aggressive infiltrating high-grade adenocarcinomas of the kidney, reproducible differences in morphology emerged between these categories after rigorous characterization. Finally, we recommend that definitive diagnosis of CDC should only be made if RMC and FH-deficient RCC are excluded.
SWI/SNF Chromatin-remodeling Complex Status in SMARCB1/INI1-preserved Epithelioid Sarcoma
Authors: Kohashi Kenichi , Yamamoto Hidetaka , Yamada Yuichi , Kinoshita Izumi , Taguchi Tomoaki , Iwamoto Yukihide , Oda Yoshinao
Published: January 2018

The SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex, which is composed of evolutionarily conserved core subunits such as SMARCB1/INI1 (INI1), SMARCA4/BRG1 (BRG1), SMARCC1/BAF155 (BAF155), and SMARCC2/BAF170 (BAF170), can be viewed as the prototype of an epigenetic regulator of gene expression that is involved in tumor suppression. Epithelioid sarcoma, which classified as a tumor of uncertain differentiation, shows an almost complete loss of INI1. However, some cases of epithelioid sarcoma have preserved INI1, and the clinicopathologic features of these cases are uncertain. To date, there has been no investigation focused on the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex in INI1-preserved epithelioid sarcoma cases. First, an investigation of INI1 immunoexpression statuses in 60 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded epithelioid sarcoma specimens (proximal type, 29 cases; conventional type, 31 cases) was performed. In the available INI1-preserved epithelioid sarcoma cases, we analyzed the BRG1, BAF155, and BAF170 protein expressions. INI1 preservation was observed in 6 of 29 (21%) proximal-type and 2 of 31 (6%) conventional-type epithelioid sarcoma cases. Six cases of INI1-preserved epithelioid sarcomas of proximal type were available for further immunohistochemical study. One proximal type showed loss of BAF170, and 2 proximal-type cases revealed loss of BRG1 with preservation of the other remaining core subunit proteins. One proximal-type case showed a mosaic pattern of BRG1 and loss of BAF155. However, in the remaining 2 proximal-type cases, all core subunit proteins were preserved. Overall, these results suggest that loss of expression of SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex proteins has an important role in tumorigenesis. The remaining 2 INI1-preserved epithelioid sarcoma cases may have had other abnormalities causing dysfunction of SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling.
Rhabdomyolysis in a Tertiary PICU: A 10-Year Study
Authors: Gelbart Ben , DeMarco Renata , David Hussey Alexander , Namachivayam Siva P. , McRae Rosemary , Quinlan Catherine , Duke Trevor
Published: January 2018

Objectives:

Rhabdomyolysis is a disorder of muscle breakdown. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology of rhabdomyolysis in children admitted to a PICU and to assess the relationship between peak creatinine kinase and mortality.

Design:

Retrospective cohort study in children admitted to the PICU with rhabdomyolysis between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2014. Demographic, clinical, and outcome data were recorded. Outcomes were analyzed by level of peak creatinine kinase value (0–10,000, 10,001–50,000, > 50,000IU/L). Long-term renal outcomes were reported for PICU survivors.

Setting:

A single-centre academic tertiary PICU.

Patients:

Children admitted to the PICU with serum creatinine kinase level greater than 1,000 IU/L.

Interventions:

None.

Measurements and Main Results:

There were 182 children with rhabdomyolysis. The median peak creatinine kinase value was 3,583 IU/L (1,554–9,608). The primary diagnostic categories included sepsis, trauma, and cardiac arrest. Mortality for peak creatinine kinase values 0–10,000, 10,001–50,000, and > 50,000 IU/L were 24/138 (17%), 6/28 (21%), and 3/16 (19%), respectively (p = 0.87). Children with a peak creatinine kinase greater than 10,000 IU/L had a longer duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU length of stay than children with peak creatinine kinase less than 10,000. Renal replacement therapy was administered in 29/182 (16%). There was longer duration of mechanical ventilation (273 [141–548] vs. 73 [17–206] hr [p < 0.001]) and ICU length of stay (334 [147–618] vs. 100 [37–232] hr (p < 0.001)] in children receiving renal replacement therapy. Continuous veno-venous hemofiltration was the most common modality 23/29 (79%). Only one child required renal replacement therapy postintensive care stay, and adverse long-term renal outcomes were uncommon.

Conclusions:

In children with rhabdomyolysis requiring intensive care, peak creatinine kinase was not associated with mortality but is associated with greater use of intensive care resources. Chronic kidney disease is an uncommon sequelae of rhabdomyolysis in children requiring intensive care.
Short-Term Neurodevelopmental Outcome in Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia: The Impact of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Timing of Repair
Authors: Danzer Enrico , Hoffman Casey , D’Agostino Jo Ann , Connelly James T. , Waqar Lindsay N. , Gerdes Marsha , Bernbaum Judy , Rintoul Natalie E. , Herkert Lisa M. , Peranteau William H. , Flake Alan W. , Adzick N. Scott , Hedrick Holly L.
Published: January 2018

Objectives:

The purpose of this study was to assess the need and timing of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in relation to congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair as modifiers of short-term neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Design:

Retrospective study.

Setting:

A specialized tertiary care center.

Patients:

Between June 2004 and February 2016, a total of 212 congenital diaphragmatic hernia survivors enrolled in our follow-up program. Neurodevelopmental outcome was assessed at a median age of 22 months (range, 5–37) using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, third edition. Fifty patients (24%) required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support. Four patients (8%) were repaired prior to cannulation, 25 (50%) were repaired on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and 21 (42%) were repaired after decannulation.

Interventions:

None.

Measurements and Main Results:

Children with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, who required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation scored on average 4.6 points lower on cognitive composite (p = 0.031) and 9.2 points lower on the motor composite (p < 0.001). Language scores were similar between groups. Mean scores for children with congenital diaphragmatic hernia repaired on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were significantly lower for cognition (p = 0.021) and motor (p = 0.0005) outcome. Language scores were also lower, but did not reach significance. A total of 40% of children repaired on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation scored below average in all composites, whereas only 9% of the non–extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, 4% of the repaired post–extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and 25% of the repaired pre–extracorporeal membrane oxygenation patients scored below average across all domains. Only 20% of congenital diaphragmatic hernia survivors repaired on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support scored within the average range for all composite domains. Duration of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support was not associated with a higher likelihood of adverse cognitive (p = 0.641), language (p = 0.147), or motor (p = 0.720) outcome.

Conclusions:

Need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in congenital diaphragmatic hernia survivors is associated with worse neurocognitive and neuromotor outcome. Need for congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair while on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is associated with deficits in multiple domains. Overall time on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation did not impact neurodevelopmental outcome
Rapid sensing of L-leucine by human and murine hypothalamic neurons: neurochemical and mechanistic insights
Authors: Heeley Nicholas , Kirwan Peter , Darwish Tamana , Arnaud Marion , Evans Mark , Merkle Florian , Reimann Frank , Gribble Fiona , Blouet Clemence
Published: January 2018

Dietary proteins are sensed by hypothalamic neurons and strongly influence multiple aspects of metabolic health, including appetite, weight gain and adiposity. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which hypothalamic neural circuits controlling behavior and metabolism sense protein availability. The aim of this study is to characterize how neurons from the mediobasal hypothalamus respond to a signal of protein availability: the amino acid L-leucine.
We used primary cultures of post-weaning murine mediobasal hypothalamic neurons, hypothalamic neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells, and calcium imaging to characterize rapid neuronal responses to physiological changes in extracellular L-Leucine concentration.
We show that a neurochemically diverse subset of both mouse and human hypothalamic neurons responded rapidly to L-leucine. Consistent the anorexigenic role of L-leucine, we found that 25% of mouse MBH POMC neurons were activated by L-leucine. 10% MBH NPY neurons were inhibited by L-leucine, and leucine rapidly reduced AGRP secretion, providing a mechanism for the rapid leucine-induced inhibition of foraging behaviour in rodents. Surprisingly, none of the candidate mechanisms previously implicated in hypothalamic leucine sensing (KATP channels, mTORC1 signaling, amino-acid decarboxylation) were involved in the acute activity changes produced by L-leucine. Instead, our data indicate that leucine-induced neuronal activation involves a plasma membrane Ca2+ channel, whereas leucine-induced neuronal inhibition is mediated by inhibition of a store-operated Ca2+ current.
We conclude that a subset of neurons in the mediobasal hypothalamus rapidly respond to physiological changes in extracellular leucine concentration. Leucine can produce both increases and decreases in neuronal Ca2+ concentrations in a neurochemically-diverse group of neurons, including some POMC and NPY/AGRP neurons. Our data reveal that leucine can signal through novel mechanisms to rapidly affect neuronal activity.
Visual cortical entrainment to unheard acoustic speech reflects intelligibility of lip movements and is mediated by dorsal stream regions
Authors: Hauswald A. , Lithari C. , Collignon O. , Leonardelli E. , Weisz N.
Published: January 2018

Successful lip reading requires a mapping from visual to phonological information [1]. Recently, visual and motor cortices have been implicated in tracking lip movements (e.g. [2]). It remains unclear, however, whether visuo-phonological mapping occurs already at the level of the visual cortex, that is, whether this structure tracks the acoustic signal in a functionally relevant manner. In order to elucidate this, we investigated how the cortex tracks (i.e. entrains) absent acoustic speech signals carried by silent lip movements. Crucially, we contrasted the entrainment to unheard forward (intelligible) and backward (unintelligible) acoustic speech. We observed that the visual cortex exhibited stronger entrainment to the unheard forward acoustic speech envelope compared to the unheard backward acoustic speech envelope. Supporting the notion of a visuo-phonological mapping process, this forward-backward difference of occipital entrainment was not present for actually observed lip movements. Importantly, the respective occipital region received more top-down input especially from left premotor, primary motor, somatosensory regions and, to a lesser extent, also from posterior temporal cortex. Strikingly, across participants, the extent of top-down modulation of visual cortex stemming from these regions partially correlates with the strength of entrainment to absent acoustic forward speech envelope but not to present forward lip movements. Our findings demonstrate that a distributed cortical network, including key dorsal stream auditory regions [3–5], influence how the visual cortex shows sensitivity to the intelligibility of speech while tracking silent lip movements.

Highlights

Visual cortex tracks better forward than backward unheard acoustic speech envelope

Effects not “trivially” caused by correlation of visual with acoustic signal

Stronger top-down control of visual cortex during forward display of lip movements

Top-down influence correlates with visual cortical entrainment effect

Results seem to reflect visuo-phonological mapping processes
Coupling of Rho family GTPases during mesenchymal-to-epithelial-like transitions
Authors: Toret Christopher P. , Shivakumar Pruthvi C. , Lenne Pierre-françois , Bivic Andre Le
Published: January 2018

Many metazoan developmental processes require cells to transition between migratory mesenchymal- and adherent epithelial-like states. These transitions require Rho GTPase-mediated actin rearrangements downstream of integrin and cadherin pathways. A regulatory toolbox of GEF and GAP proteins precisely coordinates Rho protein activities, yet defining the involvement of specific regulators within a cellular context remains a challenge due to overlapping and coupled activities. Here we demonstrate that Drosophila dorsal closure is a simple, powerful model for Rho GTPase regulation during leading edge to cadherin contact transitions. During these transitions a Rac GEF elmo-dock complex regulates both lamellipodia and Rho1-dependent, actomyosin-mediated tension at initial cadherin contacts. Moreover, the Drosophila Rho GAP arhgap21 ortholog controls Rac and Rho GTPases during the same processes and genetically regulates the elmo-dock complex. This study presents a fresh framework to understand the inter-relationship between GEF and GAP proteins that tether Rac and Rho cycles during developmental processes.
Emergence of V1 connectivity pattern and Hebbian rule in a performance-optimized artificial neural network
Authors: Liao Fangzhou , Hu Xiaolin , Song Sen
Published: January 2018

The connectivity pattern and function of the recurrent connections in the primary visual cortex (V1) have been studied for a long time. But the underlying mechanism remains elusive. We hypothesize that the recurrent connectivity is a result of performance optimization in recognizing images. To test this idea, we added recurrent connections within the first convolutional layer in a standard convolutional neural network, mimicking the recurrent connections in the V1, then trained the network for image classification using the back-propagation algorithm. We found that the trained connectivity pattern was similar to those discovered in biological experiments. According to their connectivity, the neurons were categorized into simple and complex neurons. The recurrent synaptic weight between two simple neurons is determined by the inner product of their receptive fields, which is consistent with the Hebbian rule. Functionally, the recurrent connections linearly amplify the feedforward inputs to simple neurons and determine the properties of complex neurons. The agreement between the model results and biological findings suggests that it is possible to use deep learning to further our understanding of the connectome.
Identification, expression analysis and molecular modeling of Iron deficiency specific clone 3 (Ids3) like gene in hexaploid wheat
Authors: Mathpal Priyanka , Kumar Upendra , Kumar Anuj , Kumar Sanjay , Malik Sachin , Kumar Naveen , Dhaliwal H. S. , Kumar Sundip
Published: January 2018

Graminaceous plants secrete iron (Fe) chelators called mugineic acid family phytosiderophores (MAs) from their roots for solubilisation and mobilization of unavailable ferric (Fe3+) ions from the soil. The hydroxylated forms of these phytosiderophores have been found more efficient in chelation and subsequent uptake of minerals from soil which are available in very small quantities. The genes responsible for hydroxylation of phytosiderophores have been recognized as iron deficiency-specific clone 2 (Ids2) and iron deficiency-specific clone 3 (Ids3) in barley but their presence is not reported earlier in hexaploid wheat. Hence, the present investigation was done with the aim:(i) to search for the putative Hordeum vulgare Ids3 (HvIds3) ortholog in hexaploid wheat, (ii) physical mapping of HvIds3 ortholog on wheat chromosome using cytogenetic stocks developed in the background of wheat cultivar Chinese Spring and (iii) to analyze the effect of iron starvation on the expression pattern of this ortholog at transcription level. In the present investigation, a putative ortholog of HvIds3 gene was identified in hexaploid wheat using different bioinformatics tools. Further, protein structure of TaIDS3 was modelled using homology modeling and also evaluated modelled structure behavior on nanoseconds using molecular dynamics based approach. Additionally, the ProFunc results also predict the functional similarity between the proteins of HvIds3 and its wheat ortholog (TaIds3). The physical mapping study with the use of cytogenetic stocks confines TaIds3 in the telomeric region of chromosome 7AS which supports the results obtained by bioinformatics analysis. The relative expression analysis of TaIds3 indicated that the detectable expression of TaIds3 induces after 5th day of Fe-starvation and increases gradually up to 15th day and thereafter decreases till 35th day of Fe-starvation. This reflects that Fe deficiency directly regulates the induction of TaIds3 in the roots of hexaploid wheat.
Characterization of strawberry (Fragaria vesca) sequence genome
Authors: Li Ao , Chen Lide , Liu Zhongjie , Cui Mengjie , Shangguan Lingfei , Jia Haifeng , Fang Jinggui
Published: January 2018

Background

In order to understand strawberry genes’ structure and evolution in this era of genomics, it is important to know the general statistical characteristics of the gene, intron and exon structures of strawberry and the expression of genes on different parts of strawberry genome. In the present study, about 32,422 genes on strawberry chromosomes were evaluated, and a number of bioinformatic softwares were used to analyze the characteristics of genes, exons and introns, expression of genes in different regions on the chromosomes. Also, the positions of strawberry centromeres were predicted.

Results

Our results showed that, there are differences in the various features of different chromosomes and also vary in different parts of the same chromosome. The longer the number of genes, the longer the length of chromosome. The average length of genes is about 2809bp and the length of the individual gene is 0–2000bp with 5.3 exons and 4.3 introns per gene. The average length of the exon was 229bp and the intron was 413bp. Among the evaluated genes, ehe intronless gene accounted for 20.05%. Consistently a same trend with the expression levels of the same parts of the gene on a chromosome in different organizations was observed. Finally, the number of genes was positively correlated with the number of intronless, and there was a negative correlation of the length of the gene. The length of the gene depends primarily on the length of the intron, and the length of the exon has little effect on it. The number of exons was negatively correlated with the length of the exons, and the intron was also true.

Conclusion

The results of this investigation could definitely provide a significant foundation for further research on function analysis of gene family in Strawberry.
“She looked like an Alien”
Authors: Mat Saat Suzanie Adina , Hepworth Mark , Jackson Tom
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the Malay children’s information needs from their experience with parental cancer using information behaviour techniques to elicit sensitive information that provided an indication of what children were thinking.

Design/methodology/approach

Data collection adapted the participatory action research method and used participatory-based techniques that included drawings, essays and interviews. Data explication used an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach. Social constructionism, learning theory and cognitive theory were used to analyse the data. In total, 32 participants took part, ten mothers with breast cancer at different stages of their cancer journey, and 32 children between 6 and 18 years old.

Findings

There are shortcomings in the provision of cancer information for Malay children. Unlike verbose and difficult to digest medical definitions and descriptions about cancer and its treatment, the Malay children defined cancer as having components made from their experiences and observations about how cancer affected their parent. The findings explain the relationship between children participants’ reaction to a health situation and the subsequent processes they undergo to resolve their state of information need.

Originality/value

It highlights the importance of determining information needs and the combined methods used to gain and interpret the experience children face with a parental cancer diagnosis. The findings about ethnic-based information problems, needs and provision for dependent children of cancer patients are one of the original contributions of this research. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is believed to be the first in-depth qualitative and highly participative study of the implications of cancer for dependent children of Malay cancer patients.
Self-determination and expectancy-value
Authors: Savolainen Reijo
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the picture of the motivators for information seeking by comparing two cognitive psychological approaches to motivation: self-determination theory (SDT) and expectancy-value theories (EVTs).

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws on the conceptual analysis of 31 key investigations characterizing the nature of the above theories. Their potential is examined in light of an illustrative example of seeking information about job opportunities.

Findings

SDT approaches motivation by examining the degree to which one can make volitional choices while meeting the needs of autonomy and competence. Information-seeking behaviour is most volitional when it is driven by intrinsic motivation, while such behaviours driven by extrinsic motivation and amotivation are less volitional. Modern EVTs approach the motivators for information seeking by examining the individual’s beliefs related to intrinsic enjoyment, attainment value, utility value and relative cost of information seeking. Both theories provide useful alternatives to traditional concepts such as information need in the study of the motivators for information seeking.

Research limitations/implications

As the study focusses on two cognitive psychological theories, the findings cannot be generalised to all represent all categories relevant to the characterisation of triggers and drivers of information seeking.

Originality/value

Drawing on the comparison of two cognitive psychological theories, the study goes beyond the traditional research approaches of information behaviour research confined to the analysis of information needs.
Value of internships for professional careers in the built environment sector in Singapore
Authors: Lian Jonathan K.M. , Foo Zhi Yu , Ling Florence Yean Yng
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the value of internships for professional careers in the built environment (BE) sector from the perspective of industry practitioners. It examines the perceptions of practitioners about internship and explores the relevance of internships for professional careers in the sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methods used were questionnaire survey, in-depth interviews and focus group discussion. The study focussed on careers such as architects, civil engineers, facility managers, project managers and quantity surveyors.

Findings

It was found that quantity surveyors and civil engineers value internship the most and are more likely to hire those who interned with them. Project managers also value internships but to a lesser extent. Facility managers and architects value internship the least and are also least likely to offer positions to their ex-interns. It is not conclusive whether internships are absolutely necessary to increase undergraduates’ employability upon their graduation.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to only five professions and focused on the perceptions of professionals and not the interns or academic supervisors.

Practical implications

Recommendations are made to improve internship programmes in the BE sector. These include making internships compulsory for students who intend to pursue civil engineering and quantity surveying careers and extending the duration of internships to six months.

Originality/value

The views of professionals in the BE sector are uncovered. Tertiary institutions can use the findings to improve their internship programmes and their students’ employability upon graduation.
Biomass pyrolysis modeling of systems at laboratory scale with experimental validation
Authors: Cordiner Stefano , Manni Alessandro , Mulone Vincenzo , Rocco Vittorio
Published: January 2018

Purpose

Thermochemical conversion processes are one of the possible solutions for the flexible production of electric and thermal power from biomass. The pyrolysis degradation process presents, among the others, the interesting features of biofuels and high energy density bio-oil production potential high conversion rate. In this paper, numerical results of a slow batch and continuous fast pyrolyzers, are presented, aiming at validating both a tridimensional computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method (CFD–DEM) and a monodimensional distributed activation energy model (DAEM) represents with data collected in dedicated experiments. The purpose of this paper is then to provide reliable models for industrial scale-up and direct design purposes.

Design/methodology/approach

The slow pyrolysis experimental system, a batch of small-scale constant-pressure bomb for allothermic conversion processes, is presented. A DEM numerical model has been implemented by means of a modified OpenFOAM solver. The fast pyrolysis experimental system and a lab scale screw reactor designed for biomass fast pyrolysis conversion are also presented along with a 1D numerical model to represent its operation. The model which is developed for continuous stationary feeding conditions and based on a four-parallel reaction chemical framework is presented in detail.

Findings

The slow pyrolysis numerical results are compared with experimental data in terms of both gaseous species production and reduction of the bed height showing good predictive capabilities. Fast pyrolysis numerical results have been compared to the experimental data obtained from the fast pyrolysis process of spruce wood pellet. The comparison shows that the chemical reaction modeling based on a Gaussian DAEM is capable of giving results in very good agreement with the bio-oil yield evaluated experimentally.

Originality/value

As general results of the proposed activities, a mixed experimental and numerical approach has demonstrated a very good potential in developing design tools for pyrolysis development.
Managers’ reactions to customer vs coworker sexual harassment
Authors: Madera Juan M. , Guchait Priyanko , Dawson Mary
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how managers react to sexual harassment as a function of the harasser role that includes a customer as a source of harassment and an organization’s climate for sexual harassment.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an experiment with a 2 (harasser role: coworker or customer) × 2 (organizational climate of sexual harassment: tolerates or does not tolerate) between-subjects design, 162 hotel managers were randomly assigned to read one of four conditions.

Findings

Both the harasser role and organization’s climate for sexual harassment influenced the managers’ sexual harassment reactions, specifically whether they label the incident as sexual harassment and attribute responsibility to the organization. The managers’ gender was found to moderate these relationships.

Practical implications

The results underscore the importance of understanding reactions to sexual harassment because, regardless of who harasses (coworker or customer) and the organizational climate (tolerates or does not tolerate sexual harassment), sexual harassment of any form can be harmful for the well-being of hospitality employees. These results also provide educational implications.

Originality/value

This is the first known experimental study to examine how hospitality managers react to sexual harassment when the harasser role includes a customer versus a coworker. The results illustrate that the same sexually harassing behavior was perceived less negatively – in regard to both the labeling and attribution of organizational responsibility – when it was done by a customer than by a coworker.
Investigating differences in job-related attitudes between full-time and part-time employees in the foodservice industry
Authors: Joung Hyun-Woo , Choi Eun-Kyong (Cindy) , Taylor James Joseph
Published: January 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine differences of the perceived internal marketing practices (IMP), job satisfaction (JS), organizational commitment (OC) and turnover intention (TI) between full- and part-time employees and to incorporate employment status as a moderator in the restaurant employee turnover model.

Design/methodology/approach

The target population included current restaurant full- or part-time employees in the USA. The questionnaire was distributed to potential participants through an online survey that the company used to collect nationwide data.

Findings

Full-time employees’ perceptions of the IMP were comparably greater than those of part-time employees, and full-time employees were also more committed to the organization and had less intention to leave than their part-time counterparts. Significant moderating effects of employment status existed in the restaurant employee turnover model.

Research limitations/implications

The current study may not adequately capture the differences between full- and part-time employees by asking respondents to identify their employment status.

Practical implications

IMP should be facilitated at the management level to provide insight and value to their employees, and more attention and effort in the internal marketing and human resource practices for part-time employees are needed to have more satisfied and committed employees, and, in turn, better performance.

Originality/value

The literature on full- and part-time employees was incomplete, and there was minimal research that tested differences between full- and part-time employees in the foodservice industry.