bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social facilitation of insect reproduction with motor-driven tactile stimuli
Authors: Uzsák Adrienn , Dieffenderfer James , Bozkurt Alper , Schal Coby
Published: April 2014

Tactile stimuli provide animals with important information about the environment, including physical features such as obstacles, and biologically relevant cues related to food, mates, hosts and predators. The antennae, the principal sensory organs of insects, house an array of sensory receptors for olfaction, gustation, audition, nociception, balance, stability, graviception, static electric fields, and thermo-, hygro- and mechanoreception. The antennae, being the anteriormost sensory appendages, play a prominent role in social interactions with conspecifics that involve primarily chemosensory and tactile stimuli. In the German cockroach (Blattella germanica) antennal contact during social interactions modulates brain-regulated juvenile hormone production, ultimately accelerating the reproductive rate in females. The primary sensory modality mediating this social facilitation of reproduction is antennal mechanoreception. We investigated the key elements, or stimulus features, of antennal contact that socially facilitate reproduction inB. germanicafemales. Using motor-driven antenna mimics, we assessed the physiological responses of females to artificial tactile stimulation. Our results indicate that tactile stimulation with artificial materials, some deviating significantly from the native antennal morphology, can facilitate female reproduction. However, none of the artificial stimuli matched the effects of social interactions with a conspecific female.
Stress-induced cleavage of Myc promotes cancer cell survival
Authors: Conacci-Sorrell Maralice , Ngouenet Celine , Anderson Sarah , Brabletz Thomas , Eisenman Robert N.
Published: April 2014

Evasion of apoptosis is critical in Myc-induced tumor progression. Here we report that cancer cells evade death under stress by activating calpain-mediated proteolysis of Myc. This generates Myc-nick, a cytoplasmic, transcriptionally inactive cleavage product of Myc. We found conversion of Myc into Myc-nick in cell lines and tissues derived from multiple cancers. In colon cancer, the production of Myc-nick is enhanced under stress conditions such as hypoxia and nutrient deprivation. Under these conditions, ectopic expression of Myc-nick promotes anchorage-independent growth and cell survival at least in part by promoting autophagy. Myc-nick also delays colon cancer cell death after treatment with chemotherapeutic drugs such as etoposide, cisplatin, and imatinib. Furthermore, colon cancer cells expressing a cleavage-resistant form of Myc undergo extensive apoptosis but are rescued by overexpression of Myc-nick. We also found that ectopic expression of Myc-nick results in the induction of the actin-bundling protein fascin, formation of filopodia, and increased cell motility—all mediators of tumor metastasis. Myc-nick-induced survival, autophagy, and motility require Myc box II (MBII), a region of Myc-nick that recruits acetyltransferases that in turn modify cytoplasmic proteins, including α-tubulin and ATG3. Our results suggest that Myc-nick-induced survival and motility contribute to colon cancer progression and metastasis.
Diversity of the piRNA pathway for nonself silencing: worm-specific piRNA biogenesis factors
Authors: Izumi Natsuko , Tomari Yukihide
Published: April 2014

The PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway protects animal germline cells from transposable elements and other genomic invaders. Although the genome defense function of piRNAs has been well established, the mechanisms of their biogenesis remain poorly understood. In this issue of Genes & Development, three groups identify novel factors required for piRNA biogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans. These works greatly expand our understanding of the piRNA pathway in worms, highlighting both its shared and its unique properties.
Choreography of Transcriptomes and Lipidomes ofNannochloropsisReveals the Mechanisms of Oil Synthesis in Microalgae
Authors: Li Jing , Han Danxiang , Wang Dongmei , Ning Kang , Jia Jing , Wei Li , Jing Xiaoyan , Huang Shi , Chen Jie , Li Yantao , Hu Qiang , Xu Jian
Published: April 2014

To reveal the molecular mechanisms of oleaginousness in microalgae, transcriptomic and lipidomic dynamics of the oleaginous microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica IMET1 under nitrogen-replete (N+) and N-depleted (N-) conditions were simultaneously tracked. At the transcript level, enhanced triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis under N- conditions primarily involved upregulation of seven putative diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) genes and downregulation of six other DGAT genes, with a simultaneous elevation of the other Kennedy pathway genes. Under N- conditions, despite downregulation of most de novo fatty acid synthesis genes, the pathways that shunt carbon precursors from protein and carbohydrate metabolic pathways into glycerolipid synthesis were stimulated at the transcript level. In particular, the genes involved in supplying carbon precursors and energy for de novo fatty acid synthesis, including those encoding components of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC), glycolysis, and PDHC bypass, and suites of specific transporters, were substantially upregulated under N- conditions, resulting in increased overall TAG production. Moreover, genes involved in the citric acid cycle and β-oxidation in mitochondria were greatly enhanced to utilize the carbon skeletons derived from membrane lipids and proteins to produce additional TAG or its precursors. This temporal and spatial regulation model of oil accumulation in microalgae provides a basis for improving our understanding of TAG synthesis in microalgae and will also enable more rational genetic engineering of TAG production.
Analysis of the Root System Architecture of Arabidopsis Provides a Quantitative Readout of Crosstalk between Nutritional Signals
Authors: Kellermeier Fabian , Armengaud Patrick , Seditas Triona J. , Danku John , Salt David E. , Amtmann Anna
Published: April 2014

As plant roots forage the soil for food and water, they translate a multifactorial input of environmental stimuli into a multifactorial developmental output that manifests itself as root system architecture (RSA). Our current understanding of the underlying regulatory network is limited because root responses have traditionally been studied separately for individual nutrient deficiencies. In this study, we quantified 13 RSA parameters of Arabidopsis thaliana in 32 binary combinations of N, P, K, S, and light. Analysis of variance showed that each RSA parameter was determined by a typical pattern of environmental signals and their interactions. P caused the most important single-nutrient effects, while N-effects were strongly light dependent. Effects of K and S occurred mostly through nutrient interactions in paired or multiple combinations. Several RSA parameters were selected for further analysis through mutant phenotyping, which revealed combinations of transporters, receptors, and kinases acting as signaling modules in K–N interactions. Furthermore, nutrient response profiles of individual RSA features across NPK combinations could be assigned to transcriptionally coregulated clusters of nutrient-responsive genes in the roots and to ionome patterns in the shoots. The obtained data set provides a quantitative basis for understanding how plants integrate multiple nutritional stimuli into complex developmental programs.
ArabidopsisCuticular Wax Biosynthesis Is Negatively Regulated by theDEWAXGene Encoding an AP2/ERF-Type Transcription Factor
Authors: Go Young Sam , Kim Hyojin , Kim Hae Jin , Suh Mi Chung
Published: April 2014

The aerial parts of plants are protected from desiccation and other stress by surface cuticular waxes. The total cuticular wax loads and the expression of wax biosynthetic genes are significantly downregulated in Arabidopsis thaliana under dark conditions. We isolated Decrease Wax Biosynthesis (DEWAX), which encodes an AP2/ERF-type transcription factor that is preferentially expressed in the epidermis and induced by darkness. Disruption of DEWAX leads to an increase in total leaf and stem wax loads, and the excess wax phenotype of dewax was restored to wild type levels in complementation lines. Moreover, overexpression of DEWAX resulted in a reduction in total wax loads in leaves and stems compared with the wild type and altered the ultrastructure of cuticular layers. DEWAX negatively regulates the expression of alkane-forming enzyme, long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase, ATP citrate lyase A subunit, enoyl-CoA reductase, and fatty acyl-CoA reductase, and chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis suggested that DEWAX directly interacts with the promoters of wax biosynthesis genes. Cuticular wax biosynthesis is negatively regulated twice a day by the expression of DEWAX, throughout the night and at stomata closing. Significantly higher levels (10- to 100-fold) of DEWAX transcripts were found in leaves than in stems, suggesting that DEWAX-mediated transcriptional repression may be an additional mechanism contributing to the different total wax loads in leaves and stems.
Marketers' psychological capital and performance
Authors: Dinh Tho Nguyen , Dong Phong Nguyen , Ha Minh Quan Tran
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– Realizing the importance of psychological capital of marketers for their work, the authors aim to investigate the mediating role of quality of work life, job effort, and job attractiveness in the relationship between psychological capital and job performance of marketers in a transitioning market, Vietnam.

Design/methodology/approach

– To test the mediating role of quality of work life, job effort, and job attractiveness in the relationship between psychological capital and job performance, the authors used a survey data set collected from 696 marketers working for various types of firms in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Findings

– The authors found that psychological capital has both direct and indirect impacts, mediated by quality of work life, job attractiveness, and job effort, on job performance of marketers.

Practical implications

– The findings suggest that firms should pay attention to psychological capital in their recruiting, training, and development programs.

Originality/value

– This study documents the mediating role of quality of work life, job effort, and job attractiveness in the relationship between psychological capital and job performance of marketers in a transitioning market, Vietnam.
Public-Private Partnerships: a review of theory and practice of performance measurement
Authors: Liu Junxiao , E.D. Love Peter , Smith Jim , Regan Michael , Sutrisna Monty
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– This paper reviews the normative literature of performance measurement within the context of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of current ex post evaluations of PPPs and identify a feasible direction to comprehensively and effectively measure the performance of PPP infrastructure projects.

Design/methodology/approach

– An in-depth literature review is conducted in this paper. The focus of the review is associated with the general performance measurement and performance measurements of PPPs.

Findings

– This paper identifies that conventional ex post evaluation is not robust enough to measure the performance of PPP projects. Based on the characteristics of PPPs, the life-cycle (process-based) evaluation under performance measurement system is a promising approach to comprehensive and effective PPP performance measurement.

Practical implications

– The outcomes of this paper can be used as a theoretical base for the development of PPP performance measurement framework.

Originality/value

– Performance measurement is essential to business success, whether it is at the organisation or project level. Limitations on public funds have encouraged more and more governments across the world to use PPPs to procure economic and social infrastructure projects. Similar to traditional procurement, ex post evaluation is being widely used in PPP projects. However, PPPs are more complicated than other traditional procurement approaches. Exploration of literature suggests that limited research has been undertaken to examine if conventional ex post evaluation is sufficient to measure the performance of PPPs. This paper will bridge this significant knowledge gap.
Constrained regular expressions for answering RDF-path queries modulo RDFS
Authors: Alkhateeb Faisal , Euzenat Jerome
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The paper aims to discuss extensions of SPARQL that use regular expressions to navigate RDF graphs and may be used to answer queries considering RDFS semantics (in particular, nSPARQL and our proposal CPSPARQL).

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is based upon a theoretical comparison of the expressiveness and complexity of both nSPARQL and the corresponding fragment of CPSPARQL, that we call cpSPARQL.

Findings

– The paper shows that nSPARQL and cpSPARQL (the fragment of CPSPARQL) have the same complexity through cpSPARQL, being a proper extension of SPARQL graph patterns, is more expressive than nSPARQL.

Research limitations/implications

– It has not been possible to the authors to compare the performance of our CPSPARQL implementation with other proposals. However, the experimentation has allowed to make interesting observations.

Practical implications

– The paper includes implications for implementing the SPARQL RDFS entailment regime.

Originality/value

– The paper demonstrates the usefulness of cpSPARQL language. In particular, cpSPARQL, which is sufficient for capturing RDFS semantics, admits an efficient evaluation algorithm, while the whole CPSPARQL language is in theory as efficient as SPARQL is. Moreover, using such a path language within the SPARQL structure allows for properly extending SPARQL.
Exploring learning how to learn in a team-based engineering education
Authors: Ifenthaler Dirk , Siddique Zahed , Mistree Farrokh
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– In this paper, the authors aim to explore how students learn how to learn in a team-based graduate course Designing for Open Innovation using a theoretical framework that focuses on the cognitive functions of team-based processes and team performance.

Design/methodology/approach

– An automated assessment methodology for the structural and semantic analysis of individual and shared knowledge representations serves as a foundation for the approach. A case study is presented that explores the development of individual mental models and shared mental models over the course.

Findings

– An assessment of the mental models indicates that in this course three types of learning took place, namely individual learning, team-based learning, and learning from each other.

Originality/value

– The automatically generated graphical representations provide insight into the complex processes of the learning-dependent development of individual mental models and shared mental models.
YouFlow Microblog
Authors: Krejci Rafael , Wolfgand Matsui Siqueira Sean
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– To present YouFlow Microblog and how its functionalities for discourse structuring and message classification allows improving learning. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors developed a survey on microblogs and its functionalities for supporting education, and then the authors developed a new microblog called YouFlow Microblog, which was used in a case study to illustrate its applicability.

Findings

– The results were: the categorization of messages according to the lesson plan allowed deeper discussions; the amount of messages and preference of the students for the categorization approach are directly related; the filtering of messages (categorization on the reading time) was used as a facilitator of the discussion understanding; the students prefer the search results organized by the categories and related messages; and the students were able to follow the discussions supported by the tree structure of discourse, categorization of messages according to the lesson plan and searches or filtering of messages.

Research limitations/implications

– Other case studies involving more students and from different knowledge areas could be performed. Other approaches for messages' visualization for reducing the amount of information could be explored, such as recommendation of messages in microblogs; and groupings of messages according to date, priority and subject.

Practical implications

– The developed microblog is useful and proved to be interesting for applying in the educational context.

Originality/value

– No other microblog allows different structuring of messages and the their classification according to the lesson plan, in addition to filtering and query functionalities.
Strategies to teach oral English in seminars on current American issues for undergraduates in China
Authors: Tian Shuge
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to focus on details of strategies in classroom to inspire Chinese undergraduates to feel free in speaking English fluently and accurately without reliance on Chinese.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is based on the practice of oral English in immersed-English class of seminars on current American issues for undergraduates in China

Findings

– Strategies to teach class in English to Chinese undergraduates in immersed way: complete involvement motivate fully fair and transparent evaluation

Originality/value

– It is hands-on experience of the author. It focusses on the real practice of the class.
A study of wellness and academic leadership
Authors: F. Lorenz Gregory
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The leadership lifestyle lived by academic leaders is characterized by fast pace, high responsibility, and little personal time. This lifestyle may be unattractive for professionals seeking high-level academic leadership positions. The purpose of this paper is to discover the meaning of wellness for leaders in higher education and better understand how they achieve and maintain wellness in their lives.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study used a qualitative methodology and specifically a grounded theory approach. Grounded theory was the chosen methodological approach due to its applicability to academic and non-academic audiences as well as its ability to better understanding the processes associated with certain phenomenon such as wellness.

Findings

– The results yielded a grounded theory called wellness maturity with four supporting axial categories: intention, gauge of wellness, reflection, and adaptation. Wellness maturity, depicted as a continuum, represents an optimal wellness destination with constant movement toward the destination for each leader.

Practical implications

– The results of this study offer greater insight into practical applications and considerations necessary for the achievement or maintenance of wellness while working in a higher education environment.

Originality/value

– This is critical as the future of higher education suggests a large number of vacancies of leadership posts. With the increasing pressures for administrators, the need to create a desirable and attractive climate for potential leaders is necessary.
Analysis of intellectual capital disclosure in cross-cultural E-tourism enterprises
Authors: Liu Xuelian , Chakpitak Nopasit , Yodmongkol Pitipong , Cang Shuang
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present a framework for intellectual capital (IC) disclosure in cross-cultural E-tourism which includes identifying key success factors, as well as selecting indicators in operational level.

Design/methodology/approach

– The method described in this paper involves IC process model initiating from strategy formulation, following key success factors analyst by using a detailed interpretative structural model (ISM) instrument, and the indicators selection employing Delphi approach. The paper explicates methodological decisions associated with cross-cultural E-tourism context: selecting the appropriate specialists panel; the approach to data collection; and selecting the measurable indicators.

Findings

– This paper proposes three critical components of the framework: key success factors that based on an organization's strategies and contexts; indicators that measure and monitor the value of IC; an IC model that can help cross-cultural E-tourism enterprise improve management effectively.

Originality/value

– This paper extends the methodology developed previously to examine IC information in tourism enterprise. The paper introduces an alternative methodological paradigm to the study of IC measurement framework by employing the ISM. This exploratory study employs IC process model to build up cross-cultural E-tourism IC model, which is a start point for the value and performance research of this kind of enterprise.
Metrics for the elements of intellectual capital in an economy driven by knowledge
Authors: Anatolievna Molodchik Mariya , Anatolievna Shakina Elena , Barajas Angel
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the plausibility of six elements of IC and justify the measurement ability of a set of indicators based on publicly available data for each of the proposed element in order to provide tools to managers for their decision-making process in knowledge management (KM).

Design/methodology/approach

– Core company's intangibles are combined into six intellectual capital (IC) elements that appear after the division of each of the traditional components (human, structural and relational capital (RC)). The human capital includes management and human resources capabilities (HRC). Structural capital is divided into innovation and internal process capabilities (IPC). RC contains networking capabilities and customer loyalty. In drawing on the relevant literature each element is described through a set of indicators collected from publicly available data. The validity of proposed IC model is justified through structural equation modeling. Each element is tested on a sample of more than 1,650 listed European companies over the period of 2004-2011.

Findings

– The study gives empirical support of three component IC structure and its decomposition into second level. The findings reveal that implementation of KM plays a significant role for HRC as well as for IPC.

Research limitations/implications

– The analysis was conducted for a particular sample that may restrict the conclusions.

Practical implications

– The proposed measurements for intangibles can be applied by any company for benchmarking and comparative analysis in KM.

Originality/value

– The study provides empirical justification of metrics for intangibles allowing a better route in an economy driven by knowledge.
International records management standards: the challenges of achieving consensus
Authors: Oliver Gillian
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore the tensions inherent in the development of international standards for records management, focusing on the revision of ISO15489. The paper aims to raise awareness of the need for much more research into the uptake and implementation of records management standards.

Design/methodology/approach

– The experiences of the ISO committee responsible for drafting ISO15489 provides the context in which to review the literature relating to standards development in information technology.

Findings

– The development of mutual trust or social capital between ISO committee members responsible for the initial drafting of ISO15489 may have been instrumental in achieving a successful outcome which masked on-going fundamental differences. Environmental factors are quite different for the revision of ISO15489 suggesting that positive social capital may not be generated. The objective of ISO15489 to be an anticipatory or reactive standard needs to be resolved.

Originality/value

– Drawing on experiences from a related domain provides a new perspective for those involved in drafting records management standards, and explains to the broader records community why standard setting is so challenging.
Building a culture of co-creation at Mahindra
Authors: Ramaswamy Venkat , Chopra Naveen
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– This case shows how a set of six steps that captured the essence of implementing co-creation thinking to promote transformational change were applied in a complex corporate manufacturing operation in India.

Design/methodology/approach

– This case describes how the co-creation paradigm of value creation was applied step by step in the quality function across the five operating sites of Mahindra's Automotive Division, a subsidiary of the conglomerate Mahindra Group. The case also looks at the results as the initial experiment expanded.

Findings

– By enlisting employees and a range of other stakeholders the firm was able to greatly improve product quality. The success of the initial program caused executives in other units of the firm to become co-creation of value process champions.

Practical implications

– The six-step process is: 1. Identify key stakeholders and increase their willingness to engage. 2. Set up platforms purposefully designed to engage individuals more co-creatively, with environments of interactions configured around people's “lived” experiences. 3. Identify and support new co-creation champions. 4. Expand the circle of stakeholders and joint value creation opportunities. 5. Deepen the impact and enable the viral spread of “win more-win more” value creation in the enterprise ecosystem. 6. Engage stakeholders across private, public, and social sectors to expand wealth, welfare and well-being for the benefit of all.

Originality/value

– Co-authored by a leading authority on the theory of co-creation of value and a senior executive at a large corporation, this case will be useful to practicing managers in all industries.
Unusual hyperpigmented patches, an undeveloped breast and a cataract in a female with incontinentia pigmenti
Authors: Zhang Ru‐Zhi , Zhu Wen‐Yuan , Zhou Lei
Published: April 2014

A 19‐year‐old female and her mother visited our department with a history of unusual reticular brown‐black patches on their trunks and limbs since infancy. Besides the obviously fulsome hyperpigmentation, the daughter also showed other unusual clinical manifestations such as generalized hypohidrosis, especially on the hyperpigmented patches, cicatricial alopecia, a cataract on her right eye, abnormal teeth and a right dysplastic breast. The mother had a median diastema between her maxillary central incisors, hypoplasia of the enamel, hypohidrosis and hyperpigmented patches on her left thoracic region. Analysis of the NEMO (NF‐κB essential modulator) gene in the patient and her mother revealed a deletion of exons 4–10. Their EDA and EDAR genes were normal.
Inverse correlation between microtubule‐associated protein 1A/1B‐light chain 3 and p62/sequestosome‐1 expression in the progression of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Yoshihara Nagisa , Takagi Atsushi , Ueno Takashi , Ikeda Shigaku
Published: April 2014

The expression of autophagy‐related markers has occasionally been reported to correlate with the clinical stage of disease in patients with solid cancer, indicating autophagy activation. However, there have been no such reports for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. In this study, we investigated the expression levels of two autophagy‐related markers, microtubule‐associated protein IA/IB light chain 3 (LC3) and p62/sequestosome‐1 (p62), in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma specimens and assessed their correlation to clinicopathological factors in patients with this type of cancer. As a marker of the autophagosome, LC3 expression increases with autophagosome formation/accumulation, whereas p62 expression decreases due to selective degradation via autophagy. We performed immunostaining for LC3 and p62 in 50 cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma specimens obtained from patients treated by surgical resection, counted the number of cells that showed positive staining, and calculated the percentage of positive cells per low‐power microscopic field. We next investigated the correlations between the expression levels of these markers and various clinicopathological factors. The results indicated that LC3 expression increased significantly with advanced clinical stage (P < 0.001) and increased tumor diameter (P = 0.046). By contrast, the expression of p62 decreased significantly with advanced clinical stage (P < 0.001) and increased tumor diameter (P = 0.001). These results suggest that autophagy becomes activated during disease progression in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.
Moment tensor migration imaging
Authors: Chambers Kit , Dando Ben D.E. , Jones Glenn A. , Velasco Raquel , Wilson Stephen A.
Published: April 2014

We develop and apply an imaging procedure for simultaneous location and characterization of seismic source properties called Moment Tensor Migration Imaging. The procedure constructs images for moment tensor components using a weighted diffraction stack migration, and combines ray‐theoretical Green's functions with a reverse time moment tensor imaging methodology. By applying an approximation we term the ‘ray‐angles only approximation’, we form an expression for Moment Tensor Migration Imaging where the migration weights depend only on the take‐off and arrival angles for rays leaving receiver positions and incident upon the image points. Moment Tensor Migration Imaging retains the benefits of diffraction stack procedures for source location and characterization, namely speed, flexibility, and the potential for incorporating non‐linear stacking procedures, whilst also providing the benefits of moment tensor imaging such as: the inclusion of multiple phase and multiple component data; the collapsing of the source radiation pattern; estimation of the moment tensor.

We examine variations of the imaging procedure through a synthetic test. We show that although the assumptions required for the imaging and ray‐angles only approximation may not be strictly valid for realistic survey geometries, a simple weight adjustment can be used to obtain more accurate and stable results in these situations. In our synthetic example we find that the use of a P‐wave only migration without this reweighting structure produces poor results, whereby the resulting images show activity upon incorrect moment tensor components. However, many of these effects are mitigated by use of the reweighting scheme and the results are further improved through the introduction of non‐linear stacking operators such as semblance weighted stacks. The highest quality moment tensor images (for the synthetic test examined here) are obtained through the use of both P‐wave and S‐wave wave fields. This highlights the importance of multicomponent data and multiphase modelling when characterizing seismic sources. We also find that the imaged moment tensor components vary proportionately when the input velocities are perturbed by a scale factor. This suggests, for the geometry investigated here, derived source properties such as fault‐plane solutions and shear‐tensile components will not be influenced by bulk changes in seismic velocities. Finally, we show the application to a real microseismic event observed using a surface array during hydraulic fracturing. We find that the procedure collapses the seismic radiation pattern into an anomaly with a maximum at the hypocentre and our derived mechanism is consistent with the observed radiation pattern from the source.
Identification of Conformational Antigenic Epitopes and Dominant Amino Acids of Buffalo β‐Lactoglobulin
Authors: Xin Li , Jinyan Gao , Shengfa He , Yuanyuan Wu , Hongbing Chen
Published: April 2014

Major allergen β‐lactoglobulin exists in many mammalian types of milk except human breast. Buffalo milk also contains this major allergen but the detailed information on its epitopes is not available. The aim of this work was to map and characterize its conformational antigenic epitopes. Sixty mimotopes of buffalo β‐lactoglobulin were produced by biopanning of phage display peptide library and then 2 mimotopes, specific for sera from rabbit 1 and 2, respectively, were predicted to be conformational epitope candidates by the use of DNAStar and web tool of MIMOX. On the basis of bioinformation analysis, 5 conserved amino acid residues PL‐ENK were identified in 2 conformational epitope sequences and 7 conformational epitopes were derived from 2 mimotopes by molecular modeling. The result showed that these conformational epitopes were located in the 2 regions on buffalo β‐lactoglobulin and composed of 5 hydrophilic and 2 hydrophobic amino acids.
Ultrasonic Characterization of Pork Fat Crystallization during Cold Storage
Authors: Corona Edith , García‐Pérez José V. , Santacatalina Juan V. , Ventanas Sonia , Benedito José
Published: April 2014

In this work, the feasibility of using ultrasonic velocity measurements for characterizing and differentiating the crystallization pattern in 2 pork backfats (Montanera and Cebo Iberian fats) during cold storage (0 °C, 2 °C, 5 °C, 7 °C, and 10 °C) was evaluated. The fatty acid profile, thermal behavior, and textural properties (hardness) of fat were also determined. Both fats became harder during cold storage (average hardness increase for both fats, 11.5 N, 8 N, and 1.8 N at 0, °C 2 °C, and 5 °C , respectively), showing a 2‐step pattern related with the separate crystallization of the different existing triacylglycerols, which was well described using a modified Avrami equation (explained variance > 99%). Due to a greater content of saturated triacylglycerols, Cebo fat (45.1%) was harder than Montanera (41.8%). The ultrasonic velocity followed a similar 2‐step pattern to hardness during cold storage, being found an average increase for both fats of 184, 161, and 150 m/s at 0 °C 2 °C, and 5 °C, respectively. Thus, ultrasonic measurements were useful both to characterize the textural changes taking place during cold storage and to differentiate between fats with different composition.

Practical Application

The cold storage of dry‐cured meat products during their distribution and retail sale exert an important effect on their textural properties and consumers’ acceptance due to the crystallization of the fat fraction, which is greatly influenced by the type of fat. In this work, a nondestructive ultrasonic technique was used to identify the textural changes provoked by the crystallization during cold storage, and to differentiate between fats, which could be used for quality control purposes.
Transformation of Salvianolic Acid B to Salvianolic Acid A in Aqueous Solution and the In Vitro Liver Protective Effect of the Main Products
Authors: Kan Shidong , Chen Zhouzhou , Shao Lei , Li Ji'an
Published: April 2014

Salvianolic acid A (Sal A) was considered to be the compound with highest activity in Salvia miltiorrhiza (danshen). Due to its low content in raw materials, many studies reported its preparation from salvianolic acid B (Sal B). However, the process of this transformation is still unknown. Our objective was to find the chemical change of the transformation from Sal B to Sal A. The results showed that Sal B was hydrolyzed to lithospermic acid (LA) first, and the latter was transformed into Sal A in thermal aqueous solution. The radical scavenging ability of Sal A, Sal B, and LA was tested through DPPH, and Sal A showed higher radical elimination ability compared to Sal B and LA. In vitro liver damage was induced by CCl4 in human hepatic WRL68 cell line. Sal A, Sal B, and LA showed liver protective ability in a dose‐dependent manner, while Sal A possessed a much higher ability compared to Sal B and LA.
General Regression Neural Network Model for Behavior of Salmonella on Chicken Meat during Cold Storage
Authors: Oscar Thomas P.
Published: April 2014

A study was undertaken to investigate and model behavior of Salmonella on chicken meat during cold storage at constant temperatures. Chicken meat (white, dark, or skin) portions (0.75 cm3) were inoculated with a single strain of Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 (2.8 log) followed by storage for 0 to 8 d at –8, 0, 8, 12, 14, or 16 °C for model development and at –4, 4, 10, or 14 °C for model validation. A general regression neural network model was developed with commercial software. Performance of the model was considered acceptable when the proportion of residuals (observed – predicted) in an acceptable prediction zone (pAPZ) from –1 log (fail‐safe) to 0.5 logs (fail‐dangerous) was ≥0.7. Growth of Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 on chicken meat was observed at 12, 14, and 16 °C and was highest on dark meat, intermediate on skin, and lowest on white meat. At lower temperatures (–8 to 10 °C) Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 remained at initial levels throughout 8 d of storage except at 4 °C where there was a small (0.4 log) but significant decline. The model had acceptable performance (pAPZ = 0.929) for dependent data (n = 482) and acceptable performance (pAPZ = 0.923) for independent data (n = 235). Results indicated that it is important to include type of meat as an independent variable in the model and that the model provided valid predictions of the behavior of Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 on chicken skin, white, and dark meat during storage for 0 to 8 d at constant temperatures from –8 to 16 °C.

Practical Application

A model for predicting behavior of Salmonella on chicken meat during cold storage was developed and validated. The model will help the chicken industry to better predict and manage this risk to public health.
Loop‐Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assays for Detecting Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in Milk Powders
Authors: Zhang Hongwei , Feng Jinsong , Xue Rui , Du Xin‐Jun , Lu Xiaonan , Wang Shuo
Published: April 2014

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is a Gram‐negative foodborne pathogen that causes several diseases, such as enteritis, septicemia, and reactive arthritis. Loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay targeting the 16S‐23S rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was developed to detect Y. pseudotuberculosis in milk powder. The DNA amplification could be completed in 1 h, and detected by produced white precipitate visible to naked eyes. The detection limit of LAMP assay was 100 fg/reaction for genomic DNA, and 100 CFU/100 g milk powder coupled with 12 h enrichment. LAMP assay is 100 times more sensitive than conventional polymerase chain reaction method for detecting Y. pseudotuberculosis, and correctly identified 18 cases of Y. pseudotuberculosis contaminations from 236 commercial milk powder products. In conclusion, the developed LAMP assay may facilitate rapid detection of Y. pseudotuberculosis contaminations in agricultural and food products.

Practical Application

Rapid and accurate detection of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in milk products.
Geographical representations: the role of the military in the development of contemporary Chilean geography
Authors: Barton Jonathan R. , Irarrázaval Felipe
Published: April 2014

This article points to two geographical representations. Both relate to the activities of the Military Geographical Institute (IGM) in Chile. The first representation, following on from the importance of the cartographic tradition in state‐building, and the role of military institutions in this process, is a critical engagement with the representation of Chilean academic geography on the international stage via the IGM. The paper will reflect on the circumstances through which the IGM assumed this role, and questions its legitimacy as a consequence. The second points to the representation of geography as a cartographical exercise. Historically, similar institutions to the IGM in Latin America have played important roles in creating their national spaces, through mapping and other practices that communicate geopolitical representations of the national space. These representations of geography as cartography remain important since maps are used to communicate a ‘national truth’ to the wider population as well as associated expansionist geopolitical narrative. The representation of the ‘Chilean Antarctic’ will be used as an example of this activity. Both of these representations – of national space‐building, and as the face of Chilean geography in international fora – are based on core elements of geopolitics that have to be engaged with critically since they reveal the continued importance of the military in representing national geographies. This article provides such an engagement, and concludes by arguing that representations of Chilean geography need to be democratised and demilitarised.
Population validity for educational data mining models: A case study in affect detection
Authors: Ocumpaugh Jaclyn , Baker Ryan , Gowda Sujith , Heffernan Neil , Heffernan Cristina
Published: April 2014

Information and communication technology (ICT)‐enhanced research methods such as educational data mining (EDM) have allowed researchers to effectively model a broad range of constructs pertaining to the student, moving from traditional assessments of knowledge to assessment of engagement, meta‐cognition, strategy and affect. The automated detection of these constructs allows EDM researchers to develop intervention strategies that can be implemented either by the software or the teacher. It also allows for secondary analyses of the construct, where the detectors are applied to a data set that is much larger than one that could be analyzed by more traditional methods. However, in many cases, the data used to develop EDM models are collected from students who may not be representative of the broader populations who are likely to use ICT. In order to use EDM models (automated detectors) with new populations, their generalizability must be verified. In this study, we examine whether detectors of affect remain valid when applied to new populations. Models of four educationally relevant affective states were constructed based on data from urban, suburban and rural students using ASSISTments software for middle school mathematics in the Northeastern United States. We found that affect detectors trained on a population drawn primarily from one demographic grouping do not generalize to populations drawn primarily from the other demographic groupings, even though those populations might be considered part of the same national or regional culture. Models constructed using data from all three subpopulations are more applicable to students in those populations than those trained on a single group, but still do not achieve ideal population validity—the ability to generalize across all subgroups. In particular, models generalize better across urban and suburban students than rural students. These findings have important implications for data collection efforts, validation techniques, and the design of interventions that are intended to be applied at scale.
Loss of function tp53 mutations do not accelerate the onset of myc‐induced T‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the zebrafish
Authors: Gutierrez Alejandro , Feng Hui , Stevenson Kristen , Neuberg Donna S. , Calzada Oscar , Zhou Yi , Langenau David M. , Look A. Thomas
Published: April 2014

The TP53 tumour suppressor is activated in response to distinct stimuli, including an ARF‐dependent response to oncogene stress and an ATM/ATR‐dependent response to DNA damage. In human T‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T‐ALL), TP53‐dependent tumour suppression is typically disabled via biallelic ARF deletions. In murine models, loss of Arf (Cdkn2a) or Tp53 markedly accelerates the onset of Myc‐induced lymphoblastic malignancies. In zebrafish, no ARF ortholog has been identified, but the sequence of ARF is very poorly conserved evolutionarily, making it difficult to exclude the presence of a zebrafish ARF ortholog without functional studies. Here we show that tp53 mutations have no significant influence on the onset of myc‐induced T‐ALL in zebrafish, consistent with the lack of additional effects of Tp53 loss on lymphomagenesis in Arf‐deficient mice. By contrast, irradiation leads to complete T‐ALL regression in tp53 wild‐type but not homozygous mutant zebrafish, indicating that the tp53‐dependent DNA damage response is intact. We conclude that tp53 inactivation has no impact on the onset of myc‐induced T‐ALL in the zebrafish, consistent with the lack of a functional ARF ortholog linking myc‐induced oncogene stress to tp53‐dependent tumour suppression. Thus, the zebrafish model is well suited to the study of ARF‐independent pathways in T‐ALL pathobiology.
Disease‐specific mutations in mature lymphoid neoplasms: Recent advances
Authors: Sakata‐Yanagimoto Mamiko , Enami Terukazu , Yokoyama Yasuhisa , Chiba Shigeru
Published: April 2014

Mature lymphoid neoplasms (MLN) are clinically and pathologically more complex than precursor lymphoid neoplasms. Until recently, molecular characterization of MLN was mainly based on cytogenetics/fluorescence in situ hybridization, allele copy number, and mRNA expression, approaches that yielded scanty gene mutation information. Use of massive parallel sequencing technologies has changed this outcome, and now many gene mutations have been discovered. Some of these are considerably frequent in, and substantially specific to, distinct MLN subtypes, and occur at single or several hotspots. They include the V600E BRAF mutation in hairy cell leukemia, the L265P MYD88 mutation in Waldenström macroglobulinemia, the G17V RHOA mutation in angioimmunoblastic T‐cell lymphoma and peripheral T‐cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified, and the Y640F//D661Y/V/H/I//N647I STAT3 mutations in T‐cell large granular lymphocytic leukemia. Detecting these mutations is highly valuable in diagnosing MLN subtypes. Defining these mutations also sheds light on the molecular pathogenesis of MLN, furthering development of molecular targeting therapies. In this review, we focus on the disease‐specific gene mutations in MLN discovered by recent massive sequencing technologies.
Lenvatinib in combination with golvatinib overcomes hepatocyte growth factor pathway‐induced resistance to vascular endothelial growth factor receptor inhibitor
Authors: Nakagawa Takayuki , Matsushima Tomohiro , Kawano Satoshi , Nakazawa Youya , Kato Yu , Adachi Yusuke , Abe Takanori , Semba Taro , Yokoi Akira , Matsui Junji , Tsuruoka Akihiko , Funahashi Yasuhiro
Published: April 2014

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitors are approved for the treatment of several tumor types; however, some tumors show intrinsic resistance to VEGFR inhibitors, and some patients develop acquired resistance to these inhibitors. Therefore, a strategy to overcome VEGFR inhibitor resistance is urgently required. Recent reports suggest that activation of the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) pathway through its cognate receptor, Met, contributes to VEGFR inhibitor resistance. Here, we explored the effect of the HGF/Met signaling pathway and its inhibitors on resistance to lenvatinib, a VEGFR inhibitor. In in vitro experiments, addition of VEGF plus HGF enhanced cell growth and tube formation of HUVECs when compared with stimulation by either factor alone. Lenvatinib potently inhibited the growth of HUVECs induced by VEGF alone, but cells induced by VEGF plus HGF showed lenvatinib resistance. This HGF‐induced resistance was cancelled when the Met inhibitor, golvatinib, was added with lenvatinib. Conditioned medium from tumor cells producing high amounts of HGF also conferred resistance to inhibition by lenvatinib. In s.c. xenograft models based on various tumor cell lines with high HGF expression, treatment with lenvatinib alone showed weak antitumor effects, but treatment with lenvatinib plus golvatinib showed synergistic antitumor effects, accompanied by decreased tumor vessel density. These results suggest that HGF from tumor cells confers resistance to tumor endothelial cells against VEGFR inhibitors, and that combination therapy using VEGFR inhibitors with Met inhibitors may be effective for overcoming resistance to VEGFR inhibitors. Further evaluation in clinical trials is warranted.