bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The “Historical Style” of Painting for Shahrukh and Its Revival in the Dispersed Manuscript ofMajmaʿ al-Tawarikh
Authors: Ghiasian Mohamad Reza
Published: June 2014

One of the most exquisite illustrated books produced under the patronage of Shahrukh is a copy of Majmaʿ al-Tawarikh which was widely dispersed during the twentieth century. The dispersal of the manuscript has strongly influenced and limited its scholarly examination. The present research has traced the folios of this manuscript in numerous collections. By means of comparison with other dated codices, the illustrations of the dispersed manuscript can be classified into three distinctly different groups. This article gives an explanation of why these three styles appear side by side in the manuscript. Thereafter, it focuses on the problem of the authenticity of some of the illustrations of the manuscript.
Analysis of the microbial community in moderately acidic drainage from the Yanahara pyrite mine in Japan
Authors: Wang Yang , Yasuda Takashi , Sharmin Sultana , Kanao Tadayoshi , Kamimura Kazuo
Published: June 2014

Acid rock drainage (ARD) originating from the Yasumi-ishi tunnel near the main tunnel of the Yanahara mine in Japan was characterized to be moderately acidic (pH 4.1) and contained iron at a low concentration (51 mg/L). The composition of the microbial community was determined by sequence analysis of 16S rRNA genes using PCR and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. The analysis of the obtained sequences showed their similarity to clones recently detected in other moderately acidic mine drainages. Uncultured bacteria related to Ferrovum- and Gallionella-like clones were dominant in the microbial community. Analyses using specific primers for acidophilic iron- or sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Leptospirillum spp., Acidithiobacillus caldus, Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans, and Sulfobacillus spp. revealed the absence of these bacteria in the microbial community in ARD from the Yasumi-ishi tunnel. Clones affiliated with a member of the order Thermoplasmatales were detected as the dominant archaea in the ARD microbial population.
HDAC4 integrates PTH and sympathetic signaling in osteoblasts
Authors: Obri Arnaud , Makinistoglu Munevver Parla , Zhang Hong , Karsenty Gerard
Published: June 2014

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and the sympathetic tone promote Rankl expression in osteoblasts and osteoclast differentiation by enhancing cyclic adenosine monophosphate production through an unidentified transcription factor for PTH and through ATF4 for the sympathetic tone. How two extracellular cues using the same second messenger in the same cell elicit different transcriptional events is unknown. In this paper, we show that PTH favors Rankl expression by triggering the ubiquitination of HDAC4, a class II histone deacetylase, via Smurf2. HDAC4 degradation releases MEF2c, which transactivates the Rankl promoter. Conversely, sympathetic signaling in osteoblasts favors the accumulation of HDAC4 in the nucleus and its association with ATF4. In this context, HDAC4 increases Rankl expression. Because of its ability to differentially connect two extracellular cues to the genome of osteoblasts, HDAC4 is a critical regulator of osteoclast differentiation.
Cardiac fibroblasts mediate IL-17A–driven inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy
Authors: Wu Lei , Ong SuFey , Talor Monica V. , Barin Jobert G. , Baldeviano G. Christian , Kass David A. , Bedja Djahida , Zhang Hao , Sheikh Asfandyar , Margolick Joseph B. , Iwakura Yoichiro , Rose Noel R. , Čiháková Daniela
Published: June 2014

Inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy (DCMi) is a major cause of heart failure in individuals below the age of 40. We recently reported that IL-17A is required for the development of DCMi. We show a novel pathway connecting IL-17A, cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), GM-CSF, and heart-infiltrating myeloid cells with the pathogenesis of DCMi. Il17ra−/− mice were protected from DCMi, and this was associated with significantly diminished neutrophil and Ly6Chi monocyte/macrophage (MO/MΦ) cardiac infiltrates. Depletion of Ly6Chi MO/MΦ also protected mice from DCMi. Mechanistically, IL-17A stimulated CFs to produce key chemokines and cytokines that are critical downstream effectors in the recruitment and differentiation of myeloid cells. Moreover, IL-17A directs Ly6Chi MO/MΦ in trans toward a more proinflammatory phenotype via CF-derived GM-CSF. Collectively, this IL-17A–fibroblast–GM-CSF–MO/MΦ axis could provide a novel target for the treatment of DCMi and related inflammatory cardiac diseases.
Calmodulation meta-analysis: Predicting calmodulin binding via canonical motif clustering
Authors: Mruk Karen , Farley Brian M. , Ritacco Alan W. , Kobertz William R.
Published: June 2014

The calcium-binding protein calmodulin (CaM) directly binds to membrane transport proteins to modulate their function in response to changes in intracellular calcium concentrations. Because CaM recognizes and binds to a wide variety of target sequences, identifying CaM-binding sites is difficult, requiring intensive sequence gazing and extensive biochemical analysis. Here, we describe a straightforward computational script that rapidly identifies canonical CaM-binding motifs within an amino acid sequence. Analysis of the target sequences from high resolution CaM–peptide structures using this script revealed that CaM often binds to sequences that have multiple overlapping canonical CaM-binding motifs. The addition of a positive charge discriminator to this meta-analysis resulted in a tool that identifies potential CaM-binding domains within a given sequence. To allow users to search for CaM-binding motifs within a protein of interest, perform the meta-analysis, and then compare the results to target peptide–CaM structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank, we created a website and online database. The availability of these tools and analyses will facilitate the design of CaM-related studies of ion channels and membrane transport proteins.
On the Edge
Authors: Sparti Davide
Published: June 2014

While all human agency unfolds with a certain degree of improvisation, there are specific cultural practices in which improvisation plays an even more relevant role. Among these, jazz offers a privileged site for understanding how improvisation operates, offering the opportunity to find within it a frame of reference that might be related to other genres and modes of creation. This contribution, as Wittgenstein would say, has a “grammatical” design to it. It proposes to clarify the significance of the term “improvisation” by reflecting upon theconditionsthat make the practice possible. Rather than calling forth mysterious processes that take place in the unconscious or in the minds of musicians, the focus is on the criteria that must be satisfied before one may accurately ascribe to an act the concept of improvisation. By comparing the practice of improvisation to the notion a musical “work,” five such criteria are established: inseparability, irreversibility, situationality, originality, and responsiveness. The last part of this chapter offers an insight into the improvising dynamic. Unlike a composer in the domain of classical music, who works from a plan looking ahead, improvising musicians cannot by definition look ahead. Yet they can look behind at what has already been played, and respond to it, extending the logic of the previous phrases, shaping a form retrospectively, blending the emergent with the intended. Hence any musical statement emerging during a performance is at the same time a constraint and a springboard for the following statement.
Theory in the Public Eye
Authors: Piccini Angela
Published: June 2014

The high public profile of archaeology in television, film, and other media focuses on new discoveries and fieldwork, with little attention to the interpretive issues or theoretical debates that underpin the activities portrayed. The relationship between media and public expectations of archaeology and scholarly and professional archaeological practices is an important one. While a popular emphasis on discovery may undermine archaeology as a professional discipline requiring intellectual as well as physical labour, archaeology’s cultural position extends beyond specific factual knowledge and the role of the expert or public intellectual. Arguably, archaeology is a way of making knowledge about the world. The way in which this is enacted across media makes knowledge claims, claims that are at once aesthetic, affective, and political and which therefore invite critical analysis. Yet research into the relationship between archaeology and the media generated by archaeologists remains polarized and largely focused on Western European and North American formations. Critical voices focus largely on demystifying narrative and tend towards a monolithic construction of the public and its (in)abilities to distinguish archaeological fact from fiction. Those who seek to counter that criticality have expounded the democratizing and participatory nature of mediatized archaeologies. What is missing from these accounts, however, is an understanding of media theories, histories, and policies and how they impact on the future of archaeological practices. This chapter seeks to identify where archaeological theory and moving images intersect, and asks how the conversation between archaeological and media theories might contribute to wider debates. Where are there points of intersection and difference, and how might an understanding of these allow archaeologists to engage productively and critically with media making, with media making as a form of ‘working through’?
Emerging from Theoretical Anarchy in Anthropological Archaeology
Authors: Seymour Deni J. , Schiffer Michael Brian
Published: June 2014

Although the focus and underpinnings have adjusted through time, Americanist archaeology is founded on the notion that anthropology plays an important role in archaeology. Even now the nature of anthropological archaeology is transforming to incorporate modern developments and lessons from our predecessors. Anthropological archaeology remains vibrant, maintaining sensitivity to current trends and methodological, theoretical, and conceptual advances by updating and honing its direction, and gradually transforming itself through the ebbs and flows of current trends and renewed angles on long-established venerable issues. The discipline has passed through several phases that emphasized first an essentially historical focus, then staunch positivistic processualism, and then a refined socially relevant archaeology that incorporates process while contextualizing. Home-grown archaeological theory is among these more current approaches, which emphasizes method and theory developed by archaeologists to solve archaeological and anthropological problems. But fundamental to the approach, through all these adjustments, is the premise that archaeology is anthropological, taking its lead from anthropological understandings and theories of process, while at the same time incorporating what is relevant from history, geomorphology, psychology, and sociology. It is a compilation of approaches where generalizations have a role but are understood within the boundary conditions set by contextualized cases.
Time
Authors: Lucas Gavin
Published: June 2014

Archaeology is a discipline for which time is central, and although the methodological importance of the concept has been a constant source of interest (especially in relation to dating and chronology), theoretically it has only come under the spotlight in the last two decades. Rather than offer a summary of the literature and approaches, this contribution will explore time through a series of temporal concepts, drawing out paradoxes and problems in an attempt to map out a set of key issues. The chapter begins by exploring the idea of temporal succession and its basis in chronologies before moving onto the problem of contemporaneity: what does it mean to say two sites or two events are contemporary? The idea of temporal succession is then also explored in relation to a third concept, change. Both concepts—contemporaneity and change—raise critical problems with a successional view of time, and expose the limitations of a purely chronological view of the archaeological record. As an alternative, the chapter then explores the concept of memory in archaeology and how it has been deployed in studies of past people’s perceptions of time, although ultimately it is argued that archaeology itself should be regarded as a form of memory work in relation to the problem of forgetting.
Darwinism and its Influences
Authors: Jeffares Ben , Sterelny Kim
Published: June 2014

This chapter explores just what is, and is not, a Darwinian explanation in the archaeological context. It does this by reviewing attempts to use Darwinian explanations in the archaeological context, and showing ways in which they have been successful or otherwise. The chapter proceeds by working through historical case studies in archaeological theory, showing how these attempts to apply Darwinian ideas to archaeological data have run up against serious limitations. Typically, they have either assumed natural selection or failed to adequately specify the relevant selective environment. We then offer an alternative view of evolutionary processes—niche construction—that takes history and culture seriously. In so doing, the chapter demonstrates both Darwinism’s promise but, just as importantly, its limits as an explanatory framework in the social science context. In particular, we stress the need to show selection is in operation, rather than presuming it, and that at certain scales, and for certain purposes, Darwinian explanations may fail to capture the correct grain of analysis: Sometimes, archaeology is history, and as such, it is interested in explanations that are local, unique, and idiosyncratic to the culture concerned.
Lesbians
Authors: Isherwood Lisa
Published: June 2014

This essay is situated within the sexual theologies discipline—that is, it will not consider what theology has said about lesbians. It will rather engage with what lesbian experience has offered traditional Christian theology. Perhaps this can be best summed up in the words of Carter Heyward who wrote ‘To say “I love you” means—Let the revolution begin!’ Once lesbians in theology found a voice, what we witness is indeed a revolution as the diverse face of the divine began to emerge from what had been a ‘one size fits all’ theology in matters of sexuality and ethics. Far from simply stating that the norm did not fit all sexualities and genders, many lesbian theologians moved on to say that the norm did not even do justice to those seen as normal and that the heteronormative underpinnings of theology actually crippled it.
Marriage and Sexual Relations in the World of the Hebrew Bible
Authors: Stone Ken
Published: June 2014

The Hebrew Bible is sometimes understood as the source of a ‘traditional’ Judaeo-Christian approach to marriage and sexual practice. A comprehensive examination reveals, however, that biblical assumptions about sex, gender, and kinship are complex and internally diverse. Some of these assumptions stand in tension with traditional Jewish and Christian norms for marriage and sexual activity. This essay reviews such matters as the biblical vocabulary for, and representations of, marital relations; the status of women in households organized around fathers; the role of polygyny; differing standards for the sexual conduct of husbands, wives, and concubines; intermarriage and inter-ethnic sexual relations; prostitution; the use of sex and marriage within male contests for power and honour; the use of sexual and marital images in representations of Israel’s relationship to God; and the attitudes towards sex and gender found in less frequently read books of the Bible such as the Song of Songs.
Violence and Justice
Authors: Cooper-White Pamela
Published: June 2014

Sexuality is a domain of experience that has been variously described as embodied, deeply personal, intimate, ecstatic, and even sacred. Yet, precisely because of some of these qualities and the emotions associated with them, it is also a domain that entails not only pleasure but also the possibility of violation, even terror. It is a ground on which wars are fought (including intrapsychic, familial, social, political, and military). This chapter explores multiple aspects and causes of sexual violence, in particular interrogating the saying from the rape crisis movement: ‘Rape is about power, not sex’. Additional statements will be proposed, including ‘Rape is about power, and sex’; ‘Rape is about power, using sex’; and ‘Rape is about power, gender, and race’. The chapter concludes with an ethic of sexual justice that addresses the ethics of sexuality and of power, drawing on a Trinitarian theology that emphasizes relationality and abundant life.
Attachment
Authors: Meins Elizabeth
Published: June 2014

This chapter begins with Bowlby’s theoretical work in the 1940s and 1950s and the evolution of attachment theory. Ainsworth’s seminal empirical research in the 1960s and 1970s, introducing the concepts of attachment security and caregiver sensitivity, is then discussed. This early theoretical and empirical research on infant attachment is evaluated in light of key findings published in the intervening years. Current views on factors predicting attachment security are presented, focusing on parental state of mind with regard to attachment, the quality of infant–parent interaction, aspects of the social environment, and child-centered factors. The chapter concludes with a summary of important questions on attachment that remain unanswered.
Taking Interdependence Seriously
Authors: Huckfeldt Robert
Published: June 2014

Networks of communication among interdependent citizens constitute the connecting tissue between citizens and electorates, revealing an electoral whole that is different from the sum of its citizen parts. These communication networks, in turn, reflect the social contexts within which an actor is imbedded, thereby bridging the micro-macro divide in our understanding of electoral politics. Belonging to a group and developing corresponding political loyalties is not simply a matter of individual characteristics and circumstance. Rather, it is a matter of being connected to the group through networks of communication and association. These patterns of interdependence produce profound implications that are not only substantive and theoretical but also methodological and profoundly dynamic. Indeed, new platforms for studying political communication continue to emerge, and they carry the potential for further transformations in the ways that we understand the consequences of political communication for individual voters as well as for electorates.
Popular and Academic Images of African American Islam, 1915–1945
Authors: Turner Richard Brent
Published: June 2014

This chapter looks at popular and academic images (descriptions and literary and visual representations) of African American Islam from 1915 to 1945. This time period is important because it is capped by two milestone events that influenced African American Muslim communities: the first, in 1915, was the beginning of the Great Migration and urbanization in black America, and the second, 1945, marked the end of World War II and the beginning of a powerful era in the African American civil rights movement. The chapter also examines the construction of African diasporic identities in the Moorish Science Temple of America, the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam, the Islamic Mission of America, and the Nation of Islam, as well as the impact of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association and the scholarship on African retentions in slavery as well as that on images of African American Islam.
Lactulose
Authors: Lee Gwenyth O. , Kosek Peter , Lima Aldo A.M. , Singh Ravinder , Yori Pablo P. , Olortegui Maribel P. , Lamsam Jesse L. , Oliveira Domingos B. , Guerrant Richard L. , Kosek Margaret
Published: June 2014

Objectives:

The lactulose:mannitol (L:M) diagnostic test is frequently used in field studies of environmental enteropathy (EE); however, heterogeneity in test administration and disaccharide measurement has limited the comparison of results between studies and populations. We aim to assess the agreement between L:M measurement between high‐performance liquid chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPLC‐PAD) and liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MSMS) platforms.

Methods:

The L:M test was administered in a cohort of Peruvian infants considered at risk for EE. A total of 100 samples were tested for lactulose and mannitol at 3 independent laboratories: 1 running an HPLC‐PAD platform and 2 running LC‐MSMS platforms. Agreement between the platforms was estimated.

Results:

The Spearman correlation between the 2 LC‐MSMS platforms was high (ρ ≥ 0.89) for mannitol, lactulose, and the L:M ratio. The correlation between the HPLC‐PAD platform and LC‐MSMS platform was ρ = 0.95 for mannitol, ρ = 0.70 for lactulose, and ρ = 0.43 for the L:M ratio. In addition, the HPLC‐PAD platform overestimated the lowest disaccharide concentrations to the greatest degree.

Conclusions:

Given the large analyte concentration range, the improved accuracy of LC‐MSMS has important consequences for the assessment of lactulose and mannitol following oral administration in populations at risk for EE. We recommend that researchers wishing to implement a dual‐sugar test as part of a study of EE use an LC‐MSMS platform to optimize the accuracy of results and increase comparability between studies.
Use of Cyproheptadine in Young Children With Feeding Difficulties and Poor Growth in a Pediatric Feeding Program
Authors: Sant'Anna Ana M.G.A. , Hammes Patricia S. , Porporino Mafalda , Martel Chantal , Zygmuntowicz Catherine , Ramsay Maria
Published: June 2014

Objective:

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of cyproheptadine (CY) use in infants and young children with poor growth treated at our multidisciplinary pediatric feeding program, and to describe changes in their weight and feeding behaviors.

Methods:

A retrospective chart review of children treated with CY from January 2007 to July 2011 was performed. Demographic data, medical diagnosis, adverse effects of the drug, and changes in mealtime behaviors were extracted from the patients' medical records. For each patient who received the CY, weight‐for‐age z scores (WtZ) were calculated before and during treatment. Repeated‐measures mixed model was used to analyze the pattern of change in WtZ over time and between groups. Differences in mean WtZ were tested between patients regularly receiving CY and a naturally conceived comparison group.

Results:

Of the 127 patients in treatment owing to poor weight gain who received the CY, 82 took the medication regularly as prescribed in combination with our interventional program. For these patients, the majority of the parents (96%) reported a positive change in mealtime and feeding behaviors. A significant improvement in mean WtZ was observed after starting CY when compared with the WtZ before treatment for those patients regularly receiving the medication. This effect was independent of patients' age and/or presence of an underline medical problem. No significant differences in mean WtZ were observed over time within the comparison group.

Conclusions:

In our experience, the use of CY in combination with a specialized multidisciplinary interventional program is a safe and effective therapy in infants and young children with low appetite and poor growth.
Unsteady separation in vortex-induced boundary layers
Authors: Cassel K. W. , Conlisk A. T.
Published: June 2014

This paper provides a brief review of the analytical and numerical developments related to unsteady boundary-layer separation, in particular as it relates to vortex-induced flows, leading up to our present understanding of this important feature in high-Reynolds-number, surface-bounded flows in the presence of an adverse pressure gradient. In large part, vortex-induced separation has been the catalyst for pulling together the theory, numerics and applications of unsteady separation. Particular attention is given to the role that Prof. Frank T. Smith, FRS, has played in these developments over the course of the past 35 years. The following points will be emphasized: (i) unsteady separation plays a pivotal role in a wide variety of high-Reynolds-number flows, (ii) asymptotic methods have been instrumental in elucidating the physics of both steady and unsteady separation, (iii) Frank T. Smith has served as a catalyst in the application of asymptotic methods to high-Reynolds-number flows, and (iv) there is still much work to do in articulating a complete theoretical understanding of unsteady boundary-layer separation.
Sulfate assimilation pathway intermediate phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphosulfate acts as a signal molecule affecting production of curli fibres in Escherichia coli
Authors: Rossi Elio , Motta Sara , Mauri Pierluigi , Landini Paolo
Published: June 2014

The enterobacteriumEscherichia colican utilize a variety of molecules as sulfur sources, including cysteine, sulfate, thiosulfate and organosulfonates. An intermediate of the sulfate assimilation pathway, adenosine 5′-phosphosulfate (APS), also acts as a signal molecule regulating the utilization of different sulfur sources. In this work, we show that inactivation of thecysHgene, leading to accumulation of phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphosulfate (PAPS), also an intermediate of the sulfate assimilation pathway, results in increased surface adhesion and cell aggregation by activating the expression of the curli-encodingcsgBACoperon. In contrast, curli production was unaffected by the inactivation of any other gene belonging to the sulfate assimilation pathway. Overexpression of thecysHgene downregulatedcsgBACtranscription, further suggesting a link between intracellular PAPS levels and curli gene expression. In addition to curli components, the Flu, OmpX and Slp proteins were also found in increased amounts in the outer membrane compartment of thecysHmutant; deletion of the corresponding genes suggested that these proteins also contribute to surface adhesion and cell surface properties in this strain. Our results indicate that, similar to APS, PAPS also acts as a signal molecule, albeit with a distinct mechanism and role: whilst APS regulates organosulfonate utilization, PAPS would couple availability of sulfur sources to remodulation of the cell surface, as part of a more global effect on cell physiology.
Tension-dependent removal of pericentromeric shugoshin is an indicator of sister chromosome biorientation
Authors: Nerusheva Olga O. , Galander Stefan , Fernius Josefin , Kelly David , Marston Adele L.
Published: June 2014

During mitosis and meiosis, sister chromatid cohesion resists the pulling forces of microtubules, enabling the generation of tension at kinetochores upon chromosome biorientation. How tension is read to signal the bioriented state remains unclear. Shugoshins form a pericentromeric platform that integrates multiple functions to ensure proper chromosome biorientation. Here we show that budding yeast shugoshin Sgo1 dissociates from the pericentromere reversibly in response to tension. The antagonistic activities of the kinetochore-associated Bub1 kinase and the Sgo1-bound phosphatase protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A)-Rts1 underlie a tension-dependent circuitry that enables Sgo1 removal upon sister kinetochore biorientation. Sgo1 dissociation from the pericentromere triggers dissociation of condensin and Aurora B from the centromere, thereby stabilizing the bioriented state. Conversely, forcing sister kinetochores to be under tension during meiosis I leads to premature Sgo1 removal and precocious loss of pericentromeric cohesion. Overall, we show that the pivotal role of shugoshin is to build a platform at the pericentromere that attracts activities that respond to the absence of tension between sister kinetochores. Disassembly of this platform in response to intersister kinetochore tension signals the bioriented state. Therefore, tension sensing by shugoshin is a central mechanism by which the bioriented state is read.
How an mRNA capping enzyme reads distinct RNA polymerase II and Spt5 CTD phosphorylation codes
Authors: Doamekpor Selom K. , Sanchez Ana M. , Schwer Beate , Shuman Stewart , Lima Christopher D.
Published: June 2014

Interactions between RNA guanylyltransferase (GTase) and the C-terminal domain (CTD) repeats of RNA polymerase II (Pol2) and elongation factor Spt5 are thought to orchestrate cotranscriptional capping of nascent mRNAs. The crystal structure of a fission yeast GTase•Pol2 CTD complex reveals a unique docking site on the nucleotidyl transferase domain for an 8-amino-acid Pol2 CTD segment, S5PPSYSPTS5P, bracketed by two Ser5-PO4 marks. Analysis of GTase mutations that disrupt the Pol2 CTD interface shows that at least one of the two Ser5-PO4-binding sites is required for cell viability and that each site is important for cell growth at 37°C. Fission yeast GTase binds the Spt5 CTD at a separate docking site in the OB-fold domain that captures the Trp4 residue of the Spt5 nonapeptide repeat T1PAW4NSGSK. A disruptive mutation in the Spt5 CTD-binding site of GTase is synthetically lethal with mutations in the Pol2 CTD-binding site, signifying that the Spt5 and Pol2 CTDs cooperate to recruit capping enzyme in vivo. CTD phosphorylation has opposite effects on the interaction of GTase with Pol2 (Ser5-PO4 is required for binding) versus Spt5 (Thr1-PO4 inhibits binding). We propose that the state of Thr1 phosphorylation comprises a binary “Spt5 CTD code” that is read by capping enzyme independent of and parallel to its response to the state of the Pol2 CTD.
Voluntary exercise improves performance of a discrimination task through effects on the striatal dopamine system
Authors: Eddy Meghan C. , Stansfield Katherine J. , Green John T.
Published: June 2014

We have previously demonstrated that voluntary exercise facilitates discrimination learning in a modified T-maze. There is evidence implicating the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) as the substrate for this task. The present experiments examined whether changes in DLS dopamine receptors might underlie the exercise-associated facilitation. Infusing a D1R antagonist into the DLS prior to discrimination learning facilitated the performance of nonexercising rats but not exercising rats. Infusing a D2R antagonist impaired the performance of exercising rats but not nonexercising rats. Exercise-associated facilitation of this task may rely on an exercise-induced decrease in D1R and increase in D2R activation in the DLS.
The Functional Topography of the Arabidopsis Genome Is Organized in a Reduced Number of Linear Motifs of Chromatin States
Authors: Sequeira-Mendes Joana , Aragüez Irene , Peiró Ramón , Mendez-Giraldez Raul , Zhang Xiaoyu , Jacobsen Steven E. , Bastolla Ugo , Gutierrez Crisanto
Published: June 2014

Chromatin is of major relevance for gene expression, cell division, and differentiation. Here, we determined the landscape of Arabidopsis thaliana chromatin states using 16 features, including DNA sequence, CG methylation, histone variants, and modifications. The combinatorial complexity of chromatin can be reduced to nine states that describe chromatin with high resolution and robustness. Each chromatin state has a strong propensity to associate with a subset of other states defining a discrete number of chromatin motifs. These topographical relationships revealed that an intergenic state, characterized by H3K27me3 and slightly enriched in activation marks, physically separates the canonical Polycomb chromatin and two heterochromatin states from the rest of the euchromatin domains. Genomic elements are distinguished by specific chromatin states: four states span genes from transcriptional start sites (TSS) to termination sites and two contain regulatory regions upstream of TSS. Polycomb regions and the rest of the euchromatin can be connected by two major chromatin paths. Sequential chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated the occurrence of H3K27me3 and H3K4me3 in the same chromatin fiber, within a two to three nucleosome size range. Our data provide insight into the Arabidopsis genome topography and the establishment of gene expression patterns, specification of DNA replication origins, and definition of chromatin domains.
2-[5-(2-Methylphenyl)-3-(2-methylstyryl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]-6-(thiophen-2-yl)-4-(trifluoromethyl)pyrimidine chloroform monosolvate
Authors: Flores Alex Fabiani Claro , Flores Darlene Correia , Vicenti Juliano Rosa de Menezes , Campos Patrick Teixeira
Published: June 2014

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C28H23F3N4S·CHCl3, the chloroform solvate molecules connect the pyrimidine molecules into chains along [101] through weak C—H...N and C—H...Cl hydrogen-bond interactions. There are further connections between adjacent chains through F...Cl halogen contacts of 3.185 (3) Å, with the –CF3group presenting a significant short F...F interchain distance of 2.712 (4) Å. The five-membered pyrazole ring is approximately planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.050 Å). The pyrimidine ring makes dihedral angles of 84.15 (8) and 4.56 (8)° with the benzene rings.
catena-Poly[[(pyrazine-2-carboxamide-κN4)copper(I)]-μ3-iodido]
Authors: Krivosudský Lukáš , Rakovský Erik
Published: June 2014

In the title metal–organic polymeric complex, [CuI(C5H5N3O)]n, the asymmetric unit is composed of one monomer unit of the polymer and one CuIatom linked to one iodide anion and one pyrazine-2-carboxamide molecule. The CuIatom is in a distorted tetrahedral coordination completed by one pyrazine N atom of the pyrazine-2-carboxamide ligand and three iodide anions. The polymeric structure adopts a well-known ladder-like motif of {CuNI3} tetrahedra running in theb-axis direction. The molecules of the organic ligand are connectedviamedium-to-strong N—H...O and N—H...N hydrogen bonds and weak π–π interactions [the distance between two parallel planes of the rings is 3.5476 (14) Å and the centroid–centroid contact is 4.080 (2) Å]. The title compound has a relatively high decomposition temperature (564 K) as a result of relatively strong covalent and non-covalent interactions inside and between the chains.
Structure ofRhodococcus equivirulence-associated protein B (VapB) reveals an eight-stranded antiparallel β-barrel consisting of two Greek-key motifs
Authors: Geerds Christina , Wohlmann Jens , Haas Albert , Niemann Hartmut H.
Published: June 2014

Members of the virulence-associated protein (Vap) family from the pathogenRhodococcus equiregulate virulence in an unknown manner. They do not share recognizable sequence homology with any protein of known structure. VapB and VapA are normally associated with isolates from pigs and horses, respectively. To contribute to a molecular understanding of Vap function, the crystal structure of a protease-resistant VapB fragment was determined at 1.4 Å resolution. The structure was solved by SAD phasing employing the anomalous signal of one endogenous S atom and two bound Co ions with low occupancy. VapB is an eight-stranded antiparallel β-barrel with a single helix. Structural similarity to avidins suggests a potential binding function. Unlike other eight- or ten-stranded β-barrels found in avidins, bacterial outer membrane proteins, fatty-acid-binding proteins and lysozyme inhibitors, Vaps do not have a next-neighbour arrangement but consist of two Greek-key motifs with strand order 41238567, suggesting an unusual or even unique topology.
A new crystal form of a hyperthermophilic endocellulase
Authors: Kataoka Misumi , Ishikawa Kazuhiko
Published: June 2014

The hyperthermophilic glycoside hydrolase family endocellulase 12 from the archaeonPyrococcus furiosus(EGPf; Gene ID PF0854; EC 3.2.1.4) catalyzes the hydrolytic cleavage of the β-1,4-glucosidic linkage in β-glucan in lignocellulose biomass. A crystal of EGPf was previously prepared at pH 9.0 and its structure was determined at an atomic resolution of 1.07 Å. This article reports the crystallization of EGPf at the more physiologically relevant pH of 5.5. Structure determination showed that this new crystal form has the symmetry of space groupC2. Two molecules of the enzyme are observed in the asymmetric unit. Crystal packing is weak at pH 5.5 owing to two flexible interfaces between symmetry-related molecules. Comparison of the EGPf structures obtained at pH 9.0 and pH 5.5 reveals a significant conformational difference at the active centre and in the surface loops. The interfaces in the vicinity of the flexible surface loops impact the quality of the EGPf crystal.
In today's global environment organizational culture dominates national culture!
Authors: R. Kattman Braden
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The specific problem this research addresses is whether cultural differences, national or organizational, impact how effectively the continuous improvement process is received within the supply chain in order to improve supplier performance. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research design used a mixed methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative research.

Findings

– The research found that Canada was most receptive to continuous improvement, with China being the least receptive. The study found that organizational culture was more influential than national culture. Isomorphism and benchmarking is driving continuous-improvement language and methods to be more universally known within business. Business and management practices appear to take precedence in driving change within organizations.

Research limitations/implications

– The sample size and countries involved was very small and limited to key medium sized distributed power company (MSDPC) suppliers. This limited diversity and may have introduced supplier selection bias, as well as survey response bias.

Practical implications

– This research concludes that organizational culture is more dominant over national culture and the influence of leadership within the organization drives the impact of continuous improvement.

Originality/value

– With isomorphism and the fact that businesses want to be successful, continuous improvement language and methods are becoming more universally known. Business and management practices are now taking precedence in driving change within organizations. Organizational culture is now more influential than national culture.
Service satisfaction in E_Electricity service in Odisha (a state of India) by structural equation modeling
Authors: Satapathy S. , Mahapatra S.S. , Patel S.K. , Biswas A. , Mishra P.D.
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop a new model, namely service quality measurement for E_Electricity utility service in Odisha a state of India for the measurement of service quality.

Design/methodology/approach

– Service quality regulation is an important and timely issue in many industries. The question of governance of power sector is an important question before researchers, policy makers and administrators for the obvious reason of its being an important input for socio-economic development of a nation. Power sector involves complex activities like generation, transmission, distribution and final delivery of service to end-users, i.e. consumers. Initially, private sector was the main player in the power sector when the electricity came to be used in India during the pre-independence period. The trajectory of power industry, from its inception to the present, has been complex rather than being simplistic for the reason that the pendulum of industry's ownership and regulation swings between privatization and nationalization. The consumers are main sufferer in this type of situation, and the satisfaction level decreases day by day. So government has changed it's strategies by implementing e-governance to electricity sector for achieving maximum consumer satisfaction. The first step to e-governance is change management within the government, enhancing citizens' access to information and improving government-to-citizen (G2C) interactions. This work seeks to propose a theoretical scale to measure e-government service quality and validate the measured instrument for electricity utility service by structural equation modeling.

Findings

– The results indicate that basically the E_electricity service has a positive and direct influence on dimensions (web site design, fulfillment, privatisation and information).

Research limitations/implications

– Only Odisha state is considered for measuring online service quality in electricity utility service.

Originality/value

– As the electricity utility industry is doing monopoly business in India and all states basically in Odisha due to that the customer dissatisfaction is the most important obstacle. So the policy makers must concentrate on the dimensions and the sub-dimension before regulating new policies.
The effect of environmental CSR issues on corporate/brand reputation and corporate profitability
Authors: Khojastehpour Morteza , Johns Raechel
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) (climate responsibility and natural resource utilization) on corporate/brand reputation and corporate profitability.

Design/methodology/approach

– Building on extensive literature, a conceptual model of environmental CSR-corporation that includes three factors of consumer behavior is proposed.

Findings

– The study highlights that environmental CSR has a positive effect on corporate/brand reputation and corporate profitability.

Practical implications

– The findings of this study highlight the importance of managing environmental CSR for corporations that intend to gain reputation and profitability.

Originality/value

– This paper is one of the first to highlight the effect of environmental CSR on corporate/brand reputation and corporate profitability.
Eco-labelling brand strategy
Authors: Dekhili Sihem , Akli Achabou Mohamed
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore consumers’ preference for responsible labels in the specific case of well-known brands. The research examines the propensity of consumers to consider self-declarations carried out by the company itself in comparison with independent certifications organised by an external third party.

Design/methodology/approach

– An empirical study involving 134 French consumers by means of a conjoint analysis method was conducted, and the case of Nespresso coffee was tested.

Findings

– The results show that self-declaration (Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality) positively influences consumer preference. Moreover, this positive effect is equivalent to that of independent certification (Fair Trade Max Havelaar).

Research limitations/implications

– This study’s contribution gives a better insight into the consumers’ response to eco-labelling. It suggests the existence of an interaction effect between the brand and the responsible label. But, a future research needs to be conducted to gain better understanding of this interaction effect.

Practical implications

– The results suggest that a strategy of promoting a well-known branded product based on self-declaration would be effective. They offer additional insights to managers on the eco-labels’ efficiency.

Originality/value

– Contrary to the literature which suggests the superiority of the effect of certifications organised by a third party, this research shows that this finding is not valuable in the case of a well-known brand. Self-declaration may be preferred by consumers in the same way as independent certification. This research is one of the rare research to stress the need to consider brand when exploring eco-labelling issue.
Stop prancing about: boys, dance and the reflective glance
Authors: Edward Mark
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The over-arching purpose of this paper is to provide a reflexive personal narrative of the inequalities experienced as the author grew up with a desire to dance; personal experiences which influenced the author to become an educator and eventually led the author to engage in some active research on the issue of boys and dance in secondary schools in the north of England.

Design/methodology/approach

– This project is based on narrative interviews with young males, as the researchers seek to assess the current landscape of dance education within the UK. Interviews were conducted within two high school settings. Yet, this paper does not focus on the data produced in such interviews. Instead, it adopts a reflective methodology in terms of auto-critiquing the inquiry, exploring themes such as dancing negativity, homophobia and homonormativity.

Findings

– The paper offers a brief critique of the literature around long-standing cultural ingrained discrimination experienced by boys who dance. Finally, and importantly, the paper offers a personal and intimate account reflecting on the author's experiences of engaging in research on male dancers in secondary schools.

Originality/value

– This paper is a semi-autobiographical reflective inquiry which assesses the current issue of masculinities and dance, within adolescent educational settings. It is important in generating an awareness of the importance of individual and subjective reflective starting points for conducting research and the paper concludes how ethnographic research is never really neutral.
“Out” in the field. Reflecting on the dilemmas of insider status on data collection and conducting interviews with gay men
Authors: Roberts Simon
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore using a reflexive approach the impact of author's personal positioning on issues of power balance between the interviewer and the interviewee, dealing with sensitive stories and concerns of difference and sameness between participants and the researcher in both the data collection process and also during the interviews.

Design/methodology/approach

– Initial data were gathered from 45 semi-structured interviews with self-identified gay men in a wide range of occupations and ages working in the seaside resort of Bournemouth on the south coast of England.

Findings

– The paper highlights some of the dilemmas of insider status and doing research on gay men. These include: ethical issues of closeness and involvement with participants, dealing with author's own personal frustrations, tackling the power imbalance between the interviewer and the interviewee and the impact of author's personal positioning on the data collection.

Originality/value

– Little research has been done on the impact of men doing research on issues of diversity. In particular, this paper re-examines the power balance between the interviewer and interviewee as being one sided as previous studies have suggested in the researcher's favour. It also uncovers ethical dilemmas such as sexual attraction and involvement that has had scant coverage in the literature.