bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Altering lipid droplet homeostasis affectsCoxiella burnetiiintracellular growth
Authors: Mulye Minal , Zapata Brianne , Gilk Stacey D.
Published: March 2017

Coxiella burnetiiis an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen and a causative agent of culture-negative endocarditis. WhileC. burnetiiinitially infects alveolar macrophages, it has also been found in lipid droplet (LD)-containing foamy macrophages in the cardiac valves of endocarditis patients. In addition, transcriptional studies ofC. burnetii-infected macrophages reported differential regulation of the LD coat protein-encoding gene perilipin 2(plin-2). To further investigate the relationship between LDs andC. burnetii, we compared LD numbers using fluorescence microscopy in mock-infected andC. burnetii-infected alveolar macrophages. On average,C. burnetii-infected macrophages contained twice as many LDs as mock-infected macrophages. LD numbers increased as early as 24 hours post-infection, an effect reversed by blockingC. burnetiiprotein synthesis. The observed LD accumulation was dependent on theC. burnetiiType 4B Secretion System (T4BSS), a major virulence factor that manipulates host cellular processes by secreting bacterial effector proteins into the host cell cytoplasm. To determine the importance of LDs duringC. burnetiiinfection, we manipulated LD homeostasis and assessedC. burnetiiintracellular growth. Surprisingly, blocking LD formation with the pharmacological inhibitors triacsin C or T863, or knocking out acyl-CoA transferase-1 (acat-1) in alveolar macrophages, increasedC. burnetiigrowth at least 2-fold. Conversely, preventing LD lipolysis by inhibiting adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) with atglistatin almost completely blocked bacterial growth, suggesting LD breakdown is essential forC. burnetii.Together these data suggest that maintenance of LD homeostasis, possibly via theC. burnetiiT4BSS, is critical for bacterial growth.

IMPORTANCE

Host neutral lipid storage organelles known as lipid droplets (LDs) serve as a source of energy, nutrients, and signaling lipids. LDs are associated with infection of the intracellular bacterial pathogenCoxiella burnetii, a significant cause of culture-negative endocarditis. WhileC. burnetiiwas found in LD-rich foamy macrophages in endocarditis patients, little is known about the host LD-C. burnetiirelationship. We demonstratedC. burnetiiType 4B Secretion System (T4BSS)-dependent LD accumulation in macrophages, suggesting a T4BSS-mediated regulation of host LD homeostasis. Further, manipulating LD homeostasis significantly affected bacterial growth, indicating LDs play an important role duringC. burnetiiinfection. AsC. burnetiiendocarditis has a 19% mortality rate even in treated patients, exploring the LD-C. burnetiiassociation might identify novel therapeutic targets.
Systematic identification of pleiotropic genes from genetic interactions
Authors: Koch Elizabeth N. , Costanzo Michael , Deshpande Raamesh , Andrews Brenda , Boone Charles , Myers Chad L.
Published: March 2017

Modular structures in biological networks are ubiquitous and well-described, yet this organization does not capture the complexity of genes individually influencing many modules. Pleiotropy, the phenomenon of a single genetic locus with multiple phenotypic effects, has previously been measured according to many definitions, which typically count phenotypes associated with genes. We take the perspective that, because genes work in complex and interconnected modules, pleiotropy can be treated as a network-derived characteristic. Here, we use the complete network of yeast genetic interactions (GI) to measure pleiotropy of nearly 2700 essential and nonessential genes. Our method uses frequent item set mining to discover GI modules, annotates them with high-level processes, and uses entropy to measure the functional spread of each gene’s set of containing modules. We classify genes whose modules indicate broad functional influence as having high pleiotropy, while genes with focused functional influence have low pleiotropy. These pleiotropy classes differed in a number of ways: high-pleiotropy genes have comparatively higher expression variance, higher protein abundance, more domains, and higher copy number, while low pleiotropy genes are more likely to be in protein complexes and have many curated phenotypes. We discuss the implications of these results regarding the nature and evolution of pleiotropy.
HiCPlus: Resolution Enhancement of Hi-C interaction heatmap
Authors: Zhang Yan , An Lin , Hu Ming , Tang Jijun , Yue Feng
Published: March 2017

Motivation

The Hi-C technology has become an efficient tool to measure the spatial organization of the genome. With the recent advance of 1Kb resolution Hi-C experiment, some of the essential regulatory features have been uncovered. However, most available Hi-C datasets are in coarse-resolution due to the extremely high cost for generating high-resolution data. Therefore, a computational method to maximum the usage of the current available Hi-C data is urgently desired.

Results

Inspired by the super-resolution image technique, we develop a computational approach to impute the high-resolution Hi-C data from low-resolution Hi-C data using the deep convolutional neural network. We hypothesize that the Hi-C interaction heatmap contains the repeating features, and develop an end-to-end framework to map these features from low-resolution Hi-C heatmap to high-resolution Hi-C heatmap at the feature level. Our approach successfully reconstructs the high-resolution Hi-C interaction map from the low-resolution counterpart, which also proves that the Hi-C interaction matrix is a combination of the regional features. Besides, our approach is highly expandable, and we can also increase prediction accuracy by incorporating ChIA-PET data.

Availability

Source code is publicly available athttps://github.com/zhangyan32/HiCPlus

Contact

jtang@cse.sc.edu,fyue@hmc.psu.edu
Phylogenetic Diversity and Anti-MRSA Activity of Halotolerant Actinobacteria from sediments in Great Salt Plains, Oklahoma
Authors: Gad Ahmed
Published: March 2017

This manuscript has been withdrawn by bioRxiv after investigation by the University of Tulsa into the circumstances of its posting.
Comparative genomics of the tardigrades Hypsibius dujardini and Ramazzottius varieornatus
Authors: Yoshida Yuki , Koutsovoulos Georgios , Laetsch Dominik R. , Stevens Lewis , Kumar Sujai , Horikawa Daiki D. , Ishino Kyoko , Komine Shiori , Kunieda Takekazu , Tomita Masaru , Blaxter Mark , Arakawa Kazuharu
Published: March 2017

Tardigrada, a phylum of meiofaunal organisms, have been at the center of discussions of the evolution of Metazoa, the biology of survival in extreme environments, and the role of horizontal gene transfer in animal evolution. Tardigrada are placed as sisters to Arthropoda and Onychophora (velvet worms) in the superphylum Ecdysozoa by morphological analyses, but many molecular phylogenies fail to recover this relationship. This tension between molecular and morphological understanding may be very revealing of the mode and patterns of evolution of major groups. Similar to bdelloid rotifers, nematodes and other animals of the water film, limno-terrestrial tardigrades display extreme cryptobiotic abilities, including anhydrobiosis and cryobiosis. These extremophile behaviors challenge understanding of normal, aqueous physiology: how does a multicellular organism avoid lethal cellular collapse in the absence of liquid water? Meiofaunal species have been reported to have elevated levels of HGT events, but how important this is in evolution, and in particular in the evolution of extremophile physiology, is unclear. To address these questions, we resequenced and reassembled the genome of Hypsibius dujardini, a limno-terrestrial tardigrade that can undergo anhydrobiosis only after extensive pre-exposure to drying conditions, and compared it to the genome of Ramazzottius varieornatus, a related species with tolerance to rapid desiccation. The two species had contrasting gene expression responses to anhydrobiosis, with major transcriptional change in H. dujardini but limited regulation in R. varieornatus. We identified few horizontally transferred genes, but some of these were shown to be involved in entry into anhydrobiosis. Whole-genome molecular phylogenies supported a Tardigrada+Nematoda relationship over Tardigrada+Arthropoda, but rare genomic changes tended to support Tardigrada+Arthropoda.
Improving prediction of compound function from chemical structure using chemical-genetic networks
Authors: Safizadeh Hamid , Simpkins Scott W. , Nelson Justin , Myers Chad L.
Published: March 2017

The drug discovery process can be significantly improved through understanding how the structure of chemical compounds relates to their function. A common paradigm that has been used to filter and prioritize compounds is ligand-based virtual screening, where large libraries of compounds are queried for high structural similarity to a target molecule, with the assumption that structural similarity is predictive of similar biological activity. Although the chemical informatics community has already proposed a wide range of structure descriptors and similarity coefficients, a major challenge has been the lack of systematic and unbiased benchmarks for biological activity that covers a broad range of targets to definitively assess the performance of the alternative approaches.

We leveraged a large set of chemical-genetic interaction data from the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiaethat our labs have recently generated, covering more than 13,000 compounds from the RIKEN NPDepo and several NCI, NIH, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) compound collections. Supportive of the idea that chemical-genetic interaction data provide an unbiased proxy for biological functions, we found that many commonly used structural similarity measures were able to predict the compounds that exhibited similar chemical-genetic interaction profiles, although these measures did exhibit significant differences in performance. Using the chemical-genetic interaction profiles as a basis for our evaluation, we performed a systematic benchmarking of 10 different structure descriptors, each combined with 12 different similarity coefficients. We found that the All-Shortest Path (ASP) structure descriptor paired with the Braun-Blanquet similarity coefficient provided superior performance that was robust across several different compound collections.

We further describe a machine learning approach that improves the ability of the ASP metric to capture biological activity. We used the ASP fingerprints as input for several supervised machine learning models and the chemical-genetic interaction profiles as the standard for learning. We found that the predictive power of the ASP fingerprints (as well as several other descriptors) could be substantially improved by using support vector machines. For example, on held-out data, we measured a 5-fold improvement in the recall of biologically similar compounds at a precision of 50% based upon the ASP fingerprints. Our results generally suggest that using high-dimensional chemical-genetic data as a basis for refining chemical structure descriptors can be a powerful approach to improving prediction of biological function from structure.
Evolution of ribosomal internal transcribed spacers in Deuterostomia
Authors: Dyomin Alexandr , Volodkina Valeria , Koshel Elena , Galkina Svetlana , Saifitdinova Alsu , Gaginskaya Elena
Published: March 2017

Sequences of ribosomal internal transcribed spacers (ITSs) are of great importance to molecular phylogenetics and DNA barcoding, but remain unstudied in some large taxa of Deuterostomia. We have analyzed completeITS1andITS2sequences in 62 species from 16 Deuterostomia classes, withITSssequences in 24 species from 11 classes initially obtained using unannotated contigs and raw read sequences. A general tendency for bothITSlength and GC-content increase from interior to superior Deuterostomia taxa, a uniform GC-content in bothITSswithin the same species, thymine content decrease in sense DNA sequences of bothITSsare shown. A possible role of GC-based gene conversion in DeuterostomiaITSsevolutionary changes is hypothesized. The first example of non-LTR retrotransposon insertion intoITSsequence in Deuterostomia is described in turtleGeochelone nigra.The roles of mobile genetic element insertions in the evolution ofITSsequences in some Sauropsida taxa are discussed as well.
Learning Complex Representations from Spatial Phase Statistics of Natural Scenes
Authors: MaBouDi HaDi , Subramani Krishna , Soltanian-Zadeh Hamid , Amari Shun-ichi , Shimazaki Hideaki
Published: March 2017

Natural scenes contain higher-order statistical structures that can be encoded in their spatial phase information. Nevertheless, little progress has been made in modeling phase information of images, and understanding efficient representation of the image phases in the brain. In order to capture spatial phase structure under the efficient coding hypothesis, here we introduce a generative model of natural scenes by assuming independent source signals in a complex domain and non-uniform phase priors for the complex signals. Parameters of the proposed model are then estimated under the maximum-likelihood principle. This approach extends existing methods of independent component analysis for complex-valued signals to the one that utilizes phase information. Using simulated data, we demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms conventional models with a uniform phase prior in blind source separation of complex-valued signals. We then apply the proposed model to natural scenes in the Fourier domain. Real and imaginary parts of the learned complex features exhibit a pair of Gabor-like filters in quadratic phase structure with a similar shape. The proposed model significantly improved the goodness-of-the-fit from the model with a uniform phase prior, indicating that the structured spatial phases are important for removing redundancy in natural scenes. These results predict the presence of phase sensitive complex cells in the visual cortex.
The research and development of seamless knitted shapewears made of PTT filament
Authors: Yan Yuxiu , Feng Yanna , Jin Zimin , Tao Jianwei
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to improve the comfort and shaping function of seamless shapewear on the material and structure and develop new seamless shapewear products. The shaping figure effect will be verified as well.

Design/methodology/approach

The performance of the knitted fabrics made of Polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) filament was analyzed by orthogonal experiment and fuzzy mathematical methods analysis, in order to get the optimal conditions for the best performance. The new products were designed and made based on the results of the material research with the consideration of the aesthetic requirements. The shaping effect of seamless shapewears on local and global figure was tested by the methods of the combination of subjective and objective evaluation.

Findings

The sample which renders the optimal performance for shapewear is the one with PTT filament as face yarn, nylon core-spun yarn as ground yarn and 3+1 simulate rib knit structure. The material of face yarn, mixed proportion and structure can influence the shape retention, appearance and comfort of PTT fabric in various degrees. Three shapewears which were developed according to the results of material research have different shaping effect. And women with different figures put different satisfaction degrees on each shapewear’s shaping effect.

Practical implications

This paper provides scientific basis and reference for enterprise to design good tight seamless shapewear as well as for consumer to buy suitable products.

Originality/value

In the view of the problems of present shapewears, this paper completed the development of the shapewears and verified the shaping effect of them on women with different figures. The shapewears can be put into production directly.
A socioecological view toward an understanding of how to prevent overweight in children
Authors: Carrete Lorena , Arroyo Pilar , Villaseñor Roberto
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of how elements of the socioecological system shape individual behaviors. The problem of childhood overweight and obesity is analyzed as existing within a complex system of relationships at different levels by means of system dynamics (SD).

Design/methodology/approach

Secondary sources and primary information collected from an elementary school were used to analyze the influences of several social environmental factors on the dietary habits and physical activity of children. The major elements that influence these behaviors were identified via a socioecological framework (SEF), and the interrelationships among these elements were described using an SD model. Then, several scenarios corresponding to social marketing actions oriented toward modifying the influence of specific elements in the socioecological system were proposed to evaluate how effective they are at reducing the percentages of overweight and obesity among children.

Findings

The current research shows the existence of counteracting efforts at the micro (family) and macro (governmental policies) levels that need to be aligned to reduce rates of obesity and overweight.

Practical implications

The systems perspective supports decision makers in defining social marketing strategies to modify alimentary behaviors based on the understanding of what elements of the SEF influence behavior and how they interrelate. To the authors’ knowledge, a detailed analysis of the influences of the socioecological environment has not been performed based on Latin American countries to seek solutions to the public health problems of overweight and obesity.

Originality/value

The application of SD enhances the value of the SEF suggested by Collinset al.(2010) for modeling individual behaviors. Moreover, the use of the systems approach for framing and understanding how the interrelationships of socioecological elements derive in synergic or antagonistic effects helps to predict the long-term effect of governmental actions and school interventions.
Life after death? Study of goods multiple lives practices
Authors: Ertz Myriam , Durif Fabien , Arcand Manon
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Marketing scholars have devoted little attention to the study of practices which grant multiple lives to goods. However, these practices can considerably extend products lifecycles with far-reaching implications for traditional retailers and the economy. Accordingly, this paper aims to provide scales for perceived impact and motivations of goods multiple lives practices and to investigate the influence of impacts on motivations.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative phase (three discussion groups and 15 in-depth interviews) identified consumers’ motivations and perceived impacts of goods multiple lives practices. Two online surveys were then conducted on online panels, involving more than 2,200 consumers, to develop the measurement scales and test the structural model.

Findings

Results show that impacts measured only marginally influence economic motives but account significantly for a broad range of other motivations (ecological, protester and social contact motives).

Research limitations/implications

The study design is cross-sectional, therefore lacking causality. Replication studies could cross-validate the findings by means of experimental research.

Practical implications

The findings may prove of specific interest to marketers and organizations in the goods multiple lives sector seeking to harness consumer interest in these types of practices for reasons above and beyond lone economic incentives.

Originality/value

This study is innovative in two regards: it explores a relatively under-theorized field in marketing, namely, goods multiple lives practices; and it proposes a challenging theoretical perspective which supposes that consumers’ perceived impact of their practices plays a significant role in motivating them to engage in practices of the like.
Impact of point-of-purchase olfactory cues on purchase behavior
Authors: Kivioja Kaisa
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This study aims to examine the impact of olfactory cues at the point of purchase on consumers’ purchase behavior in terms of sales.

Design/methodology/approach

The theory of semantic congruence and sensory marketing on consumer behavior is tested using data collected through an experiment and analyzed using quantitative methods.

Findings

The presence of an olfactory cue has a positive impact on purchase behavior, as measured by product and product-category sales. Results indicate that a more common, category-congruent scent is optimal, as opposed to product-congruent, differentiating scent, even for a single product.

Practical implications

The findings encourage retailers to implement scents at the point of purchase as a sales promotion tool. Targeting a product category, instead of a single product, would seem the most feasible target scope.

Originality/value

This paper studies sensory marketing and cue congruence in a real-life retail setting, measuring the impact in terms of sales, and not only in relation to purchase intentions or brand image. Addressing a precisely defined target that suits retailing, namely, a single product and product category, is also novel, contrasting with earlier studies focused on ambient scents in large environments.
Work interruptions resiliency: toward an improved understanding of employee efficiency
Authors: Zide Julie S. , Mills Maura J. , Shahani-Denning Comila , Sweetapple Carolyn
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to operationalize the construct of work interruptions resiliency (WIR) and develop a measure assessing the extent to which employees report resiliency in resumption of work activities post-interruption (Study 1), and to further examine WIR’s nomological net, specifically its predictive relations with important employee-level outcomes (Study 2).

Design/methodology/approach

Study 1 utilized subject matter experts and data from 274 employees from a range of industries for scale development. Study 2 utilized 365 registered nurses from a hospital network to confirm and extend the findings from Study 1 within a relevant, dynamic job type.

Findings

Study 1 yielded a psychometrically sound measure for WIR comprised of four factors (typical, critical, external, sensory). Validity was evidenced via negative correlations with cognitive demand and Type A personality, and positive correlations with conscientiousness. Study 2 expanded WIR’s nomological net by evidencing its predictive relations with employees’ role clarity, autonomy support, role breadth self-efficacy, and evidence-based practice adoption intentions.

Research limitations/implications

This research introduces WIR and develops a measure for assessment, providing validity evidence and establishing an initial nomological net for WIR upon which further research can rely and build.

Practical implications

The work interruptions resiliency construct and measure have the potential to impact selection and training, particularly in job types wherein poor recovery from interruptions can yield detrimental consequences.

Originality/value

Work interruptions compromise productivity and result in errors. It is therefore crucial that organizations assess the extent to which employees are resistant to the detrimental effects of such disruptions (Study 1) and understand the nature of WIR’s predictive relations with important employee-level outcomes (Study 2).
Employee involvement climate and climate strength
Authors: Bosak Janine , Dawson Jeremy , Flood Patrick , Peccei Riccardo
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Addressing the continuing productivity challenge, the purpose of this paper is to analyze data from the National Health Service on employee involvement (EI) in order to gain critical insights into how employees’ shared perception of EI in organizational decision making (i.e. EI climate) might address two persistent issues: how to enhance positive staff attitudes and improve organizational performance. In doing so, the authors respond to recent calls for more multilevel research and extend previous research on EI climate by attending to both EI climate level and EI climate strength.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from 4,702 employees nested in 33 UK hospitals were used to test the moderating role of EI climate strength in the cross-level EI climate level employee level-attitudes relationship and in the organizational-level EI climate-organizational effectiveness relationship.

Findings

The results of the multilevel analyses showed that EI climate level was positively associated with individual-level employee attitudes (i.e. job satisfaction, organizational commitment). Further the results of the hierarchical regression analysis and the ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that EI climate level was also related to organizational effectiveness (i.e. lower outpatient waiting times, higher performance quality). In addition, both analyses demonstrated the moderating role of EI climate strength, in that the positive impact of EI climate level on employee attitudes and organizational effectiveness was more marked in the presence of a strong climate compared to a weak EI climate.

Practical implications

By creating and maintaining a positive and strong climate for involvement, hospital managers can tackle the productivity challenge that UK hospitals and health care institutions more generally are currently facing while improving the attitudes of their employees who are critical in the transformative process and ultimately underpin the organizational success.

Originality/value

This is the first study which provides evidence that favorable and consistent collective recognition of EI opportunities by staff contributes to enhance both employee attitudes and hospital performance. Results highlight the role of EI climate strength and underscore its importance in future research and practice.
Unravelling the foci of employee commitment
Authors: Cafferkey Kenneth , Harney Brian , Dundon Tony , Edgar Fiona
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend understanding regarding the basis and foci of employee commitment. It does so by exploring the direction towards employee centric rather than an assumed organisation basis of commitment.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data of over 300 employees from a variety of organisations in the Republic of Ireland were collected. Data focussed on worker orientations and their foci of commitment.

Findings

The findings confirm a more pluralistic and mixed basis to the antecedents of worker commitment, as opposed to an assumed human resource management unitarist ideology often promoted by organisational managers. At the level of individual workers, a dominant focus for commitment relates to career development and the milieu of an immediate workgroup.

Practical implications

There are three implications. First, mutual gains possibilities are not straightforward and there are practical pitfalls that employee interests may get squeezed should managerial and customer interests take precedence. Second, there remain competing elements between job security, flexibility and autonomy which can impact performance. Finally, line managers are key conduits shaping commitment and especially psychological contract outcomes.

Originality/value

This paper unpacks the relationship between ideological orientation and an individual’s foci of commitment. The research found that traditional orientations and foci of commitment are deficient and that simplified individualistic interpretations of the employment relationship are complex and require more critical scrutiny.
Efficacy of glucono-delta-lactone on quality traits of goat pickle
Authors: Gogna Nikhil , Kumar Arvind
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The present study aims to use goat (Bhakarwali spp.) meat and its edible offal (heart and liver) in preparation of goat pickle and to enhance its shelf-life using food-grade glucono-delta-lactone (GDL) as the preservative.

Design/methodology/approach

The goat meat was used at 50 per cent and edible offals were used at 50 per cent, whereas liver and heart were used at 25 per cent each in the preparation of goat pickle. This formulation of goat meat pickle was prepared in two different oils, namely, mustard oil and olive oil. These designer goat meat pickles were evaluated based on physicochemical and sensory evaluation. Further, GDL was added to these designer pickles prepared in both mustard and olive oil, as preservatives and studied for its storage quality for 90 days at room temperature (30 ± 2°C). The prepared goat meat pickle was evaluated for physico-chemical, sensory and microbiological profiles on 0th, 15th, 30th, 45th, 60th, 75th and 90th day.

Findings

The pH was recorded significant (p < 0.05) decrease on successive days irrespective of oils (mustard and olive oil) and GDL as acidifying agent and preservative used, respectively, but the rate of decrease in pH was comparatively lower in goat pickle with added GDL. The protein, fats and ash levels significantly (p < 0.05) increased, and the moisture level significantly (p < 0.05) decreased from 0th day to 90th day of storage irrespective of oils and preservatives used. The overall acceptability score of goat pickle made in olive oil and with added GDL was significantly (p < 0.05) higher during storage. The designer goat pickle with addition of GDL was safe for human consumption even after 90 days, whereas designer goat pickle without addition of GDL, was safe till 60th day of storage.

Research limitations/implications

The shelf-life of the product was evaluated till only 90 days, which should have been extended. However, the study was committed towards assessing the problem for only 90 days.

Practical implications

GDL can be used to preserve the goat pickle made of meat, and edible offal can be preserved for more than 90 days.

Social implications

Because of utilization of edible offal, even low-income groups of population can consume animal protein at a lower cost.

Originality/value

Thus, the used food grade GDL at 0.02 per cent enhanced the shelf-life of the prepared designer goat pickle stored at room temperature (30 ± 20°C) by lowering its pH and acted as an excellent preservative.
Effect of Bacopa monnieri extracts on storage quality of chicken nuggets at refrigeration temperature (4 ± 1°C)
Authors: Tanwar Tanuj K. , Kumar Arvind , Pankaj Nrip K.
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to explore the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of locally available herbs, namely, Bacopa monnieri in enhancing the shelf life of chicken nuggets.

Design/methodology/approach

Meat products are highly vulnerable to spoilage due to their excessive fats and protein content. Therefore, chicken nuggets incorporated with 1, 2 and 3 per cent Bacopa monnieri extracts and control chicken nuggets, were studied to explore the potency of this locally available herb on oxidative stability and storage quality of chicken nuggets on the 0,7th,14th and the 21st day at the refrigerated storage (4 ± 1°C).

Findings

Extracts of Bacopa monnieri were prepared and optimally incorporated in the chicken nuggets. Chicken nuggets prepared with 2 per cent of Bacopa monnieri were adjudged as the best among all based on sensory attributes. Extracts of Bacopa monnieri-incorporated nuggets were safe for consumption until 21 days of refrigerated storage (4 ± 1°C), based upon the power of hydrogen (pH), free fatty acid (FFA), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), microbiological profile and sensory evaluation of the chicken nuggets.

Practical implications

Two per cent of Bacopa monnieri extracts’ incorporation in the chicken nuggets successfully improved the oxidative stability and storage quality of chicken nuggets and, therefore, can be commercially exploited.

Social implications

The Bacopa monnieri herb is commonly available in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir state in the Indian Republic; hence, it can be used in its extract form in meat products, to make the products function with enhanced shelf life.

Originality/value

The addition of 2 per cent extracts of Bacopa monnieri in the chicken nuggets successfully improved the oxidative stability and its storage quality during the refrigerated (4 ± 1°C) storage. Therefore, it can be commercially exploited to improve the storage quality for longer duration of the meat food without adversely affecting the sensory quality of the products.
Substitution of wheat with cassava starch
Authors: Oladunmoye Olufunmilola Olaitan , Aworh Ogugua Charles , Ade-Omowaye Beatrice , Elemo Gloria
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the effects of substituting durum wheat semolina (DWS) with high-quality cassava starch (HQCS) in macaroni noodle production.

Design/methodology/approach

The effect of substituting semolina with cassava starch in macaroni production at six levels, namely, 0, 20, 30, 50, 70, 100 per cent, and variation in hydration levels of 45, 50 and 55 per cent and their interaction were studied.

Findings

As substitution of DWS with HQCS increased from 0 to 50 per cent at 45 per cent hydration, amylose content increased from 15.91 to 22.79 per cent. However, beyond 50 per cent substitution level, the amylose content dropped significantly to 20.10 per cent. Yet, this reduction did not affect the extrusion ability of the doughs. Analysis of variance revealed that changes observed in the dough properties were not significant (p > 0.05).

Research limitations/implications

Trial productions of cassava macaroni noodles under factory processing conditions need to be explored. Also, cooking trials and consumer acceptability studies need to be conducted to pave the way for adoption by manufacturers.

Practical implications

Dried noodle products enjoy widespread popularity because of their shelf life, lower glycaemic indices, simplicity of preparation and moderate costs. This study showed the potential of substituting DWS with HQCS with no adverse effect on the dough and macaroni noodle characteristics.

Social implications

The adoption of the process described in this study would result in increased utilization of cassava, broaden existing food base and provide household food security for both rural and urban population.

Originality/value

This paper has shown the suitability of substituting DWS obtained from imported durum wheat, with HQCS: indigenous to Africa, for the economic benefit of macaroni manufacturers.
Dietary advice for improving cardiovascular health in UK running magazines
Authors: Righton Olivia , Egan Patrick , Russell Jean M. , Cook Toni M. , Barker Margo Elizabeth
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate the dietary advice for cardiovascular health in UK running magazines.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative and quantitative content analysis was carried out on 12 issues (2014/2015) of Men’s Running (MR), Runner’s World (RW) and Women’s Running (WR). Coding of content took place into three themes: diet information, format and cardiovascular health.

Findings

Dietary advice comprised 17, 18 and 21 per cent of content in MR, RW and WR, respectively. A Mediterranean dietary pattern (e.g. fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, wholegrains and legumes, oily fish) was recommended for cardiovascular health and lowering of BP and plasma cholesterol. Single components of this dietary pattern were emphasised combined with advice to alter fat intake and increase intake of antioxidant nutrients and polyphenols, while advice to restrict salt was scarce. There was minimal emphasis on weight control. Information was often presented as single-page compilations of multiple headlines and snippets. Lexical imperatives and magisterial vocabulary connoted learned expertise and citation of experts and journals was common.

Research limitations/implications

Future research may qualitatively investigate how readers interpret and make use of the nutrition information and dietary advice provided in these magazines. A critical question would be to address whether these dietary messages lead to cardio-protective dietary behaviour.

Practical implications

Improved journalistic reporting of emerging nutritional science is also needed. Magazine editors and journalists need to follow reporting guidelines for science and provide more nuanced information.

Originality/value

This research is the first to describe the content and style of dietary content for cardiovascular health in running magazines.
Trophic mechanisms underlying bentho‐demersal community recovery in the north‐east Atlantic
Authors: Arroyo Nina‐Larissa , Preciado Izaskun , López‐López Lucía , Muñoz Isabel , Punzón Antonio
Published: March 2017

Bottom trawling is considered one of the greatest and most widespread causes of anthropogenic change in shelf seas, with major and prolonged impacts in areas with a long history of exploitation by fisheries such as the North Atlantic. Here, signs of recovery following the enforcement of regulations are increasingly being reported.

We examined the extent to which biological diversity and functionality are restored when fishing pressure is reduced by evaluating changes in species biomass and that of the main functional groups present in the continental platform, as obtained from systematic survey (IBTS) results. Moreover, we examined how this recovery is mirrored in the trophic organization of the affected communities by assessing variations in link density and strength of the main consumer species and investigating whether variations in species richness were paralleled by changes in network properties. Finally, we investigated whether reductions in fishing pressure (fishing mortality) were correlated with the abovementioned variations in community and trophic structure of the bentho‐demersal assemblages.

Our results corroborate the apparent recovery of North Atlantic fishing stocks and further substantiate the improved welfare of the bentho‐demersal assemblages of the Southern Bay of Biscay. Specifically, we found an increase in species richness and in the abundance of most functional groups, especially those more closely related to the benthos, following the reduction in fishing mortality. Increases in overall species richness were paralleled by an increase in the number of links and a reduction in mean interaction strength connecting the main consumer species with their prey items. This is in accordance with ecological theory and could explain the mechanism by which bentho‐demersal assemblages restructure their trophic network towards more stable organizations.

Synthesis and applications. Detecting patterns of recovery or change to alternative stable states following stress release is essential to unravel the effects of perturbations and to design effective management strategies. Our study shows that trophic network properties provide a convincing tool to evaluate and perceive recovery patterns. The trends shown in our study appear to be related with the decline in fishing mortality resulting from the enforcement of fisheries regulations in the area. They substantiate the efficiency of these regulations as a guarantee for an ecosystem approach to fisheries management and advocate their enforcement at a wider level as a convincing measure to preserve the sustainability of marine resources and their welfare.
One‐year calorie restriction impacts gut microbial composition but not its metabolic performance in obese adolescents
Authors: Ruiz Alicia , Cerdó Tomás , Jáuregui Ruy , Pieper Dietmar H. , Marcos Ascensión , Clemente Alfonso , García Federico , Margolles Abelardo , Ferrer Manuel , Campoy Cristina , Suárez Antonio
Published: March 2017

Recent evidence has disclosed a connection between gut microbial glycosidase activity and adiposity in obese. Here, we measured microbial α‐glucosidase and β‐galactosidase activities and sorted fluorescently labeled β‐galactosidase containing (βGAL) microorganisms in faecal samples of eight lean and thirteen obese adolescents that followed a controlled calorie restriction program during one year. β‐galactosidase is a highly distributed functional trait, mainly expressed by members of Blautia, Bacteroides, Alcaligenes, Acinetobacter and Propionibacterium. Only long‐term calorie restriction induced clear changes in the microbiota of obese adolescents. Long‐term calorie restriction induced significant shifts in total and βGAL gut microbiota, reducing the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio and enhancing the growth of beneficial microorganisms such as Bacteroides, Roseburia, Faecalibacterium and Clostridium XIVa. Moreover, the structure and composition of βGAL community in obese after long‐term calorie restriction was highly similar to that of lean adolescents. However, despite this high compositional similarity, microbial metabolic performance was different, split in two metabolic states at a body mass index value of 25. Our study shows that calorie restriction is a strong environmental force reshaping gut microbiota though its metabolic performance is linked to host's adiposity, suggesting that functional redundancy and metabolic plasticity are fundamental properties of gut microbial ecosystem.
Exploration and Firm Performance: The Moderating Impact of Competitive Strategy
Authors: Su Zhongfeng , Guo Hai , Sun Wei
Published: March 2017

In this study we examine the moderating effect of competitive strategy (including differentiation and cost‐leadership strategies) on the relationship between exploration and firm performance. We find that the moderating effect of differentiation strategy is positive while that of cost‐leadership strategy is negative. And, these moderating effects are stronger in a highly competitive context. This study offers an explanation for previous mixed findings on the linkage of exploration to firm performance and enriches the discipline's knowledge regarding the performance implications of exploration. Moreover, we respond directly to the appeal in research on competitive strategy to clarify the role played by competitive strategy in profiting from exploration.
The effects of starter cultures on chemical, biochemical and sensory properties of low‐fat Tulum cheeses during ripening
Authors: Celik Omer Faruk , Tarakci Zekai
Published: March 2017

Three different commercial starter cultures, Choozit™ MA 11 (MA), Choozit™ BT 01 (BT) and Choozit™ Feta A (Feta), were used to remedy textural and aromatic defects and improve the overall quality of low‐fat Tulum cheeses. Chemical and sensory analyses as well as electrophoresis were performed. Supplemental yoghurt bacteria and Lactobacillus helveticus were found to be key contributors in proteolysis with varying protein breakdown capacities. The results suggest that using appropriate culture combinations could result in low‐fat Tulum cheeses with better sensory characteristics and proteolysis rates.
Empirical Studies on Innovation Performance in the Manufacturing and Service Sectors Since 1995: A Systematic Review
Authors: Kolluru Srinivas , Mukhopadhaya Pundarik
Published: March 2017

This paper reviews the literature on firm innovation performance from 1995 until 2016. The empirical literature on this topic has been growing continuously over the last few decades. Previous research has investigated the explanatory variables and their impact on firm innovativeness separately. The present systematic review brings together all explanatory variables explored in the literature, classified according to their direction of causality and impact on innovation. These are represented in a comprehensive framework that includes three major research streams: internal, external and contextual indicators, and examines how they influence the innovative capabilities of firms. In addition to this re‐examination, the study shows that the majority of these variables are inter‐linked with other variables in explaining the relationship with innovation, which is represented in a comprehensive theoretical model. The aim of this review is to draw a general picture of the standing of the research on innovation performance, specifically in areas where unanimous results have already been achieved, and to highlight the opportunities for future research.
The transdifferentiation of regulatory T and Th17 cells in autoimmune/inflammatory diseases and its potential implications in pregnancy complications
Authors: Liu Zhao‐Zhao , Sun Guo‐Qiang , Hu Xiao‐Hui , Kwak‐Kim Joanne , Liao Ai‐Hua
Published: March 2017

In the past decades, studies have shown that a balance between regulatory T cells (Tregs) and T helper 17 (Th17) cells plays a major role in autoimmune/inflammatory diseases as well as pregnancy complications. Decreased number and function of Tregs, and increased number of Th17 cells which often have an opposed effect of Tregs, are associated with these conditions. Recently, the plasticity of Tregs and Th17 cells has been reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune/inflammatory diseases. Hence, we summarize the current knowledge of Tregs and Th17 cells plasticity with an emphasis on their reciprocal transdifferentiation in autoimmune/inflammatory diseases. Moreover, the regulators of the Tregs‐to‐Th17 cells transdifferentiation are discussed as well. Finally, by reviewing the immuno‐inflammatory status of pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia and unexplained recurrent pregnancy losses, a possibility of Tregs‐to‐Th17 cells transdifferentiation as an underlying immune‐pathology of these conditions is discussed.
The endometrial and breast safety of menopausal hormone therapy containing micronised progesterone: A short review
Authors: Eden John
Published: March 2017

For a significant minority of women, menopausal symptoms can be very unpleasant; however, many are worried about taking menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) for fear of causing breast cancer. Micronised progesterone (mP4) has been available in Europe since the 1990s and clinical trials have shown that 100 mg oral daily, 200 mg oral sequentially or 100 mg vaginal every second day effectively protect the endometrium from the stimulatory effects of oestrogen. MHT containing mP4 has a significantly lower breast cancer risk than those containing progestins. Micronised progesterone does not appear to attenuate the cardiovascular benefits of oestrogen. Pharmaceutical grade, body identical MHT is now available in Australia.