bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of the top management teams’ knowledge and experience on strategic decisions and performance
Authors: Li Peng-Yu
Published: August 2016

This paper explores whether top management teams’ (TMTs) knowledge and experience are significant predictors of a firm’s strategic decisions and organization outcomes. The existing research throws little light on how firms with limited resources embedded in TMTs, particularly in emerging markets, innovate and achieve success in foreign countries. We focus on the impact of TMTs’ functional background heterogeneity and international experience on innovation and internationalization, as well as examine the relationship between innovation, internationalization and performance. The proposed relationships are empirically investigated in a sample of Taiwanese-listed companies operating in the electronics industry. The results demonstrate a positive association between a TMT’s functional background heterogeneity and a firm’s innovation. Moreover, a TMT’s international experience relates positively to a firm’s innovation and internationalization, therefore firms with a higher level of innovation achieve a higher level of internationalization.
It Hurts to Let You Go: Characteristics of Romantic Relationships, Breakups and the Aftermath Among Emerging Adults
Authors: Belu Charlene F. , Lee Brenda H. , O'Sullivan Lucia F.
Published: August 2016

Relationship breakups are common (Connolly & McIsaac, 2009), and difficulty adjusting to the breakup can manifest as post-relationship contact and tracking (PRCT; Lee & O'Sullivan, 2014). Emerging adults (n= 271; aged 18–25; 66% female) provided reports of PRCT after their most recent breakup in the previous year. We examined relationship and breakup characteristics to predict the use of and experience of PRCT. Logistic regression analyses revealed that ex-partner initiation of the breakup and a more intense breakup predicted the use of PRCT, and ex-partner's surprise regarding the breakup predicted being a target of PRCT. A between-subjects comparison of participants who either used or experienced PRCT reported similar impact of PRCT on the self or their ex-partner. However, participants who both used and experienced PRCT reported that the impact that an ex-partner's PRCT had on their lives was more negative than their use of PRCT had on their ex-partner's life, likely reflecting an actor-observer bias in reports. Difficulty adjusting to relationship breakup is normal, and predictive of attempts to remain in contact with an ex-partner. However, the seemingly benign form of contact can have a negative impact on individuals. The findings have implications for those counselling individuals in distress following a breakup, and contribute to the discourse around boundaries after a breakup.
Triggers of Smoking Lapses Over the Course of a Quit Attempt
Authors: Ferguson Stuart G. , Shiffman Saul , Blizzard Leigh
Published: August 2016

Introduction: Both withdrawal severity and smoking cues can trigger lapses. However, the temporal relationship between these two sets of triggers is unknown.

Aims: To explore the time course of lapse triggers during a quit attempt.

Methods: Across two cessation studies, 186 lapsers monitored their smoking in real-time for up to 7 weeks over the course of a quit attempt. During lapses, participants were asked to report the primary trigger of the event; this, including the time of the event relative to quit day, was logged by an electronic diary. Log multinomial regression was used to estimate the probability that each lapse would be withdrawal-triggered or cue-triggered.

Results: Log multinomial regression showed that the probability of a first lapse being triggered by withdrawal rose in the initial days of a quit attempt before dropping as the quit attempt progressed (P < 0.01). The probability of a cue-triggered lapse rose over the course of a quit attempt (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: The results are consistent both with the time course of withdrawal symptoms and with theoretical predictions about the relationship between nicotine dependence and stimulus control. The results have implications for tailoring smoking-cessation treatments; in particular, for the stepwise provision of smoking-cessation assistance over the course of a quit attempt.
Political Attitudes and Behaviour in a Non-Partisan Environment: Toronto 2014
Authors: McGregor R. Michael , Moore Aaron A. , Stephenson Laura B.
Published: August 2016

Voting behaviour in municipal elections is understudied in Canada. Existing research is limited by the type of data (aggregate instead of individual-level) and the cases evaluated (partisan when most contests are non-partisan). The objective of this study is to contribute to this literature by using individual-level data about a non-partisan election. To do so, we use data from the Toronto Election Study, conducted during the 2014 election. Our research goals are to evaluate whether a standard approach to understanding vote choice (the multi-stage explanatory model) is applicable in a non-partisan, municipal-level contest, and to determine the correlates of vote choice in the 2014 Toronto mayoral election in particular. Our analysis reveals that, although it was a formally non-partisan contest, voters tended to view the mayoral candidates in both ideological and partisan terms. We also find that a standard vote choice model provides valuable insight into voter preferences at the municipal level.
Effect of transverse magnetic fields on high-harmonic generation in intense laser–solid interaction
Authors: Mu J. , Li F.-Y. , Sheng Z.-M. , Zhang J.
Published: August 2016

The effect of transverse magnetic fields on surface high-harmonic generation in intense laser–solid interactions is investigated. It is shown that the longitudinal motion of electrons can be coupled with the transverse motion via the magnetic fields, which lead to even-order harmonics under normal laser incidence. The dependence of the coupling efficiency and hence even harmonic generation with preplasma scale length and magnetic field strength are presented based upon particle-in-cell simulations. When the magnetic field is parallel to the laser electric field, the spectral intensity of the second harmonic is proportional to the magnetic field strength in a wide range up to 160 MG, while the situation with the magnetic field perpendicular to the laser electric field is more complicated. The second harmonic generation due to the magnetic field also tends to increase with the plasma density scale lengths, which is different from the high-harmonic generation by the oscillating mirror mechanism. With the increase of the laser spot size from a laser wavelength λL, both the magnetic field-induced harmonics and oscillating mirror high harmonics tend to increase first and then become saturated after 3λL. The magnetic field-induced second harmonic may be used to evaluate large self-generated magnetic fields developed near the critical density region and the preplasma conditions.
Vlasov–Maxwell simulations of backward Raman amplification of seed pulses in plasmas
Authors: Shoucri Magdi , Afeyan Bedros
Published: August 2016

We study the problem of the amplification of an ultra-short seed pulse via stimulated Raman backscattering (SRB) from a long pump pulse (assumed to have an envelope with a constant amplitude), in an underdense plasma. The SRB interaction couples the pump light wave to a daughter light seed wave propagating in the opposite direction, scattered off an electron plasma wave. In recent numerical simulations, it has been observed that besides stimulated Raman backward scattering (SRBS) and stimulated Raman forward scattering, other high-frequency kinetic instabilities can occur when modified distribution functions exist during the evolution of the system. In particular, we showed the prominent role played by kinetic electrostatic electron nonlinear (KEEN) waves (Afeyan et al., 2004). We continue this work by applying a relativistic Vlasov–Maxwell code to study stimulated KEEN wave scattering (SKEENS) and its role in the SRBS short pulse amplification processes. An analysis of the full spectrum of waves participating in the amplification processes is presented. The absence of spurious noise in grid-based Vlasov codes allows us to follow the evolution of the system with a kinetic (collisionless) description. This affords us a glimpse at the intricate phase-space structures such as trapped particle orbits, which coexist and interact nonlinearly in the electron distribution function.
MSARI: A Database for Large Volume Storage and Utilisation of Maritime Data
Authors: Isenor Anthony W. , St-Hilaire Marie-Odette , Webb Sean , Mayrand Michel
Published: August 2016

The volume of maritime vessel data, such as available from the Automatic Identification System (AIS), places considerable burden on systems designed and developed to manage data pertaining to maritime traffic. A properly designed and implemented data management infrastructure can provide benefits to the maritime domain awareness research community by supporting data volumes, diverse user needs, and product management. Such an infrastructure has been constructed on a modest budget by utilising open-source technologies. This paper describes the Maritime Situational Awareness Research Infrastructure (MSARI), and the design of the underlying database to meet data volume and user analysis needs. The resulting infrastructure currently handles input rates of approximately two billion vessel reports per month. This work is of potential benefit to those in the navigational community interested in the long-term storage and usage of global vessel data such as that available from AIS.
“Let's Change the Law”: Arkansas and the Puzzle of Juvenile Justice Reform in the 1990s
Authors: Tanenhaus David S. , Nystrom Eric C.
Published: August 2016

[Governor Tucker] should also propose that juveniles be charged as adults more often. Such laws sound harsh. They are. Right now, they need to be. This is known as protecting the public safety. As deterrence. Until that improbable day when social scientists pinpoint the cause of crime, punishment is the best answer. Sure, swift punishment. Word will get around.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, August 10, 1994.
Fast-Tracked or Boxed In? Informal Politics, Gender, and Women’s Representation in Putin’s Russia
Authors: Johnson Janet Elise
Published: August 2016

Why hasn’t the marked increase in women in politics over the last half century led to the expected results of increased gender equality and more democracy? In order to propose a new answer to this question, which is central for both theoretical and empirical feminist political science, I look at the case of Putin’s Russia as one of the authoritarian-leaning regimes that have promoted women into politics while simultaneously becoming more misogynist. Building on feminist institutionalism and the study of Russia’s regime dynamics, both of which are extending the study of informal institutions, I claim that women are being fast-tracked into politics informally, not just formally such as by party or legislative quotas. Yet these women are then boxed in by informal rules and by parallel institutions and posts, with virtually no opportunities to advocate for women’s interests. Putin’s regime has promoted women to be “stand ins” during times of crisis or change, “loyalists” and “showgirls” when the regime needs to showcase elections and representation, and “cleaners” when the appearance of corruption threatens the regime. Even demonstrations of ultimate loyalty have not protected those women who once advocated for feminist policies. This exercise in concept building suggests a framework for thinking about the importance and operation of informal institutions, sustained by gendered and homophobic rules, as a bulwark of male dominance that undermines women’s representation. There are also important policy implications, as advocates have been pushing for more women in politics to address a variety of ills that, my analysis suggests, will not be solved by numbers alone.
The Untilled Field of Field Campaigns
Authors: Han Hahrie , McKenna Elizabeth
Published: August 2016

This paper considers the challenges and opportunities of conducting a thick, qualitative study of a twenty-first century presidential ground campaign. Our goals in the study were to describe phenomena that are not commonly examined in most studies of field campaigns, namely (a) the purportedly transformative impact of the campaign on both individuals and collective contexts, (b) the holistic interaction of different strategic elements of the campaign, and (c) the processes the campaign used to develop citizen leadership to scale the campaign. We also consider the limitations of our approach, the reception of a book intended for both academic and practitioner audiences, and underexploited research agendas in the study of campaigns.
A Discussion of Richard Flacks and Nelson Lichtenstein's The Port Huron Statement: Sources and Legacies of the New Left’s Founding Manifesto
Authors: Blitz Mark
Published: August 2016

The Port Huron Statement was one of the most important manifestos of the New Left in the United States. A foundational statement of the theme of “participatory democracy,” the text had an important influence on post-1960s politics and, arguably, on post-1960s political science. The recent publication of a new edition of the Statement is an occasion for reflection on its importance. And so we have invited a distinguished cast of political scientists shaped by the events of the sixties to comment on the impact of the Statement on their own way of envisioning and practicing political science.
A Discussion of Richard Flacks and Nelson Lichtenstein'sThe Port Huron Statement: Sources and Legacies of the New Left’s Founding Manifesto
Authors: Rich Wilbur C.
Published: August 2016

The Port Huron Statement was one of the most important manifestos of the New Left in the United States. A foundational statement of the theme of “participatory democracy,” the text had an important influence on post-1960s politics and, arguably, on post-1960s political science. The recent publication of a new edition of the Statement is an occasion for reflection on its importance. And so we have invited a distinguished cast of political scientists shaped by the events of the sixties to comment on the impact of the Statement on their own way of envisioning and practicing political science.
Which Wilson Do We (Dis)Honor?
Authors: Eisenach Eldon J.
Published: August 2016

Woodrow Wilson is the only American political scientist to have served as President of the United States. In the time between his political science Ph.D. (from Johns Hopkins, in 1886) and his tenure as president (1913–21), he also served as president of Princeton University (1902–10) and president of the American Political Science Association (1909–10). Wilson is one of the most revered figures in American political thought and in American political science. The Woodrow Wilson Award is perhaps APSA’s most distinguished award, given annually for the best book on government, politics, or international affairs published in the previous year, and sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation at Princeton University.

Wilson has also recently become the subject of controversy, on the campus of Princeton University, and in the political culture more generally, in connection with racist statements that he made and the segregationist practices of his administration. A group of Princeton students associated with the “Black Lives Matter” movement has demanded that Wilson’s name be removed from two campus buildings, one of which is the famous Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (see Martha A. Sandweiss, “Woodrow Wilson, Princeton, and the Complex Landscape of Race,” http://www.thenation.com/article/woodrow-wilson-princeton-and-the-complex-landscape-of-race/). Many others have resisted this idea, noting that Wilson is indeed an important figure in the history of twentieth-century liberalism and Progressivism in the United States.

A number of colleagues have contacted me suggesting that Perspectives ought to organize a symposium on the Wilson controversy. Although we do not regularly organize symposia around current events, given the valence of the controversy and its connection to issues we have featured in our journal (see especially the September 2015 issue on “The American Politics of Policing and Incarceration”), and given Wilson's importance in the history of our discipline, we have decided to make an exception in this case. We have thus invited a wide range of colleagues whose views on this issue will interest our readers to comment on this controversy. —Jeffrey C. Isaac, Editor.
How We Remember (and Forget) in Our Public History
Authors: Nunnally Shayla C.
Published: August 2016

Woodrow Wilson is the only American political scientist to have served as President of the United States. In the time between his political science Ph.D. (from Johns Hopkins, in 1886) and his tenure as president (1913–21), he also served as president of Princeton University (1902–10) and president of the American Political Science Association (1909–10). Wilson is one of the most revered figures in American political thought and in American political science. The Woodrow Wilson Award is perhaps APSA’s most distinguished award, given annually for the best book on government, politics, or international affairs published in the previous year, and sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation at Princeton University.

Wilson has also recently become the subject of controversy, on the campus of Princeton University, and in the political culture more generally, in connection with racist statements that he made and the segregationist practices of his administration. A group of Princeton students associated with the “Black Lives Matter” movement has demanded that Wilson’s name be removed from two campus buildings, one of which is the famous Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (see Martha A. Sandweiss, “Woodrow Wilson, Princeton, and the Complex Landscape of Race,” http://www.thenation.com/article/woodrow-wilson-princeton-and-the-complex-landscape-of-race/). Many others have resisted this idea, noting that Wilson is indeed an important figure in the history of twentieth-century liberalism and Progressivism in the United States.

A number of colleagues have contacted me suggesting that Perspectives ought to organize a symposium on the Wilson controversy. Although we do not regularly organize symposia around current events, given the valence of the controversy and its connection to issues we have featured in our journal (see especially the September 2015 issue on “The American Politics of Policing and Incarceration”), and given Wilson's importance in the history of our discipline, we have decided to make an exception in this case. We have thus invited a wide range of colleagues whose views on this issue will interest our readers to comment on this controversy. —Jeffrey C. Isaac, Editor.
The use of secondary metabolites extracted from Trichoderma for plant growth promotion in the Andean highlands
Authors: Ortuño Noel , Castillo José Antonio , Miranda Claudia , Claros Mayra , Soto Ximena
Published: August 2016

Agriculture in the Altiplano and Andean Mountains is experiencing threats to sustainability mainly due to intensive cultivation of quinoa driven by international markets. This recent export-oriented production system is causing the degradation of soils and reducing productivity, therefore, agro-technological innovations are necessary to sustain cropping systems while maintaining organic quality (mostly quinoa). In this work, we searched for native Trichoderma species associated with plants from the Andean highlands to obtain an environmentally friendly and organic alternative to chemical fertilizers. We obtained different Trichoderma isolates from quinoa, potato and maize roots and soil, which were identified as Trichoderma harzianum, as well as other species. Twelve of the isolates were cultured in pairs to stimulate the production and secretion of compounds of diverse chemical nature that we called collectively ‘secondary metabolites’ (SMs). Crude extracts of SMs were used to inoculate selected crops to determine their plant growth promoting potential compared with two commercially available controls, chemical fertilizer and a bio-fertilizer. Results showed that SMs significantly promoted lettuce and radish growth and increased quinoa grain yield. Indole acetic acid was detected in all SM extracts that promoted plant growth, suggesting that this plant regulator might be responsible for the plant growth promoting activity. In conclusion, the Trichoderma-derived SMs approach appears to be a promising, simple and accessible technology for small-scale farmers in order to insure the sustainability, affordability and accessibility of food production in the Andes.
Starting a Conversation about Critical Frame Analysis: Reflections on Dealing with Methodology in Feminist Research
Authors: van der Haar Marleen , Verloo Mieke
Published: August 2016

With this article we are contributing to a conversation about Critical Frame Analysis (CFA) as a feminist research method. CFA was developed within the context of two collaborative and comparative research studies of gender equality policies in the European context, MAGEEQ (www.mageeq.net) and QUING (www.quing.eu). Since the introduction of CFA in these projects, many scholars have used the method—some affiliated with these projects as well as others. This contribution is a first reflection on CFA and a call for more extensive reflections on methodologies developed in feminist work. We use reflection on CFA's origins, mixed with illustrations taken from research articles by authors who have been affiliated with the projects and others, and self-criticism based on two of our own studies. These reflections underpin our conclusions about the ongoing potential of CFA and the necessity and urgency of more thorough attention to methodological issues related to the use of CFA.
Multilevel Analysis as a Tool to Understand the Spatio-Temporality of Gender
Authors: Spierings Niels
Published: August 2016

As illustrated by these definitions from the Oxford Handbook of Gender and Politics, context dependency is a defining characteristic of gender, since gender and intersectional inequalities differ spatially and temporarily in how they are organized. It is on this issue of context dependency where gender studies scholars often collide with (the application and interpretation) of regression-based statistical analysis in debates about quantitative methods (see Spierings 2012).
Determinants of property rights in Poland and Ukraine: the polity or politicians?
Authors: HARTWELL CHRISTOPHER A.
Published: August 2016

North (1994) famously remarked that ‘it is the polity that defines and enforces property rights’. This paper traces the development of property rights in Poland and Ukraine and explores their divergence over the past three centuries using North's framework of economic calculation. In each country, the distribution of political power and political institutions had a profound impact on property rights. Indeed, while it was the Polishpolitythat defined the evolution of property rights from 1386 to 1795 and then from 1989 onward, due to diffusion of power, it was Ukrainianpoliticiansthat controlled the destiny of property rights for most of Ukraine's history. This situation has not changed despite the Maidan revolution in Ukraine, and recent moves in Poland show how tenuous property rights are in the face of political opposition.
Water Management in the Urban Cultural Heritage of Myanmar
Authors: Moore Elizabeth , Win U San , Kyaw Pyiet Phyo
Published: August 2016

This article assesses indigenous perceptions of water through a comparison of the water management strategies at three ancient sites located in different ecological zones of Myanmar. Two of our examples are in the high-rainfall regions of Lower Myanmar: Thagara in the Dawei River valley flanked by mountains on the east and west, and Kyaikkatha on delta lands at the egress of the Sittaung River. We contrast these adaptations with the micro-exploitation of the scarce water resources at Bagan (also spelled Pagan) in the arid zone of Upper Myanmar. In the southern wet regions, despite the different geographical setting of Thagara and Kyaikkatha, the focus was on drainage and control. Multiple ramparts and moats were used to conserve the scarce water in the dry months between December and April and control the heavy floods of the rainy months between May to November. At Bagan, sited directly on the broad Ayeyarwady River, water management of inland streams and seasonal lakes maximised the gentle slope of the plain while also coping with intermittent flash floods in the rainy months. The sites of Thagara, Kyaikkatha, and Bagan demanded specific adaptations but are alike in the absence of extensive transformation of the landscape. This balance of manmade and natural elements provides common ground despite their variable size and urbanised extent, ecological setting, and occupational sequence to highlight the shared significance of water management in their long-term urban success.
Buffer against Cumulative Stress
Authors: Levy Becca R. , Moffat Scott , Resnick Susan M. , Slade Martin D. , Ferrucci Luigi
Published: August 2016

Abstract. Prolonged elevation of cortisol, the primary stress biomarker, is associated with impaired cognitive and physical health. Cortisol tends to increase in later life among most, but not all, older individuals. The current study considered whether this pattern could be explained by more-positive age stereotypes acting as a stress buffer. The 439 participants drawn from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging provided 1,789 cortisol measurements, from 24-h collections of urine, across 30 years. Among those aged 50 or greater, the cortisol of the more-negative age-stereotype group increased by 44%, whereas the more-positive age-stereotype group showed no increase. Also as expected, there was no association of age stereotypes and cortisol level among the younger participants, for whom the age stereotypes were self-irrelevant. The findings indicate the importance of considering the relationship between both positive and negative stereotypes and stress biomarkers over time.
Counselor Knowledge of the Age-Specific Features of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Older Adults
Authors: Salaz Joselyn , Gutierrez Antonio P. , Dykeman Cass
Published: August 2016

Abstract. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is the most common anxiety disorder in older adults. To date, however, no measure exists to assess counselor knowledge of older-adult GAD including these age-specific features. A measure entitled the Counseling Older Adult GAD Knowledge Inventory (COGI) was developed to fill this gap. Based on research with other areas of counselor knowledge, we hypothesized a unidimensional factor structure to this area of knowledge and tested the COGI on 100 practicing mental-health counselors. A minimum average partial test revealed one factor of 13 items. This factor was entitled: Knowledge of GAD in Older Adults. No item querying prevalence was retained. Potential uses of the COGI in training and research were discussed.
Cornea lymphatics drive the CD8+ T‐cell response to herpes simplex virus‐1
Authors: Gurung Hem R , Carr Meghan M , Carr Daniel J J
Published: August 2016

Herpes simplex virus‐1 (HSV‐1) infection of the cornea induces vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF‐A)‐dependent lymphangiogenesis. However, the extent to which HSV‐1‐induced corneal lymphangiogenesis impacts the adaptive immune response has not been characterized. Here, we used floxed VEGF‐A mice to study the importance of newly created corneal lymphatic vessels in the host adaptive immune response to infection. Whereas the mice infected with the parental virus (strain SC16) exhibited robust corneal lymphangiogenesis, mice that received the recombinant virus (SC16 ICP0‐Cre) that expresses Cre recombinase under the control of infected cell protein 0 (ICP0), an HSV‐1 immediate‐early gene, showed a significant reduction in lymphangiogenesis. There was no difference in virus recovered from the cornea of mice infected with SC16 vs SC16 ICP0‐Cre. However, viral loads were significantly elevated in the trigeminal ganglia (TG) of mice with reduced corneal lymphangiogenesis. The increase in viral titer correlated with a significant loss of HSV‐1‐specific CD8+ T cells that traffic to the TG of mice infected with the recombinant virus. Intrastromal delivery of size‐exclusion dye (fluorescein isothiocyanate‐dextran) revealed a time‐dependent defect in the ability of the lymphatic vessels in SC16 ICP0‐Cre‐infected mice to transport soluble antigen from the cornea to the draining lymph nodes. We interpret these results to suggest that the newly created lymphatic vessels in the cornea driven by HSV‐1 infection are critical in the delivery of soluble viral antigen to the draining lymph node and subsequent development of the CD8+ T‐cell response to HSV‐1.
Cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease: the complex picture
Authors: Biundo Roberta , Weis Luca , Antonini Angelo
Published: August 2016

Mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) and dementia (PDD) are among the most frequent non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD). PD-MCI is six times more likely than age-matched controls to develop dementia and the PDD prevalence is 80% after 15–20 years of disease. Therefore, research has focused on the identification of early dementia biomarkers including specific cognitive at-risk profiles hoping to implement therapeutic interventions when they are most likely to be efficacious. However, given the heterogeneous neuropathological, neurochemical, and neuropsychological nature of cognitive deficits, definition of a comprehensive cognitive model of PDD is a challenge. Evidence from neuroimaging studies using different methods and techniques suggests that in addition to degeneration of the dopaminergic system, other mechanisms have a role including β-amyloid and tau deposition, and that specific cognitive scales could help identifying a malignant profile. Prospective studies combining neuroimaging techniques and specific cognitive tests are required to define the interplay between the various neurodegenerative processes and the contribution of structural disconnection in brain functional networks, heralding the development of dementia in PD.
TRF2 is recruited to the pre-initiation complex as a testis-specific subunit of TFIIA/ALF to promote haploid cell gene expression
Authors: Martianov Igor , Velt Amandine , Davidson Guillaume , Choukrallah Mohamed-Amin , Davidson Irwin
Published: August 2016

Mammalian genomes encode two genes related to the TATA-box binding protein (TBP), TBP-related factors 2 and 3 (TRF2 and TRF3). Male Trf2−/− mice are sterile and characterized by arrested spermatogenesis at the transition from late haploid spermatids to early elongating spermatids. Despite this characterization, the molecular function of murine Trf2 remains poorly characterized and no direct evidence exists to show that it acts as a bona fide chromatin-bound transcription factor. We show here that Trf2 forms a stable complex with TFIIA or the testis expressed paralogue ALF chaperoned in the cytoplasm by heat shock proteins. We demonstrate for the first time that Trf2 is recruited to active haploid cell promoters together with Tbp, Taf7l and RNA polymerase II. RNA-seq analysis identifies a set of genes activated in haploid spermatids during the first wave of spermatogenesis whose expression is down-regulated by Trf2 inactivation. We therefore propose that Trf2 is recruited to the preinitiation complex as a testis-specific subunit of TFIIA/ALF that cooperates with Tbp and Taf7l to promote haploid cell gene expression.
Inositol Hexakisphosphate Kinase 3 Regulates Metabolism and Lifespan in Mice
Authors: Moritoh Yusuke , Oka Masahiro , Yasuhara Yoshitaka , Hozumi Hiroyuki , Iwachidow Kimihiko , Fuse Hiromitsu , Tozawa Ryuichi
Published: August 2016

Inositol hexakisphosphate kinase 3 (IP6K3) generates inositol pyrophosphates, which regulate diverse cellular functions. However, little is known about its own physiological role. Here, we show the roles of IP6K3 in metabolic regulation. We detected high levels of both mouse and human IP6K3 mRNA in myotubes and muscle tissues. In human myotubes, IP6K3 was upregulated by dexamethasone treatment, which is known to inhibit glucose metabolism. Furthermore, Ip6k3 expression was elevated under diabetic, fasting and disuse conditions in mouse skeletal muscles. Ip6k3−/− mice demonstrated lower blood glucose, reduced circulating insulin, deceased fat mass, lower body weight, increased plasma lactate, enhanced glucose tolerance, lower glucose during an insulin tolerance test and reduced muscle Pdk4 expression under normal diet conditions. Notably, Ip6k3 deletion extended animal lifespan with concomitant reduced phosphorylation of S6 ribosomal protein in the heart. In contrast, Ip6k3−/− mice showed unchanged skeletal muscle mass and no resistance to the effects of high fat diet. The current observations suggest novel roles of IP6K3 in cellular regulation, which impact metabolic control and lifespan.
CRTC Potentiates Light-independent timeless Transcription to Sustain Circadian Rhythms in Drosophila
Authors: Kim Minkyung , Lee Hoyeon , Hur Jin-Hoe , Choe Joonho , Lim Chunghun
Published: August 2016

Light is one of the strongest environmental time cues for entraining endogenous circadian rhythms. Emerging evidence indicates that CREB-regulated transcription co-activator 1 (CRTC1) is a key player in this pathway, stimulating light-induced Period1 (Per1) transcription in mammalian clocks. Here, we demonstrate a light-independent role of Drosophila CRTC in sustaining circadian behaviors. Genomic deletion of the crtc locus causes long but poor locomotor rhythms in constant darkness. Overexpression or RNA interference-mediated depletion of CRTC in circadian pacemaker neurons similarly impairs the free-running behavioral rhythms, implying that Drosophila clocks are sensitive to the dosage of CRTC. The crtc null mutation delays the overall phase of circadian gene expression yet it remarkably dampens light-independent oscillations of TIMELESS (TIM) proteins in the clock neurons. In fact, CRTC overexpression enhances CLOCK/CYCLE (CLK/CYC)-activated transcription from tim but not per promoter in clock-less S2 cells whereas CRTC depletion suppresses it. Consistently, TIM overexpression partially but significantly rescues the behavioral rhythms in crtc mutants. Taken together, our data suggest that CRTC is a novel co-activator for the CLK/CYC-activated tim transcription to coordinate molecular rhythms with circadian behaviors over a 24-hour time-scale. We thus propose that CRTC-dependent clock mechanisms have co-evolved with selective clock genes among different species.
Direct 16S rRNA-seq from bacterial communities: a PCR-independent approach to simultaneously assess microbial diversity and functional activity potential of each taxon
Authors: Rosselli Riccardo , Romoli Ottavia , Vitulo Nicola , Vezzi Alessandro , Campanaro Stefano , de Pascale Fabio , Schiavon Riccardo , Tiarca Maurizio , Poletto Fabio , Concheri Giuseppe , Valle Giorgio , Squartini Andrea
Published: August 2016

The analysis of environmental microbial communities has largely relied on a PCR-dependent amplification of genes entailing species identity as 16S rRNA. This approach is susceptible to biases depending on the level of primer matching in different species. Moreover, possible yet-to-discover taxa whose rRNA could differ enough from known ones would not be revealed. DNA-based methods moreover do not provide information on the actual physiological relevance of each taxon within an environment and are affected by the variable number of rRNA operons in different genomes. To overcome these drawbacks we propose an approach of direct sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA without any primer- or PCR-dependent step. The method was tested on a microbial community developing in an anammox bioreactor sampled at different time-points. A conventional PCR-based amplicon pyrosequencing was run in parallel. The community resulting from direct rRNA sequencing was highly consistent with the known biochemical processes operative in the reactor. As direct rRNA-seq is based not only on taxon abundance but also on physiological activity, no comparison between its results and those from PCR-based approaches can be applied. The novel principle is in this respect proposed not as an alternative but rather as a complementary methodology in microbial community studies.
Invasive lionfish reduce native fish abundance on a regional scale
Authors: Ballew Nicholas G. , Bacheler Nathan M. , Kellison G. Todd , Schueller Amy M.
Published: August 2016

Invasive lionfish pose an unprecedented threat to biodiversity and fisheries throughout Atlantic waters off of the southeastern United States, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Here, we employ a spatially replicated Before-After-Control-Impact analysis with temporal pairing to quantify for the first time the impact of the lionfish invasion on native fish abundance across a broad regional scale and over the entire duration of the lionfish invasion (1990–2014). Our results suggest that 1) lionfish-impacted areas off of the southeastern United States are most prevalent off-shore near the continental shelf-break but are also common near-shore and 2) in impacted areas, lionfish have reduced tomtate (a native forage fish) abundance by 45% since the invasion began. Tomtate served as a model native fish species in our analysis and as such, it is likely that the lionfish invasion has had similar impacts on other species, some of which may be of economic importance. Barring the development of a control strategy that reverses the lionfish invasion, the abundance of lionfish in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico will likely remain at or above current levels. Consequently, the effect of lionfish on native fish abundance will likely continue for the foreseeable future.
The long noncoding RNA ASNR regulates degradation of Bcl-2 mRNA through its interaction with AUF1
Authors: Chen Jiahui , Liu Lihui , Wei Guifeng , Wu Wei , Luo Huaxia , Yuan Jiao , Luo Jianjun , Chen Runsheng
Published: August 2016

The identification and characterization of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in diverse biological processes has recently developed rapidly. The large amounts of non-coding RNAs scale consistent with developmental complexity in eukaryotes, indicating that most of these transcripts may have functions in the regulation of biological processes and disorder in the organisms. In particular, Understanding of the overall biological significance of lncRNAs in cancers still remains limited. Here, we found a nuclear-retained lncRNA, termed Lnc_ASNR (apoptosis suppressing-noncoding RNA), which serves as a repressor of apoptosis. Lnc_ASNR was discovered in a set of microarray data derived from four kinds of tumor and adjacent normal tissue samples and displayed significant up-regulation in the tumor tissues. Using an RNA-pull down assay, we found that Lnc_ASNR interacted with the protein ARE/poly (U)-binding/degradation factor 1(AUF1), which is reported to promote rapid degradation of the Bcl-2 mRNA, an inhibitor of apoptosis. Lnc_ASNR binds to AUFI in nucleus, decreasing the cytoplasmic proportion of AUF1 which targets the B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) mRNA. Taken together, the overall effect of Lnc_ASNR expression is thus a decrease in cell apoptosis indicating that Lnc_ASNR may play a vital role in tumorigenesis and carcinogenesis.
Quantitative Analysis of Temperature Dependence of Raman shift of monolayer WS2
Authors: Huang Xiaoting , Gao Yang , Yang Tianqi , Ren Wencai , Cheng Hui-Ming , Lai Tianshu
Published: August 2016

We report the temperature-dependent evolution of Raman spectra of monolayer WS2 directly CVD-grown on a gold foil and then transferred onto quartz substrates over a wide temperature range from 84 to 543 K. The nonlinear temperature dependence of Raman shifts for both "Equation missing" and A1g modes has been observed. The first-order temperature coefficients of Raman shifts are obtained to be −0.0093 (cm−1/K) and −0.0122 (cm−1/K) for "Equation missing" and A1g peaks, respectively. A physical model, including thermal expansion and three- and four-phonon anharmonic effects, is used quantitatively to analyze the observed nonlinear temperature dependence. Thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) of monolayer WS2 is extracted from the experimental data for the first time. It is found that thermal expansion coefficient of out-plane mode is larger than one of in-plane mode and TECs of "Equation missing" and A1g modes are temperature-dependent weakly and strongly, respectively. It is also found that the nonlinear temperature dependence of Raman shift of "Equation missing" mode mainly originates from the anharmonic effect of three-phonon process, whereas one of A1g mode is mainly contributed by thermal expansion effect in high temperature region, revealing that thermal expansion effect cannot be ignored.
Cell types differ in global coordination of splicing and proportion of highly expressed genes
Authors: Trakhtenberg Ephraim F. , Pho Nam , Holton Kristina M. , Chittenden Thomas W. , Goldberg Jeffrey L. , Dong Lingsheng
Published: August 2016

Balance in the transcriptome is regulated by coordinated synthesis and degradation of RNA molecules. Here we investigated whether mammalian cell types intrinsically differ in global coordination of gene splicing and expression levels. We analyzed RNA-seq transcriptome profiles of 8 different purified mouse cell types. We found that different cell types vary in proportion of highly expressed genes and the number of alternatively spliced transcripts expressed per gene and that the cell types that express more variants of alternatively spliced transcripts per gene are those that have higher proportion of highly expressed genes. Cell types segregated into two clusters based on high or low proportion of highly expressed genes. Biological functions involved in negative regulation of gene expression were enriched in the group of cell types with low proportion of highly expressed genes and biological functions involved in regulation of transcription and RNA splicing were enriched in the group of cell types with high proportion of highly expressed genes. Our findings show that cell types differ in proportion of highly expressed genes and the number of alternatively spliced transcripts expressed per gene, which represent distinct properties of the transcriptome and may reflect intrinsic differences in global coordination of synthesis, splicing and degradation of RNA molecules.
Separation and determination of estrogen in the water environment by high performance liquid chromatography-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
Authors: Zheng Bei , Li Wentao , Li Hongyan , Liu Lin , Lei Pei , Ge Xiaopeng , Yu Zhiyong , Zhou Yiqi
Published: August 2016

The components for connecting high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were investigated to determine estrogen in the water environment, including heating for atomization, solvent removal, sample deposition, drive control, spectrum collection, chip swap, cleaning and drying. Results showed that when the atomization temperature was increased to 388 K, the interference of mobile phase components (methanol, H2O, acetonitrile, and NaH2PO4) were completely removed in the IR measurement of estrogen, with 0.999 of similarity between IR spectra obtained after separation and corresponding to the standard IR spectra. In experiments with varying HPLC injection volumes, high similarity for IR spectra was obtained at 20 ul injection volume at 0.01 mg/L BPA while a useful IR spectrum for 10 ng/L BPA was obtained at 80 ul injection volume. In addition, estrogen concentrations in the natural water samples were calculated semi-quantitatively from the peak intensities of IR spectrum in the mid-infrared region.
Metabolite Analysis and Histology on the Exact Same Tissue: Comprehensive Metabolomic Profiling and Metabolic Classification of Prostate Cancer
Authors: Huan Tao , Troyer Dean A. , Li Liang
Published: August 2016

We report a method of metabolomic profiling of intact tissue based on molecular preservation by extraction and fixation (mPREF) and high-performance chemical isotope labeling (CIL) liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). mPREF extracts metabolites by aqueous methanol from tissue biopsies without altering tissue architecture and thus conventional histology can be performed on the same tissue. In a proof-of-principle study, we applied dansylation LC-MS to profile the amine/phenol submetabolome of prostate needle biopsies from 25 patient samples derived from 16 subjects. 2900 metabolites were consistently detected in more than 50% of the samples. This unprecedented coverage allowed us to identify significant metabolites for differentiating tumor and normal tissues. The panel of significant metabolites was refined using 36 additional samples from 18 subjects. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis showed area-under-the-curve (AUC) of 0.896 with sensitivity of 84.6% and specificity of 83.3% using 7 metabolites. A blind study of 24 additional validation samples gave a specificity of 90.9% at the same sensitivity of 84.6%. The mPREF extraction can be readily implemented into the existing clinical workflow. Our method of combining mPREF with CIL LC-MS offers a powerful and convenient means of performing histopathology and discovering or detecting metabolite biomarkers in the same tissue biopsy.
Switch telomerase to ALT mechanism by inducing telomeric DNA damages and dysfunction of ATRX and DAXX
Authors: Hu Yang , Shi Guang , Zhang Laichen , Li Feng , Jiang Yuanling , Jiang Shuai , Ma Wenbin , Zhao Yong , Songyang Zhou , Huang Junjiu
Published: August 2016

Activation of telomerase or alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) is necessary for tumours to escape from dysfunctional telomere-mediated senescence. Anti-telomerase drugs might be effective in suppressing tumour growth in approximately 85–90% of telomerase-positive cancer cells. However, there are still chances for these cells to bypass drug treatment after switching to the ALT mechanism to maintain their telomere integrity. But the mechanism underlying this switch is unknown. In this study, we used telomerase-positive cancer cells (HTC75) to discover the mechanism of the telomerase-ALT switch by inducing telomere-specific DNA damage, alpha-thalassemia X-linked syndrome protein (ATRX) knockdown and deletion of death associated protein (DAXX). Surprisingly, two important ALT hallmarks in the ALT-like HTC75 cells were observed after treatments: ALT-associated promyelocytic leukaemia bodies (APBs) and extrachromosomal circular DNA of telomeric repeats. Moreover, knocking out hTERT by utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9 technique led to telomere elongation in a telomerase-independent manner in ALT-like HTC75 cells. In summary, this is the first report to show that inducing telomeric DNA damage, disrupting the ATRX/DAXX complex and inhibiting telomerase activity in telomerase-positive cancer cells lead to the ALT switch.