bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rewiring of the cellular and inter-cellular landscape of the human colon during ulcerative colitis
Authors: Smillie Christopher S. , Biton Moshe , Ordovas-Montanes Jose , Sullivan Keri M. , Burgin Grace , Graham Daniel B. , Herbst Rebecca H. , Rogel Noga , Slyper Michal , Waldman Julia , Sud Malika , Andrews Elizabeth , Haber Adam L. , Vickovic Sanja , Dionne Danielle , Nguyen Lan T. , Villani Alexandra Chloé , Hofree Matan , Creasey Elizabeth A. , Huang Hailiang , Rozenblatt-Rosen Orit , Garber John J. , Khalili Hamed , Desch A. Nicole , Daly Mark J. , Ananthakrishnan Ashwin N. , Shalek Alex K. , Xavier Ramnik J. , Regev Aviv
Published: October 2018

The paper has been withdrawn owing to erroneous inclusion of confidential information relating to a third party.
Proximity proteomics identifies cancer cell membrane cis-molecular complex as a potential cancer target
Authors: Kotani Norihiro , Yamaguchi Arisa , Ohnishi Tomoko , Kuwahara Ryusuke , Nakano Takanari , Nakano Yuka , Ida Yui , Murakoshi Takayuki , Honke Koichi
Published: October 2018

Cancer-specific antigens expressed in the cell membrane have been used as targets for several molecular targeted strategies in recent years with remarkable success. To develop more effective cancer treatments, novel targets and strategies for targeted therapies are needed. Here, we examined the cancer cell membrane-resident “cis-bimolecular complex” as a possible cancer target (cis-bimolecular cancer target: BiCAT) using proximity proteomics, a technique that has attracted attention in recent years. BiCATs were detected using a previously developed method, termed the enzyme-mediated activation of radical source (EMARS), to label the components proximal to a given cell membrane molecule. EMARS analysis identified some BiCATs, such as close homolog of L1 (CHL1), fibroblast growth factor 3 (FGFR3) and α2 integrin, which are commonly expressed in mouse primary lung cancer cells and human lung squamous cell carcinoma cells. Analysis of cancer specimens from 55 lung cancer patients revealed that approximately half of patients were positive for these BiCATs. In vitro simulation of effective drug combinations used for multiple drug treatment strategy was performed using reagents targeted to BiCAT molecules. The combination treatment based on BiCAT information moderately suppressed cancer cell proliferation compared with single administration, suggesting that the information about BiCATs in cancer cells is profitable for the appropriate selection of the combination among molecular targeted reagents. Thus, BiCAT has the possibility to make a contribution to several molecular targeted strategies in future.
A multi-modal proteomics strategy for characterizing posttranslational modifications of tumor suppressor p53 reveals many sites but few modified forms
Authors: DeHart Caroline J. , Fornelli Luca , Anderson Lissa C. , Fellers Ryan T. , Lu Dan , Hendrickson Christopher L. , Lahav Galit , Gunawardena Jeremy , Kelleher Neil L.
Published: October 2018

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are found on most proteins, particularly on “hub” proteins like the tumor suppressor p53, which has over 100 possible PTM sites. Substantial crosstalk between PTM sites underlies the ability of such proteins to integrate diverse signals and coordinate downstream responses. However, disentangling the combinatorial explosion in global PTM patterns across an entire protein (“modforms”) has been challenging, as conventional peptide-based mass spectrometry strategies (so-called “bottom-up” MS) destroy such global correlations. Alternatively, direct analysis of intact and modified proteins using “top-down” MS retains global information. Here, we applied both strategies to recombinant p53 phosphorylatedin vitrowith Chk1 kinase, which exhibited 41 modified sites by bottom-up MS, but no more than 8 modified sites per molecule detected by top-down MS. This observation that many low-abundance modifications comprise relatively few modforms above a 1% threshold indicates that endogenous p53 PTM complexity may be more definable than previously thought.
Does closing the eyes enhance auditory attention? Eye closure increases attentional alpha-power modulation but not listening performance
Authors: Wöstmann Malte , Schmitt Lea-Maria , Obleser Jonas
Published: October 2018

In challenging listening conditions, closing the eyes is a strategy with intuitive appeal to improve auditory attention and perception. On the neural level, closing the eyes increases the power of alpha oscillations (∼10 Hz), which are a prime signature of auditory attention. Here, we test whether eye closure benefits neural and behavioural signatures of auditory attention and perception. Participants (N = 22) attended to one of two alternating streams of spoken numbers with open or closed eyes in a darkened chamber. After each trial, participants indicated whether probes had been among the to-be-attended or to-be-ignored numbers. In the electroencephalogram, states of relative high versus low alpha power accompanied the presentation of attended versus ignored numbers. Importantly, eye closure did not only increase the overall level of absolute alpha power but also the attentional modulation thereof. Behaviourally, however, neither perceptual sensitivity nor response criterion was affected by eye closure. To further examine whether this behavioural null-result would conceptually replicate in a simple auditory detection task, a follow-up experiment was conducted that required participants (N = 19) to detect a near-threshold target tone in noise. As in the main experiment, our results provide evidence for the absence of any difference in perceptual sensitivity and criterion for open versus closed eyes. In sum, we demonstrate here that the modulation of the human alpha rhythm by auditory attention is increased when participants close their eyes. However, our results speak against the widely held belief that eye closure per se improves listening behaviour.
Addressing multiple sources of uncertainty in the estimation of parrot abundance from roost counts: a case study with the Vinaceous-breasted Parrot (Amazona vinacea)
Authors: Zulian Viviane , Müller Eliara Solange , Cockle Kristina L. , Lesterhuis Arne , Júnior Roberto Tomasi , Prestes Nêmora Pauletti , Martinez Jaime , Ferraz Gonçalo
Published: October 2018

Population size is a key predictor of extinction risk and is critical to listing species in IUCN threat categories. The population size of parrots—one of the most threatened bird families—is often assessed using roost counts, which suffer from multiple sources of uncertainty that need to be addressed in monitoring efforts. To improve estimates of abundance for endangered Vinaceous-breasted Parrot (Amazona vinacea), we compared extensive roost counts over the whole range of the species (Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil) with an intensive regional survey designed to address five sources of uncertainty about parrot abundance in western Santa Catarina state (WSC), Brazil, in 2016 and 2017. We estimated regional-scale abundance using a sampling design that minimizes double counting and an N-mixture model of replicated count data, which accounts for imperfect detection, implemented in a Bayesian framework. The whole-range counts amounted to 3,888 and 4,084 individuals in 2016 and 2017, respectively; regional estimates were 945 ± 50 and 1,393 ± 40 individuals, for the same two years. We found no evidence of population growth because the increase in numbers matched an increase in observation effort on both spatial scales. When extrapolating the WSC abundance estimate to three hypothetical geographical range areas of the species, under the simplifying assumption of homogenous density, we obtained values above the whole-range counts, but within the same order of magnitude, putting the global population size of Vinaceous-breasted Parrot in the thousands of individuals. Although our estimates of abundance and geographic range are larger than those currently reported by the IUCN, we suggest that Vinaceous-breasted Parrot remain in the ‘Endangered’ IUCN threat category pending further investigation of population trends. We recommend that roost-monitoring programs for parrots consider and address sources of uncertainty through field protocols and statistical analysis, to better inform assessments of population size, trends, and threat status.
Piezo1 channel agonist mimics high glucose as a stimulator of insulin release
Authors: Deivasikamani Vijayalakshmi , Dhayalan Savitha , Mughal Romana , Visnagri Asjad , Cuthbertson Kevin , Scragg Jason L , Munsey Tim S , Viswambharan Hema , Foster Richard , Sivaprasadarao Asipu , Kearney Mark T , Beech David J , Sukumar Piruthivi
Published: October 2018

Objective

Glucose and hypotonicity induced cell swelling stimulate insulin release from pancreatic β-cells but the mechanisms are poorly understood. Recently, Piezo1 was identified as a mechanically-activated nonselective Ca2+permeable cationic channel in a range of mammalian cells. As cell swelling induced insulin release could be through stimulation of Ca2+permeable stretch activated channels, we hypothesised a role for Piezo1 in cell swelling induced insulin release.

Methods

Two rat β-cell lines (INS-1 and BRIN-BD11) and freshly-isolated mouse pancreatic islets were studied. Intracellular Ca2+measurements were performed using the fura-2 Ca2+indicator dye. Piezo1 agonist Yoda1, a competitive antagonist of Yoda1 (Dooku1) and an inactive analogue of Yoda1 (2e) were used as chemical probes. Piezo1 mRNA and insulin secretion were measured by RT-PCR and ELISA respectively.

Results

Piezo1 mRNA was detected in both β-cell lines and mouse islets. Yoda1 evoked Ca2+entry which was inhibited by Yoda1 antagonist Dooku1 as well as other Piezo1 inhibitors gadolinium and ruthenium red, and not mimicked by 2e. Yoda1, but not 2e, stimulated Dooku1-sensitive insulin release from β-cells and pancreatic islets. Hypotonicity and high glucose increased intracellular Ca2+and enhanced Yoda1 Ca2+influx responses. Pre-treatment with ruthenium red significantly reduced hypotonicity induced insulin release from β-cells and pancreatic islets.

Conclusion

The data show that Piezo1 channel agonist induces insulin release from β-cell lines and mouse pancreatic islets suggesting a role for Piezo1 in cell swelling induced insulin release. Hence Piezo1 agonists have a potential to be used as enhancers of insulin release.
Time-resolved fluorescence analysis of LHCII in the presence of PsbS at neutral and low pH
Authors: Crisafi Emanuela , Krishnan Maithili , Pandit Anjali
Published: October 2018

In plant chloroplast membranes, non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) is activated as a response to a low
luminal pH and controlled by the pH-sensing protein PsbS. It has been proposed that PsbS directly
interacts with the light-harvesting complexes (LHCII) of Photosystem II, inducing quenching of LHCII
Chl excitations, whilst others proposed that PsbS has an indirect role in controlling the organization of the
membrane. In this study, we systematically test the influence of low pH and PsbS on the fluorescence
lifetimes of membrane-embedded spinach LHCII. The proteoliposome preparations contain LHCII in mild
quenched states, aimed to mimic fluorescence conditions of dark-adapted leaves. We find that under those
conditions, acidification and the presence of PsbS do not have significant effect on the LHCII Chl
fluorescence lifetimes. This supports a view in which the functional role of PsbS consists of re-organizing
the thylakoid membrane under light stress, rather than creating direct quencher states. The dimeric form of
PsbS appears to be destabilized in lipid membranes compared to detergent micelles, which might explain
why the low-pH PsbS crystal structure is dimeric, while in vivo activation of PsbS has been correlated
with its monomerization at low pH.
Genome editing reveals reproductive and developmental dependencies on specific types of vitellogenin in zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Authors: Yilmaz Ozlem , Patinote Amelie , Nguyen Thaovi , Com Emmanuelle , Pineau Charles , Bobe Julien
Published: October 2018

Oviparous vertebrates produce multiple forms of vitellogenin (Vtg), the major source of yolk nutrients, but little is known about their individual contributions to reproduction and development. This study employed a CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to assess essentiality and functionality of zebrafish (Danio rerio) type-I and -III Vtgs. The multiple CRISPR approach employed to knock out (KO) all genes encoding type-Ivtgs(vtg1, 4, 5, 6,and7) simultaneously (vtg1-KO), and the type-IIIvtg(vtg3) individually (vtg3-KO). Results of PCR genotyping and sequencing, qPCR, LC-MS/MS and Western blotting showed that onlyvtg6andvtg7escaped Cas9 editing. In fish whose remaining type-Ivtgswere incapacitated (vtg1-KO), and invtg3-KO fish, significant increases in Vtg7 transcript and protein levels occurred in liver and eggs, a heretofore-unknown mechanism of genetic compensation to regulate Vtg homeostasis. Fecundity was more than doubled invtg1-KO females, and fertility was ~halved invtg3-KO females. Substantial mortality was evident invtg3-KO eggs/embryos after only 8 h of incubation and invtg1-KO embryos after 5 d. Hatching rate and timing were markedly impaired invtgmutant embryos and pericardial and yolk sac/abdominal edema and spinal lordosis were evident in the larvae, with feeding and motor activities also being absent invtg1-KO larvae. By late larval stages,vtgmutations were either completely lethal (vtg1-KO) or nearly so (vtg3-KO). These novel findings offer the first experimental evidence that different types of vertebrate Vtg are essential and have disparate requisite functions at different times during both reproduction and development.
Genetic variation for ontogenetic shifts in metabolism underlies physiological homeostasis inDrosophila
Authors: Matoo Omera B. , Julick Cole R. , Montooth Kristi L.
Published: October 2018

Organismal physiology emerges from metabolic pathways and structures that can vary across development and among individuals. Here we tested whether genetic variation at one level of physiology can be buffered at higher levels during development by the inherent capacity for homeostasis in physiological systems. We found that the fundamental scaling relationship between mass and metabolic rate, as well as the oxidative capacity per mitochondria, differed significantly across development in the fruit flyDrosophila. However, mitochondrial respiration rate was maintained across development at similar levels. Furthermore, genotypes clustered into two types—those that switched to aerobic, mitochondrial ATP production before the second instar and those that relied on anaerobic production of ATP via glycolysis through the second instar. Despite genetic variation for the timing of this metabolic shift, second-instar metabolic rate was more robust to genetic variation than was the metabolic rate of other instars. We also found that a mitochondrial-nuclear genotype with disrupted mitochondrial function both increased aerobic capacity more through development and relied more heavily on anaerobic ATP production relative to wildtype genotypes. By taking advantage of both ways of making ATP, this genotype maintained mitochondrial respiratory capacity, but also generated more free radicals and had decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, potentially as a physiological-defense mechanism. Taken together, the data revealed that genetic defects in core physiology can be buffered at the organismal level via physiological compensation and that natural populations likely harbor genetic variation for distinct metabolic strategies in development that generate similar organismal outcomes.
Committee machine that votes for similarity between materials
Authors: Nguyen Duong-Nguyen , Pham Tien-Lam , Nguyen Viet-Cuong , Ho Tuan-Dung , Tran Truyen , Takahashi Keisuke , Dam Hieu-Chi
Published: October 2018

A method has been developed to measure the similarity between materials, focusing on specific physical properties. The information obtained can be utilized to understand the underlying mechanisms and support the prediction of the physical properties of materials. The method consists of three steps: variable evaluation based on nonlinear regression, regression-based clustering, and similarity measurement with a committee machine constructed from the clustering results. Three data sets of well characterized crystalline materials represented by critical atomic predicting variables are used as test beds. Herein, the focus is on the formation energy, lattice parameter and Curie temperature of the examined materials. Based on the information obtained on the similarities between the materials, a hierarchical clustering technique is applied to learn the cluster structures of the materials that facilitate interpretation of the mechanism, and an improvement in the regression models is introduced to predict the physical properties of the materials. The experiments show that rational and meaningful group structures can be obtained and that the prediction accuracy of the materials' physical properties can be significantly increased, confirming the rationality of the proposed similarity measure.
Status of the neutron time-of-flight single-crystal diffraction data-processing software STARGazer
Authors: Yano Naomine , Yamada Taro , Hosoya Takaaki , Ohhara Takashi , Tanaka Ichiro , Niimura Nobuo , Kusaka Katsuhiro
Published: October 2018

The STARGazer data-processing software is used for neutron time-of-flight (TOF) single-crystal diffraction data collected using the IBARAKI Biological Crystal Diffractometer (iBIX) at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). This software creates hkl intensity data from three-dimensional (x, y, TOF) diffraction data. STARGazer is composed of a data-processing component and a data-visualization component. The former is used to calculate the hkl intensity data. The latter displays the three-dimensional diffraction data with searched or predicted peak positions and is used to determine and confirm integration regions. STARGazer has been developed to make it easier to use and to obtain more accurate intensity data. For example, a profile-fitting method for peak integration was developed and the data statistics were improved. STARGazer and its manual, containing installation and data-processing components, have been prepared and provided to iBIX users. This article describes the status of the STARGazer data-processing software and its data-processing algorithms.
Improving the accuracy and resolution of neutron crystallographic data by three-dimensional profile fitting of Bragg peaks in reciprocal space
Authors: Sullivan Brendan , Archibald Rick , Langan Patricia S. , Dobbek Holger , Bommer Martin , McFeeters Robert L. , Coates Leighton , Wang Xiaoping , Gallmeier Franz , Carpenter John M. , Lynch Vickie , Langan Paul
Published: October 2018

Neutron crystallography is a powerful technique for directly visualizing the locations of H atoms in biological macromolecules. This information has provided key new insights into enzyme mechanisms, ligand binding and hydration. However, despite the importance of this information, the application of neutron crystallography in biology has been limited by the relatively low flux of available neutron beams and the large incoherent neutron scattering from hydrogen, both of which contribute to weak diffraction data with relatively low signal-to-background ratios. A method has been developed to fit weak data based on three-dimensional profile fitting of Bragg peaks in reciprocal space by an Ikeda–Carpenter function with a bivariate Gaussian. When applied to data collected from three different proteins, three-dimensional profile fitting yields intensities with higher correlation coefficients (CC1/2) at high resolutions, decreased R
free factors, extended resolutions and improved nuclear density maps. Importantly, additional features are revealed in nuclear density maps that may provide additional scientific information. These results suggest that three-dimensional profile fitting will help to extend the capabilities of neutron macromolecular crystallography.
Crystal structure of an Lrs14-like archaeal biofilm regulator fromSulfolobus acidocaldarius
Authors: Vogt Marian S. , Völpel Simon L. , Albers Sonja-Verena , Essen Lars-Oliver , Banerjee Ankan
Published: October 2018

The small winged helix–turn–helix (wHTH) proteins of the Lrs14 family are major transcriptional regulators and act as archaeal biofilm regulators (AbfRs) in the crenarchaeoteSulfolobus acidocaldarius. Here, the first crystal structure of an AbfR ortholog, AbfR2, the deletion of which is known to impair biofilm formation, is presented. Like most other wHTH orthologs, AbfR2 is dimeric in solution as well as in its 2.45 Å resolution crystal structure. Given the presence of three independent AbfR2 dimers in the asymmetric unit, the crystal structure shows a considerable degree of conformational variation within the dimer, the antiparallel orientations of which are stabilized by coiled-coil interaction between H4 helices. Conserved anchor interactions between helices H0 and H4 of AbfR2 further contribute to dimer stabilization. The combined structural and bioinformatic analysis reveals cluster-specific structural differences between different members of the Lrs14 protein family.
Awareness, knowledge and attitude of lecturers towards institutional repositories in university libraries in Nigeria
Authors: Okoroma Francisca Nwakaego
Published: October 2018

Purpose

Content recruitment is a very crucial aspect of institutional repository (IR), and yet, a major challenge in the implementation of an IR system. Literature highlighted the numerous issues associated with IR implementation in the Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, and the necessity to review and tackle the divergent challenges of institutional repositories. This study aims to address the issues of awareness, knowledge and attitude of lecturers towards institutional repositories in university libraries in Nigeria.

Design/methodology

The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. A multistage sampling procedure was used to sample 751 lecturers of the universities in Nigeria and eight heads of the digitization section of the libraries. Data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Findings

The findings revealed that majority of the lecturers in Nigeria are either unfamiliar with the term IR or have very little level of knowledge on the aims and objectives of IR, and therefore have low disposition to submitting their work. The study identified various options to resolve the problem of awareness, knowledge and pessimistic attitude of lecturers towards IRs, including massive awareness and enlightenment programmes on the subject of IR and on copyright issues within the university communities in Nigeria.

Originality

The study will enhance the awareness and advocacy of IR in Nigeria. The awareness and knowledge of IR will bring about positive attitudinal change of lecturers towards investing into IRs.
Effects of China’s environmental policy on carbon emission efficiency
Authors: Pan Xiongfeng , Pan Xianyou , Li Changyu , Song Jinbo , Zhang Jing
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of environmental policyChina’s national program to address climate changeon carbon emission efficiency.

Design

Based on the directional distance function, the provincial total factor carbon emission efficiency was measured. Then, the authors analyzed the effect of environmental policy on carbon emission efficiency based on a difference in difference model.

Finding

Carbon emission efficiency has been significantly improved since the environmental policyChina’s national program to address climate changewas put forwarded, but the positive impact in different periods and regions is different. In addition, the environmental policy improves the carbon emission efficiency through the reduction of energy intensity and adjustment of the industrial structure.

Originality/value

This is the first time to use difference in difference model to use a difference in difference model to quantitatively assess the influence of environmental policyChina’s national program to address climate changeon carbon emission efficiency.
The impact of business networks on foreign subsidiaries development
Authors: Baraldi Enrico , Ciabuschi Francesco , Lindahl Olof , Perna Andrea , Gregori Gian Luca
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore two specific areas pertaining to industrial networks and international business (IB). First, the authors look at how business relationships influence the internationalization in time, from the establishment of the first subsidiary in a foreign market to the following ones, and in space, that is, across different markets. Second, the authors investigate how an increasing external network dependence of subsidiaries in their internationalization may cause a detachment of a subsidiary from the mother company as its knowledge becomes insufficient to guide a subsidiary’s internationalization.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper utilizes an exploratory, longitudinal, single-case study of Loccioni – a manufacturer of measuring and automatic control systems for industrial customers – to illustrate the specific dynamics of the influences of industrial networks on the internationalization of subsidiaries.

Findings

The case study helps to elucidate the roles, entailing also free will and own initiative, of small suppliers’ subsidiaries which operate inside several global factories, and how “surfing” on many different global factories, by means of several local subsidiaries, actually supports these suppliers’ own international developments. This notion adds to our understanding of the global factory phenomenon a supplier focus that stresses how the role of suppliers is not merely that of being passive recipients of activities and directions from a focal orchestrating firm, but can also be that of initiative-takers themselves.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the IMP tradition by providing a multi-layered and geographically more fine-grained view of the network embedding companies that operate on internationalized markets. This paper thereby sheds light on a less investigated area of research within the IMP tradition: the link between internationalization in different countries and the interconnectedness between the industrial networks spanning these countries. At the same time, this paper contributes to IB theories by showing how a late-internationalizing SME can enter highly international markets by “plugging into” several established “Global Factories” as a way to exploit further opportunities for international expansion.
Do sales people trust new customers because of who they are?
Authors: Gaczek Piotr , Leszczynski Grzegorz , Zielinski Marek
Published: October 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the interplay between the characteristics of trustee and trustor in trust formation at the initial stage of a relationship in the B2B context.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was experimental. A situation was simulated in which sales managers choose prospective customers on whom his or her company should concentrate after entering the new market. A total of 108 managers participated in the study.

Findings

The results indicate that during the pre-relationship stage salespeople declared trust toward a prospective customer despite having no previous interactions with the other party. Salespeople start the trust-development process by gathering clues about the trustworthiness of the potential partner organization. The cognitive information provided to salespeople impacts interpersonal trust to a greater extent than effective communication. This influence is moderated by trustor trust propensity. There is no difference in the type of information about a trustor when it comes to organizational reliance.

Originality/value

This paper provides a new insight into research on trust in interorganizational relationships as the authors adopted the perspective of the supplier who is most frequently perceived as a trustee, rather than a trustor. It directs attention to the pre-relationship stage, which precedes the interaction that may lead to a relationship developing but also links the object of trust (trustee) with the subject of trust (trustor) and integrates two separate approaches to the ascendance of trust with its multi-dimensional and multi-level nature. Moreover, an experimental design that is rare in research on business relationships was implemented.
The four executive challenges of project-based strategy
Authors: Lund Pedersen Carsten , Ritter Thomas
Published: October 2018

Purpose

As a great deal of strategy execution takes the form of strategic projects, how you align these projects ultimately determines the success or failure of your strategy. Here, we discuss four executive challenges executives need to tackle to successfully manage a strategy in a project-based world.

Design/methodology/approach

Conceptual approach entailing illustrative case-examples

Findings

We find four executive challenges to tackle in order to successfully manage a strategy in a project-based world.

Research limitations/implications

As the study draws upon conceptual arguments, future studies need to assess the verisimilitude and boundary conditions of the challenges.

Practical implications

By thinking of a strategy through a project-based lens, and understanding the challenges thereof, executives should be better able to bridge strategy formulation and execution.

Social implications

A project-based approach to strategy is not necessarily limited to a for-profit sector; NGOs and governmental organizations may similarly learn from and draw upon a project-based approach to strategy.

Originality/value

As little research within strategy has explicitly conveyed a project-based lens, the study emphasizes a novel approach to strategy.
Boreal tree growth exhibits decadal‐scale ecological memory to drought and insect defoliation, but no negative response to their interaction
Authors: Itter Malcolm S. , D'Orangeville Loïc , Dawson Andria , Kneeshaw Daniel , Duchesne Louis , Finley Andrew O.
Published: October 2018

Interactions between drought and insect defoliation may dramatically alter forest function under novel climate and disturbance regimes, but remain poorly understood. We empirically tested two important hypotheses regarding tree responses to drought and insect defoliation: (a) trees exhibit delayed, persistent, and cumulative growth responses to these stressors; (b) physiological feedbacks in tree responses to these stressors exacerbate their impacts on tree growth. These hypotheses remain largely untested at a landscape scale, yet are critical for predicting forest function under novel future conditions, given the connection between tree growth and demographic processes such as mortality and regeneration.

We developed a Bayesian hierarchical model to quantify the ecological memory of tree growth to past water deficits and insect defoliation events, derive antecedent variables reflecting the persistent and cumulative effects of these stressors on current growth, and test for their interactive effects. The model was applied to extensive tree growth, weather, and defoliation survey data from western and eastern regions of the Canadian boreal forest impacted by recent drought and defoliation events and characterized by contrasting tree compositions, climates, and insect defoliators.

Results revealed persistent negative tree growth responses to past water (all trees) and defoliation (host trees) stress lasting 3–6 and 10–12 years, respectively, depending on study region. Accounting for the ecological memory of tree growth to water and defoliation stress allowed for detection of interactions not previously demonstrated. Contrary to expectations, we found evidence for positive interactions among non‐host trees likely due to reduced water stress following defoliation events. Regional differences in ecological memory to water stress highlight the role of climate in shaping forest responses to drought.

Synthesis. Study results suggest negative feedbacks in tree responses to drought and insect attack may be weaker than predicted for defoliator‐dominated boreal forest systems. Instead, insect defoliation may offset the impacts of water deficit on boreal tree growth by reducing transpirational water demand. This offset mimics increased resistance to drought following forest thinning and may lessen growth and mortality losses due to increased aridity and more severe insect damage forecast for the boreal forest under global change.
The role of galectin‐3 in heart failure and cardiovascular disease
Authors: Zhong Xiao , Qian Xiaoqian , Chen Guangping , Song Xiang
Published: October 2018

Galectin‐3, a β‐galactoside‐binding lectin, is a new important player in the progression of heart failure (HF) and is also linked to poor outcome in patients with cardiovascular disease. Genetic or pharmacological inhibition of galectin‐3 slows down the progression of myocardial inflammation, reduces collagen production, attenuates cardiac remodelling, and ameliorates cardiac function. In this review, we summarize recent progress in research on galectin‐3 as a regulatory molecule involved in cardiovascular fibrosis in HF and its potential role in the diagnosis, risk assessment and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
Microbial trimethylamine metabolism in marine environments
Authors: Sun Jing , Mausz Michaela A. , Chen Yin , Giovannoni Stephen J.
Published: October 2018

Trimethylamine (TMA) is common in marine environments. Although the presence of this compound in the oceans has been known for a long time, unlike the mammalian gastrointestinal tract, where TMA metabolism by microorganisms has been studied intensely, many questions remain unanswered about the microbial metabolism of marine TMA. This minireview summarizes what is currently known about the sources and fate of TMA in marine environments and the different pathways and enzymes involved in TMA metabolism in marine bacteria. This review also raises several questions about microbial TMA metabolism in the marine environments and proposes potential directions for future studies.
The incidence of atrial fibrillation with trastuzumab treatment: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Yuan Ming , Tse Gary , Zhang Zhiwei , Han Xu , Wu William K. K. , Li Guangping , Xia Yunlong , Liu Tong
Published: October 2018

Aim

Cases of cardiotoxicity related to trastuzumab have been reported. This systematic review and meta‐analysis evaluated the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients of breast cancer treated with trastuzumab.

Methods

PubMed and EMBASE were searched until September 2017 for articles that investigated AF incidence in patients receiving trastuzumab for breast cancer.

Results

A total of 15 studies involving 8124 patients treated with trastuzumab were included. Of the total cohort, 37 patients suffered from AF, giving rise to an incidence of 1.22% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.56%‐2.68%). No significant difference in the incidence of AF was found between ado‐trastuzumab emtansine (0.95%, 95% CI: 0.36%‐2.52%) and trastuzumab groups (1.32%, 95% CI: 0.52%‐3.34%), trastuzumab combined with other antineoplastic agents (2.09%, 95% CI: 1.16%‐3.73%) and trastuzumab alone (0.36%, 95% CI: 0.04%‐3.08%), prior exposure to anthracyclines (1.72%, 95% CI: 0.75%‐3.88%) and no prior exposure (1.03%, 95% CI: 0.30%‐3.51%), and radiotherapy (1.26%, 95% CI: 0.68%‐2.33%) vs. no radiotherapy (1.21%, 95% CI: 0.35%‐4.14%).

Conclusions

Atrial fibrillation incidence in breast cancer patients receiving trastuzumab was around 1.2%. It was not influenced by the formulation of trastuzumab, the additional use of neoplastic agents, anthracycline exposure status, or concurrent radiotherapy.
CityNet—Deep learning tools for urban ecoacoustic assessment
Authors: Fairbrass Alison J. , Firman Michael , Williams Carol , Brostow Gabriel J. , Titheridge Helena , Jones Kate E.
Published: October 2018

Cities support unique and valuable ecological communities, but understanding urban wildlife is limited due to the difficulties of assessing biodiversity. Ecoacoustic surveying is a useful way of assessing habitats, where biotic sound measured from audio recordings is used as a proxy for population abundance and/or activity. However, existing algorithms systematically over and underestimate measures of biotic activity in the presence of typical urban non‐biotic sounds in recordings.

We develop CityNet, a deep learning system using convolutional neural networks (CNNs), to measure audible biotic (CityBioNet) and anthropogenic (CityAnthroNet) acoustic activity in cities. The CNNs were trained on a large dataset of annotated audio recordings collected across Greater London, UK. Using a held‐out test dataset, we compare the precision and recall of CityBioNet and CityAnthroNet separately to the best available alternative algorithms: four Acoustic Indices: Acoustic Complexity Index, Acoustic Diversity Index, Bioacoustic Index, and Normalised Difference Soundscape Index, and a state‐of‐the‐art bird call detection CNN (bulbul). We also compare the effect of non‐biotic sounds on the predictions of CityBioNet and bulbul. Finally we apply CityNet to describe acoustic patterns of the urban soundscape in two sites along an urbanisation gradient.

CityBioNet was the best performing algorithm for measuring biotic activity in terms of precision and recall, followed by bulbul, whereas the Acoustic Indices performed worst. CityAnthroNet outperformed the Normalised Difference Soundscape Index, but by a smaller margin than CityBioNet achieved against the competing algorithms. The CityBioNet predictions were impacted by mechanical sounds, whereas air traffic and wind sounds influenced the bulbul predictions. Across an urbanisation gradient, we show that CityNet produced realistic daily patterns of biotic and anthropogenic acoustic activity from real‐world urban audio data.

Using CityNet, it is possible to automatically measure biotic and anthropogenic acoustic activity in cities from audio recordings. If embedded within an autonomous sensing system, CityNet could produce environmental data for cites at large‐scales and facilitate investigation of the impacts of anthropogenic activities on wildlife. The algorithms, code and pretrained models are made freely available in combination with two expert‐annotated urban audio datasets to facilitate automated environmental surveillance in cities.
A dual‐process exploration of binge drinking: Evidence through behavioral and electrophysiological findings
Authors: Lannoy Séverine , Dormal Valérie , Billieux Joël , Brion Mélanie , D'Hondt Fabien , Maurage Pierre
Published: October 2018

The dual‐process model, describing addictive disorders as resulting from an imbalance between increased automatic approach behaviors towards the substance and reduced abilities to control these behaviors, constitutes a sound theoretical framework to understand alcohol‐use disorders. The present study aimed at exploring this imbalance at behavioral and cerebral levels in binge drinking, a pattern of excessive alcohol consumption frequently observed in youth, by assessing both reflective control abilities and automatic processing of alcohol‐related stimuli. For this purpose, 25 binge drinkers and 25 comparison participants performed a Go/No‐Go task during electrophysiological recording. Inhibition abilities were investigated during explicit (ie, distinguishing alcoholic versus nonalcoholic drinks) and implicit (ie, distinguishing sparkling versus nonsparkling drinks, independently of their alcohol content) processing of beverage cues. Binge drinkers presented poorer inhibition for the explicit processing of beverage cues, as well as reduced N200 amplitude for the specific processing of alcohol‐related stimuli. As a whole, these findings indicated inhibition impairments in binge drinkers, particularly for alcohol cues processing and at the attentional stage of the cognitive stream. In line with the dual‐process model, these results support that binge drinking is already characterized by an underactivation of the reflective system combined with an overactivation of the automatic system. Results also underlined the influence of explicit processing compared with implicit ones. At the clinical level, our findings reinforce the need to develop intervention methods focusing on the inhibition of approach behaviors towards alcohol‐related stimuli.
“The Inevitable Products of Racial Segregation”: Multigenerational Consequences of Exclusionary Housing Policies on African Americans, 1910–1960
Authors: Woods Louis Lee
Published: October 2018

From 1910 to 1960, whites fought viciously and persistently to prevent African Americans from living in decent housing in racially integrated neighborhoods. In 1910, Baltimore was the first city to adopt an ordinance banning African Americans from white neighborhoods. In part, this law was justified as a means to restrain the violent behavior of white citizens who might otherwise act as vigilantes against their black neighbors. Other cities followed suit. These racial zones were declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, for 31 years this Court sanctioned the adoption of private restrictive covenants that were effective at blocking African Americans from buying or renting a house in a white neighborhood. In the 1930s, the insertion of racially restrictive covenants became both a protective mechanism and a prerequisite for federal mortgage lending, insurance, and guarantees by a variety of national housing agencies. In effect, the federal government enforced racial segregation even though local governments were not allowed to. The net effect of three decades of federal housing programs was to drive an economic wedge between federally subsidized housing for whites and federally enforced denial of housing loans in African American neighborhoods. Those policies made whites wealthy at the expense of African Americans, a condition that still persists and will continue to do so in the absence of federal intervention to reverse the wealth gap it helped to create.
Land Gains, Land Losses: The Odyssey of African Americans Since Reconstruction
Authors: Hinson Waymon R.
Published: October 2018

The history of African American land acquisition and dispossession is a long and torturous story from the shores of Africa, through the Middle Passage, to enslavement in America in both urban and rural settings, and into the complexities of freedom under Reconstruction and Jim Crow. Prior to enslavement, Africans lived in agricultural settings. Despite the horrors of slavery, their cultural attachment to the land in their homelands would prove beneficial after emancipation. Developing an agrarian spirit and accumulating land at a rate beyond that of whites in the first few decades of freedom, despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, black land ownership peaked in the early 1900s. Thereafter, African Americans began to lose their land faster than whites. This article explores the larger context of the South, the creativity African Americans showed in resistance and in declaring themselves human, the movement toward land ownership, and the ways and means by which African Americans lost their land. Narrative and data reveal the complexities and the lived experience of African Americans.
Race and Location: The Role Neighborhoods Play in Family Wealth and Well‐Being
Authors: Thomas Hannah , Mann Alexis , Meschede Tatjana
Published: October 2018

A household’s wealth provides an important form of economic security for a family, as well as enabling parents to invest in children to help them realize their aspirations. Yet in the United States, wealth inequality between white families and families of color who are earning the same incomes has reached startling levels. The racial wealth gap, which reduces the opportunities available to African American families, has proved to be a pernicious and enduring phenomenon since it was first identified in 1990. This article identifies and explores the role of neighborhoods in creating and perpetuating the ongoing racial wealth gap. Wealth available to a family influences the neighborhood a family is able to afford to live in: through wealth available to purchase a home or wealth available to put down a deposit on an apartment. This article makes the case that the neighborhood a family lives in not only influences social outcomes, but also influences how much wealth a family can build over the years, either as a homeowner or a renter. It also discusses the key wealth mechanisms that influence neighborhood access as well as how a household’s neighborhood location influences wealth accumulation. Historical government policies created an inequitable landscape of neighborhoods across the United States. Government policies must seek to address this historical injustice.
The History of Residential Segregation in the United States, Title VIII, and the Homeownership Remedy
Authors: McGrew Teron
Published: October 2018

Residential segregation was practiced by federal, state, and local governments as an instrument of racial domination in the United States throughout much of the 20th century. Systematic racial discrimination in housing was unconstitutionally developed and implemented by state and federal agencies. Laws, regulations, and private practices in the real estate industry were used to promote legally enforced residential segregation in the United States. Zoning, redlining, and blockbusting created the division of our urban landscape along the color line: black and white. Residential segregation has had debilitating impacts on African Americans in cities in terms of lost opportunities for economic prosperity and the denial of homeownership and the wealth‐building potential that comes from it. Oakland, California is at the center of this research, where urban renewal and an interstate highway destroyed whole neighborhoods in West Oakland. The Acorn Housing Project was built in the aftermath of the urban renewal program. Title VIII of the Fair Housing Act remains the most promising basis for developing strategies for African Americans to fully engage in American’s legacy of wealth building through homeownership—the American Dream. Historically, that dream was designed only for white America. The task now is to realize it for everyone.
On the Perils of Race Neutrality and Anti‐Blackness: Philosophy as an Irreconcilable Obstacle to (Black) Thought
Authors: Curry Tommy J. , Curry Gwenetta
Published: October 2018

Race‐neutral philosophies often depend on the illusion of a universal humanist orientation. This philosophical position, while common, often misses what is concretely at stake in the diagnosis and analyses of anti‐Black racism in the United States. This article argues that racism is part of a deliberate strategy of academic philosophy to keep the discipline white. When one considers the demographic underrepresentation of Blacks compared to other groups in the academy, the use of universal pretenses to negate the experiences of racial minorities, and the sociological realities of race and racism in America, academic philosophy emerges as one of many ideological stratagems used to deny the realities of death and dying in our society. The authors argue that race neutrality and colorblindness cloak the societal consequences and disciplinary practices that allow segregation, violence, and anti‐Black death to continue unabated.