bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Regulation of clathrin-mediated endocytosis by hierarchical allosteric activation of AP2
Authors: Kadlecova Zuzana , Spielman Stephanie J. , Loerke Dinah , Mohanakrishnan Aparna , Reed Dana Kim , Schmid Sandra L.
Published: January 2017

The critical initiation phase of clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) determines where and when endocytosis occurs. Heterotetrameric adaptor protein 2 (AP2) complexes, which initiate clathrin-coated pit (CCP) assembly, are activated by conformational changes in response to phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) and cargo binding at multiple sites. However, the functional hierarchy of interactions and how these conformational changes relate to distinct steps in CCP formation in living cells remains unknown. We used quantitative live-cell analyses to measure discrete early stages of CME and show how sequential, allosterically regulated conformational changes activate AP2 to drive both nucleation and subsequent stabilization of nascent CCPs. Our data establish that cargoes containing Yxxφ motif, but not dileucine motif, play a critical role in the earliest stages of AP2 activation and CCP nucleation. Interestingly, these cargo and PIP2 interactions are not conserved in yeast. Thus, we speculate that AP2 has evolved as a key regulatory node to coordinate CCP formation and cargo sorting and ensure high spatial and temporal regulation of CME.
To use or not to use the force: How B lymphocytes extract surface-tethered antigens
Authors: Pierobon Paolo , Lennon-Duménil Ana-Maria
Published: January 2017

Using an exquisite cell imaging approach based on DNA nanosensors, Spillane and Tolar (2016. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201607064) explore how the physical properties of antigen-presenting cell surfaces affect how B cells internalize surface-tethered antigens. Soft and flexible surfaces promote mechanical force-mediated antigen extraction, whereas stiff surfaces lead to enzyme-mediated antigen release before subsequent internalization.
Interrogating cellular perception and decision making with optogenetic tools
Authors: Bugaj Lukasz J. , O’Donoghue Geoff P. , Lim Wendell A.
Published: January 2017

Optogenetics promises to deepen our understanding of how cells perceive and respond to complex and dynamic signals and how this perception regulates normal and abnormal function. In this study, we present our vision for how these nascent tools may transform our view of fundamental cell biological processes.
Rejuvenation of mucosal immunosenescence by adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells
Authors: Tsuruhara Akitoshi , Aso Kazuyoshi , Tokuhara Daisuke , Ohori Junichiro , Kawabata Masaki , Kurono Yuichi , McGhee Jerry R , Fujihashi Kohtaro
Published: January 2017

Age-associated alterations in the mucosal immune system are generally termed mucosal immunosenescence. The major change seen in the aged mucosa is a failure to elicit an antigen-specific secretory IgA (SIgA) antibody response, which is a central player for host defense from various pathogens at mucosal surfaces. In this regard, it would be a first priority to compensate for mucosal dysregulation in the elderly in order to maintain their health in aging. We have successfully established antigen-specific SIgA antibody responses in aged (2 years old) mice, which provide protective immunity from Streptococcus pneumoniae and influenza virus infections, by using a new adjuvant system consisting of a plasmid encoding Flt3 ligand (pFL) and CpG ODN. In order to explore possible use of current mucosal vaccine strategies for the elderly, we have adoptively transferred adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AMSCs) to aged mice prior to mucosal vaccination. This immune therapy successfully resulted in protective antigen-specific antibody responses in the intestinal mucosa of aged mice that were comparable to those seen in young adult mice. In this regard, we postulate that adoptively transferred AMSCs could augment dendritic cell functions in aged mice. The potential cellular and molecular mechanisms whereby AMSCs restore mucosal immunity in immunosenescence are discussed in this short review. A stem cell transfer system could be an attractive and effective immunologic intervention strategy to reverse mucosal immunosenescence.
How does Mg2+modulate the RNA folding mechanism — a case study of G:C W:W Trans base pair
Authors: Halder Antarip , Roy Rohit , Bhattacharyya Dhananjay , Mitra Abhijit
Published: January 2017

Reverse Watson-Crick G:C base pairs (G:C W:W Trans) occur frequently in different functional RNAs. It is one of the few base pairs whose gas phase optimized isolated geometry is inconsistent with the corresponding experimental geometry. Several earlier studies indicate that accumulation of positive charge near N7 of guanine, through posttranscriptional modification, direct protonation or coordination with Mg2+, can stabilize the experimental geometry. Interestingly, recent studies reveal significant variation in the position of putatively bound Mg2+. This, in conjunction with recently raised doubts regarding some of the Mg2+assignments near the imino nitrogen of guanine, is suggestive of the existence of multiple Mg2+binding modes for this base pair. Our detailed investigation of Mg2+bound G:C W:W Trans pairs, occurring in high resolution RNA crystal structures, show that they occur in 14 different contexts, 8 out of which display Mg2+binding at the Hoogsteen edge of guanine. Further examination of occurrences in these 8 contexts led to the characterization of three different Mg2+binding modes, (i) direct binding via N7 coordination, (ii) direct binding via O6 coordination and (iii) binding via hydrogen bonding interaction with the first shell water molecules. In the crystal structures, the latter two modes are associated with a buckled and propeller twisted geometry of the base pair. Interestingly, respective optimized geometries of these different Mg2+binding modes (optimized at B3LYP) are consistent with their corresponding experimental geometries. Subsequent interaction energy calculations at MP2 level, and decomposition of its components, suggest that for G:C W:W Trans, Mg2+binding can fine tune the base pair geometries without compromising with their stability. Our results, therefore, underline the importance of the mode of binding of Mg2+ions in shaping RNA structure, folding and function.
Tracking Real-Time Changes in Working Memory Updating and Gating with the Event-Based Eye-Blink Rate
Authors: Rac-Lubashevsky Rachel , Slagter Heleen A. , Kessler Yoav
Published: January 2017

Effective working memory (WM) functioning depends on the gating process that regulates the balance between maintenance and updating of WM. The present study used the event-based eye-blink rate (ebEBR), which presumably reflects phasic striatal dopamine activity, to examine how the cognitive processes of gating and updating separately facilitate flexible updating of WM contents and the potential involvement of dopamine in these processes. Realtime changes in eye blinks were tracked during performance on the reference-back task, in which demands on these two processes were independently manipulated. In all three experiments, trials that required WM updating and trials that required gate switching were both associated with increased ebEBR. These results may support theprefrontal cortex basal ganglia WM model(PBWM) by linking updating and gating to striatal dopaminergic activity. In Experiment 3, the ebEBR was used to determine what triggers gate switching. We found that switching to an updating mode (gate opening) was more stimulus driven and retroactive than switching to a maintenance mode, which was more context driven. Together, these findings show that the ebEBR – an inexpensive, non-invasive, easy-to-use measure – can be used to track changes in WM demands during task performance and, hence, possibly striatal dopamine activity.
Frequent recombination of pneumococcal capsule highlights future risks of emergence of novel serotypes
Authors: Mostowy Rafał J. , Croucher Nicholas J. , De Maio Nicola , Chewapreecha Claire , Salter Susannah J. , Turner Paul , Aanensen David M. , Bentley Stephen D. , Didelot Xavier , Fraser Christophe
Published: January 2017

Capsular diversity ofStreptococcus pneumoniaeconstitutes a major obstacle in eliminating the pneumococcal disease. Such diversity is genetically encoded by almost 100 variants of the capsule polysaccharide locus (cps). However, the evolutionary dynamics of the capsule – the target of the currently used vaccines – remains not fully understood. Here, using genetic data from 4,469 bacterial isolates, we foundcpsto be an evolutionary hotspot with elevated substitution and recombination rates. These rates were a consequence of altered selection at this locus, supporting the hypothesis that the capsule has an increased potential to generate novel diversity compared to the rest of the genome. Analysis of twelve serogroups revealed their complex evolutionary history, which was principally driven by recombination with other serogroups and other streptococci. We observed significant variation in recombination rates between different serogroups. This variation could only be partially explained by the lineage-specific recombination rate, the remaining factors being likely driven by serogroup-specific ecology and epidemiology. Finally, we discovered two previously unobserved mosaic serotypes in the densely sampled collection from Mae La, Thailand, here termed 10X and 21X. Our results thus emphasise the strong adaptive potential of the bacterium by its ability to generate novel serotypes by recombination.
Collection development in UK university libraries
Authors: Hunt Stuart
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight collection development activity in UK higher education libraries and to place it within both a conceptual and strategic context.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a theoretical approach to collection development and content strategy derived from literary theory to contextualise debates. It uses current examples from collection management within UK academic libraries.

Findings

This paper suggests that collection development is not exclusively a library practitioner activity but needs to be considered within a wider context that takes account of multiple strands of collection selection and management. Collection development cannot be considered in isolation but alongside collection management and in relation to content strategy.

Research limitations/implications

This paper includes consideration of the topic of collection development that is influenced by other disciplines, notably literary theory. This suggests that research in library science should include input from other disciplines.

Practical implications

This paper includes implications for content development within academic libraries that suggest that a re-focus at the strategic level of content is required.

Originality/value

This paper introduces a conceptual register to collection development outside of traditional library science models and posits a move to strategy.
The perceived importance of core soft skills between retailing and tourism management students, faculty and businesses
Authors: Wesley Scarlett C. , Jackson Vanessa Prier , Lee Minyoung
Published: January 2017

Purpose

Soft skills which are a combination of personal qualities and interpersonal skills that help an employer perform their job are an increasingly important concern to businesses and academia, the purpose of this paper is to determine how students ranked the importance of soft skills and compare their rankings to retailing and tourism management faculty and businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional survey of students, faculty and industry leaders was conducted using an existing survey instrument validated by Crawford et al. (2011). Faculty who were members of retailing and tourism management professional organizations were solicited to participate in the study. Retailing and tourism management students from the researchers’ university were sent a link to complete the survey. All participants were asked to rank the order of importance of the soft skills and their characteristics.

Findings

Variations in the importance of soft skills were reported between the three groups. Variations in the importance of the soft skills characteristics were also identified between the students, faculty, and industry leaders. While communication was identified as the most important soft skill by all three sample groups, experiences was the least important for students and leadership was the least important for faculty and industry leaders.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of the study was the variation in the sample sizes between the student, faculty, and industry sample. The strength of this study lies in the ability to provide evidence for the need to compare soft skills research results for retailing and tourism management students. Soft skills are found to be important to all three groups, but differences indicate faculty and industry need to work together to clarify exactly what soft skills students need to successfully compete for employment in the retailing and tourism management field.

Originality/value

As the work world continues to change, employers seek workers who have soft skills that support their knowledge base. While technical skills are a current part of educational curricula, soft skills need to be emphasized at the university level so that students gain expertise that prepare them to be successful in this changing workplace.
Understanding, differentiating, and measuring opportunity recognition and opportunity exploitation
Authors: Kuckertz Andreas , Kollmann Tobias , Krell Patrick , Stöckmann Christoph
Published: January 2017

Purpose

Opportunity recognition and opportunity exploitation are two central concepts in the entrepreneurial process. However, there is a lack of both a clear specification of the content domains of the constructs and valid and reliable multi-item scales for their measurement. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper first reveals existing issues around the definitions and measures relating to the concepts, then defines their content domains, and also proposes scale items to measure the concepts. Four samples are used to develop the measurement instruments.

Findings

Two scales are suggested, one to measure opportunity recognition, and other to measure opportunity exploitation. The scales demonstrate reliability and construct, discriminant, and nomological validity.

Originality/value

The resulting instruments provide tools for research and practice that could prove valuable when examining the antecedents and consequences of both opportunity recognition and opportunity exploitation.
The impact of a student’s study time journal as a lesson and learning study
Authors: Tetteh Godson A.
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between a student’s study time and the learning outcome from a perspective that will correspond to Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy and how teaching can be developed using variation theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The author designed a learning study using an experiment with three different classes of students. The experimental research question was “Does a student’s study time (massed or distributed spacing) have an impact on the learning process?”

Findings

Results indicated that students in the “strictly supervised study time” grouping improved on their learning outcomes more than those in the “not strictly supervised study time” equivalent and those in the control group. It is important for students to manage their own learning activities and follow a regular study routine to improve their learning outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

This study used undergraduate students at a university in Ghana, and its findings may not necessarily be applicable to other populations. One other limitation was that the author did not control for the lecturer’s expectations and how these may have influenced students’ learning outcomes. Another potential limitation was that total quality management was the only subject area used for this study.

Practical implications

The objective of the study was to use the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire (MSLQ) approach by Pintrichet al.(1991) to determine the relationship between a student’s study time and the impact on their learning outcomes. The results imply that students must take more active roles in their learning by having regular study time.

Originality/value

Currently, to the best of the author’s knowledge, there are not many experiment-based research studies on a student’s study time using the MSLQ approach by Pintrichet al.(1991). This study contributes to the existing literature by examining how a student’s study time (massed or distributed spacing) has an impact on the learning outcome as a lesson and learning study.
Pedagogical potentialities of lesson study for the reconstruction of teachers’ dispositions
Authors: Peña Trapero Noemi , Pérez Gómez Ángel I.
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show the relationship between lesson study (LS) and the reconstruction of teacher dispositions (practical knowledge).

Design/methodology/approach

This work consists of an exhaustive qualitative study, analysis and interpretation of the practical knowledge of an infant school teacher before and after her participation in a training process based on LS.

Findings

This work offers a response to this resistance to change and to progress in education. It demonstrates the potentiality of LS for the transformation of schools in the twenty-first century and the construction of a reflected, shared, emerging pedagogical capital for teachers.

Originality/value

The analysis focusses on practical knowledge (knowledge-in-action, (Schön, 1998); implicit theories (Pozo, 2006; Marrero, 2009); phronesis (Kinsella and Pitman, 2012); tacit knowledge (Contreras and Pérez de Lara, 2010)) because in accordance with the latest theories deriving from cognitive neuroscience, most of the resources the authors use in their action come from unconscious mechanisms. Hence, the procedures and mechanisms of qualitative research have been used to carry out in-depth analysis through prolonged daily observation of practice under a series of previously established dimensions (knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and emotions).
Communicating sustainability: student perceptions of a behavior change campaign
Authors: Godfrey D. Matthew , Feng Patrick
Published: January 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the impacts of a science-based environmental communication campaign at a university dining hall. The impacts are assessed in terms of student attitudes toward sustainability, food consumption choices and perceptions and understanding of the campaign and the information it communicated.

Design/methodology/approach

A communication campaign was designed to convey the water footprint of food entrées available at a university dining hall. This campaign was tested during a three-week field experiment in which students at the dining hall were exposed to information about the sustainability of their food. To measure behavior and attitude change, sales and production data were collected before, during and after the campaign, and pre- and post-test surveys were administered. To better understand perceptions, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with undergraduate students who frequented the dining hall.

Findings

Consumption patterns did not change significantly as a result of the campaign, and students’ attitude scores actually became slightly less positive toward choosing low water footprint foods. Interview data helped explain these results by showing that the ability and desire of students to choose sustainable food were overwhelmed by convenience and time pressures; other food attributes often outweighed sustainability; limited food source information could not verify the benefits of sustainable food; and the science of water footprints was disconnected from students’ subjective concepts of sustainability.

Originality/value

This paper empirically examines how students understand and interpret an environmental change campaign focused on sustainable food. It addresses an important gap in the literature by augmenting experimental and survey results with in-depth interview data, which help explain the often ineffective outcomes of behavior change campaigns. The research was conducted in the novel setting of a university dining hall.
University’s multi-scale initiatives for redefining city development
Authors: Ratajczyk Natalia , Wagner Iwona , Wolanska-Kaminska Agnieszka , Jurczak Tomasz , Zalewski Maciej
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the varied roles played by the University of Lódz (UL) in maintaining and restoring the natural capital of a city as a driver for sustainable city development. The higher education institution can be perceived as visionary, originator and executor of natural capital projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analyses three cases performed by the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, UL, in the city of Lódz. The activities are based on different scales ranging from city-wide to local, e.g. river and green infrastructure, and which vary in character from policy planning to implementation.

Findings

Natural capital projects influence city development on different levels: by the initiation of legal protection, by the implementation of rehabilitation concepts for rivers and by influencing the strategic documents for mid-term and long-term urban development.

Originality/value

The university has the potential for multidisciplinary engagement in the development of urban sustainability. In large-scale projects, academics play a more conceptual role, in capacity building and knowledge transfer, while in local-scale implementations, their role includes innovation, know-how and technology transfer. Moreover, it may act as a reinforcement hub, by safeguarding and strengthening the natural capital of the city.
Identifying critical HR practices impacting employee perception and commitment during organizational change
Authors: Maheshwari Shweta , Vohra Veena
Published: January 2017

Purpose

– Prior research in the area of organizational change highlights the critical role played by HR practices during organizational change as it may require altering employee behavior to support the change direction. human resource (HR) function is considered to be well positioned to influence employee behavior by institutionalizing HR practices that support change. Further there is a significant body of literature that suggests that employee behavior is significantly influenced by the perceptions of HR practices during change. HR practices which create positive employee perceptions increase employee commitment to change. The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework that identifies critical HR practices that support organizational change and examines their impact on employee perception and commitment to change.

Design/methodology/approach

– First, an extensive literature review on organizational change at macro level has been done to identify critical practices desired from key organizational members during organizational change. Second, a case for importance of HR function as a key organizational member during change is presented. Further literature on effectiveness of HR practices adopted by HR professionals during organizational change is examined to find out the gap areas. Third, literature on employee perception and commitment to change is examined to find out possible linkages to HR practices during organizational change. Finally, eight propositions are presented to build an integrated conceptual framework identifying critical HR practices during organizational change and their impact on employee perception and commitment to change.

Findings

– The study suggests that HR practices undertaken in the area of culture, leadership, cross functional integration, training, communication and technology if introduced and implemented will positively influence employee perception reducing resistance and increasing commitment to change. Therefore assessing employee perception about critical HR practices at different stages of change initiation, implementation and consolidation can enable understanding about employee commitment to change. This would also help HR professionals understand how effective the HR practices implemented during change have been.

Originality/value

– This framework can be used by the researchers and practitioners to study, guide, frame and model empirical research into the area of studying critical HR practices during organizational change. So far literature provides a generic view of desired organizational practices during change. Moreover there are few studies available on employee perception about HR practices implemented during organizational change and its impact on employee commitment to change. The framework presented in this paper would help explore the effectiveness of specific HR practices implemented during change by evaluating its impact on employee perception and commitment to change.
Crossing disciplinary, epistemological and conceptual boundaries in search of better cultural sense-making tools
Authors: Patel Taran
Published: January 2017

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to compare three cultural approaches from anthropology and business literature: National Culture Approach (NCA), Corporate Culture Approach (CCA), and Transactional Culture Approach (TCA). The author grounds these approaches in different epistemological standpoints and locate them at different positions on the unity-infinity continuum. The author outlines their strengths and weaknesses, and offer the Douglasian Cultural Framework (DCF) as a transactional tool for cultural sense-making.

Design/methodology/approach

– Reviewing conventional NCA/CCA frameworks reveals that while their simplicity renders them attractive to users, their assumption of stable, internally homogenous and coherent cultures has its limitations. Conversely, reviewing anthropology-based TCA literature reveals that while TCA overcomes some limitations of NCA/CCA frameworks, it also has its weaknesses – it overemphasizes “self-interest” as the preferred form of rationality, and some TCA scholars render cultural comparisons impossible by supporting cultural infinity. Finally, examining DCF reveals that it overcomes some limitations of NCA/CCA frameworks, while simultaneously advancing TCA. Nevertheless, DCF too has limitations which are also exposed.

Findings

– Most NCA/CCA scholars support the “unity” argument of culture, while some transactional scholars support the “infinity” argument. DCF finds a perfect balance between the two through “constrained relativism”. Also, since DCF focuses on human transactions, it is not limited in its applications to specific levels and scales. It can therefore be applied to scenarios spanning across levels and scales. Finally, it offers a compromise between the differentiation and fragmentation perspectives of corporate culture, and brings out the best of the interpretivist and post-modernistic traditions.

Research limitations/implications

– The exposition of DCF opens up new avenues for research which have hitherto remained unexplored for want of appropriate frameworks, for instance the UN Peace Corps., NATO, Medecins Sans Frontiers, etc.

Originality/value

– By focusing on human transactions, the paper allows for a much more dynamic conceptualization of culture as compared to static NCA/CCA frameworks.
Quiet unintended transitions? Neo-Durkheimian explanation of institutional change
Authors: 6 Perri
Published: January 2017

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to resolve a puzzle in the explanation of organisational change, where change appears to be within-form but results unintendedly in a transition between forms, yet first appearances suggest the absence of “noise” of the kind expected during shifts between forms.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper uses qualitative analysis of primary archival and secondary sources on an historical case, analysing the data by coding using categories derived from neo-Durkheimian institutional theory. It examines the case of the cabinet, treated as an organisation, in the British government led by premier Harold Macmillan between 1959 and 1963, when a strategy for increasing hierarchy resulted unintendedly in an isolation dynamic.

Findings

– It demonstrates that the neo-Durkheimian institutional approach can explain such puzzling cases. Appropriately for a special issue in honour of Mars’ work, it shows that his method of following rule violation and an adapted version of his concept of capture can provide a method of causal process tracing and a causal mechanism for resolving the puzzle.

Research limitations/implications

– The argument is presented for purposes of theory development, not testing. It examines a single case study in depth.

Social implications

– The findings demonstrate some of the risks which arise in changing informal institutional ordering, especially within decision-making executives, from the process by which informal institutions shape styles of judgement and decisions driven by those styles then feed back upon those executive bodies.

Originality/value

– This is the first examination of puzzling unintended between-form transitions, the first to propose an adaptation of Mars’ concept of capture to resolve such puzzles and the first detailed causal process tracing analysis of such a case using neo-Durkheimian institutional theoretic tools. It therefore offers a significant advance in institutional explanation of organisational change.
Textual self‐authorization
Authors: Crapanzano Vincent
Published: January 2017

This article examines some of the pragmatic strategies by which certain texts render themselves and are rendered so authoritative as to legitimate representations of reality and the stolidity of the reality that lies behind them. My primary focus is on what I call indexical dramas (i.e. the pragmatic and meta‐pragmatic play) that support such self‐arrogating texts, particularly Scripture, as read by American Fundamentalists, and, to a lesser extent, the American Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. I argue that performatives and their uptake, including self‐arrogation, are dramatic events and that the attention given to their denouement – the performative utterance itself — masks the complex, at times contradictory, play of indexicals that constitute, or at least highlight, the very felicity conditions on which their success depends. In other words, the fragility of performatives is deflected by their denouement. Some of the defensive strategies that mask the fragility of textual self‐arrogation are: the establishment of the authority of the author of the performative; legitimation of sources of textual cohesiveness and hermeneutic practices; citationalism; its temporality; and perlocutionary effacement – the forgetting or ignoring, except in moments of crisis, of the fragility of performative acts and their uptake. I ask whether that forgetting enhances the illocutionary force of the target text over its history. I further suggest that Fundamentalists’ insistence on making their lives as biblical as possible gives performative force to their reading of Scripture.
A Set of Handwriting Features for Use in Automated Writer Identification,
Authors: Miller John J. , Patterson Robert Bradley , Gantz Donald T. , Saunders Christopher P. , Walch Mark A. , Buscaglia JoAnn
Published: January 2017

A writer's biometric identity can be characterized through the distribution of physical feature measurements (“writer's profile”); a graph‐based system that facilitates the quantification of these features is described. To accomplish this quantification, handwriting is segmented into basic graphical forms (“graphemes”), which are “skeletonized” to yield the graphical topology of the handwritten segment. The graph‐based matching algorithm compares the graphemes first by their graphical topology and then by their geometric features. Graphs derived from known writers can be compared against graphs extracted from unknown writings. The process is computationally intensive and relies heavily upon statistical pattern recognition algorithms. This article focuses on the quantification of these physical features and the construction of the associated pattern recognition methods for using the features to discriminate among writers. The graph‐based system described in this article has been implemented in a highly accurate and approximately language‐independent biometric recognition system of writers of cursive documents.
An assessment of conflict areas between alien and native species richness of terrestrial vertebrates on a macro‐ecological scale in a Mediterranean hotspot
Authors: Carpio A. J. , Barasona J. A. , Guerrero‐Casado J. , Oteros J. , Tortosa F. S. , Acevedo P.
Published: January 2017

Understanding how the diversity of invasive species is geographically distributed and identifying the major drivers of that pattern is a relevant challenge as regards invasion biology. The aim of this paper was, therefore, to identify and characterize those areas colonized by a high number of alien species as a means to provide directional indications that can be used to minimize the potential negative effects that the alien species may have on host ecosystems. This is done by applying spatially explicit predictive modeling in order to explain the diversity of vertebrate alien species in Spain. The relative importance of the different factors was assessed using variation partitioning. Our results showed that the main factor as regards predicting the distribution of alien species was the anthropogenic variable, and that this was followed by abiotic variables. The other significant predictor of alien species was the number of native species, which had a positive relationship with the number of alien species. This accord with the ‘the rich get richer’ acceptance hypothesis, which predicts a higher number of alien species in areas with high native species diversity. In this study, we detected actual conflict areas (ACAs), which have high‐medium values for the number of both native and alien species. Many of the ACAs identified some overlap with protected areas, which further aggravate the problem as these areas are often the home to endangered species which may be adversely affected by the emergence of alien species. This signifies that eradication, control or mitigation programs should be carried out to reduce the undesirable impact of alien species in these areas. However, other areas of conflict also appeared in unprotected areas near to big cities, where monitoring and preventive measures are necessary to avoid the release of new species and their subsequent spread.
Tens of millions successfully in long‐term recovery—let us find out how they did it
Authors: Kelly John F.
Published: January 2017

Commentary to: Making the hard work of recovery more attractive for those with substance use disorders
Opposite Modulatory Effects of Selective and Non‐Selective Cyclooxygenase Inhibition on Cardiovascular and Autonomic Consequences of Cyclosporine in Female Rats
Authors: Ibrahim Karim S. , El‐Yazbi Ahmed F. , El‐Gowelli Hanan M. , El‐Mas Mahmoud M.
Published: January 2017

Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and the immunosuppressant drug cyclosporine (CSA) are concurrently administered in arthritis. Here, we investigated whether diclofenac (non‐selective inhibitor of cyclooxygenase‐1 and 2, COX‐1/COX‐2), celecoxib (selective COX‐2 inhibitor) or SC560 (selective COX‐1 inhibitor) interact variably with haemodynamic effects of CSA in conscious female rats. Changes caused by CSA (10 mg/kg i.v.) in blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRV) and myocardial contractility were assessed in the absence and presence of individual NSAIDs (10 mg/kg each). Compared with vehicle values, CSA caused immediate and sustained (i) increases in BP and decreases in pulse pressure index (PPI) and HR, (ii) elevations in left ventricular (LV) contractility (dP/dtmax) and isovolumic relaxation constant (Τau) and (iii) increases in the time‐ and frequency‐domain indices of HRV and shifted the cardiac sympathovagal balance towards parasympathetic dominance. CSA hypertension was abolished in rats pre‐treated with celecoxib and intensified in the presence of diclofenac or SC560. Alternatively, the CSA‐evoked decreases in PPI, increases in HRV indices and cardiac parasympathetic dominance were blunted by celecoxib in contrast to no effect for diclofenac or SC560. Similarly, celecoxib, but not other NSAIDs, eliminated the elevated LV contractility (dP/dtmax) and isovolumic relaxation constant (Τau, τ), which reflect cardiac systolic and diastolic function, respectively, that accompanied the CSA‐induced pressure load. The data underscore the preferential capacity of selective COX‐2 inhibition by celecoxib to mitigate CSA hypertension and consequent alterations in cardiac performance and autonomic balance. By contrast, CSA effects are preserved or even exacerbated after COX‐1 inhibition.
The discovery of Alzheimer‐causing mutations in the APP gene and the formulation of the “amyloid cascade hypothesis”
Authors: Hardy John
Published: January 2017

The cloning of APP and genetic analysis of families with Alzheimer's disease were both reported in 1987 and much present work on the disease is based upon the foundations laid at that time. Progress was not smooth, however, and many errors were made. In this memoir, I lay out both the progress and the errors.
A new energy‐based method to evaluate low‐cycle fatigue damage of AISI H11 at elevated temperature
Authors: Du W , Luo Y , Wang Y , Chen S , Yu D
Published: January 2017

AISI H11 (X38CrMoV5‐1) hot‐work tool steel is widely used for making extrusion tools because of its good mechanical properties at high temperature and moderate cost. To predict its lifetime, an energy conservation‐based model was proposed in this paper by introducing the damage rate, which is expressed as the product of damage force and plastic strain rate. The strain‐controlled low‐cycle fatigue tests were conducted to obtain the parameters of the proposed model, while the stress‐controlled low‐cycle fatigue tests were used to validate the proposed model. The results demonstrate that the proposed model is accurate and reliable. Furthermore, the local misorientation was investigated by electron backscatter diffraction to analyse the correlation between the microstructure evolution and the cyclic behaviour, and crack propagation behaviour was identified.
Exploring the Double‐Sided Effect of Information Asymmetry and Uncertainty in Mergers and Acquisitions
Authors: Luypaert Mathieu , Van Caneghem Tom
Published: January 2017

We examine the joint effect of bidder and target information asymmetry and uncertainty on the payment consideration and subsequent wealth effects in a large sample of acquisitions with both listed and private targets. In line with a risk‐sharing argument, we find that acquisitions of targets characterized by higher uncertainty are more likely to be settled with stock. In contrast, higher target information asymmetry increases the likelihood of a cash payment, consistent with bidders strategically exploiting superior information. Acquirers of more opaque targets obtain a larger fraction of total acquisition gains and avoid sharing these gains with target shareholders by offering cash.
Process‐based modelling shows how climate and demography shape language diversity
Authors: Gavin Michael C. , Rangel Thiago F. , Bowern Claire , Colwell Robert K. , Kirby Kathryn R. , Botero Carlos A. , Dunn Michael , Dunn Robert R. , McCarter Joe , Pacheco Coelho Marco Túlio , Gray Russell D.
Published: January 2017

Aim

Two fundamental questions about human language demand answers: why are so many languages spoken today and why is their geographical distribution so uneven? Although hypotheses have been proposed for centuries, the processes that determine patterns of linguistic and cultural diversity remain poorly understood. Previous studies, which relied on correlative, curve‐fitting approaches, have produced contradictory results. Here we present the first application of process‐based simulation modelling, derived from macroecology, to examine the distribution of human groups and their languages.

Location

The Australian continent is used as a case study to demonstrate the power of simulation modelling for identifying processes shaping the diversity and distribution of human languages.

Methods

Process‐based simulation models allow investigators to hold certain factors constant in order to isolate and assess the impact of modelled processes. We tested the extent to which a minimal set of processes determines the number and spatial distribution of languages on the Australian continent. Our model made three basic assumptions based on previously proposed, but untested, hypotheses: groups fill unoccupied spaces, rainfall limits population density and groups divide after reaching a maximum population.

Results

Remarkably, this simple model accurately predicted the total number of languages (average estimate 406, observed 407), and explained 56% of spatial variation in language richness on the Australian continent.

Main conclusions

Our results present strong evidence that current climatic conditions and limits to group size are important processes shaping language diversity patterns in Australia. Our study also demonstrates how simulation models from macroecology can be used to understand the processes that have shaped human cultural diversity across the globe.
Ant species assembly in constructed grasslands is structured at patch and landscape levels
Authors: Campbell Kaitlin U. , Crist Thomas O.
Published: January 2017

Agri‐environmental incentive programmes encourage conversion of marginal agricultural land to grasslands to reduce soil erosion and support biodiversity of native flora and fauna. Most grassland animals colonise these constructed habitats as propagules from the surrounding landscape. Ants are slow to colonise and rely on resources within the patch, making them valuable as indicators of disturbance and recovery.

We studied how ant species diversity and composition are structured by patch and landscape variation of grasslands in Ohio, USA. Ant communities were collected from 23 constructed grasslands differing in area, age, vegetation, soils, management and surrounding land cover. We analysed trap frequency for 14 species that varied in habitat specialisation to identify species responses to patch‐ and landscape‐level predictors.

Grassland age and soil texture determined ant species richness and community composition. Trap frequency analysis showed contrasting species responses to patch and landscape characteristics: habitat specialists were more abundant in older, larger patches with more surrounding grassland, while disturbance‐tolerant species were more frequent in younger patches surrounded by intensive agriculture. Habitat generalists and open habitat species included a variety of patch‐ and landscape‐level factors in best models.

Ant community assembly in constructed grasslands is shaped by time and physical characteristics at the patch‐level, but the surrounding landscape acts as a filter for the colonising community. Our findings support the use of ants as ecosystem recovery indicators following disturbance in agricultural landscapes, but show that shifts in species composition are better indicators of grassland habitat variation than ant richness.
Ferrochelatase gene mutation in Singapore and a novel frame‐shift mutation in an Asian boy with erythropoietic protoporphyria
Authors: Alagappan Uma , Pramono Zacharias A. D. , Chong Wei‐Sheng
Published: January 2017

Background

Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) is a rare inherited disorder of heme biosynthesis caused by decreased activity of the enzyme ferrochelatase (FECH ). The frequency of the hypomorphic c.333‐48C allele in a population directly contributes to the prevalence of EPP in the same population. This study sought to identify the molecular basis of EPP in a Chinese patient from Singapore and the c.333‐48C allele frequency among the Chinese population in Singapore.

Materials and methods

FECH gene was screened for mutation in the patient's DNA sample by polymerase chain reaction amplification and DNA sequencing. To validate the identified mutation, the FECH region harboring the mutation was screened in DNA samples from all healthy controls. One patient and 46 ethnically matched healthy controls were included in the study.

Results

A novel c.474dupC which leads to a frameshift and premature stop codon was identified in one allele, while the other allele showed to carry c.333‐48C and c.337C>T variants in the patient's FECH. The frequency of the c.333‐48C hypomorphic allele is 27% among Chinese population in Singapore.

Conclusions

c.474dupC in one allele trans to hypomorphic c.333‐48C and c.337C>T allele in FECH gene may be the underlying cause of the clinical EPP of the studied patient. The FECH hypomorphic c.333‐48C allele frequency in Singapore is lower than the Han Chinese (41.3%) and Japanese (43%) populations but nearly the same as the Southeast Asian (31%) population and higher than the European (2.7–11%) population.
Comparison of the Efficacy of Empiric Thoracic Vein Isolation for the Treatment of Paroxysmal and Persistent Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Without Structural Heart Disease
Authors: EJIMA KOICHIRO , HENMI RYUTA , IWANAMI YUJI , YAGISHITA DAIGO , SHODA MORIO , HAGIWARA NOBUHISA
Published: January 2017

Empiric Thoracic Vein Isolation

Introduction

The guidelines suggest that an adjuvant substrate modification in addition to pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) may be needed for persistent atrial fibrillation (PerAF) assuming that catheter ablation is less successful for PerAF than paroxysmal AF (PAF). To revisit the above assumption, we compared the outcome of the same catheter ablation strategy between PAF and PerAF.

Methods and Results

Two hundred and thirty‐three consecutive patients (mean age 60 ± 10 years, 53 PerAF and 8 long‐lasting PerAF) without structural heart disease underwent catheter ablation of AF by the same strategy using an empiric thoracic vein isolation (a wide circumferential PVI plus empiric superior vena cava isolation) as a major part of the strategy without any adjuvant substrate modification. The duration of AF in the patients with PerAF was 6 ± 4 months. During 25 ± 10 months of follow‐up after single procedures, 71 (30%) patients had atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrences without antiarrhythmic drugs. A Kaplan–Meier analysis of the recurrence‐free survival rate after a single procedure and after repeat procedures revealed no significant difference between the patients with PAF and those with PerAF (log‐rank, P = 0.38 and P = 0.27, respectively). A Cox regression multivariate analysis of the variables including the age, gender, PerAF, body mass index, left ventricular ejection fraction, and left atrial volume index demonstrated that none of the variables were an independent predictor of an atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrence after a single ablation procedure.

Conclusion

In patients without underlying heart disease, the procedural outcome of an empiric thoracic vein isolation is comparable for PAF and PerAF.