bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A fast mrMLM algorithm for multi-locus genome-wide association studies
Authors: Tamba Cox Lwaka , Zhang Yuan-Ming
Published: June 2018

Background

Recent developments in technology result in the generation of big data. In genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we can get tens of million SNPs that need to be tested for association with a trait of interest. Indeed, this poses a great computational challenge. There is a need for developing fast algorithms in GWAS methodologies. These algorithms must ensure high power in QTN detection, high accuracy in QTN estimation and low false positive rate.

Results

Here, we accelerated mrMLM algorithm by using GEMMA idea, matrix transformations and identities. The target functions and derivatives in vector/matrix forms for each marker scanning are transformed into some simple forms that are easy and efficient to evaluate during each optimization step. All potentially associated QTNs with P-values ≤ 0.01 are evaluated in a multi-locus model by LARS algorithm and/or EM-Empirical Bayes. We call the algorithm FASTmrMLM. Numerical simulation studies and real data analysis validated the FASTmrMLM. FASTmrMLM reduces the running time in mrMLM by more than 50%. FASTmrMLM also shows high statistical power in QTN detection, high accuracy in QTN estimation and low false positive rate as compared to GEMMA, FarmCPU and mrMLM. Real data analysis shows that FASTmrMLM was able to detect more previously reported genes than all the other methods: GEMMA/EMMA, FarmCPU and mrMLM.

Conclusions

FASTmrMLM is a fast and reliable algorithm in multi-locus GWAS and ensures high statistical power, high accuracy of estimates and low false positive rate.

Author Summary

The current developments in technology result in the generation of a vast amount of data. In genome-wide association studies, we can get tens of million markers that need to be tested for association with a trait of interest. Due to the computational challenge faced, we developed a fast algorithm for genome-wide association studies. Our approach is a two stage method. In the first step, we used matrix transformations and identities to quicken the testing of each random marker effect. The target functions and derivatives which are in vector/matrix forms for each marker scanning are transformed into some simple forms that are easy and efficient to evaluate during each optimization step. In the second step, we selected all potentially associated SNPs and evaluated them in a multi-locus model. From simulation studies, our algorithm significantly reduces the computing time. The new method also shows high statistical power in detecting significant markers, high accuracy in marker effect estimation and low false positive rate. We also used the new method to identify relevant genes in real data analysis. We recommend our approach as a fast and reliable method for carrying out a multi-locus genome-wide association study.
Nonlinear processing of shape information in rat lateral extrastriate cortex
Authors: Matteucci Giulio , Marotti Rosilari Bellacosa , Riggi Margherita , Rosselli Federica B. , Zoccolan Davide
Published: June 2018

In rodents, the progression of extrastriate areas located laterally to primary visual cortex (V1) has been assigned to a putative object-processing pathway (homologous to the primate ventral stream), based on anatomical considerations. Recently, we found functional support for such attribution (Tafazoli et al., 2017), by showing that this cortical progression is specialized for coding object identity despite view changes – the hallmark property of a ventral-like pathway. Here, we sought to clarify what computations are at the base of such specialization. To this aim, we performed multi-electrode recordings from V1 and laterolateral area LL (at the apex of the putative ventral-like hierarchy) of male adult rats, during the presentation of drifting gratings and noise movies. We found that the extent to which neuronal responses were entrained to the phase of the gratings sharply dropped from V1 to LL, along with the quality of the receptive fields inferred through reverse correlation. Concomitantly, the tendency of neurons to respond to different oriented gratings increased, while the sharpness of orientation tuning declined. Critically, these trends are consistent with the nonlinear summation of visual inputs that is expected to take place along the ventral stream, according to the predictions of hierarchical models of ventral computations and a meta-analysis of the monkey literature. This suggests an intriguing homology between the mechanisms responsible for building up shape selectivity and transformation tolerance in the visual cortex of primates and rodents, reasserting the potential of the latter as models to investigate ventral stream functions at the circuitry level.

Significance Statement

Despite the growing popularity of rodents as models of visual functions, it remains unclear whether their visual cortex contains specialized modules for processing shape information. To addresses this question, we compared how neuronal tuning evolves from rat primary visual cortex (V1) to a downstream visual cortical region (area LL) that previous work has implicated in shape processing. In our experiments, LL neurons displayed a stronger tendency to respond to drifting gratings with different orientations, while maintaining a sustained response across the whole duration of the drift cycle. These trends match the increased complexity of pattern selectivity and the augmented tolerance to stimulus translation found in monkey visual temporal cortex, thus revealing a homology between shape processing in rodents and primates.
Perception of environmental polypeptides inC. elegansactivates insulin/IGF signaling and alters lipid metabolism
Authors: Kaplan Rebecca E. W. , Webster Amy K. , Chitrakar Rojin , Dent Joseph A. , Ryan Baugh L.
Published: June 2018

Food perception affects animal physiology in complex ways. We uncoupled the effects of food perception and ingestion in the roundwormC. elegans. Perception was not sufficient to promote development, but larvae exposed to food without ingestion failed to develop upon return to normal culture conditions. Inhibition of gene expression during perception rescued subsequent development, demonstrating the response to perception without feeding is deleterious. Perception altered DAF-16/FOXO localization, reflecting activation of insulin/IGF signaling (IIS). The insulin-like peptidedaf-28was specifically required, suggesting perception in chemosensory neurons directly regulates peptide secretion. Gene expression and Nile Red staining suggest that perception alters lipid metabolism. Environmental polypeptides are sensed by starved larvae and promote dauer diapause recovery. We conclude that polypeptides are perceived as a food-associated cue, initiating a signaling and gene regulatory cascade that alters metabolism in anticipation of feeding and development, but that this response is detrimental if feeding does not occur.
RNA Binding Motif Protein 48 is required for U12 splicing and maize endosperm differentiation
Authors: Bai Fang , Corll Jacob , Shodja Donya N. , Davenport Ruth , Feng Guanqiao , Mudunkothge Janaki , Brigolin Christian J. , Martin Federico , Spielbauer Gertraud , Tseung Chi-Wah , Siebert Amy E. , Barbazuk W. Brad , Lal Shailesh , Settles A. Mark
Published: June 2018

The last eukaryotic common ancestor had two classes of introns that are still found in most eukaryotic lineages. Common U2-type and rare U12-type introns are spliced by the major and minor spliceosomes, respectively. Relatively few splicing factors have been shown to be specific to the minor spliceosome. We found that the maize RNA Binding Motif Protein48 (RBM48) is a U12 splicing factor that functions to promote cell differentiation and repress cell proliferation. RBM48 is coselected with the U12 splicing factor, ZRSR2/RGH3. Protein-protein interactions between RBM48, RGH3, and U2 Auxiliary Factor (U2AF) subunits suggest major and minor spliceosome factors may form complexes during intron recognition. Human RBM48 interacts with ARMC7. Maize RBM48 and ARMC7 have a conserved protein-protein interaction. These data predict that RBM48 is likely to function in U12 splicing throughout eukaryotes and that U12 splicing promotes endosperm cell differentiation in maize.
Soluble CD93 is an Apoptotic Cell Opsonin Recognized by the αxβ2Integrin
Authors: Blackburn Jack W.D. , Lau Darius H.C. , Ellins Jessica , Kipp Angela , Pawlak Emily N. , Dikeakos Jimmy D. , Heit Bryan
Published: June 2018

Abstract

Efferocytosis – the phagocytic removal of apoptotic cells – is essential for the maintenance of homeostasis and prevention of the inflammatory and autoimmune diseases which can follow the lysis of uncleared apoptotic cells. CD93 is a transmembrane glycoprotein previously implicated in efferocytosis and angiogenesis, and upon mutation, results in the onset of efferocytosis-associated diseases such as atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. CD93 is produced as a cell surface protein which is shed as soluble CD93, but it is unknown how CD93 mediates efferocytosis or whether its efferocytic activity is mediated by the soluble or membrane-bound form. Herein, we demonstrate that the membrane bound form of CD93 has no phagocytic, efferocytic, or tethering activity, whereas soluble CD93 potently opsonizes apoptotic cells but not a broad range of Gram-Negative, Gram-Positive or fungal microorganisms. Using mass spectrometry, we identified the αxβ2integrin as the receptor required for soluble CD93-mediated efferocytosis, and via deletion mutagenesis determined that soluble CD93 binds to apoptotic cells via its C-Type Lectin-Like domain, and to αxβ2by its EGF-like repeats. This bridging of apoptotic cells to the αxβ2integrin markedly enhanced efferocytosis by macrophages, and could be abrogated by knockdown of αxβ2integrin. Combined, these data elucidate the mechanism by which CD93 regulates efferocytosis and identify a previously unreported opsonin-receptor system utilized by the immune system for the efferocytic clearance of apoptotic cells.
Challenging the difference between white and brown Agaricus bisporus mushrooms
Authors: Vunduk Jovana , Djekic Ilija , Petrović Predrag , Tomašević Igor , Kozarski Maja , Despotović Saša , Nikšić Miomir , Klaus Anita
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine compositional differences between brown and white varieties of Agaricus bisporus during shelf life and to determine if the growing demand for the brown variety is scientifically justified.

Design/methodology/approach

Field research enabled analyzing consumers’ perceptions on intrinsic, extrinsic and quality characteristics of mushrooms. A total of 275 consumers participated in the survey. Obtained results were used for comparing white and brown varieties of A. bisporus over a period of 22 days. Mushrooms were packed in air and in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) at 4°C. Samples were analyzed for their nutritional, antioxidative and microbiological characteristics.

Findings

Two weeks from harvest, white variety showed higher amount of essential nutrients, while during the third week, brown mushrooms were more nutritionally valuable. Brown variety had better antioxidative ability for all 22 days of storage. Aerobic plate count (APC) was as expected for the mushrooms. MAPs significantly lowered APC in both varieties. The number of Enterobacteriaceae was equal for both varieties at the beginning, but later on they developed much faster in the case of brown variety. Field research combined with specific analyses clarified that there are no nutritive or microbiological reasons for the precedence of brown variety over white.

Research limitations/implications

Sensory aspect of the quality of mushrooms was not analyzed.

Originality/value

Market trend toward brown variety was scientifically challenged.
Internet-based digitalmarketing strategies fordata-rich environments
Authors: Kiran Faiqa , Zubair Ahsan , Shahzadi Irum , Abbas Aamir
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to first bring to light the essential digital strategies to study organizations. Second, how businesses can improve their strategic capabilities by using the information gathered from internet sources or networks. Third, this study investigates how employees in an organization tend to engage in positive and/or negative gossip and how gossips affect coworker-rated informal influence in organization and supervisor-rated performance. Social network analysis is used to find the underlying relationships between gossips, coworker-rated influence and supervisor-rated performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This research paper is divided into two parts. The first study based on profound synthesis of literature. Major digital sources to study organizations are identified. The strategies requirement for each channel is identified. Suggestions are given to managers to improve strategic decision-making based on big data. The second study is a cross-sectional study where questionnaires (survey) are used to elicit data. Social network analysis is used to analyze the data using ucinet 6 software.

Findings

The findings of the study pinpoint the skills required to analyze large data, available in organizations. The second study finds out that close friends are more engaged in gossips than coworkers who have only working relationships. The friends having high structural embeddedness are more likely to be involved in negative gossips. Coworker perceives those employees who are engaged in negative gossips as having high informal influence. However, there is negative relationship between negative gossips and supervisor-rated influence.

Research limitations/implications

The research study is cross-sectional in design; however, longitudinal design can be used to gain more insights about negative gossips and their effects. Second, a very small sample is used in this study.

Practical implications

This study can be used to understand informal communication network in the organization. Managers can use this channel to pass information quickly, as informal channels are faster than formal communication channels. This research can be used to understand the underling relationships between the coworkers in organizations

Originality/value

This paper provides guidelines to organizational life and information on how the informal networks within organization can be studied.
Collaborative innovation in tourism and hospitality: a systematic review of the literature
Authors: Marasco Alessandra , De Martino Marcella , Magnotti Fabio , Morvillo Alfonso
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide a synthesis of the state of research on collaborative innovation in tourism and hospitality. It presents a systematic review of the academic literature, and provides insights into the specific issues addressed by studies in this area.

Design/methodology/approach

A search of major research databases with multiple keywords was performed to identify relevant articles up to 2017. A total of 79 articles were identified and analyzed according to the following criteria: location of the study, perspective of analysis, methodology, level of analysis and specific themes addressed.

Findings

Based on a qualitative thematic analysis, five groups of articles were identified: cooperative behavior of innovating firms, co-creation, collaborative networks for innovation, knowledge transfer and innovation policies.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to making the current body of knowledge on collaborative innovation in tourism and hospitality more organized. The analysis of the different issues addressed by the literature could build the foundation for future research.

Originality/value

This study presents a comprehensive review of literature on collaborative innovation in tourism and hospitality. It can serve as a roadmap of literature for both academicians and practitioners, and help stimulate further interest.
Application of biclustering algorithm to extract rules from labeled data
Authors: Yanjie Zhang , Hongbo Sun
Published: June 2018

Purpose

For many pattern recognition problems, the relation between the sample vectors and the class labels are known during the data acquisition procedure. However, how to find the useful rules or knowledge hidden in the data is very important and challengeable. Rule extraction methods are very useful in mining the important and heuristic knowledge hidden in the original high-dimensional data. It can help us to construct predictive models with few attributes of the data so as to provide valuable model interpretability and less training times.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, a novel rule extraction method with the application of biclustering algorithm is proposed.

Findings

To choose the most significant biclusters from the huge number of detected biclusters, a specially modified information entropy calculation method is also provided. It will be shown that all of the important knowledge is in practice hidden in these biclusters.

Originality/value

The novelty of the new method lies in the detected biclusters can be conveniently translated into if-then rules. It provides an intuitively explainable and comprehensive approach to extract rules from high-dimensional data while keeping high classification accuracy.
The mediating effects of social entrepreneurial antecedents on the relationship between prior experience and social entrepreneurial intent
Authors: Lacap Jean Paolo G. , Mulyaningsih Hendrati Dwi , Ramadani Veland
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The paper aims to investigate how the social entrepreneurial intention antecedents directly and indirectly affect social entrepreneurial intent. The participants of the study were Filipino and Indonesian university students from selected higher education institutions (HEIs).

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research design was used and partial least square-structural equation modeling was used to measure the direct and indirect effects of the structural model.

Findings

The results revealed that prior experience with social problems positively and significantly affects empathy, moral obligation, social entrepreneurial self-efficacy and perceived social support. Moreover, it was also found that social entrepreneurial self-efficacy and perceived social support positively and significantly affect social entrepreneurial intent, and these two antecedents mediate the positive relationship between prior experience with social problems and social entrepreneurial intent.

Research limitations/implications

As the present study only examined social entrepreneurial intentions among Filipino and Indonesian university students, other researchers may test the framework in another locale. Others may find interest in identifying the significant difference in social entrepreneurial intent among between or among nations.

Practical implications

The findings of the present study can benefit HEIs in terms of offering social entrepreneurship programs and courses. The role of HEIs is truly important. Providing an avenue for students for them to be socially entrepreneurial and empowering them to be future social entrepreneurs can truly help in sustainably promoting social entrepreneurship. These can be done by designing relevant learning materials and requirements that will permit students to be social venture creators.

Social implications

Based on this study, if these students were exposed to social entrepreneurship activities during their university life (prior experience), then the propensity for them to be social venture creators in high. With the myriad problems in the Philippines and Indonesia, exposure to social problems is evident. Through proper inculcation of social entrepreneurial spirit, Filipino and Indonesian students will greatly create massive impact in the landscape of Asian social entrepreneurship.

Originality/value

The present study offers a new perspective on social entrepreneurial intentions, as it is in Asian setting. It also provides a viewpoint where only social entrepreneurial self-efficacy and perceived social support positively affect social entrepreneurial intent and, at the same time, act as mediators between prior experience with social problem and social entrepreneurial intent. With these results, it enriches the theoretical foundations of social entrepreneurship.
Why is dialogue on performance challenging in the public sector?
Authors: Rajala Tomi , Laihonen Harri , Haapala Petra
Published: June 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to understand performance management as a social phenomenon by investigating the challenges of performance dialogue, a phenomenon where participants jointly interpret performance information and discuss it while identifying the actions needed to manage the performance according to this information.

Design/methodology/approach

The research aim is achieved by conducting an interview study. Empirical data were collected by interviewing 30 public managers in three Finnish municipalities and subjecting it to content analysis using inductive category development.

Findings

The research provides empirical evidence from challenges in engaging in performance dialogue. It moreover derives a comprehensive conceptual model categorizing factors inhibiting performance dialogue.

Practical implications

Difficulties in conducting organizational performance dialogues are better explained. The findings support the management of performance dialogue by helping practitioners to identify challenges associated to these dialogues.

Originality/value

This study contributes to current conversations on performance management by showing that performance dialogues are no miracle cure for problems in performance information use. Moreover, the authors demonstrate that complications in performance information use are intertwined in many ways.
Aligning purchasing portfolio management with sourcing negotiation styles
Authors: Kang Mingu , Hong Paul , Bartnik Roman , Park Youngwon , Ko Changsuk
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how to align purchasing portfolio management with sourcing negotiation styles.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have adopted two-step field tests: a case study; and a follow-up experimental test with 77 sourcing professionals.

Findings

The authors note that Kraljic Portfolio Matrix (KPM) provides a valuable guide for determining sourcing negotiation styles (i.e. competitive negotiation for leverage items, collaborative negotiation for strategic items and accommodative negotiation for bottleneck items). Interestingly, effective buyers adopt right negotiation styles based on the switching costs of changing suppliers, the dependence level on specific suppliers and the availability of alternative suppliers.

Originality/value

This study shows that aligning purchasing portfolio management with sourcing negotiation styles improves the chances of effective buying outcomes. Practical implications suggest that successful buyers move beyond interpreting generic predictions of the KPM framework and rather implement specific negotiation styles to maximize the potential benefits of purchasing portfolio management.
The South African chartered accountant academic
Authors: de Jager Phillip , Lubbe Ilse , Papageorgiou Elmarie
Published: June 2018

Purpose

Accounting academics in the South African system understand their primary responsibility to be the teaching of prospective Chartered Accountants (CAs) rather than the advancement of knowledge through research. The purpose of this study is to determine what factors motivate accounting academics who are CAs to obtain doctorates in an environment dominated by the profession, where promotion is possible to Full Professor without a Doctorate but not without the professional qualification of CA. And did these doctoral CAs face challenges on their journey, such as resistance from colleagues?

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 22 academic CAs with doctorates and 18 academic CAs studying towards doctorates were surveyed to gain a deeper understanding of who they are, what their motivations were for undertaking the doctorate journey and what they experienced.

Findings

The main finding of this study is that the culture of accounting departments in South Africa is beginning to shift from being teaching orientated towards being more research orientated. The CAs are pursuing doctorates for the purpose of career progression and for intrinsic personal reasons. The main challenges that they faced on their journey were finding the time for family and a social life and a lack of support from colleagues and their institution. However, support seems to be improving.

Research limitations/implications

The change to a research-orientated culture in South African departments of accounting, as envisioned by Van der Schyf (2008), is only now starting to take place. These CAs with doctorates provide evidence of that change.

Originality/value

The value of this study is to provide accounting academics and the profession with a better understanding of, and a greater sensitivity to, accounting academics operating under the influence of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). The study also adds to the limited amount of literature on the motives and experiences of doctoral students, especially accounting doctoral students.
Types of professionalization
Authors: Lang Grazia , Schlesinger Torsten , Lamprecht Markus , Ruoranen Kaisa , Klenk Christoffer , Bayle Emmanuel , Clausen Josephine , Giauque David , Nagel Siegfried
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify types of professionalization in Swiss national sport federations (NSFs) and analyze organizational characteristics associated with specific types of professionalization. Such types reveal common patterns among the increasingly complex organizational designs of NSFs and thus contribute to the understanding of professionalization in NSFs.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey of all Swiss NSFs was conducted to identify types of professionalization in these organizations using hierarchical cluster analysis, based on a multi-dimensional framework of professionalization.

Findings

The analysis revealed four types of professionalization: formalized NSFs managed by paid staff, NSFs managed by volunteers and a few paid staff off the field, NSFs with differing formalization and paid staff on the field, and moderately formalized NSFs managed by volunteers. The types differ in terms of the NSFs’ organizational characteristics, in particular, size, financial resources, Olympic status, and performance.

Originality/value

Applying factor and cluster analysis is a new approach to analyzing professionalization in NSFs that makes uncovering distinctive organizational patterns among a large number of NSFs possible. These results lay the foundation for understanding the professionalization of NSFs, counseling NSFs on their organizational development, and conducting future research on the design types of sport organizations.
Why Britain Needs a Written Constitution—and Can't Wait for Parliament to Write One
Authors: Ackerman Bruce
Published: June 2018

The lecture explores basic constitutional choices confronting post‐Brexit Britain, emphasising dilemmas generated by Irish, Scottish, and Welsh demands for home rule. It argues that only a specially elected Constitutional Convention, independent of Parliament, has the capacity and legitimacy to hammer out a written constitution that tries to resolve these dilemmas in a serious way. Once the Convention acts, its proposal should be submitted for approval at a referendum, but only after special steps are taken to encourage an informed decision by the electorate. Given the misinformation campaigns provoked by the last referendum, it is time for Britain to try something new: create a new national holiday, Deliberation Day, at which voters would be invited to gather at neighbourhood community centres to discuss the Convention's initiative. A host of social science experiments establish that a day's deliberation greatly improves public understanding, enhancing the democratic authority of a Yes vote at the referendum.
This Time it's Different: Legitimacy and the Limits of Differentiation after Brexit
Authors: Glencross Andrew
Published: June 2018

British political debate since the EU referendum has hinged on what type of Brexit to pursue: hard or soft. Yet, unlike in instances of treaty rejection, the EU made no counter offer to avoid a breakdown in relations that would follow the hardest of exits. This remarkable unity in not discounting the possibility of a hard Brexit demonstrates that UK withdrawal is very distinct from previous wrangles over EU reform. Drawing on the work of Kissinger, this article argues Brexit is a revolutionary act that denies the legitimacy of the EU order. Hence this process does not conform to other episodes of differentiation. When Westminster sought opt‐outs, it did not reject the core principles of integration. By not seeking to oppose a hard Brexit, Brussels has forced the UK government to find a new legitimising principle to govern EU–UK relations, transferring the burden of adjustment to London.
Perinatal outcomes after open fetal surgery for myelomeningocele repair: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Moron AF , Barbosa MM , Milani HJF , Sarmento SG , Santana EFM , Suriano IC , Dastoli PA , Cavalheiro S
Published: June 2018

Objective

Describe outcomes of open fetal surgery for myelomeningocele (MMC) repair in two Brazilian hospitals and the impact of surgical experience on outcome.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Population

237 pregnant women carrying a fetus with an open spinal defect.

Methods

Surgical details, and maternal and fetal outcomes collected from all patients.

Main outcome measures

Analysis of surgical and perinatal outcome parameters.

Results

Total surgical time was 119 ± 7.6 minutes. Preterm labour occurred in 24.2%, premature rupture of membranes in 26.7%, placental abruption in 0.8%, need for a blood transfusion at delivery in 2.1%, and dehiscence at the repair site in 2.5%. Reversal of hindbrain herniation at birth occurred in 71.4%. There were no maternal deaths or severe maternal morbidities. The failure rate with the patient anaesthetised was 0.42% and perinatal mortality was 2.1% (three intrauterine demises and two neonatal deaths). Comparing results from our study in the first 3 years with the last 3 years demonstrated improvement in the total surgical time (121.2 ± 6.4 versus 118.5 ± 8.2 minutes, P = 0.005) and an increase in reversal of hindbrain herniation at birth (64.0 versus 77.1%, P = 0.042).

Conclusion

Our open fetal surgical approach for MMC was effective and results were comparable to past studies. Improvements in surgical performance and perinatal outcome increased as the surgical team became more familiar with the procedure.

Funding

The study was funded solely by institutional funds.

Tweetable abstract

Brazilian experience of in utero open surgery for myelomeningocele repair.
Is there benefit to continue magnesium sulphate postpartum in women receiving magnesium sulphate before delivery? A randomised controlled study
Authors: Vigil‐DeGracia P , Ludmir J , Ng J , Reyes‐Tejada O , Nova C , Beltré A , Yuen‐Chon V , Collantes J , Turcios E , Lewis R , Cabrera S
Published: June 2018

Objective

To determine if the use of magnesium sulphate postdelivery reduces the risk of eclampsia in women with severe pre‐eclampsia exposed to at least 8 hours of magnesium sulphate before delivery.

Design

Randomised multicentre controlled trial.

Setting

Latin America.

Population

Women with severe pre‐eclampsia that had received a 4‐g loading dose followed by 1 g per hour for 8 hours as maintenance dose before delivery.

Methods

In all, 1113 women were randomised; 555 women were randomised to continue the infusion of magnesium sulphate for 24 hours postpartum and 558 were randomised to stopping the magnesium sulphate infusion immediately after delivery.

Outcome measures

Primary outcome was the incidence of eclampsia in the first 24 hours postdelivery. Secondary outcomes included maternal death, maternal complications, time to start ambulation and time to start lactation.

Results

The maternal characteristics at randomisation between the groups were not different. There were no differences in the rate of eclampsia; 1/555 (0.18%) versus 2/558 (0.35%) [relative risk (RR 0.7, 95% CI 0.1–3.3; P = 0.50] or maternal complications between the groups (RR 1.0, 95% CI 0.8–1.2; P = 0.76). Time to start ambulation was significantly shorter in the no magnesium sulphate group (18.1 ± 10.6 versus 11.8 ± 10.8 hours; P = 0.0001) and time to start lactation was equally shorter in the no magnesium sulphate group (24.1 ± 17.1 versus 17.1 ± 16.8 hours; P = 0.0001).

Conclusions

Women with severe pre‐eclampsia treated with a minimum of 8 hours of magnesium sulphate before delivery do not benefit from continuing the magnesium sulphate for 24 hours postpartum.

Tweetable abstract

No benefit of continuing magnesium sulphate postpartum in severe pre‐eclampsia exposed to this drug for a minimum of 8 hours before delivery.
Impaired AMPA signaling and cytoskeletal alterations induce early synaptic dysfunction in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Baglietto‐Vargas David , Prieto Gilberto Aleph , Limon Agenor , Forner Stefania , Rodriguez‐Ortiz Carlos J. , Ikemura Kenji , Ager Rahasson R. , Medeiros Rodrigo , Trujillo‐Estrada Laura , Martini Alessandra C. , Kitazawa Masashi , Davila Jose C. , Cotman Carl W. , Gutierrez Antonia , LaFerla Frank M.
Published: June 2018

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder that impairs memory and causes cognitive and psychiatric deficits. New evidences indicate that AD is conceptualized as a disease of synaptic failure, although the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these defects remain to be elucidated. Determining the timing and nature of the early synaptic deficits is critical for understanding the progression of the disease and for identifying effective targets for therapeutic intervention. Using single‐synapse functional and morphological analyses, we find that AMPA signaling, which mediates fast glutamatergic synaptic transmission in the central nervous system (CNS), is compromised early in the disease course in an AD mouse model. The decline in AMPA signaling is associated with changes in actin cytoskeleton integrity, which alters the number and the structure of dendritic spines. AMPA dysfunction and spine alteration correlate with the presence of soluble but not insoluble Aβ and tau species. In particular, we demonstrate that these synaptic impairments can be mitigated by Aβ immunotherapy. Together, our data suggest that alterations in AMPA signaling and cytoskeletal processes occur early in AD. Most important, these deficits are prevented by Aβ immunotherapy, suggesting that existing therapies, if administered earlier, could confer functional benefits.
A systematic literature review of the human skin microbiome as biomarker for dermatological drug development
Authors: Niemeyer ‐ van der Kolk T. , van der Wall H. E. C. , Balmforth C. , Van Doorn M. B. A. , Rissmann R.
Published: June 2018

Aims

To explore the potential of the skin microbiome as biomarker in six dermatological conditions: atopic dermatitis (AD), acne vulgaris (AV), psoriasis vulgaris (PV), hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), seborrhoeic dermatitis/pityriasis capitis (SD/PC) and ulcus cruris (UC).

Methods

A systematic literature review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. Two investigators independently reviewed the included studies and ranked the suitability microbiome implementation for early phase clinical studies in an adapted GRADE method.

Results

In total, 841 papers were identified and after screening of titles and abstracts for eligibility we identified 42 manuscripts that could be included in the review. Eleven studies were included for AD, five for AV, 10 for PV, two for HS, four for SD and 10 for UC. For AD and AV, multiple studies report the relationship between the skin microbiome, disease severity and clinical response to treatment. This is currently lacking for the remaining conditions.

Conclusion

For two indications – AD and AV – there is preliminary evidence to support implementation of the skin microbiome as biomarkers in early phase clinical trials. For PV, UC, SD and HS there is insufficient evidence from the literature. More microbiome‐directed prospective studies studying the effect of current treatments on the microbiome with special attention for patient meta‐data, sampling methods and analysis methods are needed to draw more substantial conclusions.
Coastal Tourism in a Context of Neoliberal Development: Social Change in Mancora, Peru
Authors: González Velarde Fernando
Published: June 2018

The case of Mancora, Northern Peru, illustrates a process of neoliberalisation through which conceptions of place, local identities and the recent history of the place have been reformulated due to the rapid expansion of global tourism. In this former fishing village, tourism development altered local conceptions of place, allowing the emergence of contrasting projects for converting it into a beach resort. This process brought about a context governed by land conflicts and tension between local authorities, where local inhabitants reshaped their identities and the recent history of the place in order to gain or maintain ownership over valuable natural resources.
Assay Guidance Manual: Quantitative Biology and Pharmacology in Preclinical Drug Discovery
Authors: Coussens Nathan P. , Sittampalam G. Sitta , Guha Rajarshi , Brimacombe Kyle , Grossman Abigail , Chung Thomas D. Y. , Weidner Jeffrey R. , Riss Terry , Trask O. Joseph , Auld Douglas , Dahlin Jayme L. , Devanaryan Viswanath , Foley Timothy L. , McGee James , Kahl Steven D. , Kales Stephen C. , Arkin Michelle , Baell Jonathan , Bejcek Bruce , Gal‐Edd Neely , Glicksman Marcie , Haas Joseph V. , Iversen Philip W. , Hoeppner Marilu , Lathrop Stacy , Sayers Eric , Liu Hanguan , Trawick Bart , McVey Julie , Lemmon Vance P. , Li Zhuyin , McManus Owen , Minor Lisa , Napper Andrew , Wildey Mary Jo , Pacifici Robert , Chin William W. , Xia Menghang , Xu Xin , Lal‐Nag Madhu , Hall Matthew D. , Michael Sam , Inglese James , Simeonov Anton , Austin Christopher P.
Published: June 2018

The Assay Guidance Manual (AGM) is an eBook of best practices for the design, development, and implementation of robust assays for early drug discovery. Initiated by pharmaceutical company scientists, the manual provides guidance for designing a “testing funnel” of assays to identify genuine hits using high‐throughput screening (HTS) and advancing them through preclinical development. Combined with a workshop/tutorial component, the overall goal of the AGM is to provide a valuable resource for training translational scientists.
Factors associated with a positive willingness to practise oral health care in the future amongst oral healthcare and nursing students
Authors: Haresaku S. , Monji M. , Miyoshi M. , Kubota K. , Kuroki M. , Aoki H. , Yoshida R. , Machishima K. , Makino M. , Naito T.
Published: June 2018

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to identify the weak points in the knowledge and attitudes of first‐year oral health care and nursing students towards oral health care and to identify the factors associated with their positive willingness to practise oral health care after becoming a health professional in order to develop oral healthcare curricula.

Materials and methods

The subjects were 88 first‐year dental students (DSs), 64 dental hygiene students (DHSs) and 119 nursing students (NSs) enrolled in schools in Japan, as of April 2017. A questionnaire was distributed to subjects in each school to assess their knowledge and attitudes towards oral health care.

Results

Less than half knew that oral health care was also provided in cancer hospitals, hospices, acute care hospitals, maternity wards and psychiatric wards. Only 46.2% knew that oral health care was effective in the prevention of aspiration pneumonia. The level of knowledge and attitudes in NSs regarding oral health care were likely to be lowest amongst the student groups. Only NSs' high interest towards oral health care was associated with their positive willingness to practise oral health care in the future although oral health students' high perceptions and interest regarding oral health care were associated with the willingness.

Conclusion

This study showed oral healthcare and nursing students' weak points regarding their attitudes and knowledge of oral health care at early stages. Oral health academic staff and professionals should develop effective oral healthcare curricula for oral healthcare students and help nursing staff develop a collaborative nursing oral healthcare curriculum to motivate nursing students.
Cohort Differences in Mothers' Perceptions of Neighborhood Quality, Child Well‐being, and Parental Strain, 1976–2002
Authors: Nomaguchi Kei , Fettro Marshal Neal
Published: June 2018

Objective

To examine differences in mothers' subjective experiences of child‐rearing between 2 cohorts who lived in different eras of sociodemographic contexts and parenting norms.

Background

A resource perspective suggests that child‐rearing experiences should be easier when mothers have a higher standard of living, higher education, and fewer children, as was the case for mothers in the 2000s compared with mothers in the 1970s. However, a cultural perspective indicates that the intensive mothering ideology, emerged in the 1980s, increased mothers' anxiety and stress over their children's safety and proper development.

Method

Data from 2 national samples of mothers with children between 6 and 12 years of age in the United States collected in 1976 and 2002 (N = 2,465) were analyzed using ordinary least squares regression models.

Results

Mothers in 2002 reported better neighborhood quality and better health of their children than mothers in 1976, even after sociodemographic advantages of mothers in 2002 relative to 1976 were taken into account. Despite these sociodemographic advantages of mothers in 2002, there was little difference in mothers' reports of their children's behavioral adjustments between the 2 cohorts. Furthermore, albeit among Whites only, mothers in 2002 reported more parental strain than did mothers in 1976. There was little variation in mothers' perceptions by socioeconomic status (as measured by a college degree).

Conclusion

Our results support the idea of a stressed‐moms phenomenon in the contemporary United States, particularly among Whites.

Implications

Experts who advise parent education policy and programs should take into account the psychological burden of the current neoliberal emphasis on personal responsibility for raising children on individual mothers.
POST‐1989 GEOGRAPHIES IN TERÉZIA MORA'S DER EINZIGE MANN AUF DEM KONTINENT AND DAS UNGEHEUER
Authors: Gerstenberger Katharina
Published: June 2018

Beginning around the year 2000, a number of German writers and film‐makers began to send their protagonists into Eastern Europe and beyond. Part of a much larger trend towards the transnational in German‐language literature, this development continues the ‘Eastern Turn’ of the 1990s but reverses the direction of movement. In this article I analyse three recent texts by the Hungarian‐born writer Terézia Mora as part of this, by now, multi‐directional ‘Eastern Turn’: her novels Der einzige Mann auf dem Kontinent (2009) and Das Ungeheuer (2013), and her ‘Frankfurter Poetik‐Vorlesungen’, a collection of five lectures assembled under the title Nicht sterben (2014). The novels, both of which chronicle migration from Eastern Europe to Germany as well as travel in the opposite direction and feature German as well as immigrant characters, present an astute critique of contemporary neoliberal economic conditions and practices that have an effect on all the main characters, albeit in very different ways. The lectures give insights into Mora's creative process and the importance of her deep cultural and historical connections to Eastern Europe. They also illustrate Mora's move beyond her own experience of migration toward broader fictional contexts. Taken together, the three texts suggest that traditional views of a Western centre and Eastern peripheries need to be revised in favour of models mindful of multi‐directional movement and the economies that drive it, and capable of mapping the geographies that emerge as a consequence.
DOING GERMAN DIFFERENTLY: NEW RESEARCH PRACTICES AND PARTNERSHIPS AROUND THE UK
Authors: Braun Rebecca , Schofield Benedict
Published: June 2018

This article profiles six current projects in UK German Studies, as first presented by Rebecca Braun, Katrin Kohl, Laura Bradley, James Hodkinson, Seán Williams, and Benedict Schofield at the meeting of the Association for German Studies in September 2017. The projects combine ʻcoreʼ Modern Languages skills (close‐textual analysis, cultural analysis, linguistic and cultural translation) with ‘outlier’ methods that emerge and are developed when engaging with a range of stakeholders beyond the discipline and beyond academe. Collectively, the contributions provide insight into how to set about conceptualising and justifying this sort of work, and reflect on how it might enable us to look at the scope and purpose of German Studies in a new light.
DO MARKETS PROVE PESSIMISTS RIGHT?
Authors: Eichberger Jürgen , Guerdjikova Ani
Published: June 2018

We study how ambiguity and ambiguity attitudes affect asset prices when consumers form their expectations based on past observations. In an overlapping generations economy with risk‐neutral yet ambiguity‐sensitive consumers, we describe limiting asset prices depending on the proportion of investor types. We then study the evolution of consumer‐type shares. With long memory, the market does not select for ambiguity neutrality. Whenever perceived ambiguity is sufficiently small, but positive, only pessimists survive and determine prices in the limit. With one‐period memory, equilibrium prices are determined by Bayesians. Yet, the average price of the risky asset is lower than its fundamental value.
Mechanism study on microformability of optical glass in ultrasonic‐assisted molding process
Authors: Yu Jianwu , Luo Hong , Nguyen Thai Vinh , Lu Yuetuo , Huang Liang , Zhang Yingying
Published: June 2018

Ultrasonic‐assisted glass molding process (UGMP) has gained a promising start in microptics fabrication in recent years. To further understand the microforming process and comprehensively evaluate the microformability of the glass in UGMP, theoretical considerations and numerical simulations are performed in this study. A generalized dynamic viscoelastic model of glass in UGMP is first reformulated based on the ultrasonic thermo‐mechanical effects. Correspondingly, a multiphysics numerical model of UGMP is developed to dynamically observe the thermo‐mechanical rheological behaviors of the L‐BAL42 glass inside the microscale mold cavities. The stress distributions and deformation features of the formed micro‐V‐grooves in different molding processes are further employed to fully investigate the ultrasonic mechanical and thermal effects on glass molding. The results show that, as a product of the combined ultrasonic mechanical and thermal effects, the filling rate of the glass in UGMP is observably increased and homogenized, while its maximum forming stress is reduced by 57.6% compared with the conventional molding process (GMP). It is also found that, the ultrasonic thermal effect is dominant in lowering the forming stress of the glass, while the ultrasonic mechanical effect plays a leading role in homogenizing the filling rate of the glass. This study will provide both theoretical and technical supports for high‐efficiency and high‐precision fabrication of surface‐relief microptical elements.