bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Microbial Potlatch: Cell-level adaptation of leakiness of metabolites leads to resilient symbiosis among diverse cells
Authors: Yamagishi Jumpei F , Saito Nen , Kaneko Kunihiko
Published: November 2020

Microbial communities display extreme diversity, facilitated by the secretion of chemicals that can create new niches. However, it is unclear why cells often secrete even essential metabolites after evolution. By noting that cells can enhance their own growth rate by leakage of essential metabolites, we show that such leaker cells can benefit from coexistence with cells that consume the leaked chemicals in the environment. This leads to an unusual form of mutualism between “leaker” and “consumer” cells, resulting in frequency-dependent coexistence of multiple microbial species, as supported by extensive simulations. Remarkably, such symbiotic relationships generally evolve when each species adapts its leakiness to optimize its own growth rate under crowded conditions and nutrient limitations, leading to ecosystems with diverse species exchanging many metabolites with each other. In addition, such ecosystems are resilient against structural and environmental perturbations. Thus, we present a new basis for diverse, complex microbial ecosystems.
An lp17-encoded small non-coding RNA with a potential regulatory role in mammalian host adaptation by the Lyme disease spirochete
Authors: Crowley Michael A. , Bankhead Troy
Published: November 2020

The bacterial agent of Lyme disease,Borrelia burgdorferi,relies on an intricate gene regulatory network to transit between the disparateIxodestick vector and mammalian host environments. We recently reported that aB. burgdorferimutant lacking an intergenic region of lp17 displayed attenuated murine tissue colonization and pathogenesis due to altered antigen expression. In this study, a more detailed characterization of the putative regulatory factor encoded by the region was pursued through genetic complementation of the mutant with variants of the intergenic sequence.In ciscomplemented strains featuring mutations aimed at eliminating potential BBD07 protein translation were capable of full tissue colonization, suggesting that the region encodes an sRNA.In transcomplementation resulted in elevated transcription levels and was found to completely abolish infectivity in both immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice. Quantitative analysis of transcription of the putative sRNA by wild typeB. burgdorferishowed it to be highly induced during murine infection. Lastly, targeted deletion of this region resulted in significant changes to the transcriptome, including genes with potential roles in transmission and host adaptation. The findings reported herein strongly suggest that this lp17 intergenic region encodes for an sRNA with a critical role in the gene regulation required for adaptation and persistence of the pathogen in the mammalian host.

Author Summary

Lyme disease continues to emerge as a devastating infection that afflicts hundreds of thousands of people annually in the United States and abroad, highlighting the need for new approaches and targets for intervention. Successful development of these therapies relies heavily on an improved understanding of the biology of the causative agent,Borrelia burgdorferi.This is particularly true for the critical points in the life cycle of the pathogen where it must transition between ticks and mammals. Variation in the levels of bacterial gene expression is the lynchpin of this transition and is known to be driven partly by the activity of regulatory molecules known as small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs). In this work, we characterize one of these sRNAs by providing experimental evidence that the transcribed product does not code for a protein, by testing the effects of its overproduction on infectivity, and by interrogating whether its activity causes changes in expression levels of genes at the level of transcription. The findings of this study provide further evidence that regulatory sRNA activity is critical for transmission and optimal infectivity ofB. burgdorferiand contribute to the recently growing effort to attribute specific roles to these important molecules in the context of Lyme disease.
Rapid adaptation to human protein kinase R by a unique genomic rearrangement in rhesus cytomegalovirus
Authors: Child Stephanie J. , Greninger Alexander L. , Geballe Adam P.
Published: November 2020

Cytomegaloviruses (CMVs) are generally unable to cross species barriers, in part because prolonged coevolution with one host species limits their ability to evade restriction factors in other species. However, the limitation in host range is incomplete. For example, rhesus CMV (RhCMV) can replicate in human cells, albeit much less efficiently than in rhesus cells. Previously we reported that the protein kinase R (PKR) antagonist encoded by RhCMV, rTRS1, has limited activity against human PKR but is nonetheless necessary and sufficient to enable RhCMV replication in human fibroblasts (HF). We now show that knockout of PKR in human cells or treatment with the eIF2B agonist ISRIB, which overcomes the translational inhibition resulting from PKR activation, augments RhCMV replication in HF, indicating that human PKR contributes to the inefficiency of RhCMV replication in HF. Serial passage of RhCMV in HF reproducibly selected for viruses with improved fitness in human cells. The evolved viruses contain an inverted duplication of the terminal 6.8 kb of the genome, including rTRS1. The duplication replaces ~11.8 kb just downstream of an internal sequence element,pac1-like, which is very similar to thepac1 cleavage and packaging signal found near the terminus of the genome. Plaque-purified evolved viruses produced at least twice as much rTRS1 as the parental RhCMV and blocked the PKR pathway more effectively in HF. Southern blots revealed that unlike the parental RhCMV, viruses with the inverted duplication isomerize in a manner similar to HCMV and other herpesviruses that have internal repeat sequences. The apparent ease with which this duplication event occurs raises the possibility that thepac1-like site, which is conserved in Old World monkey CMV genomes, may serve a function in facilitating rapid adaptation to evolutionary obstacles.

AUTHOR SUMMARY

Rhesus macaque CMV (RhCMV) is an important model for human CMV (HCMV) pathogenesis and vaccine development. Therefore, it is important to understand the similarities and differences in infectivity and interaction of these viruses with their host species. In contrast to the strict species-specificity of HCMV, RhCMV is able to cross species barriers to replicate in human cells. We know from past work that a component of this broader host range is RhCMV’s ability to counteract both the rhesus and human versions of a key antiviral factor. Here we delve further into the mechanisms by which RhCMV can adapt to counteract human cellular defenses. We find that RhCMV appears to be poised to undergo a specific genomic rearrangement that facilitates increased replication efficiency in human cells. Besides providing insights into CMV species-specificity and host barriers to cross-species transmission, this work also provides more generalized clues about viral adaptative mechanisms.
Interspecies variation of larval locomotion kinematics in the genusDrosophilaand its relation to habitat temperature
Authors: Matsuo Yuji , Nose Akinao , Kohsaka Hiroshi
Published: November 2020

Speed and trajectory of locomotion are characteristic traits of individual species. During evolution, locomotion kinematics is likely to have been tuned for survival in the habitats of each species. Although kinematics of locomotion is thought to be influenced by habitats, the quantitative relation between the kinematics and environmental factors has not been fully revealed. Here, we performed comparative analyses of larval locomotion in 11Drosophilaspecies. We found that larval locomotion kinematics are divergent among the species. The diversity is not correlated to the body length but is correlated instead to the habitat temperature of the species. Phylogenetic analyses using Bayesian inference suggest that the evolutionary rate of the kinematics is diverse among phylogenetic trees. The results of this study imply that the kinematics of larval locomotion has diverged in the evolutionary history of the genusDrosophilaand evolved under the effects of the ambient temperature of habitats.
The host exocyst complex is targeted by a conserved bacterial type III effector protein that promotes virulence
Authors: Michalopoulou Vassiliki A. , Kotsaridis Konstantinos , Mermigka Glykeria , Kotsifaki Dina , Kokkinidis Michael , Celie Patrick H. N. , Jones Jonathan D.G. , Sarris Panagiotis F.
Published: November 2020

For most Gram-negative bacteria, pathogenicity largely depends on the type-III secretion system that delivers virulence effectors into eukaryotic cells. The subcellular targets for the majority of these effectors remain unknown. Here, we show thatXanthomonas campestris, the causal agent of black rot disease, delivers the highly conserved effector XopP that interacts with host’s EXO70 protein. EXO70 is an essential component of the exocyst complex with a role in plant immunity. The XopP/EXO70 interaction is specific and inhibits exocyst-dependent exocytosis without activating a specific plant NLR receptor that guards EXO70. In this way,Xanthomonasefficiently inhibits the host’s PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI) by blocking exocytosis of PR1, callose deposition and the FLS2 immunity-receptor translocation to the plasma membrane, promoting successful infection.
Exosome-Mediated mRNA Delivery For SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination
Authors: Tsai Shang Jui , Guo Chenxu , Sedgwick Alanna , Kanagavelu Saravana , Nice Justin , Shetty Sanjana , Landaverde Connie , Atai Nadia A. , Gould Stephen J.
Published: November 2020

Expression-dependent, Spike-only vaccines have been developed, deployed, and shown to be effective in the fight against SARS-CoV-2. However, additional approaches to vaccine development may be needed to meet existing and future challenges posed by emerging Spike variant strains, as well as a likely need for different antigen-delivery systems that are safe and effective for regular, periodic re-administration. We report here the development of mRNA-loaded exosomes, demonstrate that they can mediate the functional expression of heterologous proteinsin vitroandin vivo, and have fewer adverse effects than comparable doses of lipid nanoparticles. Furthermore, we applied this approach to the development of an exosome-based, multiplexed mRNA vaccine that drives expression of immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid and Spike proteins. This vaccine elicited long-lasting cellular and humoral responses to Nucleocapsid and to Spike, demonstrating that exosome-based mRNA formulations represent a previously unexplored platform in the fight against COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
Immunoregulatory effects of Imuno TF®(transfer factors) on Th1/Th2/Th17/Treg cytokines
Authors: Oliveira Carlos Rocha , Vieira Rodolfo Paula , de Oliveira Ferreira Anderson , de Souza Schmidt Gonçalves Any Elisa , Polonini Hudson
Published: November 2020

Transfer factors are known since 1955 due to their activities on the immune system. Although the reports on the effects on diverse immune mechanisms, their role on Th1, Th2, Th17 and Treg responses was still not described. In this sense, the present work focused on the evaluation of such immune responses. For that, human lymphocytes, and mice thymic, splenic and Peyer’s cells were stimulated with Lipopolysaccharides and Concanavalin A, and then treated with isolated transfer factors (Imuno TF®). The culture medium was harvested and the quantification of Th1 cytokines (IL-2 and IFN-γ), Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13), Th17 cytokine (IL- 17), Treg cytokine (IL-35), inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α), and anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) was performed, as well as the quantification of mRNA levels. Imuno TF®positively regulated Th1 cytokines, while decreased Th2 cytokines. It also increased levels of mRNA and secretion of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, whereas it reduced levels of mRNA and the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α. Finally, it reversed the hypersecretion of IL-17 and did not promote significant changes in IL-35 secretion. This highlights the role of Imuno TF®in the regulation of the immune responses.
The impact ofStaphylococcus aureuscell wall glycosylation on langerin recognition and Langerhans cell activation
Authors: Hendriks A , van Dalen R , Ali S , Gerlach D , van der Marel GA , Fuchsberger FF , Aerts P , de Haas CJC , Peschel A , Rademacher C , van Strijp JAG , Codée JDC , van Sorge NM
Published: November 2020

Staphylococcus aureusis the leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections. It remains incompletely understood how skin-resident immune cells respond toS. aureusinvasion and contribute to an effective immune response. Langerhans cells (LCs), the only professional antigen-presenting cell type in the epidermis, senseS. aureusthrough their pattern-recognition receptor langerin, triggering a pro-inflammatory response. Langerin specifically recognizes the β-1,4-linkedN-acetylglucosamine (β-GlcNAc) modification, which requires the glycosyltransferase TarS, on the cell wall glycopolymer Wall Teichoic Acid (WTA). Recently, an alternative WTA glycosyltransferase, TarP, was identified in methicillin-resistantS. aureusstrains belonging to clonal complexes (CC) 5 and CC398. TarP also modifies WTA with β-GlcNAc but at the C-3 position of the WTA ribitol phosphate (RboP) subunit. Here, we aimed to unravel the impact of β-GlcNAc linkage position for langerin binding and LC activation. In addition, we performed structure-binding studies using a small panel of unique chemically-synthesized WTA molecules to assess langerin-WTA binding requirements. Using FITC-labeled recombinant human langerin and genetically-modifiedS. aureusstrains, we observed that langerin similarly recognized bacteria that produce either TarS- or TarP-modified WTA. Furthermore, using chemically-synthesized WTA, representative of the differentS. aureusWTA glycosylation patterns, established that β-GlcNAc is sufficient to confer langerin binding. Functionally,tarP-expressingS. aureusinduce increased cytokine production and maturation ofin vitro-generated LCs compared totarSexpressingS. aureus. Overall, our data suggest that LCs are able to sense all β-GlcNAc-WTA producingS. aureusstrains, likely performing an important role as first responders uponS. aureusskin invasion.
Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 specific B- and T-cell responses in convalescent COVID-19 patients 6-8 months after the infection
Authors: Sherina Natalia , Piralla Antonio , Du Likun , Wan Hui , Kumagai-Braesh Makiko , Andréll Juni , Braesch-Andersen Sten , Cassaniti Irene , Percivalle Elena , Sarasini Antonella , Bergami Federica , Di Martino Raffaella , Colaneri Marta , Vecchia Marco , Sambo Margherita , Zuccaro Valentina , Bruno Raffaele , Oggionni Tiberio , Meloni Federica , Abolhassani Hassan , Bertoglio Federico , Schubert Maren , Byrne-Steele Miranda , Han Jian , Hust Michael , Xue Yintong , Hammarström Lennart , Baldanti Fausto , Marcotte Harold , Pan-Hammarström Qiang
Published: November 2020

Background

The longevity of the immune response against SARS-CoV-2 is currently debated. We thus profiled the serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels and virus specific memory B- and T-cell responses over time in convalescent COVID-19 patients.

Methods

A cohort of COVID-19 patients from the Lombardy region in Italy who experienced mild to critical disease and Swedish volunteers with mild symptoms, were tested for the presence of elevated anti-spike and anti-receptor binding domain antibody levels over a period of eight months. In addition, specific memory B- and T-cell responses were tested in selected patient samples.

Results

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were present in 85% samples collected within 4 weeks after onset of symptoms in COVID-19 patients. Levels of specific IgM or IgA antibodies declined after 1 month while levels of specific IgG antibodies remained stable up to 6 months after diagnosis. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were still present, though at a significantly lower level, in 80% samples collected at 6-8 months after symptom onset. SARS-CoV-2-specific memory B- and T-cell responses were developed in vast majority of the patients tested, regardless of disease severity, and remained detectable up to 6-8 months after infection.

Conclusions

Although the serum levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies started to decline, virus-specific T and/or memory B cell responses increased with time and maintained during the study period (6-8 months after infection).

Funding

European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (ATAC), the Italian Ministry of Health, CIMED, the Swedish Research Council and the China Scholarship Council.
Resuscitation of soil microbiota after > 70-years of desiccation
Authors: Zhao Jun , Chen Dongfeng , Gao Wei , Guo Zhiying , Jia Zhongjun , Hernández Marcela
Published: November 2020

The abundance and diversity of bacteria in 24 historical soil samples under air-dried storage conditions for more than 70 years were assessed by quantification and high-throughput sequencing analysis of 16S rRNA genes. All soils contained a measurable abundance of bacteria varying from 103to 108per gram of soil and contrasting community compositions were observed in different background soils, suggesting that the bacteria detected were indigenous to the soil. Following a 4-week soil rewetting event, the bacterial abundance significantly increased in soils, indicating strong adaptation of soil bacteria to extreme osmotic change and high resuscitation potential of some bacteria over long periods of desiccation.Paenibacillus, Cohnellaand two unclassifiedBacillalesgenera within the phylumFirmicutesrepresented the most ubiquitously active taxa, which showed growth in the highest number of soils (≥12 soils), while generaTumebacillus, AlicyclobacillusandBrevibacillusin the phylumFirmicutesdisplayed the highest growth rates in soils (with >1000-fold average increase) following rewetting. Additionally, someActinobacteriaandProteobacteriagenera showed relatively high activity following rewetting, suggesting that the resilience to long-term desiccation and rewetting is a common trait across phylogenetically divergent microbes. The present study thus demonstrated that diversified groups of microbes are present and potentially active in historically desiccated soils, which might be of importance in the context of microbial ecology.
Cryo-EM structure of the mature and infective Mayaro virus at 4.4 Å resolution reveals new features of arthritogenic alphaviruses
Authors: Filho Helder Ribeiro , Coimbra Lais D. , Cassago Alexandre , Rocha Rebeca P. F. , Padilha Antonio Cláudio , da Silva Guerra João Victor , Leme Luiza , Trivella Daniela B. B. , Portugal Rodrigo V. , Lopes-de-Oliveira Paulo Sérgio , Marques Rafael Elias
Published: November 2020

Mayaro virus (MAYV) is an emerging arbovirus of the Americas that may cause a debilitating arthritogenic disease. The biology of MAYV is not fully understood and largely inferred from related arthritogenic alphaviruses. Here we present the structure of MAYV at 4.4 Å resolution, obtained from a preparation of mature, infective virions. MAYV presents typical alphavirus features and organization. Interactions between viral proteins that lead to particle formation are described together with a hydrophobic pocket formed between E1 and E2 spike proteins and conformational epitopes specific of MAYV. We also describe MAYV glycosylation residues in E1 and E2 that may affect MXRA8 host receptor binding, and a molecular “handshake” between MAYV spikes formed by N262 glycosylation in adjacent E2 proteins. The structure of MAYV is suggestive of structural and functional complexity among alphaviruses, which may be targeted for specificity or antiviral activity.
In-The-Wild Interference Characterization and Modelling for Electro-Quasistatic-HBC with Miniaturized Wearables
Authors: Mehrotra Parikha , Yang David , Weigand Scott , Sen Shreyas
Published: November 2020

The emergence of Human Body Communication (HBC) as an alternative to wireless body area networks (WBAN) has led to the development of small sized, energy efficient and more secure wearable and implantable devices forming a network in and around the body. Previous studies claim that though HBC is comparatively more secure than WBAN, nevertheless, the electromagnetic (EM) radiative nature of HBC in >10MHz region makes the information susceptible to eavesdropping. Furthermore, interferences may be picked up by the body due to the human body antenna effect in the 40-400MHz range. Alternatively, electro-quasistatic (EQS) mode of HBC forms an attractive way for covert data transmission in the sub 10MHz region by allowing the signal to be contained within the body. However, there is a gap in the knowledge about the mechanism and sources of interference in this region (crucial in allowing for proper choice of data transmission band). In this paper, the interference coupling modality in the EQS region is explained along with its possible sources. Interferences seen by the wearable in the actual scenario is a non-trivial problem and a suitable measurement EQS HBC setup is designed to recreate it by employing a wearable sized measurement setup having a small ground plane. For the first time, a human biophysical interference pickup model is proposed and interference measurement results using a wearable device are presented up to 250kHz in different environmental settings.
Darwinian dynamics over recurrent neural computations for combinatorial problem solving
Authors: Czégel Dániel , Giaffar Hamza , Csillag Márton , Futó Bálint , Szathmáry Eörs
Published: November 2020

Efficient search in enormous combinatorial spaces is an essential component of intelligence. Humans, for instance, are often found searching for optimal action sequences, linguistic structures and causal explanations. Is there any computational domain that provides good-enough and fast-enough solutions to such a diverse set of problems, yet can be robustly implemented over neural substrates? Based on previous accounts, we propose that a Darwinian process, operating over sequential cycles of imperfect copying and selection of informational patterns, is a promising candidate. It is, in effect, a stochastic parallel search that i) does not need local gradient-like information and ii) redistributes its computational resources from globally bad to globally good solution candidates automatically. Here we demonstrate these concepts in a proof-of-principle model based on dynamical output states of reservoir computers as units of evolution. We show that a population of reservoir computing units, arranged in one or two-dimensional topologies, is capable of maintaining and continually improving upon existing solutions over rugged combinatorial reward landscapes. We also provide a detailed analysis of how neural quantities, such as noise and topology, translate to evolutionary ones, such as mutation rate and population structure. We demonstrate the existence of a sharp error threshold, a neural noise level beyond which information accumulated by an evolutionary process cannot be maintained. We point at the importance of neural representation, akin to genotype-phenotype maps, in determining the efficiency of any evolutionary search in the brain. Novel analysis methods are developed, including neural firing pattern phylogenies that display the unfolding of the process.
A commercial antibody to the human condensin II subunit NCAPH2 cross-reacts with a SWI/SNF complex component
Authors: Cutts Erin E. , Taylor Gillian C , Pardo Mercedes , Yu Lu , Wills Jimi C , Choudhary Jyoti S. , Vannini Alessandro , Wood Andrew J
Published: November 2020

Condensin complexes compact and disentangle chromosomes in preparation for cell division. Commercially available antibodies raised against condensin subunits have been widely used to characterise their cellular interactome. Here we have assessed the specificity of a polyclonal antibody (Bethyl A302-276A) that is commonly used as a probe for NCAPH2, the kleisin subunit of condensin II, in mammalian cells. We find that, in addition to its intended target, this antibody cross-reacts with one or more components of the SWI/SNF family of chromatin remodelling complexes in an NCAPH2-independent manner. This cross-reactivity with an abundant chromatin-associated factor is likely to affect the interpretation of protein and chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments that make use of this antibody probe.
Adaptive current-flow models of ECT: Explaining individual static impedance, dynamic impedance, and brain current density
Authors: Unal Gozde , Swami Jaiti K. , Canela Carliza , Cohen Samantha L. , Khadka Niranjan , Rad Mohammad , Short Baron , Argyelan Miklos , Sackeim Harold A. , Bikson Marom
Published: November 2020

Background

Improvements in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) outcomes have followed refinement in device electrical output and electrode montage. The physical properties of the ECT stimulus, together with those of the patient’s head, determine the impedances measured by the device and govern current delivery to the brain and ECT outcomes.

Objective

However, the precise relations among physical properties of the stimulus, patient head anatomy, and patient-specific impedance to the passage of current are long-standing questions in ECT research and practice.

Methods

We developed anatomical MRI-derived models of transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) that included changes in tissue conductivity due to local electrical current flow. These “adaptive” models simulate ECT both during therapeutic stimulation using high (~1 A) current and when dynamic impedance is measured, as well as prior to stimulation when low (~1 mA) current is used to measure static impedance. We modeled two scalp layers: a superficial scalp layer with adaptive conductivity that increases with electric field up to a subject specific maximum, and a deep scalp layer with a subject-specific fixed conductivity (σDS).

Results

We demonstrate that variation in these scalp parameters explain clinical data on subject-specific static impedance and dynamic impedance, their imperfect correlation across subjects, their relationships to seizure threshold, and the role of head anatomy. Adaptive tES models demonstrate that current flow changes local tissue conductivity which in turn shapes current delivery to the brain in a manner not accounted for in fixed tissue conductivity models.

Conclusions

Our predictions that variation in individual skin properties, rather than other aspects of anatomy, largely govern the relationship between static impedance, dynamic impedance, and current delivery to the brain, are themselves subject to assumptions about tissue properties. Broadly, our novel pipeline for tES models is important in ongoing efforts to optimize devices, personalize interventions, and explain clinical findings.
Collagen-induced inflammations
Authors: Du Ningchao , Li Yang , Xu Min , Wu Changlin , Chen Xiaolan , Yang Feng , He Qiong , Liao Muchun , Qiu Jianfu , Wang Changhao , Sun Jun , Ma Xiang , Sheng Guang , Du Kun , Nandakumar Kutty Selva , Song Li
Published: November 2020

Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model is currently the most widely used and reliable autoimmune model to study rheumatoid arthritis. In this model, we used bovine type II collagen (CII) and complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) or incomplete Freund’s adjuvant (IFA) to form emulsifier, and mice were injected intradermal to induce autoimmune arthritis (CIA). In this model, we ground bovine collagen type II (CII) with complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) or incomplete Freund’s adjuvant (IFA) to form emulsifiers, and intradermal injection in mice induced autoimmune arthritis (CIA). This article describes the mouse, CFA strains, key emulsification, anesthesia, and injection immune techniques, as well as the incidence, date of onset, score, pathological results of arthritis. The total time for preparation of reagents and immunization of 20 mice was about 2-2.5 hours. In this protocol, we induced a high incidence of CIA with DBA/1J in genetically susceptible mice and assessed the severity and pathology of the disease, at the same time we found that CII also can induced enteritis, including ileitis and colitis. The initial symptoms of arthritis appear in the 24-26 days of the experiment, that is, 3-5 days after the second immunization, the peak period of inflammation was 30-36 days, the arthritis incidence about 90-100%, at the same time, the incidence of enteritis and arthritis were the same, small intestinal inflammation was more severe, but the duration was short; while the colonic inflammation was mild, and the duration was longer than enteritis, we named it collagen induced inflammations (CIIs).
3D nanoscale analysis of bone healing around degrading Mg implants studied by X-ray scattering tensor tomography
Authors: Liebi Marianne , Lutz-Bueno Viviane , Guizar-Sicairos Manuel , Schönbauer Bernd M. , Eichler Johannes , Martinelli Elisabeth , Löffler Jörg F. , Weinberg Annelie , Lichtenegger Helga , Grünewald Tilman A.
Published: November 2020

The nanostructural adaptation of bone is crucial for its compatibility with orthopedic implants. The bone’s nanostructure determines its mechanical properties, however little is known about its temporal and spatial adaptation in degrading implants. This study presents insights into this adaptation by applying electron microscopy, elemental analysis, and small-angle X-ray scattering tensor-tomography (SASTT). We extend the SASTT reconstruction to multiple radii of the reciprocal space vectorq, providing a 3D reciprocal-space map per voxel. Each scattering curve is spatially linked to one voxel in the volume, and properties such as the thickness of the mineral particles are quantified. This reconstruction provides information on nanostructural adaptation during healing around a degrading ZX10 magnesium implant over the course of 18 months, using a sham as control. The nanostructural adaptation process is observed to start with an initially fast interfacial organization towards the implant direction, followed by a substantial reorganization of the volume around the implant, and an adaptation in the later degradation stages. The study sheds light on the complex bone-implant interaction in 3D, allowing a more guided approach towards the design of future implant materials, which are expected to be of great interest for further clinical studies on the bone-implant interaction.

TOC text and figure

Degrading Magnesium implants are mechanically and chemically well adapted orthopedic implant materials and ensure a gradual load transfer during bone healing due to their degradation. The impact of the implant degradation on the bone nanostructure is however not fully understood. This study unveils the processes 3D and shows different stages of bone healing.
Human reference gut microbiome comprising 5,414 prokaryotic species, including newly assembled genomes from under-represented Asian metagenomes
Authors: Kim Chan Yeong , Lee Muyoung , Yang Sunmo , Kim Kyungnam , Yong Dongeun , Kim Hye Ryun , Lee Insuk
Published: November 2020

Metagenome sampling bias for geographical location and lifestyle is partially responsible for the incomplete catalog of reference genomes of gut microbial species. Here, we present a substantially expanded microbiome catalog, the Human Reference Gut Microbiome (HRGM). Incorporating newly assembled 29,082 genomes from 845 fecal samples collected from three under-represented Asian countries—Korea, India, and Japan—the HRGM contains 232,098 non-redundant genomes of 5,414 representative prokaryotic species, >103 million unique proteins, and >274 million single-nucleotide variants. This is an over 10% increase from the largest reference database. The newly assembled genomes were enriched for members of theBacteroidaceaefamily, including species associated with high-fiber and seaweed-rich diet. Single-nucleotide variant density was positively associated with the speciation rate of gut commensals. Ultra-deep sequencing facilitated the assembly of genomes of low-abundance taxa, and deep sequencing (>20 million read pairs) was needed for the profiling of low-abundance taxa. Importantly, the HRGM greatly improved the taxonomic and functional classification of sequencing reads from fecal samples. Finally, mapping homologous sequences for human auto-antigens onto the HRGM genomes revealed the association of commensal bacteria with high cross-reactivity potential with autoimmunity. The HRGM (www.mbiomenet.org/HRGM/) will facilitate the identification and functional analysis of disease-associated gut microbiota.
Influence of high oxygenated biofuels on micro-gas turbine engine for reduced emission
Authors: Devi Booma , S. Venkatesh , Vimal Rakesh , T.R. Praveenkumar
Published: November 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the effect of additives in Jet-A fuel blends, especially on performance, combustion and emission characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

Jet-A fuel was formed by using Kay’s and Gruenberg–Nissan mixing rules by adding additive glycerol with TiO2. While measuring the combustion performance, the amount of oxygen content present in fuel and atomization are the key factors to consider. As such, the Jet-A fuel was created by adding additives at different proportion. A small gas turbine engine was used for conducting tests. All tests were carried out at different load conditions for all the fuel blends such as neat Jet-A fuel, G10T (glycerol 10% with 50 ppm TiO2 and Jet-A 90%), G20T (glycerol 10% with 50 ppm TiO2 and Jet-A 90%) and G30T (glycerol 10% with 50 ppm TiO2 and Jet-A 90%).

Findings

From tests, the G20T and G10T produced better results than other blends. The thermal efficiency of the blends of G20T and G10T are 22% and 14% higher than neat Jet-A fuel. Further, the improved static thrust with less fuel consumption was noticed in G20T fuel blend.

Originality/value

The G20T blends showed better performance because of the increased oxygenated compounds in the fuel blends. Moreover, the emission rate of environmentally harmful gases such as NOx, CO and HC was lower than the neat Jet-A fuel. From the results, it is clear that the rate of exergy destruction is more in the combustion chamber than the other components of fuel.
A systematic literature review of process modeling guidelines and their empirical support
Authors: Avila Diego Toralles , dos Santos Rubens Ideron , Mendling Jan , Thom Lucineia Heloisa
Published: November 2020

Purpose

Process modeling guidelines are a valuable instrument for increasing the quality of process models. Since finding and selecting suitable guidelines are challenging, this paper aims to find and select suitable guidelines because they are scattered across the many studies of the literature. Also, not all of them are supported by empirical studies.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a systematic literature review to collect and analyze process modeling guidelines present in the literature and the empirical evidence that supports them.

Findings

The authors investigated a total of 793 articles and identified a total of 45 process modeling guidelines in five different categories. For each of these guidelines, the authors report empirical evidence together with corresponding measures, such as comprehension accuracy and error probability.

Originality/value

Compared to the prior literature reviews on process model quality and process modeling guidelines, this article extends current knowledge by analyzing the empirical evidence and variables associated with each guideline. This analysis provides guidance for practitioners and scholars on which guidelines to use while modeling a process and perform further research on.
The transformation of corporate sustainability model in the context of achieving the UN SDGs: evidence from the leading Russian companies
Authors: Blagov Yury E. , Petrova-Savchenko Anastasia A.
Published: November 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the current status and identify the main trends in leading Russian companies’ corporate sustainability model transformation in the context of achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical approach is based on the interpretation of corporate sustainability model transformation within the corporate social performance (CSP) framework. The corporate sustainability model is described according to Dyllick and Muff (2016) business sustainability (BST) 1.0-3.0 spectrum. The analysis is settled on survey data collected from leading Russian companies participated in the “Report on Social Investments in Russia” project conducted by the Russian Managers Association from 2008 to 2019.

Findings

This paper finds that the BST 2.0 is becoming a dominant model based on the “creating shared value” goal. The related CSP is characterized by their orientation to the principles of the UN Global Compact; by the emergence of a coordinating role for specialized departments of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and/or sustainability; and by the regular sustainability reporting. The SDGs are generally correlated with responsible business practices that are already in existence in companies. The emerging trend towards the advanced BST 3.0 model including the SDGs integration into the main business processes is constrained by the lack of active cooperation between companies.

Research limitations/implications

The research sample includes only large Russian companies with a significant industry diversity, participating in the “Report on Social Investments in Russia” project, thereby restricting the analysis of non-participants. The relatively low repetition of participants in this long-term project does also restrict the degree of generalization. Future research could be based on the findings of this paper to create and test hypotheses via a nationwide study of Russian businesses as well as cross-national comparative studies.

Practical implications

The analysis of the corporate sustainability model transformation through studying the key CSP framework elements could support Russian companies in creating systemic changes of their principles, processes and outcomes measurements in the context of achieving the UN SDGs.

Originality/value

This study contributes to existing literature by combining the corporate sustainability model transformation analysis with the CSP framework. It describes the experience of large Russian companies that publicly position themselves as national leaders in the field of CSR and sustainable development.
Numerical and experimental investigation of a spur gear pair with unloaded static transmission error
Authors: Lei Duncai , Kong Xiannian , Chen Siyu , Tang Jinyuan , Hu Zehua
Published: November 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamic responses of a spur gear pair with unloaded static transmission error (STE) excitation numerically and experimentally and the influences of the system factors including mesh stiffness, error excitation and torque on the dynamic transmission error (DTE).

Design/methodology/approach

A simple lumped parameters dynamic model of a gear pair considering time-varying mesh stiffness, backlash and unloaded STE excitation is developed. The STE is calculated from the measured tooth profile deviation under the unloaded condition. A four-square gear test rig is designed to measure and analyze the DTE and vibration responses of the gear pair. The dynamic responses of the gear transmission are studied numerically and experimentally.

Findings

The predicted numerical DTE matches well with the experimental results. When the real unloaded STE excitation without any approximation is used, the dynamic response is dominated by the mesh frequency and its high order harmonic components, which may not be result caused by the assembling error. The sub-harmonic and super-harmonic resonant behaviors are excited because of the high order harmonic components of STE. It will not certainly prevent the separations of mesh teeth when the gear pair is under the condition of high speed and heavy load.

Originality/value

This study helps to improve the modeling method of the dynamic analysis of spur gear transmission and provide some reference for the understanding of the influence of mesh stiffness, STE excitation and system torque on the vibration behaviors.
A clean energy forecasting model based on artificial intelligence and fractional derivative grey Bernoulli models
Authors: Zhang Yonghong , Mao Shuhua , Kang Yuxiao
Published: November 2020

Purpose

With the massive use of fossil energy polluting the natural environment, clean energy has gradually become the focus of future energy development. The purpose of this article is to propose a new hybrid forecasting model to forecast the production and consumption of clean energy.

Design/methodology/approach

Firstly, the memory characteristics of the production and consumption of clean energy were analyzed by the rescaled range analysis (R/S) method. Secondly, the original series was decomposed into several components and residuals with different characteristics by the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) algorithm, and the residuals were predicted by the fractional derivative grey Bernoulli model [FDGBM (p, 1)]. The other components were predicted using artificial intelligence (AI) models (least square support vector regression [LSSVR] and artificial neural network [ANN]). Finally, the fitting values of each part were added to get the predicted value of the original series.

Findings

This study found that clean energy had memory characteristics. The hybrid models EEMD–FDGBM (p, 1)–LSSVR and EEMD–FDGBM (p, 1)–ANN were significantly higher than other models in the prediction of clean energy production and consumption.

Originality/value

Consider that clean energy has complex nonlinear and memory characteristics. In this paper, the EEMD method combined the FDGBM (P, 1) and AI models to establish hybrid models to predict the consumption and output of clean energy.
Does concentration of social housing influence house prices? Evidence from New Zealand
Authors: Sequeira Vernon , Filippova Olga
Published: November 2020

Purpose

Housing affordability in New Zealand is placing significant pressure on the country’s social housing sector with increased demand for public sector accommodation. A common belief suggests that social housing has a negative effect on nearby residential property values. This study aims to develop proximity and concentration measures of social housing to determine if their spatial distribution affects property values.

Design/methodology/approach

Using over 32,000 residential sales transactions from Auckland (New Zealand) during a three-year period (2014–2016), this study applies standard hedonic OLS framework with the addition of spatial autoregressive model and spatiotemporal autoregressive model to test if proximity and concentration of social housing influence residential property values.

Findings

The research found that private houses that share boundaries with public housing are discounted by 1.7%–3.3% depending on the socio-economic status of the submarket. The authors find that wealthier submarkets are better equipped to absorbing negative externalities attached to social housing. Proximity measures tend to peak at 250 m, with houses discounted up to 5% within that distance. Concentration levels of social housing had a greater influence on the private residential market. At low levels of concentration, houses in areas of high and low socio-economic levels were discounted by approximately 6.5%. The discount does not remain uniform and the gap between the two areas is apparent at medium and high concentration levels. The negative effect was the highest − 23% – in the neighbourhoods that were socially and economically deprived.

Originality/value

The study’s findings can assist policymakers in informing strategies on the future social housing initiatives. The findings suggest that a dispersed development strategy that incorporates a balanced mix of tenure and socio-economic groups should be preferred over a high-density social housing concentrated in already deprived neighbourhoods.
Will you shake my hand? Factors of noncompliance with COVID-19 behavioral rules in the framework of enforced social isolation in Russia
Authors: Parfenova Angelina
Published: November 2020

Purpose

This research paper is devoted to the investigation of reasons for not complying with behavioral rules in the context of epidemiological situation aggravation because of COVID-19 spread.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted within the framework of a mixed methodology: a series of semistructured interviews and an online survey. In the first stage, 15 interviews were conducted to understand the possible reasons for not following the self-isolation rules or ignoring self-precaution recommendations. In the second stage, an online survey was conducted from 10th to 20th May 2020, gathering a total of 540 responses. This paper describes existing approaches for understanding the process of making a choice for not following recommended or obligatory behavioral rules as well as the significant reasons for making this choice.

Findings

As a result of the qualitative stage, the process of choosing to perform risky physical contact with another person was analyzed. Moreover, the possible factors that influence this behavior were discovered: primarily social environment and trust in the government, Internet, media. The way of coping with emerging conflict of making a traditional physical contact or staying in distance was also discussed. As a result of the quantitative stage, a significant contribution of trust toward institutions and official statistics on the number of people infected in different aspects of precautionary behavior was discovered, as well as other factors, such as the presence of infected in a social environment of a respondent.

Originality/value

This study contains valuable information about possible reasons for following or not following all precautions in the risky epidemiological situation and about the thinking process of an individual who does not follow precautions.