bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Heat Stress at Different Grain‐Filling Phases on the Grain Yield and Quality of Waxy Maize
Authors: Lu Dalei , Sun Xuli , Yan Fabao , Wang Xin , Xu Renchao , Lu Weiping
Published: November 2013

Effects of heat stress (mean day/night temperatures of 35.2/16.1 and 27.4/15.6°C for heat stress and control, respectively) during different grain‐filling phases (1–10, 11–20, 21–30, 31–40, and 1–40 days after pollination [DAP]) on the grain yield and quality of waxy maize were investigated using two varieties. Heat stress decreased the number and weight of grains, thereby reducing grain yield. The effects of heat stress at an early grain development stage (before 20 DAP) were severe. Compared with the control, starch deposition was not affected by heat stress in Suyunuo5, and it was only decreased by heat stress at 1–10 DAP in Yunuo7. Protein content responses to heat stress were variety and stage dependent. Heat stress increased the iodine‐binding capacities of both varieties. Peak and breakdown viscosities were decreased by heat stress, and the effects gradually decreased with postponement of high temperature. Heat stress increased gelatinization temperature and retrogradation percentage for both varieties, and the response was stage dependent. Heat stress during the whole grain‐filling period increased the pasting and gelatinization temperatures but decreased gelatinization enthalpy. Changes in protein and starch contents as well as the proportion of long chains in amylopectin affected the pasting and thermal properties.
The Complete Genome Sequence of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter americanus’, Associated with Citrus Huanglongbing
Authors: Wulff Nelson A. , Zhang Shujian , Setubal João C. , Almeida Nalvo F. , Martins Elaine C. , Harakava Ricardo , Kumar Dibyendu , Rangel Luiz Thiberio , Foissac Xavier , Bové Joseph M. , Gabriel Dean W.
Published: November 2013

Liberibacter spp. form a Rhizobiaceae clade of phloem-limited pathogens of limited host range. Two obligately parasitic species have been sequenced: ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’, which causes citrus huanglongbing (HLB) worldwide, and ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’, which causes potato “zebra chip” disease. A third (proposed) species, Liberibacter crescens, was isolated from mountain papaya, grown in axenic culture, and sequenced. In an effort to identify common host determinants, the complete genomic DNA sequence of a second HLB species, ‘Ca. L. americanus’ strain ‘São Paulo’ was determined. The circular genome of 1,195,201 bp had an average 31.12% GC content and 983 predicted protein encoding genes, 800 (81.4%) of which had a predicted function. There were 658 genes common to all sequenced Liberibacter spp. and only 8 genes common to ‘Ca. L. americanus’ and ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ but not found in ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’. Surprisingly, most of the lipopolysaccharide biosynthetic genes were missing from the ‘Ca. L. americanus’ genome, as well as OmpA and a key regulator of flagellin, all indicating a ‘Ca. L. americanus’ strategy of avoiding production of major pathogen-associated molecular patterns present in ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ and ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’. As with ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’, one of two ‘Ca. L. americanus’ prophages replicated as an excision plasmid and carried potential lysogenic conversion genes that appeared fragmentary or degenerated in ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’.
Towards an evolutionary theory of the origin of life based on kinetics and thermodynamics
Authors: Pascal Robert , Pross Addy , Sutherland John D.
Published: November 2013

A sudden transition in a system from an inanimate state to the living state—defined on the basis of present day living organisms—would constitute a highly unlikely event hardly predictable from physical laws. From this uncontroversial idea, a self-consistent representation of the origin of life process is built up, which is based on the possibility of a series of intermediate stages. This approach requires a particular kind of stability for these stages—dynamic kinetic stability (DKS)—which is not usually observed in regular chemistry, and which is reflected in the persistence of entities capable of self-reproduction. The necessary connection of this kinetic behaviour with far-from-equilibrium thermodynamic conditions is emphasized and this leads to an evolutionary view for the origin of life in which multiplying entities must be associated with the dissipation of free energy. Any kind of entity involved in this process has to pay the energetic cost of irreversibility, but, by doing so, the contingent emergence of new functions is made feasible. The consequences of these views on the studies of processes by which life can emerge are inferred.
Nocardia kroppenstedtii sp. nov., an actinomycete isolated from a lung transplant patient with a pulmonary infection
Authors: Jones Amanda L. , Fisher Andrew. J. , Mahida Rahul , Gould Kate , Perry John D. , Hannan Margaret M. , Judge Eoin P. , Brown Ros , Boagey Kimberley , Goodfellow Michael
Published: November 2013

A novel actinomycete, strain N1286T, isolated from a lung transplant patient with a pulmonary infection, was provisionally assigned to the genus

Nocardia

. The strain had chemotaxonomic and morphological properties typical of members of the genus

Nocardia

and formed a distinct phyletic line in the

Nocardia

16S rRNA gene tree. Isolate N1286T was most closely related to

Nocardia farcinica

DSM 43665T (99.8 % gene sequence similarity) but could be distinguished from the latter by the low level of DNA–DNA relatedness. These strains were also distinguishable on the basis of a broad range of phenotypic properties. It is concluded that strain N1286T represents a novel species of the genus

Nocardia

for which the name

Nocardia

kroppenstedtii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is N1286T ( = DSM 45810T = NCTC 13617T).
Rhodococcus defluvii sp. nov., isolated from wastewater of a bioreactor and formal proposal to reclassify [Corynebacterium
hoagii] and Rhodococcus equi as Rhodococcus hoagii comb. nov.
Authors: Kämpfer P. , Dott W. , Martin K. , Glaeser S. P.
Published: November 2013

A Gram-stain-positive, non-endospore-forming rod-shaped bacterium, strain Ca11T, was isolated from a bioreactor with extensive phosphorus removal and was studied in detail for its taxonomic allocation. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed closest sequence similarity of the strain to type strains of [

Corynebacterium hoagii

] and

Rhodococcus equi

(98.9 %),

Rhodococcus koreensis

and

Rhodococcus wratislaviensis

(both 98.4 %),

Rhodococcus opacus

and

Rhodococcus canchipurensis

(both 98.0 %) followed by

Rhodococcus kunmingensis

and

Rhodococcus imtechensis

(97.7 %). Phylogenetic trees showed a distinct clustering of strain Ca11T with the type strains of [

C. hoagii

],

R. equi

, and

R. kunmingensis

separate to all other species of the genus

Rhodococcus

. The quinone system of strain Ca11T was composed of dihydrogenated menaquinones with 8 (major amount) as well as 7 and 6 isoprenoid units [MK-8(H2), MK-7(H2), MK-6(H2)]. The polar lipid profile consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylinositol mannoside, one unknown phospholipid and an unidentified glycolipid. The fatty acid profile was similar to that reported for

R. equi

and contained major amounts of C16 : 0, C18 : 1ω9c and 10-methyl C18 : 0, supporting the allocation of the strain to the genus

Rhodococcus

. Physiological and biochemical characterization and DNA–DNA hybridization with type strains of the most closely related species allowed clear phenotypic and genotypic differentiation of the isolate. On the basis of these results, strain Ca11T ( = DSM 45893T = LMG 27563T) represents a novel species of the genus

Rhodococcus

, with the proposed name Rhodococcus defluvii sp. nov. In addition, a polyphasic taxonomic analysis of [

Corynebacterium hoagii

] DSM 20295T and

Rhodococcus equi

DSM 20307T indicated that the two strains belong to the same species, for which the name Rhodococcus hoagii comb. nov. takes priority, according to the Rules of the Bacteriological Code.
Hephaestia caeni gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel member of the family Sphingomonadaceae isolated from activated sludge
Authors: Felföldi Tamás , Vengring Anita , Márialigeti Károly , András Judit , Schumann Peter , Tóth Erika M.
Published: November 2013

A Gram-staining-negative, rod-shaped and motile bacterium, designated strain ERB1-3T, was isolated from a laboratory-scale activated sludge system treating coke plant effluent using thiocyanate-supplemented growth medium. Strain ERB1-3T was oxidase-positive and weakly catalase-positive. The predominant fatty acids were C18 : 1ω7c (35.6 %) and C17 : 1ω6c (29.2 %), and the major respiratory quinone was Q-10. Polar lipids were dominated by sphingoglycolipid and phosphatidylglycerol. Major polyamines were spermidine and sym-homospermidine. The G+C content of the genomic DNA of strain ERB1-3T was 66.4 mol%. Based on the 16S rRNA gene, strain ERB1-3T exhibited the highest sequence similarity values to

Sphingomonas sanxanigenens

DSM 19645T (96.1 %),

Sphingobium scionense

DSM 19371T (95.1 %) and

Stakelama pacifica

LMG 24686T (94.8 %) within the family

Sphingomonadaceae

. The novel isolate had some unique chemotaxonomic features that differentiated it from these closely related strains, contained much more C17 : 1ω6c, C15 : 0 2-OH, C17 : 0 and C17 : 1ω8c fatty acids and possessed diphosphatidylglycerol only in trace amounts. On the basis of the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and molecular data, strain ERB1-3T is considered to represent a novel genus and species, for which the name Hephaestia caeni gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is ERB1-3T ( = DSM 25527T = NCAIM B 02511T).
Antimicrobial susceptibility and mechanisms of high-level macrolide resistance in clinical isolates of Moraxella nonliquefaciens
Authors: Nonaka Shotaro , Matsuzaki Kosuke , Kazama Tomoya , Nishiyama Hiroyuki , Ida Yoko , Koyano Saho , Sonobe Kazunari , Okamura Noboru , Saito Ryoichi
Published: November 2013

We investigated antimicrobial susceptibility and the molecular mechanism involved in conferring high-level macrolide resistance in 47 clinical isolates of Moraxella nonliquefaciens from Japan. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined using Etest and agar dilution methods. Thirty-two erythromycin-non-susceptible strains were evaluated for the possibility of clonal spreading, using PFGE. To analyse the mechanism related to macrolide resistance, mutations in the 23S rRNA gene and the ribosomal proteins, and the presence of methylase genes were investigated by PCR and sequencing. The efflux system was examined using appropriate inhibitors. Penicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, cefixime, levofloxacin and antimicrobials containing β-lactamase inhibitors showed strong activity against 47 M. nonliquefaciens isolates. Thirty-two (68.1 %) of the 47 isolates showed high-level MICs to macrolides (MIC ≥128 mg l−1) and shared the A2058T mutation in the 23S rRNA gene. The geometric mean MIC to macrolides of A2058T-mutated strains was significantly higher than that of WT strains (P<0.0001). Thirty-two isolates with high-level macrolide MICs clustered into 30 patterns on the basis of the PFGE dendrogram, indicating that the macrolide-resistant strains were not clonal. In contrast, no common mutations of the ribosomal proteins or methylase genes, or overproduction of the efflux system were observed in A2058T-mutated strains. Moreover, of the 47 M. nonliquefaciens strains, 43 (91.5 %) were bro-1 and 4 (8.5 %) were bro-2 positive. Our results suggest that most M. nonliquefaciens clinical isolates show high-level macrolide resistance conferred by the A2058T mutation in the 23S rRNA gene. This study represents the first characterization of M. nonliquefaciens.
Growth on mannitol-rich media elicits a genome-wide transcriptional response in Burkholderia multivorans that impacts on multiple virulence traits in an exopolysaccharide-independent manner
Authors: Denman Carmen C. , Robinson Matthew T. , Sass Andrea M. , Mahenthiralingam Eshwar , Brown Alan R.
Published: November 2013

In common with other members of the Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC), Burkholderia multivorans is capable of producing exopolysaccharide (EPS) when grown on certain mannitol-rich media. The significance of the resulting mucoid phenotype and the genome-wide response to mannitol has never been characterized despite its clinical relevance following the approval of a dried-powder preparation of mannitol as an inhaled osmolyte therapy for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. In the present study we defined the transcriptional response of B. multivorans ATCC 17616, a model genome-sequenced strain of environmental origin, to growth on mannitol-rich yeast extract media (MYEM). EPS-dependent and -independent impact of MYEM on virulence-associated traits was assessed in both strain ATCC 17616 and the CF isolate B. multivorans C1576. Our studies revealed a significant transcriptional response to MYEM encompassing approximately 23 % of predicted genes within the genome. Strikingly, this transcriptional response identified that EPS induction occurs in ATCC 17616 without the upregulation of the bce-I and bce-II EPS gene clusters, despite their pivotal role in EPS biosynthesis. Of approximately 20 differentially expressed putative virulence factors, 16 exhibited upregulation including flagella, ornibactin, oxidative stress proteins and phospholipases. MYEM-grown B. multivorans also exhibited enhanced motility, biofilm formation and epithelial cell invasion. In contrast to these potential virulence enhancements, MYEM-grown B. multivorans C1576 showed attenuated virulence in the Galleria mellonella infection model. All of the observed phenotypic responses occurred independently of EPS production, highlighting the profound impact that mannitol-based growth has on the physiology and virulence of B. multivorans.
Combinatorial effects of multiple enhancer variants in linkage disequilibrium dictate levels of gene expression to confer susceptibility to common traits
Authors: Corradin Olivia , Saiakhova Alina , Akhtar-Zaidi Batool , Myeroff Lois , Willis Joseph , Cowper-Sal·lari Richard , Lupien Mathieu , Markowitz Sanford , Scacheri Peter C.
Published: November 2013

DNA variants (SNPs) that predispose to common traits often localize within noncoding regulatory elements such as enhancers. Moreover, loci identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) often contain multiple SNPs in linkage disequilibrium (LD), any of which may be causal. Thus, determining the effect of these multiple variant SNPs on target transcript levels has been a major challenge. Here, we provide evidence that for six common autoimmune disorders (rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and ulcerative colitis), the GWAS association arises from multiple polymorphisms in LD that map to clusters of enhancer elements active in the same cell type. This finding suggests a “multiple enhancer variant” hypothesis for common traits, where several variants in LD impact multiple enhancers and cooperatively affect gene expression. Using a novel method to delineate enhancer–gene interactions, we show that multiple enhancer variants within a given locus typically target the same gene. Using available data from HapMap and B lymphoblasts as a model system, we provide evidence at numerous loci that multiple enhancer variants cooperatively contribute to altered expression of their gene targets. The effects on target transcript levels tend to be modest and can be either gain- or loss-of-function. Additionally, the genes associated with multiple enhancer variants encode proteins that are often functionally related and enriched in common pathways. Overall, the multiple enhancer variant hypothesis offers a new paradigm by which noncoding variants can confer susceptibility to common traits.
Distorted octahedral environments in tricarbonylrhenium(I) complexes of 5-[2-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)diazen-1-yl]quinolin-8-olate and 5,7-bis[2-(2-methylphenyl)diazen-1-yl]quinolin-8-olate
Authors: Schutte-Smith Marietjie , Muller Theunis J. , Visser Hendrik G. , Roodt Andreas
Published: November 2013

The ReIcentres of two ReI–tricarbonyl complexes,viz.tricarbonyl(pyridine-κN){5-[2-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)diazen-1-yl]quinolin-8-olato-κ2N1,O}rhenium(I), [Re(C23H21N4O)(CO)3], (I), and {5,7-bis[2-(2-methylphenyl)diazen-1-yl]quinolin-8-olato-κ2N1,O}tricarbonyl(pyridine-κN)rhenium(I), [Re(C28H23N6O)(CO)3], (II), are facially surrounded by three carbonyl ligands, a pyridine ligand and either a 5-[2-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)diazen-1-yl]quinolin-8-olate [in (I)] or a 5,7-bis[2-(2-methylphenyl)diazen-1-yl]quinolin-8-olate [in (II)] ligand, in a slightly distorted octahedral environment. The crystal structure of (I) is stabilized by two intermolecular C—H...O interactions and that of (II) is stabilized by three intermolecular C—H...O hydrogen-bonding interactions.
Tosylate salts of the anticancer drug lapatinib
Authors: Ravikumar K. , Sridhar B. , Nanubolu Jagadeesh Babu , Rao A. K. S. Bhujanga , Jyothiprasad R.
Published: November 2013

Two tosylate salts of an anticancer drug lapatinib,viz. a monotosylate [systematic name: ({5-[4-({3-chloro-4-[(3-fluorophenyl)methoxy]phenyl}amino)quinazolin-6-yl]furan-2-yl}methyl)[2-(methylsulfonyl)ethyl]azanium 4-methylbenzenesulfonate], C29H27ClFN4O4S+·C7H7O3S−, (I), and a ditosylate [systematic name: 4-({3-chloro-4-[(3-fluorophenyl)methoxy]phenyl}amino)-6-]5-({[2-(methylsulfonyl)ethyl]azaniumyl}methyl)furan-2-yl[quinazolin-1-ium bis(4-methylbenzenesulfonate)], C29H28ClFN4O4S2+·2C7H7O3S−, (II), were obtained during crystallization attempts for polymorphism. In both structures, the lapatinib cation is in a distorted U-like conformation and the tosylate anion is clamped between the aniline N atom and methylamine N atom through N—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming anR22(15) ring motif. The 4-anilinoquinazoline ring system is essentially planar in (I), while it is twisted in (II), controlled by an intramolecular C—H...N interaction. In (I), alternating cations and anions are linked by N—H...O hydrogen bonds intoC22(6) chains. These chains are linked by cations in a helical manner. The presence of the additional tosylate anion in (II) results in the formation of one-dimensional tapes of fused hydrogen-bonded rings through N—H...O and C—H...O interactions. These studies augment our understanding of the role of nonbonded interactions in the solid state, which is useful for correlation to the physicochemical properties of drug products.
(OC-6-13)-Difluoridooxidobis(propan-2-ol)(propan-2-olato)vanadium(V)
Authors: Kohl Julia , Wiedemann Dennis
Published: November 2013

The distorted octahedral title complex, [VV(C3H7O)(C3H8O)2F2O], was synthesizedvialigand exchange at [VVO(OiPr)3] with aqueous hydrogen fluoride in propan-2-ol and crystallized from (D)chloroform at 238 K after a few weeks. Crystal structure determination shows twoC1-symmetric moieties to be present in the asymmetric unit, forming infinite chains along [100]viahydrogen bonds. The compound provides the first crystal structure containing the [VF2O(OiPr)] motif.
Strategies forin situlaser heating in the diamond anvil cell at an X-ray diffraction beamline
Authors: Petitgirard Sylvain , Salamat Ashkan , Beck Pierre , Weck Gunnar , Bouvier Pierre
Published: November 2013

An overview of several innovations regardingin situlaser-heating techniques in the diamond anvil cell at the high-pressure beamline ID27 of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility is presented. Pyrometry measurements have been adapted to allow simultaneous double-sided temperature measurements with the installation of two additional online laser systems: a CO2and a pulsed Nd:YAG laser system. This reiteration of laser-heating advancements at ID27 is designed to pave the way for a new generation of state-of-the-art experiments that demand the need for synchrotron diffraction techniques. Experimental examples are provided for each major development. The capabilities of the double pyrometer have been tested with the Nd:YAG continuous-wave lasers but also in a time-resolved configuration using the nanosecond-pulsed Nd:YAG laser on a Fe sample up to 180 GPa and 2900 K. The combination of time-resolved X-ray diffraction within situCO2laser heating is shown with the crystallization of a high-pressure phase of the naturally found pyrite mineral MnS2(11 GPa, 1100–1650 K).
The effect of strategic orientations on business performance in SMEs
Authors: Laukkanen Tommi , Nagy Gábor , Hirvonen Saku , Reijonen Helen , Pasanen Mika
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– The present study sheds light on the role of strategic orientations (SOs) in explaining business growth. The purpose of this paper is to examine how different SOs, namely learning orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation and brand orientation simultaneously affect business performance measured with brand performance, market performance and business growth in SME context and whether these effects vary across countries.

Design/methodology/approach

– An extensive data set of 1,120 effective responses is collected from two European countries, namely Hungary, representing a post socialist rapidly growing market, and Finland with a stable, highly developed and competitive economy. A multigroup moderation analysis is conducted. Confirmatory factor analysis is used in testing measurement invariance, subsequently followed by structural equation modeling procedure used in testing research hypotheses developed on the basis of a literature review.

Findings

– The results show that entrepreneurial orientation, market orientation and brand orientation have a positive effect on business growth in SMEs in both Hungary and Finland through brand and market performance. With regard to learning orientation, a positive yet somewhat weak effect on growth is found only in the Hungarian sample. The moderation analysis reveals that country moderates several of the hypothesized paths from SOs to business performance.

Originality/value

– Prior studies on SOs have mainly focussed on single orientations at any given time. However, researchers increasingly argue that many firms are better off if they build their strategies on multiple SOs. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first empirical studies to address multiple (four) SOs in the same research model. Furthermore, little is known about if and how the performance effects of different SOs vary across countries.
Prevention of farmers’ moral hazard in safe farming in China: by incentives or constraints?
Authors: Xiong Ying , Chen Lv Zhong , Ding Ya
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to understand farmers’ moral hazard in safe farming in China and quantify the degree to which farmers’ moral hazard is prevented by incentive or constraint means or their combinations.

Design/methodology/approach

– The logit model is used to analyze farmers’ moral hazard in safe farming and the effects of determinants by applying survey data of 560 vegetable and fruit farmers in China.

Findings

– The result reveals that farmers’ moral hazard in safe farming is prevented by a combination of incentives and constraints. Among incentive factors, profits from safe agro-products are verified to affect farmers’ moral hazard negatively, whereas the effect of safe certification subsidy is not clear. In constraint factors, production environmental supervision (PESUPV) and agricultural input supervision (AISUPV) have significant effects in reducing farmers’ moral hazard, whereas the effects of production process supervision and market access supervision are not clear. Further, the incentives from higher profits of safe agro-products play a greater role in the prevention of farmers’ moral hazard than the constraints from PESUPV and AISUPV. The results indicate that farmers’ moral hazard in safe farming is more likely to be prevented by incentives compared with constraints.

Research limitations/implications

– The study has some limitations that should be taken into account in future research. First, food safety incidents happen frequently in China, which caused widespread social concern. These affairs may spark a rethink for farmers about how to produce safe agro-products. From this prospective, farmers’ moral hazard in safe farming may be prevented by their social responsibility. However, the survey did not show it. This may be related to the beginning stage of safe farming in China. With the development of safe farming, the effect of social responsibility on the prevention of farmers’ moral hazard would constitute an interesting extension of the work. Second, the study focusses on farmers’ production of safe vegetables and fruits in three areas of China. Covering more activities and areas is likely to commit fruitful results.

Originality/value

– Based on the theoretical analysis of farmers’ moral hazard in safe farming through using a principal-agent model, the paper proposes hypotheses of incentives and constraints affecting farmers’ moral hazard in safe farming and verifies them through logit model with the survey data from 15 counties (or cities) in Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Sichuan Provinces of China. The result provides some evidences that farmers’ moral hazard in safe farming is simultaneously affected by a combination of incentives and constraints and may be taken as proofs for China's policy-making and focusses implementation in preventing farmers’ moral hazard in safe farming.
Evaluating a third sector community service following stroke
Authors: Jenkins Linda , Brigden Charlotte , King Annette
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the needs of stroke survivors and the impact of a Life After Stroke service on users, and to explore the effectiveness of a service provided by a third sector organisation working closely with other stroke service provision.

Design/methodology/approach

– Review of management documents and reports, polling views of 128 service users through a nationally recognised survey designed to assess the service impact, and using interviews and focus groups to gain a deeper understanding of the value and impact of the service from a range of professionals involved with delivering stroke care. Survey response rates were similar to that experienced nationally and the age/gender profile of respondents suggested they were representative.

Findings

– The service was highly regarded by service users as providing personal, practical and emotional support from people who were knowledgeable and accessible in acute hospitals. From the wider perspective, professionals involved in the stroke pathway saw the service as complementing the acute hospital provision and the stroke community nursing team. The organisation providing the support service worked effectively across health and social care boundaries and built on their existing links and trusted relationships.

Originality value

– This adds to the evidence that the personal impact of stroke is substantial, and on being discharged from acute care many survivors will still have considerable needs. For those responsible for meeting these needs, the particular model of delivering stroke support evaluated here has been found to have considerable merits and resilience in the changing landscape of tighter resources and NHS restructuring.
Rights that trump
Authors: Palm Elin
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to deal with an increasing securitization and criminalisation of migration in Europe highlighting ethical implications of the current surveillance-based EU migration governance. It is shown that EU member states employ surveillance regimes to control movements across borders and to restrict migrants' access to their territories. The ethical acceptability of such practices is questioned with a particular focus on the “freedom of movement”.

Design/methodology/approach

– In order to establish the extent to which the current EU migration governance can be considered ethically justifiable, the article starts out from the right to mobility as coded in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. It is shown that the current migration governance obstructs the rights specified in Articles 13 and 14. At the same time, shortcomings of the UN declaration are discussed and the need for a better protection of the freedom of movement is suggested.

Findings

– It is established that human rights are such that promote normative agency and a type of rights that trump, for example, states interests in restricting access to their territories do not outweigh individuals rights to seek asylum. In order to make this relation more clear however, the right to mobility should be made symmetric, including both a right to leave and to enter (but not a right to immigrate and settle). An extensive right to freedom of movement is advocated based on the significance of mobility for normative agency. A substantial right to mobility supports the right to seek asylum.

Originality/value

– As of yet, ethical implications of surveillance-based border control are under-researched.
Ethics of Google's Knowledge Graph: some considerations
Authors: Juel Vang Katrine
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the ethical implications of Google's Knowledge Graph. The paper argues that in the advent and implementation of said Knowledge Graph, the role of Google in users' lives and the power held by Google as the key intermediary of information must be scrutinized.

Design/methodology/approach

– Revisiting existing literature on Google and its impact on knowledge culture, the paper seeks to assess whether the implementation of The Knowledge Graph represents a significant shift in the nature (or use) of the service.

Findings

– The paper concludes that the extension to Google Search, The Knowledge Graph, can serve to radicalize Google's position as a key intermediary of information in users' lives. Rather than simply serving as a gatekeeper supplying the user with an array of links matching a given query, Google now conveniently disseminates information on their own site, roughly rendering the remainder of the web superfluous. Considering both the commercial nature and the opacity of the service, Google as a de facto solo editor of information is worrying from both a democratic and ethical perspective. A culture of emphatic insistence on convenience and consumption is likely to contribute to the impediment of autonomous information retrieval and digital literacy.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper must be considered a preliminary inquiry into Google's reliability as an editor of the body of knowledge. As of yet, no literature specifically has remarked on The Knowledge Graph.

Originality/value

– This paper examines whether the newest extension of Google Search, The Knowledge Graph, poses any significant changes to the assessment of the service and its role in the culture. Fostering critical, digital literacy in search engine users is deemed of even more vital importance to society with the implementation of The Knowledge Graph. This paper, preliminary and far from exhaustive, seeks to initiate a discussion on the future responsibilities of Google, scholars and users in securing the ideal of critical digital literacy.
How CEOs, CIOs and CMOs see the technology future of corporate openness, customer individualization and innovation partnerships
Authors: Ban Linda , Marshall Anthony
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– The authors have analyzed IBM surveys on evolving C-suite technology priorities over several years to find fresh opportunities for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) and Chief Information Officers (CIOs) to work closely together.

Design/methodology/approach

– This new study of evolving technology priorities is based on conversations with thousands of private and public sector C-suite executives participating in a series of IBM surveys over the past decade.

Findings

– The authors found that the major technology challenges facing corporations are how to manage openness across the organization, individualize customer relationships and invest in the partnership ecosystem for innovation.

Research limitations/implications

– This is a meta analysis based on a series of reports on IBM interviews with top executives starting in 2004.

Practical implications

– To achieve significant innovation, outperforming organizations are pursuing external partnerships. Increasingly partners are non-traditional – communities of interest, academic institutions or other types of organizations.

Originality/value

– The authors identify three key challenges for CEOs, CMOs and CIOs and show how they can align their technology plans and resources to address them.
Ten drivers of radical management in the “creative economy”
Authors: Denning Stephen
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– The author has found that some companies are learning to thrive by adopting a customer-centric model of continuous innovation. He describes their practices.

Design/methodology/approach

– These masters of the new creative economy have abandoned many of the major pillars of twentieth century management thinking. The author describes the new principles of the radical management agenda.

Findings

– Ten dramatic shifts in management thinking have occurred. The author offers a blueprint for transition from the old to the new perspective.

Practical implications

– Leaders must give more attention to competing on the basis of value they are adding to customers, not simply how efficient they are.

Originality/value

– In the emerging creative economy, competitive advantage is increasingly transient. Today organizations can only survive by continuously satisfying the changing needs of the customer. The author provides a blueprint for action.
Sesanate – a pilot project to explore a therapeutic cyber community
Authors: Moore Maria
Published: November 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to describe a pilot experiment to establish a web site to enable people undergoing therapy, or having similar problems, to communicate with one another – in effect, the cyber equivalent of a therapeutic community.

Design/methodology/approach

– Software for a dating web site was adapted as a low cost means of driving the site. It provided for chatrooms, group discussions on topics of mutual interest, notice boards on which questions, responses, articles and poems could be posted and blogs. A volunteer Steering Group worked on the project launch and thereafter manned the site and monitored the project. User feedback indicated that a cyber community could meet the psychological needs of the participants and provide useful support, particularly between visits to a therapist. A surprising outcome was the feeling of community developed by written exchanges, i.e. blogs and forum notice boards. Direct on-line contact generated anxiety in some people, but most found it beneficial.

Findings

– The paper confirms that such a site would be a useful supplement to other therapeutic services available, and would not be expensive to establish or run, but needed the backing of the NHS or a large medical charity to ensure that the number of users would be at a viable level in the long term.

Originality/value

– As far as the author is aware the paper reports the first ever study of the potential use of a cyber therapeutic community.
Upregulation of PGC‐1α expression by Alzheimer's disease‐associated pathway: presenilin 1/amyloid precursor protein (APP)/intracellular domain of APP
Authors: Robinson Ari , Grösgen Sven , Mett Janine , Zimmer Valerie C. , Haupenthal Viola J. , Hundsdörfer Benjamin , P. Stahlmann Christoph , Slobodskoy Yulia , Müller Ulrike C. , Hartmann Tobias , Stein Reuven , Grimm Marcus O. W.
Published: November 2013

Cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP) by β‐ and γ‐secretase generates amyloid‐β (Aβ) and APP intracellular domain (AICD) peptides. Presenilin (PS) 1 or 2 is the catalytic component of the γ‐secretase complex. Mitochondrial dysfunction is an established phenomenon in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the causes and role of PS1, APP, and APP's cleavage products in this process are largely unknown. We studied the effect of these AD‐associated molecules on mitochondrial features. Using cells deficient in PSs expression, expressing human wild‐type PS1, or PS1 familial AD (FAD) mutants, we found that PS1 affects mitochondrial energy metabolism (ATP levels and oxygen consumption) and expression of mitochondrial proteins. These effects were associated with enhanced expression of the mitochondrial master transcriptional coactivator PGC‐1α and its target genes. Importantly, PS1‐FAD mutations decreased PS1's ability to enhance PGC‐1α mRNA levels. Analyzing the effect of APP and its γ‐secretase‐derived cleavage products Aβ and AICD on PGC‐1α expression showed that APP and AICD increase PGC‐1α expression. Accordingly, PGC‐1α mRNA levels in cells deficient in APP/APLP2 or expressing APP lacking its last 15 amino acids were lower than in control cells, and treatment with AICD, but not with Aβ, enhanced PGC‐1α mRNA levels in these and PSs‐deficient cells. In addition, knockdown of the AICD‐binding partner Fe65 reduced PGC‐1α mRNA levels. Importantly, APP/AICD increases PGC‐1α expression also in the mice brain. Our results therefore suggest that APP processing regulates mitochondrial function and that impairments in the newly discovered PS1/APP/AICD/PGC‐1α pathway may lead to mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegeneration.
On becoming a civic‐minded instructional designer: An ethnographic study of an instructional design experience
Authors: Yusop Farrah Dina , Correia Ana‐Paula
Published: November 2013

This ethnographic study took place in a graduate course at a large research university in the Midwestern United States. It presents an in‐depth examination of the experiences and challenges of a group of four students learning to be Instructional Design and Technology professionals who are concerned with the well‐being of all members of a society, and wish to utilize their knowledge and skills to help solve social problems and improve people's lives. Building on the results of previous research, findings indicate that the course, designed using the Civic‐Minded Instructional Designers (CMID) framework, succeeded in enhancing students' civic‐minded agency, the group's purposeful and reflective acts that aim at addressing the educational needs of community members. The course was designed to mimic a small, multiteam Instructional Design and Technology consulting company offering professional‐level services free of charge. Community partners consisted of four real‐world clients to whom students addressed an instructional issue. Data were collected from observations, focus groups, individual interviews with students and community partners, and analyses of course artifacts and students' reflections. Students were found to diligently address community members' needs, give voice to their community partners, address sustainability of their projects, be sensitive to their community partners' perspectives and acknowledge their community partners as design partners. Challenges encountered include reconfiguring students' roles and building trustful relationships with their community partners. This study contributes a deeper understanding of the roles of instructional design professionals within larger social contexts. Lessons learned can inform the implementation of the CMID framework in other educational programs.
Membership, participation and knowledge building in virtual communities for informal learning
Authors: Chunngam Bunthida , Chanchalor Sumalee , Murphy Elizabeth
Published: November 2013

This paper reports on a study involving the design of a virtual community for informal learning about Thai herbs. The community relied on social networking tools and a database of expert knowledge as well as community coordinators. One group of coordinators (Community A) concentrated efforts in recruitment of members on those individuals most likely to be interested in Thai herbs. The second group of coordinators (Community B) recruited from among friends, family and acquaintances. Analysis and t‐tests of measurement of membership, participation and knowledge building revealed higher rates for Community A. Results pertaining to the design of the virtual community, which showed that members mostly used the database, provide evidence to support the hypothesis that members' access to expert knowledge positively influences participation and knowledge building in a virtual community for informal learning. Results of the comparison of Community A versus Community B provide evidence to support the hypothesis that interest in the subject of the community positively influences membership, participation and knowledge building in a virtual community for informal learning.
Back to the Future? US Labour in the New Gilded Age
Authors: Milkman Ruth
Published: November 2013

This article argues that the twenty‐first century US labour movement has increasingly come to resemble its counterpart in the Gilded Age 100 years ago. Starting in the 1970s, deindustrialization and deregulation have gradually undermined the New Deal labour relations system, and have led to the proliferation of precarious labour. The labour movement then began to experiment with alternative labour organizing strategies and increasingly sought out political alliances with other progressive movements, reproducing practices that were widespread among US unions prior to the New Deal era. Although many of these experiments have succeeded on a small scale, they face intransigent opposition from employers and anti‐union organizations, and whether they can be expanded enough to generate a new labour movement upsurge remains to be seen.
Receptor activity‐modifying protein‐dependent effects of mutations in the calcitonin receptor‐like receptor: implications for adrenomedullin and calcitonin gene‐related peptide pharmacology
Authors: Watkins H A , Walker C S , Ly K N , Bailey R J , Barwell J , Poyner D R , Hay D L
Published: November 2013

Background and Purpose

Receptor activity‐modifying proteins (RAMPs) define the pharmacology of the calcitonin receptor‐like receptor (CLR). The interactions of the different RAMPs with this class B GPCR yield high‐affinity calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) or adrenomedullin (AM) receptors. However, the mechanism for this is unclear.

Experimental Approach

Guided by receptor models, we mutated residues in the N‐terminal helix of CLR, RAMP2 and RAMP3 hypothesized to be involved in peptide interactions. These were assayed for cAMP production with AM, AM2 and CGRP together with their cell surface expression. Binding studies were also conducted for selected mutants.

Key Results

An important domain for peptide interactions on CLR from I32 to I52 was defined. Although I41 was universally important for binding and receptor function, the role of other residues depended on both ligand and RAMP. Peptide binding to CLR/RAMP3 involved a more restricted range of residues than that to CLR/RAMP1 or CLR/RAMP2. E101 of RAMP2 had a major role in AM interactions, and F111/W84 of RAMP2/3 was important with each peptide.

Conclusions and Implications

RAMP‐dependent effects of CLR mutations suggest that the different RAMPs control accessibility of peptides to binding residues situated on the CLR N‐terminus. RAMP3 appears to alter the role of specific residues at the CLR‐RAMP interface compared with RAMP1 and RAMP2.
Detection of 15 novel mutations in 52 children from 40 families with the Marfan or Loeys–Dietz syndrome and phenotype–genotype correlations
Authors: Pees C. , Michel‐Behnke I. , Hagl M. , Laccone F.
Published: November 2013

We report about 52 pediatric patients of 40 different families with confirmed Marfan syndrome (MFS) in 49 patients and Loeys–Dietz syndrome (LDS) in 3 patients. We found 39 different mutations, 15 of them being novel. Phenotype–genotype correlation in the 49 MFS patients showed that the majority of patients carrying mutations in exons 1–21 had ectopic lens (80%). Patients having mutations in exons 23–32 had a higher probability of aortic root dilation, in 50% even above a z score of 3. We found three children with neonatal MFS form, two of them with novel mutations. Of the three LDS patients, only one presented with the typical phenotype of LDS type 1.
The role of epithelial mesenchymal transition and resistance to neoadjuvant therapy in locally advanced rectal cancer
Authors: Bhangu A. , Wood G. , Brown G. , Darzi A. , Tekkis P. , Goldin R.
Published: November 2013

Aim

Nonresponse to neoadjuvant therapy is a significant challenge for clinicians managing solid cancers. This study aimed to determine whether epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) was associated with nonresponse to neoadjuvant therapy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

Method

Representative tissue specimens from the tumour‐invasive front of consecutive patients undergoing resection of rectal cancer from 2009 to 2011 were used. Patients with marked regression to neoadjuvant therapy were classified as responders and the remainder were classified as nonresponders. Markers of EMT included reduced immunohistochemical expression of membranous E‐cadherin, increased nuclear beta‐catenin expression and tumour budding. In‐situ hybridization was used to assess the expression of microRNA‐200c (mir200c), an upstream master‐regulator of EMT.

Results

Of 103 patients undergoing resection of rectal cancer, 69 received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy; 65% of these were nonresponders. Reduced expression of mir200c was significantly associated with a higher T grade. Reduced membranous E‐cadherin, increased nuclear beta‐catenin and tumour budding individually predicted the presence of extramural vascular invasion. Reduced E‐cadherin, nucleic beta‐catenin, reduced expression of mir200c and tumour budding were all significantly associated with nonresponse to neoadjuvant therapy (all P < 0.001). Reduced E‐cadherin and expression of mir200c were both associated with reduced cancer‐specific survival (log‐rank P‐values 0.036 and 0.009, respectively).

Conclusion

Targeted biomarkers of EMT were associated with nonresponse to neoadjuvant therapy and reduced survival in advanced rectal cancer. EMT may provide a practical clinical biomarker and a novel therapeutic target to improve the proportion of patients who respond to neoadjuvant therapy.
Efficacy and safety of vildagliptin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus inadequately controlled with dual combination of metformin and sulphonylurea
Authors: Lukashevich V. , Del Prato S. , Araga M. , Kothny W.
Published: November 2013

Aim

The broadly used combination of metformin and sulphonylurea (SU) often fails to bring patients to glycaemic goal. This study assessed the efficacy and safety of vildagliptin as add‐on therapy to metformin plus glimepiride combination in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who had inadequate glycaemic control.

Methods

A multicentre, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study randomized patients to receive treatment with vildagliptin 50 mg bid (n = 158) or placebo (n = 160) for 24 weeks.

Results

After 24 weeks, the adjusted mean change in haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was −1.01% with vildagliptin (baseline 8.75%) and −0.25% with placebo (baseline 8.80%), with a between‐treatment difference of −0.76% (p < 0.001). Significantly more patients on vildagliptin achieved the HbA1c target <7% (28.3% vs. 5.6%; p < 0.001). The difference in fasting plasma glucose reduction between vildagliptin and placebo was −1.13 mmol/l (p < 0.001). In subgroup of patients with baseline HbA1c ≤8%, vildagliptin reduced HbA1c by 0.74% from baseline 7.82% (between‐treatment difference: –0.97%; p < 0.001) with significantly more patients achieving the HbA1c target <7% (38.6% vs. 13.9%; p = 0.014). Vildagliptin was well tolerated with low incidence of hypoglycaemia, slightly higher than with placebo (5.1% vs. 1.9%) and no clinically relevant weight gain.

Conclusions

Vildagliptin significantly improved glycaemic control in patients with T2DM inadequately controlled with metformin plus glimepiride combination. The addition of vildagliptin was well tolerated with low risk of hypoglycaemia and weight gain. This makes vildagliptin an attractive treatment option for patients failing on metformin plus SU particularly in patients with baseline HbA1c ≤8%.