bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Crystal structure of {2-methyl-2-[(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino]propan-1-ol-κ3
N,N′,O}bis(nitrato-κO)copper(II) from synchrotron data
Authors: Shin Jong Won , Kim Dae-Woong , Jeon Jae-Woo , Moon Dohyun
Published: January 2019

The title compound, [Cu(NO3)2(C10H16N2O)], has been synthesized and characterized by synchrotron single-crystal diffraction at 100 K. The CuII ion has a distorted square-pyramidal coordination geometry with two N and one O atoms of the C10H16N2O ligand and one nitrate anion in the equatorial plane and another nitrate anion at the axial position. The equatorial Cu—N and Cu—O bond lengths are in the range 1.9608 (14)–2.0861 (15) Å, which are shorter than the axial Cu—Onitrate bond length [2.1259 (16) Å]. In the crystal, molecules are linked via intermolecular N—H...O and O—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming a sheet structure parallel to the bc plane. The sheets are further linked through a face-to-face π–π interaction [centroid–centroid distance = 3.994 (1) Å]. Weak intermolecular C—H...O interactions are also observed in the sheet and between adjacent sheets.
Business process architecture design methodologies – a literature review
Authors: Gonzalez-Lopez Fernanda , Bustos Guillermo
Published: January 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the current state of the research field of business process architecture (BPA) and its design methodologies.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted using meta- and content-based perspectives.

Findings

From over 6,000 candidate studies, 89 were selected. A fifth of these primary works corresponded to BPA design methodologies. Though the BPA research field remains in an early stage of development, it bears promising growth potential. Regarding BPA design methodologies, the following aspects susceptible for further research were detected: identification and modeling of business process relationships; specification of inputs; standardization of models, notations and tool support; consideration of managerial concerns; integration of knowledge from other areas; and validation of methodological and product quality aspects.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of the work lies in not being fully reproducible due to the fixed number of data sources and their digital nature, together with subjective decisions in work selection, data extraction and data analysis.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge no study has yet analyzed the BPA research field by means of an SLR. This study will benefit practitioners and research groups working on this topic by allowing them to get a rigorous overview of the BPA research field with an emphasis on available BPA design methodologies, and become aware of research gaps within the BPA field to position further research.
Soft skills for sustainable employment of business graduates of Bangladesh
Authors: Nusrat Mansura , Sultana Nafia
Published: January 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether soft skill requirements found in employer job postings (advertisements) within different roles of business are similar to the soft skills practically needed in the workplace and the perception of faculties at schools of business in Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-phased study was administered. Phase 1 involved reviewing the latest relevant literature and hundreds of job advertisements; and in phase 2, questionnaires were administered to elicit responses from executives and faculty members from different universities in Bangladesh. Judgment sampling and the snowball technique were used to develop the sample of 84 respondents with a response rate of 56 percent. In total, 15 soft skills were used to develop the instrument. Descriptive statistics and a Kruskal–Wallis test were performed to analyze the collected data, where factors that retained α at or below 0.05, a family-wise Bonferroni adjustment (Mann–Whitney U test) was applied.

Findings

All the mentioned soft skills are found to be desirable by the recruiters and faculties also agreed with them. However, there exist disparities on the perceived importance of four soft skills among faculties and recruiters, and a gap was found between the business curriculum and industry expectations from fresh-out business graduates.

Originality/value

This study could be a basis for future studies and would help business education institutions guide their students to master the skills, and to develop and prepare them for real life battle in the job market. Moreover, the study indicates the gap between executives’ expectations from the graduates and the institutional teaching provided by higher education institutions (for business majors), which would help practitioners reform their business curriculum to better ensure employability for their business graduates. Moreover, the study opens an avenue for further research in this field for implementing training programs for attaining the most desired soft skills among higher education institutions.
Analysis of mixed convection in water boundary layer flows over a moving vertical plate with variable viscosity and Prandtl number
Authors: Singh Abhishek Kumar , Singh A.K. , Roy S.
Published: January 2019

Purpose

The purpose of the present study is to analyze the mixed convection water boundary layer flows over moving vertical plate with variable viscosity and Prandtl number. The non-linear partial differential equation governing the flow and thermal fields are presented in non-dimensional form by using appropriate transformation. The quasi-linearization technique in combination with implicit finite difference scheme has been adopted to solve the nonlinear-coupled partial differential equation. The numerical results are displayed graphically to illustrate the influence of various non-dimensional physical parameters on velocity and temperature. Further, the numerical results for local skin-friction coefficient and local Nusselt number are also reported. The present findings are compared with previously reported results, and these comparisons are found to be in excellent agreement.

Design/methodology/approach

The nonlinear partial differential equations governing the flow and thermal fields have been solved numerically using the implicit finite difference scheme in combination with the quasi-linearization technique. The numerical results are presented in terms of skin friction and heat transfer rate which are useful in determining the surface heat requirements for stabilizing the laminar boundary layer flow over a moving plate in water.

Findings

The effect of the ratio of free-stream velocity to the composite reference velocity is significant on the velocity profile. Near the wall region, as ratio of free stream velocity to composite reference velocity increases form 0.1 to 0.5, the velocity overshoot gets enhanced from 3 per cent to 41 per cent. The influence of buoyancy parameter and ration of free stream velocity to composite reference velocity on temperature profile is comparatively less than on velocity profiles. The increase in the skin friction coefficient is dependent on the increase in the value of ratio of free stream velocity to composite reference velocity if the buoyancy parameter λ is fixed and vice versa and increases in ΔT results in a decrease in N and Pr.

Originality/value

The present investigation is to deal with the solution of steady laminar water boundary layer flows over a moving plate with temperature-dependent viscosity and Prandtl number applicable for water using practical data. The fluid considered here is water, as it is one of the most common working fluids found in engineering applications.
Integrating lesson study in Myanmar teacher training
Authors: Shepherd Alison Victoria
Published: January 2019

Purpose

This paper documents a case study implementing Lesson Study (LS) study into a two-year teacher training project in an education university training secondary school teachers in Lower Myanmar. The purpose of this paper is to stimulate interest and discussion about whether Lesson Study is a useful tool in continuing professional development (CPD), particularly within the unique context of developing country educational development.

Design/methodology/approach

Two LS cycles were evaluated by participants using a quantitative-qualitative questionnaire and the case study analysed by the author.

Findings

LS was a useful tool to encourage structured collaboration between university-level teacher educators, however, continued supported practice is needed to expand the benefits and ensure sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of the case study is that the respondents were small in number compared to the number of participants. Furthermore, the questionnaire was not in respondents’ native language which will have affected how well they could communicate. Finally, it was difficult to separate the impact of other project activities from the perceived effects of LS.

Practical implications

This paper has practical implications not only for educators within Myanmar as the country continues its journey of education reform, but also for others implementing LS as a form of CPD, particularly in contexts where it is being introduced for the first time.

Originality/value

Until recently, little was known about Myanmar’s education system internationally. The paper documents the country’s first collaboration with outsiders since the start of the dictatorship to improve educational standards and the effects of introducing LS into this context.
Types of mindsets
Authors: Khurram Shahzad , Khurram Anjeela , Ashraf Nyela
Published: January 2019

Purpose

This study aims to adopt the institutional theory perspective to understand how institutional inconsistencies experienced by individuals translate into meaninglessness. Moreover, using the constructive development theory, it provides a plausible explanation to the enigma – why do some organizational members develop meaninglessness, while others do not?

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper is based on a critical evaluation of extant literature that helped to develop the empirically testable propositions.

Findings

Grounded in the three types of mindsets as proposed in the constructive development theory, this paper suggests that, for socialized knowers, the degree of meaninglessness is directly related to the extent to which valued others perceive meaninglessness with respect to the institutional prescription creating a certain degree of inconsistency. The self-authoring knowers experience a higher degree of meaninglessness, if the alternative institutional prescriptions challenge the ones attached to their desired identity. While, the self-transforming knowers feel a higher level of meaninglessness, when they realize that the institutional inconsistency is strongly related to the experiences of others impacted by it.

Originality/value

This study adds a significant value to the streams of institutional and constructive development theories literature. It theorizes the variations in organizational members’ feeling of meaninglessness in the face of institutional inconsistencies while considering the shaping effects of field pressure and disposition. These propositions integrate the institutional theory and constructive development theory and present more socially acceptable justifications of the organizational members’ reaction of meaninglessness to institutional inconsistencies.
Soldier or actor?
Authors: Shukla Amit
Published: January 2019

Purpose

Though widely studied, organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) is yet to emerge as a thoroughly understood concept. For instance, citizenship behaviours emanating from self-serving motives remain largely unexplored. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of psychological ownership in differentiating individuals with genuine motives (“soldiers”) from those with self-serving motives (“actors”).

Design/methodology/approach

The study defines and operationalises genuineness of OCBs by comparing self-rated and others-rated citizenship behaviours. It is hypothesised that psychological ownership is positively associated with citizenship behaviour, and this relationship is positively moderated by degree of genuineness. All the hypothesised relationships are tested on the basis of empirical evidence produced by a two-wave study on a cross-hierarchical matched sample (n= 338) in a large Indian IT MNC.

Findings

A strong positive relationship between psychological ownership and citizenship behaviour was observed. A positive moderation by genuineness was also found suggesting that relationship between psychological ownership and citizenship behaviour became stronger with higher genuineness. In a nutshell, the results indicated that soldiers and actors could be differentiated on the basis of their relative scores on psychological ownership.

Originality/value

Apart from theoretical contributions, the present study offers a headway to managers in identifying employees who engage in citizenship behaviour out of genuine motives toward their organisation. As citizenship behaviours increasingly find prominence in employees’ self-appraisal, this differentiation assumes importance in promoting workplace fairness.
Executive functioning as a predictive measure of offending behaviour
Authors: Spenser Karin A. , Bull Ray , Betts Lucy , Winder Belinda
Published: January 2019

Purpose

Prosociality is considered important in the study of offenders and associated cognitive skills: theory of mind, empathic understanding and moral reasoning, are said to enable self-control and reduce the risk of offending behaviours. Previous research has made associations between these skills and executive functioning; however, research into a link between them, in an offending population, is limited. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

To further understand the practicalities of this, the present study considered the predictive abilities of the constructs believed to underpin executive functioning: working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control, in relation to theory of mind, empathic understanding and moral reasoning. In total, 200 male and female offenders completed measures in all six constructs.

Findings

Using path analysis working memory was demonstrated to be predictive of theory of mind and empathic understanding, cognitive flexibility was found to be predictive of theory of mind, and inhibitory control was found to be predictive of theory of mind, empathic understanding and moral reasoning.

Research limitations/implications

The study focussed on offenders serving a custodial sentence of six months or less and did not differentiate between crime categories or take into consideration the socio-environmental backgrounds or ethnicity. Therefore, considering these things could further establish the generalisability of the current findings. It is noted that the more focussed the intervention is to the specific needs of an offender, the greater the impact will be. Therefore, pre-screening tests for the constructs discussed may be able to more accurately assess an offenders’ suitability for a programme, or indeed tailor it to meet the specific needs of that person.

Practical implications

These findings may enable practitioners to more accurately assess offenders’ suitability for interventions aimed at reducing offending behaviours by improving levels of prosociality and develop more focussed programmes to meet the specific needs of individual offenders to reduce re-offending.

Social implications

As recommended in the study, a more tailored approach to offender rehabilitation may be a potential aid to reducing levels of recidivism.

Originality/value

The present study adds to the literature as it is the first to consider whether the constructs of executive functioning can predict levels of theory of mind, empathic understanding and moral reasoning and so provide a more accurate method in assessing the cognitive abilities of offenders prior to participation in rehabilitative interventions.
Linking home–work interface, work engagement and psychological capital to customer advocacy
Authors: Shaheen Musarrat , Zeba Farrah , Sekhar Vaibhav , Krishnankutty Raveesh
Published: January 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the influence of the work–family interface on both work engagement and the psychological capital (PsyCap) of the liquid workforce. Also, drawing from the literature on consumer behaviour, the second objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of work engagement and PsyCap on customer advocacy.

Design/methodology

A dyadic study was conducted, comprising 200 nurses and 200 patients from different healthcare service providers of India. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the responses collected from nurses and the patients whom they served.

Findings

The results confirm that the home–work interface has a positive impact on work engagement and PsyCap. The findings also confirm a positive impact of PsyCap on customer advocacy, but the effect of work engagement on customer advocacy was not significant.

Research implications

This study confirms that to keep liquid workers engaged in their work and to enhance their personal PsyCap, an organisation should provide the opportunity to maintain a balance between work and home needs. The findings also confirm that personal psychological resources (PsyCap) facilitate prosocial helping behaviour, which keeps customers closer and maintains them as true representatives of the organisation.

Originality/value

The present study is one of only a few preliminary studies examining the predictors of work engagement of liquid workers. Also, an inter-disciplinary approach was taken to understand the link between employee-level variables (home–work interface, work engagement and PsyCap) and a customer-level variable (customer advocacy).
The goblet and two faces
Authors: Kakkar Shiva
Published: January 2019

Purpose

Paradox theory looks at ambidexterity as a set of paradoxical yet interrelated demands. A form of response to such paradoxes is transcendence. Currently, there is limited understanding of the concept among researchers. Using concepts from the Indian philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, this paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of transcendence, highlight some of the epistemological challenges it presents and suggest ways in which the concept can be used by practitioners and ambidexterity researchers.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses concepts and theories from advaitic episteme to look at concepts of paradox and transcendence. The method of adhyaropa–apavada is introduced as a way to help individuals get a transcendental perspective of paradoxes. The application of the method is demonstrated using secondary data from published research on ambidexterity management.

Findings

It is postulated that transcendence is an “intuitive experience” born out of reflexive thinking. The dialectic of adhyaropa–apavada (affirmation followed by recension) is suggested as a pedagogical tool that can promote reflexive thinking.

Originality/value

The paper significantly adds to the theoretical understanding of paradoxes and transcendence in ambidexterity literature. The paper also makes a strong pedagogical contribution to literature by suggesting the dialectic of adhyaropa–apavada that can be used by managers to promote reflexive thinking among subordinates when faced with paradoxical situations.
Toward the next Common Agricultural Policy reform: Determinants of avian communities in hay meadows reveal current policy's inadequacy for biodiversity conservation in grassland ecosystems
Authors: Assandri Giacomo , Bogliani Giuseppe , Pedrini Paolo , Brambilla Mattia
Published: January 2019

Semi‐natural grasslands are among the richest European ecosystems in terms of biodiversity. However, they have been severely affected by farming intensification and land abandonment, which have been both exacerbated by the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The most recentCAPincluded a “greening” measure dedicated to grassland conservation, presumed to be beneficial to biodiversity; however, scientific evidence about its effectiveness is still scarce.

In the Alps, hay meadows have undergone dramatic management changes in recent decades. We used a comprehensive community ecology approach to highlight how the multi‐scale and interacting effects of such changes impact birds, with the aim of providing knowledge to support improvements to theCAP.

Birds were surveyed at 63 landscape units in northeast Italy, equally subdivided into areas dominated by (a) extensive hay meadows, (b) intensive hay meadows, and (c) areas formerly dominated by meadows but partially converted into other agricultural land use. This environmental gradient mirrors in space the temporal gradient of the agricultural changes that have recently occurred in the Alps.

Community composition, species richness, and the number of meadow‐specialist species were analysed according to environmental predictors (i.e. landscape, meadow management, and topography), and to spatial factors. We aimed to disentangle the exclusive and joint fraction of variation explained by each of them.

Meadow conversion, allowed by theCAPin force, created a shift in community composition towards assemblages dominated by generalist species at the expense of meadow specialists. The cover of intensive meadows was negatively correlated with species richness, whereas the number of meadow specialists was negatively correlated with the cover of early‐mown (i.e. within the third week of June) meadows. Mowing date was, in turn, related to elevation, with meadows at higher elevations mown later in the season, and to meadow intensification (the use of external inputs, in particular liquid manure, leads to earlier and more frequent cuts per year).

Policy implications. Our study confirms the concerns about effectiveness of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy greening grassland measure in conserving biodiversity in those ecosystems. We suggest rethinking the Common Agricultural Policy environmental prescriptions to account for the importance of meadow management in determining bird diversity patterns in Alpine hay meadows. Finally, we highlight market‐based conservation strategies as complementary approaches for preserving grassland biodiversity.
Early supplemental α2‐macroglobulin attenuates cartilage and bone damage by inhibiting inflammation in collagen II‐induced arthritis model
Authors: Li Shengchun , Xiang Chuan , Wei Xiaochun , Sun Xiaojuan , Li Ruifang , Li Pengcui , Sun Jian , Wei Dinglu , Chen Yong , Zhang Yanxiang , Wei Lei
Published: January 2019

Objective

To determine if early supplemental intra‐articular α2‐macroglobulin (A2M) has a chondroprotective effect in a collagen II‐induced arthritis (CIA) mice model.

Methods

DBA/1 mice were randomized into four groups (n = 15/group): (a) CIA + 1.2 μg of A2M; (b) CIA + 0.8 μg of A2M; (c) CIA + 0.4 μg of A2M; (d) vehicle + phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS). A2M was injected into right ankles and PBS was injected into the left ankles simultaneously as internal control at days 36, 43 and 50. The CIA inflammation clinical score and ankle thickness were recorded every other day starting on day 21 until sacrifice. Changes in inflammation were monitored by in vivo fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT). Inflammation, cartilage and bone damage were assessed with X‐ray, histology and immunohistochemistry. Cartilage and inflammation‐related gene expression was quantified by real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Results

All mice showed ankle inflammation on day 33. After day 43, lower clinical scores, ankle thickness and Sharp/van der Heijde method scores in A2M‐treated ankles compared with PBS‐treated ankles. FMT data indicated that the inflammation markers MMPSense and ProSense were significantly elevated in the PBS‐treated ankles than A2M‐treated ankles. Histology and X‐ray analyses indicated that A2M administration resulted in lower levels of inflammatory infiltration and synovial hyperplasia, as well as more typical cartilage and bone organization with increased COL II and Aggrecan staining when compared with PBS‐treated ankles. In addition, real‐time PCR showed that,matrix metalloproteinase‐3, ‐9, ‐13, COL X and Runx2 were significantly less expressed in A2M‐treated groups than PBS‐treated animals.

Conclusion

Early supplemental intra‐articular A2M exerts an anti‐inflammatory effect and attenuates cartilage and bone damage in a CIA model.
Prognostic role of preoperative platelet, fibrinogen, and D‐dimer levels in patients with non‐small cell lung cancer: A multicenter prospective study
Authors: Hou Can , Jiang Feng , Ma Haitao , Zhu Quan , Wang Zhonglin , Zhao Biao , Xue Tao , Tan Sheng , Yang Rusong , Qian Yongxiang , Luo Xuan , Zhao Ming , Xu Xing , Chen Liang , Li Jiayuan
Published: January 2019

Background

The relationships between coagulation factors and non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) prognosis have been intensively studied. However, no previous study has investigated the combined effects of preoperative platelet (PLT), fibrinogen (FIB), and D‐dimer (D‐D) levels on the prognosis of NSCLC.

Methods

A multicenter prospective study was conducted over seven hospitals. A total of 395 patients diagnosed with operable NSCLC for the first time were included and followed‐up until disease progression or the end of the study. Baseline demographic and clinicopathological information, and preoperative coagulation test results were collected for each patient. Univariate and multilevel survival analyses were conducted using Cox regression and shared frailty models.

Results

Multilevel analyses revealed that there was a marginally significant association between elevated PLT level (> 215 × 109/L) and unfavorable progression‐free survival (PFS) (hazard ratio 2.42, P = 0.05), whereas preoperative FIB and D‐D were not significant prognostic factors for PFS (P = 0.31 and 0.30, respectively). Compared to patients with one elevation of the three coagulation factors, patients with at least two elevations of the three factors had a significantly higher risk of cancer progression (hazard ratio 4.62, P = 0.02).

Conclusion

The number of elevated preoperative coagulation factors may have a significant effect on PFS and could be used to predict the prognosis of NSCLC patients after surgery. Future studies are warranted to further investigate the interactions between these three coagulation factors.
Environmental filtering improves ecological niche models across multiple scales
Authors: Castellanos Adrian A. , Huntley Jerry W. , Voelker Gary , Lawing A. Michelle
Published: January 2019

A clear challenge for ecological niche modelling is determining how to best mitigate the effects of sampling bias from commonly collected biodiversity data. Recent approaches have focused on filtering occurrences in overrepresented regions based on geographic or environmental proximity.

We tested the efficacy of filtering in geographic and environmental space using occurrence data from four species. Our evaluation strategies examined 14 distance measures in geographic and environmental spaces and eight combinations of environmental variables and their ordinations. This resulted in 78 datasets for each species, which we evaluated using area under the curve (AUC), the difference between training and testingAUC, omission rate, the true skill statistic, and Schoener's D to examine the effects of different filtering schemes.

The degree of change produced by filtering on predicted suitability and evaluation statistics increased with increasing range size. Environmental filtering resulted in higher model fit at larger extents and retained more occurrences than geographic filtering.

Our results indicate that models should be evaluated using multiple evaluation statistics at multiple thresholds. The use of bin sizes when filtering in environmental space allows for simple comparison between species and filter types and makes for an easily reportable and repeatable distance metric. We specifically recommend that ecological niche models using natural history collection data filter in environmental space with variables derived from permutation importance or the first few axes of a principal components ordination.
The ‘plantspec’ r package: A tool for spectral analysis of plant stoichiometry
Authors: Griffith Daniel M. , Anderson T. Michael
Published: January 2019

Data on plant elemental stoichiometry are essential for ecologists investigating ecosystem function, nutrient cycling, plant–herbivore interactions and leaf economics.

A cost‐effective approach to leaf elemental analysis is near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), whereby components such as carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) can be predicted using NIR spectra from plant material. However, a major factor limiting the widespread use of NIRS by plant ecologists is the availability of free software and calibration data for developing plant chemistry datasets from spectra. Here, we present a pair of companion r packages (‘plantspec’ and ‘plantspecDB’) that satisfy this need by providing an entire workflow, from spectra to predicted elemental data.

The main r package, called ‘plantspec’, allows users to manipulate spectral data and develop custom partial least square (PLS) models for predicting the elemental composition of their own datasets. The second package, ‘plantspecDB’, provides NIR spectra, and matched elemental data obtained with standard analytical techniques, for herbaceous samples collected from 18 grassland sites around the world, primarily sourced from the Nutrient Network experiment. The ‘plantspecDB’ data package also provides calibrations for C, N, P and K for bulk samples and separated by plant functional type: grasses, forbs and legumes. Finally, we provide an example of the ‘plantspec’ workflow, and external validation of these models, and an example application to the stoichiometry of East African grasses as it relates to their evolutionary relationships.

The r package ‘plantspec’, and our associated workflow, provides a template to produce robust calibration models and increase the application of NIR in ecology. Although, we focus on plant stoichiometry, the workflow presented here can be applied broadly for a broad range of applications, including soils, remote sensing data, solutions and tissues. Finally, our global dataset provides unprecedented access to NIR calibration data as they pertain to tissue concentrations of key plant limiting elements.
Reactive oxygen species‐induced changes in glucose and lipid metabolism contribute to the accumulation of cholesterol in the liver during aging
Authors: Seo Eunhui , Kang Hwansu , Choi Hojung , Choi Woohyuk , Jun Hee‐Sook
Published: January 2019

Aging is a major risk factor for many chronic diseases due to increased vulnerability to external stress and susceptibility to disease. Aging is associated with metabolic liver disease such as nonalcoholic fatty liver. In this study, we investigated changes in lipid metabolism during aging in mice and the mechanisms involved. Lipid accumulation was increased in liver tissues of aged mice, particularly cholesterol. Increased uptake of both cholesterol and glucose was observed in hepatocytes of aged mice as compared with younger mice. The mRNA expression of GLUT2, GK, SREBP2, HMGCR, and HMGCS, genes for cholesterol synthesis, was gradually increased in liver tissues during aging. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) increase with aging and are closely related to various aging‐related diseases. When we treated HepG2 cells and primary hepatocytes with the ROS inducer, H2O2, lipid accumulation increased significantly compared to the case for untreated HepG2 cells. H2O2 treatment significantly increased glucose uptake and acetyl‐CoA production, which results in glycolysis and lipid synthesis. Treatment with H2O2 significantly increased the expression of mRNA for genes related to cholesterol synthesis and uptake. These results suggest that ROS play an important role in altering cholesterol metabolism and consequently contribute to the accumulation of cholesterol in the liver during the aging process.
Harm perceptions of e‐cigarettes and other nicotine products in a UK sample
Authors: Wilson Samara , Partos Timea , McNeill Ann , Brose Leonie S.
Published: January 2019

Background and aims

E‐cigarettes (EC) and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) are less harmful than smoking, but misperceptions of relative harm are common. Aims were to (1) assess nicotine knowledge and perceptions of: harm of EC and NRT relative to smoking, addictiveness of EC relative to smoking, and change in harm to user if smoking replaced with EC; (2) define associations of these perceptions with respondent characteristics including nicotine knowledge; and (3) explore perceived main harms of EC and whether these differ by vaping status.

Design

Analyses were: (1) frequencies; (2) logistic regressions of perceptions of relative harm, addictiveness and change in harm onto demographics, smoking and vaping status and nicotine knowledge (attributing cancer or health risks of smoking to nicotine); and (3) frequencies and χ2 statistics.

Setting and participants

Participants were smokers and recent ex‐smokers from one wave (September 2017) of a longitudinal online survey in the United Kingdom (n = 1720).

Measurements

Demographics included gender, age, smoking status, vaping status and income. Survey questions collected data on nicotine knowledge and harm perceptions of different products; the relative harm perceptions of NRT, EC and tobacco cigarettes; and perceived main harms of EC.

Findings

Relative to smoking, 57.3% perceived EC and 63.4% NRT to be less harmful; 25.4% perceived EC to be less addictive; and 32.2% thought replacing smoking with EC reduced health harms a great deal. Participants were less likely to endorse these beliefs if they had never vaped, and participants who had inaccurate nicotine knowledge were less likely to endorse all these beliefs apart from the addictiveness of EC. The main concerns about EC were a lack of research (48.3%), regulation or quality control (37.8%) and harmfulness of chemicals (41.6%).

Conclusions

Large proportions of UK smokers and ex‐smokers overestimate the relative harmfulness of e‐cigarettes and nicotine replacement therapy compared with smoking; misattributing smoking harms to nicotine is associated with increased misperceptions.
Morphology of the inferior pharyngeal bones of white bream (Blicca bjoerkna) in River Warta
Authors: Uzar Tomasz , Andrzejewski Wojciech , Kozak Jerzy
Published: January 2019

The inferior pharyngeal bones are a characteristic feature of the Cyprinidae. Morphology of inferior pharyngeal bones is important in the diagnosis of carnivorous food, or determining the diet of fishes. Due to the lack of literature data, the aim of the study was to examine the morphology of the inferior pharyngeal bone in detail. 102 Blicca bjoerkna specimens caught in the River Warta (Poland) were analysed. 204 inferior pharyngeal bones were collected. The parameters of the inferior pharyngeal bones correlated with the measured head features and the total fish length. The arches of inferior pharyngeal bones did not have directional asymmetry for the two main parameters (height and width of inferior pharyngeal bone). However, there was a left‐sided directional asymmetry of the ventral part of inferior pharyngeal bone. In the case of the B. bjoerkna from River Warta, large differences in terms of individual parameters of inferior pharyngeal bones were observed. Fluctuation asymmetry was low. Shape of inferior pharyngeal bones was very round. In total, 12 teeth formulas were described. The 35.29% of the fish had formula different than described in the literature 2.5–5.2 and more teeth in the right arches. Following identification, measurements of the structures enable estimation of the lengths and weights of prey to be determined from biometric relationships. Analysis of body morphological features in combination with pharyngeal bone morphology could show a hybrid in the Warta river's population.
Seasonal variation in the nutritional value of woody plants along a natural gradient in Eastern Africa
Authors: Gowda Juan Haridas , Palo R. Thomas , Udén Peter
Published: January 2019

Several hypotheses relate a negative relationship between foliar concentration of phenolic compounds and nitrogen to physiological processes such as leaf development, seasonal variation in allocation priorities, nutrient, light and water related growth limitation, as well as herbivore attack. We sampled four common deciduous woody species of central Tanzania monthly during the growing season to assess changes in this relation and their nutritional value to ruminants. We found a negative relationship between leaf N and phenolic compounds within and among species and sites that weakens during the course of the growing season that was consistent for total phenolics, but not for condensed tannins. Leaf N concentration decreased throughout the season, its withdrawal being positively related with leaf N at first sampling date. Secondary compounds concentration showed no consistent seasonal trend. Concentrations of leaf N and phenolics were correlated with 13C discrimination in the two shrub species and with soil P in the two tree species. Digestibility was positively correlated with foliar N and negatively correlated with secondary compounds. We conclude that phenolic compounds may serve as reliable clues for selecting foliage rich in N at site and species level only during the first months of the growing season.
Assessing modern arboreal phytolith sensitivity to vegetation variations in temperate forest regions
Authors: Gao Gui‐Zai , Jie Dong‐Mei , Li De‐Hui , Li Nan‐Nan , Liu Li‐Dan , Liu Hong‐Yan , Leng Cheng‐Cheng , Wang Jiang‐Yong , Liu Bao‐Jian , Li Ping
Published: January 2019

To assess the reliability of arboreal phytoliths for differentiating vegetation types in temperate forest regions, we systematically analysed arboreal leaf phytoliths from 72 arboreal plants and 49 modern soils from three forest types in northeast China. The arboreal leaf phytolith production and morphotypes were highly variable between species. The arboreal leaf phytolith assemblages could clearly distinguish between broadleaf and coniferous species, but they were much less successful in differentiating broadleaved trees into subtaxa. Coniferous leaf morphotypes were successfully used to differentiate coniferous trees into families and subtaxa, especially in the Pinaceae. Two diagnostic broadleaved and six coniferous phytolith morphotypes were recognized within the modern soil beneath forest ecosystems. These arboreal phytoliths comprised up to 10–15% of the total soil phytoliths, and were dominated by coniferous types. Arboreal phytolith concentrations and phytolith assemblages in the soils fluctuated substantially amongst the three forest types. Soil arboreal phytolith assemblages were successfully used to differentiate samples from Larix mixed forest, broadleaf forest and Pinus koraiensis mixed forest. In addition, the arboreal index quantitatively distinguished the three forest types, with B/BE values <0.4 for Larix mixed forest samples, values from 0.4 to 0.6 for broadleaf forest samples, and values from 0.6 to 0.9 for P. koraiensis mixed forest. Thus, our surface soil arboreal phytolith assemblages and arboreal index are a useful reference for differentiating forest ecotypes, and they also provide reliable analogues for arboreal phytoliths from palaeoecological contexts in temperate forest regions.
The viral safety of intravenous immune globulin
Authors: Yap P L
Published: January 2019

The viral safety of intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) preparations has been investigated since 1983 when it was discovered that non-A, non-B hepatitis (NANBH) could be transmitted by an experimental IVIG preparation. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the virus causing NANBH is the hepatitis C virus (HCV). A number of subsequent episodes of HCV transmission by IVIG have been reported, but not all the factors that have led to this transmission arc clearly understood. However, based on two episodes of HCV transmission by anti-D immune globulin (formulated for intravenous administration), it appears that cold ethanol fractionation is important in ensuring viral safety because both of the implicated anti-D immune globulin preparations were manufactured without cold ethanol fractionation. Other HCV transmission episodes have been associated with chromatography (particularly DEAE-Sephadcx chromatography) as a separation step carried out to further purify IgG, after cold ethanol fractionation, and it is possible that such a procedure has only a marginal partitioning capacity for infective HCV virions. The role of anti-HCV screening in improving the viral safety of IVIG preparations remains unclear, but a recent transmission episode by a previously safe IVIG preparation suggests that the absence of anti-HCV antibodies during plasma fractionation may affect the partitioning characteristics of HCV and may also cause a loss of neutralizing antibody against HCV. All of the IVIG preparations associated with HCV transmission have been formulated as freeze-dried preparations and this may have been important in stabilizing HCV during the period prior to administration to patients. No other viruses appear to have been transmitted by IVIG preparations, but prior to seroconversion, HCV-infected plasma donors may continue to contaminate plasma pools used for the manufacture of blood products, despite anti-HCV screening, and additional viral inactivation steps such as incubation at pH4 or solvent-detergent treatment should be incorporated into the production process of all IVIG preparations.
Immunomodulation in allogeneic marrow transplantation: use of intravenous immune globulin to suppress acute graft-versus-host disease
Authors: Sullivan K M
Published: January 2019

Intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) has been used with success to prevent and treat infection in patients with immunodeficiencies of humoral immune function. More recently, IVIG has been shown to modulate immune responses and to treat successfully several autoimmune diseases. Initial trials in bone marrow transplant recipients were aimed at the prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease. Although most studies showed such a benefit, CMV prophylaxis is now commonly provided by use of CMV-negative blood products or ganciclovir prophylaxis in, respectively, CMV-seronegative and CMV-seropositive patients. Acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and associated infections remain critical barriers to the wider application of allogeneic blood or marrow transplantation, especially among patients given HLA-disparate grafts. To date, four controlled clinical trials have shown a significant reduction in acute GVHD in patients given IVIG (500–1000 mg/kg) weekly until 90–120 days post-transplant. In addition, bacterial infection in the early transplant period appears reduced. Meta-analysis of controlled trials reporting acute GVHD endpoints in 379 patients found a relative risk of acute GVHD of 0·68 (95% CI, 0·45–1·02) in IVIG recipients compared to untreated controls. Overall mortality reported in 809 patients in these trials showed an odds ratio of mortality of 0·74 (0·55–0·99) in IVIG recipients compared to controls (values < 1·0 suggest that IVIG was effective in preventing the event). More recently it has been shown that in the absence of hypogammaglobulinaemia, IVIG (500 mg/kg) given monthly from day 90 to 360 did not reduce the incidence of chronic GVHD or late complications. Future research is aimed at characterizing the mechanism of action of suppression of acute GVHD with weekly IVIG prophylaxis and the role of IVIG prophylaxis in patients receiving unrelated marrow grafts.
Intravenous immune globulin: an alternative therapy in steroid-dependent allergic diseases
Authors: Gelfand E W , Landwehr L P , Esterl B , Mazer B
Published: January 2019

A fundamental feature of asthma is abnormal airway function, now recognized to result from both acute and chronic inflammatory changes. Central to the development of these inflammatory changes may be the activation of T cells and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In the skin, a similar cascade of events may underlie the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis. Asthma and atopic dermatitis often share several features that may be important in their pathogenesis: T-cell infiltration of the tissues, elevated IgE levels, and a history of known triggers associated with positive immediate skin-test reactions. In both diseases administration of intravenou immune globulin (IVIG) on a regular basis appears to reduce the need for systemic corticosteroids, reduce symptoms and for asthmatics, reduce hospitalization costs. Although the mechanism of action of IVIG in these disorders remams to be defined, it may be exhibiting significant anti-inflammatory activity. IVIG may be a potent alternative in the treatment of severe, steroid-dependent allergic disorders, reducing steroid dependency.
Early experience with the use of hepatitis C antibody‐positive, nucleic acid testing‐negative donors in lung transplantation
Authors: Watson Joshua , Mulvihill Michael S. , Cox Morgan L. , Rich Lauren , Wolfe Cameron R. , Gray Alice , Hartwig Matthew G.
Published: January 2019

Historically, potential lung donors who have detectable antibodies to hepatitis C virus have been declined by most centers due to concern for possible disease transmission. We sought to evaluate hepatitis C viral transmission rates from donors who were known to be HCV Ab positive but HCV NAT negative. We performed a single‐center retrospective review of a prospectively collected database for lung transplant recipients at our center including HCV Ab+NAT‐ donors (approved January 2017). Donor and recipient demographic data were compiled, and records were queried to ascertain rate of seroconversion. During the study period (1/1/17 to 8/9/17), a total of 64 recipients underwent lung transplantation. Thirteen (20%) donors were HCV Ab+NAT‐. All recipients of HCV Ab+NAT‐ grafts were HCV Ab‐ at the time of transplant. Recipients of grafts from HCV Ab+NAT‐ donors underwent protocol NAT at 2 and 12 months and all are NAT‐ to date. One recipient developed reactive HCV Ab at 6 months post‐transplant. Follow‐up NAT showed HCV RNA to be undetectable. To date, use of HCV Ab+NAT‐ donors in lung transplantation has yielded favorable outcomes, with evidence of one transient seroconversion suggesting this practice may increase access to life‐saving transplantation to those in need.
Development of in vitro three‐dimensional co‐culture system for metabolic syndrome therapeutic agents
Authors: Park Sung B. , Lee Sun Y. , Jung Won H. , Lee Junhee , Jeong Hye G. , Hong Jongki , Kang Dukjin , Kim Ki Y.
Published: January 2019

Aims

There are many obstacles to overcome in the development of new drugs for metabolic diseases, including efficacy and toxicity problems in later stages of drug development. To overcome these problems and predict efficacy and toxicity in early stages, we constructed a new model of insulin resistance in terms of communication between 3T3‐L1 adipocytes and RAW264.7 macrophages by three‐dimensional (3D) culture.

Results

In this study, results focused on the functional resemblance between 3D co–culture of adipocytes and macrophages and adipose tissue in diabetic mice. The 3D mono–culture preadipocytes showed good cell viability and induced cell differentiation to adipocytes, without cell confluence or cell–cell contact and interaction. The 3D co‐cultured preadipocytes with RAW264.7 macrophages induced greater insulin resistance than two‐dimensional and 3D mono‐cultured adipocytes. Additionally, we demonstrated that 3D co‐culture model had functional metabolic similarity to adipose tissue in diabetic mice. We utilized this 3D co‐culture system to screen PPARγ antagonists that might have potential as therapeutic agents for diabetes as demonstrated by an in vivo assay.

Conclusion

This in vitro 3D co‐culture system could serve as a next‐generation platform to accelerate the development of therapeutics for metabolic diseases.