bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
IL-28B down-regulates regulatory T cells but does not improve the protective immunity following tuberculosis subunit vaccine immunization
Authors: Luo Yanping , Ma Xingming , Liu Xun , Lu Xiaoling , Niu Hongxia , Yu Hongjuan , Bai Chunxiang , Peng Jinxiu , Xian Qiaoyang , Wang Yong , Zhu Bingdong
Published: November 2015

Regulatory T cells (Tregs), which could be down-regulated by IL-28B, were reported to suppress T-cell-mediated immunity. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of IL-28B on the immune responses and protective efficacy of a tuberculosis (TB) subunit vaccine. First, a recombinant adenoviral vector expressing mouse IL-28B (rAd-mIL-28B) was constructed; then C57BL/6 mice were immunized with subunit vaccine ESAT6-Ag85B-Mpt64 (190–198) -Mtb8.4-HspX (EAMMH) and rAd-mIL-28B together thrice or primed with Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette–Gue′rin (BCG) and boosted by EAMMH and rAd-mIL-28B twice. At last the immune responses were evaluated, and the mice primed with BCG and boosted by subunit vaccines were challenged with virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv to evaluate the protective efficacy. The results showed that rAd-mIL-28B treatment significantly down-regulated the frequency of Tregs at 4 weeks after the last immunization but did not increase the T h 1-type immune responses. Moreover, in the regimen of BCG priming and EAMMH boosting, rAd-mIL-28B treatment did not increase the antigen-specific cellular and humoral immune responses, and consequently did not reduce the bacteria load following H37Rv challenge. Instead, it induced more serious pathology reaction. In conclusion, IL-28B down-regulates Tregs following EAMMH vaccination but does not improve the protective immune responses.
Multilayered temporal modeling for the clinical domain
Authors: Lin Chen , Dligach Dmitriy , Miller Timothy A , Bethard Steven , Savova Guergana K
Published: November 2015

Objective To develop an open-source temporal relation discovery system for the clinical domain. The system is capable of automatically inferring temporal relations between events and time expressions using a multilayered modeling strategy. It can operate at different levels of granularity—from rough temporality expressed as event relations to the document creation time (DCT) to temporal containment to fine-grained classic Allen-style relations.

Materials and Methods We evaluated our systems on 2 clinical corpora. One is a subset of the Temporal Histories of Your Medical Events (THYME) corpus, which was used in SemEval 2015 Task 6: Clinical TempEval. The other is the 2012 Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside (i2b2) challenge corpus. We designed multiple supervised machine learning models to compute the DCT relation and within-sentence temporal relations. For the i2b2 data, we also developed models and rule-based methods to recognize cross-sentence temporal relations. We used the official evaluation scripts of both challenges to make our results comparable with results of other participating systems. In addition, we conducted a feature ablation study to find out the contribution of various features to the system’s performance.

Results Our system achieved state-of-the-art performance on the Clinical TempEval corpus and was on par with the best systems on the i2b2 2012 corpus. Particularly, on the Clinical TempEval corpus, our system established a new F1 score benchmark, statistically significant as compared to the baseline and the best participating system.

Conclusion Presented here is the first open-source clinical temporal relation discovery system. It was built using a multilayered temporal modeling strategy and achieved top performance in 2 major shared tasks.
Transgluteal Approach for Drainage of Obturator Internus Abscess in Pediatric Patients
Authors: White Stephen , Stopka Stephanie , Nimityongskul Prasit , Jorgensen Dennis
Published: November 2015

Background:

Of the locations of peripelvic pyomyositis, infection of the obturator musculature poses a difficult challenge for operative drainage. The anatomic location of the obturator muscles, especially the obturator internus, complicates operative debridement as the surgical approach must safely bypass a large number of neurovascular structures. Realizing the challenges and risks of approaches to the obturator musculature, the purpose of our study was to review a novel, yet simple, posterior approach to the obturator internus.

Methods:

We reviewed a case series of children (age 0 to 18 y), who presented to our institution with obturator internus pyomyositis. The patients’ demographics, vital signs, laboratory data, and radiographic findings from the initial evaluation were reviewed. Blood and intraoperative culture results were collected. Duration of symptoms and length of hospital stay were also reviewed. Cases of suspected obturator internus abscess were confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvis. All patients in this study who met the operative indications were debrided using the posterior transgluteal approach.

Results:

Five patients were identified who met criteria for isolated obturator internus pyomyositis. Four out of the 5 patients met operative indications and underwent drainage through a transgluteal approach. One patient responded well to antibiotic treatment; therefore, no surgery was indicated. Purulence was expressed in all 4 operative cases. Hospital length of stay ranged from 6 to 14 days. All patients were treated with an IV antibiotic course for 3 to 6 weeks. All patients returned to normal function and activity levels. There were no surgical complications.

Conclusions:

This case series has reviewed a new technique for the drainage of an isolated obturator internus abscess. The transgluteal posterior approach is a simple approach that is performed through a single incision with minimal soft-tissue dissection. It avoids the risks and challenges posed by other approaches. Most importantly, our case series, although small, in our experience, has shown that it is a safe and effective approach for drainage of obturator internus abscess.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV.
The Long-term Clinical Effect of Minimal-Invasive TLIF Technique in 1-Segment Lumbar Disease
Authors: Li Yi-bing , Wang Xiao-dong , Yan Hong-wei , Hao Ding-jun , Liu Zheng-hua
Published: November 2015

Study Design:

A prospective cohort double-center study.

Objective:

To assess the clinical effect of minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (miTLIF) using the tunnel technique.

Summary of Background Data:

A series of short-term studies have indicated that miTLIF could reduce blood loss and improve clinical results. However, long-term clinical study and magnetic resonance imaging research are still scare.

Methods:

From January 2008 to January 2009, 187 patients with 1-segment lumbar disease requiring intervertebral fusion were enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the operative methods. Postoperative low back pain (LBP), postoperative lumbar function, the fusion rate, lower extremity pain relief, variation of lumbar lordosis, and implant failure were assessed. At 48 months postoperation, the cross-sectional area of the paraspinal muscle was measured using magnetic resonance imaging.

Results:

The mean duration of follow-up was 54.4±5.9 months. The intermuscular pressure generated by the tunnel in the miTLIF group was lower than that generated in the oTLIF group. Patients in the miTLIF group reported a lower degree of LBP at all timepoints. The ODI scores were similar to the VAS scores. No significant differences were found in fusion rate, lower extremity pain relief, lumbar lordosis, or implant failure rate. A significant difference was found between the 2 groups in postoperative cross-sectional area.

Conclusions:

This study confirmed the advantages of miTLIF in reducing postoperative LBP, improving postoperative quality of life and preventing paraspinal muscle atrophy compared with oTLIF, while achieving a similar therapeutic outcome. The lower intermuscular pressure generated by minimally invasive tunnel and subsequent moderate muscle atrophy were presumed to be possible reasons for its superiority.
Whole-genome modeling accurately predicts quantitative traits, as revealed in plants
Authors: Gentzbittel Laurent , Ben Cécile , Mazurier Mélanie , Shin Min-Gyoung , Triska Martin , Rickauer Martina , Nikolsky Yuri , Marjoram Paul , Nuzhdin Sergey , Tatarinova Tatiana V.
Published: November 2015

Many adaptive events in natural populations, as well as response to artificial selection, are caused by polygenic action. Under selective pressure, the adaptive traits can quickly respond via small allele frequency shifts spread across numerous loci. We hypothesize that a large proportion of current phenotypic variation between individuals may be best explained by population admixture.

We thus consider the complete, genome-wide universe of genetic variability, spread across several ancestral populations originally separated. We experimentally confirmed this hypothesis by predicting the differences in quantitative disease resistance levels among accessions in the wild legumeMedicago truncatula. We discovered also that variation in genome admixture proportion explains most of phenotypic variation for several quantitative functional traits, but not for symbiotic nitrogen fixation. We shown that positive selection at the species level might not explain current, rapid adaptation.

These findings prove the infinitesimal model as a mechanism for adaptation of quantitative phenotypes. Our study produced the first evidence that the whole-genome modeling of DNA variants is the best approach to describe an inherited quantitative trait in a higher eukaryote organism and proved the high potential of admixture-based analyses. This insight contribute to the understanding of polygenic adaptation, and can accelerate plant and animal breeding, and biomedicine research programs.
repgenHMM: a dynamic programming tool to infer the rules of immune receptor generation from sequence data
Authors: Elhanati Yuval , Marcou Quentin , Mora Thierry , Walczak Aleksandra M.
Published: November 2015

The diversity of the immune repertoire is initially generated by random rearrangements of the receptor gene during early T and B cell development. Rearrangement scenarios are composed of random events – choices of gene templates, base pair deletions and insertions – described by probability distributions. Not all scenarios are equally likely, and the same receptor sequence may be obtained in several different ways. Quantifying the distribution of these rearrangements is an essential baseline for studying the immune system diversity. Inferring the properties of the distributions from receptor sequences is a computationally hard problem, requiring enumerating every possible scenario for every sampled receptor sequence. We present a Hidden Markov model, which accounts for all plausible scenarios that can generate the receptor sequences. We developed and implemented a method based on the Baum-Welch algorithm that can efficiently infer the parameters for the different events of the rearrangement process. We tested our software tool on sequence data for both the alpha and beta chains of the T cell receptor. To test the validity of our algorithm, we also generated synthetic sequences produced by a known model, and confirmed that its parameters could be accurately inferred back from the sequences. The inferred model can be used to generate synthetic sequences, to calculate the probability of generation of any receptor sequence, as well as the theoretical diversity of the repertoire. We estimate this diversity to be ≈ 1023for human T cells. The model gives a baseline to investigate the selection and dynamics of immune repertoires.

Source code and sample sequence files are available athttps://bitbucket.org/yuvalel/repgenhmm/downloads.
Genome-wide association studies suggest limited immune gene enrichment in schizophrenia compared to five autoimmune diseases
Authors: Pouget Jennie G. , Gonçalves Vanessa F. ,   Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Spain Sarah L. , Finucane Hilary K. , Raychaudhuri Soumya , Kennedy James L. , Knight Jo
Published: November 2015

There has been intense debate over the immunological basis of schizophrenia, and the potential utility of adjunct immunotherapies. The major histocompatibility complex is consistently the most powerful region of association in genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of schizophrenia, and has been interpreted as strong genetic evidence supporting the immune hypothesis. However, global pathway analyses provide inconsistent evidence of immune involvement in schizophrenia, and it remains unclear whether genetic data support an immune etiologyper se. Here we empirically test the hypothesis that variation in immune genes contributes to schizophrenia. We show that there is no enrichment of immune loci outside of the MHC region in the largest genetic study of schizophrenia conducted to date, in contrast to five diseases of known immune origin. Among 108 regions of the genome previously associated with schizophrenia, we identify six immune candidates (DPP4, HSPD1, EGR1, CLU, ESAM, NFATC3) encoding proteins with alternative, nonimmune roles in the brain. While our findings do not refute evidence that has accumulated in support of the immune hypothesis, they suggest that genetically mediated alterations in immune function may not play a major role in schizophrenia susceptibility. Instead, there may be a role for pleiotropic effects of a small number of immune genes that also regulate brain development and plasticity. Whether immune alterations drive schizophrenia progression is an important question to be addressed by future research, especially in light of the growing interest in applying immunotherapies in schizophrenia.
The single-species metagenome: subtypingStaphylococcus aureuscore genome sequences from shotgun metagenomic data
Authors: Joseph Sandeep J. , Li Ben , Petit Robert A. , Qin Zhaohui S. , Darrow Lyndsey A. , Read Timothy D.
Published: November 2015

Metagenome shotgun sequence projects offer the potential for large scale biogeographic analysis of microbial species. In this project we developed a method for detecting 33 common subtypes of the pathogenic bacteriumStaphylococcus aureus.We used a binomial mixture model implemented in thebinstrainsoftware and the coverage counts at > 100,000 knownS. aureusSNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) sites derived from prior comparative genomic analysis to estimate the proportion of each subtype in metagenome samples. Using this pipeline we were able to obtain > 87% sensitivity and > 94% specificity when testing on low genome coverage samples of diverseS. aureusstrains (0.025X). We found that 321 and 149 metagenome samples from the Human Microbiome Project and metaSUB analysis of the New York City subway, respectively, containedS. aureusat genome coverage > 0.025. In both projects, CC8 and CC30 were the most commonS. aureussubtypes encountered. We found evidence that the subtype composition at different body sites of the same individual were more similar than random sampling and more limited evidence that certain body sites were enriched for particular subtypes. One surprising finding was the apparent high frequency of CC398, a lineage associated with livestock, in samples from the tongue dorsum. Epidemiologic analysis of the HMP subject population suggested that high BMI (body mass index) and health insurance are risk factors forS. aureusbut there was limited power to find factors linked to carriage of even the most common subtype. In the NYC subway data, we found a small signal of geographic distance affecting subtype clustering but other unknown factors influence taxonomic distribution of the species around the city. We argue that pathogen detection in metagenome samples requires the use of subtypes based on whole species population genomic analysis rather than using ad hoc collections of reference strains.
LEDGF/p75 interacts with mRNA splicing factors and targets HIV-1 integration to highly spliced genes
Authors: Singh Parmit Kumar , Plumb Matthew R. , Ferris Andrea L. , Iben James R. , Wu Xiaolin , Fadel Hind J. , Luke Brian T. , Esnault Caroline , Poeschla Eric M. , Hughes Stephen H. , Kvaratskhelia Mamuka , Levin Henry L.
Published: November 2015

The host chromatin-binding factor LEDGF/p75 interacts with HIV-1 integrase and directs integration to active transcription units. To understand how LEDGF/p75 recognizes transcription units, we sequenced 1 million HIV-1 integration sites isolated from cultured HEK293T cells. Analysis of integration sites showed that cancer genes were preferentially targeted, raising concerns about using lentivirus vectors for gene therapy. Additional analysis led to the discovery that introns and alternative splicing contributed significantly to integration site selection. These correlations were independent of transcription levels, size of transcription units, and length of the introns. Multivariate analysis with five parameters previously found to predict integration sites showed that intron density is the strongest predictor of integration density in transcription units. Analysis of previously published HIV-1 integration site data showed that integration density in transcription units in mouse embryonic fibroblasts also correlated strongly with intron number, and this correlation was absent in cells lacking LEDGF. Affinity purification showed that LEDGF/p75 is associated with a number of splicing factors, and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of HEK293T cells lacking LEDGF/p75 or the LEDGF/p75 integrase-binding domain (IBD) showed that LEDGF/p75 contributes to splicing patterns in half of the transcription units that have alternative isoforms. Thus, LEDGF/p75 interacts with splicing factors, contributes to exon choice, and directs HIV-1 integration to transcription units that are highly spliced.
A chromatin-independent role of Polycomb-like 1 to stabilize p53 and promote cellular quiescence
Authors: Brien Gerard L. , Healy Evan , Jerman Emilia , Conway Eric , Fadda Elisa , O'Donovan Darragh , Krivtsov Andrei V. , Rice Alan M. , Kearney Conor J. , Flaus Andrew , McDade Simon S. , Martin Seamus J. , McLysaght Aoife , O'Connell David J. , Armstrong Scott A. , Bracken Adrian P.
Published: November 2015

Polycomb-like proteins 1–3 (PCL1–3) are substoichiometric components of the Polycomb-repressive complex 2 (PRC2) that are essential for association of the complex with chromatin. However, it remains unclear why three proteins with such apparent functional redundancy exist in mammals. Here we characterize their divergent roles in both positively and negatively regulating cellular proliferation. We show that while PCL2 and PCL3 are E2F-regulated genes expressed in proliferating cells, PCL1 is a p53 target gene predominantly expressed in quiescent cells. Ectopic expression of any PCL protein recruits PRC2 to repress the INK4A gene; however, only PCL2 and PCL3 confer an INK4A-dependent proliferative advantage. Remarkably, PCL1 has evolved a PRC2- and chromatin-independent function to negatively regulate proliferation. We show that PCL1 binds to and stabilizes p53 to induce cellular quiescence. Moreover, depletion of PCL1 phenocopies the defects in maintaining cellular quiescence associated with p53 loss. This newly evolved function is achieved by the binding of the PCL1 N-terminal PHD domain to the C-terminal domain of p53 through two unique serine residues, which were acquired during recent vertebrate evolution. This study illustrates the functional bifurcation of PCL proteins, which act in both a chromatin-dependent and a chromatin-independent manner to regulate the INK4A and p53 pathways.
WSB1 promotes tumor metastasis by inducing pVHL degradation
Authors: Kim Jung Jin , Lee Seung Baek , Jang Jinsung , Yi Sang-Yeop , Kim Sun-Hyun , Han Sang-Ah , Lee Jong-Min , Tong Seo-Yun , Vincelette Nicole D. , Gao Bowen , Yin Ping , Evans Debra , Choi Dong Wook , Qin Bo , Liu Tongzheng , Zhang Haoxing , Deng Min , Jen Jin , Zhang Jun , Wang Liewei , Lou Zhenkun
Published: November 2015

The von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor pVHL is an E3 ligase that targets hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs). Mutation of VHL results in HIF up-regulation and contributes to processes related to tumor progression such as invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis. However, very little is known with regard to post-transcriptional regulation of pVHL. Here we show that WD repeat and SOCS box-containing protein 1 (WSB1) is a negative regulator of pVHL through WSB1's E3 ligase activity. Mechanistically, WSB1 promotes pVHL ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation, thereby stabilizing HIF under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. As a consequence, WSB1 up-regulates the expression of HIF-1α’s target genes and promotes cancer invasion and metastasis through its effect on pVHL. Consistent with this, WSB1 protein level negatively correlates with pVHL level and metastasis-free survival in clinical samples. This work reveals a new mechanism of pVHL's regulation by which cancer acquires invasiveness and metastatic tendency.
GCN2 sustains mTORC1 suppression upon amino acid deprivation by inducing Sestrin2
Authors: Ye Jiangbin , Palm Wilhelm , Peng Min , King Bryan , Lindsten Tullia , Li Ming O. , Koumenis Constantinos , Thompson Craig B.
Published: November 2015

Mammalian cells possess two amino acid-sensing kinases: general control nonderepressible 2 (GCN2) and mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1). Their combined effects orchestrate cellular adaptation to amino acid levels, but how their activities are coordinated remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate an important link between GCN2 and mTORC1 signaling. Upon deprivation of various amino acids, activated GCN2 up-regulates ATF4 to induce expression of the stress response protein Sestrin2, which is required to sustain repression of mTORC1 by blocking its lysosomal localization. Moreover, Sestrin2 induction is necessary for cell survival during glutamine deprivation, indicating that Sestrin2 is a critical effector of GCN2 signaling that regulates amino acid homeostasis through mTORC1 suppression.
Atomic structure of the apoptosome: mechanism of cytochrome c- and dATP-mediated activation of Apaf-1
Authors: Zhou Mengying , Li Yini , Hu Qi , Bai Xiao-chen , Huang Weiyun , Yan Chuangye , Scheres Sjors H.W. , Shi Yigong
Published: November 2015

The apoptotic protease-activating factor 1 (Apaf-1) controls the onset of many known forms of intrinsic apoptosis in mammals. Apaf-1 exists in normal cells as an autoinhibited monomer. Upon binding to cytochrome c and dATP, Apaf-1 oligomerizes into a heptameric complex known as the apoptosome, which recruits and activates cell-killing caspases. Here we present an atomic structure of an intact mammalian apoptosome at 3.8 Å resolution, determined by single-particle, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Structural analysis, together with structure-guided biochemical characterization, uncovered how cytochrome c releases the autoinhibition of Apaf-1 through specific interactions with the WD40 repeats. Structural comparison with autoinhibited Apaf-1 revealed how dATP binding triggers a set of conformational changes that results in the formation of the apoptosome. Together, these results constitute the molecular mechanism of cytochrome c- and dATP-mediated activation of Apaf-1.
A novel crystal structure of {tris[4-(1H-pyrazol-3-yl-κN2)-3-azabut-3-enyl]amine-κN}iron(II) bis(tetrafluoridoborate) methanol monosolvate featuring a low-spin configuration
Authors: Struch Niklas , Schnakenburg Gregor , Lützen Arne
Published: November 2015

Mononuclear complexes are good model systems for evaluating the effects of different ligand systems on the magnetic properties of iron(II) centres. A novel crystal structure of the title compound, [Fe(C18H24N10)](BF4)2·CH3OH, with one molecule of methanol per formula unit exhibits a strictly sixfold coordination sphere associated with a low-spin configuration at the metal centre. The incorporated methanol solvent molecule promotes extended hydrogen-bonding networks between the tetrafluoridoborate anions and the cationic units. A less constrained crystal structure regarding close contacts between the tetrafluoridoborate anions and the cationic units allows a spin transition which is inhibited in the previously published hydrate of the title compound.
The entry drilling process of flexible printed circuit board and its influence on hole quality
Authors: Zheng Lijuan , Wang Chengyong , Zhang Xin , Song Yuexian , Zhang Lunqiang , Wang Kefeng
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to present the entry drilling process of flexible printed circuit board (FPCs) and its influence on hole quality, especially hole location accuracy. Compared with the traditional PCB drilling process, the technology of drilling FPCs is facing more problems, such as hole location accuracy, smear on the hole wall surface, burned hole wall surface, etc. Moreover, the materials of FPCs are quite different from the rigid printed circuit boards (RPCs). FPCs no longer contain glass fiber cloths to reinforce resin, resulting in flexibility. Micro-hole quality is the most important issue in FPC drilling. Suggestions were given to obtain higher hole qualities and higher FPC reliability.

Design/methodology/approach

– The entry drilling process of FPC with different kind of entry boards was observed by a high-speed camera. The hole qualities of FPC micro-drilling, especially hole location accuracy and hole entrance quality, were measured. The relationship between entry boards and hole quality was analyzed.

Findings

– Significant sliding occurred when drilling FPC with using no-entry board or pure aluminum plate entry board. On the contrary, no significant sliding occurred when using LC-110 or resin-coated aluminum foil (MVC) entry boards. The type, thickness and use-pattern of entry boards influenced hole location accuracy of FPCs seriously. In addition, entry board also influenced the micro-hole entrance quality and micro-hole diameter. The entrance quality of drilling FPC with LC-110 entry board was the best. The diameter variation of drilling FPC with MVC entry board was the smallest. The hole location accuracy decreased as the thickness of entry board increased. Thus, the best use-pattern of entry board was putting a LC-110 under MVC entry board, resulting in best entrance quality and hole location accuracy.

Originality/value

– The technology and manufacturing of FPCs in China are obviously behind. Research of FPCs micro-drilling and research data are lacking so far. Thus, it is most necessary to improve the technology level of FPCs micro-drilling in China. Researches on hole quality, especially hole location accuracy of FPCs drilling, were performed in this paper. Suggestions were given to obtain higher hole quality of FPCs.
Risk assessment of the Egyptian stock market in the wake of the Arab Spring
Authors: Omran M. F.
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the Egyptian stock market and its macroeconomic environment in the wake of the Arab Spring.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper examines whether the averages of the EGX30 index price changes in addition to key macroeconomic variables are statistically significant pre and post Arab Spring.

Findings

– High inflation in the period up to the Arab Spring was a major contributing factor for the uprising. The solutions for the EGX30 index troubles are political and macroeconomic.

Originality/value

– The variables examined pre and post Arab Spring are EGX30 returns, EGX30 total market value, US$ reserves kept at the Egyptian Central Bank, US$ to Egyptian pounds exchange, and inflation.
TQM implementation through ISO 9001: findings from Chinese construction firms in Nigeria
Authors: Babatunde Yomi , Sui Pheng Low
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to design and test a model integrating the attributes of national culture and total quality management (TQM) principles for successful TQM implementation in international projects involving Chinese construction firms in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on the culture-specific relationship between TQM implementation and national culture and ISO 9001 being a stepping stone to TQM implementation, a model in the form of a matrix was designed integrating Hofstede’s five national cultural dimensions (NCD) and ISO 9001 eight quality management principles. The model was then tested through a three-phase research process including cross-sectional surveys of the Chinese (n=48) and the Nigerians (n=80) (Phase 1), Delphi study involving TQM experts (n=12) (Phase 2), and case studies of Chinese projects in Nigeria (n=6) (Phase 3).

Findings

– The model predicts important attributes of national culture and TQM principles for achieving good-quality performance, the management of which leads to a Chinese firm being perceived as delivering good or poor-quality services in Nigeria. Statistical testing using κ statistics revealed significant agreement between two perceived good-quality Chinese firms on the important attributes and significant disagreement between perceived good-quality and poor-quality Chinese firms in Nigeria.

Research limitations/implications

– The model designed is based on ISO 9001: 2008 version.

Practical implications

– International businesses in Africa will benefit from this study’s findings.

Social implications

– Overseas Chinese firms’ service quality perceptions can be better managed.

Originality/value

– This empirical study presents a model for successful TQM implementation through ISO 9001.
Ferulic acid improves lipid and glucose homeostasis in high‐fat diet‐induced obese mice
Authors: Naowaboot Jarinyaporn , Piyabhan Pritsana , Munkong Narongsuk , Parklak Wason , Pannangpetch Patchareewan
Published: November 2015

Ferulic acid (FA) is a plant phenolic acid that has several pharmacological effects including antihyperglycaemic activity. Thus, the objective of this study is to investigate the effect of FA on glucose and lipid metabolism in high‐fat diet (HFD)‐induced obese mice. Institute for Cancer Research (ICR) mice were fed a HFD (45 kcal% fat) for 16 weeks. At the ninth week of induction, the obese mice were orally administered with daily FA doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg for the next eight weeks. The results show that FA significantly reduced the elevated blood glucose and serum leptin levels, lowered the insulin resistance, and increased the serum adiponectin level. Moreover, serum lipid level, and liver cholesterol and triglyceride accumulations were also reduced. The histological examination showed clear evidence of a decrease in the lipid droplets in liver tissues and smaller size of fat cells in the adipose tissue in the obese mice treated with FA. Interestingly, FA reduced the expression of hepatic lipogenic genes such as sterol regulatory element‐binding protein 1c (SREBP1c), fatty acid synthase (FAS), and acetyl‐CoA carboxylase (ACC). It could also up‐regulate hepatic carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a (CPT1a) gene and peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor alpha (PPARα) proteins. The FA treatment was also found to suppress the protein expressions of hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCK) and glucose‐6‐phosphatase (G6Pase). In conclusion, the findings of this study demonstrate that FA improves the glucose and lipid homeostasis in HFD‐induced obese mice probably via modulating the expression of lipogenic and gluconeogenic genes in liver tissues.
School readiness of children with language impairment: predicting literacy skills from pre‐literacy and social–behavioural dimensions
Authors: Pentimonti Jill M. , Murphy Kimberly A. , Justice Laura M. , Logan Jessica A. R. , Kaderavek Joan N.
Published: November 2015

Background: School readiness generally captures the notion that children do best when they arrive at formal schooling with a certain threshold of skill that will help them thrive in the classroom's academic and social milieu.

Aims: To examine the dimensionality of the construct of school readiness among children with language impairment (LI), as well as the extent to which these dimensions relate to children's end‐of‐kindergarten literacy skills.

Methods & Procedures: Participants were 136 preschool‐aged children with LI. Children were assessed on measures of pre‐literacy, social, and behavioural skills in preschool and reading and spelling in kindergarten.

Outcomes & Results: Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that school readiness for this sample of children with LI is best characterized as two dimensions: pre‐literacy and socio‐emotional. Of the two dimensions, pre‐literacy readiness was predictive of children's future performance in reading and spelling.

Conclusions & Implications: The results further our theoretical understanding of the dimensions of school readiness, as well as our knowledge of how these skills are related among children with LI. Identifying domain‐specific readiness skills that are predictive of kindergarten success can help to identify means of early assessment and targets for speech–language intervention.
Assessment of language impairment in bilingual children using semantic tasks: two languages classify better than one
Authors: Peña Elizabeth D. , Bedore Lisa M. , Kester Ellen S.
Published: November 2015

Background

Significant progress has been made in the identification of language impairment in children are bilingual. Bilingual children's vocabulary knowledge may be distributed across languages. Thus, when testing bilingual children it is difficult to know how to weigh each language for diagnostic purposes. Even when conceptual scoring is used in vocabulary testing, bilingual children may score below that of their typical monolingual peers.

Aims

The primary aim was to evaluate the classification accuracy of two approaches (total semantics score and two‐dimensional bilingual coordinate score) that combined lexical–semantic knowledge across two languages. We investigated the classification accuracy of the English and Spanish semantics subtest using the experimental version of the Bilingual English Spanish Assessment (BESA) with bilingual children with and without language impairment.

Methods

A total of 78 bilinguals with balanced exposure to English and Spanish (15 with language impairment, 63 with typical development) participated. Children were between 4;0 and 6;11 years old. Discriminant function analysis explored the extent to which these children were accurately classified when combining Spanish and English subtests.

Outcomes & Results

Discriminant analysis yielded above 85% correct classification for balanced bilingual children for both approaches.

Conclusions & Implications

For the most accurate assessment and diagnostic decision‐making for bilinguals, approaches that consider both languages together are recommended.
Evaluation of low‐dose thalidomide as induction and maintenance therapy in patients with multiple myeloma not eligible for stem cell transplantation
Authors: Aznab Mozaffar , Rezaei Mansour , Navabi Jafar , Moieni Ali
Published: November 2015

Background

The role of thalidomide in induction and long‐term maintenance therapy in patients with multiple myeloma not eligible for stem cell transplantation remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of low‐dose thalidomide as induction therapy and as maintenance therapy for 24 months in patients with a complete remission after the induction chemotherapy and to monitor the survival and relapse rates.

Methods

Between October 2005 and September 2013, 50 patients with multiple myeloma received six courses of Cyclophosphamide‐Vincristine Adriamycin and Dexamethazone (c‐VAD) and pamidronate, and thalidomide 100 mg daily during induction, then thalidomide 100 mg daily for 24 months as maintenance. The effects of thalidomide were assessed objectively and subjectively. Whenever necessary, electromyography and nerve capacity volume were performed monthly for 6 months, then once every 3 months until the end of treatment.

Results

Primary response was 96% (CR or very good PR in 48/50 patients). Fifteen out of the remaining 48 patients relapsed during the follow‐up period. Nine out of the 15 patients who relapsed showed very good partial response to treatment and four patients showed partial response. Survival rate was 81% in these patients. The primary outcome measures showed a mean and median progression‐free survival of 33 and 27 months, respectively, and a mean and median overall survival of 43 and 39 months, respectively.

Conclusion

Low‐dose thalidomide during induction therapy combined with conventional chemotherapy and a 2‐year maintenance may be effective in preventing the relapse and improving the overall survival.
The Prototypicality of Genocide: Implications for International Intervention
Authors: Mazur Lucas B. , Vollhardt Johanna Ray
Published: November 2015

In many cases of mass violence and genocide there is ambiguity and uncertainty as to whether and how external bystanders (i.e., third parties) should respond. How does the way we construe genocide influence our evaluations of particular cases of mass violence and our willingness to intervene? In five studies, using content analyses and experiments, prototype theory is applied to this important social issue. Studies 1 and 2 examine the prototype structure of genocide; finding among a student and a community sample that some features are perceived as more central to genocide than others. Studies 3 and 4 show the effects of this prototype on the cognitive processing of the category. Study 5 investigates how this prototype structure affects evaluations of mass violence and support for political and military intervention. Taken together, these studies suggest that socially shared prototypes of genocide matter: The more a case of mass violence is represented in accordance with this prototype, the more people remember and respond to it, for example, by supporting policies aimed at preventing and halting mass violence. These findings have important policy implications for how cases of mass violence are framed and discussed in the public and political sphere.
Winters too warm to skate? Citizen‐science reported variability in availability of outdoor skating in Canada
Authors: Robertson Colin , McLeman Robert , Lawrence Haydn
Published: November 2015

Key Messages

Citizen scientists have contributed thousands of reports of skating conditions in Canada.

Variability in reported “skateability” is evident across 10 Canadian cities and the temperature‐skating relationship varies across Canada.

Climate modelling scenarios suggest significant declines in opportunities for outdoor skating across Canada.
Factors associated with dental caries in a group of American Indian children at age 36 months
Authors: Warren John J. , Blanchette Derek , Dawson Deborah V. , Marshall Teresa A. , Phipps Kathy R. , Starr Delores , Drake David R.
Published: November 2015

Objectives

Early childhood caries (ECC) is rampant among American Indian children, but there has been relatively little study of this problem. This article reports on risk factors for caries for a group of American Indian children at age 36 months as part of a longitudinal study.

Methods

Pregnant women from a Northern Plains Tribal community were recruited to participate in a longitudinal study of caries and caries risk factors. Standardized dental examinations were completed on children, and questionnaires were completed by mothers at baseline and when children were 4, 8, 12, 16, 22, 28, and 36 months of age. Examinations were surface‐specific for dental caries, and the questionnaires collected data on demographic, dietary, and behavioral factors. Nonparametric bivariate tests and logistic regression models were used to identify risk factors for caries at 36 months, and negative binomial regression was used to identify factors related to caries severity (dmf counts).

Results

Among the 232 children, and caries prevalence for cavitated lesions was 80%, with an additional 15% having only noncavitated lesions. The mean dmfs was 9.6, and of the total dmfs, nearly 62% of affected surfaces were decayed, 31% were missing, and 7% were filled. Logistic regression identified higher added‐sugar beverage consumption, younger maternal age at baseline, higher maternal DMFS at baseline, and greater number of people in the household as significant (P < 0.05) risk factors. Negative binomial regression found that only maternal DMFS was associated with child dmf counts.

Conclusions

By the age of 36 months, dental caries is nearly universal in this population of American Indian children. Caries risk factors included sugared beverage consumption, greater household size, and maternal factors, but further analyses are needed to better understand caries in this population.
Pollinator floral provisioning by a plant invader: quantifying beneficial effects of detrimental species
Authors: Russo Laura , Nichol Christina , Shea Katriona
Published: November 2015

Aim

Although the negative effects of invasive species are globally recognized, little is known about the potential positive impacts they can have on other species in the ecosystems they invade. However, the persistence of invaders in a wide range of ecological communities may mean that they provide resources and refuge for threatened native species, or supplement ecosystem services.

Location

Agroecosystems in the USA.

Methods

We use a 2‐year field experiment to explore the potential positive and negative impacts of an invasive thistle (Carduus acanthoides) on the composition of the resident community of foraging insects. The presence or absence of the thistle was the only difference in experimental and control plots comprising a background community of ten flowering annual species.

Results

We demonstrate that the invasive thistle is both highly visited and strongly preferred by bees relative to other flowering species. Bee abundance was 302% higher and bee species richness 35% higher in habitat patches where the thistle was present compared to where it was absent. In addition, the abundance of Bombus species, a native group recently found to be in decline, was 479% higher when the thistle was present.

Main conclusions

Our results suggest that, despite causing significant problems, the invasion of this non‐native species may also provide crucial benefits via floral resources for pollinators. Benefits, such as the floral resources that invaders provide to pollinators, should also be taken into account in conservation and invader management plans. Eradication or complete removal of invasive species which provision insects with floral resources could have unintended negative impacts on the associated pollinator community.
Sovereignty, Risk and Biotechnology: Zambia's 2002 GM Controversy in Retrospect
Authors: Bowman Andrew
Published: November 2015

The southern African food crisis of 2002 led to one of the most significant controversies over the use of genetically modified (GM) crops in the developing world to date. Zambia's staunch opposition to GM food aid during the crisis is still frequently used as a reference point in debates over GM seed technology in agricultural development, and the morality of advanced biotechnology. This article re‐examines the controversy and its contemporary relevance using oral history interviews with key scientists, policy makers and development practitioners engaged in debates and decision‐making processes in Zambia in 2002, alongside a review of discourses in the Zambian press. The author argues that, rather than different perceptions of health and environmental risks derived from GM crops, it was questions of sovereign regulatory control of technology in a context of diminished state capacity — and the decline in the Zambian state's capacity for agricultural science research in particular — that played a central role in shaping anti‐GM attitudes. In addition, trust in the arguments of GM advocates was diminished by communication efforts which treated Zambian scientists and policy elites as a lay rather than an expert audience.
The Social Regulation of Markets: Why Microcredit Fails to Promote Jobs in Rural South India
Authors: Guérin Isabelle , D'Espallier Bert , Venkatasubramanian G.
Published: November 2015

There is growing evidence that microcredit does little to support self‐employment. Two main explanations are typically emphasized: from a microeconomic perspective, the poor have been argued to lack the skills, resources and motivation to start their own businesses; from a macroeconomic perspective, local markets are often saturated. This article uses first‐hand data from rural South India to explore a third explanation which focuses on the social regulation of markets. Drawing on a household survey, the authors show that self‐employment and microcredit are uncorrelated, and that women and lower castes have a significantly lower chance of starting up a business. The businesses they do start tend to be smaller, less profitable and based in very specific sectors. Qualitative insights into the workings of local economies show that caste and gender‐based social regulations influence local markets determining who can produce or sell what, to whom, and at what price. The authors observe that real markets are affected by power relations and structured through social institutions rather than being the sum of interactions between free and competitive individuals. These findings show the importance of integrating self‐employment programmes into broader policies for transforming the social regulation of markets and for eradicating discrimination against women and lower castes.
Capitalizing on Desire: Reconfiguring ‘the Social’ and the Government of Poverty in the Philippines
Authors: Seki Koki
Published: November 2015

Tracing the contours of ‘the social’ is of critical importance today, since there is a widely shared understanding that ‘the social’ has been undergoing a fundamental mutation under the encroaching influence of globalization and neoliberalism. This mutation means that a population and its risks are increasingly administered and managed through the nurturing of free subjects, productive citizens and active communities. By focusing on conditional cash transfers as a poverty‐alleviation programme in the Philippines, this study examines how the contemporary government of poverty attempts to realize social inclusion through the nurturing of desires, habits and dispositions that are conducive to an ‘investment in human capital’. The study argues that such regimes produce various forms of exclusion and counterclaims by the beneficiaries, and that these counterclaims, which reflect the popular notions of patronage and clientelism, have serious implications for envisioning the alternative configuration of ‘the social’.
Rare mimic of pedal osteomyelitis in a patient with diabetes
Authors: Kumar S. , Kyi M. , Wraight P. R.
Published: November 2015

Background

Diabetic foot infections are an important cause of hospitalization, health expenditure and mortality. Bone biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosing diabetic foot osteomyelitis but it is not routinely performed in most centres. Instead, a combination of history, examination, biochemical and radiological findings are used to make the diagnosis.

Case Report

Here, we report a case mimicking diabetic foot osteomyelitis, where the histology was crucial in acquiring the correct diagnosis.

Conclusion

The absence of ulceration in cases of presumed diabetic foot osteomyelitis should raise suspicion of potential rare mimics of osteomyelitis and bone biopsy should be considered to further evaluate the underlying etiology prior to any definitive surgical management.