bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Downregulation of a satiety signal from peripheral fat bodies improves visual attention while reducing sleep need inDrosophila
Authors: Ertekin Deniz , Kirszenblat Leonie , Faville Richard , van Swinderen Bruno
Published: October 2019

Sleep is vital for survival. Yet, under environmentally challenging conditions such as starvation, animals suppress their need for sleep. Interestingly, starvation-induced sleep loss does not evoke a subsequent sleep rebound. Little is known about how starvation-induced sleep deprivation differs from other types of sleep loss, or why some sleep functions become dispensable during starvation. Here we demonstrate that downregulation of unpaired-2 (upd2, theDrosophilaortholog of leptin), is sufficient to mimic a starved-like state in flies. We use this ‘genetically starved’ state to investigate the consequences of a starvation signal on visual attention and sleep in otherwise well-fed flies, thereby sidestepping the negative side-effects of undernourishment. We find that knockdown ofupd2in the fat body is sufficient to suppress sleep while also increasing selective visual attention and promoting night-time feeding. Further, we show that this peripheral signal is integrated in the fly brain via insulin-expressing cells. Together, these findings identify a role for peripheral tissue-to-brain interactions in the simultaneous regulation of sleep and attention, to potentially promote adaptive behaviors necessary for survival in hungry animals.

Author Summary

Sleep is important for maintaining both physiological (e.g., metabolic, immunological, and developmental) and cognitive processes, such as selective attention. Under nutritionally impoverished conditions, animals suppress sleep and increase foraging to locate food. Yet it is currently unknown how an animal is able to maintain well-tuned cognitive processes, despite being sleep deprived. Here we investigate this question by studying flies that have been genetically engineered to lack a satiety signal, and find that signaling from fat bodies in the periphery to insulin-expressing cells in the brain simultaneously regulates sleep need and attention-like processes.
Expressional artifact caused by a co-injection markerrol-6inC. elegans
Authors: Jin HoYong , Emmons Scott W. , Kim Byunghyuk
Published: October 2019

In transgenic research, selection markers have greatly facilitated the generation of transgenic animals. A prerequisite for a suitable selection marker to be used along with a test gene of interest is that the marker should not affect the phenotype of interest in transformed animals. One of the most common selection markers used inC. eleganstransgenic approaches is therol-6co-injection marker, which induces a behavioral roller phenotype due to a cuticle defect but is not known to have other side effects. However, we found that therol-6co-injection marker can cause expression of GFP in the test sequence in a male-specific interneuron called CP09. We found that therol-6gene sequence included in the marker plasmid is responsible for this unwanted expression. Accordingly, the use of therol-6co-injection marker is not recommended when researchers intend to examine precise expression or perform functional studies especially targeting maleC. elegansneurons. Therol-6sequence region we identified can be used to drive a specific expression in CP09 neuron for future research.
Mapping and DNA sequence characterisation of the Rysto locus conferring extreme virus resistance to potato cultivar ‘White Lady’
Authors: Kondrák Mihály , Kopp Andrea , Uri Csilla , Sós-Hegedűs Anita , Csákvári Edina , Schiller Mátyás , Barta Endre , Cernák István , Polgár Zsolt , Taller János , Bánfalvi Zsófia
Published: October 2019

Virus resistance genes carried by wild plant species are valuable resources for plant breeding. The Rysto gene, conferring a broad spectrum of durable resistance, originated from Solanum stoloniferum and was introgressed into several commercial potato cultivars, including ‘White Lady’, by classical breeding. Rysto was mapped to chromosome XII in potato, and markers used for marker-assisted selection in breeding programmes were identified. Nevertheless, there was no information on the identity of the Rysto gene. To begin to reveal the identification of Rysto, fine-scale genetic mapping was performed which, in combination with chromosome walking, narrowed down the locus of the gene to approximately 1 Mb. DNA sequence analysis of the locus identified six full-length NBS-LRR-type (short NLR-type) putative resistance genes. Two of them, designated TMV2 and TMV3, were similar to a TMV resistance gene isolated from tobacco and to Y-1, which co-segregates with Ryadg, the extreme virus resistance gene originated from Solanum andigena and localised to chromosome XI. Furthermore, TMV2 of ‘White Lady’ was found to be 95% identical at the genomic sequence level with the recently isolated Rysto gene of the potato cultivar ‘Alicja’. In addition to the markers identified earlier, this work generated five tightly linked new markers which can serve potato breeding efforts for extreme virus resistance.
Ablation of Arf-expressing cells ameliorates cigarette smoke-induced lung dysfunction in mice
Authors: Mikawa Ryuta , Sato Tadashi , Suzuki Yohei , Baskoro Hario , Sugimoto Masataka
Published: October 2019

Senescent cells accumulate in tissues during aging or pathological settings. The semi-genetic or pharmacological targeting of senescent cells revealed that cellular senescence underlies many aspects of the aging-associated phenotype and diseases. We previously reported that cellular senescence contributes to aging- and disease-associated pulmonary dysfunction. We herein report that the elimination of Arf-expressing senescent cells ameliorates cigarette smoke-induced lung pathologies in mice. Cigarette smoke induced the expression of Ink4a and Arf in lung tissue with concomitant increases in lung tissue compliance and alveolar airspace. The elimination of Arf-expressing senescent cells prior to cigarette smoke exposure protected against these changes. Furthermore, the administration of cigarette smoke extract lead to pulmonary dysfunction, which was ameliorated by subsequent senescent cell elimination. Collectively, these results suggest that senescent cells are a potential therapeutic target for cigarette smoking-associated lung disease.
Matching cell lines with cancer type and subtype of origin via mutational, epigenomic and transcriptomic patterns
Authors: Salvadores Marina , Fuster-Tormo Francisco , Supek Fran
Published: October 2019

Cell lines are commonly used as cancer models. Because the tissue and/or cell type of origin provide important context for understanding mechanisms of cancer, we systematically examined whether cell lines exhibit features matching the cancer type that supposedly originated them. To this end, we aligned the mRNA expression and DNA methylation data between ∼9,000 solid tumors and ∼600 cell lines to remove the global differences stemming from growth in cell culture. Next, we created classification models for cancer type and subtype using tumor data, and applied them to cell line data. Overall, the transcriptomic and epigenomic classifiers consistently identified 35 cell lines which better matched a different tissue or cell type than the one the cell line was originally annotated with; we recommend caution in using these cell lines in experimental work. Six cell lines were identified as originating from the skin, of which five were further corroborated by the presence of a UV-like mutational signature in their genome, strongly suggesting mislabelling. Overall, genomic evidence additionally supports that 22 (3.6% of all considered) cell lines may be mislabelled because we predict they originate from a different tissue/cell type. Finally, we cataloged 366 cell lines in which both transcriptomic and epigenomic profiles strongly resemble the tumor type of origin, designating them as ‘golden set’ cell lines. We suggest these cell lines are better suited for experimental work that depends on tissue identity and propose tentative assignments to cancer subtypes. Finally, we show that accounting for the uncertain tissue-of-origin labels can change the interpretation of drug sensitivity and CRISPR genetic screening data. In particular, in brain, lung and pancreatic cancer cell lines, many novel determinants of drug sensitivity or resistance emerged by focussing on the cell lines that are best matched to the cancer type of interest.
Competence to epithelialise coincides with competence to differentiate in pluripotent cells
Authors: Lin Chia-Yi , Tatar Tulin , Blin Guillaume , Malaguti Mattias , Migueles Rosa Portero , Shao Hongyu , Chen Naiming , Chambers Ian , Lowell Sally
Published: October 2019

Pluripotent cells reorganise themselves into an epithelium before they initiate differentiation, but it is not clear how these two events are mechanistically linked. Here we use quantitative imaging approaches to measure cellular rearrangements that accompany exit from naive pluripotency. We show that competence to epithelialise, like competence to differentiate, is a regulated process. The pro-differentiation transcription factor Tcf15 prospectively identifies cells that are competent to epithelialise. We identify early upregulation of the laminin receptor integrin alpha3 prior to differentiation and show that Tcf15 helps to regulate this change. Finally, we show that Tcf15 identifies and is required for efficient differentiation of a primed subpopulation of pluripotent cells. We conclude that competence to epithelialise is actively regulated and linked to differentiation-competence through the transcription factor Tcf15.
Accurate contact-based modelling of repeat proteins predicts the structure of Curlin and SPW repeats
Authors: Bassot Claudio , Elofsson Arne
Published: October 2019

Repeat proteins are an abundant class in eukaryotic proteomes. They are involved in many eukaryotic specific functions, including signalling. For many of these families, the structure is not known. Recently, it has been shown that the structure of many protein families can be predicted by using contact predictions from direct coupling analysis and deep learning. However, their unique sequence features present in repeat proteins is a challenge for contact predictions DCA-methods. Here, we show that using the deep learning-based PconsC4 is more effective for predicting both intra and interunit contacts among a comprehensive set of repeat proteins. In a benchmark dataset of 819 repeat proteins about one third can be correctly modelled and among 51 PFAM families lacking a protein structure, we produce models of five families with estimated high accuracy.

Author Summary

Repeat proteins are widespread among organisms and particularly abundant in eukaryotic proteomes. Their primary sequence present repetition in the amino acid sequences that origin structures with repeated folds/domains. Although the repeated units are easy to be recognized in primary sequence, often structure information are missing. Here we used contact prediction for predicting the structure of repeats protein directly from their primary sequences. We benchmark our method on a dataset comprehensive of all the known repeated structures. We evaluate the contact predictions and the obtained models set for different classes of proteins and different lengths of the target, and we benchmark the quality assessment of the models on repeats proteins. Finally, we applied the methods on the repeat PFAM families missing of resolved structures, five of them modelled with high accuracy.
Large DNA virus promoted the endosymbiotic evolution to make a photosynthetic eukaryote
Authors: Matsuo Mitsuhiro , Katahata Atsushi , Tachikawa Makoto , Minakuchi Yohei , Noguchi Hideki , Toyoda Atsushi , Fujiyama Asao , Suzuki Yutaka , Hata Takayuki , Satoh Soichirou , Nakayama Takuro , Kamikawa Ryoma , Nomura Mami , Inagaki Yuji , Ishida Ken-ichiro , Obokata Junichi
Published: October 2019

Chloroplasts in photosynthetic eukaryotes originated from a cyanobacterial endosymbiosis far more than 1 billion years ago1-3. Due to this ancientness, it remains unclear how this evolutionary process proceeded. To unveil this mystery, we analysed the whole genome sequence of a photosynthetic rhizarian amoeba4, Paulinella micropora5,6, which has a chloroplast-like organelle that originated from another cyanobacterial endosymbiosis7-10 about 0.1 billion years ago11. Here we show that the predacious amoeba that engulfed cyanobacteria evolved into a photosynthetic organism very quickly in the evolutionary time scale, probably aided by the drastic genome reorganization activated by large DNA virus. In the endosymbiotic evolution of eukaryotic cells, gene transfer from the endosymbiont genome to the host nucleus is essential for the evolving host cell to control the endosymbiont-derived organelle12. In P. micropora, we found that the gene transfer from the free-living and endosymbiotic bacteria to the amoeba nucleus was rapidly activated but both simultaneously ceased within the initiation period of the endosymbiotic evolution, suggesting that the genome reorganization drastically proceeded and completed. During this period, large DNA virus appeared to have infected the amoeba, followed by the rapid amplification and diversification of virus-related genes. These findings led us to re-examine the conventional endosymbiotic evolutionary scenario that exclusively deals with the host and the symbiont, and to extend it by incorporating a third critical player, large DNA virus, which activates the drastic gene transfer and genome reorganization between them. This Paulinella version of the evolutionary hypothesis deserves further testing of its generality in evolutionary systems and could shed light on the unknown roles of large DNA viruses13 in the evolution of terrestrial life.
Structural Brain Imaging Studies Offer Clues about the Effects of the Shared Genetic Etiology among Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Authors: Radonjić Nevena V. , Hess Jonathan L. , Rovira Paula , Andreassen Ole , Buitelaar Jan K. , Ching Christopher R. K. , Franke Barbara , Hoogman Martine , Jahanshad Neda , McDonald Carrie , Schmaal Lianne , Sisodiya Sanjay M. , Stein Dan J. , van den Heuvel Odile A. , van Erp Theo G.M. , van Rooij Daan , Veltman Dick J. , Thompson Paul , Faraone Stephen V.
Published: October 2019

Background

Genomewide association studies have found significant genetic correlations among many neuropsychiatric disorders. In contrast, we know much less about the degree to which structural brain alterations are similar among disorders and, if so, the degree to which such similarities have a genetic etiology.

Methods

From the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) consortium, we acquired standardized mean differences (SMDs) in regional brain volume and cortical thickness between cases and controls. We had data on 41 brain regions for: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), bipolar disorder (BD), epilepsy, major depressive disorder (MDD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia (SCZ). These data had been derived from 24,360 patients and 37,425 controls.

Results

The SMDs were significantly correlated between SCZ and BD, OCD, MDD, and ASD. MDD was positively correlated with BD and OCD. BD was positively correlated with OCD and negatively correlated with ADHD. These pairwise correlations among disorders were correlated with the corresponding pairwise correlations among disorders derived from genomewide association studies (r = 0.49).

Conclusions

Our results show substantial similarities in sMRI phenotypes among neuropsychiatric disorders and suggest that these similarities are accounted for, in part, by corresponding similarities in common genetic variant architectures.
The plasma membrane as a competitive inhibitor and positive allosteric modulator of KRas4B signaling
Authors: Neale C. , García A.E.
Published: October 2019

Mutant Ras proteins are important drivers of human cancers, yet no approved drugs act directly on this difficult target. Over the last decade, the idea has emerged that oncogenic signaling can be diminished by molecules that drive Ras into orientations in which effector binding interfaces are occluded by the cell membrane. To support this approach to drug discovery, we characterize the orientational preferences of membrane-bound K-Ras4B in 1.45 milliseconds aggregate time of atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. Individual simulations probe active or inactive states of Ras on membranes with or without anionic lipids. We find that the membrane orientation of Ras is relatively insensitive to its bound guanine nucleotide and activation state but depends strongly on interactions with anionic phosphatidylserine lipids. These lipids slow Ras’ translational and orientational diffusion and promote a discrete population in which small changes in orientation control Ras’ competence to bind multiple regulator and effector proteins. Our results suggest that compound-directed conversion of constitutively active mutant Ras into functionally inactive forms may be accessible via subtle perturbations of Ras’ orientational preferences at the membrane surface.

Statement of Significance

Mutations that lock Ras proteins in active states can undermine cellular decision making and drive cancer. Because there are no drugs to deactivate Ras, we use simulations to relate Ras’ three-dimensional orientation at the membrane surface to its signaling competence. Data shows that Ras reorientation is generally rapid, but can be trapped in one of three states by membrane adhesion of the globular signaling domain. One of these states is stabilized by negatively charged lipids and brings an effector binding interface toward the membrane surface, potentially obstructing protein-protein interactions required for propagation of the growth signal. Rare events drive a second type of membrane-based signaling obstruction that correlate with configurational changes in Ras’ globular domain, yielding a potential drug target.
Conflict of Interest Policies at German medical schools - A long way to go
Authors: Grabitz Peter , Friedmann Zoe , Gepp Sophie , Hess Leonard U. , Specht Lisa , Struck Maja , Tragert Sophie , Walther Tobias , Klemperer David
Published: October 2019

Background

Most medical students are in contact with the pharmaceutical or medical device industry during their studies. Medical schools play an important role in protecting students from undue commercial influence and educating them about pharmaceutical marketing practices. Such influence has been shown to affect later prescribing behaviour with potential adverse effects for patient care. While in North America, many medical schools formulated and implemented conflicts of interest (COI) policies, only few such institutional policies have been reported in Germany. We aimed to analyze the quantity and quality of policies and curricula on COI at medical schools across Germany.

Methods

We collected relevant COI policies and teaching activities by conducting a search of the websites of all 38 German medical schools using standardized keywords for COI policies and teaching. Further, we surveyed all medical schools’ dean’s offices and adapted a scoring system for obtained results with 13 categories based on prior similar studies.

Results

We identified relevant policies for one medical school via the web-search. The response rate of the deans’ survey was 16 of 38 (42.1%). In total, we identified COI-related policies for 2 of 38 (5.3%) German medical schools, yet no policy was sufficient to address all COI-related categories that were assessed in this study. The maximum score achieved was 12 of 26. 36 (94.7%) schools scored 0. No medical school reported curricular teaching on COI.

Conclusion

Our results indicate a low level of action by medical schools to protect students from undue commercial influence. No participating dean was aware of any curriculum or instruction on COI at their respective school. The German Medical Students Association and international counterparts have called for a stronger focus on COI in the classroom. We conclude that for German medical schools there is still a long way to go.
Formation of ultralong DH regions through genomic rearrangement
Authors: Smider Brevin A. , Smider Vaughn V.
Published: October 2019

Cow antibodies are very unusual in having exceptionally long CDR H3 regions. The genetic basis for this length largely derives from long heavy chain diversity (DH) regions, with a single “ultralong” DH, IGHD8-2, encoding over fifty amino acids. Most bovine IGHD regions are homologous but have several nucleotide repeating units that diversify their lengths. Genomically, most DH regions exist in three clusters that appear to have formed from DNA duplication events. The cluster containing IGHD8-2 underwent a rearrangement and deletion event in relation to the other clusters in the region corresponding to IGHD8-2, with possible fusion of two DH regions and expansion of short repeats to form the ultralong IGHD8-2 gene. Length heterogeneity within DH regions is a unique evolutionary genomic mechanism to create immune diversity, including formation of ultralong CDR H3 regions.
Continuous force measurements reveal no inhibitory control deficits in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Pickering Jade S. , McBride Jennifer , Leroi Iracema , Poliakoff Ellen
Published: October 2019

Suppression of unwanted motor responses can be disrupted by Parkinson’s disease. People with Parkinson’s (PwP) can show maladaptive reward-driven behaviours in the form of impulse control behaviours, which are associated with use of the dopaminergic treatments used to alleviate the motor symptoms of the disease. However, the effects of Parkinson’s itself on impulsive behaviour and control are unclear – empirical studies have yielded mixed findings, and some imaging studies have shown a functional deficit in the absence of a measurable change in behaviour. Here, we investigated the effects of Parkinson’s on response activation and control by studying the dynamics of response in standard inhibitory control tasks – the Stop Signal and Simon tasks – using a continuous measure of response force. Our results are largely in favour of the conclusion that response inhibition appears to be intact in PwP, even when using a more sensitive measure of behavioural control relative to traditional button-press measures. Our findings provide some clarity as to the effects of Parkinson’s on response inhibition and show continuous response force measurement can provide a sensitive means of detecting erroneous response activity in PwP, which could also be generalised to studying related processes in other populations.

Open data

Data and analysis can be found on the Open Science Framework (osf.io/kx6h3/)

Pre-print template

Wiernik, B.M. (2019, October 11). Preprint templates. osf.io/hsv6a/
Weakly-Supervised Prediction of Cell Migration Modes in Confocal Microscopy Images Using Bayesian Deep Learning
Authors: Gupta Anindya , Larsson Veronica , Matuszewski Damian , Strömblad Staffan , Wählby Carolina
Published: October 2019

Cell migration is pivotal for their development, physiology and disease treatment. A single cell on a 2D surface can utilize continuous or discontinuous migration modes. To comprehend the cell migration, an adequate quantification for single cell-based analysis is crucial. An automatized approach could alleviate tedious manual analysis, facilitating large-scale drug screening. Supervised deep learning has shown promising outcomes in computerized microscopy image analysis. However, their implication is limited due to the scarcity of carefully annotated data and uncertain deterministic outputs. We compare three deep learning models to study the problem of learning discriminative morphological representations using weakly annotated data for predicting the cell migration modes. We also estimate Bayesian uncertainty to describe the confidence of the probabilistic predictions. Amongst three compared models, DenseNet yielded the best results with a sensitivity of 87.91% ± 13.22 at a false negative rate of 1.26% ± 4.18.
Structure of herpes simplex virus pUL7:pUL51, a conserved complex required for efficient herpesvirus assembly
Authors: Butt Benjamin G. , Owen Danielle J. , Jeffries Cy M. , Ivanova Lyudmila , Houghton Jack W. , Ahmed Md. Firoz , Antrobus Robin , Svergun Dmitri I. , Welch John J. , Crump Colin M. , Graham Stephen C.
Published: October 2019

Herpesviruses are an ancient family of highly-prevalent human and animal pathogens that acquire their membrane envelopes in the cytoplasm of infected cells. While multiple conserved viral proteins are known to be required for efficient herpesvirus production, many of these proteins lack identifiable structural homologues and the molecular details of herpesvirus assembly remain unclear. We have characterized the complex of assembly proteins pUL7 and pUL51 from herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1, an α-herpesvirus, using multi-angle light scattering and small-angle X-ray scattering with chemical crosslinking. HSV-1 pUL7 and pUL51 form a stable 1:2 complex that is capable of higher-order oligomerization in solution. We solved the crystal structure of this complex, revealing a core heterodimer comprising pUL7 bound to residues 41–125 of pUL51. While pUL7 adopts a previously-unseen compact fold, the extended helix-turn-helix conformation of pUL51 resembles the cellular endosomal complex required for transport (ESCRT)-III component CHMP4B, suggesting a direct role for pUL51 in promoting membrane scission during virus assembly. We demonstrate that the interaction between pUL7 and pUL51 homologues is conserved across human α-, β- and γ-herpesviruses, as is their association withtrans-Golgi membranes in cultured cells. However, pUL7 and pUL51 homologues do not form complexes with their respective partners from different virus families, suggesting that the molecular details of the interaction interface have diverged. Our results demonstrate that the pUL7:pUL51 complex is conserved across the herpesviruses and provide a structural framework for understanding its role in herpesvirus assembly.

Significance Statement

Herpesviruses are extremely common human pathogens that cause diseases ranging from cold sores to cancer. Herpesvirus acquire their membrane envelope in the cytoplasm via a conserved pathway, the molecular details of which remain unclear. We have solved the structure of a complex between herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 proteins pUL7 and pUL51, two proteins that are required for efficient HSV-1 assembly. We show that formation of this complex is conserved across distantly-related human herpesviruses, as is the association of these homologues with cellular membranes that are used for virion assembly. While pUL7 adopts a previously-unseen fold, pUL51 resembles key cellular membrane-remodeling complex components, suggesting that the pUL7:pUL51 complex may play a direct role in deforming membranes to promote virion assembly.
Rapid development and use of patient-specific ctDNA biomarkers to avoid a “rash decision” in an ovarian cancer patient
Authors: Pandya Deep , Camacho Sandra Catalina , Padron Maria M. , Camacho-Vanegas Olga , Billaud Jean-Noel , Beddoe Ann-Marie , Irish Jon , Yoxtheimer Lorene , Kalir Tamara , RoseFigura Jordan , Dottino Peter , Martignetti John A.
Published: October 2019

Epithelial ovarian cancer (OvCa) is the most lethal female reproductive tract malignancy. A major clinical hurdle in patient management and treatment is that when using current surveillance technologies 80% of patients will be clinically diagnosed as having had a complete clinical response to primary therapy. In fact, the majority of women nonetheless develop disease recurrence within 18 mo. Thus, without more accurate surveillance protocols, the diagnostic question regarding OvCa recurrence remains framed as “when” rather than “if.” With this background, we describe the case of a 61-yr-old female who presented with a 3-mo history of unexplained whole-body rash, which unexpectedly led to a diagnosis of and her treatment for OvCa. The rash resolved immediately following debulking surgery. Nearly 1 yr later, however, the rash reappeared, prompting the prospect of tumor recurrence and requirement for additional chemotherapy. To investigate this possibility, we undertook a genomics-based tumor surveillance approach using a targeted 56-gene NGS panel and biobanked tumor samples to develop personalized ctDNA biomarkers. Although tumor-specific TP53 and PTEN mutations were detectable in all originally collected tumor samples, pelvic washes, and blood samples, they were not detectable in any biosample collected beyond the first month of treatment. No additional chemotherapy was given. The rash spontaneously resolved. Now, 2 yr beyond the patient's original surgery, and in the face of continued negative ctDNA findings, the patient remains with no evidence of disease. As this single case report suggests, we believe for the first time that ctDNA can provide an additional layer of information to avoid overtreatment.
Micro-focused MHz pink beam for time-resolved X-ray emission spectroscopy
Authors: Tu Ming-Feng , Doumy Gilles , Al Haddad Andre , March Anne Marie , Southworth Stephen H. , Assoufid Lahsen , Kumagai Yoshiaki , Walko Donald A. , DiChiara Anthony D. , Liu Zunping , Shi Bing , Young Linda , Bostedt Christoph
Published: October 2019

The full radiation from the first harmonic of a synchrotron undulator (between 5 and 12 keV) at the Advanced Photon Source is microfocused using a stack of beryllium compound refractive lenses onto a fast-moving liquid jet and overlapped with a high-repetition-rate optical laser. This micro-focused geometry is used to perform efficient nonresonant X-ray emission spectroscopy on transient species using a dispersive spectrometer geometry. The overall usable flux achieved on target is above 1015 photons s−1 at 8 keV, enabling photoexcited systems in the liquid phase to be tracked with time resolutions from tens of picoseconds to microseconds, and using the full emission spectrum, including the weak valence-to-core signal that is sensitive to chemically relevant electronic properties.
Factors associated with women achieving and maintaining abstinence from alcohol: a rapid evidence assessment
Authors: Marlow Sally , Stahl Daniel , Gilchrist Gail
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on the factors related to women’s ability to achieve and maintain abstinence from alcohol.

Design/methodology/approach

A rapid evidence assessment was carried out in four stages: definitions and research questions were agreed, search and selection were completed, data were extracted, quality of studies was assessed, and findings were synthesised and presented.

Findings

Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL and ASSIA were searched for cohort studies published in English during January 2000–February 2015. Expanded search terms for Women, Alcohol and Abstinence, and Cohort were used to identify relevant studies for inclusion, resulting in 1,040 records. Of these, 32 manuscripts from 31 studies were eligible for inclusion in the review. Alcohol-related factors such as increased quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption were related to lower likelihood of achieving and maintaining abstinence; treatment factors such as type of treatment and number of treatment episodes were related to higher and lower likelihood; demographic factors such as financial problems and poor housing status were related to lower likelihood; and psychological factors such as craving, other drug use and comorbid health problems were linked to lower likelihood.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time the factors related to the specific outcome of abstinence in women have been synthesised. Many of the factors found are also known to contribute to vulnerability for developing alcohol problems. The review revealed the paucity of studies with female only samples, or where results for women were reported separately.
De-harmonization of regime–youth relationship in China’s Macao SAR
Authors: Kam Gloria Weng Kei , Yu Eilo Wing Yat
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the regime–youth relationship in Macao. It will use the framework by Weiss and Aspinall (2012) to explain the rise of Macao youth activism and the de-harmonization of their relationship with the authorities.

Design/methodology/approach

According to Weiss and Aspinall, the emergence of youth movements in Asia after the Second World War was based on four factors: the development higher education systems, youth’s collective identities, youth’s trust in the ruling regime and transnational flows of activist ideas and inspirations. This paper analyzes the rise of Macao youth through the four dimensions by Weiss and Aspinall.

Findings

The rise of Macao youth movement is attributable to the development of tertiary education, youth’s collective identities, lowered trust in the regime and international inspiration. Better-educated Macao youth have been increasing their demands for political participation while their distrust in the MSAR government pushes their mobilization. The rise of youth movements around the world after the millennium inspires Macao youth activists’ political mobilization. Interestingly, Macao’s youth movement has been gradually integrated into the opposition forces instead of campaigning by youth organizations. In response to youth activism, the MSAR government, however, could not alleviate the youth’s hostility against the authorities, but its repressive approach intensified the regime-youth tension.

Originality/value

The paper includes interviews with leaders of young activists for their understanding of youth movement in Macao. It can serve the purpose for comparative study of youth movement among Asian societies.
The promise of China’s free trade zones – the case of Hainan
Authors: Harrison Matthew , Hong Wendy , Lam Shirley , Xiao Geng
Published: October 2019

Purpose

This paper is submitted for a special issue of Asian Education and Development Studies on the topic of Greater China Development. The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges and opportunities of developing a free trade zone (FTZ)/free port in China’s Hainan island.

Design/methodology/approach

Hainan is to be Mainland China’s newest and largest FTZ. However, the experience of the existing Mainland FTZs is not encouraging, their limited, piecemeal reforms attracting little interest from foreign investors. To make a difference and provide a new engine of growth for the Mainland economy, the approach for Hainan needs to be much bolder. Hainan should aim to develop as a free port, a services centre and a financial centre.

Findings

Regarding the financial sector development, the opportunity should be taken to experiment with special drawing rights. Hong Kong can provide the exemplar and expertise to jump-start Hainan’s development. To provide critical mass, mutual access should be opened between Hainan and the nine Mainland municipalities of the Greater Bay Area. An inner border will be needed to distinguish the experimental area from the rest of the Mainland, and an outer border to preserve its integrity vis-à-vis the international environment.

Originality/value

If Hainan can be developed into the China Offshore Centre, it would have the potential to restart the Mainland’s stalled reform process, and to relieve international trade and financial tensions.
Effect of fatty acid on the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the proposed formation mechanism during electric roasting
Authors: Liu Congcong , Wang Chong , Ye Keping , Bai Yun , Yu Xiaobo , Li Chunbao , Zhou Guanghong
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the influences of the animal fat and fatty acid type on the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and to propose a formation mechanism of PAHs in fat during electric roasting, which is a method of non-direct-contact-flame heating.

Design/methodology/approach

The effects of animal fats and model fat on the formation of PAHs were valued on the basis of the ultra high-performance liquid chromatography data. The corresponding products of the FAME pyrolysis were detected by TG-FTIR. The proposal formation mechanism of PAHs was based on the summary of the literature.

Findings

Contrary to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, DF had higher risk with 280.53 ng/g of concentration after being roasted than the others animal fats of red meat in terms of PAHs formation. This research also ensured the importance of fat on PAHs formation, the concentration of PAHs in pure fats was higher after being electric roasted than that in meat patties and juice which made from corresponding animal fat. What is more, during pure animal fats and meat products being processed, less PAHs formed in the fat with lower extent of unsaturation and lower content of linolenate. In the same way, methyl linolenate demonstrated the significant increasement to PAHs formation compared to the other fatty acids. And, the number of carbon atom and the extent of unsaturation in fatty acid affects the formation of PAHs during roasting. The detection of alkene and alkane allows to propose a formation mechanism of PAHs during model fat being heated. Further study is required to elucidate the confirm moleculars during the formation of PAHs.

Originality/value

This work studied the effect of the carbon atom number and the unsaturation extent of fats and model fats on the formation of PAHs. This work also assure the important of alkene and alkane on the pyrolysis of model fats. This study also researched the formation and distribution of PAHs in pure fats and meat products after being heated.
Improving systemic success factors in a university to achieve more effective and efficient operations
Authors: Clegg Ben
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to improve the efficacy of professional support services and teaching processes within a leading UK university so that they align better to changing academic requirements and external market forces, using a novel systems thinking methodology. A case study is given from a school in a leading UK university.

Design/methodology/approach

The case uses a novel process modelling methodology known as the process-orientated holonic modelling methodology. Abducted rationalisation is used to reflect upon the 4V’s theoretical concept of operational characteristics (volume, variety, variation over time and visibility). The paper also briefly describes the unique systems thinking principles behind the methodology and its use of abductive rationalisation.

Findings

The methodology and models show that it is advantageous to simultaneously review strategic processes and operational processes because this enables roles, processes and tasks to be more purposefully redefined and more closely meet endogenous organisational requirements and exogenous market forces.

Originality/value

This work will interest organisational analysts wishing to use a novel approach to improve strategy and operational processes in higher education and universities. The practical implications of the study are discussed using the 4V’s theoretical concept: volume of throughput, variety of offerings, variation over time and visibility of processes to students. The international context and implications are outlined.
Chinese farmer income’s fluctuant trajectory in the 1970s
Authors: Zhao Yanping
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the farmers’ income and to analyze the factors affecting the farmers’ income as well as rural life during the People’s Commune period.

Design/methodology/approach

The study’s data are drawn from unique account books of production team and a great deal of rural archives from the aspects of commune, production brigade and production team during the People’s Commune period.

Findings

The fate of the people’s commune is closely related to the income of its members. This study tries to explore the answers to “what determines members’ income” and “what influences their income,” which include the impact of the materialization on farmers’ income, the gender structure of the household labor force, the life cycle of the family and the population and so on. The main reason for farmers’ income differentiation is the difference in the demographic structure of the farmers, while the social system and traditional culture strengthen the role of this factor.

Originality/value

The biggest feature of the study is that it deeply explored the unique account books of production team from a micro-view, and studied the issue of People’s Commune from the level of farmers using the methods of historical textual research and mathematical analysis. This study is a supplement of the research on the family level which has long been lacked in the academic community.
An assessment of the sustainability of Living Labs in Kenya
Authors: Ondiek Mary Auma , Moturi Christopher
Published: October 2019

Purpose

There has been a high rate of failure among the Living Labs in Kenya resulting in the expected outcomes not fully realized. This paper aims to assess the sustainability of Living Labs in Kenya.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the four capital method of sustainable development evaluation framework, data were collected through interviews and questionnaires from innovators, users and employees among the 25 living labs in Kenya.

Findings

The research found that some innovators are not familiar with the living labs, the living labs are innovative and prepared to survive in future, some labs have strategic plans on how to pursue future environment and have developed ways of choosing right people to incubate, inability to get enough funding from the host organizations and limited knowledge on the supervision level of the operations. A model is proposed that can be generalized to other living labs in developing countries.

Research limitations/implications

The study was done in Nairobi where most of the living labs are situated.

Practical implications

The study concludes by emphasizing on the user involvement during innovation process. There is need to expand the capacities of living labs to accommodate more people to ensure more innovations are supported at a time. The senior managers in charge of the living labs should increase the level of supervision to ensure that the labs are effective in their incubation efforts and institutionalize support of the host organization to the labs to ensure continued growth and expansion.

Originality/value

The findings of this study are of value to research community, the decision and policymakers as it seeks to document the current status of the living labs in the Kenya
“If you kill me, you take the cow”: victimization experiences of farming and herding communities in Nasarawa State, Nigeria
Authors: Tade Oludayo , Yikwabs Yikwab Peter
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the victimization experiences of farming and herding communities in Nasarawa State, Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed purposive sampling, extracting data from 27 victims in Lafia and Obi local government areas. Data were collected using in-depth and key informant interviews. In a balance of tales, both farming and herding communities claimed victimhood status.

Findings

While farming communities suffered internal displacement resulting from destruction of farmland, forceful takeover of own community, destruction of livelihoods and human fatalities; herding community victimization manifested in destruction of livelihood (killing of cows), cattle rustling and human fatalities. Arising from the findings, the authors suggest proactive policing and victim compensation to reduce the incidence and severity of victimization.

Originality/value

The study is unique as it probed into the neglected domain of victimization experiences of farming and herding communities.
Aging, PEOU, and adoption of communication technology
Authors: Shen Anyuan
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Electronic communication technology can facilitate communications with family, friends and health-care professionals and deliver products and services that can significantly raise quality of life for the aging population. However, technology use by older Americans lags behind that of younger Americans. This paper aims to explore physiological decline and cognitive decline as underlying causes or antecedents that may uniquely contribute to predicting perceived ease of use (PEOU) and actual use of technology over and beyond chronological age among older adults.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected by University of Michigan’s 2012 Health and Retirement Study from a national sample of 1,686 respondents age 50 or older. Data were analyzed with the Mplus software package. The conceptual framework was estimated with a path analysis model.

Findings

Results indicated that physiological decline (vision, hearing and health) and cognitive decline (memory) made a significant unique contribution to predicting PEOU and actual use of technology above and beyond chronological age. Implications for marketing technology-based products and services to older Americans were discussed.

Originality/value

This research has identified and empirically tested how variability in physiological decline and cognitive decline could uniquely predict use of communication technologies, directly and indirectly via PEOU, above and beyond chronological age.