bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effective mechanical potential of cell–cell interaction explains three-dimensional morphologies during early embryogenesis
Authors: Koyama Hiroshi , Okumura Hisashi , Ito Atsushi M. , Nakamura Kazuyuki , Otani Tetsuhisa , Kato Kagayaki , Fujimori Toshihiko
Published: October 2019

Mechanical forces are critical for the emergence of diverse three-dimensional morphologies of multicellular systems. However, it remains unclear what kind of mechanical parameters at cellular level substantially contribute to tissue morphologies. This is largely due to technical limitations of live measurements of cellular forces. Here we developed a framework for inferring and modeling mechanical forces of cell–cell interactions. First, by analogy to coarse-grained models in molecular and colloidal sciences, we approximated cells as particles, where mean forces (i.e. effective forces) of pairwise cell–cell interactions are considered. Then, the forces were statistically inferred by fitting the mathematical model to cell tracking data. This method was validated by using synthetic cell tracking data resembling variousin vivosituations. Application of our method to the cells in the early embryos of mice and the nematodeCaenorhabditis elegansrevealed that cell–cell interaction forces can be written as a pairwise potential energy in a manner dependent on cell–cell distances. Importantly, the profiles of the pairwise potentials were quantitatively different among species and embryonic stages, and the quantitative differences correctly described the differences of their morphological features such as spherical vs. distorted cell aggregates, and tightly vs. non-tightly assembled aggregates. We conclude that the effective pairwise potential of cell–cell interactions is a live measurable parameter whose quantitative differences can be a parameter describing three-dimensional tissue morphologies.

Author summary

Emergence of diverse three-dimensional morphologies of multicellular organisms is one of the most intriguing phenomena in nature. Due to the complex situations in living systems (e.g. a lot of genes are involved in morphogenesis.), a model for describing the emergent properties of multicellular systems has not been established. To approach this issue, approximation of the complex situations to limited numbers of parameters is required. Here, we searched for mechanical parameters for describing morphologies. We developed a statistical method for inferring mechanical potential energy of cell–cell interactions in three-dimensional tissues; the mechanical potential is an approximation of various mechanical components such as cell–cell adhesive forces, cell surface tensions, etc. Then, we showed that the quantitative differences in the potential is sufficient to reproduce basic three-dimensional morphologies observed during the mouse andC. elegansearly embryogenesis, revealing a direct link between cellular level mechanical parameters and three-dimensional morphologies. Our framework provides a noninvasive tool for measuring spatiotemporal cellular forces, which would be useful for studying morphogenesis of larger tissues including organs and their regenerative therapy.
Molecular species delimitation in the primitively segmented spider genusHeptathelaendemic to Japanese islands
Authors: Xu Xin , Kuntner Matjaž , Bond Jason E. , Ono Hirotsugu , Ho Simon Y. W. , Liu Fengxiang , Yu Long , Li Daiqin
Published: October 2019

Determining species boundaries forms an important foundation for biological research. However, the results of molecular species delimitation can vary with the data sets and methods that are used. Here we use a two-step approach to delimit species in the genusHeptathela, a group of primitively segmented trapdoor spiders that are endemic to Japanese islands. Morphological evidence suggests the existence of 19 species in the genus. We tested this initial species hypothesis by using six molecular species-delimitation methods to analyse 180 mitochondrialCOIsequences ofHeptathelasampled from across the known range of the genus. We then conducted a set of more focused analyses by sampling additional genetic markers from the subset of taxa that were inconsistently delimited by the single-locus analyses of mitochondrial DNA. Multilocus species delimitation was performed using two Bayesian approaches based on the multispecies coalescent. Our approach identified 20 putative species among the 180 sampled individuals ofHeptathela. We suggest that our two-step approach provides an efficient strategy for delimiting species while minimizing costs and computational time.
Importance of parental genome balance in the generation of novel yet heritable epigenetic and transcriptional states during doubled haploid breeding
Authors: Price Jonathan , Antunez-Sanchez Javier , Hussain Nosheen , Wibowo Anjar , Papareddy Ranjith , Becker Claude , Teakle Graham , Barker Guy , Weigel Detlef , Gutierrez-Marcos Jose
Published: October 2019

Background

Doubling the genome contribution of haploid plants has accelerated breeding in most cultivated crop species. Although plant doubled haploids are isogenic in nature, they frequently display unpredictable phenotypes, thus limiting the potential of this technology. Therefore, being able to predict the factors implicated in this phenotypic variability could accelerate the generation of desirable genomic combinations and ultimately plant breeding.

Results

We use computational analysis to assess the transcriptional and epigenetic dynamics taking place during doubled haploids generation in the genome ofBrassica oleracea. We observe that doubled haploid lines display unexpected levels of transcriptional and epigenetic variation, and that this variation is largely due to imbalanced contribution of parental genomes. We reveal that epigenetic modification of transposon-related sequences during DH breeding contributes to the generation of unpredictable yet heritable transcriptional states. Targeted epigenetic manipulation of these elements using dCas9-hsTET3 confirms their role in transcriptional regulation. We have uncovered a hitherto unknown role for parental genome balance in the transcriptional and epigenetic stability of doubled haploids.

Conclusions

This is the first study that demonstrates the importance of parental genome balance in the transcriptional and epigenetic stability of doubled haploids, thus enabling predictive models to improve doubled haploid-assisted plant breeding.
Optimal Design of Single-Cell Experiments within Temporally Fluctuating Environments
Authors: Fox Zachary R , Neuert Gregor , Munsky Brian
Published: October 2019

Modern biological experiments are becoming increasingly complex, and designing these experiments to yield the greatest possible quantitative insight is an open challenge. Increasingly, computational models of complex stochastic biological systems are being used to understand and predict biological behaviors or to infer biological parameters. Such quantitative analyses can also help to improve experiment designs for particular goals, such as to learn more about specific model mechanisms or to reduce prediction errors in certain situations. A classic approach to experiment design is to use the Fisher information matrix (FIM), which quantifies the expected information a particular experiment will reveal about model parameters. The Finite State Projection based FIM (FSP-FIM) was recently developed to compute the FIM for discrete stochastic gene regulatory systems, whose complex response distributions do not satisfy standard assumptions of Gaussian variations. In this work, we develop the FSP-FIM analysis for a stochastic model of stress response genes in S. cerevisae under time-varying MAPK induction. We verify this FSP-FIM analysis and use it to optimize the number of cells that should be quantified at particular times to learn as much as possible about the model parameters. We then extend the FSP-FIM approach to explore how different measurement times or genetic modifications help to minimize uncertainty in the sensing of extracellular environments, and we experimentally validate the FSP-FIM to rank single-cell experiments for their abilities to minimize estimation uncertainty of NaCl concentrations during yeast osmotic shock. This work demonstrates the potential of quantitative models to not only make sense of modern biological data sets, but to close the loop between quantitative modeling and experimental data collection.
TetrahymenaPoc5 is a transient basal body component that is important for basal body maturation
Authors: Heydeck Westley , Bayless Brian A. , Stemm-Wolf Alexander J. , O’Toole Eileen T. , Ozzello Courtney , Nguyen Marina , Winey Mark
Published: October 2019

Basal bodies (BBs) are microtubule-based organelles that template and stabilize cilia at the cell surface. Centrins ubiquitously associate with BBs and function in BB assembly, maturation, and stability. Human POC5 (hPOC5) is a highly conserved centrin-binding protein that binds centrins through Sfi1p-like repeats and is required for building full-length, mature centrioles. Here, we use the BB-rich cytoskeleton ofTetrahymena thermophilato characterize Poc5 BB functions.TetrahymenaPoc5 (TtPoc5) uniquely incorporates into assembling BBs and is then removed from mature BBs prior to ciliogenesis. Complete genomic knockout ofTtPOC5leads to a significantly increased production of BBs yet a markedly reduced ciliary density, both of which are rescued by reintroduction of TtPoc5. A secondTetrahymena POC5-like gene,SFR1, is similarly implicated in modulating BB production. WhenTtPOC5andSFR1are co-deleted, cell viability is compromised, and levels of BB overproduction are exacerbated. Overproduced BBs display defective transition zone formation and a diminished capacity for ciliogenesis. This study uncovers a requirement for Poc5 in building mature BBs, providing a possible functional link betweenhPOC5mutations and impaired cilia.

SUMMARY STATEMENT

Loss ofTetrahymena thermophilaPoc5 reveals an important role for this centrin-binding protein in basal body maturation, which also impacts basal body production and ciliogenesis.
Opposing transcriptomic gradients explain orthogonal maps in human visual areas
Authors: Zhen Zonglei , Gomez Jesse , Weiner Kevin S.
Published: October 2019

Opposing transcriptomic gradients explain the large-scale organization of cortex. Here, we show that opposing transcriptomic gradients also explain the fine-scale organization of orthogonal maps in human visual areas. We propose a model relating transcriptomics, cell density, and function, which predicts that specific cortical locations within these visual maps are microanatomically distinct and differentially susceptible to genetic mutations. We conclude with histological and translational data that support both predictions.
Characterisation of Quorum Sensing System and Its Role in Global Regulation in Hafnia alvei
Authors: Tan Jia Yi , See-Too Wah-Seng , Convey Peter , Chan Kok-Gan
Published: October 2019

Quorum sensing (QS) is a regulatory process achieved via cell-to-cell communication that involves release and detection of autoinducers (AIs), and which occurs in a wide range of bacteria. To date, QS has been associated to events of pathogenesis, biofilm formation, and antibiotic resistance in clinical, industrial, and agricultural contexts. The main objective of this study was to characterise the role of N-Acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) type QS in Hafnia alvei FB1, a bacterial strain isolated from frozen vacuum-packed fish paste meatballs, via identification of QS core genes using a genomic approach, followed by comparative transcriptomic profiling between QS-deficient mutants and wild-type strains. H. alvei FB1 is known to produce two types of AHLs, namely, N-(3-oxohexanoyl) homoserine lactone (3OC6-HSL) and N-(3-oxooctanoyl) homoserine lactone (3OC8-HSL). The complete genome sequence of strain FB1 was obtained and a single gene for AHL synthase (halI) and its cognate receptor (halR) were identified. QS-deficient mutants of FB1 were constructed via the λ-Red recombineering method. Removal of the QS genes in strain FB1 affected mainly mechanisms in cell division and nutrient uptake, as well as resistance to a number of antibiotics, which are crucial for survival, adaptation and colonisation of both food and the host gut environment.

Impact statement

The Hafnia genus is known as opportunistic pathogen in both nosocomial and community-acquired infections, however, involvement and mechanism of pathogenesis of Hafnia in infection diseases is uncertain. We investigate the role of the signalling molecule, N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs), in a Hafnia alvei strain, since AHLs play important roles in pathogenicity, survival or adaptation in other pathogen. This comparative transciptomic study has revealed that AHLs are involved in mechanisms in cell division and nutrient uptake, as well as resistance to a number of antibiotics, which are crucial for survival, adaptation and colonisation of both food and the host gut environment. This finding provides insight and possible strategy to combat this opportunistic pathogen.

Data summary

Genome sequence is deposited in NCBI GenBank under accession number CP009706. The transcriptomic data, have been deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gds) under accession number GSE93000.
Music predictability and liking enhance pupil dilation and promote motor learning in non-musicians
Authors: Bianco R. , Gold B.P. , Johnson A.P. , Penhune V.B.
Published: October 2019

Humans can anticipate music and derive pleasure from it. Expectations facilitate movements associated with anticipated events, and they are linked with reward, which may also facilitate learning of the anticipated rewarding events. The present study investigates the synergistic effects of predictability and hedonic responses to music on arousal and motor-learning in a naïve population. Novel melodies were manipulated in their overall predictability (predictable/unpredictable) as objectively defined by a model of music expectation, and ranked as high/medium/low liked based on participants’ self-reports collected during an initial listening session. During this session, we also recorded ocular pupil size as an implicit measure of listeners’ arousal. During the following motor task, participants learned to play target notes of the melodies on a keyboard (notes were of similar motor and musical complexity across melodies). Pupil dilation was greater for liked melodies, particularly when predictable. Motor performance was facilitated in predictable more than unpredictable melodies, but liked melodies were learned even in the unpredictable condition. Low-liked melodies also showed learning but mostly in participants with higher scores of task perceived competence. Taken together, these results suggest that effects of predictability on learning can be overshadowed by effects of stimulus liking or task-related intrinsic motivation.
A new method for rapid genome classification, clustering, visualization, and novel taxa discovery from metagenome
Authors: Wang Zhong , Ho Harrison , Egan Rob , Yao Shijie , Kang Dongwan , Froula Jeff , Sevim Volkan , Schulz Frederik , Shay Jackie E. , Macklin Derek , McCue Kayla , Orsini Rachel , Barich Daniel J. , Sedlacek Christopher J. , Li Wei , Morgan-Kiss Rachael M. , Woyke Tanja , Slonczewski Joan L.
Published: October 2019

Current supervised phylogeny-based methods fall short on recognizing species assembled from metagenomic datasets from under-investigated habitats, as they are often incomplete or lack closely known relatives. Here, we report an efficient software suite, “Genome Constellation”, that estimates similarities between genomes based on their k-mer matches, and subsequently uses these similarities for classification, clustering, and visualization. The clusters of reference genomes formed by Genome Constellation closely resemble known phylogenetic relationships while simultaneously revealing unexpected connections. In a dataset containing 1,693 draft genomes assembled from the Antarctic lake communities where only 40% could be placed in a phylogenetic tree, Genome Constellation improves taxa assignment to 61%. It revealed six clusters derived from new bacterial phyla and 63 new giant viruses, 3 of which missed by the traditional marker-based approach. In summary, we demonstrate that Genome Constellation can tackle the computational and algorithmic challenges in large-scale taxonomy analyses in metagenomics.
Metaxin 3 is a Highly Conserved Vertebrate Protein Homologous to Mitochondrial Import Proteins and GSTs
Authors: Adolph Kenneth W.
Published: October 2019

Metaxin 3 genes are shown to be widely conserved in vertebrates, including mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. Metaxin 3 genes, however, are not found in invertebrates, plants, and bacteria. The predicted metaxin 3 proteins were identified by their homology to the metaxin 3 proteins encoded by zebrafish and Xenopus cDNAs. Further evidence that they are metaxin proteins was provided by the presence of GST_N_Metaxin, GST_C_Metaxin, and Tom37 protein domains, and the absence of other major domains. Alignment of human metaxin 3 and human metaxin 1 predicted amino acid sequences showed 45% identities, while human metaxin 2 had 23% identities. These results indicate that metaxin 3 is a distinct metaxin. A wide variety of vertebrate species—including human, zebrafish, Xenopus, dog, shark, elephant, panda, and platypus—had the same genes adjacent to the metaxin 3 gene. In particular, the thrombospondin 4 gene (THBS4) is next to the metaxin 3 gene (MTX3). By comparison, the thrombospondin 3 gene (THBS3) is next to the metaxin 1 gene (MTX1). Phylogenetic analysis showed that metaxin 3, metaxin 1, and metaxin 2 protein sequences formed separate clusters, but with all three metaxins being derived from a common ancestor. Alpha-helices dominate the predicted secondary structures of metaxin 3 proteins. Little beta-strand is present. The pattern of 9 helical segments is also found for metaxins 1 and 2.
Effect of recombinant phycocyanin on photosynthetic system in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Authors: Zhang Feng , Cong Xiaomei , Wang Zhendong , Guo Yalin , Hou Lulu , Li Rui , Shang Menghui , Wei Xuehong , Yangzong Zhaxi , Xu Xiaoting , Zang Xiaonan
Published: October 2019

The phycobilisome is an important photosynthetic antenna in the photosynthetic cyanobacteria, and phycocyanin is one of the main components of phycobilisomes. It helps cells absorb green light that green-lineage photo-synthetic organisms cannot. In this work, phycocyanin, heme oxidase and ferredoxin oxidoreductase from Arthrospira platensis FACHB 314 were successfully expressed in the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Then the effects of this expression on the photosynthesis and growth of C. reinhardtii were detected. Transcriptional level analysis showed that the phycocyanin gene was successfully expressed stably in the transgenic strains. The results of low-temperature fluorescence emission spectra and chlorophyll fluorescence showed that recombinant phycocyanin has considerable optical activity. The expression of phycocyanin, heme oxidase and ferredoxin oxidoreductase in low-light conditions is particularly evident in the promotion of photosynthesis in C. reinhardtii. The growth of transgenic strains was significantly promoted in the early growth phase under low-light conditions. However, the final growth and biomass accumulation of transgenic C. reinhardti were inhibited by this expression. In this paper, the possibility of photoenergy transfer between phycocyanin and heterologous host thylakoid membrane was researched, which provided a useful attempt for the construction of a new photosynthetic system using phycobiliprotein from cyanobacteria.

One-sentence summary

Phycocyanin from Arthrospira platensis FACHB 314 expressed in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii can effect the photosynthetic system of C. reinhardtii.
PhyB induces intron retention and uORF-mediated translational inhibition of PIF3
Authors: Dong Jie , Chen Haodong , Deng Xing Wang , Irish Vivian F. , Wei Ning
Published: October 2019

The phytochrome B (phyB) photoreceptor stimulates light responses in plants in part by inactivating repressors of light responses such as phytochrome-interacting factor 3 (PIF3). It has been established that activated phyB inhibits PIF3 by rapid protein degradation and decreased transcription. PIF3 protein degradation has been shown to be mediated by EIN3-BINDING F-BOX PROTEIN (EBF) and LIGHT-RESPONSE BTB (LRB) E3 ligases, the latter simultaneously targeting phyB for degradation. In this study, we show that PIF3 level is additionally regulated by alternative splicing and protein translation. Overaccumulation of photo-activated phyB, which occur in the mutant defective for LRB genes under continuous red light (Rc), induces a specific alternative splicing of PIF3 that results in retention of an intron in the 5’UTR of PIF3 mRNA. In turn, the upstream opening reading frames (uORF) contained within this intron inhibit PIF3 protein synthesis. The phyB-dependent alternative splicing of PIF3 is diurnally regulated under the short-day light cycle. We hypothesize that this reversible regulatory mechanism may be utilized to fine-tune the level of PIF3 protein in light-grown plants, and may contribute to the oscillation of PIF3 protein abundance under the short-day environment.

One Sentence Summary

Light down-regulates PIF3 by multiple mechanisms. We show that phyB induces an alternative splicing event that inhibits PIF3 protein translation, and that is regulated by short-day diurnal cycle.
A comparative study of single-particle cryo-EM with liquid-nitrogen and liquid-helium cooling
Authors: Pfeil-Gardiner Olivia , Mills Deryck J. , Vonck Janet , Kuehlbrandt Werner
Published: October 2019

Radiation damage is the most fundamental limitation for achieving high resolution in electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) of biological samples. The effects of radiation damage are reduced by liquid-helium cooling, although the use of liquid helium is more challenging than that of liquid nitrogen. To date, the benefits of liquid-nitrogen and liquid-helium cooling for single-particle cryo-EM have not been compared quantitatively. With recent technical and computational advances in cryo-EM image recording and processing, such a comparison now seems timely. This study aims to evaluate the relative merits of liquid-helium cooling in present-day single-particle analysis, taking advantage of direct electron detectors. Two data sets for recombinant mouse heavy-chain apoferritin cooled with liquid-nitrogen or liquid-helium to 85 or 17 K were collected, processed and compared. No improvement in terms of resolution or Coulomb potential map quality was found for liquid-helium cooling. Interestingly, beam-induced motion was found to be significantly higher with liquid-helium cooling, especially within the most valuable first few frames of an exposure, thus counteracting any potential benefit of better cryoprotection that liquid-helium cooling may offer for single-particle cryo-EM.
A case to ruminate on: vomiting and weight loss in intellectual disability and autism
Authors: Mufti Shaista
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review a case of a man with intellectual disability, autism and challenging behaviour who presented with vomiting, regurgitations and significant weight loss.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines the case history and identifies challenges contributing to symptom classification and management of a patient with intractable vomiting, regurgitations and significant weight loss.

Findings

This case illustrates the importance of the multidisciplinary team working required to reduce morbidity and risk of mortality, as well as highlighting some of the challenges associated with coordinating different approaches from different agencies. Pharmacological management did not result in lasting symptom resolution in this case. Difficulties in establishing diagnostic certainty and consideration of whether symptoms could be consistent with rumination syndrome are also discussed. The value of consistent implementation of positive behavioural support is also demonstrated.

Originality/value

The rapid and dangerous weight loss described in this case is associated with adverse physical health outcomes and has generated significant anxiety resulting in extensive liaison between primary and secondary mental and physical health services. Additionally, it considers whether the symptoms could be attributed to the relatively rare diagnosis of rumination syndrome which is historically underdiagnosed.
Social business process management
Authors: Bazan Patricia , Estevez Elsa
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the state of the art of social business process management (Social BPM), explaining applied approaches, existing tools and challenges and to propose a research agenda for encouraging further development of the area.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology comprises a qualitative analysis using secondary data. The approach relies on searches of scientific papers conducted in well-known databases, identifying research work related to Social BPM solutions and those contributing with social characteristics to BPM. Based on the identified papers, the authors selected the most relevant and the latest publications, and categorized their contributions and findings based on open and selective coding. In total, the analysis is based on 51 papers that were selected and analyzed in depth.

Findings

Main results show that there are several studies investigating modeling approaches for socializing process activities and for capturing implicit knowledge possessed and used by process actors, enabling to add some kind of flexibility to business processes. However, despite the proven interest in the area, there are not yet adequate tools providing effective solutions for Social BPM. Based on our findings, the authors propose a research agenda comprising three main lines: contributions of social software (SS) to Social BPM, Social BPM as a mechanism for adding flexibility to and for discovering new business processes and Social BPM for enhancing business processes with the use of new technologies. The authors also identify relevant problems for each line.

Practical implications

Some SS tools, like wikis, enable managing social aspects in executing business processes and can be used to coordinate simple business processes. Despite they are commonly used, they are not yet mature tools supporting Social BPM and more efficient tools are yet to appear. The lack of tools preclude organizations from benefitting from implicit knowledge owned by and shared among business process actors, which could contribute to better-informed decisions related to organizational processes. In addition, more research is needed for considering Social BPM as an approach for organizations to benefit from the adoption of new technologies in their business processes.

Originality/value

The paper assesses the state of the art in Social BPM, an incipient area in research and practice. The area can be defined as the intersection of two bigger areas highly relevant for organizations; on the one hand, the management and execution of business processes; and on the other hand, the use of social software, including social media tools, for leveraging on implicit knowledge shared by business process actors to improving efficiency of business processes.
Determining the odds of employment in Pakistan
Authors: Aftab Izza , Mazher Umair
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The paper aims to identify the determinants of employment in Pakistan. In light of the jobless growth Pakistan has experienced starting from 2000, this is a valid concern. The paper discusses the structural relationship between employment and growth in Pakistan and analyzes it empirically within an economic geography framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper applies a Logit regression analysis to data from Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement Survey for the years 2010, 2012 and 2014. While this survey is published annually, the paper uses data at the district level, which is available only every alternate year. Data are collected at the individual level and can be mapped back to the household level. Each wave of data covers at least 70,000 households. The survey provides data on employment status, health, education, sanitation, economic situation and asset ownership. The analysis is conducted using Stata. The paper uses computer vision to present and trace changing employment patterns in Pakistan over time. To do so, the paper uses MATLAB. The data are transformed to KMV format and the plotting is done using Google Earth.

Findings

The paper shows how household characteristics affect the odds of employment in Pakistan, finding evidence of provincial disparities. Moreover, the paper shows that non-wage income from assets reduces the odds of being employed. The paper identifies the various income thresholds for the five income sources examined to have an impact on the odds of employment.

Originality/value

The novelty of this research is the identification of the determinants of employment in Pakistan and their analysis from the perspective of economic geography. This paper should be useful for policymakers and international financial organizations concerned with structural change in Pakistan.
It takes a community to care for the sick and disabled
Authors: MacVane Phipps Fiona
Published: October 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a broad overview of the articles published in the current issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The review editor reads all articles accepted for the current issue of IJHG, identifying common themes and selecting other relevant articles to explore these themes more fully.

Findings

The findings of this review indicate that the most effective way to care for the sick or disabled is with community involvement.

Practical implications

The practical implications are that the review helps readers to gain a better understanding of the journal content and how for each issue, common themes can be developed and discussed.

Originality/value

No other Emerald Journal has a review section of this type so it is a unique selling point for IJHG.
Ambidextrous supply chain managers in a slow clockspeed industry: evidence from a Brazilian adhesive manufacturer
Authors: Souza-Luz Aruana Rosa , Gavronski Iuri
Published: October 2019

Purpose

Conventional wisdom posits that firms in slow clockspeed industries usually favor exploitation over exploration, prioritizing the need to increase efficiency, reduce costs and invest in process improvements. However, what happens when such firms face structural changes in the long run? The authors claim that even firms in slow clockspeed industries should be ambidextrous, that is, they should develop both exploration and exploitation capabilities. Supply chain (SC) managers are key players in enabling organizational ambidexterity. This paper aims to identify the abilities that characterize the ambidextrous SC managers.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected data from an in-depth case study through ethnographic research, non-participant observation and interviews with SC managers at a Brazilian chemical firm embedded in a slow clockspeed network of clients. These longitudinal data were used to demonstrate the process of implementing new projects in an SC department.

Findings

The authors propose a set of key abilities that enable ambidexterity in SC managers for them to contribute effectively to the SC exploration and exploitation practices: a holistic yet focused view; prior experience in multiple functional areas; technical knowledge; openness towards network connectivity; openness to sharing ideas with other managers; empathy; and entrepreneurial capabilities.

Research limitations/implications

This paper contributes to the SCM ambidexterity literature by bringing to light the abilities of successful ambidextrous SC managers. The seven abilities identified are discussed. The authors formulate theoretical propositions on how these abilities enable SC managers’ ambidexterity.

Practical implications

This study provides SC managers with the knowledge of a set of individual abilities they should develop among their SC personnel to offer a more suitable environment in their departments for ambidexterity to take place. In addition, these abilities can be used as screening criteria in personnel selection processes to increase the proportion of ambidextrous employees within the firm. The identified characteristics could also be used as recruitment criteria for managerial positions in SCM.

Originality/value

This research advances SC literature by studying SC managers through the lens of the organizational ambidexterity literature. Using a combination of case study, non-participant observation and ethnographic research, the authors derive a set of propositions for the characteristics of ambidextrous SC managers.
Detection of small target in sea clutter via multiscale directional Lyapunov exponents
Authors: Wang Rui , Li Xiangyang , Ma Hongguang , Zhang Hui
Published: October 2019

Purpose

This study aims to provide a new method of multiscale directional Lyapunov exponents (MSDLE) calculated based on the state space reconstruction for the nonstationary time series, which can be applied to detect the small target covered by sea clutter.

Design/methodology/approach

Reconstructed state space is divided into non-overlapping submatrices whose columns are equal to a predetermined scale. The authors compute eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the covariance matrix of each submatrix and extract the principal components σip and their corresponding eigenvectors. Then, the angles ψip of eigenvectors between two successive submatrices were calculated. The curves of (σip, ψip) reflect the nonlinear dynamics both in kinetic and directional and form a spectrum with multiscale. The fluctuations of (σip, ψip), which are sensitive to the differences of backscatter between sea wave and target, are taken out as the features for the target detection.

Findings

The proposed method can reflect the local dynamics of sea clutter and the small target within sea clutter is easily detected. The test on the ice multiparameter imaging X-ban radar data and the comparison to K distribution based method illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Originality/value

The detection of a small target in sea clutter is a compelling issue, as the conventional statistical models cannot well describe the sea clutter on a larger timescale, and the methods based on statistics usually require the stationary sea clutter. It has been proven that sea clutter is nonlinear, nonstationary or cyclostationary and chaotic. The new method of MSDLE proposed in the paper can effectively and efficiently detect the small target covered by sea clutter, which can be also introduced and applied to military, aerospace and maritime fields.
Choosing prevention or cure when mitigating biodiversity loss: Trade‐offs under ‘no net loss’ policies
Authors: Bull Joseph W. , Milner‐Gulland Eleanor‐Jane
Published: October 2019

Biodiversity cannot always be conserved. Economic development activities can result in biodiversity losses, but also increase human well‐being, so trade‐offs must sometimes be made between conservation and development. An alternative strategy to avoidance of impacts through the strict protection of biodiversity (‘prevention’) is to permit certain biodiversity losses and fully compensate for them through offsets elsewhere (‘cure’).

Here, we build a stochastic simulation model to explore trade‐offs between biodiversity loss prevention and cure, in the context of development under ‘no net loss’ (NNL) biodiversity policies. Our model implements a Management Strategy Evaluation framework, monitoring outcomes using four different performance metrics: total biodiversity, net biodiversity, total economic activity and development activity.

We find that a ‘cure’ strategy can potentially perform just as well as a prevention strategy in terms of biodiversity objectives, while outperforming the latter from an economic perspective. However, this does not undermine the need for a mitigation hierarchy, and the best‐performing strategy depends strongly upon both the degree of compliance with the NNL policy and upon underlying ecological parameters.

Perhaps counterintuitively, when evaluated as advised by the technical literature (i.e. against an appropriate counterfactual scenario), we find that net biodiversity outcomes are highest when natural ecosystem recovery rates are slow (so long as development rates are also slow).

Finally, using the illustrative example of US wetlands, we suggest that real‐world NNL policies could already be driving landscape‐scale avoidance of development impacts under a ‘prevention’ approach.

Policy implications. No net loss (NNL) biodiversity policy is currently being developed or implemented by over 100 countries world‐wide and incorporated into environmental safeguards by multinational lenders. The socioecological model presented here can be used to advise decision makers about the best structure for nascent NNL policy on the basis of region‐specific ecosystem recovery rates, development activity, legal compliance and monitoring uncertainty. Furthermore, the model presents a means for estimating the degree to which biodiversity impacts are avoided by developers under NNL—an important monitoring consideration given that ensuring high levels of avoidance is crucial to robust NNL policy, but which has to date evaded assessment through purely empirical means.
Co‐administration of N‐acetylcysteine and dexmedetomidine plays a synergistic effect on protection of LPS‐induced acute lung injury via correcting Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines imbalance
Authors: Song Qitai , Lin Li , Chen Lin , Cheng Lingxia , Zhong Wu
Published: October 2019

Recently both N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) and Dexmedetomidine (DEX) have shown emerging roles in protection of acute lung injury (ALI). However, how their protective roles work and whether they can provide synergistic effects in ALI remain unknown. Here we explored it from the hot research viewpoint of Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines balance. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced ALI was established and treated with NAC and/or DEX. Mice were divided into Sham group, ALI group, NAC group, DEX group and NAC+DEX group. Mice were sampled at 6, 12 and 24 hours after the model construction. Histopathology, wet to dry ratio and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were assessed in lung tissues. Protein concentration and cell count were assessed in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines were assessed in plasma, BALF and lung homogenate. ALI‐induced lung morphological damage, edema and aberrant MPO activity can be attenuated by NAC or DEX and mostly by NAC+DEX. NAC with DEX significantly reduced ALI‐induced protein leakage and cell infiltration in BALF. Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines imbalance aggravated with ALI progression. NAC, DEX and especially NAC+DEX can effectively correct these unbalanced cytokines. Galectin‐9 and Tim‐3 were transcriptionally up‐regulated in ALI. Combination of NAC with DEX obtained a maximum effect on decreasing Galectin‐9/Tim‐3 expression. In summary, Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines imbalance is newly found to participate in LPS‐induced ALI. NAC or DEX administration can attenuate ALI by rebalancing Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines. Their protective roles can be enhanced when co‐administration, because DEX may relieve the Galectin‐9/Tim‐3 axis‐mediated immune suppression.
Pralidoxime administered during cardiopulmonary resuscitation facilitates successful resuscitation in a pig model of cardiac arrest
Authors: Jung Yong Hun , Lee Hyoung Youn , Jeung Kyung Woon , Lee Byung Kook , Youn Chun Song , Yun Seong Woo , Heo Tag , Min Yong Il
Published: October 2019

Pralidoxime is a common antidote for organophosphate poisoning; however, studies have also reported pralidoxime's pressor effect, which may facilitate the restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after cardiac arrest by improving coronary perfusion pressure (CPP). We investigated the immediate cardiovascular effects of pralidoxime in anaesthetised normal rats and the effects of pralidoxime administration during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in a pig model of cardiac arrest. To evaluate the immediate cardiovascular effects of pralidoxime, seven anaesthetised normal rats received saline or pralidoxime (20 mg/kg) in a randomised crossover design, and the responses were determined using the conductance catheter technique. To evaluate the effects of pralidoxime administration during CPR, 22 pigs randomly received either 80 mg/kg of pralidoxime or an equivalent volume of saline during CPR. In the rats, pralidoxime significantly increased arterial pressure than saline (P = .044). The peak effect on arterial pressure was observed in the first minute. In a pig model of cardiac arrest, CPP during CPR was higher in the pralidoxime group than in the control group (P = .002). ROSC was attained in three animals (27.3%) in the control group and nine animals (81.8%) in the pralidoxime group (P = .010). Three animals (27.3%) in the control group and eight animals (72.2%) in the pralidoxime group survived the 6‐hour period (P = .033). In conclusion, pralidoxime had a rapid onset of pressor effect. Pralidoxime administered during CPR led to significantly higher rates of ROSC and 6‐hour survival by improving CPP in a pig model.
Seed germination of exotic and native winter annuals differentially responds to temperature and moisture, especially with climate change scenarios
Authors: Hicks Rachael N. , Wang Fenglan , Hidayati Siti N. , Walck Jeffrey L.
Published: October 2019

Seeds of winter annuals require a summer after‐ripening period for dormancy loss and low autumn temperatures for germination. With current and future changes in moisture and temperature, we tested the effects of warming along a relative humidity (RH) gradient on dormancy loss and effects of decreased diurnal temperature range (DTR) on germination. We further reasoned that the effects of changes in these variables would be disproportionate between the exotic and native winter annuals. Seeds of exotic species (Buglossoides arvensis, Lamium purpureum and Ranunculus parviflorus) and co‐occurring native species (Galium aparine, Paysonia stonensis and Plantago virginica) were collected in middle Tennessee. After‐ripening occurred over a 15–100% RH gradient at 25 and 30°C and germination was tested at 20/10 and 20/15°C. Niche breadth was calculated using Levins' B. Fresh Ranunculus seeds had high germination and those of other species did not. Germination for these species increased with after‐ripening, mostly across the RH gradient irrespective of temperature. A decrease in DTR showed mixed results – the extreme being Ranunculus with no germination at 20/15°C. Most exotic species had wider germination niche breadths than native species. With climate change, we suggest that a decrease in DTR may have a larger effect on germination than increasing moisture or warming on dormancy break. Moreover, there is not a clear‐cut winner with climate change when we compare exotic versus native species because the responses of our six species were species specific.
Evaluation of anti‐proliferative activity of Cheddar cheeses using colon adenocarcinoma (HCT‐116) cell line
Authors: Rafiq Saima , Gulzar Nabila , Huma Nuzhat , Hussain Imtiaz , Murtaza Mian Shamas
Published: October 2019

The present study was planned to evaluate anti‐proliferative activity of water‐soluble peptides (WSPs) extracts of Cheddar cheeses made with buffalo and cow milk using a colon adenocarcinoma cell line. Cheese extracts were prepared at different stages of ripening up to six months. Anti‐proliferative activity of extracts was evaluated through cell viability assay, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction using colon cancer (HCT‐116) cell line. A dose‐dependent increase in activity was observed till five months of ripening. Cells population was relatively higher at G0/G1 phase of cell cycle. Moreover, apoptosis induction was also observed in a dose‐dependent manner.
Annual migratory patterns of Far East Greylag Geese (Anser anser rubrirostris) revealed by GPS tracking
Authors: LI Xianghuang , WANG Xin , FANG Lei , BATBAYAR Nyambayar , NATSAGDORJ Tseveenmyadag , DAVAASUREN Batmunkh , DAMBA Iderbat , XU Zhenggang , CAO Lei , FOX Anthony David
Published: October 2019

Twenty Far East Greylag Geese, Anser anser rubrirostris, were captured and fitted with Global Positioning System/Global System for Mobile Communications (GPS/GSM) loggers to identify breeding and wintering areas, migration routes and stopover sites. Telemetry data for the first time showed linkages between their Yangtze River wintering areas, stopover sites in northeastern China, and breeding/molting grounds in eastern Mongolia and northeast China. 10 of the 20 tagged individuals provided sufficient data. They stopped on migration at the Yellow River Estuary, Beidagang Reservoir and Xar Moron River, confirming these areas as being important stopover sites for this population. The median spring migration duration was 33.7 days (individuals started migrating between 25 February and 16 March and completed migrating from 1 to 9 April) compared to 52.7 days in autumn (26 September–13 October until 4 November–11 December). The median stopover duration was 31.1 and 51.3 days and the median speed of travel was 62.6 and 47.9 km/day for spring and autumn migration, respectively. The significant differences between spring and autumn migration on the migration duration, the stopover duration and the migration speed confirmed that tagged adult Greylag Geese traveled faster in spring than autumn, supporting the hypothesis that they should be more time‐limited during spring migration.
Evolutionary history of mountain voles of the subgenus Aschizomys (Cricetidae, Rodentia), inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear markers
Authors: BODROV Semen Yu. , VASILJEVA Vera K. , OKHLOPKOV Innokentiy M. , MAMAYEV Nikolai V. , ZAKHAROV Evgeniy S. , OLEINIKOV Alexey Yu , GENELT‐YANOVSKIY Evgeniy A. , ABRAMSON Natalia I.
Published: October 2019

In this study, we present an assessment of the evolutionary history and phylogenetic relationships of Asian mountain voles of the subgenus Aschizomys, genus Alticola, based on extensive sampling and phylogenetic analyses of data from mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Two species of this subgenus are widespread in the mountain areas of north‐eastern Asia. However, both their distribution and taxonomic borders remained questionable for more than 100 years. Our study showed discordance in the phylogenetic patterns between nuclear and mtDNA markers. We found that mtDNA in A. lemminus is paraphyletic relative to A. macrotis, but nuclear markers demonstrated reciprocal monophyly. According to species distribution modeling, ranges of A. macrotis and A. lemminus experienced a secondary contact during the Last Glacial Maximum (approximately 22 kyr BP), and thus a hybridization event seems plausible during that period. Species tree analyses recovered a sister group relationship between the two species of the Aschizomys subgenus, with an estimated divergence date of around 0.8 Ma. Our results provided good support for currently recognized subspecies within both A. macrotis and A. lemminus based on mitochondrial and nuclear datasets. A new, yet undescribed form, supposedly of a subspecific status within A. lemminus, was found in the Bureinskiy Range in the Khabarovsk area. This finding expands the current species distribution range further to the southeast.