bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tetracyclines Modify Translation By Targeting Key Human rRNA Substructures
Authors: Mortison Jonathan D. , Schenone Monica , Myers Jacob A. , Zhang Ziyang , Chen Linfeng , Ciarlo Christie , Comer Eamon , Natchiar S. Kundhavai , Carr Steven A. , Klaholz Bruno P. , Myers Andrew G.
Published: February 2018

Apart from their antimicrobial properties, tetracyclines demonstrate clinically validated effects in the amelioration of pathological inflammation and human cancer. Delineation of the target(s) and mechanism(s) responsible for these effects, however, has remained elusive. Here, employing quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics, we identified human 80S ribosomes as targets of the tetracyclines Col-3 and doxycycline. We then developed in cell click selective crosslinking with RNA sequence profiling (icCL-Seq) to map binding sites for these tetracyclines on key human rRNA substructures at nucleotide resolution. Importantly, we found that structurally and phenotypically variant tetracycline analogs could chemically discriminate these rRNA binding sites. We also found that tetracyclines both subtly modify human ribosomal translation and selectively activate the cellular integrated stress response (ISR). Together, the data reveal that targeting of specific rRNA substructures, activation of the ISR, and inhibition of translation are correlated with the anti-proliferative properties of tetracyclines in human cancer cell lines.
The maternal effect geneWdscontrolsWolbachiatiter inNasonia
Authors: Funkhouser-Jones Lisa J. , van Opstal Edward J. , Sharma Ananya , Bordenstein Seth R.
Published: February 2018

Maternal transmission of intracellular microbes is pivotal in establishing long-term, intimate symbioses. For germline microbes that exert negative reproductive effects on their hosts, selection can theoretically favor the spread of host genes that counteract the microbe’s harmful effects. Here, we leverage a major difference in bacterial (Wolbachia pipientis) titers between closely-related wasp species with forward genetic, transcriptomic, and cytological approaches to map two quantitative trait loci that suppress bacterial titers via a maternal effect. Fine mapping and knockdown experiments identify the geneWolbachia density suppressor(Wds), which dominantly suppresses bacterial transmission from mother to embryo.Wdsevolved by lineage-specific non-synonymous changes driven by positive selection. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that a genetically simple change arose by Darwinian selection in less than a million years to regulate maternally transmitted bacteria via a dominant, maternal effect gene.
Rare variants in the genetic background modulate the expressivity of neurodevelopmental disorders
Authors: Pizzo Lucilla , Jensen Matthew , Polyak Andrew , Rosenfeld Jill A. , Mannik Katrin , Krishnan Arjun , McCready Elizabeth , Pichon Olivier , Le Caignec Cedric , Van Dijck Anke , Pope Kate , Voorhoeve Els , Yoon Jieun , Stankiewicz Paweł , Cheung Sau Wai , Pazuchanics Damian , Huber Emily , Kumar Vijay , Kember Rachel , Mari Francesca , Curró Aurora , Castiglia Lucia , Galesi Ornella , Avola Emanuela , Mattina Teresa , Fichera Marco , Mandarà Luana , Vincent Marie , Nizon Mathilde , Mercier Sandra , Bénéteau Claire , Blesson Sophie , Martin-Coignard Dominique , Mosca-Boidron Anne-Laure , Caberg Jean-Hubert , Bucan Maja , Zeesman Susan , Nowaczyk Małgorzata J.M. , Lefebvre Mathilde , Faivre Laurence , Callier Patrick , Skinner Cindy , Keren Boris , Perrine Charles , Prontera Paolo , Marle Nathalie , Renieri Alessandra , Reymond Alexandre , Kooy R Frank , Isidor Bertrand , Schwartz Charles , Romano Corrado , Sistermans Erik , Amor David J. , Andrieux Joris , Girirajan Santhosh
Published: February 2018

Purpose

To assess the contribution of rare variants in the genetic background towards variability of neurodevelopmental phenotypes in individuals with rare copy-number variants (CNVs) and gene-disruptive mutations.

Methods

We analyzed quantitative clinical information, exome-sequencing, and microarray data from 757 probands and 233 parents and siblings who carry disease-associated mutations.

Results

The number of rare secondary mutations in functionally intolerant genes (second-hits) correlated with the expressivity of neurodevelopmental phenotypes in probands with 16p12.1 deletion (n=23, p=0.004) and in probands with autism carrying gene-disruptive mutations (n=184, p=0.03) compared to their carrier family members. Probands with 16p12.1 deletion and a strong family history presented more severe clinical features (p=0.04) and higher burden of second-hits compared to those with mild/no family history (p=0.001). The number of secondary variants also correlated with the severity of cognitive impairment in probands carrying pathogenic rare CNVs (n=53) or de novo mutations in disease genes (n=290), and negatively correlated with head size among 80 probands with 16p11.2 deletion. These second-hits involved known disease-associated genes such as SETD5, AUTS2, and NRXN1, and were enriched for genes affecting cellular and developmental processes.

Conclusion

Accurate genetic diagnosis of complex disorders will require complete evaluation of the genetic background even after a candidate gene mutation is identified.
Habitat loss is information loss: Species distribution models are compromised in anthropogenic landscapes
Authors: Dinnage Russell , Cardillo Marcel
Published: February 2018

Species distribution models (SDMs) are valuable tools to estimate species’ distributions, but are vulnerable to biases in the probability of a species being observed. One such bias is habitat loss, which has affected a substantial and increasing proportion of the Earth. In regions of severe habitat loss, data on a species’ occurrence may represent a small, non-random subset of sites it once occupied. This could cause distorted reconstructions of species distributions, and misleading inferences of evolutionary and ecological processes. We present a statistical approach for quantifying the influence on SDMs of habitat loss, and generating distribution predictions that are robust to these biases. We explored some of the effects of accounting for habitat loss on inferences from common downstream biogeographic and ecological analysis methods.

We used herbarium record data to model the distribution of 325 plant species in the genera Banksia and Hakea across Australia, using point process models. We accounted for biases in the models by including a proxy variable representing habitat loss, and compared the fit of models without this variable to those with it. We explored the influence of habitat loss by mapping biodiversity patterns predicted with and without accounting for it.

Generally, accounting for habitat loss in SDMs led to increases in the mean area of modelled species distributions of ~10% for Banksia and ~12% for Hakea across Australia (in some cases, up to several 100,000 km2 increases in predicted range), with somewhat greater average increases (11% and 15%) for species in the southwest Australian biodiversity hotspot. Accounting for habitat loss leads to an increase in predicted species richness (Alpha and Gamma diversity), but a decrease in compositional turnover (Beta diversity), across most of Australia. Accounting for habitat loss in SDMs had minimal influence on a downstream macroevolutionary analysis (Age-Range Correlation) that utilizes species distributions, seemingly because exposure to habitat loss did not show a phylogenetic pattern in this taxonomic group.

The influence of habitat loss on species distributions estimated with SDM is likely to be context-dependent and difficult to generalize, but will tend to cause underestimates of range sizes. This may have consequences for mapping spatial patterns of diversity and for some downstream analyses of biogeographic, evolutionary, or ecological processes, based on species distributions, as well as conservation measures that rely on accurate species mapping.
DeepHINT: Understanding HIV-1 integration via deep learning with attention
Authors: Hu Hailin , Xiao An , Zhang Sai , Li Yangyang , Shi Xuanling , Jiang Tao , Zhang Linqi , Zhang Lei , Zeng Jianyang
Published: February 2018

Motivation

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) genome integration is closely related to clinical latency and viral rebound. In addition to human DNA sequences that directly interact with the integration machinery, the selection of HIV integration sites has also been shown to depend on the heterogeneous genomic context around a large region, which greatly hinders the prediction and mechanistic studies of HIV integration.

Results

We have developed an attention-based deep learning framework, named DeepHINT, to simultaneously provide accurate prediction of HIV integration sites and mechanistic explanations of the detected sites. Extensive tests on a high-density HIV integration site dataset showed that DeepHINT can outperform conventional modeling strategies by automatically learning the genomic context of HIV integration solely from primary DNA sequence information. Systematic analyses on diverse known factors of HIV integration further validated the biological relevance of the prediction result. More importantly, in-depth analyses of the attention values output by DeepHINT revealed intriguing mechanistic implications in the selection of HIV integration sites, including potential roles of several basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors and zinc-finger proteins. These results established DeepHINT as an effective and explainable deep learning framework for the prediction and mechanistic study of HIV integration.

Availability

DeepHINT is available as an open-source software and can be downloaded fromhttps://github.com/nonnerdling/DeepHINT

Contact

lzhang20@mail.tsinghua.edu.cnandzengjy321@tsinghua.edu.cn
Peroxiredoxin-mediated HMGB1 oxidation and secretion in response to inflammatory stimuli
Authors: Sup Kwak Man , Sue Kim Hee , Lkhamsuren Khulan , Hun Kim Young , Gil Hahn Myung , Min Shin Jae , Ho Park In , Kyung Lee Se , Goo Rhee Sue , Shin Jeon-Soo
Published: February 2018

The nuclear protein HMGB1 (high mobility group box 1) is secreted by monocytesmacrophages in response to inflammatory stimuli and serves as a danger-associated molecular pattern. Acetylation and phosphorylation of HMGB1 are implicated in the regulation of its nucleocytoplasmic translocation for secretion, although inflammatory stimuli are also known to induce H2O2production. Here we show that H2O2-induced oxidation of HMGB1 that results in formation of an intramolecular disulphide bond between Cys23and Cys45is necessary and sufficient for its nucleocytoplasmic translocation and secretion. The oxidation is catalysed by peroxiredoxin I (PrxI) and PrxII, which are first oxidized by H2O2and then transfer their disulphide oxidation state to HMGB1. The disulphide form of HMGB1 showed a higher affinity for the nuclear exportin CRM1 compared with the reduced form. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)–induced HMGB1 secretion was greatly attenuated in macrophages derived from PrxI or PrxII knockout mice, as was the LPS-induced increase in serum HMGB1 levels in these mice.
Robustness of Transposable Element regulation but no genomic shock observed in interspecificArabidopsishybrids
Authors: Göbel Ulrike , Arce Agustin , He Fei , Rico Alain , Schmitz Gregor , Meaux Juliette de
Published: February 2018

The merging of two divergent genomes in a hybrid is believed to trigger a “genomic shock”, disrupting gene regulation and transposable element (TE) silencing. Here, we tested this expectation by comparing the pattern of expression of transposable elements in their native and hybrid genomic context. For this, we sequenced the transcriptome of theArabidopsis thalianagenotype Col-0, theA. lyratagenotype MN47 and their F1 hybrid. Contrary to expectations, we observe that the level of TE expression in the hybrid is strongly correlated to levels in the parental species. We detect that at most 1.1% of expressed transposable elements belonging to two specific subfamilies change their expression level upon hybridization. Most of these changes, however, are of small magnitude. We observe that the few hybrid-specific modifications in TE expression are more likely to occur when TE insertions are close to genes. In addition, changes in epigenetic histone marks H3K9me2 and H3K27me3 following hybridization do not coincide with TEs with changed expression. Finally, we further examined TE expression in parents and hybrids exposed to severe dehydration stress. Despite the major reorganization of gene and TE expression by stress, we observe that hybridization does not lead to increased disorganization of TE expression in the hybrid. We conclude that TE expression is globally robust to hybridization and that the term “genomic shock” is no longerappropriate to describe the anticipated consequences of merging divergent genomes in a hybrid.
Candida albicansdispersed cells signify a developmental state distinct from biofilm and planktonic phases
Authors: Uppuluri Priya , Zaldivar Maikel Acosta , Anderson Matthew Z , Dunn Matthew J. , Berman Judith , Lopez Ribot Jose Luis , Koehler Julia
Published: February 2018

Candida albicanssurface-attached biofilms are sites of amplification of an infection through continuous discharge of cells capable of initiating new infectious foci. Yeast cells released from biofilms on intravenous catheters have direct access to the bloodstream. We previously reported that dispersed cells are largely lateral yeast cells that originate from the hyphal layers of the biofilm. Compared to their planktonic counterparts, these biofilm-dispersed yeast cells displayed enhanced virulence-associated gene expression and drug resistance. Little is known about the molecular properties of dispersed cells. We found that the inducer of dispersal,PES1, genetically interacts with the repressor of filamentation,NRG1, in a manner that supports a genetic definition of dispersed cells as yeast. We combined a flow biofilm model with RNA sequencing technology, to identify transcriptomic characteristics of freshly dispersed yeast cells versus biofilms or age-matched planktonic yeast cells growing in glucose-rich medium. Dispersed cells largely inherited a biofilm-like mRNA profile but with one stark difference: dispersed cells were transcriptionally reprogrammed to metabolize alternative carbon sources, while their sessile parents expressed glycolytic genes, despite exposure to the same nutritional signals. Our studies hence define dispersal cell production as an intrinsic step of biofilm development which generates propagules capable of colonizing distant host sites. This developmental step anticipates the need for virulence-associated gene expression before experiencing the associated external signals.
Random forest based similarity learning for single cell RNA sequencing data
Authors: Pouyan Maziyar Baran , Kostka Dennis
Published: February 2018

Motivation

Genome-wide transcriptome sequencing applied to single cells (scRNA-seq) is rapidly becoming an assay of choice across many fields of biological and biomedical research. Scientific objectives often revolve around discovery or characterization of types or sub-types of cells, and therefore obtaining accurate cell–cell similarities from scRNA-seq data is critical step in many studies. While rapid advances are being made in the development of tools for scRNA-seq data analysis, few approaches exist that explicitly address this task. Furthermore, abundance and type of noise present in scRNA-seq datasets suggest that application of generic methods, or of methods developed for bulk RNA-seq data, is likely suboptimal.

Results

Here we present RAFSIL, a random forest based approach to learn cell–cell similarities from scRNA-seq data. RAFSIL implements a two-step procedure, where feature construction geared towards scRNA-seq data is followed by similarity learning. It is designed to be adaptable and expandable, and RAFSIL similarities can be used for typical exploratory data analysis tasks like dimension reduction, visualization, and clustering. We show that our approach compares favorably with current methods across a diverse collection of datasets, and that it can be used to detect and highlight unwanted technical variation in scRNA-seq datasets in situations where other methods fail. Overall, RAFSIL implements a flexible approach yielding a useful tool that improves the analysis of scRNA-seq data.

Availability and Implementation

The RAFSIL R package is available online atwww.kostkalab.net/software.html
Brain Iron Mediates the Relationship Between Cognition and Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status in Youth
Authors: Beard Lauren , Roalf David R. , Elliott Mark A. , Prabhakaran Karthik , Moore Tyler M. , Gur Raquel E. , Satterthwaite Theodore D.
Published: February 2018

Non-heme brain iron is a critical metabolic cofactor essential for healthy brain development.1 Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional disorder in the world, with greater prevalence of non-heme iron deficiency among individuals of lower socioeconomic status (SES). However, it remains unknown how brain iron accumulation during development may impact cognition. Brain iron can be measured in vivo using R2* weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); prior work has established that higher R2* is associated with higher iron content.2,3 We hypothesized that more iron in the basal ganglia (BG) regions of the caudate, putamen, and pallidum would be associated with improved cognitive performance and potentially mediate the known relationship between neighborhood-level socioeconomic status (SES) and cognition.4
Structural model of Cyc2, the primary electron acceptor of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans’ respiratory chain, as a modular cytochrome - β-barrel fusion protein, and mechanistic proposals based on this model
Authors: Abriata Luciano A.
Published: February 2018

Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans oxidizes Fe(II) to Fe(III) to feed electrons into its respiratory chain. The primary electron acceptor of this complex system is Cyc2, an outer membrane protein of unknown structure. This work proposes a feasible model of Cyc2’s global structure, based on homology modeling, residue-residue coevolution data, bioinformatics predictions and limited knowledge about Cyc2’s function. The proposal is that the sequence segment spanning residues ~30 to ~90 folds as a cytochrome-like domain that contains a heme group which would presumably bind and oxidize external Fe(II), whereas the remaining segment from residue ~90 until the end adopts a β-barrel fold similar to that of most outer membrane proteins. Such model differs strongly from a published model, but is backed up by more data and is more compatible with the known topology of outer membrane proteins and with Cyc2’s function of internalizing reducing equivalents. The small size of the cytochrome-like domain would allow it to reside inside, and/or slide through, the β-barrel domain, thus communicating in a controlled fashion the extracellular medium with the periplasm to import electrons through the outer membrane. All the models discussed are provided as PyMOL session files in the Supporting Information and can be visualized online at http://lucianoabriata.altervista.org/modelshome.html
Long term context dependent genetic adaptation of the viral genetic cloud
Authors: Klein Tzipi , Bordería Antonio V. , Barbezange Cyril , Vignuzzi Marco , Louzoun Yoram
Published: February 2018

RNA viruses generate a cloud of genetic variants within each host. This cloud contains high frequency genotypes, and a very large number of rare variants. While the dynamics of frequent variants are affected by the fitness of each variant, the rare variants cloud is affected by more complex genetic factors, including context dependent mutations. It serves as a spearhead for the viral population’s movement within the adaptive landscape. We here use an experimental evolution system to show that the genetic cloud surrounding the Coxsackie virus master sequence slowly, but steadily, evolves over hundreds of generations. The evolution of the rare variants cloud often precedes the appearance of high frequency variants. The rare variants cloud’s evolution is driven by a combination of a context-dependent mutation pattern and selection for and against specific nucleotide compositions.This combination affects the mutated dinucleotide distribution, and eventually leads to a non-uniform dinucleotide distribution in the main viral sequence. We then tested these conclusions on other RNA viruses with similar conclusions.
revtools: An R package to support article screening for evidence synthesis
Authors: Westgate Martin J.
Published: February 2018

The field of evidence synthesis is growing rapidly, with a corresponding increase in the number of software tools and workflows to support the construction of systematic reviews, systematic maps, and meta-analyses. Despite much progress, however, a number of problems remain including slow integration of new statistical or methodological approaches into user-friendly software, low prevalence of open-source software, and poor integration among distinct software tools. These issues hinder the utility and transparency of new methods to the research community. Here I present revtools, an R package to support article screening during evidence synthesis projects. It provides tools for the import and de-duplication of bibliographic data, screening of articles by title or abstract, and visualization of article content using topic models. The software is entirely open-source and combines command-line scripting for experienced programmers with custom-built user interfaces for casual users, with further methods to support article screening to be added over time. Revtools provides free access to novel methods in an open-source environment, and represents a valuable step in expanding the capacity of R to support evidence synthesis projects.
LinearFold: Linear-Time Prediction of RNA Secondary Structures
Authors: Deng Dezhong , Zhao Kai , Hendrix David , Mathews David H. , Huang Liang
Published: February 2018

Predicting the secondary structure of an RNA sequence with speed and accuracy is useful in many applications such as drug design. The state-of-the-art predictors have a fundamental limitation: they have a run time that scales cubically with the length of the input sequence, which is slow for longer RNAs and limits the use of secondary structure prediction in genome-wide applications. To address this bottleneck, we designed the first linear-time algorithm for this problem. which can be used with both thermodynamic and machine-learned scoring functions. Our algorithm, like previous work, is based on dynamic programming (DP), but with two crucial differences: (a) we incrementally process the sequence in a left-to-right rather than in a bottom-up fashion, and (b) because of this incremental processing, we can further employ beam search pruning to ensure linear run time in practice (with the cost of exact search). Even though our search is approximate, surprisingly, it results in even higher overall accuracy on a diverse database of sequences with known structures. More interestingly, it leads to significantly more accurate predictions on the longest sequence families in that database (16S and 23S Ribosomal RNAs), as well as improved accuracies for long-range base pairs (500+ nucleotides apart).
Aggregation recovers developmental plasticity in mouse polyploid embryos
Authors: Imai Hiroyuki , Fujii Wataru , Kusakabe Ken Takeshi , Kiso Yasuo , Kano Kiyoshi
Published: February 2018

Polyploidy is comparatively prevalent in amphibians and fishes, but is infrequent in animals because of lethality after implantation. On the contrary, tetraploid embryos normally develop into blastocysts, and embryonic stem cells can be established from tetraploid blastocysts in mice. Thus, polyploidization does not seem to be so harmful during preimplantation development. However, the mechanisms by which early mammalian development accepts polyploidization are still poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the effect of polyploidization on early mammalian development and to further comprehend its tolerability using hyperpolyploid embryos produced by artificial, repetitive whole genome duplication. Therefore, we successfully established several types of polyploid embryos (tetraploid, octaploid, and hexadecaploid), produced using repeated electrofusion of two-cell embryos in mice, and studied their developmental potentialin vitro. We demonstrated that all types of these polyploid embryos maintained the ability to develop to the blastocyst stage, which implies that mammalian cells might have basic cellular functions in implanted embryos, despite polyploidization. However, the inner cell mass was absent in the hexadecaploid blastocysts. To complement the total cells in blastocysts, a fused hexadecaploid embryo was produced by aggregating a number of hexadecaploid embryos. The results indicated that the fused hexadecaploid embryo finally recovered pluripotent cells in blastocysts. Thus, our findings suggested that early mammalian embryos may have the tolerability and higher plasticity to adapt to hyperpolyploidization for blastocyst formation, despite intense alteration of the genome volume.
Kmer-db: instant evolutionary distance estimation
Authors: Deorowicz Sebastian , Gudys Adam , Dlugosz Maciej , Kokot Marek , Danek Agnieszka
Published: February 2018

Kmer-db is a new tool for estimating evolutionary relationship on the basis of k-mers extracted from genomes or sequencing reads. Thanks to an efficient data structure and parallel implementation, our software estimates distances between 40,715 pathogens in less than 4 minutes (on a modern workstation), 44 times faster than Mash, its main competitor.

Availability and Implementation

https://github.com/refresh-bio/kmer-db

Contact

sebastian.deorowicz@polsl.pl

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at publisher’s Web site
Multivariate directed connectivity analysis (MDCA) enables decoding of directed interactions in neural and social networks
Authors: Schlegel Alexander , Vance Bennet , Alexander Prescott , Tse Peter U.
Published: February 2018

Many scientific fields currently face the daunting task of studying the dynamics of complex networks. For example, while we know that the rich mental phenomena of humans and other animals are mediated by complex systems of neural circuits in the brain, the mechanistic links between these biological networks and the functions that they mediate are poorly understood. Here we present a novel class of methods, termed multivariate directed connectivity analysis, to investigate network dynamics via patterns of directed interactions between network nodes. We validate these methods using simulated data and apply them to three real-world datasets, two neuroscientific and one investigating the 2016 US presidential candidates’ influence on the social media service Twitter. We find that these methods enable novel understanding of how information processing is distributed across networks. The methods are generally applicable to the study of dynamic information networks in biological, computational, and other fields of research.
Structure of a novel dimeric SET domain methyltransferase that regulates cell motility
Authors: Pivovarova Yulia , Liu Jun , Lesigang Johannes , Koldyka Oliver , Rauschmeier Rene , Hu Ke , Dong Gang
Published: February 2018

Lysine methyltransferases (KMTs) were initially associated with transcriptional control through their methylation of histones and other nuclear proteins, but have since been found to regulate many other cellular activities. The apical complex lysine (K) methyltransferase (AKMT) of the human parasite Toxoplasma gondii was recently shown to play a critical role in regulating cellular motility. Here we report a 2.1-Å resolution crystal structure of the conserved and functional C-terminal portion (aa289-709) of T. gondii AKMT. AKMT dimerizes via a unique intermolecular interface mediated by the C-terminal TPR (tetratricopeptide repeat)-like domain together with a specific zinc-binding motif that is absent from all other KMTs. Disruption of AKMT dimerization impaired both its enzyme activity and parasite egress from infected host cells in vivo. Structural comparisons reveal that AKMT is related to the KMTs in the SMYD family, with, however, a number of distinct structural features in addition to the unusual dimerization interface. These features are conserved among the apicomplexan parasites and their free-living relatives, but not found in any known KMTs in animals. AKMT therefore is the founding member of a new subclass of KMT that has important implications for the evolution of the apicomplexans.
Synthesis and crystal structure of decacarbonyl(μ3-3,7-dithianonane-1,9-dithiolato)bis(μ2-propane-1,3-dithiolato)nickel(II)tetrairon(II) dichloromethane disolvate
Authors: Ren Gan , Sang Ge
Published: February 2018

The title compound,, [Fe4Ni(C3H6S2)2(C7H14S4)(CO)10]·2CH2Cl2, is reported as a biomimic model for the active site of [FeFe]-hydrogenases. Bis(2-mercaptoethyl)-1,3-propanedithio ether nickel(II) was firstly introduced into [Fe2(C3H6S2)(CO)5] as an S-containing ligand. It coordinates with two [Fe2(C3H6S2)(CO)5] groups, and a five-metal core complex is formed. The Fe2S2core is in a butterfly conformation. The Fe—Fe distances in the [Fe2(C3H6S2)(CO)5] groups are 2.5126 (6) and 2.5086 (7) Å. The distances between the adjacent Fe and Ni atoms are 3.5322 (1) and 3.5143 (1) Å. There are intramolecular C—H...O and C—H...S contacts present in the complex. In the crystal, the five metal cores are linkedviaC—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming columns lying parallel to (110). The dichloromethane solvent molecules are each partially disordered over two positions and only one is linked to the five-metal core complex by a C—H...O hydrogen bond.
Crystal structures of (E)-1-naphthaldehyde oxime and (E)-phenanthrene-9-carbaldehyde oxime
Authors: Lasri Jamal , Chulvi Katherine , Eltayeb Naser Eltaher
Published: February 2018

The aldoximes C11H9NO (I) and C15H11NO (II), synthesized inca90% yield, by treatment of 1-naphthaldehyde or phenanthrene-9-carbaldehyde, respectively, with hydroxylamine hydrochloride and sodium carbonate, have been characterized by IR,1H,13C and DEPT-135 NMR spectroscopies, and also by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The molecules of (I) and (II) are conformationally similar, with the aldoxime substituent groups lying outside the planes of the naphthalene or phenanthrene rings, forming dihedral angles with them of 23.9 (4) and 27.9 (6)°, respectively. The crystal structures of both (I) and (II) are similar with a single intermolecular O—H...N hydrogen-bonding interaction, giving rise to the formation of one-dimensional polymeric chains extending along the 21(b) screw axes in each.
The communicative constitution of adaptive capacity during Sweden’s Västmanland wildfire
Authors: Jahn Jody L.S. , Johansson Catrin
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain how adaptive capacity is accomplished through communication processes and can contribute to enhancing disaster resilience. The authors adopt a structurational “four flows” explanation of communication processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors observed and analyzed discourse in meetings of a crisis communication network consisting of representatives of municipalities and public authorities involved in crisis communication management during the Västmanland wildfire in Sweden.

Findings

Adaptive capacity during the wildfire was principally accomplished through the structurational communication processes or “flows” of self-structuring, activity coordination, and institutional positioning. These flows intersected demonstrating how communication accomplishes the development of a responsive affiliation, organizes stabilizing structuring practices, and enables adaptive structuring practices.

Research limitations/implications

The main contribution of this study is a communicative explanation for adaptive capacity, which draws from a structurational model of constitutive communication, and lends further understanding to improvisation during disasters.

Practical implications

The authors discuss the findings in relation to improvisation, suggesting how the findings can inform future coordinated crisis communication for the public and news media. The recommendations address how practitioners might build a responsive affiliation, use minimal structures (e.g. communication practices), and maintain flexibility by introducing group reflexivity behaviors.

Originality/value

The authors provide new theoretical and empirical knowledge of the communicative constitution of adaptive capacity during a disaster.
Corporate governance practices and comprehensive income
Authors: López-Quesada Erika , Camacho-Miñano María-del-Mar , O. Idowu Samuel
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of corporate governance practices on firms’ financial performance, as measured by comprehensive income (CI).

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of 237 firms from the Standards & Poor (S&P) 500 index during the years 2004-2009, multivariate statistical analyses are conducted to confirm the authors’ main hypothesis.

Findings

The results indicate that having high levels of corporate governance culture has a positive impact on a measure of firms’ financial performance, namely, CI. Furthermore, they indicate a positive correlation between a higher percentage of external directors and financial performance, and a negative relationship between number of board meetings and financial performance.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this research is that good corporate governance strategies deliver superior financial performance for businesses in terms of CI. This serves as a method of value creation, which is the ultimate goal of a business. In addition to the use of CI as an indicator of financial performance, a unique measure of corporate governance level is tested.
Indian PharmaChem: a resource allocation peccadillo
Authors: Nath Roy Sudipendra , Sengupta Tuhin
Published: February 2018

Subject area

Operations Management

Study level/applicability

MBA/Post Graduate

Case overview

This case attempts to highlight a very common resource allocation dilemma in a real-life scenario. The majority of today’s problems are solved by the methodology of trial and error. This case shows how a generic trial-and-error solution, if buttressed by a proper quantitative methodology, can have substantial impact on the bottom-line of an organization. The case concentrates on three disparate focus areas in a didactic fashion, namely, the ability to retrieve raw data and convert it into a utilizable form if a quantitative method is to be applied; the ability to comprehend the resource constraints of a typical real-life situation; and the skill required to develop and solve an optimization problem in Excel Solver, a product which can easily be accessed by any practitioner.

Expected learning outcomes

Expected learning outcomes are as follows: students learn to formulate a Mixed-Integer programming model; to interpret optimal solutions and appreciate the application of “Optimization”; to recommend a resource allocation strategy; and to understand the importance of cost minimization in organizations.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS: 9: Operations and Logistics
Impact of regulation on advertising and promotion of traditional herbal medicines and food supplements
Authors: Dzeparoski Marjan , Trajkovic-Jolevska Suzana
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show that advertising as part of product promotion is in strict correlation with the specific regulation of each product category, food supplements and herbal/over-the-counter medicines. Main contributions of the paper are two-fold. First, it demonstrates that there are products when certain botanical is registered according to legislation as herbal medicine, but at the same time it can be found in sales as food supplement. This can happen within the same country, but it is more frequent within different countries. Second, the possibility for regulation harmonization is discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, a comparative analysis of regulation for concerned products in European Union and countries of interest is made. In two case studies, a comparative analysis of marketing of the products in Macedonia and Serbia is made.

Findings

Food supplements are subject to more liberal regulation in comparison with herbal/over-the-counter medicines, but should not be attributed indications and properties that they do not possess. Regulation is stricter and more complex for over-the-counter medicines as a separate class of medicines, these must be correlated with registered properties and indications and are subject to approval by regulatory bodies (print media: advertisement in newspaper/magazine, poster, brochure, flyer, banner and billboard and electronic media: TV spot, radio advertising and internet advertisement).

Research limitations/implications

Countries of interest: EU, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Practical implications

The paper will contribute toward the creation of promotional and marketing steps in placement of these products on the market in countries of interest, based on regulation of the product category.

Social implications

The discussed opportunities for harmonization are applicable and realistic and can positively contribute for better flow and placement of food supplements and herbal/over-the-counter medicines in different countries. The results of the case studies can also be used for regulatory activities and preparation of marketing materials for other products on other markets of interest with same or similar regulation.

Originality/value

For the first time, a comparative analysis of regulation is made for concerned products in countries of interest. Possibility for regulation harmonization is discussed.
Medical errors: extreme service failures and recoveries
Authors: Black Hulda G. , Goad Emily A. , Attaway Jill S.
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship among jurors’ attribution of responsibility of the error, patient styles and juror decisions (e.g. acquittal of the physician). Specifically, this research examines the influence of an individual’s approach to their healthcare (active vs. passive), and decisions to acquit in malpractice cases.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 459 individuals were surveyed using a commercial call center for participation in a corresponding mail survey. Surveys were also distributed to undergraduate business students at a Midwestern university.

Findings

Cluster analysis revealed two categories of patient styles: “active patients” (39.4 per cent) and “passive patients” (60.6 per cent). Regardless of patient style, this research found all respondents viewed medical error disclosure as important. However, respondents in the passive group were more likely to acquit the physician and the hospital nursing staff as compared with those classified as active.

Practical implications

The safety of patients in the healthcare system and prevention of errors is a critical issue. However, when errors occur, medical providers should disclose information to the patient and take responsibility to attenuate their negative impact. Further, this research reveals that patients who rely more on their physicians, trust their recommendations and question physicians less are more likely to acquit. Medical providers can use this information as motivation to continue to build this type of trust with their patients.

Originality/value

Medical errors are costly for all parties involved. This research provides insight for not only members of the legal profession involved in medical malpractice cases, but also risk managers and hospital administrators and healthcare providers regarding the decision-making process used by individuals serving on a jury.
Depression and social anxiety in relation to problematic smartphone use
Authors: Elhai Jon D. , Tiamiyu Mojisola , Weeks Justin
Published: February 2018

Purpose

Previous research has found support for depression and anxiety severity in association with both increased and problematic smartphone use. However, little research has explored transdiagnostic psychopathology constructs as mediators that may account for these relationships. The purpose of this paper is to test rumination as a possible transdiagnostic (cross-sectional) mediator in these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors recruited 296 college students to complete relevant web survey measures, including the patient health questionnaire-9 (for depression severity), social interaction anxiety scale (for social anxiety severity), ruminative thought styles questionnaire, smartphone addiction scale-short version (to measure levels of problematic smartphone use), and a measure of smartphone use frequency.

Findings

The authors found support for a structural model whereby the severity of depression and social anxiety accounted for variance in rumination, which, in turn, correlated with problematic smartphone use levels. Rumination accounted for relations between both depression and social anxiety severity with levels of problematic use.

Originality/value

The authors discuss the role of rumination as a possible mechanism between anxiety- and depression-related psychopathology levels with problematic smartphone use severity. This study is unique in exploring rumination in the context of problematic smartphone use.
Incorporation of health consciousness into the technology readiness and acceptance model to predict app download and usage intentions
Authors: Chen Mei-Fang , Lin Neng-Pai
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend the technology readiness and acceptance model (TRAM) to consider an individual’s health consciousness (HC), thereby improving the capability of the model to predict an individual’s attitude toward and intention to download and use dietary and fitness apps.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 994 participants completed a self-reported online questionnaire. Structural equation modeling and χ2 difference testing were conducted to compare the predictive capability of the proposed health consciousness TRAM (HC-TRAM) and the TRAM. The comparison of the proposed HC-TRAM in terms of potential and actual users of dietary and fitness apps was also discussed.

Findings

The results obtained from the HC-TRAM and the TRAM indicate that in addition to technology readiness, HC exerts a positive effect on the perceived ease of use and usefulness of dietary and fitness apps. χ2 difference test results indicated that the predictive capability of the proposed HC-TRAM is higher than that of the TRAM.

Practical implications

The drivers and inhibitors of a person’s readiness to embrace modern information technology play roles when predicting his or her intention to download and use dietary and fitness apps. HC should be promoted by encouraging people to eat right and regularly perform appropriate exercise to prevent obesity and overweight, thereby maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Originality/value

This study incorporated individual cognitive factors and HC into the TRAM to fill the literature gap and deepen and broaden existing theoretical frameworks of the TRAM in the public health sector.
Investigating the impact of mobile SNS addiction on individual’s self-rated health
Authors: Xue Yajiong , Dong Yuanyuan , Luo Mengyun , Mo Dandan , Dong Wei , Zhang Zhiruo , Liang Huigang
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how WeChat addiction influences users’ physical, mental, and social health.

Design/methodology/approach

A national survey was conducted in China. A total of 1,058 responses were collected from 31 regions of China.

Findings

The regression results show that WeChat addiction is negatively associated with users’ physical, mental, and social health. The negative effects are significant even after adjusting for the effects of the Big Five personality traits, years of using WeChat, and demographic variables such as age, gender, education level, and monthly income. Years of using WeChat is not significantly related to users’ health. It is also found that the influence of WeChat addiction on health outcomes is sensitive to years of WeChat use. The influence is dormant when users have less than three years of WeChat usage, but starts to exhibit itself after three years.

Research limitations/implications

Addictive use of WeChat is associated with declining overall health among Chinese users. Given the cross-sectional nature of this study, definite causal relationship between WeChat addiction and health deterioration cannot be established. Controlled experiments are needed to further examine the causal effects of WeChat addiction.

Originality/value

WeChat is the most popular mobile social network service (SNS) in China, but its comprehensive impact on users’ health is rarely studied. This paper extends the extant research on SNS addiction by providing a deepened understanding of how mobile SNS addiction affects personal health in the unique context of WeChat, which provides an important contribution to the interdisciplinary research in public health, psychology, and information systems.
Relationship between e-servicescape and purchase intention among heavy and light internet users
Authors: Teng Hsu-Ju , Ni Jia-Jen , Chen Hsiao-Han
Published: February 2018

Purpose

Previous studies of e-servicescapes have considered general internet consumers as the main research subjects; however, some studies have argued that heavy users are the main sources of consumption. Understanding heavy user’s consumption traits is crucial for enhancing company profits; hence, the purpose of this paper is to compare the significant attributes of e-servicescapes and clarify their relationship with purchase intention by employing heavy and light internet users as moderators.

Design/methodology/approach

An online questionnaire was used to collected data from 342 valid internet users with online shopping experience, and the differences were compared through structural equation modeling.

Findings

Aesthetic appeal and interactivity significantly increase general users’ purchase intentions. For heavy users, interactivity was the most crucial factor, followed by esthetic appeal, and then layout and functionality. For light users, Aesthetic appeal was the only crucial factor. The data also reveal that financial security does not have significant positive effects on general, heavy, or light users.

Originality/value

Using the insight gained by integrating purchase intention with e-service quality and segmentation theory in the e-servicescape, the authors display how heavy and light internet users evaluate the e-servicescape for signals of quality attributes and contribute their cognitive response and purchase intention according to different consumption traits. Internet retailers are recommended to segment heavy and light users, redesign their current e-servicescapes, and provide more appropriate marketing strategies to attract and keep heavy and light users and enhance their purchase intentions.