bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ultra-high-resolution paleoenvironmental records via direct laser-based analysis of lipid biomarkers in sediment core samples
Authors: Wörmer Lars , Elvert Marcus , Fuchser Jens , Lipp Julius Sebastian , Buttigieg Pier Luigi , Zabel Matthias , Hinrichs Kai-Uwe
Published: October 2014

Significance

Lipid biomarkers in geological samples are important informants regarding past environments and ecosystems. Conventional biomarker analysis is labor intensive and requires relatively large sediment or rock samples; temporal resolution is consequently low. Here, we present an approach that has the potential to revolutionize paleoenvironmental biomarker research; it avoids wet-chemical sample preparation and enables analysis of biomarkers directly on sediment cores at submillimeter spatial resolution. Our initial application to a sediment core deposited during the Holocene climate optimum in the Mediterranean Sea reveals a new view of how small-scale variations in lipid distribution are integrated into commonly reported signals obtained by conventional analysis and demonstrates a strong influence of the ∼200-y de Vries solar cycle on sea-surface temperatures and planktonic archaeal ecology.
An intramolecular lock facilitates folding and stabilizes the tertiary structure of
Streptococcus mutans
adhesin P1
Authors: Heim Kyle P. , Crowley Paula J. , Long Joanna R. , Kailasan Shweta , McKenna Robert , Brady L. Jeannine
Published: October 2014

Significance

Streptococcus mutans
adhesin P1 is a target of protective immunity and a vaccine candidate. P1’s complex structure dictates its function and makes it of interest from a protein folding perspective as well. An interaction between N- and C-terminal sequences contributes to antigenicity, adherence behavior, and stability. This is now explained by the identification of a previously unidentified fold in which the N terminus forms a stabilizing scaffold at the base of P1’s helical stalk to physically lock it in place via interactions with the C terminus. Disruption of this intramolecular lock not only negatively affects stability, but also prevents proper folding of the purified full-length protein.
Direct numerical simulations of aeolian sand ripples
Authors: Durán Orencio , Claudin Philippe , Andreotti Bruno
Published: October 2014

Significance

Wind ripples decorate the flanks of dunes in amazingly regular patterns, on both Earth and Mars. Their emergence at a wavelength much larger than the grain size is currently unexplained. We report direct numerical simulations of grains interacting with a wind flow that are, for the first time to our knowledge, able to reproduce the spontaneous growth of ripples with an initial wavelength and a propagation velocity linearly increasing with the wind speed. We propose a new formation mechanism, involving resonant grain trajectories tuned with the ripple wavelength. We also show that the product of the ripple wavelength and velocity is a proxy for the sediment flux, opening a promising perspective from which to perform remote measurements of sand mass transfers, on Mars in particular.
Believing at Will
Authors: Hieronymi Pamela
Published: October 2014

It has seemed to many philosophers - perhaps to most - that believing is not voluntary, that we cannot believe at will. It has seemed to many of these that this inability is not a merely contingent psychological limitation but rather is a deep fact about belief, perhaps a conceptual limitation. But it has been very difficult to say exactly why we cannot believe at will.

I earlier offered an account of why we cannot believe at will. I argued that nothing could qualify both as having been done “at will,” in the relevant sense, and as a belief. Thus, no believer could believe at will. If my arguments are correct, our inability to believe at will reveals no genuine lack in our powers of mind, any more than an inability to draw a Square circle reveals a lack of artistic skill.
Evolution and the Normativity of Epistemic Reasons
Authors: Street Sharon
Published: October 2014

Creatures inveterately wrong in their inductions have a pathetic but praiseworthy tendency to die before reproducing their kind.- Quine (1969)

We think that some facts - for example, the fact that someone is suffering, or the fact that all previously encountered tigers were carnivorous – supply us with normative reasons for action and belief. The former fact, we think, is a reason to help the suffering person; the latter fact is a reason to believe that the next tiger we see will also be carnivorous. But how is the reason-giving status of such facts best understood? In particular, is it best understood as ultimately “conferred” upon these facts by our own evaluative attitudes, or do at least some facts possess normative reason-giving status in a way that is robustly independent of our attitudes? This is the modern, secular version of Plato's “Euthyphro question” - couched here in the philosophically useful, though not essential, language of normative reasons.
Interdomain allosteric regulation of Polo kinase by Aurora B and Map205 is required for cytokinesis
Authors: Kachaner David , Pinson Xavier , El Kadhi Khaled Ben , Normandin Karine , Talje Lama , Lavoie Hugo , Lépine Guillaume , Carréno Sébastien , Kwok Benjamin H. , Hickson Gilles R. , Archambault Vincent
Published: October 2014

Drosophila melanogaster Polo and its human orthologue Polo-like kinase 1 fulfill essential roles during cell division. Members of the Polo-like kinase (Plk) family contain an N-terminal kinase domain (KD) and a C-terminal Polo-Box domain (PBD), which mediates protein interactions. How Plks are regulated in cytokinesis is poorly understood. Here we show that phosphorylation of Polo by Aurora B is required for cytokinesis. This phosphorylation in the activation loop of the KD promotes the dissociation of Polo from the PBD-bound microtubule-associated protein Map205, which acts as an allosteric inhibitor of Polo kinase activity. This mechanism allows the release of active Polo from microtubules of the central spindle and its recruitment to the site of cytokinesis. Failure in Polo phosphorylation results in both early and late cytokinesis defects. Importantly, the antagonistic regulation of Polo by Aurora B and Map205 in cytokinesis reveals that interdomain allosteric mechanisms can play important roles in controlling the cellular functions of Plks.
Spanning trees of graphs on surfaces and the intensity of loop-erased random walk on planar graphs
Authors: Kenyon Richard , Wilson David
Published: October 2014

We show how to compute the probabilities of various connection topologies for uniformly random spanning trees on graphs embedded in surfaces. As an application, we show how to compute the “intensity” of the loop-erased random walk in

Z

2

\mathbb {Z}^2

, that is, the probability that the walk from

(
0
,
0
)

(0,0)

to

∞
\infty

passes through a given vertex or edge. For example, the probability that it passes through

(
1
,
0
)

(1,0)

is

5

/

16

5/16

; this confirms a conjecture from 1994 about the stationary sandpile density on

Z

2

\mathbb {Z}^2

. We do the analogous computation for the triangular lattice, honeycomb lattice, and

Z

×

R

\mathbb {Z}\times \mathbb {R}

, for which the probabilities are

5

/

18

5/18

,

13

/

36

13/36

, and

1

/

4
−
1

/

π
2

1/4-1/\pi ^2

respectively.
STOPP/START criteria for potentially inappropriate prescribing in
older people: version 2
Authors: O'Mahony Denis , O'Sullivan David , Byrne Stephen , O'Connor Marie Noelle , Ryan Cristin , Gallagher Paul
Published: October 2014

Purpose: screening tool of older people's prescriptions (STOPP) and screening tool to alert to right treatment (START) criteria were first published in 2008. Due to an expanding therapeutics evidence base, updating of the criteria was required.

Methods: we reviewed the 2008 STOPP/START criteria to add new evidence-based criteria and remove any obsolete criteria. A thorough literature review was performed to reassess the evidence base of the 2008 criteria and the proposed new criteria. Nineteen experts from 13 European countries reviewed a new draft of STOPP & START criteria including proposed new criteria. These experts were also asked to propose additional criteria they considered important to include in the revised STOPP & START criteria and to highlight any criteria from the 2008 list they considered less important or lacking an evidence base. The revised list of criteria was then validated using the Delphi consensus methodology.

Results: the expert panel agreed a final list of 114 criteria after two Delphi validation rounds, i.e. 80 STOPP criteria and 34 START criteria. This represents an overall 31% increase in STOPP/START criteria compared with version 1. Several new STOPP categories were created in version 2, namely antiplatelet/anticoagulant drugs, drugs affecting, or affected by, renal function and drugs that increase anticholinergic burden; new START categories include urogenital system drugs, analgesics and vaccines.

Conclusion: STOPP/START version 2 criteria have been expanded and updated for the purpose of minimizing inappropriate prescribing in older people. These criteria are based on an up-to-date literature review and consensus validation among a European panel of experts.
miRseqViewer: multi-panel visualization of sequence, structure and expression for analysis of microRNA sequencing data
Authors: Jang Insu , Chang Hyeshik , Jun Yukyung , Park Seongjin , Yang Jin Ok , Lee Byungwook , Kim Wankyu , Kim V. Narry , Lee Sanghyuk
Published: October 2014

Summary: Deep sequencing of small RNAs has become a routine process in recent years, but no dedicated viewer is as yet available to explore the sequence features simultaneously along with secondary structure and gene expression of microRNA (miRNA). We present a highly interactive application that visualizes the sequence alignment, secondary structure and normalized read counts in synchronous multipanel windows. This helps users to easily examine the relationships between the structure of precursor and the sequences and abundance of final products and thereby will facilitate the studies on miRNA biogenesis and regulation. The project manager handles multiple samples of multiple groups. The read alignment is imported in BAM file format. Implemented features comprise sorting, zooming, highlighting, editing, filtering, saving, exporting, etc. Currently, miRseqViewer supports 84 organisms whose annotation is available at miRBase.

Availability and implementation: miRseqViewer, implemented in Java, is available at https://github.com/insoo078/mirseqviewer or at http://msv.kobic.re.kr.

Contact:  sanghyuk@ewha.ac.kr
An efficient algorithm for the blocked pattern matching problem
Authors: Deng Fei , Wang Lusheng , Liu Xiaowen
Published: October 2014

Motivation: Tandem mass spectrometry (MS) has become the method of choice for protein identification and quantification. In the era of big data biology, tandem mass spectra are often searched against huge protein databases generated from genomes or RNA-Seq data for peptide identification. However, most existing tools for MS-based peptide identification compare a tandem mass spectrum against all peptides in a database whose molecular masses are similar to the precursor mass of the spectrum, making mass spectral data analysis slow for huge databases. Tag-based methods extract peptide sequence tags from a tandem mass spectrum and use them as a filter to reduce the number of candidate peptides, thus speeding up the database search. Recently, gapped tags have been introduced into mass spectral data analysis because they improve the sensitivity of peptide identification compared with sequence tags. However, the blocked pattern matching (BPM) problem, which is an essential step in gapped tag-based peptide identification, has not been fully solved.

Results: In this article, we propose a fast and memory-efficient algorithm for the BPM problem. Experiments on both simulated and real datasets showed that the proposed algorithm achieved high speed and high sensitivity for peptide filtration in peptide identification by database search.

Contact:  cswangl@cityu.edu.hk or xwliu@iupui.edu

Supplementary information:  Supplementary Data are available at Bioinformatics online.
‘French’ Cybernetics
Authors: Johnson Christopher
Published: October 2014

Norbert Wiener's
Cybernetics
was one of the most influential scientific books of the twentieth century. This article looks at the early French reception of cybernetics, using texts by Pierre de Latil, Georges-Théodule Guilbaud, and Albert Ducrocq to explore how its themes and ideas were mediated to a French audience. First, it shows how a process of ‘domestication’ took place, in which cybernetics was resituated within a wider French-European history of science, and in which the translation of some of its key terms (‘control’, ‘feedback’) resulted in a relatively more disseminated lexical field in the French language. The article then examines the representation of technology in the three texts, showing how their extensive work of definition, classification, and explanation of machine culture could be said to constitute a distinctively ‘French’ mediation of cybernetics, in many ways more systematic than that of Wiener's founding texts. While from the point of view of the history of ideas the informational–theoretical strand of cybernetics can be seen to feed directly into structuralism, it is argued that its operational strand, involving the mediation of a new technical culture, made an equally important contribution to subsequent thinking and debate about science and technology in post-war France.
Actuation of flexoelectric membranes in viscoelastic fluids with applications to outer hair cells
Authors: Herrera-Valencia E. E. , Rey Alejandro D.
Published: October 2014

Liquid crystal flexoelectric actuation uses an imposed electric field to create membrane bending, and it is used by the outer hair cells (OHCs) located in the inner ear, whose role is to amplify sound through generation of mechanical power. Oscillations in the OHC membranes create periodic viscoelastic flows in the contacting fluid media. A key objective of this work on flexoelectric actuation relevant to OHCs is to find the relations and impact of the electromechanical properties of the membrane, the rheological properties of the viscoelastic media, and the frequency response of the generated mechanical power output. The model developed and used in this work is based on the integration of: (i) the flexoelectric membrane shape equation applied to a circular membrane attached to the inner surface of a circular capillary and (ii) the coupled capillary flow of contacting viscoelastic phases, such that the membrane flexoelectric oscillations drive periodic viscoelastic capillary flows, as in OHCs. By applying the Fourier transform formalism to the governing equation, analytical expressions for the transfer function associated with the curvature and electrical field and for the power dissipation of elastic storage energy were found.
Paenibacillus shenyangensis sp. nov., a bioflocculant-producing species isolated from soil under a peach tree
Authors: Jiang Binhui , Zhao Xin , Liu Jinliang , Fu Lili , Yang Chengcheng , Hu Xiaomin
Published: October 2014

A Gram-stain-positive, aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, non-motile, endospore-forming bacterium, strain A9T, was isolated in 1996 from a soil sample collected under a peach tree in Qingnian Park in Shenyang, PR China, and its taxonomic position was investigated using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the strain belonged to the genus

Paenibacillus

, and was most closely related to the type strain of

Paenibacillus hunanensis

with a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 96.7 % and a DNA–DNA relatedness value of 51.6 %. The major polar lipids of strain A9T were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine. The predominant menaquinone was MK-7 and the major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0, C16 : 0 and iso-C15 : 0. The DNA G+C content was 51.9 mol%. Based on these results, it is concluded that strain A9T represents a novel species of the genus

Paenibacillus

, for which the name Paenibacillus shenyangensis sp. nov. is proposed, with A9T ( = JCM 19307T = CGMCC 2040T) as the type strain.
Burkholderia insulsa sp. nov., a facultatively chemolithotrophic bacterium isolated from an arsenic-rich shallow marine hydrothermal system
Authors: Rusch Antje , Islam Shaer , Savalia Pratixa , Amend Jan P.
Published: October 2014

Enrichment cultures inoculated with hydrothermally influenced nearshore sediment from Papua New Guinea led to the isolation of an arsenic-tolerant, acidophilic, facultatively aerobic bacterial strain designated PNG-AprilT. Cells of this strain were Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, motile and did not form spores. Strain PNG-AprilT grew at temperatures between 4 °C and 40 °C (optimum 30–37 °C), at pH 3.5 to 8.3 (optimum pH 5–6) and in the presence of up to 2.7 % NaCl (optimum 0–1.0 %). Both arsenate and arsenite were tolerated up to concentrations of at least 0.5 mM. Metabolism in strain PNG-AprilT was strictly respiratory. Heterotrophic growth occurred with O2 or nitrate as electron acceptors, and aerobic lithoautotrophic growth was observed with thiosulfate or nitrite as electron donors. The novel isolate was capable of N2-fixation. The respiratory quinones were Q-8 and Q-7. Phylogenetically, strain PNG-AprilT belongs to the genus

Burkholderia

and shares the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with the type strains of

Burkholderia fungorum

(99.8 %),

Burkholderia phytofirmans

(98.8 %),

Burkholderia caledonica

(98.4 %) and

Burkholderia sediminicola

(98.4 %). Differences from these related species in several physiological characteristics (lipid composition, carbohydrate utilization, enzyme profiles) and DNA–DNA hybridization suggested the isolate represents a novel species of the genus

Burkholderia

, for which we propose the name Burkholderia insulsa sp. nov. The type strain is PNG-AprilT ( = DSM 28142T = LMG 28183T).
Effects of steeping condition and salinity stress on quality properties in germinated black soybean
Authors: Yoon Sung-Ran , Bae Su-Gon , Kwon Oh-Heun , Kang Dong-Kyoon , Choe So-Young , Ryu Jung-A , Choi Seong-Yong
Published: October 2014

This study investigated the effects of the steeping condition and salinity stress on the quality properties of germinated black soybean. The absorbed water content increased drastically in six hours with the increase in the steeping time and the temperature. The pH decreased as the steeping temperature increased. A gradual increase in the dissolution of the anthocyanin was observed with the steeping time. The adequate steeping conditions were found to have been six hours at 25ºC, which showed the needed absorbed water content within a short time. The germination percentage of the black soybeans decreased with the increase in the NaCl concentration. The pinitol and total phenolics contents showed the highest values under the concentrations of 0.7% and 0.3-0.5% NaCl, respectively. The flavonoid content was highest at the 0.1% NaCl concentration. Consequently, the salinity stress during the germination of the black soybeans enhanced the pinitol content and lowered the blood sugar, which gives it an advantage as a functional food material.
Publishing DisGeNET as Nanopublications
Authors: Queralt Rosinach Núria , Kuhn Tobias , Chichester Christine , Dumontier Michel , Sanz Ferran , Furlong Laura Inés
Published: October 2014

The increasing and unprecedented publication rate in the biomedical field is a major bottleneck for discovery in Life Sciences. The scientific community cannot process assertions from biomedical publications and integrate them into the current knowledge at the same rate. The automatic extraction of assertions about entities and their relationships by text-mining the scientific literature is an extended approach to structure up-to-date knowledge. For knowledge integration, the publication of assertions in the Semantic Web is gaining adoption, but it opens new challenges regarding the tracking of the provenance, and how to ensure versioned data linking. Nanopublications are a new way of publishing structured data that consists of an assertion along with its provenance. Trusty URIs is a novel approach to make resources in the Web immutable, and to ensure the unambiguity of the data linking in the (semantic) Web. We present the publication of DisGeNET nanopublications as a new Linked Dataset implemented in combination of the Trusty URIs approach. DisGeNET is a database of human gene-disease associations from expert-curated databases and text-mining the scientific literature. With a series of illustrative queries we demonstrate its utility.
Appetitive cue-evoked ERK signaling in the nucleus accumbens requires NMDA and D1 dopamine receptor activation and regulates CREB phosphorylation
Authors: Kirschmann Erin K.Z. , Mauna Jocelyn C. , Willis Cory M. , Foster Rebecca L. , Chipman Amanda M. , Thiels Edda
Published: October 2014

Conditioned stimuli (CS) can modulate reward-seeking behavior. This modulatory effect can be maladaptive and has been implicated in excessive reward seeking and relapse to drug addiction. We previously demonstrated that exposure to an appetitive CS causes an increase in the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and cyclic-AMP response-element binding protein (CREB) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of rats, and that CS-evoked ERK activation is critical for CS control over reward seeking. To elucidate the mechanism that mediates CS-driven ERK activation in the NAc, we selectively blocked NMDA glutamate or D1 dopamine receptors in the NAc. To determine whether CS-driven ERK and CREB activation are linked, we selectively blocked ERK signaling in the NAc. We found that both NMDA and D1 receptors are critical for CS-driven ERK signaling in the NAc, and that this recruitment of the ERK cascade is responsible for increased CREB activation in the presence of the CS. Our findings suggest that activation of the NMDAR-D1R/ERK/CREB signal transduction pathway plays a critical role in the control of reward-seeking behavior by reward-predictive cues.
Optogenetic activation of presynaptic inputs in lateral amygdala forms associative fear memory
Authors: Kwon Jeong-Tae , Nakajima Ryuichi , Kim Hyung-Su , Jeong Yire , Augustine George J. , Han Jin-Hee
Published: October 2014

In Pavlovian fear conditioning, the lateral amygdala (LA) has been highlighted as a key brain site for association between sensory cues and aversive stimuli. However, learning-related changes are also found in upstream sensory regions such as thalamus and cortex. To isolate the essential neural circuit components for fear memory association, we tested whether direct activation of presynaptic sensory inputs in LA, without the participation of upstream activity, is sufficient to form fear memory in mice. Photostimulation of axonal projections from the two main auditory brain regions, the medial geniculate nucleus of the thalamus and the secondary auditory cortex, was paired with aversive footshock. Twenty-four hours later the same photostimulation induced robust conditioned freezing and this fear memory formation was disrupted when glutamatergic synaptic transmission was locally blocked in the LA. Therefore, our results prove for the first time that synapses between sensory input areas and the LA, previously implicated as a crucial brain site for fear memory formation, actually are sufficient to serve as a conditioned stimulus. Our results strongly support the idea that the LA may be sufficient to encode and store associations between neutral cue and aversive stimuli during natural fear conditioning as a critical part of a broad fear memory engram.
Amnesia of inhibitory avoidance by scopolamine is overcome by previous open-field exposure
Authors: Colettis Natalia C. , Snitcofsky Marina , Kornisiuk Edgar E. , Gonzalez Emilio N. , Quillfeldt Jorge A. , Jerusalinsky Diana A.
Published: October 2014

The muscarinic cholinergic receptor (MAChR) blockade with scopolamine either extended or restricted to the hippocampus, before or after training in inhibitory avoidance (IA) caused anterograde or retrograde amnesia, respectively, in the rat, because there was no long-term memory (LTM) expression. Adult Wistar rats previously exposed to one or two open-field (OF) sessions of 3 min each (habituated), behaved as control animals after a weak though over-threshold training in IA. However, after OF exposure, IA LTM was formed and expressed in spite of an extensive or restricted to the hippocampus MAChR blockade. It was reported that during and after OF exposure and reexposure there was an increase in both hippocampal and cortical ACh release that would contribute to “prime the substrate,” e.g., by lowering the synaptic threshold for plasticity, leading to LTM consolidation. In the frame of the “synaptic tagging and capture” hypothesis, plasticity-related proteins synthesized during/after the previous OF could facilitate synaptic plasticity for IA in the same structure. However, IA anterograde amnesia by hippocampal protein synthesis inhibition with anisomycin was also prevented by two OF exposures, strongly suggesting that there would be alternative interpretations for the role of protein synthesis in memory formation and that another structure could also be involved in this “OF effect.”
Crystal structure of chlorido(η2-phenyl isothiocyanate-κ2C,S)-mer-tris(trimethylphosphane-κP)iridium(I)
Authors: Merola Joseph S. , Grieb Arthur W.
Published: October 2014

The molecule of the title compound, [IrCl(C7H5NS)(C3H9P)3], is a distorted octahedral iridium complex with three PMe3ligands arranged in a meridional geometry, a chloride ioncisto all three PMe3groups and the phenyl isothiocyanate ligand bonded in an η2-fashion through the C and S atoms. The C atom istransto the chloride ion and the S atom is responsible for a significant deviation from an ideal octahedral geometry. The geometric parameters for the metal-complexing phenyl isothiocyanate group are compared with other metal-complexed phenyl isothiocyanates, as well as with examples of uncomplexed aryl isothiocyanates.
Crystal structure of bis{2-[bis(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]ethanol-κ4O,N,O′,O′′}cadmium terephthalate
Authors: Li Ya-Ping , Han Li-Ying , Ming Julia , Su Guan-Fang
Published: October 2014

In the title salt, [Cd(C6H15NO3)2](C8H4O4), the Cd2+cation is coordinated by six O atoms and two N atoms from two tetradentate 2-[bis(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]ethanol ligands, displaying a distorted square-antiprismatic coordination. The terephthalate dianion does not coordinate to the cation but is connected through O...H—O hydrogen bonds of medium strength to the complex cations, leading to a layered structure extending parallel to (100).
Crystal structure of 5-fluoro-2-(3-fluorophenyl)-3-methylsulfinyl-1-benzofuran
Authors: Choi Hong Dae , Lee Uk
Published: October 2014

In the title compound, C15H10F2O2S, the dihedral angle between the planes of the benzofuran ring system [r.m.s. deviation = 0.015 (1) Å] and the 3-fluorophenyl ring is 26.60 (5)°. In the crystal, molecules are linked by C—H...O and C—H...F hydrogen bonds, and by π–π interactions between the benzofuran rings of inversion-related molecules [centroid(benzene)–centroid(furan) distance = 3.819 (2) Å], forming a three-dimensional network.
Correlated changes in structure and viscosity during gelatinization and gelation of tapioca starch granules
Authors: Huang Hsien-Kai , Sheu Hwo-Shuenn , Chuang Wei-Tsung , Jeng U-Ser , Su An-Chung , Wu Wei-Ru , Liao Kuei-Fen , Chen Chun-Yu , Chang Shing-Yun , Lai Hsi-Mei
Published: October 2014

Melting of native tapioca starch granules in aqueous pastes upon heating is observedin situusing simultaneous small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) and solution viscometry. Correlated structure and viscosity changes suggest closely associated amylose and amylopectin chains in the semicrystalline layers, and the release of amylose chains for enhanced solution viscosity occurs largely after melting of the semicrystalline structure. Before melting, WAXS results reveal mixed crystals of A- and B-types (∼4:1 by weight), whereas SAXS results indicate that the semicrystalline layers are composed of lamellar blocklets ofca43 nm domain size, with polydisperse crystalline (≃7.5 nm) and amorphous (≃1.1 nm) layers alternatively assembled into a lamellar spacing of ≃8.6 nm with 20% polydispersity. Upon melting, the semicrystalline lamellae disintegrate into disperse and molten amylopectin nanoclusters with dissolved and partially untangled amylose chains in the aqueous matrix which leads to increased solution viscosity. During subsequent cooling, gelation starts at around 347 K; successively increased solution viscosity coincides with the development of nanocluster aggregation to a fractal dimension ≃2.3 at 303 K, signifying increasing intercluster association through collapsed amylose chains owing to decreased solvency of the aqueous medium with decreasing temperature.
Reconciling the regulatory role of Munc18 proteins in SNARE-complex assembly
Authors: Rehman Asma , Archbold Julia K. , Hu Shu-Hong , Norwood Suzanne J. , Collins Brett M. , Martin Jennifer L.
Published: October 2014

Membrane fusion is essential for human health, playing a vital role in processes as diverse as neurotransmission and blood glucose control. Two protein families are key: (1) the Sec1p/Munc18 (SM) and (2) the solubleN-ethylmaleimide-sensitive attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins. Whilst the essential nature of these proteins is irrefutable, their exact regulatory roles in membrane fusion remain controversial. In particular, whether SM proteins promote and/or inhibit the SNARE-complex formation required for membrane fusion is not resolved. Crystal structures of SM proteins alone and in complex with their cognate SNARE proteins have provided some insight, however, these structures lack the transmembrane spanning regions of the SNARE proteins and may not accurately reflect the native state. Here, we review the literature surrounding the regulatory role of mammalian Munc18 SM proteins required for exocytosis in eukaryotes. Our analysis suggests that the conflicting roles reported for these SM proteins may reflect differences in experimental design. SNARE proteins appear to require C-terminal immobilization or anchoring, for example through a transmembrane domain, to form a functional fusion complex in the presence of Munc18 proteins.
Binding site asymmetry in human transthyretin: insights from a joint neutron and X-ray crystallographic analysis using perdeuterated protein
Authors: Haupt Melina , Blakeley Matthew P. , Fisher Stuart J. , Mason Sax A. , Cooper Jon B. , Mitchell Edward P. , Forsyth V. Trevor
Published: October 2014

Human transthyretin has an intrinsic tendency to form amyloid fibrils and is heavily implicated in senile systemic amyloidosis. Here, detailed neutron structural studies of perdeuterated transthyretin are described. The analyses, which fully exploit the enhanced visibility of isotopically replaced hydrogen atoms, yield new information on the stability of the protein and the possible mechanisms of amyloid formation. Residue Ser117 may play a pivotal role in that a single water molecule is closely associated with the γ-hydrogen atoms in one of the binding pockets, and could be important in determining which of the two sites is available to the substrate. The hydrogen-bond network at the monomer–monomer interface is more extensive than that at the dimer–dimer interface. Additionally, the edge strands of the primary dimer are seen to be favourable for continuation of the β-sheet and the formation of an extended cross-β structure through sequential dimer couplings. It is argued that the precursor to fibril formation is the dimeric form of the protein.
The gendered trickle-down effect
Authors: Chen Ying , Friedman Ray , Simons Tony
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– Voluntary employee turnover can be a challenge for all industries but high employee turnover has been a special concern in the hospitality industry, which is the context of this paper. The purpose of this paper is to incorporate a “trickle-down” perspective into the conventional research on turnover intention and satisfaction with supervision. The authors assess whether mid-level managers’ satisfaction with senior managers’ supervision is related positively to line employees’ satisfaction with mid-level managers’ supervision and, in turn, line employees’ turnover intentions. Further, the authors examine whether the strength of this “trickle-down” effect is affected by the middle managers’ gender.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors tested our theoretical argument using a sample of 1,527 full-time employees in 267 different departments at 94 hotels in the USA and Canada. Hierarchical linear modeling was employed to analyze the data.

Findings

– The authors found a trickle-down effect of satisfaction with supervision, as predicted, and the effect was stronger for female than male middle managers. These findings open new avenues for addressing turnover issues for organizations and managers.

Originality/value

– This study extends the line of research on leadership and turnover in three ways. First, it shows how senior managers, who have no direct contact with line employees, can affect turnover intentions of line employees. Second, this research helps the authors know where to target efforts at intervention; by connecting middle managers’ satisfaction with supervision with employees’ turnover intentions, the authors know to target interventions to reduce turnover not just at line employees and supervisors but also at senior-level managers as well. Third, this study sheds light on the ongoing debate over “female advantage” in leadership (Eagly and Carli, 2003a, b; Vecchio, 2002, 2003) by examining not just how women are treated, but how their experience may reshape managerial dynamics.
Brazilian corporations, the state and transnational activity: introduction to the special issue
Authors: Nölke Andreas
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The aim of the paper is to introduce a special issue which looks at the collaboration between the Brazilian state and Brazilian corporations with regard to the transnational activities of the latter.

Design/methodology/approach

– Departing from the state of the art of current studies of emerging market multinationals, the paper highlights the need for interdisciplinary work to understand the particular role of the state with regard to the outward expansion of these companies. The paper then highlights the different approaches the five papers of the special issue have taken to address this task.

Findings

– Although Brazil can be counted among the most liberal emerging markets, the special issue finds a very close cooperation between the Brazilian state and Brazilian multinationals. The former helps to finance overseas expansion of Brazilian multinationals, supports the solution of conflicts with the governments of neighboring countries and articulates the interests of Brazilian multinationals in global governance. The problems created by this close cooperation rather materialize with third parties, in particular with somewhat poorer countries in the Brazilian neighborhood, but also with smaller companies, consumers or radical social movements in Brazil.

Originality/value

– The paper shows the diversity of approaches that an interdisciplinary cooperation between Political Science, Political Economy, Development Studies and International Business can mobilize to make sense of very close state-business cooperation with regard to transnational activities of emerging markets multinationals.
Brazil’s ruling party and the internationalization of Brazilian companies
Authors: A. Malaver Copara Jorge
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to analyze Brazil’s governmental positions during two international conflicts involving major Brazilian firms and two South American countries: the nationalization of Petrobras in Bolivia in 2006 and the expulsion of Odebrecht from Ecuador in 2008. Brazil’s government officials showed themselves to be not only open to negotiations but also understanding and cooperative with Bolivia. The same policymakers, however, showed no trace of this accommodating behavior toward Ecuador. This paper focuses on the explanatory power of the ideas of the ruling Workers’ Party and sustains that this party has played a crucial role on shaping the current government–business relations in Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

– This research applies process tracing analysis within two case studies; and content analysis to operationalize the concept “Workers’ Party’s ideas” using 14 Workers’ Party’s official documents. It investigates the circumstances under which political ideas guide policymaking.

Findings

– This work found a correlation between Workers’ Party’s ideas and Brazil’s governmental positions which first benefited Bolivian demands. On the other hand, these ideas found no representation during negotiations with Ecuador. To explain this variation, this study tested the link between uncertainty and influence of ideas. Uncertainty was both an “activating condition”, allowing ideas to come into play in policymaking, and a “magnifying condition” showing the dynamic relationship between the level of uncertainty and the level of influence of ideas.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to the evolving debate on business and government relations in Brazil by focusing on the role of ideas and interests on policymaking.
Dynamic scaffolding in a cloud-based problem representation system
Authors: Beng Lee Chwee , Voon Ling Keck , Reimann Peter , Ahmad Diponegoro Yudho , Heng Koh Chia , Chew Derwin
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to argue for the need to develop pre-service teachers’ problem solving ability, in particular, in the context of real-world complex problems.

Design/methodology/approach

– To argue for the need to develop pre-service teachers’ problem solving skills, the authors describe a web-based problem representation system that is embedded with levels of scaffolding to support the claim.

Findings

– The authors’ conceptualisation of this cloud-based environment is also very much aligned with the development of pre-service teachers’ systems thinking. Teacher learning itself is a complex system that involves many processes, mechanisms and interactions of elements, and the outcomes may be highly unpredictable (Opfer and Pedder, 2011). As a result of the complex nature of teacher learning, it would be meaningful to frame teacher learning as a complex system. An approach to enable pre-service teachers to be aware of this complexity is to situate them in a systems thinking context.

Originality/value

– This paper discusses a system which was developed for problem solving. The levels of adaptive scaffoldings embedded within the system is an innovation which is not found in other similar research projects.
Practitioner capability
Authors: Smith Sara , Martin Jan
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of creative activity and storytelling in assisting development of students’ reflective ability and critical thinking.

Design/methodology/approach

– Eight biomedical science students undertaking year-long work-based placements took part in this action research study. A coding scheme was designed to assess students’ reflections initially and at each stage of the study. Intervention activities involved students using mood boards, images and storytelling to assist development of creative learning spaces with a thematic approach employed to analyse both personal and collective reflections. Post-intervention evaluation considered possible long-term impact on students’ reflective ability.

Findings

– Students’ pre-intervention reports showed little reflection focusing mainly on competence demonstration and descriptive situation summaries. During the intervention workshops, all students demonstrated both identification of self as a practitioner and a critically reflective approach. However, this was not maintained long term as initial post-intervention reports tended to revert to a more descriptive style of writing suggesting longer-term support is required.

Research limitations/implications

– The importance of further research into the long-term usefulness of creative collaborative learning spaces in work-based programmes is suggested.

Originality/value

– This is the first study investigating the approach to supporting critical reflection during work placement in biomedical scientists. It is suggested that the current competence-based training programme provides limited opportunities for developing and embedding critical reflection. Where opportunities are provided, such as creative learning spaces, students’ critical reflection was greatly enhanced. However, it appears essential that this approach is maintained throughout training as critically reflective skills developed during collaborative learning have limited transferability to subsequent reflective report writing.
Employability is in the eye of the beholder
Authors: Wilton Nick
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to outline the findings from an exploratory research project investigating perspectives on the recruitment of work placement students among a diverse sample of employers in order to disentangle what constitutes student “employability” in the eyes of these employers.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper draws on data collected in 30 detailed qualitative interviews with managers responsible for the recruitment and selection of work placement students in a wide range of organisational settings.

Findings

– The paper identifies multiple facets of employability that are the explicit or implicit focus of student recruitment and highlights the often subjective, unknowable and shifting criteria used to select among similar candidates for employment.

Research limitations/implications

– Despite the richness of the data, the restricted sample of managers interviewed limits the degree to which the findings can be generalised. It provides, however, a strong rationale for a greater focus in research and practice on the demand-side of the employability equation.

Practical implications

– This paper presents a strong argument for a more nuanced understanding of how employers select among applicants to enable more effective student preparation for the labour market.

Originality/value

– This paper contributes to the literature seeking to elucidate the range of factors that shape employment outcomes and, in doing so, adds to the political and academic discourse on employability, skills and the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in preparing students and graduates for the labour market.
The Slow Food Movement and sustainable tourism development: a case study of Mold, Wales
Authors: H. Jung Timothy , M. Ineson Elizabeth , Miller Amanda
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to discuss stakeholders’ understanding of sustainable tourism development and their experiences regarding the contribution of these movements to sustainable tourism development. The contribution of the Slow Food and Cittaslow Movements to the success of a tourism destination is evaluated by determining local stakeholders’ perceptions of the meaning of these terms and views on their benefits.

Design/methodology/approach

– A case study approach used semi-structured interviews to collect data from 11 purposively sampled local stakeholders. The interview questions spanned knowledge, membership and perceived benefits of the Slow Food and Cittaslow Movements and the contribution of these Movements to sustainable tourism development. The data were analysed using framework analysis.

Findings

– Varying levels of familiarity with the Slow Food and Cittaslow Movements were evident. Clear economic and personal benefits from membership were acknowledged. It was confirmed that the Slow Food and Cittaslow Movements have contributed to sustainable tourism development and that public–private partnership is key to its success.

Research limitations/implications

– The specific research context and limited purposive sample suggest great caution in any generalisation of the results.

Practical implications

– Close and continued involvement of stakeholders plus membership of the Slow Food and Cittaslow Movements can contribute strongly to promoting sustainable tourism development in rural areas.

Social implications

– It is recognised that the Slow Food and Cittaslow Movements make a substantial contribution to local economies and add value to sustainable practices.

Originality/value

– Involving local stakeholders in public–private partnerships can contribute to the success of rural tourism destinations when the Slow Food and Cittaslow Movements are considered as alternative approaches to sustainable tourism development.
Exploring effects of hotel chain loyalty program
Authors: Pimpão Pedro , Correia Antónia , Duque João , Carlos Zorrinho José
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The main purpose of this work is to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of a hotel’s chain loyalty program from a behavioral perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

– A Dirichlet model was estimated to assess purchase frequency and hotel choice within one of the biggest hotel chains in Portugal. The sample comprises hotels where a loyalty program was implemented, with a total of 176,099 reservations. Data were extracted from the customer relationship management (CRM) systems of the hotel group.

Findings

– The results suggest that instead of being loyal to a certain hotel, customers are loyal to the branded hotel chain. As the hotels are all part of the branded group, this polygamy is not only accepted but also very welcome.

Research limitations/implications

– The level of penetration and purchase frequency of CRM was measured. Nevertheless, a thorough understanding of these will be critical for the success of this program.

Practical implications

– This research is a step toward assessing hotel chain competitiveness, by improving and suggesting segmented groups of brands/hotels and to induce cross-selling products accepting polygamous loyalty as the only way to sustain long-term relationships with customers.

Originality/value

– This is one of the few research studies, if not the only one, to assess loyalty with tangible indicators, such as purchase frequency. Further, the results suggest that loyalty programs are more effective if multiple options are available and as such, cross-selling is perhaps the only way to fix customers.
Interpretation and tourism: holy grail or emperor’s robes?
Authors: Moscardo Gianna
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to address the question – is heritage interpretation an effective tool in tourism?

Design/methodology/approach

– The author takes a critical stance seeking to identify and evaluate key assumptions and questions about the nature and effectiveness of heritage interpretation as a tourism management tool.

Findings

– There are significant gaps in the available research into interpretation and in those areas that have been studied, there is only limited evidence that interpretation is effective. There are few important findings in this area and even where there are some sound and useful conclusions, they still do not address some of the more fundamental concerns about interpretation more broadly.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper identifies a set of topics for future research based on the outcomes of the review and consideration of the critiques of interpretation that could be used to improve and extend interpretation in tourism.

Originality/value

– By taking a critical perspective on interpretation and questioning the untested and implicit assumptions about the nature and role of this activity within tourism, the paper identifies issues relevant to the conduct of tourism research more generally that have been given little attention in the academic literature to date.