bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Institutions and the location strategies of South African firms in Africa
Authors: White Lyal , Kitimbo Adrian , Rees Liezl
Published: January 2018

This study explores the influence of institutions on the location strategies of firms in Africa. Specifically, the research examines the effect of governance infrastructure, a country's overall public institutions and policies, on the expansion strategies of three South African firms as they entered selected African countries between 1996 and 2015. These firms include SABMiller, MTN, and Massmart. The study makes use of structured interviews with senior directors of the three firms, mini case studies, and the World Bank's Worldwide Global Governance Indicators, in an effort to understand the impact of institutions, or lack thereof, on these companies’ location choices. Results suggest that by and large, the quality of formal institutions did not have a direct effect on the location decisions of the three firms in this study, and that these firms found ways to mitigate the so‐called institutional voids.
Antimetastatic potentials of salvianolic acid A on oral squamous cell carcinoma by targeting MMP‐2 and the c‐Raf/MEK/ERK pathway
Authors: Fang Chih‐Yuan , Wu Ching‐Zong , Chen Pei‐Ni , Chang Yu‐Chao , Chuang Chun‐Yi , Lai Chih‐Ting , Yang Shun‐Fa , Tsai Lo‐Lin
Published: January 2018

The metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most important causes of cancer‐related deaths. Thus, various therapeutic strategies have been developed to prevent the metastasis of OSCC. Salvianolic acid A (SAA), a traditional Chinese medicine, has antithrombosis, antiplatelet, anti‐inflammation, and antitumor activities. Here, we provide molecular evidence indicating that SAA exerts its antimetastatic effects by markedly inhibiting the invasion and migration of oral squamous SCC‐9 and SCC‐25 cells. SCC‐9 and SCC‐25 cells were treated with various concentrations of SAA to further investigate the precise involvement of SAA in cancer metastasis. The results of zymography, and Western blotting indicated that SAA treatment may decrease matrix metallopoteinase‐2 (MMP‐2) expression. SAA also inhibited p‐c‐Raf, p‐MEK1/2, and p‐ERK1/2 protein expression. In addition, treating SCC‐9 cells with U0126, a MEK‐specific inhibitor, decreased MMP‐2 expression and concomitantly inhibited cell migration. Our findings suggested that SAA inhibits the invasion and migration of OSCC by inhibiting the c‐Raf/MEK/ERK pathways that control MMP‐2 expression. Our findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie the antimetastatic effect of SAA and are thus valuable for the development of treatment strategies for metastatic OSCC.
Inverse problems: From regularization to Bayesian inference
Authors: Calvetti D. , Somersalo E.
Published: January 2018

Inverse problems deal with the quest for unknown causes of observed consequences, based on predictive models, known as the forward models, that associate the former quantities to the latter in the causal order. Forward models are usually well‐posed, as causes determine consequences in a unique and stable way. Inverse problems, on the other hand, are usually ill‐posed: the data may be insufficient to identify the cause unambiguously, an exact solution may not exist, and, like in a mystery story, discovering the cause without extra information tends to be highly sensitive to measurement noise and modeling errors. The Bayesian methodology provides a versatile and natural way of incorporating extra information to supplement the noisy data by modeling the unknown as a random variable to highlight the uncertainty about its value. Presenting the solution in the form of a posterior distribution provides a wide range of possibilities to compute useful estimates. Inverse problems are traditionally approached from the point of view of regularization, a process whereby the ill‐posed problem is replaced by a nearby well‐posed one. While many of the regularization techniques can be reinterpreted in the Bayesian framework through prior design, the Bayesian formalism provides new techniques to enrich the paradigm of traditional inverse problems. In particular, inaccuracies and inadequacies of the forward model are naturally handled in the statistical framework. Similarly, qualitative information about the solution may be reformulated in the form of priors with unknown parameters that can be successfully handled in the hierarchical Bayesian context.

This article is categorized under:

Statistical and Graphical Methods of Data Analysis > Bayesian Methods and Theory

Algorithms and Computational Methods > Numerical Methods

Applications of Computational Statistics > Computational Mathematics
Therapeutic applications of group I intron‐based trans‐splicing ribozymes
Authors: Lee Chang Ho , Han Seung Ryul , Lee Seong‐Wook
Published: January 2018

Since the breakthrough discovery of catalytic RNAs (ribozymes) in the early 1980s, valuable ribozyme‐based gene therapies have been developed for incurable diseases ranging from genetic disorders to viral infections and cancers. Ribozymes can be engineered and used to downregulate or repair pathogenic genes via RNA cleavage mediated by trans‐cleaving ribozymes or repair and reprograming mediated by trans‐splicing ribozymes, respectively. Uniquely, trans‐splicing ribozymes can edit target RNAs via simultaneous destruction and repair (and/or reprograming) to yield the desired therapeutic RNAs, thus selectively inducing therapeutic gene activity in cells expressing the target RNAs. In contrast to traditional gene therapy approaches, such as simple addition of therapeutic transgenes or inhibition of disease‐causing genes, the selective repair and/or reprograming abilities of trans‐splicing ribozymes in target RNA‐expressing cells facilitates the maintenance of endogenous spatial and temporal gene regulation and reduction of disease‐associated transcript expression. In molecular imaging technologies, trans‐splicing ribozymes can be used to reprogram specific RNAs in living cells and organisms by the 3′‐tagging of reporter RNAs. The past two decades have seen progressive improvements in trans‐splicing ribozymes and the successful application of these elements in gene therapy and molecular imaging approaches for various pathogenic conditions, such as genetic, infectious, and malignant disease. This review provides an overview of the current status of trans‐splicing ribozyme therapeutics, focusing on Tetrahymena group I intron‐based ribozymes, and their future prospects.

This article is categorized under:

RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease
EDXRF analysis of suspended particulate matter (SPM) from residential and industrial areas in Cairo, Egypt
Authors: Shaltout Abdallah A. , Hassan Salwa K. , Karydas Andreas G. , Harfouche Messaoud , Abd‐Elkader Omar H. , Kregsamer Peter , Wobrauschek Peter , Streli Christina
Published: January 2018

Due to the remarkable increasing of the mass concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) as an air pollution indicator in Greater Cairo‐Egypt, regular sampling during autumn 2014 and winter 2014/2015 seasons has been performed from industrial and residential areas. It was found that the average mass concentrations of the SPM collected from residential and industrial areas are equal to 531 ± 198 and 912 ± 230 μg/m3, respectively. These quantities are much higher than the maximum allowance level, especially for the industrial area. By utilizing three secondary targets, energy dispersive x‐ray fluorescence working under vacuum environment was used for elemental analysis of 19 elements namely; Na, Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Se, Br, Rb, and Sr. The present optimized selective excitation energy dispersive x‐ray fluorescence analysis has considerably enhanced the analytical range with respect to our previous similar studies, including low Z elements such as Na, Al, S, and Cl and attaining lower detection limits in the range of ng/m3. Remarkable high elemental concentrations were determined for most of the detected elements from the industrial area samples, strongly indicating the influence of the industrial and anthropogenic activities. The average percentages of the mass concentration of the detected inorganic elements account only for 3.2% and 10.5% of the total mass concentration collected from the residential and industrial areas, respectively, thus directly indicating that the content of organic pollutants in SPM is the dominant contribution.
Effective transient behaviour of inclusions in diffusion problems
Authors: Brassart Laurence , Stainier Laurent
Published: January 2018

This paper is concerned with the effective transport properties of heterogeneous media in which there is a high contrast between the phase diffusivities. In this case the transient response of the slow phase induces a memory effect at the macroscopic scale, which needs to be included in a macroscopic continuum description. This paper focuses on the slow phase, which we take as a dispersion of inclusions of arbitrary shape. We revisit the linear diffusion problem in such inclusions in order to identify the structure of the effective (average) inclusion response to a chemical load applied on the inclusion boundary. We identify a chemical creep function (similar to the creep function of viscoelasticity), from which we construct estimates with a reduced number of relaxation modes. The proposed estimates admit an equivalent representation based on a finite number of internal variables. These estimates allow us to predict the average inclusion response under arbitrary time‐varying boundary conditions at very low computational cost. A heuristic generalisation to concentration‐dependent diffusion coefficient is also presented. The proposed estimates for the effective transient response of an inclusion can serve as a building block for the formulation of multi‐inclusion homogenisation schemes.
Non‐destructive measurement of soil respiration in a grassland ecosystem using the multiple‐microchambers method
Authors: Suminokura Nobuhiko , Suzuki Mayuko , Tanami Kenta , Tomotsune Mitsutoshi , Yoshitake Shinpei , Koizumi Hiroshi
Published: January 2018

The chamber method with plant clipping has been widely used for measuring soil respiration (SR) in grassland ecosystems. However, plant clipping may cause overestimation of SR by changing the environmental factors and injuring the plants. To solve these problems, we developed a new non‐destructive method using multiple‐microchambers (3 cm diameter, 8 cm height), which enables measurement of SR without plant clipping by installing chambers into gaps among the grasses. The new method was compared with the conventional method at various flow rates in vitro to assess the accuracy of SR measurement. The new method overestimated the SR rate; however, the ratio of overestimation to the conventional method was constant for each flow rate. These ratios fitted the logarithmic curve, indicating the potential for correction of the SR rate measured by the new method using the logarithmic equation. The corrected SR rate obtained by the new method was equal to the rate by the conventional method. This suggests that accurate measurement of SR in grassland ecosystems is possible using the multiple‐microchambers method. We then compared the non‐destructive method and the destructive method in situ on summer season and found that the destructive method overestimated SR rate in the grassland ecosystem by about 276% on average. There were two possible reasons for this overestimation; first, the clipping treatment may change environmental conditions such as soil temperature and soil water content, and second, it may directly increase plant respiration.
Highly toxic seeds of the Japanese star anise Illicium anisatum are dispersed by a seed‐caching bird and a rodent
Authors: Yoshikawa Tetsuro , Masaki Takashi , Motooka Makoto , Hino Daichi , Ueda Keisuke
Published: January 2018

Many field studies on plant seed dispersal teach us that we cannot judge the effective dispersal mode of plants by examining only the morphologies of the fruits and seeds. In the present study, we explored the seed dispersal process of an evergreen tree, the Japanese star anise Illicium anisatum, which is highly toxic, containing neurotoxins in both the fruits and seeds. The fruits exhibit ballochory, a mode of seed dispersal characterized by explosive fruit dehiscence, and the extreme toxicity apparently seems to deter fruit and seed consumption by animals. However, we found that the dispersal distance afforded by this mode was very short (≤ 6 m). In the field, we confirmed that a passerine species, the varied tit Poecile varius, was the only consumer of the seed in foliage, and the bird actively transported seeds or fruits to either cache or consume them. Seeds setting on the forest understory were removed by the small Japanese field mouse Apodemus argenteus, and were also dispersed by this animal. Analysis of seedling spatial distribution revealed that seedlings were highly aggregated near standing trees or fallen logs, suggesting that caching facilitated seed dispersal. This study warns that plant toxicity and the ecological function thereof should not be evaluated based only on limited knowledge of the effects on humans and mammals. Our results pose further questions on the evolution of toxin tolerance in seed‐caching animals and on the mutualism between toxic plants and animals.
No news is bad news: Do PCAOB part II reports have an effect on annually inspected firms’ audit fees and audit quality?
Authors: Johnson Elizabeth , Reichelt Kenneth J. , Soileau Jared S.
Published: January 2018

We investigate the effect of the PCAOB’s Part II report on annually inspected firms’ audit fees and audit quality. The PCAOB replaced the peer review auditor program with an independent inspection of audit firms. Upon completion of each inspection, the PCAOB issued inspection reports that include a public portion (Part I) of identified audit deficiencies, and (in most cases) a nonpublic portion (Part II) of identified quality control weaknesses. The Part II report is only made public when the PCAOB deems that remediation was insuffcient after at least 12 months have passed. Starting around the time of the 2007 Deloitte censure (Boone et al., 2015), the PCAOB shifted from a soft synergistic approach to an antagonistic approach, such that Part II reports were imminent, despite delays that ultimately led to their release one to four years later than expected. Our study spans the period from 2007 to 2015, and examines the effect on audit fees and audit quality at the earliest date that the Part II report could have been released – 12 months after the Part I report was issued. We find that following the 12 month period, that annually inspected audit firms eventually lost reputation by lower audit fees, while they concurrently made remedial efforts to increase the quality of their client’s financial reporting quality (abnormal accruals magnitude and restatements). However, three years after the Part II report was actually released, audit fees increased.
Editorial
Authors: Mansfield-Devine Steve
Published: January 2018

The true seriousness of the Meltdown and Spectre bugs (see main news story) will only become apparent over time. We don't yet know how exploitable these flaws are outside of the laboratory, or whether malicious actors will be able to take advantage of them.
Cloud first – tackling the security challenges
Authors: Nicholson Dave
Published: January 2018

Organisations of all shapes and sizes and in every sector of our economy are increasingly drawn to the idea of moving their data and applications to the cloud. When one looks at the huge array of practical benefits that can be achieved by doing so, this growing interest and escalating uptake is hardly surprising. After all, by migrating their resources to the cloud, organisations can achieve enhanced scalability, a significant reduction in operating costs, greater collaboration and document control and provide ubiquitous access to their applications.

Organisations are increasingly drawn to the benefits of the cloud. And we are seeing many of them adopting a ‘cloud first’ strategy.

This does not mean, however, that organisations no longer have security issues to confront or data management concerns to address. This new cloud-focused IT landscape brings with it threats from both external and internal sources, adding to the pressure placed on the organisation's security and networking teams, explains Dave Nicholson of Axial Systems.
Comparative Antimicrobial Efficacy of Two Hand Sanitizers in Intensive Care Units Common Areas: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
Authors: Deshpande Abhishek , Fox Jacqueline , Wong Ken Koon , Cadnum Jennifer L. , Sankar Thriveen , Jencson Annette , Schramm Sarah , Fraser Thomas G. , Donskey Curtis J. , Gordon Steven
Published: January 2018

OBJECTIVE

Contaminated hands of healthcare workers (HCWs) are an important source of transmission of healthcare-associated infections. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers, while effective, do not provide sustained antimicrobial activity. The objective of this study was to compare the immediate and persistent activity of 2 hand hygiene products (ethanol [61% w/v] plus chlorhexidine gluconate [CHG; 1.0% solution] and ethanol only [70% v/v]) when used in an intensive care unit (ICU).

DESIGN

Prospective, randomized, double-blinded, crossover study

SETTING

Three ICUs at a large teaching hospital

PARTICIPANTS

In total, 51 HCWs involved in direct patient care were enrolled in and completed the study.

METHODS

All HCWs were randomized 1:1 to either product. Hand prints were obtained immediately after the product was applied and again after spending 4–7 minutes in the ICU common areas prior to entering a patient room or leaving the area. The numbers of aerobic colony-forming units (CFU) were compared for the 2 groups after log transformation. Each participant tested the alternative product after a 3-day washout period.

RESULTS

On bare hands, use of ethanol plus CHG was associated with significantly lower recovery of aerobic CFU, both immediately after use (0.27 ± 0.05 and 0.88 ± 0.08 log10 CFU; P = .035) and after spending time in ICU common areas (1.81 ± 0.07 and 2.17 ± 0.05 log10 CFU; P<.0001). Both the antiseptics were well tolerated by HCWs.

CONCLUSIONS

In comparison to the ethanol-only product, the ethanol plus CHG sanitizer was associated with significantly lower aerobic bacterial counts on hands of HCWs, both immediately after use and after spending time in ICU common areas.

CLINICAL TRIAL IDENTIFIER

Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02258412

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:267–271
THE ESSENTIAL NORMS OF COMPOSITION OPERATORS ON WEIGHTED DIRICHLET SPACES
Authors: LI YUFEI , LU YUFENG , YU TAO
Published: January 2018

Let $\unicode[STIX]{x1D711}$ be an analytic self-map of the unit disc. If $\unicode[STIX]{x1D711}$ is analytic in a neighbourhood of the closed unit disc, we give a precise formula for the essential norm of the composition operator $C_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D711}}$ on the weighted Dirichlet spaces ${\mathcal{D}}_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}}$ for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}>0$. We also show that, for a univalent analytic self-map $\unicode[STIX]{x1D711}$ of $\mathbb{D}$, if $\unicode[STIX]{x1D711}$ has an angular derivative at some point of $\unicode[STIX]{x2202}\mathbb{D}$, then the essential norm of $C_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D711}}$ on the Dirichlet space is equal to one.
Palaeomagnetic, rock-magnetic and mineralogical investigations of the Lower Triassic Vardebukta Formation from the southern part of the West Spitsbergen Fold and Thrust Belt
Authors: DUDZISZ KATARZYNA , MICHALSKI KRZYSZTOF , SZANIAWSKI RAFAŁ , NEJBERT KRZYSZTOF , MANBY GEOFFREY
Published: January 2018

Magnetic, petrological and mineralogical data from 13 sites (99 independently oriented samples) of the Lower Triassic rocks located in the SW segment of the West Spitsbergen Fold and Thrust Belt (WSFTB) are presented in order to identify the ferrimagnetic carriers and establish the origin of the natural remanent magnetization (NRM). Volcanic lithoclasts and other detrital resistive grains in which the primary magnetization might endure are present in some samples. On the other hand, petrological studies indicate that sulphide remineralization could have had an important influence on the remagnetization of these rocks. The dominant ferrimagnetic carriers are titanomagnetite and magnetite. While the titanomagnetite may preserve the primary magnetization, the magnetite is a more likely potential carrier of secondary overprints. The complex NRM patterns found in most of the samples may be explained by the coexistence and partial overlapping of components representing different stages of magnetization. Components of both polarities were identified in the investigated material. The reversal test performed on the most stable components that demagnetized above 300°C proved to be negative at the 95% confidence level at any stage of unfolding. They are better grouped, however, after 100% tectonic corrections and the most stable components are clustered in high inclinations (c. 70–80°). This suggests that at least part of the measured palaeomagnetic vectors represent a secondary prefolding magnetic overprint that originated in post-Jurassic time before the WSFTB event. Vitrinite reflectance studies show these rocks have not been subjected to any strong heating (<200°C).
JURISTS OF WAR AND PEACE: SIDDIK SAMİ ONAR (1898–1972) AND ALİ FUAD BAŞGİL (1893–1967) ON LAW AND PREROGATIVE IN TURKEY
Authors: Parslow Joakim
Published: January 2018

The jurists who entered Turkish academia during the 1930s built the foundations of their discipline under a regime that became increasingly authoritarian as war drew closer. Like their peers in Italy and France, therefore, they had to produce coherent doctrines but also support the frequent use of exceptional emergency powers. How did they solve this contradiction? More importantly, what consequences did their solutions have for the use of emergency powers after the war? This article adopts a Deleuzian reading of two strategies with which Turkish jurists met that challenge, approaching their work not simply as theories about law but also as models for the role law should play in the articulation of public authority. Focusing on Ali Fuad Başgil and Sıddık Sami Onar, law professors at Istanbul University, I argue that although both professors supported the regime, only a situational doctrine of the kind Onar produced was capable of ensuring that jurists would have a place in the exercise of “exceptional” state powers after the 1950 transition to democracy.
Contextualizing Concepts: The Methodology of Comparative Political Theory
Authors: Little Adrian
Published: January 2018

Over the last twenty years, comparative political theory has emerged as a distinctive contribution to contemporary theoretical and methodological debate in making the case for greater engagement between “Western” and “non-Western” traditions. While comparative political theory includes multiple methodological approaches and numerous objectives, this article argues for an interpretive method that combines conceptual and contextual analysis to demonstrate both the malleability of concepts and the varying implications that these concepts can have for political action in particular settings. The contextualized comparison need not necessarily be between Western and non-Western cases. This article argues for a “contextualizing concepts” approach and exemplifies this through an analysis of three cases where the concept of reconciliation has been articulated as a means of transforming divided societies since the 1990s: South Africa, Northern Ireland, and Australia.
The Forgotten Philosopher: A Review Essay on Richard McKeon
Authors: Selinger William
Published: January 2018

In her well-known piece on Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt wrote that “posthumous fame… seems to be the lot of the unclassifiable ones.” It is achieved by “those whose work neither fits the existing order nor introduces a new genre that lends itself to future classification.” If she is right, then there may be some hope that Richard McKeon will one day have his moment. For McKeon (who was, in fact, a friend of Arendt) is eminently unclassifiable. Born in 1900, he studied philosophy both with the great French medievalist Étienne Gilson and with John Dewey. He was a twentieth-century American pragmatist who sought to revolutionize philosophy so that it could deal with the novel challenges of a technological age. Yet he was also a brilliant scholar of classical and medieval thought, who wrote such articles as “Poetry and Philosophy in the Twelfth Century,” “Rhetoric in the Middle Ages,” and “The Hellenistic and Roman Foundations of the Tradition of Aristotle in the West.”
Insane Consequentialism: A Pragmatic Objection to Direct Consequentialism
Authors: ZANGWILL NICK
Published: January 2018

I argue that direct consequentialism is not rationally believable. I focus on duties of love. Those feelings are so fundamental to us that believing consequentialism creates insanity. For it entails negative judgements not just about our loyal acts, but also about our deepest feelings. If direct consequentialism is true we should be able to believe it and stay sane. But we cannot, so it is not true.
Involuntary psychiatric hospitalisation, stigma stress and recovery: a 2-year study
Authors: Xu Z. , Lay B. , Oexle N. , Drack T. , Bleiker M. , Lengler S. , Blank C. , Müller M. , Mayer B. , Rössler W. , Rüsch N.
Published: January 2018

Aims.

Compulsory admission can be experienced as devaluing and stigmatising by people with mental illness. Emotional reactions to involuntary hospitalisation and stigma-related stress may affect recovery, but longitudinal data are lacking. We, therefore, examined the impact of stigma-related emotional reactions and stigma stress on recovery over a 2-year period.

Method.

Shame and self-contempt as emotional reactions to involuntary hospitalisation, stigma stress, self-stigma and empowerment, as well as recovery were assessed among 186 individuals with serious mental illness and a history of recent involuntary hospitalisation.

Results.

More shame, self-contempt and stigma stress at baseline were correlated with increased self-stigma and reduced empowerment after 1 year. More stigma stress at baseline was associated with poor recovery after 2 years. In a longitudinal path analysis more stigma stress at baseline predicted poorer recovery after 2 years, mediated by decreased empowerment after 1 year, controlling for age, gender, symptoms and recovery at baseline.

Conclusion.

Stigma stress may have a lasting detrimental effect on recovery among people with mental illness and a history of involuntary hospitalisation. Anti-stigma interventions that reduce stigma stress and programs that enhance empowerment could improve recovery. Future research should test the effect of such interventions on recovery.
Lrig1 is a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor gene in malignant glioma
Authors: Mao Feng , Holmlund Camilla , Faraz Mahmood , Wang Wanzhong , Bergenheim Tommy , Kvarnbrink Samuel , Johansson Mikael , Henriksson Roger , Hedman Håkan
Published: January 2018

Recently, a genome-wide association study showed that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) —rs11706832—in intron 2 of the human LRIG1 (Leucine-rich repeats and immunoglobulin-like domains 1) gene is associated with susceptibility to glioma. However, the mechanism by which rs11706832 affects glioma risk remains unknown; additionally, it is unknown whether the expression levels of LRIG1 are a relevant determinant of gliomagenesis. Here, we investigated the role of Lrig1 in platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced experimental glioma in mice by introducing mono-allelic and bi-allelic deletions of Lrig1 followed by inducing gliomagenesis via intracranial retroviral transduction of PDGFB in neural progenitor cells. Lrig1 was expressed in PDGFB-induced gliomas in wild-type mice as assessed using in situ hybridization. Intriguingly, Lrig1-heterozygous mice developed higher grade gliomas than did wild-type mice (grade IV vs. grade II/III, p = 0.002). Reciprocally, the ectopic expression of LRIG1 in the TB107 high-grade human glioma (glioblastoma, grade IV) cell line decreased the invasion of orthotopic tumors in immunocompromised mice in vivo and reduced cell migration in vitro. Concomitantly, the activity of the receptor tyrosine kinase MET was downregulated, which partially explained the reduction in cell migration. In summary, Lrig1 is a haploinsufficient suppressor of PDGFB-driven glioma, possibly in part via negative regulation of MET-driven cell migration and invasion. Thus, for the first time, changes in physiological Lrig1 expression have been linked to gliomagenesis, whereby the SNP rs11706832 may affect glioma risk by regulating LRIG1 expression.
Solar-panel and parasol strategies shape the proteorhodopsin distribution pattern in marine Flavobacteriia
Authors: Kumagai Yohei , Yoshizawa Susumu , Nakajima Yu , Watanabe Mai , Fukunaga Tsukasa , Ogura Yoshitoshi , Hayashi Tetsuya , Oshima Kenshiro , Hattori Masahira , Ikeuchi Masahiko , Kogure Kazuhiro , DeLong Edward F , Iwasaki Wataru
Published: January 2018

Proteorhodopsin (PR) is a light-driven proton pump that is found in diverse bacteria and archaea species, and is widespread in marine microbial ecosystems. To date, many studies have suggested the advantage of PR for microorganisms in sunlit environments. The ecophysiological significance of PR is still not fully understood however, including the drivers of PR gene gain, retention, and loss in different marine microbial species. To explore this question we sequenced 21 marine Flavobacteriia genomes of polyphyletic origin, which encompassed both PR-possessing as well as PR-lacking strains. Here, we show that the possession or alternatively the lack of PR genes reflects one of two fundamental adaptive strategies in marine bacteria. Specifically, while PR-possessing bacteria utilize light energy (“solar-panel strategy”), PR-lacking bacteria exclusively possess UV-screening pigment synthesis genes to avoid UV damage and would adapt to microaerobic environment (“parasol strategy”), which also helps explain why PR-possessing bacteria have smaller genomes than those of PR-lacking bacteria. Collectively, our results highlight the different strategies of dealing with light, DNA repair, and oxygen availability that relate to the presence or absence of PR phototrophy.
Publisher Correction: A potent neutralizing antibody with therapeutic potential against all four serotypes of dengue virus
Authors: Xu Meihui , Zuest Roland , Velumani Sumathy , Tukijan Farhana , Toh Ying Xiu , Appanna Ramapraba , Tan Ern Yu , Cerny Daniela , MacAry Paul , Wang Cheng-I , Fink Katja
Published: January 2018

The original version of the Article contained errors in the display of the labels in Fig. 6b. These errors have now been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the paper.
Plant probiotic bacteria Bacillus and Paraburkholderia improve growth, yield and content of antioxidants in strawberry fruit
Authors: Rahman Mosaddiqur , Sabir Abdullah As , Mukta Julakha Akter , Khan Md. Mohibul Alam , Mohi-Ud-Din Mohammed , Miah Md. Giashuddin , Rahman Mahfuzur , Islam M. Tofazzal
Published: January 2018

Strawberry is an excellent source of natural antioxidants with high capacity of scavenging free radicals. This study evaluated the effects of two plant probiotic bacteria,Bacillus amylolequefaciensBChi1 andParaburkholderia fungorumBRRh-4 on growth, fruit yield and antioxidant contents in strawberry fruits. Root dipping of seedlings (plug plants) followed by spray applications of both probiotic bacteria in the field on foliage significantly increased fruit yield (up to 48%) over non-treated control. Enhanced fruit yield likely to be linked with higher root and shoot growth, individual and total fruit weight/plant and production of phytohormone by the probiotic bacteria applied on plants. Interestingly, the fruits from plants inoculated with the isolates BChi1 and BRRh-4 had significantly higher contents of phenolics, carotenoids, flavonoids and anthocyanins over non-treated control. Total antioxidant activities were also significantly higher (p < 0.05) in fruits of strawberry plants treated with both probiotic bacteria. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of significant improvement of both yield and quality of strawberry fruits by the application of plant probiotic bacteria BChi1 and BRRh-4 in a field condition. Further study is needed to elucidate underlying mechanism of growth and quality improvement of strawberry fruits by probiotic bacteria.
Exosome-Mimetic Nanovesicles from Hepatocytes promote hepatocyte proliferation in vitro and liver regeneration in vivo
Authors: Wu Jun-Yi , Ji An-Lai , Wang Zhong-xia , Qiang Guang-Hui , Qu Zhen , Wu Jun-Hua , Jiang Chun-Ping
Published: January 2018

The liver has great regenerative capacity after functional mass loss caused by injury or disease. Many studies have shown that primary hepatocyte-derived exosomes, which can deliver biological information between cells, promote the regenerative process of the liver. However, the yield of exosomes is very limited. Recent studies have demonstrated that exosome-mimetic nanovesicles (NVs) can be prepared from cells with almost 100 times the production yield compared with exosomes. Thus, this study investigated the therapeutic capacity of exosome-mimetic NVs from primary hepatocytes in liver regeneration. Exosome-mimetic NVs were prepared by serial extrusions of cells through polycarbonate membranes, and the yield of these NVs was more than 100 times that of exosomes. The data indicated that the NVs could promote hepatocyte proliferation and liver regeneration by significantly enhancing the content of sphingosine kinase 2 in recipient cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that exosome-mimetic NVs from primary hepatocytes have been prepared, and these NVs have components similar to exosomes from primary hepatocytes and, in some respects, biofunctions similar to exosomes. Strategies inspired by this study may lead to substitution of exosomes with exosome-mimetic NVs for biofunctional purposes, including utilization in tissue repair and regeneration.
Quinacrine upregulates p21/p27 independent of p53 through autophagy-mediated downregulation of p62-Skp2 axis in ovarian cancer
Authors: Jung DeokBeom , Khurana Ashwani , Roy Debarshi , Kalogera Eleftheria , Bakkum-Gamez Jamie , Chien Jeremy , Shridhar Viji
Published: January 2018

We have previously shown that the anti-malarial compound Quinacrine (QC) inhibits ovarian cancer (OC) growth by modulating autophagy. In the present study we extended these studies to identify the molecular pathways regulated by QC to promote apoptosis independent of p53 status in OC. QC exhibited strong anti-cancer properties in OC cell lines in contrast to other anti-malarial autophagy inhibiting drugs. QC treatment selectively upregulated cell cycle inhibitor p21, and downregulated F box protein Skp2 and p62/SQSTM1 expression independent of p53 status. Genetic downregulation of key autophagy protein ATG5 abolished QC-mediated effects on both cell cycle protein p21/Skp2 as well as autophagic cargo protein p62. Furthermore, genetic silencing of p62/SQSTM1 resulted in increased sensitivity to QC-mediated apoptosis, downregulated Skp2 mRNA and increased accumulation of p21 expression. Likewise, genetic knockdown of Skp2 resulted in the upregulation of p21 and p27 and increased sensitivity of OC cells to QC treatment. In contrast, transient overexpression of exogenous p62-HA plasmid rescued the QC-mediated Skp2 downregulation indicating the positive regulation of Skp2 by p62. Collectively, these data indicate that QC-mediated effects on cell cycle proteins p21/Skp2is autophagy-dependent and p53-independent in high grade serious OC cells.
Effect of tetramethylpyrazine on tibial dyschondroplasia incidence, tibial angiogenesis, performance and characteristics via HIF-1α/VEGF signaling pathway in chickens
Authors: Mehmood Khalid , Zhang Hui , Li Kun , Wang Lei , Rehman Mujeeb Ur , Nabi Fazul , Iqbal Muhammad Kashif , Luo Houqiang , Shahzad Muhammad , Li Jiakui
Published: January 2018

Tibial dyschodroplasia (TD) is a most common pathological condition in many avian species that is characterized by failure of growth plate (GP) modeling that leads to the persistence of avascular lesion in the GP. Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) is widely used to treat neurovascular disorders and pulmonary hypertension, but no report is available about promoting effect of TMP against TD. Therefore, a total of 210 broiler chicks were equally divided into three groups; Control, TD and TMP. During the experiment mortality rate, chicken performance indicators (daily weight, average daily feed intake, average daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio), tibia bone indicators (weight, length, width of tibial and the size of GP) in addition to gene expression of HIF-1α and VEGF were examined. The results showed that TMP administration restore the GP width, increase growth performance, and mitigated the lameness in broiler chickens. The expression of HIF-1α and VEGF increased significantly in TD affected thiram induced chicks. Whereas, TMP treatment down-regulated HIF-1α and VEGF genes and proteins expressions. The present study demonstrates that the TMP plays an important role in angiogenesis during the impairment and recovery of GP in TD via regulation of the HIF-1α/VEGF signaling pathway in chickens.
Data-driven Modeling of Hemodynamics and its Role on Thrombus Size and Shape in Aortic Dissections
Authors: Yazdani Alireza , Li He , Bersi Matthew R. , Di Achille Paolo , Insley Joseph , Humphrey Jay D. , Karniadakis George Em
Published: January 2018

Aortic dissection is a pathology that manifests due to microstructural defects in the aortic wall. Blood enters the damaged wall through an intimal tear, thereby creating a so-called false lumen and exposing the blood to thrombogenic intramural constituents such as collagen. The natural history of this acute vascular injury thus depends, in part, on thrombus formation, maturation, and possible healing within the false lumen. A key question is: Why do some false lumens thrombose completely while others thrombose partially or little at all? An ability to predict the location and extent of thrombus in subjects with dissection could contribute significantly to clinical decision-making, including interventional design. We develop, for the first time, a data-driven particle-continuum model for thrombus formation in a murine model of aortic dissection. In the proposed model, we simulate a final-value problem in lieu of the original initial-value problem with significantly fewer particles that may grow in size upon activation, thus representing the local concentration of blood-borne species. Numerical results confirm that geometry and local hemodynamics play significant roles in the acute progression of thrombus. Despite geometrical differences between murine and human dissections, mouse models can provide considerable insight and have gained popularity owing to their reproducibility. Our results for three classes of geometrically different false lumens show that thrombus forms and extends to a greater extent in regions with lower bulk shear rates. Dense thrombi are less likely to form in high-shear zones and in the presence of strong vortices. The present data-driven study suggests that the proposed model is robust and can be employed to assess thrombus formation in human aortic dissections.
Influence of chromium hyperdoping on the electronic structure of CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite: a first-principles insight
Authors: García Gregorio , Palacios Pablo , Menéndez-Proupin Eduardo , Montero-Alejo Ana L. , Conesa José C. , Wahnón Perla
Published: January 2018

Organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskites compounds are emerging as new materials with great potential for efficient solar cells. This paper explores the possibility of increasing their photovoltaic efficiency through sub-bandgap absorption by way of the in gap band (IGB) concept. Thus, we assess the formation of an in gap band as well as its effect on the absorption features of Organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskites CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPI). For this task, we use density functional theory (DFT) as well as many-body perturbation methods along to spin-orbit coupling (SOC) to study structural, energetic and electronic properties of partially Cr-substituted MAPI perovskites (CH3NH3Pb1−xCrxI3). Our results reveal that Cr replacement does not lead to an important cell distortion, while the energetic of the substitution process evidences the possibility of obtaining Cr-substituted perovskite. The analysis of the electronic structure shows that Cr 3d-orbitals induce new electronic states in the host semiconductor bandgap, which fulfill the requirements to be considered as an IGB. Precise many-body perturbation methods in G0W0 approach provided an accurate description on the electronic structures as well as the position of the IGB. In short, Pb replacement by Cr could be useful for improved absorption features through new sub-bandgap transitions across the in gap band.
Cellular recovery from exposure to sub-optimal concentrations of AB toxins that inhibit protein synthesis
Authors: Cherubin Patrick , Quiñones Beatriz , Teter Ken
Published: January 2018

Ricin, Shiga toxin, exotoxin A, and diphtheria toxin are AB-type protein toxins that act within the host cytosol and kill the host cell through pathways involving the inhibition of protein synthesis. It is thought that a single molecule of cytosolic toxin is sufficient to kill the host cell. Intoxication is therefore viewed as an irreversible process. Using flow cytometry and a fluorescent reporter system to monitor protein synthesis, we show a single molecule of cytosolic toxin is not sufficient for complete inhibition of protein synthesis or cell death. Furthermore, cells can recover from intoxication: cells with a partial loss of protein synthesis will, upon removal of the toxin, increase the level of protein production and survive the toxin challenge. Thus, in contrast to the prevailing model, ongoing toxin delivery to the cytosol appears to be required for the death of cells exposed to sub-optimal toxin concentrations.
Differential responses of Miocene rodent metacommunities to global climatic changes were mediated by environmental context
Authors: Blanco Fernando , Gómez Cano Ana Rosa , Cantalapiedra Juan L. , Domingo M. Soledad , Domingo Laura , Menéndez Iris , Flynn Lawrence J. , Hernández Fernández Manuel
Published: January 2018

The study of how long-term changes affect metacommunities is a relevant topic, that involves the evaluation of connections among biological assemblages across different spatio-temporal scales, in order to fully understand links between global changes and macroevolutionary patterns. We applied multivariate statistical analyses and diversity tests using a large data matrix of rodent fossil sites in order to analyse long-term faunal changes. Late Miocene rodent faunas from southwestern Europe were classified into metacommunities, presumably sharing ecological affinities, which followed temporal and environmental non-random assembly and disassembly patterns. Metacommunity dynamics of these faunas were driven by environmental changes associated with temperature variability, but there was also some influence from the aridity shifts described for this region during the late Miocene. Additionally, while variations in the structure of rodent assemblages were directly influenced by global climatic changes in the southern province, the northern sites showed a pattern of climatic influence mediated by diversity-dependent processes.
Time- & Load-Dependence of Triboelectric Effect
Authors: Pan Shuaihang , Yin Nian , Zhang Zhinan
Published: January 2018

Time- and load-dependent friction behavior is considered as important for a long time, due to its time-evolution and force-driving characteristics. However, its electronic behavior, mainly considered in triboelectric effect, has almost never been given the full attention and analyses from the above point of view. In this paper, by experimenting with fcc-latticed aluminum and copper friction pairs, the mechanical and electronic behaviors of friction contacts are correlated by time and load analyses, and the behind physical understanding is provided. Most importantly, the difference of “response lag” in force and electricity is discussed, the extreme points of coefficient of friction with the increasing normal loads are observed and explained with the surface properties and dynamical behaviors (i.e. wear), and the micro and macro theories linking tribo-electricity to normal load and wear (i.e. the physical explanation between coupled electrical and mechanical phenomena) are successfully developed and tested.
Rational design of double-shelled Fe-, N-, and S-tridoped hollow mesoporous carbon spheres as high-performance catalysts for organic reactions
Authors: Zeng Tao , Hu Xiaojie , Feng Hongru , Zhang Haiyan , Chen Jianmeng , Song Shuang
Published: January 2018

Hollow mesoporous carbon spheres with double Fe-, N-, and S-tridoped shells (DSHM-Fe/SNC) were fabricated as high-performance catalysts for organic reactions.
Methylene spacer regulated variation in conformation of tetradentate N2O2 donor Schiff bases trapped in manganese(iii) complexes
Authors: Sarkar Nandita , Drew Michael G. B. , Harms Klaus , Bauzá Antonio , Frontera Antonio , Chattopadhyay Shouvik
Published: January 2018

The paper attempts to explain the distortion from planarity of tetradentate Schiff bases in octahedral manganese(iii) complexes.
Growth, structural and thermophysical properties of TbNbO4 crystals
Authors: Guo Jiayi , Ren Junyu , Cheng Rui , Dong Qing , Gao Cunyuan , Zhang Xuzhao , Guo Shiyi
Published: January 2018

An as-grown TbNbO4 crystal has a negative thermal expansion and the zero thermal expansion could be achieved.
Aqueous TMAO solutions as seen by theoretical THz spectroscopy: hydrophilic versus hydrophobic water
Authors: Imoto Sho , Forbert Harald , Marx Dominik
Published: January 2018

All THz resonances of aqueous TMAO solutions are computed and assigned based on ab initio molecular dynamics simulations.
Probing energy losses from dye desorption in cobalt complex-based dye-sensitized solar cells
Authors: Zhang Yan , Wu Yungen , Sun Zhe , Kang Yanan , Chen Tianyang , Wang Hui , Liang Mao , Xue Song
Published: January 2018

Self-assembly of sensitizers at TiO2 surfaces is crucial to reduce charge loss in cobalt complex-based DSSCs.
Effects of 1-hexanol on C12E10 micelles: a molecular simulations and light scattering study
Authors: Vierros Sampsa , Sammalkorpi Maria
Published: January 2018

Simulations associate the amount of added hexanol with structural and intermicellar interaction changes of alkylethoxylate micelles.
Lithium doping on 2D squaraine-bridged covalent organic polymers for enhancing adsorption properties: a theoretical study
Authors: Chen Wei , Huang Ling , Yi Xianfeng , Zheng Anmin
Published: January 2018

A Li-modified squaraine-involved 2D COF material exhibits enhanced CO2 adsorption and separation properties.
Identification of a new substrate effect that enhances the electrocatalytic activity of dendritic tin in CO2 reduction
Authors: Zhang Ying , Zhang Xiaolong , Bond Alan M. , Zhang Jie
Published: January 2018

A Sn electrocatalyst for CO2 reduction to formate with enhanced selectivity has been developed based on a new substrate effect.
Gas phase kinetics of the OH + CH3CH2OH reaction at temperatures of the interstellar medium (T = 21–107 K)
Authors: Ocaña A. J. , Blázquez S. , Ballesteros B. , Canosa A. , Antiñolo M. , Albaladejo J. , Jiménez E.
Published: January 2018

Rate coefficients for the OH-reaction with ethanol, ubiquitous in the interstellar medium, has been determined at ultra-cold temperatures by using the pulsed and continuous CRESU technique.