bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Syndecan 4 is required for endothelial alignment in flow and atheroprotective signaling
Authors: Baeyens Nicolas , Mulligan-Kehoe Mary Jo , Corti Federico , Simon David D. , Ross Tyler D. , Rhodes John M. , Wang Thomas Z. , Mejean Cecile O. , Simons Michael , Humphrey Jay , Schwartz Martin A.
Published: November 2014

Significance

Atherosclerosis, the major cause of death and illness in industrialized nations, develops in regions of arteries in which fluid flow patterns are disturbed and endothelial cells fail to align in the direction of flow. In contrast, regions of laminar flow in which cells are aligned are protected. The current work shows that the transmembrane proteoglycan syndecan 4 is required for endothelial cell alignment in the direction of flow and for the protective effect of high laminar flow, yet other flow responses are intact. The data therefore identify a role for syndecan 4 in flow direction sensing, show that sensing flow direction is separable from sensing flow magnitude, and provide new support for the key role of cell alignment in atheroprotection.
Young capillary vessels rejuvenate aged pancreatic islets
Authors: Almaça Joana , Molina Judith , Arrojo e Drigo Rafael , Abdulreda Midhat H. , Jeon Won Bae , Berggren Per-Olof , Caicedo Alejandro , Nam Hong Gil
Published: November 2014

Significance

The regulation of blood glucose is a homeostatic process that declines with age, but it is unknown whether this disturbance is a consequence of intrinsic dysfunction of the regulatory organ, the pancreatic islet. In marked contrast to the widely held notion that the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cell loses function with wear and tear, and thus causes age-related disturbances in glucose homeostasis, we show that mouse and human beta cells are fully functional at advanced age. The pancreatic islet as an organ, however, is threatened by vascular senescence. Replacing the islet vasculature in aged islet grafts rejuvenates the islet and fully restores glucose homeostasis, indicating that islet blood vessels should be targeted to mitigate frail glucose homeostasis associated with aging.
Fast high-resolution 3D total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy by incidence angle scanning and azimuthal averaging
Authors: Boulanger Jérôme , Gueudry Charles , Münch Daniel , Cinquin Bertrand , Paul-Gilloteaux Perrine , Bardin Sabine , Guérin Christophe , Senger Fabrice , Blanchoin Laurent , Salamero Jean
Published: November 2014

Significance

Recent progress has pushed forward the resolving capacity of optical microscopy at the expense of a low acquisition rate and use of specific probes. Such limitations make these techniques incompatible with dynamics localization of multiple elements in single cell. We report here a method to recover 3D volumes from images obtained using several total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) incidence angles at dense regime of acquisition. This approach allows investigating several dynamical processes occurring in depth of the cell up to 800 nm from the plasma membrane such as actin remodeling. The study of time-correlated molecular behaviors at the very late steps of vesicle docking–fusion during exocytosis of two distinct recycling transport intermediates, in 3D and at high axial resolution, is also accessible.
An engineered affibody molecule with pH-dependent binding to FcRn mediates extended circulatory half-life of a fusion protein
Authors: Seijsing Johan , Lindborg Malin , Höidén-Guthenberg Ingmarie , Bönisch Heiko , Guneriusson Elin , Frejd Fredrik Y. , Abrahmsén Lars , Ekblad Caroline , Löfblom John , Uhlén Mathias , Gräslund Torbjörn
Published: November 2014

Significance

One of the central questions in biopharmaceutical development is how to extend circulation residence times of protein-based drugs to improve efficacy and patient comfort. Immunoglobulin G and serum albumin are rescued from lysosomal degradation by the pH-dependent binding to the neonatal Fc receptor and consequently have naturally long circulation half-lives. Here we describe the development and characterization of small affinity proteins (affibody molecules) that can hitchhike on the neonatal Fc receptor rescue system. We find that addition of the affibody molecules to an already half-life–extended recombinant protein leads to a nearly threefold longer circulation residence time in mice. Such affibody molecules may have a general use as fusion partners with biopharmaceuticals to extend their circulation residence times.
Rethinking natural altruism: Simple reciprocal interactions trigger children’s benevolence
Authors: Cortes Barragan Rodolfo , Dweck Carol S.
Published: November 2014

Significance

This research showed that a very simple reciprocal activity elicited high degrees of altruism in 1- and 2-y-old children (as well as older children), whereas friendly but nonreciprocal activity did not. By doing so, it calls into question the current, dominant claim that young humans are naturally and spontaneously altruistic and that socialization cannot account for their altruistic actions. Beyond their scientific innovation, the findings can have important implications for adult–child interactions. Caregivers may engage in simple reciprocal activities that foster both the enactment of altruism in children and their expectation of altruism from others.
Simultaneous sequencing of oxidized methylcytosines produced by TET/JBP dioxygenases in
Coprinopsis cinerea
Authors: Chavez Lukas , Huang Yun , Luong Khai , Agarwal Suneet , Iyer Lakshminarayan M. , Pastor William A. , Hench Virginia K. , Frazier-Bowers Sylvia A. , Korol Evgenia , Liu Shuo , Tahiliani Mamta , Wang Yinsheng , Clark Tyson A. , Korlach Jonas , Pukkila Patricia J. , Aravind L. , Rao Anjana
Published: November 2014

Significance

A prominent epigenetic mechanism for gene regulation is methylation of cytosine bases in DNA. TET enzymes facilitate DNA demethylation by converting 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to oxidized methylcytosines (oxi-mCs). We show that oxi-mCs are generated by conserved TET/JBP enzymes encoded in the genome of the model organism
Coprinopsis cinerea
and present a method for simultaneous mapping of the three different species of oxi-mCs at near–base-pair resolution. We observe that centromeres and transposable elements exhibit distinctive patterns of 5mC and oxi-mC, and show that gene body 5mC and oxi-mC mark silent paralogous multicopy genes. Our study describes a method to map three species of oxi-mC simultaneously and reveals the colocation of 5mC and oxi-mC at functional elements throughout the
C. cinerea
genome.
Reducing the genetic code induces massive rearrangement of the proteome
Authors: O’Donoghue Patrick , Prat Laure , Kucklick Martin , Schäfer Johannes G. , Riedel Katharina , Rinehart Jesse , Söll Dieter , Heinemann Ilka U.
Published: November 2014

Significance

Expanding the genetic code is an important aim of synthetic biology, but some organisms developed naturally expanded genetic codes over the course of evolution. To understand the selective advantage of genetically encoding more than 20 amino acids, we investigated the proteome-wide response to reducing the genetic code of
Methanosarcina acetivorans
from 21 to 20 amino acids. The data show how a natural proteome adapts to genetic code reduction and indicate that the selective value of an expanded genetic code is related to carbon source range and metabolic efficiency.
Synaptonemal complex extension from clustered telomeres mediates full-length chromosome pairing in
Schmidtea mediterranea
Authors: Xiang Youbin , Miller Danny E. , Ross Eric J. , Sánchez Alvarado Alejandro , Hawley R. Scott
Published: November 2014

Significance

In this study we validate a nearly century-old model for chromosome pairing in flatworms and provide a molecular description of meiotic prophase in flatworms. Specifically, we validate József Gelei’s proposal that chromosome pairing in flatworms results from the formation of a telomere bouquet followed by the extension of synapsis from the base of the bouquet, thus facilitating homolog pairing in a processive manner. This study further advances the groundwork necessary to establish
Schmidtea mediterranea
as a powerful new meiotic system. The genes identified and the RNAi constructs and antibodies generated during this work help make planarian meiosis a highly tractable model system.
Essential oils and plant extracts with activity against oral microorganisms: prevention and treatment of oral diseases
Authors: Herman Anna , Młynarczyk Andrzej
Published: November 2014

The aim of this study was to compare the antimicrobial activity of essential oils and extracts of Salvia officinalis, Thymus vulgaris, Mentha piperita, Juniperus communis and Rosmarinus officinalis with antibiotics against physiological and pathological strains of microorganisms isolated from the oral cavity. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of essential oils, extracts and antibiotics were evaluated using the disc diffusion method. Essential oils exhibited higher inhibitory activity against physiological microflora and all tested pathogenic microorganism strains than those observed for antibiotics and plant extracts. Essential oils and ethanolic extracts of Thymus vulgaris were the most potent growth inhibitor of all microorganisms isolated from the oral cavity. Depending on the bacterial strain tested, Thymus vulgaris oil had 3–8 times higher inhibitory activity compared with all tested antibiotics and exhibited the same strength of antifungal activity as amfotericin and miconazol against Candida albicans. Essential oils and extracts may be useful in the prevention and treatment of oral diseases caused by oral microorganisms.
Both HMG boxes in Hmo1 are essential for DNA binding in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Higashino Ayako , Shiwa Yuh , Yoshikawa Hirofumi , Kokubo Tetsuro , Kasahara Koji
Published: November 2014

Hmo1, a member of the high mobility group B family proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, associates with the promoters of ribosomal protein genes (RPGs) to direct accurate transcriptional initiation. Here, to identify factors involved in the binding of Hmo1 to its targets and the mechanism of Hmo1-dependent transcriptional initiation, we developed a novel reporter system using the promoter of the RPG RPS5. A genetic screen did not identify any factors that influence Hmo1 binding, but did identify a number of mutations in Hmo1 that impair its DNA binding activity in vivo and in vitro. These results suggest that Hmo1 binds to its target promoters autonomously without any aid of additional factors. Furthermore, characterization of Hmo1 mutants showed that the box A domain plays a pivotal role in DNA binding and may be required for the recognition of structural properties of target promoters that occur in native chromatin.
Effects of clbR overexpression on enzyme production in Aspergillus aculeatus vary depending on the cellulosic biomass-degrading enzyme species
Authors: Kunitake Emi , Kawamura Ayano , Tani Shuji , Takenaka Shigeo , Ogasawara Wataru , Sumitani Jun-ichi , Kawaguchi Takashi
Published: November 2014

ClbR is a Zn(II)2Cys6 transcriptional activator that controls the expression of cellulase-related genes in response to Avicel and cellobiose in Aspergillus aculeatus. A clbR-overexpressing strain (clbR-OE) that expresses the clbR gene at levels sevenfold higher than the control strain sustainably produced xylanolytic and cellulolytic activities during 10-day cultivation of A. aculeatus, enabling synchronization of xylanolytic and cellulolytic activities at a maximum level. However, clbR overexpression did not simultaneously increase levels of all xylanolytic and cellulolytic enzymes. Peptide mass fingerprint analysis revealed markedly increased production of FIa-xylanase in clbR-OE, whereas expression of FIII-avicelase and FII-carboxymethyl cellulase was unaffected and expression of hydrocellulase was lower in clbR-OE than in the control. Northern blot analysis confirmed that these effects of clbR overexpression on enzyme production were mediated at the transcriptional level. These data suggest that ClbR participates in diverse signaling pathways to control the expression of cellulosic biomass-degrading enzymes in A. aculeatus.
Learned predictiveness training modulates biases towards using boundary or landmark cues during navigation
Authors: Buckley Matthew G. , Smith Alastair D. , Haselgrove Mark
Published: November 2014

A number of navigational theories state that learning about landmark information should not interfere with learning about shape information provided by the boundary walls of an environment. A common test of such theories has been to assess whether landmark information will overshadow, or restrict, learning about shape information. Whilst a number of studies have shown that landmarks are not able to overshadow learning about shape information, some have shown that landmarks can, in fact, overshadow learning about shape information. Given the continued importance of theories that grant the shape information that is provided by the boundary of an environment a special status during learning, the experiments presented here were designed to assess whether the relative salience of shape and landmark information could account for the discrepant results of overshadowing studies. In Experiment 1, participants were first trained that either the landmarks within an arena (landmark-relevant), or the shape information provided by the boundary walls of an arena (shape-relevant), were relevant to finding a hidden goal. In a subsequent stage, when novel landmark and shape information were made relevant to finding the hidden goal, landmarks dominated behaviour for those given landmark-relevant training, whereas shape information dominated behaviour for those given shape-relevant training. Experiment 2, which was conducted without prior relevance training, revealed that the landmark cues, unconditionally, dominated behaviour in our task. The results of the present experiments, and the conflicting results from previous overshadowing experiments, are explained in terms of associative models that incorporate an attention variant.
Detailed structural and biochemical characterization of the nexin-dynein regulatory complex
Authors: Oda Toshiyuki , Yanagisawa Haruaki , Kikkawa Masahide
Published: November 2014

The nexin-dynein regulatory complex (N-DRC) forms a cross-bridge between the outer doublet microtubules of the axoneme and regulates dynein motor activity in cilia/flagella. Although the molecular composition and the three-dimensional structure of N-DRC have been studied using mutant strains lacking N-DRC subunits, more accurate approaches are necessary to characterize the structure and function of N-DRC. In this study, we precisely localized DRC1, DRC2, and DRC4 using cryo–electron tomography and structural labeling. All three N-DRC subunits had elongated conformations and spanned the length of N-DRC. Furthermore, we purified N-DRC and characterized its microtubule-binding properties. Purified N-DRC bound to the microtubule and partially inhibited microtubule sliding driven by the outer dynein arms (ODAs). Of interest, microtubule sliding was observed even in the presence of fourfold molar excess of N-DRC relative to ODA. These results provide insights into the role of N-DRC in generating the beating motions of cilia/flagella.
Towards a Better Global Economy
Authors: Allen Franklin , Behrman Jere R. , Birdsall Nancy , Fardoust Shahrokh , Rodrik Dani , Steer Andrew , Subramanian Arvind
Published: November 2014

Substantial progress in the fight against extreme poverty was made in the past two decades. But the slowdown in global economic growth and significant increases in income inequality in many developed and developing countries raise serious concerns about the continuation of this trend into the twenty-first century. The time has come to think seriously about how improvements in official global governance, coupled with and reenforced by rising activism of “global citizens,” can lead to welfare-enhancing and more equitable results for global citizens through better national and international policies. This book examines the factors that are most likely to facilitate the process of beneficial economic growth in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. It shows that the legacies of the 2008-9 crisis-high unemployment, massive excess capacity, and high levels of debt-are likely to reduce the standard of living of millions of people in many countries over a long period of adjustment and that fluctuations in international trade, financial markets, and commodity prices, as well as the tendency of institutions at both the national and international level to favor the interests of the better-off and more powerful, pose substantial risks for citizens of all countries. The chapters on the future of economic, human capital and population, international trade, international finance, natural resources and climate change, and global economic governance and their policy implications are intended to stimulate public interest and facilitate the exchange of ideas and policy dialogue.
Resource Depletion, Climate Change, and Economic Growth
Authors: Steer Andrew
Published: November 2014

Current patterns of energy and natural resource use, agricultural practices, and urbanization seem largely unsustainable and require urgent remediation. Unchecked, these patterns will lead to dangerous climate change and reduced economic growth. Current economic models fail to incorporate the effects of high carbon growth on climate change and environmental degradation. A new generation of economic models is needed. Models of how economies adjust to tighter environmental policies need to incorporate new evidence that actions such as increasing energy and resource efficiency can lead to larger win-win gains than were earlier thought possible; that smart policies combining carbon pricing and directed investment in research can lead to increased investment, growth, and competitiveness; and that investment can be raised by providing long-term policy confidence about the price of carbon and associated risks of stranded assets. A variety of policies will be important in putting economic processes on a more sustainable footing.
Edges of primary predication
Authors: Ko Heejeong
Published: November 2014

Chapter 2 investigates the consequences of Cyclic Linearization for scrambling and quantifier stranding. I start the discussion by introducing a long-standing puzzle concerning a subject–object asymmetry in licensing floating numeral quantifiers in Korean and Japanese. The chapter shows that previous accounts that rely on a mutual c-command condition or a ban on subject scrambling do not solve the puzzle properly. The chapter argues that the conspiracy of Cyclic Linearization and constraints on domain-internal movement explains the puzzle. This argument is further supported by a variety of other asymmetries between subject scrambling and object scrambling. It then extends the claim to asymmetries in sub-extraction in Russian. Important challenges against the Phase Impenetrability Condition are also discussed. Concluding, it shows that a general order-preservation effect that holds for syntactic edges, called the Edge Generalization, explains seemingly heterogeneous puzzles concerning sub-extraction.
Edges of complement predication
Authors: Ko Heejeong
Published: November 2014

Chapter 4 examines the consequences of Cyclic Linearization for (re)orderings in complement predicational domains such as small clauses, infinitival clauses, and sentential predication. In particular, it discusses the distribution of objects interpreted as the subject of an embedded predication. When an object is externally merged as the subject of a complement, strong order-preservation effects are observed for the object. In contrast, when an object is merged as a direct object or proleptic object of the main verb, order-preservation effects are lifted. The chapter proposes that the ordering restrictions within complement domains can be best captured by assuming that predication structures, as a whole, undergo Cyclic Linearization. It shows that this proposal captures seemingly complex interactions among null subjects, predicate fronting, quantifier floating, and object movement within and out of complement domains. Implications of anti-locality for predicate fronting are also discussed in this chapter.
Beccaria’s On Crimes and Punishments
Authors: Harcourt Bernard E
Published: November 2014

Beccaria’s treatise On Crimes and Punishments (1764) has become a placeholder for the classical school of thought in criminology, for deterrence-based public policy, for death penalty abolitionism, and for liberal ideals of legality and the rule of law. A source of inspiration for Bentham and Blackstone, an object of praise for Voltaire and the Philosophes, a target of pointed critiques by Kant and Hegel, the subject of a genealogy by Foucault, the object of derision by the Physiocrats, rehabilitated and appropriated by the Chicago School of law and economics—these ricochets and reflections on Beccaria’s treatise reveal multiple dimensions of Beccaria’s work and provide an outline of a history of the foundations of modern criminal law. In becoming a classic text that has been so widely and varyingly cited, though perhaps little read today, “On Crimes and Punishments” may be used as a mirror on the key projects over the past two centuries and a half in the domain of penal law and punishment theory—and this chapter hopes to contribute, in a small way, to such an endeavor. In the end, we may learn as much about those who have appropriated and used Beccaria than we would about Beccaria himself—perhaps more.
The History of Low German Negation
Authors: Breitbarth Anne
Published: November 2014

While the development of negation has in recent years gained an increased interest in linguistic research, as witnessed by a large number of new publications, this development has not yet been thoroughly and diachronically studied for historical Low German, as the historical syntax of Low German more generally is only recently coming out of the shadows. The book investigates quantitatively two empirical domains. First, the development of the expression of standard negation, or Jespersen’s Cycle, and second the changing interaction between the expression of negation and indefinites in its scope, giving rise to different types of negative concord along the way. The entire period of attestation from Old Saxon (Old Low German) to the point when Middle Low German is replaced by High German as the written language, after the completion of Jespersen’s Cycle, is taken into consideration. It is shown that the developments in Low German form a missing link between those in High German, English, and Dutch, which are much better researched. The developments are analysed using a generative account of syntactic change combined with minimalist assumptions concerning the syntax of negation and negative concord.
Theoretical background
Authors: Breitbarth Anne
Published: November 2014

This chapter summarizes the assumptions regarding syntactic change in general and change in the expression of negation in particular, and discusses different approaches to the syntax of negation and negative concord. It is argued that a NegP-free account is more elegant and empirically adequate than the traditional NegP-based accounts. It is argued that negative markers are phrases with internal structure such as argued for pronouns (Cardinaletti and Starke 1999) and modal particles (Grosz 2007). The position in the clause of different types of negators is determined by their licensing requirements depending on the amount of structure they lack, not because of a fixed negative projection. Diachronically, 'weaker' forms are derived from 'stronger' forms by two third-factor principles—Minimize Structure and Feature Economy—given triggers provided through other changes (‘inertia’, Keenan 1994, Longobardi 2001). For negative concord, a Pairwise Agree account with maximal matching (Haegeman and Lohndal 2010) is adopted.
The development of negation in Low German
Authors: Breitbarth Anne
Published: November 2014

In this chapter, the development of the expression of standard sentential negation and of the expression of indefinite quantification in the scope of negation in the history of Low German is analysed using the account outlined in chapter 4. The clitic negation particle present at the start of attestation undergoes a lexical split when a new negative marker enters the language: it eventually loses its negation feature in negative clauses once the new marker becomes an unemphatic negator, but becomes a high C-related marker without sentential scope in exceptive clauses. As the new negator only partially matching the features of the n-marked indefinites in Middle Low German, the availability of negative spread, but absence of negative doubling is accounted for. It is shown how formal and functional external motivations restrict the application of the third factor principles, giving rise to the particular time structure of the Low German changes.
Use of an Empirical Model to Estimate Leaf Wetness Duration for Operation of a Disease Warning System Under a Shade in a Ginseng Field
Authors: Lee Kyu Jong , Kang Je Yong , Lee Dong Yun , Jang Soo Won , Lee Semi , Lee Byun-Woo , Kim Kwang Soo
Published: November 2014

Ginseng foliar diseases are typically controlled by spray application using periodic schedules. Few disease warning systems have been used for effective control of ginseng foliar diseases because ginseng is grown under shade nettings, which makes it difficult to obtain weather data for operation of the disease warning system. Using weather data measured outside the shade as inputs to an empirical leaf wetness duration (LWD) model, LWD was estimated to examine if operation of a disease warning system would be feasible for control of ginseng foliar diseases. An empirical model based on a fuzzy logic system (fuzzy model) was used to estimate LWD at two commercial ginseng fields located in Gochang-gun and Jeongeup-si, Korea, in 2011 and 2012. Accuracy of LWD estimates was assessed in terms of mean error (ME) and mean absolute error (MAE). The fuzzy model tended to overestimate LWD during dew eligible days whereas it tended to underestimate LWD during rainfall eligible days. Still, daily disease risk ratings of the TOM-CAST disease warning system, which are derived from estimates of wetness duration and temperature, had a tendency to coincide with that derived from measurements of weather variables. As a result, spray advisory dates for the TOM-CAST disease warning system were predicted within ±3 days for about 78% of time windows during which the action threshold for spray application was reached. This result suggested that estimates of LWD using an empirical model would be helpful in control of a foliar disease in a ginseng field. It was also found that a spray application time model using meteorological observations may prove successful without the requirement of leaf wetness sensors within the field. Development of empirical correction schemes to the fuzzy model and a physical model for LWD estimation in a ginseng field could improve accuracy of LWD estimates and, as a result, spray advisory date prediction, which merits further studies.
Comparison of Clinical Outcomes After Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion Versus Cervical Total Disk Replacement in Patients With Modic-2 Changes on MRI
Authors: Li Jia , Zhang Di , Ding Wenyuan , Zhang Yingze , Shen Yong
Published: November 2014

Study Design:

A retrospective investigation.

Objective:

The aim of this research is to compare the clinical and radiologic outcomes of patients with Modic-2 changes who underwent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) or cervical total disk replacement (TDR) in single level.

Summary of Background Data:

There were few studies focused on the clinical and radiologic outcomes of patients with Modic-2 changes who underwent ACDF or cervical TDR in single level.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 76 patients with Modic-2 changes who underwent TDR or ACDF with complete follow-up data were analyzed retrospectively. Patients with chronic axial symptoms resulting from single-level cervical spine disease manifested as radiculopathy or myelopathy following 6 months of invalid conservative treatment. Clinical evaluations were performed preoperatively and repeated at 5 years after operation.

Results:

In this study, a total of 72 patients (94.7%) with a minimum of 5 years of follow-up data were available for analysis. There were 35 (18 men and 17 women) in the TDR group and 37 (20 men and 17 women) in the ACDF group. There was no difference in preoperative Japanese Orthopedic Association, Neck Disability Index, range of motion (ROM), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), on arm pain and neck pain between the 2 groups (P=0.663), but the TDR group showed significant differences in VAS for neck pain and ROM compared with that of the ACDF group at the last follow-up (P<0.05). Both groups reported significant improvements in Japanese Orthopedic Association, Neck Disability Index, ROM, and VAS, on arm pain and neck pain from the preoperative means (P<0.05).

Conclusions:

Patients with Modic-2 changes in TDR group received a large discectomy and leading to the removal of the majority of the inflammatory disk tissue. TDR is a significantly better maintenance of index-level ROM than ACDF. The mid-term outcomes demonstrated that the both TDR and ACDF groups maintain favorable clinical results on patients with Modic-2 changes, who received TDR have significantly better maintenance of ROM than ACDF.
Strong selective sweeps on the X chromosome in the human-chimpanzee ancestor explain its low divergence
Authors: Dutheil Julien Y , Munch Kasper , Nam Kiwoong , Mailund Thomas , Schierup Mikkel
Published: November 2014

The human and chimpanzee X chromosomes are less divergent than expected based on autosomal divergence. This has led to a controversial hypothesis proposing a unique role of the X chromosome in human-chimpanzee speciation. We study incomplete lineage sorting patterns between humans, chimpanzees and gorillas to show that this low divergence is entirely due to megabase-sized regions comprising one-third of the X chromosome, where polymorphism in the human-chimpanzee ancestral species was severely reduced. Background selection can explain 10% of this reduction at most. Instead, we show that several strong selective sweeps in the ancestral species can explain this reduction of diversity in the ancestor. We also report evidence of population specific sweeps in extant humans that overlap the regions of low diversity in the ancestral species. These regions further correspond to chromosomal sections shown to be devoid of Neanderthal introgression into modern humans. This suggests that the same X-linked regions that undergo selective sweeps are among the first to form reproductive barriers between diverging species. We hypothesize that meiotic drive is the underlying mechanism causing these two observations.
FusionCatcher– a tool for finding somatic fusion genes in paired-end RNA-sequencing data
Authors: Nicorici Daniel , Şatalan Mihaela , Edgren Henrik , Kangaspeska Sara , Murumägi Astrid , Kallioniemi Olli , Virtanen Sami , Kilkku Olavi
Published: November 2014

FusionCatcheris a software tool for finding somatic fusion genes in paired-end RNA-sequencing data from human or other vertebrates.FusionCatcherachieves competitive detection rates and real-time PCR validation rates in RNA-sequencing data from tumor cells. Fusion-Catcher is available athttp://code.google.com/p/fusioncatcher/.
A novel computational approach for genome-wide prediction of small RNAs in bacteria
Authors: Lei LI , Kwan Hoi Shan
Published: November 2014

Small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) are the most abundant post-transcriptional regulators in bacteria. They serve ubiquitous roles that control nearly every aspects of bacterial physiology. Identification of important features from sRNAs sequences will guide the computational prediction of new sRNA sequences for a better understanding of the pervasive sRNA-mediated regulation in bacteria. In this study, we have performed systematic analyses of many sequence and structural features that are possibly related to sRNA properties and identified a subset of significant features that effectively discriminate sRNAs sequences from random sequences. we then used a neural network model that integrated these subfeatures on unlabeled testing datasets, and it had achieved a 92.2% recall and 89.8% specificity. Finally, we applied this prediction model for genome-wide identification of sRNAs-encoded genes using a sliding-window approach. We recovered multiple known sRNAs and hundreds of predicted new sRNAs. These candidate novel sRNAs deserve extensive study to better understand the sRNA-mediated regulatory network in bacteria.
Non-citizens and maternal mortality in Botswana: a rights perspective
Authors: Dintle Mogobe Keitshokile , Ray Sunanda , Madzimbamuto Farai , Motana Mpho , Ramogola-Masire Doreen , Rankgoane Goabaone , Phillips Raina , Dereje Habte , Mokotedi Mosidi
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify organisational, technical and individual factors leading to maternal deaths in non-citizen women in Botswana.

Design/methodology/approach

– A sub-analysis was conducted comparing non-citizen women to citizens in a case record review of maternal deaths in 2010. Feedback on the results to health professionals was provided and their comments were noted.

Findings

– In total, 19.6 per cent of 56 case notes reviewed to establish contributory factors to maternal deaths were in non-citizens. This is lower than health professionals perceptions that most maternal deaths are in non-citizens. Non-citizens were significantly less likely to have been tested for HIV and less likely to have received antenatal care, so did not receive interventions to prevent transmission of HIV to their infants or anti-retroviral therapy. They were more likely than citizens to have miscarried or delivered before 28 weeks gestational age at death. Delays in seeking health care were a major contributory factor to death.

Research limitations/implications

– Incomplete record keeping and missing details, with 30 per cent of the notes of maternal deaths missing, a common problem with retrospective case-note studies.

Practical implications

– Botswana is unlikely to meet Millennium Development Goal five target to reduce the maternal mortality ratio by 75 per cent. To make progress non-citizens must be given the same rights to access maternal health services as citizens. Rationing healthcare for non-citizens is a false economy since treatment of subsequent obstetric emergencies in this group is expensive.

Originality/value

– Discrimination against non-citizen women in Botswana, by denying them free access to maternal health services, extends into loss of life because of delays in seeking healthcare especially for obstetric emergencies.
Level of satisfaction among postgraduate health sciences students on the cafeteria facilities in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur Campus
Authors: Kong Jian Pei , Mohd Jamil Sameeha
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The aim of this study was to determine the levels of satisfaction (food quality, service quality, ambience, price and portion) among postgraduate Health Sciences students on the cafeteria facilities in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Kuala Lumpur Campus. In Malaysia, the total number of postgraduate in higher institution increase from 75,199 in 2007 to 85,236 in 2010, an increment of 12 per cent. The increasing numbers of higher education postgraduates on university campuses has unquestionably raised the expansion of demand for food service availability and quality on campus.

Design/methodology/approach

– A self-reported questionnaire was to 86 subjects at Faculty of Health Sciences, UKM, from September to November in 2012.

Findings

– The findings showed that ambience and service attributes turned out to be the most dissatisfied attributes. Malay and non-Malay post-graduate Health Science students showed no significant difference on the satisfaction toward the four attributes. Respondents believed that increasing menu variation and introducing franchise outlet were the two supplementary factors that may increase satisfaction level.

Research limitations/implications

– The major drawback of this study is the inability to generalize findings to the students’ satisfaction toward UKM KL food service because data of the current study were only assessing postgraduate students.

Originality/value

– The points developed from this study clearly indicate the level of satisfaction among postgraduate Health Science student against food service system in one of the famous research university in Malaysia, UKM.
Enhancing service innovation in a business-to-business context
Authors: Nuutinen Maaria , Ojasalo Katri
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this article is to develop a theoretically and empirically grounded interdisciplinary framework for understanding service innovation in a business-to-business (b-to-b) context, particularly from the perspective of the small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME).

Design/methodology/approach

– This study used an abductive research process, supported by theoretical insights from a literature review, and empirical evidence from a multiple-case study. Six SME case companies were all transforming towards service logic. The empirical data consists of semi-structured interviews with the case companies and their business customers, workshops and business documents.

Findings

– The study identified four critical service logic-related perspectives in service innovation in a b-to-b context, and related key questions: How is potential for new service business recognised? How is freedom of action perceived? What kinds of strategies are plausible? What are the reasons, objectives and support for the change? The shared interpretation of these questions within an organisation seemed to be related to the company’s success in doing business in new ways, enhancing service innovations and in their transformation to service logic.

Originality/value

– This article offers a new interdisciplinary and empirically grounded perspective on innovation in the b-to-b and SME context framing the phenomenon in service logic. Tackling the questions is a precondition for SMEs in enhancing service orientation in strategy, mutual value orientation in organisational culture, their role in others’ business and collaborative business development, thus enhancing service innovations producing reciprocal value-in-use over time.
Work integrated learning for employee health in schools
Authors: Lagrosen Stefan , Lagrosen Yvonne
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine relationships between quality management health dimensions, employee health, flow and work integrated learning in primary schools. Previous research has indicated relationships between quality management and health. In this study, the role that work integrated learning plays in the connection between quality and health is investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study object has been a number of schools. A quantitative survey has been carried out. A random sample of 20 primary schools, of which 13 (65 per cent) agreed to participate, was selected. Questionnaires to their 301 employees were delivered and 229 (76 per cent) were returned. The reliability of the items were analysed with Cronbach’s alpha test. The statistical relationships between the items were studied with Pearson’s correlation test.

Findings

– The results show that the items are reliable. Moreover, statistical correlations between work integrated learning on the one hand and employee health, quality management health dimensions and flow on the other hand are found.

Research limitations/implications

– One limitation is that the research has only been carried out in schools and the possibilities of generalising the findings to other sectors are uncertain. Research implications are the relationships that have been identified between work integrated learning and the other factors.

Practical implications

– The knowledge that has resulted from the study should be useful for organisations in their attempts to improve the health status of the employees.

Originality/value

– The relationship between work integrated learning and employee health has not been studied in any other major study.
The impact of visual and child-oriented packaging elements versus information on children’s purchase influence across various age groups
Authors: Hota Monali , Charry Karine
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of recalling visual and child-oriented product packaging elements vs informational content on children’s influence on household purchases.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study was conducted using quantitative research among 100 French consumers of breakfast cereals aged six to 11.

Findings

– The paper challenges previous findings. First, the recall of the various types of packaging elements was equivalent across age groups. Second, the impact of visual and child-oriented element recall on purchase influences was high, especially for younger children, but not superior to the impact of recalling informational packaging elements. Third, adding information and other elements to visuals reduced young children’s intentions to influence purchases, suggesting that the overload – not the nature – of elements has a negative impact. Fourth, packaging recall seemed weakly related to purchase influence – at least for well-known brands.

Research limitations/implications

– Further research on larger samples will allow to encompass potential moderators such as brand context, consumer context and packaging stimulus. Research should also compare the positive (reassuring) influence of adding informational elements on mothers to the negative one it has on children’s influence.

Practical implications

– These findings can be used to wisely plan retailers’ packaging strategy. But all in all, retail packaging represents only one of the many factors which impact upon children’s diet and food consumptions and should be reassessed in the face other influences.

Originality/value

– The findings challenge and expand one’s knowledge on the relationship between children and the relative influence of child-oriented elements and information, across age groups.
Co-operation in the supermarket aisle: young children’s accounts of family food shopping
Authors: Marshall David
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– Children are increasingly seen as active consumers participating in various aspects of family food consumption. The purpose of this paper is to look at children’s first-hand accounts of their visits to the supermarket and reports on their in store experiences as participants in the family food shopping. It offers an account of family food shopping from the perspective of the children.

Design/methodology/approach

– Qualitative discussion groups with children aged eight to 11 years research were used to elicit children’s perceptions of food shopping as part of a study into food consumption experiences. This offers an opportunity to capture the children’s perspective on this everyday consumption activity.

Findings

– Engaging in family food shopping is part of a socialisation process that introduces children to food retail environments and to shopping scripts played out in store. Young children claim to actively participate in family food shopping in store contributing in a variety of ways to family food purchases that includes making requests in store, negotiating over product choices and assisting with the food shopping. The strategies employed by the children include restricting requests to specific product categories (usually for sweets, or cereals or products for their school lunchbox); selecting products on behalf of other family members; dissuading parents for buying certain food items and helping out in store. Most of the first-hand accounts reflect a positive experience with children contributing to the food decisions that relate directly to their interests. The research finds relatively little conflict and more co-operation between children and their parents in an attempt to influence what goes into the shopping trolley.

Research limitations/implications

– This is a small exploratory study with a geographically constrained sample. The children’s accounts cannot be verified but are presented as a way of looking at how children themselves relate to the family food shopping experience. Future research might extend the geographical scope of this investigation and consider soliciting parental views to validate the children’s accounts.

Practical implications

– This work provides further evidence of the ways in which children are actively included as part of family food decisions in a supermarket context. Children’s in store contributions to family food can inform retailers and companies as well as policy makers.

Originality/value

– This offers a unique insight into how children view shopping with the family and relates more broadly to the discussion around children’s consumption and their role as active consumers.
Children entertainment in retail stores
Authors: Deli-Gray Zsuzsa , Matura Tamás , Árva Lászlo
Published: November 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical background of the involvement and the entertainment of children of four to seven years of age in the purchase process at Hungarian retail stores. It also examines the practice of local and foreign retailers in Hungary.

Design/methodology/approach

– A review of literature is followed by the description of an exploratory study as well as its findings. The study contained two distinct phases: first 160 retail stores which were selling goods to children (exclusively or together with products for adults) were randomly selected and observed, and then 120 face-to-face or mini group interviews were made with Hungarian children.

Findings

– At the moment retail store managers in Hungary do not recognise that children can, and often do affect the length of time their parents spend in retail stores and that children also exert influence on their parents’ purchase decisions and behaviour. Retail store managers rarely provide any entertainment for children and involve them in the shopping experience and even when they do, they fail to do it in the right way. Also, store personnel do not have the right mentality towards children. The study also reveals that children do not wish to have sophisticated or expensive games during the purchase process, but instead would like to be actively involved in the shopping experience by completing little “missions” or “challenges”.

Research limitations/implications

– On the basis of the research results it becomes clear that creatively designed involvement and entertainment of children in retail stores would encourage families to spend more time spent in retail stores and may serve to increased sales. It would however presume collaboration between retail stores and the producers of toys and creative accessories.

Originality/value

– The paper aims to address the rarely and sporadically analysed question of how retail managers should entertain and involve young children in the process of shopping. The exploratory study sheds light on the big gap between what is offered by the retail management and what is expected by the young children during shopping in Hungary. It also points to the apparent lack of attention and awareness amongst retailers concerning the influence that children have on parents during the shopping process.