bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Calves, as a model for juvenile horses, need only one sprint per week to experience increased bone strength
Authors: Logan Alyssa A , Nielsen Brian D , Robison Cara I , Manfredi Jane M , Buskirk Daniel D , Schott Harold C , Hiney Kristina M
Published: June 2019

Previous research has determined that maintaining young animals in stalls is detrimental to their bone health, while the addition of 50 to 82-m sprints 5 d/week aids in counteracting the reduction of bone strength from confinement. The current research aims to determine if 1 or 3 d/week of sprinting affords the same benefits to bone as 5 d/week of sprinting compared to animals confined with no sprinting. Twenty-four Holstein bull calves were obtained from the Michigan State University Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center. At 9 wk of age, calves were randomly assigned to treatments of 1, 3, or 5 d/week of sprint exercise, or to the confined control group sprinted 0 d/week. Each treatment had 6 calves. Individual sprinting bouts included a single sprint down a 71-m concrete aisle. For the duration of the 6-wk study, calves were housed at the MSU Beef Cattle Teaching and Research Center in stalls which afforded calves room to stand, lay down, and turn around. Serum was collected weekly via jugular venipuncture to obtain concentrations of osteocalcin (OC) and C-telopeptide crosslaps of type I collagen (CTX-1)—markers of bone formation and degradation, respectively. Sprints were videotaped weekly to determine stride frequency and sprint velocity. On day 42, calves were humanely euthanized at the Michigan State University Meat Lab and both front limbs were immediately harvested. Computed tomography scans and mechanical testing were performed on the left fused third and fourth metacarpal bones. Serum OC concentration was greatest for calves sprinted 5 d/week (P < 0.001). Calves sprinted 5 d/week had both greater stride frequency (P < 0.05) and lower sprint velocity (P < 0.05). All exercise treatments experienced greater dorsal cortical widths compared to control animals (P < 0.01). Through mechanical testing, fracture forces of all sprinting treatments were determined to be greater than the control treatment (P < 0.02). Results from this study support that sprinting 1, 3, or 5 d/week during growth can increase bone health and cause favorable alterations in bone markers. While all exercise treatments had over a 20% increase to fracture force, calves sprinted 1 d/week sprinted only 426 m over the 6-wk study and still experienced over a 20% increase in bone strength compared to confined calves. This study demonstrates the remarkably few strides at speed needed to enhance bone strength and emphasizes the danger to skeletal strength if sprinting opportunities are not afforded.
Perceived Value of a Knowledge Translation Intervention Designed to Facilitate Burn Survivors’ Work Reintegration
Authors: Lamble Melissa , Seto Vanessa , Ye Zi , Couture Charlotte , de Oliveira Ana , Calva Valerie , Couture Marie-Andrée , Poulin Chantal , LaSalle Léo , Nedelec Bernadette
Published: June 2019

Returning to work can be challenging for burn survivors. Approximately 28% never return to any form of employment, resulting in lower health-related quality of life. Open communication has been identified as a facilitator for return to work (RTW). To ease the RTW process and promote communication with coworkers and employers a knowledge translation (KT) intervention was developed for burn survivors. Following its implementation, the impact on the RTW process was evaluated. This study was a cross-sectional, mixed methods study where burn survivors included in the KT intervention were compared with a control group. Control group participants were selectively invited so that the two groups’ mean age, sex, and percent total body surface area burned were similar. Semistructured interviews gathered information about their RTW process and outcomes. Qualitative data were analyzed through thematic analysis and quantitative data were summarized and compared using Mann–Whitney tests. Overall, both groups were satisfied with their RTW process. Participants from the control group identified more barriers related to support received, particularly at work, and reported more psychological symptoms such as posttraumatic stress disorder, self-consciousness, and discomfort with questions. Many participants from the KT group indicated the KT intervention gave them tools and information to provide others with a better understanding of their lived experience. It is possible that the KT intervention facilitated more open communication by empowering burn survivors to explain their situation on their own, thus reducing the prevalence of social and psychological barriers by allowing them to self-advocate for more support.
Determinism, Counterpredictive Devices, and the Impossibility of Laplacean Intelligences
Authors: Ismael Jenann
Published: June 2019

In a famous passage drawing implications from determinism, Laplace introduced the image an intelligence who knew the positions and momenta of all of the particles of which the universe is composed, and asserted that in a deterministic universe such an intelligence would be able to predict everything that happens over its entire history. It is not, however, difficult to establish the physical possibility of a counterpredictive device, i.e., a device designed to act counter to any revealed prediction of its behavior. What would happen if a Laplacean intelligence were put into communication with such a device and forced to reveal its prediction of what the device would do on some occasion? On the one hand, it seems that the Laplacean Intelligence should be able to predict the device's behavior. On the other hand, it seems like that device should be able to act counter to the prediction. An examination of the puzzle leads to clarification of what determinism does (and does not) entail, with some insights about various other things along the way.
A Case Series of Double Bypass Technique Used for the Treatment of Internal Carotid Blood Blister-like Aneurysms in Patients in Poor Initial Neurological Condition at the Early Stage of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Authors: Balik Vladimir , Takebayashi Seiji , Takizawa Katsumi
Published: June 2019

BACKGROUND

Optimal surgical treatment of blood-blister aneurysms (BBA) remains controversial. Some surgeons prefer clipping reconstruction while others favor primary bypass with trapping.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze of benefit of double bypass technique to surgical outcomes in patients with ruptured BBA in poor initial neurological condition (PINC).

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of clinical, radiological, and surgical data in 9 patients treated between January 2009 and December 2015. Intraoperative middle cerebral artery blood pressure (MCABP) measurement was used for selection of bypass procedure.

RESULTS

Seven patients presented with World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) score 4 or 5. No pulse pressure in the MCA after internal carotid artery (ICA) clamping was found in 3 patients, although their ACoA or PCoA were well visualized on preoperative angiograms. By contrast, only a minimal drop in MCABP following ICA clamping was detected in two cases, although their collaterals were slim/nonvisualized on imaging. Although angiographic vasospasms were not observed in our patients, two of them experienced cerebral infarction, attributable more to the mass effect and postoperative ICA thrombosis than to SAH-induced vasospasm. There were 2 premature intraoperative ruptures, but no perioperative mortality, aneurysm recurrence, or rebleeding. Five patients with WFNS SAH score 4 or 5 achieved favorable outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Early double bypass technique guided by MCABP measurement and combined with trapping (or rarely clipping) seems to be a safe method with excellent long-term outcomes in patients in PINC. This study may thus contribute to the debate on the optimal treatment strategy for BBA.
Surgical Treatment of Flat Back Syndrome With Anterior Hyperlordotic Cages
Authors: Janjua M Burhan , Ozturk Ali K , Ackshota Nissim , McShane Brendan J , Saifi Comron , Welch William C , Arlet Vincent
Published: June 2019

BACKGROUND

Traditional correction for flat back syndrome is performed with a posterior-based surgery or combined approaches in revision cases.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate outcome from anterior surgery with the use of hyperlordotic cages (HLCs) in patients with flat back syndrome.

METHODS

All patients operated with or without prior posterior lumbar surgery were studied. Pre- to postoperative sagittal alignment was analyzed. Radiographic parameters were analyzed including T1 pelvic angle (T1PA), sagittal vertical axis (SVA), pelvic tilt (PT), pelvic incidence (PI), lumbar lordosis (LL), sacral slope (SS), pelvic incidence and lumbar lordosis (PI-LL), and T4-12TK.

RESULTS

All 50 patients (mean age of 58 yr, 72% female with mean body mass index of 28) demonstrated significant radiographic alignment difference in their spinopelvic and global parameters from pre- to postoperative standing: LL (–37.04° vs –59.55°, P < .001), SS (35.12 vs 41.13, P < .001), PI-LL (23.55 vs 6.46), T4-12 TK (30.59 vs 41.67), PT (28.22 vs 22.13), SVA in mm (80.94 vs 37.39), and T1PA (28.70° vs 18.43°, P < .001). Using linear regression analysis, predicted pre- to postoperative change in standing LL corresponded to a pre- to postoperative changes in standing PI-LL mismatch, T1PA, TK, SS, PT, and SVA (R2 = 0.59, 0.38, 0.25, 0.16, 0.12, and 0.17, respectively). Five degrees of pre- to postoperative change in T1PA translates to –4.15° change in LL.

CONCLUSION

Anterior surgery with HLCs followed by posterior instrumentation is an effective technique to treat flat back syndrome. HLCs are effective to maximize LL up to 30°, which is equivalent in magnitude to a pedicle subtraction osteotomy, but associated with less blood loss, quicker recovery, lower complications, and good surgical outcome.
High-Resolution O-Arm Data Reconstruction for Optimized Intraoperative Imaging of Deep Brain Stimulation Leads: A Preclinical Study
Authors: Hunsche Stefan , Maarouf Mohammad , Neudorfer Clemens
Published: June 2019

BACKGROUND

The employment of the O-arm for intraoperative localization of deep brain stimulation (DBS) leads has been shown to be feasible and effective. However, partial volume artifacts impede the determination of individual electrode contacts and thus allow only an indirect approximation of each contact's localization.

OBJECTIVE

To reduce the partial volume artifacts by means of high-resolution (HiRes) reconstruction of O-arm data and thus allow more accurate predictions with regard to the positioning and orientation of individual DBS contacts.

METHODS

Following intraoperative flat-panel computed tomography, the O-arm raw data were reconstructed with a resolution of 0.2 mm × 0.2 mm × 0.2 mm. The geometric integrity of HiRes reconstructions was assessed via landmark transformation. Using a phantom, resolutions of both reconstruction modalities were then evaluated by means of the modulation transfer function (MTF). Finally, directional and nondirectional leads were compared visually to analyze the delineation of individual electrode contacts.

RESULTS

With a mean accuracy of 0.56 mm ± 0.12 mm, geometric integrity remained intact during HiRes reconstruction. Analysis of HiRes reconstruction resolution yielded a 47.7% increase of the 10% MTF in comparison to conventional postprocessing. Reduction of partial volume artifacts yielded strong contrasts of electrode compartments and allowed direct identification of individual contacts as well as localization of the X-ray marker on directional leads.

CONCLUSION

HiRes reconstruction of O-arm data allows an effective reduction of partial volume artifacts to such an extent that a delineation of individual contacts across single DBS leads is possible without requiring increases in radiation dose.
Addressing tobacco smoking and drinking to improve TB treatment outcomes, in South Africa: a feasibility study of the ProLife program
Authors: Louwagie Goedele M , Morojele Neo , Siddiqi Kamran , Mdege Noreen D , Tumbo John , Omole Olu , Pitso Lerato , Bachmann Max O , Ayo-Yusuf Olalekan A
Published: June 2019

Alcohol and tobacco use may lead to negative treatment outcomes in tuberculosis (TB) patients, and even more so if they are HIV-infected. We developed and tested the feasibility of a complex behavioral intervention (ProLife) delivered by lay health workers (LHWs) to improve treatment outcomes in TB patients who smoke tobacco and/or drink alcohol, at nine clinics in South Africa. The intervention comprised three brief motivational interviewing (MI) sessions augmented with a short message service (SMS) program, targeting as appropriate: tobacco smoking, harmful or hazardous drinking and medication adherence. Patients received SMSs twice a week. We measured recruitment and retention rates and assessed fidelity to the MI technique (MI Treatment Integrity 4.1 tool). Finally, we explored LHWs’ and patients’ experiences through interviews and semi-structured questionnaires, respectively. We screened 137 TB patients and identified 14 smokers, 13 alcohol drinkers, and 18 patients with both behaviors. Participants’ mean age was 39.8 years, and 82.2% were men. The fidelity assessments pointed to the LHWs’ successful application of key MI skills, but failure to reach MI competency thresholds. Nevertheless, most patients rated the MI sessions as helpful, ascribed positive attributes to their counselors, and reported behavioral changes. SMSs were perceived as reinforcing but difficult language and technical delivery problems were identified as problems. The LHWs’ interview responses suggested that they (a) grasped the basic MI spirit but failed to understand specific MI techniques due to insufficient training practice; (b) perceived ProLife as having benefitted the patients (as well as themselves); (c) viewed the SMSs favorably; but (d) considered limited space and privacy at the clinics as key challenges. The ProLife program targeting multiple risk behaviors in TB patients is acceptable but LHW training protocol, and changes in wording and delivery of SMS are necessary to improve the intervention.

Trial registration: ISRCTN14213432
Betatron radiation and emittance growth in plasma wakefield accelerators
Authors: San Miguel Claveria P. , Adli E. , Amorim L. D. , An W. , Clayton C. E. , Corde S. , Gessner S. , Hogan M. J. , Joshi C. , Kononenko O. , Litos M. , Lu W. , Marsh K. A. , Mori W. B. , O'Shea B. , Raj G. , Storey D. , Vafaei-Najafabadi N. , White G. , Xu Xinlu , Yakimenko V.
Published: June 2019

Beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) has demonstrated significant progress during the past two decades of research. The new Facility for Advanced Accelerator Experimental Tests (FACET) II, currently under construction, will provide 10 GeV electron beams with unprecedented parameters for the next generation of PWFA experiments. In the context of the FACET II facility, we present simulation results on expected betatron radiation and its potential application to diagnose emittance preservation and hosing instability in the upcoming PWFA experiments.

This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Directions in particle beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration’.
Advanced schemes for underdense plasma photocathode wakefield accelerators: pathways towards ultrahigh brightness electron beams
Authors: Manahan G. G. , Habib A. F. , Scherkl P. , Ullmann D. , Beaton A. , Sutherland A. , Kirwan G. , Delinikolas P. , Heinemann T. , Altuijri R. , Knetsch A. , Karger O. , Cook N. M. , Bruhwiler D. L. , Sheng Z.-M. , Rosenzweig J. B. , Hidding B.
Published: June 2019

The ‘Trojan Horse’ underdense plasma photocathode scheme applied to electron beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration has opened up a path which promises high controllability and tunability and to reach extremely good quality as regards emittance and five-dimensional beam brightness. This combination has the potential to improve the state-of-the-art in accelerator technology significantly. In this paper, we review the basic concepts of the Trojan Horse scheme and present advanced methods for tailoring both the injector laser pulses and the witness electron bunches and combine them with the Trojan Horse scheme. These new approaches will further enhance the beam qualities, such as transverse emittance and longitudinal energy spread, and may allow, for the first time, to produce ultrahigh six-dimensional brightness electron bunches, which is a necessary requirement for driving advanced radiation sources.

This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Directions in particle beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration’.
Proton-driven plasma wakefield acceleration in AWAKE
Authors: Gschwendtner E. , Turner M. , Adli E. , Ahuja A. , Apsimon O. , Apsimon R. , Bachmann A.-M. , Batsch F. , Bracco C. , Braunmüller F. , Burger S. , Burt G. , Buttenschön B. , Caldwell A. , Chappell J. , Chevallay E. , Chung M. , Cooke D. , Damerau H. , Deubner L. H. , Dexter A. , Doebert S. , Farmer J. , Fedosseev V. N. , Fiorito R. , Fonseca R. A. , Friebel F. , Garolfi L. , Gessner S. , Goddard B. , Gorgisyan I. , Gorn A. A. , Granados E. , Grulke O. , Hartin A. , Helm A. , Henderson J. R. , Hüther M. , Ibison M. , Jolly S. , Keeble F. , Kelisani M. D. , Kim S.-Y. , Kraus F. , Krupa M. , Lefevre T. , Li Y. , Liu S. , Lopes N. , Lotov K. V. , Martyanov M. , Mazzoni S. , Minakov V. A. , Molendijk J. C. , Moody J. T. , Moreira M. , Muggli P. , Panuganti H. , Pardons A. , Peña Asmus F. , Perera A. , Petrenko A. , Pukhov A. , Rey S. , Sherwood P. , Silva L. O. , Sosedkin A. P. , Tuev P. V. , Velotti F. , Verra L. , Verzilov V. A. , Vieira J. , Welsch C. P. , Wendt M. , Williamson B. , Wing M. , Woolley B. , Xia G. ,   The AWAKE Collaboration
Published: June 2019

In this article, we briefly summarize the experiments performed during the first run of the Advanced Wakefield Experiment, AWAKE, at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). The final goal of AWAKE Run 1 (2013–2018) was to demonstrate that 10–20 MeV electrons can be accelerated to GeV energies in a plasma wakefield driven by a highly relativistic self-modulated proton bunch. We describe the experiment, outline the measurement concept and present first results. Last, we outline our plans for the future.

This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Directions in particle beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration’.
Plasma wakefield linear colliders—opportunities and challenges
Authors: Adli Erik
Published: June 2019

A linear electron-positron collider operating at TeV-scale energies will provide high precision measurements and allow, for example, precision studies of the Higgs boson as well as searches for physics beyond the standard model. A future linear collider should produce collisions at high energy, with high luminosity and with a good wall plug to beam power transfer efficiency. The luminosity per power consumed is a key metric that can be used to compare linear collider concepts. The plasma wakefield accelerator has demonstrated high-gradient, high-efficiency acceleration of an electron beam and is therefore a promising technology for a future linear collider. We will go through the opportunities of using plasma wakefield acceleration technology for a collider, as well as a few of the collider-specific challenges that must be addressed in order for a high-energy, high luminosity-per-power plasma wakefield collider to become a reality.

This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Directions in particle beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration’.
Unbiased Assessment of H-STS cells as high-fidelity models for gastro-enteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor drug mechanism of action analysis
Authors: Alvarez Mariano J. , Yan Pengrong , Alpaugh Mary L. , Bowden Michaela , Sicinska Ewa , Zhou Chensheng W. , Karan Charles , Realubit Ronald B. , Mundi Prabhjot S. , Grunn Adina , Jäger Dirk , Chabot John A. , Fojo Antonio T. , Oberstein Paul E. , Hibshoosh Hanina , Milsom Jeffrey W. , Kulke Matthew H. , Loda Massimo , Chiosis Gabriela , Reidy-Lagunes Diane L. , Califano Andrea
Published: June 2019

Quantitative metrics to objectively assess the fidelity of cancer models, such as cell lines, organoids, or patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), remain elusive, with histological criteria or the presence of specific mutations often used as driving principles. We show that molecular criteria, based on the regulatory proteins responsible for maintaining transcriptional cell state and its regulatory network, are effective in identifying models that can recapitulate drug mechanism of action and drug sensitivity, independent of histological consideration.
Deciphering the transcriptomic insight during organogenesis in castor (Ricinus communisL.), jatropha (Jatropha curcasL.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuusL.)
Authors: Puvvala Sai Sudha , Muddanuru Tarakeswari , Thangella Padmavathi AV , O Kumar Aniel , Chakravartty Navajeet , Gupta Saurabh , Vettath Vineeth Kodengil , Katta Krishna Mohan Ananta Venkata Sri , Lekkala Sivarama Prasad , Kuriakose Boney , Sujatha Mulpuri , Lachagari Vijay Bhasker Reddy
Published: June 2019

Background

Castor is a non-edible oilseed crop with a multitude of pharmaceutical and industrial uses. Profitable cultivation of the crop is hindered by various factors and one of the approaches for genetic improvement of the crop belonging to a monotypic genus is to exploit biotechnological tools. The major limitation for successful exploitation of biotechnological tools is thein vitrorecalcitrance of castor tissues. Response of castor tissues toin vitroculture is poor which necessitated study on understanding the molecular basis of organogenesis in cultured tissues of castor, throughde novotranscriptome analysis, by comparing with two other crops (jatropha and sunflower) with good regeneration ability.

Results

RNA-seq analysis was carried out with hypocotyl explants from castor, jatropha and cotyledons from sunflower cultured on MS media supplemented with different concentrations of hormones. Genes that showed strong differential expression analysis during dedifferentiation and organogenic differentiation stages of callus included components of auxin and cytokinin signaling, secondary metabolite synthesis, genes encoding transcription factors, receptor kinases and protein kinases. In castor, many genes involved in auxin biosynthesis and homeostasis like WAT1 (Wall associated thinness), vacuolar transporter genes, transcription factors like short root like protein were down-regulated while genes like DELLA were upregulated accounting for regeneration recalcitrance. Validation of 62 differentially expressed genes through qRT-PCR showed a consensus of 77.4% with the RNA-Seq analysis.

Conclusion

This study provides information on the set of genes involved in the process of organogenesis in three oilseed crops which forms a basis for understanding and improving the efficiency of plant regeneration and genetic transformation in castor.
T cell priming is enhanced by maturation-dependent stiffening of the dendritic cell cortex
Authors: Blumenthal Daniel , Avery Lyndsay , Chandra Vidhi , Burkhardt Janis K.
Published: June 2019

T cell activation by dendritic cells (DCs) involves forces exerted by the T cell actin cytoskeleton, which are opposed by the cortical cytoskeleton of the interacting APC. During an immune response, DCs undergo a maturation process that optimizes their ability to efficiently prime naïve T cells. Using atomic force microscopy, we find that during maturation, DC cortical stiffness increases via process that involves actin polymerization. Using stimulatory hydrogels and DCs expressing mutant cytoskeletal proteins, we find that increasing stiffness lowers the agonist dose needed for T cell activation. CD4+T cells exhibit much more profound stiffness-dependency than CD8+T cells. Finally, stiffness responses are most robust when T cells are stimulated with pMHC rather than anti-CD3ε, consistent with a mechanosensing mechanism involving receptor deformation. Taken together, our data reveal that maturation-associated cytoskeletal changes alter the biophysical properties of DCs, providing mechanical cues that costimulate T cell activation.
Medial prefrontal cortex represents the object-based cognitive map when remembering an egocentric target location
Authors: Zhang Bo , Naya Yuji
Published: June 2019

A cognitive map, representing an environment around oneself, is necessary for spatial navigation. However, compared with its constituent elements such as individual landmarks, neural substrates of coherent spatial information remain largely unknown. The present study investigated how the brain codes map-like representations in a virtual environment specified by the relative positions of three objects. Representational similarity analysis revealed an object-based spatial representation in the hippocampus (HPC) when participants located themselves within the environment, while the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) represented it when they recollected a target object’s location relative to their self-body. During recollection, task-dependent functional connectivity increased between the two areas implying exchange of self- and target-location signals between the HPC and mPFC. Together, the coherent cognitive map, which could be formed by objects, may be recruited in the HPC and mPFC for complementary functions during navigation, which may generalize to other aspects of cognition, such as navigating social interactions.
Beach environmental DNA fills gaps in photographic biomonitoring to track spatiotemporal community turnover across 82 phyla
Authors: Meyer Rachel S. , Schweizer Teia M. , Kwan Wai-Yin , Curd Emily , Wall Adam , Pentcheff Dean , Wetzer Regina , Beraut Eric , Young Alison , Johnson Rebecca , Wayne Robert K.
Published: June 2019

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is emerging as a biomonitoring tool available to the citizen science community that promises to augment or replace photographic observation. However, eDNA results and photographic observations have rarely been compared to document their individual or combined power. Here, we use eDNA multilocus metabarcoding, a method deployed by the CALeDNA Program, to inventory and evaluate biodiversity variation along the Pillar Point headland near Half Moon Bay, California. We describe variation in presence of 13,000 taxa spanning 82 phyla, analyze spatiotemporal patterns of beta diversity, and identify metacommunities. Inventory and measures of turnover across space and time from eDNA analysis are compared to the same measures from Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data, which contain information largely contributed by iNaturalist photographic observations. We find eDNA depicts local signals with high seasonal turnover, especially in prokaryotes. We find a diverse community dense with pathogens and parasites in the embayment, and a State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) with lower species richness than the rest of the beach peninsula, but with beta diversity signals showing resemblance to adjacent unprotected tidepools. The SMCA differs in observation density, with higher density of protozoans, and animals in Ascidiacea, Echinoidea, and Polycladida. Local contributions to beta diversity are elevated in a section of East-facing beach. GBIF observations are mostly from outside the SMCA, limiting some spatial comparisons. However, our findings suggest eDNA samples can link the SMCA sites to sites with better GBIF inventory, which may be useful for imputing species from one site given observations from another. Results additionally support >3800 largely novel biological interactions. This research, and accompanying interactive website support eDNA as a gap-filling tool to measure biodiversity that is available to community and citizen scientists.
In vitro Reconstitution Unveils the Phospho-regulated Ska-Ndc80 Macro-complex
Authors: Zhang Qian , Hu Liqiao , Chen Yujue , Tian Wei , Liu Hong
Published: June 2019

The human Ska (spindle and kinetochore associated) complex is essential for proper kinetochore-microtubule interactions. Its loading onto the kinetochore complex Ndc80 (Ndc80C) plays a critical role in such function; however, the key determinant that docks Ska onto Ndc80C still remain elusive. Here, we address this question using biochemical reconstitution followed by functional analysis. We identified six Cdk1 sites in Ska3 distributed in three conserved regions. In vitro, Cdk1 phosphorylation on the Ska complex enhanced WT, not phospho-deficient 6A, binding to Ndc80C. Strikingly, the phospho-mimetic Ska 6D complex formed a stable macro-complex with Ndc80C, but Ska WT failed to do so, suggesting that Cdk1 phosphorylation is necessary and sufficient for the formation of the Ska-Ndc80 macro-complex. In cells, Ska3 6A completely lost its localization to kinetochores and its functions in chromosome segregation; whereas Ska3 6D partially restored them. Altogether, our findings not only for the first time reveal the key phospho-regulated Ska-Ndc80 macro-complex essential for faithful chromosome segregation, but also pave the way for mechanistic analyses of kinetochore-microtubule interactions.
Nonlinear Interaction Decomposition (NID): A Method for Separation of Cross-frequency Coupled Sources in Human Brain
Authors: Idaji Mina Jamshidi , Müller Klaus-Robert , Nolte Guido , Maess Burkhard , Villringer Arno , Nikulin Vadim V.
Published: June 2019

Cross-frequency coupling (CFC) is a phenomenon through which spatially and spectrally distributed information can be integrated in the brain. There is, however, a lack of methods decomposing brain electrophysiological data into interacting components. Here, we propose a novel framework for detecting such interactions in Magneto- and Electroencephalography (MEG/EEG), which we refer to as Nonlinear Interaction Decomposition (NID). In contrast to all previous methods for separation of cross-frequency (CF) sources in the brain, we propose that the extraction of nonlinearly interacting oscillations can be based on the statistical properties of their linear mixtures. The main idea of NID is that nonlinearly coupled brain oscillations can be mixed in such a way that the resulting linear mixture has a non-Gaussian distribution. We evaluate this argument analytically for amplitude-modulated narrow-band oscillations which are either phase-phase or amplitude-amplitude CF coupled. We validated NID extensively with simulated EEG obtained with realistic head modeling. The method extracted nonlinearly interacting components reliably even at SNRs as small as −15 (dB). Additionally, we applied NID to the resting-state EEG of 81 subjects to characterize CF phase-phase coupling between alpha and beta oscillations. The extracted sources were located in temporal, parietal and frontal areas, demonstrating the existence of diverse local and distant nonlinear interactions in resting-state EEG data.
Proteolytic queues at ClpXP increase antibiotic tolerance
Authors: Deter Heather S. , Abualrahi Alawiah H. , Jadhav Prajakta , Schweer Elise K. , Ogle Curtis T. , Butzin Nicholas C.
Published: June 2019

Antibiotic tolerance is a widespread phenomenon that renders antibiotic treatments less effective and facilitates antibiotic resistance. Here we explore the role of proteases in antibiotic tolerance, short-term population survival of antibiotics, using queueing theory (i.e. the study of waiting lines), computational models, and a synthetic biology approach. Proteases are key cellular components that degrade proteins and play an important role in a multi-drug tolerant subpopulation of cells, called persisters. We found that queueing at the protease ClpXP increases antibiotic tolerance ~80 and ~60 fold in anE. colipopulation treated with ampicillin and ciprofloxacin, respectively. There does not appear to be an effect on antibiotic persistence, which we distinguish from tolerance based on population decay. These results demonstrate that proteolytic queueing is a practical method to probe bacterial tolerance and related genes, while limiting the unintended consequences frequently caused by gene knockout and overexpression.
Development and testing of a novel Killer-Rescue self-limiting gene drive system inDrosophila melanogaster
Authors: Webster Sophia H. , Vella Michael R. , Scott Maxwell J.
Published: June 2019

We report the development and laboratory testing of a novel Killer-Rescue (K-R) self-limiting gene drive system inDrosophila melanogaster.This K-R system utilizes the well-characterized Gal4/UAS binary expression system and the Gal4 inhibitor, Gal80. Three killer (K) lines were tested; these used either an autoregulated UAS-Gal4 or UAS-Gal4 plus UAS-hid transgene. One universal rescue (R) line was used, UAS-Gal80, to inhibit Gal4 expression. The K lines are lethal and cause death in the absence of R. We show that Gal4 RNA levels are high in the absence of R. Death is possibly due to transcriptional squelching from high levels of Gal4. When R is present, Gal4 activation of Gal80 would lead to inhibition of Gal4 and prevent overexpression. With a single release ratio of 2:1 engineered K-R to wildtype, we find that K drives R through the population while the percent of wild type individuals decreases each generation. The choice of core promoter for a UAS-Gal4 construct strongly influences the K-R system. With the stronghsp70core promoter, K was very effective but was quickly lost from the population. With the weaker DSCP core promoter, K persisted for longer allowing the frequency of individuals with at least one copy of R to increase to over 98%. This simple gene drive system could be readily adapted to other species such as mosquito disease vectors for driving anti-viral or anti-parasite genes.

Significance

Here we report the development and testing of a novel self-limiting gene drive system, Killer-Rescue, inDrosophila melanogaster. This system is composed of an auto-regulated Gal4 Killer (K) and a Gal4-activated Gal80 Rescue (R). Overexpression of Gal4 is lethal but in the presence of R, activation of Gal80 leads to much lower levels of Gal4 and rescue of lethality. We demonstrate that with a single 2:1 engineered to wildtype release, more than 98% of the population carry R after eight generations. We discuss how this Killer-Rescue system may be used for population replacement in a human health pest,Aedes aegypti, or for population suppression in an agricultural pest,Drosophila suzukii.
Rationally inattentive intertemporal choice
Authors: Gershman Samuel J. , Bhui Rahul
Published: June 2019

Discounting of future rewards is traditionally interpreted as evidence for an intrinsic preference in favor of sooner rewards. However, temporal discounting can also arise from internal uncertainty in value representations of future events, if one assumes that noisy mental simulations of the future are rationally combined with prior beliefs. Here, we further develop this idea by considering how simulation noise may be adaptively modulated by task demands, based on principles of rational inattention. We show how the optimal allocation of mental effort can give rise to the magnitude effect in intertemporal choice. In a re-analysis of two prior data sets, and in a new experiment, we reveal several behavioral signatures of this novel theoretical account, tying choice stochasticity to the magnitude effect. We conclude that some aspects of temporal discounting may result from a cognitively plausible adaptive response to the costs of information processing.
Luminescence properties and optimized structural conformations of the S0, S1 and T1 states of a tetranuclear formamidinate complex based on AuI and AgI metal ions
Authors: Hsu Wayne
Published: June 2019

N,N′-Bis(pyridin-4-yl)formamidine (4-pyfH) was reacted with AuI and AgI metal salts to form a novel tetranuclear complex, tetrakis[μ-N,N′-bis(pyridin-4-yl)formamidinato]digold(I)disilver(I), [Ag2Au2(C11H9N4)2] or [Au
x
Ag4–x
(4-pyf)4] (x = 0–4), 1, which is supported by its metallophilicity. Due to the potential permutation of the coordinated metal ions, six different canonical structures of 1 can be obtained. Complex 1 shows an emission at 501 nm upon excitation at 375 nm in the solid state and an emission at 438 nm upon excitation at 304 nm when dispersed in methanol. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations confirmed that these emissions can be ascribed to metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) processes. Moreover, the calculations of the optimized structural conformations of the S0 ground state, and the S1 and T1 excited states are discussed and suggest a distorted planar conformation for the tetranuclear Au2Ag2 complex.
Progress: engaging with organisations in pursuit of improved sustainability accounting and performance
Authors: Adams Carol A. , Larrinaga Carlos
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the development of engagement research in pursuit of improved sustainability accounting and performance and to identify issues in the further development of this field. In particular, the authors consider the implications of this research for practice, policy and theory following the publication of a special issue on the topic in 2007 in the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed a systematic review of the relevant literature in selected accounting journals for the 11 year period 2007–2017 inclusive. The authors identified the methods, topics and theories addressed by researchers and the academic journals that are more likely to publish engagement research.

Findings

The authors found a significant increase in engagement work over the decade since publication of the special issue and a marked increase in the volume and complexity of data collected in studies. There is a marked difference in the openness of different journals to engagement research and the type of engagement research published across accounting journals. Contrary to the argument made by critics of engagement research the authors found that this field of research not only uses theory, but develops theory.

Research limitations/implications

Through the examination of methods and theories used and topics considered, the authors identify avenues for further research – and the journals likely to be receptive to it.

Practical implications

The study demonstrates that the collective body of engagement research aimed at improving sustainability accounting and performance has significant potential to inform practice and policy developments with the same aim.

Originality/value

The study examines an emerging approach in an emerging field of research with significant academic, practice and policy potential.
Assessing the effectiveness of financial regulation in the English Football League
Authors: Evans Richard , Walters Geoff , Tacon Richard
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an assessment of the effectiveness of the Salary Cost Management Protocol, a form of financial regulation introduced by the English Football League in 2004 to improve the financial sustainability of professional football (i.e. soccer) clubs.

Design/methodology/approach

The analytical approach is to assess the effect of the regulation from evidence of change in measures of the financial performance of clubs drawing on three criteria: profitability, liquidity and solvency. A unique database was created from the published financial statements and notes to the accounts of the clubs in the Tier 4 league (known since 2004 as League Two) from 1994 to 2014 to encapsulate the 10-year period before and after the regulation was introduced. To show trends in the data within the study period, the data are reported in graphical form. The statistical significance of change in both the slope and intercepts for trends between breaks of interest in the data is estimated by linear regression.

Findings

The results show that financial regulation failed to significantly improve the profitability or the solvency of football clubs in League Two. Whilst the liquidity of the clubs improved in response to the introduction of the financial regulation, the results show this was only in the year in which the financial regulation was introduced.

Research limitations/implications

The results extend theoretical debate on financial regulation in sports leagues by moving beyond the assumption that financial regulation is a “technical exercise” to provide an alternative way of thinking about financial regulation as a “legitimising exercise”.

Originality/value

This is the first study to assess the impact of financial regulation for football league clubs over a longitudinal period. It is also extends previous research in which only single aspects of the financial sustainability of football clubs, such as insolvency, have been considered.
The role of country tax environment on the relationship between financial derivatives and tax avoidance
Authors: Oktavia Oktavia , Siregar Sylvia Veronica , Wardhani Ratna , Rahayu Ning
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of financial derivatives usage and country’s tax environment characteristics on the relationship between financial derivatives and tax avoidance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a cross-country analysis with the scope of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries which consists of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Findings

The level of financial derivatives usage positively affects the level of tax avoidance. This finding indicates that financial derivatives can be used as tax avoidance tool. Furthermore, the positive effect of the level of financial derivatives usage on the level of tax avoidance is lower in countries with a competitive tax environment than in countries with an uncompetitive tax environment. This finding indicates that in country with a competitive tax environment, the use of financial derivatives as a tax avoidance tool can be replaced by the tax facilities provided by that country.

Research limitations/implications

This study uses four countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region and does not test the sample based on the financial derivative types.

Practical implications

Tax authorities need to establish a clear tax regulation in regard to the tax treatment of financial derivatives transactions, e.g. define the definition of financial derivatives for hedging purposes and financial derivatives for speculative purposes; and define specific criteria to separate financial derivatives for hedging purposes from financial derivatives for speculative purposes. It is necessary to determine whether losses arising from derivative transactions are classified as deductible expenses or non-deductible expenses.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is also the first that provide empirical evidence that the relationship between financial derivatives and tax avoidance activities depends on a country’s tax environment.
The longitudinal study of sufficiency economy philosophy reporting of listed companies in the Stock Exchange of Thailand
Authors: Suttipun Muttanachai
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and pattern of the sufficiency economy philosophy (SEP) reporting of listed companies from the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) between 2012 and 2016, and to compare the SEP scores of reporting in the companies’ corporate annual reports during the period studied and between four groups of interest, based on ownership status, country of origin of company, type of auditor and type of industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Listed companies of the SET were used as the population, whereas a sample of 70 firms was investigated in the study. Content analysis by checklist was used to quantify the extent and pattern of SEP reporting in annual reports.

Findings

The results showed that the average score for SEP reporting was 44.28 out of a possible 64 categories of reporting included in the checklist. Moreover, there was a significant increase in the SEP reporting score during the period studied. The results also indicated that there was a significant difference in the SEP reporting scores between groups, based on country of origin, auditor type and industry type.

Originality/value

As the first longitudinal study of SEP reporting in Thailand, the study demonstrated the effective rule of SET to Thai listed companies providing higher voluntary information reporting during period being study.
A case study on borders in retail spaces
Authors: Ceylan Salih
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The existence of retail spaces lies far back in history. However, retail design as an academic field of work is relatively recent and available for development. The common points and differences between commercial spaces and retail spaces, as well as the relationship between private and public spaces, require academic attention from a retail perspective. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the academic knowledge on retail design by interpreting retail spaces according to their relationship with their surroundings and their way of defining borders.

Design/methodology/approach

The focal point of the paper lies on a case study based on built examples of retail spaces in Turkey. An actual perspective, along with the historical background of retail design, provides the theoretical framework of the study, as the term “border” is being interpreted according to encountered restrictions and intentions throughout the retail design process.

Findings

The case study conducted in the scope of this paper has shown that borders are an important component in retail design and they are affected by various factors like the limitations of the surroundings and atmospheric tools such as colours, lighting, sound or scent.

Originality/value

Although there are existing studies on retail design from various perspectives, the interpretation of retail spaces in relationship with their borders is missing in academic literature. This paper provides a definition of borders in retail design including the elements that describe them and the knowledge of borders according to different corporate tendencies.
Mechanical stress distribution and the utilisation of the magneto-elastic effect in electrical machines
Authors: Karthaus Jan , Groschup Benedikt , Krüger Robin , Hameyer Kay
Published: June 2019

Purpose

Due to the increasing amount of high power density high-speed electrical machines, a detailed understanding of the consequences for the machine’s operational behaviour and efficiency is necessary. Magnetic materials are prone to mechanical stress. Therefore, this paper aims to study the relation between the local mechanical stress distribution and magnetic properties such as magnetic flux density and iron losses.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, different approaches for equivalent mechanical stress criteria are analysed with focus on their applicability in electrical machines. Resulting machine characteristics such as magnetic flux density distribution or iron are compared.

Findings

The study shows a strong influence on the magnetic flux density distribution when considering the magneto-elastic effect for all analysed models. The influence on the iron loss is smaller due to a high amount of stress-independent eddy current loss component.

Originality/value

The understanding of the influence of mechanical stress on dimensions of electrical machines is important to obtain an accurate machine design. In this paper, the discussion on different equivalent stress approaches allows a new perspective for considering the magneto-elastic effect.