bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sox8andSox9act redundantly for ovarian-to-testicular fate reprogramming in the absence ofR-spondin1in mouse sex reversals
Authors: Richardson Nainoa , Gillot Isabelle , Gregoire Elodie P. , Youssef Sameh A. , de Rooij Dirk G. , de Bruin Alain , De Cian Marie-Cécile , Chaboissier Marie-Christine
Published: December 2019

In mammals, testicular differentiation is initiated by transcription factors SRY and SOX9 in XY gonads, and ovarian differentiation involves R-spondin1 (RSPO1) mediated activation of WNT/β-catenin signaling in XX gonads. Accordingly, the absence ofRSPO1/Rspo1in XX humans and mice leads to testicular differentiation and female-to-male sex reversal in a manner that does not requireSryorSox9in mice. Here we show that an alternate testis-differentiating factor exists and that this factor isSox8. Specifically, genetic ablation ofSox8andSox9prevents ovarian-to-testicular reprogramming observed in XXRspo1loss-of-function mice. Consequently,Rspo1 Sox8 Sox9triple mutant gonads developed as atrophied ovaries. Thus, SOX8 alone can compensate for the loss of SOX9 for Sertoli cell differentiation during female-to-male sex reversal.
Distribution and strength of interlaminar synaptic connectivity in mouse primary visual cortex revealed by two-photon optogenetic stimulation
Authors: Hage Travis A. , Bosma-Moody Alice , Baker Christopher A. , Kratz Megan B. , Campagnola Luke , Jarsky Tim , Zeng Hongkui , Murphy Gabe J.
Published: December 2019

The most common synaptic connections between neurons in different cortical layers form the basis of the canonical cortical microcircuit. Understanding of cortical function will require further development and application of methods to efficiently characterize synaptic connections within and outside of the canonical pathway. Accordingly, we measured synaptic inputs onto superficial excitatory neurons in response to sequential two-photon optogenetic stimulation of neurons in deeper layers. Layer 4 excitatory neurons and somatostatin-neurons within layer 2/3 represented the most common sources of input. Although connections from excitatory and somatostatin-neurons in layer 5 were less common, the amplitudes of synaptic responses were equally strong. We examined synaptic strength across all connections, as well as the relationships between the strength of connections diverging from a common presynaptic neuron or converging to a single target. While the overall distribution indicates synaptic weight is concentrated to a few connections, strong excitatory connections are distributed across cells.
Medical relevance of common protein-altering variants in GPCR genes across 337,205 individuals in the UK Biobank
Authors: DeBoever Christopher , Venkatakrishnan AJ , Paggi Joseph M , Heydenreich Franziska M. , Laurin Suli-Anne , Masureel Matthieu , Tanigawa Yosuke , Venkataraman Guhan , Bouvier Michel , Dror Ron O. , Rivas Manuel A.
Published: December 2019

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) drive an array of critical physiological functions and are an important class of drug targets, though a map of which GPCR genetic variants are associated with phenotypic variation is lacking. We performed a phenome-wide association analysis for 269 common protein-altering variants in 156 GPCRs and 275 phenotypes, including disease outcomes and diverse quantitative measurements, using 337,205 UK Biobank participants and identified 138 associations. We discovered novel associations between GPCR variants and migraine risk, hypothyroidism, and dietary consumption. We also demonstrated experimentally that variants in the β2adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) associated with immune cell counts and pulmonary function and variants in the gastric inhibitory polypeptide receptor (GIPR) associated with food intake and body size affect downstream signaling pathways. Overall, this study provides a map of genetic associations for GPCR coding variants across a wide variety of phenotypes, which can inform future drug discovery efforts targeting GPCRs.
BACH family members regulate angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis by modulating VEGFC expression
Authors: Cohen Batya , Tempelhof Hanoch , Raz Tal , Oren Roni , Nicenboim Julian , Bochner Filip , Even Ron , Jelinski Adam , Eilam Raya , Ben-Dor Shifra , Adaddi Yoseph , Golani Ofra , Lazar Shlomi , Yaniv Karina , Neeman Michal
Published: December 2019

Angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis are key processes during embryogenesis as well as under physiological and pathological conditions. Vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGFC), the ligand for both VEGFR2 and VEGFR3, is a central lymphangiogenic regulator that also drives angiogenesis. Here we report that members of the highly conserved BACH (BTB and CNC homology) family of transcription factors regulate VEGFC expression, through direct binding to its promoter. Accordingly, downregulation ofbach2ahinders blood-vessel formation and impairs lymphatic sprouting in avegfc-dependent manner during zebrafish embryonic development. In contrast, BACH1-overexpression enhances intratumoral blood-vessel density and peritumoral lymphatic vessel diameter in ovarian and lung mouse tumor models. The effects on the vascular compartment correlate spatially and temporally with BACH1 transcriptional regulation ofVEGFCexpression. Altogether, our results uncover a novel role for the BACH/VEGFC signaling axis in lymphatic formation during embryogenesis and cancer, providing a novel potential target for therapeutic interventions.
Model-based Clustering using Automatic Differentiation: Confronting Misspecification and High-Dimensional Data
Authors: Kasa Siva Rajesh , Rajan Vaibhav
Published: December 2019

We study two practically important cases of model based clustering using Gaussian Mixture Models: (1) when there is misspecification and (2) on high dimensional data, in the light of recent advances in Gradient Descent (GD) based optimization using Automatic Differentiation (AD). Our simulation studies show that EM has better clustering performance, measured by Adjusted Rand Index, compared to GD in cases of misspecification, whereas on high dimensional data GD outperforms EM. We observe that both with EM and GD there are many solutions with high likelihood but poor cluster interpretation. To address this problem we design a new penalty term for the likelihood based on the Kullback Leibler divergence between pairs of fitted components. Closed form expressions for the gradients of this penalized likelihood are difficult to derive but AD can be done effortlessly, illustrating the advantage of AD-based optimization. Extensions of this penalty for high dimensional data and for model selection are discussed. Numerical experiments on synthetic and real datasets demonstrate the efficacy of clustering using the proposed penalized likelihood approach.
Defining the relative and combined contribution of CTCF and CTCFL to genomic regulation
Authors: Nishana Mayilaadumveettil , Ha Caryn , Rodriguez-Hernaez Javier , Ranjbaran Ali , Chio Erica , Nora Elphege P. , Badri Sana B. , Kloetgen Andreas , Bruneau Benoit G. , Tsirigos Aristotelis , Skok Jane A.
Published: December 2019

Background

Ubiquitously expressed CTCF is involved in numerous cellular functions, such as organizing chromatin into TAD structures. In contrast, its paralog, CTCFL is normally only present in testis. However, it is also aberrantly expressed in many cancers. While it is known that shared and unique zinc finger sequences in CTCF and CTCFL enable CTCFL to bind competitively to a subset of CTCF binding sites as well as its own unique locations, the impact of CTCFL on chromosome organization and gene expression has not been comprehensively analyzed in the context of CTCF function. Using an inducible complementation system, we analyze the impact of expressing CTCFL and CTCF-CTCFL chimeric proteins in the presence or absence of endogenous CTCF to clarify the relative and combined contribution of CTCF and CTCFL to chromosome organization and transcription.

Results

We demonstrate that the N terminus of CTCF interacts with cohesin which explains the requirement for convergent CTCF binding sites in loop formation. By analyzing CTCF and CTCFL binding in tandem we identify phenotypically distinct sites with respect to motifs, targeting to promoter/intronic intergenic regions and chromatin folding. Finally, we reveal that the N, C and zinc finger terminal domains play unique roles in targeting each paralog to distinct binding sites, to regulate transcription, chromatin looping and insulation.

Conclusion

This study clarifies the unique and combined contribution of CTCF and CTCFL to chromosome organization and transcription, with direct implications for understanding how their co-expression deregulates transcription in cancer.
Serotonin, norepinephrine and acetylcholine differentially affect astrocytic potassium clearance to modulate somatosensory signaling in male mice
Authors: Wotton Caitlin A. , Cross Cassidy D. , Bekar Lane K.
Published: December 2019

Changes in extracellular potassium ([K+]e) modulate neuronal networks via changes in membrane potential, voltage-gated channel activity and alteration of transmission at the synapse. Given the limited extracellular space in the CNS, potassium clearance is crucial. As activity-induced potassium transients are rapidly managed by astrocytic Kir4.1 and astrocyte-specific Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA), any neurotransmitter/neuromodulator that can regulate their function may have indirect influence on network activity. Neuromodulators differentially affect cortical/thalamic networks to align sensory processing with differing behavioral states. Given serotonin (5HT), norepinephrine (NE), and acetylcholine (ACh) differentially affect spike frequency adaptation and signal fidelity (“signal-to-noise”) in somatosensory cortex, we hypothesize that [K+]emay be differentially regulated by the different neuromodulators to exert their individual effects on network function. This study aimed to compare effects of individually applied 5HT, NE, and ACh on regulating [K+]ein connection to effects on cortical evoked response amplitude and adaptation in male mice. Using extracellular field and K+ion-selective recordings of somatosensory stimulation, we found that differential effects of 5HT, NE, and ACh on [K+]eregulation mirrored differential effects on amplitude and adaptation. 5HT effects on transient K+recovery, adaptation and field post-synaptic potential amplitude were disrupted by barium (200 µM), whereas NE and ACh effects were disrupted by ouabain (1 µM) or iodoacetate (100 µM). Considering the impact [K+]ecan have on many network functions; it seems highly efficient that neuromodulators regulate [K+]eto exert their many effects. This study provides functional significance for astrocyte-mediated buffering of [K+]ein neuromodulator-mediated shaping of cortical network activity.

Significance statement

We demonstrate that the neuromodulators serotonin, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine all have distinct effects on astrocyte-mediated extracellular potassium regulation and that these differential actions are associated with the different effects of the neuromodulators on cortical networks. By affecting astrocytic potassium regulation, long-range neuromodulatory networks can rapidly and efficiently affect broad areas of the brain. Given that neuromodulatory networks are at the core of our behavioral state and determine how we interact with our environment, these studies highlight the importance of basic astrocyte function in general cognition and psychiatric disorders.
Novel pelagiphages prevail in the ocean
Authors: Zhang Zefeng , Qin Fang , Chen Feng , Chu Xiao , Luo Haiwei , Zhang Rui , Du Sen , Tian Zhen , Zhao Yanlin
Published: December 2019

Viruses play a key role in biogeochemical cycling and host mortality, metabolism, physiology and evolution in the ocean. Viruses that infect the globally abundant marine SAR11 bacteria (pelagiphages) were reported to be an important component of the marine viral community. In this study, ten pelagiphages that infect three differentPelagibacterstrains were isolated from various geographical locations and were genomically characterized. All ten pelagiphages are novel, representing four new lineages of thePodoviridaefamily. Although they share limited homology with cultured phage isolates, they are all closely related to some environmental viral fragments. Two HTVC023P-type pelagiphages are shown to be related to the abundant VC_6 and VC_8 viral populations of the Global Oceans Viromes (GOV) datasets. Interestingly, HTVC103P-type pelagiphages contain a structural module similar to that in SAR116 phage HMO-2011. Three HTVC111P-type pelagiphages and HTVC106P are also novel and related to GOV VC_41 and VC_67 viral populations, respectively. Remarkably, these pelagiphage represented phage groups are all globally distributed and predominant. Half of the top ten most abundant known marine phage groups are represented by pelagiphages. The HTVC023P-type group is the most abundant known viral group, exceeding the abundance of HTVC010P-type and HMO-2011-type groups. Furthermore, the HTVC023P-type group is also abundant throughout the water column. Altogether, this study has greatly broadened our understanding of pelagiphages regarding their genetic diversity, phage-host interactions and the distribution pattern. Availability of these newly isolated pelagiphages and their genome sequences will allow us to further explore their phage-host interactions and ecological strategies.
Folding heterogeneity in the essential human telomerase RNA three-way junction
Authors: Palka Christina , Forino Nicholas M. , Hentschel Jendrik , Das Rhiju , Stone Michael D.
Published: December 2019

Telomeres safeguard the genome by suppressing illicit DNA damage responses at chromosome termini. In order to compensate for incomplete DNA replication at telomeres, most continually dividing cells, including many cancers, express the telomerase ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex. Telomerase maintains telomere length by catalyzing de novo synthesis of short DNA repeats using an internal telomerase RNA (TR) template. TRs from diverse species harbor structurally conserved domains that contribute to RNP biogenesis and function. In vertebrate TRs, the conserved regions 4 and 5 (CR4/5) fold into a three-way junction (3WJ) that binds directly to the telomerase catalytic protein subunit and is required for telomerase function. We have analyzed the structural properties of the human TR (hTR) CR4/5 domain using a combination of in vitro chemical mapping, endogenous RNP assembly assays, and single-molecule structural analysis. Our data suggest that a functionally essential stem loop within CR4/5 is not stably folded in the absence of the telomerase reverse transcriptase protein subunit in vitro. Rather, the hTR CR4/5 domain adopts a heterogeneous ensemble of conformations. RNA structural engineering intended to bias the folding landscape of the hTR CR4/5 demonstrates that a stably folded 3WJ motif is necessary but not sufficient to promote assembly of a functional RNP complex. Finally, single-molecule measurements on the hTR CR4/5 domain show that RNP assembly selects for a conformation that is not the major population in the heterogeneous free RNA ensemble, suggesting that non-canonical hTR folds may be required during telomerase biogenesis.
On anammox activity at low temperature: effect of ladderane composition, process conditions and dominant anammox population
Authors: Kouba V , Hurkova K , Navratilova K , Vejmelkova D , Benakova A , Laureni M , Vodickova P , Podzimek T , Lipovova P , van Niftrik L , Hajslova J , van Loosdrecht MCM , Weissbrodt DG , Bartacek J.
Published: December 2019

The application of partial nitritation-anammox (PN/A) under mainstream conditions can enable substantial cost savings at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), but how process conditions and cell physiology affect anammox performance at psychrophilic temperatures below 15 °C remains poorly understood. We tested 14 anammox communities, including 8 from globally-installed PN/A processes, for (i) specific activity at 10-30 °C (batch assays), (ii) composition of membrane lipids (U-HPLC-HRMS/MS), and (iii) microbial community structure (16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing). Crucially, the key parameters impacting anammox activity were the membrane lipid composition and cultivation temperature. The size of ladderane lipids and the content of bacteriohopanoids were key physiological drivers of anammox performance at low temperatures. Higher contents of (i) short C18 [3]-ladderane alkyl and (ii) large phosphatidylcholine headgroup were determined in anammox more active at 15-30 °C and 10-15 °C, respectively. At below 15 °C, the activation energies of most mesophilic cultures severely increased while those of the psychrophilic cultures remained stable; this indicates that the adaptation of mesophilic cultures to psychrophilic regime necessitates months, but in some cases can take up to 5 years. Interestingly, biomass enriched in the marine genus “CandidatusScalindua” displayed exceptionally highest activity at 10-20 °C (0.50 kg-N.kg-VSS−1.d−1at 10 °C, Ea10-30 °C = 51±16 kJ.mol−1), indicating outstanding potential for nitrogen removal from cold streams. Collectively, our comprehensive study provides essential knowledge of cold adaptation mechanism, will enable more accurate modelling and suggests highly promising target anammox genera for inoculation and set-up of anammox reactors, in particular for mainstream WWTPs.

Highlights

Ladderane size and cold exposure affected anammox activation energy (Ea).

Ea improved with more C18 [3]-ladderanes over C20 and larger polar headgroup.

Long-term cold exposure reduced Ea at 10-15 °C, not activityper se.

Marine “Ca. Scalindua” was exceptionally suitable for cold streams.

Anammox Ea at 15-30 °C was 79±18 kJ.mol−1.

Graphical abstract
MAVS regulates the quality of the antibody response to West-Nile Virus
Authors: O’Ketch Marvin , Larson Cameron , Williams Spencer , Uhrlaub Jennifer L. , Wong Rachel , Deshpande Neha R. , Schenten Dominik
Published: December 2019

A key difference that distinguishes viral infections from protein immunizations is the recognition of viral nucleic acids by cytosolic pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) such as RNA-sensing Rig-I-like receptors (RLRs). Insights into the specific functions of cytosolic PRRs in the instruction of adaptive immunity are therefore critical for the understanding of protective immunity to infections. West Nile virus (WNV) infection of mice deficent of MAVS, the essential RLR signaling adaptor, results in a defective adaptive immune response. While this finding suggests a role for RLRs in the instruction of adaptive immunity to WNV, it is difficult to interpret due to the high WNV viremia, associated exessive antigen loads, and pathology in the absence of a MAVS-dependent innate immune response. To overcome these limitations, we have infected MAVS-deficient mice with a single-round-of-infection mutant of WNV called RepliVAX (RWN). RWN-infected MAVS-deficient (MAVSKO) mice failed to produce an effective neutralizing antibody response to WNV despite normal titers of antibodies targeting the viral WNV-E protein. This defect occurred indepedently of antigen loads or overt pathology. The specificity of the antibody response in RWN-infected MAVSKOmice remained unchanged and was still dominated by antibodies that bound the neutralizing lateral ridge (LR) epitope in the DIII domain of WNV-E. Instead, MAVSKOmice produced IgM antibodies, the dominant isotype controlling primary WNV infection, with lower affinity for the DIII domain. Our findings suggest that RLR-dependent signals are important for the quality of the humoral immune response to WNV.
Properties and effect of Ittar in mice behavior and neurological functions
Authors: Al Asmari AbdulRahman , Kunnathodi Faisal , Anvarbatcha Riyasdeen , Tanwir Athar Mohammed , Khan Abdul Quaiyoom , Sigmani Dhayasankar , Idris Mohammed M
Published: December 2019

Fragrances are generally synthetic, natural or a combination of both. Ittar or Attar is a natural fragrance material synthesized from plants which were majorly used by people worldwide as a matter of pride, deodorization and attractant. The effect and role of using Ittar on mammalian system is still not known at the behavioral and neurological level. This study was aimed to understand the constituents and the effect of Ittar on mice by measuring their behavioral and neurological changes upon exposure to Ittar. Batches of animals were exposed to ten different types of Ittar for 1, 2 and 3 weeks respectively. Behavior of the animals exposed to the Ittar perfumes were analyzed against the control animals behavior for physiological activities. Also, the expression level of neurotransmitter such as Dopamine, 5-HIAA, HVA and Serotonin were evaluated based on HPLC analysis. Based on this study it was found that all the ten Ittars were different for its different constituents with some basic overlapping molecules among them. The neurotransmitter such as DOPA, 5-HT, Homovanillic Acid and Serotonin were found non-significantly increased in the total brain after a three week long continuous exposures of Ittar to the animal. Histological analysis of the ittar exposed mice skin showed mild to massive changes in both epidermal and dermal layers characterized with intense infiltration of inflammatory cells, hyperplasia, hyperchromasia and edema formation against control animals in few of the Ittars. From this study it is evident that Ittar increases mood of the animal through the up-regulation of various neurotransmitter but subtle effect on the skin because of the presence of various chemical constituents of the Ittar. Based on this study it is evident that use of Ittar as fragrance might be beneficial at the molecular level and it will be appropriate to apply without direct exposure to skin.
Organophosphorus diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) intoxication in zebrafish larvae causes behavioral defects, neuronal hyperexcitation and neuronal death
Authors: Brenet Alexandre , Somkhit Julie , Hassan-Abdi Rahma , Yanicostas Constantin , Romain Christiane , Bar Olivier , Igert Alexandre , Saurat Dominique , Taudon Nicolas , Dal-Bo Gregory , Nachon Florian , Dupuis Nina , Soussi-Yanicostas Nadia
Published: December 2019

With millions of intoxications each year and over 200,000 deaths, organophosphorus (OP) compounds are an important public health issue worldwide. OP poisoning induces cholinergic syndrome, with muscle weakness, hypertension, and neuron damage that may lead to epileptic seizures and permanent psychomotor deficits. Existing countermeasures are lifesaving but do not prevent long-lasting neuronal comorbidities, emphasizing the urgent need for animal models to better understand OP neurotoxicity and identify novel antidotes. Here, using diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP), a prototypic and moderately toxic OP, combined with zebrafish larvae, we first showed that DFP poisoning caused major acetylcholinesterase inhibition, resulting in paralysis and CNS neuron hyperactivation, as indicated by increased neuronal calcium transients and overexpression of the immediate early genesfosab, junBa, npas4b, andatf3. In addition to these epileptiform seizure-like events, DFP-exposed larvae showed increased neuronal apoptosis, which were both partially alleviated by diazepam treatment, suggesting a causal link between neuronal hyperexcitation and cell death. Last, DFP poisoning induced an altered balance of glutamatergic/GABAergic synaptic activity with increased NR2B-NMDA receptor accumulation combined with decreased GAD65/67 and gephyrin protein accumulation. The zebrafish DFP model presented here thus provides important novel insights into the pathophysiology of OP intoxication, making it a promising model to identify novel antidotes.
Complexity of frequency receptive fields predicts tonotopic variability across species
Authors: Gaucher Quentin , Panniello Mariangela , Ivanov Aleksandar Z , Dahmen Johannes C , King Andrew J , Walker Kerry M M
Published: December 2019

Primary cortical areas contain maps of sensory features, including sound frequency in primary auditory cortex (A1). Two-photon calcium imaging in mice has confirmed the presence of these large-scale maps, while uncovering an unexpected local variability in the stimulus preferences of individual neurons in A1 and other primary regions. Here we show that fractured tonotopy is not unique to rodents. Using two-photon imaging, we found that local variance in frequency preferences is equivalent in ferrets and mice. Much of this heterogeneity was due to neurons with complex frequency tuning, which are less spatially organized than those tuned to a single frequency. Finally, we show that microelectrode recordings may describe a smoother tonotopic arrangement due to a bias towards neurons with simple frequency tuning. These results show that local variability in the tonotopic map is not restricted to rodents and help explain inconsistencies in cortical topography across species and recording techniques.
A comprehensive pipeline for accurate annotation and quantification of circRNAs
Authors: Rabin Avigayel , Ashwal-Fluss Reut , Shenzis Shlomo , Apelblat Daniella , Kadener Sebastian
Published: December 2019

Identification and quantification of circular RNAs (circRNAs) depends strongly on the utilized computational pipeline. Here we describe an integrative approach for accurate annotation and quantification of circRNAs. First, we utilize several circRNA-identification pipelines to annotate circRNAs in a given organism. Second, we build a short sequence index that is used to search the unaligned RNA-seq reads. Our approach allows full annotation of circRNAs with fewer false positives and negatives than any individual pipeline or combination of them. Moreover, our approach is more sensitive than any individual pipeline and allows more accurate quantification and larger number of differentially expressed circRNAs.
A Central Role for Canonical PRC1 in Shaping the 3D Nuclear Landscape
Authors: Boyle Shelagh , Flyamer Ilya M. , Williamson Iain , Sengupta Dipta , Bickmore Wendy A. , Illingworth Robert S.
Published: December 2019

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins silence gene expression by chemically and physically modifying chromatin. A subset of PcG target loci are compacted and cluster in the nucleus to form observable bodies; a conformation which is thought to contribute to gene silencing. However, how these interactions influence gross nuclear organisation and their relationship with transcription remains poorly understood. Here we examine the role of Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 (PRC1) in shaping 3D genome organization in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). Using a combination of imaging and Hi-C analyses we show that PRC1-mediated long-range interactions are independent of CTCF and can bridge sites at a megabase scale. Impairment of PRC1 enzymatic activity does not directly disrupt these interactions. We demonstrate that PcG targets coalesce in vivo, and that developmentally induced expression of one of the target loci disrupts this spatial arrangement. Finally, we show that transcriptional activation and the loss of PRC1-mediated interactions are seperable events. These findings provide important insights into the function of PRC1, whilst highlighting the complexity of this regulatory system.

Highlights

Loss of RING1B substantially disrupts nuclear architecture.

PRC1 mediated looping can occur at a Mb scale and is independent of CTCF.

Polycomb mediated looping is driven by canonical PRC1 complexes.

Multimeric PRC1-mediated interactions occur in vitro and in vivo.

Disruption of PRC1-mediated looping is independent of gene activation.
Genetic characterization of African swine fever virus in Romania during 2018-2019 outbreak
Authors: Petrovan Vlad , Turcitu Mihai , Matei Lilia , Constantinescu Vlad , Zaulet Mihaela
Published: December 2019

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious and lethal viral disease of swine with significant socio-economic impact in the developed and developing world. Since its reintroduction in 2007 in the Republic of Georgia, the disease has spread dramatically thorough Europe and Asia. Among the most affected countries in Europe is Romania, which initially reported the disease in 2017 and in 2018-2019 lost about 1 million pigs. There is no molecular characterization of the virus circulating in Romania during that reported period; therefore, the purpose of this study was to provide an initial molecular characterization using samples collected from two farms affected by ASFV. The causative strain belongs to genotype II, and its closest relatives are the strains circulating in Belgium, Russia, and China.
Simulation and Analysis of Animal Movement Paths using Numerus Model Builder
Authors: Getz Wayne M. , Vissat Ludovica Luisa , Salter Richard
Published: December 2019

Animal movement paths are represented by point-location time series called relocation data. How well such paths can be simulated, when the rules governing movement depend on the internal state of individuals and environmental factors (both local and, when memory is involved, global) remains an open question. To answer this, we formulate and test models able to capture the essential statistics of multiphase versions of such paths (viz., movement-phase-specific step-length and turning-angle means, variances, auto-correlation, and cross correlation values), as well as broad scale movement patterns. The latter may include patchy coverage of the landscape, as well as the existence of home-range boundaries and gravitational centers-of-movement (e.g., centered around nests). Here we present a Numerus Model Builder implementation of two kinds of models: a high-frequency, multi-mode, biased, correlated random walk designed to simulate real movement data at a scale that permits simulation and identification of path segments that range from minutes to days; and a model that uses statistics extracted from relocation data—either empirical or simulated—to construct movement modes and phases at subhourly to daily scales. We evaluate how well our derived statistical movement model captures patterns produced by our more detailed simulation model as a way to evaluate how well derived statistical movement models may capture patterns occurring in empirical data.
Acute ovarian hormone treatment in freely cycling female rats regulates distinct aspects of heroin seeking
Authors: Vazquez Maribel , Frazier Jessica H. , Reichel Carmela M. , Peters Jamie
Published: December 2019

Females are at higher risk for certain opioid addictive behaviors, but the influence of ovarian hormones is unknown. In our rat model of heroin self-administration, females exhibited higher relapse rates that correlated with rates of heroin seeking on the first extinction session. We administered estradiol alone, or in combination with progesterone, 30 min prior to the first extinction session in freely cycling, heroin-seeking female rats. Although neither treatment produced long-term effects on relapse, each treatment regulated distinct aspects of heroin seeking. Estradiol treatment enhanced extinction memory retention, whereas the combination treatment acutely reduced expression of heroin seeking.
Influences of dynamic capability on breakthrough innovation
Authors: Wang Haijun , Feng Junzhen
Published: December 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the influences of dynamic capability on breakthrough innovation and explores the essential mechanisms related to such influence. The impact of breakthrough innovation on organizational performance is also examined in conjunction with the manufacturing industry samples in China.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper follows an empirical design. Data are collected from a survey administered to manufacturing samples in China. Regression analysis is used to test the hypothesis.

Findings

Results show that the positive impact of breakthrough innovation on organization performance is verified. Technological breakthrough innovation affects both the organization’s financial performance and growth performance in a linear and positive way, while market breakthrough innovation affects organization performance positively with marginal increments.

Research limitations/implications

This paper uses data of manufacturing industry of China, hence, an extended survey in depth and width is worthy of future investigation. In addition, more unique predisposing factors on breakthrough innovation should be considered in the context of China.

Practical implications

The research enriches the understanding of how the dynamic capability affects the enterprise’s breakthrough innovation, which helps entrepreneurs understand how to strategize to build dynamic capability during breakthrough innovation decisions and implementations.

Originality/value

Dynamic capability is uniquely viewed as a multi-dimensional concept from a perspective of modularity, while breakthrough innovation is composed of two constructs. It not only enriches the understanding of how dynamic capability affects breakthrough innovation but also discovers the non-linear impact of breakthrough innovation on enterprise’s organizational performance in the context of China’s manufacturing industry.
Structural risk of diversified project financing of city investment company in China based on the best worst method
Authors: Wang Yuning , Jin Xiaohua
Published: December 2019

Purpose

City investment companies (CICs) in China, set up and funded by the government, are playing an important role in the construction of urban infrastructure in China. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the structural risk of diversified project financing of CICs and explore its key influencing factors.

Design/methodology/approach

The best worst method (BWM) is used in this study to empirically analyze and quantitatively study the optimization of the structural risk of diversified financing of CICs.

Findings

In this study, the structural risk of diversified financing of CICs has been clearly defined, and its key evaluation indexes, including the structure of projects, the structure of financing, asset-liability ratio, earnings before interest and tax margin, the rate of return on capital and the ratio of long-term debt and short-term debt, have been determined. What is more, a comprehensive evaluation system of the structural risk of diversified financing has been established.

Originality/value

This study has established a comprehensive evaluation system of the structural risk of diversified financing. Based on the validated systematic evaluation, comparison and ranking of the structural risk of diversified financing of CICs by using the BWM, the ranking results can help investors to select the CICs with small structural risk of diversified financing to invest.
Political risk management of foreign direct investment in infrastructure projects
Authors: Jiang Weiling , Martek Igor , Hosseini M. Reza , Chen Chuan
Published: December 2019

Purpose

Foreign direct investment in the infrastructure (FDII) of developing countries has a history of at least four decades. Bullish demand for foreign infrastructure services in developing countries, in combination with unstable political environments, has buoyed attention in political risk management (PRM). Even so, research into PRM of FDII remains fragmented and unmapped. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to identify the current body of knowledge in this area, uncover deficiencies and lay the foundation for further practical PRM research in FDII.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper offers a bibliometric-qualitative review of current literature on political risk in foreign infrastructure in developing countries. A 36-year period is identified, from 1983 to 2018. Publication year, area of focus, author(s), institution and country are classified and analyzed through the medium of social network analysis. The tools used are VOSviewer, CiteSpace and Gephi to analyze citation networks of 345 published papers. Out of 345 papers, 94 highly related studies were selected for further content analysis.

Findings

The study identified the research trends in related areas of PRM in infrastructure (e.g. PRM in international construction and foreign direct investment) by bibliometric analysis, which includes scattered researcher collaboration, wide-ranging and unfocused journal selection, unsystematic and discontinuous research themes. The specific research weakness in PRM in FDII is recognized by qualitative analysis from the perspective of PRM process, which reveals a lack of understanding of the impact of political risk factors, subjective risk estimations, lacking application of mature political risk database in FDII, combined with a shortage of complete and effective strategies for PRM in FDII in developing countries.

Originality/value

This paper is the first of its kind, providing a comprehensive benchmark survey of the research to date in PRM in foreign infrastructure investment in developing countries. It proposes a framework of future research agenda on PRM in FDII, including special issues on this topic, identification and assessment of political risk factors with objective methods, proposition of PRM strategies on FDII with proactive and active approaches, completing strategies of PRM with reactive strategies from the perspectives of whole life cycle of infrastructure projects, political risk factors and stakeholders. It also addressed the need to investigate the suitable literature databases for researching in this area.
From NPO to social enterprise: the story of Schwab awardee, Sharanjeet Shan
Authors: Krige Kerryn Ayanda Malindi , Hawarden Verity , Cohen Rose
Published: December 2019

Learning outcomes

This case study introduces students to the core characteristics of social entrepreneurship by teaching Santos (2012) positive theory. The case allows students to transition from comprehension and application of what social entrepreneurship is, to considering how they operate. Druckers (2005) argument that social organisations will never have sufficient resources to do their work because they operate in an environment of infinite need is the catalyst for a conversation on resource dependency theory and the risks of mission drift. Students are introduced to the funding spectrum that can be used to understand the type of income that comes to an organisation, and to apply this to the case. By the end of their studies, students should be able to apply the Santos (2012) definition to social enterprises and social entrepreneurs, have insight into the complexity of operating in an environment of infinite need and able to apply the funding spectrum as a tool to manage to understanding financial sustainability.

Case overview/synopsis

The case tells the story of Sharanjeet Shan, a globally recognised social entrepreneur, and recipient of the Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2015. Shan moved to South Africa as the country moved into democracy, and has spent the past 20-plus years building the skills of Black African school children in mathematics and science through the organisation she leads, Maths Centre. But the country remains at the bottom of world rankings for the quality of its maths and science education, despite spending more per capita on education than any other country in Africa. Maths Centre has seen a dip in donations despite steady growth in the amount of money that businesses are investing in social change in South Africa through corporate social investment. But does Shan really need more donor income? Or are there other ways that she can build the financial sustainability of Maths Centre?

Complexity academic level

This case study is aimed at students of non-profit management, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, women in leadership, corporate social investment, development studies and sustainable livelihoods. It is written at an Honours / Masters level and is therefore also appropriate for use in customised or short programmes. The case study is a good introduction for students with a background in business (e.g. Diploma in Business Administration / MBA / custom programmes) who are wanting to understand social enterprise and apply their learning's.

Supplementary materials

A list of supplementary materials is provided in the Teaching Note as Table I, which includes video's, radio interview recordings and a book chapter.

Subject code

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.
Examining the determinants of green innovation adoption in SMEs: a PLS-SEM approach
Authors: Jun Wen , Ali Waheed , Bhutto Muhammad Yaseen , Hussain Hadi , Khan Nadeem Akhtar
Published: December 2019

Purpose

Currently, environmental and social concerns have made green innovation more popular among researchers and practitioners around the globe. Developed countries tend to focus more on this issue, compared to developing countries. However, the reality shows that small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered as high contributors to environmental pollution. This study is designed for, and conducted on, SMEs in a developing country, Pakistan. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the main determinants of green innovation adoption in SMEs in Pakistan.

Design/methodology/approach

A data sample of 288 SMEs from five different sectors was collected and analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling technique.

Findings

The results of the study indicate that organizational and human resource factors, market and customer factors, and government support and technological factors have a positive and significant impact, whereas external partnership and cooperation, and rules and regulatory factors have an insignificant impact on green innovation adoption in SMEs in Pakistan.

Originality/value

The outcomes of the study have important implications for managers as well as for government policy makers regarding framing better policies to promote green practices in SMEs.
Valuing prior learning
Authors: Fahrenbach Florian , Revoredo Kate , Santoro Flavia Maria
Published: December 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce an information and communication technology (ICT) artifact that uses text mining to support the innovative and standardized assessment of professional competences within the validation of prior learning (VPL). Assessment means comparing identified and documented professional competences against a standard or reference point. The designed artifact is evaluated by matching a set of curriculum vitae (CV) scraped from LinkedIn against a comprehensive model of professional competence.

Design/methodology/approach

A design science approach informed the development and evaluation of the ICT artifact presented in this paper.

Findings

A proof of concept shows that the ICT artifact can support assessors within the validation of prior learning procedure. Rather the output of such an ICT artifact can be used to structure documentation in the validation process.

Research limitations/implications

Evaluating the artifact shows that ICT support to assess documented learning outcomes is a promising endeavor but remains a challenge. Further research should work on standardized ways to document professional competences, ICT artifacts capture the semantic content of documents, and refine ontologies of theoretical models of professional competences.

Practical implications

Text mining methods to assess professional competences rely on large bodies of textual data, and thus a thoroughly built and large portfolio is necessary as input for this ICT artifact.

Originality/value

Following the recent call of European policymakers to develop standardized and ICT-based approaches for the assessment of professional competences, an ICT artifact that supports the automatized assessment of professional competences within the validation of prior learning is designed and evaluated.
Heat transfer enhancement using second mode self-oscillating structures
Authors: Ali Samer , Shami Zein Alabidin , Badran Ali , Habchi Charbel
Published: December 2019

Purpose

In this paper, self-sustained second mode oscillations of flexible vortex generator (FVG) are produced to enhance the heat transfer in two-dimensional laminar flow regime. The purpose of this study is to determine the critical Reynolds number at which FVG becomes more efficient than rigid vortex generators (RVGs).

Design/methodology/approach

Ten cases were studied with different Reynolds numbers varying from 200 to 2,000. The Nusselt number and friction coefficients of the FVG cases are compared to those of RVG and empty channel at the same Reynolds numbers.

Findings

For Reynolds numbers higher than 800, the FVG oscillates in the second mode causing a significant increase in the velocity gradients generating unsteady coherent flow structures. The highest performance was obtained at the maximum Reynolds number for which the global Nusselt number is improved by 35.3 and 41.4 per cent with respect to empty channel and rigid configuration, respectively. Moreover, the thermal enhancement factor corresponding to FVG is 72 per cent higher than that of RVG.

Practical implications

The results obtained here can help in the design of novel multifunctional heat exchangers/reactors by using flexible tabs and inserts instead of rigid ones.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper is the use of second mode oscillations of FVG to enhance heat transfer in laminar flow regime.
Research on performance of twin-core spun yarn and fabric
Authors: Su Xuzhong , Su Xuzhong , Liu Xinjin
Published: December 2019

Purpose

As one kind of filament/staple fiber composite yarn, core spun yarn has been widely used, especially on Jeans. However, there is only one filament in the commonly used core spun yarn, such as spandex, and the performance of the one filament often is influenced during dyeing and finishing. Therefore, in the paper, twin-core spun yarns with two different filaments feeding simultaneously were spun on ring spinning frame modified by one kind of filament feeding numerical control device. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Four kinds of twin-core spun yarns, cotton/spandex/PBT, cotton/spandex/CM800, cotton/spandex/T400, cotton/spandex/SPH with linear density 36.4tex/40D/50D were spun. For improving the covering effect of the two filaments, the filament feeding position, filament pre-drafting multiple, distance between two staple roving, designed twist factor of the core spun yarn were optimized.

Findings

It is shown that comparing with the core spun yarn, the breaking strength and elongation of the twin-core spun yarns are improved since the addition of another elastic filament, while the evenness is a little worse.

Originality/value

By using the twin-core spun yarns, corresponding knitted and woven fabrics are produced. Meanwhile, for simulating the dyeing and finishing process, the knitted fabrics were treated during the 150°C high temperature. It is shown that comparing with the fabrics produced by cotton/spandex yarn, addition of another elastic filament can improve the fabric strength and resistant and has positive effect on worsen prevention for high temperature treated fabric elastic recovery, and on change prevention during the dyeing and finishing process for fabric handle properties, and improves the fabric stability.