bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phenomenal consciousness and cognitive access
Authors: Overgaard Morten
Published: July 2018

In consciousness research, it is common to distinguish between phenomenal consciousness and access consciousness. Recently, a number of scientists have attempted to show that phenomenal content can be empirically separated from cognitive access and, accordingly, that the mental content that is accessed is not (always) identical to the content that is experienced. One notable position is that of Ned Block who suggests that phenomenal content overflows cognitive access. I will review the evidence and show that existing data, in fact, do not demonstrate overflow. I will further argue that overflow is theoretically possible—yet highly difficult to empirically demonstrate—under the condition that ‘cognitive access’ is defined as working memory or attention. However, if ‘access’ is defined as information becoming ‘cognitively available’, in a broader sense, I will argue that a separation between subjective experience and access is impossible.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Perceptual consciousness and cognitive access’.
Image content is more important than Bouma’s Law for scene metamers
Authors: Wallis Thomas S. A. , Funke Christina M. , Ecker Alexander S. , Gatys Leon A. , Wichmann Felix A. , Bethge Matthias
Published: July 2018

We subjectively perceive our visual field with high fidelity, yet large peripheral distortions can go unnoticed and peripheral objects can be difficult to identify (crowding). A recent paper proposed a model of the mid-level ventral visual stream in which neural responses were averaged over an area of space that increased as a function of eccentricity (scaling). Human participants could not discriminate synthesised model images from each other (they were metamers) when scaling was about half the retinal eccentricity. This result implicated ventral visual area V2 and approximated “Bouma’s Law” of crowding. It has subsequently been interpreted as a link between crowding zones, receptive field scaling, and our rich perceptual experience. However, participants in this experiment never saw the original images. We find that participants can easily discriminate real and model-generated images at V2 scaling. Lower scale factors than even V1 receptive fields may be required to generate metamers. Efficiently explaining why scenes look as they do may require incorporating segmentation processes and global organisational constraints in addition to local pooling.
Climate, human influence, and the distribution limits of the invasive European earwig, Forficula auricularia, in Australia
Authors: Hill Matthew P , Binns Matthew , Umina Paul A , Hoffmann Ary A , Macfadyen Sarina
Published: July 2018

BACKGROUND

By modelling species-environment relationships of pest species, it is possible to understand potential limits to their distributions when they invade new regions, and their likely continued spread. The European earwig, Forficula auricularia, is a non-native invasive species in Australia that has been in the country for over 170 years. However, in the last few decades it has invaded new areas. Unlike in other countries, F. auricularia is a pest species of grains production in Australia. In this study we detail the Australian distribution of this species, adding new samples focussed around grain growing regions. Using this information we build global species distribution models for F. auricularia to better understand species-environment relationships.

RESULTS

Our models indicated that the distribution of F. auricularia is strongly associated with temperate through to semi-arid environments, a high winter rainfall and pronounced temperature seasonality. We identified regions that hold suitable, but as yet vacant, niche space for Australian populations, suggesting further potential for range expansion. Beyond climate, an index describing human influence on the landscape was important to understand the distribution limits of this pest. We identified regions where there was suitable climate space, but which F. auricularia has not occupied likely due to low levels of human impact.

CONCLUSION

Modelling the global distribution of a non-native pest species aided understanding of the regional distribution limits within Australia and highlighted the usefulness of human impact measures for modelling globally invasive insect species.
Hitchhiking, collapse and contingency in phage infections of migrating bacterial populations
Authors: Ping Derek , Wang Tong , Fraebel David T. , Maslov Sergei , Sneppen Kim , Kuehn Seppe
Published: July 2018

Natural bacterial populations are subject to constant predation pressure by phages. Bacteria use a variety of well-studied molecular mechanisms to defend themselves from phage predation. However, since phage are non-motile, perhaps the simplest defense against phage would be for bacteria to outrun their predators. In particular, chemotaxis, the active migration of bacteria up attractant gradients, may help the bacteria escape slowly diffusing phages. Here we study phage infection dynamics in migrating bacterial populations driven by chemotaxis through low viscosity agar plates. We find that expanding phage-bacteria populations support two migrating fronts, an outermost “bacterial” front driven by nutrient uptake and chemotaxis and an inner “phage” front at which bacterial population collapses due to phage predation. We show that with increasing adsorption rate and initial phage population, the rate of migration of the phage front increases, eventually overtaking the bacterial front and driving the system across a “phage transition” from a regime where bacteria outrun a phage infection to one where they must evolve phage resistance to survive. We confirm experimentally that this process requires phages to “surf” the bacterial front by repeatedly reinfecting the fastest moving bacteria. A deterministic model recapitulates the transition. Macroscopic fluctuations in bacterial densities at the phage front suggest that a feedback mechanism, possibly due to growth rate dependent phage infection rates, drives millimeter scale spatial structure in phage-bacteria populations. Our work opens a new, spatiotemporal, line of investigation into the eco-evolutionary struggle between bacteria and their phage predators.

Significance Statement

The infection of bacteria by phage requires physical contact. This fact means that motile bacteria may avoid non-motile phage by simply running away. By this mechanism bacterial chemotaxis may help bacteria to escape phages. Here we show that when phage infect bacteria moving in soft agar plates, high phage populations or infectivity rates result in phages stopping and killing all bacteria. Conversely, when initial phage numbers or infectivity rates are low, bacteria are able to migrate away from phage successfully, despite phage ability to “surf” bacterial fronts for more than 24 hours. Between these regimes we document a “phage transition” where bacterial physiology and contingency in phage infection manifest through large-scale fluctuations in spatio-temporal dynamics.
SymSim: simulating multi-faceted variability in single cell RNA sequencing
Authors: Zhang Xiuwei , Xu Chenling , Yosef Nir
Published: July 2018

The abundance of new computational methods for processing and interpreting transcriptomes at a single cell level raises the need forin-silicoplatforms for evaluation and validation. Simulated datasets which resemble the properties of real datasets can aid in method development and prioritization as well as in questions in experimental design by providing an objective ground truth. Here, we present SymSim, a simulator software that explicitly models the processes that give rise to data observed in single cell RNA-Seq experiments. The components of the SymSim pipeline pertain to the three primary sources of variation in single cell RNA-Seq data: noise intrinsic to the process of transcription, extrinsic variation that is indicative of different cell states (both discrete and continuous), and technical variation due to low sensitivity and measurement noise and bias. Unlike other simulators, the parameters that govern the simulation process directly represent meaningful properties such as mRNA capture rate, the number of PCR cycles, sequencing depth, or the use of unique molecular identifiers. We demonstrate how SymSim can be used for benchmarking methods for clustering and differential expression and for examining the effects of various parameters on their performance. We also show how SymSim can be used to evaluate the number of cells required to detect a rare population and how this number deviates from the theoretical lower bound as the quality of the data decreases. SymSim is publicly available as an R package and allows users to simulate datasets with desired properties or matched with experimental data.
Gene expression profiling of The Cancer Genome Atlas supports an inverse association between body mass index (BMI) and major oesophageal tumour subtypes
Authors: Seim Inge , Jeffery Penny L. , Chopin Lisa K.
Published: July 2018

In the last decade the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program has revealed significant insights into molecular events of dozens of cancers. These data sets are continuously updated, providing an unprecedented resource to the research community. There is now an emerging link between obesity and the development and progression of cancer. In this study we wished to identify genes related to body mass index (BMI) in TCGA datasets. Supporting epidemiological data, our gene expression profiling analyses suggest that oesophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) can be considered a true obesity-associated cancer subtype, presenting avenues for prevention and treatment.
A framework for analysis of real-time nucleic acid amplification data using novel multidimensional standard curves
Authors: Moniri Ahmad , Rodriguez-Manzano Jesus , Georgiou Pantelis
Published: July 2018

Research into improving methods for absolute quantification of nucleic acids using standard curves has plateaued despite its positive, far-reaching impact on biomedical applications and clinical diagnostics. Currently, the mathematics involved in this mature area is restricted by the simplicity of conventional standard curves such as the gold standard cycle-threshold (Ct) method. Here, we propose a novel framework that expands current methods into multidimensional space and opens the door for more complex mathematical techniques, signal processing and machine learning to be implemented. The heart of this work revolves around two new concepts: the multidimensional standard curve and its home - the feature space. This work has been validated using phage lambda DNA and standard qPCR instruments. We show that the capabilities of standard curves can be extended in order to simultaneously: enhance absolute quantification, detect outliers and provide insights into the intersection between molecular biology and amplification data. This work and its vision aims to maximise the information extracted from amplification data using current instruments without increasing the cost or complexity of existing diagnostic settings.
Genetic controls of mouseTas1r3-independent sucrose intake
Authors: Lin Cailu , Tordoff Michael G. , Li Xia , Bosak Natalia P. , Inoue Masashi , Ishiwatari Yutaka , Beauchamp Gary K. , Bachmanov Alexander A. , Reed Danielle R.
Published: July 2018

We have previously shown that variation in sucrose intake among inbred mouse strains is due in part to polymorphisms in theTas1r3gene, which encodes a sweet taste receptor subunit and accounts for theSaclocus on distal Chr4. To discover other quantitative trait loci (QTLs) influencing sucrose intake, voluntary daily sucrose intake was measured in an F2intercross with theSaclocus fixed; in backcross, reciprocal consomic strains; and in single- and double-congenic strains. Chromosome mapping identifiedScon3, located on Chr9, and epistasis ofScon3withScon4on Chr1. Mice with different combinations ofScon3andScon4genotypes differed more than threefold in sucrose intake. To understand how these two QTLs influenced sucrose intake, we measured resting metabolism, glucose and insulin tolerance, and peripheral taste responsiveness in congenic mice. We found that the combinations ofScon3andScon4genotypes influenced thermogenesis and the oxidation of fat and carbohydrate. Results of glucose and insulin tolerance tests, peripheral taste tests, and gustatory nerve recordings ruled out plasma glucose homoeostasis and peripheral taste sensitivity as major contributors to the differences in voluntary sucrose consumption. Our results provide evidence that these two novel QTLs influence mouse-to-mouse variation in sucrose intake and that both likely act through a common postoral mechanism.
Initial Characterization of the Two ClpP Paralogs ofChlamydia trachomatisSuggests Unique Functionality for Each
Authors: Wood Nicholas A. , Chung Krystal , Blocker Amanda , de Almeida Nathalia Rodrigues , Conda-Sheridan Martin , Fisher Derek J. , Ouellette Scot P.
Published: July 2018

Chlamydiais an obligate intracellular bacterium that differentiates between two distinct functional and morphological forms during its developmental cycle: elementary bodies (EBs) and reticulate bodies (RBs). EBs are non-dividing, small electron dense forms that infect host cells. RBs are larger, non-infectious replicative forms that develop within a membrane-bound vesicle, termed an inclusion. Given the unique properties of each developmental form of this bacterium, we hypothesized that the Clp protease system plays an integral role in proteomic turnover by degrading specific proteins from one developmental form or the other.Chlamydiahas five uncharacterizedclpgenes:clpX,clpC, twoclpPparalogs, andclpB. In other bacteria, ClpC and ClpX are ATPases that unfold and feed proteins into the ClpP protease to be degraded, and ClpB is a deaggregase. Here, we focused on characterizing the ClpP paralogs. Transcriptional analyses and immunoblotting determined these genes are expressed mid-cycle. Bioinformatic analyses of these proteins identified key residues important for activity. Over-expression of inactiveclpPmutants inChlamydiasuggested independent function of each ClpP paralog. To further probe these differences, we determined interactions between the ClpP proteins using bacterial two-hybrid assays and native gel analysis of recombinant proteins. Homotypic interactions of the ClpP proteins, but not heterotypic interactions between the ClpP paralogs, were detected. Interestingly, ClpP2, but not ClpP1, protease activity was detectedin vitro. This activity was stimulated by antibiotics known to activate ClpP, which also blocked chlamydial growth. Our data suggest the chlamydial ClpP paralogs likely serve distinct and critical roles in this important pathogen.

Importance

Chlamydia trachomatisis the leading cause of preventable infectious blindness and of bacterial sexually transmitted infections worldwide. Chlamydiae are developmentally regulated, obligate intracellular pathogens that alternate between two functional and morphologic forms with distinct repertoires of proteins. We hypothesize that protein degradation is a critical aspect to the developmental cycle. A key system involved in protein turnover in bacteria is the Clp protease system. Here, we characterized the two chlamydial ClpP paralogs by examining their expression inChlamydia, their ability to oligomerize, and their proteolytic activity. This work will help understand the evolutionarily diverse Clp proteases in the context of intracellular organisms, which may aid in the study of other clinically relevant intracellular bacteria.
Functional Testing of Thousands of Osteoarthritis-Associated Variants for Regulatory Activity
Authors: Klein Jason Chesler , Keith Aidan , Rice Sarah J. , Shepherd Colin , Agarwal Vikram , Loughlin John , Shendure Jay
Published: July 2018

To date, genome-wide association studies have implicated at least 35 loci in osteoarthritis, but due to linkage disequilibrium, we have yet to pinpoint the specific variants that underlie these associations, nor the mechanisms by which they contribute to disease risk. Here we functionally tested 1,605 single nucleotide variants associated with osteoarthritis for regulatory activity using a massively parallel reporter assay. We identified six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with differential regulatory activity between the major and minor alleles. We show that our most significant hit, rs4730222, drives increased expression of an alternative isoform ofHBP1in a heterozygote chondrosarcoma cell line, a CRISPR-edited osteosarcoma cell line, and in chondrocytes derived from osteoarthritis patients.
Non-heritable variation in individual fitness adds stability to neutral theories in ecology and evolution
Authors: Gomes M. Gabriela M. , King Jessica G. , Nunes Ana , Colegrave Nick , Hoffmann Ary A.
Published: July 2018

Neutral theories in ecology1and evolution2contend that high diversity of natural communities and high rates of molecular evolution conform to models where individuals have equal fitness and mutations have no effects. Demographic stochasticity makes community and population compositions inherently unstable under these models, with overall levels of diversity being maintained by random processes. This is in contrast with niche and adaptive theories which emphasize differences between species or genotypes as the key to their coexistence3. Here we show that non-heritable variation in individual fitness within species or genotypes can stabilize coexistence without evoking niche differentiation. We construct two classes of mathematical models based on experimental evidence: (1) bacterial growth with variation in cell longevity4,5; and (2) microbial transmission in a host population with variation in host susceptibility6–11. We find stable coexistence of 2 bacterial species in the first model under a single oscillating resource, and 3 or more in the second with independent distributions of host susceptibility to the various microbial species. We discuss the implications of these findings for the interpretation of common measures of relative fitness and for the maintenance of biodiversity.
Lemon: a framework for rapidly mining structural information from the Protein Data Bank
Authors: Fine Jonathan , Chopra Gaurav
Published: July 2018

Motivation

The protein data bank (PDB) currently holds over 140,000 biomolecular structures and continues to release new structures on a weekly basis. The PDB is an essential resource to the structural bioinformatics community to develop software that mine, use, categorize, and analyze such data. New computational biology methods are evaluated using custom benchmarking sets derived as subsets of 3D experimentally determined structures and structural features from the PDB. Currently, such benchmarking features are manually curated with custom scripts in a non-standardized manner that results in slow distribution and updates with new experimental structures. Finally, there is a scarcity of standardized tools to rapidly query 3D descriptors of the entire PDB.

Approach

Our solution is the Lemon framework, a C++11 library with Python bindings, which provides a consistent workflow methodology for selecting biomolecular interactions based on user criterion and computing desired 3D structural features. This framework can parse and characterize the entire PDB in less than ten minutes on modern, multithreaded hardware. The speed in parsing is obtained by using the recently developed MacroMolecule Transmission Format (MMTF) to reduce the computational cost of reading text-based PDB files. The use of C++ lambda functions and Python binds provide extensive flexibility for analysis and categorization of the PDB by allowing the user to write custom functions to suite their objective. We think Lemon will become a one-stop-shop to quickly mine the entire PDB to generate desired structural biology features. The Lemon software is available as a C++ header library along with example functions at https://github.com/chopralab/lemon.
Constitutively active RAS in S. pombe causes persistent Cdc42 signalling but only transient MAPK activation
Authors: Kelsall Emma J , Vertesy Abel , Straatman Kees , Tariq Mishal , Gadea Raquel , Parmar Chandni , Schreiber Gabriele , Randhawa Shubhchintan , Dominguez Cyril , Klipp Edda , Tanaka Kayoko
Published: July 2018

The small GTPase RAS is a signalling hub for many pathways and oncogenic human RAS mutations are assumed to over-activate all of its downstream pathways. We tested this assumption in fission yeast, where, RAS-mediated pheromone signalling (PS) activates the MAPKSpk1 and Cdc42 pathways. Unexpectedly, we found that constitutively active Ras1.G17V induced immediate but only transient MAPKSpk1 activation, whilst Cdc42 activation persisted. Immediate but transient MAPKSpk1 activation was also seen in the deletion mutant of Cdc42-GEFScd1, a Cdc42 activator. We built a mathematical model using PS negative-feedback circuits and competition between the two Ras1 effectors, MAPKKKByr2 and Cdc42-GEFScd1. The model robustly predicted the MAPKSpk1 activation dynamics of an additional 21 PS mutants. Supporting the model, we showed that a recombinant Cdc42-GEFScd1 fragment competes with MAPKKKByr2 for Ras1 binding. Our study has established a concept that the constitutively active RAS propagates differently to downstream pathways where the system prevents MAPK overactivation.
Molecular interaction and transport limitation in macromolecular binding to surfaces
Authors: Hemker Pieter Wilhelm , Miszta Adam , Bierbower Sonya M. , Hemker Hendrik Coenraad , Hermens Wim
Published: July 2018

Binding of macromolecules to surfaces, or to surface-attached binding partners, is usually described by the classical Langmuir model, which does not include interaction between incoming and adsorbed molecules or between adsorbed molecules.

The present study introduces the “Surfint” model, including such interactions. Instead of the exponential binding behaviour of the Langmuir model, the Surfint model has tanh binding equations, as confirmed by a random sequential adsorption (RSA) computer simulation.

For high binding affinity, sorption kinetics become diffusion-limited as described by the existing unstirred-layer model “Unstir”, for which we present the exact analytical solution of its binding equations expressed in Lambert W-functions.

Low-affinity binding of thrombin on heparin, and high-affinity binding of prothrombin on phospholipid vesicles, were measured by ellipsometry and were best described by the Surfint and Unstir models, respectively.
Drosophila insulin-like peptide dilp1 increases lifespan and glucagon-like Akh expression epistatic to dilp2
Authors: Post Stephanie , Liao Sifang , Yamamoto Rochele , Veenstra Jan A. , Nässel Dick R. , Tatar Marc
Published: July 2018

Insulin/IGF signaling (IIS) regulates essential processes including development, metabolism, and aging. The Drosophila genome encodes eight insulin/IGF-like peptide (dilp) paralogs, including tandem-encoded dilp1 and dilp2. Many reports show that longevity is increased by manipulations that decrease DILP2 in adults. In contrast, dilp1 is expressed primarily in pupal stages, but also during adult reproductive diapause, although we find that dilp1 is also highly expressed in adult dilp2 mutants under non-diapause conditions. The inverse expression of dilp1 and dilp2 suggests these genes interact to regulate aging. Here, we study dilp1 and dilp2 single and double mutants to describe epistatic and synergistic interactions affecting longevity, metabolism and adipokinetic hormone (AKH), a functional homolog of glucagon. Mutants of dilp2 extend lifespan and increase Akh mRNA and protein in a dilp1-dependent manner. Loss of dilp1 alone has no impact on these traits, whereas transgene expression of dilp1 increases lifespan in dilp1-dilp2 double mutants. On the other hand, dilp1 and dilp2 redundantly interact to control circulating sugar, starvation resistance and compensatory dilp5 expression. These later interactions do not correlate with patterns for how dilp1 and dilp2 affect longevity and AKH. Thus, repression or loss of dilp2 slows aging because its depletion induces dilp1, which acts as a pro-longevity factor. Likewise, dilp2 regulates Akh through epistatic interaction with dilp1. Akh and glycogen affect aging in C. elegans and Drosophila, suggesting that dilp2 modulates lifespan via dilp1 and in part by regulating Akh. Whether DILP1 acts as an insulin receptor agonist or inhibitor remains to be resolved.
Cross-species alcohol dependence-associated gene networks: Co-analysis of mouse brain gene expression and human genome-wide association data
Authors: Mignogna Kristin M. , Bacanu Silviu A. , Riley Brien P. , Wolen Aaron R. , Miles Michael F.
Published: July 2018

Genome-wide association studies on alcohol dependence, by themselves, have yet to account for the estimated heritability of the disorder and provide incomplete mechanistic understanding of this complex trait. Integrating brain ethanol-responsive gene expression networks from model organisms with human genetic data on alcohol dependence could aid in identifying dependence-associated genes and functional networks in which they are involved. This study used a modification of the Edge-Weighted Dense Module Searching for genome-wide association studies (EW-dmGWAS) approach to co-analyze whole-genome gene expression data from ethanol-exposed mouse brain tissue, human protein-protein interaction databases and alcohol dependence-related genome-wide association studies. Results revealed novel ethanol-regulated and alcohol dependence-associated gene networks in prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, and ventral tegmental area. Three of these networks were overrepresented with genome-wide association signals from an independent dataset. These networks were significantly overrepresented for gene ontology categories involving several mechanisms, including actin filament-based activity, transcript regulation, Wnt and Syndecan-mediated signaling, and ubiquitination. Together, these studies provide novel insight for brain mechanisms contributing to alcohol dependence.
Two furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid solvates crystallized from dimethylformamide and dimethyl sulfoxide
Authors: Mao Yimin , Zavalij Peter Y.
Published: July 2018

Furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) has been ranked among the top 12 bio-based building-block chemicals by the Department of Energy in the US. The molecule was first synthesized in 1876, but large-scale production has only become possible since the development of modern bio- and chemical catalysis techniques. The structures of two FDCA solvates, namely, FDCA dimethylformamide (DMF) disolvate, C6H4O5·2C3H7NO, (I), and FDCA dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) monosolvate, C6H4O5·C2H6OS, (II), are reported. Solvate (I) crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pbcn space group and solvate (II) crystallizes in the triclinic P\overline{1} space group. In (I), hydrogen bonds form between the carbonyl O atom in DMF and a hydroxy H atom in FDCA. Whilst in (II), the O atom in one DMSO molecule hydrogen bonds with hydroxy H atoms in two FDCA molecules. Combined with intermolecular S...O interactions, FDCA molecules form a two-dimensional network coordinated by DMSO.
Making use of an enduring public administration myth
Authors: Marshall Gary
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of the public interest. The central question is whether the public interest is a usable concept in a time of social and political change. A historical overview of the public interest is provided. Two researchers are highlighted: David John Farmer and O.C. McSwite. The paper concludes by proposing the refusal of subjective identification with the public interest.

Design/methodology/approach

Discourse theory and Lacanian psychoanalysis are discussed in this paper. The emphasis in both approaches is to examine ethical challenges in politics and administration through new epistemological lenses. A further use of these research strategies is to identify existing institutional practices and situate administrative decision-making within those practices.

Findings

The findings in this paper indicate that while institutional resistance is useful, it can also be co-opted or result in retribution. In both cases, power is asserted and maintained by those who hold institutional power. David John Farmer’s work on anti-administration and O.C. McSwite’s work on administrative refusal are effective strategies to address the abuse of institutional power.

Originality/value

This paper introduces the concept of subjective identification to the literature of public administration. Subjective identification offers administrators a new approach to the ethical dilemmas they face in the workplace.
Using situational crisis communication theory to understand Orlando hotels’ Twitter response to three crises in the summer of 2016
Authors: Barbe Danielle , Pennington-Gray Lori
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the crisis communication strategies implemented by hotel and lodging organizations via social media. Specifically, this study analyzed Twitter content by hotels in Orlando, Florida during the summer of 2016 when several crises occurred that made global media coverage, including the alligator snatching on Disney property, the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub and growing concerns of Zika virus.

Design/methodology/approach

To understand crisis communication in the hotel industry, this study was guided by the technology-environment-organization framework and situational crisis communication theory (SCCT). Twitter content between June 1 and August 31, 2016 from Orlando hotels was collected and content analyzed to determine: was the message related to the crisis event, the SCCT strategy used and the influence of hotel organizational factors (ownership, size, classification) on the use of social media for crisis communication.

Findings

Results indicate that most hotels are not currently using Twitter as a form of crisis communication. Only the shooting at Pulse Nightclub was communicated and the SCCT bolster strategy was used throughout each of the crisis-related message, reminding stakeholders that they too are a victim.

Originality/value

This study provides insight into the ways hotels are using social media for crisis communication. Each crisis explored was different, and while the hotels were not responsible for creating the crises, they are responsible for the safety of guests. These results inform hoteliers that there is a responsibility to communicate during a crisis, particularly for informative purposes.
Organizational characteristics of cross-border mergers and acquisitions
Authors: Li Yu , Redding K.S. , Xie En
Published: July 2018

Purpose

Given that several publicly announced international merger and acquisition deals have been abandoned in recent years, the purpose of this paper is to present a synthesis of influential articles that examine organizational characteristics of cross-border acquisition transactions. The synthesis is framed through general traits and resources, learning and prior acquisition experience, and top-level management and governance attributes. Specifically, the paper conceptualizes key organizational attributes influencing the propensity of cross-border negotiations, and the most common characteristics and post-deal effects by illustrating several case examples from around the world.

Design/methodology/approach

Owing to fairness and integrity principles of the literature survey studies, the paper adopts an exploratory review design to present a synthesis of several influential articles published in strategy, international business and corporate finance journals. Since case method and storytelling are the best qualitative approaches to conceptualizing extant theoretical contributions, a number of case examples—successful, delayed and abandoned—from around the world have been discussed by leveraging the case information from archival sources.

Findings

Drawing on resource-based view, organizational learning, upper echelons and agency theory perspectives, the paper underscores three observations. First, organizational characteristics such as firm age, firm size, ownership structure, slack resources, marketing resources, technological intensity, export intensity and business group affiliation have different impacts on the propensity of publicly announced cross-border deals. Second, firm’s prior acquisition experience and firm’s acquisition experience in the target country have positive or moderating effects on the success of a cross-border merger. Third, top-level management characteristics such as CEO foreign nationality and CEO international career experience, and governance characteristics such as board size, the number of independent directors and directors with overseas experience, have mixed effects on the incidence of cross-border acquisitions.

Practical implications

The paper puts forth several recommendations for top-level managers participating in cross-border acquisition negotiations, such as learning from peers in the same industry, learning from predecessors in the target country and learning from failure negotiations in the same industry and other industries.

Originality/value

Nested within the organizational, international business strategy and corporate finance literature, the paper presents a synthesis of influential publications that study organizational characteristics affecting the propensity of cross-border acquisitions. The cases discussed in this paper are unique examples from around the world.
Beyond eventification: capacity building in post-disaster temporariness
Authors: Pasquinelli Cecilia , Koukoufikis Georgios , Gogishvili David
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The paper aims to explore cultural events in a post-disaster town cultural events in a post-disaster town, L’Aquila, Italy, facing a long-term process of adaptation and recovery after the 2009 earthquake.

Design/methodology/approach

A time-based conceptual framework is applied in a case analysis relying on primary and secondary data. In-depth semi-structured interviews with local actors, direct observations and participation in local events and public debates enriched the analysis.

Findings

In the absence of a clear-cut urban policy framework, an urban heritage of cultural events emerged from local actors’ initiatives, with some evidence of local capacity building. Elements of events’ institutionalisation and signals of a serious risk of vanishing in the post-disaster transitioning context are discussed.

Originality/value

The study involves development of a theoretical framework for analysing the temporal process of evolution of a local system of cultural events as instruments for place-making and capacity building in a post-disaster town. New light is cast on the meaning of “eventification.”
Bringing active learning into the accounting classroom
Authors: Sugahara Satoshi , Dellaportas Steven
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of an accounting education pedagogy incorporating active learning approaches designed to engage first-year undergraduate business students and to aspire them to continue accounting as their academic major and entry into the accounting profession.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from a questionnaire with a pre-/post-test design of 24 undergraduate business students enrolled in a course titled Accounting Active Learning Seminar (AALS) (test group) and 33 students who did not participate in the AALS (control group). The AALS incorporates various types of active learning methods designed by the authors to inspire students to continue with accounting as a career choice.

Findings

The findings show that participation in the AALS improved student’s motivation in accounting education and the likelihood of choosing accounting as their academic major. The active learning methods implemented in the AALS were effective in improving students’ confidence, of which degree contributed to students’ stronger works aspiration towards accounting professions. Further it was found that students who did not participate in the AALS tended to have lower attention dimensions of motivation, which was also significantly associated with lower percentage of students’ choice of academic major in accounting.

Originality/value

This is one of the few studies to empirically examine active learning on student engagement and performance with a focus on accounting. While the evidence shows that active learning has pedagogical benefits, the full potential of active learning is more likely to be realized when accounting educators design active learning carefully to address the “attention” and “confidence” attributes.
The role of emotional aspects in the information retrieval from the web
Authors: Yari Zanganeh Marzieh , Hariri Nadjla
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the role of emotional aspects in information retrieval of PhD students from the web.

Design/methodology/approach

From the methodological perspective, the present study is experimental and the type of study is practical. The study population is PhD students of various fields of science. The study sample consists of 50 students as selected by the stratified purposive sampling method. The information aggregation is performed by observing the records of user’s facial expressions, log file by Morae software, as well as pre-search and post-search questionnaire. The data analysis is performed by canonical correlation analysis.

Findings

The findings showed that there was a significant relationship between emotional expressions and searchers’ individual characteristics. Searchers satisfaction of results, frequency internet search, experience of search, interest in the search task and familiarity with similar searches were correlated with the increased happy emotion. The examination of user’s emotions during searching performance showed that users with happiness emotion dedicated much time in searching and viewing of search solutions. More internet addresses with more queries were used by happy participants; on the other hand, users with anger and disgust emotions had the lowest attempt in search performance to complete search process.

Practical implications

The results imply that the information retrieval systems in the web should identify emotional expressions in a set of perceiving signs in human interaction with computer, similarity, face emotional states, searching and information retrieval from the web.

Originality/value

The results explicit in the automatic identification of users’ emotional expressions can enter new dimensions into their moderator and information retrieval systems on the web and can pave the way of design of emotional information retrieval systems for the successful retrieval of users of the network.
Investor sentiment and timely loss recognition
Authors: Duong Hong Kim , Schuldt Michael , Gotti Giorgio
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of investor sentiment on timely loss recognition by examining a sample of firms for the period 1988-2015.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use the accruals-based model of Ball and Shivakumar (2005) and a sentiment measure in their primary analysis. Supporting analyses include an extension of Simpson (2013) using an abnormal accruals analysis with subsamples of firms with bad news, the use of a Khan and Watts (2009) quarter firm-level measure of conservatism and an investigation of the monitoring role played by financial analysts.

Findings

The study finds that managers strategically report more losses in high sentiment periods than in low sentiment periods. This loss timing behavior results in an average 37.8 per cent increase in the acceleration of loss recognition. This study additionally finds a negative correlation between investor sentiment and abnormal accruals when managers are reporting bad news, and that a greater number of financial analysts following a firm curtails managers’ acceleration of loss recognition in high sentiment periods.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the corporate disclosure literature by showing that managers strategically recognize losses, and such behavior is more prevalent in high sentiment periods. Managers take advantage of prevailing investor sentiment to accelerate losses in high sentiment periods to mitigate market penalties from reporting bad news.
Gradients of season length and mortality risk cause shifts in body size, reserves and reproductive strategies of determinate growers
Authors: Ejsmond Maciej J. , McNamara John M. , Søreide Janne , Varpe Øystein
Published: July 2018

The theory of life‐history evolution investigates how growth‐reproduction trade‐offs drive evolution of body size in uni‐ and multivoltine (one or more generations per year) arthropods. Existing theory does not predict how the length of the feeding season (season length hereafter) affects body size in semivoltine (i.e., juvenile period longer than 1 year) determinate growers and usually ignores that uni‐ and semivoltine arthropods accumulate large reserves to cover costs of diapause and future reproduction.

Here, we present how the trade‐offs between growth, storage and reproduction drive evolution of body mass and reproductive strategy in arthropods with determinate growth. Our life‐history model concerns high‐latitude marine copepods living in a strongly seasonal environment.

We find that small changes in season length and mortality rate translate into abrupt shifts in lean body mass (a proxy for body size). Body size shifts are caused by a change from multi‐ to uni‐ and semivoltine life cycles with semivoltine life histories selected for in short seasons and only if background mortality is low. Shifts in the number of generations per year do not translate into shifts in the mass of lipid reserves. The model predicts less reserves the shorter the winter. Season length alone is not a sufficient predictor of the degree of capital breeding. Storing for reproduction is strongly selected for under short season but low mortality rate. Hence, capital breeding contributes to fitness in uni‐ and semivoltine organisms whereas multivoltines are income breeders. We also show that storing reserves for diapause and capital breeding trades off with adult size of determinately growing arthropods.

Our results, in particular regarding optimal body size, reproductive strategy (income‐to‐capital breeding) and degree of storage are relevant to a number of determinate growers, including insects and crustaceans.

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‘It's just an excuse to slut around’: gay and bisexual mens’ constructions of HIV pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as a social problem
Authors: Pawson Mark , Grov Christian
Published: July 2018

Since the 2012 FDA approval of HIV Pre‐exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) as a method to prevent HIV, its uptake among gay and bisexual men has been met with conflict. Drawing on discussions of PrEP from focus groups with gay and bisexual men in New York City (N = 5 groups, n = 32 participants), we sought to make meaning of the moral debate surrounding the implementation of biomedical HIV prevention medications. Grounded in the constructionist perspective on social problems, this case study focuses on the competing claims making activities gay and bisexual men engage in when framing PrEP and PrEP users. As HIV prevention is a communicative endeavour, analysing the micro level social problems work on PrEP provides key insight into the subcultural norms and values that shape sexual health practices and beliefs within gay and bisexual communities.
Low major trauma confidence among emergency physicians working outside major trauma services: Inevitable result of a centralised trauma system or evidence for change?
Authors: Putland Mark , Noonan Michael , Olaussen Alexander , Cameron Peter , Fitzgerald Mark
Published: July 2018

Objective

Regionalised civilian trauma systems improve patient outcomes, but may deskill clinicians outside major trauma services (MTSs). We aimed to characterise experience and confidence in trauma management among emergency physicians working in MTS to those working elsewhere.

Methods

Emergency physicians working within the Victorian State Trauma System were surveyed about their pre‐ and post‐fellowship training experience, their estimated hours per fortnight in different centres, the frequency of performance/supervision of critical emergency skills and their confidence in a range of trauma skills.

Results

The 138 respondents analysed represented 33% of active Victorian FACEMs. The cohort were mostly males (69.6%), younger than 50 (75.4%) and were generally (69.6%) six or more years post‐fellowship. FACEMs working in a MTS were more likely to have been a trauma registrar prior to fellowship (13.3% vs 3.7%, P = 0.046). MTS clinicians performed more, supervised more and were more confident in trauma team leading, traumatic airway management and rapid infusion catheter and multi‐access catheters. Confidence in trauma team leading was only associated with exposure to performance or supervision of trauma team leading. Performance of trauma team leading was more common in clinicians at a MTS (odds ratio 3.19, 95% CI 1.00–10.20, P = 0.05).

Conclusion

Exposure to major trauma is associated with time spent working in a MTS and exposure is associated with confidence. A mature inclusive trauma system must ensure clinicians across the system gain the experience or training to provide trauma care that will result in similar outcomes for patients regardless of initial presenting hospital.
Short‐term high‐fat diet exacerbates insulin resistance and glycolipid metabolism disorders in young obese men with hyperlipidemia, as determined by metabolomics analysis using ultra‐HPLC–quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry
Authors: Feng Rennan , Sun Guozhang , Zhang Yunbo , Sun Qintong , Ju Liyan , Sun Changhao , Wang Cheng
Published: July 2018

Background

The prevalence of obesity is increasing rapidly worldwide, and dietary intake is strongly associated with obesity‐related chronic diseases. However, key metabolic perturbations in obese young men with hyperlipidemia after high‐fat diet (HFD) intervention are not yet clear, and remain to be determined. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a short‐term HFD on glycolipid metabolism, insulin resistance (IR), and urinary metabolomic profiling in young obese men with hyperlipidemia.

Methods

Sixty young men (19–25 years; 30 normal weight, 30 obese with hyperlipidemia) were enrolled in the study. Differences in metabolomic profiling of urine between normal‐weight and obese young men before and after 3 days intake of the HFD were investigated using ultra‐HPLC–quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry.

Results

After the HFD intervention, total cholesterol (TC), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) were significantly increased and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly decreased in obese men, but only TC was significantly increased in normal‐weight subjects. Based on metabolic differences, normal‐weight and obese men, and obese men before and after the HFD intervention could be separated into distinct clusters. Seventeen major metabolites were identified that were associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus, glycolipid metabolism and IR; the changes in these metabolites suggest metabolic changes in young obese males after short‐term HFD intake.

Conclusions

The findings of this study may contribute to increased understanding of the early biological adaptations of obesity with hyperlipidemia to HFD for the early prevention and control of diabetes and IR.