bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Student’s ecological intelligence ability on the environmental knowledge course
Authors: Putra A , Rahmat A , Redjeki S , Hidayat T
Published: March 2019

This study aims to determine the ability of the ecological intelligence of pre-service biology teacher in the course of environmental knowledge. This research includes qualitative research type with qualitative descriptive approach. The variables analyzed are the students’ ecological intelligence ability, especially on the subject of environmental knowledge with the materials such as Environmental Characteristics, Ecological Concepts, Material and Energy, Human and Environment, Natural Resources and Environment, Health and Environment.. The results showed that the ability of ecological intelligence of pre-service biology teacher in the subject of environmental knowledge was good enough. For the content aspect, the highest score is on ecological concepts, as well as human and environmental, by 85%. In the skill aspect, the highest score is on material and energy concepts that is 85%. While in the attitude aspect, the highest score is on the material of ecological concepts 86%.
Spillover Effects of Tobacco Farms on the Labor Supply, Education, and Health of Children: Evidence from Malawi
Authors: Xia Fang , Deininger Klaus
Published: March 2019

Using data from the Living Standards Measurement Study in Malawi, we examine the spillover effects of tobacco farms on children's labor supply, education, and health. To address potential endogeneity, the share of tobacco farms in a community is instrumented by the change in tobacco buyers following termination of the intermediate buyer system. We find that, as tobacco cultivation is labor‐intensive, children in communities with more tobacco growers spend more time as casual laborers and are less likely to advance to the next grade. Adverse health effects, measured by the likelihood of suffering from illnesses related to green tobacco sickness, are estimated to be larger than previously documented. This affects not only “working‐age” children but also children too young to work on tobacco farms. Moreover, exposure to large‐scale tobacco cultivation is estimated to reduce the height‐for‐age z‐score of children aged 6–60 months. These findings highlight the importance of raising awareness and taking measures to protect children against green tobacco.
Drug repositioning through integration of prior knowledge and projections of drugs and diseases
Authors: Xuan Ping , Cao Yangkun , Zhang Tiangang , Wang Xiao , Pan Shuxiang , Shen Tonghui
Published: March 2019

Motivation

Identifying and developing novel therapeutic effects for existing drugs contributes to reduction of drug development costs. Most of the previous methods focus on integration of the heterogeneous data of drugs and diseases from multiple sources for predicting the candidate drug–disease associations. However, they fail to take the prior knowledge of drugs and diseases and their sparse characteristic into account. It is essential to develop a method that exploits the more useful information to predict the reliable candidate associations.

Results

We present a method based on non-negative matrix factorization, DisDrugPred, to predict the drug-related candidate disease indications. A new type of drug similarity is firstly calculated based on their associated diseases. DisDrugPred completely integrates two types of disease similarities, the associations between drugs and diseases, and the various similarities between drugs from different levels including the chemical structures of drugs, the target proteins of drugs, the diseases associated with drugs and the side effects of drugs. The prior knowledge of drugs and diseases and the sparse characteristic of drug–disease associations provide a deep biological perspective for capturing the relationships between drugs and diseases. Simultaneously, the possibility that a drug is associated with a disease is also dependant on their projections in the low-dimension feature space. Therefore, DisDrugPred deeply integrates the diverse prior knowledge, the sparse characteristic of associations and the projections of drugs and diseases. DisDrugPred achieves superior prediction performance than several state-of-the-art methods for drug–disease association prediction. During the validation process, DisDrugPred also can retrieve more actual drug–disease associations in the top part of prediction result which often attracts more attention from the biologists. Moreover, case studies on five drugs further confirm DisDrugPred’s ability to discover potential candidate disease indications for drugs.

Availability and implementation

The fourth type of drug similarity and the predicted candidates for all the drugs are available at https://github.com/pingxuan-hlju/DisDrugPred.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Role of a novel race-related tumor suppressor microRNA located in frequently deleted chromosomal locus 8p21 in prostate cancer progression
Authors: Bhagirath Divya , Yang Thao Ly , Tabatabai Z Laura , Shahryari Varahram , Majid Shahana , Dahiya Rajvir , Tanaka Yuichiro , Saini Sharanjot
Published: March 2019

The prostate cancer (PCa) genome is characterized by deletions of chromosome 8p21–22 region that increase significantly with tumor grade and are associated with poor prognosis. We proposed and validated a novel, paradigm-shifting hypothesis that this region is associated with a set of microRNA genes—miR-3622, miR-3622b, miR-383—that are lost in PCa and play important mechanistic roles in PCa progression and metastasis. Extending our hypothesis, in this study, we evaluated the role of a microRNA gene located in chromosome 8p—miR-4288—by employing clinical samples and cell lines. Our data suggests that (i) miR-4288 is widely downregulated in primary prostate tumors and cell lines; (ii) miR-4288 expression is lost in metastatic castration-resistant PCa; (ii) miR-4288 downregulation is race-related PCa alteration that is prevalent in Caucasian patients and not in African Americans; (iii) in Caucasians, miR-4288 was found to be associated with increasing tumor grade and high serum prostate-specific antigen, suggesting that miR-4288 downregulation/loss may be associated with tumor progression specifically in Caucasians; (iv) miR-4288 possess significant potential as a molecular biomarker to predict aggressiveness/metastasis; and (v) miR-4288 is anti-proliferative, is anti-invasive and inhibits epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition; and (vi) miR-4288 directly represses expression of metastasis/invasion-associated genes MMP16 and ROCK1. Thus, the present study demonstrates a tumor suppressor role for a novel miRNA located with a frequently lost region in PCa, strengthening our hypothesis that this locus is causally related to PCa disease progression via loss of microRNA genes. Our study suggests that miR-4288 may be a novel biomarker and therapeutic target, particularly in Caucasians.
The Role of Primate Prefrontal Cortex in Bias and Shift Between Visual Dimensions
Authors: Mansouri Farshad A , Buckley Mark J , Fehring Daniel J , Tanaka Keiji
Published: March 2019

Imaging and neural activity recording studies have shown activation in the primate prefrontal cortex when shifting attention between visual dimensions is necessary to achieve goals. A fundamental unanswered question is whether representations of these dimensions emerge from top-down attentional processes mediated by prefrontal regions or from bottom-up processes within visual cortical regions. We hypothesized a causative link between prefrontal cortical regions and dimension-based behavior. In large cohorts of humans and macaque monkeys, performing the same attention shifting task, we found that both species successfully shifted between visual dimensions, but both species also showed a significant behavioral advantage/bias to a particular dimension; however, these biases were in opposite directions in humans (bias to color) versus monkeys (bias to shape). Monkeys’ bias remained after selective bilateral lesions within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), frontopolar cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), or superior, lateral prefrontal cortex. However, lesions within certain regions (ACC, DLPFC, or OFC) impaired monkeys’ ability to shift between these dimensions. We conclude that goal-directed processing of a particular dimension for the executive control of behavior depends on the integrity of prefrontal cortex; however, representation of competing dimensions and bias toward them does not depend on top-down prefrontal-mediated processes.
Developmental atlas of the RNA editome in Sus scrofa skeletal muscle
Authors: Yang Yalan , Zhu Min , Fan Xinhao , Yao Yilong , Yan Junyu , Tang Yijie , Liu Siyuan , Li Kui , Tang Zhonglin
Published: March 2019

Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing meditated by adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs) enzymes is a widespread post-transcriptional event in mammals. However, A-to-I editing in skeletal muscle remains poorly understood. By integrating strand-specific RNA-seq, whole genome bisulphite sequencing, and genome sequencing data, we comprehensively profiled the A-to-I editome in developing skeletal muscles across 27 prenatal and postnatal stages in pig, an important farm animal and biomedical model. We detected 198,892 A-to-I editing sites and found that they occurred more frequently at prenatal stages and showed low conservation among pig, human, and mouse. Both the editing level and frequency decreased during development and were positively correlated with ADAR enzymes expression. The hyper-edited genes were functionally related to the cell cycle and cell division. A co-editing module associated with myogenesis was identified. The developmentally differential editing sites were functionally enriched in genes associated with muscle development, their editing levels were highly correlated with expression of their host mRNAs, and they potentially influenced the gain/loss of miRNA binding sites. Finally, we developed a database to visualize the Sus scrofa RNA editome. Our study presents the first profile of the dynamic A-to-I editome in developing animal skeletal muscle and provides evidences that RNA editing is a vital regulator of myogenesis.
Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis: distinct mechanisms of bacterial adhesion to damaged and inflamed heart valves
Authors: Liesenborghs Laurens , Meyers Severien , Lox Marleen , Criel Maarten , Claes Jorien , Peetermans Marijke , Trenson Sander , Vande Velde Greetje , Vanden Berghe Pieter , Baatsen Pieter , Missiakas Dominique , Schneewind Olaf , Peetermans Willy E , Hoylaerts Marc F , Vanassche Thomas , Verhamme Peter
Published: March 2019

Aims

The pathogenesis of endocarditis is not well understood resulting in unsuccessful attempts at prevention. Clinical observations suggest that Staphylococcus aureus infects either damaged or inflamed heart valves. Using a newly developed endocarditis mouse model, we therefore studied the initial adhesion of S. aureus in both risk states.

Methods and results

Using 3D confocal microscopy, we examined the adhesion of fluorescent S. aureus to murine aortic valves. To mimic different risk states we either damaged the valves with a surgically placed catheter or simulated valve inflammation by local endothelium activation. We used von Willebrand factor (VWF) gene-deficient mice, induced platelet and fibrinogen depletion and used several S. aureus mutant strains to investigate the contribution of both host and bacterial factors in early bacterial adhesion. Both cardiac valve damage and inflammation predisposed to endocarditis, but by distinct mechanisms. Following valve damage, S. aureus adhered directly to VWF and fibrin, deposited on the damaged valve. This was mediated by Sortase A-dependent adhesins such as VWF-binding protein and Clumping factor A. Platelets did not contribute. In contrast, upon cardiac valve inflammation, widespread endothelial activation led to endothelial cell-bound VWF release. This recruited large amounts of platelets, capturing S. aureus to the valve surface. Here, neither fibrinogen, nor Sortase A were essential.

Conclusion

Cardiac valve damage and inflammation predispose to S. aureus endocarditis via distinct mechanisms. These findings may have important implications for the development of new preventive strategies, as some interventions might be effective in one risk state, but not in the other.
Physical inactivity, television time and chronic diseases in Brazilian adults and older adults
Authors: Christofoletti Marina , Del Duca Giovani Firpo , da Silva Kelly Samara , Meneghini Vandrize , Malta Deborah de Carvalho
Published: March 2019

This study aimed to investigate the association between simultaneity of leisure-time physical inactivity and high television time with the presence of chronic diseases in adults and older adults in Brazil. We analyzed secondary data from Vigitel 2013 database, a cross-sectional national survey. It was included 37 947 adults (18–59 years) and 14 982 older adults (≥60 years) living in Brazilian state capitals. The association was between simultaneity of risk behaviors considering leisure-time physical inactivity (<10 min/day) and high television time (≥2 h/day), with the presence of chronic diseases (diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension and obesity), measured according to the age group. We performed a binary logistic regression, crude and adjusted analysis, using weighted to reflect population estimates. In adults, there was an association between leisure-time physical inactivity and television time with the presence of diseases. In practice, the simultaneity of risk behaviors when compared with those without risk behavior had higher odds for diabetes (OR = 1.83), dyslipidemia (OR = 1.17), hypertension (OR = 1.54) and obesity (OR = 1.60). In older adults, the simultaneity was associated with diabetes (OR = 1.61), hypertension (OR = 1.33) and obesity (OR = 1.81). We concluded that for adults and older adults the simultaneity of leisure-time physical inactivity and high television time increased the odds for the presence of chronic disease, especially for diabetes and obesity.
Machine intelligence and the data-driven future of marine science
Authors: Malde Ketil , Handegard Nils Olav , Eikvil Line , Salberg Arnt-Børre
Published: March 2019

Oceans constitute over 70% of the earth's surface, and the marine environment and ecosystems are central to many global challenges. Not only are the oceans an important source of food and other resources, but they also play a important roles in the earth's climate and provide crucial ecosystem services. To monitor the environment and ensure sustainable exploitation of marine resources, extensive data collection and analysis efforts form the backbone of management programmes on global, regional, or national levels. Technological advances in sensor technology, autonomous platforms, and information and communications technology now allow marine scientists to collect data in larger volumes than ever before. But our capacity for data analysis has not progressed comparably, and the growing discrepancy is becoming a major bottleneck for effective use of the available data, as well as an obstacle to scaling up data collection further. Recent years have seen rapid advances in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning, and in particular, so-called deep learning systems are now able to solve complex tasks that previously required human expertise. This technology is directly applicable to many important data analysis problems and it will provide tools that are needed to solve many complex challenges in marine science and resource management. Here we give a brief review of recent developments in deep learning, and highlight the many opportunities and challenges for effective adoption of this technology across the marine sciences.
Self-Defense by Non-State Actors in States of Fragmented Authority
Authors: Tzimas Themis
Published: March 2019

The current article focuses on Events in the Middle East in relation to non-state actors and the right of self-defense. As study-case is adopted for Yemen, where the Houthis, as the de facto authority—and, according to their own standpoint as the de jure authority too—of the state, or at least large parts of it, declare that they exercise a right to self-defense against the Saudi-led intervention.

The theme is examined in the context of protracted conflicts, which from non-international become internationalized armed conflicts, in states of fragmented authority and sovereignty. The argument is that while non-state actors (NSAs) do not autonomously possess a right of their own to self-defense, in cases involving states of fragmented authority and sovereignty they may exercise this right, on behalf of the state which is suffering the attack for as long as the government is not in a position to fulfill its responsibility regarding the defense of the state.

The article does not advocate a contra legem interpretation of Article 51, expanding its application to non-state actors. It argues in favor of the substitution of the entity that is entitled to implement Article 51, when the government of a state is absent or incapable of carrying out its duties. It is in this sense that non-state actors are linked to the right of self-defense.
Financial citizenship and nation-building in Malaysia: elites' and citizens' perspectives
Authors: Abdul Rahman Syahirah , Ertürk Ismail , Froud Julie
Published: March 2019

This article presents a postcolonial analysis of financial citizenship (FC) programmes in Malaysia. Drawing on secondary data and on interviews with elites and citizen investors, the paper explores the spatial and historically specific nature of financialisation in a postcolonial context. Specifically, the paper draws out the significance of FC as part of broader nation building objectives in Malaysia from an elite perspective, while also observing the reluctance of citizen investors who are engaging with the equity market to support the formal objectives of the policy. In doing so, it provides an example of the financialisation of everyday life in a distinctive and complex emerging economy context. Moreover, the paper explores these processes from both elite and citizen perspectives, allowing these layered relations within FC to be analysed. The article, therefore, contributes to the financialisation literature by bringing new understandings of elite–citizen relations in postcolonial nation-building strategies.
Early- and late-stage mergers among main sequence and starburst galaxies at 0.2 ≤ z ≤ 2
Authors: Cibinel A , Daddi E , Sargent M T , Le Floc’h E , Liu D , Bournaud F , Oesch P A , Amram P , Calabrò A , Duc P-A , Pannella M , Puglisi A , Perret V , Elbaz D , Kokorev V
Published: March 2019

We investigate the fraction of close pairs and morphologically identified mergers on and above the star-forming main sequence (MS) at 0.2 ≤ z ≤2.0. The novelty of our work lies in the use of a non-parametric morphological classification performed on resolved stellar mass maps, reducing the contamination by non-interacting, high-redshift clumpy galaxies. We find that the merger fraction rapidly rises to ≥70 per cent above the MS, implying that – already at z ≳ 1 – starburst (SB) events (ΔMS ≥ 0.6) are almost always associated with a major merger (1:1 to 1:6 mass ratio). The majority of interacting galaxies in the SB region are morphologically disturbed, late-stage mergers. Pair fractions show little dependence on MS offset and pairs are more prevalent than late-stage mergers only in the lower half of the MS. In our sample, major mergers on the MS occur with a roughly equal frequency of ∼5–10 per cent at all masses ≳ 1010 M⊙. The MS major merger fraction roughly doubles between z = 0.2 and 2, with morphological mergers driving the overall increase at z ≳ 1. The differential redshift evolution of interacting pairs and morphologically classified mergers on the MS can be reconciled by evolving observability time-scales for both pairs and morphological disturbances. The observed variation of the late-stage merger fraction with ΔMS follows the perturbative 2-Star Formation Mode model, where any MS galaxy can experience a continuum of different star formation rate enhancements. This points to an SB–merger connection not only for extreme events, but also more moderate bursts which merely scatter galaxies upward within the MS, rather than fully elevating them above it.
Is it possible to reconcile extragalactic IMF variations with a universal Milky Way IMF?
Authors: Guszejnov Dávid , Hopkins Philip F , Graus Andrew S
Published: March 2019

One of the most robust observations of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is its near-universality in the Milky Way and neighbouring galaxies. But recent observations of early-type galaxies can be interpreted to imply a ‘bottom-heavy’ IMF, while others of ultrafaint dwarfs could imply a ‘top-heavy’ IMF. This would impose powerful constraints on star formation models. We explore what sort of ‘cloud-scale’ IMF models could possibly satisfy these constraints. We utilize simulated galaxies that reproduce (broadly) the observed galaxy properties, while they also provide the detailed star formation history and properties of each progenitor star-forming cloud. We then consider generic models where the characteristic mass of the IMF is some arbitrary power-law function of progenitor cloud properties, along with well-known literature IMF models which scale with Jeans mass, ‘turbulent Bonnor–Ebert mass’, temperature, the opacity limit, metallicity, or the ‘protostellar heating mass’. We show that no IMF models currently in the literature – nor any model where the turnover mass is an arbitrary power-law function of a combination of cloud temperature/density/size/metallicity/velocity dispersion/magnetic field – can reproduce the claimed IMF variation in ellipticals or dwarfs without severely violating observational constraints in the Milky Way. Specifically, they predict too much variation in the ‘extreme’ environments of the Galaxy compared to that observed. Either the IMF varies in a more complicated manner, or alternative interpretations of the extragalactic observations must be explored.
Association Between Opioid Use and Patient-Reported Outcomes in a Randomized Trial Evaluating Basivertebral Nerve Ablation for the Relief of Chronic Low Back Pain
Authors: Markman John D , Rhyne Alfred L , Sasso Rick C , Patel Alpesh A , Hsu Wellington K , Fischgrund Jeffrey S , Edidin Avram A , Vajkoczy Peter
Published: March 2019

BACKGROUND

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a primary indication for opioid therapy.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the hypothesis that CLBP patients reporting reduced opioid use have superior functional outcomes following basivertebral nerve (BVN) radiofrequency ablation.

METHODS

This post hoc analysis from a sham-controlled trial examined short-acting opioid use from baseline through 1 yr. Opioid use was stratified into 3 groups by two blinded external reviewers. Two-sample t-tests were used to compare Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) measurements between those patients who increased or decreased their opioid usage compared to baseline.

RESULTS

Actively treated patients with decreased opioid use at 12 mo had a mean ODI improvement of 24.9 ± 16.0 (n = 27) compared to 7.3 ± 9.8 (n = 18) for patients reporting increased opioid use (P < .001). In the sham arm, the improvements in ODI were 17.4 ± 16.1 (n = 19) and 1.2 ± 14.3 (n = 5; P = .053) for the patients reporting decreased vs increased opioid usage, respectively. Actively treated patients reporting decreased opioid use had a mean improvement in VAS of 3.3 ± 2.5 (n = 27) compared to 0.6 ± 1.8 (n = 18) for patients reporting increased opioid use (P < .001). In the sham arm, the improvements in VAS were 2.5 ± 2.6 (n = 19) and 1.4 ± 1.9 (n = 5; P = .374) for patients reporting decreased vs increased opioid use, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Subjects undergoing BVN ablation who decreased opioid use had greater improvement in ODI and VAS scores compared with those reporting increased opioid usage. There is an association between functional benefit from BVN ablation and reduced opioid use.
Incidental Low-Grade Gliomas: Single-Institution Management Based on Clinical, Surgical, and Molecular Data
Authors: Ius Tamara , Cesselli Daniela , Isola Miriam , Pauletto Giada , Tomasino Barbara , D’Auria Stanislao , Bagatto Daniele , Pegolo Enrico , Beltrami Antonio Paolo , Loreto Carla di , Skrap Miran
Published: March 2019

BACKGROUND

Incidentally discovered diffuse low-grade gliomas (iLGG) are poorly documented in the literature. They are diagnosed by chance during radiological examinations.

OBJECTIVE

To review a cohort of patients with iLGG surgically treated in our institution, analyzing clinical, molecular, and surgical aspects.

METHODS

Clinical, radiological, and treatment data of iLGG were retrieved and compared with those of symptomatic diffuse LGGs (sLGG). Histological and molecular review was carried out as well. The extent of resection was evaluated on preoperative and postoperative T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

RESULTS

Thirty-four iLGG cases were identified within a monoinstitutional cohort of 332 patients operated for low-grade gliomas from 2000 to 2017. Clinically, patients with iLGG had higher preoperative karnofsky performance scale (KPS) (P = .003), smaller tumor volume (P = .0001), lower frequency of eloquent areas involvement (P = .0001), and higher rate of complete resection (P = .0001) compared to those with sLGG. No differences in the molecular profile and O6-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase promoter methylation were detected between iLGG and sLGG. Importantly, patients with iLGG had longer overall survival than those with sLGG (P = .0001), even when a complete surgical resection was achieved (P = .001).

CONCLUSION

Although the therapeutic strategy of iLGG is still a matter of debate, our data support the safety and the effectiveness of early surgical resection. The favorable prognosis of iLGG may be due to the higher practicability of extensive resection, noneloquent tumor location, and smaller tumor volume.
Optimization of the navigated TMS mapping algorithm for accurate detection of plasticity and abnormalities in cortical muscle representations
Authors: Sinitsyn Dmitry O. , Chernyavskiy Andrey Yu. , Poydasheva Alexandra G. , Bakulin Ilya S. , Suponeva Natalia A. , Piradov Michael A.
Published: March 2019

Navigated TMS mapping of cortical muscle representations allows noninvasive assessment of the state of a healthy or diseased motor system and monitoring its change with time. These applications are hampered by the heterogeneity of existing mapping algorithms and the lack of detailed information about their accuracy. We aimed to find an optimal motor evoked potential (MEP) sampling scheme in the grid-based mapping algorithm in terms of the accuracy of muscle representation parameters. The APB muscles of eight healthy subjects were mapped three times on consecutive days using a seven-by-seven grid with ten stimuli per cell. The effect of the MEP variability on the parameter accuracy was assessed using bootstrapping. The accuracy of representation parameters increased with the number of stimuli without saturation up to at least ten stimuli per cell. The detailed sampling showed that the between-session representation area changes in the absence of interventions were significantly larger than the within-session fluctuations and thus could not be explained solely by the trial-to-trial variability of MEPs. The results demonstrate that the number of stimuli has no universally optimal value and must be chosen by balancing the accuracy requirements with the mapping time constraints in a given problem.
Colocalization of MOR1 and GAD67 in Mouse Nucleus Accumbens
Authors: Hinkle Chad , Dedkov Eduard , Buono Russell , Ferraro Thomas
Published: March 2019

Current understanding of the rewarding and addictive effects of opioids involves mu-opioid receptor (MOR) binding within the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), a region of the ventral striatum. GABAergic neurotransmission in the NAcc potentiates the rewarding response to opioids, and in fact, drugs that stimulate GABAergic activity are also addictive, a phenomenon mediated in part by endogenous opioids. However, the neuroanatomical relationship between opioid and GABA systems is still unclear, and further study of the interaction between these neurotransmitter systems in the reward pathway is warranted. We report evidence supporting the direct interaction between GABAergic and opioidergic neurotransmitter systems within the mouse NAcc. Male and female FVB/NJ mice (12-16 months of age) were euthanized via carbon dioxide inhalation and brains processed for histology and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Coronal cryosections (10-12 um in thickness) were taken through the NAcc at the level of the anterior commissure. A mouse monoclonal antibody against GAD67, an enzyme catalyzing GABA production, was used in conjunction with an anti-mouse rhodamine red-X-labeled secondary antibody to identify GABAergic neurons in the NAcc. Alternating sections were stained for MOR using a fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated rabbit polyclonal anti-MOR1 antibody. DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) was used to counterstain the nuclei. As expected, fluorescence microscopy results show that GAD67 staining is localized predominately in the neuronal cytoplasm, with approximately 40% of the population staining. The MOR1-FITC stain showed localization within the cytoplasm and plasma membrane as expected, however, there was also significant staining in the nuclear membrane and neuronal nucleus. MOR1-FITC was present in approximately 35% of the neuronal population. In separate experiments, we used double-immunostaining to study the co-expression of MOR1 and GAD67 within the same NAcc neurons. A similar localization pattern was detected with a small subset, approximately 2%, of neurons expressing both labels. There are few published reports of GAD67 and MOR1 co-expression within neurons of the NAcc. Previous studies of MOR expression show the receptor to be localized to the plasma membrane and, to a smaller degree, intracellularly. Here we found the MOR1 staining to be predominantly in the nucleus and nuclear membrane, with minimal expression on the plasma membrane. Further studies are in progress to validate the nuclear expression of MOR in GABAergic NAcc neurons. Results of the study suggest that a subset of mouse NAcc neurons express both MOR1 and GAD67, providing a direct intracellular link between opioid and GABAergic systems in the reward pathway. Preliminary intranuclear localization of MOR suggests a novel signaling pathway that may be important in fully elucidating neurobiological mechanisms underlying behaviors related to reward and addiction.
SNP Identity Searching Across Ethnicities, Kinship, and Admixture
Authors: Helfer Brian S. , Ricke Darrell O.
Published: March 2019

Advances in high throughput sequencing (HTS) enables application of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panels for identification and mixture analysis. Large reference sets of characterized individuals with documented relationships, ethnicities, and admixture are not yet available for characterizing the impacts of different ethnicities, kinships, and admixture on identification and mixture search results for relatives and unrelated individuals. Models for the expected results are presented with comparison results on twoin silicodatasets spanning four ethnicities, extended kinship relationships, and also admixture between the four ethnicities.
Dynamics ofMycobacterium tuberculosisAg85B revealed by sensitive ELISA
Authors: Ernst Joel D. , Cornelius Amber , Bolz Miriam
Published: March 2019

Secretion of specific proteins contributes to pathogenesis and immune responses in tuberculosis and other bacterial infections, yet the kinetics of protein secretion and fate of secreted proteins in vivo are poorly understood. We generated new monoclonal antibodies that recognize theM. tuberculosissecreted protein, Ag85B, and used them to establish and characterize a sensitive ELISA to quantitate Ag85B in samples generated in vitro and in vivo. We found that nutritional or culture conditions had little impact on secretion of Ag85B, and that there is considerable variation in Ag85B secretion by distinct strains in theM. tuberculosiscomplex: compared with the commonly-used H37Rv strain (Lineage 4),M. africanum(Lineage 6) secretes less, and two strains from Lineage 2 secrete more Ag85B. We also used the ELISA to determine that the rate of secretion of Ag85B is 10-to 100-fold lower than that of proteins secreted by gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, respectively. ELISA quantitation of Ag85B in lung homogenates ofM. tuberculosisH37Rv-infected mice revealed that although Ag85B accumulates in the lungs as the bacterial population expands, the amount of Ag85B per bacterium decreases nearly 10,000-fold at later stages of infection, coincident with development of T cell responses and arrest of bacterial population growth. These results indicate that bacterial protein secretion in vivo is dynamic and regulated, and quantitation of secreted bacterial proteins can contribute to understanding pathogenesis and immunity in tuberculosis and other infections.

Importance

Bacterial protein secretion contributes to host-pathogen interactions, yet the process and consequences of bacterial protein secretion during infection are poorly understood. We developed a sensitive ELISA to quantitate a protein (termed Ag85B) secreted byM. tuberculosisand used it to find that Ag85B secretion occurs with slower kinetics than for proteins secreted by gram positive and gram negative bacteria, and that accumulation of Ag85B in the lungs is markedly regulated as a function of the bacterial population density. Our results demonstrate that quantitation of bacterial proteins during infection can reveal novel insights into host-pathogen interactions.
C3G (RapGEF1) localizes to the mother centriole and regulates centriole division and primary cilia dynamics
Authors: Nayak Sanjeev Chavan , Radha Vegesna
Published: March 2019

C3G (RapGEF1), a negative regulator of β-catenin, plays a role in cell differentiation and is essential for early embryonic development in mice. In this study, we identify C3G as a centrosomal protein that regulates centriole division and primary cilia dynamics. C3G is present at the centrosome in interphase as well as mitotic cells, but is absent at the centrioles in differentiated myotubes. It interacts with, and co-localizes with cenexin in the mother centriole. Stable clone of cells depleted of C3G by CRISPR/Cas9 showed reduction in cenexin protein, and presence of supernumerary centrioles. Over-expression of C3G resulted in inhibition of centrosome division in normal and hydroxyurea treated cells. Proportion of ciliated cells is higher, and cilia length longer in C3G knockout cells. C3G inhibits cilia formation and length dependent on its catalytic activity. Unlike wild type cells, C3G depleted cells inefficiently retracted their cilia upon stimulation to reenter the cell cycle, and proliferated slowly, arresting in G1. We conclude that C3G inhibits centriole division and maintains ciliary homeostasis, properties that may be important for its role in embryonic development.

Summary statement

We identify C3G as a centrosomal protein and regulator of centriole number, primary cilia length and resorption. These properties are important for its role in embryogenesis, and suggest that mutations in C3G could cause ciliopathies.
Reimbursement scheme for China’s public hospitals from perspective of stakeholders
Authors: Jiang Qiwen , Luo Xiaojing , Wang Sibo , Chen Shi-Jie (Gary)
Published: March 2019

Purpose

Public hospitals in China usually rely on revenues from medical services and medications to compensate for major costs given their nonprofit nature. The lack of government subsidies and unreasonable prices of medical services have led to high medical costs and unbalanced reimbursement system for public hospitals. There is a critical need of research on improvement of reimbursement system that will create positive effect on China’s health-care system. This paper aims to focus on four dimensions of stakeholders (government, patients, medical insurance agencies and social organization) and six major expenditures to explore reimbursement scheme for public hospitals in China with the purpose of relieving unbalanced income and expenditure of hospitals, avoiding medication markups and reducing medical expenses from patients.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the authors study reimbursement scheme for public hospitals from the perspective of four dimensions of stakeholders and how stakeholders reimburse six major expenditures of hospitals. A total of 128 effective samples were collected from financial data of 32 public hospitals through 2009-2012. This paper analyzes the econometric models of the selected revenue and expenditure. This paper analyzes the econometric models of the selected revenue and expenditure using linear regression. The linear relationship between each cost and different types of incomes (i.e. reimbursements from government, patients, insurance agencies and social organization) is analyzed before and after cancelling the medication markups.

Findings

Results from empirical research verify that government reimbursement is insufficient, and using medication markups to compensate for medical service costs has become a serious problem for China’s public hospitals. To avoid the medication markups and improve the reimbursement scheme, government should reimburse labor cost, fixed assets cost and research cost; patients and medical insurance agencies should reimburse the costs of medical service, medication and administration/operations; and social organization should supplement the fixed assets cost.

Originality/value

In this study, the authors defined and classified stakeholders of reimbursement scheme for public hospitals in China, which help understand the roles and effects that different stakeholders can play in compensation. Along with the proposed reimbursement scheme framework, this study will help make effective implementation of new health-care reform program in China.
MNCs’ R&D talent management in China: aligning practices with strategies
Authors: Li Lydia Qianqian , Xin Katherine , Pucik Vlado , Wei William X.
Published: March 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to propose practical recommendations in accordance with the strategic roles played by research and development (R&D) in multinational companies (MNCs).

Design/methodology/approach

This study applies a qualitative method to investigate the talent management (TM) practices implemented in MNCs’ R&D units.

Findings

The findings identify four R&D strategies and four sectors of TM practices. Furthermore, there exists an alignment between R&D strategies and TM practices.

Research limitations/implications

This paper has several limitations. This qualitative research is exploratory, and larger samples or quantitative methods are needed to ensure the wider applicability of the findings. When possible, longitudinal studies yield superior results in revealing the evolving strategic roles of R&D subsidiaries and their TM practices. The authors used China as the research context, and similar studies in other emerging countries with active R&D activities are required to further validate or complement the findings in this study.

Practical implications

This study has some practical implications for companies with regard to aligning their TM practices with R&D strategies.

Originality/value

R&D units play an increasingly significant role in MNCs and TM is a key issue. However, there is a lack of TM research focusing on R&D employees by taking strategies into account.
Developing critical literacy in science through an SFL-informed pedagogical heuristic
Authors: Fang Zhihui , Adams Brittany , Gresser Valerie T. , Li Cuiying
Published: March 2019

Purpose

This paper describes and exemplifies a pedagogical heuristic for promoting critical literacy in science.

Design/methodology/approach

One way to support critical literacy in science is through a linguistically informed pedagogical heuristic called 5Es – Enquire, Engage, Examine, Exercise and Extend.

Findings

This paper describes the implementation of 5Es in a four-week middle school science unit on climate change, showing how the heuristic can be used to develop students’ understanding of the varied ways authors use language to present information, structure text, infuse judgment and evaluation, engage with and position the reader and express epistemic commitment to knowledge claims.

Originality/value

5Es offer teachers a new heuristic for text exploration that develops students’ critical language awareness, advanced literacy and disciplinary literacy at the same time.
Acquisition experience and production resource efficiency
Authors: Kim Dong-Young , Davis Sean M.
Published: March 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the acquisition experience – an acquiring firm’s experience of acquiring and integrating the resources of an acquired firm – affects the production resource efficiency of the acquiring firm.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used data obtained from US manufacturing industries over the 1992–2014 period. The sample includes 784 acquisitions by 417 firms. The proposed hypotheses were tested through econometric analysis.

Findings

Results show that the acquisition experience has a positive association with production resource efficiency. The acquisition experience is most positively associated with acquiring firms’ production efficiency when they successfully accomplished previous performance outcomes. While the literature has recognized the relatedness of acquiring and acquired firms as a contextual moderator, the interaction of the related acquisition and the acquisition experience has no impact on efficiency benefits.

Originality/value

This study enhances the understanding of how prior acquisition experience can be leveraged by acquiring firms to gain efficiency benefits in the manufacturing industry.
A matrix model towards CSR – moving from one size fit approach
Authors: Jose Saju , Venkitachalam Krishna
Published: March 2019

Purpose

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) research is often dominated in a western context. Perhaps, with the rapid expansion of organisations in the context of emerging economies, there is a pressing need for the development of a new dimension. Organisations operating in emerging markets must address the social challenges of serving low-income consumers and rural communities as part of their CSR strategy. The next era of CSR should look out for a period of experimentation and innovation as organisations advance their core business objectives by addressing existing social and environmental issues, which are dependent on market and industry settings. The purpose of this paper is the requirement of careful considerations when formulating the CSR framework for different industries and markets in the global business environment and this is the focus in this paper.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides a review and certain limitations of the literature on the highly cited works such as stakeholder theory and Carroll’s pyramid model. Following on, the proposed matrix model, related discussion of the four phases and associated propositions are explained in the paper. Finally, some concluding remarks on the need for a new look on CSR in the context of non-western markets are presented.

Findings

In this paper, the authors introduce “The matrix model of CSR” as a starting attempt and a guideline in formulating the CSR approach across industry and countries, particularly illustrating in the context of diverse organisations in different sectors. However, this model is at a conceptual level and future research could allow empirical testing and refinement of the “matrix model” in different market and industry conditions.

Originality/value

A CSR model for multiple organisational contexts would provide more insight for the relevant stakeholders regarding their CSR activities. Thus, this article attempts to suggest a CSR matrix model and it takes a phased approach by classifying the CSR activities based on the degrees of CSR and altruistic nature of activities that could be adapted for other industries as well as emerging economies.
Differential effects of soil chemistry on the foliar resorption of nitrogen and phosphorus across altitudinal gradients
Authors: Gerdol Renato , Iacumin Paola , Brancaleoni Lisa
Published: March 2019

Nutrient resorption from senescing leaves prior to litterfall is a strategy for nutrient conservation in vascular plants. However, the mechanisms through which soil fertility and/or foliar nutrient status affect nutrient resorption are not yet fully known.

We used two 1,000‐m‐wide altitudinal gradients on two different bedrock types (carbonate and silicate) for analysing the interactive effects of temperature and soil chemistry on the resorption efficiency of two major nutrients, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Our objective was to assess how nutrient resorption varied across the gradients through the adaptation of individual species to changing environmental conditions rather than through changes in species composition.

Both N and P resorption efficiency increased across the altitudinal gradients independent of bedrock type. The main process regulating nutrient resorption was a negative feedback to nutrient availability in the soil. The negative feedback of nutrient resorption efficiency to soil nutrient status was unrelated to total soil nutrient contents but depended on concentrations of organic N forms for nitrogen resorption efficiency (NRE) and on inorganic P forms for phosphorus resorption efficiency (PRE), respectively.

While we hypothesized that the resorption of P, as a principally rock‐derived nutrient, depended on physical–chemical processes affected by soil chemistry, our results showed that microbial P mineralization was the main source of inorganic P supply to the plants. Both NRE and PRE were effective to improve the growth potential of plants, but there was no evidence of stoichiometric adaptations of N:P RE‐to‐nutrient ratio in the soil.

A plain language summary is available for this article.
EXPRESSION OF CONCERN: Forensic Investigation of a Shawl Linked to the “Jack the Ripper” Murders
Authors: Louhelainen Jari , Miller David
Published: March 2019

A set of historic murders, known as the “Jack the Ripper murders,” started in London in August 1888. The killer's identity has remained a mystery to date. Here, we describe the investigation of, to our knowledge, the only remaining physical evidence linked to these murders, recovered from one of the victims at the scene of the crime. We applied novel, minimally destructive techniques for sample recovery from forensically relevant stains on the evidence and separated single cells linked to the suspect, followed by phenotypic analysis. The mtDNA profiles of both the victim and the suspect matched the corresponding reference samples, fortifying the link of the evidence to the crime scene. Genomic DNA from single cells recovered from the evidence was amplified, and the phenotypic information acquired matched the only witness statement regarded as reliable. To our knowledge, this is the most advanced study to date regarding this case.