bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ubc9deletion in adipocytes causes lipoatrophy in mice
Authors: Cox Aaron R. , Chernis Natasha , Kim Kang Ho , Masschelin Peter M. , Saha Pradip K. , Briley Shawn M. , Sharp Robert , Felix Jessica B. , Moore David D. , Pangas Stephanie A. , Hartig Sean M.
Published: September 2020

Objective

White adipose tissue (WAT) expansion regulates energy balance and overall metabolic homeostasis. WAT absence or loss occurring through lipodystrophy and lipoatrophy contributes to the development of dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance. We previously demonstrated the sole small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) E2-conjuguating enzyme Ubc9 represses human adipocyte differentiation. Germline and other tissue-specific deletions ofUbc9frequently cause lethality in mice. As a result, the role of Ubc9 during WAT development remains unknown.

Methods

To determine how Ubc9 impacts body composition and energy balance, we generated adipocyte-specificUbc9knockout mice (Ubc9a-KO). CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing inserted loxP sites flanking exons 3 and 4 at theUbc9locus. Subsequent genetic crosses to AdipoQ-Cre transgenic mice allowed deletion ofUbc9in white and brown adipocytes. We measured multiple metabolic endpoints that describe energy balance and carbohydrate metabolism inUbc9a-KOand littermate controls during postnatal growth.

Results

To our surprise,Ubc9a-KOmice developed hyperinsulinemia and hepatic steatosis. Global energy balance defects emerged from dysfunctional WAT marked by pronounced local inflammation, loss of serum adipokines, hepatomegaly, and near absence of major adipose tissue depots. We observed progressive lipoatrophy that commences in the early adolescent period.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrate thatUbc9expression in mature adipocytes is essential for maintaining WAT expansion. Deletion ofUbc9in fat cells compromised and diminished adipocyte function that provoked WAT inflammation and ectopic lipid accumulation in the liver. Our findings reveal an indispensable role forUbc9during white adipocyte expansion and endocrine control of energy balance.
Resource-diversity relationships in bacterial communities reflect the network structure of microbial metabolism
Authors: Bello Martina Dal , Lee Hyunseok , Goyal Akshit , Gore Jeff
Published: September 2020

The relationship between the number of available nutrients and community diversity is a central question for ecological research that remains unanswered. Here, we studied the assembly of hundreds of soil-derived microbial communities on a wide range of well-defined resource environments, from single carbon sources to combinations of up to 16. We found that, while single resources supported multispecies communities varying from 8 to 40 taxa, mean community richness increased only one-by-one with additional resources. Cross-feeding could reconcile these seemingly contrasting observations, with the metabolic network seeded by the supplied resources explaining the changes in richness due to both the identity and the number of resources, as well as the distribution of taxa across different communities. By using a consumer-resource model incorporating the inferred cross-feeding network, we provide further theoretical support to our observations and a framework to link the type and number of environmental resources to microbial community diversity.
Abl2:cortactin interactions regulate dendritic spine stability via control of a stable filamentous actin pool
Authors: Shaw Juliana E. , Kilander Michaela B. C. , Lin Yu-Chih , Koleske Anthony J.
Published: September 2020

Dendritic spines are enriched with stable and dynamic actin filaments, which determine their structure and shape. Disruption of the Abl2/Arg nonreceptor tyrosine kinase in mice compromises spine stability and size. We provide evidence that binding to cortactin tethers Abl2 in spines, where Abl2 and cortactin maintain the small pool of stable actin required for dendritic spine stability. Using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching of GFP-actin, we find that disruption of Abl2:cortactin interactions eliminates stable actin filaments in dendritic spines, significantly reducing spine density. A subset of spines remaining after Abl2 depletion retain their stable actin pool and undergo activity-dependent spine enlargement associated with increased cortactin levels. Finally, tonic increases in synaptic activity rescue spine loss upon Abl2 depletion by promoting cortactin enrichment in vulnerable spines. Together, our findings strongly suggest Abl2:cortactin interactions promote spine stability by maintaining pools of stable actin filaments in spines.
Citrullination of proteins as a specific response mechanism in plants
Authors: Marondedze Claudius , Elia Giuliano , Thomas Ludivine , Wong Aloysius , Gehring Chris
Published: September 2020

Arginine deamination, also referred to as citrullination of proteins by peptidyl-arginine deiminases, is a post-translational modification affecting histone modifications, epigenetic transcriptional regulation and proteolysis in animals, but has not been reported in higher plants. Here we report, firstly, thatArabidopsis thalianaproteome contains proteins with a specific citrullination signature and that many of the citrullinated proteins have nucleotide-binding regulatory functions. Secondly, we show that changes in the citrullinome occur in response to cold stress, and thirdly, we identify anArabidopsis thalianaprotein with calcium-dependent arginine deiminase activity. Taken together, these findings establish this post-translational modification as a hitherto neglected component of cellular reprogramming during stress responses.
Bulk segregant analysis reveals environment × genotype interactions determining malaria parasite growth
Authors: Kumar Sudhir , Li Xue , McDew-White Marina , Reyes Ann , Delgado Elizabeth , Sayeed Abeer , Haile Meseret T. , Abatiyow Biley A. , Kennedy Spencer Y. , Camargo Nelly M. , Checkley Lisa A. , Brenneman Katelyn V. , Button-Simons Katrina A. , Duraisingh Manoj T. , Cheeseman Ian H. , Kappe Stefan H. I. , Nosten François , Ferdig Michael T. , Vaughan Ashley M. , Anderson Tim J. C.
Published: September 2020

What genes determine growth and nutrient utilization in asexual blood-stage malaria parasites? Competition experiments between a lab-adapted African parasite (NF54), and a recently isolated Asian parasite (NHP4026) reveal contrasting outcomes in different media: NF54 outcompetes NHP4026 in media containing human serum, while NHP4026 outcompetes NF54 in media containing AlbuMAX, a lipid-rich bovine serum formulation. We conducted parasite genetic crosses and compared genome-wide allele frequency changes in progeny populations cultured in media containing serum or AlbuMAX: this bulk segregant analysis (BSA) reveals three quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying differential growth. The strongest QTL (chromosome 13) containsEBA-140: competition experiments betweenEBA-140-knockout and isogenic wildtype parasites showed fitness reversals in the two media types, validating this locus as the causative gene. These results (i) demonstrate the effectiveness of BSA for dissecting fitness traits inPlasmodium falciparum, and (ii) reveal an intimate link between red blood cell invasion and nutrient composition of growth media.
Measuring expression heterogeneity of single-cell cytoskeletal protein complexes
Authors: Vlassakis Julea , Hansen Louise L. , Higuchi-Sanabria Ryo , Zhou Yun , Tsui C. Kimberly , Dillin Andrew , Huang Haiyan , Herr Amy E.
Published: September 2020

Multimeric cytoskeletal protein complexes orchestrate normal cellular function. However, protein-complex distributions in stressed, heterogeneous cell populations remain unknown. Cell staining and proximity-based methods have limited selectivity and/or sensitivity for endogenous multimeric protein-complex quantification from single cells. We introduce micro-arrayed, differential detergent fractionation to simultaneously detect protein complexes in 100s of individual cells. Fractionation occurs by 60 s size-exclusion electrophoresis with protein complex-stabilizing buffer that minimizes depolymerization. Co-detection of cytoskeletal protein complexes in U2OS cells treated with filamentous actin (F-actin) destabilizing LatA detects a subpopulation (~11%) exhibiting downregulated F-actin, but upregulated microtubule and intermediate filament protein complexes. Thus, some cells upregulate other cytoskeletal complexes to counteract the stress of LatA treatment. We also sought to understand the effect of non-chemical stress on cellular heterogeneity of F-actin. We find heat shock dysregulates F- and G-actin correlation. The assay overcomes selectivity limitations to biochemically quantify single-cell protein complexes perturbed with diverse stimuli.
Deciphering the postsynaptic calcium-mediated energy homeostasis through mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum contact sites using systems modeling
Authors: Leung A. , Ohadi D. , Pekkurnaz G. , Rangamani P.
Published: September 2020

Spatiotemporal compartmentation of calcium dynamics is critical for neuronal function, particularly in post-synaptic spines. This exquisite level of Ca2+compartmentalization is achieved through the storage and release of Ca2+from various intracellular organelles particularly the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the mitochondria. Mitochondria and ER are established storage organelles controlling Ca2+dynamics in neurons. Mitochondria also generate a majority of energy used within postsynaptic spines to support the downstream events associated with neuronal stimulus. Recently, high resolution microscopy has unveiled direct contact sites between the ER and the mitochondria, which directly channel Ca2+release from the ER into the mitochondrial membrane. In this study, we develop a computational 3D reaction-diffusion model to investigate the role of MERCs in regulating Ca2+and ATP dynamics. This spatiotemporal model accounts for Ca2+oscillations initiated by glutamate stimulus of metabotropic and ionotropic glutamate receptors and Ca2+changes in four different compartments: cytosol, ER, mitochondria, and the MERC microdomain. Our simulations predict that the organization of these organelles and differential distribution of key Ca2+channels such as IP3receptor and ryanodine receptor modulate Ca2+dynamics in response to different stimuli. We further show that the crosstalk between geometry (mitochondria and MERC) and metabolic parameters (cytosolic ATP hydrolysis, ATP generation) influences the cellular energy state. Our findings shed light on the importance of organelle interactions in predicting Ca2+dynamics in synaptic signaling. Overall, our model predicts that a combination of MERC linkage and mitochondria size is necessary for optimal ATP production in the cytosol.
Fine interaction profiling of VemP and mechanisms responsible for its translocation-coupled arrest-cancelation
Authors: Miyazaki Ryoji , Akiyama Yoshinori , Mori Hiroyuki
Published: September 2020

Bacterial cells utilize monitoring substrates, which undergo force-sensitive translation elongation arrest, to feedback-regulate a Sec-related gene.Vibrio alginolyticusVemP controls the expression of SecD/F that stimulates a late step of translocation by undergoing export-regulated elongation arrest. Here, we attempted at delineating the pathway of the VemP nascent-chain interaction with Sec-related factors, and identified the signal recognition particle (SRP) and PpiD (a membrane-anchored periplasmic chaperone) in addition to other translocon components and a ribosomal protein as interacting partners. Our results showed that SRP is required for the membrane-targeting of VemP, whereas PpiD acts cooperatively with SecD/F in the VemP arrest-cancelation. We also identified the conserved Arg-85 residue in VemP as an essential element for the regulated arrest-cancelation of VemP. We propose a scheme of the arrest-cancelation processes of VemP, which likely monitors late steps in the protein translocation pathway.
Single-Cell Transcriptomic Attributes and Unbiased Computational Modeling for the Prediction of Immunomodulatory Potency of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells
Authors: Pradhan Pallab , Chatterjee Paramita , Stevens Hazel Y. , Glen Chad , Medrano-Trochez Camila , Jimenez Angela , Kippner Linda , Seeto Wen Jun , Li Ye , Gibson Greg , Kurtzberg Joanne , Kontanchek Theresa , Yeago Carolyn , Roy Krishnendu
Published: September 2020

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are currently being tested in numerous clinical trials as potential cell therapies for the treatment of various diseases and due to their potential immunomodulatory, pro-angiogenic, and regenerative properties. However, variabilities in tissue sources, donors, and manufacturing processes and the lack of defined critical quality attributes (CQAs) and clinically relevant mechanism of action (MoA) pose significant challenges to identify MSC cell therapy products with a predictable therapeutic outcome. This also hinders regulatory considerations and broad clinical translation of MSCs. MSC products are often administered to the patient immediately after thawing from cryopreserved vials (out-of-thaw). However, the qualifying quality-control assays are either performed before cryopreservation, or after culturing the post-thaw cells for 24-48 hours (culture-rescued), none of which represent the out-of-thaw product administered to patients. In this study, we performed a broad functional characterization of out-of-thaw and culture-rescue MSCs from bone marrow (BM-MSCs) and cord tissue (CT-MSCs) using macrophage activation and T cell proliferation-basedin vitropotency assays and deep phenotypic characterization using single-cell RNA-sequencing. Using this data, we developed unbiased computational models, specifically symbolic regression (SR) and canonical correlation analysis (CCA) models to predict the immunomodulatory potency of MSCs. Overall, our results suggest that manufacturing conditions (OOT vs. CR) have a strong effect on MSC-function on MSC interactions with macrophages and T cells. Furthermore, single-cell RNA-seq analyses of out-of-thaw BM and CT-MSCs indicate a tissue of origin-dependent variability and heterogeneity in the transcriptome profile. Using symbolic regression modeling we identified specific single-cell transcriptomic attributes of MSCs that predict their immunomodulatory potency. In addition, CCA modeling predicted MSC donors with high or low immunomodulatory potency from their transcriptome profiles. Taken together, our results provide a broad framework for identifying predictive CQAs of MSCs that could ultimately help in better understanding of their MOAs and improved reproducibility and manufacturing control of MSCs.
The origin and maintenance of microbial symbionts inDrosophilalarvae
Authors: Guilhot Robin , Lagmairi Auxane , Olazcuaga Laure , Xuéreb Anne , Fellous Simon
Published: September 2020

Little is known on the origin and maintenance of symbionts associated withDrosophilalarvaein natura, which restricts the understanding ofDrosophila-extracellular microorganism symbiosis in the light of evolution. Here, we studied the origin and maintenance of symbionts ofDrosophilalarvae under ecologically realistic conditions, to our knowledge for the first time, using yeast and bacterial isolates and twoDrosophilaspecies: the model organismD. melanogasterand the invasive pestD. suzukii. We discovered thatDrosophilafemales and males both transmit yeast and bacteria symbionts to larvae. In addition, several symbiotic yeasts initially associated with larvae were conserved throughout host life cycle and transmitted to offspring. Our results suggest that stable associations ofDrosophilaflies with bacteria and yeasts may existin naturaand constitute a step forward in the understanding of wildDrosophila-microorganism symbioses.
Designed PKC-targeting bryostatin analogs modulate innate immunity and neuroinflammation
Authors: Abramson Efrat , Hardman Clayton , Shimizu Akira , Hwang Soonmyung , Hester Lynda D. , Snyder Solomon H. , Wender Paul A. , Kim Paul M. , Kornberg Michael D.
Published: September 2020

Neuroinflammation characterizes multiple neurologic diseases, including primary inflammatory conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and classical neurodegenerative diseases. Aberrant activation of the innate immune system contributes to disease progression in these conditions, but drugs that modulate innate immunity, particularly within the central nervous system (CNS), are lacking. The CNS-pene-trant natural product bryostatin-1 (bryo-1) attenuates neuroinflammation by targeting innate myeloid cells. Supplies of natural bryo-1 are limited but a recent scalable synthesis has enabled access to it and its analogs (termed bryologs), the latter providing a path to more efficacious, better tolerated, and more accessible agents. Here, we show that multiple synthetically accessible bryologs replicate the anti-inflammatory effects of bryo-1 on innate immune cellsin vitro, and a lead bryolog attenuates neuroinflammationin vivo– actions mechanistically dependent on PKC binding. Our findings identify bryologs as promising drug candidates for targeting innate immunity in neuroinflammation and create a platform for evaluation of synthetic PKC modulators in neuroinflammatory diseases such as MS.

Graphical Abstract
Quantitative and dynamic cell polarity tracking in plant cells
Authors: Gong Yan , Varnau Rachel , Wallner Eva-Sophie , Bergmann Dominique C. , Cheung Lily S.
Published: September 2020

Quantitative information on the spatiotemporal distribution of polarized proteins is central for understanding cell-fate determination, yet collecting sufficient data for statistical analysis is difficult to accomplish with manual measurements. Here we present POME, a semi-automated pipeline for the quantification of cell polarity, and demonstrate its application to a variety of developmental contexts. POME analysis reveals that during asymmetric cell divisions in theArabidopsis thalianastomatal lineage, polarity proteins BASL and BRXL2 are more asynchronous and less mutually dependent than previously thought. While their interaction is important to maintain their polar localization and recruit other effectors to regulate asymmetric cell divisions, BRXL2 polarization precedes that of BASL and can be initiated in BASL’s absence. Uncoupling of polarization from BASL activity is also seen inBrachypodium distachyon, where we find that the MAPKKK BdYDA1 is segregated and polarized following asymmetric division. Our results demonstrate that POME is a versatile tool, which by itself or combined with tissue-level studies and advanced microscopy techniques can help uncover new mechanisms of cell polarity.
Visualizing the cytosolic delivery of bioconjugated QDs into T cell lymphocytes
Authors: Jing Haoran , Pálmai Marcell , Saed Badeia , George Anne , Snee Preston T. , Hu Ying S.
Published: September 2020

The aggregation state and endosomal trapping of engineered nanocarriers once internalized into cells remain poorly characterized. Here, we visualized the membrane penetrating dynamics of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) into the cytosol of T cells on a single-cell and single-nanoparticle basis. We water solubilized CdSe/CdZnS QDs with polymer encapsulants functionalized with a cell-penetrating peptide composed of an Asp-Ser-Ser (DSS) repeat sequence. T cells tolerated the 24-h incubation with QDs at concentrations of 5 nM or lower. Single-particle imaging demonstrated that the number of internalized nanoparticles was dependent upon the concentration of the probes for both control (peptide-free) and DSS-QDs. DSS-QDs were mostly distributed as monomers, whereas the control QDs were aggregated into clusters. Single-particle tracking using total internal reflection and highly inclined illumination showed that DSS-QDs were stationary near the activating surface and mobile within the cytosol of the T cell. A correlation exhibited between the mobility and aggregation state of individual QD clusters, with monomeric DSS-QDs showing the highest mobility. In addition, monomeric DSS-QDs displayed much faster diffusion than the endosomes. A small-molecule endosome marker confirmed the absence of colocalization between endosomes and DSS-QDs, indicating their endosomal escape. The ability to deliver and track individual QDs in the cytosol of live T cells creates inroads for the optimization of drug delivery and gene therapy through the use of nanoparticles.
Type II photosynthetic reaction center genes of avocado (Persea americanaMill.) bark microbial communities are dominated by aerobic anoxygenic Alphaproteobacteria
Authors: Aguirre-von-Wobeser Eneas
Published: September 2020

The tree bark environment is an important microbial habitat distributed worldwide on thrillions of trees. However, the microbial communities of tree bark are largely unknown, with most studies on plant aerial surfaces focused on the leaves. Recently, we presented a metagenomic study of bark microbial communities from avocado. In these communities, oxygenic and anoxygenic photosynthesis genes were very abundant, especially when compared to rhizospheric soil from the same trees. In this work, Evolutionary Placement Algorithm analysis was performed on metagenomic reads orthologous to thePufLMgene cluster, encoding for the bacterial type II photosynthetic reaction center. These photosynthetic genes were found affiliated to different groups of bacteria, mostly aerobic anoxygenic photosynthetic Alphaproteobacteria, includingSphingomonas, Methylobacteriumand several Rhodospirillales. These results suggest that anoxygenic photosynthesis in avocado bark microbial communities functions primarily as additional energy source for heterotrophic growth. Together with our previous results, showing a large abundance of cyanobacteria in these communities, a picture emerges of the tree holobiont, where light penetrating the trees canopies and reaching the inner stems, including the trunk, is probably utilized by cyanobacteria for oxygenic photosynthesis, and the far-red light aids the growth of aerobic anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria.
RWRDC: Predicting Efficacious Drug Combinations in Cancer Based on Random Walk with Restart
Authors: Wang Qi , Yan Guiying
Published: September 2020

(1)

Background

Compared with monotherapy, efficacious drug combinations can increase the therapeutic effect, decrease drug resistance of experimental subjects and the side effects of drugs. Therefore, efficacious drug combinations are widely used in the treatment of complex diseases, such as various cancers. However, compared with the mathematical model and computational method, experimental screening efficacious drug combinations is time-consuming, costly, laborious, and inefficient;

(2)

Methods

we predicted efficacious drug combinations in cancer based on random walk with restart (RWRDC). An efficacious score can be obtained between any two individual drugs by RWRDC;

(3)

Results

As a result, we analyzed the rationality of the efficacious score first. Besides, compared with the other methods by leave-one-out cross-validation, all the Area Under Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves (AUROCs) of RWRDC were higher for data sets of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer. Moreover, the case study of breast cancer showed that RWRDC could discover potential efficacious drug combinations;

(4)

Conclusions

These results suggest that RWRDC is a novel way to discover efficacious drug combinations in cancer, which provides new prospects for cancer treatment. Furthermore, RWRDC is a semi-supervised learning framework that can be used to predict combinations of drugs for other complex diseases.
The wounds that do not heal: Black expendability and the traumatizing aftereffects of anti-Black police violence
Authors: Waldron Ingrid R.G.
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The murders of Black people at the hands of police in 2020 have led to global protests that have called on public officials to defund or abolish the police. What has been drowned out in these conversations, however, is the traumatizing aftereffects of anti-Black police violence as a public health crisis. In this paper, I argue that the racial terrorism of anti-Black police violence is a deeply felt wound in Black communities that extends beyond the individuals who directly experience it and that this type of collective trauma must be understood as an urgent public health crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

Using published studies and online commentaries on anti-Black police violence and its mental health impacts in Canada and the United States, this paper examines the mental health impacts of anti-Black police violence at both the individual and community levels.

Findings

A public health response to the traumatizing aftereffects of anti-Black police violence and other forms of state violence must highlight important policy imperatives, such as policies of action focused on improving the public health system. It must also encompass a recognition that the public health crisis of anti-Black police violence is not solvable solely by public health agencies alone. Rather, strategic opportunities to address this crisis arise at every level of governmental interaction, including law enforcement, health care, employment, business, education and the media.

Originality/value

While the impact of anti-Black police violence on the mental health of Black individuals has been emerging in the literature over the last several years, what has been less focused on and what I address in this paper is how the threat of that violence lingers in Black communities long after the protestors have packed up their megaphones, resulting in collective trauma in Black communities.
From “Calling in Black” to “Calling for Antiracism Resources”: the need for systemic resources to address systemic racism
Authors: McCluney Courtney L. , King Danielle D. , Bryant Courtney M. , Ali Abdifatah A.
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this essay is to highlight the urgent need for antiracism resource generation in organizations today.

Design/methodology/approach

This essay weaves together popular press articles, academic writings and the authors' lived experiences to summarize, clarify and extend the work needed inside of organizations and academia to dismantle systemic racism.

Findings

We define antiracist resources as personal and material assets that counteract systemic racism through informing and equipping antiracist actions, and identify three resources—adopting a long-term view for learning the history of racism, embracing discomfort to acknowledge racist mistakes and systematically assess how organizational structures maintain white supremacy—for organizations to address systemic racism.

Research limitations/implications

While there is a critical need for more antiracism research, there are standards and guidelines that should be followed to conduct that research responsibly with antiracism enacted in research design, methodology decisions and publication practices.

Practical implications

The authors call for organizations to directly counter-racism via antiracism resources and offer examples for how these resources can inform and equip companies to create equitable workplaces.

Originality/value

This essay offers: (a) an updated, timely perspective on effective responses to systemic racism (e.g. police brutality and COVID-19), (b) a detailed discussion of antiracism resources and (c) specific implications for antiracism work in organizational research.
A worldwide bibliometric and network analysis of work-based learning research
Authors: Bezerra Jacks , Batista Mota Fábio , Waltz Comarú Michele , Amara Maciel Braga Luiza , Fernandes Moutinho Rocha Leonardo , Roberto Carvalho Paulo , Alexandre da Fonseca Tinoca Luís , Matos Lopes Renato
Published: September 2020

Purpose

During the last few years there has been an increase of interest in work-based learning (WBL), which can be understood as a process of both developing workplace skills and promoting labor force productivity. This paper aims to map the scientific landscape related to WBL research worldwide.

Design/methodology/approach

combined bibliometrics and network analysis techniques to analyze data of scientific publications related to WBL indexed at the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection.

Findings

results show an increase of publications over time: Education & Educational Research as the most frequent research area to which the articles were assigned, the UK and Australia as the main countries and Monash University (Australia) and Middlesex University (England) as the main organizations producing knowledge on WBL.

Originality/value

By offering a global scientific landscape of WBL research published so far, the authors aimed to contribute to future academic debates and studies in this field of knowledge.
State policy in the sphere of protection of cultural heritage in Ukraine
Authors: Malysh Nataliia , Shevchenko Viktoriya , Tkachuk-Miroshnychenko Olena
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the efficacy of the state policy of Ukraine in the sphere of protection of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, measures of safeguarding cultural property in the event of armed conflict and to assess how and why the state funding of culture has changed.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposal is to investigate this by discussing the national and international policy frameworks through case study by using quantitative and qualitative methods to disclose if state cultural policy initiatives promote public interest in cultural issues and how the political events in the country affect the distribution of the state funding of culture.

Findings

Ukrainian state cultural policy initiatives appear to be effective in protecting cultural heritage at both central and local levels despite redistribution in the state funding of this sphere. In cooperation with international agencies, Ukraine effectively promotes its intangible cultural heritage properties. Interest of the public in the state cultural policy issues has grown considerably. Problems exist with the protection of Ukrainian cultural sites located in war zones and disputed territories.

Originality/value

These findings demonstrate how the state policies aimed at protecting Ukrainian cultural heritage may be effectively implemented at different levels in cooperation with international agencies; how the political landscape in the country promotes the public interest in cultural policy issues. This case forms an example of steps aimed at protecting cultural properties on disputed territories in cooperation with intermediaries, such as UNESCO.
Liquidity Discount Value of ITM Option
Authors: Son Kyung-Woo , Kim Sang-Su
Published: September 2020

KOSPI 200 index option market is one of the markets which is perfectly liquid in the world. While ATM options and OTM options are liquid, ITM options are not. This paper derives LDV (liquidity discount value) from the ITM options by using the no-arbitrage condition of synthetic futures considering market friction.

In this paper, we show that theoretically derived LDV is related to trading volume as standard proxy of liquidity measure and LDV in ITM options exhibit a U-shaped pattern across moneyness. Other findings are that the expected returns from the synthetic futures arbitrage trading considering liquidity premium exhibit a U-shaped pattern across moneyness and it depends on the maturity. This means that the longer days remaining to expiration date, the greater the incentive for arbitrage trading.
Sibship size and educational attainment of Canadian baby boomers
Authors: Dilmaghani Maryam
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The present study assesses how sibship size affects child quality as measured by educational attainment.

Design/methodology/approach

The data are from the Canadian General Social Surveys (GSS) of 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1995. The sample is restricted to the individuals born in Canada between 1946 and 1965, that is, the baby-boom generation. In addition to controlling for parental education, the sibship size is instrumented by a non-binary variable created based on the sex composition of the sibship. While most previous studies have pooled both genders, the present paper produces by gender estimates

Findings

The OLS estimates are statistically significant, negative and moderately large for both male and female baby boomers. When the sibship size is instrumented, the estimates indicate that one additional sibling had reduced the educational attainment of male baby boomers by almost half a year. No causal effect for the sibship size is found for female baby boomers.

Originality/value

This is the first paper on the effects of sibship size on educational attainment, using Canadian data.
Reframing service innovation: COVID-19 as a catalyst for imposed service innovation
Authors: Heinonen Kristina , Strandvik Tore
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The empirical study draws on a crowdsourced database of 221 innovations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

Aside from the health and humanitarian crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an acute economic downturn in most sectors, forcing public and private organizations to rethink and reconfigure service provision. The paper introduces the concept of imposed service innovation as a new strategic lens to augment the extant view of service innovation as a primarily discretionary activity.

Findings

The identified imposed service innovations were assigned to 11 categories and examined in terms of their strategic horizon and strategic stretch. The innovations are characterized by spatial flexibility, social and health outreach and exploitation of technology.

Research limitations/implications

As a new area of service innovation research, imposed service innovations highlight strategic issues that include the primacy of customers and the fragility of institutions.

Practical implications

Situations involving imposed service innovation represent opportunities for rapid business development when recognized as such. A severe disruption such as a pandemic can catalyze managerial rethinking as organizations are forced to look beyond their existing business strategies.

Social implications

As a strategic response to severe disruption of institutions, markets and service offerings, imposed service innovations afford opportunities to implement transformation and enhance well-being. This novel strategic lens foregrounds a societal account of service innovation, emphasizing societal relevance and context beyond the challenges of business viability alone.

Originality/value

While extant service innovation research has commonly focused on discretionary activities that enable differentiation and growth, imposed service innovations represent actions for resilience and renewal.
How triple-role conflicts of Chinese enterprise trade unions impact employees' satisfaction: rights expectation as moderator
Authors: Ren Han , Chen Charles Weizheng , Zhu Jiuhua Cherrie , Chen Yuling
Published: September 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the extent to which unionized employees are dissatisfied in Chinese Enterprise Trade Unions (CETUs) when they perceive high levels of the triple-role conflicts, as well as whether rights expectations will moderate these relationships. The authors define CETUs' triple-role conflicts as the extent to which CETUs and their cadres prioritize fulfilling the roles of preserving social stability (“peace”) and/or maintaining the production order (“production”) over protecting worker's rights and interests (“workers” rights).

Design/methodology/approach

Pilot study developed the scales via both qualitative and quantitative studies, which include item generation using the transcript of individual interviews with 36 informants, and exploratory factor analyses with 106 respondents. The study used a sample of 327 employees from more than 20 firms in North and Southwest China.

Findings

Results indicate high reliability and validity of the scales and provide largely consistent supports for our hypotheses: three dimensions of triple-role conflicts are negatively related to employees' satisfaction in CETUs, and rights expectations moderate these relationships.

Originality/value

This study developed three scales to respectively measure CETUs' triple-role conflicts, rights expectation and satisfaction in CETUs. More importantly, the findings shed light on the moderating mechanism of rights expectation in the relationships between triple-role conflicts and satisfaction in CETUs.
1,3,4‐oxadiazole and its derivatives: A review on recent progress in anticancer activities
Authors: Vaidya Ankur , Pathak Devender , Shah Kamal
Published: September 2020

The 1,3,4‐oxadiazole nucleus is a biologically imperative scaffold possesses numerous biological activities. The broad and potent activity of 1,3,4‐oxadiazole and their derivatives has established them as important pharmacological scaffolds especially in the treatment of cancer disease. Several di‐, tri‐, aromatic, and heterocyclic substituted 1,3,4‐oxadiazole derivatives have been reported to possess potent anticancer activity. These substituted 1,3,4‐oxadiazoles had shown different mechanism of action and participated in anticancer drug discovery and development. This review is complementary to earlier reviews and aims to review the work reported on anticancer activities of 1,3,4‐oxadiazole derivatives from year 2000 to the beginning of 2020.
Odor identification predicts postoperative seizure control following magnetic resonance–guided laser interstitial thermal therapy
Authors: Kang Joon Y. , Yenokyan Gayane , Hwang Brian Y. , Chen Mo , Penn Rachel , Mampre David , Sperling Michael R. , Kamath Vidyulata
Published: September 2020

Objective

Olfactory dysfunction has been well documented in individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy, but its use in presurgical planning has yet to be examined. We assessed the role of preoperative odor identification in mesial onset seizure localization utilizing stereoelectroencephalography (S‐EEG) and magnetic resonance–guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLiTT) outcome.

Methods

We identified 30 patients who had typical seizures captured during S‐EEG monitoring or MRgLiTT of mesial temporal structures (n = 17 S‐EEG, n = 13 MRgLiTT); seizure onset zone was classified as unilateral mesial seizure onset, or multifocal with unilateral mesial onset and nonmesial onset. Odor identification ability was assessed using the Sniffin’ Sticks Odor Identification Test (SSOIT). Patients also completed measures of confrontation naming and auditory‐verbal learning/memory using the Boston Naming Test and Hopkins Verbal Learning Test–Revised, respectively.

Results

Overall, patients with intractable focal epilepsy exhibited poor olfactory performance (median [M] = 10.4, interquartile range [IQR] = 9.4‐11.8). Of 19 patients who underwent MRgLiTT, 10 patients (52.6%) were seizure‐free at last follow‐up (M = 13 months, IQR =10‐18). Patients who were seizure‐free after MRgLiTT (n = 10) had poorer odor identification scores (M = 9, IQR = 7‐13) compared to patients with seizure reoccurrence (M = 13, IQR = 12.5‐15). Odor identification score was inversely associated with seizure freedom, with odds ratio = 0.60 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.38‐0.95, P = .03). Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that an SSOIT score of 12 was the ideal cutoff for predicting favorable seizure outcome (area under the curve = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.64‐1.0). Sensitivity was 88.9% and specificity was 78.9%, with a likelihood ratio of 2.9 of seizure failure in patients who had an odor identification score ≥ 12.

Significance

Interictal olfactory dysfunction is commonly seen in patients with intractable focal epilepsy. Odor identification is a novel, noninvasive presurgical biomarker to distinguish who may or may not benefit from MRgLiTT of mesial temporal structures.
Public reason as a social basis of self‐respect
Authors: Spector Ezequiel
Published: September 2020

The idea of public reason was traditionally explained in terms of the need to justify the exercise of coercive power to reasonable people who do not agree on the truth of any particular conception of the good. In this paper, I show why this traditional, coercion‐based, view is problematic, and offer a different account of public reason: the “self‐respect account.” In addition, I argue that this account is capable of informing recent, nontraditional, accounts of public reason. The conclusion is that public reason can be conceptualized as a social basis of self‐respect.
Discoloration in the marine red algae Pyropia: causative factors and exploiting the biotechnological potential of a waste resource
Authors: Cho Kichul , Heo Jina , Lee Sang‐Moo , Han Jinwook , Hong Hyun Dae , Jeon Hancheol , Hwang Hyun‐Ju , Baek Kyunghwa , Han Jong Won
Published: September 2020

Pyropia (Porphyra, referred to as ‘Gim’ in Korea or ‘Nori’ in Japan), an economically valuable alga, has long been consumed as seafood, especially in north‐east Asian countries. Its well‐established conventional mass cultivation and harvesting methods in coastal areas widen the industrial availability of edible Pyropia sp. However, the unexpected discoloration derived from causative factors during the cultivation process gives rise to serious economic losses in the aquaculture industry. For the industrial use of discoloured laver waste (DLW), recent articles have suggested that DLW biomass could be used as a source of agar polysaccharide, porphyran, γ‐aminobutyric acid and other value‐added bioactive compound productions. Although DLW biomass has economic potential, the lack of integrated information and relevant studies still limits its industrial availability. Therefore, we discussed recent research concerning the functional ingredients, causative factors and potential availability of DLW to provide integrated information. Furthermore, this review suggested the potential industrial application of DLW as a source for other value‐added material production.
The Novel Single-Stroke Kayak Test: Can It Discriminate Between 200-m and Longer-Distance (500- and 1000-m) Specialists in Canoe Sprint?
Authors: Petrovic Milos R. , García-Ramos Amador , Janicijevic Danica N. , Pérez-Castilla Alejandro , Knezevic Olivera M. , Mirkov Dragan M.
Published: September 2020

Purpose: To test whether the force–velocity (F–V) relationship obtained during a specific single-stroke kayak test (SSKT) and during nonspecific traditional resistance-training exercises (bench press and prone bench pull) could discriminate between 200-m specialists and longer-distance (500- and 1000-m) specialists in canoe sprint. Methods: A total of 21 experienced male kayakers (seven 200-m specialists and 14 longer-distance specialists) participated in this study. After a familiarization session, kayakers came to the laboratory on 2 occasions separated by 48 to 96 hours. In a randomized order, kayakers performed the SSKT in one session and the bench press and bench pull tests in another session. Force and velocity outputs were recorded against 5 loads in each exercise to determine the F–V relationship and related parameters (maximum force, maximum velocity, F–V slope, and maximum power). Results: The individual F–V relationships were highly linear for the SSKT (r = .990 [.908, .998]), bench press (r = .993 [.974, .999]), and prone bench pull (r = .998 [.992, 1.000]). The F–V relationship parameters (maximum force, maximum velocity, and maximum power) were significantly higher for 200-m specialists compared with longer-distance specialists (all Ps ≤ .047) with large effect sizes (≥0.94) revealing important practical differences. However, no significant differences were observed between 200-m specialists and longer-distance specialists in the F–V slope (P ≥ .477). Conclusions: The F–V relationship assessed during both specific (SSKT) and nonspecific upper-body tasks (bench press and bench pull) may distinguish between kayakers specialized in different distances.
Single-center prognostic validation of the risk assessment of the 2015 ESC/ERS guidelines in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension in Japan
Authors: Imai Ryo , Adachi Shiro , Yoshida Masahiro , Shimokata Shigetake , Nakano Yoshihisa , Okumura Naoki , Murohara Toyoaki , Kondo Takahisa
Published: September 2020

The 2015 European Society of Cardiology/European Respiratory Society guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension include a multidimensional risk assessment for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, prognostic validations of this risk assessment are limited, especially outside Europe. Here, we validated the risk assessment strategy in PAH patients in our institution in Japan. Eighty consecutive PAH patients who underwent right heart catheterization between November 2006 and December 2018 were analyzed. Patients were classified as low, intermediate, or high risk by using a simplified version of the risk assessment that included seven variables: World Health Organization functional class, 6-min walking distance, peak oxygen consumption, brain natriuretic peptide, right atrial pressure, mixed venous oxygen saturation, and cardiac index. The high-risk group showed significantly higher mortality than the low- or intermediate-risk group at baseline (P < 0.001 for both comparisons), and the mortalities in the intermediate- and low-risk groups were both low (P = 0.989). At follow-up, patients who improved to or maintained a low-risk status showed better survival than those who did not (P = 0.041). Our data suggest that this risk assessment can predict higher mortality risk and long-term survival in PAH patients in Japan.
Astragalus Polysaccharide (PG2) Suppresses Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor and Aggressiveness of Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells
Authors: Liao Chien-Huang , Yong Chen-Yin , Lai Gi-Ming , Chow Jyh-Ming , Cheng Chieh-Fang , Fang Chia-Lang , Lin Pei-Chun , Chang Chia-Lun , Zheng Yu-Mei , Chuang Shuang-En , Whang-Peng Jacqueline , Yao Chih-Jung
Published: September 2020

Astragalus membranaceus is the most popular traditional Chinese medicine for managing vital energy deficiency. Its injectable polysaccharide PG2 has been used for relieving cancer-related fatigue, and PG2 has immune-modulatory and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we explored the effects of PG2 in lung adenocarcinoma A549 and CL1-2 cells and investigated its anticancer activity, and the results were validated in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice. Although PG2 did not inhibit the growth of these cells, it dose-dependently suppressed their migration and invasion, accompanied by reduced vimentin and AXL and induced epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin) expression. Regarding the underlying molecular mechanism, PG2 treatment reduced the macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), an inflammatory cytokine that promotes the epithelial–mesenchymal transition and aggressiveness of cancer cells. Consistent with the previous finding that MIF regulates matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), treatment with PG2 reduced MMP-13 and activated AMPK in A549 and CL1-2 cells in this study. In SCID mice injected with A549 cells through the tail vein, intraperitoneal injection with PG2 reduced lung and abdominal metastases in parallel with decreased immunohistochemical staining of AXL, vimentin, MMP-13, and MIF in the tumor. Collectively, data revealed a potential application of PG2 in integrative cancer treatment through the suppression of MIF in cancer cells and their aggressiveness.