bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Psychological characteristics and entrepreneurial intentions among secondary students
Authors: Dinis Anabela , do Paço Arminda , Ferreira João , Raposo Mário , Gouveia Rodrigues Ricardo
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to test a model of entrepreneurial intentions among secondary students based on their psychological characteristics. Furthermore, this seeks to determine whether teenage students (14-15 years old) possess entrepreneurial characteristics and whether these characteristics correspond to entrepreneurial intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

– A sample of secondary students was chosen ranging from 14 to 15 years old. Data were collected through a questionnaire and analysed by univarite statistics and structural equations modelling (PLS) to measure the relationship between the psychological characteristics and entrepreneurial intentions.

Findings

– The results demonstrate there is a relationship between (some) psychological characteristics and entrepreneurial intentions. The propensity to risk negatively influences entrepreneurial intentions, meanwhile self-confidence and the need for achievement positively influence the construct. The relationship between tolerance and ambiguity, locus of control and innovativeness with entrepreneurial intentions reported no statistical significance.

Research limitations/implications

– The results reinforce the idea that psychological characteristics (trait approach) influence entrepreneurial intentions. However, the model needs further development through the incorporation of behavioural characteristics. This would allow for the understanding of whether behaviour and trait theories oppose or complement each other.

Originality/value

– The paper provides important evidence for improving entrepreneurship education for young students. First, it is important to incite and develop some psychological characteristics in order to promote entrepreneurial intentions. Second, entrepreneurship curricula should jointly develop both entrepreneurial characteristics and the awareness among students about the viability of an entrepreneurial career. This may be achieved not only by presenting entrepreneurs as role models, promoting an entrepreneurial culture but also by developing entrepreneurial skills that improve self-confidence.
Heroic and humane entrepreneurs: identity work in entrepreneurship education
Authors: Hytti Ulla , Heinonen Jarna
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the identity work of postgraduate students participating in an entrepreneurship training programme for life sciences. The paper aims to analyse what kind of entrepreneurial identities are constructed and in what ways in the context of the programme.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper relies on learning diaries and other written materials harvested from seven participants. Drawing on a social constructivist analysis, the materials were analysed by drawing attention to the kind of identities created, the contradictions that surfaced and how those were resolved in the written materials.

Findings

– Two distinct entrepreneurial identities were constructed by the participants: the heroic and the humane. The first is the stereotypical role prototype that the participants experiment with. For the male participants this seems acceptable and normal. If they were in possession of more information, knowledge and skills they could identify with this heroic entrepreneurial identity. However, the female participants constructed an alternative identity; the humane entrepreneur running a low-tech firm with modest business goals or acting as an intrapreneur in an existing organisation.

Research limitations/implications

– Future research should consider entrepreneurship programmes as arenas for (gendered) identity work.

Practical implications

– Entrepreneurship training should not only provide the participants with business knowledge and skills but facilitate their entrepreneurial identity work.

Originality/value

– The paper contributes to understanding entrepreneurship education as a context for entrepreneurial identity construction and extends the understanding of the expected outcomes of entrepreneurship education programmes. The study demonstrates how entrepreneurial identity construction processes in the context of entrepreneurship training are gendered.
How does enterprise and entrepreneurship education influence postgraduate students’ career intentions in the New Era economy?
Authors: Rae David , Ruth Woodier-Harris Naomi
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Enterprise and entrepreneurship education (EEE) is seen as a major contributor to economic growth and development in the post-2008 environment we term the “New Era”. The role of EEE in enabling graduates to develop entrepreneurial intentions and career plans is therefore of major importance. The paper explores how EEE can influence postgraduate entrepreneurship and career initiation in the context of the New Era economy at an international level.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper explores the learning experiences of a group of 60 postgraduate international students who completed an Entrepreneurship programme at the University of Lincoln which included the development of personal learning narratives and career plans. The students were exposed to the opportunity-centred entrepreneurship approach and the “Entrepreneurial Effectiveness” model in the QAA (2012) guidelines. Their narratives were analysed to assess: prior career intentions, proposed career intentions resulting from the EEE programme, application of learning arising from the EEE programme and a survey of students was used to validate the narratives

Findings

– EEE has a wider influence on personal development and career planning than simply the intention to create new ventures. The paper builds on a prior study of international postgraduate students’ orientation to entrepreneurship education in their expectations of the UK higher education, which confirmed that career development is a major motivator for international study in the UK (Rae and Woodier-Harris, 2012). The paper contributes new understanding of the relationships between EEE and graduate career intentions, especially at PG and international levels. The paper explores personal growth, confidence and identity development, formation of new career intentions and the application of learning. The international dimension is considerable and this is discussed.

Practical implications

– The paper has implications for the marketing, design and delivery of EEE at international and HE institutional levels, as well as for the practices of educators in designing, validating and delivering programmes for entrepreneurial career development, at national and international levels.

Originality/value

– The paper contributes new understanding to the role of EEE in postgraduate career initiation at international level in a period of significant and complex economic transformation.
Work-life conflict in Australian Muslims: is gender important?
Authors: Sav Adem , Harris Neil
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This study aims to examine how working Australian Muslim men experience work-life conflict and how gender influences their experience.

Design/methodology/approach

– Survey questionnaires were collected, either face-to-face or online, from 403 Australian Muslim men and women.

Findings

– Work-to-life conflict is more prevalent than life-to-work conflict in both sexes, and there are no gender differences in the experiences of either direction of conflict. Job demands are a stronger predictor than work hours in both sexes and the findings corroborate existing Western research on the importance of work flexibility in helping both sexes cope with conflict. As expected, non-work related antecedents have more impacts on life-to-work conflict among women than in men, but the findings question the role of religion, indicating its beneficial rather than demanding nature. Finally, work-to-life conflict is a slightly stronger negative predictor of job satisfaction in women than men, whereas life-to-work conflict is a stronger negative predictor in men but not in women.

Research limitations/implications

– A greater focus on the work-life experiences of non-traditional populations and a change in the direction of work-life research, one that is broadened to include other roles besides work and family, such as religion, are needed.

Practical implications

– Workplace policies designed to mitigate the negative impact of work-life conflict need to be matched to the workforce for both the workers and workplace to gain full benefits.

Originality/value

– This research broadens the scope of work-life knowledge, one that is predominantly based on Western societies on white, English-speaking backgrounds, to men and women of non-traditional minority populations.
Promoting women to MD in investment banking: multi-level influences
Authors: Pryce Patricia , Sealy Ruth
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Women remain underrepresented at senior levels in global investment banks. By investigating promotion processes in this sector, and using the concept of a multi-level, relational framework, this paper seeks to examine macro, micro, and meso-level influences, and the interplay between them, as explanations for why more progress is not being made.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data are taken from two projects with a total of 50 semi-structured interviews with male and female directors and managing directors (MDs), across six investment banks discussing careers and promotions. An inductive approach was taken to data analysis.

Findings

– Women's lack of representation at the top of investment banks is not simply an individual level problem but is the result of the dynamic interplay between macro- and meso-level influences that impact individual agency, identity and perception of fit.

Research limitations/implications

– Public debate should be refocused around the meso-level influences of what organizations can do to promote more inclusive cultures and structures thereby enabling more women to achieve MD positions in investment banking.

Originality/value

– The paper considers challenges women face in their promotion to MD using a multi-level framework demonstrating the impact of each level and their interconnectedness. It contributes to the limited qualitative research exploring the career experiences of senior level individuals in global financial services firms.
Cold protective clothing with reflective nano-fibrous interlayers for improved comfort
Authors: Sun Chao , Fan Jintu , Wu Huijun , Wu Yuenshing , Wan Xianfu
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop multilayer clothing assemblies consisting of fibrous battings and reflective nano-fibrous thin layers for cold protective clothing for improved thermal insulation.

Design/methodology/approach

– Thermal insulation values of totally 20 assemblies made of varying layers of a thick polyester batting and four different types of thin interlayers were measured using a guarded hot-plate to investigate the effect of the properties of thin interlayers and construction of multilayer assemblies on thermal insulation. Cold protective jackets filled with polyester battings sandwiched with or without interlayers were also made and tested on the sweating fabric manikin-Walter.

Findings

– Results show that the Rosseland mean extinction coefficients of the thin interlayer and the associated radiative thermal conductivity of the interlayers have significant influence on thermal insulation of the assembly when more than one reflective nano-fibrous interlayers are sandwiched in the assembly. The cold protective jacket filled with multilayer polyester battings and reflective nano-fibrous interlayers have better thermal insulation and moisture permeability index (im) than those filled with the same multilayer polyester battings, but with non-reflective nonwoven interlayers or without interlayers.

Originality/value

– This paper clearly demonstrates the advantages of reflective nano-fibrous thin material for interlayers in the cold projective jacket.
“New capitalism”, colonisation and the neo-philanthropic turn in social policy
Authors: Jackson Rodger John
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Drawing on the functional structural systems theory of Niklas Luhmann and the theory of colonisation of the social lifeworld advanced by Jurgen Habermas, it is argued that the Big Society project in the UK is about the creation of an alternative non-state welfare infrastructure by the linking of wealthy donors with opportunities to engage in venture philanthropy in the third sector. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper outlines key features of Luhmann's theory relating to autopoiesis and structural coupling to illustrate its conceptual strength in making the colonisation process visible.

Findings

– The paper illustrates the ways in which system imperatives underpinning the colonisation process absorb and subordinate public activism to narrow market principles forcing the third sector to communicate in the language of the market rather than caritas.

Social implications

– The real implication of these developments for the character of the voluntary sector requires further critical examination not only because the state's enduring commitment to welfare may be in question but also for the growing significance of entrepreneurial philanthropy in shaping the character of volunteering and charitable activities and welfare relationships.

Originality/value

– The paper applies Luhmann's theory relating to autopoiesis and structural coupling to make key features of government colonisation of the third sector visible.
Cambodian returnees' entrepreneurial ventures
Authors: Dahles Heidi
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The aim is to identify the potential for establishing successful businesses operations or institutions emanating from returnees' mixed embeddedness in post-conflict Cambodia.

Design/methodology/approach

– This explorative study of the two largest groups of returnees, the Cambodian French and the Cambodian Americans, compares these two categories through a review of literature on Cambodians in the USA and France and primary fieldwork data obtained through open interviews with Cambodian returnees in Cambodia.

Findings

– Cambodian French and Cambodian American returnees show different entrepreneurial dispositions and hence play different roles in the Cambodian economy. While the all-embracing welfare system in France incapacitated both the self-sufficiency and community building among Cambodian diaspora, the market-driven model of social services in the USA induced the Cambodian diaspora with a commercial orientation. While both categories initiate institutional and business ventures, their contribution to social change in Cambodia is modest. Among the returnee entrepreneurs, the Chinese Cambodians seem to be most successful in their business ventures irrespective of their diasporic background.

Originality/value

– The emerging scholarly interest in “immigrant transnationalism” tends to focus in particular on identity issues. Contrastingly, this article focuses on economic aspects of “immigrant transnationalism” in terms of its “mixed embeddedness” in both home and host country economies.
Footloose and fancy-free: sojourning entrepreneurs in China
Authors: Almor Tamar , Yeheskel Orly
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the paper is witnessing a new phenomenon of international entrepreneurship; skilled entrepreneurs from developed countries are temporarily moving to emerging economies in order to pursue business opportunities. While anecdotal evidence exists, very little theoretical development has taken place so far to explain to this phenomenon. The paper presents two short cases based on such anecdotal evidence. These cases form the basis for the development of a conceptual framework which entails a profile of entrepreneurs who have the ability to establish and operate new business ventures in an emerging economy which is characterized by a high psychic distance.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using Siu's work on immigrant laborers, the paper suggests that skilled, professional entrepreneurs from Israel, who seek business opportunities in China, have a profile that differs from typical immigrant entrepreneurs described in literature and is closer to the immigrant laborers described by Siu and the paper suggests therefore naming them “sojourning entrepreneurs”.

Findings

– These entrepreneurs have the ability to overcome liability of foreignness, without integrating in the host society, and without becoming part of the local culture and the ability to engage both networks in the home country and in the host country to further the entrepreneurial venture in the host country. The paper poses that these foreign entrepreneurs will be more successful in China when using strategic alliances and that they will be more successful if they are able to leverage their foreignness temporarily and become liaisons and mediators between agents in the home and in the host country.

Originality/value

– If, as posed, these entrepreneurs will indeed be more successful in China when using alliances rather than WOFEs and if their unique capabilities enable them to become liaisons and mediators, this line of research can lead to guidelines for such entrepreneurs as well as for the Chinese Government. The paper expects that in the Chinese century, more entrepreneurs will be footloose and fancy-free and exploit opportunities in globally emerging markets and they will be in need of guidelines based on empirical research.
Note: issues of importance, timing and method relating to peer review of journal manuscripts
Authors: D. Holt Gary
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The paper aims to highlight issues of importance, timing and method relating to peer review of academic journal manuscripts: in a broad context generally; and with respect to the Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction (JFMPC), more specifically. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Synthesis of extant literature combined with the author's experientially-gained views as a researcher, author, reviewer and editor.

Findings

– Opinions on the importance, timing and methods of peer review can vary widely, among individuals and publishing outlets. Notwithstanding this, based on the “approach” above, a cogent description of these peer review issues is defined and presented.

Research limitations/implications

– It is proffered that a robust peer review process yields benefits for researchers, authors, editors, journals, publishers and the end-users of published research. The note has potential implications for all of these stakeholders.

Originality/value

– The discussion complements existing literature in this field, while its specific guidance for JFMPC stakeholders is new.
Sustainability performance measurement framework for PFI projects in the UK
Authors: Zhou Lei , Keivani Ramin , Kurul Esra
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The relationship between sustainable development and private finance initiative (PFI) procurement systems is clarified, and the current debate on the effectiveness of PFI in the UK and the benefits of PFI to deliver sustainable construction is reviewed. The study develops a sustainability assessment framework encompassing environmental, economic, social and technical aspects through the life cycle of the procurement process. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– A comprehensive literature review develops a conceptual sustainability performance indicators framework. A national questionnaire survey measures existing PFI projects' sustainability performance level.

Findings

– The study provides empirical insights about key performance indicators of sustainable PFI project development and a benchmarking for existing PFI project performance measurement. It suggests that successful sustainable PFI projects should integrate technical aspects into the traditional three dimensions sustainability model and achieve a balance between social and economic performance.

Research limitations/implications

– Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack in-depth analysis of individual projects. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the framework further.

Practical implications

– The sustainability indicator framework proposed in this paper is readily applicable in PFI projects, as well as other types of PPP projects.

Originality/value

– This paper fulfils an identified need to study how the sustainability performance levels achieved could be effectively measured within PFI/PPP projects; while contributing to the debate on benchmarking and measuring sustainability performance in construction.
Methods in focus group interviews in cross-cultural settings
Authors: Clare Kitchen Margaret
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to focus on empowering migrant voices. While many write about researchers struggling to be more ethical, few write about specific methods that might improve the processes of researching multilingually (Temple and Edwards, 2002). The paper reports on one method, the handing over control of the running of the focus group interviews to the Korean parent research participants. In considering the outcomes, the paper examines the resultant situated interactive discourse patterns, the data produced and the cues given for data interpretation. Analysis suggests voice can be empowered in co-ethnic settings pushing back constraining conventions of public face.

Design/methodology/approach

– The issue arose during the author's PhD study. As an outsider, a monolingual English speaker interested in cross-cultural participatory research in a school setting, the author sought to empower participant voices. The research was informed by pragmatic critical theory; used an ethnographic approach (Charmaz and Mitchell, 1997); relied on Charmaz's (2006) modified grounded theory for thematic analysis; and, in this paper, drew on linguistic ethnography's contextualised approach to linguistic analysis, and Brown and Levinson's (1987) patterns of verbal interaction.

Findings

– The hands-off approach activated an interview genre with more culturally familiar talk-in-interaction and therefore richer sense making. Analysis showed that constraining cultural norms may be challenged in a host setting when a dominant group member subverts familiar boundaries of silence in public discussion of education. The co-constructed group talk provided clear guidelines for data analysis and for memoing, the foundations of theory building, when using modified grounded theory. Issues around the artfulness of sensitive interviewing were also raised.

Research limitations/implications

– Translating and analysing concepts across languages is not within the scope of the paper.

Practical implications

– The paper informs practice for monolingual researchers conducting focus group interviews in cross-cultural settings. The paper valorises time spent, commitment and reciprocity in ethnographic research. The research also suggests ways researchers can work with schools and their communities to hear migrant voices and imagine new practices and polices.

Originality/value

– The paper studies an under-researched field – specific methods that might improve the processes of researching multilingually (Temple and Edwards, 2002). Few have written about qualitative interviews as interactive events in cross-cultural settings (Talmy and Richards, 2011). The paper is valuable to qualitative researchers interested in methods of ethical knowledge production in cross-cultural settings. It is of value to educational groups, and others, that wish to explore methods of engaging in dialogue with migrant communities.
The Googled ethnographer
Authors: Saltmarsh Sue
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to consider how researcher positionality is reconfigured by internet use.

Design/methodology/approach

– Drawing on recent ethnographic studies conducted in Australia and Canada, the paper considers here how participant agency is symbolically and materially enacted through technology use.

Findings

– The use of information communication technologies by researchers, research participants and industry partners in online information searching, and the production and dissemination of text poses challenges to conventional assumptions of unequal power relations in research sites.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper explores methodological, theoretical and practical implications of being a Googled ethnographer whose life, work, professional activities and networks as represented online are available for public scrutiny.

Originality/value

– The paper argues, taking inspiration from Sarah Pink's recent work, that the author's and others’ use of information and communication technologies implicates us in shared “entanglements” of responsibility within and beyond research sites. The importance of these entanglements for contemporary thinking about researcher positionality, research relationships and researched/researching subjectivities is also considered.
Approximation by a composition of Chlodowsky operators and Százs–Durrmeyer operators on weighted spaces
Authors: İzgi Aydın
Published: October 2013

In this paper we deal with the operators $$\begin{eqnarray*}{Z}_{n} (f; x)= \frac{n}{{b}_{n} } { \mathop{\sum }\nolimits}_{k= 0}^{n} {p}_{n, k} \biggl(\frac{x}{{b}_{n} } \biggr)\int \nolimits \nolimits_{0}^{\infty } {s}_{n, k} \biggl(\frac{t}{{b}_{n} } \biggr)f(t)\hspace{0.167em} dt, \quad 0\leq x\leq {b}_{n}\end{eqnarray*}$$ and study some basic properties of these operators where ${p}_{n, k} (u)=\bigl(\hspace{-4pt}{\scriptsize \begin{array}{ l} \displaystyle n\\ \displaystyle k\end{array} } \hspace{-4pt}\bigr){u}^{k} \mathop{(1- u)}\nolimits ^{n- k} , (0\leq k\leq n), u\in [0, 1] $ and ${s}_{n, k} (u)= {e}^{- nu} \mathop{(nu)}\nolimits ^{k} \hspace{-3pt}/ k!, u\in [0, \infty )$. Also, we establish the order of approximation by using weighted modulus of continuity.
Heat Transfer in Fully Developed Laminar Flow of Power Law Fluids
Authors: Baptista A. , Alves M. A. , Coelho P. M.
Published: October 2013

In this work, we present approximate and exact solutions for the temperature profile and Nusselt number under fully developed laminar flow of a power law fluid inside pipes and between parallel plates. Constant wall temperature and negligible axial heat conduction are considered, for both the cases with and without viscous dissipation. For completeness, the corresponding solutions for the related problem of constant heat flux at the wall are also presented. In the absence of viscous dissipation, the solutions obtained are semi-analytic, since they rely upon an iterative procedure. As a benchmark result, to allow comparison with the results obtained with the semi-analytical expressions, we also present highly accurate numerical solutions for the Nusselt number, Nu, based on numerical integration of the energy equation. Also based on these numerical results, simplified correlations for Nu are proposed, valid for a wide range of the power law index.
Thermal Conductivity Enhancement of Ethylene Glycol-Based Suspensions in the Presence of Silver Nanoparticles of Various Shapes
Authors: Fang Xin , Ding Qing , Fan Li-Wu , Yu Zi-Tao , Xu Xu , Cheng Guan-Hua , Hu Ya-Cai , Cen Ke-Fa
Published: October 2013

In this technical brief, the effect of adding silver (Ag) nanoparticles of various shapes on the thermal conductivity enhancement of ethylene glycol (EG)-based suspensions was investigated experimentally. These included Ag nanospheres (Ag NSs), Ag nanowires (Ag NWs), and Ag nanoflakes (Ag NFs). Measurements of the thermal conductivity of the suspensions were performed from 10 to 30 °C at an increment of 5 °C. It was shown that the thermal conductivity of the EG-based suspensions increases with raising the temperature. The Ag NWs of a high aspect ratio (∼500) caused greatest relative enhancement up to 15.6% at the highest loading of nearly 0.1 vol. %, whereas the other two shapes of nanoparticles, Ag NSs and Ag NFs with much smaller aspect ratios, only led to enhancements up to 5%. The formation of a network of Ag NWs that facilitates heat conduction was likely responsible for their better performance. The relative enhancement was also predicted by the Hamilton-Crosser model that takes the particle shape effect into consideration. It was shown that the predictions far underestimate the thermal conductivity enhancements but are qualitatively consistent with their shape dependence. As a penalty, however, the presence of Ag NWs was shown to give rise to significant increase in the viscosity of the EG-based suspensions.
Femtosecond Visualization of Lattice Dynamics in Shock-Compressed Matter
Authors: Milathianaki D. , Boutet S. , Williams G. J. , Higginbotham A. , Ratner D. , Gleason A. E. , Messerschmidt M. , Seibert M. M. , Swift D. C. , Hering P. , Robinson J. , White W. E. , Wark J. S.
Published: October 2013

Elastic to Plastic

When a crystal is mechanically compressed, it first reacts elastically (reversibly), and then enters the plastic regime, in which the structure of the material is irreversibly changed. This process can be studied with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on very fine temporal and spatial scales, but experimental analysis has lagged behind.

Milathianaki
et al.

(p.
220
) shocked polycrystalline copper with a laser beam, and then took successive snapshots of the crystal structure at 10-picosecond intervals. The results were compared directly with atomistic simulations and revealed that the yield stress—the point of transition from plastic to elastic response—agreed well with MD predictions.
An Erythroid Enhancer of
BCL11A
Subject to Genetic Variation Determines Fetal Hemoglobin Level
Authors: Bauer Daniel E. , Kamran Sophia C. , Lessard Samuel , Xu Jian , Fujiwara Yuko , Lin Carrie , Shao Zhen , Canver Matthew C. , Smith Elenoe C. , Pinello Luca , Sabo Peter J. , Vierstra Jeff , Voit Richard A. , Yuan Guo-Cheng , Porteus Matthew H. , Stamatoyannopoulos John A. , Lettre Guillaume , Orkin Stuart H.
Published: October 2013

BCL11A
Variants

Recent chromatin mapping data have suggested that trait-associated variants often mark regulatory DNA. However, there has been little rigorous experimental investigation of regulatory variation.

Bauer
et al.

(p.
253
; see the Perspective by

Hardison and Blobel

) performed an in-depth study of the
BCL11A
fetal hemoglobin-associated locus. The trait-associated variants revealed a chromatin signature that enhanced erythroid development. The enhancer was required for erythroid expression of
BCL11A
and thus for globin gene expression.
Fueling Immunity: Insights into Metabolism and Lymphocyte Function
Authors: Pearce Erika L. , Poffenberger Maya C. , Chang Chih-Hao , Jones Russell G.
Published: October 2013

Lymphocyte Metabolism

Lymphocytes are highly dynamic cells, undergoing extensive proliferation upon infection and then reducing in number upon pathogen clearance. Lymphocytes also circulate through many different tissue environments that vary in their nutrient and oxygen availability. Recent studies have revealed changes in metabolic programming that facilitate this dynamic behavior. How these changes occur and the specific effects that they have on lymphocyte function and on the ultimate outcome of an infection are not well understood.

Pearce
et al.

(
1242454
) review recent progress in this area, suggest how parallels might be found in studying the metabolic changes seen in tumor cells, and propose challenges for the future.
Directing Data Center Traffic
Authors: Fainman Yeshaiahu , Porter George
Published: October 2013

A data center design based on an integrated chip-scale approach will be required to deal with the increasing volumes of Internet traffic.
Impact Theory Gets Whacked
Authors: Clery Daniel
Published: October 2013

Planetary scientists thought they had explained what made the moon, but ever-better computer models and rock analyses suggest reality was messier than anyone expected.
Immunogenicity and Safety after Booster Vaccination of Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Acellular Pertussis in Young Adults: an Open Randomized Controlled Trial in Japan
Authors: Hara Megumi , Okada Kenji , Yamaguchi Yuko , Uno Shingo , Otsuka Yasuko , Shimanoe Chisato , Nanri Hinako , Horita Mikako , Ozaki Iwata , Nishida Yuichiro , Tanaka Keitaro
Published: October 2013

The recent increase of pertussis in young adults in Japan is hypothesized to be due in part to waning protection from the acellular pertussis vaccine. While a booster immunization may prevent an epidemic of pertussis among these young adults, little is known about the safety and immunogenicity of such a booster with the diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP), which is currently available in Japan. One hundred and eleven medical students with a mean age of 19.4 years were randomly divided into 2 groups of 55 and 56 subjects and received, respectively, 0.2 or 0.5 ml of DTaP. Immunogenicity was assessed by performing the immunoassay using serum, and the geometric mean concentration (GMC), GMC ratio (GMCR), seropositive rate, and booster response rate were calculated. Adverse reactions and adverse events were monitored for 7 days after vaccination. After booster vaccination in the two groups, significant increases were found in the antibodies against pertussis toxin, filamentous hemagglutinin, diphtheria toxoid, and tetanus toxoid, and the booster response rates for all subjects reached 100%. The GMCs and GMCRs against all antigens were significantly higher in the 0.5-ml group than in the 0.2-ml group. No serious adverse events were observed. Frequencies of local reactions were similar in the 2 groups, although the frequency of severe local swelling was significantly higher in the 0.5-ml group. These data support the acceptability of booster immunization using both 0.2 and 0.5 ml of DTaP for young adults for controlling pertussis. (This study was registered at UMIN-CTR under registration number UMIN000010672.)
Comparison of Multilocus Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat Analysis and Whole-Genome Sequencing for Investigation of Clostridium difficile Transmission
Authors: Eyre D. W. , Fawley W. N. , Best E. L. , Griffiths D. , Stoesser N. E. , Crook D. W. , Peto T. E. A. , Walker A. S. , Wilcox M. H.
Published: October 2013

No study to date has compared multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in an investigation of the transmission of
Clostridium difficile
infection. Isolates from 61 adults with ongoing and/or recurrent
C. difficile
infections and 17 asymptomatic carriage episodes in children (201 samples), as well as from 61 suspected outbreaks affecting 2 to 41 patients in 31 hospitals in the United Kingdom (300 samples), underwent 7-locus MLVA and WGS in parallel. When the first and last samples from the same individual taken for a median (interquartile range [IQR]) of 63 days (43 to 105 days) apart were compared, the estimated rates of the evolution of single nucleotide variants (SNVs), summed tandem-repeat differences (STRDs), and locus variants (LVs) were 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.00 to 1.75), 1.63 (95% CI, 0.00 to 3.59), and 1.21 (95% CI, 0.00 to 2.67)/called genome/year, respectively. Differences of >2 SNVs and >10 STRDs have been used to exclude direct case-to-case transmission. With the first serial sample per individual being used to assess discriminatory power, across all pairs of samples sharing a PCR ribotype, 192/283 (68%) differed by >10 STRDs and 217/283 (77%) by >2 SNVs. Among all pairs of cases from the same suspected outbreak, 1,190/1,488 (80%) pairs had concordant results using >2 SNVs and >10 STRDs to exclude transmission. For the discordant pairs, 229 (15%) had ≥2 SNVs but ≤10 STRDs, and 69 (5%) had ≤2 SNVs but ≥10 STRDs. Discordant pairs had higher numbers of LVs than concordant pairs, supporting the more diverse measure in each type of discordant pair. Conclusions on whether the potential outbreaks were confirmed were concordant in 58/61 (95%) investigations. Overall findings using MLVA and WGS were very similar despite the fact that they analyzed different parts of the bacterial genome. With improvements in WGS technology, it is likely that MLVA locus data will be available from WGS in the near future.
Exploring Alternative Biomaterials for Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in HIV-Negative Patients by Use of the GeneXpert MTB/RIF Assay
Authors: Shenai Shubhada , Amisano Danielle , Ronacher Katharina , Kriel Magdalena , Banada Padmapriya P. , Song Taeksun , Lee Myungsun , Joh Joon Sung , Winter Jill , Thayer Rich , Via Laura E. , Kim Soyeon , Barry Clifton E. , Walzl Gerhard , Alland David
Published: October 2013

The utility of the GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) assay for detection of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
in sputum samples has been extensively studied. However, the performance of the Xpert assay as applied to other readily accessible body fluids such as exhaled breath condensate (EBC), saliva, urine, and blood has not been established. We used the Xpert assay to test EBC, saliva, urine, and blood samples from HIV-negative, smear- and culture-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients for the presence of
M. tuberculosis
. To compare the ability of the assay to perform bacterial load measurements on sputum samples with versus without sample processing, the assay was also performed on paired direct and processed sputum samples from each patient. The Xpert assay detected
M. tuberculosis
in none of the 26 EBC samples (sensitivity, 0.0%; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.0%, 12.9%), 10 of the 26 saliva samples (sensitivity, 38.5%; 95% CI, 22.4%, 57.5%), 1 of 26 urine samples (sensitivity, 3.8%; 95% CI, 0.7%, 18.9%), and 2 of 24 blood samples (sensitivity, 8.3%; 95% CI, 2.3%, 25.8%). For bacterial load measurements in the different types of sputum samples, the cycle thresholds of the two
M. tuberculosis
-positive sputum types were well correlated (Spearman correlation of 0.834). This study demonstrates that the Xpert assay should not be routinely used to detect
M. tuberculosis
in EBC, saliva, urine, or blood samples from HIV-negative patients suspected of having pulmonary tuberculosis. As a test of bacterial load, the assay produced similar results when used to test direct versus processed sputum samples. Sputum remains the optimal sample type for diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis in HIV-negative patients with the Xpert assay.
Epidemiology, Species Distribution, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Outcome of Candidemia across Five Sites in Italy and Spain
Authors: Bassetti Matteo , Merelli Maria , Righi Elda , Diaz-Martin Ana , Rosello Eva Maria , Luzzati Roberto , Parra Anna , Trecarichi Enrico Maria , Sanguinetti Maurizio , Posteraro Brunella , Garnacho-Montero Jose , Sartor Assunta , Rello Jordi , Tumbarello Mario
Published: October 2013

Candidemia has become an important bloodstream infection that is frequently associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity, and its growing incidence is related to complex medical and surgical procedures. We conducted a multicenter study in five tertiary care teaching hospitals in Italy and Spain and evaluated the epidemiology, species distribution, antifungal susceptibilities, and outcomes of candidemia episodes. In the period of 2008 to 2010, 995 episodes of candidemia were identified in these hospitals. The overall incidence of candidemia was 1.55 cases per 1,000 admissions and remained stable during the 3-year analysis.
Candida albicans
was the leading agent of infection (58.4%), followed by
Candida parapsilosis
complex (19.5%),
Candida tropicalis
(9.3%), and
Candida glabrata
(8.3%). The majority of the candidemia episodes were found in the internal medicine department (49.6%), followed by the surgical ward, the intensive care unit (ICU), and the hemato-oncology ward. Out of 955 patients who were eligible for evaluation, 381 (39.9%) died within 30 days from the onset of candidemia. Important differences in the 30-day mortality rates were noted between institutions: the lowest mortality rate was in the Barcelona hospital, and the highest rate was in the Udine hospital (33.6% versus 51%, respectively;
P
= 0.0005). Overall, 5.1% of the 955 isolates tested were resistant or susceptible dose dependent (SDD) to fluconazole, with minor differences between the hospitals in Italy and Spain (5.7% versus 3.5%, respectively;
P
= 0.2). Higher MICs for caspofungin were found, especially with
C. parapsilosis
complex (MIC
90
, 1 μg/ml). Amphotericin B had the lowest MICs. This report shows that candidemia is a significant source of morbidity in Europe, causing a substantial burden of disease and mortality.
Aspergillus PCR-Based Investigation of Fresh Tissue and Effusion Samples in Patients with Suspected Invasive Aspergillosis Enhances Diagnostic Capabilities
Authors: Reinwald M. , Spiess B. , Heinz W. J. , Heussel C. P. , Bertz H. , Cornely O. A. , Hahn J. , Lehrnbecher T. , Kiehl M. , Laws H. J. , Wolf H. H. , Schwerdtfeger R. , Schultheis B. , Burchardt A. , Klein M. , Dürken M. , Claus B. , Schlegel F. , Hummel M. , Hofmann W.-K. , Buchheidt D.
Published: October 2013

Although it is a severe complication in immunocompromised patients, diagnosing invasive fungal disease (IFD), especially invasive aspergillosis (IA), remains difficult. In certain clinical scenarios, examining tissue samples for identification of the infectious organism becomes important. As culture-based methods rarely yield results, the performance of anAspergillus-specific nested PCR in fresh tissue or pleural effusion samples was evaluated. Fresh tissue (n= 59) and effusion (n= 47) specimens from 79 immunocompromised patients were subjected to anAspergillus-specific PCR assay. Twenty-six patients had proven (n= 20) or probable (n= 6) IFD, according to the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Invasive Fungal Infections Cooperative Group and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Mycoses Study Group (EORTC/MSG) criteria, while the remaining patients were classified as having either possible IFD (n= 30) or no IFD (n= 23). IA was identified as the underlying IFD in 21/26 proven/probable cases. PCR positivity was observed for 18/21 proven/probable and 6 possible IA cases; cases classified as no IA did not show positive signals. Patients with proven IFD (n= 5) with cultures positive for non-Aspergillusmolds also had negativeAspergillusPCR results.AspergillusPCR performance analysis yielded sensitivity and specificity values of 86% (95% confidence interval [CI], 65% to 95%) and 100% (95% CI, 86% to 100%), respectively, thus leading to a diagnostic odds ratio of >200. In this analysis, good diagnostic performance of the PCR assay for detection of IA was observed for tissue samples, while effusion samples showed lower sensitivity rates. PCR testing represents a complementary tool; a positive PCR result strengthens the likelihood of IA, whereas IA seems unlikely in cases with negative results but findings could indicate non-AspergillusIFD. Thus, PCR testing of these specimens enhances the diagnostic capabilities.
Sensitivity, Specificity, and Reproducibility of the Capilia TB-Neo Assay
Authors: Muyoyeta Monde , Mwanza Winnie C. , Kasese Nkatya , Cheeba-Lengwe Maina , Moyo Maureen , Kaluba-Milimo Deborah , Ayles Helen
Published: October 2013

The performance of the Capilia TB-Neo assay, a new-generation assay, was assessed by determining its sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility, and cross-reaction with contaminating organisms. The sensitivity and specificity were 99.2 and 96.4% and 89.3 and 100% in pure and mixed-culture isolates, respectively. The kappa statistic was 95.0 and 77.9% in pure and mixed culture isolates, respectively. There was no cross-reaction with contaminating organisms.
Effect of Multimerization on Membrane Association of Rous Sarcoma Virus and HIV-1 Matrix Domain Proteins
Authors: Dick Robert A. , Kamynina Elena , Vogt Volker M.
Published: October 2013

In most retroviruses, plasma membrane (PM) association of the Gag structural protein is a critical step in viral assembly, relying in part on interaction between the highly basic Gag MA domain and the negatively charged inner leaflet of the PM. Assembly is thought to begin with Gag dimerization followed by multimerization, resulting in a hexameric lattice. To directly address the role of multimerization in membrane binding, we fused the MA domains of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) and HIV-1 to the chemically inducible dimerization domain FK506-binding protein (FKBP) or to the hexameric protein CcmK4 from cyanobacteria. The cellular localization of the resulting green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged chimeric proteins was examined by fluorescence imaging, and the association of the proteins with liposomes was quantified by flotation in sucrose gradients, following synthesis in a reticulocyte extract or as purified proteins. Four lipid compositions were tested, representative of liposomes commonly reported in flotation experiments. By themselves, GFP-tagged RSV and HIV-1 MA proteins were largely cytoplasmic, but both hexamerized proteins were highly concentrated at the PM. Dimerization led to partial PM localization for HIV-1 MA. These
in vivo
effects of multimerization were reproduced
in vitro
. In flotation analyses, the intact RSV and HIV-1 Gag proteins were more similar to multimerized MA than to monomeric MA. RNA is reported to compete with acidic liposomes for HIV-1 Gag binding, and thus we also examined the effects of RNase treatment or tRNA addition on flotation. tRNA competed with liposomes in the case of some but not all lipid compositions and ionic strengths. Taken together, our results further underpin the model that multimerization is critical for PM association of retroviral Gag proteins. In addition, they suggest that the modulation of membrane binding by RNA, as previously reported for HIV-1, may not hold for RSV.
HSP90 Protects the Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) Tax Oncoprotein from Proteasomal Degradation To Support NF-κB Activation and HTLV-1 Replication
Authors: Gao Linlin , Harhaj Edward William
Published: October 2013

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the causative agent of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). The HTLV-1 genome encodes the Tax protein that plays essential regulatory roles in HTLV-1 replication and oncogenic transformation of T lymphocytes. Despite intensive study of Tax, how Tax interfaces with host signaling pathways to regulate virus replication and drive T-cell proliferation and immortalization remains poorly understood. To gain new insight into the mechanisms of Tax function and regulation, we used tandem affinity purification and mass spectrometry to identify novel cellular Tax-interacting proteins. This screen identified heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) as a new binding partner of Tax. The interaction between HSP90 and Tax was validated by coimmunoprecipitation assays, and colocalization between the two proteins was observed by confocal microscopy. Treatment of HTLV-1-transformed cells with the HSP90 inhibitor 17-DMAG elicited proteasomal degradation of Tax in the nuclear matrix with concomitant inhibition of NF-κB and HTLV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) activation. Knockdown of HSP90 by lentiviral shRNAs similarly provoked a loss of Tax protein in HTLV-1-transformed cells. Finally, treatment of HTLV-1-transformed cell lines with 17-DMAG suppressed HTLV-1 replication and promoted apoptotic cell death. Taken together, our results reveal that Tax is a novel HSP90 client protein and HSP90 inhibitors may exert therapeutic benefits for ATL and HAM/TSP patients.