bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
To Call Dance Japanese
Authors: Pronko Leonard , Hall Jonathan M.
Published: February 2016

Nihon buyô, sometimes known as kabuki dance, has captured the imagination of Japanese and international audiences for centuries. The dance combines three traditional categories of Japanese dance movement, mai or lateral movement, odori or vertical, jumping movement, and furi, mimetic or imitational movement. Due to its popularity and its long association with kabuki theatre, Nihon buyô is understood by many to represent a singular, uniquely Japanese form of dance. Yet, the term itself is a turn-of-the-century neologism, invented in reaction to the Western category of dance. This retroactive nomination secured Nihon buyô’s status as a national dance, representative of Japanese aesthetics, culture, and behaviors.
Rights, Rules, and Respect for Nature
Authors: Hale Benjamin
Published: February 2016

For years, many people have believedthat the only reasonable way to approach a problem of environmental concern is to evaluate the eventuating state of affairs. Since environmental matters are primarily about states of affairs, these ‘consequentialist’ approaches appear to make sense. More recently, however, others have looked to different branches of philosophy for guidance. These non- or anti-consequentialist theorists typically fall into two camps: act-oriented camps and character-oriented camps. This chapter aims to defend nonconsequentialist act-oriented ethics, and in particular, a deontological justificatory liberalism, as at least one plausible route forward for environmental ethics. It does so by suggesting that more traditional consequentialist approaches to environmental problems are subject to potentially devastating criticisms that can more adequately be handled by some deontological approaches.
Environmental Virtue Ethics
Authors: Sandler Ronald
Published: February 2016

It is uncontroversial that character ethics are indispensible to environmental ethics. What is contested is whether virtue ethics, understood as a distinctive type of normative theory, could provide a viable environmental ethic. In response to this concern, this chapter (1) explicates what is distinctive about a virtue ethics approach to normativity within environmental ethics—that is, that how things matter (moral status) is explicated through the virtues; (2) demonstrates that a virtue ethics normative framework can accommodate whatever is the correct account of the value of nonhuman nature; (3) argues that a pluralistic approach to moral status, such as virtue ethics’, is indispensible to environmental ethics; (4) articulates a plausible virtue ethics principle of right action and decision making. Virtue ethics should be regarded as a viable approach to environmental ethics, and it should be considered alongside other, more familiar, approaches such as deontology and consequentialism.
Individual and Contributory Responsibility for Environmental Harm
Authors: Shockley Kenneth
Published: February 2016

Many environmental problems are the result of the aggregation of seemingly innocuous individual actions. As a result, recognizing the moral significance of our contributory, indirect role in the generation of collective harms is crucial in environmental contexts. This chapter argues that taking our contributory role seriously provides a means of accepting a robust form of responsibility for collective harms. Our responsibilities include not only our individual actions, what we have done directly as individuals, but also the influence we might have on the wide range of institutions and practices that can generate harm and benefit. Taking seriously our contributory responsibility for collective harms not only provides an appropriate way of thinking about moral responsibility in environmental contexts but also provides a helpful response to those who reject the possibility of an individual moral obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Mitigation
Authors: Shue Henry
Published: February 2016

Mitigation—preventative actions to reduce the human forcing of climate change with the goal of keeping climate change within a range to which humans can adapt—must be prompt, rigorous, and focused on eliminating emissions of carbon dioxide, beginning with rapid cessation of the use of coal. Carbon dioxide is by far the most threatening greenhouse gas because it remains in the atmosphere for millennia longer than any other major greenhouse gas, and the heat retained on the planet by atmospheric carbon dioxide will continue to emerge from its transitional storage in the deep oceans for millennia after the atmospheric carbon finally dissipates. Sustainable development can be increased and ocean acidification can be stopped only if the dominant fossil fuel regime is promptly replaced by an affordable and accessible alternative energy regime. Poorer countries cannot be reasonably expected to cooperate with vigorous mitigation unless they are assisted with necessary adaptation.
From Environmental Ethics to Environmental Action
Authors: de Shalit Avner
Published: February 2016

How should we move from environmental ethics—discussing reasons for action—to environmental action: doing and being engaged? Since the way a problem is defined constitutes the way it is solved, it is important to see whether we define the problem as one of environmental awareness—how people think about human-nature relationships—or as one of political consciousness: holding a belief that environmental matters constitute a political issue that should be treated not merely as a technological case but rather as a political one. Both options are possible, yet imply different modes of action. The former option (environmental awareness) implies radical changes in education, and the latter implies radical changes in our political institutions. Since radical changes (in mind or intuitional) need political legitimacy, many activists assume that democracy is an obstacle. It is argued that this is empirically false and confuses the problem with the solution.
Victims of Trafficking, Reproductive Rights, and Asylum
Authors: Meyers Diana Tietjens
Published: February 2016

Sex trafficking is a crime prohibited by international law. Traffickers not only violate victims’ rights to liberty and security of persons; they also violate victims’ reproductive rights with potentially devastating consequences for their health and reproductive capabilities. Nonetheless, international antitrafficking and refugee law presents obstacles to viewing trafficking victims as refugees and granting them asylum. International law spotlights the crime of trafficking in persons and treats the human rights of victims as an ancillary matter, and domestic laws follow suit. However, a number of precedents in international and domestic law support construing trafficking victims as coming under refugee law and private oppression as included within refugee law. The chapter concludes by outlining arguments from reproductive rights to expand asylum rights to sex trafficking victims.
Procreative Rights in a Postcoital World
Authors: Mutcherson Kimberly
Published: February 2016

Profound shifts in the legal and ethical understanding of what constitutes a family have occurred alongside significant technological advances in reproduction. The rise of assisted reproduction has brought about a brave new postcoital world, but rather than dismantling existing hierarchies of reproduction, evidenced by state-sanctioned sterilization policies, childbearing caps on public benefits, or harmful judgments of parental unfitness, those hierarchies are reintroduced into the world of assisted reproduction. Thus, while technology allows for procreative pluralism, the law is slower to embrace procreative differences. Legal barriers to procreation include disparities in health insurance coverage and legally unchallenged discrimination against single persons, same-sex couples, or people with disabilities who seek assisted reproductive services. As noncoital reproduction is both a constitutional and a human right, it is unjust to deny this right on the basis of nonrelevant categories such as sex or sexual orientation.
Effects of Negative Middle Ear Pressure on Wideband Acoustic Immittance in Normal-Hearing Adults
Authors: Robinson Sarah R. , Thompson Suzanne , Allen Jont B.
Published: February 2016

Objectives:

Wideband acoustic immittance (WAI) measurements are capable of quantifying middle ear performance over a wide range of frequencies relevant to human hearing. Static pressure in the middle ear cavity affects sound transmission to the cochlea, but few datasets exist to quantify the relationship between middle ear transmission and the static pressure. In this study, WAI measurements of normal ears are analyzed in both negative middle ear pressure (NMEP) and ambient middle ear pressure (AMEP) conditions, with a focus on the effects of NMEP in individual ears.

Design:

Eight subjects with normal middle ear function were trained to induce consistent NMEPs, quantified by the tympanic peak pressure (TPP) and WAI. The effects of NMEP on the wideband power absorbance level are analyzed for individual ears. Complex (magnitude and phase) WAI quantities at the tympanic membrane (TM) are studied by removing the delay due to the residual ear canal (REC) volume between the probe tip and the TM. WAI results are then analyzed using a simplified classical model of the middle ear.

Results:

For the 8 ears presented here, NMEP has the largest and most significant effect across ears from 0.8 to 1.9 kHz, resulting in reduced power absorbance by the middle ear and cochlea. On average, NMEP causes a decrease in the power absorbance level for low- to mid-frequencies, and a small increase above about 4 kHz. The effects of NMEP on WAI quantities, including the absorbance level and TM impedance, vary considerably across ears. The complex WAI at the TM and fitted model parameters show that NMEP causes a decrease in the aggregate compliance at the TM. Estimated REC delays show little to no dependence on NMEP.

Conclusions:

In agreement with previous results, these data show that the power absorbance level is most sensitive to NMEP around 1 kHz. The REC effect is removed from WAI measurements, allowing for direct estimation of complex WAI at the TM. These estimates show NMEP effects consistent with an increased stiffness in the middle ear, which could originate from the TM, tensor tympani, annular ligament, or other middle ear structures. Model results quantify this nonlinear, stiffness-related change in a systematic way, that is not dependent on averaging WAI results in frequency bands. Given the variability of pressure effects, likely related to intersubject variability at AMEP, TPP is not a strong predictor of change in WAI at the TM. More data and modeling will be needed to better quantify the relationship between NMEP, WAI, and middle ear transmission.
Comparison of Haploidentical Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunosuppressive Therapy for the Treatment of Acquired Severe Aplastic Anemia in Pediatric Patients
Authors: Zhang Yuan , Guo Zhi , Liu Xiao-Dong , He Xue-Peng , Yang Kai , Chen Peng , Chen Hui-Ren
Published: February 2016

This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety between haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HHCT) and immunosuppressive therapy (IST) for the treatment of pediatric acquired severe aplastic anemia (SAA). The clinical data of 28 children with SAA treated from June 2010 to October 2014 at our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Of these patients, 18 were treated with HHCT and 10 with IST. The median follow-up time was 23.5 months (range, 3–52 months). There was no significant difference in overall survival rate between the HHCT group and the IST group (66.7% vs. 70%, P > 0.05). Graft-versus-host disease occurred in 83.3% (15/18) of the HHCT group, including 5 cases with grade III or higher. In comparison with IST, HHCT has similar efficacy and safety profiles in the treatment of pediatric SAA.
Postoperative Complications in Children With Crohn Disease Treated With Infliximab
Authors: Zimmerman Lori A. , Saites Constantine G. , Bairdain Sigrid , Lien Chueh , Zurakowski David , Shamberger Robert C. , Linden Bradley C. , Bousvaros Athos
Published: February 2016

Objectives:

Infliximab (IFX) has become a mainstay of therapy for children with Crohn disease (CD). Despite medical advances, many children with CD, however, still require operative interventions. The risk of complications following resection in children treated with IFX remains largely unknown. We compare surgical outcomes stratified by IFX therapy in a cohort of children with CD who require bowel resection.

Methods:

We reviewed the postoperative complications in 123 children with CD who underwent bowel resection with primary anastomosis at our institution between 1977 and 2011. Demographics, medications, types of operations, and inpatient courses were analyzed. Complications and length of stay were compared based on medical therapy.

Results:

Overall, the postoperative complication rate was 13%. Of the 123 surgical cases, 24 children had received IFX before their operation. In the children treated with IFX, we identified 3 major complications, including anastomotic leak, acute renal failure, and intraabdominal abscess. There were 9 major complications in the non‐IFX group, including infections (2), intraabdominal abscesses (2), bowel obstruction, shock, supraventricular tachycardia, phlegmon, and anastomotic stricture. No significant differences in complication rates or postoperative lengths of stay were identified between those who did or did not receive IFX.

Conclusions:

In this cohort, surgical procedures in children and young adults treated with IFX were not associated with an increased number of complications or prolonged length of stay. Given that postoperative complications are infrequent in children, larger multicenter studies may be required to determine whether IFX therapy increases the risk of surgical complications in pediatric CD.
Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing the HEADS-ED
Authors: MacWilliams Kate , Curran Janet , Racek Jakub , Cloutier Paula , Cappelli Mario
Published: February 2016

Objectives

This study sought to identify barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the HEADS-ED, a screening tool appropriate for use in the emergency department (ED) that facilitates standardized assessments, discharge planning, charting, and linking pediatric mental health patients to appropriate community resources.

Methods

A qualitative theory-based design was used to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing the HEADS-ED tool. Focus groups were conducted with participants recruited from 6 different ED settings across 2 provinces (Ontario and Nova Scotia). The Theoretical Domains Framework was used as a conceptual framework to guide data collection and to identify themes from focus group discussions.

Results

The following themes spanning 12 domains were identified as reflective of participants' beliefs about the barriers and facilitators to implementing the HEADS-ED tool: knowledge, skills, beliefs about capabilities, social professional role and identity, optimism, beliefs about consequences, reinforcement, environmental context and resources, social influences, emotion, behavioral regulation and memory, and attention and decision process.

Conclusions

The HEADS-ED has the potential to address the need for better discharge planning, complete charting, and standardized assessments for the increasing population of pediatric mental health patients who present to EDs. This study has identified potential barriers and facilitators, which should be considered when developing an implementation plan for adopting the HEADS-ED tool into practice within EDs.
Post-translational processing targets functionally diverse proteins in
Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae
Authors: Tacchi Jessica L. , Raymond Benjamin B. A. , Haynes Paul A. , Berry Iain J. , Widjaja Michael , Bogema Daniel R. , Woolley Lauren K. , Jenkins Cheryl , Minion F. Chris , Padula Matthew P. , Djordjevic Steven P.
Published: February 2016

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae
is a genome-reduced, cell wall-less, bacterial pathogen with a predicted coding capacity of less than 700 proteins and is one of the smallest self-replicating pathogens. The cell surface of
M. hyopneumoniae
is extensively modified by processing events that target the P97 and P102 adhesin families. Here, we present analyses of the proteome of
M. hyopneumoniae-
type strain J using protein-centric approaches (one- and two-dimensional GeLC–MS/MS) that enabled us to focus on global processing events in this species. While these approaches only identified 52% of the predicted proteome (347 proteins), our analyses identified 35 surface-associated proteins with widely divergent functions that were targets of unusual endoproteolytic processing events, including cell adhesins, lipoproteins and proteins with canonical functions in the cytosol that moonlight on the cell surface. Affinity chromatography assays that separately used heparin, fibronectin, actin and host epithelial cell surface proteins as bait recovered cleavage products derived from these processed proteins, suggesting these fragments interact directly with the bait proteins and display previously unrecognized adhesive functions. We hypothesize that protein processing is underestimated as a post-translational modification in genome-reduced bacteria and prokaryotes more broadly, and represents an important mechanism for creating cell surface protein diversity.
Transcriptomic identification of starfish neuropeptide precursors yields new insights into neuropeptide evolution
Authors: Semmens Dean C. , Mirabeau Olivier , Moghul Ismail , Pancholi Mahesh R. , Wurm Yannick , Elphick Maurice R.
Published: February 2016

Neuropeptides are evolutionarily ancient mediators of neuronal signalling in nervous systems. With recent advances in genomics/transcriptomics, an increasingly wide range of species has become accessible for molecular analysis. The deuterostomian invertebrates are of particular interest in this regard because they occupy an ‘intermediate' position in animal phylogeny, bridging the gap between the well-studied model protostomian invertebrates (e.g.Drosophila melanogaster,Caenorhabditis elegans) and the vertebrates. Here we have identified 40 neuropeptide precursors in the starfishAsterias rubens, a deuterostomian invertebrate from the phylum Echinodermata.Importantly, these include kisspeptin-type and melanin-concentrating hormone-type precursors, which are the first to be discovered in a non-chordate species. Starfish tachykinin-type, somatostatin-type, pigment-dispersing factor-type and corticotropin-releasing hormone-type precursors are the first to be discovered in the echinoderm/ambulacrarian clade of the animal kingdom. Other precursors identified include vasopressin/oxytocin-type, gonadotropin-releasing hormone-type, thyrotropin-releasing hormone-type, calcitonin-type, cholecystokinin/gastrin-type, orexin-type, luqin-type, pedal peptide/orcokinin-type, glycoprotein hormone-type, bursicon-type, relaxin-type and insulin-like growth factor-type precursors. This is the most comprehensive identification of neuropeptide precursor proteins in an echinoderm to date, yielding new insights into the evolution of neuropeptide signalling systems. Furthermore, these data provide a basis for experimental analysis of neuropeptide function in the unique context of the decentralized, pentaradial echinoderm bauplan.
A class of reduced-order models in the theory of waves and stability
Authors: Chapman C. J. , Sorokin S. V.
Published: February 2016

This paper presents a class of approximations to a type of wave field for which the dispersion relation is transcendental. The approximations have two defining characteristics: (i) they give the field shape exactly when the frequency and wavenumber lie on a grid of points in the (frequency, wavenumber) plane and (ii) the approximate dispersion relations are polynomials that pass exactly through points on this grid. Thus, the method is interpolatory in nature, but the interpolation takes place in (frequency, wavenumber) space, rather than in physical space. Full details are presented for a non-trivial example, that of antisymmetric elastic waves in a layer. The method is related to partial fraction expansions and barycentric representations of functions. An asymptotic analysis is presented, involving Stirling's approximation to the psi function, and a logarithmic correction to the polynomial dispersion relation.
What caused extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna of Sahul?
Authors: Johnson C. N. , Alroy J. , Beeton N. J. , Bird M. I. , Brook B. W. , Cooper A. , Gillespie R. , Herrando-Pérez S. , Jacobs Z. , Miller G. H. , Prideaux G. J. , Roberts R. G. , Rodríguez-Rey M. , Saltré F. , Turney C. S. M. , Bradshaw C. J. A.
Published: February 2016

During the Pleistocene, Australia and New Guinea supported a rich assemblage of large vertebrates. Why these animals disappeared has been debated for more than a century and remains controversial. Previous synthetic reviews of this problem have typically focused heavily on particular types of evidence, such as the dating of extinction and human arrival, and have frequently ignored uncertainties and biases that can lead to misinterpretation of this evidence. Here, we review diverse evidence bearing on this issue and conclude that, although many knowledge gaps remain, multiple independent lines of evidence point to direct human impact as the most likely cause of extinction.
Pharmacological evidence is consistent with a prominent role of spatial memory in complex navigation
Authors: Roth Timothy C. , Krochmal Aaron R.
Published: February 2016

The ability to learn about the spatial environment plays an important role in navigation, migration, dispersal, and foraging. However, our understanding of both the role of cognition in the development of navigation strategies and the mechanisms underlying these strategies is limited. We tested the hypothesis that complex navigation is facilitated by spatial memory in a population ofChrysemys pictathat navigate with extreme precision (±3.5 m) using specific routes that must be learned prior to age three. We used scopolamine, a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, to manipulate the cognitive spatial abilities of free-living turtles during naturally occurring overland movements. Experienced adults treated with scopolamine diverted markedly from their precise navigation routes. Naive juveniles lacking experience (and memory) were not affected by scopolamine, and thereby served as controls for perceptual or non-spatial cognitive processes associated with navigation. Further, neither adult nor juvenile movement was affected by methylscopolamine, a form of scopolamine that does not cross the blood–brain barrier, a control for the peripheral effects of scopolamine. Together, these results are consistent with a role of spatial cognition in complex navigation and highlight a cellular mechanism that might underlie spatial cognition. Overall, our findings expand our understanding of the development of complex cognitive abilities of vertebrates and the neurological mechanisms of navigation.
Ecological traps: current evidence and future directions
Authors: Hale Robin , Swearer Stephen E.
Published: February 2016

Ecological traps, which occur when animals mistakenly prefer habitats where their fitness is lower than in other available habitats following rapid environmental change, have important conservation and management implications. Empirical research has focused largely on assessing the behavioural effects of traps, by studying a small number of geographically close habitat patches. Traps, however, have also been defined in terms of their population-level effects (i.e. as preferred habitats of sufficiently low quality to cause population declines), and this is the scale most relevant for management. We systematically review the ecological traps literature to (i) describe the geographical and taxonomic distribution of efforts to study traps, (ii) examine how different traps vary in the strength of their effects on preference and fitness, (iii) evaluate the robustness of methods being used to identify traps, and (iv) determine whether the information required to assess the population-level consequences of traps has been considered. We use our results to discuss key knowledge gaps, propose improved methods to study traps, and highlight fruitful avenues for future research.
The effect of disease on the evolution of females and the genetic basis of sex in populations with cytoplasmic male sterility
Authors: Miller Ian , Bruns Emily
Published: February 2016

The evolution of separate males and females is an important evolutionary transition that has occurred multiple times in flowering plants. While empirical studies have stressed the potential importance of natural enemies and organismal interactions in the evolution of separate sexes, there has been no treatment of natural enemies in the theoretical literature. We investigated the effects of disease on the evolution of females in gynodioecious populations composed of females and hermaphrodites, where sex is determined by the interaction of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) and nuclear restorer genes. When females are significantly more resistant than hermaphrodites, disease drives an increase in the frequency of females and sex determination becomes nuclear, creating the pre-conditions for the evolution of separate males and females. However, when females are only moderately more resistant, disease drives changes in the frequency ofCMSand restorer alleles, but has little effect on the frequency of females. We discuss our results in the context of the evolution of mating systems and cyto-nuclear epistasis.
Quantifying pollen-vegetation relationships to reconstruct ancient forests using 19th-century forest composition and pollen data
Authors: Dawson Andria , Paciorek Christopher J. , McLachlan Jason S. , Goring Simon , Williams John W. , Jackson Stephen T.
Published: February 2016

Mitigation of climate change and adaptation to its effects relies partly on how effectively land-atmosphere interactions can be quantified. Quantifying composition of past forest ecosystems can help understand processes governing forest dynamics in a changing world. Fossil pollen data provide information about past forest composition, but rigorous interpretation requires development of pollen-vegetation models (PVMs) that account for interspecific differences in pollen production and dispersal. Widespread and intensified land-use over the 19th and 20th centuries may have altered pollen-vegetation relationships. Here we use STEPPS, a Bayesian hierarchical spatial PVM, to estimate key process parameters and associated uncertainties in the pollenvegetation relationship. We apply alternate dispersal kernels, and calibrate STEPPS using a newly developed Euro-American settlement-era calibration data set constructed from Public Land Survey data and fossil pollen samples matched to the settlement-era using expert elicitation. Models based on the inverse power-law dispersal kernel outperformed those based on the Gaussian dispersal kernel, indicating that pollen dispersal kernels are fat tailed. Pine and birch have the highest pollen productivities. Pollen productivity and dispersal estimates are generally consistent with previous understanding from modern data sets, although source area estimates are larger. Tests of model predictions demonstrate the ability of STEPPS to predict regional compositional patterns.
Plastid Osmotic Stress influences cell differentiation at the Plant Shoot Apex
Authors: Wilson Margaret E. , Mixdorf Matthew , Berg R. Howard , Haswell Elizabeth S.
Published: February 2016

The balance between proliferation and differentiation in the plant shoot apical meristem is controlled by regulatory loops involving the phytohormone cytokinin and stem cell identity genes. Concurrently, cellular differentiation in the developing shoot is coordinated with the environmental and developmental status of plastids within those cells. Here we employ anArabidopsis thalianamutant exhibiting constitutive plastid osmotic stress to investigate the molecular and genetic pathways connecting plastid osmotic stress with cell differentiation at the shoot apex.msl2 msl3mutants exhibit dramatically enlarged and deformed plastids in the shoot apical meristem, and develop a mass of callus tissue at the shoot apex. Callus production in this mutant requires the cytokinin receptor AHK2 and is characterized by increased cytokinin levels, down-regulation of cytokinin signaling inhibitors ARR7 and ARR15, and induction of the stem cell identity geneWUSCHEL. Furthermore, plastid stress-induced apical callus production requires elevated plastidic ROS, ABA biosynthesis, the retrograde signaling protein GUN1, and ABI4. These results are consistent with a model wherein the cytokinin/WUS pathway and retrograde signaling control cell differentiation at the shoot apex.

SUMMARY STATEMENT

Plastid osmotic stress influences differentiation at the plant shoot apex. Two established mechanisms that control proliferation, the cytokinin/WUSCHEL stem cell identity loop and a plastid-to-nucleus signaling pathway, are implicated.
Identification and characterization of novel Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) antisense transcripts reveals their constitutive expression in leukemic and pre-leukemic clones
Authors: Durkin Keith , Rosewick Nicolas , Artesi Maria , Hahaut Vincent , Griebel Philip , Arsic Natasa , Burny Arsène , Georges Michel , Van den Broeke Anne
Published: February 2016

Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) is a deltaretrovirus closely related to the Human T-cell leukemia virus-1 (HTLV-1). Cattle are the natural host of BLV where it integrates into B-cells and produces a lifelong infection. Most infected animals remain asymptomatic but following a protracted latency period about ∽5% develop an aggressive leukemia/lymphoma, mirroring the disease trajectory of HTLV-1. The 5’LTRs of both the BLV and HTLV-1 proviruses are transcriptionally silent in tumors, however they are not entirely quiescent, with the HLTV-1 antisense transcriptHBZand the BLV microRNAs constitutively expressed in tumors. Here, using RNA-seq, we demonstrate that in addition to microRNAs, the BLV provirus also constitutively expresses two antisense transcripts in all BLV infected samples examined. The first transcript (AS1) has alternate potential polyadenylation sites generating a short transcript of ∽600bp (aS1-S) and a less abundant longer transcript of ∽2200bp (AS1-L). Alternative splicing also creates a second transcript of ∽400bp (AS2) utilizing the first exon of AS1. Production of AS transcripts from the 3’LTR was supported by reporter assays demonstrating that the BLV LTR has substantial and Tax-independent antisense promoter activity. BLV AS transcripts predominantly localize in the nucleus. Examination of protein coding potential showed AS2 to be non-coding, while the AS1-S/L transcripts coding potential is ambiguous, with a small potential open reading frame (ORF) of 264bp present. The AS1-L transcript overlaps the BLV microRNAs transcribed in the sense direction. Using high throughput sequencing of RNA-ligase-mediated (RLM) 5’ RACE products, we show that the perfect complementary between the transcripts leads to RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) mediated cleavage of AS1-L. Furthermore, experiments using BLV proviruses where the microRNAs were removed or inverted point to additional transcriptional interactions between the two viral RNA species. Knock down of AS1-S/L using locked nucleic acids (LNAs) showed no obvious effect on the cells phenotype. While a detailed elucidation of the BLV antisense transcripts function remains in the future, the constitutive expression in all samples examined, points to a vital role for the transcripts in the life cycle and oncogenic potential of BLV.
Perspectives and limitations of symmetric X-ray Bragg reflections for inspecting polytypism in nanowires
Authors: Köhl Martin , Schroth Philipp , Baumbach Tilo
Published: February 2016

X-ray diffraction, possibly time-resolved during growth or annealing, is an important technique for the investigation of polytypism in free-standing nanowires. A major advantage of the X-ray diffraction approach for adequately chosen beam conditions is its high statistical significance in comparison with transmission electron microscopy. In this manuscript the interpretation of such X-ray intensity distribution is discussed, and is shown to be non-trivial and non-unique given measurements of the [111]cor [333]creflection of polytypic nanowires grown in the (111)cdirection. In particular, the diffracted intensity distributions for several statistical distributions of the polytypes inside the nanowires are simulated and compared. As an example, polytypic GaAs nanowires are employed, grown on a Si-(111) substrate with an interplanar spacing of the Ga (or As) planes in the wurtzite arrangement that is 0.7% larger than in the zinc blende arrangement along the (111)cdirection. Most importantly, ambiguities of high experimental relevance in the case of strongly fluctuating length of the defect-free polytype segments in the nanowires are demonstrated. As a consequence of these ambiguities, a large set of deviations from the widely used Markov model for the stacking sequences of the nanowires cannot be detected in the X-ray diffraction data. Thus, the results here are of high relevance for the proper interpretation of such data.
In situsynchrotron X-ray powder diffraction for studying the role of induced structural defects on the thermoluminescence mechanism of nanocrystalline LiF
Authors: El Ashmawy Mostafa , Amer Hany , Abdellatief Mahmoud
Published: February 2016

The correlation between the thermoluminescence (TL) response of nanocrystalline LiF and its microstructure was studied. To investigate the detailed TL mechanism, the glow curves of nanocrystalline LiF samples produced by high-energy ball-milling were analyzed. The microstructure of the prepared samples was analyzed by synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) at room temperature. Then, the microstructure of a representative pulverized sample was investigated in detail by performingin situXRPD in both isothermal and non-isothermal modes. In the present study, the dislocations produced by ball-milling alter the microstructure of the lattice where the relative concentration of the vacancies, responsible for the TL response, changes with milling time. An enhancement in the TL response was recorded for nanocrystalline LiF at high-temperature traps (after dislocations recovery starts >425 K). It is also found that vacancies are playing a major role in the dislocations recovery mechanism. Moreover, the interactions among vacancies–dislocations and/or dislocations–dislocations weaken the TL response.
The crystalline sponge method updated
Authors: Hoshino Manabu , Khutia Anupam , Xing Hongzhu , Inokuma Yasuhide , Fujita Makoto
Published: February 2016

Crystalline sponges are porous metal complexes that can absorb and orient common organic molecules in their pores and make them observable by conventional X-ray structure analysis (crystalline sponge method). In this study, all of the steps in the crystalline sponge method, including sponge crystal preparation, pore–solvent exchange, guest soaking, data collection and crystallographic analysis, are carefully examined and thoroughly optimized to provide reliable and meaningful chemical information as chemical crystallography. Major improvements in the method have been made in the guest-soaking and data-collection steps. In the soaking step, obtaining a high site occupancy of the guest is particularly important, and dominant parameters for guest soaking (e.g.temperature, time, concentration, solvents) therefore have to be optimized for every sample compound. When standard conditions do not work, a high-throughput method is useful for efficiently optimizing the soaking conditions. The X-ray experiments are also carefully re-examined. Significant improvement of the guest data quality is achieved by complete data collection at high angle regions. The appropriate disorder treatment of the most flexible ZnI2portions of the host framework and refinement of the solvents filling the remaining void are also particularly important for obtaining better data quality. A benchmark test for the crystalline sponge method toward an achiral molecule is proposed with a guaiazulene guest, in which the guest structure (with ∼ 100% site occupancy) is refined without applying any restraints or constraints. The obtained data quality withRint= 0.0279 andR1= 0.0379 is comparable with that of current conventional crystallographic analysis for small molecules. Another benchmark test for this method toward a chiral molecule is also proposed with a santonin guest. The crystallographic data obtained [Rint= 0.0421,R1= 0.0312, Flack (Parsons) = −0.0071 (11)] represents the potential ability of this method for reliable absolute structure determination.
Crystal structure of dimethyl 4,4′-dimethoxybiphenyl-3,3′-dicarboxylate
Authors: Lundvall Fredrik , Dietzel Pascal D. C. , Fjellvåg Helmer
Published: February 2016

In the title compound, C18H18O6, the benzene rings are coplanar due to the centrosymmetric nature of the molecule, with an inversion centre located at the midpoint of the C—C bond between the two rings. Consequently, the methyl carboxylate substituents are oriented in atransfashion with regards to the bond between the benzene rings. The methyl carboxylate and methoxy substituents are rotated slightly out of plane relative to their parent benzene rings, with dihedral and torsion angles of 18.52 (8) and −5.22 (15)°, respectively. The shortest O...H contact between neighbouring molecules is about 2.5 Å. Although some structure-directing contributions from C—H...O hydrogen-bonding interactions are possible, the crystal packing seems primarily directed by weak van der Waals forces.
Linguistic performance and legibility of auditors’ reports with modified opinions
Authors: Fakhfakh Mondher
Published: February 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to measure the understandability of the illustrations provided by the International Federation of Accountants in terms of the structural features of international auditors’ reports with modified opinions.

Design/methodology/approach

– Measurement of the legibility of reports illustrated by the revised ISA 705 and ISA 706. This paper discusses the compliance level of modified auditors’ reports with the linguistic rules.

Findings

– It was found that the standardized illustrations of modified reports are not fully understandable by users of financial statements. The illustrations of modified auditors’ reports are not compliant with several linguistic rules.

Originality/value

– This paper provides new original investigation about the linguistic features of illustrations provided by the ISA 705 and ISA 706. This paper discusses the level of unintelligibility of standardized auditors’ reports and the implications for stakeholders.
The effects of IFRS experience on audit fees for listed companies in China
Authors: Lin Hsiao-Lun , Yen Ai-Ru
Published: February 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how auditors’ and audit clients’ IFRS-related experience alters auditors’ pricing decisions in the initial years of IFRS adoption in China.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors conduct the analysis by examining audit fees from 4,129 sample observations that issued A-shares in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2005 to 2008. The authors empirically test the association between audit premiums and auditors’ and auditees’ IFRS experience.

Findings

– The authors find that auditors with IFRS experience charged significantly higher audit premiums in the initial years of IFRS adoption. The authors also find that audit clients’ with IFRS experience paid significantly lower incremental fees. The authors further find that the increased fees charged by audit firms with IFRS experience are independent of the degree of changes in the financial reporting complexity of their clients. In contrast, audit clients with IFRS experience paid lower incremental fees only when they underwent a high degree of changes in financial reporting complexity.

Originality/value

– First, it is the understanding that this study is the first to provide evidence on the effect of audit clients’ experience on audit fees. Second, the measure of auditors’ expertise is independent of audit clients’ decisions and is a less noisy measure. Third, the findings complement the existing evidence from other countries regarding the effects of IFRS convergence on audit fees. Finally, this study empirically tests the effects of changes in financial reporting complexity on audit fees.
A revised method for allocating the optimum number of similar machines to operators
Authors: Hadad Yossi , Keren Baruch
Published: February 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a method to determine the optimal number of operators to be assigned to a given number of machines, as well as the number of machines that will be run by each operator (a numerical partition). This determination should be made with the objective of minimizing production costs or maximizing profits.

Design/methodology/approach

– The method calculates the machines interference rate via the binomial distribution function. The optimal assignment is calculated by transformation of a partition problem into a problem of finding the shortest path on a directed acyclic graph.

Findings

– The method enables the authors to calculate the adjusted cycle time, the workload of the operators, and the utility of the machines, as well as the production yield, the total cost per unit, and the hourly profit for each potential assignment of operators to machines. In a case study, the deviation of the output per hour of the proposed method from the actual value was about 2 percent.

Practical implications

– The paper provides formulas and tables that give machine interference rates through the application of binomial distribution. The practicability of the proposed method is demonstrated by a real-life case study.

Originality/value

– The method can be applied in a wide variety of manufacturing systems that use many identical machines. This includes tire presses in tire manufacturing operations, ovens in pastry manufacturing systems, textile machines, and so on.
A re-examination of service standardization versus customization from the consumer’s perspective
Authors: Ding Ying , Keh Hean Tat
Published: February 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the pros and cons of service standardization (vs customization) from the consumer’s perspective, the key factors influencing consumers’ preference for standardized (vs customized) services and the outcomes of service standardization (vs customization).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a qualitative study and two behavioral experiments to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The authors find that the advantages of service customization include greater perceived control and higher consumer satisfaction. The drawbacks of service customization include greater perceived risk. These findings also suggest that consumers’ preference for standardized (vs customized) service depends on their consumption goal. Specifically, consumers with a hedonic goal tend to prefer customized services, while those with a utilitarian goal tend to prefer standardized services. These effects are moderated by their need for uniqueness.

Research limitations/implications

The qualitative and experimental studies in this research reveal the antecedents (utilitarian vs hedonic goal) on consumer preference for service standardization versus customization, as well as the consequences in terms of perceived risk, consumer satisfaction and perceived control. The experimental studies were conducted with Chinese and American consumers, respectively, which lend credence to the robustness of the findings.

Practical implications

Results of the present research provide new insights into service standardization versus customization and have significant practical implications. In particular, service organizations should consider designing the appropriate service mode based on consumers’ characteristics, particularly their consumption goals and their need for uniqueness. If the customers focus on efficiency and functionality, the organization should try to provide standardized services. In contrast, for customers who are seeking fun and a novel experience, the service firm should try to tailor to their hedonic needs.

Originality/value

While previous research identifies “heterogeneity” as a key characteristic of services in general, the present findings qualify this received wisdom. In particular, the authors show that consumers’ preference for service standardization versus customization is a function of their consumption goal and need for uniqueness. Thus, the present findings refine the current understanding of service heterogeneity, which makes a significant contribution to the services marketing literature.
Institutions as resource context
Authors: Koskela-Huotari Kaisa , Vargo Stephen L
Published: February 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of institutions and institutional complexity in the process through which resources-in-context get their “resourceness.”

Design/methodology/approach

– To shed light on the process of potential resources gaining their “resourceness,” the authors draw from two streams of literature: the service ecosystems perspective and institutional theory.

Findings

– The authors combine the process of resources “becoming” with the concept of institutions and conceptualize institutional arrangements, and the unique sets of practices, symbols and organizing principles they carry, as the sense-making frames of the “resourceness” of potential resources. In service ecosystems, numerous partially conflicting institutional arrangements co-exit and provide actors with alternative frames of sense-making and action, enabling the emergence of new instances of “resourceness”.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper suggests that “resourceness” is inseparable from the complex institutional context in which it arises. This conceptualization reveals the need for more holistic, systemic and multidisciplinary perspectives on understanding the implications of the process of resources “becoming” on value co creation, innovation and market formation.

Practical implications

– As the “resourceness” of potential resources arises due to the influence of institutions, managers need a more profound understanding of the complimentary and inhibiting institutional arrangements and the related practices, symbols and organizing principles that comprise the multidimensional context in which they operate.

Originality/value

– This paper is one of the first to focus specifically on the process of resources “becoming,” using a systemic and institutional perspective to grasp the complexity of the phenomenon.