bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A cross-organism framework for supervised enhancer prediction with epigenetic pattern recognition and targeted validation
Authors: Sethi Anurag , Gu Mengting , Gumusgoz Emrah , Chan Landon , Yan Koon-Kiu , Rozowsky Joel , Barozzi Iros , Afzal Veena , Akiyama Jennifer , Plajzer-Frick Ingrid , Yan Chengfei , Pickle Catherine , Kato Momoe , Garvin Tyler , Pham Quan , Harrington Anne , Mannion Brandon , Lee Elizabeth , Fukuda-Yuzawa Yoko , Visel Axel , Dickel Diane E. , Yip Kevin , Sutton Richard , Pennacchio Len A. , Gerstein Mark
Published: August 2018

Enhancers are important noncoding elements, but they have been traditionally hard to characterize experimentally. Only a few mammalian enhancers have been validated, making it difficult to train statistical models for their identification properly. Instead, postulated patterns of genomic features have been used heuristically for identification. The development of massively parallel assays allows for the characterization of large numbers of enhancers for the first time. Here, we developed a framework that uses Drosophila STARR-seq data to create shape-matching filters based on enhancer-associated meta-profiles of epigenetic features. We combined these features with supervised machine learning algorithms (e.g., support vector machines) to predict enhancers. We demonstrated that our model could be applied to predict enhancers in mammalian species (i.e., mouse and human). We comprehensively validated the predictions using a combination of in vivo and in vitro approaches, involving transgenic assays in mouse and transduction-based reporter assays in human cell lines. Overall, the validations involved 153 enhancers in 6 mouse tissues and 4 human cell lines. The results confirmed that our model can accurately predict enhancers in different species without re-parameterization. Finally, we examined the transcription-factor binding patterns at predicted enhancers and promoters in human cell lines. We demonstrated that these patterns enable the construction of a secondary model effectively discriminating between enhancers and promoters.
Circuit Degeneracy Facilitates Robustness and Flexibility of Navigation Behavior in C.elegans
Authors: Ikeda Muneki , Nakano Shunji , Giles Andrew C. , Costa Wagner Steuer , Gottschalk Alexander , Mori Ikue
Published: August 2018

Animal behaviors are robust and flexible. To elucidate how these two conflicting features of behavior are encoded in the nervous system, we analyzed the neural circuits generating a C. elegans thermotaxis behavior, in which animals migrate toward the past cultivation temperature (Tc). We identified multiple circuits that are highly overlapping but individually regulate distinct behavioral components to achieve thermotaxis. When the regulation of a behavioral component is disrupted following single cell ablations, the other components compensate the deficit, enabling the animals to robustly migrate toward the Tc. Depending on whether the environmental temperature surrounding the animals is above or below the Tc, different circuits regulate the same behavioral components, mediating the flexible switch between migration up or down toward the Tc. These context-dependencies within the overlapping sub-circuits reveal the implementation of degeneracy in the nervous system, providing a circuit-level basis for the robustness and flexibility of behavior.
A genetic, genomic, and computational resource for exploring neural circuit function
Authors: Davis Fred P. , Nern Aljoscha , Picard Serge , Reiser Michael B. , Rubin Gerald M. , Eddy Sean R. , Henry Gilbert L.
Published: August 2018

The anatomy of many neural circuits is being characterized with increasing resolution, but their molecular properties remain mostly unknown. Here, we characterize gene expression patterns in distinct neural cell types of theDrosophilavisual system using genetic lines to access individual cell types, the TAPIN-seq method to measure their transcriptomes, and a probabilistic method to interpret these measurements. We used these tools to build a resource of high-resolution transcriptomes for 100 driver lines covering 67 cell types, available athttp://www.opticlobe.com. Combining these transcriptomes with recently reported connectomes helps characterize how information is transmitted and processed across a range of scales, from individual synapses to circuit pathways. We describe examples that include identifying neurotransmitters, including cases of co-release, generating functional hypotheses based on receptor expression, as well as identifying strong commonalities between different cell types.

Highlights

Transcriptomes reveal transmitters and receptors expressed inDrosophilavisual neurons

Tandem affinity purification of intact nuclei (TAPIN) enables neuronal genomics

TAPIN-seq and genetic drivers establish transcriptomes of 67Drosophilacell types

Probabilistic modeling simplifies interpretation of large transcriptome catalogs
Shared neural mechanisms between imagined and perceived egocentric motion - A combined GVS and fMRI study
Authors: Macauda Gianluca , Moisa Marius , Mast Fred W. , Ruff Christian C. , Michels Lars , Lenggenhager Bigna
Published: August 2018

Many cognitive and social processes involve mental simulations of a change in perspective. Behavioral studies suggest that such egocentric mental rotations rely on brain areas that are also involved in processing actual self-motion, thus depending on vestibular input. In a combined galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) study, we investigated the brain areas that underlie both simulated changes in self-location and the processing of vestibular stimulation within the same individuals. Participants performed an egocentric mental rotation task, an object-based mental rotation task, or a pure lateralization task during GVS or sham stimulation. At the neural level, we expected an overlap between brain areas activated during vestibular processing and egocentric mental rotation (against object-based mental rotation) within area OP2 and the Posterior Insular Cortex (PIC), two core brain regions involved in vestibular processing. The fMRI data showed a small overlap within area OP2 and a larger overlap within the PIC for both egocentric mental rotation against object-based mental rotation and vestibular processing. GVS did not influence the ability to perform egocentric mental rotation.

Our results provide evidence for shared neural mechanisms underlying perceived and simulated self-motion. We conclude that mental rotation of one’s body involves neural activity in the PIC and area OP2, but the behavioral results also suggest that those mental simulations of one’s body might be robust to modulatory input from vestibular stimulation.
Evolutionary landscape of mosquito viral integrations
Authors: Pischedda Elisa , Scolari Francesca , Valerio Federica , Carballar-Lejarazú Rebeca , Catapano Paolo Luigi , Waterhouse Robert M. , Bonizzoni Mariangela
Published: August 2018

The sequenced genome of the arboviral vector mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is replete with repetitive DNA and it harbors an unusually large number of endogenous viral sequences, collectively called Nonretroviral Integrated RNA Virus Sequences (NIRVS). NIRVS are enriched both within protein-coding gene exons and PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) clusters, where they encode piRNAs. Based on these features, NIRVS have been proposed to function as novel mosquito antiviral immune factors. However, the relative importance and contributions of different NIRVS as functional antiviral elements and their mechanisms of action remain open questions.

We apply an analytical approach that intersects computational, evolutionary and molecular methods to identify NIRVS most likely affecting mosquito immunity. Using this strategy, we show that NIRVS are a highly dynamic component of the Ae. albopictus repeatome, which nevertheless maintains a core set of seemingly the oldest NIRVS with similarity to Rhabdoviruses. Population-level polymorphism of NIRVS varies depending on whether they occur in intergenic regions, piRNA clusters or are part of gene exons. NIRVS from piRNA clusters are differentially widespread in diverse populations but conserved at the sequence level. This is consistent with the hypothesis that they act analogously to fragments of transposable elements in piRNA clusters and contribute to piRNA-based immunity. Among NIRVS from gene exons, AlbRha52 and AlbRha12 have the hallmarks of domestication as they are fixed across populations, stably expressed, and as polymorphic at the sequence level as fast-evolving genes. Overall these results support the hypothesis that NIRVS contribute to mosquito immunity, potentially through diverse modes of action.
The sunlit microoxic niche of the archaeal eukaryotic ancestor comes to light
Authors: Bulzu Paul-Adrian , Andrei Adrian-Ştefan , Salcher Michaela M. , Mehrshad Maliheh , Inoue Keiichi , Kandori Hideki , Beja Oded , Ghai Rohit , Banciu Horia L.
Published: August 2018

Recent advances in phylogenomic analyses and increased genomic sampling of uncultured prokaryotic lineages brought compelling evidence in support of the emergence of eukaryotes from within the Archaea domain of life. The discovery of Asgardaeota archaea and their recognition as the closest extant relative of eukaryotes fuelled the revival of a decades-old debate regarding the topology of the tree of life. While it is apparent that Asgardaeota encode a plethora of eukaryotic-specific proteins (the highest number identified to date in prokaryotes), the lack of genomic information and metabolic characterization has precluded inferences about their lifestyles and the metabolic landscape that may have favoured the emergence of the hallmark eukaryotic subcellular architecture. Here, we use advanced phylogenetic analyses to infer the deep ancestry of eukaryotes and genome-scale metabolic reconstructions to shed light on the metabolic milieu of the closest archaeal eukaryotic ancestors discovered till date. In doing so, we: i) generate the largest Asgardaeota genomic dataset available so far, ii) describe a new clade of rhodopsins encoded within the recovered genomes, iii) provide unprecedented evidence for mixotrophy within Asgardaeota, iv) present first-ever proofs that the closest extant archaeal relatives to all eukaryotes (Heimdallarchaeia) have microoxic lifestyles with aerobic metabolic pathways unique among Archaea (i.e. kynurenine pathway) and v) generate the first images of Asgardaeota.
Open-Source Food: Nutrition, Toxicology, and Availability of Wild Edible Greens in the East Bay
Authors: Stark Philip B. , Miller Daphne , Carlson Thomas J. , Rasmussen de Vasquez Kristen
Published: August 2018

Significance

Foraged leafy greens are consumed around the globe, including in urban areas, and may play a larger role when food is scarce or expensive. It is thus important to assess the safety and nutritional value of wild greens foraged in urban environments.

Methods

Field observations, soil tests, and nutritional and toxicology tests on plant tissue were conducted for three sites, each roughly 9 square blocks, in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the East San Francisco Bay Area in 2014–2015. The sites included mixed-use areas and areas with high vehicle traffic.

Results

Edible wild greens were abundant, even during record droughts. Soil at some survey sites had elevated concentrations of lead and cadmium, but tissue tests suggest that rinsed greens of the tested species are safe to eat. Daily consumption of standard servings comprise less than the EPA reference doses of lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals. Pesticides, glyphosate, and PCBs were below detection limits.

The nutrient density of 6 abundant species compared favorably to that of the most nutritious domesticated leafy greens.

Conclusions

Wild edible greens harvested in industrial, mixed-use, and high-traffic urban areas in the San Francisco East Bay area are abundant and highly nutritious. Even grown in soils with elevated levels of heavy metals, tested species were safe to eat after rinsing in tap water. This does not mean that all edible greens growing in contaminated soil are safe to eat—tests on more species, in more locations, and over a broader range of soil chemistry are needed to determine what is generally safe and what is not. But it does suggest that wild greens could contribute to nutrition, food security, and sustainability in urban ecosystems. Current laws, regulations, and public-health guidance that forbid or discourage foraging on public lands, including urban areas, should be revisited.
Anterior fontanelle size among term neonates on the first day of life born at University of Gondar Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia
Authors: Oumer Mohammed , Guday Edengenet , Teklu Alemayehu , Muche Abebe
Published: August 2018

Background

Anterior fontanelle is the largest, prominent and most important fontanelle, which is used for clinical evaluation. It is mainly characterized by its size and shape variation and is possibly influenced by gender, race and genetics. Understanding the variation of anterior fontanelle is used for recognition of different medical disorders and abnormal skeletal morphogenesis.

Objective

To determine the mean size of anterior fontanelle among term neonates on the first day of life born at University of Gondar Hospital, Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia, 2018

Methods

Descriptive cross sectional study design was undertaken in 384 term and apparently healthy neonates, using standard methods. Descriptive analysis, student t-test, one way ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient were implemented.

Results

In this study, the mean size of anterior fontanelle in term neonates was 3.00 ± 0.62 cm (range 1.70 – 5.50 cm). The mean size of anterior fontanelle was 3.10 ± 0.66 cm for males, and 2.88 ± 0.57 cm for females. There was statistically significant difference in anterior fontanelle size in neonates of different genders (p<0.001), mode of delivery (p<0.001) and duration of labour (p=0.006). However, the size of anterior fontanelle was not significantly affected by the birth order, onset of labour and sociodemographic variables of the mother except occupation of the mother (p=0.01). There was a significant positive correlation between the mean size of anterior fontanelle with birth weight (r=0.11;p=0.04) and head circumference (r=0.17;p=0.001).

Conclusions

At term, male neonates had significantly larger anterior fontanelle than female neonates and anterior fontanelle size has a direct relationship with birth weight and head circumference.
Melatonin: The smart molecule that differentially modulates autophagy in tumor and normal placental cells
Authors: Sagrillo-Fagundes Lucas , Bienvenue-Pariseault Josianne , Vaillancourt Cathy
Published: August 2018

Highlights

H/R induces autophagy and Nrf2 in tumoral and primary trophoblast cells.

Melatonin inhibits autophagy and Nrf2 under H/R, inducing BeWo cell death.

Melatonin increases autophagy and Nrf2 under H/R conditions, promoting primary villous trophoblast cells survival.

Hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) induces oxidative damage and apoptosis. These consequences activate autophagy, which degrades damaged cellular content, as well as inducing the nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) transcription factor, and thereby the expression of protective genes. Melatonin has protective roles in normal cells and cytotoxic actions in cancer cells, with effects involving autophagy and Nrf2 pathways. The current study shows melatonin to differentially modulate autophagy and Nrf2 pathways in tumor and normal placental cells exposed to H/R. BeWo, a human placental choriocarcinoma cell line, and primary villous cytotrophoblasts isolated from normal term placenta, were maintained in normoxia (8% O2) for 24 h or exposed to hypoxia (0.5% of O2 for 4 h) followed by 20 h of normoxia, creating a H/R, in the presence or absence of 1 mM melatonin. Melatonin induced a 7-fold increase in the activation of 5’ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)α, an upstream modulator of autophagy, rising to a 16-fold increase in cells co-exposed to H/R and melatonin, compared to controls. H/R induced autophagosome formation via the increased expression of Beclin-1 (by 94 %) and ATG7 (by 97%). H/R also induced autophagic activity, indicated by the by the 630% increase in P62, and increased Nrf2 by 314%. In H/R conditions, melatonin reduced autophagy by 74% and Nrf2 expression by 66%, leading to BeWo cell apoptosis. In contrast, in human primary villous cytotrophoblasts, H/R induced autophagy and Nrf2, which melatonin further potentiated, thereby affording protection against H/R. This study demonstrates that melatonin differentially modulates autophagy and the Nrf2 pathway in normal vs. tumor trophoblast cells, being cytoprotective in normal cells whilst increasing apoptosis in tumoral trophoblast cells.
An investigation of mission drift in Indian MFI
Authors: Ranjani K.S. , Kumar Sanjeev
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirical evidence of drift from social goals (mission drift) among Indian microfinance institutions (MFI).

Design/methodology/approach

The study used multiple proxies, namely, loan size, operating efficiency and equity as dependent variables to avoid the complexities in interpreting mission drift solely through loan size. The study uses data from 211 Indian MFI for the period of 1985–2014. The dynamic panel data estimation method of Arellano and Bond (1991) is used for the analysis to avoid endogeneity issues in the data estimation.

Findings

The study finds that efficiency and change in average loan balance are characterized by higher lending rates and higher profitability to firms. Higher lending rates imply poverty premium which means that poor pay more for the same services than their rich counterparts. Equity results in movement toward safer borrowers and a consequent mission drift.

Research limitations/implications

The study uses self-reported data from organizations provided through Microfinance Information Exchange.

Social implications

Access to credit to the poor is an important poverty alleviation goal and present study will contribute toward policy formation in institutional provision of credit and banking services to the poor.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, present study is the first to use alternative proxies in the form of operating efficiency and equity to explore relationships between the variables that can help to better understand the phenomenon of mission drift.
“We work like ants…we avoid being troublemaker”
Authors: Lin Shen (Lamson)
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore resilience strategies of Chinese street vendors in a shifted regulatory policy environment from a strength-based and entrepreneurial perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing upon nine in-depth interviews and naturalistic observations in an urban village of Guangzhou, China, the study empirically investigates how unregulated sidewalk-based hawkers struggle to survive against socioeconomic adversities compared with regulated vendors’ operations in a legitimate transitional market.

Findings

Mirroring a sub-group of rural-to-urban migrants, street vendors espouse subtle strategies centering on purposefulness, resourcefulness and hardiness, which are instantiated through family obligation, sales tactics, merchandising techniques, technology application, trading flexibility, moral sentiment and assistance network. As such, street entrepreneurs are both enacting and constructing resilience in response to specific challenging contexts including impoverishment, operating cost inflation, contingent loss, fierce competition, market uncertainty, intensive workloads, municipal inspection and arbitrary governance practice of village cooperative organization.

Research limitations/implications

Notwithstanding its limited generalizability, the result sheds light on crystallization of street vendors’ resilience and informs social services and policy remedies.

Originality/value

The study provides a frame of reference to examine the interplay of resilience theory from psychology and entrepreneurship thesis from the field of business management by adding new evidence to the research on “entrepreneurial resilience” and potentially serves as a catalyst to enrich existing literature with an integrated perspective to comprehend the coping process of these necessity-driven micro-enterprise operators. The antagonistic understanding of informal economy is so predominating that it obscures structural oppression undermining social justice, whereas the spirit of self-reliance among street entrepreneurs is ought to be respected.
Welfare-state regimes and gender division of housework time in three conurbations
Authors: Dupray Arnaud , Daune-Richard Anne-Marie , Nohara Hiroatsu
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the patterns and determinants of the division of household tasks within couples in countries under different welfare-state regimes.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper investigates data on “urban middle- and upper-class” couples living in New York, Paris or Tokyo area, from a 2007 international comparative time-budget survey carried out at the initiative of the Rengo-Soken Research Institute. Each partner was interviewed separately, offering a unique statistical source for analysing the organisation of domestic time.

Findings

The results shed light on the degree of proximity among the three populations in their housework-sharing arrangements. Greater parity in partners’ housework time is found for the New York couples, regardless of their occupational activity. In Paris and especially in Tokyo, other demands on the partners’ time and the contribution each makes to the household income both impact the actual division of household labour.

Research limitations/implications

The partners’ gender ideology was not elicited, and inclusion of lower-class couples could change certain results. However, the findings attest to the strong role that welfare-state regime plays in shaping housework time allocation.

Originality/value

Unlike other international comparisons, the survey used enables us to ensure strong comparability of measures. The welfare-state regime and family model frameworks clearly highlight the interplay between individual determinants and the institutional context.
Urban tourism as a bone of contention: four explanatory hypotheses and a caveat
Authors: Novy Johannes
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to respond to recent debates surrounding the observable proliferation and intensification of controversies and disputes surrounding urban tourism. It argues that coming to terms with conflicts about and around tourism in cities represents an important frontier for research and puts forth some observations about its causes and characteristics, the debates they have sparked and the scholarly engagement with them to date.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature from international sources was reviewed to identify key themes relating to conflicts about and around tourism.

Findings

The paper outlines important aspects to consider when studying conflicts about and around tourism in cities, including, first, the role of urban tourism’s massive and often rapid growth; second, the fact that backlashes in cities are often less directed against tourism in its entirety than against particular kinds of tourism (or tourists); third, the need to look at contestations surrounding urban tourism not in isolation from, but in firm connection to the more general rise of struggles and protests in and about urban space unfolding in cities worldwide; fourth, the extent to which contestations are linked to the ongoing, and, it seems, accelerating, geographical spread of tourism; and, finally, the need to critically engage with the notion of tourism itself and move beyond essentialising narratives that portray tourism as an altogether distinct, easily separable social phenomenon.

Originality/value

The paper brings together a scattered, although substantive, literature in and around tourism-related conflicts in order to provide points of orientation and inspiration for future research.
The Walking Institute: a reflexive approach to tourism
Authors: Morris Blake
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss Deveron Project’s (DP) Walking Institute, the only programme in the UK dedicated to commissioning artists to create walks. The author argues that the Walking Institute offers a model for tourism practices that engage local and international stakeholders in the creation of new global relationships. His research expands current critical discourse around the intersection between walking, tourism and art, and argues for DP’s approach as a way to create community-based, critically reflexive modes of tourism.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on research completed for his doctoral thesis and combines practice-based and qualitative methods. The author has visited Huntly on two separate occasions, and have had conversations with project stakeholders, spent time visiting local attractions, and participated in local events and artists’ walks. The analysis draws on theories from performance studies and those being developed within cultural geography and the mobilities paradigm.

Findings

The Walking Institute provides a model for a community based approach to global tourism that calls on the artistic medium of walking to create a critical, reflexive mode of engagement. Through this model, the Walking Institute provides an innovative approach to tourism that offers potential tourists with a mode of local engagement beyond the consumption of the picturesque.

Originality/value

There is very little research into DP’s model, or the intersection between tourism and the burgeoning artistic medium of walking. This paper offers original insight into DP’s model and its relationship to a new field: walking art. Additionally, it informs current understandings of tourism through a demonstration of how a rural arts organisation is engaging with the global tourism industry.
Creating value for all: joint academic library in the service of five universities
Authors: Rintamäki Katri Maria , Flemming Christina , Lehto Anne Marketta , Toukonen Jonna
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse practices of a joint university library as a model of cooperation between universities.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a descriptive case study on the benefits and challenges of collaboration based on experiences of one joint library.

Findings

In 2000–2010s, Finnish universities and universities of applied sciences have undergone structural changes becoming public corporations. The ideal of the government policy is an effective, productive, entrepreneurial university with lean infrastructure and support services. One solution in pursuing cost-effectiveness and efficiency are joint regional libraries. In Vaasa, the five university units share a joint academic library, Tritonia. Tritonia offers library and information services that consist of print and digital information resources, researchers’ support services, pedagogical and technical support for digital education, and learning commons for its five universities.

Originality/value

The paper describes service production and its development and presents an existing model for cooperation in joint libraries of several academic institutions that are becoming more common.
Understanding and motivating academic library employees: theoretical implications
Authors: Alajmi Bibi , Alasousi Hessah
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the levels of motivation and needs satisfaction of academic library employees, adopting Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to examine individuals’ motivation.

Design/methodology/approach

The study collects and analyzes quantitative survey data. The research population comprises 108 employees working across eight college libraries at Kuwait University.

Findings

While participants generally agreed that their needs were being satisfied at each of the five levels of Maslow’s hierarchy, they reported higher levels of satisfaction of their self-actualization and social needs. Self-actualization is the summit of Maslow’s motivation theory representing the quest for reaching one’s full potential as a person.

Research limitations/implications

One limitation is the relatively small sample size due to Kuwait having only one public university. Future research could overcome this limitation by investigating both private and public universities.

Practical implications

This research contributes significantly and in various ways to understanding motivation in a library setting. It elucidates many aspects of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory criticized in previous literature. Overall, the study’s results should be useful to scholars in the library field interested in motivation, to academic librarians and to managers in academia.

Originality/value

Though many prior studies have focused on motivation in a library setting, Maslow’s theory has been little considered in the context of academic libraries. This study uses a theoretical framework based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to understand and explain the levels of motivation and needs satisfaction of academic library employees.
Competitive intensity and inefficiency in European container ports
Authors: Merkel Axel
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between intensity of competition and technical efficiency of large European container ports, accounting for regional diversities and spatial aspects of inter-port competition.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis consists of applying a stochastic production frontier approach to a dataset of 77 large European container ports over the period 2002-2012, with inefficiency terms simultaneously modeled as a function of (among other factors) a constructed index of competitive intensity at different spatial levels.

Findings

The results indicate that there is no significant negative effect of competitive intensity on efficiency. In fact, for competing European ports within a proximity of 300 km, a higher level of competition is found to be associated with a higher level of technical efficiency.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper stems from its particular focus on European port regions and its novel findings in this context, which have implications for the discussions regarding pro-competitive port policy and regulation in the European Union.
Modification of poly (styrene-co-divinyl benzene) porous materials for peptides enrichment and separation
Authors: Liu Yi , Wang Hao , Liu Yongfeng , Shi Meng , Di Duolong
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the selection of the optimum porous material modified with poly-dopamine coating for peptides enrichment. The adsorption behaviors for peptides and the antioxidant capacity of peptides fraction purified by the porous materials were investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

The optimum porous material with the highest adsorption capacity for peptides was selected for surface modification. The surface modified porous material was characterized by SEM, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm and color change.

Findings

The results showed that the porous material was successfully modified with poly-dopamine coating. Adsorption capacity for peptides of the modified porous material was enhanced compared to the original porous material. Antioxidant capacity of peptides fraction enriched by the modified porous material was much higher than that enriched by the original porous material, indicating that the introduction of poly-dopamine coating was inclined to enrich peptides with certain amino acid residues.

Research limitations/implications

The structures of peptides are a bit not clear, which is the subject of future investigation.

Practical implications

This contribution provides a method to design and prepare porous materials with poly-dopamine coating to separate and enrich peptides or peptides fraction with high antioxidant capacity.

Originality/value

It showed that polarity, surface area, pore diameter and interactions were contributed to high adsorption capacity. The peptides fraction purified by the modified porous material showed excellent antioxidant capacity through results of reduction of DPPH radical, because of the enrichment of the peptides with certain amino acids residues which were considered to enhance radical scavenging capacity. This paper provides new insights into designing and preparing porous materials with poly-dopamine coating to enrich peptides fraction with high antioxidant capacity.
Analysts’ forecasts and uncertainty about firm value
Authors: Andrews Angela , Sen Pradyot , Stephan Jens
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to use implied volatilities from exchange traded options to examine the interaction between analysts’ forecast revisions and the market’s perception of uncertainty about firm value.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors examine how characteristics of individual forecast revisions, e.g. news and changes in dispersion of forecasts, affect changes in implied volatilities, whether analysts use the observable changes in implied volatilities to inform their forecast revisions and whether changes in dispersion of forecasts are correlated with changes in implied volatilities.

Findings

The authors find that good (bad) news forecast revisions reduce (increase) investors’ perception of uncertainty about firm value, analysts do not appear to use changes in implied volatilities to shade their forecast revisions to good/bad news and dispersion of forecasts are a reasonable proxy for uncertainty about firm value as indicated by their correlation with implied volatilities.

Originality/value

Recent research on analysts’ forecast revisions and management forecasts has focused on risk perception rather than value. This paper extends this work with a risk metric based on market transactions in both a short and long window analysis, as well as univariate and multivariate analysis.
Mechanical and microstructural properties of carbon nanotubes reinforced chromium oxide coated boiler steel
Authors: Goyal Khushdeep , Singh Hazoor , Bhatia Rakesh
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to fabricate carbon nanotubes (CNT)-reinforced chromium oxide coatings and investigate mechanical and microstructural properties of these newly developed coatings on the boiler tube steel.

Design/methodology/approach

1 and 4 Wt.% CNT-reinforced Cr2O3 composite coatings were prepared and successfully deposited on ASTM-SA213-T22 (T22) boiler tube steel substrates using high-velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying method. Microhardness, porosity, metallography, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, cross-sectional elemental analysis and X-ray mapping analysis have been used to examine the coated specimens.

Findings

The porosity of the CNT-Cr2O3 composite coatings was found to be decreasing with the increases in CNT content, and hardness has been found to be increasing with increase in percentage of CNT in the composite coatings. The CNT were able to increase hardness by approximately 17 per cent. It was found that the CNT were uniformly distributed throughout Cr2O3 matrix. The CNT were found to be chemically inert during the spraying process.

Originality/value

It must be mentioned here that studies related to fabrication of HVOF sprayed CNT reinforced Cr2O3 composite coatings on T22 boiler tube steel are not available in the literature. Hence, present investigation can provide valuable information related to fabrication and properties of CNT reinforced coatings on boiler steel.
Similarity solution and Runge Kutta method to a thermal boundary layer model at the entrance region of a circular tube
Authors: Belhocine Ali , Wan Omar Wan Zaidi
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the assumptions implicit in Leveque’s approximation, and the variation of the temperature and the thickness of the boundary layer were illustrated using the developed solution. The analytical solutions are then checked against numerical solution programming by FORTRAN code obtained via using Runge–Kutta fourth-order (RK4) method. Finally, other important thermal results obtained from this analysis, such as approximate Nusselt number in the thermal entrance region, was discussed in detail. After that, the analytical results of the present paper are validated with certain previous investigations which were found in the specialized literature.

Design/methodology/approach

By defining a similarity variable, the governing equations are reduced to a dimensionless equation with an analytic solution in the entrance region. This paper gives justification for the similarity variable via scaling analysis, details the process of converting to a similarity form and presents a similarity solution. The calculation methodology for numerical resolution is based on the RK4 technique.

Findings

The profiles of the solutions are provided from which the authors infer that the numerical and exact solutions agreed very well. Another result that the authors obtained from this paper is the number of Nusselt in the thermal entrance region for which a parametric study was carried out and discussed well for the impact of scientific contribution.

Originality/value

The novelty of this paper is the application of the RK4 with a step size control, as a sequential numerical method of a ODEs system compared with the exact similarity solution of the thermal boundary layer problem.
Harmonic reduction using a novel multipulse AC-DC converter
Authors: Abdollahi Rohollah
Published: August 2018

Purpose

For direct torque controlled induction motor drives, an effective solution to eliminate harmonics is the use of multipulse alternating current (AC)-direct current (DC) converters. Many researchers have used different configurations based on 24- and 30-pulse rectifications for improved power quality. However, the total harmonic distortion (THD) of AC mains current with these topology is more than 4 per cent when operating at a light load. For mitigating the THD problems observed in the input currents, Abdollahi propose 40-, 72- and 88-pulse AC-DC converters, while the power quality enhancement was the main concern. It is known that by increasing the number of pulses further results in reduction in current harmonics, but this is accompanied by an increase in cost and complexity. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to design a new delta/hexagon transformer based 36-pulse AC-DC converter for harmonic reduction without increasing the cost and complexity.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed converter consists of two paralleled 18-pulse AC-DC converters involving a nine-phase shifted uncontrolled diode bridges with an interphase transformer circuit.

Findings

In this paper, the proposed scheme is simulated by matrix laboratory (MATLAB)/SIMULINK considering different loading scenarios. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme improves the power quality indices and satisfies the The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)-519 requirements at the point of common coupling. Also, a laboratory prototype is implemented using the proposed design, and the experimental results confirm the simulation results under different loading conditions.

Originality/value

The proposed solution is a tradeoff among the pulse number, the transformer platform, the complexity of the scheme and the cost. The proposed scheme has an optimized configuration in this regard.
Trigeminal nerve injuries
Authors: Renton Tara
Published: August 2018

Trigeminal nerve injury is the most problematic consequence of dental surgical procedures with major medico‐legal implications. In trigeminal nerve injuries related to dentistry, 70% are reported to have chronic neuropathic post‐traumatic pain. Neuropathic pain states require different therapeutic approaches such as anticonvulsants, which are not effective in nociceptive pain. Major causes of nerve injuries in the orofacial region are endodontics and administration of local anaesthetics. Endodontic treatment of premolar and mandibular teeth has the potential to damage the inferior alveolar nerve via direct trauma, pressure or neurotoxicity. Persistent pain after endodontics has been reported to occur in 3–13% of patients, whilst surgical endodontics resulted in chronic neuropathic pain in 5% of patients. Most sensory nerve injuries related to dentistry are permanent; only local anaesthetic nerve injuries have a 75% likelihood of recovery. Nerve injury from local anaesthetics shows an incidence of 1 in 14 000 with 25% permanent injury from general dental restorative procedures and 1 in 3300 with 29% permanence from oral surgery.
Role of fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 in cancer
Authors: Tang Shuya , Hao Yilong , Yuan Yao , Liu Rui , Chen Qianming
Published: August 2018

Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR) play a significant role in both embryonic development and in adults. Upon binding with ligands, FGFR signaling is activated and triggers various downstream signal cascades that are implicated in diverse biological processes. Aberrant regulations of FGFR signaling are detected in numerous cancers. Although FGFR4 was discovered later than other FGFR, information on the involvement of FGFR4 in cancers has significantly increased in recent years. In this review, the recent findings in FGFR4 structure, signaling transduction, physiological function, aberrant regulations, and effects in cancers as well as its potential applications as an anticancer therapeutic target are summarized.
X‐linked immunodeficiency affects the outcome of Schistosoma mansoni infection in the murine model
Authors: GAUBERT SOPHIE , VIANA DA COSTA ALEXANDRA , MAURAGE CLAUDE-ALAIN , CÉSAR SANTOS LIMA EDUARDO , FONTAINE JOSETTE , LAFITTE SOPHIA , MINOPRIO PAOLA , CAPRON ANDRÉ , GRZYCH JEAN-MARIE
Published: August 2018

The incidence of the X‐linked immunodeficiency (Xid) on the outcome of Schistosoma mansoni infection has been evaluated through a comparative analysis of parasitological and immune parameters in two different mouse strains: control BALB/c and BALB. Xid mice which carry the Xid mutation and lack B1 (CD5+ B) cells. This study clearly demonstrates that infected B1 cell‐deficient animals display a higher susceptibility to S. mansoni infection as revealed by an increase in the tissue egg loads and a significantly elevated mortality, as well as an increase in the granuloma densities. The analysis of the humoral and the cellular responses, conducted in the same experimental conditions, indicates differences in terms of cytokine production after specific antigenic stimulation of splenocytes. Larger amounts of IFN‐γ and IL‐4 are observed in BALB. Xid mice while IL‐10 production is reduced. In parallel, the study of the specific antibody isotype profiles shows higher amounts of specific IgE and IgG1 antibodies and lower amounts of IgM and IgA in BALB. Xid mice. Taken together, these observations support the idea that B cells are playing a role in the ability of mice to tolerate infection with Schistosoma mansoni.
Typicality and Graded Membership in Dimensional Adjectives
Authors: Verheyen Steven , Égré Paul
Published: August 2018

This paper concerns an investigation of the manner in which typicality constrains graded membership in antonymous dimensional adjectives such as short/tall and cheap/expensive using the conceptual spaces framework. In this framework, items are organized in a space comprised of one or more dimensions along which they can be compared. The items’ graded membership is established by their relative proximity in this space to the prototypical instances of contrasting concepts. Because dimensional adjectives can be applied to an indefinite variety of things and grammatically have no upper bound to serve as cognitive reference point, they have been argued to lack prototypes. We present the results of an empirical study showing that the conceptual spaces framework can nevertheless be extended successfully to dimensional adjectives by complementing them with a comparison class argument (such as short/tall for an adult man and cheap/expensive for a smartphone), allowing participants to retrieve meaningful prototypical instances, which can be used to establish membership degree. Since dimensional adjectives are subjective, we investigate how the framework can accommodate interindividual variability in membership degree judgments. We find that the predictions of the framework significantly improve if prototypical instances themselves are assumed to come with a gradient instead of being considered equally typical, thereby providing a more fine‐grained account of typicality and furthering the development of the conceptual spaces framework.
Inequality Indices as Tests of Fairness
Authors: Kanbur Ravi , Snell Andy
Published: August 2018

Inequality indices are traditionally interpreted as measures of deviations from equality. This article interprets them instead as statistical tests for a null of fairness within well-defined income generating processes. We find that the likelihood ratio (LR) test for fairness versus unfairness within two such processes are proportional to Theil’s first and second inequality indices respectively. The LR values may be used either as a test statistic or to approximate a Bayes factor that measures the posterior probabilities of the fair version of the processes over that of the unfair. We also apply this perspective to measurement of inequality of opportunity.
The effect of psychosis associated CACNA1C, and its epistasis with ZNF804A, on brain function
Authors: Tecelão Diogo , Mendes Ana , Martins Daniel , Fu Cynthia , Chaddock Christopher A. , Picchioni Marco M. , McDonald Colm , Kalidindi Sridevi , Murray Robin , Prata Diana P.
Published: August 2018

CACNA1C‐rs1006737 and ZNF804A‐rs1344706 polymorphisms are among the most robustly associated with schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD), and recently with brain phenotypes. As these patients show abnormal verbal fluency (VF) and related brain activation, we asked whether the latter was affected by these polymorphisms (alone and in interaction)—to better understand how they might induce risk. We recently reported effects on functional VF‐related (for ZNF804A‐rs1344706) and structural (for both) connectivity. We genotyped and fMRI‐scanned 54 SCZ, 40 BD and 80 controls during VF. With SPM, we assessed the main effect of CACNA1C‐rs1006737, and its interaction with ZNF804A‐rs1344706, and their interaction with diagnosis, on regional brain activation and functional connectivity (psychophysiological interactions—PPI). Using public data, we reported effects of CACNA1C‐rs1006737 and diagnosis on brain expression. The CACNA1C‐rs1006737 risk allele was associated with increased activation, particularly in the bilateral prefronto‐temporal cortex and thalamus; decreased PPI, especially in the left temporal cortex; and gene expression in white matter and the cerebellum. We also found unprecedented evidence for epistasis (interaction between genetic polymorphisms) in the caudate nucleus, thalamus, and cingulate and temporal cortical activation; and CACNA1C up‐regulation in SCZ and BD parietal cortices. Some effects were dependent on BD/SCZ diagnosis. All imaging results were whole‐brain, voxel‐wise, and familywise‐error corrected. Our results support evidence implicating CACNA1C and ZNF804A in BD and SCZ, adding novel imaging evidence in clinical populations, and of epistasis—which needs further replication. Further scrutiny of the inherent neurobiological mechanisms may disclose their potential as putative drug targets.
NAPL Hydraulic Conductivity and Velocity Estimates Based on Laboratory Test Results
Authors: Gefell Michael J. , Russell Kevin , Mahoney Mark
Published: August 2018

Article impact statement: This paper introduces a new, quantitative line of evidence to greatly improve the quantitation of NAPL mobility.