bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Miltefosine attenuates inflammation, reduces atherosclerosis, and alters gut microbiota in hyperlipidemic mice
Authors: Traughber C. Alicia , Iacano Amanda J , Khan Mariam R , Neupane Kalash , Opoku Emmanuel , Nunn Tina , Sangwan Naseer , Hazen Stanley L , Smith Jonathan D , Gulshan Kailash
Published: August 2022

Excess cholesterol induces foam cell formation, NLRP3 inflammasome activation, and IL-1β release in atherosclerotic plaques. We have shown previously that Miltefosine increased cholesterol release and dampened NLRP3 inflammasome assembly in macrophages. Here, we show that Miltefosine reduced LPS-induced choline uptake by macrophages and attenuated NLRP3 inflammasome assembly in mice. Miltefosine-fed mice showed reduced plasma IL-1β in a polymicrobial cecal slurry injection model of systemic inflammation. Miltefosine-fed mice showed increased reverse cholesterol transport from macrophages to plasma, liver, and feces. Hyperlipidemic apoE−/−mice fed with Miltefosine showed significantly reduced weight gain and markedly reduced atherosclerotic lesions vs. control mice. 16S rDNA sequencing and analysis showed alterations in the gut microbiota profile of Miltefosine-fed hyperlipidemic apoE−/−vs. control mice, with the most notable changes inRomboutsiaandBacteroidetes species. Taken together, these data indicate that Miltefosine causes pleiotropic effects on lipid metabolism, inflammasome activity, atherosclerosis, and the gut microbiota.
Myeloid-cell-specific role of Gasdermin D in promoting lung cancer progression in mice
Authors: Traughber C. Alicia , Deshpande Gauravi M , Neupane Kalash , Khan Mariam R , McMullen Megan R , Swaidani Shadi , Opoku Emmanuel , Muppala Santoshi , Smith Jonathan D , Nagy Laura E , Gulshan Kailash
Published: August 2022

The activities of the NLRP3 and AIM2 inflammasomes and Gasdermin D (GsdmD), the final executor of inflammasome activity, are implicated in lung cancer pathophysiology but it’s not clear if their contributions promote or retard lung cancer progression. GsdmD plays a role in release of interleukin-1beta (IL-1 β), and the CANTOS trial and recent studies have highlighted a crucial role of IL-1β in promoting lung cancer. Expression of GsdmD was shown to be upregulated in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue, but its contribution to in vivo lung cancer metastasis is not known. Using a metastatic Lewis Lung Carcinoma (LLC) cell model, we show that GsdmD knockout (GsdmD-/-) mice form significantly fewer cancer foci in lung, and exhibit markedly decreased lung cancer metastasis. Furthermore, GsdmD-/- mice show a significant ~ 50% increase in median survival rate vs. isogenic WT C57BL6J mice. The cleaved forms of GsdmD and IL-1 β were detected in lung tumor tissue, indicating inflammasome activity in lung tumor microenvironment (TME). Increased migration and growth of LLC cells was observed upon exposure to the conditioned media derived from inflammasome-induced wild type, but not the GsdmD-/-, macrophages. Exposure of human A549 lung cancer cells to the conditioned media derived from inflammasome-induced THP-1 macrophages also resulted in increased cell migration. Using bone marrow transplantation, we show the myeloid-specific contribution of GsdmD in lung cancer metastasis. Taken together, our data show that inflammasome activation in macrophages promotes lung cancer growth and migration, and GsdmD plays a myeloid-specific role in lung cancer progression in mice.
Cytoplasmic nucleoporin foci are stress-sensitive, non-essential condensates in C. elegans
Authors: Thomas Laura , Ismail Basma Taleb , Askjaer Peter , Seydoux Geraldine
Published: August 2022

Nucleoporins (Nups) assemble nuclear pores that form the permeability barrier that separates nucleoplasm from cytoplasm. Nups have also been observed in cytoplasmic foci proposed to function as pore pre-assembly intermediates. Here we characterize the composition and incidence of cytoplasmic Nup foci in an intact animal,C. elegans. We find that, in young non-stressed animals, Nup foci only appear in developing sperm, oocytes, and embryos, tissues that express high Nup levels. The foci are condensates of highly cohesive FG-Nups that are maintained near their solubility limit in the cytoplasm by posttranslational modifications and chaperone activity. Only a minor fraction of FG-Nup molecules concentrate in Nup foci, which dissolve during M phase and are dispensable for nuclear pore assembly. Nup condensation is enhanced by stress and advancing age, and overexpression of a single FG-Nup in post-mitotic neurons is sufficient to induce ectopic condensation and organismal paralysis. Our results suggest that Nup foci are non-essential, “accidental”, and potentially toxic condensates whose assembly is actively suppressed in healthy cells.
A Mesp1-dependent developmental breakpoint in transcriptional and epigenomic specification of early cardiac precursors
Authors: Krup Alexis Leigh , Winchester Sarah A.B. , Ranade Sanjeev S. , Agrawal Ayushi , Devine W. Patrick , Sinha Tanvi , Choudhary Krishna , Dominguez Martin H. , Thomas Reuben , Black Brian L. , Srivastava Deepak , Bruneau Benoit G.
Published: August 2022

Transcriptional networks governing cardiac precursor cell (CPC) specification are incompletely understood due in part to limitations in distinguishing CPCs from non-cardiac mesoderm in early gastrulation. We leveraged detection of early cardiac lineage transgenes within a granular single cell transcriptomic time course of mouse embryos to identify emerging CPCs and describe their transcriptional profiles. Mesp1, a transiently-expressed mesodermal transcription factor (TF), is canonically described as an early regulator of cardiac specification. However, we observed perdurance of CPC transgene-expressing cells in Mesp1 mutants, albeit mis-localized, prompting us to investigate the scope of Mesp1’s role in CPC emergence and differentiation. Mesp1 mutant CPCs failed to robustly activate markers of cardiomyocyte maturity and critical cardiac TFs, yet they exhibited transcriptional profiles resembling cardiac mesoderm progressing towards cardiomyocyte fates. Single cell chromatin accessibility analysis defined a Mesp1-dependent developmental breakpoint in cardiac lineage progression at a shift from mesendoderm transcriptional networks to those necessary for cardiac patterning and morphogenesis. These results reveal Mesp1-independent aspects of early CPC specification and underscore a Mesp1-dependent regulatory landscape required for progression through cardiogenesis.
Text mining of CHO bioprocess bibliome: Topic modeling and document classification
Authors: Wang Qinghua , Olshin Jonathan , Vijay-Shanker K. , Wu Cathy
Published: August 2022

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are widely used for mass production of therapeutic proteins in the pharmaceutical industry. With the growing need in optimizing the performance of producer CHO cell lines, research on CHO cell line development and bioprocess continues to increase in recent decades. Bibliographic mapping and classification of relevant research studies will be essential for identifying research gaps and trends in literature. To qualitatively and quantitatively understand the CHO literature, we have conducted topic modeling using a CHO bioprocess bibliome manually compiled in 2016, and compared the topics uncovered by the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) models with the human labels of the CHO bibliome. The results show a significant overlap between the manually selected categories and computationally generated topics, and reveal the machine-generated topic-specific characteristics. To identify relevant CHO bioprocessing papers from new scientific literature, we have developed a supervised learning model, Logistic Regression, to identify specific article topics and evaluated the results using three CHO bibliome datasets, Bioprocessing set, Glycosylation set, and Phenotype set. The use of top terms as features supports the explainability of document classification results to yield insights on new CHO bioprocessing papers.
Phenotypic and transcriptional features of the Araliaceae species under distinct light environments
Authors: Niu Yu-Qian , Zhang Yu-Xin , Wang Xin-Feng , Wang Zhen-Hui , Yang Ji , Wang Yu-Guo , Zhang Wen-Ju , Song Zhi-Ping , Li Lin-Feng
Published: August 2022

Elucidating how the plant species respond to variable light conditions is essential to understand the ecological adaptation to heterogeneous environments. Plant performance and gene regulatory network underpinning the adaptation have been well-documented in sun-grown species. In this study, we surveyed phenotypic and transcriptomic features of four shade-grown and one sun-grown woody species of the family Araliaceae under distinct light conditions. Our phenotypic comparisons demonstrate that the four shade-grown species possess lower light saturation point and higher assimilation ability of the net photosynthetic rate compared to the sun-grown species. In particular, the four shade-grown species maintain similar photosynthesis efficiency in both highlight and lowlight conditions. However, a significantly decreased photosynthesis rate was observed under lowlight condition of the sun-grown species compared to highlight condition. In addition, our leaf anatomical analyses reveal that while all the five species show different anatomical structures under distinct light conditions, the shade-grown species possess lower degree of phenotypic plasticity relative the sun-grown species. Further comparisons of the transcriptome profiling show that all the five species exhibit gene expression divergence among different light conditions. The differentially expressed genes identified in the five species are functionally related to photosynthesis, secondary metabolites and other basic metabolisms. More importantly, differential regulation of the photosynthesis- and photomorphogenesis-related genes are potentially correlated with the phenotypic responses to distinct light conditions of the five species. Our study provides new insights on how the sun- and shade-grown woody species respond to shade and sunlight environments.
RiboXYZ: A comprehensive database for visualizing and analyzing ribosome structures
Authors: Kushner Artem , Petrov Anton , Duc Khanh Dao
Published: August 2022

Recent advances in Cryo-EM led to a surge of ribosome structures deposited over the past years, including structures from different species, conformational states, or bound with different ligands. Yet, multiple conflicts of nomenclature make the identification and comparison of structures and ortholog components challenging. We present RiboXYZ (available at https://ribosome.xyz), a database that provides organized access to ribosome structures, with several tools for visualisation and study. The database is up-to-date with the Protein Data Bank (PDB) but provides a standardized nomenclature that allows for searching and comparing ribosomal components (proteins, RNA, ligands) across all the available structures. In addition to structured and simplified access to the data, the application has several specialized visualization tools, including the identification and prediction of ligand binding sites, and 3D superimposition of ribosomal components. Overall, RiboXYZ provides a useful toolkit that complements the PDB database, by implementing the current conventions and providing a set of auxiliary tools that have been developed explicitly for analyzing ribosome structures. This toolkit can be easily accessible by both experts and non-experts in structural biology so that they can search, visualize and compare structures, with various potential applications in molecular biology, evolution, and biochemistry.
NS5A domain I antagonises PKR to facilitate the assembly of infectious hepatitis C virus particles
Authors: Chen Shucheng , Harris Mark
Published: August 2022

Hepatitis C virus NS5A is a multifunctional phosphoprotein comprised of three domains (DI, DII and DIII). DI and DII have been shown to function in genome replication, whereas DIII has a role in virus assembly. We previously demonstrated that DI in genotype 2a (JFH1) also plays a role in virus assembly, exemplified by the P145A mutant which exhibited no defect in genome replication, but blocked infectious virus production (1). Here we extend this analysis to identify two other conserved and surface exposed residues proximal to P145 (C142 and E191) that shared the same phenotype. Further analysis revealed changes in the abundance of dsRNA, the size and distribution of lipid droplets (LD) and the co-localisation between NS5A and LDs in cells infected with these mutants, compared to wildtype. In parallel, to investigate the mechanism(s) underpinning this role of DI, we assessed the involvement of the interferon-induced double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR). In PKR-knockout cells, C142A and E191A exhibited levels of infectious virus production, LD size and co-localisation between NS5A and LD that were indistinguishable from wildtype. Co-immunoprecipitation and in vitro pulldown experiments confirmed that wildtype NS5A domain I (but not C142A or E191A) interacted with PKR. We further showed that the assembly phenotype of C142A and E191A was restored by ablation of interferon regulatory factor-1 (IRF1), a downstream effector of PKR. These data suggest a novel interaction between NS5A DI and PKR that functions to evade an antiviral pathway that blocks virus assembly through IRF1.

Author summary

The non-structural 5A protein (NS5A) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) plays a critical role in both virus genome replication and the assembly of infectious virus particles. NS5A is a target for potent and highly efficacious direct acting antivirals used extensively for HCV treatment. NS5A comprises 3 domains. Here, we show that the N-terminal domain I (DI) plays a role in virus assembly. Mutations in DI block both virus assembly and the perturbation of lipid droplet morphology that is a hallmark of HCV infection. Strikingly, this phenotype is abrogated by silencing of the cellular cytoplasmic double-stranded RNA sensor, PKR, a key antiviral factor. These mutations have therefore uncovered a hitherto uncharacterised antiviral pathway controlled by PKR which functions to block assembly of infectious virus particles.
Temporal Dynamics and Performance Association of theTetrasphaera-Enriched Microbiome for Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal
Authors: Wang Hui , Wang Yubo , Zhang Guoqing , Zhao Ze , Ju Feng
Published: August 2022

Tetrasphaerawere recently identified based on the 16S rRNA gene as among the most abundant polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) in global full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). However, it is unclear howTetrasphaeraPAOs are selectively enriched in the context of the EBPR microbiome. In this study, an EBPR microbiome enriched withTetrasphaera(accounting for 40% of 16S sequences on day 113) was built using a top-down design approach featuring multicarbon sources and a low dosage of allylthiourea. The microbiome showed enhanced nutrient removal (P removal ~85% and N removal ~80%) and increased P recovery (up to 23.2 times) compared with the seeding activated sludge from a local full-scale WWTP. The supply of 1 mg/L allylthiourea promoted the coselection ofTetrasphaeraPAOs andMicrolunatusPAOs and sharply reduced the relative abundance of both ammonia oxidizerNitrosomonasand putative competitorsBrevundimonasandParacoccus, facilitating the establishment of the EBPR microbiome. Based on 16S rRNA gene analysis, a putative novel PAO species, EBPR-ASV0001, was identified withTetrasphaera japonicaas its closest relative. This study provides new knowledge on the establishment of aTetrasphaera-enriched microbiome facilitated by allylthiourea, which can be further exploited to guide future process upgrading and optimization to achieve and/or enhance simultaneous biological phosphorus and nitrogen removal from high-concentration wastewater.
The ecology of cancer prevalence across species: Cancer prevalence is highest in desert species and high trophic levels
Authors: Kapsetaki Stefania E. , Compton Zachary , Rupp Shawn M. , Garner Michael M. , Duke Elizabeth G. , Boddy Amy M. , Harrison Tara M. , Aktipis Athena , Maley Carlo C.
Published: August 2022

The ecology in which species live and evolve likely affects their health and vulnerability to diseases including cancer. Using 14,267 necropsy records across 244 vertebrate species, we tested if animals in low productivity habitats, with large habitat range, high body temperature and weight-inferred estimates of metabolic rates, and in high trophic levels (from lowest to highest: herbivores, invertivores, primary carnivores, and secondary carnivores) are linked with having increased prevalence of neoplasia. This study found that: (1) habitat productivity negatively correlated with the prevalence of malignancy and neoplasia across tissues, and malignancy and neoplasia in gastrointestinal tissues; (2) inferred metabolic rates negatively correlated with the prevalence of neoplasia; and (3) trophic levels positively correlated with malignancy and neoplasia prevalence in both mammals and non-mammals. However, only the correlations with trophic levels remained significant after Bonferroni corrections for multiple testing. There are several mechanisms that might explain these findings, including the biomagnification of carcinogens in higher trophic levels, as well as tradeoffs between cancer suppression versus reproduction and survival in low productivity environments.
Large-scale proteomic analysis of T. spiralis muscle-stage ESPs identifies a novel upstream motif for in silico prediction of secreted products
Authors: Nash Bradley , Gregory William F. , White Rhiannon R. , Protasio Anna , Gygi Steve P. , Selkirk Murray E. , Weekes Michael P. , Artavanis-Tsakonas Katerina
Published: August 2022

The Trichinella genus contains parasitic nematodes capable of infecting a wide range of hosts including mammals, birds and reptiles. Like other helminths, T. spiralis secretes a complex mixture of bioactive molecules capable of modulating its immediate surroundings and creating a hospitable environment for growth, survival and ultimately transmission. The constitution of these excretory-secretory products (ESPs) changes depending on the tissue niche and the specific stage of parasite development. Unique to T. spiralis is a true intracellular stage wherein larvae develop inside striated myotubes. Remarkably, the parasite larvae do not destroy the host cell but rather reprogram it to support their presence and growth. This transformation is largely mediated through stage-specific secretions released into the host cell cytoplasm. In this study, we apply state of the art proteomics and computational approaches to elucidate the composition and functions of muscle-stage T. spiralis ESPs. Moreover, we define a commonly-occurring, upstream motif that we believe is associated with the stichosome, the main secretory organ of this worm, and can thus be used to predict secreted proteins across experimentally less tractable T. spiralis life cycle stages.

Author Summary

Trichinella spiralis is the only helminth parasite with a true intracellular stage. Newborn larvae penetrate the intestinal wall of the host, enter the circulation and preferentially infect muscle cells. Remarkably, they do not destroy the host cell but rather initiate a series of modulatory events that transform it into a ‘nurse cell complex’, a collagenated cyst that can persist for years. Each stage of T. spiralis development is guided by host-targeted secretions released by the worm directly into its immediate environment, mediating events such as immunoregulation, cell cycle control and angiogenesis. As such, these worm effectors hold therapeutic potential for chronic and autoimmune diseases. The composition of excretory-secretory products (ESPs) changes according to what the worm needs to accomplish and what tissue niche it is occupying at the time, with many deriving from the stichosome, the worm’s dedicated secretory organ. In this study, we characterise ESPs of muscle-stage T. spiralis larvae using proteomic and bioinformatic approaches and we define a regulatory motif associated with stichosome-derived proteins.
Readout of histone methylation by Trim24 locally restricts chromatin opening by p53
Authors: Isbel Luke , Iskar Murat , Durdu Sevi , Grand Ralph S. , Weiss Joscha , Hietter-Pfeiffer Eric , Kozicka Zuzanna , Michael Alicia K. , Burger Lukas , Thomä Nicolas H. , Schübeler Dirk
Published: August 2022

The genomic binding sites of the transcription factor (TF) and tumour suppressor p53 are unusually diverse in regards to their chromatin features, including histone modifications, opening the possibility that chromatin provides context-dependence for p53 regulation.

Here, we show that the ability of p53 to open chromatin and activate its target genes is indeed locally restricted by its cofactor Trim24. Trim24 binds to both p53 and unmethylated lysine 4 of histone H3, thereby preferentially locating to those p53 sites that reside in closed chromatin, while it is deterred from accessible chromatin by lysine 4 methylation.

The presence of Trim24 increases cell viability upon stress and enables p53 to impact gene expression as a function of the local chromatin state.

These findings link histone methylation to p53 function and illustrate how specificity in chromatin can be achieved, not by TF-intrinsic sensitivity to histone modifications, but by employing chromatin-sensitive cofactors which locally modulate TF function.
Emergence of joint health and safety committees in Algerian companies: an exploratory study
Authors: Bousfot Widad , Saadi Saadia , Djebabra Mebarek
Published: August 2022

Purpose

The objective of this article is to carry out an exploratory study on the emergence of health and safety committees (HSC) in Algerian companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology chosen, governed by the systemic approach, is centered on the exploration of HSC emergence factors in companies.

Findings

The suggested method consists in defining hypotheses found in the literature on the emergence of HSC in order to affirm or refute them in the case of Algerian companies.

Research limitations/implications

Despite the fact that a good number of Algerian industrial companies were solicited; the number of respondents was limited. This limitation confirms the difficulty commonly encountered in exploratory studies by questionnaire.

Practical implications

The results of this exploratory study serve as a basis for the elaboration of a national action plan dedicated to HSC emergence in Algerian companies.

Originality/value

This is the first study conducted in Algerian companies on HSC emergence. The identification of emergence problems allows drawing up an effective action plan to solve them.
Virtual meetings and wellbeing: insights from the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Standaert Willem , Thunus Sophie , Schoenaers Frédéric
Published: August 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between virtual meeting participation and wellbeing. Based on the conservation of resources theory, we hypothesize that participation in more virtual meetings is associated with both negative and positive wellbeing indicators.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey was sent to 3,530 employees across five Belgian universities in April 2020. Useful data from 814 respondents was collected and analyzed to test the hypothesized relationships.

Findings

The authors find support for their hypotheses, namely that participating in more virtual meetings is associated not only with negative wellbeing indicators (workload, stress and fatigue) but also with a positive wellbeing indicator, namely work influence.

Research limitations/implications

Given the unique work-from-home context during the pandemic, the generalizability of our findings may be limited. Nevertheless, this study contributes to the literature on Meeting Science and Virtual Work, as it is the first study to empirically relate virtual meetings to wellbeing indicators, including a positive one.

Practical implications

As virtual meetings and work-from-home are expected to remain prevalent, understanding wellbeing implications is of high managerial importance. Their findings can be useful for (HR) managers who develop flexible work policies for a post-pandemic world.

Social implications

The findings draw attention to the importance of maintaining a healthy balance between productivity and wellbeing in creating a sustainable work(-from-home) context.

Originality/value

The COVID-19 lockdown provided a unique opportunity to obtain insight on the relationship between virtual meetings and wellbeing at an unprecedented scale.
Family businesses in tourism – the use of digital technologies in times of uncertainty and crisis
Authors: Melović Marica , Baynazoğlu Mehmet Emin , Šerić Neven
Published: August 2022

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of digital technologies on the promotion of tourist offer from the perspective of family businesses. The paper tries to provide a better understanding of the factors that determine the use of digital technologies in the family tourism business, both in the modern digital world and in times of uncertainty and crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The survey method was used in the realization of the research. Data were collected using a stratified random sample of 86 tourism providers in Montenegro and analyzed by using SEM models, logistic regression and descriptive statistics.

Findings

The results showed that the demographic characteristics of the respondents were the least important factors in the analysis; while factors that significantly affected the use of digital technologies in Montenegrin tourism included the nature of future tourism trends perceived by respondents, crisis and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, participants’ perceptions, attitudes and understanding of the specificities of digital technologies and benefits they offer to tourists, perceived from the perspective of the family business representative. Furthermore, the results of logistic regression revealed that pandemic had stronger consequences on micro and small enterprises, compared to those imposed on medium-sized firms. These impacts relate to changes in organization and redesign of workflows, altered communication from traditional to digital and increased importance of business innovations. On the other hand, the increased significance of integration of marketing channels for multiple target segments, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, was stronger pronounced in medium-sized businesses compared to micro and small ones.

Originality/value

The results obtained may serve the holders of the tourist offer, managers and decision-makers when making decisions on the imposition of digital technologies in tourism, in order to secure global reach business, multi-channel tourist interaction, cost-saving and being ahead of competitors. This enables an integrated analysis that forms the basis for further creation of tourism and marketing policies at the individual and collective level to attract tourists and strengthen Montenegro’s competitiveness as a destination.
Reappreciating the varieties of police behavior: a national examination of contemporary police mission statements
Authors: Dario Lisa M. , Cesar Gabriel T. , Crichlow Vaughn J.
Published: August 2022

Purpose

The current and ongoing police legitimacy crises demand a renewed analysis of the police mission in American law enforcement. This research aims to examine the mission statements of a national sample of police agencies, and generates an organizational typology of contemporary policing styles.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the responsive agencies listed in the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) as a sampling frame, mission statements from 2,826 departments were collected from official law enforcement websites. Wilson's (1968) seminal typology of policing styles was then used to classify the emergent patterns from the mission statements. Mission statement patterns that did not fit squarely into Wilson's model (i.e. watchman, service and legalistic styles of policing) were classified to update the model and account for contemporary police goals and organizational orientations.

Findings

A theme of outward-facing legitimacy among police organizations emerged as a new variety of police behavior, according to collected mission statements. The researchers’ findings suggest that public perceptions of police legitimacy are a primary concern for today's police forces.

Originality/value

This research reappreciates the utility of Wilson's typology of policing styles, and provides insight into the cultivation of police legitimacy. The authors identify a fourth typology of organizational behavior, legitimacy, that may be an emerging, professional police response to both contemporary crime issues and public antipathy.
Procurement maturity and IT failures in the public sector
Authors: Hua Stella Y.
Published: August 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate disastrous failures in high-value, high-risk IT procurement among US public agencies. The goal is to understand the cause of the failures and explore the role of procurement in IT public investments.

Design/methodology/approach

The establishment of the maturity model is based on the relevant literature review and IT procurement failures at four different US public agencies. The data is gathered through multiple sources, including documents, archival records and interviews.

Findings

The findings add to the public procurement literature and highlight the catalyst role of procurement maturity in the success of IT public procurement. They also call for public agencies to grow procurement maturity and increase procurement impact throughout the procurement process.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed model was primarily based on four Information Technology (IT) procurement failures. Investigations on IT procurement successes and on a larger scale are necessary to further validate and expand the model.

Practical implications

The proposed model can help public agencies identify where they are in their IT procurement journey and formulate plans to reduce the likelihood of IT procurement failure.

Social implications

The proposed model helps public agencies achieve IT procurement success, which leads to timely policy implementation, huge federal savings and better use of taxpayer money.

Originality/value

This paper provides an effective framework for public agencies seeking to overcome high-value high-risk IT procurement challenges and achieve IT procurement success.
Nitrogen availability and plant–plant interactions drive leaf silicon concentration in wheat genotypes
Authors: de Tombeur Felix , Lemoine Taïna , Violle Cyrille , Fréville Hélène , Thorne Sarah J. , Hartley Sue E. , Lambers Hans , Fort Florian
Published: August 2022

Estimating plasticity of leaf silicon (Si) in response to abiotic and biotic factors underpins our comprehension of plant defences and stress resistance in natural and agroecosystems. However, how nitrogen (N) addition and intraspecific plant–plant interactions affect Si concentration remains unclear.

We grew 19 durum wheat genotypes (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) in pots, either alone or in intra‐ or intergenotypic cultures of two individuals, and with or without N. Above‐ground biomass, plant height and leaf [Si] were quantified at the beginning of the flowering stage.

Nitrogen addition decreased leaf [Si] for most genotypes, proportionally to the biomass increase. Si plasticity to plant–plant interactions varied significantly among genotypes, with both increases and decreases in leaf [Si] when mixed with a neighbour, regardless of the mixture type (intra‐/intergenotype). Besides, increased leaf [Si] in response to plant–plant interactions was associated with increased plant height.

Our results suggest the occurrence of both facilitation and competition for Si uptake from the rhizosphere in wheat mixtures. Future research should identify which leaf and root traits characterise facilitating neighbours for Si acquisition. We also show that Si could be involved in height gain in response to intraspecific competition, possibly for increasing light capture. This important finding opens up new research directions on Si and plant–plant interactions in both natural ecosystems and agroecosystems. More generally, our results stress the need to explore leaf Si plasticity in responses to both abiotic and biotic factors to understand plant stress resistance.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Influence of delayed density and ultraviolet radiation on caterpillar baculovirus infection and mortality
Authors: Pepi Adam , Pan Vincent , Rutkowski Danielle , Mase Vinay , Karban Richard
Published: August 2022

Infectious disease is an important potential driver of population cycles but must occur through delayed density‐dependent infection and resulting fitness effects. Delayed density‐dependent infection by baculoviruses can be caused by environmental persistence of viral occlusion bodies (OBs), which can be influenced by environmental factors. Specifically, ultraviolet radiation is potentially important in reducing the environmental persistence of viruses by inactivating OBs.

Delayed density‐dependent viral infection has rarely been observed empirically at the population level although theory predicts that it is necessary for pathogens to drive population cycles. Similarly, field studies have not examined the effects of ultraviolet radiation on viral infection rates in natural animal populations. We tested if viral infection is delayed density‐dependent with the potential to drive cyclic dynamics and if ultraviolet radiation influences viral infection levels.

We censused 18 Ranchman's tiger moth (Arctia virginalis) populations across 9° of latitude over 2 years and quantified the effects of direct and delayed density and ultraviolet radiation on proportion infected by baculovirus, infection severity and survival to adulthood. Caterpillars were collected from field populations and reared in the laboratory. Baculovirus has not previously been described infecting A. virginalis, and we used genetic methods to confirm the identity of the virus.

We found that proportion infected, infection severity and survival to adulthood exhibited delayed density dependence. Ultraviolet radiation in the previous summer decreased infection severity, which increased caterpillar survival probability. Structural equation modelling indicated that the effect of lagged density on caterpillar survival was mediated through proportion infected and infection severity and was 2.5‐fold stronger than the indirect effect of ultraviolet. We successfully amplified polh, lef‐8 and lef‐9 viral genes from caterpillars, and BLAST results confirmed that the virus was a nucleopolyhedrovirus.

Our findings provide clear evidence that delayed density‐dependent mortality can arise through viral infection rate and severity in insects, which supports the role of viral disease as a mechanism, among others, that may drive insect population cycles. Furthermore, our findings support predictions that ultraviolet radiation can modify viral disease dynamics in insect populations, most likely through attenuating viral persistence in the environment.
Spring phenology and pathogen infection affect multigenerational plant attackers throughout the growing season
Authors: Gaytán Álvaro , Gotthard Karl , Tack Ayco J. M.
Published: August 2022

Climate change has been shown to advance spring phenology, increase the number of insect generations per year (multivoltinism) and increase pathogen infection levels.

However, we lack insights into the effects of plant spring phenology and the biotic environment on the preference and performance of multivoltine herbivores and whether such effects extend into the later part of the growing season.

To this aim, we used a multifactorial growth chamber experiment to examine the influence of spring phenology on plant pathogen infection, and how the independent and interactive effects of spring phenology and plant pathogen infection affect the preference and performance of multigenerational attackers (the leaf miner Tischeria ekebladella and the aphid Tuberculatus annulatus) on the pedunculate oak in the early, mid and late parts of the plant growing season.

Pathogen infection was highest on late phenology plants, irrespective of whether inoculations were conducted in the early, mid or late season. The leaf miner consistently preferred to oviposit on middle and late phenology plants, as well as healthy plants, during all parts of the growing season, whereas we detected an interactive effect between spring phenology and pathogen infection on the performance of the leaf miner. Aphids preferred healthy, late phenology plants during the early season, healthy plants during the mid season, and middle phenology plants during the late season, whereas aphid performance was consistently higher on healthy plants during all parts of the growing season.

Our findings highlight that the impact of spring phenology on pathogen infection and the preference and performance of insect herbivores is not restricted to the early season, but that its imprint is still present – and sometimes equally strong – during the peak and end of the growing season. Plant pathogens generally negatively affected herbivore preference and performance, and modulated the effects of spring phenology. We conclude that spring phenology and pathogen infection are two important factors shaping the preference and performance of multigenerational plant attackers, which is particularly relevant given the current advance in spring phenology, pathogen outbreaks and increase in voltinism with climate change.
Assessment of durable chemoimmunotherapy response via circulating tumor DNA in advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Yang Dongyang , Xu Fei , Li Ying , Lai Xiaorong , Xian Bohong , Yu Pengli , Chen Rongrong , Li Zijun , Ma Dong
Published: August 2022

Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)‐based therapies have shown promising advances for the first‐line treatment of advanced or metastatic esophageal cancer (EC). However, few studies concerning the identification of patients who achieve durable response from ICIs have been previously reported. In the present study, pre‐ and on‐treatment plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) were analyzed in 10 patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) receiving first‐line chemoimmunotherapy. Patients with decreased molecular tumor burden index (mTBI) >7% experienced longer progression‐free survival (PFS) and durable clinical benefit (DCB, PFS ≥ 6 months). In addition, five patients showed stable disease at first scan, all three patients with decreased mTBI > 7% achieved DCB, while two cases with decreased mTBI ≤ 7% experienced non‐DCB. Our results demonstrate that ctDNA monitor might help identify which ESCC patients respond to chemoimmunotherapy.
Umbrella review of nursing interventions NIC for the treatment and prevention of suicidal behavior
Authors: Sufrate‐Sorzano Teresa , Pérez Jesús , Juárez‐Vela Raúl , Garrote‐Cámara MaríaElena , de Viñaspre Regina Ruiz , Molina‐Luque Fidel , Santolalla‐Arnedo Iván
Published: August 2022

Purpose

The aim of this umbrella review was to determine the most effective nursing interventions for the prevention and management of suicidal behavior. In order to do so, the review identifies interventions from the Nursing Interventions Classifications taxonomy with evidence to this end.

Methods

A systematic search was conducted for systematic reviews included in the PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Knowledge, and Joanna Briggs Institute databases between January 1, 2011 and May 1, 2020.

Findings

The review is made up of 21 systematic reviews. In order to carefully analyze the interventions described, these were coded into categories, grouping the interventions into those based on psychological therapy, interventions related to pharmacotherapy, interventions related to the professional relationship between health professional and patient, and interventions aimed at the general public.

Conclusions

Nursing interventions for suicide risk management are prevalent in the scientific literature and are shown to be effective for patients with suicidal ideation or suicide attempts. Prevention and treatment of suicidal behavior require the provision of coping tools, behavioral interventions that directly address suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and support through therapeutic partnerships, among others.

Implications for nursing practice

This paper synthesizes the most current evidence on the most effective Nursing Interventions Classifications interventions for the treatment and prevention of suicidal behavior. It provides nursing practitioners with a comprehensive review of the therapeutic interventions with the best evidence and is useful for the development of clinical guidelines and protocols, as well as for the development of health policies and plans.
Patchiness of aquatic plant assemblages in seasonal wetlands: Local abiotic factors explain the spatial distribution of growth forms
Authors: Matias Lígia Queiroz , Santos Larissa Ibiapina , Romero Ricardo Espíndola , Menezes Bruno Sousa
Published: August 2022

The spatial distribution of aquatic plants can be influenced by dispersal capacity, and local abiotic factors. In general, aquatic plants are widely distributed and have a large‐scale ability to disperse. However, some groups have narrower tolerance and are more sensitive to local environmental variations. Thus, we investigated which factors explain the spatial distribution of growth forms in different seasonal pools in the Brazilian semi‐arid region. We hypothesized that if dispersal limitation is absent and pools have similar abiotic conditions, all pools must have communities with the same growth form pattern that fit together in the water column. Conversely, if the abiotic factors among pools differ significantly, there will be a higher frequency of certain growth forms associated with the most striking local factors. We found no relationship between growth form composition in pools and geographic distance (rM = −0.004; P = 0.96), indicating high dispersal capacity. Nonetheless, the pool showed different growth forms proportions, indicating that different abiotic factors affect each local. Additionally, the variation explained by the abiotic factors was higher than the distance. Nitrate, ammonia, cation exchange capacity and redox potential were the main environmental variables related to the presence of growth forms. Helophytes and bottom‐rooted emergent hydrophytes were positively associated with nitrate and redox potential, whereas bottom‐rooted submerged hydrophytes were positively associated with ammonia. Unpredictably, free‐floating emergent hydrophytes were more frequent in pools with high cation exchange capacity. This association may come from a nutrient flux integrated system between soil and water. Our results suggest that the effect of abiotic factors is stronger than dispersal limitation on the growth forms composition in Brazilian semi‐arid pools, and the frequency of growth forms in each pool depends on the role most striking (or joint) of the local limnological and edaphic variables.
The quality effects of agency staffing in residential aged care
Authors: Ma Nelson , Sutton Nicole , Yang Jin Sug , Rawlings‐Way Olivia , Brown David , McAllister Gillian , Parker Deborah , Lewis Rachael
Published: August 2022

Objectives

In Australia, temporary agency workers are a relatively small but enduring component of the residential aged care workforce. However, evidence from other countries suggests reliance on agency workers has a detrimental effect on the quality of care (QoC). We examined whether QoC outcomes differ for Australian residential aged care facilities (RACFs) based on their reliance on agency care staff.

Methods

A retrospective observational study was conducted using de‐identified datasets obtained under the legal authority of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. Regression analysis was conducted using data comprising 6221 RACF‐year observations, across 5 years (2015–2019), from 1709 unique RACFs in Australia.

Results

After controlling for other determinants of QoC, RACFs with a greater reliance on agency care staff have poorer QoC outcomes, with significantly higher rates of complaints, missing persons, reportable assaults, hospitalisations, and accreditation flags.

Conclusions

Consistent with international evidence, we found that the QoC of Australian RACFs is sensitive to the reliance on agency staff in delivering direct care to residents. These findings illustrate the importance of workers' employment conditions, alongside other workforce characteristics, in driving the quality of residential aged care.
Post‐mortem cellular death may be salvageable with whole body perfusion
Authors: Shah Aakash M.
Published: August 2022

A team of Yale researchers demonstrated cellular and metabolic recovery with whole body perfusion after prolonged warm ischemia. This study reveals an underappreciated potential of cellular recovery and may lead to the expansion of suitable warm ischemic times.
Editorial: switching to tenofovir alafenamide monotherapy is effective and safe for other nucleos(t)ide analogues‐treated patients with chronic hepatitis B
Authors: Wang Meng‐Lan , Chen En‐Qiang
Published: August 2022

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Ogawa et al papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.17107 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.17173
Letter: comparison of clinical prediction rules for ruling out cirrhosis in non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
Authors: Shiha Gamal , Mikhail Nabiel , Soliman Reham
Published: August 2022

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Brandman et al papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16874
Editorial: investigating the association between sweetened beverages and risk of inflammatory bowel disease—authors' reply
Authors: Fu Tian , Wang Xiaoyan , Chen Jie
Published: August 2022

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Fu et al papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.17149 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.17178