bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Deubiquitinase UCHL1 Maintains Protein Homeostasis through PSMA7-APEH-Proteasome Axis in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma
Authors: Tangri Apoorva , Lighty Kinzie , Loganathan Jagadish , Mesmar Fahmi , Podicheti Ram , Zhang Chi , Iwanicki Marcin , Nakshatri Harikrishna , Mitra Sumegha 
Published: September 2020

AbstractHigh-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is characterized by chromosomal instability, DNA damage, oxidative stress, and high metabolic demand, which exacerbate misfolded, unfolded and damaged protein burden resulting in increased proteotoxicity. However, the underlying mechanisms that maintain protein homeostasis to promote HGSOC growth remain poorly understood. In this study, we report that the neuronal deubiquitinating enzyme, ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) is overexpressed in HGSOC and maintains protein homeostasis. UCHL1 expression was markedly increased in HGSOC patient tumors and serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma (HGSOC precursor lesions). High UCHL1 levels correlated with higher tumor grade and poor patient survival. UCHL1 inhibition reduced HGSOC cell proliferation and invasion through the outer layers of omentum as well as significantly decreased thein vivometastatic tumor growth in ovarian cancer xenografts. Transcriptional profiling of UCHL1 silenced HGSOC cells revealed the down-regulation of genes implicated with proteasome activity along with the upregulation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced genes. Reduced expression of proteasome subunit alpha 7 (PSMA7) and acylaminoacyl peptide hydrolase (APEH) resulted in a significant decrease in proteasome activity, impaired protein degradation, and abrogated HGSOC growth. Furthermore, the accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins in the UCHL1 silenced cells led to attenuation of mTORC1 activity and protein synthesis, and induction of terminal unfolded protein response. Collectively, these results indicate that UCHL1 promotes HGSOC growth by mediating protein homeostasis through the PSMA7-APEH-proteasome axis.Abstract FigureImplicationsThis study identifies the novel links in the proteostasis network to target protein homeostasis in HGSOC. It recognizes the potential of inhibiting UCHL1 and APEH to sensitize cancer cells to proteotoxic stress and as novel alternative therapeutic approaches.
Insertional mutagenesis defines drivers and evolutionary relationships in pancreatic cancer metastasis
Authors: Govindaraju Suman , Maurin Michelle , Newberg Justin Y. , Jones Devin J. , Lee Hubert , Markovitz Judit E. , Mann Michael B. , Black Michael A. , Mann Karen M. 
Published: September 2020

ABSTRACTMetastasis is a defining feature of pancreatic cancer, impacting patient quality of life and therapeutic outcomes. While recurrent mutations inKRASandTP53play important roles in primary tumor development and persist in metastases, the contributions of other genes to the metastatic process is understudied. Here, we define a network of metastasis-promoting genes and uncover positively selected genes in metastatic lesions from ourSleeping Beautymouse model of pancreatic cancer using our recently described SB Driver Analysis statistical pipeline. We show that loss of single genesDLG1, PARD3, PKP4andPTPRKpromote pancreas cancer progression in a context-specific manner. Finally, we define clonal and sub-clonal insertion events that distinguish primary and individual metastatic tumors and use single cell sequencing to gain insight into the evolutionary relationships between sub-regions of primary pancreatic tumors and related metastases, which has important implications for pancreatic disease progression and therapeutic opportunities for patients.
Implementing quality assurance system for open and distance learning in three Asian open universities: Philippines, Indonesia and Pakistan
Authors: Zuhairi Aminudin , Raymundo Maria Rowena Del Rosario , Mir Kamran 
Published: September 2020

PurposeQuality assurance (QA) in open and distance learning (ODL) has always become universal concerns of stakeholders. The quality of ODL has been confronted with challenges in terms of the diversity of inputs, processes, the complex supply chain management of ODL and recent paradigm shift into online learning. Assuring the quality of ODL are daunting tasks at individual, institution and system levels. Completed before the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, this study aims to better understand the implementation of QA system in three Asian open universities (OUs), namely University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), Universitas Terbuka (UT), Indonesia and Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative method was employed involving analysis of documents of the three Asian OUs and focus group discussions and interviews with management and staff. Data collected were then analyzed to draw conclusions and possible recommendations.FindingsFindings of this study presented good practices, challenges and rooms for improvement of the QA system in the three Asian OUs. Focusing on students and stakeholders in their QA effort, this study has revealed that quality begins with inner self and is multidimensional. QA is principally viewed as continuous improvement, as mechanism and assessment and as effort at exceeding expectations of students and stakeholders. The recent challenge for QA is to embrace a delicate process of ODL transformation into online digital system. The recent COVID-19 outbreak has further implications and challenged QA implementation in ODL in higher education into the next level of complexity.Practical implicationsThis study revealed the diversities in how OUs met the societal needs of their respective stakeholders and addressed the challenges ahead for QA in ODL.Originality/valueThese findings were expected to enhance the understanding of the theory and practice of QA in ODL and to contribute to quality improvement of ODL programs.
Earnings management, policy uncertainty and firm life cycle stages: evidence from publicly traded companies in the USA and Brazil
Authors: Roma Carolina Magda da Silva , Louzada Luiz Cláudio , Roma Paula Magda da Silva , Goto Hiromitsu , Souma Wataru 
Published: September 2020

Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the combined effect of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and the firm life cycle on the degree of accrual-based earnings management of publicly traded companies in the USA and Brazilian stock markets.

Design/methodology/approach
The EPU index used was the one developed by Baker et al. (2016), the Kothari et al. (2005) model was used in the main analysis to obtain the discretionary accruals and the classification of firms into different life cycles was based on the Dickinson (2011) approach, which relies on the sign of operating, investment and financing cash flows. The methodology includes correlation matrix and panel regression with fixed effects.

Findings
The overall results for the USA sample suggest that economic policy uncertainty does have a heterogeneous influence on the firms’ accrual earnings management conditional on their life cycle where firms in the introduction, growth and decline stages decrease this practice when policy uncertainty increases. For the Brazilian case, in general, there is no combined effect between these variables. These contrasting findings can be associated with either the different underlying characteristics of both stock markets or the reduced sample size for the emerging market analyzed.

Originality/value
This research contributes to the earnings management literature examining how policy uncertainty is related to accruals manipulation under different life cycle stages and institutional environments. It is also one of the first studies to explore this conditioning effect.
Agile asset criticality assessment approach using decision-making grid
Authors: Karar Ahmed Noaman , Labib Ashraf 
Published: September 2020

PurposeThe main purpose is to provide a demonstration of the utility of the DMG as a streamlined approach of a prescriptive-type model that can facilitate strategic and dynamic methodology to the decision-maker with respect to what policies, strategies or actions should be carried out.Design/methodology/approachThis paper proposes a framework for an agile criticality assessment process using decision-making grid (DMG) to accommodate the needs of this dynamic environment.FindingsThe proposed new approach has delivered better results with more consistency when applied by different teams and achieved better distribution of assets over the criticality scale.Practical implicationsThe proposed approach has been validated through an industrial case study related to a steam generation system (SGS).Originality/valueThe implementation of the proposed approach in a petroleum refinery to assess the criticality of steam generation system (SGS) has shown positive results in terms of time and effort optimization. This research contributes to production planning and control literature with respect to one of its core activities of maintenance, through an innovative, systematic and practical approach.
Review of blast analysis and design for industrial/residential buildings and ammunition storage facilities
Authors: Bedair Osama 
Published: September 2020

PurposeThis paper reviews engineering work developed for blast analysis and design of industrial/residential and ammunition storage facilities. The review also covers work done for progressive collapse analysis and blast deflectors.Design/methodology/approachThe first part of the paper describes characteristics of various types of explosions. Empirical and numerical models that were developed to estimate structural capacity are reviewed. The structural idealization, theoretical basis, and merits of various methods are also described. The influence of various parameters affecting the structural performance is discussed.FindingsThe material of the paper captures recent engineering developments that can be used by practitioners for blast analysis and design for industrial and residential buildings. Little emphasis was given in the published literature to develop simplified analytical models that can be used in practice to compute the dynamic response of buildings subject to accidental explosions. Furthermore, analytical expressions are required to compute the reduction in the stiffness due to impact loading.Originality/valueCurrent building codes address conventional live, dead, wind and earthquake loads. Very few guidelines are available in practice for design of buildings subject to blast loading. The objective of this paper is to review and piece together recent engineering work developed for blast analysis and design of industrial/residential buildings and ammunition facilities. The paper provides useful resource material for the engineers in practice using recent techniques to design these structures. The review covers past three decades that can be used as a baseline for future developments.
Mapping the implications and competencies for Industry 4.0 to hard and soft total quality management
Authors: Babatunde Oluwayomi Kayode 
Published: September 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to map the implications and competencies for Industry 4.0 to the hard and soft aspects of total quality management (TQM).Design/methodology/approachThe author/s collected data from purposively drawn samples of early-career engineering professionals (ECEPs) using a cross-sectional survey. A total of 20 ECEPs from three small-class cohorts (2014, 2016 and 2018) participated in the survey. The author/s analyzed data using the Kruskal–Wallis test and Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test to establish the effect of cohort and gender on the implications and competencies for Industry 4.0. The author/s then mapped the top- and bottom-ranked implications and competencies onto the hard and soft aspects of TQM using a matrix.FindingsBased on the cohort, significant differencesp < 0.05 existed in the interests and competencies for Industry 4.0. In congruence, the 2014 cohort had the highest number of “unique” top- and bottom-ranked competencies and implications spanning the hard and soft TQM. Based on gender, nonsignificant differencesp < 0.05 existed in the interests and competencies for Industry 4.0. The male and female ECEPs' “common” top-ranked implications appeared under the hard and soft TQM. All their “common” top-ranked competencies appeared under the hard TQM, while all their “common” bottom-ranked competencies appeared under the soft TQM.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample size, context/discipline and perceptual data are limitations.Practical implicationsOptimizing an existing TQM framework/matrix to design Industry 4.0 TQM, advanced as TQM 4.0.Originality/valuePerspectives of early-career professionals for TQM 4.0 implementation.
The response of carbon assimilation and storage to long‐term drought in tropical trees is dependent on light availability
Authors: Rowland Lucy , da Costa Antonio C. L. , Oliveira Rafael S. , Bittencourt Paulo R. L. , Giles André L. , Coughlin Ingrid , de Britto Costa Patricia , Bartholomew David , Domingues Tomas F. , Miatto Raquel C. , Ferreira Leandro V. , Vasconcelos Steel S. , Junior Joao A. S. , Oliveira Alex A. R. , Mencuccini Maurizio , Meir Patrick 
Published: September 2020

Abstract

Whether tropical trees acclimate to long‐term drought stress remains unclear. This uncertainty is amplified if drought stress is accompanied by changes in other drivers such as the increases in canopy light exposure that might be induced by tree mortality or other disturbances.

Photosynthetic capacity, leaf respiration, non‐structural carbohydrate (NSC) storage and stomatal conductance were measured on 162 trees at the world's longest running (15 years) tropical forest drought experiment. We test whether surviving trees have altered strategies for carbon storage and carbon use in the drier and elevated light conditions present following drought‐related tree mortality.

Relative to control trees, the surviving trees experiencing the drought treatment showed functional responses including: (a) moderately reduced photosynthetic capacity; (b) increased total leaf NSC; and (c) a switch from starch to soluble sugars as the main store of branch NSC. This contrasts with earlier findings at this experiment of no change in photosynthetic capacity or NSC storage. The changes detected here only occurred in the subset of drought‐stressed trees with canopies exposed to high radiation and were absent in trees with less‐exposed canopies and also in the community average. In contrast to previous results acquired through less intensive species sampling from this experiment, we also observe no species‐average drought‐induced change in leaf respiration.

Our results suggest that long‐term responses to drought stress are strongly influenced by a tree's full‐canopy light environment and therefore that disturbance‐induced changes in stand density and dynamics are likely to substantially impact tropical forest responses to climate change. We also demonstrate that, while challenging, intensive sampling is essential in tropical forests to avoid sampling biases caused by limited taxonomic coverage.

A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Collision between biological process and statistical analysis revealed by mean centring
Authors: Westneat David F. , Araya‐Ajoy Yimen G. , Allegue Hassen , Class Barbara , Dingemanse Niels , Dochtermann Ned A. , Garamszegi László Zsolt , Martin Julien G. A. , Nakagawa Shinichi , Réale Denis , Schielzeth Holger 
Published: September 2020

AbstractAnimal ecologists often collect hierarchically structured data and analyse these with linear mixed‐effects models. Specific complications arise when the effect sizes of covariates vary on multiple levels (e.g. within vs. among subjects). Mean centring of covariates within subjects offers a useful approach in such situations, but is not without problems.A statistical model represents a hypothesis about the underlying biological process. Mean centring within clusters assumes that the lower level responses (e.g. within subjects) depend on the deviation from the subject mean (relative) rather than on the absolute scale of the covariate. This may or may not be biologically realistic. We show that mismatch between the nature of the generating (i.e. biological) process and the form of the statistical analysis produce major conceptual and operational challenges for empiricists.We explored the consequences of mismatches by simulating data with three response‐generating processes differing in the source of correlation between a covariate and the response. These data were then analysed by three different analysis equations. We asked how robustly different analysis equations estimate key parameters of interest and under which circumstances biases arise.Mismatches between generating and analytical equations created several intractable problems for estimating key parameters. The most widely misestimated parameter was the among‐subject variance in response. We found that no single analysis equation was robust in estimating all parameters generated by all equations. Importantly, even when response‐generating and analysis equations matched mathematically, bias in some parameters arose when sampling across the range of the covariate was limited.Our results have general implications for how we collect and analyse data. They also remind us more generally that conclusions from statistical analysis of data are conditional on a hypothesis, sometimes implicit, for the process(es) that generated the attributes we measure. We discuss strategies for real data analysis in face of uncertainty about the underlying biological process.
Firearms and violence in American life—50 years later
Authors: Zimring Franklin E. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThis article identifies the two key issues in the Firearms and Violence Task Force of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence and briefly describes research and policy findings on these questions in the half century since the the report was published. The key issues were the impact of weapon dangerousness on the death rate from violence assault and the positive linkage between increases in civilian gun ownership and increasing use of guns in violence.
Post mortem insect colonization and body weight loss in rabbit carcasses
Authors: Park Jun‐Kyu , Kim Chang‐Jun , Do Yuno 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThis study considers the impact of various treatments of rabbit carcasses on post mortem insect colonization and weight loss. A statistically accurate time for the change in carcass weight and insect access time was determined using time series analysis depending on different carcass treatments that determined insect access. The decomposition stage was relatively short. Fifteen freshly killed white rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) weighing between 2.5 kg and 4.5 kg were used as animal models in this study. Three carcasses were treated in each of five ways: normal, burnt, wrapped, hung, and immersed. A total of thirteen insect species were attracted to normal, burnt, and hung carcasses. Insects were not collected from sealed and immersed carcasses. The normal and burnt carcasses had a higher number of species and abundance compared to hung carcasses. The present study found no difference in insect colonization in normal and burnt carcasses. The determination of the weight of remaining carcass was clearly divided into the insect‐accessible (i.e., normal, burnt, and hung carcasses) and insect‐inaccessible carcasses (i.e., sealed and immersed carcasses), although no difference was found in the decrease in the rate of the remaining carcass in insect‐inaccessible carcasses.
Birth outcomes in women with body mass index of 40 kg/m2 or greater stratified by planned and actual mode of birth: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: D’Souza Rohan , Horyn Ivan , Jacob Claude‐Emilie , Zaffar Nusrat , Horn Daphne , Maxwell Cynthia 
Published: September 2020

AbstractIntroductionPregnant women with a body mass index (BMI) ≥40 kg/m2 are at an increased risk of requiring planned‐ and unplanned cesarean deliveries (CD). The aim of this systematic review is to compare outcomes in women with BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 based on planned and actual mode of birth.Material and MethodsFive databases were searched for English and French‐language publications until February 2019, and all studies reporting on delivery outcomes in women with BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2, stratified by planned and actual mode of birth, were included. Risk‐of‐bias was assessed using the Newcastle‐Ottawa Scale. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using random‐effects meta‐analysis.ResultsTen observational studies were included. Anticipated vaginal birth vs planned CD (5 studies, n = 2216) was associated with higher risk for postpartum hemorrhage (13.0% vs 4.1%, P < .001, numbers needed to harm (NNH = 11), I2 = 0%) but lower risk for wound complications (7.6% vs 14.5%, P < .001, numbers needed to treat (NNT = 15), I2 = 58.3%). Planned trial of labor vs repeat CD (3 studies, n = 4144) was associated with higher risk for uterine dehiscence (0.94% vs 0.42%, P = .04, NNH = 200, I2 = 0%), endometritis (5.1% vs 2.2%, P < .001, NNH = 35, I2 = 0%), prolonged hospitalization (one study, 30.3% vs 26.0%, P = .003, NNH = 23), low five‐minute Apgar scores (4.9% vs 1.7%, RR 2.95 (2.03, 4.28), NNH = 30, I2 = 0%) and birth trauma (1.1% vs 0.2%, P < .001, NNH = 111, I2 = 0%). Successful vaginal birth vs intrapartum CD (n = 3625) was associated with lower risk of postpartum hemorrhage (15.1% vs 70%, P < .001, NNT = 2, I2 = 0%), wound complications (one study, 0% vs 4.4%, P = .007, NNT = 23), prolonged hospitalization (one study, 1.9% vs 6.7%, 0.04, NNT = 21) and low five‐minute Apgar scores (one study, 1.0% vs 5.6%, P = .03, NNT = 22), but more birth trauma (5.9% vs 0.6%, P = .005, NNH = 19, I2 = 0%). Compared groups had dissimilar demographic characteristics. Although studies scored 6‐7/9 on risk‐of‐bias assessment, they were at high‐risk for confounding by indication.ConclusionsEvidence from observational studies suggests clinical equipoise regarding the optimal mode of delivery in women with BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 and no prior CD. This question is best answered by a randomized trial. Based on an unplanned subgroup analysis, for women with BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 and prior CD, repeat CD may be associated with better clinical outcomes.