bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
EEG-based diagnostics of the auditory system using cochlear implant electrodes as sensors
Authors: Somers Ben , Long Christopher J. , Francart Tom 
Published: July 2020

AbstractThe cochlear implant is one of the most successful medical prostheses, allowing deaf and severely hearing-impaired persons to hear again by electrically stimulating the auditory nerve. A trained audiologist adjusts the stimulation settings for good speech understanding, known as “fitting” the implant. This process is based on subjective feedback from the user, making it time-consuming and challenging, especially in paediatric or communication-impaired populations. Furthermore, fittings only happen during infrequent sessions at a clinic, and therefore cannot take into account variable factors that affect the user’s hearing, such as physiological changes and different listening environments. Objective audiometry, in which brain responses evoked by auditory stimulation are collected and analysed, removes the need for active patient participation. However, recording of brain responses still requires expensive equipment that is cumbersome to use. An elegant solution is to record the neural signals using the implant itself. We demonstrate for the first time the recording of continuous electroencephalographic (EEG) signals from the implanted intracochlear electrode array in human subjects, using auditory evoked potentials originating from different brain regions. Furthermore, we show that the response morphologies and amplitudes depend crucially on the recording electrode configuration. The integration of an EEG system into cochlear implants paves the way towards chronic neuro-monitoring of hearing-impaired patients in their everyday environment, and neuro-steered hearing prostheses, which can autonomously adjust their output based on neural feedback.
The risk ofXylella fastidiosaoutbreaks will decrease in the Mediterranean olive-producing regions
Authors: Godefroid M. , Morente M. , Schartel T. , Cornara D. , Purcell A. , Gallego D. , Moreno A. , Pereira J.A. , Fereres A. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractThe bacteriumXylella fastidiosa(Xf) is a worldwide distributed invasive insect-borne plant pathogen, which causes lethal diseases to many economically-important crops including olives, citrus, almonds and grapes as well as numerous forest, ornamental, and uncultivated plants. The Mediterranean basin is the top supplier of olive oil with 93% of the world production and is consequently highly concerned about the recent invasion ofXfin Europe. Recently, bioeconomic models estimated putative losses induced by the spread ofXfacross the European olive-producing area ranging from 1.9 to 5.2 billion euros over 50 years; however, such models did not take into account the insect vectors, which constitute a key driver ofXfspread. In the present study, we used bioclimatic species distribution models to predict the current and future climate suitability of the Mediterranean area for the main efficient or putative transmitters ofXfto olive (i.e.Philaenus spumarius, Neophilaenus campestrisandAphrophora alni). An important part of the total extent of the Mediterranean olive-producing area, mainly situated in southern Spain, Turkey and Greece, is predicted as currently poorly suitable for these vector species. Moreover, models forecast that nearly the totality of the Mediterranean olive-producing regions will likely become climatically little suitable for these vectors by 2050 due to climate change. In Europe,Xfoutbreaks have occurred so far only in localities predicted as climatically suitable for these main vector species (e.g. the Apulia region of Italy) while the areas predicted as poorly suitable are still apparentlyXf-free, which suggests that climate tolerances of vectors might play a main role in shapingXfoutbreaks patterns. This pattern highlights the crucial necessity of accounting for vectors when assessing risk ofXfoutbreaks, and when considering vector-borne diseases in general. The risk maps presented here will have important practical application for the optimization of current and future strategies to controlXfin the Mediterranean region.
Sleep-learning Impairs Subsequent Awake-learning
Authors: Ruch Simon , Züst Marc Alain , Henke Katharina 
Published: July 2020

AbstractAlthough we can learn new information while asleep, we cannot consciously remember the sleep-formed memories because learning occurred in an unconscious state. Here, we ask whether sleep-learning expedites the subsequent awake-learning of the same information. To answer this question, we reanalyzed data (Züst et al., 2019, Curr Biol) from napping participants, who learned new semantic associations between fake foreign-words and translation-words (guga-ship) while in slow-wave sleep. They retrieved sleep-formed associations unconsciously on an implicit memory test following awakening. Then, participants took five runs of paired-associative learning to probe carry-over effects of sleep-learning on awake-learning. Surprisingly, sleep-learning diminished awake-learning when participants learned semantic associations that were congruent to sleep-learned associations (guga-boat). Yet, learning associations that conflicted with sleep-learned associations (guga-coin) was unimpaired relative to learning new associations (resun-table; baseline). We speculate that the impeded wake-learning originated in a deficient synaptic downscaling and resulting synaptic saturation in neurons that were activated during both sleep-learning and awake-learning.
Experimental adaptation of dengue virus 1 toAedes albopictusmosquitoes byin vivoselection
Authors: Bellone Rachel , Lequime Sebastian , Jupille Henri , Göertz Giel P. , Aubry Fabien , Mousson Laurence , Piorkowski Géraldine , Yen Pei-Shi , Gabiane Gaelle , Vazeille Marie , Sakuntabhai Anavaj , Pijlman Gorben P. , de Lamballerie Xavier , Lambrechts Louis , Failloux Anna-Bella 
Published: July 2020

AbstractIn most of the world, Dengue virus (DENV) is mainly transmitted by the mosquitoAedes aegyptiwhile in Europe,Aedes albopictusis responsible for human DENV cases since 2010. Identifying mutations that make DENV more competent for transmission byAe. albopictuswill help to predict emergence of epidemic strains. Ten serial passagesin vivoinAe. albopictusled to select DENV-1 strains with greater infectivity for this vectorin vivoand in cultured mosquito cells. These changes were mediated by multiple adaptive mutations in the virus genome, including a mutation at position 10,418 in the DENV 3’UTR within an RNA stem-loop structure involved in subgenomic flavivirus RNA (sfRNA) production. Using reverse genetics, we showed that the 10,418 mutation alone does not confer a detectable increase in transmission efficiencyin vivo. These results reveal the complex adaptive landscape of DENV transmission by mosquitoes and emphasize the role of epistasis in shaping evolutionary trajectories of DENV variants.
Attention expedites target selection by prioritizing the neural processing of distractor features
Authors: Bartsch Mandy V. , Merkel Christian , Schoenfeld Mircea A. , Hopf Jens-Max 
Published: July 2020

AbstractWhether doing the shopping, or driving the car – to navigate daily life, our brain has to rapidly identify relevant color signals among distracting ones. Despite a wealth of research, how color attention is dynamically adjusted is little understood. Previous studies suggest that the speed of feature attention depends on the time it takes to enhance the neural gain of cortical units tuned to the attended feature. To test this idea, we had human participants switch their attention on the fly between unpredicted target color alternatives, while recording the electroencephalographic brain response to probes matching the target, a non-target, or a distracting alternative target color. Paradoxically, we observed a temporally prioritized processing of distractor colors. A larger neural gain for the distractor followed by stronger attenuation expedited target identification. Our results suggest that dynamic adjustments of feature attention involve the temporally prioritized processing and elimination of distracting feature representations.
Altering the solubility of the antibiotic candidate Nisin – a computational study
Authors: Pandey Preeti , Hansmann Ulrich H.E. , Wang Feng 
Published: July 2020

AbstractThe growing bacterial resistance to available antibiotics makes it necessary to look for new drug candidates. An example is a lanthionine-containing nisin, which has a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. While nisin is widely utilized as a food preservative, its poor solubility and low stability at physiological pH hinder its use as an antibiotic. As the solubility of nisin is controlled by the residues of the hinge region, we have performed molecular dynamics simulations of various mutants and studied their effects on nisin’s solubility. These simulations are complicated by the presence of two uncommon residues (dehydroalanine and dehydrobutyrine) in the peptide. The primary goal of the present study is to derive rules for designing new mutants that will be more soluble at physiological pH and, therefore, may serve as a basis for the future antibiotic design. Another aim of our study is to evaluate whether existing force fields can model the solubility of these amino acids accurately, in order to motivate further developments of force fields to account for solubility information.
Reactivity-based screening for citrulline-containing natural products reveals a family of bacterial peptidyl arginine deiminases
Authors: Harris Lonnie A. , Saint-Vincent Patricia M. B. , Guo Xiaorui , Hudson Graham A. , Mitchell Douglas A. 
Published: July 2020

ABSTRACTRibosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are a family of natural products defined by a genetically encoded precursor peptide that is tailored by associated biosynthetic enzymes to form the mature product. Lasso peptides are a class of RiPP defined by an isopeptide linkage between the N-terminal amine and an internal Asp/Glu residue with the C-terminus threaded through the macrocycle. This unique lariat topology, which provides considerable stability towards heat and proteases, has stimulated interest in lasso peptides as potential therapeutics. Post-translational modifications beyond the class-defining, threaded macrolactam have been reported, including one example of arginine deimination to yield citrulline. Although a citrulline-containing lasso peptide (i.e., citrulassin) was serendipitously discovered during a genome-guided campaign, the gene(s) responsible for arginine deimination has remained unknown. Herein we describe the use of reactivity-based screening to discriminate bacteria that produce arginine-versus citrulline-bearing citrulassins, culminating in the discovery and characterization of 11 new lasso peptide variants. Phylogenetic profiling identified a distally encoded peptidyl arginine deiminase (PAD) gene ubiquitous to the citrulline-containing variants. Absence of this gene correlated strongly with citrulassin variants only containing arginine (des-citrulassin). Heterologous expression of the PAD in a non-citrulassin producer resulted in the production of the deiminated analog, confirming PAD involvement in arginine deimination. The family of PADs were then bioinformatically surveyed for a deeper understanding of its genomic context and potential role in post-translational modification of RiPPs.
Evaluating a harvest control rule to improve the sustainability of Japanese fisheries
Authors: Okamura Hiroshi , Ichinokawa Momoko , Hilborn Ray 
Published: July 2020

AbstractFisheries management in Japan is currently at a turning point. MSY based reference points have historically been rejected because of impacts on the fishing industry that would result from their adoption. We propose and evaluate a new harvest control rule (HCR) that uses the biological reference points based on sustainable yield from the stochastic hockey-stick stock recruitment relationship. Management strategy evaluation simulations conditioned on data from Japanese stocks demonstrate that the new HCR avoided recruitment overfishing while providing stable and near maximum catch. The new HCR outperformed Japan’s traditional HCR in terms of conservation, and it outperformed an alternative HCR which is widely used around the world in terms of initial catch reduction and future catch variation. For forecasting and hindcasting simulations, the new HCR showed considerable improvements over traditional HCRs in terms of biomass and catch. This new management procedure can improve the current and future status of many overfished stocks in Japan as well as increase economic efficiency and better protect ecosystems.
Colormesh: A novel method for quantifying variation in complex color patterns
Authors: Valvo Jennifer J. , Rodd F. Helen , Houle David , Aponte J. David , Daniel Mitchel J. , Dwinell Kenna , Hughes Kimberly A. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractColor variation is one of the most obvious examples of variation in nature. Objective quantification and interpretation of variation in color and complex patterns is challenging. Assessment of variation in color patterns is limited by the reduction of color into categorical measures and lack of spatial information. We present Colormesh as a novel method for analyzing complex color patterns that offers unique capabilities. Compared to other methods, Colormesh maintains the continuous measure of color at individual sampling points throughout the pattern. This is particularly useful for analyses of variation in color patterns, whether interest is in specific locations or the pattern as a whole. In our approach, the use of Delaunay triangulation to determine sampling location eliminates the need for color patterns to have clearly defined pattern elements, and users are not required to identify discrete color categories. This method is complementary to several other methods available for color pattern quantification, and can be usefully deployed to address a wide range of questions about color pattern variation.
multiGSEA: A GSEA-based pathway enrichment analysis for multi-omics data
Authors: Canzler Sebastian , Hackermüller Jörg 
Published: July 2020

AbstractGaining biological insights into molecular responses to treatments or diseases from omics data can be accomplished by gene set or pathway enrichment methods. A plethora of different tools and algorithms have been developed so far. Among those, the gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) proved to control both type I and II errors well.In recent years the call for a combined analysis of multiple omics layer became prominent, giving rise to a few multi-omics enrichment tools. Each of which has its own drawbacks and restrictions regarding its universal application.Here, we present themultiGSEApackage aiding to calculate a combined GSEA-based pathway enrichment on multiple omics layer. The package queries 8 different pathway databases and relies on the robust GSEA algorithm for a single-omics enrichment analysis. In a final step, those scores will be combined to create a robust composite multi-omics pathway enrichment measure.multiGSEAsupports 11 different organisms and includes a comprehensive mapping of transcripts, proteins, and metabolite IDs. It is publicly available under the GPL-3 license athttps://github.com/yigbt/multiGSEAand at Bioconductor:https://bioconductor.org/packages/multiGSEA.
BioLitMine: advanced mining of biomedical and biological literature about human genes and genes from major model organisms
Authors: Hu Yanhui , Chung Verena , Comjean Aram , Rodiger Jonathan , Nipun Fnu , Perrimon Norbert , Mohr Stephanie E. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractThe accumulation of biological and biomedical literature outpaces the ability of most researchers and clinicians to stay abreast of their own immediate fields, let alone a broader range of topics. Although available search tools support identification of relevant literature, finding relevant and key publications is not always straightforward. For example, important publications might be missed in searches with an official gene name due to gene synonyms. Moreover, ambiguity of gene names can result in retrieval of a large number of irrelevant publications. To address these issues and help researchers and physicians quickly identify relevant publications, we developed BioLitMine, an advanced literature mining tool that takes advantage of the medical subject heading (MeSH) index and gene-to-publication annotations already available for PubMed literature. Using BioLitMine, a user can identify what MeSH terms are represented in the set of publications associated with a given gene of the interest, or start with a term and identify relevant publications. Users can also use the tool to find co-cited genes and a build a literature co-citation network. In addition, BioLitMine can help users build a gene list relevant to a MeSH terms, such as a list of genes relevant to “stem cells” or “breast neoplasms.” Users can also start with a gene or pathway of interest and identify authors associated with that gene or pathway, a feature that makes it easier to identify experts who might serve as collaborators or reviewers. Altogether, BioLitMine extends the value of PubMed-indexed literature and its existing expert curation by providing a robust and gene-centric approach to retrieval of relevant information.
Does visitation dictate animal welfare in captivity? – A case study of tigers and leopards from National Zoological Park, New Delhi
Authors: Avni Gupta , Saurabh Vashisth , Mahima Sharma , Randeep Singh , Upamanyu Hore , Hang Lee , Puneet Pandey 
Published: July 2020

AbstractZoological Parks serve a salient purpose of entertaining many visitors by housing various exclusive animal species. Big cats like tigers and leopard are among the most visited species in zoos globally. We investigated the behavioral response of the zoo-housed big cats to visitor densities and noise. We also aimed to understand the relationship between stereotypy, animal history, feeding schedules, and enclose design. The behavior of eight big cats housed in the National Zoological Park, New Delhi, was monitored using the focal sampling technique during the May and June 2019 to construct the ethograms. We also recorded the visitor density, ambient noise, for the same duration. Both species were found devoting a significant amount (>50%) of time in displaying inactive behaviors. Tigers and leopards performed stereotypic behaviors for 22% and 28% of their time, respectively. Pearson chi-square analysis revealed a significant variation of stereotypy in association with biological (age, sex, and rearing history) and captive (enclosure design) variables. Big cats’ stereotypic behaviors were found significantly influenced by the high visitor density. However, ambient noise did not impact the stereotypy of both the felid species. Visitors form an integral part of zoos, and their detrimental impact diminishes the well-being of captive animals. This study revealed that tigers and leopards in NZP display a high proportion of inactive and stereotypic behaviors. Thus, we suggest zoo authorities adopt more enclosure enrichment initiatives.
Microfinance board and default risk in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Tadele Haileslasie 
Published: July 2020

PurposeThis paper examines whether board structure affects microfinance institutions' (MFIs) default risk in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a pooled OLS and system generalized method of moments (GMM) model on unbalanced panel data from 214 MFIs in 26 SSA countries over 2005–2016 period. Default risk is measured using non-performing loans (loans overdue 30 and 90 days) and loans written-off ratios. Board size, proportion of independent and female directors are used as proxies for board structure.FindingsThe empirical results indicate that unregulated MFIs with larger and more independent boards tend to have a lower default risk. In addition, unregulated MFIs with a female director tend to lower default risk.Research limitations/implicationsThis research mainly focusses on SSA. Future research may consider a broader geographical area.Practical implicationsPoor loan portfolio quality is one of the major problems of MFIs operating in SSA. The findings of this study will contribute in emphasizing the role of an effective board structure in lowering MFI default risk.Originality/valueThis study is unique in terms of investigating whether board structure impacts default risk based on MFI regulation.
My career development journey to an authentic work identity
Authors: Kock Ruwayne Garth 
Published: July 2020

PurposeThis paper describes the author's lived experiences as a marginalised professional. It offers a nuanced understanding of the author's career development journey to an authentic work identity.Design/methodology/approachThis analytic autoethnography, situated in multicultural, democratic South Africa, describes how historic moments in the country's political evolution influenced the author personally: the author’s sense of belonging and the author’s various roles socially, as well as at work.FindingsThe paper tracks selected stories in the author's professional career journey to an authentic work identity, as indexed by the themes: I am a Black South African; I am a gay professional and so, who am I at work? On reflection, the author realised how the bounded nature of authenticity allowed psychological safety while exploring congruency between the author’s multiple work identities.Originality/valueThe autoethnography demonstrates how multiple accounts by the same author may be a valuable way of contributing to the literature on authentic work identity. This autoethnographic work extends the authentic identity literature of marginalised professionals beyond the narrow authenticity–inauthenticity binary of most organisational studies. The paper introduces limited authentic work identity as an ameliorative self-concept in organisations.
Is there a commendable regime for combatting money laundering in international business transactions?
Authors: Clarke Andrew Emerson 
Published: July 2020

Purpose
Money laundering and grand business corruption continue to plague the global economy, accounting for 2%-5% of the global gross domestic product. Illicit funds, produced through grand corruption, are laundered using complex layering schemes that cloak them in legitimacy by concealing their origins. Lamentably, weak anti-money laundering (AML) frameworks promote economic instability, unjust commercial advantages and organized crimes. This study aims to highlight the need for comprehensive anti-corruption and AML frameworks by critiquing the exploitable gaps in the global AML regime created by heterogeneous state-level AML regimes to date.

Design/methodology/approach
This study welcomes the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the financial action task force (FATF) recommendations but underscores the limitations of their effectiveness by investigating state-level enforcement mechanisms to determine these instruments’ true impact or lack thereof. The mutual evaluation reports (MERs) and state-level AML regimes in the UK, the USA and Canada are analyzed to illustrate the distinct implementation of international soft law in domestic legislation.

Findings
This study finds that UNCAC and the FATF recommendations are pivotal steps towards the establishment of a global AML regime for international business, albeit, one that remains imperfect because of the inconsistency of state-level AML frameworks. Consequently, international cooperation is needed to navigate and improve the discrepancies in varied AML legislation.

Originality/value
The author provides an in-depth and balanced analysis of current state-level AML developments and relies upon the recent 2016-2018 MERs to indicate the successes and flaws of various AML legislation. Therefore, this critique may guide stakeholders to construct robust AML frameworks and contributes to academic research in AML.