bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Chromatin dynamics associated with sexual differentiation in a UV sex determination system
Authors: Gueno Josselin , Bourdareau Simon , Cossard Guillaume , Godfroy Olivier , Lipinska Agnieszka , Tirichine Leila , Cock J. Mark , Coelho Susana M. 
Published: October 2020

SummaryIn many eukaryotes, such as dioicous mosses and many algae, sex is determined by UV sex chromosomes and is expressed during the haploid phase of the life cycle. In these species, the male and female developmental programs are initiated by the presence of the U- or V-specific regions of the sex chromosomes but, as in XY and ZW systems, phenotypic differentiation is largely driven by autosomal sex-biased gene expression. The mechanisms underlying sex-biased transcription in XY, ZW or UV sexual systems currently remain elusive. Here, we set out to understand the extent and nature of epigenomic changes associated with sexual differentiation in the brown algaEctocarpus, which has a well described UV system. Five histone modifications, H3K4me3, H3K27Ac, H3K9Ac, H3K36me3, H4K20me3, were quantified in near-isogenic male and female lines, leading to the identification of 13 different chromatin states across theEctocarpusgenome that showed different patterns of enrichment at transcribed, silent, housekeeping or narrowly-expressed genes. Chromatin states were strongly correlated with levels of gene expression indicating a relationship between the assayed marks and gene transcription. The relative proportion of each chromatin state across the genome remained stable in males and females, but a subset of genes exhibited different chromatin states in the two sexes. In particular, males and females displayed distinct patterns of histone modifications at sex-biased genes, indicating that chromatin state transitions occur preferentially at genes involved in sex-specific pathways. Finally, our results reveal a unique chromatin landscape of the U and V sex chromosomes compared to autosomes. Taken together, our observations reveal a role for histone modifications in sex determination and sexual differentiation in a UV sexual system, and suggest that the mechanisms of epigenetic regulation of genes on the UV sex chromosomes may differ from those operating on autosomal genes.
The impact of dietary protein and carbohydrates on gene expression in a generalist insect herbivore
Authors: Deans Carrie A. , Sword Greg , Vogel Heiko , Behmer Spencer 
Published: October 2020

ABSTRACTNutrition fuels all of the physiological processes that animals rely on for survival and reproduction. Of all the nutrients that are required, dietary protein (p) and carbohydrates (c) have a primary role. Insect herbivores are capable of detecting amino acid and sugar concentrations in plant tissue via chemoreception and regulate their intake of these two macronutrients to reach an optimal protein:carbohydrate, or p:c, ratio, termed an intake target. A multitude of studies have shown that the two nutritional factors that have the strongest impact on insect survival and performance are dietary p:c ratio and total macronutrient content, which is the proportion of the diet made up by p and c and a proxy for energy content. Variations in these two dietary traits have strong unique and interactive effects on many insect life history traits, yet the mechanisms that mediate these effects are not well understood. While many studies have documented the effect of host plant usage on gene expression, differences in plant secondary compounds between plant species and tissue types have confounded efforts to understand nutritional contributions to transcriptional changes. This study is the first to document the transcriptional effects of dietary p:c ratio and total macronutrient content in a phytophagous insect, the polyphagous moth speciesHelicoverpa zea. Our results show that changes in dietary p:c ratio produced a rather limited transcriptional response, while total macronutrient content had more dramatic effects on gene expression. The invariable expression of many metabolic genes across diets also suggests thatH. zealarvae employ a strategy of constitutive expression to deal with nutritional imbalances rather than diet-associated changes in expression. We also observed many similarities in the transcriptional response to diets that varied from the intake target diet in different ways (c-biased, p-biased, increased energy content). This indicates that similar mechanisms are used to deal with nutritional imbalances regardless of the direction of the imbalance, and further supports the importance of nutrient regulation.HIGHLIGHTSVariations in plant macronutrients can have strong impacts on herbivore fitnessDespite a wealth of studies documenting the physiological effects of macronutrient nutrition, underlying mechanisms are still ambiguousDiet protein-to-carbohydrate ratio had an unexpectedly small impact on overall transcription, while total macronutrient content had a stronger effectThe transcriptional response to dietary variations away from an optimal diet was similar across diets that varied in different ways (carbohydrate-biased, protein-biased, more concentrated)Maintaining consistent consumption and constitutive expression of digestive enzymes across diets that varied in macronutrient profiles led to compensation for the most limiting dietary macronutrient
A framework for the performance assessment of construction contractors in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Tuffaha Firas M. , Assaf Sadi , Zaben Yasar Zakaria , Hadidi Laith A. 
Published: October 2020

PurposeIn this work, a framework for assessing construction contractors' performance in Saudi Arabia is developed. Usually, a contractor's assessment is based on financial aspects, which are lagging indicators in nature, and can ignore other nonfinancial aspects. Hence, a more detailed contractors' assessment framework is needed for the construction industry in Saudi Arabia. A framework that integrates financial and nonfinancial aspects in one model will enable contractors to better benchmark their performance to the rest of Saudi Arabia's construction industry.Design/methodology/approachInitially, the literature is reviewed and the most commonly used key performance indicators (KPIs) are identified and surveyed through contractors’ feedback to ensure their proper alignment with Saudi Arabia’s construction industry. The adopted set of KPIs will be further prioritized through the relative importance index (RII) method based on the surveyed contractors’ perceptions. Furthermore, the important set of KPIs will be factored into various groups using principle component analysis (PCA). Finally, the findings are validated through expert judgment.FindingsAll key performance indicators (KPIs) have proven to be significant, except for the environmental factor, which happens to be nonsignificant and hence has been omitted from further consideration. The remaining KPIs have been factored through the principle component analysis method. Five generic dimensions were identified: Performance, Satisfaction, Actual Metrics, Estimated Metrics and Compliance. The model has been validated by expert feedback, and it was found to be reliable.Originality/valueThe proposed model establishes an assessment framework to aid building construction contractors in assessing their performance in real time, in addition to postconstruction assessment for business development and retrofitting purposes.
The interplay of psychological contract breach, stress and job outcomes during organizational restructuring
Authors: Arunachalam Thiruchelvi 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThis paper aims to study the impact of psychological contract breach and employee stress on job outcomes such as job involvement and organizational citizenship behaviour in the Indian banking sector, with special reference to State Bank of India.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was administered. Data was collected from employees of a bank, which has undergone a merger. Validity tests were carried out to confirm the accuracy of the measurement variables. Regression analysis was used to test the stated hypotheses. A paired t-test was used to compare the level of job outcomes experienced by the employees before and after the merger.FindingsThe study has shown that psychological contract breach has an impact on job stress. Results also show that the merger has made a positive impact on the employees. Job involvement and engagement were found to be improved after the merger. Employees were also found to be more committed to the organization and exhibit high organizational citizenship behaviour.Practical implicationsThe organizational restructuring has been long thought to play a crucial role in affecting the job outcomes of employees. This study reconfirms those concepts and provides implications for researchers and managers.Originality/valueThis study makes a significant theoretical contribution to the literature as this is one of the very few studies to deal with the impact of organizational restructuring on employee stress and job outcomes in the Indian Scenario.
Predictors of e-trust for Web-based travel intermediaries: a survey on Istanbul visitors
Authors: Çiftçi Şükrü Fırat , Çizel Beykan 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting e-trust perception of tourists using Web-based travel intermediaries (WBTIs). Cognitive and affective attitude components are believed to be important in assessing the e-trust perception of tourists. However, this paper aims to investigate if self-efficacy would be an important predictor for e-trust in the context of WBTIs.Design/methodology/approachThe quantitative research method is used in this study. Data were collected by the survey method from the tourists who visited Istanbul/Turkey and made their bookings via Web-based travel intermediaries. Hierarchical linear regression analysis is used to investigate to which extent age/gender/years of usage, self-efficacy, cognitive and affective components are affecting tourists’ e-trust perception.FindingsAccording to the study results, self-efficacy, the attitude components, in addition to the demographic variables, predict a significant amount of variance (45%) in e-trust for Web-based travel intermediaries. Besides attitude components, self-efficacy is put forward as significantly important in the perception of e-trust.Originality/valueThe novelty of the current study is that it uses hierarchical regression to test if self-efficacy would be an important predictor for e-trust while examining the effect of various predictive variables in sequential order. Therefore, the relative importance of this e-trust predictor can be evaluated based on how much it contributes to the prediction over and above other important antecedents of e-trust according to the literature. This study provides evidence that the social cognitive theory may be useful in understanding e-trust in online tourist behavior.
Study of sustainability issues in an Indian logistics service provider: SAP-LAP approach
Authors: Gupta Anchal , Singh Rajesh Kumar 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze sustainability issues in the context of logistics service providers (LSPs) and to evaluate the sustainability index of an LSP in the Indian scenario.Design/methodology/approachThe case study method is used to understand the sustainability issues of an Indian LSP. The situation–actor–process (SAP) and learning–action–performance (LAP) framework has been applied to critically examine the sustainability issues of the case organization. The information about the case study is collected from both primary and secondary sources, and a detailed analysis of different sustainability issues in the context of an Indian case has been done. The sustainability index for the case organization has been also evaluated.FindingsIt can be observed from the in-depth case analysis that LSPs have started making use of green practices for long-term sustainability, but adoption is very slow in developing countries such as India. Based on SAP-LAP analysis of an Indian LSP, suitable actions are recommended for improving the performance of LSPs.Practical implicationsAdoption of sustainable practices by LSPs can lead to sustainable performance. Sustainability index can assist LSPs to benchmark their sustainability performance to meet the market requirements.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study is to analyze the issues related to implementation of sustainable practices in an Indian LSP through SAP-LAP framework. It also illustrates the evaluation of sustainability index.
Identification of Functional Genetic Variants Associated With Alcohol Dependence and Related Phenotypes Using a High‐Throughput Assay
Authors: Thapa Kriti S. , Chen Andy B. , Lai Dongbing , Xuei Xiaoling , Wetherill Leah , Tischfield Jay A. , Liu Yunlong , Edenberg Howard J. 
Published: October 2020

BackgroundGenome‐wide association studies (GWAS) of alcohol dependence (AD) and related phenotypes have identified multiple loci, but the functional variants underlying the loci have in most cases not been identified. Noncoding variants can influence phenotype by affecting gene expression; for example, variants in the 3′ untranslated regions (3′UTR) can affect gene expression posttranscriptionally.MethodsWe adapted a high‐throughput assay known as PASSPORT‐seq (parallel assessment of polymorphisms in miRNA target sites by sequencing) to identify among variants associated with AD and related phenotypes those that cause differential expression in neuronal cell lines. Based upon meta‐analyses of alcohol‐related traits in African American and European Americans in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism, we tested 296 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs with meta‐analysispvalues ≤ 0.001) that were located in 3′UTRs.ResultsWe identified 60 SNPs that affected gene expression (false discovery rate [FDR] < 0.05) in SH‐SY5Y cells and 92 that affected expression in SK‐N‐BE(2) cells. Among these, 30 SNPs altered RNA levels in the same direction in both cell lines. Many of these SNPs reside in the binding sites of miRNAs and RNA‐binding proteins and are expression quantitative trait loci of genes includingKIF6,FRMD4A,CADM2,ADD2,PLK2, andGAS7.ConclusionThe SNPs identified in the PASSPORT‐seq assay are functional variants that might affect the risk for AD and related phenotypes. Our study provides insights into gene regulation in AD and demonstrates the value of PASSPORT‐seq as a tool to screen genetic variants in GWAS loci for one potential mechanism of action.
Hemangiol in infantile haemangioma: A paediatric post‐marketing surveillance drug study
Authors: Socchi Floriane , Bigorre Michele , Normandin Marion , Captier Guillaume , Bessis Didier , Mondain Michel , Blanchet Catherine , Akkari Mohamed , Amedro Pascal , Gavotto Arthur 
Published: October 2020

AimInfantile haemangioma (IH) is the most common benign tumour in children. Since 2014, propranolol has become the first‐choice therapy and currently Hemangiol is the only approved drug for complicated haemangioma. This post‐marketing study reports the use of Hemangiol for IH in paediatric practice.Method and ResultsFrom January 2014 to November 2018, 94 children (median age 4 [0; 21] months; 75% female) treated with Hemangiol for proliferative IH were enrolled in the study. The systematic paediatric cardiology consultation never contraindicated beta‐blockers. Two Hemangiol initiation protocols were used: a conventional ambulatory 3‐week titration phase protocol (n = 76, 80.9%), and a rapid initiation protocol with a 48‐hour dose escalation in conventional hospitalization for severe proliferative or ulcerated IH (n = 18, 19.1%). In both protocols, the haemodynamic tolerance was good. The mean maintenance dose of Hemangiol was 2.7 ± 0.8 mg/kg/day, with a median treatment duration of 7 [1.5; 19] months. Adverse events (AEs) have been found in 25 (26,6%) patients, including 8 (8.5%) patients with serious AEs (uncontrolled bronchial hyperreactivity, n = 5; serious hypoglycaemia, n = 3). Some patients had one or more AEs, a total of 24 nonserious AEs was reported in 19 patients (sleep disturbances, n = 9; respiratory disorders, n = 5; digestive disorders, n = 6). No cardiac adverse event was reported.ConclusionThis post‐marketing surveillance drug study supports the good tolerance of Hemangiol in children with IH. A rapid initiation protocol is of interest when treatment is urgent. The pretherapeutic paediatric cardiology consultation should not be systematic but only indicated for specific patients.ClinicalTrials.govNCT 04105517.
Feasibility and safety of tailored dosing schedule for eculizumab based on therapeutic drug monitoring: Lessons from a prospective multicentric study
Authors: Passot Christophe , Sberro‐Soussan Rebecca , Bertrand Dominique , Caillard Sophie , Schvartz Betoul , Domenger Camille , Contin‐Bordes Cécile , Paintaud Gilles , Halimi Jean‐Michel , Ternant David , Gatault Philippe 
Published: October 2020

AimsEculizumab is an anti‐C5 monoclonal antibody approved for rare diseases including atypical haemolytic–uraemic syndrome. The maintenance phase dosing regimen is identical for all adult patients: 1200 mg every 2 weeks. Recent studies reported an overexposure in many patients when considering a target trough concentration range of 50–100 mg/L. The aim of the present work was to validate the feasibility of therapeutic drug monitoring of eculizumab in atypical haemolytic–uraemic syndrome patients.MethodsWe performed a 2‐step prospective multicentre study. In the first phase, we developed a pharmacokinetic population model using data from 40 patients and identified patients for whom a 1‐week lengthening of interval between infusions would lead to a trough concentration above 100 mg/L. In the second phase, selected patients were allocated a 1‐week extension and eculizumab trough concentrations were monitored.ResultsThe model confirmed the previously reported influence of bodyweight on elimination clearance and predicted that 36 (90%) patients would be eligible for interval extension. In the second phase of the study, a 1‐week lengthening of interval between infusions was performed in 15 patients whose trough concentration at the next visit was predicted with a Bayesian model to be above 100 mg/L. After interval extension, 10 patients (67%) presented measured trough concentrations over 100 mg/L. No biological or clinical recurrence of disease was observed, even in the 5 patients with concentrations below 100 mg/L in whom the initial dosing regimen was resumed.ConclusionSafe eculizumab interval adjustment is feasible with a PK monitoring.
Psychological suzhi and academic achievement in Chinese adolescents: A 2‐year longitudinal study
Authors: Nie Qian , Teng Zhaojun , Yang Chunyan , Lu Xingyue , Liu Chuanxing , Zhang Dajun , Guo Cheng 
Published: October 2020

BackgroundIn the Chinese educational system, there has been an ongoing debate between using examination‐ or quality‐oriented education. The Chinese concept of psychological suzhi was proposed based on quality‐oriented education, and a positive link between psychological suzhi and academic achievement was found by cross‐sectional studies; however, studies examining their longitudinal relationship are still lacking.AimsTo examine the longitudinal trajectories of Chinese adolescents’ academic achievement and the longitudinal effects of psychological suzhi on academic achievement trajectories.SampleParticipants were 3,587 adolescents (Mage = 14.85 years, 51.1% male) in grades 7 and 10, from 10 secondary schools in southwest China.MethodA 2‐year (four‐wave) longitudinal study was conducted, and growth mixture models were used to analyse the data.Results and conclusionsFour distinct developmental trajectories of academic achievement were identified (i.e., high‐positive growth, middle‐negative growth, low‐stable, and lowest‐stable) that were significantly predicted by different levels of psychological suzhi, particularly the dimension of cognitive quality. Cognitive quality was strongly associated with the initial academic achievement values in the high‐positive growth group and linked to achievement rate (decreasing) in the middle‐negative growth group. However, individuality quality and adaptability quality had a buffering effect on the rate of achievement decreasing in the middle‐negative growth group. This study not only highlighted the promotive role of high cognitive quality on high levels of achievement (static) but also indicated the protective role of non‐cognitive factors (i.e., individuality and adaptability) against a decreasing rate of academic achievement (dynamic).
International students and labour market outcomes of US‐born workers*
Authors: Demirci Murat 
Published: October 2020

AbstractDo international students graduating from US colleges and universities affect labour market outcomes of similarly educated native‐born workers? I address this question by exploiting a change in US visa policy that results in increases in the labour supply of master’s‐level international students to the US labour market in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Estimates show that increases in their labour supply via temporary work permits in a certain field reduce employment of recently graduated native‐born holders of a master’s degree but increase earnings of experienced native‐born holders of a master’s degree in the same field. These findings support the hypothesis of substitution between skills of similarly educated immigrants and native‐born individuals in the same age group and complementarity between skills of those in different age groups.
Merkel cell carcinoma: A review
Authors: Walsh Noreen M. , Cerroni Lorenzo 
Published: October 2020

AbstractMerkel cell carcinoma has been a focus of active scientific investigation in recent years and new information on the topic has emerged. Although uncommon, this primary cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinoma, usually involving the head/neck of elderly individuals, has a poor prognosis. Within the past two decades, an increase in the incidence of the tumor and the discovery of its link to the Merkel cell polyomavirus have focused medical attention on the lesion. The resulting studies have improved our understanding of the biology of the neoplasm and contributed to clinical care. Specifically, two pathogenic subsets of the tumor have come to light, the majority due to Merkel cell polyomavirus and the minority caused by ultraviolet radiation‐induced genetic damage. This dichotomy carries prognostic implications favoring the former subset. In addition, having capitalized on the known susceptibility of the tumor to immune influences, investigators have recently discovered its responsiveness to immune checkpoint inhibition. This revelation has constituted a therapeutic milestone at the clinical level. Herein we provide an overview of the topic, outline updates in the field and place an emphasis on dermatopathologic aspects of Merkel cell carcinoma.