bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Characterising sensorimotor adaptation in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Authors: Vittersø Axel D. , Buckingham Gavin , Ten Brink Antonia F. , Halicka Monika , Proulx Michael J. , Bultitude Janet H. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractIt has been suggested that sensorimotor conflict contributes to the maintenance of some pathological pain conditions, implying that there are problems with the adaptation processes that normally resolve such conflict. We tested whether sensorimotor adaptation is impaired in people with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) by characterising their adaption to lateral prismatic shifts in vision. People with unilateral upper-limb CRPS Type I (n = 17), and pain-free individuals (n = 18; matched for age, sex, and handedness) completed prism adaptation with their affected/non-dominant and non-affected/dominant arms. We examined 1) the rate at which participants compensated for the optical shift during prism exposure (i.e. strategic recalibration), 2) endpoint errors made directly after prism adaptation (sensorimotor realignment) and the retention of these errors, and 3) kinematic markers associated with strategic control. Direct comparisons between people with CRPS and controls revealed no evidence of any differences in strategic recalibration, including no evidence for differences in a kinematic marker associated with trial-by-trial changes in movement plans during prism exposure. All participants made significant endpoint errors after prism adaptation exposure, indicative of sensorimotor realignment. Overall, the magnitude of this realignment did not differ between people with CRPS and pain-free controls. However, when endpoint errors were considered separately for each hand, people with CRPS madegreatererrors (indicating more rather than less realignment) when using their affected hand than their non-affected hand. No such difference was seen in controls. Taken together, these findings provide no evidence of impaired strategic control or sensorimotor realignment in people with CRPS. In contrast, they provide some indication that there could be a greater propensity for sensorimotor realignment in the CRPS-affected arm, consistent with more flexible representations of the body and peripersonal space. Our study challenges an implicit assumption of the theory that sensorimotor conflict might underlie some pathological pain conditions.
Production of multiple bacteriocins, including the novel bacteriocin gassericin M, byLactobacillus gasseriLM19, a strain isolated from human milk
Authors: Garcia-Gutierrez Enriqueta , O’Connor Paula M. , Colquhoun Ian J. , Vior Natalia M. , Rodríguez Juan Miguel , Mayer Melinda J. , Cotter Paul D. , Narbad Arjan 
Published: November 2019

AbstractBacteriocins are antimicrobial peptides produced by bacteria and their production by health-promoting microbes is regarded as a desirable probiotic trait. We found thatLactobacillus gasseriLM19, a strain isolated from human milk, exhibits antagonistic activity against different enteropathogens and produces several bacteriocins, including a novel bacteriocin, gassericin M. These bacteriocins were purified from culture and synthesised to investigate their activity and potential synergy.L. gasseriLM19 was tested in a complex environment mimicking human colon conditions where it not only survived but expressed the seven bacteriocin genes and produced short chain fatty acids. Metagenomic analysis of thesein vitrocolon cultures showed that co-inoculation ofL. gasseriLM19 withClostridium perfringensgave profiles with more similarity to controls than to vessels inoculated withC. perfringensalone. This makesL. gasseriLM19 an interesting candidate for further study for maintaining homeostasis in the gut environment.
Stimulus reliability automatically biases temporal integration of discrete perceptual targets
Authors: Rangelov Dragan , West Rebecca , Mattingley Jason B. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractMany decisions, from crossing a busy street to choosing a profession, require integration of discrete sensory events. Previous studies have shown that integrative decision-making favours more reliable stimuli, mimicking statistically optimal integration. It remains unclear, however, whether reliability biases are automatic or strategic. To address this issue, we asked observers to reproduce the average motion direction of two suprathreshold coherent motion signals, presented successively and varying in reliability. Although unbiased responses were both optimal and possible by virtue of task rules and suprathreshold motion coherence, we found robust behavioural biases favouring the more reliable stimulus. Using population-tuning modelling of brain activity recorded using electroencephalography, we characterised tuning to the average motion direction. In keeping with the behavioural biases, the tuning profiles also exhibited reliability biases. Taken together, our findings reveal that temporal integration of discrete sensory events is automatically and sub-optimally weighted according to stimulus reliability.
Bayesian estimation of Lassa virus epidemiological parameters: implications for spillover prevention using wildlife vaccination
Authors: Nuismer Scott L. , Remien Christopher H. , Basinski Andrew , Varrelman Tanner , Layman Nathan , Rosenke Kyle , Bird Brian , Jarvis Michael , Barry Peter , Fichet-Calvet Elisabeth 
Published: November 2019

AbstractLassa virus is a significant burden on human health throughout its endemic region in West Africa, with most human infections the result of spillover from the primary rodent reservoir of the virus, the natal multimammate mouse,M. natalensis. Here we develop a Bayesian methodology for estimating epidemiological parameters of Lassa virus within its rodent reservoir and for generating probabilistic predictions for the efficacy of rodent vaccination programs. Our approach uses Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) to integrate mechanistic mathematical models, remotely-sensed precipitation data, and Lassa virus surveillance data from rodent populations. Using simulated data, we show that our method accurately estimates key model parameters, even when surveillance data are available from only a relatively small number of points in space and time. Applying our method to previously published data from two villages in Guinea estimates the time-averagedR0of Lassa virus to be 1.658 and 1.453 for rodent populations in the villages of Bantou and Tanganya, respectively. Using the posterior distribution for model parameters derived from these Guinean populations, we evaluate the likely efficacy of vaccination programs relying on distribution of vaccine-laced baits. Our results demonstrate that effective and durable reductions in the risk of Lassa virus spillover into the human population will require repeated distribution of large quantities of vaccine.Author SummaryLassa virus is a chronic source of illness throughout West Africa, and is considered to be a threat for widespread emergence. Because most human infections result from contact with infected rodents, interventions that reduce the number of rodents infected with Lassa virus represent promising opportunities for reducing the public health burden of this disease. Evaluating how well alternative interventions are likely to perform is complicated by our relatively poor understanding of viral epidemiology within the reservoir population. Here we develop a novel statistical approach that couples mathematical models and viral surveillance data from rodent populations to robustly estimate key epidemiological parameters. Applying our method to existing data from Guinea yields well-resolved parameter estimates and allows us to simulate a variety of rodent vaccination programs. Together, our results demonstrate that rodent vaccination alone is unlikely to be an effective tool for reducing that public health burden of Lassa fever within West Africa.
HLA class II polymorphism influences the immune response to protective antigen and susceptibility to Bacillus anthracis
Authors: Ascough Stephanie , Ingram Rebecca J. , Chu Karen K. Y. , Moore Stephen J. , Gallagher Theresa , Dyson Hugh , Doganay Mehmet , Metan Gökhan , Ozkul Yusuf , Baillie Les , Williamson E. Diane , Robinson John H. , Maillere Bernard , Boyton Rosemary J. , Altmann Daniel M. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe causative agent of anthrax, Bacillus anthracis, evades the host immune response and establishes infection through the production of binary exotoxins composed of Protective Antigen (PA) and one of two subunits, lethal factor (LF) or edema factor (EF). The majority of vaccination strategies have focused upon the antibody response to the PA subunit. We have used a panel of humanised HLA class II transgenic mouse strains to define HLA-DR-restricted and HLA-DQ-restricted CD4+ T cell responses to the immunodominant epitopes of PA. This was correlated with the binding affinities of epitopes to HLA class II molecules, as well as the responses of two human cohorts: individuals vaccinated with the Anthrax Vaccine Precipitated (AVP) vaccine (which contains PA and trace amounts of LF), and patients recovering from cutaneous anthrax infections. The infected and vaccinated cohorts expressing different HLA types were found to make CD4+ T cell responses to multiple and diverse epitopes of PA. The effects of HLA polymorphism were explored using transgenic mouse lines, which demonstrated differential susceptibility, indicating that HLA-DR1 and HLA-DQ8 alleles conferred protective immunity relative to HLA-DR15, HLA-DR4 and HLA-DQ6. The HLA transgenics enabled a reductionist approach, allowing us to better define CD4+ T cell epitopes. Appreciating the effects of HLA polymorphism on the variability of responses to natural infection and vaccination will be vital in planning protective strategies against anthrax.Author SummaryThe bacterium responsible for causing the disease anthrax, Bacillus anthracis, produces a binary toxin composed of Protective Antigen (PA) and either Lethal Factor (LF) or Edema Factor (EF). Previous vaccination strategies have focused upon the antibody response to the PA subunit. However, within the field of bacterial immunity, there is a growing appreciation of the importance of the adaptive immune response, specifically led by CD4+ T cells. We identified long-term CD4+ T cell responses to PA epitopes following cutaneous human anthrax infection and vaccination, indicating that this toxin component is a principle B. anthracis antigen. To characterise the impact of polymorphism in HLA class II alleles at DR and DQ loci, we used transgenic mice to map the immunodominant epitopes from PA. This was correlated with survival in the transgenic lines following live anthrax challenge. We were able to demonstrate the differential impact of HLA class II alleles upon the CD4+ T cell immunodominant epitopes which shaped the immune hierarchy and therefore susceptibility to anthrax infection.
Disruption of relapse to alcohol seeking by aversive counterconditioning following memory retrieval
Authors: Goltseker Koral , Handrus Hen , Barak Segev 
Published: November 2019

AbstractRelapse to alcohol abuse is often caused by exposure to potent alcohol-associated cues. Therefore, disruption of the cue-alcohol memory can prevent relapse. It is believed that memories destabilize and become prone for updating upon their reactivation through retrieval, and then re-stabilize within 6 h during a “reconsolidation” process. We recently showed that relapse to cocaine seeking could be prevented by counterconditioning the cocaine-cues with aversive outcomes following cocaine-memory retrieval, in a place conditioning paradigm. However, to better model addiction-related behaviors, self-administration models are necessary. Here, we demonstrate that relapse to alcohol seeking can be prevented by aversive counterconditioning conducted during alcohol-memory reconsolidation, in conditioned place preference (CPP) and operant self-administration paradigms, in mice and rats, respectively. We found that the reinstatement of alcohol-CPP was abolished only when aversive counterconditioning with water-flooding was given shortly after alcohol-memory retrieval. Furthermore, rats trained to lever-press for alcohol showed decreased context-induced renewal of alcohol-seeking responding when the lever-pressing was counterconditioned with foot-shocks, shortly, but not 6 h, after memory retrieval. These results 0suggest that aversive counterconditioning can prevent relapse to alcohol seeking only when performed during alcohol-memory reconsolidation, presumably by updating, or replacing, the alcohol memory with aversive information. Also, we found that aversive counterconditioning preceded by alcohol-memory retrieval was characterized by upregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) mRNA expression in the medial prefrontal cortex, suggesting that Bdnf plays a role in the memory updating process.
Comparative analysis of microbial diversity across temperature gradients in hot springs from Yellowstone and Iceland
Authors: Podar Peter T. , Yang Zamin , Björnsdóttir Snædís H. , Podar Mircea 
Published: November 2019

AbstractGeothermal hot springs are a natural setting to study microbial adaptation to a wide range of temperatures reaching up to boiling. Temperature gradients lead to distinct microbial communities that inhabit their optimum niches. We sampled three distant but chemically similar hot springs in Yellowstone and Iceland that had outflows and presented a wide range of temperatures. The microbial composition at different niches was determined by deep DNA sequencing of rRNA gene amplicons. Over three dozen phyla of Archaea and Bacteria were identified, representing over 1700 unique organisms. We observed a significant reduction in the number of microbial taxa as the temperature increased from warm (38°C) to boiling. The community structure was primarily driven by temperature and, at high taxonomic levels, was similar between Yellowstone and Iceland, suggesting that the environment rather than biogeographic location play the largest role in the microbial ecology of hot springs. We observed significant endemism at genus level, especially in thermophilic phototrophs, potentially driven by distinct environmental conditions and dispersal limitations.
Growth Cone-Localized Microtubule Organizing Center Establishes Microtubule Orientation in Dendrites
Authors: Liang Xing , Kokes Marcela , Fetter Richard , Pickett Melissa A. , Sallee Maria D. , Moore Adrian W. , Feldman Jessica , Shen Kang 
Published: November 2019

AbstractA polarized arrangement of neuronal microtubule arrays is the foundation of membrane trafficking and subcellular compartmentalization. Conserved among both invertebrates and vertebrates, axons contain exclusively “plus-end-out” microtubules while dendrites contain a high percentage of “minus-end-out” microtubules, the origins of which have been a mystery. Here we show that the dendritic growth cone contains a non-centrosomal microtubule organizing center (ncMTOC), which generates minus-end-out microtubules along outgrowing dendrites and plus-end-out microtubules in the growth cone. RAB-11-positive recycling endosomes accumulate in this region and are responsible for localizing the microtubule nucleation complex γ-TuRC. The MTOC tracks the extending growth cone by kinesin-1/UNC-116-mediated endosome movements on distal plus-end-out microtubules and dynein-mediated endosome clustering near MTOC. Critically, perturbation of the function or localization of the MTOC causes reversed microtubule polarity in dendrites. These findings unveil the dendritic MTOC as a critical organelle for establishing axon-dendrite polarity.
Effects of CSR initiatives on company perceptions among Millennial and Gen Z consumers
Authors: Kim Seoyeon , Austin Lucinda 
Published: November 2019

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine Millennial consumers’ responses to two corporate social initiative types – socially responsible business practices and corporate philanthropy – in combination with proactive and reactive CSR communication strategies.Design/methodology/approachA 2 (corporate philanthropy/socially responsible business practices) ×2 (proactive/reactive CSR communication) between-subjects experiment was conducted.FindingsThe socially responsible business practices were largely perceived more positively than the philanthropic initiatives. Likewise, greater public-serving motives were attributed to the socially responsible business practices compared to the philanthropy. While philanthropic initiatives were perceived more negatively when communicated reactively, there were no significant differences between proactive and reactive socially responsible business practices.Originality/valueAs an attempt to initiate the comparative examination of the effects of different corporate social initiative types, this study suggests outperformance of the socially responsible business practices type of corporate social initiatives over the resources-giving (i.e. philanthropy) type of initiatives even in the reactive communication setting where reputational threat resides.
Implications of the paracrises on the companies’ stock prices
Authors: Selaković Marko , Ljepava Nikolina , Mateev Miroslav 
Published: November 2019

Purpose
The concept of social media crisis has been consequently replaced by the term “paracrisis”. However, the economic implications of the paracrises have not been thoroughly researched by now. The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential influence of paracrisis on companies’ stock price values.

Design/methodology/approach
Secondary data analysis has been conducted to identify paracrises for the publicly listed companies and verify that there were no other market events that could affect the stock price during the observed period. Quantitative data analysis has been conducted using the event study, observing stock price values before and during the paracrisis, and the relationship between stock price oscillations and S&P 500 trends was tested.

Findings
There were no significant differences in stock price values before and during the paracrisis. Additionally, a strong correlation between S&P 500 and stock price trends has been found. Findings indicate that paracrises do not significantly impact the stock price behaviour and they should be considered as an irrelevant market event from the stock price point of view.

Originality/value
This study is the first research that examines the stock price paracrisis interdependence.
Intermediate imports and innovation performance: do family firms benefit more?
Authors: Ramírez-Alesón Marisa , Fernández-Olmos Marta 
Published: November 2019

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of imported intermediate inputs on innovation performance, differentiating among types of innovation output (product and process innovation) and considering both family and non-family firms in the Spanish context.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses an unbalanced panel of 1963 firms in the Spanish manufacturing sector (13,155 observations; 2006–2016) that can be identified as family or non-family firms. The authors apply a recently developed methodology (conditional mixed process model) that takes into account the possible relationships among the dependent variables to a panel bivariate probit model with robust standard errors.FindingsImporting intermediate inputs is an important source of process innovation for all firms, but not of product innovations. Significant differences were found between family and non-family firms in favor of the family type.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper breaks down the family state into two categories (belonging to a family group or not) because the database does not contain information regarding the percentage of family ownership or the number of family members in the management structure. Moreover, the research is context specific.Practical implicationsThese results will be useful for firms that are considering the value of importing intermediate inputs as a strategy to improve their process innovations, particularly for family firms.Social implicationsFamily firms are more successful in the utilization of imported intermediate inputs to achieve greater innovation performance. If family firms are more competent in leveraging their intermediate input imports in innovation performance, it should contribute to increasing business performance.Originality/valueThe research on imports takes into account the different impacts of intermediate imports depending on innovation performance (product innovation vs process innovation) and the nature of the firm (family firms vs non-family firms).
Examining consumers’ usage intention of contactless payment systems
Authors: Karjaluoto Heikki , Shaikh Aijaz A. , Leppäniemi Matti , Luomala Roope 
Published: November 2019

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a conceptual model that combines the modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) with a consumer brand engagement (CBE) model to predict consumers’ usage intentions toward contactless payment systems in a developed country.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors cooperated with a contactless payment service provider in Finland and reached out to 22,000 customers, resulting in 1,165 usable responses. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Findings
The study shows that the UTAUT2 and the CBE model together explain approximately 70 percent of the variance in usage intention. Of the predictors, habit and consumers’ overall satisfaction have the strongest influence on usage intentions. The model also confirms the positive relationship between intention and use.

Practical implications
Understanding the reasons for both the intention to use and the continued use of contactless payments is important for merchants, banks and other service providers. This study shows which technology adoption factors drive both the intention and the use of contactless payments. The finding that intention is mainly driven by habit and overall satisfaction and not by hedonic reasons indicates that such behaviors are difficult to change.

Originality/value
This study is among the first to examine contactless payment usage in a developed market, where over half of all point-of-sale transactions are executed using contactless payment cards and/or cell phones.
Gendered labour process
Authors: Reddy Raghunandan , Sharma Arun Kumar , Jha Munmun 
Published: November 2019

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine perspective of “gendered labour process” to explore the aspectsof managerialism, which utilize gender as a control measure to achieve its ends. The paper seeks to integrate gender and labour process theory and contribute to studies on gendering of organizations that focus on organization logic as well as integrated studies of labour process theory and gender.Design/methodology/approachThe paper utilizes thematic analysis as the method for analysing the interviews of senior managers in an information technology service organization in India, to identify managerial ideologies and practices.FindingsA gendered labour process perspective could reveal the institutional orders that systemically discriminate or exclude women in organizations, rather than gender ideologies alone.Practical implicationsRather than focussing on gender sensitization alone, as is the case with the gender diversity initiatives, it may be fruitful to revisit work design and work organization, to identify and implement changes, so that women’s marginalization and exclusion from certain workplaces could be minimized.Social implicationsA view of gendered labour process could aid public policies aimed at enabling women to continue their employment without disruptions.Originality/valueThe paper attempted to integrate gender and labour process theory by delineating the organization logic that deploys gender as a means of managerial control.