bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Contact patterns reveal a stable dynamic community structure with fission-fusion dynamics in wild house mice
Authors: Liechti Jonas I. , B. Qian , König Barbara , Bonhoeffer Sebastian 
Published: February 2020

AbstractLiving in groups is a widely adopted strategy in gregarious species. For group-living individuals it is crucial to be capable to integrate into a social structure. While there is an intuitive understanding that the concept of a group arises through some form of cohesion between its members, the exact definition of what constitutes a group and thus tasks like the detection of the dynamics of a group over time is a challenge. One way of measuring cohesion is through direct interactions between individuals. However, there is increasing evidence that associations between individuals can be mediated by others, and thus, that the drivers for group cohesion extend beyond direct individual interactions. We use dynamic community detection, allowing to relate individuals beyond direct contacts, both structurally and temporally, to study the social structure in a long-term study of a population of free-ranging house mice in a barn in Switzerland. During the 2-year study period, mice had unlimited access to food, and population density increased by 50%. Despite strong fluctuations in individual contact behaviour, population demography and structure embed into long-lived dynamic communities that are characterised by spatial fidelity, persist over several seasons and reproduction cycles, and considerably extend the life-span of single individuals. Within these multi-male and multi-female communities, seasonal changes strongly affect their structure, leading to fission-fusion like dynamics. We identify female-female interactions as the main driver for the longevity of these communities, a finding that contrasts with prior reports of the importance of a dominant male for the stability of a group. Moreover, males have a drastically shorter presence time in the study population and more often move between communities than females. Nevertheless, interacting with other breeding males in stable communities increases the duration of male presence and thus, potentially, reproductive success. Our analysis of contact patterns in a rodent that uses shelters to rest, hide and rear offspring emphasises the importance of female-bonded communities in the structuring of the population.
B cells expressing authentic naive human VRC01-class BCRs can be primed and recruited to germinal centers in multiple independent mouse models
Authors: Huang Deli , Abbott Robert K. , Havenar-Daughton Colin , Skog Patrick D. , Al-Kolla Rita , Groschel Bettina , Blane Tanya R. , Menis Sergey , Tran Jenny Tuyet , Thinnes Theresa C. , Volpi Sabrina A. , Pintea Mark , Voss James E , Phelps Nicole , Tingle Ryan , Rodriguez Alberto R. , Martin Greg , Kupryianov Sergey , Schief William R. , Nemazee David , Crotty Shane 
Published: February 2020

ABSTRACTAnimal models of human antigen-specific B cell receptors (BCR) generally depend on “inferred germline” sequences, and thus their relationship to authentic naive human B cell BCR sequences and affinities is unclear. Here, BCR sequences from authentic naive human VRC01-class B cells from healthy human donors were selected for the generation of three new BCR knock-in mice. The BCRs span the physiological range of affinities found in humans, and use three different light chains (VK3-20, VK1-5, and VK1-33) found among subclasses of naive human VRC01-class B cells and HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs). The germline-targeting HIV immunogen eOD-GT8 60mer is currently in clinical trial as a candidate bnAb vaccine priming immunogen. To attempt to model human immune responses to the eOD-GT8 60mer, we tested each authentic naive human VRC01-class BCR mouse model under rare human physiological B cell precursor frequency conditions. B cells with high (HuGL18HL) or medium (HuGL17HL) affinity BCRs were primed, recruited to germinal centers, accrued substantial somatic hypermutation, and formed memory B cells. Precursor frequency and affinity interdependently influenced responses. Taken together, these experiments utilizing authentic naive human VRC01-class BCRs validate a central tenet of germline-targeting vaccine design and extend the overall concept of the reverse vaccinology approach to vaccine development.
The effect of climate change on Yellow Fever disease burden in Africa
Authors: Gaythorpe Katy , Hamlet Arran , Cibrelus Laurence , Garske Tini , Ferguson Neil 
Published: February 2020

AbstractYellow Fever (YF) is an arbovirus capable of causing haemorrhagic fever which is endemic in tropical regions of Africa and South America. In recent years, it has resurged – leading to large outbreaks and expanding its endemic zone, the causes of which are unknown. In Africa, the disease is currently considered endemic in 34 countries where it is estimated to cause 78,000 deaths a year. As the mosquito vectors of YF sensitive to environmental conditions, climate change may have substantial effects on the transmission of YF. Here we present the first analysis of the potential impact of climate change on YF transmission and disease burden. We extend an existing model of YF transmission in Africa to account for rainfall and a temperature suitability index. From this, we project transmission intensity across the African endemic region in the context of four climate change scenarios (representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 2.6, 4.5, 6.0 and 8.5). We use these transmission projections to assess the change from current to future disease burden in 2050 and 2070 for each emission scenario. We find that disease burden changes heterogeneously with temperature and rainfall across the region. In RCP 2.6, we find a 93.0% [95% CI 92.7, 93.2%] chance that deaths will increase in 2050. We find that the annual expected number of deaths may increase by between 10.8% [95% CrI -2.4, 37.9%] for RCP 2.6 and 24.9% [95% CrI -2.2, 88.3%] for RCP 8.5 in 2050, with the most notable changes occurring in East and Central Africa. Changes in temperature and rainfall will affect the transmission dynamics of YF. Such a change in epidemiology will complicate future control efforts. As such, we may need to consider the effect of changing climactic variables on future intervention strategies.
Mice lacking paternal expression of imprintedGrb10are risk-takers
Authors: Dent Claire L. , Rienecker Kira D. A. , Ward Andrew , Wilkins Jon F , Humby Trevor , Isles Anthony R. 
Published: February 2020

ABSTRACTThe imprinted genesGrb10andNespinfluence impulsive behavior on a delay discounting task in an opposite manner. A recently developed theory suggests that this pattern of behavior may be representative of predicted effects of imprinted genes on tolerance to risk. Here we examine whether mice lacking paternal expression ofGrb10show abnormal behavior across a number of measures indicative of risk-taking. AlthoughGrb10+/pmice show no difference from wild type littermates in their willingness to explore a novel environment, their behavior on an explicit test of risk-taking, namely the Predator Odour Risk-Taking task, is indicative of an increased willingness to take risks. Follow-up tests suggest that this risk-taking is not simply due to a general decrease in fear, or a general increase in motivation for a food reward, but reflects a change in the trade-off between cost and reward. These data, coupled with previous work on the impulsive behaviour ofGrb10+/pmice in the delayed reinforcement task, and taken together with our work on mice lacking maternalNesp, suggest that maternally and paternally expressed imprinted genes oppositely influence risk-taking behaviour as predicted.
Physiological properties and tailored feeds to support aquaculture of marbled crayfish in closed systems
Authors: Tönges Sina , Masagounder Karthik , Gutekunst Julian , Lohbeck Jasmin , Miller Aubry K. , Böhl Florian , Lyko Frank 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) is a recently discovered freshwater crayfish species, which reproduces by apomictic parthenogenesis, resulting in a monoclonal, all-female population. The animals have become a popular source for nutritional protein in Madagascar and are increasingly being considered for commercial aquaculture. However, their potential has remained unclear and there are also significant ecological concerns about their anthropogenic distribution. We show here that the size and weight of marbled crayfish is comparable to commonly farmed freshwater crayfish. Furthermore, chemical analysis revealed a high chitin content in the marbled crayfish exoskeleton, which is a valuable source for the synthesis of chitosan and bioplastics. To allow the further evaluation of the animals in closed aquaculture systems, we developed tailored feeds that revealed an important role of methionine supplementation for animal growth. Additional analysis revealed a feed conversion rate of 1.4, which compares favorably to leading livestock for sustainable food production. Finally, we provide a concept for ecologically safe marbled crayfish aquaculture, based on key physiological characteristics that mitigate the invasive potential of the animals.
Epigenetic reprogramming towards mesenchymal-epithelial transition in ovarian cancer-associated mesenchymal stem cells drives metastasis
Authors: Fan Huihui , Atiya Huda , Wang Yeh , Pisanic Thomas R , Wang Tza-Huei , Shih Ie-Ming , Foy Kelly K , Frisbie Leonard , Chandler Chelsea , Shen Hui , Coffman Lan 
Published: February 2020

SummaryOvarian cancer develops early intra-peritoneal metastasis establishing a supportive tumor microenvironment (TME) through reprogramming normal mesenchymal stem cells into carcinoma-associated mesenchymal stem cells (CA-MSCs). CA-MSCs are the stromal stem cell of the TME, supporting cancer growth, increasing desmoplasia, angiogenesis and chemotherapy resistance. We demonstrate epigenetic reprogramming drives CA-MSC formation via enhancer-enriched DNA hypermethylation, altered chromatin accessibility and differential histone modifications inducing a partial mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) increasing adhesion to tumor cells. Direct CA-MSC:tumor cell interactions, confirmed in patient ascites, facilitate ovarian cancer metastasis through co-migration. WT1, a developmental mediator of MET, and EZH2, mediate CA-MSC epigenetic reprogramming.WT1overexpression induces CA-MSC conversion whileWT1knock-down, along with EZH2 inhibition, blocks CA-MSC formation. EZH2 inhibition subsequently decreases intra-abdominal metastasis.SignificanceThis work presents a new paradigm of stromal reprogramming involving a partial mesenchymal to epithelial transition. Rather than a classic tumor cell epithelial to mesenchymal transition, metastasis relies on epigenetic rewiring of a CA-MSC allowing enhanced tumor cell binding and co-migration with tumor cells to form metastasis. Indeed, CA-MSCs in complex with tumor cells are abundant in patient ascites. Reversion of CA-MSCs to normal MSCs is observed in patients achieving complete response with neoadjuvant therapy. Identification of WT1 and EZH2 as mediators of the epigenetic reprogramming of CA-MSCs present potential targets to block the formation of CA-MSCs thus disrupting the TME and limiting ovarian cancer metastasis.
SDip: A novel graph-based approach to haplotype-aware assembly based structural variant calling in targeted segmental duplications sequencing
Authors: Heller David , Vingron Martin , Church George , Li Heng , Garg Shilpa 
Published: February 2020

AbstractSegmental duplications are important for understanding human diseases and evolution. The challenge to distinguish allelic and duplication sequences has hindered their phased assembly as well as characterization of structural variant calls. Here we have developed a novel graph-based approach that leverages single nucleotide differences in overlapping reads to distinguish allelic and duplication sequences information from long read accurate PacBio HiFi sequencing. These differences enable to generate allelic and duplication-specific overlaps in the graph to spell out phased assembly used for structural variant calling. We have applied our method to three public genomes: CHM13, NA12878 and HG002. Our method resolved 86% of duplicated regions fully with contig N50 up to 79 kb and produced <800 structural variant phased calls, outperforming state-of-the-part SDA method in terms of all metrics. Furthermore, we demonstrate the importance of phased assemblies and variant calls to the biologically-relevant duplicated genes such as SMN1, SRGAP2C, NPY4R and FAM72A. Our phased assemblies and accurate variant calling specifically in duplicated regions will enable the study of the evolution and adaptation of various species.
Mechanical Heterogeneity in the Bone Microenvironment as Characterised by Atomic Force Microscopy
Authors: Chen X. , Hughes R. , Mullin N. , Hawkins R. J. , Holen I. , Brown N. J. , Hobbs J. K. 
Published: February 2020

ABSTRACTBones are structurally heterogeneous organs with diverse functions that undergo mechanical stimuli across multiple length scales. Mechanical characterisation of the bone microenvironment is important for understanding how bones function in health and disease. Here we describe the mechanical architecture of cortical bone, the growth plate, metaphysis and marrow in fresh murine bones, probed using atomic force microscopy in physiological buffer. Both elastic and viscoelastic properties are found to be highly heterogeneous with moduli ranging over 3 to 5 orders of magnitude, both within and across regions. All regions include extremely soft areas, with moduli of a few Pascal and viscosities as low as tens Pa⋅s. Aging impacts the viscoelasticity of the bone marrow strongly but has limited effect on the other regions studied. Our approach provides the opportunity to explore the mechanical properties of complex tissues at the length scale relevant to cellular processes and how these impact on aging and disease.SIGNIFICANCEThe mechanical properties of biological materials at cellular scale are involved in guiding cell fate. However, there is a critical gap in our knowledge of such properties in complex tissues. The physiochemical environment surrounding the cells inin-vitrostudies differs significantly from that foundin vivo. Existing mechanical characterisation of real tissues are largely limited to properties at larger scales, structurally simple (e.g.epithelial monolayers) or non-intact (e.g.through fixation) tissues. In this paper, we address this critical gap and present the micro-mechanical properties of the relatively intact bone microenvironment. The measured Young’s moduli and viscosity provide a sound guidance in bioengineering designs. The striking heterogeneity at supracellular scale reveals the potential contribution of the mechanical properties in guiding cell behaviour.
The influence of supply chain leadership and followership on organizational performance
Authors: Fontoura Pedro , Coelho Arnaldo 
Published: February 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze how supply chain leadership and supply chain followership affect a company's value. Specifically, this will take place through an analysis of transformational leadership and followership behaviors on shared value creation, in order to achieve higher performance and greater alignment of common values.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a structured questionnaire to gather data from a cross-sectional sample of 456 supply chain partners of the largest Portuguese energy supplier. Structural equation modeling is used to test the proposed hypotheses, and a multigroup analysis is conducted to find out how supplier dependence can impact the suggested relationships.FindingsFindings suggest that supply chain leadership positively impacts supply chain followership, shared value, and common values. Additionally, it was possible to observe that the influence of supply chain leadership and supply chain followership on performance occurs in an indirect way through the mediation of shared value and common values.Research limitations/implicationsThe research considers only one company's suppliers. The relationships between variables need to be explored in other practical case studies and longitudinal investigations.Originality/valueThe study provides a better understanding of the impacts and chain of effects between supply chain leadership and supply chain followership on performance, while considering the role of dependence as a moderating variable. The overall results may support the importance of truly sustainable business leadership capable of promoting shared value creation along the entire supply chain.
Conceptualizing big data practices
Authors: Lin Canchu , Kunnathur Anand S. , Li Long 
Published: February 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual understanding of Big Data practices in organizations, which will enable exploring the operational and strategic roles of Big Data in organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachBoth academic and non-academic literature studies on Big Data were reviewed so as to capture what was known about Big Data practices. Qualitative interviews were conducted with firm executives about Big Data practices in their organizations. Both literature review and interview results were analyzed based on the dynamic capabilities perspective.FindingsThe analysis of the results suggests that Big Data capability develops when the resources parts of Big Data and the skill and competency parts are integrated and then grow into a dynamic capability.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the literature with the concept of Big Data capability that best characterizes Big Data practices in organizations. Validity of this concept should be tested in empirical studies.Originality/valueThe development of the concept of Big Data capability helps to fill a gap in the research literature that theoretical understanding of big data practices is lacking or needs to be updated. It motivates practitioners to develop this capability so as to create and maintain their strategic advantage.
Improving the resolution time performance of an application support process using Six Sigma methodology
Authors: John Boby , Kadadevaramath Rajeshwar S. 
Published: February 2020

PurposeThis paper is a case study on the successful application of Six Sigma methodology in the information technology industry. The purpose of this paper is to improve the resolution time performance of an application support process.Design/methodology/approachThrough brainstorming, the potential factors influencing the resolution time are identified. From the potential factors, the important factors, namely, day-wise ticket volume, team’s software engineering skill and domain expertise are shortlisted using test of hypothesis, correlation, etc. Then a model is developed using principal component regression, linking the critical to quality characteristic with the root causes or important factors. Finally, a solution methodology is developed using the model to obtain the team composition and size with optimum software skill and domain expertise to resolve the tickets within the required time.FindingsThe implementation of the solution resulted in improving the process performance significantly. The process performance index increased from 0.00 to 1.2 and parts per million reduced from 501366.31 to 153. 33.Practical implicationsThe software engineers can use the similar approach to improve the performance of core software activities such as coding, testing and bug fixing. The approach can also be used for improving the performance of other skill-based operations such as error reduction in medical diagnostics.Originality/valueThis is one of the rare Six Sigma case studies on improving skill-based processes such as software development. The study also demonstrates the usefulness of the Six Sigma methodology for solving dynamic problems whose solution needs to be continuously adjusted with the changes in the input or process conditions.
Professionalism and professionalization of early stage teachers in higher education
Authors: Wardoyo Cipto , Herdiani Aulia , Susilowati Nurdian , Harahap Muhammad Syahril 
Published: February 2020

PurposeThe aim of the study is to test whether an increase in professionalism has a reciprocal relationship with the professionalization of early-stage lecturers.Design/methodology/approachResearch with the topic of professionalism and professionalization of educators does not consider the reciprocal relationship. Most research only test the one-way relationship between professionalism and professionalization as the consequence of the application of government policies on colleges. Analysis in this research was carried out on the perspectives of early-stage lecturers on professionalism and professionalization, each conducted reciprocally for periodtnfromtn−1.FindingsIn the initial period of the profession, lecturers will tend to work hard to increase the competence and income they possess. The achieved increase in competence is based on the demand to develop professionalism, while the increase in income is based more on the demands of individual needs. In general, an increase in the professionalism of lecturers will be followed by an increase in income (professionalization). However, at some point, this increase in professionalism will experience stagnation, although the professionalization they possess continues to increase.Research limitations/implicationsThe data of material used in this research only consist of estimated figures from each respondent, while the components of appreciation for lecturers may vary depending on their respective institutions.Originality/valuePrevious studies have extensively observed the determinants of teachers’ professionalism and professionalization; however, how professionalism and professionalization reciprocally influence each other in terms of career periods has not been taken into account.
A sector-level analysis of output club convergence in case of a global economy
Authors: Akram Vaseem , Sahoo Pradipta Kumar , Rath Badri Narayan 
Published: February 2020

PurposeThis paper investigates the per-capita output club convergence in case of 120 countries for the period 1995–2015. Further, we disaggregate per-capita output into three broad sectors such as agriculture, industry, and service and investigate the convergence hypothesis.Design/methodology/approachThe paper tests this hypothesis using the Phillips and Sul panel club convergence technique.FindingsOur findings are as follows: (1) our results indicate the evidence of output divergence for the full sample; (2) when countries are divided into different clubs, the results exhibit the sign of per capita output club convergence both for aggregate and three major sectors. Further, this study confirms that industry's per capita output is the main driver for aggregate per-capita output club convergence in case of club 1. For club 2, agriculture's per capita output is a primary source for aggregate per capita output club convergence. Likewise, in the case of clubs 3 and 4, we find the service sector's per capita output is the main component for aggregate per-capita output club convergence; (3) both the service and industry sectors are major drivers for aggregate per-capita output club convergence.Practical implicationsThis study suggests to the policymaker that sector-specific policies need to be adopted to boost the per-capita output growth by improving the performance of each of the sectors across the countries.Originality/valueNotwithstanding, there are many studies that examine the output convergence using a notion of beta and sigma convergence, but studies regarding per capita output club convergence both at the aggregate and sectoral level are scanty.