bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Modeling disease-correlated TUBA1A mutation in budding yeast reveals a molecular basis for tubulin dysfunction
Authors: Denarier E. , Ecklund K.H. , Berthier G. , Favier A. , Gory S. , Macedo L. De , Delphin C. , Andrieux A. , Markus S.M. , Boscheron C. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractMalformations of cortical development (MCD) of the human brain are a likely consequence of defective neuronal migration, and/or proliferation of neuronal progenitor cells, both of which are dictated in part by microtubule-dependent transport of various cargoes, including the mitotic spindle. Throughout the evolutionary spectrum, proper spindle positioning depends on cortically anchored dynein motors that exert forces on astral microtubules emanating from spindle poles. A single heterozygous amino acid change, G436R, in the conserved TUBA1A α-tubulin gene was reported to account for MCD in patients. The mechanism by which this mutation disrupts microtubule function in the developing cerebral cortex is not understood. Studying the consequence of tubulin mutations in mammalian cells is challenging partly because of the large number of α-tubulin isotypes expressed. To overcome this challenge, we have generated a budding yeast strain expressing the mutated tubulin (Tub1G437Rin yeast) as one of the main sources of α-tubulin (in addition to Tub3, another α-tubulin isotype in this organism). Although viability of the yeast was unimpaired by this mutation, they became reliant on Tub3, as was apparent by the synthetic lethality of this mutant in combination withtub3Δ. We find that Tub1G437Rassembles into microtubules that support normal G1 activity, but lead to enhanced dynein-dependent nuclear migration phenotypes during G2/M, and a consequential disruption of spindle positioning. We find that this mutation impairs the interaction between She1 – a negative regulator of dynein – and microtubules, as was apparent from a yeast two-hybrid assay, a co-sedimentation assay, and from live cell imaging. We conclude that a weaker interaction between She1 and Tub1G437R-containing microtubules results in enhanced dynein activity, ultimately leading to the spindle positioning defect. Our results provide the first evidence of an impaired interaction between microtubules and a dynein regulator as a consequence of a tubulin mutation, and sheds light on a mechanism that may be causative of neurodevelopmental diseases.
Proteomic fingerprint identification of Neotropical hard tick species (Acari: Ixodidae) using a self-curated mass spectra reference library
Authors: Gittens Rolando A. , Almanza Alejandro , Álvarez Eric , Bennett Kelly L. , Mejía Luis C. , Sanchez-Galan Javier E. , Merchan Fernando , Kern Jonathan , Miller Matthew J. , Esser Helen J. , Hwang Robert , Dong May , De León Luis F. , Loaiza Jose R. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractMatrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry is an analytical method that detects macromolecules that can be used as biomarkers for taxonomic identification in arthropods. The conventional MALDI approach uses fresh laboratory-reared arthropod specimens to build a reference mass spectra library with high-quality standards required to achieve reliable identification. However, this may not be possible to accomplish in some arthropod groups that are difficult to rear under laboratory conditions, or for which only alcohol preserved samples are available. Here, we generated MALDI mass spectra of highly abundant proteins from the legs of 18 Neotropical species of adult field-collected hard ticks, several of which had not been analyzed by mass spectrometry before. We then used their mass spectra as fingerprints to identify each tick species by applying machine learning and pattern recognition algorithms that combined unsupervised and supervised clustering approaches. Both principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classification algorithms were able to identify spectra from different tick species, with LDA achieving the best performance when applied to field-collected specimens that did have an existing entry in a reference library of arthropod protein spectra. These findings contribute to the growing literature that ascertains mass spectrometry as a rapid and effective method for taxonomic identification of disease vectors, which is the first step to predict and manage arthropod-borne pathogens.Author SummaryHard ticks (Ixodidae) are external parasites that feed on the blood of almost every species of terrestrial vertebrate on earth, including humans. Due to a complete dependency on blood, both sexes and even immature stages, are capable of transmitting disease agents to their hosts, causing distress and sometimes death. Despite the public health significance of ixodid ticks, accurate species identification remains problematic. Vector species identification is core to developing effective vector control schemes. Herein, we provide the first report of MALDI identification of several species of field-collected Neotropical tick specimens preserved in ethanol for up to four years. Our methodology shows that identification does not depend on a commercial reference library of lab-reared samples, but with the help of machine learning it can rely on a self-curated reference library. In addition, our approach offers greater accuracy and lower cost per sample than conventional and modern identification approaches such as morphology and molecular barcoding.
Effects of salvianolic acid A on β-amyloid mediated toxicity inCaenorhabditis elegansmodel of Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Yuen Chee Wah , Halim Mardani Abdul , Najimudin Nazalan , Azzam Ghows 
Published: April 2020

AbstractAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a brain disease attributed to the accumulation of extracellular senile plaques comprising β-amyloid peptide (Aβ). In this study, a transgenicCaenorhabditis eleganscontaining the human beta amyloid Aβ42gene which exhibited paralysis when expressed, was used to study the anti-paralysis effect of salvianolic acid A. Various concentrations ranging from 1 μg/ml to 100 μg/ml of salvianolic acid A were tested and exhibited the highest effect on the worm at the concentration of 100 μg/ml. For anti-aggregation effect, 14 μg/ml salvianolic acid A (within 4 mg/ml of Danshen) showed a significant level of inhibition of the formation of Aβ fibrils. An amount of 100 μg/ml of salvianolic acid A had the potential in reducing the ROS but did not totally obliterate the ROS production in the worms. Salvianolic acid A was found to delay the paralysis of the transgenicC. elegans, decrease Aβ42aggregation and decreased Aβ-induced oxidative stress.
Transcriptional analysis of nitrogen fixation inPaenibacillus durusduring growth in nitrogen-enriched medium
Authors: Halim Mardani Abdul , Choo Quok-Cheong , Ghazali Amir Hamzah Ahmad , Wajidi Mustafa Fadzil Farid , Najimudin Nazalan 
Published: April 2020

AbstractPaenibacillus durusstrain ATCC 35681Tis a Gram-positive diazotroph that displayed capability of fixing nitrogen even in the presence of nitrate or ammonium. However, the nitrogen fixation activity was detected only at day 1 of growth when cultured in liquid nitrogen-enriched medium. The transcripts of all thenifHhomologues were present throughout the 9-day study. When grown in nitrogen-deficient medium, nitrogenase activities occurred from day 1 until day 6 and thenifHtranscripts were also present during the course of the study albeit at different levels. In both studies, the absence of nitrogen fixation activity regardless of the presence of thenifHtranscripts raised the possibility of a post-transcriptional or post-translational regulation of the system. A putative SigA box sequence was found upstream of the transcription start site ofnifB1, the first gene in the major nitrogen fixation cluster. The upstream region ofnifB2showed a promoter recognisable by SigE, a sigma factor normally involved in sporulation.Significance and Impact of the StudyPaenibacillus durusstrain ATCC 35681Tis a nitrogen fixing Gram positive bacterium with an unconventional physiological characteristic of being able to fix nitrogen even in the presence of either nitrate or ammonium. It has a total of 6nifHhomologues in its genome. In this study, we analysed the transcriptional levels of thenifHhomologues when grown under nitrogen-enriched and nitrogen-depleted medium. Under nitrogen-enriched condition, the nitrogen fixation activity was detected only at day 1 of growth but the transcripts of all thenifHhomologues were detected during the course of the study from day 1 until day 9. In nitrogen-deficient condition, nitrogen fixation activities were recorded from day 1 until day 6 and thenifHtranscripts were present throughout the study. The absence of nitrogen fixation activity even in the presence of thenifHtranscripts raised the possibility of a post-transcriptional or post-translational regulation of the system.
Tissue-resident CD8+T cells drive age-associated chronic lung sequelae following viral pneumonia
Authors: Goplen Nick P. , Wu Yue , Son Youngmin , Li Chaofan , Wang Zheng , Cheon In Su , Jiang Li , Zhu Bibo , Ayasoufi Katayoun , Chini Eduardo N. , Johnson Aaron J. , Vassallo Robert , Limper Andrew H. , Zhang Nu , Sun Jie 
Published: April 2020

AbstractLower respiratory viral infections, such as influenza virus and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) infections, often cause severe viral pneumonia in aged individuals. Here, we report that influenza viral pneumonia leads to chronic non-resolving lung pathology and exaggerated accumulation of CD8+tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM) in the respiratory tract of aged hosts. TRMaccumulation relies on elevated TGF-β present in aged tissues. Further, we show that TRMisolated from aged lungs lack a subpopulation characterized by expression of molecules involved in TCR signaling and effector function. Consequently, TRMcells from aged lungs were insufficient to provide heterologous protective immunity. Strikingly, the depletion of CD8+TRMcells dampens persistent chronic lung inflammation and ameliorates tissue fibrosis in aged, but not young, animals. Collectively, our data demonstrate that age-associated TRMcell malfunction supports chronic lung inflammatory and fibrotic sequelae following viral pneumonia in aged hosts.
Using single-cell entropy to describe the dynamics of reprogramming and differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells
Authors: Ye Yusong , Yang Zhuoqin , Zhu Meixia , Lei Jinzhi 
Published: April 2020

AbstractInduced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provide a great model to study the process of stem cell reprogramming and differentiation. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) enables us to investigate the reprogramming process at single-cell level. Here, we introduce single-cell entropy (scEntropy) as a macroscopic variable to quantify the cellular transcriptome from scRNA-seq data during reprogramming and differentiation of iPSCs. scEntropy measures the relative order parameter of genomic transcriptions at single cell level during the process of cell fate changes, which show increase tendency during differentiation, and decrease upon reprogramming. Hence, scEntropy provides an intrinsic measurement of the cell state, and can be served as a pseudo-time of the stem cell differentiation process. Moreover, based on the evolutionary dynamics of scEntropy, we construct a phenomenological Fokker-Planck equation model and the corresponding stochastic differential equation for the process of cell state transitions during pluripotent stem cell differentiation. These equations provide further insights to infer the processes of cell fates changes and stem cell differentiation. This study is the first to introduce the novel concept of scEntropy to quantify the biological process of iPSC, and suggests that the scEntropy can provide a suitable macroscopic variable for single cells to describe cell fate transition during differentiation and reprogramming of stem cells.
A novel dual antibody staining assay to measure estrogen receptor transcriptional activity
Authors: van Hemert Freek , Dam-de Veen Christa , Konings Sil , van der Ven John , van de Stolpe Anja 
Published: April 2020

AbstractActivity of the canonical estrogen receptor (ER) pathway is equivalent to functional activity of the nuclear ER transcription factor. To assess transcriptional activity of ER, for biomedical research and diagnostic purposes ER monoclonal antibodies are routinely used to identify nuclear ER staining in cells and tissue samples, however it remained unclear whether this is sufficiently predictive for transcriptional activity of ER, and thus for ER pathway activity. Using ER positive breast cancer cell lines (MCF7 and T47D) in which the transcriptional activity status of ER was quantified using an mRNA based ER pathway activity assay, the relation between ER activity and nuclear ER staining with ER monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) was investigated. While the presence of ER in the cell nucleus is a prerequisite for ER activity, it was not predictive for ER transcriptional activity, confirming earlier findings. There were remarkable differences in behaviour of the used MoAbs: EP1 and 1D5 MoAbs showed reduced nuclear staining when ER was transcriptionally active, while staining with H4624 MoAb was independent of ER activity. To improve discrimination between active and inactive nuclear ER based on ER staining, a method was developed which consists of dual ER MoAb immunofluorescent staining, followed by generation of a digital image with a standard digital pathology scanner, and application of a cell nucleus detection algorithm andper cellcalculation of the nuclear H4624/EP1 fluorescence intensity ratio, where a high H4624/EP1 ratio predicts an active ER. In this method the EP1 MoAb can in principle be replaced by the 1D5 MoAb. We hypothesize that the EP1 and 1D5 monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) recognize an ER epitope which becomes hidden upon transcriptional activation of ER, while the H4624 MoAb binds an ER epitope which remains accessible when ER is activated. The method is expected to be of value to better assess ER activity by means of staining.
The impact of body surface convex angle on dressed waist ease
Authors: Ying Xin , Liu Zheng , Chen Guang , Zou Fengyuan 
Published: April 2020

PurposeThe comfort and fit of clothes are affected by fabric properties, dressed ease and environmental conditions, in which dressed ease is influenced by the interaction among complex shapes of human body, style design and fabric mechanical properties.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the dressed ease distribution at waist section, which is related to body surface convex angle, was investigated using 3D scanning. A series of surface convex angles on bust and back were formed after adjusting the mannequin. The mannequin was scanned by TC2 separately in garments with eight different ease allowances. Then the dressed ease distributions at waist under different convex angles of body surface have been acquired by calculating the distance between waist points and dressed surfaces along normal directions.FindingsThe results showed that the body surface convex angle was weakly related to the dressed ease when the garments’ bust ease allowance was below 4 cm. When the garments’ bust ease allowance was within 6–12 cm, the body convex angle had a great impact on the dressed waist ease distribution in the condition of 26º–33º bust convex angle and 13.96º–17.96º back slope angle. For slack garments with more than 16 cm ease allowance, the dressed waist ease distribution did not relate to the bust convex angle, while it strongly related to the bust convex angle between 13.96º and 17.96º. The regression model was statistically significant between the dressed ease value and the body surface convex angle.Originality/valueAccording to the dressed waist ease distribution of different body surface convex angles, this paper gives an application of pattern modification in order to optimize the waist fit. The results can provide guidance for the optimization of different body shapes. At the same time, the application of gap data to 3D virtual fitting can greatly improve the authenticity of virtual simulation effect.
Antecedents to supply chain innovation
Authors: Karaman Kabadurmus Fatma Nur 
Published: April 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine organizational and environmental (competition, capital scarcity and organization of labor) factors that affect firms' innovation activities within the supply chain.Design/methodology/approachThis study empirically examines the factors that affect firms' innovation activities using firm-level data from the last round of Business Environment Enterprise Performance Surveys (BEEPS). The analysis covers major supply chain functions: production, delivery and support systems.FindingsThe study shows that drivers of innovation vary with the type of innovation activity; as such, innovation efforts across supply chain functions should prioritize strategic resources that will create competitive advantages. Our results also reveal that sustainability efforts in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region should prioritize labor market reforms over capital market reforms.Originality/valueCurrent research on innovation and supply chain issues does not explicitly analyze innovations that occur in different sustainable supply chain functions, and empirical studies that focus on the determinants of innovations in the supply chain network are very limited. The data used in this study cover 30 economies in EECA, many of which are low- and middle-income countries, and thus contribute to the implementation of sustainable practices in developing countries.
Creative accounting a tool for financial crime: a review of the techniques and its effects
Authors: Gupta Chander Mohan , Kumar Devesh 
Published: April 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the concept and procedure of creative accounting as how is it worked around and how it can lead to financial crimes. The procedure which are followed and which are the people who are involved and who are the victims of such crimes. The methods which are used to perform the action and how is it done. What are the findings of different researchers who have studied the same concept and how can it be curbed is the main purpose of the paper.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is designed to find out the working of accounting policies and how the loopholes in the same can actually be taken into account, resulting in a certain number games which can be played around it, and to get the desired outcome in the preparation of financial statements.FindingsCreative accounting, though legal and acceptable around the world, gives in the way to loopholes provided by the acts and rules governing the preparation of financial statements and eventually leading to financial crimes and hampering the economy as a whole.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of this study remain to the fact that it is an empirical study, as a lot of papers and articles were studied before giving it a shape and reaching a conclusion.Practical implicationsCreative accounting though not illegal but the excess use of the same has given daunting effects on the financial statements and as a result have resulted into financial frauds and looting of peoples money throughout the world.Social implicationsHard-earned money of the investors is looted and no action can be taken against as the mechanism and the legal bodies are still struggling to curb the problem, and thus it is very important to learn about creative accounting.Originality/valueThis study leads to the understanding of the growth of creative accounting and how it has resulted in accounting frauds leading to financial crimes in an economy.
Operationalizing the antecedents and outcomes of union participation in the Indian context
Authors: Chawla Ginni , Singh Tripti , Singh Rupali 
Published: April 2020

PurposeUnions and organizations interests are often seen to be in competition. However, union-voice hypothesis suggests that unions can provide a distinctive mechanism to lower organizational costs by reducing exit behavior, absence from work and conflict levels at work. This study aims to look at union participation as a form of voice which is affected by a number of antecedents and in turn has an effect upon the workers performance (i.e. worker behavior effectiveness [WBE]) in an organization.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws on data from 340 permanent labors working in 19 manufacturing units across different regions of India to explore both the antecedents and outcomes of union participation. Hypotheses are tested using mediation analysis.FindingsResults indicate statistically significant relationships between union participation, its antecedents and WBE, with union participation partially influencing the relationship between the constructs.Originality/valueUniqueness of the study lies in its findings which report positive relationship among union participation, its antecedents and behavior effectiveness. Contrary to the traditional belief that unions are detrimental to the health of any organization, the study suggests that workers decision to join and participate in unions should be viewed positively because only if a person is willing to stay with the organization, he/she seeks to resolve the issues/problems through collective mechanism of union participation and which in turn leads to enhanced performance, reduced absenteeism at the workplace.
What’s in a name? Scent brand names, olfactory imagery, and purchase intention
Authors: Meng Hua (Meg) , Zamudio César , Jewell Robert D. 
Published: April 2020

Purpose
This paper aims to examine how olfactory imagery, triggered by scent brand names prior to smelling, influences scented-product purchase intention.

Design/methodology/approach
Five studies were conducted. Logistic regression analysis was used to predict likelihood of olfactory imagery formation. ANOVA and t-test analyses were used for scent brand name group comparisons, and serial mediation analysis was used to test how scent brand names impact purchase intention through olfactory imagery vividness and the (dis)confirmation between imagined (i.e. expected) and experienced scents.

Findings
Scent name familiarity stimulates olfactory imagery formation. Scent brand name specificity (e.g. “Lavender Bouquet” vs. “Floral Bouquet”) influences purchase intention, with specific names leading to lower purchase intention, because they generate vivid olfactory imagery and induce a disconfirmation between imagined and experienced scents.

Practical implications
Branding scents on products should be a strategic product design decision. Surprisingly, although specific scent brand names trigger vivid olfactory imagery and precise scent expectations, they mitigate purchase intention and thus are riskier. General scent brand names are safer.

Originality/value
This research contributes by extending the literature on the effect of verbal cues on scent perception by considering the role of scent brand name specificity on purchase intent. It also adds to work on how olfactory imagery influences purchase intention by incorporating olfactory imagery vividness. Finally, it proposes and tests an underlying cognitive mechanism to explain the relationship between scent brand names and purchase intention.