bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
B cells engineered to express an anti-HIV antibody allow memory retention, class switch recombination and clonal selection in mice
Authors: Nahmad Alessio D. , Raviv Yuval , Horovitz-Fried Miriam , Sofer Ilan , Akriv Tal , Nataf Daniel , Dotan Iris , Burstein David , Wine Yariv , Benhar Itai , Barzel Adi 
Published: March 2020

AbstractHIV viremia can be controlled by chronic antiretroviral therapy. As a potentially single-shot alternative, B cells engineered by CRISPR/Cas9 to express anti-HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) were shown capable of secreting high antibody titers. Here, we demonstrate that, upon immunization of mice, adoptively transferred engineered B cells home to germinal centers (GC) where they predominate over the endogenous response and differentiate into memory and plasma cells while undergoing class switch recombination (CSR). Immunization with a higher affinity antigen increases accumulation in GCs and CSR rates. Boost immunization increases rates of engineered B cells in GCs and antibody secretion, indicating memory retention. Finally, antibody sequences of engineered B cells in the spleen show patterns of clonal selection. B cells may thus be engineered as a living and evolving drug.
Hysteresis in calcium rhythm patterns during electric field stimulation of cardiac tissue
Authors: Bien Harold , Kalkhoran Salmon , Entcheva Emilia 
Published: March 2020

AbstractCardiac tissue subjected to fast pacing via electric field stimulation revealed hysteresis in calcium instability patterns (stimulus:response patterns) beyond departure and return to 1:1 response. The pacing frequency at which the first appearance of instabilities occurred (Fa) was higher than the frequency of ultimate disappearance (Fd) upon rate deceleration. Furthermore, hysteresis was observed in multiple pattern transitions. In the spatially extended system studied here, 2:2 alternans were the preferred starting point (Fa) in calcium instability development, while 2:1 blocks were more common in the return to Fa from higher pacing rates. Recovery of 1:1 patterns was preceded mostly by 2:2 alternans at Fd. In addition to previously reported hysteresis in action potential duration during 1:1 rhythm and alternans magnitude hysteresis (in 2:2 rhythm), our data revealhysteresis in rhythm pattern transitionsnot just away from and return to 1:1, but also between different instability patterns, and thus provide insight into the rules of such transitions in electrically stimulated cardiac tissue.
Emotional news affects social judgments independent of perceived media credibility
Authors: Baum Julia , Abdel Rahman Rasha 
Published: March 2020

AbstractHow does the credibility we attribute to media sources influence our opinions and judgments derived from news? Participants read headlines about the social behavior of depicted unfamiliar persons from websites of trusted or distrusted well-known German news media. As a consequence, persons paired with negative or positive headlines were judged more negative or positive than persons associated with neutral information independent of source credibility. Likewise, electrophysiological signatures of slow and controlled evaluative brain activity revealed a dominant influence of emotional headline contents regardless of credibility. Modulations of earlier brain responses associated with arousal and reflexive emotional processing show an effect of negative news and suggest that distrusted sources may even enhance the impact of negative headlines. These findings demonstrate that though we may have distinct perceptions about the credibility of media sources, information processing and social judgments rely on the emotional content of headlines, even when they stem from sources we distrust.
Are ants always mutualistic? Influence of ants and variation in flowerets ofClerodendrum chinense
Authors: Gawde Rupesh , Ghayal Nivedita 
Published: March 2020

AbstractAnts are the major mutualists in the plant -ant interaction system playing a major role in the survival of plants by deterring herbivore and increasing plant health and fitness of the plant. To get better insights into the ant-plant interaction system,Clerodendrum chinenseoccupied byCrematogaster roghenoferiwere observed for six months to assess the influence of presence and absence of ants on the flowerets blooming. In a total of (n=34) flowerets bunch, 17 were used as control and 17 experimentation that were treated with ant barrier glue to restrict the ants visitation to the flowerets bunch. By using the Students t-test, our study revealed the facultative behaviour of ants. Citing the equal presence of herbivores in both the control and experimented sets, and decreased floweret blooming in anting-continued (control) whereas increased floweret blooming in de-anted (experimented). The present study has shown the facultative interaction ofC. roghenoferiwithC. chinenseand its effects on the reproductive structures (flowerets) of the shrub. This study makes a clear case stating that not always an interaction between ant and plant is the mutualism.
Population structure and dispersal across small and large spatial scales in a direct developing marine isopod
Authors: Pearman William S. , Wells Sarah J. , Silander Olin K. , Freed Nikki E. , Dale James 
Published: March 2020

AbstractMarine organisms generally exhibit one of two developmental modes: biphasic, with distinct adult and larval morphology, and direct development, in which larvae resemble adults. Developmental mode is thought to significantly influence dispersal, with direct developers expected to have much lower dispersal potential. However, in contrast to our relatively good understanding of dispersal and population connectivity for biphasic species, comparatively little is known about direct developers. In this study, we use a panel of 8,020 SNPs to investigate population structure and gene flow for a direct developing species, the New Zealand endemic marine isopodIsocladus armatus. On a small spatial scale (20 kms), gene flow between locations is extremely high and suggests an island model of migration. However, over larger spatial scales (600km), populations exhibit a clear pattern of isolation-by-distance. Because our sampling range is intersected by two well-known biogeographic barriers (the East Cape and the Cook Strait), our study provides an opportunity to understand how such barriers influence dispersal in direct developers. Our results indicate thatI. armatusexhibits significant migration across these barriers, and suggests that ocean currents associated with these locations do not present a barrier to dispersal. Interestingly, we do find evidence of a north-south population genetic break occurring between Māhia and Wellington, two locations where there are no obvious biogeographic barriers between them. We conclude that developmental life history largely predicts dispersal in intertidal marine isopods. However, localised biogeographic processes can disrupt this expectation.
Breaking Apart Contact Networks with Vaccination
Authors: Lazzari Gianrocco , Salathé Marcel 
Published: March 2020

ABSTRACTInfectious diseases can cause large disease outbreaks due to their transmission potential from one individual to the next. Vaccination is an effective way of cutting off possible chains of transmission, thereby mitigating the outbreak potential of a disease in a population. From a contact network perspective, vaccination effectively removes nodes from the network, thereby breaking apart the contact network into a much smaller network of susceptible individuals on which the disease can spread. Here, we look at the continuum of small world networks to random networks, and find that vaccination breaks apart networks in ways that can dramatically influence the maximum outbreak size. In particular, after the removal of a constant number of nodes (representing vaccination coverage), the more clustered small world networks more readily fall apart into many disjoint and small susceptible sub-networks, thus preventing large outbreaks, while more random networks remain largely connected even after node removal through vaccination. We further develop a model of social mixing that moves small world networks closer to the random regime, thereby facilitating larger disease outbreaks after vaccination. Our results show that even when vaccination is entirely random, social mixing can lead to contact network structures that strongly influence outbreak sizes. We find the largest effects to be in the regime of relatively high vaccination coverages of around 80%, where despite vaccination being random, outbreak sizes can vary by a factor of 20.
Oil body formation inMarchantia polymorphais controlled by MpC1HDZ and serves as a defense against arthropod herbivores
Authors: Romani Facundo , Banic Elizabeta , Florent Stevie N. , Kanazawa Takehiko , Goodger Jason Q.D. , Mentink Remco , Dierschke Tom , Zachgo Sabine , Ueda Takashi , Bowman John L. , Tsiantis Miltos , Moreno Javier E. 
Published: March 2020

SUMMARYThe origin of a terrestrial flora in the Ordovician required adaptation to novel biotic and abiotic stressors. Oil bodies, a synapomorphy of liverworts, accumulate secondary metabolites, but their function and development are poorly understood. Oil bodies ofMarchantia polymorphadevelop within specialized cells as one single large organelle. Here, we show that a CLASS I HOMEODOMAIN LEUCINE-ZIPPER (C1HDZ) transcription factor controls the differentiation of oil body cells in two different ecotypes of the liverwortM. polymorpha, a model genetic system for early divergent land plants. In flowering plants, these transcription factors primarily modulate responses to abiotic stresss including drought. However, loss-of-function alleles of the single ortholog gene, MpC1HDZ, inM. polymorphadid not exhibit phenotypes associated with abiotic stress. Rather Mpc1hdzmutant plants were more susceptible to herbivory and total plant extracts of the mutant exhibited reduced antibacterial activity. Transcriptomic analysis of the mutant revealed a reduction in expression of genes related to secondary metabolism that was accompanied by a specific depletion of oil body terpenoid compounds. Through time lapse imaging we observed that MpC1HDZ expression maxima precede oil body formation indicating that MpC1HDZ mediates differentiation of oil body cells. Our results indicate thatM. polymorphaoil bodies, and MpC1HDZ, are critical for defense against herbivory but not for abiotic stress-tolerance. Thus, C1HDZ genes were co-opted to regulate separate responses to biotic and abiotic stressors in two distinct land plant lineages.
MiRNA and phasiRNAs-mediated regulation of TIR-NBS-LRR defense genes inArabidopsis thaliana
Authors: López-Márquez Diego , Del-Espino Ángel , López-Pagán Nieves , Rodríguez-Negrete Edgar A. , Rubio-Somoza Ignacio , Ruiz-Albert Javier , Bejarano Eduardo R. , Beuzón Carmen R. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractPlants encode large numbers of intracellular immune receptors known as resistance (R) proteins or nucleotide-binding (NB) leucine-rich repeat (LRR) receptors (NLRs), involved in perception of pathogen-derived effectors and activation of immunity.Here, we report a two-tiered regulatory network mediated by microRNA and secondary phased small RNAs (phasiRNA) that targets the silencing of dozens of NLR genes encoding yet uncharacterized members of the Toll/interleukin-1 (TIR)-NBS-LRR (TNLs) subfamily inArabidopsis. We show that miR825-5p downregulates expression ofArabidopsis AT5G38850gene (renamed asmicroRNA-silenced TNL 1 or MIST1) by targeting the sequence coding for a highly conserved functional amino acid motif (TIR2) within the TIR domain of the receptor. Further, we show thatMIST1functions as a regulatory hub, since miRNA825-5p triggers RDR6-mediated processing ofMIST1transcripts, to generatetrans-acting phasiRNAs that in turn target, a wide network of TNL genes for gene silencing. Regulation throughMIST1affects disease resistance against the model bacterial pathogenPseudomonas syringae, since altered levels of miRNA825-5p lead to changes inArabidopsisability to establish basal defenses against this pathogen. MiR825-5p is expressed in unchallenged adult leaves and its production is down regulated in response to PAMPs such as bacterial flagellin but also fungal chitin.
Ageing compromises mouse thymus function and remodels epithelial cell differentiation
Authors: Baran-Gale J , Morgan MD , Maio S , Dhalla F , Calvo-Asensio I , Deadman ME , Handel AE , Maynard A , Chen S , Green F , Sit RV , Neff NF , Darmanis S , Tan W , May AP , Marioni JC , Ponting CP , Holländer GA 
Published: March 2020

AbstractAgeing is characterised by cellular senescence, leading to imbalanced tissue maintenance, cell death and compromised organ function. This is first observed in the thymus, the primary lymphoid organ that generates and selects T cells. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underpinning these ageing processes remain unclear. Here, we show that mouse ageing leads to less efficient T cell selection, decreased self-antigen representation and increased T cell receptor repertoire diversity. Using a combination of single-cell RNA-seq and lineage-tracing, we find that progenitor cells are the principal targets of ageing, whereas the function of mature thymic epithelial cells is compromised only modestly. Specifically, an early-life precursor cell population, retained in the mouse cortex postnatally, is virtually extinguished at puberty. Concomitantly, a medullary precursor cell quiesces, thereby impairing maintenance of the medullary epithelium. Thus, ageing disrupts thymic progenitor differentiation and impairs the core immunological functions of the thymus.
Mechanosensitive activation of mTORC1 mediates ventilator induced lung injury during the acute respiratory distress syndrome
Authors: Lee Hyunwook , Fei Qinqin , Streicher Adam , Zhang Wenjuan , Isabelle Colleen , Patel Pragi , Lam Hilaire C. , Pinilla-Vera Miguel , Amador-Munoz Diana , Barragan-Bradford Diana , Higuera Angelica , Putman Rachel K. , Henske Elizabeth P. , Bobba Christopher M. , Higuita-Castro Natalia , Hite R. Duncan , Christman John W. , Ghadiali Samir N. , Baron Rebecca M. , Englert Joshua A. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractAcute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a highly lethal condition that impairs lung function and causes respiratory failure. Mechanical ventilation maintains gas exchange in patients with ARDS, but exposes lung cells to physical forces that exacerbate lung injury. Our data demonstrate that mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) is a mechanosensor in lung epithelial cells and that activation of this pathway during mechanical ventilation exacerbates lung injury. We found that mTORC1 is activated in lung epithelial cells following volutrauma and atelectrauma in mice and humanized in vitro models of the lung microenvironment. mTORC1 is also activated in lung tissue of mechanically ventilated patients with ARDS. Deletion ofTsc2, a negative regulator of mTORC1, in epithelial cells exacerbates physiologic lung dysfunction during mechanical ventilation. Conversely, treatment with rapamycin at the time mechanical ventilation is initiated prevents physiologic lung injury (i.e. decreased compliance) without altering lung inflammation or barrier permeability. mTORC1 inhibition mitigates physiologic lung injury by preventing surfactant dysfunction during mechanical ventilation. Our data demonstrate that in contrast to canonical mTORC1 activation under favorable growth conditions, activation of mTORC1 during mechanical ventilation exacerbates lung injury and inhibition of this pathway may be a novel therapeutic target to mitigate ventilator induced lung injury during ARDS.
Response patterns and mechanisms of plants to water stress
Authors: Sun Yuan , Wang Cuiting , Chen Han Y.H. , Ruan Honghua 
Published: March 2020

AbstractPlants are key to the functionality of many ecosystem processes. The duration and intensity of water stress are anticipated to increase in the future; however, an elucidation of the responses of plants to water stress remains incomplete. For this study, we present a global meta-analysis derived from 1301 paired observations from 84 studies to evaluate the response patterns and mechanisms of plants to water stress. The results revealed that while water stress inhibited plant growth and photosynthesis, reactive oxygen species (ROS), plasma membrane permeability, enzymatic antioxidants, and non-enzymatic antioxidants increased. These responses generally increased with the intensity of water stress but were mitigated with experimental duration. Our findings suggested that the overproduction of ROS was the primary mechanism of plants in response to water stress and that plants tend to acclimate to water stress over time to some extent. Our synthesis provides a framework for understanding the responses and mechanisms of plants under drought conditions.One senence summaryThe overproduction of ROS was the primary mechanism of plants in response to water stress and that plants tend to acclimate to water stress over time to some extent.
Embracing evaluation theory to overcome “stasis”
Authors: Macnamara Jim 
Published: March 2020

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the evaluation theory in a field closely related to corporate communication and public relations (PR) as well as in other disciplines and argues that embracing the evaluation theory more broadly can break the “stasis” and “deadlock” identified in evaluation of corporate communication and PR. Specifically, this analysis seeks to show that a transdisciplinary approach can contribute to standards and demonstration of impact – two long-sought goals in evaluation of corporate communication and PR – as well as inform methodology.Design/methodology/approachCritical analysis is applied to review the evaluation theory in a number of fields, including international development, public administration, management and health communication, compared with major frameworks, models and methods used for evaluation of corporate communication and PR.FindingsThis analysis shows that the evaluation theory in other fields and related theory of change, program theory and program logic models can contribute to advancing evaluation of corporate communication and PR in three ways: identifying standards in terminology and approaches, shifting focus from activities and outputs to outcomes and impact and applying appropriate and rigorous methodology.Research limitations/implicationsWhile this paper does not present new empirical data, it expands the theoretical perspectives, models and methods applied to the evaluation of corporate communication and PR and identifies new directions for research.OriginalityAs well as expanding the evaluation theory and opening up new ground for research, this analysis identifies a need for structural change in the field of practice.
The correlations between livelihood capitals and perceived recovery
Authors: Han Ziqiang , Wang Lei , Wei Jianwen 
Published: March 2020

PurposeThis study examines the recovery of households after disasters from the sustainable livelihood approach (SLA) perspective.Design/methodology/approachThis study analyzes the perception of recovery by using a longitudinal household survey data set collected from a Chinese county devastated by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The analysis compares the changes of livelihood capitals (financial, natural, physical, social, human) between 2012 and 2009 and recovery perception.FindingsThe results demonstrate that both the current status of financial, natural, and social capital and the changes of the capitals between 2009 and 2012 are positively correlated with the perceived level of recovery. The associations between the current status and the change of physical capital and recovery perception are insignificant. In contrast, with a greater change of human capital between 2009 and 2012, participants have a lower perception of recovery.Originality/valueBy investigating a longitudinal data, this study indicates that (1) household recovery should be considered as multidimensional, (2) the SLA could be a feasible framework to measure recovery, and (3) individual's recovery perception is dependent on the various dimensions of recovery measures.
Brand orientation, brand-building behavior and brand identity in SMEs: an empirical evaluation
Authors: Osakwe Christian Nedu , Palamidovska-Sterjadovska Nikolina , Mihajlov Martin , Ciunova-Shuleska Anita 
Published: March 2020

PurposeThis study aims to facilitate the understanding of brand building among owners/managers of SMEs by highlighting the relationships among the multidimensionality of brand orientation, brand-building behavior and brand identity.Design/methodology/approachIn addressing the research issue, the study uses responses from 158 domesticated SMEs in North Macedonia, afterwards relying on structural equation modeling to test the research propositions.FindingsThis study validates brand orientation as a multidimensional term that is underlined by brand artefacts, norms and values. This study also validates the assumptions that brand orientation, brand-building behavior and brand identity are significantly related.Research limitations/implicationsWhile it is possible that our evidence base is limited to the context studied, the research findings nevertheless contribute primarily to the emergent scholarship on SMEs' brand building.Practical implicationsThis study has practical consequences for SMEs' brand building. More specifically, it enriches the understanding of the interrelationships between brand orientation, brand-building behavior and brand identity.Originality/valueThis study provides an advanced perspective of brand orientation as a complex phenomenon and further provides understanding of its relations to brand-building behavior and brand identity of the domesticated SMEs.
Magnetohydrodynamic flow of Carreau liquid over a stretchable sheet with a variable thickness
Authors: Mahanthesh B. 
Published: March 2020

PurposeThe magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow problems are important in the field of biomedical applications such as magnetic resonance imaging, inductive heat treatment of tumours, MHD-derived biomedical sensors, micropumps for drug delivery, MHD micromixers, magnetorelaxometry and actuators. Therefore, there is the impact of the magnetic field on the transport of non-Newtonian Carreau fluid in the presence of binary chemical reaction and activation energy over an extendable surface having a variable thickness. The significance of irregular heat source/sink and cross-diffusion effects is also explored.Design/methodology/approachThe leading governing equations are constructed by retaining the effects of binary chemical reaction and activation energy. Suitable similarity transformations are used to transform the governing partial differential equations into ordinary differential equations. Subsequent nonlinear two-point boundary value problem is treated numerically by using the shooting method based on Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg. Graphical results are presented to analyze the behaviour of effective parameters involved in the problem. The numerical values of the mass transfer rate (Sherwood number) and heat transfer rate (Nusselt number) are also calculated. Furthermore, the slope of the linear regression line through the data points is determined in order to quantify the outcome.FindingsIt is established that the external magnetic field restricts the flow strongly and serves as a potential control mechanism. It can be concluded that an applied magnetic field will play a major role in applications like micropumps, actuators and biomedical sensors. The heat transfer rate is enhanced due to Arrhenius activation energy mechanism. The boundary layer thickness is suppressed by strengthening the thickness of the sheet, resulting in higher values of Nusselt and Sherwood numbers.Originality/valueThe effects of magnetic field, binary chemical reaction and activation energy on heat and mass transfer of non-Newtonian Carreau liquid over an extendable surface with variable thickness are investigated for the first time.