bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Physiological and transcriptomic responses to N-deficiency and ammonium: nitrate shift inFugacium kawagutii(Symbiodiniaceae)
Authors: Li Tangcheng , Chen Xibei , Lin Senjie 
Published: May 2020

AbstractSymbiodiniaceae are the source of essential coral symbionts of reef building corals. The growth and density of endosymbiotic Symbodiniaceae within the coral host is highly dependent on nutrient availability, yet little is known about how Symbiodiniaceae respond to the dynamics of the nutrients, including switch between different chemical forms and changes in abundance. In this study, we investigated physiological, cytometric, and transcriptomic responses inFugacium kawagutiito nitrogen (N)-nutrient deficiency and different chemical N forms (nitrate and ammonium) in batch culture conditions. We mainly found that ammonium was consumed faster than nitrate when provided separately, and was preferentially utilized over nitrate when both nitrogen compounds were supplied at 1:2, 1:1 and 2:1 molarity ratios. Besides, N-deficiency caused decreases in growth, energy production, antioxidative capacity and investment in photosynthate transport but increased energy consumption. Growing on ammonium produced a similar cell yield as nitrate, but with a decreased investment in nutrient transport and assimilation. These all have important implications of N nutrient to support symbiosis in coral ecosystem, especially regarding ammonium. In addition, by integrating our current results with previous data, we identified ten highly and stably expressed genes as candidate reference genes, which will be potentially useful for gene expression studies in the future.
Three-Dimensional (3D) Fibronectin Nano-Array Presented on Fibrin Matrix Accelerates Mice Skin Wound Healing
Authors: Jara Carlos Poblete , Wang Ou , do Prado Thais Paulino , Ismail Ayman , Fabian Frank Marco , Li Han , Velloso Licio A. , Carlson Mark A. , Burgess William , Lei Yuguo , Velander William H. , Araújo Eliana P. 
Published: May 2020

AbstractPlasma fibrinogen (F1) and fibronectin (pFN) polymerize to form a fibrin clot that is both a hemostatic and provisional matrix for wound healing. About 90% of plasma F1 has a homodimeric pair of γ chains (γγF1) and 10% has a heterodimeric pair of γ and more acidic γ’ chains (γγ’F1). We have synthesized a novel fibrin matrix exclusively from a 1:1 (molar ratio) complex of γγ’F1 and pFN in the presence of highly active thrombin and recombinant Factor XIII (rFXIIIa). In this matrix, the fibrin nanofibers were wrapped with periodic 200-300 nm wide pFN nanobands (termed γγ’F1:pFN fibrin). In contrast, fibrin made from 1:1 mixture of γγF1 and pFN formed a sporadic distribution of “pFN droplets” (termed γγF1 +pFN fibrin). The γγ’F1:pFN fibrin enhanced the adhesion of primary human umbilical vein endothelium cells (HUVECs) relative to the γγF1+FN fibrin. Three dimensional (3D) culturing showed that the γγ’F1:pFN complex fibrin matrix enhanced the proliferation of both HUVECs and primary human fibroblasts. HUVECs in the 3D γγ’F1:pFN fibrin exhibited a starkly enhanced vascular morphogenesis while an apoptotic growth profile was observed in the γγF1 +pFN fibrin. Relative to γγF1 +pFN fibrin, mouse dermal wounds that were sealed by γγ’F1:pFN fibrin exhibited accelerated and enhanced healing. This study suggests that a 3D pFN nano-array presented on a fibrin matrix can promote wound healing.
Viral genome wide association study identifies novel hepatitis C virus polymorphisms associated with sofosbuvir treatment failure
Authors: Smith David A , Magri Andrea , Bowden Rory , Chaturvedi Nimisha , Fellay Jacques , McLauchlan John , Foster Graham R. , Irving William L ,   STOP-HCV Consortium, Simmonds Peter , Pedergnana Vincent , Barnes Eleanor , Ansari M. Azim 
Published: May 2020

AbstractChronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. With the recent development of direct acting antivirals (DAA), treatment of chronically infected patients has become highly effective although a subset of patients do not respond to therapy. Sofosbuvir is a common component of current de novo or salvage combination therapies. We used pre-treatment whole genome sequencing of HCV from 507 patients infected with HCV subtype 3a and treated with sofosbuvir containing regimens to detect viral polymorphisms associated with response to treatment. We found that three common polymorphisms present in HCV NS2 and NS3 proteins (not direct targets of sofosbuvir) were associated with reduced treatment response. These polymorphisms were enriched in post-treatment HCV sequences of patients unresponsive to treatment; they were also associated with lower reductions in viral load in the first week of therapy. The finding of polymorphisms in NS2 and NS3 proteins associated with poor treatment outcomes emphasises the value of more systematic genome-wide analyses of HCV in uncovering indirect but clinically relevant mechanisms of antiviral resistance.
Snca-GFP knock-in mice reflect patterns of endogenous expression and pathological seeding
Authors: Caputo Anna , Liang Yuling , Raabe Tobias D. , Lo Angela , Horvath Mian , Zhang Bin , Brown Hannah J. , Stieber Anna , Luk Kelvin C. 
Published: May 2020

AbstractAlpha-synuclein (aSyn) participates in synaptic vesicle trafficking and synaptic transmission, but its misfolding is also strongly implicated in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative disorders known as synucleinopathies where misfolded aSyn accumulates in different regions of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Although increased aSyn expression levels or altered aggregation propensities likely underlie familial PD with SNCA amplification or mutations, the majority of synucleinopathies arise sporadically, indicating that disease can develop under normal levels of wildtype aSyn. We report here the development and characterization of a mouse line expressing an aSyn-GFP fusion protein under the control of nativeSncaregulatory elements. Regional and subcellular localization of the aSyn-GFP fusion protein in brains and peripheral tissues of knock-in (KI) mice are indistinguishable from that of wildtype littermates. Importantly, similar to wildtype aSyn, aSyn-GFP disperses from synaptic vesicles upon membrane depolarization, indicating that the tag does not alter normal aSyn dynamics at synapses. In addition, intracerebral injection of aSyn pre-formed fibrils into KI mice induced the formation of aSyn-GFP inclusions with a distribution pattern similar to that observed in wildtype mice, albeit with attenuated kinetics due to the GFP tag. We anticipate that this new mouse model will facilitatein vitroandin vivostudies requiringin situdetection of endogenous aSyn, therefore providing new insights into aSyn function in health and disease.Significance StatementAlpha-synuclein (aSyn) participates in synaptic vesicle function and represents a major component of the Lewy pathology found in Parkinson’s and related neurodegenerative diseases. The function of aSyn and the sequence of events leading to its aggregation and neurotoxicity are not fully understood. Here we present a new mouse model in which Enhanced Green Fluorescence Protein (GFP) has been knocked-in at the C-terminal of theSncagene. The resulting fusion protein shows identical expression and localization to that of wildtype animals, is functional, and is incorporated into pathological aggregatesin vitroandin vivo. This new tool allows for monitoring aSyn under a variety of physiological and pathological conditions, and may uncover additional insights into its function and dysfunction.
Enhancing backcross programs through increased recombination
Authors: Tourrette Elise , Falque Matthieu , Martin Olivier C. 
Published: May 2020

ABSTRACTIntrogression of a QTL by successive backcrosses is a strategy that can be used to improve elite lines (recurrent parent) by bringing in alleles from exotic material (donor parent). In the absence of selection, the proportion of the donor genome decreases by half at each generation. However, since one selects for the donor allele at the QTL, the elimination of the donor genome in the neighborhood of that QTL will be much slower (linkage drag). Using markers to monitor the genome around the QTL and in the background can accelerate the return to the recurrent parent genome. The success of an introgression will partly depend on the occurrence of crossovers at favorable positions. However, the number of crossovers per generation is limited and their distribution along the genome is heterogeneous. Recently, techniques have been developed to modify these two aspects of recombination. Here, we assess, by simulation, their effect on the efficiency of introgression programs by studying the reduction of the linkage drag and the recovery of the recurrent genome. The selection schemes we simulate begin by two generations of foreground selection and continue with one or more generations of background selection. Our results show that when the QTL is in a region that was initially lacking crossovers, increasing the recombination rate can decrease the linkage drag nearly ten-fold after the foreground selection and improves the return to the recurrent parent. However, if the QTL is in a region already rich in crossovers then increasing recombination proves to be detrimental.Key messageIn breeding programs, recombination is essential for introgression, but introducing more crossovers is beneficial only when the target is in a cold region, otherwise it is detrimental.
Dissensus and democratic accountability in a case of conflict
Authors: Scobie Matthew Russell , Milne Markus J. , Love Tyron Rakeiora 
Published: May 2020

PurposeThis paper explores diverse practices of the giving and demanding of democratic accountability within a case of conflict around deep-sea petroleum exploration in Aotearoa New Zealand. These practices include submissions and consultations, partnership between Indigenous Peoples and a settler-colonial government and dissensus. These are theorised through the political thought of Jacques Rancière.Design/methodology/approachA single case study approach is employed that seeks to particularise and draws on interview, documentary and media materials.FindingsBy examining a case of conflict, the authors find that as opportunities for participation in democratic accountability processes are eroded, political dissensus emerges to demand parts in the accountability process. Dissensus creates counter forums within a wider understanding of democratic accountability. In this case, individuals and organisations move between police (where hierarchy counts those with a part) and politics (exercised when this hierarchy is disrupted by dissensus) to demand parts as police logics become more and less democratic. These parts are then utilised towards particular interests, but in this case to also create additional parts for those with none.Originality/valueThis study privileges demands for accountability through dissensus as fundamental to democratic accountability, rather than just account giving and receiving. That is, who is or who is not included – who has a stake or a part – is crucial in a broader understanding of democratic accountability. This provides democratic accountability with a radical potential for creating change. The study also advances thinking on democratic accountability by drawing from Indigenous perspectives and experiences in a settler-colonial context.
Pursuing doctoral studies in Macau’s private universities: pragmatic motivations and challenging experiences of Guangdong college teachers
Authors: Shao Yanju 
Published: May 2020

PurposeIn response to the emergence of a strong cross-border student flow of postgraduate students from mainland China to the Macau Special Administrative Region (Macau), this study examines the motivations and experience of a special group of doctoral students: college teachers working in Guangdong Province and simultaneously pursuing PhD degrees at private universities in Macau.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative research method, thirteen college teachers were interviewed.FindingsThe research findings reveal their motivations for pursuing doctoral studies in Macau, and the difficulties they faced and gains they obtained from this experience.Originality/valueAll the findings indicate a potential expansion of the role of Macau’s higher education system. Once merely a stepping-stone, it is now an acceleration site for brain circulation between Macau and Guangdong as part of a regionalization strategy for China’s Greater Bay Area.
Pricing rainfall derivatives in the equatorial Pacific
Authors: Cabrales Sergio , Solano Jesus , Valencia Carlos , Bautista Rafael 
Published: May 2020

PurposeIn the equatorial Pacific, rainfall is affected by global climate phenomena, such as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, current publicly available methodologies for valuing weather derivatives do not account for the influence of ENSO. The purpose of this paper is to develop a complete framework suitable for valuing rainfall derivatives in the equatorial Pacific.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, we implement a Markov chain for the occurrence of rain and a gamma model for the conditional quantities using vector generalized linear models (VGLM). The ENSO forecast probabilities reported by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) are included as independent variables using different alternatives. We then employ the Esscher transform to price rainfall derivatives.FindingsThe methodology is applied and calibrated using the historical rainfall data collected at the El Dorado airport weather station in Bogotá. All the estimated coefficients turn out to be significant. The results prove more accurate than those of Markovian gamma models based on purely statistical descriptions of the daily rainfall probabilities.Originality/valueThis procedure introduces the novelty of incorporating variables related to the climatic phenomena, which are the forecast probabilities regularly published for the occurrence of El Niño and La Niña.
The role of community: CSA member retention
Authors: Witzling Laura , Shaw Bret R. , Strader Claire , Sedlak Carrie , Jones Erika 
Published: May 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to better understand motivations for CSA participation with an emphasis on membership retention. Food-related and community-related motivations for participation were examined.Design/methodology/approachCurrent and former CSA members across Wisconsin completed an online survey. Participants were grouped based on their CSA membership status. The four groups were as follows: Keepers (current members planning to renew their membership with their current farm); Switchers (current members planning to switch their membership to a new farm); Stoppers (current members planning to stop purchasing a CSA share from any farm) and Formers (former CSA members). The groups were compared through ANOVA.FindingsKeepers had stronger community-related motivations, and they had more favorable perceptions about communication with their CSA farm. Food-related motivations were reduced among Stoppers but were similar among Keepers and Switchers.Research limitations/implicationsThis study used online purposive sampling; thus, generalizability of results is limited. Switchers were identified as a distinct group that trends younger and appears more willing to change CSA farms but is committed to CSA because of food-related motivations.Practical implicationsInvestment by CSA farmers in community building may improve member retention. They may achieve this, in part, through communication with members that taps into factors related to community, such as offering support and making emotional connections. Offering exemplary product is broadly important to keep individuals committed to CSA, but it does not uniquely keep individuals invested in a particular CSA farm the way community-related motivations may.Originality/valueThis is the first analysis to highlight differences between individuals who plan to renew their membership with their current CSA farm, those who plan to switch CSA farms and those who plan to stop purchasing CSA.
What can we learn from experience? An impact analysis of experience on households' preferences for microfinance
Authors: Ding Zhao , Abdulai Awudu , Jiang Yuansheng 
Published: May 2020

PurposeThis article examines the impact of experience on rural households' preferences for microfinance attributes, using household data from Sichuan province in China.Design/methodology/approachWe use the Bayesian updating method to account for the learning process involved in acquiring experience on microfinance. We then use the generalized multinomial logit model that accounts for both preference and scale heterogeneity to estimate the choice probabilities and impact of experience on preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for microfinance.FindingsThe empirical findings show that experience with microfinance products or lending institutions helps households in their selections of microfinance institutions. In particular, experience with financial institutions increase the scale parameter and help respondents to feel assured about their choices, while experience with individual lenders have no such effects. The results also indicate that the willingness-to-pay estimates vary across experiences, with WTP for installment credit displaying the biggest change and the Bayesian updating making the changes even much larger.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the research gap by taking experience as a latent variable that influences personal specific tastes and as an integral part of total utility of rural households in their decision-making processes. We develop a conceptual framework that is based on McFadden's random utility theory and Bayesian inference.
Enhancing post-crisis communication through memorials: the case of the bonfire crisis at Texas A&M
Authors: Tachkova Elina R. 
Published: May 2020

PurposeThere is a small amount of research that examines the post-crisis communication efforts of organizations (Coombs, 2012). The discourse of renewal has a focus on learning and positive views of the future. However, there have been some efforts to link it with memorials (Veilet al., 2011). More can be done so that memorials and remembering enhance our understanding of the effects of post-crisis communication. This paper analyzes the Texas A&M Bonfire tragedy as an example of how remembrance, through the shared experience of grief and memorializing, communicates renewal and how the narrative of the crisis has been successfully institutionalized within the organization.Design/methodology/approachThe study relies on 12 qualitative interviews with undergraduate students attending Texas A&M.FindingsThe findings indicate that memorials are important facilitators of renewal as they carry multiple messages. The results from the study indicated that the narrative of the Bonfire crisis has been embedded within the organizational culture of A&M through a memorialization process facilitated by renewal discourse. Additionally, renewal was found to influence stakeholder perceptions of crises and to be an underlying force of learning and change following organizational crisis.Originality/valueThe paper explores how an organization presents a past crisis to new stakeholders. This paper explores how stakeholders experience and interpret that post-crisis communication. Additionally, the memorial creates a remembering-forgetting tension as organizations want stakeholders to forget the negatives from a crisis.
The landscape of customer engagement in hospitality and tourism: a systematic review
Authors: Hao Fei 
Published: May 2020

Purpose
This paper aims to deliver a systematic review of customer engagement in hospitality and tourism by synthesising existing literature, thus presenting a state-of-art landscape of customer engagement research.

Design/methodology/approach
A total of 173 peer-reviewed articles were collected from seven databases, spanning from 2007 to 2020. A systematic review was conducted by analysing, categorizing and synthesising existing studies to examine the evolution, conceptual nature, typology and measurement of the existing literature on customer engagement in hospitality and tourism.

Findings
This study provides an overview of the temporal, spatial, sectoral and journal-wise distribution of customer engagement in hospitality and tourism. A comprehensive definition of customer engagement is proposed based on five fundamental propositions. Scrutiny of customer engagement studies in hospitality and tourism presents four sub-forms, including online customer engagement, tourist engagement, customer brand engagement and customer engagement behaviour. Additionally, the research methods, dimensionality and measurement scales of customer engagement are systematically reviewed.

Originality/value
This study is the first systematic review of customer engagement research in the field of hospitality and tourism. The original definition leads to an improved understanding of customer engagement. This study is also the first to propose a clear typology of customer engagement to enhance consistency in usage.
Thermal comfort properties of weft knitted quilted fabrics
Authors: Abbasi Sadaf Aftab , Marmaralı Arzu , Ertekin Gözde 
Published: May 2020

PurposeThis paper investigates the thermal comfort properties of quilted (jersey cord) fabrics produced with different width of diamond pattern, different filling yarn linear density and different types of material.Design/methodology/approachA total of 12 fabrics were knitted by varying the width of diamond pattern (1 and 3 cm), the filling yarn linear density (300 and 900 denier) and the type of materials (cotton, polyester and their combination). In this regard, air permeability, thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, thermal absorptivity and relative water vapor permeability of these fabrics were measured and evaluated statistically.FindingsThe results showed that fabrics knitted using cotton yarn in both front and back surfaces exhibit higher thermal conductivity, thermal absorptivity and relative water vapor permeability characteristics; whereas samples knitted using polyester yarn in both surfaces have higher air permeability and thermal resistance. As the linear density of filling yarn increases, thickness and thermal resistance of the samples increase and air permeability, thermal conductivity, water vapor permeability characteristics decrease. When the effect of the width of diamond pattern compared, it is seen that an increase in the width of pattern lead to an increase in thickness and thermal resistance and a decrease in thermal conductivity, thermal absorptivity and water vapor permeability values.Originality/valueMany researches were carried out on the thermal comfort properties of knitted fabrics, however there is a lack of research efforts regarding thermal comfort properties of quilted fabrics.