bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The hidden land use cost of upscaling cover crops
Authors: Runck Bryan , Khoury Colin K. , Ewing Patrick M. , Kantar Michael 
Published: February 2020

AbstractCover cropping is considered a cornerstone practice in sustainable agriculture; however, little attention has been paid to the cover crop production supply chain. In this Perspective, we estimate land use requirements to supply the United States maize production area with cover crop seed, finding that across 18 cover crops, on average 3.8% (median 2.0%) of current production area would be required, with the popular cover crops rye and hairy vetch requiring as much as 4.5% and 11.9%, respectively. The latter land requirement is comparable to the annual amount of maize grain lost to disease in the U.S. We highlight avenues for reducing these high land use costs.
The marine spongeHymeniacidon perlevisis a globally-distributed invasive species
Authors: Turner Thomas L. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIn Elkhorn Slough, a tidal estuary draining into Monterey Bay, California, the intertidal is occupied by a conspicuous orange sponge known by the nameHymeniacidon sinapium. This same species is found in the rocky intertidal zone of the outer coast of California, and is described herein from subtidal kelp forests of Southern California. Farther afield, morphologically and ecologically indistinguishable sponges are common in estuaries and intertidal areas in Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa. Here I use morphological, ecological, and genetic data to show that these sponges are all members of the same globally-distributed species, which should be known by the senior synonymH. perlevis. Though previous authors have remarked upon the morphological, ecological, and/or genetic similarity of various distant populations, the true scope of this sponge’s distribution appears to be unrecognized or unacknowledged in the literature. Limited larval dispersal, historically documented range expansion, and low genetic variation all support a hypothesis that this sponge has achieved its extraordinary range via human-mediated dispersal, making it the most widely-distributed invasive sponge known to date.DeclarationsConflicts of interest/Competing interests: none to declareAvailability of data and material: All raw data is included as supplementary files; georeferenced collection data is available as a supplementary .xls file; genetic data are archived at Genbank; specimen vouchers are archived at the California Academy of Sciences and at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles; specimen photos will be made available as supplementary files, are also archived by the associated museums in GBIF, and are posted as georeferenced data oniNaturalist.org.Code availability: n/a
The LUBAC participates in Lysophosphatidic Acid-induced NF-κB Activation
Authors: Douanne Tiphaine , Chapelier Sarah , Rottapel Robert , Gavard Julie , Bidère Nicolas 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe natural bioactive glycerophospholipid lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) binds to its cognate G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) on the cell surface to promote the activation of several transcription factors, including NF-κB. LPA-mediated activation of NF-κB relies on the formation of a signalosome that contains the scaffold CARMA3, the adaptor BCL10 and the paracaspase MALT1 (CBM complex). The CBM has been extensively studied in lymphocytes, where it links antigen receptors to NF-κB activation via the recruitment of the linear ubiquitin assembly complex (LUBAC), a tripartite complex of HOIP, HOIL1 and SHARPIN. Moreover, MALT1 cleaves the LUBAC subunit HOIL1 to further enhance NF-κB activation. However, the contribution of the LUBAC downstream of GPCRs has not been investigated. By using murine embryonic fibroblasts from mice deficient for HOIP, HOIL1 and SHARPIN, we report that the LUBAC is crucial for the activation of NF-κB in response to LPA. Further echoing the situation in lymphocytes, LPA unbridles the protease activity of MALT1, which cleaves HOIL1 at the Arginine 165. The expression of a MALT1-insensitive version of HOIL1 reveals that this processing is required for the optimal production of the NF-κB target cytokine interleukin-6. Lastly, we provide evidence that the guanine exchange factor GEF-H1 activated by LPA favors MALT1-mediated cleavage of HOIL1 and NF-κB signaling. Together, our results unveil a critical role for the LUBAC as a positive regulator of NF-κB signaling downstream of GPCRs.
Inflammation promotes tumor aggression by stimulating stromal cell-dependent collagen crosslinking and stromal stiffening
Authors: Maller Ori , Drain Allison P. , Barrett Alexander S. , Borgquist Signe , Ruffell Brian , Thanh Pham T , Gruosso Tina , Kuasne Hellen , Lakins Johnathon N. , Acerbi Irene , Barnes J. Matthew , Nemkov Travis , Chauhan Aastha , Gruenberg Jessica , Nasir Aqsa , Bjarnadottir Olof , Werb Zena , Kabos Peter , Hwang E. Shelley , Park Morag , Coussens Lisa M. , Nelson Andrew C. , Hansen Kirk C. , Weaver Valerie M. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractCollagen deposition and stromal stiffening accompany malignancy, compromise treatment, and promote tumor aggression. Clarifying the molecular nature of and the factors that regulate extracellular matrix stiffening in tumors should identify biomarkers to stratify patients for therapy and therapeutic interventions to improve outcome. We profiled lysyl hydroxylase- and lysyl oxidase-mediated collagen crosslinks and quantified the greatest abundance of total and complex collagen crosslinks in more aggressive human breast cancer subtypes with the stiffest stroma. These tissues also harbored the highest number of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM), whose therapeutic ablation not only reduced metastasis, but also concomitantly decreased accumulation of collagen crosslinks and stromal stiffening. Epithelial-targeted expression of the crosslinking enzyme lysyl oxidase had no impact on collagen crosslinking in PyMT mammary tumors, whereas stromal cell targeting did. Consistently, stromal cells in microdissected human tumors expressed the highest level of collagen crosslinking enzymes. Immunohistochemical analysis of a cohort of breast cancer patient biopsies revealed that stromal expression of lysyl hydroxylase two, an enzyme that induces hydroxylysine aldehyde-derived collagen crosslinks and stromal stiffening correlated significantly disease specific mortality. The findings link tissue inflammation, stromal cell-mediated collagen crosslinking and stiffening to tumor aggression and identify lysyl hydroxylase two as a novel stromal biomarker.SignificanceWe show infiltrating macrophages induce stromal fibroblast, and not epithelial, expression of collagen crosslinking enzymes that drive tumor stiffening. Stromal enzyme LH2 is significantly upregulated in breast cancer patients with the stiffest stroma, the most trivalent HLCCs and the worst prognosis, underscoring its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target.
Parallel alpine differentiation inArabidopsis arenosa
Authors: Knotek Adam , Konečná Veronika , Wos Guillaume , Požárová Doubravka , Šrámková Gabriela , Bohutínská Magdalena , Zeisek Vojtěch , Marhold Karol , Kolář Filip 
Published: February 2020

AbstractParallel evolution provides powerful natural experiments for studying repeatability of evolution. Well-documented examples from plants are, however, still rare, as are inquiries of mechanisms driving convergence in some traits while divergence in others.Arabidopsis arenosa, a predominantly foothill species with scattered morphologically distinct alpine occurrences is a promising candidate. Yet, the hypothesis of parallelism remained untested. We sampled foothill and alpine populations in all regions known to harbour the alpine ecotype and used SNP genotyping to test for repeated alpine colonisation. Then, we combined field surveys and a common garden experiment to quantify phenotypic parallelism. Genetic clustering by region but not elevation and coalescent simulations demonstrated parallel origin of alpine ecotype in four mountain regions. Alpine populations exhibited parallelism in height and floral traits which persisted after two generations in cultivation. In contrast, leaf traits were distinctive only in certain region(s), reflecting a mixture of plasticity and genetically determined non-parallelism. We demonstrate varying degrees and causes of parallelism and non-parallelism across populations and traits within a plant species. Parallel divergence along a sharp elevation gradient makesA. arenosaa promising candidate for studying genomic basis of adaptation.
The LRRC8A:C Heteromeric Channel Is a cGAMP Transporter and the Dominant cGAMP Importer in Human Vasculature Cells
Authors: Lahey Lauren J. , Wen Xianlan , Mardjuki Rachel E. , Böhnert Volker , Hess Gaelen T. , Ritchie Christopher , Carozza Jacqueline A. , Maduke Merritt , Bassik Michael C. , Li Lingyin 
Published: February 2020

SUMMARYExtracellular 2’3’-cyclic-GMP-AMP (cGAMP) is an immunotransmitter secreted by cancer cells and taken up by host cells to activate the anti-cancer STING pathway. No cGAMP exporter has been identified, and SLC19A1, a recently identified cGAMP importer, does not account for the import activity in most cell types. Here, we identify the LRRC8A:C heteromeric channel, a volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC), as a cGAMP transporter. This channel mediates cGAMP import or export depending on the cGAMP chemical gradient, and channel activation or inhibition modulates cGAMP transport. Other 2’3’-cyclic dinucleotides are also transported by LRRC8A:C channels, including the investigational cancer therapeutic ADU-S100. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the LRRC8A-containing channel is the dominant cGAMP importer in primary human vasculature cells. Given tumor vasculature’s regulation of immune infiltration and its disruption in response to STING agonists, we have uncovered a leading molecular mechanism for extracellular cGAMP signaling in this important anti-cancer target.
Generating realistic null hypothesis of cancer mutational landscapes using SigProfilerSimulator
Authors: Bergstrom Erik N. , Barnes Mark , Martincorena Iñigo , Alexandrov Ludmil B. 
Published: February 2020

ABSTRACTPerforming a statistical test requires a null hypothesis. In cancer genomics, a key challenge is the fast generation of accurate somatic mutational landscapes that can be used as a realistic null hypothesis for making biological discoveries. Here we present SigProfilerSimulator, a powerful tool that is capable of simulating the mutational landscapes of thousands of cancer genomes at different resolutions within seconds. Applying SigProfilerSimulator to 2,144 whole-genome sequenced cancers reveals:(i)that most doublet base substitutions are not due to two adjacent single base substitutions but likely occur as single genomic events;(ii)that an extended sequencing context of +/-2bp is required to more completely capture the patterns of substitution mutational signatures in human cancer;(iii)information on false-positive discovery rate of commonly used bioinformatics tools for detecting driver genes. SigProfilerSimulator’s breadth of features allows one to construct a tailored null hypothesis and use it for evaluating the accuracy of other bioinformatics tools or for downstream statistical analysis for biological discoveries.
Relative efficiencies of simple and complex substitution models in estimating divergence times in phylogenomics
Authors: Tao Qiqing , Barba-Montoya Jose , Huuki Louise A. , Durnan Mary Kathleen , Kumar Sudhir 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe conventional wisdom in molecular evolution is to apply parameter-rich models of nucleotide and amino acid substitutions for estimating divergence times. However, the actual extent of the difference between time estimates produced by highly complex models compared to those from simple models is yet to be quantified for contemporary datasets that frequently contain sequences from many species and genes. In a reanalysis of many large multispecies alignments from diverse groups of taxa using the same tree topologies and calibrations, we found that the use of the simplest models can produce divergence time estimates and credibility intervals similar to those obtained from the complex models applied in the original studies. This result is surprising because the use of simple models underestimates sequence divergence for all the datasets analyzed. We find three fundamental reasons for the observed robustness of time estimates to model complexity in many practical datasets. First, the estimates of branch lengths and node-to-tip distances under the simplest model show an approximately linear relationship with those produced by using the most complex models applied, especially for datasets with many sequences. Second, relaxed clock methods automatically adjust rates on branches that experience considerable underestimation of sequence divergences, resulting in time estimates that are similar to those from complex models. And, third, the inclusion of even a few good calibrations in an analysis can reduce the difference in time estimates from simple and complex models. The robustness of time estimates to models complexity in these empirical data analyses is encouraging, because all phylogenomics studies use statistical models that are oversimplified descriptions of actual evolutionary substitution processes.
Corporate governance and performance of medium-sized firms in Nigeria: does sustainability initiative matter?
Authors: Adedeji Babatunji Samuel , Ong Tze San , Uzir Md Uzir Hossain , Abdul Hamid Abu Bakar 
Published: February 2020

PurposeThe non-existence of the corporate governance (CG) concept for practices by non-financial medium-sized firms (MSFs) in Nigeria informed. This study aims to determine whether CG practices influence firms’ performance and whether sustainability initiative (SI) mediates the relationship between CG and MSFs’ performance in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachA total of 300 firms were selected on convenience sampling basis from South Western Nigeria using a structured questionnaire. The authors used Statistical Package for Social Sciences for exploratory data analysis and hypotheses were tested using covariance-based structural equation modelling.FindingsThe results show that CG has a significant positive effect on performance [financial performance (FNP) and non-financial performance (NFP)] and SI. SI has a mixed impact on performance, e.g. a significant positive impact on NFP but insignificant negative impact on FNP. Similarly, SI has a combined mediating effect in the relationship between CG and performance, e.g. fully mediates CG → NFP and does not mediate CG → FNP. Firms are to invest in social and environmental initiatives substantially. CG codes will complement the International Financial Reporting Standards for MSFs.Research limitations/implicationsThis study supports the assumptions of theories (institutional, stakeholder and agency) as the basis for the usage of multiple approaches to determine the outcome of hypotheses, especially in developing climes.Practical implicationsThe study contributes to CG and performance literature by examining the mediating effects of SI. The paper also shows the necessity to emphasise NFP aspect. Policymakers should evolve CG codes to encourage stakeholders to believe more in the corporate existence of MSFs for strengthening capital-base and quality personnel engagement.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first empirical attempts showing the evidence on the relationship between CG and NFP in Nigeria.
Social and technical chains-of-effects in business-to-business (B2B) service relationships
Authors: Kingshott Russel P.J. , Sharma Piyush , Nair Smitha Ravindranathan 
Published: February 2020

Purpose
This paper aims to combine the social–technical systems and social exchange theories with the resource-based view of the firm, to investigate how business-to-business (B2B) service firms manage their social and technical resources to manage customer relationships.

Design/methodology/approach
An online survey-based study with 321 managers working in Australian small and medium (SME) firms is used to test hypotheses about the sequential and substitutional impact of four social and technical resources (service quality, satisfaction, trust and commitment) on customer loyalty, using both offline and online platforms.

Findings
The findings show that both social and technical chains of effects are viable channels for B2B service firms to build customer loyalty; however, mixing of both social and technical resources results in the weakening of both these chains.

Research limitations/implications
The results based on B2B service relationships between Australian SME firms and their banks may not be generalizable to other contexts.

Practical implications
This research would help managers in B2B service firms understand the pitfalls of combining their social and technical resources because it may hamper their ability to build customer loyalty. Hence, they need to learn how to synergize their marketing resources across both offline and online platforms to achieve optimal results.

Originality/value
This research introduces social and technical chains of effects as a novel way to examine the ability of B2B service firms to optimize their social and technical resources in a synergistic manner to build and nurture stronger customer relationships.
Women in the workforce
Authors: Hartman Rosanne L. , Barber Emily G. 
Published: February 2020

PurposeWhile women perform as well as their male counterparts at work, women are drastically underrepresented in the onboarding process to senior leadership. The link between occupational self-efficacy and the role it may play in how men and women make decisions about work has not been done. The purpose of this study is to examine potential differences of occupational self-efficacy, career aspirations and work engagement between women and men.Design/methodology/approachOnline surveys were created and sent out as emails and on social network sites including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.FindingsFindings indicate that occupational self-efficacy has positive effect on career aspirations of women in the workplace. Further, there was no statistically significant difference between occupational self-efficacy and work engagement between men and women. However, men were found to have statistically significantly higher career aspirations than women do.Research limitations/implicationsWhile men and women do not differ in occupational self-efficacy or work engagement, men do have higher career aspirations than women do. Although women may believe they can accomplish challenging tasks in the workplace, it does not mean this belief is acted upon.Practical implicationsThe study highlights the importance of occupational self-efficacy and its relation to career aspirations. Individuals who are high in occupational self-efficacy may set their own path in advancing within their career. However, individuals who are low or moderate in occupational self-efficacy may require further encouragement and development using additional resources as a catalyst for advancement guidance. While no differences were found between men and women in occupational self-efficacy, human resource practitioners should develop those individuals who are low or moderate in occupational self-efficacy with coaching, training and/or mentoring to build leadership capacity, increase self-efficacy and career-planning acumen.Social implicationsMen and women behave differently when seeking career advancement and in their career aspirations. For men, advancement is linked to performance whereas women use a multi-pronged approach focusing on preparing for career success and building role competency. Differences in strategy for advancement mean men will actively engage in behaviors to advance even when they do not have the knowledge or experience to perform in the new role. Conversely, women seek to feel competent in a work role prior to seeking it out. Finding ways to mentor women toward higher self-efficacy for their next career advancement will benefit organizations overall.Originality/valueResearch examining the role of occupational self-efficacy and its relation to career aspirations does not exist in comparing men and women.
The study of the effect of online review on purchase behavior
Authors: Zhang Jinghuan , Zheng Wenfeng , Wang Shan 
Published: February 2020

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explain the difference and connection between the network big data analysis technology and the psychological empirical research method.

Design/methodology/approach
This study analyzed the data from laboratory setting first, then the online sales data from Taobao.com to explore how the influential factors, such as online reviews (positive vs negative mainly), risk perception (higher vs lower) and product types (experiencing vs searching), interacted on the online purchase intention or online purchase behavior.

Findings
Compared with traditional research methods, such as questionnaire and behavioral experiment, network big data analysis has significant advantages in terms of sample size, data objectivity, timeliness and ecological validity.

Originality/value
Future study may consider the strategy of using complementary methods and combining both data-driven and theory-driven approaches in research design to provide suggestions for the development of e-commence in the era of big data.
Development of structural equation model for Lean Six Sigma system incorporated with sustainability considerations
Authors: R. Ben Ruben , Vinodh S. , P. Asokan 
Published: February 2020

Purpose
The study aims to describe the development of a structural measurement model using structural equation modeling technique to validate the association that exists between Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and sustainable manufacturing strategies.

Design/methodology/approach
Both LSS and sustainable manufacturing aim at improving the firm’s business competitiveness which forms a strategic link that benefits the manufacturing organizations. The study aims to investigate the relationship among constructs that leads to operational excellence while deploying LSS and sustainable manufacturing strategies in organizations.

Findings
Empirical data needed for the study are collected from experts belonging to various industries that are implementing both LSS and sustainable manufacturing practices. Later statistical estimates (hypotheses) are being formulated to confirm the developed measurement model. Based on the obtained results after analysis of the structural model, the statistical estimate is either being accepted or rejected. Results of this study reveal that there exists a strong correlation between LSS and sustainable manufacturing factors that leads to organizational performance.

Research limitations/implications
Additional indicators could be included to deal with technological advancements in sustainable manufacturing.

Practical implications
The study has been done with regard to Indian automotive component manufacturing organizations scenario. Hence, the inferences derived have practical relevance.

Originality/value
The development of structural model for the Lean Six Sigma system with sustainability considerations is the original contribution of the authors.