bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
PCB126-mediated effects on adipocyte energy metabolism and adipokine secretion may result in abnormal glucose uptake in muscle cells
Authors: Caron Audrey , Ahmed Fozia , Peshdary Vian , Garneau Léa , Atlas Ella , Aguer Céline 
Published: July 2020

AbstractBackgroundExposure to coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is linked to the development of insulin resistance. Previous studies suggested that PCB126 alters muscle mitochondrial function through an indirect mechanism. Since PCBs are stored in fat, we hypothesized that PCB126 alters adipokine secretion, which in turn affects muscle metabolism.ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were: 1) To study the impacts of PCB126 exposure on adipocyte cytokine/adipokine secretion; 2) To determine whether adipocyte-derived factors alter glucose metabolism and mitochondrial function in myotubes when exposed to PCB126; 3) To determine whether pre-established insulin resistance alters the metabolic responses of adipocytes exposed to PCB126 and the communication between adipocytes and myotubes.Method3T3-L1 adipocytes were exposed to PCB126 (1-100 nM) in two insulin sensitivity conditions (insulin sensitive (IS) and insulin resistant (IR) adipocytes), followed by the measurement of secreted adipokines, mitochondrial function and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Communication between adipocytes and myotubes was reproduced by exposing C2C12 or mouse primary myotubes to conditioned medium (CM) derived from IS or IR 3T3-L1 adipocytes exposed to PCB126. Mitochondrial function and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake were then determined in myotubes.ResultsPCB126 significantly increased adipokine (adiponectin, IL-6, MCP-1, TNF-α) secretion and decreased mitochondrial function, glucose uptake and glycolysis in IR but not in IS 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Altered energy metabolism in IR 3T3-L1 adipocytes was linked to decreased phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (p-AMPK) and increased superoxide dismutase 2 levels, an enzyme involved in reactive oxygen species detoxification. Exposure of myotubes to CM from PCB126-treated IR adipocytes decreased glucose uptake, without altering glycolysis or mitochondrial function. Interestingly, p-AMPK levels were increased rather than decreased in myotubes exposed to the CM of PCB126-treated IR adipocytes.ConclusionTaken together, these data suggest that increased adipokine secretion from IR adipocytes exposed to PCB126 may explain impaired glucose uptake in myotubes.
Metabolic fate of human immunoactive sterols inMycobacterium tuberculosis
Authors: Varaksa Tatsiana , Bukhdruker Sergey , Grabovec Irina , Marin Egor , Kavaleuski Anton , Gusach Anastasiia , Kovalev Kirill , Maslov Ivan , Luginina Aleksandra , Zabelskiy Dmitry , Astashkin Roman , Shevtsov Mikhail , Smolskaya Sviatlana , Kavaleuskaya Anna , Shabunya Polina , Baranovsky Alexander , Dolgopalets Vladimir , Charnou Yury , Savachka Aleh , Litvinovskaya Raisa , Hurski Alakseij , Shevchenko Evgeny , Rogachev Andrey , Mishin Alexey , Gordeliy Valentin , Gabrielian Andrei , Hurt Darrell E. , Nikonenko Boris , Majorov Konstantin , Apt Alexander , Rosenthal Alex , Gilep Andrei , Borshchevskiy Valentin , Strushkevich Natallia 
Published: July 2020

AbstractMycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb) infection is among top ten causes of death worldwide, and the number of drug-resistant strains is increasing. The direct interception of human immune signaling molecules by Mtb remains elusive, limiting drug discovery. Oxysterols and secosteroids regulate both innate and adaptive immune responses. Here we report a functional, structural, and bioinformatics study of Mtb enzymes initiating cholesterol catabolism and demonstrated their interrelation with human immunity. We show that these enzymes metabolize human immune oxysterol messengers. Rv2266 – the most potent among them – can also metabolize vitamin D3 (VD3) derivatives. High-resolution structures show common patterns of sterols binding and reveal a site for oxidative attack during catalysis. Finally, we designed a compound that binds and inhibits three studied proteins. The compound shows activity against Mtb H37Rv residing in macrophages. Our findings contribute to molecular understanding of suppression of immunity and suggest that Mtb has its own transformation system resembling the human phase I drug-metabolizing system.
Enhancer-associated H3K4 methylation safeguards in vitro germline competence
Authors: Bleckwehl Tore , Crispatzu Giuliano , Schaaf Kaitlin , Respuela Patricia , Bartusel Michaela , Benson Laura , Clark Stephen J. , Dorighi Kristel M. , Barral Antonio , Laugsch Magdalena , van IJcken Wilfred F. J. , Manzanares Miguel , Wysocka Joanna , Reik Wolf , Rada-Iglesias Álvaro 
Published: July 2020

SUMMARYGermline specification in mammals occurs through an inductive process whereby competent cells in the post-implantation epiblast differentiate into primordial germ cells (PGC). The intrinsic factors that endow epiblast cells with the competence to respond to germline inductive signals remain unknown. Single-cell RNA sequencing across multiple stages of anin vitroPGC-like cells (PGCLC) differentiation system shows that PGCLC genes initially expressed in the naïve pluripotent stage become homogeneously dismantled in germline competent epiblast like-cells (EpiLC). In contrast, the decommissioning of enhancers associated with these germline genes is incomplete. Namely, a subset of these enhancers partly retain H3K4me1, accumulate less heterochromatic marks and remain accessible and responsive to transcriptional activators. Subsequently, asin vitrogermline competence is lost, these enhancers get further decommissioned and lose their responsiveness to transcriptional activators. Importantly, using H3K4me1 deficient cells, we show that the loss of this histone modification reduces the germline competence of EpiLC and decreases PGCLC differentiation efficiency. Our work suggests that, although H3K4me1 might not be essential for enhancer function, it can facilitate the (re)activation of enhancers and the establishment of gene expression programs during specific developmental transitions.
Immobilised collagen prevents shedding and induces sustained GPVI clustering and signalling in platelets
Authors: Pallini Chiara , Pike Jeremy A. , O’Shea Christopher , Andrews Robert K. , Gardiner Elizabeth E. , Watson Steve P. , Poulter Natalie S. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractCollagen, the most thrombogenic constituent of blood vessel walls, activates platelets through glycoprotein VI (GPVI). In suspension, following platelet activation by collagen, GPVI is cleaved by A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase (ADAM)10 and ADAM17. In this study, we use single-molecule localization microscopy and a 2-level DBSCAN-based clustering tool to show that GPVI remains clustered along immobilised collagen fibres for at least 3 hours in the absence of significant shedding. Tyrosine phosphorylation of spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) and Linker of Activated T cells (LAT), and elevation of intracellular Ca2+, are sustained over this period. Syk, but not Src kinase-dependent signalling is required to maintain clustering of the collagen integrin α2β1, whilst neither is required for GPVI. We propose that clustering of GPVI on immobilised collagen protects GPVI from shedding in order to maintain sustained Src and Syk-kinases dependent signalling, activation of integrin α2β1 and continued adhesion.
Learning to Personalize Medicine from Aggregate Data
Authors: Colbaugh Rich , Glass Kristin 
Published: July 2020

AbstractThere is great interest in personalized medicine, in which treatment is tailored to the individual characteristics of patients. Achieving the objectives of precision healthcare will require clinically-grounded, evidence-based approaches, which in turn demands rigorous, scalable predictive analytics. Standard strategies for deriving prediction models for medicine involve acquiring ‘training’ data for large numbers of patients, labeling each patient according to the outcome of interest, and then using the labeled examples to learn to predict the outcome for new patients. Unfortunately, labeling individuals is time-consuming and expertise-intensive in medical applications and thus represents a major impediment to practical personalized medicine. We overcome this obstacle with a novel machine learning algorithm that enables individual-level prediction models to be induced from aggregate-level labeled data, which is readily-available in many health domains. The utility of the proposed learning methodology is demonstrated by: i.) leveraging US county-level mental health statistics to create a screening tool which detects individuals suffering from depression based upon their Twitter activity; ii.) designing a decision-support system that exploits aggregate clinical trials data on multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment to predict which therapy would work best for the presenting patient; iii.) employing group-level clinical trials data to induce a model able to find those MS patients likely to be helped by an experimental therapy.
Commentary on “being diagnosed with autism in adulthood: a personal case study”
Authors: Tromans Samuel , Chester Verity 
Published: July 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on “being diagnosed with autism in adulthood: a personal case study”.Design/methodology/approachA commentary on an individual’s personal experiences of being referred to autism assessment services and subsequently receiving a diagnosis of autism in adulthood.FindingsMany individuals are not diagnosed with autism until their adult life, and as a result, miss the benefits of timely introduction of sources of support, such as during their schooling. Receiving an autism diagnosis can come as a relief and promote self-understanding, but availability of high-quality post-diagnostic support services and accommodating employers are both highly important.Originality/valueA commentary on an original viewpoint is published in this special edition on gender and diversity.
Factors influencing students' reactions to ethical dilemmas in advertising'
Authors: Cheah Isaac , Shimul Anwar Sadat 
Published: July 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to extend existing research on ethics in advertising through investigating the key factors that influence students' reaction towards ethical dilemmas.Design/methodology/approachSeveral hypotheses are developed and tested across twenty three ethical dilemma scenarios relative to advertising and business. Using information collected from business students (1297 useable responses) at a large Western Australian university.FindingsThe results indicates significant differences amongst culture, educational background, gender, work experience and corporate culture towards students' reactions to ethical dilemmas.Practical implicationsThis research suggests that providing a stronger emphasis on ethics in educational institutions will increase the likeliness for students in behaving ethically. The managerial implications of these findings are also discussed, including the development of a potential ethical work context and programmes that enhance ethical sensitivity. Managers and executives would also benefit from this study by encouraging better ethical performance through understanding employees' behaviour.Originality/valueExtant studies on ethical dilemmas in advertising highly focus on European's and North American's ethical beliefs. Thus, this paper look at the Western Australian sample of students at a broader context through acknowledging East Asian student sample in Western Australia; Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian and Taiwanese.
Simultaneous identification of timewise terms and free boundaries for the heat equation
Authors: Huntul Mousa , Tamsir Mohammad 
Published: July 2020

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight and to solve numerically the identification of timewise terms and free boundaries coefficient appearing in the heat equation from over-determination conditions.

Design/methodology/approach
The formulated coefficient identification problem is inverse and ill-posed, and therefore, to obtain a stable solution, a nonlinear Tikhonov regularization least-squares approach is used. For the numerical discretization, the finite difference method combined with a regularized nonlinear minimization is performed using the MATLAB subroutine lsqnonlin.

Findings
The numerical results presented for two examples show the efficiency of the computational method and the accuracy and stability of the numerical solution even in the presence of noise in the input data.

Research limitations/implications
The mathematical formulation is restricted to identify coefficients in unknown components dependent on time, and this may be considered as a research limitation. However, there is no research implication to overcome this, as the known input data is also limited to single temperature in heat equation with Stefan conditions, and the first- and second-order heat moments measurements at a particular time location.

Practical implications
As noisy data are inverted, the study models real situations in which practical measurements are inherently contaminated with noise.

Social implications
The identification of the timewise terms and free boundaries will be of great interest in the heat transfer community and related fluid flow applications.

Originality/value
The current investigation advances previous studies, which assumed that the coefficient multiplying the lower order temperature term depends on time. The knowledge of this physical property coefficient is very important in heat transfer and fluid flow. The originality lies in the insight gained by performing for the numerical simulations of inversion to find the timewise terms and free boundaries coefficient dependent on time in the heat equation from noisy measurements.
Wealth out of Waste (WOW): a business paradox
Authors: Mathur Mini , Kothari Smita P. 
Published: July 2020

Learning outcomes
Help students understand Porter’s five forces framework. Explore and analyze possible growth strategies using the Ansoff matrix.

Case overview/synopsis
This case study integrates lessons in growth strategies, Porter’s five forces and the Ansoff matrix. Vijay Kothari, Founder of Wealth out of Waste (WOW) is in a fix. In spite of functioning in an environment of abundant demand and potential, he is unable to perform in his optimum capacity because of operational and manpower-related issues. WOW, which turned nine in 2019, is a sort of monopoly in the organized business of scheduled collection of recyclable trash. WOW is operating in a 2% market with 98% being captured by traditional “pastiwalas.” From the current waiting period of up to seven days, Kothari wants to service any area in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India within 2 h. To achieve this objective, how should Kothari overcome the growth challenge in the business.

Complexity academic level
Undergraduate and postgraduate.

Supplementary materials
Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

Subject code
CSS 11: Strategy.
A systematic review of mental stressors in the construction industry
Authors: Tijani Bashir , Jin Xiaohua , Osei-kyei Robert 
Published: July 2020

PurposeStressors emanated from construction projects are causative factors for occupational stress inherent in the construction industry. Concomitant implications of stressors ignite a burst of empirical evidence, which necessitates a systematic review to capture the state of art of the extant literature. Therefore, this paper addresses this significant gap by conducting a systematic review of mental stressors.Design/methodology/approachA three-stage screening and data extraction method were employed to retrieve 38 papers that met the inclusion criteria for the study.FindingsThe annual publication trends and contributions of selected journals were elucidated. Moreover, this review identified 49 stressors from 38 selected peer-reviewed journals between 1997 and 2020. The most frequently reported mental stressors include work overload, home-work conflict, poor working environment, role ambiguity and poor working relationships. The 49 stressors could be classified into five main categories, namely; organizational stressors, task stressors, personal stressors, physical stressors and gender-related stressors.Originality/valueThe findings of the study broaden the understanding of the practitioners and policymakers on the dynamics of stressors for the development of stress interventions. Future research should focus on exploration of mental stressors specific to construction projects and different occupational trades.
Identification of drivers of employee engagement in Indian power companies
Authors: Mohanty Samarendra Kumar , P Arunprasad 
Published: July 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to extend the scope of social exchange theory (SET) to explore employee engagement and test its application in the context of Indian power companies. The study also attempts to explore the antecedents of employee engagement. This study includes organizational culture and three trusts, that is co-worker trust, supervisor trust and organizational trust whose presence in the organization influences employee engagement.Design/methodology/approachThe study includes a sample of 812 executives who represent three major functions of the Indian power sector, that is power generation, power transmission and power distribution. The relationships between constructs are evaluated using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings of this study indicate that four resources in the organization influence employee engagement in different ways. Three constructs representing co-worker trust, supervisor trust and organizational trust partially mediate the relation between organizational culture and employee engagement. This study also compares the engagement levels of the employees from three power companies.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is focused on companies operating in only the government sector.Practical implicationsEnsuring engagement from employees for the critical power sector is expected to support the development of the HR practices in this sector. Identification of sector-specific resources is expected to aid both employees and policymakers from the organization.Social implicationsThis study assists the policy makers in the organization by showcasing the importance of organizational culture, interpersonal and organizational trusts and their impact on employee engagement.Originality/valueResource theory explains why certain resources in the workplace are exchanged for employee engagement. This study extends theories of engagement as well as SET and examines their application as employee engagement in the context of executives from Indian power companies. This understanding will aid the practitioners and researchers to further their understanding of employee engagement.
An exploration of digital ride-hailing multisided platforms' market dynamics: empirical evidence from the Uber case study
Authors: Cosenz Federico , Qorbani Davood , Yamaguchi Yokei 
Published: July 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to experiment a dynamic performance management (DPM) approach to explore and assess the business dynamics of digital ride-hailing platforms with a focus on both supply and demand sides, and related interplays.Design/methodology/approachThe research adopts the DPM framework supported by simulation-based experimentations for developing a systemic case interpretation of Uber Inc. and its specific business complexity.FindingsThe emerging scenario analysis reveals that changes in the commission percentage for drivers and cutting prices for customers (car hailers) by competitors have significant impacts on the car-hailing industry.Originality/valueDPM and associated simulation-based analysis of the ride-hailing business may provide significant managerial decision insights and a ground base research in a relatively less-explored field within the strategic management domain.
Assessing Dutch housing cycle and near-term market prospects
Authors: Jadevicius Arvydas , van Gool Peter 
Published: July 2020

PurposeThis study is a practice undertaking examining three main concerns that currently dominate Dutch housing market debate: how long is the cycle, will the current house price inflation continue and is housing market in a bubble. With national house prices reaching record highs across all major cities, future market prospects became a topic of significant debate among policymakers, investors and the populace.Design/methodology/approachA triangulation of well-established academic methods is used to perform investigation. The models include Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filter, volatility autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH approximation) and right tail augmented Dickey–Fuller (Rtadf) test (bubble screening technique).FindingsInterestingly, over the years from 1985 to 2019 research period, filtering extracts only one Dutch national housing cycle. This is a somewhat distinct characteristic compared to other advanced Western economies (inter alia the UK and the USA) where markets tend to experience 8- to 10-year gyrations. Volatility and Rtadf test suggest that current house prices in most Dutch cities are in excess of historical averages and statistical thresholds. House price levels in Almere, Amsterdam, The Hague, Groningen, Rotterdam and Utrecht are of particular concern.Originality/valueRetail investors should therefore be cautious as they are entering the market at the time of elevated housing values. For institutional investors, those investing in long-term, housing in key Dutch metropolitan areas, even if values decline, is still an attractive investment conduit.
Job insecurity and performance in public and private sectors: a moderated mediation model
Authors: Chirumbolo Antonio , Callea Antonino , Urbini Flavio 
Published: July 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to extend our knowledge of the relationship between quantitative and qualitative job insecurity and performance. On the basis of stress theories, we hypothesised that qualitative job insecurity (QLJI) would mediate the negative effect of quantitative job insecurity (QTJI) on two different indicators of performance: task performance (TP) and counterproductive work behaviours (CPWBs). In addition, the authors hypothesised that the effect of QTJI on QLJI would be moderated by the economic sector (public vs private) in which employees worked. Therefore, the authors empirically tested a moderated mediation model via PROCESS.Design/methodology/approachParticipants were 431 employees from various Italian organisations. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire measuring QTJI, QLJI, TP and CPWBs.FindingsThe results indicated that economic sector moderated the relationship between quantitative and QLJI. Both quantitative and QLJI were related to performance outcomes. Furthermore, QLJI mediated the effect of QTJI on TP and CPWB. However, this mediation was particularly apparent among employees in the private sector, supporting our hypothesised moderated mediation model.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that managers of private and public organisations need to apply different policies to reduce the impact of job insecurity on CPWBs and increase the TP of their employees.Originality/valueThis study attempted to examine the job insecurity–performance relationship in more depth. For the first time, the effects of both job insecurity dimensions on performance were simultaneously investigated, with economic sector as a moderator and QLJI as a mediator.