bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
RNF20 affects porcine adipocyte differentiation via regulation of mitotic clonal expansion
Authors: Zhao Ying , Pan Jianfei , Cao Chunwei , Liang Xiaojuan , Yang Shulin , Liu Lulu , Tao Cong , Zhao Jianguo , Wang Yanfang 
Published: October 2021

AbstractObjectivesRNF20 is recognized as a main E3 ligase for monoubiquitination of histone H2B at lysine 120 (H2Bub). The critical role of RNF20 and H2Bub in various molecular events, such as DNA replication, RNA transcription, and DNA damage response, has been widely investigated and documented. However, its role in porcine adipogenesis remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to clarify the effect of RNF20 on porcine preadipocyte differentiation.Materials and MethodsBackfat tissues from fat‐type pigs (Bama and Meishan) and lean‐type pigs (Yorkshire and Landrace) were collected to detect the expression level of RNF20. Preadipocytes were isolated from Bama piglets and induced to differentiation. Small interfering RNAs were applied to deplete RNF20. Oil Red O staining, quantitative real‐time PCR, RNA‐seq, Western blot analysis, and EdU assays were performed to study the regulatory mechanism of RNF20 during adipogenesis.ResultsWe found that the expression levels of RNF20 and H2Bub were significantly higher in backfat tissues from fat‐type pigs than in those from lean‐type pigs. Consistently, the significantly induced expression of RNF20 and H2Bub was also observed in porcine differentiated adipocytes. In addition, knockdown of RNF20 greatly inhibited porcine adipogenesis, as evidenced by dramatically decreased lipid droplet formation and lower expression levels of adipogenic transcription masters in RNF20 knockdown cells. Mechanistically, the depletion of RNF20 decreases the cell proliferation and the level of p‐C/EBPβ via the Ras‐Raf‐MEK1/2‐ERK1/2 cascade pathway at the mitotic clonal expansion phase and therefore suppresses cell differentiation.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that RNF20 is required for porcine preadipocyte differentiation.
Female participation and financial performance of microfinance institutions: Evidence from transition economies
Authors: Mia Md Aslam , Dalla Pellegrina Lucia , Wong Wai‐Yan 
Published: October 2021

SummaryMotivationAlthough female clients are the main target of most Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), male–female workforce ratio in microfinance operations is not proportionate. There is a consensus that a greater female presence in the workforce at all hierarchical levels could enhance the financial performance of MFIs thanks to women’s tougher commitments and better managing capacity.PurposeThere is scarce research investigating which hierarchical levels of female workforce contribute to MFIs’ financial performance. This study aims at filling this gap by jointly analysing the effect of female participation at all hierarchical levels of MFIs, which is relatively rare in the existing literature, especially in microfinance.Methods and approachWe use data from 172 MFIs in Eastern Europe and Central Asian countries (EECA) for the period 1996–2014. The data were then analysed by ordinary least squares, fixed, and random effects models, along with several diagnostic tests.FindingsWe find that female board members and female clients contribute positively to the financial performance of MFIs. The literature presents these outcomes as being due to women’s’ better organizational and monitoring techniques, and more responsible use of loans, respectively. However, our analysis shows that female managers and loan officers may impair financial performance to some extent, possibly because they face cultural limitations and safety obstacles, resulting in their being less persuasive and effective than men, especially in the process of collecting arrears payments.Policy implicationsOur study suggests that MFIs in the EECA context may improve their financial sustainability by reconsidering their organizational choices, such as operational recruitment, placing women at the top of the decision‐making process. At the lower levels of the hierarchy, particularly loan officers, it would be advisable to support them in the interaction with male customers, so that they can adopt more effective techniques in the loan collection phases. MFIs can also scale up their loan activities to more women since their representation in the client base is relatively low in the EECA region.
Integrating structural control, health monitoring, and energy harvesting for smart cities
Authors: Javadinasab Hormozabad Sajad , Gutierrez Soto Mariantonieta , Adeli Hojjat 
Published: October 2021

AbstractCities that are adopting innovative and technology‐driven solutions to improve the city's efficiency are consideredsmart cities. With the increased attention on smart cities with self‐driving vehicles, drones, and robots, designing smart infrastructure is only a natural extension. Smart infrastructures aim to self‐diagnose, self‐power, self‐adapt, and self‐heal during normal and extreme operating conditions. Structural vibration control (SVC) and structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies, in particular, are expected to play pivotal roles in the development of modern smart and resilient structures. SVC methodologies intend to provide supplemental damping and reduce the structural dynamic responses during normal and extreme events. SHM methodologies offer valuable information about the structure's condition that is useful for maintenance purposes and rapid damage detection in post‐hazard events. The collapse of the 12‐story Champlain Towers South, a beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, could have been known in advance with an embedded SHM technology. More recently, the integrated structural control and health monitoring (ISCHM) systems have shown promise in the development of smart cities of the future. The integrated architecture incorporates the control and health monitoring components as complementary technologies and simultaneously takes advantage of both technologies. This article provides a state‐of‐the‐art review of ISCHM ideas and systems. It presents recent significant developments in structural control, SHM, and energy harvesting that are paving the way towards the advent of integrated ISCHM systems, including damage‐tolerant control systems. This article also identifies future promising research areas for designing the next generation of autonomous ISCHM systems for smart cities.
Social networks and advice for new mothers: The importance of grandmothers' embeddedness
Authors: Cornwell Benjamin , Yan Xuewen , Carlin Rebecca F. , Fu Linda , Wang Jichuan , Moon Rachel Y. 
Published: October 2021

AbstractObjectiveWe examine whom, among her social network members, a new mother ranks as her most important source of advice for infant care practices and how the ranking of a network member depends on their connectedness to a mother's other network members.BackgroundPrevious research points to the influence of personal networks members' advice on parental practices. However, to design effective interventions that facilitate safe and healthy infant and childcare practices, it is important to understand who, in parents' social circles, they turn to most for advice.MethodWe recruited 402 Black and White new mothers in Washington, DC. We analyze the importance rank they assign to their 1,791 network members using nested, dyad‐level rank‐ordered logit models.ResultsConnectivity to a mother's other network members and being the mother's mother (i.e., the baby's maternal grandmother) emerged as positive and significant predictors of being ranked as the most important sources of advice. Additionally, the effect of being a grandmother is stronger among grandmothers who are well connected to mothers' other network members.ConclusionNetwork members who are well embedded in mothers' own networks are usually viewed by mothers as key sources of advice. Embeddedness is an especially significant condition for new mothers when ranking babies' maternal grandmothers as main advisors.ImplicationsWe encourage future research on mothers' network members as potential targets for infant and childrearing‐related interventions.
Impact of anesthetics on oncogenic signaling network: a review on propofol and isoflurane
Authors: Saha Priyanka , Das Ananya , Chatterjee Nabanita , Chakrabarti Deepa , Sinha Dona 
Published: October 2021

AbstractPropofol as an intravenous anesthetic and isoflurane as an inhalational/volatile anesthetic continue to be an important part of surgical anesthetic interventions worldwide. The impact of these anesthetics on tumor progression, immune modulation, and survival rates of cancer patients has been widely investigated. Although most of the preclinical studies have provided a beneficial effect of propofol over isoflurane or other volatile anesthetics, several investigations have shown contradictory results, which warrant more preclinical and clinical studies. Propofol mostly exhibits antitumor properties, whereas isoflurane being a cost‐effective anesthetic is frequently used. However, isoflurane has been also reported with protumorigenic activity. This review provides an overall perspective on the network of signaling pathways that may modulate several steps of tumor progression from inflammation, immunomodulation, epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) to invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, and cancer stemness and extracellular vesicles along with chemotherapeutic applications and clinical status of these anesthetics. A clear understanding of the mechanistic viewpoints of these anesthetics may pave the way for more prospective clinical trials with the ultimate goal of obtaining a safe and optimal anesthetic intervention that would prevent cancer recurrence and may influence better postoperative survival.
The role of credit default swaps in determining corporate payout policy
Authors: Lee Hwang Hee , Oh Frederick Dongchuhl 
Published: October 2021

AbstractWe examine how the introduction of credit default swap (CDS) trading on the debt of individual firms affects corporate payout policy. We find that firms increase payouts to shareholders after the introduction of CDS trading on their debt. This suggests that CDS‐referenced firms are more likely to be affected by decreased creditor monitoring than by tougher CDS‐insured creditors when determining total payout amount. Moreover, the increase in payouts after CDS introduction is more pronounced in firms with smaller institutional ownership and greater bank debt dependency. Finally, we show that CDS‐referenced firms tend to prefer stock repurchases that have a financial flexibility advantage over dividends to protect against the potential threat of tougher CDS‐insured creditors.
Cold‐water species deepen to escape warm water temperatures
Authors: Chaikin Shahar , Dubiner Shahar , Belmaker Jonathan 
Published: October 2021

AbstractAimWhether marine species can respond to ocean warming by changing their depth remains controversial. Some evidence suggests that species can deepen to cope with warming climates, whereas other studies have found ecologically constrained depth distributions. Our study focuses on generalizing the depth response of species to warming and elucidating whether some species display a larger change in depth than others. This might help us to understand the future distribution of marine species and communities.LocationThe Mediterranean Sea.Time period1985–2017.Major taxa studiedFish, malacostracans and cephalopods.MethodsWe compiled depth records of species from bottom‐trawl surveys encompassing 236 marine species across the steep climatic gradient of the Mediterranean Sea. These data represent the largest assessment, to date, of the potential of species to modify their depth distribution in response to spatially varying climate. Using environmental variables (e.g., sea surface temperature, bottom temperature and salinity), we elucidate the change in depth of species across different climatic gradients. We then test whether species traits (e.g., thermal preference, depth affinity and taxonomic relationship) explain the variation in depth response.ResultsWe reveal a significant deepening of minimum depths (shallow depth limits) with increasing sea temperatures across the Mediterranean Sea. Moreover, we show that this deepening is uneven among species, in that cold‐water species and eurytherms deepen more than warm‐water species and stenotherms. In addition, deep‐water species deepen more than shallow‐water species. We also find surprising changes toward shallower maximal depths (deep depth limits) with warming, but this pattern is not entirely supported by our sensitivity analyses.Main conclusionsThese large changes across the Mediterranean Sea imply that progressively warmer oceans will compress the vertical distribution of marine organisms. However, given that different species will respond differentially, the future vertical distribution of marine communities will change in complex ways.
A critical analysis of research methods to study clinical molecular biomarkers in Endodontic research
Authors: Zehnder Matthias , Belibasakis Georgios N. 
Published: October 2021

AbstractThe authors of this narrative review aimed to address various experimental methods and make recommendations for how research should move forward in the context of studying biomarkers in clinical Endodontic research. The approach adopted is exemplified using two prominent clinical problems, namely (a) the ‘reversible’ versus ‘irreversible’ pulpitis conundrum and (b) persistent idiopathic dentoalveolar pain (PIDAP). Pulpitis under deep caries or dentinal cracks is understood from a histological perspective, but clinical assessment tools to indicate irreversibly inflamed aspects of the dental pulp are elusive. PIDAP, on the other hand, is a diagnosis of exclusion; its pathophysiology is complex and not understood sufficiently to avoid unnecessary dental treatments. This review addresses how diagnostic biomarkers could further our understanding of those and other clinical problems, and how issues can be tackled from a methodological point of view. Hence, different methodological approaches to identify suitable diagnostic biomarker(s) or use known biomarkers are presented. The importance of asking a relevant research question, collecting the most suitable fluid and using the ideal collection vehicle for the research question under investigation is discussed based on the defined clinical problems.
The role of thromboxane prostanoid receptor signaling in gastric ulcer healing
Authors: Yamane Sakiko , Amano Hideki , Ito Yoshiya , Betto Tomohiro , Matsui Yoshio , Koizumi Wasaburo , Narumiya Shuh , Majima Masataka 
Published: October 2021

AbstractThe process of gastric ulcer healing includes cell migration, proliferation, angiogenesis and re‐epithelialization. Platelets contain angiogenesis stimulating factors that induce angiogenesis. Thromboxane A2 (TXA2) not only induces platelet activity but also angiogenesis. This study investigated the role of TXA2 in gastric ulcer healing using TXA2 receptor knockout (TPKO) mice. Gastric ulcer healing was suppressed by treatment with the TXA2 synthase inhibitor OKY‐046 and the TXA2 receptor antagonist S‐1452 compared with vehicle‐treated mice. TPKO showed delayed gastric ulcer healing compared with wild‐type mice (WT). The number of microvessels and CD31 expression were lower in TPKO than in WT mice, and TPKO suppressed the expression of transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐β) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF‐A) in areas around gastric ulcers. Immunofluorescence assays showed that TGF‐β and VEGF‐A co‐localized with platelets. Gastric ulcer healing was significantly reduced in WT mice transplanted with TPKO compared with WT bone marrow. These results suggested that TP signalling on platelets facilitates gastric ulcer healing through TGF‐β and VEGF‐A.
Thermally stable Mn2+‐activated zinc silicate nanophosphor for speedy recognition of high‐contrast latent fingermarks
Authors: Sahu Mukesh K. , Bishnoi Swati , Swati G. , Jayasimhadri M. , Haranath D. 
Published: October 2021

AbstractCrystalline divalent manganese‐activated zinc orthosilicate (Zn2SiO4:Mn2+) nanophosphor has been synthesized via the solution‐based sol–gel process. Structural, morphological, and photoluminescence (PL) properties were explored. X‐ray diffraction pattern confirms the crystalline hexagonal structure of the single‐phase Zn2SiO4 powder. The size and shape of Zn2SiO4 powder were analyzed using micrographs, which implies that the prepared phosphor particles are in the nano range. PL spectra have been recorded as a function of Mn2+ dopant concentration. A dominant green (∼526 nm) emission broad peak was observed owing to the characteristic (4T1→6A1) transition of Mn2+ ion under UV/blue excitation. The green emission (∼526 nm) intensity depends upon the doping concentration of Mn2+ ion, and it is found to be optimum for 2.0 mol%, after that quenching phenomenon was registered. The CIE color coordinate of Zn2SiO4:Mn2+ lies in the bright green region under UV excitation with 94.3% color purity. Real‐time experiments have been carried out for speedy development of high‐contrast fingermarks using Zn2SiO4 nanophosphor on various porous and nonporous substrates.
Training activities in subsidiaries of foreign multinational companies: Local embeddedness in Germany?
Authors: Fuchs Martina , Westermeyer Johannes , Finken Lena , Pilz Matthias 
Published: October 2021

AbstractWhile labour geography notes that subsidiaries of multinational companies (MNCs) exploit workers, studies in vocational education show that the international subsidiaries perform education and training. Often, the latter strand of literature relates to cases of MNCs from countries with ‘dual’ apprenticeships that combine comprehensive vocational education and training (VET) of vocational schools/universities and companies. This is how VET is practiced in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The VET literature also explores how transfer of ‘dual’ practices from these countries of origin can contribute to skilling employees in the host countries. Starting from these conceptual approaches, this paper takes a different perspective. It asks how training activities of MNCs with headquarters in countries where companies hardly combine their in‐house trainings with vocational schools, perform training activities in Germany where ‘dual’ apprenticeship is the prevalent institutional environment. Besides ‘dual’ VET, the study also includes MNCs’ ‘dually’ coordinated training activities with universities. The topic of MNCs’ training activities in such complex structured institutional environments has hardly been researched until now. Methodologically, the study is based on case studies and uses qualitative research approaches for the evaluation of interviews. The results illustrate a spectrum of different kinds of training by presenting three case studies and show how they relate to the particular institutional context in Germany. The discussion and conclusion integrate the results in further findings of the study and literature.
Impact of varying wave periods of COVID‐19 on in‐hospital mortality and length of stay for admission through emergency department: A territory‐wide observational cohort study
Authors: Xiong Xi , Wai Abraham K. C. , Wong Janet Y. H. , Tang Eric H. M. , Chu Owen C. K. , Wong Carlos K. H. , Rainer Timothy H. 
Published: October 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe COVID‐19 pandemic has been associated with excess mortality and reduced emergency department attendance. However, the effect of varying wave periods of COVID‐19 on in‐hospital mortality and length of stay (LOS) for non‐COVID disease for non‐COVID diseases remains unexplored.MethodsWe examined a territory‐wide observational cohort of 563,680 emergency admissions between January 1 and November 30, 2020, and 709,583 emergency admissions during the same 2019 period in Hong Kong, China. Differences in 28‐day in‐hospital mortality risk and LOS due to COVID‐19 were evaluated.ResultsThe cumulative incidence of 28‐day in‐hospital mortality increased overall from 2.9% in 2019 to 3.6% in 2020 (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.22, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.25). The aHR was higher among patients with lower respiratory tract infection (aHR: 1.30 95% CI 1.26 to 1.34), airway disease (aHR: 1.35 95% CI 1.22 to 1.49), and mental disorders (aHR: 1.26 95% CI 1.15 to 1.37). Mortality risk in the first‐ and third‐wave periods was significantly greater than that in the inter‐wave period (p‐interaction < 0.001). The overall average LOS in the pandemic year was significantly shorter than that in 2019 (Mean difference = −0.40 days; 95% CI −0.43 to −0.36). Patients with mental disorders and cerebrovascular disease in 2020 had a 3.91‐day and 2.78‐day shorter LOS than those in 2019, respectively.ConclusionsIncreased risk of in‐hospital deaths was observed overall and by all major subgroups of disease during the pandemic period. Together with significantly reduced LOS for patients with mental disorders and cerebrovascular disease, this study shows the spillover effect of the COVID‐19 pandemic.
Multiple property enhancement in bismuth ferrite‐based ferroelectrics by balancing nanodomain and relaxor state
Authors: Li Yang , Zheng Ting , Wu Jiagang 
Published: October 2021

AbstractBismuth ferrite‐barium titanate (BF‐BT)‐based ferroelectrics have received widespread attention due to its adjustable structure features and multifunctional characteristics. Property optimization (ferroelectricity, piezoelectricity, electrostrain, electrostriction) for different application scenarios can be realized by increasing BT content gradually, while it is still difficult to integrate multiple performance advantages in the same component. To solve the problem and achieve the simultaneous enhancement of property parameters, defect engineering was adopted in this work to balance domain configuration and relaxor state via selective oxides modification strategy. Compared with the nanodomain engineered relaxor ferroelectrics with improved electrostrain and degraded ferroelectricity, the defect‐mediated ceramics doped with MnO2 present both enhanced electrostrain and ferroelectricity. Multiscale structure analysis (crystal structure, defect structure, and domain structure) and property characterization (ferroelectricity, strain property, and leakage current density) suggested that the defect dipoles induced by Mn substitution can effectively refine domain size and maintain ferroelectric state at room temperature, and the easier domain switching caused by weak‐correlated polar dipoles greatly improves both the strain and ferroelectricity. Especially, the defect dipoles‐mediated nanodomain and property enhancement can be only observed in BFO‐Mn ceramics, and infeasible for other oxides (e.g., CuO and CeO2). We believe that this work can provide some guidance to modify electrical properties in BF‐BT‐based ferroelectrics.