bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development and evaluation of a decision prediction tool for the reduction of fungicide applications for the control of strawberry powdery mildew epidemics
Authors: Dodgson Jolyon L. A. , Liu Bo , Wileman Hannah J. , Mutasa-Gottgens Euphemia S , Hall Avice M. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractStrawberry powdery mildew (Podosphaera aphanis) causes serious losses in UK crops, potentially reducing yields by as much as 70%. Consequently, conventional fungicide application programmes tend to recommend a prophylactic approach using insurance sprays, risking the development of fungicide insensitivity and requiring careful management relative to harvest periods to avoid residual fungicides on harvested fruit. This paper describes the development of a prediction system to guide the control of P. aphanis by the application of fungicides only when pathogen infection and disease progression are likely. The system was developed over a 15-year period on commercial farms starting with its establishment, validation and then deployment to strawberry growers. This involved three stages: 1. Identification and validation of parameters for inclusion in the prediction system (2004-2008). 2. Development of the prediction system in compact disc format (2009-2015). 3. Development and validation of the prediction system in a web-based format and cost-benefit analysis (2016-2020). The prediction system was based on the temporal accumulation of conditions (temperature and relative humidity) conducive to the development of P. aphanis, which sporulates at 144 accumulated disease-conducive hours. Sensitivity analysis was performed to refine the prediction system parameters. Field validation of the results demonstrated that to effectively control disease, the application of fungicides was best done between 125 and 144 accumulated hours of disease-conducive conditions. A cost-benefit analysis indicated that, by comparison with the number and timing of fungicide applications in conventional insurance disease control programmes, the prediction system enabled good disease control with significantly fewer fungicide applications (between one and four sprays less) (df=7, t=7.6, p=0.001) and reduced costs (savings between £35-£493/hectare) (df=7, t=4.0, p=0.01) for the growers.
Low-level overexpression of wild type TDP-43 causes late-onset, progressive neurodegeneration and paralysis in mice
Authors: Yang Chunxing , Qiao Tao , Yu Jia , Wang Hongyan , Guo Yansu , Salameh Johnny , Metterville Jake , Parsi Sepideh , Brown Robert H. , Cai Huaibin , Xu Zuoshang 
Published: August 2021

AbstractModestly increased expression of transactive response DNA binding protein (TDP-43) gene have been reported in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and other neuromuscular diseases. However, whether this modest elevation triggers neurodegeneration is not known. Although high levels of TDP-43 overexpression have been modeled in mice and shown to cause early death, models with low-level overexpression that mimic the human condition have not been established. In this study, transgenic mice overexpressing wild type TDP-43 at less than 60% above the endogenous CNS levels were constructed, and their phenotypes analyzed by a variety of techniques, including biochemical, molecular, histological, behavioral techniques and electromyography. The TDP-43 transgene was expressed in neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes in the cortex and predominantly in astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in the spinal cord. The mice developed a reproducible progressive weakness ending in paralysis in mid-life. Detailed analysis showed ∼30% loss of large pyramidal neurons in the layer V motor cortex; in the spinal cord, severe demyelination was accompanied by oligodendrocyte injury, protein aggregation, astrogliosis and microgliosis, and elevation of neuroinflammation. Surprisingly, there was no loss of lower motor neurons in the lumbar spinal cord despite the complete paralysis of the hindlimbs. However, denervation was detected at the neuromuscular junction. These results demonstrate that low-level TDP-43 overexpression can cause diverse aspects of ALS, including late-onset and progressive motor dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration. Our findings suggest that persistent modest elevations in TDP-43 expression can lead to ALS and other neurological disorders involving TDP-43 proteinopathy. Because of the predictable and progressive clinical paralytic phenotype, this transgenic mouse model will be useful in preclinical trial of therapeutics targeting neurological disorders associated with elevated levels of TDP-43.
Allelopathy as an evolutionarily stable strategy
Authors: McCoy Rachel M. , Widhalm Joshua R. , McNickle Gordon G. 
Published: August 2021

ABSTRACTIn plants, most competition is resource competition, where one plant simply pre-empts the resources away from its neighbours. Interference competition, as the name implies, is a form of direct interference to prevent resource access. Interference competition is common among animals who can physically fight, but in plants, one of the main mechanisms of interference competition is Allelopathy. allelopathic plants release of cytotoxic chemicals into the environment which can increase their ability to compete with surrounding organisms for limited resources. The circumstances and conditions favoring the development and maintenance of allelochemicals, however, is not well understood. Particularly, it seems strange that, despite the obvious benefits of allelopathy, it seems to have only rarely evolved. To gain insight into the cost and benefit of allelopathy, we have developed a 2 × 2 matrix game to model the interaction between plants that produce allelochemicals and plants that do not. Production of an allelochemical introduces novel cost associated with synthesis and detoxifying a toxic chemical but may also convey a competitive advantage. A plant that does not produce an allelochemical will suffer the cost of encountering one. Our model predicts three cases in which the evolutionarily stable strategies are different. In the first, the non-allelopathic plant is a stronger competitor, and not producing allelochemicals is the evolutionarily stable strategy. In the second, the allelopathic plant is the better competitor and production of allelochemicals is the more beneficial strategy. In the last case, neither is the evolutionarily stable strategy. Instead, there are alternating stable states, depending on whether the allelopathic or non-allelopathic plant arrived first. The generated model reveals circumstances leading to the evolution of allelochemicals and sheds light on utilizing allelochemicals as part of weed management strategies. In particular, the wide region of alternative stable states in most parameterizations, combined with the fact that the absence of allelopathy is likely the ancestral state, provides an elegant answer to the question of why allelopathy rarely evolves despite its obvious benefits. Allelopathic plants can indeed outcompete non-allelopathic plants, but this benefit is simply not great enough to allow them to go to fixation and spread through the population. Thus, most populations would remain purely non-allelopathic.
uPIC–M: efficient and scalable preparation of clonal single mutant libraries for high-throughput protein biochemistry
Authors: Appel Mason J. , Longwell Scott A. , Morri Maurizio , Neff Norma , Herschlag Daniel , Fordyce Polly M. 
Published: August 2021

ABSTRACTNew high-throughput biochemistry techniques complement selection-based approaches and provide quantitative kinetic and thermodynamic data for thousands of protein variants in parallel. With these advances, library generation rather than data collection has become rate limiting. Unlike pooled selection approaches, high-throughput biochemistry requires mutant libraries in which individual sequences are rationally designed, efficiently recovered, sequence-validated, and separated from one another, but current strategies are unable to produce these libraries at the needed scale and specificity at reasonable cost. Here, we present a scalable, rapid, and inexpensive approach for creating User-designed Physically Isolated Clonal–Mutant (uPIC–M) libraries that utilizes recent advances in oligo synthesis, high-throughput sample preparation, and next-generation sequencing. To demonstrate uPIC–M, we created a scanning mutant library of SpAP, a 541 amino acid alkaline phosphatase, and recovered 94% of desired mutants in a single iteration. uPIC–M uses commonly available equipment and freely downloadable custom software and can produce a 5000 mutant library at 1/3 the cost and 1/5 the time of traditional techniques.
Opposing roles of p38α-mediated phosphorylation and arginine methylation in driving TDP-43 proteinopathy
Authors: Aikio Mari , Wobst Heike J. , Odeh Hana M. , Lee Bo Lim , Class Bradley , Ollerhead Thomas A. , Mack Korrie L. , Ford Alice F. , Barbieri Edward M. , Cupo Ryan R. , Drake Lauren E. , Castello Nicholas , Baral Ashmita , Dunlop John , Gitler Aaron D. , Javaherian Ashkan , Finkbeiner Steven , Brown Dean G. , Moss Stephen J. , Brandon Nicholas J. , Shorter James 
Published: August 2021

AbstractAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder typically characterized by insoluble inclusions of hyperphosphorylated TDP-43. The mechanisms underlying toxic TDP-43 accumulation are not understood. Persistent activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is implicated in ALS. However, it is unclear how p38 MAPK affects TDP-43 proteinopathy. Here, we demonstrate that inhibition of p38α MAPK reduces pathological TDP-43 phosphorylation, aggregation, cytoplasmic mislocalization, and neurotoxicity. We establish that p38α MAPK phosphorylates TDP-43 at pathological serine 409/410 (S409/S410) and serine 292 (S292), which reduces TDP-43 liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) but allows pathological TDP-43 aggregation. Moreover, we show that protein arginine methyltransferase 1 methylates TDP-43 at R293. Importantly, S292 phosphorylation reduces R293 methylation, and R293 methylation reduces S409/S410 phosphorylation. R293 methylation permits TDP-43 LLPS and reduces pathological TDP-43 aggregation. Thus, strategies to reduce p38α-mediated TDP-43 phosphorylation and promote R293 methylation could have therapeutic utility for ALS and related TDP-43 proteinopathies.
Mathematical Relationships between Spinal Motoneuron Properties
Authors: Caillet Arnault , Phillips Andrew T.M. , Farina Dario , Modenese Luca 
Published: August 2021

AbstractOur understanding of the behaviour of spinal alpha-motoneurons (MNs) in mammals partly relies on our knowledge of the relationships between MN membrane properties, such as MN size, resistance, rheobase, capacitance, time constant, axonal conduction velocity and afterhyperpolarization period.We reprocessed the data from 40 experimental studies in adult cat, rat and mouse MN preparations, to empirically derive a set of quantitative mathematical relationships between these MN electrophysiological and anatomical properties. This validated mathematical framework, which supports past findings that the MN membrane properties are all related to each other and clarifies the nature of their associations, is besides consistent with the Henneman’s size principle and Rall’s cable theory.The derived mathematical relationships provide a convenient tool for neuroscientists and experimenters to complete experimental datasets, to explore relationships between pairs of MN properties never concurrently observed in previous experiments, or to investigate inter-mammalian-species variations in MN membrane properties. Using this mathematical framework, modelers can build profiles of inter-consistent MN-specific properties to scale pools of MN models, with consequences on the accuracy and the interpretability of the simulations.
Comparison of different fidelity mass analyses
Authors: Mieloszyk Jacek , Tarnowski Andrzej , Goetzendorf-Grabowski Tomasz , Kowalski Mariusz , Goliszek Bartłomiej 
Published: August 2021

Purpose
Aircraft structure mass estimation is a very important issue in aerospace. Multiple methods of different fidelity are available, which give results with varying accuracy. Sometimes these methods are giving a high discrepancy of estimated mass compared to the real mass of the structure. The discrepancy is especially noticeable in the case of small aircraft with a composite structure. Their mass properties highly depend not only on the material but also on technology and the human factor. Moreover, methods of mass estimation for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms are even less established and examined. The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss various methods of mass estimation.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents different procedures of mass estimation for small UAVs with a composite structure. Beginning from the simplest one, where mass is estimated basing on a single equation and finishing with a mass estimation based on finite element method model and three-dimensional computer-aided design model. The results from all methods are compared with the airworthy aircraft and conclusions are discussed.

Findings
Mass of flying aircraft was estimated with different methods and compared. It revealed levels of accuracy of the investigated methods. Moreover, the influence on structure mass of human factor, glueing and painting is underlined.

Practical implications
Mass of the structure is a key factor in aerospace, which influences the performance of the aircraft. Thorough knowledge about the accuracy of the mass estimation methods and possible sources of discrepancies in mass analyses provides an essential tool for designers, which can be used with confidence and allows for the development of new cutting-edge constructions.

Originality/value
There are very few comparisons of mass estimation methods with an actual mass of manufactured and functional airframes. Additionally, mass estimation inaccuracies based on technological issues are presented, which is seldom done.
Performance of a microjet using component map scaling
Authors: Coban Kahraman , Ekici Selcuk , Colpan Can Ozgur , Karakoç Tahir Hikmet 
Published: August 2021

Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the cycle performance of a small size turbojet engine used in unmanned aerial vehicles at 0–5,000 m altitude and 0–0.8 Mach flight speeds with real component maps.

Design/methodology/approach
The engine performance calculations were performed for both on-design and off-design conditions through an in-house code generated for simulating the performance of turbojet engines at different flight regimes. These calculations rely on input parameters in which fuel composition are obtained through laboratory elemental analysis.

Findings
Exemplarily, according to comparative results between in-house developed performance code and commercially available software, there is 0.25% of the difference in thrust value at on-design conditions.

Practical implications
Once the on-design performance parameters and fluid properties were determined, the off-design operation calculations were performed based on the compressor and turbine maps and scaling methodology. This method enables predicting component maps and fitting them to real conditions.

Originality/value
A method to be used easily by researchers on turbojet engine performance calculations which best fits to real conditions.
The impact of strategic competitive innovation on the financial performance of SMEs during COVID-19 pandemic period
Authors: El Chaarani Hani , Vrontis Prof. Demetris , El Nemar Sam , El Abiad Zouhour 
Published: August 2021

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reveal the impact of strategic competitive innovation types on the financial performance of SMEs during a very critical period: the COVID-19 pandemic. Four strategic competitive innovation types are considered in this study: marketing innovation, organizational innovation, product innovation and processes innovation.Design/methodology/approachTo examine empirically the relationship between strategic competitiveness and financial performance, data were collected from a sample of 426 Lebanese SMEs belonging to seven different sectors.FindingsThe empirical findings of principle component analysis model (PCA) and multiple regression model (MR) reveal that the ability to innovate is essential to an SME’s survival during a crisis. The results of this study confirm the existence of a positive impact of marketing innovation and processes innovation on the financial performance of SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic.Practical implicationsMoreover, results suggest that, in Lebanese SMEs, product innovation and organizational innovation do not have any impact on the financial performance during the pandemic period.Originality/valueThis research focused on strategic competitive innovation as a broadly considered essential condition for the survival of SMEs during the COVID-19 crises.
The learning organization: the time is ripe for starting to certify the idea
Authors: Örtenblad Anders 
Published: August 2021

Purpose
To convince readers that the time is ripe to start certifying the learning organization and to outline what would be needed to accomplish such a certification.

Design/methodology/approach
This is an argumentative piece based on the author’s almost 30 years of experience from researching and authoring the learning organization.

Findings
It is argued that the idea of the learning organization is still “fluffy” and that it is not universally applicable as is. It is suggested that a broad, inclusive definition of the learning organization is taken as the starting point for the process of contextualizing the idea to reach a set of “contextualized standards”, which could be used when certifying the learning organization.

Research limitations/implications
Researchers are encouraged – in cooperation with practitioners – to sculpture one “contextualized standard” of the learning organization for each single industry. Such contextualized standards outline what, exactly, that could be demanded from organizations within the particular industry that want to become learning organizations.

Practical implications
There is a need for one – or some – non-profit association/s that could start to certify the learning organization on the basis of a set of contextualized standards. There may also be a need for consultants assisting organizations to transform themselves into learning organizations in accordance with these contextualized standards.

Originality/value
This is the first time (at least in writing) that it is suggested that the learning organization is certified.
How different rewards tend to influence employee non-compliance with information security policies
Authors: Khatib Rima , Barki Henri 
Published: August 2021

Purpose
To help reduce the increasing number of information security breaches that are caused by insiders, past research has examined employee non-compliance with information security policy. However, existent studies have observed mixed results, which suggest that an interaction is likely to exist among the variables that explain employee non-compliance. In an effort to provide evidence for this possibility, this paper aims to better explain why employees routinely engage in non-compliant behaviors by examining the direct and interactive effects of employees’ perceived costs and rewards of compliance and non-compliance on their routinized non-compliant behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach
Based on rational choice theory, this study used 16 hypothetical scenarios in an experimental survey, collecting data from 326 respondents and analyzing them via structural equation modeling and a four-way factorial experiment.

Findings
The results suggest that routinized non-compliance of employees is more strongly influenced by the rewards than the costs they perceive in their non-compliance. Further, employees’ routinized non-compliance behavior was found to be positively influenced by an interactive effect of perceived rewards of compliance when their perceptions of their non-compliance costs and rewards were both high and low.

Originality/value
This paper’s key contribution is to suggest that non-compliance behavior is influenced by direct and interactive effects of perceived rewards of compliance and non-compliance.
Validity of zakat ratios as Islamic performance indicators in Islamic banking: a congeneric model and confirmatory factor analysis
Authors: Nomran Naji Mansour , Haron Razali 
Published: August 2021

PurposeThere is much debate in the literature about how the performance of Islamic banks (IBs) should be measured. Basically, IBs’ business models are different from that of conventional banks; thus, the performance of IBs should be measured by using a Sharīʿah-based approach. This paper considers zakat (Islamic tax) as an alternative indicator to measure the performance of IBs. This paper aims to examine whether zakat ratios can be used as Islamic performance (ISPER) indicators for IBs besides the conventional performance (COPER) indicators.Design/methodology/approachThe investigation covered a sample of 214 yearly observations of 37 IBs located in Indonesia, Malaysia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for the period 2007–2015. This study used a single-factor congeneric model and confirmatory factor analysis, performed using the AMOS 23.0 software.FindingsThe findings assert that the discriminant validity of multi-bank performance, as measured by ISPER [zakat on assets (ZOA) and zakat on equity (ZOE)] and COPER indicators (return on assets, return on equity and operational efficiency in terms of assets), is very high. Hence, ISPER and COPER measurements are valid, either together to measure the multi-performance of IBs from both the Islamic and conventional perspectives, or independently as each measurement is valid to measure the Islamic and conventional performance if it is used separately.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper does not investigate whether the findings are constant across time. This represents one of the limitations of this study.Practical implicationsIt is strongly recommended that IBs calculate and disclose zakat ratios, particularly ZOA and ZOE, in their annual reports. Researchers and academicians should use these ratios for measuring the ISPER of IBs, either along with COPER or separately.Originality/valueEmpirical evidence is provided in this paper on the development and validity of zakat ratios as ISPER indicators in the Islamic banking industry. Zakat ratios are suitable indicators that can measure IBs’ performance and achieve the goals of IBs as well as those of Islamic economics. Technically, zakat has a dynamic ability to reflect the profitability of IBs. The more the IBs generate profit, the more they pay zakat. Furthermore, the greater the total assets of IBs, the higher the amount of zakat that they should pay. Thus, zakat ratios can be used as profitability measurements as in the case of tax ratios.