bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Transgenesis in the acoel worm Hofstenia miamia
Authors: Ricci Lorenzo , Srivastava Mansi 
Published: July 2021

SummaryThe acoel worm Hofstenia miamia, which can replace tissue lost to injury via differentiation of a population of stem cells, has emerged as a new research organism for studying regeneration. To enhance the depth of mechanistic studies in this system, we devised a protocol for microinjection into embryonic cells that resulted in stable transgene integration into the genome and generated animals with tissue-specific fluorescent transgene expression in epidermis, gut, and muscle. We demonstrate that transgenic Hofstenia are amenable to the isolation of specific cell types, detailed investigations of regeneration, tracking of photoconverted molecules, and live imaging. Further, our stable transgenic lines revealed new insights into the biology of Hofstenia, unprecedented details of cell morphology and the organization of muscle as a cellular scaffold for other tissues. Our work positions Hofstenia as a powerful system with unparalleled tools for mechanistic investigations of development, whole-body regeneration, and stem cell biology.
Reduced protein kinase C delta association with a higher molecular weight complex in mitochondria of Barth Syndrome lymphoblasts
Authors: Mejia Edgard M. , Zegallai Hana M. , Sparagna Genevieve C. , Hatch Grant M. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe protein kinase C delta (PKCδ) signalosome exists as a high molecular weight complex in mitochondria and controls mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Barth Syndrome (BTHS) is a rare X-linked genetic disease in which mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation is impaired due to a mutation in the gene TAFAZZIN which results in reduction in the phospholipid cardiolipin and an accumulation of monolysocardiolipin. Here we examined if PKCδ association with a higher molecular weight complex was altered in mitochondria of BTHS lymphoblasts. Immunoblot analysis of blue native-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis mitochondrial fractions revealed that PKCδ associated with a higher molecular weight complex in control lymphoblasts but this was markedly reduced in BTHS patient B lymphoblasts in spite of an increase in PKCδ protein expression. We hypothesize that the lack of PKCδ within this higher molecular weight complex may contribute to defective mitochondrial PKCδ signaling and thus to the bioenergetic defects observed in BTHS.
Lowland plant arrival in alpine ecosystems facilitates a decrease in soil carbon content under experimental climate warming
Authors: Walker Tom W. N. , Gavazov Konstantin , Guillaume Thomas , Lambert Thibault , Mariotte Pierre , Routh Devin , Signarbieux Constant , Block Sebastián , Münkemüller Tamara , Nomoto Hanna , Crowther Thomas W. , Richter Andreas , Buttler Alexandre , Alexander Jake M. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractClimate warming is releasing carbon from soils around the world1–3, constituting a positive climate feedback. Warming is also causing species to expand their ranges into new ecosystems4–9. Yet, in most ecosystems, whether range expanding species will amplify or buffer expected soil carbon loss is unknown10. Here we used two whole-community transplant experiments and a follow-up glasshouse experiment to determine whether the establishment of herbaceous lowland plants in alpine ecosystems influences soil carbon content under warming. We found that warming (transplantation to low elevation) led to a negligible decrease in alpine soil carbon content, but its effects became significant and 52% ± 31% (mean ± 95% CIs) larger after lowland plants were introduced at low density into the ecosystem. We present evidence that decreases in soil carbon content likely occurred via lowland plants increasing rates of root exudation, soil microbial respiration and CO2 release under warming. Our findings suggest that warming-induced range expansions of herbaceous plants have the potential to alter climate feedbacks from this system, and that plant range expansions among herbaceous communities may be an overlooked mediator of warming effects on carbon dynamics.
Isolation of wild yeasts from Olympic National Park and Moniliella megachiliensis ONP131 physiological characterization for beer fermentation
Authors: Piraine Renan Eugênio Araujo , Nickens David Gerald , Sun David J. , Leite Fábio Pereira Leivas , Bochman Matthew L. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThousands of yeasts have the potential for industrial application, though many were initially considered contaminants in the beer industry. However, these organisms are currently considered important components in beers because they contribute new flavors. Non-Saccharomyces wild yeasts can be important tools in the development of new products, and the objective of this work was to obtain and characterize novel yeast isolates for their ability to produce beer. Wild yeasts were isolated from environmental samples from Olympic National Park and analyzed for their ability to ferment malt extract medium and beer wort. Six different strains were isolated, of which Moniliella megachiliensis ONP131 displayed the highest levels of attenuation during fermentations. We found that M. megachiliensis could be propagated in common yeast media, tolerated incubation temperatures of 37°C and a pH of 2.5, and was able to grow in media containing maltose as the sole carbon source. Yeast cultivation was considerably impacted (p<0.05) by lactic acid, ethanol, and high concentrations of maltose, but ONP131 was tolerant to high salinity and hop acid concentrations. This is one of the first physiological characterizations of M. megachiliensis, which has potential for the production of beer and other fermented beverages.
Impaired developmental microglial pruning of excitatory synapses on CRH-expressing hypothalamic neurons exacerbates stress responses throughout life
Authors: Bolton Jessica L. , Short Annabel K. , Othy Shivashankar , Kooiker Cassandra L. , Shao Manlin , Gunn Benjamin G. , Beck Jaclyn , Bai Xinglong , Law Stephanie M. , Savage Julie C. , Lambert Jeremy J. , Belelli Delia , Tremblay Marie-Ève , Cahalan Michael D. , Baram Tallie Z. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe developmental origins of stress-related mental illnesses are well-established, and early-life stress/adversity (ELA) is an important risk factor. However, it is unclear how ELA impacts the maturation of salient brain circuits, provoking enduring vulnerability to stress and stress-related disorders. Here we find that ELA increases the number and function of excitatory synapses onto stress-sensitive hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)-expressing neurons, and implicate disrupted synapse pruning by microglia as a key mechanism. Microglial process dynamics on live imaging, and engulfment of synaptic elements by microglia, were both attenuated in ELA mice, associated with deficient signaling of the microglial phagocytic receptor Mer. Accordingly, selective chemogenetic activation of ELA microglia increased microglial process dynamics and reduced excitatory synapse density to control levels. Selective early-life microglial activation also mitigated the adrenal hypertrophy and prolonged stress responses in adult ELA mice, establishing microglial actions during development as powerful contributors to experience-dependent sculpting of stress-related brain circuits.
Impact of human airway epithelial cellular composition on SARS-CoV-2 infection biology
Authors: Wang Ying , Thaler Melissa , Ninaber Dennis K. , van der Does Anne M. , Ogando Natacha S. , Beckert Hendrik , Taube Christian , Salgado-Benvindo Clarisse , Snijder Eric J. , Bredenbeek Peter J. , Hiemstra Pieter S. , van Hemert Martijn J. 
Published: July 2021

ABSTRACTInfection biology and pathogenesis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), are incompletely understood. Here, we assessed the impact of airway epithelial cellular composition on infection in air-liquid interface (ALI) cultures of differentiated primary human tracheal (PTEC) and bronchial epithelial cells (PBEC). We first compared SARS-CoV-2 infection kinetics, related antiviral and inflammatory responses, and viral entry factors in PTEC and PBEC. Next, the contribution of differentiation time was investigated by differentiating ALI-PTEC/PBEC for 3-5 weeks and comparing dynamics of viral replication/spread, cellular composition and epithelial responses. We observed a gradual increase in viral load with prolonged culture duration. Ciliated and goblet cells were predominantly infected in both PTEC and PBEC. Immunofluorescence analysis and RT-qPCR showed that compared to other cell types mainly ciliated and goblet cell numbers were affected by increased culture duration. An increased proportion of these two target cell types was associated with increased viral load. Furthermore, modulation of cellular composition using IL-13 and the Notch signaling inhibitor DAPT, underlined the importance of both ciliated and goblet cells for infection. DAPT treatment resulted in a lower viral load and a relative increase in ciliated cells at the expense of goblet cells, compared to IL-13 treated cultures in which both cell types were present and viral load was higher.In conclusion, our results identify cellular composition as a contributing factor to airway epithelial susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2.IMPORTANCEIn this study, we determined an effect of culture duration and airway cellular composition of ALI-PBEC and ALI-PTEC cultures on SARS-CoV-2 infection. We found that SARS-CoV-2 infection was increased with prolonged cell culture time and the total percentage and proportion of ciliated and goblet cells played an important role in infection level, suggesting that airway epithelial differentiation/maturation levels may in part determine susceptibility of SARS-CoV-2 infection.The development of effective therapies either targeting virus replication or pathogenesis against SARS-CoV-2 requires robust cell culture-based infection models to test small molecules and biologicals. Therefore, it is important to identify factors that are essential for reliably modeling SARS-CoV-2-airway epithelial cell interactions. This study sheds light on virus-airway epithelial cell interactions and adds to the complexity of SARS-CoV-2 cell tropism in the airways. In addition, the effect of IL-13 on viral infection hints at a causal connection between SARS-CoV-2 infection and (allergic) asthma.
Load-bearing capacity and resonance stability of inelastic beams and plane trusses with initial defects
Authors: Milašinović Dragan D. , Kozarić Ljiljana , Bursać Smilja , Bešević Miroslav , Miličić Ilija , Varju Đerđ 
Published: July 2021

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute to the solution of the buckling and resonance stability problems in inelastic beams and wooden plane trusses, taking into account geometric and material defects.Design/methodology/approachTwo sources of non-linearity are analyzed, namely the geometrical non-linearity due to geometrical imperfections and material non-linearity due to material defects. The load-bearing capacity is obtained by the rheological-dynamical analogy (RDA). The RDA inelastic theory is used in conjunction with the damage mechanics to analyze the softening behavior with the scalar damage variable for stiffness reduction. Based on the assumed damages in the wooden truss, the corresponding external masses are calculated in order to obtain the corresponding fundamental frequencies, which are compared with the measured ones.FindingsRDA theory uses rheology and dynamics to determine the structures' response, those results in the post-buckling branch can then be compared by fracture mechanics. The RDA method uses the measured P and S wave velocities, as well as fundamental frequencies to find material properties at the limit point. The verification examples confirmed that the RDA theory is more suitable than other non-linear theories, as those proved to be overly complex in terms of their application to the real structures with geometrical and material defects.Originality/valueThe paper presents a novel method of solving the buckling and resonance stability problems in inelastic beams and wooden plane trusses with initial defects. The method is efficient as it provides explanations highlighting that an inelastic beam made of ductile material can break in any stage from brittle to extremely ductile, depending on the value of initial imperfections. The characterization of the internal friction and structural damping via the damping ratio is original and effective.
Impact of BIM-related factors affecting construction project performance
Authors: Van Tam Nguyen , Quoc Toan Nguyen , Phong Vu Van , Durdyev Serdar 
Published: July 2021

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of primary building information modelling (BIM)-related factors, extracted from the literature on the subject, on construction project performance.Design/methodology/approachBased on data collected from 134 BIM users, this study used structural equation modelling to assess the impact of these factors in five main BIM-related factor clusters.FindingsThe results of the analysis confirmed the reliability and validity of the research design and outcomes. The findings indicated that the BIM-related external factors cluster is the most influential cluster affecting construction project performance. BIM-related project factors and BIM-related technological factors also had a significant impact on project performance. These were followed by the BIM-related management factors cluster, while the BIM-related human factors cluster had a low impact on project performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study will contribute to fostering BIM adoption and implementation in the construction industry in developing countries.Originality/valueThis study has filled a crucial knowledge gap by providing information on manageable primary BIM-related factors affecting construction project performance.
Does business strategy and management control system fit determine performance?
Authors: Jukka Tapio 
Published: July 2021

PurposeThis study examines the relationship between business strategy, management control system (MCS) type and performance. Does the alignment of organisation business strategy and MCS fresult in better performance?Design/methodology/approachThis study draws on the business strategy and MCS type literature to identify business strategies and MCS types. A scoring method was used to identify business strategy types and cluster analysis to identify MCS types from a sample of 80 firms and 621 firm-years of data. Analysis of variance was used analyse the differences.FindingsFour types of MCS were identified and were labelled clan, adhocracy, market and hierarchy. The sample was split into defender, analyser, prospector and reactor strategies. The results showed defender strategies performed better with hierarchy or market type MCSs while prospector strategies performed better with clan or adhocracy MCS types. Analysers performed acceptably with all MCS types.Practical implicationsThe results of this study suggest that organisations should align their business strategy with a certain MCS type to achieve good performance. Also, alignment of top management and business strategy is supported as the top management properties differ between the MCS types.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the management control and strategy literature by demonstrating how the alignment between organisation business strategy and organisation-level MCS type determines organisational performance. The results suggest that differing business strategies yield better performance when aligned with the appropriate management controls represented by an MCS type.
Suboptimal food retail model in Czechia: social super discount stores
Authors: Sadílek Tomáš 
Published: July 2021

PurposeThe paper aims to identify retail models redistributing suboptimal food and their presence in Czechia. The author aims to give an overview of the status in comparison with other European Union countries and the form of such models in the Czech retail market concerning social super discount stores (SSDSs).Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is based on data obtained from an empirical study conducted by the study of secondary materials, author store-check observations and interviews with owners of SSDSs. The theoretical part consists of a literature review on social enterprises, food wasting and the definition of certain food distribution formats such as social supermarkets, food banks and SSDSs. The criteria for the selection of the research sample for observation were chosen based on the research conducted in Austria by researchers from the Vienna University of Economics and Business.FindingsThe research sample consists of 40 retail stores belonging to five retailers. The particular variables of the study are the number of stores, store size, range of categories and products, discount rates, location and the number of employees in the selected stores in Czechia.Originality/valueThis paper is a case study to identify and explore social retailing in Central Europe. This paper contributes to the emerging set of literature on social entrepreneurship, particularly in the field of retail for suboptimal food products.
The dark side of blockholder control: evidence from financial statement fraud cases
Authors: Smaili Nadia , Arroyo Paulina , Issa Faridath Antoinette 
Published: July 2021

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate whether large blockholders are associated with financial statement fraud at their companies. Although a substantial body of prior studies has focused on chief executive officers’ motivations to manipulate financial statements, the correlation between majority shareholders and financial statement fraud has received little attention. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating whether the sample firms have controlling shareholders or executives (i.e. blockholders vs management) and whether financial statement fraud schemes, motivations and consequences differ between blockholder- and management-controlled firms.Design/methodology/approachUsing a clinical approach, the authors Study 12 Canadian financial statement fraud cases uncovered by the Ontario Securities Commission between 1997 and 2020.FindingsFirst, the authors find blockholder control in six cases. These findings infer that these large shareholders received private benefits at the expense of minority shareholders. The comparative analyzes suggest that fraudulent firms controlled by blockholders go bankrupt more often than those controlled by managers. The authors also find that improper disclosure is the most common fraud scheme in blockholder-controlled firms.Originality/valueThe authors conduct a deep analysis of financial statement fraud cases to examine the of blockholder control on the likelihood of financial statement fraud. This paper adds new insights to the research on financial crime by investigating whether large shareholders affect the probability of fraud and the extent to which they might do so.
The antecedents and outcomes of corporate volunteering: an employee- and organizational-level meta-analysis
Authors: Howard Matt C. , Serviss Emory 
Published: July 2021

PurposeThe authors argue that many core findings are not as established as often assumed in the study of corporate volunteering programs, and they assess this possibility by reporting a meta-analysis of both organizational and employee participation that includes relations with antecedents and outcomes at both organizational and employee levels.Design/methodology/approachThe authors perform a meta-analysis of 57 sources, including 30 peer-reviewed articles, 16 theses/dissertations, 8 unpublished manuscripts, 2 conference presentations and 1 book chapter.FindingsOf the antecedents, organizational size only had a small relation with organizational participation, but the effect of corporate social responsibility orientation was very large on organizational participation. Demographic characteristics as well as personality traits had a small relation with employee participation, whereas the effect of volunteering attitudes was large on employee participation. Of the outcomes, organizational participation did not significantly relate to customer perceptions. Employee participation had nonsignificant or small relations with well-being, commitment, job satisfaction and positive behaviors; however, organizational participation also significantly related to all employee-level outcomes, and the effect was significantly stronger than employee participation for two of four outcomes.Practical implicationsOrganizations can better understand the true influence of corporate volunteering programs, aiding their bottom line and employee well-being.Originality/valueSeveral commonly assumed antecedents and outcomes do not relate to corporate volunteering participation, and future research should be redirected to more influential effects. The authors’ discussion highlights theories that may be particularly beneficial for the study of corporate volunteering, including social identity theory and role expansion theory.
Evolutionary and ecological factors structure a plant–bumblebee network in a biodiversity hotspot, the Himalaya–Hengduan Mountains
Authors: Liang Huan , Zhao Yan‐Hui , Rafferty Nicole E. , Ren Zong‐Xin , Zhong Li , Li Hai‐Dong , Li De‐Zhu , Wang Hong 
Published: July 2021

Abstract

Species interactions, such as those between plants and pollinators, are known to be shaped by both evolutionary history and ecological factors. However, little is known about how multiple factors (e.g. phylogeny, phenology, abundance and functional traits) interactively affect interaction patterns.

Using a plant–bumblebee network comprising 2,428 interactions between 29 plant species and 12 bumblebee species in the Himalaya–Hengduan Mountains, we tested for phylogenetic signal and whether phylogenetic pattern was explained by abundance, phenology and 13 plant and bumblebee functional traits. We also tested whether trait matching in two pairs of plant–bumblebee traits explained interaction frequencies at both species and individual levels.

The network showed significant phylogenetic signal; closely related bumblebees tended to visit similar sets of plants, but not vice versa. Among all the measured factors, nectar volume and sugar concentration, rather than other phylogenetically constrained factors, were most important for explaining phylogenetic pattern (64% and 54% respectively). Although long–tongued bumblebee species tended to interact with long–tubed flowers, trait matching did not predict short–tongued bee interaction frequencies. Despite this, trait matching was apparent at the level of individual bees, reflecting intraspecific variation in tongue length and body size. Different selection pressures may exist within this bumblebee community, resulting in specialized, co–evolved traits in long–tongued species and adaptive generalization in short–tongued species to gain access to a variety of flowers.

Together, these findings contribute to our understanding of phylogenetic trait–based structure in species interaction networks. In particular, this study provides new evidence for the importance of nectar rewards in structuring interaction patterns in pollination mutualisms. The results also demonstrate that trait matching may occur at the individual level, despite not being detectable at the species level, and underline the necessity of taking intraspecific trait variation into account in studies of community structure.

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