bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fluid Menisci andIn VitroParticle Dosimetry of Submerged Cells
Authors: Balog Sandor , Rothen-Rutishauser Barbara , Petri-Fink Alke 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACTUnderstanding the mechanisms of interaction between cells and particulate nanomaterials lies in the heart of assessing the hazard associated with nanoparticles. The paradigm of toxicology requires quantifying and interpreting dose-response relationships, and cells culturedin vitroand exposed to particle dispersions rely on mathematical models that estimate the received nanoparticle dose. Yet, none of these models acknowledges the fact that aqueous cell-culture media wet the inner surface of hydrophilic open wells, which results in curved fluid-air interface called meniscus. We show that omitting this phenomenon leads to a nontrivial but systematic error and twists the fundamental concept of nanotoxicology. Given that reproducibility and harmonization between meta analyses,in vitro,in silico, andin vivostudies must be improved, we present an adequate mathematical model that greatly advances such efforts.
Cannabinoid signaling promotes the reprogramming of Muller glia into proliferating progenitor cells
Authors: Campbell Warren A. , Blum Sydney , Reske Alana , Hoang Thanh , Blackshaw Seth , Fischer Andy J. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractEndocannabinoids (eCB) are lipid-based neurotransmitters that are known to influence synaptic function in the visual system. eCBs are also known to suppress neuroinflammation in different pathological states. However, nothing is known about the roles of the eCB system during reprogramming of Müller glia (MG) into proliferating progenitor-like cells in the retina. Accordingly, we used the chick and mouse model to characterize expression patterns of eCB-related genes and applied pharmacological agents to examine how the eCB system impacts glial reactivity and the capacity of MG to become Müller glia-derived progenitor cells (MGPCs). We probed single cell RNA-seq libraries to identify eCB-related genes and identify cells with dynamic patterns of expression in damaged retinas. MG and inner retinal neurons expressed the eCB receptorCNR1, as well as enzymes involved in eCB metabolism. In the chick, intraocular injections of 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and Anandamide (AEA) potentiated the formation of MGPCs. Consistent with these findings, CNR1-agonists and MGLL-inhibitor promoted reprogramming, whereas CNR1-antagonist and inhibitors of eCB synthesis suppressed reprogramming. Surprisingly, retinal microglia were largely unaffected by increases or decreases in eCB signaling in both chick and mouse models. However, eCB-signaling suppressed the activation of NFkB-reporter in MG in damaged mouse retinas. We conclude that the eCB system in the retina influences the reactivity of MG and is important for regulating glial reactivity and the reprogramming of MG into proliferating MGPCs, but not for regulating the reactivity of immune cells in the retina.Main PointsMüller glia express CNR1 receptor and endocannabinoid synthesis genes.Endocannabinoids after retinal damage promote the formation of Müller glia derived progenitor cells in chick.Endocannabinoids reduce NFkB activity in mouse Müller glia.
Modelling the efficacy of Neprilysin from various species in degrading different Amyloid-β peptides: Potential application in therapeutics of Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Kumar Arun HS 
Published: March 2021

AbstractRecombinant neprilysin due to its degradation potential against Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides has been looked at as a potential therapeutic candidate for treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However the enzymatic activity of neprilysin against different Aβ peptides can variable which significantly limits the therapeutic optimization. Using the molecular interaction analysis and modelling it against the known enzyme-substrate kinetics, this study developed a novel approach to predicting biosimilar enzyme-substrate kinetics. The known enzyme-substrate kinetics of human recombinant neprilysin with Aβ1-40peptide was used as the prototype to assess the affinity and efficacy of various inter and intra-species neprilysin- Aβ peptide enzyme kinetics based on the relative molecular interaction analysis. Significant inter and intra-species variations in neprilysin- Aβ peptide enzyme kinetics was observed which further validated the need for optimizing enzyme kinetics tailored to specific substrate degradation. The novel enzyme kinetics modelling approach described in this study can be helpful in the developing of recombinant enzymes/peptides for personalised therapeutic applications.
ENNAVIA is an innovative new method which employs neural networks for antiviral and anti-coronavirus activity prediction for therapeutic peptides
Authors: Timmons Patrick Brendan , Hewage Chandralal M. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractViruses represent one of the greatest threats to human health, necessitating the development of new antiviral drug candidates. Antiviral peptides often possess excellent biological activity and a favourable toxicity profile, and therefore represent a promising field of novel antiviral drugs. As the quantity of sequencing data grows annually, the development of an accuratein silicomethod for the prediction of peptide antiviral activities is important. This study leverages advances in deep learning and cheminformatics to produce a novel sequence-based deep neural network classifier for the prediction of antiviral peptide activity. The method out-performs the existent best-in-class, with an external test accuracy of 93.9%, Matthews correlation coefficient of 0.87 and an Area Under the Curve of 0.93 on the dataset of experimentally validated peptide activities. This cutting-edge classifier is available as an online web server athttps://research.timmons.eu/ennavia, facilitatingin silicoscreening and design of peptide antiviral drugs by the wider research community.
Bacterial cell shape control by nutrient-dependent synthesis of cell division inhibitors
Authors: Ojkic Nikola , Banerjee Shiladitya 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACTBy analysing cell shape and size of the bacteriumBacillus subtilisunder nutrient perturbations, protein depletion, and antibiotic treatments we find that cell geometry is extremely robust, reflected in a well-conserved scaling relation between surface area (S) and volume (V),S~Vγ, withγ= 0.85. We develop a molecular model supported by single-cell simulations to predict that the surface-to-volume scaling exponentγis regulated by nutrient-dependent production of metabolic enzymes that act as cell division inhibitors in bacteria. Using theory that is supported by experimental data, we predict the modes of cell shape transformations in different bacterial species and propose a mechanism of cell shape adaptation to different nutrient perturbations. For organisms with high surface-to-volume scaling exponentγ, such asB. subtilis, cell width is not sensitive to growth rate changes, whereas organisms with lowγ, such asA. baumannii, cell shape adapts readily to growth rate changes.SIGNIFICANCEHow bacteria regulate their size and shapes to optimise their growth fitness in different nutrient environments remains largely unknown. By analysing the surface area and volume of rod-shapedB. subtilisexposed to different nutrient conditions and antibiotics we find that cells preserve a power law scaling between surface area and volume. We show that the surface-to-volume scaling is extremely robust and is regulated by nutrient-dependent synthesis of cell division inhibitors. By analysing different bacterial types, we find that cells conserve the surface-to-volume scaling exponent that is typical for each species, implying distinct mechanisms for morphological adaptation in each organism.
Healthier decisions in the cued-attribute food choice paradigm have high test-retest reliability across five task repetitions over 14 days
Authors: Barakchian Zahra , Beharelle Anjali Raja , Hare Todd A. 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACTFood choice paradigms are commonly used to study decision mechanisms, individual differences, and intervention efficacy. Here, we measured behavior from twenty-three healthy young adults who completed five repetitions of a cued-attribute food choice paradigm over two weeks. This task includes cues prompting participants to explicitly consider the healthiness of the food items before making a selection, or to choose naturally based on whatever freely comes to mind. We found that the average patterns of food choices following both cue types and ratings about the palatability (i.e. taste) and healthiness of the food items were similar across all five repetitions. At the individual level, the test-retest reliability for choices in both conditions and healthiness ratings was excellent. However, test-retest reliability for taste ratings was only fair, suggesting that estimates about palatability may vary more from day to day for the same individual.
Too little, too late: transcription during imbibition of lethally aged
soybean seeds is weak and delayed, but not aberrant
Authors: Fleming Margaret B. , Patterson Eric L. , Walters Christina 
Published: March 2021

Summary

This study investigates alive to dead signals in seeds that aged
during cool, dry storage. Signals may invoke abrupt, lethal
metabolic pathways or reflect effects of accumulated small injuries
which impair recovery from life in the dry state.

Cohorts of soybean (Glycine max cv.
‘Williams ’82) seeds were stored for 3, 19 and 22 years.
Transcriptomes of dry embryonic axes and axes 24 hours after
imbibition (HAI) were sequenced to determine gene expression
patterns. These cohorts showed about <2, 40, and ~99% mortality,
respectively, in response to storage and aging.

A total of 19,340 genes were significantly differentially
expressed (SDE) in imbibed axes compared to dry axes. Gene
expression patterns of imbibed axes clustered into three groups that
represented high, low, and no germination potential (GP). There were
17,360 SDE genes in high-GP axes and 4,892 SDE genes, mostly
upregulated, in no-GP axes. Transcriptomes of no-GP axes were
similar to healthy axes at 3 HAI.

Slow transcription, not transcription errors or novel expression
pathways, portends failure to transition from seed to seedling. We
conclude that the signature of death in dry aged seeds arises from
metabolism that is “too little and too late.”
A State Space Modeling Approach to Real-Time Phase Estimation
Authors: Wodeyar Anirudh , Schatza Mark , Widge Alik S. , Eden Uri T. , Kramer Mark A. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBrain rhythms have been proposed to facilitate brain function, with an especially important role attributed to the phase of low frequency rhythms. Understanding the role of phase in neural function requires interventions that perturb neural activity at a target phase, necessitating estimation of phase in real-time. Current methods for real-time phase estimation rely on bandpass filtering, which assumes narrowband signals and couples the signal and noise in the phase estimate, adding noise to the phase and impairing detections of relationships between phase and behavior. To address this, we propose a state space phase estimator for real-time tracking of phase. By tracking the analytic signal as a latent state, this framework avoids the requirement of bandpass filtering, separately models the signal and the noise, accounts for rhythmic confounds, and provides credible intervals for the phase estimate. We demonstrate in simulations that the state space phase estimator outperforms current state-of-the-art real-time methods in the contexts of common confounds such as broadband rhythms, phase resets and co-occurring rhythms. Finally, we show applications of this approach to in vivo data. The method is available as a ready-to-use plug-in for the OpenEphys acquisition system, making it widely available for use in experiments.
Effect of migratory locust (Locusta migratoria) powder incorporation on nutritional and sensorial properties of wheat flour bread
Authors: Althwab Sami A. , Alhomaid Raghad M. , Ali Rehab F. M. , Mohammed El-Anany Ayman , Mousa Hassan M. 
Published: March 2021

PurposeThe effects of incorporation of Locusta migratoria (LM) powder at different levels (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5%) on nutritional, qualitative and sensory properties of baked breads were investigated.Design/methodology/approachChemical composition, mineral elements and functional properties of wheat flour, LM powder and their binary mixture systems were determined. The breads were assayed for proximate composition, minerals, amino acids profile, physical characteristics and sensorial properties.FindingsLM powder have relatively high levels of protein (51.97% db), fat (23.15% db) and fibers (13.76% db). LM powder presented significantly (p ≤ 0.05) greater water absorption capacity (WAC), oil absorption capacity(OAC), emulsion activity (EA) and foam capacity (FC) as compared to wheat flour. Blending wheat flour with various levels of LM powder significantly (p ≤ 0.05) improved the functional properties of binary mixture systems. Protein, fat, fiber and ash contents of bread samples significantly increased with the addition of LM powder. No significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were recorded in specific volume between control breads and those breads containing LM powder up to 2%. Breads fortified with LM powder contained higher values of essential amino acids than the limits of FAO/WHO pattern, with exception of lysine. Sensory evaluation results showed that bread samples with the addition of LM powder at levels 1–4% had high overall acceptability.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations of our study are the lack of approved and professional programs about management, collection, harvesting, processing, marketing and consumption of edible insects; therefore, these results should be generalized implications for industry. This present study, therefore, provides useful data to support public health nutrition aimed at improving the nutritional health of populations through the promotion of bakery products enriched with LM powder.Practical implicationsThe main findings of this study indicated that the addition of 1–4% of LM powder into wheat flour enhanced sensory and nutritional properties of produced breads.Originality/valueIt is concluded that the addition of LM powder improves the nutritional and sensorial properties of the produced bread when the wheat flour is substituted with 1–4% of LM powder.
Evaluating a job search strategy model of fit perceptions: a construct validation amongst unemployed job seekers
Authors: Affum-Osei Emmanuel , Mensah Henry Kofi , Asante Eric Adom , Forkuoh Solomon Kwarteng 
Published: March 2021

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the (1) psychometric properties of Crossley and Highhouse's job search strategy scale and (2) the predictive utility of the scale on fit perceptions.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from unemployed job seekers in Ghana (nT1 = 720; nT2 = 418). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine the data.FindingsExploratory factor analysis on the first random sub-sample (n = 362) supported a three-factor model. Confirmatory factor analysis on the second random sub-sample (n = 358) confirmed the three-factor structure and was invariant across job search contexts and genders. Moreover, structural path results showed that the use of focussed and exploratory job search strategies facilitated positive fit perceptions and the use of haphazard job search resulted in poor job fit perceptions.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine the dimensionality of job search strategies based on different job search context by linking it to fit perceptions. Moreover, the authors provide evidence that the job search strategy scale has a valid psychometric property and a promising instrument to assess job search behaviour across job search contexts and genders in an understudied population.
Value creation and capture in systemic innovation implementation: case of mechanical, electrical and plumbing prefabrication in the Finnish construction sector
Authors: Lavikka Rita , Chauhan Krishna , Peltokorpi Antti , Seppänen Olli 
Published: March 2021

PurposeSystemic innovations emerge and create value in an inter-organisational context. However, innovation studies rarely investigate the role of value creation and value capture among multiple organisations in successful innovation implementation. This paper aims to understand the role of value creation and value capture in the implementation of systemic innovations in construction which is by nature, an inter-organisational context.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical research focused on the barriers, enablers and opportunities for value creation and value capture of the Finnish construction project parties when trying to implement mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) prefabrication, which is a systemic innovation. Data were collected through interviews, observations and action workshops.FindingsThe empirical study identified interaction patterns on how social, political, technical and economic barriers lead to uneven value capturing, lack of value-based procurement and unclear value creation between MEP design and installation. They hinder the implementation of MEP prefabrication. The results point to enablers leading to fairly shared value to all parties, procurement of value and collaborative value creation, thus increasing the usage of MEP prefabrication, a systemic innovation.Originality/valueThe study adds new knowledge by demonstrating that the identification of barriers and their interaction with enablers and opportunities for value creation and capture lay a baseline for suggestions on how to implement a systemic innovation. This study stresses the importance of enabling value creation and capture for all construction project parties when implementing a systemic innovation.
Future study of textile industry in Iran using the MICMAC and soft operational research methods
Authors: Fathi Mohammad Reza , Sobhani Seyed Mohammad , Maleki Mohammad Hasan , Jandaghi Gholamreza 
Published: March 2021

Purpose
This study aims to formulate exploratory scenarios of the textile industry in Iran based on MICMAC and soft operational research methods.

Design/methodology/approach
In this study, to formulate plausible scenarios, literature reviews and external experts’ opinions of this field have been gathered through the Delphi approach and uncertainty questionnaires. After the utilization of the most important uncertainties, the textile industry’s plausible scenarios have been mapped with the help of experts through co-thinking workshops. Results show that two factors, including the business atmosphere and membership in World Trade Organization (WTO), play a more important role than the other factors. These two factors were considered for the formulation of the scenario. To formulate plausible scenarios, soft systems methodology, which is a kind of soft operational research methods, is applied.

Findings
Based on the results, four scenarios are presented. These scenarios include the Elysium scenario, Hades scenario, Tatarus scenario and Sisyphus scenario. In the Elysium scenario, the business atmosphere has improved and Iran has been granted membership of the WTO. In Hades scenario, Iran has joined the WTO, but due to the government’s weakness and inactivity and key decision-makers, the required preparations have not been made. In the Tatarus scenario, Iran is not a WTO member and the business atmosphere is disastrous. In the Sisyphus scenario, the government takes reasonable actions toward a better business environment.

Originality/value
Formulating plausible scenarios of the textile industry is an excellent contribution to the key beneficiaries and actors of this industry so they can present flexible preparation-based programs in the face of circumstances. Future study of the textile industry familiarizes the actors and beneficiaries of this industry with the procedures and the driving forces that influence this industry’s future and it will ascertain various scenarios for the actors of this field.
Consumer debt holding, income and happiness: evidence from China
Authors: Xiao Jing Jian , Yan Chengyang , Bialowolski Piotr , Porto Nilton 
Published: March 2021

PurposeThe relationship between debt and happiness is an emerging research topic with significant implications for both theory and practice in economics and business. In China, where the consumer credit market is at an early stage of development, the topic remains under-investigated and the evidence on the debt–well-being link is scarce. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between debt holding and happiness and the moderating role of income in it.Design/methodology/approachData used in the study were from three waves (2013, 2015 and 2017) of the China Household Finance Survey. Fixed-effect regressions on panel data were used for data analyses.FindingsThe results show that any type of debt holding is negatively associated with happiness. Among seven specific types of debts, four types show negative associations with happiness, which in the order from higher to lower associations, are medical, education, other and housing debt. In addition, negative associations between debt holding and happiness vary among income groups. The results suggest that any debt holding potentially decreases happiness for low- and middle-income consumers only. In addition, holdings of three specific types of debts (medical, education and housing debt) may decrease happiness for both low- and middle-income consumers, and holding two types of debts (business and other debt) may decrease happiness for middle-income consumers only.Research limitations/implicationsData used in this study originate from one country only. It limits the generalizability of findings to other countries with different institutional backgrounds and different socio-economic characteristics of populations. The results have implications for researchers who study consumer debt behavior and business practitioners who do businesses with Chinese companies and consumers.Practical implicationsChina is an emerging economy that is at the early stage of credit market development. The results of this study provide helpful information and insights for business practitioners to explore credit markets and serve credit product clients with various income levels in China.Social implicationsThe results of this study are informative for public policies. When introducing credit market-related policies, policymakers should pay attention to people's happiness and to differential welfare effects of holdings of different types of debts and among consumers with various levels of incomes.Originality/valueUnique contributions of this study include using data from the most recently available waves of the China Household Finance Survey (2013, 2015 and 2017) to study the associations between debt holding and happiness. In addition, the findings of this study enrich the literature of debt and happiness by adding evidence from China, the largest emerging economy in the world, which is helpful for future theory building and business practice on the relationship between debt holding and happiness.