bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Further Investigation of Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Gene Expression of Key Regulators in Ascites- Susceptible and Ascites-Resistant Broiler Research Lines
Authors: Al-Zahrani Khaloud , Licknack Timothy , Watson Destiny L. , Anthony Nicholas B. , Rhoads Douglas D. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractWe have extended our previous survey of the association of mitochondrial prevalence in particular tissues with ascites susceptibility in broilers. We previously reported that in breast muscle of 22 week old susceptible line male birds had significantly higher mtDNA copy number relative to nuclear copy number (mtDNA/nucDNA), compared to resistant line male birds. The higher copy number correlated with higher expression of PPARGC1A mRNA gene. Ascites is a significant metabolic disease associated with fast-growing meat-type chickens (broilers) and is a terminal result of pulmonary hypertension syndrome. We now report the mtDNA/nucDNA ratio in lung, liver, heart, thigh, and breast of both genders at 3, and 20 weeks old. At 3 weeks the mtDNA/nucDNA ratio is significantly higher in lung, breast, and thigh for susceptible line males compared to the resistant line males. Conversely, we see the opposite for lung and breast in females. At 20 weeks of age the differences between males from the two lines is lost for lung, and thigh. Although there is a significant reduction in the mtDNA/nucDNA ratio of breast from 3 weeks to 20 weeks in the susceptible line males, the susceptible males remain higher than resistant line males for this specific tissue. We assessed relative expression of five genes known to regulate mitochondrial biogenesis for lung, thigh and breast muscle from males and females of both lines with no consistent pattern to explain the marked gender and line differences for these tissues. Our results indicate clear sex differences in mitochondrial biogenesis establishing a strong association between the mtDNA quantity in a tissue-specific manner and correlated with ascites-phenotype. We propose that mtDNA/nucDNA levels could serve as a potential predictive marker in breeding programs to reduce ascites.
Improving anti-oxidation performance of 430 SS by fabricating co-contained spinel coating as solid oxide fuel cells interconnect
Authors: Cheng Fupeng , Cui Jinglong , Xu Shuai , Li Song , Zhang Pengchao , Sun Juncai 
Published: September 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to improve the performance of AISI 430 stainless steel (430 SS) in increasing its oxidation resistance, suppressing coating spalling and cracking, sustaining appropriate conductivity and blocking Cr evaporation as an interconnect material for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells; a protective co-contained coating is formed onto stainless steel via the surface alloying process and followed by thermal oxidation.

Design/methodology/approach
In this work, oxidation behavior of coated specimen is studied during isothermal and cyclic oxidation measurements. Moreover, the conductivity is also investigated by area specific resistance (ASR) measurement.

Findings
Co-contained spinel layer shows an outstanding performance in preventing oxidation and improving conductivity compared with uncoated specimens. The protective spinel coating also reduces the ASR for coated specimen (0.0576O cm2) as compared to the uncoated specimen (1.87296O cm2) after isothermal oxidation.

Originality/value
The probable mechanism of co-contained alloy converting into spinel and the spinel transfer electron is presented.
DRAA e-resources usage statistics services in China: research and practice
Authors: Ye Lan , Yang Wei , Lin Weiming 
Published: September 2018

Purpose
This paper aims to share some experiences and practical activities related to the use and management of usage data in the Digital Resource Acquisition Alliance of Chinese Academic Libraries (DRAA) as a reference for library consortia engaged in providing usage statistics services of e-resources to member libraries.

Design/methodology/approach
A literature review and online survey are used to analyze the research and practice of e-resources usage statistics conducted internationally. The case of DRAA is introduced to present how DRAA develops usage statistics services and promotes the implementation of the Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative (SUSHI) to deliver usage statistics to member libraries. Future developments and enhancements are also described.

Findings
The main actions taken by DRAA to develop usage statistics services are as follows: development of the DRAA Usage Statistics Portal to provide a single point of access to usage statistics from participating publishers on behalf of member libraries; development of a SUSHI client, taking the lead in promoting SUSHI implementation to automatically obtain usage statistics in Chinese academic libraries; establishment of a working group on usage statistics and the China Academic Library and Information System/DRAA Standards and Recommended Practices Research Task Group to form a long-term mechanism for monitoring and gathering usage statistics; and strengthening of the understanding and application of standards and best practices for libraries and vendors in China. Scheduled enhancements in the future include a deep analysis and utilization of usage statistics, the promotion of Counting Online Usage of NeTworked Electronic Resources and SUSHI to Chinese academic resource publishers and raising awareness about normalizing usage statistics.

Originality/value
This paper has pertinence and wider implications for library consortia engaged in providing e-resources usage statistics services to member libraries.
Determinants of behavioural intentions in the audit market
Authors: Ghebremichael Asmerom Atewebrhan 
Published: September 2018

PurposeThis study uses conceptualizations and models of service quality and behavioural intentions from the service marketing and audit quality literature to investigate the influence of supervisory board members’ perceptions about various dimensions of audit quality on their behavioural intentions. These dimensions pertain to auditor’s technical competence, functional (service) quality and auditor independence.Design/methodology/approachA survey of supervisory board members of large and medium companies in The Netherlands is made to identify audit quality dimensions. The multivariate analysis is used to identify the quality dimensions influencing supervisory board members’ behavioural intentions.FindingsOverall, the author’s results indicate that the quality dimensions identified in this study have significant influence mainly in the supervisory board members’ intention to refer their auditors to an acquaintance. In this regard, the salient determinants are the functional quality dimensions and auditor independence. The technical quality dimensions are not found to be crucial. In contrast, most of the quality dimensions are not significant determinants of supervisory board members’ intention to retain or recommend the purchase of non-audit services from the auditor albeit having a minor influence. The results have some implications for regulators and audit firms.Research limitations/implicationsThe author’s results are limited by the low response rate that did not allow us to conduct factor analysis on all the functional and technical variables at the same time.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to integrate service quality and behavioural intentions concepts from the marketing literature and auditing literature and apply it in a corporate governance setting.
Hungry for the queen: Honeybee nutritional environment affects worker pheromone response in a life stage‐dependent manner
Authors: Walton Alexander , Dolezal Adam G. , Bakken Marit A. , Toth Amy L. 
Published: September 2018

Abstract

Animal nutritional state can profoundly affect behaviour, including an individual's tendency to cooperate with others. We investigated how nutritional restriction at different life stages affects cooperative behaviour in a highly social species, Apis mellifera honeybees.

We found that nutritional restriction affects a worker's queen pheromone response, a behavioural indicator of investment in group vs. individual reproduction. Nutritional restriction at the larval stage led to reduced ovary size and increased queen pheromone response, whereas nutritional restriction at the adult stage led to reduced lipid stores and reduced queen pheromone response.

We argue that these differences depend upon the extent of reproductive plasticity at these life stages and that individual worker honeybees may adjust their behavioural and physiological traits in response to nutritional stress to invest nutritional resources in either their own or their colony's reproduction.

These results support the role of nutritional stress in the maintenance of cooperative behaviour, and we suggest that historical nutritional scarcity may be an important contributor to the evolution of extreme forms of cooperation.

A plain language summary is available for this article.
Cognitive aspects of social competence in the current New South Wales Kindergarten to Grade Six Syllabuses
Authors: Challita Julianne , Chapparo Christine , Hinitt Joanne 
Published: September 2018

Background/aimOccupational therapists are commonly referred children who find reduced social competence a barrier to participation in school activities. Little is known about the social skills expected of children at school and the thinking strategies children use during social interactions. This study aimed to investigate the social skills expected of children during school‐based learning activities in the current NSW K‐6 Syllabuses and the types of cognitive strategies expected during social interactions.MethodsA qualitative text‐based approach was adopted to explore the range of social skills expected of children at school. A content analysis of text‐based data was used to identify specific social skills represented in the current NSW K‐6 Syllabuses and the types of cognitive strategies required. Cognitive strategy use items from the PRPP System of Task Analysis were used to identify expected ways of thinking that related to social competence outcomes as stated in the Syllabus.ResultsFindings revealed a high number of social skills represented in expected learning outcomes for all six subjects included in the analysis. Four categories representing expected social behaviours across the syllabuses were identified: intrapersonal skills: communication by language; interpersonal skills and responding to others. Each desired social competence phrase embedded within syllabus objectives aligned with at least one item from the PRPP System of Task Analysis. The highest representation of expected strategy use was items from Recall (memory) and Planning (problem solving and evaluating) Quadrants.ConclusionInvestigation into the types of cognitive strategies embedded within Syllabus objectives which relate to social competence can assist therapists more accurately target social skills and associated cognitive strategies required for occupational performance at school. Findings from the study support the use of the PRPP System of Task Analysis for identifying and addressing cognitive strategy use during occupational therapy assessment and intervention.
The Nun's Story: ‘True in its Essentials’
Authors: Buerkle Darcy 
Published: September 2018

AbstractMultiple but ultimately unsanctioned desires brought Fred Zinnemann's film The Nun's Story (1959) into being. The traces of those desires and their abnegation reside both on the level of narrative and, most provocatively, in the visual testimony that the film provides for them. Departing from previous scholarship and exploring the film for its historiographic challenges and spectatorial implications for the gendered and sexualised subject, this essay reaches beyond demonstrating the myriad ways that the Production Code by the late 1950s had trained directors and spectators to find queer sexuality in allusion and subtext. Drawing on psychoanalysis and affect theory, this article examines the reception of Kathryn Hulme's 1956 book on which the film is based as context for the film's subsequent formal production history and cinematic specificities.
Gender Differences in Plasma Ghrelin Levels in Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Sakao Yukitoshi , Ohashi Naro , Sugimoto Mitsushige , Ichikawa Hitomi , Sahara Shu , Tsuji Takayuki , Kato Akihiko , Fujigaki Yoshihide , Sugimoto Ken , Furuta Takahisa , Yasuda Hideo 
Published: September 2018

AbstractGhrelin is an orexigenic hormone mainly secreted by the stomach, and it decreases according to the severity of gastric atrophy. Ghrelin has multiple favorable functions, including protein anabolism enhancement, anti‐inflammatory activity, and cardiovascular protection, and is associated with survival in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Although the plasma level and role of ghrelin may be different depending on gender, they have not been completely assessed in HD patients. We enrolled 80 (male/female: 51/29) maintenance HD patients. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopic examination was performed for all patients to determine the severity of gastric mucosal atrophy and Helicobacter pylori infection. We measured plasma acyl and desacyl ghrelin levels and assessed the association between ghrelin levels and relevant clinical parameters, including nutrition, inflammation, atherosclerosis, and bone metabolism, by gender. Both acyl and desacyl ghrelin levels in female HD patients were significantly higher than those in male HD patients. When stratified by gastric mucosal atrophy, these gender differences were observed only in patients without gastric atrophy. In female patients, acyl ghrelin level was negatively correlated with age. In male patients, both acyl and desacyl ghrelin levels were positively correlated with bone mineral density. Multiple regression analysis showed significant positive correlations between both ghrelin levels and female gender after adjusting for confounding factors. Plasma ghrelin levels were higher in female HD patients than in male HD patients. The gender difference was more evident in patients without gastric atrophy.
The art of vector engineering: towards the construction of next‐generation genetic tools
Authors: Nora Luísa Czamanski , Westmann Cauã Antunes , Martins‐Santana Leonardo , Alves Luana de Fátima , Monteiro Lummy Maria Oliveira , Guazzaroni María‐Eugenia , Silva‐Rocha Rafael 
Published: September 2018

SummaryWhen recombinant DNA technology was developed more than 40 years ago, no one could have imagined the impact it would have on both society and the scientific community. In the field of genetic engineering, the most important tool developed was the plasmid vector. This technology has been continuously expanding and undergoing adaptations. Here, we provide a detailed view following the evolution of vectors built throughout the years destined to study microorganisms and their peculiarities, including those whose genomes can only be revealed through metagenomics. We remark how synthetic biology became a turning point in designing these genetic tools to create meaningful innovations. We have placed special focus on the tools for engineering bacteria and fungi (both yeast and filamentous fungi) and those available to construct metagenomic libraries. Based on this overview, future goals would include the development of modular vectors bearing standardized parts and orthogonally designed circuits, a task not fully addressed thus far. Finally, we present some challenges that should be overcome to enable the next generation of vector design and ways to address it.
Gaming and strategic opacity in incentive provision
Authors: Ederer Florian , Holden Richard , Meyer Margaret 
Published: September 2018

AbstractWe study the benefits and costs of “opacity” (deliberate lack of transparency) of incentive schemes as a strategy to combat gaming by better informed agents. In a two‐task moral hazard model in which only the agent knows which task is less costly, the agent has an incentive to focus his effort on the less costly task. Opaque schemes, which make a risk‐averse agent uncertain about which task will be more highly rewarded, mitigate such gaming but impose more risk. We identify environments in which opaque schemes not only dominate transparent ones, but also eliminate the costs of the agent's hidden information.
Competition for traders and risk
Authors: Bijlsma Michiel , Boone Jan , Zwart Gijsbert 
Published: September 2018

AbstractPerverse incentives for banks' traders have played a role in the financial crisis. We study how labor market competition interacts with the structure of compensation to result in excessive risk taking. In a model with trader moral hazard and adverse selection on trader abilities, we demonstrate how banks optimally induce top traders to take more risk as competition on the labor market intensifies, even if banks internalize the costs of negative outcomes. Distorting risk‐taking incentives allows banks to reduce the surplus offered to low‐ability traders. We find that increasing bank capital requirements does not unambiguously reduce risk taking by top traders.
Product variety, across‐market demand heterogeneity, and the value of online retail
Authors: Quan Thomas W. , Williams Kevin R. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractOnline retail gives consumers access to an astonishing variety of products. However, the additional value created by this variety depends on the extent to which local retailers already satisfy local demand. To quantify the gains and account for local demand, we use detailed data from an online retailer and propose methodology to address a common issue in such data—sparsity of local sales due to sampling and a significant number of local zeros. Our estimates indicate products face substantial demand heterogeneity across markets; as a result, we find gains from online variety that are 45% lower than previous studies.
Feasibility and validity of mobile cognitive testing in patients with substance use disorders and healthy controls
Authors: Bouvard Alexandra , Dupuy Maud , Schweitzer Pierre , Revranche Mathieu , Fatseas Melina , Serre Fuschia , Misdrahi David , Auriacombe Marc , Swendsen Joel 
Published: September 2018

Background and ObjectivesMobile testing of executive deficits in substance‐related addictions is highly novel but requires validation.MethodsSixty‐one individuals (34 patients, 27 healthy controls) completed Ecological Momentary Assessments with mobile executive tests.ResultsCompliance with the tests was high (78% to 91%) in both the patient and control groups. No fatigue effects were detected, practice effects were observed for controls only, and convergent validity was found relative to neuropsychological assessments.Conclusions The use of mobile cognitive testing is feasible and valid in this population.Scientific Significance Mobile cognitive tests provide new opportunities for both research and clinical intervention. (Am J Addict 2018;27:553–556)
Cataract couching and the goat's eye
Authors: Leffler Christopher T. , Schwartz Stephen G. , Peterson Eric , Busscher Joshua 
Published: September 2018

AbstractAt the start of the third century, a story told by Claudius Aelianus, Leonidas of Alexandria and pseudo‐Galen held that couching originated when a goat with cataract punctured its eye with a thorn. The significance of this story is unknown. We reviewed Graeco‐Roman texts to identify the relevance of the goat to the eye. In the works of Hippocrates, Aristotle and Galen, the goat's eye was an eye with intermediate brightness or colour. A dark brown eye with a black pupil was healthy and required no treatment. A bright glaukos eye, with extensive corneal edema or scarring, was not amenable to couching. An eye with a white cataract behind an undilated pupil would appear to have an intermediate brightness and was potentially amenable to couching. The origin myth probably arose when an instructor explained that couching works best for a goat's eye, that is, an eye with intermediate brightness.
The penetration and distribution of topical atropine in animal ocular tissues
Authors: Wang Louis Zizhao , Syn Nicholas , Li Shiya , Barathi Veluchamy Amutha , Tong Louis , Neo Jason , Beuerman Roger W. , Zhou Lei 
Published: September 2018

AbstractPurposeTo conduct a multi‐tissue investigation on the penetration and distribution of topical atropine in myopia treatment, and determine if atropine is detectable in the untreated contralateral eye after uniocular instillation.MethodsNine mature New Zealand white rabbits were evenly divided into three groups. Each group was killed at 5, 24 and 72 hr, respectively, following uniocular instillation of 0.05 ml of 1% atropine. Tissues were sampled after enucleation: conjunctiva, sclera, cornea, iris, ciliary body, lens, retina, aqueous, and vitreous humors. The assay for atropine was performed using liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (LC‐MS), and molecular tissue distribution was illustrated using matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization‐imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI‐IMS) via an independent experiment on murine eyes.ResultsAt 5 hr, the highest (mean ± SEM) concentration of atropine was detected in the conjunctiva (19.05 ± 5.57 ng/mg, p < 0.05) with a concentration gradient established anteriorly to posteriorly, as supported by MALDI‐IMS. At 24 hr, preferential binding of atropine to posterior ocular tissues occurred, demonstrating a reversal of the initial concentration gradient. Atropine has good ocular bioavailability with concentrations of two magnitudes higher than its binding affinity in most tissues at 3 days. Crossing‐over of atropine to the untreated eye occurred within 5 hr post‐administration.ConclusionBoth transcorneal and transconjunctival‐scleral routes are key in atropine absorption. Posterior ocular tissues could be important sites of action by atropine in myopic reduction. In uniocular atropine trials, cross‐over effects on the placebo eye should be adjusted to enhance results reliability. Combining the use of LC‐MS and MALDI‐IMS can be a viable approach in the study of the ocular pharmacokinetics of atropine.
Elevation of serum oxidative stress in patients with retina vein occlusions
Authors: Chen Kuan‐Hsuan , Hsiang En‐Lin , Hsu Min‐Yen , Chou Yueh‐Ching , Lin Tai‐Chi , Chang Yuh‐Lih , Tsai Ching‐Yao , Li Tzu‐Hsuan , Woung Lin‐Chung , Chen Shih‐Jen , Peng Chi‐Hsien , Hwang De‐Kuang 
Published: September 2018

AbstractPurposeRetina vein occlusion (RVO) is a visual‐threatening retinal disease that causes irreversible impaired quality of life. The contribution of oxidative stress behind clinical course of RVO was rarely investigated. The study aimed to measure the serum oxidative biomarker in patients with RVO to investigate further physical response.MethodsWe measured the serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), 8‐hydroxy‐2‐deoxyguanosine (8OHdG), Sirutin 1 (SIRT1), peroxisome proliferator‐ activated receptor gamma (PPAR‐r), Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma coactivator 1‐alpha (PGC‐1α), orkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1), orkhead box protein O3 (FOXO3), catalase, (SOD) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) among 19 patients with cataract as control group and 36 patients with RVO, respectively.ResultsThe mean MDA, 8OHdG and hydrogen peroxide in the serum were significantly higher in patients with RVO compared with the results in control group subjects. Whereas SIRT1, PPAR‐r, PGC‐1, FOXO1, FOXO3, catalase and SOD levels in serum were significantly decreased in patients with RVO compared with control group.ConclusionWe demonstrated that the serum level of MDA, 8OHdG and hydrogen peroxide is increased in patients with RVO. Among these, the elevation of MDA, 8OHdG and hydrogen peroxide suggests the increasing of serum oxidative stress in RVO patients. All enzymes related reactive oxygen species scavenge were decreased. Thus, focal RVO may increase systemic oxidative stress within serum.