bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A forest model intercomparison framework and application at two temperate forests along the East Coast of the United States
Authors: Erickson Adam , Strigul Nikolay 
Published: November 2018

AbstractForest models often reflect the dominant management paradigm of their time. Until the late 1970s, this meant sustaining yields. Following landmark work in forest ecology, physiology, and biogeochemistry, the current generation of models is further intended to inform ecological and climatic forest management in alignment with national biodiversity and climate mitigation targets. This has greatly increased the complexity of models used to inform management, making them difficult to diagnose and understand. State-of-the-art forest models are often complex, analytically intractable, and computationally-expensive, due to the explicit representation of detailed biogeochemical and ecological processes. Different models often produce distinct results while predictions from the same model vary with parameter values. In this project, we developed a rigorous quantitative approach for conducting model intercomparisons and assessing model performance. We have applied our original methodology to compare two forest biogeochemistry models, the Perfect Plasticity Approximation with Simple Biogeochemistry (PPA-SiBGC) and Landscape Disturbance and Succession with Net Ecosystem Carbon and Nitrogen (LANDIS-II NECN). We simulated past-decade conditions at flux tower sites located within Harvard Forest, MA, USA (HF-EMS) and Jones Ecological Research Center, GA, USA (JERC-RD). We mined field data available for both sites to perform model parameterization, validation, and intercomparison. We assessed model performance using the following time-series metrics: net ecosystem exchange, aboveground net primary production, aboveground biomass, C, and N, belowground biomass, C, and N, soil respiration, and, species total biomass and relative abundance. We also assessed static observations of soil organic C and N, and concluded with an assessment of general model usability, performance, and transferability. Despite substantial differences in design, both models achieved good accuracy across the range of pool metrics. While LANDIS-II NECN showed better fidelity to interannual NEE fluxes, PPA-SiBGC indicated better overall performance for both sites across the 11 temporal and 2 static metrics tested (HF-EMS = 0.73, +0.07, = 4.84, −10.02; JERC-RD = 0.76, +0.04, = 2.69, −1.86). To facilitate further testing of forest models at the two sites, we provide pre-processed datasets and original software written in the R language of statistical computing. In addition to model intercomparisons, our approach may be employed to test modifications to forest models and their sensitivity to different parameterizations.
Neuroimaging Supports the Representational Nature of the Earliest Human Engravings
Authors: Mellet E , Salagnon M , Majki A , Cremona S , Joliot M , Jobard G , Mazoyer B , Tzourio Mazoyer N , d’Errico F 
Published: November 2018

AbstractThe earliest human graphic productions dating to the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic are associated with anatomically modern and archaic hominins. These productions, which consist of abstract patterns engraved on a variety of media, may have been used as symbols, and their emergence is thought to be associated with the evolution of the properties of the visual cortex. To test this hypothesis, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare brain activations triggered by the perception of engraved patterns dating between 540,000 and 30,000 years before the present with those elicited by the perception of scenes, objects, symbol-like characters, and written words. The perception of the engravings bilaterally activated regions in the ventral route in a pattern similar to that produced by the perception of objects, suggesting that these graphic productions are processed as organized visual representations in the brain. Moreover, the perception of the engravings led to a leftward activation of the visual word form area. These results support the hypothesis that in contrast to random doodles, the earliest abstract graphic productions had a representational purpose for modern and archaic hominins.
Anterior insular cortex plays a critical role in interoceptive attention
Authors: Wang Xingchao , Wu Qiong , Egan Laura , Gu Xiaosi , Liu Pinan , Gu Hong , Yang Yihong , Luo Jing , Wu Yanhong , Gao Zhixian , Fan Jin 
Published: November 2018

AbstractAlthough accumulating evidence indicates that the anterior insular cortex (AIC) mediates interoceptive attention, which refers the attention towards physiological signals arising from the body, the necessity of the AIC in this process has not been demonstrated. Using a novel task that directs attention toward breathing rhythm, we assessed the involvement of the AIC in interoceptive attention in healthy participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging and examined the necessity of the AIC in interoceptive attention in patients with AIC lesions. We found that interoceptive attention was associated with greater AIC activation, as well as enhanced coupling between the AIC and somatosensory area along with reduced coupling between AIC and visual sensory areas. AIC activation and connectivity were predictive of individual differences in interoceptive accuracy. Importantly, AIC lesion patients showed disrupted interoceptive discrimination accuracy and sensitivity. Together, these results provide compelling evidence that AIC plays a critical role in interoceptive attention.
Ownership, Coverage, Utilisation and Maintenance of Long-lasting insecticidal nets in Three Health Districts in Cameroon: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Cho Frederick Nchang , Fru Paulette Ngum , Cho Blessing Menyi , Munguh Solange Fri , Jokwi Patrick Kofon , Ngah Yayah Emerencia , Fru Celestina Neh , Tassang Andrew N , Ekobo Albert Same 
Published: November 2018

ABSTRACTThe Bamenda, Santa and Tiko Health Districts are in the highest malaria transmission strata of Cameroon. The purpose of this study was to explore the indicators of ownership and utilisation as well as maintenance of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) in three health districts in Cameroon. A cross-sectional household survey involving 1,251 households was conducted in the Bamenda, Santa and Tiko Health Districts in Cameroon. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on LLINs ownership, utilisation, and maintenance as well as demographic characteristics. The average number of LLINs per household was higher in the Bamenda Health District (BHD) compared to the Tiko Health District (THD) (2.5±1.4 vs 2.4±1.6) as well as the household ownership of at least one LLIN (93.3% vs. 88.9%). The proportion of the de facto population with universal utilisation was higher in BHD compared to THD (13.1% vs 0.2%). In multinomial regression analysis, households in the Santa Health District (SHD) (OR = 0.4, 95% = C.I; 0.2 – 0.8, p = 6.10×10−3), were less likely to own at least one LLIN, while those in the BHD (OR = 1.3, 95% = C.I; 0.8 – 2.1, p = 0.33) were more likely to maintain LLINs compared to those in THD. Ownership of LLINs was low in SHD and THD in comparison to the goal of one LLIN for every two household members. Overall, LLINs coverage and accessibility was still low after the free Mass Distribution Campaigns, making it difficult for all household members to effectively use LLINs.
Strategies for Efficient Genome Editing Using CRISPR-Cas9
Authors: Farboud Behnom , Severson Aaron F. , Meyer Barbara J. 
Published: November 2018

AbstractThe targetable DNA endonuclease CRISPR-Cas9 has transformed analysis of biological processes by enabling robust genome editing in model and non-model organisms. Although rules directing Cas9 to its target DNA via a guide RNA are straightforward, wide variation occurs in editing efficiency and repair outcomes, both imprecise error-prone repair and precise templated repair. We found that imprecise and precise DNA repair from double-stranded breaks (DSBs) is asymmetric, favoring repair in one direction. Using this knowledge, we designed RNA guides and repair templates that increased the frequency of imprecise insertions and deletions and greatly enhanced precise insertion of point mutations in Caenorhabditis elegans. We devised strategies to insert long (10 kb) exogenous sequences or incorporate multiple nucleotide substitutions at considerable distance from DSBs. We expanded the repertoire of co-conversion markers appropriate for diverse nematode species. These selectable markers enable rapid identification of Cas9-edited animals also likely to carry edits in desired targets. Lastly, we explored the timing, location, frequency, sex-dependence, and categories of DSB repair events by developing loci with allele-specific Cas9 targets that can be contributed during mating from either male or hermaphrodite germ cells. Our studies revealed a striking difference in editing efficiency between maternally and paternally contributed genomes. Furthermore, imprecise repair and precise repair from exogenous repair templates occur with high frequency before and after fertilization. Our strategies enhance Cas9 targeting efficiency, lend insight into the timing and mechanisms of DSB repair, and establish guidelines for achieving predictable precise and imprecise repair outcomes with high frequency.
Roles for stress response and cell wall biosynthesis pathways in caspofungin tolerance inCryptococcus neoformans
Authors: Pianalto Kaila M. , Billmyre R. Blake , Telzrow Calla L. , Alspaugh J. Andrew 
Published: November 2018

ABSTRACTLimited antifungal diversity and availability are growing problems for the treatment of fungal infections in the face of increasing drug resistance. The echinocandins, one of the newest classes of antifungal drugs, inhibit production of a crucial cell wall component. However, these compounds do not effectively inhibit the growth of the opportunistic fungal pathogenCryptococcus neoformans, despite potent inhibition of the target enzyme. We therefore performed a forward genetic screen to identify cellular processes that mediate the relative tolerance of this organism to the echinocandin drug, caspofungin. Through these studies, we identified 14 genetic mutants that enhance caspofungin antifungal activity. Rather than directly affecting caspofungin antifungal activity, these mutations seem to prevent the activation of various stress-induced compensatory cellular processes. For example, thepfa4Δ mutant has defects in the palmitoylation and localization of many of its target proteins, including the Ras GTPase and the Chs3 chitin synthase which are both required for caspofungin tolerance. Similarly, we have confirmed the link between caspofungin treatment and calcineurin signaling in this organism, but we suggest a deeper mechanism in which caspofungin tolerance is mediated by multiple pathways downstream of calcineurin function. Additionally, a partial loss-of-function mutant of a COP9 signalosome component results in a highly caspofungin-susceptible strain ofC. neoformans. In summary, we describe here several pathways inC. neoformansthat contribute to the complex caspofungin tolerance phenotype in this organism.
PARIS, an optogenetic method for functionally mapping gap junctions
Authors: Wu Ling , Dong Ao , Dong Liting , Wang Shi-Qiang , Li Yulong 
Published: November 2018

ABSTRACTCell-cell communication via gap junctions regulates a wide range of physiological processes by enabling the direct intercellular electrical and chemical coupling. However, the in vivo distribution and function of gap junctions remain poorly understood, partly due to the lack of non-invasive tools with both cell-type specificity and high spatiotemporal resolution. Here we developed PARIS (pairing actuators and receivers to optically isolate gap junctions), a new fully genetically encoded tool for measuring the cell-specific gap junctional coupling (GJC). PARIS successfully enabled monitoring of GJC in several cultured cell lines under physiologically relevant conditions and in distinct genetically defined neurons in Drosophila brain, with ~10-sec temporal resolution and sub-cellular spatial resolution. These results demonstrate that PARIS is a robust, highly sensitive tool for mapping functional gap junctions and study their regulation in both health and disease.
The Human Hippocampus Contributes to Egocentric Coding of Distance to a Local Landmark
Authors: Chen Xiaoli , Vieweg Paula , Wolbers Thomas 
Published: November 2018

AbstractSpatial navigation can depend on path integration or environmental cues (e.g., landmarks), which are thought to be integrated in hippocampal and entorhinal circuits. This study investigates the anatomical basis of path integration and navigation based on a single local landmark using an individual differences approach, since people vary substantially in their ability to navigate with path integration cues and landmarks. In two experiments, we dissociated the use of path integration and a local landmark in the same navigation task, and investigated whether morphological variability in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex could explain behavioral variability in young healthy humans. In Experiment 1, participants navigated in a fully immersive virtual reality environment, with body-based cues available for path integration. The participants first walked through a series of posts before attempting to walk back to the remembered location of the first post. We found that gray matter volume of the hippocampus positively predicted behavioral accuracy of retrieving the target’s distance in relation to the local landmark. Hippocampus also positively predicted path integration performance in terms of walking-distance to the target location. Experiment 2 was conducted in a desktop virtual environment, with no body-based cues available. Optic flow served as path integration cues, and participants were tested on their memory of a learned target location along a linear track. Consistent with Experiment 1, the results showed that hippocampal volume positively predicted performance on the target’s distance in relation to the local landmark. In contrast to Experiment 1, there was no correlation between hippocampal volume and path integration performance. Together, our two experiments provide novel and converging evidence that the hippocampus plays an important role in encoding egocentric distance to a single local landmark during navigation, and they suggest a stronger hippocampal involvement when path integration is based on body-based compared to optic flow cues.
Network remodeling induced by transcranial brain stimulation: A computational model of tDCS-triggered cell assembly formation
Authors: Lu Han , Gallinaro Júlia V. , Rotter Stefan 
Published: November 2018

AbstractTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a variant of non-invasive neuromodulation, which promises treatment for brain diseases like major depressive disorder. In experiments, long-lasting aftereffects were observed, suggesting that persistent plastic changes are induced. The mechanism underlying the emergence of lasting aftereffects, however, remains elusive. Here we propose a model, which assumes that tDCS triggers a homeostatic response of the network involving growth and decay of synapses. The cortical tissue exposed to tDCS is conceived as a recurrent network of excitatory and inhibitory neurons, with synapses subject to homeostatically regulated structural plasticity. We systematically tested various aspects of stimulation, including electrode size and montage, as well as stimulation intensity and duration. Our results suggest that transcranial stimulation perturbs the homeostatic equilibrium and leads to a pronounced growth response of the network. The stimulated population eventually eliminates excitatory synapses with the unstimulated population, and new synapses among stimulated neurons are grown to form a cell assembly. Strong focal stimulation tends to enhance the connectivity within new cell assemblies, and repetitive stimulation with well-chosen duty cycles can increase the impact of stimulation even further. One long-term goal of our work is to help optimizing the use of tDCS in clinical applications.
Conserved type VI secretion regulation in diverseVibriospecies by the regulatory proteins TfoX and TfoY
Authors: Metzger Lisa C. , Matthey Noémie , Stoudmann Candice , Collas Esther J. , Blokesch Melanie 
Published: November 2018

SummaryBacteria of the genusVibrioare common members of aquatic environments where they compete with other prokaryotes and defend themselves against grazing predators. A macromolecular protein complex called the type VI secretion system (T6SS) is used for both purposes. Previous research showed that the sole T6SS of the human pathogenV. choleraeis induced by extracellular (chitin) or intracellular (low c-di-GMP levels) cues and that these cues lead to distinctive signalling pathways for which the proteins TfoX and TfoY serve as master regulators. In this study, we tested whether the TfoX- and TfoY-mediated regulation of T6SS was conserved in non-cholera species, and if so, how these regulators affected the production of individual T6SSs in double-armed vibrios. We show that, alongside representative competence genes, TfoX regulates at least one T6SS in all testedVibriospecies. TfoY, on the other hand, fostered motility in all vibrios but had a more versatile T6SS response in that it did not foster T6SS-mediated killing inV. fischeriwhile it induced both systems inV. alginolyticus. Collectively, our data provide evidence that the TfoX- and TfoY-mediated signalling pathways are mostly conserved in diverseVibriospecies and important for signal-specific T6SS induction.Originality-Significance StatementThis work provides new insight into the regulatory circuits involved in type VI secretion in diverseVibriospecies. Specifically, it is the first study to compare the effects of the two regulatory proteins TfoX and TfoY on the primary or secondary type VI secretion systems of non-cholera vibrios. Importantly, this work also shows that decreased c-di-GMP levels inV. parahaemolyticuslead to TfoY production without changingtfoYtranscript levels, thereby indirectly linking TfoY production to surface sensing.
Communication relational outcomes in the insurance industry
Authors: Marcos Anabela Maria Bello de Figueiredo , Coelho Arnaldo Fernandes de Matos 
Published: November 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the role that communication plays in the insurance industry, as well as its relational outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach
This investigation proposes a theoretical model tested using structural equation modelling. A questionnaire survey was developed to explore the relationships among communication, reputation, trust, commitment, loyalty and word-of-mouth (WOM). For this study, 744 valid questionnaires were collected from a sample of Portuguese car insurance holders.

Findings
The results show that communication directly influences reputation, trust and commitment. Communication also indirectly influences loyalty through reputation, trust, and commitment and communication indirectly influences WOM via trust and commitment. In turn, reputation influences trust and trust impact on relational commitment. Finally, loyalty influences WOM.

Originality/value
This investigation examines the mediating role of reputation, trust and relational commitment in the relationship among communication and loyalty and WOM, in a relational perspective. It fills a gap in the literature by exploring the importance of communication in the insurance industry. Thus, this study will be useful to decision makers in the insurance industry seeking to improve their insurance holders–insurance companies relationships.
Surprise me with your ads! The impacts of guerrilla marketing in social media on brand image
Authors: Gökerik Mehmet , Gürbüz Ahmet , Erkan Ismail , Mogaji Emmanuel , Sap Serap 
Published: November 2018

Purpose
The advent of social media brought a new perspective for guerrilla marketing since it allows ads to reach more people through the internet. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of guerrilla marketing in social media on brand image.

Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual model was developed based on the information acceptance model (IACM). The research model was validated through structural equation modelling based on the surveys of 385 university students.

Findings
The results support the proposed model and confirm that guerrilla marketing in social media has a positive effect on both functional and symbolic brand image.

Research limitations/implications
This study was conducted with university students. This sample was deemed appropriate since the study had to be conducted with people who use social media. However, although the age group of university students constitutes the majority of social media users, they may not fully represent the whole population. Also, this study showed four guerrilla marketing examples to participants before they commenced filling in the questionnaire. Although the authors selected the most generic guerrilla advertisements during the pilot tests and eliminated the ones which were difficult to understand, this can still be considered as limitations of the study.

Practical implications
This study has both theoretical and managerial implications. First, most of the guerrilla marketing studies focus on consumers and neglect possible impacts on brands. In order to fulfil this gap in the literature, this study investigates the influence of guerrilla marketing in brand image. Besides, this study contributes to IACM by expanding its scope through testing its determinants on “brand image”. It proves that IACM is valid for use in different contexts. On the managerial side, this study provides marketers with a frame of reference to understand the information adoption process of guerrilla marketing on social media.

Originality/value
Current studies regarding the influence of guerrilla marketing mostly focus on consumers, where the possible impacts on brands have been relatively neglected. This study attempts to fill this gap by focussing on the brand image.
Developing the resilient project professional: examining the student experience
Authors: Turner Michelle , Scott-Young Christina , Holdsworth Sarah 
Published: November 2018

PurposeResilience development during university can increase the likelihood of positive employment outcomes for project management graduates in what is known as a stressful profession where the prevalence of project failure, job insecurity, and burnout is high. However, a focus on student resilience in project management education is scarce. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by establishing a baseline profile of resilience for project management students, identifying priority areas of resilience development and exploring the relationship between resilience and well-being.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 292 Australian students undertaking project management studies completed a survey comprising of the Resilience at University scale, the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale and an item assessing sleep adequacy.FindingsA resilience profile for undergraduate, postgraduate, male and female project management students was calculated. The resilience profile identified differences according to gender, and between undergraduate and postgraduate students. Mental well-being and adequate sleep were found to be significantly related to resilience.Practical implicationsFindings support the call for a greater emphasis on resilience development in the project management curriculum for undergraduates and postgraduates. One priority area likely to facilitate resilience is the ability to maintain perspective. As well as supporting academic achievement, it will assist graduates to navigate through complex, uncertain and challenging project environments.Originality/valueThis is the first known study of resilience for students undertaking project management studies in higher education.