bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
“Quantitative analysis reveals the basic behavioural repertoire of the urochordateCiona intestinalis”
Authors: Rudolf Jerneja , Dondorp Daniel , Canon Louise , Tieo Sonia , Chatzigeorgiou Marios 
Published: August 2018

AbstractQuantitative analysis of animal behaviour in model organisms is becoming an increasingly essential approach for tackling the great challenge of understanding how activity in the brain gives rise to behaviour. In addition, behavioural analysis can provide insight on the molecular basis of nervous system development and function as demonstrated by genetic screens focused on behavioural phenotyping in some genetically tractable model organisms. The progress in building low-cost automated tracking setups, together with advances in computer vision machine learning have expanded the repertoire of organisms which are amenable to quantitative behavioural analysis. Here we used automated image-based tracking to extract behavioural features from an organism of great importance in understanding the evolution of chordates, the free swimming larval form of the tunicateCiona intestinaliswhich has a compact and fully mapped nervous system composed of only 231 neurons. We analysed hundreds of videos of larvae and we extracted basic geometric and physical descriptors of larval behaviour. Most importantly, we used machine learning methods to create an objective ontology of behaviours forC. intestinalislarvae. We identified eleven behavioural modes using agglomerative clustering. This approach enabled us to produce a quantitative description of the basic larval behavioural repertoire. Furthermore, we tested the robustness of this repertoire by comparing different rearing conditions and ages. Using our pipeline for quantitative behavioural analysis, we successfully reproduced the known photoresponsive behaviour and the first demonstration to our knowledge thatC. intestinalislarvae exhibit sensory arousal and thigmotaxis, both of which can be modulated by the anxiotropic drug modafinil. Remarkably, by comparing the behaviour between animals assayed individually or in small groups, we found that crowd size influences larval behaviour. This study shows thatC. intestinalislarval behaviour can be broken down to a set of stereotyped behaviours that are used to different extents in a context-dependent manner. Furthermore, it raises exciting possibilities such as mapping behaviour to specific neurons of this compact chordate nervous system and it paves the way for comparative quantitative behavioural studies as a means to reconstruct the evolution of behaviour, especially in the chordate lineage.
A Persistence Detector for Metabolic Network Rewiring in an Animal
Authors: Bulcha Jote T. , Giese Gabrielle E. , Ali Md. Zulfikar , Lee Yong-Uk , Walker Melissa D. , Holdorf Amy D. , Yilmaz L. Safak , Brewster Robert C. , Walhout Albertha J.M. 
Published: August 2018

ABSTRACTBiological systems must possess mechanisms that prevent inappropriate responses to spurious environmental signals. Gene regulatory network circuitries known as coherent type 1 feed-forward loops (FFLs) with AND-logic gates have been proposed to function as a persistence detector because it generates a delay in target activation and prevents target induction unless the input signal is sustained. While such a circuit has been found for the L-arabinose utilization system in E. coli, their existence and relevance multicellular organisms has remained unclear. Here, we identify the first persistence detector in an animal that redirects propionate breakdown to a shunt pathway when flux through the canonical propionate breakdown pathway is perturbed. We propose that this mechanism has evolved to ensure the shunt pathway stays off unless propionate accumulation is persistent because the shunt pathway generates highly toxic acrylate. Our study uniquely connects persistence detector circuitry to a physiological response in an animal.
O-fucosylation of thrombospondin-like repeats is required for processing of MIC2 and for efficient host cell invasion by Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites
Authors: Bandini Giulia , Leon Deborah R. , Hoppe Carolin M. , Zhang Yue , Agop-Nersesian Carolina , Shears Melanie J. , Mahal Lara K. , Routier Françoise H. , Costello Catherine E. , Samuelson John 
Published: August 2018

AbstractToxoplasma gondiiis an intracellular parasite that causes disseminated infections which can lead to neurological damage in fetuses and immunocompromised individuals. Microneme protein 2 (MIC2)2, a member of the thrombospondin-related anonymous protein (TRAP) family, is a secreted protein important for motility, host cell attachment, invasion, and egress. MIC2 contains six thrombospondin type I repeats (TSRs) that are modified by C-mannose and O-fucose inPlasmodiumspp. and mammals.Here we used mass spectrometry to show that the four TSRs inT. gondiiMIC2 with proteinO-fucosyltransferase 2 (POFUT2) acceptor sites are modified by a dHexHex disaccharide, while Trp residues within three TSRs are also modified withC-mannose. Disruption of genes encoding eitherpofut2or nucleotide sugar transporter 2 (nst2), the putative GDP-fucose transporter, results in loss of MIC2 O-fucosylation, as detected by an antibody against the GlcFuc disaccharide, and markedly reduced cellular levels of MIC2. Furthermore, in 10-15% of theΔpofut2orΔnst2vacuoles, MIC2 accumulates earlier in the secretory pathway rather than localizing to micronemes. Dissemination of tachyzoites in human foreskin fibroblasts is reduced in these knockouts, which both show defects in attachment to and invasion of host cells comparable to the phenotype observed in the Βmic2.These results, which showO-fucosylation of TSRs is required for efficient processing of MIC2 and for normal parasite invasion, are consistent with the recent demonstration thatP. falciparum Δpofut2has decreased virulence and support a conserved role for this glycosylation pathway in quality control of TSR-containing proteins in eukaryotes.
SSU72 phosphatase is a telomere replication terminator
Authors: Escandell Jose Miguel , Carvalho Edison S. Mascarenhas , Gallo-Fernandez Maria , Reis Clara C. , Matmati Samah , Luís Inês Matias , Abreu Isabel A. , Coulon Stéphane , Ferreira Miguel Godinho 
Published: August 2018

AbstractTelomeres, the protective ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, are replicated through concerted actions by conventional DNA polymerases and telomerase, though the regulation of this process is not fully understood. Telomere replication requires (C)-Stn1-Ten1, a telomere ssDNA-binding complex that is homologous to RPA. Here, we show that the evolutionarily conserved phosphatase Ssu72 is responsible for terminating the cycle of telomere replication in fission yeast. Ssu72 controls the recruitment of Stn1 to telomeres by regulating Stn1 phosphorylation at S74, a residue that lies within the conserved OB fold domain. Consequently, ssu72Δ mutants are defective in telomere replication and exhibit long 3’ overhangs, which are indicative of defective lagging strand DNA synthesis. We also show that hSSU72 regulates telomerase activation in human cells by controlling the recruitment of hSTN1 to telomeres. Thus, in this study, we demonstrate a previously unknown yet conserved role for the phosphatase SSU72, whereby this enzyme controls telomere homeostasis by activating lagging strand DNA synthesis, thus terminating the cycle of telomere replication.
Ezetimibe inhibits Dengue virus infection in Huh-7 cells by blocking the cholesterol transporter Niemann–Pick C1-like 1 receptor
Authors: Osuna-Ramos Juan Fidel , Reyes-Ruiz José Manuel , Bautista-Carbajal Patricia , Farfán-Morales Noe , Cervantes-Salazar Margot , del Ángel Rosa María 
Published: August 2018

AbstractDespite the importance of Dengue virus (DENV) infection in human health, there is not a fully effective vaccine or antiviral treatment against the infection. Since lipids such as cholesterol are required during DENV infection, its uptake and synthesis are increased in infected cells. Ezetimibe is an FDA-approved drug that reduces cholesterol uptake in humans by inhibiting the endocytosis through Niemman-Pick C1-Like 1 (NPC1L1) receptor, expressed on the membrane of enterocytes and hepatocytes. Our results indicate that an increase in the amount of NPC1L1 occurs on the surface of Huh-7 cells during DENV infection, which correlates with an increase in cholesterol levels. Blockage of NPC1L1 with ezetimibe in concentrations up to 50 μM does not reduce cell viability but diminished total cellular cholesterol, the percentage of infected cells, viral yield, viral RNA and protein synthesis without affecting DENV binding and/or entry to Huh-7 cells. Moreover, ezetimibe inhibited DENV replicative complex formation and lipid droplets accumulation. All these results indicate that ezetimibe is an excellent drug to inhibit DENV infection and confirm that cholesterol is a key target to inhibit viral infection.
A model-based high throughput method for fecundity estimation in fruit fly studies
Authors: Ng’oma Enoch , King Elizabeth G. , Middleton Kevin M. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe ability to quantify fecundity is critically important to a wide range of experimental applications, particularly in widely-used model organisms such as Drosophila melanogaster. However, the standard method of manually counting eggs is time consuming and limits the feasibility of large-scale experiments. We develop a predictive model to automate the counting of eggs from images of eggs removed from the media surface and washed onto dark filter paper. A cross-validation approach demonstrates our method performs well, with a correlation between predicted and manually counted values of 0.88. We show how this method can be applied to a large data set where egg densities vary widely.
Widespread genome instability inSolanum tuberosumplants regenerated from protoplasts
Authors: Fossi Michelle , Comai Luca 
Published: August 2018

AbstractNon-transgenic genome editing in regenerable protoplasts, cell-wall free plant cells, could revolutionize crop improvement because it reduces regulatory and technical complexity. But, plant tissue culture is known to engender frequent unwanted variation. To evaluate the contribution of genome instability to this phenomenon, we analyzed large scale copy number changes in potatoes regenerated from protoplasts by comparison of Illumina read depth. While a control set of plants that had been propagated by cuttings displayed no changes, the protoplast regenerants were affected by pervasive aneuploidy. In addition, certain chromosomes displayed segmental deletions and duplications ranging from one to many. Resampling the same plant found different dosage profiles in different leaves, indicating frequent persistence of instability.
Item-specific delay activity demonstrates concurrent storage of multiple items in working memory
Authors: Sutterer David W. , Foster Joshua J. , Adam Kirsten C.S. , Vogel Edward K. , Awh Edward 
Published: August 2018

AbstractA longstanding view holds that information is maintained in working memory (WM) via persistent neural activity that encodes the content of WM. Recent work, however, has challenged the view that all items stored in WM are actively maintained. Instead, “activity-silent” models propose that items can be maintained in WM without the need for persistent neural activity, raising the possibility that only a subset of items – perhaps just a single item – may be actively represented at a given time. While past studies have successfully decoded multiple items stored in WM, these studies cannot rule out an active switching account in which only a single item is actively represented at a time. Here, we directly tested whether multiple representations can be held concurrently in an active state. We tracked spatial representations in WM using alpha-band (8–12 Hz) activity, which encodes spatial positions held in WM. Human observers (male and female) remembered one or two positions over a short delay while we recorded EEG. Using a spatial encoding model, we reconstructed stimulus-specific working memory representations (channel tuning functions, CTFs) from the scalp distribution of alphaband power. Consistent with past work, we found the selectivity of spatial CTFs was lower when two items were stored than when one item was stored. Critically, data-driven simulations revealed that the selectivity of spatial representations in the two-item condition could not be explained by models restricting storage to a single item at a time. Thus, our findings provide robust evidence for the concurrent storage of multiple items in visual working memory.Author SummaryWorking memory (WM) is a mental workspace where we temporarily hold information “online” in pursuit of our current goals. However, recent activity-silent models of WM have challenged the view that all items are held in an “online” state, instead proposing that only a subset of representations in WM – perhaps just one item – are represented by persistent activity at a time. To directly test a single-item model of persistent activity, we used a spatial encoding model to read out the strength of two representations from alpha-band (8–12 Hz) power in the human EEG signal. We provide direct evidence that both locations were maintained concurrently, ruling out the possibility that declines in stimulus-specific activity are due to storing one of two items in an activity-silent state.
“Life if elsewhere”
Authors: Wechtler Heidi 
Published: August 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the motives of female childless self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) in deciding to work abroad, so far under-researched.Design/methodology/approachThe study departs from prior research in using a new methodological approach, i.e. the analysis of online diaries (blogs) to explore the motives of a specific population to relocate.FindingsThe emergent model of motivations is based upon four main dimensions that emerged from the socially constructed experience of these single childless female SIEs: escape as main motivation, confrontation to reality, identity reconstruction and purpose of expatriation.Originality/valueThe findings reveal new elements of motivations to move abroad such as the complete absence of the notion of career from the blog posts, replaced, however, by a feminist and existentialist reflection.
Equality as a threshold conception: challenging future manager’s perceptions
Authors: Dyer Suzette , Hurd Fiona 
Published: August 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential to develop a shared understanding of systemic discrimination and the complexity of equality and an appreciation for the range of interventions designed to redress inequality within the context of business school curricula.

Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative material was gathered over a four-year period through written reflections of student interpretations of equality. Participants were enroled in a human resource management (HRM) course critically examining systemic gender discrimination, women’s organisational experiences, gendered employment outcomes and the range of interventions designed to redress gendered employment outcomes. Threshold concepts framed the analysis of participant reflections.

Findings
The paper shows that while the participants developed a shared understanding of systemic gender discrimination, their interpretations of equality and appreciation for the range of interventions available to redress inequality differed. These differences were shaped by the extent to which participants integrated their understanding of systemic discrimination with their interpretations of equality, and the extent to which the interventions to inequality transformed, upheld or challenged participant agendic self-identity and world view.

Research limitations/implications
The study provides support for continued use of equality as a construct in both research and teaching settings. The study highlights that unequal outcomes are an enduring phenomena, and that introducing the notion of equality to the classroom helps develop student’s ability to understand dynamics of discrimination in the workplace. The limitations of the study relate to the sample size, and dependence on a single specialist HRM course, in addition to the specific New Zealand context.

Practical implications
The differences in interpretations have implications for the way educators introduce discussions of equality within the business school classroom.

Originality/value
The paper demonstrates that developing a shared understanding of systemic discrimination does not always lead to developing a shared understanding of the complexity of equality or appreciation for the many forms of interventions available.
Employee resource groups as learning communities
Authors: Green Wendy M. 
Published: August 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the role of employee resource groups (ERGs) in a multi-national, for-profit corporation. The paper focuses on how ERGs facilitate learning.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study approach was used to examine six social identity based ERGs in one multi-national for-profit organization headquartered in the USA.FindingsThe study found that ERGs facilitate learning and development activities in order to support their membership. ERGs, operating as communities of practice, also engaged in informal learning opportunities that were designed to shift perspectives of non-members and executive-level leaders in the organization.Originality/valueThere is a growing body of literature on ERGs across organizations and higher education that examine how these groups engage in activism, advocacy, recruitment, retention and education. This study examines the processes by which these groups facilitate learning and development activities and the benefits perceived by the membership. The paper provides value to human resources professionals and others who are interested in how ERGs function as learning communities and outcomes the membership perceive as most important.
Performance indicators for facilities operation and maintenance (Part 2)
Authors: Lai Joseph H.K. , Man Chun Sing 
Published: August 2018

Purpose
This paper (Part 2 of 2) aims to shortlist performance indicators which are used in evaluating facilities operation and maintenance (O&M) in commercial buildings.

Design/methodology/approach
A three-session focus group meeting, with the use of a customized questionnaire and audio recording, was convened to solicit opinions from O&M experts. Their quantitative responses (ratings on the importance of the indicators) and the qualitative ones (reasons for having the indicators selected or excluded) were taken for analysis, followed by mapping the shortlisted indicators based on the phase-hierarchy (P-H) model for facilities management (FM).

Findings
From a total of 74 performance indicators (71 identified from the literature and three added by the focus group), 17 indicators were shortlisted, and time constraint was the most common reason for having those indicators excluded from the shortlist. Mapping the shortlisted indicators with the P-H model revealed that the performance evaluation focus of the experts was at the tactical level, on the output phase of facilities services delivery.

Research implications
The shortlisted indicators serve as a keystone for establishing a performance evaluation scheme for engineering facilities in commercial buildings. Research on other areas may follow the approach of this study to shortlist key performance indicators (KPIs).

Practical implications
Professionals of the other building types (e.g. residential, industrial and healthcare) or sectors with diverse FM organizations may conduct a similar study to identify indicators for performance evaluation purposes. In particular, the process of shortlisting the O&M KPIs may be used to shortlist KPIs for the other FM services.

Originality/value
The focus group study demonstrates how to rigorously select KPIs for use in managing facilities.
India’s rural healthcare systems: structural modeling
Authors: Kumar Dinesh 
Published: August 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify factors related to rural healthcare services and establish a hierarchical model for the effective rural healthcare management in India.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey identified and correlated numerous factors related to the Uttarakhand rural healthcare systems. Experts opinion were translated into a reachability matrix and an interpretive structural model. A fuzzy matriced impacts croises-multiplication applique and classment (FMICMAC) analysis arranged the factors as hierarchical stages using their driving power.FindingsThe interpretive structural and FMICMAC hierarchical models suggest four key driving factors: diseases, climatic conditions, population growth and political pressure.Practical implicationsDespite numerous issues, rural healthcare services can be improved by considering key driving factors that could be used as a prediction tool for policy makers.Originality/valueResults demonstrate that population control, coordinating services with local bodies and rural health center annual maintenance can be game changers toward better healthcare services.
Chinese residents’ educational disparity and social insurance coverage
Authors: Lee Yen-Han , Chiang Timothy , Shelley Mack , Liu Ching-Ti 
Published: August 2018

PurposeThe Chinese society has embraced rapid social reforms since the late twentieth century, including educational and healthcare systems. The Chinese Central Government launched an ambitious health reform program in 2009 to improve service quality and provide affordable health services, regardless of individual socio-economic status. Currently, the Chinese social health insurance includes Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance, Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance, and New Cooperative Medical Insurance for rural residents. The purpose of this paper is to measure the association between individual education level and China’s social health insurance scheme following the reform.Design/methodology/approachUsing the latest (2011) China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) data and multivariable logistic regression models with cross-sectional design (n=11,960), the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are reported.FindingsThe authors found that education is associated with all social health insurance schemes in China after the reform (p<0.001). Residents with higher educational attainments, such as technical school (OR: 6.64, 95% CI: 5.44–8.13) or university and above (OR: 9.86, 95% CI: 8.14–11.96), are associated with UEBMI, compared with lower-educated individuals.Practical implicationsThe Chinese Central Government announced a plan to combine all social health insurance schemes by 2020, except UEBMI, a plan with the most comprehensive financial package. Further research is needed to investigate potential disparities after unification. Policy makers should continue to evaluate China’s universal health coverage and social disparity.Originality/valueThis study is the first to investigate the association between residents’ educational attainment and three social health insurance schemes following the 2009 health reform. The authors suggest that educational attainment is still associated with each social health insurance coverage after the ambitious health reform.