bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cardiac myocyte microtissue aggregates broadcast local field potentials
Authors: Serruya Mijail D. , Das Suradip , Katiyar Kritika S. , Struzyna Laura A. , Burrell Justin C. , Cullen D. Kacy 
Published: July 2018

AbstractMuscle tissue has been exploited as a living biopotential amplifier to facilitate transduction of peripheral nerve signals into prosthetic control in patients with limb amputation. Here we sought to address the question of whether microscopically small volumes of muscle tissue could effectively broadcast field potentials to electrodes not immediately in contact with that tissue. Cardiac myocytes were grown as three-dimensional aggregates containing 105 cells comprising a volume of approximately 0.065 mm3 (~500 μm in diameter) atop multi-electrode arrays. In addition to the expected spontaneous contraction potentials detected using electrodes in direct contact with the myocytes, potentials could also be detected on distant electrodes not contacting the aggregates. Specifically, while both dissociated and aggregated cardiac myocyte cultures generated spontaneous contractions that could easily be recorded from underlying multi-electrode arrays, only aggregated myocyte cultures generated signals detectable several millimeters away by the electrode grid floating in media. This confirmed the ability of micro-volumes of aggregated muscle tissue to broadcast readily detectible signals. The amplitude of the potentials generated by the aggregates decreased exponentially with distance. The aggregates were sensitive to pharmacologic modification with isoproterenol increasing contraction rate. Simultaneous recordings with electrodes in physical contact to the aggregate and with electrodes several millimeters away revealed that the aggregates function as amplifiers and low-pass filters. This study lays the groundwork for forging myocyte aggregates as “living amplifiers” for long-term neural recording in brain-computer interfaces to treat neurological disease and injury.
High-resolution regulatory maps connect cardiovascular risk variants to disease related pathways
Authors: Åkerborg Örjan , Spalinskas Rapolas , Pradhananga Sailendra , Anil Anandashankar , Höjer Pontus , Poujade Flore-Anne , Folkersen Lasse , Eriksson Per , Sahlén Pelin 
Published: July 2018

AbstractGenetic variant landscape of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is dominated by non-coding variants among which many occur within putative enhancers regulating the expression levels of relevant genes. It is crucial to assign the genetic variants to their correct gene both to gain insights into perturbed functions and better assess the risk of disease. In this study, we generated high-resolution genomic interaction maps (~750 bases) in aortic endothelial, smooth muscle and THP-1 macrophages using Hi-C coupled with sequence capture targeting 25,429 features including variants associated with CVD. We detected interactions for 761 CVD risk variants obtained by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and identified novel as well as established functions associated with CVD. We were able to fine-map 331 GWAS variants using interaction networks, thereby identifying additional genes and functions. We also discovered a subset of risk variants interacting with multiple promoters and the expression levels of such genes were correlated. The presented resource enables functional studies of cardiovascular disease providing novel approaches for its diagnosis and treatment.
Homeostatic and Interferon-induced gene expression represent different states of promoter-associated transcription factor ISGF3
Authors: Platanitis Ekaterini , Demiroz Duygu , Capelle Christophe , Schneller Anja , Hartl Markus , Gossenreiter Thomas , Müller Mathias , Novatchkova Maria , Decker Thomas 
Published: July 2018

AbstractCells maintain the balance between homeostasis and inflammation by adapting and integrating the activity of intracellular signalling cascades, including the JAK-STAT pathway. Our understanding how a tailored switch from homeostasis to a strong receptor-dependent response is coordinated remains limited. We used an integrated transcriptomic and proteomic approach to analyze transcription-factor binding, gene expression and in vivo proximity-dependent labelling of proteins in living cells under homeostatic and interferon (IFN)-induced conditions. We show that interferons (IFN) switch murine macrophages from resting-state to induced gene expression by alternating subunits of transcription factor ISGF3. Whereas preformed STAT2-IRF9 complexes control basal expression of IFN-induced genes (ISG), both type I IFN and, unexpectedly, IFNγ cause promoter binding of a complete ISGF3 complex containing STAT1, STAT2 and IRF9. In contrast to the dogmatic view of ISGF3 formation in the cytoplasm, our results suggest a model wherein the assembly of the ISGF3 complex occurs on DNA.
Impact of corporate governance attributes and financial reporting lag on corporate financial performance
Authors: Agyei-Mensah Ben Kwame 
Published: July 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate selected corporate governance attributes and financial reporting lag and their impact on financial performance of listed firms in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach
The study uses 90 firm-year data for the period 2012–2014 for firms listed on the GSE. Each annual report was individually examined and coded to obtain the financial reporting lag. Descriptive analysis was performed to provide the background statistics of the variables examined. This was followed by regression analysis, which forms the main data analysis.

Findings
The descriptive statistics indicate that over the three years, the mean value of timeliness of financial reporting (ARL) is 86 days (SD 21 days), minimum is 55 days and maximum is 173 days. The regression analysis results indicate that financial reporting lag has a negative statistically significant relationship with firm performance. This negative sign indicates that when financial performances of companies are high (good news), companies have the tendency to disclose this situation early to the public.

Practical implications
Firms that are not timely in the financial reporting practices will find it difficult to attract capital as the delay will affect their reputation.

Originality/value
This study is one of the few to measure financial reporting lag and its impact on firm financial performance in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Application of fuzzy preference relation for evaluating success factors of construction organisations
Authors: Tripathi Kamalendra Kumar , Jha Kumar Neeraj 
Published: July 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and rank the success attributes and success factors of the construction organisations.

Design/methodology/approach
The viewpoints of the experts engaged in Indian construction industry were used to apply factor analysis and fuzzy preference relation with the help of a questionnaire survey.

Findings
The findings indicate that project factor is the most important factor, whereas favourable market and marketing team is the least important factor. Among the success attributes, the availability of qualified staff is the most important attribute, and health and safety management plan is the least important attribute.

Research limitations/implications
Findings of this study are based on the viewpoint of the experts of construction organisations engaged in building projects in India.

Practical implications
The study can be used as a yardstick for the top management of construction organisations to manage their resources efficiently and to develop a strategy to be successful in this business.

Social implications
Indian construction industry provides direct and indirect employment to the people of India. Hence, the success of construction organisation will contribute to the development of the society and ultimately the nation.

Originality/value
In the earlier studies, researchers have used various statistical tools to identify and evaluate the alternatives for the success factors of construction organisations, but very few of them have tried to assign weights to those alternatives. The simple ranking of alternatives using various statistical analyses, such as mean and standard deviation, relative importance index, etc., is not much useful unless their relative weights are known. With the help of the present study, the authors have tried to overcome the shortcomings of the previous research works.
Genomic study of a novel magnetotacticAlphaproteobacteriauncovers the multiple ancestry of magnetotaxis
Authors: Monteil Caroline L. , Perrière Guy , Menguy Nicolas , Ginet Nicolas , Alonso Béatrice , Waisbord Nicolas , Cruveiller Stéphane , Pignol David , Lefèvre Christopher T. 
Published: July 2018

SummaryEcological and evolutionary processes involved in magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) adaptation to their environment have been a matter of debate for many years. Ongoing efforts for their characterization are progressively contributing to understand these processes, including the genetic and molecular mechanisms responsible for biomineralization. Despite numerous culture‐independent MTB characterizations, essentially within theProteobacteriaphylum, only few species have been isolated in culture because of their complex growth conditions. Here, we report a newly cultivated magnetotactic, microaerophilic and chemoorganoheterotrophic bacterium isolated from the Mediterranean Sea in Marseille, France:CandidatusTerasakiella magnetica strain PR‐1 that belongs to anAlphaproteobacteriagenus with no magnetotactic relative. By comparing the morphology and the whole genome shotgun sequence of this MTB with those of closer relatives, we brought further evidence that the apparent vertical ancestry of magnetosome genes suggested by previous studies withinAlphaproteobacteriahides a more complex evolutionary history involving horizontal gene transfers and/or duplication events before and after the emergence ofMagnetospirillum,MagnetovibrioandMagnetospiragenera. A genome‐scale comparative genomics analysis identified several additional candidate functions and genes that could be specifically associated to MTB lifestyle in this class of bacteria.
Automation of the Differential Digestion Process of Sexual Assault Evidence,
Authors: Wong Helena , Mihalovich Jennifer 
Published: July 2018

AbstractSexual assault evidence samples require the use of a specific process known as a differential digestion to separate sperm from nonsperm cells prior to DNA extraction. An automated differential digestion process was developed using a selective degradation technique, which uses DNase I to digest the remaining nonsperm DNA in the sperm fraction. The use of DNase on pristine samples, as well as aged and degraded samples, was assessed to ensure that the quantity and quality of the sperm DNA were not compromised or adversely affected. Samples processed using the selective degradation technique yielded comparable DNA yield and DNA typing data to the conventional differential digestion process. The automated process utilized 96‐well plates for high throughput and incorporated microscope slide preparations for confirmation of sperm. It reduced processing time by about sixfold and was paramount in the elimination of the Oakland Police Department Criminalistics Laboratory's sexual assault kit backlog.
Against all odds – is a more differentiated view of personality development in emerging adulthood needed? The case of young apprentices
Authors: Deventer Jennifer , Lüdtke Oliver , Nagy Gabriel , Retelsdorf Jan , Wagner Jenny 
Published: July 2018

Personality development in emerging adults who do not attend college after high school has been largely overlooked so far. In this study, we investigated personality development in emerging German adults (NT1 = 1,886, MageT1 = 18.01 years, 29% female) undergoing vocational education and training (VET). The trainees were assessed at the start of VET, 1.5 years later, and another 1.5 years after that, just before graduation. Longitudinal latent change score analyses were applied. Bivariate analyses investigated life satisfaction and job strain as social and work‐related aspects that are potentially reciprocally related to personality development. Mean‐level personality changes included increases in neuroticism and decreases in agreeableness and conscientiousness in the first interval. In the second interval, neuroticism decreased and conscientiousness increased. Simultaneously, trainees reported a gradual decrease in extraversion and openness across the 3‐year time span. Personality, especially agreeableness and conscientiousness, emerged as a stronger predictor of changes in job strain and life satisfaction than vice versa. For example, more agreeable and more conscientious trainees subsequently showed increases in life satisfaction. Trainees reporting higher job strain subsequently showed decreases in agreeableness. Trajectories of personality development partly support the maturity principle that has been established in many college student samples.
Making the weekend work: a local quality improvement project to establish and improve the quality of weekend handover
Authors: Heller Rosalie Amanda , Hu Lisi 
Published: July 2018

Handover is widely identified by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and Health Foundation as an area that can lead to shortcomings in patient care. We recognised that the current weekend handover process in the Trauma and Orthopaedics department at Frimley Park Hospital was dated, time-consuming and did not promote handover of sufficient patient details.The Royal College of Surgeons, British Medical Association and RCP have guidelines on handover. Our aim was to use these to establish the quality of handovers and introduce methods to better the accuracy and effectiveness of weekend handover in the department, thus improving patient care and safety.Initially, we measured the quality of the existing handover documentation for how comprehensively it was completed. We then implemented a two-step change, reauditing each step, resulting in a handover tool on the trust intranet. Finally, we repeated our audit to monitor sustainability.The 10 categories measured were: ‘Patient name’, ‘Date of birth’, ‘Hospital number’, ‘Date of admission’, ‘Location’, ‘Consultant’, ‘Admission reason’, ‘Date of operation’, ‘Frequency of review’ and discharge paperwork (‘TTO’).The original handover documentation had good compliance with ‘Patient name’ (99%), ‘Hospital number’ (94%) and ‘Admission reason’ (91%) but was poor in all other categories, ranging from 12% to 84%. The only category that met its standard was ‘Admission reason’.Almost every category improved with the new intranet tool. Five areas met their standard (‘Patient name’, ‘Location’, ‘Consultant’, ‘Admission reason’ and ‘Frequency of review’). Specific prompts resulted in 100% compliance for ‘Frequency of review’. The poorest compliance was again seen for ‘TTO’ (18%).In a short four months, we created an intranet handover tool that resulted in significant and sustainable improvements in the quality, detail and accuracy of handovers, making identification of sick patients safer and more efficient.
Reproductive biology of the ghost crab, Ocypode rotundata Miers, 1882 (Decapoda, Ocypodidae) at Qeshm Island, Persian Gulf
Authors: Naderi Mojtaba , Hosseini Seyed Abbas , Pazooki Jamileh , Hedayati Aliakbar , Zare Parviz , Lastra Mariano 
Published: July 2018

AbstractThis study aimed to investigate some key aspects of the reproductive strategy ofOcypode rotundataMiers, 1882 from southwest beaches of Qeshm Island, Persian Gulf, Iran, by providing information regarding its sex ratio, sexual maturity, spawning period and fecundity. Samples were taken monthly, from February 2015 to January 2016. Size at the onset of morphometric maturity was estimated at 38.57 mm carapace width. The overall sex ratio (males/females) was observed as 1.13 : 1.00. On monthly based analyses, the sex ratio showed no significant differences, although a significant deviation was observed toward males in the larger size classes. According to the gonadosomatic index (GSI), gonad maturity and occurrence of ovigerous females, the main breeding season occurs from March to October, with a remarkable peak in June. Fecundity ranged from 24 152 to 10 5287 eggs per individual, with a mean value of 52 389 ± 25 660. The ratio between fecundity and carapace width varied from 632 to 2044 eggs/mm (mean: 1198 ± 472 eggs/mm) and fecundity relative to total mass varied from 771 to 1965 eggs/g (mean: 1336.66 ± 425.43 eggs/g). The reproductive output ranged from 1.04 to 3.78 (mean: 2.35 ± 0.90). The shape of the egg was spherical and it included 6 stages of growth, ranging from fully filled with yolk to fully occupied by the embryo. We concluded that reproduction inO. rotundatais seasonal, and that spawning occurs in an appropriate period to ensure maximum survival of the offspring. The fecundity ofO. rotundatais higher than that of other species of Brachyura, with GSI variations being related to temperature. Overall, the results of this study provide relevant information for the reproduction in general and the breeding seasons ofO. rotundata, whicht can be useful for conservation and management policies aimed at preserving the biodiversity of ghost crabs along the Persian Gulf’s sandy shores.
Morphological and genetic distinction of Armases angustipes and A. miersii (Decapoda, Brachyura, Sesarmidae)
Authors: Marochi Murilo Z. , Masunari Setuko , Schubart Christoph D. 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Among coastal crabs of the family Sesarmidae from the western Atlantic, there have been problems of misidentification and controversial reports of distribution, especially due to the morphological similarity and sympatric occurrence of some species. In order to clarify the morphological distinction between Armases angustipes and Armases miersii we here summarize morphological information of the two species and provide new information on the distribution of A. angustipes. In addition, museum specimens from the Bahamas assigned to A. angustipes were morphologically and genetically re-identified as A. miersii, questioning the occurrence of the former species in this archipelago. In this case, there would be no geographic overlap between the two species, with A. angustipes becoming the southern form, mostly restricted to South America. Further studies on the variability among populations of A. miersii and A. angustipes are needed.
Colloquium 2 Commentary on Halper
Authors: Goldin Owen 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Edward Halper’s “The Metaphysics of the Syllogism” argues that the ontological ground of valid inference is found in the necessity of the predications that constitute the premises of the sort of syllogism central to Aristotle’s theory: demonstration. I further support his conclusion on the basis of a consideration of the title and structure of Aristotle’s Analytics, as well as some recent analysis of Aristotle’s modal logic. Halper however suggests that the logical form of inference is a result of how the mind sorts out the elements involved in a complex unity. I suggest that it is not primarily the mind that does this work, but language. What the mind does is primarily to be understood as a reflection of what language does, not vice versa.
Colloquium 4 A Man of No Substance: The Philosopher in Plato’s Gorgias
Authors: Ewegen S.Montgomery 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
At the center of Plato’s Gorgias, the shameless and irascible Callicles offers an attack against philosophy (484c and following). During this attack, he describes philosophy as a pastime fit only for the young which, if practiced beyond the bloom of youth, threatens to render those who practice it politically inept and powerless. Moreover, when taken too far, philosophy provokes the city into stripping the philosopher of all of his rights and property, leaving him with no οὐσία at all (486c). Thus, according to Callicles, far from making one powerful within the city, philosophy ultimately renders one impotent and utterly without substance. In what follows I argue that the Socrates of the Gorgias agrees with this characterization of the philosopher as the one who lacks power and οὐσία. However, whereas Callicles sees such a condition as the most worthless and pitiable sort, Socrates sees it as the unique and singular posture from out of which true philosophical thinking, and true political power, are possible. As I will show, through the course of the Gorgias as a whole, Socrates offers a counter-discourse that presents the philosopher as a powerless person lacking οὐσία who is precisely thereby able to undertake a pursuit of the truth and the good. Phrased otherwise: Socrates takes ignorance understood as lack or powerlessness to be the very condition for the possibility of philosophy and true political power, while showing rhetoric understood as the pretense of wisdom to be an obstruction to these.
Teacher Proactivity Influencing Student Satisfaction and Loyalty Role of Job Crafting and Work Engagement
Authors: Zahoor Adil 
Published: July 2018

Executive Summary During the recent past, various researchers have argued that educational institutions fall within the domain of service industry ( Joseph & Beatriz, 1997 , Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 8(2), 1–13). Consequently, service marketers have placed unprecedented attention on education sector to explore the marketing aspect of academic institutions. Furthermore, because of intensifying global competition and increasing cost of education, academic institutions are placing additional emphasis on student-related outcomes rather than merely concentrating on the skills and abilities of their graduates. In this backdrop, this study investigates the hitherto unexplored antecedents of two significant student-related outcomes (student satisfaction and loyalty), that is, proactive personality of teachers. The study also provides a possible explanation of this relationship through the mediating role of job crafting and work engagement. This would help academicians to develop broader insights into the domain of antecedents of positive student experiences. Dyads of 159 teachers from 20 universities in India were created and responses were collected on job crafting and work engagement (self-ratings) and proactive personality (peer-ratings) using a structured questionnaire. About 608 students were approached from the same universities to collect data regarding their satisfaction and loyalty. The sample universities included both central and state universities. All constructs were measured using previously developed scales. The hypothesized relationships were tested in AMOS 20 using structural equation modeling. The results evidenced a significant positive influence of teacher proactivity on student satisfaction and their loyalty. Also, job crafting and work engagement are found to significantly and sequentially mediate the relationship between teacher proactivity and student outcomes. Therefore, academic practitioners are required to place additional emphasis on proactivity of the teaching staff so as to result in positive student service experience. It is suggested that the selection and recruitment process of teaching faculty be redesigned to identify proactivity of prospective teachers.