bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A conjugation platform for CRISPR-Cas9 allows efficient β-cell engineering
Authors: Lim Donghyun , Sreekanth Vedagopuram , Cox Kurt J. , Law Benjamin K. , Wagner Bridget K. , Karp Jeffrey M. , Choudhary Amit 
Published: August 2019

ABSTRACTGenetically fusing protein domains to Cas9 has yielded several transformative technologies; however, these fusions are polypeptidic, limited to the Cas9 termini and lack multivalent display, and exclude diverse array of molecules. Here, we report a platform for the site-specific and multivalent display of a wide assortment of molecules on both the termini and internal sites on Cas9. Using this platform, we endow Cas9 with the functionality to effect precision genome edits, which involves efficient incorporation of exogenously supplied single-stranded oligonucleotide donor (ssODN) at the break site. We demonstrate that the multivalent display of ssODN on Cas9 significantly increased precision genome edits over those of Cas9 bearing one or no ssODN, and such display platform is compatible with large oligonucleotides and rapid screening of ssODNs. By hijacking the insulin secretion machinery and leveraging the ssODN display platform, we successfully engineer pancreatic β cells to secrete protective immunomodulatory factor interleukin-10.
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Piezo1 channel activates ADAM10 sheddase to regulate Notch1 and gene expression
Authors: Caolo Vincenza , Debant Marjolaine , Endesh Naima , Futers T Simon , Lichtenstein Laeticia , Parsonage Gregory , Jones Elizabeth AV , Beech David J 
Published: August 2019

AbstractMechanical force has emerged as a determinant of Notch signalling but the mechanisms of force sensing and coupling to Notch are unclear. Here we propose a role for Piezo1 channels, the recently identified mechanosensors of mammalian systems. Piezo1 channel opening in response to shear stress or a chemical agonist led to activation of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-containing protein 10 (ADAM10), a Ca2+-regulated transmembrane sheddase that mediates S2 Notch1 cleavage. Consistent with this observation there was increased Notch1 intracellular domain (NICD) that depended on ADAM10 and the downstream S3 cleavage enzyme, γ-secretase. Endothelial-specific disruption of Piezo1 in mice led to decreased Notch1-regulated gene expression in hepatic vasculature, consistent with prior evidence that Notch1 controls hepatic perfusion. The data suggest Piezo1 as a mechanism for coupling physiological force at the endothelium to ADAM10, Notch1, gene expression and vascular function.
Integrating Comprehensive Functional Annotations to Boost Power and Accuracy in Gene-Based Association Analysis
Authors: Quick Corbin , Wen Xiaoquan , Abecasis Gonçalo , Boehnke Michael , Kang Hyun Min 
Published: August 2019

AbstractGene-based association tests aggregate genotypes across multiple variants for each gene, providing an interpretable gene-level analysis framework for genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Early gene-based test applications often focused on rare coding variants; a more recent wave of gene-based methods, e.g. TWAS, use eQTLs to interrogate regulatory associations. Regulatory variants are expected to be particularly valuable for gene-based analysis, since most GWAS associations to date are non-coding. However, identifying causal genes from regulatory associations remains challenging and contentious. Here, we present a statistical framework and computational tool to integrate heterogeneous annotations with GWAS summary statistics for gene-based analysis, applied with comprehensive coding and tissue-specific regulatory annotations. We compare power and accuracy identifying causal genes across single-annotation, omnibus, and annotation-agnostic gene-based tests in simulation studies and an analysis of 128 traits from the UK Biobank, and find that incorporating heterogeneous annotations in gene-based association analysis increases power and performance identifying causal genes.
Utility of theOnchocerca volvulusmitochondrial genome for delineation of parasite transmission zones
Authors: Crawford Katie E , Hedtke Shannon M , Doyle Stephen R , Kuesel Annette C , Armoo Samuel , Osei-Atweneboana Mike , Grant Warwick N 
Published: August 2019

AbstractIn 2012, the reduction inOnchocerca volvulusinfection prevalence through long-term mass ivermectin distribution in African meso- and hyperendemic areas motivated expanding control of onchocerciasis (river blindness) as a public health problem to elimination of parasite transmission. Given the large contiguous hypo-, meso- and hyperendemic areas with an estimated population of 204 million, sustainable elimination requires an understanding of the geographic, and in turn genetic, boundaries of different parasite populations to ensure interventions are only stopped where the risk of re-introduction of the parasite through vector or human migration from areas with ongoing transmission is acceptable. These boundaries, which define the transmission zones of the parasite, may be delineated by characterising the parasite genetic population structure within and between potential zones. We analysed whole mitochondrial genome sequences of 189O. volvulusadults to determine the pattern of genetic similarity across three West African countries: Ghana, Mali, and Côte d’Ivoire. Population structure measures indicate that parasites from the Pru, Daka and Black Volta/Tombe river basins in central Ghana belong to one parasite population, showing that different river basins cannot be assumed to constitute independent transmission zones. This research forms the basis for developing tools for elimination programs to delineate transmission zones, to estimate the risk of parasite re-introduction via vector or human movement when mass ivermectin administration is stopped in one area while transmission is ongoing in others, to identify the origin of infections detected post-treatment cessation, and to investigate whether migration contributes to persisting prevalence levels during interventions.
Sleep’s impact on emotional memory: A meta-analysis of whole-night, nap, and REM sleep effects
Authors: Schäfer Sarah K. , Wirth Benedikt E. , Staginnus Marlene , Becker Nicolas , Michael Tanja , Sopp M. Roxanne 
Published: August 2019

SummaryNumerous studies have shown that sleep enhances the consolidation of episodic memory. However, it remains unclear whether this consolidation benefit is moderated by the emotional valence of the learned material. To clarify whether sleep selectively enhances the consolidation of emotional material, we conducted a meta-analysis including N = 1,059 observations. Overall, our results do not support this hypothesis. When only studies with a sleep-group wake-group comparison were included in the analysis (k = 22), the retention advantage for emotional over neutral material was not significantly different between sleep and wake groups. When studies initially lacking a wake-control group were included in the analysis after statistical estimation of wake-group parameters, the retention advantage for emotional material was significantly larger in wake-groups than in sleep-groups (k = 34). Interestingly, however, an additional analysis of k = 8 studies investigating the selective effects of rapid-eye-movement sleep and slow-wave sleep on emotional memory consolidation provided evidence for a selective enhancement of emotional over neutral memory consolidation after rapid-eye-movement sleep compared to slow-wave sleep. These results suggest that sleep does not generally enhance emotional memory consolidation over neutral memory consolidation. However, specific sleep stages might preferentially enhance consolidation of emotional and neutral material, respectively.
Telomere length covaries with age across an elevational gradient in a Mediterranean lizard
Authors: Burraco Pablo , Comas Mar , Reguera Senda , Zamora-Camacho Francisco Javier , Moreno-Rueda Gregorio 
Published: August 2019

AbstractThe timing of organisms’ senescence is developmentally programmed but also shaped by the interaction between environmental inputs and life-history traits. In ectotherms, ageing dynamics are still poorly understood despite their particularities concerning thermoregulation, regeneration capacity, or growth trajectory. Here, we investigate the role of life-history traits such as age, sex, body size, body condition, and tail autotomy (i.e self-amputation) in shaping telomere length of six populations of the Algerian sand lizard (Psammodromus algirus) distributed across an elevational gradient from 300 to 2500 meters above the sea level. Additionally, we show in a review table the available information on reptiles’ telomere length. We found that telomeres elongated with lizards’ age. We also observed that body size and age class showed a positive relationship, suggesting that cell replication did not shorten lizards’ telomeres by itself. Elevation affected telomere length in a non-linear way, a pattern that mirrored the variation in age structure across elevation. Telomere length was unaffected by tail autotomy, and was sex-independent, but positively correlated with body condition. Our results show that telomeres elongate throughout the first four years of lizards’ lifetime, a process that stress the role of telomerase in maintaining ectothermic telomeres, and, likely, in extending lifespan in organisms with indeterminate growth. Regarding the non-linear impact that elevation had on telomere length of lizards, our results suggest that habitat (mainly temperature) and organisms’ condition might play a key role in regulation ageing rate. Our findings emphasize the relevance of understanding species’ life histories (e.g. age and body condition) and habitat characteristics for fully disentangling the causes and consequences of lifespan trajectory.
Folding RNA in mixtures of monovalent and divalent cations: Theory and simulations
Authors: Nguyen Hung T. , Hori Naoto , Thirumalai D. 
Published: August 2019

RNA molecules cannot fold in the absence of counter ions. Experiments are typically performed in the presence of monovalent and divalent cations. How to treat the impact of a solution containing a mixture of both ion types on RNA folding has remained a challenging problem for decades. By exploiting the large concentration difference between divalent and monovalent ions used in experiments, we develop a theory based on the Reference Interaction Site Model (RISM), which allows us to treat divalent cations explicitly while keeping the implicit screening effect due to monovalent ions. Our theory captures both the inner shell and outer shell coordination of divalent cations to phosphate groups, which we demonstrate is crucial in an accurate calculation of RNA folding thermodynamics. The RISM theory for ion-phosphate interactions when combined with simulations based on a transferable coarse-grained model allows us to accurately predict the folding of several RNA molecules in a mixture containing monovalent and divalent ions. The calculated folding free energies and ion-preferential coefficients for RNA molecules (pseudoknots, a fragment of the ribosomal RNA, and the aptamer domain of the adenine riboswitch) are in excellent agreement with experiments over a wide range of monovalent and divalent ion concentrations. Because the theory is general, it can be readily used to investigate ion and sequence effects on DNA properties.Significance StatementRNA molecules require ions to fold. The problem of how ions of differing sizes and valences drive the folding of RNA molecules is unsolved. Here, we take a major step in its solution by creating a method, based on the theory of polyatomic liquids, to calculate the potential between divalent ions and the phosphate groups. The resulting model, accounting for inner and outer sphere coordination of Mg2+ and Ca2+ to phosphates, when used in coarse-grained molecular simulations predicts folding free energies for a number of RNA molecules in the presence of both divalent and monovalent ions that are in excellent agreement with experiments. The work sets the stage for probing sequence and ion effects on DNA and synthetic polyelectrolytes.
Creating public value through smart technologies and strategies
Authors: Criado J. Ignacio , Gil-Garcia J. Ramon 
Published: August 2019

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue about generation of public value through smart technologies and strategies. The key argument is that smart technologies have the potential to foster co-creation of public services and the generation of public value in management processes, based on the collaborative, social and horizontal nature of these smart technologies. Understanding these processes from a public management perspective is the purpose of this paper and the rest of the special issue.

Design/methodology/approach
The approach to this paper is a theoretical and conceptual review, whereas practical implications both for scholars and practitioners arise from the review of the literature and the conceptual approximation to the notion of smartness in technologies and government. This approach is rooted in the potential of the latest smart technologies and strategies to transform public administrations and to better understand and cope societal problems.

Findings
The conceptual and theoretical perspective of this paper offers ideas for future developments. The content of this paper shows that new smart technologies and strategies will shape, and will be shaped by, the future of public organizations and management. This paper illustrates the process of change in public value generation over time, as a result of different public management paradigms (from traditional public administration to new public management), but also different types of technologies (from mainframes to websites and social media and beyond). The empirical evidence of the articles of this special issue supports this conclusion; that open and collaborative innovation processes developed under this emergent technological wave could become encouraging transformative practices in the public sector.

Research limitations/implications
The theoretical and conceptual nature of this paper needs further empirical research to validate some of the discussed assumptions and ideas.

Originality/value
Although this paper is oriented to present the main contents of the special issue, it also provides an original approach to the theme of public value generation using smart technologies and strategies in public sector management.
The syllabus as a student privacy document in an age of learning analytics
Authors: Jones Kyle M.L. , VanScoy Amy 
Published: August 2019

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reveal how instructors discuss student data and information privacy in their syllabi.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected a mixture of publicly accessible and privately disclosed syllabi from 8,302 library and information science (LIS) courses to extract privacy language. Using privacy concepts from the literature and emergent themes, the authors analyzed the corpus.

Findings
Most syllabi did not mention privacy (98 percent). Privacy tended to be mentioned in the context of digital tools, course communication, policies and assignments.

Research limitations/implications
The transferability of the findings is limited because they address only one field and professional discipline, LIS, and address syllabi for only online and hybrid courses.

Practical implications
The findings suggest a need for professional development for instructors related to student data privacy. The discussion provides recommendations for creating educational experiences that support syllabi development and constructive norming opportunities.

Social implications
Instructors may be making assumptions about the degree of privacy literacy among their students or not value student privacy. Each raises significant concerns if privacy is instrumental to intellectual freedom and processes critical to the educational experience.

Originality/value
In an age of educational data mining and analytics, this is one of the first studies to consider if and how instructors are addressing student data privacy in their courses, and the study initiates an important conversation for reflecting on privacy values and practices.
Bead chain structure RFC/ACF by electrospinning for supercapacitors
Authors: Guo Lei , Zhu Lien , Ma Lei , Zhang Jian , Meng QiuYu , Jin Zheng , Liu Meihua , Zhao Kai 
Published: August 2019

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to prepare a spherical modifier-modified activated carbon fiber of high specific capacitance intended for electrode materials of supercapacitor.

Design/methodology/approach
In this study, phenolic-based microspheres are taken as modifiers to prepare PAN-based fiber composites by electrospinning, pre-oxidation and carbonization. Pearl-chain structures appear in RFC/ACF composites, and pure polyacrylonitrile fibers show a dense network. The shape and cross-linking degree are large. After the addition of the phenolic-based microspheres, the composite material exhibits a layered pearlite chain structure with a large porosity, and the RFC/ACF composite material is derived because of the existence of a large number of bead chain structures in the composite material. The density increases, the volume declines and the mass after being assembled into a supercapacitor as a positive electrode material decreases. The specific surface area of RFC/ACF composites is increased as compared to pure fibers. The increase in specific surface area could facilitate the diffusion of electrolyte ions in the material. Owing to the large number of bead chains, plenty of pore channels are provided for the diffusion of electrolyte ions, which is conducive to enhancing the electrochemical performance of the composite and improving the RFC/ACF composite and the specific capacitance of the material. The methods of electrochemical testing on symmetric supercapacitors (as positive electrodes) are three-electrode cyclic voltammetry, alternating current impedance and cycle stability.

Findings
The specific capacitance value of the composite material was found to be 389.2 F/g, and the specific capacitance of the electrode operating at a higher current density of 20 mA/cm2 was 11.87 F/g (the amount of the microsphere modifier added was 0.3 g). Using this material as a positive electrode to assemble into asymmetrical supercapacitor, after 2,000 cycles, the specific capacitance retention rate was 87.46 per cent, indicating excellent cycle stability performance. This result can be attributed to the fact that the modifier embedded in the fiber changes the porosity between the fibers, while improving the utilization of the carbon fibers and making it easier for electrolyte ions to enter the interior of the composites, thereby increasing the capacitance of the composites.

Originality/value
The modified PAN-based activated carbon fibers in the study had high specific surface area and significantly high specific capacitance, which makes it applicable as an efficient and environment-friendly absorbent, as well as an advanced electrode material for supercapacitor.
Preparation and characterisation of modified reclaimed asphalt using nanoemulsion acrylate terpolymer
Authors: Naser Abdelrahman Moukhtar , Abd El - Wahab Hamada , Moustafa El Nady Mohamed Abd El Fattah , E.A. Mostafa Abdelzaher , Lin Long , Sakr Ahmed Galal 
Published: August 2019

Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the best methods of utilisation of reclaimed asphalt pavements (RAP) in Egypt, to determine the effect of using 100% RAP instead of using virgin aggregates and asphalt; investigate the effect of thermoplastic elastomer polymer as asphalt modifier; and also improve the mechanical and physical characteristics and consequently improving the quality of asphalt paving, increasing service life of asphalt-paving and reducing costs.

Design/methodology/approach
Nano acrylate terpolymers were prepared with different % (Wt.) of and were characterised by Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR), for molecular weight (Mw), by thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A 4% (Wt.) of the prepared nanoemulsion terpolymer was mixed with virgin asphalt as a polymer modifier, to improve and reuse of the RAP. The modified binder was tested. The tests conducted include penetration, kinematic viscosity, softening point and specific gravity. Application of Marshall mix design types; hot mix asphalt (HMA), warm mix asphalt (WMA) and cold in place recycled (CIR). Four different mix designs used; control mix contained virgin asphalt by HMA, and the other three mix designs were polymermodified asphalt sample by HMA, WMA and CIR.

Findings
The research results showed that using 4 Wt.% of the prepared nanoemulsion terpolymer to produce hot mix asphalt (HMA) and warm mix asphalt (WMA) achieved higher stability compared to the control mix and cold in place recycled (CIR).

Research limitations/implications
This paper discusses the preparation and the characterisation of nanoemulsion and its application in RAPs to enhance and improve the RAP quality.

Practical implications
Nano-acrylate terpolymer can be used as a new polymer to modify asphalt to achieve the required specifications for RAP.

Originality/value
According to the most recent surveys, Europe produced 265 tonnes of asphalt for road applications in 2014, while the amount of available RAP was more than 50 tonnes. The use of RAP in new blended mixes reduces the need of neat asphalt, making RAP recycling economically attractive.
The plasma-chemical formation of polysorbate 80-coated silver nanoparticles and composite materials for water treatment
Authors: Skiba Margarita Ivanovna , Vorobyova Viktoria 
Published: August 2019

Purpose
This paper aims to propose a simple, eco-friendly method for obtaining colloidal solutions of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) by using of contact non-equilibrium low-temperature plasma in presents polysorbate-80 and to assess their antibacterial activity in composite materials (beads) for water treatment process.

Design/methodology/approach
Silver nanoparticles were prepared in aqueous AgNO3 solution by using of contact non-equilibrium low-temperature plasma in the present of nonionic surfactant polysorbate-80 (Tween 80) as capping agent. Ultraviolet–visible (UV) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and zeta potential analysis were used to study the formation and properties of silver nanoparticles.

Findings
The formation of silver colloidal solutions in the presence of capping agent under plasma discharge is characterized by the presence of peak λmax = 380 – 402 nm in the spectra. The addition of sodium alginate into the reaction mixture allows synthesizing stable colloidal silver solutions. The average size of formed silver particles is up to 50 nm. Ag NPs exhibited an excellent bactericidal activity against both gram-positive and gram- negative bacteria. Composite beads prepared using nonionic surfactant were found to be effective in disinfecting the Staphylococcus aureus to different extents.

Research limitations/implications
Further studies are necessary for confirmation of the practical application, especially of the toxicity of Ag NPs, as well as the sorption properties of the alginate beads with Ag NPs.

Practical implications
The method provides a simple and practical solution to improving the synthesis of colloidal solutions of Ag NPs for water treatment process.

Originality/value
Contact nonequilibrium low-temperature plasma can be used as an effective technique for synthesis of nanomaterials.