bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Exchange rate movements, export sophistication and direction of trade: the development channel and North–South trade flows
Authors: Caglayan Mustafa , Demir Firat 
Published: February 2019

AbstractWe study the effects of real exchange rate (RER) changes on trade flows considering the skill content and origin/destination of products in a North–South framework. The empirical analysis is based on bilateral trade flows in five product categories of technology-and-skill intensities between 172 countries during 1962–2012. Consistent with the development channel, we find that both the composition and direction of trade affect how exports respond to RER changes. We find that high-skill manufactures and primary goods are the least affected from RER depreciation and volatility. The strongest effects are found for medium-skill, low-skill and resource-intensive manufactures. We also show that these effects depend on the direction of trade. Southern exports are more sensitive to RER than Northern exports in all product categories except for primary goods. Regarding volatility, South–North exports are hurt the most while North–South the least. Also, South–South exports appear to be less sensitive to volatility in all product groups than South–North. Overall, this paper provides a synthesis of the recent neoclassical international trade literature with the heterodox development literature.
A New Steganography Method Using Integer Wavelet Transform and Least Significant Bit Substitution
Authors: Kalita Manashee , Tuithung Themrichon , Majumder Swanirbhar 
Published: February 2019

Abstract
Steganography is a data hiding technique, which is used for securing data. Both spatial and transform domains are used to implement a steganography method. In this paper, a novel transform domain method is proposed to provide a better data hiding method. The method uses a multi-resolution transform function, integer wavelet transform (IWT) that decomposes an image into four subbands: low-low, low-high, high-low and high-high subband. The proposed method utilizes only the three subbands keeping the low-low subband untouched which helps to improve the quality of the stego image. The method applies a coefficient value differencing approach to determine the number of secret bits to be embedded in the coefficients. The method shows a good performance in terms of embedding capacity, imperceptibility and robustness. A number of metrics are computed to show the quality of the stego image. It can also withstand RS steganalysis, Chi-squared test and Subtractive Pixel Adjacency Matrix steganalysis successfully. The deformation of the histogram and Pixel Difference Histogram for different embedding percentages are also demonstrated, which show a significant similarity with the original cover image. The proposed method shows an achievement of 2.3bpp embedding capacity with a good quality of stego image.
Life Course Socioeconomic Conditions and Frailty at Older Ages
Authors: Van der Linden Bernadette Wilhelmina Antonia , Cheval Boris , Sieber Stefan , Orsholits Dan , Guessous Idris , Stringhini Silvia , Gabriel Rainer , Aartsen Marja , Blane David , Courvoisier Delphine , Burton-Jeangros Claudine , Kliegel Matthias , Cullati Stéphane 
Published: February 2019

Abstract

Objectives
This article aimed to assess associations of childhood socioeconomic conditions (CSC) with the risk of frailty in old age and whether adulthood socioeconomic conditions (ASC) influence this association.

Methods
Data from 21,185 individuals aged 50 years and older included in the longitudinal Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe were used. Frailty was operationalized as a sum of presenting weakness, shrinking, exhaustion, slowness, or low activity. Confounder-adjusted multilevel logistic regression models were used to analyze associations of CSC and ASC with frailty.

Results
While disadvantaged CSC was associated with higher odds of (pre-)frailty in women and men (odds ratio [OR] = 1.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.34, 2.24; OR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.27, 2.66, respectively), this association was mediated by ASC. Personal factors and demographics, such as birth cohort, chronic conditions, and difficulties with activities of daily living, increased the odds of being (pre-)frail.

Discussion
Findings suggest that CSC are associated with frailty at old age. However, when taking into account ASC, this association no longer persists. The results show the importance of improving socioeconomic conditions over the whole life course in order to reduce health inequalities in old age.
The Effect of Shared Service Centers on Administrative Intensity in English Local Government: A Longitudinal Evaluation
Authors: Elston Thomas , Dixon Ruth 
Published: February 2019

Abstract“Administrative intensity” (AI) describes the proportion of total resources that organizations spend on administrative support functions rather than primary service and production processes. We test whether “sharing” administrative activities between organizations leads to a fall in AI due to economies of scale, as is often supposed, using organizational and financial data from more than 300 English local authorities. We employ multi-wave change score regression analysis to relate changes in AI from 2008 to 2016 to levels of shared services participation, and further test whether reform performance varies by category of local authority, type of administration, or degree of structural complexity. Although we find that some measures of AI fell slightly over this period, this was unrelated to shared service adoption for any category of local authority. Sharing of clerical rather than professional types of administration, and sharing by organizations and within partnerships characterized by lower structural complexity, also failed to improve reform outcomes. Faulty assumptions about the extent of administrative scale diseconomies in English local government partly explain this significant reform underperformance.
Formulas for Determining the Recovery Times for Optimal Two-Point Saturation–Recovery Measurement of the MR Longitudinal Relaxation Rate
Authors: Hsu Jung-Jiin 
Published: February 2019

ABSTRACTThe saturation–recovery method is a frequently used NMR/MRI technique for the measurement of the longitudinal relaxation rate R1. Under noise influence, the accuracy and the precision of the measurement outcome depend on the selection of the recovery times. This work seeks to determine the optimal recovery-time selection when the total scan time is constrained. A Monte Carlo computational method was used to simulate the noise-influenced distribution of the R1 measurement for various combinations of the two recovery times and to find the combination that produces the minimal standard deviation. Using the sum of recovery times (SRT) as the total scan time, mathematical formulas are derived from the simulation covering the SRT range of [0.05T1, 15T1]. The formulas describe the relationship between the SRT, the optimal accuracy and precision, and the recovery-time selection, and reproduce the results for the cases previously validated with experiments. In clinical application, the scan time is limited by the scan subject’s tolerance in the scanner and the time that can be allocated to the measurement in a scan session. These formulas provide a practical way to evaluate the trade-offs between precision and the scan time in scan planning.
Disease and phenotype relevant genetic variants identified from histone acetylomes in human hearts
Authors: Wen Tan Wilson Lek , Anene-Nzelu Chukwuemeka George , Wong Eleanor , Tan Hui San , Bangfen Pan , Lee Chang Jie Mick , Autio Matias Ilmari , Morley Michael P. , Margulies Kenneth B. , Cappola Thomas P. , Loh Marie , Chambers John , Prabhakar Shyam , Foo Roger 
Published: February 2019

AbstractIdentifying genetic markers for heterogeneous complex diseases such as heart failure has been challenging, and may require prohibitively large cohort sizes in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in order to demonstrate statistical significance1. On the other hand, chromatin quantitative trait loci (QTL), elucidated by direct epigenetic profiling of specific human tissues, may contribute towards prioritising variants for disease-association. Here, we captured non-coding genetic variants by performing enhancer H3K27ac ChIP-seq in 70 human control and end-stage failing hearts, mapping out a comprehensive catalogue of 47,321 putative human heart enhancers. 3,897 differential acetylation peaks (FDR < 0.05) pointed to recognizable pathways altered in heart failure (HF). To identify cardiac histone acetylation QTLs (haQTLs), we regressed out confounding factors including HF disease status, and employed the G-SCI test2 to call out 1,680 haQTLs (FDR < 0.1). A subset of these showed significant association to gene expression, either in cis (180), or through long range interactions (81), identified by Hi-C and Hi-ChIP performed on a subset of hearts. Furthermore, a concordant relationship was found between the gain or disruption of specific transcription factor (TF) binding motifs, inferred from alternative alleles at the haQTLs, associated with altered H3K27ac peak heights. Finally, colocalisation of our haQTLs with heart-related GWAS datasets allowed us to identify 62 unique loci. Disease-association for these new loci may indeed be mediated through modification of H3K27-acetylation enrichment and their corresponding gene expression differences.
Biophysical properties of AKAP95 protein condensates regulate splicing and tumorigenesis
Authors: Li Wei , Hu Jing , Shi Bi , Palomba Francesco , Digman Michelle A. , Gratton Enrico , Jiang Hao 
Published: February 2019

ABSTRACTIt remains unknown if biophysical or material properties of biomolecular condensates regulate cancer. Here we show that AKAP95, a nuclear protein that regulates transcription and RNA splicing, plays an important role in tumorigenesis by supporting cancer cell growth and suppressing oncogene-induced senescence. AKAP95 forms phase-separated and liquid-like condensates in vitro and in nucleus. Mutations of key residues to different amino acids perturb AKAP95 condensation in opposite directions. Importantly, the activity of AKAP95 in splice regulation is abolished by disruption of condensation, significantly impaired by hardening of condensates, and regained by substituting its condensation-mediating region with other condensation-mediating regions from irrelevant proteins. Moreover, the abilities of AKAP95 in regulating gene expression and supporting tumorigenesis require AKAP95 to form condensates with proper liquidity and dynamicity. These results link phase separation to tumorigenesis and uncover an important role of appropriate biophysical properties of protein condensates in gene regulation and cancer.
Reconstruction of 1,000 projection neurons reveals new cell types and organization of long-range connectivity in the mouse brain
Authors: Winnubst Johan , Bas Erhan , Ferreira Tiago A. , Wu Zhuhao , Economo Michael N. , Edson Patrick , Arthur Ben J. , Bruns Christopher , Rokicki Konrad , Schauder David , Olbris Donald J. , Murphy Sean D. , Ackerman David G. , Arshadi Cameron , Baldwin Perry , Blake Regina , Elsayed Ahmad , Hasan Mashtura , Ramirez Daniel , Santos Bruno Dos , Weldon Monet , Zafar Amina , Dudmann Joshua T. , Gerfen Charles R. , Hantman Adam W. , Korff Wyatt , Sternson Scott M. , Spruston Nelson , Svoboda Karel , Chandrashekar Jayaram 
Published: February 2019

SummaryNeuronal cell types are the nodes of neural circuits that determine the flow of information within the brain. Neuronal morphology, especially the shape of the axonal arbor, provides an essential descriptor of cell type and reveals how individual neurons route their output across the brain. Despite the importance of morphology, few projection neurons in the mouse brain have been reconstructed in their entirety. Here we present a robust and efficient platform for imaging and reconstructing complete neuronal morphologies, including axonal arbors that span substantial portions of the brain. We used this platform to reconstruct more than 1,000 projection neurons in the motor cortex, thalamus, subiculum, and hypothalamus. Together, the reconstructed neurons comprise more than 75 meters of axonal length and are available in a searchable online database. Axonal shapes revealed previously unknown subtypes of projection neurons and suggest organizational principles of long-range connectivity.
Central spindle microtubules are strongly coupled to chromosomes during both anaphase A and anaphase B
Authors: Yu Che-Hang , Redemann Stefanie , Wu Hai-Yin , Kiewisz Robert , Yoo Tae Yeon , Farhadifar Reza , Müller-Reichert Thomas , Needleman Daniel 
Published: February 2019

AbstractSpindle microtubules, whose dynamics vary over time and at different locations, cooperatively drive chromosome segregation. Measurements of microtubule dynamics and spindle ultrastructure can provide insight into the behaviors of microtubules, helping elucidate the mechanism of chromosome segregation. Much work has focused on the dynamics and organization of kinetochore microtubules, i.e. on the region between chromosomes and poles. In comparison, microtubules in the central spindle region, between segregating chromosomes, have been less thoroughly characterized. Here, we report measurements of the movement of central spindle microtubules during chromosome segregation in human mitotic spindles, andCaenorhabditis elegansmitotic and female meiotic spindles. We found that these central spindle microtubules slide apart at the same speed as chromosomes, even as chromosomes move towards spindle poles. In these systems, damaging central spindle microtubules by laser ablation caused an immediate and complete cessation of chromosome motion, suggesting a strong coupling between central spindle microtubules and chromosomes. Electron tomographic reconstruction revealed that the analyzed anaphase spindles all contain microtubules with both ends between segregating chromosomes. Our results provide new dynamical, functional, and ultrastructural characterizations of central spindle microtubules during chromosome segregation in diverse spindles, and suggest that central spindle microtubules and chromosomes are strongly coupled in anaphase.
The properties of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (MthfD) and its role in the tetrahydrofolate (THF)-dependent dicamba demethylation system inRhizorhabdus dicambivoransNdbn-20
Authors: Yao Shigang , Chen Le , Yang Zhou , Yao Li , Zhu Jianchun , Qiu Jiguo , Wang Guoxiang , He Jian 
Published: February 2019

ABSTRACTThe herbicide dicamba is initially degrade via demethylation inRhizorhabdus dicambivoransNdbn-20. A gene cluster scaffold 66 containing a THF-dependent dicamba methyltransferasedmtand three THF metabolic-related genes, namely,mthfD,dhcandpurU, is responsible for dicamba demethylation in this strain. However, the characteristics and functions of MthfD, Dhc and PurU have not been elucidated. In this study, MthfD was synthesized inEscherichia coliBL21(DE3) and purified as a His6-tagged protein. Purified MthfD was found to be a monomer, and exhibited 5-CH3-THF dehydrogenase activityin vitro. TheKcatandKmfor 5-CH3-THF were 0.23 s−1and 16.48 μM, respectively. However, 5,10-CH2-THF reductase activity was not detected for MthfD yet. Gene disruption results showed thatmthfDis essential for dicamba degradation, whereasdhcis dispensable. Our studies revealed that MthfD physiologically is a 5-CH3-THF dehydrogenase that catalyzes the irreversible dehydrogenation of 5-CH3-THF to 5,10-CH2-THF in the THF regeneration pathway during dicamba demethylation inR. dicambivoransNdbn-20.
retroLEAP: rAAV-based retrograde trans-synaptic labeling, expression and perturbation
Authors: Reinert Janine K , Sonntag Ivo , Sonntag Hannah , Sprengel Rolf , Pelzer Patric , Lessle Sascha , Kaiser Michaela , Kuner Thomas 
Published: February 2019

AbstractIdentifying and manipulating synaptically connected neurons across brain regions remains a core challenge in understanding complex nervous systems. RetroLEAP is a novel approach for retrograde trans-synaptic Labelling, Expression And Perturbation. GFP-dependent recombinase (Flp-DOG) detects trans-synaptic transfer of GFP-tetanus toxin heavy chain fusion protein (GFP-TTC) and activates expression of any gene of interest in synaptically connected cells. RetroLEAP overcomes existing limitations, is non-toxic, highly flexible, efficient, sensitive and easy to implement.
Theoretical modeling on CRISPR-coded cell lineages: efficient encoding and optimal reconstruction
Authors: Sugino Ken , Garcia-Marques Jorge , Espinosa-Medina Isabel , Lee Tzumin 
Published: February 2019

SummaryDelineating cell lineages is a prerequisite for understanding the genesis of cell types. Recent studies have demonstrated the feasibility of generating and reconstructing CRISPR/Cas9-coded cell lineages. However, these works have not investigated the limitations or optimality of the encoding or reconstruction processes. Here, we surveyed a multitude of reconstruction algorithms and found hierarchical clustering, with a metric based on the number of shared Cas9 edits, provides the best reconstruction. As to the efficiency, the simple encoding method, with constant Cas9/gRNA edit rate, produces exponential reduction in available coding units and severely limits the trackable depth of lineages. To overcome this, we propose alternative encoding methods, one based on parallel gRNA cascades enabled by CLADES, and another based on variable Cas9 editing rate. Both significantly increase the trackable depth. In summary, we provide a theoretical basis in understanding, designing and analyzing efficient and robust CRISPR-based cell lineage tracking system.
Capital Gains and Spatial Inequalities: Developing Fairer Suburbs
Authors: Falk Nicholas , Manns Jonathan 
Published: February 2019

AbstractOne of the longest‐running debates in urban development, enshrined within the evolution of the British planning system, is how best to capture the increased value of land arising from development. This article outlines the historic and contemporary context before proposing an approach towards ‘land value capture’, based on practice in continental Europe but adapted to Britain's specific circumstances. In doing so, it also sets out why new approaches are needed as part of the search for better ways of funding local infrastructure, developing mixed communities and improving Britain's suburbs for the benefit of all.
Shared dietary niche between sexes in Magellanic Penguins
Authors: Castillo Joanna , Yorio Pablo , Gatto Alejandro 
Published: February 2019

AbstractPrey use by male and female Magellanic Penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) was quantified during chick rearing in northern Golfo San Jorge, Argentina and the dietary niches and diet composition of each sex were assessed and compared. A total of 67 males and 45 females were flushed during the chick stages of 2011 and 2012. Argentine Anchovy (Engraulis anchoita) was the main prey in terms of importance by mass in males and females in all stages and years (52.4–86.6% and 83.8–88.7%, respectively), except during the old chick stage in 2011 when the main prey in males and females was the Shortfin Squid (Illex argentinus) (63.1% and 44.4%, respectively). Analyses of similarity showed that diet composition in terms of contribution by mass of the main prey species was similar between sexes. Based on the isotopic values of δ13C and δ15N corresponding to 38 males and 21 females, the Bayesian mixing model outputs showed that Argentine Anchovy was also the main prey. In both years and chick stages, the isotopic niche of males and females was similar. The similarity in the dietary niche between male and female Magellanic Penguins raising chicks may be due to the high availability of Argentine Anchovy during the study period and the consequent dominance of this forage species in the diet of both sexes.
Changes in body weight, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue after gastrectomy: a comparison between proximal gastrectomy and total gastrectomy
Authors: Asaoka Raito , Irino Tomoyuki , Makuuchi Rie , Tanizawa Yutaka , Bando Etsuro , Kawamura Taiichi , Terashima Masanori 
Published: February 2019

BackgroundProximal gastrectomy (PG) offers a well‐preserved digestive function after surgery, which may result in a better nutritional outcome in comparison to total gastrectomy (TG). The aim of this study was to clarify the advantage of PG over TG by evaluating the longitudinal changes in body weight (BW) and body composition after surgery.MethodsA total of 112 patients undergoing PG with a reconstruction preserving food passage through the duodenum (n = 39) or TG with a reconstruction bypassing the duodenum (n = 73) for clinical stage IA gastric cancer were included. Changes in BW, psoas muscle and subcutaneous (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue were assessed before surgery, and at 1 and 3 years after surgery and were compared between the two groups.ResultsBW and SAT decreased significantly in both groups, but the rate of reduction was significantly lower in the PG group (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). There were no significant differences between the groups with regard to skeletal muscle or visceral adipose tissue (P = 0.110 and 0.710, respectively), although they both significantly decreased throughout the course of the study.ConclusionsThe losses of BW and SAT were significantly smaller in the PG group. PG may be superior to TG in preserving BW and SAT in patients with clinical stage IA gastric cancer.
Constructing narrower confidence intervals by inverting adaptive tests
Authors: O'Gorman Thomas W. 
Published: February 2019

SummaryWe begin by describing how to find the limits of confidence intervals by using a few permutation tests of significance. Next, we demonstrate how the adaptive permutation test, which maintains its level of significance, produces confidence intervals that maintain their coverage probabilities. By inverting adaptive tests, adaptive confidence intervals can be found for any single parameter in a multiple regression model. These adaptive confidence intervals are often narrower than the traditional confidence intervals when the error distributions are long‐tailed or skewed. We show how much reduction in width can be achieved for the slopes in several multiple regression models and for the interaction effect in a two‐way design. An R function that can compute these adaptive confidence intervals is described and instructions are provided for its use with real data.