bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of large herbivores on tundra vegetation in a changing climate, and implications for rewilding
Authors: Olofsson Johan , Post Eric 
Published: October 2018

In contrast to that of the Pleistocene epoch, between approximately 2.6 million and 10 000 years before present, the extant community of large herbivores in Arctic tundra is species-poor predominantly due to human extinctions. We here discuss how this species-poor herbivore guild influences tundra ecosystems, especially in relation to the rapidly changing climate. We show that present herbivore assemblages have large effects on tundra ecosystem composition and function and suggest that the effect on thermophilic species expected to invade the tundra in a warmer climate is especially strong, and that herbivores slow ecosystem responses to climate change. We focus on the ability of herbivores to drive transitions between different vegetation states. One such transition is between tundra and forest. A second vegetation transition discussed is between grasslands and moss- and shrub-dominated tundra. Contemporary studies show that herbivores can drive such state shifts and that a more diverse herbivore assemblage would have even higher potential to do so. We conclude that even though many large herbivores, and especially the megaherbivores, are extinct, there is a potential to reintroduce large herbivores in many arctic locations, and that doing so would potentially reduce some of the unwanted effects of a warmer climate.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Trophic rewilding: consequences for ecosystems under global change’.
Can trophic rewilding reduce the impact of fire in a more flammable world?
Authors: Johnson Christopher N. , Prior Lynda D. , Archibald Sally , Poulos Helen M. , Barton Andrew M. , Williamson Grant J. , Bowman David M. J. S. 
Published: October 2018

Large vertebrates affect fire regimes in several ways: by consuming plant matter that would otherwise accumulate as fuel; by controlling and varying the density of vegetation; and by engineering the soil and litter layer. These processes can regulate the frequency, intensity and extent of fire. The evidence for these effects is strongest in environments with intermediate rainfall, warm temperatures and graminoid-dominated ground vegetation. Probably, extinction of Quaternary megafauna triggered increased biomass burning in many such environments. Recent and continuing declines of large vertebrates are likely to be significant contributors to changes in fire regimes and vegetation that are currently being experienced in many parts of the world. To date, rewilding projects that aim to restore large herbivores have paid little attention to the value of large animals in moderating fire regimes. Rewilding potentially offers a powerful tool for managing the risks of wildfire and its impacts on natural and human values.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Trophic rewilding: consequences for ecosystems under global change’.
Hope and caution: rewilding to mitigate the impacts of biological invasions
Authors: Derham Tristan T. , Duncan Richard P. , Johnson Christopher N. , Jones Menna E. 
Published: October 2018

Rewilding is a novel approach to ecological restoration. Trophic rewilding in particular aims to reinstate ecological functions, especially trophic interactions, through the introduction of animals. We consider the potential for trophic rewilding to address biological invasions. In this broad review, we note some of the important conceptual and ethical foundations of rewilding, including a focus on ecosystem function rather than composition, reliance on animal agency, and an appeal to an ethic of coexistence. Second, we use theory from invasion biology to highlight pathways by which rewilding might prevent or mitigate the impacts of an invasion, including increasing biotic resistance. Third, we use a series of case studies to illustrate how reintroductions can mitigate the impacts of invasions. These include reintroductions and positive management of carnivores and herbivores including European pine martens (Martes martes), Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra), dingoes (Canis dingo), Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) and tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes). Fourth, we consider the risk that rewilding may enable a biological invasion or aggravate its impacts. Lastly, we highlight lessons that rewilding science might take from invasion biology.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Trophic rewilding: consequences for ecosystems under global change’.
Rapid statistical methods for inferring intra- and inter-hospital transmission of nosocomial pathogens from whole genome sequence data
Authors: Aspbury Marianne , Sciberras James , Corander Jukka , Bayliss Sion C. , Donker Tjibbe , Feil Edward J. , James Richard 
Published: October 2018

AbstractWhole genome sequence (WGS) data for bacterial pathogens can provide evidence as to the source of nosocomial infection, and more specifically the ability to distinguish between intra- and inter-hospital transmission. This is currently achieved either through using SNP thresholds, which can lack statistical robustness, or by constructing phylogenetic trees, which can be computationally expensive and difficult to interpret. Here we compare two alternative statistical approaches using 1022 genomes of methicillin resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) clone ST22. In 71% of cases both methods predict the same hospital origin, which is also supported by the ML tree. Robust assignments are divided approximately equally between intra-hospital transmission and inter-hospital transmission. Our approaches are rapid and produce intuitive output that could inform on immediate infection control priorities, as well as providing long-term data on inter-hospital transmission networks. We discuss the strengths and weakness of our methods, and the generalisability of this approach.One Sentence SummaryWe present rapid statistical methods for distinguishing intra- versus inter-hospital transmission of bacterial pathogens using whole genome sequence data; these methods do not require the use of SNP thresholds or the generation and interpretation of phylogenetic trees.
Child Growth Predicts Brain Functional Connectivity and Future Cognitive Outcomes in Urban Bangladeshi Children Exposed to Early Adversities
Authors: Xie Wanze , Jensen Sarah K.G. , Wade Mark , Kumar Swapna , Westerlund Alissa , Kakon Shahria H. , Haque Rashidul , Petri William A. , Nelson Charles A. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractBackgroundFaltered growth has been shown to affect 161 million children worldwide and derail cognitive development from early childhood. The neural pathways by which growth faltering in early childhood affects future cognitive outcomes remain unclear, which is partially due to the scarcity of research using both neuroimaging and sensitive behavioral techniques in low-income settings. We employed EEG to examine the association between growth faltering and brain functional connectivity and whether brain functional connectivity mediates the effect of early adversity on cognitive development.MethodsWe recruited participants from an urban impoverished neighborhood in Dhaka, Bangladesh. One sample consisted of 85 children whose EEG and growth measures (height for age, weight for age, and weight to height) were collected at 6 months and cognitive outcomes were assessed at 27 months. Another sample consisted of 115 children whose EEG and growth measures were collected at 36 months and IQ scores were assessed at 48 months. Path analysis was used to test the effect of growth measures on cognitive outcomes through brain functional connectivity.FindingsFaltered growth was found to be accompanied by overall increased functional connectivity in the theta and low-beta frequency bands for the 36-month-old cohort. For both cohorts, brain functional connectivity was negatively predictive of later cognitive outcomes at 27 and 48 months, respectively. Faltered growth was found to have a negative impact on children’s IQ scores in the older cohort, and this effect was found to be mediated by brain functional connectivity in the low-beta band.InterpretationThe association found between growth measures and brain functional connectivity may reflect a broad deleterious effect of malnutrition on children’s brain development. The mediation effect of functional connectivity on the relation between physical growth and later IQ scores provides the first experimental evidence that brain functional connectivity may mediate the effect of biological adversity on cognitive development.FundingBill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1111625)
Cholinergic interneurons as a novel target of CRF in the striatum that is spared by repeated stress
Authors: Lemos Julia C. , Shin Jung Hoon , Ingebretson Anna E. , Dobbs Lauren K. , Alvarez Veronica A. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractAcute stressors can stimulate appetitive and exploratory behaviors, not just produce negative affect that impair performance. Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), which is released in the brain in response to stress, acts on different targets and circuits to mediate both the negative and positive effects of stress. In the nucleus accumbens, CRF facilitates appetitive behavior through mechanisms not fully understood. Here we report that cholinergic interneurons (CINs) are a novel target for CRF actions in the striatum. CRF enhances the spontaneous firing via activation of CRF-type 1 receptors expressed on CINs. This causes the activation muscarinic acetylcholine receptors type 5, which mediate CRF potentiation of dopamine transmission in the striatum. Repeated stress selectively dampens some CRF functions but spare effect on CINs and changes CRF-R1 expression in a cell-specific manner. These data highlight the existence of diverse CRF targets within the striatum, which vary in their resilience to stress.
Bile canaliculi contract autonomously by releasing calcium into hepatocytes via mechanosensitive calcium channel
Authors: Gupta Kapish , Chuan Ng Inn , Nguyen Binh P. , Tucker-Kellogg Lisa , Low Boon Chuan , Yu Hanry 
Published: October 2018

AbstractBile canaliculi (BC) are the smallest vessels of the biliary tree. They are formed from the apical surfaces of adjoining hepatocytes, resulting in lumenal conduits for bile flow. Bile is propelled along the BC by hepatocyte contractions that arise from cyclic waves of apico-basal Ca2+, but the source and regulation of Ca2+has been unclear. We report that BC contraction correlates with cyclic transfer of Ca2+from BC lumen to apico-basal Ca2+waves in adjacent hepatocytes, and does not correlate with endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+. BC contractility was triggered by ionophore A23187 and unaffected by Thapsigargin. The cycles of Ca2+transfer could be blocked by the mechanosensitive calcium channel inhibitor GsMTx-4, resulting in cholestatic generation of BC-derived vesicles. The mechanosensitive calcium channel Piezo-1 is preferentially localized at BC membranes, and its hyper-activation by Yoda1 causes increased Ca2+transfer and increased BC contractility. We propose that canaliculi achieve biomechanical homeostasis through the following feedback system: the pressure of accumulated bile is sensed by mechanosensitive channel, which transmit biliary calcium into adjacent hepatocytes for contraction of the BC lumen and propulsion of the bile.
Calculating the Effects of Autism Risk Gene Variants on Dysfunction of Biological Processes Identifies Clinically-Useful Information
Authors: Veatch Olivia J. , Mazzotti Diego R. , Sutcliffe James S. , Schultz Robert T. , Abel Ted , Tunc Birkan , Assouline Susan G. , Brodkin Edward S. , Michaelson Jacob J. , Nickl-Jockschat Thomas , Warren Zachary E. , Malow Beth A. , Pack Allan I. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractAutism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental conditions that are influenced by genetic factors and encompass a wide-range and severity of symptoms. The details of how genetic variation contributes to variable symptomatology are unclear, creating a major challenge for translating vast amounts of data into clinically-useful information. To determine if variation in ASD risk genes correlates with symptomatology differences among individuals with ASD, thus informing treatment, we developed an approach to calculate the likelihood of genetic dysfunction in Gene Ontology-defined biological processes that have significant overrepresentation of known risk genes. Using whole-exome sequence data from 2,381 individuals with ASD included in the Simons Simplex Collection, we identified likely damaging variants and conducted a clustering analysis to define subgroups based on scores reflecting genetic dysfunction in each process of interest to ASD etiology. Dysfunction in cognition-related genes distinguished a distinct subset of individuals with increased social deficits, lower IQs, and reduced adaptive behaviors when compared to individuals with no evidence of cognition-related gene dysfunction. In particular, a stop-gain variant in the pharmacogene encoding cycloxygenase-2 was associated with having an IQ<70 (i.e. intellectual disability), a key comorbidity in ASD. We expect that screening genes involved in cognition for deleterious variants in ASD cases may be useful for identifying clinically-informative factors that should be prioritized for functional follow-up. This has implications in designing more comprehensive genetic testing panels and may help provide the basis for more informed treatment in ASD.
Efficient Proximal Gradient Algorithm for Inference of Differential Gene Networks
Authors: Wang Chen , Gao Feng , Giannakis Georgios B. , D’Urso Gennaro , Cai Xiaodong 
Published: October 2018

AbstractBackgroundGene networks in living cells can change depending on various conditions such as caused by different environments, tissue types, disease states, and development stages. Identifying the differential changes in gene networks is very important to understand molecular basis of various biological process. While existing algorithms can be used to infer two gene networks separately from gene expression data under two different conditions, and then to identify network changes, such an approach does not exploit the data jointly, and it is thus suboptimal. A desirable approach would be clearly to infer two gene networks jointly, which can yield improved estimates of network changes.ResultsIn this paper, we developed a proximal gradient algorithm for differential network (ProGAdNet) inference, that jointly infers two gene networks under different conditions and then identifies changes in the network structure. Computer simulations demonstrated that our ProGAdNet outperformed existing algorithms in terms of inference accuracy, and was much faster than a similar approach for joint inference of gene networks. Gene expression data of breast tumors and normal tissues in the TCGA database were analyzed with our ProGAdNet, and revealed that 268 genes were involved in the changed network edges. Gene set enrichment analysis of this set of 268 genes identified a number of gene sets related to breast cancer or other types of cancer, which corroborated the gene set identified by ProGAdNet was very informative about the cancer disease status. A software package implementing the ProGAdNet and computer simulations is available upon request.ConclusionWith its superior performance over existing algorithms, ProGAdNet provides a valuable tool for finding changes in gene networks, which may aid the discovery of gene-gene interactions changed under different conditions.
Food quality vs food patriotism
Authors: Yormirzoev Mirzobobo , Teuber Ramona , Li Tongzhe 
Published: October 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of perceived food quality and consumer ethnocentrism and potential trade-offs between these two concepts in Russian consumers’ food purchase decisions after the implementation of the Russian import ban.

Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected via in-person interviews in the City of Perm, which is one of the largest and most industrial cities in Russia. A double-bounded dichotomous-choice contingent valuation model is utilized to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) and to analyze factors that affect consumers’ choice.

Findings
The results suggest that most respondents do not consider domestically produced cheese as a risky product in terms of food safety but simply of lower quality than imported cheese. However, the average respondent’s WTP discount for domestic cheese compared to imported cheese is 8 percent, which is relatively small. This corresponds to participants’ opinion that buying domestic cheese is the right thing to do since it supports Russian farmers and producers. The results indicate further that with increasing education and income levels, individuals are less likely to prefer domestically produced cheese for either economic or quality reasons. This effect is stronger for the quality preference.

Research limitations/implications
The results indicate that if the Russian government aims at expanding the domestic food market further, more attention needs to be paid to ensuring the quality of domestic food products in order to increase consumer acceptance and WTP.

Originality/value
This is the first study providing empirical evidence on Russian consumers’ attitudes and perceptions of domestically vs imported food products after the implementation of the Russian import ban, which can be considered as an external policy shock.
Innovation and inclusive excellence transformation through equine-guided leadership
Authors: Dunn Robin J. , Paxton Doug E. 
Published: October 2018

Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

Design methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Findings
Major themes included are creating a transformative space for healing, greater willingness to be vulnerable, overcoming fear, listening and attending to others more deeply, and being more fully present.

Practical implications
The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations.

Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
Incorporating digital self-services into integrated mental health care: a physician’s perspective
Authors: Taiminen Heini Sisko Maarit , Saraniemi Saila , Parkinson Joy 
Published: October 2018

PurposeThis paper aims to enhance the current understanding of digital self-services (computerized cognitive behavioral therapy [cCBT]) and how they could be better incorporated into integrated mental health care from the physician’s perspective. Service marketing and information systems literature are combined in the context of mental health-care delivery.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey of 412 Finnish physicians was undertaken to understand physicians’ acceptance of cCBT. The study applies thematic analysis and structural equation modeling to answer its research questions.FindingsAdopting a service marketing perspective helps understand how digital self-services can be incorporated in health-care delivery. The findings suggest that value creation within this context should be seen as an intertwined process where value co-creation and self-creation should occur seamlessly at different stages. Furthermore, the usefulness of having a value self-creation supervisor was identified. These value creation logic changes should be understood and enabled to incorporate digital self-services into integrated mental health-care delivery.Research limitations/implicationsBecause health-care systems vary across countries, strengthening understanding through exploring different contexts is crucial.Practical implicationsAssistance should be provided to physicians to enable better understanding of the application and suitability of digital self-service as a treatment option (such as cCBT) within their profession. Additionally, supportive facilitating conditions should be created to incorporate them as part of integrated care chain.Social implicationsDigital self-services have the potential to serve goals beyond routine activities in a health-care setting.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates the relevance of service theories within the health-care context and improves understanding of value creation in digital self-services. It also offers a profound depiction of the barriers to acceptance.
Gender diversity and enterprise innovative capability
Authors: Garba Tukur , Kraemer-Mbula Erika 
Published: October 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether female workers’ years of education do mediate the influence of gender diversity on innovative capability of enterprises in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses three waves Nigeria Enterprise Surveys panel dataset collected in 2007, 2009 and 2014, for a sample of 1,566 enterprises to circumvent the problems associated with application of cross-sectional designs in mediation studies. The study applies Hicks and Tingley’s (2011) two equations mediation analysis approach with robust standard error.FindingsThe results of the inferential analysis indicate that female workers’ years of education mediate fully and positively the effect of gender diversity on innovative capability of enterprises in Nigeria.Research limitations/implicationsFor gender diversity to enhance the innovative capability of an enterprise, female workers must be empowered with higher levels of formal education.Practical implicationsFemale workers should be empowered with formal education in order to enhance the ability of firms to innovate. Gender diversity alone does not enhance the innovative capability of an enterprise without empowering female workers with formal education.Originality/valueAlthough past studies do provide substantial evidence on the positive relationship between gender diversity and the innovative capability of enterprises, the mediating effect of education on this relationship has been ignored. This is particularly relevant in a country such as Nigeria with low levels of innovation. Furthermore, despite the presumed positive effect of gender diversity on innovative capability, existing empirical research does not yield consistent findings to clearly resolve how or why gender diversity does affect the innovative capability of enterprises. This paper tests whether it could be the result of a mediating (intervening) variable.