bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pristionchusnematodes occur frequently in diverse rotting vegetal substrates and are not exclusively necromenic, whilePanagrellus redivivoidesis found specifically in rotting fruits
Authors: Félix Marie-Anne , Ailion Michael , Hsu Jung-Chen , Richaud Aurélien , Wang John 
Published: May 2018

AbstractThe lifestyle and feeding habits of nematodes are highly diverse. Several species ofPristionchus(Nematoda: Diplogastridae), includingPristionchus pacificus, have been reported to be necromenic, i.e. to associate with beetles in their dauer diapause stage and wait until the death of their host to resume development and feed on microbes in the decomposing beetle corpse. We review the literature and suggest that the association ofPristionchusto beetles may be phoretic and not necessarily necromenic. The view thatPristionchusnematodes have a necromenic lifestyle is based on studies that have soughtPristionchusonly by sampling live beetles. By surveying for nematode genera in different types of rotting vegetal matter, we foundPristionchusspp. at a similar high frequency asCaenorhabditis, often in large numbers and in feeding stages. Thus, thesePristionchusspecies may feed in decomposing vegetal matter. In addition, we report that one species ofPanagrellus(Nematoda: Panagrolaimidae),Panagrellus redivivoides, is found in rotting fruits but not in rotting stems, with a likely association withDrosophilafruitflies. Based on our sampling and the observed distribution of feeding and dauer stages, we propose a life cycle forPristionchusnematodes andPanagrellus redivivoidesthat is similar to that ofC. elegans, whereby they feed on the microbial blooms on decomposing vegetal matter and are transported between food patches by coleopterans forPristionchusspp., fruitflies forPanagrellus redivivoidesand isopods and terrestrial molluscs forC. elegans.
Expression of WIPI2B counteracts age-related decline in autophagosome biogenesis in neurons
Authors: Stavoe Andrea KH , Holzbaur Erika LF 
Published: May 2018

SUMMARYAutophagy defects have been implicated in multiple late-onset neurodegenerative diseases. Since aging is the most common risk factor in neurodegeneration, we asked how autophagy is modulated in aging neurons. We compared the dynamics of autophagosome biogenesis in neurons from young adult and aged mice, identifying a significant decrease in biogenesis during aging. Autophagosome assembly kinetics are disrupted, with frequent production of stalled isolation membranes in neurons from aged mice; these precursors failed to resolve into LC3-positive autophagosomes. We did not detect alterations in the initial induction/nucleation steps of autophagosome formation. However, we found that the transmembrane protein Atg9 remained aberrantly associated with stalled isolation membranes, suggesting a specific disruption in the WIPI-dependent retrieval of Atg9. Depletion of WIPI2 from young neurons was sufficient to induce a similar deficit. Further, exogenous expression of WIPI2 in neurons from aged mice was sufficient to restore autophagosome biogenesis to the rates seen in neurons from young adult mice, suggesting a novel therapeutic target for age-associated neurodegeneration.
The glutathione cycle shapes synaptic glutamate activity
Authors: Sedlak Thomas W. , Paul Bindu D. , Parker Greg M. , Hester Lynda D. , Taniguchi Yu , Kamiya Atsushi , Snyder Solomon H. , Sawa Akira 
Published: May 2018

AbstractGlutamate is the most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter, present at the bulk of cortical synapses, and participating in many physiologic and pathologic processes ranging from learning and memory to stroke. The tripeptide, glutathione, is one third glutamate and present at up to low millimolar intracellular concentrations in brain, mediating antioxidant defenses and drug detoxification. Because of the substantial amounts of brain glutathione and its rapid turnover under homeostatic control, we hypothesized that glutathione is a relevant reservoir of glutamate, and could influence synaptic excitability. We find that drugs which inhibit generation of glutamate by the glutathione cycle elicit decreases in cytosolic glutamate and decreased miniature excitatory post synaptic potential (mEPSC) frequency. In contrast, pharmacologically decreasing the biosynthesis of glutathione leads to increases in cytosolic glutamate and enhanced mEPSC frequency. The glutathione cycle can compensate for decreased excitatory neurotransmission when the glutamate-glutamine shuttle is inhibited. Glutathione may be a physiologic reservoir of glutamate neurotransmitter.SignificanceGlutathione is the principal antioxidant and redox regulator in cells. In addition to its essential roles in redox homeostasis it functions as cofactors for a multitude of enzymes. We show here that glutathione is a reservoir for synaptic glutamate, the excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Deficits in glutathione have been linked to multiple neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. Accordingly, agents that restore glutathione-glutamate homeostasis may afford therapeutic benefit.
A model of the entrance pupil of the human eye
Authors: Aguirre Geoffrey K 
Published: May 2018

ABSTRACTThe aperture stop of the iris is subject to refraction by the cornea, and thus an outside observer sees a virtual image: the “entrance pupil” of the eye. When viewed off-axis, the entrance pupil has an elliptical form. The precise appearance of the entrance pupil is a consequence of the anatomical and optical properties of the eye, and the relative positions of the eye and the observer. This paper presents a ray-traced model eye that provides the parameters of the entrance pupil ellipse for an observer at an arbitrary location. The model is able to reproduce empirical measurements of the shape of the entrance pupil with good accuracy. I demonstrate that accurate specification of the entrance pupil of a stationary eye requires modeling of corneal refraction, the misalignment of the visual and optical axes, and the non-circularity of the aperture stop. The model, including a three-dimensional ray-tracing function through quadric surfaces, is implemented in open-source MATLAB code.
Molecular Detection of H.pylori Antibiotic-Resistant Genes and Bioinformatics Predictive Analysis
Authors: Wang Dan , Guo Qianqian , Lv Zhi , Yuan Yuan , Gong Yuehua 
Published: May 2018

ABSTRACTTo explore the mutation characteristics of H.pylori resistance-related genes to antibiotics of clarithromycin, levofloxacin and metronidazole. 23S rRNA, gyrA, gyrB, rdxA and frxA genes were amplified and sequenced, respectively. Their structural alteration after mutation was predicted using bioinformatics software. In the clarithromycin-resistant strains, the mutation rate in site A2143G was 74.2% (n=23). The mutations in sites C1883T, C2131T and T2179G might cause structural alteration. In the levofloxacin-resistant strains, the mutation rates in 87 (N to K/I) and 91 (D to N/Y/G) of gyrA were 28.6% (n=16) and 12.5% (n =7), respectively. Meanwhile, one of the mutation strains in site 91 was accompanied by D99N variation. Additionally, a D143E mutation was found in one drug-resistant strain. Some changes of tertiary structure occurred after these mutations. The mutation types of RdxA protein consisted of protein truncation caused by premature stop codons (n=26, 33.3%), frameshift mutations (n=8, 10.3%), FMN-binding sites (n=16, 20.5%) and the others (n=11, 14.1%). Predictive analysis showed that mutations in the first three groups and the A118S of the last group could lead to structural alteration. Our study suggested the clarithromycin-resistant sites of H.pylori were mainly located in A2143G of 23S rRNA. C1883T, C2131T and T2179G might also be related to resistance. Levofloxacin resistance was mainly based on the amino acid changes in 87 and 91 sites of gyrA. The new sites D99N and D143E might also be associated with resistance. Metronidazole resistance was related to RdxA protein truncation, frameshift, and FMN binding. The new site A118S might also be linked to drug resistance.
New mitochondrial primers for metabarcoding of insects, designed and evaluated using in silico methods
Authors: Marquina Daniel , Andersson Anders F. , Ronquist Fredrik 
Published: May 2018

AbstractInsect metabarcoding has been mainly based on PCR amplification of short fragments within the ‘barcoding region’ of the gene COI. However, because of the variability of this gene, it has been difficult to design good universal PCR primers. Most primers used today are associated with gaps in the taxonomic coverage or amplification biases that make the results less reliable and impede the detection of species that are present in the sample. We identify new primers for insect metabarcoding using computational approaches (ECOPRIMERS and DEGEPRIME) applied to the most comprehensive reference databases of mitochondrial genomes of Hexapoda assembled to date. New primers are evaluated in silico against previously published primers in terms of taxonomic coverage and resolution of the corresponding amplicons. For the latter criterion, we propose a new index, exclusive taxonomic resolution, which is a more biologically meaningful measure than the standard index used today. Our results show that the best markers are found in the ribosomal RNA genes (12S and 16S); they resolve about 90% of the genetically distinct species in the reference database. Some markers in protein-coding genes provide similar performance but only at much higher levels of primer degeneracy. Combining two of the best individual markers improves the effective taxonomic resolution with up to 10%. The resolution is strongly dependent on insect taxon: COI primers detect 40% of Hymenoptera, while 12S primers detect 12% of Collembola. Our results indicate that amplicon-based metabarcoding of insect samples can be improved by choosing other primers than those commonly used today.
Genetic analysis of Sephardic ancestry in the Iberian Peninsula
Authors: Álvarez-Álvarez Miguel Martín , Risch Neil , Gignoux Christopher R. , Huntsman Scott , Ziv Elad , Fejerman Laura , Esteban Maria Esther , Gayà-Vidal Magdalena , Sobrino Beatriz , Brisighelli Francesca , Harich Nourdin , Cruciani Fulvio , Chaabani Hassen , Carracedo Ángel , Moral Pedro , Burchard Esteban González , Via Marc , Athanasiadis Georgios 
Published: May 2018

AbstractThe Sephardim are a major Jewish ethnic division whose origins can be traced back to the Iberian Peninsula. We used genome-wide SNP data to investigate the degree of Sephardic admixture in seven populations from the Iberian Peninsula and surrounding regions in the aftermath of their religious persecution starting in the late 14th century. To this end, we used Eastern Mediterranean (from South Italy, Greece and Israel) and North African (Tunisian and Moroccan) populations as proxies for the major ancestral components found in the target populations and carried out unlinked- and linked-marker analyses on the available genetic data. We report evidence of Sephardic ancestry in some of our Iberian samples, as well as in North Italy and Tunisia. We find the Sephardic admixture to be more recent relative to the Berber admixture following an out-of-Iberia geographic dispersal, suggesting Sephardic gene flow from Spain outwards. We also report some of the challenges in assigning Sephardic ancestry to potentially admixed individuals due to the lack of a clear genetic signature.
Candidatus Ornithobacterium hominis sp. nov.: insights gained from draft genomes obtained from nasopharyngeal swabs
Authors: Salter Susannah J , Scott Paul , Page Andrew J , Tracey Alan , de Goffau Marcus C , Ochoa-Montaño Bernardo , Ling Clare L , Tangmanakit Jiraporn , Turner Paul , Parkhill Julian 
Published: May 2018

ABSTRACTCandidatus Ornithobacterium hominis sp. nov. represents a new member of the Flavobacteriaceae detected in 16S rRNA gene surveys from Southeast Asia, Africa and Australia. It frequently colonises the infant nasopharynx at high proportional abundance, and we demonstrate its presence in 42% of nasopharyngeal swabs from 12 month old children in the Maela refugee camp in Thailand. The species, a Gram negative bacillus, has not yet been cultured but the cells can be identified in mixed samples by fluorescent hybridisation. Here we report seven genomes assembled from metagenomic data, two to improved draft standard. The genomes are approximately 1.9Mb, sharing 62% average amino acid identity with the only other member of the genus, the bird pathogen Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale. The draft genomes encode multiple antibiotic resistance genes, competition factors, Flavobacterium johnsoniae-like gliding motility genes and a homolog of the Pasteurella multocida mitogenic toxin. Intra- and inter-host genome comparison suggests that colonisation with this bacterium is both persistent and strain exclusive.
Linking personality traits and individuals’ knowledge management behavior
Authors: Esmaeelinezhad Osveh , Afrazeh Abbas 
Published: May 2018

PurposeInspired by the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the big five personality (BFP) traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) on four aspects of individuals’ knowledge management (KM) behaviors: knowledge acquisition, knowledge storage, knowledge sharing, and knowledge application.Design/methodology/approachA survey-based approach was used to collect data from 221 employees from five knowledge-intensive firms.FindingsThe partial least square analyses confirmed a positive effect of two personality traits, openness and conscientiousness, on knowledge acquisition as well as knowledge application behavior. In addition, the positive effects of extraversion and conscientiousness traits on knowledge storage behavior were confirmed. The findings also revealed that agreeableness and openness traits positively relate to knowledge sharing behavior. Finally, neuroticism had a negative effect on knowledge acquisition and application behavior.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that organizations need to incorporate employees’ personality into the design and implementation of their KM systems. The findings provide managers with insight into the course of personnel selection and retention to facilitate KM behaviors in organizations.Originality/valueLittle is known about the relationship between the BFP traits and four aspects of KM behaviors at the individual level. The present study has contributed to the existing body of literature through clarifying how personality traits relate to four dimensions of individuals’ KM behaviors.
The impact of employment on perceived recovery from opiate dependence
Authors: Lowe Elizabeth , Akhtar Shabana , Emmerson Oliver , Parkman Thomas , Day Edward 
Published: May 2018

Purpose
Less than 15 per cent of people starting opiate substitution treatment (OST) in England are employed, but few gain employment during treatment. Increasingly punitive approaches have been tried to encourage individuals with substance dependence into employment in the hope of facilitating recovery. It is not clear which factors are associated with the successful maintenance of employment whilst receiving OST, and whether this group can be said to be “in recovery”. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study of the OST population in one English region was conducted between January and April 2017. Measures of physical health, employment patterns, drug use, mental health, recovery capital, and dependence severity were administered to 55 employed and 55 unemployed clients.

Findings
Those in employment had higher levels of “recovery capital”, better physical and mental health, fewer drug problems, and less severe dependence, despite reporting heroin use at a similar level. Three variables were significantly associated with employment: longest period of employment (OR=1.01, p=0.003); number of chronic medical conditions (OR=0.44, p=0.011); and number of days of psychological problems in the last month (OR=0.95, p=0.031).

Practical implications
These results suggest that abstinence may not be required in order to maintain stable employment when OST is in place. Different treatment strategies are required for clients receiving OST already in employment compared with those who are unemployed.

Originality/value
This is the first UK study to the author’s knowledge to focus on people receiving OST who are also in employment.
Our students are watching: navigating heightened polarization during class discussion
Authors: Laughter Judson , Huddleston Alexis , Shipman Molly , Victory Hannah 
Published: May 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide teachers with research and methodological findings for planning, facilitating and assessing classroom discussions around difficult, political issues.Design/methodology/approachThis paper focuses on navigating political polarization in classroom discussions. The research supported three teaching interns in developing classroom cultures where such discussions could and did happen.FindingsFindings include the importance of having difficult discussions, the methods for doing so successfully and the introduction of a new activity, Daily Independent Listening.Originality/valueIn a climate of heightened partisanship, this research and these teaching examples provide models for all teachers engaging in such important work.
Do empowerment, job interdependence and organization support drive work outcome in the Indian insurance sector?
Authors: Sahu Sangeeta 
Published: May 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the factors which influence positive and antagonistic job behavior of employees and their effects on work outcome. Such factors are regulated by the job design and policies of an organization. This is part of the findings.Design/methodology/approachThe paper surveys a sample of 635 middle and lower level executives working in insurance organizations. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the nomological network.FindingsResults reveal significant roles of empowerment and job interdependence in explaining positive job behavior and its influence on work outcome. In addition, limited role of organization support on employee job behavior was observed.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was limited by its cross-sectional design and self- reported data. Issues of common method bias have been addressed. The outcome of this quantitative research provides input for job design focused on increasing work outcome.Originality/valueThis study highlights that empowerment at work brings about positive work behavior that significantly enhances employee commitment to customer service. Further, organization support at work does not explain employee behavior influencing work outcome; whereas, most past studies show significant role of support factors. Antagonistic behavior does not necessarily make an individual decide to leave the organization, indicating that such behaviors can be controlled by managing the contextual factors. The findings offer insights to motivation and behavior-related theories and suggest a shift in HR practices by predicting employee behavior.
Retail service excellence: antecedents and consequences
Authors: Padma Panchapakesan , Wagenseil Urs 
Published: May 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a model of antecedents and consequences of service excellence (SE) in the retail industry.

Design/methodology/approach
Based on an extensive literature review, this paper has come up with the definition of potential antecedents and their consequences for SE in the retail service.

Findings
While the seven factors, service leadership, service culture, quality management and business excellence, service innovation, customer engagement, service brand image and service encounters have been proposed as antecedents of SE in retail service, employee loyalty, employee pride, customer delight, customer commitment and brand love, have been identified as consequences.

Research limitations/implications
A major limitation of the study is that the developed model is not empirically validated.

Practical implications
The current research asserts that leadership in service firms has to build a professional service culture system in order to achieve business/competition advantages of SE.

Social implications
This paper has emphasised that businesses cannot only act with the perspective of gaining short-term profit on every customer transaction. Customers have to be valued and firms have to focus on building long-term relationships with their customers.

Originality/value
This study has extended the research on SE by developing a new model with possible antecedents and outcomes in the retail context.
Perceptions toward academic library app implementation
Authors: Al-Daihani Sultan Muhaya , Almutairi Mai R. , Alonaizi Reem , Mubarak Samarkand 
Published: May 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of Kuwait University students majoring in the social sciences, faculty members and academic librarians toward mobile library applications (apps), which are not currently available. These technologies are highly desirable for students, but many libraries struggle to properly implement them.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative survey questionnaires were distributed to 400 undergraduate students, of which 184 valid and completed questionnaires were collected. In addition, three focus groups were conducted with social sciences graduate students, academics and librarians to further explore attitudes and perspectives toward library apps.FindingsA majority of respondents (62 per cent) visited the academic library less than five times per month or never, but a smaller majority (57 per cent) also preferred to use a combination of computers and mobile devices to access library information. The most desirable student uses for library apps involved access to basic information or services such as library hours, book renewal or catalog searches. Most potential barriers to student use of library apps received low scores; only slow internet speed was considered a significant problem. Focus group discussions clarified that major concerns regarding the implementation of library apps included the potential cost, knowledge, training and administrator support for these efforts.Originality/valueThis study highlights the unique interest in, and barriers to, library app implementation at Kuwait University, while providing an informative structure for similar studies and considerations elsewhere.
Corruption, political discretion and entrepreneurship
Authors: Jiménez Alfredo , Alon Ilan 
Published: May 2018

PurposeWhile common sense suggests that corruption will likely have a negative impact on the economy as it raises the cost of doing business, research on the topic showed inconsistent results (positive, negative and neutral). This paper aims to verify whether corruption has a “grease” or “sand” effect on the wheels of entrepreneurial rates and under which conditions corruption will have stronger or weaker effects.Design/methodology/approachUsing institutional theory as the basis for the hypotheses, generalized least squares estimation is conducted to empirically examine the role of corruption and political discretion in entrepreneurship in a sample of 93 countries.FindingsCountries with higher levels of corruption are associated with lower levels of firm creation. However, this negative effect of corruption is weaker when there are higher levels of political discretion.Originality/valueThis is the first evaluation of the moderating effect of political discretion on the negative impact of corruption on entrepreneurship.