bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Axon Guidance Signaling Modulates Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition in Stem Cell-Derived Retinal Pigment Epithelium
Authors: Sripathi Srinivas R. , Liu Melissa M. , Hu Ming-Wen , Wan Jun , Cheng Jie , Duan Yukan , Mertz Joseph , Wahlin Karl , Maruotti Julien , Berlinicke Cynthia A , Qian Jiang , Zack Donald J. 
Published: February 2018

ABSTRACTThe critical role of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in embryonic development, malignant transformation, and tumor progression has been well studied in normal and cancerous tissues and cells. Interestingly, EMT has also been reported to play a key role in the early progression of several retinal degenerative diseases, including scarring associated proliferative vitro-retinopathy (PVR), choroidal neo-vascularization induced “wet” age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR). Despite these studies, many questions remain unexplored regarding EMT-associated retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) degeneration and dysfunction. We hypothesize that RPE cells undergo EMT prior to cell death during the progression of atrophic “dry” AMD. Utilizing human stem cell-derived RPE (hRPE) as a model to study RPE EMT, we optimized two independent but complementary RPE EMT induction systems: 1) enzymatic dissociation of hRPE monolayer cultures and 2) co-treatment of hRPE monolayer cultures with transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and the inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). To further understand the molecular mechanisms of RPE EMT regulation, we performed an RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) time course examination across 48 hours beginning with EMT induction. Our transcriptome profiling provides a comprehensive quantification of dynamic signaling events and associated biological pathways underlying RPE EMT and reveals an intriguing significance for widespread dysregulation of multiple axon guidance molecules in this process.
Imperatives for improving entrepreneurial behavior among females in the UAE
Authors: Jabeen Fauzia , Faisal Mohd. Nishat 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
Despite various governmental efforts, female entrepreneurship in the UAE is still not a popular option among women. The purpose of this study is to identify the enablers to female entrepreneurship and to establish relationships among them.

Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a two-phased approach. In the first-phase, an empirical study on female entrepreneurs was conducted to find out the most important enablers from among a set of variables identified through a comprehensive literature review. In the second-phase, using interpretive structural modeling, a hierarchy-based model is developed among the most important enablers. Further, these enablers are also classified depending on their driving power and dependence.

Findings
Survey results indicate that female entrepreneurs consider enablers as the driving force in creating an entrepreneurial culture. Further, the hierarchy-based model developed in this research helps to identify variables that are of strategic importance and require utmost attention.

Practical implications
The framework presented in this study can be used effectively by the policymakers to develop suitable strategies for improving entrepreneurial behavior among women in the United Arab Emirates.

Originality/value
The novelty of this approach is the integration of questionnaire and interpretive structural modeling methodology and classifying enablers in four clusters. The research provides useful insights about the perception of female entrepreneurs about the entrepreneurial culture in the United Arab Emirates, and a relationship model that may serve as a decision tool for improving female entrepreneurship.
Antecedents and outcomes of job insecurity among salespeople
Authors: Bouzari Mona , Karatepe Osman M. 
Published: February 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of job resources, as manifested by selective staffing, training (TR), and career opportunities, on job insecurity and the influence of job insecurity on hope, job satisfaction, and creative performance. By investigating these relationships, the present study also aims to provide the managers the ways by which they can foster job resources, reduce job insecurity, and activate hope and job outcomes of their salespeople.Design/methodology/approachData came from hotel salespeople in Iran. Structural equation modeling was used to test the aforesaid relationships.FindingsThe empirical data lend support to the overwhelming majority of the relationships. Specifically, job insecurity and hope act as mediators of the impacts of job resources on job satisfaction. Job satisfaction mediates the impacts of job insecurity and hope on creative performance. Contrary to what has been hypothesized, job insecurity positively influences salespeople’s hope. Such salespeople in turn exhibit higher job satisfaction. In addition, job resources do not significantly influence hope via job insecurity.Practical implicationsManagement should invest in job resources to reduce job insecurity. Management should also try to hire individuals high on hope since hope is treated as a malleable variable and can be developed via TR interventions. Workshops can be organized to enable junior salespeople to learn senior salespeople’s practices regarding the solutions to new customer requests and problems.Originality/valueJob insecurity is an endemic problem in many industries and there is a lack of empirical research about the intermediate linkage between job insecurity and employees’ job outcomes. There is also a need for more research to ascertain the factors influencing job insecurity.
Entrepreneurial intentions of surf tourists
Authors: Ratten Vanessa 
Published: February 2018

Purpose
There has been an increase in surf tourism, as surfing has gained more international prominence and popularity. Many individuals travel to surf competitions as a form of leisure activity and enhance business connections. The purpose of this study is to examine the entrepreneurial intentions of tourists at a surf event by focusing on lifestyle entrepreneurs.

Design/methodology/approach
A case study methodology of the Bells Beach surf contest, Australia, was conducted via semi-structured, in-depth interviews of surf tourists to explore their entrepreneurial behaviour.

Findings
Results reveal that many surf tourists are interested in surfing as a leisure activity but others see the potential business opportunities of the sport.

Originality/value
This study fills a gap in the literature between lifestyle entrepreneurship and surf tourism by highlighting the role of entrepreneurial intentions for developing tourism business activities. Management implications for surf tourism entrepreneurs and tourism bodies are discussed along with suggestions for future research.
Chaparral bird community responses to prescribed fire and shrub removal in three management seasons
Authors: Newman Erica A. , Potts Jennifer B. , Tingley Morgan W. , Vaughn Charles , Stephens Scott L. 
Published: February 2018

Abstract

Chaparral, a type of shrubland common throughout the California Floristic Province, is subject to management and removal in regions where wildfire threatens human lives and property. Management practices include conducting prescribed burns outside of the historical fire season and employing mechanical fuel reduction (mastication). As the wildland–urban interface grows, particularly in coastal California, more of this ecosystem is subject to active management.

To understand the ecological implications of current California chaparral fire management practices, we studied bird species composition, abundance and foraging guilds in managed and unmanaged chaparral over 5 years. Study areas were located in Mendocino County in the coast ranges of northern California. We contrast six chaparral removal or “fuels manipulation” treatments: (1) fall fire, (2) winter fire, (3) spring fire, (4) fall mastication, (5) spring mastication and (6) untreated control. Treatments and controls were implemented in plots 2 ha or larger, and replicated four times each.

We find that species richness in prescribed fire treatments reaches comparable levels to controls in the first 3 years following treatment, whereas masticated units always have lower species richness. Generalized linear mixed models additionally confirm that mastication has highly negative effects on observed abundances of birds compared to controls and to prescribed fire.

The season in which fuels reduction occurred was less important to species richness, although fall fire was more beneficial to bird abundance than spring or winter fire. Fire treatments in all seasons maintain the same general bird community structure as controls, while mastication results in strongly differentiated assemblages, increasing granivores while nearly excluding foliage gleaners.

Synthesis and applications. We compare two California chaparral management techniques, prescribed fire and mastication, in three seasons (fall, winter and spring) in northern California, USA. We tracked chaparral bird community response in 23 experimental units for 2–5 years. We conclude that prescribed fire and mastication are not interchangeable management techniques, and that mastication negatively impacts bird communities, altering guild structure and reducing both diversity and abundance.
Energy drives the dynamic localization of cyanobacterial nitrogen regulators during diurnal cycles
Authors: Espinosa Javier , Labella José I. , Cantos Raquel , Contreras Asunción 
Published: February 2018

SummaryCyanobacteria, phototrophic organisms performing oxygenic photosynthesis, must adapt their metabolic processes to the challenges imposed by the succession of days and nights. Two conserved cyanobacterial proteins, PII and PipX, function as hubs of the nitrogen interaction network, forming complexes with a variety of diverse targets. While PII proteins are found in all three domains of life as integrators of signals of the nitrogen and carbon balance, PipX proteins are unique to cyanobacteria, where they provide a mechanistic link between PII signalling and the control of gene expression by the global nitrogen regulator NtcA. Here we demonstrate that PII and PipX display distinct localization patterns during diurnal cycles, co‐localizing into the same foci at the periphery and poles of the cells during dark periods, a circadian‐independent process requiring a low ATP/ADP ratio. Genetic, cellular biology and biochemical approaches used here provide new insights into the nitrogen regulatory network, calling attention to the roles of PII as energy sensors and its interactions with PipX in the context of essential signalling pathways. This study expands the contribution of the nitrogen regulators PII and PipX to integrate and transduce key environmental signals that allow cyanobacteria to thrive in our planet.
Brexit: A Cliff Edge or a Small Bump in the Road?
Authors: Whyman Philip B. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractIt is becoming increasingly accepted, not least by the Prime Minister and opposition leadership, that the negotiation of a comprehensive trade relationship with the EU is necessary to prevent the UK economy falling off a ‘cliff edge’. This concern is shaping the UK's strategy towards negotiations with the EU and has provided at least part of the motivation for the UK to consider requesting a transition period to facilitate the Brexit process. But how accurate are these fears? What evidence is there for the existence of a ‘cliff edge’? How disastrous would it be for the UK to revert to trading with the EU on the same basis as most other countries in the world, namely according to World Trade Organisation rules? This article seeks to address these issues and it highlights a number of implications for policy makers which flow from understanding the available evidence a little more clearly.
ResistanceGA: An R package for the optimization of resistance surfaces using genetic algorithms
Authors: Peterman William E. 
Published: February 2018

Abstract

Understanding how landscape features affect functional connectivity among populations is a cornerstone of spatial ecology and landscape genetic analyses. However, parameterization of resistance surfaces that best describe connectivity is a challenging and often subjective process.

ResistanceGA is an R package that utilizes a genetic algorithm to optimize resistance surfaces based on pairwise genetic data and effective distances calculated using CIRCUITSCAPE, least cost paths or random‐walk commute times. Functions in this package allow for the optimization of categorical and continuous resistance surfaces, and simultaneous optimization of multiple resistance surfaces.

ResistanceGA provides a coherent framework to optimize resistance surfaces without a priori assumptions, conduct model selection, and make inference about the contribution of each surface to total resistance.

ResistanceGA fills a void in the landscape genetic toolbox, allowing for unbiased optimization of resistance surfaces and for the simultaneous optimization of multiple resistance surfaces to create novel composite resistance surfaces, but could have broader applicability to other fields of spatial ecological research.
Identification and characterisation of antixenosis and antibiosis to pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) in Pisum spp. germplasm
Authors: Aznar‐Fernández T. , Rubiales D. 
Published: February 2018

AbstractAcyrthosiphon pisum is a polyphagous aphid of major importance on the pea crop to which few resistant cultivars are available. In this study, we screened a germplasm collection of Pisum spp. under field conditions over two seasons yielding the identification of a number of accessions with intermediate levels of resistance. Selected accessions were further studied under semi‐controlled and controlled conditions in no choice and choice assays to validate the responses, and to further characterise the mechanisms of resistance operative. Results elucidated the valuable resistance of accession P40 (Pisum sativum ssp. sativum) and P665 (P. sativum ssp. syriacum), with the combination of both antixenosis, by reducing aphid preference, and antibiosis, by diminishing aphid proliferation.
Trajectory analysis of anxiolytic dispensing over 10 years among new users aged 50 and older
Authors: Verger P. , Mmadi Mrenda B. , Cortaredona S. , Tournier M. , Verdoux H. 
Published: February 2018

ObjectiveTo identify temporal trajectories of anxiolytic benzodiazepine (A‐BZD) use over 10 years among new A‐BZD users aged 50 and older and describe treatment patterns and demographic and clinical characteristics associated with each trajectory.MethodA representative cohort of the French national health insurance fund users was tracked from 2006 through 2015. We used latent class mixed models to identify the trajectories.ResultsWe observed four trajectories among new users (no A‐BZD dispensing in 2005) plus one non‐use trajectory. The proportion of occasional use among users was 60%; early increasing use, 10%; late increasing use, 17%; and increasing/decreasing use, 13%. Prevalence of occasional use decreased with age in women, but not men. Duration of treatment episodes and doses differed between trajectories. Multiple regression analyses with occasional use as the reference showed that the other three trajectories shared characteristics (age, coprescriptions of other psychotropic drugs, and more general practitioner consultations) but differed by the presence at inclusion or occurrence during follow‐up of psychiatric, neurodegenerative, and somatic conditions.ConclusionWe found four different long‐term temporal trajectories in new A‐BZD users (occasional, early increasing, late increasing, and increasing/decreasing use). Difficulties quitting or reducing consumption may be very different for each trajectory, requiring tailored care approaches.
Time‐dependent regional brain distribution of methadone and naltrexone in the treatment of opioid addiction
Authors: Teklezgi Belin G. , Pamreddy Annapurna , Baijnath Sooraj , Kruger Hendrik G. , Naicker Tricia , Gopal Nirmala D. , Govender Thavendran 
Published: February 2018

AbstractOpioid addiction is a serious public health concern with severe health and social implications; therefore, extensive therapeutic efforts are required to keep users drug free. The two main pharmacological interventions, in the treatment of addiction, involve management with methadone an mu (μ)‐opioid agonist and treatment with naltrexone, μ‐opioid, kappa (κ)‐opioid and delta (δ)‐opioid antagonist. MET and NAL are believed to help individuals to derive maximum benefit from treatment and undergo a full recovery. The aim of this study was to determine the localization and distribution of MET and NAL, over a 24‐hour period in rodent brain, in order to investigate the differences in their respective regional brain distributions. This would provide a better understanding of the role of each individual drug in the treatment of addiction, especially NAL, whose efficacy is controversial. Tissue distribution was determined by using mass spectrometric imaging (MSI), in combination with quantification via liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. MSI image analysis showed that MET was highly localized in the striatal and hippocampal regions, including the nucleus caudate, putamen and the upper cortex. NAL was distributed with high intensities in the mesocorticolimbic system including areas of the cortex, caudate putamen and ventral pallidum regions. Our results demonstrate that MET and NAL are highly localized in the brain regions with a high density of μ‐receptors, the primary sites of heroin binding. These areas are strongly implicated in the development of addiction and are the major pathways that mediate brain stimulation during reward.
Neonatal outcomes after fetal exposure to methadone and buprenorphine: national registry studies from the Czech Republic and Norway
Authors: Nechanská Blanka , Mravčík Viktor , Skurtveit Svetlana , Lund Ingunn Olea , Gabrhelík Roman , Engeland Anders , Handal Marte 
Published: February 2018

AbstractBackground and AimsOpioid maintenance treatment (OMT) is recommended to opioid‐dependent females during pregnancy. However, it is not clear which medication should be preferred. We aimed to compare neonatal outcomes after prenatal exposure to methadone (M) and buprenorphine (B) in two European countries.DesignNation‐wide register‐based cohort study using personalized IDs assigned to all citizens for data linkage.SettingThe Czech Republic (2000–14) and Norway (2004–13). [Correction added after online publication on 26 April 2018: The Czech Republic (2000–04) corrected to (2000–14).]ParticipantsOpioid‐dependent pregnant Czech (n = 333) and Norwegian (n = 235) women in OMT who received either B or M during pregnancy and their newborns.MeasurementsWe linked data from health registries to identify the neonatal outcomes: gestational age, preterm birth, birth weight, length and head circumference, small for gestational age, miscarriages and stillbirth, neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and Apgar score. We performed multivariate linear regression and binary logistic regression to explore the associations between M and B exposure and outcomes. Regression coefficient (β) and odds ratio (OR) were computed.FindingsMost neonatal outcomes were more favourable after exposure to B compared with M, but none of the differences was statistically significant. For instance, in the multivariate analysis, birth weight was β = 111.6 g [95% confidence interval (CI) = −10.5 to 233.6 and β = 83.1 g, 95% CI = −100.8 to 267.0] higher after B exposure in the Czech Republic and Norway, respectively. Adjusted OR of NAS for B compared with M was 0.94 (95% CI = 0.46–1.92) in the Norwegian cohort.ConclusionsTwo national cohorts of women receiving opioid maintenance treatment during pregnancy showed small but not statistically significant differences in neonatal outcomes in favour of buprenorphine compared with methadone.
Wages and wage policy: Australia in the Depression, 1924–34
Authors: Forster Colin 
Published: February 2018

ABSTRACTThe starting–point for this examination of the Australian wage–fixing system during the Great Depression is the recent conclusion by Gregory, Ho, and McDermott that the Commonwealth Court was ineffective in its attempt to impose a 10 per cent reduction in real wages. They argue that labour markets, centralized and decentralized, resisted the 10 per cent cut, so that wage policy played no part in the recovery from the Depression. By surveying the decisions and influence of the Commonwealth Court, and the wage–fixing institutions and wage outcomes in Victoria and New South Wales, this article concludes that the hypothesis of Gregory et al. cannot be supported. Contemporary views were closer to the mark.
Cortical thickness abnormalities in bipolar disorder patients with a lifetime history of auditory hallucinations
Authors: Mørch‐Johnsen Lynn , Nerland Stener , Jørgensen Kjetil N , Osnes Kåre , Hartberg Cecilie B , Andreassen Ole A , Melle Ingrid , Nesvåg Ragnar , Agartz Ingrid 
Published: February 2018

AbstractObjectivesWe aimed to investigate morphometric correlates of auditory hallucinations in bipolar disorder (BD) by comparing cortical thickness and cortical surface area in bipolar disorder patients with (BD+) and without (BD−) a lifetime history of auditory hallucinations. Based on previous findings in schizophrenia patients, we hypothesized that the cortex would be thinner in the auditory cortex in BD+ compared to BD−.MethodsBipolar disorder spectrum (n = 157) patients and healthy controls (n = 279) underwent 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning. Hypothesis‐driven analyses of cortical thickness and surface area in regions of the auditory cortex (Heschl's gyrus [HG], planum temporale and superior temporal gyrus) were conducted comparing BD+ (n = 49) and BD− (n = 108) using linear regression models, covaried for age and sex. Furthermore, we explored vertex‐wise group differences in thickness and surface area across the whole cerebral cortex.ResultsHypothesis‐driven analyses:BD+ had significantly thicker cortex in the left HG compared to BD− (B = 0.128, P = .0046). The finding was not explained by duration of illness, global functioning, bipolar subtype, IQ or use of antipsychotic, antidepressant or antiepileptic medication, or by lithium. Exploratory analyses: A small region of thicker cortex in BD+ compared to BD− was seen in the left superior parietal lobule (false discovery rate <0.05). There were no significant group differences in cortical surface area.ConclusionA lifetime history of auditory hallucinations in BD was associated with cortical thickness alterations in both the left HG and the superior parietal lobule. Contrary to our hypothesis, BD+ showed thicker, rather than thinner cortex compared to BD−. Replications in independent samples are needed.
Early HoloceneNW‐W winds reconstructed from small dune fields, central Sweden
Authors: Bernhardson Martin , Alexanderson Helena 
Published: February 2018

Five small dune fields were investigated in central Sweden in the field and by using LiDAR‐based remote sensing. The chronology of the dunes was determined using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. Most of theOSLages indicate dune formation close to the time of deglaciation in this area of Sweden (11–10 cal. kaBP) and later sand drift events appear to have been uncommon, suggesting that most of the dune fields have been stable since their formation and throughout the Holocene. This makes them a valuable archive of past sand drift events and palaeowind directions, even though the dune fields are small compared to most other investigated dune fields around the world. The dunes are primarily of a transverse or parabolic type, and their orientation suggests formation by westerly or northwesterly winds. The local topography appears to have had little control over the formation of the dunes, suggesting that the dunes can be used as a proxy of regional wind directions. All dune fields in this study are linked to glacifluvial deposits that provide spatially and volumetrically limited sources of sand.