bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Topographically Engineered Large Scale Nanostructures for Plasmonic Biosensing
Authors: Xiao Bo , Pradhan Sangram K. , Santiago Kevin C. , Rutherford Gugu N. , Pradhan Aswini K. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractWe demonstrate that a nanostructured metal thin film can achieve enhanced transmission efficiency and sharp resonances and use a large-scale and high-throughput nanofabrication technique for the plasmonic structures. The fabrication technique combines the features of nanoimprint and soft lithography to topographically construct metal thin films with nanoscale patterns. Metal nanogratings developed using this method show significantly enhanced optical transmission (up to a one-order-of-magnitude enhancement) and sharp resonances with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of ~15nm in the zero-order transmission using an incoherent white light source. These nanostructures are sensitive to the surrounding environment and the resonance can shift as the refractive index changes. We derive an analytical method using a spatial Fourier transformation to understand the enhancement phenomenon and the sensing mechanism. The use of real-time monitoring of protein-protein interactions in microfluidic cells integrated with these nanostructures is demonstrated to be effective for biosensing. The perpendicular transmission configuration and large-scale structures provide a feasible platform without sophisticated optical instrumentation to realize label-free surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing.
Somatostatin triggers rhythmic electrical firing in hypothalamic GHRH neurons
Authors: Osterstock Guillaume , Mitutsova Violeta , Barre Alexander , Granier Manon , Fontanaud Pierre , Chazalon Marine , Carmignac Danielle , Robinson Iain C. A. F. , Low Malcolm J. , Plesnila Nikolaus , Hodson David J. , Mollard Patrice , Méry Pierre-François 
Published: April 2016

AbstractHypothalamic growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) neurons orchestrate body growth/maturation and have been implicated in feeding responses and ageing. However, the electrical patterns that dictate GHRH neuron functions have remained elusive. Since the inhibitory neuropeptide somatostatin (SST) is considered to be a primary oscillator of the GH axis, we examined its acute effects on GHRH neurons in brain slices from male and female GHRH-GFP mice. At the cellular level, SST irregularly suppressed GHRH neuron electrical activity, leading to slow oscillations at the population level. This resulted from an initial inhibitory action at the GHRH neuron level via K+ channel activation, followed by a delayed, sst1/sst2 receptor-dependent unbalancing of glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic inputs. The oscillation patterns induced by SST were sexually dimorphic and could be explained by differential actions of SST on both GABAergic and glutamatergic currents. Thus, a tripartite neuronal circuit involving a fast hyperpolarization and a dual regulation of synaptic inputs appeared sufficient in pacing the activity of the GHRH neuronal population. These “feed-forward loops” may represent basic building blocks involved in the regulation of GHRH release and its downstream sexual specific functions.
Gardening in the zone of death: an experimental assessment of the absolute elevation limit of vascular plants
Authors: Dvorský Miroslav , Chlumská Zuzana , Altman Jan , Čapková Kateřina , Řeháková Klára , Macek Martin , Kopecký Martin , Liancourt Pierre , Doležal Jiří 
Published: April 2016

AbstractVascular plants in the western Tibetan Plateau reach 6000 m-the highest elevation on Earth. Due to the significant warming of the region, plant ranges are expected to shift upwards. However, factors governing maximum elevational limits of plant are unclear. To experimentally assess these factors, we transplanted 12 species from 5750 m to 5900 m (upper edge of vegetation) and 6100 m (beyond range) and monitored their survival for six years. In the first three years (2009–2012), there were plants surviving beyond the regional upper limit of vegetation. This supports the hypothesis of dispersal and/or recruitment limitation. Substantial warming, recordedin-situduring this period, very likely facilitated the survival. The survival was ecologically a non-random process, species better adapted to repeated soil freezing and thawing survived significantly better. No species have survived at 6100 m since 2013, probably due to the extreme snowfall in 2013. In conclusion, apart from the minimum heat requirements, our results show that episodic climatic events are decisive determinants of upper elevational limits of vascular plants.
The 37/67kDa laminin receptor (LR) inhibitor, NSC47924, affects 37/67kDa LR cell surface localization and interaction with the cellular prion protein
Authors: Sarnataro Daniela , Pepe Anna , Altamura Gennaro , De Simone Imma , Pesapane Ada , Nitsch Lucio , Montuori Nunzia , Lavecchia Antonio , Zurzolo Chiara 
Published: April 2016

AbstractThe 37/67 kDa laminin receptor (LR) is a non-integrin protein, which binds both laminin-1 of the extracellular matrix and prion proteins, that hold a central role in prion diseases. The 37/67 kDa LR has been identified as interactor for the prion protein (PrPC) and to be required for pathological PrP (PrPSc) propagation in scrapie-infected neuronal cells, leading to the possibility that 37/67 kDa LR-PrPC interaction is related to the pathogenesis of prion diseases. A relationship between 37/67 kDa LR and PrPC in the presence of specific LR inhibitor compounds has not been investigated yet. We have characterized the trafficking of 37/67 kDa LR in both neuronal and non-neuronal cells, finding the receptor on the cell surface and nuclei and identified the 67 kDa LR as the almost exclusive isoform interacting with PrPC. Here, we show that the treatment with the 37/67 kDa LR inhibitor, NSC47924, affects both the direct 37/67 kDa LR-PrPC interaction in vitro and the formation of the immunocomplex in live cells, inducing a progressive internalization of 37/67 kDa LR and stabilization of PrPC on the cell surface. These data reveal NSC47924 as a useful tool to regulate PrPC and 37/67 kDa LR trafficking and degradation, representing a novel small molecule to be tested against prion diseases.
Abundance of megalin and Dab2 is reduced in syncytiotrophoblast during placental malaria, which may contribute to low birth weight
Authors: Lybbert Jared , Gullingsrud Justin , Chesnokov Olga , Turyakira Eleanor , Dhorda Mehul , Guerin Philippe J. , Piola Patrice , Muehlenbachs Atis , Oleinikov Andrew V. 
Published: April 2016

AbstractPlacental malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum contributes to ~200,000 child deaths annually, mainly due to low birth weight (LBW). Parasitized erythrocyte sequestration and consequent inflammation in the placenta are common attributes of placental malaria. The precise molecular details of placental changes leading to LBW are still poorly understood. We hypothesized that placental malaria may disturb maternofetal exchange of vitamins, lipids and hormones mediated by the multi-ligand (n ~ 50) scavenging/signaling receptor megalin, which is abundantly expressed in placenta but was not previously analyzed in pregnancy outcomes. We studied abundance of megalin and its intracellular adaptor protein Dab2 by immunofluorescence microscopy in placental biopsies from Ugandan women with (n = 8) and without (n = 20) active placental malaria. We found that: (a) abundances of both megalin (p = 0.01) and Dab2 (p = 0.006) were significantly reduced in brush border of syncytiotrophoblast of infected placentas; (b) amounts of megalin and Dab2 were strongly correlated (Spearman’s r = 0.53, p = 0.003); (c) abundances of megalin and Dab2 (p = 0.046) were reduced in infected placentas from women with LBW deliveries. This study provides first evidence that placental malaria infection is associated with reduced abundance of megalin transport/signaling system and indicate that these changes may contribute to the pathology of LBW.
Translocation and Intracellular Distribution of Tritiated Gibberellin A3
Authors: Asakawa Yukio , Tamari Kinjiro , Inoue Keiko , Kaji Jun 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
The localization of tritium-radioactivity in dwarf kidney bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris) of 3H-gibberellm A3(3H-GA3) applied in a large quantity was investigated in advance of the study on GA3 metabolism in this plant. Immediately after the application of 3H-GA3, the radioactivity was distributed uniformly in the top of this plant; no further transportation of the radioactivity into the growing apical region from mature leaves and stems was the observed as the growth stage proceeded. An investigation on the intracellular localization of the radioactivity demonstrated that most part of the radioactivity was found in the cellular soluble fraction, while no radioactivity was detected in such subcellular particles as nuclei, mitochondria and microsomes. Examinations of the occurrence of GA3 bound with such macromolecules as RNA and protein gave negative results.
Metabolic Products of Gibbercllin A3 and Their Interconversion in Dwarf Kidney Bean Plants
Authors: Asakawa Yukio , Tamari Kinjiro , Shoji Akiko , Kaji Jun 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
Five radioactive substances were isolated from dwarf kidney bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris) treated with radioactive gibberellin A3. These compounds were identified respectively as original gibberellin A3, 2-O-β-glucosyl-gibberellin A3 (PIIIA 2-O-β-glucosyl-isogibberellin A3 (PII), 2-O-β-glucosyl-gibberellenic acid (PIIIB) and the β-glucoside of an unknown gibberellin-like substance (PI). PI, PII, PIIIA and PIIIB were drived directly from gibberellins A3; the conversion of PIIIA to PI and PIIIB also occurred. PI, PII and PIIIB were not further metabolized.
Systematic Separation of Human Urinary Peptides
Authors: Takita Toshichika , Miyoshi Kazuhiko , Kumada Koichi , Nishi Hiroshi 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
Urinary peptides were roughly fractionated by combined columns of cation and anion exchange resins, and the peptides eluted from each column were further fractionated by a combination of various ion exchange resins and DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, paper chromatography and other methods. From the fractions adsorbed on cation exchange resin, 13 homogeneous peptides could be isolated, and from the ones adsorbed on anion exchange resin, 8 glycopeptides could be found. Their amino acid compositions were analyzed.
Although some fractions remain univestigated, an outline of the whole aspect of main urinary peptides has been clarified by this study.
Conversion of (−)-Carvone and (+)-Carvone by a Strain of Aspergillus niger
Authors: Noma Yoshiaki , Nonomura Seiichi 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
The conversion of (−)-carvone and (+)-carvone by a strain of Aspergillus niger was studied as one of the series of biochemical reduction of terpenes.
(−)-Carvone was found to be reduced essentially to (+)-neodihydrocarveol, although (+)-dihydrocarvone and (+)-isodihydrocarvone were also formed in small amounts, whereas (+)-carvone was converted to (−)-isodihydrocarvone, (−)-isodihydrocarveol, (−)-neoisodihydrocarveol, (−)-dihydrocarvone, (−)-neodihydrocarveol, and (+)-dihydrocarveol, of which the former three were the major products.
The metabolic pathways for (−)-carvone and (+)-carvone by the strain of Aspergillus niger are discussed and the results on microbial and chemical reductions of carvone and dihydrocarvone are summarized.
Purification and Properties of Phage HM 7-Induced Lytic Enzyme of Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum
Authors: Hongo Motoyoshi , Tahara Yasutaka , Ogata Seiya 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
A lytic enzyme was isolated from phage HM 7-induced lysate of Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum, and purified about 200-fold by precipitation with ammonium sulfate, gel filtration with Sephadex G–75 and ampholine isoelectric focusing. The purified lytic enzyme had an apparent homogeneity on disc-electrophoresis, and the character of acidic protein showing isoelectric point at pH 4.0. The molecular weight of lytic enzyme was estimated to be about 100,000 from the result of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The optimum pH for the lytic enzyme activity was 6.5. Maximum activity occurred at 30 to 35°C, and at the ionic strength of 0.04 m or above. The lytic enzyme activity was stimulated about 140% by 10−3 m EDTA. The lytic enzyme lysed the living cells, but it had a narrow specificity which was restricted to a certain species of Clostridium such as Cl. saccharoperbutylacetonicum, Cl. butyricum, Cl. botulinum, Cl. sporogenes, and Cl. thiaminolyticum.
Histidine Production by Corynebacterium glutamicum Mutants, Multiresistant to Analogs of Histidine, Tryptophan, Purine and Pyrimidine
Authors: Araki Kazumi , Shimojo Setsuko , Nakayama Kiyoshi 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
The histidine productivity of 1,2,4-triazole-3-alanine (TRA)-resistant histidine producer, Corynebacterium glutamicum KY–10260 was improved by successive additions of such markers as purine, pyrimidine, histidine and tryptophan analog-resistance to the mutant. A selected mutant AT–83, multi-resistant to 6-mercaptoguanine, 8-azaguanine, 4-thiouracil, 6-methylpurine, TRA and 5-methyltryptophan, accumulated twice as much histidine as KY–10260 in the culture medium. The level of histidine production by this mutant reached 15 mg/ml or 10% (w/w) of the initial suagr in the medium containing 6% (as glucose concentration) cane molasses and 9% sucrose as carbon sources. 2-Fluoroadenine-resistant mutants produced adenine in addition to histidine.
Conformal growth ofArabidopsisleaves
Authors: Mitchison Graeme 
Published: April 2016

AbstractI show that Arabidopsis leaf growth can be described with good precision by a conformal map, where expansion is locally isotropic (the same in all directions) but the amount of expansion can vary with position. Data obtained by tracking leaf growth over time can be reproduced with almost 90% accuracy by such a map. The growth follows a Moebius transformation, which is a type of conformal map that would arise if there were an underlying linear gradient of growth rate. From the data one can derive the parameters that describe this linear gradient and show how it changes over time. Growth according to a conformal map has the property of maintaining the flatness of a leaf.
Faith-informed intellectual freedom: an annotated bibliography
Authors: Gehring Denise Rachel 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
The purpose of this annotated bibliography is to show perspectives on intellectual freedom from literature that provides approaches for librarians in faith-based institutions. The articles reviewed in this annotated bibliography will assist both Christian and secular librarians in selecting library materials.

Design/methodology/approach
The author identified sources using LISTA, ATLA and other common library databases. Sources were selected from 1993 to the present, focusing on sources that are on the application of intellectual freedom in the Christian academic library and/or librarian.

Findings
Best (2010) discusses censorship in academic libraries based on the top ten most-challenged books in 2007 which have research implications for Christian institutions. Johnson (2002), Davis (2002) and Smith (2004) offer library recommendations based on the review of the literature and their own practice. Hippenhammer (1993/1994) presents survey data and findings on collection development policies and intellectual freedom from Christian libraries. Matacio (2003) shares quantitative research from Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) libraries applicable to other Christian institutions.

Research limitations/implications
The majority of the research on intellectual freedom and Christian librarianship is from 10 or more years ago.

Originality/value
This annotated bibliography is a starting point for research that could be conducted to help in the evaluation of Christian academic library’s collection development policy.
Is more customer control of services always better?
Authors: Joosten Herm , Bloemer Josée , Hillebrand Bas 
Published: April 2016

Purpose– Research on empowerment and service co-production assumed that customers want more control and that more control is better. An empirical test of this assumption, however, is lacking. The purpose of this paper is to test this assumption by not only focussing on the customer’s capacity and opportunity for control, but also taking into account the customer’s desire for control.Design/methodology/approach– This study uses an experiment employing video clips depicting a service encounter in a banking context in which control beliefs are manipulated.Findings– This study shows that more control in services is not always better because individuals vary in their desire for control; that state measures of control are effective predictors of relevant attitudinal and behavioral effects like satisfaction and loyalty, and that the mechanism which produces these effects is the consistency between control beliefs.Research limitations/implications– Future research on customer empowerment and service co-production should acknowledge the pivotal role of variations in desire for control, focus on inconsistencies in control beliefs to predict effects and measure control beliefs as varying states rather than as stable personality traits.Practical implications– Enhancing customer control of a service may primarily mean: giving the customer the option to control or not to control the service.Originality/value– This study contributes to literature and marketing practice by demonstrating that more control may have negative effects and by demonstrating the mechanism by which these effects occur.
Exploring service adaptation in a business-to-business context
Authors: Zhu Xia , Zolkiewski Judy 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
This study investigates service adaptation in a business-to-business context and explores the characteristics of service adaptation and how it takes place in business-to-business markets.

Design/methodology/approach
Two case studies were employed to obtain both suppliers’ and customers’ perceptions of service adaptation in a business-to-business context.

Findings
The findings captured both suppliers’ and customers’ adaptation in a business-to-business service context. It revealed customers’ active adaptation in assisting suppliers in the business-to-business service process. Suppliers’ willingness to make adaptation appears to have an impact on their relationships with customers. Business-to-business service adaptation is a dynamic and interactive process.

Research limitations/implications
The findings shed light for practitioners not to neglect customers’ active participation, but to understand customers’ role in making adaptation with suppliers in the service process to enhance their service experience and business-to-business relationships. The research is exploratory and the findings of these two case studies may be influenced by the manufacturing sector in which the case study firms are based.

Originality/value
This paper illustrates that the interactive nature of service adaptation is particularly pertinent in a business-to-business context and that the phenomena needs much more careful attention as it provides a potential area for marketing managers to achieve service differentiation.
A critical incident technique investigation of customers’ waiting experiences in service encounters
Authors: Ramseook-Munhurrun Prabha 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
This study explores customers’ reactions to waiting experiences in service encounters. It seeks to explore the key driving features determining customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction with waiting experiences during service encounters. The main challenge for service organisation is to understand the satisfactory and dissatisfactory features of the waiting experiences so as to design and deliver a memorable experience leading to positive post-consumption reactions.

Design/methodology/approach
The critical incident technique (CIT) was used to explore the salient factors on which customers forged their evaluation and based their satisfaction while waiting in lines in the context of various service encounters. To elicit incidents, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 customers in Mauritius and a total of 297 critical incidents involving customers’ waiting experiences in service encounters were identified.

Findings
Based on the CIT analysis, four distinctive features associated with the satisfying and dissatisfying waiting experiences emerged: social justice, servicescapes, affective response and service outcome. The customers exhibited mostly dissatisfying reactions to waiting experiences during the service encounters.

Originality/value
While CIT has been used extensively in services management, it has not been used to explore customers’ reactions to waiting experiences. Therefore, this study extended the waiting experience literature in service encounters to explain customers’ reactions to waiting.
The Effects of Kenya's ‘Smarter’ Input Subsidy Programme on Smallholder Behaviour and Incomes: Do Different Quasi‐experimental Approaches Lead to the Same Conclusions?
Authors: Mason Nicole M. , Wineman Ayala , Kirimi Lilian , Mather David 
Published: April 2016

AbstractKenya joined the ranks of sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries implementing targeted input subsidy programmes (ISPs) for inorganic fertiliser and improved seed in 2007 with the establishment of the National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Programme (NAAIAP). Although several features of NAAIAP were ‘smarter’ than other ISPs in the region, some aspects were less ‘smart’. However, the efficacy of the programme, and the relationship between its design and effectiveness, have been little studied. This article uses nationwide survey data to estimate the effects of NAAIAP participation on Kenyan smallholders’ cropping patterns, incomes, and poverty status. Unlike most previous studies of ISPs, a range of panel data‐ and propensity score‐based methods are used to estimate the effects of NAAIAP. The article then compares these estimated effects across estimators and to the effects of other ISPs in SSA, and discusses the likely links between differences in programme designs and impacts. The results are robust to the choice of estimator and suggest that, despite substantial crowding out of commercial fertiliser demand, NAAIAP had sizeable impacts on maize production and poverty severity. NAAIAP's success in targeting resource‐poor farmers and implementation through vouchers redeemable at private agro‐dealer shops likely contributed to its more favorable impacts than those of ISPs in Malawi and Zambia.
REIT Capital Structure Choices: Preparation Matters
Authors: Pavlov Andrey , Steiner Eva , Wachter Susan 
Published: April 2016

AbstractSun, Titman and Twite find that capital structure risks, namely, high leverage and a high share of short‐term debt, reduced the cumulative total return of U.S. REITs in the 2007–2009 financial crisis. We find that mitigating capital structure risks ahead of the crisis by reducing leverage and extending debt maturity in 2006 was associated with a significantly higher cumulative total return 2007–2009, after controlling for the levels of those variables at the start of the financial crisis. We further identify two systematic cross‐sectional differences between those REITs that reduced capital structure risks prior to the financial crisis and those that did not: the exposure to capital structure risks and the strength of corporate governance. On balance, our findings are consistent with the interpretation of risk‐reducing adjustments to capital structure ahead of the crisis as a component of managerial skill and discipline with significant implications for firm value during the crisis.