bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Structure of the fission yeast actomyosin ring during constriction
Authors: Swulius Matthew T. , Nguyen Lam T. , Ladinsky Mark S. , Ortega Davi R. , Aich Samya , Mishra Mithilesh , Jensen Grant J. 
Published: November 2017

AbstractCell division in many eukaryotes is driven by a ring containing actin and myosin. While much is known about the main proteins involved, the precise arrangement of actin filaments within the contractile machinery, and how force is transmitted to the membrane remains unclear. Here we use cryosectioning and cryo-focused ion beam milling to gain access to cryo-preserved actomyosin rings inSchizosaccharomyces pombefor direct three-dimensional imaging by electron cryotomography. Our results show that straight, overlapping actin filaments, running nearly parallel to each other and to the membrane, form a loose bundle of approximately 150 nm in diameter that “saddles” the inward-bending membrane at the leading edge of the division septum. The filaments do not make direct contact with the membrane. Our analysis of the actin filaments reveals the variability in filament number, nearest-neighbor distances between filaments within the bundle, their distance from the membrane and angular distribution with respect to the membrane.Significance StatementMost eukaryotic cells divide using a contractile actomyosin ring, but its structure is unknown. Here we use new specimen preparation methods and electron cryotomography to image constricting rings directly in 3D, in a near-native state in the model organismSchizosaccharomyces pombe. Our images reveal the arrangement of individual actin filaments within the contracting actomyosin ring.
Pathogen Population Structure Can Explain Hospital Outbreaks
Authors: Spagnolo Fabrizio , Cristofari Pierre , Tatonetti Nicholas P. , Ginzburg Lev R. , Dykhuizen Daniel E. 
Published: November 2017

AbstractObjectiveTo analyze Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI) outbreaks using microbial population biology dynamics in order to understand outbreaks as a biological system.DesignComputational modeling study.MethodsThe majority of HAI transmission models describe dynamics on the level of the host rather than on the level of the pathogens themselves. Accordingly, epidemiologists often cannot complete transmission chains without direct evidence of either host-host contact or large reservoir populations. Here, we propose an ecology-based model to explain the transmission of pathogens in hospitals. The model is based upon metapopulation biology, which describes a group of interacting localized populations and island biogeography, which provides a basis for how pathogens may be moving between locales. Computational simulation trials are used to assess the applicability of the model.ResultsResults indicate that pathogens survive for extended periods without the need for large reservoirs by living in localized ephemeral populations while continuously transmitting pathogens to new seed populations. Computational simulations show small populations spending significant portions of time at sizes too small to be detected by most surveillance protocols. The number and type of these ephemeral populations enable the overall pathogen population to be sustained.ConclusionsBy modeling hospital pathogens as a metapopulation, observations characteristic of hospital acquired infection outbreaks for which there has previously been no sufficient biological explanation, including how and why empirically successful interventions work, can now be accounted for using population dynamic hypotheses. Epidemiological links between temporally isolated outbreaks are explained via pathogen population dynamics and potential outbreak intervention targets are identified.
Ift172conditional knockout mice exhibit rapid retinal degeneration and protein trafficking defects
Authors: Gupta Priya R , Pendse Nachiket , Greenwald Scott H , Leon Mihoko , Liu Qin , Pierce Eric A , Bujakowska Kinga M 
Published: October 2017

AbstractIntraflagellar transport (IFT) is a bidirectional transport process that occurs along primary cilia and specialized sensory cilia, such as photoreceptor outer-segments. Genes coding for various IFT components are associated with ciliopathies. Mutations inIFT172lead to diseases ranging from isolated retinal degeneration to severe syndromic ciliopathies. In this study, we created a mouse model ofIFT172-associated retinal degeneration to investigate the ocular disease mechanism. We found that depletion of IFT172 in rod photoreceptors leads to a rapid degeneration of the retina, with severely reduced electroretinography responses by one month and complete outer-nuclear layer degeneration by two months. We investigated molecular mechanisms of degeneration and show that IFT172 protein reduction leads to mislocalization of specific photoreceptor outer-segments proteins (RHO, RP1, IFT139), aberrant light-driven translocation of alpha transducin and altered localization of glioma-associated oncogene family member 1 (GLI1). This murine model recapitulates the retinal phenotype seen in patients withIFT172-associated blindness and can be used for invivotesting of ciliopathy therapies.
Single cell RNA-seq and ATAC-seq indicate critical roles of Isl1 and Nkx2-5 for cardiac progenitor cell transition states and lineage settlement
Authors: Jia Guangshuai , Preussner Jens , Guenther Stefan , Yuan Xuejun , Yekelchyk Michail , Kuenne Carsten , Looso Mario , Zhou Yonggang , Braun Thomas 
Published: October 2017

SUMMARYFormation and segregation of cell lineages building the vertebrate heart have been studied extensively by genetic cell tracing techniques and by analysis of single marker gene expression but the underlying gene regulatory networks driving cell fate transitions during early cardiogenesis are only partially understood. Here, we comprehensively characterized mouse cardiac progenitor cells (CPC) marked by Nkx2-5 and Isl1 expression from E7.5 to E9.5 using single-cell RNA sequencing. By leveraging on cell-to-cell heterogeneity, we identified different previously unknown cardiac sub-populations. Reconstruction of the developmental trajectory revealed that Isl1+ CPC represent a transitional cell population maintaining a prolonged multipotent state, whereas extended expression of Nkx2-5 commits CPC to a unidirectional cardiomyocyte fate. Furthermore, we show that CPC fate transitions are associated with distinct open chromatin states, which critically depend on Isl1 and Nkx2-5. Our data provide a model of transcriptional and epigenetic regulations during cardiac progenitor cell fate decisions at single-cell resolution.
Forced-rupture of Cell-Adhesion Complexes Reveals abrupt switch between two Brittle States
Authors: Toan Ngo Minh , Thirumalai D. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractCell adhesion complexes (CACs), which are activated by ligand binding, play key roles in many cellular functions ranging from cell cycle regulation to mediation of cell extracellular matrix adhesion. Inspired by single molecule pulling experiments using atomic force spectroscopy on leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1), expressed in T-cells, bound to intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM), we performed constant loading rate (rf) and constant force (F) simulations using the Self-Organized Polymer (SOP) model to describe the mechanism of ligand rupture from CACs. The simulations reproduce the major experimental finding on the kinetics of the rupture process, namely, the dependence of the most probable rupture forces (f∗s) on ln rf (rf is the loading rate) exhibits two distinct linear regimes. The first, at low rf, has a shallow slope whereas the the slope at high rf is much larger, especially for LFA-1/ICAM-1 complex with the transition between the two occurring over a narrow rf range. Locations of the two transition states (TSs), extracted from the simulations show an abrupt change from a high value at low rf or F to a low value at high rf or F. This unusual behavior in which the CACs switch from one brittle (TS position is a constant over a range of forces) state to another brittle state is not found in forced-rupture in other protein complexes. We explain this novel behavior by constructing the free energy profiles, F (Λ)s, as a function of a collective reaction coordinate (Λ), involving many key charged residues and a critical metal ion (M g2+). The TS positions in F(Λ), which quantitatively agree with the parameters extracted using the Bell-Evans model, change abruptly at a critical force, demonstrating that it, rather than the molecular extension is a good reaction coordinate. Our combined analyses using simulations performed in both the pulling modes (constant rf and force) reveal a new mechanism for the two loading regimes observed in the rupture kinetics in CACs.
The frailty index is associated with the need for care in an aging Swedish population
Authors: Jylhävä J , Jiang M , Foebel AD , Pedersen NL , Hägg S 
Published: November 2017

AbstractBackgroundThe Rockwood frailty index (FI) has proven a valid predictor of mortality, institutionalization and requirement for health services. However, little is known about the relationship between the FI and the need for care – an indication of dependency. To this end, we ascertained the associations between the FI and the need for current and future care.
MethodsA Rockwood-based FI was tested for association with the current need for care and care needs in the future during a 23-year follow-up in the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (n=1477; 623 men, 854 women; aged 29-95 years at baseline). Need for care was defined as receiving help at least once a week in daily routines. Age, sex, education, living alone, smoking status and body mass index were considered as covariates.ResultsThe FI was independently associated with current need for care (OR=1.27 for accumulation of one deficit, 95%CI 1.20–1.34) and future need for care (HR=1.12 for accumulation of one deficit, 95%CI 1.08–1.15). Co-twin control analyses confirmed the results; the pair member currently needing care had higher median FI levels compared to their co-twin not needing care, and the pair member having higher baseline FI had shorter median time to the onset of future care need compared to their co-twin with lower FI.ConclusionsThe FI is a determinant of current care needs and predictive of care needs in the future. The FI may thus represent a risk indicator for dependency and offer an amenable target for preventive measures.
phylopath: Easy phylogenetic path analysis in R
Authors: van der Bijl Wouter 
Published: November 2017

AbstractConfirmatory path analysis allows researchers to evaluate and compare causal models using observational data. This tool has great value for comparative biologists since they are often unable to gather experimental data on macro-evolutionary hypotheses, but is cumbersome and error-prone to perform.I introducephylopath, anRpackage that implements phylogenetic path analysis (PPA) as described by Von Hardenberg & Gonzalez-Voyer (2013). In addition to the published method, I provide support for the inclusion of binary variables.I illustrate PPA andphylopathby recreating part of a study on the relationship between brain size and vulnerability to extinction.The package aims to make the analysis straight-forward, providing convenience functions and several plotting methods, which I hope will encourage the spread of the method.phylopathis released under the GPL-3 license, and is freely available on CRAN (https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/phylopath/index.html) and GitHub (https://github.com/Ax3man/phylopath).
Leadership competencies: qualitative insight into non-profit sport organisations
Authors: Megheirkouni Majd 
Published: October 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the competencies of leadership used and the reasons behind their use in an attempt to understand the nature of leadership competencies in non-profit sports organisations, and guide the experts to focus on specific competencies for general purposes.Design/methodology/approachThe current study adopts a qualitative method to achieve the aim of the study.FindingsThe results revealed that four groups of competencies, namely, understanding the whole,communication, general management relation, and change tend to be specific competencies for general purposes in different leadership positions. The findings demonstrate the value of the approach in discoveringinsights that would not have emerged from more commonly utilised methodologies.Practical implicationsOverall, these findings suggest that individuals, in different sport leadership positions, need four groups of competencies to overcome internal and external challenges effectively. Implications of this research may exist in business and other domains. Specifically, several competency frameworks are suggested in business for leaders to meet their internal and external challenges.Originality/valueThis research represents the first attempt to understand and explore the nature of leadership competencies in non-profit sports organisations in the Middle East.
Privacy concerns in integrating big data in “e-Oman”
Authors: Saxena Stuti 
Published: October 2017

Purpose
Whereas integration of big data in “e-Oman” – the e-government face of Oman – is a significant prospect, this paper aims to underscore the challenges of privacy concerns in effecting such integration.

Design/methodology/approach
Providing a brief description about the concepts of e-government and big data, the paper follows a discussion on “e-Oman”. While drawing a framework for integration of big data in “e-Oman”, the paper throws light on the privacy concerns in effecting such an integration following a qualitative approach.

Findings
Integration of big data in “e-Oman” is fraught with ethical challenges in terms of privacy issues which have social implications.

Practical implications
While the pros of integration of big data in “e-Oman” are noteworthy, technical and administrative constraints vis-à-vis the cons of such integration need to be taken care of. It may be underlined that there is a trade-off between the norms of transparency and privacy of individuals versus the deployment of big data in “e-Oman” for effective real-time problem-solving.

Social implications
Technical and administrative infrastructure needs to be robust for countering challenges of cybercrimes. Furthermore, confidentiality and privacy of individuals may be at stake; the government needs to tackle these issues.

Originality/value
Integration of big data in “e-Oman” needs to be probed, and this paper seeks to fill this gap. Second, the paper underscores that it is important that ethical norms are being accounted for while effecting this integration.
Library usage mining in the context of alternative costs
Authors: Hajek Petr , Stejskal Jan 
Published: October 2017

PurposeThe behaviour of a library user is based on his ability to evaluate the consumption of library services based on alternative market services. The purpose of this paper is to study the usage behaviour in a public library building in the context of alternative costs instead of a narrow focus on book circulation data.Design/methodology/approachBy library usage mining, using associative rules, the authors described the behaviour of library users and identified the typical behaviour during the visits. The authors analyse the results in the context of alternative costs assigned to the visits.FindingsThe results confirm that some underused services, such as digital services, deliver significantly greater benefit. The frequency of use, the duration of visit and the number of items used are associated with higher alternative costs. There were no significant differences in alternative cost within economic groups (excluding pensioners). This paper identified 41 frequent patterns with different alternative costs.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of this study is the fact that data for library usage mining were collected using a questionnaire survey.Practical implicationsThis may be particularly important for both policy makers and library management. The first beneficiaries are donors and patrons, who can learn about the benefit that libraries bring to society. The proposed system for library usage mining also enables managers to promote specific (effective) services, take steps to avoid readers leaving, and improve the adoption of library services. It can also be used to adapt the location of library services. Librarians, especially those who engage in acquisitions, may also use this information in their evidence-based decisions about the design of services.Originality/valueSo far, there has been no relevant research on the economic aspects of extracted behaviour patterns. Therefore, this study revealed users’ economic preferences using a questionnaire survey that supplemented transaction data. The ability to describe users’ behaviour can provide library management with enough information to realise evidence-based decision making.
An overview of contemporary international human resource management studies
Authors: Lee Yuan-Duen , Lin Chiu-Chuan , Huang Chen-Fen 
Published: October 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the evolution of the intellectual structure of international human resource management (IHRM) studies and to propose a theory of an invisible network of knowledge (INK).Design/methodology/approachResearchers can also use this methodology to explore the knowledge network of their own fields so as to gain a vantage position with respect to their field and conduct seminal research.FindingsThe results help to profile the INK production in IHRM and provide important insights with implications for current and future research directions of IHRM studies for management scholars and practitioners.Originality/valueThis study examines the status of contemporary IHRM research over the last decade. This study examines the status of contemporary IHRM research over the last decade. With Social Sciences Citation Index citation data from the top IHRM journal,International Journal of Human Resource Management, this study used citation and co-citation analysis to identify the most important publications, scholars, and research themes in the IHRM area, and then mapped the intellectual structure of IHRM studies.
The influence of learning style on satisfaction and learning effectiveness in the asynchronous web-based learning system
Authors: Cheng Fei-Fei , Chiu Chui-Chen , Wu Chin-Shan , Tsaih Der-Chian 
Published: October 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of user’s learning style (including accommodators, divergers, convergers, and assimilators) on user’s satisfaction on the web-based learning system and their learning effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachThis experimental research used the college students from a technology institute in Taiwan as the subject sources. By using the Kolb’s learning style model, the students are classified as four types of learners: convergers, divergers, assimilators, and accommodators. The authors analyzed the relationships among the different learning styles with their effectiveness of learning and satisfaction of using the web-based learning system. The mediation effect of gender is also presented.FindingsThis research indicates that: first, the satisfaction of the web-based learning system has significant influence on the learning performance of learners; second, different learning styles learners have no significant effect to the satisfaction on using the web-based learning system; third, learning effectiveness has significant difference among different learning style learners on the web-based learning system; the learning effectiveness of accommodators and divergers was significantly higher than the assimilators; fourth, different learning styles learners show significant difference in gender proportion. In addition to accommodators, whose proportion of women is higher than men, the other three learning styles’ proportions in men are higher than women.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was grounded in the Kolb’s learning style theory. The authors provide implications for academic studies in e-learning research stream that aimed at understanding the role of learning style as well as gender differences in the asynchronous web-based learning system.Practical implicationsResults from this study provided the implications for students, educators, and e-learning system designers. The design of teaching materials as well as functions of e-learning systems should take learners’ learning style into consideration to ensure the best learning outcome.Originality/valueThis study examined the students’ learning style as well as gender differences in the asynchronous web-based learning system. An experiment was conducted to ensure the data were collected in a controlled environment, thus, offer the value that most of the prior study lacks.
Arterial Perfusion—A Useful Technique for Evaluating Incised Wounds
Authors: Langlois Neil E. I. , Byard Roger W. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractA 54‐year‐old woman was found deceased with incised wounds of both sides of her neck and both wrists. Postmortem CT scanning revealed air in the heart and in the dural veins in continuity with air in the right jugular vein. Death was due to incised wounds of the wrist and neck with blood loss and air embolism. The manner of death was suicide. At autopsy, perfusion of the thoracic ascending aorta produced a fine stream of water emanating from an incised wound of the right ulnar artery with no significant leakage of water from the wound of the left wrist. There was also leakage from the facial artery branch of the right external carotid artery. Perfusion testing can be used as a screening test prior to formal dissection and also to identify small vessels that may not be obvious on standard examination of an exsanguinated field.
Two‐Stage Basilic Vein Transposition: Second Stage Results
Authors: Rego Duarte , Nogueira Clara , Matos António , Almeida Paulo , Queirós José , Silva Fernanda , Sousa Clemente , Almeida Rui 
Published: October 2017

AbstractThe increasing survival of hemodialysis patients results in the depletion of superficial venous capital justifying the use of the basilic vein. Many groups still prefer an arteriovenous graft due to transposition complexity and the time needed to achieve maturation. In this work we review the results of our series of basilic vein transpositions (BVT). BVTs were performed in two stages: first, creation of the fistula; second, transposition of the vein using three small incisions in the arm. All patients had to have direct arterialization of the basilic vein, therefore, patients with previous ipsilateral wrist fistulas also followed a two‐stage protocol. Data were retrospectively revised from all transposition procedures made between September 2005 and November 2012. Patency and complication rates were the primary outcomes evaluated. A total of 276 basilic veins were transposed. Usage rate was 82.2%. 8% (N = 22) of the fistulas were never used due to thrombosis. Secondary patency rates at 1 and 2 years were, respectively, 84% and 66.3%. Complications occurred in 61.6% (N = 170) of fistulas and 65.9% (N = 112) of which had to undergo surgical or endovascular revision. The most frequent complication was vein stenosis (39.7% of late complications, N = 92). Albeit its greater technical complexity, the transposed basilic vein represents a hemodialysis access with good patency rates. Complication rates, although high, are less than those of CVC or prosthetic grafts. These results support the use of the transposed basilic vein as hemodialysis access after the brachiocephalic fistula.