bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Molecular Dynamics Simulations Reveal the Mechanisms of Allosteric Activation of Hsp90 by Designed Ligands
Authors: Vettoretti Gerolamo , Moroni Elisabetta , Sattin Sara , Tao Jiahui , Agard David A. , Bernardi Anna , Colombo Giorgio 
Published: April 2016

AbstractControlling biochemical pathways through chemically designed modulators may provide novel opportunities to develop therapeutic drugs and chemical tools. The underlying challenge is to design new molecular entities able to act as allosteric chemical switches that selectively turn on/off functions by modulating the conformational dynamics of their target protein. We examine the origins of the stimulation of ATPase and closure kinetics in the molecular chaperone Hsp90 by allosteric modulators through atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and analysis of protein-ligand interactions. In particular, we focus on the cross-talk between allosteric ligands and protein conformations and its effect on the dynamic properties of the chaperone’s active state. We examine the impact of different allosteric modulators on the stability, structural and internal dynamics properties of Hsp90 closed state. A critical aspect of this study is the development of a quantitative model that correlates Hsp90 activation to the presence of a certain compound, making use of information on the dynamic adaptation of protein conformations to the presence of the ligand, which allows to capture conformational states relevant in the activation process. We discuss the implications of considering the conformational dialogue between allosteric ligands and protein conformations for the design of new functional modulators.
Age-specific percentile-based reference curve of serum procalcitonin concentrations in Japanese preterm infants
Authors: Fukuzumi Noriko , Osawa Kayo , Sato Itsuko , Iwatani Sota , Ishino Ruri , Hayashi Nobuhide , Iijima Kazumoto , Saegusa Jun , Morioka Ichiro 
Published: April 2016

AbstractProcalcitonin (PCT) levels are elevated early after birth in newborn infants; however, the physiological features and reference of serum PCT concentrations have not been fully studied in preterm infants. The aims of the current study were to establish an age-specific percentile-based reference curve of serum PCT concentrations in preterm infants and determine the features. The PCT concentration peaked in infants at 1 day old and decreased thereafter. At 1 day old, serum PCT concentrations in preterm infants <34 weeks’ gestational age were higher than those in late preterm infants between 34 and 36 weeks’ gestational age or term infants ≥37 weeks’ gestational age. Although the 50-percentile value in late preterm and term infants reached the adult normal level (0.1 ng/mL) at 5 days old, it did not in preterm infants. It took 9 weeks for preterm infants to reach it. Serum PCT concentrations at onset in late-onset infected preterm infants were over the 95-percentile value. We showed that the physiological feature in preterm infants was significantly different from that in late preterm infants, even in those <37 weeks’ gestational age. To detect late-onset bacterial infection and sepsis, an age-specific percentile-based reference curve may be useful in preterm infants.
Circular polarization sensitive absorbers based on graphene
Authors: Yang Kunpeng , Wang Min , Pu Mingbo , Wu Xiaoyu , Gao Hui , Hu Chenggang , Luo Xiangang 
Published: April 2016

AbstractIt is well known that the polarization of a linearly polarized (LP) light would rotate after passing through a single layer graphene under the bias of a perpendicular magnetostatic field. Here we show that a corresponding phase shift could be expected for circularly polarized (CP) light, which can be engineered to design the circular polarization sensitive devices. We theoretically validate that an ultrathin graphene-based absorber with the thickness about λ/76 can be obtained, which shows efficient absorption >90% within incident angles of ±80°. The angle-independent phase shift produced by the graphene is responsible for the nearly omnidirectional absorber. Furthermore, a broadband absorber in frequencies ranging from 2.343 to 5.885 THz with absorption over 90% is designed by engineering the dispersion of graphene.
Granuphilin exclusively mediates functional granule docking to the plasma membrane
Authors: Mizuno Kouichi , Fujita Takuji , Gomi Hiroshi , Izumi Tetsuro 
Published: April 2016

AbstractIn regulated exocytosis, it is generally assumed that vesicles must stably “dock” at the plasma membrane before they are primed to become fusion-competent. However, recent biophysical analyses in living cells that visualize fluorescent secretory granules have revealed that exocytic behaviors are not necessarily uniform: some granules beneath the plasma membrane are resistant to Ca2+ -triggered release, while others are accelerated to fuse without a pause for stable docking. These findings suggest that stable docking is unnecessary and can even be inhibitory or nonfunctional, for fusion. Consistently, pancreatic β cells deficient in the Rab27 effector, granuphilin, lack insulin granules directly attached to the plasma membrane in electron micrographs but nevertheless exhibit augmented exocytosis. Here we directly compare the exocytic behaviors between granuphilin-positive and -negative insulin granules. Although granuphilin makes granules immobile and fusion-reluctant beneath the plasma membrane, those granuphilin-positive, docked granules release a portion of granuphilin upon fusion and fuse at a frequency and time course similar to those of granuphilin-negative undocked granules. Furthermore, granuphilin forms a 180-nm cluster at the site of each docked granule, along with granuphilin-interacting Rab27a and Munc18-1 clusters. These findings indicate that granuphilin is an exclusive component of the functional and fusion-inhibitory docking machinery of secretory granules.
Eplerenone restores 24-h blood pressure circadian rhythm and reduces advanced glycation end-products in rhesus macaques with spontaneous hypertensive metabolic syndrome
Authors: Zhang Yan , Zheng Wen , Liu Yuli , Wang Jue , Peng Ying , Shang Haibao , Hou Ning , Hu Xiaomin , Ding Yi , Xiao Yao , Wang Can , Zeng Fanxin , Mao Jiaming , Zhang Jun , Ma Dongwei , Sun Xueting , Li Chuanyun , Xiao Rui-Ping , Zhang Xiuqin 
Published: April 2016

AbstractHypertension is often associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and serves as a risk factor of MetS and its complications. Blood pressure circadian rhythm in hypertensive patients has been suggested to contribute to cardiovascular consequences and organ damage of hypertension. But circadian changes of BP and their response to drugs have not been clearly investigated in non-human primates (NHPs) of MetS with hypertension. Here, we identified 16 elderly, hypertensive MetS rhesus monkeys from our in-house cohort. With implanted telemetry, we investigate BP changes and its circadian rhythm, together with the effect of antihypertensive drugs on BP and its diurnal fluctuation. MetS hypertensive monkeys displayed higher BP, obesity, glucose intolerance and dyslipidemia. We also confirmed impaired 24-h BP circadian rhythm in MetS hypertensive monkeys. Importantly, Eplerenone, a mineralocorticoid receptor blocker, exerts multiple beneficial effects in MetS hypertensive monkeys, including BP reduction, 24-h BP circadian rhythm restoration and decreased plasma concentration of inflammation factors and advanced glycation end-products. In summary, we identified a naturally-developed hypertensive MetS NHP model, which is of great value in the studies on pathogenesis of MetS-associated hypertension and development of novel therapeutic strategies. We also provided multiple novel mechanistic insights of the beneficial effect of Eplerenone on MetS with hypertension.
Land claim and loss of tidal flats in the Yangtze Estuary
Authors: Chen Ying , Dong Jinwei , Xiao Xiangming , Zhang Min , Tian Bo , Zhou Yunxuan , Li Bo , Ma Zhijun 
Published: April 2016

AbstractTidal flats play a critical role in supporting biodiversity and in providing ecosystem services but are rapidly disappearing because of human activities. The Yangtze Estuary is one of the world’s largest alluvial estuaries and is adjacent to the most developed economic zone in China. Using the Yangtze Estuary as a study region, we developed an automatic algorithm to estimate tidal flat areas based on the Land Surface Water Index and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. The total area of tidal flats in the Yangtze Estuary has decreased by 36% over the past three decades, including a 38% reduction in saltmarshes and a 31% reduction in barren mudflats. Meanwhile, land claim has accumulated to 1077 km2, a value that exceeds the area of the remaining tidal flats. We divided the Yangtze Estuary into Shanghai and Jiangsu areas, which differ in riverine sediment supply and tidal flat management patterns. Although land claim has accelerated in both areas, the decline in tidal flat area has been much greater in Jiangsu than in Shanghai because of abundant supplies of sediment and artificial siltation in the latter area. The results highlight the need for better coastal planning and management based on tidal flat dynamics.
Perpetuating Britishness
Authors: Crawford Ewan 
Published: April 2016

In 1999 a devolved Scottish Parliament was established within the United Kingdom following a referendum two years earlier. The current governing party in that Parliament – the SNP – held a referendum on Scottish independence in September 2014, which resulted in a decision to stay within the UK. However, during the referendum campaign promises were made by the main UK parties to transfer further power away from the British Parliament at Westminster to the Scottish Parliament in the hope this would satisfy demands for greater self-government in Scotland. This paper analyses the rhetoric of the leaders of Britain’s two main political parties in an effort to detect strategies used to construct and perpetuate Britishness in the context of devolution and a threat to the British state. It finds a number of discursive strategies deployed to promote unity and difference to (non-British) others. It also suggests the apparent need by British political leaders to deploy such British-constructivist strategies involves avoiding even acknowledging the reality of a major constitutional reform such as devolution and therefore political difference between the nations of the UK.
Epitope mapping and identification of amino acids critical for mouse IgG-binding to linear epitopes on Gly m Bd 28K
Authors: Xi Jun , Yan Huili 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
Gly m Bd 28K is one of the major allergens in soybeans, but there is limited information on its IgG-binding epitopes. Thirty-four overlapping peptides that covered the entire sequence of Gly m Bd 28K were synthesized, and 3 monoclonal antibodies against Gly m Bd 28K were utilized to identify the IgG-binding regions of Gly m Bd 28K. Three dominant peptides corresponding to 28GDKKSPKSLFLMSNS42(G28-S42), 56LKSHGGRIFYRHMHI70(L56-I70), and 154ETFQSFYIGGGANSH168(E154-H168) were recognized. L56-I70 is the most important epitope, and a competitive ELISA indicated that it could inhibit the binding of monoclonal antibody to Gly m Bd 28K protein. Alanine scanning of L56-I70 documented that F64, Y65, and R66 were the critical amino acids of this epitope. Two bioinformatics tools, ABCpred and BepiPred, were used to predict the epitopes of Gly m Bd 28K, and the predictions were compared with the epitopes that we had located by monoclonal antibodies.
Role of explosive instabilities in high-β disruptions in tokamaks
Authors: Aydemir A.Y. , Lee H.H. , Lee S.G. , Seol J. , Park B.H. , In Y.K. 
Published: April 2016

Abstract
Intrinsically explosive growth of a ballooning finger is demonstrated in nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic calculations of high-β disruptions in tokamaks. The explosive finger is formed by an ideally unstable n  =  1 mode, dominated by an m/n  =  2/1 component. The quadrupole geometry of the 2/1 perturbed pressure field provides a generic mechanism for the formation of the initial ballooning finger and its subsequent transition from exponential to explosive growth, without relying on secondary processes. The explosive ejection of the hot plasma from the core and stochastization of the magnetic field occur on Alfvénic time scales, accounting for the extremely fast growth of the precursor oscillations and the rapidity of the thermal quench in some high-β disruptions.
System model for analysing construction labour productivity
Authors: Tsehayae Abraham Assefa , Fayek Aminah Robinson 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
Despite long-term, sustained research and industry practice, predicting construction labour productivity (CLP) using existing factor and activity modelling approaches remains a challenge. The purpose of this paper is to first demonstrate the limited usefulness of activity models and then to propose a system model approach that integrates factor and activity models for better prediction of CLP.

Design/methodology/approach
The system model parameters – comprising factors and practices – and work sampling proportions (WSPs) were identified from literature. Field data were collected from 11 projects over a span of 29 months. Activity models based on the relationship between CLP and WSPs were created, and their validity was tested using regression analysis for eight activities in the concreting, electrical and shutdown categories. The proposed system model was developed for concreting activity using the key influencing parameters in conjunction with WSPs.

Findings
The results of the regression analysis indicate that WSPs, like direct work, are not significantly correlated to CLP and fail to explain its variance. Evaluation of the system model approach for the concreting activity showed improved CLP prediction as compared to existing approaches.

Research limitations/implications
The system model was tested for concreting activity using data collected from six projects; however, further investigation into the model’s accuracy and efficacy using data collected from other labour-intensive activities is suggested.

Originality/value
This research establishes the role of WSPs in CLP modelling, and develops a system modelling approach to assist researchers and practitioners in the analysis of productivity-influencing parameters together with WSPs.
Reflecting on 10 years of focus on innovation, organisational learning and knowledge management literature in a construction project management context
Authors: Walker Derek H.T. 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
This paper provides a brief critical analysis of how the focus on innovation diffusion, organisational learning and knowledge management has developed with an emphasis on the 2005-2015 period. The purpose of this paper is to provide a recent historic perspective on these concepts and suggest an integrated future focus for this research.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies trends in how knowledge and learning is associated with innovation and experience based on a literature review.

Findings
The study of organisational learning and the management of knowledge and innovation diffusion is well-established in the construction and project management domains with two strongly emerging intertwined foci. On one hand, there has been a significant growing focus on learning through collaboration and the value of being a reflective practitioner. On the other hand, the exponential growth in the power of computing has led to “Big Data” reappearing to redefine data and information into pseudo-knowledge that is “blurring” the boundary of data, information and knowledge. Increasingly, we are likely to see effective innovation through more practical blending of these foci.

Originality/value
This provides a reflection on changing perspectives, on human and machine learning and knowledge management that may have a profound impact on future research themes.
Exploring the influence of individual and academic differences on the placement participation rate among international students
Authors: Crawford Ian , Wang Zhiqi , Andrews Georgina 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the low placement participation rate among international students compared with UK students, by examining the impact of individual factors such as gender and domicile and academic achievement such as prior academic qualification, prior academic results and subsequent academic results on students’ choices of degree programmes as well as their graduation status.

Design/methodology/approach
– This study adopts a quantitative approach by using 268 accounting and finance students in a UK university.

Findings
– The analyses show that UK students on entry are 35 per cent more likely than international students to choose a degree programme with a placement module after controlling for individual and academic differences. Among females, international students who switch to a degree without placement following entry significantly and statistically underperformed their UK counterparts who complete a degree with placement from the first year onwards. This trend is not observable among male students. Instead, male students who select and graduate with a degree without placement are the worst performers, regardless of their nationalities.

Research limitations/implications
– The quantitative data used here are collected in a UK institution so the results reported here may lack generalisability.

Practical implications
– International students need to know more about the benefits of undertaking placements on their academic performance and the development of generic skills before entry. Moreover, UK universities need to provide more assistance to international students, especially females about how to secure placements and how to widen their search for potential placements.

Originality/value
– To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explain the low participation rate among international students in UK higher education.
Towards an integrated approach to the recognition of professional competence and academic learning
Authors: Bravenboer Darryll , Lester Stan 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to discuss the benefits of reclaiming the idea of professional competence and challenges fragmented approaches to academic qualification and professional recognition. It is argued that academic programmes that are integrated with the requirements for professional recognition can resolve the potentially unhelpful differentiation between “theory” and “practice” and between “knowledge” and “competence”.

Design/methodology/approach
– Three contextualised case studies are presented to demonstrate a range of possibilities for developing academic programmes that integrate professional competence in the fields of construction, aviation and management.

Findings
– It is argued that the examples described provide some evidence that where competence is conceived of as a matter of open on-going professional development, it can be effectively integrated and aligned with the intended outcomes of academic qualifications. Furthermore, that the examples described demonstrate that the idea of professional competence can operate to ground knowledge in practice contexts and ensure that professional values are positioned as a requirement of being qualified.

Originality/value
– The diversity of the examples provided across three distinct sectors illustrate the potential for wider curriculum development opportunities for higher education practitioners. The need to align professional body recognition with academic qualification for higher and degree apprenticeships may also indicate significant implications for policy in this area. The cases presented provide evidence that academic qualifications can be developed that are at the same time recognised by employers as delivering a professionally competent workforce. This kind of development activity can provide both an incentive for employers to pay for education and training and opening opportunities for career progression for those in work.
An interdisciplinary exploration of collegiate internships
Authors: Hoyle Jeffrey , Deschaine Mark Edward 
Published: April 2016

Purpose– Collegiate internships play an important role in the development of professionals. They provide students the opportunity to experience real world expectations embedded within actual vocational environments under the support of their collegiate faculty. Although there are a number of common reasons why internships are utilized in each academic area, the requirements for the experiences are substantially different across disciplines and level of coursework. The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the commonalities and differences that exist for internships across collegiate academic disciplines at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and identify their salience for programs from an interdisciplinary perspective.Design/methodology/approach– For this conceptual piece, the authors took an introspective qualitative look at both programs and compared and contrasted them based on internally available documentation and information. Although this was theoretical in nature, the authors utilized materials available for certification and accreditation purposes for each of their programs. Multiple data sources were stakeholder interviews and conversations, site visits/observations, and site artifacts/documents.Findings– The authors found a great deal of both similarity and dissimilarity across programs, and these findings were utilized as grounds for programmatic introspection, evaluation, accreditation, and certification to better understand how stakeholder voice is involved in the processes. Table I provides an overview of items identified, and will serve as a guide for the remainder of this paper.Originality/value– An inclusive awareness will consider the voices of the student, university, employer, and other stakeholders, including co-workers and employers that currently do not offer internships. Given the rising cost of tuition and the wealth of competition in the market, the pressure is on for institutions of higher education to up the ante when it comes to providing quality experiential learning opportunities. The next step should focus on defining expectations and tailoring each internship program, and for that to be accomplished, all stakeholders must be “all in.”