bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Large protein complex production using the SmartBac System - Strategies and Applications
Authors: Zhai Yujia , Zhang Danyang , Yu Leiye , Sun Fang , Sun Fei 
Published: November 2017

ABSTRACTRecent revolution of cryo-electron microscopy has opened a new door to solve high-resolution structures of macromolecule complexes without crystallization while how to efficiently obtain homogenous macromolecule complex sample is therefore becoming a bottleneck. Here we report SmartBac, an easy and versatile system for constructing large-sized transfer plasmids used to generate recombinant baculoviruses that express large multiprotein complexes in insect cells. The SmartBac system integrates the univector plasmid-fusion system, Gibson assembly method and polyprotein strategy to construct the final transfer plasmids. The fluorescent proteins are designed to be co-expressed with recombinant proteins to monitor transfection and expression efficiencies. A scheme of screening an optimal tagged subunit for effective purification is provided. Six large multiprotein complexes including the human exocyst complex and dynactin complex were successfully expressed, suggesting a great potential of SmartBac for its wide application in the future structural biology study.
Species abundance plays a dominant role in local and regional extinctions in freshwater communities and allows the identification of selective extinctions
Authors: Almeida Ryan J. , Biro Elizabeth G. , Woods Lauren M. , Smith Kevin G. 
Published: November 2017

ABSTRACTRecent declines in global biodiversity emphasize that understanding the factors that determine extinction risk should be a priority for ecologists and conservation biologists. A key question is whether extinctions are nonrandom and selective, in which case knowledge of selectivity may help predict and prevent future extinction. We suggest, however, that a premature focus on the identification of selective, trait-based determinants of extinctions risk is problematic if the potential importance of stochastic extinction processes are not first considered. Within this context we aimed to determine the roles that stochastic extinction and species abundance play in extinction risk by applying a rarefaction-based null model approach to analyzing biodiversity declines and extinctions in an experimental system. We focused on aquatic macroinvertebrate declines and extinction caused by predation by fish (Lepomis cyanellus) in semi-natural freshwater mesocosms. We found that null-predicted local extirpations based on the random loss of individuals were a significant predictor of observed local extirpations, and that the majority of observed extinctions were consistent with stochastic mechanisms of extinction, as predicted by a rarefaction model. We were able to identify a number of selective extinctions that were not predicted by the rarefaction model, and while these were relatively rare, they contributed to greater-than-expected loss of diversity at both local (mesocosm) and regional (whole experiment) spatial scales. Our results confirm that species abundance and occupancy are among the most important factors in identifying extinction risk in response to a disturbance. Moreover, owing to our use of a stochastic null model, we also conclude that measures of abundance are important indicators of extinction probability because they are operated on by the random loss of individuals, suggesting that stochastic extinction is an important process in this system and in biodiversity loss in general.
Exports-performance relationship in Russian manufacturing companies
Authors: Bykova Anna , Lopez-Iturriaga Felix 
Published: November 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between export activity and firm performance for a positive impact of foreign direct investments (FDIs). The authors also analyze two possible causes of the effect: technology transfer and financial support. The theoretical background is rooted in the resource-based approach taking into account multinational companies’ perspective and the specifics of emerging markets.Design/methodology/approachThe authors propose testable hypotheses based on a review of the theory. To test the hypotheses, the authors build a sample of over 500 Russian public manufacturing firms covering the period from 2004 to 2014 and estimate regression models. Given concerns about endogeneity, the instrumental variable approach for panel data, using the GMM-estimator, is implemented.FindingsConsistent with the view that FDIs generate spillover effects, the results support the positive impact of foreign ownership on the link between exports and firms’ performance. The results underline the importance of foreign ownership: shareholders from developed countries can provide benefits to exporting companies through transferring advanced technologies and loosening financial constraints by lowering interest and raising availability of bank loans.Originality/valueThe authors provide new insights on the relationship between exports and firm performance. Given our focus on Russia, a market with high potential to draw foreign investments, the research sheds some light on how emerging country firms can benefit from having foreign shareholders with paying attention to geographical distribution of such investments. Specifically, through the overcoming of technological barriers and loosening of financial constraints, the authors show empirically that foreign capital can make up for weak local institutional infrastructure and enhance the company’s returns from internationalization.
Prediction and improvement of labor productivity using hybrid system dynamics and agent-based modeling approach
Authors: Khanzadi Mostafa , Nasirzadeh Farnad , Mir Mostafa , Nojedehi Pouya 
Published: November 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a hybrid simulation approach for predicting the value of labor productivity taking account of various continuous influencing factors and the interactions between different agents involved in the project.

Design/methodology/approach
The various continuous factors affecting labor productivity are simulated using system dynamics (SD). The heterogeneity of different agents involved in the project and their interactions is accounted using agent-based modelling (ABM). The developed ABM and SD models are finally integrated to simulate the value of labor productivity taking account of all the influencing factors.

Findings
The proposed hybrid simulation tool is implemented in a real project to evaluate its perfomance. The value of labor productivity is simulated by taking account of all the influencing factors. The most appropriate execution strategy is then selected using the developed hybrid SD-ABM approach to improve productivity. It is shown that the number of working groups and their movement patterns affect the severity of the groups’ interferences which will in turn affect the value of labor productivity.

Practical implications
This research helps project managers to predict and improve the value of labor productivity taking account of all the influencing factors.

Originality/value
It is believed that the proposed hybrid SD-ABM simulation approach offers a novel and robust tool for modeling labor productivity because the effects of various continuous influencing factors and the interactions between different agents are taken into account through the combination of SD and ABM. Many complex problems faced in construction projects involve interacting elements of a different nature, and the integration of SD with ideas from ABM offers potential to combine the strengths of the two methodologies to solve the problem.
Design thinking: breaking fixation for new relationships between organizations
Authors: Lewis Mark , Hayward Scott , Hornyak Rob 
Published: November 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show how design thinking can be a useful approach for helping interorganizational partnerships create higher levels of value creation for both parties. By integrating concepts related to human cognition, contracts and performance, the authors show how interorganizational relationships often hit a brick wall. The authors show how they can break through such obstacles in a systematic way using design thinking.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors anchor their conceptual and prescriptive advice in a real-life case study between a large logistics company and a global technology firm. The case study was conducted over a multiyear period with many sources of data collected: interview data, observational, participant observation, archival presentations, etc.

Findings
The authors show the factors that lead to rigidity in interorganizational relationships over time, and the cycle of confirmation and exploitation that truly squeezes the life out of relationships if firms are not careful. They offer a prescriptive approach for addressing this issue that should be valuable for many firms across the globe.

Research limitations/implications
The study is based on a single-case study, so generalizability is always an issue. However, we think that most practicing managers who have been involved (in any way) with managing an interorganizational relationship will attest to the fact that they often experience the patterns that the authors illuminate in their study.

Practical implications
By applying the design thinking methodology within the context of interorganizational relationships, managers will help their firms break fixation and enter entirely new plateaus of value creation for both firms.

Social implications
The world of work occurs through partnerships and relationships, companies rarely “go it alone”. Thus, developing the capacities in managers to continuously assess relationship efficacy, break from inertia and discover new ways of creating value will lead to positive social implications. Additionally, the design thinking methodology is based on developing empathy for others, and the authors would argue that such capabilities are sorely needed in this world.

Originality/value
There is a lot of work on interorganizational partnerships, but an absence of help for practicing managers on how to make such relationships great. Grounded in a real-life case study, this paper provides practical contributions to those currently managing such relationships.
Correcting the Count: Improving Vital Statistics Data Regarding Deaths Related to Obesity
Authors: McCleskey Brandi C. , Davis Gregory G. , Dye Daniel W. 
Published: November 2017

AbstractObesity can involve any organ system and compromise the overall health of an individual, including premature death. Despite the increased risk of death associated with being obese, obesity itself is infrequently indicated on the death certificate. We performed an audit of our records to identify how often “obesity” was listed on the death certificate to determine how our practices affected national mortality data collection regarding obesity‐related mortality. During the span of nearly 25 years, 0.2% of deaths were attributed to or contributed by obesity. Over the course of 5 years, 96% of selected natural deaths were likely underreported as being associated with obesity. We present an algorithm for certifiers to use to determine whether obesity should be listed on the death certificate and guidelines for certifying cases in which this is appropriate. Use of this algorithm will improve vital statistics concerning the role of obesity in causing or contributing to death.
Factors associated with oral health‐related quality of life in patients with diabetes
Authors: Azogui‐Lévy S , Dray‐Spira R , Attal S , Hartemann A , Anagnostou F , Azerad J 
Published: November 2017

AbstractBackgroundOral pathologies are prevalent in diabetes, and they may affect the quality of life and patient's perception of their oral health. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors associated with oral health‐related quality of life of patients with diabetes.MethodsA cross sectional study was conducted involving 316 patients visiting a hospital diabetic unit. Sociodemographic, oral and medical care data were recorded, and a General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) questionnaire was completed. A multivariable analysis was performed.ResultsOf the 316 study participants, 61.7% had type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and 20.5% had poorly controlled diabetes. Forty‐five percent had at least one oral complication, 55% had visited a dentist within the past year and 67% reported having poor oral health and 281 answered the GOHAI questionnaire. A low GOHAI score (≤50) was obtained for 24.6% of the patients and was associated with T2DM, poorer oral health, dry mouth sensation and use of a removable prosthesis.ConclusionsOral health status was poorer and had a negative effect on the quality of life among patients with T2DM, possibly contributing to poorly balanced nutrition.
Discussion Of “Quantifying Publication Bias in Meta-analysis” by Lin Et Al.
Authors: Schmid Christopher H. 
Published: November 2017

Summary
Inspection and analysis of funnel plots cannot reliably identify publication and reporting bias, the non-publication of results that are not statistically significant. Instead, researchers should thoroughly and systematically search available information sources such as databases, registries and unpublished reports. Even then, it is not possible to ever know whether a systematic review has uncovered all available studies, but the search can inform attempts to construct plausible statistical models of the missing data mechanism.
The novel, potent and highly selective 5‐HT4receptor agonist YH12852 significantly improves both upper and lower gastrointestinal motility
Authors: Jeong Eun Jeong , Chung Soo Yong , Hong Han Na , Oh Se‐Woong , Sim Jae Young 
Published: November 2017

Background and Purpose5‐HT4receptor agonists have been shown to be effective at treating various gastrointestinal tract disorders. However, a lack of selectivity against off‐targets has been a limiting factor for their clinical use.Experimental ApproachThe binding affinity and selectivity of YH12852 for human 5‐HT4(a)receptor in CHO‐K1 cells were evaluated using radioligand binding assays, and agonistic activity was assessed using a β‐lactamase reporter system. Contractile activity and propulsive motility were measured in the guinea pig isolated distal colon. Its prokinetic effect on the gastrointestinal tract was evaluated in guinea pigs, dogs and monkeys. Its tissue distribution was evaluated in rats.Key ResultsYH12852 exhibited high affinity and potency for human recombinant 5‐HT4(a)receptor with high selectivity over other 5‐HT and non‐5‐HT receptors, ion channels, enzymes and transporters. YH12852 induced contractions and increased propulsive motility in guinea pig isolated colon. These effects were abolished by the 5‐HT4receptor antagonist GR113808. YH12852 increased defecation more effectively than prucalopride in guinea pigs and dogs and improved gastric emptying more effectively than mosapride in guinea pigs, dogs and monkeys. YH12852 was highly distributed to the gastrointestinal tract as the target organ.Conclusion and ImplicationsThe highin vitropotency and selectivity of YH12852 for 5‐HT4receptor translated into potentin vivoefficacy with good tolerability. YH12852 significantly improved both upper and lower bowel motility in the animal models tested and has the potential to address considerable unmet needs in patients with functional constipation, gastroparesis or both.
In silico ligand‐based modeling of hBACE‐1 inhibitors
Authors: Subramanian Govindan , Poda Gennady 
Published: November 2017

Alzheimer's disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease affecting more than 30 million people worldwide. Development of small molecule inhibitors of human β‐secretase 1 (hBACE‐1) is being the focus of pharmaceutical industry for the past 15–20 years. Here, we successfully applied multiple ligand‐based in silico modeling techniques to understand the inhibitory activities of a diverse set of small molecule hBACE‐1 inhibitors reported in the scientific literature. Strikingly, the use of only a small subset of 230 (13%) molecules allowed us to develop quality models that performed reasonably well on the validation set of 1,476 (87%) inhibitors. Varying the descriptor sets and the complexity of the modeling techniques resulted in only minor improvements to the model's performance. The current results demonstrate that predictive models can be built by choosing appropriate modeling techniques in spite of using small datasets consisting of diverse chemical classes, a scenario typical in triaging of high‐throughput screening results to identify false negatives. We hope that these encouraging results will help the community to develop more predictive models that would support research efforts for the debilitating Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, the integrated diversity of the techniques employed will stimulate scientists in the field to use in silico statistical modeling techniques like these to derive better models to help advance the drug discovery projects faster.
Exposing ecological and economic costs of the research‐implementation gap and compromises in decision making
Authors: Kareksela Santtu , Moilanen Atte , Ristaniemi Olli , Välivaara Reima , Kotiaho Janne S. 
Published: November 2017

AbstractThe frequently discussed gap between conservation science and practice is manifest in the gap between spatial conservation prioritization plans and their implementation. We analyzed the research‐implementation gap of one zoning case by comparing results of a spatial prioritization analysis aimed at avoiding ecological impact of peat mining in a regional zoning process with the final zoning plan. We examined the relatively complex planning process to determine the gaps among research, zoning, and decision making. We quantified the ecological costs of the differing trade‐offs between ecological and socioeconomic factors included in the different zoning suggestions by comparing the landscape‐level loss of ecological features (species occurrences, habitat area, etc.) between the different solutions for spatial allocation of peat mining. We also discussed with the scientists and planners the reasons for differing zoning suggestions. The implemented plan differed from the scientists suggestion in that its focus was individual ecological features rather than all the ecological features for which there were data; planners and decision makers considered effects of peat mining on areas not included in the prioritization analysis; zoning was not truly seen as a resource‐allocation process and not emphasized in general minimizing ecological losses while satisfying economic needs (peat‐mining potential); and decision makers based their prioritization of sites on site‐level information showing high ecological value and on single legislative factors instead of finding a cost‐effective landscape‐level solution. We believe that if the zoning and decision‐making processes are very complex, then the usefulness of science‐based prioritization tools is likely to be reduced. Nevertheless, we found that high‐end tools were useful in clearly exposing trade‐offs between conservation and resource utilization.
Islet transplantation as safe and efficacious method to restore glycemic control and to avoid severe hypoglycemia after donor organ failure in pancreas transplantation
Authors: Gerber Philipp A. , Hochuli Michel , Benediktsdottir Bara D. , Zuellig Richard A. , Tschopp Oliver , Glenck Michael , de Rougemont Olivier , Oberkofler Christian , Spinas Giatgen A. , Lehmann Roger 
Published: November 2017

AbstractThe aim of this study was to assess safety and efficacy of islet transplantation after initial pancreas transplantation with subsequent organ failure. Patients undergoing islet transplantation at our institution after pancreas organ failure were compared to a control group of patients with pancreas graft failure, but without islet transplantation and to a group receiving pancreas retransplantation. Ten patients underwent islet transplantation after initial pancreas transplantation failed and were followed for a median of 51 months. The primary end point of HbA1c <7.0% and freedom of severe hypoglycemia was met by nine of 10 patients after follow‐up after islet transplantation and in all three patients in the pancreas retransplantation group, but by none of the patients in the group without retransplantation (n = 7). Insulin requirement was reduced by 50% after islet transplantation. Kidney function (eGFR) declined with a rate of ‐1.0 mL ± 1.2 mL/min/1.73 m2 per year during follow‐up after islet transplantation, which tended to be slower than in the group without retransplantation (P = .07). Islet transplantation after deceased donor pancreas transplant failure is a method that can safely improve glycemic control and reduce the incidence of severe hypoglycemia and thus establish similar glycemic control as after initial pancreas transplantation, despite the need of additional exogenous insulin.
Association of Eucalyptus globulus leaf anatomy with susceptibility to Teratosphaeria leaf disease
Authors: Smith A. H. , Potts B. M. , Ratkowsky D. A. , Pinkard E. A. , Mohammed C. L. 
Published: November 2017

SummaryResistance of Eucalyptus globulus juvenile foliage to Teratosphaeria leaf disease (TLD) damage has been shown to be under genetic control. Constitutive traits of juvenile leaves such as stomatal density (counted with wax on and with wax removed), total phenolics, total leaf wax, leaf mass per area (LMA) and leaf anatomical features were assessed to determine differences between pairs of resistant and susceptible families. Anatomic features assessed included cuticle, epidermis, palisade spongy mesophyll and total leaf thickness, as well as palisade cell size, shape and intercellular airspace. One interprovenance, one intraprovenance and two within‐family contrasts were used to compare resistant and susceptible pairs of families of Australian origin. The more resistant families had a significantly higher LMA and smaller percentage airspace compared with susceptible families. It is argued that one of the mechanisms by which E. globulus resists TLD involves the closely packed palisade mesophyll cells that increases LMA and reduces airspace, thereby restricting pathogen spread once infection has occurred.