bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Generation of Repeater F Waves in Healthy Subjects
Authors: Chroni Elisabeth , Veltsista Dimitra , Papapaulou Chris , Trachani Eftychia 
Published: November 2016

Purpose:
F waves identical in latency, size, and shape, known as repeater F waves, have been observed occasionally in normal motor conduction recordings. The purpose of this study was to examine the occurrence and characteristics of repeater F waves in healthy subjects under different testing conditions, aiming to selectively excite lower and higher threshold motor fibers.

Methods:
Sessions of 40 traces were recorded from the ulnar nerve in 12 volunteers, applying/using supramaximal, submaximal stimuli (intensity able to elicit 30% and 60% of the maximum compound muscle action potential amplitude), and a collision technique. Repeater F waves were identified and their numbers and relative frequency were estimated. For this purpose, a custom-designed software program was developed, to avoid misjudgments of simple visual inspection.

Results:
Repeater occurrence was significantly higher using 30% submaximal intensity compared with the standard supramaximal stimulation. There was an inverse significant association between repeater index and overall F wave quantity. Repeaters' latency, amplitude, and duration measurements were within the ranges of the nonrepeaters.

Conclusions:
We herein showed that in healthy subjects the presence of repeater F waves might increase, when stimulation conditions other than standard single, supramaximal impulses were used. The frequency of repeaters was dependent on the overall F wave persistence, but there was no evidence to support a relationship with the type of motoneurons that was preferentially stimulated.
Ultrasound-Guided Electrodes for Conduction Studies of the Saphenous Nerve
Authors: Evangelopoulos Maria E. , Humpert Sebastian , Rösler Kai M. 
Published: November 2016

Purpose:
Saphenous nerve conduction studies are difficult, because the nerve is hard to localize and evoked responses are small. Ultrasound imaging may assist in the accurate localization and optimal positioning of surface (SE) and needle electrodes (NE).

Methods:
The study population included 39 subjects and was divided into two groups. Group A consisted of 20 healthy subjects, whereas group B of 19 patients with polyneuropathies. Orthodromic conduction was measured by distal supramaximal nerve stimulation. Surface electrode and NE recordings were compared.

Results:
In the control group, SEs recorded responses in 17 of 20 healthy subjects, whereas NEs in 19. In the patients' group, SEs recorded responses in 7 of 19 patients, whereas NEs in 16. In all healthy subjects and patients, sensory nerve action potentials recorded by NEs were significantly larger than those obtained by SEs (healthy subjects: 5.85 ± 3.01 μV vs. 1.98 ± 1.37 μV, P < 0.0001; patients 3.05 ± 2.35 μV vs. 0.71 ± 1.14 μV, t-test P < 0.0001).

Conclusions:
Ultrasound guidance allows precise electrode positioning for saphenous nerve electrophysiological testing. Amplitudes of the recorded sensory nerve action potentials are clearly higher with ultrasound-guided needle than with surface recordings.
Antenatal maternal anxiety modulates the BOLD response in 20-year old adolescents during an endogenous cognitive control task
Authors: Mennes Maarten , Van den Bergh Bea R.H. , Sunaert Stefan , Lagae Lieven , Stiers Peter 
Published: November 2016

AbstractEvidence is building for an association between the level of anxiety experienced by a mother during pregnancy and the cognitive development of her offspring. The current study uses fMRI to examine whether there is an association between prenatal exposure to maternal anxiety and brain activity in 20 year old adolescents. In line with previous results of this follow-up study, it was found that adolescents of mothers reporting high levels of anxiety during weeks 12–22 of their pregnancy had a different pattern of decision making in a Gambling paradigm requiring endogenous cognitive control compared to adolescents of mothers reporting low to average levels of anxiety during pregnancy. Moreover, the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response in a number of prefrontal cortical areas was modulated by the level of antenatal maternal anxiety. In particular a number of right lateralized clusters including inferior frontal junction, that were modulated in the adolescents of mothers reporting low to average levels of anxiety during pregnancy by a task manipulation of cognitive control, were not modulated by this manipulation in the adolescents of mothers reporting high levels of anxiety during pregnancy. These results provide a neurobiological underpinning for our previous hypothesis of an association between a deficit in endogenous cognitive control in adolescence and exposure to maternal anxiety in the prenatal life period.
Cell wall remodeling drives engulfment duringBacillus subtilissporulation
Authors: Ojkic Nikola , López-Garrido Javier , Pogliano Kit , Endres Robert G. 
Published: November 2016

AbstractWhen starved, the Gram-positive bacteriumBacillus subtilisforms durable spores for survival. Sporulation initiates with an asymmetric cell division, creating a large mother cell and a small forespore. Subsequently, the mother cell membrane engulfs the forespore in a phagocytosis-like process. However, the force generation mechanism for forward membrane movement remains unknown. Here, we show that membrane migration is driven by cell wall remodeling at the leading edge of the engulfing membrane, with peptidoglycan synthesis and degradation mediated by penicillin binding proteins in the forespore and a cell wall degradation protein complex in the mother cell. We propose a simple model for engulfment in which the junction between the septum and the lateral cell wall moves around the forespore by a mechanism resembling the ‘template model’. Hence, we establish a biophysical mechanism for the creation of a force for engulfment based on the coordination between cell wall synthesis and degradation.
Microtubule organization within mitotic spindles revealed by serial block face scanning EM and image analysis
Authors: Nixon Faye M. , Honnor Thomas R. , Starling Georgina P. , Beckett Alison J. , Johansen Adam M. , Brettschneider Julia A. , Prior Ian A. , Royle Stephen J. 
Published: November 2016

AbstractSerial block face scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM) is a powerful method to analyze cells in 3D. Here, working at the resolution limit of the method, we describe a correlative light-SBF-SEM workflow to resolve microtubules of the mitotic spindle in human cells. We present three examples of uses for this workflow which are not practical by light microscopy and/or TEM. First, distinguishing closely associated microtubules within K-fibers; second, resolving bridging fibers in the mitotic spindle; third, visualizing membranes in mitotic cells, relative to the spindle apparatus. Our workflow also includes new computational tools for exploring the spatial arrangement of MTs within the mitotic spindle. We use these tools to show that microtubule order in mitotic spindles is sensitive to the level of TACC3 on the spindle.
A Logical Inquiry of Emotions and Cognition
Authors: Tozzi Arturo , James Colin , Peters James F 
Published: November 2016

ABSTRACTExperimental procedures in neuroscience rely on the standpoints that the mind is a functional state of the brain and a clear subdivision among different mental faculties does exist in the cortex. According to cognitive neuroscientists, the term "mind" encompasses just the "cognitive" faculties, such as consciousness, perception, thinking, judgement, memory, leaving apart the "emotional" states. Here, taking into account the powerful tools of the first-order predicate logic, we evaluated whether: a) the mind is a function on the physical brain activity; b) different mental faculties can be reduced to a more general one; c) the division of mental faculties in cognition and emotion holds true. We demonstrated that nervous activity is equivalent to mental faculties and that emotions and cognition do not stand for two separated functions of the mind. This means that, counter to our common-sense belief, cognition and emotions are splitted and every faculty of the mind necessarily displays a counterpart in other ones. We point out how it is possible for condensed mind faculties to be unglued in order to become apparently different functions. Therefore, seemingly different mind faculties turn out to be equivalent, because the same logical framework holds for all the types of brain activities, independent of their boundaries and magnitude.
SplitThreader: Exploration and analysis of rearrangements in cancer genomes
Authors: Nattestad Maria , Alford Marley C. , Sedlazeck Fritz J. , Schatz Michael C. 
Published: November 2016

AbstractGenomic rearrangements and associated copy number changes are important drivers in cancer as they can alter the expression of oncogenes and tumor suppressors, create gene fusions, and misregulate gene expression. Here we present SplitThreader (http://splitthreader.com), an open-source interactive web application for analysis and visualization of genomic rearrangements and copy number variation in cancer genomes. SplitThreader constructs a sequence graph of genomic rearrangements in the sample and uses a priority queue breadth-first search algorithm on the graph to search for novel interactions. This is applied to detect gene fusions and other novel sequences, as well as to evaluate distances in the rearranged genome between any genomic regions of interest, especially the repositioning of regulatory elements and their target genes. SplitThreader also analyzes each variant to categorize it by its relation to other variants and by its copy number concordance. This identifies balanced translocations, identifies simple and complex variants, and suggests likely false positives when copy number is not concordant across a candidate breakpoint. It also provides explanations when multiple variants affect the copy number state and obscure the contribution of a single variant, such as a deletion within a region that is overall amplified. Together, these categories triage the variants into groups and provide a starting point for further systematic analysis and manual curation. To demonstrate its utility, we apply SplitThreader to three cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and A549 with Illumina paired-end sequencing, and SK-BR-3, with long-read PacBio sequencing. Using SplitThreader, we examine the genomic rearrangements responsible for previously observed gene fusions in SK-BR-3 and MCF-7, and discover many of the fusions involved a complex series of multiple genomic rearrangements. We also find notable differences in the types of variants between the three cell lines, in particular a much higher proportion of reciprocal variants in SK-BR-3 and a distinct clustering of interchromosomal variants in SK-BR-3 and MCF-7 that is absent in A549.
Development and validation of a 36-gene sequencing assay for hereditary cancer risk assessment
Authors: Vysotskaia Valentina S. , Hogan Gregory J. , Gould Genevieve M. , Wang Xin , Robertson Alex D. , Haas Kevin R. , Theilmann Mark R. , Spurka Lindsay , Grauman Peter V. , Lai Henry H. , Jeon Diana , Haliburton Genevieve , Leggett Matt , Chu Clement S. , Iori Kevin , Maguire Jared R. , Ready Kaylene , Evans Eric A. , Peter Kang H. , Haque Imran S. 
Published: November 2016

ABSTRACTThe past two decades have brought many important advances in our understanding of the hereditary susceptibility to cancer. Numerous studies have provided convincing evidence that identification of germline mutations associated with hereditary cancer syndromes can lead to reductions in morbidity and mortality through targeted risk management options. Additionally, advances in gene sequencing technology now permit the development of multigene hereditary cancer testing panels. Here, we describe the 2016 revision of the Counsyl Inherited Cancer Screen for detecting single-nucleotide variants (SNVs), short insertions and deletions (indels), and copy number variants (CNVs) in 36 genes associated with an elevated risk for breast, ovarian, colorectal, gastric, endometrial, pancreatic, thyroid, prostate, melanoma, and neuroendocrine cancers. To determine test accuracy and reproducibility, we performed a rigorous analytical validation across 341 samples, including 118 cell lines and 223 patient samples. The screen achieved 100% test sensitivity across different mutation types, with high specificity and 100% concordance with conventional Sanger sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). We also demonstrated the screen’s high intra-run and inter-run reproducibility and robust performance on blood and saliva specimens. Furthermore, we showed that pathogenic Alu element insertions can be accurately detected by our test. Overall, the validation in our clinical laboratory demonstrated the analytical performance required for collecting and reporting genetic information related to risk of developing hereditary cancers.
Structural and functional brain changes following four weeks of unimanual motor training: evidence from behaviour, neural stimulation, cortical thickness and functional MRI
Authors: Sale Martin V. , Reid Lee B. , Cocchi Luca , Pagnozzi Alex M. , Rose Stephen E. , Mattingley Jason B. 
Published: November 2016

AbstractAlthough different aspects of neuroplasticity can be quantified with behavioural probes, brain stimulation, and brain imaging assessments, no study to date has combined all these approaches into one comprehensive assessment of brain plasticity. Here, 24 healthy right-handed participants practised a sequence of finger-thumb opposition movements for 10 minutes each day with their left hand. After four weeks, performance for the practised sequence improved significantly (p < 0.05 FWE) relative to a matched control sequence, with both the left (mean increase: 53.0% practised, 6.5% control) and right (21.0%; 15.8%) hands. Training also induced significant (cluster p-FWE < 0.001) reductions in functional MRI activation for execution of the learned sequence, relative to the control sequence. These changes were observed as clusters in the premotor and supplementary motor cortices (right hemisphere, 301 voxel cluster; left hemisphere 700 voxel cluster), as well as sensorimotor cortices and superior parietal lobules (right hemisphere 864 voxel cluster; left hemisphere, 1947 voxel cluster). Transcranial magnetic stimulation over the right (‘trained’) primary motor cortex yielded a 58.6% mean increase in a measure of motor evoked potential amplitude, as recorded at the left abductor pollicis brevis muscle. Cortical thickness analyses based on structural MRI suggested changes in the right precentral gyrus, right post central gyrus, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and potentially the right supplementary motor area. Such findings are consistent with LTP-like neuroplastic changes in areas that were already responsible for finger sequence execution, rather than improved recruitment of previously non-utilised tissue.
Multivariate association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms in Alzgene linkage regions and structural changes in the brain: discovery, refinement and validation
Authors: Szefer Elena , Lu Donghuan , Nathoo Farouk , Beg Mirza Faisal , Graham Jinko ,   for the Alzheimers Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: November 2016

AbstractBoth genetic variants and brain region abnormalities are recognized to play a role in cognitive decline. We explore the association between singlenucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in linkage regions for Alzheimer’s disease and rates of decline in brain structure using data from the Alzheimers Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI).In an initial discovery stage, we assessed the presence of linear association between the minor allele counts of 75,845 SNPs in the Alzgene linkage regions and predicted rates of change in structural MRI measurements for 56 brain regions using an RV test. In a second, refinement stage, we reduced the number of SNPs using a bootstrap-enhanced sparse canonical correlation analysis (SCCA) with a fixed tuning parameter. Each SNP was assigned an importance measure proportional to the number of times it was estimated to have a nonzero coefficient in repeated re-sampling from the ADNI-1 sample. We created refined lists of SNPs based on importance probabilities greater than 50% and 90%, respectively. In a third, validation stage, we assessed the multivariate association between these refined lists of SNPs and the rates of structural change in the independent ADNI-2 study dataset.There was strong statistical evidence for linear association between the SNPs in the Alzgene linkage regions and the 56 imaging phenotypes in both the ADNI-1 and ADNI-2 samples (p< 0.0001). The bootstrap-enhanced SCCA identified 1,694 priority SNPs with importance probabilities > 50% and 22 SNPs with importance probabilities > 90%. The 1,694 prioritized SNPs in the ADNI-1 data were associated with imaging phenotypes in the ADNI-2 data (p= 0.0021).This manuscript presents an analysis that addresses challenges in current imaging genetics studies such as biased sampling designs and highdimensional data with low-signal. Genes corresponding to priority SNPs having the highest contribution in the validation data have previously been implicated or hypothesized to be implicated in AD, including GCLC, IDE, and STAMBP1andFAS. We hypothesize that the effect sizes of the 1,694 SNPs in the priority set are likely small, but further investigation within this set may advance understanding of the missing heritability in late-onset Alzheimers disease. Multivariate analysis; Linkage regions; Imaging genetics; Endophenotypes; Inverse probability weighting; Variable importance probabilities
High-throughput CRISPRi phenotyping inStreptococcus pneumoniaeidentifies new essential genes involved in cell wall synthesis and competence development
Authors: Liu Xue , Gallay Clement , Kjos Morten , Domenech Arnau , Slager Jelle , van Kessel Sebastiaan P. , Knoops Kèvin , Sorg Robin A. , Zhang Jing-Ren , Veening Jan-Willem 
Published: November 2016

AbstractGenome-wide screens have discovered a large set of essential genes in the opportunistic human pathogenStreptococcus pneumoniae. However, the functions of many essential genes are still unknown, hampering vaccine development and drug discovery. Based on results from transposon-sequencing (Tn-Seq), we refined the list of essential genes inS. pneumoniaeserotype 2 strain D39. Next, we created a knockdown library targeting 348 potentially essential genes by CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) and show a growth phenotype for 254 of them (73%). Using high-content microscopy screening, we searched for essential genes of unknown function with clear phenotypes in cell morphology upon CRISPRi-based depletion. We show that SPD1416 and SPD1417 (renamed to MurT and GatD, respectively) are essential for peptidoglycan synthesis, and that SPD1198 and SPD1197 (renamed to TarP and TarQ, respectively) are responsible for the polymerization of teichoic acid (TA) precursors. This knowledge enabled us to reconstruct the unique pneumococcal TA biosynthetic pathway. CRISPRi was also employed to unravel the role of the essential Clpproteolytic system in regulation of competence development and we show that ClpX is the essential ATPase responsible for ClpP-dependent repression of competence. The CRISPRi library provides a valuable tool for characterization of pneumococcal genes and pathways and revealed several promising antibiotic targets.
Does managerial myopia explain Bowman’s Paradox?
Authors: Holder Anthony Dewayne , Petkevich Alexey , Moore Gary 
Published: November 2016

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate if Bowman’s Paradox (negative association between risk and return) is caused by managerial myopia. It also attempts to disentangle whether results are more consistent with one or more potential explanations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses univariate statistics and OLS regressions. Empirically examines the relationship between four risk and return proxies, across a wide ranging time period and utilizing a number of model specifications. Results hold after using three-way clustered errors and using a more robust rolling five year, fixed regression methodology measure.FindingsConfirms the existence of the Paradox. Also documents that the association between risk and return is positive in “winner” firms and negative in “loser” firms. Upon further analysis, the earlier negative risk-return relationship is found to entirely be due to the volatility of the (short term) income statement component of the performance terms. Results imply that executives of winner (loser) firms are less (more) likely to manage earnings or engage in other value destroying activities.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is confined by the typical archival study limitations; including potential endogeneity, selection biases and generalizability of the results.Practical implicationsAnecdotal evidence indicates that the business community makes extensive use of these performance measures. These performance measures are also pervasive in academic research. Given the importance of controlling for both managerial and firm performance, a good performance proxy is quintessential.Originality/valueAlthough over 30 years have passed since Bowman (1980) first observed the negative correlation, to date, no consensus explanation exists. Findings suggest that Bowman’s Paradox, is potentially a manifestation of managerial myopia. Thus, this result contributes to several existing research streams.
Corporate ecological transparency: theories and empirical evidence
Authors: Tang Qingliang , Luo Le 
Published: November 2016

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how firm- and country-level determinants affect corporate ecological transparency.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilizes multiple theories that are commonly used by corporate social responsibility studies to explain the corporate ecological transparency. Based on a sample of 243 Global 500 firms, the authors examine the impact of shareholders’ interest in ecological information, creditors’ concern, firm size, industry membership, the presence of emission trading scheme (ETS), stringency of environmental regulations on corporate ecological transparency.FindingsThe paper documents evidence that larger firms, firms in GHG-intensive sectors, and highly leveraged firms tend to produce more ecological disclosures. In addition, ecological transparency is higher in countries with an ETS and increases with more stringent environmental regulation. Finally, the authors find little evidence that shareholders of these firms are concerned with this information.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample is restricted to the largest firms with relevant carbon profile information. Thus, caution should be exercised when generalizing the inferences.Practical implicationsSustainability has become one of the most importance topics in business agenda. Firms’ attitude and decision about the ecological transparency will affect internal firm performance, external stakeholder engagement, and policy makers’ attention. It determines the firms’ long-term operation and development.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature by utilizing multiple theories to explain ecological transparency. Each of the theories provided only a partial explanation for ecological transparency. Thus, we need to consider the firms’ behaviors from multiple dimensions. In particular, stakeholder theory and institutional theory are the dominant perspectives accounting for managers’ propensity to disclose a firm’s ecological footprint.