bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Territoriality ensures paternity in a solitary carnivore mammal
Authors: Palomares Francisco , Lucena-Pérez María , López-Bao José Vicente , Godoy José Antonio 
Published: June 2017

AbstractIn solitary carnivorous mammals, territoriality is assumed to benefit male fitness by ensuring the exclusivity of matings within territories via mate guarding and female defence. However, this hypothesis remains empirically untested. Here, we examined this hypothesis for solitary territorial carnivores using the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) as a case study. We expected that territorial males sire all litters born within their territories, translating into the absence of multi-paternity cases within the same litter. We analysed parentage in 43 kittens, belonging to 20 different litters. For 42 kittens, a father could be assigned using microsatellites and always coincided with the individual holding the territory. For 16 kittens from 10 litters for which we also had information on SNPs, paternity assignments coincided with microsatellites, except for a litter (two kittens) from the same litter for which a different male was assigned, but the territorial male could not be excluded. Our results indicated that multi-paternity in the Iberian lynx must be a rare event, and that territorial males sire all litters born from the females with which they share territories. We propose that both the low number of mature individuals in the lynx population and the fact that female oestrus is induced by male presence may explain results.
Enhanced thermoelectric properties of AgSbTe2 obtained by controlling heterophases with Ce doping
Authors: Lee Jae Ki , Oh Min-Wook , Ryu Byungki , Lee Ji Eun , Kim Bong-Seo , Min Bok-Ki , Joo Sung-Jae , Lee Hee-Woong , Park Su-Dong 
Published: June 2017

AbstractWe report the enhanced thermoelectric properties of Ce-doped AgSbTe2 (AgSb1−xCexTe2) compounds. As the Ce contents increased, the proportion of heterophase Ag2Te in the AgSbTe2 gradually decreased, along with the size of the crystals. The electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient were dramatically affected by Ce doping and the lattice thermal conductivity was reduced. The presence of nanostructured Ag2Te heterophases resulted in a greatly enhanced dimensionless figure of merit, ZT of 1.5 at 673 K. These findings highlight the importance of the heterophase and doping control, which determines both electrical and thermal properties.
Hybrid graphene tunneling photoconductor with interface engineering towards fast photoresponse and high responsivity
Authors: Tao Li , Chen Zefeng , Li Xinming , Yan Keyou , Xu Jian-Bin 
Published: June 2017

AbstractHybrid graphene photoconductor/phototransistor has achieved giant photoresponsivity, but its response speed dramatically degrades as the expense due to the long lifetime of trapped interfacial carriers. In this work, by intercalating a large-area atomically thin MoS2 film into a hybrid graphene photoconductor, we have developed a prototype tunneling photoconductor, which exhibits a record-fast response (rising time ~17 ns) and a high responsivity (~3 × 104 A/W at 635 nm illumination with 16.8 nW power) across the broad spectral range. We demonstrate that the photo-excited carriers generated in silicon are transferred into graphene through a tunneling process rather than carrier drift. The atomically thin MoS2 film not only serves as tunneling layer but also passivates surface states, which in combination delivers a superior response speed (~3 orders of magnitude improved than a device without MoS2 layer), while the responsivity remains high. This intriguing tunneling photoconductor integrates both fast response and high responsivity and thus has significant potential in practical applications of optoelectronic devices.
The Cardiovascular and Perceptual Response to Very Low Load Blood Flow Restricted Exercise
Authors: Jessee Matthew , Dankel Scott , Buckner Samuel , Mouser J. , Mattocks Kevin , Loenneke Jeremy 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThis study sought to compare cardiovascular and perceptual responses to blood flow restriction (BFR) exercise using various pressure and load combinations. Fourteen participants completed four sets of BFR elbow flexion using 10, 15 and 20% 1RM with 40 and 80% arterial occlusion pressure (AOP). AOP was measured before and after exercise. Perceived exertion (RPE) and discomfort were assessed before exercise and after each set. Data presented as mean (95% CI), except for RPE and discomfort: 25th, 50th, 75th percentiles. AOP increased post-exercise (p<0.001) with larger magnitudes seen when increasing load and pressure (p<0.001) [e. g., 10/40 ΔAOP: 21 (10, 32) mmHg vs. 20/80 ΔAOP: 62 (45, 78) mmHg], which also augmented RPE (p<0.001) [e. g., 4th set 10/40: (7, 8.5, 12) vs. 4th set 20/80: (12.75, 15.5, 17.25)] and discomfort (p<0.001) [e. g., 4th set 10/40: (0.75, 2, 4.25) vs. 4th set 20/80: (4.25, 6, 8,)]. Volume increased via greater loads (p<0.001), and participants only reached failure during 20% 1RM conditions [20/40: 74 (74, 75) repetitions; 20/80: 71 (68, 75) repetitions]. When performing BFR exercise with very low loads the magnitudes of the cardiovascular and perceptual responses are augmented by increasing the load and by applying a higher relative pressure.
The CDD System in Computed Tomographic Diagnosis of Diverticular Disease
Authors: Pustelnik Daniel , Elsholtz Fabian , Bojarski Christian , Hamm Bernd , Niehues Stefan 
Published: June 2017

Purpose This overview sums up the Classification of Diverticular Disease (CDD) with regard to its application in computed tomographic diagnosis and briefly recapitulates its targeted advantages over preliminary systems. Primarily, application of the CDD in computed tomography diagnostics is described. Differences with respect to the categories of the older systems are pointed out on the level of each CDD type using imaging examples.
Materials and Methods The presented images are derived from our institute according to the S2k criteria. Literature was researched on PubMed.
Results The CDD constitutes an improvement compared to older systems for categorizing the stages of diverticular disease. It provides more discriminatory power on the descriptive-morphological level and defines as well as differentiates more courses of the disease. Furthermore, the categories translate more directly into state-of-the-art decision-making concerning hospitalization and therapy.
Conclusion The CDD should be applied routinely in the computed tomographic diagnosis of diverticular disease. Typical imaging patterns are presented.
Key points
Citation Format
A Validated Method for the Quality Control of Andrographis paniculata Preparations
Authors: Karioti Anastasia , Timoteo Patricia , Bergonzi Maria , Bilia Anna 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
Andrographis paniculata is a herbal drug of Asian traditional medicine largely employed for the treatment of several diseases. Recently, it has been introduced in Europe for the prophylactic and symptomatic treatment of common cold and as an ingredient of dietary supplements. The active principles are diterpenes with andrographolide as the main representative. In the present study, an analytical protocol was developed for the determination of the main constituents in the herb and preparations of A. paniculata. Three different extraction protocols (methanol extraction using a modified Soxhlet procedure, maceration under ultrasonication, and decoction) were tested. Ultrasonication achieved the highest content of analytes. HPLC conditions were optimized in terms of solvent mixtures, time course, and temperature. A reversed phase C18 column eluted with a gradient system consisting of acetonitrile and acidified water and including an isocratic step at 30 °C was used. The HPLC method was validated for linearity, limits of quantitation and detection, repeatability, precision, and accuracy. The overall method was validated for precision and accuracy over at least three different concentration levels. Relative standard deviation was less than 1.13%, whereas recovery was between 95.50% and 97.19%. The method also proved to be suitable for the determination of a large number of commercial samples and was proposed to the European Pharmacopoeia for the quality control of Andrographidis herba.
The pitfalls of negative evidence
Authors: Blust Robert , Chen Victoria 
Published: June 2017

AbstractBeginning with publications in the early 1980s there have been attempts to use syntactic data to determine the highest-order subgroups of Austronesian. These efforts fall into two categories: those which claim that the voice affixes of Philippine-type languages originally had exclusively nominalizing functions, and those which claim that the affixes themselves were innovated after the separation of Rukai from the ancestor of all other Austronesian languages. Although these ideas lay dormant for some years, recently both have been revived in renewed efforts to show that the Austronesian family tree is not ‘rake-like’ in its highest nodes, but shows extensive embedding of subgroups that can be justified by successive layers of syntactic innovations. This paper questions the methodological soundness of both types of arguments on the grounds that they appeal to negative evidence, and logically any such appeal can do no better than reach an inference of indeterminate status rather than the positive conclusions that have been proposed.
On some mysteries, asymmetries and derivation of potentialdeconstruction in Chinese
Authors: Wang Changsong 
Published: June 2017

AbstractIn this paper, some mysteries and asymmetries of the Chinese potentialdeconstruction are investigated. It is shown that a morphosytnactic approach is conducive to accounting for these puzzles. First we explore the possibility of takingdeand its negative counterpart -budeas functional heads (cf.Tsai 2001;T. Wu 2004). It is proposed thatbudecould be a functional head with the negative potential (i.e. impossible/impermissible) meaning. This could be evidenced by both empirical data and theoretical deduction. It is argued thatbuin V-bu-R, which is distinct from the normal pre-verbal negative morphemebu, is actuallybude. This helps to explain why the negative potential meaning is involved in V-bu-R. Meanwhile, V-de/budeand V-de/bu-R are both assumed to be formed through Morphological Merger (cf.Marantz 1988;Embick & Noyer 2001,2007, etc.). Meanwhile, we have discussed some asymmetries observed between V-de/budeand V-de/bu-R and some paradigmatic asymmetries between potential V-deconstruction and its negative potential V-budeconstruction. It is assumed that these syntactic asymmetries may be due to some morphological operations related todeandbude.
Contribution of neuroblastoma‐derived exosomes to the production of pro‐tumorigenic signals by bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells
Authors: Nakata Rie , Shimada Hiroyuki , Fernandez G. Esteban , Fanter Rob , Fabbri Muller , Malvar Jemily , Zimmermann Pascale , DeClerck Yves A. 
Published: June 2017

ABSTRACTThe bone marrow (BM) niche is a microenvironment promoting survival, dormancy and therapeutic resistance in tumor cells. Central to this function are mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). Here, using neuroblastoma (NB) as a model, we demonstrate that NB cells release an extracellular vesicle (EVs) whose protein cargo is enriched in exosomal proteins but lacks cytokines and chemokines. Using three different purification methods, we then demonstrate that NB‐derived exosomes were captured by MSCs and induced the production of pro‐tumorigenic cytokines and chemokines, including interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), IL‐8/CXCL8, vascular endothelial cell growth factor and monocyte‐chemotactic protein‐1, with exosomes prepared by size exclusion chromatography having the highest activity. We found no correlation between the IL‐6 and IL‐8/CXCL8 stimulatory activity of exosomes from eight NB cell lines and their origin, degree of MYCN amplification, drug resistance and disease status. We then demonstrate that the uptake of NB exosomes by MSCs was associated with a rapid increase in ERK1/2 and AKT activation, and that blocking ERK1/2 but not AKT activation inhibited the IL‐6 and IL‐8/CXCL8 production by MSCs without affecting exosome uptake. Thus, we describe a new mechanism by which NB cells induce in MSCs an inflammatory reaction that contributes to a favorable microenvironment in the BM.
SVM-dependent pairwise HMM: an application to protein pairwise alignments
Authors: Orlando Gabriele , Raimondi Daniele , Khan Taushif , Lenaerts Tom , Vranken Wim F 
Published: June 2017

Abstract

Motivation
Methods able to provide reliable protein alignments are crucial for many bioinformatics applications. In the last years many different algorithms have been developed and various kinds of information, from sequence conservation to secondary structure, have been used to improve the alignment performances. This is especially relevant for proteins with highly divergent sequences. However, recent works suggest that different features may have different importance in diverse protein classes and it would be an advantage to have more customizable approaches, capable to deal with different alignment definitions.

Results
Here we present Rigapollo, a highly flexible pairwise alignment method based on a pairwise HMM-SVM that can use any type of information to build alignments. Rigapollo lets the user decide the optimal features to align their protein class of interest. It outperforms current state of the art methods on two well-known benchmark datasets when aligning highly divergent sequences.

Availability and implementation
A Python implementation of the algorithm is available at http://ibsquare.be/rigapollo.

Supplementary information
Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Glycosylation of IgG-Fc: a molecular perspective
Authors: Kiyoshi Masato , Tsumoto Kouhei , Ishii-Watabe Akiko , Caaveiro Jose M M 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
Antibodies of the IgG class carry a pair of oligosaccharides (N-glycans) in the Fc region. The importance of the N-glycan is clearly demonstrated by its profound effect in the physicochemical and biological properties of antibodies. The term ‘glycoengineering’ has been coined to describe contemporary strategies to improve the performance of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies on the basis of modifications in the structure and composition of the N-glycan. These methodologies have resulted in the approval and commercialization of a new generation of antibodies with improved therapeutic efficacy. So far, these advances have been driven by herculean efforts in a process of trial-and-error. The collective work of researchers in this field is progressively revealing the molecular basis of N-glycans for the function of antibodies. This knowledge will ultimately be conducive to the application of rational approaches for the successful manipulation of antibodies using glycoengineering strategies. Herein, we review advances in our understanding of the role of the N-glycan in the structural and dynamic integrity, and biological activity, of antibodies. Since the N-glycan has a multifaceted effect in antibodies, in this review we have emphasized the importance of integrating various techniques that address this problem from multiple points of view. In particular, the combination of X-ray crystallography with nuclear magnetic resonance, molecular dynamics simulations and biophysical approaches based on thermodynamic principles, has emerged as a powerful combination that is deepened our understanding of this unique system with critical implications for human well-being.
Quantitative nanoscale mapping of three-phase thermal conductivities in filled skutterudites via scanning thermal microscopy
Authors: Nasr Esfahani Ehsan , Ma Feiyue , Wang Shanyu , Ou Yun , Yang Jihui , Li Jiangyu 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
In the last two decades, a nanostructuring paradigm has been successfully applied in a wide range of thermoelectric materials, resulting in significant reduction in thermal conductivity and superior thermoelectric performance. These advances, however, have been accomplished without directly investigating the local thermoelectric properties, even though local electric current can be mapped with high spatial resolution. In fact, there still lacks an effective method that links the macroscopic thermoelectric performance to the local microstructures and properties. Here, we show that local thermal conductivity can be mapped quantitatively with good accuracy, nanometer resolution and one-to-one correspondence to the microstructure using a three-phase skutterudite as a model system. Scanning thermal microscopy combined with finite element simulations demonstrate close correlation between sample conductivity and probe resistance, enabling us to distinguish thermal conductivities spanning orders of magnitude, yet resolving thermal variation across a phase interface with small contrast. The technique thus provides a powerful tool to correlate local thermal conductivities, microstructures and macroscopic properties for nanostructured materials in general and nanostructured thermoelectrics in particular.
Synaptic homeostasis at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction is a reversible signaling process that is sensitive to high temperature
Authors: Yeates Catherine J. , Frank C. Andrew 
Published: June 2017

ABSTRACTHomeostasis is a vital mode of biological self-regulation. The hallmarks of homeostasis for any biological system are a baseline set point of physiological activity, detection of unacceptable deviations from the set point, and effective corrective measures to counteract deviations. Homeostatic synaptic plasticity (HSP) is a form of neuroplasticity in which neurons and circuits resist environmental perturbations in order to maintain appropriate levels of activity. One assumption is that if an environmental perturbation triggers homeostatic corrective changes in neuronal properties, those corrective measures should be reversed upon removal of the perturbation. We test the reversibility and limits of HSP at a well-studied model synapse, theDrosophila melanogasterneuromuscular junction (NMJ). At the Drosophila NMJ, impairment of glutamate receptors causes a decrease in quantal size, which is offset by a corrective, homeostatic increase in the number of vesicles released per evoked presynaptic stimulus, or quantal content. This process has been termed presynaptic homeostatic potentiation (PHP). Taking advantage of a GAL4/GAL80TS/UAS expression system, we triggered PHP by expressing a dominant-negative glutamate receptor subunit at the NMJ. We then reversed PHP by halting expression of the dominant-negative receptor. Our data show that PHP is fully reversible over a time course of 48-72 hours after the dominant-negative glutamate receptor stops being genetically expressed. Additionally, we found that the PHP response triggered by the dominant-negative subunit was ablated at high temperatures. Our data show that the long-term maintenance of PHP at the Drosophila NMJ is a reversible regulatory process that is sensitive to temperature.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTBiological homeostatic systems must upregulate or downregulate cellular parameters in order to maintain appropriate set points of physiological activity. Homeostasis is a well-documented mode of regulation in metazoan nervous systems. True homeostatic control should be a reversible process – but due to technical difficulties of presenting and removing functional challenges to living synapses, the reversibility of homeostatic forms of synapse regulation has not been rigorously examinedin vivoover extended periods of developmental time. Here we formally demonstrate that homeostatic regulation ofDrosophila melanogasterneuromuscular synapse function is reversible and temperature-labile. This is significant because developing methods to study how homeostatic regulatory systems are turned on and off could lead to fundamental new insights about control of synaptic output.
Aileron lighting: the sales promotion question
Authors: Sivaramakrishnan Sreeram , Bhide Mandar 
Published: June 2017

Subject area
Marketing.

Study level/applicability
MBA/Postgraduate.

Case overview
The case describes the situation faced by a sales manager of a commoditized product in a tough and competitive market. Aileron Consumer and Lighting Group (ACLG) was among the top ten fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies in the country while also being among the fastest growing companies in India and had a diverse portfolio ranging from trade lighting to commercial and institutional lighting. Sunil, the sales manager, after his training found himself in the Budhwar Peth market in Pune, Western India where he was expected to find a way to increase sales of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). The product was undifferentiated and the competition was extremely strong with large allocations to advertising and dealer support. Sunil realized that his only hope for achieving his sales targets was to organize a sales promotion. His team and he came up with three options for sales promotions – two trade promotions and one consumer promotion. Sunil had to make the right choice of sales promotion for his market and the situation he found himself in.

Expected learning outcomes
This case is well-suited for courses in sales and distribution management, marketing channels, sales promotions or promotion management. It can also be used in courses dealing with marketing strategy or integrated marketing communications. This case allows the instructor to discuss sales channel and sales promotion issues faced by sales managers in an Indian context.

Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code
CSS 8: Marketing.
The twilight zone: paradoxes of practicing reform
Authors: Bjerge Bagga , Bjerregaard Toke 
Published: June 2017

Purpose
In many public sector reform processes, employees’ roles as professional experts are shifting toward more entrepreneurial and market-oriented roles, a change that entails a shift in the demands made of these employees. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reflections, considerations, and experiences of such employees regarding the spaces of possibility open to them in which to act in accordance with this new role.

Design/methodology/approach
Two ethnographic studies were carried out in drug and alcohol treatment services and in city and business development in the Danish welfare system.

Findings
Although the areas of investigation are not related in their daily practices, the authors trace similar responses to the demands made of their respective employees as their role shifts from that of professional experts to include more entrepreneurial aspects. The authors observe that employees are often eager to align new demands and practices, and the authors identify various challenges in respect of the structural public set-up of these services, which often leaves the employees to operate in what could be described as a “twilight zone” between the public and the private.

Originality/value
While scholars often have accounted for situations where such pluralistic roles create conflict, the authors also answer calls to capture moments of synergy where tensions of role paradox are constructively exploited. In this process of ongoing production, images of hierarchy and bureaucracy, rather than merely casting shadows over more bottom-up process of entrepreneurship, are actively used, alongside images of entrepreneurship, in the mutual construction of different roles and the constantly shifting relationality between them, conflicting or synergetic. The definitions and interpretations of the role of the public sector employee are not entirely fixed, but rather subject to ongoing (re)construction in the daily workings of public organizations.