bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fixation Stability and Viewing Distance in Patients with AMD
Authors: Tarita-Nistor Luminita , González Esther G. , Brin Taylor , Mandelcorn Mark S. , Scherlen Anne-Catherine , Mandelcorn Efrem D. , Steinbach Martin J. 
Published: November 2016

ABSTRACT

Purpose
People with normal vision perform activities of daily living binocularly, while changing viewing distance frequently and effortlessly. Typically, in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), fixation stability is recorded with monocular instruments at a fixed viewing distance (i.e. optical infinity) to determine the location and precision of the preferred retinal loci (PRLs)—the part of the functional retina that fulfills the role of a pseudo-fovea. Fixation stability recorded with these instruments has been related to performance on visual tasks at shorter viewing distances, although it is not known how viewing distance affects the precision of ocular motor control in these patients. This study examined whether viewing distance affects fixation stability during binocular and monocular viewing.

Methods
Thirty patients with bilateral AMD, 10 older controls, and 10 younger controls participated. Each patient’s better eye (BE) and worse eye (WE) were identified based on their visual acuity. Fixation stability was recorded with a binocular eye-tracker at three viewing distances (40 cm, 1 m, 6 m) in binocular and monocular (with BE and with WE) viewing conditions. Fixation stability was evaluated with a bivariate contour ellipse area.

Results
For the AMD group, there was no effect of viewing distance on fixation stability, regardless of viewing condition (i.e. binocular, monocular with the BE or with the WE). The same pattern of results was found for the two control groups.

Conclusions
Viewing distance does not affect fixation stability in patients with AMD. Fixation stability data recorded with an instrument at a fixed viewing distance can be related to performance on visual tasks at other viewing distances.
Differential Associations of Socioeconomic Status With Global Brain Volumes and White Matter Lesions in African American and White Adults: the HANDLS SCAN Study
Authors: Waldstein Shari R. , Dore Gregory A. , Davatzikos Christos , Katzel Leslie I. , Gullapalli Rao , Seliger Stephen L. , Kouo Theresa , Rosenberger William F. , Erus Guray , Evans Michele K. , Zonderman Alan B. 
Published: November 2016

ABSTRACT

Objective
The aim of the study was to examine interactive relations of race and socioeconomic status (SES) to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)–assessed global brain outcomes with previously demonstrated prognostic significance for stroke, dementia, and mortality.

Methods
Participants were 147 African Americans (AAs) and whites (ages 33–71 years; 43% AA; 56% female; 26% below poverty) in the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span SCAN substudy. Cranial MRI was conducted using a 3.0 T unit. White matter (WM) lesion volumes and total brain, gray matter, and WM volumes were computed. An SES composite was derived from education and poverty status.

Results
Significant interactions of race and SES were observed for WM lesion volume (b = 1.38; η
2 = 0.036; p = .028), total brain (b = 86.72; η
2 = 0.042; p < .001), gray matter (b = 40.16; η
2 = 0.032; p = .003), and WM (b = 46.56; η
2 = 0.050; p < .001). AA participants with low SES exhibited significantly greater WM lesion volumes than white participants with low SES. White participants with higher SES had greater brain volumes than all other groups (albeit within normal range).

Conclusions
Low SES was associated with greater WM pathology—a marker for increased stroke risk—in AAs. Higher SES was associated with greater total brain volume—a putative global indicator of brain health and predictor of mortality—in whites. Findings may reflect environmental and interpersonal stressors encountered by AAs and those of lower SES and could relate to disproportionate rates of stroke, dementia, and mortality.
Bacterial but not protist gut microbiota align with ecological specialization in a set of lower termite species
Authors: Waidele Lena , Korb Judith , Küenzel Sven , Dedeine Franck , Staubach Fabian 
Published: November 2016

AbstractThe role of microbes in adaptation of higher organisms to the environment is becoming increasingly evident, but remains poorly understood. Protist and bacterial microbes facilitate that lower termites thrive on wood and are directly involved in substrate break down. During the course of evolution lower termites adapted to different diets and lifestyles. In order to test whether there are changes of the termite gut microbiota that co-occur and hence could be related to diet and lifestyle adaptation, we assessed the bacterial and protist communities in a multispecies framework profiling three wood-dwelling and two foraging lower termite species using 16S and 18S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Termites were kept under controlled conditions on the same diet to minimize environmental effects on their gut microbiota. We found that protist communities group according to host phylogeny while bacterial communities group according to lifestyle. The change from the ancestral wood-dwelling to a foraging lifestyle coincides with exposure to more diverse and higher concentrations of pathogens as well as a more diverse diet. Accordingly, we identified bacteria that are associated with foraging termites of the genusReticulitermesand could function as probiotics or be metabolically important on a more diverse diet. Furthermore, protist and bacterial diversity are correlated, suggesting not only that many termite gut bacteria are associated with protists, but also suggesting a role of protist diversity in the evolution of bacterial diversity in the termite gut or vice versa.
The Creation of A Negative Slope Conductance Region by the activation of The Persistent Sodium Current Prolongs Near-Threshold Synaptic Potentials
Authors: Ceballos Cesar C. , Roque Antonio C. , Leão Ricardo M. 
Published: November 2016

ABSTRACTA change of the input resistance (Rin) of the neuron involves a change in the membrane conductances by opening and closing of ion channels. In passive membranes, i.e., membranes with only linear leak conductances, the increase or decrease of these conductances leads to a decrease or increase of the Rinand the membrane time constant (τm). However, the presence of subthreshold voltage dependent currents can produce non-linear effects generating deviations from this relationship, especially the contradictory effect of negative conductances, as produced by the sodium-persistent current (INaP), on the Rin. In this work we aimed to analyze experimentally and theoretically the impact of the negative conductance produced by INaPon Rin. Experiments of whole-cell patch-clamp conducted in CA1 hippocampus pyramidal cells from brain slices showed a paradoxical voltage-dependent decrease of the Rinand the τmin subthreshold membrane potentials close to the firing threshold after the perfusion with TTX, which inhibits INaP. This effect is postulated to be a result of the negative slope conductance in the subthreshold region produced by this conductance. The analysis of the experimental data, together with simulations found that the slope conductance of INaPis negative for subthreshold membrane potentials and its magnitude is voltage dependent in the same range observed for the voltage-dependence of Rinand τm. The injection of an artificial INaPusing dynamic-clamp in the presence of TTX restored the Rinand τmto its original values. Additionally the injection of an artificial leak current with a negative conductance in the presence of TTX restored the Rinand τmas the artificial Inapdid. On the other hand, the injection of an artificial leak current with a positive conductance in the presence of TTX had no effect on the Rinand τm. We conclude that INaPincreases the Rinand τmby the negative slope conductance observed in its non-monotonic I-V relationship. These results demonstrate that the effect of Inapon Rinand τmis stronger in potentials near the firing threshold, which could potentiate the temporal summation of the EPSPs increasing their temporal integration and facilitating action potential firing. Because of its negative slope conductance, INaPis more effective in increasing excitability near threshold than a depolarizing leak current.
Causality, Transfer Entropy and Allosteric Communication Landscapes in Proteins with Harmonic Interactions
Authors: Hacisuleyman Aysima , Erman Burak 
Published: November 2016

AbstractA fast and approximate method of generating allosteric communication landscapes is presented by using Schreiber's entropy transfer concept in combination with the Gaussian Network Model of proteins. Predictions of the model and the allosteric communication landscapes generated show that information transfer in proteins does not necessarily take place along a single path, but through an ensemble of pathways. The model emphasizes that knowledge of entropy only is not sufficient for determining allosteric communication and additional information based on time delayed correlations has to be introduced, which leads to the presence of causality in proteins. The model provides a simple tool for mapping entropy sink-source relations into pairs of residues. Residues that should be manipulated to control protein activity may be determined with this approach. This should be of great importance for allosteric drug design and for understanding the effects of mutations on protein function. The model is applied to determine allosteric communication in two proteins, Ubiquitin and Pyruvate Kinase. Predictions are in agreement with detailed molecular dynamics simulations and experimental evidence.SignificanceProteins perform their function by an exchange of information within themselves and with their environments through correlated fluctuations of their atoms. Fluctuations of one atom may drive the fluctuations of another. Information transmitted in this way leads to allosteric communication which is described as the process in which action at one site of the protein is transmitted to another site at which the protein performs its activity. Disruption of allosteric communication by mutation for example leads to disease. The present paper incorporates information theoretic concepts into the well known Gaussian Network Model of proteins and allows for rapid characterization of allosteric communication landscapes for normal functioning as well as malfunctioning proteins.
The megabase-sized fungal genome ofRhizoctonia solaniassembled from nanopore reads only
Authors: Datema Erwin , Hulzink Raymond J.M. , Blommers Lisanne , Espejo Valle-Inclan Josè , van Orsouw Nathalie , Wittenberg Alexander H.J. , de Vos Martin 
Published: November 2016

AbstractThe ability to quickly obtain accurate genome sequences of eukaryotic pathogens at low costs provides a tremendous opportunity to identify novel targets for therapeutics, develop pesticides with increased target specificity and breed for resistance in food crops. Here, we present the first report of the ~54 MB eukaryotic genome sequence ofRhizoctonia solani,an important pathogenic fungal species of maize, using nanopore technology. Moreover, we show that optimizing the strategy for wet-lab procedures aimed to isolate high quality and ultra-pure high molecular weight (HMW) DNA results in increased read length distribution and thereby allowing generation of the most contiguous genome assembly forR. solanito date. We further determined sequencing accuracy and compared the assembly to short-read technologies. With the current sequencing technology and bioinformatics tool set, we are able to deliver an eukaryotic fungal genome at low cost within a week. With further improvements of the sequencing technology and increased throughput of the PromethION sequencer we aim to generate near-finished assemblies of large and repetitive plant genomes and cost-efficiently performde novosequencing of large collections of microbial pathogens and the microbial communities that surround our crops.
PREDetector 2.0: Online and Enhanced Version of the Prokaryotic Regulatory Elements Detector Tool
Authors: Tocquin Pierre , Naômé Aymeric , Jourdan Samuel , Anderssen Sinaeda , Hiard Samuel , van Wezel Gilles P. , Hanikenne Marc , Baurain Denis , Rigali Sébastien 
Published: November 2016

ABSTRACTIn the era that huge numbers of microbial genomes are being released in the databases, it becomes increasingly important to rapidly mine genes as well as predict the regulatory networks that control their expression. To this end, we have developed an improved and online version of the PREDetector software aimed at identifying putative transcription factor-binding sites (TFBS) in bacterial genomes. The original philosophy of PREDetector 1.0 is maintained,i.e.to allow users to freely fix the DNA-motif screening parameters, and to provide a statistical means to estimate the reliability of the prediction output. This new version offers an interactive table as well as graphics to dynamically alter the main screening parameters with automatic update of the list of identified putative TFBS. PREDetector 2.0 also has the following additional options: (i) access to genome sequences from different databases, (ii) access to weight matrices from public repositories, (iii) visualization of the predicted hits in their genomic context, (iv) grouping of hits identified in the same upstream region, (v) possibility to store the performed jobs, and (vi) automated export of the results in various formats. PREDetector 2.0 is available athttp://predetector.fsc.ulg.ac.be/.
Lipopolysaccharide composition determines the preferred route and entry kinetics of bacterial outer membrane vesicles into host cells
Authors: O’Donoghue Eloise J , Browning Douglas F. , Bielska Ewa , Alderwick Luke , Jabbari Sara , Krachler Anne Marie 
Published: November 2016

SUMMARYOuter membrane vesicles are microvesicles shed by Gram-negative bacteria and play important roles in immune priming and disease pathogenesis. However, our current mechanistic understanding of vesicle - host cell interactions is limited by a lack of methods to study the kinetics of vesicle entry and cargo delivery to host cells in real-time. Here, we describe a highly sensitive method to study the kinetics of vesicle entry into host cells in real-time using a genetically encoded probe targeted to vesicles. We found that route of vesicular uptake, and thus entry kinetics and efficiency of cargo release, are determined by the chemical composition of the bacterial lipopolysaccharide. The presence of O-antigen facilitates receptor-independent entry, which enhances both rate and efficiency of cargo uptake by host cells. Collectively, our findings highlight the chemical composition of the bacterial cell wall as a major determinant of secretion-independent delivery of virulence factors during Gram-negative infections.
Social media and consumer engagement: a review and research agenda
Authors: Barger Victor , Peltier James W. , Schultz Don E. 
Published: November 2016

Purpose
In “Social media’s slippery slope: challenges, opportunities and future research directions”, Schultz and Peltier (2013) asked “whether or how social media can be used to leverage consumer engagement into highly profitable relationships for both parties”. The purpose of this article is to continue this discussion by reviewing recent literature on consumer engagement and proposing a framework for future research.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the marketing literature on social media, paying particular attention to consumer engagement, which was identified as a primary area of concern in Schultz and Peltier (2013).

Findings
A significant amount of research has been conducted on consumer engagement since 2010. Lack of consensus on the definition of the construct has led to fragmentation in the discipline, however. As a result, research related to consumer engagement is often not identified as such, making it difficult for academics and practitioners to stay abreast of developments in this area.

Originality/value
This critical review provides marketing academics and practitioners insights into the antecedents and consequences of consumer engagement and offers a conceptual framework for future research.
Institutional entrepreneurship and management control systems
Authors: Martin-Sardesai Ann 
Published: November 2016

PurposeThis study aims to explore how management control systems (MCS) compliment institutional entrepreneurship. It provides a case illustration of how the Vice Chancellor (VC) as an institutional entrepreneur used MCS to bring about a change in an Australian public sector university in anticipation of an externally imposed research assessment exercise.Design/methodology/approachThis case study gathered qualitative data through key informant interviews (including deputy VCs, research managers, executive deans and heads of departments) and a review of university and other electronic policy-related documents.FindingsThe study contributes to an understanding of the external environment that drives university leaders to become institutional entrepreneurs, and what they precisely do to facilitate the internal dynamic change in line with political demands.Research limitations/implicationsBeing a single case study, care should be taken in generalizing the findings. However, it raises significant issues that deserve further attention, for example, the impact of change on the working life of academics.Practical implicationsThe research study identifies the proposed imposition of a research assessment exercise as an enabling condition under which an institutional entrepreneur could promote and activate a new vision. It provides useful insights for other universities operating in the rapidly changing environment.Originality/valueIn identifying the way institutional entrepreneurs bring about change by promoting a vision and operationalizing it through MCS, the research study extends literature on institutional entrepreneurship MCS and organizational change.
A model for gauging the prominence of web-based CSR disclosure
Authors: Chong Sabrina , Ali Irshad , Lodhia Sumit K. 
Published: November 2016

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a model to assess web-based corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure prominence and use this model to explore the prominence of CSR disclosures of listed New Zealand (NZ) companies.

Design/methodology/approach
A CSR Disclosure Prominence Indicator Model was constructed using five key elements that include the dissemination medium, accessibility, location, content variety and extent of CSR disclosures. The websites of 65 of the largest listed NZ companies from 11 industry groupings were explored through this model.

Findings
A significant proportion (81.5 per cent) of listed NZ companies in the sample were utilising their websites for communicating CSR information to stakeholders. The CSR Disclosure Prominence Indicator Model revealed that companies that have CSR-related disclosures on their websites used multiple dissemination media and locations to enhance prominence of such disclosures. CSR commentary on the webpage was the most prominent dissemination medium due to its ease of accessibility, with a separate CSR webpage being the most prominent location. Environmental performance and society-related issues received the most prominent emphasis. Although companies from “sensitive” industry sectors appeared to disclose their CSR information more prominently, those from “less sensitive” industries also attempted to make their CSR disclosure more prominent and noticeable through strategic placement and through the extent of disclosure.

Research limitations/implications
The paper highlights the importance of managing web-based CSR disclosure prominence, thereby highlighting its significance in communication of CSR information.

Practical implications
Prominently placed CSR disclosures could be a significant platform for companies to strategically manage their image and identity. The CSR Disclosure Prominence Indicator Model could be utilised by companies to effectively assess and manage the prominence of CSR disclosures on their websites for more effective communication with stakeholders.

Originality/value
The paper complements earlier studies on CSR disclosures by constructing and applying a model to assess the prominence of web-based CSR disclosures.
Stochastic cost frontier analysis – a sensitivity analysis on cost measures
Authors: Ngo Thanh , Tripe David 
Published: November 2016

Purpose
This paper aims to examine alternative methods for recording and treating costs in studies of bank efficiency.

Design/methodology/approach
This study used stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) models with core costs and total costs to estimate the cost efficiency of banks in two different economies, Vietnam where the banking system is under-developed (and thus is dominated by traditional banking activities) and New Zealand where the banking system is well-developed (and thus non-traditional banking activities play an important role).

Findings
The authors found that models using total cost tend to underestimate the banks’ cost efficiency. This underestimation relates to the extent of modern activities in a banking system: it is larger in an advanced banking system (i.e. New Zealand) and smaller in a less-developed banking system (i.e. Vietnam).

Research limitations/implications
Research is limited to two countries, and it would be useful to apply the same technique to other data sets.

Practical implications
The paper suggests a new approach to cost SFA studies in banking.

Originality/value
The paper provides a much more searching analysis of costs in banking than has generally been seen in previous research.
Role of the overall treatment time of radiotherapy with 10 × 3 Gy for outcomes in patients with metastatic spinal cord compression
Authors: Rades Dirk , Janssen Stefan , Conde‐Moreno Antonio Jose , Cacicedo Jon , Metz Michaela , Veninga Theo , Segedin Barbara , Rudat Volker , Schild Steven E 
Published: November 2016

AbstractIntroductionRadiotherapy alone still is the most commonly delivered treatment modality for metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC). MSCC is an emergency situation, which requires treatment as soon as possible. When radiotherapy is performed with the most commonly used approach 10 × 3 Gy (30 Gy in 10 fractions) over 2 weeks, the question has been asked whether an overall treatment time (OTT) of 14–15 days including two weekends without irradiation leads to worse outcomes than OTT of 12 days (beginning of radiotherapy on a Monday resulting in only one weekend break)?MethodsA total of 412 patients with MSCC were included in this retrospective study. Ninety‐two patients receiving 10 × 3 Gy over 12 days were compared to 320 patients with an OTT of 14–15 days. Ten additional factors were investigated.ResultsOn multivariate analysis, functional outcome was associated with tumour type (P < 0.001), time developing motor deficits (P < 0.001), ambulatory status (P = 0.018) and performance score (P < 0.001); OTT had no significant impact (P = 0.40). On univariate analysis of local control of MSCC (freedom from recurrence in irradiated spinal parts), no factor was significant including OTT (P = 0.66). On multivariate analysis, visceral metastases (P < 0.001), tumour type (P < 0.001), time developing motor deficits (P < 0.001), ambulatory status (P < 0.001) and performance score (P < 0.001) were associated with survival, OTT not even on univariate analysis (P = 0.55).ConclusionsSince an OTT of 14–15 days had no negative impact on outcomes compared to 12 days, compensation in form of an additional radiation fraction or continuation of radiotherapy during weekends is not required, if radiotherapy cannot be started on a Monday.