bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Application of the unitary group approach to evaluate spin density for configuration interaction calculations in a basis of S2 eigenfunctions
Authors: Polyak Iakov , Bearpark Michael J. , Robb Michael A. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractWe present an implementation of the spin‐dependent unitary group approach to calculate spin densities for configuration interaction calculations in a basis of spin symmetry‐adapted functions. Using S2 eigenfunctions helps to reduce the size of configuration space and is beneficial in studies of the systems where selection of states of specific spin symmetry is crucial. To achieve this, we combine the method to calculate U(n) generator matrix elements developed by Downward and Robb (Theor. Chim. Acta 1977, 46, 129) with the approach of Battle and Gould to calculate U(2n) generator matrix elements (Chem. Phys. Lett. 1993, 201, 284). We also compare and contrast the spin density formulated in terms of the spin‐independent unitary generators arising from the group theory formalism and equivalent formulation of the spin density representation in terms of the one‐ and two‐electron charge densities.
Neurotrophically Induced Mesenchymal Progenitor Cells Derived from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Enhance Neuritogenesis via Neurotrophin and Cytokine Production
Authors: Brick Rachel M. , Sun Aaron X. , Tuan Rocky S. 
Published: December 2017

Abstract
Adult tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known to produce a number of bioactive factors, including neurotrophic growth factors, capable of supporting and improving nerve regeneration. However, with a finite culture expansion capacity, MSCs are inherently limited in their lifespan and use. We examined here the potential utility of an alternative, mesenchymal-like cell source, derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, termed induced mesenchymal progenitor cells (MiMPCs). We found that several genes were upregulated and proteins were produced in MiMPCs that matched those previously reported for MSCs. Like MSCs, the MiMPCs secreted various neurotrophic and neuroprotective factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), osteopontin, and osteonectin, and promoted neurite outgrowth in chick embryonic dorsal root ganglia (DRG) cultures compared with control cultures. Cotreatment with a pharmacological Trk-receptor inhibitor did not result in significant decrease in MiMPC-induced neurite outgrowth, which was however inhibited upon Jak/STAT3 blockade. These findings suggest that the MiMPC induction of DRG neurite outgrowth is unlikely to be solely dependent on BDNF, but instead Jak/STAT3 activation by IL-6 and/or LIF is likely to be critical neurotrophic signaling pathways of the MiMPC secretome. Taken together, these findings suggest MiMPCs as a renewable, candidate source of therapeutic cells and a potential alternative to MSCs for peripheral nerve repair, in view of their ability to promote nerve growth by producing many of the same growth factors and cytokines as Schwann cells and signaling through critical neurotrophic pathways.
Exposure to cadmium during gestation and lactation affects development and function of Leydig cells in male offspring
Authors: Tian Huajian , Chen Shaomin , Leng Yang , Li Teng , Li Zengli , Chen Hongxia , Zhang Qihao 
Published: December 2017

AbstractToxic effects of maternal exposure to Cadmium (Cd) on Leydig cells of male offspring arises much concern recently, but its toxic effects on the development of Leydig cells and androgen synthesis have not been elucidated. In this study, female rats were exposed to Cd during gestation and lactation, and the development of Leydig cells in the first filial‐generation (F1) male rats was investigated. The steroidogenic signaling pathway and biomarkers related to the development of Leydig cells were detected to disclose how maternal Cd‐exposure caused reproductive damage. F1 male rats with maternal Cd‐exposure gained a low relative weight of testis and declined levels of steroid hormones. Maternal Cd‐exposure interrupted the development of Leydig cells with high expression of SRD5α and cell morphology of immature Leydig cells in adulthood, inhibited the activation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate/ protein kinase A signaling pathway and down‐regulated the steroidogenic enzymes. These results would help to disclose the origin of male sexual dysfunction in the developmental stages of Leydig cells.
Tax certified individual auditors and effective tax rates
Authors: Frey Lisa 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis study examines how the appointment of tax certified individual auditors is associated with reported effective tax rates of corporate clients. The study uses a unique German institutional setting which makes it possible to track individual auditors that are also certified tax consultants and sign the audit opinion. Empirical results indicate that tax certified individual engagement partners are associated with higher effective tax rates. Further tests reveal that this association also exists for individual parent company financial statements and that it is stronger when tax confirmation services are provided to the audit client. My findings enhance the understanding of the role of individual auditors.
Are you attracted? Do you remain? Meta-analytic evidence on flexible work practices
Authors: Onken-Menke Greta , Nüesch Stephan , Kröll Claudia 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis meta-analysis investigates how three flexible work practices (FWPs), flexible work schedules, telecommuting and sabbaticals, affect organizational attractiveness for job seekers and the organizational attachment of employees. Based on organizational support theory and signalling theory, we conjecture that anticipated organizational support mediates the positive relationship between FWPs and organizational attractiveness. Applying the conservation of resources theory, we suggest that FWPs increase organizational attachment through increased perceived autonomy. Meta-analytic results based on 68 studies and 52,738 employees indicate that FWPs increase organizational attractiveness and that the positive effects are partially mediated by anticipated organizational support. We also find that flexible work schedules and sabbaticals (but not telecommuting) increase organizational commitment and that all FWPs decrease turnover intention. Furthermore, these effects are partially mediated by perceived autonomy. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Chemotherapeutics of visceral leishmaniasis: present and future developments
Authors: SUNDAR SHYAM , SINGH ANUP 
Published: December 2017

SUMMARYTreatment of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL), a neglected tropical disease, is very challenging with few treatment options. Long duration of treatment and drug toxicity further limit the target of achieving VL elimination. Chemotherapy remains the treatment of choice. Single dose of liposomal amphotericin B (LAmB) and multidrug therapy (LAmB + miltefosine, LAmB + paromomycin (PM), or miltefosine + PM) are recommended treatment regimen for treatment of VL in Indian sub-continent. Combination therapy of pentavalent antimonials (Sbv) and PM in East Africa and LAmB in the Mediterranean region/South America remains the treatment of choice. Various drugs having anti-leishmania properties are in preclinical phase and need further development. An effective treatment and secondary prophylaxis of HIV-VL co-infection should be developed to decrease treatment failure and drug resistance.
Nurturant-involved parenting and adolescent substance use: Examining an internalizing pathway through adolescent social anxiety symptoms and substance refusal efficacy
Authors: Weymouth Bridget B. , Fosco Gregory M. , Feinberg Mark E. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractResearch has clearly established the important role of parents in preventing substance use among early adolescents. Much of this work has focused on deviance (e.g., antisocial behavior, delinquency, and oppositional behavior) as a central pathway linking parenting behaviors and early adolescent substance use. This study proposed an alternative pathway; using a four-wave longitudinal design, we examined whether nurturant-involved parenting (Fall sixth grade) was inversely associated with adolescent drunkenness, marijuana use, and cigarette use (eighth grade) through social anxiety symptoms (Spring sixth grade) and subsequent decreases in substance refusal efficacy (seventh grade). Nurturant-involved parenting is characterized by warmth, supportiveness, low hostility, and low rejection. Analyses were conducted with a sample of 687 two-parent families. Results indicated that adolescents who were in families where fathers exhibited lower levels of nurturant-involved parenting experienced subsequent increases in social anxiety symptoms and decreased efficacy to refuse substances, which in turn was related to more frequent drunkenness, cigarette use, and marijuana use. Indirect effects are discussed. Findings were not substantiated for mothers’ parenting. Adolescent gender did not moderate associations. The results highlight an additional pathway through which parenting influences youth substance use and links social anxiety symptoms to reduced substance refusal efficacy.
Discovery of an important wintering site of the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea in the Meghna Estuary, Bangladesh
Authors: CHOWDHURY SAYAM U. , FOYSAL MOHAMMAD , DIYAN M ABDULLAH ABU , AHMED SAKIB 
Published: December 2017

SummaryThe Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaeus is one of the most threatened migratory shorebirds in the world, breeding in Russia and wintering in Asia. The global population is declining rapidly and is projected to be extinct within a few decades without intervention. Here, we present the results of shorebird surveys in previously unrecognised site in Bangladesh along the Meghna Estuary, identified for the first time by using species distribution models. Counts and habitat preference of Spoon-billed Sandpipers and other endangered shorebirds are described here with notes on the global importance of the newly discovered site. The sum of the peak counts for each shorebird species across the two surveys was 25,993 including a minimum of 48 Spoon-billed Sandpipers. The majority of the Spoon-billed Sandpipers were observed during low tide while foraging (66.6%) and logistic regression testing for effects on the presence of foraging Spoon-billed Sandpiper indicate that they mainly preferred to forage on shallow mud. We summarise the threats to Spoon-billed Sandpipers and other birds in the new site that is currently not recognized as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, although it fulfils several Ramsar Criteria. We also propose conservation and monitoring measures for long-term protection of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and its habitat.
Wickedness, Moral Responsibility, and Access to Transplantable Livers
Authors: TONKENS RYAN 
Published: December 2017

Abstract:Under the current conditions of scarcity of transplantable livers, difficult decisions need to be made about access. There is a growing consensus that it is morally justified to give people with ARESLD lower priority than those whose need is not self-caused. The purpose of this article is to critically examine the conditions under which such prioritization is morally justified, by challenging arguments put forth by Walter Glannon and Daniel Brudney. There are serious theoretical and practical problems with these views, which have to do with the nature and scope of the (putative) moral duty not to contribute to the competition for scarce transplantable livers, and the difficulty in determining whether people are responsible for their weakness or even wickedness of character. These problems need to be resolved if we are to be morally justified in determining access based on causal and moral responsibility for being in need.
The Ethics of Making Patients Responsible
Authors: HANSSON SVEN OVE 
Published: December 2017

Abstract:In their daily clinical work, healthcare professionals generally apply what seems to be a double standard for the responsibility of patients. On the one hand, patients are encouraged to take responsibility for lifestyle changes that can improve their chances of good health. On the other hand, when patients fail to follow such recommendations, they are not held responsible for the failure. This seeming inconsistency is explained in terms of the distinction between task responsibility and blame responsibility. The double standard for responsibility is shown to be epistemologically rational, ethically commendable, and therapeutically advantageous. However, this non-blaming approach to patient responsibility is threatened by proposals to assign lower priority in healthcare to patients who are themselves responsible for their disease. Such responsibility-based priority setting requires that physicians assign blame responsibility to their patients, a practice that would run into conflict with the ethical foundations of the patient–physician relationship. Therefore, such proposals should be rejected.
Fear of Life, Fear of Death, and Fear of Causing Death: How Legislative Changes on Assisted Dying Are Doomed to Fail
Authors: HÄYRY MATTI 
Published: December 2017

Abstract:Fear of life, fear of death, and fear of causing death form a combination that prevents reasoned changes in laws concerning end-of-life situations. This is shown systematically in this article using the methods of conceptual analysis. Prevalent fears are explicated and interpreted to see how their meanings differ depending on the chosen normative stance. When the meanings have been clarified, the impact of the fears on the motivations and justifications of potential legislative reforms are assessed. Two main normative stances are evoked. The first makes an appeal to individual self-determination, or autonomy, and the second to the traditional professional ethics of physicians. These views partly share qualifying elements, including incurability and irreversibility of the patient’s medical condition, proximity of death, the unbearable nature of suffering, and issues of voluntariness further shade the matter. The conclusion is that although many motives to change end-of-life laws are admirable, they are partly contradictory, as are calls for autonomy and appeals to professional ethics; to a degree that good, principled legislative solutions remain improbable in the foreseeable future.
The potential benefits of agricultural adaptation to warming in China in the long run
Authors: Huang Kaixing , Wang Jinxia , Huang Jikun , Findlay Christopher 
Published: December 2017

AbstractUnderstanding the extent to which agriculture can adapt to climate change and the determinants of farmers' adaptive capacity are of paramount importance from a policy perspective. Based on household survey data from a large sample in rural China, the present article adopts a panel approach to estimate the potential benefits of long-run adaptation and to identify the determinants of farmers' adaptive capacity. The empirical results suggest that, for various model settings and climate change scenarios, long-run adaptations should mitigate one-third to one-half of the damages of warming on crop profits by the end of this century. These findings support the basic argument of the hedonic approach that omitting long-run adaptations will dramatically overestimate the potential damage of climate change. The paper also finds that household-level capital intensity and farmland size have significant effects on farmers' adaptive capacities.
In situ functional dissection of RNA cis-regulatory elements by multiplex CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering
Authors: Wu Qianxin , Ferry Quentin R. V. , Baeumler Toni A. , Michaels Yale S. , Vitsios Dimitrios M. , Habib Omer , Arnold Roland , Jiang Xiaowei , Maio Stefano , Steinkraus Bruno R. , Tapia Marta , Piazza Paolo , Xu Ni , Holländer Georg A. , Milne Thomas A. , Kim Jin-Soo , Enright Anton J. , Bassett Andrew R. , Fulga Tudor A. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractRNA regulatory elements (RREs) are an important yet relatively under-explored facet of gene regulation. Deciphering the prevalence and functional impact of this post-transcriptional control layer requires technologies for disrupting RREs without perturbing cellular homeostasis. Here we describe genome-engineering based evaluation of RNA regulatory element activity (GenERA), a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 platform for in situ high-content functional analysis of RREs. We use GenERA to survey the entire regulatory landscape of a 3′UTR, and apply it in a multiplex fashion to analyse combinatorial interactions between sets of miRNA response elements (MREs), providing strong evidence for cooperative activity. We also employ this technology to probe the functionality of an entire MRE network under cellular homeostasis, and show that high-resolution analysis of the GenERA dataset can be used to extract functional features of MREs. This study provides a genome editing-based multiplex strategy for direct functional interrogation of RNA cis-regulatory elements in a native cellular environment.
Dielectric anomalies and interactions in the three-dimensional quadratic band touching Luttinger semimetal Pr2Ir2O7
Authors: Cheng Bing , Ohtsuki T. , Chaudhuri Dipanjan , Nakatsuji S. , Lippmaa Mikk , Armitage N. P. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractDirac and Weyl semimetals with linearly crossing bands are the focus of much recent interest in condensed matter physics. Although they host fascinating phenomena, their physics can be understood in terms of weakly interacting electrons. In contrast, more than 40 years ago, Abrikosov pointed out that quadratic band touchings are generically strongly interacting. We have performed terahertz spectroscopy on the films of the conducting pyrochlore Pr2Ir2O7, which has been shown to host a quadratic band touching. A dielectric constant as large as $$\tilde{ \varepsilon} {\mathrm{/}}\epsilon _0 \sim 180$$

ε

̃

∕

ϵ

0

~
180
is observed at low temperatures. In such systems, the dielectric constant is a measure of the relative scale of interactions, which are therefore in our material almost two orders of magnitude larger than the kinetic energy. Despite this, the scattering rate exhibits a T2 dependence, which shows that for finite doping a Fermi liquid state survives—however, with a scattering rate close to the maximal value allowed.
SYK kinase mediates brown fat differentiation and activation
Authors: Knoll Marko , Winther Sally , Natarajan Anirudh , Yang Huan , Jiang Mengxi , Thiru Prathapan , Shahsafaei Aliakbar , Chavarria Tony E. , Lamming Dudley W. , Sun Lei , Hansen Jacob B. , Lodish Harvey F. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractBrown adipose tissue (BAT) metabolism influences glucose homeostasis and metabolic health in mice and humans. Sympathetic stimulation of β-adrenergic receptors in response to cold induces proliferation, differentiation, and UCP1 expression in pre-adipocytes and mature brown adipocytes. Here we show that spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) is upregulated during brown adipocyte differentiation and activated by β-adrenergic stimulation. Deletion or inhibition of SYK, a kinase known for its essential roles in the immune system, blocks brown and white pre-adipocyte proliferation and differentiation in vitro, and results in diminished expression of Ucp1 and other genes regulating brown adipocyte function in response to β-adrenergic stimulation. Adipocyte-specific SYK deletion in mice reduces BAT mass and BAT that developed consisted of SYK-expressing brown adipocytes that had escaped homozygous Syk deletion. SYK inhibition in vivo represses β-agonist-induced thermogenesis and oxygen consumption. These results establish SYK as an essential mediator of brown fat formation and function.
Nucleotide– and Mal3-dependent changes in fission yeast microtubules suggest a structural plasticity view of dynamics
Authors: von Loeffelholz Ottilie , Venables Neil A. , Drummond Douglas Robert , Katsuki Miho , Cross Robert , Moores Carolyn A. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractUsing cryo-electron microscopy, we characterize the architecture of microtubules assembled fromSchizosaccharomyces pombetubulin, in the presence and absence of their regulatory partner Mal3. Cryo-electron tomography reveals that microtubules assembled fromS. pombetubulin have predominantly B-lattice interprotofilament contacts, with protofilaments skewed around the microtubule axis. Copolymerization with Mal3 favors 13 protofilament microtubules with reduced protofilament skew, indicating that Mal3 adjusts interprotofilament interfaces. A 4.6-Å resolution structure of microtubule-bound Mal3 shows that Mal3 makes a distinctive footprint on theS. pombemicrotubule lattice and that unlike mammalian microtubules,S. pombemicrotubules do not show the longitudinal lattice compaction associated with EB protein binding and GTP hydrolysis. Our results firmly support a structural plasticity view of microtubule dynamics in which microtubule lattice conformation is sensitive to a variety of effectors and differently so for different tubulins.
Targeted inhibition of STAT/TET1 axis as a therapeutic strategy for acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Jiang Xi , Hu Chao , Ferchen Kyle , Nie Ji , Cui Xiaolong , Chen Chih-Hong , Cheng Liting , Zuo Zhixiang , Seibel William , He Chunjiang , Tang Yixuan , Skibbe Jennifer R. , Wunderlich Mark , Reinhold William C. , Dong Lei , Shen Chao , Arnovitz Stephen , Ulrich Bryan , Lu Jiuwei , Weng Hengyou , Su Rui , Huang Huilin , Wang Yungui , Li Chenying , Qin Xi , Mulloy James C. , Zheng Yi , Diao Jiajie , Jin Jie , Li Chong , Liu Paul P. , He Chuan , Chen Yuan , Chen Jianjun 
Published: December 2017

AbstractEffective therapy of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains an unmet need. DNA methylcytosine dioxygenase Ten-eleven translocation 1 (TET1) is a critical oncoprotein in AML. Through a series of data analysis and drug screening, we identified two compounds (i.e., NSC-311068 and NSC-370284) that selectively suppress TET1 transcription and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) modification, and effectively inhibit cell viability in AML with high expression of TET1 (i.e., TET1-high AML), including AML carrying t(11q23)/MLL-rearrangements and t(8;21) AML. NSC-311068 and especially NSC-370284 significantly repressed TET1-high AML progression in vivo. UC-514321, a structural analog of NSC-370284, exhibited a more potent therapeutic effect and prolonged the median survival of TET1-high AML mice over three fold. NSC-370284 and UC-514321 both directly target STAT3/5, transcriptional activators of TET1, and thus repress TET1 expression. They also exhibit strong synergistic effects with standard chemotherapy. Our results highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting the STAT/TET1 axis by selective inhibitors in AML treatment.