bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Surface sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy of nonpolar media
Authors: Sun Shumei , Tian Chuanshan , Shen Y. Ron 
Published: April 2015

SignificanceSum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy (SFVS) has been developed into a viable surface analytical tool for media with inversion symmetry. It is considered surface specific because the bulk contribution to the signal vanishes under the electric-dipole approximation. However, there is always the worry that beyond the electric-dipole approximation, the bulk contribution may not be negligible. The problem is particularly acute if the medium under investigation does not have a strongly polar-oriented surface layer. We show here that for nonpolar media with well-separated infrared and Raman modes, it is possible to deduce bulk and surface spectra separately from combined transmission and reflection phase-sensitive SFVS measurements. The work also provides guidelines for evaluation of the importance of bulk contribution to SFVS in general.
Multiple stiffening effects of nanoscale knobs on human red blood cells infected withPlasmodium falciparummalaria parasite
Authors: Zhang Yao , Huang Changjin , Kim Sangtae , Golkaram Mahdi , Dixon Matthew W. A. , Tilley Leann , Li Ju , Zhang Sulin , Suresh Subra 
Published: April 2015

SignificanceOur coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) simulations show that the deposition of nanoscale knobs, rather than spectrin network remodeling, is the primary cause of the dramatically increased stiffness of thePlasmodium falciparum(Pf)-infected red blood cell (RBC) membranes. Our analyses further reveal that the knobs stiffen the RBC membrane in a unique manner by simultaneously harnessing composite strengthening, strain hardening, and knob density-dependent vertical coupling effects. In addition to providing a fundamental understanding of the stiffening mechanism ofPf-infected RBCs, our simulation results suggest potential targets for antimalarial therapies.
Alpha-actinin binding kinetics modulate cellular dynamics and force generation
Authors: Ehrlicher Allen J. , Krishnan Ramaswamy , Guo Ming , Bidan Cécile M. , Weitz David A. , Pollak Martin R. 
Published: April 2015

Significance
In this study, we examine how proteins that cross-link actin filaments control certain biophysical aspects of living cells. We studied α-actinin-4 (ACTN4) a dimeric rod-shaped homodimer, of particular interest because mutations in its actin binding domain cause a human disease characterized by dysfunction of the kidney’s glomeruli; however, the mechanical impact of such mutations are unknown. We find that the human disease-causing K255E mutation in ACTN4 leads to a change in cellular biophysical properties, increasing the affinity for actin increases cellular forces and work, while decreasing cell movement. These observations describe the effects of variable cross-linking on cellular forces and dynamics, and reveal how pathology may arise mechanically from disruptive point mutations in cytoskeletal proteins.
Structural basis of human γ-secretase assembly
Authors: Sun Linfeng , Zhao Lingyun , Yang Guanghui , Yan Chuangye , Zhou Rui , Zhou Xiaoyuan , Xie Tian , Zhao Yanyu , Wu Shenjie , Li Xueming , Shi Yigong 
Published: April 2015

Significance
Unlike other single-component intramembrane proteases such as rhomboid and S2P, γ-secretase contains four components: presenilin, Pen-2, Aph-1, and nicastrin. Previous electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) analysis of human γ-secretase in amphipols revealed its overall architecture and 19 distinct transmembrane segments (TMs). However, the lack of side-chain density in the TMs, together with disordered inter-TM loops, disallowed TM assignment. Our current cryo-EM structure of human γ-secretase at 4.32-Å resolution allows specific assignment of all TMs and reveals principles of subunit packing. Our results also suggest that different detergents, as exemplified by amphipols and digitonin, may have little impact on the core conformation of γ-secretase.
How release of phosphate from mammalian F
1
-ATPase generates a rotary substep
Authors: Bason John V. , Montgomery Martin G. , Leslie Andrew G. W. , Walker John E. 
Published: April 2015

Significance
ATP, the fuel of life, is produced in the mitochondria of living cells by a molecular machine consisting of two motors linked by a rotor. One motor generates rotation by consuming energy derived from sugars and fats in foodstuffs; the other uses energy transmitted by the rotor to synthesize ATP molecules from their building blocks, ADP and phosphate. The synthetic motor can be uncoupled from the machine, and its rotary action can be studied by driving the motor backward with energy from ATP, releasing ADP and phosphate in the process. Each cycle has three 120° steps, each made of substeps of 65°, 25°, and 30° in humans. We have explained how release of phosphate from the machine generates the 25° rotary substep.
Cardioprotective Effect of Thiazide-Like Diuretics: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Chen Peng , Chaugai Sandip , Zhao Fujie , Wang Dao Wen 
Published: April 2015

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Thiazide diuretics (TD), including thiazide-type (chlorothiazide and hydrochlorothiazide) and thiazide-like diuretics (indapamide and chlorthalidone), have been used for the treatment of hypertension for more than 5 decades. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate whether TD, including thiazide-type and thiazide-like diuretics have additional cardioprotective effects.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH
We performed a pooled study of 19 randomized clinical trials (RCTs). PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched for RCTs assessing TD treatment in patients with hypertension.

KEY RESULTS
Nineteen RCTs involving 112,113 patients (56,802 in TD; 55,311 in control) were included. The incidence ratio of cardiac events (CVs) was 34.3 vs. 37.8 per 1,000 patient-years in patients randomized to TD and controls, respectively. TD treatment was associated with reductions in the risks of CVs (odds ratio (OR): 0.86, P = 0.007) and heart failure (OR: 0.62, P &lt; 0.001), but not different in stroke (OR: 0.92, P = 0.438) or CHD (OR: 0.95, P = 0.378) between diuretics and controls. Further analysis showed that the observed benefits were mainly confined to thiazide-like diuretic therapy rather than thiazide-type diuretics with a significant reduction in the risk of CVs (OR: 0.78, P &lt; 0.001), heart failure (OR: 0.57, P &lt; 0.001) and stroke (OR: 0.82, P = 0.016).

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
This study suggests that use of TD in hypertensive patients results in a reduction in the risk of CVs. Moreover, thiazide-like diuretics have greater protective effect against CVs than thiazide-type diuretics, especially on heart failure, suggesting that preferential use of thiazide-like diuretics over thiazide-type diuretics may result in greater cardiovascular benefits in hypertensive patients.
PopIns: population-scale detection of novel sequence insertions
Authors: Kehr Birte , Melsted Páll , Halldórsson Bjarni V. 
Published: April 2015

Abstract
Motivation: The detection of genomic structural variation (SV) has advanced tremendously in recent years due to progress in high-throughput sequencing technologies. Novel sequence insertions, insertions without similarity to a human reference genome, have received less attention than other types of SVs due to the computational challenges in their detection from short read sequencing data, which inherently involves de novo assembly. De novo assembly is not only computationally challenging, but also requires high-quality data. Although the reads from a single individual may not always meet this requirement, using reads from multiple individuals can increase power to detect novel insertions.
Results: We have developed the program PopIns, which can discover and characterize non-reference insertions of 100 bp or longer on a population scale. In this article, we describe the approach we implemented in PopIns. It takes as input a reads-to-reference alignment, assembles unaligned reads using a standard assembly tool, merges the contigs of different individuals into high-confidence sequences, anchors the merged sequences into the reference genome, and finally genotypes all individuals for the discovered insertions. Our tests on simulated data indicate that the merging step greatly improves the quality and reliability of predicted insertions and that PopIns shows significantly better recall and precision than the recent tool MindTheGap. Preliminary results on a dataset of 305 Icelanders demonstrate the practicality of the new approach.
Availability and implementation: The source code of PopIns is available from http://github.com/bkehr/popins.
Contact: birte.kehr@decode.is
Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Incidence and nature of adverse reactions to antibiotics used as endocarditis prophylaxis
Authors: Thornhill Martin H. , Dayer Mark J. , Prendergast Bernard , Baddour Larry M. , Jones Simon , Lockhart Peter B. 
Published: April 2015

Abstract

Objectives
Antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) administration prior to invasive dental procedures has been a leading focus of infective endocarditis prevention. However, there have been long-standing concerns about the risk of adverse drug reactions as a result of this practice. The objective of this study was to identify the incidence and nature of adverse reactions to amoxicillin and clindamycin prophylaxis to prevent infective endocarditis.

Methods
We obtained AP prescribing data for England from January 2004 to March 2014 from the NHS Business Services Authority, and adverse drug reaction data from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency's Yellow Card reporting scheme for prescriptions of the standard AP protocol of a single 3 g oral dose of amoxicillin or a single 600 mg oral dose of clindamycin for those allergic to penicillin.

Results
The reported adverse drug reaction rate for amoxicillin AP was 0 fatal reactions/million prescriptions (in fact 0 fatal reactions for nearly 3 million prescriptions) and 22.62 non-fatal reactions/million prescriptions. For clindamycin, it was 13 fatal and 149 non-fatal reactions/million prescriptions. Most clindamycin adverse drug reactions were Clostridium difficile infections.

Conclusions
AP adverse drug reaction reporting rates in England were low, particularly for amoxicillin, and lower than previous estimates. This suggests that amoxicillin AP is comparatively safe for patients without a history of amoxicillin allergy. The use of clindamycin AP was, however, associated with significant rates of fatal and non-fatal adverse drug reactions associated with C. difficile infections. These were higher than expected and similar to those for other doses, durations and routes of clindamycin administration.
SU UMa stars: Rebrightenings after superoutburst
Authors: Meyer Friedrich , Meyer-Hofmeister Emmi 
Published: April 2015

Abstract
SU UMa stars after their long superoutbursts often show single or multiple rebrightenings. We show how this phenomenon can be understood as repeated reflections of transition waves which mediate changes between the hot and the cool state of the accretion disk and travel back and forth in the outer disk region, leaving an inner part permanently hot. This points to a temporarily increased viscosity, possibly related to the formation of large-scale and longer persisting magnetic fields by the dynamo operation during the long superoutburst. The “mini-rebrightenings” in the early post-outburst light curve of V585 Lyr discovered by Kato and Osaki (2013, PASJ, 65, 97) in Kepler observations seem to be understandable as a small limit cycle of low-luminosity changes originating from a “wiggle” feature in the thermal equilibrium curve of the cool, optically thick disk.
Audit committees: practices, practitioners and praxis of governance
Authors: Brennan Niamh M. , Kirwan Collette E. 
Published: April 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to review and critique prior research on audit committees using a practice-theory lens. Research on audit committees has followed the same trajectory as early research on boards of directors, which has been criticised for its singular theoretical perspectives and methodologies that do not capture the complexity of real-world experiences/behaviours.Design/methodology/approach– The authors devise an analytical framework based on practice theory to conduct the review. The authors examine what audit committees should do (i.e. best practice) vs what audit committees actually do (i.e. actual activities in practice – praxis). Attributes of audit committee members, and the relationship dynamics relevant to their role execution (i.e. practitioners), are considered.Findings– Research on boards has found that over-emphasis on agency theory’s monitoring role negatively impacts boards’ effectiveness. The authors invoke other theories in examining what audit committees do in practice. The authors characterise the role of audit committees as oversight not monitoring. The authors question whether, similar to auditing, audit committees are blamist tools or are genuinely orientated towards supporting improvements in organisational management systems. The authors unpack the ritualistic ceremonial behaviours and symbolic endeavours vs substantive engagement by audit committees. The analytical framework also considers the “guardianship circle” around audit committees in the form of the key practitioners and their relationships: audit committee members, auditors and managers.Originality/value– Drawing on the analytical framework, the authors provide directions for further opportunities for research of audit committees.
Charity ethical investments in Norway and the UK
Authors: Kreander Niklas , McPhail Ken , Beattie Vivien 
Published: April 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore whether, how and why ethical investment practices of charities differ between two countries with quite different ideological and institutional frameworks – Norway and the UK.Design/methodology/approach– The paper uses mixed methods and a cross-sectional field study design to explore the ethical investment practices of 300 of the largest charities by investments in the UK and Norway. Practices are theorized using the dual lens of institutional theory and social origins theory.Findings– The paper provides evidence on why charities established the practice of ethical investment. The results show that large charities were more likely to have an ethical policy; that charities with moderate public sector funding were more likely to have an ethical policy. In line with institutional theory some Norwegian charities with public sector funding mimic the policy of the Government Pension Fund, and the ethical investment policy of Norwegian charities was more influenced by donors. Institutional entrepreneurs (charity founders) had a more prominent influence in UK charities.Research limitations/implications– The paper highlights that more research is needed on sovereign wealth funds, their investment practices and how they affect charities.Practical implications– The findings of this paper highlight the potential role that the ethical investment practices of sovereign can play a soft regulatory function in changing the behaviour of other investors.Social implications– To the extent that ethical investment practices are construed as having a positive social impact, then this study shows how a government sovereign wealth fund can influence the spread of ethical investment practices.Originality/value– This paper, which sits at the nexus of the charity and corporate social responsibility (CSR) literatures, contributes by responding to calls for more research on charity practices in different countries and CSR practices in different countries. This comparison also contributes to the development of institutional theory by shedding light on the institutional influence of a sovereign wealth fund and its impact on others. The paper will be of value to academics, policy setters and regulators.
The relationship between firm resources and joint ventures: revisited
Authors: Jancenelle Vivien E. 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– This study is a replication of Wolff and Reed’s (2000) work. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the combination of resources brought to joint ventures influence parent-firm performance. This study is also interested in whether or not the exposure of immobile resources through the semi-transparent membrane of the joint venture can have negative effects on parent-firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach
– The sample consists of two-parent joint ventures formed by publicly traded US firms between 1997 and 2013. The event-study methodology is used to calculate each parent-firm’s abnormal returns. This work also uses content analysis to analyze parent-firms’ annual reports (10-K).

Findings
– While Wolff and Reed’s results on resource allocation within joint ventures were not statistically significant, this replication study provided strong support to the resource allocation hypothesis. It was found that intangible resource heterogeneity within a joint venture creates higher performance gains for parent-firms than tangible resource heterogeneity. This work also successfully replicated Wolff and Reed’s findings on the negative impact of immobile resources exposure on parent-firm performance. Wolff and Reed’s results on resource complementarity were, however, not successfully replicated.

Originality/value
– This replication study goes beyond simply showing that engaging in a joint venture strategy creates value for parent-firms. Through the use of a new content analysis method, this study was able to provide strong support for Wolff and Reed’s theory on the performance gains provided by resource heterogeneity in a joint venture setting, and to confirm the results on potential adverse performance effects of immobile resources exposure.
Earthquake experience and preparedness in Turkey
Authors: Oral Meltem , Yenel Aynil , Oral Elif , Aydin Nazan , Tuncay Tarik 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to measure and compare the level of earthquake preparedness of individuals living in Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, evaluate whether prior earthquake experience has an impact on earthquake preparedness and discuss the cultural factors that may play a role in determining the level of preparedness.

Design/methodology/approach
– Three locations were identified for the study. Aşkale and Erçiş district had experienced a major earthquake where Erzurum City Center had no major earthquake experience. A total of 174 participants were included in the study. Earthquake preparation was assessed using the Turkish version of the Wellington Earthquake Preparedness Scale by Spittal et al. (2006).

Findings
– The results showed a significant relationship between the place of living, earthquake experience and preparation. Those who had prior earthquake experience had higher preparation than those who had no prior earthquake experience. Home owners had taken more steps to prepare for an earthquake than non-home owners Individuals who were married had higher preparation scores than those who were single or widowed. A comparison of general perception of preparedness levels reported by participants having a major earthquake experience and no earthquake experience showed that Erçiş and Aşkale residents were significantly more prepared for an earthquake than Erzurum residents. Home ownership and past earthquake experience were found to be predictors of preparation.

Originality/value
– Although the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey encounters many earthquakes resulting in mass destruction, the issue of whether individuals living in this region are ready and prepared for a possible earthquake has not been researched sufficiently.
Hurricane Sandy mortality in the Caribbean and continental North America
Authors: Diakakis Michalis , Deligiannakis Georgios , Katsetsiadou Katerina , Lekkas Efthymios 
Published: April 2015

Purpose– Tropical storms pose a significant threat to population despite the noteworthy improvements in forecasting and emergency management. Following the effects of Hurricane Sandy in the continental North America (USA and Canada) and the Caribbean, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mortality caused by the hurricane, focussing on differences in human vulnerability between these two regions.Design/methodology/approach– The authors developed a database of 233 deaths, consisting of variables that provided a description of the circumstances under which the fatal incidents occurred and demographic details of the victims.Findings– Analysis of the database showed higher percentages of female and young victims in the Caribbean than in continental North America, where mortality increased progressively with age and the ratio of males to females was higher. The majority of deaths occurred outdoors especially during clean-up and in vehicle crashes related to the storm. Physical trauma and drowning were identified as the most common causes of death, followed by carbon monoxide poisoning, hypothermia and others, although substantially different percentages were recorded between the two regions. Overall, indirect deaths presented a higher percentage than direct ones. Among the latter, incidents caused by storm surge and tree falls showed the highest numbers. Power failure and car crashes were the most common cause of indirect incidents.Originality/value– The paper provides a thorough analysis of the circumstances under which fatal incidents occurred. It identifies parameters that affected the vulnerability of human life to the storm and discusses the differences between the Caribbean and continental North America.
Potential effects of climate change on the habitat in Mexico
Authors: Audefroy Joel F. 
Published: April 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to assess the potential effects of climate change on the habitat and human settlements in Mexico, through an analysis of three regions that are vulnerable to hydrometeorological hazards such as droughts, floods and hurricanes.

Design/methodology/approach
– The research process included fieldwork in the states of Oaxaca, Tabasco and Yucatán, and a historical study of hydrometeorological events in each region. The authors sought to identify a means of interpreting these events linked to climate variability, on the basis of the history of disasters, the environment and the habitat. The local climatic indications were compared to the IPCC’s global successes, to show that contradictions do not exist but that it is difficult to apply the IPCC’s findings at a local level, given the considerable margin of uncertainty.

Findings
– The indications of the effects of climate change make it possible to foresee that the most vulnerable populations will be the ones facing the strongest impact in the future.

Practical implications
– The research has direct implications on urban and housing policies, offering a roadmap to design climate change adaptation strategies; adaptive capacity not only requires political commitment.

Social implications
– It is also related to social and economic development and an “integral risk management” approach rather than a “civil protection” strategy.

Originality/value
– The main interest of this research is to show that a multidisciplinary approach is essential in order to understand the local implications of climate change.