bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
EhRacM differentially regulates macropinocytosis and motility in the enteric protozoan parasiteEntamoeba histolytica
Authors: Shimoyama Misato , Nakada-Tsukui Kumiko , Nozaki Tomoyoshi 
Published: June 2024

AbstractMacropinocytosis is an evolutionarily conserved endocytic process that plays a vital role in internalizing extracellular fluids and particles in cells. This non-selective endocytic pathway is crucial for various physiological functions such as nutrient uptake, sensing, signaling, antigen presentation, and cell migration. While macropinocytosis has been extensively studied in macrophages and cancer cells, the molecular mechanisms of macropinocytosis in pathogens are less understood. It has been known thatEntamoeba histolytica, the causative agent of amebiasis, exploits macropinocytosis for survival and pathogenesis. Since macropinocytosis is initiated by actin polymerization, leading to the formation of membrane ruffles and the subsequent trapping of solutes in macropinosomes, actin cytoskeleton regulation is crucial. Thus, this study focuses on unraveling the role of well-conserved actin cytoskeleton regulators, Rho small GTPase family proteins, in macropinocytosis inE. histolytica. Through gene silencing of highly transcribedEhrho/Ehracgenes and following flow cytometry analysis, we identified that silencingEhracMenhances dextran macropinocytosis and affects cellular migration persistence. Live imaging and interactome analysis unveiled the cytosolic and vesicular localization of EhRacM, along with its interaction with signaling and membrane traffic-related proteins, shedding light on EhRacM’s multiple roles. Our findings provide insights into the specific regulatory mechanisms of macropinocytosis among endocytic pathways inE. histolytica, highlighting the significance of EhRacM in both macropinocytosis and cellular migration.Author SummaryEntamoeba histolyticais an intestinal protozoan parasite that causes amoebic dysentery and liver abscesses in humans. This organism exploits macropinocytosis, a cellular process that engulfs extracellular fluids and particles, for its survival and pathogenicity. Although macropinocytosis is well-characterized in immune cells and cancer cells as it is essential for nutrient uptake, its mechanisms in pathogens, such asE. histolytica, remain less explored. Our research focused on the molecular mechanisms underpinning macropinocytosis in this parasite, specifically examining the role of Rho small GTPase family proteins. These proteins are critical regulators of the actin cytoskeleton in eukaryotic cells. Our study reveals that one specific Rho small GTPase, EhRacM, is in the maturation of macropinosomes as well as in directing linear cell migration. The physiological significance of EhRacM in regulating both macropinocytosis and migration opens new avenues for understanding the role of Rho small GTPases in these signaling pathways, which could eventually lead to the development of new control measures against diseases caused by this parasite.
A role for the putative error-prone polymeraseREV1in DNA damage and antifungal drug resistance inCandida albicans
Authors: Agyare-Tabbi Michelle R. , Uthayakumar Deeva , Francis Desiree , Maroc Laetitia , Grant Chris , McQueen Peter , Westmacott Garret , Shaker Hajer , Skulska Iwona , Gagnon-Arsenault Isabelle , Boisvert Jonathan , Landry Christian R. , Shapiro Rebecca S. 
Published: June 2024

AbstractAntimicrobial-induced DNA damage, and subsequent repair via upregulation of DNA repair factors, including error-prone translesion polymerases, can lead to the increased accumulation of mutations in the microbial genome, and ultimately increased risk of acquired mutations associated with antimicrobial resistance. While this phenotype is well described in bacterial species, it is less thoroughly investigated amongst microbial fungi. Here, we monitor DNA damage induced by antifungal agents in the fungal pathogenCandida albicans, and find that commonly used antifungal drugs are able to induce DNA damage, leading to the upregulation of transcripts encoding predicted error-prone polymerases and related factors. We focus onREV1, encoding a putative error-prone polymerase, and find that while deleting this gene inC. albicansleads to increased sensitivity to DNA damage, it also unexpectedly renders cells more likely to incur mutations and evolve resistance to antifungal agents. We further find that deletion ofREV1leads to a significant depletion in the uncharacterized protein Shm1, which itself plays a role in fungal mutagenesis. Together, this work lends new insight into previously uncharacterized factors with important roles in the DNA damage response, mutagenesis, and the evolution of antifungal drug resistance.
Predicting substrates for orphan Solute Carrier Proteins using multi-omics datasets
Authors: Zhang Y. , Newstead S. , Sarkies P. 
Published: June 2024

AbstractSolute carriers (SLC) are integral membrane proteins responsible for transporting a wide variety of metabolites, signaling molecules and drugs across cellular membranes. Despite key roles in metabolism, signaling and pharmacology, around one third of SLC proteins are ‘orphans’ whose substrates are unknown. Experimental determination of SLC substrates is technically challenging given the wide range of possible physiological candidates. Here, we develop a predictive algorithm to identify correlations between SLC expression levels and intracellular metabolite concentrations by leveraging existing cancer multi-omics datasets. Our predictions recovered known SLC-substrate pairs with high sensitivity and specificity compared to simulated random pairs. CRISPR loss-of-function screen data and metabolic pathway adjacency data further improved the performance of our algorithm. In parallel, we combined drug sensitivity data with SLC expression profiles to predict new SLC-drug interactions. Together, we provide a novel bioinformatic pipeline to predict new substrate predictions for SLCs, offering new opportunities to de-orphanise SLCs with important implications for understanding their roles in health and disease.
Complementary roles of EPS, T3SS and Expansin for virulence ofErwinia tracheiphila, the causative agent of cucurbit wilt
Authors: Rocha Jorge , Shapiro Lori R. , Chimileski Scott , Kolter Roberto 
Published: June 2024

AbstractErwinia tracheiphila(Smith) is a recently emerged plant pathogen that causes severe economic losses in cucurbit crops in temperate Eastern North America.E. tracheiphilais xylem restricted, and virulence is thought to be related to Exopolysaccharides (EPS) and biofilm formation, which occlude the passage of sap in xylem vessels and causes systemic wilt. However, the role of EPS and biofilm formation, and their contribution to disease in relation to other virulence loci are unknown. Here, we use deletion mutants to explore the roles of EPS, Hrp Type III secretion system (Hrp T3SS) and Expansin in plant colonization and virulence. Then, we quantify the expression of the genes encoding these factors during infection. Our results show that Exopolysaccharides are essential forE. tracheiphilasurvival in host plants, while Hrp T3SS and Expansin are dispensable for survival but needed for systemic wilt symptom development. EPS and Hrp T3SS display contrasting expression patterns in the plant, reflecting their relevance in different stages of the infection. Finally, we show that expression of theepsandhrpT3SS operons is downregulated in mildly increased temperatures, suggesting a link between expression of these virulence factors and geographic restriction ofE. tracheiphilato temperate regions. Our work highlights howE. tracheiphilavirulence is a complex trait where several loci are coordinated during infection. These results further shed light into the relationship between virulence factors and the ecology of this pathosystem, which will be essential for developing sustainable management strategies for this emerging pathogen.
Filamentous bacteriophages induce proinflammatory responses in intestinal epithelial cells
Authors: Varadan Ambarish C. , Grasis Juris A. 
Published: June 2024

AbstractBacteriophages are the dominant members of the human enteric virome and can shape bacterial communities in the gut; however, our understanding of how they directly impact health and disease is limited. Previous studies have shown that specific bacteriophage populations are expanded in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), suggesting that fluctuations in the enteric virome may contribute to intestinal inflammation. Based on these studies, we hypothesized that a high bacteriophage burden directly induces intestinal epithelial responses. We found that filamentous inoviruses M13 and Fd induced dose-dependent IL-8 expression in the human intestinal epithelial cell line HT-29 to a greater degree than their lytic counterparts T4 and ϕX174 did. We also found that M13, but not Fd, reduced bacterial internalization in HT-29 cells. This led us to investigate the mechanism underlying M13-mediated inhibition of bacterial internalization by examining the antiviral and antimicrobial responses in these cells. M13 upregulated Type I and III IFN expression and augmented short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-mediated LL-37 expression in HT-29 cells. Taken together, our data establish that inoviruses directly affect human intestinal epithelial cells. These results provide new insights into the complex interactions between bacteriophages and the intestinal mucosa, which may underlie disease pathogenesis.
Learning and cognition in a decision made at reflex speed
Authors: Krause Martin , Schulze Wolfram , Schuster Stefan 
Published: June 2024

AbstractIn recent years it has become clear that many decisions do not obey the rule that more time yields better decisions. These decisions can be made remarkably fast and yet accurately, sometimes based on very limited information. It is presently unclear whether such ‘blink’ or high-speed decisions lack cognitive aspects that only much slower ‘deliberative’ decision-making can support. Here we demonstrate an unexpected degree of flexibility and cognition in a decision made by a hunting animal at reflex-like speed. Based on observing initial speed, direction, and height of falling prey archerfish decide in just 40 milliseconds on a turn toward the later ballistic landing point. This enables the fish to dash off to arrive simultaneously with prey and to secure it against numerous competitors. We established an approach that allowed us to replace ballistics, the rule that governs the turn decisions, with a novel rule of how to connect the input variables with the rewarded turns. This approach revealed that the fish are not using a hardwired circuit but were able to reprogram their decision in efficient ways that allowed them to immediately generalize to untrained settings. Training even allowed the decision to simultaneously use two distinct sets of rules, one for each of two distinct objects. The flexibility of the decision and the occurrence of high-level cognitive features are counterintuitive for a reflex-like decision made faster than an Olympic sprinter can respond to the start gun. However, they imply that combining speed and accuracy in rapid decisions does not generally make them less smart than decisions made over far longer timescales.
Enhanced laser absorption and ion acceleration by boron nitride nanotube targets and high-energy PW laser pulses
Authors: Tosca M. , Morace A. , Schollmeier M. , Steinke S. , Shirvanyan V. , Arikawa Y. , Giuffrida L. , Margarone D. , Pleskunov P. , Choukourov A. , Whitney R. R. , Scammell L. R. , Korn G. 
Published: June 2024

Enhancing laser energy absorption with energy transfer to fast electrons is crucial for efficient laser-driven ion acceleration. In this work, we present an experimental demonstration of volumetric laser absorption using boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) targets with an average density of 15 of the solid density. We use a PW laser system operating at a pulse duration of 1.2 ps and an energy of 1.3 kJ, reaching intensities of 2 × 1019 Wcm−2 on target with moderate nanosecond contrast (109), to generate energetic ion streams from a 250 µm thick BNNT target. To characterize laser-accelerated ions, Thomson parabola spectrometers, CR-39 nuclear track detectors, and an electron spectrometer are employed. The results are compared to those achieved using flat targets made of polystyrene (PS) of the same thickness. The comparison reveals a 1.5-fold increase in proton maximum energy and a 2.5-fold increase in the maximum energy of heavy ions (C and N) when comparing the BNNT to PS. Moreover, the high-energy ion flux recorded at CR-39 is orders of magnitude higher for the BNNT after cutting off low-energy ions with Al filters. The enhanced ion acceleration is the result of a 2.3-fold increase in the electron temperature for BNNT, as measured by the electron spectrometer. These experimental findings are further validated through two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, which confirm the increase in electron temperature due to enhanced laser absorption ascribable to the low density and nanostructure of the BNNT target compared to the flat foil.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
The impact of climate transition risk on firms’ value – evidence from select Indian-listed companies
Authors: Mondal Amitava , Bauri Somnath 
Published: June 2024

PurposeTransitioning to a low-carbon economy requires a positive response by society, including business organizations, towards the green concept and also requires the implementation of long-term green strategies. These requirements could impose various transition risks on the sustainable development of the firms; hence, the present study aims to examine the impact of climate transition risk on a firm’s financial performance and market value creation from the Indian perspective.Design/methodology/approachWe have considered the firm-level environmental risk score (ERS) to evaluate the sensitivity of a firm’s profitability (measured by ROA & ROE) and market value (measured by Tobin’s Q) towards the climate transition risk. The present study used multiple regression analysis to examine the impact of climate transition risk on the firm’s financial performance and market value creation, as evidenced by Nifty 50 companies.FindingsThe empirical results suggested that corporate climate transition risks have been positively associated with the firm’s financial performance indicators but negatively impacted the firm’s market value creation in the case of select Indian-listed firms. Hence, our results indicate that with the increase of firm-level climate transition risk, the firm’s financial performance increases but negatively affects the firm’s market value creation. The robustness tests have also confirmed the same results and supported our analysis.Originality/valueThe present paper contributes to the existing literature on climate risks and firms’ performance by providing insights about firms’ sensitivity towards climate transition risk from the Indian perspective.
Investigation of shaded pole stator topology for low power AC motors design
Authors: Petkovska Lidija , Cvetkovski Goga Vladimir 
Published: June 2024

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the features of single phase shaded pole stator with squirrel–cage rotor or permanent magnet rotor, that leads to an investigation of these topoloties as induction motor or synchronous motor. The comparative analysis is realised for the following three topologies: single phase shaded pole induction motor (SPIM) with squirrel–cage rotor, the second topology (single phase synchronous motor) has the same stator configuration but with permanent magnet rotor and the third investigated topology is similar to the second one, where the stator poles instead of iron steel are made of soft composite material.Design/methodology/approachThe investigation in this work starts with a performance analysis of single-phase SPIM. Afterwards for the same stator topology the squirrel rotor is replaced with a two-pole permanent magnet rotor and the same performance analysis is realised for this topology. Finally, the second topology is improved bay replacing the iron steel stator poles with stator poles made of soft magnetic composite material and performance analysis is realised for this third type of topology as well. The performance analysis of all topologies is realised by implementation of finite element method and finite element analysis.FindingsThe presented data and diagrams from the realized investigation show that single phase synchronous motor with shaded pole stator has an improved characteristics in comparison with the initial single-phase SPIM. Finally, the third topology realized on the bases of the single-phase synchronous motor has the best performance characteristics due to the implementation of soft magnetic material in the realization of the stator poles. The proposed methodology for structural and performance improvement of a single-phase SPIM topology opens the possibility for additive manufacturing application and significant cost reduction.Originality/valueThe focus was put on exploration the possibilities of the single-phase shaded pole stator topology for application in low-power and low-cost single phase self-starting motors. By simple replacement of the squirrel–cage rotor, in the reference AKO-16 motor, with one-piece ferrite permanent magnet rotor, the self-starting single phase synchronous motor was derived. In the next step, owing to simplify the SPPM motor production process and manufacturing, the stator poles instead of iron steel lamination were made of soft composite material Somaloy®. It opens the possibility for additive manufacturing application and significant cost reduction.
Prediction of the minimum fluidization velocity of different biomass types by artificial neural networks and empirical correlations
Authors: Matos Thenysson , Perazzini Maisa Tonon Bitti , Perazzini Hugo 
Published: June 2024

Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the performance of artificial neural networks with filling methods in predicting the minimum fluidization velocity of different biomass types for bioenergy applications.

Design/methodology/approach
An extensive literature review was performed to create an efficient database for training purposes. The database consisted of experimental values of the minimum fluidization velocity, physical properties of the biomass particles (density, size and sphericity) and characteristics of the fluidization (monocomponent experiments or binary mixture). The neural models developed were divided into eight different cases, in which the main difference between them was the filling method type (K-nearest neighbors [KNN] or linear interpolation) and the number of input neurons. The results of the neural models were compared to the classical correlations proposed by the literature and empirical equations derived from multiple regression analysis.

Findings
The performance of a given filling method depended on the characteristics and size of the database. The KNN method was superior for lower available data for training and specific fluidization experiments, like monocomponent or binary mixture. The linear interpolation method was superior for a wider and larger database, including monocomponent and binary mixture. The performance of the neural model was comparable with the predictions of the most well-known correlations from the literature.

Originality/value
Techniques of machine learning, such as filling methods, were used to improve the performance of the neural models. Besides the typical comparisons with conventional correlations, comparisons with three main equations derived from multiple regression analysis were reported and discussed.
How does algorithm-based HR predict employees’ sentiment? Developing an employee experience model through sentiment analysis
Authors: Lee Jinju , Song Ji Hoon 
Published: June 2024

Purpose
This study aims to develop a conceptual model of positive employee experience using sentiment analysis within algorithm-based human resource (HR) strategies. Its goal is to enhance HR professionals’ understanding of employee experiences and enable data-driven decision-making to create a positive work environment, thereby contributing to the originality of HR research.

Design/methodology/approach
The study conducts sentiment analysis – a text mining technique – to assess employee reviews and extract distinct positive experience factors. The employed data-driven methodology serves to fortify the reliability and objectivity of the analysis, ultimately resulting in a more refined depiction of the conveyed sentiment.

Findings
Utilizing sentiment analysis, the authors identified 135 keywords that signify positive employee experiences. These keywords were then categorized into four clusters aligned with factors influencing employee experience: work, relationships, organizational system and organizational culture, employing an inductive approach. The framework outlines the process of nurturing positive employee experiences throughout the employee life cycle, incorporating insights from the affective events theory and cognitive appraisal theory.

Practical implications
Data-driven insights empower HR professionals to enhance employee satisfaction, engagement and productivity. HR managers implementing AI-assisted HR ecosystems need digital and data science skills. Additionally, these insights can offer practical support in accentuating diversity and ethical considerations within the organizational culture. Candid employee data can enhance leadership and support diversity in organizational culture. Managers play a crucial communication role, ensuring flexible access to personalized HR solutions.

Originality/value
Applying sentiment analysis through opinion mining allows for the collection of unstructured data, reflecting authentic employee perceptions. This innovative approach expedites issue identification and targeted actions, enhancing employee satisfaction. Textual reviews, integral to employee feedback, offer comprehensive insights. Additionally, considering subjectivity and review length in online employee reviews adds value to understanding experiences (Zhao et al., 2019). This study surpasses prior research by directly identifying key factors of employee experience through the analysis of actual employee review texts, addressing a gap in understanding beyond previous attempts.
Building bridges and preserving voices: key factors in community oral history stewardship
Authors: Kim Jeonghyun , Roeschley Ana , Byun Mimi 
Published: June 2024

PurposeThe study aims to enhance our understanding of shared community oral history stewardship by exploring its practices and challenges from the perspectives of the stakeholders involved.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews with community oral history stewards. Each interview focused on their experiences and perspectives regarding community-based oral history projects. The interview data were transcribed and analyzed using a grounded theory approach.FindingsCommunity oral history stewards found oral history stewardship entails substantial effort, long-term commitment, and challenges. They concurred on the importance of partnerships between communities and archives in preserving community stories, with institutional archives providing valuable support, resources, and engagement beyond mere preservation platforms. Establishing trust between communities and archives emerged as a fundamental requirement for fruitful collaboration.Originality/valueCommunity oral history has stood out as the prevailing form within the theory and practice of oral history, but its shared stewardship practices have not been thoroughly explored from the stakeholders' viewpoints.