bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ethnic differences in insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function among Asian men
Authors: Tan V M H , Lee Y S , Venkataraman K , Khoo E Y H , Tai E S , Chong Y S , Gluckman P , Leow M K S , Khoo C M 
Published: July 2015

AbstractBackground and objectives:Lean Asian Indians are less insulin sensitive compared with Chinese and Malays, but the pancreatic beta-cell function among these ethnic groups has yet to be studied in depth. We aimed to study beta-cell function in relation to insulin sensitivity among individuals of Chinese, Malay and Asian-Indian ethnicity living in Singapore.Subjects and methods:This is a sub-group analysis of 59 normoglycemic lean (body mass index (BMI) <23 kg m−2) adult males (14 Chinese, 21 Malays and 24 Asian Indians) from the Singapore Adults Metabolism Study. Insulin sensitivity was determined using fasting state indices (homeostatic model assessment—insulin resistance), the euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp (ISI-clamp) and a liquid mixed-meal tolerance test (LMMTT) (Matsuda insulin sensitivity index (ISI-Mat)). Beta-cell function was assessed using fasting state indices (homeostatic model assessment—beta-cell function) and from the LMMTT (insulinogenic index and insulin secretion index). The oral disposition index (DI), a measure of beta-cell function relative to insulin sensitivity during the LMMTT, was calculated as a product of ISI-Mat and insulin secretion index.Results:Asian Indians had higher waist circumference and percent body fat than Chinese and Malays despite similar BMI. Overall, Asian Indians were the least insulin sensitive whereas the Chinese were most insulin sensitive. Asian Indians had higher beta-cell function compared with Chinese or Malays but these were not statistically different. Malays had the highest incremental area under the curve for glucose during LMMTT compared with Asian Indians and Chinese. However, there were no significant ethnic differences in the incremental insulin area under the curve. The oral DI was the lowest in Malays, followed by Asian Indians and Chinese.Conclusion:Among lean Asians, Chinese are the most insulin sensitive whereas Asian Indians are the least insulin sensitive. However, Malays demonstrate higher postprandial glucose excursion with lower beta-cell response compare with Chinese or Asian Indians. The paths leading to type 2 diabetes mellitus might differ between these Asian ethnic groups.
Atlas of Cancer Signalling Network: a systems biology resource for integrative analysis of cancer data with Google Maps
Authors: Kuperstein I , Bonnet E , Nguyen H-A , Cohen D , Viara E , Grieco L , Fourquet S , Calzone L , Russo C , Kondratova M , Dutreix M , Barillot E , Zinovyev A 
Published: July 2015

AbstractCancerogenesis is driven by mutations leading to aberrant functioning of a complex network of molecular interactions and simultaneously affecting multiple cellular functions. Therefore, the successful application of bioinformatics and systems biology methods for analysis of high-throughput data in cancer research heavily depends on availability of global and detailed reconstructions of signalling networks amenable for computational analysis. We present here the Atlas of Cancer Signalling Network (ACSN), an interactive and comprehensive map of molecular mechanisms implicated in cancer. The resource includes tools for map navigation, visualization and analysis of molecular data in the context of signalling network maps. Constructing and updating ACSN involves careful manual curation of molecular biology literature and participation of experts in the corresponding fields. The cancer-oriented content of ACSN is completely original and covers major mechanisms involved in cancer progression, including DNA repair, cell survival, apoptosis, cell cycle, EMT and cell motility. Cell signalling mechanisms are depicted in detail, together creating a seamless ‘geographic-like’ map of molecular interactions frequently deregulated in cancer. The map is browsable using NaviCell web interface using the Google Maps engine and semantic zooming principle. The associated web-blog provides a forum for commenting and curating the ACSN content. ACSN allows uploading heterogeneous omics data from users on top of the maps for visualization and performing functional analyses. We suggest several scenarios for ACSN application in cancer research, particularly for visualizing high-throughput data, starting from small interfering RNA-based screening results or mutation frequencies to innovative ways of exploring transcriptomes and phosphoproteomes. Integration and analysis of these data in the context of ACSN may help interpret their biological significance and formulate mechanistic hypotheses. ACSN may also support patient stratification, prediction of treatment response and resistance to cancer drugs, as well as design of novel treatment strategies.
Ultralow charge-transfer resistance with ultralow Pt loading for hydrogen evolution and oxidation using Ru@Pt core-shell nanocatalysts
Authors: Wang Jia X. , Zhang Yu , Capuano Christopher B. , Ayers Katherine E. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractWe evaluated the activities of well-defined Ru@Pt core-shell nanocatalysts for hydrogen evolution and oxidation reactions (HER-HOR) using hanging strips of gas diffusion electrode (GDE) in solution cells. With gas transport limitation alleviated by micro-porous channels in the GDEs, the charge transfer resistances (CTRs) at the hydrogen reversible potential were conveniently determined from linear fit of ohmic-loss-corrected polarization curves. In 1 M HClO4 at 23 °C, a CTR as low as 0.04 Ω cm−2 was obtained with only 20 μg cm−2 Pt and 11 μg cm−2 Ru using the carbon-supported Ru@Pt with 1:1 Ru:Pt atomic ratio. Derived from temperature-dependent CTRs, the activation barrier of the Ru@Pt catalyst for the HER-HOR in acids is 0.2 eV or 19 kJ mol−1. Using the Ru@Pt catalyst with total metal loadings <50 μg cm−2 for the HER in proton-exchange-membrane water electrolyzers, we recorded uncompromised activity and durability compared to the baseline established with 3 mg cm−2 Pt black.
Impaired formation of homotypic cell-in-cell structures in human tumor cells lacking alpha-catenin expression
Authors: Wang Manna , Ning Xiangkai , Chen Ang , Huang Hongyan , Ni Chao , Zhou Changxi , Yu Kaitao , Lan Sanchun , Wang Qiwei , Li Shichong , Liu Hong , Wang Xiaoning , Chen Zhaolie , Ma Li , Sun Qiang 
Published: July 2015

AbstractAlthough cell-in-cell structures (CICs) could be detected in a wide range of human tumors, homotypic CICs formed between tumor cells occur at low rate for most of them. We recently reported that tumor cells lacking expression of E- and P-cadherin were incapable of forming homotypic CICs by entosis and re-expression of E- or P-cadherin was sufficient to induce CICs formation in these tumor cells. In this work, we found that homotypic CICs formation was impaired in some tumor cells expressing high level of E-cadherin due to loss expression of alpha-catenin (α-catenin), a molecular linker between cadherin-mediated adherens junctions and F-actin. Expression of α-catenin in these tumor cells restored cell-cell adhesion and promoted CICs formation in a ROCK kinase-dependent way. Thus, our work identified α-catenin as another molecule in addition to E- and P-cadherin that were targeted to inactivate homotypic CICs formation in human tumor cells.
Early Effector CD8 T Cells Display Plasticity in Populating the Short-Lived Effector and Memory-Precursor Pools Following Bacterial or Viral Infection
Authors: Plumlee Courtney R. , Obar Joshua J. , Colpitts Sara L. , Jellison Evan R. , Haining W. Nicholas , Lefrancois Leo , Khanna Kamal M. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractNaïve antigen-specific CD8 T cells expand in response to infection and can be phenotypically separated into distinct effector populations, which include memory precursor effector cells (MPECs) and short-lived effector cells (SLECs). In the days before the peak of the T cell response, a third population called early effector cells (EECs) predominate the antigen-specific response. However, the contribution of the EEC population to the CD8 T cell differentiation program during an antimicrobial immune response is not well understood. To test if EEC populations were pre-committed to either an MPEC or SLEC fate, we purified EECs from mice infected with Listeria monocytogenes (LM) or vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), where the relative frequency of each population is known to be different at the peak of the response. Sorted EECs transferred into uninfected hosts revealed that EECs were pre-programmed to differentiate based on early signals received from the distinct infectious environments. Surprisingly, when these same EECs were transferred early into mismatched infected hosts, the transferred EECs could be diverted from their original fate. These results delineate a model of differentiation where EECs are programmed to form MPECs or SLECs, but remain susceptible to additional inflammatory stimuli that can alter their fate.
Effects of age and blood pressure on the retinal arterial wall, analyzed using adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy
Authors: Arichika Shigeta , Uji Akihito , Ooto Sotaro , Muraoka Yuki , Yoshimura Nagahisa 
Published: July 2015

AbstractThe wall-to-lumen ratio (WLR) of the vasculature is a promising early marker of retinal microvascular changes. Recently, adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO) enabled direct and noninvasive visualization of the arterial wall. Using AOSLO, we analyzed the correlation between age and WLR in 51 normal subjects. In addition, correlations between blood pressure and WLR were analyzed in 73 subjects (51 normal subjects and 22 hypertensive patients). WLR showed a strong correlation with age (r = 0.68, P < 0.0001), while outer diameter and inner diameter did not show significant correlation with age in the normal group (r = 0.13, P = 0.36 and r = −0.12, P = 0.41, respectively). In the normal and hypertensive groups, WLR showed a strong correlation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.60, P < 0.0001 and r = 0.65, P < 0.0001, respectively). In conclusion, AOSLO provided noninvasive and reproducible arterial measurements. WLR is an early marker of morphological changes in the retinal arteries due to age and blood pressure.
Sphere Drag and Heat Transfer
Authors: Duan Zhipeng , He Boshu , Duan Yuanyuan 
Published: July 2015

AbstractModelling fluid flows past a body is a general problem in science and engineering. Historical sphere drag and heat transfer data are critically examined. The appropriate drag coefficient is proposed to replace the inertia type definition proposed by Newton. It is found that the appropriate drag coefficient is a desirable dimensionless parameter to describe fluid flow physical behavior so that fluid flow problems can be solved in the simple and intuitive manner. The appropriate drag coefficient is presented graphically and appears more general and reasonable to reflect the fluid flow physical behavior than the traditional century old drag coefficient diagram. Here we present drag and heat transfer experimental results which indicate that there exists a relationship in nature between the sphere drag and heat transfer. The role played by the heat flux has similar nature as the drag. The appropriate drag coefficient can be related to the Nusselt number. This finding opens new possibilities in predicting heat transfer characteristics by drag data. As heat transfer for flow over a body is inherently complex, the proposed simple means may provide an insight into the mechanism of heat transfer for flow past a body.
Dynamically reconfigurable nanoscale modulators utilizing coupled hybrid plasmonics
Authors: Lin Charles , Helmy Amr S. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractThe balance between extinction ratio (ER) and insertion loss (IL) dictates strict trade-off when designing travelling-wave electro-optic modulators. This in turn entails significant compromise in device footprint (L3dB) or energy consumption (E). In this work, we report a nanoscale modulator architecture that alleviates this trade-off while providing dynamic reconfigurability that was previously unattainable. This is achieved with the aide of three mechanisms: (1) Utilization of epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) effect, which maximizes the attainable attenuation that an ultra-thin active material can inflict on an optical mode. (2) Non-resonant coupled-plasmonic structure which supports modes with athermal long-range propagation. (3) Triode-like biasing scheme for flexible manipulation of field symmetry and subsequently waveguide attributes. By electrically inducing indium tin oxide (ITO) to be in a local ENZ state, we show that a Si/ITO/HfO2/Al/HfO2/ITO/Si coupled-plasmonic waveguide can provide amplitude modulation with ER = 4.83 dB/μm, IL = 0.03 dB/μm, L3dB = 622 nm and E = 14.8 fJ, showing at least an order of magnitude improvement in modulator figure-of-merit and power efficiency compared to other waveguide platforms. Employing different biasing permutations, the same waveguide can then be reconfigured for phase and 4-quadrature-amplitude modulation, with actively device length of only 5.53 μm and 17.78  μm respectively.
Insight into the mechanism of end-of-day far-red light (EODFR)-induced shade avoidance responses in Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Mizuno Takeshi , Oka Haruka , Yoshimura Fumi , Ishida Kai , Yamashino Takafumi 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
Shade avoidance responses are changes in plant architecture to reduce the part of a body that is in the shade in natural habitats. The most common warning signal that induces shade avoidance responses is reduction of red/far-red light ratio perceived by phytochromes. A pair of basic helix–loop–helix transcription factors, named PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4) and PIF5, is crucially involved in the shade avoidance-induced hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana. It has been recently reported that PIF7 also plays a role in this event. Here, we examined the involvement of these PIFs in end-of-day far-red light (EODFR) responses under light and dark cycle conditions. It was shown that PIF7 played a predominant role in the EODFR-dependent hypocotyl elongation. We propose the mechanism by which PIF7 together with PIF4 and PIF5 coordinately transcribes a set of downstream genes to promote elongation of hypocotyls in response to the EODFR treatment.
The influence of self-esteem and role stress on job performance in hotel businesses
Authors: Akgunduz Yilmaz 
Published: July 2015

Purpose
– The main purpose of this study is to explore the influence of self-esteem and role stress on job performance in the hotel businesses. Moreover, the research aims to discover which role stress factors, i.e. role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload, have the most detrimental effect on an employee’s role stress in the hotel businesses.

Design/methodology/approach
– To achieve the above aim, four sets of hypotheses were proposed: the first looked into the effect of role stress, which consists of role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload on job performance, and the second focused on the effect of employees’ self-esteem on job performance. A questionnaire was used and participants were drawn from 227 hotel employees in Kusadasi, Turkey. To empirically test these hypotheses, structural equation modeling was implemented.

Findings
– The outcome of the study indicated three patterns: role ambiguity and role conflict are negatively associated with job performance; role overload and self-esteem are positively associated with job performance; and role ambiguity creates more role stress than role conflict or overload.

Practical implications
– The research findings suggest that some practical methodology should be introduced to improve employees’ job performance and diminish role stress. For instance, hotel managers should decrease role ambiguity and conflict, employ personnel with high self-esteem and prioritize reducing role overload rather than reducing role ambiguity or role conflict.

Originality/value
– The research findings suggest that both role stress and self-esteem are important factors influencing job performance in hotel management. This paper aims to identify some important steps to increase job performance. Thus, our study should prove to be of great value to those in hotel management.
Old wine in a new bottle: money demand causality for 10 Asian countries
Authors: Ajmi Ahdi Noomen , Apergis Nicholas , Montasser Ghassen El 
Published: July 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to estimate causality properties between real money demand and a number of determinants, i.e., real output, the lending rate and the real exchange rate, across ten Asian economies.

Design/methodology/approach
– The study makes use of the causality methodology of Emirmahmutoglu and Kose (2011) over the period 1990-2012.

Findings
– The results document both bidirectional and unidirectional causality between monetary aggregates (M1 and M2) and their determinants for different country groups.

Research limitations/implications
– The empirical findings exemplify the role of the demand for money as a policy tool and can provide useful policy guidelines to the Asian central banks in their quest for price stability.

Originality/value
– This paper for the first time estimates causality properties between real money demand and a number of determinants, across ten Asian economies that have not used before in the literature. In addition, it employs the innovative methodology of Emirmahmutoglu and Kose (2011). The advantages of this approach are: it overcomes the problem of pre-testing needs to determine the order of integration, the lag orders on the autoregressive coefficients as well as the exogenous variable coefficients are mixed for all the cross-section units of the sample, and it is based on the approach of Meta-analysis which is capable of obtaining common results, combining those provided by a number of independent studies which test the same hypothesis.
The SME perspective on motives and success factors in cross-border mergers
Authors: Ratajczak-Mrozek Milena 
Published: July 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to address two research questions. First: what causes an small and medium enterprises (SME) to engage in a merger with a multinational group and thereby change its relationships and to start functioning in a hierarchical structure which may be viewed as being the integration of a weaker entity by a stronger and bigger one? And second: what causes the successful continuation of a cross-border merger project from the perspective of an SME?

Design/methodology/approach
– The concept of the network position is adopted to undertake a longitudinal study of an IT company from Poland.

Findings
– From the perspective of the SME, its own perceived important network position resulting from the resources it possesses, the ability to decide how they are utilised, as well as relationships strongly supported by trust and a good atmosphere are key motives and success factors for the merger.

Originality/value
– By adapting the IMP research perspective and the concept of network position to the analysis of mergers the additional aspects of the merger process which are usually not raised in relevant traditional mergers and acquisitions literature are revealed. A merger is not just the sourcing of resources, but also interdependencies and taking joint decisions with regard to them; not just economic aspects, but also social aspects of relationships (trust and atmosphere); not just the sharing of resources between merged entities, but also the constant influence of other relationships and interactions on these resources.
Construction of meanings in business relationships and networks
Authors: La Rocca Antonella , Snehota Ivan , Trabattoni Carlotta 
Published: July 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to address an issue related to the role of interaction processes in the development of customer-supplier relationships in business markets.

Design/methodology/approach
– Focusing on the role of cognition in interaction behaviours in business relationships, the authors examine two research streams that offer perspectives on interaction processes akin to the IMP – the socio-cognitive perspective and the practice-based approach to markets and marketing.

Findings
– The two research streams analysed contribute to understanding the link between cognition and interaction behaviours by pointing to the construction of meanings as an important factor in interaction behaviours and indicating storytelling as a tool to construct meanings among the actors.

Originality/value
– This paper is among the few studies that focus the attention on communication processes in business relationships and networks.
Mutualism effectiveness of a fungal endophyte in an annual grass is impaired by ozone
Authors: Ueno Andrea C. , Gundel Pedro E. , Omacini Marina , Ghersa Claudio M. , Bush Lowell P. , Martínez‐Ghersa María Alejandra 
Published: July 2015

Summary

Ozone is an increasing tropospheric contaminant of climate change. Exposure to ozone may affect the symbiotic relationship between plants and beneficial microorganisms. In particular, the herbivore resistance mechanism conferred by fungal endophytes (defensive mutualism) may be affected, as any of the ozone‐triggered effects (such as elicitation of defence mechanisms against biotrophic fungi or oxidative stress in the apoplastic space) may target the symbiont.

Symbiotic and non‐symbiotic Lolium multiflorum plants were exposed to ozone for two consecutive days (2 h per day), after which half were infested with 10 aphids (Rhopalosiphum padi). We measured variables related to performance of plants, the endophyte symbiont (alkaloids) and the herbivores.

Aphid populations were smaller on symbiotic plants than in non‐symbiotic plants in low‐ozone conditions. However, this difference disappeared in exposed plants to high‐ozone conditions. Under low‐ozone conditions, structure of aphid populations on endophyte‐symbiotic plants was characterized by a low number of nymphs and a high number of adults. This pattern was not observed with high‐ozone exposure. Level of fungal alkaloids (lolines) was not affected by either ozone or herbivory.

Results indicate that ozone impairs the grass‐endophyte symbiosis without affecting production of alkaloids generally linked with aphids' response to endophyte presence. Since neither plant biomass nor alkaloid level were affected by ozone, other ozone‐mediated mechanisms at molecular or biochemical level may underlie plant‐herbivore interaction mediated by fungal endophytes. Thus, the mechanism behind this effect must be determined in future experiments.