bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Catalytic bias and redox-driven inactivation of ancestral FeFe hydrogenases from group B2
Authors: Fasano Andrea , Bailly Aurore , Wozniak Jeremy , Fourmond Vincent , Léger Christophe 
Published: June 2023

AbstractThe biodiversity of hydrogenases, the enzymes that oxidize and produce H2, is only just beginning to be explored. Here we use direct electrochemistry to characterize two enzymes from a subgroup of ancestral FeFe hydrogenases, defined by the presence of three adjacent cysteine residues near the active site: the third FeFe hydrogenase fromClostridium pasteurianum(CpIII) and the second fromMegasphaera elsdenii(MeII). To examine the functional role of the unusual TSCCCP motif, which defines the group B2 and is replaced with TSCCP in group A hydrogenases, we also produced a CpIII variant where the supernumerary cysteine is deleted. CpIII and MeII inactivate under oxidative conditions in a manner that is distinct from all other previously characterized hydrogenases from group A. Our results suggest that the supernumerary cysteine allows the previously observed sulfide-independent formation of the Hinact state in these enzymes. We also evidence a second reversible, oxidative inactivation process. Because of their inactivation under oxidative conditions, these enzymes are inefficient H2oxidation catalysts, but their active site itself is not tuned to make them more active in one particular direction.
Fecal Virome of Southeastern Maned Sloth (Bradypus crinitus)
Authors: Coimbra Amanda , D’arc Mirela , Moreira Filipe Romero Rebello , Cosentino Matheus Augusto Calvano , Schiffler Francine Bittencourt , Miranda Thamiris dos Santos , Mouta Ricardo , Girardi Déa Luiza , Gomes de Matos Isabelle , Wanderkoke Victor , Medeiros Gabriel , Lima Monique , de Oliveira Thiago Henrique , Francisco Talitha Mayumi , Soffiati Flávio Landim , Ferreira Suelen Sanches , Ruiz-Miranda Carlos Ramon , Soares Marcelo Alves , Santos André Felipe Andrade dos 
Published: June 2023

ABSTRACTWe report a viral metagenomic analysis of fecal samples fromBradypus crinitus, a recently described sloth species that occurs in the Atlantic Forest of Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro states, Southeast Brazil. Through Illumina sequencing, we generated a total of 2,065,344 raw reads, of which 945,386 reads (45.77%) passed the quality and size filter. The highest proportion of them was assigned to Eukarya, followed by Bacteria and only a small proportion to Virus. However, we identified 24 viral families using distinct taxonomic assignment tools, including phages and vertebrate viruses, such as retroviruses and papillomaviruses. Also, we identified four bacterial genus already associated with disease in sloths. Our study sheds light on the microbiome of a previously unexplored species, further contributing to the comprehension of metagenomic global diversity.
Photosynthetic acclimation mediates exponential growth of a desert plant in Death Valley summer
Authors: Prado Karine , Xue Bo , Johnson Jennifer E. , Field Sterling , Stata Matt , Hawkins Charles L. , Hsia Ru-Ching , Liu Hongbing , Cheng Shifeng , Rhee Seung Y. 
Published: June 2023

AbstractHeat waves, now more frequent and longer due to climate change, devastate plant productivity. Although rare, thermophilic plants could hold keys to engineering heat resilience in crop plants.Tidestromia oblongifoliais a thermophilic flowering plant that thrives at temperatures above 45°C. When exposed to Death Valley summer conditions,T. oblongifoliaincreased its thermal optimum of photosynthesis within a day and accelerated growth within 10 days. The physiological changes were accompanied by morphological, anatomical, and gene expression changes revealed by a newly sequenced genome. In bundle sheath cells where Rubisco fixes CO2, mitochondria relocated to chloroplasts and novel, cup-shaped chloroplasts appeared. Understanding how this plant acclimates under heat may afford new ways of engineering heat tolerance in crop plants.One-Sentence SummaryTidestromia oblongifolia’s acclimation to Death Valley is accompanied by changes in gene expression, organellar dynamics, and photosynthesis.
Comparative genomics between Colombian clinical isolates of Monophasic VariantSalmonellaTyphimurium and international clonal lineages
Authors: Paloma Cuenca-Arias , Angeline Montaño Lucy , Catering Rodriguez Edna , Alejandro Ruiz-Moreno Héctor , Efraín Montilla-Escudero , Miguel Villarreal José , Magdalena Wiesner 
Published: June 2023

AbstractIn Colombia,SalmonellaTyphimurium monophasic variant (MVST) is the fourth serovar recovered in laboratory surveillance of acute diarrheal disease (ADD). Given its rapid worldwide dissemination, increasing multidrug-resistance, and the emergence of different endemic clones, it is considered an emerging public health problem. This study compared 21 Colombian clinical isolates and 27 MVST genomes from Europe, Asia, the United States, and Australia to know the gene pool and to define similarities with international clones. Eighty percent of the Colombian MVST isolates formed a lineage divided into 2 clones, while 4 genomes were associated with the European ST34 and USA lineages. These two Colombian clones emerged in relatively recent events, in which possible spread was established during 2011 and 2012, exhibiting a diversity of plasmids and prophages, adapting to the Colombian population after differentiation. These results are a clear example of the high plasticity of MVST, evidencing the need for active genomic surveillance to monitor the circulation of new clonal lineages.
Activation of Shh/Smo is sufficient to maintain oligodendrocyte precursor cells in an undifferentiated state but is not necessary for differentiation
Authors: Nocera Sonia , Marchena Miguel A. , Fernández-Gómez Beatriz , Laó Yolanda , Cordano Christian , Gómez-Torres Óscar , Luján Rafael , de Castro Fernando 
Published: June 2023

ABSTRACTMyelination is the terminal step in a complex and precisely timed program that orchestrates the proliferation, migration and differentiation of oligodendroglial cells. It is thought that Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) acting on Smoothened (Smo) participates in regulating this process, but that these effects are highly context dependent. Here, we investigate oligodendroglial development and remyelination from three specific transgenic lines: NG2-CreERT2(control), Smofl/fl/NG2-CreERT2(loss of function) and SmoM2/NG2-CreERT2(gain of function), as well as pharmacological manipulation that enhance or inhibit the Smo pathway (SAG or cyclopamine treatment respectively). To explore the effects of Shh/Smo on differentiation and myelination in vivo, we developed a highly quantifiable model by transplanting OPCs in the retina. We find that myelination is greatly enhanced upon cyclopamine treatment and hypothesize that Shh/Smo could promote OPC proliferation to subsequently inhibit differentiation. Consistent with this hypothesis, we find that the genetic activation of Smo significantly increased numbers of OPCs and decreased oligodendrocyte differentiation when we examined the corpus callosum during development and after cuprizone demyelination and remyelination. However, upon loss of function with the conditional ablation of Smo, myelination in the same scenarios are unchanged. Taken together, our present findings suggest that the Shh pathway is sufficient to maintain OPCs in an undifferentiated state, but is not necessary for myelination and remyelination.
The great divide: rhamnolipids mediate separation betweenP. aeruginosaandS. aureus
Authors: Bru Jean-Louis , Kasallis Summer , Chang Rendell , Zhuo Quantum , Nguyen Jacqueline , Pham Phillip , Warren Elizabeth , Whiteson Katrine , Høyland-Kroghsbo Nina Molin , Limoli Dominique H. , Siryaporn Albert 
Published: June 2023

AbstractThe coexistence of multiple bacterial species during infection can have significant impacts on pathogenesis.Pseudomonas aeruginosaandStaphylococcus aureusare opportunistic bacterial pathogens that can co-infect hosts and cause serious illness. The factors that dictate whether one species will outcompete the other or whether the two species can coexist are not fully understood. We investigated the role of surfactants in the interactions between these two species on a surface that enablesP. aeruginosato swarm. We found thatP. aeruginosaswarms are repelled by colonies of clinicalS. aureusisolates, creating physical separation between the two strains. This effect was abolished in mutants ofS. aureusthat were defective in the production of phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs), which form amyloid fibrils around wild-type colonies. We investigated the mechanism that establishes physical separation between the two species using the Imaging of Reflected Illuminated Structures (IRIS) method, which tracks the flow of the rhamnolipid surfactant layer produced byP. aeruginosa. We found that PSMs produced byS. aureusdeflected the rhamnolipid surfactant layer flow, which in turn, altered the direction ofP. aeruginosaswarms. These findings show that rhamnolipids mediate physical separation betweenP. aeruginosaandS. aureus, which enables these species to coexist in distinct microenvironments. Additionally, we found that aBacillus subtilissurfactant and abiotic hydrophobic molecules repelledP. aeruginosaswarms through surfactant deflection. Our results suggest that surfactant interactions could have major impacts on bacteria-bacteria and bacteria-host relationships. In addition, our findings uncover a mechanism responsible forP. aeruginosaswarm development that does not rely on sensing but instead is guided largely by the flow of the surfactant layer and its boundaries.
Rarefaction is currently the best approach to control for uneven sequencing effort in amplicon sequence analyses
Authors: Schloss Patrick D. 
Published: June 2023

AbstractConsidering it is common to find as much as 100-fold variation in the number of 16S rRNA gene sequences found across samples in a study, researchers need to control for the effect of uneven sequencing effort. How to do this has become a contentious question. Some have argued that rarefying or rarefaction is “inadmissible” because it omits valid data. A number of alternative approaches have been developed to normalize and rescale the data that purport to be invariant to the number of observations. I generated community distributions based on 12 published datasets where I was able to assess the ability of multiple methods to control for uneven sequencing effort. Rarefaction was the only method that could control for variation in uneven sequencing effort when measuring commonly used alpha and beta diversity metrics. Next, I compared the false detection rate and power to detect true differences between simulated communities with a known effect size using various alpha and beta diversity metrics. Although all methods of controlling for uneven sequencing effort had an acceptable false detection rate when samples were randomly assigned to two treatment groups, rarefaction was consistently able to control for differences in sequencing effort when sequencing depth was confounded with treatment group. Finally, the statistical power to detect differences in alpha and beta diversity metrics was consistently the highest when using rarefaction. These simulations underscore the importance of using rarefaction to normalize the number of sequences across samples in amplicon sequencing analyses.ImportanceSequencing 16S rRNA gene fragments has become a fundamental tool for understanding the diversity of microbial communities and the factors that affect their diversity. Due to technical challenges, it is common to observe wide variation in the number of sequences that are collected from different samples within the same study. However, the diversity metrics used by microbial ecologists are sensitive to differences in sequencing effort. Therefore, tools are needed to control for the uneven levels of sequencing. This simulation-based analysis shows that despite a longstanding controversy, rarefaction is the most robust approach to control for uneven sequencing effort. The controversy started because of confusion over the definition of rarefaction and violation of assumptions that are made by methods that have been borrowed from other fields. Microbial ecologists should use rarefaction.
Do board gender diversity and remuneration impact earnings quality? Evidence from Spanish firms
Authors: Saona Paolo , Muro Laura , San Martín Pablo , McWay Ryan 
Published: June 2023

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how gender diversity and remuneration of boards of directors’ influence earnings quality for Spanish-listed firms.Design/methodology/approachThe sample includes 105 nonfinancial Spanish firms from 2013 to 2018, corresponding to an unbalanced panel of 491 firm-year observations. The primary empirical method uses a Tobit semiparametric estimator with firm- and industry-level fixed effects and an innovative set of measures for earnings quality developed by StarMine.FindingsResults exhibit a positive correlation between increased gender diversity and a firm’s earnings quality, suggesting that a gender-balanced board of directors is associated with more transparent financial reporting and informative earnings. We also find a nonmonotonic, concave relationship between board remuneration and earnings quality. This indicates that beyond a certain point, excessive board compensation leads to more opportunistic manipulation of financial reporting with subsequent degradation of earnings quality.Research limitations/implicationsThis study only covers nonfinancial Spanish listed firms and is silent about how alternative board features’ influence earnings quality and their informativeness.Originality/valueThis study introduces measures of earnings quality developed by StarMine that have not been used in the empirical literature before as well as measures of board gender diversity applied to a suitable Tobit semiparametric estimator for fixed effects that improves the precision of results. In addition, while most of the literature focuses on Anglo-Saxon countries, this study discusses board gender diversity and board remuneration in the underexplored context of Spain. Moreover, the hand-collected data set comprising financial reports provides previously untested board features as well as a nonlinear relationship between remuneration and earnings quality that has not been thoroughly discussed before.
Credit access and intensity of borrowing by irrigated rice farmers in Ghana: the role of extension services
Authors: Kyire Samuel Kwabena Chaa , Bannor Richard Kwasi , Kuwornu John K.M. , Oppong-Kyeremeh Helena 
Published: June 2023

PurposeCredit is essential in the farm business because it facilitates the adoption of productive technologies such as irrigation. However, access to credit remains a significant hurdle for sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghanaian farmers. Therefore, the authors assessed credit utilization and the intensity of borrowing by irrigated rice farmers in the Upper East region. In addition, how extension moderates the amount borrowed was analysed.Design/methodology/approachThe multistage sampling approach was used in the study. The Tono and Vea irrigation schemes were purposively selected. Proportionally, 318 rice farmers were sampled from the Tono irrigation scheme and 159 from the Vea irrigation scheme. Cragg's double hurdle and moderation analysis were used.FindingsIt was uncovered that gender, age, years of farming, total farm size, rice farm size, contract farming and off-farm employment explain farmers' decision to borrow. On the other hand, the intensity of borrowing was influenced by gender, age, years of farming, rice farm size, contract farming and the number of extension contact. The moderation analysis revealed that extension contact improves the amount borrowed by farmers.Research limitations/implicationsWhile there are irrigated rice farmers in other regions of Ghana, this study was limited to rice farmers under the Tono and Vea Irrigation schemes in the Upper East region.Originality/valueThis study investigated the moderating role of extension contact on amount borrowed in Ghana. This makes a modest addition to the limited literature on the moderating role of extension and credit access.
A Juggler's manifesto: elevating creativity to stay productive amid uncertainty
Authors: Enstroem Rickard , Schmaltz Rodney 
Published: June 2023

PurposeThe Industry 4.0 environment is characterized by fast data, vertically and horizontally interconnected systems, and human–machine interfaces. In the middle stands the manager, whose sustained performance is critical to the organization's success. Business disturbances—such as supply chain disruptions during the pandemic—can quickly test the manager's resiliency. While creativity and flexibility are critical for success in these situations, these skills are often not promoted directly. This paper will discuss strategies for enhancing managers' creativity and resiliency and give suggestions for improving professional development training and post-secondary business education.Design/methodology/approachA synthesis of the literature in business and psychology provides a foundation for creating a conceptual model incorporating strategies to promote managerial creativity and resiliency. While the model focuses on managerial performance under adverse conditions, the tenets of the model also apply during times of relative stability.FindingsFindings based on a synthesis of the literature on creativity in business and psychology provide the foundation for a conceptual model to identify potential elements in training and curriculum design to further managers' creativity and resiliency. This model recommends clear, actionable training and program-level curriculum design suggestions for improved managerial performance.Originality/valueThis paper identifies a conceptual model to enhance managerial creativity leading to increased resiliency through professional development programs and suggestions for educators in post-secondary business education. This model provides tools for managers to deal with adverse and rapidly changing conditions flexibly, promoting employee productivity and satisfaction.
Exploring new-product selling challenges in the FMCG sector: a qualitative method approach
Authors: Sharma Archana , Sagar Mahim 
Published: June 2023

Purpose
The study aims to identify salespeople’s challenges while selling newly launched products in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector by examining the holistic environment in which they perform their selling tasks. Furthermore, it develops a hierarchical model mapping the interrelationships between identified challenges to explore their dependence and driving power through qualitative research techniques.

Design/methodology/approach
The current study is exploratory and inductive in its research design. It used focus-group discussion (FGD), semistructured interviews and thematic content analysis (TCA) to identify new-product selling challenges in the FMCG sector. The identified factors were then worked into a hierarchical model using total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) to analyze their relationship. The factors were further classified into clusters based on their driving and dependence power, with the help of the Matrice d’Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée à un Classement (MICMAC) technique

Findings
The TISM and MICMAC results identified salespeople’s most critical new-product selling challenges in the FMCG sector: product innovation, product differentiation, customer perception and market turbulence. An enhanced organizational focus on these factors will ensure that salespeople get adequate input to tackle the challenges they face while selling newly launched FMCG products.

Research limitations/implications
The study was confined to identifying challenges in the FMCG sector alone but offered scope for application in other sectors.

Practical implications
This study will help organizations to identify and close gaps in the new-product selling process, thereby improving the performance of salespeople and contributing to a new product’s success. The study findings have a bearing on various stages of product development, management and life cycle. They also highlight the need for greater synergy between an organization’s sales force and other departments.

Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is unique in identifying new-product selling challenges in the FMCG sector. It also delineates the complex Web of interrelationships between them and classifies the identified factors based on their driving and dependence on power. The research results can help in organizational decision-making and sales practices, empowering salespeople in their new-product selling tasks.
A Community in Competition: The Barons of Leinster in Thirteenth‐Century Ireland
Authors: MARSHALL JOHN 
Published: June 2023

AbstractOver the last number of decades, the relationship between king and magnate in medieval Ireland has been prominent in scholarship, but less attention has been given to the tenantry below. Drawing on a range of sources from chancery material to chronicle evidence, this article analyses one such tenantry community, the ‘barons of Leinster’. During the first half of the thirteenth century, the Marshal lords of Leinster clashed with royal authorities in Ireland on three occasions, and in these circumstances, the tenants of Leinster had to choose between their king and their lord. For the lords of Leinster, the support of their tenantry was not to be presumed, and hence they had to relentlessly compete for the allegiance of their tenantry with the other lords in Ireland and the king of England. This essay argues that status and marital ties influenced tenantry allegiance in Ireland, in particular that assimilation into a new lord's household was more important for the lesser tenantry who held land in both Ireland and Wales than for the great landed barons who also benefited from royal patronage. Hence, this study contributes to the rich ongoing discussion on the importance and role of tenantry communities in the Plantagenet dominions.
Accuracy of infection reporting in US nursing home ratings
Authors: Chen Zihan , Gleason Lauren J. , Konetzka R. Tamara , Sanghavi Prachi 
Published: June 2023

AbstractObjectiveTo assess the accuracy of nursing home‐reported data on urinary tract infections (UTIs), which are publicly reported on Nursing Home Care Compare, and pneumonia, which are not publicly reported.Data Sources and Study SettingWe used secondary data for 100% of Medicare fee‐for‐service beneficiaries in the United States between 2011 and 2017.Study DesignWe identified Medicare fee‐for‐service beneficiaries who were nursing home residents between 2011 and 2017 and admitted to a hospital with a primary diagnosis of UTI or pneumonia. After linking these hospital claims to resident‐level nursing home‐reported assessment data in the Minimum Data Set, we calculated the percentages of infections that were appropriately reported and assessed variation by resident‐ and nursing home‐level characteristics. We developed a claims‐based nursing home‐level measure of hospitalized infections and estimated correlations between this and publicly reported ratings.Data Extraction MethodsMedicare fee‐for‐service beneficiaries who were nursing home residents and hospitalized for UTI or pneumonia during the study period were included.Principal FindingsReporting rates were low for both infections (UTI: short‐stay residents 29.1% and long‐stay residents 19.2%; pneumonia: short‐stay residents 66.0% and long‐stay residents 70.6%). UTI reporting rates increased when counting additional assessments, but it is unclear whether these reports are for the same versus a newly developed UTI. Black residents had slightly lower reporting rates, as did nursing homes with more Black residents. Correlations between our claims‐based measure and publicly reported ratings were poor.ConclusionsUTI and pneumonia were substantially underreported in data used for national public reporting. Alternative approaches are needed to improve surveillance of nursing home quality.