bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sox21bunderlies the rapid diversification of a novel male genital structure betweenDrosophilaspecies
Authors: Ridgway Amber M. , Hood Emily , Jimenez Javier Figueras , Nunes Maria D. S. , McGregor Alistair P. 
Published: August 2023

SummaryThe emergence and subsequent diversification of morphological novelties is a major feature of animal evolution1–9. However, in most cases little is known about the molecular basis of the evolution of novel structures and the genetic mechanisms underlying their diversification. The epandrial posterior lobes of the male genital arch is a novelty of some species of theDrosophila melanogastersubgroup10–13. The posterior lobes grasp the ovipositor of the female and then integrate between her abdominal tergites, and therefore these structures are important for copulation and species-recognition10–12,14–17. The posterior lobes evolved from co-option of a Hox regulated gene network from the posterior spiracles10and have since diversified in shape and size in theD. simulansclade in particular over the last 240,000 years driven by sexual selection18–21. The genetic basis of this diversification is highly polygenic but to the best of our knowledge none of the causative genes have yet been identified despite extensive mapping22–30. Identifying the genes underlying the diversification of these secondary sexual structures is essential to understanding the basis of changes in their morphology and the evolutionary impact on copulation and species recognition. Here, we show that the transcription factor encoded bySox21bnegatively regulates posterior lobe size during development. This is consistent with higher and expanded expression ofSox21binD. mauritiana, which develops smaller posterior lobes compared toD. simulans. We tested this by generating reciprocal hemizygotes and confirmed that changes inSox21bunderlie posterior lobe evolution between these two species. Furthermore, we found that differences in posterior lobe size caused by the species-specific allele ofSox21bsignificantly affect the duration of copulation. Taken together, our study reveals the genetic basis for the sexual selection driven diversification of a novel morphological structure and its functional impact on copulatory behaviour.HighlightsSox21bregulates the development of the epandrial posterior lobes, a recently evolved novel structure of some species of theDrosophila melanogastersubgroup, which has subsequently rapidly diversified in size and shape.D. mauritianahas smaller posterior lobes thanD. simulansand more expansive expression ofSox21bin the developing genitalia. Using a reciprocal hemizygosity test, we show that variation inSox21bunderlies the diversification of epandrial posterior lobe size and shape betweenD. simulansandD. mauritiana.Behavioural tests show that the species allele ofSox21bcauses differences in the duration of copulation in otherwise genetically identical backgrounds.Sox21bhas evolved betweenD. simulansandD. mauritiana, and contributed to the divergence of a morphological novelty and copulatory behaviour between these two species.
IntracellularPseudomonas aeruginosawithin the airway epithelium of Cystic Fibrosis lung tissues
Authors: Malet Karim , Faure Emmanuel , Adam Damien , Donner Jannik , Liu Lin , Pilon Sarah-Jeanne , Fraser Richard , Jorth Peter , Newman Dianne K. , Brochiero Emmanuelle , Rousseau Simon , Nguyen Dao 
Published: August 2023

AbstractRATIONALEPseudomonas aeruginosa(P.a.) is the major bacterial pathogen colonizing the airways of adult cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and causes chronic infections that persist despite antibiotic therapy. Intracellular bacteria may represent an unrecognized reservoir of bacteria that evades the immune system and antibiotic therapy. While the ability ofP.a. to invade and survive within epithelial cells has been describedin vitroin different epithelial cell models, evidence of this intracellular lifestyle in human lung tissues is currently lacking.OBJECTIVESTo detect and characterize intracellularP.a. in CF airway epithelium from human lung explant tissues.METHODSWe sampled the lung explant tissues from CF and non-CF patients undergoing lung transplantation and analyzed lung tissue sections for the presence of intracellularP.a. by quantitative culture and microscopy, in parallel to histopathology and airway morphometry.MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTSP.a. was isolated from the lungs of 7 CF patients undergoing lung transplantation. Microscopic assessment revealed the presence of intracellularP.a. within airway epithelial cells in 3 out of the 7 lungs analyzed, at a varying but rare frequency. We observed those events occurring in lung regions with high bacterial burden.CONCLUSIONThis is the first study describing the presence of intracellularP.a. in CF lung tissues. While intracellularP.a. in airway epithelial cells are likely relatively rare events, our findings highlight the plausible occurrence of this intracellular bacterial reservoir in chronic CF infections.
Structural elucidation of recombinantTrichomonas vaginalis20S proteasome bound to covalent inhibitors
Authors: Silhan Jan , Fajtova Pavla , Bartosova Jitka , Hurysz Brianna M. , Almaliti Jehad , Miyamoto Yukiko , Eckmann Lars , Gerwick William H. , O’Donoghue Anthony J. , Boura Evzen 
Published: August 2023

ABSTRACTProteasomes are essential for protein homeostasis in mammalian cells1-4and in protozoan parasites such asTrichomonas vaginalis (Tv).5Tvand other protozoan 20S proteasomes have been validated as druggable targets.6-8However, in the case ofTv20S proteasome (Tv20S), biochemical and structural studies were impeded by low yields and purity of the native proteasome. We successfully made recombinantTv20S by expressing all seven α and seven β subunits together with the Ump-1 chaperone in insect cells. We isolated recombinant proteasome and showed that it was biochemically indistinguishable from the native enzyme. We confirmed that the recombinantTv20S is inhibited by the natural product marizomib (MZB)9and the recently developed peptide inhibitor carmaphycin-17 (CP-17)8,10. Specifically, MZB binds to the β1, β2 and β5 subunits, while CP-17 binds the β2 and β5 subunits. Next, we obtained cryo-EM structures ofTv20S in complex with these covalent inhibitors at 2.8Å resolution. The structures revealed the overall fold of theTv20S and the binding mode of MZB and CP-17. Our work explains the low specificity of MZB and higher specificity of CP-17 towardsTv20S as compared to human proteasome and provides the platform for the development ofTv20S inhibitors for treatment of trichomoniasis.
Thermodynamic Coupling of the tandem RRM domains of hnRNP A1 underlie its Pleiotropic RNA Binding Functions
Authors: Levengood Jeffrey D. , Potoyan Davit , Penumutchu Srinivas , Kumar Abhishek , Wang Yiqing , Hansen Alexandar L. , Kutluay Sebla , Roche Julien , Tolbert Blanton S. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe functional properties of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) require allosteric regulation through inter-domain communication. Despite the foundational importance of allostery to biological regulation, almost no studies have been conducted to describe the biophysical nature by which inter-domain communication manifests in RBPs. Here, we show through high-pressure studies with hnRNP A1 that inter-domain communication is vital for the unique stability of its N- terminal domain containing a tandem of RNA Recognition Motifs (RRMs). Despite high sequence similarity and nearly identical tertiary structures, the two RRMs exhibit drastically different stability under pressure. RRM2 unfolds completely under high-pressure as an individual domain, but when appended to RRM1, it remains stable. Variants in which inter-domain communication is disrupted between the tandem RRMs show a large decrease in stability under pressure. Carrying these mutations over to the full-length protein forin vivoexperiments revealed that the mutations affected the ability of the disordered C-terminus to engage in protein-protein interactions and more importantly, they also influenced the RNA binding capacity. Collectively, this work reveals that thermodynamic coupling between the tandem RRMs of hnRNP A1 accounts for its allosteric regulatory functions.
Determinants of Gastrointestinal Group BStreptococcusCarriage in Adults
Authors: Cowley Elise S. , Chaves Ibrahim Zuniga , Osman Fauzia , Suen Garret , Anantharaman Karthik , Hryckowian Andrew J. 
Published: August 2023

ABSTRACTBackgroundStreptococcus agalactiae(Group BStreptococcus, GBS) is a commensal Gram-positive bacterium found in the human gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts. Much of what is known about GBS relates to the diseases it causes in pregnant people and neonates. However, GBS is a common cause of disease in the general population with 90% of GBS mortality occurring in non-pregnant people. There are limited data about the predisposing factors for GBS and the reservoirs in the body. To gain an understanding of the determinants of gastrointestinal GBS carriage, we used stool samples and associated metadata to determine the prevalence and abundance of GBS in the gut microbiome of adults and find risk factors for GBS status.MethodsWe used 754 stool samples collected from adults in Wisconsin from 2016-2017 to test for the prevalence and abundance of GBS using a Taqman probe-based qPCR assay targeting two GBS-specific genes:cfpandsip.We compared the microbiome compositions of the stool samples by GBS status using 16S rRNA analysis. We compared associations with GBS status and 557 survey variables collected during sample acquisition (demographics, diet, overall health, and reproductive health) using univariate and multivariate analyses.ResultsWe found 137/754 (18%) of participants had detectable GBS in their stool samples with a median abundance of 104 copies per nanogram of starting DNA. There was no difference in GBS status or abundance based on gender. Beta-diversity, Bray-Curtis and Unweighted UniFrac, was significantly different based on carrier status of the participant. Prior to p-value correction, 59/557 (10.6%) survey variables were significantly associated with GBS carrier status and 11/547 (2.0%) variables were significantly associated with abundance (p-value<0.05). After p-value correction, 2/547 (0.4%) variables were associated with GBS abundance: an increased abundance of GBS was associated with a decreased frequency since last dental checkup (p<0.001) and last dental cleaning (p<0.001). Increased GBS abundance was significantly associated with increased frequency of iron consumption (p=0.007) after p-value correction in multivariate models.ConclusionsGBS is found in stool samples from adults in Wisconsin at similar frequencies as pregnant individuals screened with rectovaginal swabs. We did not find associations between risk factors historically associated with GBS in pregnant people, suggesting that risk factors for GBS carriage in pregnancy may differ from those in the general population. We found that frequency of iron consumption and dental hygiene are risk factors for GBS carriage in Wisconsin adults. Given that these variables were not assayed in previous GBS surveys, it is possible they also influence carriage in pregnant people. Taken together, this work serves as a foundation for future work in developing approaches to decrease GBS abundance in carriers.
Data-Driven Modeling and Analysis of Fatty Acid Desaturase in Plants
Authors: McNaughton Andrew D. , Shanklin John , Raugei Simone , Kumar Neeraj 
Published: August 2023

AbstractFatty acids and their derivatives continue to garner attention as sustainable alternatives to petrochemically derived materials. Towards this goal, we examine the plant membrane-bound fatty acid desaturases (FADs) and develop an overview of their 3D structure and phylogenic relationships. Through this effort we developed two plant fatty acid desaturase homology models that we analyzed with substrate docking and molecular dynamics simulations to better understand the diiron binding pocket that is characteristic of these proteins. The comparison between the Omega6 and Delta12 homology models specifically in regards to the binding affinity as a function of carbon chain length indicates that there is a dip in binding affinity near the 18:2 carbon chain length but the rest maintain a rather consistent binding affinity throughout. Furthermore, MD analysis highlights the importance of regions within the cytosolic cap domain on the binding pocket.PACS:0000, 11112000 MSC:0000, 1111Graphical AbstractHighlightsDeveloped pipeline to predict function from protein sequenceModeled two fatty acid desaturases and predicted their structure and functionsLeveraged docking simulations and molecular dynamics to confirm protein function
Influence of functional and phylogenetic dissimilarity on exotic plant invasion depends on spatial scale
Authors: Perez-Navarro Maria A. , Clark Adam T. , Brian Joshua I. , Shepherd Harry E. R. , Catford Jane A. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractDarwin’s theory of natural selection provides two seemingly contradictory hypotheses for explaining the success of introduced species: 1) the pre-adaptation hypothesis posits that introduced species that are closely related to native species will be more likely to succeed than distantly related invaders because they already possess relevant characteristics; 2) the limiting-similarity hypothesis posits that invaders that are more similar to resident species will be less likely to succeed due to competitive exclusion. Previous studies assessing this conundrum show mixed results, possibly stemming from variation in study spatial scales and lack of both functional and phylogenetic information.We used species abundances compiled in a 33-year grassland successional survey based at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve (USA) to assess the support for the pre-adaptation and limiting similarity hypotheses at two different spatial scales (neighbourhood scale of 0.5m2, site scale of ~40m2). We combined compositional surveys of 303 vascular plant taxa (256 native, 47 introduced) taken across 2700 plots in a chronosequence of abandonment from agriculture with species functional dissimilarities, phylogenetic distances, environmental covariates and information on species origin.Our results consistently supported the pre-adaptation hypothesis at the site scale but diverged at neighbourhood scale, with functional dissimilarity supporting the limiting similarity hypothesis and phylogenetic distance supporting the pre-adaptation hypothesis. Introduced species with low leaf dry matter content (LDMC), low height and high seed mass tended to be most abundant than rest of species, while relationships between species abundance and specific leaf area (SLA) varied with scale. Introduced species were more abundant than natives at higher concentrations of soil N but were less abundant than natives over time.Synthesis:Our study highlights the importance of environmental filtering on grassland community assembly at the scale of a site – here 40 m2, a spatial resolution that is usually considered “local”. This influence of environmental filtering might mask effects of limiting similarity at small “local” scales. Our results demonstrate the importance of accounting for both phylogenetic and functional dissimilarity when examining the complex interaction between species biogeographic origin, functional strategies and evolutionary history as considering one alone can lead to different conclusions.
Identifying and exploring the relationship among the critical success factors of sustainability toward consumer behavior
Authors: Zaman Syed Imran , Kusi-Sarpong Simonov 
Published: August 2023

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to find out what is the relationship between sustainability toward consumer behavior. Consumer behavior is the method of choosing, buying and using goods and services with an attachment to needs and wants. Now consumers are aware about sustainability, they make purchase decisions according to environmental safety, benefit to the society and increase economic growth.

Design/methodology/approach
This study validates the result through experts in textile industry by using the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory approach. This method has many benefits which provide decision makers and experts to understand the interdependence and influential relation between the criteria by hierarchical approach.

Findings
According to the results, green culture (F8) and green brand (F3) are the most influential (causal) factors and exert a substantial amount of influence over other factors for achieving organizational performance and sustainability. On the other hand, past experience (F14) and time pressure (F12) are the most influenced (effect) factors that are highly influenced by other factors.

Practical implications
The study conducted in Pakistan underscores the significance of maintaining a healthy and pristine environment for future generations. Both consumers and organizations play a vital role in this endeavor. It is imperative that they actively promote and support goods and services that advocate for sustainability.

Social implications
Mangers should use long-term strategies that meet the high product value to enhance the organization’s reputation, so it will have positive consumer perception. If managers make policies to implement natural resources in their raw material, so this policy avoids conflicts and maintains a balance in our society.

Originality/value
This research delves into the complexities and subtleties associated with the identification and examination of the interconnections between the success factors of sustainability and consumer behavior.
Procurement practices in international development projects: trends, networks and performances
Authors: Bakhshi Javad , Mani Saba , Ahmadi Eftekhari Navid , Martek Igor 
Published: August 2023

Purpose
International development projects are a dominant means by which aid is distributed to countries. Over the past 70 years, the distribution of trillions of dollars of development aid has been mediated by the United Nations (UN). However, most of this aid has failed to deliver the expected outcomes for which it was assigned. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of projects can be considered successful. Despite the glaring question as to which factors contribute to the success or failure of projects, no study has comprehensively documented the relationship between procurement mechanisms invoked to deliver aid projects and project outcomes. This study aims to assess this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach
Leveraging network analysis methodology, this study examines the World Bank data set of over 247,000 developmental contracts worldwide granted over the past 20 years. It identifies the range of procurement practices used and interrogates their ability to deliver satisfactory project outcomes.

Findings
Eleven prevalent practices are identified covering aid projects across twelve sectors. As might be expected, Africa is the largest recipient of aid, while the Middle East is the least. Overwhelmingly, international competitive bidding (ICB) is the leading procurement procedure, both in terms of contract number and total dollar value. However, ICB does not always deliver the best outcomes, with other, more boutique approaches sometimes doing better.

Social implications
The breadth of this study, encompassing such a vast data resource, and generating such a rich pool of findings will now empower researchers to take the next important step, which is to progress this study in exploring why it is that certain procurement strategies have worked for some sectors, but not others. Countries, financial institutions, the UN and construction enterprises alike will be very interested in the results.

Originality/value
The spectrum of outcomes identified will be of interest to academics and practitioners alike wishing to investigate further the drivers behind the results described here.
Impact of digital technology usage on firm resilience: a dynamic capability perspective
Authors: Ye Fei , Ke Min , Ouyang You , Li Yina , Li Lixu , Zhan Yuanzhu , Zhang Minhao 
Published: August 2023

Purpose
While the usage of digital technology can bring many operational improvements for firms, it is unclear whether it can effectively improve firm resilience to deal with supply chain disruptions caused by emergencies such as COVID-19. From a dynamic capability perspective, this study aims to investigate how digital technology usage can improve firm resilience in a rapidly changing and turbulent environment.

Design/methodology/approach
Based on the survey sample of 237 Chinese firms, the stepwise regression approach was used to examine the proposed research hypotheses.

Findings
The empirical evidence shows that digital technology usage has a U-shaped effect on firm resilience, and that effect is fully achieved by first affecting market acuity and then promoting resource reconfiguration. Moreover, the authors further found that the U-shaped association between digital technology usage and firm resilience is derived from the U-shaped association between digital technology usage and market acuity.

Originality/value
This study enriches the resilience literature by revealing the mechanism of digital technology usage’s effects rather than focusing on the role of specific digital technologies. This study also provides guidance for firms to develop effective digital technology usage strategies.
Employment among older men and women in Vietnam: How their health played a role?
Authors: Giang Long Thanh , Kikkawa Aiko , Park Donghyun , Nguyen Tue Dang 
Published: August 2023

Purpose
This study aims to explore the situations and socio-economic and health-related factors associated with employment of older men and women in Vietnam.

Design/methodology/approach
This study used the nationally representative data in 2019 with a sample size of 3,049 older persons (those aged 60 and over). This study applied logistic regression analyses.

Findings
This study found that there were significant differences in employment rates between various groups of older men and women in terms of age group, residential place, marital status and educational level. Controlling for age, education, marital status, place of residence and (in) sufficient income for daily living, the results from logistic models indicated that health issues were strongly associated with lower probability to be employed for both genders. In all tests and regression models, that age and health condition were consistently related with lower employment probability of older persons implied an important consideration in raising normal retirement ages for both men and women.

Research limitations/implications
Due to limitation of the cross-sectional data, this research could not explore how health influences older people’s employment overtime.

Practical implications
Findings of this research provide important and adaptive policy insights for Vietnam to take advantage of older workers for economic growth under an aging population.

Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this has been among the first studies exploring the role of health, which was presented by different indicators, determining employment of older men and women in Vietnam.