bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
New tools to study the interaction between integrins and latent TGFβ1
Authors: Bachmann Michael , Kessler Jérémy , Burri Elisa , Wehrle-Haller Bernhard 
Published: January 2023

AbstractTransforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) 1 regulates cell differentiation and proliferation in different physiological settings, but is also involved in fibrotic progression and protects tumors from the immune system. Integrin αVβ6 has been shown to activate latent TGFβ1 by applying mechanical forces onto the latency-associated peptide (LAP). While the extracellular binding between αVβ6 and LAP1 is well characterized, less is known about the cytoplasmic adaptations that enable αVβ6 to apply such forces. Here, we generated new tools to facilitate the analysis of this interaction. We combined the integrin-binding part of LAP1 with a GFP and the Fc chain of human IgG. This chimeric protein, sLAP1, revealed a mechanical rearrangement of immobilized sLAP1 by αVβ6 integrin. This unique interaction was not observed between sLAP1 and other integrins. We also analyzed αVβ6 integrin binding to LAP2 and LAP3 by creating respective sLAPs. Compared to sLAP1, integrin αVβ6 showed less binding to sLAP3 and no rearrangement. These observations indicate differences in the binding of αVβ6 to LAP1 and LAP3 that have not been appreciated so far. Finally, αVβ6-sLAP1 interaction was maintained even at strongly reduced cellular contractility, highlighting the special mechanical connection between αVβ6 integrin and latent TGFβ1.
Adolescent length growth spurts in bonobos and other primates: Mind the scale
Authors: Berghänel Andreas , Stevens Jeroen M.G. , Hohmann Gottfried , Deschner Tobias , Behringer Verena 
Published: January 2023

AbstractAdolescent growth spurts (GS) in body length seem to be absent in non-human primates and are considered a distinct human trait. However, this distinction between present and absent length-GSs may reflect a mathematical artefact that makes it arbitrary. We first outline how scaling issues and inappropriate comparisons between length (linear) and weight (volume) growth rates result in misleading interpretations like the absence of length-GSs in non-human primates despite pronounced weight-GSs, or temporal delays between length- and weight-GSs. We then apply a scale-corrected approach to a comprehensive dataset on 258 zoo-housed bonobos that includes weight and length growth as well as several physiological markers related to growth and adolescence. We found pronounced GSs in body weight and length in both sexes. Weight and length growth trajectories corresponded with each other and with patterns of testosterone and IGFBP-3 levels, resembling adolescent GSs in humans. We further re-interpreted published data of non-human primates, which showed that aligned GSs in weight and length exist not only in bonobos. Altogether, our results emphasize the importance of considering scaling laws when interpreting growth curves in general, and further show that pronounced, human-like adolescent length-GSs exist in bonobos and probably also many other non-human primates.
The effects of online restaurant menus on consumer purchase intention: evidence from an emerging economy
Authors: Le Thanh Tiep , Bui Thi Tuyet Nhu , Le Anh Thu , Dang Thi Kim Ngan , Trinh Thi Thai Ninh , Nguyen Lan Anh 
Published: January 2023

PurposeThis study evaluates the impact of online menus and perceived convenience of online food ordering on consumer purchase intention and shows how a desire for food creates a relationship between an online menu and a customer's purchase intention. Suggestions for management are proposed to design an effective menu to improve business performance in the competitive market in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThe paper follows a quantitative method. Quantitative research aims to analyze and critically evaluate the research question(s) to discover new factors.FindingsFindings indicate a positive relationship between menu visual appeal (MV), menu informativeness (MI), desire for food (DF), the perceived convenience (PC) of ordering food online and intention to purchase (PI). The attractiveness of images and information is a significant factor affecting diners’ desire to eat, while the demand for food and the convenience of ordering food online are also factors affecting purchase intention.Practical implicationsThe study confirms the importance of online menus to purchase intention. Economically, when supply and demand are reasonable, the market is stable and technology develops. In terms of social, hygiene, attractiveness and price factors, it is helpful to have an overview. Research is the premise for further studies with factors from menu to customer trust.Originality/valueThe study provides a solid foundation for further studies on restaurant menu elements as well as a new perspective on how restaurants improve their dishes.
Research on the bifurcation approach for turbulent flows with rotation and curvature: effect of the base models
Authors: Pang Kaiwen , Huang Xianbei , Liu Zhuqing , Li Yaojun , Yang Wei , Lu Jiaxing 
Published: January 2023

PurposeThis study aims to research the prediction performance of the bifurcation approach with different base models in different kinds of turbulent flows with rotation and curvature.Design/methodology/approachThe k−ω and Shear-Stress Transport (SST) k−ω models are modified by using the complete eddy viscosity coefficient expression, and the latter is modified by using two sets of model coefficients. The two bifurcation models were tested in three cases: rotating channel flow with system rotation, Taylor–Couette flow with wall rotation and curvature effect and swirling flow through an abrupt axisymmetric expansion with inlet swirling flow.FindingsIn these flows, the bifurcation approach can significantly improve the prediction performance of the base model in the fluctuation velocity. The deviation of the BSkO model is slightly superior to the BkO model by about 2% in the Taylor–Couette flow. The prediction effect of the root-mean-square (RMS) velocity of the BSkO model increases by about 4–5% as the number of grids increases about 2.37 times, and the best is the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) grid used. Finally, compared with the SST k−ω model, the average iteration time of the SST with curvature correction (SST-CC), bifurcation k−ω (BkO) and bifurcation SST k−ω (BSkO) models increased by 27.7%, 86.9% and 62.3%, respectively.Originality/valueThis study is helpful to understand further the application of the bifurcation method in the turbulence model.
Is customer participation always good in service recovery? The moderating role of customers' positive psychological capital
Authors: Alotaibi Meteb Naif , Chaouali Walid , Mjahed Hammami Samiha , Schoefer Klaus , Aloui Narjess , Abdulhamid Saleh Mahmoud 
Published: January 2023

PurposeSo far, whether customers' involvement strengthens or weakens the process of service recovery has remained unclear. Filling this gap, this study aims to investigate the effect of customers' participation on customers' post-recovery outcomes in the context of the banking industry. More specifically, this study delineates how and when customer participation (CP) proves effective in creating and enhancing favourable post-recovery outcomes.Design/methodology/approachWith the help of an online survey, this study collects responses from 314 bank customers and analyses them using SmartPLS.FindingsThe results show that customers' participation in service recovery positively affects customers' perceived utilitarian and hedonic values. Customers' perceived utilitarian and hedonic values positively influence customers' recovery satisfaction which, in turn, positively relates to their continuance intention and positive word-of-mouth (PWOM). Furthermore, customers' positive psychological capital (CPPC) positively moderates the relationship of CP in service recovery with perceived utilitarian value and hedonic value.Originality/valueThis study unveils the negative facet of co-created service recovery, which has rarely been addressed in the service recovery literature, especially in the context of the banking industry. This study demonstrates that the effectiveness of customers' participation in creating favourable post-recovery outcomes is contingent on CPPC. Moreover, this study confirms that not all customers may value customers' participation in the service recovery process.
The moderating effect of fan engagement on the relationship between fan knowledge and fan co-creation in social media
Authors: Behnam Mohsen , Dickson Geoff , Delshab Vahid , Gerke Anna , Savari Nikou Parvaneh 
Published: January 2023

PurposeSocial media has enhanced the ability of fans to interact with each other. Whilst previous research investigates fan co-creation, few studies focus on the interactive effects within the co-creation process. The authors develop a model for synthesizing the interactive concepts related to fan co-creation in social media, which leads to team identification.Design/methodology/approachParticipants (N = 483) were recruited from fans of clubs in the Persian Gulf Pro League of Iran. Structural equation modelling was applied to test the research model.FindingsThe results showed that fan knowledge facilitates fan co-creation, which in turn leads to team identification. Additionally, fan engagement had a moderating effect on the mediating role of fan co-creation in the association between fan knowledge and team identification.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings suggest that fan knowledge is an important antecedent of fan co-creation and highlight the significance of fan co-creation in promoting team identification in highly engaged fans at football clubs.Originality/valueThe current study contributes to the field of fan co-creation and provides significant implications for sport fan marketers.
Soil microbial legacies influence freeze–thaw responses of soil
Authors: Pastore Melissa A. , Classen Aimée T. , English Marie E. , Frey Serita D. , Knorr Melissa A. , Rand Karin , Adair E. Carol 
Published: January 2023

Abstract

Warmer winters with less snowfall are increasing the frequency of soil freeze–thaw cycles across temperate regions. Soil microbial responses to freeze–thaw cycles vary and some of this variation may be explained by microbial conditioning to prior winter conditions, yet such linkages remain largely unexplored. We investigated how differences in temperature history influenced microbial community composition and activity in response to freeze–thaw cycles.

We collected soil microbial communities that developed under colder (high elevation) and warmer (low elevation) temperature regimes in spruce‐fir forests, then added each of these soil microbial communities to a sterile bulk‐soil in a laboratory microcosm experiment. The inoculated high‐elevation cold and low‐elevation warm microcosms were subjected to diurnal freeze–thaw cycles or constant above‐freezing temperature for 9 days. Then, all microcosms were subjected to a 7‐day above‐freezing recovery period.

Overall, we found that the high‐elevation cold community had, relative to the low‐elevation warm community, a smaller reduction in microbial respiration (CO2 flux) during freeze–thaw cycles. Further, the high‐elevation cold community, on average, experienced lower freeze–thaw‐induced bacterial mortality than the warm community and may have partly acclimated to freeze–thaw cycles via increased lipid membrane fluidity. Respiration of both microbial communities quickly recovered following the end of the freeze–thaw treatment period and there were no changes in soil extractable carbon or nitrogen.

Our results provide evidence that past soil temperature conditions may influence the responses of soil microbial communities to freeze–thaw cycles. The microbial community that developed under a colder temperature regime was more tolerant of freeze–thaw cycles than the community that developed under a warmer temperature regime, although both communities displayed some level of resilience. Taken together, our data suggest that microbial communities conditioned to less extreme winter soil temperatures may be most vulnerable to rapid changes in freeze–thaw regimes as winters warm, but they also may be able to quickly recover if mortality is low.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
The non‐random assembly of network motifs in plant–pollinator networks
Authors: Lanuza Jose B. , Allen‐Perkins Alfonso , Bartomeus Ignasi 
Published: January 2023

Abstract

Ecological processes leave distinct structural imprints on the species interactions that shape the topology of animal–plant mutualistic networks. Detecting how direct and indirect interactions between animals and plants are organised is not trivial since they go beyond pairwise interactions, but may get blurred when considering global network descriptors.

Recent work has shown that the meso‐scale, the intermediate level of network complexity between the species and the global network, can capture this important information. The meso‐scale describes network subgraphs representing patterns of direct and indirect interactions between a small number of species, and when these network subgraphs differ statistically from a benchmark, they are often referred to as ‘network motifs’. Although motifs can capture relevant ecological information of species interactions, they remain overlooked in natural plant–pollinator networks.

By exploring 60 empirical plant–pollinator networks from 18 different studies with wide geographical coverage, we show that some network subgraphs are consistently under‐ or over‐represented, suggesting the presence of worldwide network motifs in plant–pollinator networks. In addition, we found a higher proportion of densely connected network subgraphs that, based on previous findings, could reflect that species relative abundances are the main driver shaping the structure of the meso‐scale on plant–pollinator communities. Moreover, we found that distinct subgraph positions describing species ecological roles (e.g. generalisation and number of indirect interactions) are occupied by different groups of animal and plant species representing their main life‐history strategies (i.e. functional groups). For instance, we found that the functional group of ‘bees’ was over‐represented in subgraph positions with a lower number of indirect interactions in contrast to the rest of floral visitors groups. Finally, we show that the observed functional group combinations within a subgraph cannot be retrieved from their expected probabilities (i.e. joint probability distributions), indicating that plant and floral visitor associations within subgraphs are not random either.

Our results highlight the presence of common network motifs in plant–pollinator communities that are formed by a non‐random association of plants and floral visitors functional groups.
A 21st‐Century perspective on snow drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Authors: Heldmyer Aaron J. , Bjarke Nels R. , Livneh Ben 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), there is a deep reliance on seasonal snowpack for maintenance of water resources. The term “snow drought” has recently emerged to describe periods of anomalously low snowpack. Unique seasonal patterns in precipitation and temperature that drive snow drought can have distinct hydrologic signatures, and these relationships have not been carefully studied in the UCRB. Here we examine snow drought with a new classification scheme using peak snow water equivalent (SWE) and the ratio of basin‐wide modeled peak SWE to accumulated (onset to peak) precipitation (SWE/P) that clusters snow drought years into three distinct groups—“warm,” “dry,” and “warm & dry”—that minimize within‐group variance. Over the period 1916–2018, we identify 14 warm years ( = 160 mm; = 0.24), 24 dry years ( = 117 mm; = 0.35), and 21 warm & dry years ( = 94 mm; = 0.23). An elevation‐based analysis reveals two distinct patterns: warm snow droughts see severe SWE reductions primarily at lower (<2600 m) elevations (65% at lower elevations, 37% overall), whereas “dry” scenarios exhibit a consistent reduction across all elevations (39% overall). Using naturalized streamflow data, we also differentiate snow droughts by their earlier streamflow timing and decreased peakedness (warm: 7 days, 2%; dry: 7 days, 2%; warm & dry: 13 days, 5%). This research provides new insights into snow drought patterns relevant for regional water management.
Efficacy and safety of carboplatin and etoposide in older extensive‐stage small‐cell lung cancer patients with a poor performance status
Authors: Mamesaya Nobuaki , Kodama Hiroaki , Iida Yuko , Kobayashi Haruki , Ko Ryo , Wakuda Kazushige , Ono Akira , Kenmotsu Hirotsugu , Naito Tateaki , Murakami Haruyasu , Shimizu Tetsuo , Gon Yasuhiro , Takahashi Toshiaki 
Published: January 2023

AbstractCarboplatin plus etoposide is a standard treatment for older extensive‐stage small‐cell lung cancer (ES‐SCLC) patients with performance status (PS) 2. However, older patients often exhibit poor PS (3, 4), and the treatment effect in them is poorly understood. To determine the therapeutic efficacy and safety of carboplatin plus etoposide therapy for this population, we retrospectively analyzed 63 patients with ES‐SCLC with PS ≥2, aged ≥71 years, who had received first‐line carboplatin plus etoposide therapy. We compared the treatment efficacy and safety in patients with baseline PS 2 versus those with PS 3–4. In the PS 2 (38 patients) and PS ≥3 (25 patients) groups, the overall response rate was 71.1% and 72.0%, median progression‐free survival was 4.6 and 3.1 months, and overall survival was 7.7 and 5.1 months, respectively. PS improved to 0–1 post‐treatment in 65.8% and 48.0% of the patients in the PS 2 and PS ≥3 groups, respectively. Patients with PS ≥3 showing improved PS had a progression‐free survival of 6.1 months. A higher incidence of grade ≥3 decreased neutrophil counts, febrile neutropenia, and treatment‐related death was observed in the PS ≥3 group. The progression‐free survival of patients administered prophylactic granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (G‐CSF) was 5.2 and 6.1 months in the PS2 and PS ≥3 groups. Overall, carboplatin plus etoposide therapy provided comparable tumor shrinkage, but shorter progression‐free and overall survival in older ES‐SCLC patients with PS ≥3 than in those with PS 2. Thus, supportive care, such as prophylactic G‐CSF administration, may be necessary to ensure safety and survival.
Community fashioning
Authors: Landry Jean‐Michel 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn the shari‘a seminaries (hawza) of South Beirut, young Shi‘i Muslims articulate a notion of ethics that is realized in and through collective life. Classes on ethics (akhlaq) help them reweave the moral fabric of their neighborhoods by addressing volatile public situations, correcting improper conduct, and emulating virtuous figures. The concerns that animate these classes, and the practices of caretaking shaped therein, illuminate the political work that ethical action can achieve. Understanding how future clerics learn to fashion their community (and themselves) requires a theorization of subject formation that moves beyond conventional views of the self and that enables us to approach the public atmosphere as an ethical force. For this, a powerful starting point is offered by the tradition of political ethics as elaborated in the writings of Antonio Gramsci, Simone Weil, and others.
Platelets and endothelial dysfunction in gestational diabetes mellitus
Authors: Valero Paola , Cornejo Marcelo , Fuentes Gonzalo , Wehinger Sergio , Toledo Fernando , van der Beek Eline M. , Sobrevia Luis , Moore‐Carrasco Rodrigo 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has increased in recent years, along with the higher prevalence of obesity in women of reproductive age. GDM is a pathology associated with vascular dysfunction in the fetoplacental unit. GDM‐associated endothelial dysfunction alters the transfer of nutrients to the foetus affecting newborns and pregnant women. Various mechanisms for this vascular dysfunction have been proposed, of which the most studied are metabolic alterations of the vascular endothelium. However, different cell types are involved in GDM‐associated endothelial dysfunction, including platelets. Platelets are small, enucleated cell fragments that actively take part in blood haemostasis and thrombus formation. Thus, they play crucial roles in pathologies coursing with endothelial dysfunction, such as atherosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes mellitus. Nevertheless, platelet function in GDM is understudied. Several reports show a potential relationship between platelet volume and mass with GDM; however, platelet roles and signaling mechanisms in GDM‐associated endothelial dysfunction are unclear. This review summarizes the reported findings and proposes a link among altered amount, volume, mass, reactivity, and function of platelets and placenta development, resulting in fetoplacental vascular dysfunction in GDM.
Inflammatory cytokine‐enriched microenvironment plays key roles in the development of breast cancers
Authors: Takeuchi Yasuto , Gotoh Noriko 
Published: January 2023

AbstractAs the incidence of breast cancer continues to increase, it is critical to develop prevention strategies for this disease. Inflammation underlies the onset of the disease, and NF‐κB is a master transcription factor for inflammation. Nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) is activated in a variety of cell types, including normal epithelial cells, cancer cells, cancer‐associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and immune cells. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is the earliest stage of breast cancer, and not all DCIS lesions develop into invasive breast cancers (IBC). Currently, most patients with DCIS undergo surgery with postoperative therapy, although there is a risk of overtreatment. In BRCA mutants, receptor activator of NF‐κB (RANK)‐positive progenitors serve as the cell of origin, and treatment using the RANK monoclonal antibody reduces the risk of IBC. There is still an unmet need to diagnose malignant DCIS, which has the potential to progress to IBC, and to establish appropriate prevention strategies. We recently demonstrated novel molecular mechanisms for NF‐κB activation in premalignant mammary tissues, which include DCIS, and the resultant cytokine‐enriched microenvironment is essential for breast cancer development. On the early endosomes in a few epithelial cells, the adaptor protein FRS2β, forming a complex with ErbB2, carries the IκB kinase (IKK) complex and leads to the activation of NF‐κB, thereby inducing a variety of cytokines. Therefore, the FRS2β‐NFκB axis in the inflammatory premalignant environment could be targetable to prevent IBC. Further analysis of the molecular mechanisms of inflammation in the premalignant microenvironment is necessary to prevent the risk of IBC.