bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dynamic changes to signal allocation rules in response to variable social environments in house mice
Authors: Miller Caitlin H , Hillock Matthew F , Yang Jay , Carlson-Clarke Brandon , Haxhillari Klaudio , Lee Annie Y , Warden Melissa R , Sheehan Michael J 
Published: January 2022

AbstractMale house mice use metabolically costly urine marks in intrasexual competition and mate attraction. Given the high costs of signaling and the depletable nature of urine reserves, males should dynamically modulate signal allocation as the social landscape is updated with new information. We investigate which aspects of male urine marking behavior are static or dynamic in light of changing social environments. To do this, we use thermal imaging to capture spatiotemporal data of urine deposition decisions. This novel method reveals fine-scale variation in urinary motor patterns in response to competition and social odors. Males demonstrate striking winner-loser effects in both the total allocation effort and temporal dynamics of scent marking. We find that competitive experience primes key temporal features of signal allocation and modulates responses to familiar and unfamiliar male scents. Males adjust their signaling effort, mark latency, and scent mark rhythm, depending on the scent identities present in the environment. Winners dramatically increase marking effort toward unfamiliar compared to familiar male scent, consistent with a ‘dear enemy’ effect. Losers, in contrast, greatly reduce marking to unfamiliar scent but increase marking effort to the scent of their familiar rival, consistent with a ‘nasty neighbor’ effect. Counter to the high lability of many features, the initial signal investment pattern influences allocation decisions days later, revealing the possibility of alternative scent mark strategies among competitive males. Thus, different features of urine mark signal allocation vary in responsiveness to fluctuating social landscapes, suggesting there are multiple distinct behavioral modules underlying marking behavior.
Interaction with TopBP1 mediates human papillomavirus 16 E2 plasmid segregation/retention function and stability during the viral life cycle
Authors: Prabhakar Apurva T. , James Claire D. , Das Dipon , Fontan Christian T. , Otoa Raymonde , Wang Xu , Bristol Molly L. , Morgan Iain M. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractHuman papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) E2 is a DNA binding protein that regulates transcription, replication and potentially, segregation of the HPV16 genome during the viral life cycle. In the segregation model, E2 simultaneously binds to viral and host chromatin, acting as a bridge to ensure that viral genomes reside in daughter nuclei following cell division. The host chromatin receptor for E2 mediating this function is unknown. Recently, we demonstrated that CK2 phosphorylation of E2 on serine 23 (S23) is required for interaction with TopBP1, and that this interaction promotes E2 and TopBP1 recruitment to mitotic chromatin. Here, we demonstrate that in U2OS and N/Tert-1 cells expressing wild type E2 and a non-TopBP1 binding mutant (S23A, serine 23 mutated to alanine), interaction with TopBP1 is essential for E2 recruitment of plasmids to mitotic chromatin. Using a novel quantitative segregation assay, we demonstrate that interaction with TopBP1 is required for E2 plasmid segregation. The interaction of E2 with TopBP1 promotes increased levels of E2 protein during mitosis in U2OS and N/Tert-1 cells, as well as in human foreskin keratinocytes immortalized by the HPV16 genome. Additionally, interaction with TopBP1 is required for expression of the E2 protein during the viral life cycle. Overall, our results demonstrate that E2 has plasmid segregation activity, and that the E2-TopBP1 interaction is essential for this E2 function and for E2 expression during the viral life cycle.ImportanceHPV16 causes 3-4% of all human cancers. During the viral life cycle, it is proposed that the viral genome is actively segregated into daughter nuclei, ensuring viral replication in the subsequent S phase. The E2 protein potentially bridges the viral and host genomes during mitosis to mediate segregation of the circular viral plasmid. Here, we demonstrate that E2 has the ability to mediate plasmid segregation, and that this function is dependent upon interaction with the host protein TopBP1. Additionally, we demonstrate that the E2-TopBP1 interaction promotes enhanced E2 expression during mitosis which likely promotes the plasmid segregation function of E2. Overall, our results present a mechanism of how HPV16 can segregate its viral genome during an active infection, a critical aspect of the viral life cycle.
Evolution of β-lactamase mediated cefiderocol resistance
Authors: Fröhlich Christopher , Sørum Vidar , Tokuriki Nobuhiko , Johnsen Pål Jarle , Samuelsen Ørjan 
Published: January 2022

ABSTRACTCefiderocol is a novel siderophore β-lactam with improved hydrolytic stability toward β-lactamases, including carbapenemases, achieved by combining structural moieties of two clinically efficient cephalosporins, ceftazidime and cefepime. Consequently, cefiderocol represents a treatment alternative for infections caused by multi-drug resistant Gram-negatives. Using directed evolution on a wide variety of different β-lactamases, such as KPC-2 and CTX-M-15 (Ambler class A), NDM-1 (class B), CMY-2 (class C) and OXA-48 (class D), we studied the role of cefiderocol during β-lactamase-mediated resistance development. First, we investigated how the expression of different β-lactamases causes changes in cefiderocol susceptibility. In a low-copy number vector, we found that OXA-48 and KPC-2 conferred non or marginal decreases in cefiderocol susceptibility, respectively. On the contrary, CMY-2, CTX-M-15 and NDM-1 substantially decreased cefiderocol susceptibility by 16-, 8- and 32-fold, respectively. Second, we determined the evolutionary potential of these enzymes to adapt to increasing concentrations of cefiderocol. Our data show that with the acquisition of only 1 to 2 mutations, all β-lactamases were evolvable to further cefiderocol resistance by 2- (NDM-1, CTX-M-15), 4- (CMY-2), 8- (OXA-48) and 16-fold (KPC-2). Cefiderocol resistance development was often associated with collateral susceptibility changes including increased resistance to ceftazidime and ceftazidime-avibactam as well as functional trade-offs against different β-lactam drugs. Taken together, contemporary β-lactamases of all Ambler classes can potentially contribute to cefiderocol resistance development and can acquire mutations allowing them to adapt to increasing cefiderocol concentration. At the same time, resistance development caused clinically important cross-resistance, especially against ceftazidime combinations.SummaryDespite the reported higher stability of cefiderocol against β-lactamase hydrolysis, we show that the expression of β-lactamases from different Ambler classes significantly contributes to cefiderocol resistance and that these enzymes have the evolutionary potential to evolve towards increasing cefiderocol concentrations.
Reduction in cardiolipin reduces expression of creatine transporter-1 and creatine transport in hBMEC/D3 human brain microvessel endothelial cells
Authors: Miller Donald W. , Hatch Grant M. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractBackgroundCardiolipin (CL) is the signature phospholipid of mitochondria and regulates a plethora of cellular functions including mitochondrial energy production. There is little knowledge of how CL regulates uptake and membrane transport processes in mammalian cells. Endothelial cells of the blood brain barrier (BBB) play a vital role in uptake of metabolites into the brain and are enriched in mitochondria compared with peripheral endothelial cells. We examined how deficiency in BBB endothelial CL regulates the expression of selected drug and metabolite transporters and their function.MethodsCardiolipin synthase-1 (hCLS1) was knocked down in a human brain microvessel endothelial cell line, hBMEC/D3, by Lipofectamine® transfection with hCLS1 siRNA and CL levels, CL synthase activity and the mRNA expression of selected blood brain barrier drug and metabolite transporters examined. Mock transfected hBMEC/D3 cells served as controls. The incorporation of [14C]creatine and [14C]oleate into hBMEC/D3 cells was determined as a measure of solute metabolite transport and protein expression of the creatine transporter determined.ResultsKnockdown of the CL biosynthetic enzyme hCLS1 in hBMEC/D3 reduced CL and CL synthase activity and the mRNA expression of creatine transporter-1, p-glycoprotein and breast cancer resistance protein compared to controls. In contrast, mRNA expression of ATP binding cassette subfamily C members-1, -3, multidrug resistance-associated protein-4 variants 1, -2, and fatty acid transport protein-1 were unaltered. Although ATP production was unaltered by hCLS1 knockdown, incorporation of [14C]creatine into hBMEC/D3 cells was reduced compared to controls. The reduction in [14C]creatine incorporation was associated with a reduction in creatine transporter-1 protein expression. In contrast, incorporation of [14C]oleic acid into hBMEC/D3 cells and the mRNA expression of fatty acid transport protein-1 was unaltered by knockdown of hCLS1 compared to controls.ConclusionKnockdown of hCLS1 in hBMEC/D3, with a corresponding reduction in CL, results in alteration in expression of specific solute membrane transporters.
Shortage of nurses in Hong Kong: the challenges ahead
Authors: Lam Gigi 
Published: January 2022

PurposeThe aging of a population poses significant challenges to healthcare, housing, social security and elderly care services. Active aging is promoted by the Hong Kong government but is compromised by a shortage of nurses, doctors and professional aides. This study aims to review the history of nursing education in Hong Kong, evaluate Hong Kong's nursing manpower policy with a macro–micro analysis based on sociological imagination and provide sound recommendations.Design/methodology/approachThis article analyzes the nursing shortage in Hong Kong. A comprehensive literature review was conducted, concerning the Hong Kong healthcare workforce and covering relevant government reports, consultation papers and articles from academic journals from 1943 to the present.FindingsThe nursing shortage in Hong Kong can be understood from both absolute and relative terms. The total number of practicing nurses and fresh graduates registering through the four aforementioned pathways increased from 17,034 in 1996 to 61,295 in 2020 (growth rate of 74.4%), but it is predicted that there will be a shortage of 455, 1,383 and 1,669 nurses in 2020, 2025 and 2030, respectively. Moreover, Hong Kong had 8.2 nurses per 1,000 people in 2020. Although this rate exceeds those of China, South Korea and Singapore, it lags behind those of the USA and Australia as well as the international recommendation of nine nurses per 1,000 people. The nurse shortage has been further aggravated by an interaction between macro factors, including aging population, a lack of coherent and long-term nursing manpower policy (an analysis is based on a health policy triangle), numerous obstacles imposed on nurses from abroad and micro factors emanating from an interplay of push–pull factors among nurses.Practical implicationsThe proportion of the Hong Kong population aged 65 years or older was 18% in 2019. The availability of healthcare workers is essential for attaining optimal health outcomes for older adults. The high turnover rate of nurses in public hospitals negatively affects the provision of timely high-quality medical services in the dual-track medical system. Therefore, workforce projections should be made every three years. Such policy should rely primarily on local nurses trained both by University Grant Committee-funded institutions and by self-financed tertiary institutions. Foreign nurses should be a supplementary resource. The budget allocated to the public healthcare sector should be increased to improve remuneration, provide abundant training opportunities and improve working environment to retain nurses in public hospitals.Originality/valueGiven that deep-seated problems surrounding the quantity and quality of nurses, the avenues for pursuing nursing degree education and the turnover rate of nurses in public hospitals remain unsolved, it is imperative to investigate how to alleviate the healthcare workforce shortage in Hong Kong.
Family firms, national culture and corporate social performance: a meta-analysis
Authors: Chen Jiawen , Liu Linlin 
Published: January 2022

PurposeExtant literature is ambiguous on the corporate social performance (CSP) of family firm. This paper aims to synthesize existing evidence of the relationship between family firm and corporate responsibility performance, and to examine the moderating effects of national culture.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a meta-analysis of the relationship between family firm and CSP, as well as the role of national culture on shaping this relationship.FindingsThe findings show evidence of greater CSP among family firms compared to nonfamily firms. The family firm–CSP relationship was moderated by cultural values such as ingroup collectivism, humane orientation and future orientation, and the moderating effects depended on cultural tightness.Originality/valueThe results help reconcile inconclusive prior findings, and elucidates family firms' corporate social responsibility in different cultures.
Japanese stone monuments and disaster memory – perspectives for DRR
Authors: Garnier Emmanuel , Lahournat Florence 
Published: January 2022

PurposeThe paper focuses on an aspect of disaster often overlooked by experts: that of disaster memory both as a prevention tool and one potentially contributing to the resilience of vulnerable communities in Japan. The objective is, more specifically, to explore one specific source of disaster memory in Japan, namely the disaster-related stone monuments scattered throughout the archipelago.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the goals, the authors have studied several types of materials. First, the authors have used the “Natural Disaster Monument” online database compiled by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GIS), data upon which the authors based the field research study, focused on water-related disaster in Otsu city (Shiga Prefecture). Simultaneously, the authors have systematically searched Japanese newspapers since the middle of the 19th century as well as the archives of Shiga prefecture in order to collect additional information on the statistical reality of these monuments, the context of their creation and in order to better estimate the severity of our case studies.FindingsFirst, the findings show that stone monuments are indeed structuring elements of disaster memory in Japan. Not only are they present throughout the archipelago, but in addition, they are still for the most part visited by local communities. Second, the findings show how this material culture of disaster, as a vector of disaster memory, could be used as a tool to better understand and bring awareness to the occurrence of specific hazards, especially to future generations.Originality/valueThe authors promote an interdisciplinary approach by associating anthropology and history. The study offers a new and original character about an object of study relating to both the cultural and historical fields but still often neglected as a tool and object of research in DDR. The authors provide a method and suggest ways to integrate these stone monuments into DDR policies. Finally, the authors propose to better integrate these monuments into the overall reflection on disaster awareness and disaster mitigation.
Designing rule-based conversational agents with behavioral programming: a study of human subjects
Authors: Rosenfeld Ariel , Haimovich Nitzan 
Published: January 2022

PurposeIn this work, the authors propose to harness the advantages of behavioral programming as a new technique for designing rule-based conversational agents.Design/methodology/approachTo examine the study’s hypotheses, the authors perform a first-of-its-kind user study through which the authors examine how potential designers, both expert designers, computationally-oriented designers, and otherwise, leverage behavioral programming (BP) and dialog graphs for designing conversational agents (CAs). The authors also use two standard CA settings common in the literature: designing a CA representative for a user in an online dating service and a non-character player in a role-playing game (RPG).FindingsThe study’s results indicate that BP can be successfully utilized by computationally-oriented designers, with or without prior knowledge in CA design, and can facilitate the design of better CAs (i.e. more accurate and more robust). However, to capitalize on these potential advantages, designers may be required to devote more time to the design process and are likely to encounter higher temporal demand levels. These results suggest that BP, which was initially proposed and evaluated in the general context of software design, can constitute a valuable alternative to the classic rule-based CA design technique commonly practiced today.Research limitations/implicationsAn important limitation of this study is the relatively small participant pool. While the authors do plan to extend this study in the future, the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation makes it ever more complex to conduct formal user studies of this kind. It is, however, important to note that despite the low number of participants, many of the results are found to be statistically significant.Practical implicationsThe authors plan to continue this line of work and conduct human studies for additional design techniques in other popular agent-based settings. Specifically, the authors seek to explore how people of different backgrounds should design agents for various tasks such as automated negotiation (e.g. how should a person design a representative agent to negotiate on her behalf?) and social choice (e.g. how should a person design a voting bot to represent her in online voting systems?).Originality/valuePeople are increasingly interacting with conversational agents in various settings and for a variety of reasons, as the market size of those agents keeps on growing every year. Through a first-of-its-kind human study (N = 41), consisting of both expert designers, computationally-oriented designers, and otherwise, the authors demonstrate a few key advantages and limitations of BP in the realm of conversational agents and propose its consideration as an alternative to the classic dialog graph technique.
Accessibility of music festivals: a British perspective
Authors: Alvarado Karla Gabriela 
Published: January 2022

PurposeThis investigation aims to critically assess accessibility for persons with disabilities (PWDs) at music festivals in the UK.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of the literature was conducted, followed by a case study focused on analysing accessible facilities and services offered at Glastonbury, Creamfields, Latitudes and Bestival Festivals. These two research strategies made use of secondary data only.FindingsBased on the analysis of the needs of PWDs when attending a music festival and the facilities and services currently offered at the four UK music festivals studied in this research, three themes emerged: (1) insufficient attention is given to venue and site design characteristics, (2) current access booking tools appear to be confusing and bureaucratic and (3) staff awareness is of great concern among PWDs because employees do not have sufficient knowledge about the different types of disabilities and their individual needs.Practical implicationsBy identifying current barriers affecting the experience of PWDs while attending music festivals in the UK, this research guides festival managers to deliver a more accessible music festival experience by suggesting the implementation of new approaches in terms of services and physical spaces provided.Originality/valueThis paper provides festival managers and future researchers with an essential foundation for creating more inclusive music festivals since it mentions critical factors that are currently missing and that can ensure success when responding to PWDs' needs and desires. The information in this investigation can be taken as an initial point to develop a theoretical framework through primary research focused on accessible festival design.
Aerodynamic and flight dynamic parametric studies of a flapping wing
Authors: Chetia Tandralee , Rajaram Dhayalan , Sreejalekshmi Kumaran G. 
Published: January 2022

PurposeFlapping-wing vehicles show various advantages as compared to fixed wing vehicles, making flapping-wing vehicles' study necessary in the current scenario. The present study aims to provide guidelines for fixing geometric parameters for an initial engineering design by a simple aerodynamic and flight dynamic parametric study.Design/methodology/approachA mathematical analysis was performed to understand the aerodynamics and flight dynamics of the micro-air vehicle (MAV). Only the forces due to the flapping wing were considered. The flapping motion was considered to be a combination of the pitching and plunging motion. The geometric parameters of the flapping wing were varied and the aerodynamic forces and power were observed. Attempts were then made to understand the flight stability envelope of the MAV in a forward horizontal motion in the vertical plane with similar parametric studies as those conducted in the case of aerodynamics.FindingsFrom the aerodynamic study, insights were obtained regarding the interaction of design parameters with the aerodynamics and feasible ranges of values for the parameters were identified. The flapping wing was found to have neutral static stability. The flight dynamic analysis revealed the presence of an unstable oscillatory mode, a stable fast subsidence mode and a neutral mode, in the forward flight of the MAV. The presence of unstable modes highlighted the need for active control to restore the MAV to equilibrium from its unstable state.Research limitations/implicationsThe study does not take into account the effects of control surfaces and tail on the aerodynamics and flight dynamics of the MAV. There is also a need to validate the results obtained in the study through experimental means which shall be taken up in the future.Practical implicationsThe parametric study helps us to understand the extent of the impact of the design parameters on the aerodynamics and stability of the MAV. The analysis of both aerodynamics and dynamic stability provides a holistic picture for the initial design. The study incorporates complex mathematical equations and simplifies such to understand the aerodynamics and flight stability of the MAV from an engineering perspective.Originality/valueThe study adds to already existing knowledge on the design procedures of a flapping wing.