Virtual in situs: Sequencing mRNA from cryo-sliced Drosophila embryos to determine genome-wide spatial patterns of gene expression

Complex spatial and temporal patterns of gene expression underlie embryo differentiation, yet methods do not yet exist for the efficient genome-wide determination of spatial expression patterns during development. In situ imaging of transcripts and proteins is the gold-standard, but it is difficult and time consuming to apply to an entire genome, even when highly automated. Sequencing, in contrast, is fast and genome-wide, but is generally applied to homogenized tissues, thereby discarding spatial information. It is likely that these methods will ultimately converge, and we will be able to sequence RNAs in situ, simultaneously determining their identity and location. As a step along this path, we developed methods to cryosection individual blastoderm stage Drosophila melanogaster embryos along the anterior-posterior axis and sequence the mRNA isolated from each 25 micron slice. The spatial patterns of gene expression we infer closely match patterns previously determined by in situ hybridization and microscopy. We applied this method to generate a genome-wide timecourse of spatial gene expression from shortly after fertilization through gastrulation. We identify numerous genes with spatial patterns that have not yet been described in the several ongoing systematic in situ based projects. This simple experiment demonstrates the potential for combining careful anatomical dissection with high-throughput sequencing to obtain spatially resolved gene expression on a genome-wide scale.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 7 supplemental figures (available on request from [email protected]

Cultural impact on the harmonisation of Russian Accounting Standards with the International Financial Reporting Standards: A practitioner's perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore cultural impact on the harmonisation of Russian Accounting Standards with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical review established that differences still exist between the two sets of accounting standards. For decades, Russia was a socialist state of planned economy. Accounting was a tool of centralised control, and accountants had a job of gathering information for statistical purposes of the government and tax authorities. This led to the development of a “Soviet culture” mindset. Accountants saw their jobs as following prescribed rules. Accounting is seen by Hofstede as a field in which historically developed practices are more important than laws of nature. It is therefore expected that accounting rules and the way they are applied will vary among different national cultures. Hence, Gray tried to explore how Hofstede's national cultural dimensions may explain international differences in accounting. With respect to past research in this area, Nobes argued that “national accounting traditions are likely to continue into consolidated reporting where scope for this exists within IFRS rules”. Ding et al. investigated the role of a country's culture and legal origin as an explanation for the differences between local Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and IAS as they were in 2001. The study gathered 53 Russian accountants' attitudes towards reporting under harmonised Russian Accounting Standards through semi structured interviews. Findings – The findings supported the theoretical view of a “Soviet culture” which has an impact on harmonisation of Russian Accounting Standards with the IFRS. Russia's high rankings in such cultural dimensions as power distance, uncertainty avoidance and collectivism have contributed to the development of certain preferences among Russian accountants. Those preferences were for statutory control, uniformity, conservatism and secrecy. Further findings indicate that accountants in Russia display reluctance to disclose financial information to the external users. One of the main reasons was found to be fear of disclosing too much information to competitors. Based on these findings, accountants in Russia display clear signs of preference for secrecy as opposed to transparency, as identified by Gray. Originality/value – One of the contributions of this study is to examine current perceptions of Russian accountants towards financial reporting under new harmonised Russian Accounting Standards based on Rozhnova's study

Building validation tools for knowledge-based systems

The Expert Systems Validation Associate (EVA), a validation system under development at the Lockheed Artificial Intelligence Center for more than a year, provides a wide range of validation tools to check the correctness, consistency and completeness of a knowledge-based system. A declarative meta-language (higher-order language), is used to create a generic version of EVA to validate applications written in arbitrary expert system shells. The architecture and functionality of EVA are presented. The functionality includes Structure Check, Logic Check, Extended Structure Check (using semantic information), Extended Logic Check, Semantic Check, Omission Check, Rule Refinement, Control Check, Test Case Generation, Error Localization, and Behavior Verification

Testing validation tools on CLIPS-based expert systems

The Expert Systems Validation Associate (EVA) is a validation system which was developed at the Lockheed Software Technology Center and Artificial Intelligence Center between 1986 and 1990. EVA is an integrated set of generic tools to validate any knowledge-based system written in any expert system shell such as C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS), ART, OPS5, KEE, and others. Many validation tools have been built in the EVA system. In this paper, we describe the testing results of applying the EVA validation tools to the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Fault Diagnosis, Isolation, and Reconfiguration (FDIR) expert system, written in CLIPS, obtained from the NASA Johnson Space Center

Developing an evidence-based program sustainability training curriculum: A group randomized, multi-phase approach

Abstract Background The emergence of dissemination and implementation (D&I) science has driven a rapid increase in studies of how new scientific discoveries are translated and developed into evidence-based programs and policies. However, D&I science has paid much less attention to what happens to programs once they have been implemented. Public health programs can only deliver benefits if they reach maturity and sustain activities over time. In order to achieve the full benefits of significant investment in public health research and program development, there must be an understanding of the factors that relate to sustainability to inform development of tools and trainings to support strategic long-term program sustainability. Tobacco control programs, specifically, vary in their abilities to support and sustain themselves over time. As of 2018, most states still do not meet the CDC-recommended level for funding their TC program, allowing tobacco use to remain the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the USA. The purpose of this study is to empirically develop, test, and disseminate training programs to improve the sustainability of evidence-based state tobacco control programs and thus, tobacco-related health outcomes. Methods This paper describes the methods of a group randomized, multi-phase study that evaluates the empirically developed “Program Sustainability Action Planning Training” and technical assistance in US state-level tobacco control programs. Phase 1 includes developing the sustainability action planning training curriculum and technical assistance protocol and developing measures to assess long-term program sustainability. Phase 2 includes a group randomized trial to test the effectiveness of the training and technical assistance in improving sustainability outcomes in 24 state tobacco control programs (12 intervention, 12 comparison). Phase 3 includes the active dissemination of final training curricula materials to a broader public health audience. Discussion Empirical evidence has established that program sustainability can improve through training and technical assistance; however, to our knowledge, no evidence-based sustainability training curriculum program exists. Therefore, systematic methods are needed to develop, test, and disseminate a training that improves the sustainability of evidence-based programs. Trial registration NCT03598114. Registered 25 July 2018—retrospectively registered

Successful scaling in social franchising: The case of Impact Hub

Social entrepreneurs increasingly use franchising to scale social value. Tracey and Jarvis (2007) described how social franchising is similar to commercial franchising, but also noted critical challenges arising from dual social and commercial goals. We investigate a social franchisor that overcame these challenges and describe how the social mission became the source of innovation for its business model. We show that the social mission fostered a shared identity that motivated and guided the search for adaptations to the franchise model. In particular, the shared mission-driven identity created pressure toward (1) decentralized decision-making, (2) shared governance, and (3) a new role for the franchisor as orchestrator of collaborative knowledge sharing among franchisees. Findings should help social franchisors avoid common pitfalls and suggest future research questions for social entrepreneurship and franchising scholars