bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is sleep apnoea a risk factor for Covid-19? Findings from a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Feuth Thijs , Saaresranta Tarja , Karlsson Antti , Valtonen Mika , Peltola Ville , Rintala Esa , Oksi Jarmo
Published: May 2020

Background:
In the early phase of the coronavirus disease-19 (Covid-19) pandemic, Southwest Finland remained relatively spared. By the 3rd of May 2020, a total of 28 patients have been admitted to the Turku University Hospital. In this paper, we explore baseline characteristics in order to identify risk for severe Covid-19 disease and critical care admission.

Methods
For this retrospective cohort study, data were derived from hospital records. Basic descriptive statistics were used to characterise patients, including medians, percentiles and frequencies. Differences were tested with Mann Whitney U-test and Pearson's chi-square test.

Results
Pre-existent obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) was present in 29% of patients admitted in the hospital for Covid-19, none of them having severe OSA. Overall, other findings on admission were comparable with those reported elsewhere. C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) were higher in patients who were eventually transferred to critical care in comparison to in those who were not (median CRP 187 mg/L versus 52 mg/L, p<0.005 and median PCT 0.46 versus 0.12, p=0.047). Moreover, there was a trend towards lower oxygen saturation on admission in ICU-patients (87% versus 93%, p=0.09).

Discussion
OSA was pre-existent in a disproportional large group of patients, which suggests that it is an important risk factor for severe Covid-19. Furthermore, we identified high CRP, PCT and possibly oxygen saturation as useful clinical measures to identify patients at risk for critical care.
Diffuse correlation spectroscopy used to monitor cerebral blood flow during adult hypothermic circulatory arrests
Authors: Zavriyev Alexander I. , Kaya Kutlu , Farzam Parisa , Farzam Parya Y. , Sunwoo John , Orihuela-Espina Felipe , Jassar Arminder S. , Cameron Duke E. , Sundt Thoralf M. , Melnitchouk Serguei , Carp Stefan A. , Franceschini Maria Angela , Qu Jason Z.
Published: May 2020

Real-time noninvasive monitoring of cerebral blood flow during surgery could improve the morbidity and mortality rates associated with hypothermic circulatory arrests (HCA) in adult cardiac patients. In this study, we used a combined frequency domain near-infrared spectroscopy (FDNIRS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) system to measure cerebral oxygen saturation (SO2) and an index of blood flow (CBFi) in 12 adults going under cardiac surgery with HCA. Our measurements revealed that a negligible amount of blood is delivered to the brain during HCA with retrograde cerebral perfusion (RCP), indistinguishable from HCA-only cases (CBFi drops of 91% ± 3% and 96% ± 2%, respectively) and that CBFi drops for both are significantly higher than drops during HCA with antegrade cerebral perfusion (ACP) (p = 0.003). We conclude that FDNIRS-DCS can be a powerful tool to optimize cerebral perfusion, and that RCP needs to be further examined to confirm its efficacy, or lack thereof.
Mental wellbeing in the Bangladeshi healthy population during nationwide lockdown over COVID-19: an online cross-sectional survey
Authors: Hossain Ahmed , Ali Mohammad , Rahaman Khan Hasinur , Ahsan Gias
Published: May 2020

Background: We aim to profile and contextualize the level of positive mental health among the healthy population during the beginning of nationwide lockdown over COVID-19 in Bangladesh.
Design and setting: An online sample of 1404 healthy individuals was collected through the authors' networks with residents and popular media in Bangladesh. The survey was conducted between March 27, 2020, and April 7, 2020, following the Bangladesh government's lockdown announcement.
Method: A questionnaire comprising the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) and sociodemographic information was posted to an online survey.
Results: The mean wellbeing value was 38.4 (standard deviation, 11.2), indicating a lower mental health level exist in adults. Also, the mean wellbeing score for males was 39.0 (10.8) units compared to females with scores 37.0 (11.2), and the highest scores for government workers was 41.2 (11.8). Unemployment (35.6) or business employees (35.5) have a lower level of mental health. In the lockout days, the elderly population of age 50 years and above had high day-to-day variation of wellbeing scores. After confounding adjustment in multivariable linear regression models, there found a better wellbeing scores for males (estimate=1.79, 95% CI=0.5, 3.1), and government-workers (estimate=5.86, 95% CI=2.2, 9.5). Moreover, the never-married female had significantly higher well-being score compared to married women (estimate=3.31, 95% CI=1.0, 5.7).
Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with low mental wellbeing that indicates depression in our study. Suggestions for improvement will be implemented to promote the mental health to women, unemployed and business communities. Older people 50 years of age and over reported a greater day-to-day variation in their mental health. The married women with their decreased mental wellbeing should be given special consideration. The research will help let clinicians and policymakers decide where the measures can be implemented to improve their mental health during and after this pandemic.
Early transmission of COVID-19 has an optimal temperature but late transmission decreases in warm climate
Authors: wan xinru , Cheng Chaoyuan , zhang zhibin
Published: May 2020

The COVID-19 novel virus, as an emerging highly pathogenic agent, has caused a pandemic. Revealing the influencing factors affecting transmission of COVID-19 is essential to take effective control measures. Several previous studies suggested that the spread of COVID-19 was likely associated with temperature and/or humidity. But, a recent extensive review indicated that conclusions on associations between climate and COVID-19 were elusive with high uncertainty due to caveats in most previous studies, such as limitations in time and space, data quality and confounding factors. In this study, by using a more extensive global dataset covering 578 time series from China, USA, Europe and the rest of the world, we show that climate show distinct impacts on early and late transmission of COVID-19 in the world after excluding the confounding factors. The early transmission ability of COVID-19 peaked around 6.3°C without or with little human intervention, but the later transmission ability was reduced in high temperature conditions under human intervention, probably driven by increased control efficiency of COVID-19. The transmission ability was positively associated with the founding population size of early reported cases and population size of a location. Our study suggested that with the coming summer seasons, the transmission risk of COVID-19 would increase in the high-latitude or high-altitude regions but decrease in low-latitude or low-altitude regions; human intervention is essential in containing the spread of COVID-19 around the world.
Heg.IA: An intelligent system to support diagnosis of Covid-19 based on blood tests
Authors: de Freitas Barbosa Valter Augusto , Gomes Juliana Carneiro , de Santana Maíra Araújo , de Almeida Albuquerque Jeniffer Emidio , de Souza Rodrigo Gomes , de Souza Ricardo Emmanuel , dos Santos Wellington Pinheiro
Published: May 2020

A new kind of coronavirus, the SARS-Cov2, started the biggest pandemic of the century. It has already killed more than 250,000 people. Because of this, it is necessary quick and precise diagnosis test. The current gold standard is the RT-PCR with DNA sequencing and identification, but its results takes too long to be available. Tests base on IgM/IgG antibodies have been used, but their sensitivity and specificity may be very low. Many studies have been demonstrating the Covid-19 impact in hematological parameters. This work proposes an intelligent system to support Covid-19 diagnosis based on blood testing. We tested several machine learning methods, and we achieved high classification performance: 95.159% ± 0.693 of overall accuracy, kappa index of 0.903 ± 0.014, sensitivity of 0.968 ± 0.007, precision of 0.938 ± 0.010 and specificity of 0.936 ± 0.011. These results were achieved using classical and low computational cost classifiers, with Bayes Network being the best of them. In addition, only 24 blood tests were needed. This points to the possibility of a new rapid test with low cost. The desktop version of the system is fully functional and available for free use.
Immunosurveillance of CCR6+ T-cells predicts treatment response to dimethyl-fumarate: implications for personalized treatment strategies in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Alifieris Constantinos , Schultze Seunghee Kim , Sand Ilana Katz , Casaccia Patrizia , Ntranos Achilles
Published: May 2020

Objective

The field of multiple sclerosis (MS) has seen a tremendous expansion of treatments in the past decade. However, treatment response in individual patients can currently be determined only by waiting for breakthrough disease activity to occur. This highlights a critical need for biomarkers that can predict treatment response and stratify the risk of impeding disease activity before damage is inflicted to the CNS. Here we show that CCR6+CD3+ T-cell surveillance in peripheral blood can be used to discriminate responders and non-responders to dimethyl-fumarate.

Methods

A cohort of 101 treatment-naïve, dimethyl-fumarate (DMF) treated MS patients and healthy controls was immunophenotyped and then responders and non-responders were determined retrospectively after clinical and radiographic follow up. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, linear and logistic regression, mixed effects models, and cox proportional hazards were used for the analysis.

Results

Among various clinical and immunophenotypic metrics, the percentage of CCR6+CD3+ T-cells was the most significant predictor of impending disease activity. This immunophenotypic metric was able to discriminate responders and non-responders to DMF with an area under the ROC of 0.85 (95% CI: 0.71–0.99), which was higher than that achieved using surrogate metrics for T-helper-1-like T-helper-17 or T-cytotoxic-17 cells. DMF-treated patients with the highest percentage of CCR6+CD3+ T-cells had a significantly higher risk of impending disease activity compared to patients with a low percentage.

Interpretation

Changes in CCR6+CD3+ T-cells in the periphery could precede disease activity by many months and potentially serve as an early biomarker of treatment response, at least for DMF. These results have implications for novel personalized treatment strategies in MS.
The differential impact of physical distancing strategies on social contacts relevant for the spread of COVID-19: Evidence from a multi-country survey
Authors: Del Fava Emanuele , Cimentada Jorge , Perrotta Daniela , Grow André , Rampazzo Francesco , Gil-Clavel Sofia , Zagheni Emilio
Published: May 2020

Physical distancing measures are intended to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, even though their impact on social contacts and disease transmission remains unclear. Obtaining timely data on social contact patterns can help to assess the impact of such protective measures. We conducted an online opt-in survey based on targeted Facebook advertising campaigns across seven European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom (UK)) and the United States (US), achieving a sample of 53,708 questionnaires in the period March 13–April 13, 2020. Post-stratification weights were produced to correct for biases. Data on social contact numbers, as well as on protective behaviour and perceived level of threat were collected and used to the expected net reproduction number by week,Rt, with respect to pre-pandemic data. Compared to social contacts reported prior to COVID-19, in mid-April daily social contact numbers had decreased between 49% in Germany and 83% in Italy, ranging from below three contacts per day in France, Spain, and the UK up to four in Germany and the Netherlands. Such reductions were sufficient to bringRtto one or even below in all countries, except Germany. Evidence from the US and the UK showed that the number of daily social contacts mainly decreased after governments issued the first physical distancing guidelines. Finally, although contact numbers decreased uniformly across age groups, older adults reported the lowest numbers of contacts, indicating higher levels of protection. We provided a comparable set of statistics on social contact patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic for eight high-income countries, disaggregated by week. As these estimates offer a more grounded alternative to the theoretical assumptions often used in epidemiological models, the scientific community could draw on this information for developing more realistic epidemic models of COVID-19.
Impact of relaxing Covid-19 social distancing measures on rural North Wales: a simulation analysis
Authors: Hughes Rhodri P , Hughes Dyfrig A
Published: May 2020

Background

Social distancing policies aimed to limit Covid–19 are gradually being relaxed as nationally reported peaks in incident cases are passed. Population density is an important driver of national incidence rates; however peak incidences in rural regions may lag national figures by several weeks. We aimed to forecast the impact of relaxed social distancing rules on rural North Wales.

Methods

Daily data on the deaths of people with a positive test for Covid–19 were obtained from Public Health Wales and the UK Government. Sigmoidal growth functions were fitted by non-linear least squares and model averaging used to extrapolate mortality over time. The dates of peak mortality incidences for North Wales, Wales and the UK; and the percentage predicted maximum mortality (as of 7th May 2020) were estimated.

Results

The peak daily death rates in Wales and the UK were estimated to have occurred on the 14/04/2020 and 15/04/2020, respectively. For North Wales, this occurred on the 07/05/2020, corresponding to the date of analysis. The number of deaths reported in North Wales represents 31% of the predicted total cumulative number, compared with 71% and 60% for Wales and the UK, respectively.

Conclusion

Policies governing the movement of people in the gradual release from lockdown are likely to impact significantly on areas –principally rural in nature– where cases of Covid–19, deaths and immunity are likely to be much lower than in populated areas. This is particularly difficult to manage across jurisdictions, such as between England and Wales, and in popular holiday destinations.
The effect of ambient temperature on worldwide COVID-19 cases and deaths – an epidemiological study
Authors: Sethwala Anver , Akbarally Mohamed , Better Nathan , Lefkovits Jeffrey , Grigg Leeanne , Akbarally Huzefa
Published: May 2020

Background

The role of ambient temperature in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections and subsequent deaths due to COVID-19 remains contentious. Coronaviruses such as the 2003 SARS-CoV showed an increased risk of transmission during cooler days. We sought to analyse the effects of ambient temperature on SARS-COV-2 transmission and deaths related to the virus.

Methods

The world population of COVID-19 cases and attributable deaths from the 23rd January 2020 to 11th April 2020 were analysed. Temperature 5 days before cases and 23 days prior to deaths (to account for the time lag of incubation period and time from symptoms to death) was compared to the average temperature experienced by the world population.

Results

The total number of cases during this period was 1,605,788 and total number of deaths was 103,471. The median temperature at the time of COVID-19 infection was 9.12°C (10–90th percentile 4.29–17.97°C) whilst the median temperature of the world population for the same period was 9.61°C warmer at 18.73°C (10–90th percentile 4.09-28.49°C) with a notional p-value =5.1 x10−11. The median temperature at the time of a COVID-19 death was 9.72°C (10–90th percentile 5.39–14.11°C) whilst the median temperature of the world population was 7.55°C warmer at 17.27°C (10–90th percentile 2.57°C-27.76°C) with a notional p-value = 1.1 x10−10. 80% of all COVID-19 related cases and deaths occurred between 4.29°C and 17.97°C.

Conclusion

A definitive association between infection rate and death from COVID-19 and ambient temperature exists, with the highest risk occurring around 9°C. Governments should maintain vigilance with containment strategies when the ambient temperatures correspond to this highest risk.
Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Shoulder Padding and Shoulder Injury in Rugby Union
Authors: Hughes Angus , Carré Prof. Matt , Driscoll Dr. Heather
Published: May 2020

Objective

To develop an understanding of the role of shoulder padding in preventing injuries in rugby by investigating player perceptions and attitudes towards shoulder padding and extending previous research into the nature of shoulder injuries in rugby.

Methods

A survey was distributed to current rugby players over 13 years old. Questions related to the participants’ demographic, attitudes to shoulder padding and shoulder injury history.

Results

616 rugby players responded to the survey. 66.1% of respondents had worn shoulder padding at some point during their career. Youth players (13–17 years old) and the older demographic (36+ years old) perceived shoulder padding to be more effective. 37.1% of respondents considered shoulder padding to be effective at preventing cuts and abrasions with 21.9% finding it very effective. 50.3% considered it to be effective at preventing contusion injury with 9.7% finding it very effective. 45.5% wore padding for injury prevention, while 19.2% wore padding to protect from reoccurring injury. 38.6% did not wear shoulder padding because they felt it was not needed for the game of rugby. Sprain/ ligament damage (57.5%) and bruising (55.5%) to the shoulder were the most commonly reported injury.

Conclusions

Research should focus on quantifying the injury preventive capabilities while also educating the rugby community on shoulder padding. Bruising, cuts and abrasion injuries to the shoulder are prevalent. The ability of shoulder padding to protect from these injuries should be further explored.
Quantitative Analysis of the Effectiveness of Public Health Measures on COVID-19 Transmission
Authors: Silva Thiago Christiano , Anghinoni Leandro , Zhao Liang
Published: May 2020

Although COVID-19 has spread almost all over the world, social isolation is still a controversial public health policy and governments of many countries still doubt its level of effectiveness. This situation can create deadlocks in places where there is a discrepancy among municipal, state and federal policies. The exponential increase of the number of infectious people and deaths in the last days shows that the COVID-19 epidemics is still at its early stage in Brazil and such political disarray can lead to very serious results. In this work, we study the COVID-19 epidemics in Brazilian cities using early-time approximations of the SIR model in networks. Different from other works, the underlying network is constructed by feeding real-world data on local COVID-19 cases reported by Brazilian cities to a regularized vector autoregressive model, which estimates directional COVID-19 transmission channels (links) of every pair of cities (vertices) using spectral network analysis. Our results reveal that social isolation and, especially, the use of masks can effectively reduce the transmission rate of COVID-19 in Brazil. We also build counterfactual scenarios to measure the human impact of these public health measures in terms of reducing the number of COVID-19 cases at the epidemics peak. We find that the efficiency of social isolation and of using of masks differs significantly across cities. For instance, we find that they would potentially decrease the COVID-19 epidemics peak in Sao Paulo (SP) and Brasilia
(DF) by 15% and 25%, respectively. We hope our study can support the design of further public health measures.
Chromosome scale reference genome of Cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba(L.) Taub.)
Authors: Gaikwad Kishor , Ramakrishna G. , Srivastava Harsha , Saxena Swati , Kaila Tanvi , Tyagi Anshika , Sharma Priya , Sharma Sandhya , Sharma R , Mahla HR , Amitha Mithra SV , Solanke Amol , Kalia Pritam , Rao AR , Rai Anil , Sharma TR , Singh NK
Published: May 2020

Clusterbean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba(L.) Taub.), also known as Guar is a widely cultivated dryland legume of Western India and parts of Africa. Apart from being a vegetable crop, it is also an abundant source of a natural hetero-polysaccharide called guar gum or galactomannan which is widely used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food processing, shale gas drilling etc. Here, for the first time we are reporting a chromosome-scale reference genome assembly of clusterbean, from a high galactomannan containing popular guar cultivar, RGC-936, by combining sequenced reads from Illumina, 10x Chromium and Oxford Nanopore technologies. The initial assembly of 1580 scaffolds with an N50 value of 7.12 Mbp was generated. Then, the final genome assembly was obtained by anchoring these scaffolds to a high density SNP map. Finally, a genome assembly of 550.31 Mbp was obtained in 7 pseudomolecules corresponding to 7 chromosomes with a very high N50 of 78.27 Mbp. We finally predicted 34,680 protein-coding genes in the guar genome. The high-quality chromosome-scale cluster bean genome assembly will facilitate understanding of the molecular basis of galactomannan biosynthesis and aid in genomics-assisted breeding of superior cultivars.
EFF-1 promotes muscle fusion, paralysis and retargets infection by AFF-1-coated viruses inC. elegans
Authors: Meledin Anna , Li Xiaohui , Matveev Elena , Gildor Boaz , Katzir Ofer , Podbilewicz Benjamin
Published: May 2020

A hallmark of muscle development is that myoblasts fuse to form myofibers. However, smooth muscles and cardiomyocytes do not generally fuse. InC. elegans, the body wall muscles (BWMs), the physiological equivalents of skeletal muscles, are mononuclear. Here, to determine what would be the consequences of fusing BWMs, we express the cell-cell fusogen EFF-1 in these cells. We find that EFF-1 induces paralysis and dumpy phenotypes. To determine whether EFF-1-induced muscle fusion results in these pathologies we injected viruses pseudotyped with AFF-1, a paralog of EFF-1, into the pseudocoelom ofC. elegans. When these engineered viruses encounter cells expressing EFF-1 or AFF-1 they are able to infect them as revealed by GFP expression from the viral genome. We find that AFF-1 viruses can fuse to EFF-1-expressing muscles revealing multinucleated fibers that cause paralysis and abnormal muscle morphogenesis. Thus, aberrant fusion of otherwise non-syncytial muscle cells may lead to pathological conditions.

Graphical abstract

Significance statement

Most cells are individual units that do not mix their cytoplasms. However, some cells fuse to become multinucleated in placenta, bones and muscles. In most animals, muscles are formed by myofibers that originate by cell-cell fusion. In contrast, inC. elegansthe body wall muscles are mononucleated cells that mediate worm-like movement. EFF-1 and AFF-1 fusogens mediate physiological cell fusion inC. elegans. By ectopically expressing EFF-1 in body wall muscles we induce their fusion resulting in behavioral and morphological deleterious effects, revealing possible causes of congenital myopathies in humans. Using AFF-1-coated pseudoviruses we infect EFF-1-expressing muscle cells retargeting viral infection into these cells. We suggest that virus retargeting can be utilized to study myogenesis, neuronal regeneration, gamete fusion and screens for new fusogens in different organisms. In addition, our virus retargeting system can be used in gene-therapy, viral-based oncolysis and to study viral-host interactions.
The role of the vestibular system in value attribution to positive and negative reinforcers
Authors: Blini Elvio , Tilikete Caroline , Chelazzi Leonardo , Farnè Alessandro , Hadj-Bouziane Fadila
Published: May 2020

Somatic inputs originating from bioregulatory processes can guide cognition and behavior. One such bodily signal, mostly overlooked so far, is represented by visuo-vestibular coupling and its alteration, which in extreme cases may result in motion sickness. We argued that the inherently perturbed interoceptive state that follows can be a powerful determinant of human motivated behavior, resulting in a blunted response to appetitive stimuli and an exaggerated response to noxious ones. We sought to assess such differential impact of visuo-vestibular mismatches on value through a task involving conflict monitoring. We therefore administered to 42 healthy participants a modified version of the Flankers task, in which distractors (arrows, pointing in either a congruent or incongruent direction) signaled the availability of monetary incentives (gains, losses, or neutral trials). While performing the task, participants received either galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS), or sham stimulation. We have found impaired behavioral performances when value, which was attached to task-irrelevant information, was at stake. Gains and losses, interestingly, dissociated, and only the latter caused enhanced interference costs in the task, suggesting that negative incentives may be more effective in capturing human attention than positive ones. Finally, we have found some weak evidence for GVS to further increase the processing of losses, as suggested by even larger interference costs in this condition. Results were, however, overall ambiguous, and suggest that much more research is needed to better understand the link between the vestibular system and motivation.

Highlights

Visuo-Vestibular mismatches may be important somatic markers affecting the evaluation of reinforcers;

When attached to distractors, value information impairs behavioral performance for the task at hand;

Trials in which potential losses were at stake were associated with larger interference costs arising from conflicting information between the target and the flankers;

GVS (Right-Anodal) may further increase the interference caused by losses, but the evidence in this respect was ambiguous and inconclusive;
Identification of five antiviral compounds from the Pandemic Response Box targeting SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Holwerda Melle , V’kovski Philip , Wider Manon , Thiel Volker , Dijkman Ronald
Published: May 2020

With currently over 4 million confirmed cases worldwide, including more than 300’000 deaths, the current Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has a major impact on the economy and health care system. Currently, a limited amount of prophylactic or therapeutic intervention options are available against SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we screened 400 compounds from the antimicrobial ‘Pandemic Response Box’ library for inhibiting properties against SARS-CoV-2. We identified sixteen compounds that potently inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication, of which five compounds displayed equal or even higher antiviral activity compared to Remdesivir. These results show that five compounds should be further investigated for their mode of action, safety and efficacy against SARS-CoV-2.

Highlights

400 compounds from the pandemic response box were tested for antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2.

5 compounds had an equal or higher antiviral efficacy towards SARS-CoV-2, compared to the nucleoside analogue Remdesivir.
Objective Extraction of Evoked Event-related Oscillations from Time-frequency Representation of Event-related Potentials
Authors: Zhang Guanghui , Ristaniemi Tapani , Cong Fengyu
Published: May 2020

Evoked event-related oscillations (EROs) have been widely used to explore the mechanisms of brain activities for both normal people and neuropsychiatric disease patients. The selection of regions of evoked EROs tends to be subjectively based on the previous studies and the visual inspection of grand averaged time-frequency representations (TFRs) which causes some missing or redundant information. Meanwhile, the evoked EROs cannot be fully extracted via the conventional time-frequency analysis (TFA) method because they are sometimes overlapped with each other or with artifacts in time, frequency, and space domains to some extent. Hence, these shortcomings may pose some challenges to investigate the related neuronal processes. A data-driven approach was introduced to fill the gaps as below: extracting the temporal and spatial components of interest simultaneously by principal component analysis and Promax rotation and projecting them to the electrode field to correct their variance and polarity indeterminacy, calculating the TFRs of the back-projected components, and determining the regions of interest objectively using the edge detection algorithm. We performed this novel approach and the conventional TFA method in analyzing both a synthetic dataset and an actual ERP dataset in a two-factor simple gambling paradigm of waiting time (short/long) and feedback (loss/gain) separately. Synthetic dataset results indicated that N2-theta and P3-delta oscillations were detected using the proposed approach, but, by comparison, only one oscillation was obtained via the conventional TFA method. Furthermore, the actual ERP dataset results of P3-delta for our approach revealed that it was sensitive to the waiting time (which also was found in the previous reports) but not for that of the conventional TFA method. This study manifested that the proposed approach can objectively extract evoked EROs, which allows a better understanding of the modulations of the oscillatory responses.
A Feedforward Loop Governs The Relationship Between Lipid Metabolism And Longevity
Authors: Littlejohn Nicole K. , Seban Nicolas , Srinivasan Supriya
Published: May 2020

The relationship between lipid metabolism and longevity remains unclear. In particular although fat oxidation is essential for weight loss, whether it is remains beneficial when sustained for long periods, and the extent to which it may alter lifespan remains an important unanswered question. Here we develop an experimental handle in theC. elegansmodel system, that uncovers the mechanisms that connect long-term fat oxidation with longevity. We find that sustained □-oxidation, via activation of the conserved triglyceride lipase ATGL-1, triggers a feedforward transcriptional loop that involves the mito-nuclear transcription factor ATFS-1, and a previously unknown and highly conserved repressor of ATGL-1 called HLH-11/AP4. This feedforward loop orchestrates the dual control of fat oxidation and lifespan protection, shielding the organism from life-shortening mitochondrial stress in the face of continuous fat oxidation. Thus, we uncover one mechanism by which fat oxidation can be sustained for long periods without deleterious effects on longevity.
The naked cell: emerging properties of a surfome-streamlinedPseudomonas putidastrain
Authors: Martínez-García Esteban , Fraile Sofía , Espeso David Rodríguez , Vecchietti Davide , Bertoni Giovanni , de Lorenzo Víctor
Published: May 2020

Environmental bacteria are most often endowed with native surface-attachment programs that frequently conflict with efforts to engineer biofilms and synthetic communities with given tridimensional architectures. In this work we report the editing of the genome ofPseudomonas putidaKT2440 for stripping the cells of most outer-facing structures of the bacterial envelope that mediate motion, binding to surfaces and biofilm formation. To this end, 23 segments of theP. putidachromosome encoding a suite of such functions were deleted, resulting in the surface-naked strain EM371, the physicochemical properties of which changed dramatically in respect to the wild type counterpart. As a consequence, surface-editedP. putidacells were unable to form biofilms on solid supports and—because of the swimming deficiency and other physicochemical alterations—showed a much faster sedimentation in liquid media. Surface-naked bacteria were then used as carriers of interacting partners (e.g. Jun-Fos domains) ectopically expressed by means of an autotransporter display system on the now easily accessible cell envelope. Abstraction of individual bacteria as adhesin-coated spherocylinders enabled rigorous quantitative description of the multi-cell interplay brought about by thereby engineered physical interactions. The model was then applied to parameterize the data extracted from automated analysis of confocal microscopy images of the experimentally assembled bacterial flocks for analyzing their structure and distribution. The resulting data not only corroborated the value ofP. putidaEM371 over the parental strain as a platform for display artificial adhesins but also provided a strategy for rational engineering of distributed biocatalysis.
Massively parallel assessment of human variants with base editor screens
Authors: Hanna Ruth E , Hegde Mudra , Fagre Christian R , DeWeirdt Peter C , Sangree Annabel K , Szegletes Zsofia , Griffith Audrey , Feeley Marissa N , Sanson Kendall R , Baidi Yossef , Koblan Luke W , Liu David R , Neal James T , Doench John G
Published: May 2020

Understanding the functional consequences of single-nucleotide variants is critical to uncovering the genetic underpinnings of diseases, but technologies to characterize variants are limiting. Here we leverage CRISPR-Cas9 cytosine base editors in pooled screens to scalably assay variants at endogenous loci in mammalian cells. We benchmark the performance of base editors in positive and negative selection screens and identify known loss-of-function mutations inBRCA1andBRCA2with high precision. To demonstrate the utility of base editor screens to probe small molecule-protein interactions, we conduct screens with BH3 mimetics and PARP inhibitors and identify point mutations that confer drug sensitivity or resistance. Finally, we create a library of 52,034 clinically-observed variants in 3,584 genes and conduct screens in the presence of cellular stressors, identifying loss-of-function variants in numerous DNA damage repair genes. We anticipate that this screening approach will be broadly useful to readily and scalably functionalize genetic variants.
Chimeric supramolecular synthons in Ph2Te2(I2)Se
Authors: Torubaev Yury V.
Published: May 2020

Iodination of Ph2Te2Se by molecular iodine is directed towards the Te atom and yields {diiodo[(phenyltellanyl)selanyl]-λ4-tellanyl}benzene, PhTeSeTeI2Ph or C12H10I2SeTe2. The molecule can be considered as a chimera of PhTeSeR, PhTeSeTePh and R′TeI2Ph fragments. The crystal structure features a complex interplay of the supramolecular synthons Te...π(Ph), Se...Te and I...Te, combining molecules into a three-dimensional framework. Their combination affords long-range supramolecular synthons which are fused in a way resembling the mythological chimera and could be defined as chimeric supramolecular synthons. The energies of the intermolecular interactions have also been calculated and analyzed.
Payload parameter identification method of flexible space manipulator
Authors: Ni Zhiyu , Zhang Yewei , Shen Xinhui , Wu Shunan , Wu Zhigang
Published: May 2020

Purpose

When a manipulator captures an unknown space object, inertia parameters of endpoint payload should be timely obtained to handle possible unexpected parameter variations and monitor the system’s operating conditions. Therefore, this study aims to present an identification method for estimating the inertia parameter of the payload carried by a flexible two-link space manipulator.

Design/methodology/approach

The original nonlinear dynamics model of the manipulator is linearized at a selected working point. Subsequently, the system modal frequencies with and without payload are determined using the subspace identification algorithm, and the difference of these frequencies is computed. Furthermore, by adjusting the structural configuration of the manipulator, multiple sets of frequency differences are obtained. Therefore, the inertia parameters of the payload, i.e. the mass and the moment of inertia, can be derived from the frequency differences by solving a least-squares problem.

Findings

The proposed method can effectively estimate the payload parameters and has satisfactory identification accuracy.

Practical implications

The approach’s implementation provides a practical reference for determining inertia parameters of an unknown space target in the capture process.

Originality/value

The study proposes a novel method for identifying the inertia parameters of the payload of a flexible two-link space manipulator using the estimated system frequencies.
Identification and analysis of enablers of SCM by using MCDM approach
Authors: Agrawal Vivek , Mohanty Rajendra P. , Agrawal Anand Mohan
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to differentiate the empowering influences of critical enablers of supply chain management (SCM) along with their interrelationships. These empowering enablers are significant, as they encourage productive execution to improve organizational performance and stakeholder's satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

From the literature review, incidence of a number of SCM enablers were found and they were subjected to critical scrutiny by a considerable number of experts engaged in SCM research and application to identify significant and applicable empowering enablers by grounded interactions. By using Impact Matrix Cross-Reference Multiplication Applied to a Classification analysis, the driving and dependence power were analyzed and the empowering enablers were ordered. This was pursued by building up a structural model of the empowering enablers using interpretive structure modeling, followed with measuring cause–effect relationship using decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL).

Findings

Among these identified enablers of SCM, operational performance, green SCM, employee empowerment and motivation and strategic association came out to be strategic enablers.

Research limitations/implications

The findings may help the practicing professionals to develop clarity in understanding of these essential enablers and their contextual as well as cause–effect relationship in SCM. The practicing professionals need to focus on all these enablers during implementation of SCM for enhancing the organizational performance and stake holders' satisfaction.

Originality/value

This study is of practical utility in real-life implementation of SCM. The algorithm used in applying the multi-criteria decision-making approach is very user-friendly, and the application of DEMATEL is an innovation compared to previous research. Further, the findings can be used as a benchmark for improving the performance of SCM by considering the cause–effect relationship.
Technological capability dynamics through cluster organizations
Authors: Lis Anna Maria , Rozkwitalska Malgorzata
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to portrait how members of cluster organizations (COs) perceive the role of COs in enabling them to accumulate technological capability (TC) significant for their innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors report the findings from their qualitative study based on an analysis of four COs. The organizational inertia and absorptive capacity theories are the theoretical underpinning of the research.

Findings

The study shows that the dynamics of TC of the cluster companies included in the study sample relates to their initial level of TC and cluster cooperation. The companies with relatively low initial TC increase it through COs if the clusters offer comparatively high benefits. On the other hand, those COs' members that present relatively high initial TC advance it, provided that the external knowledge and other benefits they can absorb in their clusters are suited to their technological trajectories.

Research limitations/implications

The research is preliminary in nature and portrays how firms with different levels of TC cooperate within COs and how this cooperation translates into TC improvements. The findings add to the state-of-the-art knowledge on the link between TC and absorptive capacity of companies involved in COs by depicting the role of COs in providing knowledge and other cluster benefits that help cluster companies to accumulate TC and improve their absorptive capacity. Nevertheless, the applied methodology does not allow the authors to generalize the findings.

Practical implications

The coordinators of COs should skillfully shape the levels of cluster cooperation, matching them to the desired level of the cluster companies. They should create smaller subgroups composed of companies with similar TC, which may translate into its higher dynamic.

Originality/value

The knowledge about the role of COs in providing cluster benefits that help cluster companies to accumulate TC and improve their absorptive capacity is still insufficient. The study shed new light on the key role of the levels of cluster cooperation and the types of commitment related to them (i.e. technological effort), which may be a matter of importance in the dynamics of TC accumulation.
Dynamic output feedback control for nonlinear large-scale interconnected systems
Authors: Touti Ezzeddine , Tlili Ali Sghaier , Almutiry Muhannad
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on the design of a decentralized observation and control method for a class of large-scale systems characterized by nonlinear interconnected functions that are assumed to be uncertain but quadratically bounded.

Design/methodology/approach

Sufficient conditions, under which the designed control scheme can achieve the asymptotic stabilization of the augmented system, are developed within the Lyapunov theory in the framework of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs).

Findings

The derived LMIs are formulated under the form of an optimization problem whose resolution allows the concurrent computation of the decentralized control and observation gains and the maximization of the nonlinearity coverage tolerated by the system without becoming unstable. The reliable performances of the designed control scheme, compared to a distinguished decentralized guaranteed cost control strategy issued from the literature, are demonstrated by numerical simulations on an extensive application of a three-generator infinite bus power system.

Originality/value

The developed optimization problem subject to LMI constraints is efficiently solved by a one-step procedure to analyze the asymptotic stability and to synthesize all the control and observation parameters. Therefore, such a procedure enables to cope with the conservatism and suboptimal solutions procreated by optimization problems based on iterative algorithms with multi-step procedures usually used in the problem of dynamic output feedback decentralized control of nonlinear interconnected systems.
The global internet market(s): a reconstruction of the views of the industry
Authors: Simon Jean Paul
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a synthesis of the evolution of the global internet markets through an assessment of their economic strength. It is an attempt to describe the various segments of the internet value chain and the evolution of the markets. It aims at briefly summing up the very dynamics of the sector, of the various subsectors while looking at the business models and the market capitalization.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a descriptive paper, presenting market trends, based on desk research and trade press. It is not meant to provide any theoretical contribution but attempting to reconstruct the views from the industry as documented by trade literature. Hence, the paper relies mostly on industry and consultancy data. The paper builds on a database collected by the author over the past 30 years and the selection of the relevant data to document and identify the trends and offer a synthesis of the views of the industry.

Findings

The paper shows how over the past 30 years the internet has changed dramatically from both a quantitative (reaching more and more users worldwide and witnessing a dramatic growth of all markets) and qualitative (offering an array of innovative products and services enabled by the deployment of new networks) and the availability of new devices. The paper reveals how each technological wave ushered in a series of innovation and new services, boosted the foundation and the growth of pioneering companies.

Research limitations/implications

Taking into account the lack of official data, the industry data used should be treated as just signals of potential trends, but sufficient to give an overview of the evolution of the global internet markets. Furthermore, detailed studies should complement this descriptive approach. The approach does have obvious methodological and theoretical limits, not providing a robust methodological framework just offering a reconstruction of the trends as documented by the trade publications. However, it concludes highlighting some of the tensions and contradictions.

Practical implications

The paper closes with a summary of the main transformations and considers some future developments. The paper draws some lessons from some failures and from the strategies of firms.

Social implications

The paper hints at the way users developed “unique” behaviors using social media, taking advantage of the new opportunities to exchange with others. The paper hints at some regulatory issues and challenges.

Originality/value

The paper briefly sums up the very dynamics of the global internet market(s). It attempts to characterize some of the main features of their evolution and of the main segments. If offers a comprehensive overview of available data.
Building social-capital networks and relationship commitment in China and India
Authors: Graça Sandra Simas , Kharé Virginie Pioche
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This study aims to develop a framework based on drew social capital theory and the literature onguanxito examine and compare a buyer’s willingness to commit to a supplier in the context of informal social-capital networks in the two largest emerging markets of China and India. The two main objectives of the study included an examination of the influence of communication behavior and conflict resolution on the development of social-capital networks and a comparison of the influence of distinct dimensions of social-capital networks on a buyer’s commitment to a supplier.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected in China and India from random samples of buyers. The model was tested using structural equation modeling.

Findings

Findings revealed that communication and conflict resolution contribute significantly to build trust, increase social benefits and promote mutual collaboration between buyers and suppliers in both China and India. However, social benefits were found to have a greater influence on commitment in India, whereas collaboration was found to have a greater influence on commitment in China.

Practical implications

The study demonstrates the importance of social capital theory to explain the informal social capital network and commitment development. Results provide practitioners with specific strategies to build social capital in China and India and improve committed relationships with buyers.

Originality/value

This study advances theory development within the context of emerging markets. It is unique as it includes the two most populous and fast-growing emerging markets in one study.