bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Estimated Spike Evolution and Impact of Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants
Authors: Lu Yong , Han Kun , Xue Gang , Zheng Ningbo , Jin Guangxu
Published: May 2021

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, has been mutating and thus variants emerged. This suggests that SARS-CoV-2 could mutate at an unsteady pace. Supportive evidence comes from the accelerated evolution which was revealed by tracking mutation rates of the genomic location of Spike protein. This process is sponsored by a small portion of the virus population but not the largest viral clades. Moreover, it generally took one to six months for current variants that caused peaks of COVID-19 cases and deaths to survive selection pressure. Based on this statistic result and the above speedy Spike evolution, another upcoming peak would come around July 2021 and disastrously attack Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. This is the prediction generated by a mathematical model on evolutionary spread. The reliability of this model and future trends out of it comes from the comprehensive consideration of factors mainly including mutation rate, selection course, and spreading speed. Notably, if the prophecy is true, then the new wave will be the first determined by accelerated Spike evolution.
Adaptation of the Person-Centered Maternity Care scale for people of color in the United States
Authors: Afulani Patience A. , Altman Molly R. , Castillo Esperanza , Bernal Nayeli , Jones Linda , Camara Tanefer , Carrasco Zoe , Williams Shanell , Sudhinaraset May , Kuppermann Miriam
Published: May 2021

Introduction

Mistreatment by healthcare providers disproportionately affects people of color in the United States (US). The goal of this study is to adapt the global Person-Centered Maternity Care (PCMC) scale to the experiences of people of color in the US using a community-engaged approach.

Methods

We conducted expert reviews to improve content validity and cognitive interviews with potential respondents were conducted to assess relevance, comprehension, and comprehensiveness. Surveys of 297 postpartum people, 82% of whom identified as Black, were used for psychometric analysis in which we assessed construct and criterion validity and reliability. The University of California, San Francisco, California Preterm Birth Initiative’s Community Advisory Board (CAB), which consists of community members, community-based health workers, and social service providers in Northern California, provided input during all stages of the project.

Results

Through an iterative process of factor analysis, discussions with the CAB, and a prioritization survey, we eliminated items that performed poorly in psychometric analysis, yielding a 35-item PCMC-US scale with sub-scales for “dignity and respect,” “communication and autonomy,” and “responsive and supportive care.” The Cronbach’s alpha for the full scale is 0.95 and for the sub-scales is 0.87. Standardized summative scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating higher PCMC. Correlations with related measures indicated high criterion validity.

Conclusions

The 35-item PCMC-US scale and its sub-scales have high validity and reliability in a sample of predominantly Black women. This scale provides a tool to support efforts to reduce the disparities in birth outcomes among people of color.
Genetic variant in SPDL1 reveals novel mechanism linking pulmonary fibrosis risk and cancer protection
Authors: Koskela Jukka T. , Häppölä Paavo , Liu Aoxing ,   FinnGen, Partanen Juulia , Genovese Giulio , Artomov Mykyta , Myllymäki Mikko N.M. , Kanai Masahiro , Zhou Wei , Karjalainen Juha M. , Palviainen Teemu , Ronkainen Justiina , Sebert Sylvain , Tukiainen Taru , Palta Priit , Kaprio Jaakko , Kurki Mitja , Ganna Andrea , Palotie Aarno , Laitinen Tarja , Myllärniemi Marjukka , Daly Mark J.
Published: May 2021

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a rare disease with poor prognosis. By contrast, cancer is common in any elderly population and a leading killer, but is now often curable. Of note, whereas IPF is driven by cellular senescence, cancer is characterized by uncontrolled cell division.

Using data available from two large biobank-based studies (Finnish FinnGen study and UK biobank), we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the shared genetic background of IPF and cancer. In a population sample of 218,792 Finns with complete longitudinal health histories, we estimated the effect of individual genetic variants to the lifetime risk of IPF and cancer. We extend the analysis from IPF-GWAS to pan-cancer meta-analysis over FinnGen and UK Biobank and finally to the identification of genetic drivers of somatic chromosomal alterations.

We detected six loci (SPDL1, MAD1L1, MAP2K1, RTEL1-STMN3, TERC-ACTRT3, OBFC1) associated with both IPF and cancer, all closely related to cellular division. However, each individual signal is found with opposite effects over the two diseases, termed as antagonistic pleiotropy. Several of these loci (TERC-ACTRT3, RTEL1-STMN3, OBFC1) are among the strongest inherited factors for constitutive telomere length variation and consistently indicate that shorter telomere length would increase the risk for IPF but protect from malignancy. However, a Finnish enriched SPDL1 missense variant and a common MAD1L1 intronic variant had no effect on telomere length but were shown to protect individuals from accumulation of somatic mutations.

The decreased risk of cancer in SPDL1 and MAD1L1 variant carriers might result from a lower number of chromosomal alterations accumulated over time, conversely leading to fibrosis in the lung due to cellular senescence-induced inflammation. We hypothesize that the SPDL1 missense variant functions as gain-of-function mutation, leading to cellular senescence, a barrier to cancer and a driver of fibrosis in IPF. If translated to therapy, these findings might not only be able to offer relief to individuals with IPF, but also to protect from onset of cancer.
Medication use and physical assaults in the psychiatric emergency room
Authors: Gao Y. Nina , Oberhardt Matthew , Vawdrey David , Lawrence Ryan E. , Dixon Lisa B. , Luo Sean X.
Published: May 2021

Objective

To evaluate the relationship between medications used to treat acute agitation (antipsychotics, mood stabilizers and benzodiazepines) and subsequent assault incidence in the psychiatric emergency room.

Methods

Medication orders and assault incident reports were obtained from electronic health records for 17,052 visits to an urban psychiatric emergency room from 2014-2019. Assault risk was modeled longitudinally using Poisson mixed-effect regression.

Results

Assaults were reported during 0.5% of visits. Intramuscular medications (IMs) were administered in 23.3% of visits overall, and predominately administered within the first 4-hours of a visit. IM administration was correlated with assault (IRR=24.2 [5.33, 110.0]), often because IM medication was administered immediately subsequent to reported assaults. Interacted with time, IMs were not significantly associated with reduction in future assaults (IRR=0.700 [0.467, 1.04]). Neither benzodiazepines nor mood stabilizers were associated with subsequent changes to the risk of reported assault. By contrast, antipsychotic medications were associated with decreased assault risk across time (IRR=0.583 [0.360, 0.942]).

Conclusions

IM order rates are high relative to overall assault incident risk. Of the three major categories of medications administered commonly in the psychiatric emergency setting, only antipsychotic medications were associated with measurable decreases in subsequent assault risk. Careful weighing of the risks and benefits of medications is encouraged; antipsychotic medication can have a significant side effect burden, and other medications (IMs, benzodiazepines, mood stabilizers) were not associated with subsequent reduction in assault risk in this analysis.
A quantitative risk-benefit analysis of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine among people under 60 in Italy
Authors: Palladino Raffaele , Ceriotti Daniele , De Ambrosi Damiano , De Vito Marta , Farsoni Marco , Seminara Giuseppina , Barone-Adesi Francesco
Published: May 2021

ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 is a vaccine against the COVID-19 infection that was granted a conditional marketing authorization by the European Commission in January 2021. However, following a report from the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) of European Medicines Agency, which reported an association with thrombo-embolic events (TEE), in particular Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), many European countries either limited to individuals older than 55-60 years or suspended its use. We used publicly available data to carry out a quantitative risk-benefit analysis of the vaccine among people under 60 in Italy. Specifically, we used data from PRAC, Eudravigilance and ECDC to estimate the excess number of deaths for TEE, DIC and CVST expected in vaccine users, stratified by age groups. We then used data from the National Institute of Health to calculate age-specific COVID-19 mortality rates in Italy. Preventable deaths were calculated assuming a 72% vaccine efficacy over an 8-month period. Finally, benefit-risk ratio of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination was calculated as the ratio between preventable COVID-19 deaths and vaccine-related deaths, using Monte-Carlo simulations. We found that among subjects aged 20-29 years the benefit-risk [B-R] ratio was not clearly favorable (0.70; 95% Uncertainty Interval [UI]: 0.27-2.11). However, in the other age groups the benefits of vaccination largely exceeded the risks (for age 30-49, B-R ratio: 22.9: 95%UI: 10.1-186.4). For age 50-59, B-R ratio: 1577.1: 95%UI: 1176.9-2121.5). Although many countries have limited the use of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine, the benefits of using this vaccine clearly outweigh the risks in people older than 30 years. The use of this vaccine should be a strategic and fundamental part of the immunization campaign considering its safety and efficacy in preventing COVID-19 and its complications.
Description of a University COVID-19 Outbreak and Interventions to Disrupt Transmission, Wisconsin, August – October 2020
Authors: Currie Dustin W. , Moreno Gage K. , Delahoy Miranda J. , Pray Ian W. , Jovaag Amanda , Braun Katarina M. , Cole Devlin , Shechter Todd , Fajardo Geroncio C. , Griggs Carol , Yandell Brian S. , Goldstein Steve , Bushman Dena , Segaloff Hannah E. , Kelly G. Patrick , Pitts Collin , Lee Christine , Grande Katarina M. , Kita-Yarbro Amanda , Grogan Brittany , Mader Sara , Baggott Jake , Bateman Allen C. , Westergaard Ryan P. , Tate Jacqueline E. , Friedrich Thomas C. , Kirking Hannah L. , O’Connor David H. , Killerby Marie E.
Published: May 2021

University settings have demonstrated potential for COVID-19 outbreaks, as they can combine congregate living, substantial social activity, and a young population predisposed to mild illness. Using genomic and epidemiologic data, we describe a COVID-19 outbreak at the University of Wisconsin (UW)–Madison. During August – October 2020, 3,485 students tested positive, including 856/6,162 students living in residence halls. Case counts began rising during move-in week for on-campus students (August 25-31, 2020), then rose rapidly during September 1-11, 2020. UW-Madison initiated multiple prevention efforts, including quarantining two residence halls; a subsequent decline in cases was observed. Genomic surveillance of cases from Dane County, where UW-Madison is located, did not find evidence of transmission from a large cluster of cases in the two residence halls quarantined during the outbreak. Coordinated implementation of prevention measures can effectively reduce SARS-CoV-2 spread in university settings and may limit spillover to the community surrounding the university.
Galectin-anchored indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase suppresses local inflammation
Authors: Bracho-Sanchez Evelyn , Rocha Fernanda , Bedingfield Sean , Partain Brittany D. , Brusko Maigan A. , Colazo Juan M. , Fettis Margaret M. , Farhadi Shaheen A. , Helm Eric , Koenders Kevin , Kwiatkowski Alexander J. , Macias Sabrina L. , Restuccia Antonietta , Wanchoo Arun , Avram Dorina , Allen Kyle D. , Duvall Craig L. , Wallet Shannon M. , Hudalla Gregory A. , Keselowsky Benjamin G.
Published: May 2021

Summary paragraph

Chronic inflammation underlies the onset, progression and associated pain of numerous diseases.(1) Current anti-inflammatory treatments administered systemically are associated with moderate-to-severe side effects, while locally administered drugs have short-lived efficacy, and neither approach successfully modifies the underlying causality of disease.(2) We report a new way to locally modulate inflammation by fusing the enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO) to galectin-3 (Gal3). A general regulator of inflammation(3), IDO is immunosuppressive(4), catabolizing the essential amino acid tryptophan into kynurenine.(5) Recently we demonstrated that extracellular exogenous IDO regulates innate immune cell function(6), and envisioned delivering IDO into specific tissues would provide control of inflammation. However, proteins problematically diffuse away from local injection sites. Addressing this, we recently established that fusion to Gal3 anchors enzymes to tissues(7) via binding to extracellular glycans. Fusion protein IDO-Gal3 was retained in injected tissues and joints for up to a week or more, where it suppressed local inflammation in rodent models of endotoxin-induced inflammation, psoriasis, periodontal disease and osteoarthritis. Amelioration of local inflammation, disease progression and inflammatory pain were concomitant with homeostatic preservation of tissues without global immune suppression. Thus, IDO-Gal3 presents a new concept of anchoring immunomodulatory enzymes for robust control of focal inflammation in multiple disease settings.
SAIGE-BRUSH: an efficient, user-friendly and low cost cloud implementation for genome-wide association studies
Authors: Brunetti T.M. , Pozdeyev N. , Daya M. , Barnes K.C. , Rafaels N. , Gignoux C.
Published: May 2021

SAIGE-Biobank Re-Usable SAIGE Helper (SAIGE-BRUSH) allows users with little computational expertise to utilize SAIGE for GWAS with parallelization and data collection on biobank data sets. This implementation requires no installation and has additional features not programmed within the original SAIGE framework, such as concurrency, reproducibility, reusability, scalability, association analysis results filtering and output plots. This is all achieved without writing any code from the user. This implementation is currently being utilized by the Biobank at the Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine (CCPM) on Google Cloud but is flexible for a number of architectures available to genetic analysts. Availability: This open source implementation is freely available athttps://github.com/tbrunetti/SAIGE-BRUSHand is licensed under the MIT License. Contact: Chris Gignoux atchris.gignoux@cuanschutz.edu& Nick Rafaels atnicholas.rafaels@cuanschutz.eduSupplemental Material: For detailed user documentation, please visithttps://saige-brush.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
Honeybee cognition as a tool for scientific engagement
Authors: Denton Jai A. , Koludarov Ivan , Thompson Michele , Bryk Jarosław , Velasque Mariana
Published: May 2021

In addition to the crowdsourcing of experimental data, citizen science, and scientific engagement more broadly, serve as a bridge between researchers and the wider community. This serves to foster a greater understanding of the scientific method and science-based solutions generally.Apis mellifera(honeybees) are a well-established model for the study of learning and cognition and can serve as an engaging outreach system for this wider community. Here, we developed and implemented a protocol using well established honeybee conditioning protocols to safely study the effects of caffeine and dopamine on learning performance. Using this protocol, a group of high-school aged students as part of the Ryukyu Girls program demonstrated that caffeine, but not dopamine, significantly reduced the number of trials required for a successful conditioning response. This allowed these students to explore the scientific method in a relatable and engaging way.

Simple Summary

Global scientific literacy can be improved through widespread and effective community engagement by researchers. We proposeApis mellifera(honeybee) as an public engagement tool due to widespread awareness of colony collapse and the bees’ importance in food production. Moreover, their cognitive abilities make for engaging experiments. Their relative ease of cultivation means that studies can be performed cost-effectively, especially when partnering with local aperists. Using a proxy for honeybee learning, a group of non-specialist high-school-aged participants obtained data suggesting that caffeine, but not dopamine, improved learning. This hands-on experience facilitated student understanding of the scientific method, factors that shape learning and the importance of learning for hive health.
OPUS-X: An Open-Source Toolkit for Protein Torsion Angles, Secondary Structure, Solvent Accessibility, Contact Map Predictions, and 3D Folding
Authors: Xu Gang , Wang Qinghua , Ma Jianpeng
Published: May 2021

In this paper, we report an open-source toolkit for protein 3D structure modeling, named OPUS-X. It contains three modules: OPUS-TASS2, which predicts protein torsion angles, secondary structure and solvent accessibility; OPUS-Contact, which measures the distance and orientations information between different residue pairs; and OPUS-Fold2, which uses the constraints derived from the first two modules to guide folding. OPUS-TASS2 is an upgraded version of our previous method OPUSS-TASS (Bioinformatics2020,36(20), 5021-5026). OPUS-TASS2 integrates protein global structure information and significantly outperforms OPUS-TASS. OPUS-Contact combines multiple raw co-evolutionary features with protein 1D features predicted by OPUS-TASS2, and delivers better results than the open-source state-of-the-art method trRosetta. OPUS-Fold2 is a complementary version of our previous method OPUS-Fold (J. Chem. Theory Comput.2020,16(6), 3970-3976). OPUS-Fold2 is a gradient-based protein folding framework based on the differentiable energy terms in opposed to OPUS-Fold that is a sampling-based method used to deal with the non-differentiable terms. OPUS-Fold2 exhibits comparable performance to the Rosetta folding protocol in trRosetta when using identical inputs. OPUS-Fold2 is written in Python and TensorFlow2.4, which is user-friendly to any source-code level modification. The code and pre-trained models of OPUS-X can be downloaded fromhttps://github.com/OPUS-MaLab/opus_x.
Identification of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in Glioblastoma and Defining Their Pro-tumoral Effects
Authors: Jain Saket , Rick Jonathan W. , Joshi Rushikesh , Beniwal Angad , Spatz Jordan , Chang Alexander Chih-Chieh , Nguyen Alan T. , Sudhir Sweta , Chandra Ankush , Haddad Alex , Wadhwa Harsh , Shah Sumedh S. , Choi Serah , Hayes Josie L. , Wang Lin , Yagnik Garima , Costello Joseph F. , Diaz Aaron , Aghi Manish K.
Published: May 2021

Despite their identification in some cancers, pro-tumoral cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) were presumed absent in glioblastoma given the lack of brain fibroblasts. Serial trypsinization of primary glioblastoma cultures yielded cells with CAF morphology, CAF transcriptomic profile, and mesenchymal lineage in single-cell RNA-seq. Glioblastoma CAFs were attracted to glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) and CAFs enriched GSCs. We created a resource of inferred crosstalk by mapping expression of receptors to their cognate ligands, identifying PDGF-β and TGF-β as mediators of GSC effects on CAFs, and osteopontin and hepatocyte growth factor as mediators of CAF-induced GSC enrichment. Glioblastoma CAFs also induced M2 macrophage polarization by producing the EDA fibronectin variant. Glioblastoma CAFs were enriched in the subventricular zone which houses neural stem cells that produce GSCs. Including CAFs in GSC-derived xenografts inducedin vivogrowth. These findings are among the first to identify glioblastoma CAFs and their GSC interactions, making them an intriguing target.
Midwives’ attitudes toward participation of pregnant women in a preventive vaccine hypothetical clinical trial
Authors: Gagneux-Brunon Amandine , Guyot Emilie , Detoc Maëlle , Botelho-Nevers Elisabeth , Raia-Barjat Tiphaïne
Published: May 2021

Introduction

Pregnant women are frequently excluded from clinical trials. Yet, inclusion of pregnant women is of interest in vaccinology including during health crisis. Promotion of clinical trials by midwives may facilitate the decision making of pregnant women. Attitudes of midwives about participation in a vaccine clinical trial have been little explored.

Methods

We conducted an anonymous survey from the 11th of September to the 11th of November 2020. Primary endpoint was the willingness to encourage pregnant women to participate in a hypothetical respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine clinical trial.

Results

Among 398 midwives who answered the questionnaire, 113 (28.3 %) were likely to encourage pregnant women to participate in the vaccine clinical trial, this proportion ranged from 25 % in senior midwives to 34.5 % among the students. After adjustment on age, parenthood, previous vaccine hesitancy attitudes, and the 5 components of the 5C model, the only predictor of the promotion of the clinical trial was the training score with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.09 (1.01-1.18, p=0.027) for a one-point increase. Vaccine hesitancy and psychological antecedents of vaccinations were not associated with a lower promotion of pregnant women trial participation among midwives.

Conclusion

Few respondents were likely to encourage pregnant women to participate in a vaccine clinical trial. Midwives who considered having a good training about vaccines were more prone to encourage pregnant women to participate in a RSV vaccine clinical trial.

Problem or Issue

Recruitment of pregnant women in vaccine clinical trial is challenging

What is Already Known

Pregnant women are more prone to accept participation in a clinical trial if the proposal is made by a midwife.

What this Paper Adds

Evaluation of attitudes and their determinants of midwives about vaccine clinical trial participation of pregnant women.
An immuno-enrichment free, validated quantification of tau protein in human CSF by LC-MS/MS
Authors: Self Wade , Awwad Khader , Savaryn John Paul , Schulz Michael
Published: May 2021

Aims

Tau protein is a key target of interest in developing therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we sought to develop a method that quantifies extracellular tau protein concentrations human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) without antibody-based enrichment strategies.

Results

We demonstrate that the fit-for-purpose validated method in Alzheimer’s Disease CSF is limited to quasi quantitative measures of tau surrogate peptides. We also provide evidence that CSF total Tau measures by LC-MS are feasible in the presence of monoclonal therapeutic antibodies in human CSF.

Conclusion

Our Tau LC-MS/MS method is a translational bioanalytical tool for assaying target engagement and pharmacodynamics for anti-tau antibody drug development campaigns.
Early prediction of clinical response to checkpoint inhibitor therapy in human solid tumors through mathematical modeling
Authors: Butner Joseph D. , Martin Geoffrey V. , Wang Zhihui , Corradetti Bruna , Ferrari Mauro , Esnaola Nestor , Chung Caroline , Hong David S. , Welsh James , Hasegawa Naomi , Mittendorf Elizabeth A. , Curley Steven A. , Chen Shu-Hsia , Pan Ping-Ying , Libutti Steven K. , Ganesan Shridar , Sidman Richard L. , Pasqualini Renata , Arap Wadih , Koay Eugene J. , Cristini Vittorio
Published: May 2021

Checkpoint inhibitor therapy of cancer has led to markedly improved survival of a subset of patients in multiple solid malignant tumor types, yet the factors driving these clinical responses or lack thereof are not known. Here we present a translational mathematical model dependent on three key parameters for describing efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors in human cancer: tumor growth rate (α), tumor immune infiltration (Λ), and immunotherapy-mediated amplification of anti-tumor response (µ). The model was validated by fitting it to a compiled clinical tumor response dataset (n = 189 patients) obtained from published anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 clinical trials, and then validated on an additional validation cohort (n = 64 patients) obtained from our in-house clinical trials. The derived parameters Λ and µ were both significantly different between responding versus non-responding patients. Of note, our model appropriately classified response in 81.4% of patients by using only tumor volume measurements and within two months of treatment initiation in a retrospective analysis. The model reliably predicted clinical response to the PD-1/PD-L1 class of checkpoint inhibitors across multiple solid malignant tumor types. Comparison of model parameters to immunohistochemical measurement of PD-L1 and CD8+ T cells confirmed robust relationships between model parameters and their underlying biology, demonstrating reliable methods to inform model parameters directly from biopsy samples, which are conveniently obtainable as early as the start of treatment. Together, these results suggest that the model parameters may serve as early and robust biomarkers of the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitor therapy on an individualized per-patient basis.

SIGNIFICANCE

Checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized cancer immunotherapy, but only a subset of patients with solid tumors responds clinically. The ability to predict tumor responses a priori or soon after starting therapy would allow for personalized and timely adaptive clinical applications of checkpoint inhibitor- based immunotherapy in patients. By applying a mechanistic mathematical model, we show that checkpoint inhibitor therapeutic effectiveness is accurately predictable in most patients within two months after treatment initiation. Our method may be implemented directly into clinical practice, as it relies on standard-of-care imaging and pathology. If successful in prospective studies, this model will improve selection of cancer patients for checkpoint inhibitor therapy, and perhaps for other forms of humoral- or cell-based immunotherapy.
SARS-CoV-2 Heterogeneity by Ethnicity in Los Angeles
Authors: Allan-Blitz Lao-Tzu , Hertlein Fred , Klausner Jeffrey D.
Published: May 2021

Recent studies have identified notable disparities in SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among ethnic minorities. We evaluated SARS-CoV-2 test results from individuals presenting for testing in Los Angeles between June-December, 2020. We calculated prevalence ratios for various employment categories. Among 518,914 test results, of which 295,295 (56.9%) were from individuals reporting Hispanic ethnicity, SARS-CoV-2 positivity was 16.5% among Hispanic individuals compared to 5.0% among non-Hispanic individuals (p-value<0.01). The prevalence ratios comparing Hispanic and non- Hispanic individuals was highest for members of the media (PR=6.7; 95% CI 4.3-10.4), government employees (PR=4.0; 95% CI 3.3-4.9), and agricultural workers (PR=4.0; 95% CI 3.2-5.0). Such heterogeneity warrants further investigation in order to develop targeted public health interventions towards specific drivers of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
Molecular simulations reveal the impact of RAMP1 on ligand binding and dynamics of CGRPR heterodimer
Authors: Aksoydan Busecan , Durdagi Serdar
Published: May 2021

The release of the neuropeptide of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) plays a key role in the mechanisms of migraine pathology and pain perception as it causes vasodilatation, neurogenic inflammation, mast cell degranulation, sensory signal activation and peripheral sensitivity. Although the findings on the effectiveness of CGRP-targeted therapies in migraine provide new information about the pathophysiology of migraine, questions remain on how the CGRP mechanisms fit into the overall migraine theory. The cryo-EM structure of Gs-protein complexed human CGRP receptor (CGRPR) with bound endogenous CGRP neuropeptide paved the way of understanding the insights into the CGRP receptor function. With several molecular modeling approaches, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and post-MD analyzes, we aimed to investigate the importance of RAMP1 in the stability of calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CLR). Moreover, we compared the binding modes of the CGRP neuropeptide and CGRPR antagonists (i.e., telcagepant and rimegepant) within the presence or absence of RAMP1. We also investigated the global and local effects of bound molecules on CGRPR as well as their effects on the CLR-RAMP1 interaction interfaces. Results showed that although these molecules stay stable at the ectodomain binding site, they can also bind to the orthosteric ligand binding pocket and form the crucial interactions occurred in the CGRP agonism, which may be interpreted as non-specificity of the ligands, however, most of these interactions at orthosteric site are not sustainable or weak. Particularly, RAMP1 may also be important for the stability of TM domain of CLR hereby stabilizing the orthosteric binding pocket.
Institutional logic and scholars' reactions to performance measurement in universities
Authors: Kallio Kirsi-Mari , Kallio Tomi J. , Grossi Giuseppe , Engblom Janne
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Employing institutional logic and institutional work as its theoretical framework, this study analyzes scholars' reactions to performance measurement systems in academia.

Design/methodology/approach

Large datasets were collected over time, combining both quantitative and qualitative elements. The data were gathered from a two-wave survey in 2010 (966 respondents) and 2015 (672 respondents), conducted among scholars performing teaching- and research-oriented tasks in three Finnish universities.

Findings

The analysis showed statistically significant changes over time in the ways that the respondents were positioned in three major groups influenced by different institutional logics. This study contributes to the international debate on institutional change in universities by showing that in Finnish universities, emerging business logics and existing professional logics can co-exist and be blended among a growing group of academics. The analysis of qualitative open-ended answers suggests that performance measurement systems have led to changes in institutional logic, which have influenced the scholars participating in institutional work at the microlevel in academia.

Social implications

While most scholars remain critical of performance measurement systems in universities, the fact that many academics are adapting to performance measurement systems highlights significant changes that are generally occurring in academia.

Originality/value

While most extant studies have focused on field- and organizational-level analyses, this study focuses on understanding how the adoption of performance measurement systems affects institutional logic and institutional work at the microlevel. Moreover, the study's cross-sectional research setting increases society's understanding of institutional evolution in academia.
Old ways and new means: Indigenous accountings during and beyond the pandemic
Authors: Finau Glenn , Scobie Matthew
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The study uses the case of an online-mediated barter economy that proliferated during the COVID-19 crisis to highlight Indigenous notions of barter, trade and exchange.

Design/methodology/approach

A netnographic approach was employed which involved collecting online posts and comments which were stored and analysed in NVivo. This was supplemented with field notes and reflections from authors with an intimate knowledge of the context. These were analysed thematically. The overall methodology is inspired by decolonising methodologies that seek to restore the agency of Indigenous Peoples in research towards self-determination.

Findings

Findings suggest that during and beyond the crisis, social media (a new means) is being used to facilitate barter and determinations of/accounting for value within. This is being done through constant appeals to, and adaptation of, tradition (old ways). Indigenous accounting is therefore best understood as so through Indigenous accountability values and practices.

Originality/value

This paper propose a re-orientation of accounting for barter research that incorporates recent debates between the disciplines of economics and anthropology on the nature of barter, debt and exchange. The authors also propose a re-imagining of accounting and accountability relations based on Indigenous values within an emerging online barter system in Fiji during COVID-19 as “old ways and new means” to privilege Indigenous agency and overcome excessive essentialism.
Understanding political accountability in a strong structuration framework
Authors: Mutiganda Jean Claude , Järvinen Janne T.
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Research was conducted to investigate whether, and how, political accountability might stabilise when agents are faced with profound changes in external structures such as competition laws and austerity policies.

Design/methodology/approach

We performed a field study from 2007 to 2015 in a regional hub in Finland and worked with data from document analysis, interviews and meeting observations. We have used embedded research design, where we apply methodological bracketing as well as composite sequence analysis for field research.

Findings

Accountability declined when irresistible external structures were the dominant influence on the unreflective actions of agents-in-focus. With time, however, the agents started acting critically by drawing on structures that could facilitate strategic actions to stabilise political accountability.

Research limitations/implications

The field research and interpretation of the data were limited to the organisation analysed; however, the theoretical arguments allow for analytical generalisations.

Practical implications

The research demonstrates how public officials and political decision-makers can eventually adopt a strategic approach when faced with irresistible change in external structures.

Social implications

The research demonstrates how public officials and political decision-makers can eventually adopt a strategic approach when faced with irresistible changes in external structures.

Originality/value

The study locates political accountability in the context of strong structuration theory and discusses how it is redefined by external structures.
Innovation performance in digital economy: does digital platform capability, improvisation capability and organizational readiness really matter?
Authors: Jun Wen , Nasir Muhammad Hamid , Yousaf Zahid , Khattak Amira , Yasir Muhammad , Javed Asad , Shirazi Syed Hamad
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate how digital platforms capability, improvisational capability and organizational readiness directly affect innovation performance. This study also explores how organizational readiness acts as mediator.

Design/methodology/approach

This empirical study is based on quantitative research design. Data were collected from 647 managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) working in Pakistan. Correlations and regression techniques were used for analyses. The Preacher and Hayes technique, the Sobel test and Bootstrap techniques were used to test mediation effect.

Findings

The results reveal a significant and positive relationship of digital platforms capability, improvisational capability and organizational readiness with innovation performance. Organizational readiness fully mediates the relationships between digital platforms capability and innovation performance link as well as between improvisational capability and innovation performance link.

Originality/value

In the age of digital economy the achievement of innovation performance is very important for SMEs. Businesses are shifting from traditional operational activities to digitalization. This study is imperative to offer new realm of modern technologies by exploring the role of digital platform capability, improvisational capability and organizational readiness for achieving innovation performance in digital economy.
Prostitution: a new dynamic of discrimination
Authors: Yasin Raheel , Namoco Sarah I. Obsequio
Published: May 2021

Purpose

There is scarcity in the literature, both empirically and theoretically, regarding the relationship between transgender discrimination and prostitution. This study aims to offer a new framework for conceptualizing workplace discrimination and prostitution by examining the mediating role of poverty in the relationship between discrimination and prostitution.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual framework of this study is based on the social identity theory and the theory of prostitution.

Findings

Transgender is a neglected group in society, and more often, they are the ones who are unable to find jobs and when employed, find it challenging to sustain their employment because of their gender identity. This leads them to be discriminated at their workplaces. Subsequently, they are forced to leave their workplace and settle to work as prostitutes for their economic survival.

Research limitations/implications

Further research should empirically test the design model.

Practical implications

Managers play an essential role in eliminating discrimination in the organization. Managers need to take measures in crafting gender-free and anti-discrimination policies. They take steps to design recruitment policies in which there is no need to disclose applicant identity.

Social implications

Discrimination, on the basis of gender identity, promotes a culture of hate, intolerance and economic inequality in society. Prostitution has devastating effects on society.

Originality/value

In the field of organizational behavior, discrimination as a factor of prostitution was not explored. This study provides a significant contribution to the transgender and discrimination literature along with the prostitution theory and the social identity theory by proposing a model that highlights discrimination as one of the factors that compel the transgender community to be involved in prostitution.
The nursing community’s discriminatory attitude towards LGBTQ individuals
Authors: Aslan Manar , Paslı Gürdoğan Eylem
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Equality is a basic human right. However, LGBTQ individuals often have their human rights violated because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. They also experience discrimination because of homophobic and transphobic attitudes. They frequently deal with derisive attitudes at school, are discriminated against in the workplace and struggle to access health services. This paper aims to determine the discriminatory attitudes of nurses in their social and professional lives toward LGBTQ individuals.

Design/methodology/approach

This study involved 503 nurses and used a questionnaire to examine their views regarding members of the LGBTQ community. The questionnaire consisted of 24 questions. Ten experts from the fields of social psychology, sociology, and nursing provided the necessary inputs, which were subsequently incorporated into the questionnaire.

Findings

The nurses were found to have a negative attitude toward LGBTQ individuals; they felt that they should not be allowed to live in comfort in Turkey and that they disrupted the social order and compromised public morality. It was observed that married (in general), male (in particular), and have fewer nursing education nurses are much more likely to have a discriminatory attitude toward LGBTQ people, and they were more discriminatory in their society rather than in their professional lives.

Originality/value

According to the principles of justice and equality, which are a prominent part of the nursing code of ethics – “With the awareness that all people have equal rights, the nurse serves regardless of race, language, religion, age, gender, belief, social and economic status and political opinion” – nurses should not have a discriminatory attitude. This study reveals the inequality and the ethical problems that riddle Turkey’s health sector.
The influence of sociodemographic behavioural variables on health-seeking behaviour and the utilisation of public and private hospitals in Ghana
Authors: Adongo Awinaba Amoah , Dapaah Jonathan Mensah , Azumah Francess Dufie , Onzaberigu Nachinaab John
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Several studies have described health-seeking behaviour within the context of various diseases, the health status and age group. However, knowledge on patient health-seeking behaviour in the use of public and private hospitals and socio-demographic characteristics in developing countries is still scarce. This paper examines the influence of socio-demographic behavioural variables on health-seeking behaviour and the use of public and private health facilities in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative research approach uses the modified SERVQUAL dimension as a data collection tool. Descriptive statistics with Pearson's chi-square test were conducted to determine the relationship between socio-demographic behavioural variables and health-seeking behaviour of patients using public and private hospitals.

Findings

The results showed that there is a significant relationship between the socio-demographic characteristics (sex, marital status, education, level of income) and the health-seeking behaviour of patients in regard to the utilisation of public and private health facilities (p < 0.000).

Originality/value

There is a significant relationship between patients' socio-demographic variables and their choice and utilisation of public and private healthcare services. This information is of value to policy makers so that they have an idea on the socio-demographic behavioural variables that influence patients' health-seeking behaviour.
An artificial neural network augmented GARCH model for Islamic stock market volatility: Do asymmetry and long memory matter?
Authors: Chkili Walid , Hamdi Manel
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the volatility and forecast accuracy of the Islamic stock market for the period 1999–2017. This period is characterized by the occurrence of several economic and political events such as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack and the 2007–2008 global financial crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

This study constructs a new hybrid generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH)-type model based on an artificial neural network (ANN). This model is applied to the daily Dow Jones Islamic Market World Index during the period June 1999–January 2017.

Findings

The in-sample results show that the volatility of the Islamic stock market can be better described by the fractionally integrated asymmetric power ARCH (FIAPARCH) approach that takes into account asymmetry and long memory features. Considering the out-of-sample analysis, this paper has applied a hybrid forecasting model, which combines the FIAPARCH approach and the ANN. Empirical results reveal that the proposed hybrid model (FIAPARCH-ANN) outperforms all other single models such as GARCH, fractional integrated GARCH and FIAPARCH in terms of all performance criteria used in the study.

Practical implications

The results have some implications for Islamic investors, portfolio managers and policymakers. These implications are related to the optimal portfolio diversification decision, the hedging strategy choice and the risk management analysis.

Originality/value

The paper develops a new framework that combines an ANN and FIAPARCH model that introduces two important features of time series, namely, asymmetry and long memory.
Connecting and being connected: investigating friending practices across multiple social networking sites
Authors: Yuan Chien Wen , Lee Yu-Hao
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Social networking sites (SNSs) offer people the possibility of maintaining larger networks of social ties, which also entails more complex relationship maintenance across multiple platforms. Whom to “friend” and via which platform can involve complex deliberations. This study investigates the relationships between users' perceived friending affordances of five popular SNSs (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and LinkedIn) and their friending behaviors concerning strong ties, weak ties (existing and latent ties) and parasocial ties.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey using Qualtrics was provided to participants (N = 626) through Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk). The survey asked their SNS use and their friending behaviors with different ties on each of the sites.

Findings

Users' friending decisions are dependent on an interplay of socio-technical affordances of each SNS and specific needs for the ties. The authors found that the affordances of bridging social capital and enjoyment are aligned with friending weak and parasocial ties, respectively. The affordances of bonding social capital were not valued to friend strong ties.

Originality/value

The study extends the affordance and social capital literature by assessing users' perceived, contextualized SNS affordances in relation to actual communication behaviors in friending different social ties. This approach provides contextualized insights to friending decisions and practices on SNSs.
The design, implementation and pilot application of an intelligent online proctoring system for online exams
Authors: Jia Jiyou , He Yunfan
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to design and implement an intelligent online proctoring system (IOPS) by using the advantage of artificial intelligence technology in order to monitor the online exam, which is urgently needed in online learning settings worldwide. As a pilot application, the authors used this system in an authentic university online exam and checked the proctoring result.

Design/methodology/approach

The IOPS adopts the B/S (Browser/Server) architecture. The server side is implemented with programming language C and Python and stores the identification data of all examinees and their important behavior change status, including facial expression, eye and mouth movement and speech. The browser side collects and analyzes multimodal data of the examinee writing the online test locally and transfers the examinee’s most important behavior status change data to the server. Real-time face recognition and voice detection are implemented with the support of open-source software.

Findings

The system was integrated into a Web-based intelligent tutoring system for school mathematics education. As a pilot application, the system was also used for online proctored exam in an undergraduate seminar in Peking University during the epidemic period in 2020. The recorded log data show that all students concentrated themselves on the exam and did not leave the camera and did not speak.

Originality/value

During the epidemic period of the novel coronavirus outbreak, almost all educational institutions in the world use online learning as the best way to maintain the teaching and learning schedule for all students. However, current online instruction platforms lack the function to prevent the learners from cheating in online exams and cannot guarantee the integrity and equality for all examinees as in traditional classroom exams. The literature review shows that the online proctoring system should become an important component of online exams to tackle the growing online cheating problem. Although such proctoring systems have been developed and put on the market, the practical usage of such systems in authentic exams and its effect have not been reported. Those systems are heavyweight and commercial product and cannot be freely used in education. The light-weight IOPS developed by the authors could meet the need for online exam as a stable and practical approach and could contribute to the growing online learning and distance learning.