bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clinical Benefit of Routine Postoperative Hemoglobin Testing After Vaginal Hysterectomy and Reconstruction for Symptomatic Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Authors: Aldrich Emily R. , Pauls Rachel N.
Published: March 2021

Objectives

The objective of this study was to determine the clinical benefit of a routine complete blood count (CBC) on the first postoperative day after vaginal hysterectomy with reconstruction.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study evaluated patients undergoing vaginal hysterectomy with native tissue prolapse repair between 2014 and 2019. Baseline and operative data, preoperative and postoperative blood counts, signs of anemia, and complications were recorded. Objective signs of anemia included tachycardia, hypotension, and low urine output. Subjective signs of anemia included dizziness, weakness, pallor, and diaphoresis. Complications, such as blood transfusions, additional testing, and readmission, were recorded.

Results

Five hundred and seventy patients had a postoperative CBC. The median preoperative hemoglobin level was 13.5 g/dL (min, 9.4; max, 16.9). Ninety-seven (17%) patients had a postoperative hemoglobin of 10 g/dL or less, with a median hemoglobin of 11.2 g/dL (min, 5.6; max, 14.9). Signs of anemia occurred in 72 (12.6%) patients: 64 (11.2%) showing objective signs, 13 (2.3%) reporting subjective symptoms, and 5 (0.8%) noting both. The most common objective sign was hypotension (n = 40; 63.5%). Five women received transfusions (0.9%). All patients receiving a blood transfusion showed objective signs of anemia; 3 (50%) patients had objective and subjective signs. Twenty-one (3.7%) patients had more than 1 CBC test during admission; 9 (42.9%) of these women were asymptomatic and had no further intervention. There were no readmissions related to postoperative anemia.

Conclusions

Patients that require intervention for anemia after vaginal hysterectomy and reconstruction will manifest clinical signs or symptoms. Routine CBC testing in this cohort did not provide benefit and led to superfluous procedures in the vast majority of participants.
Nocturnal city lighting elicits a macroscale response from an insect outbreak population
Authors: Tielens Elske K. , Cimprich Paula M. , Clark Bonne A. , DiPilla Alisha M. , Kelly Jeffrey F. , Mirkovic Djordje , Strand Alva I. , Zhai Mengyuan , Stepanian Phillip M.
Published: March 2021

Anthropogenic environmental change affects organisms by exposing them to enhanced sensory stimuli that can elicit novel behavioural responses. A pervasive feature of the built environment is artificial nocturnal lighting, and brightly lit urban areas can influence organism abundance, distribution and community structure within proximate landscapes. In some cases, the attractive or disorienting effect of artificial light at night can draw animals into highly unfavourable habitats, acting as a macroscale attractive ecological sink. Despite their significance for animal ecology, identifying cases of these phenomena and determining their effective scales and the number of organisms impacted remains challenging. Using an integrated set of remote-sensing observations, we quantify the effect of a large-scale attractive sink on nocturnal flights of an outbreak insect population in Las Vegas, USA. At the peak of the outbreak, over 45 million grasshoppers took flight across the region, with the greatest numbers concentrating over high-intensity city lighting. Patterns of dusk ascent from vegetated habitat toward urban areas suggest a daily pull toward a time-varying nocturnal attractive sink. The strength of this attractor varies with grasshopper density. These observations provide the first macroscale characterization of the effects of nocturnal urban lighting on the behaviour of regional insect populations and demonstrate the link between insect perception of the built environment and resulting changes in spatial and movement ecology. As human-induced environmental change continues to affect insect populations, understanding the impacts of nocturnal light on insect behaviour and fitness will be vital to developing robust large-scale management and conservation strategies.
Phenotypic plasticity in chemical defence of butterflies allows usage of diverse host plants
Authors: de Castro Érika C. P. , Musgrove Jamie , Bak Søren , McMillan W. Owen , Jiggins Chris D.
Published: March 2021

Host plant specialization is a major force driving ecological niche partitioning and diversification in insect herbivores. The cyanogenic defences of
Passiflora
plants keep most herbivores at bay, but not the larvae of
Heliconiu
s butterflies, which can both sequester and biosynthesize cyanogenic compounds. Here, we demonstrate that both
Heliconius cydno chioneus
and
H. melpomene rosina
have remarkable plasticity in their chemical defences. When feeding on
Passiflora
species with cyanogenic compounds that they can readily sequester, both species downregulate the biosynthesis of these compounds. By contrast, when fed on
Passiflora
plants that do not contain cyanogenic glucosides that can be sequestered, both species increase biosynthesis. This biochemical plasticity comes at a fitness cost for the more specialist
H. m. rosina
, as adult size and weight for this species negatively correlate with biosynthesis levels, but not for the more generalist
H. c. chioneus
. By contrast,
H. m rosina
has increased performance when sequestration is possible on its specialized host plant. In summary, phenotypic plasticity in biochemical responses to different host plants offers these butterflies the ability to widen their range of potential hosts within the
Passiflora
genus, while maintaining their chemical defences.
No warning for slow transitions
Authors: van der Bolt Bregje , van Nes Egbert H. , Scheffer Marten
Published: March 2021

A rise in fragility as a system approaches a tipping point may be sometimes estimated using dynamical indicators of resilience (DIORs) that measure the characteristic slowing down of recovery rates before a tipping point. A change in DIORs could be interpreted as an early warning signal for an upcoming critical transition. However, in order to be able to estimate the DIORs, observational records need to be long enough to capture the response rate of the system. As we show here, the required length of the time series depends on the response rates of the system. For instance, the current rate of anthropogenic climate forcing is fast relative to the response rate of some parts of the climate system. Therefore, we may expect difficulties estimating the resilience from modern time series. So far, there have been no systematic studies of the effects of the response rates of the dynamical systems and the rates of forcing on the detectability trends in the DIORs prior to critical transitions. Here, we quantify the performance of the resilience indicators variance and temporal autocorrelation, in systems with different response rates and for different rates of forcing. Our results show that the rapid rise of anthropogenic forcing to the Earth may make it difficult to detect changes in the resilience of ecosystems and climate elements from time series. These findings suggest that in order to determine with models whether the use of the DIORs is appropriate, we need to use realistic models that incorporate the key processes with the appropriate time constants.
Using a biologically mimicking climbing robot to explore the performance landscape of climbing in lizards
Authors: Schultz Johanna T. , Beck Hendrik K. , Haagensen Tina , Proost Tasmin , Clemente Christofer J.
Published: March 2021

Locomotion is a key aspect associated with ecologically relevant tasks for many organisms, therefore, survival often depends on their ability to perform well at these tasks. Despite this significance, we have little idea how different performance tasks are weighted when increased performance in one task comes at the cost of decreased performance in another. Additionally, the ability for natural systems to become optimized to perform a specific task can be limited by structural, historic or functional constraints. Climbing lizards provide a good example of these constraints as climbing ability likely requires the optimization of tasks which may conflict with one another such as increasing speed, avoiding falls and reducing the cost of transport (COT). Understanding how modifications to the lizard bauplan can influence these tasks may allow us to understand the relative weighting of different performance objectives among species. Here, we reconstruct multiple performance landscapes of climbing locomotion using a 10 d.f. robot based upon the lizard bauplan, including an actuated spine, shoulders and feet, the latter which interlock with the surface via claws. This design allows us to independently vary speed, foot angles and range of motion (ROM), while simultaneously collecting data on climbed distance, stability and efficiency. We first demonstrate a trade-off between speed and stability, with high speeds resulting in decreased stability and low speeds an increased COT. By varying foot orientation of fore- and hindfeet independently, we found geckos converge on a narrow optimum of foot angles (fore 20°, hind 100°) for both speed and stability, but avoid a secondary wider optimum (fore −20°, hind −50°) highlighting a possible constraint. Modifying the spine and limb ROM revealed a gradient in performance. Evolutionary modifications in movement among extant species over time appear to follow this gradient towards areas which promote speed and efficiency.
Novel brain gene-expression patterns are associated with a novel predaceous behaviour in tadpoles
Authors: Ledón-Rettig Cris C.
Published: March 2021

Novel behaviours can spur evolutionary change and sometimes even precede morphological innovation, but the evolutionary and developmental contexts for their origins can be elusive. One proposed mechanism to generate behavioural innovation is a shift in the developmental timing of gene-expression patterns underlying an ancestral behaviour, or molecular heterochrony. Alternatively, novel suites of gene expression, which could provide new contexts for signalling pathways with conserved behavioural functions, could promote novel behavioural variation. To determine the relative contributions of these alternatives to behavioural innovation, I used a species of spadefoot toad,Spea bombifrons. Based on environmental cues,Spealarvae develop as either of two morphs: ‘omnivores' that, like their ancestors, feed on detritus, or ‘carnivores' that are predaceous and cannibalistic. Because all anuran larvae undergo a natural transition to obligate carnivory during metamorphosis, it has been proposed that the novel, predaceous behaviour inSpealarvae represents the accelerated activation of gene networks influencing post-metamorphic behaviours. Based on comparisons of brain transcriptional profiles, my results reject widespread heterochrony as a mechanism promoting the expression of predaceous larval behaviour. They instead suggest that the evolution of this trait relied on novel patterns of gene expression that include components of pathways with conserved behavioural functions.
Testing hypotheses of marsupial brain size variation using phylogenetic multiple imputations and a Bayesian comparative framework
Authors: Todorov Orlin S. , Blomberg Simone P. , Goswami Anjali , Sears Karen , Drhlík Patrik , Peters James , Weisbecker Vera
Published: March 2021

Considerable controversy exists about which hypotheses and variables best explain mammalian brain size variation. We use a new, high-coverage dataset of marsupial brain and body sizes, and the first phylogenetically imputed full datasets of 16 predictor variables, to model the prevalent hypotheses explaining brain size evolution using phylogenetically corrected Bayesian generalized linear mixed-effects modelling. Despite this comprehensive analysis, litter size emerges as the only significant predictor. Marsupials differ from the more frequently studied placentals in displaying a much lower diversity of reproductive traits, which are known to interact extensively with many behavioural and ecological predictors of brain size. Our results therefore suggest that studies of relative brain size evolution in placental mammals may require targeted co-analysis or adjustment of reproductive parameters like litter size, weaning age or gestation length. This supports suggestions that significant associations between behavioural or ecological variables with relative brain size may be due to a confounding influence of the extensive reproductive diversity of placental mammals.
Natural Language Processing for Automated Annotation of Medication Mentions in Primary Care Visit Conversations
Authors: Ganoe Craig H , Wu Weiyi , Barr Paul J , Haslett William , Dannenberg Michelle D , Bonasia Kyra L , Finora James C , Schoonmaker Jesse A , Onsando Wambui M , Ryan James , Elwyn Glyn , Bruce Martha L , Das Amar K , Hassanpour Saeed
Published: March 2021

Objectives

The objective of this study is to build and evaluate a natural language processing approach to identify medication mentions in primary care visit conversations between patients and physicians.

Materials and Methods

Eight clinicians contributed to a dataset of 85 clinic visit transcripts, and ten transcripts were randomly selected from this dataset as a development set. Our approach utilizes Apache cTAKES and Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) controlled vocabulary to generate a list of medication candidates in the transcribed text, and then performs multiple customized filters to exclude common false positives from this list while including some additional common mentions of the supplements and immunizations.

Results

Sixty-five transcripts with 1,121 medication mentions were randomly selected as an evaluation set. Our proposed method achieved an F-score of 85.0% for identifying the medication mentions in the test set, significantly outperforming existing medication information extraction systems for medical records with F-scores ranging from 42.9% to 68.9%.

Discussion

Our medication information extraction approach for primary care visit conversations showed promising results, extracting about 27% more medication mentions from our evaluation set while eliminating many false positives in comparison to existing baseline systems. We made our approach publicly available on the web as an open-source software.

Conclusion

Integration of our annotation system with clinical recording applications has the potential to improve patients’ understanding and recall of key information from their clinic visits, and, in turn, to positively impact health outcomes.
Longitudinal experiences and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among people with past or current eating disorders in Sweden
Authors: Birgegård Andreas , Abbaspour Afrouz , Borg Stina , Clinton David , Forsén Mantilla Emma , Termorshuizen Jet D. , Bulik Cynthia M.
Published: March 2021

Objective

To document the impact of the COVI-19 pandemic on the health and well-being of individuals with past and current eating disorders in Sweden.

Method

We re-contacted participants from two previous Swedish studies who had a known lifetime history of an eating disorder. Participants completed an online questionnaire about their health and functioning at baseline early in the pandemic (Wave 1; N=982) and six months later (Wave 2); N=646).

Results

Three important patterns emerged: 1) higher current eating disorder symptom levels were associated with greater anxiety, worry, and pandemic-related eating disorder symptom increase; 2) patterns were fairly stable across time, although a concerning number who reported being symptom-free at Wave 1 reported re-emergence of symptoms at Wave 2; and only a minority of participants with current eating disorders were in treatment, and of those who were in treatment, many reported fewer treatment sessions than pre-pandemic and decreased quality of care.

Conclusions

The COVID-19 pandemic is posing serious health challenges for individuals with eating disorders, whether currently symptomatic or in remission. We encourage health service providers and patient advocates to be alert to the needs of individuals with eating disorders and to take active measures to ensure access to appropriate evidence-based care both during and following the pandemic.

Significant Outcomes and Limitations

Individuals with eating disorders symptoms or current active disorder report higher adverse impact of COVID-19 on their mental health

Even individuals who were symptom-free early in the pandemic reported a resurgence of eating disorder symptoms

A large proportion of symptomatic individuals were not in treatment for their eating disorder, services should be aware and access to evidence-based care should be ensured across Sweden

Limitations included the use of a convenience sample with atypical diagnostic distribution, and a low initial response rate, possibly introducing bias and limiting generalisability.

Data Availability Statement

Fully anonymized data are available from the corresponding author upon request.
Health risk behaviours among people with severe mental ill health during the COVID-19 pandemic: analysis of linked cohort data
Authors: Peckham Emily , Allgar Victoria , Crosland Suzanne , Heron Paul , Johnston Gordon , Newbronner Elizabeth , Spanakis Panagiotis , Wadman Ruth , Walker Lauren , Gilbody Simon
Published: March 2021

Background

People with severe mental ill health (SMI) experience a mortality gap of 15-20 years. COVID-19 has amplified population health inequalities, and there is concern that people with SMI will be disproportionately affected. Understanding how health risk behaviours have changed during the pandemic is important when developing strategies to mitigate future increases in health inequalities.

Methods

We sampled from an existing cohort of people with SMI. Researchers contacted participants by phone or post to invite them to take part in a survey about how the pandemic had affected them. We asked people about their health risk behaviours and how these had changed during the pandemic. We created an index of changed behaviours, comprising dietary factors, smoking, lack of exercise, and drinking patterns. By creating data linkages, we compared their responses during pandemic restrictions to responses they gave prior to the pandemic.

Outcomes

367 people provided health risk data. 47.5% of participants reported taking less physical activity during the pandemic and of those who smoke 54.5% reported smoking more heavily. Self-reported deterioration in physical health and younger age were significantly associated with an increase in health risk behaviours (adjusted OR for physical health 1.59, 95%CI 1.22-2.07; adjusted OR for Age 0.99, 95%CI 0.98-1.00).

Interpretation

COVID-19 is likely to amplify health inequalities for people with SMI. Health services should target health risk behaviours for people with SMI to mitigate the immediate and long lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funding

Medical Research council, Yorkshire and Humber Applied Research Collaboration, Wellcome and UKRI.
Food Insecurity in the Households of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities in the U.S.: Analysis of the National Survey of Children’s Health Data 2016 - 2018
Authors: Karpur Arun , Vasudevan Vijay , Lello Angela , Frazier Thomas W. , Shih Andy
Published: March 2021

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and co-occurring Intellectual Disabilities (ASD + ID) experience substantial challenges in accessing needed supports. This research aimed to understand the prevalence and factors associated with food insecurity among families of children with ASD + ID. Utilizing the National Survey of Children’s Health (2016-18) data, this paper illustrated that the households of children with ASD + ID were about two times more likely to be food insecure than the households of children without disabilities. Further, the households of children with ASD were 1.5 times more likely, and those with other disabilities were 1.3 times more likely to be food insecure than the households of children without disabilities. Implications of these findings in the context of the COVID19 pandemic are discussed.

Lay Abstract

Families of children with ASD are more likely to experience financial strain and resulting food insecurity due to additional cost of care, disparate access to needed services, and loss of income resulting from job loss. Utilizing nationally representative data, this analysis indicates that the families of children with ASD + ID are twice as likely to experience food insecurity than families of children without disabilities after adjusting for various factors. Several factors, ranging from state-level policies such as Medicaid expansion to individual-level factors such as higher utilization of emergency room services, were associated with the higher prevalence of food insecurity in families of children with ASD + ID. Implications of these findings on programs and policies supporting families in the COVID19 pandemic are discussed.
Saliva as a Reliable Sample for COVID-19 Diagnosis in Paediatric Patients
Authors: Felix Alvina C. , de Paula Anderson V. , Ribeiro Andreia C. , da Silva Francini C. , Inemami Marta , Costa Angela A. , Leal Cibele O. D. , Figueiredo Walter M. , Sarmento Dmitry J. S. , Sassaki Tatiana A. , Pannuti Claudio S. , Braz-Silva Paulo H. , Romano Camila Malta
Published: March 2021

Saliva has been described a less invasive and easy to handle sample, compared to nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS), in the diagnosis of COVID-19 in adults. Although the advantages of using saliva is still more evident in paediatric patients, little is now about its sensitivity in this group. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of saliva to that of NPS in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in paediatric patients with mild symptoms. This study evaluated saliva samples from children with suspected COVID-19 who attended public healthcare services of Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil. Children were asked to spit into a sterile container for collection of about 1ml of saliva after the NPS collection. SARS-COV-2 detection was performed by using the Altona RealStar® SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Kit 1.0. The sample consisted of 50 patients, in which 27 were girls (54%) and 23 were boys (46%). Ten were positive for SARS-CoV-2 in at least one sample collected. The mean age was 10.24 ± 3.52 years old and saliva was collected after 4.76 ± 1.31 days from the symptoms. Saliva and NPS have showed the same performance in the SARS-CoV-2 detection (k = 0.865, P < 0.001). In conclusion, saliva is a reliable alternative sample for COVID-19 diagnosis in paediatric population.
Use of portable air cleaners to reduce aerosol transmission on a hospital COVID-19 ward
Authors: Buising KL , Schofield R , Irving L , Keywood M , Stevens A , Keogh N , Skidmore G , Wadlow I , Kevin K , Rismanchi B , Wheeler AJ , Humphries RS , Kainer M , McGain F , Monty J , Marshall C
Published: March 2021

Objective

To study the airflow, transmission and clearance of aerosols in the clinical spaces of a hospital ward that had been used to care for patients with COVID-19, and to examine the impact of portable air cleaners on aerosol clearance.

Design

Observational study

Setting

A single ward of a tertiary public hospital in Melbourne Australia

Intervention

Glycerine-based aerosol was used as a surrogate for respiratory aerosols. The transmission of aerosols from a single patient room into corridors and a nurses’ station in the ward was measured. The rate of clearance of aerosols was measured over time from the patient room, nurses’ station and ward corridors with and without air cleaners (also called portable HEPA filters).

Results

Aerosols rapidly travelled from the patient room into other parts of the ward. Air cleaners were effective in increasing the clearance of aerosols from the air in clinical spaces and reducing their spread to other areas. With two small domestic air cleaners in a single patient room of a hospital ward, 99% of aerosols could be cleared within 5.5 minutes.

Conclusion

Air cleaners may be useful in clinical spaces to help reduce the risk of healthcare acquired acquisition of respiratory viruses that are transmitted via aerosols. They are easy to deploy and are likely to be cost effective in a variety of healthcare settings
Understanding binary classifier model structure based on Shapley feature interaction patterns
Authors: Zhao Boyang
Published: March 2021

There is increasing emphasis on the interpretability of machine learning models, including in understanding biological systems. The well-known Shapley value framework based on game theory works in principle with any models to attribute feature importance. While feature interactions are critical to understand and can be interpreted within this framework, much attention is paid in practice on global feature importance and general trends of interactions. The inter-relationships between underlying model structure and Shapley value and its decomposition is less clear. Here we use binary classifiers to systematically examine how logical and additive interactions affect marginal contributions. These decomposed main and interaction effects are reflected in resulting Shapley dependence plots. The directionality of inequalities or logical/additive operators influence independently the main and marginal/interaction effects. Lastly, we show that these principles are applicable for models with noise.
Adverse Events Following SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination Among Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Botwin Gregory J. , Li Dalin , Figueiredo Jane , Cheng Susan , Braun Jonathan , McGovern Dermot P.B. , Melmed Gil Y.
Published: March 2021

Patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID) such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on immunosuppressive and biologic therapies were largely excluded from SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine trials. We thus evaluated post-mRNA vaccination adverse events (AE) in 246 vaccinated adults with IBD participating in a longitudinal vaccine registry. In general, AE frequency was similar to that reported in the general population. As in the general population, AE were more common among younger patients, and those with prior COVID-19. We additionally found that AE were less common in individuals receiving biologic therapy. Those with IBD and other IMID on these commonly prescribed therapies can be reassured that the AE risk is likely not increased, and may be reduced, while on biologics.
The Cdc42 GTPase activating protein Rga6 promotes the cortical localization of Septin
Authors: Zheng Shengnan , Zheng Biyu , Liu Zhenbang , Wei Wenfan , Fu Chuanhai
Published: March 2021

Septins are a family of filament-forming GTP-binding proteins that regulate fundamental cellular activities such as cytokinesis, cell polarity, and membrane remodelling. In general, Septin filaments function as barriers and scaffolds on the cell cortex. However, little is known about the mechanism that governs the recruitment and localization of the Septin complex to the cell cortex. Here, we identified the Cdc42 GTPase activating protein Rga6 as a key protein involved in promoting the localization of the Septin complex to the cell cortex in the fission yeastSchizosaccharomyces pombe. Rga6 interacts with the Septin complex and colocalizes with the Septin complex on the cell cortex. Live-cell microscopic analysis further showed Septin enrichment at the cortical regions adjacent to the growing cell tip. The Septin enrichment likely plays a crucial role in confining active Cdc42 to the growing cell tip. Hence, our findings support a model that Rga6 regulates polarized cell growth partly through promoting targeted localization of the Septin complex on the cell cortex.
Biophysical properties of a tau seed
Authors: Hou Zhiqiang , Chen Dailu , Ryder Bryan D. , Joachimiak Lukasz A.
Published: March 2021

Pathogenesis of tauopathies involves conversion of tau monomer into pathological tau conformers that serve as templates to recruit native tau into growing assemblies. Small soluble tau seeds have been proposed to drive pathological tau assemblyin vitro, in cells andin vivo. We have previously described the isolation of monomeric pathogenic tau seeds derived from recombinant samples and tauopathy tissues but in-depth biophysical characterization of these species has not been done. Here we describe a chromatographic method to isolate recombinant soluble tau seeds derived from heparin treatment. We used biochemical and biophysical approaches to show that the seeds are predominantly monomeric and have the capacity to nucleate aggregation of inert forms of tauin vitroand in cells. Finally, we used crosslinking mass spectrometry to identify the topological changes in tau as it converts from an inert state to a pathogenic seed. Future studies will reveal the relationship between soluble seeds and structural polymorphs derived from tauopathies to help diagnose and develop therapeutics targeting specific tauopathies.
BRED: bioluminescence energy transfer to dye for monitoring ceramide trafficking in cell
Authors: Naseri Gita , Arenz Christoph
Published: March 2021

Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) is a genetically encoded proximity-based tool to study biomolecular interactions. However, conventional BRET is usually restricted to only a few types of interactions like protein-protein or protein-ligand interactions. We here developed a spatially unbiased resonance energy transfer system, so-called BRED - bioluminescence resonance energy transfer to dye. BRED allows transferring energy from a genetically encoded bright human optimized luciferase to a fluorophore-labelled small molecule. The high efficiency of the system allows RET without specific interaction of donor and acceptor. Here, we applied BRED to monitor the trafficking of the signalling lipid ceramide, to the Golgi. This was enabled by an engineered Golgi-resident luciferase, which was used to sense the influx of BODIPY-labeled ceramide into the surrounding membrane. We demonstrated the implementation of the method via flow cytometry, thereby combining the sensitivity of bulk cell methods with the advantages of single-cell analysis. This toolbox enables simple and robust live-cell analysis of inhibitors of CERT-mediated ceramide transport. The design principle of our optogenetic tool can be applied to study intracellular trafficking of metabolites and screen for inhibitors of their key enzymes.
Restriction of RecG translocation by DNA mispairing
Authors: Sun Zhiqiang , Wang Yaqing , Hashemi Mohtadin , Bianco Piero R. , Lyubchenko Yuri L.
Published: March 2021

The RecG DNA helicase plays a crucial role in stalled replication fork rescue as the guardian of the bacterial genome. We have recently demonstrated that single-strand DNA binding protein (SSB) promotes binding of RecG to the stalled replication fork by remodeling RecG, enabling the helicase to translocate ahead of the fork. We also hypothesized that mispairing of DNA could limit such translocation of RecG, which plays the role of roadblocks for the fork movement. Here, we used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to directly test this hypothesis and investigate how sensitive RecG translocation is to different types of mispairing. We found that a C-C mismatch at a distance of 30 bp away from the fork position prevents translocation of RecG over this mispairing. A G-bulge placed at the same distance also has a similar roadblock efficiency. However, a C-C mismatch 10 bp away from the fork does not prevent RecG translocation, as 10 bp from fork is within the distance of footprint of RecG on fork DNA. Our findings suggest that retardation of RecG translocation ahead of the replication fork can be a mechanism for the base pairing control for DNA replication machinery.
Robust dual-tone multi-frequency tone detection using k-nearest neighbour classifier for a noisy environment
Authors: Maity Arunit , Prakasam P. , Bhargava Sarthak
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Due to the continuous and rapid evolution of telecommunication equipment, the demand for more efficient and noise-robust detection of dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals is most significant.

Design/methodology/approach

A novel machine learning-based approach to detect DTMF tones affected by noise, frequency and time variations by employing the k-nearest neighbour (KNN) algorithm is proposed. The features required for training the proposed KNN classifier are extracted using Goertzel's algorithm that estimates the absolute discrete Fourier transform (DFT) coefficient values for the fundamental DTMF frequencies with or without considering their second harmonic frequencies. The proposed KNN classifier model is configured in four different manners which differ in being trained with or without augmented data, as well as, with or without the inclusion of second harmonic frequency DFT coefficient values as features.

Findings

It is found that the model which is trained using the augmented data set and additionally includes the absolute DFT values of the second harmonic frequency values for the eight fundamental DTMF frequencies as the features, achieved the best performance with a macro classification F1 score of 0.980835, a five-fold stratified cross-validation accuracy of 98.47% and test data set detection accuracy of 98.1053%.

Originality/value

The generated DTMF signal has been classified and detected using the proposed KNN classifier which utilizes the DFT coefficient along with second harmonic frequencies for better classification. Additionally, the proposed KNN classifier has been compared with existing models to ascertain its superiority and proclaim its state-of-the-art performance.
Risk factors in the refurbishment design process: the case of Malaysia
Authors: Ali Azlan Shah , Au-Yong Cheong Peng
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Refurbishment projects are mainly due to building physical improvements and extensive repair work. However, it is more difficult to manage refurbishment compared to new building projects, due to risk factors. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the risk variables in the refurbishment design process and how they influence the design performance variables.

Design/methodology/approach

The study has been designed using predominantly the triangulation technique, which consists of quantitative and qualitative approaches to ensure appropriate validation of the data and enabled cross-verification of multiple sources. The research subject was 82 refurbishment projects with the contract value of more than RM 500,000.00. This provided a better view of the risk aspects that affect the design performance of refurbishment projects. Meanwhile, the method of procurement used for the selected refurbishment projects were either traditional or design-and-build. These procurement methods were found to be the most commonly used in refurbishment projects in Malaysia.

Findings

This study concludes that the design phase of refurbishment projects is adversely impacted by the risk; whereby variables consisting of services, structural aspects, design fees and clients' attributes affect the design process. Moreover, a prediction model is formulated to estimate the provisional sum of the refurbishment projects. There were two prediction models that have been generated using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). One independent variable of model 1 is not a significant predictor. Thus, another model was produced by using the stepwise method.

Originality/value

Despite the fact that the topic of refurbishment has been thoroughly explored by academics and professionals in the past, there is a clear gap which requires clarification in the field of design process and its link to performance of a project. Hence, this paper adds new value to the body of knowledge and widens awareness among the subject audience. There were two prediction models that have been generated using SPSS. Both prediction models were presented in the research.
Assessment of energy and emissions saving impact of solar PV modules: a case study of Bangladesh
Authors: Imu Nusrat Jahan , Ezeamama Anayo , Matemilola Saheed
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Decentralized solar systems are increasingly being used as alternative source of off-grid electrification in Bangladesh. They offer solutions to provide (clean) electricity to the low-income households that are not currently served by the national grid. The standards of solar systems need to be improved to maximize the benefits they offer for off-grid electrification.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research approach was used to explore the power output performance of six solar systems samples. In order to realize a proper load management, daily power production was measured to determine the generation capacity of 50, 60 and 100 Wp monocrystalline and polycrystalline modules when average solar irradiation was 916 W/m2. In the testing system, the irradiation was measured by panel analyzer HT instrument I-V 400. The load arrangement comprised of different kinds of appliances (fan, light, TV). The daily consumption of energy by these loads was calculated using daily operational hours to determine system power performance.

Findings

The authors found that monocrystalline system performs better than polycrystalline by 0.39 kilowatt-hour (kWh) with capacity of 100 watt-peak (Wp) modules. The carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction potential of our sample solar systems were also estimated by assuming a scenario. This was derived by using the electricity emission factor for natural gas (CH4), since CH4 is the main source of energy for power generation in Bangladesh. Savings in CO2 of 0.52 kgCO2/kWh is possible with the adoption of a 100 Wp monocrystalline module.

Practical implications

Government actions that promote the use of monocrystalline module will enhance the benefits of the use of solar systems in providing quality and sustainable electricity. This will contribute to government's efforts towards achieving some of the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDG) and resilience of the most vulnerable population to the effects and impacts of climate change.

Originality/value

Almost all solar modules found in off-grid areas are polycrystalline whose energy generation capacity is much lower compared to monocrystalline types. But use of low efficient polycrystalline solar module hindered the development of country's solar sector and option to save carbon emission. The use of highly efficient monocrystalline solar module will save also the country's land as the country has land scarcity challenges for establishing large-scale solar power plant. The authors also recommend actions that can be implemented at the national level to improve the attractiveness of monocrystalline solar systems in Bangladesh.
Future research methodologies of lean manufacturing: a systematic literature review
Authors: Psomas Evangelos
Published: March 2021

Purpose

A rich agenda for future research in the field of Lean Manufacturing (LM) is available in the academic literature. The purpose of this paper is to determine the LM future research methodologies suggested in the literature and to classify them into themes. Classifying these themes into broad categories is also an aim of the present study.

Design/methodology/approach

For the purpose of the present study, a systematic literature review (SLR) of peer reviewed journal articles in LM was conducted. A total of 214 articles published in 46 journals during 2010–2020 were collected from four major management science publishers, namely, Emerald Online, Elsevier/Science Direct, Springer Link and Taylor and Francis. To organize the qualitative data into meaningful themes and these themes into broad categories, the quality tool “affinity diagram” was applied.

Findings

The review of LM articles that are increasing over time reveals the “vital few” academic journals, which have published most of the sample articles. The plethora of the suggested future research methodologies are analytically presented and classified into meaningful themes, namely, the size of the research sample and its composition, several types of study (other than surveys), longitudinal studies, applying advanced statistical analysis and (mathematical) modeling techniques, objective, real and quantitative data, surveys, mixed/multiple research studies, reliability and validity analysis, using computer-aided technology for data collection and processing and research collaborations. These themes in turn are classified into broad categories, namely, study, data and statistical analysis and modeling.

Research limitations/implications

This SLR is not comprehensive because the number of the databases searched is restricted to four. Moreover, the literature review is limited to peer reviewed journal articles regarding Lean only in the manufacturing sector, while the subject reviewed is limited to the future research methodologies. The subjectivity of classifying the large number of the future research methodologies into themes and these themes into broad categories is also a limitation of the present SLR. Based on these limitations, future literature review studies can be carried out.

Practical implications

Researchers can be analytically informed about the future research methodologies suggested in the literature and their respective key themes and broad categories, to design original research studies of high academic and practical value.

Originality/value

This study goes beyond previous SLRs on LM by presenting analytically the plethora of the future research methodologies suggested in the literature as well as by identifying natural patterns or groupings of these methodologies.
Nexus of circular economy and sustainable business performance in the era of digitalization
Authors: Agrawal Rohit , Wankhede Vishal Ashok , Kumar Anil , Upadhyay Arvind , Garza-Reyes Jose Arturo
Published: March 2021

Purpose

This study aims to conduct a comprehensive review and network-based analysis by exploring future research directions in the nexus of circular economy (CE) and sustainable business performance (SBP) in the context of digitalization.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review methodology was adopted to present the review in the field of CE and SBP in the era of digitalization. WOS and SCOPUS databases were considered in the study to identify and select the articles. The bibliometric study was carried out to analyze the significant contributions made by authors, various journal sources, countries and different universities in the field of CE and SBP in the era of digitalization. Further, network analysis is carried out to analyze the collaboration among authors from different countries.

Findings

The study revealed that digitalization could be a great help in developing sustainable circular products. Moreover, the customers' involvement is necessary for creating innovative sustainable circular products using digitalization. A move toward the product-service system was suggested to accelerate the transformation toward CE and digitalization.

Originality/value

The paper discusses digitalization and CE practices' adoption to enhance the SP of the firms. This work's unique contribution is the systematic literature analysis and bibliometric study to explore future research directions in the nexus of CE and SP in the context of digitalization. The present study has been one of the first efforts to examine the literature of CE and SBP integration from a digitalization perspective along with bibliometric analysis.
The antecedents and consequences of exporting cultural products
Authors: Lin Chih-Pin , Dong Tse-Ping
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Although recent models of place branding have proposed culture as a crucial element in establishing a strong place or nation brand, the way in which cultural products influence the brand equity of other products from the same nation has not yet been studied. This study aims to argue that when a nation has strong legal institutions, as perceived by investors and managers, it offers fertile soil for cultivating cultural products that, when exported, can act as “cultural ambassadors,” promoting the country image in the minds of consumers and the value of the country's brands.

Design/methodology/approach

Exports of cultural products are provided by UNESCO. Valuable brands are those that brand finance included in its global top 500 most valuable brands list. The rule of law is provided by the World Bank. Panel regression models are used.

Findings

Supporting the hypotheses, exports of cultural products show positive effects on the value of brands from that country, and the rule of law shows positive effects on exports of cultural products.

Practical implications

Policymakers could improve the brand value of local firms by promoting exports of cultural products. To do so, policymakers should initiate judicial reforms that strengthen the rule of law to protect contracts and property rights.

Originality/value

This study examines the hitherto underexplored effects that a country's cultural product exports have on the brand value of firms from that country. Most prior research has focused on factors affecting imports of cultural products.
Retrospective and prospective approaches of coronavirus publications in the last half-century: a Latent Dirichlet allocation analysis
Authors: Danesh Farshid , Dastani Meisam , Ghorbani Mohammad
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The present article's primary purpose is the topic modeling of the global coronavirus publications in the last 50 years.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study is applied research that has been conducted using text mining. The statistical population is the coronavirus publications that have been collected from the Web of Science Core Collection (1970–2020). The main keywords were extracted from the Medical Subject Heading browser to design the search strategy. Latent Dirichlet allocation and Python programming language were applied to analyze the data and implement the text mining algorithms of topic modeling.

Findings

The findings indicated that the SARS, science, protein, MERS, veterinary, cell, human, RNA, medicine and virology are the most important keywords in the global coronavirus publications. Also, eight important topics were identified in the global coronavirus publications by implementing the topic modeling algorithm. The highest number of publications were respectively on the following topics: “structure and proteomics,” “Cell signaling and immune response,” “clinical presentation and detection,” “Gene sequence and genomics,” “Diagnosis tests,” “vaccine and immune response and outbreak,” “Epidemiology and Transmission” and “gastrointestinal tissue.”

Originality/value

The originality of this article can be considered in three ways. First, text mining and Latent Dirichlet allocation were applied to analyzing coronavirus literature for the first time. Second, coronavirus is mentioned as a hot topic of research. Finally, in addition to the retrospective approaches to 50 years of data collection and analysis, the results can be exploited with prospective approaches to strategic planning and macro-policymaking.