bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of Complex Wounds on Health-Related Quality of Life
Authors: Ratliff Catherine R. , Rovnyak Virginia
Published: November 2021

PURPOSE:

To describe health-related quality of life (HRQoL) using the Wound-Quality of Life (Wound-QoL) questionnaire for those individuals referred to an academic medical center wound clinic.

DESIGN:

Prospective, descriptive study.

SUBJECTS AND SETTING:

One hundred eleven participants receiving care in an academic medical center wound clinic in the Southeastern United States. The sample comprised 67 males (60.4%) and 44 females (39.6%) with wounds of 6 major etiologies.

METHODS:

From June 2019 through May 2020, a convenience sample of 111 individuals completed the Wound-QoL questionnaire at the initial visit to the wound clinic. The Wound-QoL questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool consisting of 17 questions related to wound-QoL measured on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (not at all affected) to 4 (very much affected). The questions are assigned to the 3 subscales: “body,” “psyche,” and “everyday life.” The Wound-QoL individual items, subscales, and the total wound score (TWS) were calculated as mean values of the item scores, ranging from 0 to 4, where higher values correspond to decreased HRQoL. The TWS is defined as the sum of the 17 item responses, with values ranging from 0 to 68. Descriptive and parametric statistics were used to analyze the data from the Wound-QoL questionnaire.

RESULTS:

The mean TWS was approximately 3 points higher for Whites (n = 84) than for Blacks (n = 27) (32.42, SD = 17.96 vs 29.51, SD = 19.39), but this difference was not significant (P = .473). An independent-samples t test of TWS versus sex was not significant (P = .446). The TWS by age category was significant (P = .015), showing differences in mean scores based on age category. We found that the youngest (ages 17-39 years) and oldest (ages 70-98 years) participants were less bothered by their wounds in almost all respects than those in the middle age range (ages 40-69 years). The individual item means varied between 0.84 and 2.72, out of a possible range of 0 to 4. The highest means were for items on the emotional subscale with means from 1.93 to 2.72. Analysis of variance was used to examine the TWS and the 3 subscales over the 6 wound types; none were found to be significant (TWS: P = .454, body: P = .722, psyche: P = .452, everyday life: P = .087).

CONCLUSION:

Wound-QoL questionnaire scores indicated that the greatest impact of a wound on HRQoL was on the emotional subscale. These 4 items are related to the individual expressing worry, fear, unhappiness, or frustration with wound healing. The Wound-QoL questionnaire may be used to evaluate the impact the wound has on the individual's HRQoL.
Rossellomorea arthrocnemi sp. nov., a novel plant growth-promoting bacterium used in heavy metal polluted soils as a phytoremediation tool
Authors: Navarro-Torre Salvadora , Carro Lorena , Igual José Mariano , Montero-Calasanz Maria del Carmen
Published: November 2021

Strain EAR8T is a root endophyte isolated from Arthrocnemum macrostachyum plants collected from the Odiel marshes, Huelva (Spain). It presented in vitro plant growth-promoting properties and improved the plant growth and heavy metal accumulation in polluted soils playing an important role in phytoremediation strategies. Phenotypically, strain EAR8T cells were Gram-positive, aerobic and non-motile rods with terminal oval endospores and non-swollen sporangia which form beige, opaque, butyrous, raised and irregular colonies with undulate margins. The strain was able to grow between 15–45 °C, at pH 6.0–9.0 and tolerated 0–25 % NaCl (w/v) showing optimal growth conditions on trypticase soy agar plates supplemented with 2.5 % NaCl (w/v) at pH 7.0 and 37 °C for 24 h. Chemotaxonomic analyses showed that the isolate has meso-diaminopimelic acid as the peptidoglycan in the cell wall and MK-7 as the major respiratory quinone. The predominant fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C15 : 0 and the polar lipid profile was composed of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine. Phylogenetic analyses based on the whole proteomes of closest sequenced relatives confirmed that strain EAR8T is affiliated to the genus

Rossellomorea

and forms a clade with

Rossellomorea vietnamensis

15-1T with maximum support. Genome analyses showed that EAR8T has indole-3-acetic acid and siderophore biosynthesis and transporters genes and genes related to resistance against heavy metals. Phenotypic and phylogenomic comparative studies suggested that strain EAR8T is a new representative of the genus

Rossellomorea

and the name Rossellomorea arthrocnemi sp. nov. is proposed. Type strain is EAR8T (=CECT 9072T=DSM 103900T).
Feasibility and safety of shortened hypofractionated high dose palliative lung radiotherapy – A retrospective planning study
Authors: Jones Matthew , Rogers Jane , Shrimali Raj Kumar , Hamilton Jo , Athmanathan Senthil , Jones Bleddyn
Published: November 2021

Objective

Assess the safety and feasibility of shortened hypo-fractionated high dose palliative lung radiotherapy in a retrospective planning study.

Methods

Fifteen palliative lung radiotherapy patients previously treated with the standard 36 Gy in 12 fractions (12F) schedule were non-randomly selected to achieve a representative distribution of tumour sizes, volumes, locations and staging. Plans were produced using 30 Gy in 5 fractions (5F) and 30 Gy in 6 fractions (6F) using a 6MV FFF co-planar VMAT technique. These plans were optimised to meet dose constraints for both PTVs and OARs where established OAR constraints were expressed as BED. The potential safety of the delivery of these plans was assessed using these BEDs and also with reductions of 10% and 20% to account for effects of chemotherapy or surgery.

Results

For all 5F and 6F plans the mandatory constraints using the full BED were met, as with all 6F plans with 10% BED reductions, but reduced to 6 patients using 5F. Three of 15 5F and 6 of 15 6F plans met the 20% BED reductions.

Conclusion

It is potentially safe and feasible to deliver high dose palliative radiotherapy using the 5F or 6F regimes described, when carefully planned to comparable OAR BEDs as for 12F standard. It appears that the toxicity from either of these regimes should be within acceptable limits provided that the dose constraints described can be adhered to. A Phase II study would be required to fully assess the safety and feasibility. The outcomes from such a study could potentially reduce the number of patient hospital visits for radiotherapy, thus benefiting the patient and the clinical service by optimising resource utilisation.

Advances in Knowledge

Shortened hypo-fractionated high dose palliative lung radiotherapy is technically feasible provided OAR constraints are respected.
Inactivated virus vaccine BBV152/Covaxin elicits robust cellular immune memory to SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern
Authors: Vikkurthi Rajesh , Ansari Asgar , Pai Anupama R , Jha Someshwar Nath , Sachan Shilpa , Pandit Suvechchha , Nikam Bhushan , Kalia Anurag , Jit Bimal Prasad , Parray Hilal Ahmad , Singh Savita , Kshetrapal Pallavi , Wadhwa Nitya , Shrivastava Tripti , Coshic Poonam , Kumar Suresh , Sharma Pragya , Sharma Nandini , Taneja Juhi , Pandey Anil K , Sharma Ashok , Thiruvengadam Ramachandran , Grifoni Alba , Bhatnagar Shinjini , Weiskopf Daniela , Sette Alessandro , Garg Pramod Kumar , Gupta Nimesh
Published: November 2021

The characteristics of immune memory established in response to inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines remains unclear. We determined the magnitude, quality and persistence of cellular and humoral memory responses up to 6 months after vaccination with BBV152/Covaxin. Here, we show that the quantity of vaccine-induced spike- and nucleoprotein-antibodies is comparable to that following natural infection and the antibodies are detectable up to 6 months. The RBD-specific antibodies decline in the range of 3 to 10-fold against the SARS-CoV-2 variants in the order of alpha (B.1.1.7) > delta (B.1.617.2) > beta (B.1.351), with no observed impact of gamma (P.1) and kappa (B.1.617.1) variant. We found that the vaccine induces memory B cells, similar to natural infection, which are impacted by virus variants in the same order as antibodies. The vaccine further induced antigen-specific functionally potent multi-cytokine expressing CD4+ T cells in ∼85% of the subjects, targeting spike and nucleoprotein of SARS-CoV-2. Marginal ∼1.3 fold-reduction was observed in vaccine-induced CD4+ T cells against the beta variant, with no significant impact of the alpha and the delta variants. The antigen-specific CD4+ T cells were populated in the central memory compartment and persisted up to 6 months of vaccination. Importantly the vaccine generated Tfh cells that are endowed with B cell help potential, similar to the Tfh cells induced after natural infection. Altogether, these findings establish that the inactivated virus vaccine BBV152 induces robust immune memory to SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern, which persist for at least 6 months after vaccination. This study provides insight into the attributes of BBV152-elicited immune memory, and has implication for future vaccine development, guidance for use of inactivated virus vaccine, and booster immunization.
COVID-19 vaccination, risk-compensatory behaviours, and contacts in the UK
Authors: Buckell John , Jones Joel , Matthews Philippa C , Diamond Sir Ian , Rourke Emma , Studley Ruth , Cook Duncan , Walker A Sarah , Pouwels Koen B ,   the COVID-19 Infection Survey Team
Published: November 2021

The physiological effects of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) are well documented, yet the behavioural effects are largely unknown. Risk compensation suggests that gains in personal safety, as a result of vaccination, are offset by increases in risky behaviour, such as socialising, commuting and working outside the home. This is potentially problematic because transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is driven by contacts, which could be amplified by vaccine-related risk compensation behaviours. Here, we show that behaviours were overall unrelated to personal vaccination, but - adjusting for variation in mitigation policies - were responsive to the level of vaccination in the wider population: individuals in the UK were risk compensating when rates of vaccination were rising. This effect was observed across four nations of the UK, each of which varied policies autonomously.
Gut-bladder axis syndrome associated with recurrent UTIs in humans
Authors: Worby Colin J. , Schreiber Henry L. , Straub Timothy J. , van Dijk Lucas R. , Bronson Ryan A. , Olson Benjamin , Pinkner Jerome S. , Obernuefemann Chloe L. P. , Muñoz Vanessa L. , Paharik Alexandra E. , Walker Bruce J. , Desjardins Christopher A. , Chou Wen-Chi , Bergeron Karla , Chapman Sinéad B. , Klim Aleksandra , Manson Abigail L. , Hannan Thomas J. , Hooton Thomas M. , Kau Andrew L. , Lai H. Henry , Dodson Karen W. , Hultgren Scott J. , Earl Ashlee M.
Published: November 2021

Recurrent urinary tract infections (rUTIs) are a major health burden worldwide, with history of infection being a significant risk factor. While the gut is a known reservoir for uropathogenic bacteria, the role of the microbiota in rUTI remains unclear. We conducted a year-long study of women with and without history of rUTIs, from whom we collected urine, blood and monthly fecal samples for multi-omic interrogation. The rUTI gut microbiome was significantly depleted in microbial richness and butyrate-producing bacteria compared to controls, reminiscent of other inflammatory conditions, though Escherichia coli gut and bladder dynamics were comparable between cohorts. Blood samples revealed signals of differential systemic immunity, leading us to hypothesize that rUTI susceptibility is in part mediated through a syndrome involving the gut-bladder axis, comprising gut dysbiosis and differential immune response to bacterial bladder colonization, manifesting in symptoms. This work highlights the potential for microbiome therapeutics to prevent and treat rUTIs.
A neonatal ward strengthening program improves survival for neonates treated with CPAP at district hospitals in Malawi
Authors: Carns Jennifer , Liaghati-Mobarhan Sara , Asibon Aba , Ngwala Samuel , Molyneux Elizabeth , Oden Maria , Richards-Kortum Rebecca , Kawaza Kondwani , Chalira Alfred , Lufesi Norman
Published: November 2021

Introduction

From 2013-2015, a CPAP quality improvement program (QIP) was implemented to introduce and monitor CPAP usage and outcomes in the neonatal wards at all government district and central hospitals in Malawi. In 2016 the CPAP QIP was extended into healthcare facilities operated by the Christian Health Association of Malawi. Although clinical outcomes improved, ward assessments indicated that many rural sites lacked other essential equipment and a suitable space to adequately treat sick neonates, which likely limited the impact of improved respiratory care. The aim of this study was to determine if a ward strengthening program improved outcomes for neonates treated with CPAP.

Methods

To address the needs identified from ward assessments, a ward strengthening program was implemented from 2017-2018 at rural hospitals in Malawi to improve the care of sick neonates. The ward strengthening program included the distribution of a bundle of equipment, supplemental training, and, in some cases, health facility renovations. Survival to discharge was compared for neonates treated with CPAP at 12 rural hospitals for one year before and for one year immediately after implementation of the ward strengthening program.

Results

In the year prior to ward strengthening, 189 neonates were treated with CPAP; in the year after, 232 neonates received CPAP. The overall rate of survival for those treated with CPAP improved from 46.6% to 57.3% after ward strengthening (p=0.03). For the subset of neonates with admission weights between 1.00 – 2.49 kg diagnosed with respiratory distress syndrome, survival increased from 39.4% to 60.3% after ward strengthening (p=0.001).

Conclusion

A ward strengthening program including the distribution of a bundle of equipment, supplemental training, and some health facility renovations, further improved survival among neonates treated with CPAP at district-level hospitals in Malawi.
Resistome characterization of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli isolated from wastewater treatment utilities in Oregon
Authors: Easler Maeghan , Cheney Clinton , Johnson Jared D. , Zadeh Marjan Khorshidi , Nguyen Jacquelynn N. , Yiu Sue Yee , Waite-Cusic Joy , Radniecki Tyler S. , Navab-Daneshmand Tala
Published: November 2021

Infections resistant to broad spectrum antibiotics due to the emergence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae is of global concern. This study characterizes the resistome (i.e., entire ecology of resistance determinants) of 11 ESBL-producing Escherichia coli isolates collected from eight wastewater treatment utilities across Oregon. Whole genome sequencing was performed to identify the most abundant antibiotic resistance genes including ESBL-associated genes, virulence factors, as well as their sequence types. Moreover, the phenotypes of antibiotic resistance were characterized. ESBL-associated genes (i.e., blaCMY, blaCTX, blaSHV, blaTEM) were found in all but one of the isolates with five isolates carrying two of these genes (4 with blaCTX and blaTEM; 1 with blaCMY and blaTEM). The ampC gene and virulence factors were present in all the E. coli isolates. Across all the isolates, 31 different antibiotic resistance genes were identified. Additionally, all E. coli isolates harbored phenotypic resistance to beta-lactams (penicillins and cephalosporins), while eight of the 11 isolates carried multi-drug resistance phenotypes (resistance to three or more classes of antibiotics). Findings highlight the risks associated with the presence of ESBL-producing E. coli isolates in wastewater systems that have the potential to enter the environment and may pose direct or indirect risks to human health.
Investigating the source of increased bipolar and major depressive disorder polygenic risk in multiplex schizophrenia families
Authors: Ahangari Mohammad , Kirkpatrick Robert , Nguyen Tan-Hoang , Gillespie Nathan ,   Irish Schizophrenia Genomics Consortium, Kendler Kenneth S. , Bacanu Silviu-Alin , Webb Bradley T. , Verrelli Brian C. , Riley Brien P.
Published: November 2021

Psychotic and affective disorders often aggregate in the relatives of probands with schizophrenia (SCZ), and genetic studies show substantial genetic correlation among SCZ, bipolar disorder (BIP) and major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the nature of this genetic overlap in polygenic risk score (PRS) analyses of multiplex families has not been fully dissected. In the current study, we investigated the polygenic risk burden of BIP and MDD in a sample of 257 multiplex SCZ families (N=1,005) and population controls (N=2,205). Furthermore, due to the strong genetic correlation among SCZ, BIP, and MDD, we examined whether increased BIP or MDD PRS in members of multiplex SCZ families can be attributed to latent genetic factors unique to BIP or MDD, or latent genetic factors that each of these two disorders share with SCZ. Our results indicate that members of multiplex SCZ families have an increased PRS for BIP and MDD, however, this observation is largely attributable to latent genetic factors that BIP or MDD share with SCZ, rather than latent genetic factors unique to them. These results provide new insight for cross-disorder PRS analyses of psychiatric disorders, by cautioning that for complete interpretation of observed cross-disorder PRS enrichment, we should account for genetic correlations across psychiatric disorders. Our findings further indicates that members of multiplex SCZ families may have an increased genetic vulnerability to both psychotic and affective disorders, and for full assessment of an individual’s genetic risk, familial backgrounds should be taken into consideration.
Automated Detection of Cerebral Microbleeds on MR images using Knowledge Distillation Framework
Authors: Sundaresan Vaanathi , Arthofer Christoph , Zamboni Giovanna , Murchison Andrew G. , Dineen Robert A. , Rothwell Peter M. , Auer Dorothee P. , Wang Chaoyue , Miller Karla L. , Tendler Benjamin C. , Alfaro-Almagro Fidel , Sotiropoulos Stamatios N. , Sprigg Nikola , Griffanti Ludovica , Jenkinson Mark
Published: November 2021

Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are associated with white matter damage, various neu-rodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases. CMBs occur as small, circular hypointense lesions on T2*-weighted gradient recalled echo (GRE) and susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) images, and hyperintense on quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) images due to their paramagnetic nature. Accurate detection of CMBs would help to determine the CMB lesion count and distribution, which would be further useful to understand the clinical impact of CMBs and to obtain quantitative imaging biomarkers. In this work, we propose a fully automated, deep learning-based, 2-step algorithm, using structural and anatomical properties of CMBs from any single input image modality (e.g. GRE / SWI / QSM) for their accurate detection. Our method consists of an initial candidate detection step, that detects CMBs with high sensitivity and a candidate discrimination step using a knowledge distillation framework to classify CMB and non-CMB instances, followed by a morphological clean-up step. We used 4 datasets consisting of different modalities specified above, acquired using various protocols and with a variety of pathological and demographic characteristics. On cross-validation within datasets, our method achieved a cluster-wise true positive rate (TPR) over 90% with an average of less than 2 false positives per subject. Our method is flexible in terms of the input modality and provides comparable cluster-wise TPR and a better cluster-wise precision compared to existing state-of-the-art methods. When evaluated across different datasets, our method showed good generalisability with a cluster-wise TPR greater than 80% with different modalities.
Deep-BGCpred: A unified deep learning genome-mining framework for biosynthetic gene cluster prediction
Authors: Yang Ziyi , Liao Benben , Hsieh Changyu , Han Chao , Fang Liang , Zhang Shengyu
Published: November 2021

Natural products produced by microorganisms constitute an important source of essential pharmaceuticals, including antimicrobial and anti-tumor drugs. These bioactive molecules are microbial secondary metabolites synthesized by co-localized genes termed Biosynthetic Gene Clusters (BGCs). The rapid increase of microbial genomics resources, due to the availability of high-throughput sequencing technologies, has spurred the development of computational methods for microbial genome mining for BGC discovery. Current machine learning methods, however, have limited successes in uncovering novel BGCs due to an excessive number of false positives in their predictions. To this end, we propose Deep-BGCpred, a framework that effectively addresses the aforementioned issue by improving a deep learning model termed DeepBGC. The new model embeds multi-source protein family domains and employs a stacked Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory model to boost accuracy for BGC identifications. In particular, it integrates two customized strategies, sliding window strategy and dual-model serial screening, to improve the model’s performance stability and reduce the number of false positive in BGC predictions. We compare the proposed model against other well-established methods on common benchmarks and achieve new state-of-the-art results with convincing evidences. We expect that researchers working on genome mining for natural products may be greatly benefited from our newly proposed method, Deep-BGCpred.
Role of cation-chloride cotransporters, Na/K-pump, and channels in cell water/ionic balance regulation under hyperosmolar conditions: in silico and experimental studies of opposite RVI and AVD responses of U937 cells to hyperosmolar media
Authors: Yurinskaya Valentina E. , Vereninov Alexey A.
Published: November 2021

The work provides a modern mathematical description of animal cell electrochemical system under a balanced state and during the transition caused by an increase in external osmolarity, considering all the main ionic pathways in the cell membrane: the sodium pump, K+, Na+, Cl- electroconductive channels and cotransporters NC, KC, and NKCC. The description is applied to experimental data obtained on U937 cells cultured in suspension, which allows the required assays to be performed, including determination of cell water content using buoyant density, cell ion content using flame photometry, and optical methods using flow cytometry. The study of these cells can serve as a useful model for understanding the general mechanisms of regulation of cellular water and ionic balance, which cannot be properly analyzed in many important practical cases, such as ischemic disturbance of cellular ionic and water balance, when cells cannot be isolated. An essential part of the results is the developed software supplied with an executable file, which allows researchers with no programming experience to calculate unidirectional fluxes of monovalent ions through separate pathways and ion-electrochemical gradients that move ions through them, which is important for studying the functional expression of channels and transporters. It is shown how the developed approach is used to reveal changes in channels and transporters underlying the RVI and AVD responses to the hyperosmolar medium in the studied living U937 cells.
Atrans-acting long non-coding RNA represses flowering inArabidopsis
Authors: Jin Yu , Ivanov Maxim , Dittrich Anna Nelson , Nelson Andrew D. L. , Marquardt Sebastian
Published: November 2021

Eukaryotic genomes give rise to thousands of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), yet the purpose of lncRNAs remains largely enigmatic. Functional characterization of lncRNAs is challenging due to multiple orthogonal hypothesis for molecular activities of lncRNA loci. Here, we identified afloweringassociatedintergeniclncRNA (FLAIL) that represses flowering inArabidopsis. An allelic series offlailloss-of-function mutants generated by CRISPR/Cas9 and T-DNA mutagenesis showed an early flowering phenotype. Gene expression analyses inflailmutants revealed differentially expressed genes linked to the regulation of flowering. A genomic rescue fragment ofFLAILintroduced inflailmutants complemented gene expression defects and early flowering, consistent withtrans-acting effects of theFLAILRNA. Knock-down ofFLAILRNA levels using the artificial microRNA approach revealed an early flowering phenotype shared with genomic mutations, indicating atrans-acting role ofFLAILRNA in the repression of flowering time. Genome-wide detection ofFLAIL-DNA interactions by ChIRP-seq suggested thatFLAILmay directly bind genomic regions.FLAILbound to genes involved in regulation of flowering that were differentially expressed inflail, consistent with the interpretation ofFLAILas atrans-acting lncRNA directly shaping gene expression. Our findings highlightFLAILas atrans-acting lncRNA that affects flowering inArabidopsis, likely through mediating transcriptional regulation of genes directly bound byFLAIL.
Defining the Transcriptional and Epigenetic Basis of Organotypic Endothelial Diversity in the Developing and Adult Mouse
Authors: Gutierrez Manuel E. Cantu , Hill Matthew C. , Largoza Gabrielle , Martin James F. , Wythe Joshua D.
Published: November 2021

Significant phenotypic differences exist between the vascular endothelium of different organs, including cell-cell junctions, paracellular fluid transport, shape, and mural cell coverage. These organ-specific morphological features ultimately manifest as different functional capacities, as demonstrated by the dramatic differences in capillary permeability between the leaky vessels of the liver compared to the almost impermeable vasculature found in the brain. While these morphological and functional differences have been long appreciated, the molecular basis of endothelial organ specialization remains unclear. To determine the epigenetic and transcriptional mechanisms driving this functional heterogeneity, we profiled accessible chromatin, as well as gene expression, in six different organs, across three distinct time points, during murine development and in adulthood. After identifying both common, and organ-specific DNA motif usage and transcriptional signatures, we then focused our studies on the endothelium of the central nervous system. Using single cell RNA-seq, we identified key gene regulatory networks governing brain blood vessel maturation, including TCF/LEF and FOX transcription factors. Critically, these unique regulatory regions and gene expression signatures are evolutionarily conserved in humans. Collectively, this work provides a valuable resource for identifying the transcriptional regulators controlling organ-specific endothelial specialization and provides novel insight into the gene regulatory networks governing the maturation and maintenance of the cerebrovasculature.
Structure of the Quenched Cyanobacterial OCP-Phycobilisome Complex
Authors: Dominguez-Martin Maria Agustina , Sauer Paul V. , Sutter Markus , Kirst Henning , Bina David , Greber Basil J. , Nogales Eva , Polívka Tomáš , Kerfeld Cheryl A.
Published: November 2021

Photoprotection is an essential mechanism in photosynthetic organisms to balance the harvesting of light energy against the risks of photodamage. In cyanobacteria, photoprotective non-photochemical quenching relies on the interaction between a photoreceptor, the Orange Carotenoid Protein (OCP), and the antenna, the phycobilisome (PBS). Here we report the first structure of the OCP-PBS complex at 2.7 Å overall resolution obtained by cryo-electron microscopy. The structure shows that the 6.2 MDa PBS is quenched by four 34 kDa OCP organized as two dimers. The complex also reveals that the structure of the active form of the OCP is drastically different than its resting, non-quenching form, with an ∼60 Å displacement of its regulatory domain. These results provide a high-resolution blueprint of the structural basis of the protective quenching of excess excitation energy that enables cyanobacteria to harvest light energy and fix CO2 across environmentally diverse and dynamic surface of our planet.
LightOCT: Exploring the depth for Retinal disease detection
Authors: Kaur Amandeep , Singh Vinayak , Chakraverty Gargi , Sethi Dimple
Published: November 2021

With the advancement in technology and computation capabilities, identifying retinal damage through state-of-the-art CNNs architectures has led to the speedy and precise diagnosis, thus inhibiting further disease development. In this study, we focus on the classification of retinal damage caused by detecting choroidal neovascularization (CNV), diabetic macular edema (DME), DRUSEN, and NORMAL in optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. The emphasis of our experiment is to investigate the component of depth in the neural network architecture. We introduce a shallow convolution neural network - LightOCT, outperforming the other deep model configurations, with the lowest value of LVCEL and highest accuracy (+98\% in each class). Next, we experimented to find the best fit optimizer for LightOCT. The results proved that the combination of LightOCT and Adam gave the most optimal results. Finally, we compare our approach with transfer learning models, and LightOCT outperforms the state-of-the-art models in terms of computational cost, least training time and gives comparable results in the criteria of accuracy. We would direct our future work to improve the accuracy metrics with shallow models such that the trade-off between training time and accuracy is reduced.
From online data collection to identification of disease mechanisms: The IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNF-α cytokine triad is associated with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 in a digital research cohort
Authors: Schultheiß Christoph , Willscher Edith , Paschold Lisa , Gottschick Cornelia , Klee Bianca , Henkes Svenja-Sibylla , Bosurgi Lidia , Dutzmann Jochen , Sedding Daniel , Frese Thomas , Girndt Matthias , Höll Jessica I. , Gekle Michael , Mikolajczyk Rafael , Binder Mascha
Published: November 2021

Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) emerge as a global problem with unknown molecular drivers. In a digital epidemiology approach, we rapidly recruited 8,077 individuals out of 129,733 households in Halle (Saale) to the cohort study for digital health research in Germany (DigiHero). These responded to a basic questionnaire followed by a PASC-focused survey and blood sampling in case of prior positive SARS-CoV-2 testing in their household. The presented analysis is based on the first 318 DigiHero participants, the majority thereof after mild infections. PASC were reported in 67.8% of cases, consisted predominantly in fatigue, dyspnea and concentration deficit, persisted in 60% over the follow-up period of on average eight months and their resolution was unaffected by post-infection vaccination. PASC was not associated with post-COVID-19 autoantibodies, but with elevated levels of IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNF-α. Blood profiling and single-cell data from validation cohorts with early infection suggested the induction of these cytokines in COVID-19 lung pro-inflammatory macrophages creating a self-sustaining feedback loop. Our data indicate a long-lasting cytokine triad -potentially underlying PASC symptoms - to be driven by macrophage primed during infection. We demonstrate how the combination of digital epidemiology with selective biobanking can rapidly generate hints towards disease mechanisms.
Mediator dynamics during heat shock in budding yeast
Authors: Sarkar Debasish , Zhu Z. Iris , Knoll Elizabeth R. , Paul Emily , Landsman David , Morse Randall H.
Published: November 2021

The Mediator complex is central to transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) in eukaryotes. In budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), Mediator is recruited by activators and associates with core promoter regions, where it facilitates preinitiation complex (PIC) assembly, only transiently before Pol II escape. Interruption of the transcription cycle by inactivation or depletion of Kin28 inhibits Pol II escape and stabilizes this association. However, Mediator occupancy and dynamics have not been examined on a genome-wide scale in yeast grown in nonstandard conditions. Here we investigate Mediator occupancy following heat shock or CdCl2 exposure, with and without depletion of Kin28. We find that Pol II occupancy shows similar dependence on Mediator under normal and heat shock conditions. However, although Mediator association increases at many genes upon Kin28 depletion under standard growth conditions, little or no increase is observed at most genes upon heat shock, indicating a more stable association of Mediator after heat shock. Unexpectedly, Mediator remains associated upstream of the core promoter at genes repressed by heat shock or CdCl2 exposure whether or not Kin28 is depleted, suggesting that Mediator is recruited by activators but is unable to engage PIC components at these repressed targets. This persistent association is strongest at promoters that bind the HMGB family member Hmo1, and is reduced but not eliminated in hmo1Δ yeast. Finally, we show a reduced dependence on PIC components for Mediator occupancy at promoters after heat shock, further supporting altered dynamics or stronger engagement with activators under these conditions.
Case law: Learning tools for organizations
Authors: O'Connor Kimberly W. , Drouin Michelle , Johnson Laci
Published: November 2021

Purpose

In this paper, we examine the use of court cases as learning tools for organizations, drawing upon a case involving a workplace wellness program. The study measures employee perceptions and provides an insight into employee beliefs about wellness plan programming. Practical insights for organizations wanting to incorporate court cases into organizational learning are provided.

Design/methodology/approach

This exploratory study was conducted via Amazon Mechanical Turk survey data (n= 396). We asked participants about their levels of trust in employer-sponsored wellness programs, their understanding of wellness program parameters and limitations, and their perceptions of liability by utilizing the 2017 Whitman v. Interactive Health Solutions court case.

Findings

The results of this study show that, although employees may not fully understand their employer-sponsored wellness programs, they have a high degree of trust in their employers. Additionally, employees have strong beliefs about potential employer and third-party vendor liability when unintended consequences related to wellness plan programming occur.

Originality/value

This study adds to the small, but growing body of research focused on wellness programming in the workplace. Additionally, by measuring employee perceptions of this court case, we discovered a unique approach to problem-based learning.
How does the digital innovation process unfold in practice? A novel third-generation and empirical-based need–solution pairing model
Authors: Allataifeh Haneen , Moghavvemi Sedigheh , Peerally Jahan Ara
Published: November 2021

Purpose

There is a lack of empirical-based models derived from practice to explain the digital innovation process. The authors investigate how the digital innovation process unfolds in practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors undertake an exploratory and phenomenological study of 21 Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector.

Findings

The findings show that the delineation between digital innovation process and outcome is blurred in practice, due to the process' iterative nature. Under this process, customers' role has changed from being passive receivers of innovative products to active reviewers, testers, influential decision-makers, initiators and co-creators at different review points in the innovation process. Enterprises' role has expanded from being the initiator of the innovation process to being a cogitative actor by seeking and absorbing knowledge from customer reviews into the digital innovation process. Market analysis is often the initiator of the digital innovation process, and the findings shed light on the underlying causative mechanisms of the initiation stage, which are understudied and not well understood in the existing literature.

Originality/value

The study contributes to academic knowledge by answering scholars' call for developing third-generation practice-based innovation models, which accounts for enterprises' context-specificities and internal and external environments, and for exploring the suitability of the need–solution fit approach for the digital innovation process. Such models have only been conceptually advocated in the literature. The study also informs practitioners on the organizational and operational activities involved in managing and strategizing for the digital innovation process.
Enablers facilitating industry-academia, transnational education and university-community partnering agility in higher education
Authors: Menon Shalini , Suresh M. , Raghu Raman R.
Published: November 2021

Purpose

The study has a two-fold purpose: first, to identify the enablers of partnering agility in higher education, and, second, to analyze the interplay between the enablers.

Design/methodology/approach

Total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) was used to construct a theoretical model of partnering agility enablers, and cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) analysis was used to rank and segregate the enablers into independent, autonomous, dependent and linkage zones on the basis of their driving and dependence power.

Findings

The study helped in identifying eight enablers that can be instrumental in driving partnering agility in higher education. According to the TISM model, clarity on roles and responsibilities of partners was found to be the most crucial and vital enabler followed by resource sharing.

Practical implications

The conceptual model provides a new direction on how to develop and strengthen higher education partnerships. The model has prioritized all the crucial enablers that the management can work around in order to drive partnering agility in higher education institutions.

Originality/value

Studies in the past have majorly focused on academia–industry partnerships. This research has tried to provide a comprehensive view of the enablers and the multidirectional interplay between the enablers that can facilitate partnerships between academia and industry, Indian and international universities, and academia and community.
The impact of COVID-19 on hotel customer satisfaction: evidence from Beijing and Shanghai in China
Authors: Sun Shaolong , Jiang Fuxin , Feng Gengzhong , Wang Shouyang , Zhang Chengyuan
Published: November 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide better service to hotel customers during the COVID-19 era. Specifically, this study focuses on understanding the changes in hotel customer satisfaction during the epidemic and formulating effective marketing strategies to satisfy and attract guests.

Design/methodology/approach

As the first victim of the COVID-19 virus, China’s hotel industry has been profoundly affected and customer satisfaction and needs have also changed. Taking 105,635 hotel reviews obtained from Tripadvisor.com in Beijing and Shanghai as samples, this study explores the changes in consumer satisfaction by using text-mining methods.

Findings

The results suggest that there are significant differences in overall ratings, spatial distribution and ratings of different traveller types before and after the epidemic. Generally, customers have higher “tolerance” and are more inclined to give higher ratings and pay more attention to hotel prevention and control measures to reduce health risks after the COVID-19.

Research limitations/implications

This paper proves the changes in customer satisfaction before and after the COVID-19 at the theoretical level and reveals the changes in customer attention through the topic model and provides a basis for guiding hotel managers to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

Practical implications

Empirical findings would provide useful insights into tourism management and improve hotel service quality during the COVID-19 epidemic era.

Originality/value

This research explores the hotel customer satisfaction in the field of hotel management before COVID-19 and after COVID-19, by using text mining to analyse mandarin online reviews. The results of this study will suggest that the hotel industry should continuously adjust its products and services based on the effective information obtained from customer reviews, so as to realize the activation and revitalization of the hotel industry in the epidemic era.
Impacts of high-involvement HRM practices on organizational innovation capability: the mediating mechanism of tacit and explicit knowledge sharing
Authors: Cao Thanh Thi , Le Phong Ba , Nguyen Nhan Thi Minh
Published: November 2021

Purpose

Given the important role of knowledge sharing (KS) processes for organizational innovation, the purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating roles of tacit and explicit KS in bridging the relationship between high-involvement human resource management (HRM) practices and specific aspects of innovation capability, namely, product and process innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

Analysis of moment structures and structural equation modeling are applied to examine the correlation among the constructs based on the survey data collected from 111 manufacturing and service firms.

Findings

The empirical findings reveal that KS processes positively mediate the relationship between high-involvement HRM practices and innovation capability. It highlights the important role of explicit KS in fostering aspects of innovation capability compared to the effects of tacit KS on aspect of innovation capability.

Practical implications

Vietnamese firms should pay much attention to high-involvement HRM practices to improve their innovation capabilities. In addition, fostering the willingness of employees for sharing tacit knowledge (e.g. experiences, uncommon understandings and insights) and explicit knowledge (e.g. formal information, official documents and reports and procedures and policies) is one of the most optimal solutions for firms to pursuit product and process innovation capability.

Originality/value

This paper significantly contributes to increasing knowledge and insights on the correlation between high-involvement HRM practices and specific forms of innovation. The understanding on mediating role of KS processes contributes to advancing the body of knowledge of HRM practices and innovation theory.
Characterizing the health experience of Tuvaluan migrants in Auckland, New Zealand
Authors: Emont Jordan Paul , O’Brien Seipua , Nosa Vili , Toll Elizabeth Terry , Goldman Roberta
Published: November 2021

Purpose

It is predicted that increasing numbers of citizens of the Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu will migrate to New Zealand in the coming decades due to the threat of climate change. Tuvaluans currently living in New Zealand face disparities in income, education and health. This study aims to understand the views of recent Tuvaluan immigrants to Auckland, New Zealand on health behaviors, health care and immigration.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews and participant observation using a focused ethnography methodology.

Findings

Participants explained that Tuvaluans in New Zealand do not fully use primary care services, have a poorer diet and physical activity compared to those living in Tuvalu, and struggle to maintain well-paying, full-time employment.

Practical implications

As Tuvaluan immigration to New Zealand continues, it will be important to educate the Tuvaluan community about the role of primary health-care services and healthy behaviors, facilitate the current process of immigration and provide job training to recent immigrants to improve their opportunities for full-time employment and ensure cultural survival in the face of the threat of climate change.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to a greater understanding of the challenges to be faced by Tuvaluan environmental migrants in the future and features a high proportion of study participants who migrated due to climate change.
High-cycle and very-high-cycle fatigue behavior of a stainless steel for air-conditioning compressor valve plates
Authors: Jia Xu , Xiang Yang Ou , Pei Hu Yuan , Wei Song
Published: November 2021

Purpose

The investigations could guide the structural design and fatigue life prediction of air-conditioning compressor valve plates.

Design/methodology/approach

The High-Cycle Fatigue (HCF) and Very-High-Cycle Fatigue (VHCF) behaviors of stainless steel used for air-conditioning compressor valve plates were investigated. Monotonic and cyclic loading conditions were designed to explore the fatigue responses according to the load characteristics of the structure.

Findings

The crack initiation can be observed as the arc-shaped cracks at both sides of specimens and Y-shaped crack bifurcation in the specimens. Moreover, the middle section and the cracks at both ends are not connected to the surface of the specimen. The stress-life results of the materials under two directions (vertical and horizontal) were provided to examine the difference in fatigue strength.

Originality/value

Monotonic and cyclic loading conditions were designed to explore the fatigue responses according to the load characteristics of the structure. Based on the experimental data, the results indicate that specimens under cyclic loading conditions could demonstrate better mechanical performance than static loadings.
Is helicopter parenting stifling moral courage and promoting moral disengagement? Implications for the training and development of millennial managers
Authors: Evans Randy , Karl Katherine A.
Published: November 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the ethical foundations of Gen Z individuals by studying the impact of helicopter parenting on moral courage and moral disengagement. In addition, this study considers the implications for Millennial generation managers that are likely to be supervising this current generational cohort.

Design/methodology/approach

Hypotheses were tested using a two-wave online survey of 215 undergraduate students.

Findings

Helicopter parenting was associated with lower levels of moral courage and an elevated propensity to morally disengage in a sample of Gen Z individuals. The impact of helicopter parenting on these moral foundations was mediated by the children’s increased desire for continued parental involvement in their lives.

Practical implications

Similar to the Gen Z students surveyed in this study, many Millennials were raised by helicopter parents, thus, it is likely that they are also prone to moral disengagement and low moral courage. Furthermore, Millennial managers will be managing Gen Z workers. Thus, many companies will need to enhance their efforts in providing Millennial managers with business ethics training aimed at developing moral courage and reducing moral disengagement.

Originality/value

This study examines a previously unidentified antecedent of moral courage and moral disengagement