bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
COVID-19 mortality among working-age Americans in 46 states, by industry and occupation
Authors: Chen Yea-Hung , Chen Ruijia , Charpignon Marie-Laure , Kiang Mathew V , Riley Alicia R , Glymour M Maria , Bibbins-Domingo Kirsten , Stokes Andrew C
Published: March 2022

Introduction

A small body of epidemiological research suggests that working in an essential sector is a risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection or subsequent disease or mortality. However, there is limited evidence to date on the US, or on how the risks associated with essential work differ across demographic subgroups defined by age, sex, and race/ethnicity.

Methods

Using publicly available data from the National Center for Health Statistics on deaths occurring in the US in 2020, we calculated per-capita COVID-19 mortality by industry and occupation. We additionally calculated per-capita COVID-19 mortality by essential industry—essential or not—by age group, sex, and race/ethnicity.

Results

Among non-military individuals and individuals with a known industry or occupation, there were 48,030 reported COVID-19 deaths, representing 25.1 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 working-age individuals after age standardization. Per-capita age-standardized COVID-19 mortality was 1.96 times higher among essential workers than among workers in non-essential industries, representing an absolute difference of 14.9 per 100,000. Across industry, per-capita age-standardized COVID-19 mortality was highest in the following industries: accommodation and food services (45.4 per 100,000); transportation and warehousing (43.4); agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (42.3); mining (39.6); and construction (38.7).

Discussion

Given that SARS-CoV-2 is an airborne virus, we call for collaborative efforts to ensure that workplace settings are properly ventilated and that workers have access to effective masks. We also urge for paid sick leave, which can help increase vaccine access and minimize disease transmission.
Severe outcomes in unvaccinated COVID-19 cases <18 years during different variant waves in Norway
Authors: Whittaker Robert , Greve-Isdahl Margrethe , Bøås Håkon , Suren Pål , Buanes Eirik Alnes , Veneti Lamprini
Published: March 2022

Objectives

We used linked individual-level data from national registries to compare the risk of severe outcomes among unvaccinated COVID-19 cases <18 years between waves of the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha, Delta and Omicron variants in Norway.

Methods

Our outcomes were hospitalisation with acute COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). We calculated adjusted risk ratios (aRR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using multivariable log-binomial regression, adjusting for variant wave, demographic characteristics and underlying comorbidities.

Results

We included 10,538 Alpha (21 hospitalised with acute COVID-19, 7 MIS-C), 42,362 Delta (28 acute COVID-19, 14 MIS-C) and 82,907 Omicron wave cases (48 acute COVID-19, 7 MIS-C). The risk of hospitalisation with acute COVID-19 in cases <1 year was lower in the Delta (aRR: 0.28, 95% CI: 0.16–0.89) and Omicron wave (aRR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.20–0.81), compared to the Alpha wave. We found no difference in the risk for this outcome for Omicron compared to Delta in any age group. The risk of MIS-C was lower in the Omicron wave compared to the Alpha (aRR: 0.09, 95% CI: 0.03–0.27) and Delta wave (aRR: 0.26, 95% CI: 0.10–0.63).

Conclusions

We found no evidence of a difference in the risk of hospitalisation due to acute COVID-19 among unvaccinated cases <18 years for Omicron compared to Delta, but a reduced risk among cases <1 year in Omicron and Delta waves, compared to Alpha. Results also suggest a decrease in the risk of MIS-C in the Omicron wave compared to the Alpha and Delta waves.

Article Summary

We compare the risk of severe outcomes in unvaccinated COVID-19 cases <18 years between waves of the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha, Delta and Omicron variant in Norway.

What’s Known on This Subject

Currently, limited evidence suggests no clear difference in the risk of severe disease outcomes among children infected with different SARS-CoV-2 variants. The risk of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children following infection with the Omicron variant has not been quantified.

What This Study Adds

We find a lower risk of hospitalisation due to acute COVID-19 among cases <1 year in the Delta and Omicron waves compared to the Alpha wave, and a lower risk of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in the Omicron wave, in Norway.
NOMe-HiC: joint profiling of genetic variants, DNA methylation, chromatin accessibility, and 3D genome in the same DNA molecule
Authors: Fu Hailu , Zheng Haizi , Chen Xiaoting , Weirauch Matthew T. , Muglia Louis J. , Wang Li , Liu Yaping
Published: March 2022

Cis-regulatory elements coordinate the regulation of their targeted genes’ expression. However, the joint measurement of cis-regulatory elements’ activities and their interactions in spatial proximity is limited by the current sequencing approaches. We describe a method, NOMe-HiC, which simultaneously captures single nucleotide polymorphisms, DNA methylation, chromatin accessibility (GpC methyltransferase footprints), and chromosome conformation changes from the same DNA molecule, together with the transcriptome, in a single assay. NOMe-HiC shows high concordance with state-of-the-art mono-omic assays across different molecular measurements and reveals coordinated chromatin accessibility at distal genomic segments in spatial proximity and novel types of long-range allele-specific chromatin accessibility.
Memory reactivation in slow wave sleep enhances relational learning
Authors: Santamaria Lorena , Kashif Ibad , McGinley Niall , Lewis Penelope A.
Published: March 2022

Sleep has been shown to boost the integration of memories, and thus to facilitate relational learning. This benefit is thought to rely upon memory reactivation during non-REM sleep. We set out to test this possibility by explicitly cueing such reactivation using a technique called targeted memory reactivation (TMR), in which sounds are paired with learned material in wake and then softly played back to the participant in sleep, triggering reactivation of the associated memories. Specifically, we tested whether TMR during slow wave sleep leads to enhancements in inferential thinking in a transitive inference task. Because the Up-phase of the slow oscillation is more responsive to external cues than the Down-phase, we also asked whether stimulation at this specific phase is more beneficial for such integration. Our data show that Up-phase TMR boosts the ability to make inferences, but only for the most distant inferential leaps. Such stimulation was also associated with detectable memory reinstatement, whereas Down-phase stimulation produced no such trace and led to below-chance performance. These findings demonstrate that cueing memory reactivation at the right time points in sleep can provide a direct benefit to difficult relational learning problems.

Significance Statement

Memory reactivation in sleep is thought to be important for integrative thinking. We examined this by explicitly cueing reactivation of a transitive inference task during slow wave sleep using Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR). Because TMR at different phases of the slow oscillation has different impacts, we cued different hierarchies at Up and Down phases. Up-phase TMR enhanced inferential performance and was associated with classifiable memory reactivation. Conversely, Down-phase TMR lead to a short-term impairment in inferential thinking and no detectable reactivation. These findings provide the first evidence that TMR can boost transitive inference and is thus important for integration and reasoning.
Protein language models trained on multiple sequence alignments learn phylogenetic relationships
Authors: Lupo Umberto , Sgarbossa Damiano , Bitbol Anne-Florence
Published: March 2022

Self-supervised neural language models with attention have recently been applied to biological sequence data, advancing structure, function and mutational effect prediction. Some protein language models, including MSA Transformer and AlphaFold’s EvoFormer, take multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) of evolutionarily related proteins as inputs. Simple combinations of MSA Transformer’s row attentions have led to state-of-the-art unsupervised structural contact prediction. We demonstrate that similarly simple, and universal, combinations of MSA Transformer’s column attentions strongly correlate with Hamming distances between sequences in MSAs. There-fore, MSA-based language models encode detailed phylogenetic relationships. We further show that these models can separate coevolutionary signals encoding functional and structural constraints from phylogenetic correlations reflecting historical contingency. To assess this, we generate synthetic MSAs, either without or with phylogeny, from Potts models trained on natural MSAs. We find that unsupervised contact prediction is substantially more resilient to phylogenetic noise when using MSA Transformer versus inferred Potts models.
Measurement of plant water status via static uniaxial compression of the leaf lamina
Authors: Fuenzalida Tomás I. , Binks Oliver , Bryant Callum J. , Wolfe Joe , Ball Marilyn C.
Published: March 2022

Turgor pressure is an essential, but difficult to measure indicator of plant water status. Turgor has been quantified by localised compression of cells or tissues, but a simple method to perform these measurements is lacking. We hypothesized that changes in leaf turgor pressure can be monitored by uniaxially compressing the leaf lamina and measuring the mechanical stress under a constrained thickness (stress relaxation); and that changes in leaf water content can be monitored by measuring the thickness of the leaf lamina compressed under a constant force (creep). Using a custom-built leaf squeeze-flow rheometer, we performed different compression tests on leaves from thirteen plant species. The equilibrium mechanical stress measured during stress relaxation was correlated with leaf turgor pressure (R2 > 0.95) and thus with leaf water potential (R2 > 0.94); the equilibrium leaf thickness measured during creep was correlated with relative water content (R2 > 0.74). The coefficients of these relationships were related to the leaf osmotic pressure at the turgor-loss point. An idealised average-cell model suggests that, under isothermal conditions, the bulk cell stiffness during compression is largely determined by the leaf osmotic pressure. Our study presents an inexpensive, accessible and automatable method to monitor plant water status non-invasively.
Cellular compartmentalisation and receptor promiscuity as a strategy for accurate and robust inference of position during morphogenesis
Authors: Iyer Krishnan S , Prabhakara Chaitra , Mayor Satyajit , Rao Madan
Published: March 2022

Precise spatial patterning of cell fate during morphogenesis requires accurate inference of cellular position. In making such inferences from morphogen profiles, cells must contend with inherent stochasticity in morphogen production, transport, sensing and signalling. Motivated by the multitude of signalling mechanisms in various developmental contexts, we show how cells may utilise multiple tiers of processing (compartmentalisation) and parallel branches (multiple receptor types), together with feedback control, to bring about fidelity in morphogenetic decoding of their positions within a developing tissue. By simultaneously deploying specific and nonspecific receptors, cells achieve a more accurate and robust inference. We explore these ideas in the patterning ofDrosophila melanogasterwing imaginal disc by Wingless morphogen signalling, where multiple endocytic pathways participate in decoding the morphogen gradient. The geometry of the inference landscape in the high dimensional space of parameters provides a measure for robustness and delineatesstiffandsloppydirections. This distributed information processing at the scale of the cell highlights how local cell autonomous control facilitates global tissue scale design.
Inhibiting presynaptic calcium channel mobility in the auditory cortex suppresses synchronized input processing
Authors: Deane Katrina E. , Klymentiev Ruslan , Heck Jennifer , Mark Melanie D. , Ohl Frank W. , Heine Martin , Happel Max F. K.
Published: March 2022

The emergent coherent population activity from thousands of stochastic neurons in the brain is believed to constitute a key neuronal mechanism for salient processing of external stimuli and its link to internal states like attention and perception. In the sensory cortex, functional cell assemblies are formed by recurrent excitation and inhibitory influences. The stochastic dynamics of each cell involved is largely orchestrated by presynaptic CAV2.1 voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs). Cav2.1 VGCCs initiate the release of neurotransmitters from the presynaptic compartment and are therefore able to add variability into synaptic transmission which can be partly explained by their mobile organization around docked vesicles. To investigate the relevance of Cav2.1 channel surface mobility for the input processing in the primary auditory cortex (A1) in vivo, we make use of a new optogenetic system which allows us to acutely cross-link Cav2.1 VGCCs via a photo-cross-linkable cryptochrome mutant, CRY2olig. In order to map neuronal activity across all cortical layers of the A1, we performed laminar current-source density (CSD) recordings with varying auditory stimulus sets in transgenic mice with a citrine tag on the N-terminus of the VGCCs. Clustering VGCCs suppresses overall sensory-evoked population activity, particularly when stimuli lead to a highly synchronized distribution of synaptic inputs. Our findings reveal the importance of membrane dynamics of presynaptic calcium channels for sensory encoding by dynamically adjusting network activity across a wide range of synaptic input strength.

Statement of Significance

Voltage Gated Calcium Channel (VGCC) mobility plays an important role in neuronal firing dynamics. Failure of these channels to function or be regulated has been linked to migraine and ataxia. We here link the microscopic process of VGCC mobility to the mesoscopic population dynamics as a mechanism to regulate and appropriately amplify synaptic inputs of different strengths to the mouse primary auditory cortex. We also demonstrate a novel and effective technique with which VGCC function can be further explored in meso- or macroscopic scales and with behaving subjects. We believe that this is of importance to the broader scientific community in aspects of non-linear scaling in the brain, potential translational applications, and basic research on cortical mechanisms of physiological function.
Mechanism and consequence of daily modulation of cortical parvalbumin-positive inhibitory neurons
Authors: Zong Fang-Jiao , Zhang Xue-Ting , Zhang Yan , Min Xia , Liu Yang , He Kai-Wen
Published: March 2022

Parvalbumin-positive (PV) neurons, the main class of inhibitory neurons in the neocortex, play critical roles in maintaining normal brain function and are implicated in a variety of brain disorders. Here we found that their function is modulated in a time- and sleep-dependent manner naturally during the day. We first show that PV-evoked inhibition is stronger by the end of the light (ZT12) compared to the end of dark (ZT0) cycle. In addition, both PV’s excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission slowly oscillate but in the opposite directions during the light/dark cycle. Whereas excitatory synapses are predominantly regulated by experience, inhibitory synapses are regulated by sleep. Mechanistically, we found that the daily regulation of PV’s inhibitory synapses is mediated by acetylcholine activating M1 receptors. Consistent with our ex vivo findings, we show in vivo that PV’s spontaneous activity display clear oscillation, which is opposite to that of the pyramidal neurons. Finally, we demonstrate that the daily changes in PV neural activity negatively correlate with the dLGN-evoked responses in V1, underscoring the physiological significance of PV’s daily regulation.
Intracellular Aβ42 aggregation leads to cellular thermogenesis
Authors: Chung Chyi Wei , Stephens Amberley D. , Konno Tasuku , Ward Edward , Avezov Edward , Kaminski Clemens F. , Hassanali Ali , Kaminski Schierle Gabriele S.
Published: March 2022

The aggregation of Aβ42 is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. It is still not known what the biochemical changes are inside a cell which will eventually lead to Aβ42 aggregation. Thermogenesis has been associated with cellular stress, the latter of which may promote aggregation. We perform intracellular thermometry measurements using fluorescent polymeric thermometers (FPTs) to show that Aβ42 aggregation in live cells leads to an increase in cell-averaged temperatures. This rise in temperature is mitigated upon treatment with an aggregation inhibitor of Aβ42 and is independent of mitochondrial damage that can otherwise lead to thermogenesis. With this, we present a diagnostic assay which could be used to screen small-molecule inhibitors to amyloid proteins in physiologically relevant settings. To interpret our experimental observations and motivate the development of future models, we perform classical molecular dynamics of model Aβ peptides to examine the factors that hinder thermal disspation. We observe that this is controlled by the presence of ions in its surrounding environment, the morphology of the amyloid peptides and the extent of its hydrogen-bonding interactions with water. We show that aggregation and heat retention by Aβ peptides are favoured under intracellular-mimicking ionic conditions, which could potentially promote thermogenesis. The latter will, in turn, trigger further nucleation events that accelerate disease progression.
Influenza A virus RNA Polymerase targets the chromatin of innate immune response genes
Authors: Yi Jia , Morel Jessica , Costallat Mickaël , Lejal Nathalie , Delmas Bernard , Muchardt Christian , Batsché Eric
Published: March 2022

The influenza A virus (IAV) profoundly affects host cell nuclear processes to accommodate for its transcription. In particular, the IAV RNA polymerase (FluPol) associates with host genes to snatch capped 5’-ends from nascent messenger RNAs, that are then used to prime viral transcription. The extend of FluPol-host gene interaction and its actual consequence on host transcription are still poorly characterized. We show here, using genome-wide approaches, that the PA, PB1, and PB2 subunits of FluPol establish contacts with both chromatin and RNA transcripts at promoters, but also within the coding region of genes. These interactions also reach into downstream regions where recruitment of FluPol subunits correlates with previously reported transcription termination defects induced by IAV, indicative of an implication of the FluPol in this viral strategy to limit host cell defense by interfering with transcription re-initiation. The latter is further suggested by a bias in the FluPol genomic targets, enriched in genes associated with anti-viral defense. Together, our observations suggest that FluPol-chromatin binding contributes to targeted dampening of host immune response pathways.
CRISPRi screen for enhancing heterologous α-amylase yield in Bacillus subtilis
Authors: Geissler Adrian Sven , Fehler Annaleigh Ohrt , Poulsen Line Dahl , González-Tortuero Enrique , Kallehauge Thomas Beuchert , Alkan Ferhat , Anthon Christian , Seemann Stefan Ernst , Rasmussen Michael Dolberg , Breüner Anne , Hjort Carsten , Vinther Jeppe , Gorodkin Jan
Published: March 2022

Enhancing yield during bacterial enzyme production could have positive economic and environmental impacts. For cell factories, such improvements in yields could potentially be obtained by fine-tuning the metabolic processes and their regulatory mechanisms for gene candidates. In pursuit of such candidates, we performed RNA-sequencing of two α-amylase producing Bacillus strains and predict hundreds of putative novel non-coding transcribed regions. Complex operons that are regulated by a wide variety of transcription factors, non-coding and structured RNAs add to the challenge of finding yield-affecting candidates. Surprisingly, we found that non-coding genomic regions are proportionally undergoing the highest changes in expression during fermentation (75% of novel RNA predictions had absolute logFC > 2). Since these classes of RNA are also understudied, we targeted the corresponding genomic regions with CRIPSRi knockdown to test for any potential impact on the yield. From differentially expressed annotations, including both novel candidate and prior annotated ncRNAs, we selected 53 non-coding candidates. The targeting with CRISPRi knockdowns transcription in a genomic region on both the sense and the antisense strand. Thus, the CRISPRi experiment cannot link causes for yield changes to the sense or antisense disruption. Nevertheless, we observed on several instances with strong changes in enzyme yield. The knockdown targeting the genomic region for a putative antisense RNA of the 3’ UTR of the skfA-skfH operon led to a 21% increase in yield. In contrast, the knockdown targeting the genomic regions of putative antisense RNAs of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (ctaD), the sigma factor sigH, and the uncharacterized gene yhfT decreased yields by 31 to 43%.
S-adenosylmethionine synthases specify distinct H3K4me3 populations and gene expression patterns during heat stress
Authors: Godbole Adwait A. , Gopalan Sneha , Nguyen Thien-Kim , Munden Alexander , Vo Paula , Lewis Caroline A. , Spinelli Jessica B. , Fazzio Thomas G. , Walker Amy K.
Published: March 2022

Methylation is a widely occurring modification that requires the methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and acts in regulation of gene expression and other processes. SAM is synthesized from methionine, which is imported or generated through the 1-carbon cycle (1CC). Alterations in 1CC function have clear effects on lifespan and stress responses, but the wide distribution of this modification has made identification of specific mechanistic links difficult. Exploiting a dynamic stress-induced transcription model, we find that two SAM synthases inCaenorhabditis elegans, SAMS-1 and SAMS-4, contribute differently to modification of H3K4me3, gene expression and survival. We find thatsams-4enhances H3K4me3 in heat shocked animals lackingsams-1, however,sams-1cannot compensate forsams-4, which is required to survive heat stress. This suggests that the regulatory functions of SAM depend on its enzymatic source and that provisioning of SAM may be an important regulatory step linking 1CC function to phenotypes in aging and stress.
Interfering with plant developmental timing promotes susceptibility to insect vectors of a bacterial parasite
Authors: Huang Weijie , Hogenhout Saskia A.
Published: March 2022

Multi-trophic parasites often modulate host behaviors and development to attract other hosts. However, whether these modulations are controlled by specific parasite genes and are adaptive remains debated. Insect-transmitted phytoplasma parasites take control of their plant host by turning them into ‘Zombie plants’, which feature spectacular vegetative organ proliferations and juvenilization. The phytoplasma effector SAP05 induces these symptoms by mediating the degradation of multiple plant SPL and GATA developmental transcription factors via recruiting the ubiquitin receptor RPN10. Here, we investigated if these SAP05-induced modulations impact the leafhopper vectors on which phytoplasmas depend for spread. SAP05 promotes leafhopper reproduction on Arabidopsis thaliana in a RPN10-dependent manner. Moreover, SAP05 homologs that degrade SPLs and both SPLs and GATAs promote leafhopper reproduction, whereas those that degrade only GATAs do not. Leafhoppers also produced more progeny on plants with misregulated MiR156, which suppresses SPL expression. SPLs control several developmental processes. Surprisingly, leaf color and shape changes and increased leaf numbers did not correlate to leafhopper progeny increases, whereas disturbing the plant phase transition processes did. Therefore, only specific phenotypes induced by a single parasite gene extend beyond one host to control another and promote host-host attractions of a multi-trophic parasite.
High fat diet initiates rapid adaptation of the intestine
Authors: Enriquez Jacob R. , McCauley Heather A. , Zhang Kevin X. , Sanchez J. Guillermo , Kalin Gregory T. , Lang Richard A. , Wells James M.
Published: March 2022

While the systemic impacts of overnutrition are well-known to cause obesity and metabolic syndrome over the course of months, the immediate adaptive response of the intestinal epithelium to dietary changes remains poorly understood. Here we used physiological metrics and single cell analyses to interrogate the adaptive response of intestinal epithelial cells when moved to a high fat diet (HFD). Within 1 day of HFD exposure, mice exhibited altered feeding behavior, an increase in energy expenditure and an increase in intestinal epithelial proliferation. Single cell transcriptional analysis demonstrated several acute cellular changes on day 1, including a cell-stress response in intestinal crypts, de-granularization of Paneth cells, and a shift towards fatty acid cellular metabolism. By 3 days of HFD, there was an emergence of uncommitted progenitors with a transcriptional profile indicative of a shift from secretory populations and towards an absorptive fate. In enterocytes, genes regulating lipid transport and absorption increased over the first 3 days which paralleled a functional increase in lipid absorption in vivo over the course of 7 days on HFD. These findings demonstrate that intestinal epithelial cell populations respond rapidly to changes in diet through initial changes in cellular function followed by a shift in cellular composition.
Structure-function conservation between the methyltransferases SETD3 and SETD6
Authors: Elisha Lee , Abaev-Schneiderman Elina , Cohn Ofir , Shapira Guy , Shomron Noam , Feldman Michal , Levy Dan
Published: March 2022

Among the protein lysine methyltransferases family members, it appears that SETD6 is highly similar and closely related to SETD3. The two methyltransferases show high similarity in their structure, which raised the hypothesis that they share cellular functions. Using a proteomic screen, we identified 52 shared interacting-proteins. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis of the shared proteins revealed significant enrichment of proteins involved in transcription. Our RNA-seq data of SETD6 KO and SETD3 KO HeLa cells identified ∼100 up-regulated and down-regulated shared genes. We have also identified a substantial number of genes that changed dramatically in the double KO cells but did not significantly change in the single KO cells. GO analysis of these genes revealed enrichment of apoptotic genes. Accordingly, we show that the double KO cells displayed high apoptotic levels, suggesting that SETD6 and SETD3 inhibit apoptosis. Collectively, our data strongly suggest a functional link between SETD6 and SETD3 in the regulation of apoptosis.
Crystal structure of (E)-3-({6-[2-(4-chlorophenyl)ethenyl]-3-oxo-2,3-dihydropyridazin-4-yl}methyl)pyridin-1-ium chloride dihydrate
Authors: Daoui Said , Çınar Emine Berrin , Dege Necmi , Benchat Noureddine , Saif Eiad , Karrouchi Khalid
Published: March 2022

In the title compound, C18H15ClN3O+·Cl−·2H2O, three intramolecular hydrogen bonds are observed, N—H...O, O—H...Cl and O—H...O. In the crystal, molecules are connected by C—H...Cl and N—H...O hydrogen bonds. Strong C—H...Cl, N—H...O, O—H...Cl and O—H...O hydrogen-bonding interactions are implied by the Hirshfeld surface analysis, which indicate that H...H contacts make the largest contribution to the overall crystal packing at 33.0%.
Effects of customer characteristics and service quality on share of wallet in neighbourhood shops based on an asymmetric approach
Authors: Osakwe Christian Nedu
Published: March 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of customer share of wallet (SoW) based on research in customer characteristics and the retail service quality model. Specifically, this study adopts an asymmetrical modelling approach to provide insights into the necessary and sufficient conditions leading to increased customer SoW in the context of neighbourhood shops in Southern Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to analyse survey data collected from 523 current customers of the shops.

Findings

This study reveals that large household size and low income are necessary conditions for increased SoW. It also reveals five unique customer profiles, or casual recipes, associated with increased customer SoW. More generally, this study demonstrates that service quality constituents (personal interaction, reliability, policy and physical aspects of the shop) and customer characteristics, namely, relationship duration, household size, gender and income-level act in combination to lead to customer SoW.

Originality/value

This study illustrates how service quality constituents and customer characteristics compete and/or complement each other in relation to increased customer SoW. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to provide evidence on the necessary conditions for increased SoW, especially in the neighbourhood shop context of a developing economy. Value-wise, this paper provides a more nuanced perspective to understanding how unique customer profiles are associated with increased SoW.
Impacts of economic and social motivations on makers' exploitation and exploration activities in makerspaces
Authors: Yang Zhi , Lu Hui , Bao Jiaxin
Published: March 2022

Purpose

Makerspaces, which serve as fertile grounds for makers' innovation activities, are rapidly increasing in emerging markets to help unleash a massive wave of bottom-up innovation and encourage broader participation in entrepreneurial activities. Makers' motivations to innovate are key antecedents of their subsequent innovative behavior. The paper aims to investigate the impact of makers' innovation motivations (both economic and social motivations) on their exploration and exploitation activities in makerspaces and the moderating role of the makerspace climate for innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted for 139 individual makers from five makerspaces in China to test the research hypotheses.

Findings

Economic motivation positively affected the degree of exploitative innovation and was negatively related to the degree of exploratory innovation. In contrast, social motivation negatively affected the degree of exploitative innovation and was positively related to the degree of exploratory innovation. The makerspace climate for innovation strengthened the relationship between social motivation and exploratory innovation and exacerbated the negative effect of economic motivation on exploration.

Practical implications

The results offer managers a better understanding of how makers' motivation to participate in makerspaces affects their innovative behavior. Such information can guide makerspaces in designing their incentive policies and recruiting makers in line with their values to amplify makers' creative potential.

Originality/value

The empirical results reveal the impacts of economic and social motivations on makers' exploration and exploitation activities in makerspaces. They thus provide new insights into how different motivations give rise to different innovative behaviors and imply how makers' innovation activities can be managed effectively.
Regulatory reform and the regulatory state in the post-COVID-19 world
Authors: Tomic Slobodan , Heims Eva
Published: March 2022

Purpose

Reflecting on recent empirical developments as well as insights from regulatory state theory, the paper considers directions in which the regulatory state could develop in the post-COVID-19 era.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a de-contextualised analysis of regulatory developments drawing on the prior regulatory state literature and literature on post-crisis responses. Taking into account recent empirical developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the paper sets out, in a comparative context, scenarios for the future development of the regulatory state.

Findings

Predicting the direction in which the regulatory state will develop is challenging, particularly at this early stage. Yet, we provide a conceptual framework for thinking about possible futures of the regulatory state and how domestic and international factors might mediate these futures.

Originality/value

The paper provides a structured approach to the analysis of the regulatory state bringing together insights from the literature on the regulatory state, public management reform, and global regulatory shifts.
Generating shared value: intersection between organisations that invest in social innovation
Authors: Gonçalves Malcon Santos , d'Angelo Marcia Juliana , Rocha Raysa Geaquinto
Published: March 2022

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how organizations that invest in social innovation – such as for-profit and social enterprises – organize and shape the dynamics between social innovation and transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a qualitative interpretative study through the theoretical lens of social innovation. The organizational phenomenon studied was the business strategy for sustainable regional development of a Brazilian financial institution. Secondary data were collected from financial institution’s documents. The data analysis followed a categorization technique.

Findings

This research presents five intersectional elements that act as agglutinating factors between the structural elements common to these organizations: the processes (inter-organizational and intra-organizational), the forms of materialization of social innovation (products, experiences and replicable forms) and the impacts (in society and organization).

Practical implications

The paper contributes to the debate about social innovation as to its definition, showing that it is both a phenomenon and a theory, which is still little explored. In particular, in emerging countries, such as Brazil, which publishes little about social innovation in international literature, going beyond European countries. Second, an empirical deeper understanding of the for-profit “organizations” modus operandi adopts and integrates social innovation in their strategies and operations. Third, given the multidimensional and complex nature of the social systems involved in innovation actions, it discusses a strategy that acts as an agglutinating factor. Finally, with reflections so that managers can discuss and start up a social innovation project.

Originality/value

Most research is based on nonempirical evidence. Among the few empirical works, the focus is on the performance of nonprofit organizations in the promotion, development and implementation of projects involving social technology. The literature does not adequately understand how for-profit organizations adopt and integrate social innovation into their strategies and operations. Furthermore, it is observed that research analyzes data from European countries, with few approaches eying countries in development.
Non‐invasive neuromodulation can reduce aggressive behaviors in humans: A critical perspective
Authors: Volpe Giuseppe , Tagliente Serena , Palmisano Annalisa , Grattagliano Ignazio , Rivolta Davide
Published: March 2022

Containing aggressive behavior is an ongoing challenge in modern society. Aggressiveness is a multi‐level construct that can be driven by emotions (reactive aggression) or can be “cold‐blooded” and goal‐directed (proactive). Aggressive behavior could arise because of a misjudgment of others' intentions or can follow frontal brain lesions leading to a reduction of impulse control and emotion regulation. In the last few years, interventional and basic research studies adopting Non‐Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS) have significantly risen. Those techniques have been used both in healthy people, to better understand the role of certain brain regions in psychological processes, and in aggressive subjects to improve their symptoms. From an overview of the literature, focusing on the paper that uses transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to reduce aggressiveness, it emerges that tDCS can (i) enhance facial emotion expression recognition, (ii) improve impulses control, and (iii) affect approach/withdrawal motivation. The current work shows the strengths and weaknesses of tDCS intervention on aggressive individuals, suggesting that this instrument could be adopted on violent people, and paves the way for intervention in some applied settings such as prison.
Dialysis and extracorporeal therapies for enhanced elimination of toxic ingestions and poisoning
Authors: Yaxley Julian , Scott Tahira
Published: March 2022

Poisoning and toxic ingestions cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Extracorporeal therapies such as dialysis, hemoperfusion, and plasma exchange are selectively applied to patients with severe intoxications unresponsive to standard interventions and can be lifesaving. Extracorporeal therapies are a complex but fundamental aspect of the practice of nephrology. Without high‐quality evidence to guide implementation, an understanding of toxicokinetics and the physiochemical principles of the enhanced elimination techniques is especially important. This review provides a comphrensive, user‐friendly outline of the application of extracorporeal therapy in the poisoned patient.
Immunotherapy and Transarterial therapy of HCC: What the interventional radiologist needs to know about the changing landscape of HCC treatment?
Authors: Tibballs Jonathan , Clements Warren
Published: March 2022

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fourth most common cancer worldwide and its incidence is increasing in Australia. Transarterial therapy, predominantly transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) but increasingly transarterial radioembolization (TARE), plays an important role in patients with intermediate‐stage disease and preserved liver function. However, despite advances in TACE, TARE and adjunctive procedures, overall survival has only modestly increased over the last 20 years. Immunotherapy has emerged as a newer cancer treatment and uses antibodies directed at checkpoint inhibitors to upregulate T‐cell mediated tumour‐specific death. These drugs have been shown to increase survival in patients with HCC and have changed the landscape for advanced disease. Trials are now ongoing combining transarterial therapy and immunotherapy. This manuscript introduces these trials and interventional radiologists should be aware of the changing landscape so that they can partner with immunotherapy and remain relevant in the HCC multidisciplinary group as immunotherapy use increases.
Association between clinical outcomes and local treatment in stage IV non‐small cell lung cancer patients with single extrathoracic metastasis
Authors: Lim Jeong Uk , Kang Hye Seon , Shin Ah Young , Yeo Chang Dong , Park Chan Kwon , Lee Sang Haak , Kim Seung Joon ,   Korean Association for Lung Cancer, Korea Central Cancer Registry
Published: March 2022

Background

Local treatment (LT) such as radiotherapy and metastasectomy on metastatic sites may improve outcomes in oligometastatic NSCLC patients, but more data are necessary to support LT in oligometastatic diseases. Patients with single extrathoracic metastatic lesion are more likely to benefit from local therapy. In this study, we evaluated the impact of LT in NSCLC patients with a single extrathoracic metastatic lesion.

Methods

Data were obtained from the Korean Association for Lung Cancer Registry (KALC‐R), a database created using a retrospective sampling survey by the Korean Central Cancer Registry (KCCR) and the Lung Cancer Registration Committee.

Results

A total of 787 NSCLC patients with a single extrathoracic metastatic lesion were evaluated. In the multivariate analysis for OS, age, female sex, poor performance score, squamous histological subtype, LT, and initial treatment modality showed significant associations. Regarding LT, groups that underwent curative LT were significantly associated with better OS compared to groups that did not undergo LT (p = 0.011, HR 0.448, 95% CI: 0.242–0.829). In the multivariate analysis of patients who underwent LT, poor performance score, initial treatment modality, and T stage were independently associated with poor OS. Compared to the T1 stage, T3 stage showed an HR of 2.470 (95% CI: 1.309–4.663; p = 0.005) and T4 stage showed an HR of 2.063 (95% CI: 1.093–3.904; p = 0.026).

Conclusion

In NSCLC with a single extrathoracic metastatic lesion, LT, especially for curative purposes, has an independent association with OS. Moreover, among the patients who received LT, factors such as T stage, poor performance score, and initial treatment modality were significantly associated with OS.
Land‐use alters the form of larval density dependence to increase extinction risk in a grassland amphibian
Authors: Kross C. S. , Willson J. D.
Published: March 2022

An understanding of interactions between anthropogenic stressors and intrinsic population drivers is needed to fully understand wildlife population declines. Density dependence is a key aspect of population regulation for many species, especially for species that have high reproductive potential, such as amphibians. However, patterns of density dependence have been characterized for only a few species and little work has evaluated how density‐dependent interactions may be altered by anthropogenic stressors. We combined the results of a mesocosm experiment with demographic population modeling to investigate how the conversion of native prairie to agricultural grasslands dominated by Tall Fescue grass (Lolium arundinacea) affected larval density dependence and adult population size of an imperiled amphibian, Lithobates areolatus (Crawfish Frog). Overall, density dependence was overcompensatory, suggesting that L. areolatus exhibits scramble competition as larvae. Both vegetation treatments had low survival at high densities, but more individuals survived to metamorphosis at moderate densities in Fescue treatments compared to Prairie treatments. We evaluated the implications of our experimental results using a stochastic density‐dependent matrix population model to project long‐term population dynamics. Simulated populations breeding in Fescue‐dominated wetlands had a more variable population size and up to 400% higher probability of quasi‐extinction within 200 years, compared to populations breeding in ponds with prairie vegetation. Without varying density in experimental treatments and using mathematical models to project emergent population dynamics, our mesocosm experiment results would have suggested a slightly positive effect of Fescue grass on amphibian development and survival. Vegetation changes surrounding breeding wetlands might play an important role in the decline of amphibian populations persisting in low‐intensity agricultural areas.
The use of active methodologies for the teaching of human embryology: A systematic review
Authors: Guilherme Guedert Denis , de Lima Paola , Souza e Silva Renata , Cláudia Carneiro Girão Carmona Virgínia
Published: March 2022

Embryology is a basic science, of the medical curriculum and of the health area, it serves as a foundation for the understanding of the phenomena that occur in normal development and its alterations. Over the years, active methodologies have been increasingly used as innovative tools in the academic training of health professionals. In this work we aim, through an integrative review, to search for the active methodologies used in the teaching of embryology. The PICo strategy was used to form the guiding question, the results were presented through the Prisma Flow diagram. The databases consulted were PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, Medline, Scielo and LILACS, searching for articles until the year 2021. Our results show that embryology is a science still to be explored in the field of methodologies active, few works were found, most using TBL or digital platforms; however, the authors agree that active methodologies are valuable tools in the teaching of embryology, capable of improving student motivation and engagement.
Robot programming versus block play in early childhood education: Effects on computational thinking, sequencing ability, and self‐regulation
Authors: Yang Weipeng , Ng Davy Tsz Kit , Gao Hongyu
Published: March 2022

Programmable robotics is recently used in early childhood education (ECE) to introduce programming and computational thinking (CT) skills. However, there is a further need for research to contrast the efficacy of children's participation in robot programming and traditionally beneficial ECE activities. The present study thus investigated the effects of a robot programming intervention versus a block play program on kindergarteners' CT, sequencing ability, and self‐regulation. The experiment (robot programming) versus comparison (block play) condition was randomly assigned to four kindergarten classes, which included 101 kindergarteners (M = 64.78 months, SD = 7.64). Statistical analyses revealed that the robot programming group (N = 54) had experienced greater gains over time in sequencing ability relative to those in the block play group (N = 47; F = 5.09, p < 0.05). Children in the robot programming group with lower level of self‐regulation at baseline showed larger improvements in sequencing ability over time relative to the block play group (F = 2.37, p = 0.01). Also, children in the robot programming group with older age showed larger improvements in CT over time relative to the block play group (F = 2.40, p < 0.01). The study demonstrates the positive benefits of robot programming to early childhood development in terms of CT and sequencing ability, compared to a traditional curriculum activity in ECE—block play.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

Screen‐free robot programming can enhance preschool children's computational thinking (CT).

Block play can enhance preschool children's mathematics and executive functioning.

Both robot programming and block play are engaging for preschool children.

What this paper adds

An unplugged CT assessment is used to measure and compare the effects of both robot programming and block play interventions among preschool children.

Robot programming outperforms block play in promoting children's school readiness skills such as sequencing ability.

Children with lower self‐regulation skills benefited more from the robot programming intervention.

Implications for practice and/or policy

Robot programming and CT education should be expanded in diverse early childhood settings to boost the positive effects.

Technology‐enhanced curricula should be integrated into early childhood education.

Teachers should receive training on robot programming in addition to more traditional skills such as scaffolding children's block play.