bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phylogenetic signal in primate tooth enamel proteins and its relevance for paleoproteomics
Authors: Zazueta Ricardo Fong , Krueger Johanna , Alba David M. , Aymerich Xènia , Beck Robin M. D. , Cappellini Enrico , Martín Guillermo Carrillo , Cirilli Omar , Clark Nathan , Cornejo Omar E. , Farh Kyle Kai-How , Ferrández-Peral Luis , Juan David , Kelley Joanna L. , Kuderna Lukas F. K. , Little Jordan , Orkin Joseph D. , Paterson Ryan S. , Pawar Harvinder , Marques-Bonet Tomas , Lizano Esther
Published: February 2024

Ancient tooth enamel, and to some extent dentin and bone, contain characteristic peptides that persist for long periods of time. In particular, peptides from the enamel proteome (enamelome) have been used to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of fossil specimens and to estimate divergence times. However, the enamelome is based on only about 10 genes, whose protein products undergo fragmentationpost mortem. Moreover, some of the enamelome genes are paralogous or may coevolve. This raises the question as to whether the enamelome provides enough information for reliable phylogenetic inference. We address these considerations on a selection of enamel-associated proteins that has been computationally predicted from genomic data from 232 primate species. We created multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) for each protein and estimated the evolutionary rate for each site and examined which sites overlap with the parts of the protein sequences that are typically isolated from fossils. Based on this, we simulated ancient data with different degrees of sequence fragmentation, followed by phylogenetic analysis. We compared these trees to a reference species tree. Up to a degree of fragmentation that is similar to that of fossil samples from 1-2 million years ago, the phylogenetic placements of most nodes at family level are consistent with the reference species tree. We found that the composition of the proteome influences the phylogenetic placement of Tarsiiformes. For the inference of molecular phylogenies based on paleoproteomic data, we recommend characterizing the evolution of the proteomes from the closest extant relatives to maximize the reliability of phylogenetic inference.
Quantification of grapevine yield losses as a function downy mildew severity on foliage and cluster
Authors: Fabre Frederic , Delbac Lionel , Poeydebat Charlotte , Zaffaroni Marta
Published: February 2024

To quantify the relationship between grapevine disease severity and crop losses at the plant scale, we conducted a three-year field experiment at two sites near Bordeaux (France), surveying mildews and rots on both foliage and clusters. A first set of analysis indicated that only downy mildew (DM) significantly affects yield (mass of grape clusters harvested) in our experimental conditions. We then leverage this situation to model the relationship between DM severity (measured by standardized AUDPC) and yield losses at vine stock scale. For AUDPC ranging from 0 to 10%, an increase of the severity of DM of 1% on the clusters decrease yield by 2% regardless of years and sites. These values ranges from 1.1% to 9% when considering the severity of DM on the foliage, depending on sites and years. This variability was correlated with a moisture risk index calculated between crop stages inflorescences visibles to pre-ripening of the berries. An increase of the severity of DM of 1% on the foliage decreases yield by 1.2% during dry year (quantile 10% of the index), by 3.3% during intermediate year (median the index) and by 7.3% during wet year (quantile 90% of the index). Regarding quality variables measuring grape ripeness on the must, we found that an increase of the severity of DM of 1% on the foliage decrease the potential alcohol content from 0.014 to 0.18 % vol depending on years while few effects on the pH were detected.
Cell morphogenesis via self-propelled treadmilling actin waves
Authors: Yagami Kio , Baba Kentarou , Minegishi Takunori , Misu Shinji , Katsuno-Kambe Hiroko , Okano Kazunori , Sakumura Yuichi , Hosokawa Yoichiroh , Inagaki Naoyuki
Published: February 2024

Actin dynamics mediate cell morphogenesis. Actin filaments polymerize outward at cell protrusions such as the leading edge of migrating cells, thereby pushing the membrane to protrude. The current paradigm explains that actin dynamics are regulated by cell signaling. However, it is unclear how cells spontaneously form actin-based protrusions even without a specific local signaling cue. We found that arrays of treadmilling actin filaments emerge widely in migrating cells and move in the direction of polymerization as actin waves. Their arrival at the cell periphery pushes the plasma membrane to protrude. Furthermore, they accumulate at protrusions without local signaling cues, similar to self-propelled particles colliding with a boundary. This leads to further growth of protrusions, thereby promoting spontaneous formation of the leading edge for migration. We propose that the self-propelled actin waves drive robust formation of protrusions for cell morphogenesis, through their abilities to self-accumulate into protrusions and push the membrane.
Nanocarrier Drug Release and Blood-Brain Barrier Penetration at Post-Stroke Microthrombi Monitored by Real-Time Förster Resonance Energy Transfer-Based Detection System (FedEcs)
Authors: Khalin Igor , Adarsh Nagappanpillai , Schifferer Martina , Wehn Antonia , Boide-Trujillo Valeria J. , Mamrak Uta , Shrouder Joshua , Misgeld Thomas , Filser Severin , Klymchenko Andrey , Plesnila Nikolaus
Published: February 2024

Nanotechnology holds great promise for improving the delivery of therapeutics to the brain. However, current approaches often operate at the organ or tissue level and are limited by the lack of tools to dynamically monitor cargo deliveryin vivo. We have developed highly fluorescent lipid nanodroplets (LNDs) that enable tracking of nanocarrier behaviour at the subcellular level while also carrying a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based drug delivery detection system (FedEcs) capable of monitoring cargo releasein vivo. Using two-photon microscopy, we demonstrate that circulating LNDs in naïve mouse brain vasculature exhibit 3D real-time FRET changes, showing size-dependent stability over two hours in blood circulation. Further, in a novel nano-stroke model, dynamic intravital two-photon imaging revealed that LNDs accumulated within cerebral post-ischemic microthrombi, where they released their cargo significantly faster than in normal blood circulation. Furthermore, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) became permeable at the microclot sites thereby allowing accumulated FedEcs-LNDs to cross the BBB and deliver their cargo to the brain parenchyma. This microthrombi-associated translocation was confirmed at the ultrastructural level via volume correlative light-electron microscopy. Consequently, our FedEcs represents a novel tool to quantitatively study the biodistribution and cargo release of nanocarriers at high resolution in real time. By enabling us to resolve passive targeting mechanisms post-stroke, - specifically, accumulation, degradation and extravasation via post-stroke microthrombi - this system could significantly enhance the translational validation of nanocarriers for future treatments of brain diseases.
Mechanosensory cephalic bristles mediate rapid flight initiation in endothermic hawkmoths
Authors: Manjunath Maitri , Mukunda Chinmayee L. , Sane Sanjay P.
Published: February 2024

Endothermic insects including bees, butterflies, and moths need to warm up their flight muscles before taking flight. For instance, diurnal butterflies bask in the sun to heat their flight muscles, whereas nocturnal hawkmoths display a pre-flight shivering behavior in which small-amplitude wing movements cause flight muscles to warm up, eventually generating large-amplitude wing motion for flight. The time required for warm-up puts such insects at a considerable risk if they need to rapidly escape from predators. Here, we show that upon experiencing a sudden air-puff on the head, hawkmoths rapidly initiate flight bypassing the pre-flight shivering phase. This response is mediated by mechanosensory cephalic bristles that are buried under the scales on their head. Cephalic bristle mediated flight entails a stereotypic triggering of various flight-related reflexes including antennal positioning, foreleg extension, wing movement, and abdominal flexion. Some mechanosensory neurons underlying cephalic bristles arborize in the subesophageal zone (SEZ) and antennal motor and mechanonsensory center (AMMC), whereas most arborize in pro-, meso- and meta-thoracic ganglia which contain the motor circuitry for foreleg motion, flight, and abdominal flexion. Thermal recordings revealed that large-amplitude wing motion following cephalic bristle-stimulation occurs at lower thoracic temperatures than required for voluntary flight. Electromyogram recordings from steering and indirect flight muscles show significant variability in activation latency in response to cephalic bristle stimulus. The range of latency values among different muscles overlaps, suggesting that cephalic bristle stimulation activates steering muscles, thereby generating high-amplitude wing movement at lower thoracic temperatures. Concomitant activation of the indirect flight muscles initiates thoracic warm-up in preparation for longer flight. Thus, akin to locusts, the cephalic bristle system in hawkmoths rapidly triggers flight upon sensing danger, ensuring swift escape from potential threats.
The ER-resident Ras Inhibitor 1 (Eri1) ofCandida albicansinhibits hyphal morphogenesis via the Ras-independent cAMP-PKA pathway
Authors: Sethi Subhash Chandra , Bharati Monika , Yadav Usha , Kumar Yatin , Komath Sneha Sudha
Published: February 2024

Ras signaling and glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) biosynthesis are mutually inhibitory inS. cerevisiae. The inhibition is mediated via an interaction of yeast Ras2 with the Eri1 subunit of its GPI-N-acetylglucosaminyl transferase (GPI-GnT), the enzyme catalyzing the very first GPI biosynthetic step. In contrast, Ras signaling and GPI biosynthesis inC. albicansare mutually activated and together control the virulence traits of the human fungal pathogen. What might be the role of Eri1 in this pathogen? The present manuscript addresses this question while simultaneously characterizing the cellular role of CaEri1. It is either non-essential or required at very low levels for cell viability inC. albicans. Severe depletion of CaEri1 results in reduced GPI biosynthesis and cell wall defects. It also produces hyperfilamentation phenotypes in Spider medium as well as in bicarbonate medium containing 5% CO2, suggesting that both the Ras-dependent and Ras-independent cAMP-PKA pathways for hyphal morphogenesis are activated in these cells. Pull-down and acceptor-photobleaching FRET experiments suggest that CaEri1 does not directly interact with CaRas1, but does so through CaGpi2, another GPI-GnT subunit. CaGpi2 is also downstream of CaEri1 in cross-talk with CaRas1 and control of hyphal growth in Spider medium. However, CaEri1 is downstream of all GPI-GnT subunits in inhibiting Ras-independent filamentation.CaERI1also participates in the inter-subunit transcriptional cross-talk within the GPI-GnT, a feature unique toC. albicans. Virulence studies usingG. mellonellalarvae show that a heterozygous strain ofCaERI1is better cleared by the host and is attenuated in virulence.
Attenuated replication and damaging effects of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants in an intestinal epithelial barrier model
Authors: Volcic Meta , Nchioua Rayhane , Pastorio Chiara , Zech Fabian , Read Clarissa , Walther Paul , Kirchhoff Frank
Published: February 2024

Many COVID-19 patients suffer from gastrointestinal symptoms and impaired intestinal barrier function may play a key role in Long COVID. Despite its importance, the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on intestinal epithelia is poorly understood. To address this, we established an intestinal barrier model integrating epithelial Caco-2 cells, mucus-secreting HT29 cells and human Raji cells. This gut epithelial model allows efficient differentiation of Caco-2 cells into microfold-like cells, faithfully mimics intestinal barrier function, and is highly permissive to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Early strains of SARS-CoV-2 and the Delta variant replicated with high efficiency, severely disrupted barrier function, and depleted tight junction proteins, such as claudin-1, occludin and ZO-1. In comparison, Omicron subvariants also depleted ZO-1 from tight junctions but had fewer damaging effects on mucosal integrity and barrier function. Remdesivir and the TMPRSS2 inhibitor Camostat prevented SARS-CoV-2 replication and thus epithelial barrier damage, while the Cathepsin inhibitor E64d was ineffective. Our results support that SARS-CoV-2 disrupts intestinal barrier function but further suggest that circulating Omicron variants are less damaging than earlier viral strains.
Iterative Bleaching Extends Multiplexity (IBEX) imaging facilitates simultaneous identification of all cell types in the vertebrate retina
Authors: Kothurkar Aanandita , Patient Gregory S. , Noel Nicole C. L. , Krzywańska Aleksandra M , Carr Brittany J. , Chu Colin J. , MacDonald Ryan B.
Published: February 2024

The vertebrate retina is a complex multicellular tissue made up of distinct neuron types and glia, arranged in a stereotypic layered organisation to facilitate vision. Understanding how these cell types come together to form precise circuits during development requires the ability to simultaneously discriminate between multiple cell types and their spatial position in the same tissue. Currently, we have a limited capacity to resolve all constitutive cell types and their relationships to one another due to our limited ability to combine multiple cellular markers. To extend this capacity, we have adapted a highly multiplexed immunohistochemistry technique known as Iterative Bleaching Extends Multiplexity (IBEX) and applied it to the development of the zebrafish (Danio rerio)retina. IBEX allows for multiple rounds of cellular labelling to be performed, before imaging and integration of data, resulting in the ability to visualise multiple markers on the same tissue. We have optimised IBEX in zebrafish using fluorescent micro-conjugation of known antibody markers to label the complete retina with up to 11 cell-specific antibodies. We have further adapted the IBEX technique to be compatible with fluorescent transgenic reporter lines,in situhybridisation chain reaction (HCR), and wholemount immunohistochemistry (WMIHC). We then took advantage of IBEX to explore the multicellular relationships in the developing retina between glial cells and neurons and photoreceptor subtypes. Finally, we tested IBEX on retinas from the emerging ageing model, the killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri), and developmental model, the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis),demonstrating the usefulness of the technique across multiple species. The techniques described here can be applied to any tissue in any organism where antibodies are readily available to efficiently explore cellular relationships in the context of development, ageing or disease.
Linking Neural Manifolds to Circuit Structure in Recurrent Networks
Authors: Pezon Louis , Schmutz Valentin , Gerstner Wulfram
Published: February 2024

The classic view of cortical circuits composed of precisely tuned neurons hardly accounts for large-scale recordings indicating that neuronal populations are heterogeneous and exhibit activity patterns evolving on low-dimensional manifolds. Using a modelling approach, we connect these two contrasting views. Our recurrent spiking network models explicitly link the circuit structure with the low-dimensional dynamics of the population activity. Importantly, we show that different circuit models can lead to equivalent low-dimensional dynamics. Nevertheless, we design a method for retrieving the circuit structure from large-scale recordings and test it on simulated data. Our approach not only unifies cortical circuit models with established models of collective neuronal dynamics, but also paves the way for identifying elements of circuit structure from large-scale experimental recordings.
Post-transcriptional regulation of the MiaA prenyl transferase by CsrA and the small RNA CsrB inE. coli
Authors: Aubee Joseph I , Williams Kinlyn , Adigun Alexandria , Olusanya Olufolakemi , Nurse Jalisa , Thompson Karl M
Published: February 2024

To determine the role of small RNAs (sRNAs) in the regulation ofmiaA, we constructed a chromosomalmiaA-lacZtranslational fusion driven by the arabinose responsive PBADpromoter and used it to screen against anEscherichia colismall RNA library (containing small RNAs driven by the IPTG inducible PLacpromoter). Our genetic screen and quantitative β-galactosidase assays identified CsrB and its cognate protein CsrA as potential regulators ofmiaAexpression inEscherichia coli. Consistent with our hypothesis that CsrA regulates MiaA post-transcriptional gene expression through binding to the MiaA mRNA 5’ UTR, and CsrB binds and regulates MiaA post-transcriptional gene expression through sequestration of CsrA levels, a deletion ofcsrAsignificantly reduced expression of the reporter fusion as well as reducingmiaAmRNA levels. These results suggest under conditions where CsrA is inhibited, MiaA translation and thus MiaA-dependent tRNA modification may be limiting.

IMPORTANCE

We previously demonstrated a role for the i6A modification in the tuning of transcripts for several stress response genes inE. coli. The i6A tRNA modification is catalyzed by the tRNA prenyl transferase encoded by themiaAgene. We set out to identify posttranscriptional regulators of the enzyme necessary for the catalysis of i6A, MiaA, to further understand factors influencing i6A levels in the cell. We identified the CsrA RNA Binding Protein, the CsrB Small RNA, and RNA Degradosome enzymes: RNaseE and PNPase as regulators ofmiaAexpressioin at the post-transcriptional level. Identifying these post-transcripitonal regulators ofmiaAwill help us understand factors influencing i6A levels and may guide future investigations into RNA modifications with regulatory effects on the transcriptome.
Accelerating Single-Cell Sequencing Data Analysis with SciDAP: A User-Friendly Approach
Authors: Kotliar Michael , Kartashov Andrey , Barski Artem
Published: February 2024

Single-cell (sc) RNA, ATAC and Multiome sequencing became powerful tools for uncovering biological and disease mechanisms. Unfortunately, manual analysis of sc data presents multiple challenges due to large data volumes and complexity of configuration parameters. This complexity, as well as not being able to reproduce a computational environment, affects the reproducibility of analysis results. The Scientific Data Analysis Platform (https://SciDAP.com) allows biologists without computational expertise to analyze sequencing-based data using portable and reproducible pipelines written in Common Workflow Language (CWL). Our suite of computational pipelines addresses the most common needs in scRNA-Seq, scATAC-Seq and scMultiome data analysis. When executed on SciDAP, it offers a user-friendly alternative to manual data processing, eliminating the need for coding expertise. In this protocol, we describe the use of SciDAP to analyze scMultiome data. Similar approaches can be used for analysis of scRNA-Seq, scATAC-Seq and scVDJ-Seq datasets.
Long COVID and kidney function: A scoping review protocol
Authors: Frediani Marcella M. , Ribeiro Heitor S. , Busatto Geraldo F. , Carvalho Carlos Roberto Ribeiro , Burdmann Emmanuel A.
Published: February 2024

Introduction

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had catastrophic repercussions worldwide, including short- and long-term effects on multiple organs. The term “long COVID” encompasses signs and symptoms associated with COVID that persist for more than two months. However, the effects of long COVID on kidney function remain poorly understood.

Objective

This scoping review aims to describe the effects of long COVID on kidney function and/or kidney-related outcomes.

Methods

We will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Based on the PCC framework, we will include studies that investigated long COVID survivors (Participants); describing kidney function and/or kidney-related outcomes (Concept); in all settings and designs (Context). A comprehensive literature search was performed using the MEDLINE, Embase, and LILACS databases without date or language restrictions from inception until August 2023. Websites, books, and guidelines will also be searched. Observational studies with retrospective, prospective, and case-control designs will be considered. Two independent reviewers will screen titles and abstracts and perform the full-text review. Data extraction will be done by the main reviewer and checked by a second one. Data about the diagnosis of COVID, follow-up time for long symptoms, and kidney function assessment and outcomes will be extracted from selected evidence. The quantitative results will be synthesized and presented in tables and figures along with a narrative summary.

Ethics and dissemination

There is no requirement for ethical approval for this scoping review. On completion, it will be published in a peer-reviewed academic journal and presented at a conference.
Characterisation of prophages inClostridium clostridioforme: an understudied component of the intestinal microbiome
Authors: Humphrey Suzanne , Marouli Angeliki , Thümmler Katja , Mullin Margaret , Wall Daniel M.
Published: February 2024

Genome sequencing ofClostridium clostridioformestrain LM41 revealed the presence of an atypically high proportion of mobile genetic elements for this species, with a particularly high abundance of prophages. Bioinformatic analysis of prophage sequences sought to characterise these elements and identify prophage-linked genes contributing to enhanced fitness of the host bacteria in the dysbiotic gut. This work has identified 15 prophages, of which 4 are predicted to be intact, 2 are predicted to be defective, and 9 are unclassified. qPCR analysis revealed spontaneous release of four of the LM41 prophages into the culture supernatant, the majority of which had morphology akin to podoviruses when visualised using Transmission Electron Microscopy. We observed diversity in the lysogeny mechanisms utilised by the prophages, with examples of the classical λ-like CI/Cro system, the ICEBs1 ImmR/ImmA-like system, and the Mu-like C/Ner system. Classical morons, such as toxins or immune evasion factors, were not observed. We did, however, identify a variety of genes with roles in mediating restriction modification and genetic diversity, as well as some candidate genes with potential roles in host adaptation. Despite being the most abundant entities in the intestine, there is a dearth of information about phages associated with members of the microbiome. This work begins to shed light on the contribution of these elements to the lifestyle ofC. clostridioformeLM41.
Failure of the Baym-Kadanoff construction to consistently match quantum dynamics with thermodynamic critical behavior
Authors: Janiš Václav , Pokorný Vladislav , Kos Šimon
Published: February 2024

We disclose a serious deficiency of the Baym-Kadanoff construction of thermodynamically consistent conserving approximations. There are two vertices in this scheme: dynamical and conserving. The divergence of each indicates a phase instability. We show that each leads to incomplete and qualitatively different behavior at different critical points. The diagrammatically controlled dynamical vertex from the Schwinger-Dyson equation does not obey the Ward identity and cannot be continued beyond its singularity. The standardly used dynamical vertex alone cannot, hence, conclusively decide about the stability of the high-temperature phase. On the other hand, the divergence in the conserving vertex, obeying the conservation laws, does not invoke critical behavior of the spectral function and the specific heat. Moreover, the critical behavior of the conserving vertex may become spurious in low-dimensional systems. Consequently, the description of the critical behavior of correlated electrons becomes consistent and reliable only if the fluctuations of the order parameter in the conserving vertex lead to a divergence coinciding with that of the dynamical one.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
One-loop electroweak radiative corrections to polarized
e+e−→ZZ
process
Authors: Bondarenko S. , Dydyshka Ya. , Kalinovskaya L. , Sadykov R. , Yermolchyk V.
Published: February 2024

In the paper we recalculate and discuss high-precision theoretical predictions for cross sections of the process e+e−→ZZ. We assume a complete one-loop implementation and a possibility of estimating the initial state polarizations, as well as the full-phase calculation. Numerical results are provided by our Monte Carlo tools integrator and generator for typical energies and degrees of polarization of ILC and CLIC projects in two α(0) and Gμ electroweak schemes.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Charmonium decays of beauty baryons in the perturbative QCD approach
Authors: Rui Zhou , Zou Zhi-Tian
Published: February 2024

Motivated by recent advances in experimental measurements of heavy baryon decays, the charmonium decays of single b baryon are investigated systematically in the framework of perturbative QCD approach. We calculate the decay branching ratios and helicity amplitudes as well as many pertinent decay asymmetry parameters that characterize the angular decay distributions. In particular, we estimate the fragmentation fractions of b quark to b baryons based on the current world averages of the branching ratio multiplied by fragmentation fraction. Some of the featured results are compared with the predictions of other approaches and experimental data. We also evaluate the branching ratios and angular asymmetries of the Σb and Ξb′ decay modes, which have neither been measured experimentally nor calculated theoretically. Our results could be helpful for a future experimental search for them and provide deeper insights in the understanding of the dynamics of heavy-flavor weak decay processes.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Molecular-type
QQsss¯
pentaquarks predicted by an extended hidden gauge symmetry approach
Authors: Wang Zhong-Yu , Xiao Chu-Wen , Sun Zhi-Feng , Liu Xiang
Published: February 2024

In this work, we investigate the double-heavy molecular pentaquark states with the quark contents ccsss¯, bbsss¯, and bcsss¯ by using the coupled channel approach. The extended local hidden gauge Lagrangians are used to obtain the meson-baryon interactions by exchanging the vector mesons. We predict some candidates for the molecular states with the quantum numbers I(JP)=0(1/2−,3/2−,5/2−), whose binding energies are of the order of 20–30 MeV and whose widths are all less than 8 MeV. These predicted exotic double-heavy molecular pentaquark states may be accessible in future experiments such as LHCb.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Single parton fragmentation functions of heavy quarkonium in soft gluon factorization
Authors: Jia Qi-Lin , Chen An-Ping , Xu Yuan-Guo
Published: February 2024

We study the single parton fragmentation functions (FFs) at the input factorization scale μ0≳2mQ, with heavy quark mass mQ, in the soft gluon factorization (SGF) approach. We express the FFs in terms of perturbatively calculable short distance hard parts for producing a heavy quark-antiquark pair in all possible states, convoluted with corresponding soft gluon distribution for the hadronization of the pair to a heavy quarkonium. We compute the perturbative short distance hard parts for producing a heavy quark pair in all possible S-wave and P-wave states up to O(αs2). With our results, the SGF can be further used to study the heavy quarkonium production at the hadron colliders and heavy quarkonium production within a jet.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Improved method to determine the
Ξc−Ξc′
mixing
Authors: Liu Hang , Wang Wei , Zhang Qi-An
Published: February 2024

We develop an improved method to explore the Ξc−Ξc′ mixing, which arises from the flavor SU(3) and heavy quark symmetry breaking. In this method, the flavor eigenstates under the SU(3) symmetry are at first constructed, and the corresponding masses can be nonperturbatively determined. Matrix elements of the mass operators, which break the flavor SU(3) symmetry sandwiched by the flavor eigenstates, are then calculated. Diagonalizing the corresponding matrix of Hamiltonian gives the mass eigenstates of the full Hamiltonian and determines the mixing. Following the previous lattice QCD calculation of Ξc and Ξc′, and estimating an off diagonal matrix element, we extract the mixing angle between the Ξc and Ξc′. Preliminary numerical results for the mixing angle confirm the previous observation that such mixing is incapable to explain the large SU(3) symmetry breaking in semileptonic decays of charmed baryons.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Bosonic and fermionic holographic fluctuation and dissipation at finite temperature and density
Authors: Caldeira Nathan G. , Zarro Carlos A. D. , Boschi-Filho Henrique
Published: February 2024

In this paper we investigate some general aspects of fluctuation and dissipation in the holographic scenario at zero and finite density. We model this situation with a probe string in a diagonal metric representing a black brane. The string stretches from the black brane to a probe brane, thus simulating a stochastic driven particle. In this scenario, we compute the admittance, the diffusion coefficient, the correlation functions, and the regularized mean square displacement, for bosons and fermions, all from the metric components. We check these calculations with the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. Further, we show that at finite temperature and density, the mean square displacement in the limit of short times reproduces the usual quadratic (ballistic) behavior, for bosons and fermions. For large times, we find ultraslow diffusive processes in various cases, except for bosons at the zero chemical potential. We apply this general analysis in two different models: hyperscaling violation at finite temperature and a charged dilatonic anti–de Sitter black hole, both for bosons and fermions. This is important because we found the fermionic diffusion in systems that allow the appearance of Fermi surfaces and Fermi liquids.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Newton vs Coulomb in AdS/CFT and the weak gravity conjecture
Authors: Moitra Upamanyu
Published: February 2024

We study (near-)circular orbits of charged particles in the background of charged black holes in asymptotically anti–de Sitter (AdS) spacetimes of arbitrary dimensionality. We calculate the energy and angular momentum of such particles in a large-radius limit. This allows us to compute the anomalous dimension of the dual charged double-twist operators in a large-spin expansion, making a prediction for the bootstrap analysis at large charge and spin. We relate our result to the weak gravity conjecture (WGC) for AdS black holes of all sizes. We also discuss the relation of WGC with the existence of the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) in any dimension.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Bioprospects of pink pigmented facultative methylotrophs (PPFMs)
Authors: Mondal Priyajit , Ghosh Dhritishree , Seth Madhupa , Mukhopadhyay Subhra Kanti
Published: February 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to provide information about interactions between pink-pigmented facultative methylotroph (PPFM) organisms and plants, their molecular mechanisms of methylotrophic metabolism, application of PPFMs in agriculture, biotechnology and bioremediation and also to explore lacuna in PPFMs research and direction for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

Research findings on PPFM organisms as potent plant growth promoting organisms are discussed in the light of reports published by various workers. Unexplored field of PPFM research are detected and their application as a new group of biofertilizer that also help host plants to overcome draught stress in poorly irrigated crop field is suggested.

Findings

PPFMs are used as plant growth promoters for improved crop yield, seed germination capacity, resistance against pathogens and tolerance against drought stress. Anti-oxidant and UV resistant properties of PPFM pigments protect the host plants from strong sunshine. PPFMs have excellent draught ameliorating capacity.

Originality/value

To meet the ever increasing world population, more and more barren, less irrigated land has to be utilized for agriculture and horticulture purpose and use of PPFM group of organisms due to their draught ameliorating properties in addition to their plant growth promoting characters will be extremely useful. PPFMs are also promising candidates for the production of various industrially and medicinally important enzymes and other value-added products. Wider application of this ecofriendly group of bacteria will reduce crop production cost thus improving economy of the farmers and will be a greener alternative of hazardous chemical fertilizers and fungicides.

Graphicalabstract:
Branding fashion through gameplay: the branded gaming and the cool dynamics in the fashion markets. A game-theory approach
Authors: Alanadoly Alshaimaa Bahgat , Salem Suha Fouad
Published: February 2024

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of immersive gaming on brand coolness and brand equity, with particular emphasis on fashion gaming collaborations. We used game theory as a theoretical framework to analyse immersive branding strategies and gain a deeper understanding of fashion consumers’ decision-making process in gaming environments. Gender, as a significant factor affecting gamers, has been studied as a moderator that impacts the overall proposed framework.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative method was used to assess the significance of relationships within the proposed model empirically. The partial least squares structural equation modelling technique was implemented to assess the relationships of the framework with a sample size of 160 active Malaysian gamers.

Findings

The findings indicate that brand equity is positively associated with perceived brand coolness. Furthermore, of the three core values of online games, perceived enjoyment is most strongly associated with perceived brand coolness, ahead of the values of self-expression and perceived emotional challenge. The results of the multigroup analysis further suggest that in the fashion industry, building brand equity through online games is strongly related to perceived brand coolness among female respondents, the role of perceived brand coolness being weaker among male respondents.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the existing literature by providing a deeper understanding of the impact of immersive gaming branding practices on the overall equity of the fashion brand. The results provide insight for fashion brand managers into the significant effect on consumer behaviour outcomes of fashion-gaming collaborations.
The liability of foreignness and operational security: evidence from emerging markets
Authors: Ye Yuxiao , Han Yiting , Huo Baofeng
Published: February 2024

Purpose

In this research, we explore the adverse impact of foreign ownership on operational security, a critical operational implication of the liability of foreignness (LOF).

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical analysis is based on a multi-country dataset from the World Bank Enterprises Survey, which contains detailed firm-level information from over 8,902 firms in 82 emerging market countries. We perform a series of robustness checks to further confirm our findings.

Findings

We find that a high ratio of foreign ownership is associated with an increased likelihood of security breaches and higher security costs. Our results also indicate that high levels of host countries’ institutional quality and firms’ local embeddedness can mitigate such vulnerability in operational security.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to uncover the critical operational implication of the LOF, indicating that a high ratio of foreign ownership exposes firms to operational security challenges.
Philippine heritage bridging cultural ecosystem service and nature’s contribution to people in cultural landscapes: a correlational literature review
Authors: Tua Kenneth Javier , Imoto Tomoko
Published: February 2024

Purpose

Nature’s contribution to people (NCP) is a concept that specifically recognizes the relationship of “humans and the natural environment” similarly to concepts of “cultural landscapes” and consistent to “heritage.” These concepts are essential in incorporating a diverse range of stakeholders from different scales, which is important for policy and practice. The paper aims to review the existing peer-reviewed papers in the Philippines, using meta-analysis and systematic review. We addressed the significant interlinkages that help facilitate the transition and strengthen the correlation of cultural ecosystem services (CES) and NCP in a cultural landscape setting.

Design/methodology/approach

To distinguish and support claims for NCP from CES, we conducted a meta-analysis and systematic review based on the 30-existing peer-reviewed articles on the Philippine cultural ES in the lenses of “heritage” and “cultural landscape.”

Findings

The results generated a few numbers of the Philippine CES studies, yet it has increased cumulatively year by year consistent with previous international studies. We found that most studies are focused on topics associated with “Indigenous People, Ancestral Domains, Protected Areas/Landscapes, and Indigenous and Local Knowledge” on the linkages concurrently distinguishing NCP to CES, and may signify stronger economic valuation in uncovering the sociocultural dimensions of these scholarships through its relational values in the lenses of cultural landscape and heritage.

Research limitations/implications

The authors limited the search to peer-reviewed journal articles published from online databases and did not consider Philippine University based and local publications to have a systematic review. This is to prevent underestimating the vast amount of CES literature and avoid gray literature that is not peer-reviewed; hence, being able to analyze and produce focused, yet, credible data.

Practical implications

In a generalizing perspective, NCP 1, 6, 8, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 18 have the most realized positive correlations of the reporting categories to the Philippine CES studies. The majority of the context-specific perspective NCP has strong conceptual claims in the existing Philippine CES literature through the studies’ variables aside from NCP 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 11 that are still mostly in the nature of generalizing perspective.

Originality/value

In conclusion, our results imply that the previous and existing CES studies in the Philippines harbor more attributes presented by the NCP reporting categories. This is deemed more suitable, and may signify stronger economic valuation in uncovering the sociocultural dimensions of these scholarships through its relational values in the lenses of cultural landscape and heritage.
User perspectives through cross-connections. The role of archives as part of the German digital research data infrastructure
Authors: Naumann Kai , Neuburger Andreas
Published: February 2024

Purpose

Starting from the status quo, the paper outlines perspectives and challenges for the connection and interlinking of digitised and digital archival data. The following topics are addressed: Where are fields of action and what are the means of archives? Which functional and technical requirements are to be considered, and what is the role of portal infrastructures linking together various different institutions?

Design/methodology/approach

Considering needs of users and general framework conditions, the paper examines new approaches emerging in Germany. It outlines recent projects and considerations aiming to improve services and visibility of archives within the national data infrastructure in Germany.

Findings

Cross-connections are no new phenomenon, but change their appearance significantly in a digital context. In this respect, both smaller and bigger archives profit from participation in larger digital networks. Furthermore, archives need to keep in mind to reflect the quality of their digital (meta)data regularly and to offer or join systems that functionally and technically support cross-connection and interlinking of data.

Originality/value

The paper endeavours to show the importance of digital cross-connections and the role of portal infrastructures for visibility, online-distribution and use of digital archival metadata and data.
Enabling factors of instructional leadership in subject coordinators
Authors: Shaked Haim
Published: February 2024

Purpose

Instructional leadership is a school leadership approach that places great emphasis on enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. This study explored the enabling factors of instructional leadership in subject coordinators.

Design/methodology/approach

The participants in this qualitative study were 24 subject coordinators in elementary schools in Israel. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews, and data analysis included three stages: sorting, coding and categorizing.

Findings

The findings identified three significant enabling factors of instructional leadership in subject coordinators: pedagogical knowledge, relationship capability and support from the principal.

Originality/value

This study suggests that the enabling factors of instructional leadership in subject coordinators differ from those of instructional leadership in principals because of their different places in the school structure and explains the enablers of instructional leadership in subject coordinators as middle leaders.
Public governance in the context of Construction 4.0: a systematic and comprehensive literature review
Authors: van der Heijden Jeroen
Published: February 2024

Purpose

By providing an overview of the existing knowledge on public governance in the context of Construction 4.0, this review serves as a valuable resource for researchers, policymakers and practitioners interested in understanding the current state of public governance in the context of Construction 4.0 and identifying avenues for future research and practical implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

This article presents a systematic and comprehensive review of the academic literature on public governance in the context of Construction 4.0. To ensure a systematic and rigorous selection of source material, the study adopts the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Findings

By examining a wide range of scholarly works, the review identifies and discusses eight recurring themes that are crucial for understanding the role of public governance in Construction 4.0. These themes include policy and regulation, infrastructure and investment, skill development and education, digital inclusion and access, collaboration and partnerships, data governance and privacy, interactions with environmental and societal goals and the impact of Construction 4.0 on public governance itself. The review highlights a significant disparity between the normative debates on the importance of public governance in Construction 4.0 and the empirical knowledge available regarding its practical implementation. While the literature emphasizes the need for effective governance mechanisms to address the challenges and opportunities presented by Construction 4.0, there is a notable lack of empirical research examining the actual implementation and outcomes of public governance strategies.

Originality/value

This is the first systematic review of academic literature on public governance in the context of Construction 4.0.
FaceReader as a neuromarketing tool to compare the olfactory preferences of customers in selected markets
Authors: Berčík Jakub , Mravcová Anna , Sendra Nadal Esther , López Lluch David Bernardo , Farkaš Andrea
Published: February 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine FaceReader as a tool to compare the olfactory preferences of two selected countries. This paper examines the olfactory preferences of customers in the bakery department of a grocery store in the Slovak and the Spanish market.

Design/methodology/approach

The aim of this study is to examine subconscious/unconscious preferences in the selection of aromas suitable for the bakery department in the Slovak and the Spanish market. In this case, it is not a classical qualitative sensory testing of the perception of fragrances. The aim is to identify the associations of scents related to the selected sales department through images of the selected aromas. A special platform is used to obtain subconscious/unconscious feedback, which allows online collection of implicit feedback using the software FaceReader 7.

Findings

The authors noticed the different moods of the two groups of respondents when they answered the question about what they associate with the smell of bakery products. The Spanish respondents were slightly pleasantly disposed, while the Slovak respondents were slightly unpleasantly disposed. The smell of bakery products evoked more memories and emotions in the Spanish respondents than in the Slovak respondents, which can be explained by the higher pleasant mood. The main contribution of this work lies in the new opportunities to obtain feedback that can be used in marketing research and that rely not only on explicit but also implicit data. The extension of the methodological apparatus to implicit feedback presupposes some form of control of the data collected by the questionnaire. The use of biometric tools can represent an efficient alternative in terms of time and money to the use of neuroimaging tools in the selection/research of aromas for specific stores/departments.

Research limitations/implications

It must be noted that the sample is small, and adequate conclusions cannot be made about entire population. Based on empirical findings and pandemic-related limitations, the authors plan to conduct similar research with real aroma samples and with even larger sample of tested respondents, considering weather, season, olfactory sensitivity (anosmia, hyposmia and normosmia) and participant fatigue (beginning and end of the week).

Originality/value

Today, marketers are facing the greatest challenge of how to attract consumers’ attention. Every individual has a different perception of the shopping environment based on his own experience, beliefs and attitudes. This is why new marketing techniques and approaches are becoming increasingly popular in the marketing environment.