bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Serological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2: Six-month trends and antibody response in a cohort of public health workers
Authors: Harris Ross J , Whitaker Heather J , Andrews Nick J , Aiano Felicity , Amin-Chowdhury Zahin , Flood Jessica , Borrow Ray , Linley Ezra , Ahmad Shazaad , Stapley Lorraine , Hallis Bassam , Amirthalingam Gayatri , Höschler Katja , Parker Ben , Horsley Alex , Brooks Timothy J G , Brown Kevin E , Ramsay Mary E , Ladhani Shamez N
Published: October 2020

Background

Antibody waning after SARS-CoV-2 infection may result in reduction in long-term immunity following natural infection and vaccination, and is therefore a major public health issue. We undertook prospective serosurveillance in a large cohort of healthy adults from the start of the epidemic in England.

Methods

Clinical and non-clinical healthcare workers were recruited across three English regions and tested monthly from March to November 2020 for SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein and nucleoprotein (N) antibodies using five different immunoassays. In positive individuals, antibody responses and long-term trends were modelled using mixed effects regression.

Findings

In total, 2246 individuals attended 12,247 visits and 264 were seropositive in ≥2 assays. Most seroconversions occurred between March and April 2020. The assays showed >85% agreement for ever-positivity, although this changed markedly over time. Antibodies were detected earlier with Abbott (N) but declined rapidly thereafter. With the EuroImmun (S) and receptor-binding domain (RBD) assays, responses increased for 4 weeks then fell until week 12-16 before stabilising. For Roche (N), responses increased until 8 weeks, stabilised, then declined, but most remained above the positive threshold. For Roche (S), responses continued to climb over the full 24 weeks, with no sero-reversions. Predicted proportions sero-reverting after 52 weeks were 100% for Abbott, 59% (95% credible interval 50-68%) Euroimmun, 41% (30-52%) RBD, 10% (8-14%) Roche (N) <2% Roche (S).

Interpretation

Trends in SARS-CoV-2 antibodies following infection are highly dependent on the assay used. Ongoing serosurveillance using multiple assays is critical for monitoring the course and long-term progression of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.
Prediction of the infection of COVID-19 in Bangladesh by classical SIR model
Authors: Parvez Sofi Mahmud , Tabassum Faria , Ali H. M. Shahadat , Hossain Md. Murad
Published: October 2020

The ongoing outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) started from Wuhan, China, at the end of December 2019. It is one of the leading public health challenges in the world because of high transmissibility. The first patient of COVID-19 was officially reported on March 8, 2020, in Bangladesh. Using the epidemiological data up to October 17, 2020, we try to estimate the infectious size. In this paper, we used Classical SIR (Susceptible-Infected-Recovered), model. The epidemic has now spread to more than 216 countries around the world. The necessary reproduction number R0 of Bangladesh is 1.92. The primary data was collected from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard (BANGLADESH: CASE TREND). In our analysis, the statistical parameters specify the best import to provide the predicted result. We projected that the epidemic curve pulling down in Bangladesh will start from the first week of November (November 4, 2020) and may end in the last week of July (July 24, 2021). It is also estimated that the start of acceleration on May 24, 2020, in 53 days, and the start of steady growth on September 10, 2020, in 109 days. The start of the ending phase of the epidemic may appear in the first week of November 2020, and the epidemic is expected to be finished by the last week of July 2021. However, these approximations may become invalid if a large variety of data occurs in upcoming days.
Ggtree: a serialized data object for visualization of phylogenetic tree and annotation data
Authors: Yu Guangchuang
Published: October 2020

Ggtree supports mapping and visualizing associated external data on phylogeny with two general methods. The output of ggtree is a ggtree graphic object that can be rendered as a static image. Most importantly, the input tree and associated data that used in visualization can be extracted from the graphic object, making it an ideal data structure for publishing tree (image, tree and data in one single object) and thus enhance data reuse and analytic reproducibility.
Sleep Enhances Neural Representations of True and False Memories: An Event-Related Potential Study
Authors: Jano Sophie , Romeo Julia , Hendrickx Matthew D. , Chatburn Alex
Published: October 2020

Episodic memory is reconstructive and is thus prone to false memory formation. Although false memories are proposed to develop via associative processes, the nature of their neural representations, and the effect of sleep on false memory processing is currently under debate. The present research employed the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm and a daytime nap to determine whether semantic false memories and true memories could be differentiated using event-related potentials (ERPs). We also sought to illuminate the role of sleep in memory formation and learning, with the use of a daytime nap. Healthy participants (N= 34, 28F, mean age = 23.23, range = 18-33) completed the DRM task with the learning and recognition phases separated by either a 2hr daytime nap or an equivalent wake period. Linear mixed modelling revealed larger LPC amplitudes for true memories in contrast to false memories, and larger P300 amplitudes for false compared to true memories. Those in the nap group also exhibited larger LPC and P300 amplitudes than participants in the wake group. Additionally, a larger P300 amplitude at delayed recognition (following a consolidation opportunity) was associated with increased true memory accuracy. These findings are argued to be reflective of sleep’s ability to promote pattern separation and pattern completion, with true memories arising from distinct memory traces, and false memories arising from thematic extraction and overlap in neural representations. The present research supports the perspective that both true and false memories are reflective of adaptive memory processes, whilst also suggesting that P300 amplitude affects episodic memory accuracy.
In silicosecretome characterization of clinicalMycobacterium abscessusisolates provides insights into antigenic differences
Authors: Cornejo-Granados Fernanda , Kohl Thomas A. , Sotomayor Flor Vásquez , Andres Sönke , Hernández-Pando Rogelio , Hurtado-Ramírez Juan Manuel , Utpatel Christian , Niemann Stefan , Maurer Florian P. , Ochoa-Leyva Adrian
Published: October 2020

Mycobacterium abscessus(MAB) is a widely disseminated pathogenic non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM). Like withM. tuberculosiscomplex (MTBC), excreted / secreted (ES) proteins play an essential role for its virulence and survival inside the host. ES proteins contain highly immunogenic proteins, which are of interest for novel diagnostic assays and vaccines. Here, we used a robust bioinformatics pipeline to predict the secretome of theM. abscessusATCC 19977 reference strain and fifteen clinical isolates belonging to all three MAB subspecies,M. abscessussubsp.abscessus,M. abscessussubsp.bolletii,andM. abscessussubsp.massiliense.We found that ~18% of the proteins encoded in the MAB genomes were predicted as secreted and that the three MAB subspecies shared > 85 % of the predicted secretomes. MAB isolates with a rough (R) colony morphotype showed larger predicted secretomes than isolates with a smooth (S) morphotype. Additionally, proteins exclusive to the secretomes of MAB R variants had higher antigenic densities than those exclusive to S variants, independently of the subspecies. For all investigated isolates, ES proteins had a significantly higher antigenic density than non-ES proteins. We identified 337 MAB ES proteins with homologues in previously investigatedM. tuberculosissecretomes. Among these, 222 have previous experimental support of secretion, and some proteins showed homology with protein drug targets reported in the DrugBank database. The predicted MAB secretomes showed a higher abundance of proteins related to quorum-sensing and Mce domains as compared to MTBC indicating the importance of these pathways for MAB pathogenicity and virulence. Comparison of the predicted secretome ofM. abscessusATCC 19977 with the list of essential genes revealed that 99 secreted proteins corresponded to essential proteins required forin vitrogrowth. All predicted secretomes were deposited in the Secret-AAR web-server (http://microbiomics.ibt.unam.mx/tools/aar/index.php).
Resting-state Co-activation Patterns as Accurate Predictors of Alzheimer’s Disease in Aged Mice
Authors: Adhikari Mohit H. , Belloy Michaël E. , Van der Linden Annemie , Keliris Georgios A. , Verhoye Marleen
Published: October 2020

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder marked by accumulation of extracellular amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques leads to progressive loss of memory and cognitive function. Resting state fMRI (RS-fMRI) studies have provided links between these two observations in terms of disruption of default mode and task positive resting state networks (RSNs). Important insights underlying these disruptions were recently obtained by investigating dynamic fluctuations in RS-fMRI signals in old TG2576 mice (mouse model of amyloidosis) using a set of quasi-periodic patterns (QPP). QPPs represent repeating spatiotemporal patterns of neural activity of predefined temporal length. In this article, we used an alternative methodology of co-activation patterns (CAPs) that represent instantaneous and transient brain configurations that are likely contributors to the emergence of commonly observed resting state networks (RSNs) and QPPs. We followed a recently published approach for obtaining CAPs that divided all time frames, instead of those corresponding to supra-threshold activations of a seed region as done traditionally, to extract CAPs from RS-fMRI recordings in 10 TG2576 female mice and 8 wild type littermates at 18 months of age. Subsequently we matched the CAPs from the two groups using the Hungarian method and compared the temporal (duration, occurrence rate) and the spatial (lateralization of significantly activated voxels) properties of matched CAPs. We found robust differences in the spatial components of matched CAPs. Finally, we used supervised learning to train a classifier using either the temporal or the spatial component of CAPs to distinguish the transgenic mice from the WT. We found that while duration and occurrence rates of all CAPs performed the classification with significantly higher accuracy than the chance-level, blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals of significantly activated voxels from individual CAPs turned out to be a significantly better predictive feature demonstrating a near perfect classification accuracy. Our results demonstrate resting-state co-activation patterns are a promising candidate for a diagnostic, and potentially, prognostic biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease.
Transport of Alzheimer’s Associated Amyloid-β Catalyzed by P-glycoprotein
Authors: McCormick James W. , Ammerman Lauren , Chen (党陈) Gang , Vogel Pia D. , Wise John G.
Published: October 2020

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a critical membrane transporter in the blood brain barrier (BBB) and is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, previous studies on the ability of P-gp to directly transport the Alzheimer’s associated amyloid-β (Aβ) protein have produced contradictory results. Here we use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, transport substrate accumulation studies in cell culture, and biochemical activity assays to show that P-gp actively transports Aβ. We observed transport of Aβ40 and Aβ42 monomers by P-gp in explicit MD simulations of a putative catalytic cycle. Inin vitroassays with P-gp overexpressing cells, we observed enhanced accumulation of fluorescently labeled Aβ42 in the presence of Tariquidar, a potent P-gp inhibitor. We also showed that Aβ42 stimulated the ATP hydrolysis activity of isolated P-gp in nanodiscs. Our findings expand the substrate profile of P-gp, and suggest that P-gp may contribute to the onset and progression of AD.
A new method to accurately identify single nucleotide variants using small FFPE breast samples
Authors: Fortunato Angelo , Mallo Diego , Rupp Shawn M. , King Lorraine M. , Hardman Timothy , Lo Joseph Y. , Hall Allison , Marks Jeffrey R. , Hwang E. Shelley , Maley Carlo C.
Published: October 2020

Most tissue collections of neoplasms are composed of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) excised tumor samples used for routine diagnostics. DNA sequencing is becoming increasingly important in cancer research and clinical management; however, it is difficult to accurately sequence DNA from FFPE samples. We developed and validated a new bioinformatic algorithm to robustly identify somatic single nucleotide variants (SNVs) from whole exome sequencing using small amounts of DNA extracted from archival FFPE samples of breast cancers. We optimized this strategy using 28 pairs of technical replicates. After optimization, the mean similarity between replicates increased 5-fold, reaching 88% (range 0-100%), with a mean of 21.4 SNVs (range 1-68) per sample, representing a markedly superior performance to existing algorithms. We found that the SNV-identification accuracy declined when there was less than 40ng of DNA available and that insertion-deletion variant calls are less reliable than single base substitutions. As the first application of the new algorithm, we compared samples of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast to their adjacent invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) samples. We observed an increased number of mutations (paired-samples sign test, p<0.05), and a higher genetic divergence in the invasive samples (paired-samples sign test, p<0.01). Our algorithm provides a significant improvement in detecting SNVs in FFPE samples over previous approaches.

Key Points

The sequencing of reduced quantities of DNA extracted from FFPE samples leads to substantial sequencing errors that require correction in order to obtain accurate detection of somatic mutations.

We developed and validated a new bioinformatic algorithm to robustly identify somatic single nucleotide variants using small amounts of DNA extracted from archival FFPE samples of breast cancers.

Variant calling software packages need to be optimized to reduce the impact of sequencing errors. Our bioinformatics pipeline represents a significant methodological advance compared to the currently available bioinformatic tools used for the analysis of small FFPE samples.
Comprehensive enhancer-target gene assignments improve gene set level interpretation of genome-wide regulatory data
Authors: Qin Tingting , Lee Christopher , Cavalcante Raymond , Orchard Peter , Yao Heming , Zhang Hanrui , Wang Shuze , Patil Snehal , Boyle Alan P , Sartor Maureen A
Published: October 2020

Revealing the gene targets of distal regulatory elements is challenging yet critical for interpreting regulome data. Experiment-derived enhancer-gene links are restricted to a small set of enhancers and/or cell types, while the accuracy of genome-wide approaches remains elusive due to the lack of a systematic evaluation. We combined multiple spatial andin silicoapproaches for defining enhancer locations and linking them to their target genes aggregated across >500 cell types, generating 1,860 human genome-wide distalEnhancer toTarget geneDefinitions (EnTDefs). To evaluate performance, we used gene set enrichment testing on 87 independent ENCODE ChIP-seq datasets of 34 transcription factors (TFs) and assessed concordance of results with known TF Gene Ontology (GO) annotations., assuming that greater concordance with TF-GO annotation signifies better enrichment results and thus more accurate enhancer-to-gene assignments. Notably, the top ranked 741 (40%) EnTDefs significantly outperformed the common, naïve approach of linking distal regions to the nearest genes (FDR < 0.05), and the top 10 ranked EnTDefs performed well when applied to ChIP-seq data of other cell types. These general EnTDefs also showed comparable performance to EnTDefs generated using cell-type-specific data. Our findings illustrate the power of our approach to provide genome-wide interpretation regardless of cell type.
Analysis of ovarian transcriptomes reveals thousands of novel genes in the insect vectorRhodnius prolixus
Authors: Coelho Vitor Lima , Brito Tarcísio Fontenele de , Brito Ingrid Alexandre de Abreu , Cardoso Maira Arruda , Berni Mateus Antonio , Araujo Helena Maria Marcolla , Sammeth Michael , Pane Attilio
Published: October 2020

Rhodnius prolixusis a Triatominae insect species and a primary vector of Chagas disease. The genome ofR. prolixushas been recently sequenced and partially assembled, but few transcriptome analyses have been performed to date. In this study, we describe the stage-specific transcriptomes obtained from previtellogenic stages of oogenesis and from mature eggs. By analyzing ~228 million paired-end RNA-Seq reads, we significantly improved the current genome annotations for 9,206 genes. We provide extended 5’ and 3’ UTRs, complete Open Reading Frames, and alternative transcript variants. Strikingly, using a combination of genome-guided andde novotranscriptome assembly we found more than two thousand novel genes, thus increasing the number of genes inR. prolixusfrom 15,738 to 17,864. We used the improved transcriptome to investigate stage-specific gene expression profiles duringR. prolixusoogenesis. Our data reveal that 11,127 genes are expressed in the early previtellogenic stage of oogenesis and their transcripts are deposited in the developing egg including key factors regulating germline development, genome integrity, and the maternal-zygotic transition. In addition, GO term analyses show that transcripts encoding components of the steroid hormone receptor pathway, cytoskeleton, and intracellular signaling are abundant in the mature eggs, where they likely control early embryonic development upon fertilization. Our results significantly improve theR. prolixusgenome and transcriptome and provide novel insight into oogenesis and early embryogenesis in this medically relevant insect.
Cortical myosin minifilaments orchestrate the arrangement of microridge protrusions on epithelial cell surfaces
Authors: van Loon Aaron P. , Erofeev Ivan S. , Goryachev Andrew B. , Sagasti Alvaro
Published: October 2020

Actin-based protrusions vary in morphology, stability, and arrangement on cell surfaces. Microridges are laterally-elongated protrusions arranged in maze-like patterns on mucosal epithelial cells that rearrange dynamically by fission and fusion. To characterize how microridges mature and investigate the mechanisms driving fission and fusion, we imaged microridges in the maturing skin of zebrafish larvae. After their initial development, microridges continued to lengthen and microridge alignment became increasingly well ordered. Imaging F-actin and Non-Muscle Myosin II (NMII) revealed that microridge fission and fusion were associated with local NMII activity in the apical cortex. Inhibiting NMII blocked rearrangements, reduced microridge density, and altered microridge spacing. High-resolution imaging revealed that individual cortical NMII minifilaments are tethered to protrusions, often connecting adjacent microridges. NMII minifilaments connecting the ends of microridges fused them together, whereas minifilaments oriented perpendicular to microridges severed them or pulled them closer together. Our findings demonstrate that as cells mature, microridges continue to remodel and form an increasingly orderly arrangement through a process orchestrated by cortical NMII contraction.
Managing moral reformation: the case of Queensland's reformatory for boys, 1871–1919
Authors: Clarissa Carden
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This article explores the case of the Queensland's reformatory for boys through the years 1871–1919 to analyse how the institution negotiated the complex, and at times competing, goals of reforming, educating and punishing its inmate population.

Design/methodology/approach

The article relies on documentary evidence, including archival material produced by the institution and newspaper records published between 1865, when the legislation allowing the institution to be created was passed, to 1919, when the institution ceased to be known as a “reformatory”.

Findings

This research demonstrates that, despite considerable changes during the studied period, the overarching goal of reforming criminal and potentially criminal young people continuously relied on achieving a balance between reformative techniques such as religious instruction and work placements, providing a useful education and punishing offenders. It also demonstrates that, despite efforts to achieve this balance, the institution was often described as unsuccessful.

Originality/value

Due to the paucity of available archival evidence, there is still relatively little known about how the reformatories of late-19th- and early-20th-century Australia attempted to carry out programmes of moral reformation. This paper contributes to the field through an analysis of an institution which faced unusual challenges as a result of a complex inmate population.
Educational perspective on interreligious relations among Muslims, Christians and Kaharingan adherents in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
Authors: Qodir Abdul
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how do Muslims, Christians and Kaharingan adherents conduct interreligious relations among them in their everyday lives in Central Kalimantan; why do these religious communities observe interreligious relations as such; and what makes this model of interreligious relations.

Design/methodology/approach

The corpus for analysis comes from in-depth interviews with 20 persons, which took place between August and October in 2016 in Palangka Raya city and Kotawaringin Timur Regency in Central Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. The informants were selected from groups believed to be lay members and elites of Muslim, Christian and Kaharingan communities using snowball sampling technique facilitated by local research assistants. These informants are mainly mainstream Muslims, Christians and Kaharingan adherents.

Findings

The way to peaceful and co-existence life lived by religious communities in Indonesia is closely related to its rich treasures and precious tradition of cultural heritage: Indonesian communalism, Indonesian community spirit as seen in terms such as “tradisi hidup bersama,” “semangat kebersamaan” and “satu keluarga.” Instead of emphasizing the divisive differences among communities with various religious backgrounds, Muslims, Christians and Kaharingan adherents in Central Kalimantan create “third spaces,” common grounds shared by these religious communities at individual, institutional and societal levels.

Originality/value

Based on empirical findings, this research argues that the practices of peaceful and co-existence life lived by diverse religious communities in Indonesia relate to their particular social-cultural contexts of rich treasures and precious tradition of cultural heritage in the forms of Indonesian communalism and community spirit. Instead of emphasizing the divisive differences among themselves, various religious communities in Central Kalimantan create third spaces, common grounds between them and are shared by them at individual, institutional and societal levels.
Muslim tourists’ intention to book on Airbnb: the moderating role of gender
Authors: Tiamiyu Tosin , Quoquab Farzana , Mohammad Jihad
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of reputation on perceived value towards Muslim tourists’ booking intention on Airbnb, particularly from the Malaysian perspective. Additionally, this study investigates the moderating role of gender on the relationship between perceived value and guest booking intention.

Design/methodology/approach

This study considered the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) theory to develop the research framework. Using a self-administered survey questionnaire, 156 completed and usable responses were obtained. The data were analysed by applying partial least squares–structural equation modelling technique, more specifically by using SmartPLS (version 3) software.

Findings

The study findings revealed that both reputation and perceived value positively affect Muslim tourists’ booking intention on Airbnb service. Moreover, it is also found that, gender plays a moderating role on guests’ intention to book accommodation on the Airbnb platform.

Practical implications

It is expected that the findings of this study can help the practitioners in the hospitality industry, particularly in strategising their marketing efforts to attract more tourists to engage in a meaningful relationship with the Airbnb in Malaysia. It is suggested that, the Airbnb hosts need to consider the reputation (stimulus) and perceived value (organism) in their marketing strategy to foster Muslim guests’ booking intention.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is among the first to examine the predictors of Muslim tourists’ booking intention on Airbnb. Moreover, very little is known on the moderating role of gender on perceived value and its association with booking intention, which this research attempts to address.
A call to action for virtual team leaders: practitioner perspectives on trust, conflict and the need for organizational support
Authors: Turesky Elizabeth Fisher , Smith Coby D. , Turesky Ted K.
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the leadership behaviors of managers of virtual teams (VTs), particularly in the areas of trust building and conflict management. This study aims to expand the research of VT performance by offering first-person accounts from VT leaders on the strategies implemented to drive VT performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a grounded theory approach to examine the leadership behaviors through in-depth interviews with eight field managers of VTs employed by different technology companies. Interview questions focused on trust-building and conflict management techniques. This structured qualitative study incorporates elements of narrative inquiry interwoven in the findings.

Findings

Building a high-trust environment was found to be critical to VT performance. VT managers indicated that effective conflict resolution skills were also important.

Research limitations/implications

Although the sample size is within the suggested range for a valid phenomenological study, the results may lack generalizability. Participants were limited to the technology industry; leaders of high-performing VTs in other industries could offer differing results.

Practical implications

This study’s contribution is the exploration and identification of innovative techniques that VT managers implemented to build trust and resolve conflict. A lack of holistic training programs for the VT leader is also considered along with suggestions for future research and implications for the VT managers.

Originality/value

This study’s contribution is the exploration and identification of innovative techniques that VT managers implemented that drive VT performance, particularly related to building high levels of trust and managing conflict effectively. Practices are suggested whereby both the VT leader and the organization take an active role in ensuring that the VT has the opportunity to perform optimally.
Detection of a pederin‐like compound using a dilution‐to‐extinction‐based platform for the isolation of marine bacteria in drug discovery strategies
Authors: Benítez Xulio , Gonzalez Elena G. , García Jesus , Zúñiga Paz , de la Calle Fernando , Cuevas Carmen
Published: October 2020

The continued development of culturing technologies for the discovery of new molecules from marine microbes is of paramount importance for drug discovery. Coupled with this, the use of the high‐throughput approach shows promise for increasing the number of Gram‐negative and non‐filamentous bacteria cultures that can be surveyed, since they show a lower potential of bioactivity. In this work, we propose a new strategy of high‐throughput cultivation of bacteria inspired by a dilution‐to‐extinction (DTE) methodology for the isolation of, and screening for, new cytotoxic compound producing marine bacteria. A marine sponge tissue was directly used as inoculum and the results were compared with the data obtained through the direct plating isolation method. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus polymerase chain reaction (ERIC‐PCR) genomic fingerprinting indicated the isolation of four bioactive strains, three of them producers of a pederin‐like compound, and the fourth one able to synthesize a different compound, still unidentified, rendered by the DTE approach, in comparison with one bioactive strain identified through the plating method. Analyses based on the 16S rRNA gene data showed the existence of two different species belonging to the genus Labrenzia. The efficiency and diversity ratio in the number of isolates and compounds are discussed. In view of the results, the proposed DTE approach proved to be efficient for the isolation of new cytotoxic compounds of marine origin and pave the way for future potential applications.
Information linkages among National, NSW, VIC, and QLD real estate markets in Australia
Authors: Wang JingJing (Justine) , Croucher John S.
Published: October 2020

We examine information and volatility linkages among NATIONAL, NSW, VIC and QLD housing markets in Australia using the novel rational expectations framework of financial contagion and a combination of robust econometric methods including the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM), correlations and Generalised Impulse Response Method, etc. We find information linkages across markets are revealed in the correlations of their volatilities and correlations of the house price returns. Moreover, we find these volatilities reflect house price patterns of the most important four real estate economic cycles over the last two decades.
Financial Consumers’ Sense of Purpose and Consistent Financial Decisions: Experimental Evidence from South Korea*
Authors: Park Na Young
Published: October 2020

This paper examines the association between financial consumers’ sense of purpose and the consistency of their choices when they make investment decisions. The data are based on two controlled experiments conducted in South Korea. The first main result shows that financial consumers’ psychological well‐being has a positive association with choice consistency. The second result confirms the causal relationship between sense of purpose and choice consistency.
Co‐morbidities and mortality associated with transfusion‐dependent beta‐thalassaemia in patients in England: a 10‐year retrospective cohort analysis
Authors: Jobanputra Minesh , Paramore Clark , Laird Sandra G. , McGahan Michael , Telfer Paul
Published: October 2020

A retrospective cohort analysis to explore 10‐year mortality and prevalence of transfusion‐dependent β‐thalassaemia (TDT)‐associated co‐morbidities in patients with TDT was undertaken using Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data from the National Health Service (NHS) in England. A 10‐year forward‐looking cohort analysis for the period 2009–2018 was completed using HES admitted patient care (APC), outpatient data, and linked HES/Office of National Statistics mortality data for patients with β‐thalassaemia (ICD‐10 diagnosis code D56.1). TDT‐associated co‐morbidity rates were high in the 612 patients with TDT, with 76% having at least one co‐morbidity, 54% suffering from two of more, and 37% three or more. The three most common TDT‐associated co‐morbidities, occurring in more than one third of patients were: endocrine disorders (excluding diabetes) 40%, osteoporosis 40%, and diabetes 34%. Cardiac disease was observed in 18% of patients overall, with atrial fibrillation and heart failure being the most common with a prevalence of 11% and 9%, respectively. The crude 10‐year mortality rate in the TDT cohort was 6·2% (38/612), significantly greater than the 1·2% age/sex‐adjusted mortality rate of the general population (P < 0·001). These data support the notion that the unmet need in TDT remains significant, with high rates of co‐morbidity and mortality.
Sentiment analysis of tweets using a unified convolutional neural network‐long short‐term memory network model
Authors: Umer Muhammad , Ashraf Imran , Mehmood Arif , Kumari Saru , Ullah Saleem , Sang Choi Gyu
Published: October 2020

Sentiment analysis focuses on identifying and classifying the sentiments expressed in text messages and reviews. Social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram generate heaps of data filled with sentiments, and the analysis of such data is very fruitful when trying to improve the quality of both products and services alike. Classic machine learning techniques have a limited capability to efficiently analyze such large amounts of data and produce precise results; they are thus supported by deep learning models to achieve higher accuracy. This study proposes a combination of convolutional neural network and long short‐term memory (CNN‐LSTM) deep network for performing sentiment analysis on Twitter datasets. The performance of the proposed model is analyzed with machine learning classifiers, including the support vector classifier, random forest (RF), stochastic gradient descent (SGD), logistic regression, a voting classifier (VC) of RF and SGD, and state‐of‐the‐art classifier models. Furthermore, two feature extraction methods (term frequency‐inverse document frequency and word2vec) are also investigated to determine their impact on prediction accuracy. Three datasets (US airline sentiments, women's e‐commerce clothing reviews, and hate speech) are utilized to evaluate the performance of the proposed model. Experiment results demonstrate that the CNN‐LSTM achieves higher accuracy than those of other classifiers.
The relationship between resting heart rate and new‐onset microalbuminuria in people with type 2 diabetes: An 8‐year follow‐up study
Authors: Chang Y. K. , Fan H. C. , Lim P. S. , Chuang S. Y. , Hsu C. C.
Published: October 2020

Aims

Microalbuminuria is an indicator of adverse cardiovascular events and chronic kidney disease. Studies have described an elevated resting heart rate as a risk factor for microalbuminuria in people with cardiovascular disease, but none have clarified its role in microalbuminuria development in people with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between resting heart rate and new‐onset microalbuminuria in type 2 diabetes.

Methods

A total of 788 people from a glycaemic control trial in Taiwan were enrolled. Microalbuminuria was defined as a fasting urine albumin‐to‐creatinine ratio ≥30 mg/g in two consecutive urine tests. Resting heart rate and other covariates were measured at baseline. The quartile of resting heart rates, categorized as <70, 70–74, 75–80 and >80 beats/min, was used for analysis. Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the association between resting heart rate and risk of microalbuminuria.

Results

During the follow‐up period, 244 people (31%) developed microalbuminuria. Those who developed microalbuminuria had a longer diabetes duration (median = 3.0 vs. 2.0 years, p < 0.001), higher rate of hypertension (77% vs. 66%, p = 0.003), higher rate of angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker treatment (50% vs. 38%, p = 0.001) and higher baseline HbA1c level (70 vs. 64 mmol/mol, 8.6 vs. 8.0%, p < 0.001). After adjusting for demographics, metabolic profiles and inflammatory markers, developing microalbuminuria was significantly associated with baseline resting heart rate of 70–74, 75–80 and >80 beats/min (with hazard ratios [95% CI] of 2.05 [1.32, 3.18], 2.10 [1.32, 3.32] and 1.62 [1.01, 2.59], respectively) compared to resting heart rates <70 beats/min. An average increased risk of microalbuminuria for increment of 10 beats/min was about 24% among those with hypertension (with hazard ratios of 1.24 [1.05, 1.47] in the multivariable Cox model).

Conclusions

This prospective cohort study showed that resting heart rate may be an associative risk factor for developing microalbuminuria in type 2 diabetes.
The impact of U.S. sanctions on Iran’s engagement and integration in the Belt and Road Initiative
Authors: Chaziza Mordechai
Published: October 2020

This study seeks to examine the new dynamic of the growing comprehensive strategic partnership between Iran and China in order to understand the impact and the extent of the reimposition of U.S. secondary sanctions on Iran’s engagement and integration in the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative. Tehran has a special geographical and communication status in West Asia which makes it one of the important centerpieces of the new Silk Road trade route. However, Washington’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement and to reimpose sanctions has created barriers in the new dynamic in Sino‐Iranian trade and obstacles to integrating Iran into the realization of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Welfare and management of decreased visual capacities and pain in a pony suffering from equine recurrent uveitis: A clinical case
Authors: de Boyer des Roches A. , Peyrecave‐Capo X. , Rocafort‐Ferrer G. , Thomas A. , Roche H. , Desjardins I. , Mounier L. , Cadoré J.‐L.
Published: October 2020

This clinical case describes a 14‐year‐old Gypsy Cob gelding presented for suspected impaired vision. Given the apparently insidious presentation, bilateral equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) was strongly suspected. ERU management was addressed both clinically and from a welfare point of view. Treatment using ointment was preferred to eye drops to reduce the frequency of administration. Clicker training was used to facilitate treatment administration by eliciting positive emotions. In response to the progressive bilateral blindness, social and physical environments and new relational practices were adapted to reduce stress on the pony by increasing predictability and controllability of his situation. This case is to our knowledge the first to include detailed welfare management strategies as a part of a more comprehensive medical approach to ERU.
Methylprednisolone alleviates multiple sclerosis by expanding myeloid‐derived suppressor cells via glucocorticoid receptor β and S100A8/9 up‐regulation
Authors: Wang Zhongkun , Zheng Ge , Li Guangjian , Wang Mengkun , Ma Zhanchuan , Li Huimin , Wang Xiang‐Yang , Yi Huanfa
Published: October 2020

Methylprednisolone is an effective drug in the treatment of autoimmune disease, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), due to long‐acting anti‐inflammatory, antiallergic and immunosuppressant. Previous studies have noted the importance of myeloid‐derived suppressor cells (MDSC) in MS progression. However, it is still not known whether methylprednisolone could influence the ratio and function of MDSC during MS treatment. In the current study, we found an increased ratio of MDSC at the onset of EAE in mice model; but methylprednisolone pulse therapy (MPPT) did not alter the percentage and suppressive function of MDSC during disease attenuation. However, the percentage of G‐MDSC in PBMC significantly increased in patients with MS. Surprisingly, relapsing MS patients showed a significant increase in both M‐MDSC and G‐MDSC after MPPT. The disease remission positively correlated expansion of MDSC and expression of arginase‐1. Additionally, MPPT reduced the expression of inhibitory glucocorticoid (GCs) receptor β subunit on MDSC while elevating serum levels of immune regulatory S100A8/A9 heterodimer. Thus, MDSC dynamics and function in mouse EAE differ from those in human MS during MPPT. Our study suggested that GCs treatment may help relieve the acute phase of MS by expanding MDSC through up‐regulating of GR signalling and S100A8/A9 heterodimers.
Immortalization up‐regulated protein promotes tumorigenesis and inhibits apoptosis of papillary thyroid cancer
Authors: Lin Lizhi , Wen Jialiang , Lin Bangyi , Bhandari Adheesh , Zheng Danni , Kong Lingguo , Wang Yinghao , Wang Ouchen , Chen Yizuo
Published: October 2020

The incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing in recent years worldwide, but the underlying mechanisms await further exploration. We utilized the bioinformatic analysis to discover that Immortalization up‐regulated protein (IMUP) could be a potential oncogene in the papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). We verified this finding in several databases and locally validated cohorts. Clinicopathological features analyses showed that high expression of IMUP is positively related to malignant clinicopathological features in PTC. Braf‐like PTC patients with higher IMUP expression had shorter disease‐free survival. The biological function of IMUP in PTC cell lines (KTC‐1 and TPC‐1) was investigated using small interfering RNA. Our results showed that silencing IMUP suppresses proliferation, migration and invasion while inducing apoptosis in PTC cell lines. Changes of the expression of apoptosis‐related molecules were identified by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. We also found that YAP1 and TAZ, the critical effectors in the Hippo pathway, were down‐regulated when the IMUP is silenced. Rescue experiments showed that overexpression of YAP1 reverses the tumour inhibitory effect caused by IMUP knockdown. Our study demonstrated that IMUP has an oncogenic function in PTC and might be a new target gene in the treatment of PTC.
Effects of passage through the digestive tract on incretin secretion: Before and after birth
Authors: Tomotaki Seiichi , Araki Ryosuke , Motokura Kouji , Tomobe Yutaro , Yamauchi Takeru , Hanaoka Shintaro , Tomotaki Hiroko , Iwanaga Kougoro , Niwa Fusako , Takita Junko , Kawai Masahiko
Published: October 2020

Aims/Introduction

It was reported that fetuses secrete endogenous incretin; however, the stimulants of fetal incretin secretion are not fully understood. To investigate the association between the passage of amniotic fluid through the intestinal tract and fetal secretion of incretin, we analyzed umbilical cord incretin levels of infants with duodenum atresia.

Materials and Methods

Infants born from July 2017 to July 2019 (infants with duodenum atresia and normal term or preterm infants) were enrolled. We measured and compared the concentrations of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) and gastric inhibitory peptide/glucose‐dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) in the umbilical vein and preprandial blood samples after birth.

Results

A total of 98 infants (47 term, 46 preterm and 5 with duodenum atresia) were included. In patients with duodenum atresia, umbilical vein GLP‐1 and GIP levels were the same as those in normal infants. In postnatal samples, there were positive correlations between the amount of enteral feeding and preprandial serum concentrations of GLP‐1 (r = 0.47) or GIP (r = 0.49).

Conclusions

Our results show that enteral feeding is important for secretion of GLP‐1 and GIP in postnatal infants, whereas the passage of amniotic fluid is not important for fetal secretion of GLP‐1 and GIP. The effect of ingested material passing through the digestive tract on incretin secretion might change before and after birth. Other factors might stimulate secretion of GLP‐1 and GIP during the fetal period.
The dietary relationships of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) with microfungi
Authors: McFarlane D. J. , Aitken E. A. B. , Ridley A. W. , Walter G. H.
Published: October 2020

The ecology of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) outside of grain storage facilities is poorly known. However, high densities of T. castaneum adults are known to infest stored cotton seeds (Gossypium hirsutum (L.)) in Queensland, Australia, despite the absence of stored food products in the immediate vicinity. Previous studies suggest that the beetles are attracted to the fungal colonies growing on the residual fibres that remain on the cotton seeds after ginning, but the specifics of this remain unclear, even as to the species of fungi involved. In the current study, 14 fungal species were isolated from stored cotton seeds collected from four sites in Queensland. The feeding preferences of the adult beetles and the developmental success of the larvae were recorded for each fungal species. Gut analyses of T. castaneum adults, after exposure in no‐choice feeding tests, showed that the beetles will feed on any one of the 14 fungal species when exposed (over 14 days) to cotton seeds that had been inoculated with one particular fungal species. The developmental success of the larvae varied depending on the fungal species, with most fungal species supporting only low levels of successful development (<30%). Tests with each fungal species and the volatiles they release revealed that neither adult nor larval survival was significantly affected by the presence of any particular fungal isolate. These results indicate that T. castaneum will feed on a variety of fungal species but that none of the tested fungal species on its own provides a good larval diet for T. castaneum.
Testing the Impact of FFC‐AL‐EIT on Psychosocial and Behavioral Outcomes in Assisted Living
Authors: Resnick Barbara , Boltz Marie , Galik Elizabeth , Fix Steven , Holmes Sarah , Zhu Shijun , Barr Erik
Published: October 2020

BACKGROUND

This study tested the impact of Function Focused Care for Assisted Living Using the Evidence Integration Triangle (FFC‐AL‐EIT) on: (1) care interactions between residents and direct care staff; and (2) behavior and psychological symptoms associated with dementia among residents.

DESIGN

This was a randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

A total of 59 assisted living facilities in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts participated.

PARTICIPANTS

The sample included 550 mostly White (98%), female (69%) residents with a mean age of 89.30 (standard deviation = 7.63) years.

INTERVENTION

The four‐step FFC‐AL‐EIT intervention was implemented by a function focused care nurse facilitator working with a facility champion over 12 months. The steps included: (1) environment and policy assessments; (2) education; (3) establishing resident function focused care service plans; and (4) mentoring and motivating.

MEASURES

Resident descriptive data (e.g., age, sex, education, and comorbidities), depression, agitation, resistiveness to care, and the quality of care interactions were obtained at baseline and 4 and 12 months. Treatment fidelity data included environment and policy assessments, performance of function focused care by staff, and service plan assessments.

RESULTS

There was a significant positive treatment effect related to depression, agitation, resistiveness to care, and quality of care interactions with either less decline or some improvement in these behaviors and symptoms in the treatment versus control group.

CONCLUSION

The study provides some statistical support, which may not necessarily be clinically significant evidence, for psychosocial outcomes of residents and care interactions between staff and residents in assisted living settings.