bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Current genomic deep learning models display decreased performance in cell type specific accessible regions
Authors: Kathail Pooja , Shuai Richard W. , Chung Ryan , Ye Chun Jimmie , Loeb Gabriel , Ioannidis Nilah M.
Published: July 2024

Background:A number of deep learning models have been developed to predict epigenetic features such as chromatin accessibility from DNA sequence. Model evaluations commonly report performance genome-wide; however,cisregulatory elements (CREs), which play critical roles in gene regulation, make up only a small fraction of the genome. Furthermore, cell type specific CREs contain a large proportion of complex disease heritability.Results:We evaluate genomic deep learning models in chromatin accessibility regions with varying degrees of cell type specificity. We assess two modeling directions in the field: general purpose models trained across thousands of outputs (cell types and epigenetic marks), and models tailored to specific tissues and tasks. We find that the accuracy of genomic deep learning models, including two state-of-the-art general purpose models – Enformer and Sei – varies across the genome and is reduced in cell type specific accessible regions. Using accessibility models trained on cell types from specific tissues, we find that increasing model capacity to learn cell type specific regulatory syntax – through single-task learning or high capacity multi-task models – can improve performance in cell type specific accessible regions. We also observe that improving reference sequence predictions does not consistently improve variant effect predictions, indicating that novel strategies are needed to improve performance on variants.Conclusions:Our results provide a new perspective on the performance of genomic deep learning models, showing that performance varies across the genome and is particularly reduced in cell type specific accessible regions. We also identify strategies to maximize performance in cell type specific accessible regions.
FlowPacker: Protein side-chain packing with torsional flow matching
Authors: Lee Jin Sub , Kim Philip M.
Published: July 2024

Accurate prediction of protein side-chain conformations is necessary to understand protein folding, proteinprotein interactions and facilitate de novo protein design. Here we apply torsional flow matching and equivariant graph attention to develop FlowPacker, a fast and performant model to predict protein sidechain conformations conditioned on the protein sequence and backbone. We show that FlowPacker outperforms previous state-of-the-art baselines across most metrics with improved runtime. We further show that FlowPacker can be used to inpaint missing side-chain coordinates and also for multimeric targets, and exhibits strong performance on a test set of antibody-antigen complexes. Code is available athttps://gitlab.com/mjslee0921/flowpacker.
Transcriptional Characterization of Resistance in Early Drug Response
Authors: Ruoff Cole , Mitchell Allison , Mondal Priya , Gopalan Vishaka , Gottesman Michael , Hannenhalli Sridhar
Published: July 2024

Therapeutic resistance is the leading cause of treatment failure and death from cancer. While resistance can be driven by genetic mutations, mounting evidence also points to an epigenetic basis of resistance. Much of this epigenetic, or non-genetic, resistance has been attributed to drug-resistant transcriptional cell states that are either induced by drug treatment or pre-exist in a fraction of cells selected by treatment. However, the extent to which long-term resistance is manifested in the early inherent cellular response to drugs is poorly understood, and which aspects, if any, of this early response to drug-induced transcriptional response are evolutionarily conserved properties of cells. To address these questions, we integrate datasets of long-term drug resistance and early drug response data across multiple cell lines with drug response and resistance data from bacteria and yeast. Our findings suggest that cancer cell states in both the drug naive populations as well as in populations shortly after treatment share transcriptional properties with fully established resistant cell populations, and CRISPR-cas9 knockout of transcription factors predicted to regulate the resistant transcriptional programs result in increased drug sensitivity. Furthermore, the resistance states manifested as early drug response are evolutionarily conserved. Finally, we show that early resistant states discriminate responders from non-responders across multiple human cancer trials.
Charge distribution and helical content tune the binding of septin’s amphipathic helix domain to lipid membranes
Authors: Edelmaier Christopher J. , Klawa Stephen J. , Mofidi S. Mahsa , Wang Qunzhao , Bhonge Shreeya , Vogt Ellysa J. D. , Curtis Brandy N. , Shi Wenzheng , Hanson Sonya M. , Klotsa Daphne , Forest M. Gregory , Gladfelter Amy S. , Freeman Ronit , Nazockdast Ehssan
Published: July 2024

Septins are a class of cytoskeletal proteins that preferentially bind to domains of micron-scale curvature on the cell membrane. Studies have shown that amphipathic helix (AH) domains in septin oligomers are essential for septin curvature sensing. Yet, the underlying mechanochemical interactions that modulate this curvature sensing remain ambiguous. Here we use all-atom molecular dynamics alongside a metadynamics enhanced sampling approach to bridge the gap between time and length scales required to optimize and validate experimental design of amphipathic helices. Simulations revealed that the local charge on the termini of an 18-amino-acid AH peptide impacts its helical content and positioning within lipid membranes. These computational observations are confirmed with experiments measuring the binding of synthetic AH constructs with variable helical content and charged termini to lipid vesicles. Taken together, these results identify the helical content of amphipathic helices as a regulator of septin binding affinity to lipid membranes. Additionally, we examined an extended AH sequence including 8 amino acids upstream and downstream of the minimal 18-amino-acid-long AH domain to more closely mimic the native protein in simulations and experiments. Simulations and experiments show that the extended peptide sequence adopts a strong alpha-helical conformation when free in solution, giving rise to a higher affinity to lipid membranes than that of the shorter AH sequence. Together, these results provide insight into how the native septin proteins interact with membranes, and establish general design principles that can guide the interaction of future synthetic materials with lipid membranes in a programmable manner.

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Understanding how cells sense and react to their shape is necessary for numerous biological processes. Here we explore the interactions between amphipathic helices, a curvature sensing protein motif, and lipid membranes. Using molecular dynamics simulations, enhanced simulation sampling techniques, and experiments, we find that increasing the helical content of the amphipathic helix or adding charged capping sequences yields higher membrane binding affinity. Understanding these parameters for membrane-binding could enable us to interface and regulate native protein functions, as well as guide the design of synthetic curvature-sensing materials that can interact with and deform lipid membranes.
Characterization ofDnajc12knock-out mice, a model of hypodopaminergia
Authors: Deng Isaac Bul , Follett Jordan , Fox Jesse D. , Wall Shannon , Farrer Matthew J.
Published: July 2024

HomozygousDNAJC12c.79-2A>G (p. V27Wfs*14) loss-of-function mutations were first reported as a cause of young-onset Parkinson’s disease. However, bi-allelic autosomal recessive pathogenic variants inDNAJC12may lead to an alternative constellation of neurological features, including infantile dystonia, developmental delay, intellectual disability and neuropsychiatric disorders. DNAJC12 is understood to co-chaperone aromatic amino acid hydroxylases to foster the synthesis of biogenic amines.In vitro, we discover overexpressed DNAJC12 forms a complex with guanine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1 (GCH1), the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin, a cofactor paramount for biogenic amines synthesis. We also confirm DNAJC12’s interaction with tyrosine (TH) and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), which are rate-limiting enzymes for synthesis of biogenic amines dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT).In-vitroknock-down of DNAJC12 with a siRNA destabilizes the DNAJC12-TH-GCH1 complex, reducing GCH1 levels, whereas reciprocal overexpression of both TH and GCH1 increases endogenous DNAJC12, alluding to the significance of modulating the DNAJC12-TH-GCH1 complex as a therapy for DNAJC12 and other biogenic amine disorders. We extend these investigations to a Cre-conditional knock-out mice (cDKO) in which loxP sites flankingDnajc12exon 2 enable its excision by cre-recombinase. With germline Cre expression, we have created a constitutiveDnajc12knock-out (DKO). DKO mice exhibit reduced locomotion/ exploratory behavior at 3 months in automated open-field testing, accompanied by increased plasma phenylalanine which is a cardinal feature of patients with pathogenicDNAJC12variants. In striatal tissue, total DA and 5-HT, their metabolites, and electrically-evoked DA release are all reduced. Biochemical alterations in synaptic proteins are also apparent, with enhanced phosphorylation of Th pSer31 and pSer40 reflecting biological compensation. Most immediately, cDKO and DKO mice present models to develop and refine therapeutic approaches for biogenic amines disorders, including dystonia and parkinsonism. They will also enable the pleiotropic functions of biogenic amines (including DA), usually synthesized in the brain or periphery, to be separated.
Natural variation in the Arabidopsis thaliana root and shoot response to boron deficiency reveals sensitive and responsive phenes and phylogenetic and geographic clustering of boron efficiency adaptations
Authors: Alcock Thomas David , Bienert Manuela Désirée , Junker Astrid , Tschiersch Henning , Meyer Rhonda C , Kudamala Sreelekha , von Wirén Nicolaus , Altmann Thomas , Bienert Gerd Patrick
Published: July 2024

Boron (B) is an essential plant micronutrient with a crucial role in cell wall stability. To improve plant tolerance to suboptimal B-availability, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms plants have evolved to tolerate B-limited conditions. We assessed temporal physiological, ionomic and molecular responses to B-deficiency across a diversity panel of 185 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions. Plants were characterised in soil-substrate in an automated phenotyping system to track shoot performance, and on agar plates to track root traits. Accessions varied widely in their response to B-deficiency. Rosette area decreased by 50% under B-deficiency across all accessions on average but by less than 15% in B-efficient accessions alone. Most root traits suffered under B-deficiency but lateral root length increased in 20% of accessions. The B-uptake and B transporter expression response of B-efficient and B-inefficient accessions was similar, suggesting increased B-use rather than B-uptake efficiency in efficient accessions. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated enrichment of B-efficient accessions within a clade containing accessions originating from areas characterised as B-deficient. K-means clustering revealed increased lateral root length was associated with efficient shoot growth under B-deficiency. The results demonstrate different response strategies to B-deficiency, indicating target traits to improve the performance of plants grown under B-limiting conditions.
Assessment of variant effect predictors unveils variants difficulty as a critical performance indicator
Authors: Radjasandirane Ragousandirane , Diharce Julien , Gelly Jean-Christophe , de Brevern Alexandre G.
Published: July 2024

Amino acid substitutions in protein sequences are generally harmless, but a certain number of these changes can lead to disease. Accurate prediction of the impact of genetic variants is crucial for clinicians as it accelerates the diagnosis of patients with missense variants associated with health issues. Numerous computational tools have been developed for prediction of the pathogenicity of genetic variants based on different methodologies. Nowadays, many approaches are based on Machine Learning. Assessment of the performance of these diverse computational tools is crucial to provide guidance to both future users and especially clinicians. In this study, a large-scale study of 65 tools was conducted. Variants from both clinical and functional context have been used, incorporating data from the ClinVar database and bibliographic sources. The analysis showed that AlphaMissense is often performing very well and is actually the best option among existing tools. Additionally, meta-predictors, as expected, are of high quality and perform well on average. Tools using evolution information demonstrated highest performances on functional variants. These results also highlighted some variations in the difficulty to predict some specific variants while others are always well categorized. Strikingly, the majority of variants from the ClinVar database appear to be easy to predict, while variants from other sources of data are more challenging. These results demonstrate that this variant predictability can be classified into three distinct classes: easy, moderate and hard to predict. We analyzed the parameters leading to these differences and show that classes are linked to structural and functional information.
Disentangling the causal effects of education and participation bias on Alzheimer’s disease using Mendelian Randomization
Authors: Chatterjee Aadrita , Cavaillès Clémence , Davies Neil M , Yaffe Kristine , Andrews Shea J
Published: July 2024

Introduction

People with university degrees have a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). However, the relationship between education and AD could be due to selection, collider, and ascertainment biases, such as lower familiarity with cognitive testing or the fact that those with degrees are more likely to participate in research. Here, we use two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate the causal relationships between education, participation, and AD.

Method

We used genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics for educational attainment, three different measures of participation, AD (clinically diagnosed AD), and AD/ADRD (clinical diagnosis and family history of AD and related dementias). Independent genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were extracted from the exposure summary statistics and harmonized with the outcome SNPs. Fixed-effects inverse variance weighted meta-analysis was the primary MR method; Cochran’s Q statistic and MR Egger intercept were used to test for heterogeneity and pleiotropy, and Radial-MR was used to identify outliers. Sensitivity analyses included MR Egger, Weighted Median, and Weighted mode. Bidirectional analyses were used to test if AD pathology affects participation and multivariable MR (MVMR) assessed independent exposure-outcome effects.

Results

Educational attainment reduced the risk of AD (ORIVW95% CI= 0.70 [0.63, 0.79], p = 8e-10), and the results were robust based on sensitivity analyses. However, education increased the risk of AD/ADRD, though the results were not robust to sensitivity analyses (ORIVW95% CI= 1.09 [1.02, 1.15], p = 0.006). Participation in MHQ reduced the odds of AD (ORIVW95% CI= 0.325 [0.128, 0.326], p = 0.01). When adjusting for participation in MVMR, education remained associated with a reduced risk of AD (ORIVW95% CI= 0.76 [0.62, 0.92], p = 0.006).

Conclusion

Univariate MR analyses indicated that education and participation reduced the risk of AD. However, MR also suggested that education increased the risk of AD/ADRD, highlighting the inconsistencies between clinical and proxy diagnoses of AD, as proxy-AD may be affected by selection, collider, or ascertainment bias. MVMR indicated that participation is unlikely to explain the effect of education on AD identified in MR, and the protective effect of educational attainment may be due to other biological mechanisms, such as cognitive reserve.
Perceived changes in competence, relatedness, and autonomy reported by mothers since joining a mom-centered digital community
Authors: McManus-Shipp Katherine E. , Field Christiana M. , Bhusal Sandesh , Dennis Cindy-Lee , Waring Molly E.
Published: July 2024

Background

Motherhood can profoundly challenge individuals’ well-being. Social media and other digital platforms are promising modalities for reaching and supporting mothers with evidence-based psychoeducation and connection to peers. However, much is unknown about how mothers perceive these online peer communities and their impact on health and well-being.

Purpose

To describe mothers’ perceptions of the impact of exposure to and engagement with a mom-centered digital community (Momwell) on their well-being.

Methods

Pregnant persons and mothers exposed to Momwell psychoeducational content and community related to motherhood via social media, podcast, or blog completed an online survey (N=569). Participants reported several perceived changes related to competence, relatedness/connection, and autonomy in decision-making since joining the Momwell community by rating their agreement with a series of questions.

Results

All but two participants identified as mothers; 45% were either pregnant or within 12 months postpartum. The majority agreed with statements about perceived changes in their lives, well-being, and feelings since joining the Momwell community (82-97%). All participants reported positive changes related to their sense of competence, 99% reported positive changes related to relatedness, and 97% reported positive changes related to autonomy.

Conclusion

Exposure to psychoeducational content related to motherhood and maternal mental health and peer engagement within a mom-centered community can enhance maternal well-being through positive changes in competence, relatedness, and autonomy.
Df-1 Cell Adaptation and Immune Responses of Lc-75 Vaccinal Strain ofInfectious Bursal Disease Virusin Chicken
Authors: Abate Fentahun Mitku , Ali Destaw Asfaw , Getachew Belayneh , Mohammed Hawa
Published: July 2024

The currentInfectious bursal disease virus(IBDV) vaccine strain of LC-75 in Ethiopia is being produced through chicken embryo fibro blast cell which has short lifespan and limited need of specific pathogen free eggs. Ideally, vaccine should have better longevity and being effective in cost and time. Experimental research was conducted to adopt DF-1 cell and to validate the immune responses, immunosuppressive effect and immunogenicity tests, of LC-75 vaccinal strain ofInfections bursal diseases virusA total of 76 chickens were used for these experiments. The seroconversion rate of the vaccine were measured using haemaglutination inhibition (HI) test in the vaccinated two experiment groups, adapted IBDV and Newcastle vaccines at two weeks interval for the first group and only Newcastle vaccine for the second experiment groups. To perform the immunogenicity test, two groups having 20 chickens per group were used and samples of serum were taken on 0-, 7-, 14- and 28-days post vaccinations and subjected to indirect ELISA test. The group that received both vaccine types produced haemagglutination inhibition titer (HIT) of 97.33±22.49 whereas the other group that received only Newcastle vaccine produced 124±24.92. The control group always showed no detectable antibody while the vaccinated group was able to produce average antibody S/P values of 0.00 ± 0.01 at day 0, 0.02± 0.01 at day 7, 1.05±0.10 at day 14 and 0.83±0.05 at day 28. RT-PCR using a 400 bp IBDV viral protein 2(VP2) specific primer resulted from positive bands in all samples. In conclusion, the vaccinal strain was able to replicate and adapt on the DF-1 cells and it was found to be immunogenic as well as less immunosuppressive.
A dendritic substrate for temporal diversity of cortical inhibition
Authors: Morabito Annunziato , Zerlaut Yann , Dhanasobhon Dhanasak , Berthaux Emmanuelle , Tzilivaki Alexandra , Moneron Gael , Cathala Laurence , Poirazi Panayiota , Bacci Alberto , DiGregorio David , Lourenço Joana , Rebola Nelson
Published: July 2024

In the mammalian neocortex, GABAergic interneurons (INs) inhibit cortical networks in profoundly different ways. The extent to which this depends on how different INs process excitatory signals along their dendrites is poorly understood. Here, we reveal that the functional specialization of two major populations of cortical INs is determined by the unique association of different dendritic integration modes with distinct synaptic organization motifs. We found that somatostatin (SST)-INs exhibit NMDAR-dependent dendritic integration and uniform synapse density along the dendritic tree. In contrast, dendrites of parvalbumin (PV)-INs exhibit passive synaptic integration coupled with proximally enriched synaptic distributions. Theoretical analysis shows that these two dendritic configurations result in different strategies to optimize synaptic efficacy in thin dendritic structures. Yet, the two configurations lead to distinct temporal engagement of each IN during network activity. We confirmed these predictions within vivorecordings of IN activity in the visual cortex of awake mice, revealing a rapid and linear recruitment of PV-INs as opposed to a long-lasting integrative activation of SST-INs. Our work reveals the existence of distinct dendritic strategies that confer distinct temporal representations for the two major classes of neocortical INs and thus dynamics of inhibition.
Nutritional Status and Lifestyle of Children in Orphanages and Middle-Class Families in Khulna City, Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Safa Tohora , Alvi Mir Fhamid Ahsan , Mahazabin Maliha
Published: July 2024

The lack of biological parents has a significant effect on a child’s growth and overall welfare. This study examines the circumstances of children living in orphanages where one or both parents have passed away, as well as children from middle-class households. The main focus is on their lifestyle, nutritional status, and well-being. We performed a chi-square test and descriptive analysis to establish a correlation. Our research revealed that orphaned children in the orphanage tend to mostly consume carbohydrate-rich foods in their diet. Inadequate access to nourishing food can impede their capacity to sustain optimal physical and mental well-being. Furthermore, the absence of recreational amenities in the orphanage may impede their mental well-being, as they already experience psychological challenges due to the absence of parental affection. Children from middle-class households are often exposed to a significant amount of unhealthy fast food and bakery items. This practice should be discontinued in order to promote a healthier society.
Clinical, immune and genetic risk factors of malaria-associated acute kidney injury in Zambian Children: A study protocol
Authors: Mwaba Chisambo , Munsaka Sody , Mwakazanga David , Rutagwerae David , Ngalamika Owen , Mwanza Suzanna , McCulloch Mignon , Mpabalwani Evans
Published: July 2024

Background

Acute kidney injury (AKI) affects nearly half of children with severe malaria and increases the risk of adverse outcomes such as death and poor cognitive function. The pathogenesis and predictors of malaria-associated acute kidney injury (MAKI) are not fully described. This study aims to determine the clinical, immune, and genetic correlates of risk to AKI in Zambian children admitted with malaria. In addition, we intend to assess a modified renal angina index (mRAI), kidney injury molecule – 1 (KIM-1), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL)) and soluble urokinase receptor (suPAR), when done on the first day of admission, for ability to predict AKI 48 hours later (day 3) in children admitted with malaria.

Methods

This is an unmatched case-control study, with a case to control ratio of 1:1, in which 380 children with malaria and aged less than 16 years are being recruited from two hospitals in Zambia. Eligible children are recruited after obtaining written informed consent. Recruitment began 6thMarch,2024 and will continue until July 2025. AKI is defined using the 2012 KIDGO AKI creatinine criteria and cases are defined as children admitted with malaria who develop AKI within 72 hours of admission while controls are children admitted with malaria but with no AKI. Serum creatinine is collected on day 1 within 24hours of admission and then again on Day 3 post admission. Baseline biomarker concentrations will be determined using the Luminex multiplex Elisa system or high-sensitivity ELISA. SPSS version 29 will be used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistical tests will be run as appropriate. A p ≤ 0.05 will be considered as significant. The utility of the renal angina score for predicting MAKI will be assessed using sensitivity, specificity, and estimates of the area under the curve (AUC).
Modeling the
γ
spectrum from
d−t
collisions
Authors: Timofeyuk N. K. , Bailey G. W. , Gilbert M. R.
Published: July 2024

Motivated by possible industrial fusion applications of spectroscopy of the γ rays accompanying d−t collisions we develop the first model calculations of the minor branching ratio of the d+t reaction, d+t→α+n+γ. The model exploits the most relevant physics feature—spin conservation in electric dipole transitions—which leads to a peculiar mechanism of this reaction: γ emission via bremsstrahlung from an intermediate α−n state. We highlight that, as a consequence of the bremsstrahlung, the γ spectrum contains nonzero contributions at all energies, thus making inclusive dtγ cross section measurements sensitive to the low-energy cutoff of the detected γ events. Comparison of our predictions to existing d+t→α+n+γ measurements in accelerators, employing cutoffs of 13 and 14 MeV, and inertial confinement fusion facilities, with a low-limit cutoff of 0.4 to 10 MeV, suggests a possible contradiction between results from these two types of experiments. Our predictions agree well with accelerator measurements and corroborate the cutoff dependence observed in inertial confinement experiments. These predictions are sensitive to the wave function details inside the short-range area of the α−n interaction, with uncertainty comparable to that of available experimental data, but become model independent below 4–5 MeV. This part of the γ spectrum features a previously unexpected rise, which below 0.5 MeV surpasses the main 17-MeV γ peak in strength. The reactivity of the d+t→α+n+γ branch was found to be proportional to its cross section. It strongly depends on the

d

−

t

plasma temperature, which opens the possibility of not only total d+t reactivity measurements but also advanced plasma temperature diagnostics.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Convolutional neural networks for signal detection in real LIGO data
Authors: Zelenka Ondřej , Brügmann Bernd , Ohme Frank
Published: July 2024

Searching the data of gravitational-wave detectors for signals from compact binary mergers is a computationally demanding task. Recently, machine-learning algorithms have been proposed to address current and future challenges. However, the results of these publications often differ greatly due to differing choices in the evaluation procedure. The Machine Learning Gravitational-Wave Search Challenge was organized to resolve these issues and produce a unified framework for machine-learning search evaluation. Six teams submitted contributions, four of which are based on machine-learning methods, and two are state-of-the-art production analyses. This paper describes the submission from the team TPI FSU Jena and its updated variant. We also apply our algorithm to real O3b data and recover the relevant events of the GWTC-3 catalog.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Investigating the impact of digital health technology adoption on female physicians’ work–life balance in Bahrain
Authors: Alharoon Sharifah , Aldhmour Fairouz M.
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This study aims to examine the impact of digital health technology adoption on female physicians’ work–life balance (WLB) in Bahrain. This study also examines the impact of two moderating variables: career stage, based on the kaleidoscope career model (KCM) and the presence of domestic workers, based on Becker’s theory of the allocation of time.

Design/methodology/approach

An electronic quantitative survey was administered to female physicians working in Bahrain. The survey gathered data on various aspects of digital health technology, WLB and demographic characteristics such as age and the presence of domestic workers. From a target population of approximately 1,000 female physicians in Bahrain, 102 participated in the survey.

Findings

The authors found that the effect of digital health technologies on WLB is positive in general and specifically for the early-career stage; however, it harms WLB in the middle and late-career stages. This is consistent with KCM predictions. In addition, there is no moderating effect of having domestic helpers.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the theoretical understanding of the effect of technology on WLB by expanding the traditional model (KCM) to include an economic model of how female physicians allocate their time between work and home responsibilities, including the effect that a domestic worker can have on this allocation. Beyond these theoretical contributions, this paper is also the first to study technology and WLB in the health sector in Bahrain following the COVID-19 pandemic.
How emotions affect the outcomes of information overload: information avoidance or information consumption?
Authors: Cheng Xusen , Zhang Shuang , Yang Bo
Published: July 2024

Purpose

Information overload has become ubiquitous during a public health emergency. The research purpose is to examine the role of mixed emotions in the influence of perceived information overload on individuals’ information avoidance intention and the state of fear of missing out.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-methods approach was used in this study: a qualitative study of 182 semi-structured interviews and a quantitative study of 309 surveys.

Findings

The results show that perceived information overload negatively affects peace of mind and positively affects fatigue and fear. Emotions with a low activation level (peace of mind and fatigue) promote emotions with a high activation level (hope and fear), and peace of mind negatively influences fatigue. Additionally, peace of mind negatively affects information avoidance intention, while hope positively affects the state of fear of missing out. These two information processing outcomes are positively impacted by fatigue and fear.

Originality/value

This study extends existing knowledge by uncovering the underlying influence of mixed emotions on individuals’ different information processing outcomes caused by perceived information overload. It provides practical insights for online media platforms and Internet users regarding how to process overwhelming information during a public health emergency.
Predicting statistic anxiety by attitude toward statistics, statistics self-efficacy, achievement in statistics and academic procrastination among students of social sciences colleges
Authors: Dodeen Hamzeh , Alharballeh Siham
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This study aimed at identifying the prevalence of statistic anxiety among students in social sciences programs and analyzing the relationship between statistics anxiety and four key variables: attitude toward statistics, statistics self-efficacy, achievement in statistics and academic procrastination.

Design/methodology/approach

Method a total of 440 students from all statistics sections offered in the social sciences programs in a four-year public medium-sized university in UAE participated in this study. Students participated by responding to a package that has four instruments: Statistics Anxiety Scale, Attitudes Toward Statistics, Current Statistics Self-Efficacy and Procrastination Assessment Scale.

Findings

More than 27% of students have above average statistics anxiety. Significant correlations were observed between statistics anxiety and each of attitude toward statistics course (−0.34), academic procrastination (0.33) and achievement (−0.35). On the other hand, Attitudes Toward Statistics and statistics self-efficacy have non-significant correlations. The four variables together predict more than 32% of the total variance of statistics anxiety, and the best predictor was procrastination followed by course attitude.

Research limitations/implications

Students from only one university participated in this study. Adding more universities and countries could increase the generalizability of the study.

Practical implications

Statistics anxiety is prevalent among students in social sciences programs. Statistics instructors must be ready to deal with reducing it. Several procedures have been suggested to reduce statistics anxiety but improving attitudes towards statistics courses is the key factor in this regard.

Social implications

Many students from social sciences and humanities programs and colleges experience anxiety or tension related to statistics courses which are required in most higher education institution. This paper tried to understand which variables affecting this phenomenon and in which directions. At the end, statistics is an important subject for all students during their academic life as well as practical life after graduation.

Originality/value

Statistic anxiety is the feeling of worrying and tension that students experience when taking statistics courses, especially in social sciences programs. Studying statistic anxiety and the related variables is crucial because this anxiety negatively and significantly affects students’ achievement and learning.
Valuation of cyclical assets and exit value
Authors: d'Amato Maurizio , Renigier Bilozor Malgorzata , Bambagioni Giampiero
Published: July 2024

Purpose

Ordinary direct capitalization is normally considered procyclical in its present form (De Lisle Grissom, 2011); for this reason, an alternative approach to direct capitalization may be useful in the determination of a robust opinion of value. The valuation standards propose an alternative determination of terminal value in the discounted cash flow analysis, recommending that for cyclical assets, the terminal value should consider … “the cyclical nature of the asset and should not be performed in a way that assumes “peak” or “trough” levels of cash flows in perpetuity” (IVS 105 Valuation Approaches and Methods para 50.21 lett e).

Design/methodology/approach

The introduction in International Valuation Standards (IVS) of Cyclical Assets raises several questions for the community of real estate professionals and academicians (IVS, 2022, 105 Valuation Approaches and Methods para 50.09 lett d). Cyclical assets can be defined as property whose value is “influenced by upturn and downturn of the market in a significant way” (d’Amato et al., 2019).

Findings

The paper proposes different solutions to the problem. The determination of the exit value using cyclical capitalization allows for a prudent assessment of the value and may be used either as a valuation procedure or a risk analysis method.

Research limitations/implications

The valuation comparison with the traditional valuation techniques will be based on an iteration of exit value in order to determine the effects of the valuation procedure on the opinion of value.

Practical implications

The implication of the valuation procedure is the introduction of a countercyclical valuation method to determine the exit value in order to reach stable and reliable valuations for income-producing properties.

Social implications

These models may have a social implication, providing valuation for income-producing properties that may deal with the property market cycle in a more efficient way, providing efficient valuation for banks and institutions.

Originality/value

The paper is the first application of such a valuation procedure to the determination of exit value.
Examining the long-run relationship between stock market development and Nigerian economic growth
Authors: Nnakee Udemezue Ndubuisi , Ngong Chi Aloysius , Onyejiaku Chinyere C. , Moguluwa Shadrack , Onwumere Josaphat Uchechukwu Joe
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the long-run relationship between stock market development and Nigerian economic growth from 1980 to 2020.

Design/methodology/approach

Market capitalization, number of listed companies, total value traded ratio and turnover ratio are used. An autoregressive distributed lag model is used for the analysis.

Findings

The market capitalization ratio and turnover ratio have positively significant links with economic growth. The number of listed companies has a negative and non-significant impact on economic growth. Total value traded ratio has a negatively significant link with economic growth in the short run. The positive but insignificant relationship between traded value ratio and turnover ratio in the long run growth means that the Nigerian stock market is growth inducing and on the right track as stock market liquidity drives growth.

Research limitations/implications

The government and Security Exchange Commission should increase the market liquidity level by improving the trading infrastructure. The government and regulatory authorities should improve and effectively implement the existing policies that would ensure stock market growth. This facilitates the investors’ speed to purchase and sell shares. The Securities and Exchange Commission should reduce transaction costs to encourage active trading activities. The market should be diversified with investment instruments such as derivatives, futures and swap options which would limit the adverse effect of listed companies in the market. To increase the stock market liquidity, the Security and Exchange Commission should apply moral suasion to bring private companies that have met certain financial thresholds to convert to public companies. Government should improve on the legislation to encourage more private companies to list on the stock exchange.

Originality/value

The study findings add value in that stock market development has a positive impact on economic growth in Nigeria.
What are the antecedents of nosiness among nurses? A qualitative study
Authors: Golverdi Mehdi , Soleimani Naeini Amir Hossein , Shaker Ardakani Mohammad , Sharifirad Mohammad Sadegh
Published: July 2024

Purpose

Nosiness is an annoying behavior at the workplace that can lead to negative consequences. It is characterized by being overly curious about other people’s affairs. Specifically, this study aims to identify the factors contributing to nosiness among nurses.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted an exploratory qualitative interview study involving 38 nurses in Iran. The participants were selected by purposive sampling.

Findings

We identified nine themes as the antecedents of nosiness among nurses: defamation motive, the need for certainty, the need for power, recreational motive, empathy, social comparison, the allure of the subject for the individual, having an employee-friendly workplace, and work environment and workload.

Originality/value

Understanding the antecedents of nosiness can help healthcare organizations curtail this phenomenon and foster a positive work environment, particularly in nursing where empathy, compassion, and attention to detail make them susceptible to nosiness.
Institutional fragmentation in United States protected area agencies and its impact on budget processes
Authors: Khmara Liza , Touchton Michael
Published: July 2024

Purpose

Protected areas, lands and seas set aside for nature conservation, are the main tool for governments to conserve biodiversity. The complexity of government processes, however, can lead to fragmentation in protected area systems. Institutional fragmentation can preclude central coordination and undermine funding and performance. Here, we examine the impact of institutional fragmentation on budgets for protected area agencies in the United States, an important actor in the global conservation movement.

Design/methodology/approach

This article uses visual text and network analysis with agency budget documents to examine linkages between agencies. These findings are triangulated with semi-structured interviews analyzed with axial coding to develop a framework for the budget process and its outcomes in US protected area agencies.

Findings

The visual text analysis demonstrates varying levels of coordination between agencies. The conceptual framework shows that five factors - mismatches within agencies, the influence of the Presidential administration, the power of Congress as the appropriator of funds, external forces that influence Congress, and a lack of accountability in allocations – lead to institutional fragmentation and “disparate nature enclaves”.

Research limitations/implications

Interview findings are derived from a non-representative population, and thus should not be generalized for all agencies or budget systems.

Practical implications

Understanding the factors influencing agency budget proposals will inform policy to make budgeting more effective for U.S. and other national protected area systems.

Originality/value

Few studies have conducted qualitative analyses of federal agencies and their budgets, particularly for federal protected areas.
Uncertainty and the transmission of monetary policy via bank liquidity creation
Authors: Huynh Japan
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This paper investigates the moderating role of uncertainty in the impact of monetary policy on bank liquidity creation.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilizing data from Vietnam spanning 2007–2022, the paper measures uncertainty in the banking industry through the dispersion of shocks to crucial bank-level variables and considers both interest rate- and quantity-based tools of the monetary policy regime. The study regresses economic models using different econometric methods, including the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator in the main section and the least squares dummy variable corrected (LSDVC) estimator for the robustness check.

Findings

Monetary expansion enhances banks’ ability to create liquidity, affirming the existence of the bank liquidity creation channel. Further analyses suggest that monetary policy adjustments aimed at regulating bank liquidity creation may be less effective in the presence of higher uncertainty in the banking system. This observation holds for both interest rate- and quantitative-based monetary policy tools, emphasizing the functioning of the monetary policy transmission mechanism through bank liquidity creation and the mitigating effect of uncertainty.

Originality/value

This study contributes novel insights to the existing literature by presenting the first attempt to explore the dynamics of monetary policy transmission through the bank liquidity creation channel in the context of banking sector uncertainty. Moreover, our contribution extends to examining a multi-tool environment, incorporating both interest rate- and quantitative-based indicators.
Performance enhancement of reactive foam dyeing for cotton fabric through different foaming agents and stabilizers
Authors: Afraz Nadeem , Sardar Shaheen , Mohsin Muhammad , Malik Mumtaz Hasan , Akhtar Khurram Shehzad , Tariq Muhammad Ilyas
Published: July 2024

Purpose

In the textile dyeing industry, the foam dyeing has been recognized as a significantly sustainable alternative for the cotton fabrics. However, this efficient technology undergoes the many issues related to the foam generation, foam optimization and the required performance of the resultant fabrics. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues through the development and optimization of the novel reactive foam dyeing recipes for the cotton fabrics.

Design/methodology/approach

The foam dyeing recipes were generated and optimized using the different stabilizers, foaming agents and three primary colors of reactive dyes. The different recipes were applied onto the cotton fabric using laboratory scale foam coating machine. The performance of the foam coated and padded fabrics was evaluated using different criteria including the shade depth, rubbing fastness, air permeability, washing fastness, perspiration fastness, light fastness and tear strength. Then, a complex decision-making approach, namely, analytic hierarchy process (AHP), was applied for the ranking of the key recipes based on the main criteria.

Findings

The newly optimized foam dyeing recipes were found very competitive with the conventional pad dyeing process with respect to the shade-depth and the other performance properties. The optimization of foaming parameters and addition of stabilizers have advanced the foam dyeing process, which would accelerate the implementation of foam dyeing methods in the textile industry. Furthermore, significant water and energy savings would be achieved as compared to the conventional foam dyeing. AHP model offered a comprehensive and rational way to identify the most important recipes amongst the selected recipes.

Originality/value

In this research, novel foam dyeing recipes have been developed for the cotton fabrics through the optimization of the different stabilizers, foaming agents and the three primary colors of reactive dyes. Until now, the exiting literature has not reported the combination of these stabilizers with the different foaming agents and three primary reactive dyes for the improvement of sustainable foam cotton dyeing process.
A multi‐centre retrospective study of long‐term outcomes of spinal re‐irradiation with SABR
Authors: Chmiel Edward , Senthi Sashendra , Siva Shankar , Hardcastle Nicholas , Panettieri Vanessa , Russell Catherine , Tacey Mark , Anderson Nigel , Foroudi Farshad
Published: July 2024

Introduction

Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) is a highly conformal technique utilising a high dose per fraction commonly employed in the re‐treatment of spinal metastases. This study sought to determine the safety and efficacy of re‐irradiation with SABR to previously treated spinal metastases.

Methods

This was a retrospective analysis of patients at three Australian centres who have undergone spinal SABR after previous spinal radiotherapy to the same or immediately adjacent vertebral level. Efficacy was determined in terms of rates of local control, while safety was characterised by rates of serious complications.

Results

Thirty‐three spinal segments were evaluated from 32 patients. Median follow‐up for all patients was 2.6 years, and median overall survival was 4.3 years. Eleven of 33 (33.3%) treated spinal segments had local progression, with a local control rate at 12 months of 71.4% (95% C.I. 55.2%–92.4%). Four patients (16.7%) went on to develop cauda equina or spinal cord compression. Thirteen out of 32 patients (40.6%) experienced acute toxicity, of which 12 were grade 2 or less. Five out of 30 spinal (16.7%) segments with follow‐up imaging had a radiation‐induced vertebral compression fracture. There was one case of radiation myelitis which occurred in a patient who had mediastinal radiotherapy with a treatment field which overlapped their prior spinal radiation.

Conclusion

The patients in this study experienced long median survival, durable tumour control and high rates of freedom from long‐term sequelae of treatment. These results support the use of SABR in patients who progress in the spine despite previous radiotherapy.