bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Are emerging economies’ credit cycles synchronized? Fresh evidence from time–frequency analysis
Authors: Saini Seema , Kumar Utkarsh , Ahmad Wasim
Published: July 2022

Purpose

To the best of our knowledge, no study has examined credit cycle synchronizations in the context of emerging economies. Studying the credit cycles synchronization across BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries is crucial given the magnitude of trade and financial integration among member counties. The enormity of the trade and financial linkages among BRICS countries and growth spillovers from emerging economies to advanced and low-income countries provide the rationale and motivation to study the synchronization of credit cycles across BRICS.

Design/methodology/approach

The study investigates the credit cycles coherence across BRICS economies from 1996Q2 to 2020Q4. The synchronization analysis is done using the noval wavelet approach. The analysis examines not only the coherence but also the extent of credit cycle synchronization that varies across frequencies and over time among different pairs of nations.

Findings

The authors find heterogeneity in the credit cycles' synchronization among the member nations. China and India are very much in sync with the other BRICS countries. China's high-frequency credit cycle mostly leads the other countries' credit cycles before the global financial crisis and shows a mix of lead/lag relationships post-financial crisis. Interestingly, most of the time, India's low-frequency credit cycles lead the member countries' credit cycles, and Brazil's low frequency credit cycle lag behind the other BRICS countries' credit cycles, except for Russia. The results are crucial from the macroprudential policymaker's perspective.

Research limitations/implications

The empirical design is applicable to a similar set of countries and may not directly fit each emerging economy.

Practical implications

The findings will help understand the marked deepening of trade, technology, investment and financial interdependence across the world. BRICS acronym requires no introduction, but such analysis may help understand the interaction at the monetary policy level.

Originality/value

This is the first study that highlights the need to understand the credit variable interactions for BRICS nations.
Young children’s interest-driven information practices
Authors: Barriage Sarah
Published: July 2022

Purpose

This study aims to explore young children’s information practices within the context of their individual interests, examining children’s interest-related information activities, challenges encountered and enablers received.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants included 18 children between five and seven years of age and their parents. Data were collected using a multi-stage participatory approach. Children shared their experiences via a book discussion, poster activity, participant-generated photography and a photo-elicitation interview. Parents provided information about family demographics and their perceptions of their children’s individual interests, information practices and digital media use via questionnaires. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method.

Findings

Young children seek information via print and digital objects, other people and experiences, and use information by applying it to their activities and sharing information with others. Challenges to information activities include children’s own capabilities and skills, constraints of information sources and parental restrictions on their activities. Enablers include affordances of technology and parental support.

Originality/value

This study takes a holistic approach to understanding young children’s perspectives of their information activities, examining information use and sharing activities in addition to information seeking.
Home-based workouts in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: the influence of Fitness YouTubers' attributes on intentions to exercise
Authors: Kim Hyung-Min , Kim Minseong , Cho Inje
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Home-based workouts via fitness YouTube channels have become more popular during the pandemic era. However, few studies have examined the role of social media personae related to intention to exercise. The purpose of this study was to investigate the structural relationships between fitness YouTuber attributes: perceived physical attractiveness (PPA), perceived social attractiveness (PSA), perceived similarity (PS), parasocial relationships (PSRs), wishful identification (WI), physical outcome expectations (POEs), and continuous intention to work out with fitness YouTubers (CIWFY).

Design/methodology/approach

This study considered fitness YouTube channel viewers as the unit of analysis. An online survey was conducted to empirically develop and test the research model using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

The SEM empirical findings revealed that the PSRs were significantly influenced by PSA, PPA, and PS. Also, WI was significantly affected by PPA and PS. Furthermore, POEs were significantly impacted by PPA and PSRs. POEs affected the CIWFY. Lastly, PSRs and POEs mediated the influence of PSA and PPA on the CIWFY.

Originality/value

The psychological impacts of exercising to online fitness videos in the era of COVID-19, with its untact (no contact) social norms is timely. The study model demonstrated the fitness YouTube viewers' cognitive path from perceptions toward fitness YouTubers' attributes to behavioral intention. To be specific, the current study demonstrated how three attribution types (i.e. PPA, PSA, and PS) of fitness YouTubers affect viewers' PSRs and WI with fitness YouTubers, along with POEs and CIWFY. Along with health practitioners, fitness YouTubers who want to captivate viewers on their channels might need to consider self-attributes from their viewers' standpoint and should build psychological bonding with viewers.
The determinants of unemployment rate in developing economies: does banking system credit matter?
Authors: Azolibe Chukwuebuka Bernard , Dimnwobi Stephen Kelechi , Uzochukwu-Obi Chidiebube Peace
Published: July 2022

Purpose

In developing countries, banks play a major role by acting as a conduit for the effective mobilization of funds from the surplus sectors of an economy for onward lending to the deficit sectors for productive investments that will in turn increase the level of employment and economic growth. There has being a rising trend in unemployment rate in Nigeria and South Africa and hence, the need for the study to assess the effectiveness of banking system credit in curbing unemployment rate by making a comparative analysis of Nigeria and South Africa covering the period of 1991–2018.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed the unit root test, Johansen cointegration test, vector error correction model and VAR impulse response function in determining the relationship between the variables.

Findings

The major findings revealed that banking system credit matters in curbing unemployment rate in South Africa than in Nigeria. Also, other macroeconomic factors such as lending rate, inflation rate, Government expenditure and population growth were significant enough in influencing unemployment rate in South Africa than in Nigeria. Foreign direct investment was a significant factor in reducing unemployment rate in Nigeria than in South Africa. The cointegration test showed a long-term relationship between the variables in both countries while the speed of adjustment coefficient of the vector error correction model is faster in South Africa than in Nigeria.

Originality/value

Previous empirical studies on the relationship between banking system credit and unemployment rate have focused much on other regions such as Asia and Europe. Thus, the study is unique as it focused on the African region and also made a comparative analysis by testing the Keynesian theory of employment, interest and money on two emerging African economies which are Nigeria and South Africa.
Rewards and knowledge sharing in the CoPS development context: the moderating role of transformational leadership
Authors: Zhao Ruxiang , Feng Nanping , Wei Fenfen , Wang Youying
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Knowledge sharing (KS) among employees is critical to successfully developing complex products and systems (CoPS) but is often hampered by employees’ low motivations. The purpose of this study is to investigate how extrinsic and intrinsic rewards influence employees’ explicit knowledge sharing (EKS) and tacit knowledge sharing (TKS) in the CoPS development context. This study also examines the moderating effects of transformational leadership on the relationships between two types of rewards and two types of KS.

Design/methodology/approach

This study builds a research model based on expectancy value theory and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. To test hypotheses, the authors surveyed 257 employees in CoPS projects and analyzed data with the partial least squares structural equation modeling and hierarchical linear modeling.

Findings

The results of this study demonstrate that extrinsic rewards exert no effect on EKS but negatively affect TKS, while intrinsic rewards significantly promote both EKS and TKS. Moreover, transformational leadership positively moderates the abovementioned relationships.

Originality/value

This study extends the research scenario of KS motivations and responds to the call for shedding light on contextual factors influencing KS. This study also offers a comprehensive theoretical perspective to understand KS motivations. Practically, this study provides managers with suggestions about how to use different rewards to encourage different KS practices.
Knowledge complexity and team information processing: the mediating role of team learning goal orientation
Authors: Duan Chenggang , Liu Xinmei , Yang Xiaomei , Deng Cheng
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Drawing on job demands and resources theory and the challenge-hindrance stressor framework, this study aims to investigate the effect of team knowledge complexity on team information sharing and information searching and examine whether team learning goal orientation mediates these effects.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted two studies. Study 1 used a field survey study conducted among 374 employees positioned in 68 new product teams. Study 2 used a three-wave online survey study conducted among 208 leaders to investigate the teams they managed.

Findings

The findings of the two studies reveal that team knowledge complexity has a positive direct effect on team information sharing and information searching. Furthermore, team learning goal orientation mediates these two relationships.

Practical implications

The findings indicate that team knowledge complexity is generally beneficial for the team information process. Therefore, instead of fearing an increase in the knowledge complexity of the projects, organizations should dare to present challenge demands to team members to enhance their engagement in information processing. Organizations could also pay attention to team member selection during team composition processes. For example, selecting team members with a high level of learning goal orientation is helpful in facilitating team information processing.

Originality/value

Although previous studies have found that knowledge complexity is beneficial for team output, less is known about how knowledge complexity influences team processes. This study clarifies the relationships between team knowledge complexity, information sharing and information searching and examines team learning goal orientation as a vital mediator.
How shared leadership affects team performance: examining sequential mediation model using MASEM
Authors: Chen Wei , Zhang Jun-Hui , Zhang Yi-Lin
Published: July 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to reveal a sequential mediating process of the impact of shared leadership on team performance by studying the sequential mediating effect of team trust and team learning behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

This study develops and examines a sequential mediation model using the meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) method. The sample adopted consists of 347 independent effect sizes extracted from 280 empirical papers (288 independent studies, N = 21,888 groups).

Findings

The results indicate that team trust and team learning behavior play a sequential mediating effect in the shared leadership–team performance relationship.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that practitioners should share leadership functions and responsibilities among talented team members. Furthermore, practitioners should strengthen the emotional interaction among team members and give positive feedback to the team's intensive learning behaviors.

Originality/value

By identifying the sequential mediating effect of team trust and team learning behavior, this study not only advances the understandings of a comprehensive mediating process through which shared leadership enhances team performance, but also offers new insights into the interrelationship of different types of mediating mechanisms (i.e. team emergent state and team process) in the shared leadership–team performance relationship.
How to select employees to participate in interactive innovation: analysis of the relationship between personality, social networks and innovation behavior
Authors: Jiang Xiaoyan , Lin Jie , Zhou Lixin , Wang Chao
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Employees play an essential role in interactive innovation activities in Open Innovation Communities (OICs). Nevertheless, the factors influencing employees' innovation behavior in OICs have not been studied in depth. This study selects personality traits and social network characteristics to explain why and how these two factors affect employees' innovation behavior in OICs.

Design/methodology/approach

Three regression models were constructed to test the relationship between personality traits, social network characteristics, and interactive innovation behaviors. The authors examined how employees' personality traits (Big Five personality traits) influence employees' innovative behavior (initiating and supporting innovation) directly in OICs and explored whether social network characteristics (social group) mediate the relationship between employees' personality traits and employees' innovation behavior.

Findings

Using empirical data on 162 employees from Salesforce's IdeaExchange, the authors found that extraversion and openness to experience have significant positive effects on employees' interactive innovation behaviors, while conscientiousness has a significant negative effect on employees' interactive innovation behaviors in OICs. Furthermore, the mediation effect test results indicated that social network characteristics have a mediating effect on the relationship between extraversion and innovative behavior, and between openness and innovative behavior.

Originality/value

This study analyzes how personality traits influence innovation behavior in an open innovation environment, thus enriching research related to the factors influencing interactive innovation behavior. Meanwhile, the study integrates personality, social network, and innovative behavior research streams and clearly explains the relationship between the three variables. The research findings assist firms in selecting suitable employees to participate in interactive innovation behaviors in OICs.
Assessment of student readiness for clinical education in mixed-mode curriculum delivery: a case study
Authors: White Laura W. , Jordan Kelly Elizabeth , McDermott Heidi
Published: July 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this case study is to describe a simulation-based assessment designed to assure student readiness for a first full-time clinical experience in an entry-level Doctor of Physical Therapy program that transitioned to mixed-mode instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

A cohort of 40 second-year physical therapy students whose content delivery mode, assessment methods and curricular sequence deviated from the curricular plan participated in a new assessment using standardized patients. The assessment was developed to preferentially address the knowledge, skills, abilities and professional behaviors (KSAs) that were typically assessed with other methods before the pandemic.

Findings

The assessment was useful in identifying students who required additional learning experiences to meet expected levels of competence before transition to a first full-time clinical experience. It also identified KSAs that needed to be strengthened within the entire cohort of students.

Research limitations/implications

This case study provides an example of feasible implementation of an assessment of student readiness for clinical education that may guide future development of standardized assessments in health profession education (HPE) programs that have or plan to transition to mixed-mode content delivery.

Originality/value

This case study highlights the need and process for developing and implementing additional assessments in HPE programs when planned changes or unexpected variations in curriculum delivery occur. This evidence-based assessment preferentially addresses the affective domain of learning and includes competency standards that have recently been developed for physical therapy education in the USA.
DNA biosensor based detection for neglected tropical disease: moving towards smart diagnosis
Authors: Stephen Bjorn John , Suchanti Surabhi , Jain Devendra , Dhaliwal Harshdeep , Sharma Vikram , Kaur Ramandeep , Mishra Rajeev , Singh Abhijeet
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a set of infectious diseases that primarily affect low-income countries situated near the equator. Effective diagnostic tools hold the key to stemming the spread of these infectious diseases. However, specificity is a major concern associated with current diagnostic protocols. In this regard, electrochemical deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) biosensors could play a crucial role, as highlighted by renewed interest in their research. The purpose of this study was to highlight the current scenario for the design and development of biosensors for the detection of NTDs related pathogens. This review highlights the different types of factors involved and the modifications used to enhance sensor properties.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors discuss the potential of electrochemical DNA biosensors as efficient, affordable diagnostic tools for the detection of pathogens associated with NTDs by reviewing available literature. This study discusses the biosensor components, mainly the probe selection and type of electrodes used, and their potential to improve the overall design of the biosensor. Further, this study analyses the different nanomaterials used in NTD-based electrochemical DNA biosensors and discusses how their incorporation could improve the overall sensitivity and specificity of the biosensor design. Finally, this study examines the impact such techniques could have in the future on mass screening of NTDs.

Findings

The findings provide an in-depth analysis of electrochemical DNA biosensors for the detection of pathogens associated with NTDs.

Originality/value

This review provides an update on the different types and modifications of DNA biosensors that have been designed for the diagnosis of NTD-related pathogens.
Using piecewise regression to identify biological phenomena in biotelemetry datasets
Authors: Wolfson David W. , Andersen David E. , Fieberg John R.
Published: July 2022

Technological advances in the field of animal tracking have greatly expanded the potential to remotely monitor animals, opening the door to exploring how animals shift their behaviour over time or respond to external stimuli. A wide variety of animal‐borne sensors can provide information on an animal's location, movement characteristics, external environmental conditions and internal physiological status.

Here, we demonstrate how piecewise regression can be used to identify the presence and timing of potential shifts in a variety of biological responses using multiple biotelemetry data streams. Different biological latent states can be inferred by partitioning a time‐series into multiple segments based on changes in modelled responses (e.g. their mean, variance, trend, degree of autocorrelation) and specifying a unique model structure for each interval.

We provide six example applications highlighting a variety of taxonomic species, data streams, timescales and biological phenomena. These examples include a short‐term behavioural response (flee and return) by a trumpeter swan Cygnus buccinator following a GPS collar deployment; remote identification of parturition based on movements by a pregnant moose Alces alces; a physiological response (spike in heart‐rate) in a black bear Ursus americanus to a stressful stimulus (presence of a drone); a mortality event of a trumpeter swan signalled by changes in collar temperature and overall dynamic body acceleration; an unsupervised method for identifying the onset, return, duration and staging use of sandhill crane Antigone canadensis migration; and estimation of the transition between incubation and brood‐rearing (i.e. hatching) for a breeding trumpeter swan.

We implement analyses using the mcp package in R, which provides functionality for specifying and fitting a wide variety of user‐defined model structures in a Bayesian framework and methods for assessing and comparing models using information criteria and cross‐validation measures.

These simple modelling approaches are accessible to a wide audience and offer a straightforward means of assessing a variety of biologically relevant changes in animal behaviour.
A dataset for vascular plant diversity monitoring for the natural World Heritage site on Amami‐Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, and the northern Okinawa Island
Authors: Toyama Hironori , Totsu Kumiko , Tagane Shuichiro , Aiba Shin‐ichiro , Ugawa Shin , Suzuki Eizi , Yamazaki Kaito , Fuse Kengo , Takashima Atsushi , Toyama Nariko , Kadoya Taku , Takeuchi Yayoi
Published: July 2022

This data paper presents the vascular plant biodiversity sampled from four plots on Amami‐Oshima Island, three plots on Tokunoshima Island, and one plot on Okinawa Island within the natural World Heritage site, and an additional three plots in southern Kyushu using the standardized belt‐transect survey method during July 2012 to October 2020. The dataset includes 99 families, 215 genera, and 381 species of vascular plants, and provides species occurrence among 10 subplots for all vascular plants, girth at breast height (GBH) and height of all trees and climbers with GBH ≥ 3.2 cm or height ≥ 4 m in each 5 × 100 m plot. This dataset serves as baseline data for subsequent plant diversity monitoring of the natural World Heritage site. The Darwin Core Archive is deposited in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) through the Japan Initiative for Biodiversity Information, and are thus accessible through the GBIF portal under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. The detailed Metadata for this abstract published in the Data Article section of the journal is available in MetaCat in JaLTER at http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/JaLTER/metacat/metacat/ERDP‐2022‐03.1/jalter‐en.
Nondestructive discrimination of black ceramic prints on automotive glasses by portable X‐ray fluorescence spectrometer
Authors: Ishimi Akane , Nakanishi Toshio , Seto Yasuo , Nishiwaki Yoshinori
Published: July 2022

Automotive glasses are important forensic evidence often recovered from crime scenes. Black ceramic prints on automotive glasses contains various elements in high concentrations. A portable X‐ray fluorescence spectrometer (pXRF) allows an instant and nondestructive analysis of various elements. In this study, the Bruker Tracer 5 g was used as the pXRF equipment. The NIST SRM612 glass standard was used to determine the limit of detection (LODs) of a pXRF and its optimal conditions. The acceleration voltages of 15, 30, and 50 kV were appropriate for measuring Si Kα (1.740 keV)–Ni Kα (7.473 keV), Cu Kα (8.042 keV)–Pb Lα (10.552 keV), and after Bi Kα (10.839 keV), respectively. The pXRF was used to compare 37 black ceramic prints on automotive glasses from the known source. The samples were divided into two groups: the Pb type and the Bi type. The samples were compared in pairs. The most appropriate and effective indicators for discriminating between the Pb and Bi type of black ceramic prints on automotive glasses were Zr Kα/Pb Lα and Cu Kα/Cr Kα for the Pb type, and Zr Kα/Bi Lα and Cu Kα/Crα for the Bi type, respectively. The samples were compared with other elements detected by pXRF to further discriminate them. 98.9% of all pairs were successfully discriminated. Results showed that black ceramic prints on automotive glasses are able to be discriminated by pXRF.
Di‐(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate exposure links to inflammation and low bone mass in premenopausal and postmenopausal females: Evidence from ovariectomized mice and humans
Authors: Lai Chien‐Chih , Liu Fei‐Lan , Tsai Chang‐Youh , Wang Shu‐Li , Chang Deh‐Ming
Published: July 2022

Objective

Phthalates induce inflammation and are ubiquitously used in daily life. We aim to study the impact of di‐(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) exposure on inflammation and osteoporosis in premenopausal and postmenopausal females.

Methods

Female 8‐week‐old C57BL/6JNarl mice received an ovariectomy (OVX) or a sham operation and were fed with DEHP or vehicle by oral gavage for 4 or 8 weeks. Their femurs were isolated for micro‐computed tomography, and their serum was collected for inflammatory cytokine assays. Correlations between urinary phthalate metabolites and the lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) in premenopausal and postmenopausal volunteers were performed.

Results

Among the OVX mice treated for 4 weeks, significant lower bone volume, bone volume/tissue volume, and trabecular number but significant higher trabecular bone pattern factor and structure model index were identified in the mice treated with DEHP than with vehicle. The OVX mice treated with DEHP for 4 weeks had significantly higher serum interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐10, IL‐17A, interferon (IFN)‐γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, and Dickkopf‐1 levels than those treated with vehicle. The sham mice treated with DEHP for 8 weeks showed an impaired femur trabecular microstructure and had significantly higher serum IL‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐10, IL‐17A, IFN‐γ, and TNF‐α than those treated with vehicle. DEHP metabolites were inversely correlated with the BMD of premenopausal women and the T‐score of postmenopausal women.

Conclusion

DEHP treatment in OVX and sham mice results in osteoporosis and impairs the microstructure of the femur trabecula through inflammation. Phthalate exposure negatively affects the bone mass in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Thus, long‐term avoidance is suggested.
Effects of cerebral amyloid angiopathy on the brain vasculome
Authors: Deng Wenjun , Guo Shuzhen , van Veluw Susanne J. , Yu Zhanyang , Chan Su Jing , Takase Hajime , Arai Ken , Ning MingMing , Greenberg Steven M. , Lo Eng H. , Bacskai Brian J.
Published: July 2022

β‐amyloid (Aβ) deposits in brain blood vessel walls underlie the vascular pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Growing evidence has suggested the involvement of cerebrovascular dysfunction in the initiation and progression of cognitive impairment in AD and CAA patients. Therefore, in this study, we assessed the brain vasculome in a mouse model in order to identify cerebrovascular pathways that may be involved in AD and CAA vascular pathogenesis in the context of aging. Brain endothelial cells were isolated from young and old wild‐type mice, and young and old transgenic mice expressing Swedish mutation in amyloid precursor protein and exon 9 deletion in presenilin 1 (APPswe/PSEN1dE9). Microarray profiling of these endothelial transcriptomes demonstrated that accumulation of vascular Aβ in the aging APPswe/PSEN1dE9 mouse is associated with impaired endothelial expression of neurotransmitter receptors and calcium signaling transductors, while the genes involved in cell cycle and inflammation were upregulated. These results suggest that the vascular pathology of AD and CAA may involve the disruption of neurovascular coupling, reactivation of cell cycle in quiescent endothelial cells, and enhanced inflammation. Further dissection of these endothelial mechanisms may offer opportunities to pursue therapies to ameliorate vascular dysfunction in the aging brain of AD and CAA patients.
seRNA PAM controls skeletal muscle satellite cell proliferation and aging through trans regulation of Timp2 expression synergistically with Ddx5
Authors: So Karl Kam Hei , Huang Yile , Zhang Suyang , Qiao Yulong , He Liangqiang , Li Yuying , Chen Xiaona , Sham Mai Har , Sun Hao , Wang Huating
Published: July 2022

Muscle satellite cells (SCs) are responsible for muscle homeostasis and regeneration and lncRNAs play important roles in regulating SC activities. Here, in this study, we identify PAM (Pax7 Associated Muscle lncRNA) that is induced in activated/proliferating SCs upon injury to promote SC proliferation as myoblast cells. PAM is generated from a myoblast‐specific super‐enhancer (SE); as a seRNA it binds with a number of target genomic loci predominantly in trans. Further studies demonstrate that it interacts with Ddx5 to tether PAM SE to its inter‐chromosomal targets Timp2 and Vim to activate the gene expression. Lastly, we show that PAM expression is increased in aging SCs, which leads to enhanced inter‐chromosomal interaction and target genes upregulation. Altogether, our findings identify PAM as a previously unknown lncRNA that regulates both SC proliferation and aging through its trans gene regulatory activity.
Unexpected dispersal of Australian brush‐turkeys (Alectura lathami) in an urban landscape
Authors: Hall Matthew J. , Martin John M. , Burns Alicia L. , Hochuli Dieter F.
Published: July 2022

Australian brush‐turkeys (Alectura lathami) are atypical urban colonising birds due to their poor flight and dispersal ability, ground foraging and nesting behaviour, and lack of parental care for their chicks. Despite this, they have become increasingly common in urban areas in Australia, including major cities such as Sydney and Brisbane. The drivers of the brush‐turkey spread into urban areas, and the mechanisms behind their dispersal remain poorly understood due to the difficulty of tracking individual birds over multi‐year timescales. Here, we report on the long‐distance dispersal of individually tagged brush‐turkeys within greater Sydney, observed through the Big City Birds citizen science project. While 84 tagged brush‐turkeys remained within 2 km of their tagging site for the duration of observations, 9 of the tagged birds travelled 8–37 km from their tagging site without returning. This is the first time this dispersal behaviour has been observed in this species and contrasts previous observations of strong site fidelity, suggesting that further research is needed into brush‐turkey dispersal behaviour, particular in urban areas. Our observations demonstrate the value of citizen science methods for long‐term monitoring of individually marked animals, and the potential for the wing‐tagging method to be applied to other charismatic species.
Regulatory T cells and immunoglobulin E: A new therapeutic link for autoimmunity?
Authors: Palomares Oscar , Elewaut Dirk , Irving Peter M. , Jaumont Xavier , Tassinari Paolo
Published: July 2022

Autoimmune diseases have a prevalence of approximately 7 to 9% and are classified as either organ‐specific diseases, including type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease and myasthenia gravis, or systemic diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and Sjögren's syndrome. While many advancements have been made in understanding of the mechanisms of autoimmune disease, including the nature of self‐tolerance and its breakdown, there remain unmet needs in terms of effective and highly targeted treatments. T regulatory cells (Tregs) are key mediators of peripheral tolerance and are implicated in many autoimmune diseases, either as a result of reduced numbers or altered function. Tregs may be broadly divided into those generated in the thymus (tTregs) and those generated in the periphery (pTregs). Tregs target many different immune cell subsets and tissues to suppress excessive inflammation and to support tissue repair and homeostasis: there is a fine balance between Treg cell stability and the plasticity that is required to adjust Tregs' regulatory purposes to particular immune responses. The central role of immunoglobulin E (IgE) in allergic disease is well recognized, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that this immunoglobulin also has a wider role encompassing other diseases including autoimmune disease. Anti‐IgE treatment restores the capacity of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) impaired by IgE‐ high‐affinity IgE receptor (FcεR1) cross‐linking to induce Tregs in vitro in atopic patients. The finding that anti‐IgE therapy restores Treg cell homeostasis, and that this mechanism is associated with clinical improvement in asthma and chronic spontaneous urticaria suggests that anti‐IgE therapy may also have a potential role in the treatment of autoimmune diseases in which Tregs are involved.
Brca1L63X/+ rat is a novel model of human BRCA1 deficiency displaying susceptibility to radiation‐induced mammary cancer
Authors: Nakamura Yuzuki , Kubota Jo , Nishimura Yukiko , Nagata Kento , Nishimura Mayumi , Daino Kazuhiro , Ishikawa Atsuko , Kaneko Takehito , Mashimo Tomoji , Kokubo Toshiaki , Takabatake Masaru , Inoue Kazumasa , Fukushi Masahiro , Arai Masami , Saito Mitsue , Shimada Yoshiya , Kakinuma Shizuko , Imaoka Tatsuhiko
Published: July 2022

Women who are heterozygous for deleterious BRCA1 germline mutations harbor a high risk of hereditary breast cancer. Previous Brca1‐heterozygous animal models do not recapitulate the breast cancer phenotype, and thus all currently used knockout models adopt conditional, mammary‐specific homozygous Brca1 loss or addition of Trp53 deficiency. Herein, we report the creation and characterization of a novel Brca1 mutant rat model harboring the germline L63X mutation, which mimics a founder mutation in Japan, through CRISPR‐Cas9–based genome editing. Homozygotes (Brca1L63X/L63X) were embryonic lethal, whereas heterozygotes (Brca1L63X/+) showed apparently normal development. Without carcinogen exposure, heterozygotes developed mammary carcinoma at a comparable incidence rate with their wild‐type (WT) littermates during their lifetime. Intraperitoneal injection of 1‐methyl‐1‐nitrosourea (25 or 50 mg/kg) at 7 weeks of age induced mammary carcinogenesis at comparable levels among the heterozygotes and their littermates. After exposure to ionizing radiation (0.1–2 Gy) at 7 weeks of age, the heterozygotes, but not WT littermates, displayed dose‐dependent mammary carcinogenesis with 0.8 Gy−1 excess in hazard ratio during their middle age; the relative susceptibility of the heterozygotes was more prominent when rats were irradiated at 3 weeks of age. The heterozygotes had tumors with a lower estrogen receptor α immunopositivity and no evidence of somatic mutations of the WT allele. The Brca1L63X/+ rats thus offer the first single‐mutation, heterozygous model of BRCA1‐associated breast cancer, especially with exposure to a DNA break‐inducing carcinogen. This implies that such carcinogens are causative and a key to breast cancer prevention in individuals who carry high‐risk BRCA1 mutations.
Reflection and Reasoning in Moral Judgment: Two Preregistered Replications of Paxton, Ungar, and Greene (2012)
Authors: Herec Jonas , Sykora Jaroslav , Brahmi Kamil , Vondracek David , Dobesova Oldriska , Smelik Martin , Vaculik Martin , Prochazka Jakub
Published: July 2022

This study consists of two preregistered systematic replications of an experiment on reflection and reasoning in moral judgment by Paxton, Ungar, and Greene (2012). Czech students read a scenario involving incest between consenting adult siblings and an argument supporting the moral acceptability of the behavior. We manipulated the factors of argument strength (strong vs. weak) and the time that participants had to reflect on the argument (no time vs. 2 min). In the first replication (n= 347), neither the manipulated factors nor their interaction influenced how participants rated the moral acceptability of the incestuous behavior. The only significant predictor in the second replication (n= 717) was argument strength but with a very small effect. The effect of argument strength did not differ across groups either with or without deliberation time. Therefore, neither of the studies replicated the effect that deliberation time moderates the influence of argument strength on moral judgment, even though the samples were considerably larger than in the original study. We thus conclude that the effect of the interaction between the strength of an argument and deliberation time on moral judgment either does not exist or is moderated by certain contextual or sample characteristics.
Perinatal changes of right ventricle‐pulmonary artery coupling and its value in predicting persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn
Authors: Zhang Jun , Zheng Xiao‐Zhi , Wu Xu‐Chu
Published: July 2022

Background

Right ventricle‐pulmonary artery (RV‐PA) coupling is an independent predictor of outcome in pulmonary arterial hypertension in adults. Here, we aimed to investigate the changes in RV‐PA coupling during the perinatal period, and to evaluate its performance on predicting persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN).

Methods

A total of 1196 fetuses underwent a dedicated echocardiography screening for foetal heart defects during second trimester (24–27 weeks' gestation), third trimester (34–37 weeks' gestation) and neonatal period (within 14 days after delivery) with the measurement of tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) and mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPAP). The RV‐PA coupling (TAPSE/MPAP ratio) was calculated.

Results

Six fetuses were diagnosed as persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). In normal fetuses, RV‐PA coupling had been increasing from the second trimester to the third trimester and then to the neonatal period (0.12 ± 0.02 vs. 0.18 ± 0.05 vs. 0.23 ± 0.08 mm/mmHg, p < 0.05), while it had been decreasing during the same period of time in abnormal fetuses (0.18 ± 0.02 vs. 0.17 ± 0.02 vs. 0.17 ± 0.01 mm/mmHg, p < 0.05). There was a strong positive correlation between RV‐PA coupling and gestational age (GA) in normal fetuses (r = 0.71, p < 0.0001). The area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.989 for RV‐PA coupling during second trimester was superior to that for RV‐PA coupling during third trimester (AUC: 0.536) in predicting PPHN. The optimal cutoff value was 0.16 mm/mmHg, with a sensitivity of 100.00%, a specificity of 96.36% and an accuracy of 97.73%.

Conclusion

RV‐PA coupling had close relation with GA in normal fetuses. It was a strong predictor of PPHN.
CD33‐targeting extracellular vesicles deliver antisense oligonucleotides against FLT3‐ITD and miR‐125b for specific treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia
Authors: Chen Huan , Jayasinghe Migara Kavishka , Yeo Eric Yew Meng , Wu Zhiyuan , Pirisinu Marco , Usman Waqas Muhammad , Pham Thach Tuan , Lim Kah Wai , Tran Nhan Van , Leung Anskar Y. H. , Du Xin , Zhang Qiaoxia , Phan Anh Tuân , Le Minh T. N.
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) is the most common blood cancer in adults. Although 2 out of 3 AML patients go into total remission after chemotherapies and targeted therapies, the disease recurs in 60%–65% of younger adult patients within 3 years after diagnosis with a dramatically decreased survival rate. Therapeutic oligonucleotides are promising treatments under development for AML as they can be designed to silence oncogenes with high specificity and flexibility. However, there are not many well validated approaches for safely and efficiently delivering oligonucleotide drugs. This issue could be resolved by utilizing a new generation of delivery vehicles such as extracellular vesicles (EVs).

Methods

In this study, we harness red blood cell‐derived EVs (RBCEVs) and engineer them via exogenous drug loading and surface functionalization to develop an efficient drug delivery system for AML. Particularly, EVs are designed to target CD33, a common surface marker with elevated expression in AML cells via the conjugation of a CD33‐binding monoclonal antibody onto the EV surface.

Results

The conjugation of RBCEVs with the CD33‐binding antibody significantly increases the uptake of RBCEVs by CD33‐positive AML cells, but not by CD33‐negative cells. We also load CD33‐targeting RBCEVs with antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) targeting FLT3‐ITD or miR‐125b, 2 common oncogenes in AML, and demonstrate that the engineered EVs improve leukaemia suppression in in vitro and in vivo models of AML.

Conclusion

Targeted RBCEVs represent an innovative, efficient, and versatile delivery platform for therapeutic ASOs and can expedite the clinical translation of oligonucleotide drugs for AML treatments by overcoming current obstacles in oligonucleotide delivery.
Administrative Division Adjustment and Housing Price Comovement: Evidence from City‐County Mergers in China
Authors: Zhang Sihan , Zhang Ming‐ang , Sun Weizeng
Published: July 2022

Interregional housing price comovement is a stylized fact worldwide. This study explores how it is affected by administrative division adjustment. We exploit city‐county mergers in China as a quasi‐natural experiment to construct a difference‐in‐differences strategy for causal identification. Based on monthly housing price data for districts (counties) in China from 2010 to 2019, we find that city‐county mergers significantly improve correlations in housing prices between the merged county and the urban district. This effect is more obvious in cities with a large economic gap between merged counties and urban districts, located in the central and western regions, and with lower administrative hierarchies (non‐provincial‐capital cities). The mechanism test shows that the impact of city‐county mergers on housing price comovement results mainly from integrating housing demand rather than integrating housing supply, like the unified land supply policy that local government implements in the new administrative scope after mergers. The results are helpful in understanding housing price comovement from the view of regional integration and provide clear policy implications for housing market regulation in China.
Assisted reproductive technology: Short‐ and long‐term outcomes
Authors: Graham Mary Elaine , Jelin Angie , Hoon Alexander H. , Wilms Floet Anna Maria , Levey Eric , Graham Ernest M.
Published: July 2022

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes fertility treatment in which either eggs or embryos are handled outside a female's body to promote successful pregnancies and healthy offspring. Current ART procedures encompass in vitro fertilization with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection. The most common complication of ART is related to the consequences of multiple pregnancy, which can be prevented or minimized by reducing the number of embryos transferred to the uterus, commonly single embryo transfer. ART has been shown to be variably associated with adverse short‐ and long‐term perinatal outcomes, including cerebral palsy, autism, neurodevelopmental imprinting disorders, and cancer. However, there is uncertainty as to whether reported problems are related to the ART procedure itself, to factors related to infertility, to other medical and environmental factors, or a combination thereof. From a pathophysiological perspective, whether ART alters epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression, leading to later developmental, medical, and behavioral disorders, is an area of active investigation. With the meticulously conducted short‐ and long‐term outcome studies completed so far, overall, and after controlling for multiple gestations and preterm delivery, the results suggest that ART is a safe procedure, offering hope to many parent(s) wishing for a healthy child. This paper highlights ART methods and the risk factors and confounders in the interpretation of short‐ and long‐term outcome data, providing the reader with a means to evaluate findings and conclusions of outcome studies.

What this paper adds

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is a relatively safe procedure.

Single embryo implantation optimizes outcome.

Informed consent, including the risks and benefits of ART, should be required.

Ongoing longitudinal studies are necessary to fully understand ART outcomes.
The effect of a non‐tobacco‐based nicotine pouch on mucosal lesions caused by Swedish smokeless tobacco (snus)
Authors: Alizadehgharib Sara , Lehrkinder Anna , Alshabeeb Ali , Östberg Anna‐Karin , Lingström Peter
Published: July 2022

Oral mucosal lesions are commonly found in Swedish smokeless tobacco (snus) users where the pouch is placed. These lesions are reversible, that is, clinical and histological tissue changes return to normal following cessation. However, the exact mechanisms behind these changes are unknown. The main aim of this study was to investigate how snus‐like non‐tobacco‐based nicotine pouches affect the oral mucosa and the severity of pre‐existing lesions. Sixty regular users of Swedish smokeless tobacco were encouraged to substitute their snus with non‐tobacco‐based nicotine pouch products during a 6‐week period. Meanwhile, oral mucosal lesions were assessed using a four‐degree scale. Over time, a reduction of pre‐existing mucosal lesions was observed between baseline and the final visit. In a second part, the effect of exposure to regular snus on the production of 48 different cytokines in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was compared in vitro with that resulting from exposure to the non‐tobacco‐based nicotine products. Results showed significantly increased production of proinflammatory cytokines in cells exposed to regular snus compared to untreated or cells exposed to the non‐tobacco‐based nicotine products. This may be related to the improved clinical appearance of the oral mucosa in the participants that used the non‐tobacco‐based nicotine test pouches.