bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Remarkable variability in SARS-CoV-2 antibodies across Brazilian regions: nationwide serological household survey in 27 states
Authors: Hallal Pedro C , Hartwig Fernando P , Horta Bernardo L , Victora Gabriel D , Silveira Mariângela F , Struchiner Claudio J , Vidaleti Luís Paulo , Neumann Nelson Arns , Pellanda Lúcia C , Dellagostin Odir A , Burattini Marcelo N , Menezes Ana M B , Barros Fernando C , Barros Aluísio J D , Victora Cesar G
Published: May 2020

Population based data on COVID-19 are essential for guiding public policies. We report on the first of a series of planned seroprevalence surveys relying upon on household probabilistic samples of 133 large sentinel cities in Brazil, including 25,025 participants from all 26 states and the Federal District. Seroprevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, assessed using a lateral flow rapid test, varied markedly across the country’s cities and regions, from below 1% in most cities in the South and Center-West regions to up to 25% in the city of Breves in the Amazon (North) region. Eleven of the 15 cities with the highest seroprevalence were located in the North, including the six cities with highest prevalence which were located along a 2,000 km stretch of the Amazon river. Overall seroprevalence for the 90 cities with sample size of 200 or greater was 1.4% (95% CI 1.3–1.6). Extrapolating this figure to the population of these cities, which represent 25% of the country’s population, led to an estimate of 760,000 cases, as compared to the 104,782 cases reported in official statistics. Seroprevalence did not vary significantly between infancy and age 79 years, but fell by approximately two-thirds after age 80 years. Prevalence was highest among indigenous people (3.7%) and lowest among whites (0.6%), a difference which was maintained when analyses were restricted to the North region, where most indigenous people live. Our results suggest that pandemic is highly heterogenous, with rapid escalation in Brazil’s North and Northeast, and slow progression in the South and Center-West regions.
Assessing visible aerosol generation during vitrectomy in the era of Covid-19
Authors: Liyanage Sidath , Ramasamy Pathma , Elhaddad Omar , Darcy Kieren , Hudson Andrew , Keller Johannes
Published: May 2020

Objective

To assess visible aerosol generation during simulated vitrectomy surgery. Methods: A model comprising a human cadaveric corneoscleral rim mounted on an artificial anterior chamber was used. Three-port 25 gauge vitrectomy simulated surgery was performed with any visible aerosol production recorded using high speed 4K camera. The following were assessed: (1) vitrector at maximum cut rate in static and dynamic conditions inside the model, (2) vitrector at air-fluid interface in physical model, (3) passive fluid-air exchange with a backflush hand piece, (4) valved cannulas under air, and (5) defective valved cannula under air.

Results

No visible aerosol or droplets were identified when the vitrector was used within the model. In the physical model, no visible aerosol or droplets were seen when the vitrector was engaged at the air-fluid interface. Droplets were produced from the opening of backflush hand piece during passive fluid-air exchange. No visible aerosol was produced from the intact valved cannulas under air pressure, but droplets were seen at the beginning of fluid-air exchange when the valved cannula was defective.

Conclusions

We found no evidence of visible aerosol generation during simulated vitrectomy surgery with competent valved cannulas. In the physical model, no visible aerosol was generated by the high-speed vitrector despite cutting at the air-fluid interface.
Assessing the quality, readability and reliability of online information on COVID-19: an infoveillance observational study
Authors: Lins-Filho Paulo Cardoso , Macêdo Thuanny Silva de , Ferreira Andressa Kelly Alves , Melo Maria Cecília Freire de , Araújo Millena Mirella Silva de , de Melo Freitas Jaciel Leandro , Caldas Thaise Urbano , de França Caldas Arnaldo
Published: May 2020

Objective

This study aimed to assess the quality, reliability and readability of internet-based information on COVID-19 available on Brazil’ most used search engines.

Methods

A total of 68 websites were selected through Google, Bing, and Yahoo. The websites content quality and reliability were evaluated using the DISCERN questionnaire, the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria, and the presence of the Health on Net (HON) certification. Readability was assessed by the Flesch Reading Ease adapted to Brazilian Portuguese (FRE-BP).

Results

The web contents were considered moderate to low quality according to DISCERN and JAMA mean scores. Most of the sample presented very difficult reading levels and only 7.4% displayed HON certification. Websites of Governmental and health-related authorship nature showed lower JAMA mean scores and quality and readability measures did not correlate to the webpages content type.

Conclusion

COVID-19 related contents available online were considered of low to moderate quality and not accessible.
An inverse stage-shift model to estimate the excess mortality and health economic impact of delayed access to cancer services due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Degeling Koen , Baxter Nancy N. , Emery Jon , Franchini Fanny , Gibbs Peter , Mann G. Bruce , McArthur Grant , Solomon Benjamin J. , IJzerman Maarten J.
Published: May 2020

Background

Decreased cancer incidence and reported changes to clinical management indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic will result in diagnostic and treatment delays for cancer patients. We aimed to develop a flexible model to estimate the impact of delayed diagnosis and treatment initiation on survival outcomes and healthcare costs based on a shift in the disease stage at treatment initiation.

Methods

The stage-shift model estimates population-level health economic outcomes by weighting disease stage-specific outcomes by the distribution of stages at treatment initiation, assuming delays lead to stage-progression. It allows for extrapolation of population-level survival data using parametric distributions to calculate the expected survival in life years. The model was demonstrated based on an analysis of the impact of 3 and 6-month delays for stage I breast cancer, colorectal cancer and lung cancer patients, and for T1 melanoma, based on Australian data. In the absence of patient-level data about time to stage progression, two approaches were explored to estimate the proportion of patients that would experience a stage shift following the delay: 1) based on the relation between time to treatment initiation and overall survival (breast, colorectal and lung cancer), and 2) based on the tumour growth rate (melanoma). The model is available on http://stage-shift.personex.nl/.

Results

A shift from stage I to stage II due to a 6-month delay is least likely for colorectal cancer patients, with an estimated proportion of 3% of the stage I patients diagnosed in 2020 progressing to stage II, resulting in 11 excess deaths after 5 years and a total of 96 life years lost over a 10-year time horizon. For breast and lung cancer, progression from stage I to stage II due to a 6-month delay were slightly higher at 5% (breast cancer) and 8% (lung cancer), resulting in 25 and 43 excess deaths after 5 years, and 239 and 373 life years lost over a 10-year time horizon, respectively. For melanoma, with 32% of T1 patients progressing to T2 disease following a 6-month delay, the model estimated 270 excess death after 5 years and 2584 life years lost over a 10-year time horizon.

Conclusions

Using a conservative 3-month delay in diagnosis and treatment initiation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this study predicts nearly 90 excess deaths and $12 million excess healthcare costs in Australia over 5 years for the in 2020 diagnosed patients for 4 cancers. If the delays increase to 6 months, excess mortality and cost approach nearly 350 deaths and $46 million in Australia. More accurate data on stage of disease during and after the COVID-19 pandemic are critical to obtain more reliable estimates.
Fusion protein EWS-FLI1 is incorporated into a protein granule in cells
Authors: Ahmed Nasiha S. , Harrell Lucas M. , Wieland Daniel R. , Lay Michelle A. , Thompson Valery F. , Schwartz Jacob C.
Published: May 2020

Ewing sarcoma is driven by fusion proteins containing a low complexity (LC) domain that is intrinsically disordered and a powerful transcriptional regulator. The most common fusion protein found in Ewing sarcoma, EWS-FLI1, takes its LC domain from the RNA-binding protein EWSR1 (Ewing Sarcoma RNA-binding protein 1) and a DNA-binding domain from the transcription factor FLI1 (Friend Leukemia Virus Integration 1). EWS-FLI1 can bind RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II) and self-assemble through its low-complexity (LC) domain. The ability of RNA-binding proteins like EWSR1 to self-assemble or phase separate in cells has raised questions about the contribution of this process to EWS-FLI1 activity. We examined EWSR1 and EWS-FLI1 activity in Ewing sarcoma cells by siRNA-mediated knockdown and RNA-seq analysis. More transcripts were affected by the EWSR1 knockdown than expected and these included many EWS-FLI1 regulated genes. We reevaluated physical interactions between EWS-FLI1, EWSR1, and RNA Pol II, and employed a cross-linking based strategy to investigate protein assemblies associated with the proteins. The LC domain of EWS-FLI1 was required for the assemblies observed to form in cells. These results offer new insights into a protein assembly that may enable EWS-FLI1 to bind its wide network of protein partners and contribute to regulation of gene expression in Ewing sarcoma.
stLearn: integrating spatial location, tissue morphology and gene expression to find cell types, cell-cell interactions and spatial trajectories within undissociated tissues
Authors: Pham Duy , Tan Xiao , Xu Jun , Grice Laura F. , Lam Pui Yeng , Raghubar Arti , Vukovic Jana , Ruitenberg Marc J. , Nguyen Quan
Published: May 2020

Spatial Transcriptomics is an emerging technology that adds spatial dimensionality and tissue morphology to the genome-wide transcriptional profile of cells in an undissociated tissue. Integrating these three types of data creates a vast potential for deciphering novel biology of cell types in their native morphological context. Here we developed innovative integrative analysis approaches to utilise all three data types to first find cell types, then reconstruct cell type evolution within a tissue, and search for tissue regions with high cell-to-cell interactions. First, for normalisation of gene expression, we compute a distance measure using morphological similarity and neighbourhood smoothing. The normalised data is then used to find clusters that represent transcriptional profiles of specific cell types and cellular phenotypes. Clusters are further sub-clustered if cells are spatially separated. Analysing anatomical regions in three mouse brain sections and 12 human brain datasets, we found the spatial clustering method more accurate and sensitive than other methods. Second, we introduce a method to calculate transcriptional states by pseudo-space-time (PST) distance. PST distance is a function of physical distance (spatial distance) and gene expression distance (pseudotime distance) to estimate the pairwise similarity between transcriptional profiles among cells within a tissue. We reconstruct spatial transition gradients within and between cell types that are connected locally within a cluster, or globally between clusters, by a directed minimum spanning tree optimisation approach for PST distance. The PST algorithm could model spatial transition from non-invasive to invasive cells within a breast cancer dataset. Third, we utilise spatial information and gene expression profiles to identify locations in the tissue where there is both high ligand-receptor interaction activity and diverse cell type co-localisation. These tissue locations are predicted to be hotspots where cell-cell interactions are more likely to occur. We detected tissue regions and ligand-receptor pairs significantly enriched compared to background distribution across a breast cancer tissue. Together, these three algorithms, implemented in a comprehensive Python software stLearn, allow for the elucidation of biological processes within healthy and diseased tissues.
TreeMap: A Structured Approach to Fine Mapping of eQTL Variants
Authors: Liu Li , Chandrashekar Pramod , Zeng Biao , Sanderford Maxwell D. , Kumar Sudhir , Gibson Greg
Published: May 2020

Motivation

Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) harbor genetic variants modulating gene transcription. Fine mapping of regulatory variants at these loci is a daunting task due to the juxtaposition of causal and linked variants at a locus as well as the likelihood of interactions among multiple variants. This problem is exacerbated in genes with multiple cis-acting eQTL, where superimposed effects of adjacent loci further distort the association signals.

Results

We developed a novel algorithm, TreeMap, that identifies putative causal variants in cis-eQTL accounting for multisite effects and genetic linkage at a locus. Guided by the hierarchical structure of linkage disequilibrium, TreeMap performs an organized search for individual and multiple causal variants. Via extensive simulations, we show that TreeMap detects co-regulating variants more accurately than current methods. Furthermore, its high computational efficiency enables genome-wide analysis of long-range eQTL. We applied TreeMap to GTEx data of brain hippocampus samples and transverse colon samples to search for eQTL in gene bodies and in 4 Mbps gene-flanking regions, discovering numerous distal eQTL. Furthermore, we found concordant distal eQTL that were present in both brain and colon samples, implying long-range regulation of gene expression.

Availability

TreeMap is available as an R package enabled for parallel processing athttps://github.com/liliulab/treemap.
A novel tolerance index to identify heat tolerance in cultivated and wild barley genotypes
Authors: Bahrami Forouzan , Arzani Ahmad , Rahimmalek Mehdi
Published: May 2020

Thermal stress at the reproductive stage poses a substantial constraint on cereal production worldwide. This study was conducted to assess tolerance to terminal high-temperature stress in 45 wild (Hordeum vulgaressp.spontaneum)genotypes, 4 cultivars (H. vulgaressp.vulgare), 98 F3 and 79 BC1F2 families derived from hybridization of the most tolerant wild genotype and a susceptible cultivar ‘Mona’. Results of analysis of variance showed the significant genotypic and high-temperature stress effects on all the traits studied. In contrast to the cultivated genotypes, the wild ones were found less affected by high-temperature stress. The multivariate analysis highlighted the additional high-temperature tolerance components in the tolerant families and wild genotypes. Grain yield strongly correlated (p< 0.01) with stress tolerance, yield stability, and heat tolerance indices. The reduction in the reproduction period caused by high-temperature was much higher in cultivated genotypes than in wild ones. In conclusion, the ingenuous-focused strategies like escape/avoidance are being used primarily to cope with heat stress by cultivars, while adaptive-focused coping strategies such as tolerance are being implemented by wild barley.
Sequence-specific dynamics of DNA response elements and their flanking sites regulate the recognition by AP-1 transcription factors
Authors: Hörberg Johanna , Moreau Kevin , Reymer Anna
Published: May 2020

Activator proteins 1 (AP-1) comprise one of the largest families of eukaryotic basic leucine zipper transcription factors. Despite advances in the characterization of AP-1 DNA-binding sites, our ability to predict new binding sites and explain how the proteins achieve different gene expression levels remains limited. Here we address the role of sequence-specific DNA dynamics for stability and specific binding of AP-1 factors, using microseconds long molecular dynamics simulations. As a model system, we employ yeast AP-1 factor Yap1 binding to three different response elements from two genetic environments. Our data show that Yap1 actively exploits the sequence-specific plasticity of DNA within the response element to form stable protein-DNA complexes. The stability also depends on the four to six flanking nucleotides, adjacent to the response elements. The flanking sequences modulate the conformational adaptability of the response element, making it more shape-efficient to form specific contacts with the protein. Bioinformatics analysis of differential expression of the studied genes supports our conclusions: the stability of Yap1-DNA complexes, modulated by the flanking environment, influences the gene expression levels. Our results provide new insights into mechanisms of protein-DNA recognition and the biological regulation of gene expression levels in eukaryotes.
A simple model for vacancy order and disorder in defective half-Heusler systems
Authors: Roth Nikolaj , Zhu Tiejun , Iversen Bo B.
Published: June 2020

Defective half-Heusler systems X
1−x

YZ with large amounts of intrinsic vacancies, such as Nb1−x
CoSb, Ti1−x
NiSb and V1−x
CoSb, are a group of promising thermoelectric materials. Even with high vacancy concentrations they maintain the average half-Heusler crystal structure. These systems show high electrical conductivity but low thermal conductivity arising from an ordered YZ substructure, which conducts electrons, while the large amounts of vacancies in the X substructure effectively scatters phonons. Using electron scattering, it was recently observed that, in addition to Bragg diffraction from the average cubic half-Heusler structure, some of these samples show broad diffuse scattering indicating short-range vacancy order, while other samples show sharp additional peaks indicating long-range vacancy ordering. Here it is shown that both the short- and long-range ordering can be explained using the same simple model, which assumes that vacancies in the X substructure avoid each other. The samples showing long-range vacancy order are in agreement with the predicted ground state of the model, while short-range order samples are quenched high-temperature states of the system. A previous study showed that changes in sample stoichiometry affect whether the short- or long-range vacancy structure is obtained, but the present model suggests that thermal treatment of samples should allow controlling the degree of vacancy order, and thereby the thermal conductivity, without changes in composition. This is important as the composition also dictates the amount of electrical carriers. Independent control of electrical carrier concentration and degree of vacancy order should allow further improvements in the thermoelectric properties of these systems.
Novel carbohydrate-recognition mode of the invertebrate C-type lectin SPL-1 fromSaxidomus purpuratusrevealed by the GlcNAc-complex crystal in the presence of Ca2+
Authors: Unno Hideaki , Higuchi Shuhei , Goda Shuichiro , Hatakeyama Tomomitsu
Published: June 2020

The C-type lectins SPL-1 and SPL-2 from the bivalveSaxidomus purpuratusare composed of A and B chains and of two B chains, respectively. They bind specific carbohydrates containing acetamido groups, such asN-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) andN-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc), in a Ca2+-independent manner. Unlike ordinary C-type lectins, which require Ca2+ions for carbohydrate recognition, these lectins recognize specific carbohydrates mainly through interactions with the acetamido group without Ca2+ions, even though Ca2+enhances the binding affinity of these lectins, especially SPL-1. In the present study, the crystal structure of the SPL-1–GlcNAc complex in the presence of Ca2+revealed that the binding of SPL-1 to GlcNAc is stabilized by hydrogen bonds to the water molecule(s) coordinating Ca2+, whereas in ordinary C-type lectins Ca2+directly forms coordinate bonds to the hydroxy groups of carbohydrates. These differences may also allow SPL-1 and SPL-2 to recognize both GlcNAc and GalNAc, which have different orientations of the 4-hydroxy group.
Crystal structure, Hirshfeld surface analysis and computational study of a rhodamine B–salicylaldehyde Schiff base derivative
Authors: Suramitr Songwut , Teanwarawat Jitpinan , Ithiapa Nuttapong , Wattanathana Worawat , Suramitr Anwaraporn
Published: June 2020

The molecular structure of the title compound {systematic name: 3′,6′-bis(diethylamino)-2-[(2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino]spiro[isoindoline-1,9′-xanthen]-3-one}, C35H36N4O3 or RbSa, can be seen as being composed of two parts sharing a central quaternary carbon atom. Both the xanthene and isoindole moieties are nearly planar: 14 atoms in the former moiety show an r.m.s. deviation of 0.0411 Å and eleven atoms in the latter moiety show an r.m.s. deviation of 0.0545 Å. These two planes are almost perpendicular to each other, the angle between the mean planes being 87.71 (2)°. The title compound appears to be in its enol form. The corresponding H atom was located and freely refined at a distance of 1.02 (3) Å from the O atom and 1.72 (2) Å from the N atom. The strong intramolecular hydrogen bond O—H...N bridging the hydroxyl group and its neighboring nitrogen atom forms an S(6) graph-set motif. Apart from the intramolecular O—H...N hydrogen bond, C—H...O interactions are observed between two neighbouring RbSa molecules related by an inversion center. The C—O donor–acceptor distance is 3.474 (2) Å. Moreover, C—H...π interactions are observed between the C—H bond of one of the ethyl groups and the centroid of the benzene ring of the isoindole moiety. The C...centroid distance is 3.8191 (15) Å. No π–π interactions are observed in the crystal structure as the shortest distance between ring centroids is more than 4 Å. A Hirshfeld surface analysis of the crystal structure indicates that the most important contributions for the crystal packing are from H...H, C...H/H...C, O...H/H...O and N...H/H...N interactions. DFT calculations at the CAM-B3LYP/6–31 G(d) level were carried out to gain a better understanding of the relative energies and the tautomerization process between two possible conformers (keto and enol), as well as the transition state of the title compound.
Board gender diversity and environmental, social and corporate governance performance: evidence from ASEAN banks
Authors: Al-Jaifi Hamdan Amer
Published: June 2020

Purpose

This study examines the associations between board gender diversity and banks' environmental, social and corporate governance performance in the ASEAN context.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a sample of yearly observations for ASEAN banks over the period 2011–2016. Generalized method of moments (GMM) regression is used for the main models, and the findings are supported by other robustness tests, namely ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and panel models (fixed and random effect regression).

Findings

The findings imply that board gender diversity positively influences corporate governance performance, although it has no impact on the banks' environmental and social performance.

Research limitations/implications

This study offers insights to regulators, investors and bank managers concerning board diversity and its impact on environmental, social and corporate governance performance. The findings imply that having a specific percentage of female directors on the board positively influences corporate governance performance. However, the impact of gender diversity on environmental and social performance is not supported.

Originality/value

Few empirical studies have examined the impact of gender diversity on non-financial performance. This study contributes to the debate on the importance of gender diversity by providing empirical evidence for the impact of board gender diversity on three non-performance measures (environmental, social and corporate governance) for ASEAN banks, a topic not previously examined. There is scant attention to it in ASEAN countries, which have unique characteristics, and there remains a gap in the literature regarding the impact of board diversity among banks in this region. The findings of the study are confirmed by several robustness tests.
Digital resources integration under the knowledge management model: an analysis based on the structural equation model
Authors: Rafi Muhammad , JianMing Zheng , Ahmad Khurshid
Published: June 2020

Purpose

In the age of knowledge explosion, modern technology facilitates the acquisition, organization and effective dissemination of information to support academic research. To achieve long-term educational goals, integrating digital resources into a knowledge management model (KMM) has become a necessary prerequisite for university management. The proposed KMM aims to combine resources and technology to facilitate resource management, navigation and cross-database search for advanced research.

Design/methodology/approach

The published literature on digital resource integration was reviewed, and the status of resource organization was discussed with experts to compile research instruments together with the perspectives of serving professionals in universities. The data obtained was systematically processed to develop an integrated resource KMM. Data volume measurement was done with the SPSS software and AMOS was used for path analysis and modeling. After the conceptual model was developed, many assumptions were associated with it, and the software was run on the data set to validate the proposed theoretical model.

Findings

Library resources with four components (digital resources, information technology, financial planning and service promotion) have been successfully integrated into the knowledge management framework to organize resources and provide academic services for researchers. In addition to the organization of digital resources, the two components of knowledge management, such as the explicit knowledge of its technology-oriented nature and the tacit knowledge of its human-centered positions, remained useful to strengthen the integration process.

Practical implications

With the development of digital technology and the internet, information authentication, access and dissemination have become a complex task for information centers. As an integral part of modern digital libraries, the expansion of digital collections requires proper accessibility organization. Owing to the increasing number of digital resources, organization and management require thorough research and appropriate integration mechanisms. This integrated KMM helps to organize heterogeneous information resources and databases in libraries for long-term academic tasks.

Originality/value

Based on literature studies and discussions with academic experts, integration problems were identified, and raw data were obtained from the library management to find a solution. It is unique research owing to a lack of original work and extensive international literature on resource integration in connection with KMMs. This study has innovative findings that can add value to world literature.
A serious leisure perspective of culinary tourism co-creation: the influence of prior knowledge, physical environment and service quality
Authors: Prayag Girish , Gannon Martin Joseph , Muskat Birgit , Taheri Babak
Published: June 2020

Purpose

Recognising tourists’ increasing desire for authentic destination-specific experiences, the hospitality industry has responded by increasing provision of innovative culinary activities. This study aims to use the concepts of serious leisure and terroir to examine how knowledge, physical environment and service quality influence co-creation within the culinary tourism context.

Design/methodology/approach

Following cooking class participation, 575 domestic Iranian tourists were surveyed. These educational classes provide opportunities to learn about local foods alongside peers in an interactive setting. Consistent with the benefits of serious leisure, this consumption context could prove conducive to stimulating co-creation.

Findings

Prior knowledge strongly influences tourists’ reflective and recreational motives for participation (i.e. the benefits of serious leisure). This shapes how tourists evaluate physical environments and service quality therein; influencing value co-creation and supporting serious leisure as the conceptual lens through which to understand experiential culinary consumption.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed conceptual model was tested on domestic tourists following class participation. However, in suggesting that visually-stimulating, tactile premises with the olfactory appeal can encourage co-created experiences, the findings are relevant to service touch-point management more generally.

Originality/value

Recognizing the influential role played by the physical and social aspects of experiential consumption, the serious leisure framework improves an extant understanding of value co-creation.
Masters Highland Games and imaginations of home
Authors: Bowness James
Published: June 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the journeys of a group of North American Master athletes who travelled to Scotland to compete in the 2014 Masters World Championship Highland Games. Conceptualising, the Masters World Championship Highland Games as a unique form of sport heritage tourism, the paper explores how imaginations of the host venue are caught within individual and collective histories, while also being influenced by the socio-political context of contemporary Scotland.

Design/methodology/approach

After detailing the histories of the Highland games and Scottish emigration, the study draws upon a qualitative methodology to explore how such histories impact the imaginations of the Highland region.

Findings

This paper examines the journeys of athletes to the games, how they understood the games venue space and surrounding areas, and also how the Highland region itself was the site of contested meanings. The study concludes with a discussion of the narratives that frame imaginations of the Highlands and Scotland more broadly.

Originality/value

The paper adds to existing knowledge on sport heritage tourism and considers how conceptualisations of Scotland continue to be renegotiated in light of contemporary political developments.
Social effectiveness of the market economy: measuring and management
Authors: Bogoviz Aleksei V. , Shokhnekh Anna V. , Petrenko Elena S. , Milkina Elizaveta A.
Published: June 2020

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to develop the scientific and methodological provision for measuring and managing the social effectiveness of the market economy and its approbation.

Design/methodology/approach

With foundation on the classical idea of effectiveness as a ratio of results to costs, and with acknowledgment of incompatibility and inequality of the elements of social effectiveness and the necessity of their ranking, the authors' formula for its evaluation is presented, and the methodology of its application is offered.

Findings

It is substantiated that the economic component of effectiveness of the market economy might have no connection with its social component, moreover, these two components could enter a vivid contradiction. This contradiction is especially vivid in countries with developed market economy. As the example of the USA shows despite the high global economy its market economy shows average statistical social effectiveness. While the experience of Russia shows that even with moderate global competitiveness of the market economy, it is possible to achieve its high social effectiveness. Advantages are achieved due to other social effects – active development of human potential and using the opportunities of the digital economy for social purposes. Social effectiveness of the Russian economy is assessed at 1.602.

Originality/value

The determined differences in the level of social effectiveness of developed and developing market economy predetermined the necessity for applying different measures to manage this effectiveness. A cyclic algorithm for managing the social effectiveness of developed and developing markets has been developed from the examples of the USA and Russia in 2019. It shows that perspectives of increasing the social effectiveness of certain market economies and leveling the disproportions of social effectiveness in the modern global economic system are connected to change of the measures of management with results and costs and for avoiding their mutual neutralization, the authors offer scientific and practical recommendations.
Wild data: how front‐line hospital staff make sense of patients’ experiences
Authors: Montgomery Catherine M. , Chisholm Alison , Parkin Stephen , Locock Louise
Published: May 2020

Patient‐centred care has become the touchstone of healthcare policy in developed healthcare systems. The ensuing commodification of patients’ experiences has resulted in a mass of data but little sense of whether and how such data are used. We sought to understand how front‐line staff use patient experience data for quality improvement in the National Health Service (NHS). We conducted a 12‐month ethnographic case study evaluation of improvement projects in six NHS hospitals in England in 2016–2017. Drawing on the sociology of everyday life, we show how front‐line staff worked with a notion of data as interpersonal and embodied. In addition to consulting organisationally sanctioned forms of data, staff used their own embodied interactions with patients, carers, other staff and the ward environment to shape improvements. The data staff found useful involved face‐to‐face interaction and dialogue; were visual, emotive, and allowed for immediate action. We draw on de Certeau to re‐conceptualise this as ‘wild data’. We conclude that patient experience data are relational, and have material, social and affective dimensions, which have been elided in the literature to date. Practice‐based theories of the everyday help to envision ‘patient experience’ not as a disembodied tool of managerialism but as an embedded part of healthcare staff professionalism.
Comparison of bioelectrical impedance analysis in healthy pregnant women and patient on hemodialysis
Authors: Hashimoto Seiji , Maoka Tomochika , Yamamoto Rie , Kawashima Keisuke , Nishikawa Akira , Sakurada Katsumi , Koike Takao , Shigematsu Takashi
Published: May 2020

Pregnant woman undergoing dialysis face challenges such as miscarriage and stillbirth when carrying a baby to term. A complication of prenatal care is the difficulty in properly managing body fluids. We compare fluid volumes between healthy pregnant women and two pregnant women undergoing dialysis using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Data of 52 healthy pregnant women at various stages of their pregnancy were analyzed for the study. We included these many cases so as to collect sufficient data to compare them with our two cases of women undergoing dialysis who successfully completed their term deliveries. Fluid volumes were measured every week before and after dialysis using BIA. We also measured the levels of human atrial natriuretic peptide after dialysis. During dialysis, the dry weight (DW) of pregnant patients is altered based on the state of the amniotic fluid and fetus. However, evaluating body fluid and DW using radiography is difficult in pregnant women. BIA offers a mostly harmless alternative for such measurements. Using BIA, we were able to easily measure body fluid volume and change the setting of DW for dialysis. Thus, our successful example can serve as a reference for future cases of pregnant women undergoing dialysis. Nevertheless, given that the state of the fetus and amniotic fluid affect the results of dialysis, it is important that we use not only BIA but also a comprehensive evaluation to determine dialysis settings in pregnant women.
Every Cloud has a Silver Lining: Using Silver Concentration to Identify the Number of Sources of Lead used in Shang Dynasty Bronzes
Authors: LIU Ruiliang , POLLARD A. Mark , LIU Cheng , RAWSON Jessica
Published: June 2020

The use of lead, some of which is characterized by a highly radiogenic signature, sharply distinguishes Bronze Age China from the rest of Eurasia. Scholars have long hypothesized that silver can offer an independent proxy to characterize lead minerals. The summary of silver distribution associated with Shang and Western Zhou bronzes in this paper reveals an important difference between the south (Sanxingdui, Hanzhong, Jinsha, Panlongcheng, Xin'gan) and the Central Plains. Correlating silver with lead content as well as with the isotopic signature indicates that south China and the Central Plains had different lead sources during the late Shang period, and also that the highly radiogenic and common lead used at Anyang come from geochemical environments which cannot be distinguished by the level of silver.
August–September Runoff Variation in the Kara Darya River Determined from Juniper (Juniperus turkestanica) Tree Rings in the Pamirs‐Alai Mountains, Kyrgyzstan, Back to 1411 CE
Authors: ZHANG Heli , HE Qing , CHEN Feng , CHONTOEV Dogdurbek , SATYLKANOV Rysbek , ERMENBAEV Bakytbek , CHEN Youping
Published: June 2020

A 606 year runoff reconstruction of the Kara Darya River was developed, based on the tree‐ring width chronology of Turkestan juniper (Juniperus turkestanica) from the Pamir‐Alai Mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Preliminary comparison between the snow cover variation and these climate/runoff reconstructions found that Central Asian snow cover may have strong associations with large‐scale ocean‐atmosphere‐land circulations. The runoff reconstruction demonstrated that instrumental runoff was not representative of runoff over the past 606 years. The drought of the 1960s‐1990s resulted in low runoff levels during the past 50 years; however, this probably does not represent a worst‐case scenario for the Kara Darya because the runoff reconstruction showed additional extremely low runoff prior to the 20th century. The reconstruction will provide a long‐term perspective on runoff variation in the Kara Darya River basin, aid sustainable water resource management and be useful in guiding expectations of future variations and water resource planning.
Caenorhabditis elegans Lipin 1 moderates the lifespan‐shortening effects of dietary glucose by maintaining ω‐6 polyunsaturated fatty acids
Authors: Jung Yoonji , Kwon Sujeong , Ham Seokjin , Lee Dongyeop , Park Hae‐Eun H. , Yamaoka Yasuyo , Jeong Dae‐Eun , Artan Murat , Altintas Ozlem , Park Sangsoon , Hwang Wooseon , Lee Yujin , Son Heehwa G. , An Seon Woo A. , Kim Eun Ji E. , Seo Mihwa , Lee Seung‐Jae V.
Published: May 2020

Excessive glucose causes various diseases and decreases lifespan by altering metabolic processes, but underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here, we show that Lipin 1/LPIN‐1, a phosphatidic acid phosphatase and a putative transcriptional coregulator, prevents life‐shortening effects of dietary glucose on Caenorhabditis elegans. We found that depletion of lpin‐1 decreased overall lipid levels, despite increasing the expression of genes that promote fat synthesis and desaturation, and downregulation of lipolysis. We then showed that knockdown of lpin‐1 altered the composition of various fatty acids in the opposite direction of dietary glucose. In particular, the levels of two ω‐6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), linoleic acid and arachidonic acid, were increased by knockdown of lpin‐1 but decreased by glucose feeding. Importantly, these ω‐6 PUFAs attenuated the short lifespan of glucose‐fed lpin‐1‐inhibited animals. Thus, the production of ω‐6 PUFAs is crucial for protecting animals from living very short under glucose‐rich conditions.
Poly (ADP‐ribose) polymerase 1 inhibition prevents neurodegeneration and promotes α‐synuclein degradation via transcription factor EB‐dependent autophagy in mutant α‐synucleinA53T model of Parkinson's disease
Authors: Mao Kanmin , Chen Jialong , Yu Honglin , Li Huihui , Ren Yixian , Wu Xian , Wen Yue , Zou Fei , Li Wenjun
Published: May 2020

Poly (ADP‐ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) is a master regulator of diverse biological processes such as DNA repair, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. PARP1 can be activated by aggregated α‐synuclein, and this process in turn exacerbates toxicity of α‐synuclein. This circle is closely linked to the evolution of Parkinson's disease (PD) that characterized by progressive neurodegeneration and motor deficits. Here, we reported the PARP1, as a novel upstream molecular of transcription factor EB (TFEB), participates in regulation of autophagy in α‐synuclein aggregated cells and mice. PARP1 inhibition not only enhances the nuclear transcription of TFEB via SIRT1 mediated down‐regulation of mTOR signaling but also reduces nuclear export of TFEB by attenuating the TFEB‐CRM1 interaction. Our results revealed that PARP1 inhibition lessened the accumulation of α‐synuclein in PD models. Also, oral administration of PARP1 inhibitor Veliparib prevented neurodegeneration and improved motor ability in α‐synucleinA53T transgenic mice. These findings identify that PARP1 signaling pathway regulates TFEB‐mediated autophagy, pointing to potential therapeutic strategy of PD via enhancing protein degradation systems.
Return migration, online entrepreneurship and gender performance in the Chinese ‘Taobao families’
Authors: Liu Chiu‐Wan
Published: June 2020

This paper centres on analysing how return migrants' participation in online businesses impacts marital power dynamics in rural families alongside the rise of e‐commerce in rural China. During 2016 and 2017, I conducted an ethnographic study in a Chinese ‘Taobao village’ which I have termed ‘Xinyi’ whereby the majority of villagers make their livelihoods by selling furniture via the online marketplace Taobao. The boom of e‐commerce has attracted many migrants to return to the village and start their online businesses. Inquiring into whether and how rural women's increased access to online entrepreneurship challenges the gender norm that upholds male dominance in marriage, I delineate the power relations in ‘Taobao families’ within which rural women jointly operate online shops with their husbands. Drawing from my ethnographic data, I propose a conceptual framework incorporating the lenses of returnee entrepreneurship, flexible inner‐outer boundary and performance of gender to examine discrepancies between the gender norm that upholds gender hierarchy, and the practice regarding the husbands and wives' equal engagements in online merchandising. This framework is developed to shed a more positive light on the nuances of women's exercise of agency that entails nominal conformity to the gender norm.
Melatonin In Acute Mania Investigation (MIAMI‐UK). A randomized controlled trial of add‐on melatonin in bipolar disorder
Authors: Quested Digby J. , Gibson Jessica C. , Sharpley Ann L. , Cordey Julia H. , Economou Alexis , De Crescenzo Franco , Voysey Merryn , Lawson Jennifer , Rendell Jennifer M. , Al‐Taiar Hasanen , Lennox Alison , Ahmad Farooq , Geddes John R.
Published: May 2020

Objectives

Current options for treating emergent episodes of hypomania and mania in bipolar disorder are limited. Our objective was to compare the effectiveness and safety of add‐on melatonin in hypomania or mania over 3 weeks as a well‐tolerated therapy.

Methods

A randomized, double‐blind, parallel‐group, 3‐week comparison of modified release melatonin (n = 21) vs placebo (n = 20) in adult bipolar patients aged 18‐65 years. Permuted block randomization was used with participants and investigators masked to treatment allocation. Trial registration is ISRCTN28988273 and EUdraCT2008‐000281‐23. Approved by the South Central National Research Ethics Service (Oxford REC A) ref: 09/H0604/63.

Results

The trial was negative as there was no significant difference between melatonin and placebo on the primary outcome—mean Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) score at Day 21: (mean difference [MD] −1.77 ([95% CI: −6.39 to 2.85]; P = .447). Significantly fewer patients on melatonin scored 10 or more on the Altman Self Rating Mania Scale: (odds ratio [OR] 0.164 [95% CI: 0.0260‐1.0002]; P = .05). Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomatology Clinician Version‐16 (QIDS‐C16) scores were not significantly different. (OR 1.77 [95% CI: 0.43‐7.29]; P = .430). The proportion of patients scoring less than or equal to 5 on the self‐report QIDS‐SR16 at end‐point was greater for the melatonin group (OR 8.35 [95% CI: 1.04‐67.23]; P = .046).

Conclusions

In this small trial, melatonin did not effectively treat emerging hypomania or mania as there was no significant difference on the primary outcome. The sample size limitation and secondary outcomes suggest further investigation of melatonin treatment in mood episodes is indicated.
Multimodal Learning Analytics research with young children: A systematic review
Authors: Crescenzi‐Lanna Lucrezia
Published: May 2020

Learning Analytics and Multimodal Learning Analytics are changing the way of analysing the learning process while students interact with an educational content. This paper presents a systematic literature review aimed at describing practices in recent Multimodal Learning Analytics and Learning Analytics research literature in order to identify tools and strategies useful for the assessment of the progress and behaviour of children under 6 years old in respect of their learning. The purpose is to provide guidance for Multimodal Learning Analytics research with children under 6 years old to assess their engagement in a task, their emotions, attention, understanding and achievement of a goal. The current state of knowledge on Multimodal Learning Analytics research suggests how performance analytics, face and speech recognition systems, eye tracking, Kinect analytics and wristbands could be used with children. The results show the complexity of collecting data using non‐invasive methodologies with children under 6 years old. Ethical implications related to multimodal data from audio, visual, biometric and quantitative measures of child behaviour are discussed.
Analysis of students’ ideas and conceptual artifacts in knowledge‐building discourse
Authors: Oshima Jun , Oshima Ritsuko , Saruwatari Shunsuke
Published: May 2020

This study proposes a new methodological approach to evaluate students’ knowledge‐building discourse. First, we discuss the knowledge–creation metaphor of learning. In the metaphor, theories mention that learners should consider their collective knowledge objects or artifacts that materialize as a result of their collaborative discourse. Second, we argue the necessity of developing new analytics to evaluate student learning. We describe how students’ ideas and their conceptual artifacts can be examined in discourse analysis. Third, we demonstrate the application of our analytics to real discourse data. We conducted a new type of social network analysis of discourse to examine how students continuously improve their ideas. Further, we conducted another network analysis of discourse, called the Epistemic Network Analysis, by coding students’ epistemic actions as conceptual artifacts to create and examine their ideas.
A social identity perspective on COVID‐19: Health risk is affected by shared group membership
Authors: Cruwys Tegan , Stevens Mark , Greenaway Katharine H.
Published: May 2020

In the face of a novel infectious disease, changing our collective behaviour is critical to saving lives. One determinant of risk perception and risk behaviour that is often overlooked is the degree to which we share psychological group membership with others. We outline, and summarize supporting evidence for, a theoretical model that articulates the role of shared group membership in attenuating health risk perception and increasing health risk behaviour. We emphasize the importance of attending to these processes in the context of the ongoing response to COVID‐19 and conclude with three recommendations for how group processes can be harnessed to improve this response.