bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is impulsivity related to attentional bias in cigarette smokers? An exploration across levels of nicotine dependency and deprivation.
Authors: Kolokotroni Katerina Z. , Fozard Therese E. , Selby Danielle L. , Harrison Amanda A.
Published: April 2024

Research has largely focused on how attentional bias to smoking-related cues and impulsivity independently influence the development and maintenance of cigarette smoking, with limited exploration of the relationship between these mechanisms. The current experiments systematically assessed relationships between multiple dimensions of impulsivity and attentional bias, at different stages of attention, in smokers varying in nicotine dependency and deprivation. Nonsmokers (NS; n = 26), light-satiated smokers (LS; n = 25), heavy-satiated smokers (HS; n = 23) and heavy 12-hour nicotine-deprived smokers (HD; n = 30) completed the Barratt Impulsivity Scale, delayed discounting task, stop-signal task, information sampling task and a visual dot-probe assessing initial orientation (200 ms) and sustained attention (2000 ms) toward smoking-related cues. Sustained attention to smoking-related cues was present in both HS and LS, while initial orientation bias was only evident in HS. HS and LS also had greater levels of trait motor and nonplanning impulsivity and heightened impulsive choice on the delay discounting task compared with NS, while heightened trait attentional impulsivity was only found in HS. In contrast, in HD, nicotine withdrawal was associated with no attentional bias but heightened reflection impulsivity, poorer inhibitory control and significantly lower levels of impulsive choice relative to satiated smokers. Trait and behavioral impulsivity were not related to the extent of attentional bias to smoking-related cues at any stage of attention, level of nicotine dependency or state of deprivation. Findings have both clinical and theoretical implications, highlighting the unique and independent roles impulsivity and attentional bias may play at different stages of the nicotine addiction cycle.
Chronic caffeine decreases anxiety-like behavior in the marble burying task in adolescent rats
Authors: Park Gwi , Turgeon Sarah M.
Published: April 2024

Exposure to chronic caffeine during adolescence has been shown to produce decreased anxiety-like behaviors in rats as well as decreased immobility in the forced swim test (FST) suggesting an antidepressant-like effect. The effects of chronic caffeine on anxiety, however, have been found to be test-dependent and sexually dimorphic. In addition, decreased immobility in the FST has been argued to reflect a shift toward active coping behavior as opposed to an antidepressant-like effect. In order to further characterize the effects of adolescent caffeine exposure, the present experiment assessed the effects of caffeine on marble burying behavior in a two-zone marble burying task. There was no difference in the amount of time rats spent in the two zones failing to support a shift in coping strategy. Caffeine-exposed rats spent less time engaged in marble burying activity and buried slightly fewer marbles, suggesting an anxiolytic effect of caffeine. In addition, caffeine treated rats spent less time engaged in nondirected burying and slightly more time actively engaging with the marbles; however, these effects appeared to be sexually dimorphic as they were driven by larger changes in the females. Overall, these results support an anxiolytic effect of adolescent caffeine, with female behavior appearing to be more affected by caffeine than males.
Intravitreal dexamethasone for the treatment of macular edema secondary to hydroxychloroquine toxicity
Authors: Zeleny Alexander , Mathai Mariam , Jacobsen Bradley H. , Garfinkel Richard A. , Katira Reshma , Fein Jordana G.
Published: April 2024

Purpose:

Cystoid macular edema is a vision threatening complication infrequently associated with hydroxychloroquine retinal toxicity. There is limited data on the best treatment for this pathology.

Methods:

A retrospective case series is presented.

Results:

In this series, we present three cases of cystoid macular edema in patients with diagnosed hydroxychloroquine maculopathy successfully treated with intravitreal dexamethasone implantation.

Conclusions

Minimal literature has been published regarding the best management of cystoid macular edema related to hydroxychloroquine toxicity. Our case series suggests a possible new agent in the treatment of this rare occurrence.
Hederagenin Improves Adriamycin-induced Nephropathy by Inhibiting the JAK/STAT Signaling Pathway
Authors: Zhong Xia , Jia Jian , Tan Ruizhi , Wang Li
Published: April 2024

Background:

Glomerulonephritis, a common kidney disease and major cause of end-stage renal disease, lacks effective treatment options. Hederagenin (HDG) exerts potent anti-inflammatory and protective effects on the kidneys and exhibits promise for the treatment of glomerulonephritis. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects and mechanism of action of hederagenin in the context of adriamycin-induced nephropathy (ADN).

Methods:

C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 5 groups that included the control, model, low-dose HDG (20 mg/kg), high-dose HDG (40 mg/kg), and positive control (10 mg/kg irbesartan) groups. ADN was established in mice by administering a single injection of 10 mg/kg adriamycin. Renal pathology and fibrosis were assessed using haematoxylin and eosin (H & E) and Masson’s trichrome staining, whereas in vitro studies were conducted using cultured mouse podocytes (MPC5). Immunofluorescence staining and western blotting were performed to detect inflammation and the protein levels of signaling pathways.

Results:

The results revealed that HDG significantly improved adriamycin-induced abnormal serum creatinine, albumin, and urea nitrogen levels. HDG treatment reduced glomerular injury and fibrosis, particularly at high doses. Additionally, HDG effectively reduced adriamycin-induced activation of Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling and renal fibrosis while suppressing CD4+/CD8+ cell ratios in the kidneys and enhancing the immune response. Interestingly, when the JAK/STAT signaling pathway was activated by an agonist, the ameliorative effects of HDG on ADN were inhibited, thus suggesting that JAK/STAT signaling is a key target of HDG.

Conclusion:

HDG may represent a promising treatment option for glomerulonephritis by inhibiting JAK/STAT-mediated immune-inflammatory responses.
Career Trajectory After General Surgery Residency
Authors: Green Allen , Sommer Elijah R. , Johnson Max R. , Gonzalez Hector , Sia Twan , Spain David A. , Choi Jeff
Published: April 2024

Objective:

Determine the proportion of contemporary US academic general surgery residency program graduates who pursue academic careers and identify factors associated with pursuing academic careers.

Summary Background Data:

Many academic residency programs aim to cultivate academic surgeons, yet the proportion of contemporary graduates who choose academic careers is unclear. The potential determinants that affect graduates’ decisions to pursue academic careers remain underexplored.

Methods:

We collected program and individual-level data on 2015 and 2018 graduates across 96 US academic general surgery residency programs using public resources. We defined those pursuing academic careers as faculty within US allopathic medical school-affiliated surgery departments who published two or more peer-reviewed publications as the first or senior author between 2020-2021. After variable selection using sample splitting LASSO regression, multivariable regression evaluated association with pursuing academic careers among all graduates, and graduates of top-20 residency programs. Secondary analysis using multivariable ordinal regression explored factors associated with high research productivity during early faculty years.

Results:

Among 992 graduates, 166 (17%) were pursuing academic careers according to our definition. Graduating from a top-20 ranked residency program (OR[95%CI]: 2.34[1.40-3.88]), working with a longitudinal research mentor during residency (OR[95%CI]: 2.21[1.24-3.95]), holding an advanced degree (OR[95%CI]: 2.20[1.19-3.99]), and the number of peer-reviewed publications during residency as first or senior author (OR[95%CI]: 1.13[1.07-1.20]) were associated with pursuing an academic surgery career, while the number of peer-reviewed publications before residency was not (OR[95%CI]: 1.08[0.99-1.20]). Among top 20 program graduates, working with a longitudinal research mentor during residency (OR[95%CI]: 0.95[0.43-2.09]) was not associated with pursuing an academic surgery career. The number of peer-reviewed publications during residency as first or senior author was the only variable associated with higher productivity during early faculty years (OR[95%CI]: 1.12[1.07-1.18]).

Conclusions:

Our findings suggest programs that aim to graduate academic surgeons may benefit from ensuring trainees receive infrastructural support and demonstrate sustained commitment to research throughout residency. Our results should be interpreted cautiously as the impact of unmeasured confounders is unclear.
Optogenetically engineered calcium oscillations promote autophagy-mediated cell death via AMPK activation
Authors: Lai Yi-Shyun , Hsieh Meng-Ru , Nguyen Thi My Hang , Chen Ying-Chi , Wang Hsueh-Chun , Chiu Wen-Tai
Published: April 2024

Autophagy is a double-edged sword for cells; it can lead to both cell survival and death. Calcium (Ca
2+
) signalling plays a crucial role in regulating various cellular behaviours, including cell migration, proliferation and death. In this study, we investigated the effects of modulating cytosolic Ca
2+
levels on autophagy using chemical and optogenetic methods. Our findings revealed that ionomycin and thapsigargin induce Ca
2+
influx to promote autophagy, whereas the Ca
2+
chelator BAPTA-AM induces Ca
2+
depletion and inhibits autophagy. Furthermore, the optogenetic platform allows the manipulation of illumination parameters, including density, frequency, duty cycle and duration, to create different patterns of Ca
2+
oscillations. We used the optogenetic tool Ca
2+
-translocating channelrhodopsin, which is activated and opened by 470 nm blue light to induce Ca
2+
influx. These results demonstrated that high-frequency Ca
2+
oscillations induce autophagy. In addition, autophagy induction may involve Ca
2+
-activated adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinases. In conclusion, high-frequency optogenetic Ca
2+
oscillations led to cell death mediated by AMP-activated protein kinase-induced autophagy.
The Ribosomal Operon Database (ROD): A full-length rDNA operon database derived from genome assemblies
Authors: Krabberød Anders K. , Stokke Embla , Thoen Ella , Skrede Inger , Kauserud Håvard
Published: April 2024

Current rDNA reference sequence databases are tailored towards shorter DNA markers, such as parts of the 16/18S marker or the ITS region. However, due to advances in long-read DNA sequencing technologies, longer stretches of the rDNA operon are increasingly used in environmental sequencing studies to increase the phylogenetic resolution. There is, therefore, a growing need for longer rDNA reference sequences. Here, we present the Ribosomal Operon Database (ROD), which includes eukaryotic full-length rDNA operons fished from publicly available genome assemblies. Full-length operons were detected in 34.1% of the 34,701 examined eukaryotic genome assemblies from NCBI. In most cases (53.1%), more than one operon variant was detected, which can be due to intragenomic operon copy variability, allelic variation in non-haploid genomes, or technical errors from the sequencing and assembly process. The highest copy number found was 5,947 inZea mays. In total, 453,697 unique operons were detected, with 69,480 operon variant clusters remaining after intragenomic clustering at 99% sequence identity. The operon length varied extensively across eukaryotes, ranging from 4,136 to 16,463 bp, which will lead to considerable PCR bias during amplification of the entire operon. Clustering the full-length operons revealed that the different parts (i.e., 18S, 28S, the hypervariable region V4 of 18S, and ITS) provide divergent taxonomic resolution, with 18S and the V4 region being the most conserved. The Ribosomal Operon Database (ROD) will be updated regularly to provide an increasing number of full-length rDNA operons to the scientific community.
Optimization of the fluorogen-activating protein tag for quantitative protein trafficking and co-localization studies in S. cerevisiae
Authors: Oppenheimer Katherine G , Hager Natalie A , McAtee Ceara K , Filiztekin Elif , Shang Chaowei , Warnick Justina A , Bruchez Marcel P , Brodsky Jeffrey L , Prosser Derek C , Kwiatkowski Adam V , O'Donnell Allyson F
Published: April 2024

Spatial and temporal tracking of fluorescent proteins in live cells permits visualization of proteome remodeling in response to extracellular cues. Historically, protein dynamics during trafficking have been visualized using constitutively active fluorescent proteins (FPs) fused to proteins of interest. While powerful, such FPs label all cellular pools of a protein, potentially masking the dynamics of select subpopulations. To help study protein subpopulations, bioconjugate tags, including the fluorogen activation proteins (FAPs), were developed. FAPs are comprised of two components: a single-chain antibody (SCA) fused to the protein of interest and a malachite-green (MG) derivative, which fluoresces only when bound to the SCA. Importantly, the MG derivatives can be either cell-permeant or -impermeant, thus permitting isolated detection of SCA-tagged proteins at the cell surface and facilitating quantitative endocytic measures. To expand FAP use in yeast, we optimized the SCA for yeast expression, created FAP-tagging plasmids, and generated FAP-tagged organelle markers. To demonstrate FAP efficacy, we coupled the SCA to the yeast G-protein coupled receptor Ste3. We measured Ste3 endocytic dynamics in response to pheromone and characterized cis- and trans-acting regulators of Ste3. Our work significantly expands FAP technology for varied applications in S. cerevisiae.
A Qualitative Study of the Ethical Issues Encountered at End-of-life Care at a University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria
Authors: Udeh Nnenma Ndidiamaka , Ngozi Idemili-Arounu , Ezeome Emmanuel R
Published: April 2024

Background

End-of-life (EOL) care involves providing quality medical attention to the dying patient. It is fraught with some ethical challenges, often under-explored in African settings. This communication presents a qualitative analysis of ethical issues encountered by caregivers and their patients who are receiving end-of-life care in a teaching hospital in Nigeria.

Methods

Ethical issues in EOL care encountered by 40 people (dying patients, their families, nurses, and doctors) at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu (UNTH-E) Enugu State, Nigeria was explored over two months. The Participants’ socio-demographic data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data was analyzed using a thematic framework. The coding of transcripts was done with NVivo 12 software.

Results

All participant groups encountered commonly reported ethical challenges in end-of-life (EOL) care, including issues of medical futility, treatment refusal, truthful disclosures, families requesting that a competent patient not be informed about their condition, confidentiality, limiting or withdrawing a treatment, limited or insufficient pain management, conflicting interests in care, an unfair financial burden without the patient consent, and an unfair burden on the healthcare system. Additionally, the uncommon issues included the patient’s unwillingness to discussions about their terminal status; families withdrawing due care and support prematurely, and delayed referrals.

Conclusion

Ethical issues are commonly encountered in caring for the patient at EOL in the Nigerian environment notwithstanding the paucity of literature on them. This underscores the importance of adopting known preventive measures to eliminate or minimize these issues.
Scanner-based real-time 3D brain+body slice-to-volume reconstruction for T2-weighted 0.55T low field fetal MRI
Authors: Uus Alena U. , Neves Silva Sara , Aviles Verdera Jordina , Payette Kelly , Hall Megan , Colford Kathleen , Luis Aysha , Sousa Helena S. , Ning Zihan , Roberts Thomas , McElroy Sarah , Deprez Maria , Hajnal Joseph V. , Rutherford Mary A. , Story Lisa , Hutter Jana
Published: April 2024

Purpose

Integrating the SVRTK methods within the Gadgetron framework enables automated 3D fetal brain and body reconstruction in the low-field 0.55T MRI scanner within the duration of the scan.

Methods

A deep-learning based, integrated, robust, and deployable workflow from several motion-corrupted individual T2-weighted single-shot Turbo Spin Echo stacks to produce super-resolved 3D reconstructed fetal brain and body is enabled by combining automated deformable and rigid Slice-to-Volume (D/SVR) reconstruction adapted for low field MRI with a real-time scanner-based Gadgetron workflow. Qualitative evaluation of the pipeline in terms of image quality and efficiency is performed in 12 prospectively acquired fetal datasets from the 22-40 weeks gestational age range.

Results

The reconstructions were available on average 6:42±3:13 minutes after the acquisition of the final stack and could be assessed and archived on the scanner console during the ongoing fetal MRI scan. The output image data quality was rated as good to acceptable for interpretation. The additional retrospective testing of the pipeline on 83 0.55T datasets demonstrated stable reconstruction quality for low-field MRI.

Conclusion

The proposed pipeline allows scanner-based prospective motion correction for low-field fetal MRI. The main novel components of this work are the compilation of automated fetal and body D/SVR methods into one combined pipeline, the first application of 3D reconstruction methods to 0.55T T2-weighted data, and the online integration into the scanner environment.
The Metabolic Triad: Trends and Determinants of the Isolated and Combined Presence of Hypertension, Obesity, and Diabetes in Peru
Authors: Vera-Ponce Víctor Juan , Zuzunaga-Montoya Fiorella E. , Vásquez-Romero Luisa Erika Milagros , Loayza-Castro Joan A. , Paucar Cori Raquel Iturregui , Vigil-Ventura Enrique
Published: April 2024

Introduction

Inrecent years, the presence of non-communicable diseases, particularly hypertension (HTN), obesity, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), has emerged as a significant threat to global public health.

Objective

To determine the trends and factors associated with these diseases’ isolated and combined presence in both dual and triple forms (metabolic triad).

Methods

Secondary data analysis from the Demographic and Family Health Survey for 2014–2022. The primary variable had seven categories, ranging from isolated states to triple combinations. Given the polytomous nature of the dependent variable, multinomial logistic regression models were constructed. The results of these models are presented in the form of adjusted odds ratios, accompanied by their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).

Results

Among the isolated forms, obesity was the most prevalent comorbidity (15.35%), while T2DM was the least common (1.14%). Among the combined forms, the most frequent was obesity and HTN (6.40%). The prevalence of the metabolic triad was low (0.84%). The factors commonly related to each were female sex, age, urban residency, region, economic level, daily smoking, alcohol consumption, and altitude.

Conclusions

An increasing prevalence of HTN, T2DM, and obesity was found, both individually and in their various combinations. Furthermore, the complexity and sometimes contradictory nature of the associated factors, which can increase or decrease the presence of these metabolic diseases, reflect the need for a personalized approach to prevention and treatment.
Synthetic bacteria with programmed cell targeting and protein injection suppress tumor growthin vivo
Authors: Asensio-Calavia Alejandro , Mañas Carmen , Cabrera-Fisac Alba , Pico-Sánchez Eva , Seco Elena M. , Kolodziej Starsha , Leventhal Daniel S. , Lora José M. , Álvarez Beatriz , Fernández Luis Ángel
Published: April 2024

Bacterial living therapeutics (BLTs) hold promise for treating cancer and other human diseases because they can be engineered and transported into the microbiota (e.g., of tumors, gastrointestinal tract) to deliver therapeutic payloads. Current approaches rely on the natural tropism of the bacterial chassis used and trigger the local release of protein cargoes, typically through active extracellular secretion or bacterial lysis. BLTs capable of targeting specific cellular subsets and delivering payloads intracellularly might provide new therapeutic opportunities and improve efficacy while reducing off-target effects. We used synthetic biology to develop BLTs that can deliver defined cargo proteins into the cytoplasm of target cells. We designed a modular synthetic bacterium with programmed adhesion to cells by targeting defined cell surface antigen and armed with an inducible type III secretion system (T3SS) for injection of a protein cargo of interest. As a proof of principle, we programmed synthetic bacteria to recognize the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and inject the catalytic fragments of the potent adenosine diphosphate-ribosyltransferase toxins ExoA and TccC3. These BLTs demonstrated the ability to trigger robust tumor cell deathin vitro. Intratumoral administration of these synthetic bacteria suppressed tumor growthin vivoand prolonged the survival of treated animals when the tumor cells were recognized by the engineered bacteria. These results demonstrate the potential of programming cell targeting and controlled protein injection for the development of effective and specific BLTs.

Graphical Abstract
Identification of distinct genotypes in circulating RSV A strains based on variants on the virus replication-associated genes
Authors: Musa Abdulafiz , Faber Sydney , Forrest Kaitlyn , Smith Kenneth , Sengupta Shaon , Lopez Carolina B.
Published: April 2024

Respiratory syncytial virus is a common cause of respiratory infection that often leads to hospitalization of infected younger children and older adults. RSV is classified into two strains, A and B, each with several subgroups or genotypes. One issue with the definition of these subgroups is the lack of a unified method of identification or genotyping. We propose that genotyping strategies based on the genes coding for replication-associated proteins could provide critical information on the replication capacity of the distinct subgroup, while clearly distinguishing genotypes. Here, we analyzed the virus replication-associated genes N, P, M2, and L from de novo assembled RSV A sequences obtained from 31 newly sequenced samples from hospitalized patients in Philadelphia and 78 additional publicly available sequences from different geographic locations within the US. In-depth analysis and annotation of the protein variants in L and the other replication-associated proteins N, P, M2-1, and M2-2 identified the polymerase protein L as a robust target for genotyping RSV subgroups. Importantly, our analysis revealed non-synonymous variations in L that were consistently accompanied by conserved changes in its co-factor P or the M2-2 protein, suggesting associations and interactions between specific domains of these proteins. These results highlight L as an alternative to other RSV genotyping targets and demonstrate the value of in-depth analyses and annotations of RSV sequences as it can serve as a foundation for subsequent in vitro and clinical studies on the efficiency of the polymerase and fitness of different virus isolates.
Simulations Predict Stronger CRISPRi Transcriptional Repression in Plants for Identical than Heterogeneous gRNA Target Sites
Authors: Scott Helen , Occhialini Alessandro , Lenaghan Scott C. , Beal Jacob
Published: April 2024

Plant synthetic biologists have been working to adapt the CRISPRa and CRISPRi promoter regulation methods for applications such as improving crops or installing other valuable pathways. With other organisms, strong transcriptional control has typically required multiple gRNA target sites, which poses a critical engineering choice between heterogeneous sites, which allow each gRNA to target existing locations in a promoter, and identical sites, which typically require modification of the promoter. Here, we investigate the consequences of this choice for CRISPRi plant promoter regulation via simulation-based analysis, using model parameters based on single gRNA regulation and constitutive promoters inN. benthamiana. Using models of 2 to 6 gRNA target sites to compare heterogeneous versus identical sites for tunability, sensitivity to parameter values, and sensitivity to cell-to-cell variation, we find that identical gRNA target sites are predicted to yield far more effective transcriptional repression than heterogeneous sites.
Swiss-Austrian VEry Preterm Infant Transition Systematic Review (SAVE-T): Transition to home: improving outcomes of children and families - a systematic review protocol
Authors: Engel Vivienne , Papadimitriou Valentina Mauron , Bührer Lea , Ebner Laura , Keller Lena , Gosteli Martina , Siegfried Sandra , Latal Beatrix , Kiechl-Kohlendorfer Ursula , Held Ulrike
Published: April 2024

Background

Medical progress has significantly improved the survival rates of very preterm-born infants in recent decades. Nevertheless, these infants are still at increased risk for long-term impairments as compared to term-born infants. This situation often leaves parents coping with anxiety and a sense of unpreparedness, as they navigate the transition to home. While the homecoming of a preterm born infant is long awaited and brings relief to families, it also marks the end of intensive monitoring and highly specialized professional care. Correspondingly, the World Health Organisation (WHO) advocates for additional support for parents of preterm infants following the transition to home. According to the WHO, preparation for this transition yields positive effects on crucial aspects such as nutrition, parent-child interaction, and parental well-being. Consequently, we aimed to provide an overview of existing transition to home interventions and their efficacy, by conducting a systematic review of the literature.

Methods

We will perform a systematic review of interventions aiming at improving the transition to home process for very preterm-born infants and their parents and will search the following databases: Cochrane, Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsycINFO. Our main aim is to provide an overview over the existing interventions, and their efficacy. Thus, we will not predefine specific outcomes, but we will describe, assess and summarize the outcomes of the included studies.

Discussion

This systematic literature review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of current interventions designed to improve the transition from hospital to home. Subsequently, it will show the individual effect of these interventions and pool effect sizes if possible. The most promising interventions will then be combined and used as the basis of a subsequent randomized controlled trial of a new transition to home intervention.

Systematic review registration

The systematic review protocol was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) on August 30, 2023. PROSPERO CRD42023455401
How many colours can you see? Real environmental lighting increases discriminability of surface colours
Authors: Morimoto Takuma , Linhares João M. M. , Nascimento Sérgio M. C. , Smithson Hannah E.
Published: April 2024

Color supports object identification. However, two objects that differ in color under one light can appear indiscriminable under a second light. This phenomenon, known asilluminant metamerism, underlies the difficulty faced by consumers of selecting matching fabric or paint colors in a store only to find that they appear not to match under home lighting. The frequency of illuminant metamerism has been evaluated only under single, uniform illuminants. However, in real world conditions, the spectral content of light falling on an object varies with direction (Morimoto et al. 2019), meaning that a surface will sample different spectra depending on its angle within the environment. Here we used computer-graphics techniques to simulate a pair of planar surfaces placed under newly measured hyperspectral illumination maps that quantify the directional variability of real-world lighting environments. We counted the instances of illuminant metamerism that can be solved simply by viewing surfaces tilted to a different direction. Results show that most instances of illuminant metamerism can in theory be resolved for both trichromatic and dichromatic observers. Color deficient observers benefit more than trichromats implying that the directional variability allows the recovery of the ‘missing’ dimension in their colour vision systems. This study adds a new perspective to the classic trichromatic theory of human vision and emphasizes the importance of carefully considering the environments in which biological vision operates in daily life. It is striking that the physical directional variability available in natural lighting environments substantially mitigates the biological limitations of trichromacy or dichromacy.
Kapitza Stabilization of Quantum Critical Order
Authors: Kuzmanovski Dushko , Schmidt Jonathan , Spaldin Nicola A. , Rønnow Henrik M. , Aeppli Gabriel , Balatsky Alexander V.
Published: April 2024

Dynamical perturbations modify the states of classical systems in surprising ways and give rise to important applications in science and technology. For example, Floquet engineering exploits the possibility of band formation in the frequency domain when a strong, periodic variation is imposed on parameters such as spring constants. We describe here Kapitza engineering, where a drive field oscillating at a frequency much higher than the characteristic frequencies for the linear response of a system changes the potential energy surface so much that maxima found at equilibrium become local minima, in precise analogy to the celebrated Kapitza pendulum where the unstable inverted configuration, with the mass above rather than below the fulcrum, actually becomes stable. Our starting point is a quantum field theory of the Ginzburg-Devonshire type, suitable for many condensed matter systems, including particularly ferroelectrics and quantum paralectrics. We show that an off-resonance oscillatory electric field generated by a laser-driven terahertz source can induce ferroelectric order in the quantum-critical limit. Heating effects are estimated to be manageable using pulsed radiation; “hidden” radiation-induced order can persist to low temperatures without further pumping due to stabilization by strain. We estimate the Ginzburg-Devonshire free-energy coefficients in SrTiO3 using density-functional theory and the stochastic self-consistent harmonic approximation accelerated by a machine-learned force field. Although we find that SrTiO3 is not an optimal choice for Kapitza stabilization, we show that scanning for further candidate materials can be performed at the computationally convenient density-functional theory level. We suggest second harmonic generation, soft-mode spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction experiments to characterize the induced order.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Corporate sustainability and performance: a bibliometric review for two decades
Authors: Jadhav Dhawal Sharad , Sarangi Subrat
Published: April 2024

Purpose

Over the past years, business strategies have been designed to improve ‘firms' financial and non-financial performances and achieve sustainable development, leading to corporate sustainability. This article is a bibliometric analysis of two decades of the relationship between corporate sustainability and firm performance, identifying the research focus and the gaps for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

The bibliometric review of corporate sustainability and performance research is between January 2004 and June 2023. As per the Web of Science database, the theme's research commenced around 2004, growing gradually till 2023. Five hundred thirty-nine published articles by peer-reviewed ABDC-indexed A and A* journals in English have been reviewed. The bibliometrix package in R software is used with VOSviewer for the bibliometric analysis.

Findings

The study's findings indicate a lack of research on the theme from developed and underdeveloped nations. Further, the analysis reveals five clusters of research: (1) business sustainability, (2) corporate sustainability reporting, (3) corporate sustainability, strategy, and innovation, (4) stakeholder and corporate sustainability, and e) corporate sustainability assessment.

Originality/value

The future research areas proposed are on two major themes, namely, corporate sustainability and organizational competitive advantage, including sub-themes such as “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and financial performance” and “greenhouse-gas emissions” and “market orientations,” respectively. There is a need for more research in developing markets, a comprehensive definition of corporate sustainability, and further exploration of the theme linking strategy and innovation.
The role of corporate social advocacy forms in shaping young adults’ responses
Authors: Kim Joon Kyoung , Moon Won-Ki , Lee Jegoo
Published: April 2024

Purpose

This study aims to examine the role of different forms of corporate social advocacy (CSA) in shaping individuals’ attitudinal and behavioral intentions towards companies taking their public stand on controversial socio-political issues. With an online experiment as the research method, this study tests whether depicting nonpolitical or political behaviors in CSA messages increases individuals’ positive behavioral intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a single factor between subject online experiment. A total of 135 US young adults were recruited through a Qualtrics online panel. Three social media mockups were created to manipulate three levels of actions in CSA messages (no action, nonpolitical action and political action). Participants viewed one of those social media posts depicting presented actions to counter anti-LGBTQ + legislation in the USA and answered questions about values-driven motives behind CSA, brand preference and positive word-of-mouth (WOM) intention.

Findings

Participants displayed higher levels of brand preference when they viewed CSA messages depicting the company’s political action intended to repel anti-LGBTQ + legislation. Participants showed more positive WOM intentions towards the company when they perceived its political actions as more values-driven.

Practical implications

The findings of this study offer practical insights to companies when designing CSA messages and strategies. The results of this study indicate that the presence of political actions in CSA communication increases individuals’ positive behaviors towards companies. The results also suggest that depicting altruistic motives behind CSA leads individuals to talk about companies more in positive ways.

Originality/value

This study is one of the early studies investigating the impact of various forms of CSA on individuals’ attitudinal and behavioral intentions to companies practicing CSA. This study provides practical implications on how to effectively appeal individuals’ favorable attitudes and behaviors towards CSA. In particular, this research presents the importance of action aspects in individuals’ attitudes toward corporations’ CSA messages.
Smart tourism destinations: an overview of current research trends and a future research agenda
Authors: Gursoy Dogan , Luongo Simone , Della Corte Valentina , Sepe Fabiana
Published: April 2024

Purpose

This study aims to provide an overview of the evolution of knowledge on smart destinations and identify the key issues addressed in the smart destination research domain, the main themes and sub-themes and research gaps in smart destination research as well as the future research agenda to address those gaps.

Design/methodology/approach

A bibliometric analysis of 409 studies published on smart destinations literature was conducted using the Bibliometrix R-package to provide a comprehensive review of studies published on smart destinations and identify the main research themes, gaps in the literature and future research opportunities.

Findings

Based on the research findings, a conceptual model of smart destination research has been proposed. This conceptual model can serve as a foundation for further knowledge generation in this research area. The findings also shed light on future research directions, highlighting research opportunities for the exploitation of cutting-edge innovations and digitalization across various dimensions of smart destinations.

Originality/value

Although past research has paid attention to the theme of smart destinations, this work advances scientific knowledge by providing a foundation for a new smart destination management paradigm focusing on accessibility, sustainability, digitization, experience co-creation and creativity as milestones.
Developing an integrated blood supply chain network in disaster conditions considering multi-purpose capabilities
Authors: Jami Mohsen , Izadbakhsh Hamidreza , Arshadi Khamseh Alireza
Published: April 2024

Purpose

This study aims to minimize the cost and time of blood delivery in the whole blood supply chain network (BSCN) in disaster conditions. In other words, integrating all strategic, tactical and operational decisions of three levels of blood collection, processing and distribution leads to satisfying the demand at the right time.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes an integrated BSCN in disaster conditions to consider four categories of facilities, including temporary blood collection centers, field hospitals, main blood processing centers and medical centers, to optimize demand response time appropriately. The proposed model applies the location of all permanent and emergency facilities in three levels: blood collection, processing and distribution. Other essential decisions, including multipurpose facilities, emergency transportation, inventory and allocation, were also used in the model. The LP metric method is applied to solve the proposed bi-objective mathematical model for the BSCN.

Findings

The findings show that this model clarifies its efficiency in the total cost and blood delivery time reduction, which results in a low carbon transmission of the blood supply chain.

Originality/value

The researchers proposed an integrated BSCN in disaster conditions to minimize the cost and time of blood delivery. They considered multipurpose capabilities for facilities (e.g. field hospitals are responsible for the three purposes of blood collection, processing and distribution), and so locating permanent and emergency facilities at three levels of blood collection, processing and distribution, support facilities, emergency transportation and traffic on the route with pollution were used to present a new model.
Tourism demand modelling and forecasting: a Horizon 2050 paper
Authors: Song Haiyan , Zhang Hanyuan
Published: April 2024

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to provide a narrative review of previous research on tourism demand modelling and forecasting and potential future developments.

Design/methodology/approach

A narrative approach is taken in this review of the current body of knowledge.

Findings

Significant methodological advancements in tourism demand modelling and forecasting over the past two decades are identified.

Originality/value

The distinct characteristics of the various methods applied in the field are summarised and a research agenda for future investigations is proposed.
Linguistic features in narrative and opinion genres and their relations to writing quality in fourth grade writing
Authors: Wang Jiali , Kim Young‐Suk Grace , Cho Minkyung
Published: April 2024

Background

We examined linguistic features in fourth graders' narrative and opinion writing and their relations to writing quality. We analysed narrative and opinion essays in terms of lexical sophistication and diversity as well as syntactic complexity, syntactic accuracy, and morphological complexity.

Methods

Data were from English‐speaking students in Grade 4 (N = 129; 50% female) in the United States, majority of whom were from low socioeconomic status background. Paired t tests were used to analyse differences of linguistic features between the two genres. Hierarchical regression models were run to examine how language features are related to writing quality.

Results

Words in the narrative task were more diverse and included more diverse verbal inflectional morphemes than those in the opinion task; syntactic complexity was significantly greater in the opinion genre, manifested by longer T‐units and the more frequent use of adverbial and relative clauses. Approximately 80% of T‐units were grammatical and 20% were ungrammatical. Syntactic accuracy and verbal morphological complexity of words were positively related to writing quality in the narrative task. Additionally, syntactic complexity measured by clauses per T‐unit, verbal and nominal morphological complexity of words were uniquely related to writing quality in the opinion genre.

Conclusions

The findings highlight the limited extent to which Grade 4 students use complex syntax in their writing. The study also supports the critical role of linguistic features in writing quality and shows both similarities and differences in language use in two important writing genres, narrative and opinion, in elementary grades.
‘Expression is power’: Gender, residual culture and political aspiration at the Cumnock School of Oratory, 1870–1900
Authors: Maxwell Fiona
Published: April 2024

This article investigates the ways in which late‐nineteenth‐century students at Northwestern University's Cumnock School of Oratory mobilised elocution training and parlour performance to foster mixed‐gender public discourse. I use student publications to reconstruct parlour meetings in which women and men adapted traditions of conversational speech to allocate artistic and political participation equally across genders. Women expanded their expressive range and political aspirations, while men gained new understandings of manliness and women's rights. With the onset of muscular masculinity in the 1890s, oratory students reworked their performance culture into an act of campus resistance and a blueprint for social reform.
A method for sampling the living wood microbiome
Authors: Arnold Wyatt , Gewirtzman Jonathan , Raymond Peter A. , Bradford Mark A. , Butler Claire , Peccia Jordan
Published: April 2024

Efforts to characterize microbial life across diverse environments have progressed tremendously, yet the microbiome of Earth's largest biomass reservoir—the wood of living trees—has been largely unexplored. Current understanding of the tree microbiome is largely confined to roots and leaves, with little attention given to the endophytic microbiome of wood, even though emergent studies have indicated this zone as a niche for unique taxa, of consequence for ecosystem health and global biogeochemical cycles. The lack of investigation derives partly from the physical recalcitrance of wood, which presents challenges during sampling, homogenization, and the extraction of nucleic acids.

In response to these issues, we present an optimized method for processing wood for use in microbial analyses, from sampling through to downstream analyses.

Using methane‐cycling taxa as model endophytes, we assess losses in recovery during our method, and determine a limit‐of‐detection of approximately 500 cells per 100 mg of (dry) wood. For all six species evaluated—which represented several diverse taxa of hardwoods and softwoods—PCR inhibition proved minimal, and we expect this method to be applicable for a majority of tree species.

The methods presented herein can facilitate future investigation into the wood microbiome and global microbial ecology of methane cycling.
Interpretation bias for ambiguous scenarios among individuals with high and low levels of empathy
Authors: Fang Yuanyuan , Xu Ting , Li Haijiang
Published: April 2024

Empathy is the ability to understand and resonate with the emotions of others, typically requiring individuals to infer others' emotional status through the information around them. However, this information is often ambiguous and it is unknown whether individuals with high empathy have a bias in interpreting contextual information. Therefore, this study investigated how individuals with low and high empathy interpret other‐relevant scenarios in Study 1 (N = 98) and self‐relevant scenarios in Study 2 (N = 95), by using the scenarios task and the Sentence Word Association Paradigm (SWAP) separately. Study 1 observed that, for interpretations of other‐relevant scenarios, the high‐empathy group showed greater likelihood ratings for negative interpretations than those with low‐empathy in both social and non‐social scenarios. Study 2 found that, for interpretations of self‐relevant scenarios, the high‐empathy group differed from the low‐empathy group only on non‐social scenarios but not on social scenarios. Specifically, individuals with high empathy were more likely to report a relationship between a negative word and an ambiguous scenario compared to those with low empathy in self‐relevant non‐social scenarios. The study first revealed a bias for highly empathetic individuals to regard the ambiguous scenarios as negative in other‐relevant and self‐relevant scenarios, except for self‐relevant social scenarios.
Editorial: Adequate protein intake is more crucial than the profile of amino acids intake for sarcopenia prevention during the earlier stages of liver cirrhosis
Authors: Kontogianni Meropi D.
Published: April 2024

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Hey et al paper. To view this article, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.17917
Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bacillus subtilis significantly change the growth performance, serum immunity and cecal microbiota of Cherry Valley ducks during the fattening period
Authors: Zhang Menghui , Yu Anan , Wu Hongzhi , Xiong Xiaolan , Li Jianhui , Chen Li
Published: April 2024

This study explored the effects of a Bacillus subtilis and Lactobacillus acidophilus mixture containing the co‐fermented products of the two probiotics on growth performance, serum immunity and cecal microbiota of Cherry Valley ducks. This study included 480 one‐day‐old Cherry Valley ducks divided into four feeding groups: basal diet (control group) and basal diet supplemented with 300, 500, or 700 mg/kg of the probiotic powder; the ducks were raised for 42 days. Compared with the control group, body weight on day 42 and the average daily gain on days 15–42 significantly increased (p < 0.05), and the feed conversion rate significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in the experimental groups. Furthermore, the serum immunoglobulin (Ig) A, IgG, IgM, and interleukin (IL)‐4 levels increased significantly (p < 0.05), and IL‐1β, IL‐2, and tumor necrosis factor‐α decreased significantly (p < 0.05) in the experimental groups. Finally, Sellimonas, Prevotellaceae NK3B31 group, Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 group and Butyricoccus played an important role in the cecal microbiota of the experimental group. Thus, the probiotic powder has impacts on the growth performance, serum immunity and cecal microbiota of Cherry Valley Ducks.