bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characteristics of Reported Gonorrhea Diagnoses During The COVID-19 Pandemic Compared With Pre–COVID-19 Pandemic, Baltimore City, Maryland
Authors: Coen Michelle E. , Williford Sarah L. , Muvva Ravikiran , Genberg Becky , Greenbaum Adena , Schumacher Christina M.
Published: December 2022

Background

Sexual health service disruptions due to COVID-19 mitigation measures may have decreased gonorrhea screening and biased case-ascertainment toward symptomatic individuals. We assessed changes in reported symptoms and other characteristics among reported gonorrhea cases during pandemic versus prepandemic periods in 1 city with persistent gonorrhea transmission.

Methods

Enhanced surveillance data collected on a random sample of gonorrhea cases reported to the Baltimore City Health Department between March 2018 and September 2021 was used. Logistic regression assessed differences in case characteristics by diagnosis period (during pandemic: March 2020–September 2021; prepandemic: March 2018–September 2019).

Results

Analyses included 2750 (1090 during pandemic, 1660 prepandemic) gonorrhea cases, representing 11,904 reported cases. During pandemic versus prepandemic, proportionally fewer cases were reported by sexual health clinics (8.8% vs 23.2%), and more frequently reported by emergency departments/urgent care centers (23.3% vs 11.9%). Adjusting for diagnosing provider, fewer cases who were men with urethral infections (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55–0.77), aged <18 years (aOR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.47–0.89), and women (aOR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.71–0.99) were reported, and cases with insurance (aOR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.40–2.45), living with human immunodeficiency virus (aOR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.12–1.83), or recent (≤12 months) gonorrhea history (aOR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.02–1.53) were more frequently reported during pandemic versus prepandemic. Reported symptoms and same-day/empiric treatment did not differ across periods.

Conclusions

We observed no changes in reported symptoms among cases diagnosed during pandemic versus prepandemic. Increased frequency of reported diagnoses who were insured, living with human immunodeficiency virus, or with recent gonorrhea history are suggestive of differences in care access and care-seeking behaviors among populations with high gonorrhea transmission during the pandemic.
Organ Dysfunction Among Children Meeting Brain Death Criteria: Implications for Organ Donation*
Authors: Nickerson Taylor E. , Lovett Marlina E. , O’Brien Nicole F.
Published: December 2022

OBJECTIVES:

Over 70% of pediatric organ donors are declared deceased by brain death (BD) criteria. Patients with these devastating neurologic injuries often have accompanying multiple organ dysfunction. This study was performed to characterize organ dysfunction in children who met BD criteria and were able to donate their organs compared with those deemed medically ineligible.

DESIGN:

Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING:

PICU at a quaternary care children’s hospital.

PATIENTS:

Patients with International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition codes corresponding to BD between 2012 and 2018 were included.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:

Demographics, comorbidities, Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM)–III, and injury mechanisms were derived from the medical record. Organ dysfunction was quantified by evaluating peak daily organ-specific variables. Fifty-eight patients, from newborn to 22 years old, were included with a median PRISM-III of 34 (interquartile range [IQR], 26–36), and all met criteria for multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Thirty-four of 58 BD children (59%) donated at least one organ. Of the donors (not mutually exclusive proportions), 10 of 34 donated lungs, with a peak oxygenation index of 11 (IQR, 8–23); 24 of 34 donated their heart (with peak Vasoactive Inotrope Score 23 [IQR, 18–33]); 31 of 34 donated kidneys, of whom 16 of 31 (52%) had evidence of acute kidney injury; and 28 of 34 patients donated their liver, with peak alanine transferase (ALT) of 104 U/L (IQR, 44–268 U/L) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) of 165 U/L (IQR, 94–434 U/L). Organ dysfunction was similar between heart and lung donors and respective medically ineligible nondonors. Those deemed medically ineligible to donate their liver had higher peak ALT 1,518 U/L (IQR, 986–1,748 U/L) (p = 0.01) and AST 2,200 U/L (IQR, 1,453–2,405 U/L) (p = 0.01) compared with liver donors.

CONCLUSIONS:

In our single-center experience, all children with BD had MODS, yet more than one-half were still able to donate organs. Future research should further evaluate transplant outcomes of dysfunctional organs prior to standardizing donation eligibility criteria.
Professionals Perception of a Strategy to Avoid Interruptions During Medication Handling
Authors: Castro-Rodríguez Cristina , De Lucas-Volle Sara , González-Roca Isora , Diaz-Redondo Alicia , Mora-Capín Andrea , Marañón Rafael
Published: December 2022

Introduction

The use of vests for handling medication (prescription, preparation, and dispensing) in the emergency department is a strategy designed to increase patient safety by reducing interruptions and, consequently, medication errors. In this study, we aim to assess how professionals perceive the use of vests in a pediatric emergency department of a tertiary hospital.

Material and Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among pediatric emergency physicians and nurses in October and November 2019. We analyzed the results of a 19-item survey on the perception of vests as a tool for reducing interruptions and medication errors.

Results

In this study, 91 surveys were delivered and 89 (97.8%) were completed. One hundred percent of the professionals were aware of the vests. Nurses reported the following reasons for not using the vest: high workload (25%) and preparation of nebulized and oral medications (25%). One hundred percent of doctors asked for the vest because of forgetfulness. Thirty-five physicians (81.4%) and 17 nurses (85.0%) said that wearing the vest, they were rarely or never interrupted. Eighty-two respondents (93.2%) agreed that vests are an effective strategy for minimizing medication errors.

Conclusions

Although medical professionals consider vests to be a useful strategy to prevent interruptions and reduce medication errors, adherence to the protocol is low, so a promotion strategy is needed to encourage professionals to use the vests.
Guideline on Treatment and Management of Craniosynostosis: Patient and Family Version
Authors: Faasse Mariët , Mathijssen Irene M.J. ,   ERN CRANIO Working Group on Craniosynostosis
Published: December 2022

The care and treatment of patients with craniosynostosis and the new developments were described for health care professionals involved in this in the guideline “Treatment and Management of Craniosynostosis”, which was revised in 2020. A patient version was written based on the professional guideline to make the information accessible to patients and parents too. In this patient version, each chapter consists of several sections. Firstly, an introduction and background information is provided in each chapter. Various questions are then answered based on scientific literature. Finally, the recommendations indicate the importance of the literature for care in practice and how this care should be provided in practice. This patient version is an abbreviated and simplified representation of the professional guideline. The introduction, conclusions, and recommendations sections of each chapter were revised and, where necessary, rewritten. With some surgical techniques, links to animation videos (recognizable by underlined references) have been added in the text for clarification. An attempt was made to stay as close as possible to the original guideline in terms of content, questions, numbering, and classification. The patient version can therefore easily be read side by side with the professional guideline if more information is required about a specific subject. As this patient version is a summary and does not deal with all aspects in detail, no rights can be derived from its content and the professional guideline takes precedence at all times. Originally, this patient version has been written in response to the established Dutch guideline on craniosynostosis for health care professionals.2 This professional guideline has been specifically tailored to the Dutch health care setting and policy. There are however differences between health care systems and national health policies of other countries and the Netherlands. It is important to keep in mind that this may, at some points, result in the management of care in your country and/or hospital different from outlined here.
Discovering Social Determinants of Health from Case Reports using Natural Language Processing: Algorithmic Development and Validation
Authors: Raza Shaina , Dolatabadi Elham , Ondrusek Nancy , Rosella Laura , Schwartz Brian
Published: December 2022

Background

Social determinants of health are non-medical factors that influence health outcomes (SDOH). There is a wealth of SDOH information available in electronic health records, clinical reports, and social media data, usually in free text format. Extracting key information from free text poses a significant challenge and necessitates the use of natural language processing (NLP) techniques to extract key information.

Objective

The objective of this research is to advance the automatic extraction of SDOH from clinical texts.

Setting and Data

The case reports of COVID-19 patients from the published literature are curated to create a corpus. A portion of the data is annotated by experts to create ground truth labels, and semi-supervised learning method is used for corpus re-annotation.

Methods

An NLP framework is developed and tested to extract SDOH from the free texts. A two-way evaluation method is used to assess the quantity and quality of the methods.

Results

The proposed NER implementation achieves an accuracy (F1-score) of 92.98% on our test set and generalizes well on benchmark data. A careful analysis of case examples demonstrates the superiority of the proposed approach in correctly classifying the named entities.

Conclusions

NLP can be used to extract key information, such as SDOH factors from free texts. A more accurate understanding of SDOH is needed to further improve healthcare outcomes.
A high throughput splicing assay to investigate the effect of variants of unknown significance on exon inclusion
Authors: Scott Hilary A. , Place Emily M. , Harper Evelyn , Mehrotra Sudeep ,   Broad CMG, Huckfeldt Rachel , Comander Jason , Pierce Eric A. , Bujakowska Kinga M.
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Inconclusive interpretation of pathogenicity of variants is a common problem in Mendelian disease diagnostics. We hypothesized that some variants of unknown significance (VUS) may lead to aberrant pre-mRNA splicing. To address this we have developed a high throughput splicing assay (HTSA) than can be utilized to test the effects of 1000s of variants on exon recognition.

Methods

2296 reference, control and variant sequences from 380 exons of 89 genes associated with inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) were cloned as a pool into a split-GFP HTSA construct and expressed in landing pad RCA7 HEK293T cells. Exon inclusion led to disruption of GFP and exon skipping led to GFP reconstitution, enabling to separate GFP+ve and GFP-ve cells by fluorescence activated cell sorting. After deep sequencing-based quantification of studied sequences in each cell pool, exon inclusion index (EII) was determined, where EII = GFP-ve oligo count/total oligo count.

Results

HTSA showed high reproducibility when compared between different biological replicates (tetrachoric correlation coefficient r2= 0.83). Reference exon sequences showed a high level of exon recognition (median EII = 0.88) which was significantly reduced by mutations to the essential splice sites (donor site variants: median EII=0.06; acceptor site variants: median EII=0.48). Of the 748 studied VUSs, 47 variants led to decreased exon inclusion (ΔEII ≤ −0.3) with 11 variants showing a strong effect (ΔEII ≤ −0,6). Using the HTSA data we were able to provide a likely genetic diagnosis to five IRD cases.

Conclusion

HTSA offers a robust method to study the effects of VUSs on exon recognition allowing to provide new diagnoses for patients with Mendelian disorders.
Bioinformatics techniques for efficient structure prediction of SARS-CoV-2 protein ORF7a via structure prediction approaches
Authors: Kazmi Aleeza , Kazim Muhammad , Aslam Faisal , Kazmi Syeda Mahreen-ul-Hassan , Wahab Abdul , Mikhlef Rafid Magid , Khizar Chandni , Kazmi Abeer , Wazir Nadeem Ullah , Mainali Ram Parsad
Published: December 2022

Protein is the building block for all organisms. Protein structure prediction is always a complicated task in the field of proteomics. DNA and protein databases can find the primary sequence of the peptide chain and even similar sequences in different proteins. Mainly, there are two methodologies based on the presence or absence of a template for Protein structure prediction. Template-based structure prediction (threading and homology modeling) and Template-free structure prediction (ab initio). Numerous web-based servers that either use templates or do not can help us forecast the structure of proteins. In this current study, ORF7a, a transmembrane protein of the SARS-coronavirus, is predicted using Phyre2, IntFOLD, and Robetta. The protein sequence is straightforwardly entered into the sequence bar on all three web servers. Their findings provided information on the domain, the region with the disorder, the global and local quality score, the predicted structure, and the estimated error plot. Our study presents the structural details of the SARS-CoV protein ORF7a. This immunomodulatory component binds to immune cells and induces severe inflammatory reactions.
Disability disparities in STEM: Gaps in salaries and representation for doctorate recipients with disabilities in the U.S., 2019
Authors: Castro Franz , Stuart Elizabeth , Deal Jennifer , Varadaraj Varshini , Swenor Bonnielin K.
Published: December 2022

Introduction

There is paucity of data examining disparities in salary and representation for disabled scientists, which is needed to advance inclusion and equity for people with disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Methods

Analyses used cross-sectional data from the 2019 Survey of Doctorate Recipients. We compared salaries between doctorate recipients with and without disabilities who were currently employed in STEM (N = 704,013), but who were otherwise similar on socioeconomic, degree and job-related characteristics, using propensity score weighting to carry out balanced comparisons, and further examined these differences in salary in the subset of doctorate recipients working in STEM at academic institutions (N = 219,413). In the subset of participants working in academia, we examined whether the representation of people with disabilities differed across categories of academic career milestones using chi-square tests (α = 0.05).

Results

Doctorate recipients working in STEM with early onset disabilities (identified <25 years of age) earned $10,580 less per year than non-disabled workers, and in the subset of academic workers this difference was larger (-$14,360). Salaries appeared lower for people with late onset disabilities as compared to those without, although these differences did not reach statistical significance. We observed an underrepresentation of academics with disabilities at higher faculty ranks (p<0.0001), among Deans/Presidents (p<0.0001) and among those with tenure (p: 0.0004).

Conclusion

These findings support a need to expand efforts to foster inclusion, provide equal opportunities for career advancement, and improve working conditions for people with disabilities in STEM.
The alarm pheromone and alarm response of the clonal raider ant
Authors: Lopes Lindsey E. , Frank Erik T. , Kárpáti Zsolt , Schmitt Thomas , Kronauer Daniel J. C.
Published: December 2022

Ants communicate via an arsenal of different pheromones produced in a variety of exocrine glands. For example, ants release alarm pheromones in response to danger to alert their nestmates and to trigger behavioral alarm responses. Here we characterize the alarm pheromone and the alarm response of the clonal raider antOoceraea biroi, a species that is amenable to laboratory studies but for which no pheromones have been identified. During an alarm response, ants quickly become unsettled, leave their nest pile, and are sometimes initially attracted to the source of alarm, but ultimately move away from it. We find that the alarm pheromone is released from the head of the ant and identify the putative alarm pheromone as a blend of two compounds found in the head, 4-methyl-3-heptanone and 4-methyl-3-heptanol. These compounds are sufficient to induce alarm behavior alone and in combination. They elicit similar, though slightly different behavioral features of the alarm response, with 4-methyl-3-heptanone being immediately repulsive and 4-methyl-3-heptanol being initially attractive before causing ants to move away. The behavioral response to these compounds in combination is dose-dependent, with ants becoming unsettled and attracted to the source of alarm pheromone at low concentrations and repulsed at high concentrations. While 4-methyl-3-heptanone and 4-methyl-3-heptanol are known alarm pheromones in other more distantly related ant species, this is the first report of the chemical identity of a pheromone inO. biroi, and the first alarm pheromone identified in the genusOoceraea. Identification of a pheromone that triggers a robust, consistent, and conserved behavior, like the alarm pheromone, provides an avenue to dissect the behavioral and neuronal mechanisms underpinning chemical communication.
Performance of computational algorithms to deconvolve heterogeneous bulk tumor tissue depends on experimental factors
Authors: Hippen Ariel A. , Omran Dalia K. , Weber Lukas M. , Jung Euihye , Drapkin Ronny , Doherty Jennifer A. , Hicks Stephanie C. , Greene Casey S.
Published: December 2022

Background

Single-cell gene expression profiling provides unique opportunities to understand tumor heterogeneity and the tumor microenvironment. Because of cost and feasibility, profiling bulk tumors remains the primary population-scale analytical strategy. Many algorithms can deconvolve these tumors using single-cell profiles to infer their composition. While experimental choices do not change the true underlying composition of the tumor, they can affect the measurements produced by the assay.

Results

We generated a dataset of high-grade serous ovarian tumors with paired expression profiles from using multiple strategies to examine the extent to which experimental factors impact the results of downstream tumor deconvolution methods. We find that pooling samples for single-cell sequencing and subsequent demultiplexing has a minimal effect. We identify dissociation-induced differences that affect cell composition, leading to changes that may compromise the assumptions underlying some deconvolution algorithms. We also observe differences across mRNA enrichment methods that introduce additional discrepancies between the two data types. We also find that experimental factors change cell composition estimates and that the impact differs by method.

Conclusions

Previous benchmarks of deconvolution methods have largely ignored experimental factors. We find that methods vary in their robustness to experimental factors. We provide recommendations for methods developers seeking to produce the next generation of deconvolution approaches and for scientists designing experiments using deconvolution to study tumor heterogeneity.
Deregulation of Y-linked protamine-like genes in sex chromosome-biased spermatid demise
Authors: Park Jun I. , Bell George W. , Yamashita Yukiko M.
Published: December 2022

Meiotic drive is a phenomenon wherein a genetic element achieves a higher rate of transmission than dictated by Mendelian segregation (1-3). One proposed mechanism for meiotic drivers to achieve biased transmission is by sabotaging essential processes of gametogenesis (e.g. spermatogenesis), leading to demise of gametes that contain their opponents (1). Studies inD. simulanshave recently found that a set of meiotic driver genes contain a sequence homologous to protamines (4, 5), critical proteins that package sperm chromatin (6-8). However, the underlying mechanisms of drive and the relevance of protamine-like sequences in meiotic drive remain unknown. While studying the function of Modulo, the homolog of Nucleolin inDrosophila melanogaster(9, 10), we unexpectedly discovered Y-linked protamine genes function as a meiotic driver: we found thatmodulomutant’s known sterility is caused by deregulation of the autosomal protamine-like gene (Mst77F) and its Y chromosome-linked homolog (Mst77Y). Modulo regulates these genes at the step of polyadenylation of the transcripts. We show thatMst77Ylikely acts as a dominant-negative form ofMst77F, interfering with the process of histone-to-protamine transition, leading to nuclear decompaction. Overexpression ofMst77Yin a wild-type background is sufficient to cause nuclear decompaction and results in the biased demise of X chromosome-bearing sperm. We propose that dominant-negative protamine variants may be a common strategy found in male meiotic drive and may explain known rapid divergence of protamine genes.

Significance statement

Protamines are small, highly positively charged proteins that are required for packaging DNA to produce mature sperm with highly-condensed nuclei capable of fertilization. Even small changes in the dosage of protamines in humans is associated with infertility. Yet, despite their essential function, protamines are rapidly evolving. It has been speculated that protamines’ rapid divergence may be explained by their potential participation in genomic conflict. Our work implicates the involvement of Y chromosome-linked multicopy protamine-like genes in meiotic drive inDrosophila melanogaster. Our results suggest that dominant negative protamines can sabotage the process of nuclear compaction during spermiogenesis, revealing a potential cellular mechanism of sperm killing in meiotic drive.
Evaluation of epigenetic and metabolomic biomarkers indicating biological age
Authors: Kuiper Lieke M. , Polinder-Bos Harmke A. , Bizzarri Daniele , Vojinovic Dina , Vallerga Costanza L. , Beekman Marian , Dollé Martijn E.T. , Ghanbari Mohsen , Voortman Trudy , Reinders Marcel J.T. , Verschuren W.M. Monique , Slagboom P. Eline , van den Akker Erik B. , van Meurs Joyce B.J.
Published: December 2022

Biological age captures a person’s age-related risk of unfavorable outcomes using biophysiological information. Multivariate biological age measures include frailty scores and molecular biomarkers. These measures are often studied in isolation, but here we present a large-scale study comparing them.

In two prospective cohorts (n=3,196), we compared epigenetic (DNAm Horvath, DNAm Hannum, DNAm PhenoAge, DNAm GrimAge) and metabolomic-based (MetaboAge, MetaboHealth) biomarkers in reflection of biological age, as represented by five frailty measures and overall mortality.

We observed that mortality-trained biological age markers, DNAm GrimAge and MetaboHealth, outperformed age-trained biomarkers in frailty reflection and mortality prediction. The associations of DNAm GrimAge and MetaboHealth with frailty and mortality were independent of each other and of the frailty score mimicking clinical geriatric assessment.

Epigenetic, metabolomic, and clinical biological age markers seem to capture different aspects of aging. These findings suggest that mortality-trained molecular markers may provide novel phenotype reflecting biological age and strengthen current clinical geriatric health and well-being assessment.
Comprehension of acoustically degraded speech in Alzheimer’s disease and primary progressive aphasia
Authors: Jiang Jessica , Johnson Jeremy CS , Requena-Komuro Maï-Carmen , Benhamou Elia , Sivasathiaseelan Harri , Chokesuwattanaskul Anthipa , Nelson Annabel , Nortley Ross , Weil Rimona S , Volkmer Anna , Marshall Charles R , Bamiou Doris–Eva , Warren Jason D , Hardy Chris JD
Published: December 2022

Successful communication in daily life frequently depends on accurate decoding of speech signals that are acoustically degraded by challenging listening conditions. This process presents the brain with a demanding computational task that is vulnerable to neurodegenerative pathologies. However, despite recent intense interest in the link between hearing impairment and dementia, daily hearing measures (such as degraded speech comprehension) in these diseases remain poorly defined. Here we addressed this issue in a cohort of 19 patients with typical Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and 31 patients representing canonical syndromes of primary progressive aphasia (PPA), in relation to 25 healthy age-matched controls. As a model paradigm for the acoustically degraded speech signals of daily life, we used noise-vocoding: synthetic division of the speech signal into a variable number of frequency channels constituted from amplitude-modulated white noise, such that fewer channels convey less spectrotemporal detail thereby reducing intelligibility. We investigated the impact of noise-vocoding on recognition of spoken three-digit numbers and used psychometric modelling to ascertain the threshold number of noise-vocoding channels required for 50% intelligibility by each participant. Associations of noise-vocoded speech intelligibility threshold with general demographic, clinical and neuropsychological characteristics and regional grey matter volume (defined by voxel-based morphometry of patients’ brain MR images) were also assessed. Compared with healthy older controls, all patient groups had a significantly higher mean noise-vocoded speech intelligibility threshold, particularly marked in logopenic variant and nonfluent-agrammatic variant PPA and significantly higher in AD than in semantic variant PPA (all p<0.05). Noise-vocoded intelligibility threshold discriminated dementia syndromes (in particular, Alzheimer’s disease) well from healthy controls. Further, this central hearing measure correlated with overall disease severity but not with measures of peripheral hearing or clear speech perception. Neuroanatomically, after correcting for multiple voxel-wise comparisons in pre-defined regions of interest, impaired noise-vocoded speech comprehension across dementia syndromes was significantly associated (p<0.05) with atrophy of left planum temporale, angular gyrus and anterior cingulate gyrus: a cortical network widely implicated in processing degraded speech signals. Taken together, our findings suggest that the comprehension of acoustically altered speech captures a central process relevant to daily hearing and communication in major dementia syndromes, with novel diagnostic and therapeutic implications.
Brain activation by a VR-based motor imagery and observation task: An fMRI study
Authors: Nunes João D. , Vourvopoulos Athanasios , Blanco-Mora Diego Andrés , Jorge Carolina , Fernandes Jean-Claude , i Badia Sergi Bermudez , Figueiredo Patrícia
Published: December 2022

Training motor imagery (MI) and motor observation (MO) tasks is being intensively exploited to promote brain plasticity in the context of post-stroke rehabilitation strategies. The desired brain plasticity mechanisms may benefit from the use of closed-loop neurofeedback, embedded in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to provide an alternative non-muscular channel. These can be further augmented through embodied feedback delivered through virtual reality (VR). Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to map brain activation elicited by a VR-based MI-MO BCI task called NeuRow and compared with a conventional non-VR, and MI-only, task based on the Graz BCI paradigm. We found that, in healthy adults, NeuRow elicits stronger brain activation when compared to the Graz task, as well as to an overt motor execution task, recruiting large portions of the parietal and occipital cortices in addition to the motor and premotor cortices. In particular, NeuRow activates the mirror neuron system (MNS), associated with action observation, as well as visual areas related with visual attention and motion processing. We studied a cohort of healthy adults including younger and older subgroups, and found no significant age-related effects in the measured brain activity. Overall, our findings suggest that the virtual representation of the arms in a bimanual MI-MO task engage the brain beyond conventional MI tasks, even in older adults, which we propose could be explored for effective neurorehabilitation protocols.
IFNγ protects motor neurons from oxidative stress via enhanced global protein synthesis in FUS-associated Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Authors: Assoni Amanda Faria , Guerrero Erika N. , Wardenaar René , Oliveira Danyllo , Bakker Petra L. , Carvalho Valdemir Melechco , Okamoto Oswaldo Keith , Zatz Mayana , Foijer Floris
Published: December 2022

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis type 6 (ALS6) is a familial subtype of ALS linked to Fused in Sarcoma (FUS) gene mutation. FUS mutations lead to decreased global protein synthesis, but the mechanism that drives this has not been established. Here, we used ALS6 patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (hIPSCs) to study the effect of the ALS6 FUSR521Hmutation on the translation machinery in motor neurons (MNs). We find, in agreement with findings of others, that protein synthesis is decreased in ALS6 MNs. Furthermore, ALS6 MNs are more sensitive to oxidative stress and display reduced expression of TGF-β and mTORC gene pathways when stressed. Finally, we show that IFNγtreatment reduces apoptosis of ALS6 MNs exposed to oxidative stress and partially restores the translation rates in ALS6 MNs. Overall, these findings suggest that a functional IFNγresponse is important for FUS-mediated protein synthesis, possibly by FUS nuclear translocation in ALS6.

Highlights and eTOC blurb

ALS6 patient-derived motor neurons show decreased viability and reduced production of innate immune cytokines following oxidative stress

FUS cytoplasmic localization coincides with decreased protein synthesis rates

IFNγtreatment of ALS6 patient-derived motor neurons reduces apoptosis and ameliorates translation rates resulting from oxidative stress
Informal learning for employees’ protection behavior in organizations
Authors: Sundaram Ranjany , Shetty Snehal , Palakkeel Prashobhan
Published: December 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of informal and formal learning processes on protection behavior with a focus on the role of resilience as a potential mediator.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Using web-based survey questionnaires on informal and formal learning, protection behavior, and resilience the survey collected information from 329 employees working in various organizations in India. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze employees’ protection behavior in protecting organization resources.

Findings

Findings indicate that informal learning has a significant positive effect on employees’ protection behavior, in protecting organization information. Further, resilience is found to be having a small mediation effect on informal learning and protection behavior relationships. Formal learning has no impact on employees’ protection behavior.

Originality/value

One of the scarce empirical research works that have substantiated the informal learning effect on organization protection behavior among employees.

Practical implications

Informal learning increasing the protection behavior has implications for the organizations in promoting social interactions. Formal learning not impacting protection behavior implies that organizations may reduce the expenses of sending their employees to formal training on information protection behavior.
BIM and real estate valuation: challenges, potentials and lessons for future directions
Authors: Jafary Peyman , Shojaei Davood , Rajabifard Abbas , Ngo Tuan
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Building information modeling (BIM) is a striking development in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, which provides in-depth information on different stages of the building lifecycle. Real estate valuation, as a fully interconnected field with the AEC industry, can benefit from 3D technical achievements in BIM technologies. Some studies have attempted to use BIM for real estate valuation procedures. However, there is still a limited understanding of appropriate mechanisms to utilize BIM for valuation purposes and the consequent impact that BIM can have on decreasing the existing uncertainties in the valuation methods. Therefore, the paper aims to analyze the literature on BIM for real estate valuation practices.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a systematic review to analyze existing utilizations of BIM for real estate valuation practices, discovers the challenges, limitations and gaps of the current applications and presents potential domains for future investigations. Research was conducted on the Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar databases to find relevant references that could contribute to the study. A total of 52 publications including journal papers, conference papers and proceedings, book chapters and PhD and master's theses were identified and thoroughly reviewed. There was no limitation on the starting date of research, but the end date was May 2022.

Findings

Four domains of application have been identified: (1) developing machine learning-based valuation models using the variables that could directly be captured through BIM and industry foundation classes (IFC) data instances of building objects and their attributes; (2) evaluating the capacity of 3D factors extractable from BIM and 3D GIS in increasing the accuracy of existing valuation models; (3) employing BIM for accurate estimation of components of cost approach-based valuation practices; and (4) extraction of useful visual features for real estate valuation from BIM representations instead of 2D images through deep learning and computer vision.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to research efforts on utilization of 3D modeling in real estate valuation practices. In this regard, this paper presents a broad overview of the current applications of BIM for valuation procedures and provides potential ways forward for future investigations.
Females’ customer engagement with eco-friendly restaurants in Instagram: the role of past visits
Authors: Ballester Estefania , Ruiz-Mafé Carla , Rubio Natalia
Published: December 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect on the customer brand engagement (CBE) of followers of an eco-friendly restaurant of their perceptions of the originality of the firm-generated content posted online by the restaurant and the effect of CBE on brand advocacy and behavioural intentions to visit the restaurant, paying special attention to the moderating role of past visits to the restaurant.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling with a sample of 491 female Instagram users who follow the online account of a particular eco-friendly dining establishment. Two group comparisons were conducted to test the moderating effects in relationships between CBE and consumer–brand interactions (behavioural intentions to visit the restaurant and brand advocacy).

Findings

Followers’ perceptions of the originality of the material posted by the eco-friendly restaurant had a positive influence on CBE which, in turn, affected brand advocacy and behavioural intentions to visit the restaurant. Past visits moderated the relationship between CBE and consumer–brand interactions.

Practical implications

This study offers restaurants an understanding of how to develop marketing strategies targeted at females on visual-based social networks; it is shown that original posts encourage favourable responses, such as CBE, brand advocacy and behavioural intentions. Managers should organise events and invite their female followers to visit the restaurant.

Originality/value

This study adds to the knowledge about customer engagement by explaining how firm-generated content posted on Instagram drives CBE and provides specific suggestions as to how restauranteurs might engage online with their clients. This study goes beyond direct effects and analyses the moderating role of past visits to the restaurant on the relationships between CBE and consumer–brand interactions (visiting intentions and brand advocacy).
Trade misinvoicing and domestic resource mobilization in Nigeria
Authors: Afolabi Joshua Adeyemi
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Mobilizing domestic resources has been a daunting task for the Nigerian government given its growing fiscal responsibilities and the limited domestic resources at its disposal. However, little is known empirically about the role trade misinvoicing plays in this regard. Hence, this study evaluates the effect of trade misinvoicing on domestic resource mobilization in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

Sourcing annual data spanning 1981–2018 on key variables of interest, this study adopts the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) estimation method to evaluate the effect of trade misinvoicing on domestic resource mobilization in Nigeria.

Findings

In conformity with extant studies, the result reveals that trade misinvoicing adversely affects domestic resource mobilization. It also showed that domestic resources are highly sensitive to the dynamics of trade misinvoicing in Nigeria. Other determinants of domestic resource mobilization in Nigeria include public debt, official development assistance, trade openness and inflation.

Practical implications

The study suggests the need to take expeditious and pragmatic actions against the rising tides of trade misinvoicing in Nigeria with a view to improving the volume of domestic resources required for financing development objectives. This will facilitate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and enable Nigeria to maximally enjoy gains from trade.

Originality/value

There is an overwhelming evidence on the effect of foreign capital inflows on the Nigerian economy but, little is known about the effects of foreign capital outflows. Specifically, there is a dearth of studies on the effect of trade misinvoicing on domestic resource mobilization, particularly for Nigeria. Therefore, this study fills this knowledge gap by evaluating the effect of trade misinvoicing on domestic resource mobilization in Nigeria.
Too emotional to succeed: entrepreneurial narratives in a prosocial setting
Authors: Naimi Asma , Arenas Daniel , Kickul Jill , Awan Sahar
Published: December 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the effectiveness of cognitive and emotional appeals to mobilize resources in prosocial crowdfunding settings that combine the creation of economic and social value.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors quantitatively measure the effectiveness of cognitive and emotional appeals in the entrepreneurial narratives of 2,098 entrepreneurs from 55 countries shared via the Kiva platform by performing multiple regression analysis.

Findings

The findings suggest that using cognitive appeals can attract more resources than using emotional appeals. In fact, using affective language in general, and negative emotion words specifically, can be detrimental and attract fewer resources.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to the entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship literature by linking insights from the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasion and motivational framing to understand resource mobilization in prosocial settings. This study demonstrates that cognitive and emotional appeals could lead to different outcomes in contexts where entrepreneurial narratives are all framed as “doing good” and individuals allocating resources are highly socially motivated.
Mentoring leaders of tomorrow: insights on the role of college directors
Authors: Kamarudin Fadzliyati , Adams Donnie
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Mentoring is a crucial aspect of leadership development. However, the knowledge base about mentoring with regard to student leadership development is still emerging and has yet to be explored in depth. Thus, this paper explores college directors' mentorship, as a form of faculty mentoring, in developing students' leadership in Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research design was utilized, by which semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from four college directors. Data were analyzed and coded using ATLAS.ti 9.

Findings

The findings provide new insights into how college directors mentor students to develop them as leaders. Specifically, the findings show that directors, as transformational leaders, can play a significant mentoring function in enhancing students' leadership via role-modeling for students to accumulate leadership-related knowledge and skills.

Research limitations/implications

This study centered on the role of college directors who are transformational leaders, mentoring with authority, vision and role-modeling for student leaders' leadership development.

Originality/value

The study offers empirical evidence about the significance of college directors' mentorship in enhancing student leadership in Malaysia.
Using bug-in-ear technology as a coaching technique: a scoping review
Authors: Gander Tim , Dann Christopher
Published: December 2022

Purpose

This scoping review discusses how bug-in-ear (BIE) technology has been used to coach teachers and pre-service teachers in special education, general education and initial teacher education (ITE). The purpose of the review is to identify the range of practices in implementing BIE technology and the potential impacts on teachers, learners, coaches and professional learning and development (PLD) providers.

Design/methodology/approach

The PRISMA framework guided the structure of the scoping review. Four leading educational database searches informed initial results. Peer review ensured that inclusion and exclusion requirements were rigorously followed. Two screenings, a hand search and snowballing found 20 relevant studies for review.

Findings

BIE coaching is a cost-effective approach to support the development of teachers and pre-service teachers, with the potential to improve learner outcomes. Delivering coaching remotely yields the widest range of benefits for PLD providers. Technology issues persist; therefore, simple approaches work most effectively. There are opportunities to explore coaching attributes required for BIE coaching and how BIE feedback can differ from in-person feedback.

Practical implications

PLD should be based on available resources; however, it is possible to train participants to use BIE in a short amount of time. Pre-determined prompts should be co-constructed between the coach and the teacher. Prompts should be delivered within 3–5 s of the teaching behaviour and consist of positive, corrective, questioning and goal-orientated statements.

Originality/value

This is the first evidence-based review of BIE coaching that highlights effective practices in special education, general education and ITE. This review also explores how BIE coaching is used with teachers, which has not been covered in detail.
Asymmetric investments in exchange relationships, perceived supplier shirking and cross-functional information sharing as a moderator
Authors: Pandey Rahul , Rungtusanatham Manus , Oppong-Tawiah Divinus
Published: December 2022

Purpose

With asymmetric investments in exchange (i.e. sourcing) relationships, both sourcing firms and suppliers invest but one party invests more than the other. This paper aims to examine the associations between asymmetric (i.e. unequal) investments in exchange relationships and the tendency of the strategic supplier base to shirk as perceived by the sourcing firm, as well as the moderation effects of cross-functional information sharing within a sourcing firm on these associations.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors analyzed survey data from 500 US middle-market manufacturers via ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation. Besides appropriate controls, the authors also employed the heteroskedasticity-based instrumental variable approach to ensure that analytical inferences are not influenced by endogeneity.

Findings

On average, when a sourcing firm invests more than its strategic supplier base into their exchange relationships, the perceived tendency of the strategic supplier base to shirk decreases. This negative association is more pronounced when a sourcing firm facilitates cross-functional information sharing. Conversely, when the strategic supplier base invests more than the sourcing firm into their exchange relationships, the perceived tendency of the strategic supply base to shirk is not detected unless the sourcing firm facilitates cross-functional information sharing.

Originality/value

Prior research reveals that investments by a sourcing firm or by suppliers influence supplier shirking. This paper provides new evidence as to how and why asymmetric investments in exchange relationships relate to the perceived tendency of the strategic supplier base to shirk and new evidence as to how and why cross-functional information sharing safeguards against this tendency when investments in exchange relationships are unequal.
Coping with organizational changes due to executives’ succession: the role of personal and contextual resources for job crafting
Authors: Buonocore Filomena , Russo Marcello , de Gennaro Davide
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Each time there is a government change (indeed a very frequent scenario for Italy), and the leadership team of strategic offices and operations in the public administration is usually replaced. Using the job crafting theoretical framework, the purpose of this study is to investigate how the uncertainty generated by changes in the leadership teams of public offices shapes the public managers’ coping strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a deductive qualitative approach. Data for this study were collected through 47 interviews conducted with public managers working at the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

Findings

The results of the study suggest that job crafting – a proactive approach aimed at customizing the content and nature of one’s job – represents a frequent strategy that public managers undertake, drawing on the personal and contextual resources at their disposal, to reduce perceived uncertainty associated with manager transition.

Originality/value

Questions related to the positive or negative impact of managerial transitions generated conflicting opinions in the literature. The authors demonstrate that job crafting could represent a valuable strategy adopted by executive managers to cope with increasing uncertainty associated with managerial transition due to government change, especially when these strategies enable to gain valuable personal and contextual resources for managers.