bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Retrospective Clinical Surveillance Measuring Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) Rates Pre-and Post-Inclusion of Novel Silver Ion Antimicrobial Textile Intervention in an Infection Control Program
Authors: Balachandran Priya , Mathur Kavita , Ritter J. Trees
Published: December 2020

Healthcare linens act as a vector of microbial transmission through use, storage and handling. In this retrospective multi-year, multi-site study, the impact of an infection prevention program, that included an automated silver ion-based antimicrobial laundry treatment, was studied. A composite reduction of 42% in healthcare associated infection (HAI) rates was observed, with the biggest reductions associated with CAUTI and CDI rates. Although further study is needed to better understand the exact contribution of such an intervention towards prevention of HAIs, ionic silver treatment of healthcare textiles may prove to be a useful tool in HAI reduction strategies.
Autocrine and paracrine interferon signaling as ‘ring vaccination’ and ‘contact tracing’ strategies to suppress virus infection in a host
Authors: Lavigne G. Michael , Russell Hayley , Sherry Barbara , Ke Ruian
Published: December 2020

The innate immune response, particularly the interferon response, represents a first line of defense against viral infections. The interferon molecules produced from infected cells act through autocrine and paracrine signaling to turn host cells into an antiviral state. Although the molecular mechanisms of IFN signaling have been well characterized, how the interferon response collectively contribute to the regulation of host cells to stop or suppress viral infection during early infection remain unclear. Here, we use mathematical models to delineate the roles of the autocrine and the paracrine signaling, and show that their impacts on viral spread are dependent on how infection proceeds. In particular, we found that when infection is well-mixed, the paracrine signaling is not as effective; in contrast, when infection spreads in a spatial manner, a likely scenario during initial infection in tissue, the paracrine signaling can impede the spread of infection by decreasing the number of susceptible cells close to the site of infection. Furthermore, we argue that the interferon response can be seen as a parallel to population-level epidemic prevention strategies such as contact tracing or ring vaccination. Thus, our results here may have implications for the outbreak control at the population scale more broadly.
Characterization and description ofFaecalibacterium butyricigeneranssp. nov. andF. longumsp. nov., isolated from human faeces
Authors: Zou Yuanqiang , Lin Xiaoqian , Xue Wenbin , Dai Ying , Kristiansen Karsten , Xiao Liang
Published: December 2020

Exploiting a pure culture strategy to investigate the composition of human gut microbiota, two novel anaerobes, designated strains AF52-21Tand CM04-06T, were isolated from faeces of two healthy Chinese donors and characterized using a polyphasic approach. The two strains were Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, and rod-shaped. Both strains grew optimally at 37°C and pH 7.0. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the two strain clustered with species of the genusFaecalibacteriumand were most closely related toFaecalibacterium prausnitziiATCC 27768Twith sequence similarity of 97.18% and 96.87%, respectively. The two isolates shared a 16S rRNA gene sequence identity of 98.69%. Draft genome sequencing was performed for strains AF52-21Tand CM04-06T, generating genome sizes of 2.85 Mbp and 3.01 Mbp. The calculated average nucleotide identity values between the genomes of the strains AF52-21Tand CM04-06Tcompared toFaecalibacterium prausnitziiATCC 27768Twere 83.20% and 82.54%, respectively, and 90.09% when comparing AF52-21Tand CM04-06T. Both values were below the previously proposed species threshold (95%), supporting their recognition as novel species in the genusFaecalibacterium. The genomic DNA G+C contents of strain AF52-21Tand CM04-06Tcalculated from genome sequences were 57.77 mol% and 57.51 mol%, respectively. Based on the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic characteristics, we conclude that both strains represent two newFaecalibacteriumspecies, for which the namesFaecalibacterium butyricigeneranssp. nov. (type strain AF52-21T= CGMCC 1.5206T= DSM 103434T) andFaecalibacterium longumsp. nov. (type strain CM04-06T= CGMCC 1.5208T= DSM 103432T) are proposed.
Evaluation of microbial diversification mechanisms in legume-based mixed cropping systems with different legume species and types of fertilizer management
Authors: Kimura Akari , Uchida Yoshitaka
Published: December 2020

Biodiversity loss is becoming a global concern due to its negative impact on services associated with the ecosystem. For agricultural soil to maintain these multi-services, the conservation of soil microbial diversity is of utmost importance. Mixed cropping systems involve the utilisation of multiple crop species on the field as well as the diversification of aboveground plants, although several contradicting results have been reported regarding their impacts on soil microbial diversity. Therefore, for the evaluation of the impact of different leguminous species used in mixed cropping systems as well as types of fertilizer on the diversity of soil microbes, a pot study was performed under maize/legume mixed cropping systems with one of three legumes, including cowpea (Vigna unguiculate(L.) Walp.), velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens(L.) DC.), and common bean (Phaseolus vulgarisL.) as well as one of three types of fertilizer treatments, namely chemical fertilizer (CF), carbonised chicken manure (CM), or the lack of fertilizer (Ctr). 16S rRNA analyses were conducted using the soils sampled from each pot for soil bacterial diversity assessment. Concerning the results, a decrease in the microbial diversity after CM application was shown by the soil with velvet bean + maize (MM) when compared to the Ctr treatment, while an increase in the microbial diversity was shown by the soil with common bean + maize (PM) under the same condition. In case of the CM application, the abundance of treatment-unique bacteria increased in the PM treatment, although their decrease was observed for the MM treatment. In contrast, the abundance of dominant microbes, including Thaumarchaeota was significantly lower in PM but higher in MM when the CM was applied. Legume species-dependent factors, including nutrient absorption and root exudate composition might be important concerning soil bacterial diversities. For the conservation of soil microbial diversity with mixed cropping, the interaction effect of legume species and fertilizer type should be considered in future studies.
Niobium Carbide Loaded by Macrophage for Targeted Phototherapy Ablation of Breast Cancer
Authors: Pieve Chiara Da , Marek Gabriela Kramer , Saczko Jolanta , Shah Anant , Raes Florian
Published: December 2020

This manuscript has been removed owing to an apparent copyright violation resulting from a fraudulent submission. The individuals falsely listed as authors were not responsible for its submission and have no knowledge of or involvement in the work presented.
Text mining-based word representations for biomedical data analysis and machine learning tasks
Authors: Alachram Halima , Chereda Hryhorii , Beißbarth Tim , Wingender Edgar , Stegmaier Philip
Published: December 2020

Biomedical and life science literature is an essential way to publish experimental results. With the rapid growth of the number of new publications, the amount of scientific knowledge represented in free text is increasing remarkably. There has been much interest in developing techniques that can extract this knowledge and make it accessible to aid scientists in discovering new relationships between biological entities and answering biological questions. Making use of theword2vecapproach, we generated word vector representations based on a corpus consisting of over 16 million PubMed abstracts. We developed a text mining pipeline to produce word2vec embeddings with different properties and performed validation experiments to assess their utility for biomedical analysis. An important pre-processing step consisted in the substitution of synonymous terms by their preferred terms in biomedical databases. Furthermore, we extracted gene-gene networks from two embedding versions and used them as prior knowledge to train Graph-Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) on breast cancer gene expression data to predict the occurrence of metastatic events. Performances of resulting models were compared to Graph-CNNs trained with protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks or with networks derived using other word embedding algorithms. We also assessed the effect of corpus size on the variability of word representations. Finally, we created a web service with a graphical and a RESTful interface to extract and explore relations between biomedical terms using annotated embeddings. Comparisons to biological databases showed that relations between entities such as known PPIs, signaling pathways and cellular functions, or narrower disease ontology groups correlated with higher cosine similarity. Graph-CNNs trained with word2vec-embedding-derived networks performed best for the metastatic event prediction task compared to other networks. Word representations as produced by text mining algorithms like word2vec, therefore capture biologically meaningful relations between entities.
Single cell transcriptomics of the developing zebrafish lens and identification of putative controllers of lens development
Authors: Farnsworth Dylan , Posner Mason , Miller Adam
Published: December 2020

The vertebrate lens is a valuable model system for investigating the gene expression changes that coordinate tissue differentiation due to its inclusion of two spatially separated cell types, the outer epithelial cells and the deeper denucleated fiber cells that they support. Zebrafish are a useful model system for studying lens development given the organ’s rapid development in the first several days of life in an accessible, transparent embryo. While we have strong foundational knowledge of the diverse lens crystallin proteins and the basic gene regulatory networks controlling lens development, no study has detailed gene expression in a vertebrate lens at single cell resolution. Here we report an atlas of lens gene expression in zebrafish embryos at single cell resolution through five days of development, identifying a number of novel regulators of lens development as potential targets for future functional studies. Our temporospatial expression data address open questions about the function of α-crystallins during lens development and provides the first detailed view of β- and γ-crystallin expression in and outside the lens. We describe subfunctionalization in transcription factor genes that occur as paralog pairs in the zebrafish. Finally, we examine the expression dynamics of cytoskeletal, RNA-binding, and transcription factors genes, identifying a number of novel patterns. Overall these data provide a foundation for identifying and characterizing lens developmental regulatory mechanisms and revealing targets for future functional studies with potential therapeutic impact.
Drug-coated balloons for dysfunctional hemodialysis venous access: A patient-level meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Yung Fong Khi , Zhao Joseph J , Tan Eelin , Syn Nicholas , Sultana Rehena , Zhuang Kun Da , Chua Jasmine , Ming Er , Patel Ankur , Irani Farah Gillan , Hiong Tay Kiang , Soo Tan Bien , Wei Too Chow
Published: December 2020

Purpose

To perform an individual patient data-level meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing drug-coated balloon angioplasty (DCB) against conventional percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) in the treatment of dysfunctional hemodialysis venous access.

Methods

A search was conducted from inception till 13thNovember 2020. Kaplan-Meier curves comparing DCB to PTA by target lesion primary patency (TLPP) and access circuit primary patency (ACPP) were graphically reconstructed to retrieve patient-level data. One-stage meta-analyses with Cox-models with random-effects gramma-frailties were conducted to determine hazard ratios (HRs). Dynamic restricted mean survival times (RMST) were conducted in view of violation of the proportional hazards assumption. Conventional two-stage meta-analyses and network meta-analyses under random-effects Frequentist models were conducted to determine overall and comparative outcomes of paclitaxel concentrations utilised. Where outliers were consistently detected through outlier and influence analyses, sensitivity analyses excluding those studies were conducted.

Results

Among 10 RCTs (1,207 patients), HRs across all models favoured DCB (one-stage shared-frailty HR=0.62, 95%-CI: 0.53–0.73, P<0.001; two-stage random-effects HR=0.60, 95%-CI: 0.42–0.86, P=0.018,I2=65%) for TLPP. Evidence of time-varying effects (P=0.005) was found. TLPP RMST was +3.47 months (25.0%) longer in DCB-treated patients compared to PTA (P=0.001) at 3-years. TLPP at 6-months, 1-year and 2-years was 75.3% vs 58.0%, 51.1% vs 37.1% and 31.3% vs 26.0% for DCB and PTA respectively. P-Scores within the Frequentist network meta-analysis suggest that higher concentrations of paclitaxel were associated with better TLPP and ACPP. Among 6 RCTs (854 patients), the one-stage model favoured DCB (shared-frailty HR=0.72, 95%-CI: 0.60–0.87, P<0.001) for ACPP. Conversely, the two-stage random-effects model demonstrated no significant difference (HR=0.76, 95%-CI: 0.35–1.67, P=0.414,I2=81%). Sensitivity analysis excluding outliers significantly favoured DCB (HR=0.61, 95%-CI: 0.41–0.91, P=0.027,I2=62%).

Conclusion

Overall evidence suggests that DCB is favoured over PTA in TLPP and ACPP. The increased efficacy of higher concentrations of paclitaxel may warrant further investigation.
Development And Performance Evaluation of A Rapid In-House ELISA for Retrospective Serosurveillance of SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Sil Bijon Kumar , Oishee Mumtarin Jannat , Haq Md. Ahsanul , Jahan Nowshin , Ali Tamanna , Khandker Shahad Saif , Kobatake Eiry , Mie Masayasu , Khondoker Mohib Ullah , Jamiruddin Mohd. Raeed , Adnan Nihad
Published: December 2020

Background

In the ongoing pandemic situation of COVID-19, serological tests can complement the molecular diagnostic methods, and can be one of the important tools of sero-surveillance and vaccine evaluation.

Aim

To develop and evaluate a rapid SARS-CoV-2 specific ELISA for detection of anti-SARS-CoV2 IgG from patient’s biological samples.

Methods

In order to develop the ELISA, three panels of samples (n=184) have been used: panel 1 (n=19) and panel 2 (n=60) were collected from RT-PCR positive patients within 14 and after 14 days of onset of clinical symptoms respectively, whereas panel 3 consisted of negative samples (n=105) collected either from healthy donors or pre-pandemic dengue patients. As a capturing agent full-length SARS-CoV2 specific recombinant nucleocapsid was immobilized. Commercial SARS-CoV2 IgG kit based on chemiluminescent assay was used for the selection of samples and optimization of the assay. The threshold cut-off point, inter-assay and intra-assay variations were determined. The total assay time for this in-house ELISA was set for 30 minutes.

Results

The assay time was set at a total of 30 minutes with the sensitivity of 84% (95% confidence interval, CI, 60.4%, 96.6%) and 98% (95% CI, 91.1%, 100.0%), for panel 1 and 2 respectively, with over all 94.9% sensitivity (95% CI 87.5%, 98.6%). Moreover, the clinical specificity is 97.1% (95% CI, 91.9%, 99.4%) with no cross reaction with dengue sample. The overall positive and negative predictive values are 96.2% (95% CI 89.2%, 99.2%) and 96.2% (95% CI, 90.6% 99.0%) respectively. In-house ELISA demonstrated 100% positive and negative percent agreement with ROCHE (Elecsys; Anti-SARS-CoV-2), with a Cohen’s kappa value of 1.00 (very strong agreement), while comparing 13 positive and 17 negative confirmed cases.

Conclusion

The assay is rapid and can be applied as one of the early and retrospective sero-monitoring tools in all over the affected areas.
Decreased DNA methylation at promoters and gene-specific neuronal hypermethylation in the prefrontal cortex of patients with bipolar disorder
Authors: Bundo Miki , Ueda Junko , Nakachi Yutaka , Kasai Kiyoto , Kato Tadafumi , Iwamoto Kazuya
Published: December 2020

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe mental disorder characterized by repeated mood swings. Although genetic factors are collectively associated with the etiology of BD, the underlying molecular mechanisms, particularly how environmental factors affect the brain, remain largely unknown. We performed promoter-wide DNA methylation analysis of neuronal and nonneuronal nuclei in the prefrontal cortex of patients with BD (N=34) and controls (N=35). We found decreased DNA methylation at promoters in both cell types in the BD patients compared to the controls. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis of differentially methylated region (DMR)-associated genes revealed enrichment of molecular motor-related genes in neurons, chemokines in both cell types, and ion channel- and transporter-related genes in nonneurons. Detailed analysis further revealed that growth cone- and dendrite-related genes, including NTRK2 and GRIN1, were hypermethylated in neurons of BD patients. To assess the effect of medication, neuroblastoma cells were cultured under therapeutic concentrations of three different mood stabilizers (lithium, valproate, and carbamazepine). We observed that up to 37.9% of DMRs detected in BD overlapped with mood stabilizer-induced DMRs. Interestingly, mood stabilizer-induced DMRs showed the opposite direction of changes in DMRs in BD, suggesting the therapeutic effects of mood stabilizers on DNA methylation. Among the DMRs, 12 overlapped with loci identified by a previous genome-wide association study of BD. Finally, we performed qPCR analysis of 10 DNA methylation-related genes and found that DNMT3B was overexpressed in BD. The cell type-specific DMRs identified in this study will be useful for understanding the pathophysiology of BD.
Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in stroke code activations in the region of Madrid: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Riera-López Nicolás , Fuentes-Gimeno Blanca , de Donlebun Jorge Rodriguez-Pardo
Published: December 2020

Acute Stroke (AS) is the most common time-dependent disease attended in the Emergency Medicine Service (EMS) of Madrid (SUMMA 112). Community of Madrid has been one of the most affected regions in Spain by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic. A significant reduction in AS hospital admissions has been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the same period one year before. As international clinical practice guidelines support those patients with suspected acute stroke should be accessed via EMS, it is important to know whether the pandemic has jeopardized urgent pre-hospital stroke care, the first medical contact for most patients. We aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 in stroke codes (SC) in our EMS among three periods of time: the COVID-19 period, the same period the year before, and the 2019-2020 seasonal influenza period. Methods: We compared the SC frequency among the periods with high cumulative infection rate (above the median of the series) of the first wave of COVID-19, seasonal influenza, and also with the same period of the year before. Results: 1,130 SC were attended during the three periods. No significant reduction in SC was found during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduction of hospital admissions might be attributable to patients attending the hospital by their means. The maximum SC workload seen during seasonal influenza has not been reached during the pandemic. We detected a non-significant deviation from the SC protocol, with a slight increase in hospitals’ transfers to hospitals without stroke units.
Inferring perturbation profiles of cancer samples
Authors: Pirkl Martin , Beerenwinkel Niko
Published: December 2020

Motivation

Cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world. Tumors arise due to important genes changing their activity, e.g., when inhibited or over-expressed. But these gene perturbations are difficult to observe directly. Molecular profiles of tumors can provide indirect evidence of gene perturbations. However, inferring perturbation profiles from molecular alterations is challenging due to error-prone molecular measurements and incomplete coverage of all possible molecular causes of gene perturbations.

Results

We have developed a novel mathematical method to analyze cancer driver genes and their patient-specific perturbation profiles. We combine genetic aberrations with gene expression data in a causal network derived across patients to infer unobserved perturbations. We show that our method can predict perturbations in simulations, CRISPR perturbation screens, and breast cancer samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas.

Availability

The method is available as the R-package nempi athttps://github.com/cbg-ethz/nempi.

Contact

martin.pirkl@bsse.ethz.ch,niko.beerenwinkel@bsse.ethz.ch
Identification of glutamine synthetase as a novel contryphan-Bt binding protein by his-tag pull down
Authors: Han Penggang , Cao Ying , Dai Xiandong , Liu Shangyi , Fan Chongxu , Wu Wenjian , Chen Jisheng
Published: December 2020

(1)

Background

Contryphan-Bt is a D-tryptophan-containing disulfide-constrained decapeptide recently isolated from the venom ofConus betulinus. The molecular targets of contryphans are controversial, and the identification of its interacting proteins may be of great importance.

(2)

Methods

His-tag pull down assays were performed to investigate binding proteins of contryphan-Bt from rat brain lysate. Bt-Acp-[His]6, a contryphan-Bt derivative containing hexahistidine tag, was synthesized and used as the bait. As a control, Acp-[His]6was used to exclude nonspecific bindings.

(3)

Results

Glutamine synthetase was identified as a potential contryphan-Bt binding protein by pull down assays and subsequent LC-MS/MS. The binding of contryphan-B to glutamine synthetase was confirmed and determined using microscale thermophoresis, with a Kd of 74.02 ± 2.8 μM. The binding did not affect glutamine synthetase activity, suggesting that the interaction site was distinct from the catalytic center.

(4)

Conclusions

Glutamine synthetase was identified as a novel contryphan-Bt binding protein. This is the first report that the conopeptide binds to an intracellular protein, therefore offering a new concept and methodology for developing peptide toxins.

Key Contribution

This is the first report that the conopeptide binds to an intracellular protein, therefore offering a new concept and methodology for developing peptide toxins.
An emergency system for monitoring pulse oximetry, peak expiratory flow and body temperature of patients with COVID-19 at home: Development and preliminary application
Authors: Motta Leonardo Pereira , da Silva Pedro Paulo Ferreira , Borguezan Bruno Max , do Amaral Jorge Luis Machado , Gonçalves Milagres Lucimar , Bóia Márcio Neves , Ferraz Marcos Rochedo , Mogami Roberto , Acatauassú Nunes Rodolfo , de Melo Pedro Lopes
Published: December 2020

Background

COVID-19 is characterized by a rapid change in the patient’s condition, with major changes occurring over a few days. Our aim was to develop and evaluate an emergency system for monitoring patients with COVID-19, which may be useful in hospitals where more severe patients stay in their homes.

Methodology/Principal findings

The system consists of the home-based patient unit, which is set up around the patient and the hospital unit, which enables the medical staff to telemonitor the patient’s condition and help to send medical recommendations. The home unit allows the data transmission from the patient to the hospital, which is performed using a cell phone application. The hospital unit includes a virtual instrument developed in LabVIEW® environment that is able to provide a real-time monitoring of the oxygen saturation (SpO2), beats per minute (BPM), body temperature (BT) and peak expiratory flow (PEF). Abnormal events may be fast and automatically identified. After the design details are described, the system is validated by a 30-day home monitoring study in 12 controls and 12 patients with COVID-19 presenting asymptomatic to mild disease. Patients presented reduced SpO2 (p<0.0001) and increased BPM values (p<0.0001). Three patients (25%) presented PEF values between 50 and 80% of the predicted. Three of the 12 monitored patients presented events of desaturation (SpO2<92%). The experimental results were in close agreement with the involved pathophysiology, providing clear evidences that the proposed system can be a useful tool for the remote monitoring of patients with COVID-19.

Conclusions

An emergency system for home monitoring of patients with COVID-19 was developed in the current study. The proposed system allowed us to quickly respond to early abnormalities in these patients. This system may contribute to conserve hospital resources for those most in need, while simultaneously enabling early recognition of patients under acute deterioration, requiring urgent assessment.
5,12-Diselena-3,4,13,14-tetraazatricyclo[9.3.0.02,6]tetradeca-3,13-diene
Authors: Detert Heiner , Schollmeyer Dieter
Published: December 2020

The title compound, C8H8N4Se2, crystallizes in a non-symmetrical conformation with a dihedral angle between the heterocycles of 45.0 (3)° and a nearly strain-free tetramethylene tether. The crystal studied was non-merohedrally twinned with a fractional contribution of 0.342 (3) for the minor twin component.
Design tactics for enhancing the adaptability of primary and middle schools to the new needs of postpandemic reuse
Authors: Güzelci Orkan Zeynel , Şen Bayram Asena Kumsal , Alaçam Sema , Güzelci Handan , Akkuyu Elif Işık , Şencan İnanç
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The aim of this study is to present design tactics (DTs) for supporting the adaptability of existing primary and middle school buildings into the emerging needs of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The study introduces a novel algorithmic model for postoccupancy evaluation of the existing school buildings and provides solutions to enhance the adaptability of these buildings.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs the DTs defined by the authors, integration of DTs to the algorithmic model and tests the usability of the proposed model in the selected sample set. The sample set consists of four primary and middle school buildings with different architectural qualities. The degrees of flexibility of the existing sample set are evaluated depending on the outcomes of the implementation.

Findings

The degrees of flexibility are achieved as a result of execution of the algorithmic model for each selected school building. Initial results of the case studies show that the flexibility of a school building is highly related to affordances and design decisions of the plan layout which were considered in the initial phases of the design process. Architectural qualities such as open plan and having sufficient voids in the interior and exterior space become prominent factors for ensuring flexibility.

Originality/value

Developing a systematic approach to the adaptation problem of primary and middle school buildings to postpandemic reuse is a novel research topic. Apart from this contextual originality, the proposed taxonomy for postpandemic reuse in terms of three levels of adaptation is a new conceptual framework. Moreover, the proposed algorithmic model itself can be considered as an original contribution, as well as a merge of qualitative values such as adaptation and flexibility with an algorithmic model.
Conditions for collaboration between higher education and healthcare providers organising clinical placements
Authors: Bivall Ann-Charlotte , Gustavsson Maria , Lindh Falk Annika
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Clinical placement is an important formalised student activity for linking healthcare education and healthcare practices. The purpose of this study is to investigate the organising of clinical placements by examining conditions for collaboration between higher education and healthcare organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on interviews with central actors at a university and two healthcare organisations with official duties of organising clinical placements.

Findings

The findings indicate that collaboration in the organising of clinical placements is a complex matter of interconnected actors in different organisational positions, at both strategic and operative levels. The university and the healthcare organisations approached the clinical placement with a shared commitment.

Practical implications

The findings provide important guidance for improving collaboration in the organising of clinical placements. This may have an impact on how contextual conditions of the educational framing and daily healthcare practices are viewed and how the interdependency between the long-term strategic issues and the short-term needs of healthcare organisations is approached.

Originality/value

This research emphasises the need for careful consideration of the collaborative practices on an organisational level between higher education and healthcare organisations as different needs, motives and logics have to be considered.
Will what is measured be used? An analysis of performance management systems in Pakistani state organizations
Authors: Zahra Abiha , Bouckaert Geert
Published: December 2020

Purpose

With performance as a core theme of public sector reforms, this article explores performance management systems in inter-organizational settings while testing the effect of performance measurement on its use for accountability and control. Using economic neo-institutional perspective in a hierarchical context with turbulent political history, the article investigates the variations in the use of performance information in inter-institutional settings across different legal categories of state organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The performance management framework of Van Dooren et al. (2010) is employed as the basis for this research that explains the link between performance measurement and use. To explore the management of performance in Pakistan, the survey data was collected in 2018; after two democratic governments completed their tenures.

Findings

The research indicated a lower extent of performance measurement and use by the parent ministries in the democratic regimes. This finding adds to the implications of economic institutional theory in a politically turbulent context, where political actors place less emphasis on performance and more emphasis on procedures. It was confirmed that the ministries use the measured performance information for accountability and control on the results, but the moderating role of legal categories in the performance framework did not get confirmation.

Originality/value

The article empirically tests the performance management framework from a Western context in a developing country that has not been discussed frequently in the performance management systems literature.
The extent of financial inclusion through MGNREGS: a district level analysis in West Bengal, India
Authors: Singh Krishna
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) launched in the year 2006, with the pursuit of the objective of removing poverty and unemployment and thus address the issue of financial inclusion. The performance of the programme across the states in India has not been uniform. The purpose of this study is to focus on the financial inclusiveness features associated with MGNREGS program across the selected districts in West Bengal in the years of recent past.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, financial inclusion index has been developed by consideration of four indicators with the help of principal component method. Fixed effect regression model has been applied to explain the impact of relevant determinants on financial inclusion index.

Findings

It is observed that out of 19 districts, seven districts registered an increase in the value of the financial inclusion index in the year 2019 compared to that in the year 2013. The empirical analysis for identifying the determinants of overall inclusion reveals that factors like households having active job card, utilization of fund, amount of labour cost and number of works have significant influence on financial inclusion.

Originality/value

The study widely discussed how the scheme was helping in promoting financial inclusion by providing wage payment through banks and post offices accounts. The author has also tried to highlight some of the difficulties in accelerating the speed of financial inclusion when banks and post offices are used as a means for wage payment and finally provide remedial measures that could be taken to tackle these problems.
Risk-managing the business model: locating tripwires at the start
Authors: Braun Michael , Cannatelli Benedetto , Molteni Mario
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to address risks inherent in business model innovation. The authors make the case that entrepreneurs and managers, in relying on sources of innovation when designing business models, need to pay heed to these hidden risks – or tripwires – that can prevent the venture from efficiently, effectively and profitably scaling. The authors provide a guiding framework to help entrepreneurs and managers identify four distinct tripwires in their business model underlying the sources of innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors build a systematic framework of the four tripwires – structure, scaling, systems and strategy – underlying offer-driven, customer-driven, finance-driven and resource-driven business model innovations. By relying on academic research, the authors’ scholarly work on organizational decline, innovation and corporate turnaround and the authors combined experiences and observations in industry, this study makes explicit and highlights problem areas in the business model, providing examples of representative companies to illustrate the challenges and consequences of failing to identify and manage its tripwires.

Findings

The authors demonstrate that awareness and attention to the tripwires underlying sources of innovation can mitigate a business model’s future challenges. Business model innovations can and often do conceal hazards that become apparent only as a venture begins to grow. As such, it is essential that entrepreneurs and managers attend to these potential problem areas in the early stages of designing their business models. In bringing awareness to innovation-related tripwires, the authors offer a risk-management “patch” for managers and entrepreneurs when developing their business models.

Originality/value

Business model innovation is a powerful tool to help in identifying growth opportunities. Yet in launching, scaling or transforming their business models, entrepreneurs and managers can encounter unforeseen challenges. While sources of innovation in the business model prioritize the discovery of growth opportunities, this has often come at the expense of the potential risks underlying them. The authors provide a means to identify four distinct tripwires that may be triggered when implementing business model innovations.
Climbing up the regional intellectual capital tree: an EU entrepreneurial ecosystem analysis
Authors: Mikic Mihaela , Horvatinovic Tin , Kovac Ivana
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This study responds to calls by researchers to examine the relation between innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems more closely, and also to further broaden our understanding of regional intellectual capital formation.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on NUTS 2 regions of the selected EU countries. In the empirical part of the research, multiple linear regression approaches were carried out using secondary data.

Findings

In sampled regions, the entrepreneurial ecosystem positively affects levels of high growth firms and levels of regional innovation capital.

Practical implications

Results lend further support to policymakers to develop and implement a regional-specific policy for fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems. However, given the multiple output nature of entrepreneurial ecosystems, this issue becomes more complicated than ever before.

Originality/value

This study builds upon previous research and complements it by widening the range of effects that the entrepreneurial ecosystem has. In doing so, this study is the first to examine the concurrent effects of these ecosystems on levels of high growth firms and innovation capital while using a regional innovation capital outlook.
Examining research topics with a dependency-based noun phrase extraction method: a case in accounting
Authors: Lei Lei , Deng Yaochen , Liu Dilin
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Examining research topics in a specific area such as accounting is important to both novice and veteran researchers. The present study aims to identify the research topics in the area of accounting and to investigate the research trends by finding hot and cold topics from all those identified ones in the field.

Design/methodology/approach

A new dependency-based method focusing on noun phrases, which efficiently extracts research topics from a large set of library data, was proposed. An AR(1) autoregressive model was used to identify topics that have received significantly more or less attention from the researchers. The data used in the study included a total of 4,182 abstracts published in six leading (or premier) accounting journals from 2000 to May 2019.

Findings

The study identified 48 important research topics across the examined period as well as eight hot topics and one cold topic from the 48 topics.

Originality/value

The research topics identified based on the dependency-based method are similar to those found with the technique of latent Dirichlet allocation latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modelling. In addition, the method seems highly efficient, and the results are easier to interpret. Last, the research topics and trends found in the study provide reference to the researchers in the area of accounting.
Augmented reality for the treatment of arachnophobia: exposure therapy
Authors: Ore Julio , Pacheco Alex , Roque Edwin , Reyes Andy , Pacheco Liz
Published: December 2020

Purpose

People who suffer from phobias try to avoid a specific object or feared situation by creating a great obstacle that causes serious consequences in their daily life; the most effective way to deal with a phobia is through exposure therapy, which according to one of the most important principles of psychology states that to overcome a fear you have to face it. The purpose of this paper is to develop a mobile application based on augmented reality (AR) for the treatment of spider phobia (Araneae).

Design/methodology/approach

The application development methodology was divided into two phases: design where sketches were made according to functional requirements, and the client server model was used for user queries and the development phase where the modules for the information of the phobia; and visualization of the arachnid in different morphological forms was implemented through the development tools.

Findings

The findings of this study, in this sense, state that it was possible to overcome the phobia in an essential way by ceasing to perceive harmless things as dangerous, helping them to manage stress and keep them under control.

Originality/value

Allowing to face their fears in support of existing therapeutic processes through images with progressively AR, being an innovative and accessible treatment from an economic, technological and professional point of view.
Nail involvement features in palmoplantar pustulosis
Authors: Kim Minsu , Yang Seungkeol , Kim Bo Ri , Youn Sang Woong
Published: December 2020

Pathogenesis of palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) is not fully understood and whether PPP is a variant of plaque psoriasis (PsO) is still controversial. Psoriatic nail changes are among the clinical features common to both diseases, and understanding them could lead to the understanding of the correlation between both diseases. However, only limited numbers of studies have reported nail involvement pattern in PPP. In this study, we conducted a retrospective review of the medical records and photographs of patients diagnosed with PPP to understand the nail involvement features in PPP patients. We compared the results with the data from our previous study that analyzed the pattern of nail involvement in PsO. As a result, nail involvement was observed in 66.3% of the patients and its severity was correlated with the severity of cutaneous lesions (r = 0.34, P = 0.01). Onycholysis and crumbling were more frequent in PPP than in PsO. Crumbling was associated with higher severity of PPP (P = 0.01), while onycholysis was associated with lower severity (P = 0.03). In PPP, nail changes in the first digits were less prominent than those in other digits when compared with PsO. Risk factors for nail involvement in PPP included female sex (odds ratio [OR] = 9.44, P < 0.001), younger age at diagnosis (OR = 1.08, P = 0.01), and higher severity (OR = 1.15, P = 0.01). Presence of psoriatic arthritis did not show significant association with nail involvement (OR = 1.62, P = 0.77). In conclusion, although PPP shares some nail features with PsO, differences were noted in the commonly observed features and in the distribution of involved nails.
Quantifying capital versus income breeding: New promise with stable isotope measurements of individual amino acids
Authors: Whiteman John P. , Newsome Seth D. , Bustamante Paco , Cherel Yves , Hobson Keith A.
Published: December 2020

Capital breeders accumulate nutrients prior to egg development, then use these stores to support offspring development. In contrast, income breeders rely on local nutrients consumed contemporaneously with offspring development. Understanding such nutrient allocations is critical to assessing life‐history strategies and habitat use.

Despite the contrast between these strategies, it remains challenging to trace nutrients from endogenous stores or exogenous food intake into offspring. Here, we tested a new solution to this problem.

Using tissue samples collected opportunistically from wild emperor penguinsAptenodytes forsteri, which exemplify capital breeding, we hypothesized that the stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values of individual amino acids (AAs) in endogenous stores (e.g. muscle) and in egg yolk and albumen reflect the nutrient sourcing that distinguishes capital versus income breeding. Unlike other methods, this approach does not require untested assumptions or diet sampling.

We found that over half of essential AAs had δ13C values that did not differ between muscle and yolk or albumen, suggesting that most of these AAs were directly routed from muscle into eggs. In contrast, almost all non‐essential AAs differed in δ13C values between muscle and yolk or between muscle and albumen, suggesting de novo synthesis. Over half of AAs that have labile nitrogen atoms (i.e. ‘trophic’ AA) had higher δ15N values in yolk and albumen than in muscle, suggesting that they were transaminated during their routing into egg tissue. This effect was smaller for AAs with less labile nitrogen atoms (i.e. ‘source’ AA).

Our results indicate that the δ15N offset between trophic‐source AAs (Δ15Ntrophic‐source) may provide an index of the extent of capital breeding. The value of emperor penguin Δ15NPro‐Phewas higher in yolk and albumen than in muscle, reflecting the mobilization of endogenous stores; in comparison, the value of Δ15NPro‐Phewas similar across muscle and egg tissue in previously published data for income‐breeding herring gullsLarus argentatus smithsonianus. Our results provide a quantitative basis for using AA δ13C and δ15N, and isotopic offsets among AAs (e.g. Δ15NPro‐Phe), to explore the allocation of endogenous versus exogenous nutrients across the capital versus income spectrum of avian reproduction.
Investigating the factors affecting nonperforming loans in commercial banks: The case of African lower middle‐income countries
Authors: Olarewaju Odunayo Magret
Published: December 2020

A nonperforming loan refers to a loan that is not paid as and when due, and it is a significant issue that banks need to keenly consider for them to exist and be stable. There are several factors accountable for nonperforming loans; some are firm‐specific, while others are macroeconomic factors. The study of banking sector stability is a foundation of modern macroeconomic policy of a bank‐based economy. In this view, this study aims to investigate the determining factors from both perspectives. This study used the dynamic panel regression analysis on 110 commercial banks from nine countries for the years 2010–2017 and a total of 880 observations were examined. The system generalized method of moments found that lagged nonperforming loan, lending rate, capital adequacy, credit growth, cost income ratio, as well as real interest rate, were the significant factors affecting nonperforming loans in lower middle‐income countries’ banking sector. Hence, it is recommended that commercial banks ought to establish regulations to amend their policies regarding credit advancement in alignment with the factors highlighted above. Also, banks need to ensure their loaned‐out funds are dedicated to the envisioned purpose via improved credit monitoring that would spur economic sustainability.
A novel identified Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which exhibited nitrate‐ and nitrite‐dependent methane oxidation abilities, could alleviate the disadvantages caused by nitrate supplementation in rumen fluid fermentation
Authors: Pang Jie , Liu Lihui , Liu Xiaopeng , Wang Yi , Chen Bin , Wu Shengru , Yao Junhu , Xu Xiurong
Published: December 2020

After the occurrence of nitrate‐dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO) in rumen fluid culture was proved, the organisms that perform the denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidizing (DAMO) process in the rumen of dairy goat were investigated by establishing two enrichment culture systems, which were supplied with methane as the sole carbon source and NaNO3 or NaNO2 as the electron acceptor. Several Operational Taxonomic Units (OTU) belonging to Proteobacteria became dominant in the two enrichment systems. The identified Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which was isolated from the NaNO2 enrichment system, could individually perform a whole denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidizing process. Further in vitro rumen fermentation showed that supplementation with the isolated P. aeruginosa could reduce methane emissions, alleviate the nitrite accumulation and prevent the decrease in propionic acid product caused by nitrate supplementation.
Hypodense MCA sign – Large‐vessel occlusion secondary to fat embolism post‐right hip hemiarthroplasty
Authors: Koh Daniel , Nair Gavin , Teoh Evonne , Sannigrahi Ardhendu
Published: December 2020

Hypodense MCA sign – Large‐vessel occlusion secondary to fat embolism post‐right hip hemiarthroplasty.