bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Telemedicine and Cancer Clinical Research
Authors: von Itzstein Mitchell S. , Gwin Mary E. , Gupta Arjun , Gerber David E.
Published: January 2024

Telemedicine represents an established mode of patient care delivery that has and will continue to transform cancer clinical research. Through telemedicine, opportunities exist to improve patient care, enhance access to novel therapies, streamline data collection and monitoring, support communication, and increase trial efficiency. Potential challenges include disparities in technology access and literacy, physical examination performance, biospecimen collection, privacy and security concerns, coverage of services by insurance, and regulatory considerations. Coupled with artificial intelligence, telemedicine may offer ways to reach geographically dispersed candidates for narrowly focused cancer clinical trials, such as those targeting rare genomic subsets. Collaboration among clinical trial staff, clinicians, regulators, professional societies, patients, and their advocates is critical to optimize the benefits of telemedicine for clinical cancer research.
A Systematic Review of the Application of Simulation to Promote Empathy in Nursing Education
Authors: Juan Samantha , O'Connell Kathleen A.
Published: January 2024

Summary Statement

This systematic review aimed to identify, appraise, and synthesize evidence for the effectiveness of simulation modalities in promoting nursing students' empathy. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis was followed with 20 studies included. The Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI) was used to evaluate the quality of the publications. The mean MERSQI score was 10.95 with an SD of 1.62, which was above the average in the literature.

Five simulation modalities were identified: standardized patient, simulated suit, manikin, virtual simulation, and virtual reality simulation. Most of the studies (n = 15) reported significant differences in the measured outcomes after their simulation activities, including all 5 simulation modalities, but the most effective modality was the simulation suit. The simulation suit replicates the lived experiences of others, which enhances perspective taking by “turning the student into the patient” through the physical and sensory effects of simulated suits. However, outcome measures were limited to self-report instruments in the studies.
How to Partner With Persons Living With Mental Health Conditions
Authors: Cavanagh Frances C. , Chevalier Natalie , Timmermans Katherine E. , Killam Laura A.
Published: January 2024

Summary Statement

Screen-based simulation is an effective educational strategy that can enhance health care students' engagement with content and critical thinking across various topics, including mental health. To create relevant and realistic simulations, best-practice guidelines recommend the involvement of experts in the development process. We collaborated with persons with lived experience and community partners to cocreate a mental health-focused screen-based simulation. Cocreating meant establishing a nonhierarchical partnership, with shared decision-making from start to finish.

In this article, we present 8 principles developed to guide our cocreation with persons with lived experience: person-centeredness, trauma-informed approaches and ethical guidance, supportive environment, two-way partnership, mutual respect, choice and flexibility, open communication, and room to grow. These principles provide practical guidance for educators seeking to engage the expertise of persons who have been historically disadvantaged in society. By sharing these principles, we strive to contribute to a more equitable process in simulation development and promote meaningful, respectful, and safer collaborations.
Diel spatio-temporal patterns of humpback whale singing on a high-density breeding ground
Authors: Kügler Anke , Lammers Marc O. , Pack Adam A. , Tenorio-Hallé Ludovic , Thode Aaron M.
Published: January 2024

Humpback whale song chorusing dominates the marine soundscape in Hawai‘i during winter months, yet little is known about spatio-temporal habitat use patterns of singers. We analysed passive acoustic monitoring data from five sites off Maui and found that ambient noise levels associated with song chorusing decreased during daytime hours nearshore but increased offshore. To resolve whether these changes reflect a diel offshore–onshore movement or a temporal difference in singing activity, data from 71 concurrently conducted land-based theodolite surveys were analysed. Non-calf pods (
n
= 3082), presumably including the majority of singers, were found further offshore with increasing time of the day. Separately, we acoustically localized 217 nearshore singers using vector-sensors. During the day, distances to shore and minimum distances among singers increased, and singers switched more between being stationary and singing while travelling. Together, these findings suggest that the observed diel trends in humpback whale chorusing off Maui represent a pattern of active onshore–offshore movement of singers. We hypothesize that this may result from singers attempting to reduce intraspecific acoustic masking when densities are high nearshore and avoidance of a loud, non-humpback, biological evening chorus offshore, creating a dynamic of movement of singers aimed at increasing the efficiency of their acoustic display.
Discrimination of object information by bat echolocation deciphered from acoustic simulations
Authors: Teshima Yu , Mogi Mayuko , Nishida Hare , Tsuchiya Takao , Kobayasi Kohta I. , Hiryu Shizuko
Published: January 2024

High-precision visual sensing has been achieved by combining cameras with deep learning. However, an unresolved challenge involves identifying information that remains elusive for optical sensors, such as occlusion spots hidden behind objects. Compared to light, sound waves have longer wavelengths and can, therefore, collect information on occlusion spots. In this study, we investigated whether bats could perform advanced sound sensing using echolocation to acquire a target's occlusion information. We conducted a two-alternative forced choice test on
Pipistrellus abramus
with five different targets, including targets with high visual similarity from the front, but different backend geometries, i.e. occlusion spots or textures. Subsequently, the echo impulse responses produced by these targets, which were difficult to obtain with real measurements, were computed using three-dimensional acoustic simulations to provide a detailed analysis consisting of the acoustic cues that the bats obtained through echolocation. Our findings demonstrated that bats could effectively discern differences in target occlusion spot structure and texture through echolocation. Furthermore, the discrimination performance was related to the differences in the logarithmic spectral distortion of the occlusion-related components in the simulated echo impulse responses. This suggested that the bats obtained occlusion information through echolocation, highlighting the advantages of utilizing broadband ultrasound for sensing.
Systematic discovery of directional regulatory motifs associated with human insulator sites
Authors: Osato Naoki , Hamada Michiaki
Published: January 2024

Insulator proteins act as a barrier of enhancer–promoter interactions (EPIs). The main insulator protein in vertebrates is CTCF, a DNA-binding protein (DBP). However, other DBPs associated with insulators of EPIs are still unclear. Hence, we developed a systematic, comprehensive deep learning-based approach for identifying the DNA motifs of DBPs associated with insulators. We discovered 97 directional and minor nondirectional motifs in human fibroblast cells that corresponded to 23 DBPs related to insulator function, CTCF, and/or other types of chromosomal transcriptional regulation reported in previous studies. The estimated CTCF orientation bias was consistently proportional to CTCF orientation bias observed in chromatin interactions. The motifs were significantly more abundant at insulator sites separated by repressive and active regions, at boundary sites identified by chromatin interaction data, and at splice sites than other DBPs. Finally, the insulator-pairing model explains that homologous and heterologous insulator-insulator pairing interactions are orientation-dependent. These findings contribute to elucidate novel transcriptional regulations.
A novel and efficient Apple Latent Spherical Virus-based gene silencing method for functional genomic studies inChenopodium quinoa
Authors: Melgar Alejandra E. , Palacios María B. , Martínez Tosar Leandro J. , Zelada Alicia M.
Published: January 2024

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoaWilld.), with its resilience in harsh environments and excellent nutritional value, has become crucial for global food security. Despite recent progress in genomic research, the inability to perform functional studies in quinoa due to the absence of transformation techniques remains a significant obstacle. In this work, we present the development of a novelApple Latent Spherical Virus(ALSV)-mediated virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) protocol that will allow to perform functional genomics studies in quinoa in a fast and simple way. The method was fine-tuned using ALSV plasmids that carry partial gene sequences of phytoene desaturase (PDS) fromNicotiana benthamianaand quinoa. The developed technique involves an initial inoculation inNicotianaplants through agroinfiltration withAgrobacterium tumefacienscultures carrying the different viral constructs. Viral extracts were prepared using local or systemic leaves, which were then used as inoculum to infect quinoa leaves through mechanical damage. The method was successfully tested in two contrasting quinoa varieties, although some differences were observed in infection phenotype and viral susceptibility. The effect of insertion sequence size in the viral vectors was also analyzed, resulting in differences in bleaching or chlorosis phenotype and impact on plant growth. The presence of the virus in infected plants was confirmed, and the reduction in PDS gene expression in silenced plants was verified. Because quinoa lacks stable transformation protocols, limiting heterologous expression assays, our ALSV-based VIGS protocol is very attractive for loss-of-function gene studies.
Bypassing PELO-mediated ATPase activation of NLR is a common pathogenic cause ofNLR-associated autoinflammatory diseases
Authors: Wu Xiurong , Yang Zhang-Hua , Zheng Yue , Wu Jianfeng , Han Jiahuai
Published: January 2024

Nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptors (NLRs) constitute the largest family of pattern recognition receptors. These receptors are master regulators of innate immunity. Recently, PELO-driven ATPase activation of NLRs was demonstrated as a critical step in NLR activation. Linkage studies in human with various inherited autoinflammatory conditions have revealed an extensive array of mutations and polymorphisms within NLRs. However, the precise mechanisms by which genetic variations in NLR genes contribute to disease onset remain largely elusive. Here we comprehensively analyze dozens of naturally occurring mutations across multiple human NLRs, and demonstrate thatNLRsharboring pathogenic mutations in their NACHT domain—not those with non-pathogenic variants—exhibit spontaneous PELO-independent ATPase activation. This aberrant activation triggers corresponding NLR to mediate inflammatory responses. Thus, bypassing the PELO-checkpoint for ATPase activation is a major disease-causing mechanism underlyingNLRmutations. Furthermore, quantifying this aberrant ATPase activation could serve as an assessment tool for classifying the pathogenesis ofNLR-associated diseases.
NeuralTE: an accurate approach for Transposable Element superfamily classification with multi-feature fusion
Authors: Hu Kang , Xu Minghua , Gao Xin , Wang Jianxin
Published: January 2024

Motivation

Classifying Transposable Elements (TEs) at the superfamily level offers deeper insights into species variation and evolution. Recent advancements in third-generation sequencing technologies have made a large number of genomes from non-model species becoming available. However, existing TE classification methods suffer from several limitations, including the necessity to train multiple hierarchical classification models, the incapacity to perform classification at the superfamily level, and deficiencies in both accuracy and robustness. Therefore, there is an urgent need for an accurate TE classification method to improve genome annotation.

Results

In this study, we develop NeuralTE, a deep learning method designed to classify transposons at the superfamily level. To achieve accurate TE classification, we identify various structural features of transposons, and use different combinations of k-mers for terminal repeats and internal sequences to uncover distinct patterns. Evaluation on all transposons from Repbase shows that NeuralTE outperforms existing deep learning, machine learning, and homology-based methods in classifying TEs. Testing on the transposons from novel species highlights the superior performance of NeuralTE compared to existing methods. We also conduct TE annotation experiments on rice using different classification tools, and the results show that NeuralTE achieves annotations nearly identical to the gold standard, highlighting its robustness and accuracy in classifying transposons.

Availability

NeuralTE is publicly available athttps://github.com/CSU-KangHu/NeuralTE.
Functionalising the electrical properties of Kombucha zoogleal mats for biosensing applications
Authors: Nikolaidou Anna , Chiolerio Alessandro , Dehshibi Mohammad Mahdi , Adamatzky Andrew
Published: January 2024

Kombucha is a type of tea that is fermented using yeast and bacteria. During this process, a film made of cellulose is produced. This film has unique properties such as biodegradability, flexibility, shape conformability, and ability to self-grow, as well as be produced across customised scales. In our previous studies, we demonstrated that Kombucha mats exhibit electrical activity represented by spikes of electrical potential. We propose using microbial fermentation as a method forin situfunctionalisation to modulate the electroactive nature of Kombucha cellulose mats, where graphene and zeolite were used for the functionalisation. We subjected the pure and functionalised Kombucha mats to mechanical stimulation by applying different weights and geometries. Our experiments demonstrated that Kombucha mats functionalised with graphene and zeolite exhibit memfractive properties and respond to load by producing distinctive spiking patterns. Our findings present incredible opportunities for thein situdevelopment of functionalised hybrid materials with sensing, computing, and memory capabilities. These materials can self-assemble and self-grow after fusing their living and synthetic components. This study contributes to an emergent area of research on bioelectronic sensing and hybrid living materials, opening up exciting opportunities for use in smart wearables, diagnostics, health monitoring and energy harvesting applications.
Nuclear reassembly defects after mitosis trigger apoptotic and p53-dependent safeguard mechanisms inDrosophila
Authors: Li Jingjing , Jordana Laia , Mehsen Haytham , Wang Xinyue , Archambault Vincent
Published: January 2024

In animals, mitosis involves the breakdown of the nuclear envelope and the sorting of individualized, condensed chromosomes. During mitotic exit, emerging nuclei reassemble a nuclear envelope around a single mass of interconnecting chromosomes. The molecular mechanisms of nuclear reassembly are incompletely understood. Moreover, the cellular and physiological consequences of defects in this process are largely unexplored. Here, we have characterized a mechanism essential for nuclear reassembly inDrosophila. We show that Ankle2 promotes the PP2A-dependent recruitment of BAF and Lamin at reassembling nuclei, and that failures in this mechanism result in severe nuclear defects after mitosis. We then took advantage of perturbations in this mechanism to investigate the physiological responses to nuclear reassembly defects during tissue developmentin vivo. Partial depletion of Ankle2, BAF or Lamin in imaginal wing discs results in wing development defects accompanied by apoptosis. We found that blocking apoptosis strongly enhances developmental defects. Blocking p53 does not prevent apoptosis but enhances defects due to the loss of a cell cycle checkpoint. Our results suggest that apoptotic and p53-dependent responses play a crucial role in safeguarding tissue development in response to sporadic nuclear reassembly defects.
Depression is a more significant predictor for wellbeing in Inclusion Body Myositis than physical disability
Authors: Nunn G. , Glenister G. , Hird K. , Beer K. , Cooper I. , Needham M. , Brusch A.
Published: January 2024

Objectives

(1) determine if there is a correlation between disability, depression, and wellbeing in people with IBM, (2) determine if disability and depression can predict wellbeing in people with IBM, and (3) identify the prevalence of depression and impaired wellbeing in participants with IBM.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 101 participants with IBM completed the Neuromuscular Symptom Score (NSS), Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) surveys to serve as surrogate measures of physical disability, wellbeing, and depression respectively.

Results

Linear regression identified that PHQ-9 significantly predicts PWI, however NSS does not, with a negative predictive value of depression for wellbeing (−2.7513, p < 0.001) and a positive predictive value of disability for wellbeing (0.0575, p = 0.764). Moderate to severe depression was reported in 78.2% of participants, and all but one participant reported reduced wellbeing.

Conclusions

Depression is a more significant predictor of wellbeing than disability in participants diagnosed with IBM. There was a high prevalence of depression and reduced wellbeing in participants, highlighting the importance of assessing these factors to optimise treatment in IBM.
Plasma Metabolic Profiling Analysis of Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Patients Based on UHPLC-MS/MS
Authors: Abudurexiti Muyashaer , Naman Tuersunjiang , qin Duan dong , Aimaier Salamaiti , Mahemuti Ailiman
Published: January 2024

Background

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a complex disease characterized by metabolic disturbances that can have various pathophysiological implications.

Methods

Data were collected from a prospective cohort consisting of 30 HFpEF participants and 30 healthy controls, matched by gender and age. untargeted metabolomic profiling UHPLC-MS/MS was performed on Venous blood. The analyses aimed to reveal the differences in plasma metabolic characteristics between HFpEF participants and healthy controls using untargeted metabolomics. Initial steps included Principal Components Analysis (PCA), Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA), and hierarchical clustering analysis to detect differing compounds groups. Subsequently, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and pathway analysis of the different metabolites. Finally, we performed pathway enrichment analysis to identify significantly dysregulated processes.

Results

A total of 124 significantly different compounds were selected based on criteria of Variable Importance in Projection (VIP) > 1.0, Fold Change (FC) > 1.2 or FC < 0.833, and P-value < 0.05. Compared to healthy control group, the most altered metabolites in HFpEF were lipids and lipid-like molecules. KEGG enrichment and pathway impact analysis highlight the enrichment of these differentially expressed metabolites primarily in tryptophan metabolism. Hierarchical clustering results, showed varying compound levels between the two groups. ROC curve results, revealed Cytosine and 1,2-dihydroxyheptadec-16-yn-4-yl having higher AUC values.

Conclusions

Significant differences were observed in plasma metabolic profiles between HFpEF patients and healthy subjects using UHPLC-MS/MS. Cytosine appeared a potential biomarker. Tryptophan metabolism may be a novel metabolic pathway of HFpEF.
Curtailed CaSR expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is associated with hypertension
Authors: Bank Sarbashri , Sarkar Kunal , Chatterjee Arindam , Das Anwesha , Chakraborty Santanu , Chatterjee Srilagna , Malakar Subhajit , Pal Dilip Kumar , Karmakar Sanmoy , Mukherjee Sagar , De Subrata Kumar , Arumugam Somasundaram , Das Madhusudan
Published: January 2024

The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a GPCR family member. CaSR is abundantly expressed in the parathyroid gland and controls calcium homeostasis. There are no particular discoveries involving CaSR expression in hypertensive peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We investigated lower CaSR expression in hypertensive human and animal models. Nitric oxide (NO) has an important role in vascular function. Impaired NO production disrupts CaSR-mediated fine adjustment of the intra- and extracellular [Ca2+] gradients. According to the law Ca2+transportation through Ca channels maintains its connection from the circulatory micro-vascular bed to interstitial space, influenced by capillary and interstitial fluid hydrostatic pressure, as well as oncotic pressure. In that situation, the alterations in Ca2+microenvironment and dynamics remain unknown. CaSR on circulatory mononuclear cells may detect changes in the Ca2+microenvironment in the ISF of endothelial cells-VSMC and endothelium lining in hypertension. In this experiment, the decreased expression of CaSR revealed a molecular sensor in the presence of elevated blood pressure.
TDP43 aggregation at ER-exit sites impairs ER-to-Golgi transport
Authors: Wu Hongyi , Wang Loo Chien , Sow Belle M. , Leow Damien , Zhu Jin , Gallo Kathryn M. , Wilsbach Kathleen , Gupta Roshni , Ostrow Lyle W. , Yeo Crystal J. J. , Sobota Radoslaw M. , Li Rong
Published: January 2024

Protein aggregation plays key roles in age-related degenerative diseases, but how different proteins coalesce to form inclusions that vary in composition, morphology, molecular dynamics and confer physiological consequences is poorly understood. Here we employed a general reporter based on mutant Hsp104 to identify proteins forming aggregates in human cells under common proteotoxic stress. Over 300 proteins were identified, forming different inclusions containing subsets of aggregating proteins. In particular, TDP43, implicated in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), partitions dynamically between two distinct types of aggregates: stress granule and a previously unknown solid inclusion at the ER exit sites (ERES). TDP43-ERES coaggregation is induced by diverse proteotoxic stresses and observed in the motor neurons of ALS patients. Such aggregation causes retention of secretory cargos at ERES and therefore delayed ER-to-Golgi transport, providing a link between TDP43 aggregation and compromised cellular function in ALS patients.
Complex Langevin: Correctness criteria, boundary terms, and spectrum
Authors: Seiler Erhard , Sexty Dénes , Stamatescu Ion-Olimpiu
Published: January 2024

The Complex Langevin (CL) method to simulate “complex probabilities” ideally produces expectation values for the observables that converge to a limit equal to the expectation values obtained with the original complex “probability” measure. The situation may be spoiled in two ways: failure to converge and convergence to the wrong limit. It was found long ago that “wrong convergence” is caused by boundary terms; nonconvergence may arise from bad spectral properties of the various evolution operators related to the CL process. Here, we propose a class of criteria that allow one to rule out boundary terms and at the same time bad spectrum. Ruling out boundary terms in the equilibrium distribution arising from a CL simulation implies that the so-called convergence conditions are fulfilled. This in turn has been shown to guarantee that the expectation values of holomorphic observables are given by complex linear combinations of exp(−S) over various integration cycles. If the spectrum is pathological, however, the CL simulation in general does not reproduce the integral over the desired real cycle.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Cross-lingual speaker transfer for Cambodian based on feature disentangler and time-frequency attention adaptive normalization
Authors: Yang Yuanzhang , Wang Linqin , Gao Shengxiang , Yu Zhengtao , Dong Ling
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to disentangle Chinese-English-rich resources linguistic and speaker timbre features, achieving cross-lingual speaker transfer for Cambodian.

Design/methodology/approach

This study introduces a novel approach: the construction of a cross-lingual feature disentangler coupled with the integration of time-frequency attention adaptive normalization to proficiently convert Cambodian speaker timbre into Chinese-English without altering the underlying Cambodian speech content.

Findings

Considering the limited availability of multi-speaker corpora in Cambodia, conventional methods have demonstrated subpar performance in Cambodian speaker voice transfer.

Originality/value

The originality of this study lies in the effectiveness of the disentanglement process and precise control over speaker timbre feature transfer.
Promoting access-based consumption practices through fashion renting: evidence from Italy
Authors: Savelli Elisabetta , Francioni Barbara , Curina Ilaria , Cioppi Marco
Published: January 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to extend the research on fashion renting (FR) by investigating how personal and social motives (i.e. “subjective norms”, “perceived behavioural control”, “sustainable orientation” and “FR benefits”) affect consumers’ attitudes and intentions towards it. In addition, personality traits are investigated as potential antecedents of FR, resulting in the proposal of an overall framework that combines the theory of planned behaviour with the trait theory approach.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected in Italy from a sample of 694 consumers, mainly females (88%), with an average age of 28.8 years and coming from all over the country. The collected data were then processed via structural equation modelling.

Findings

The results indicated that intention towards FR is influenced by attitude, which, in turn, is affected by social norms, perceived behavioural control, sustainable orientation and FR benefits. Furthermore, only fashion leadership acts as a direct antecedent of FR attitude, while the need for uniqueness and materialism plays critical roles as predictors of personal and social motives. Subjective norms and perceived behavioural control also serve as mediators of the significant relationships between personality traits and attitudes towards FR.

Practical implications

The study provides useful implications for fashion rental companies in attracting consumers and offers a foundation for further research on transforming traditional consumption into a more sustainable one.

Originality/value

The study presents new knowledge on the rental phenomenon in the fashion sector by responding to the call to deepen the analysis of factors that influence consumers’ adoption of FR from the perspectives of personal and social motives and personality traits.
Data quality assurance in research data repositories: a theory-guided exploration and model
Authors: Stvilia Besiki , Lee Dong Joon
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This study addresses the need for a theory-guided, rich, descriptive account of research data repositories' (RDRs) understanding of data quality and the structures of their data quality assurance (DQA) activities. Its findings can help develop operational DQA models and best practice guides and identify opportunities for innovation in the DQA activities.

Design/methodology/approach

The study analyzed 122 data repositories' applications for the Core Trustworthy Data Repositories, interview transcripts of 32 curators and repository managers and data curation-related webpages of their repository websites. The combined dataset represented 146 unique RDRs. The study was guided by a theoretical framework comprising activity theory and an information quality evaluation framework.

Findings

The study provided a theory-based examination of the DQA practices of RDRs summarized as a conceptual model. The authors identified three DQA activities: evaluation, intervention and communication and their structures, including activity motivations, roles played and mediating tools and rules and standards. When defining data quality, study participants went beyond the traditional definition of data quality and referenced seven facets of ethical and effective information systems in addition to data quality. Furthermore, the participants and RDRs referenced 13 dimensions in their DQA models. The study revealed that DQA activities were prioritized by data value, level of quality, available expertise, cost and funding incentives.

Practical implications

The study's findings can inform the design and construction of digital research data curation infrastructure components on university campuses that aim to provide access not just to big data but trustworthy data. Communities of practice focused on repositories and archives could consider adding FAIR operationalizations, extensions and metrics focused on data quality. The availability of such metrics and associated measurements can help reusers determine whether they can trust and reuse a particular dataset. The findings of this study can help to develop such data quality assessment metrics and intervention strategies in a sound and systematic way.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first data quality theory guided examination of DQA practices in RDRs.
Disclosure-based regulation and municipal security trade prices
Authors: Dzigbede Komla D.
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to measure the trade price impact of a recent regulatory disclosure intervention in municipal securities secondary markets, which required broker-dealers to disclose securities trading information on a near-real-time and continuing basis.

Design/methodology/approach

The author analyzes trade price outcomes in the preintervention and postintervention regimes using a suite of time series estimations that give heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors (Prais–Winsten and Cochrain–Orcutt), accommodate higher-order lag structure in the error term (autoregressive integrated moving average) and account for volatility clustering in the time series (generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity).

Findings

Results show that regulatory disclosure intervention significantly improved trade price efficiency in municipal securities secondary markets as daily trade price differential and volatility both declined market-wide after the disclosure intervention.

Research limitations/implications

The sample consists of trades in State of California general obligation bonds; therefore, empirical findings may not be generalizable to other states, local governments and different types of bonds.

Practical implications

The findings highlight voluntary information disclosure as a practical and effective mechanism in disclosure regulation of municipal securities secondary markets.

Originality/value

Only a small body of work exists that examines information disclosure regulation in municipal securities secondary markets; therefore, this paper expands knowledge on the topic and should provide renewed impetus for regulatory efforts aimed at improving the efficiency of municipal capital markets.
The interactive effect of individual and co-worker narcissism on counterproductive work behavior
Authors: Chambers Valerie A. , Hayes Matthew J. , Reckers Philip M.J.
Published: January 2024

Purpose

Counterproductive work behavior (CWB) imposes significant costs on organizations, thus antecedents of CWB are of particular interest to both practitioners and academics. The authors examine how one’s own narcissism interacts with co-worker narcissism to influence willingness to engage in retaliatory CWB against a co-worker.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for this study were obtained from Amazon Mechanical Turk participants and Master of Business Administration students, representing a cross-section of employee representatives.

Findings

The authors find that employees expect narcissistic co-workers to engage in continuing future CWB and this, in turn, increases employees' willingness to engage in retaliatory CWB. That is, non-narcissistic employees are provoked to engage in organizationally-destructive behaviors by peers perceived as narcissists. This affect is attenuated by the employee’s own narcissism. Relative to non-narcissists, narcissistic employees find a narcissistic co-worker more likeable, which reduces their willingness to engage in retaliatory CWB against the co-worker.

Practical implications

For corporations and HR managers, this study demonstrates the caution necessary when considering hiring and operational practices. Specifically, non-narcissists demonstrate increased willingness to engage in organizationally-destructive behaviors after interpersonal conflict with a narcissistic co-worker.

Originality/value

The authors extend prior research about interpersonal drivers of CWB, which primarily considered superior-subordinate dyad, by examining the joint effects of individual and co-worker narcissism in peer-to-peer relationships.
Culturally responsive and communicative teaching for multicultural integration: qualitative analysis from public secondary school
Authors: Huda Miftachul , Bakar Abu
Published: January 2024

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to examine the strategic approach of culturally responsive and communicative teaching (CRCT) through a critical assessment of interracial teachers in their daily school interactions.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical data were obtained through interviews among ten interracial teachers. The analysis was made through a thematic approach to obtain substantial data from interviews.

Findings

The findings reveal that attempts to gain sufficient comprehension of CRCT are actualized through routine interaction in the multicultural school environment hence resulting in embedding self-awareness of cultural competence in a multicultural classroom, constructing emotional and social development on cultural awareness and internalizing responsive awareness on social engagement in global learning.

Originality/value

The contribution of this research provides an insightful value on expanding key consideration to support the multicultural classroom environment with an active engagement and enhancement of CRCT as fundamental basis of the multicultural classroom.
HOUSING BEYOND THE METROPOLIS: Inhabiting Extractivism and Extensions in Urban Amazonia
Authors: Castriota Rodrigo
Published: January 2024

This article contributes to debates on the decentering of urban research by critically examining emergent forms of housing in the mining municipality of Canaã dos Carajás, Brazil, beyond the dominant lexicons that have emerged from the country's metropolises. The notion of ‘beyond the metropolis’ is offered here as a geographically situated, conceptual placeholder that empirically grounds calls for dislocating urban research. I draw upon fieldwork conducted in Canaã in 2018 and 2019, after the construction of the largest open‐pit mine in human history, which attracted tens of thousands of migrants and more than doubled Canaã's population in five years, creating a severe housing crisis. By looking closely at how regional developers, local authorities, mining giant Vale as well as Amazonian majorities came up with their own ‘solutions’ to the housing problem they faced, I foreground the role of ‘extractivism’ and ‘extensions’ in driving and shaping urbanization and inhabitation—beyond the metrocentric emphasis on agglomerative dynamics driven by industrialization and rural‐to‐urban migration. This twofold conceptual grammar grounded in non‐metropolitan Amazonia is absent from current housing debates and illustrates the generative analytical potential inherent in the move beyond the metropolis.
Making food systems more resilient to food safety risks by including artificial intelligence, big data, and internet of things into food safety early warning and emerging risk identification tools
Authors: Mu Wenjuan , Kleter Gijs A. , Bouzembrak Yamine , Dupouy Eleonora , Frewer Lynn J. , Radwan Al Natour Fadi Naser , Marvin H. J. P.
Published: January 2024

To enhance the resilience of food systems to food safety risks, it is vitally important for national authorities and international organizations to be able to identify emerging food safety risks and to provide early warning signals in a timely manner. This review provides an overview of existing and experimental applications of artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and internet of things as part of early warning and emerging risk identification tools and methods in the food safety domain. There is an ongoing rapid development of systems fed by numerous, real‐time, and diverse data with the aim of early warning and identification of emerging food safety risks. The suitability of big data and AI to support such systems is illustrated by two cases in which climate change drives the emergence of risks, namely, harmful algal blooms affecting seafood and fungal growth and mycotoxin formation in crops. Automation and machine learning are crucial for the development of future real‐time food safety risk early warning systems. Although these developments increase the feasibility and effectiveness of prospective early warning and emerging risk identification tools, their implementation may prove challenging, particularly for low‐ and middle‐income countries due to low connectivity and data availability. It is advocated to overcome these challenges by improving the capability and capacity of national authorities, as well as by enhancing their collaboration with the private sector and international organizations.
Manipulating larval rearing media to optimise mass production of the blow fly Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae)
Authors: Cook David F. , Tufail Muhammad Shoaib , Howse Elliot T. , Voss Sasha C.
Published: January 2024

The oviparous blow fly Calliphora vicina has shown potential as a managed pollinator to support honeybee (Apis mellifera) usage in Australian horticulture. A series of three laboratory‐based studies reared newly hatched larvae of C. vicina on meatmeal with varying amounts of either whole egg powder, whole eggs (including shells), bran flakes, brewer's yeast, fish paste or milk powder. The objective was to determine the best larval media for quick and efficient production of adult flies in a mass‐rearing environment. Pure meatmeal or meatmeal with only brewer's yeast added were the least productive media. Larvae fed meatmeal with either 10% or 20% whole dried egg powder had the fastest development to pupae, the highest pupation rate, the heaviest pupae and the highest subsequent adult eclosion. Larval media containing fish paste had the highest survival through to adult emergence (>85%) of all the media treatments, which suggests that this ingredient is of value when mass rearing C. vicina. In addition, newly hatched larvae (n = 50) were reared on varying amounts of media (i.e., 4, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25 and 0.125 g per larvae) to determine the minimum amount of media required to produce adults. Reductions in media per larvae resulted in smaller pupae and adults that emerged with no subsequent reduction in adult eclosion, indicating the adaptability of this fly to food deprivation. Replacing whole egg powder with whole eggs reduces the costs of rearing C. vicina larvae significantly. In order to rear 1 million adult C. vicina, these studies showed that 0.5 g of media per larvae is sufficient to produce high numbers of pupae with >95% adult eclosion. Although larval development and pupation are optimal on media containing whole egg powder, its recent rapid rise in costs makes it far less economical compared with the use of discarded whole eggs from egg producers. Sourcing of seafood waste could also reduce media costs and improve production of C. vicina. The costs of each media required to realise 1 million adult C. vicina are between $540 and $1900 depending on the media ingredients.
Regulation of UCP2 in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: From mechanisms to natural product
Authors: Hao Liyuan , Li Shenghao , Chen Guo , Hu Xiaoyu
Published: January 2024

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease associated with lipid deposition in liver cells and/or subsequent inflammation, excluding other known causes. NAFLD is a subset of metabolic syndrome that ranges from simple steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). At present, the pathogenesis of NAFLD remains unclear. Among the many factors that shape these transitions, uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) may be involved in every stage of the disease. UCP2 is a carrier protein that responds to fatty acids (FAs) in mitochondrial intima and has a wide tissue distribution. However, the biological function of UCP2 has not been fully elucidated, and most of our current knowledge comes from cell and animal experiments. These data suggest that UCP2 plays a role in lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and even cancer. In this review, we summarize the structure, distribution, and biological function of UCP2 and its role in the progression of NAFLD, as well as natural products targeting UCP2 to improve NAFLD.
Analyzing the health implications of rising income inequality: What does the data say?
Authors: Acheampong Alex O. , Opoku Eric Evans Osei
Published: January 2024

Does income inequality worsen a country's health outcomes? In this study, we examine the effect of income inequality and redistribution on health outcomes using a panel dataset for a global sample of 154 countries from 1990 to 2020, and the instrumental variable method. The evidence from the empirical analyses revealed that, on average, higher income inequality is associated with poor health outcomes. On the other hand, this study documented that, on average, countries with higher income redistribution have better health outcomes. From regional analyses, we documented that income inequality strongly worsens health outcomes in South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, sub‐Saharan Africa and the Caribbean and Latin America. We found that education, environmental pollution, health expenditure and GDP per capita are the potential channels through which income inequality affects health outcomes. The findings established in this study suggest that a political environment that supports better income distribution would lead to better health outcomes.
Charities and resilience: From austerity to COVID‐19
Authors: Lambert Vicky , Paterson Audrey
Published: January 2024

Understanding how charities have survived, and sometimes thrived, in the face of crisis has given rise to an increased interest in the resilience of these organizations. Research on dealing with uncertainty and crisis situations notes the ability to adapt as a critical resilience component (Siders, 2019). However, resilience and adaptive capacity in the charity sector are under‐researched areas. This paper contributes to filling this gap by investigating two midsized Scottish charitable organizations that have weathered two significant crises: austerity as a result of the financial crisis of 2008 and the COVID‐19 pandemic. The study findings enhance resilience research by shedding light on the processes, actions and collaborations that facilitate resilience, and the importance of adaptive capacity in response to crisis. Two distinct approaches to resilience were identified: (1) a strategic approach to resilience, where the charity thrived in the face of crisis and demonstrated high levels of adaptive capacity, and (2) a pragmatic approach, where resilience equated to survival, adaptive capacity was low and, as a result, growth was limited.
How large families fare in Germany: Examining child poverty risks and policy solutions
Authors: Köppe Stephan , Curran Megan , Aldama Iñigo
Published: January 2024

Historically, researchers and policymakers alike recognized the risk of poverty among large families, but family size is often neglected in the contemporary literature. This article revives an examination of the connections between family size and poverty risk for children with a focus on Germany. We take a child‐centered perspective by analyzing a sample of 13–14 year‐old children from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). First, we provide a detailed overview of the welfare and tax policies aimed at large families in Germany. Next, we estimate the poverty risk and prevalence for children in large families (looking at families with 3+ and 4+ children). Finally, we discuss how the policy and socio‐economic context interacts with the risk of poverty. We identify that the means‐tested social assistance scheme penalizes large families, while the child benefit would only acknowledge higher need of middle‐income families with three or more children.
Effects of glutamine on growth performance, nutrient content, fatty acid profile, and blood parameters of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Authors: Öz Mustafa , Inanan Burak Evren , Karasahin Tahir , Dikel Suat
Published: January 2024

In this study, different amounts of glutamine were added to the diet of rainbow trout, and they were then fed for a period of 90 days. The current research investigated the effects of glutamine on various aspects of rainbow trout, including growth performance, condition factor, viscerosomatic index, hepatosomatic index, carcass composition, fatty acid profile, hematological parameters, and biochemical parameters. The study's findings revealed that adding glutamine to the diet of rainbow trout had a beneficial impact on their growth features. The rainbow trout group that was fed a 2% concentration of glutamine experienced the most notable increase in growth rate. A statistically significant difference in growth was observed among all groups (p < 0.05). Adding glutamine to the diet increased the amount of protein and decreased the fat content in the flesh of the fish. Glutamine exerted an influence on the blood and biochemistry parameters of fish, as well as their fatty acid composition. In conclusion, the inclusion of glutamine in the diet of fish could potentially enhance their immune system, improve the quality of their muscles, and enhance their growth performance.