bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Becoming a Multilatina: strategic capabilities as necessary conditions for the internationalization of Latin American firms
Authors: Hermans Michel , Borda Armando , Newburry William , Cordova Chea Carlos Oswaldo , Finchelstein Diego , Gonzalez-Perez Maria Alejandra , Montoya-Bayardo Miguel A. , Velasco Gerardo , Velez-Ocampo Juan
Published: December 2023

Purpose

This study aims to challenge the generic interpretation of Multilatinas as Latin American firms that have been able to internationalize because of highly competitive strategic capabilities. The authors test whether capabilities that international business researchers commonly associate with internationalization are necessary at different stages of the internationalization process to better understand the extent to which emerging market (EM) firms need to develop them.

Design/methodology/approach

International business research suggests a positive association between strategic capabilities and firm internalization. However, it remains unclear what specific capabilities are necessary and when they are necessary. These questions are particularly important in the context of the internationalization of firms from emerging economies, such as Latin America. The authors apply necessary condition analysis (NCA) on a sample of Latin American firms at different internationalization stages to test what strategic capabilities represent necessary conditions for becoming a Multilatina.

Findings

The findings suggest that only a few strategic capabilities are necessary for Latin American firms to become “Multilatinas”. While entrepreneurial orientation and marketing and sales capabilities represent necessary conditions, EM firms may internationalize even though other capabilities are developed to a lesser extent. The authors reflect on how shifts in local markets and technology drive the emergence of different types of Multilatinas.

Research limitations/implications

Measuring strategic capabilities across multiple EM firms implies a risk that firm-specific aspects are not fully captured. While the authors focused on the comparative competitive strength of capabilities and took great care to minimize measurement error, the authors acknowledge possible bias. Also, while NCA does not require a minimum sample size, findings from our sample of firms from four countries may not generalize to the region or other EMs.

Originality/value

As a relatively new statistical technique, the use of NCA has spread rapidly. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the linkage between organizational capabilities and firm internationalization has not been tested from a necessary conditions perspective yet. The reflections on the “Multilatina” concept based on the notion of EM firms as configurations of strategic capabilities inform current debates on EM multinational enterprises.
Impact of network embeddedness on innovation performance: the perspective of organisational routine updating
Authors: Zhou Zhigang , Wen Xingxing , Yang Fan
Published: December 2023

Purpose

Network embeddedness has been widely considered in enterprise innovation as an effective means of overcoming resource dilemmas. However, while focussing on acquiring external innovation resources, the existing research often ignores the vital role of internal routine updates. Therefore, this study explores the mechanism by which network embeddedness affects innovation performance of enterprises from the perspective of organisational routine updating.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a theoretical model based on social network theory and organisational routines–immune response theory. A total of 328 pieces of research data on high-tech enterprises in China were collected, and the hypotheses were verified using hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

The results show that the two forms of network embeddedness – structural embeddedness and relational embeddedness, have a positive effect on enterprise innovation performance and a significant positive effect on organisational routine revision and organisational routine creation. Both organisational routine revision and organisational routine creation positively affect enterprise innovation performance and partially mediate the relationship between network embeddedness and enterprise innovation performance.

Originality/value

This conclusion provides a new perspective on the impact of network embeddedness on enterprise innovation performance and expands the related research on organisational routine updating. This study provides a theoretical reference for high-tech enterprises to improve their competitiveness and innovation performance through network embeddedness and organisational routine updating.
Comparative analysis on R&D internationalization under economy-level technological disparities and ownership-specific technological differences
Authors: Appolloni Andrea , Wong Pohkam , Ho Yuenping , Zheng Supeng , Ding Xiangan
Published: December 2023

Purpose

This study aims to investigate whether there are disparities in research and development (R&D) internationalization between latecomers from economy-level technological disparities and firms with ownership-specific technological capability differences in the wind turbine industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Employing econometric analysis based on patent indicators, the authors examine the patent data assigned by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to the technologically advanced economy and the technologically emerging economy.

Findings

This study finds that latecomers from technologically advanced economies behave with no difference from early leaders in terms of international co-invention (INCO) but do show differences in another indicator – native ownership of foreign inventors (NOFIs). Additionally, latecomers from economy-level technological disparity show significant differences both in both INCO and NOFI. These results indicate that the latecomers from technologically advanced economies not only possess the nature of latecomers which motivates them to seek knowledge from foreign economies but also benefit from their advanced home base, thereby prompting them to internationalize and access cost-effective R&D resources. Moreover, the results demonstrate that latecomers from technologically emerging economies are more prone to engage in R&D internationalization to augment their own home base compared with firms from advanced economy.

Originality/value

This study extends the literature on R&D internationalization by introducing novel perspectives. It distinguishes some apparent distinctions of the tendency of R&D internationalization between latecomers under economy-level technological disparity as well as firms from ownership-specific technological capabilities differences. Additionally, this study disaggregates R&D internationalization into twin key dimensions: INCO and NOFI. These findings allow for a comprehensive understanding of the differences in the firm's R&D internationalization under economy-level technological disparities and ownership-specific technological differences. These findings offer valuable insights for decision-makers in navigating global innovation activities by highlighting the diverse economy-level technological advantages as well as ownership-specific advantages.
Understanding the dimensions of women entrepreneurs’ empowerment: a systematic review of the microfinance literature and avenues for research
Authors: Kivalya Nzanzu Y'Ise , Caballero-Montes Tristan
Published: December 2023

Purpose

The purpose of the present paper is to provide a systematic overview of dimensions that need to be enfolded or considered in microfinance policies and strategies designs as well as impact studies aiming to empower or assess the empowerment of a specific category of women, namely women entrepreneurs. Afterward, the study aims to suggest some directions for future studies.

Design/methodology/approach

To meet its purpose, the paper applies the systematic review approach. The applied methodology follows guidelines for systematic reviews of social and economic interventions as set out by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). More specifically, the authors examine 87 empirical papers from 6 databases investigating the impact of microfinance institutions on the empowerment of women entrepreneurs.

Findings

Overall, findings of the study suggest that dimensions of the empowerment of women entrepreneurs are formed and conditioned by normative, cognitive and regulative institutional logics. Additionally, the systematic review suggests key research avenues and calls for more inclusive empirical studies in terms of geographical coverage, microfinance services/products assessed and method designs applied.

Research limitations/implications

Findings of the current review provide clear theoretical contribution and useful practical implications in the field of microfinance and the empowerment of women entrepreneurs. On the one hand, the study suggests to scholars key avenues for future studies likely to bring new insights in terms of theory, context and methods. On the other hand, this study extents the understanding of microfinance practitioners on the concept of women empowerment as the field of female entrepreneurship is concerned. This implication is likely to enable the design of appropriate microfinance strategies and policies, allowing women entrepreneurs to achieve an overall empowerment.

Originality/value

The present paper contributes to the debate around the multidimensionality of the concept, “women empowerment.” The multidimensional nature of the addressed concept is well established in the existing literature. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study has provided a conceptual analysis of empowerment dimensions of a particular category of women, namely women entrepreneurs. Unlike most of the studies assuming that all women face identical challenges, the present paper brings new insights on the topic as it is built on a different assumption. The paper takes ground from the institutional theory and applies it to the specific case of female entrepreneurship.
Real-time psychophysiological approaches to explore emotional and cognitive processing of VR-mediated sports
Authors: Lee Minkyo , Zhou Xiaochen
Published: December 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this research was to investigate how VR-mediated sports, as opposed to 2-D screens, affect the emotional and cognitive experiences of fans with the game and its sponsors.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study employed a single-factorial experimental design, in which participants were randomly assigned to either watch a soccer game through a VR headset or a 2-D screen. Physiological and self-reported measures were used to measure levels of presence, arousal, attention and memory.

Findings

Participants who watched sports through VR experienced a higher level of presence, greater psychophysiological arousal, and exhibited higher levels of attention toward the game. However, they showed lower recognition for in-stadium signage compared to those who watched the game on a 2-D screen.

Practical implications

The results suggest that sports teams can use VR to create a more immersive and engaging experience for fans. Additionally, in-stadium signage advertising may not be as effective in VR sport broadcasting contexts, and sports practitioners may want to explore alternative forms of advertising that are better suited for VR environments.

Originality/value

Methodologically, this study used a combination of self-reported and real-time physiological measures to capture dynamic and spontaneous changes in fans while watching games. Theoretically, this study utilized the Dynamic Human-Centered Communication System Theory to adopt a human-centered approach to understand how VR impacts the experience of sport game viewers.
Independent directors' ownership and CSR performance: the moderating roles of factors impacting directors' attention
Authors: Thosuwanchot Nongnapat , Lee Min Suk
Published: December 2023

Purpose

This study aims to examine the impact of independent directors' ownership on corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance. In line with the stakeholder-agency paradigm's prediction, the authors propose that higher independent directors' ownership is associated with higher CSR performance. By drawing on the attention-based view, the authors further examine firm-level conditions that impact the situated attention of independent directors holding high equity ownership as they are active agents.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected data covering the years 2009–2013 for firms listed in the S&P 500 index. The authors tested the hypotheses using firm fixed-effects models.

Findings

The results show that higher independent directors' ownership is associated with higher CSR performance. Prior firm performance and available slack resources are found to have diverse impacts on the association between independent directors holding high equity ownership and CSR performance.

Originality/value

This study highlights the importance of examining the performance-based incentives of independent directors on firms' CSR performance. This study also provides a better understanding of factors impacting independent directors' situated attention as boundary conditions.
The impact of real estate agents’ expertise on house prices and TOM
Authors: Fang Lu , Hayunga Darren K.
Published: December 2023

This study investigates whether the expertise levels of real estate agents impact the fundamental market outcomes of transaction prices and marketing durations. A primary contribution of this article is joint examination of three knowledge categories for both listing and selling agents. Instead of the length of agents’ license periods or recent transaction volumes, the results demonstrate that the important expertise category is agents’ local market knowledge. We consistently find that the economically important determinant of transaction prices is the separation distances between the subject homes being traded and agents’ micromarkets where they have conducted recent transactions. The results further demonstrate that agents who have tighter market concentrations increase prices and vice versa for unfocused micromarkets. We find that agents’ expertise levels do not materially alter marketing durations.
Countering Hegemonic Human Rights Norms through Migrant Labour Organising: The Case of Migrant Justice
Authors: Chamberlain Jacob P.
Published: December 2023

This article analyses undocumented migrant labour organising in a complicated context and site, the Vermont dairy industry, in relation to Tanya Basok's concept of “counter‐hegemonic human rights”. Taking migrant rights organisation Migrant Justice in Burlington, Vermont as a case study, this work examines migrant labour organising that calls upon notions of human rights for economic migrants in the USA. Migrant Justice works through commodity chain labour organising that transcends the scale of the state, calls on moral geographies of consumption and production, and autonomously redistributes not just capital, but power, from the corporation down to workers. An analysis of literature on migrant human rights in relation to labour organising will lead us to problematise mainstream human rights discourse, explore alternative conceptions of rights, and understand the liberatory components of the “counter‐hegemonic” employment of human rights by subversive actors, which may truly hold the potentials that mainstream human rights discourse claims.
A cross‐sectional survey study exploring provision and delivery of expanded community tier 2 behavioural weight management services in England
Authors: Fong Mackenzie , McSweeney Lorraine , Adamson Ashley , Mathews Claire , Lloyd Scott , Rothwell Charlotte
Published: December 2023

Guidelines recommend provision of local behavioural weight management (tier 2) programmes for adults living with overweight and obesity. Following the publication of the UK Government's publication ‘Tackling Obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ in July 2021, Government invested around £30 million of additional funding to support the expansion of local authority commissioned tier 2 provision for adults living with excess weight. We conducted a cross‐sectional survey study to scope the types of services available, to whom they were made available, and barriers and facilitators to service delivery. An e‐survey was disseminated to local authority commissioned tier 2 service providers in England from September to October 2022. Through a combination of closed and open (qualitative) questions, the survey collected data on referral routes, participant eligibility criteria, service content and format, and challenges and enablers to service delivery. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively whilst thematic content analysis was applied to qualitative data. We received 52 responses (estimated response rate = 59%) representing all nine England regions and 89 unique local authorities. Most services were multi‐component (84.3%), were 12 weeks duration (78.0%), were group‐based (90.0%), were primarily delivered in‐person (86.0%), and were free to participants (90.2%). Five responses indicated provision of support for other health and wellbeing issues, for example, mental health, assistance with debt. To improve future WMS service commissioning and delivery, WMS providers need to be allowed adequate time and resource to properly prepare for service delivery. Referral systems and criteria should be made clear and straightforward to both referrers and service users, and strategies to manage surplus referrals should be explored.
Unilateral and bilateral compression of the epiglottis during poll flexion in harness racehorses
Authors: Vermedal Hanna , O'Leary John Mark , Klemsdal Anna Emilie , Roen Gina Margrete , Fretheim‐Kelly Zoe , Strand Eric
Published: December 2023

Background

Horses exercised ‘onto the bit’ with periods of induced poll flexion can demonstrate a unique array of upper respiratory tract (URT) disorders.

Objectives

To describe a previously unreported exercise‐related disorder of the epiglottis associated with poll flexion in harness racehorses.

Study design

Retrospective observational study.

Methods

Medical records of all harness racehorses that presented for exercising URT endoscopy between 2005 and 2022 were reviewed. These horses were exercised on a high‐speed treadmill using a previously standardised protocol with alternating 1‐min phases of free head carriage (no rein tension on the bit) and poll flexion (driven onto the bit with long reins) until they could no longer maintain the trotting gait.

Results

Seven Standardbreds and 11 Norwegian‐Swedish Coldblooded trotters were diagnosed with unilateral or bilateral compression of the epiglottis during exercise in poll flexion. These horses demonstrated progression of this disorder during the phases of induced poll flexion and showed no signs of epiglottic compression during phases exercised with free head carriage.

Main limitations

Retrospective nature of study and limited sample size due to low prevalence.

Conclusions

Exercise‐related compression of the base of the epiglottis is a URT disorder only evident videoendoscopically when horses are driven onto the bit leading to poll flexion. It is most often seen in association with dynamic laryngeal collapse but can also be witnessed as a solitary disorder. Videoendoscopically, it appears that the compression is initiated by the rostral advancement of the larynx and hyoid apparatus within a progressively narrowing intermandibular space during poll flexion. Visually, this leads to local inward compression of the lateral nasopharyngeal walls and base of the epiglottis. Further studies are ongoing to confirm this hypothesis and to objectively quantify the degree of URT obstruction caused by this conformational narrowing of the epiglottis during poll flexion.
Extractive text summarization for biomedical transcripts using deep dense LSTM‐CNN framework
Authors: Bedi Parminder Pal Singh , Bala Manju , Sharma Kapil
Published: December 2023

The most recent and precise biological and healthcare knowledge is critical in the current outbreak such as COVID. In today's small world, everyone needs timely and appropriate medical information to prevent contagious diseases. Extraction of important information from medical conversations and dissemination to patients and doctors may benefit in the treatments of doctor tiredness and patient amnesia.

Problem

Automatic text summarizing is essential for gaining great knowledge in any topic in an efficient and productive manner. The material included in health records is vital to our understanding of kind illness and its manifestations. Creating a comprehensive and standard kind of content is becoming an unavoidable and crucial problem in the medical process as a result of the massive amounts of fragmented data created in many sectors.

Approach

The purpose of this study is to employ NLP‐based deep learning algorithms for text summary that perform well on linguistic text summarization data, and then modify/adapt these for biomedical domain‐specific text summarization. This paper provides an approach developed in‐house for condensing ill‐punctuated or unpunctuated discussion transcripts into more intelligible summaries, which combines topic modelling and phrase selection with punctuation restorations. For autonomous synthesis of medical reports from biomedical transcripts, this research proposes using an end‐to‐end summarization technique, Deep Dense Long Short Term Memory Network (LSTM), followed by Convolutional Neural Network (CNN).

Results

Extensive testing, examination, and comparing have demonstrated that this summarizer works well for medical transcript summarization. The suggested approach achieved an average ROUGE score of 93.5% using a single document summary. Furthermore, by comparing new techniques to previous ones, the utility and accuracy of novel strategies would be shown. The results reveal that models trained on ordinary language provide comparable results on a biomedical testing set, with one model outperforming the linguistic test set.
The valley of death: why Australia failed to develop clinically effective drugs in COVID‐19
Authors: Martin Jennifer H.
Published: December 2023

There is a paucity of public discussion of costs spent on drug trials during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) and their value, and of large public outlay on research funding for vaccine and drug development that did not deliver medicines nor vaccines for Australians. This oversight left us at the behest of global supply chains, politics and commercial cost‐plus pricing for vaccines. It is possible that these outcomes were the result of some major cognitive biases and the failure of a clinical pharmacologist's voice in the leadership teams. Biases included unawareness of the complexities of taking interesting chemicals in vitro to development into therapeutic use that can be tolerated, show efficacy and have appropriate disposition in humans; lack of a systems approach to therapeutic development; and an understanding of the relevance and translatability of pharmacology, physiology and clinical drug development. We believe that reflecting on and addressing these biases will help Australia reposition itself better with a therapeutics and clinical trial strategy for future pandemics, built into the strategy of a Centre for Disease Control.
Towards tailored cognitive support in augmented reality assembly work instructions
Authors: Vanneste Pieter , Dekeyser Kim , Ullauri Luis Alberto Pinos , Debeer Dries , Cornillie Frederik , Depaepe Fien , Raes Annelies , Van den Noortgate Wim , Said‐Metwaly Sameh
Published: December 2023

Background

Augmented reality (AR) is receiving increasing interest as a tool to create an interactive and motivating learning environment. Yet, it is unclear how instructional support affects performance in AR.

Objectives

This study sought to explore how varying the instructional support in AR can affect performance‐related behaviours of students with low cognitive abilities during assembly work.

Methods

A total of 90 Belgian secondary school students repeatedly executed four different realistic assembly tasks. Three levels of instructional support (low, medium, and high) in AR as well as a control condition with paper instructions with a high level of detail were systematically varied across tasks and participants.

Results and Conclusions

Multilevel regression analyses showed that AR instructions yielded lower assembly times and a lower perceived physical effort than paper instructions. Additionally, participants perceived tasks as less complex when given AR instructions with a high or a medium level of detail than when given a low level of detail. No effects of instructional support were established for other performance‐related behaviours, namely necessary assistance, error‐making, cognitive load, competence frustration, and stress. Effect sizes were small, at least among the instructional support conditions studied, yielding a limited base for adaptivity. Presumably, tailoring the instructional support in AR is only beneficial for highly complex tasks. The results might be useful for the design and implementation of AR in educational settings.
Differences in change of post‐operative antioxidant levels between laser‐assisted lenticule extraction and femtosecond laser in situ keratomileusis
Authors: Chen Hung‐Chi , Yang Shun‐Fa , Lee Chia‐Yi , Hsueh Yi‐Jen , Huang Jing‐Yang , Chang Chao‐Kai
Published: December 2023

To evaluate the change of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and ascorbic acid (AA) between femtosecond laser in situ keratomileusis (FS‐LASIK) and laser‐assisted lenticule extraction (LALEX). A prospective non‐randomized study was conducted, and 33 and 75 eyes that had undergone FS‐LASIK or LALEX surgeries were enrolled, respectively. The tear films near corneal incisions were collected, and the concentrations of TAC and AA were determined. The generalized linear mixed model was adopted to calculate the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) of TAC and AA between the two groups. The AA reduction was significant 1 month after the LALEX and FS‐LASIK procedures (both p < 0.05), and the decrement in AA level was significantly larger in the FS‐LASIK group compared to the LALEX group (p = 0.0002). In the subgroup analysis, the LALEX group demonstrated a lower decrement in TAC level in the individuals with dry eye disease (DED) than the FS‐LASIK group (p = 0.0424), and the LALEX group demonstrated a significantly lower AA decrement in the participants with high myopia (p = 0.0165) and DED (p = 0.0043). The LALEX surgery causes lesser AA decrement compared to FS‐LASIK surgery especially for the patients with DED.
The Matching Function and Nonlinear Business Cycles
Authors: BERNSTEIN JOSHUA , RICHTER ALEXANDER W. , THROCKMORTON NATHANIEL A.
Published: December 2023

The Cobb‐Douglas matching function is ubiquitous in labor search and matching models, even though it imposes a constant matching elasticity that is unlikely to hold empirically. To examine the implications of this discrepancy, this paper uses a general constant returns to scale matching function to derive conditions that show how the cyclicality of the matching elasticity affects the shape of the job finding rate as a function of productivity and amplifies or dampens nonlinear labor market dynamics. It then shows that modest variation in the matching elasticity, consistent with recent estimates, significantly affects higher order moments and optimal policy. This motivates research that can provide greater clarity on the matching function specification.
On the persistence of near‐surface temperature dynamics in a warming world
Authors: Estrada Francisco , Perron Pierre , Yamamoto Yohei
Published: December 2023

We consider issues related to the effect of climate change on the persistence of (trend‐corrected) temperatures using global gridded data for both land and oceans. We first discuss how the presence of trends and additive noise affects inference about persistence. Ignoring a trend induces an upward bias, while not accounting for noise induces a downward bias. We show that the increase in persistence in the commonly used Warm Spell Duration Index is simply an artifact of increasing temperatures. To purge the impact of both trends and noise, we adopt a simple state‐space model. Of separate interest, we document a much larger noise component for land than for oceans. The estimates of the persistence are much larger for oceans than for land. Inspection of the estimates across various subsamples and the application of tests for structural changes suggest the same pattern of persistence for both land and oceans across time, with few minor exceptions. Hence, our results show that surface temperature persistence has remained constant during the observed period.
Plant‐derived Durvalumab variants show efficient PD‐1/PD‐L1 blockade and therapeutically favourable FcR binding
Authors: Izadi Shiva , Gumpelmair Simon , Coelho Pedro , Duarte Henrique O. , Gomes Joana , Leitner Judith , Kunnummel Vinny , Mach Lukas , Reis Celso A. , Steinberger Peter , Castilho Alexandra
Published: December 2023

Immune checkpoint blocking therapy targeting the PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibitory signalling pathway has produced encouraging results in the treatment of a variety of cancers. Durvalumab (Imfinzi®) targeting PD‐L1 is currently used for immunotherapy of several tumour malignancies. The Fc region of this IgG1 antibody has been engineered to reduce FcγR interactions with the aim of enhancing blockade of PD‐1/PD‐L1 interactions without the depletion of PD‐L1‐expressing immune cells. Here, we used Nicotiana benthamiana to produce four variants of Durvalumab (DL): wild‐type IgG1 and its ‘Fc‐effector‐silent’ variant (LALAPG) carrying further modifications to increase antibody half‐life (YTE); IgG4S228P and its variant (PVA) with Fc mutations to decrease binding to FcγRI. In addition, DL variants were produced with two distinct glycosylation profiles: afucosylated and decorated with α1,6‐core fucose. Plant‐derived DL variants were compared to the therapeutic antibody regarding their ability to (i) bind to PD‐L1, (ii) block PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibitory signalling and (iii) engage with the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) and various Fcγ receptors. It was found that plant‐derived DL variants bind to recombinant PD‐L1 and to PD‐L1 expressed in gastrointestinal cancer cells and are able to effectively block its interaction with PD‐1 on T cells, thereby enhancing their activation. Furthermore, we show a positive impact of Fc amino acid mutations and core fucosylation on DL's therapeutic potential. Compared to Imfinzi®, DL‐IgG1 (LALAPG) and DL‐IgG4 (PVA)S228P show lower affinity to CD32B inhibitory receptor which can be therapeutically favourable. Importantly, DL‐IgG1 (LALAPG) also shows enhanced binding to FcRn, a key determinant of serum half‐life of IgGs.
Genome sequence of the lytic bacteriophage Alucard, a cluster EE actinophage
Authors: Cousins Samuel R. , Dufour Gemma R. , Law Kendra , Nichols Robert M. , Sladek Bradi J. , Aniapam Christopher R. , Tarbox Brian P. , Savage Emily F.
Published: December 2023

Bacteriophage Alucard is a lytic phage isolated from the soil collected in southern Maine on
Microbacterium foliorum
NRRL B-24224. Alucard has siphovirus morphology with a 17,363-bp genome encoding 25 putative genes. Based on gene content similarity to actinobacteriophages, Alucard is assigned to cluster EE.
Neural Field Convolutions by Repeated Differentiation
Authors: Nsampi Ntumba Elie , Djeacoumar Adarsh , Seidel Hans-Peter , Ritschel Tobias , Leimkühler Thomas
Published: December 2023

Neural fields are evolving towards a general-purpose continuous representation for visual computing. Yet, despite their numerous appealing properties, they are hardly amenable to signal processing. As a remedy, we present a method to perform general continuous convolutions with general continuous signals such as neural fields. Observing that piecewise polynomial kernels reduce to a sparse set of Dirac deltas after repeated differentiation, we leverage convolution identities and train a repeated integral field to efficiently execute large-scale convolutions. We demonstrate our approach on a variety of data modalities and spatially-varying kernels.
Reconstruction of Machine-Made Shapes from Bitmap Sketches
Authors: Puhachov Ivan , Martens Cedric , Kry Paul G. , Bessmeltsev Mikhail
Published: December 2023

We propose a method of reconstructing 3D machine-made shapes from bitmap sketches by separating an input image into individual patches and jointly optimizing their geometry. We rely on two main observations: (1) human observers interpret sketches of man-made shapes as a collection of simple geometric primitives, and (2) sketch strokes often indicate occlusion contours or sharp ridges between those primitives. Using these main observations we design a system that takes a single bitmap image of a shape, estimates image depth and segmentation into primitives with neural networks, then fits primitives to the predicted depth while determining occlusion contours and aligning intersections with the input drawing via optimization. Unlike previous work, our approach does not require additional input, annotation, or templates, and does not require retraining for a new category of man-made shapes. Our method produces triangular meshes that display sharp geometric features and are suitable for downstream applications, such as editing, rendering, and shading.
ScaNeRF: Scalable Bundle-Adjusting Neural Radiance Fields for Large-Scale Scene Rendering
Authors: Wu Xiuchao , Xu Jiamin , Zhang Xin , Bao Hujun , Huang Qixing , Shen Yujun , Tompkin James , Xu Weiwei
Published: December 2023

High-quality large-scale scene rendering requires a scalable representation and accurate camera poses. This research combines tile-based hybrid neural fields with parallel distributive optimization to improve bundle-adjusting neural radiance fields. The proposed method scales with a divide-and-conquer strategy. We partition scenes into tiles, each with a multi-resolution hash feature grid and shallow chained diffuse and specular multilayer perceptrons (MLPs). Tiles unify foreground and background via a spatial contraction function that allows both distant objects in outdoor scenes and planar reflections as virtual images outside the tile. Decomposing appearance with the specular MLP allows a specular-aware warping loss to provide a second optimization path for camera poses. We apply the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) to achieve consensus among camera poses while maintaining parallel tile optimization. Experimental results show that our method outperforms state-of-the-art neural scene rendering method quality by 5%--10% in PSNR, maintaining sharp distant objects and view-dependent reflections across six indoor and outdoor scenes.
Neural Categorical Priors for Physics-Based Character Control
Authors: Zhu Qingxu , Zhang He , Lan Mengting , Han Lei
Published: December 2023

Recent advances in learning reusable motion priors have demonstrated their effectiveness in generating naturalistic behaviors. In this paper, we propose a new learning framework in this paradigm for controlling physics-based characters with improved motion quality and diversity over existing methods. The proposed method uses reinforcement learning (RL) to initially track and imitate life-like movements from unstructured motion clips using the discrete information bottleneck, as adopted in the Vector Quantized Variational AutoEncoder (VQ-VAE). This structure compresses the most relevant information from the motion clips into a compact yet informative latent space, i.e., a discrete space over vector quantized codes. By sampling codes in the space from a trained categorical prior distribution, high-quality life-like behaviors can be generated, similar to the usage of VQ-VAE in computer vision. Although this prior distribution can be trained with the supervision of the encoder's output, it follows the original motion clip distribution in the dataset and could lead to imbalanced behaviors in our setting. To address the issue, we further propose a technique named prior shifting to adjust the prior distribution using curiosity-driven RL. The outcome distribution is demonstrated to offer sufficient behavioral diversity and significantly facilitates upper-level policy learning for downstream tasks. We conduct comprehensive experiments using humanoid characters on two challenging downstream tasks, sword-shield striking and two-player boxing game. Our results demonstrate that the proposed framework is capable of controlling the character to perform considerably high-quality movements in terms of behavioral strategies, diversity, and realism. Videos, codes, and data are available at https://tencent-roboticsx.github.io/NCP/.
Integrated Energy Management of Smart Grids in Smart Cities Based on PSO Scheduling Models
Authors: Yang Xiaolong , Xu Yanxia , Ma Chao , Yao Tao , Xu Lei
Published: December 2023

The supporting position and role of smart grids in the construction of smart cities have not been fully explored. Based on systematizing the system architecture of smart cities, we first analyze the facilitating and constraining roles of smart grids and smart cities with each other and make a quantitative analysis of the coordination and supporting roles between them; in the smart grid environment, we propose a framework of energy management system based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) dispatching model. The algorithm optimizes the operation of dispatchable loads, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems based on outdoor temperature forecasts, renewable energy power output forecasts, day-ahead tariff signals, and customer preferences to minimize customer electricity costs. The performance of the algorithm is verified through simulation experiments, and the results show that the proposed algorithm significantly reduces electricity consumption costs by 32.54% compared to algorithms that only optimize the scheduling of loads or some components of the home energy management system.
Bacteroides fragilis Acute Hematogenous Osteomyelitis in a Young Female with Sickle Cell Disease
Authors: Bassam Hamieh Nada , Abdul Hamid Abou Layla Hiba , Ali Ali Rola , Bayram Zeina , Bizri Abdul Rahman
Published: December 2023

Patients with sickle cell disease are at increased risk for multiple infections including osteomyelitis. The most reported causative organisms are Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus. Anaerobic infections including Bacteroides fragilis are not commonly seen. Here, we report the first case of a 28-year-old female patient with sickle cell disease and acute hematogenous Bacteroides fragilis tibial osteomyelitis. Diagnosis was made by isolating the organism from blood and tibial fluid cultures. The patient was successfully managed with a course of intravenous followed by oral antibiotics and percutaneous drainage of collection and responded well. This case report will shed light on the importance of Bacteroides fragilis as a causative organism for osteomyelitis in sickle cell disease patients, thereby affecting the management of these patients.
Accelerated Electromigration Approach to Evaluate Chloride-Induced Corrosion of Steel Rebar Embedded in Concrete
Authors: Hoque Kazi Naimul , Presuel-Moreno Francisco , Nazim Manzurul
Published: December 2023

Two distinct binary blended concrete mixes were prepared for the study. The first mix involved a cement replacement of 50% slag, denoted as SL. The second mix incorporated a cement replacement of 20% fly ash, referred to as FA. No chlorides were added during the preparation of these concrete specimens. To accelerate chloride transport, electromigration was employed by placing specimens with varying reservoir lengths (ranging from 2.5 cm to 17.5 cm) on their top surfaces. These reservoirs were subsequently filled with a 10% NaCl solution. In this paper, corrosion propagation was monitored over a period of approximately 650 days using electrochemical measurements such as open circuit potential, linear polarization resistance (LPR), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The evolution of rebar potential, polarization resistance, solution resistance, and corrosion current were analyzed to understand the corrosion behavior. This paper focuses on how the length of the solution reservoirs influences the corrosion-related parameters such as polarization resistance, solution resistance, rebar potential, and corrosion current. During the monitored propagation period, the corrosion current values (last 7 sets of readings) exhibited higher magnitudes for the embedded rebars in specimens made with SL mix in comparison to those made with FA mix. Corrosion current measurements likewise showed an increasing trend as the reservoir lengths increased. None of the specimens had any visible cracks or corroded products that could reach the concrete surface throughout the monitored period. The experimental results provide insights into the corrosion mechanisms and the effectiveness of accelerated corrosion techniques in simulating real-life conditions.
Magnolia cirorum (Magnolia sect. Talauma, Magnoliaceae), a new species from Pico Bonito National Park, Atlántida, Honduras
Authors: VÁZQUEZ-GARCÍA J. ANTONIO , ESTRADA SERGIO , MARTÍNEZ ABRAHAM HERIBERTO , AGUIRRE DONOVAN , CUBAS KELVIN , MUÑIZ-CASTRO MIGUEL Á.
Published: December 2023

Honduran Magnoliaceae currently comprise ten species of Magnolia Linnaeus (1753: 535), which display a pattern of allopatric speciation with high (60%) endemism, except for M. hondurensis Molina-Rositto (1974: 95) also found in El Salvador and Guatemala; M. yoroconte Dandy (1930: 147) and M. quetzal Vázquez, Véliz & Tribouillier in Vázquez-García et al. (2013b: 1) shared with Guatemala, recently observed (S. Morales pers. comm.); and M. sororum Seibert in Woodson & Seibert (1938: 828) shared with Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panamá (Vázquez-García 1994, Vázquez-García et al. 2022).
Neottia linzhiensis (Orchidaceae, Epidendroideae, Neottieae), a new species from Xizang, China
Authors: CAI HONG , LIN DONG-LIANG , YE CHAO , WANG HAN-CHEN , YANG BO-YUN , JIN XIAO-HUA
Published: December 2023

A new species of Orchidaceae, Neottia linzhiensis, from Motuo, Xizang, China, is described and illustrated. Neottia linzhiensis is similar to N. brevicaulis and N. taizanensis, but differs from them by having lip shallowly bilobed at apex, column not curve, and stigma nearly at column apex.
An electron microscope study and re-description of the type specimens of Synedra subula and its transfer to Ctenophora (Bacillariophyta)
Authors: WILLIAMS DAVID M. , VIJVER BART VAN DE
Published: December 2023

Synedra subula Sande Lac. & Suringar is rarely encountered today. Although a reasonable description was provided, the species has never been illustrated. Having discovered the type specimens in the diatom collection of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden (the Netherlands), this short account presents details of some specimens using only scanning electron microscopy as no light microscope slides exist or have been prepared.
A new flightless trechodine genus and species from the South African Cape region (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechitae)
Authors: GEGINAT GERNOT
Published: December 2023

Scaurotrechodes capensis gen.nov., sp.nov. is described from the Cape province. It is the first endemic flightless representative of the tribe Trechodini from southern Africa.
High genomic plasticity and unique features of Xanthomonas translucens pv. graminis revealed through comparative analysis of complete genome sequences
Authors: Goettelmann Florian , Koebnik Ralf , Roman-Reyna Veronica , Studer Bruno , Kölliker Roland
Published: December 2023

Background

Xanthomonas translucens pv. graminis (Xtg) is a major bacterial pathogen of economically important forage grasses, causing severe yield losses. So far, genomic resources for this pathovar consisted mostly of draft genome sequences, and only one complete genome sequence was available, preventing comprehensive comparative genomic analyses. Such comparative analyses are essential in understanding the mechanisms involved in the virulence of pathogens and to identify virulence factors involved in pathogenicity.

Results

In this study, we produced high-quality, complete genome sequences of four strains of Xtg, complementing the recently obtained complete genome sequence of the Xtg pathotype strain. These genomic resources allowed for a comprehensive comparative analysis, which revealed a high genomic plasticity with many chromosomal rearrangements, although the strains were highly related. A high number of transposases were exclusively found in Xtg and corresponded to 413 to 457 insertion/excision transposable elements per strain. These mobile genetic elements are likely to be involved in the observed genomic plasticity and may play an important role in the adaptation of Xtg. The pathovar was found to lack a type IV secretion system, and it possessed the smallest set of type III effectors in the species. However, three XopE and XopX family effectors were found, while in the other pathovars of the species two or less were present. Additional genes that were specific to the pathovar were identified, including a unique set of minor pilins of the type IV pilus, 17 TonB-dependent receptors (TBDRs), and 11 plant cell wall degradative enzymes.

Conclusion

These results suggest a high adaptability of Xtg, conferred by the abundance of mobile genetic elements, which could play a crucial role in pathogen adaptation. The large amount of such elements in Xtg compared to other pathovars of the species could, at least partially, explain its high virulence and broad host range. Conserved features that were specific to Xtg were identified, and further investigation will help to determine genes that are essential to pathogenicity and host adaptation of Xtg.
Clinical and genetic analysis of two patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia caused by a novel variant of DNAAF2
Authors: Dong Lili , Zhang Lei , Li Xiao , Mei Shiyue , Shen Yuelin , Fu Libing , Zhao Shunying , Tang Xiaolei , Tang Yu
Published: December 2023

Background

The study describes the clinical manifestations and variant screening of two Chinese siblings with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). They carry the same DNAAF2 genotype, which is an extremely rare PCD genotype in the Chinese population. In addition, the study illustrated an overview of published variants on DNAAF2 to date.

Methods

A two-child family was recruited for the study. Clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, bronchoscopic and otoscopic images, and radiographic data were collected. Whole blood was collected from siblings and their parents for whole-exome sequencing (WES) and Sanger sequencing to screen variants.

Results

The two siblings exhibited typical clinical manifestations of PCD. Two compound heterozygous variants in DNAAF2 were detected in both by WES. Nonsense variant c.156 C>A and frameshift variant c.177_178insA, which was a novel variant.

Conclusion

The study identified a novel variant of DNAAF2 in Chinese children with a typical phenotype of PCD, which may enrich our knowledge of the clinical, diagnostic and genetic information of DNAAF2-induced PCD in children.