bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Unveiling benefits through franchising in Indian power distribution: addressing the resources scarcity
Authors: Das Mrigakshi
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The Indian power distribution companies are increasingly recognizing franchising for reviving their high loss-making rural pockets. The motivation for franchising has been a reduction of the franchisor's resource scarcity by bringing in operational efficiency and improved service quality to end consumers. However, there is a dearth of evidence on the influence of the franchisee's operations in addressing the resource scarcity of franchisors in predominantly rural areas. This study contributes towards filling the research gap.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative embedded multiple case study was conducted. The cases comprised two rural franchisees operating towards attaining the common goal. The study was built on archival analysis, personal observations and semi-structured interviews with the franchisors and franchisee officials across the organization's hierarchical levels. A conceptual model based on the review of prior literature formed the initial set of coding for the study. The data were presented based on within-case and across-case analysis.

Findings

The analysis revealed that the contract design impacts the requisite operational efficiency achievement. This variation could be elaborated by factors, such as system adaptation across organizational hierarchy, autonomy and independence, review and feedback systems, monitoring, a professional's attitude, bureaucracy, adaption with the local areas, risk sharing, incentives and compensation structure.

Research limitations/implications

The study findings could be generalized to the extent of similar socio-economic conditions, prevailing governance mechanisms and law and orders. Additionally, since the law does not mandate the regulatory commissions to scrutinize the performance of the franchisees, the study was built on data shared by the franchisees and the discom. Further, this study considered the performance of only two performing franchisees. Matching these actualities with the discoveries of this study remains a continuing project as participation of private players is increasingly being recognized. Therefore, the insights drawn from this study could be used to improve the franchise model and can be scaled up across the nation, regions and sectors.

Originality/value

There is a dearth of literature on franchising in electricity distribution. This study is one of the first studies on studying the franchise system in the electricity distribution sector through the application of a well-accepted management theory.
Strategic guidelines for community enterprise development: a case in rural Thailand
Authors: Cavite Harry Jay M. , Kerdsriserm Chanhathai , Suwanmaneepong Suneeporn
Published: September 2021

Purpose

In spite of the government’s support for small-scale rice farmers in rural areas of Thailand, several problems still affect their production and marketing performance. This study aims to assess a rice production community enterprise (RPCE) through an in-depth investigation of its problems and capabilities; and formulate internal strategic guidelines for enterprise development.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews with the community enterprise leader and committee members, and focus group discussion with eight farmer-members, purposively selected in Chachoengsao, Thailand. Data were transcribed, sorted and organised to determine themes and patterns. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) and threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths (TOWS) matrix situational analyses were done to develop strategic options. Strategic guidelines were formulated through a final deliberation with all members to ensure strategies aligned with the enterprise’s goals and objectives.

Findings

The results have identified three main problem categories encountered by the community enterprise in the areas of membership and labour; production and milling operations; and product design and marketing. The enterprise’s main strengths and opportunities include its product certifications and support from external organisations. Strategic points were developed, and policy support programmes are recommended for capacity building and product development as most problems identified relate to these aspects.

Originality/value

The utility of this study is its focus on an RPCE. The findings will help policymakers and concerned government agencies implement better programmes and policies to develop RPCEs. Furthermore, this study will be a source for future qualitative literature that will provide helpful information to other studies aiming to develop other types of community enterprises (CEs).
A new theoretical approach to intellectual capital: Meta-synthesis definitions of innovative literacy
Authors: Yüksel Asiye , GÖK Mehmet Şahin , ÖZER Gökhan , CİĞERİM Erşan
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The importance of innovation has drastically increased across diverse academic and industrial fields. Innovation has been considered an outcome of intellectual capital management. The role of innovative literacy in intellectual capital management needs to be understood. Employees at all levels of the organisation carry out managerial and/or technical innovation activities by integrating their knowledge (with other members, including researchers and developers) and innovative attitude in line with the organisational goals. This study focuses on the methodological approaches to intellectual capital components at a conceptual level, based on the framework of innovative literacy, which is not prominent in the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

A meta-synthesis analysis was conducted, examining published articles from 1990 to 2016 based on selected keywords. The meta-synthesis analysis explored the concept of innovation literacy by revealing some of the relationships involved in intellectual capital performance.

Findings

The findings point to gaps and methodological weaknesses in innovative literacy research and provide insights for future research.

Research limitations/implications

While the findings of this study are useful, there are some limitations and recommendations for future research: One limitation of this study arises from the selection of the articles used in meta-synthesis analyses; these were published during the period 1990–2016. An expansion of the article selection to include articles published before 1990 can be useful to better understand the vision on innovation and intellectual capital. This research fills a conceptual gap in the literature. However, since this concept is evaluated using the human, customer and structural components of intellectual capital, researchers in the future can evaluate this concept with other components of intellectual capital. Finally, this research does not present a hypothesis on the relationship between innovative literacy and intellectual capital.

Originality/value

This study provides a novel conceptual view of integrating theories for ensuring sustainability of intellectual management and innovative literacy by synthesising findings from academic studies.
Employee perceptions of HRM system strength: examining outcome and boundary conditions among HR and non-HR employees
Authors: Presbitero Alfred , Teng-Calleja Mendiola , Farndale Elaine
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Studies have explored perceptions of human resource management (HRM) system strength and how they can relate to employee-level outcomes. However, the authors understand little about the boundary conditions for such relationships. Here, the authors apply signaling theory to explain the relationship between HRM system strength and affective commitment as well as the role of an organization's communication climate and organizational collectivism.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted an initial study among HR practitioners (N = 115) to determine their perception of HRM system strength, its outcomes and boundary conditions. The authors then conducted a second study to increase the reliability of our earlier findings by focusing on non-HR employees (N = 179).

Findings

The findings in both studies indicate that employee perceptions of HRM system strength positively and significantly relate to affective commitment. Moreover, the results show support for the moderating roles of both communication climate and organizational collectivism. These findings are novel and extend the nomological network of employee perceived HRM system strength.

Originality/value

These findings offer valuable practical insights regarding approaches to strengthen the relationship between HRM system strength and affective commitment. In particular, we offer practical recommendations pointing to the relevance of improving the communication climate as well as the sense of belonging within the organization (organizational collectivism).
A novel break site of EML4‐ALK report and a rare PRKAR1A‐ALK report analyzed by different ALK detection platforms in non‐small cell lung cancer patients
Authors: Du Xue , Zhang Jun , Gao Hongjun , Tai Yanhong
Published: September 2021

Background

detection of anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosine kinase gene (ALK) rearrangements in patients with non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has become a routine pathological diagnosis worldwide.

Methods

there are three major conventional diagnostic methods for ALK fusions: fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH); immunohistochemistry (Ventana IHC (D5F3)); and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Next‐generation sequencing (NGS) technology as is a new tool for ALK status detection with great potential. These four methods are highly consistent in detecting ALK status (coincidence rate >96%). However, discrepancies in ALK status have been found in some patients among these methods, which causes confusion for clinicians.

Results and conclusion

in this study, we analyzed two patients whose ALK statuses were not consistent using these four methods. We explored the potential reasons for deviation of the test results and found a novel EML4‐ALK break site, which had been not described previously.
A prospective cohort study evaluating the impact of upscheduling codeine in Australia among frequent users of codeine
Authors: McCoy Jacqui , Nielsen Suzanne , Bruno Raimondo
Published: September 2021

Aim

To evaluate and document the impacts of re‐scheduling codeine to a prescription‐only medication in Australia in February 2018.

Design

Prospective cohort study. Participants completed an on‐line survey with a range of outcome measures at four time‐points, once before codeine was re‐scheduled (November 2017) and three times after the event: 1 month after (February 2018), 4 months after (June 2018) and 12 months after (February 2019).

Setting

Australia.

Participants

Participants were 260 Australians aged 18 years and above who reported regular over‐the‐counter (OTC) codeine use and, at the time of the study, were not engaged in treatment for codeine dependence.

Measurements

Survey measures included estimates of daily average codeine use (mg) and overall daily average opioid use [calculated using an oral morphine equivalent daily dose (OMEDD, mg)], opioid use disorder with regard to codeine use (using a modified Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule‐IV), pain and pain self‐efficacy, anxiety and depression and health service use.

Findings

A reduction in total daily codeine use (mg) from 64.3 mg [95% confidence interval (CI) = 46.7–81.9] in November 2017 (baseline) to 27.6 mg (95% CI = 19.2–36.0) in February 2019 (final time‐point) was observed. A decline in the proportion of participants who met criteria for an opioid use disorder was also evident, with 51.2% (n = 133) at baseline relative to 33.3% (n = 58) at the 12‐month follow‐up. This study had an overall participant retention rate of 67% at the final time‐point.

Conclusion

Re‐scheduling codeine in Australia has been accompanied by significant reductions in codeine use and prevalence rates of opioid use disorder in a cohort of individuals who regularly use the medication, without apparent adverse impacts on pain or measures of anxiety and depression.
Ground dwelling mammal response to fire: A case study from Monga National Park after the 2019/2020 Clyde Mountain fire
Authors: Mikac Katarina M. , Knipler Monica L. , Gracanin Ana , Newbery Madeline S.
Published: September 2021

Ground dwelling mammal communities are documented six months before and after the Clyde Mountain Wildfire of 2019/2020 in Monga National Park. Across eight sites before fire, approximately 12 ground dwelling mammal species were recorded. Survey effort post‐fire increased to 40 sites, spanning three fire severity classes (low, moderate and extreme), revealed 16 ground dwelling mammal species. Species consist of small, medium and large native (one threatened species) and introduced mammals, though consistent with previous findings of ground dwelling mammal diversity in the area. Overall a greater number of species were found in low, compared to moderate and severe fire severity classes. Recovery and detection of mammals occurred in a shorter time period, again, in sites that experienced low, followed by moderate and extreme fire severity.
Ethical infrastructure on small and medium enterprises: Actionable items to influence the perceived importance of ethics
Authors: Camacho Ibáñez Javier , Fernández Fernández José Luis
Published: September 2021

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of the ethical infrastructure in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on the perceived importance of ethics and the ethical culture of these companies. The study also aims to identify the individual actionable items that contribute to this influence and help managers willing to improve the importance of ethics and the ethical culture within their organizations. The method used consisted of a quantitative study based on partial least squares (PLS) with 148 valid questionnaires from 65 SMEs. The actionable elements that have a more significant impact on the perceived importance of the role that ethics plays in the company are the following: to establish norms of behavior, whether written or not; to communicate clearly that nonethical behavior is not tolerated; to put in place sanctioning mechanisms for actions that while not ethical, could benefit the company; to consider employee expectations; and to give voice to employees in critical issues that might affect the company and to set up measures for work–life balance.
Multiple regulation and targeting effects of borneol in the neurovascular unit in neurodegenerative diseases
Authors: Chen Nian , Wen Jing , Wang Zhilei , Wang Jian
Published: September 2021

Efficient delivery of brain‐targeted drugs is highly important for the success of therapies in neurodegenerative diseases. Borneol has several biological activities, such as anti‐inflammatory and cell penetration enhancing effect, and can regulate processes in the neurovascular unit (NVU), such as protein toxic stress, autophagosome/lysosomal system, oxidative stress, programmed cell death and neuroinflammation. However, the influence of borneol on NVU in neurodegenerative diseases has not been fully explained. This study searched the keywords ‘borneol’, ‘neurovascular unit’, ‘endothelial cell’, ‘astrocyte’, ‘neuron’, ‘blood–brain barrier’, ‘neurodegenerative diseases’ and ‘brain disease’ in PubMed, BioMed Central, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Bing search engines to explore the influence of borneol on NVU. In addition to the principle and mechanism of penetration of borneol in the brain, this study also showed its multiple regulation effects on NVU. Borneol was able to penetrate the blood–brain barrier (BBB), affecting the signal transmission between BBB and the microenvironment of the brain, downregulating the expression of inflammatory and oxidative stress proteins in NVU, especially in microglia and astrocytes. In summary, borneol is a potential drug delivery agent for drugs against neurodegenerative diseases.
Portraying ethical reasoning in Islamic banking: Addressing the role of work experience
Authors: Shamsudheen Shinaj Valangattil , Rosly Saiful Azhar
Published: September 2021

This study aims to examine the ethical dimensions of Islamic bankers, with a reference to the factors influencing decision‐making behavior related to ethical issues based on al‐Ghazali's ethical philosophy. The findings reveal the manner in which Islamic banking practitioners brace themselves into situations that warrant the use of reason in making decisions related to ethical issues, where desires tend to dominate human choices. While the guidance of divine knowledge has been found to be ineffective in decision‐making, the element of satanic force was found to significantly influence this process. The insignificant heterogeneous effect of work experience suggests that banking authorities should intensify the capacity building in the area of ethical teachings and the foundation of Islamic faith, regardless of the job tenure of employees. This study contributes to the growing literature on the ethical aspects in Islamic banking and organizational behavior by offering important implications for understanding and refining the ethical stance related to Islamic banking practices based on the Islamic perspective.
Predictors of successful vaginal birth after cesarean without an epidural among women with no prior vaginal delivery
Authors: Levin Gabriel , Tsur Abraham , Tenenbaum Lee , Mor Nizan , Zamir Michal , Meyer Raanan
Published: September 2021

Background

Data are scarce on predictors for success of labor after cesarean (LAC) among women delivering without epidural anesthesia (EA). We aimed to study the predictors for success of LAC among women with no prior vaginal delivery that did not use EA.

Methods

A retrospective study including all women undergoing LAC between 3/2011 and 1/2021 with no prior vaginal delivery that did not use EA. Factors associated with successful vaginal birth after cesarean were examined using multivariable analysis.

Results

Of the 466 no EA LAC, 339 (72.7%) delivered vaginally. Women in the successful LAC group had lower pregestational and predelivery BMI as compared to those who had a repeat cesarean [odds ratio (OR) 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.90 (0.85‐0.94), P < 0.001, and 0.89 (0.85‐0.93), P < 0.001, respectively]. The rate of labor dystocia in previous cesarean was lower in the LAC success group [92 (27.1%) vs 50 (39.4%), OR 95% CI 0.57 (0.37‐0.88)]. Mean gestational age at LAC was lower in the LAC success group (385/7 ± 25/7 vs 395/7 ± 15/7, P = 0.014). In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, the following factors were negatively and independently associated with LAC success: higher predelivery BMI [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 95% CI 0.90 (0.86‐0.95)], higher gestational age at previous cesarean and at LAC [aOR 95% CI 0.81 (0.70‐0.93) and 0.97 (0.94‐0.98), respectively], induction of labor [aOR 95% CI 0.08 (0.03‐0.25)], and duration of ruptured membranes [aOR 95% CI 0.97 (0.96‐0.99)].

Conclusions

We have identified that lower BMI, lower gestational age, shorter ruptured membranes duration, and spontaneous labor are associated with successful LAC among nonusers of EA with no prior vaginal delivery at one tertiary care facility in Israel.
FBXO10 prevents chronic unpredictable stress‐induced behavioral despair and cognitive impairment through promoting RAGE degradation
Authors: Li Jiacen , Zeng Qingcui , Su Wenjie , Song Menglong , Xie Min , Mao Lei
Published: September 2021

Aims

Depression is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. The receptor for advanced glycosylation end products (RAGE) is closely related to chronic stress and is a target of F‐box protein O10 (FBXO10) which promotes the degradation of RAGE by ubiquitination. Here, we explored the role of FBXO10 and RAGE in chronic unpredictable stress (CUS)‐induced behavioral despair, cognitive impairment, neuroinflammation, and the polarization microglia.

Methods

Male C57BL/6 mice with or without infusion of viral in the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) were subjected to CUS. Then the mice were exposed to forced swim test, sucrose consumption test, novelty‐suppressed feeding test, and temporal object recognition task to assess the behavioral despair and cognitive impairment. Inflammatory cytokines and the neurotrophic factor brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in PFC were assessed by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry staining were performed to observe the activation and phenotypic transformation of microglia in PFC. LPS‐induced cell model was constructed to explore the effect of FBXO10/RAGE axis in the polarization of microglia in vitro.

Results

FBXO10 promoted RAGE degradation by ubiquitination in BV2 cells. FBXO10 protein levels were reduced whereas RAGE protein levels were enhanced in CUS mice. FBXO10 overexpression or RAGE knockdown inhibited proinflammatory cytokine release, promoted BDNF expression, mitigated the depressive‐like and cognitive impairment behaviors, and affected the polarization of microglia induced by CUS exposure. FBXO10/RAGE axis promoted the polarization of microglia from the M1 to the M2 phenotype in vitro. Moreover, p38 MAPK and NF‐κΒ were identified to be the downstream effect factors for FBXO10/RAGE axis.

Conclusions

FBXO10 administration prevents CUS‐induced behavioral despair, cognitive impairment, neuroinflammation, and the polarization of microglia through decreasing the accumulation of RAGE, p38 MAPK, and NF‐κΒ, suggesting potential therapeutic strategies for the prevention and treatment of depression.
Distributional Models of Category Concepts Based on Names of Category Members
Authors: Westera Matthijs , Gupta Abhijeet , Boleda Gemma , Padó Sebastian
Published: September 2021

Cognitive scientists have long used distributional semantic representations of categories. The predominant approach uses distributional representations of category‐denoting nouns, such as “city” for the category city. We propose a novel scheme that represents categories as prototypes over representations of names of its members, such as “Barcelona,” “Mumbai,” and “Wuhan” for the category city. This name‐based representation empirically outperforms the noun‐based representation on two experiments (modeling human judgments of category relatedness and predicting category membership) with particular improvements for ambiguous nouns. We discuss the model complexity of both classes of models and argue that the name‐based model has superior explanatory potential with regard to concept acquisition.
Analogy Generation in Science Experts and Novices
Authors: Goldwater Micah B. , Gentner Dedre , LaDue Nicole D. , Libarkin Julie C.
Published: September 2021

There is a critical inconsistency in the literature on analogical retrieval. On the one hand, a vast set of laboratory studies has found that people often fail to retrieve past experiences that share deep relational commonalities, even when they would be useful for reasoning about a current problem. On the other hand, historical studies and naturalistic research show clear evidence of remindings based on deep relational commonalities. Here, we examine a possible explanation for this inconsistency—namely, that remindings based on relational principles increase as a function of expertise. To test this claim, we devised a simple analogy‐generation task that can be administered across a wide range of expertise. We presented common events as the bases from which to generate analogies. Although the events themselves were unrelated to geoscience, we found that when the event was explainable in terms of a causal principle that is prominent in geoscience, expert geoscientists were likely to spontaneously produce analogies from geoscience that relied on the same principle. Further, for these examples, prompts to produce causal analogies increased their frequency among nonscientists and scientists from another domain, but not among expert geoscientists (whose spontaneous causal retrieval levels were already high). In contrast, when the example was best explained by a principle outside of geoscience, all groups required prompting to produce substantial numbers of analogies based on causal principles. Overall, this pattern suggests that the spontaneous use of causal principles is characteristic of experts. We suggest that expert scientists adopt habitual patterns of encoding according to the key relational principles in their domain, and that this contributes to their propensity to spontaneously retrieve relational matches. We discuss implications for the nature of expertise and for science instruction and assessment.
Relative Clause Effects at the Matrix Verb Depend on Type of Intervening Material
Authors: Lowder Matthew W. , Gordon Peter C.
Published: September 2021

Although a large literature demonstrates that object‐extracted relative clauses (ORCs) are harder to process than subject‐extracted relative clauses (SRCs), there is less agreement regarding where during processing this difficulty emerges, as well as how best to explain these effects. An eye‐tracking study by Staub, Dillon, and Clifton (2017) demonstrated that readers experience more processing difficulty at the matrix verb for ORCs than for SRCs when the matrix verb immediately follows the relative clause (RC), but the difficulty is eliminated if a prepositional phrase (PP) intervenes. A careful examination of Staub et al.’s materials reveals that the types of PPs used in the experiment were a mixture of locative and temporal PPs. This is important in that locative PPs can modify either a noun phrase or a verb phrase (VP), whereas temporal PPs typically modify VPs, resulting in systematic differences in PP attachment across ORCs versus SRCs. In the current eye‐tracking experiment, we systematically manipulated RC type and PP type in the same sentences used by Staub et al. The manipulation of PP type resulted in a crossover pattern at the matrix verb such that there was a trend for reading times to be longer for ORCs than SRCs when the PP was locative, but reading times were longer for SRCs than ORCs when the PP was temporal. These results provide important information regarding the locus of RC‐processing effects and highlight the importance of carefully considering how intervening material might unintentionally alter the structure or the meaning of a sentence.
Plans or Outcomes: How Do We Attribute Intelligence to Others?
Authors: Kryven Marta , Ullman Tomer D. , Cowan William , Tenenbaum Joshua B.
Published: September 2021

Humans routinely make inferences about both the contents and the workings of other minds based on observed actions. People consider what others want or know, but also how intelligent, rational, or attentive they might be. Here, we introduce a new methodology for quantitatively studying the mechanisms people use to attribute intelligence to others based on their behavior. We focus on two key judgments previously proposed in the literature: judgments based on observed outcomes (you're smart if you won the game) and judgments based on evaluating the quality of an agent's planning that led to their outcomes (you're smart if you made the right choice, even if you didn't succeed). We present a novel task, the maze search task (MST), in which participants rate the intelligence of agents searching a maze for a hidden goal. We model outcome‐based attributions based on the observed utility of the agent upon achieving a goal, with higher utilities indicating higher intelligence, and model planning‐based attributions by measuring the proximity of the observed actions to an ideal planner, such that agents who produce closer approximations of optimal plans are seen as more intelligent. We examine human attributions of intelligence in three experiments that use MST and find that participants used both outcome and planning as indicators of intelligence. However, observing the outcome was not necessary, and participants still made planning‐based attributions of intelligence when the outcome was not observed. We also found that the weights individuals placed on plans and on outcome correlated with an individual's ability to engage in cognitive reflection. Our results suggest that people attribute intelligence based on plans given sufficient context and cognitive resources and rely on the outcome when computational resources or context are limited.
Understanding motivations and attitudes among songbird‐keepers to identify best approaches to demand reduction
Authors: Marshall Harry , Glorizky Gracia A. , Collar Nigel J. , Lees Alexander C. , Moss Andrew , Yuda Pramana , Marsden Stuart J.
Published: September 2021

Demand for cage birds is highly prevalent and increasing across Indonesia, as wild bird populations across Asia decline. To find ways to reduce demand, it is important to understand the motivations and psychographic drivers to keep (or not keep) birds, and how demographic characteristics and public attitudes influence such decisions. Based on surveys with over 3,000 people, we found few people citing health, sanitary, or welfare concerns as reasons for not keeping birds, whereas most people started keeping birds to enjoy their beauty or song, or to keep up with peers. Pet‐keepers (“Hobbyists”) commonly started doing so opportunistically; song contest participants (“Contestants”) and breeders and trainers (“Breeders”) did so for financial gain. Bird‐keepers and non‐bird‐keepers disagreed on birds' environmental importance, longevity in captivity, and endangerment by trade. Older respondents were less concerned that keeping birds endangers them and few felt birds to be an important part of the environment. Hobbyists were least likely to consider wild bird population health a major concern. Efforts to dissuade potential bird‐keepers should focus on public concern for the environment and the threat bird‐keeping poses to wild populations. The importance of peer pressure among bird‐keepers presents an opportunity to promote sustainable bird‐keeping activities among key groups.
Atypical functional connectome hierarchy impacts cognition in temporal lobe epilepsy
Authors: Fadaie Fatemeh , Lee Hyo M. , Caldairou Benoit , Gill Ravnoor S. , Sziklas Viviane , Crane Joelle , Bernhardt Boris C. , Hong Seok‐Jun , Bernasconi Andrea , Bernasconi Neda
Published: September 2021

Objective

Drug‐resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is typically associated with hippocampal pathology. However, widespread network alterations are increasingly recognized and suggested to perturb cognitive function in multiple domains. Here we tested (1) whether TLE shows atypical cortical hierarchical organization, differentiating sensory and higher order systems; and (2) whether atypical hierarchy predicts cognitive impairment.

Methods

We studied 72 well‐characterized drug‐resistant TLE patients and 41 healthy controls, statistically matched for age and sex, using multimodal magnetic resonance imaging analysis and cognitive testing. To model cortical hierarchical organization in vivo, we used a bidirectional stepwise functional connectivity analysis tapping into the differentiation between sensory/unimodal and paralimbic/transmodal cortices. Linear models compared patients to controls. Finally, we assessed associations of functional anomalies to cortical atrophy and microstructural anomalies, as well as clinical and cognitive parameters.

Results

Compared to controls, TLE presented with bidirectional disruptions of sensory–paralimbic functional organization. Stepwise connectivity remained segregated within paralimbic and salience networks at the top of the hierarchy, and sensorimotor and dorsal attention at the bottom. Whereas paralimbic segregation was associated with atypical cortical myeloarchitecture and hippocampal atrophy, dysconnectivity of sensorimotor cortices reflected diffuse cortical thinning. The degree of abnormal hierarchical organization in sensory‐petal streams covaried, with broad cognitive impairments spanning sensorimotor, attention, fluency, and visuoconstructional ability and memory, and was more marked in patients with longer disease duration and Engel I outcome.

Significance

Our findings show atypical functional integration between paralimbic/transmodal and sensory/unimodal systems in TLE. Differential associations with paralimbic microstructure and sensorimotor atrophy suggest that system‐level imbalance likely reflects complementary structural processes, but ultimately accounts for a broad spectrum of cognitive impairments. Hierarchical contextualization of cognitive deficits promises to open new avenues for personalized counseling in TLE.
Accurate detection of typical absence seizures in adults and children using a two‐channel electroencephalographic wearable behind the ears
Authors: Swinnen Lauren , Chatzichristos Christos , Jansen Katrien , Lagae Lieven , Depondt Chantal , Seynaeve Laura , Vancaester Evelien , Van Dycke Annelies , Macea Jaiver , Vandecasteele Kaat , Broux Victoria , De Vos Maarten , Van Paesschen Wim
Published: September 2021

Objective

Patients with absence epilepsy sensitivity <10% of their absences. The clinical gold standard to assess absence epilepsy is a 24‐h electroencephalographic (EEG) recording, which is expensive, obtrusive, and time‐consuming to review. We aimed to (1) investigate the performance of an unobtrusive, two‐channel behind‐the‐ear EEG‐based wearable, the Sensor Dot (SD), to detect typical absences in adults and children; and (2) develop a sensitive patient‐specific absence seizure detection algorithm to reduce the review time of the recordings.

Methods

We recruited 12 patients (median age = 21 years, range = 8–50; seven female) who were admitted to the epilepsy monitoring units of University Hospitals Leuven for a 24‐h 25‐channel video‐EEG recording to assess their refractory typical absences. Four additional behind‐the‐ear electrodes were attached for concomitant recording with the SD. Typical absences were defined as 3‐Hz spike‐and‐wave discharges on EEG, lasting 3 s or longer. Seizures on SD were blindly annotated on the full recording and on the algorithm‐labeled file and consequently compared to 25‐channel EEG annotations. Patients or caregivers were asked to keep a seizure diary. Performance of the SD and seizure diary were measured using the F1 score.

Results

We concomitantly recorded 284 absences on video‐EEG and SD. Our absence detection algorithm had a sensitivity of .983 and false positives per hour rate of .9138. Blind reading of full SD data resulted in sensitivity of .81, precision of .89, and F1 score of .73, whereas review of the algorithm‐labeled files resulted in scores of .83, .89, and .87, respectively. Patient self‐reporting gave sensitivity of .08, precision of 1.00, and F1 score of .15.

Significance

Using the wearable SD, epileptologists were able to reliably detect typical absence seizures. Our automated absence detection algorithm reduced the review time of a 24‐h recording from 1‐2 h to around 5–10 min.
An end‐to‐end framework for the detection of mathematical expressions in scientific document images
Authors: Phong Bui Hai , Hoang Thang Manh , Le Thi‐Lan
Published: September 2021

The detection of mathematical expressions is a prerequisite step for the digitisation of scientific documents. Many different multistage approaches have been proposed for the detection of expressions in document images, that is, page segmentation and expression detection. However, the detection accuracy of such methods still needs improvement owing to errors in the page segmentation of complex documents. This paper presents an end‐to‐end framework for mathematical expression detection in scientific document images without requiring optical character recognition (OCR) or document analysis techniques applied in conventional methods. The novelty of this paper is twofold. First, because document images are usually in binary form, the direct use of these images, which lack texture information as input for detection networks, may lead to an incorrect detection. Therefore, we propose the application of a distance transform to obtain a discriminating and meaningful representation of mathematical expressions in document images. Second, the transformed images are fed into the faster region with a convolutional neural network (Faster R‐CNN) optimized to improve the accuracy of the detection. The proposed framework was tested on two benchmark data sets (Marmot and GTDB). Compared with the original Faster R‐CNN, the proposed network improves the accuracies of detection of isolated and inline expressions by 5.09% and 3.40%, respectfully, on the Marmot data set, whereas those on the GTDB data set are improved by 4.04% and 4.55%. A performance comparison with conventional methods shows the effectiveness of the proposed method.
GSK3‐mediated phosphorylation of DEK3 regulates chromatin accessibility and stress tolerance in Arabidopsis
Authors: Waidmann Sascha , Petutschnig Elena , Rozhon Wilfried , Molnár Gergely , Popova Olga , Mechtler Karl , Jonak Claudia
Published: September 2021

Chromatin dynamics enable the precise control of transcriptional programmes. The balance between restricting and opening of regulatory sequences on the DNA needs to be adjusted to prevailing conditions and is fine‐tuned by chromatin remodelling proteins. DEK is an evolutionarily conserved chromatin architectural protein regulating important chromatin‐related processes. However, the molecular link between DEK‐induced chromatin reconfigurations and upstream signalling events remains unknown. Here, we show that ASKβ/AtSK31 is a salt stress‐activated glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) from Arabidopsis thaliana that phosphorylates DEK3. This specific phosphorylation alters nuclear DEK3 protein complex composition and affects nucleosome occupancy and chromatin accessibility that is translated into changes in gene expression, contributing to salt stress tolerance. These findings reveal that DEK3 phosphorylation is critical for chromatin function and cellular stress response and provide a mechanistic example of how GSK3‐based signalling is directly linked to chromatin, facilitating a transcriptional response.
Barriers in a sea of elasmobranchs: Fromfishingfor populations to testing hypotheses in population genetics
Authors: Hirschfeld Maximilian , Dudgeon Christine , Sheaves Marcus , Barnett Adam
Published: September 2021

Background

The interplay of animal dispersal and environmental heterogeneity is fundamental for the distribution of biodiversity on earth. In the ocean, the interaction of physical barriers and dispersal has primarily been examined for organisms with planktonic larvae. Animals that lack a planktonic life stage and depend on active dispersal are however likely to produce distinctive patterns.

Methods

We used available literature on population genetics and phylogeography of elasmobranchs (sharks, rays and skates) to examine how marine barriers and dispersal ecology shape genetic connectivity in animals with active dispersal. We provide a global geographical overview of barriers extracted from the literature and synthesize the geographical and hydrological factors, spatial and temporal scales to characterize different types of barriers. The three most studied barriers were used to analyse the effect of elasmobranch dispersal potential and barrier type on genetic connectivity.

Results

We characterized nine broad types of marine barriers, with the three most common barriers being related to ocean bathymetry. Themaximum depth of occurrence,maximum body sizeandhabitatof each species were used as proxies for dispersal potential, and were important predictors of genetic connectivity with varying effect depending on barrier type. Environmental tolerance and reproductive behaviour may also play a crucial role in population connectivity in animals with active dispersal. However, we find that studies commonly lack appropriate study designs based on a priori hypotheses to test the effect of physical barriers while accounting for animal behaviour.

Main conclusions

Our synthesis highlights the relative contribution of different barrier types in shaping elasmobranch populations. We provide a new perspective on how barriers and dispersal ecology interact to rearrange genetic variation of marine animals with active dispersal. We illustrate methodological sources that can bias the detection of barriers and provide potential solutions for future research in the field.
Living with Chronic Illness Scale: International validation through the classic test theory and Rasch analysis among Spanish‐speaking populations with long‐term conditions
Authors: Rodriguez‐Blazquez Carmen , Forjaz Maria João , Ayala Alba , Portillo Mari Carmen , Ambrosio Leire ,   EC‐PC Validation Group
Published: September 2021

Background

The Living with Chronic Illness (LW‐CI) Scale is a comprehensive patient‐reported outcome measure that evaluates the complex process of living with long‐term conditions.

Objective

This study aimed to analyse the psychometric properties of the LW‐CI scale according to the classic test theory and the Rasch model among individuals living with different long‐term conditions.

Design

This was an observational, international and cross‐sectional study.

Methods

A total of 2753 people from six Spanish‐speaking countries living with type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic heart failure, Parkinson's disease, hypertension and osteoarthritis were included. The acceptability, internal consistency and validity of the LW‐CI scale were analysed using the classical test theory, and fit to the model, unidimensionality, person separation index, item local independency and differential item functioning were analysed using the Rasch model.

Results

Cronbach's α for the LW‐CI scale was .91, and correlation values for all domains of the LW‐CI scale ranged from .62 to .68, except for Domain 1, which showed correlation coefficients less than .30. The LW‐CI domains showed a good fit to the Rasch model, with unidimensionality, item local independency and moderate reliability providing scores in a true interval scale. Except for two items, the LW‐CI scale was free from bias by long‐term condition type.

Discussion

After some adjustments, the LW‐CI scale is a reliable and valid measure showing a good fit to the Rasch model and is ready for use in research and clinical practice. Future implementation studies are suggested.

Patient and Public Contribution

Patient and public involvement was conducted before this validation study ‐ in the pilot study phase.
Towards a contingent high Muslim political history of Bengal, 1937–1947
Authors: Bhattacharjee Dharitri
Published: September 2021

High Muslim political history in Bengal's last colonial decade remains an understudied topic in regional history, where disproportionate attention has been paid to Hindus and Congress politics. The significant but little work that exists, hints to the possibility of how it can challenge nation‐centered histories of partition and independence. This historiographical essay surveys the literature on Bengali Muslims between 1937 and 1947. It pays particular attention to recent works that have studied Bengali Muslim peasants, culture, identity, Islam and communalism, and the prevalence of “contingent” history in these scholarly works. These works have inadvertently touched on high Muslim political history and underscored its potential for contributing to the study of India's independence and partition history in addition to political, Islamic, regional and national histories, secular thought in India and even global religious ideology and practice. While these new works allow us to reimagine high Muslim political history, close analysis also reveals how the literature simultaneously shows strains of lopsided research, underscoring the need for correction.
Efficient and robust propensity‐score‐based methods for population inference using epidemiologic cohorts
Authors: Wang Lingxiao , Graubard Barry I. , Katki Hormuzd A. , Li Yan
Published: September 2021

Most epidemiologic cohorts are composed of volunteers who do not represent the general population. To improve population inference from cohorts, propensity‐score (PS)‐based matching methods, such as PS‐based kernel weighting (KW) method, utilise probability survey samples as external references to develop PSs for membership in the cohort versus survey. We identify a strong exchangeability assumption (SEA) that underlies existing PS‐based matching methods whose failure invalidates inferences, even if the propensity model is correctly specified. Herein, we develop a framework of propensity estimation and relax the SEA to a weak exchangeability assumption (WEA) for matching methods. To recover efficiency, we propose a scaled KW (KW.S) matching method by scaling survey weights in propensity estimation. We prove consistency of KW.S estimators of means/prevalences under WEA and provide consistent finite population variance estimators. In simulations, the KW.S estimators had smallest mean squared error (MSE). Our data example showed the KW estimates requiring the SEA had large bias, whereas the proposed KW.S estimates had the smallest MSE.
Development of the pupillary light reflex from 9 to 24 months: association with common autism spectrum disorder (ASD) genetic liability and 3‐year ASD diagnosis
Authors: Fish Laurel A. , Nyström Pär , Gliga Teodora , Gui Anna , Begum Ali Jannath , Mason Luke , Garg Shruti , Green Jonathan , Johnson Mark H. , Charman Tony , Harrison Rebecca , Meaburn Emma , Falck‐Ytter Terje , Jones Emily J. H. ,   the BASIS/STAARS* team
Published: September 2021

Background

Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is heritable, the mechanisms through which genes contribute to symptom emergence remain unclear. Investigating candidate intermediate phenotypes such as the pupillary light reflex (PLR) prospectively from early in development could bridge genotype and behavioural phenotype.

Methods

Using eye tracking, we longitudinally measured the PLR at 9, 14 and 24 months in a sample of infants (N = 264) enriched for a family history of ASD; 27 infants received an ASD diagnosis at 3 years. We examined the 9‐ to 24‐month developmental trajectories of PLR constriction latency (onset; ms) and amplitude (%) and explored their relation to categorical 3‐year ASD outcome, polygenic liability for ASD and dimensional 3‐year social affect (SA) and repetitive/restrictive behaviour (RRB) traits. Polygenic scores for ASD (PGSASD) were calculated for 190 infants.

Results

While infants showed a decrease in latency between 9 and 14 months, higher PGSASD was associated with a smaller decrease in latency in the first year (β = −.16, 95% CI = −0.31, −0.002); infants with later ASD showed a significantly steeper decrease in latency (a putative ‘catch‐up’) between 14 and 24 months relative to those with other outcomes (typical: β = .54, 95% CI = 0.08, 0.99; other: β = .53, 95% CI = 0.02, 1.04). Latency development did not associate with later dimensional variation in ASD‐related traits. In contrast, change in amplitude was not related to categorical ASD or genetics, but decreasing 9‐ to 14‐month amplitude was associated with higher SA (β = .08, 95% CI = 0.01, 0.14) and RRB (β = .05, 95% CI = 0.004, 0.11) traits.

Conclusions

These findings corroborate PLR development as possible intermediate phenotypes being linked to both genetic liability and phenotypic outcomes. Future work should incorporate alternative measures (e.g. functionally informed structural and genetic measures) to test whether distinct neural mechanisms underpin PLR alterations.