bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The structural coverage of the human proteome before and after AlphaFold
Authors: Porta-Pardo Eduard , Ruiz-Serra Victoria , Valentini Samuel , Valencia Alfonso
Published: August 2021

The protein structure field is experiencing a revolution. From the increased throughput of techniques to determine experimental structures, to developments such as cryo-EM that allow us to find the structures of large protein complexes or, more recently, the development of artificial intelligence tools, such as AlphaFold, that can predict with high accuracy the folding of proteins for which the availability of homology templates is limited.

Here we quantify the effect of the recently released AlphaFold database of protein structural models in our knowledge on human proteins. Our results indicate that our current baseline for structural coverage of 48%, considering experimentally-derived or template-based homology models, elevates up to 76% when including AlphaFold predictions. At the same time the fraction of dark proteome is reduced from 26% to just 10% when AlphaFold models are considered. Furthermore, although the coverage of disease-associated genes and mutations was near complete before AlphaFold release (69% of Clinvar pathogenic mutations and 88% of oncogenic mutations), AlphaFold models still provide an additional coverage of 3% to 13% of these critically important sets of biomedical genes and mutations. Finally, we show how the contribution of AlphaFold models to the structural coverage of non-human organisms, including important pathogenic bacteria, is significantly larger than that of the human proteome.

Overall, our results show that the sequence-structure gap of human proteins has almost disappeared, an outstanding success of direct consequences for the knowledge on the human genome and the derived medical applications.
Long-range cortical synchronization supports abrupt visual learning
Authors: Csorba Bennett A. , Krause Matthew R. , Zanos Theodoros P. , Pack Christopher C.
Published: August 2021

Visual plasticity declines sharply after the critical period, yet we easily learn to recognize new faces and places even as adults. Such learning is often characterized by a “moment of insight”, an abrupt and dramatic improvement in recognition. The mechanisms that support abrupt learning are unknown, but one hypothesis is that they involve changes in synchronization between brain regions. To test this hypothesis, we used a behavioral task in which non-human primates rapidly learned to recognize novel images and to associate them with specific responses. Simultaneous recordings from inferotemporal and prefrontal cortices revealed a transient synchronization of neural activity between these areas that peaked around the moment of insight. Synchronization was strongest between inferotemporal sites that encoded images and reward-sensitive prefrontal sites. Moreover, its magnitude intensified gradually over image exposures, suggesting that abrupt learning culminates from the search for informative signals within a circuit linking sensory information to task demands.
ELECTRE tree: a machine learning approach to infer ELECTRE Tri-B parameters
Authors: Montenegro de Barros Gabriela Montenegro , Pereira Valdecy , Roboredo Marcos Costa
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This paper presents an algorithm that can elicitate (infer) all or any combination of elimination and choice expressing reality (ELECTRE) Tri-B parameters. For example, a decision maker can maintain the values for indifference, preference and veto thresholds, and the study’s algorithm can find the criteria weights, reference profiles and the lambda cutting level. The study’s approach is inspired by a machine learning ensemble technique, the random forest, and for that, the authors named the study’s approach as ELECTRE tree algorithm.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the authors generate a set of ELECTRE Tri-B models, where each model solves a random sample of criteria and alternates. Each sample is made with replacement, having at least two criteria and between 10% and 25% of alternates. Each model has its parameters optimized by a genetic algorithm (GA) that can use an ordered cluster or an assignment example as a reference to the optimization. Finally, after the optimization phase, two procedures can be performed; the first one will merge all models, finding in this way the elicitated parameters and in the second procedure, each alternate is classified (voted) by each separated model, and the majority vote decides the final class.

Findings

The authors have noted that concerning the voting procedure, nonlinear decision boundaries are generated and they can be suitable in analyzing problems of the same nature. In contrast, the merged model generates linear decision boundaries.

Originality/value

The elicitation of ELECTRE Tri-B parameters is made by an ensemble technique that is composed of a set of multicriteria models that are engaged in generating robust solutions.
BIM research vs BIM practice: a bibliometric-qualitative analysis from China
Authors: Ding Zhikun , Zheng Kairui , Tan Yi
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Understanding the frontier difference between building information modeling (BIM) research and practice is a top priority to guarantee the engineering significance and feasibility of academic achievements, yet such research gap has not been well-explored. The purpose of this paper is to provide an objective and accurate analysis of BIM knowledge using 551 published BIM-related papers and 68 documents of frontier BIM projects in China.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts the mixed method, combining the bibliometrics method with the qualitative method. Bibliometrics was used to analyze 551 BIM-related literatures from China with Citespace 5.0. Qualitative research was used to analyze 68 project documents from China with Nvivo. Finally, the analysis results are compared to obtain the final conclusion.

Findings

The analysis results of the collected BIM-related papers, given by bibliometrics analysis, show that the subject categories of engineering, civil engineering, and construction and building technology, and 8 key research clusters are extremely important for development of BIM knowledge. The analysis results of the collected project documents, given by qualitative analysis, indicate that visualization, aided management, intelligent construction, simulation and analysis are the hot applications of BIM practice.

Originality/value

Through comparison, certain research gaps between the research and practice community in China was identified, which are useful for identification of research trends and practice frontier in BIM community. This study offers useful and new insights to summarize the status quo of BIM and can be used as a reference to integrate future BIM developments.
Using social distancing technology in hotels: a social exchange perspective
Authors: Morosan Cristian , DeFranco Agnes
Published: August 2021

Purpose

As social distancing procedures can be facilitated by various hotel technologies, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which consumers develop perceptions of value regarding the use of certain hotel technologies for social distancing in hotels.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing from the social exchange theory, this study conceptualized the benefits of using technologies for social distancing, health risks, social rewards and privacy concerns as antecedents of value of using technologies for social distancing in hotels. The structural model was validated by using data from more than 1,000 nationwide US consumers.

Findings

Benefits and consumers’ privacy concerns of using technologies for social distancing in hotels were the strongest predictors of value. Social rewards also had a significant but relatively lower effect on value. Health risks was found to have no influence on value.

Originality/value

The study is the first to examine the role of technologies in mitigating the effects of coronavirus. Thus, it extends the information technology and hospitality literature by examining the role of these technologies in safeguarding individual and public health.
Organizational resilience and employee performance in COVID-19 pandemic: the mediating effect of emotional intelligence
Authors: Dhoopar Aastha , Sihag Priyanka , Kumar Anil , Suhag Ashok Kumar
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The explosion of the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to an unprecedented crisis lately, which has adversely affected the performance level of professionals in the educational sector worldwide because of numerous constraints, imposition of the lockdown being one of those. Organizational resilience (OReg) and emotional intelligence (EI) discretely have been identified as indicators of employee performance (EP) over the years, but during the period of crisis, it has scarcely been analysed. Therefore, this study aims to examine the mediating role of EI on the relationship between OReg and EP in such a global pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 390 samples including teaching and non-teaching professionals working in higher educational institutions (HEIs) were collected from different HEIs located in India through online survey questionnaires. The collected data was further analysed using regression analysis, factor analysis, structural equation modelling along with bootstrapping technique, reliability and validity analysis, mediation analysis and model fit indices analysis.

Findings

The results of the study confirmed the partial mediation effect of EI on the OReg-EP relationship, and further results also exhibited that employees with a higher level of EI, contribute more positively to the OReg level, which further enhances the performance level at the workplace.

Research limitations/implications

The samples collected for the current study pertain to the HEIs only, and therefore the present study results have limited general applicability. Furthermore, the study does not investigate the influence of time.

Practical implications

This study would assist practitioners of HEIs in improving the resilience capabilities of the organization. EP can be improved by enhancing the levels of OReg and individual emotional intelligence, which is in line with the findings of the current study.

Social implications

In the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide the students are affected due to the transition to online teaching. This study will help HEI’s to cope up with the student’s loss by being flexible in approach for the retention of performance of employees by taking care of their emotional needs and focusing on their skill development by providing a learning culture in a depressing time of the pandemic so that students will not suffer due to this rapid change without any preparation or previous experience in a pandemic.

Originality/value

The current study examines the mediating effect of EI on the OReg and EP relationship for the first time in HEIs in India.
Are your international salespeople culturally intelligent? The influence of cultural intelligence on adaptive selling behavior with B2B customers
Authors: Kimber David , Guesalaga Rodrigo , Dickmann Michael
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate cultural intelligence (CQ) as an antecedent of adaptive selling behavior (ASB) and cultural distance and intrinsic motivation as moderators in this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

This research builds on a survey to 310 US-based international sales executives (ISE) and multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results show that CQ has a significant positive relationship with ASB, both as an aggregate construct and through its metacognitive, motivational and behavioral facets. Also, intrinsic motivation moderates such relationship, whereas cultural distance does not.

Research limitations/implications

The study includes only a sample of US-based international salespeople in the B2B context, which limits the generalizability of the findings to salespeople from other countries or other contexts.

Practical implications

The findings of this research suggest that supplier companies involved in international selling should consider the cultural intelligence of their salespeople for selection, training and coaching.

Originality/value

This study makes an important contribution to the literature on both ASB and CQ by expanding the knowledge on how to manage international salespeople effectively, considering the conditions under which CQ effects are expected and how these vary in this context.
Effect of capital flows on financial stability in middle-income countries
Authors: Ebire Kolawole , Ullah Saif , Adeleye Bosede Ngozi , Shah Muhammad Ibrahim
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study aims to examine the effect of various forms of capital flows on financial stability in middle-income countries from 2010 to 2017 using the World Bank economy classifications of 121 economies.

Design/methodology/approach

Panel spatial correlation consistent approach was used in this study.

Findings

The findings provide convincing evidence that in middle-income countries, capital flows are positive and significant predictors of financial stability and that financial systems in advanced economies are more stable than those of emerging and developing countries. However, outward foreign direct investments are shown to have the largest potential for ensuring financial stability.

Originality/value

Globalization has fostered financial integration of nations, which is manifested in capital flows from lower-income countries to middle-income and upper-income countries and vice versa. These flows can lead to financial instability if not properly controlled. The authors show how the various forms of capital flows affect the financial stability in middle-income countries.
Is it my job? Leaders' family-supportive role perceptions
Authors: Ellis Allison M. , Crain Tori L. , Stevens Shalyn C.
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Despite a burgeoning literature on family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB), it is unclear whether supervisors view these behaviors as in-role or discretionary. We proposed a new cognitive motivational construct, FSSB role perceptions (FSSB-RP; that is the extent to which supervisors perceive FSSB as an expected part of their job) and evaluated it as a mediator of the relationship between supervisors' own work–family experiences and FSSB.

Design/methodology/approach

We used an online survey of 245 US based supervisors.

Findings

We find that FSSB role perceptions is a unique but related construct to FSSB, and that approximately half of our sample of 245 supervisors either do not believe that FSSB is a part of their job or are unsure as to whether it is. Path analyses revealed that supervisors' own experiences of work–family conflict and enrichment are related to engaging in FSSB through role perceptions, especially when a reward system is in place that values FSSB.

Practical implications

These results may influence the design, implementation and dissemination of leader family-supportive training programs.

Originality/value

The factors that drive supervisors to engage in FSSB are relatively unknown, yet this study suggests the novel construct of FSSB role perceptions and supervisors' own work–family experiences are important factors.
IOT-based in situ condition monitoring of semiconductor fabrication equipment for e-maintenance
Authors: Lee Youn Ji , Kwon Hyuk Jun , Seok Yujin , Hong Sang Jeen
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solution to improve the equipment condition monitoring with equipment status data and process condition monitoring with plasma optical emission spectroscopy data, simultaneously. The suggested research contributes e-maintenance capability by remote monitoring in real time.

Design/methodology/approach

Semiconductor processing equipment consists of more than a thousand of components, and unreliable condition of equipment parts leads to the failure of wafer production. This study presents a web-based remote monitoring system for physical vapor deposition (PVD) systems using programmable logic controller (PLC) and Modbus protocol. A method of obtaining electron temperature and electron density in plasma through optical emission spectroscopy (OES) is proposed to monitor the plasma process. Through this system, parts that affect equipment and processes can be controlled and properly managed. It is certainly beneficial to improve the manufacturing yield by reducing errors from equipment parts.

Findings

A web-based remote monitoring system provides much of benefits to equipment engineers to provide equipment data for the equipment maintenance even though they are physically away from the equipment side. The usefulness of IIoT for the e-maintenance in semiconductor manufacturing domain with the in situ monitoring of plasma parameters is convinced. The authors found the average electron temperature gradually with the increase of Ar carrier gas flow due to the increased atomic collisions in PVD process. The large amount of carrier gas flow, in this experimental case, was 90 sccm, dramatically decreasing the electron temperature, which represents kinetic energy of electrons.

Research limitations/implications

Semiconductor industries require high level of data security for the protection of their intellectual properties, and it also falls into equipment operational condition; however, data security through the Internet communication is not considered in this research, but it is already existing technology to be easily adopted by add-on feature.

Practical implications

The findings indicate that crucial equipment parameters are the amount of carrier gas flow rate and chamber pressure among the many equipment parameters, and they also affect plasma parameters of electron temperature and electron density, which directly affect the quality of metal deposition process result on wafer. Increasing the gas flow rate beyond a certain limit can yield the electron temperature loss to have undesired process result.

Originality/value

Several research studies on data mining with semiconductor equipment data have been suggested in semiconductor data mining domain, but the actual demonstration of the data acquisition system with real-time plasma monitoring data has not been reported. The suggested research is also valuable in terms of high cost and complicated equipment manufacturing.
The Delphi method to identify attributes for a valuation approach for residential property exposed to flood risk
Authors: Zulkarnain Siti Hafsah , Razali Muhammad Najib
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study is aimed to identify the attributes for a valuation approach of flood risk exposure, in particular for residential property. With frequent flood events in Malaysia, there is a need for valuation methods to evolve and represent the increased risk of natural disasters.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed the Delphi method which is a systematic and interactive research technique in obtaining variables for a valuation approach for residential property exposed to flood risk.

Findings

Results from the Delphi method revealed four categories of attributes, namely environmental, locational, structural and economical.

Originality/value

The findings from this research will transform the valuation approach in Malaysia to identify the value of residential property exposed to flood risk. The determination of variables will represent the current risk in valuations, especially for residential property in flood-prone areas.
Facile fabrication of superhydrophobic coatings on concrete substrate
Authors: Hou Pingping , Zhan Zhaohui , Qi Shuai , Ma Yingjie , Li Bo , Sun Dewen , Ran Qianping
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to prepare a chemically stable superhydrophobic coating with remarkable mechanical properties and concrete protective properties.

Design/methodology/approach

One synthetic step was adopted to prepare superhydrophobic coating. The process and product were analyzed and confirmed by fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), water contact angle (WCA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The mechanical properties were confirmed by tensile test. The concrete protective properties were confirmed by solution immersion test and rapid chloride migration coefficient test.

Findings

MSiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were chosen to enhance the hydrophobicity of fluorosilicone coatings. With a 4:1 mass ratio of fluorosilicone resin and MSiO2 NPs, the coatings show superhydrophobicity with a WCA of 156° and a SA of 3.1°. In addition, the tensile mechanical property was improved, and the chloride ion diffusion coefficient was decreased significantly after the addition of MSiO2 NPs.

Practical implications

This new fluorosilicone coating hybrid by MSiO2 NPs could be applied as a concrete protective layer with properties of self-cleaning, antifouling, etc.

Originality/value

Introduction of MSiO2 NPs hybrid to prepare fluorosilicone coating with superhydrophobicity on concrete surface has not been systematically studied previously.
Effect of halloysite nanotubes on corrosion protection properties of the self-curing epoxy resin coatings
Authors: Tang Gongwen , Ren Tingting , Wang Yi , Yan Zhishan , Ma Linrong , Hou Xiangyu , Huang Xin
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of the nano tube fillers on the corrosion protection properties of the self-curing epoxy (SEP) coatings.

Design/methodology/approach

The self-curing epoxy (SEP) resin was synthesized via a reaction between diisopropoxy-bis ethylacetoacetato titanate and the epoxy resin. Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) was surface modified by grafting (3-glycidoxypropyl) trimethoxysilane to obtain modified HNTs (mHNTs). The HNTs and mHNTs are used as nano tube fillers for the SEP coating. The thermal stability of the coatings was assessed via thermo-gravimetric analysis. The field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was conducted to analyze the surfaces and cross sections of the coatings. The anticorrosive efficiencies of the coatings were investigated by electrochemical measurements and a neutral salt spray test.

Findings

The results demonstrated that the additions of HNTs and mHNTs have little effect on the thermal degradation temperature of the SEP coating. However, the addition of the nanotubes reduced the corrosion resistance of the SEP coating.

Originality/value

The SEP coating itself showed excellent corrosion resistance without any reinforcement particles and is hence promising for application in the heavy-duty anticorrosion field of heat exchangers.
Customer personal values of hygiene product consumption: a means-end analytic approach
Authors: Herjanto Halimin , Amin Muslim
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Deodorant, as a hygienic product, becomes a daily necessity product and has significant benefits to its users. Yet, the real motivation for consuming deodorant is not fully understood, and therefore, this study aims to join the extant literature in this context by investigating the effect of personal values.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study using the laddering approach (means-end analytic) was used and 50 college students participated in this study.

Findings

The hierarchical value maps show that achievement, power, security and benevolent personal values are responsible for millennials deodorant consumption behavior. Fragrance, price and antiperspirant are the most important attributes that appeal to such consumption.

Practical implications

The findings also suggested that three different situational factors generated these different personal values. It includes a pre-career environment, puberty and maintaining self-stability. The strongest attributes that appeal to millennials are fragrance, price, antiperspirant, brand, long-lasting quality and packaging.

Originality/value

This study offers the means-end approach to the framework of millennials deodorant consumption behavior and which can be implemented to investigate millennials consumption decision-making processes.
Forest resilience to global warming is strongly modulated by local‐scale topographic, microclimatic and biotic conditions
Authors: Carnicer Jofre , Vives‐Ingla Maria , Blanquer Laura , Méndez‐Camps Xavier , Rosell Carme , Sabaté Santi , Gutiérrez Emília , Sauras Teresa , Peñuelas Josep , Barbeta Adrià
Published: August 2021

Resilience of endangered rear edge populations of cold‐adapted forests in the Mediterranean basin is increasingly altered by extreme heatwave and drought pressures. It remains unknown, however, whether microclimatic variation in these isolated forests could ultimately result in large intra‐population variability in the demographic responses, allowing the coexistence of contrasting declining and resilient trends across small topographic gradients. Multiple key drivers promoting spatial variability in the resilience of rear edge forests remain largely unassessed, including amplified and buffered thermal exposure induced by heatwaves along topographic gradients, and increased herbivory pressure on tree saplings in defaunated areas lacking efficient apex predators. Here we analysed whether indicators of forest resilience to global warming are strongly modulated by local‐scale topographic, microclimatic and biotic conditions.

We studied a protected rear edge forest of sessile oak Quercus petraea, applying a suite of 20 indicators of resilience of tree secondary growth, including multidecadal and short‐term indices. We also analysed sapling recruitment success, recruit/adult ratios and sapling thermal exposure across topographic gradients. We found large within population variation in secondary growth resilience, in recruitment success and in thermal exposure of tree saplings to heatwaves, and this variability was spatially structured along small‐scale topographical gradients. Multidecadal resilience indices and curves provide useful descriptors of forest vulnerability to climate warming, complementing assessments based in the analysis of short‐term resilience indicators. Species‐specific associations of trees with microclimatic variability are reported.

Biotic factors are key in determining long‐term resilience in climatically stressed rear edge forests, with strong limitation of sapling recruitment by increased roe deer and wild boar herbivory. Our results also support non‐stationary effects of climate determining forest growth responses and resilience, showing increased negative effects of warming and drought over the last decades in declining stands.

Synthesis. Our findings do not support scenarios predicting spatially homogeneous distributional shifts and limited resilience in rear edge populations, and are more supportive of scenarios including spatially heterogeneous responses, characterised with contrasting intra‐population trends of forest resilience. We conclude that forest resilience responses to climate warming are strongly modulated by local‐scale microclimatic, topographic and biotic factors. Accurate predictions of forest responses to changes in climate would therefore largely benefit from the integration of local‐scale abiotic and biotic factors.
Flowering, floral visitors and climatic drivers of reproductive phenology of two endangered magnolias from neotropical Andean forests
Authors: Serna‐González Marcela , Urrego‐Giraldo Ligia E. , Santa‐Ceballos Juan P. , Suzuki‐Azuma Hiroshi
Published: August 2021

Depressed fruit and seed production and scant seedling recruitment appear to be imperiling natural populations of Colombian Magnolia species. From February 2015 to April 2017, we recorded data on flowering, pollen limitation, floral visitors, and the reproductive phenology of Magnolia jardinensis and Magnolia yarumalensis, two threatened and endemic species from Colombian Andean cloud forests. Both species are protogynous with anthesis lasting two consecutive days—with M. jardinensis flowers opening in the evening, while M. yarumalensis flowers open early in the morning. Fruit abortion in both bagged flowers and open pollination experiments suggests that both species exhibit considerable reproductive limitations. There was a lower percentage of pollen germination in M. jardinensis (3–26%) than in M. yarumalensis (60–86%), suggesting more limitations in the former species. Magnolia yarumalensis was a prolific fruit producer compared to M. jardinensis, which produced only one ripe fruit during the study, in spite of its high production of floral buds. Despite sharing the same locality, these species did not share pollinators, thus further increasing their vulnerability to extinction. Floral buds in both species were negatively correlated with minimum temperature and precipitation, while ripe fruits in both species were positively correlated with increases in precipitation and temperature. Our results provide information about how climate change could affect the various phenophases of these species. Knowledge about reproductive phenology and life history traits such as flowering and pollinators is crucial for specific and efficient conservation efforts to protect these endangered species under the current climate change scenarios.
The credit risk of Chinese households: A micro‐level assessment
Authors: Funke Michael , Sun Rongrong , Zhu Linxu
Published: August 2021

Using three waves of the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), we present basic facts about indebtedness and financial fragility of households in China between 2011 and 2015. We show how the total debt and mortgage debt (LTV) are distributed among different income groups, and how they change over time. Our stress tests suggest that Chinese households in higher quintiles, despite the huge increase in household indebtedness, are not vulnerable to declining incomes or falling house prices, while the low‐income households face high vulnerability and struggle to meet their debt commitments. However, the participation rate of low‐income households in the debt market is low, and household debt is mainly held by wealthier and higher‐income households. Our results suggest that the systematic default risk of Chinese household debt is moderate.
Cycling Lungs: Understanding Mobile Subjectivity as Enfleshed
Authors: Davidson A.C.
Published: August 2021

Scholarship and advocacy on mobility justice needs to attend carefully to how presumptions about mobile embodiment are reproduced. This paper critically assesses some of the presumptions about the mobile subject within cycling interventions that focus on behaviour and infrastructural change. Bringing material and Black feminist theory together with ethnographic fieldwork on urban cycling in Los Angeles in 2014–2015, I suggest mobile subjectivity can be understood through the process of enfleshment, rather than centring on individualised cycling embodiment. Imagined through the cycling lungs, enfleshment allows for a mobile subjectivity that is inherently exposed in highly uneven ways; configured through matter and meaning; and a materialisation of relations of power distributed across space and time. Thinking with enfleshment contributes to cycling advocacy, mobility justice and geographical theory on the body by shifting how mobile subjects are understood and how difference, justice and the politics of the street are imagined and practised.
Music therapy for preterm neonates in the neonatal intensive care unit: An overview of systematic reviews
Authors: Mohan Arvind , Gokulakrishnan Ganga , El‐Saie Ahmed , Brickley Alix , Hagan Joseph , Pammi Mohan
Published: August 2021

Aim

To summarise the quantity and quality of evidence for using music therapy for preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Methods

We performed an overview of evidence for the effectiveness and safety of MT for preterm infants in the NICU. We performed a random‐effects meta‐analysis of data from studies that fit the definition of MT.

Results

We identified 12 eligible systematic reviews and the methodological quality by AMSTAR‐2 ranged from moderate to critically low. We identified 14 eligible randomised trials and 7 observational studies where the intervention fits the definition of MT. Meta‐analysis of the RCTs showed that MT significantly decreases heart rate, mean difference (MD) (95% CI), −3.21 [−5.22, −1.19], respiratory rate, MD −2.93 [−5.65, −0.22], and maternal anxiety, MD −17.50 [−20.10, −14.90], and increases feeding volume, MD 29.59 [12.79, 46.38]. Long‐term neurodevelopmental or safety outcomes were not reported. GRADE assessment of outcomes ranged from low to very low, downgraded for high risk of bias in the included studies, inconsistency and imprecision.

Conclusion

Low to very low certainty evidence suggests that MT in preterm infants improves short‐term physiological parameters, feeding and maternal anxiety but safety and long‐term outcomes were not reported.
Impact of racism and sexism in the 2008–2020 US presidential elections
Authors: Spencer Bettina
Published: August 2021

This 12‐year study examined racism and sexism in the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 US presidential elections. Data were collected in the weeks surrounding each election, and participants completed measures of racism, sexism, and support for candidates. The hypotheses were that liberal participants would endorse less racism and sexism than conservative participants, and that racism and sexism would predict support for the presidential candidates differently in different election cycles. There was mixed support for the hypotheses; overall liberal participants did endorse racism and sexism less than conservative participants. Racism was a significant predictor during both the 2008 and 2016 elections. Although benevolent sexism was a significant predictor in 2008 and 2012, hostile sexism was a significant predictor in the 2016 and 2020 elections. Taken together these results suggest that political affiliation predicts levels of racism and sexism, and that these voter prejudices do predict support for political candidates.
Transcriptome profiling of five brain regions in a 6‐hydroxydopamine rat model of Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Lyu Ying , Huang Yiying , Shi Guiying , Lei Xuepei , Li Keya , Zhou Ran , Bai Lin , Qin Chuan
Published: August 2021

Background

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease, and its pathogenesis is unclear. Previous studies mainly focus on the lesions of substantia nigra (SN) and striatum (Str) in PD. However, lesions are not limited. The olfactory bulb (OB), subventricular zone (SVZ), and hippocampus (Hippo) are also affected in PD.

Aim

To reveal gene expression changes in the five brain regions (OB, SVZ, Str, SN, and Hippo), and to look for potential candidate genes and pathways that may be correlated with the pathogenesis of PD.

Materials and methods

We established control group and 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) PD model group, and detected gene expressions in the five brain regions using RNA‐seq and real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR). We further analyzed the RNA‐seq data by bioinformatics.

Results

We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in all five brain regions. The DEGs were significantly enriched in the “dopaminergic synapse” and “retrograde endocannabinoid signaling,” and Gi/o‐GIRK is the shared cascade in the two pathways. We further identified Ephx2, Fam111a, and Gng2 as the potential candidate genes in the pathogenesis of PD for further studies.

Conclusion

Our study suggested that gene expressions change in the five brain regions following exposure to 6‐OHDA. The “dopaminergic synapse,” “retrograde endocannabinoid signaling,” and Gi/o‐GIRK may be the key pathways and cascade of the synaptic damage in 6‐OHDA PD rats. Ephx2, Fam111a, and Gng2 may play critical roles in the pathogenesis of PD.
Iron chelation suppresses secondary bleeding after intracerebral hemorrhage in angiotensin II‐infused mice
Authors: Wang Jie , Tang Xiao‐qin , Xia Min , Li Cheng‐cheng , Guo Chao , Ge Hong‐fei , Yin Yi , Wang Bo , Chen Wei‐xiang , Feng Hua
Published: August 2021

Aims

Secondary bleeding and further hematoma expansion (HE) aggravate brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). The majority of HE results from hypertensive ICH. Previous study reported higher iron content in the brains of hypertensive patients. Iron overload exacerbates the risk of hemorrhagic transformation in thromboembolic stroke mice. Whether iron overload during the process of hypertension participates in secondary bleeding of hypertensive ICH remains unclear.

Methods

Hypertension was induced by continuous infusion of angiotensin II (Ang II) with an osmotic pump into C57BL/6 mice. ICH was simulated by intrastriatal injection of the liquid polymer Onyx‐18. Iron chelation and iron overload was achieved by deferoxamine mesylate or iron dextran injection. Secondary bleeding was quantified by measuring the hemoglobin content in the ipsilateral brain hemisphere.

Results

Ang II‐induced hypertensive mice showed increased iron accumulation in the brain and expanded secondary hemorrhage after ICH modeling. Moreover, iron chelation suppressed while iron overload aggravated secondary bleeding. Mechanistically, iron exacerbated the loss of contractile cerebral vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), aggravated blood–brain barrier (BBB) leakage in Ang II‐induced hypertensive mice, and increased glial and MMP9 accumulation after ICH.

Conclusion

Iron overload plays a key role in secondary bleeding after ICH in Ang II‐induced hypertensive mice. Iron chelation during the process of Ang II‐induced hypertension suppresses secondary bleeding after ICH.
Functional outcomes following pelvic exenteration: results from a prospective cohort study
Authors: Makker Preet G. S. , Koh Cherry E. , Solomon Michael J. , Ratcliffe James , Steffens Daniel
Published: August 2021

Aim

Postoperative functional outcomes following pelvic exenteration surgery for treatment of advanced or recurrent pelvic malignancies are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the short‐term functional outcomes following pelvic exenteration surgery using objective measures of physical function.

Method

Patients undergoing pelvic exenteration surgery between January 2017 and May 2020 were recruited at a single quaternary referral hospital in Sydney, Australia. The primary measures were the 6‐min walk test (6MWT) and the five times sit to stand (5STS) test. Data were collected at baseline (preoperatively), 10 days postoperatively and at discharge from hospital, and were analysed according to tumour type, extent of exenteration, sacrectomy, length of hospital stay, major nerve resection and postoperative complications.

Results

The cohort of patients that participated in functional assessments consisted of 135 patients, with a median age of 61 years. Pelvic exenteration patients had a reduced 6MWT distance preoperatively compared to the general population (P < 0.001). Following surgery, we observed a further decrease in 6MWT distance (P < 0.001) and an increase in time to complete 5STS (P < 0.001) at postoperative day 10 compared to baseline, with a slight improvement at discharge. There were no differences in 6MWT and 5STS outcomes between patients based on comparisons of surgical and oncological factors.

Conclusion

Pelvic exenteration patients are functionally impaired in the preoperative period compared to the general population. Surgery causes a further reduction in physical function in the short term; however, functional outcomes are not impacted by tumour type, extent of exenteration, sacrectomy or nerve resection.
Classic polymorphous adenocarcinoma: Fine needle aspiration cytopathology of eight cases
Authors: Wakely Paul E , Lott‐Limbach Abberly A.
Published: August 2021

Introduction

The cytopathology and diagnostic accuracy of salivary gland (SG) polymorphous adenocarcinoma (PAC) is the subject of a limited number of reports. We undertook a review of our experience with fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy and PAC.

Materials and methods

A search was made of our cytopathology files for PAC cases that also had histopathological confirmation. FNA biopsy smears and cell‐blocks were performed and examined using standard techniques.

Results

Eight FNA biopsy cases of histologically proven PAC from 7 patients [F:M = 1.3:1, age 39‐75 years, mean = 58] met study inclusion. Metastatic aspirates were most common (4), followed by 3 primary cases and 1 locally recurrent neoplasm. Primary FNA sites included hard palate (1 case), lip (1), and lateral tongue (1); all metastatic sites were in the neck. A precise cytologic diagnosis was made in 38% of cases; however, when applying the Milan classification system, 100% could be categorised as either malignant or of uncertain malignant potential. Ancillary immunohistochemical testing performed in 44% of the cases was non‐specific. Cytologic smears showed cellular uniformity and structural variety of cell groups with tubular, branching, cribriform, and convex patterns as well as variable, but occasionally abundant globular myxoid stroma leading to confusion with adenoid cystic carcinoma.

Conclusion

The imitative cytopathology of PAC with other SG neoplasms as well as its infrequency in routine FNA biopsy practice makes specific interpretation difficult, but using a classification system allows for appropriate patient management. Molecular testing in future specimens holds promise for enhancing diagnostic accuracy.
Consensus clinical management guideline for beta‐propeller protein‐associated neurodegeneration
Authors: Wilson Jenny L , Gregory Allison , Kurian Manju A , Bushlin Ittai , Mochel Fanny , Emrick Lisa , Adang Laura ,   BPAN Guideline Contributing Author Group, Hogarth Penelope , Hayflick Susan J
Published: August 2021

This review provides recommendations for the evaluation and management of individuals with beta‐propeller protein‐associated neurodegeneration (BPAN). BPAN is one of several neurodegenerative disorders with brain iron accumulation along with pantothenate kinase‐associated neurodegeneration, PLA2G6‐associated neurodegeneration, mitochondrial membrane protein‐associated neurodegeneration, fatty acid hydroxylase‐associated neurodegeneration, and COASY protein‐associated neurodegeneration. BPAN typically presents with global developmental delay and epilepsy in childhood, which is followed by the onset of dystonia and parkinsonism in mid‐adolescence or adulthood. BPAN is an X‐linked dominant disorder caused by pathogenic variants in WDR45, resulting in a broad clinical phenotype and imaging spectrum. This review, informed by an evaluation of the literature and expert opinion, discusses the clinical phenotype and progression of the disease, imaging findings, epilepsy features, and genetics, and proposes an approach to the initial evaluation and management of disease manifestations across the life span in individuals with BPAN.

What this paper adds

The complex epilepsy profile of beta‐propeller protein‐associated neurodegeneration (BPAN) often resolves in adolescence.

The treatment for an individual with BPAN is supportive, with attention to sleep disorders, complex epilepsy, and behavioral problems.

Individuals with BPAN have shifting needs throughout their life span requiring multidisciplinary care.
Will Brexit Age Well? Cohorts, Seasoning and the Age–Leave Gradient: On the Evolution of UK Support for the European Union
Authors: Eichengreen Barry , Mari Rebecca Maria , Thwaites Gregory
Published: August 2021

In the UK’s 2016 Brexit referendum, young voters were more likely than their elders to support remaining in the European Union. Using half a century of data and new techniques, we find that recent cohorts tend to be more pro‐European than their predecessors, but that voters also become more sceptical towards Europe as they age. Much of the pro‐Europeanism of recent cohorts is associated with greater years of education. We also document large nationwide swings in sentiment that have little to do with age or cohort effects. These time effects are plausibly associated with, inter alia, macroeconomic fluctuations, financial conditions and geopolitical circumstances, but they also could have other sources. They dominate the impact of the estimated age and cohort effects and will crucially determine future UK support for membership in the European Union.
The hype of social capital in the finance‐growth nexus
Authors: Raheem Ibrahim D. , Ajide Kazeem B. , Vo Xuan V.
Published: August 2021

The trilogy among economic growth, social capital (SC), and financial development is examined based on three hypotheses: first, SC is important in the finance‐growth nexus. Second, there is a threshold effect of SC in the finance‐growth nexus. Third, the SC‐finance‐growth trilogy depends on the countries' income level. Building data set for 70 countries, some interesting results were obtained: (i) the marginal effects of both SC and finance promote economic growth at higher levels; (ii) there is evidence of a threshold effect of SC, as finance enhances more growth when SC is below the threshold level; (iii) higher‐income countries tend not to benefit from the SC‐finance‐growth trilogy. These results suggest that the influence of SC on growth trajectory is exaggerated in the literature. The study recommends that policymakers should pursue other sources of economic growth aside SC, while ensuring that the level of SC does not deteriorate.
First report of Liogenys suturalis (Blanchard) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) in Argentinian crops and the first report of damage on soybean
Authors: Cherman Mariana Alejandra , Mojica Noelia , Fava Fernando Daniel , Del Valle Eleodoro Eduardo
Published: August 2021

Liogenys Guérin‐Méneville is one of the most species rich genera in the Scarabaeidae family endemic to South America. Some species of this genus are important root‐feeding pests of maize, soybean, wheat and oat in their larval stage. Prior to the present study, all known reports of damage caused by any Liogenys species were from Brazil. Since 2006 in Argentina white grubs of the genus Liogenys (not previsouly identified to species level) have been recorded causing a decrease in soybean yields. This research confirms that the Argentinian species is L. suturalis (Blanchard), an important pest already recorded in Brazil but associated with yield losses of maize crops instead of soybean. Taxonomical and biological data observed in Argentinian populations are presented. This is the first record of L. suturalis damaging soybean and its first report in Argentinian crops.
Two new records of jumping plant lice (Hemiptera: Triozidae) from Syria
Authors: Zeity Mahran , Burckhardt Daniel
Published: August 2021

During regular inspections of plants in the Latakia Governorate, Syria, two psyllid species previously unknown from Syria were discovered. These are Phylloplecta trisignata (Löw) from Rubus sp. and Trioza brevigenae Mathur from Ficus microcarpa. Both are new records for Syria. For T. brevigenae this is also only the second record of this species in the EPPO region, the previous one being a new record in Cyprus in 2020.