bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A novel enhancer of Agouti contributes to parallel evolution of cryptically colored beach mice
Authors: Wooldridge T. Brock , Kautt Andreas F. , Lassance Jean-Marc , McFadden Sade , Domingues Vera S. , Mallarino Ricardo , Hoekstra Hopi E.
Published: November 2021

Identifying the genetic basis of repeatedly evolved traits provides a way to reconstruct their evolutionary history and ultimately investigate the predictability of evolution. Here, we focus on the oldfield mouse (Peromyscus polionotus), which occurs in the southeastern United States, where it exhibits considerable coat-color variation. Dorsal coats range from dark brown in mice inhabiting mainland habitat to near white on the white-sand beaches of the southeastern US, where light pelage has evolved independently on Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts as an adaptation to visually hunting predators. To facilitate genomic analyses in this species, we first generated a high-quality, chromosome-level genome assembly of P. polionotus subgriseus. Next, in a uniquely variable mainland population that occurs near beach habitat (P. p. albifrons), we scored 23 pigment traits and performed targeted resequencing in 168 mice. We find that variation in pigmentation is strongly associated with a ~2 kb region approximately 5 kb upstream of the Agouti-signaling protein (ASIP) coding region. Using a reporter-gene assay, we demonstrate that this regulatory region contains an enhancer that drives expression in the dermis of mouse embryos during the establishment of pigment prepatterns. Moreover, extended tracts of homozygosity in this region of Agouti indicate that the light allele has experienced recent and strong positive selection. Notably, this same light allele appears fixed in both Gulf and Atlantic coast beach mice, despite these populations being separated by >1,000km. Given the evolutionary history of this species, our results suggest that this newly identified Agouti enhancer allele has been maintained in mainland populations as standing genetic variation and from there has spread to, and been selected in, two independent beach mouse lineages, thereby facilitating their rapid and parallel evolution.
Single cell RNA-seq uncovers the nuclear decoy lincRNA PIRAT as a regulator of systemic monocyte immunity during COVID-19
Authors: Aznaourova Marina , Schmerer Nils , Janga Harshavardhan , Zhang Zhenhua , Pauck Kim , Hoppe Judith , Volkers Sarah M , Wendisch Daniel , Georg Philipp , Gündisch Margrit , Mack Elisabeth , Skevaki Chrysanthi , Keller Christian , Bauer Christian , Bertrams Wilhelm , Nist Andrea , Stiewe Thorsten , Gruber Achim D , Ruppert Clemens , Li Yang , Garn Holger , Sander Leif E , Schmeck Bernd , Schulte Leon N
Published: November 2021

The systemic immune response to viral infection is shaped by master transcription factors such as NFκB or PU.1. Although long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been suggested as important regulators of transcription factor activity, their contributions to the systemic immunopathologies observed during SARS-CoV-2 infection have remained unknown. Here, we employed a targeted single-cell RNA-seq approach to reveal lncRNAs differentially expressed in blood leukocytes during severe COVID-19. Our results uncover the lncRNA PIRAT as a major PU.1 feedback-regulator in monocytes, governing the production of the alarmins S100A8/A9 – key drivers of COVID-19 pathogenesis. Knockout and transgene expression, combined with chromatin-occupancy profiling characterized PIRAT as a nuclear decoy RNA, diverting the PU.1 transcription factor from alarmin promoters to dead-end pseudogenes in naïve monocytes. NFκB-dependent PIRAT down-regulation during COVID-19 consequently releases a transcriptional brake, fueling alarmin production. Our results suggest a major role of nuclear noncoding RNA circuits in systemic antiviral responses to SARS-CoV-2 in humans.
CALDERA: Finding all significant de Bruijn subgraphs for bacterial GWAS
Authors: Roux de Bézieux Hector , Lima Leandro , Perraudeau Fanny , Mary Arnaud , Dudoit Sandrine , Jacob Laurent
Published: November 2021

Genome wide association studies (GWAS), aiming to find genetic variants associated with a trait, have widely been used on bacteria to identify genetic determinants of drug resistance or hypervirulence. Recent bacterial GWAS methods usually rely on k-mers, whose presence in a genome can denote variants ranging from single nucleotide polymorphisms to mobile genetic elements. Since many bacterial species include genes that are not shared among all strains, this approach avoids the reliance on a common reference genome. However, the same gene can exist in slightly different versions across different strains, leading to diluted effects when trying to detect its association to a phenotype through k-mer based GWAS. Here we propose to overcome this by testing covariates built from closed connected subgraphs of the De Bruijn graph defined over genomic k-mers. These covariates are able to capture polymorphic genes as a single entity, improving k-mer based GWAS in terms of power and interpretability. As the number of subgraphs is exponential in the number of nodes in the DBG, a method naively testing all possible subgraphs would result in very low statistical power due to multiple testing corrections, and the mere exploration of these subgraphs would quickly become computationally intractable. The concept of testable hypothesis has successfully been used to address both problems in similar contexts. We leverage this concept to test all closed connected subgraphs by proposing a novel enumeration scheme for these objects which fully exploits the pruning opportunity offered by testability, resulting in drastic improvements in computational efficiency. We illustrate this on both real and simulated datasets and also demonstrate how considering subgraphs leads to a more powerful and interpretable method. Our method integrates with existing visual tools to facilitate interpretation. We also provide an implementation of our method, as well as code to reproduce all results at https://github.com/HectorRDB/Caldera_Recomb.
ANI, Mash and Dashing equally differentiate between Klebsiella species
Authors: Hernández-Salmerón Julie E. , Moreno-Hagelsieb Gabriel
Published: November 2021

Species of the genus Klebsiella are among the most important multidrug resistant human pathogens, though they have been isolated from a variety of environments. Given the need for quickly and accurately classifying newly sequenced Klebsiella genomes, we compared 982 Klebsiella genomes using different species-delimiting measures: Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI), which is becoming a standard for species delimitation, as well as Mash, Dashing, and DNA compositional signatures, which can be run in a fraction of the time required to run ANI. ROC analyses showed equal quality in species delimitation for ANI, Mash and Dashing (AUC: 0.99), followed by DNA signatures (AUC: 0.96). The groups obtained at optimal cutoffs were largely in agreement with species designation. Using optimized cutoffs, we obtained 17 species-level groups using either ANI, Mash, or Dashing, all containing the same genomes, unlike DNA signatures which broke the dataset into 38 groups. Further use of Mash to map species after adding draft genomes to the dataset also showed excellent results (AUC: 0.99), producing a total of 28 Klebsiella species in the publicly available genome collection. The ecological niches of Klebsiella strains were found to neither be related to species delimitation, nor to protein functional content, suggesting that a single Klebsiella species can have a wide repertoire of ecological functions.
Discovery of a carbonic anhydrase-Rubisco complex within the alpha-carboxysome
Authors: Blikstad Cecilia , Dugan Eli J. , Laughlin Thomas G. , Turnšek Julia B. , Liu Mira D. , Shoemaker Sophie R. , Vogiatzi Nikoleta , Remis Jonathan P. , Savage David F.
Published: November 2021

Carboxysomes are proteinaceous organelles that encapsulate key enzymes of CO2fixation - Rubisco and carbonic anhydrase - and are the centerpiece of the bacterial CO2concentrating mechanism (CCM). In the CCM, actively accumulated cytosolic bicarbonate diffuses into the carboxysome and is converted to CO2by carbonic anhydrase, producing a high CO2concentration near Rubisco and ensuring efficient carboxylation. Self-assembly of the α-carboxysome is orchestrated by the intrinsically disordered scaffolding protein, CsoS2, which interacts with both Rubisco and carboxysomal shell proteins, but it is unknown how the carbonic anhydrase, CsoSCA, is incorporated into the α-carboxysome. Here, we present the structural basis of carbonic anhydrase encapsulation into α-carboxysomes fromHalothiobacillus neapolitanus. We find that CsoSCA interacts directly with Rubisco via an intrinsically disordered N-terminal domain. A 1.98 Å single-particle cryo-electron microscopy structure of Rubisco in complex with this peptide reveals that CsoSCA binding is predominantly mediated by a network of hydrogen bonds. CsoSCA’s binding site overlaps with that of CsoS2 but the two proteins utilize substantially different motifs and modes of binding, revealing a plasticity of the Rubisco binding site. Our results advance the understanding of carboxysome biogenesis and highlight the importance of Rubisco, not only as an enzyme, but also as a central hub for mediating assembly through protein interactions.
Age-induced P-bodies become detrimental and shorten the lifespan of yeast
Authors: Choi Joonhyuk , Wang Shuhao , Li Yang , Hao Nan , Zid Brian M.
Published: November 2021

Aging is an irreversible process characterized by a progressive loss of homeostasis in cells, which often manifests as protein aggregates. Recently, it has been speculated that aggregates of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) may go through pathological transitions during aging and drive the progression of ageassociated neurodegenerative diseases. Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system of aging, we find that P-bodies —an RBP granule that is formed and can be beneficial for cell growth during stress conditions — naturally form during aging without any external stresses and an increase in P-body intensity is negatively correlated with the future lifespan of yeast cells. When mother cells transfer age-induced P-bodies to daughter cells, the mother cells extend lifespan, while the daughter cells grow poorly, suggesting that these age-induced P-bodies may be directly pathological. Furthermore, we find that suppressing acidification of the cytosol during aging slows down the increase in the intensity of P-body foci and extends lifespan. Our data suggest that acidification of the cytosol may facilitate the pathological transition of RBP granules during aging.
Ubiquitin ligases and a processive proteasome facilitate protein clearance during the oocyte-to-embryo transition in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Spike Caroline A. , Tsukamoto Tatsuya , Greenstein David
Published: November 2021

The ubiquitin-mediated degradation of oocyte translational regulatory proteins is a conserved feature of the oocyte-to-embryo transition (OET). In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, multiple translational regulatory proteins, including the TRIM-NHL RNA-binding protein LIN-41/Trim71 and the Pumilio-family RNA-binding proteins PUF-3 and PUF-11, are degraded during the OET. Degradation of each protein requires activation of the M-phase cyclin-dependent kinase CDK-1, is largely complete by the end of the first meiotic division and does not require the anaphase promoting complex (APC). However, only LIN-41 degradation requires the F-box protein SEL-10/FBW7/Cdc4p, the substrate recognition subunit of an SCF-type E3 ubiquitin ligase. This finding suggests that PUF-3 and PUF-11, which localize to LIN-41-containing ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs), are independently degraded through the action of other factors and that the oocyte RNPs are disassembled in a concerted fashion during the OET. We develop and test the hypothesis that PUF-3 and PUF-11 are targeted for degradation by the proteasome-associated HECT-type ubiquitin ligase ETC-1/UBE3C/Hu15, which is broadly expressed in C. elegans. We find that several GFP-tagged fusion proteins that are degraded during the OET, including fusions with PUF-3, PUF-11, LIN-41, IFY-1/Securin and CYB-1/Cyclin B, are incompletely degraded when ETC-1 function is compromised. However, it is the fused GFP moiety that appears to be the critical determinant of this proteolysis defect. These findings are consistent with a conserved role for ETC-1 in promoting proteasome processivity and suggest that proteasomal processivity is an important element of the OET during which many key oocyte regulatory proteins are rapidly targeted for degradation.

Article Summary

The ubiquitin-mediated degradation of translational regulatory RNA-binding proteins is a conserved feature of the oocyte-to-embryo transition (OET). C. elegans LIN-41 is a master regulator of oogenesis and is found in a large translational regulatory ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex with more than 1000 maternal transcripts and the Pumilio-family RNA-binding proteins PUF-3 and PUF-11. We show that the concerted action of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation and proteasome processivity rapidly disassemble LIN-41-containing RNPs during the OET thereby relieving repression of many maternal transcripts.
Pharmacologic rescue of circadian β-cell failure through P2Y1 purinergic receptor identified by small-molecule screen
Authors: Marcheva Biliana , Weidemann Benjamin J. , Taguchi Akihiko , Perelis Mark , Ramsey Kathryn Moynihan , Newman Marsha V. , Kobayashi Yumiko , Omura Chiaki , Fox Jocelyn E. Manning , Lin Haopeng , MacDonald Patrick E. , Bass Joseph
Published: November 2021

The mammalian circadian clock drives daily oscillations in physiology and behavior through an autoregulatory transcription feedback loop present in central and peripheral cells. Ablation of the core clock within the endocrine pancreas of adult animals impairs the transcription and splicing of genes involved in hormone exocytosis and causes hypoinsulinemic diabetes. However, identification of druggable proteins and pathways to ameliorate the burden of circadian metabolic disease remains a challenge. Here, we generated β cells expressing a nano-luciferase reporter within the proinsulin polypeptide to screen 2,640 pharmacologically-active compounds and identify insulinotropic molecules that bypass the secretory defect in clock mutant β cells. We validated lead compounds in primary mouse islets and identified known modulators of ligandgated ion channels and G-protein coupled receptors, including the antihelmintic ivermectin. Single-cell electrophysiology in circadian mutant mouse and human cadaveric islets validated ivermectin as a glucose-dependent secretagogue. Genetic, genomic, and pharmacologic analyses established that the molecular clock controls the expression of the purinergic P2Y1 receptor to mediate the insulinotropic activity of ivermectin. These findings identify the P2Y1 purinergic receptor as a target to rescue circadian β-cell failure and establish a chemical genetic screen for endocrine therapeutics.
Modelling the role of social media usage in improving users well-being: a social enhancement model perspective
Authors: Bodhi Rahul , Singh Tripti , Joshi Yatish
Published: November 2021

Purpose

Employees have gradually adopted social media sites and their applications that have been associated with enhanced communication and collaboration at the workplace. However, social technologies have both positive as well as negative consequences. The current study examines the impact of loneliness on employees' psychological well-being (PW); subsequently, the mediating role of social media use intensity (SMI) at the workplace. It also examines the moderating role of gender and management status of employees.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study conducted an online and offline survey using a cross-sectional design. Data were collected from 206 working professionals from the IT industry in India. Structural equation modelling was applied to analyse data.

Findings

Results revealed that employee loneliness is positively associated with SMI. Employee's SMI was positively associated with enhanced PW. Unexpectedly, employee loneliness is positively and significantly related to PW. However, the moderating roles of gender and management status of employees were not supported.

Practical implications

The current study can help managers, policymakers and organizations better understand the role of employee social media use in the workplace. Using the insights and understanding offered by the study, social media can be effectively utilized in the workplace. The study recommends that organizations may allow the use of social media at the workplace. Social media resources may also be helpful in improving employee communication and digital literacy.

Originality/value

The current study is a pioneer work and contributes to the literature by examining the relationship between loneliness, SMI and PW. This study has essential theoretical and managerial contributions.
Work–life balance, retention of professionals and psychological empowerment: an empirical validation
Authors: Panda Ansumalini , Sahoo Chandan Kumar
Published: November 2021

Purpose

This study aims to explore the relationship between work–life balance and employee retention by examining the mediating role of psychological empowerment among software firms based in India.

Design/methodology/approach

The study collected 283 responses by using a structured questionnaire and interview method. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to validate the hypothesized research model for examining the consistency and sturdiness of the study variables by applying AMOS 20.

Findings

The result reveals that psychological empowerment partially mediates the relationship between work–life balance and the retention of professionals. This indicates that a high degree of psychological empowerment strengthens the relations between work–life balance and the retention of professionals.

Research limitations/implications

The research outlined a best-fit model of psychological empowerment as a partial mediator among work–life balance and the retention of professionals. The study presents a set of sensible and practical aspects where work–life balance and retention of professionals can aid in developing and generating commitment to the organization which could offer new insights for software professionals, managers and practitioners.

Originality/value

This study emphasized that psychological empowerment helps in enhancing dedication, loyalty, integrity, allegiance and trustworthiness among employees, thus playing a role between work–life balance and the retention of professionals.
Design and implementation of fake two-piece fully formed process for blouse
Authors: Zhan Biqin , Huang Xian , Cai Chenyuan , Cong Honglian
Published: November 2021

Purpose

Fully formed knitting technology is a cutting-edge technology in the design and production of knitted apparel. Using this technology and its supporting design system, a new development mode of fully formed knitted apparel with double-layer structure and fake two-piece knitwear is proposed.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the upper body structure feature points of human body characteristics and single-layer knitted garment prototype, a double-layer structure knitted garment pattern was established by pattern expansion method. The model was introduced into SDS-APPEX3 design system for process design, including three aspects consists: the inner vest, the outer blouse and double-layer joint part, analysis of the process and forming principle. Weaving on four-needle bed computerized flat knitting machine of MACH-2XS, through the setting of the machine parameters. Finally, a full-shaped fake two-piece knitted blouse was formed.

Findings

On the basis of single-layer knitted garment pattern, a double-layer garment pattern is constructed, and the design and weaving are completed on the four-needle bed computerized knitting machine of MACH-2XS and its supporting SDS-APPEX3 design system through the fake two-piece double-layer garment style design. The double-layer joint model is an effective reference for the construction of this kind of fake two-piece fully formed knitted clothing.

Originality/value

In this paper, a design and knitting method of fully formed double-layer structure fake two-piece knitted garment is proposed. The integrated knitting of fully formed double-layer structure sweater is realized for the first time, which provides ideas for the development of fully formed double-layer structure knitted clothing style and enriches the fully formed clothing style.
Earthen architectural heritage in the international context: values, threats, conservation principles and strategies
Authors: Mileto Camilla , Vegas López-Manzanares Fernando
Published: November 2021

Purpose

This research aims to highlight the values, principles and recommendations for conservation in order to establish valid strategies for the conservation of earthen built heritage. This is done following a methodology which uses indirect (bibliography) and direct (case study) sources systematically analysed from different perspectives: the values of Earth as a material and of architectural and vernacular heritage; the heritage conservation principles found in international documents; and the analysis of over 3,000 case studies from which good practices in earthen architecture conservation are extracted.

Design/methodology/approach

Earthen built architectural heritage is found widely in all parts of the world, in archaeological sites and monumental and vernacular architecture, which research centres and researchers are increasingly studying and cataloguing. However, despite its richness and historic and cultural values, as well as its many merits in environmental sustainability, sociocultural and socio-economic terms, the value of this heritage has not been fully recognized in fields with major repercussions in conservation.

Findings

Finally, these data are cross-referenced to establish the broadest possible strategies to guarantee all aspects to be taken into account in the conservation of earthen built architectural heritage.

Originality/value

The text provides an overview of the different methodologies in order to extract specific strategies applicable to the conservation of this heritage, both locally and globally.
Contactless service encounters among Millennials and Generation Z: the effects of Millennials and Gen Z characteristics on technology self-efficacy and preference for contactless service
Authors: Kim Songmee , Jang Seyoon , Choi Woojin , Youn Chorong , Lee Yuri
Published: November 2021

Purpose

“Contactless service” refers to the use of technology in providing products or services without a salesperson. This study explores the mechanism underlying Millennial and Generation Z (M/Z generations) consumers' preference for contactless service over salespersons in retail stores. In addition, this study tests differences between the M/Z generations.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers predict characteristics to be antecedents of young consumer's preference for contactless service over salespersons and that the effects are mediated by technology self-efficacy. Next, a moderating variable (perceived consumer conformity) is added in the path between technology self-efficacy and the preference for contactless service. The hypotheses are tested among 142 Gen Z and 137 Millennial respondents.

Findings

The results show that M/Z generations’ characteristics significantly influence the preference for contactless service, except for security seeking. Also, interests in new technology and safety seeking are perceived higher by M/Z generations. The influence of technology self-efficacy on the preference for contactless service is moderated by social conformity.

Originality/value

As retail technology rapidly develops, the service industry is expected to change from the past, where salespersons played an important role, to contactless services. This study has academic and practical values, for the authors clarify the underlying psychological mechanisms of why young consumers prefer retail technology rather than communication with salespersons.
To pay or not to pay: understanding mobile game app users' unwillingness to pay for in-app purchases
Authors: Salehudin Imam , Alpert Frank
Published: November 2021

Purpose

Worldwide In-app Purchase (IAP) revenues reached almost US$37 billion in 2017 and doubled that in 2020. Although the revenue from IAPs exceeds those from paid apps, only 5% of total app users make any IAPs. This paper investigates why some users will not make IAPs and develop a novel concept of users' Perceived Aggressive Monetization of IAPs as an alternative framework to explain IAP behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Given the newness of IAPs, this study uses qualitative research to understand the phenomenon and develop a model to explain the decision to spend on IAPs. In total, this study collected 4,092 unique user-generated comments from app user review sites and social media webpages where users discuss in-app purchasing.

Findings

The analysis reveals recurring themes that explain user unwillingness to make in-app purchases, such as conflicting meanings of free-to-play, perceived unfairness and aggressive monetization of IAP by app publishers, and self-control issues. Subsequent user interviews support the themes and suggest that IAP spending might be more impulsive.

Originality/value

The paper develops a new concept of perceived aggressive monetization. Additionally, it proposes a novel theoretical framework that future researchers can use to understand why some mobile game users are unwilling to pay for IAPs.
Local food research: a bibliometric review using Citespace II (1970–2020)
Authors: Şahin Ayşe , Yılmaz Gökhan
Published: November 2021

Purpose

In recent years, one of the most important and active research areas has been local food. This study aims to examine the evolution and trends of local food research in several disciplines or fields in the 50 years, highlighting emerging research themes, collaborations such as authors, institutions, journals and co-citations such as documents, authors and journals.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 869 local food-related articles from the Web of Science (WoS) database from 1970 to 2020 were analyzed by several bibliometric analyses using CiteSpace II software.

Findings

The findings indicate that the number of studies in the local food field has increased rapidly and it is an interdisciplinary subject. Moreover, the results indicate that there is partly collaboration among authors, institutions or countries that conduct research on local food. For example, the most productive authors in this field are in USA, India, Brazil and European countries. Another remarkable result of this study is that tourism and hospitality discipline has focused on local food subject, especially in the last five years.

Originality/value

This is one of the first attempts by using network analysis to directly understand and visualize the interrelated structures of the local food research. Furthermore, the results of this study may provide researchers a reference guide to better evaluate and monitor local food research.
Infoecology of the deep learning and smart manufacturing: thematic and concept interactions
Authors: Asemi Asefeh , Ko Andrea , Asemi Adeleh
Published: November 2021

Purpose

This infecological study mainly aimed to know the thematic and conceptual relationship in published papers in deep learning (DL) and smart manufacturing (SM).

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology has specific research objectives based on the type and method of research, data analysis tools. In general, description methods are applied by Web of Science (WoS) analysis tools and Voyant tools as a web-based reading and analysis environment for digital texts. The Yewno tool is applied to draw a knowledge map to show the concept's interaction between DL and SM.

Findings

The knowledge map of DL and SM concepts shows that there are currently few concepts interacting with each other, while the rapid growth of technology and the needs of today's society have revealed the need to use more and more DL in SM. The results of this study can provide a coherent and well-mapped road map to the main policymakers of the field of research in DL and SM, through the study of coexistence and interactions of the thematic categories with other thematic areas. In this way, they can design more effective guidelines and strategies to solve the problems of researchers in conducting their studies and direct. The analysis results demonstrated that the information ecosystem of DL and SM studies dynamically developed over time. The continuous conduction flow of scientific studies in this field brought continuous changes into the infoecology of subjects and concepts in this area.

Originality/value

The paper investigated the thematic interaction of the scientific productions in DL and SM and discussed possible implications. We used of the variety tools and techniques to draw our own perspective. Also, we drew arguments from other research work to back up our findings.
Betas in the time of corona: a conditional CAPM approach using multivariate GARCH model for India
Authors: Jain Sonali
Published: November 2021

Purpose

This paper empirically investigates the effect of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) on the Indian financial market and firm betas, perhaps the first paper to do so. The results will be helpful for investors tracking betas during future the coronavirus waves.

Design/methodology/approach

A conditional capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model is used to estimate time-varying daily betas of the 50 largest Indian stocks spread across 16 industries over five years (Nov 2017 to May 2021), including the two waves of COVID-19 in India.

Findings

The results show that the betas increased during the COVID wave-1 (2020) but not during COVID wave-2 (2021). Moreover, the increase is more pronounced for consumer goods, infrastructure, insurance and information technology, unlike energy (oil and gas, power and mining) industries. Further, there are positive abnormal residual returns during the COVID waves. The results will be helpful for investors tracking betas during future COVID-19 waves.

Originality/value

This is perhaps the first paper to study the firm betas in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Social media: the double-edged sword for perpetuating and preventing criminal activities in Zimbabwe
Authors: Mugari Ishmael , Muzinda Caleb
Published: November 2021

Purpose

This study aims to evaluate social media’s role in facilitating criminal activities in Zimbabwe and determine how social media platforms have been embraced by the Zimbabwean police to curb criminal activities.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 72 participants from the Zimbabwean police and 5 non-police security experts were invited to participate in this study through questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The study was confined to an urban policing area, which is policed by approximately 400 police officers.

Findings

The facilitation of violent protests was found to be the major threat that is posed by social media in Zimbabwe, with social media platforms playing a catalytic role in fuelling these violent protests. Social media is also playing a significant role in the spread of fake news, with the intention of causing fear and panic amongst citizens. Findings also reveal that the Zimbabwe police have embraced social media platforms for sharing crime prevention tips, receiving crime reports, engaging with citizens and gathering crime intelligence.

Originality/value

The study provides context-specific information on the threats posed by social media on a developing nation that has been characterised by a myriad of socio-economic challenges, as well as how these social media platforms have been embraced for crime prevention and control. Given limited empirical research on social media and national security in Zimbabwe, this study adds to the existing body of knowledge.
Coronavirus disease 2019‐associated immunoglobulin A vasculitis/Henoch–Schönlein purpura: A case report and review
Authors: Jedlowski Patrick M. , Jedlowski Mahdieh F.
Published: November 2021

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) vasculitis or Henoch–Schönlein purpura is a predominantly pediatric disease occurring after a triggering viral or bacterial infection. Conversely, drug exposure is the most common inciting event in adult cases of IgA vasculitis. Recently, data has suggested a temporal association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) and the development of IgA vasculitis in children and adults. Here, we describe a case of IgA vasculitis with nephritis in a 70‐year‐old man with COVID‐19 and perform a comprehensive review of eight reported cases of suspected COVID‐19‐associated IgA vasculitis. When compared to classical IgA vasculitis, COVID‐19‐associated IgA vasculitis exclusively affects males (p < 0.00002) and is more common in adults (p < 0.005). Among cases of COVID‐19‐associated IgA vasculitis, adult cases were associated with significantly more arthralgia than pediatric cases (p = 0.04). In cases where skin biopsy was obtained, direct immunofluorescence (DIF) was negative for IgA in 50% of cases; thereafter, kidney biopsy DIF was positive for IgA in all cases. With this study, we provide support for an association between IgA vasculitis and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and provide clinical information differentiating its manifestations from classical IgA vasculitis.
A novel nomogram based on a retrospective study of 346 patients to predict the recurrence risk of condyloma acuminatum after 5‐aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy
Authors: Zhou Shu , Gu Li , Shi Zhinan , Gu Liqun , Zhou Bingrong , Hua Hui
Published: November 2021

Condyloma acuminatum (CA) is a sexually transmitted disease caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) often with high recurrence rate after treatment. This study aimed to construct and evaluate a nomogram model containing three clinical parameters to predict the recurrence risk of CA after 5‐aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA‐PDT). A predictive model was established based on a training cohort of 346 CA patients treated with ALA‐PDT between January 2013 and July 2018. A validation cohort of 123 CA patients was recruited from August 2018 to December 2019. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression model was used to optimize the clinical feature selection. A nomogram predicting the recurrence of CA after ALA‐PDT was constructed based on the predictors identified by LASSO regression. C‐index and area under the curve (AUC) values were used to evaluate the discrimination. Calibration was evaluated with a calibration curve. The net benefit was performed via decision curve analysis (DCA).

In the training cohort, 55 (15.89%) patients experienced recurrences after ALA‐PDT. Predictors selected by LASSO regression were concomitant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection [Hazard ratio (HR) = 4.4; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.5–7.9; p < 0.001], skin and mucosa as affected area (HR = 1.7; 95% CI, 0.9–3.1; p = 0.109), and more than one time of CO2 laser therapy (HR = 6.3; 95% CI, 2.8–13.9; p < 0.001). The nomogram showed a good performance in predicting recurrence as the C‐indexes were 0.843 (95% CI, 0.799–0.887) in the training cohort, and 0.831 (95% CI, 0.727–0.934) in the validation cohort. The AUCs of the nomogram were 0.85 in training and 0.8 in validation. DCA confirmed the nomogram was clinically useful when the intervention was determined at the non‐adherence possibility threshold of 5%. This nomogram can provide individualized prediction for the recurrence risk of CA in patients treated by ALA‐PDT.
Adaptive variation among oaks in wood anatomical properties is shaped by climate of origin and shows limited plasticity across environments
Authors: Fontes Clarissa G. , Pinto‐Ledezma Jesús , Jacobsen Anna L. , Pratt R. Brandon , Cavender‐Bares Jeannine
Published: November 2021

Climate is a major evolutionary force in driving adaptive differentiation and plasticity in plant function. Xylem anatomy and hydraulic architecture are critical to water use, growth and responses of trees to drought and thus important in delimiting their ecological niches. How wood properties have been shaped through evolution by their climatic origins and the importance of plasticity for species persistence remain open questions critical to understanding plant responses to changing climate.

We measured 11 wood anatomical traits for 18Quercus(oak) species in arboreta that span contrasting climates (California‐US, southwestern France and central England). We investigated coordinate evolution of xylem anatomical properties with climatic niche and intraspecific variation in relation to growth environment.

Species originating from climates with drier summers had traits associated with higher resistance to drought—higher density of vasicentric tracheids (VT), lower vessel hydraulic diameter (Dmh) and lower hydraulic conductivity. Species that evolved in climates with drier, hotter summers or colder winters had higher numbers of VT than those from mesic climates, supporting hypotheses that VT are critical for water transport during drought. We found limited intraspecific variation in xylem traits associated with growth environment—only four traits (pit fraction, VT, vessel density andDmh)—differed among gardens.

Xylem traits showed high lability across the phylogeny, consistent with evidence for parallel sympatric adaptive radiation and global diversification of the oaks. Our results provide evidence for the physiological mechanisms that underlie adaptation to changing environments and responses to climate change.
Episodes of high recruitment buffer against climate‐driven mass mortality events in a North Pacific seabird population
Authors: Johns Michael E. , Warzybok Pete , Jahncke Jaime , Doak Pat , Lindberg Mark , Breed Greg A.
Published: November 2021

Longitudinal studies of marked animals provide an opportunity to assess the relative contributions of survival and reproductive output to population dynamics and change.

Cassin's auklets are a long‐lived seabird that maximizes annual reproductive effort in resource‐rich years through a behaviour called double brooding, the initiation of a second breeding attempt following the success of the first during the same season. Our objective was to explore whether double brooding influenced population change by contributing a greater number of future recruits.

We fit temporal symmetry models to 32 years of mark–recapture data of Cassin's auklets to infer the mechanisms underlying the observed variability in per capita recruitment rates.

We found that periodic peaks in recruitment were explained by an increase in available nest sites, the proportion of the population double brooding 4 years prior, and spring upwelling conditions. Estimates of population change suggests a relatively stable population throughout the time series, attributable to a ‘floating’ demographic class of sexually mature individuals excluded from breeding by competition which quickly fill vacant sites following periods of low adult survival.

Our results highlight the importance of recruitment in maintaining the population of a long‐lived seabird periodically impacted by adverse environmental conditions.
UK‐US Trade Relations and ‘Global Britain’
Authors: Heron Tony , Siles‐Brügge Gabriel
Published: November 2021

A UK‐US free trade agreement has consistently been presented as the main prize from the UK's much touted post‐Brexit trade policy independence. The UK Prime Minister's admission that this was not going to be realised any time soon may have surprised media pundits, but it merely confirmed what had become increasingly apparent since the referendum: that a free trade agreement with the US was a long shot. Taken together with the short‐lived suggestion of the UK joining the United States‐Mexico‐Canada Agreement (USMCA), we argue that it is the desire to perform ‘independence’ from the European Union rather than policy content which is driving the UK's trade strategy.
Desperately seeking reductions in health inequalities in Canada: Polemics and anger mobilization as the way forward?
Authors: Raphael Dennis , Bryant Toba , Govender Piara , Medvedyuk Stella , Mendly‐Zambo Zsofia
Published: November 2021

Progress in reducing health inequalities through public policy action is difficult in nations identified as liberal welfare states. In Canada, as elsewhere, researchers and advocates provide governing authorities with empirical findings on the sources of health inequalities and document the lived experiences of those encountering these adverse health outcomes with the hope of provoking public policy action. However, critical analysis of the societal structures and processes that make improving the sources of health inequalities difficult—the quality and distribution of living and working conditions, that is the social determinants of health—identifies limitations in these approaches. Within this latter critical tradition, we consider—using household food insecurity in Canada as an illustration—how polemics and anger mobilization, usually absent in health inequalities research and advocacy—could force Canadian governing authorities to reduce health inequalities through public policy action. We explore the potential of using high valence terms such as structural violence, social death and social murder, which make explicit the adverse outcomes of health‐threatening public policy to force government action. We conclude by outlining the potential benefits and threats posed by polemics and anger mobilization as means of promoting health equity.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in the forensic setting: A series of 19 forensic cases
Authors: Layman Andrew J. , Lin Peter T.
Published: November 2021

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) employs vascular cannulation and a gas exchange circuit to provide support to patients with severely compromised cardiopulmonary function. ECMO is often the last intervention taken before death and thus presents a unique challenge to medical examiners. This study describes the characteristics of decedents on ECMO at the time of death, including clinical indications, types of circuit configurations, causes and manners of death, gross findings at autopsy, and therapeutic complications. Files of a regional medical examiner office within an academic medical center were searched for the period between 2013 and 2019. Nineteen cases were identified with a median age of 36 years. The circumstances surrounding the initial presentation included: sudden death, trauma, substance abuse, homicide, therapeutic complication, work‐related injury, drowning, and hypothermia. The underlying causes of death included injury‐related, as well as respiratory and cardiac‐related natural diseases. The time spent on ECMO varied from less than 1 h to 10 months. Complications encountered due to ECMO included cannulation site bleeding, pneumohemopericardium, retroperitoneal hematoma, limb ischemia, clotting, and cannula dislodgement. The patient population likely to receive ECMO has significant overlap with death circumstances likely to be reported to the medical examiner. As ECMO therapy has become increasingly available, it is of importance for medical examiners and death investigators to be familiar with the procedure as well as its limitations. Familiarity with ECMO and its sequelae allows for the proper documentation of postmortem findings and fosters an informed determination of the cause and manner of death.
Short‐ and long‐term effects of an extreme case of autotomy: does “tail” loss and subsequent constipation decrease the locomotor performance of male and female scorpions?
Authors: GARCÍA‐HERNÁNDEZ Solimary , MACHADO Glauco
Published: November 2021

In many taxa, individuals voluntarily detach a body part as a form to increase their chances of escaping predation. This defense mechanism, known as autotomy, has several consequences, such as changes in locomotor performance that may affect fitness. Scorpions of the genus Ananteris autotomize the “tail”, which in fact corresponds to the last abdominal segments. After autotomy, individuals lose nearly 25% of their body mass and the last portion of the digestive tract, including the anus, which prevents defecation and leads to constipation, because regeneration does not occur. Here, we experimentally investigated the short‐ and long‐term effects of tail loss on the locomotor performance of Ananteris balzani. In a short‐term experiment, the maximum running speed (MRS) of males and females did not change after autotomy. Moreover, the relative mass of the lost tail did not affect the change in MRS after autotomy. In a long‐term experiment, autotomy had a negative effect on the MRS of males, but not of females. Autotomized over‐fed individuals suffered from severe constipation but were not slower than autotomized normally fed individuals. In conclusion, tail loss has no immediate effect on the locomotor performance of scorpions. The long‐term decrease in the locomotor performance of autotomized males may impair mate searching. However, because death by constipation takes several months, males have a long time to find mates and reproduce. Thus, the prolonged period between autotomy and death by constipation is crucial for understanding the evolution of one of the most extreme cases of autotomy in nature.
Diagnostic performance of SHOX2 promoter methylation as biomarker for lung cancer identification: A meta‐analysis update
Authors: Zhou Xiaoxi , Lu Xiaoling , Wu Haiyan , Liu Juan , Huang He
Published: November 2021

Objective

To evaluate the diagnostic performance of short state homeobox 2 (SHOX2) promoter methylation as biomarker for lung cancer identification through aggregating the open published data.

Methods

We did an electronic search in Pubmed, EMBASE, Ovid, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) to identify the publications related to SHOX2 promoter methylation and lung cancer. The diagnostic performance of sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), odds ratio (DOR), and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) cure were aggregated by fixed or random effect model. Fagan's nomogram was used to investigate the post‐test diagnostic probability. Deek's funnel plot and line regression test was applied to evaluate the publication bias.

Results

In total, 18 clinical studies about SHOX2 promoter methylation and lung cancer were included in the meta‐analysis. The combined diagnostic SEN, SPE, DOR were 0.63 (95% CI = 0.54–0.70), 0.91 (95% CI = 0.87–0.94), and 16.84 (95% CI = 11.18–25.36) in random effect model respectively. The pooled area under the curve (AUC) of SROC was 0.88 (95% CI = 0.84–0.90). The post‐test probability of lung cancer was 88% and 29% when SHOX2 methylated and unmethylated in humoral components given a pre‐test probability of 50%. Deek's funnel plot and regression test indicated no publication bias (p = 0.62).

Conclusion

SHOX2 promoter methylation in humoral components may be a potential biomarker for lung cancer diagnosis with relative high diagnostic specificity.