bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Glycaemia and albumin glycation rates as fitness mediators in the wild: the case of a long-lived bird
Authors: Moreno-Borrallo Adrián , Bize Pierre , Jaramillo-Ortiz Sarahi , Schaeffer Christine , Bertile Fabrice , Criscuolo François
Published: July 2024

Glucose is a vital metabolic component in the functioning of organisms, but it can also bind to biomolecules through non-enzymatic glycation reactions that result in loss of functions. While the effects of glycation on health have been well demonstrated in biomedical research, little is known about the effects of glycation in wild animals. Here, we studied how plasma glucose levels and albumin glycation rates vary with age and are related to fitness in a relatively hyperglycaemic long-lived bird, the Alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba). We measured plasma glucose and albumin glycation levels before and after reproduction in adult females of known age (2-14 years), showing that, while glucose levels increased in parallel with body mass, albumin glycation rates decreased within this period. Albumin glycation, but not glucose, varies with age, peaking at 5 years, consistently with other age-related parameters previously reported in this species. Interestingly, higher plasma glucose levels before reproduction were related to increased fledging success up to a certain threshold. In addition, in terms of dynamics, females gaining more mass lowered more their glycation levels, while those gaining less mass and lowering the more their glycation levels laid more eggs. Finally, higher body mass and plasma glucose levels after reproduction predicted a higher survival probability to the next season, whereas higher albumin glycation predicted lower survival, although in an age-dependent manner. Our study highlights adult plasma glucose and glycated albumin levels as new potential markers of ageing and fitness that should be further explored in this species.
Some statistical theory for interpreting reference distributions
Authors: Alpay Berk A. , Higgins John M. , Desai Michael M.
Published: July 2024

Reference distributions quantify the extremeness of clinical test results, typically relative to those of a healthy population. Intervals of these distributions are used in medical decision-making, but while there is much guidance for constructing them, the statistics of interpreting them for diagnosis have been less explored. Here we work directly in terms of the reference distribution, defining it as the likelihood in a posterior calculation of the probability of disease. We thereby identify assumptions of the conventional interpretation of reference distributions, criteria for combining tests, and considerations for personalizing interpretation of results from reference data. Theoretical reasoning supports that non-healthy variation be taken into account when possible, and that combining and personalizing tests call for careful statistical modeling.
Accuracy of ICD-10 codes for suicidal ideation and action in pediatric emergency department encounters
Authors: Xu Rena , Bode Louisa , Geva Alon , Mandl Kenneth D. , McMurry Andrew J.
Published: July 2024

Objectives

According to the ideation-to-action framework of suicidality, suicidal ideation and suicidal action arise via distinct trajectories. Studying suicidality under this framework requires accurate identification of both ideation and action. We sought to assess the accuracy of ICD-10 codes for suicidal ideation and action in emergency department (ED) encounters.

Methods

Accuracy of ICD-10 coding for suicidality was assessed through chart review of clinical notes for 205 ED encounters among patients 6-18 years old at a large academic pediatric hospital between June 1, 2016, and June 1, 2022. Physician notes were reviewed for documentation of past or present suicidal ideation, suicidal action, or both. The study cohort consisted of 103 randomly selected “cases,” or encounters assigned at least one ICD-10 code for suicidality, and 102 propensity-matched “non-cases” lacking ICD-10 codes. Accuracy of ICD-10 codes was assessed using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV).

Results

Against a gold standard chart review, the PPV for ICD-10 suicidality codes was 86.9%, and the NPV was 76.2%. Nearly half of encounters involving suicidality were not captured by ICD-10 coding (sensitivity=53.4%). Sensitivity was higher for ideation-present (82.4%) than for action-present (33.7%) or action-past (20.4%).

Conclusions

Many cases of suicidality may be missed by relying on only ICD-10 codes. Accuracy of ICD-10 codes is high for suicidal ideation but low for action. To scale the ideation-to-action model for use in large populations, better data sources are needed to identify cases of suicidal action.
Myonuclear apoptosis underlies diaphragm atrophy in mechanically ventilated ICU patients
Authors: Claassen Wout J. , van den Berg Marloes , Shi Zhong-Hua , Baelde Rianne J. , Bogaards Sylvia , Bonis Luuk , Hakkeling Heleen , Bamyani Arezou , Schaaf Gerben J. , Beishuizen Albertus , Dickhoff Chris , Boon Reinier A. , Heunks Leo , Kirby Tyler J. , Ottenheijm Coen A.C.
Published: July 2024

Rationale

Mechanical ventilation plays an important role in critical illness-associated diaphragm weakness. Weakness contributes to difficult weaning and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Diaphragm weakness is caused by a combination of atrophy and dysfunction of myofibers, which are large syncytial cells maintained by a population of myonuclei. Each myonucleus provides gene transcripts to a finite fiber volume, termed the myonuclear domain. Changes in myonuclear number in myofibers undergoing atrophy has not been investigated in mechanically ventilated ICU patients. Myonuclear number is a determinant of transcriptional capacity, and therefore critical for muscle regeneration after atrophy.

Objectives

Our objective was to investigate if and how myonuclear number changes in the diaphragm of mechanically ventilated ICU patients and whether changes are associated with myofiber atrophy.

Methods

We used a combination of transcriptomics, immunohistochemistry, and confocal microscopy to study myonuclear alterations in diaphragm and quadriceps biopsies from mechanically ventilated ICU patients.

Results

Myonuclear number and myonuclear domain were reduced in patients with diaphragm myofiber atrophy. Intrinsic apoptotic pathway activation was identified as a mechanism underlying myonuclear removal in the diaphragm of mechanically ventilated ICU patients. Total transcriptional activity in myofibers decreased with myonuclear loss.

Furthermore, muscle stem cell number was reduced in the patients with diaphragm atrophy.

Conclusion

We identified myonuclear loss due to intrinsic apoptotic pathway activation as a potential mechanism underlying diaphragm atrophy in mechanically ventilated patients. This provides novel insights in diaphragm weakness of ICU patients. Targeted therapies may limit development of diaphragm weakness and improve weaning outcome.
Multi-omics data integration identifies novel biomarkers and patient subgroups in inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Preto António José , Chanana Shaurya , Ence Daniel , Healy Matt D , Domingo-Fernández Daniel , West Kiana A
Published: July 2024

Objective: In this work, we explored one of the largest multi-omics cohorts in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), the Study of a Prospective Adult Research Cohort (SPARC IBD), with the goal of identifying predictive biomarkers for Crohn's Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and elucidating patient subtypes. Design: We analyzed genomics, transcriptomics (gut biopsy samples), and proteomics (blood plasma) from hundreds of patients from SPARC IBD. We trained a machine learning model that classifies UC vs. CD samples. In parallel, we leveraged multi-omics data integration to unveil patient subgroups in each of the two indications independently and analyzed the molecular phenotypes of these patient subpopulations. Results: The high performance of the model showed that multi-omics signatures are able to discriminate between the two indications. The most predictive features of the model, both known and novel omics signatures for IBD, can potentially be used as diagnostic biomarkers. Patient subgroups analysis in each indication uncovered omics features associated with disease severity in UC patients, and with tissue inflammation in CD patients. This culminates with the observation of two CD subpopulations characterized by distinct inflammation profiles. Conclusion: Our work unveiled potential biomarkers to discriminate between CD and UC and to stratify each population into well-defined subgroups, offering promising avenues for the application of precision medicine strategies.
Brain-first forms of Parkinson’s Disease are over-represented in patients with non-responsive resting tremor
Authors: Mendonça Marcelo D. , Ferreira Pedro , Barbosa Raquel , da Silva Joaquim Alves
Published: July 2024

Motor subtypes in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) are unstable over time, limiting mechanistic insights and biomarker discovery. We focused on Rest Tremor (RT) as a symptom to test for phenotype stability and link them to specific circuits and disease mechanisms. Using the PPMI cohort data over 5 years we found that RT we found that RT is more stable than common Tremor-Dominant definitions, a stability also seen for therapy response. At time of diagnosis, the population of therapy-resistant RT patients was enriched with a brain-first PD profile as predicted by a-Synuclein origin site and connectome (SOC) model. Resistant-RT patients have lower gastrointestinal and cardiovascular symptoms, lower prevalence of probable REM-Sleep behavior disorder, and higher dopaminergic asymmetry compared to therapy-responsive or no tremor patients. Treating RT as a distinct phenomenon revealed a relative phenotypic stability with treatment response being linked to different patterns of disease progression.
Causal Relationship between Mental Disorders and Cancers: a Mendelian Randomization Study
Authors: Du Bowen , Hong Han , Tang Chaopeng , Fan Li , Dong Jie , Ge Jingping , Shang Xuejun
Published: July 2024

Background

Evidence from observational studies suggests an association between mental disorders and cancers. However, the causality of this association remains unclear.

Methods

We collected genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics of five mental disorders from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC, 72,517 to 500,199 participants), paired with GWAS summary statistics of the risks of 18 cancer types from the UK Biobank (167,020 to 361,194 participants) and FinnGen database (110,521 to 264,701 participants). We conducted univariable and multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to explore the causal relationships.

Results

We identified ten causal associations between mental disorders and cancer risks. Notably, anorexia nervosa (AN) exhibits a causal association with a decreased risk of prostate cancer (β = -0.30, p = 1.61 × 10-6) and an elevated risk for stomach cancer (β = 0.47, p = 5.3 × 10-3). Bipolar disorder (BD) is causally linked to a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer (β = -5.13 × 10-4, p = 3.2 × 10-3). Major depression disorder (MDD) is causally associated with an elevated risk of bladder cancer (β = 1.84 × 10-3, p = 5.0 × 10-4) and kidney cancer (β = 1.40 × 10-3, p = 4.9 × 10-3). Additionally, we found the causal effect of skin melanoma on BD (β = -10.39, p = 2.1×10-4) and Schizophrenia (SCZ, β = -7.42, p = 3.3 × 10-4) with a bi-directional MR analysis. Moreover, we identified leukocyte count as a causal mediator of a causal association between AN and stomach cancer with a two-step MR analysis.

Conclusions

In summary, our MR analysis reveals that mental disorders were causally associated with cancer risks.
Prevalence and uptake of vaping among people who have quit smoking: a population study in England, 2013-2024
Authors: Jackson Sarah E , Brown Jamie , Kock Loren , Shahab Lion
Published: July 2024

Background: Vaping prevalence has increased rapidly in England since 2021. This study estimated trends between 2013 and 2024 in vaping among ex-smokers, overall and among those who did not use e-cigarettes to support their quit attempt. Methods: Data were collected via nationally-representative, monthly cross-sectional surveys in England, October-2013 to May-2024. We analysed data from 54,251 adults (≥18y) who reported having tried to stop smoking in the past year or having stopped smoking more than a year ago. Logistic regression estimated associations between time and e-cigarette use. Findings: Across the period, there were increases in the use of e-cigarettes to support attempts to stop smoking (from 26.9% [24.0-30.0%] in October-2013 to 41.4% [37.7-45.2%] in May-2024), in current vaping among ≥1y ex-smokers (1.9% [1.5-2.5%] to 20.4% [18.7-22.2%]), and in late uptake of vaping after smoking cessation (i.e., current vaping among people who quit smoking before e-cigarettes started to become popular in 2011; 0.4% [0.2-0.8%] to 3.7% [2.8-4.9%]). These increases were non-linear, with much of the change occurring since mid-2021, and were greatest at younger ages (e.g., current vaping among ≥1y ex-smokers reached 58.9% among 18-year-olds vs. 10.7% among 65-year-olds). Interpretation: Vaping prevalence increased substantially among adult ex-smokers in England over the past decade, particularly at younger ages. While this is likely to have been largely driven by increased use of e-cigarettes in quit attempts and continued use thereafter, there was also evidence of increased uptake of vaping among those who had been abstinent from smoking for many years.
Vision Loss in Neurocysticercosis: Clinical Features, Diagnostic Approaches, and Treatment Outcomes: a systematic review of case report and case series
Authors: Garg Ravindra Kumar , Garg Pragati , Paliwal Vimal Kumar , Pandey Shweta
Published: July 2024

Background

Neurocysticercosis is a parasitic infection caused byTaenia soliumlarvae, leading to various neurological symptoms, including vision loss. This systematic review critically analyzes cases of vision loss associated with neurocysticercosis to evaluate diverse etiologies and assess the visual prognosis.

Methods

This review follows the PRISMA guidelines and is registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (registration number: CRD42024556278). Reports involving human subjects with vision loss due to neurocysticercosis were included. Databases searched included PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar.

Results

A total of 148 records, encompassing 168 patients, were included. The mean age was 27.3 years, with 41 percent females and 58.3 percent males. The majority of cases were from Asia. The duration of illness varied, with most cases spanning one month to six months. Common symptoms included headache or orbital pain. Vision loss was predominantly unilateral. Imaging abnormalities included multiple cystic brain lesions, enhancing brain lesions, and calcified lesions. The most affected structures were the intravitreal and retinal regions, followed by the anterior chamber, orbital apex, and optic nerve. Anticysticercal drugs were the main treatment, with 60.12 percent showing improvement.

Conclusions

Vision loss in neurocysticercosis is primarily due to the involvement of the intravitreal and retinal regions, with frequent occurrence of multiple cystic brain lesions.

Anticysticercal treatment leads to significant improvement in many cases, although surgical intervention is often required for intravitreal or retinal cysts. The prognosis varies, with the majority of patients had improved vision, though some experience severe outcomes such as eye enucleation.
Intraluminal pressure in central venous hemodialysis catheters during power injection of contrast media
Authors: White Nicholas A , van der Molen Aart J , Limpens Ronald W A L , Maas Jacinta J , van der Bogt Koen E A , Horeman Tim , Rotmans Joris I
Published: July 2024

Background

Central venous catheters (CVCs) provide direct access to the central circulatory system, commonly used in hemodialysis and intensive care units for drug administration. Although uncertified for the procedure, CVCs are sometimes used for power injection of contrast medium (CM) during CT scans to avoid peripheral intravenous catheter placement. Previous studies suggest this practice is safe, but incidents have been reported. This study aims to measure intraluminal pressure during CM injection through CVCs and assess its impact on the luminal surface to guide responsible clinical use.

Methods

Strain gauges were applied to the exterior walls of four samples from three different types of unused CVCs. These gauges measured material deformation due to intraluminal pressure during CM injections at rates of 4.5 mL/s and 8 mL/s, each performed five times. Strain data were calibrated against known pressures in a static system. The CVCs were then either pressurized until bursting or subjected to microscopic analysis of their luminal surfaces.

Results

Intraluminal pressures measured (97-545 kPa or 14-79 PSI) were below the burst pressure (779-1248 Kpa or 113-181 PSI) in all instances. Strain regression analysis shows a statistically significant (p<0.05) trend over 10 injections in almost all CVCs tested, indicating material fatigue. Surface microscopy revealed surface micro-cracks from repeated injections, suggesting material damage.

Conclusions

The intraluminal pressures from power injections of CM are sufficiently low to prevent CVC bursting. While incidental use for CM injection appears safe, repeated use may cause material damage
A dynamical analysis of the alignment mechanism between two interacting cells
Authors: Leech Vivienne , Dalwadi Mohit P. , Manhart Angelika
Published: July 2024

In this work we analytically investigate the alignment mechanism of self-propelled ellipse-shaped cells in two spatial dimensions interacting via overlap avoidance. By considering a two-cell system and imposing certain symmetries, we obtain an analytically tractable dynamical system, which we mathematically analyse in detail. We find that for elongated cells there is a half-stable steady state corresponding to perfect alignment between the cells. Whether cells move towards this state (i.e. become perfectly aligned) or not is determined by where in state space the initial condition lies. We find that a separatrix splits the state space into two regions, which characterise these two different outcomes. We find that some self-propulsion is necessary to achieve perfect alignment, however too much self-propulsion hinders alignment. Analysing the effect of small amounts of self-propulsion offers an insight into the timescales at play when a trajectory is moving towards the point of perfect alignment. We find that the two cells initially move apart to avoid overlap over a fast timescale, and then the presence of self-propulsion causes them to move towards a configuration of perfect alignment over a much slower timescale. Overall, our analysis highlights how the interaction between self-propulsion and overlap avoidance is sufficient to generate alignment.
Temperature-dependant benefits and costs of cytoplasmic male sterility in snailPhysa acuta
Authors: Bererd Sophie , David Patrice , Teulier Loïc , Plénet Sandrine , Luquet Emilien
Published: July 2024

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) originates from a mito-nuclear conflict where mitochondrial genes induce male sterility and nuclear genes restore male fertility in hermaphrodites. The first observation of CMS in animals was reported recently in the freshwater snailPhysa acutawhere it is associated with two extremes divergent mitotypes D and K. The D individuals are male-sterile while male-fertility is restored by nuclear genes in K and are found mixed with the most common male-fertile N mitotype in natural populations (i.e., gynodioecy). We compared male and female fitness, growth rate, and metabolism between the three mitotypes at two temperatures as this factor influences CMS in gynodioecious plants via alteration of mitochondrial functioning. Temperature did not affect male-sterility which depended only on the mitotype and the presence of restorers. Our results provided evidence that CMS is beneficial to female fitness in the absence of restorers, while it is costly in their presence, fulfilling a key theoretical condition for the long-term maintenance of gynodioecy. Fitness benefits and costs are mediated by differences in body mass and enhanced at cold temperature suggesting that the system dynamics may vary according to thermal conditions in nature.
A mathematical sequence representing tonic action potential spike trains
Authors: Keum Dongil , Kim Kwon-Woo , Pruitt Molly , Medina de Jesus Alexandre E.
Published: July 2024

This is a study outlining the regularity of action potential spikes. Through a stochastic study, we observed a series of strong correlations between the intervals of tonically firing spikes generated by injecting constant currents of varying intensities into layer V pyramidal neurons of the ferret medial prefrontal cortex. Based on this, we derived a formulaic relationship for the interspike intervals (ISIs). According to this formula, an ISI can be expressed as a product of two factors: the timing precursor and the scale factor. Those arise from a linear relationship between activities of ion channels that modulate spike frequency adaptation and spike timing. Using this rule, we successfully predicted spike timing and demonstrated that the spike timing can be determined by the linear combination of various ion channel activities, reflecting different cellular signaling pathways such as G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) activation. These findings not only aid studies on cellular signaling but also expand our insight into neural coding, while increasing research efficacy through neural modeling.

Significant Statement

While the action potential (AP) pattern may appear simple at first glance, no rule has been discovered in the nearly 100 years since it was first recorded. Building on this finding, we have developed a method to intuitively measure the activity of various ion channels responsible for determining spike timing from the AP spikes, as well as the associated intracellular and extracellular signaling pathways.
High prevalence of multi-drug resistant bacteria in faecal samples from UK passerine birds
Authors: Dunn Jenny C. , Clegg Simon R.
Published: July 2024

Wild birds are a near ubiquitous sight in gardens, offering pleasure to many people through supplementary feeding, song, or other interactions. However, they are also potential carriers of many pathogens, includingCampylobacter,Salmonella, EnterococcusandE. coli; some of these may be resistant to commonly used drugs. This study collected faecal samples from multiple species of UK passerine birds, isolating bacterial pathogens to assess carriage and drug resistances associated with those bacteria. 75% of birds were carrying at least one bacterial species which was multi drug resistant (MDR; resistant to three or more classes of antimicrobial), with 11.6% of birds carryingSalmonellaspp., 18.9% carryingCampylobacterspp., 78% carryingEnterococcusspp., and all carryingE. colistrains. Many of these strains were shown to be MDR with 70%, 88%, 32% and 59% respectively. Intercontinental migration was shown to be a risk factor for carriage of many of the pathogens, as was an associated with human habitation. Age was also a risk factor with younger birds twice as likely to carryCampylobacterspp. than adults, and house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and blackbirds (Turdus merula) being particularly high-level carriers compared to other species. The high-level carriage and shedding of MDRE. coliand other zoonotic pathogens within the faecal samples of multiple species of passerine birds offers a timely reminder of the risks which these bacteria, and their drug resistance profiles may pose to human and animal health in the UK and worldwide. It also shows a level of high environmental contamination, which birds may continue to contribute towards, until our use of antibiotics, and level of drug resistant bacteria is decreased. Developing mechanisms for reducing levels of carriage of MDR bacteria in wild bird populations through, for example, increased hygiene around bird feeding practices, may be key in reducing environmental contamination.

Highlights

75% of wild birds were carrying at least one MDR bacterium

Young birds were twice as likely to carryCampylobacterthan adults

House sparrows and blackbirds were particularly likely to carryCampylobacter

All intercontinental migrants withSalmonellacarried MDR strains
DesmodiumVolatiles in “Push-Pull” Agriculture and Protection Against the Fall Armyworm,Spodoptera frugiperda
Authors: Odermatt Daria M. , Chidawanyika Frank , Mutyambai Daniel M. , Schmid Bernhard , Domeignoz-Horta Luiz A. , Tamiru Amanuel , Schuman Meredith C.
Published: July 2024

Push-pull systems for sustainable pest management of crop plants employ repellent stimuli from intercrops (“push”) to repel herbivores and attract their predators and parasitoids, and attracting stimuli from border plants (“pull”) to lead herbivorous insects out of the crop. The most widespread implementation, intercropping with the legumeDesmodium, reduces herbivory damage from the invasive fall armyworm (FAW)Spodoptera frugiperda. However, the three publications to date investigating underlying mechanisms disagree whether theDesmodiumintercrop emits bioactive volatiles that repel FAW. We aimed to resolve this controversy by measuring volatile emission fromDesmodium intortum(greenleafDesmodium) andD. incanumintercrops in push-pull fields, and assaying their effects on the behavior of the FAW in oviposition and wind tunnel choice bioassays. We detected many volatile substances in the headspaces of bothDesmodiumspecies, which exhibited similar profiles, including substances previously reported to repel lepidopteran herbivores. FAW moths preferred to oviposit on maize overDesmodium, but not on maize further from versus closer toDesmodiumplants that were inaccessible to the moths, but sharing the air. In a wind tunnel bioassay, the moths tended to prefer maize volatiles over a combination of volatiles from maize andD. intortum, but notD. incanum. In conclusion, we foundD. intortumandD. incanumto emit volatiles that have been shown to be bioactive, and FAW moths to prefer maize over eitherDesmodiumspecies. Moreover, additional mechanisms are likely important for reducing FAW damage to maize under push-pull cultivation.
Texture tomography, a versatile framework to study crystalline texture in 3D
Authors: Frewein M. P. K. , Mason J. , Maier B. , Cölfen H. , Medjahed A. , Burghammer M. , Allain M. , Grünewald T. A.
Published: July 2024

Crystallographic texture is a key organization feature of many technical and biological materials. In these materials, especially hierarchically structured ones, the preferential alignment of the nano constituents heavily influences the macroscopic behavior of the material. To study local crystallographic texture with both high spatial and angular resolution, we developed Texture Tomography (TexTOM). This approach allows the user to model the diffraction data of polycrystalline materials using the full reciprocal space of the crystal ensemble and describe the texture in each voxel via an orientation distribution function, hence it provides 3D reconstructions of the local texture by measuring the probabilities of all crystal orientations. The TexTOM approach addresses limitations associated with existing models: it correlates the intensities from several Bragg reflections, thus reducing ambiguities resulting from symmetry. Further, it yields quantitative probability distributions of local real space crystal orientations without further assumptions about the sample structure. Finally, its efficient mathematical formulation enables reconstructions faster than the time scale of the experiment. This manuscript presents the mathematical model, the inversion strategy and its current experimental implementation. We show characterizations of simulated data as well as experimental data obtained from a synthetic, inorganic model sample: the silica–witherite biomorph. TexTOM provides a versatile framework to reconstruct 3D quantitative texture information for polycrystalline samples; it opens the door for unprecedented insights into the nanostructural makeup of natural and technical materials.
“It answers questions that I didn’t know I had”: PhD students’ evaluation of an information-sharing knowledge graph
Authors: Gardasevic Stanislava , Lamba Manika
Published: July 2024

Purpose

Interdisciplinary PhD programs can be challenging as the vital information needed by students may not be readily available; it is scattered across the university’s websites, while tacit knowledge can be obtained only by interacting with people. Hence, there is a need to develop a knowledge management model to create, query and maintain a knowledge repository for interdisciplinary students. This study aims to propose a knowledge graph containing information on critical categories (faculty, classes, dissertations, etc.) and their relationships, extracted from multiple sources, essential for interdisciplinary PhD students. This study evaluates the usability of a participatory-designed knowledge graph intended to facilitate information exchange and decision-making.

Methodology

The authors used data from multiple sources (such as university websites, faculty profiles, publication and dissertation metadata and crowdsourced data) to generate a knowledge graph in the Neo4J Bloom platform. The authors recruited 15 interdisciplinary PhD students using convenience sampling from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa at various PhD stages to design and populate the knowledge graph. Next, the authors conducted a mixed methods study to perform its usability evaluation. First, the authors engaged the students in a participatory design workshop to identify relevant graph queries. Second, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews to determine the usability of the knowledge graph and rate the queries. Each interview was coded with structural and thematic codes and was further analyzed using sentiment analysis in R programming language.

Findings

The usability findings demonstrate that interaction with this knowledge graph benefits PhD students by notably reducing uncertainty and academic stress, particularly among newcomers. Knowledge graph supported them in decision-making, especially when choosing collaborators (e.g. supervisor or dissertation committee members) in an interdisciplinary setting. Key helpful features are related to exploring student–faculty networks, milestones tracking, rapid access to aggregated data and insights into crowdsourced fellow students’ activities. However, they showed concerns about crowdsourced data privacy and accessibility. Although participants expressed the need for more qualitative data in the graph, they noted it helped identify people to talk to about the topics of their interest.

Originality

The knowledge graph provides a solution to meet the personalized needs of doctoral researchers and has the potential to improve the information discovery and decision-making process substantially. It also includes the tacit knowledge exchange support missing from most current approaches, which is critical for this population and establishing interdisciplinary collaborations. This approach can be applied to other interdisciplinary programs and domains globally.
Empowering farmers and enhancing sustainability: Inaru’s impact on the Dominican cocoa industry
Authors: Kumari Shwetha , Nair Jitesh
Published: July 2024

Learning outcomes

After completion of the case study, the students will be able to understand the challenges faced by cocoa farmers in developing countries and their impact on the cocoa value chain, describe the need for a business to create a business model that offers social impact in small developing economies, explore innovative business models, such as vertical integration, for addressing transparency and fair compensation issues in agricultural supply chains, analyze the role that start-ups can play in disrupting the commodities supply chain and building a national competitive advantage and examine how a values-driven business can gain the trust of stakeholders and create a profitable ecosystem.

Case overview/synopsis

This case study describes the innovative business model of Inaru Corporation, a pioneering venture founded by two sisters, Janett Liriano and Erika, aimed at revolutionizing the cocoa industry in the Dominican Republic. This case study outlines the challenges faced by cocoa farmers in the country, including low productivity, exploitation by middlemen and lack of value addition. Inaru’s innovative business model aimed to disrupt the traditional supply chains by prioritizing fair compensation for farmers, investing in sustainable practices and vertically integrating cocoa production from farming to manufacturing. Through direct relationships with producers, profit-sharing agreements, and a commitment to ethical business practices, Inaru sought to empower cocoa farmers and cultivate a more equitable and sustainable cocoa industry. Inaru was a model for ethical and caring business practices where it shared the profits with its farmers. By operating a profit-sharing model and sharing its fortune with other women, Inaru was helping create gender equity in the cocoa sector. Inaru planned to scale its business model to other cocoa-producing countries and even transfer its business model strategy to other commodities beginning with the coffee segment in Dominican Republic. By exploring Inaru’s case study, students gain a deep understanding of how businesses can drive positive change, create value for stakeholders and contribute to sustainable development goals.

Complexity academic level

This case was written for use in teaching graduate and postgraduate management courses in entrepreneurship and economics, politics and business environment.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.
Evaluation of a training programme to foster employability skills in professional training: a case study
Authors: Sánchez Ramírez José Manuel , Iñigo Victoria , Marcano Beatriz , Romero-García Carmen
Published: July 2024

Purpose

The aim of this work is to evaluate the effectiveness of a training programme for developing employability skills, including digital competency and soft skills (problem-solving, teamwork, adaptability, leadership, decision-making and creativity), in professional-training programmes.

Design/methodology/approach

It presents a case study where students from a professional training centre were evaluated twice, before and after doing the programme. The results from both were compared to determine whether there have been improvements. We also analysed whether there were differences by gender in the pretest and the posttest.

Findings

We observed that most of the students improved in both digital competency and in soft skills after completing the programme. In the case of digital competency, greater improvement was apparent in the areas of collaboration and communication and in digital content creation. Similar results were found for all competencies in the case of soft skills.

Originality/value

This learning programme had a positive impact on the competency development of professional-training students. Continuous training and advice for teachers and personalized monitoring during the implementation of this programme resulted in an apparent improvement in students’ employability skills.
Factors influencing online sustainability disclosure in Spanish universities
Authors: Ramírez Yolanda , Manzaneque Montserrat , Merino Elena
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the extent of sustainability disclosure through websites at Spanish universities and analyse the determinants that affect such disclosure.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses as methodology a content analysis of the sustainability information disclosed by universities on their official websites in 2022 and a regression of ordinary least squares.

Findings

Findings emphasise that Spanish universities have moderate levels of online sustainability disclosure, close to 50%, showing prevalent attention to dimensions concerning “organisation profile and governance”, “economic aspects” and “labour practices”, while “curriculum and teaching on sustainability topics” and “environmental” dimensions were less addressed. On the other hand, the findings indicate that public and larger universities are the ones most engaged in the online disclosure of information about sustainability issues. Likewise, universities led by female rectors exert a positive influence on sustainability disclosure on websites.

Practical implications

The results could be useful for policymakers and regulators to implement and standardise sustainability reporting at higher education institutions, as well as for managers at universities who wish to increase the diffusion of sustainability outreach to satisfy stakeholders’ demands and legitimise their actions in society.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first Spanish approach to identify the explanatory factors for sustainability reporting in Spanish higher education institutions.
Gender differences in the academic career: evidence from the accounting and finance departments
Authors: Kalash Ismail
Published: July 2024

Purpose

The aim of this research is to examine gender differences in the context of research productivity, research collaboration and academic promotion.

Design/methodology/approach

This research analyzes data related to 863 academics in the accounting and finance departments in Turkish universities by using OLS, Binary Logistic, Ordered Probit and Multinomial Probit Regressions.

Findings

The findings show that female academics have in overall a representation ratio of 32%, and that there are no significant differences regarding the opportunities for female academics to be employed in public compared to private, and in high-rank compared to low-rank universities. The results also indicate that female academics have lower research impact compared to male academics, and that this difference is more pronounced for professors, and in universities with low ratio of female representation, and also in public universities. In addition, female academics engage more in research collaboration and are less likely to hold the academic title of full professor than male academics.

Practical implications

The findings of this study provide significant signals about the need for improving gender policies that mitigate the conditions adversely affecting research productivity and impact by considering the supporting circumstances for female academics and improving the representation ratio, which also can play vital role in reducing discrimination and bias and contribute to better research and scientific environment.

Originality/value

To the author’s knowledge, this article is the first to examine gender effect regarding research productivity, research collaboration and academic promotion in Turkish universities.
Adaptive virtual team planning and coordination: a mathematical programming approach
Authors: Garcia Christopher
Published: July 2024

Purpose

The rise of remote work increasingly requires organizations to coordinate a single large, consolidated talent pool into ad-hoc, short-term project teams on demand. This problem involves many simultaneous considerations including project revenues and rejection costs, conflicting projects and roles, worker assignment costs, worker utilization preferences and limits, worker reassignment costs, and arbitrary role start and end times. Moreover, plans must be continuously updated in response to changing circumstances. This paper addresses the problem of dynamic virtual team planning and coordination.

Design/methodology/approach

We show this problem is NP-hard and provide a dynamic mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation for both optimal initial plan generation as well as continuous plan adjustment and re-optimization. We utilized a factorial experiment design to generate benchmark problems spanning a wide range of characteristics and conducted extensive computational experimentation using a common MILP solver.

Findings

Exactly optimal solutions to large, realistically sized problems were consistently obtained in short amounts of time. All observed solution times were sufficient to support the operational decision-making requirements of real-world virtual team coordination, demonstrating the viability of this approach.

Practical implications

The approach developed in this research can enable organizations to optimally coordinate virtual teams on a large scale and continually adjust plans in response to changing circumstances, all in an automated manner.

Originality/value

This paper addresses a new and complex problem of increasing importance to organizations due to the rise in remote work. We provide a problem formulation and exact approach for optimally solving both the planning and re-planning aspects of this problem.
Impact of the Russia–Ukraine War: evidence from G20 countries
Authors: Tarigan Josua , Delia Monica , Hatane Saarce Elsye
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the impact of geopolitical events of the Russia–Ukraine conflict on the stock market volatility of G20 countries. Furthermore, the paper also investigates the possible reasons for any similarities or differences in the results of the three sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper measures the impact of the stock market sectoral index price (SIP) by using the daily closing price as a dependent variable. In addition, this study uses three independent variables: geopolitical risk (GPR), commodity price (CP) and foreign exchange rate (FER). Seventeen countries from the G20 are analyzed using a daily timeframe from September 2021 to August 2022 (before and during the Russian invasion).

Findings

The results revealed that FER, CP and GPR all affect SIP, but the level of significance and positive/negative signs vary in all three sectors. The positive FER affects SIP in all sectors, while the negative CP and GPR significantly impact SIP in the energy and transportation sectors.

Research limitations/implications

This study’s research model is more suited for transportation and energy than consumer goods. Future researchers can enhance the research model for the consumer goods sector by incorporating additional variables to understand their relationship with SIP better.

Originality/value

This study explores the impact of the Russia–Ukraine conflict on the stock market in G20 countries, focusing on the top three most affected sectors.
Phylogeography of apomictic and outcrossing individuals in invasive and native populations of Ardisia crenata (Primulaceae)
Authors: Noyori Wataru , Isagi Yuji , Nakamura Naoto , Tagane Shuichiro , Celis Gerardo , Kitajima Kaoru
Published: July 2024

Phylogeography of invasive exotic plant species is crucial for identifying the source population from which a given invading population has originated. Ardisia crenata Sims, a shade tolerant shrub native to East Asia, is one of the most serious invasive exotic plants in Florida, North America. The objective of this study is to investigate the genetic differentiation and phylogeographical relationships among A. crenata native populations in Japan and invasive populations in Florida. We analyzed DNA from 188 individuals gathered from eight populations in Japan and four subpopulations in Florida using double‐digestion restriction‐associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD‐seq) and estimated a maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree among them. The results revealed four genetic clusters, with a striking dominance of genetically identical clonal individuals within the invading populations in Florida and four Honshu populations in Japan. These groups were genetically close to each other and to one cultivated individual sampled in Japan. In contrast, the individuals from Miyazaki, Yakushima, Kochi, and Iriomote in southwestern Japan were genetically distinct from Honshu and Florida individuals, showing high genetic diversity indicative of outcrossing. Given that A. crenata does not exhibit a vegetative clonal habit and all wild and cultivated plants regenerate from seeds, these results suggest that Honshu and Florida populations exclusively reproduced with seeds produced by apomixis.
Let's talk populist? A survey experiment on effects of (non‐) populist discourse on vote choice
Authors: KITTEL REBECCA C.
Published: July 2024

Populism research has found much scholarly and public attention alike in recent years. Most research has focused on how populism can be defined, assessed or even measured. Even though there are emerging studies on populist messages, few of them have paid attention on causally identifying ways in which discourse can affect support for populist actors. This article positions itself within this gap and aims to answer which discursive elements make (non‐)populist messages appealing to varying groups of people. To answer this research question, I conducted a novel survey experiment on vote choice in Germany from December 2020 to January 2021 with N = 3325. Respondents were asked to choose between two candidate statements that displayed varying discursive elements. Thus, the experiment causally tested whether people‐centric rhetoric, blame attributive languages or populist style focusing on language complexity drive the populist vote. Results show that a neutral form of blame attribution, namely towards politicians, had the highest probability of driving vote choice, irrespective of respondents' underlying ideological preferences or populist attitudes. Simple language nearly always has a negative effect on vote choice, whereas people‐centrism adds a positive touch. These results show that there may be an increasing dissatisfaction with democracy that is voiced by blaming political elites for the malfunctioning of society.
DNA fork remodeling proteins, Zranb3 and Smarcal1, are uniquely essential for aging hematopoiesis
Authors: Kushinsky Saul , Puccetti Matthew V. , Adams Clare M. , Shkundina Irina , James Nikkole , Mahon Brittany M. , Michener Peter , Eischen Christine M.
Published: July 2024

Over a lifetime, hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) are forced to repeatedly proliferate to maintain hematopoiesis, increasing their susceptibility to DNA damaging replication stress. However, the proteins that mitigate this stress, protect HSPC replication, and prevent aging‐driven dysregulation are unknown. We report two evolutionarily conserved, ubiquitously expressed chromatin remodeling enzymes with similar DNA replication fork reversal biochemical functions, Zranb3 and Smarcal1, have surprisingly specialized roles in distinct HSPC populations. While both proteins actively mitigate replication stress and prevent DNA damage and breaks during lifelong hematopoiesis, the loss of either resulted in distinct biochemical and biological consequences. Notably, defective long‐term HSC function, revealed with bone marrow transplantation, caused hematopoiesis abnormalities in young mice lacking Zranb3. Aging significantly worsened these hematopoiesis defects in Zranb3‐deficient mice, including accelerating the onset of myeloid‐biased hematopoietic dysregulation to early in life. Such Zranb3‐deficient HSPC abnormalities with age were driven by accumulated DNA damage and replication stress. Conversely, Smarcal1 loss primarily negatively affected progenitor cell functions that were exacerbated with aging, resulting in a lymphoid bias. Simultaneous loss of both Zranb3 and Smarcal1 compounded HSPC defects. Additionally, HSPC DNA replication fork dynamics had unanticipated HSPC type and age plasticity that depended on the stress and Zranb3 and/or Smarcal1. Our data reveal both Zranb3 and Smarcal1 have essential HSPC cell intrinsic functions in lifelong hematopoiesis that protect HSPCs from replication stress and DNA damage in unexpected, unique ways.