bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Smartphone-based ear-EEG to study sound processing in everyday life
Authors: Hölle Daniel , Bleichner Martin G.
Published: February 2023

In everyday life, people differ in their sound perception and thus sound processing. Some people may be distracted by construction noise while others do not even notice. With smartphone-based mobile earelectroencephalography we can measure and quantify sound processing in everyday life by analyzing presented sounds and also naturally occurring ones. Twenty-four participants completed four controlled conditions in the lab (1h) and one condition in the office (3h). All conditions used the same paired-click stimuli. In the lab, participants listened to click tones under four different instructions: no task towards the sounds, reading a newspaper article, listening to an audio article, or counting a rare deviant sound. In the office recording, participants followed daily activities while they were sporadically presented with clicks, without any further instruction. In addition to the presented sounds, environmental sounds were recorded as acoustic features (i.e., loudness, power spectral density, sounds onsets). We found task-dependent differences in the auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) to the presented click sounds in all lab conditions, which underline that neural processes related to auditory attention can be differentiated with ear-EEG. In the office condition, we found ERPs comparable to some of the lab conditions. The N1 amplitude to the click sounds beyond the lab was dependent on the background noise, probably due to energetic masking. Contrary to our expectation, we did not find a clear ERP in response to the environmental sounds. Overall, we showed that smartphone-based ear-EEG can be used to study sound processing of well defined-stimuli in everyday life.
Proteome encoded determinants of protein sorting into extracellular vesicles
Authors: Waury Katharina , Gogishvili Dea , Nieuwland Rienk , Chatterjee Madhurima , Teunissen Charlotte E. , Abeln Sanne
Published: February 2023

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membranous structures released by cells into the extracellular space and are thought to be involved in cell-to-cell communication. While EVs and their cargo are promising biomarker candidates, protein sorting mechanisms of proteins to EVs remain unclear. In this study, we ask if it is possible to determine EV association based on the protein sequence. Additionally, we ask what the most important determinants are for EV association. We answer these questions with explainable AI models, using human proteome data from EV databases to train and validate the model. It is essential to correct the datasets for contaminants introduced by coarse EV isolation workflows and for experimental bias caused by mass spectrometry. In this study, we show that it is indeed possible to predict EV association from the protein sequence: a simple sequence-based model for predicting EV proteins achieved an area under the curve of 0.77±0.01, which increased further to 0.84±0.00 when incorporating curated post-translational modification (PTM) annotations. Feature analysis shows that EV associated proteins are stable, polar, and structured with low isoelectric point compared to non-EV proteins. PTM annotations emerged as the most important features for correct classification; specifically palmitoylation is one of the most prevalent EV sorting mechanisms for unique proteins. Palmitoylation and nitrosylation sites are especially prevalent in EV proteins that are determined by very strict isolation protocols, indicating they could potentially serve as quality control criteria for future studies. This computational study offers an effective sequence-based predictor of EV associated proteins with extensive characterisation of the human EV proteome that can explain for individual proteins which factors contribute to their EV association.
SUMMIT-FA: A new resource for improved transcriptome imputation using functional annotations
Authors: Melton Hunter J. , Zhang Zichen , Wu Chong
Published: February 2023

Transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) integrate gene expression prediction models and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify gene–trait associations. The power of TWAS is determined by the sample size of GWAS and the accuracy of the expression prediction model. Here, we present a new method, the Summary-level Unified Method for Modeling Integrated Transcriptome using Functional Annotations (SUMMIT-FA), that improves the accuracy of gene expression prediction by leveraging functional annotation resources and a large expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) summary-level dataset. We build gene expression prediction models using SUMMIT-FA with a comprehensive functional database MACIE and the eQTL summary-level data from the eQTLGen consortium. By applying the resulting models to GWASs for 24 complex traits and exploring it through a simulation study, we show that SUMMIT-FA improves the accuracy of gene expression prediction models in whole blood, identifies significantly more gene-trait associations, and improves predictive power for identifying “silver standard” genes compared to several benchmark methods.
Cochlear dysfunction as an early biomarker for cognitive decline in normal hearing and mild hearing loss
Authors: Medel Vicente , Delano Paul H. , Belkhiria Chama , Leiva Alexis , De Gatica Cristina , Vidal Victor , Navarro Carlos F. , San Martín Simon , Martínez Melissa , Gierke Christine , García Ximena , Cerda Mauricio , Vergara Rodrigo , Delgado Carolina , Farías Gonzalo
Published: February 2023

Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) at moderate levels (>40 dB HL) has been recognized as an important risk factor for cognitive decline. However, whether individuals with mild hearing loss (audiogram thresholds between 25 and 40 dB HL) or even those with normal audiograms (<25 dB HL) have a higher risk of dementia, is still debated. Importantly, these early stages of presbycusis are the most common among the elderly, indicating the need to screen and identify individuals with early presbycusis that have an increased risk of cognitive decline. Unfortunately, in this group of patients, audiogram thresholds are not sufficiently sensitive to detect all the hearing impairments that are related to cognitive decline. Consequently, at the individual level, audiogram thresholds are not good estimators of the dementia risk in the group with mild hearing loss or normal hearing thresholds. Here, we propose to use distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE), as an objective and sensitive tool to estimate the risk of clinically relevant cognitive decline in elders with normal hearing o mild hearing loss. We assessed neuropsychological, brain magnetic resonance imaging, and auditory analyses on 94 subjects aged >64 years old. In addition, cognitive and functional performance was evaluated with the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR SoB), assessed through structured interviews conducted by neurologists, who were blind to the DPOAE results. We found that cochlear dysfunction, measured by DPOAE -and not by conventional audiometry-, was associated with CDR SoB classification and brain atrophy in the group with mild hearing loss (25 to 40 dB), and normal hearing (<25 dB). Our findings suggest that DPOAE may be a non-invasive tool for detecting neurodegeneration and cognitive decline in the elderly, potentially allowing for early intervention.
BrainstemDbh+Neurons Control Chronic Allergen-Induced Airway Hyperreactivity
Authors: Su Yujuan , Xu Jinhao , Zhu Ziai , Chin Ji , Xu Le , Yu Haoze , Nudell Victoria , Dash Barsha , Moya Esteban A. , Ye Li , Nimmerjahn Axel , Sun Xin
Published: February 2023

Chronic exposure of the lung to irritants such as allergen is a primary cause of asthma characterized by exaggerated airway constriction, also called hyperreactivity, which can be life-threatening. Aside from immune cells, vagal sensory neurons are important for airway hyperreactivity1–4. However, the identity and signature of the downstream nodes of this adaptive circuit remains poorly understood. Here we show that a single population ofDbh+neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (nTS) of the brainstem, and downstream neurons in the nucleus ambiguous (NA), are both necessary and sufficient for chronic allergen-induced airway hyperreactivity. We found that repeated exposures of mice to inhaled allergen activates nTS neurons in a mast cell-, interleukin 4 (IL-4)-and vagal nerve-dependent manner. Single-nucleus RNA-seq of the nTS at baseline and following allergen challenges reveals that aDbh+population is preferentially activated. Ablation or chemogenetic inactivation ofDbh+nTS neurons blunted, while chemogenetic activation promoted hyperreactivity. Viral tracing indicates thatDbh+nTS neurons, capable of producing norepinephrine, project to the NA, and NA neurons are necessary and sufficient to relay allergen signals to postganglionic neurons that then directly drive airway constriction. Focusing on transmitters, delivery of norepinephrine antagonists to the NA blunted allergen-induced hyperreactivity. Together, these findings provide molecular, anatomical and functional definitions of key nodes of a canonical allergen response circuit. The knowledge opens the possibility of targeted neural modulation as an approach to control refractory allergen-induced airway constriction.
Noise properties of adaptation-conferring biochemical control modules
Authors: Kell Brayden , Ripsman Ryan , Hilfinger Andreas
Published: February 2023

A key goal of synthetic biology is to establish functional biochemical modules with network-independent properties. Antithetic integral feedback (AIF) is a recently developed control module in which two control species perfectly annihilate each other’s biological activity. The AIF module confers robust perfect adaptation to the steady-state average level of a controlled intracellular component when subjected to sustained perturbations. Recent work has suggested that such robustness comes at the unavoidable price of increased stochastic fluctuations around average levels. We present theoretical results that support and quantify this trade-off for the commonly analyzed AIF variant in the idealized limit with perfect annihilation. However, we also show that this trade-off is a singular limit of the control module: Even minute deviations from perfect adaptation allow systems to achieve effective noise suppression as long as cells can pay the corresponding energetic cost. We further show that a variant of the AIF control module can achieve significant noise suppression even in the idealized limit with perfect adaptation. This atypical configuration may thus be preferable in synthetic biology applications.
The Suppression ofPlasmodium bergheiinAnopheles coluzziiinfected later withVavraia culicis
Authors: Vyas-Patel Nayna
Published: February 2023

The suppression of malaria parasites in the presence of an existing microsporidian infection ofVavraia culicis, was examined using fluorescentPlasmodium berghei. Younger hosts infected withV. culicishad a greater suppressive effect on the subsequent development ofP. bergheithan older infected hosts. This effect was density dependant on the numbers of microsporidian spores present, consequently it was also dependant on the age at which mosquitoes were infected with microsporidia, as larvae infected later harboured comparatively fewerV. culicisspores. The timing of primary and secondary infections of larval and adult mosquitoes (host age) with different parasites affects parasite development and hence disease outcomes. The use of green fluorescentP. bergheienabled easier and rapid visualisation and separation of malaria oocysts fromV. culicisspores. Different degrees of melanisation ofV. culicisspores was seen in a number of hosts and merits further investigation.
Taxonomical and ontological analysis of verified natural and laboratory human coronavirus hosts
Authors: Wang Yang , Ye Muhui , Zhang Fengwei , Freeman Zachary Thomas , Yu Hong , Ye Xianwei , He Yongqun
Published: February 2023

To fully understand COVID-19, it is critical to identify and analyze all the possible hosts of SARS-CoV-2 (the pathogen of COVID-19) and compare them with the hosts of other human coronaviruses. In this study, we collected, annotated, and performed taxonomical and ontological analysis of all the reported and verified hosts for all human coronaviruses including SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and four others that cause the common cold. A total of 37 natural hosts and 19 laboratory animal hosts of host human coronaviruses were identified based on experimental or clinical evidence. Our taxonomical ontology-based analysis found that all the verified susceptible natural and laboratory animals belong to therian mammals. Specifically, these 37 natural therian hosts include one wildlife marsupial mammal (i.e., Didelphis virginiana) and 36 Eutheria mammals (a.k.a. placental mammals). The 19 laboratory animal hosts are also classified as placental mammals. While several non-therian animals (including snake, housefly, zebrafish) were reported to be likely SARS-CoV-2 hosts, our analysis excluded them due to the lack of convincing evidence. Genetically modified mouse models with human Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) or dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) protein were more susceptible to virulent human coronaviruses with clear symptoms. Coronaviruses often became more virulent and adaptive in the mouse hosts after a series of viral passages in the mice. To support knowledge standardization and analysis, we have also represented the annotated host knowledge in the Coronavirus Infectious Disease Ontology (CIDO) and provided ways to automatically query the knowledge.
Functional characteristics and computational model of abundant hyperactive loci in the human genome
Authors: Hudaiberdiev Sanjarbek , Ovcharenko Ivan
Published: February 2023

Enhancers and promoters are classically considered to be bound by a small set of TFs in a sequence-specific manner. This assumption has come under increasing skepticism as the datasets of ChIP-seq assays of TFs have expanded. In particular, high-occupancy target (HOT) loci attract hundreds of TFs with often no detectable correlation between ChIP-seq peaks and DNA-binding motif presence. Here, we used a set of 1,003 TF ChIP-seq datasets (HepG2, K562, H1) to analyze the patterns of ChIP-seq peak co-occurrence in combination with functional genomics datasets. We identified 43,891 HOT loci forming at the promoter (53%) and enhancer (47%) regions. HOT promoters regulate housekeeping genes, whereas HOT enhancers are involved in tissue-specific process regulation. HOT loci form the foundation of human super-enhancers and evolve under strong negative selection, with some of these loci being located in ultraconserved regions. Sequence-based classification analysis of HOT loci suggested that their formation is driven by the sequence features, and the density of mapped ChIP-seq peaks across TF-bound loci correlates with sequence features and the expression level of flanking genes. Based on the affinities to bind to promoters and enhancers we detected 5 distinct clusters of TFs that form the core of the HOT loci. We report an abundance of HOT loci in the human genome and a commitment of 51% of all TF ChIP-seq binding events to HOT locus formation thus challenging the classical model of enhancer activity and propose a model of HOT locus formation based on the existence of large transcriptional condensates.
Homodecameric Rad52 promotes single-position Rad51 nucleation in homologous recombination
Authors: Deveryshetty Jaigeeth , Chadda Rahul , Mattice Jenna , Karunakaran Simrithaa , Rau Michael J. , Basore Katherine , Pokhrel Nilisha , Englander Noah , Fitzpatrick James A.J. , Bothner Brian , Antony Edwin
Published: February 2023

Homologous recombination (HR) is a pathway for the accurate repair of double-stranded DNA breaks. These breaks are resected to yield single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) that are coated by Replication Protein A (RPA).Saccharomyces cerevisiaeRad52 is a mediator protein that promotes HR by facilitating formation of Rad51 nucleoprotein filaments on RPA-coated ssDNA. Canonically, Rad52 has been described to function by displacing RPA to promote Rad51 binding. However,in vitro, Rad51 readily forms a filament by displacing RPA in the absence of Rad52. Yet,in vivo, Rad52 is essential for HR. Here, we resolve how Rad52 functions as a mediator using single-particle cryo-electron microscopy and biophysical approaches. We show that Rad52 functions as a homodecamer and catalyzes single-position nucleation of Rad51. The N-terminal half of Rad52 is a well-ordered ring, while the C-terminal half is disordered. An intrinsic asymmetry within Rad52 is observed, where one or a few of the C-terminal halves interact with the ordered N-terminal ring. Within the C-terminal half, we identify two conserved charged patches that harbor the Rad51 and RPA interacting motifs. Interactions between these two charged patches regulate a ssDNA binding. These features drive Rad51 binding to a single position on the Rad52 decameric ring. We propose a Rad52 catalyzed single-position nucleation model for the formation of pre-synaptic Rad51 filaments in HR.
Signatures of antibiotic tolerance and persistence in response to divergent stresses
Authors: Wang Huijing , McElfresh GW , Wijesuriya Nishantha , Podgorny Adam , Hecht Andrew D. , Ray J. Christian J.
Published: February 2023

In an environment with overly abundant lactose, a strain of the Gram-negative bacteriumE. coliinduces a persister-enriched phenotype and a heterogeneous pattern of growth rates. In high lactose conditions, the majority of cells are fast-growing, while a minority stochastically switch to a slow-growing, persister-prone phenotype that has higher ampicillin tolerance. Previously, bulk bacterial RNA-seq demonstrated broad changes in gene expression profiles for cells cultured in different lactose conditions, revealing multiple pathway regulatory regime switches enhancing its survivability for counteracting osmotic pressure in high lactose conditions with overflow metabolism.

We hypothesized that a set of unique gene regulatory signatures underlies antibiotic tolerance in the high lactose condition. To further understand the gene regulatory regime in slow-growing cells, the subpopulation of persister-prone cells was enriched with ampicillin treatment. The resulting culture was collected for transcriptomic analysis. The transcriptomic data were then analyzed for differentially expressed genes, signature genes, GO term enrichment, pathway enrichment, and flux balance analysis.

Our results show that under opposing stresses, the cells have similar and divergent responses. Cells exhibit upregulated assimilation pathways and downregulated biosynthesis pathways when encountering stresses. Post ampicillin treatment, cells in both high and low lactose conditions exhibit downregulated central metabolism to reduce growth. In the high-lactose concentration medium after ampicillin treatment, persisters may arise due to ferric imbalance-induced cell growth arrest and gene regulation due tossrA-mediated downregulation-induced error-prone transcription.
From autopoiesis to self-optimization: Toward an enactive model of biological regulation
Authors: Froese Tom , Weber Natalya , Shpurov Ivan , Ikegami Takashi
Published: February 2023

The theory of autopoiesis has been influential in many areas of theoretical biology, especially in the fields of artificial life and origins of life. However, it has not managed to productively connect with mainstream biology, partly for theoretical reasons, but arguably mainly because deriving specific working hypotheses has been challenging. The theory has recently undergone significant conceptual development in the enactive approach to life and mind. Hidden complexity in the original conception of autopoiesis has been explicated in the service of other operationalizable concepts related to self-individuation: precariousness, adaptivity, and agency. Here we advance these developments by highlighting the interplay of these concepts with considerations from thermodynamics: reversibility, irreversibility, and path-dependence. We interpret this interplay in terms of the self-optimization model, and present modeling results that illustrate how these minimal conditions enable a system to re-organize itself such that it tends toward coordinated constraint satisfaction at the system level. Although the model is still very abstract, these results point in a direction where the enactive approach could productively connect with cell biology.
Long term association between frailty and survival in patients with pleural disease: a cohort study protocol
Authors: Barton E , Carter B , Verduri A , Hughes J , Hewitt J , Maskell NA
Published: February 2023

Introduction

As the population ages, frailty is becoming more common and understanding how frailty impacts on patient outcomes has become an integral part of clinical care. To date, there is no evidence available on the relationship between frailty and patient outcomes in pleural disease. In this study we explore the relationship between frailty and both malignant and non-malignant pleural disease using the modified frailty index (mFI).

Methods and Analysis

Outpatients with pleural disease will be identified from a prospectively collected single-centre UK database and their data and notes retrospectively analysed. An mFI will be calculated for each patient and the correlation between their frailty index, final diagnosis and mortality analysed.

Dissemination

Study findings will be disseminated by publication in an appropriate journal and presentations at Respiratory and/or Geriatric medicine meetings.
The kinesin Kif21b regulates radial migration of cortical projection neurons through a non-canonical function on actin cytoskeleton
Authors: Alvarez José Rivera , Asselin Laure , Tilly Peggy , Benoit Roxane , Batisse Claire , Richert Ludovic , Batisse Julien , Morlet Bastien , Levet Florian , Schwaller Noémie , Mély Yves , Ruff Marc , Reymann Anne-Cécile , Godin Juliette D.
Published: February 2023

Completion of neuronal migration is critical for brain development. Kif21b is a plus-end directed kinesin motor protein that promotes intracellular transport and controls microtubule dynamics in neurons. Here we report a physiological function of Kif21b during radial migration of projection neurons in the mouse developing cortex.In vivoanalysis in mouse and live imaging on cultured slices demonstrate that Kif21b regulates the radial glia-guided locomotion of new-born neurons independently of its motility on microtubules. Unexpectedly we show that Kif21b directly binds and regulates the actin cytoskeleton bothin vitroandin vivoin migratory neurons. We establish that Kif21b-mediated regulation of actin cytoskeleton dynamics influences branching and nucleokinesis during neuronal locomotion. Altogether, our results reveal atypical roles of Kif21b on the actin cytoskeleton during migration of cortical projection neurons.
Physiological adaptation in flagellar architecture improvesVibrio alginolyticuschemotaxis in complex environments
Authors: Grognot Marianne , Nam Jong Woo , Elson Lauren E. , Taute Katja M.
Published: February 2023

Bacteria navigate natural habitats with a wide range of mechanical properties, from the ocean to the digestive tract and soil, by rotating helical flagella like propellers. Species differ in the number, position, and shape of their flagella, but the adaptive value of these flagellar architectures is unclear. Many species traverse multiple types of environments, such as pathogens inside and outside a host.

We investigate the hypothesis that flagellar architectures mediate environment-specific benefits in the marine pathogenVibrio alginolyticuswhich exhibits physiological adaptation to the mechanical environment. In addition to its single polar flagellum, the bacterium produces lateral flagella in environments that differ mechanically from water. These are known to facilitate surface motility and attachment. We use high-throughput 3D bacterial tracking to quantify chemotactic performance of both flagellar architectures in three archetypes of mechanical environments relevant to the bacterium’s native habitats: water, polymer solutions, and hydrogels. We reveal that lateral flagella impede chemotaxis in water by lowering the swimming speed but improve chemotaxis in both types of complex environments. Statistical trajectory analysis reveals two distinct underlying behavioral mechanisms: In viscous solutions of the polymer PVP K90, lateral flagella increase the swimming speed. In agar hydrogels, despite lowering the swimming speed, lateral flagella improve overall chemotactic performance by preventing trapping in pores.

Our findings show that lateral flagella are multi-purpose tools with a wide range of applications beyond surfaces. They implicate flagellar architecture as a mediator of environment-specific benefits and point to a rich space of bacterial navigation behaviors in complex environments.
Hormonal Interventions for optimizing reproductive efficiency in pigs at Farmers’ field
Authors: Kumar Sunil , Islam Rafiqul , Banik Santanu , Barman Keshab , Das P.J. , Mohan N.H. , Kumar Satish , Gupta Vivek Kumar
Published: February 2023

Objective

Optimizing reproductive efficiency in terms of estrus induction and production performance using simplified hormonal intervention using GnRH, gonadotropins and progesterone at farmers’ field conditions to bred animals with superior quality semen and also to reduce the maintenance cost.

Method

The present study was planned for optimizing reproductive efficiency using four different easily available hormonal agents with simplified protocols at farmers’ field. A total of 126 females were used in the study. Hormonal protocols I, II, III and IV using GnRH + (PMSG+ hCG), (PMSG+ hCG), PMSG alone and prepared progesterone gel respectively were used for estrus induction in gilts and sows.

Results

The estrus induction/rate was (77.77%, 81.36%, 78.57% and 50% respectively. The corresponding figures for interval (hrs) of heat exhibition from hormonal administration (121.33±4.93, 121.54±3.60, 78.52±4.52 and 192±24), conception rate (%) (72.22%, 81.25%, 68.18% and 33.33%) farrowing rate (55.55%, 68.29%, 68.18% and 33.33 %), total litter size at birth (7.2±0.64, 7.90±0.47, 8.90±0.47 and 7.00±0) and hormonal cost (Rs.) per animal (570, 335, 280 and 250 Rs.) were respectively. The easier to use protocol was III followed by II, I and IV.

Conclusion

It was found that protocol II and III are effective and easier so can be used for optimizing reproductive efficiency in pigs at farmers’ field.
xTrimoDock: Rigid Protein Docking via Cross-Modal Representation Learning and Spectral Algorithm
Authors: Luo Yujie , Li Shaochuan , Sun Yiwu , Wang Ruijia , Tang Tingting , Hongdu Beiqi , Cheng Xingyi , Shi Chuan , Li Hui , Song Le
Published: February 2023

Protein-protein interactions are the basis for the formation of protein complexes which are essential for almost all cellular processes. Knowledge of the structures of protein complexes is of major importance for understanding the biological function of these protein-protein interactions and designing protein drugs. Here we address the problem of rigid protein docking which assumes no deformation of the involved proteins during interactions. We develop a method called, xTrimoDock, which leverages a cross-modal representation learning to predict the protein distance map, and then uses a spectral initialization and gradient descent to obtain the roto-translation transformation for docking. We show that, on antibody heavy-chain and light-chain docking, and antibody-antigen docking, xTrimoDock consistently outperforms the state-of-the-art such as AlphaFold-Multimer and HDock, and can lead to as much as a 10% improvement in DockQ metric. xTrimoDock has been applied as a useful tool in protein drug design at BioMap.
Phenotypical mapping of TP53 unique missense mutations spectrum in human cancers
Authors: Malhotra Lakshay , Singh Alankrita , Kaur Punit , Ethayathulla Abdul S.
Published: February 2023

The p53 tumor suppressor is one of the most mutated genes responsible for tumorigenesis in most human cancers. Out of 29,891 genomic mutations reported in the TP53 Database (https://tp53.isb-cgc.org/), 1297 are identified as unique missense somatic mutants excluding frameshift, intronic, deletion, nonsense, silent, splice and other unknown mutations. we have comprehensively analyzed all these 1297 unique missense mutations and created a phenotypical map based on the distribution of mutants in each domain, the functional state of the protein, and their occurrence in different types of tissues and organs. Our mutation map shows that almost 118 unique missense mutants are reported in the transactivation domain (TADs) and proline-rich domain (PRR), 1,065 in the central DNA-binding domain (DBD), and 113 in the oligomerization (OD) and regulatory domain (RD). Based on the phenotype these 1297 mutations are subdivided into 46 super trans, 491 functional, 315 partially functional, and 415 non-functional mutants. The prevalence of all these mutations was checked in 71 different types of tissues and found the mutant R248Q is reported in 51 types of tissues followed by R175H and R273H in 46 types. The propensity calculation of mutation for each amino acid in p53, showed Proline, Arginine, and Leucine/Glutamic acid are the most frequently mutated residues in the TAD domain, DBD, and TD respectively. We have correlated the impact of these mutations in the structure and function of p53 and highlighted the TP53 unique missense mutants that can be a potential therapeutic drug target with tremendous clinical applications.
Individual differences in developmental trajectory leave a male polyphenic signature in bulb mite populations
Authors: Deere Jacques A. , Smallegange Isabel M.
Published: February 2023

Developmental plasticity alters phenotypes and can in that way change the response to selection. When alternative phenotypes show different life history trajectories, developmental plasticity can also affect, and be affected by, population size-structure in an eco-evolutionary interaction. Developmental plasticity often functions to anticipate future conditions but it can also mitigate current stress conditions. Both types of developmental plasticity have evolved under different selections and this raises the question if they underlie different eco-evolutionary population dynamics. Here, we tested, in a long-term population experiment using the male polyphenic bulb mite (Rhizoglyphus robini), if the selective harvesting of juveniles of different developmental stages concurrently alters population size (ecological response) and male adult phenotype expression (evolutionary response) in line with eco-evolutionary predictions that assume the male polyphenism is anticipatory or mitigating. We found that the frequency of adult males that expressed costly (fighter) morphology was lowest under the most severe juvenile harvesting conditions. This response cannot be explained if we assume that adult male phenotype expression is to anticipate adult (mating) conditions because, in that case, only the manipulation of adult performance would have an effect. Instead, we suggest that juveniles mitigate their increased mortality risk by expediating ontogeny to forego the development of costly morphology and mature quicker but as a defenceless scrambler. If, like in mammals and birds where early-life stress effects are extensively studied, we account for such pre-adult viability selection in coldblooded species, it would allow us to (i) better characterise natural selection on trait development like male polyphenisms, (ii) understand how it can affect the response to other selections in adulthood, and (iii) understand how such trait dynamics influence, and are influenced by, population dynamics.
Driving through the fog: exploring factors affecting disclosure readability in the European agrifood and beverage industries
Authors: Ferri Luca , Zampella Annamaria , Caldarelli Adele
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze the determinants of the readability non-financial disclosure prepared under the Directive 2014/95/EU in the agrifood and beverage sector.

Design/methodology/approach

To reach this goal, an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model is proposed employing readability and governance variables. The sample is based on European agrifood and beverage listed firms that exceeding 500 employees and are considered public interest entities, including 744 firm-year-observations from 2017, first year after the Directive entered in force, to 2020, last year available.

Findings

The authors' results suggest the importance of corporate governance mechanisms as drivers in reaching more readability of non-financial information.

Practical implications

This study provides useful suggestions to policy makers and managers for a better understanding of the role played by some factors on non-financial information (NFI) readability. Moreover, findings may help regulators in confirming that the establishment of a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committee is a step in the right direction to strengthening firms' NFI readability. Lastly, this is beneficial for auditors and preparers who will pay more attention to the internal factors that can push for more (or less) understandability of NFI.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the academic and practical debate because it adds new insights into the literature on NFI readability and represents fertile area for future researches.
Talent management practices for non-high potentials in the public sector: effect of appraisal methods on work outcomes
Authors: Alimansyah Maman , Takahashi Yoshi
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This study aims to provide empirical evidence on the impact of different appraisal methods for internal talent selection in talent management practices on non-high potentials' (NHPs) outcomes, including organizational commitment, job satisfaction and intention to leave, drawing on the attribution theory. Furthermore, it examines the moderation of public service motivation (PSM) on this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a scenario-based survey with a post-test experimental design to analyze the survey result using a sample of 245 NHPs from a public sector organization in Indonesia.

Findings

The appraisal methods affect NHPs' outcomes partially and in an unexpected way. Specifically, the “controllability” of talent selection measurement is not the primary driver in NHPs achieving expected outcomes, though it has been emphasized in the recent literature. PSM partially moderates the relationship between appraisal methods and NHPs' outcomes.

Originality/value

This study advanced the attribution theory by suggesting the “appropriateness” dimension unexplored in the literature, based on the unexpected results of the main relationship.
Determining ventilation strategies to relieve health symptoms among school occupants
Authors: Uotila Ulrika , Saari Arto
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) contributing to occupants’ health symptoms is a universal, typically ventilation-related, problem in schools. In cold climates, low-cost strategies to improve IAQ in a naturally ventilated school are rare since conventional methods, such as window opening, are often inappropriate. This paper aims to present an investigation of strategies to relieve health symptoms among school occupants in naturally ventilated school in Finland.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study approach is adopted to thoroughly investigate the process of generating the alternatives of ventilation redesign in a naturally ventilated school where there have been complaints of health symptoms. First, the potential sources of the occupants’ symptoms are identified. Then, the strategies aiming to reduce the symptoms are compared and evaluated.

Findings

In a naturally ventilated school, health symptoms that are significantly caused by insufficient ventilation can be potentially reduced by implementing a supply and exhaust ventilation system. Alternatively, it is possible to retain the natural ventilation with reduced number of occupants. The selected strategy would depend considerably on the desired number of users, the budget and the possibilities to combine the redesign of ventilation with other refurbishment actions. Furthermore, the risk of poorer indoor air caused by the refurbishment actions must also be addressed and considered.

Practical implications

This study may assist municipal authorities and school directors in decisions concerning improvement of classroom IAQ and elimination of building-related symptoms. This research provides economic aspects of alternative strategies and points out the risks related to major refurbishment actions.

Originality/value

Since this study presents a set of features related to indoor air that contribute to occupants’ health as well as matters to be considered when aiming to decrease occupants’ symptoms, it may be of assistance to municipal authorities and practitioners in providing a healthier indoor environment for pupils and teachers.
Investigating the impact of sensitivity to terrorism on employee psychological well-being: the mediating role of psychological resilience
Authors: Soomro Shuaib Ahmed , Roques Olivier , Garavan Thomas , Ali Akhtiar
Published: February 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between employee sensitivity to terrorism (STT), employee psychological well-being (EPW) and the mediating role of employee psychological resilience (EPR) for both male and female employees in an environment characterized by discontinuous terrorist incidents.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses data collected from a sample of 432 university employees working in geographic areas impacted by discontinuous terrorist incidents. The study is cross-sectional.

Findings

Study findings reveal a significant relationship between employee STT and EPW. EPR mediated the impact of STT on EPW. Multigroup analysis highlighted significant causal order differences in STT between male and female employees. Females scored higher on STT.

Practical implications

Findings highlight important implications for organizational practitioners. Because STT leads to EPW and differs for males and females, practitioners should consider group differences when selecting interventions to enhance psychological resilience. Organizations should use customized training programs and development interventions to enhance psychological well-being.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is one of the few studies to investigate the relationship between STT and EPW and compare male and female employees. The study generates new insights into the experiences of male and female employees working in terrorist-ridden areas.
A new hybrid multivariate grey model based on genetic algorithms optimization and its application in forecasting oil products demand
Authors: Sapnken Flavian Emmanuel
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Conventional statistical forecasting methods typically need a large sample size or the use of overly confident hypotheses, like the Gaussian distribution of the input data. Unfortunately, these input data are frequently scarce or do no not follow a normal distribution law. A grey forecasting model can be developed and used to predict energy consumption for at least four data points or ambiguous data based on grey theory. The standard grey model, however, may occasionally result in significant forecasting errors.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to reduce these errors, this paper proposes a hybrid multivariate grey model (namely Grey Modeling (1,N)) optimized by Genetic Algorithms with sequential selection forecasting mechanism, abbreviated as Sequential-GMGA(1,N). A real case of Cameroon's oil products consumption is considered to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed forecasting model.

Findings

The results show the superiority of Sequential-GMGA(1,4) when compared with the results of competing grey models reported in the literature, with a mean absolute percentage error as low as 0.02%.

Originality/value

Without changing the model's basic structure, the suggested framework completely extracts the evolution law of multivariate time series. Regardless of data patterns, Sequential-GMGA(1,4) actively enhances all model parameters over the course of each predicted timeframe. Consequently, Sequential-GMGA(1,4) improves forecast accuracy by resolving the discrepancy between the model's least sum of squares of prediction errors and the parameterization approach based on grey derivative.
Modelling the determinants of SME’s investment intention in the Ghanaian energy sector: the role of local content policy
Authors: Appiah Michael Karikari , Odei Samuel Amponsah , Kumi-Amoah Gifty
Published: February 2023

Purpose

The purposes of this study are: to investigate how the dimensions of resource competitive strategies impact on small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) intention to invest in Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector and to develop a model to explain the moderating role of local content policy on the relationship between competitive strategies and investment intention of SMEs. Focusing on the Ghanaian SMEs, quantitative research approach and survey questionnaire have been used. The research hypotheses have been tested using variance-based structural equation modeling technique.

Design/methodology/approach

Since the Ghanaian Parliament passed the Local Content and Local Participation Policy (LI.2204) into law in 2013, successive governments have strived to optimize oil and gas benefits and encouraged local participation, yet the actual impacts are mixed, ambiguous and inconsequential. This paper further argues that the extent to which the local content policy role moderates the relationship between firms’ internal resources (proxied as competitive strategies) and investment intention in the energy sector remains largely unexplored.

Findings

The results have shown that competitive strategies such as entrepreneurial competency, finance resources and technological usage have positive and significant effects on SME's investment intention. Again, local content policies exert significant moderating effect on SMEs’ investment intention.

Practical implications

The policy implication of these results includes the need to strengthen regulatory capacity of the Petroleum Commission to enforce local content implementation in Ghana to enhance indigenous participation in the sector.

Originality/value

Theoretically, using the resource-based view theory, this study has offered a robust predictability of SMEs investment’s determinants in an emerging economy.
Extreme work environment and career commitment of nurses: empirical evidence from Egypt and Peru
Authors: Mousa Mohamed , Arslan Ahmad , Abdelgaffar Hala , Seclen Luna Jean Pierre , De la Gala Velasquez Bernardo Ramon Dante
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This paper aim to analyse the motives behind the commitment of nurses to their profession despite their intense job duties during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical sample comprises of 35 semi-structured interviews with public sector hospital nurses in under-researched contexts of Egypt and Peru.

Findings

Three types of motives were found to play a critical role in nurses’ commitment to their profession despite the difficulties associated with extreme work conditions. These factors include cultural (religious values, governmental coercion), contextual (limited education, organisational support) and personal (good nurse identity, submissive nature) dimensions.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the pioneering works to link existing literature streams on career commitment, extreme jobs, extreme context and management under disruptions (particularly COVID-19) by analysing these aspects in the under-researched Peruvian and Egyptian contexts.
Trust, but what trust? Investigating the influence of trust dimensions on supply chain performance in smallholder agribusinesses in Uganda
Authors: Owot Godfrey Moses , Okello Daniel Micheal , Olido Kenneth , Odongo Walter
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Even though trust is known for improving supply chain performance (SCP), previous studies have overlooked the investigation of its dimensions. Limited studies exist on the variations of the influence of trust dimensions in agribusiness supply chain relationships. This study examined the influence of trust dimensions on SCP in a developing country's context.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional study design was used to collect from 204 farmers and 192 traders (396 respondents) using a multistage sampling approach. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the hypothesized relationships.

Findings

Pooled sample results show that integrity and competence were the trust dimensions with significant effects on SCP, whereas competence was significant across different supply chains and markets, integrity and benevolence were only significant along fresh chains and in the contract market.

Research limitations/implications

The extent of application of this study's findings is limited to situations similar to those of tomato and soybeans value chains in developing countries.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to a better understanding of the influence of trust dimensions on SCP across supply chains in different market typologies in agribusiness relationships in a developing country's context.
Hearing from justice-involved, care experienced children: what are their experiences of residential care environments and regimes?
Authors: Day Anne-Marie , Clark Andrew , Hazel Neal
Published: February 2023

Purpose

The disproportionate representation in juvenile justice systems of children who are, or have been, in the care of the state is a major cause of concern internationally. However, the experiences of this particular group are largely absent from both policy debates and the international research base. This paper aims to correct that deficit by exploring the lived experiences of residential care, justice-involved children.

Design/methodology/approach

An interpretivist investigation of care experienced children’s perceptions of their experiences, involving semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 19 children in England who were simultaneously in residential care and subject to youth justice supervision. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis.

Findings

Care-experienced children described how their experiences of residential care environments and regimes have undermined their sense of how they see themselves, now and looking to the future. Against this background of disrupted identity, they also reported stigmatising interactions with staff that leave them feeling labelled both as a generic “looked-after child” and as a “bad kid”.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are based on the perceptions of a group of children in the criminal justice system, which, although reflecting the experiences of those with negative outcomes, may not be representative of all children in residential care.

Practical implications

The findings have implications for those responsible for the care and development of care-experienced children, as well policymakers concerned with reducing the numbers of care-experienced children in youth justice. Those responsible for the care and development of care-experienced children should consider steps to reduce how factors outlined here disrupt a child’s sense of self and introduce criminogenic labelling and stigma.

Originality/value

Despite a number of studies seeking to understand why the number of care experienced children in the youth justice system is disproportionate, there is very little empirical work that seeks to understand the experiences and perceptions of children currently both in care and the criminal justice system. This paper seeks to correct this deficit, by detailing how children who are both in residential care and subject to youth justice supervision view their care experiences. The implications of this for policy, practice and further research are then explored.