bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Human Papilloma Virus Circulating Cell-Free DNA Kinetics in Cervical Cancer Patients Undergoing Definitive Chemoradiation
Authors: Seo Aaron , Xiao Weihong , Gjyshi Olsi , Yoshida-Court Kyoko , Wei Peng , Swanson David , Napravnik Tatiana Cisneros , Grippin Adam , Venkatesan Aradhana M , Jacobsen Megan C , Fuentes David T , Lynn Erica , Sammouri Julie , Jhingran Anuja , Joyner Melissa , Lin Lilie L , Colbert Lauren E , Gillison Maura L , Klopp Ann H
Published: July 2024

Purpose

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a significant cause of cervical cancer. We hypothesized that detecting viral cell-free HPV DNA (cfDNA) before, during, and after chemoradiation (chemoRT) could provide insights into disease extent, clinical staging, and treatment response.

Experimental Design

Sixty-six patients with locally advanced cervical cancer were enrolled between 2017 and 2023, with 49 receiving standard-of-care (SOC) treatment and 17 participating in a clinical trial combining a therapeutic HPV vaccine (PDS0101; IMMUNOCERV). Plasma samples were collected at baseline, during weeks 1, 3, and 5 of chemoRT, and 3-4 months after chemoRT. HPV cfDNA was quantified using droplet digital PCR targeting the HPV E6/E7 oncogenes of 13 high-risk types. MRI was performed at baseline and before brachytherapy.

Results

The median follow-up was 23 months, with recurrence-free survival (RFS) of 78.4% at 2 years. Baseline nodal disease extent correlated with HPV cfDNA levels. HPV cfDNA levels peaked in week 1 of radiation and decreased through treatment. Patients receiving the PDS0101 vaccine had a higher rate of undetectable HPV type 16 cfDNA compared to SOC. HPV cfDNA clearance correlated with better 2-yr RFS (92.9% vs. 30%, log-rank p=0.0067). The strongest predictor of RFS was HPV cfDNA clearance in follow-up achieving a concordance index (CI) 0.83, which improved when combined with MRI response (CI 0.88).

Conclusions

HPV cfDNA levels change dynamically during chemoRT. HPV cfDNA levels at first follow-up predict RFS, and the therapeutic HPV vaccine was linked to rapid HPV cfDNA decline. Monitoring HPV cfDNA during and after chemoRT may guide tailoring of personalized treatment.
A Split-Belt Instrumented Treadmill with Uneven Terrain
Authors: Hosseini-Yazdi Seyed Saleh , Kuo Arthur D.
Published: July 2024

The biomechanics of walking are far less understood for uneven terrain than flat or even surfaces. This is due in part to a lack of ground reaction force and moment recordings from each leg. These are often obtained with split-belt instrumented treadmills, which are currently incompatible with uneven terrain, making it difficult to perform biomechanics analyses such as inverse dynamics. Here we show how a standard split-belt instrumented treadmill (Bertec, Inc., Columbus, OH) can be modified to accommodate a variety of uneven terrains. The principal design considerations are structural clearance to allow passage of an uneven treadmill belt and fabrication of the terrain. We designed mechanical components with sufficient clearance for terrains up to 0.045 m high, and formed the terrain from uneven strips of polystyrene. Measured ground reaction forces from each leg at typical walking speeds agreed well with an intact benchmark treadmill (minimum interclass cross correlation score = 0.97). The modifications had negligible effect on the treadmill’s structural strength. The terrain produced some noise-like vibrations, but at much higher frequencies than fundamental to human locomotion. The uneven terrain treadmill can record many steps of the full complement of ground reaction forces and moments from individual legs.
Motor adaptation is reduced by symbolic compared to sensory feedback
Authors: Chen Yifei , Abram Sabrina J. , Ivry Richard B. , Tsay Jonathan S.
Published: July 2024

Motor adaptation – the process of reducing motor errors through feedback and practice – is an essential feature of human competence, allowing us to move accurately in dynamic and novel environments. Adaptation typically results from sensory feedback, with most learning driven by visual and proprioceptive feedback that arises with the movement. In humans, motor adaptation can also be driven by symbolic feedback. In the present study, we examine how implicit and explicit components of motor adaptation are modulated by symbolic feedback. We conducted three reaching experiments involving over 400 human participants to compare sensory and symbolic feedback using a task in which both types of learning processes could be operative (Experiment 1) or tasks in which learning was expected to be limited to only an explicit process (Experiments 2 and 3). Adaptation with symbolic feedback was dominated by explicit strategy use, with minimal evidence of implicit recalibration. Even when matched in terms of information content, adaptation to rotational and mirror reversal perturbations was slower in response to symbolic feedback compared to sensory feedback. Our results suggest that the abstract and indirect nature of symbolic feedback disrupts strategic reasoning and/or refinement, deepening our understanding of how feedback type influences the mechanisms of sensorimotor learning.
Challenging the Conventional Treatment Initiation Paradigm: Early Detection of Irreversible Cellular Damage in Cardiac Biopsies of Fabry Disease Before the Formation of Gb3 Inclusion Bodies
Authors: Lee Chung-Lin , Chen Pei-Sin , Lu Yu-Ying , Chiang Yu-Ting , Yen Ching-Tzu , Huang Chun-Ying , Cheng Yen-Fu , Lin Hsiang-Yu , Chen Yun-Ru , Niu Dau-Ming
Published: July 2024

Background:

Fabry disease (FD) is a lysosomal storage disorder impacting multiple organs, including the heart. We investigated whether early-stage globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) accumulation, before occurrence of inclusion bodies, could cause significant stress and irreversible damages of the cardiomyocytes in FD patients. To assess the cellular stress and irreversible damage of cardiomyocytes in FD during early-stage Gb3 accumulation before the occurrence of typical pathology.

Methods:

Immunofluorescent (IF) staining or Western blotting were performed on fibroblasts from FD patients and myocardial biopsies from G3Stg/GLAko mice and FD patients. Notably, all biopsies exhibited detectable Gb3 accumulation under IF but lacked typical FD (Gb3 inclusion body) pathology. Staining targeted nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), interleukin-18 (IL-18), phospho-p42/44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) as inflammatory and oxidative stress markers. Alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) IF staining was conducted to detect myofibroblasts.

Results:

Fibroblasts from FD patients, in conjunction with cardiomyocytes from both G3Stg/GLAko mice and FD patients, exhibited significant accumulation of inflammatory markers such as NF-κB IL-18 and phospho-p42/44 MAPK, as well as the oxidative stress marker iNOS. Despite the absence of typical FD pathology, the presence of fibrosis was confirmed in myocardial biopsies from these patients through strong positive staining of α-SMA.

Conclusions:

Significant cellular stress and even irreversible damage may occur before the onset of typical pathological changes in cardiomyocytes of FD. Based on our findings, treatment should be initiated much earlier than we currently thought to prevent irreversible damage and improve the prognosis of FD patients.
Variants in Vitamin D-related Genes and Prostate Cancer Risk in Black Men
Authors: Layne Tracy M. , Rothstein Joseph H. , Song Xiaoyu , Andersen Shaneda Warren , Benn Emma K.T. , Sieh Weiva , Klein Robert J.
Published: July 2024

BACKGROUND

The relationship between vitamin D and prostate cancer has primarily been characterized among White men. However, Black men have higher prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates, chronically low circulating vitamin D levels, and ancestry-specific genetic variants in vitamin D-related genes. Here, we examine six critical genes in the vitamin D pathway and prostate cancer risk in Black men.

METHODS

We assessed a total of 69 candidate variants in six genes (GC, CYP27A1, CYP27B1, CYP24A1, VDR, andRXRA) including functional variants previously associated with prostate cancer and circulating 25(OHD) in White men. Associations with prostate cancer risk were examined using genome-wide association study data for approximately 10,000 prostate cancer cases and 10,000 controls among Black men and over 85,000 cases and 91,000 controls among White men. A statistical significance threshold of 0.000724 was used to account for the 69 variants tested.

RESULTS

None of the variants examined were significantly associated with prostate cancer risk among Black men after multiple comparison adjustment. Four variants tested P<0.05 in Black men, including two inRXRA(rs41400444 OR=1.09, 95% CI: 1.01-1.17,P= 0.024 and rs10881574 OR = 0.93, 0.87-1.00,P= 0.046) and two inVDR(rs2853563 OR = 1.07, 1.01-1.13,P= 0.017 and rs1156882 OR = 1.06, 1.00-1.12,P= 0.045). Two variants inVDRwere also positively associated with risk in White men (rs11568820 OR = 1.04, 1.02-1.06,P= 0.00024 and rs4516035 OR = 1.03, 1.01-1.04,P= 0.00055).

CONCLUSION

We observed suggestive non-significant associations between genetic variants inRXRAandVDRand prostate cancer risk in Black men. Future research exploring the relationship of vitamin D with cancer risk in Black men will need larger sample sizes to identify ancestry-specific variants relevant to risk in this population.
Intestine-on-chip enhances nutrient and drug metabolism and maturation of iPSC-derived intestinal epithelial cells relative to organoids and Transwells
Authors: Moerkens Renée , Mooiweer Joram , Smits Eline , Berg Marijn , Ramírez-Sánchez Aarón D. , Modderman Rutger , Puschhof Jens , Pleguezuelos-Manzano Cayetano , Barrett Robert J. , Wijmenga Cisca , Jonkers Iris H. , Withoff Sebo
Published: July 2024

The human intestinal epithelial barrier is shaped by various biological and biomechanical influences such as growth factor gradients and the flow of intestinal contents. Exposure to these cuesin vitroimpacts the cell type composition and function of adult stem cell (ASC)-derived intestinal epithelial cells, but their effect on human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cells is largely unexplored. Here, we characterize and compare the cellular composition and gene expression profiles of hiPSC-derived intestinal epithelial cells exposed to various medium compositions and cultured as organoids, in Transwell and in microfluidic intestine-on-chip systems. We demonstrate that inhibition and activation of the WNT, BMP, NOTCH and MAPK pathways regulates the presence of dividing, absorptive and secretory epithelial lineages within these systems, as has been described for ASC-based systems. Upon differentiation, intestinal epithelial organoids and monolayers in Transwell systems expressed genes involved in important intestinal functions, including digestive enzymes, nutrient transporters and members of the Cytochrome P450 family implicated in drug metabolism. However, the dynamic microenvironment of the intestine-on-chip system induced the strongest upregulation of these genes, with an expression profile that suggests a more mature developmental state. Overall, these results underscore the value of hiPSC-derived intestinal epithelial cells for modeling important functions of the human intestinal epithelial barrier and facilitates the selection of relevant culture conditions for specific applications.
Phosphorylation-induced flexibility of proto-oncogenic Bcl3 regulates transcriptional activation by NF-κB p52 homodimer
Authors: Pan Wenfei , Biswas Tapan , Shahabi Shandy , Suryajaya William , Vasquez Andres , Du Qian , Ghosh Gourisankar , Wang Vivien Ya-fan
Published: July 2024

B cell lymphoma 3 (Bcl3), a member of the IκB family proteins, modulates transcription by primarily associating with NF-κB p50 and p52 homodimers. Bcl3 undergoes extensive phosphorylation, though the functions of many of these modifications remain unclear. We previously described that phosphorylation at Ser33, Ser114 and Ser446 partially switches Bcl3 from acting as an IκB-like inhibitor to a transcription regulator by associating with the (p52:p52):DNA binary complex. Here, we identified another critical phosphorylation site, Ser366. Substituting at all four residues to phospho-mimetic glutamate further enhances Bcl3’s transcriptional activity. Phospho-modifications retain Bcl3’s ability to stably bind p52 but induces reciprocal structural changes as revealed by HDX-MS experiments; the N-terminal region stiffens, while the C-terminus becomes more flexible. The increased flexibility allowed the Bcl3:(p52p52) binary complex to better accommodate DNA. The removal of the C-terminal 28-residues transformed Bcl3 into a transcriptional activator independent of phosphorylation. Notably, most identified mutations in Bcl3 from various cancers map to its C-terminus, suggesting the functional relevance of Bcl3 C-terminal structural flexibility and enhanced interaction with (p52p52):DNA complex to transcriptional potential and disease. Overall, this study uncovers the mechanistic basis by which phosphorylation-driven structural changes convert Bcl3 from an inhibitor to a transcriptional cofactor of NF-κB, and how deregulation of its activity through altered phosphorylation or mutation can lead to cancer.
Transcriptional noise sets fundamental limits to spatially resolved cell-state decoding of the circadian clock
Authors: Nikhat Anjoom , Mandal Taniya , Veerasubramanian Nivedha , Chakrabarti Shaon
Published: July 2024

Cell-state discovery at single-cell resolution is currently a major endeavor of modern biology. While immense effort has gone into dealing with associated technical noise, there is little appreciation of the fundamental limits imposed by intrinsic biological stochasticity. Using the circadian clock as an example where true cell-states can be precisely defined (the oscillator phase), we study how bursty transcription limits the achievable cellular and spatial resolution of circadian-phase inference. Combining multiplexed smFISH to measure endogenous gene-expression and a novel supervised learning algorithm, we demonstrate how accurate inference is possible using just 3 genes but only after averaging over 20-70 cells. Commonly used algorithms generate single-cell clusters completely different from the true states, successfully recovering them only after averaging. Further, by decoding all states within a population of asynchronized cells, we demonstrate how coarse-graining provides a principled approach to spatially-resolved phase inference. Our results argue that coarse-graining is likely essential for meaningful cell-state assignment across biological systems, even when technical noise is minimized.
Interspecies regulatory landscapes and elements revealed by novel joint systematic integration of human and mouse blood cell epigenomes
Authors: Xiang Guanjue , He Xi , Giardine Belinda M. , Isaac Kathryn J. , Taylor Dylan J. , McCoy Rajiv C. , Jansen Camden , Keller Cheryl A. , Wixom Alexander Q. , Cockburn April , Miller Amber , Qi Qian , He Yanghua , Li Yichao , Lichtenberg Jens , Heuston Elisabeth F. , Anderson Stacie M. , Luan Jing , Vermunt Marit W. , Yue Feng , Sauria Michael E.G. , Schatz Michael C. , Taylor James , Göttgens Berthold , Hughes Jim R. , Higgs Douglas R. , Weiss Mitchell J. , Cheng Yong , Blobel Gerd A. , Bodine David M. , Zhang Yu , Li Qunhua , Mahony Shaun , Hardison Ross C.
Published: July 2024

Knowledge of locations and activities ofcis-regulatory elements (CREs) is needed to decipher basic mechanisms of gene regulation and to understand the impact of genetic variants on complex traits. Previous studies identified candidate CREs (cCREs) using epigenetic features in one species, making comparisons difficult between species. In contrast, we conducted an interspecies study defining epigenetic states and identifying cCREs in blood cell types to generate regulatory maps that are comparable between species, using integrative modeling of eight epigenetic features jointly in human and mouse in our Validated Systematic Integration (VISION) Project. The resulting catalogs of cCREs are useful resources for further studies of gene regulation in blood cells, indicated by high overlap with known functional elements and strong enrichment for human genetic variants associated with blood cell phenotypes. The contribution of each epigenetic state in cCREs to gene regulation, inferred from a multivariate regression, was used to estimate epigenetic state regulatory potential (esRP) scores for each cCRE in each cell type, which were used to categorize dynamic changes in cCREs. Groups of cCREs displaying similar patterns of regulatory activity in human and mouse cell types, obtained by joint clustering on esRP scores, harbor distinctive transcription factor binding motifs that are similar between species. An interspecies comparison of cCREs revealed both conserved and species-specific patterns of epigenetic evolution. Finally, we show that comparisons of the epigenetic landscape between species can reveal elements with similar roles in regulation, even in the absence of genomic sequence alignment.
CodonBERT large language model for mRNA vaccines
Authors: Li Sizhen , Moayedpour Saeed , Li Ruijiang , Bailey Michael , Riahi Saleh , Kogler-Anele Lorenzo , Miladi Milad , Miner Jacob , Pertuy Fabien , Zheng Dinghai , Wang Jun , Balsubramani Akshay , Tran Khang , Zacharia Minnie , Wu Monica , Gu Xiaobo , Clinton Ryan , Asquith Carla , Skaleski Joseph , Boeglin Lianne , Chivukula Sudha , Dias Anusha , Strugnell Tod , Montoya Fernando Ulloa , Agarwal Vikram , Bar-Joseph Ziv , Jager Sven
Published: July 2024

mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics are gaining popularity and usage across a wide range of conditions. One of the critical issues when designing such mRNAs is sequence optimization. Even small proteins or peptides can be encoded by an enormously large number of mRNAs. The actual mRNA sequence can have a large impact on several properties, including expression, stability, immunogenicity, and more. To enable the selection of an optimal sequence, we developed CodonBERT, a large language model (LLM) for mRNAs. Unlike prior models, CodonBERT uses codons as inputs, which enables it to learn better representations. CodonBERT was trained using more than 10 million mRNA sequences from a diverse set of organisms. The resulting model captures important biological concepts. CodonBERT can also be extended to perform prediction tasks for various mRNA properties. CodonBERT outperforms previous mRNA prediction methods, including on a new flu vaccine data set.
Multiple changes in connectivity between buccal ganglia mechanoafferents and motor neurons with different functions after learning that food is inedible inAplysia
Authors: Hurwitz Itay , Tam Shlomit , Jing Jian , Chiel Hillel J. , Gill Jeffrey , Susswein Abraham J.
Published: July 2024

Changes caused by learning that a food is inedible inAplysiawere examined for fast and slow synaptic connections from the buccal ganglia S1 cluster of mechanoafferents to five followers, in response to repeated stimulus trains. Learning affected only fast connections. For these, unique patterns of change were present in each follower, indicating that learning differentially affects the different branches of the mechanoafferents to their followers. In some followers, there were increases in either excitatory or inhibitory connections, and in others, there were decreases. Changes in connectivity resulted from changes in the amplitude of excitation or inhibition, or as a result of the number of connections, or of both. Some followers also exhibited changes in either within or between stimulus train plasticity as a result of learning. In one follower, changes differed from the different areas of the S1 cluster. The patterns of changes in connectivity were consistent with the behavioral changes produced by learning, in that they would produce an increase in the bias to reject or to release food, and a decrease in the likelihood to respond to food.
High-Fidelity Detection of Large-Scale Atom Arrays in an Optical Lattice
Authors: Tao Renhao , Ammenwerth Maximilian , Gyger Flavien , Bloch Immanuel , Zeiher Johannes
Published: July 2024

Recent advances in quantum simulation based on neutral atoms have largely benefited from high-resolution, single-atom sensitive imaging techniques. A variety of approaches have been developed to achieve such local detection of atoms in optical lattices or optical tweezers. For alkaline-earth and alkaline-earth-like atoms, the presence of narrow optical transitions opens up the possibility of performing novel types of Sisyphus cooling, where the cooling mechanism originates from the capability to spatially resolve the differential optical level shifts in the trap potential. Up to now, it has been an open question whether high-fidelity imaging could be achieved in a “repulsive Sisyphus” configuration, where the trap depth of the ground state exceeds that of the excited state involved in cooling. Here, we demonstrate high-fidelity (99.971(1)%) and high-survival (99.80(5)%) imaging of strontium atoms using repulsive Sisyphus cooling. We use an optical lattice as a pinning potential for atoms in a large-scale tweezer array with up to 399 tweezers and show repeated, high-fidelity lattice-tweezer-lattice transfers. We furthermore demonstrate loading the lattice with approximately 10 000 atoms directly from the MOT and scalable imaging over >10 000 lattice sites with a combined survival probability and classification fidelity better than 99.2%. Our lattice thus serves as a locally addressable and sortable reservoir for continuous refilling of optical tweezer arrays in the future.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Electronic structure and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering in
Ca3Ru2O7
Authors: Antonov V. N. , Kukusta D. A. , Bekenov L. V.
Published: July 2024

We have investigated the electronic structure of the transition metal oxide Ca3Ru2O7 within density-functional theory using the generalized gradient approximation while considering strong Coulomb correlations in the framework of the fully relativistic spin-polarized Dirac linear muffin-tin orbital band structure method. Ca3Ru2O7 can be classified as a Mott insulator since it was expected to be metallic from band structure calculations. We found that the magnetic ground state of Ca3Ru2O7 possesses an AFM−b magnetic structure with the Ru spin moments ordered antiferromagnetically along the b axis. We have investigated the resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) spectra at the Ru and Ca K, L3, and M3 edges as well as at the OK edge. The experimentally measured RIXS spectrum of Ca3Ru2O7 at the Ru

L

3

edge possesses a sharp feature ≤2eV corresponding to transitions within the Ru t2g levels. The excitation located from 2 to 4 eV is due to t2g→ eg transitions. The third wide structure situated at 4.5−11eV appears due to transitions between the Ru 4dO states derived from the tails of oxygen 2p states and eg and t2g states. The RIXS spectra at the Ru L3 and M3 edges are quite similar. However, the corresponding RIXS spectra at the Ca site are quite different from each other due to the significant difference in the widths of core levels. The RIXS spectrum at the OK edge consists of three major inelastic excitations. We found that the first two low energy features ≤2.5eV are due to interband transitions between occupied and empty Ot2g states which appear due to the strong hybridization between oxygen 2p and Ru t2g states in close vicinity to the Fermi level. The next major peak between 2.5 and 8 eV reflects interband transitions from occupied O2p to empty Ot2g states. A wide energy interval between 4 and 11 eV is occupied by rather weak O2p→Oeg transitions.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
How Deep Neural Networks Learn Compositional Data: The Random Hierarchy Model
Authors: Cagnetta Francesco , Petrini Leonardo , Tomasini Umberto M. , Favero Alessandro , Wyart Matthieu
Published: July 2024

Deep learning algorithms demonstrate a surprising ability to learn high-dimensional tasks from limited examples. This is commonly attributed to the depth of neural networks, enabling them to build a hierarchy of abstract, low-dimensional data representations. However, how many training examples are required to learn such representations remains unknown. To quantitatively study this question, we introduce the random hierarchy model: a family of synthetic tasks inspired by the hierarchical structure of language and images. The model is a classification task where each class corresponds to a group of high-level features, chosen among several equivalent groups associated with the same class. In turn, each feature corresponds to a group of subfeatures chosen among several equivalent groups and so on, following a hierarchy of composition rules. We find that deep networks learn the task by developing internal representations invariant to exchanging equivalent groups. Moreover, the number of data required corresponds to the point where correlations between low-level features and classes become detectable. Overall, our results indicate how deep networks overcome the curse of dimensionality by building invariant representations and provide an estimate of the number of data required to learn a hierarchical task.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Optimization on frequency constraints with FFT using automatic differentiation on hybrid ODE applications
Authors: Agobert Lucas , Delinchant Benoit , Gerbaud Laurent
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This study aims to optimize electrical systems represented by ordinary differential equations and events, using their frequency spectrum is an important purpose for designers, especially to calculate harmonics.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a methodology to achieve this, by using a gradient-based optimization algorithm. The paper proposes to use a time simulation of the electrical system, and then to compute its frequency spectrum in the optimization loop.

Findings

The paper shows how to proceed efficiently to compute the frequency spectrum of an electrical system to include it in an optimization loop. Derivatives of the frequency spectrum such as the optimization inputs can also be calculated. This is possible even if the sized system behavior cannot be defined a priori, e.g. when there are static converters or electrical devices with natural switching.

Originality/value

Using an efficient sequential quadratic programming optimizer, automatic differentiation is used to compute the model gradients. Frequency spectrum derivatives with respect to the optimization inputs are calculated by an analytical formula. The methodology uses a “white-box” approach so that automatic differentiation and the differential equations simulator can be used, unlike most state-of-the-art simulators.
Job advertisements and lived experiences of victims of job scams in Ibadan, Nigeria
Authors: Obuene Henry Uche , Tade Oludayo , Rasak Bamidele , Arisukwu Ogadimma , Okafor Emeka E.
Published: July 2024

Purpose

An increase in informal job advertisements has been attributed to high unemployment. However, less scholarly attention has been placed on the experiences of victims of advertised job scams.

Design/methodology/approach

This explorative study investigates the lived experiences of victims of advertised job scams in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, adopting Durkheim’s Functionalism and Anomie Theory. Around 35 victims were purposively engaged in in-depth and telephone interviews.

Findings

The findings of the study indicated the link between functionalism and anomie, an increasing rate of advertised job scams and a high rate of unemployment and poverty as well as the desperation of victims in getting jobs. The value orientation of an individual is determined by the dynamics of the social institutions. The pattern of job scammers revealed extremists conditioned by the large number of youths seeking employment. The advertised scam jobs are usually unavailable. In addition, employers, through informal job advertisements, subject victims to extortions, exploitation, street begging, kidnapping and rituals as well as sexual harassment and rape. Owing to the high rate of unemployment, many genuine job offers are characterised by bribes, besides trivializing merit.

Originality/value

The government should design measures to tackle the rate of corruption and unemployment. This can be achieved by introducing entrepreneurship and skill acquisition programmes in the nation’s education system.
Gold characteristics as safe haven and assets diversification for Sharia stocks in Indonesia
Authors: Rusmita Sylva Alif , Filianti Dian , Mayasani Ega Nuriayu , Samad Khairunnisa Abd
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This study aims to determine the role of gold as a safe haven, hedge and asset diversification for Shariah stock in conditions of extreme stock market declines.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative approach is used by applying the threshold generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (TGARCH) model to capture bad or good news in the market condition and quantile regression method to obtain the extreme values of stock returns in several market conditions. The data used were the daily closing price of gold and the Jakarta Islamic Index from January 2011 to October 2022.

Findings

The average conditions show gold does not have a hedge property and only acts as an asset diversification. Second, gold has a substantial, safe haven property in every economic condition. However, the safe-haven property of gold seemed to weaken during the most extreme stock market decline. Thus, although gold appears as a safe haven and asset diversification, it remains a risky investment and only provides a minor role in the face of the extreme stock market period.

Practical implications

This research provides a discourse and literature for Islamic investors and investor managers to choose the right investment instrument in various economic conditions where gold has a function as diversification and safe haven in their asset portfolio under any other asset portfolio conditions which is also in line with modern portfolio theory. For policymakers, the study can be used as material for consideration in making policies related to the accessibility of gold as an investment instrument.

Originality/value

This study presents the originality by using the price of Antam gold as a proxy for gold investment during the latest research year data and focusing on case studies in Islamic capital market in Indonesia. Moreover, this research provides quantile regression that sharply discussion in various economics condition.
Librarians as guardians of information quality: navigating the challenges of misinformation and disinformation
Authors: Adewojo Akinade Adebowale , Esan Adedoyin Oluwatosin , Aleem Abdulmalik Oyindamola
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This study aims to explore the pivotal role of libraries in combating misinformation and disinformation in the contemporary information landscape, emphasizing their significance as guardians of information integrity.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a review of literature and surveying librarian perspectives, this study examines the multifaceted strategies used by libraries to address misinformation and disinformation. It delves into the roles of librarians in distinguishing between different forms of false information, promoting information literacy and fostering community engagement.

Findings

Libraries serve as bastions of knowledge, curating diverse and reliable resources while actively combating false information through educational initiatives, technological innovations and community outreach. Librarians play a crucial role in empowering users with the skills to critically evaluate information and navigate the complexities of the digital age.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the scholarly discourse by highlighting the evolving role of libraries as guardians of information integrity in the face of misinformation and disinformation. It underscores the importance of libraries in promoting a more informed and resilient society, enriching public discourse with the values of truth and understanding.
Does self-sacrificial leadership reduce the subordinate’s organizational cynicism? The mediating role of distributive justice and ethical corporate social responsibility
Authors: Yan Dong , Li Longzhen , Jeon Hyangsuk
Published: July 2024

Purpose

Although self-sacrificial leadership and ethical leadership exhibit similarities in their moral dimensions, recent research suggests that self-sacrificial leadership may be linked to an increase in unethical behavior for the collective benefit of one’s group. Existing studies have demonstrated that ethical leadership can mitigate organizational cynicism. However, the potential misalignment between group interests and ethics associated with self-sacrificial leadership raises concerns about its potential to foster cynicism. This study investigates the mechanisms by which self-sacrificial leadership influences organizational cynicism.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data from 493 organizational members across 9 Chinese companies were analyzed using multiple regression analysis, and bootstrapping was employed to confirm the mediating effects.

Findings

Self-sacrificial leadership was found to have an overall reducing effect on organizational cynicism, with distributive justice and ethical CSR perceptions as significant mediating factors.

Originality/value

This study sheds light on the unique characteristics of self-sacrificial leadership, highlighting the elements of sacrifice and loyalty that may result in unethical, self-centered behaviors, and explores its influence on organizational cynicism. By revealing that the recognition of augmented group interests can diminish cynicism among organizational members regardless of morality, this study contributes to broadening the theoretical perspective.
Evaluating the financial reporting quality under changes in accounting standards of the Indian textile sector
Authors: Shayf Abdulfatah Abdullah Abdulkareem , Abdullah Mohd , Tabash Mosab I. , Saleem Shahrukh , Chaudhary Asiya , Ali Ammar , Shamsi Mushahid Ali
Published: July 2024

Purpose

The study evaluates whether an application of Ind-AS that converged with IFRS in India has enhanced financial reporting quality (FRQ) and how that is reflected in financial performance (FP).

Design/methodology/approach

Design/methodology/approach: The study uses discretionary accruals (DACC) to measure FRQ. In addition, it uses ordinary least square (OLS) regression to examine the association between Corporate Governance attributes, FRQ, and financial performance for a sample of 24 textile companies from 2010 to 2021.

Findings

The results indicate that adopting IFRS has a role in monitoring CG attributes to enhance FRQ; this means the financial reporting qualit improves somewhat with some CG attributes under Ind-AS. In addition, the results demonstrate that financial reporting quality positively influences FP.

Practical implications

There are significant effects on authorities and decision-makers. The findings from this research can benefit lawmakers by providing Ind-AS policy enforcement with more consideration. The results are also helpful for policymakers who want to improve CG and need proof of the significance of high FRQ in this respect.

Originality/value

Given the dearth of research on FRQ in India, the study extends prior literature on FRQ by examining the quality of financial reporting according to the transformation to IFRS in Indian textile firms. The theoretical contribution of the current study is the testing of agency theory towards practices of corporate governance mechanisms on FRQ and FP in the context of the textile sector.
CSR research in the hotel industry: how it relates to promoting the SDGs
Authors: Moyeen Abdul , Mehjabeen Melita
Published: July 2024

Purpose

Research suggests the hotel industry has grown to integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs towards addressing issues relating to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Nevertheless, how the progression of research has influenced the field of CSR and the SDGs remains unexplored. This paper aims to address the knowledge gap.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on a review of 230 papers from Scopus Indexed Journals – both mainstream and specialty. A content analysis was conducted to identify the major themes and the evolution of CSR research in the hotel industry.

Findings

Recent CSR research has tended to shift towards issues such as CSR communication and reporting from its earlier focus on the perceptions and practices of CSR. The SDGs, in general, and environmental sustainability, in particular, remain on the periphery of hotel industry’s CSR initiatives. This raises concern about the ability of CSR programs to facilitate the SDGs by 2030. This study highlights that both stakeholders (e.g. consumers, employees) and business forces (e.g. financial bottom line) can shape the hotel industry’s CSR strategies in contributing to the SDGs and greater sustainability.

Originality/value

The research advances the CSR and sustainability literature by undertaking a comprehensive review of business research on CSR in the hotel industry focusing on the SDGs, and advancing and facilitating discussion on existing knowledge in this field and how the field can be further developed.
Pathogenicity of genotype 2.1 classical swine fever virus isolated from Japan in 2019 in pigs
Authors: Yamashita Maiko , Iwamoto Shoko , Ochiai Mariko , Yamamoto Atsushi , Sudo Kasumi , Narushima Rie , Nagasaka Takao , Saito Akito , Oba Mami , Omatsu Tsutomu , Mizutani Tetsuya , Yamamoto Kinya
Published: July 2024

Classical swine fever (CSF) re‐emerged in Japan in 2018 for the first time in 26 years. The disease has been known to be caused by a moderately pathogenic virus, rather than the highly pathogenic virus that had occurred in the past. However, the underlying pathophysiology remains unknown. This study conducted an experimental challenge on specific pathogen‐free (SPF) pigs in a naïve state for 2, 4, and 6 weeks and confirmed the disease state during each period by clinical observation, virus detection, and pathological necropsy. We revealed the pathological changes and distribution of pathogens and virus‐specific antibodies at each period after virus challenge. These results were comprehensively analyzed and approximately 70% of the pigs recovered, especially at 4‐ and 6‐week post‐virus challenge. This study provides useful information for future countermeasures against CSF by clarifying the pathogenicity outcomes in unvaccinated pigs with moderately pathogenic genotype 2.1 virus.
Does fiscal decentralization improve people's access to health and education services in Cameroon?
Authors: Fouopi Djiogap Constant , Manga Justin Romuald Amougou , Onana Simon Pierre , Bitoto Fabrice Ewolo
Published: July 2024

We study the effects of fiscal decentralization on people's access to health and education services in Cameroon. It is generally believed that fiscal decentralization is an essential way to improve people's access to social services such as education and health. After reviewing the literature, we employed the Driscoll and Kraay estimate in a sample of 45 rural and urban municipalities for the period 2010–2020 to find our results. The results show that fiscal decentralization has a positive effect on the number of classrooms per pupil and the number of desks per pupil. At the same time, it negatively affects public hospitals per capita and the state of public hospitals. To improve people's access to education and health services in Cameroon, it is necessary to encourage the transfer of powers to municipalities. There is a need to control the actions of local officials to avoid mismanagement of resources that will not benefit the population. Also, the responsibility for selecting communal projects financed via the public investment budget within the framework of decentralization should be exclusively that of municipal executives, and not that of the central government.
A third indeterminacy of labour power: Worker health investment and the indeterminacy of labour health
Authors: Harvey Geraint , Wallace James
Published: July 2024

This article identifies the health of the worker as a third source of labour power indeterminacy to be added to the indeterminacy of labour effort and the indeterminacy of labour mobility. The paper clearly differentiates worker health from effort as a distinct source of labour power indeterminacy—something that cannot be guaranteed and that varies for an individual over time. It considers the relationship between worker health as a new source of indeterminacy and the two extant sources of labour power indeterminacy, focussing on the way in which health moderates the relationship between effort and output. The paper also considers the way in which worker health investment moderates the indeterminacy of labour effort and labour mobility, independently of its impact on the health of the worker. The paper documents the potential value of worker health investment to the organisation and also considers the boundary conditions for investment in worker health.
Lambeth Palace Library: Historic Archives in a New Building
Authors: Cosgrave Rachel
Published: July 2024

Lambeth Palace Library's new purpose‐built premises were opened in 2021, uniting the collections previously held in the historic buildings at Lambeth (including the manuscript collection, papers of the archbishops of Canterbury, and holdings of early and modern printed books), and the extensive archives of other central Church bodies (including records of the Ecclesiastical/Church Commissioners) formerly held at the Church of England Record Centre. Together the collections encompass a wealth of information from the medieval to the modern period, which continue to develop as more material is added to the Library's holdings. The collections document the history of the central Church of England, but also support research into a multitude of other topics alongside this. The building will enable better preservation of the collections and provides expansion space for their development. It also presents greater opportunities to enhance access than was possible in the historic premises, via its Reading Room, exhibition area, and other spaces for public events, building on the Library's purpose originated at its foundation in 1610.
Evolutionary biology of social expertise
Authors: Dukas Reuven , Bailey Nathan W.
Published: July 2024

There is increasing evidence that competent handling of social interactions among conspecifics has positive effects on individual fitness. While individual variation in social competence has been appreciated, the role of long‐term experience in the acquisition of superior social skills has received less attention. With the goal of promoting further research, we integrate knowledge across disciplines to assess social expertise, defined as the characteristics, skills and knowledge allowing individuals with extensive social experience to perform significantly better than novices on a given social task. We focus on three categories of social behaviour. First, animals can gain from adjusting social behaviour towards individually recognised conspecifics that they interact with on a regular basis. For example, there is evidence that some territorial animals individually recognise their neighbours and modify their social interactions based on experience with each neighbour. Similarly, individuals in group‐living species learn to associate with specific group members based on their expected benefits from such social connections. Individuals have also been found to devote considerable time and effort to learning about the spatial location and timing of sexual receptivity of opposite‐sex neighbours to optimise reproduction. Second, signallers can enhance their signals, and receivers can refine their response to signals with experience. In many birds and insects, individuals can produce more consistent signals with experience, and females across a wide taxonomic range can adaptively adjust mating preferences after perceiving distinct male signals. Third, in many species, individuals that succeed in reproducing encounter the novel, complex task of caring for vulnerable offspring. Evidence from a few species of mammals indicates that mothers improve in providing for and protecting their young over successive broods. Finally, for social expertise to evolve, heritable variation in social expertise has to be positively associated with fitness. Heritable variation has been shown in traits contributing to social expertise including social attention, empathy, individual recognition and maternal care. There are currently limited data associating social expertise with fitness, most likely owing to sparse research effort. Exceptions include maternal care, signal refinement, and familiarity with neighbours and group members. Overall, there is evidence that individuals in many species keep refining their social skills with experience throughout life. Hence we propose promising lines of research that can quantify more thoroughly the development of social expertise and its effects on fitness.
Recent trends in firm‐level total factor productivity in the UK: new measures, new puzzles
Authors: Coyle Diane , McHale John , Bournakis Ioannis , Mei Jen‐Chung
Published: July 2024

Understanding the poor productivity performance of the UK economy since the financial crisis is complicated by the well‐known challenges in estimating total factor productivity (TFP) using only revenue data. We develop a structural framework to infer quality‐adjusted TFP from an estimated firm‐level revenue function. We use microdata for two sectors previously identified as being significant contributors to the UK's productivity growth slowdown—manufacturing and ICT—from 2008 to 2019. The revenue function is estimated using the Blundell–Bond System GMM estimator. We also use an alternative cost‐shares approach to identifying and measuring TFP. For both methods, we find an overall fall in TFP levels in manufacturing and a rise in ICT. We find a striking decline of between 13% and 18% in the level of within‐firm manufacturing TFP, and of between 11% and 16% in ICT, although with reallocation effects differing between the two sectors. The finding of declining within‐firm TFP is robust, although the magnitude varies between methods. We discuss a possible explanation for this extended UK productivity puzzle based on the relative underperformance of UK firms in international markets.