bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Accurate Detection of Lead Malfunction From ECG-derived Bipolar Pacing Stimulus Amplitude
Authors: Pelling Mary , Lloyd Michael S. , Ibrahim Rand , El-Chami Mikhael F , Iravanian Shahriar
Published: January 2024

Background

One of the most common modes of lead failure is outer insulation breach which may result in myopotential noise and device malfunction. “Pseudo-unipolarization” of bipolar pacing stimuli, as observed from a routine 12-lead ECG has been observed with insulation breaches. We sought to characterize this ECG finding to detect lead this type of lead malfunction.

Methods

138 transvenous leads were analyzed (88 with known malfunction and 50 normal leads). The highest amplitude (any of 12-leads on standard ECG, 10mm/mV, GE Marquette) of a bipolar pacing stimulus on ECG was recorded and compared to a control dataset of newly implanted leads. An ROC curve for maximum ECG bipolar pacing stimulus amplitude was generated for prediction of lead functional status (normal vs malfunction).

Results

The cohort (49% females, 34% non-white) had an average age of 67 ± 16 years at implant. The malfunction group consisted of 61% RA and 39% RV leads with mean pacing output 2.74V at 0.5ms. There was a significant difference in ECG bipolar stimulus amplitudes at time of identification of failure (15.06 ± 13.533mm or 7.89 ± 7.56mm per V, p<0.001) compared to those of normal leads (2.54 ± 1.265mm or 0.86 ± 0.41mm per V). An EKG stimulus amplitude cut-off at 3.5mm for the prediction of this type of lead malfunction demonstrated a sensitivity of 86.4% and a specificity of 76%. When normalized for programmed stimulus output, a cutoff of 5mm/V demonstrated a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 92% (AUC 0.967 95% CI 0.938-0.996).

Conclusion

For a given output, the maximum amplitude of a bipolar pacing stimulus on ECG is significantly lower in normal functioning leads compared to those with known malfunction due to insulation breach. This simply-derived variable demonstrated good accuracy at identifying this lead failure due to insulation breach and exposed electrodes.
Characterization of CXCL10 as a biomarker of respiratory tract infections detectable by open-source lateral flow immunoassay
Authors: Mikkelsen Dayna , Aguiar Jennifer A. , Tremblay Benjamin J-M , Hunjan Manjot S. , Eckhard Ulrich , Gilchrist Jodi , Bulir David , Smieja Marek , Mubareka Samira , Lambert Catherine , Tram Kha , Doxey Andrew C. , Hirota Jeremy A.
Published: January 2024

Understanding core mechanisms common to respiratory tract viral pathogenesis and host-responses to infections may provide biomarkers for at-risk patient populations that guide interventions aimed at reducing morbidity, mortality, and economic costs. Secreted interferon stimulated gene protein products including CXCL10, CXCL11, and TNFSF10 could provide early biomarker signals that are prognostic for respiratory tract viral infections. In the present study, we had the overarching goal of defining the expression patterns of CXCL10, CXCL11, and TNFSF10 in clinical respiratory mucosal samples for multiple respiratory tract infections including respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus, influenza A and SARS-CoV-2 to inform the development of a host-biomarker point of care lateral flow immunoassay tool.

Gene expression levels from upper airway samples suggested thatCXCL10andCXCL11elevations were consistent across multiple viruses, correlated with higher SARS-CoV-2 viral load, and had a lower variance over the course of COVID-19 infection compared toTNFSF10. Deep proteomic profiling using mass-spectrometry revealed CXCL10 protein was not detectable in oral samples from healthy individuals. CXCL10 levels were measured from the saliva of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals and showed significant elevations in CXCL10 protein concentration. A prototype lateral flow immunoassay for detecting CXCL10 protein with a sensitivity of 2ng/mL in human saliva is presented.

Our work provides a foundation for further exploration of CXCL10 as a host biomarker relevant in respiratory tract viral infections. Leveraging lateral flow immunoassay technology for detection of biomarkers prognostic of respiratory tract infection may provide opportunities to intervene selectively and aggressively in those most at risk of poor outcomes.
Stroke After High-Dose/Adjuvanted Influenza Vaccines in U.S. Older Adults; 2016-2019
Authors: Lu Yun , Matuska Kathryn , Ma Yuxin , Laniyan Layo , Chillarige Yoganand , Anderson Steven A. , Forshee Richard A.
Published: January 2024

Importance

A recent study from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigated the risk of stroke following COVID-19 bivalent and high-dose/adjuvanted influenza vaccines among older adults (individuals ≥65 years) who experienced stroke after vaccination in the 2022-2023 season. The study found a small but significant association between stroke and high-dose/adjuvanted influenza vaccination in the Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) population.

Objective

To evaluate stroke risk following high-dose/adjuvanted influenza vaccines in three historical influenza seasons.

Design, Setting, and Participants

The analysis included Medicare beneficiaries ≥65 years who had a stroke outcome after receiving a high-dose or adjuvanted influenza vaccine in three influenza seasons 2016-2019. For each season, the study period began on the first Sunday of August and ended one day before the start of the subsequent season (e.g., Sunday, August 7, 2016 through Saturday, August 5, 2017). A self-controlled case series analysis was performed to compare the risk of stroke in risk intervals (1-21 and 22-42 days) to a control interval (43-90 days).

Exposures

High-dose/adjuvanted influenza vaccines.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Non-hemorrhagic stroke (NHS), transient ischemic attack (TIA), NHS and/or TIA (NHS/TIA), and hemorrhagic stroke (HS).

Results

We observed 29,730 stroke cases in 2016-2017; 34,518 cases in 2017-2018; and 36,869 cases in 2018-2019. In 2016-2017, the primary analysis found a statistically significant association for HS during the 22-42 day risk window (incidence rate ratio (IRR)=1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.28; Risk Difference (RD)/100,000 doses=0.84, 95% CI 0.14−1.54) compared to the control interval. However, no significant primary analysis results were identified in 2017-2018 or 2018-2019.

Conclusions and Relevance

We did not observe clear, consistent evidence of increased stroke risk following high-dose or adjuvanted influenza vaccination across the three seasons 2016-2019. The statistically significant associations we identified were not consistently observed across outcomes, risk windows, age subgroups, or seasons. The clinical significance of any potential risk of stroke following vaccination must be carefully considered together with the significant benefits of receiving an influenza vaccination.
A Distributed Computing Solution for Privacy-Preserving Genome-Wide Association Studies
Authors: Brito Cláudia , Ferreira Pedro , Paulo João
Published: January 2024

Breakthroughs in sequencing technologies led to an exponential growth of genomic data, providing unprecedented biological in-sights and new therapeutic applications. However, analyzing such large amounts of sensitive data raises key concerns regarding data privacy, specifically when the information is outsourced to third-party infrastructures for data storage and processing (e.g., cloud computing). Current solutions for data privacy protection resort to centralized designs or cryptographic primitives that impose considerable computational overheads, limiting their applicability to large-scale genomic analysis.

We introduce Gyosa, a secure and privacy-preserving distributed genomic analysis solution. Unlike in previous work, Gyosafollows a distributed processing design that enables handling larger amounts of genomic data in a scalable and efficient fashion. Further, by leveraging trusted execution environments (TEEs), namely Intel SGX, Gyosaallows users to confidentially delegate their GWAS analysis to untrusted third-party infrastructures. To overcome the memory limitations of SGX, we implement a computation partitioning scheme within Gyosa. This scheme reduces the number of operations done inside the TEEs while safeguarding the users’ genomic data privacy. By integrating this security scheme inGlow, Gyosaprovides a secure and distributed environment that facilitates diverse GWAS studies. The experimental evaluation validates the applicability and scalability of Gyosa, reinforcing its ability to provide enhanced security guarantees. Further, the results show that, by distributing GWASes computations, one can achieve a practical and usable privacy-preserving solution.
GEMCAT – A new algorithm for gene expression-based prediction of metabolic alterations
Authors: Sharma Suraj , Sauter Roland , Hotze Madlen , Paul Prowatke Aaron Marcellus , Niere Marc , Kipura Tobias , Egger Anna-Sophia , Thedieck Kathrin , Kwiatkowski Marcel , Ziegler Mathias , Heiland Ines
Published: January 2024

The conclusive interpretation of multi-omics datasets obtained from high throughput approaches is an important prerequisite to understand disease-related physiological changes and to predict biomarkers in body fluids. We here present a Gene Expression-based Metabolite Centrality Analysis Tool, GEMCAT, a new genome scale metabolic modelling algorithm. GEMCAT enables integration of transcriptomics or proteomics data to predict changes in metabolite concentrations which can be verified by targeted metabolomics. In addition, GEMCAT allows to trace measured and predicted metabolic changes back to the underlying alterations in gene expression or proteomics and thus enables functional interpretation and integration of multi-omics data. We demonstrate the predictive capacity of GEMCAT on two datasets, one using RNA sequencing data and metabolomics from an engineered human cell line with a functional deletion of the mitochondrial NAD-transporter and another using proteomics and metabolomics measurements from patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Discovery and Characterization of a Pan-betacoronavirus S2-binding antibody
Authors: Johnson Nicole V. , Wall Steven C. , Kramer Kevin J. , Holt Clinton M. , Periasamy Sivakumar , Richardson Simone , Suryadevara Naveenchandra , Andreano Emanuele , Paciello Ida , Pierleoni Giulio , Piccini Giulia , Huang Ying , Ge Pan , Allen James D. , Uno Naoko , Shiakolas Andrea R. , Pilewski Kelsey A. , Nargi Rachel S. , Sutton Rachel E. , Abu-Shmais Alexandria A. , Parks Robert , Haynes Barton F. , Carnahan Robert H. , Crowe James E. , Montomoli Emanuele , Rappuoli Rino , Bukreyev Alexander , Ross Ted M. , Sautto Giuseppe A. , McLellan Jason S. , Georgiev Ivelin S.
Published: January 2024

SUMMARY/ABSTRACT

Three coronaviruses have spilled over from animal reservoirs into the human population and caused deadly epidemics or pandemics. The continued emergence of coronaviruses highlights the need for pan-coronavirus interventions for effective pandemic preparedness. Here, using LIBRA-seq, we report a panel of 50 coronavirus antibodies isolated from human B cells. Of these antibodies, 54043-5 was shown to bind the S2 subunit of spike proteins from alpha-, beta-, and deltacoronaviruses. A cryo-EM structure of 54043-5 bound to the pre-fusion S2 subunit of the SARS-CoV-2 spike defined an epitope at the apex of S2 that is highly conserved among betacoronaviruses. Although non-neutralizing, 54043-5 induced Fc-dependent antiviral responses, including ADCC and ADCP. In murine SARS-CoV-2 challenge studies, protection against disease was observed after introduction of Leu234Ala, Leu235Ala, and Pro329Gly (LALA-PG) substitutions in the Fc region of 54043-5. Together, these data provide new insights into the protective mechanisms of non-neutralizing antibodies and define a broadly conserved epitope within the S2 subunit.
A rare haplotype of theGJD3gene segregating in familial Meniere Disease interferes with connexin assembly
Authors: Escalera-Balsera Alba , Robles-Bolivar Paula , Parra-Perez Alberto M. , Murillo-Cuesta Silvia , Chua Han Chow , Rodríguez-de la Rosa Lourdes , Contreras Julio , Domarecka Ewa , Amor-Dorado Juan Carlos , Soto-Varela Andrés , Varela-Nieto Isabel , Szczepek Agnieszka J , Gallego-Martinez Alvaro , Lopez-Escamez Jose A.
Published: January 2024

Familial Meniere Disease (FMD) is a rare polygenic disorder of the inner ear. Mutations in the connexin gene family, which encodes gap junction proteins, can also cause hearing loss, but their role in FMD is largely unknown. Here, we found an enrichment of rare missense variants in theGJD3gene when comparing allelic frequencies in FMD (N=94) with the Spanish reference population (OR=3.9[1.92-7.91], FDR=2.36E-03). In theGJD3sequence, we identified a rare haplotype (TGAGT) composed of two missense, two synonymous, and one downstream variants. This haplotype was found in five individuals with FMD, segregating in three unrelated families with a total of ten individuals; and in another eight Meniere Disease individuals.GJD3encodes the gap junction protein delta 3, also known as human connexin 31.9 (CX31.9). The protein model predicted that the NP_689343.3:p.(His175Tyr) missense variant could modify the interaction between connexins and the connexon assembly, affecting the homotypic GJD3 gap junction between cells. Our studies in mice revealed that the mouse orthologGjd3- encoding Gjd3 or mouse connexin 30.2 (Cx30.2) - was expressed in the organ of Corti and vestibular organs, particularly in the tectorial membrane, the base of inner and outer hair cells and the nerve fibers. The present results describe a novel association betweenGJD3and familial FMD, providing evidence that FMD is related to changes in the inner ear channels; in addition, it supports a new role of tectorial membrane proteins in FMD.
Inequalities in ownership and availability of home-based vaccination records in 82 low- and middle-income countries
Authors: Cata-Preta Bianca de Oliveira , Wendt Andrea , Santos Thiago Melo , Arroyave Luisa , Mengistu Tewodaj , Hogan Daniel R , Barros Aluisio JD , Victora Cesar Gomes , Danovaro-Holliday M. Carolina
Published: January 2024

Introduction

Home-based records (HBR) are widely used for recording health information including child immunizations. We studied levels and inequalities in HBR ownership in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) using data from national surveys conducted since 2010.

Methods

465,060 children aged 6-35 months from 82 LMICs were classified into four categories: HBR seen by the interviewer; never had an HBR; had an HBR that was lost; and reportedly have an HBR that was not seen by the interviewer. Inequalities according to age, sex, household wealth, maternal education, antenatal care and institutional delivery were studied, as were associations between HBR ownership and vaccine coverage. Pooled analyses were carried out using country weights based on child populations.

Results

An HBR was seen for 67.8% of the children, 9.2% no longer had an HBR, 12.8% reportedly had an HBR that was not seen and 10.2% had never received one. The lowest percentages of HBRs seen were in Kiribati (22.1%), the Democratic Republic of Congo (24.5%), Central African Republic (24.7%), Chad (27.9%), and Mauritania (35.5%). The proportions of HBRs seen declined with age and were inversely associated with household wealth and maternal schooling. Antenatal care and institutional delivery were positively associated with ownership. There were no differences between boys and girls. When an HBR was seen, higher immunization coverage and lower vaccine coverage rates were observed, but the direction of this association remains unclear.

Interpretation

HBR coverage levels were remarkably low in many LMICs, particularly among children from the poorest families and those whose mothers had low schooling. Contact with antenatal and delivery care was associated with higher HBR coverage. Interventions are urgently needed to ensure that all children are issued HBRs, and to promote proper storage of such cards by families.
p75NTR upregulation following perinatal hypoxia leads to deficits in parvalbumin-expressing GABAergic cell maturation, cortical activity and cognitive abilities in adult mice
Authors: Chattopadhyaya Bidisha , Lee Karen K.Y. , Carreño-Muñoz Maria Isabel , Rubianes Andrea Paris- , Lavertu-Jolin Marisol , Berryer Martin , Longo Frank M. , Cristo Graziella Di
Published: January 2024

Children who experienced moderate perinatal hypoxia are at risk of developing long lasting subtle cognitive and behavioral deficits, including learning disabilities and emotional problems. Understanding the underlying mechanisms is an essential step for designing targeted therapy.

Fast-spiking, parvalbumin-positive (PV) GABAergic interneurons modulate the generation of gamma oscillations, which in turn regulate many cognitive functions including goal-directed attentional processing and cognitive flexibility. Due to their fast firing rate, PV cell function requires high levels of energy, which may render them highly vulnerable to conditions of metabolic and oxidative stress caused by perinatal hypoxia. Here, we show that adult mice that experienced moderate perinatal hypoxia (MPH) have decreased cortical PV expression levels in addition to specific impairments in the social, recognition memory and cognitive flexibility domain. We further found that the expression level of the neurotrophin receptor p75NTR, which limits PV cell maturation during the first postnatal weeks, is increased in MPH mice. Genetic deletion of p75NTR in GABAergic neurons expressing the transcription factor Nkx2.1, which include PV cells, protects mice from PV expression loss and the long-term cognitive effects of MPH. Finally, one week treatment with a p75NTR inhibitor starting after MPH completely rescues the cognitive and cortical activity deficits in adult mice. All together this data reveals a potential molecular target for the treatment of the cognitive alterations caused by MPH.
Synaptic communication within the microcircuits of pyramidal neurons and basket cells in the mouse prefrontal cortex
Authors: Fekete Zsuzsanna , Weisz Filippo , Karlócai Mária Rita , Veres Judit M. , Andrási Tibor , Hájos Norbert
Published: January 2024

Basket cells are inhibitory interneurons in cortical structures with the potential to efficiently control the activity of their postsynaptic partners. Although their contribution to higher order cognitive functions associated with the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) relies on the characteristics of their synaptic connections, the way they are embedded into local circuits is still not fully uncovered. Here, we determined the synaptic properties of excitatory and inhibitory connections between pyramidal neurons (PNs), cholecystokinin-containing basket cells (CCKBCs) and parvalbumin-containing basket cells (PVBCs) in the mouse mPFC. By performing paired recordings, we revealed that PVBCs receive larger unitary excitatory postsynaptic currents from PNs with shorter latency and faster kinetic properties compared to events evoked in CCKBCs. Also, unitary inhibitory postsynaptic currents in PNs were more reliably evoked by PVBCs than by CCKBCs yet the former connections showed profound short-term depression. Moreover, we demonstrated that CCKBCs and PVBCs in the mPFC are mutually interconnected with each other. As alterations in PVBC function have been linked to neurological and psychiatric conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia and CCKBC vulnerability might play a role in mood disorders, a deeper understanding of the general features of basket cell synapses could serve as a reference point for future investigations with therapeutic objectives.
Breakdown of phonon band theory in MgO
Authors: Coiana Gabriele , Lischner Johannes , Tangney Paul
Published: January 2024

We present a series of detailed images of the distribution of kinetic energy among frequencies and wave vectors in the bulk of an MgO crystal as it is heated slowly until it melts. These spectra, which are Fourier transforms of mass-weighted velocity-velocity correlation functions calculated from accurate molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, provide a valuable perspective on the growth of thermal disorder in ionic crystals. We use them to explain why the most striking and rapidly progressing departures from a band structure occur among longitudinal optical (LO) modes, which would be the least active modes at low temperature (T) if phonons did not interact. The degradation of the LO band begins, at low T, as an anomalously large broadening of modes near the center of the Brillouin zone (BZ), which gradually spreads towards the BZ boundary. The LO band all but vanishes before the crystal melts, and transverse optical (TO) modes' spectral peaks become so broad that the TO branches no longer appear band-like. Acoustic bands remain relatively well defined until melting of the crystal manifests in the spectra as their sudden disappearance. We argue that, even at high T, the long wavelength acoustic (LWA) phonons of an ionic crystal can remain partially immune to disorder generated by its LO phonons; whereas, even at low T, its LO phonons can be strongly affected by LWA phonons. This is because LO displacements average out in much less than the period of an LWA phonon; whereas during each period of an LO phonon, an LWA phonon appears as a quasistatic perturbation of the crystal, which warps the LO mode's intrinsic electric field. LO phonons are highly sensitive to acoustic warping of their intrinsic fields because their frequencies depend strongly on them: They cause the large frequency difference between LO and TO bands known as . We calculate vibrational spectra from MD trajectories using a method that we show to be classically exact and therefore applicable, with equal validity, to any solid or liquid in any thermal or nonthermal state. By demonstrating its power and generality, we show that it has become possible to go far beyond the reach of perturbation theories and mean-field theories in the study of vibrations in materials.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Self-Trapping of Slow Electrons in the Energy Domain
Authors: Eldar Maor , Chen Zhaopin , Pan Yiming , Krüger Michael
Published: January 2024

The interaction of light and swift electrons has enabled phase-coherent manipulation and acceleration of electron wave packets. Here, we investigate this interaction in a new regime where low-energy electrons (∼20–200  eV) interact with a phase-matched light field. Our analytical and one-dimensional numerical study shows that slow electrons are subject to strong confinement in the energy domain due to the nonvanishing curvature of the electron dispersion. The spectral trap is tunable and an appropriate choice of light field parameters can reduce the interaction dynamics to only two energy states. The capacity to trap electrons expands the scope of electron beam physics, free-electron quantum optics and quantum simulators.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Mastering percolation-like games with deep learning
Authors: Danziger Michael M. , Gojala Omkar R. , Cornelius Sean P.
Published: January 2024

Though robustness of networks to random attacks has been widely studied, intentional destruction by an intelligent agent is not tractable with previous methods. Here we devise a single-player game on a lattice that mimics the logic of an attacker attempting to destroy a network. The objective of the game is to disable all nodes in the fewest number of steps. We develop a reinforcement learning approach using deep Q-learning that is capable of learning to play this game successfully, and in so doing, to optimally attack a network. Because the learning algorithm is universal, we train agents on different definitions of robustness and compare the learned strategies. We find that superficially similar definitions of robustness induce different strategies in the trained agent, implying that optimally attacking or defending a network is sensitive to the particular objective. Our method provides an approach to understand network robustness, with potential applications to other discrete processes in disordered systems.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
INSIGHT: in situ heuristic tool for the efficient reduction of grazing-incidence X-ray scattering data
Authors: Reus Manuel A. , Reb Lennart K. , Kosbahn David P. , Roth Stephan V. , Müller-Buschbaum Peter
Published: January 2024

INSIGHT is a Python-based software tool for processing and reducing 2D grazing-incidence wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS/GISAXS) data. It offers the geometric transformation of the 2D GIWAXS/GISAXS detector image to reciprocal space, including vectorized and parallelized pixel-wise intensity correction calculations. An explicit focus on efficient data management and batch processing enables full control of large time-resolved synchrotron and laboratory data sets for a detailed analysis of kinetic GIWAXS/GISAXS studies of thin films. It processes data acquired with arbitrarily rotated detectors and performs vertical, horizontal, azimuthal and radial cuts in reciprocal space. It further allows crystallographic indexing and GIWAXS pattern simulation, and provides various plotting and export functionalities. Customized scripting offers a one-step solution to reduce, process, analyze and export findings of large in situ and operando data sets.
Progress in superhydrophobic surfaces for corrosion protection of Mg alloys – a mini-review
Authors: Song Zhengwei , Xie Zhi-Hui , Ding Lifeng , Zhang Shengjian
Published: January 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to comprehensively review the preparation methods of superhydrophobic surfaces (SHPS) for corrosion protection of Mg alloy in recent years.

Design/methodology/approach

The preparation methods, wettability and corrosion resistance of SHPS on Mg alloy in the past three years are systematically described in this paper.

Findings

Two types of SHPS, including single-layer and multilayer coatings for corrosion protection of Mg alloy are summarized. Preparing multilayered coatings with multifunction is the current trend in developing SHPS on Mg alloy.

Originality/value

This paper reviewed the preparation methods and corrosion resistance of SHPS on Mg alloys. It provides a valuable reference for researchers to develop highly durable SHPS with excellent corrosion resistance for Mg alloys.
Fractal model of thermal contact conductance of the involute arc cylindrical gear considering friction coefficient
Authors: Sun Xianguang , Xin Xicheng
Published: January 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to propose a fractal model of thermal contact conductance (TCC) of the involute arc cylindrical gear considering friction coefficient.

Design/methodology/approach

The influences of fractal dimension, fractal roughness and surface modification coefficient on the TCC of the rough surface were studied.

Findings

The results indicate that increasing the fractal dimension or reducing the fractal roughness enhances the TCC of the rough surface, and raising the surface correction coefficient contributes to this improvement.

Originality/value

In this work, the novelty of the work is that the authors first established a novel fractal model of TCC of the involute arc cylindrical gear considering friction coefficient. The achievements of this study provide some theoretical basis for the investigation of the TCC of the involute arc cylindrical gear.
Distributed leadership in inter-organisational public research and development teams
Authors: Kim Dohyoung , Jung Sunmi , Kim Eungdo
Published: January 2024

Purpose

The authors contribute to the literature on leadership by investigating how characteristics of principal investigators (PIs) affect innovation performance, and how collaborative and non-collaborative projects moderate this relationship within the context of inter-organisational research projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors analysed panel data from the National Science and Technology Information Service on 171 research projects within a biomedical and regenerative medicines programme overseen by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. The authors used a hierarchical regression model, based on the ordinary least squares method, to examine the relationship between PI characteristics and performance, considering both quantity and quality.

Findings

The results show that the characteristics of PIs have diverse effects on the quantity and quality of innovation performance. Gender diversity within PIs negatively affects the quality of innovation performance, while the capacity of PIs positively influences it. Moreover, the degree of PI’s engagement is positively associated with the quantity of innovation performance but does not have a significant relationship with the quality of performance. In terms of moderating effects, collaborative projects with multiple leaders seem less reliant on PI capacity than non-collaborative projects led by a single leader, in terms of innovation performance.

Originality/value

The results contribute significantly to the literature on innovation management by examining the role of leadership in collaborative environments to enhance innovation performance, addressing the need for empirical evidence in this area. Analyses of PI characteristics in government R&D management can lead to improved team performance, more efficient processes and effective resource allocation, ultimately fostering innovation.
More is better? Investigating the influence of the characteristics of training activity participation on maker innovation performance
Authors: Yang Cai , Yang Zhi , Wu Shengmei , Zheng Yu
Published: January 2024

Purpose

Training activities organized by maker-spaces have become the most important channel through which makers acquire new external knowledge related to problem solving and thus contribute significantly to makers' innovation performance. Is it true that the more training activities in which makers participate, the better their innovation performance? Following the logic of process analyses, this paper empirically verifies the effects of the scope and frequency of makers' participation in training activities on their innovation performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a survey of 134 makers in China, this paper employed the procedure recommended by Preacher and Hayes (2008) to empirically test the total effects, direct effects and indirect effects of the scope and frequency of participation in training activities on makers' innovation performance via their ability to exploit new knowledge.

Findings

The research findings show that the scope (frequency) of participation in training activities has a positive (negative) effect on makers' innovation performance via the mediating effect of the makers' ability to exploit new knowledge. Time pressure acts as a negative moderator.

Originality/value

This paper sheds light on a considerably overlooked research area by investigating the effects of the scope and frequency of makers' participation in training activities on their innovation performance. The authors further identify and empirically test the theoretical mechanism by considering the mediating effect of makers' ability to exploit new knowledge. The research findings also provide a managerial training activity arrangement strategy for makerspaces and government.
Achieving the “ideas-informed” society: results from a structural equation model using survey data from England
Authors: Brown Chris , Groß Ophoff Jana , Chadwick Kim , Parkinson Sharon
Published: January 2024

Background: Democratic societies thrive when citizens actively and critically engage with new ideas, developments and claims to truth. Not only can such practices result in more effective choice-making, but they can also lead to widespread support for progressive beliefs, such as social justice. Yet with western societies in the midst of environmental, social and political crises, it seems more pertinent than ever that citizens become “ideas-informed”.

Methods: Drawing on a survey of 1,000 voting age citizens in England, this paper aims to provide insight into the following: (1) the current “state of the nation” in terms of whether, and how, individuals keep themselves up to date with regards to new ideas, developments and claims to truth; (2) the impact of staying up to date on beliefs such as social justice; (3) the factors influencing people’s propensity to stay up to date, their support for value-related statements, as well as the strength of these influencing factors; and (4) clues as to how the extant “state of the nation” might be improved.

Results: Our findings indicate that many people do keep up to date, do so in a variety of ways, and also engage with ideas as mature critical consumers. There is also strong importance attached by most respondents to the values one would hope to see in a progressive and scientifically literate society. Yet, as we illustrate with our structural equation model, there are a number of problematic network and educational related factors which affect: (1) whether and how people stay up to date; and (2) the importance people ascribe to certain social values, irrespective of whether they stay up to date or not.

Conclusions: Suggestions for the types of social intervention that might foster “ideas-informed” democracies (such as improved dialogue) are presented, along with future research in this area.
Facilitating the ideas-informed society: a systematic review
Authors: Brown Chris , Luzmore Ruth , Groß Ophoff Jana
Published: January 2024

Background: The concept of the ideas-informed society represents a desired situation in which: (1) citizens see value in staying up to date, and (2) citizens regularly keep themselves up to date by actively engaging with new ideas, developments and claims to truth, doing so both openly and critically. As a result, individuals become ever more knowledgeable, are better able to make good decisions, as well as find themselves in better position to re-align their values in response to new progressive norms and beliefs. Given these potential benefits, of primary interest are those who do not value staying up to date, nor attempt to do so.

Methods: With this systematic review we have sought to identify ways to consider how such “ideas refusers” might be switched-on to engaging with new ideas. We have done so by exploring: (1) the factors which act as barriers to and enablers of the actualisation of the ideas-informed society; (2) interventions/programmes and community-led activities developed to actualise the ideas-informed society; and (3) other non-empirically tested/verified suggestions for how the ideas-informed society might be actualised. Our findings derive from 25 research outputs (from a total of 631 originally identified) as well as examine case studies of “bottom-up” analogous activities.

Results: Our review highlights the presence of seemingly impactful approaches to enabling citizens to engage with new ideas, including science cafés and museum exhibitions. Other more bottom-up approaches include community-based events and festivals; social networks (and discussion within these networks) are also key to whether and how individuals engage with ideas, and the breadth of ideas they engage with.

Conclusions: We conclude by suggesting development and rigorous testing is now needed of interventions that seek to: (1) pique citizens’ curiosity; (2) establish connections to social networks and; (3) arm citizens with essential ideas-related dispositions.
Exploring effective approaches for stimulating ideas-engagement amongst adults in England: results from a randomised control trial
Authors: Brown Chris , Gross Ophoff Jana
Published: January 2024

Background: Ideas always have and always will change the world; with ideas-engagement enabling individuals to become more knowledgeable, better able to make good decisions and better positioned to re-align their values in response to new progressive norms and beliefs. Given these potential benefits, of primary interest is how citizens can be most effectively encouraged to engage with new ideas.

Methods: With this study we test the efficacy of two approaches designed to enhance citizen’s perceptions regarding the value of ideas-engagement. Specifically, we recontextualise a previously undertaken small-scale randomised control trial designed to stimulate states of either curiosity or pragmatic prospection amongst two randomly allocated groups of respondents. Our target variables involve the importance respondents attribute to staying up to date, as well as to four related attitudinal variables. Our target audience is the voting age population of England.

Results: 515 participants took part in the experiment, with 269 receiving the curiosity stimulating intervention and 246, the prospection intervention. Our findings suggest that, by the end of four weeks, only the intervention designed to promote pragmatic prospection had significantly impacted on the importance respondents attribute to staying up to date. It also positively impacted the value-scores for one of the secondary attitudinal variables (relating to the importance of supporting physical and mental-health).

Conclusions: While this study provides useful insight regarding ideas-engagement, further work is needed. In particular, future studies will require a larger sample, so as to ascertain the impact of these approaches on “ideas refusers”. Also required is the inclusion of a control group to provide a definitive counter factual. Furthermore, since positive changes in attitudes towards ideas-engagement also ideally leads to changes in behaviours, questions are also needed to examine the sources of ideas respondents subsequently engage with (or not) as a result of these interventions.
COVID-19 and the secret virtual assistants: the social weapons for a state of emergency
Authors: Sheerman Laura , Marston Hannah R. , Musselwhite Charles , Morgan Deborah
Published: January 2024

Technologies are ubiquitous in modern Britain, gradually infiltrating many areas of our working and personal lives. But what role can technology play in the current COVID-19 pandemic? At a time when our usual face to face social interactions are temporarily suspended, many of us have reached out to technology (e.g. Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook, Zoom) to help maintain a sense of closeness and connection to friends, family and vital services.

One largely unsung technology is the virtual assistant (VA), a cost-efficient technology enabling users to access the Internet of Things using little more than voice. Deploying an ecological framework, in the context of smart age-friendly cities, this paper explores how VA technology can function as an emergency response system, providing citizens with systems to connect with friends, family, vital services and offering assistance in the diagnosis of COVID-19.

We provide an illustration of the potentials and challenges VAs present, concluding stricter regulation and controls should be implemented before VAs can be safely integrated into smart age-friendly cities across the globe.
Health policy and controlling Covid-19 in England: sociological insights
Authors: Calnan Michael
Published: January 2024

The global Covid-19 pandemic is posing considerable challenges for governments throughout the world and has and will have a significant influence on the shape of peoples social and economic life and wellbeing in the short and longer term. This opinion paper discusses the current health policy response adopted in England to control or manage the epidemic and identifies the key sociological and political influences which have shaped these policies. Drawing on the theoretical approach set out in his recent book, which emphasises the interplay of powerful structural and economic interest groups, the author will consider the influence of the key players. Government policy has tied itself to scientific and medical evidence and protecting the NHS so the key roles of the medical profession, public health scientific community and NHS management and their respective and relative powerful influences will be discussed. The government needs the support of the public if their policies are to be successful, so how have the government addressed maintaining public trust in this “crisis” and how much trust do the public have in the government and what has influenced it? The strong emphasis on social distancing and social isolation in the national government policy response to Covid-19 has placed an increasing public reliance on the traditional and social media for sources of information so how the media has framed the policy will be considered. One policy aim is for an effective vaccine and the influence of the drug industry in its development is discussed. Finally, the role of the state will be discussed and what has shaped its social and economic policies.
Fear of COVID-19 during confinement in Mauritius
Authors: Goorah Smita , Cheeneebash Jayrani , Gopaul Ashvin , Ramchurn Satish
Published: January 2024

Background: Fear has been a common response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic throughout the world. In Mauritius, the outbreak of COVID-19 has been an exceptional occurrence requiring stringent confinement of the population. In this study, we have explored people’s reactions to COVID-19 during confinement, with emphasis on fear and the impact of news on the level of fear.

Methods: An anonymized online survey was carried out during confinement. Participation was voluntary. Participants reported fear level on a scale from 1-10, where no fear scored 1 and maximum fear scored 10. Participants reported the impact of news on their fear level on a scale of 1-10, where 1 represented no impact and 10 represented maximum impact. Participants reported the status of information received about COVID-19 on a scale of 1-10 where 1 represented no information on COVID-19 and 10 represented maximum information on COVID-19.

Results: The self-rated level of fear during confinement had a mean of 5.09 with 95%CI [4.70, 5.47]. This increased to a mean of 6.39 with 95%CI [6.00-6.78] at the prospect of confinement being lifted. The difference was statistically significant (paired-sample T-test, p<0.001). With regard to the impact of news on fear of COVID-19, the mean for local news was 5.97 with 95%CI [5.59, 6.34] whereas that of worldwide news was 6.86 with 95%CI [6.50, 7.23]. Worldwide news had a more significant impact (paired-sample T-test, p<0.001). The information score about COVID-19 had a mean of 5.12 with 95%CI [4.71, 5.53].

Conclusions: Participants experienced a moderate level of fear of COVID-19 during confinement which increased at the prospect of confinement being lifted, implying that people felt safer during confinement. Their fear was influenced more by international news than by local news. Overall participants reported that they were moderately well informed about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Using planning powers to promote healthy weight environments in England
Authors: Chang Michael , Radley Duncan
Published: January 2024

Background: The prevalence of obesity in English adults and children has reached critical levels. Obesity is determined by a wide range of factors including the environment and actions to reduce obesity prevalence requires a whole systems approach. The spatial planning system empowers local authorities to manage land use and development decisions to tackle obesogenic environments.

Methods: This research aimed to better understand what and how planning powers are being utilised by local authorities to help tackle population obesity. It reviewed literature on the six planning healthy weight environments themes. It identified what powers exist within the planning system to address these themes. It collated professionals’ perspectives on the barriers and opportunities through focus groups within local authorities and semi-structured interviews with national stakeholders.

Results: The research complements current research on the association between the environment and obesity outcomes, though methods employed by researchers in the literature were inconsistent. It identified three categories of planning powers available to both require and encourage those with responsibilities for and involvement in planning healthy weight environments. Through direct engagement with practitioners, it highlighted challenges in promoting healthy weight environments, including wider systems barriers such as conflicting policy priorities, lack of policy prescription and alignment at local levels, and impact from reduced professional and institutional capacity in local government.

Conclusions: The conclusions support a small but increasing body of research which suggests that policy makers need to ensure barriers are removed before planning powers can be effectively used to promote healthy weight environments as part of a whole systems approach. The research is timely with continuing policy and guidance focus on tackling obesity prevalence from national government departments and their agencies. This research was conducted as part of a Master of Research at Leeds Beckett University associated with a national whole-systems to obesity programme.
Food for thought: SDG challenges, corporate social responsibility and food shopping in later life
Authors: Towers Christopher , Howarth Richard
Published: January 2024

With the context of changing global and local populations and, for example, their composition and distribution, this paper offers insight to food shopping in later life with a focus on Nottingham and Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands. The work is relevant and important due to the specific population makeup of this area and the challenges in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a result of population changes/challenges.

The work takes an interdisciplinary view and draws on literature from both social policy and social care and business and marketing. Using this work as a grounding, and insights to primary research from a wider study in this area, the paper offers discussion and comment on:

the importance of food and food shopping in later life;

issues of, and concerns for, health, well-being, identity and community maintenance and resilience (as a direct result of the challenge to SDG achievement); and

the role(s) and responsibility of business from a core business and wider business/corporate responsibility perspective as a reflection of the above and findings of the work.

Using primary research undertaken by the authors, the paper supports findings from existing work from across social policy and care and business and management – related to the practicalities, challenges and the role of and approaches to food shopping in later life. It specifically offers insight to the efforts made by older food shoppers to maintain their independence and support their choices in a context of interdependence (e.g. within a family, community and environment). The importance social aspects of food shopping (as a counter to isolation and loneliness for example) are also identified and how, for example, the actions of business(es) may undermine the efforts (and resilience) of individuals and communities. “Better” understanding of food shoppers by business and other stakeholders is promoted.