bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enhancing Photosynthesis under Salt Stress via Directed Evolution in Cyanobacteria
Authors: Jiang Zhenxiong , Islam Khondokar Nowshin , Wolfe Malory , O’Connell Michael , Williams Dykia , Florance Ashley , Vinyard David J. , Zhang Xiaohui , Brenner Maxwell , Kiss Andor J. , Liu Xianhua , Wang Xin
Published: August 2024

A key aspect of enhancing photosynthesis is improving its recycling kinetics, enabling swift resumption of photochemical quenching following environmental disruptions or stress. Salt stress exacerbates high light stress in cyanobacteria and leads to severe yield losses in crop plants. Genetic traits that confer salt tolerance without compromising photosynthetic performance are essential for improving photosynthesis under these conditions. Here we applied accelerated evolution inSynechococcus elongatusPCC 7942 by conditionally suppressing its methyl-directed mismatch repair system to obtain beneficial genetic traits for enhanced photosynthesis under salt stress. Screening over 10,000 mutants, we isolated eight strains with increased biomass or sucrose productivity under salt stress. Genome sequencing revealed an average of 8-20 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or indels per genome. Notably, mutations in the photosystem II (PSII) reaction center D1 gene, resulting in the amino acid changes L353F, I358N, and H359N at the carboxyl terminus of the pre-D1 (pD1) protein, improve photosynthesis under salt and combined salt and light stress by potentially accelerating D1 maturation during PSII repair. Phylogenetic analysis of pD1 across cyanobacteria and red algae highlights the broad significance of these adaptive genetic traits, underscoring the importance of leveraging evolutionary insights to improve photosynthesis under stress or fluctuating environments.
A master regulatory loop that activates genes in a temporally coordinated manner in muscle cells of ascidian embryos
Authors: Oda Izumi , Satou Yutaka
Published: August 2024

Ascidian larval muscle cells present a classic example of autonomous development. A regulatory mechanism for these cells has been extensively investigated, and the regulatory gene circuit has been documented from maternal factors to a muscle specific gene. In the present study, we comprehensively identified genes expressed specifically in ascidian muscle cells, and found that all of them are under control of a positive regulatory loop ofTbx6-r.bandMrf, the core circuit identified previously. We also found that several transcription factors under control of theTbx6-r.b/Mrfregulatory loop resulted in various temporal expression profiles, which are probably important for creating functional muscle cells. These results, together with results of previous studies, provide an exhaustive view of the regulatory system enabling autonomous development of ascidian larval muscle cells. It shows that theTbx6-r.b/Mrfregulatory loop, but not a single gene, serves a “master” regulatory function. This master regulatory loop not only controls spatial gene expression patterns, but also governs temporal expression patterns in ascidian muscle cells.
Ligand Identification in CryoEM and X-ray Maps Using Deep Learning
Authors: Karolczak Jacek , Przybyłowska Anna , Szewczyk Konrad , Taisner Witold , Heumann John M. , Stowell Michael H.B. , Nowicki Michał , Brzezinski Dariusz
Published: August 2024

Motivation

Accurately identifying ligands plays a crucial role in the process of structure-guided drug design. Based on density maps from X-ray diffraction or cryogenic-sample electron microscopy (cryoEM), scientists verify whether small-molecule ligands bind to active sites of interest. However, the interpretation of density maps is challenging, and cognitive bias can sometimes mislead investigators into modeling fictitious compounds. Ligand identification can be aided by automatic methods, but existing approaches are available only for X-ray diffraction and are based on iterative fitting or feature-engineered machine learning rather than end-to-end deep learning.

Results

Here, we propose to identify ligands using a deep learning approach that treats density maps as 3D point clouds. We show that the proposed model is on par with existing machine learning methods for X-ray crystallography while also being applicable to cryoEM density maps. Our study demonstrates that electron density map fragments can aid the training of models that can later be applied to cryoEM structures but also highlights challenges associated with the standardization of electron microscopy maps and the quality assessment of cryoEM ligands.

Availability

Code and model weights are available on GitHub athttps://github.com/jkarolczak/ligands-classification. Datasets used for training and testing are hosted at Zenodo: 10.5281/zenodo.10908325. An accompanying ChimeraX bundle is available athttps://github.com/wtaisner/chimerax-ligand-recognizer.

Contact:dariusz.brzezinski@cs.put.poznan.pl

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available atBioinformaticsonline.
Short- and Long-term Outcomes of children hospitalized with COVID-19 or Influenza: results of the AUTCOV study
Authors: Wagenlechner Christine , Wendt Ralph , Reichardt Berthold , Mildner Michael , Mascherbauer Julia , Aigner Clemens , Auer Johann , Ankersmit Hendrik Jan , Graf Alexandra Christine
Published: August 2024

Background

Recent literature gives different results on morbidity and mortality after COVID-19 as compared to Influenza hospitalized children and results of large, population based studies are scant. In this population-based study in Austria, we evaluated and compared the short- and long-term outcomes after COVID-19 or Influenza hospitalization and associations with their baseline drug profile.

Methods

Individual data were provided on children ≤ 18 years hospitalized with COVID-19 in the years 2020 and 2021 or Influenza in 2016 – 2021 as well as on age-, sex- and region-matched controls from the Austrian Health Insurance Funds. The primary outcome was time to hospital discharge. Secondary outcomes were in-hospital death, all-cause mortality and readmission to hospital due to any reason. The median follow-up time was 430 days (IQR: 245-552) in the COVID-19 and 1221 days (IQR: 881-1599) in the Influenza group.

Results

1063 children were hospitalized due to COVID-19 and 2781 children due to Influenza in the study period. Children hospitalized due to COVID-19 or Influenza were more likely to have a larger disease burden as compared to the general population. Influenza hospitalized patients were observed to be generally younger and a larger percentage of polypharmacy than those with COVID-19. No significant difference in the time to hospital discharge was found between cohorts (HR: 1.22 [95%-CI: 0.97-1.55], p=0.093). The risk for readmission was significantly higher for Influenza (HR: 1.23 [95%-CI: 1.03-1.47], p=0.021). In-hospital mortality (0.94% vs. 0.22%, p=0.004) and long-term mortality (p=0.009) was significantly larger in COVID-19 patients. One-year mortality after hospitalization was estimated with 1.13% (CI: 0.49-1.77) in the COVID and 0.32% (CI: 0.11-0.53) in the Influenza group.

Conclusion

A general picture of COVID-19 being a milder disease compared to Influenza may not be drawn. No significant difference for time to hospital discharge was observed between cohorts but the risk of readmission was significantly larger in the Influenza group. Death rates of COVID-19 hospitalized children seem to be higher, however, the low number of severe events may limit the findings.
Pericytes require physiological oxygen tension to maintain phenotypic fidelity
Authors: McErlain Tamara , McCulla Elizabeth C , Glass Morgan J , Ziemer Lauren E , Branco Cristina M , Murgai Meera
Published: August 2024

Pericytes function to maintain tissue homeostasis by regulating capillary blood flow and maintaining endothelial barrier function. Pericyte dysfunction is associated with various pathologies and has recently been found to aid cancer progression. Despite having critical functions in health and disease, pericytes remain an understudied population due to a lack of model systems which accurately reflectin vivobiology. In this study we developed a protocol to isolate and culture murine lung, brain, bone, and liver pericytes, that maintains their known phenotypes and functions. We demonstrate that pericytes, being inherently plastic, benefit from controlled oxygen tension culture conditions, aiding their expansionex vivo. Primary pericytes grown in physioxia (10% O2for lung; 5% O2for brain, bone, and liver) also better retain pericyte phenotypes indicated by stable expression of characteristic transcriptional and protein markers. In functional tube formation assays, pericytes were observed to significantly associate with endothelial junctions. Importantly, we identified growth conditions that limit expression of the plasticity factorKlf4to prevent spontaneous phenotypic switchingin vitro. Additionally, we were able to induce pathological pericyte phenotypic switching in response to metastatic stimuli to accurately recapitulatein vivobiology. Here, we present a robust method for studying pericyte biology in both physiology and disease.
Phase Separation-based Antiviral Decoy Particles as Basis for Programmable Broad-spectrum Therapeutics
Authors: Willinger Or , Granik Naor , Goldberg Sarah , Amit Roee
Published: August 2024

To gain access to cells, viruses employ host proteins as receptors. In soluble form, these receptors are used as decoys to inhibit infection. We fused candidate soluble receptors to an RNA-binding protein, and using synthetic long non-coding RNA (slncRNA) cassettes that can undergo phase-separation we scaffolded the receptor fusions to generate antiviral decoy particles. Using confocal microscopy, we screened antiviral protein candidates by observing changes in phase-separation morphology when incubated with viral-mimicking components. We demonstrated that ACE2 decoy particles bind strongly to the coronavirus RBD, facilitating FRET, while sufficiently sialylated decoy particles form agglutinated structures with RNA peripheries in the presence of a sialolectin. Infection assays show ACE2 decoy particles fully inhibit the Delta and Omicron BA.1 coronavirus variants, and LAMP1 and GYPA decoy particles significantly reduce influenza infectionin-cellulo. This work establishes a foundation for broad-spectrum antiviral decoy particles, composed of multiple receptors targeting various viruses.
Y chromosome STR variation reveals traditional occupation based population structure in India
Authors: Sequeira Jaison Jeevan , Chaitra M. , Rai N R Ananya , Sudeepthi M. , Shalini R. , Mustak Mohammed S , Khanna Jagriti , Sharma Shivkant , Chilukuri Rajendra V E , van Driem George , Shrivastava Pankaj
Published: August 2024

Earlier models of grouping Indian populations were based on language families, social stratification and geographical location. Such grouping system has often resulted in oversimplification of ancestry inferences. Moreover, we do not find many studies focused on studying the variation within these groups and the role of past demographic events in shaping them. We analysed the Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeats haplotypes from 8153 males from India and Eurasia to explore the impact of Holocene migration on the Indian gene pool. We used haplotype variation and date estimates to understand the characteristics of each haplogroup with respect to the different grouping models. Our findings show that the Neolithic agricultural expansion has had a strong influence in shaping the male gene pool of the Indian subcontinent. Haplogroups F, L and R1a contribute greatly towards stratifying Indian populations as hunter-gatherer related, farming-related and priestly groups respectively. Although the caste system enforced endogamy, a traditional occupation based admixture existed since the Neolithic times. Dispersal of haplogroup L from the Near East played a major role in the formation of an agriculturist population that formed an intermediary between the primitive tribes and the R1a-rich priestly group. This study shows that the frequency of R1a in the hunter-gatherer tribes (1.5%) is much lower than previously reported based on other models of population clustering.
Evaluation of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Lymph Node Detection with Magnetomotive Ultrasound – A Pilot Study in Rats
Authors: Axelsson Ulrika , Bäckström Sania , Mousavi Arefeh , Persson Linda
Published: August 2024

Introduction

The inadequate detection of lymph node metastases by current imaging methods has led to overtreatment in rectal cancer. Magnetomotive ultrasound (MMUS) has the potential of being a more accurate diagnostic imaging method for lymph node metastases. This method is based on the detection of tissue movement that is induced by the vibration of iron oxide nanoparticles, caused by an external alternating magnetic field. This study investigated the suitability of the subcutaneous administration of two iron oxide nanoparticles—Ferrotran®and Magtrace®—and their distribution in lymph nodes, with regard to the possibility of identifying lymph node metastases in rectal cancer by MMUS.

Methods

Male Sprague Dawley rats were injected subcutaneously with 10.7 mg Ferrotran®(n=9), 10.5 mg Magtrace®(n=9), or saline (n=3) dorsally at the root of the tail. On euthanization of the rats after 1, 5, and 24 hours, the proximal and distal lymph nodes were harvested and analyzed by histology [hematoxylin/eosin, Perls Prussian Blue (PPB)] and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy. The primary aim was to evaluate the distribution of the iron oxide nanoparticles throughout the lymphatic system; the general health of the rats after subcutaneous administration of these nanoparticles was also monitored.

Results

At 1 hour after subcutaneous injection, Ferrotran®and Magtrace®accumulated in the proximal lymph nodes. After 24 hours, both particles had spread to distal lymph nodes, but only Ferrotran®reached the mesenteric and mandibular lymph nodes. In addition, Ferrotran®penetrated the lymph nodes more deeply than Magtrace®at 24 hours. No toxicity was observed with either nanoparticle.

Conclusion

Although both compounds disseminated well, Ferrotran®accumulated better and more rapidly in lymph nodes than Magtrace®. Because accumulation and time are important parameters for imaging, our data indicate that Ferrotran®is a potentially more suitable particle for MMUS in clinical use.
Feedback regulation by the RhoA-specific GEF ARHGEF17 regulates actomyosin network disassembly
Authors: Rao Vasundhara , Grädel Benjamin , Hinderling Lucien , Unen Jakobus Van , Pertz Olivier
Published: August 2024

We report that the RhoA-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor ARHGEF17 localizes at the back of a fibroblast’s contractile lamella and regulates its disassembly. This localization emerges through retrograde ARHGEF17 transport together with actomyosin flow that most likely involves interactions with ATP-actin at F-actin barbed ends. During this process, ARHGEF17 increasingly oligomerizes into clusters that co-localize with myosin filaments, and correlate with their disassembly at lamella’s distal edge. ARHGEF17 loss of function leads to decreased RhoA activity at the lamella back and impairs its disassembly. High RhoA activity is however maintained at the lamella front where phosphorylated myosin light chain is observed. We propose that the low contractile, disassembling actomyosin network at the lamella back generates barbed ends leading to ATP-actin production, and ARHGEF17 binding. This then locally activates RhoA-dependent contractility, ensuring robust lamella disassembly through fracturing rather than re-inforcement. ARHGEF17 exemplifies the spatio-temporal complexity of Rho GTPase signaling and the requirement of feedback mechanism for homeostasis of contractile actomyosin networks.
Anesthetic-like effects of ketamine inC. elegans
Authors: Seppälä Katariina , Reigada Inés , Matilainen Olli , Rantamäki Tomi , Hanski Leena
Published: August 2024

Transparency ofC. elegansenables microscopicin vivoimaging of cellular processes, but immobilization is required due to high locomotor activity. Preservative NaN3is commonly used for this, but is associated with oxidative stress and toxicity. Here, anesthetic-like effects of dissociate anesthetic ketamine inC. elegansare presented using video recordings and infrared-based automated activity tracking. Ketamine caused a reversible blockade of locomotion at a similar concentration (20-50 mM) at which NaN3produces paralysis. Moreover, the recovery rate was remarkably high, and short-term ketamine treatment did not show signs of SKN-1 activation, a marker of the stress response.
Impact of potential and temperature fluctuations on charge and heat transport in quantum Hall edges in the heat Coulomb blockade regime
Authors: Spånslätt Christian , Stäbler Florian , Sukhorukov Eugene V. , Splettstoesser Janine
Published: August 2024

We present a broad study of charge and heat transport in a mesoscopic system where one or several quantum Hall edge channels are strongly coupled to a floating Ohmic contact (OC). It is well-known that charge-current fluctuations emanating from the OC along the edge channels are highly susceptible to the OC charge capacitance in the heat Coulomb blockade regime (an impeded ability of the OC to equilibrate edge channels). Here, we demonstrate how potential and temperature fluctuations due to finite OC charge and heat capacities impact the heat-current fluctuations emitted from the OC. First, by assuming an infinite OC heat capacity, we show that the output heat-current noise is strongly dependent on the OC charge capacitance, following from a close relation between one-dimensional charge and heat currents. When also the OC heat capacity is finite, an interplay of potential and temperature fluctuations influences the heat transport. Concretely, we find that the effect of the charge capacitance on heat transport manifests in terms of a strongly increased energy relaxation time in the heat Coulomb blockade regime. Furthermore, we find expressions for a broad set of output observables, such as charge and heat auto- and cross correlations, as functions of input and OC fluctuations, depending on the relation between charge and energy relaxation times compared to the frequency of fluctuations and inverse (local) temperatures as well as on the number of edge channels attached to the OC. Finally, we show that a finite OC heat capacity transforms the full counting statistics of the output charge from Gaussian to non-Gaussian. Our findings provide opportunities to experimentally probe and harness the quantum nature of heat transport in strongly coupled electron circuits.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Polarization analysis of two baryons with various spin combinations produced in electron-positron annihilation
Authors: Zhang Zhe , Ping Rong-Gang , Liu Tianbo , Song Jiao Jiao , Yang Weihua , Zhou Ya-jin
Published: August 2024

We develop a systematic approach to analyze polarization correlations of two baryons B1B¯2 produced in the electron-positron annihilation process. With spin density matrices for arbitrary spin particles established in the standard, the Cartesian, and the helicity forms, we provide analyses of polarization correlations for two baryons with various spin combinations. This framework can be applied to determine the spin and the parity of excited baryons, and therefore offers opportunities for the investigation of baryon spectrum and transition form factors in present and future electron-positron annihilation experiments.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Pulsar timing array harmonic analysis and source angular correlations
Authors: Allen Bruce
Published: August 2024

Gravitational waves (GWs) influence the arrival times of radio signals coming from pulsars. Here, we investigate the harmonic space approach to describing a pulsar’s response to GWs. We derive and discuss the “diagonalized form” of the response, which is a sum of spin-2-weighted spherical harmonics of the GW direction multiplied by normal (spin-weight 0) spherical harmonics of the pulsar direction. We show how this allows many useful objects, for example, the Hellings and Downs two-point function, to be easily calculated. The approach also provides a clear description of the gauge dependence. We then employ this harmonic approach to model the effects of angular correlations in the sky locations of GW sources (sometimes called “statistical isotropy”). To do this, we construct ensembles made up of many Gaussian subensembles. While each of the individual subsensembles breaks rotational invariance, the full ensemble is rotationally invariant. Using harmonic techniques, we compute the cosmic covariance and the total covariance of the Hellings and Downs correlation in these models. The results may be used to assess the impact of angular source correlations on the Hellings and Downs correlation, and for optimal reconstruction of the Hellings and Downs curve in models where GW sources have correlated sky locations.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Scalar perturbations from inflation in the presence of gauge fields
Authors: Durrer R. , von Eckardstein R. , Garg Deepen , Schmitz K. , Sobol O. , Vilchinskii S.
Published: August 2024

We study how Abelian-gauge-field production during inflation affects scalar perturbations in the case when the gauge field interacts with the inflaton directly (by means of generic kinetic and axial couplings) and via gravity. The homogeneous background solution is defined by self-consistently taking into account the backreaction of the gauge field on the evolution of the inflaton and the scale factor. For the perturbations on top of this background, all possible scalar contributions coming from the inflaton, the metric, and the gauge field are considered. We derive a second-order differential equation for the curvature perturbation, ζ, capturing the impact of the gauge field, both on the background dynamics and on the evolution of scalar perturbations. The latter is described by a source term in the ζ equation, which is quadratic in the gauge-field operators and leads to non-Gaussianities in the curvature perturbations. We derive general expressions for the induced scalar power spectrum and bispectrum. Finally, we apply our formalism to the well-known case of axion inflation without backreaction. Numerical results show that, in this example, the effect of including metric perturbations is small for values of the gauge-field production parameter ξ>3. This is in agreement with the previous results in the literature. However, in the region of smaller values, ξ≲2, our new results exhibit order-of-unity deviations when compared to previous results.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Cartan monopoles
Authors: Smilga Andrei
Published: August 2024

The effective Hamiltonians for chiral supersymmetric gauge theories at small spatial volume are generalizations of the Hamiltonians describing the motion of a scalar or a spinor particle in a field of Dirac monopoles (we are dealing in fact with a certain lattice of monopoles supplemented with a periodic singular potential). The gauge fields in such Hamiltonians belong to the Cartan subalgebras of the corresponding gauge algebras. Such a construction exists for all groups admitting complex representations, i.e., for SU(N≥3), Spin(4n+2) with n≥1 and E6. We give explicit expressions for these Hamiltonians for SU(3), SU(4)≃Spin(6) and for SU(5). The simplified version of such a Hamiltonian, deprived of fermion terms, of the extra scalar potential and when only one node of the lattice is taken into consideration, describe a 3r-dimensional motion (r being the rank of the group) in the field what we call a “Cartan monopole.” As is the case for the ordinary monopole, the Lagrangian of this system enjoys gauge symmetry, rotational symmetry, and the parameter, generalizing the notion of magnetic charge for Cartan monopoles, is quantized.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Interacting local topological markers: A one-particle density matrix approach for characterizing the topology of interacting and disordered states
Authors: Hannukainen Julia D. , Martínez Miguel F. , Bardarson Jens H. , Kvorning Thomas Klein
Published: August 2024

While topology is a property of a quantum state itself, most existing methods for characterizing the topology of interacting phases of matter require direct knowledge of the underlying Hamiltonian. We offer an alternative by utilizing the one-particle density matrix formalism to extend the concept of the Chern, chiral, and Chern-Simons markers to include interactions. The one-particle density matrix of a free-fermion state is a projector onto the occupied bands, defining a Brillouin zone bundle of the given topological class. This is no longer the case in the interacting limit, but as long as the one-particle density matrix is gapped, its spectrum can be adiabatically flattened, connecting it to a topologically equivalent projector. The corresponding topological markers thus characterize the topology of the interacting phase. Importantly, the one-particle density matrix is defined in terms of a given state alone, making the local markers numerically favorable, and providing a valuable tool for characterizing topology of interacting systems when only the state itself is available. To demonstrate the practical use of the markers we use the chiral marker to identify the topology of midspectrum eigenstates of the Ising-Majorana chain across the transition between the ergodic and many-body localized phases. We also apply the chiral marker to random states with a known topology, and compare it with the entanglement spectrum degeneracy.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Spin Space Groups: Full Classification and Applications
Authors: Xiao Zhenyu , Zhao Jianzhou , Li Yanqi , Shindou Ryuichi , Song Zhi-Da
Published: August 2024

In this work, we exhaust all the spin space symmetries, which fully characterize collinear, noncollinear, and commensurate spiral as well as incommensurate spiral magnetism, etc., and investigate enriched features of electronic bands that respect these symmetries. We achieve this by systematically classifying the so-called spin space groups (SSGs)—joint symmetry groups of spatial and spin operations that leave the magnetic structure unchanged. Generally speaking, they are accurate (approximate) symmetries in systems where spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is negligible (finite but weaker than the energy scale of interest), but we also show that specific SSGs could remain valid even in the presence of strong SOC. In recent years, SSGs have played increasingly pivotal roles in various fields such as altermagnetism, topological electronic states, and topological magnon, etc. However, due to its complexity, a complete SSG classification has not been completed up to now. By representing the SSGs as O(N) representations, we—for the first time—obtain the complete classifications of 1421, 9542, and 56 512 distinct SSGs for collinear (N=1), coplanar (N=2), and noncoplanar (N=3) magnetism, respectively. SSG not only fully characterizes the symmetry of spin degrees of freedom, but also gives rise to exotic electronic states, which, in general, form projective representations of magnetic space groups (MSGs). Surprisingly, electronic bands in SSGs exhibit features never seen in MSGs, such as (i) nonsymmorphic SSG Brillouin zone, where SSG operations behave as a glide or screw when acting on momentum, (ii) effective π flux, where translation operators anticommute with each other and yield duplicate bands, (iii) higher-dimensional representations unexplained by MSGs, and (iv) unconventional spin texture on a Fermi surface, which is completely determined by SSGs, independent of Hamiltonian details. To apply our theory, we identify the SSG for each of the 1595 published magnetic structures in the MAGNDATA database on the Bilbao Crystallographic Server. Material examples exhibiting the novel features (i)–(iv) are discussed with emphasis. We also investigate new types of SSG-protected topological electronic states that are unprecedented in MSGs. In particular, we propose a 3D Z2 topological insulator state with a fourfold degenerate Dirac point on the surface and a new scenario of anomalous Z2 helical states that appear on magnetic domain walls.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
The promise of GaAs 200 in small-angle neutron scattering for higher resolution
Authors: Magerl A. , Lemmel H. , Appel M. , Weisser M. , Kretzer U. , Zobel M.
Published: August 2024

The Q resolution in Bonse–Hart double-crystal diffractometers is determined for a given Bragg angle by the value of the crystallographic structure factor. To date, the reflections Si 220 or Si 111 have been used exclusively in neutron scattering, which provide resolutions for triple-bounce crystals of about 2 × 10−5 Å−1 (FWHM). The Darwin width of the GaAs 200 reflection is about a factor of 10 smaller, offering the possibility of a Q resolution of 2 × 10−6 Å−1 provided crystals of sufficient quality are available. This article reports a feasibility study with single-bounce GaAs 200, yielding a Q resolution of 4.6 × 10−6 Å−1, six times superior in comparison with a Si 220 setup.
A predicted model-aided one-step classification–multireconstruction algorithm for X-ray free-electron laser single-particle imaging
Authors: Jiao Zhichao , Geng Zhi , Ding Wei
Published: August 2024

Ultrafast, high-intensity X-ray free-electron lasers can perform diffraction imaging of single protein molecules. Various algorithms have been developed to determine the orientation of each single-particle diffraction pattern and reconstruct the 3D diffraction intensity. Most of these algorithms rely on the premise that all diffraction patterns originate from identical protein molecules. However, in actual experiments, diffraction patterns from multiple different molecules may be collected simultaneously. Here, we propose a predicted model-aided one-step classification–multireconstruction algorithm that can handle mixed diffraction patterns from various molecules. The algorithm uses predicted structures of different protein molecules as templates to classify diffraction patterns based on correlation coefficients and determines orientations using a correlation maximization method. Tests on simulated data demonstrated high accuracy and efficiency in classification and reconstruction.
Impact of reliable news information on consumers' perceptions and information seeking intentions from a food safety risk
Authors: Yang Cheng-Xian , Baker Lauri M.
Published: August 2024

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate whether information from reliable news sources such as medical experts and government officials, along with governmental and individual risk responses, influences consumers’ perceptions of news and intention to seek more information. Additionally, it aimed to explore the relationships between these perceptions and consumers’ intentions to seek information in a food safety risk event.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey design methodology was employed. A quasi-experimental approach divided 470 Taiwanese participants into three groups, each exposed to varying online news content about food safety news, designed according to the Internalization-Distribution-Explanation-Action (IDEA) model. This involved different combinations of reliable sources and risk response advice to examine the impact on news comprehension and behaviour intentions.

Findings

The results indicated that consumers perceived the news as highly credible when they read it with reliable news sources or risk response advice. Governmental and individual risk response advice significantly impacted consumers’ understanding of news. In addition, perceptions of news credibility and understanding of news can increase individuals’ information-seeking intentions to protect themselves from food safety risks.

Originality/value

This study introduced novel insights into the application of the source credibility theory (SCT) model within Taiwanese food safety incidents, identifying key factors that motivate consumer information-seeking behaviour. It marks an initial attempt to incorporate the IDEA model-based risk communication content into research design, aligning with existing literature while highlighting the critical role of reliable sources in enhancing news credibility and consumer response.
The effects of digital transformation on exploitation and exploration: does technological diversity matter?
Authors: Fu Lihua , Wei Yaxuan , Li Ruijie , Li Yaokuang , Liu Zhiying
Published: August 2024

Purpose

For survival and prosperity, enterprises need to simultaneously engage in exploitation and exploration. Digital transformation is of great significance to enterprise innovation. However, the impacts of digital transformation on exploitation and exploration remain unclear. Moreover, the impacts of technological diversity on the relationships between digital transformation and exploitation and exploration are also unknown.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on an integrated perspective of dynamic capability theory and organizational inertia theory and using data from Chinese listed enterprises from 2007 to 2020, this study clarifies the effects of digital transformation on exploitation and exploration and assesses the moderating effect of technological diversity.

Findings

The results show that digital transformation improves exploitation, but negatively impacts exploration. Technological diversity mitigates the negative effect of digital transformation on exploration, but the moderating effect on the relationship between digital transformation and exploitation is not significant.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the existing literature on the digital paradox and provides guidance for enterprises to clarify the direction of digital transformation.
Do green economy stocks matter for the carbon and energy markets? Evidence of connectedness effects and hedging strategies
Authors: Sun Yingyue , Wei Yu , Wang Yizhi
Published: August 2024

Purpose

We phrase our analysis around the connectedness effects and portfolio allocation in the “Carbon-Energy-Green economy” system.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper utilizes the TVP-VAR method provided by Antonakakis et al. (2020) and Chatziantoniou et al. (2021), and portfolio back-testing models, including bivariate portfolios and multivariate portfolios.

Findings

Firstly, the connectedness within the “Carbon-Energy-Green economy” system is strong, and is mainly driven by short-term (weekly) connectedness. Notably, the COVID-19 pandemic leads to a vertical increase in the connectedness of this system. Secondly, in the “Carbon-Energy-Green economy” system, most of the sectors in the green economy stocks tend to be the transmitters of shocks to other markets (particularly the energy efficiency sector), while the carbon and energy markets are always the recipients of shocks from other markets (particularly the crude oil market). Thirdly, Green economy sector stocks have satisfactory hedging effects on the market risk of carbon and energy assets. Interestingly, hedging risks in relatively “dirty” assets requires more green economy stocks than in relatively “clean” assets. Finally, the results indicate that portfolios that include green economy stocks significantly outperform portfolios that do not contain green economy stocks, further demonstrating the crucial role of green economy stocks in this system.

Originality/value

Understanding the interactions and portfolio allocation in the “Carbon-Energy-Green economy” system, especially identifying the role of the green economy performance in this system, is important for investors and policymakers.
Subjective career success among new graduates and the role of personal factors
Authors: Jackson Denise , Bridgstock Ruth , Lambert Claire , Tofa Matalena , Sibson Ruth
Published: August 2024

Purpose

Flatter organisational structures and nonlinear career trajectories mean intrinsic value and subjective career success are increasingly important for motivating, guiding and rewarding contemporary workers. While objective measures of career success have been well explored, more research is needed to understand the dimensions of subjective career success, their relative importance to graduates and potential variations by personal factors. This is critical for supporting graduates’ transition into work and for organisations to attract and retain graduates amid global talent shortages.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on assertions of the power to understand how what one seeks in a career affects career achievement, this study investigated the importance and achievement of subjective career success among 324 recent graduates from two Australian universities.

Findings

Results include a notable emphasis on financial security and work-life balance, particularly among mature individuals, underscoring the value of adaptable work arrangements. Results suggest shifting priorities, with reduced importance placed on opportunities for innovation and assisting others, potentially indicating a move from collective to more individualised goals. Distinct graduate profiles emerged, showcasing diverse priorities and achievements in subjective career success, spanning from “humanistic” to “self-made” success.

Originality/value

Results underscore the significance of higher education embedding program-wide career development plans across the curriculum, including value-based assessments, labour market analyses and career planning and review processes. Comprehensively supporting students in career development will empower them to explore, understand and actively pursue their career goals in alignment with their values and motivations, enhancing their person-organisation fit, career satisfaction and organisational commitment.
Micro-meso-macro framework: a three-layered approach to understand brand pride
Authors: Marmat Geeta , Kashif Muhammad
Published: August 2024

Purpose

This study aims to develop a micro-meso-macro framework of brand pride to understand brand pride, its forms, characteristics and the interdependence of this construct, in a comprehensive manner.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature in brand pride has been systematically extracted, analysed and evaluated, to propose an integrated framework which presents a holistic view of brand pride.

Findings

At the micro level, brand pride is associated with owning individual level characteristics such as personality, culture, values, beliefs and motivation action and behaviour of the individual; at the meso level, brand pride is associated with characteristics at brand level, actions and behaviour such as brand personality, brand value and image. At the macro level, brand pride is associated with brand interactive characteristics, actions and behaviour, at a broader network of systems and environment such as brand responsible behaviour and brand’s adaptability in creating a robust network in uncertainty.

Originality/value

This paper identifies brand pride as a useful connecting point between brands and the surrounding environment, to achieve a more sustainable branding practice. Although previous researchers explored its effects on brand loyalty in various contexts, a comprehensive, holistic model for enhancing brand pride, suitable for application at various situations and various levels, was missing. This research fills this gap through a unique contribution by proposing a micro-meso-macro framework, which is a three-layered approach to brand pride.
Agent-SwinPyramidNet: an enhanced deep learning model with AMTCF-VMD for anomaly detection in oil and gas pipelines
Authors: Zhang Yizhuo , Zhang Yunfei , Yu Huiling , Shi Shen
Published: August 2024

Purpose

The anomaly detection task for oil and gas pipelines based on acoustic signals faces issues such as background noise coverage, lack of effective features, and small sample sizes, resulting in low fault identification accuracy and slow efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to study an accurate and efficient method of pipeline anomaly detection.

Design/methodology/approach

First, to address the impact of background noise on the accuracy of anomaly signals, the adaptive multi-threshold center frequency variational mode decomposition method(AMTCF-VMD) method is used to eliminate strong noise in pipeline signals. Secondly, to address the strong data dependency and loss of local features in the Swin Transformer network, a Hybrid Pyramid ConvNet network with an Agent Attention mechanism is proposed. This compensates for the limitations of CNN’s receptive field and enhances the Swin Transformer’s global contextual feature representation capabilities. Thirdly, to address the sparsity and imbalance of anomaly samples, the SpecAugment and Scaper methods are integrated to enhance the model’s generalization ability.

Findings

In the pipeline anomaly audio and environmental datasets such as ESC-50, the AMTCF-VMD method shows more significant denoising effects compared to wavelet packet decomposition and EMD methods. Additionally, the model achieved 98.7% accuracy on the preprocessed anomaly audio dataset and 99.0% on the ESC-50 dataset.

Originality/value

This paper innovatively proposes and combines the AMTCF-VMD preprocessing method with the Agent-SwinPyramidNet model, addressing noise interference and low accuracy issues in pipeline anomaly detection, and providing strong support for oil and gas pipeline anomaly recognition tasks in high-noise environments.
Media representation of African individuals in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on mental health
Authors: Akosile Wole , Tiyatiye Babangida , Bojuwoye Adebunmi , Antabe Roger
Published: August 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of media representation on the mental health of Australians of African descent during the COVID-19 pandemic. By analysing the media coverage of COVID-19 restriction breaches, particularly focusing on individuals from African backgrounds, the study aims to shed light on how racially charged narratives can contribute to emotional distress and exacerbate feelings of alienation within these communities. The findings highlight the detrimental effects of such portrayals, emphasising the need for more responsible and inclusive media reporting to safeguard the mental well-being of culturally and linguistically diverse populations.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed media content analysis to explore representations of Australians of African origin versus the broader Anglo–Australian population during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on racial identity’s impact on news coverage of COVID-19 restriction breaches. Researchers classified and distilled extensive textual content, using a diverse sample from various ethnic-racial backgrounds, with an emphasis on African Australians within the CALD community. Data analysis was conducted using NVivo (version 12) software, following an inductive approach.

Findings

The findings underscore the consistent portrayal of people from African communities as outsiders and the racial profiling they experience in media coverage of significant issues like COVID-19.

Originality/value

There is very limited research that examines the impact of media coverage on African migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tacit knowledge sharing in a Lebanese family business: the influence of organizational structure and tie strength
Authors: Awada Hoda , Haj Youssef Moustafa
Published: August 2024

Purpose

This study explores the influence of organizational structure on relationship formation and tacit knowledge sharing within a family business context.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilizing a single case study approach, data were collected through interviews and questionnaires from 12 participants at a family-owned advertising and communication firm in Beirut, Lebanon.

Findings

The research highlights the critical role of organizational structure in enhancing organizational effectiveness through knowledge transfer. It underscores how both intraorganizational and interorganizational ties influence knowledge sharing processes and demonstrates the varying impacts of tie strength on tacit knowledge distribution.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature by examining the interdependence between organizational structure, tacit knowledge transfer and tie strength in family businesses. By analyzing these elements across internal and external boundaries, the study offers a fresh perspective on network dynamics. The research highlights that traditional definitions of network ties may not fully capture the unique environment of family firms, where structural nuances impact knowledge sharing and performance. Practically, the findings provide actionable insights for managers to design organizational structures that optimize tacit knowledge flow, fostering innovation and competitiveness. This work challenges existing frameworks and offers guidance for improving knowledge management in family businesses, supporting sustainable growth and success.
AI in talent management in the digital era – an overview
Authors: Dawson Joseph Yaw , Agbozo Ebenezer
Published: August 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of artificial intelligence (AI) in the talent management sphere. The study seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge with respect to human resource management and AI by conducting a literature review on the integration of AI in talent management, synthesising existing approaches and frameworks, as well as emphasising potential benefits.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts desk research, computational literature review (CLR) and uses topic modelling [with bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERTopic)] to throw light on the diffusion of AI in talent management.

Findings

The study’s main finding is that the area of AI in talent management is on the verge of gradual development and is in tandem with the growth of AI. We deduced that there is a link between talent management practices (planning, recruitment, compensation and rewards, performance management, employee empowerment, employee engagement and organisational culture) and AI. Though there are some known fears with regards to using the innovation, the benefits outweigh the demerits.

Research limitations/implications

The current study has some limitations. The scope and size of the sample are the primary limitations of this study. No form of qualitative analytics was used in this study; as a result, the information obtained was limited. The study provides a snapshot of AI in talent management and contributes to the lack of literature in the joint fields. Also, the study provides practitioners and experts an overview of where to target investments and resources if need be.

Originality/value

The originality of this study comes from the combination of CLR methods and the use topic modelling with BERTopic which has not been used by previous reviews. In addition, the salient machine learning algorithms are identified in the study, which other studies have not identified.
Terror and taxes: how attacks impact corporate tax avoidance
Authors: Tran Thuy , Do Trung K.
Published: August 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of terrorist attacks on tax avoidance. Further, the authors identify the possible channel leading to our main result and examine the role of social pressure.

Design/methodology/approach

Data pertaining to terrorist attacks within the USA are procured from the Global Terrorism Database. The final sample consists of 45,524 firm-year observations from 1993 to 2017. The methodology uses ordinary least squares regressions.

Findings

The authors find that firms located in close proximity to terrorist attacks (i.e. impact firms) significantly decrease their tax avoidance practices after the attacks. The authors further find that these impact firms are willing to pay more taxes post attack when their headquarters are located in higher social capital regions.

Originality/value

Studies have mainly focused on the macroeconomic effects of terrorism, and only recently have researchers shifted their focus to firm-level impacts. The authors provide strong evidence that extends the second line of the literature by exploring corporate tax activities attributed to terrorist events.