bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Functional interpretation ofATAD3Avariants in neuro-mitochondrial phenotypes
Authors: Yap Zheng Yie , Park YoHan , Wortmann Saskia B. , Gunning Adam C. , Lee Sukyoung , Duraine Lita , Wilichowski Ekkehard , Wilson Kate , Mayr Johannes A. , Wagner Matias , Li Hong , Kini Usha , Black Emily Davis , Lupski James R. , Ellard Sian , Westphal Dominik S. , Harel Tamar , Yoon Wan Hee 
Published: October 2020

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe ATPase family AAA-domain containing protein 3A (ATAD3A) is a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial membrane anchored protein involved in diverse processes including mitochondrial dynamics, mitochondrial DNA organization, and cholesterol metabolism. Biallelic deletions (null), recessive missense variants (hypomorph), and heterozygous missense variants or duplications (antimorph) inATAD3Alead to neurological syndromes in humans.ObjectiveTo expand the mutational spectrum ofATAD3Avariants and to provide functional interpretation of missense alleles in trans to deletion alleles.MethodsExome sequencing was used to identify single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and copy number variants (CNVs) inATAD3Ain individuals with neurological and mitochondrial phenotypes. A Drosophila Atad3A Gal4 trap null allele was generated using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology to aid interpretation of variants.ResultsWe report 13 individuals from 8 unrelated families with biallelicATAD3Avariants. Four of the identified missense variants, p.(Leu77Val), p.(Phe50Leu), p.(Arg170Trp), p.(Gly236Val), were inherited in trans to loss-of-function alleles. A fifth missense variant, p.(Arg327Pro), was homozygous. Affected individuals exhibited findings previously associated withATAD3Apathogenic variation, including developmental delay, hypotonia, congenital cataracts, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and cerebellar atrophy. Drosophila studies indicated that Phe50Leu, Gly236Val, and Arg327Pro are severe loss-of-function alleles leading to early developmental lethality and neurogenesis defects, whereas Leu77Val and Arg170Trp are partial loss of function alleles that cause progressive locomotion defects. Moreover, Leu77Val and Arg170Trp expression leads to an increase in autophagy and mitophagy in adult muscles.ConclusionOur findings expand the allelic spectrum of ATAD3A variants, and exemplify the use of a functional assay in Drosophila to aid variant interpretation.
A potential role for reinforcement learning in speech production
Authors: Parrell Benjamin 
Published: October 2020

AbstractReinforcement learning, the ability to change motor behavior based on external reward, has been suggested to play a critical role in early stages of speech motor development and is widely used in clinical rehabilitation for speech motor disorders. However, no current evidence exists that demonstrates the capability of reinforcement to drive changes in human speech behavior. Speech provides a unique test of the universality of reinforcement learning across motor domains: speech is a complex, high-dimensional motor task whose goals do not specify a task to be performed in the environment but ultimately must be self-generated by each speaker such that they are understood by those around them. Across four experiments, we examine whether reinforcement learning alone is sufficient to drive changes in speech behavior and parametrically test two features known to affect reinforcement learning in reaching: how informative the reinforcement signal is as well as the availability of sensory feedback about the outcomes of one’s motor behavior. We show that learning does occur and is more likely when participants receive auditory feedback that gives an implicit target for production, even though they do not explicitly imitate that target. Contrary to results from upper limb control, masking feedback about movement outcomes has no effect on speech learning. Together, our results suggest a potential role for reinforcement learning in speech but that it likely operates differently than in other motor domains.
Changes in excitability properties of ventromedial motor thalamic neurons in 6-OHDA lesioned mice
Authors: Bichler Edyta K , Cavarretta Francesco , Jaeger Dieter 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe activity of basal ganglia input receiving motor thalamus (BGMT) makes a critical impact on motor cortical processing, but modification in BGMT processing with Parkinsonian conditions have not be investigated at the cellular level. Such changes may well be expected due to homeostatic regulation of neural excitability in the presence of altered synaptic drive with dopamine depletion. We addressed this question by comparing BGMT properties in brain slice recordings between control and unilaterally 6-OHDA treated adult mice. At a minimum of 1 month post 6-OHDA treatment, BGMT neurons showed a highly significant increase in intrinsic excitability, which was primarily due to a decrease in M-type potassium current. BGMT neurons after 6-OHDA treatment also showed an increase in T-type calcium rebound spikes following hyperpolarizing current steps. Biophysical computer modeling of a thalamic neuron demonstrated that an increase in rebound spiking can also be accounted for by a decrease in the M-type potassium current. Modeling also showed that an increase in sag with hyperpolarizing steps found after 6-OHDA treatment could in part but not fully be accounted for by the decrease in M-type current. These findings support the hypothesis that homeostatic changes in BGMT neural properties following 6-OHDA treatment likely influence the signal processing taking place in basal ganglia thalamocortical processing in Parkinson’s disease.Significance StatementOur investigation of the excitability properties of neurons in the basal ganglia input receiving motor thalamus (BGMT) is significant because they are likely to be different from properties in other thalamic nuclei due to the additional inhibitory input stream these neurons receive. Further, they are important to understand the role of BGMT in the dynamic dysfunction of cortico – basal ganglia circuits in Parkinson’s disease. We provide clear evidence that after 6-OHDA treatment of mice important homeostatic changes occur in the intrinsic properties of BGMT neurons. Specifically we identify the M-type potassium current as an important thalamic excitability regulator in the parkinsonian state.
Narrative fidelity: making the UN Sustainable Development Goals fit
Authors: van den Broek Onna 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThis paper empirically examines how firms have discursively adopted the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More precisely, it studies firms' ability to constitute their organizational identity by way of associating their past, present, and future practices with the newly established Goals. By focussing on the temporal dynamics of change, this paper provides analytical clarity on the role “narrative fidelity”.Design/methodology/approachThe author collected all online available SDG-related communications, including financial and non-financial reports, of 29 large French multinationals throughout 2016 and 2017. These data were analysed using a systematic narrative approach incorporating open-ended coding cycles.FindingsFour narratives were distilled: the descriptive narrative, which promotes general knowledge; the past narrative, which reinterprets the organizational past by retelling and reviewing actions; the present narrative, which associates prevailing organizational strategies with new categories; and the future narrative, which articulates and prioritizes new ambitions.Originality/valueCurrent performativity theories in Corporate Social Responsibility scholarship focus solely on future narratives, such as “aspirational talk”, and fail to incorporate how revising and redefining past and present stories creates an imperative “fit” between an organization's identity and a new framework. This study goes beyond future narratives and contributes to our understanding of the dynamic nature of temporal narratives (past – present – future). By building on narrative fidelity, it shows how all four narratives are crucial, sequential steps that help build a new corporate identity.
Leader readiness of Gen Z in VUCA business environment
Authors: Deepika  , Chitranshi Jaya 
Published: October 2020

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the leadership competencies of the Z generation (born after 1997) in the VUCA business environment. In today’s scenario, the business works differently than it used to previously. The young workforce wants not just to contribute their energy to the organisation but to their colleagues and themselves too, with the leading global sceneries.

Design/methodology/approach
An unstructured questionnaire was prepared by testing the reliability and validity of the data. Multiples linear regression analyses were used to derive results and to check whether the competencies are dependent on the VUCA skill sets. Entrepreneurial leadership, enabling leadership, operational leadership and architectural leadership are chosen to be the independent variables for this study.

Findings
The findings reveal that the dependability is on all the four factors for the VUCA business environment and hence the need is to practice the same in the organisation.

Research limitations/implications
The test has been done on a sample having 260 respondents. This study reveals data of the workspace environment only and not how Gen Z will behave to the conditions as individuals. Gender-perspective is not taken into account in this study.

Practical implications
The implications can be seen for the organisations’ understanding of how to deal with generation Z and empower them. The organisation-structure and processes that were developed previously will not be limited now just to making the organisations function but also impact self-development for Gen Z, the development that is focussed on work-teams of Gen Z and so the global market eventually.

Originality/value
The originality is in the variables that have been taken for this study. As the world is growing rapidly, the mind-set and the style in which the manager works are changing. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account what leadership style will affect the current business environment.
Designing new sizing bulletproof vests for Taiwanese soldiers
Authors: Wen Chih-Hao , Shih Yuh-Chuan 
Published: October 2020

PurposeCombining the collected human body variables by a 3D body scanner and the research results of medical computed tomography (CT) imaging, this research aims to develop a military bulletproof vest that is both protective and fit. In particular, the protective part must be able to cover the vital human internal organs completely. The results of this research help to make military bulletproof vests of different sizes for Taiwanese male and female soldiers. At the same time, the research results can provide a reference for the industry of making special-purpose clothing.Design/methodology/approach17 important human body variables of 988 participants (male: 716, 72.5%; female 272, 27.5%) are used for the analysis. The K-means algorithm firstly builds clusters of different body shapes for both sexes; the silhouette coefficient helps to determine the optimal number of clusters to be six. Thus, the standard size of the bulletproof vest for soldiers is determined. The specifications of the bulletproof vest's inner core and textile vest are calculated for each cluster user. Our research then makes twelve prototypes of the bulletproof vest. After that, 12 subjects are invited to try on the new version (the vest designed in this study) and the old version (the vest currently used) to contrast the differences between the two.FindingsAccording to the index of the silhouette coefficient, the optimal number of clusters is determined to be six for both male and female clusters. Therefore, this study has designed six sizes of the bulletproof vest for male and female soldiers in Taiwan. After trying the new and old vests on, the subjects all indicate that the new vest fits better than the old one. In addition, the coverage of the bulletproof vest designed in this study is 94.38% for male users and 92.75% for female users.Originality/valueThe design of bulletproof vests must take note of the fit of the clothing itself and its protective function. Apart from the size design of general clothing only focusing on the human shape exteriorly, the bulletproof vest also needs to pay attention to the relative positions of vital organs inside the human body. Besides, for practical applications, it is quite effective to use the silhouette coefficient to determine the results of cluster analysis. Thus, the value of this research lies in the cross-field combination, enabling the integration of body measurement, data science and clothing design. Generally, bulletproof vests of newly designed sizes can meet the requirements of Taiwan's military. The research results can be used in the development of various military clothing for Taiwanese military personnel. At the same time, the results can be provided to the clothing industry as relevant parameters for designing unique functional clothing.
Determinants of savings among non-Ricardian households in South Africa
Authors: De Vos Chantel , Obokoh Lawrence Ogechukwu , Abiola Babatunde Abimbola 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThis paper examines the determinants of savings among low-income households, regarded as non-Ricardian households (NRHs), in South Africa. NRHs comprise low-income households largely depending on government welfare benefits for sustenance. This research investigates socio-economic factors determining savings pattern of low-income households in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachThe research makes use of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) data set wave one to five. The longitudinal survey models are analysed in determining the socio-economic characteristics of NRH in South Africa. The estimators include Pooled ordinary least square (OLS), fixed and random effects methods.FindingsThe household grant contributes positively to the level of savings, but the savings level is still considerably low: majority of the low-income households have zero or negative savings. The average size of a NRH is about twice the size of the Ricardian, despite the NRHs’ debt burden impoverishing them.Research limitations/implicationsThe self-perpetuated poverty problem makes every factor in the vicious cycle both cause and effect of another factor, warranting reverse causality and threatening the reliability of Pooled OLS estimates for the research.Practical implicationsThe growing cost of government grant hinges on the increased level of inflation while largely depending on the number of households entering the low-income threshold.Social implicationsThe study recommends that the government creates a more enabling environment for NRHs to engage in productive activities. Also they create more low-skilled jobs and encourage reduction of birth rate among low-income households; this will reduce their expenditure and increase their level of savings and will assist in pulling them out of the vicious circle of poverty. Government can boost NRHs’ savings through increase in various grants.Originality/valueThe study makes significant contribution towards addressing the unfortunate situation of household savings among low-income brackets in South Africa. The research corroborates other studies on the effectiveness of the fiscal stimulus package to boost the welfare and savings condition of NRHs in South Africa. The result explicitly confirmed the redistribution policy of the grant to the low-income household. The grant has a significant positive effect on the savings pattern of the household. An increase in it beyond the poverty threshold could indeed break the vicious circle of poverty since the effect does not only stop at expenditure but also pass through to savings, which may ultimately boost investment. Further studies should continue the investigation of grant transmission channels to investment and income.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2019-0692
China’s financial sector sustainability and “green finance” disclosures
Authors: Dong Shidi , Xu Lei , McIver Ron 
Published: October 2020

Purpose
This paper aims to provide a longitudinal analysis of influences on China’s financial sector’s sustainability reporting practices, examines “green finance” disclosures and undertakes subsector comparisons. The state’s impact on the quantity and quality of reporting practices is analyzed.

Design/methodology/approach
Content analysis is used to examine the volumes, frequency and content of sustainability disclosures by China’s financial institutions. Survival analysis is used to identify factors significant in firms’ initiation of these disclosures. In total, 308 firm-year observations on disclosures are examined for 2007–2016.

Findings
China’s financial sector’s sustainability reporting pieces of evidence an “emerging stage” (2007–2009), “developing stage” (2010) and “greening stage” (2011–2016). The roles of institutional theory and regulatory pressure in explaining Chinese financial firms’ reporting behaviours are supported.

Research limitations/implications
This study has several limitations. Firstly, given data restrictions, use of a relatively small sample size. Secondly, it examines different categories of disclosures made by financial firms, not more detailed content. Thirdly, is the potential overlap in disclosure themes under the classification scheme.

Practical implications
China’s financial sector’s adoption of sustainability reporting has been institutionalized, mainly in its banking subsector, consistent with general regulatory pressures.

Social implications
“Greening the finance system” is examined in China’s context, as the country transforms from a resource and pollution-intensive to a green economy.

Originality/value
The financial sector is normally excluded from in-depth qualitative research. This study examines China’s financial sector’s responses to recent governmental pressures on green finance disclosures.
Observing the unwatchable: Integrating automated sensing, naturalistic observations and animal social network analysis in the age of big data
Authors: Smith Jennifer E. , Pinter‐Wollman Noa 
Published: October 2020

Abstract

In the 4.5 decades since Altmann (1974) published her seminal paper on the methods for the observational study of behaviour, automated detection and analysis of social interaction networks have fundamentally transformed the ways that ecologists study social behaviour.

Methodological developments for collecting data remotely on social behaviour involve indirect inference of associations, direct recordings of interactions and machine vision.

These recent technological advances are improving the scale and resolution with which we can dissect interactions among animals. They are also revealing new intricacies of animal social interactions at spatial and temporal resolutions as well as in ecological contexts that have been hidden from humans, making the unwatchable seeable.

We first outline how these technological applications are permitting researchers to collect exquisitely detailed information with little observer bias. We further recognize new emerging challenges from these new reality‐mining approaches.

While technological advances in automating data collection and its analysis are moving at an unprecedented rate, we urge ecologists to thoughtfully combine these new tools with classic behavioural and ecological monitoring methods to place our understanding of animal social networks within fundamental biological contexts.
Physiological dormancy in seeds of tropical montane woody species in Hawai`i
Authors: Baskin Carol C. , Baskin Jerry M. , Yoshinaga Alvin , Wolkis Dustin 
Published: October 2020

AbstractWorldwide, there is relatively little information on seed dormancy and germination of tropical montane species. Our aim was to help fill this knowledge gap by conducting seed dormancy/germination studies on woody species from this vegetation zone in Hawai`i. All species had water‐permeable seeds with a fully developed embryo. Seeds of 29 species (23 genera) were incubated in light/dark at 15/6, 20/10 and 25/15°C and germination monitored at 2‐week intervals for 16–128 weeks. Seeds of Chenopodium oahuense, Dubautia menziesii and Silene lanceolata were non‐dormant (ND) and those of 26 other species had physiological dormancy (PD); 10 of the 26 species had conditional PD. The optimum germination temperature regime(s) was (were) 25/15°C, 17 species; 25/10 and 20/10°C, 2; 20/10°C, 6; 20/10 and 15/6°C, 2; and 15/6°C, 2. Worldwide, PD in the woody genera included in our study is more common than ND. In addition to its contribution to the world biogeography of seed dormancy/germination, this study will be useful to conservation biologists who need to germinate seeds of tropical montane species.
Incidence and associated predictors of adverse pregnancy outcomes of maternal syphilis in China, 2016–19: a Cox regression analysis
Authors: Li Z , Wang Q , Qiao Y , Wang X , Jin X , Wang A 
Published: October 2020

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the incidence and associated predictors of adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) among pregnant women infected with syphilis.DesignCox regression analysis.SettingChina.Population or samplePregnant women who were tested for and diagnosed with syphilis during the index pregnancy and delivered at a gestational age ≥28 weeks between 2016 and 2019.MethodsData were extracted from China’s Information System of Prevention of Mother‐to‐Child Transmission of Syphilis Management. Descriptive analysis provided profiles and pregnancy outcomes of maternal syphilis, as well as the incidence of APOs. Log‐rank tests and Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate factors influencing APOs in infected mothers with singleton births.Main outcome measuresThe incidence of APOs and the hazard ratios of associated predictors using Cox proportional hazard model.ResultsSyphilis treatment data were available from 83.86% of diagnosed women. Including deliveries from the total study population, 13.33% experienced APOs. Cox regression indicated that APOs were more likely in women tested and diagnosed in the late trimester, at delivery or postpartum. Women who accepted non‐standardised treatment and who received standardised treatment had less risk of APOs.ConclusionsChina has made huge progress over the last decades in the prevention of mother‐to‐child transmission of syphilis, but the incidence of APOs among pregnant women infected with syphilis remains high. It is essential to further strengthen access to early detection and standardised treatment of infected women to reduce the risk of APOs.Tweetable abstractAccess to early detection and standardised treatment reduces the risk of APOs due to maternal syphilis.