bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Quantifying the Financial Value of Clinical Specialty Choices and its Association with USMLE Step 1 Scores
Authors: Puri Pranav , Landman Natalie , Smoldt Robert K. , Cortese Denis A. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractImportanceThe factors influencing medical student clinical specialty choice have important implications for the future composition of the US physician workforce. The objective of this study was to determine the career net present values of US medical students’ clinical specialty choices and identify any relationships between a specialty’s net present value and competitiveness of admissions as measured by US Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 scores.MethodsNet present values were calculated by using results of the 2019 Doximity Physician Compensation report, a survey of 90,000 physicians. Mean USMLE Step 1 scores for matched US allopathic seniors in the 2018 National Resident Matching Program were used as a measure of clinical specialties’ competitiveness of admissions. We calculated a composite measure of net present value and annual work-hours by dividing each specialty’s net present value by the reported average number of hours worked per year.ResultsIn our analysis, orthopedic surgery had the highest net present value ($10,308,868), whereas family medicine had the lowest net present value ($5,274,546). Dermatology and plastic surgery had the highest mean USMLE Step 1 scores (249 for both), whereas family medicine had the lowest (220). Clinical specialties’ net present values were positively associated with mean USMLE Step 1 scores (Pearson’s r=0.82; p<.001).Conclusion and RelevanceIn this study, we describe associations suggesting that medical students choose clinical specialties as rational economic agents and that these decisions are mediated by USMLE Step 1 scores. This underscores the importance of titrating and aligning economic incentives to improve the allocation of medical students into clinical specialties
Effects of temperature variation and humidity on the mortality of COVID-19 in Wuhan
Authors: Ma Yueling , Zhao Yadong , Liu Jiangtao , He Xiaotao , Wang Bo , Fu Shihua , Yan Jun , Niu Jingping , Luo Bin 
Published: March 2020

AbstractObjectMeteorological parameters are the important factors influencing the infectious diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). This study aims to explore the association between coronavirus disease (COVID-19) death and weather parameters.MethodsIn this study, we collected the daily death number of COVID-19, meteorological and air pollutant data from 20 January, 2020 to 29 February, 2020 in Wuhan, China. Then, the generalized additive model was applied to explore the impact of temperature, humidity and diurnal temperature range on daily mortality of COVID-19.ResultsThere were in total 2299 COVID-19 mortality counts in Wuhan. A positive association with COVID-19 mortality was observed for diurnal temperature range (r = 0.44), but negative association for relative humidity (r = −0.32). In addition, each 1 unit increase in diurnal temperature range was only associated with a 2.92% (95% CI: 0.61%, 5.28%) increase in COVID-19 mortality at lag 3. However, both per 1 unit increase of temperature and absolute humidity were related to the decreased COVID-19 mortality at lag 3 and lag 5, respectively.ConclusionIn summary, this study suggests the temperature variation and humidity may be important factors affecting the COVID-19 mortality.
Rooting morphologically divergent taxa – slow-evolving sequence data might help
Authors: Flores Jorge , Bippus Alexander C. , Tomescu Alexandru , Bell Neil , Hyvönen Jaakko 
Published: March 2020

AbstractWhen fossils are sparse and the lineages studied are very divergent morphologically, analyses based exclusively on morphology may lead to conflicting and unexpected hypotheses. Through integration of data from conservative genes/gene regions the terminals including these data can anchor or constrain the search, thereby practically circumscribing the search space of the combined analyses. In this study, we revisit the phylogeny of a highly divergent group of mosses, class Polytrichopsida. We supplemented the morphological matrix by adding sequence data of the nuclear gene 18S, chloroplast genesrbcL andrps4, plus the mitochondrial genenad5. For the phylogenetic analyses we used parsimony as the optimality criterion. Analyses that included all the terminals resulted in one most parsimonious tree with a clade comprised ofAlophosia azoricaand the fossilMeantoinea alophosioidesrepresenting the basal-most lineage. Analyses with different outgroup sampling produced the same topology for most ingroup relationships. An analysis excluding morphological characters and the four terminals for which only morphological characters were scored (the two fossil and two extant terminals) resulted in one optimal tree with identical topology to the one obtained when including all terminals. These results are largely congruent with those obtained in the recent analyses based exclusively on sequence level data of a larger number of terminals. Our results indicate that large size and complexity of the gametophyte have evolved independently in several lineages. Notably, the nodes of the backbone of the most parsimonious tree have very low support values, thus these inferred relationships could change if new additional information conflicts with the current data. Future studies should be aimed at incorporating all terminals into phylogenetic analyses, which is not an unrealistic goal for a group with less than 200 species. Also, additional fossils, some of which await detailed examination and description, need to be included. Whether these will affect the overall pattern of phylogeny presented here remains to be seen. In a group that is obviously very ancient, we cannot assume,a priori, that currently known fossil taxa, which go back in time less than 140 Ma, represent the oldest lineages of the group.
Increased random exploration in schizophrenia is associated with inflammation
Authors: Cathomas Flurin , Klaus Federica , Guetter Karoline , Chung Hui-Kuan , Beharelle Anjali Raja , Spiller Tobias , Schlegel Rebecca , Seifritz Erich , Hartmann-Riemer Matthias N. , Tobler Philippe N. , Kaiser Stefan 
Published: March 2020

AbstractOne aspect of goal-directed behavior, which is known to be impaired in patients with schizophrenia (SZ), is balancing between exploiting a familiar choice with known reward value and exploring a lesser known but potentially more rewarding option. Despite its relevance to several symptom domains of SZ, this has received little attention in SZ research. In addition, while there is increasing evidence that SZ is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, few studies have investigated how this relates to specific behaviors, such as balancing exploration and exploitation. We therefore assessed behaviors underlying the exploration-exploitation trade-off using a three-armed bandit task in 45 patients with SZ and 19 healthy controls (HC). This task allowed us to dissociate goal-unrelated (random) from goal-related (directed) exploration and correlate them with psychopathological symptoms. Moreover, we assessed a broad range of inflammatory proteins in the blood and related them to bandit task behavior. We found that, compared to HC, patients with SZ showed reduced task performance. This impairment was due to a shift from exploitation to random exploration, which was associated with symptoms of disorganization. Relative to HC, patients with SZ showed a pro-inflammatory blood profile. Furthermore, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) positively correlated with random exploration, but not with directed exploration or exploitation. In conclusion, we show that low-grade inflammation in patients with SZ is associated with random exploration, which can be considered a behavioral marker for disorganization. CRP may constitute a marker for severity of, and a potential treatment target for maladaptive exploratory behaviors.
Altered spike timing-dependent plasticity rules in physiological calcium
Authors: Inglebert Yanis , Aljadeff Johnatan , Brunel Nicolas , Debanne Dominique 
Published: March 2020

AbstractLike many forms of long-term synaptic plasticity, spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) depends on intracellular Ca2+signaling for its induction. Yet, allin vitrostudies devoted to STDP used abnormally high external Ca2+concentration. We measured STDP at the CA3-CA1 hippocampal synapses under different extracellular Ca2+concentrations and found that the sign, shape and magnitude of plasticity strongly depend on Ca2+. A pre-post protocol that results in robust LTP in high Ca2+, yielded only LTD or no plasticity in the physiological Ca2+range. LTP could be restored by either increasing the number of post-synaptic spikes or increasing the pairing frequency. A calcium-based plasticity model in which depression and potentiation depend on post-synaptic Ca2+transients was found to fit quantitatively all the data, provided NMDA receptor-mediated non-linearities were implemented. In conclusion, STDP rule is profoundly altered in physiological Ca2+but specific activity regimes restore a classical STDP profile.
Development of a new class of liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1) agonists by photoredox conjugate addition
Authors: Cornelison Jeffery L. , Cato Michael L. , Johnson Alyssa M. , D’Agostino Emma H. , Melchers Diana , Patel Anamika B. , Mays Suzanne G. , Houtman René , Ortlund Eric A. , Jui Nathan T. 
Published: March 2020

ABSTRACTLRH-1 is a nuclear receptor that regulates lipid metabolism and homeostasis, making it an attractive target for the treatment of diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Building on recent structural information about ligand binding from our labs, we have designed a series of new LRH-1 agonists that further engage LRH-1 through added polar interactions. While the current synthetic approach to this scaffold has, in large part, allowed for decoration of the agonist core, significant variation of the bridgehead substituent is mechanistically precluded. We have developed a new synthetic approach to overcome this limitation, identified that bridgehead substitution is necessary for LRH-1 activation, and described an alternative class of bridgehead substituents for effective LRH-1 agonist development. We determined the crystal structure of LRH-1 bound to a bridgehead-modified compound, revealing a promising opportunity to target novel regions of the ligand-binding pocket to alter LRH-1 target gene expression.
YAP orchestrates heterotypic endothelial cell communication via HGF/c-MET signaling in liver tumorigenesis
Authors: Thomann Stefan , Weiler Sofia M. E. , Marquard Simone , Ball Claudia R. , Tóth Marcell , Wei Teng , Sticht Carsten , De La Torre Carolina , Ryschich Eduard , Ermakova Olga , Mogler Carolin , Kazdal Daniel , Gretz Norbert , Glimm Hanno , Rempel Eugen , Schirmacher Peter , Breuhahn Kai 
Published: March 2020

AbstractNext to cell autonomous mechanisms, the oncogeneyes-associated protein(YAP) controls liver tumor initiation and progressionviacell extrinsic functions creating a tumor-supporting environment. However, how YAP affects the microenvironment and in particular the vascular niche, which contributes to liver disease and hepatocarcinogenesis, is poorly understood.In this study, histo-morphological and molecular characterization of murine liverendothelial cells(ECs) populations and human single cell data revealed the presence ofliver sinusoidal endothelial cells(LSECs) andcapillary endothelial cells(CECs) in healthy liver tissue. In YAPS127A-induced tumorigenesis, a gradual replacement of LSECs by CECs was associated with dynamic changes in the expression of genes involved in EC subtype-specific paracrine communication. The formation of new potential communication hubs connecting CECs and LSECs included thehepatocyte growth factor(Hgf)/c-Met signaling pathway. In hepatocytes and tumor cells, YAP/TEA domain transcription factor 4(TEAD4)-dependent transcriptional induction ofosteopontin(Opn) stimulated c-Met expression in ECs with CEC phenotype, which sensitized these cells to the pro-migratory effects of LSEC-derived Hgf. In human HCCs, the presence of a migration-associated tip-cell signature correlated with poor clinical outcome and the loss of LSEC marker gene expression. In addition, the replacement of LSECs by CECs with exclusive c-MET expression in a CEC subpopulation was confirmed at the single cell level.In summary, YAP-dependent changes of the liver vascular niche comprise the formation of heterologous communication hubs (e.g. the HGF/c-Met axis), in which tumor cell-derived factors modify the crosstalk between LSECs and CECs.
Switching Logistic Maps to Design Cycling Approaches Against Antimicrobial Resistance
Authors: Hernandez-Vargas E.A. , Parra-Rojas C. , Olaru S. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractAntimicrobial resistance is a major threat to global health and food security today. Scheduling cycling therapies by targeting phenotypic states associated to specific mutations can help us to eradicate pathogenic variants in chronic infections. In this paper, we introduce a logistic switching model in order to abstract mutation networks of collateral resistance. We found particular conditions for which unstable zero-equilibrium of the logistic maps can be stabilized through a switching signal. That is, persistent populations can be eradicated through tailored switching regimens.Starting from an optimal-control formulation, the switching policies show their potential in the stabilization of the zero-equilibrium for dynamics governed by logistic maps. However, employing such switching strategies, deserve a specific characterization in terms of limit behaviour. Ultimately, we use evolutionary and control algorithms to find either optimal and sub-optimal switching policies. Simulations results show the applicability of Parrondo’s Paradox to design cycling therapies against drug resistance.
proABC-2: PRediction Of AntiBody Contacts v2 and its application to information-driven docking
Authors: Ambrosetti F. , Olsen T. H. , Olimpieri P. P. , Jiménez-García B. , Milanetti E. , Marcatilli P. , Bonvin A.M.J.J. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractMonoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are essential tools in the contemporary therapeutic armoury. Understanding how these recognize their antigen is a fundamental step in their rational design and engineering. The rising amount of publicly available data is catalysing the development of computational approaches able to offer valuable, faster and cheaper alternatives to classical experimental methodologies used for the study of antibody-antigen complexes.Here we present proABC-2, an update of the original random-forest antibody paratope predictor, based on a convolutional neural network algorithm. We also demonstrate how the predictions can be fruitfully used to drive the docking in HADDOCK.The proABC-2 server is freely available at:https://bianca.science.uu.nl/proabc2/.
Endogenous monetary approach to optimal inflation–growth nexus in Swaziland
Authors: Phiri Andrew 
Published: March 2020

PurposeThe purpose of our study is to examine the inflation–growth nexus relationship for Swaziland between 1975 and 2016 with the intention of estimating an optimal level of inflation, which maxims economic growth or minimizes growth losses.Design/methodology/approachWe estimate on an endogenous monetary model of economic growth augmented with a credit technology using a smooth transition regression (STR) model, which allows us to estimate an optimal inflation rate characterized by smooth transition between different inflation regimes.FindingsOur empirical results point to an inflation threshold estimate of 7.64 per cent at which economic growth gains are maximized or similarly growth losses are minimized. In particular, we find that above this threshold economic agents may be able to protect themselves from inflation through credit technology and a more urbanized population and yet such high inflation adversely affects the influence of exports on economic growth. This noteworthy since a majority of government revenues is from trade activity via the country's affiliation with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).Originality/valueThe major contribution of this paper is that it becomes the first to draw directly from endogenous growth theory to estimate the inflation threshold for any African country, which will hopefully pave a way for similar studies on other African countries.
“Open to the public”
Authors: Kimmel Laurence , Barnard Mike , Kuru Aysu 
Published: March 2020

PurposeThe cultural imperative for public buildings in countries like Australia to maintain their intrinsic “openness” – physically and symbolically – faces particular challenges in the context of current global terrorism concerns. Building regulations and counter-terrorism guidelines coexist uneasily, with implications for both public amenity and safety. This is particularly evident in the context of current approaches to hostile vehicle (HV) mitigation.Design/methodology/approachBased on a review of comparative literature, this multidisciplinary project assimilates design aesthetics and security expertise to assess the advantages and limitations of current counter-terrorism design approaches in Australia, the UK and the USA. The research focusses on public buildings of high cultural symbolic value (e.g. concert halls) in the context of HV mitigation.FindingsTwo key recommendations emerge. The first presents the benefits of adopting a layered security strategy tailored to a building's security and symbolic profile mix. The second proposes enhancements to the existing counter-terrorism guidelines based on a model that accounts for both symbolic value and openness.Originality/valueThe research presents new strategies for urban design and security stakeholders to balance openness and security in the design of publicly accessible buildings. While existing research addresses the challenges of terrorism in the design of public space, a literature (and practice) gap exists in Australia, the UK and the USA regarding current approaches to the design of public buildings. Using Australia as a case study, the findings will inform government and industry practitioners seeking more complementary approaches to public amenity and safety in comparable counter-security design contexts globally.
Impact of corporate governance, financial and regulatory factors on firms’ acquisition ability
Authors: Awan Tahira , Shah Syed Zulfiqar Ali , Khan Muhammad Yar , Javeed Anam 
Published: March 2020

PurposeThe capital markets witness phenomenal shifts of corporate control. With the shift of world economy into a global one, there has been a rapid increase in the volume of acquisitions. The previous studies shed light on the motives behind acquisition and impact of acquisition on both bidding and target firms. The purpose of this study is to bridge a gap in literature by exploring the factors affecting the acquisition ability (AA) of the firms. The study has analyzed the role of financial strength, corporate governance and regulatory influence on AA of acquiring firm.Design/methodology/approachCross-sectional data has been analyzed with respect to Pakistan stock exchange for a period of 2004-2017 by using logit regression.FindingsAnalysis indicates that firm-specific variables are important determinants in firm’s decision to acquire. Chief Executive Officer duality and presence of institutional shareholders on the board contribute to this important phenomenon in the life of the acquiring firms. Bidding firm’s financial strength is also another important consideration while going for corporate control transfer transactions. The empirical results indicate the better AA for firms characterized by minimum capacity usage, lower level of intangible assets, lower debt levels and lower advertising expenses. However, the regulatory factor has no significant role in firms’ AA. The findings of the study are helpful for managers, regulators and policymakers.Originality/valueAnalyzing the role of financial strength, corporate governance and regulatory influence on AA of acquiring firm is a rare study, especially in an emerging country such as Pakistan.
Exterior RC joints subjected to monotonic and cyclic loading
Authors: Murad Yasmin , Abdel-Jabar Haneen , Diab Amjad , Abu Hajar Husam 
Published: March 2020

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop two empirical models that predict the shear strength of exterior beam-column joints exposed to monotonic and cyclic loading using Gene expression programming (GEP).

Design/methodology/approach
The GEP model developed for the monotonic loading case is trained and validated using 81 data test points and that for cyclic loading case is trained and validated using 159 data test points that collected from different 9 and 39 experimental programs, respectively. The parameters that are selected to develop the cyclic GEP model are concrete compressive strength, joint aspect ratio, column axial load and joint transverse reinforcement. The monotonic GEP model is developed using concrete compressive strength, column depth, joint width and column axial load.

Findings
GEP models are proposed in this paper to predict the joint shear strength of beam-column joints under cyclic and monotonic loading. The predicted results obtained using the GEP models are compared to those calculated using the ACI-352 code formulations. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to further validate the GEP models.

Originality/value
The proposed GEP models provide an accurate prediction for joint shear strength of beam-column joints under cyclic and monotonic loading that is more fitting to the experimental database than the ACI-352 predictions where the GEP models have higher R2 value than the code formulations.
The role of data-reuse experience in biological scientists’ data sharing: an empirical analysis
Authors: Yoon Ayoung , Kim Youngseek 
Published: March 2020

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how scientists’ prior data-reuse experience affects their data-sharing intention by updating diverse attitudinal, control and normative beliefs about data sharing.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper used a survey method and the research model was evaluated by applying structural equation modelling to 476 survey responses from biological scientists in the USA.

Findings
The results show that prior data-reuse experience significantly increases the perceived community and career benefits and subjective norms of data sharing and significantly decreases the perceived risk and effort involved in data sharing. The perceived community benefits and subjective norms of data sharing positively influence scientists’ data-sharing intention, whereas the perceived risk and effort negatively influence scientists’ data-sharing intention.

Research limitations/implications
Based on the theory of planned behaviour, the research model was developed by connecting scientists’ prior data-reuse experience and data-sharing intention mediated through diverse attitudinal, control and normative perceptions of data sharing.

Practical implications
This research suggests that to facilitate scientists’ data-sharing behaviours, data reuse needs to be encouraged. Data sharing and reuse are interconnected, so scientists’ data sharing can be better promoted by providing them with data-reuse experience.

Originality/value
This is one of the initial studies examining the relationship between data-reuse experience and data-sharing behaviour, and it considered the following mediating factors: perceived community benefit, career benefit, career risk, effort and subjective norm of data sharing. This research provides an advanced investigation of data-sharing behaviour in the relationship with data-reuse experience and suggests significant implications for fostering data-sharing behaviour.