bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Integrative Modeling of the Spread of Serious Infectious Diseases and Corresponding Wastewater Dynamics
Authors: Schmid Nina , Bicker Julia , Hofmann Andreas F. , Wallrafen-Sam Karina , Kerkmann David , Wieser Andreas , Kühn Martin J. , Hasenauer Jan 
Published: November 2024

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the critical need for accurate disease modeling to inform public health interventions. Traditional reliance on confirmed infection data is often hindered by reporting delays and under-reporting, while widespread antigen and antibody testing can be costly and impractical. Wastewater-based surveillance offers a promising alternative by detecting viral concentrations from fecal shedding, potentially providing a more accurate estimate of true infection prevalence. However, challenges remain in optimizing sampling protocols, locations, and normalization strategies, particularly in accounting for environmental factors like precipitation.We present an integrative model that simulates the spread of serious infectious diseases by linking detailed infection dynamics with wastewater processes through viral shedding curves. Through comprehensive simulations, we examine how virus characteristics, precipitation events, measurement protocols, and normalization strategies affect the relationship between infection dynamics and wastewater measurements. Our findings reveal a complex relationship between disease prevalence and corresponding wastewater concentrations, with key variability sources including upstream sampling locations, continuous rainfall, and rapid viral decay. Notably, we find that flow rate normalization can be unreliable when rainwater infiltrates sewer systems. Despite these challenges, our study demonstrates that wastewater-based surveillance data can serve as a leading indicator of disease prevalence, predicting outbreak peaks before they occur. The proposed integrative model can thus be used to optimize wastewater-based surveillance, enhancing its utility for public health monitoring.Graphical AbstractHighlightsIntegration of infection and wastewater models to simulate disease spread.Identification of factors affecting wastewater measurements.Illustration of ability of wastewater-based surveillance to predict outbreaks before case reporting.Demonstration of unreliability of flow rate normalization in case of rainwater infiltration.Optimization of wastewater-based surveillance for improved public health monitoring.
Spatially mismatched cerebral blood flow and neuronal activity by intracortical microstimulation
Authors: Isis Yonza Alexandra Katherine , Tao Lechan , Kucharz Krzysztof , Lind Barbara , Zhang Xiao , Kim Kayeon , Cai Changsi 
Published: November 2024

AbstractIntracortial microstimulation (ICMS) is widely used in brain-machine interface for neuroprosthetics, particularly with aims of restoring lost sensory and motor functions. However, it remains poorly understood whether neuronal and blood flow responses by ICMS are spatially and temporally matched, as well as their underlying mechanism. Neurovascular coupling (NVC) is the process by which neuronal activity regulates blood flow in the brain to meet local metabolic demands. A hypothetically suboptimal NVC by ICMS may exacerbate the neuronal survival near electrode, contributing to neurodegeneration. In this study, we used wide-field imaging, laser speckle imaging and two-photon imaging in transgenic mice expressing calcium fluorescent indicators in neurons or vascular mural cells to examine this hypothesis. Our results showed blood flow responses are delayed at peak time and prolonged in duration compared with neuronal responses. By varying the stimulation amplitudes, we found that low stimulation intensity lower than 50μA preserved NVC. In contrast, high intensity stimulation caused spatially mismatched NVC, i.e. in the adjacent range within 200∼400 μm from electrode tip, elicited blood flow compromises but neuronal activities increase. Ca2+is the key regulator of contractile tone of vascular mural cells. Our results showed that Ca2+sensitivity at vascular mural cells, i.e. vessel diameter change per unit of Ca2+change, was decreased in the adjacent region of electrode, which partially explained the compromised and mismatched NVC, and which likely further lead to ischemia and neurodegeneration. This study offers a new insight into ICMS-associated neuronal and vascular physiology, and provides an important implication towards optimal design of ICMS: low intensities is more neuroprotective than high intensities by preserving NVC and preventing ischemia. Our discoveries pave the way for new research consideration and contribute to the development of more advanced brain-machine interface.
Multi-omics Analysis Reveals Important Role for Microbial-derived Metabolites fromBotryllus schlosseriin Metal Interactions
Authors: Guillén Matus Dulce G. , Donaghy Caroline M. , Vijayan Nidhi , Lane Zachary T. , Howell Matthew , Glavin George G. , Angeles-Boza Alfredo M. , Nyholm Spencer V. , Balunas Marcy J. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractMarine microbial communities govern many of the biological and chemical processes in the ocean, including element cycles, ecosystem health, and disease. Marine organisms are surrounded by microbes and complex molecular interactions occur between bacterial symbionts, eukaryotic hosts, and their pathogens or prey. Trace metals in the ocean can be either beneficial or detrimental to marine life depending on their concentrations and bioavailability. Multiple marine tunicate species are known to bioaccumulate trace metals in their mantel, and research suggests tunicate microbiota plays an important role in this process.Botryllus schlosseri, a marine colonial tunicate, has become a model organism for cellular and developmental studies, yet its ecological interactions are still not well understood. Using an integrated multidisciplinary approach, we established a comprehensive baseline and explored correlations between members of theB. schlosserimicrobiome, metabolome, and metallome to elucidate the ecological effects of trace metals in host-microbe-pathogen interactions. We identified significant correlations between metals, including manganese, nickel, cerium, zinc, and cobalt, with various metabolites and bacterial taxa. These findings offer insights intoB. schlosseribiological and chemical interactions with their symbionts and their environment, contributing to bridging the knowledge gap of host-microbiome-environment interactions and establishing a foundation for continuing research on the ecological effects of trace metals in these biological systems.HighlightsBotryllus schlosseritissue was highly enriched in metals compared to seawaterB. schlosserimicrobiome ß-diversity significantly different from seawaterPan-metabolome indicated microbial metabolites in core and flexible metabolomeMulti-omics revealed interactions between metals, metabolites, and microbesGraphical Abstract
Free water elimination tractometry for aging brains
Authors: Chang Kelly , Burke Luke , LaPiana Nina , Howlett Bradley , Hunt David , Dezelar Margaret , Andre Jalal B. , Curl Patti , Ralston James D. , Rokem Ariel , MacDonald Christine L. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractTractometry of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) non-invasively quantifies tissue properties of brain connections. It is widely used in aging studies but could be less reliable in aging brains due to increased white matter free water. We demonstrate that computational free water elimination (FWE) increases reliability and accuracy of tractometry in a large (n = 339) cohort of older adults (66 – 103 y.o.). We found substantial (up to ∼37%) improvements in reliability in a split-half comparison at every stage of the pipeline: estimation of voxel-level fiber orientation distribution functions, delineation of major pathway trajectories, and assessment of tissue properties along the pathways. FWE also improves inferences from tractometry, producing more accurate cross-validated predictions of clinician Fazekas scores. By sub-sampling a multi-b-value dataset, we demonstrated that these findings generalize to both single-b-value data, which is important for many datasets where only one b-value may be available. Overall, the results highlight the importance of accounting for free water in tractometry studies, especially in aging brains. We provide opensource software for free-water elimination that can be applied to a wide range of clinical and research datasets (https://github.com/nrdg/fwe).
Long-term serum spike protein persistence but no correlation with post-COVID syndrome
Authors: Fehrer Annick , Sotzny Franziska , Hoheisel Friederike , Stein Elisa , Kim Laura , Kedor Claudia , Freitag Helma , Heindrich Cornelia , Bauer Sandra , Rust Rebekka , Seifert Martina , Grabowski Patricia , Babel Nina , Scheibenbogen Carmen , Wittke Kirsten 
Published: November 2024

AbstractAccording to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), currently an estimated 3 – 6 % of people suffer from post-COVID condition or syndrome (PCS). A subset meets diagnostic criteria for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Several studies have reported persistence of SARS-CoV-2 proteins or RNA in serum or tissues of both recovered individuals and PCS patients.In this exploratory study, we investigated whether serum spike protein is associated with PCS and whether it correlates with symptom severity and laboratory biomarkers. We analyzed serum spike protein levels in 121 PCS patients following mild-to-moderate COVID-19, 72 of whom met diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS (post-COVID ME/CFS, pcMECFS). Pre-pandemic seronegative healthy controls (ppHC, n = 32) and post-COVID recovered healthy controls (pcHC, n = 37) after SARS-CoV-2 infection were also included in the study.We found persistent serum SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in a subset of pcHC (11 %), PCS non-ME/CFS patients (2 %), and pcMECFS patients (14 %). There was no significant association with disease severity, symptoms, or laboratory markers. The spike protein concentration was independent of the time since last spike exposure (infection or vaccination). In five spike-positive out of a total of 22 patients who underwent immunoglobulin depletion via immunoadsorption (IA), spike protein was reduced or completely removed after treatment, indicating binding to immunoglobulins.In summary, our study identified serum spike protein in a subset of patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection without evidence for a role in the pathogenesis of PCS.
Modelling complete dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 pandemics of Germany and its federal states using multiple levels of data
Authors: Kheifetz Yuri , Kirsten Holger , Schuppert Andreas , Scholz Markus 
Published: November 2024

AbstractEpidemiological modelling is a key method of pandemic management including that of SARS-CoV-2. New insights into epidemiologic mechanics and new data resources require continuous adaptions of modelling approaches. We here present a revised and considerably extended version of our previous SARS-CoV- 2 model implemented as input-output non-linear dynamical systems (IO-NLDS). We now include integration of age-dependent contact patterns, immune waning, and new data resources such as seropositivity studies, hospital dynamics, variant dynamics, non-pharmaceutical intervention measures and dynamics of the vaccination campaigns.With this modelling framework, we explain the dynamics of several data resources for the complete pandemics in Germany as well as its 16 federal states. The latter also allows us to investigate the heterogeneity of model parameters in Germany for the first time. To achieve this goal, we extend our estimation approach by constraining variation of parameters among the federal states. This allows reliable estimation of a few thousand parameters using hundreds of thousands of data points.Our approach can be generalized to other epidemic situations or even other areas of application, thus, supporting general pandemic preparedness.
Beyond Letters: Optimal Transport as a Model for Sub-Letter Orthographic Processing
Authors: Taylor Jack E. , Sinn Rasmus , Iaia Cosimo , Fiebach Christian J. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractLetter processing plays a key role in visual word recognition. However, word recognition models typically overlook or greatly simplify early perceptual processes of letter recognition. We suggest that optimal transport theory may provide a computational framework for describing letter shape processing. We use representational similarity analysis to show that optimal transport cost (Wasserstein distance) between pairs of letters aligns with neural activity elicited by visually presented letters <225 ms after stimulus onset, outperforming an existing approach based on shape overlap. We additionally show that optimal transport can capture the emergence of geometric invariances (e.g., to position or size) observed in letter perception. Finally, we demonstrate that Wasserstein distance predicts neural activity similarly well to features from artificial networks trained to classify images and letters. However, whereas representations in artificial neural networks emerge in a computationally unconstrained manner, our proposal provides a computationally explicit route to modeling the earliest orthographic processes.
Young adults’ pathway to digital entrepreneurship: from ideas to innovation
Authors: Çela Arjona , Mansi Egla , Morina Fatbardha 
Published: November 2024

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the digital entrepreneurial intentions of Albanian youth, identify the obstacles they face in starting digital businesses and examine their preferences regarding the types of businesses they aspire to establish. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is used as a framework to analyze these factors.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were collected via questionnaires distributed in public and private universities. In a sample of 325 students, Structural Equation Modeling with Confirmatory Factor Analysis, path analysis and machine learning-based text analysis were used.FindingsThis study reveals significant impacts of innovativeness, attitude towards entrepreneurship, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and self-efficacy on digital entrepreneurial intentions among Albanian students. Additionally, text mining highlights a strong preference for digital entrepreneurship.Research limitations/implicationsThe theoretical contributions of this study include applying Structural Equation Modeling to reveal insights into the impact of entrepreneurial factors and obstacles. The findings can inform policymakers and educators in designing targeted interventions to support student entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, the limitations of this study encompass a small sample size, lack of time series and panel data and the absence of an evaluation of the impact of education system practices, along with the need to investigate the effects of young population emigration from Albania to the EU.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the understanding of digital entrepreneurial intentions and behavior by using TPB in the Albanian context, offering access to a diverse dataset from Albanian universities, testing the direct impact of innovativeness on entrepreneurial behavior and pioneering the use of machine learning techniques for text analysis. Thus, it provides novel insights into the entrepreneurial landscape in Albania. In addition, this work can drive initiatives to support student entrepreneurship and bridge the gap between academia and industry in Albania.
Technological intensity and innovation capability: evidence from an emerging country
Authors: Tello-Gamarra Jorge , Mayorga Gutierrez David Jesus , Hernani-Merino Martin , Zevallos Julio 
Published: November 2024

Purpose
In general, it is believed that firms belonging to the high technological intensity stratum have a more innovation capability. However, evidence has begun to appear in the literature demonstrating that firms in the low-tech stratum also have the innovation capability. This paper seeks to solve this dilemma. Through an analysis of industrial firms in an emerging country, this study aims to identify the existence of innovation capability in all strata of technological intensity.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors empirically assessed the impact of innovation capability on the performance of firms in all strata of technological intensity. The authors studied a sample of 910 firms from different industries and technology intensities operating in Peru, by applying a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM).

Findings
This study obtained three important findings. First, the authors show that innovation capability is present in all strata of technological intensity. Second, innovation capability differs according to the technological stratum. Third, firms in the lowest technological stratum can use more capabilities than those in the other strata.

Originality/value
This study pioneers the empirical analysis of innovation capability and technological intensity simultaneously to verify that innovation capability exists in the four strata of technological intensity.
An aftercare intervention programme for employees returning from substance use rehabilitation in South Africa
Authors: Braaf Eldene , Roman Nicolette 
Published: November 2024

PurposeEmployee assistance programmes (EAPs) and wellness practitioners (WPs) are the first line of support for employees returning from substance use rehabilitation. However, many workplaces need more guidance and support provisions to address these needs effectively. The purpose of this paper is to present a 10-week aftercare intervention programme that EAPs and WPs can use to support employees returning to work after a period of substance use rehabilitation.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative methodological approach involved two distinct stages of data collection and consensus search activities. Stage 1 involved three data collection activities with three stakeholder groups, and Stage 2 consisted of two consensus-seeking engagements with the intended audience of the intervention programme.FindingsParticipants in the consensus-seeking activities endorsed the inclusion of content in the proposed intervention programme and structural and organisational arrangements. Specific recommendations were made, namely, increased reliance on faith-based and spiritual support, the need to include community support structures and ensuring that workplace interventions include counselling, skills training and motivational speakers.Practical implicationsThose working in the EAP environment are offered a systematic and holistic plan for managing and supporting employees recovering from substance abuse disorders (SUDs) to maintain their recovery and return to productive work.Originality/valueImplementing the intervention programmes can reduce the ad hoc nature of current approaches to workplace aftercare. The WPs are placed in a central role while stressing the valuable input of other key role players within the workplace or part of the family and community networks of the employee.
Understanding community perspective on the heritage of locality: memory map methodology
Authors: Zaleckis Kestutis , Vitkuviene Jurga , Jankauskaite-Jureviciene Laura , Grazuleviciute-Vileniske Indre , Karvelyte-Balbieriene Vilma 
Published: November 2024

PurposeCommunity involvement in heritage preservation requires appropriate approaches. Sanciai (in Lithuanian: Šanciai) historic district in Kaunas (Lithuania) has long-lasting military and industrial heritage, valuable urban structure and connections to the natural frame of the city. Sanciai residents’ willingness to participate in heritage preservation and urban planning prompted the aim of this research – to develop, test and present the mapping methodology, that would be applicable in the process of community involvement into heritage identification, preservation, interpretation and creation process.Design/methodology/approachThe methods of research included analysis of literature and theoretical research, development and testing of the methodology for the community involvement in heritage identification, preservation, interpretation and creation process. The workshop methodology and interactive online map are presented in this research. The memory map methodology developed and presented in this research includes the elements of mental mapping, design thinking and citizen science.FindingsThe methodology was tested in spring of 2021 in two-day online workshops with the students of pro-gymnasium located in Sanciai. Workshop participants together with workshop coordinator and moderators created different layers of the mental map, collected stories from the members of community and gathered the data for online interactive Sanciai memory map. The evaluation of the methodology and workshop results allowed concluding that memory map methodology is a functioning participant, community and research-oriented approach that can be applied in diverse heritage and community related circumstances.Originality/valueThe originality of the research is determined by the synergistic nature of developed memory map methodology which complements traditional mental mapping with creative hands-on techniques, empathy-oriented tasks and interactive online tool. Moreover, the research reveals the importance of local-global connections in urban studies as active local community became the stimulus for memory map methodology. The two-fold aim of the methodology – community cohesion and empowerment as well as research data collection – contributes to the originality of the research as well.
Integrating servitisation into the halal supply chain: a roadmap for sustainable business growth
Authors: Hassan Ibrahim Saleh , Fernando Yudi 
Published: November 2024

Purpose
The limited existing literature on the future research direction regarding how servitisation and the halal supply chain interact motivates this study. The paper aims to integrate servitisation into the halal supply chain by proposing an integration roadmap for successful adoption in the halal industry.

Design/methodology/approach
The study used the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses method. Initially, 1,830 documents from Scopus and Web of Science were reviewed. After screening and refining, 1,241 documents remained. The authors then assessed these in full text, narrowing it down to 61 papers for the study.

Findings
The study discovered that the literature concerning servitisation and halal supply chains lacks essential conceptualisation, presenting an opportunity for exploration within the halal industry. Furthermore, it revealed that integrating servitisation into the halal supply chain can foster sustainable business growth and enhance customer satisfaction. Additionally, the study indicated that the interaction between servitisation and the halal supply chain may impact customers’ purchasing decisions and improve profit generation performance.

Practical implications
The study confirmed that integrating servitisation into the halal supply chain is crucial. The proposed roadmap aims to enhance the firm’s service delivery performance and impact customer purchasing behaviour through increased brand loyalty. In terms of industrial implications, the study offers guidance for industries transitioning to servitisation. The integration of servitisation in the halal supply chain can enhance efficiency and the ability to provide halal products that align with customer preferences and requirements.

Originality/value
This study suggests integrating servitisation into halal supply chains and provides a roadmap for exploring future research directions towards sustainable business growth. It not only offers thematic research direction but also practical insights. The roadmap can guide future research and development, enhancing business efficiency and customer experiences. This study reveals the potential of servitisation in halal supply chains and encourages further research on their interaction.