bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Firms’ digitalization during the COVID-19 pandemic: a tale of two stories
Authors: Avalos Edgar , Cirera Xavier , Cruz Marcio , Iacovone Leonardo , Medvedev Denis , Nayyar Gaurav , Reyes Ortega Santiago 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of businesses. Using a unique global panel dataset, this paper documents the patterns of digital adoption during the pandemic across firms in 57 (mostly developing) countries. The data show the tale of two stories. On one hand, the pandemic drove firms to increase the use of digital platforms and invest in digital solutions. On the other hand, the digital divide increased across several dimensions. There remain substantial gaps between small and large firms as well as across sectors, particularly for new investments in digital solutions. Firms that did not use any digital platform or channel before the pandemic, also lagged in their response to the pandemic, increasing the gap with those that were more digitally ready. Moreover, although the share of online sales across firms for all size groups increased, there is a growing concentration of online sales among top firms. The paper analyzes some of the factors associated with this increase in the digital divide and discusses the policy implications addressing the widening digital divide and leveraging the benefits of rapid digitalization.
Innovation policy responses to address vulnerabilities of national innovation systems: long-lasting impacts of COVID-19
Authors: Maliphol Sira , Aridi Anwar , Lee Jeong-Dong , Woodson Thomas 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
This special issue explores the vulnerabilities of national innovation systems (NIS) which were exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent policy responses. New technologies and solutions were needed such as new drugs, medical equipment, and treatments, and new innovative institutions, organizations, and capabilities were needed to respond quickly, develop, and offset the acute demand. While some policy responses were effective, others fell short or were completely absent. The phenomenon provided a unique opportunity to uncover how governments and industry sought to mitigate the negative impacts and to prepare for future crises by building more resilient NIS. The five articles included in this special issue identify some of the vulnerabilities of NIS, suggesting that greater research on the resilience of NIS is needed if we were to weather future crises more effectively. Subsequent policy implications for innovation systems are drawn to address the vulnerabilities highlighted.
Linking physiological drought resistance traits to growth and mortality of three northeastern tree species
Authors: Barry Alexandra M , Bein Bean , Zhang Yong-jiang , Wason Jay W 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
Climate change is raising concerns about how forests will respond to extreme droughts, heat waves and their co-occurrence. In this greenhouse study, we tested how carbon and water relations relate to seedling growth and mortality of northeastern US trees during and after extreme drought, warming, and combined drought and warming. We compared the response of our focal species red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) with a common associate (paper birch, Betula papyrifera Marsh.) and a species expected to increase abundance in this region with climate change (northern red oak, Quercus rubra L.). We tracked growth and mortality, photosynthesis and water use of 216 seedlings of these species through a treatment and a recovery year. Each red spruce seedling was planted in containers either alone or with another seedling to simulate potential competition, and the seedlings were exposed to combinations of drought (irrigated, 15-d ‘short’ or 30-d ‘long’) and temperature (ambient or 16 days at +3.5 °C daily maximum) treatments. We found dominant effects of the drought reducing photosynthesis, midday water potential, and growth of spruce and birch, but that oak showed considerable resistance to drought stress. The effects of planting seedlings together were moderate and likely due to competition for limited water. Despite high temperatures reducing photosynthesis for all species, the warming imposed in this study minorly impacted growth only for oak in the recovery year. Overall, we found that the diverse water-use strategies employed by the species in our study related to their growth and recovery following drought stress. This study provides physiological evidence to support the prediction that native species to this region like red spruce and paper birch are susceptible to future climate extremes that may favor other species like northern red oak, leading to potential impacts on tree community dynamics under climate change.
Phacoemulsification to manual small-incision cataract surgery: transfer of skills study in a simulated environment
Authors: Le Anton Quoc Dung , Boberg-Ans Lars Christian , Konge Lars , la Cour Morten , Bourcier Tristan , Thomsen Ann Sofia Skou 
Published: July 2024

Purpose:
To investigate whether phacoemulsification (PE) experience impacts and transfers to the skill acquisition of novices in manual small-incision cataract surgery (MSICS) within a simulation environment.

Setting:
Copenhagen Academy for Medical Education and Simulation, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Design:
Prospective controlled experimental study.

Methods:
The study included 29 residents or specialist in ophthalmology with no prior MSICS experience. Participants were required to have either (1) proficiency on the EyeSi surgical simulator (PE group [PG]) or (2) no prior extensive exposure to the EyeSi simulator or any PE surgery experience as a primary surgeon (control group [CG]). Possible skill transfer was assessed using a test on the HelpMeSee virtual-reality simulator, including 9 modules and 30 steps (points). A pass/fail score was determined at 20 points (of 30 points). Performance scores were analyzed using independent samples t tests, pass rates using the Fisher exact test, and individual modules using Fisher-Freeman-Halton analysis.

Results:
The PG performed significantly better in overall performance score (mean ± SD, PG; 21.8 points ± 2.3 vs CG; 18.9 points ± 2.2, P = .002, t-value = −3.39) and pass rates (PG; 72% vs CG; 22%, P = .018). The subanalysis for individual modules demonstrated significant differences exclusively in the capsulorhexis and cortex removal modules.

Conclusions:
The results suggest a positive interprocedural transfer of skills between PE and MSICS. Pretraining and experience in PE demonstrated a significant effect on the performance of MSICS within a simulation environment. These findings suggest that PE experience provides an advantage before MSICS training in surgical residency programs.
The unmet mental health needs of U.S. adults living with chronic pain
Authors: De La Rosa Jennifer S. , Brady Benjamin R. , Herder Katherine E. , Wallace Jessica S. , Ibrahim Mohab M. , Allen Alicia M. , Meyerson Beth E. , Suhr Kyle A. , Vanderah Todd W. 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
Previous research suggests that individuals with mental health needs and chronic pain may be less likely to use mental health treatment compared with those with mental health needs only. Yet, few studies have investigated the existence of population-level differences in mental health treatment use. We analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey (n = 31,997) to address this question. We found that chronic pain was associated with end-to-end disparities in the mental health journeys of U.S. adults: (1) Those living with chronic pain are overrepresented among U.S. adults with mental health needs; (2) among U.S. adults with mental health needs, those living with chronic pain had a lower prevalence of mental health treatment use; (3) among U.S. adults who used mental health treatment, those living with chronic pain had a higher prevalence of screening positive for unremitted anxiety or depression; (4) among U.S. adults living with both chronic pain and mental health needs, suboptimal mental health experiences were more common than otherwise—just 44.4% of those living with mental health needs and co-occurring chronic pain reported use of mental health treatment and screened negative for unremitted anxiety and depression, compared with 71.5% among those with mental health needs only. Overall, our results suggest that U.S. adults with chronic pain constitute an underrecognized majority of those living with unremitted anxiety/depression symptoms and that the U.S. healthcare system is not yet adequately equipped to educate, screen, navigate to care, and successfully address their unmet mental health needs.
PremieFeed
Authors: McCune Sydney A. , Sisk Paula M. , Check Jennifer F. , Perrin Maryanne T. 
Published: July 2024

Purpose:
This study aimed to longitudinally investigate the preterm infant feeding regimens, feeding behaviors, effect on infant growth, and caregiver perceptions and experiences with feeding in the first 4 weeks following hospital discharge.

Background:
Preterm infants face high nutritional risk due to their underdeveloped gastrointestinal systems and feeding coordination.

Methods:
Caregivers of preterm infants were recruited to participate in a weekly telephone survey for the first 4 weeks following the infant's hospital discharge. Responses for infant feeding behaviors and caregiver experiences were scored on a 3-point Likert scale. Growth and feeding data were collected from the infant's first neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) developmental follow-up visit.

Results:
Twenty-four caregivers completed the study. Changes in feeding regimens were common (8/24 infants; 33%), with the percentage of infants receiving any human milk feedings decreasing from 70% at hospital discharge to 54% at 4 weeks post-discharge. Poor infant feeding skills were weakly associated with poor caregiver feeding experiences, and 46% of caregivers reported contacting their healthcare provider with feeding-related questions. Thirty-eight percent of infants required nutritional intervention at NICU developmental follow-up visit. Infants who received fortified feedings during the first 4 weeks after hospital discharge grew an average of 2.5 g/day faster than infants who did not receive fortified feedings.

Conclusion:
The postdischarge period for preterm infants is characterized by feeding regimen changes, a decrease in human milk use, and caregiver questions about feeding.

Implications for Practice and Research:
Future studies should further investigate the period after hospital discharge to enable better feeding support for preterm infants and their caregivers.
Neighborhood Environment and Perceived Stress Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Childbearing Black Women
Authors: Giurgescu Carmen , Adaji Rosemary , Hyer Suzanne , Wheeler Jenna , Misra Dawn P. 
Published: July 2024

Purpose:
The purpose of this study among pregnant and postpartum Black women was twofold: (1) to compare levels of perceived stress, depressive symptoms, social support, and neighborhood disorder and crime before the pandemic vs during the pandemic; and (2) to examine the association of perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and social support with neighborhood disorder and crime at both time points.

Methods:
This was a prospective study as part of the Biosocial Impact on Black Births, a longitudinal study that examined the role of maternal factors on preterm birth among Black women. A sample of 143 women were included who responded to survey questions during pregnancy prior to the pandemic and again after birth, during the pandemic. Women completed the COVID survey between May 21, 2020, and January 28, 2021.

Results:
The levels of perceived stress (70.75 and 76.28, respectively, P < .01) and social support (17.01 and 18.78, respectively, P < .01) were lower during the pandemic than prior to the pandemic. Social support, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms were significantly correlated with the pre-pandemic measures of perceived neighborhood disorder and crime. Perceived stress and depressive symptoms were also significantly correlated with pandemic measures of perceived neighborhood.

Conclusion:
Women reported lower levels of perceived stress during the pandemic than prior to the pandemic, but neighborhood characteristics were consistently associated with perceived stress and depressive symptoms both prior to and during the pandemic. Further exploration is warranted to better understand these relationships.
Resting-State Functional Connectivity of the Cerebellum in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain
Authors: Zhang Shanshan , Zhang Guifang , Bao Shanshan , Tan Jiaqi , He Rongxing , Wang Hongjiang , Yan Shenglan , Wang Chuhuai 
Published: July 2024

Objective
Chronic low back pain affects nociceptive responses in the cerebellum, which leads to increased pain perception and sensorimotor control dysfunction. This study aimed to investigate altered functional connectivity in the anterior and posterior lobes of the cerebellum during chronic low back pain.

Design
Twenty patients with chronic low back pain and 18 healthy participants underwent 3.0 T resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The bilateral lobule V of the anterior cerebellum and Crus I of the posterior cerebellum were selected as the region of interest for identifying the corresponding networks.

Results
The left lobule V had a greater intrinsic connectivity with the left insular cortex, left orbitofrontal cortex, and bilateral medial prefrontal cortex in patients with chronic low back pain. In contrast, the right lobule V and bilateral Crus I had a significantly decreased connectivity with the contralateral multimodal cerebral networks, including the default mode network, salience network, and emotional network.

Conclusions
The cerebellum had mechanistic implications in pain-related changes, which are involved in motor control, cognition, and emotion processing. These findings provide a novel perspective on the role of functional subregions in chronic low back pain, which add to the growing body of evidence that the cerebellum can be a potential target for noninvasive brain stimulation for chronic pain treatment.
Artificial T1-Weighted Postcontrast Brain MRI
Authors: Haase Robert , Pinetz Thomas , Kobler Erich , Bendella Zeynep , Gronemann Christian , Paech Daniel , Radbruch Alexander , Effland Alexander , Deike Katerina 
Published: July 2024

Objectives
Reducing gadolinium-based contrast agents to lower costs, the environmental impact of gadolinium-containing wastewater, and patient exposure is still an unresolved issue. Published methods have never been compared. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of 2 reimplemented state-of-the-art deep learning methods (settings A and B) and a proposed method for contrast signal extraction (setting C) to synthesize artificial T1-weighted full-dose images from corresponding noncontrast and low-dose images.

Materials and Methods
In this prospective study, 213 participants received magnetic resonance imaging of the brain between August and October 2021 including low-dose (0.02 mmol/kg) and full-dose images (0.1 mmol/kg). Fifty participants were randomly set aside as test set before training (mean age ± SD, 52.6 ± 15.3 years; 30 men). Artificial and true full-dose images were compared using a reader-based study. Two readers noted all false-positive lesions and scored the overall interchangeability in regard to the clinical conclusion. Using a 5-point Likert scale (0 being the worst), they scored the contrast enhancement of each lesion and its conformity to the respective reference in the true image.

Results
The average counts of false-positives per participant were 0.33 ± 0.93, 0.07 ± 0.33, and 0.05 ± 0.22 for settings A–C, respectively. Setting C showed a significantly higher proportion of scans scored as fully or mostly interchangeable (70/100) than settings A (40/100, P < 0.001) and B (57/100, P < 0.001), and generated the smallest mean enhancement reduction of scored lesions (−0.50 ± 0.55) compared with the true images (setting A: −1.10 ± 0.98; setting B: −0.91 ± 0.67, both P < 0.001). The average scores of conformity of the lesion were 1.75 ± 1.07, 2.19 ± 1.04, and 2.48 ± 0.91 for settings A–C, respectively, with significant differences among all settings (all P < 0.001).

Conclusions
The proposed method for contrast signal extraction showed significant improvements in synthesizing postcontrast images. A relevant proportion of images showing inadequate interchangeability with the reference remains at this dosage.
Comparative Study on the Effectiveness, Safety, and Economic Costs of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Colorectal Tumors Under Conscious Sedation and General Anesthesia
Authors: Li Yanrong , Wang Jing , Hong Ye , Wu Qi 
Published: July 2024

Background:
Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure used for en bloc removal of colorectal tumors. Although colorectal ESD is ideally conducted under conscious sedation, it is often performed under general anesthesia because of its complexity and lengthy duration. Currently, there is limited research on colorectal ESD performed under conscious sedation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and economic cost of colorectal ESD under conscious sedation compared to general anesthesia.

Materials and Methods:
Retrospective analysis of 301 patients who underwent ESD treatment for colorectal tumors at the Endoscopy Center of Peking University Cancer Hospital from January 2018 to November 2020. Patients were divided into the sedation group (group S, n=88) and the general anesthesia group (group A, n=213) based on the anesthetic method. To balance the confounding factors between the 2 groups, 75 matched pairs were obtained after using propensity score matching (PSM). Intraoperative and postoperative parameters were then compared between the matched groups.

Results:
After PSM, there was no statistically significant difference between group S and group A in terms of the surgical time, en bloc resection rate, and complete resection rate. There was also no statistically significant difference in the occurrence rates of bleeding, perforation, and post-ESD electrocoagulation syndrome (PEECS) between the 2 groups. However, the length of hospital stay was significantly shorter in group S (1.23±0.89d) than in group A (5.92±3.05d) (P<0.05). The hospitalization costs were also significantly lower in group S (16482.34±13154.32 yuan) compared with group A (34743.74±13779.40 yuan) (P<0.05).

Conclusions:
Compared to general anesthesia, performing ESD for colorectal tumors under conscious sedation has equivalent effectiveness and safety while shortening the hospital stay and reducing the economic costs.
WITHDRAWN: Mitogenomic phylogeny and divergence time estimation of Artemia Leach, 1819 (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) with emphasis on parthenogenetic lineages
Authors: Asem Alireza , Yang Chaojie , De Vos Stephanie , Mahmoudi Farnaz , Lidong Xia , Shen Chun-Yang , Hontoria Francisco , Rogers D. Christopher , Gajardo Gonzalo 
Published: July 2024

Withdrawal statementThe authors have withdrawn this manuscript because the new version of this article has been developed based on the phylogenetic concept of “long branch length and long branch attraction (LBA)”and the validity of “relaxed clock and strict clock” methods for divergence time estimation. Therefore, the authors do not wish this work to be cited as reference for the project. If you have any questions, please contact the corresponding author.
FUNDAMENTAL LIMITATIONS OF KILOHERTZ-FREQUENCY CARRIERS IN AFFERENT FIBER RECRUITMENT WITH TRANSCUTANEOUS SPINAL CORD STIMULATION
Authors: Keesey Rodolfo , Hofstoetter Ursula , Hu Zhaoshun , Lombardi Lorenzo , Hawthorn Rachel , Bryson Noah , Rowald Andreas , Minassian Karen , Seáñez Ismael 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThe use of kilohertz-frequency (KHF) waveforms has rapidly gained momentum in transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) to restore motor function after paralysis. However, the mechanisms by which these fast-alternating currents depolarize efferent and afferent fibers remain unknown. Our study fills this research gap by providing a hypothesis-and evidence-based investigation using peripheral nerve stimulation, lumbar tSCS, and cervical tSCS in 25 unimpaired participants together with computational modeling. Peripheral nerve stimulation experiments and computational modeling showed that KHF waveforms negatively impact the processes required to elicit action potentials, thereby increasing response thresholds and biasing the recruitment towards efferent fibers. While these results translate to tSCS, we also demonstrate that lumbar tSCS results in the preferential recruitment of afferent fibers, while cervical tSCS favors recruitment of efferent fibers. Given the assumed importance of proprioceptive afferents in motor recovery, our work suggests that the use of KHF waveforms should be reconsidered to maximize neurorehabilitation outcomes, particularly for cervical tSCS. We posit that careful analysis of the mechanisms that mediate responses elicited by novel approaches in tSCS is crucial to understanding their potential to restore motor function after paralysis.
Aging trajectories of memory CD8+T cells differ by their antigen specificity
Authors: Sturmlechner Ines , Jain Abhinav , Hu Bin , Jadhav Rohit R. , Cao Wenqiang , Okuyama Hirohisa , Tian Lu , Weyand Cornelia M. , Goronzy Jörg J. 
Published: July 2024

AbstractMemory T cells are a highly dynamic and heterogeneous population that is maintained by cytokine-driven homeostatic proliferation interspersed with episodes of antigen-mediated expansion and contraction which affect their functional state and their durability. This heterogeneity complicates studies on the impact of aging on global human memory cells, specifically, it is unclear how aging drives memory T cell dysfunction. Here, we used chronic infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to assess the influence of age on memory states at the level of antigen-specific CD8+T cells. We find that in young adults (<40 years), EBV-specific CD8+T cells assume preferred differentiation states depending on their peptide specificity. By age >65-years, different T cell specificities had undergone largely distinct aging trajectories, which had in common a loss in adaptive and a gain in innate immunity signatures. No evidence was seen for cellular senescence or exhaustion. While naïve/stem-like EBV-specific T cells disappeared with age, T cell diversity of EBV-specific memory cells did not change or even increased. In summary, by controlling for antigen specificity we uncover age-associated shifts in gene expression and TCR diversity that have implications for optimizing vaccination strategies and adoptive T cell therapy.