bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Brain 3T magnetic resonance imaging in neonates: features and incidental findings from a research cohort enriched for preterm birth
Authors: Sullivan Gemma , Quigley Alan J. , Choi Samantha , Teed Rory , Cabez Manuel Blesa , Vaher Kadi , Corrigan Amy E. , Stoye David Q. , Thrippleton Michael J. , Bastin Mark E. , Boardman James P. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractBackground and objectivesThe survival rate and patterns of brain injury after very preterm birth are evolving with changes in clinical practices. Additionally, incidental findings can present legal, ethical and practical considerations. Here, we report MRI features and incidental findings from a large, contemporary research cohort of very preterm infants and term controls.Methods288 infants had 3T MRI at term-equivalent age: 187 infants born <32 weeks without major parenchymal lesions, and 101 term-born controls. T1-weighted, T2-weighted and Susceptibility-weighted imaging were used to classify white and gray matter injury according to a structured system, and incidental findings described.ResultsPreterm infants: 34(18%) had white matter injury and 4(2%) had gray matter injury. 51(27%) infants had evidence of intracranial haemorrhage, and 34(18%) had punctate white matter lesions (PWMLs). Incidental findings were detected in 12(6%) preterm infants.Term infants: No term infants had white or gray matter injury. Incidental findings were detected in 35(35%); these included intracranial haemorrhage in 22(22%), periventricular pseudocysts in 5(5%) and PWMLs in 4(4%) infants. From the whole cohort, 10(3%) infants required referral to specialist services.ConclusionsOne fifth of very preterm infants without major parenchymal lesions have white or gray matter abnormalities at term-equivalent age. Incidental findings are seen in 6% of preterm and 35% of term infants. Overall, 3% of infants undergoing MRI for research require follow-up due to incidental findings. These data should help inform consent procedures for research and assist service planning for centres using 3T neonatal brain MRI for clinical purposes.What is already known on this topicNeonatal MRI at term-equivalent age has established a common signature of preterm birth that includes diffuse white matter disease, reduced cortical gray matter complexity, and enlarged cerebrospinal fluid spaces.All neuroimaging has the potential to detect incidental findings.There are inter-cohort variations in the reported prevalence of brain imaging features associated with preterm birth and incidental findings in the neonatal population.What this study addsThe prevalence of features of encephalopathy of prematurity identified on 3T brain MRI in a contemporaneous UK cohort without major parenchymal lesions imaged at term-equivalent age.The types and prevalence of incidental findings identified on 3T brain MRI in very preterm infants and term-born controls.How this study might affect research, practice or policyThis study will support clinicians and researchers with informed consent processes, image interpretation, and service development.
Air Pollution and Children’s Health Inequalities
Authors: Castillo Milena Suarez , Benatia David , Le Thi Christine , Costemalle Vianney 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThis paper examines the differential impacts of early childhood exposure to air pollution on children’s health care use across parental income groups and vulnerability factors using French administrative data. Our quasi-experimental study reveals significant impacts on emergency admissions and respiratory medication in young children, attributed to air pollution shocks from thermal inversions. Using causal machine learning, we identify these health impacts as predominantly affecting 10% of infants, characterized by poor health indicators at birth and lower parental income. Our results suggest that intervention strategies focusing on vulnerability metrics may be more effective than those based solely on exposure levels.JEL Codes: I14, I18, Q53, Q58
Neural Basis of Pain Empathy Dysregulations in Mental Disorders – A Pre-registered Neuroimaging Meta-Analysis
Authors: He Jingxian , Bore Mercy Chepngetich , Jiang Heng , Gan Xianyang , Wang Junjie , Li Jialin , Xu Xiaolei , Wang Lan , Fu Kun , Li Liyuan , Zhou Bo , Kendrick Keith , Becker Benjamin 
Published: February 2024

AbstractPain empathy represents a fundamental building block of several social functions, which have been demonstrated to be impaired across various mental disorders by accumulating evidence from case-control functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. However, it remains unclear whether the dysregulations are underpinned by robust neural alterations across mental disorders. This study utilized coordinate-based meta-analyses to quantitatively determine robust markers of altered pain empathy across mental disorders. To support the interpretation of the findings exploratory network-level and behavioral meta-analyses were conducted. The results revealed patients with mental disorders exhibited increased pain empathic reactivity in the left anterior cingulate gyrus, adjacent medial prefrontal cortex, and right middle temporal gyrus, yet decreased activity in the left cerebellum IV/V and left middle occipital gyrus compared to controls. The hyperactive regions showed network-level interactions with the core default mode network (DMN) and were associated with affective and social cognitive domains. The findings suggest that pain-empathic alterations across mental disorders are underpinned by excessive empathic reactivity in brain systems involved in empathic distress and social processes, highlighting a shared therapeutic target to normalize basal social dysfunctions in mental disorders.
Optimizing test and treat options for Vivax malaria: an options assessment toolkit (OAT) for Asia Pacific National Malaria Control Programs
Authors: Acharya Sanjaya , Shrestha Manash , Thang Ngo Duc , Wini Lyndes , Habib M. Naeem , Neukom Josselyn , Lhazeen Karma , Lynch Caroline A , Thriemer Kamala 
Published: February 2024

AbstractIntroductionDesigning policy in public health is a complex process requiring decision making that incorporates available evidence and is suitable to a country’s epidemiological and health system context. The main objective of this study was to develop an options assessment toolkit (OAT) to provide a pragmatic and evidence-based approach to the development of policies for the radical cure (prevention of relapse) of vivax malaria for national malaria control programs in the Asia-Pacific region.Materials and methodsThe OAT was developed using participatory research methods and a Delphi process using a sequential multi-phase design, adapted with apre-development phase, adevelopment phase,and afinal development phase.In thepre-development phase, a literature review was conducted to inform the toolkit development. Data collection in thedevelopment phaseconsisted of core research team discussions, multiple rounds of consultation with participants from National Malaria Control Programs (NMP) (online and in person), and two separate modified e-Delphi processes with experts. Thefinal developmentphase was the piloting of the toolkit during the annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) Vivax Working Group.ResultsWe developed a tool kit containing the following elements: i) Baseline Assessment Tool (BAT) to assess the readiness of NMPs for new or improved coverage of radical cure, ii) eight scenarios representative of Asia Pacific region, iii) matching test and treat options based on available options for G6PD testing and radical cure for the given scenarios, iv) an approaches tool to allow NMPs to visualize considerations for policy change process and different implementation strategies/approaches for each test and treat option.ConclusionsThe OAT can support vivax radical cure policy formulation among NMPs and stakeholders tailoring for their unique country context. Future studies are needed to assess the utility and practicality of using the OAT for specific country context.
MODIFIED AORTIC VALVE REIMPLANTATION IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE AORTIC DISSECTION TYPE A
Authors: Boldyrev Sergey Yuryevich , Suslova Valentina Nikolaevna , Dontsova Mariya Vladimirovna , Barbukhatti Kirill Olegovich , Porkhanov Vladimir Alekseevich 
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe question of choosing surgical tactics in patients with acute aortic dissection type A unresolved to now. In patients with massive destruction of the aortic root the «gold standard» is the Bentall procedure. Aortic valve reimplantation is an attractive alternative, especially in patients with preserved aortic valve leaflets anatomy.ObjectiveTo compare the results of the use of valve sparing procedure and composite root replacement in patients with acute aortic dissection type A.MethodsAt the end, 62 patients were included in the study. Of those, 27 patients undervent aortic valve reimplantation and 35 had Bentall’s operation in the Kouchoukos modification.ResultsPreoperative demographic and clinical characteristics were such between the groups. Similar indicators of preoperative malperfusion were observed in both groups. The time of artificial circulation (p=0.125) and aortic clamping time (p=0.001) were longer in the reimplantation group, while the time of circulatory arrest was longer in the Bentall group (p=0.290). The average aortic clamping time was about 30 minutes longer in the first group. Hospital mortality in the reimplantation group was 8.3% and 22.9% in the Bentall group. Mortality from all causes in the long-term period was 6 people in the reimplantation group 25%, 10 people in the Bentall group 28.6%. The degree of aortic regurgitation did not increase in any case until the moment of extreme contact with the patient.ConclusionsAortic valve reimplantation can be performed with good immediate and long-term results in patients with preserved aortic valve leaflets with acute aortic dissection type A.
Adult Single-nucleus Neuronal Transcriptomes of Insulin Signaling Mutants Reveal Regulators of Behavior and Learning
Authors: Ange Jonathan St. , Weng Yifei , Stevenson Morgan E. , Kaletsky Rachel , Moore Rebecca S. , Zhou Shiyi , Murphy Coleen T. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe insulin/insulin-like signaling (IIS) pathway regulates many ofC. elegans’adult functions, including learning and memory1. While whole-worm and tissue-specific transcriptomic analyses have identified IIS targets2,3, a higher-resolution single-cell approach is required to identify changes that confer neuron-specific improvements in the long-lived insulin receptor mutant,daf-2. To understand how behaviors that are controlled by a small number of neurons change indaf-2mutants, we used the deep resolution of single-nucleus RNA sequencing to define each neuron type’s transcriptome in adult wild-type anddaf-2mutants. First, we found surprising differences between wild-type L4 larval neurons and young adult neurons in chemoreceptor expression, synaptic genes, and learning and memory genes. These Day 1 adult neuron transcriptomes allowed us to identify adult AWC-specific regulators of chemosensory function and to predict neuron-to-neuron peptide/receptor pairs. We then identified gene expression changes that correlate withdaf-2’simproved cognitive functions, particularly in the AWC sensory neuron that controls learning and associative memory4, and used behavioral assays to test their roles in cognitive function. Combining deep single-neuron transcriptomics, genetic manipulation, and behavioral analyses enabled us to identify genes that may function in a single adult neuron to control behavior, including conserved genes that function in learning and memory.One-Sentence SummarySingle-nucleus sequencing of adult wild-type anddaf-2 C. elegansneurons reveals functionally relevant transcriptional changes, including regulators of chemosensation, learning, and memory.
Interplay of condensation and chromatin binding underlies BRD4 targeting
Authors: Strom Amy R. , Eeftens Jorine M. , Polyachenko Yury , Weaver Claire J. , Watanabe Hans-Frederick , Bracha Dan , Orlovsky Natalia D. , Jumper Chanelle C. , Jacobs William M. , Brangwynne Clifford P. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractNuclear compartments form via biomolecular phase separation, mediated through multivalent properties of biomolecules concentrated within condensates. Certain compartments are associated with specific chromatin regions, including transcriptional initiation condensates, which are composed of transcription factors and transcriptional machinery, and form at acetylated regions including enhancer and promoter loci. While protein self-interactions, especially within low-complexity and intrinsically disordered regions, are known to mediate condensation, the role of substrate-binding interactions in regulating the formation and function of biomolecular condensates is under-explored. Here, utilizing live-cell experiments in parallel with coarse-grained simulations, we investigate how chromatin interaction of the transcription factor BRD4 modulates its condensate formation. We find that both kinetic and thermodynamic properties of BRD4 condensation are affected by chromatin binding: nucleation rate is sensitive to BRD4-chromatin interactions, providing an explanation for the selective formation of BRD4 condensates at acetylated chromatin regions, and thermodynamically, multivalent acetylated chromatin sites provide a platform for BRD4 clustering below the concentration required for off-chromatin condensation. This provides a molecular and physical explanation of the relationship between nuclear condensates and epigenetically modified chromatin that results in their mutual spatiotemporal regulation, suggesting that epigenetic modulation is an important mechanism by which the cell targets transcriptional condensates to specific chromatin loci.
Nonlinear relationship between ionized calcium and 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis: A retrospective cohort study from MIMIC-IV database
Authors: Liang Zhanyao , Chen Yunting , Zhou Yuanshen , Hu Congqi , Chen Lu , Zhu Fangfang 
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACTBackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the linear and nonlinear relationships between ionized calcium levels and 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis in the intensive care unit (ICU) and to provide clinicians with a direction for laboratory index testing and a basis for a calcium supplementation program.MethodsThe data of patients with sepsis were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC-IV) database, iCa served as the exposure variable, and 28-day mortality served as the outcome variable. The relationship between iCa and 28-day mortality was investigated using multivariate binary logistic regression models, with adjustment for covariates. A generalized additive model (GAM) and smoothed curve fitting were used to investigate the non-linear relationship between iCa and 28-day mortality. A two-piecewise linear model was used to calculate the OR and 95% CI on either side of the inflection point.ResultsPatients with sepsis (n = 20,417) were included in the analysis, with an overall 28-day mortality rate of 19.73%. Sepsis patients were grouped into quartiles (Q1-Q4) according to ionized calcium levels, and after complete adjustment, the short-term mortality rate of sepsis patients in Q2–Q4 was significantly lower than that in the Q1 group (OR:0.78, 95% CI: 0.70–0.87. OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.66–0.83. OR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.72–0.9. iCa and 28-day mortality displayed a U-shaped relationship among patients with sepsis. When iCa levels were less than 1.14 mmol/L, each unit increase corresponded to a 79% reduction in the risk of 28-day sepsis mortality(OR: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.13-0.35). Conversely, when iCa exceeded 1.14 mmol/L, each unit increase was linked to an 85% increase in the 28-day mortality risk (OR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.08-3.16).ConclusionThe relationship between iCa and 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis showed a u-shaped curve with an inflection point of 1.14 mmol/L, which is in the range of mild hypocalcemia.
Bank capital and liquidity creation in Sub-Saharan Africa: the role of quality institutions
Authors: Bawuah Isaac 
Published: February 2024

PurposeThis study investigates the relationship between bank capital and liquidity creation and further examines the effect that institutional quality has on this relationship in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).Design/methodology/approachThe data comprise 41 universal banks in nine SSA countries from 2010 to 2022. The study employs the two-step system generalized methods of moments and further uses alternative estimators such as the fixed-effect and two-stage least squares methods.FindingsThe empirical results show that bank capital has a direct positive and significant effect on liquidity creation. In addition, the positive effect of bank capital on liquidity creation is enhanced, particularly in a strong institutional environment. The results imply that nonconstraining capital regulatory policies bolster bank solvency, improve risk-absorption capacity and increase liquidity creation.Practical implicationsThis study has several policy implications. First, it provides empirical evidence on the position of banks in SSA on the financial fragility and risk-absorption hypothesis of bank capital and liquidity creation debates. This study shows that the effect of bank capital on liquidity creation in SSA countries is positive and supports the risk-absorption hypothesis. Second, this study highlights that a country's quality institutions can complement bank capital to increase liquidity creation. In addition, this study highlights that nonconstraining capital regulatory policies will bolster bank solvency, improve risk-absorption capacity and increase liquidity creation.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study is that it introduces the country's quality institutional environment into bank capital and liquidity creation links for the first time in SSA.
Firm-specific investor sentiment and earnings management: evidence from Brazil
Authors: Esteves Alexandre , Piccoli Pedro 
Published: February 2024

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of firm-specific investor sentiment on Brazilian companies’ accrual-based earnings management between 2010 and 2018. The paper aims to bring deeper insight into the relationship between the investor expectations and managers’ decision-making in an emerging market.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the quantitative approach and apply a multiple linear regression model to test the relationship among the abnormal accruals, the firm-specific investor sentiment index and the control variables. The final sample includes data from 175 companies, between 2010 and 2018.FindingsThese results reveal a negative association between firm-specific investor sentiment and accrual-based earnings management, which could mean that the risk propensity of managers to manipulate earnings increases when they face known losses in the capital market.Research limitations/implicationsThe research findings provide a valuable understanding of how emerging capital market expectations can influence managerial decisions, such as accrual-based earnings management. The geographical area of study was limited to only Brazil.Originality/valuePrevious studies on developed markets show that market-wide investor sentiment positively influences accrual-based earnings management. However, the present study shows that the firm-specific investor sentiment index has a significant and negative relationship with Brazilian companies’ earnings manipulation, whereas market sentiment indicates contradictory relationship in previous studies in the country.
Understanding consumers’ intentions to use QR code menus in the post-COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Koay Kian Yeik , Ang KerSoon 
Published: February 2024

PurposeThis study aims to examine the factors influencing consumers’ intentions to use QR code menus in the post-COVID-19 pandemic using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and rational choice theory as the theoretical foundations.Design/methodology/approachUsing a survey method, 200 data are collected from consumers who had used QR code menus in the past. Partial least squares structural equation modelling is used to analyse the data.FindingsOur findings show that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, habit and perceived privacy protection have a significant positive influence on intentions. However, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation and perceived privacy risk do not have a significant influence on intentions.Originality/valueThis study further extends the work of previous studies by using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model, with additional two new predictors, namely perceived privacy protection and perceived privacy risk, to understand consumers’ intentions to use QR code menus.
Able or disabled: why should neurodiverse students experience improved access to public universities? An exploratory study
Authors: Mousa Mohamed , Ayoubi Rami , Puhakka Vesa 
Published: February 2024

Purpose This paper aims to answer the question: To what extent should neurodiverse students experience improved access to public universities in Egypt and why?Design/methodology/approach A systematic qualitative research method was used with data collected through semi-structured interviews with 44 educators in four universities in Egypt. A thematic approach was implemented to analyze the collected data.Findings The addressed educators believe that greater representation of neurodiverse students in their schools should be a priority for the following four reasons: first, neurodiverse students represent a promising new market segment schools could benefit from; second, recruiting more neurodiverse students represents a chance for schools and faculties to prove the social role they can undertake; third, schools can benefit from the unique skills many neurodiverse students have, particularly in mathematical and computational skills; and fourth, the greater the representation of neurodiverse students, the more research projects and funding opportunities educators can obtain.Originality/value This paper contributes by filling a gap in diversity management, higher education and human resources management in which empirical studies on the representation of neurodiverse individuals in public universities have been limited so far.