bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effective contact tracing can halve mass testing frequency needed to control respiratory virus pandemics
Authors: Srimokla Oraya , Petrie James 
Published: October 2023

AbstractMass testing is a promising strategy to control future respiratory virus pandemics, however, it is limited by the availability of testing capacity. The aim of this work is to predict the effectiveness of contact tracing when used with mass testing, and to what extent contact tracing can reduce the required number of tests. We estimate the effect of contact tracing and mass testing for controlling a variety of respiratory virus pandemics. To do this, we use a branching model with individuals whose infectiousness and probability of testing positive depend on simulated viral load trajectories. We find that the addition of contact tracing is most useful when mass testing is done frequently enough to detect most infections, but cannot be done frequently enough to reliably isolate cases before they infect others. Our results show that the addition of effective contact tracing can prevent the same number of transmissions as doubling the mass testing frequency.
Snoring and risk of dementia: a prospective cohort and Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Gao Yaqing , Andrews Shea , Brenowitz Willa , Raji Cyrus A , Yaffe Kristine , Leng Yue 
Published: October 2023

AbstractBackgroundThe association between snoring, a very common condition that increases with age, and dementia risk is controversial. Snoring is linked to obstructive sleep apnoea and cardiometabolic conditions, both of which are associated with an increased risk of dementia. However, snoring also increases with body mass index (BMI), which in late life is linked to lower dementia risk, possibly due to metabolic changes during prodromal dementia.MethodsThe prospective cohort study used data from 450,027 UK Biobank participants with snoring measured at baseline (2006 – 2010), and followed up for dementia diagnosis (censored at 2022). Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis used summary statistics for genome-wide association studies of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (n = 94,437; cases = 35,274) and snoring (n = 408,317; snorers = 151,011).ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 13.5 years, 7,937 individuals developed dementia. Snoring was associated with an 8% lower risk of all-cause dementia (hazard ratio [HR] 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.88 to 0.97) and AD (HR 0.92; 95% CI 0.86 to 0.99). The association was stronger in older individuals,APOEε4 allele carriers, and during shorter follow-up periods. MR analyses suggested no causal effect of snoring on AD, however, genetic liability to AD was associated with a lower risk of snoring. Multivariable MR indicated that the effect of AD on snoring was primarily driven by BMI.ConclusionsThe phenotypic association between snoring and lower dementia risk likely stems from reverse causation, with genetic predisposition to AD associated with reduced snoring. This may be driven by weight loss in prodromal AD.
Large-scale characterization of gender differences in diagnosis prevalence and time to diagnosis
Authors: Sun Tony Yue , Hardin Jill , Nieva Harry Reyes , Natarajan Karthik , Cheng Ru-fong , Ryan Patrick , Elhadad Noémie 
Published: October 2023

AbstractWe carry out an analysis of gender differences in patterns of disease diagnosis across four large observational health datasets and find that women are routinely older when first assigned most diagnoses. Among 112 acute and chronic diseases, women experience longer lengths of time between symptom onset and disease diagnosis than men for most diseases regardless of metric used, even when only symptoms common to both genders are considered. These findings are consistent for patients with private as well as government insurance. Our analysis highlights systematic gender differences in patterns of disease diagnosis and suggests that symptoms of disease are measured or weighed differently for women and men. Data and code leverage the open-source common data model and analytic code and results are publicly available.One-Sentence SummaryIn large populations, across insurance coverage and many conditions, women are older than men when diagnosed and experience longer time to diagnosis.
CLN3transcript complexity revealed by long-read RNA sequencing analysis
Authors: Zhang Hao-Yu , Minnis Christopher , Gustavsson Emil , Ryten Mina , Mole Sara E 
Published: October 2023

AbstractBackgroundBatten disease is a group of rare inherited neurodegenerative diseases. Juvenile CLN3 disease is the most prevalent type, and the most common mutation shared by most patients is the “1-kb” deletion which removes two internal coding exons (7 and 8) inCLN3. Previously, we identified two transcripts in patient fibroblasts homozygous for the “1-kb” deletion: the “major” and “minor” transcripts. To understand the full variety of disease transcripts and their role in disease pathogenesis, it is necessary to first investigateCLN3transcription in “healthy” samples without juvenile CLN3 disease.MethodsWe leveraged PacBio long-read RNA sequencing datasets from ENCODE to investigate the full range ofCLN3transcripts across various tissues and cell types in human control samples. Then we sought to validate their existence using data from different sources.ResultsWe found that a readthrough gene affects the quantification and annotation ofCLN3.After taking this into account, we detected over 100 novelCLN3transcripts, with no dominantly expressedCLN3transcript. The most abundant transcript has median usage of 42.9%. Surprisingly, the known disease-associated “major” transcripts are detected. Together, they have median usage of 1.51% across 22 samples. Furthermore, we identified 48CLN3ORFs, of which 26 are novel. The predominant ORF that encodes the canonical CLN3 protein isoform has median usage of 66.7%, meaning around one-third ofCLN3transcripts encode protein isoforms with different stretches of amino acids. The same ORFs could be found with alternative UTRs. Moreover, we were able to validate the translational potential of certain transcripts using public mass spectrometry data.ConclusionOverall, these findings provide valuable insights into the complexity ofCLN3transcription, highlighting the importance of studying both canonical and non-canonicalCLN3protein isoforms as well as the regulatory role of UTRs to fully comprehend the regulation and function(s) ofCLN3. This knowledge is essential for investigating the impact of the "1-kb" deletion and rare mutations onCLN3transcription and disease pathogenesis.
Anti-adipogenic properties of clock activator chlorhexidine and a new derivative
Authors: Xiong Xuekai , Kiperman Tali , Li Weini , Fang Zhipeng , Agua Alon , Huang Wendong , Horne David , Ma Ke 
Published: October 2023

AbstractBackgroundThe circadian clock exerts temporal control of metabolic pathways to maintain homeostasis, and its disruption leads to the development of obesity and insulin resistance. In adipose tissue, key regulators of clock machinery orchestrate adipogenic processes via the Wnt signaling pathway to impact mature adipocyte development.MethodsBased on the recent finding of chlorhexidine as a new clock activator, we determined its potential anti-adipogenic activities in distinct adipogenic progenitor models. Furthermore, we report the structural optimization of chlorhexidine leading to the discovery of analogs with improved efficacy in inhibiting adipogenesis.ResultsIn adipogenic progenitors withPer2::dLucluciferase reporter, Chlorhexidine shortened clock period length with induction of core clock components. Consistent with its clock-activating function, Chlorhexidine robustly suppressed the lineage commitment and maturation of adipogenic mesenchymal precursors, with comparable effect on inhibiting preadipocyte terminal differentiation. Mechanistically, we show that Chlorhexidine induces signaling components of the Wnt pathway resulting in activation of Wnt activity. Via modification of its chemical scaffold, we generated analogs of chlorhexidine that led to the identification of CM002 as a new clock- activating molecule with improved anti-adipogenic activity.ConclusionsCollectively, our findings uncovered the anti-adipogenic functions of a new class of small molecule clock activators. These compounds provide novel chemical probes to dissect clock function in maintaining metabolic homeostasis and may have therapeutic implications in obesity and associated metabolic disorders.
Differential reliance of CTD-nuclear envelope phosphatase 1 on its regulatory subunit in ER lipid synthesis and storage
Authors: Carrasquillo Rodríguez Jake W. , Uche Onyedikachi , Gao Shujuan , Lee Shoken , Airola Michael V. , Bahmanyar Shirin 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThe endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the site for the synthesis of the major membrane and storage lipids. Lipin 1 produces diacylglycerol, the lipid intermediate critical for the synthesis of both membrane and storage lipids in the ER. CTD-Nuclear Envelope Phosphatase 1 (CTDNEP1) regulates lipin 1 to restrict ER membrane synthesis, but its role in lipid storage in mammalian cells is unknown. Here, we show that the ubiquitin-proteasome degradation pathway controls the levels of ER/nuclear envelope-associated CTDNEP1 to regulate ER membrane synthesis through lipin 1. The N-terminus of CTDNEP1 is an amphipathic helix that targets to the ER, nuclear envelope and lipid droplets. We identify key residues at the binding interface of CTDNEP1 with its regulatory subunit NEP1R1 and show that they facilitate complex formationin vivoandin vitro. We demonstrate a role for NEP1R1 in temporarily shielding CTDNEP1 from proteasomal degradation to regulate lipin 1 and restrict ER size. Unexpectedly, we found that NEP1R1 is not required for CTDNEP1’s role in restricting lipid droplet biogenesis. Thus, the reliance of CTDNEP1 function on its regulatory subunit differs during ER membrane synthesis and lipid storage. Together, our work provides a framework into understanding how the ER regulates lipid synthesis and storage under fluctuating conditions.
An efficient design for whole genome trio sequencing identifies key variants in rare neurological disorder cases
Authors: Ramsey K. , Kruglyak S. , Naymik M. , Lajoie B. R. , Wiseman K. N. , Sanchez-Castillo M. , Billings S. , Jepsen W. , Huentelman M. , Narayanan V. 
Published: October 2023

AbstractWe sequenced nine trios in which the probands in an underserved population were affected by a rare and undiagnosed disorder with neurological features. Sequencing was performed with one trio per flowcell on a benchtop sequencing instrument, leveraging the design of sequencing the proband at twice the coverage of the parents. The reduced coverage in the parents led to sequencing efficiencies while retaining the benefits of trio sequencing: the ability to discover de novo variants and the ability to trace inheritance patterns of rare variants. Once the sequencing data was generated, our two teams used independent informatics pipelines for variant calling and interpretation. In five of the nine cases, both teams found a single SNV or small indel that was deemed causal pending clinical validation. In three of the nine cases, neither team had a significant finding. In the final case, an additional scan for large CNVs performed by one of the teams identified a de novo deletion and duplication in the proband which is the likely cause of the underlying disease. The results across cases with significant findings showed a variety of affected genes (CFAP52, DYNC1H1, FANCE, TCF4, and TOP3A), variant types, and inheritance patterns. All findings were clinically validated, after which the families were counseled about disease management, current research studies (i.e. gene therapy), and family planning. With six of nine families receiving findings, the study demonstrated an efficient and effective trio sequencing design strategy.
Association of maternal air pollution exposure and infant lung function is modified by genetic propensity to oxidative stress
Authors: Vilcins Dwan , Lee Wen Ray , Pham Cindy , Tanner Sam , Knibbs Luke D. , Burgner Dave , Blake Tamara L , Mansell Toby , Ponsonby Anne-Louise , Sly Peter D ,   Barwon Infant Study Investigator group
Published: October 2023

AbstractIntroductionThe association between air pollution and poor respiratory health outcomes is well established, however less is known about the biological mechanisms, especially in early life. Children are particularly at risk from air pollution, especially during the prenatal period as their organs and systems are still undergoing crucial development. Therefore, our study aims to investigate if maternal exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is associated with oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation in pregnancy or infant lung function at 4 weeks of age, and the extent to which the association is modified by an infant’s genetic risk of OS.MethodsThe Barwon Infant Study (BIS) is a longitudinal study of Australian children from the region of Geelong, Victoria. A total of 314 infants had available lung function and maternal OS markers. Exposure to annual air pollutants (NO2and PM2.5) were estimated using validated, satellite-based, land-use regression models. Infant lung function was measured by multiple-breath washout, and the ratio of peak tidal expiratory flow over expiratory time was calculated at 4 weeks of age. An inflammation biomarker, glycoprotein acetyls (GlycA), was measured in maternal (36 weeks) and cord blood, and oxidative stress (OS) biomarkers, 8-hydroxyguanine (8-OHGua) and 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were measured in maternal urine at 28 weeks. A genetic pathway score for OS (gPFSox) was calculated for each infant participant in the BIS cohort, and high risk defined as score >8. Linear regression was used to explore the association of maternal air pollution exposure with infant lung function, and potential modification by OS genotype was tested through use of interaction terms and other methods.ResultsThere was no evidence of a relationship between maternal exposure to air pollution and infant lung function in the whole population. We did not find an association between air pollution and GlycA or OS during pregnancy. We found evidence of an association between NO2and lower in functional residual capacity (FRC) for children with a high genetic risk of OS (β=-5.3 mls, 95% CI (−9.3, -1.3), p=0.01). We also found that when NO2was considered in tertiles, the highest tertile of NO2was associated with increase in lung clearance index (LCI) (β=0.46 turnovers, (95% CI 0.10, 0.82), p=0.01) in children with a genetic propensity to OS.ConclusionOur study found that high prenatal levels of exposure to ambient NO2levels is associated with lower FRC and higher LCI in infants with a genetic propensity to oxidative stress. There was no relationship between maternal exposure to air pollution with maternal and cord blood inflammation or OS biomarkers.
“Who am I? What am I doing?” The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work identities
Authors: Pillai Mani 
Published: October 2023

PurposeAs every day work is central to people's lives and events serve as significant contextual factors, examining what impact the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic restrictions had on knowledge workers warrants further investigation. The author's research question investigated how employees in the London Insurance Market had made sense of their work identities during a period of mandated remote work and isolation from co-workers, leaders and others, amidst a turbulent environment. To address this enquiry, this research drew on Goffman's institutional, dramaturgical and stigma theories.Design/methodology/approachData used in this research are from an ongoing PhD study of how individuals conceive, construct and conduct their careers in this field. As individuals and their social worlds are interwoven, a qualitative methodological approach was employed in this research.FindingsParticipants were thrusted into a position where they had no prior knowledge what identity they should adopt in a situation which had totalising characteristics. The loss of clear boundaries between work and home setting caused a deterioration of participants' work identities whilst physical separation from their institutions and co-workers posed a risk of disconnecting their past work identities from the present. Moreover, participants' experiences of deterioration and disconnection were intertwined with their demographic and occupational identities.Originality/valueThis study aligns with existing research on identity work, emphasising the crucial role of social interaction in the formation of work identities. However, it also highlights that the establishment and sustenance of work identities is also reliant on individuals having separate frontstage and backstage settings to understand and interpret their conduct and those of their significant others.
Does environmental reporting of banks affect their financial performance? Evidence from India
Authors: Pawar Deepthi S. , Munuswamy Jothi 
Published: October 2023

PurposeThe present study aims to investigate the effect of environmental reporting on the financial performance of banks in India.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on the secondary data. The sample includes the banks listed in the NSE Nifty Bank Index from 2016–2017 to 2020–2021. The environmental reporting data was obtained through the content analysis technique. The financial data was collected from the CMIE Prowess database. Panel regression analysis was used to analyse the data.FindingsThe findings indicate a negative significant influence of environmental reporting on the ROA and ROE of banks. On the other hand, environmental reporting does not significantly influence the EPS of banking institutions.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to contribute to the scarce literature on the influence of environmental reporting on financial performance, pertinently in the context of a developing nation's banking sector.
Examining compulsive use of social media: the dual effects of individual needs and peer influence
Authors: Wang Wei , Chen Renee Rui , Yang Xuhui 
Published: October 2023

PurposeWith the rising concerns of compulsive use of social media, it is important to understand why users develop such unplanned and irrational behaviors. Leveraging the uses and gratification theory, the authors aim to explore the determinants of compulsive use of social media from the dual perspectives of individual needs (need to belong (NTB) and need for uniqueness) and peer-related factors (referent network size and perceived peer activeness). Due to the importance of self-construal in cognitive deliberation on peer influences, the moderating effects of self-construal were taken into consideration.Design/methodology/approachThe authors empirically test their model by conducting an online survey with 459 WeChat users.FindingsThe results show that compulsive use of social media is predicated by both individual needs and influence from peers. Moreover, peer influence could be attenuated when individuals develop a high degree of independent self-construal.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors' study contributes to the research of compulsive behavior in the context of social media use by incorporating the dual effects of individual needs and social influence. The authors also offer managerial insights on eradicating the formation of compulsive behaviors.Originality/valueThe authors examine the dual effects of individual needs and peer influence in predicting compulsive use of social media and the moderating role of self-construal, which have been rarely investigated in this context.
Analyzing investor types and marketing strategies for sukuk: insights from preference similarity theory and protection motivation theory
Authors: Yilmaz Ekrem 
Published: October 2023

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the applicability of Preference Similarity Theory (PST) and Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) in identifying the target audience and developing effective marketing strategies, particularly in non-Muslim countries, to increase the market growth and reach of sukuk to broader investor groups and provide recommendations for such strategies.

Design/methodology/approach
After separately examining the effects of PST and PMT on marketing sukuk, recommendations are presented from a shared perspective of these two theories.

Findings
The findings of this study suggest that understanding the values, beliefs and perceptions of potential investors is crucial for effectively marketing sukuk investments, especially in non-Muslim countries. The PST and PMT provide useful frameworks for tailoring sukuk offerings and communicating effectively about the risks and benefits of sukuk investments to attract investors who identify with the values and beliefs embodied in sukuk.

Originality/value
To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first paper to examine the marketing of sukuk in non-Muslim countries. This study is also the first paper to discuss sukuk in the context of PST and PMT. In addition, this study is expected to guide banks in the marketing of sukuk.
Investigating trust and perceived value in cryptocurrencies: do optimism, FinTech literacy and perceived financial and security risks matter?
Authors: Shuhaiber Ahmed , Al-Omoush Khaled Saleh , Alsmadi Ayman Abdalmajeed 
Published: October 2023

PurposeThis study aims to empirically examine the impact of perceived risks, optimism and financial literacy on trust and the perceived value of cryptocurrencies. It will also examine the impact of trust on the perceived value of cryptocurrencies.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative approach is followed. A questionnaire was designed to collect data from 308 respondents in Jordan. The Structural Equation Modeling – Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) method was used to evaluate the research model and test hypotheses.FindingsThe results of PLS algorithm analysis showed that perceived risks negatively impact the optimism and trust in cryptocurrencies. This study revealed that while financial literacy minimizes the perceived risks, it serves to enhance optimism and improve the perception of the value of cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, the findings of this study show that optimism plays a significant role in trust and perceived value.Originality/valueThis study provides new insights into the literature on cryptocurrencies adoption, blockchain theory, the theory of trust in financial systems, the role of the optimism factor and the perception of the value of cryptocurrencies. It also provides important practical implications for different stakeholders.