bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A normative model of brain responses to social scenarios reflects the maturity of children and adolescents’ social–emotional abilities
Authors: Xie Shuqi , Liu Jingjing , Hu Yang , Liu Wenjing , Ma Changminghao , Jin Shuyu , Zhang Lei , Kang Yinzhi , Ding Yue , Zhang Xiaochen , Hu Zhishan , Cheng Wenhong , Yang Zhi 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
The rapid brain maturation in childhood and adolescence accompanies the development of socio-emotional functioning. However, it is unclear how the maturation of the neural activity drives the development of socio-emotional functioning and individual differences. This study aimed to reflect the age dependence of inter-individual differences in brain responses to socio-emotional scenarios and to develop naturalistic imaging indicators to assess the maturity of socio-emotional ability at the individual level. Using three independent naturalistic imaging datasets containing healthy participants (n = 111, 21 and 122), we found and validated that age-modulated inter-individual concordance of brain responses to socio-emotional movies in specific brain regions. The similarity of an individual’s brain response to the average response of older participants was defined as response typicality, which predicted an individual’s emotion regulation strategies in adolescence and theory of mind (ToM) in childhood. Its predictive power was not superseded by age, sex, cognitive performance or executive function. We further showed that the movie’s valence and arousal ratings grounded the response typicality. The findings highlight that forming typical brain response patterns may be a neural phenotype underlying the maturation of socio-emotional ability. The proposed response typicality represents a neuroimaging approach to measure individuals’ maturity of cognitive reappraisal and ToM.
Probing neurodynamics of experienced emotions—a Hitchhiker’s guide to film fMRI
Authors: Morgenroth Elenor , Vilaclara Laura , Muszynski Michal , Gaviria Julian , Vuilleumier Patrik , Van De Ville Dimitri 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Film functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has gained tremendous popularity in many areas of neuroscience. However, affective neuroscience remains somewhat behind in embracing this approach, even though films lend themselves to study how brain function gives rise to complex, dynamic and multivariate emotions. Here, we discuss the unique capabilities of film fMRI for emotion research, while providing a general guide of conducting such research. We first give a brief overview of emotion theories as these inform important design choices. Next, we discuss films as experimental paradigms for emotion elicitation and address the process of annotating them. We then situate film fMRI in the context of other fMRI approaches, and present an overview of results from extant studies so far with regard to advantages of film fMRI. We also give an overview of state-of-the-art analysis techniques including methods that probe neurodynamics. Finally, we convey limitations of using film fMRI to study emotion. In sum, this review offers a practitioners’ guide to the emerging field of film fMRI and underscores how it can advance affective neuroscience.
Selective Inhibition of mTORC1 Signaling Supports the Development and Maintenance of Pluripotency
Authors: Kim Jin Koo , Villa-Diaz Luis G , Saunders Thomas L , Saul Ruiz P , Timilsina Suraj , Liu Fei , Mishina Yuji , Krebsbach Paul H 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Insight into the molecular mechanisms governing the development and maintenance of pluripotency is important for understanding early development and the use of stem cells in regenerative medicine. We demonstrate the selective inhibition of mTORC1 signaling is important for developing the inner cell mass (ICM) and the self-renewal of human embryonic stem cells. S6K suppressed the expression and function of pluripotency-related transcription factors (PTFs) OCT4, SOX2, and KLF4 through phosphorylation and ubiquitin proteasome-mediated protein degradation, indicating that S6K inhibition is required for pluripotency. PTFs inhibited mTOR signaling. The phosphorylation of S6 was decreased in PTF-positive cells of the ICM in embryos. Activation of mTORC1 signaling blocked ICM formation and the selective inhibition of S6K by rapamycin increased the ICM size in mouse blastocysts. Thus, selective inhibition of mTORC1 signaling supports the development and maintenance of pluripotency.
Distinct molecular mechanisms contribute to the reduction of melanoma growth and tumor pain after systemic and local depletion of alpha‐Synuclein in mice
Authors: Niederberger Ellen , Möller Moritz , Mungo Eleonora , Hass Michelle , Wilken‐Schmitz Annett , Manderscheid Christine , Möser Christine V. , Geisslinger Gerd 
Published: November 2023

AbstractEpidemiological studies show a coincidence between Parkinson's disease (PD) and malignant melanoma. It has been suggested that this relationship is due, at least in part, to modulation of alpha‐Synuclein (αSyn/Snca). αSyn oligomers accumulate in PD, which triggers typical PD symptoms, and in malignant melanoma, which increases the proliferation of tumor cells. In addition, αSyn contributes to non‐motor symptoms of PD, including pain. In this study, we investigated the role of αSyn in melanoma growth and melanoma‐induced pain in a mouse model using systemic and local depletion of αSyn. B16BL6 wild‐type as well as αSyn knock‐down melanoma cells were inoculated into the paws of αSyn knock‐out mice and wild‐type mice, respectively. Tumor growth and tumor‐induced pain hypersensitivity were assessed over a period of 21 days. Molecular mechanisms were analyzed by RT‐PCR and Western Blot in tumors, spinal cord, and sciatic nerve. Our results indicate that both global and local ablation of Snca contribute to reduced tumor growth and to a reduction of tumor‐induced mechanical allodynia, though mechanisms contributing to these effects differ. While injection of wild‐type cells in Snca knock‐out mice strongly increased the immune response in the tumor, local Snca knock‐down decreased autophagy mechanisms and the inflammatory reaction in the tumor. In conclusion, a knockdown of αSyn might constitute a promising approach to inhibiting the progression of melanoma and reducing tumor‐induced pain.
Length of Stay Does Not Predict Change in Epilepsy Monitoring Unit Comfort Questionnaire Scores
Authors: Solis Jacqueline , Marshall Jade , Nairon Emerson , Joseph Sonia , Adegbola Maxine , Olson DaiWai M. 
Published: November 2023

ABSTRACTBACKGROUND:The epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) is a clinical setting designed to help diagnose and analyze the nature behind a patient's seizures in a hospitalized unit. Patients admitted to an EMU may experience sleep deprivation, withdrawal of antiepileptic medications, and the use of a continuous electroencephalogram. The purpose of this study was to explore change in patient comfort during an EMU admission.METHODS: The Epilepsy Monitoring Unit Comfort Questionnaire (EMUCQ) was used to evaluate the initial stress level of EMU patients on their date of admission versus their fourth day on the unit.RESULTS:The average EMUCQ score from the admission date was 196.6 (26.28), whereas the mean EMUCQ score on the fourth day was 197.8 (24.79). ThePvalue of .802 andtvalue of 0.25 indicated that the scores were not statistically significantly different.CONCLUSION:Although some scores indicated there was a large change between baseline and follow-up, these scores could not be readily attributed to the patient's length of stay in the unit. Future studies should examine the role of specific variables hypothesized to impact comfort in the EMU.
The Association Between Dehydration and the Prognosis of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Authors: Abe Yasunori , Okada Masahiro , Tanaka Keiko , Toyama Kensuke , Miyamoto Yoshito , Hato Naohito 
Published: November 2023

Background:
There is an urgent need to identify undetermined risk factors for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) for the development of effective treatment strategies. SSNHL is likely associated with vascular insufficiency; however, no study has evaluated the relationship between dehydration and SSNHL.

Objective:
This study aimed to investigate the role of dehydration in the development and prognosis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Study Design:
Retrospective case-control study.

Setting:
Secondary referral hospital.

Patients and Interventions:
This was a comparative study that compared dehydration parameters between healthy subjects without SSNHL (n = 94) and patients with SSNHL (n = 94). The study also evaluated the effect of dehydrated conditions on the prognosis of SSNHL.

Main Outcome Measures:
We compared dehydration parameters, such as the blood urea nitrogen-to-creatinine ratio (BUN/Cre) and plasma osmolality (Posm), between matched healthy subjects without SSNHL and patients with SSNHL. To evaluate the effect of dehydrated conditions on the SSNHL prognosis, the SSNHL patients were divided into 2 groups based on the cutoff value obtained from the receiver operating characteristic analysis: hydrated (n = 50; BUN/Cre <21.4) and dehydrated (n = 44; BUN/Cre ≥21.4) groups. Subsequently, the severity and prognosis of SSNHL were analyzed.

Results:
The dehydration parameters, BUN/Cre and Posm, were significantly higher in patients with SSNHL than in healthy subjects. The initial hearing levels and SSNHL grades were worse in the dehydrated group than in the hydrated group. Moreover, a dehydrated condition (BUN/Cre ≥21.4) was associated with a poor SSNHL prognosis in all models of the multiple logistic regression analysis.

Conclusions:
The dehydration parameters of BUN/Cre and Posm were higher in patients with SSNHL than in healthy subjects. Additionally, a dehydrated condition (BUN/Cre ≥21.4) was an independent prognostic factor for SSNHL. Level of evidence: Level 4.
Use of a Digital Conversational Agent for the Management of Overactive Bladder
Authors: Sheyn David , Chakraborty Natalie , Chen Yufan Brandon , Mahajan Sangeeta T. , Hijaz Adonis 
Published: November 2023

Importance
Conservative therapy is effective for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) but may be limited by accessibility to care.

Objective
The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a digital conversational agent (CeCe) for the treatment of OAB.

Study Design
This was a prospective observational trial utilizing a digital conversational agent developed by Renalis University Hospitals (Cleveland, Ohio) for the treatment of OAB. Patients were given access to CeCe over an 8-week period and were instructed on how to perform bladder training and pelvic floor exercises and taught about bladder health. The primary outcome was a decrease in the International Consultation on Incontinence—Overactive Bladder Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (ICIQ-OAB-QoL) score from week 1 to week 8. Patients also completed the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire at the same intervals and voiding diaries at weeks 1, 4, and 8. A power analysis was performed and determined that a total of 30 patients would be needed to demonstrate a significant difference in symptom scores after use of CeCe with 80% power and an α error of 5%.

Results
Twenty-nine patients completed all data collection. The ICIQ-OAB-QoL scores were significantly different between weeks 1 and 8 (62 [IQR], 49–75) vs 32 [IQR, 24–43]; P < 0.001). Patients also reported a decrease in frequency pretreatment and posttreatment (7 [IQR, 6–10] vs 5 [IQR, 4–7]; P = −0.04), nocturia (2 [IQR, 1–3] vs 1 [IQR, 1–2]; P = 0.03), and urge urinary incontinence (2 [IQR, 1–5] vs 0 [IQR, 0–3]; P = 0.04). Consumption of alcohol decreased from week 1 to week 8 (24 oz [IQR, 12–36 oz) to 14 oz (IQR, 9–22 oz]; P = 0.02).

Conclusion
The use of a digital conversational agent effectively reduced the severity of symptoms and improved quality of life in patients with OAB.
Percolation Theory Used to Design Biomolecular Condensates
Authors: Fan Weiwei 
Published: November 2023

ABSTRACTBiomolecular condensates formed by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) are crucial for various life activities. Critical phenomena are observed during LLPS in cells andin vitro, but few studies provide quantitative theoretical explanations for them. In this study, we set up a Bethe network model to simulate percolation, which explains LLPS quantitatively and semi-quantitatively. We designed a condensate system to determine the peptide’s affinity to its target protein. Finally, we found that the artificial condensate can modify the catalytic reaction’s efficiency. Thus, we provide a new perspective on understanding biomolecular condensate assembly and lay the foundation for artificially designing biomolecular condensates.
Mapping business process outsourcing and innovation towards a future research
Authors: Hailu Tesfaye , Chebo Abdella Kosa 
Published: November 2023

PurposeTo examine the development of research into the relationship between business process outsourcing (BPO) and innovation, a bibliometric methodology utilizing quantitative analytical methodologies was used. With the aid of a visualization analysis of scientific publications, this study also assessed the state of BPO and innovation practices.Design/methodology/approachUsing the Web of Science database, articles on BPO and innovation that published between 1992 and 2022 were retrieved. Records that had been extracted were examined in terms of publication year, nation, journal, subject area, authors and affiliations with organizations. The research on acupuncture for pain relief was visualized using the VOSviewer application.FindingsAn analysis of 219 original and review papers found that during the past 30 years, the overall number of publications has fluctuated constantly. The London University, the Copenhagen Business School and the London School of Economics were the institutions that produced the most articles in this topic. The three main categories of research that emerged from a network analysis based on the co-occurrence of keywords are innovation, outsourcing and performance.Practical implicationsA BP-innovation model must be created, and BPO must go beyond operational duties to incorporate management-wide shared strategic decisions in order to ensure improved performance of the firms. BPO enables a company's management to share knowledge and expertise about the strategic difficulties of outsourcing. A variety of technological and non-technological resources must also be considered when integrating an information technology (IT) infrastructure into BPO decisions in order to achieve greater performance.Originality/valueValidity of the paper can be justified by it contribution to the existing knowledge. First, linking BPO and innovation – by integrating the arguments of various academics, the study unifies the disparate components and contentious discussions in the relationship between BPO and innovation. Second, this study highlights a research trend, significant studies, relevant terms and concepts in the real world. Third, the study provides future researchers with a tip for statistically analyzing BPO, particularly in light of innovation.
Reading with love: the potential of critical posthuman reading practices in preservice English education
Authors: Spector Karen , Murray Elizabeth Anne 
Published: November 2023

PurposePreservice English teachers are expected to use literary theories and criticism to read and respond to literary texts. Over the past century, two of the most common approaches to literary encounters in secondary schools have been New Criticism – particularly the practice of close reading – and Rosenblatt's transactional theory, both of which have been expanded through critical theorizing along the way. Elucidated by data produced in iterative experiments with Frost's “The Road Not Taken,” the authors reconceptualize the reader, the text, and close reading through the critical posthuman theory of reading with love as a generative way of thinking outside of the habitual practices of European humanisms.Design/methodology/approachIn “thinking with” (Jackson and Mazzei, 2023) desiring-machines, affect, Man and critical posthuman theory, this post qualitative inquiry maps how the “The Road Not Taken” worked when students plugged into it iteratively in processes of reading with love, an affirmative and creative series of experiments with literature.FindingsThis study mapped how respect for authority, the battle of good v evil, individualism and meritocracy operated as desiring-machines that channeled most participants’ initial readings of “The Road Not Taken.” In subsequent experiments with the poem, the authors demonstrate that reading with love as a critical posthuman process of reading invites participants to exceed the logics of recognition and representation, add or invent additional ways of being and relating to the world and thereby produce the possibility to transform a world toward greater inclusivity and equity.Originality/valueThe authors reconceptualize the categories of “the reader” and “the text” from Rosenblatt’s transactional theory within practices of reading with love, which they situate within a critical posthuman theory. They eschew separating efferent and aesthetic reading stances while also recuperating practices of “close reading,” historically associated with the New Critics, by demonstrating the generativity of critically valenced “close reading” within a Deleuzian process of reading with love.
The relationship between women and racial minority employees/managers and financial performance
Authors: Smith Katherine Taken , De Leon John A. 
Published: November 2023

Purpose
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have become prioritized goals of business, such as hiring more women and racial minorities. This study adds to the body of research regarding the value of diversity in organizations by examining the relationship between diversity at the workforce level and the financial performance of the organization. The empirical results of prior research have provided mixed results, finding mainly positive, but also negative, and nonsignificant relationships (Sharma et al., 2020; Vlas et al., 2022). The purpose of this study is to examine the current employment status of women and racial minorities in top US companies, then analyze if a correlation exists between a company’s profit margin and its percentage of women and racial minority employees and managers.

Design/methodology/approach
This study examined the top 200 companies in the Fortune 500 companies; these are the largest companies by revenue in the USA. Companies were ranked according to each variable (% of women employees, % of racial minority employees, % of women managers and % of racial minority managers) and then divided into equal quartiles. The mean profit margin for the top quartile was compared with the mean profit margin for the bottom quartile. T-tests were used to determine whether significant differences in profit margin exist between companies. This methodology of comparing top and bottom quartiles was developed in prior studies.

Findings
Fortune 200 companies have an average of 40% women and also 40% racial minorities in their workforce. Both women and racial minorities account for a smaller percentage of managers. Women account for 34% of managers, while racial minorities account for 29%. There is a significant positive relationship between profit margin and two of the variables. Companies with 45% or more women managers have a significantly higher profit margin than companies with the lowest percentages of women managers. Companies with 48% or more racial minority employees have a significantly higher profit margin than companies with the lowest percentages of racial minority employees. These findings are in-line with the existing body of research that has found mixed impacts of diversity on firm performance (cf. Hoobler et al., 2018; Leung et al., 2022) and draws attention to the need to consider the impact of gender and racial diversity on firms at various management levels within the firm to better understand the impact that increasing diversity has on firm performance (cf. Curado et al., 2022).

Originality/value
This paper adds to the body of knowledge by assessing the current status of women and racial minorities in top US companies and, then, analyzing if a correlation exists between a company’s profit margin and the number of women and racial minority employees and managers. Findings provide companies with further incentive to maintain DEI as a prioritized goal.
Graduate employability skills of business students: the moderating role of reflective practices
Authors: Asiedu Esther , Malcalm Ebenezer , Boakye Afia Nyarko , Amoah Cornelius Kwarkoh Kwarkoh 
Published: November 2023

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of the reflective practice of business students on how it helps to develop their employability skills through various university strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a simple random sample to select undergraduate level 400 students from the Universities under study (the University of Ghana, University of Professional Studies Ghana, Lancaster University Ghana and Webster University Ghana). Only final-year students with an informed judgement on the reflective practice and various institutional practices to acquire graduate employability skills were participated. The independent variables of the study are institutional strategies (curriculum design, extra curriculum, work-integrated learning, career development centre, university collaboration with the industry, student engagement, internship job placement), the moderator is the reflective practice and the dependent variable of the study is graduate employability.FindingsThe study found that the moderation role of reflective practice had a significant effect on institutional strategies (extracurriculum, career development centre, university collaboration with the industry, student engagement and internship job placement) and graduate employability.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was limited to only undergraduate business students from four universities ignoring other disciplines and postgraduate students.Practical implicationsThe practical implication is that reflective practice must be an integral tool for various universities if they want students to use their strategies to sharpen their employability skills.Social implicationsThe social implications of the study emphasise the reflective practice of graduate students in universities. This implies that firms and other institutions must consider reflective practice for the maximum output of their employees.Originality/valueThe concept of employability is a bit complex as it concerns many stakeholders of the educational process; the students, academic staff, employers, policymakers and higher education; the private sector; and the government. Although examining students' employability development skills is of great importance, students' reflective practice tends to be overlooked in most studies. Therefore, the focus of this study examines how the reflective practice of graduate students promotes employability through the various university strategies, which had not been considered.