bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Does innovation drive mergers and acquisitions in the financial sector?
Authors: Dang Tram H. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractDoes innovation drive mergers and acquisitions in the financial sector? This issue is challenging because classical measures of innovation are unavailable in the financial sector. Thus, we introduce an innovation measure that can be used for financial firms. Considering US financial deals, we highlight the impact of a financial firm's innovative activities on the likelihood of becoming an acquirer or a target. We detect a ‘like buys like’ effect, implying that financial mergers and acquisitions are more likely when firms are at a similar level of innovation. We further show that this effect is associated with greater synergistic value.
Enhanced transformer model for video caption generation
Authors: Varma Soumya , Peter J. Dinesh 
Published: July 2023

AbstractAutomatic Video captioning system is a method of describing the content in a video by analysing its visual aspects with regard to space and time and producing a meaningful caption that explains the video. A decade of research in this area has resulted in a steep growth in the quality and appropriateness of the generated caption compared with the expected result. The research has been driven from the very basic method to most advanced transformer method. Machine generated caption of a video must be adhering to many expected standards. For humans, this task may be a trivial one, however its not the same for a machine to analyse the content and generate a semantically coherent description for it. The caption which is generated in a natural language must also adhere to its lexical and syntactical structure. The video captioning process is a culmination of computer vision and natural language processing tasks. Commencing with template based conventional approach, it has surpassed statistical method, traditional deep learning approaches and is now in the trend of using transformers. This work made an extensive study of the literature and has proposed an improved transformer‐based architecture for video captioning process. The transformer architecture made use of an encoder and decoder model that has two and three sublayers respectively. Multi‐head self attention and cross attention are part of the model which bring about very beneficial results. The decoder is auto‐regressive and uses a masked layer to prevent the model from foreseeing future words in the caption. An enhanced encoder‐decoder Transformer model with CNN for feature extraction has been used in our work. This model captures the long‐range dependencies and temporal relationships more effectively. The model has been evaluated with benchmark datasets and compared with state‐of‐the‐art methods and found to be slightly better in the performance. The performance scores are slightly varying for BLEU, METEOR, ROUGE and CIDEr. Furthermore, we propose the idea of curriculum learning if incorporated can improve the results again.
Precipitation of cerianite crystals and its effect on the rheology of a simplified nuclear glass melt
Authors: Jiusti Jeanini , Regnier Elise , Machado Norma Maria , Ghazzai Mohamed Leith , Malivert Vincent , Neyret Muriel , Faure François 
Published: July 2023

AbstractIn France, high‐activity level wastes resulting from nuclear fission are conditioned in a homogeneous sodium‐aluminoborosilicate glass by high‐temperature vitrification. The tolerance of even a small fraction of crystals could enable an increase in the waste loadings, in addition to promoting process flexibility. If the waste loading were to be increased in French nuclear glass, cerianite (CeO2) crystals could precipitate. In this study, we investigated the cerianite crystallization in a simplified nuclear glass melt at different temperatures, Ce2O3 wt%, and shear conditions. Furthermore, the evolution of the viscosity along with cerianite precipitation was followed. It was found that Ce2O3 is highly soluble in the glass melt, as even for a Ce2O3 wt% as high as 10% wt, the cerianite fraction in dynamic conditions at 1100°C after 8 h of crystallization was less than 1% vol. In addition, shear strongly accelerates cerianite crystallization and a high Ce2O3 content can engender the precipitation of highly branched dendrites. The evolution of the cerianite fraction did not significantly affect the viscosity of the glass melt. Finally, unlike what has been observed in the well‐known platinum group metal (PGM)‐bearing melts, a glass melt containing .8 vol% of cerianite crystals remains Newtonian.
Potato flour content determination of potato–wheat flour mixture based on hyperspectral imaging
Authors: Yue Minghui , Zhang Shanshan , Zhang Jing , Wang Sihua , Yu Xiaowei , Li Hongjun , Yin Xiang , Ma Chengye 
Published: July 2023

SummaryPotato–wheat flour mixture (PWFM) has important significance for the development of potato staple food products. However, conventional chemical methods are unable to detect the content of potato flour. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology combined with chemometrics was investigated to predict the feasibility of potato flour content in PWFM. In this study, seven pretreatment algorithms were performed to process the raw spectral data. The results showed that the standard normalised variables (SNV) to establish a partial least square regression (PLSR) model had the most predictive accuracy with the determination coefficient of prediction () of 0.9729. The characteristic wavelengths of raw spectral information were extracted using three algorithms to reduce the model complexity. Eventually, the extracted characteristic wavelengths of potato flour content combine with SNV to establish PLSR, principal component regression (PCR) and support vector regression (SVR) models. The results revealed that the optimal model was SNV‐competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS)‐PLSR with the values of of 0.9853. These results showed that HSI determination of potato flour content in PWFM was feasible and provided a non‐destructive method.
A multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial evaluating the effects of a novel autologous heterogeneous skin construct in the treatment of Wagner one diabetic foot ulcers: Final analysis
Authors: Armstrong David G. , Orgill Dennis P. , Galiano Robert , Glat Paul M. , Didomenico Lawrence , Sopko Nikolai A. , Swanson Edward W. , Sigal Felix , Snyder Robert , Li William W. , Carter Marissa , Zelen Charles M. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractA novel autologous heterogeneous skin construct (AHSC) was previously shown to be effective versus standard of care (SOC) treatment in facilitating complete wound healing of Wagner 1 diabetic foot ulcers in an interim analysis of 50 patients previously published. We now report the final analysis of 100 patients (50 per group), which further supports the interim analysis findings. Forty‐five subjects in the AHSC treatment group received only one application of the autologous heterogeneous skin construct, and five received two applications. For the primary endpoint at 12 weeks, there were significantly more diabetic wounds closed in the AHSC treatment group (35/50, 70%) than in the SOC control group (17/50, 34%) (p = 0.00032). A significant difference in percentage area reduction between groups was also demonstrated over 8 weeks (p = 0.009). Forty‐nine subjects experienced 148 adverse events: 66 occurred in 21 subjects (42%) in the AHSC treatment group versus 82 in 28 SOC control group subjects (56.0%). Eight subjects were withdrawn due to serious adverse events. Autologous heterogeneous skin construct was shown to be an effective adjunctive therapy for healing Wagner 1 diabetic foot ulcers.
Left atrial appendage structural characteristics predict thrombus formation
Authors: Castellani Carson , Gao Yan , Kim Hyun , Thompson Colton , Ning John , Lohr Nicole , Welsh Aimee , Berger Marcie 
Published: July 2023

AbstractIntroductionNonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is a highly prevalent arrhythmia where loss of synchronized atrial contraction increases the risk of intracardiac thrombus particularly within the left atrial appendage (LAA). Anticoagulation is the mainstay of stroke prevention based on the CHA2DS2‐VASc score; however, it does not account for LAA structural characteristics.MethodsThe research comprises a retrospective matched case–control study of 196 subjects with NVAF who underwent transesophageal echo (TEE). The control group, without thrombus (n = 117), was selected from two different groups, both pools had: NVAF and CHA2DS2‐VASc score ≥ 3. One group underwent screening TEE before Watchman closure device placement from January 2015 to December 2019 (n = 74) the second underwent TEE before cardioversion from February to October 2014 (n = 43). The study group, with thrombus (n = 79), included patients with NVAF, TEE study performed between February 2014 and December 2020, and LAA thrombus. The propensity score method was utilized to determine the matched controls while accounting for confounding from prognostic variables resulting in 61 matched pairs included in the analysis data set. LAA ostial area (OA) (calculated from orthogonal measurements 0°, 90° or 45°, 135°), LAA maximal depth, and peak LAA outflow velocity were measured.ResultsPatient characteristics and TEE data were collected and compared using the t test or χ2 analysis. We observed a lower LAA peak exit velocity in the thrombus group as compared to the control group. Additionally, we found that patients in the thrombus group had smaller LAA OA at 0° and 90°, at 45° and 135°, using largest diameter, as well as using aggregate OA, and smaller maximum LAA depth compared to patients in the control group. Candidate conditional logistic regression models for the outcome of the presence of thrombus were evaluated. Statistical results from the best‐fitting conditional regression model were calculated showing a significant association between aggregate OA and LAA exit velocity with presence of thrombus.ConclusionUtilizing LAA structural characteristics to predict thrombus formation may help refine current cardioembolic stroke (CES) risk estimation.
The link between routine tasks and job polarization: A task measurement problem?
Authors: Walo Simon 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe routine task intensity of occupations is a concept frequently used to analyse the impact of technological change on employment. However, existing studies disagree on whether it can explain the observed job polarization in advanced economies. This article first shows that these seemingly contradictory results can be explained by the different routine task measurements used in these studies. Subsequently, the validity of these measurements is discussed. Preliminary results suggest that all measurements have conceptual weaknesses but that some appear more valid than others. Job polarization may therefore be explained by occupations' routine task intensity, but only to a limited extent.
The RHW1‐ZCN4 regulatory pathway confers natural variation of husk leaf width in maize
Authors: Xia Aiai , Zheng Leiming , Wang Zi , Wang Qi , Lu Ming , Cui Zhenhai , He Yan 
Published: July 2023

Summary
Maize husk leaf – the outer leafy layers covering the ear – modulates kernel yield and quality. Despite its importance, however, the genetic controls underlying husk leaf development remain elusive.
Our previous genome‐wide association study identified a single nucleotide polymorphism located in the gene RHW1 (Regulator of Husk leaf Width) that is significantly associated with husk leaf‐width diversity in maize. Here, we further demonstrate that a polymorphic 18‐bp InDel (insertion/deletion) variant in the 3′ untranslated region of RHW1 alters its protein abundance and accounts for husk leaf width variation.
RHW1 encodes a putative MYB‐like transcriptional repressor. Disruption of RHW1 altered cell proliferation and resulted in a narrower husk leaf, whereas RHW1 overexpression yielded a wider husk leaf. RHW1 positively regulated the expression of ZCN4, a well‐known TFL1‐like protein involved in maize ear development. Dysfunction of ZCN4 reduced husk leaf width even in the context of RHW1 overexpression. The InDel variant in RHW1 is subject to selection and is associated with maize husk leaf adaption from tropical to temperate regions.
Overall, our results identify that RHW1‐ZCN4 regulates a pathway conferring husk leaf width variation at a very early stage of husk leaf development in maize.
Enhancing aquaculture disease resistance: Antimicrobial peptides and gene editing
Authors: Wang Jinhai , Cheng Yu 
Published: July 2023

AbstractPrevious studies have demonstrated that CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated genome editing and transgenesis by integrating vector‐engineered antimicrobial peptide genes (AMGs) are effective to modulate the fish's innate immune system. To generalise the knowledge of AMG application in aquaculture, we recruited 544 data entries from a pool of empirical studies, which included 23 studies (two unpublished from our team) spanning 12 diseases. We systematically re‐processed and re‐analysed these data by harnessing a cross‐disease meta‐analysis. On aggregate, AMG‐genetic engineering aimed at enhancing disease resistance was shown to decrease the number of colony‐forming units of bacteria from fish tissues, increase post‐infection survival rates, and alter the expression of AMGs and immune‐related genes. Further, AMG pathogen‐combating activity was triggered within 2 h after infection and lasted 48 h. The overexpression of AMGs was highest in the spleen and skin, followed by the kidney and liver during this period. Typically, regardless of the type of AMGs, the synergistic expression of AMGs with IL‐10, IKβ, TGFβ, C3b and TLR genes in AMG‐integrated fish contributed to activating inflammatory/immune responses against pathogens. Our findings revealed that the efficiency of transgenic AMGs against pathogens was fish‐, pathogen‐ and AMG‐specific. Compared to bacteria, transgenic AMGs were less inhibitory to viruses and parasites. In addition, innovative CRISPR/Cas9‐based transgenesis enabling the site‐directed knock‐in of foreign genes at multiple loci was assessed for the enhancement of disease resistance in combination with other favourable fish‐production traits, including fast growth, sterility and enriched fatty‐acid content. Altogether, our findings indicated that AMGs as transgenes have substantial promise to modulate the fish's innate immune system and enhance disease resistance.
COVID‐19 vaccine acceptance among people living with HIV: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Ejamo Janet Yohannes , Legese Gebrehiwot Lema , Tesfaye Yeabsira Aklilu , Liben Fitsum Endale 
Published: July 2023

AbstractObjectiveTo assess coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) vaccine acceptance among people living with HIV (PLHIV) worldwide.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, PSYINFO, CINHAL, Scopus and EMBASE databases and other sources including free Google search and subject‐specific journals from January 2020 to September 2021. The study population included adults (aged 18+ years) living with HIV and evaluated for COVID‐19 vaccine acceptance. A random effect meta‐analysis model was used to estimate the pooled COVID‐19 vaccine acceptance rate. Subgroup analyses were performed, and factors associated with COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy underwent narrative analysis. Of 558 initial records, 14 studies were eligible for review.ResultsThe overall pooled COVID‐19 vaccine acceptance rate among adult PLHIV was 62% (95% confidence interval [CI], 56%–69%). In subgroup analysis, the estimated pooled COVID‐19 vaccine acceptance rate was higher in high‐income countries: 63% (95% CI, 55%–70%) versus 62% (95% CI, 54%–71%) in low‐ and middle‐income countries, and in studies conducted in 2022 (66% [95% CI, 58%–75%]) than in studies conducted in 2021 (57% [95% CI, 47%–68%]). Reasons for lower COVID‐19 vaccine acceptance included higher monthly income, being non‐homosexual, history of chronic disease, COVID‐19‐related medical mistrust, not knowing anyone who died of COVID‐19, believing oneself to be immune to COVID‐19, general vaccine refusal, negative attitude to the vaccine, concerns about efficacy, safety and side effects, distrust in common sources of vaccine‐related information and using social media as a source of information on COVID‐19.ConclusionAmong PLHIV, acceptance of COVID‐19 vaccine is generally low. A greater emphasis on collaborative efforts between all concerned bodies is needed to boost vaccine acceptance in this population.
Virulent
Brucella nosferati
infecting
Desmodus rotundus
has emerging potential due to the broad foraging range of its bat host for humans and wild and domestic animals
Authors: Hernández-Mora Gabriela , Chacón-Díaz Carlos , Moreira-Soto Andres , Barrantes-Granados Osvaldo , Suárez-Esquivel Marcela , Viquez-Ruiz Eunice , Barquero-Calvo Elías , Ruiz-Villalobos Nazareth , Hidalgo-Montealegre Daniela , González-Barrientos Rocío , Demeter Elena A. , Estrella-Morales Josimar , Zúñiga-Pereira Ana-Mariel , Quesada-Gómez Carlos , Chaves-Olarte Esteban , Lomonte Bruno , Guzmán-Verri Caterina , Drexler Jan Felix , Moreno Edgardo 
Published: July 2023

ABSTRACT

Desmodus rotundus,
vampire bats, transmit dangerous infections, and brucellosis is a hazardous zoonotic disease, two adversities that coexist in the subtropical and tropical areas of the American continent. Here, we report a 47.89%
Brucella
infection prevalence in a colony of vampire bats inhabiting the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica. The bacterium induced placentitis and fetal death in bats. Wide-range phenotypic and genotypic characterization placed the
Brucella
organisms as a new pathogenic species named
Brucella nosferati
sp. nov., isolated from bat tissues, including the salivary glands, suggesting feeding behavior might favor transmission to their prey. Overall analyses placed
B. nosferati
as the etiological agent of a reported canine brucellosis case, demonstrating its potential for infecting other hosts. To assess the putative prey hosts, we analyzed the intestinal contents of 14 infected and 23 non-infected bats by proteomics. A total of 54,508 peptides sorted into 7,203 unique peptides corresponding to 1,521 proteins were identified. Twenty-three wildlife and domestic taxa, including humans, were foraged by
B. nosferati
-infected
D. rotundus
, suggesting contact of this bacterium with a broad range of hosts. Our approach is appropriate for detecting, in a single study, the prey preferences of vampire bats in a diverse area, demonstrating its suitability for control strategies where vampire bats thrive.

IMPORTANCE

The discovery that a high proportion of vampire bats in a tropical area is infected with pathogenic
Brucella nosferati
and that bats forage on humans and many wild and domestic animals is relevant from the perspective of emerging disease prevention. Indeed, bats harboring
B. nosferati
in their salivary glands may transmit this pathogenic bacterium to other hosts. This potential is not trivial since, besides the demonstrated pathogenicity, this bacterium possesses all the required virulent arsenal of dangerous
Brucella
organisms, including those that are zoonotic for humans. Our work has settled the basis for future surveillance actions in brucellosis control programs where these infected bats thrive. Moreover, our strategy to identify the foraging range of bats may be adapted for exploring the feeding habits of diverse animals, including arthropod vectors of infectious diseases, and therefore of interest to a broader audience besides experts on
Brucella
and bats.
Harnessing diversity and antagonism within the pig skin microbiota to identify novel mediators of colonization resistance to methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Wei Monica , Flowers Laurice , Knight Simon A. B. , Zheng Qi , Murga-Garrido Sofia , Uberoi Aayushi , Pan Jamie Ting-Chun , Walsh Jasmine , Schroeder Erin , Chu Emily W. , Campbell Amy , Shin Daniel , Bradley Charles W. , Duran-Struuck Raimon , Grice Elizabeth A. 
Published: July 2023

ABSTRACT

The microbiota mediate multiple aspects of skin barrier function, including colonization resistance to pathogens such as
Staphylococcus aureus
. The endogenous skin microbiota limits
S. aureus
colonization via competition and direct inhibition. Novel mechanisms of colonization resistance are promising therapeutic targets for drug-resistant infections, such as those caused by methicillin-resistant
S. aureus
(MRSA). Here, we developed and characterized a swine model of topical microbiome perturbation and MRSA colonization. As in other model systems, topical antimicrobial treatment had a little discernable effect on community diversity though the overall microbial load was sensitive to multiple types of intervention, including swabbing. In parallel, we established a porcine skin culture collection and screened 7,700 isolates for MRSA inhibition. Using genomic and phenotypic criteria, we curated three isolates to investigate whether prophylactic colonization would inhibit MRSA colonization
in vivo
. The three-member consortium together, but not individually, provided protection against MRSA colonization, suggesting cooperation and/or synergy among the strains. Inhibitory isolates were represented across all major phyla of the pig skin microbiota and did not have a strong preference for inhibiting closely related species, suggesting that relatedness is not a condition of antagonism. These findings reveal the porcine skin as an underexplored reservoir of skin commensal species with the potential to prevent MRSA colonization and infection.

IMPORTANCE

The skin microbiota is protective against pathogens or opportunists such as
S. aureus
, the most common cause of skin and soft tissue infections.
S. aureus
can colonize normal skin and nasal passages, and colonization is a risk factor for infection, especially on breach of the skin barrier. Here, we established a pig model to study the competitive mechanisms of the skin microbiota and their role in preventing colonization by MRSA. This drug-resistant strain is also a livestock pathogen, and swine herds can be reservoirs of MRSA carriage. From 7,700 cultured skin isolates, we identified 37 unique species across three phyla that inhibited MRSA. A synthetic community of three inhibitory isolates provided protection together, but not individually,
in vivo
in a murine model of MRSA colonization. These findings suggest that antagonism is widespread in the pig skin microbiota, and these competitive interactions may be exploited to prevent MRSA colonization.
Faunal provinciality in the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway using network modeling
Authors: Purcell Ceara , Scuderi Louis , Myers Corinne 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
The Western Interior Seaway (WIS) was historically divided into latitudinal faunal provinces that were taxonomically distinct from the adjacent Gulf Coastal Plain (GCP) and that shifted in space due to sea-level changes. However, no rigorous quantitative analyses using recent taxonomic updates have reassessed these provinces and their associations. We used network modeling of macroinvertebrate WIS and GCP fauna to test whether biotic provinces existed and to examine their relationships with abiotic change. Results suggest a cohesive WIS unit existed across the Campanian, and distinct WIS and GCP provinces existed in the Maastrichtian. Sea-level changes coincided with changes in network metrics. These results indicate that, while the WIS did not contain subprovinces in the Late Cretaceous, environmental factors influenced faunal associations and their communication over time.