bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic Business Cycles
Authors: Bianchi Francesco , Ilut Cosmin , Saijo Hikaru 
Published: February 2023

Abstract
A large psychology literature argues that, due to selective memory recall, decision-makers’ forecasts of the future are overly influenced by the perceived news. We adopt the diagnostic expectations (DE) paradigm [Bordalo et al. (2018), Journal of Finance, 73, 199–227] to capture this feature of belief formation, develop a method to incorporate DE in business cycle models, and study the implications for aggregate dynamics. First, we address (1) the theoretical challenges associated with modelling the feedback between optimal actions and agents’ DE beliefs and (2) the time-inconsistencies that arise under distant memory (i.e. when news is perceived with respect to a more distant past than just the immediate one). Second, we show that under distant memory the interaction between actions and DE beliefs naturally generates repeated boom–bust cycles in response to a single initial shock. We also propose a portable solution method to study DE in dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models and use it to estimate a quantitative DE New Keynesian model. Both endogenous states and distant memory play a critical role in successfully replicating the boom–bust cycle observed in response to a monetary policy shock.
Leasing as a Mitigation of Financial Accelerator Effects
Authors: Li Kai , Yu Jun 
Published: February 2023

Abstract
We document that leased capital accounts for about 20% of total physical productive assets used by US public firms, and its proportion is more than 40% among small and financially constrained firms. The leased capital ratio exhibits a strong countercyclical pattern over business cycles and a positive correlation with cross-sectional idiosyncratic uncertainty. We argue that existing macro models with financial frictions assume that firms cannot rent capital and overlook the effects of leasing activities on business cycle dynamics. We explicitly introduce a buy-versus-lease decision into the Bernanke–Gertler–Gilchrist financial accelerator model setting to demonstrate a novel and quantitatively important economic mechanism: that the increased use of leased capital when financial constraints become tighter in bad states significantly mitigates the financial accelerator mechanism and thus also mitigates the response of macroeconomic variables to negative total factor productivity shocks and risk shocks. We provide strong empirical evidence to support our mechanism.
Are women more empathetic than men? Questionnaire and EEG estimations of sex/gender differences in empathic ability
Authors: Pang Chenyu , Li Wenxin , Zhou Yuqing , Gao Tianyu , Han Shihui 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe debate regarding whether women are more empathetic than men has broad scientific, social and clinical implications. However, previous independent questionnaires and brain imaging studies that tested different samples reported inconsistent results regarding sex/gender differences in empathic ability. We conducted three studies to investigate sex/gender differences in empathic ability using large-sample questionnaires and electroencephalography (EEG) measures. We showed that the estimation of empathic ability using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index questionnaire showed higher rating scores in women than in men in all studies. However, our EEG measures of empathy, indexed by both phase-locked and non–phased-locked neural responses to others’ painful (vs neutral) facial expressions, support a null hypothesis of the sex/gender difference in empathic ability. In addition, we showed evidence that priming social expectations of women and men’s ability to share and care about others’ feelings eliminated the sex/gender difference in questionnaire measures of empathic ability. Our large-sample EEG results challenge the notion of women’s superiority in empathy that is built based on subjective questionnaire measures that are sensitive to social desirability. Our findings indicate that whether the notion of women’s superiority in empathic ability reflects a biological/social difference between women and men or a gender-role stereotype remains an open question.
Functional phenotypic plasticity mediated by water stress and [CO2] explains differences in drought tolerance of two phylogenetically close conifers
Authors: Férriz M , Martin-Benito D , Fernández-de-Simón M B , Conde M , García-Cervigón A I , Aranda I , Gea-Izquierdo G 
Published: February 2023

Abstract
Forests are threatened globally by increased recurrence and intensity of hot droughts. Functionally close coexisting species may exhibit differences in drought vulnerability large enough to cause niche differentiation and affect forest dynamics. The effect of rising atmospheric [CO2], which could partly alleviate the negative effects of drought, may also differ between species. We analysed functional plasticity in seedlings of two taxonomically close pine species (Pinus pinaster Ait., Pinus pinea L.) under different [CO2] and water stress levels. The multidimensional functional trait variability was more influenced by water stress (preferentially xylem traits) and [CO2] (mostly leaf traits) than by differences between species. However, we observed differences between species in the strategies followed to coordinate their hydraulic and structural traits under stress. Leaf 13C discrimination decreased with water stress and increased under elevated [CO2]. Under water stress both species increased their sapwood area to leaf area ratios, tracheid density and xylem cavitation, whereas they reduced tracheid lumen area and xylem conductivity. Pinus pinea was more anisohydric than P. pinaster. Pinus pinaster produced larger conduits under well-watered conditions than P. pinea. Pinus pinea was more tolerant to water stress and more resistant to xylem cavitation under low water potentials. The higher xylem plasticity in P. pinea, particularly in tracheid lumen area, expressed a higher capacity of acclimation to water stress than P. pinaster. In contrast, P. pinaster coped with water stress comparatively more by increasing plasticity of leaf hydraulic traits. Despite the small differences observed in the functional response to water stress and drought tolerance between species, these interspecific differences agreed with ongoing substitution of P. pinaster by P. pinea in forests where both species co-occur. Increased [CO2] had little effect on the species-specific relative performance. Thus, a competitive advantage under moderate water stress of P. pinea compared with P. pinaster is expected to continue in the future.
Single-cell transcriptomics analysis reveals extracellular matrix remodelling in carious human dental pulp
Authors: Balic Anamaria , Perver Dilara , Pagella Pierfrancesco , Rehrauer Hubert , Stadlinger Bernd , Moor Andreas E. , Vogel Viola , Mitsiadis Thimios A. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe carious lesion is a bacteria caused destruction of tooth mineralized matrices marked by concurrent tissue reparative and immune responses in the dental pulp. While major molecular players in tooth pulp decay have been uncovered, a detailed map of the molecular and cellular landscape of the diseased pulp is still missing. Here we used single-cell RNA sequencing analysis, to generate a comprehensive single-cell atlas of the carious human dental pulp tissue. Our data demonstrated modifications in various cell clusters of the carious pulp, such as immune cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and fibroblasts, when compared to the healthy dental pulp. These changes include upregulation of genes encoding extracellular matrix (ECM) components and the enrichment of the fibroblast cluster with myofibroblasts. Assessment of the Fibronectin fibres’ mechanical strain showed a significant tension reduction in the carious human pulp, compared to the healthy one. Collectively, the present data demonstrate molecular, cellular and biomechanical alterations in the carious pulp tissue, indicative of extensive ECM remodelling and reminiscent of fibrosis observed in other organs.
Long-term outdoor air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in London: an individual-level analysis
Authors: Charlton Loes , Gale Chris , Morgan Jasper , Glickman Myer , Beevers Sean , Hansell Anna L , Nafilyan Vahé 
Published: February 2023

AbstractBackgroundThe risk of COVID-19 severity and mortality differs markedly by age, socio-demographic characteristics and pre-existing health status. Various studies have suggested that higher air pollution exposures also increase the likelihood of dying from COVID-19.Objectives: To assess the association between long-term outdoor air pollution (NO2, NOx, PM10and PM2.5) concentrations and the risk of death involving COVID-19, using a large individual-level dataset.MethodsWe used comprehensive individual-level data from the Office for National Statistics’ Public Health Data Asset for September 2020 to January 2022 and London Air Quality Network modelled air pollution concentrations available for 2016. Using Cox proportional hazard regression models, we adjusted for potential confounders including age, sex, vaccination status, dominant virus variants, geographical factors (such as population density), ethnicity, area and household-level deprivation, and health comorbidities.ResultsThere were 737,356 confirmed COVID-19 cases including 9,315 COVID-related deaths. When only adjusting for age, sex, and vaccination status, there was an increased risk of dying from COVID-19 with increased exposure to all air pollutants studied (NO2: HR 1.07 [95% confidence interval: 1.04-1.12] per 10 μg/m3; NOx: 1.05[1.02-1.09] per 20 μg/m3; PM10: 1.32[1.15-1.51] per 10 μg/m3; PM2.5: 1.29[1.12-1.49] per 5 μg/m3). However, after adjustment including ethnicity and socio-economic factors the HRs were close to unity (NO2: 0.98[0.90-1.06]; NOx: 0.99[0.94-1.04]; PM10: 0.95[0.74-1.22]; PM2.5: 0.90[0.67-1.20]). Additional adjustment for dominant variant or pre-existing health comorbidities did not alter the results.ConclusionsObserved associations between long-term outdoor air pollution exposure and COVID-19 mortality in London are strongly confounded by geography, ethnicity and deprivation.SummaryUsing a large individual-level dataset, we found that a positive association between long-term outdoor air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in London did not persist after adjusting for confounders including population density, ethnicity and deprivation.
Non-invasive SARS-CoV-2 genome surveillance and its utility in resource-poor settings during the Delta wave of the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Khairnar Krishna , Tomar Siddharth Singh 
Published: February 2023

ABSTRACTVoluntary participation of the public in disease surveillance can be encouraged by deploying user-friendly sample collection processes that can minimise the discomfort to the participants. This study evaluated the suitability of saline gargle-based sample collection for genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2, which included 589 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples collected from Nagpur city in central India from March to December 2021. The SARS-CoV-2 positive samples were subjected to whole genome sequencing (WGS) using the oxford nanopore technologies next-generation sequencing platform. Out of 589 samples, 500 samples qualified for the WGS, and the results revealed eight different clades of SARS-CoV-2 encompassing 37 different Pango-lineage types. The mutation mapping analysis of the variants identified in this study showed six mutations of interest and one mutation of concern E484K in the spike glycoprotein region. Our findings indicate that non-invasive gargle-based genomic surveillance is scalable and does not need significant changes to the existing workflow post-sample collection.
NeuroRehabilitation OnLine (NROL): Description of a multidisciplinary group telerehabilitation innovation for stroke and neurological conditions using the TIDieR checklist
Authors: Ackerley Suzanne , Wilson Neil , Boland Paul , Peel Rosemary , Connell Louise 
Published: February 2023

ABSTRACTBackgroundProviding recommended amounts of rehabilitation for stroke and neurological patients is challenging. Telerehabilitation is viable for delivering rehabilitation and an acceptable adjunct to in-person therapy. NeuroRehabilitation OnLine (NROL) was developed as a pilot and subsequently operationalised as a regional innovation embedded across four National Health Service (NHS) Trusts.ObjectiveTo describe the NROL innovation to assist future implementation and replication efforts.MethodsThe Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist, with guidance from the TIDieR-Telehealth extension, was used to describe NROL. The description was developed collaboratively by clinical-academics, therapists, managers, and researchers. Updated Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research domains were used to describe the context in which the innovation was delivered.ResultsNROL delivers online group-based real-time neurorehabilitation with technology assistance. It incorporates multidisciplinary targeted therapy and peer support to complement existing therapy. Procedures, materials and structure are detailed to demonstrate how NROL is embedded within a healthcare system. NROL uses existing NHS therapy workforce alongside dedicated NROL roles, including an essential technology support role. Selection of NROL groups is dependent on patient need. The NROL innovation is tailored over time in response to feedback. NROL described here is situated within a regional stroke and neurorehabilitation network, aligns with local and national strategies, and capitalises on an existing clinical-academic partnership.ConclusionThis comprehensive description of a regional NROL innovation, and clarification of core components, should facilitate other healthcare settings to adapt and implement NROL for their context. Continuous evaluation alongside implementation will ensure maximal impact for neurorehabilitation.
Impact of Measurement Imprecision on Genetic Association Studies of Cardiac Function
Authors: Vukadinovic Milos , Renjith Gauri , Yuan Victoria , Kwan Alan , Cheng Susan C. , Li Debiao , Clarke Shoa L. , Ouyang David 
Published: February 2023

AbstractBackgroundRecent studies have leveraged quantitative traits from imaging to amplify the power of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to gain further insights into the biology of diseases and traits. However, measurement imprecision is intrinsic to phenotyping and can impact downstream genetic analyses.MethodsLeft ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), an important but imprecise quantitative imaging measurement, was examined to assess the impact of precision of phenotype measurement on genetic studies. Multiple approaches to obtain LVEF, as well as simulated measurement noise, were evaluated with their impact on downstream genetic analyses.ResultsEven within the same population, small changes in the measurement of LVEF drastically impacted downstream genetic analyses. Introducing measurement noise as little as 7.9% can eliminate all significant genetic associations in an GWAS with almost forty thousand individuals. An increase of 1% in mean absolute error (MAE) in LVEF had an equivalent impact on GWAS power as a decrease of 10% in the cohort sample size, suggesting optimizing phenotyping precision is a cost-effective way to improve power of genetic studies.ConclusionsImproving the precision of phenotyping is important for maximizing the yield of genome-wide association studies.Clinical perspectiveWhat Is New?Measurement imprecision in cardiac imaging phenotypes can substantially impact downstream genetic association studies, explaining much of the difference in identified genetic variants between echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.Using the example of left ventricular ejection fraction as an important but imprecise clinical measurement, the analysis suggests that the measurement variation within the range of clinician interpretation reduced genome-wide association studies’ power to detect genetic risk factors as much as decreasing the study population size by 20%.What Are the Clinical Implications?More precise measurements can result in a better understanding of the genetics of cardiac phenotypes and accelerate the development of precision medicine.Rather than simply increasing population size, improving measurement precision allows for cost-effective discovery of genetic associations.
How Well Do We Do Social Distancing?
Authors: Yamamoto Naohide , Nightingale Mia 
Published: February 2023

AbstractDuring the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many jurisdictions around the world introduced a ‘social distance’ rule under which people are instructed to keep a certain distance from others. Generally, this rule is implemented simply by telling people how many metres or feet of separation should be kept, without giving them precise instructions as to how the specified distance can be measured. Consequently, the rule is effective only to the extent that people are able to gauge this distance through their space perception. To examine the effectiveness of the rule from this point of view, the present study empirically investigated how much distance people would leave from another person when they relied on their perception of this distance. Participants (N= 153) were asked to stand exactly 1.5-m away from a researcher, and resultant interpersonal distances showed that while their mean was close to the correct 1.5-m distance, they exhibited large individual differences. These results suggest that a number of people would not stay sufficiently away from others even when they intend to do proper social distancing. Given this outcome, it is suggested that official health advice include measures that compensate for this tendency.
Atherosclerotic plaque epigenetic age acceleration is characterized by mesenchymal reprogramming and poor prognosis
Authors: Hartman Robin J. G. , Benavente Ernest Diez , Slenders Lotte , Boltjes Arjan , Mol Barend M. , de Borst Gert J. , de Kleijn Dominique P. V. , Prange Koen H. M. , de Winther Menno P. J. , Kuiper Johan , Civelek Mete , van der Laan Sander W. , Horvath Steve , Onland-Moret Charlotte , Mokry Michal , Pasterkamp Gerard , den Ruijter Hester M. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractEpigenetic age estimators (clocks) are known to be predictive of human mortality risk. However, it is not yet known whether the epigenetic age of atherosclerotic plaques can be used for predicting secondary events. Here we estimated an age adjusted measure of epigenetic age, epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), using DNA methylation of human atherosclerotic plaques and of blood. EAA of plaque, but not blood, independently predicted secondary events in a 3-year follow-up (HR=1.3, p= 0.018). Plaque EAA concurred with a high metabolic epigenetic and transcriptional state in plaques. Patients with diabetes and a high body mass index had a higher plaque EAA. EAA was lower in female plaques compared to male plaques by approximately 2 years. Single-cell RNA-seq revealed mesenchymal smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells as main drivers of EAA. Plaque-specific ageing may help identify processes that explain poor health outcomes.
Mismatch between human early visual cortex and perception in spatial extent representation: Radial bias shapes cortical representation while co-axial bias shapes perception
Authors: Ryu Juhyoung , Lee Sang-Hun 
Published: February 2023

AbstractAn object occupies an enclosed region in the visual field, which defines its spatial extent. Humans display exquisite finesse in spatial extent perception. Recent series of human neuroimaging and monkey single-cell studies suggest the spatial representation encoded in the early visual cortex (EVC) as the neural substrate of spatial extent estimation. Guided by this “EVC hypothesis” on spatial extent estimation, we predicted that human estimation of spatial extents would reflect the topographic biases known to exist in EVC’s spatial representation, the co-axial and radial biases. To test this prediction, we concurrently assessed those two spatial biases in both EVC’s and perceptual spatial representations by probing the anisotropy of EVC’s population receptive fields, on the one hand, and that of humans’ spatial extent estimation, on the other hand. To our surprise, we found a marked topographic mismatch between EVC’s and perceptual representations of oriented visual patterns, the radial bias in the former and the co-axial bias in the latter. Amid this topographic mismatch, the extent to which the anisotropy of spatial extents is modulated by stimulus orientation is correlated across individuals between EVC and perception. Our findings seem to require a revision of the current understanding of EVC’s functional architecture and contribution to visual perception: EVC’s spatial representation (i) is governed by the radial bias but only weakly modulated by the co-axial bias, and (ii) do contribute to spatial extent perception, but in a limited way where additional neural mechanisms are called in to counteract the radial bias in EVC.Significant statementPrevious anatomical and functional studies suggest both radial and co-axial biases as topographic factors governing the spatial representation of the early visual cortex (EVC). On the other hand, EVC’s fine-grained spatial representation has been considered the most plausible neural substrate for exquisite human perception of spatial extents. Based on these suggestions, we reasoned that these two topographic biases are likely to be shared between EVC’s and perceptual representations of spatial extents. However, our neuroimaging and psychophysics experiments implicate a need for revising those two suggestions. Firstly, the co-axial bias seems to exert only a modulatory influence on EVC’s functional architecture. Secondly, human spatial extent perception requires further contribution from neural mechanisms that correct EVC’s spatial representation for its radial bias.
Pangolin genomes offer key insights and resources for the world’s most trafficked wild mammals
Authors: Heighton Sean P. , Allio Rémi , Murienne Jérôme , Salmona Jordi , Meng Hao , Scornavacca Céline , Bastos Armanda D.S. , Njiokou Flobert , Pietersen Darren W. , Tilak Marie-Ka , Luo Shu-Jin , Delsuc Frédéric , Gaubert Philippe 
Published: February 2023

SummaryPangolins form a group of scaly mammals that are trafficked at record numbers for their meat and medicinal properties. Despite their great conservation concern, knowledge of their evolution is limited by a paucity of genomic data. We aim to produce exhaustive genomic resources that include 3 238 orthologous genes and whole-genome polymorphisms to assess the evolution of all eight pangolin species. Robust orthologous gene-based phylogenies recovered the monophyly of the three genera of pangolins, and highlighted the existence of an undescribed species closely related to South-East Asian pangolins. Signatures of middle Miocene admixture between an extinct, possibly European, lineage and the ancestor of South-East Asian pangolins, provides new insights into the early evolutionary history of the group. Demographic trajectories and genome-wide heterozygosity estimates revealed contrasts between continentalvs. island populations and species lineages, suggesting that conservation planning should consider intra-specific patterns. With the expected loss of genomic diversity from recent, extensive trafficking not yet been realized in pangolins, we recommend that populations are genetically surveyed to anticipate any deleterious impact of the illegal trade. Finally, we produce a complete set of genomic resources that will be integral for future conservation management and forensic endeavors required for conserving pangolins, including tracing their illegal trade. These include the completion of whole-genomes for pangolins through the first reference genome with long reads for the giant pangolin (Smutsia gigantea) and new draft genomes (~43x–77x) for four additional species, as well as a database of orthologous genes with over 3.4 million polymorphic sites.