bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A 7T interleaved fMRS and fMRI study on visual contrast dependency in the human brain
Authors: Schrantee Anouk , Najac Chloe , Jungerius Chris , van der Zwaag Wietske , Jbabdi Saad , Clarke William T , Ronen Itamar 
Published: July 2023

AbstractIntroductionsFunctional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS) is a non-invasive technique for measuring dynamic changes in neurometabolites. While previous studies have observed concentration changes in metabolites during neural activation, the relationship between neurometabolite response and stimulus intensity and timing requires further investigation. To address this, we conducted an interleaved fMRS and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment using a visual stimulus with varying contrast levels.MethodsA total of 20 datasets were acquired on a 7T MRI scanner. The visual task consisted of two STIM blocks (30s/20s ON/OFF, four minutes), with 10% or 100% contrast, interleaved with a four minutes REST block. A dynamic fitting approach was used for fMRS data analysis. For metabolite level changes, the STIM conditions were modeled in two different ways: either considering the full STIM block as active condition (full-block model) or only modeling the ON blocks as active condition (sub-block model). For linewidth changes due to the BOLD effect, STIM conditions were modeled using the sub-block model.ResultsFor both models, we observed significant increases in glutamate levels for both the 10% and 100% visual contrasts, but no significant difference between the contrasts. Decreases in aspartate, and glucose, and increases in total N-acetylaspartate and total creatine were also detected, although less consistently across both 10% and 100% visual contrasts. BOLD-driven linewidth decreases and fMRI-derived BOLD increases within the MRS voxel were observed at both 10% and 100% contrasts, with larger changes at 100% compared to 10% in the fMRI-derived BOLD only. We observed a non-linear relation between visual contrast, the BOLD response, and the glutamate response.ConclusionOur study highlights the potential of fMRS as a complementary technique to BOLD fMRI for investigating the complex interplay between visual contrast, neural activity, and neurometabolism. Future studies should further explore the temporal response profiles of different neurometabolites and refine the statistical models used for fMRS analysis.
ReprogrammingYarrowia lipolyticametabolism for efficient synthesis of itaconic acid from flask to semi-pilot scale
Authors: Fu Jing , Zaghen Simone , Lu Hongzhong , Konzock Oliver , Poorinmohammad Naghmeh , Kornberg Alexander , Koseto Deni , Wentzel Alexander , Di Bartolomeo Francesca , Kerkhoven Eduard J 
Published: July 2023

AbstractItaconic acid is an emerging platform chemical with extensive applications. It is currently produced byAspergillus terreusthrough biological fermentation. However,A. terreusis a fungal pathogen and needs additional morphology controls, and therefore the production remains problematic. Here, we reprogrammed the GRAS yeastYarrowia lipolyticametabolism for competitive itaconic acid production. After redirecting the flux of lipid accumulation as carbon sink, we evaluated itaconic acid production both inside and outside the mitochondria, and fine modulated its synthetic pathway. We then mimicked the regulation of nitrogen limitation in nitrogen replete conditions through down regulation of IDH by weak promoter changing, RNAi, or CRISPRi. Ultimately, we optimized fermentation parameters for fed-batch cultivations, and produced itaconic acid with titres of 130.1 g/L in 1L bioreactors and 94.8 g/L in a 50L bioreactor on semi-pilot scale. Our finds provide effective approaches for harnessing GRAS microorganism for competitive industrial itaconic acid production.
Simultaneous multi-site editing of individual genomes using retron arrays
Authors: González-Delgado Alejandro , Lopez Santiago C. , Rojas-Montero Matías , Fishman Chloe B. , Shipman Seth L. 
Published: July 2023

ABSTRACTOur understanding of genomics is limited by the scale of our genomic technologies. While libraries of genomic manipulations scaffolded on CRISPR gRNAs have been transformative, these existing approaches are typically multiplexed across genomes. Yet much of the complexity of real genomes is encoded within a genome across sites. Unfortunately, building cells with multiple, non-adjacent precise mutations remains a laborious cycle of editing, isolating an edited cell, and editing again. Here, we describe a technology for precisely modifying multiple sites on a single genome simultaneously. This technology – termed a multitron – is built from a heavily modified retron, in which multiple donor-encoding msds are produced from a single transcript. The multitron architecture is compatible with both recombineering in prokaryotic cells and CRISPR editing in eukaryotic cells. We demonstrate applications for this approach in molecular recording, genetic element minimization, and metabolic engineering.
Evaluating evidence for co-geography in theAnopheles-Plasmodiumhost-parasite system
Authors: Rehmann Clara T. , Ralph Peter L. , Kern Andrew D. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe often tight association between parasites and their hosts means that under certain scenarios, the evolutionary histories of the two species can become closely coupled both through time and across space. Using spatial genetic inference, we identify a potential signal of common dispersal patterns in theAnopheles gambiaeandPlasmodium falciparumhost-parasite system as seen through a between-species correlation of the differences between geographic sampling location and geographic location predicted from the genome. This correlation may be due to coupled dispersal dynamics between host and parasite, but may also reflect statistical artifacts due to uneven spatial distribution of sampling locations. Using continuous-space population genetics simulations, we investigate the degree to which uneven distribution of sampling locations leads to bias in prediction of spatial location from genetic data and implement methods to counter this effect. We demonstrate that while algorithmic bias presents a problem in inference from spatio-genetic data, the correlation structure betweenA. gambiaeandP. falciparumpredictions cannot be attributed to spatial bias alone, and is thus likely a genetic signal of co-dispersal in a host-parasite system.
Organizational cybersecurity readiness in the ICT sector: a quanti-qualitative assessment
Authors: Neri Martina , Niccolini Federico , Martino Luigi 
Published: July 2023

PurposeCyberattacks are becoming increasingly widespread, and cybersecurity is therefore increasingly important. Although the technological aspects of cybersecurity are its best-known characteristics, the cybersecurity phenomenon goes beyond the detection of technological impacts, and encompasses all the dimensions of an organization. This study thus focusses on an additional set of organizational elements. The key elements of cybersecurity organizational readiness depicted here are cybersecurity awareness, cybersecurity culture and cybersecurity organizational resilience (OR). This study aims to qualitatively assess small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) overall level of organizational cybersecurity readiness.Design/methodology/approachThis study focused on conducting a cybersecurity organizational readiness assessment using a sample of 53 Italian SMEs from the information and communication technology sector. Informed mixed method research, this study was conducted consistent with the principles of the explanatory sequential mixed method design, and adopting a quanti-qualitative methodology. The quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire. Qualitative data were subsequently collected through semi-structured interviews.FindingsAlthough many elements of the technical aspects of cybersecurity OR have yielded very encouraging results, there are still some areas that require improvement. These include those facets that constitute the foundation of cybersecurity awareness, and, thus, a cybersecurity culture. This result highlights that the areas in need of improvement are exactly those that are most important in fighting against cyber threats via organizational cybersecurity readiness.Originality/valueAlthough the importance of SMEs is obvious, evidence of such organizations’ attitudes to cybersecurity are still limited. This research is an attempt to depict the organizational issue related to cybersecurity, i.e. overall cybersecurity organizational readiness.
Finding post-colonial identity through vernacular and climate responsive adaptations: the architecture of Bangladesh from 1947 to 1971
Authors: Ahmed Iftekhar , Khan Tanjina 
Published: July 2023

PurposeFresh out of the two-century-old British legacy, Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan from 1947 to 1971, was searching for a post-colonial architectural style. Colonial architecture in the region in general often imposed imported European elements, ignoring the preceding legacies of the Sultanate and the Mughals. The critical challenge was to find a balance between the prevailing high modernism in architecture and the local vernacular and climatic forces. The Pakistani government invited international architects to fill the gap left by a non-existent local architectural industry. Unfortunately, their work has rarely been properly analyzed. With selected case studies, this paper analyzes their work in an attempt to explore their contribution to creating a national architectural identity.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a case study approach with selected architectural projects from the period. It uses research tools such as systematic analysis of drawings, volumes and photographs and archival research.FindingsThe international architects took inspiration from the strong vernacular and climatic forces of the region. The resultant expressions of the two-decade-long search in their combined body of work are some of the finest examples of vernacular and climate-responsive architecture in the region. They transcended the regular international style and became context-specific and unique. The quest for East Pakistan's post-colonial architectural identity was partially met by the newly found identity through vernacular and climate-responsive adaptation in architecture.Originality/valueThis study explores how a unified vernacular and climate-responsive adaptations potentially shaped the post-colonial architectural identity of the region. No prior study exists on this issue for the time period.
CATS: A high‐performance software framework for simulating plant migration in changing environments
Authors: Gattringer Andreas , Wessely Johannes , Hülber Karl , Moser Dietmar , Dullinger Stefan 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

Considering local population dynamics and dispersal is crucial to project species' range adaptations in changing environments. Dynamic models including these processes are highly computer intensive, with consequent restrictions on spatial extent and/or resolution.

We present CATS, an open‐source, extensible modelling framework for simulating spatially and temporarily explicit population dynamics of plants. It can be used in conjunction with species distribution models, or via direct parametrisation of vital rates and allows for fine‐grained control over the demographic and dispersal processes' models.

The performance and flexibility of CATS is exemplified (i) by modelling the range shift of four plant species under three future climate scenarios across Europe at a spatial resolution of 100 m., and (ii) by exploring consequences of demographic compensation for range expansion on artificial landscapes.

The presented software attempts to leverage the availability of computational resources and lower the barrier of entry for large‐extent, fine‐resolution simulations of plant range shifts in changing environments.
Consultation is the new C‐word
Authors: Stolte Gretchen 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe neoliberal turn has had significant impacts across Australian universities and First Nations communities, especially since the emergence of the global pandemic. These developments have highlighted the inherent flaws of the consultation process in developing programs and policies. Here, the weaknesses of the consultation process are analyzed using an anti‐politics framework together with two comparative case studies. The first case study concerns the consultation process that Australian universities conducted after the global pandemic, and the second case study pertains to consultation processes commonly experienced by First Nation communities with mining companies and museums. The weaknesses of these processes have been understood by First Nations communities for generations, but they are only recently coming to light in mainstream thinking. It is time to recognize consultation as a failed system and to start calling for collaboration and accountability.
Is social media use for math learning beneficial for ethnic minority students' math identity? A socialization perspective
Authors: Hu Xiang , Zuo Haode , Lai Chun , Zhu Gaoxia , Guo Jiesi , Tan Huiling 
Published: July 2023

AbstractAlthough the educational potential of social media has been widely acknowledged, it remains unclear whether social media use might present opportunities for the development of math identity. This study drew on the socialization framework of math identity to examine the relationships between social media use for math learning, bicultural identity integration, ethnic‐math beliefs and math identity among ethnic minority high school students in China. Structural equation modelling results showed that (a) social media use was positively related to math identity; (b) high bicultural identity integration was positively associated with math identity, while biased ethnic‐math beliefs were negatively related to math identity and (c) social media use suppressed the socialization process of math identity, weakening the maladaptive roles of low bicultural identity integration and biased ethnic‐math beliefs in shaping math identity. Our findings highlight the beneficial role of social media use in student math learning. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic

Social media use for learning is associated with students' academic motivation, engagement and academic achievement.

Social media use may have affordances for identity development, especially for ethnic minorities.

The formation of ethnic minority students' math identity is intertwined with their math and ethnic socialization.

What this paper adds

Social media use for math learning was directly and positively related to ethnic minorities' math identity.

This study quantitatively confirmed the associations of bicultural identity integration and ethnic‐math beliefs with math identity.

Social media use suppressed the relations of bicultural identity integration and ethnic‐math beliefs with math identity.

Implications for practice and/or policy

Promoting social media use for math learning benefits ethnic minority students' math identity.

Social media use for math learning could alleviate the maladaptive role of low bicultural identity integration and biased ethnic‐math beliefs in math identity development.

Ethnic minority students' math identity socialization processes merit attention.
Evaluating the impact of private land conservation with synthetic control design
Authors: Sharma Roshan , Jones Simon , Robinson Doug , Gordon Ascelin 
Published: July 2023

AbstractPrograms to protect biodiversity on private land are increasingly being used worldwide. To understand the efficacy of such programs, it is important to determine their impact: the difference between the program's outcome and what would have happened without the program. Typically, these programs are evaluated by estimating the average program‐level impact, which readily allows comparisons between programs or regions, but masks important heterogeneity in impact across the individual conservation interventions. We used synthetic control design, statistical matching, and time‐series data to estimate the impact of individual protected areas over time and combined individual‐level impacts to estimate program‐level impact with a meta‐analytic approach. We applied the method to private protected areas governed by conservation covenants (legally binding on‐title agreements to protect biodiversity) in the Goldfields region of Victoria, Australia using woody vegetation cover as our outcome variable. We compared our results with traditional approaches to estimating program‐level impact based on a subset of covenants that were the same age. Our results showed an overall program‐level impact of a 0.3–0.8% increase in woody vegetation cover per year. However, there was significant heterogeneity in the temporal pattern of impact for individual covenants, ranging from −4 to +7% change in woody vegetation cover per year. Results of our approach were consistent with results based on traditional approaches to estimating program‐level impact. Our study provides a transparent and robust workflow to estimate individual and program‐level impacts of private protected areas.
Fighting the COVID‐19 pandemic: A socio‐cultural insight into Pakistan
Authors: Shekhani Sualeha Siddiq , Moazam Farhat , Jafarey Aamir 
Published: July 2023

AbstractDuring the COVID‐19 pandemic, healthcare professionals around the world were driven by universal values of solidarity and duty to provide care. However, local societal norms and existing healthcare systems influenced interactions among physicians, and with patients and their families. An exploratory qualitative study design using in‐depth interviews was undertaken with physicians working at two public sector hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. Using the constant comparison method of data analysis, several key themes were identified highlighting norms of kinship and interdependencies characteristic of collectivistic societies that influenced professional interactions. The role of seniors in the hierarchical society of Pakistan played a major role in provision of care. Physicians reported numerous challenges in dealing with patients and their families amidst public denial fueled due to ill‐formed government policies. This included interruption of funeral rites which undermined public trust. The study provides insights into the local moral world of two healthcare institutions in Pakistan.
Digital transformation in healthcare using eagle perching optimizer with deep learning model
Authors: Thilagavathy R. , Jagadeesan J. , Parkavi A. , Radhika M. , Hemalatha S. , Galety Mohammad Gouse 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe COVID‐19 epidemic accelerated the digital change of several services, including healthcare, and increased access to telemedicine. As a result, an increasing number of web tools were introduced to meet patient needs. A safe database can be created in the healthcare industry as a result of digital transformation. This database can be used to protect, store, and share private patient data with healthcare workers, labs, and medical specialists. Designing efficient decision‐making tools for COVID‐19 diagnostics is now possible thanks to recent developments in information technology and deep learning (DL) models. In this paper, a novel method for diagnosing COVID‐19 using deep learning‐enhanced eagle perching optimizer (DTH‐EPODL) model is presented. With the help of the IoT and the presented DTH‐EPODL model, patient information can be gathered and analysed for illness detection. The DTH‐EPODL model uses the Gaussian filtering (GF) method to remove noise in the initial step. Additionally, MixNet, a deep convolutional neural network‐based method, is used for feature extraction. Using the deep autoencoder (DAE) algorithm, COVID‐19 detection and categorization are accomplished. Finally, the DAE approach's associated hyperparameters can be best adjusted using the EPO method, which enhances categorization results. Benchmark chest x‐ray datasets can be used to evaluate the experimental validity of the DTH‐EPODL method. The experimental results showed that the DTH‐EPODL technique outperformed more modern methods.
Prediction of CO pollutant in Mashhad metropolis, Iran: Using multiple linear regression
Authors: Rahnama Mohammad Rahim , Abkooh Shirin Sabaghi 
Published: July 2023

AbstractGiven the importance of carbon monoxide (CO) in acute health threats, studies have been conducted in different countries and cities (272 cities in China and 337 cities on a global scale) on the relationship between daily mortality and CO while the spatial analysis of factors affecting CO pollutant in cities, especially in developing countries, has rarely been done. Accordingly, this research has measured the effect of five environmental‐social variables (ESVs) on the spatial distribution of CO pollutants in the metropolis of Mashhad, Iran. CO concentration data were collected in 23 air pollutant monitoring stations in an area of 356 km2 in 2019. Then, the relationship between five variables and CO pollutant were measured using linear and multiple regression by Sentinel 2A and 3 satellite images in ArcGIS and TerrSet software. The results show that the mean CO concentration averages at 1.56 ppm in the whole city. But its range varies between 0.171 and 2.907 ppm, which is a low figure compared with presented standards and does not indicate a critical situation. The results of multiple regression indicate that 42% of the variance in CO concentration is explained by independent variables. Among five independent variables, the beta value of the land surface temperature (LST) and digital elevation model (DEM) variables is negative and positive for the other three variables, including population density, normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalised difference built‐up index (NDBI). It should be noted that the strongest correlating variable is population density. Prediction of the spatial distribution of CO pollutants shows the division of the city into three areas: (1) the south and southwest slopes of the city with a low concentration; (2) central areas with a medium concentration; and (3) northern and northeastern areas of the city with a high concentration where low‐income groups reside and there are more worn‐out vehicles, motorcycles and industrial workshops. Areas with high CO concentration need more attention from urban managers.