bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
pH Induced Switch in the Conformational Ensemble of an Intrinsically Disordered Protein Prothymosin-αand Its Implications to Amyloid Fibril Formation
Authors: Baidya Lipika , Reddy Govardhan 
Published: April 2023

AbstractAggregation of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) is the cause of various neu-rodegenerative diseases. Changes in solution pH can trigger IDP aggregation due to a shift in the IDP monomer population with a high aggregation propensity. Al-though there is experimental evidence that acidic pH promotes the compaction of IDP monomers, which subsequently leads to aggregation, the general mechanism is not clear. Using the IDP prothymosin-α(proTα), which is involved in multiple essential functions as a model system, we studied the pH effect on the conformational ensemble of proTαand probed its role in aggregation using a coarse-grained IDP model and molecular dynamics simulations. We show that compaction in the proTαdimension at low pH is due to the protein’s collapse in the intermediate region (E41 - D80) rich in glutamic acid residues. Further, theβ-sheet content increases in this region upon pH change from neutral to acidic. We hypothesized that the conformations with highβ-sheet content could act as aggregation-prone (N∗) states and nucleate the aggregation process. We validated our hypothesis by performing dimer simulations starting fromN∗and non-N∗states. We show that simulations initiated usingN∗states as initial conformations form dimers within 1.5μs, whereas the non-N∗states do not form dimers within this timescale. This study contributes to understanding the general principles of pH-induced IDP aggregation. The main result upon pH change from neutral to acidic, the intermediate region of proTαis responsible for aggregation due to an increase in itsβ-sheet forming propensity and forms the fibril core can be verified by experiments.Graphical TOC Entry
ITK signaling regulates a switch between T helper 17 and T regulatory cell lineages via a calcium-mediated pathway
Authors: Anannya Orchi , Huang Weishan , August Avery 
Published: April 2023

AbstractThe balance of pro-inflammatory T helper type 17 (Th17) and anti-inflammatory T regulatory (Treg) cells is crucial in maintaining immune homeostasis in health and disease conditions. Differentiation of naïve CD4+T cells into Th17/Treg cells is dependent upon T cell receptor (TCR) activation and cytokine signaling, which includes the kinase ITK. Signals from ITK can regulate the differentiation of Th17 and Treg cell fate choice, however, the mechanism remains to be fully understood. We report here that in the absence of ITK activity, instead of developing into Th17 cells under Th17 conditions, naïve CD4+T cells switch to cells expressing the Treg marker Foxp3 (Forkhead box P3). These switched Foxp3+Treg like cells retain suppressive function and resemble differentiated induced Tregs in their transcriptomic profile, although their chromatin accessibility profiles are intermediate between Th17 and induced Tregs cells. Generation of the switched Foxp3+Treg like cells was associated with reduced expression of molecules involved in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis, with reduced activation of the mTOR signaling pathway, and reduced expression of BATF. This ITK dependent switch between Th17 and Treg cells was reversed by increasing intracellular calcium. These findings suggest potential strategies for fine tune the TCR signal strength via ITK to regulate the balance of Th17/Treg cells.
From Concept to Reality: Examining India’s Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) Challenges & Opportunities
Authors: Misro Aswini , Mehta Anushka , Whittington Paul , Dogan Huseyin , Mishra Nishikant , Kadoglou Naim , Theivacumar Selva 
Published: April 2023

AbstractBackgroundClinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) are rapidly altering the face of healthcare and their potential to improve patient outcomes has been exploited, in some countries. This study aims to explore the current landscape of the Indian healthcare sector to identify the favourability of current practises, organisational and infrastructural readiness, attitudes and concerns of the stakeholders concerning the implementation of CDSS.MethodsThe methodology that this study used was carrying out structured interviews comprising of 16 close-ended questions, split into three sub-categories. There was a total of 61 interviews were conducted with medical and administrative staff in public and privately run facilities, present in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities in India. The study will focus on hospitals in Tier 1 cities as these are in a position to bring technological transformation.ResultsThe results identified various trends and patterns that would likely govern the incorporation of CDSS. A large proportion of the experts answered positively about the current level of digitalisation of their workplace and the availability of funds for future innovation, indicating high favourability for CDSS. Various roadblocks were isolated with respect to stakeholder attitudes, standardisation of care and general knowledge about CDSS and that in two cities, privately owned facilities were better equipped than state-run facilities.ConclusionsThere have been many recent initiatives in India to promote digital health. Performing a CDSS cost-effectiveness study will demonstrate the benefits of using CDSS in the country to overcome any adoption hesitancies.
Evaluation of Remote Monitoring Technology across different skin tone participants
Authors: Talukdar Debjyoti , de Deus Luis Felipe , Sehgal Nikhil 
Published: April 2023

ABSTRACTBackgroundMany research studies seek to improve vital sign monitoring to enhance the conditions under which doctors and caregivers track patients ‘ health. Non-invasive and contactless monitoring has emerged as an optimal solution for this problem, with telemedicine, self-monitoring, and wellbeing tools being the next generation of technology in the biomedical field. However, there is worldwide concern about the general purpose and bias towards a certain demographic group of these techniques. In particular, skin tone and the accuracy of monitoring dark skin tone groups have been key questions among researchers, with the lack of results and studies contributing to this uncertainty.MethodsThis paper proposes a benchmark for remote monitoring solution against a medical device across different skin tone people. Around 330 videos from 90 different patients were analyzed, and Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability were compared across different subgroups. The Fitzpatrick scale (1-6) was used to classify participants into three skin tone groups: 1 and 2; 3 and 4; 5 and 6.ResultsThe results showed that our proposed methodology was able to estimate heart rate with a mean absolute error of 3 bpm across all samples and subgroups. Moreover, for Heart Rate Variability (HRV) metrics, we achieved the following results, in terms of Mobility Assistive Equipment (MAE): HRV-IBI (Inter-Beat-Interval) of 10 ms; HRV-SDNN (Standard Deviation of Normal to Normal heartbeats) of 14 ms and HRV-RMSSD (Root Mean Square of Successive Differences between normal heartbeats) of 22 ms. No significant performance decrease was found for any skin tone group, and there was no error trend towards a certain group.ConclusionsThe study showed that our methodology meets acceptable agreement levels for the proposed metrics and is well-suited for users who want to understand their general health and wellness. Furthermore, the experiments showed that skin tone had no impact on the results, which remained within the same range across all groups.
SEQUENCE VS. STRUCTURE: DELVING DEEP INTO DATA-DRIVEN PROTEIN FUNCTION PREDICTION
Authors: Tian Xiaochen , Wang Ziyin , Yang Kevin K. , Su Jin , Du Hanwen , Zheng Qiuguo , Guo Guibing , Yang Min , Yang Fei , Yuan Fajie 
Published: April 2023

AbstractPredicting protein function is a longstanding challenge that has significant scientific implications. The success of amino acid sequence-based learning methods depends on the relationship between sequence, structure, and function. However, recent advances in AlphaFold have led to highly accurate protein structure data becoming more readily available, prompting a fundamental question:given sufficient experimental and predicted structures, should we use structure-based learning methods instead of sequence-based learning methods for predicting protein function, given the intuition that a protein’s structure has a closer relationship to its function than its amino acid sequence?To answer this question, we explore several key factors that affect function prediction accuracy. Firstly, we learn protein representations using state-of-the-art graph neural networks (GNNs) and compare graph construction(GC) methods at the residue and atomic levels. Secondly, we investigate whether protein structures generated by AlphaFold are as effective as experimental structures for function prediction when protein graphs are used as input. Finally, we compare the accuracy of sequence-only, structure-only, and sequence-structure fusion-based learning methods for predicting protein function. Additionally, we make several observations, provide useful tips, and share code and datasets to encourage further research and enhance reproducibility.
Sequential pembrolizumab cooperates with platinum/5FU to remodel the tumor microenvironment in advanced gastric cancer: a phase II chemoimmunotherapy trial
Authors: An Minae , Mehta Arnav , Min Byung Hoon , Heo You Jeong , Parikh Milan , Bi Lynn , Cristescu Razvan , Lee Hyuk , Kim Taejun , Lee Song-Yi , Moon Jeonghyeon , Park Ryan J. , Strickland Matthew R. , Park Woong Yang , Kang Won Ki , Kim Kyoung-Mee , Kim Seung Tae , Klempner Samuel J. , Lee Jeeyun 
Published: April 2023

AbstractAdding anti-PD1 antibodies to 5-FU/platinum chemotherapy improves survival in a subset of advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA) patients. Beyond PD-L1 expression and mismatch repair status we have limited insight into molecular predictors of response or the relative contribution of PD-1 blockade. We conducted an investigator sponsored phase II trial (n = 47) sequentially adding pembrolizumab to standard 5-FU/platinum in previously untreated advanced GEA (ClinicalTrials.gov:NCT04249739). With an overall response rate of 67% the activity paralleled phase III chemoimmunotherapy trials. To understand on-treatment tumor and immune adaptations patients underwent serial biopsy of the primary tumor, including baseline, after one cycle of 5-FU/platinum, and after the addition of pembrolizumab. We leveraged transcriptional profiling from 358,067 cells to identify multicellular networks of malignant, stromal, and immune cells after chemotherapy and concurrent chemoimmunotherapy. The relative usage of pro-tumor and anti-tumor interaction hubs differed between fast and slow progressing patients. Chemotherapy induced early on-treatment formation of hubs centered on tumor-reactive T-cell and M1-oriented macrophage interactions with pro-inflammatory cytokines in slow progressors. Faster progression was characterized by increased MUC5A and MSLN containing programs in tumor cells and M2-oriented macrophages with immunosuppressive stromal interactions. After adding pembrolizumab we observed increased CD8 T-cell infiltration by scRNAseq and multiplex immunofluorescence and development of an immunity hub involving co-variation of the tumor-reactive CXCL13 program and epithelial interferon-stimulated gene programs enriched in slow progressors. Together this data provides prospective evidence of differential early on-treatment evolution of the gastric immune microenvironment and nominates candidate cellular interactions for clinical targeting.
Psychological ownership influences perceived legal ownership of patient medical data
Authors: Cadario Romain , Shachar Carmel , Glenn Cohen I. , Morewedge Carey K. 
Published: April 2023

AbstractWe propose beliefs about legal ownership are informed and biased by intuitions about and cues that imbue psychological ownership—knowledge, control, and self-investment. We test our theory in the context of legal ownership of medical data in the United States, which is determined by property rights afforded by HIPAA to three stakeholders: patients, medical providers, and health systems. We theorize that stakeholders underestimate patient rights and overestimate provider rights afforded by HIPAA because patients are perceived to have less knowledge, control, and to have invested less in their data. As predicted, all stakeholders underestimated patient rights and overestimated provider rights afforded by HIPAA in a nationally representative sample of patients (N=300) and convenience samples of medical providers (N=114) and health systems administrators (N=100). All stakeholders agreed that patients should also be afforded more rights by HIPAA and fewer rights should be afforded to health systems. We find additional evidentiary support for our process account in three experiments (N=1195) in which we manipulated the perceived knowledge, control, and self-investment of patients, which modulated the degree to which patients underestimated rights afforded to them by HIPAA. Our findings illustrate how intuitions about psychological ownership inform and bias judgments of legal ownership, and reveal a consensus of stakeholders agree HIPAA should be reformed to expand patient rights.Public significanceThis study suggests that beliefs about legal ownership are informed and biased by intuitions about and cues that imbue psychological ownership—knowledge, control, and self-investment. It shows how patients, medical providers and health systems administrators underestimate patient rights and overestimate provider rights afforded by HIPAA, and reveals additional patient rights that all stakeholders agree should be afforded by HIPAA.
Coloring and functional properties of cotton and wool fabrics treated with aronia (Aronia melanocarpa) fruit and leaf extracts
Authors: Koh Eunmi , Hong Kyung Hwa 
Published: April 2023

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to develop an environment-friendly finishing process for coloring and functionalizing fabrics using the extracts from aronia fruit (AF) and/or aronia leaf (AL).Design/methodology/approachColoring and functional compounds were extracted from both AF and AL to prepare dyeing and finishing agents for textiles. The bioactive compounds were identified, and their concentrations were determined by spectrophotometry and high-performance liquid chromatography. The extracts were then used to dye and finish natural fibers. The cotton and wool fabrics treated with AF, AL and a combination of AF + AL extracts were investigated in terms of coloring properties and functionalities, specifically antioxidant capacity and antibacterial property.FindingsAccording to the obtained results, AF extracts contained significant amounts of anthocyanins and phenols while AL extracts contained higher amounts of phenols with very low levels of anthocyanins. It was successfully demonstrated that the AF and AL extracts can be used to dye fabrics with good color properties. Moreover, textiles treated with aronia extracts inhibited the growth of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and exhibited antioxidant properties.Originality/valueAF extract showed superior coloring and functional properties compared to AL extract. However, the treatment solution containing both AF and AL extracts demonstrated significant synergic effects on the antibacterial and antioxidant properties of the treated fabrics.
Labor market impact of the Massachusetts state licensure performance assessment for leaders
Authors: Orr Margaret Terry , Hollingworth Liz 
Published: April 2023

PurposeThis paper explores the school leadership career outcomes, timing and educator evaluation of those who complete the Massachusetts Performance Assessment for Leaders (PAL) in comparison with others who did not. It also compares outcomes for those with different PAL score completion requirements.Design/methodology/approachUsing PAL assessment results and state employment data for years 2015 through 2019, the authors examined trends and timing in PAL completers' career advancement into an initial school leader position (assistant principal or principal), by assessment cohort (based on assessment year and passing (cut) score requirements) and with who never had to complete the assessment for licensure (non-PAL completers). Using regression analysis, the authors evaluated potential race/ethnicity and gender differences in advancement. Using chi-square tests of association, the authors compared non-PAL and PAL completers on their demographic attributes and on retention and promotion from assistant principal and on their educator evaluation scores. The authors also examined differences in advancement based on the cut score requirements and preparation pathways.FindingsPAL completers made steady career advances over time and at faster rates than non-PAL completers. Further, PAL completers subject to higher cut score requirements advanced more quickly than those with lower or no score requirements. PAL completers' gender and race/ethnicity seemed to matter less in career advancement than was found in other studies. In 2019, almost half who advanced were employed in the same districts as they had been in 2014 and were more likely to be new leaders in urban districts. When compared with other career-related measures, PAL completers outperformed non-PAL completers who first became school leaders since 2014: they were more likely to be rated as exemplary on educator evaluation and more likely to be retained or promoted after two years in their first school leader position.Originality/valueUntil now little research has existed on the career effects of licensure assessments. Because it requires candidates to demonstrate proficiency in core areas of school leadership work, the PAL assessment appears to be a superior means of screening initial school leaders (based on rate of hiring) and of signaling future performance (based on subsequent educator evaluation ratings) than other assessment forms (such as the School Leader Licensure Assessment [SLLA] exam).
Purchasing managers' supplier selection decision: environmental influences on choice
Authors: Salem Ziad , Min Zhu , Sahl Samer Mohamed , Mehmed Bahtiyar 
Published: April 2023

PurposeThis paper was formulated to address the impact of different individual decision modes on purchasing managers' satisfaction and find out whether different environments could influence the strength of the relationship between the sourcing managers' individual modes and their decisions.Design/methodology/approachA new model was built based on the variables selected from literature. Two identical surveys were sent to manufacturing firms in China and Egypt. Around 450 questionnaires have been sent to respondents, and about 300 responses have been collected in the two countries.FindingsThe key findings of this study showed that although the influence of decision modes is not changeable across decision-makers in different markets' environment, the strength of the relationship between different individual decision modes and the buying decision significantly differed across different dynamic task environments of buyers.Originality/valueThe research in this paper focused on the purchasing managers' individual decision-making. On the other hand, purchasing managers' market environment is rarely recognized as a main factor affecting their decisions. Furthermore, this research tries to understand more about the supplier selection decision-making in Eastern Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
Analyst optimism, uncertainty and regulation: evidence from the Indian market
Authors: Singla Riya , Chakraborty Madhumita , Singh Vivek 
Published: April 2023

PurposeThe study examines the effect of increased Economic Policy uncertainty on analyst optimism in the Indian market. The study also explores whether the SEBI Research Analyst Regulation, 2014, has effectively contained the optimistic nature of analysts.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on firms in the Indian market. The sample period is 2003–2020. It runs a linear panel regression to measure the impact of Economic Policy uncertainty on the optimism level of analysts' forecasts and recommendations, controlling for firm fixed effects. Further, the impact of the SEBI Research Analyst Regulation, 2014, has been assessed with the help of the difference-in-difference approach.FindingsThe Economic Policy uncertainty is significantly and positively related to the analyst optimism, reflected in the forecast bias and recommendation in the Indian context. The experience of analysts and the age of the firm positively drive optimism. However, introducing the Research Analyst Regulation by SEBI led to a decline in analyst optimism. The regulation decoupled the analysts' compensation from brokerage service transactions. Thus, the results suggest that the regulation has effectively curbed the incentive to produce optimistic output.Originality/valueThis is the first study in the Indian market to assess the impact of uncertainty on analyst output. It also investigates the effectiveness of the first analyst-specific regulation in India, i.e. The Research Analyst Regulation, 2014.
Environmental context and herbivore traits mediate the strength of associational effects in a meta‐analysis of crop diversity
Authors: Hahn Philip G. , Cammarano Joseph H. 
Published: April 2023

Abstract

Crop diversification offers a promising solution to meet expanding global food demands while maintaining ecosystem services. Diversification strategies that use mixed planting to reduce pest damage (e.g. intercropping), termed ‘associational effects’ (AE) in the ecological literature, can decrease (associational resistance) or increase (associational susceptibility) herbivore abundance on a focal plant. While application of AE to agroecosystems typically reduces pest abundance, the range of outcomes varies widely.

We conducted a meta‐analysis using 272 estimates of insect herbivore abundance on crops neighbored by a conspecific or heterospecific from 44 studies undertaken on six continents. We focus on four agricultural crops well represented from sites across the globe to test hypotheses related to understanding how herbivore traits (diet breadth, feeding guild, origin), plant traits (crop type, phylogenetic distance to neighbour) and environmental context (climate, experimental design) contribute to variation in the outcomes of AE.

Overall, bicultures provided a strong reduction of insect abundance on the focal crop. Climate and interactions between herbivore traits, particularly diet breadth and origin, and plant traits or environmental context mediated the strength of AE.

Bicultures provided the strongest reductions in insect abundance at low latitudes, and this effect decreased at higher latitudes but only for insects with certain traits. Abundance of generalist herbivores and globally distributed pests tended to be most strongly negatively affected by bicultures, under certain contexts, whereas specialist herbivores and native pests were less affected by neighbours.

Synthesis and application. This meta‐analysis highlights that crop diversification schemes have an overall strongly beneficial effect of reducing pest abundance. However, there was also variability in the outcomes that is determined in part by the interactive effects of herbivore traits and environmental context. The results provide guidance for incorporating beneficial ecological interactions into integrated pest management strategies.