bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Alignment of auditory artificial networks with massive individual fMRI brain data leads to generalizable improvements in brain encoding and downstream tasks
Authors: Freteault Maelle , Le Clei Maximilien , Tetrel Loic , Bellec Pierre , Farrugia Nicolas 
Published: September 2023

AbstractArtificial neural networks trained in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) have emerged as key tools to model brain processes, sparking the idea of aligning network representations with brain dynamics to enhance performance on AI tasks. While this concept has gained support in the visual domain, we investigate here the feasibility of creating auditory artificial neural models directly aligned with individual brain activity. This objective raises major computational challenges, as models have to be trained directly with brain data, which is typically collected at a much smaller scale than data used to train AI models.We aimed to answer two key questions: (1) Can brain alignment of auditory models lead to improved brain encoding for novel, previously unseen stimuli? (2) Can brain alignment lead to generalisable representations of auditory signals that are useful for solving a variety of complex auditory tasks? To answer these questions, we relied on two massive datasets: a deep phenotyping dataset from the Courtois neuronal modelling project, where six subjects watched four seasons (36 hours) of theFriendsTV series in functional magnetic resonance imaging and the HEAR benchmark, a large battery of downstream auditory tasks.We fine-tuned SoundNet, a small pretrained convolutional neural network with ∼2.5M parameters. Aligning SoundNet with brain data from three seasons ofFriendsled to substantial improvement in brain encoding in the fourth season, extending beyond auditory and visual cortices. We also observed consistent performance gains on the HEAR benchmark, particularly for tasks with limited training data, where brain-aligned models performed comparably to the best-performing models regardless of size. We finally compared individual and group models, finding that individual models often matched or outperformed group models in both brain encoding and downstream task performance, highlighting the data efficiency of fine-tuning with individual brain data.Our results demonstrate the feasibility of aligning artificial neural network representations with individual brain activity during auditory processing, and suggest that this alignment is particularly beneficial for tasks with limited training data. Future research is needed to establish whether larger models can achieve even better performance and whether the observed gains extend to other tasks, particularly in the context of few shot learning.
Actin associates with actively elongating genes and binds directly to the Cdk9 subunit of P-TEFb
Authors: Kyheröinen Salla , Prajapati Bina , Sokolova Maria , Schmitz Maximilian , Viita Tiina , Geyer Matthias , Vartiainen Maria K. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractNuclear actin has been demonstrated to be essential for optimal transcription, but the molecular mechanisms and direct binding partner for actin in the RNA polymerase complex have remained unknown. By using purified proteins in a variety of biochemical assays, we demonstrate a direct and specific interaction between monomeric actin and Cdk9, the kinase subunit of the positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) required for RNA polymerase II pause-release. This interaction efficiently prevents actin polymerization, is not dependent on kinase activity of Cdk9 and is not involved with releasing P-TEFb from its inhibitor 7SK snRNP complex. Supporting the specific role for actin in the elongation phase of transcription, chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by deep sequencing (ChIP-seq) reveals that actin interacts with genes only upon their active transcription elongation. This study therefore provides novel insights into the mechanisms by which actin facilitates the transcription process.
Formin tails act as a switch, inhibiting or enhancing processive actin elongation
Authors: Bremer Kathryn , Wu Carolyn , Patel Aanand , He Kevin , Grunfeld Alex , Chanfreau Guillaume , Quinlan Margot 
Published: September 2023

AbstractFormins are large, multidomain proteins that nucleate new actin filaments and accelerate elongation through a processive interaction with the barbed end of filaments. Their actin assembly activity is generally attributed to their eponymous Formin Homology (FH) 1 and 2 domains; however, evidence is mounting that regions outside of the FH1FH2 stretch also tune actin assembly. Here, we explore the underlying contributions of the tail domain, which spans the sequence between the FH2 domain and the C-terminus of formins. Tails vary in length from ∼0 to >200 residues and contain a number of recognizable motifs. The most well-studied motif is the ∼15 residue long diaphanous autoregulatory domain (DAD). The DAD mediates all or nothing regulation of actin assembly through an intramolecular interaction with the diaphanous inhibitory domain (DID) in the N-terminal half of the protein. Multiple reports demonstrate that the tail can enhance both nucleation and processivity. In this study, we provide a high-resolution view of the alternative splicing encompassing the tail in theForminHomologyDomain-(Fhod) family of formins during development. While four distinct tails are predicted, we found significant levels of only two of these. We characterized the biochemical effects of the different tails. Surprisingly, the two highly expressed Fhod-tails inhibit processive elongation and diminish the nucleation and elongation rates, while a third supports activity. These findings demonstrate a new mechanism of modulating actin assembly by formins and support the model that splice variants are specialized to build distinct actin structures during development.
Gastric Alimetry®testing and healthcare economic analysis in nausea and vomiting syndromes
Authors: Xu William , Williams Lucy , Sebaratnam Gabrielle , Varghese Chris , Cedarwall Chris , Daker Charlotte , Keane Celia 
Published: September 2023

AbstractBackgroundChronic nausea and vomiting syndromes (CNVS), gastroparesis and functional dyspepsia (FD) are complex disorders. Body Surface Gastric Mapping (BSGM), a new test of gastric function, using Gastric AlimetryⓇ(Alimetry, New Zealand) may be useful for de-escalating healthcare utilisation. This study aimed to define healthcare costs and estimate health economic impacts of implementing this test in patients with chronic gastroduodenal symptoms.MethodsConsecutive patients at a tertiary referral centre evaluated with Gastric Alimetry were included. Frequency and cost data relating to medical investigations, hospital, and outpatient presentations were evaluated. Costs of healthcare utilisation were calculated, and the potential cost savings of implementing Gastric Alimetry within a diagnostic decision-tree model were estimated.ResultsOverall, 31 consecutive patients (mean age 36.1 years; 83.9% female; predominant symptoms: nausea [83.9%], pain [61.3%], vomiting [67.7%], bloating [35.5%]) completed Gastric Alimetry testing. Repeat gastroscopy and abdominal CT rates were 29% (8/28) and 85% (11/13) respectively. Gastric Alimetry testing identified spectral abnormalities in 45.2% of patients, and symptom profiling classified a further 29.1% of patients. Median annualised cost difference after test introduction was NZ$-12,032. Estimated reductions in investigation-related costs when incorporating Gastric Alimetry into the diagnostic workflow model were approximately NZ$1,500 per patient.ConclusionsHealthcare utilisation and confirmatory testing rates remain high in nausea and vomiting syndromes. This study presents real-world data, together with a decision tree analysis, showing Gastric Alimetry can streamline clinical care pathways, resulting in reduced healthcare utilisation and cost.
Research on the measurement of academic activeness of scholars in academic conferences
Authors: Zhao Rongying , Chang Ruru 
Published: September 2023

PurposeAcademic conferences play a crucial role in fostering scholarly exchanges and discussions among core members, thereby shaping the core performance of these events. Understanding the contributions of scholars in academic conferences is essential for advancing the goals and development of such events. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned idea.Design/methodology/approachThis paper proposes a comprehensive measurement method for measuring scholars' academic activeness in academic conferences. Based on the essence of academic activeness, a measurement model is constructed, comprising the breadth of academic activeness using the RFM model and the depth of academic activeness using the ATM model. Additionally, effective categories of scholars are derived from the model, facilitating the identification of valuable scholars in academic conferences.FindingsEmpirical evidence from ASIS&T conference records over the past 20 years demonstrates that the proposed measurement indicators have better coverage compared to traditional evaluation indicators, thus complementing existing scholar evaluation indictators. Furthermore, the academic activeness measurement model presented in this paper exhibits good efficacy in identifying important value and active scholars.Originality/valueThis paper pays attention to the activeness of scholars in academic conferences. It broadens the evaluation of academic conferences and scholars and supplements the evaluation indicators of academic influence.
Consumers' insight and behaviour towards mango quality and safety attributes: implications for integrated value chain development
Authors: Ayyaz Sohail , Bonney Lawrence Bryan , Adhikari Rajendra 
Published: September 2023

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to segment Pakistani consumers based on their insights and preference towards mango quality and safety attributes and to demographically characterise each segment so that effective value chain (VC) development strategies may be developed.Design/methodology/approachFactor and cluster analysis were applied to data collected from 400 mango buyers randomly selected from seven different cities in Pakistan.FindingsThis empirical study identified four distinct segments of mango consumers in Pakistan. The diversity of consumers' perception was mainly based on four factors: food safety, price and marketing, physical quality and shelf life. Based on their demographic characteristics and preferences for product attributes, the identified consumer segments can be classified as “traditional consumers,” “safety-conscious consumers,” price and market-sensitive consumers,” quality-sensitive consumers” and “perfect consumers.” This knowledge is useful to develop mango VCs that target specific consumer segments based on their chain level abilities and aspirations.Research limitations/implicationsThis study offers actors of mango VCs an enhanced understanding of consumer segments based on their perceived preferences towards the quality and safety attributes of mangoes, which would help VC actors design and develop business strategies that deliver value specific to each consumer segments. Findings of this study could also be useful to policy makers to design extension strategies that promote food safety and quality standards in mango VCs. Moreover, this study presents yet another case of consumer segmentation study for VC development in developing countries, adding a stepping stone towards a general VC theory development.Originality/valueThe findings stimulate the momentum of the growing literature, particularly in the developing countries on consumer insights and behaviour toward fruit quality and safety attributes of mangoes.
Temie Giwa-Tubosun of LifeBank: creating the future of health-care supply chain in Africa powered by technology
Authors: Faheem Hadiya , Dutta Sanjib 
Published: September 2023

Social implications
LifeBank is primarily focused on tackling the challenge of maternal mortality in Nigeria and other African countries by providing women access to blood, thereby tackling the challenge of gender inequality. The company employed both men and women at its workplace providing equal opportunities for men and women.

Learning outcomes
Discuss how women entrepreneurs are solving social problems in developing countries using technology and innovation.
Analyze the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in getting the right human capital, raising funds and managing growth for their social business.

Case overview/synopsis
The case discusses how social entrepreneur Temie Giwa-Tubosun (Temie) founded LifeBank, a medical distribution company, to provide access to blood, medical oxygen and vaccines to hospitals in Nigeria. The company used technology to provide information to health providers about which blood bank stored the blood type they needed and delivered it quickly and safely to help save lives.

Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code
CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.
Identifying the stressors hindering performance in the Indian construction industry: an empirical investigation
Authors: Noopur  
Published: September 2023

PurposeThis study attempts to analyse and rank the impact of work-related issues arising within the Indian construction industry in the context of the existing pandemic. Furthermore, this is the first attempt to provide strategies to overcome issues among a workforce that is highly contractual in nature and is currently witnessing the uncertainties of the pandemic's aftermath. To the best of the author's knowledge, few studies have highlighted the combined analysis of job insecurity, psychological stress and emotional exhaustion in the Indian construction industry.Design/methodology/approachThe “Best Worst Methodology” (BWM) has been used in this study to analyse and rank the key factors that eliminate negative characteristics among contractual construction employees. The BWM, outlined by Rezaei (2015, 2016), is a popular “multi-criteria decision analysis technique” due to its advantage of consistent results and lesser pairwise data requirements.FindingsThe study identified and ranked the socioeconomic impact of the three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic on construction sector employees in the Indian subcontinent. The results indicate that job insecurity has the most prominent impact, which ultimately produces psychological stress and emotional exhaustion among employees.Originality/valueTo achieve the objective of identifying and prioritising the criteria of adverse socioeconomic impacts during the pandemic and outlining plans of action for the construction industry, ten experts (civil engineers/managers) from ten different construction projects were involved in a mixed-method case study, which has never been explored in the Indian construction sector.
A complexity-based measure for emergency department crowding
Authors: Taiwo Enayon Sunday , Zaerpour Farzad , Menezes Mozart B.C. , Sun Zhankun 
Published: September 2023

PurposeOvercrowding continues to afflict emergency departments (EDs), and its attendant consequences are becoming increasingly severe. The burden of the COVID-19 pandemic is further escalating the situation worldwide. One of the most critical questions is how to adequately quantify what constitutes overcrowding and determine implications for operations management in improving service efficiency. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned.Design/methodology/approachThe authors propose the time and class complexity measures for ED service systems, taking into account important patient-level and system characteristics. Using an extensive data set from a Canadian ED, the authors investigate the performance of complexity-based measures in predicting service delays.FindingsThe authors find that the complexity measure is potentially more important than some well-known crowding metrics. In particular, EDs can improve service efficiency by managing the level of complexity within a desirable interval. Furthermore, complexity exposes how the interplay between demand-side behavioral changes and supply-side responses affects operational performance. Moreover, the results suggest that arrival patterns—the number of patients of each class arriving per time and times between events (arrivals and service completions)—increase the risk of service delays more than the demand volume.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to provide an extensive investigation into the application of the complexity-based measure for ED crowding. The study demonstrates potential values to be gained in ED service systems if complexity measure is incorporated into their operations management decisions.
Developing future leaders in Malaysian public universities: the factors influencing execution of succession planning
Authors: Keerio Nazia , Ahmad Abd Rahman 
Published: September 2023

PurposeSuccession planning is an emerging area for research in higher education institutions worldwide; however, literature is scarce in the context of developing countries like Malaysia. The factors that have an influence on the execution of succession planning in public universities are the primary goal that has been set for achieving the study's goal. Moreover, the development of leadership in institutions has been taken by adopting formal succession planning. This study aims to be explore the factors that can contribute to the successful execution of the plan, particularly in higher education institutions in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed the qualitative approach. The registrars have been selected by using purposive sampling technique for face-to-face interviews from five public research universities of Malaysia. The in-depth data can be collected at research universities as they are old and comprehensive universities of Malaysia. The data were analysed through thematic analysis.FindingsThe number of factors that have been revealed through the findings are as follows: organisational culture, the support of top-level management, the strategic plan, the reward, the champion from top-level management and the budget. Further, the public universities of Malaysia required ensuring that all employees were aware of succession plan initiatives taken by institutions, although the system was challenged by not taking these factors into account.Originality/valueThe primary data have been collected to provide the insight regarding opportunities and challenges encountered in the implementation of succession planning in Malaysian public universities.
Unlocking the potential of smart learning: exploring the impact of students' technological factors on remote access
Authors: Thottoli Mohammed Muneerali , Thomas K.V. 
Published: September 2023

PurposeThe primary objective of this study is to examine how students' technological factors affect remote access (RA) in smart learning (SL) environments. Additionally, the paper explores the moderating effect of students' technical skills (TS) on RA and SL.Design/methodology/approachThe study applied a quantitative research approach and collected 125 valid questionnaires from students in Oman's higher education institutions (HEIs). A structural equation model (SEM) was employed for data analysis using the Smart PLS 4 version to examine the influence of technological factors on RA in SL environments.FindingsIt was found that the use of cloud-based RA in SL is influenced by students' use of technology, technology competitiveness and the availability of institutional software (IS). Moreover, students' TS were found to play a crucial role in moderating RA and SL, as well as technical knowledge (TK) and SL. These findings highlight the importance of technical competencies and software availability in shaping students' RA experiences.Research limitations/implicationsThe study's findings should be interpreted with caution due to the limited sample size, which may restrict the generalizability of the results.Practical implicationsThe study suggests the technological learning capabilities of HEIs, which significantly improved by prioritizing critical technical factors, including knowledge and use of technology, availability of institutional software and RA antecedents in SL environments.Originality/valueThis paper offers practical and actionable directions for HEIs, universities, colleges and educators looking to incorporate technology into their practices in the dynamic and ever-evolving Fourth Industrial Era.
Consumer privacy in smartphones: a systematic literature review
Authors: R. Balakrishnan Unny , Shome Samik , Shankar Amit , Pani Saroj Kumar 
Published: September 2023

Purpose
This study aims to provide a systematic review of consumer privacy literature in the context of smartphones and undertake a comprehensive analysis of academic research on this evolving research area.

Design/methodology/approach
This review synthesises antecedents, consequences and mediators reported in consumer privacy literature and presents these factors in a conceptual framework to demonstrate the consumer privacy phenomenon.

Findings
Based on the synthesis of constructs reported in the existing literature, a conceptual framework is proposed highlighting antecedents, mediators and outcomes of experiential marketing efforts. Finally, this study deciphers overlooked areas of consumer privacy in the context of smartphone research and provides insightful directions to advance research in this domain in terms of theory development, context, characteristics and methodology.

Originality/value
This study significantly contributes to consumer behaviour literature, specifically consumer privacy literature.
A multi-response optimization approach to mechanical properties improvement of dissimilar resistance spot welding joints
Authors: Hussein Karrar , Akbari Habibollah , Noorossana Rassoul , Yadegari Rostom 
Published: September 2023

Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effects of process input parameters (welding current, welding time, electrode pressure and holding time) on the output responses (nugget diameter, peak load and indentation) that control the mechanical properties and quality of the joints in dissimilar resistance spot welding (RSW) for the third generation of advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) quenching and partitioning (Q&P980) and (SPFC780Y) high-strength steel spot welds.

Design/methodology/approach
Design of experiment approach with two level factors and center points was adopted. Destructive peel and shear tensile strengths were used to measure the responses. The significant factors were determined using analysis of variance implemented by Minitab 18 software. Finally, multiresponse optimization was carried out using the desirability function analysis method.

Findings
Holding time was the most significant factor influencing nugget diameter, whereas welding current had the greatest impact on peak load and indentation. Multiresponse optimization revealed that the optimal settings were a welding current of 12.5 KA, welding time of 18 cycles, electrode pressure of 420 Kgf and holding time of 10 cycles. These settings produced a nugget diameter of 8.0 mm, a peak load of 35.15 KN and an indentation of 22.5%, with a composite desirability function of 0.764.

Originality/value
This study provides an effective approach for multiple response optimization to the mechanical behavior of RSW joints, even though there have been few studies on the third generation of AHSS joints and none on the dissimilar joints of the materials used in this study.