bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Does mandatory disclosure affect recognition of contingent liabilities? Evidence from FIN 48
Authors: Gross Andrew D. 
Published: July 2022

AbstractThis paper investigates whether mandatory disclosure affects managers’ decisions to recognize contingent tax liabilities. Because of the proprietary nature of tax disclosures, some managers have an incentive to minimize tax reserves and to limit the quality of disclosures, while others prefer to maintain large tax reserves to meet future earnings goals. If large tax reserves are maintained, additional disclosure may be beneficial to reduce information asymmetry between managers and financial statement users. I find that firms which increase tax reserves when they implement FIN 48 are more likely to issue higher quality FIN 48 disclosures. Poor disclosure quality is associated with higher future tax expense suggesting that managers who believe the tax disclosures may be used by tax examiners also want to limit the amount of unrecognized tax benefit reported.
Total and regional fat‐to‐muscle mass ratio and risks of incident all‐cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia
Authors: Wang Wenxiu , Luo Yongchun , Zhuang Zhenhuang , Song Zimin , Huang Ninghao , Li Yueying , Dong Xue , Xiao Wendi , Zhao Yimin , Huang Tao 
Published: July 2022

AbstractBackgroundThe fat‐to‐muscle mass ratio (FMR), which integrates the antagonistic effects of fat and muscle mass, has been proposed as a useful indicator to assess disease risk independent of overall obesity. However, little is known about the association between FMR and dementia risk. We aimed to prospectively investigate the sex‐specific associations between total and regional FMR and incident dementia.MethodsA total of 491 420 participants (223 581 men and 267 839 women; mean age 56.7 ± 8.2 and 56.3 ± 8.0 years old, respectively) free of dementia at baseline from the UK Biobank were included. Fat mass and muscle mass were measured using a bioelectrical impedance assessment device. Cox regression analyses were used to examine the associations of total and regional FMR with incident all‐cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VD). The shape of the associations of the continuous scale of FMR and incident dementia were examined using restricted cubic spline analysis.ResultsDuring a median 8.65 years of follow‐up, we documented 2 225 incident all‐cause dementia cases, including 836 AD and 468 VD cases. There was an L‐shaped association between whole body FMR and all‐cause dementia risk in both sexes after adjusting body mass index (BMI) and other covariates (P for non‐linear <0.001 in men and women), where all‐cause dementia risk decreased steeply with increasing FMR and levelled off at around the medians (0.35 in men, 0.61 in women) with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.78 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.96; P = 0.019) and 0.60 (0.47, 0.77; <0.001) per 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in men and women, respectively. Compared with other body parts, FMR of the leg showed the strongest inverse associations [HR (95% CI; P) per 1 SD below the medians: 0.60 (0.48, 0.75; <0.001); 0.61 (0.47, 0.79; <0.001) in men and women, respectively]. Specifically, the inverse associations of whole body FMR on all‐cause dementia risk were significant only among participants over the age of 60 (P for trend <0.001). Multivariable adjusted Cox models showed inverse associations of whole body FMR with AD in men only (P for trend = 0.003), whereas no statistically significant decrease was detected in VD among men and women.ConclusionsOur analyses provide strong evidence for L‐shaped associations of total and regional FMR with the development of dementia among participants aged 60 years or older independent of overall obesity.
How to eliminate the toxic impact of extreme salinity on the ecology of activated sludge? Experimental verification with pickle plant effluents
Authors: Övez Süleyman , Özbasaran Murad , Duba Seyda , Sözen Seval , Orhon Derin 
Published: July 2022

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe study defined a sustainable management scheme to eliminate the toxic impact of extreme salinity on the ecology and performance of an activated sludge process. The scheme was implemented on a plant treating pickle plant effluents involving significant flow and salinity transients. It was conducted in two phases. Firstly, the plant was operated without attenuating extreme salinity transients, enabling observation of all adverse impacts on the microbial ecology. The second phase was implemented with a new management scheme tempering all salinity gradients revealing the recovery of the microbial ecology into a stable and sustainable state.RESULTSInitially, the microbial community could not cope with rapid salinity increase and exhibited significant changes resulting in the predominance of filamentous microorganisms, disruption of the floc structure and almost total loss of eukaryotic microorganisms. Settling problems and deterioration of effluent quality were observed, followed by plasmolysis and repeated total loss of the biomass. The new waste management strategy allowed only transients limited to ±500 μS cm−1 in the influent; in this way, the microbial ecology steadily improved. The effluent chemical oxygen demand could be maintained below 80–90 mg L−1 with no appreciable particulate matter escape.CONCLUSIONSResults identified sharp salinity transients as the key factor triggering total destruction of activated sludge. The novel scheme provided conclusive evidence that a stable microbial community could be maintained even when continuously exposed to a salinity level of around 10 000 μS cm−1 in the reactor, provided that variations remained limited to ±500 μS cm−1, ensuring satisfactory effluent quality. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).
Connecting soil health and water quality in agricultural landscapes
Authors: Lewandowski Ann Marcelle , Cates Anna 
Published: July 2022

AbstractAs soil plays an integral role in the water cycle, the dynamic and inherent attributes of soil are important drivers of the amount and quality of water in streams, lakes, and groundwater. Studies have demonstrated links between agricultural soil management and water movement in soil, to the edge of fields, and across entire watersheds that feed water bodies of interest. Still, not enough is known about linkages between soil management, soil health, and watershed water quality to adequately predict impacts of land use changes and to effectively use soil management as a tool for water resource management. We describe here the mechanisms connecting soil health and water quality, the state of the science at the nexus of the two fields of study, and an overview of recent studies on the topic. A fundamental challenge is measuring and elucidating connections between processes working at different temporal and spatial scales. Research needs include expansion of field‐scale data and analysis of combined datasets, greater understanding of the mechanisms that explain observed associations between management practices and water quality, ensuring that hydrologic models and decision‐support tools more effectively reflect these soil–water mechanisms, and greater use of systems‐based research designs.
Parent‐in‐training: Resident and fellow experiences from pregnancy to parenthood
Authors: Sharp Eleanor A. , Nicholson Kristina J. , Taft Maia , Glaser Daniel H. , Gibson Blake , Kazmerski Traci M. 
Published: July 2022

AbstractBackgroundResidents and fellows with children face distinct challenges; however, knowledge of factors associated with increased parental stress is limited.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate experiences and concerns of physician trainees and identify factors associated with higher parental stress.MethodsAn anonymous survey was distributed to all resident and fellow trainees in June 2021 to assess experiences regarding parental leave, breastfeeding, and childcare. We used the Parental Stress Scale (PSS) to identify the factors associated with stress and analyzed the results using descriptive statistics, linear regression, and thematic analysis.ResultsOf 1719 trainees, 509 participated (62% women, 30% response rate); half were parents. One‐third of the respondents (152/470) said that childcare costs affected the number of children they plan to have; One‐third of respondents (152/470) said that childcare costs affected the number of children they plan to have; 45% (210/470) said childcare costs affected when they plan to have children. Among parents, the mean PSS score was 44.3 ± 12.3, with no significant gender differences. More women identified as primary or coprimary caregivers (97% [113/117] vs. 79% [60/76], p < .001) and anticipated training extensions due to parental leave (36% vs. 13% men, p = .009). Breastfeeding was associated with significantly higher PSS scores (p = .017). Twenty‐four percent of breastfeeding parents (22/93) felt that their program/institution did not support their breastfeeding goals; lack of perceived support was associated with significantly higher PSS scores (63.6 ± 13.1 vs. 38.6 ± 8.7, p < .001). Trainees experiencing unreliable childcare had significantly higher PSS scores (p = .005). Forty percent (64/159) changed their career plans after becoming parents.ConclusionsPhysician trainee parents experience high stress, with women bearing disproportionate burdens in the domains of parental leave and breastfeeding. These results should inform policies promoting trainee wellness and gender equity.
Disrupted Topological Organization of White Matter Network in Angelman Syndrome
Authors: Wei Lei , Du Xiaonan , Yang Zidong , Ding Ming , Yang Baofeng , Wang Ji , Long Shasha , Qiao Zhongwei , Jiang Yonghui , Wang Yi , Wang He 
Published: July 2022

BackgroundAngelman syndrome (AS) is a genetic disorder that affects neurodevelopment. The investigation of changes in the brain white matter network, which would contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of AS brain, was lacking.PurposeTo investigate both local and global alterations of white matter in patients with AS.Study TypeProspective.SubjectsA total of 29 AS patients (6.6 ± 1.4 years, 15 [52%] females) and 19 age‐matched healthy controls (HC) (7.0 ± 1.5 years, 10 [53%] females).Field Strength/SequenceA 3‐T, three‐dimensional (3D) T1‐weighted imaging by using gradient‐echo‐based sequence, single shell diffusion tensor imaging by using spin‐echo‐based echo‐planar imaging.AssessmentNetwork metrics including global efficiency (Eg), local efficiency (Eloc), small world coefficient (Swc), rich‐club coefficient (Φ), and nodal degree (ND) were estimated from diffusion MR (dMR) data. Connections among highly connected (hub) regions and less connected (peripheral) regions were also assessed. Correlation between the topological parameters and age for each group was also calculated to assess the development of the brain.Statistical TestsLinear regression model, permutation test. P values estimated from the regression model for each brain region were adjusted by false discovery rate (FDR) correction.ResultsAS patients showed significantly lower Eg and higher swc compared to HC. Φn significantly increased at higher k‐levels in AS patients. In addition, the connections among hub regions and peripheral regions were significantly interrupted in AS patients.Data ConclusionThe AS brain showed diminished connectivity, reflected by reduced network efficiency compared to HC. Compared to densely connected regions, less connected regions were more vulnerable in AS.Evidence Level2Technical EfficacyStage 3
Early predictors of clinical deterioration in a cohort of outpatients with COVID‐19 in southern Italy: A multicenter observational study
Authors: Monari Caterina , Pisaturo Mariantonietta , Maggi Paolo , Macera Margherita , Di Caprio Giovanni , Pisapia Raffaella , Gentile Valeria , Fordellone Mario , Chiodini Paolo , Coppola Nicola ,   CoviCam Group
Published: July 2022

AbstractData regarding early predictors of clinical deterioration in patients with infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is still scarce. The aim of the study is to identify early symptoms or signs that may be associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). We conducted a multicentre prospective cohort study on a cohort of patients with COVID‐19 in home isolation from March 2020 to April 2021. We assessed longitudinal clinical data (fever, dyspnea, need for hospitalization) through video calls at three specific time points: the beginning of symptoms or the day of the first positivity of the nasopharyngeal swab for SARS‐CoV‐2‐RNA (t0), and 3 (t3) and 7 (t7) days after the onset of symptoms. We included 329 patients with COVID‐19: 182 (55.3%) males, mean age 53.4 ± 17.4 years, median Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) of 1 (0–3). Of the 329 patients enrolled, 171 (51.98%) had a mild, 81 (24.6%) a moderate, and 77 (23.4%) a severe illness; 151 (45.9%) were hospitalized. Compared to patients with mild COVID‐19, moderate and severe patients were older (p < 0.001) and had more comorbidities, especially hypertension (p < 0.001) and cardiovascular diseases (p = 0.01). At t3 and t7, we found a significant higher rate of persisting fever (≥37°C) among patients with moderate (91.4% and 58.0% at t3 and t7, respectively; p < 0.001) and severe outcome (75.3% and 63.6%, respectively; p < 0.001) compared to mild COVID‐19 outcome (27.5% and 11.7%, respectively; p < 0.001). Factors independently associated with a more severe outcome were persisting fever at t3 and t7, increasing age, and CCI above 2 points. Persisting fever at t3 and t7 seems to be related to a more severe COVID‐19. This data may be useful to assess hospitalization criteria and optimize the use of resources in the outpatient setting.
Association between COVID‐19 and telomere length: A bidirectional Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Huang Danqi , Lin Siqi , He Junting , Wang Qi , Zhan Yiqiang 
Published: July 2022

AbstractSeveral traditional observational studies suggested an association between COVID‐19 and leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a biomarker for biological age. However, whether there was a causal association between them remained unclear. We aimed to investigate whether genetically predicted COVID‐19 is related to the risk of LTL, and vice versa. We performed bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) study using summary statistics from the genome‐wide association studies of critically ill COVID‐19 (n = 1 388 342) and LTL (n = 472 174) of European ancestry. The random‐effects inverse‐variance weighted estimation method was applied as the primary method with several other estimators as complementary methods. Using six single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of genome‐wide significance as instrumental variables for critically ill COVID‐19, we did not find a significant association of COVID‐19 on LTL (β = 0.0075, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.018 to 0.021, p = 0.733). Likewise, using 97 SNPs of genome‐wide significance as instrumental variables for LTL, we did not find a significant association of LTL on COVID‐19 (odds ratio = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.79–1.28, p = 0.973). Comparable results were obtained using MR‐Egger regression, weighted median, and weighted mode approaches. We did not find evidence to support a causal association between COVID‐19 and LTL in either direction.
Targeting mitochondria in the regulation of neurodegenerative diseases: A comprehensive review
Authors: Maurya Shashank Kumar , Gupta Suchi , Bakshi Amrita , Kaur Harpreet , Jain Arushi , Senapati Sabyasachi , Baghel Meghraj Singh 
Published: July 2022

AbstractMitochondria are one of the essential cellular organelles. Apart from being considered as the powerhouse of the cell, mitochondria have been widely known to regulate redox reaction, inflammation, cell survival, cell death, metabolism, etc., and are implicated in the progression of numerous disease conditions including neurodegenerative diseases. Since brain is an energy‐demanding organ, mitochondria and their functions are important for maintaining normal brain homeostasis. Alterations in mitochondrial gene expression, mutations, and epigenetic modification contribute to inflammation and neurodegeneration. Dysregulation of reactive oxygen species production by mitochondria and aggregation of proteins in neurons leads to alteration in mitochondria functions which further causes neuronal death and progression of neurodegeneration. Pharmacological studies have prioritized mitochondria as a possible drug target in the regulation of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, the present review article has been intended to provide a comprehensive understanding of mitochondrial role in the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases mainly Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis followed by possible intervention and future treatment strategies to combat mitochondrial‐mediated neurodegeneration.
Disc geometry measurement methods affect reported compressive mechanics by up to 65%
Authors: Lim Shiyin , Huff Reece D. , Veres Joanna E. , Satish Divya , O'Connell Grace D. 
Published: July 2022

AbstractMechanical testing is a valuable tool for assessing intervertebral disc health, but the wide range of testing protocols makes it difficult to compare results from different studies. Normalizing mechanical properties by disc geometry allows for such comparisons, but there is little consistency in the methods by which disc geometry is measured. As such, we hypothesized that methods used to measure disc geometry would impact reported mechanical properties. Disc height and area were measured using computed tomography (CT), digital calipers, and ImageJ to yield three different measurements for disc height and six for disc area. Disc heights measured by digital calipers ex situ were >30% less than disc heights measured in situ by CT, and disc areas measured ex situ using ImageJ were >30% larger than those measured by CT. This significantly affected reported mechanical properties, leading to a 65% reduction in normalized compressive stiffness in the most extreme case. Though we cannot quantitatively correct between methods, results presented in this study suggest that disc geometry measurement methods have a significant impact on normalized mechanical properties and should be accounted for when comparing results.
All‐Dielectric Metasurface Empowered Optical‐Electronic Hybrid Neural Networks
Authors: Qu Geyang , Cai Guiyi , Sha Xinbo , Chen Qinmiao , Cheng Jiaping , Zhang Yao , Han Jiecai , Song Qinghai , Xiao Shumin 
Published: July 2022

AbstractOptical computing has a series of advantages over its electronic counterpart, e.g., low energy consumption, high speed, and intrinsic parallelism. Diffraction deep neural networks (D2NNs) are a prominent example capable of processing images directly without addressing the spatial locations of each element. Despite the great successes, the D2NNs typically utilize the multilayer framework and face the severe challenge of misalignment in the optical region. Herein, a single metasurface‐based optical‐electronic hybrid neural network (OENN) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The OENN is composed of a titanium dioxide (TiO2) metasurface and a fully‐connected electronic layer. The combination of nonlocal neural layer and nonlinear transformation has significantly expanded the neural network capacity. Consequently, the classification accuracy on handwritten digits recognition can still be as high as 98.05% without employing the architecture of cascaded metasurfaces. The OENN shall shed light on the practical applications of optical computing in the visible spectrum.
Engineering Hydrogels for Modulation of Material‐Cell Interactions
Authors: Vieira Sílvia , Silva‐Correia Joana , Reis Rui L. , Oliveira J. Miguel 
Published: July 2022

AbstractHydrogels are a recurrent platform for Tissue Engineering (TE) strategies. Their versatility and the variety of available methods for tuning their properties highly contribute to hydrogels’ success. As a result, the design of advanced hydrogels has been thoroughly studied, in the quest for better solutions not only for drugs‐ and cell‐based therapies but also for more fundamental studies. The wide variety of sources, crosslinking strategies, and functionalization methods, and mostly the resemblance of hydrogels to the natural extracellular matrix, makes these three dimensional hydrated structures an excellent tool for TE approaches. The state‐of‐the‐art information regarding hydrogel design, processing methods, and the influence of different hydrogel formulations on the final cell‐biomaterial interactions are overviewed herein.
Gender‐based effect of absence of gut microbiota on the protective efficacy of Bifidobacterium longum‐fermented rice bran diet against inflammation‐associated colon tumorigenesis
Authors: Kumar Robin , Maurya Akhilendra K. , Parker Kristopher D. , Kant Rama , Ibrahim Hend , Kabir Md. Imtiazul , Kumar Dileep , Weber Annika M. , Agarwal Rajesh , Kuhn Kristine A. , Ryan Elizabeth P. , Raina Komal 
Published: July 2022

AbstractDietary rice bran (RB) has shown capacity to influence metabolism by modulation of gut microbiota in individuals at risk for colorectal cancer (CRC), which warranted attention for delineating mechanisms for bidirectional influences and cross‐feeding between the host and RB‐modified gut microbiota to reduce CRC. Accordingly, in the present study, fermented rice bran (FRB, fermented with a RB responsive microbe Bifidobacterium longum), and non‐fermented RB were fed as 10% w/w (diet) to gut microbiota‐intactspf or germ‐free micegf to investigate comparative efficacy against inflammation‐associated azoxymethane/dextran sodium sulfate (AOM/DSS)‐induced CRC. Results indicated both microbiota‐dependent and independent mechanisms for RB meditated protective efficacy against CRC that was associated with reduced neoplastic lesion size and local‐mucosal/systemic inflammation, and restoration of colonic epithelial integrity. Enrichment of beneficial commensals (such as, Clostridiales, Blautia, Roseburia), phenolic metabolites (benzoate and catechol metabolism), and dietary components (ferulic acid‐4 sulfate, trigonelline, and salicylate) were correlated with anti‐CRC efficacy. Germ‐free studies revealed gender‐specific physiological variables could differentially impact CRC growth and progression. In the germ‐free females, the RB dietary treatment showed a ∼72% reduction in the incidence of colonic epithelial erosion when compared to the ∼40% reduction in FRB‐fed micegf. Ex vivo fermentation of RB did not parallel the localized‐protective benefits of gut microbial metabolism by RB in damaged colonic tissues. Findings from this study suggest potential needs for safety considerations of fermented fiber rich foods as dietary strategies against severe inflammation‐associated colon tumorigenesis (particularly with severe damage to the colonic epithelium).