bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Concerted variation in melanogenesis genes underlies emergent patterning of plumage in capuchino seedeaters
Authors: Estalles Cecilia , Turbek Sheela P. , José Rodríguez-Cajarville María , Silveira Luís Fábio , Wakamatsu Kazumasa , Ito Shosuke , Lovette Irby J. , Tubaro Pablo L. , Lijtmaer Darío A. , Campagna Leonardo
Published: January 2022

Coloration traits are central to animal communication; they often govern mate choice, promote reproductive isolation and catalyse speciation. Specific genetic changes can cause variation in coloration, yet far less is known about how overall coloration patterns—which involve combinations of multiple colour patches across the body—can arise and are genomically controlled. We performed genome-wide association analyses to link genomic changes to variation in melanin (eumelanin and pheomelanin) concentration in feathers from different body parts in the capuchino seedeaters, an avian radiation with diverse colour patterns despite remarkably low genetic differentiation across species. Cross-species colour variation in each plumage patch is associated with unique combinations of variants at a few genomic regions, which include mostly non-coding (presumably regulatory) areas close to known pigmentation genes. Genotype–phenotype associations can vary depending on patch colour and are stronger for eumelanin pigmentation, suggesting eumelanin production is tightly regulated. Although some genes are involved in colour variation in multiple patches, in some cases, the SNPs associated with colour changes in different patches segregate spatially. These results suggest that coloration patterning in capuchinos is generated by the modular combination of variants that regulate multiple melanogenesis genes, a mechanism that may have promoted this rapid radiation.
A physiological profile approach to animal temperament: How to understand the functional significance of individual differences in behaviour
Authors: McMahon Elyse K. , Youatt Elizabeth , Cavigelli Sonia A.
Published: January 2022

Animal behaviour research has experienced a renewed interest in consistent individual differences (i.e. animal personality or temperament). Recent ecological studies have identified environmental conditions that give rise to the development and evolution of temperaments and to fitness-related outcomes of temperament. Additional literature has also described relationships between temperaments and physiological regulation. However, one-to-one relationships between one behavioural trait and one physiological system do not account for co-selection of behavioural and physiological traits, nor the complex signalling among physiological systems. In the current paper, we review the literature on multiple physiological processes associated with temperament, propose temperament-specific physiological profiles, and focus on next steps to understand the functional significance, evolution and maintenance of temperaments. We propose that to understand causes and consequences of temperament we need to characterize integrative physiological profiles associated with different temperaments.
Economical defence of resources structures territorial space use in a cooperative carnivore
Authors: Sells Sarah N. , Mitchell Michael S. , Ausband David E. , Luis Angela D. , Emlen Douglas J. , Podruzny Kevin M. , Gude Justin A.
Published: January 2022

Ecologists have long sought to understand space use and mechanisms underlying patterns observed in nature. We developed an optimality landscape and mechanistic territory model to understand mechanisms driving space use and compared model predictions to empirical reality. We demonstrate our approach using grey wolves (Canis lupus). In the model, simulated animals selected territories to economically acquire resources by selecting patches with greatest value, accounting for benefits, costs and trade-offs of defending and using space on the optimality landscape. Our approach successfully predicted and explained first- and second-order space use of wolves, including the population's distribution, territories of individual packs, and influences of prey density, competitor density, human-caused mortality risk and seasonality. It accomplished this using simple behavioural rules and limited data to inform the optimality landscape. Results contribute evidence that economical territory selection is a mechanistic bridge between space use and animal distribution on the landscape. This approach and resulting gains in knowledge enable predicting effects of a wide range of environmental conditions, contributing to both basic ecological understanding of natural systems and conservation. We expect this approach will demonstrate applicability across diverse habitats and species, and that its foundation can help continue to advance understanding of spatial behaviour.
The draft genome sequence of Japanese rhinoceros beetle Trypoxylus dichotomus
Authors: Morita Shinichi , Shibata Tomoko F. , Nishiyama Tomoaki , Kobayashi Yuuki , Yamaguchi Katsushi , Toga Kouhei , Ohde Takahiro , Gotoh Hiroki , Kojima Takaaki , Weber Jesse , Salvemini Marco , Bino Takahiro , Mase Mutsuki , Nakata Moe , Mori Tomoko , Mori Shogo , Cornette Richard , Sakura Kazuki , Lavine Laura C. , Emlen Douglas J. , Niimi Teruyuki , Shigenobu Shuji
Published: January 2022

Beetles are the largest insect order and one of the most successful animal groups in terms of number of species. The Japanese rhinoceros beetle Trypoxylus dichotomus (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Dynastini) is a giant beetle with distinctive exaggerated horns present on the head and prothoracic regions of the male. T. dichotomus has been used as research model in various fields such as evolutionary developmental biology, ecology, ethology, biomimetics, and drug discovery. In this study, de novo assembly of 615 Mb, representing 80% of the genome estimated by flow cytometry, was obtained using the 10x Chromium platform. The scaffold N50 length of the genome assembly was 8.02 Mb, with repetitive elements predicted to comprise 49.5% of the assembly. In total, 23,987 protein-coding genes were predicted in the genome. In addition, de novo assembly of the mitochondrial genome yielded a contig of 20,217 bp. We also analyzed the transcriptome by generating 16 RNA-seq libraries from a variety of tissues of both sexes and developmental stages, which allowed us to identify 13 co-expressed gene modules. The detailed genomic and transcriptomic information of T. dichotomus is the most comprehensive among those reported for any species of Dynastinae. This genomic information will be an excellent resource for further functional and evolutionary analyses, including the evolutionary origin and genetic regulation of beetle horns and the molecular mechanisms underlying sexual dimorphism.
The dgc2 gene encoding di-guanylate cyclase suppresses both motility and biofilm formation in the filamentous cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya boryana
Authors: Toida Kazuma , Kushida Wakana , Yamamoto Hiroki , Yamamoto Kyoka , Uesaka Kazuma , Ihara Kunio , Fujita Yuichi , Iwasaki Hideo
Published: January 2022

Colony pattern formations of bacteria with motility manifest complicated morphological self-organization phenomena. Leptolyngbya boryana is the filamentous cyanobacterial species, which has been used as a genetic model organism for studying metabolism including photosynthesis and nitrogen-fixation. Although a widely used type strain (wild type) of this species has not been reported to show any motile activity, we isolated a spontaneous mutant strain which shows active motility (gliding activity) to give rise to complicated colony patters, including comet-like wandering clusters and disk-like rotating vortices on solid media. Whole-genome resequencing identified multiple mutations on the genome in the mutant strain. We confirmed that inactivation of a candidate gene, dgc2 (LBDG_02920), in the wild type background was sufficient to give rise to motility and the morphological colony patterns. This gene encodes a protein, containing the GGDEF motif, which is conserved at the catalytic domain of diguanylate cyclase (DGC). Although DGC has been reported to be involved in biofilm formation, the mutant strain lacking dgc2 significantly facilitated biofilm formation, suggesting a role of DGC for suppressing both gliding motility and biofilm formation. Thus, L. boryana provides an excellent genetic model to study dynamic colony pattern formation, and novel insight on a role of c-di-GMP for biofilm formation.

Importance

Self-propelled bacteria often show complicated collective behaviors, such as the formation of dense moving clusters, which is exemplified by wandering comet-like and rotating disk-like colonies, while molecular details of forming such structures remain limited. We found that a strain deficient in the diguanylate cyclase gene dgc2 in the filamentous cyanobacterium L. boryana induces motility, complex and dynamic colony pattern formation including the comet-like and disk-like clusters. While c-di-GMP has been reported to activate biofilm formation in some bacterial species, disruption of the dgc2 gene unexpectedly enhanced it, providing a novel role for c-di-GMP regulatory system in both colony pattern formation and biofilm formation.
An exploration of attributes effecting the relationship between competencies and performance of CHWs in a rural block.
Authors: G Revadi , Joshi Ankur , Pakhare Abhijit P
Published: January 2022

Introduction:
Induction of Community Health Workers (CHWs) into various health programs is considered as an integral strategy to achieve universal health coverage. Thus, it is prudent to explore and understand the CHWs individual and the system level interactions and their further translation into performance and actionable domains.
Objective:
To quantify the relationship structure between envisioned competencies and CHW performance with factors operating at individual and the immediate system level as effect modifiers.
Methodology:
A cross-sectional study was done in primary rural health care settings of Madhya Pradesh state in Central India. CHWs were stratified as relatively low performing (RLP) and relatively high performing (RHP) based on their annual performance-based incentives for the year (April 2017- March 2018). CHWs were administered a self-reported questionnaire that included socio demographic details, knowledge, skills assessment and availability of logistics.
Results:
Among the 90 eligible CHWs, 31 RLP and 30 RHP CHWs were interviewed. The CHWs performance was found to be significantly associated with age, education, caste, presence of under 5 children, knowledge and competency scores. However, while adjusting for the confounders only age and educational status were found to be significant. Further cluster analysis revealed two clusters based on individual and system characteristics which was found to influence the CHWs performance.
Conclusion:
The relationship between the CHWs truest competencies and performance based incentivisation tends to have been influenced by age and education which could help in developing a more focused supportive supervision catering to their needs.
Keywords: community health worker, performance, health system, competency.
Comparison of in-hospital mortality and clinical outcomes among patients greater than and less than 80 years undergoing TAVR
Authors: Murthi Mukunthan , Velagapudi Sujitha , Sharma Bharosa , Akuna Emmanuel , Kingsley Olisa Ezegwu , Park Dae Yong , Atluri Ramtej , Vardar Ufuk
Published: January 2022

Background

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure has been increasingly utilized in the management of aortic stenosis in the elderly. We sought to assess the hospital outcomes and major adverse events of TAVR in patients ≥80 years old compared to those <80 years.

Methods

We performed a retrospective observational study using the National Inpatient Sample - 2018. We divided TAVR patients into two cohorts based on age being ≥80 years and <80 years old. The primary outcomes were the comparison of in-hospital mortality and major adverse events (MAE) in the cohorts.

Results

We identified 63,630 patients who underwent TAVR procedures from January 1 to December 31, 2018. Among them, 35, 115(55%) were ≥80 years and 28,515(45%) were <80 years of age. There was a higher rate of post-procedure in-hospital mortality rate in patients ≥80 years (1.6% vs. 1.1%, aOR=1.56, [CI 1.13 -2.16], p=0.006). They also had higher rates of pacemaker insertion compared to those <80 years old (7.4 vs 6.5%, aOR=1.17 [CI 1-1.35], p=0.03). On subgroup analysis, the rates of MAE were not different between the two cohorts (23.8 vs 23.4, p=0.09) but patients ≥80 years who experienced MAE had higher in-hospital mortality (5.7 vs 4.3%, aOR=1.58 [CI=1.08-2.32], p=0.01) and shorter length of hospital stay (7.2 vs 8.7 days, p=0.03) compared to those <80. Anemia, liver disease, chronic kidney disease and previous stroke were associated with higher odds of in-hospital MAE in both groups.

Conclusion

This study shows that in patients undergoing TAVR, those ≥80 years old had higher in-hospital mortality and higher rates of pacemaker insertion compared to those < 80 years. The rates of MAE were not significantly different between the two groups.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of COVID-19 vaccines safety, tolerability, and efficacy among HIV-infected patients
Authors: Tamuzi Jacques L , Muyaya Ley M , Mitra Amal , Nyasulu Peter S
Published: January 2022

Objective

To conduct a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of all recommended SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) vaccines in people living with HIV (PLWH), as well as an overview of the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of the vaccines in PLWH.

Methods

We searched six databases, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, Medline, Medrxiv, Global research on COVID-19 database, and Google Scholar for studies investigating the effects of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines on PLWH. Results of the association were summarised by SARS-CoV IgG seroconversion and level, vaccines efficacy and tolerability. A meta-analysis was performed for studies, using random-effects model and a pooled RR with 95% CI was reported.

Results

Twenty-three of the 1052 studies screened met the inclusion criteria. The review included 28, 246 participants among whom 79.55% (22,469/28, 246) were PLWH with median CD4 ≥ 200 cells/µL. The pooled estimate of SARS-CoV-2 IgG seroconversion and positive neutralizing antibodies after the second vaccination dose between PLWH vs HIV negative were RR 0.95 (95%CI: 0.92 – 0.99, P = 0.006) and 0.88 (95%CI: 0.82- 0.95, P = 0.0007), respectively. The mean difference of IgG antibodies level (BAU/ml) was found higher in mRNA vaccines MD -1444.97 (95%CI: -1871.39, -1018.55). PLWH with CD4 less than 500 cells/ µl had 15% risk reduction of neutralizing antibodies response compared to those with CD4 ≥ 500 cells/µl (P = 0.003). The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine effectiveness was 65% (95%CI: 56%-72%, P <0.001) among vaccinated compared to unvaccinated PLWH. PLWH with CD4 count <350 cells/µl had lower vaccine effectiveness compared to CD4 count ≥ 350 cells/µl with 59% vs 72%, respectively. Vaccine tolerability was the same between PLWH and HIV negatives.

Conclusion

According to our findings, PLWH with CD4 ≥ 200 cells/µL had lower immunogenicity and antigenicity in COVID-19 vaccines than HIV negatives. Additional doses of SARS-CoV- 2 vaccination are needful in PLWH.
Sex disparities in COVID-19 mortality vary considerably across time: The case of New York State
Authors: Danielsen Ann Caroline , Boulicault Marion MN , Gompers Annika , Rushovich Tamara , Lee Katharine MN , Richardson Sarah S
Published: January 2022

In order to characterize how sex disparities in COVID-19 mortality evolved over time in New York State (NY), we analyzed sex-disaggregated data from the US Gender/Sex COVID-19 Data Tracker from March 14, 2020 to August 28, 2021. We defined six different time periods and calculated mortality rates by sex and mortality rate ratios, both cumulatively and for each time period separately. As of August 28, 2021, 19 227 (44.2%) women and 24 295 (55.8%) men died from COVID-19 in NY. 72.7% of the cumulative difference in the number of COVID-19 deaths between women and men was accrued between March 14 and May 4, 2020. During this period, the COVID-19 mortality rate ratio for men compared to women was 1.56 (95% CI: 1.52-1.61). In the five subsequent time periods, the corresponding ratio ranged between 1.08 (0.98-1.18) and 1.24 (1.15-1.34). While the cumulative mortality rate ratio of men compared to women was 1.34 (1.31-1.37), the ratio equals 1.19 (1.16-1.22) if deaths during the initial COVID-19 surge are excluded from the analysis. This article shows that in NY the magnitude of sex disparities in COVID-19 mortality was not stable across time. While the initial surge in COVID-19 mortality was characterized by stark sex disparities, these were greatly attenuated after the introduction of public health controls.
A honey bee symbiont buffers larvae against nutritional stress through lysine supplementation
Authors: Parish Audrey J. , Rice Danny W. , Tanquary Vicki M. , Tennessen Jason M. , Newton Irene L.G.
Published: January 2022

Honey bees, the world’s most significant agricultural pollinator, have suffered dramatic losses in the last few decades (1,2). These losses are largely due to the synergistic effects of multiple stressors, the most pervasive of which is limited nutrition (3–5). The effects of poor nutrition are most damaging in the developing larvae of honey bees, who mature into workers unable to meet the needs of their colony (6–8). It is therefore essential that we better understand the nutritional landscape experienced by honey bee larvae. In this study, we characterize the metabolic capabilities of a honey bee larvae-associated bacterium, Bombella apis (formerly Parasaccharibacter apium), and its effects on the nutritional resilience of larvae. We found that B. apis is the only bacterium associated with larvae that can withstand the antimicrobial larval diet. Further, we found that B. apis can synthesize all essential amino acids and significantly alters the amino acid content of synthetic larval diet, largely by increasing the essential amino acid lysine. Analyses of gene gain/loss across the phylogeny suggest that two distinct cationic amino acid transporters were gained by B. apis ancestors, and the transporter LysE is conserved across all sequenced strains of B. apis. This result suggests that amino acid export is a key feature conserved within the Bombella clade. Finally, we tested the impact of B. apis on developing honey bee larvae subjected to nutritional stress and found that larvae supplemented with B. apis are bolstered against mass reduction despite limited nutrition. Together, these data suggest an important role of B. apis as a nutritional mutualist of honey bee larvae.
A molecular brake that modulates spliceosome pausing at detained introns contributes to neurodegeneration
Authors: Meng Dawei , Zheng Qian , Zhang Xue , Luo Li , Jia Yichang
Published: January 2022

Emerging evidence suggests that intron-detaining transcripts (IDTs) are a nucleus-detained and polyadenylated mRNA pool for cell to quickly and effectively respond to environmental stimuli and stress. However, the underlying mechanisms of detained intron (DI) splicing are still largely unknown. Here, we suggest that post-transcriptional DI splicing is paused at Bact state, an active spliceosome but not catalytically primed, which depends on SNIP1 (Smad Nuclear Interacting Protein 1) and RNPS1 (a serine-rich RNA binding protein) interaction. RNPS1 and Bact component preferentially dock at DIs and the RNPS1 docking is sufficient to trigger spliceosome pausing. Haploinsufficiency of Snip1 attenuates neurodegeneration and globally rescues IDT accumulation caused by a previously reported mutant U2 snRNA, a basal spliceosomal component. Snip1 conditional knockout in cerebellum decreases DI splicing efficiency and causes neurodegeneration. Therefore, we suggest that SNIP1 and RNPS1 form a molecular brake for the spliceosome pausing, and that its misregulation contributes to neurodegeneration.
Analysis of cell-specific peripheral blood biomarkers in severe allergic asthma identifies innate immune dysfunction
Authors: Nicholas Ben , Guo Jane , Lee Hyun-Hee , Bailey Alistair , de Waal Malefyt Rene , Cicmil Milenko , Djukanovic Ratko
Published: January 2022

Asthma is a disease of complex origin and multiple pathologies. There are currently very few biomarkers of proven utility in its diagnosis, management or response to treatment. Recent studies have identified multiple asthma phenotypes following biofluid analysis; however, such findings may be driven by the well-characterised alterations in immune cell populations in asthma. We present a study designed to identify cell type-specific gene signatures of severe allergic asthma in peripheral blood samples. Using transcriptomic profiling of four magnetically purified peripheral blood cell types, we identify significant gene expression changes in monocytes and NK cells but not T lymphocytes in severe asthmatics. Pathway analysis indicates dysfunction of immune cell regulation and bacterial suppression in the NK cells. These gene expression changes may be useful on their own as prognostic peripheral blood cell markers of severe asthma, but also may indicate novel cell pathways for therapeutic intervention.
Seeking elsewhere: a systematic review of literature surrounding attrition and retention of female architects in the profession post-registration
Authors: Möller Marli , Dupré Karine , Fernando Ruwan
Published: January 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide a global snapshot of the current state of knowledge regarding attrition rates of women architects. The intended audience includes all the stakeholders of the profession, as well as those interested in professional attrition studies, with the aim to contribute to a social debate, which places increasing value on diversity, equal representation and retention in this field.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper has utilized the structured analytical technique of a systematic review of the scholarship involving scholarship published over two decades between the years 2000 and 2020. Having selected research on this topic following a series of exclusionary and inclusionary criteria for relevancy and accuracy, this select research has been categorically and thoroughly analyzed using this technique.

Findings

This literature review identifies four main recurring themes among the literature, which address this research question, including: (1). cross-national differences and similarities; (2) demotivating factors leading to attrition; (3) graduate/architect terminology, which blurs the distinction between participants in architecture; and (4) implications of female architects as represented in professional publications and the “reward system.” Consequently, this literature review finds that to date no singular cause can be pinpointed as the sole cause of women's attrition, but rather a series of complex and intertwining factors, some of them specific to the profession.

Originality/value

This paper suggests areas for further study into the reduction of attrition rates of registered women in this discipline, with an emphasis that further research may expand to focus rather on positive aspects of the profession resulting in areas of retention, which has been of little focus in current research. Additionally, these findings make suggestions toward a series of recommendations that may assist in framing the industry toward more positive and equitable career and industry trajectories.
Coopetition and international entrepreneurship: the influence of a competitor orientation
Authors: Crick James M. , Crick Dave
Published: January 2022

Purpose

Guided by a relational, stakeholder perspective of resource-based theory, the purpose of the current investigation is to help unpack the complexity of the performance-enhancing nature of coopetition for international entrepreneurs, namely the interplay between collaboration and competition. The context features under-resourced wine producers owned and managed by entrepreneurs that have implemented an internationalised business model. The focus of the study involves the influence of a “competitor orientation”, namely when decision-makers understand the short-term strengths, weaknesses, long-term capabilities and strategies of key current and potential rivals.

Design/methodology/approach

Data collection primarily featured semi-structured interviews with owner-managers of wine-producing firms in New Zealand that reflected heterogeneity amongst international entrepreneurs' strategies targeting different product markets within their respective business models. Secondary data were also collected where possible. Specifically, interviewees' firms exhibited different portfolios involving wine sales (with varying export intensities) together with augmented sales of tourism-related products/services focussed on the domestic market.

Findings

Coopetition activities amongst international entrepreneurs varied; i.e. influenced by respective owner-managers' competitor orientations. Illustrations of different decision-makers' business models within a 2 × 2 matrix feature those with a low- or high-export intensity, together with a narrow or augmented product portfolio. Internationalising entrepreneurs' perceptions varied regarding the extent to which their respective business model was oriented towards local cluster-based domestic tourism with limited export sales, as opposed to those with national and more importantly international wine sales. Possessing and acting upon relevant knowledge manifested in which competitors international entrepreneurs collaborated with and the extent to which this took place across product-market strategies. In turn, this enabled particular decision-makers to exhibit flexibility; hence, entrepreneurs enter and exit certain markets together with changing export intensities, as varying opportunities were identified and exploited.

Originality/value

Although the performance-enhancing nature of coopetition is largely established in prior literature, the complexity of that relationship remains relatively under-researched, not least, amongst international entrepreneurs. More specifically, the extent to which decision-makers that are engaged in coopetition exhibit a competitor orientation remains under-researched. Unique insights feature a 2 × 2 matrix in order to provide originality regarding international entrepreneurs' respective product-market strategies within their business models that are underpinned by varying coopetition relationships and competitor orientations.
Moderating influence of religiosity on the causality between taxpaying attitudes and tax compliance behaviour of entrepreneurial firms in Nigeria
Authors: Agbetunde Lateef Ayodele , Raimi Lukman , Akinrinola Olalekan Oladipo
Published: January 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the moderating influence of religiosity on the effect of taxpaying attitudes on the tax compliance behaviour of entrepreneurial firms in Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a cross-sectional survey design, we collected primary data from 368 owner managers of entrepreneurial firms in Southwest Nigeria using structured questionnaires. Respondents were purposefully selected based on the purposive sampling technique. The data collected with the structured questionnaires were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Two linear regression models were compared.

Findings

Estimations in Models 1 and 2 suggest that taxpayers’ attitudes and religiosity (intra- and interreligiosity) have significant effects on the tax compliance behaviour of firms, but the influence of intrareligiosity is insignificant. Estimations in Model 3 suggest that taxpaying attitudes without the moderating influence of religiosity exerted a significant effect on tax compliance behaviour by 13%, while taxpaying attitudes with the moderating influence of religiosity exerted 17%. Estimations in Model 4 suggest that taxpaying attitudes with the moderating influence of the interreligiosity dimension had a more significant contribution to the changes in tax compliance behaviour than the intrareligious dimension.

Research limitations/implications

From the findings, the following policy implications can be deduced: (i) if taxpayers’ attitudes improved and religiosity was leveraged by the tax authorities, tax compliance behaviour of entrepreneurial firms would be induced in Nigeria; (ii) the consistent positive influence is a strong indication that religious values are critical elements of tax compliance interventions that should be considered by policymakers when designing public policies on tax evasion and avoidance in developing countries.

Originality/value

We bridge the gaps in the literature because our study affirmed that taxes are religiously driven. In addition, the study validates the applicability of theory of planned behaviour in investigating the moderating influence of religiosity on the causality between taxpaying attitude and tax compliance in the developing context.
Examining internal capability determinants on firms' financial performance before and after going public: a case of listed firms in Thailand
Authors: Wattanawarangkoon Tanakrit , Sinthupundaja Janthorn , Suppakitjarak Nathridee , Chiadamrong Navee
Published: January 2022

Purpose

This study aims to empirically analyze the effect of firm financial strengths (liquidity, leverage, and cost of goods sold) and firm characteristics (utilization, tangibility and company size) towards firm financial performance and study the differences of these effects before and after firms going public.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on 159 firms listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) during the transition periods of interest from one year before each firm became a listed firm and up to five years after becoming a listed firm (data collection from 2002 to 2019). Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) is applied for the analysis.

Findings

The empirical evidence shows that the firms have to maintain different levels of determinants during different years of operation. Before becoming listed firms, the firms' size plays a significant role in determining the firms' financial performance. Different characteristics are required, according to the size of the firms. One year after becoming listed firms, a low level of production and operating expenses in relation to sales and low leverage are the two important factors for superior financial performance. Then, 2–5 years after becoming listed firms and after a steady state is reached, two more factors, good liquidity and high tangibility, are shown to be significant for good financial performance of the firms.

Originality/value

Unlike prior studies, this study explains the causal relationships or combinations of determinants of financial strengths and firm characteristics, before and after going public toward good financial performance of firms, which cannot be identified by analyzing the calendar-year performance.
Ideals-based accountability through history: the case of an Italian glass-maker’s family business
Authors: Masiero Eleonora , Leoni Giulia , Bagnoli Carlo
Published: January 2022

Purpose

This paper aims at exploring the historical roots of ideals-based accountability (IBA) in a family business of the past. It examines the narrative accounts of the history of an Italian long-lived family business written by one of its latest business owners to determine how and to what extent it was used to discharge a more ethical form of accountability.

Design/methodology/approach

An extensive thematic analysis informed on the conceptual framework of IBA is conducted on the unpublished manuscript by Angelo Barovier, the oldest leader of the Barovier’s family business.

Findings

The retrospective narrative served the family owner as a means for IBA, unveiling to the present and future generations of family owners the values and ideals that had motivated the ancestors to sustain the family business throughout the centuries despite the financial performance or the adversities.

Research limitations/implications

This paper reveals the historical roots of IBA as grounded in family business historical narratives. It contributes to management and family business history by showing the historical relevance of ideals and values for the development and sustainment of a family business.

Practical implications

This study opens to a larger application of IBA also in contemporary businesses, as a tool to foster and disseminate a more ethical form of accountability and to a further extent support the construction of a more ethical society.

Originality/value

This paper connects the newly developed IBA framework, conceived for family businesses, to a management history perspective showing its potential for the intergenerational transmission of business culture.
Pressure effects on the anisotropic electrical conductivity of artificial porous rocks with aligned fractures
Authors: Li Bo , Han Tongcheng , Fu Li‐Yun , Yan Han
Published: January 2022

Understanding the electrical properties of reservoir rocks has important applications in oil and gas exploration. Small‐scale fractures that are widely existing in reservoir rocks are usually aligned along a certain preferential direction due to reasons such as tectonic movement, making the electrical conductivity of the rocks anisotropic. Since all rocks are experiencing geological pressure, it is theoretically and practically important to study the influence of pressure on the fractures and its control on the anisotropic conductivity of reservoir rocks. We first prepared artificial porous sandstone samples with and without penny‐shaped fractures and experimentally measured the anisotropic conductivity of the samples under differential pressure (the difference between confining pressure and pore fluid pressure). Then, we inverted from the experimental data for the fracture porosity and fracture aspect ratio at each differential pressure. The variation of the fracture parameters caused by the differential pressure and their influence on the anisotropic electrical conductivity of the rocks were further analysed theoretically. The results show that as the differential pressure increases, the measured anisotropic conductivity of the artificial samples with and without fractures all decreases exponentially. We also show that both the inverted fracture porosity and fracture aspect ratio decrease exponentially with the increase of differential pressure, and the fracture porosity and fracture aspect ratio are linearly correlated as an implicit function of differential pressure. The modelling results show that the differential pressure‐induced decrease in the fracture porosity reduces the electrical conductivity in all directions, and the conductivity reduction in the rock parallel to the direction of the fractures is most significant. Comparing with the influence of the fracture porosity resulting from the applied differential pressure, the pressure‐caused variation in the fracture aspect ratio was shown to play a secondary role on affecting the pressure‐dependent anisotropic electrical properties.
Generalizing hierarchical and variation partitioning in multiple regression and canonical analyses using the rdacca.hp R package
Authors: Lai Jiangshan , Zou Yi , Zhang Jinlong , Peres‐Neto Pedro R.
Published: January 2022

Canonical analysis, a generalization of multiple regression to multiple‐response variables, is widely used in ecology. Because these models often involve many parameters (one slope per response per predictor), they pose challenges to model interpretation. Among these challenges, we lack quantitative frameworks for estimating the overall importance of single predictors in multi‐response regression models.

Here we demonstrate that commonality analysis and hierarchical partitioning, widely used for both estimating predictor importance and improving the interpretation of single‐response regression models, are related and complementary frameworks that can be expanded for the analysis of multiple‐response models.

In this application, we (a) demonstrate the mathematical links between commonality analysis, variation and hierarchical partitioning; (b) generalize these frameworks to allow the analysis of any number of predictor variables or groups of predictor variables as in the case of variation partitioning; and (c) introduce and demonstrate the implementation of these generalized frameworks in the R package rdacca.hp.
It's in the bag? The effect of plastic carryout bag bans on where and what people purchase to eat
Authors: Taylor Rebecca L. C.
Published: January 2022

This paper examines how banning the use of plastic carryout bags at grocery stores affects where and what people purchase to eat. Using quasi‐random variation in local bag ban adoption across California and two data sources (retail scanner data and consumer survey data), I show that banning plastic carryout bags shifted some food sales away from regulated grocery stores toward unregulated grocery stores and restaurants. Specifically, I find that bag bans cause a 1.8% decline in food‐at‐home sales and a 1.9 percentage point increase in consumers' food‐away‐from‐home expenditure share. The decline in food‐at‐home sales is larger in jurisdictions more likely to experience cross‐border shopping, whereas the increase in food‐away‐from‐home expenditures is larger farther from jurisdiction borders. Together these results suggest that a small share of consumers find a way to bypass the bag bans—either by cross‐border shopping if near a border or by shifting to restaurants if not near a border. Heterogeneity analyses reveal the policy effects are strongest for those with higher incomes, those under 65 years, and those with young children, suggesting both income effects and time constraints as mechanisms behind the behavioral change. By quantifying consumer avoidance behaviors, these results enable policymakers to more accurately measure the impacts of their regulations and to understand the potential trade‐offs between their environmental and public health objectives.
The US farm credit system and agricultural development: Evidence from an early expansion, 1920–1940
Authors: Hutchins Jared
Published: January 2022

I explore the impact of the Production Credit Associations (PCAs), an arm of the early Farm Credit System, on agricultural yield and input use following the farm crisis of the 1920s. Like many low‐ and middle‐income countries today, farmers in the early 20th century United States found it difficult to access credit. The PCAs were established in 1933 and significantly increased the supply of short‐term credit available to farmers. Using distance from the serving PCA as a proxy for credit access, I find that counties within 30 km of a PCA had 7% to 14% higher crop revenue per acre and 9% higher corn yields than counties more than 60 km from a PCA. These areas also had a small but statistically significant increase in the use of tractors (1% to 2%). These results provide crucial evidence of the impact of government‐sponsored enterprises on the early US agricultural economy and its use as a cost‐effective tool to address market frictions.
PCR‐based quantitative detection of intraperitoneal free cancer cells for predicting locoregional recurrence after rectal cancer resection
Authors: Ouchi Akira , Kinoshita Takashi , Nakanishi Hayao , Komori Koji , Oshiro Taihei , Yoshimura Mayumi , Fujita Nao , Hosoda Waki , Shimizu Yasuhiro
Published: January 2022

Introduction

Locoregional recurrence after curative resection remains an important issue in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical significance of quantitative detection of intraperitoneal free cancer cells by a PCR‐based method for predicting locoregional recurrence after CRC resection.

Method

A total of 114 patients with CRC were enrolled between March 2017 and December 2018, and 95 patients with Stage I–III CRC were analyzed. Peritoneal lavage fluid was collected before and after tumour resection and subjected to cytology and quantitative reverse transcription‐PCR (qRT‐PCR) with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as a genetic marker.

Results

2.1% of patients had positive cytology after resection, whereas 9.5% had positive CEA qRT‐PCR (PCR+) after resection. Eight of nine PCR+ patients after resection had tumours in the rectum. Fifteen (15.8%) patients developed recurrence during the follow‐up period, including three with locoregional recurrence. One of 86 (1.2%) PCR− patients and 2 of 9 (22.2%) PCR+ patients after resection developed locoregional recurrence. Overall and in rectal cancer patients, the 3‐year cumulative risk of locoregional recurrence was 25.0% and 28.6% for PCR+ patients, which is significantly higher than PCR‐ patients (1.3% and 0%, P < 0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively).

Conclusion

Intraperitoneal free cancer cells can serve as a sensitive predictor of locoregional recurrence after rectal cancer resection. qRT‐PCR for CEA can be a suitable method for detecting intraperitoneal free cancer cells in peritoneal lavage fluid.
The Checkpost State in Pakistan’s War of Terror: Centres, Peripheries, and the Politics of the Universal
Authors: Akhtar Aasim Sajjad
Published: January 2022

Pakistan is one of the most militarised and unevenly developed political economies in the post‐colonial world. Already acute extractive logics in long‐suffering ethnic peripheries have intensified alongside state repression after the regime of the so‐called “war on terror” was initiated in 2001. In this paper, I contrast the brutalising effects of securitised infrastructure, or what I call the “checkpost state”, with the “politics of the universal” espoused by various popular movements across uneven historical‐geographical terrain. On the basis of personal experience as a political organiser, I highlight difficulties and modest successes in cultivating what Frantz Fanon termed “universalising values” in the building of an emancipatory politics bridging centres and peripheries. I argue that the challenge posed by Fanon during the heyday of revolutionary internationalism is today even more urgent as hitherto spatially insulated peripheries stretch into metropolitan settings.
Determinants of long‐term opioid prescribing in an urban population: A cross‐sectional study
Authors: Naughton Michael , Redmond Patrick , Durbaba Stevo , Ashworth Mark , Molokhia Mariam
Published: January 2022

Background

Opioid prescribing has more than doubled in the UK between 1998 and 2016. Potential adverse health implications include dependency, falls and increased health expenditure.

Aim

To describe the predictors of long‐term opioid prescribing (LTOP) (≥3 opioid prescriptions in a 90‐day period).

Design and setting

A retrospective cross‐sectional study in 41 general practices in South London.

Method

Multi‐level multivariable logistic regression to investigate the determinants of LTOP.

Results

Out of 320 639 registered patients ≥18 years, 2679 (0.8%) were identified as having LTOP. Patients were most likely to have LTOP if they had ≥5 long‐term conditions (LTCs) (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 36.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 30.4‐43.8) or 2‐4 LTCs (AOR 13.8, CI 11.9‐16.1) in comparison to no LTCs, were ≥75 years compared to 18‐24 years (AOR 12.31, CI 7.1‐21.5), were smokers compared to nonsmokers (AOR 2.2, CI 2.0‐2.5), were female rather than male (AOR 1.9, CI 1.7‐2.0) and in the most deprived deprivation quintile (AOR 1.6, CI 1.4‐1.8) compared to the least deprived. In a separate model examining individual LTCs, the strongest associations for LTOP were noted for sickle cell disease (SCD) (AOR 18.4, CI 12.8‐26.4), osteoarthritis (AOR 3.0, CI 2.8‐3.3), rheumatoid arthritis (AOR 2.8, CI 2.2‐3.4), depression (AOR 2.6, CI 2.3‐2.8) and multiple sclerosis (OR 2.5, CI 1.4‐4.4).

Conclusion

LTOP was significantly higher in those aged ≥75 years, with multimorbidity or specific LTCs: SCD, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, depression and multiple sclerosis. These characteristics may enable the design of targeted interventions to reduce LTOP.
British identity in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages: some aspects of continuity and change
Authors: Wadden Patrick
Published: January 2022

This article contributes to a recent debate concerning the development of a British ethnic identity in late antiquity, during which period the Britons’ Roman identity was gradually forgotten as they came to be seen as one of the barbarian peoples of western Europe. It will argue that this reconceptualization was the result of a shift in perception regarding the place of gentes in the church during late antiquity and that, despite this, there was a considerable degree of continuity in certain key aspects of British identity between late antiquity and the early Middle Ages.
Trimethylamine N‐oxide predicts stroke severity in diabetic patients with acute ischaemic stroke and is related to glycemic variability
Authors: Li Zaiwang , Hui Jiaojie , Li Suya , Cao TingTing , Zhang Jianping , Mao Xuqiang , Wang Feng , Wang Fengyun , He Ping , You Yiping , Xi Guangjun
Published: January 2022

Background and purpose

The present study analyzed the relationship between circulating trimethylamine N‐oxide (TMAO) levels and stroke severity in diabetic patients with acute ischaemic stroke. A further aim was to investigate whether higher TMAO levels were associated with platelet aggregation and glycemic variability.

Methods

This was a cross‐sectional analysis of 108 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) undergoing acute ischaemic stroke and 60 healthy controls. Fasting plasma TMAO was measured using high‐performance liquid chromatography with online electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Results

Plasma TMAO levels of patients with acute ischaemic stroke were significantly higher than those of healthy controls. Amongst stroke patients, 50 were defined as undergoing mild stroke, and their plasma TMAO levels were lower compared to those with moderate to severe stroke. Platelet aggregation and mean amplitude of glycemic excursions were both correlated with plasma TMAO levels and these relationships remained significant in multiple linear regression analyses. Moreover, in streptozotocin‐induced diabetic rats fed a diet enriched with choline to increase TMAO synthesis, platelet aggregation was significantly increased in the DM + choline and fluctuating DM (FDM) + choline groups compared to the control group. This increase was abolished in rats receiving oral antibiotics, which markedly reduced plasma TMAO levels. Importantly, compared with the DM + choline group, the FDM + choline group displayed significantly elevated TMAO levels and higher platelet aggregation.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrated that higher plasma TMAO levels were associated with stroke severity and suggested a novel link between plasma TMAO levels and glycemic variability in diabetic patients with acute ischaemic stroke.