bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seed encrusting with salicylic acid: a novel approach to improve establishment of grass species in ecological restoration
Authors: Pedrini Simone , Stevens Jason C. , Cross Adam , Dixon Kingsley W.
Published: October 2020

To achieve global ambitions in large scale ecological restoration, there is a need for approaches that improve the efficiency of seed-based restoration, particularly in overcoming the bottleneck in the transition from germination to seedling establishment. In this study we tested a novel seed-based application of the plant stress modulator compound, salicylic acid, as a means to reduce seedling losses in seed-to-seedling phase. First-time seed coating technology (encrusting) was developed as a precursor for optimising field sowing for three grass species commonly used in restoration programs,Austrostipa scabra, Microlaena stipoides, andRytidosperma geniculata. Salicylic acid (SA, 0.1mM) was delivered to seeds via imbibition and seed encrusting with the effects tested on seed germination under controlled conditions (to test for resilience to drought), and in field conditions on seedling emergence, plant survival, and seedling growth. SA did not significantly impact germination under water stress in controlled laboratory condition and did not affect seedling emergence in the field. However, seedling survival and growth was improved in plants from SA treated seeds (imbibed and encrusted) under field conditions. When SA delivery mechanisms of imbibing and coating were compared, there was no significant difference in survival and growth, showing that seed coating has potential to deliver SA. Effect of intraspecific competition as a result of seedling density was also considered. Seedling survival over the dry summer season more than doubled when seed was sown at low density (40 plants/m2) compared to high density seeding (380 plants/m2). Overall, adjustment of seeding rate according to expected emergence combined with the use of salicylic acid is a cost-effective means for improving seed use efficiency in seed-based restoration.
Light intensity affects the coloration and structure of chimeric leaves ofAnanas comosus var. bracteatus
Authors: Yang Wei , Lin Yuke , Xue Yanbin , Mao Meiqin , Zhou Xuzixing , Hu Hao , Liu Jiawen , Feng Lijun , Zhang Huiling , Luo Jiaheng , Ma Jun
Published: October 2020

Ananas comosus var. bracteatusis an important tropical ornamental plant because of its green/white chimeric leaves. The accumulation of anthocyanin makes the leaf red especially the white margin. However, the leaves lost red color in summer and winter. Light intensity is one of the most important factors affecting leaf color along the season. In order to understand the effects of light intensity on the growth and coloration of the chimeric leaves,Ananas comosus var. bracteatuswas grown under full sunlight, 50% shade and 75% shade for 75 days to evaluate the content of pigments, the color parameters (value L*, a*, b*) and structural histocytology characteristics of chimeric leaves. The results showed that high irradiance was beneficial to keep the chimeric leaves red. However, prolonged exposure to high irradiance caused light damage, some of the leaves wrinkled and even burned. Shading decreased the content of anthocyanin and increased the content of chlorophyll especially in the white margin of the leaves. Numerous chloroplasts were found in the mesophyll cells of the white margin part of chimeric leaves under shading for 75 days. The increase of chlorophyll content resulted in better growth of plants. In order to balance the growth and ornamental value of the leaves, approximately 50% shade is suggested to be the optimum light irradiance condition forAnanas comosus var. bracteatusin summer.
NETMAGE: a humaN-disEase phenoType MAp GEnerator for the Visualization of PheWAS
Authors: Sriram Vivek , Shivakumar Manu , Jung Sang-Hyuk , Bang Lisa , Verma Anurag , Lee Seunggeun , Choe Eun Kyung , Kim Dokyoon
Published: October 2020

Given genetic associations from a PheWAS, a disease-disease network can be constructed where nodes represent phenotypes and edges represent shared genetic associations between phenotypes. To improve the accessibility of the visualization of shared genetic components across phenotypes, we developed the humaN-disEase phenoType MAp GEnerator (NETMAGE), a web-based tool that produces interactive phenotype network visualizations from summarized PheWAS results. Users can search the map by a variety of attributes, and they can select nodes to view information such as related phenotypes, associated SNPs, and other network statistics. As a test case, we constructed a network using UK BioBank PheWAS summary data. By examining the associations between phenotypes in our map, we can potentially identify novel instances of pleiotropy, where loci influence multiple phenotypic traits. Thus, our tool provides researchers with a means to identify prospective genetic targets for drug design, contributing to the exploration of personalized medicine.

Availability and implementation

Our service runs athttps://hdpm.biomedinfolab.com. Source code can be downloaded athttps://github.com/dokyoonkimlab/netmage.

Contact

dokyoon.kim@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Supplementary information

Supplementary data and user guide are available atBioinformaticsonline.
Shrinking of fish under warmer temperatures decrease dispersal abilities and speciation rates
Authors: Avaria-Llautureo Jorge , Venditti Chris , Rivadeneira Marcelo M. , Inostroza-Michael Oscar , Rivera Reinaldo J. , Hernández Cristián E. , Canales-Aguirre Cristian B.
Published: October 2020

There is an ongoing debate as to whether fish body size will decrease with global warming and how body size changes may impact dispersal abilities and speciation rates. Although theory predicts that, when fish face warmer temperatures, they grow to smaller adult sizes, see a reduction in their ability to move, and increase their probability of speciation, evaluations of such predictions are hampered owing to the lack of empirical data spanning both wide temporal and geographical scales. Here, using phylogenetic methods, temperature, and 21,895 occurrences for 158 worldwide-distributed species of fish, we show that smaller fish have occurred in warmer waters for over 150 million years and across marine and freshwater realms. Smaller fish have historically moved the shortest distances and at low speeds. In addition, small fish display the lowest probability of giving rise to new species. Further, we found that species of fish that displayed high speeds of geographical movement and rates of size evolution experienced higher rates of temperature change in their lineage. Taking these results together, global warming predicts a future where smaller fish that have reduced ability to move over aquatic systems will be more prevalent, in turn, this will result in fewer species contributing global biodiversity.
Retinoic Acid Inducible Gene-I like Receptors Activate Snail and Slug to Limit RNA Viral Infections
Authors: Vedagiri Dhiviya , Gupta Divya , Mishra Anurag , Krishna Gayathri , Bhaskar Meenakshi , Basu Anirban , Nayak Debasis , Kalia Manjula , Veettil Mohanan Valiya , Harshan Krishnan Harinivas
Published: October 2020

RLRs sense cytosolic non-self RNAs including viral RNAs before mounting a response leading to the activation of Type-I IFNs. Here, we identify a previously unknown regulation of Snail, a transcription regulator known in EMT, during RNA viral infections and describe its possible implication. RNA viral infections, poly (I:C) transfection and ectopic expression of RLR components activated Snail and Slug in epithelial cells. Detailed examination revealed that MAVS and phosphorylated IRF3 are essential in this regulation. We identified two ISREs inSNAI1promoter region and their alterations rendered the promoter non-responsive to phospho-IRF3 in luciferase assay. Ectopic expression of Snail and Slug activated RLR pathway and dramatically limited RNA viral infections in epithelial cells pointing to their antiviral functions. Thus, Snail and Slug are transcriptionally regulated by RLRs in a similar manner as IFN-β and they in turn promote RLR pathway possibly strengthening the antiviral state in the cell.
Shannon Entropy as a metric for conditional gene expression inNeurospora crassa
Authors: Ameri Abigail J. , Lewis Zachary A.
Published: October 2020

Neurospora crassahas been an important model organism for molecular biology and genetics for over 60 years.N. crassahas a complex life cycle, with over 28 distinct cell types and is capable of transcriptional responses to many environmental conditions including nutrient availability, temperature, and light. To quantify variation inN. crassagene expression, we analyzed public expression data from 97 conditions and calculated the Shannon Entropy value forNeurospora’sapproximately 11,000 genes. Entropy values can be used to estimate the variability in expression for a single gene over a range of conditions and be used to classify individual genes as constitutive or condition-specific. Shannon entropy has previously been used measure the degree of tissue specificity of multicellular plant or animal genes. We use this metric here to measure variable gene expression in a microbe and provide this information as a resource for theN. crassaresearch community. Finally, we demonstrate the utility of this approach by using entropy values to identify genes with constitutive expression across a wide range of conditions and to identify genes that are activated exclusively during sexual development.
SARS-CoV-2 spike D614G variant confers enhanced replication and transmissibility
Authors: Zhou Bin , Thao Tran Thi Nhu , Hoffmann Donata , Taddeo Adriano , Ebert Nadine , Labroussaa Fabien , Pohlmann Anne , King Jacqueline , Portmann Jasmine , Halwe Nico Joel , Ulrich Lorenz , Trüeb Bettina Salome , Kelly Jenna N. , Fan Xiaoyu , Hoffmann Bernd , Steiner Silvio , Wang Li , Thomann Lisa , Lin Xudong , Stalder Hanspeter , Pozzi Berta , de Brot Simone , Jiang Nannan , Cui Dan , Hossain Jaber , Wilson Malania , Keller Matthew , Stark Thomas J. , Barnes John R. , Dijkman Ronald , Jores Joerg , Benarafa Charaf , Wentworth David E. , Thiel Volker , Beer Martin
Published: October 2020

During the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in humans a D614G substitution in the spike (S) protein emerged and became the predominant circulating variant (S-614G) of the COVID-19 pandemic1. However, whether the increasing prevalence of the S-614G variant represents a fitness advantage that improves replication and/or transmission in humans or is merely due to founder effects remains elusive. Here, we generated isogenic SARS-CoV-2 variants and demonstrate that the S-614G variant has (i) enhanced binding to human ACE2, (ii) increased replication in primary human bronchial and nasal airway epithelial cultures as well as in a novel human ACE2 knock-in mouse model, and (iii) markedly increased replication and transmissibility in hamster and ferret models of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Collectively, our data show that while the S-614G substitution results in subtle increases in binding and replication in vitro, it provides a real competitive advantage in vivo, particularly during the transmission bottle neck, providing an explanation for the global predominance of S-614G variant among the SARS-CoV-2 viruses currently circulating.
HiCRep.py: Fast comparison of Hi-C contact matrices in Python
Authors: Lin Dejun , Sanders Justin , Noble William Stafford
Published: October 2020

Hi-C is the most widely used assay for investigating genome-wide 3D organization of chromatin. When working with Hi-C data, it is often useful to calculate the similarity between contact matrices in order to asses experimental reproducibility or to quantify relationships among Hi-C data from related samples. The HiCRep algorithm has been widely adopted for this task, but the existing R implementation suffers from run time limitations on high resolution Hi-C data or on large single-cell Hi-C datasets. We introduce a Python implementation of HiCRep and demonstrate that it is much faster than the existing R implementation. Furthermore, we give examples of HiCRep’s ability to accurately distinguish replicates from non-replicates and to reveal cell type structure among collections of Hi-C data. HiCRep.py and its documentation are available with a GPL license athttps://github.com/Noble-Lab/hicrep. The software may be installed automatically using the pip package installer.
Rooting the animal tree of life
Authors: Li Yuanning , Shen Xing-Xing , Evans Benjamin , Dunn Casey W. , Rokas Antonis
Published: October 2020

There has been considerable debate about the placement of the root in the animal tree of life, which has emerged as one of the most challenging problems in animal phylogenetics. This debate has major implications for our understanding of the earliest events in animal evolution, including the origin of the nervous system. Some phylogenetic analyses support a root that places the first split in the phylogeny of living animals between sponges and all other animals (the Porifera-sister hypothesis), and others find support for a split between comb jellies and all other animals (Ctenophora-sister). These analyses differ in many respects, including in the genes considered, species considered, molecular evolution models, and software. Here we systematically explore the rooting of the animal tree of life under consistent conditions by synthesizing data and results from 15 previous phylogenomic studies and performing a comprehensive set of new standardized analyses. It has previously been suggested that site-heterogeneous models favor Porifera-sister, but we find that this is not the case. Rather, Porifera-sister is only obtained under a narrow set of conditions when the number of site-heterogeneous categories is unconstrained and range into the hundreds. Site-heterogenous models with a fixed number of dozens of categories support Ctenophora-sister, and cross-validation indicates that such models fit the data just as well as the unconstrained models. Our analyses shed light on an important source of variation between phylogenomic studies of the animal root. The datasets and analyses consolidated here will also be a useful test-platform for the development of phylogenomic methods for this and other difficult problems.
Glycinergic axonal inhibition subserves acute spatial sensitivity to sudden increases in sound intensity
Authors: Franken Tom P. , Bondy Brian J. , Haimes David B. , Golding Nace L. , Smith Philip H. , Joris Philip X.
Published: October 2020

Locomotion generates adventitious sounds which enable detection and localization of predators and prey. Such sounds contain brisk changes or transients in amplitude. We investigated the hypothesis that ill-understood temporal specializations in binaural circuits subserve lateralization of such sound transients, based on different time of arrival at the ears (interaural time differences, ITDs). We find that Lateral Superior Olive (LSO) neurons show exquisite ITD-sensitivity, reflecting extreme precision and reliability of excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials, in contrast to Medial Superior Olive neurons, traditionally viewed as the ultimate ITD-detectors.In vivo, inhibition blocks LSO excitation over an extremely short window, which,in vitro, required synaptically-evoked inhibition. Light and electron microscopy revealed inhibitory synapses on the axon initial segment as the structural basis of this observation. These results reveal a neural vetoing mechanism with extreme temporal and spatial precision and establish the LSO as the primary nucleus for binaural processing of sound transients.
Medial septum neurokinin- and somatostatin-sensitive mechanisms mediate sensorimotor and nociceptive behaviours
Authors: Ng Si Yun , Lee Andy Thiam-Huat , Ariffin Mohammed Zacky , Woon Pei Jun , Chng Terence Sheng Hao , Khanna Sanjay
Published: October 2020

The forebrain medial septum (MS), implicated in affective-motivational behaviours, is enriched in substance P (SP) sensitive neurokinin-1 receptors (NK1R) and somatostatin (SST) receptors (SSTR) that are located almost exclusively on cholinergic and GABAergic neurons, respectively. However, the physiological function of these receptors is poorly understood. This study characterized the actions of intraseptal SP on electrophysiological indices of septo-hippocampal activation, then utilised NK1 receptor antagonist, L-733,060, and SST to investigate the physiological role of endogenous neurotransmission at NK1R, and SST-sensitive mechanisms, in novel open field and formalin test of inflammatory pain. The findings showed that neurotransmission at NK1R mediates formalin-induced electrophysiological responses in the septo-hippocampus in anaesthetized and behaving animals. Furthermore, parallel NK1R- and SST-sensitive mechanisms affect different aspects of animal behaviours in both tests, collectively modulating attention and habituation in open field and driving formalin-induced nociception. This brings out a newer peptidergic dimension of septal physiology in nociception.
Genomic Diversity in a Population of Spodoptera frugiperda Nucleopolyhedrovirus
Authors: Masson Tomás , Fabre María Laura , Pidre Matias Luis , Niz José María , Berretta Marcelo Facundo , Romanowski Víctor , Ferrelli María Leticia
Published: October 2020

Spodoptera frugiperda multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SfMNPV) represents a strong candidate to develop environmental-friendly pesticides against the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), a widespread pest that poses a severe threat to different crops around the world. However, little is known regarding the genomic diversity present inside SfMNPV isolates and how it shapes the interactions between virus and host. Here, the genomic diversity present inside an isolate of SfMNPV was explored using high-throughput sequencing for the first time. We identified 704 intrahost single nucleotide variants, from which 184 are nonsynonymous mutations distributed among 82 different coding sequences. We detected several structural variants affecting SfMNPV genome, including two previously reported deletions inside theegtregion. A comparative analysis between polymorphisms present in different SfMNPV isolates and our intraisolate diversity data suggests that coding regions with higher genetic diversity are associated with oral infectivity or unknown functions. In this context, through molecular evolution studies we provide evidence of diversifying selection acting onsf29, a putative collagenase which could contribute to the oral infectivity of SfMNPV. Overall, our results contribute to deepen our understanding of the coevolution between SfMNPV and the fall armyworm and will be useful to improve the applicability of this virus as a biological control agent.

Highlights

We characterized the genomic diversity within a population of SfMNPV.

Coding regions with higher genetics diversity are associated with oral infectivity or unknown functions.

Several structural variants contribute to the genomic diversity of SfMNPV.

Sf29, a putative collagenase, shows signs of adaptive evolution.
Genetic landscape of recessive diseases in the Vietnamese population from large-scale clinical exome sequencing
Authors: Tran Ngoc Hieu , Thi Thanh-Huong Nguyen , Tang Hung-Sang , Hoang Le-Phuc , Le Nguyen Trung-Hieu , Tran Nhat-Thang , Trinh Thu-Huong Nhat , Nguyen Van Thong , Nguyen Bao-Han Huu , Nguyen Hieu Trong , Doan Loc Phuoc , Phan Ngoc-Minh , Nguyen Kim-Huong Thi , Nguyen Hong-Dang Luu , Quach Minh-Tam Thi , Nguyen Thanh-Phuong Thi , Tran Vu Uyen , Tran Dinh-Vinh , Nguyen Quynh-Tho Thi , Do Thanh-Thuy Thi , Lam Nien Vinh , Ngoc Phuong Cao Thi , Truong Dinh Kiet , Nguyen Hoai-Nghia , Phan Minh-Duy , Giang Hoa
Published: October 2020

Purpose

Accurate profiling of population-specific recessive diseases is essential for the design of cost-effective carrier screening programs. However, minority populations and ethnic groups, including Vietnamese, are still under-represented in existing genetic studies. Here we reported the first comprehensive study of recessive diseases in the Vietnamese population.

Methods

Clinical exome sequencing (CES) data of 4,503 disease-associated genes obtained from a cohort of 985 Vietnamese individuals was analyzed to identify pathogenic variants, associated diseases and their carrier frequencies in the population.

Results

Eighty-five recessive diseases were identified in the Vietnamese population, among which seventeen diseases had carrier frequencies of at least 1% (1 in 100 individuals). Three diseases were especially prevalent in the Vietnamese population with carrier frequencies of 2-12 times higher than in other East Asia or the world populations, including Beta-thalassemia (1 in 25), citrin deficiency (1 in 33) and phenylketonuria (1 in 40). Seven novel pathogenic and three likely pathogenic variants associated with nine recessive diseases were also discovered.

Conclusions

The comprehensive profile of recessive diseases identified in this study shall enable the design of cost-effective carrier screening programs specific to the Vietnamese population. The newly discovered pathogenic variants may also exist in other populations at extremely low frequencies, thus representing a valuable resource for future research. Our study has demonstrated the advantage of population-specific genetic studies to advance the knowledge and practice of medical genetics.
Implications of mycorrhiza for biogeochemical cycling and coexistance of soil microbiota- a modelling study
Authors: Berninger Frank
Published: October 2020

Ectomycorrhizae are widespread symbionts of higher plants. However, their benefits for plant productivity and growth have not been well demonstrated since many studies do not suggest any improvement of plant growth or of plant nutrition for mycorrhizal plants. We use mechanistic modelling based on the population dynamics of decomposers to simulate the coexistence of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants as well as the development of the soil decomposer community. The model assumed a fixed stoichiometry of each decomposer functional type. Decomposer growth depended on its carbon and nitrogen uptake. For mycorrhiza a part of the carbon is modelled to be supplied from the plant while a fixed proportion of the mycorrhizal nitrogen uptake is translocated to the plant. Carbon nitrogen ratios of decomposers were adjusted mineralization of nitrogen or overflow respiration of carbon. The results suggest that mycorrhizal plants do often outcompete non-mycorrhizal plants at no or little improvement of plant productivity.
The main mechanism of mycorrhizal dominance is a reduction of the soil inorganic nitrogen pool and a rerouting of the nitrogen uptake of plants to the transfer nitrogen transfer from mycorrhizae to plants. On the other hand carbon subsidies from the trees allow to expand the niche of mycorrhizal fungi and to outcompete saprohytic fungi under a wide range of physiological and environmental parameters. This leads to dominance of mycorrhizal plants under a broad range of conditions and parameters including low transfer rates of nitrogen from the mycorrhiza to the plant, and low allocation of the plants to mycorrhiza.
Depletion of senescent cells improves functional recovery after spinal cord injury
Authors: Paramos-de-Carvalho Diogo , Martins Isaura , Cristóvão Ana Margarida , Dias Ana Filipa , Neves-Silva Dalila , Pereira Telmo , Chapela Diana , Farinho Ana , Jacinto António , Saúde Leonor
Published: October 2020

Persistent senescent cells (SCs) are known to underlie ageing-related chronic disorders, but it is now recognized that SCs may be at the center of tissue remodeling events, namely during development or organ repair. Here we show that two distinct senescence profiles are induced in the context of a spinal cord injury between the regenerating zebrafish and the non-regenerating mouse. While induced-SCs in the zebrafish are progressively cleared out, they accumulate over time in mice. Depletion of SCs in spinal cord injured mice, with different senolytic drugs, improved locomotor, sensory and bladder functions. This functional recovery is associated with improved myelin sparing, reduced fibrotic scar, attenuated inflammation and increased axonal growth. Targeting SCs is a promising therapeutic strategy not only for spinal cord injuries but potentially for other organs that lack regenerative competence.
Rapid whole-genome sequencing identifies a homozygous novel variant, His540Arg, in HSD17B4 resulting in D-bifunctional protein deficiency disorder diagnosis
Authors: Savage Lane , Adams Stacie D. , James Kiely , Chowdhury Shimul , Rajasekaran Surender , Prokop Jeremy W. , Bupp Caleb
Published: October 2020

Rapid whole-genome sequencing (rWGS) allows for a diagnosis to be made quickly and impact medical management, particularly in critically ill children. Variants identified by this approach are often not identified using other testing methodologies, such as carrier screening or gene sequencing panels, targeted panels, or chromosomal microarrays. However, rWGS can identify variants of uncertain significance (VUSs), which challenges clinicians in the rapid return of information to families. Here we present a case of the metabolic condition D-bifunctional protein deficiency in a neonate with epilepsy and hypotonia born to consanguineous parents. Sequencing revealed a homozygous VUS in HSD17B4, c.1619A > G (p.His540Arg). Preliminary results were delivered within 3 d of sample receipt. Previous parental carrier screening included the HSD17B4 gene but was reported as negative. The molecular finding directed the clinical team to assess phenotypic overlap and investigate next steps in terms of confirmation of the findings and potential medical management of the patient. Clinical metabolic testing of fatty acids confirmed the diagnosis. Computational analysis of HSD17B4 His540Arg showed the change to likely impact dimerization based on structural insights, with the histidine conserved and selected throughout all 223 species assessed for this amino acid. This variant clusters around several pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants in HSD17B4. This case demonstrates the utility of rWGS, the potential for receiving uncertain results, and the downstream implications for confirmation or rejection of a molecular diagnosis by the clinical team.
Organizational resources and survival of startups firms – a qualitative analysis in the Peruvian context
Authors: Alvarez Salazar Jubalt
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use a combination of resource-based theory and dynamic capabilities theory to explore the phenomenon of startup survival in an emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Design/methodology/approach

The study has a phenomenological research design, with an exploratory scope and qualitative approach. It uses in-depth interviews to identify the perceptions of ecosystem agents about the phenomenon of survival.

Findings

This paper argues that startup survival should be studied as a construct that is reflected by four conditions: break-even point, accelerated growth, cash stock and continuous operation. Furthermore, it is formed by the interaction of five mainly interacting resources: human capital, social capital, entrepreneurial capital, organizational capital and the incubation process.

Originality/value

The study offers a holistic model of survival that could be applicable to incipient entrepreneurial ecosystems such as the Peruvian one. This model presents survival as a reflexive-formative construct and not as a dichotomic variable (enterprise operating/enterprise closed) as has been commonly considered in the literature.
Determinants of corporate effective tax rates: evidence from the euro area
Authors: Barbera Antonio , Merello Paloma , Molina Rafael
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of the determinants of corporate effective tax rates (ETR) of listed companies in euro area.

Design/methodology/approach

With a large and recent panel of 2,870 listed companies for the period 2005–2016, the authors use the generalized moments method (GMM) to estimate global models for three groups of countries and specific models for six selected countries: Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium and Greece.

Findings

The results confirm that ETR have different determinants depending on the countries analyzed. There is a significantly positive relationship with leverage and negative with size and financial profitability. However, economic profitability shows a statistically positive effect in the new members, but negative effect on old ones. In the individual analysis, Germany and Spain maintain this negative association with return on assets (ROA), but Belgium and Greece show a positive effect. The effect of the economic cycle shows statistically relevant, negatively in Germany but positively in Belgium and Greece.

Originality/value

This paper makes a novel contribution to the current debate on the need for harmonization of corporate income tax in the European Union (EU). For the first time, the group of countries whose common currency is the euro is considered with a great level of detail. In addition, the impact derived from the enlargement of the euro area and the individual analysis of the main countries is included. The European authorities must take into account the specific differences found in the ETR determinants because it hinders to take measures that limit tax competition.
Organizational ambidexterity: antecedents, performance and environmental uncertainty
Authors: Kafetzopoulos Dimitrios
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This paper is to examine whether organizational ambidexterity leads to success. Moreover, it attempts to understand how proactiveness and quality orientation might create and maintain ambidexterity. Environmental uncertainty as a moderator is also examined.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve these objectives an empirical survey was conducted among 449 firms in Greece. Initially, EFA and then CFA were applied. Finally, the structural relationships among the latent factors were determined through SEM.

Findings

Organizational ambidexterity leads to superior business performance, moreover, the two antecedents were positively related to organizational ambidexterity. Environmental uncertainty acts as a moderator between organizational ambidexterity– business performance and proactiveness–organizational ambidexterity.

Research limitations/implications

A research challenge is to understand how organizations develop ambidexterity competency in different organizational structure. Moreover, it will be important to expand the model by taking into consideration different factors of antecedents, for example, type of innovation or different strategic orientations.

Practical implications

This study sends the message that companies focussing on specific antecedents can be led to higher ambidexterity capabilities, which in turn act as a catalyst for business improvement.

Originality/value

The proposed model provides plausible guidelines that advance organizational ambidexterity research in the companies.
New normal and library services in Indonesia: a case study of university libraries
Authors: Winata Arda Putri , Fadelina Raisa , Basuki Sulistyo
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to share the activities of library services in the new-normal era. The paper describes libraries’ circumstances since their reopening in early June 2020. Furthermore, it provides details on how libraries have adopted several most appropriate practices changing physical to online services.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper describes various university library services in Indonesia in the new-normal era by using literature and documentary reviews as the approaches. The data were primarily collected from webpages, blogs, social media, newsletters and specific journals organized by university libraries. The survey was carried out by involving 126 university librarians incorporated in the University Libraries Forum. It highlighted the current conditions of university libraries and the most appropriate practices of library services in the new-normal era.

Findings

The most appropriate practices of university library services in the new-normal era are provided. Libraries in Indonesia have experienced a service transformation implementing the COVID-19 health protocols. Likewise, almost all university library services became virtual. Accordingly, there were several challenges faced by librarians and users in carrying out virtual activities in the library.

Originality/value

This paper provides a great value for libraries in responding to COVID-19 and those starting to reopen. It reveals the most appropriate library service practices and challenges in the new-normal era, which are useful for current and future insight development.
Conceptualization and initial measurement of counseling ethics competency: the influence of spirituality and self-efficacy
Authors: Zakaria Noor Syamilah , Subarimaniam Neerushah , Wan Jaafar Wan Marzuki , Mohd Ayub Ahmad Fauzi , Saripan M. Iqbal
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to contribute to the existing conceptualizations of counseling ethics competency and to develop a counseling ethics competency scale. This paper also argues that spirituality and self-efficacy influence counseling ethics competency.

Design/methodology/approach

A series of studies were performed to develop hypotheses and a conceptual framework to determine the relationships among spirituality, self-efficacy and counseling ethics competency. To measure registered counselors’ counseling ethics competency, a document analysis of the Counselors Code of Ethics was conducted and pretested on the basis of a pilot test prior to the empirical development of the scale.

Findings

A conceptual framework was developed to operationalize the theory and to present the influence of spirituality and self-efficacy on counseling ethics competency. The counseling ethics competency scale was found reliable and valid to measure the registered counselors’ competency in the eight components of the Counselors Code of Ethics.

Practical implications

The scale and framework can be used as tools to identify competencies where registered counselors are lacking and to pinpoint skills on which counselors need to improve. This research also will provide insights for counselor educators to be innovative in teaching and learning ethics within the scope of counselor education training programs.

Originality/value

There is no specific scale available to measure counseling ethics competency among registered counselors in Malaysia. Thus, this research unveils the importance of measuring counseling ethics competency in molding effective and ethical Malaysian counselors, and subsequently pinpointing factors that can improve counseling ethics competency.

Recommendations

We recommend to assess the scale using EFA, followed by CFA to determine and confirm the factor structure of the scale items. In terms of the field, future scope may not just focus on the traits, characters and skills building but also place more emphasis on ethics comprehension toward best practices of ethics application and internalization on becoming self-sufficient counselors.
HerCulB: content-based information extraction and retrieval for cultural heritage of the Balkans
Authors: Tanasijević Ivana , Pavlović-Lažetić Gordana
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a methodology for automatic annotation of a multimedia collection of intangible cultural heritage mostly in the form of interviews. Assigned annotations provide a way to search the collection.

Design/methodology/approach

Annotation is based on automatic extraction of metadata and is conducted by named entity and topic extraction from textual descriptions with a rule-based approach supported by vocabulary resources, a compiled domain-specific classification scheme and domain-oriented corpus analysis.

Findings

The proposed methodology for automatic annotation of a collection of intangible cultural heritage, applied on the cultural heritage of the Balkans, has very good results according to F measure, which is 0.87 for the named entity and 0.90 for topic annotation. The overall methodology enables encapsulating domain-specific and language-specific knowledge into collections of finite state transducers and allows further improvements.

Originality/value

Although cultural heritage has a significant role in the development of identity of a group or an individual, it is one of those specific domains that have not yet been fully explored in case of many languages. A methodology is proposed that can be used for incorporating natural language processing techniques into digital libraries of cultural heritage.
Differentiating service quality impact between the online and off-line context: an empirical investigation of a corporate travel agency
Authors: Fang Ling , Lu Zhen , Dong Linyin
Published: October 2020

Purpose

Corporate travel represents a significant source of revenue for the tourism industry. Therefore, the quality of service is essential for maintaining and expanding corporate cliental bases. Despite the importance, the extant literature has yet sufficiently examined corporate travel service quality (SQ) and its impact. To make up for the drawback, this study aims to differentiate the impact of SQ perceptions on customer satisfaction between the online and off-line contexts through an empirical investigation in one of the top five corporate travel agencies in North America.

Design/methodology/approach

The well-established SERVQUAL measurement is applied in differentiating the impact of SQ dimensions between the online and off-line context. To empirically test the proposed corporate travel agency (CTA) SQ conceptual model, a set of survey data of “Welcome Back Survey” from HRG (a top five CTA in North America) was examined.

Findings

The study finds that for online services, assurance, responsiveness and empathy affect perceived SQ, whereas for off-line services, assurance, empathy and tangible are the three dimensions of perceived SQ.

Research limitations/implications

By relying on the existing survey, the off-line context has one less dimension than the online context. Yet as an early effort in differentiating the differences in the impact of SQ between two service contexts, the study offers insightful findings.

Practical implications

The findings will be helpful for business managers of CTAs to identify the factors that influence SQ in both online booking and off-line booking context. In particular, assurance and empathy are two dimensions that exert a significant impact on customer satisfaction.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to compare the differences of the SQ of online and off-line corporate travel.
Crisis communication in public emergencies: multistakeholders' perspectives
Authors: Cannaerts Nele
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The main purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence for effective crisis communication in public emergencies including the relevance of planning and training and rehearsal; to explore the role of different stakeholders and how social media influence effective crisis communication.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research design was employed. Two events were analysed, via the synthesis model for handling crisis communication in the public sector, as cases. First, via post-crisis semi-structured interviews, a gas explosion in the city of Antwerp was analysed. Second, via participant observation of a training and rehearsal exercise, more insight was gained on the role of training and social media for crisis communication.

Findings

The findings of this paper provide empirical evidence that (1) effective crisis communication is communication that is diversified across different crisis stages and diverse stakeholders; (2) that different internal social media tools and external social media tools are necessary to be monitored for effective crisis communication; (3) that training and rehearsal are of great importance for effective crisis communication.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to three current crisis communication research calls. First, the call for more research focusing on public sector crisis management, using public sector crisis communication models. Second, the call for the implementation of a more multiple-actor approach instead of an organisation-centred approach; and, third, the call for gaining insight into how specific communication channels are used before, during and after a crisis.
Competing through manufacturing: countering a product's liability of foreignness through mass customization
Authors: Trentin Alessio , Aichner Thomas , Sandrin Enrico , Forza Cipriano
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The operational capability of mass customization (MC) allows consumers to obtain products tailored to their idiosyncratic needs. This study aims to provide insights into the potential of this capability for countering a product's liability of foreignness – the negative effect of the out-group status of a product's country of origin (COO) on consumers' evaluations of the product.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the social identity approach, it is hypothesized that this liability is reduced when a consumer product is mass-customized rather than standardized as per a mass-production strategy. This hypothesis is tested using a mixed between- and within-subject experiment.

Findings

When evaluating mass-produced sneakers, native German-speaking (Italian-speaking) South Tyrolean consumers rated the quality of Italian (German) sneakers significantly lower than that of German (Italian) sneakers. However, when the sneakers were mass-customized, this difference in perceived product quality was non-significant for both groups of consumers, supporting the research hypothesis.

Research limitations/implications

Future research could replicate this study in other samples, with other product types, COOs and countries of destination, as well as at different degrees of product customization.

Practical implications

Business-to-consumer firms contemplating the development of their MC capability are made aware that the benefits of this operational capability might go beyond the typical advantages highlighted by the existing literature.

Originality/value

This paper joins the discussion on MC value by offering a theoretical explanation and empirical support for another mechanism through which the operational capability of MC can create value, at least in business-to-consumer industries: by countering a product's possible liability of foreignness and thus increasing perceived product quality in export markets.
Service quality in higher education institutions: qualitative evidence from the students’ perspectives using Maslow hierarchy of needs
Authors: Abbas Jawad
Published: October 2020

Purpose

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are responsible for training and transforming the students into valuable resources. Although students are believed to be the principal stakeholders in HEIs, limited research studies are available on service quality (SQ) in HEIs from students’ perspectives. This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating the factors, which constitute SQ in HEIs, specifically from students’ perspective, as existing literature on this topic is either from management and general perspective or is time dated.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study contributes by reviewing qualitative responses received through interviews and focus groups session with 43 students from 3 Turkey-based private HEIs. Data was collected from 43 students through 26 individual interviews and 3 focus group sessions and was analyzed through deductive reasoning using narrative and framework analysis with open coding.

Findings

The analysis of data indicated six main themes, specifically: teaching quality, facilities, support staff quality, employability links, safety and security and extra-curricular activities as indicators of SQ from students’ perspective. The findings of the study strongly comply with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and take steps by identifying employability and safety and security as new emerging indicators of the existing literature of SQ in HEIs.

Originality/value

The existing literature lacks to provide qualitative data on SQ in HEIs from students’ perspectives in Asian countries, particularly, in Turkey, the place of current research. The findings of the present research provide valuable insights to HEIs’ management to understand students’ perceptions of SQ, their expectations and experiences.
Public investment and inclusive growth in Africa
Authors: Adeosun Opeoluwa Adeniyi , Olomola Philip Akanni , Adedokun Adebayo , Ayodele Olumide Steven
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The increasing debate on the viability of broad-based productive employment in stimulating the participatory tendencies of growth makes it instructive to inquire how the African “Big Five” have fared in their quests to ensure growth inclusiveness through public investment-led fiscal policy.

Design/methodology/approach

Time varying structures and nonlinearities in the government investment series are captured through the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag, asymmetric impulse responses and variance decomposition estimation techniques.

Findings

Study findings show that positive investment shocks stimulate growth inclusiveness by enabling access to opportunities through job creation and productive employment for the populace; this result is evident for Morocco and Algeria. However, there is a non-negligible evidence that shocks due to decline in the government investment manifest in insufficient capital stocks and limited investment opportunities, impede access to opportunities by the populace, hinder labour employability and make growth less inclusive. Furthermore, all short-run findings corroborate long-run results regarding the reaction of inclusive growth to positive investment shocks with the exclusion of South Africa; which, unlike its long-run finding, shows that shocks due to increases in investment can foster growth inclusiveness. Also, in respect to short-run negative investment shocks, Nigeria is the only country that does not align its long-run findings.

Practical implications

That public investment shocks make or mar inclusive growth effectiveness shows the need for appropriate fiscal policy consolidation and automatic stabilization guidelines to ensure buffers against shocks and to enhance government investment generation efficiency for a sustainable inclusive growth process that is more participatory in Africa.

Originality/value

This study is the first to accommodate possibilities of shocks in the inclusivity of growth analysis for the five biggest African economies which jointly account for over half of the recorded growth in the continent. As such, there is quantitative evidence that government investment is a potent determinant of growth inclusiveness and it is susceptible to structural changes and time variation of shocks.