bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mitochondrial mutations inCaenorhabditis elegansshow signatures of oxidative damage and an AT-bias
Authors: Waneka Gus , Svendsen Joshua M. , Havird Justin C. , Sloan Daniel B.
Published: May 2021

Rapid mutation rates are typical of mitochondrial genomes (mtDNAs) in animals, but it is not clear why. The difficulty of obtaining measurements of mtDNA mutation that are not biased by natural selection has stymied efforts to distinguish between competing hypotheses about the causes of high mtDNA mutation rates. Several studies which have measured mtDNA mutations in nematodes have yielded small datasets with conflicting conclusions about the relative abundance of different substitution classes (i.e. the mutation spectrum). We therefore leveraged Duplex Sequencing, a high-fidelity DNA sequencing technique, to characterizede novomtDNA mutations inCaenorhabditis elegans.This approach detected nearly an order of magnitude more mtDNA mutations than documented in any previous nematode mutation study. Despite an existing extreme AT bias in theC. elegansmtDNA (75.6% AT), we found that a significant majority of mutations increase genomic AT content. Compared to some prior studies in nematodes and other animals, the mutation spectrum reported here contains an abundance of CG→AT transversions, supporting the hypothesis that oxidative damage may be a driver of mtDNA mutations in nematodes. Further, we found an excess of G→T and C→T changes on the coding DNA strand relative to the template strand, consistent with increased exposure to oxidative damage. Analysis of the distribution of mutations across the mtDNA revealed significant variation among protein-coding genes and as well as among neighboring nucleotides. This high-resolution view of mitochondrial mutations inC. eleganshighlights the value of this system for understanding relationships among oxidative damage, replication error, and mtDNA mutation.
A dynamical systems treatment of transcriptomic trajectories in hematopoiesis
Authors: Freedman Simon L. , Xu Bingxian , Goyal Sidhartha , Mani Madhav
Published: May 2021

Inspired by Waddington’s illustration of an epigenetic landscape, cell-fate transitions have been envisioned as bifurcating dynamical systems, wherein the dynamics of an exogenous signal couples to a cell’s enormously complex signaling and transcriptional machinery, eliciting a qualitative transition in the collective state of a cell – its fate. It remains unclear, however, whether the dynamical systems framework can go beyond a word-based caricature of the system and provide sharp quantitative insights that further our understanding of differentiation. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), which measures the distributions of possible transcriptional states in large populations of differentiating cells, provides an alternate view, in which development is marked by the individual concentration variations of a myriad of genes. Here, starting from formal mathematical derivations, we challenge these transcriptomic trajectories to a rigorous statistical evaluation of whether they display signatures consistent with bifurcations. After pinpointing bifurcations along transcriptomic trajectories of the neutrophil branch of hematopoeitic differentiation we are able to further leverage the primitive features of a linear instability to identify the single-direction in gene expression space along which the bifurcation unfolds and identify possible gene contributors. This scheme identifies transcription factors long viewed to play a crucial role in the process of neutrophil differentiation in addition to identifying a host of other novel genetic players. Most broadly speaking, we provide evidence that, though very high-dimensional, a bifurcating dynamical systems formalism might be appropriate for the process of cellular differentiation and that it can be leveraged to provide insights. Ambitiously, our work attempts to take a step beyond data-analysis and towards the construction of falsifiable mathematical models that describe the dynamics of the entire transcriptome.
H3K27 Acetylated Nucleosomes Facilitate HMGN Protein Localization at Regulatory Sites to Modulate The Interaction of Transcription Factors with Chromatin
Authors: Zhang Shaofei , Postnikov Yuri , Lobanov Alexei , Furusawa Takashi , Deng Tao , Bustin Michael
Published: May 2021

Nucleosomes containing acetylated H3K27 are a major epigenetic mark of active chromatin and identify cell-type specific chromatin regulatory regions which serve as binding sites for transcription factors. Here we show that the ubiquitous nucleosome binding proteins HMGN1 and HMGN2 bind preferentially to H3K27ac nucleosomes at cell-type specific chromatin regulatory regions. HMGNs bind directly to the acetylated nucleosome; the H3K27ac residue and linker DNA facilitate the preferential binding of HMGNs to the modified nucleosomes. Loss of HMGNs increases the levels of H3K27me3 and the histone H1 occupancy at enhancers and promoters and alters the interaction of transcription factors with chromatin. These experiments indicate that the H3K27ac epigenetic mark affects the interaction of architectural protein with chromatin regulatory sites and provide insights into the molecular mechanism whereby ubiquitous chromatin binding proteins, which bind to chromatin without DNA sequence specificity, localize to regulatory chromatin and modulate cell-type specific gene expression.
Stereotypic expansion of Tregulatoryand Th17cells during infancy is disrupted by HIV exposure and gut epithelial damage
Authors: Dzanibe Sonwabile , Lennard Katie , Kiravu Agano , Seabrook Melanie S.S. , Alinde Berenice , Holmes Susan P. , Blish Catherine A. , Jaspan Heather B. , Gray Clive M.
Published: May 2021

Few studies have investigated immune cell ontogeny throughout the neonatal and early paediatric period, where there is often increased vulnerability to infections. Here, we evaluated the dynamics of two critical T cell populations, regulatory (Treg) cells and Th17 cells, over the first 36 weeks of life. Firstly, we observed distinct CD4+T cells phenotypes between cord blood and peripheral blood, collected within 12 hours of birth, showing that cord blood is not a surrogate for newborn blood. Secondly, both Treg and Th17 cells expanded in a synchronous fashion over 36 weeks of life. However, comparing infants exposed to HIVin utero, but remaining uninfected (iHEU), with HIV-unexposed uninfected control infants (iHUU), there was a lower frequency of peripheral blood Treg cells at birth, resulting in a delayed expansion, and then declining again at 36 weeks. Focusing on birth events, we found that Treg cells co-expressing CCR4 and α4β7 inversely correlated with plasma concentrations of CCL17 (the ligand for CCR4) and intestinal fatty acid binding protein (iFABP), IL-7 and CCL20. This was in contrast to Th17 cells, which showed a positive association with these plasma analytes. Thus, despite the stereotypic expansion of both cell subsets over the first few months of life, there was a disruption in the balance of Th17 to Treg cells at birth likely being a result of gut damage and homing of newborn Treg cells from the blood circulation to the gut.

Key points

Phenotypic differences between cord and birth peripheral blood CD4 cells.

Synchronous increase of Th17-Treg cells is disrupted by HIV/ART exposure.

Intrauterine HIV exposure was associated with epithelial gut damage.
Binocular Mirror-Symmetric Microsaccadic Sampling EnablesDrosophilaHyperacute 3D-Vision
Authors: Kemppainen Joni , Scales Ben , Haghighi Keivan Razban , Takalo Jouni , Mansour Neveen , McManus James , Leko Gabor , Saari Paulus , Hurcomb James , Antohi Andra , Suuronen Jussi-Petteri , Blanchard Florence , Hardie Roger C. , Song Zhuoyi , Hampton Mark , Eckermann Marina , Westermeier Fabian , Frohn Jasper , Hoekstra Hugo , Lee Chi-Hon , Huttula Marko , Mokso Rajmund , Juusola Mikko
Published: May 2021

Neural mechanisms behind stereopsis, which requires simultaneous disparity inputs from two eyes, have remained mysterious. Here we show how ultrafast mirror-symmetric photomechanical contractions in the frontal forward-facing left and right eye photoreceptors giveDrosophilasuper-resolution 3D-vision. By interlinking multiscalein vivoassays with multiscale simulations, we reveal how these photoreceptor microsaccades - by verging, diverging and narrowing the eyes’ overlapping receptive fields - channel depth information, as phasic binocular image motion disparity signals in time. We further show how peripherally, outside stereopsis, microsaccadic sampling tracks a flying fly’s optic flow field to better resolve the world in motion. These results change our understanding of how insect compound eyes work and suggest a general dynamic stereo-information sampling strategy for animals, robots and sensors.

Significance statement

To move efficiently, animals must continuously work out their x,y,z-positions in respect to real-world objects, and many animals have a pair of eyes to achieve this. How photoreceptors actively sample the eyes’ optical image disparity is not understood because this fundamental information-limiting step has not been investigatedin vivoover the eyes’ whole sampling matrix. This integrative multiscale study will advance our current understanding of stereopsis from static image disparity comparison to a new morphodynamic active sampling theory. It shows how photomechanical photoreceptor microsaccades enableDrosophilasuper-resolution 3D-vision and proposes neural computations for accurately predicting these flies’ depth-perception dynamics, limits, and visual behaviors.
Ultrasound stimulation of the motor cortex during tonic muscle contraction
Authors: Heimbuch Ian S. , Fan Tiffany , Wu Allan , Faas Guido C. , Charles Andrew C. , Iacoboni Marco
Published: May 2021

Abstract

Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (tUS) shows potential as a noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) technique, offering increased spatial precision compared to other NIBS techniques. However, its reported effects on primary motor cortex (M1) are limited. We aimed to better understand tUS effects in human M1 by performing tUS of the hand area of M1 (M1hand) during tonic muscle contraction of the index finger. Stimulation during muscle contraction was chosen because of the transcranial magnetic stimulation-induced phenomenon known as cortical silent period (cSP), in which transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of M1hand involuntarily suppresses voluntary motor activity. Since cSP is widely considered an inhibitory phenomenon, it presents an ideal parallel for tUS, which has often been proposed to preferentially influence inhibitory interneurons. Recording electromyography (EMG) of the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle, we investigated effects on muscle activity both during and after tUS. We found no change in FDI EMG activity concurrent with tUS stimulation. Using single-pulse TMS, we found no difference in M1 excitability before versus after sparsely repetitive tUS exposure. Using acoustic simulations in models made from structural MRI of the participants that matched the experimental setups, we estimated in-brain pressures and generated an estimate of cumulative tUS exposure experienced by M1hand for each subject. We were unable to find any correlation between cumulative M1hand exposure and M1 excitability change. We also present data that suggest a TMS-induced MEP always preceded a near-threshold cSP.
LOSS OF PLASMA MEMBRANE LIPID ASYMMETRY CAN INDUCE ORDERED DOMAIN (RAFT) FORMATION
Authors: Kakuda Shinako , Suresh Pavana , Li Guangtao , London Erwin
Published: May 2021

In some cases lipids in one leaflet of an asymmetric artificial lipid vesicle can suppress formation of ordered lipid domains (rafts) in the opposing leaflet. Whether suppression of domain formation might occur in plasma membranes was studied using plasma membrane vesicles (PMVs) from RBL-2H3 cells. Membrane domain formation and order was assessed by FRET and fluorescence anisotropy. Ordered domains in PMV prepared from cells by N-ethyl maleimide (NEM) treatment formed up to ~37°C, while ordered domains in symmetric vesicles formed from extracted PMV lipids were stable to 55°C, indicating that stability of ordered domains was substantially less in intact PMV. This behavior paralleled lesser ordered domain stability in artificial asymmetric lipid vesicles relative to the corresponding symmetric vesicles, suggesting that intact PMV have some degree of lipid asymmetry. This was confirmed by annexin binding showing that NEM PMV are much more asymmetric than PMV formed by dithiothreitol/paraformaldehyde treatment. Stabilization of ordered domain formation, and increased membrane order at low temperature was also observed after detergent solubilization of PMV followed by membrane reconstitution via dilution from detergent, which also should destroy asymmetry, even though membrane proteins remained associated with the reconstituted vesicles. Similar changes in domain formation and membrane order were observed after detergent reconstitution of artificial asymmetric lipid vesicles. PMV ordered domain stability was not increased by digesting peripheral domains of PMV proteins with proteinase K. We conclude loss of PMV lipid asymmetry can induce ordered domain formation. Dynamic control of asymmetry may regulate ordered domain formation in plasma membranes.
Longitudinal analysis of diffuse glioma reveals cell state dynamics at recurrence associated with changes in genetics and the microenvironment
Authors: Varn Frederick S , Johnson Kevin C , Wade Taylor E , Malta Tathiane M , Sabedot Thais S , Barthel Floris P , Kim Hoon , Ahmed Nazia , Datta Indrani , Barnholtz-Sloan Jill S , Bakas Spyridon , D’Angelo Fulvio , Gan Hui K , Garofano Luciano , Huse Jason T , Khasraw Mustafa , Kocakavuk Emre , Migliozzi Simona , Ormond D. Ryan , Paek Sun Ha , Van Meir Erwin G , Walenkamp Annemiek M.E. , Watts Colin , Weller Michael , Weiss Tobias , Wesseling Pieter , Stead Lucy F , Poisson Laila M , Noushmehr Houtan , Iavarone Antonio , Verhaak Roel GW ,   The GLASS Consortium
Published: May 2021

To interrogate the factors driving therapy resistance in diffuse glioma, we collected and analyzed RNA and/or DNA sequencing data from temporally separated tumor pairs of 292 adult patients with IDH-wild-type or IDH-mutant glioma. Tumors recurred in distinct manners that were dependent on IDH mutation status and attributable to changes in histological feature composition, somatic alterations, and microenvironment interactions. Hypermutation and acquiredCDKN2Adeletions associated with an increase in proliferating stem-like malignant cells at recurrence in both glioma subtypes, reflecting active tumor growth. IDH-wild-type tumors were more invasive at recurrence, and their malignant cells exhibited increased expression of neuronal signaling programs that reflected a possible role for neuronal interactions in promoting glioma progression. Mesenchymal transition was associated with the presence of a specific myeloid cell state defined by unique ligand-receptor interactions with malignant cells. Collectively, our results uncover recurrence-associated changes that could be targetable to shape disease progression following initial diagnosis.
Revisiting the Hayflick Limit: Insights from an Integrated Analysis of Changing Transcripts, Proteins, Metabolites and Chromatin
Authors: Chan Michelle , Yuan Han , Soifer Ilya , Maile Tobias M. , Wang Rebecca Y. , Ireland Andrea , O’Brien Jonathon , Goudeau Jérôme , Chan Leanne , Vijay Twaritha , Freund Adam , Kenyon Cynthia , Bennett Bryson , McAllister Fiona , Kelley David R. , Roy Margaret , Cohen Robert L. , Levinson Arthur D. , Botstein David , Hendrickson David G.
Published: May 2021

The process wherein dividing cells exhaust proliferative capacity and enter into replicative senescence has become a prominent model for cellular agingin vitro. Despite decades of study, this cellular state is not fully understood in culture and even much less so during aging. Here, we revisit Leonard Hayflick’s original observation of replicative senescence in WI-38 human lung fibroblasts equipped with a battery of modern techniques including RNA-seq, single cell RNA-seq, proteomics, metabolomics, and ATAC-seq. We find evidence that the transition to a senescent state manifests early, increases gradually, and corresponds to a concomitant global increase in DNA accessibility in nucleolar and lamin associated domains. Furthermore, we demonstrate that senescent WI-38 cells acquire a striking resemblance to myofibroblasts in a process similar to the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) that is regulated by the transcription factors YAP1/TEAD1 and TGF-β2. Lastly, we show that verteporfin inhibition of YAP1/TEAD1 activity in aged WI-38 cells robustly attenuates this gene expression program.
Developing High-Affinity Decoy Receptor Optimized for Multiple Myeloma and Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma Treatment
Authors: Miao Yu Rebecca , Thakker Kaushik , Cenik Can , Jiang Dadi , Mizuno Kazue , Jia Chenjun , Li Caiyun Grace , Zhao Hongjuan , Diep Anh , Xu Jimmy Yu , Zhang Xin Eric , Chi Yang Teddy Tat , Liedtke Michaela , Abidi Parveen , Leung Wing-sze , Koong Albert C. , Giaccia Amato J.
Published: May 2021

Recent T Cell therapies have been effective in the treatment of hematological cancers. However, immunotoxicity and treatment relapse pose significant clinical challenges. Here, we revealed distinctive requirement for neutralizing TNF receptor ligands APRIL and BAFF in MM and DLBCL. Furthermore, we investigated the use of BCMA decoy receptor (sBCMA-Fc) as a therapeutic inhibitor of ARPIL and BAFF. While wild-type sBCMA-Fc successfully blocked APRIL signaling with picomolar binding affinity, inhibiting tumor growth in MM models, it lacked efficacy in inhibiting DLBCL progression due to its weak binding for BAFF. To expand the therapeutic utility of sBCMA-Fc, using a protein engineering approach, we generated an affinity enhanced mutant sBCMA-Fc fusion molecule (sBCMA-Fc V3) with 4-folds and 500-folds enhancement in binding to APRIL and BAFF respectively. The sBCMA-Fc V3 clone significantly enhanced antitumor activity against both MM and DLBCL. Importantly, sBCMA-Fc V3 was proven to be a viable clinical candidate by showing adequate toxicity profile and on-target mechanism of action in nonhuman primates.

This study demonstrates the dichotomous function of APRIL and BAFF in MM and DLBCL, that can be safely targeted by an engineered fusion protein designed to trap APRIL and BAFF with ultra-high binding affinity.
Differential regulation of developmental stages supports a linear model forC. eleganspostembryonic development
Authors: Mata-Cabana Alejandro , Romero-Expósito Francisco Javier , Geibel Mirjam , Piubeli Francine Amaral , Merrow Martha , Olmedo María
Published: May 2021

The repetitive nature ofC. eleganspostembryonic development is considered an oscillatory process, a concept that has gained traction from regulation by a circadian clock gene homolog. Nevertheless, each larval stage has a defined duration and entails specific events. We have measured the duration of each stage of development for over 2,500 larvae, under varied environmental conditions known to alter overall developmental rate. Our results show that distinct developmental stages respond differently to environmental perturbations, including changes in temperature, in food quantity and quality, and amount of insulin signaling. Furthermore, our high-resolution measurement of the effect of temperature on the stage-specific duration of development has unveiled novel features of temperature dependence inC. eleganspostembryonic development. Altogether, our results support a model of linear progression ofC. elegansdevelopment, with the duration of each stage determined by a unique program.
High arsenic levels increase activity rather than diversity or abundance of arsenic metabolism genes in paddy soils
Authors: Zhang Si-Yu , Xiao Xiao , Chen Song-Can , Zhu Yong-Guan , Sun Guo-Xin , Konstantinidis Konstantinos T.
Published: May 2021

Arsenic (As) metabolism genes are generally present in soils but their diversity, relative abundance, and transcriptional activity in response to different As concentrations remain unclear, limiting our understanding of the microbial activities that control the fate of an important environmental pollutant. To address this issue, we applied metagenomics and metatranscriptomics to paddy soils showing a gradient of As concentrations to investigate As resistance genes (ars) includingarsR,acr3,arsB,arsC,arsM,arsI,arsP, andarsHas well as energy-generating As respiratory oxidation (aioA) and reduction (arrA) genes. Somewhat unexpectedly, the relative DNA abundances and diversity ofars,aioA, andarrAgenes were not significantly different between low and high (∼10 vs ∼100 mg kg-1) As soils. By comparison to available metagenomes from other soils, geographic distance rather than As levels drove the different compositions of microbial communities. Arsenic significantly increasedarsgenes abundance only when its concentration was higher than 410 mg kg-1. In contrast, between low and high As soils, metatranscriptomics revealed a significant increase in transcription ofarsandaioAgenes, which are induced by arsenite, the dominant As species in paddy soils, but notarrAgenes, which are induced by arsenate. These patterns appeared to be community-wide as opposed to taxon-specific. Collectively, our findings advance understanding of how microbes respond to high As levels and the diversity of As metabolism genes in paddy soils and indicated that future studies of As metabolism in soil, or other environments, should include the function (transcriptome) level.

IMPORTANCE

Arsenic (As) is a toxic metalloid pervasively present in the environment. Microorganisms have evolved the capacity to metabolize As, and As metabolism genes are ubiquitously present in the environment even in the absence of high concentrations of As. However, these previous studies were carried out at the DNA level and thus, the activity of the As metabolism genes detected remains essentially speculative. Here, we show that the high As levels in paddy soils increased the transcriptional activity rather than the relative DNA abundance and diversity of As metabolism genes. These findings advance our understanding of how microbes respond to and cope with high As levels, and have implications for better monitoring and managing an important toxic metalloid in agricultural soils and possibly other ecosystems.
Biological complexity facilitates tuning of the neuronal parameter space
Authors: Schneider Marius , Bird Alexander D , Gidon Albert , Triesch Jochen , Jedlicka Peter , Cuntz Hermann
Published: May 2021

The electrical and computational properties of neurons in our brains are determined by a rich repertoire of membrane-spanning ion channels and elaborate dendritic trees. However, the precise reason for this inherent complexity remains unknown. Here, we generated large stochastic populations of biophysically realistic hippocampal granule cell models comparing those with all 15 ion channels to their reduced but functional counterparts containing only 5 ion channels. Strikingly, valid parameter combinations in the full models were more frequent and more stable in the face of perturbations to channel expression levels. Scaling up the numbers of ion channels artificially in the reduced models recovered these advantages confirming the key contribution of the actual number of ion channel types. We conclude that the diversity of ion channels gives a neuron greater flexibility and robustness to achieve target excitability.

Significance statement

Over the course of billions of years, evolution has led to a wide variety of biological systems. The emergence of the more complex among these seems surprising in the light of the high demands of searching for viable solutions in a correspondingly high-dimensional parameter space. In realistic neuron models with their inherently complex ion channel composition, we find a surprisingly large number of viable solutions when selecting parameters randomly. This effect is strongly reduced in models with fewer ion channel types but is recovered when inserting additional artificial ion channels. Because concepts from probability theory provide a plausible explanation for this improved distribution of valid model parameters, we propose that this may generalise to evolutionary selection in other complex biological systems.

In brief

Studying ion channel diversity in neuronal models we show how robust biological systems may evolve not despite but because of their complexity.

Highlights

15 channel model of hippocampal granule cells (GCs) reduces to 5 ion channels without loss of spiking behaviour.

But knocking out ion channels can be compensated only in the full model.

Random sampling leads to ~ 6% solutions in full but only ~ 1% in reduced model.

Law of large numbers generalises our observations to other complex biological systems.
Impaired bidirectional communication between interneurons and oligodendrocyte precursor cells affects cognitive behavior
Authors: Fang Lipao , Zhao Na , Caudal Laura C. , Zhao Renping , Lin Ching-Hsin , Chang Hsin-Fang , Hainz Nadine , Meier Carola , Bettler Bernhard , Huang Wenhui , Scheller Anja , Kirchhoff Frank , Bai Xianshu
Published: May 2021

Cortical neural circuits are complex but very precise networks of balanced excitation and inhibition (E/I). Yet, the molecular and cellular mechanisms that form the E/I balance are just beginning to emerge. Here, using conditional GABABreceptor-deficient mice we identified a GABA/TNF-related cytokine (TNFSF12)-mediated bidirectional communication pathway between Parvalbumin-positive (PV+) fast spiking interneurons and oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) that determines the density and function of interneurons in the developing medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Interruption of the GABAergic signaling to OPCs resulted in reduced myelination and hypoactivity of interneurons, strong changes of cortical network activities and impaired cognitive behavior. In conclusion, glial transmitter receptors are pivotal elements in finetuning distinct brain functions.
An analysis of pollution Citizen Science projects from the perspective of Data Science and Open Science
Authors: Roman Dumitru , Reeves Neal , Gonzalez Esteban , Celino Irene , Abd El Kader Shady , Turk Philip , Soylu Ahmet , Corcho Oscar , Cedazo Raquel , Re Calegari Gloria , Scandolari Damiano , Simperl Elena
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Citizen Science – public participation in scientific projects – is becoming a global practice engaging volunteer participants, often non-scientists, with scientific research. Citizen Science is facing major challenges, such as quality and consistency, to reap open the full potential of its outputs and outcomes, including data, software and results. In this context, the principles put forth by Data Science and Open Science domains are essential for alleviating these challenges, which have been addressed at length in these domains. The purpose of this study is to explore the extent to which Citizen Science initiatives capitalise on Data Science and Open Science principles.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors analysed 48 Citizen Science projects related to pollution and its effects. They compared each project against a set of Data Science and Open Science indicators, exploring how each project defines, collects, analyses and exploits data to present results and contribute to knowledge.

Findings

The results indicate several shortcomings with respect to commonly accepted Data Science principles, including lack of a clear definition of research problems and limited description of data management and analysis processes, and Open Science principles, including lack of the necessary contextual information for reusing project outcomes.

Originality/value

In the light of this analysis, the authors provide a set of guidelines and recommendations for better adoption of Data Science and Open Science principles in Citizen Science projects, and introduce a software tool to support this adoption, with a focus on preparation of data management plans in Citizen Science projects.
Four ways forward in studying sex-based harassment
Authors: Berdahl Jennifer , Bhattacharyya Barnini
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify promising themes of the papers in the special issues of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion dedicated to advancing scholarship on sex-based harassment.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual overview of the research pertaining to these themes and an analysis of the special issues papers' contributions to these themes.

Findings

Four themes that represent important but relatively neglected lines of inquiry into sex-based harassment are identified. These are (1) the psychology of harassment, (2) organizational culture and networks, (3) the invisible majority and (4) the importance of collective action.

Originality/value

The paper offers an expert perspective on the state of research related to sex-based harassment and four themes that are important to moving it forward.
Hospital readmission prediction based on improved feature selection using grey relational analysis and LASSO
Authors: Miswan Nor Hamizah , Chan Chee Seng , Ng Chong Guan
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This paper develops a robust hospital readmission prediction framework by combining the feature selection algorithm and machine learning (ML) classifiers. The improved feature selection is proposed by considering the uncertainty in patient's attributes that leads to the output variable.

Design/methodology/approach

First, data preprocessing is conducted which includes how raw data is managed. Second, the impactful features are selected through feature selection process. It started with calculating the relational grade of each patient towards readmission using grey relational analysis (GRA) and the grade is used as the target values for feature selection. Then, the influenced features are selected using the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) method. This proposed method is termed as Grey-LASSO feature selection. The final task is the readmission prediction using ML classifiers.

Findings

The proposed method offered good performances with a minimum feature subset up to 54–65% discarded features. Multi-Layer Perceptron with Grey-LASSO gave the best performance.

Research limitations/implications

The performance of Grey-LASSO is justified in two readmission datasets. Further research is required to examine the generalisability to other datasets.

Originality/value

In designing the feature selection algorithm, the selection on influenced input variables was based on the integration of GRA and LASSO. Specifically, GRA is a part of the grey system theory, which was employed to analyse the relation between systems under uncertain conditions. The LASSO approach was adopted due to its ability for sparse data representation.
Supply chain flexibility fit and green practices: evidence from the event industry
Authors: Yoo Joanne Jung-Eun , Cho Meehee
Published: May 2021

Purpose

As the event industry is supported by a wide range of suppliers that provide different products and services, all these partners in the supply chain can play a crucial role in green practices. The industry needs to have a sufficient degree of supply chain flexibility to cater to the demands in today’s dynamic environment and the flexibility in the supply chain will help event businesses to be sustainable. This study aims to explore the role of the supply chain flexibility fit between event planner’s requirements and supplier offerings on the implementation of green practices. The study also attempted to provide insights into the adoption of green event practices by identifying the moderating roles of green organization image and public pressure.

Design/methodology/approach

Data analysis was conducted based on 207 useable responses from event planners. Polynomial regression and response surface analysis were performed to verify the hypothesized relationships. Additionally, hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the moderating effects of green organization image and public pressure on the proposed relationships.

Findings

Results revealed that product flexibility fit was positively related to green practices; however, such effect was not found in the volume flexibility fit model. Findings also showed that public pressure significantly improved the positive effect of product flexibility fit on green practices. However, the green organization image was found to have no significant moderating effect.

Practical implications

The adoption of green practices requires well-designed collaboration among supply chain partners. This study offers empirical evidence regarding the importance of achieving product flexibility fit between event planners’ requirements and supplier offerings when conducting green practices. The findings provide useful implications that can be applied for successful green event management.

Originality/value

Despite the significance and relevance of the topic, barely any study has been conducted to assess supply chain flexibility and its relationship with green event practices. The study adopted resource orchestration theory to examine the role of supply chain flexibility on green event practices by focusing on the planner-supplier flexibility fit. A number of implications regarding supply chain management and future research are identified.
Reconciling and reconceptualising servitization research: drawing on modularity, platforms, ecosystems, risk and governance to develop mid-range theory
Authors: Johnson Mark , Roehrich Jens K. , Chakkol Mehmet , Davies Andrew
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This research bridges disparate research on servitization, namely product–service systems (PSS) and integrated solutions (IS), to provide valuable insights for the progression of the field. It acts as a reconciliation of these research streams and offers a reconceptualised agenda incorporating recent research on platforms, ecosystems, modularity, risk and governance as key conceptual themes to synthesise and build theory.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual, theory development article focused on advancing thinking on servitization by identifying systematic and theoretically informed research themes. It also proposes future research opportunities to advance theoretical contributions and practical implications for servitization research.

Findings

By reviewing and synthesising extant PSS and IS research, this article identified five core themes – namely modularity, platforms, ecosystems, risks and governance. The importance of these five themes and their linkages to PSS and IS are examined and a theoretical framework with a future research agenda to advance servitization is proposed.

Originality/value

This paper considers the similarities and differences between PSS and IS in order to develop a theory and to reconcile formerly disparate research efforts by establishing linkages between core themes and identifying valuable synergies for scholars. The importance of the core themes and current gaps within and across these themes are shown, and a mid-range theory for servitization is positioned to bridge the servitization-related PSS and IS communities.
Locking out the virus: management of a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in an Italian prison
Authors: Cerrato Ferdinando , Esposito Michele , Drusiani Agnese , Moi Iuri , Franciosi Eugenia , Assueri Nadialina , Campalastri Raffaella , Fioritti Angelo
Published: May 2021

Purpose

In this paper, the authors present insights and findings drawn from the authors’ experiences of containing a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak in a large prison in northern Italy.Within penitentiaries, close-quarter living is ripe terrain for outbreaks of disease among detainees and staff. If left unchecked, these outbreaks can easily spill over the prison walls to threaten the general public. Moreover, these risks are heightened by preexisting environmental conditions, especially overcrowding. It is thus paramount to establish effective protocols for prevention, early detection and outbreak management. The purpose of this article is to document a strategy that been at least partially successful in reducing the damage that could potentially be caused by a sustained SARS-CoV-2 outbreak within a correctional facility.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a retrospective analysis on patients’ and health-care workers’ medical records to obtain demographic and clinical information. Descriptive data analysis was then carried out.

Findings

In total, the authors tested 453 people with oropharyngeal swabs from March 15, 2020, to June 30, 2020. Of these people, 58 were positive and 395 were negative, with a prevalence of 12.8%.Of the 453 patients, 60 were health workers: 24 tested positive for SARS-CoV2 ribonucleic acid (RNA); 18 developed symptoms; and three needed hospitalization.Among patients in detention, 34 resulted positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Two were hospitalized and later died. Both had severe preexisting conditions; they were aged 76 and 59 years old, respectively.

Originality/value

In this study, the authors describe the design and effective implementation of prevention and containment measures against SARS-CoV-2 within the walls of a correctional facility. The authors describe how they rapidly created clean confinement sections to isolate cases in an environment designed for security at the expense of virus containment and how educational efforts have played a vital role in their strategy.
Impacts of marketing decisions on delivery performance and flexibility of the operations area
Authors: Finger Marcos Eduardo , Lacerda Daniel Pacheco , Camargo Luis Riehs , Piran Fábio Sartori , Cassel Ricardo Augusto , Morandi Maria Isabel Wolf Motta
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relations in the Marketing/Operations interface through the analysis of data of the operational reality of a Brazilian company with a low technological intensity. The study aims to quantify and determine the impacts of marketing decisions on delivery performance and on flexibility of the operations area.

Design/methodology/approach

A longitudinal case study was conducted and the variables used in the model were derived from established theories and were evaluated with artificial neural networks. The case of a food manufacturing company was selected to reflect the relations in the marketing/operations interface of a low technological intensity enterprise.

Findings

The results show that the decisions on Place/Channel, Price and Product dimensions of marketing exert a significant impact on flexibility and delivery performance of the operation area.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of the case study cannot be generalised and the outcomes are specific to just one firm. However, the approach lends itself to replication, particularly within low technological intensity companies.

Originality/value

Prior studies have focussed on coordination among functional areas as marketing and operations at higher levels of abstraction. The study contemplate empirical propositions through the data analysis of a company with a low technological intensity that can be used to improve managers' decisions and alignment in the Marketing/Operation Interface.
Understanding the link between government cashless policy, digital financial services and socio-demographic characteristics in the MENA countries
Authors: Mouna Amari , Jarboui Anis
Published: May 2021

Purpose

To help inform the debate over whether socio-demographic characteristics are related to the use of digital technologies, the authors investigated the effects of age, gender, education, income and being in the workforce on changes in using financial digital services using panel data collected in the MENA countries during 2017.

Design/methodology/approach

This study aims to identify the impact of government policy on the determinants of financial inclusion and digital payment services in the MENA region. The authors use microdata from the 2017 Global Findex database on MENA countries to perform probit estimations. The paper focuses on the role of technology adoption by government authorities in extending financial inclusion and digital payment around different people.

Findings

The authors find that poorer people (and, by association, less educated people) and the young (but less so the elderly) are disproportionately excluded from the financial system. Results confirm that better collaboration between the government and the financial sector can help to develop digital financial inclusion through the technology adoption channels. The study confirms the significant impact of the government cashless policy in advancing financial inclusion in the MENA countries, with potentially wider applicability to other developed economies.

Practical implications

Policies to advance mobile money innovations could stimulate financial inclusion by promoting digital transaction services. The role of government authorities is imperative to harness the beneficial and sustainable gains from digitizing remittances and transfers to promote a cashless economy.

Originality/value

Financial inclusion promotes equality through a broadening of the system and government cashless policy can be a major catalyst for greater financial inclusion. It helps in the overall economic development of the underprivileged population and contributes to poverty reduction.
An extended framework to evaluate sustainable suppliers in manufacturing companies using a new Pythagorean fuzzy entropy-SWARA-WASPAS decision-making approach
Authors: Alrasheedi Melfi , Mardani Abbas , Mishra Arunodaya Raj , Rani Pratibha , Loganathan Nanthakumar
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study to introduce a new extended framework to evaluate and rank the sustainable suppliers based on the different sustainable criteria in the manufacturing companies using a new fuzzy decision-making approach.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper introduces a new approach using decision-making and Pythagorean fuzzy sets (PFSs) to assess the best sustainable supplier. To doing so, this study integrated the entropy, stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) and weighted aggregates sum product assessment (WASPAS) methods under PFSs. To calculate the criteria weights, the combined entropy-SWARA method is used to compute the objective weight and subjective weight, respectively. Furthermore, the WASPAS model is utilized to rank sustainable supplier alternatives.

Findings

The results of the analysis found that occupational health and safety systems had the highest rank among other criteria, followed by green product and eco-design, green R&D and innovation and green technology. In addition, the findings of the paper demonstrated that the extended approach was efficient and useful for selecting and evaluating the best sustainable supplier in the manufacturing companies.

Originality/value

Recent years have witnessed a number of studies aimed at incorporating the sustainability standards into the supplier selection problem; however, only a little research has been conducted on developing a fuzzy method for decision-making in a manner to assess and choose suppliers with high sustainability in the insurance market, encompassing the three above-mentioned sustainability criteria.
Off-office audit of natural resource assets and water pollution: a quasi-natural experiment in China
Authors: Ma Xiaowei , Shahbaz Muhammad , Song Malin
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the off-office audit of natural resource assets on the prevention and control of water pollution against a background of big data using a differences-in-differences model.

Design/methodology/approach

This study constructs a differences-in-differences model to evaluate the policy effects of off-office audit based on panel data from 11 cities in Anhui Province, China, from 2011 to 2017, and analyzes the dynamic effect of the audit and intermediary effect of industrial structure.

Findings

The implementation of the audit system can effectively reduce water pollution. Dynamic effect analysis showed that the audit policy can not only improve the quality of water resources but can also have a cumulative effect over time. That is, the prevention and control effect on water pollution is getting stronger and stronger. The results of the robustness test verified the effectiveness of water pollution prevention and control. However, the results of the influence mechanism analysis showed that the mediating effect of the industrial structure was not obvious in the short term.

Practical implications

These findings shed light on the effect of the off-office audit of natural resource assets on the prevention and control of water pollution, and provide a theoretical basis for the formulation of relevant environmental policies. Furthermore, these findings show that the implementation of the audit system can effectively reduce water pollution, which has practical significance for the sustainable development of China's economy against the background of big data.

Originality/value

This study quantitatively analyzes the policy effect of off-office auditing from the perspective of water resources based on a big data background, which differs from the existing research that mainly focuses on basic theoretical analysis.
Thepostponed succession:an investigation of the obstacles hindering business transmission planning in family firms
Authors: Ferrari Filippo
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour, this research aims to investigate systemically if and how incumbents and successors share attitudes, social norms and perception of the feasibility of their business succession.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative research carried out on a group of small Italian family firms (N = 10).

Findings

This study provides evidence of background mechanisms (attitudes, social norms and perception of feasibility) affecting the implementation of business succession planning in family SMEs. Moreover, this study provides further evidence supporting the role of social norms in strategic decision-making processes within family firms.

Research limitations/implications

Findings from this study contribute to current literature in multiple ways and have several research implications.

Practical implications

This study highlights that it is more appropriate to adopt a systemic rather than an individualistic approach in investigating/managing business succession.

Social implications

Family firms are the most widespread type of firms in the world; thus, a systematic failure in business transmission represents a prominent socioeconomical problem for policy-makers and institutions.

Originality/value

This study leads to further developments in exploring business succession from a psychological point of view. Findings also highlight the limits of how a theory applied in order to predict individual behaviour can provide insight into collective behaviour involving a family.