bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Surgical Outcomes after Postmastectomy Breast Reconstruction
Authors: Sarver Melissa M , Rames Jess D , Ren Yi , Greenup Rachel A , Shammas Ronnie L , Hwang E Shelley , Hollenbeck Scott T , Hyslop Terry , Butler Paris D , Fayanju Oluwadamilola M ,   for the Duke Breast and Plastic Surgery Workgroup
Published: April 2022

BACKGROUND:

Women of color with breast cancer are less likely to undergo post-mastectomy reconstruction compared with White women, but it is unclear whether their perioperative outcomes are worse. The goal of this study was to investigate differences in preoperative comorbidities and postoperative complications by race/ethnicity among women with breast cancer undergoing postmastectomy reconstruction.

STUDY DESIGN:

Data were collected from the National Inpatient Sample database of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project from 2012 to 2016. Patient demographics, types of reconstruction, comorbid conditions, Charlson-Deyo Combined Comorbidity (CDCC) scores, length of stay (LOS), and perioperative complications were abstracted. Multivariate linear and logistic regression were performed to model LOS and likelihood of postoperative complications, respectively.

RESULTS:

Compared with White women (n = 19,730), Black women (n = 3,201) underwent autologous reconstruction more frequently (40.7% vs 28.3%), had more perioperative comorbidities (eg diabetes: 12.9% vs 5.8%), higher CDCC scores (% CDCC ≥ 4: 5.5% vs 2.7%), and longer LOS (median 3 vs 2 days, all p < 0.001). Being Black (vs White: +0.13 adjusted days, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.19) was also associated with longer LOS and an increased likelihood of surgical complications (vs White: odds ratio 1.24, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.42, both p < 0.01), but this association did not persist when outcomes were limited to microsurgical complications.

CONCLUSION:

Disparities in postmastectomy breast reconstruction between Black and White women extend beyond access to care and include perioperative factors and outcomes. These findings suggest an important opportunity to mitigate inequities in reconstruction through perioperative health optimization and improved access to and co-management with primary care.
Avian H7N9 influenza viruses are evolutionarily constrained by stochastic processes during replication and transmission in mammals
Authors: Braun Katarina M. , Haddock Luis A. , Crooks Chelsea M. , Barry Gabrielle L. , Lalli Joseph , Neumann Gabriele , Watanabe Tokiko , Imai Masaki , Yamayoshi Seiya , Ito Mutsumi , Kawaoka Yoshihiro , Friedrich Thomas C.
Published: April 2022

H7N9 avian influenza viruses (AIV) have caused over 1,500 documented human infections since emerging in 2013. Although wild type H7N9 AIV can transmit by respiratory droplets in ferrets, they have not yet caused widespread outbreaks in humans. Previous studies have revealed molecular determinants of H7N9 AIV virus host-switching, but little is known about potential evolutionary constraints on this process. Here we compare patterns of sequence evolution for H7N9 AIV and mammalian H1N1 viruses during replication and transmission in ferrets. We show that three main factors – purifying selection, stochasticity, and very narrow transmission bottlenecks – combine to severely constrain the ability of H7N9 AIV to effectively adapt to mammalian hosts in isolated, acute spillover events. We find rare evidence of natural selection favoring new or mammalian-adapting mutations within ferrets, but no evidence of natural selection acting during transmission. We conclude that human-adapted H7N9 viruses are unlikely to emerge during typical spillover infections. Our findings are instead consistent with a model in which the emergence of a human-transmissible virus would be a rare and unpredictable, though highly consequential, “jackpot” event. Strategies to limit the total number of spillover infections will limit opportunities for the virus to win this evolutionary lottery.
Multiple waves of viral invasions in Symbiodiniaceae algal genomes
Authors: Benites L. Felipe , Stephens Timothy G. , Bhattacharya Debashish
Published: April 2022

Dinoflagellates from the family Symbiodiniaceae are phototrophic marine protists that engage in symbiosis with diverse hosts. Their large and distinct genomes show pervasive gene duplication and large-scale retroposition events. However, little is known about the role and scale of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in the genomic evolution of this algal family. In other dinoflagellates, higher levels of HGTs have been observed, linked to major genomic transitions, such as the appearance of a viral acquired nucleoprotein that originated via HGT from a large DNA algal virus. Previous work showed Symbiodiniaceae from different hosts being actively infected by several viral groups, such as giant DNA viruses and ssRNA viruses, that may play an important role in coral health. This includes a hypothetical latent viral infection, whereby viruses could persist in the cytoplasm or integrate into the host genome as a provirus. This hypothesis received some experimental support however, the cellular localization of putative latent viruses and their taxonomic affiliation are still unknown. In addition, despite the finding of viral sequences in some genomes of Symbiodiniaceae, viral origin, taxonomic breadth, and metabolic potential have not been explored. To address these questions, we searched for evidence of protein sequences of putative viral origin in 13 Symbiodiniaceae genomes. We found 59 candidate viral-derived HGTs that give rise to 12 phylogenies across 10 genomes. We also describe the taxonomic affiliation of these virus-related sequences, their structure, and genomic context. These results lead us to propose a model to explain the origin and fate of Symbiodiniaceae viral acquisitions.
Autism-associated mutation in Hevin/Sparcl1 induces endoplasmic reticulum stress through structural instability
Authors: Taketomi Takumi , Yasuda Takunori , Morita Rikuri , Kim Jaehyun , Shigeta Yasuteru , Eroglu Cagla , Harada Ryuhei , Tsuruta Fuminori
Published: April 2022

Hevin is a secreted extracellular matrix protein that is encoded by SPARCL1 gene. Recent studies show that Hevin plays an important role in regulating synaptogenesis and synaptic plasticity. Mutations in SPARCL1 gene increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the molecular basis of how mutations in SPARCL1 increase the risk of ASD has not been fully understood. In this study, we show that one of SPARCL1 mutations associated with ASD impairs normal Hevin secretion. We identified Hevin mutants lacking the EF-hand motif through analyzing ASD-related mice with vulnerable spliceosome functions. Hevin deletion mutants accumulate in the ER, leading to the activation of unfolded protein responses. We also found that a single amino acid substitution of Trp647 with Arg in the EF-hand motif associated with a familial case of ASD causes a similar phenotype with the EF-hand deletion mutant. Importantly, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation revealed that this single amino acid substitution triggers exposure of hydrophobic amino acid to the surface, increasing the binding of Hevin with a molecular chaperon, BIP. Taken together, these data suggest that the integrity of EF-hand motif in Hevin is crucial for proper folding and ASD-related mutation impairs an export of Hevin from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Our data provide a novel mechanism linking a point mutation in SPARCL1 gene to the molecular and cellular characteristics involved in ASD.
Slight increase in fomite route transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant compared with the ancestral strain in households
Authors: Ji Shuyi , Xiao Shenglan , Wang Huaibin , Lei Hao
Published: April 2022

The Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant has become the dominant lineage worldwide, and experimental study had shown that SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant was more stable on various environmental surfaces than ancestral strain. However, how the changes of stability on surfaces would influence the role of fomite route in SARS-CoV-2 transmission is still unknown. In this study, we modeled the Omicron and ancestral strain SARS-CoV-2 transmission within a household over 1-day period from multiple pathways, i.e., airborne, droplet and contact route. We assumed there were 2 adults and 1 child in the household, and one of the adults was infected with SARS-CoV-2. We assume a scenario of pre-/asymptomatic infection, i.e., SARS-CoV-2 was emitted by breathing and talking, and symptomatic infection, i.e., SARS-CoV-2 was emitted by breathing, talking, and coughing. In pre-/asymptomatic infection, all three routes contributed a role, contact route contribute most (37%-45%), followed by airborne route (34%-38%) and droplet route (21%-28%). In symptomatic infection, droplet route was the dominant pathway (48%-71%), followed by contact route (25%-42%), airborne route played a negligible role (<10%). In the contact route, indirect contact (fomite) route dominated (contributed more than 97%). Compared with ancestral strain, though the contribution of contact route increased in Omicron variant transmission, the increase was slight, from 25%-41% to 30%-45%.
Enhanced expression of 4-Cl-IAA and 6-Cl-IAA by touch stimulus for rapid and differential growths of the Madeira vine
Authors: Ma Ma-Hsuan , Batsaikhan Erdembayalag , Wu Chun-Ming , Lee Hao-Hsun , Luo Chih-I , Chen Ni-Jhen , Chung Jeng-Der , Chien Ching-Te , Tsai Yu-Han , Li Wen-Hsien
Published: April 2022

Madeira vine (MV) grows 30 times faster after encountering a support. In vivo x-ray diffraction made on live MV stems revel the appearance of crystallized IAA (C10H9NO2), 4-Cl-IAA (C10H8ClNO2) and 6-Cl-IAA (C10H8ClNO2) in the stems. Small angle neutron scattering spectra of the IAA extracted from MVs stem reveal a progressive increase in the size of crystallized IAA transported downward from the apex of the shoots. High resolution X-ray diffractions made on the extracted IAA reveal significantly larger amounts of 4-Cl-IAA and 6-Cl-IAA in the climbing MVs than in the swaying around MVs. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry spectra reveal the production of 9% more IAA and 90% more 4-Cl-IAA+6-Cl-IAA at the apexes of climbing MVs than swaying MVs. More 4-Cl-IAA+6-Cl-IAA were transported to the contact-free side than to the contact side of the vine. In vivo neutron tomography of naturally climbing MVs reveals a substantially higher H+ concentration in the contact-free parts than in the contact parts. The absorption spectra also reveal more expansin in the contact-free parts than in the contact parts. These results provide a view, at the molecular level, of what triggers the faster and differential growths in MVs in response to touching a support.
Guidelines for standardising the application of discriminant analysis of principal components to genotype data
Authors: Thia Joshua A.
Published: April 2022

Discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) has become a popular method for visualising population structure due to its simplicity, computational speed, and freedom from demographic assumptions. Despite the popularity of DAPC, there has been little discussion on best practise. In this work, I provide guidelines for standardising the use of DAPC in studies of population genetic structure. An often-overlooked fact is that DAPC generates a model describing the genetic differences among a set of populations defined by a researcher. I demonstrate that appropriate parameterisation of this model is critical for obtaining biologically meaningful results. I show that the number of leading PC axes used as predictors of among population differences,paxes, should not exceed thek– 1 biologically informative PC axes that are expected forkeffective populations in a genotype dataset. Thisk– 1 criterion forpaxesselection is more appropriate compared to the widely usedproportional variance criterion,which often results in a choice ofpaxes≫k– 1. DAPC parameterised with no more than the leadingk– 1 PC axes is: (1) more parsimonious; (2) captures maximal among-population variation on biologically relevant predictors; (3) less sensitive to unintended interpretations of population structure; and (4) more generally applicable to independent sample sets. Assessing model fit should be routine practise and can aid interpretation of population structure when implementing DAPC. Additionally, it is imperative that researchers clearly articulate their study goals, that is, testinga prioriexpectations versus studyingde novoinferred populations. Distinguishing between these goals is important because it dictates whether a researcher’s results can be treated as a test of the hypothesis that significant genetic differences exist among populations. Defining populationsa priori(before observing the genotype data) constitutes a true hypothesis test, but populations definedde novo(after observing the genotype data) cannot be used to test this hypothesis due to issues with circularity. The discussion and practical recommendations provided in this work provide the molecular ecology community a roadmap for applying DAPC to their genotype datasets.
Nanobodies combined with DNA-PAINT super-resolution reveal a staggered titin nano-architecture in flight muscles
Authors: Schueder Florian , Mangeol Pierre , Chan Eunice HoYee , Rees Renate , Schünemann Jürgen , Jungmann Ralf , Görlich Dirk , Schnorrer Frank
Published: April 2022

Sarcomeres are the force producing units of all striated muscles. Their nanoarchitecture critically depends on the large titin protein, which in vertebrates spans from the sarcomeric Z-disc to the M-band and hence links actin and myosin filaments stably together. This ensures sarcomeric integrity and determines the length of vertebrate sarcomeres. However, the instructive role of titins for sarcomeric architecture outside of vertebrates is not as well understood. Here, we used a series of nanobodies, the Drosophila titin nanobody toolbox, recognising specific domains of the two Drosophila titin homologs Sallimus and Projectin to determine their precise location in intact flight muscles. By combining nanobodies with DNA-PAINT super- resolution microscopy, we found that, similar to vertebrate titin, Sallimus bridges across the flight muscle I-band, whereas Projectin is located at the beginning of the A- band. Interestingly, the ends of both proteins overlap at the I-band/A-band border, revealing a staggered organisation of the two Drosophila titin homologs. This architecture may help to stably anchor Sallimus at the myosin filament and hence ensure efficient force transduction during flight.
Charting functional E3 ligase hotspots and resistance mechanisms to small-molecule degraders
Authors: Hanzl Alexander , Casement Ryan , Imrichova Hana , Hughes Scott J. , Barone Eleonora , Testa Andrea , Bauer Sophie , Wright Jane , Brand Matthias , Ciulli Alessio , Winter Georg E.
Published: April 2022

Targeted protein degradation is a new pharmacologic paradigm established by drugs that recruit target proteins to E3 ubiquitin ligases via a ternary ligase-degrader-target complex. Based on the structure of the degrader and the neosubstrate, different E3 ligase interfaces are critically involved in this process, thus forming defined “functional hotspots”. Understanding disruptive mutations in functional hotspots informs on the architecture of the underlying assembly, and highlights residues prone to cause drug resistance. Until now, their identification was driven by structural methods with limited scalability. Here, we employ haploid genetics to show that hotspot mutations cluster in the substrate receptors of the hijacked ligases and find that type and frequency of mutations are shaped by the essentiality of the harnessed ligase. Intersection with deep mutational scanning data revealed hotspots that are either conserved, or specific for chemically distinct degraders or recruited neosubstrates. Biophysical and structural validation suggest that hotspot mutations frequently converge on altered ternary complex assembly. Moreover, we identified and validated hotspots mutated in patients that relapse from degrader treatment. In sum, we present a fast and experimentally widely accessible methodology that empowers the characterization of small-molecule degraders and informs on associated resistance mechanisms.
Relation is an option for processing context information
Authors: Yamada Kazunori D , Baladram M. Samy , Lin Fangzhou
Published: April 2022

Attention mechanisms are one of the most frequently used architectures in the development of artificial intelligence because they can process contextual information efficiently. Various artificial intelligence mechanisms such as transformer for processing natural language, image data, etc. include the attention mechanism. Since attention is a powerful component to realize artificial intelligence, various improvements have been made to enhance its performance. The time complexity of attention depends on the square of input sequence length. Methods to improve time complexity of attention are one of the hottest topics in various studies. In this study, we have devised a mechanism called relation that can understand the context information of sequential data without using attention. Relation is very simple to implement and its time complexity depends only on the length of the sequences; a comparison of the performance of neural networks with relation and attention mechanisms on several benchmark datasets shows that relation achieved the same context processing capability as attention with less computation time. Hence, relation is an ideal option for processing context information.
Category-sensitive incidental reinstatement in medial temporal lobe subregions during word recognition
Authors: Schultz Heidrun , Sommer Tobias , Peters Jan
Published: April 2022

During associative retrieval, the brain reinstates neural representations that were present during encoding. The human medial temporal lobe (MTL), with its subregions hippocampus (HC), perirhinal cortex (PRC), and parahippocampal cortex (PHC), plays a central role in neural reinstatement. Previous studies have given compelling evidence for reinstatement in the MTL during explicitly instructed associative retrieval. High-confident recognition may be similarly accompanied by recollection of associated information from the encoding context. It is unclear, however, whether high-confident recognition memory elicits reinstatement in the MTL even in the absence of an explicit instruction to retrieve associated information. Here, we addressed this open question using high-resolution fMRI. Twenty-eight male and female human volunteers engaged in a recognition memory task for words that they had previously encoded together with faces and scenes. Using complementary univariate and multivariate approaches, we show that MTL subregions including the PRC, PHC, and HC differentially reinstate category-sensitive representations during high-confident word recognition, even though no explicit instruction to retrieve the associated category was given. This constitutes novel evidence that high-confident recognition memory is accompanied by incidental reinstatement of associated category information in MTL subregions, and supports a functional model of the MTL that emphasizes content-sensitive representations during both encoding and retrieval.
Fast vibro-acoustic simulation methods of satellite components
Authors: Zhang Jie , Xie Weihua , Wang Yakun , Zhou Jiang , Yin Jiacong
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to fast predict vibration responses of specific locations in the satellite subject to acoustic environment. It proposes a set of vibro-acoustic simulation methods of satellite components to represent their conditions in the whole satellite during the ground tests or launching. This study aims to use vibro-acoustic models of satellite components to replace that of hard modeling and time-consuming whole satellite when only local responses are concerned.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopted experimental and numerical studies, with the latter based on the finite element (FE), statistical energy analysis (SEA) and FE-SEA hybrid theories. The vibro-acoustic model of the whole satellite was built and verified by experimental data. Based on the whole satellite model and experimental results, the fast vibro-acoustic simulation methods of all kinds of typical satellite components were discussed.

Findings

This paper shows that the models about satellite components not only show high consistency but also reduce 61.6% to 99.8% times compared with the whole satellite model. The recommended fast simulation methods for all kinds of typical satellite components were given in comprehensive consideration of the model accuracy, time required and response accessibility.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to perform fast vibro-acoustic prediction of the local positions in satellites.
CFD-based time-domain aeroelastic simulations of a twin-fudelage aircraft
Authors: Wang Xinjiang , Liu Ziqiang , Guo Li , Lv Jinan , Ji Chen
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a novel method to study the flutter coupling mechanism of the twin-fuselage aircraft, which is becoming a popular transportation vehicle recently.

Design/methodology/approach

A new method of flutter mode indicator is proposed based on the principle of work and power, which is realized through energy accumulation of generalized force work on generalized coordinates, based on which flutter coupling mechanism of the twin-fuselage aircraft is studied using ground vibration test and computational fluid dynamics/computational solid dynamics method.

Findings

Verification of the proposed flutter mode indicator is provided, by which the flutter mechanism of the twin fuselage is found as the horizontal tail’s torsion coupled with its bending effect and the “frequency drifting” phenomenon of twin-fuselage aircraft is explained logically, highlighting the proposed method in this paper.

Originality/value

This paper proposed a new method of flutter mode indicator, which has advantages in flutter modes indexes reliability, clear physical meaning and results normalization. This study found the flutter coupling mechanism of twin-fuselage aircraft, which has important guiding significance to the development of twin-fuselage aircraft.
High-performance work systems in an Arab Middle Eastern context: analysis from multisource data
Authors: Aboramadan Mohammed
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The absence of robust information on the application of Human resources managemnet (HRM) practices in the Arab Middle Eastern region has generated an urgent need to understand what and how HRM practices can be used to manage employees in the region. Therefore, building on the social exchange theory and job demands-resources (JD-R) model, this paper proposes a model to examine the effects of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on employees' work-related outcomes, namely, job performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and innovative work behavior (IWB) in a non-industry setting in an Arab Middle Eastern context. In this model, work engagement was theorized to serve as an intervening mechanism among the aforementioned relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 210 academic staff working in the Palestinian higher education sector, together with evaluations from 30 supervisors. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the data.

Findings

The results indicate that HPWS positively affect employees' job performance, OCB and IWB. Moreover, work engagement partially mediates these relationships.

Practical implications

The results can be useful for managers in the Middle East pertaining to the role HPWS can play in boosting employees' job performance, OCB and IWB.

Originality/value

HRM research in Middle East, although limited, is mainly focused on examining the impact of HPWS on organizational rather than individual outcomes. In response to the scholarly call made on the strong need to conduct more HRM research in the Middle East (Budhwaret al., 2019), this research represents the first study that examines the impact of HPWS on in-role and extra-role performance in an Arab Middle Eastern context. Furthermore, the study contributes to the HRM research by relying on a sample from a non-industry sector rather than a sample from a manufacturing setting. Finally, this research is one of the few studies that explore the outcomes of HPWS in an academic setting through the intervening mechanism of work engagement.
Examining employee retention and motivation: the moderating effect of employee generation
Authors: Lee C. Christopher , Lim Hyoun Sook , Seo Donghwi (Josh) , Kwak Dong-Heon Austin
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This study explored moderating effects of employee generations on factors related to employee retention and motivation in the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors developed a survey instrument and collected the survey data via Amazon Mechanical Turk. After filtering out bad responses, the authors ended up with 489 sample cases for this study. The authors used structural equation modeling for data analysis.

Findings

Evidence showed that only transformational leadership was significantly related to retention of Generation X employees and only work–life balance had a significant relationship with intrinsic motivation. For Generation Y employees, transformational leadership was the only factor affecting their retention while both transformational leadership and autonomy showed significant impacts on their intrinsic motivation. Generation Z employees reported that only transformation leadership affected their retention while transformational leadership, corporate social responsibility and autonomy were significantly related to their intrinsic motivation in the workplace. All three generations showed statistical significance between intrinsic motivation and employee retention.

Practical implications

This study could help business practitioners increase employees' work motivation and retention.

Originality/value

First, our results revealed interesting similarities and differences between generations in terms of the factors that affected employees' retention and motivation. Second, this study proved that employees' generation affects the impacts of transformational leadership, CSR, autonomy, WLB and technology on their motivation and retention in the workplace. Third, the results of our study also showed that employees of different generations are intrinsically motivated by different factors, proving the importance of considering generational differences in motivation literature.
GoUNESCO: achieving strategic growth
Authors: Chejarla Kalyana C , Chatterjee Sandeep
Published: April 2022

Learning Outcomes

The case provides learning opportunities in strategy, planning and control in a social entrepreneurial setting. Following are the learning objectives of this case discussion: learn to develop a Strategic Service Vision (SSV) framework ; appreciate scalability challenges specific to service organizations; evaluate franchising model as a growth enabler; and understand the approach to internationalization as a growth strategy.

Case Overview/Synopsis

GoUNESCO is a not-for-profit startup formed in January 2012, with an objective of providing platform for laypersons to engage with places of heritage value. Eight years into existence, in February 2019 GoUNESCO was experiencing substantial growth and faced need for pursuing alternate growth models that do not demand a lot of organizational bandwidth. Ajay Reddy, the founder of GoUNESCO was piloting “franchising” as a domestic growth strategy. He was keen on evaluating fitment of “franchising” (both for domestic and international expansion) in his strategic service vision. He wanted to understand what would be changes required in the strategic service vision on account of ‘franchising’, and decide whether those changes were acceptable or not.

Complexity Academic Level

The case can be positioned in strategy, service and/or operations management introduction courses for both full-time or Executive MBA students. This case is also quite relevant in Entrepreneurship (or Social Entrepreneurship in particular) courses.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS 11: Strategy
IRFC – the beginning of a green era
Authors: Dash Ashutosh
Published: April 2022

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes of this paper is as follows: to review the basic differences between the two evolving bonds, i.e. green vs masala bonds in the Indian capital market; to comprehend the factors that need to be considered in deciding the type of bond to be issued; to assess complexities, such as process, timing, risk and location in relation to the issue of the green bonds; and to understanding the rudiments of bond economics, such as pricing, all-in-cost and yield-to-maturity of bonds and make a comparison of all-in-cost of the Reg-S bond and green bond to Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC).

Case overview/synopsis

In September 2017, IRFC, a public sector undertaking registered as a Non-Banking Finance Company with Reserve Bank of India under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways, was planning to raise US$500m 10-year green bonds from investors in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The green bond proceeds were proposed to be used for low carbon transport and in this way, contribute significantly to the green initiatives of the Indian Railways. Many companies in India had issued regular bonds without labeling them as green but had used the proceeds of the bond for climate-aligned assets. Therefore, a bigger challenge before the IRFC management was the economics of green bond for getting a nod from the Board of Governors to go ahead. Some preliminary estimates on cost of green bonds were received from few bankers but to see that the terms of green bonds are met eventually, the Director (Finance) developed his own estimate of the cost of the new bonds. The Managing Director and Director (Finance) of IRFC were trying to figure out the economic advantage of green bonds besides its social benefits.

Complexity academic level

MBA Programme Executive Training.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.
Inequity in out-of-pocket expenditure and utilization of laboratory tests in Iran: lessons learned in human rights
Authors: Kord Rauf , Homaie Rad Enayatollah , Davoudi Kiakalayeh Ali
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This study aims to calculate the inequity in out of pocket expenditures and utilization of laboratory tests in Iran. Equal access to health services is an important part of human rights in health care. Out-of-pocket payment is a part of financial access to health care. In this study, the authors tried to find inequity in out-of-pocket payments and utilization of medical laboratory tests (MLTs) as a part of human rights in Iran in 2016.

Design/methodology/approach

Gini and concentration indices were calculated for this purpose, and regression models were estimated to show the relationship between different factors and utilization and out-of-pocket.

Findings

The average out-of-pocket payment for all of the households was US$1.56 (urban areas: 1.97 and rural areas: 1.31). Moreover, the average utilization of MLTs was 0.079 (urban areas: 0.0908 and rural areas: 0.0753). Gini and concentration indices for out-of-pocket payments were 0.522 and 0.0701, respectively.

Originality/value

Out-of-pocket and utilization were low in lower in less developed regions of ease and southeast regions of the country and were related to access to health insurance, income and wealth deciles.
Overcoming barriers to financial inclusion: empirical evidence from India
Authors: Ambarkhane Dilip , Singh Ardhendu Shekhar , Venkataramani Bhama , Marak Zericho
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This paper attempts to measure the state-wise impact of Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in 30 states and 6 union territories of India for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018; and tries to develop a state-wise plan for geographical expansion of outlets optimizing the overall impact of the scheme.

Design/methodology/approach

The state-wise impact factor is calculated using demographic penetration of the scheme in rural areas, demographic penetration of the scheme in urban areas, percentage of accounts with Rupay cards and average balance in these accounts. The impact factor is postulated to be a linear function of literacy, per capita GDP, demographic and geographic penetration of banks and the number of poor people. The weights for the sub-parameters are derived through principal component analysis. A generalized linear model with heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation consistency method for estimation of the equation with robust standard errors is used.

Findings

It is found that the scheme has been more effective in the states with higher levels of illiteracy which is contrary to the findings of existing studies where illiteracy is identified as a barrier to financial inclusion. A state-wise plan for geographical expansion of outlets is proposed with a view to optimizing the overall impact of the scheme, along with suggestions for improvement.

Research limitations/implications

The data for ATMs and bank mitras are available for some of the years, for some states and hence missing data were estimated using extrapolation or on an average basis. Furthermore, the panel data are available for three years making the period of panel small. These aspects might have affected the efficacy of our estimates.

Originality/value

The paper evaluates the newly launched ambitious program PMJDY by the Government of India (GoI), it will have far reaching impact on financial inclusion.
Statistical modelling of the impact of online courses in higher education on sustainable development
Authors: Arango-Uribe Marta Luz , Barrera-Causil Carlos Javier , Pallares Vladimir , Rojas Jessica Maria , Mercado Díaz Luís Roberto , Marrone Rebecca , Marmolejo-Ramos Fernando
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The concept of sustainable development (SD) is a popular response to society’s need to preserve and extend the life span of natural resources. One of the 17 goals of the SD is “education quality” (Fourth Goal of Sustainable Development [SDG-4]). Education quality is an important goal because education is a powerful force that can influence social policies and social change. The SDG-4 must be measured in different contexts, and the tools to quantify its effects require exploration. So, this study aims to propose a statistical model to measure the impact of higher education online courses on SD and a structural equation model (SEM) to find constructs or factors that help us explain a sustainability benefits rate. These proposed models integrate the three areas of sustainability: social, economic and environmental.

Design/methodology/approach

A beta regression model suggests features that include the academic and economic opportunities offered by the institution, the involvement in research activities and the quality of the online courses. A structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis allowed selecting the key variables and constructs that are strongly linked to the SD.

Findings

One of the key findings showed that the benefit provided by online courses in terms of SD is 62.99% higher than that of offline courses in aspects such as transportation, photocopies, printouts, books, food, clothing, enrolment fees and connectivity.

Research limitations/implications

The SEM model needs large sample sizes to have consistent estimations. Thus, despite the obtained estimations in the proposed SEM model being reliable, the authors consider that a limitation of this study was the required time to collect data corresponding to the estimated sample size.

Originality/value

This study proposes two novel and different ways to estimate the sustainability benefits rate focused on SDG-4, and machine learning tools are implemented to validate and gain robustness in the estimations of the beta model. Additionally, the SEM model allows us to identify new constructs associated with SDG-4.
Practitioners’ perceptions of the potential impact of Industry 4.0 on construction health and safety
Authors: Smallwood John , Allen Chris
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Historically, a range of health and safety (H&S) challenges continue to be experienced. A two-day construction Industry 4.0 oriented H&S summit presented an opportunity to survey the delegates. The purpose of the study was to determine their perceptions, whether the presentations had an impact on their understanding and appreciation of the H&S challenges and the potential of Industry 4.0 technologies to improve H&S.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reports on the findings emanating from a quantitative study that entailed the completion of a self-administered questionnaire survey conducted among delegates at the inception and closure of a two-day construction H&S summit.

Findings

The findings indicate that a range of H&S challenges are experienced in construction, Industry 4.0 technologies can contribute to addressing the H&S challenges and the presentations had an impact on their understanding and appreciation of the H&S challenges.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are primarily based upon perceptions in terms of the potential of Industry 4.0 technologies to contribute to addressing the H&S challenges.

Originality/value

This study reports on findings from one of a limited number of Industry 4.0 studies conducted in construction in South Africa. The findings indicate the level of awareness with respect to Industry 4.0 and the likelihood of the implementation of such technologies, as initially practitioners are likely to act based upon perceptions.
Pandemic stress and the role of resources in expatriate–local interaction adjustment: an extension of Berry’s model
Authors: Reade Carol , McKenna Mark
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The literature on expatriation rarely considers environmental stressors beyond cultural differences or interaction adjustment from the standpoint of host country nationals (HCNs). The authors develop a typology of expatriate–HCN interaction adjustment in response to a call to investigate the conditions under which pandemic stress facilitates cohesion or division among culturally diverse colleagues.

Design/methodology/approach

The typology is based on Berry’s acculturation model, developed with conservation of resources theory and extended with the dual-concerns problem-solving framework from the conflict management literature.

Findings

The authors propose that expatriate and HCN perceptions of resource adequacy to cope with pandemic stress shape their choice of adjustment mode, and that contextual resources, including those provided by the organization, are critical. An Integration adjustment mode characterized by perceptions of adequate contextual resources and collaborative problem-solving is proposed to be most beneficial in the context of a pandemic to foster cohesion among culturally diverse colleagues, while a Separation mode characterized by perceptions of inadequate contextual resources and competitive problem-solving is proposed to foster division. Theoretical and practical contributions are provided.

Originality/value

The study takes a novel interdisciplinary approach to develop a contextualized typology of interaction adjustment between expatriates and HCNs. It contributes to the literature on managing multinational enterprise stakeholders in high-risk environments and offers insights into the formulation of international HRM policies and practices during a pandemic that are applicable to other high-risk contexts.
Can both entrepreneurial and ethical leadership shape employees’ service innovative behavior?
Authors: Hoang Giang , Luu Tuan Trong , Du Tuan , Nguyen Thuy Thu
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Employee’s service innovative behavior lays the groundwork for bottom-up innovation and ongoing service improvement in service firms. Therefore, it is vital for service organizations to understand the antecedents of employees service innovative behavior. Drawing upon the social cognitive theory, this study aims to develop a research model that examines the effects of ethical and entrepreneurial leadership on service innovative behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 178 managers and 415 employees working in 178 small- and medium-sized (SME) hotels in Vietnam.

Findings

The findings showed that ethical leadership has direct and indirect effects on service innovative behavior, while entrepreneurial leadership only influences service innovative behavior via intrinsic motivation. In addition, trust in leader moderates the effect of intrinsic motivation on service innovative behavior

Research limitations/implications

The study advances current scholarly research on leadership by combining the two areas of entrepreneurial and ethical leadership into one theoretical model and examines how these leadership styles generate hospitality employees’ service innovative behavior through the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation and the moderating effect of trust in leader.

Practical implications

The findings of this research offer significant implications for SME hotels and their managers. In their recruitment processes, hotels should search for particular personality traits, which have been found to predict ethical and entrepreneurial leadership. Hospitality firms also need to encourage communication between leaders and co-workers to enhance employees’ intrinsic motivation.

Originality/value

There are calls for research to examine whether both entrepreneurial and ethical leadership styles can be integrated to enhance employees’ positive outcomes. Evidence about the mechanism linking entrepreneurial and ethical leadership to service innovative behavior is limited. With this stated, the current study makes significant contribution to leadership and innovation literature by filling in these voids.
Qualitative research on financial accounting – an emerging field
Authors: Himick Darlene , Johed Gustav , Pelger Christoph
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this Editorial is to reflect on the potentials and challenges of qualitative research in financial accounting and introduce the four papers included in this Special Issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw on and discuss extant literature and the papers included in the Special Issue to develop our assessment of the current state of the field of qualitative financial accounting research and possible future paths ahead.

Findings

The authors observe that qualitative research on financial accounting is still an emerging field with substantial further research potential.

Research limitations/implications

The authors outline future potentials for qualitative accounting research.

Originality/value

ThisEditorialcontributes to studies on the state of academic research in (financial) accounting.
Integrating augmented reality technologies into architectural education: application to the course of landscape design at Port Said University
Authors: Hussein Heba Adel Ahmed
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This study examines the benefits and potential applications of integrating augmented reality (AR) technology into landscape design education to create a more rewarding educational environment that provides an interesting learning atmosphere and deepens students' knowledge of the landscape design process.

Design/methodology/approach

Experimental method was conducted on the fourth-year architecture students at Port Said University. The experiment went through the following steps: a mobile-based AR application was designed, some exercises were developed and the students performed them using the application, and a questionnaire was formulated and distributed to the students to examine their feedback on integrating AR into the course.

Findings

The success of the experiment was evaluated based on the students' progress, tracked by the instructor, in the exercises and their feedback acquired from the questionnaire. The study found that the integration of AR with traditional teaching methods is perceived as being useful and having a positive impact on landscape design education.

Originality/value

Lessons learned from this study can help architectural educators in planning to use AR in their curricula to enrich architectural education.
Riparian reforestation on the landscape scale: Navigating trade‐offs among agricultural production, ecosystem functioning and biodiversity
Authors: Witing Felix , Forio Marie Anne Eurie , Burdon Francis J. , Mckie Brendan , Goethals Peter , Strauch Michael , Volk Martin
Published: April 2022

Stream–riparian networks are subject to multiple human pressures that threaten key functions of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, drive habitat and diversity losses, affect riparian connectivity and cause stakeholder conflicts. Designing riparian landscapes in a way that they can simultaneously meet multiple competing demands requires a clear understanding of existing trade‐offs, and a landscape‐scale perspective on the planning of reforestation measures.

This study applied a landscape optimization algorithm for allocating riparian forest management measures in the intensively used agricultural catchment of the Zwalm River (Belgium). We optimized forest allocation to improve stream ecological quality (EPT index), functional diversity (diatoms) and riparian carbon processing (cotton‐strip assay), while minimizing losses in agricultural production potential. Regression models were developed to predict the target indicators for 489 segments of the Zwalm riparian corridor, using spatial variables on three different scales. For each riparian segment, we developed spatially explicit management measures, representing different intensities of riparian reforestation. The allocation and combination of these measures in the riparian corridor were optimized to identify (a) trade‐offs among the target indicators, (b) priority regions for reforestation actions and (c) the required reforestation intensity.

The results showed that all target indicators were affected by the area share of riparian forests and its landscape‐scale configuration. Reforestation of the Zwalm riparian corridor could significantly improve indicators for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (e.g. up to +96% for EPT index), but would lead to a strong trade‐off with agricultural production. By optimizing the placement of management measures, we showed how these trade‐offs could be best balanced.

The headwater regions of the Zwalm were identified as priority regions for reforestation actions. Facilitating connectivity among and further expansion of existing forest patches in the Zwalm headwaters showed to improve ecosystems with minimized trade‐offs.

Synthesis and applications. This study demonstrates, for the first time, the potential of landscape optimization algorithms to support the management and design of multifunctional stream–riparian networks. We identified riparian reforestation solutions that minimized trade‐offs between specific natural values and societal needs. Our spatially explicit approach allows for an integration into spatial planning and can inform policy design and implementation.
How does maternal age affect genomic stability in the offspring?
Authors: Sturm Ádám , Vellai Tibor
Published: April 2022

In high‐income countries, women tend to give birth at increasingly advanced ages. Despite its physiological, developmental, and medical consequences, why this tendency significantly affects genetic stability of the offspring remains largely unresolved. Accumulating evidence indicates that the higher the age of the mother at fertilization, the more intense the activity of transposable elements causing insertional mutations in functional DNA stretches in her oocyte involved in zygote formation.