bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Genome-Phenome Association study in native microbiomes identifies a mechanism for cytosine modification in DNA and RNA
Authors: Yang Weiwei , Lin Yu-Cheng , Johnson William , Dai Nan , Vaisvila Romualdas , Weigele Peter R. , Lee Yan-Jiun , Corrêa Ivan R. , Schildkraut Ira , Ettwiller Laurence
Published: March 2021

Shotgun metagenomic sequencing is a powerful approach to study microbiomes in an unbiased manner and of increasing relevance for identifying novel enzymatic functions. However, the potential of metagenomics to relate from microbiome composition to function has thus far been underutilized. Here, we introduce the Metagenomics Genome-Phenome Association (MetaGPA) study framework, which allows to link genetic information in metagenomes with a dedicated functional phenotype. We applied MetaGPA to identify enzymes associated with cytosine modifications in environmental samples. From the 2365 genes that met our significance criteria, we confirm known pathways for cytosine modifications and proposed novel cytosine-modifying mechanisms. Specifically, we characterized and identified a novel nucleic acid modifying enzyme, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine carbamoyltransferase, that catalyzes the formation of a previously unknown cytosine modification, 5-carbamoyloxymethylcytosine, in DNA and RNA. Our work introduces MetaGPA as a novel and versatile tool for advancing functional metagenomics.
Species richness determinesC. difficileinvasion outcome in synthetic human gut communities
Authors: Hromada Susan , Clark Ryan L. , Qian Yili , Watson Lauren , Safdar Nasia , Venturelli Ophelia S.
Published: March 2021

Understanding the principles of colonization resistance of the gut microbiome to the pathogenClostridioides difficilewill enable the design of next generation defined bacterial therapeutics. We investigate the ecological principles of community resistance toC. difficileinvasion using a diverse synthetic human gut microbiome. Our results show that species richness is a key determinant ofC. difficilegrowth across a wide range of ecological contexts. Using a dynamic computational model, we demonstrate thatC. difficilereceives the largest number and magnitude of incoming negative interactions. We identify molecular mechanisms of inhibition including acidification of the environment and competition over glucose. We demonstrate thatC. difficile’s close relativeClostridium hiranonisstrongly inhibitsC. difficilevia a pH-independent mechanism. While increasing the initial density ofC. difficilecan increase its abundance in the assembled community, the community context determines the maximum achievableC. difficileabundance. Our work suggests that theC. difficileinhibitory potential of defined bacterial therapeutics can be optimized by designing communities that feature a combination of mechanisms including species richness, environment acidification, and resource competition.
RNA-Ribo Explorer: interactive mining and visualisation of Ribosome profiling data
Authors: Paulet D. , David A. , Rivals E.
Published: March 2021

RNA translation has long been thought as a stable and uniform process by which a ribosome produces a protein encoded by the main Open Reading Frame (ORF) of an mRNA. Recently, growing evidence support incomplete correlation between RNA and protein abundance levels, the existence of alternative ORFs in numerous mammalian RNAs, and the involvement of ribosomes in gene expression regulation, thereby challenging previous views of translation. Ribosome profiling (aka Ribo-seq) has renewed the study of translation by enabling the mapping of translating ribosomes on the whole transcriptome using deep-sequencing.

Despite increasing use of Ribo-seq, recent review articles conclude that flexible, interactive tools for mining such data are missing. As Ribo-seq protocols still evolve, flexibility is highly desirable for the end-user. Here we describe RNA-Ribo-Explorer (RRE) a stand-alone tool that fills this gap. With RRE, one can explore read-count profiles of RNAs obtained after mapping, compare them between conditions, and visualize the profiles of individual RNAs. Importantly, the user can mine the data by defining queries that combine several criteria to detect interesting subsets of RNAs. For instance, one can ask RRE to find all RNAs whose translation of UTR region compared to that of the main ORF has changed between two conditions. This feature seems useful for finding candidate RNAs whose translation status or processing has changed across conditions.

RRE is a platform independent software and is freely available athttps://gite.lirmm.fr/rivals/RRE/-/releases.
Machine learning models exploring characteristic single-nucleotide signatures in Yellow Fever Virus
Authors: Salgado Álvaro , de Melo-Minardi Raquel C. , Giovanetti Marta , Veloso Adriano , Morais-Rodrigues Francielly , Adelino Talita , de Jesus Ronaldo , Tosta Stephane , Azevedo Vasco , Lourenço Jose , Alcantara Luiz Carlos J.
Published: March 2021

Yellow fever virus (YFV) is the agent of the most severe mosquito-borne disease in the tropics. Recently, Brazil suffered major YFV outbreaks with a high fatality rate affecting areas where the virus has not been reported for decades, consisting of urban areas where a large number of unvaccinated people live. We developed a machine learning framework combining three different algorithms (XGBoost, random forest and regularized logistic regression). This method was applied to 56 YFV sequences from human infections and 27 from non-human primate (NHPs) infections to investigate the presence of genetic signatures possibly related to disease severity (in human related sequences) and differences in the PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values (in NHP related sequences). Our analyses reveal four non-synonymous single nucleotide variations (SNVs) on sequences from human infections, in proteins NS3 (E614D), NS4a (I69V), NS5 (R727G, V643A) and six non-synonymous SNVs on NHP sequences, in proteins E (L385F), NS1 (A171V), NS3 (I184V) and NS5 (N11S, I374V, E641D). We performed comparative protein structural analysis on these SNVs, describing possible impacts on protein function. Despite the fact that the dataset is limited in size and that this study does not consider virus-host interactions, our work highlights the use of machine learning as a versatile and fast initial approach to genomic data exploration.

Importance

Yellow fever is responsible for 29-60 thousand deaths annually in South America and Africa and is the most severe mosquito-borne disease in the tropics. Given the range of clinical outcomes and the availability of YFV genomic data, the use of machine learning analysis promises to be a powerful tool in the investigation of genetic signatures that could impact disease severity and its potential of being reintroduced in an urban transmission cycle. This can assist in the search for biomarkers of severity as well as help elucidating variations in host’s Ct value. This work aims to propose a relatively fast and inexpensive computational analysis framework, which can be used as a real-time, innitial strategy associated with genomic surveillance to identify a set of single nucleotide variants putatively related to biological and clinical characteristics being observed.
The synergic role of actomyosin architecture and biased detachment in muscle energetics: insights in cross bridge mechanism beyond the lever-arm swing
Authors: Marcucci Lorenzo , Fukunaga Hiroki , Yanagida Toshio , Iwaki Mitsuhiro
Published: March 2021

Muscle energetics reflects the ability of myosin motors to convert chemical energy into mechanical energy. How this process takes place remains one of the most elusive questions in the field. Here we combined experimental measurements of in vitro sliding velocity based on DNA-origami built filaments carrying myosins with different lever arm length and simulations based on a Monte-Carlo model which accounts for three basic components: (i) the geometrical hindrance, (ii) the mechano-sensing mechanism, and (iii) the biased kinetics for stretched or compressed motors. The model simulations showed that the geometrical hindrance due to acto-myosin spatial mismatching and the preferential detachment of compressed motors are synergic in generating the rapid increase in the ATP-ase rate from isometric to moderate velocities of contraction, thus acting as an energy-conservation strategy in muscle contraction. The velocity measurements on a DNA-origami filament that preserves the motors’ distribution showed that geometrical hindrance and biased detachment generate a non-zero sliding velocity even without rotation of the myosin lever-arm, which is widely recognized as the basic event in muscle contraction. Because biased detachment is a mechanism for the rectification of thermal fluctuations, in the Brownian-ratchet framework, we predict that it requires a non-negligible amount of energy to preserve the second law of thermodynamics. Taken together, our theoretical and experimental results elucidate non-conventional components in the chemo-mechanical energy transduction in muscle.
Effects of domestication on neophobia: A comparison between the domesticated Bengalese finch (Lonchura striata var. domestica) and its wild ancestor, the white-rumped munia (Lonchura striata)
Authors: Suzuki Kenta , Ikebuchi Maki , Kagawa Hiroko , Koike Taku , Okanoya Kazuo
Published: March 2021

Bengalese finches (Lonchura striatavar.domestica) have more complex song traits than their wild ancestors, white-rumped munias (Lonchura striata). Domesticated finches are likely able to allocate more resources to song development rather than allocating resources to mechanisms aimed at coping with predation, which are no longer needed under domesticated conditions. Here, we aimed to examine the effects of changes in selection pressure due to domestication on the behaviour of Bengalese finches and to contemplate the possible evolutionary mechanisms underlying these changes. To do so, we compared neophobic responses to novel-object conditions as an assessment of reactions to potential predators. We studied groups of Bengalese finches and white-rumped munias and found that Bengalese finches were more likely to eat the food provided to them under novel-object conditions. Bengalese finches had a shorter latency time to eat, and this latency time was less affected by the novel object in the case of Bengalese finches compared to white-rumped munias. Therefore, Bengalese finches have reduced neophobic responses due to domestication. The behavioural strategies of white-rumped munias appear to be more suitable for natural environments, which include unpredictable risks, whereas Bengalese finches have likely adapted their behaviour to the conditions of artificial selection.
3D visualization of SARS-CoV-2 infection and receptor distribution in Syrian hamster lung lobes display distinct spatial arrangements
Authors: Tomris Ilhan , Bouwman Kim M. , Adolfs Youri , Noack Danny , van der Woude Roosmarijn , Herfst Sander , Boons Geert-Jan , Haagmans Bart L. , Pasterkamp R. Jeroen , Rockx Barry , de Vries Robert P.
Published: March 2021

SARS-CoV-2 attaches to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to gain entry into cells after which the spike protein is cleaved by the transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRRS2) to facilitate viral-host membrane fusion. ACE2 and TMPRRS2 expression profiles have been analyzed at the genomic, transcriptomic, and single-cell RNAseq level, however, biologically relevant protein receptor organization in whole tissues is still poorly understood. To describe the organ-level architecture of receptor expression, related to the ability of ACE2 and TMPRRS2 to mediate infectivity, we performed a volumetric analysis of whole Syrian hamster lung lobes. Lung tissue of infected and control animals were stained using antibodies against ACE2 and TMPRRS2, combined with fluorescent spike protein and SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein staining. This was followed by light-sheet microscopy imaging to visualize expression patterns. The data demonstrates that infection is restricted to sites with both ACE2 and TMPRRS2, the latter is expressed in the primary and secondary bronchi whereas ACE2 is predominantly observed in the terminal bronchioles and alveoli. Conversely, infection completely overlaps at these sites where ACE2 and TMPRSS2 co-localize.
Neural markers of speech comprehension: measuring EEG tracking of linguistic speech representations, controlling the speech acoustics
Authors: Gillis Marlies , Vanthornhout Jonas , Simon Jonathan Z. , Francart Tom , Brodbeck Christian
Published: March 2021

When listening to speech, our brain responses time-lock to acoustic events in the stimulus. Recent studies have also reported that cortical responses track linguistic representations of speech. However, tracking of these representations is often described without controlling for acoustic properties. Therefore, the response to these linguistic representations might reflect unaccounted acoustic processing rather than language processing. Here, we evaluated the potential of several recently proposed linguistic representations as neural markers of speech comprehension. To do so, we investigated EEG responses to audiobook speech of 29 participants (22 ♀). We examined whether these representations contribute unique information over and beyond acoustic neural tracking and each other. Indeed, not all of these linguistic representations were significantly tracked after controlling for acoustic properties. However, phoneme surprisal, cohort entropy, word surprisal, and word frequency were all significantly tracked over and beyond acoustic properties. We also tested the generality of the associated responses by training on one story and testing on another. In general, the linguistic representations are tracked similarly across different stories spoken by different readers. These results suggests that these representations characterize processing of the linguistic content of speech.

Significance Statement

For clinical applications it would be desirable to develop a neural marker of speech comprehension derived from neural responses to continuous speech. Such a measure would allow for behaviour-free evaluation of speech understanding; this would open doors towards better quantification of speech understanding in populations from whom obtaining behavioral measures may be difficult, such as young children or people with cognitive impairments, to allow better targeted interventions and better fitting of hearing devices.
The wrong side of the spreadsheets: a life in the digital humanities
Authors: Anderson Janet
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this viewpoint paper is to reflect on both the technological and the humanities aspects of working in the digital humanities.

Design/methodology/approach

The author completed her academic career as Professor of Digital Humanities (DH) at the University of Brighton, UK. In terms of approach, she looks back over 25 years of working in this domain, which she entered as a scientist in contrast to most of the other academics at that time who came from the humanities. She delineates her academic journey that passed through various disciplines/fields.

Findings

The author reflects upon her entire career, starting with decisions made at school, to see how they have affected her contribution to DH. She concludes that a deep understanding of technological issues is fundamental to making sense of such complex fields as Big Data and its effect on humanities research in particular and society in general. She also draws attention to the loss of several highly technical, specialised and practical DH teams, which were replaced with ones whose focus is on DH discourse.

Originality/value

The author is writing as one of the very few scientists who belonged to the new area of history and computing in the mid-1990s.
On distance measure and TOPSIS model for probabilistic interval-valued hesitant fuzzy sets: application to healthcare facilities in public hospitals
Authors: Ali Jawad , Bashir Zia , Rashid Tabasam
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The purpose of the development of the paper is to construct probabilistic interval-valued hesitant fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) model and to improve some preliminary aggregation operators such as probabilistic interval-valued hesitant fuzzy averaging (PIVHFA) operator, probabilistic interval-valued hesitant fuzzy geometric (PIVHFG) operator, probabilistic interval-valued hesitant fuzzy weighted averaging (PIVHFWA) operator, probabilistic interval-valued hesitant fuzzy ordered weighted averaging (PIVHFOWA) operator, probabilistic interval-valued hesitant fuzzy weighted geometric (PIVHFWG) operator and probabilistic interval-valued hesitant fuzzy ordered weighted geometric (PIVHFOWG) operator to cope with multicriteria group decision-making (MCGDM) problems in an efficient manner.

Design/methodology/approach

(1) To design probabilistic interval-valued hesitant fuzzy TOPSIS model. (2) To improve some of the existing aggregation operators. (3) To propose the Hamming distance, Euclidean distance, Hausdorff distance and generalized distance between probabilistic interval-valued hesitant fuzzy sets (PIVHFSs).

Findings

The results of the proposed model are discussed in comparison with the aggregation-based method from the related literature and found the effectiveness of the proposed model and improved aggregation operators.

Practical implications

A case study concerning the healthcare facilities in public hospital is addressed.

Originality/value

The notion of the proposed distance measure is used as rational tool to extend TOPSIS model for probabilistic interval-valued hesitant fuzzy setting.
Cybersecurity advocates: discovering the characteristics and skills of an emergent role
Authors: Haney Julie M. , Lutters Wayne G.
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Cybersecurity advocates safeguard their organizations by promoting security best practices. This paper aims to describe the skills and characteristics of successful advocates.

Design/methodology/approach

This study involved 28 in-depth interviews of cybersecurity advocates.

Findings

Effective advocates possess not only technical acumen but also interpersonal skills, communication skills context awareness and a customer service orientation.

Practical implications

Non-technical skills are deemphasized in cybersecurity training, limiting career progression into the cybersecurity advocate role for existing security professionals and those from other disciplines. This paper suggests improvements for professional development that encourage greater security workforce diversity.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to define and enumerate competencies for the role of cybersecurity advocate.
Rethinking academic library space amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa: preparing for the future
Authors: Chisita Collence Takaingenhamo , Chizoma Ukwoma Scholastica
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Academic libraries’ response to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic might be an opportunity to reassert and reemphasise their roles in the national disaster management matrix. The purpose of this study is to review the responses of academic libraries in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. The global outbreak of COVID-19 has precipitated a challenge amongst all institutions, communities and libraries as evidenced by the growing lockdowns, deaths and shocking statistics of infections. This has triggered a fundamental need to rethink how libraries can establish innovative ways to continue providing services to users.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted the interpretive research paradigm to review the situation in South Africa in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used an analysis of secondary sources, the activities that took place and personal experience to answer the research questions.

Findings

The analysis showed that academic libraries and publishers have risen to the occasion, offering more free content and curating personalised collections so that citizens can have uninterrupted access to content and learning. The digital libraries in South Africa are considered vital alleyways to high-quality e-books, journals and educational content, including open educational resources. Digital library services have enabled academic libraries in South Africa to excel in providing online services, therefore ensuring that learning, research and teaching continued.

Originality/value

This study, using Habermas’s idea of the public sphere as a fundamental theoretical framework, notes that when the physical space is closed, it is necessary for academic libraries in South Africa to make use of the digital space. This study will contribute to the corpus of knowledge relating to South African digital libraries’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Intention to adopt pro-environmental behaviors among university students of hard and soft sciences: the case of drinking by reusable bottles
Authors: Fedi Angela , La Barbera Francesco , De Jong Annabelle , Rollero Chiara
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The market of bottled water is one of the largest in the world. Paradoxically, the consumption of water in plastic bottles is highest in countries rich in the potable tap water of excellent quality. This paper aims to gain a better understanding of the factors that foster or hinder the intention to use refillable water bottles by university students and to determine whether their study program played a moderating role.

Design/methodology/approach

Within the framework of Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior (TPB), this paper conducted this cross-sectional study to understand the influence of attitudes, norms and perceived behavioral control (PBC) on the intention to drink tap water from reusable bottles. Italian university students (n = 540) majoring in the hard (42.4%) or the soft (57.6%) sciences completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire.

Findings

For both groups, there was a significant association between attitudes and intention to use a refillable water bottle. The intention to drink tap water was also influenced by PBC among the hard science students, whereas among the soft science students the descriptive norm exerted a significant influence.

Originality/value

This is the first application of TPB, a well-established theoretical and methodological framework, to understand the intention of university students to drink tap water from reusable bottles. Within the framework of TPB, this study is the first to address this specific pro-environmental behavior and explore the potential moderating role of university studies programs, which proved significant.
Comparative CSR decision-making in the Middle East: an exploratory study
Authors: El Haddad Pierre , Bachkirov Alexandre Anatolievich , Grishina Olga
Published: March 2021

Purpose

This study aims to explore the commonalities and differences of corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions among business leaders in Oman and Lebanon, two Middle Eastern countries forming a comparative dyad with a high level of cultural variance within the Arab cluster.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were used to elicit qualitative data that were analyzed by means of multilevel analysis.

Findings

The findings provide empirical evidence that CSR is a powerful factor in managerial decision-making in the Middle East with the national cultures of Oman and Lebanon exerting partially differing effects on CSR decision-making.

Practical implications

The study enlightens practicing managers and policymakers in terms of the salience of multiple actors’ influence on CSR decision-making processes and the responses they may receive when developing and implementing CSR initiatives in the Middle East.

Originality/value

The study proposes a seven nodal model, which captures the flow of CSR decision-making in the research contexts.
Flexible learning with multicomponent blended learning mode for undergraduate chemistry courses in the pandemic of COVID-19
Authors: Lo Chui-Man , Han Jie , Wong Emily S.W. , Tang Chin-Cheung
Published: March 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to report a case study in flexible learning with multicomponent blended learning mode in an undergraduate chemistry course. Traditional chemistry courses usually include lectures, tutorials and laboratory sections. For a course “Advances in Organic Synthesis” at undergraduate level, it consists of advanced information in organic chemistry such as reaction mechanisms, asymmetric catalysis, retrosynthesis and applications in synthesis of natural products. This course is a difficult subject and requires deep understanding of contents. After learning this course, students should have comprehensive knowledge in advanced strategies of organic synthesis and have an ability to apply them to real cases. This “flexible learning with multicomponent blended learning mode” was implemented by the authors to enhance student engagement and self-motivation in their studies.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors hoped to enhance students’ engagement in “flexible learning” – a mixed concept with “blended learning” and “flipped classroom” – and called this approach as “multicomponent blended learning mode.” Blended learning combines face-to-face and e-learning components with interactive Web-based components and technical experimental videos were developed. The knowledge integrated in different components provides a natural environment to link the different synthetic methods together, which help students to get a better understanding of the complicated knowledge and strengthen their skills. For flipped classroom, students participated in the case studies of the organic synthesis and shared their findings to other classmates in oral presentations.

Findings

In this study, both course evaluation score and students’ academic performance in the “multicomponent blended learning mode” were increased significantly when comparing with traditional teaching methods in 2011. It was found that students’ engagement and their self-motivation in learning were enhanced.

Originality/value

The positive feedback from the students and the enhancement of their academic performance supported the value in this research. Besides, most universities in Hong Kong have suspended all face-to-face classes and conducted all teaching in online mode during COVID-19 outbreak. As the multicomponent blended learning mode of this course has already been conducted for eight cohorts, the authors are confident that this feature can minimize the sudden change in the learning habits for the students. As social factors and individual variations in students’ learning and study mode may affect the learning outcomes, these interactive multicomponent e-learning components in this special period make students excited when they can study and digest the knowledge according to their own pace.
Assessment of the significance of factors affecting the growth of women entrepreneurs: study based on experience categorization
Authors: Agarwal Sucheta , Ramadani Veland , Dana Leo-Paul , Agrawal Vivek , Dixit Jitendra Kumar
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The ascent of women enterprising community (WEC) in a couple of decades draws the attention of various government and non-government bodies. Literature has mentioned various studies that focus on the factors affecting the success or failure of women entrepreneurs (WEs), but understanding of the ranking of the factors depending on the experiences of different WEs is needed. This study aims to identify the significant factors essential for the growth of WEC.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examines the factors through interview of 33 WEs having different entrepreneurial experiences (less than 1 year, more than 1 year but less than 10 years and more than 10 years of experiences) from different regions of Uttar Pradesh, India, and with the help of analytical hierarchical process, ranks the factors affecting the sustainable growth of WEs.

Findings

Through analysis, significant factors have been identified such as determination, education, entrepreneurial resilience, personal satisfaction and provide employment, and these factors have been analysed according to the different experiences of WEs. An investigation of ranking these factors of WEC, especially in the emerging nations, can assist policymakers in designing projects that improve the mindfulness associated with women enterprise and define the compelling methodologies.

Practical implications

The growth of the WEC is significantly affected by gender orientation ways of thinking as driven by entrepreneurship models.

Originality/value

This study gives a direction to policymakers by emphasizing on significant factors of various stages of enterprise development for the encouragement of WEs in the emerging economies.
The effect of competition in the product market and financial flexibility on business strategy
Authors: Rostami Vahab , Rezaei Leyla
Published: March 2021

Purpose

This study aims to track product market competition and financial flexibility on firms’ business strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

For this purpose, 187 listed firms on the Tehran Stock Exchange were selected by the systematic elimination for 2012–2018. The hypotheses were examined using the linear regression model. Ittner and Larcker’s (1997) model assesses the business strategy (dependent variable). The Herfindahl–Hirschman index is used to assess the product market competition (independent variable). Finally, the Frank and Goyal’s (2009) model investigates financial flexibility (independent variable).

Findings

The findings indicate that competition in the product market has significantly declined the resort of defensive and invasive business strategies and intensified opportunistic analytical and opportunistic strategies, benefiting from financial flexibility and facilitating defensive and opportunistic adaptation and decreased analytic and invasive strategies. Besides, the product market competition contributes to the firm’s financial flexibility and analytical, opportunistic, invasive and defensive strategies. Most of the studies in the field of business strategy analyzed some factors, such as performance (Zhang, 2016), tax avoidance (Higginset al., 2015) and share pricing risk (Habib and Hasan, 2017). There is no study to assess the effect of business strategy on product market competition and financial flexibility.

Originality/value

The present study’s findings provide some invaluable concepts for firm managers on the significance of competition in the product market and financial flexibility. Focusing on competition intensity and flexibility level can deal with the board’s ambiguities on market structure and competitive status. The use of profitably competitive investment opportunities leads to selecting the most beneficial strategies, leading to a more efficient allocation of scarce resources and, finally, the enhancement of organizational performance.
The impact of the Tunisian Revolution and internal governance mechanisms on the extent of voluntary information disclosure
Authors: Mekaoui Sameh , Brahem Emna , Moalla Hanen
Published: March 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate, on the one hand, the impact of the Tunisian Revolution and internal governance mechanisms (especially, the ownership structure and the board of directors structure on the extent of voluntary information disclosure [VID]) and on the other hand, the moderating effect of the Tunisian Revolution on the relationship between the internal corporate governance mechanisms and the VID.

Design/methodology/approach

A content analysis of 362 annual reports is used for determining the level of VID. This study covers a 10-year period (2007-2016) which is divided into two sub-periods (before and after the Tunisian Revolution). The generalized least squares regression model was used to investigate the effect of the Tunisian Revolution, ownership structure and the board of directors structure on the VID.

Findings

The Tunisian companies disclose less voluntary information after the Tunisian Revolution because of a decrease in the disclosure of information related to results, intangible assets, non-financial information and management’s discussion and analysis. The authors’ findings highlight the importance of the moderating effect of the revolution. After the Tunisian Revolution, a positive relationship was found, on the one hand, between institutional ownership, board size and board independence, and the VID on the other hand. Besides, companies with dual structures and with a high level of foreign ownership are less reluctant to the VID. Moreover, different governance mechanisms are related to different types of information disclosed. These relationships were affected by the Tunisian Revolution.

Practical implications

This piece of research could be useful for managers, investors and different stakeholders. It can help managers in improving their VID and thus their companies’ transparency, mainly in developing countries and in times of crisis. Moreover, it could be helpful for investors and stakeholders for their decision-making, especially in crisis periods.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by investigating the VID in a developing country and in times of crisis. It widens knowledge by analyzing the types of voluntary information disclosed. It is one of the few pieces of research investigating this issue. Moreover, it is the first research analyzing the consequences on the VID of the revolutions in the Arab countries that have experienced an Arab Spring Revolution.
Legal aspects of ecotourism: towards creating an international legislative framework
Authors: Stanković Vera , Batrićević Ana , Joldžić Vladan
Published: March 2021

Purpose

This study aims to highlight the most important preventive measures that should be proposed by policymakers and adopted by (inter)national legislative bodies by changing existing or adopting new legal documents. The implementation of these measures should be performed by state bodies responsible for ecotourism, natural and cultural resources protection and ecotourism services users.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical legal approach was applied, based on a systematic review of international legally binding and non-binding documents related to ecotourism, adopted by relevant international organizations. Analysis of norms for preventive protection of natural and cultural values was done and followed by law-reform research in the form of recommendations that should be adopted as binding.

Findings

International legal documents relevant to ecotourism analysed in this paper are divided into two groups. The first regulates exclusively ecotourism issues, whereas the second deals with sustainable development and indirectly refers to ecotourism, as one of its segments. Analysed international legal documents require unambiguous norms regulating preventive protective measures in ecotourism by prescribing actual obligations and prohibitions for relevant subjects. Given recommendations are grouped into five types according to the subjects they are addressing (ecotourism experts, policymakers, legislators, natural and cultural conservationists, local communities, educators).

Originality/value

This study is the first that points to the need to amending international legal documents related to ecotourism through recommendations regarding natural and cultural values’ preventive protection.
Longer days enable higher diurnal activity for migratory birds
Authors: Pokrovsky Ivan , Kölzsch Andrea , Sherub Sherub , Fiedler Wolfgang , Glazov Peter , Kulikova Olga , Wikelski Martin , Flack Andrea
Published: March 2021

Seasonal geophysical cycles strongly influence the activity of life on Earth because they affect environmental conditions like temperature, precipitation and day length. An increase in daylight availability during summer is especially enhanced when animals migrate along a latitudinal gradient. Yet, the question of how day length (i.e. daylight availability) influences the activity patterns of long‐distance, latitudinal migrants is still unclear.

Here, we ask whether migration provides benefits to long‐distance migrants by enabling them to increase their diurnal movement activities due to an increase in daylight availability. To answer this question, we tested whether four vastly different species of long‐distance migratory birds—two arctic migrants and two mid‐latitude migrants—can capitalise on day length changes by adjusting their daily activity.

We quantified the relationship between daily activity (measured using accelerometer data) and day length, and estimated each species' daily activity patterns. In addition, we evaluated the role of day length as an ultimate driver of bird migration.

All four species exhibited longer activity periods during days with more daylight hours, showing a strong positive relationship between total daily activity and day length. The slope of this relationship varied between the different species, with activity increasing 1.5‐fold on average when migrating from wintering to breeding grounds. Underlying mechanisms of these relationships reveal two distinct patterns of daily activity. Flying foragers showed increasing activity patterns, that is, their daytime activities rose uniformly up to solar noon and decreased until dusk, thereby exhibiting a season‐specific activity slope. In contrast, ground foragers showed a constant activity pattern, whereby they immediately increased their activity to a certain level and maintained this level throughout the day.

Our study reveals that long days allow birds to prolong their activity and increase their total daily activity. These findings highlight that daylight availability could be an additional ultimate cause of bird migration and act as a selective agent for the evolution of migration.
Evidence of demographic buffering in an endangered great ape: Social buffering on immature survival and the role of refined sex‐age classes on population growth rate
Authors: Colchero Fernando , Eckardt Winnie , Stoinski Tara
Published: March 2021

Theoretical and empirical research has shown that increased variability in demographic rates often results in a decline in the population growth rate. In order to reduce the adverse effects of increased variability, life‐history theory predicts that demographic rates that contribute disproportionately to population growth should be buffered against environmental variation. To date, evidence of demographic buffering is still equivocal and limited to analyses on a reduced number of age classes (e.g. juveniles and adults), and on single sex models.

Here we used Bayesian inference models for age‐specific survival and fecundity on a long‐term dataset of wild mountain gorillas. We used these estimates to parameterize two‐sex, age‐specific stochastic population projection models that accounted for the yearly covariation between demographic rates. We estimated the sensitivity of the long‐run stochastic population growth rate to reductions in survival and fecundity on ages belonging to nine sex‐age classes for survival and three age classes for female fecundity.

We found a statistically significant negative linear relationship between the sensitivities and variances of demographic rates, with strong demographic buffering on young adult female survival and low buffering on older female and silverback survival and female fecundity. We found moderate buffering on all immature stages and on prime‐age females.

Previous research on long‐lived slow species has found high buffering of prime‐age female survival and low buffering on immature survival and fecundity. Our results suggest that the moderate buffering of the immature stages can be partially due to the mountain gorilla social system and the relative stability of their environment.

Our results provide clear support for the demographic buffering hypothesis and its predicted effects on species at the slow end of the slow–fast life‐history continuum, but with the surprising outcome of moderate social buffering on the survival of immature stages. We also demonstrate how increasing the number of sex‐age classes can greatly improve the detection of demographic buffering in wild populations.
Phylogenetic structure of lichen metacommunities in Amazonian and Northeast Brazil
Authors: Nascimento Edvaneide Leandro de Lima , Maia Leonor Costa , Cáceres Marcela Eugenia da Silva , Lücking Robert
Published: March 2021

Amazon, Atlantic forest, Brejos de Altitude, Caatinga, Carrasco, Cerradão and Restinga are major vegetation units in North and Northeast Brazil. Little is known about lichen metacommunity structure in these habitats. While species richness and composition generally depend on climatic factors, in azonal vegetation edaphic factors may have a filtering effect on tree bark structure and hence the composition of epiphytic lichen communities. We hypothesized that climatic stress and a tree bark filtering effect would result in reduced richness and phylogenetic clustering in Caatinga, Carrasco, Cerradão and Restinga, whereas high richness and phylogenetic overdispersion were predicted for Amazon and Atlantic Forest. To test this, we analyzed 2,090 lichenized species in the study area, with a supertree to assess phylogenetic metacommunity structure. Amazon and Atlantic forest exhibited high richness and phylogenetic diversity, with phylogenetic overdispersion only in the Amazon. The zonal Caatinga with drought stress and the extrazonal Brejos both exhibited phylogenetic clustering. Among the azonal, edaphic vegetation units, Cerradão exhibited phylogenetic overdispersion, whereas Restinga showed phylogenetic clustering. Nearest taxon phylogenetic distance indicated a close relationship between Amazon and Atlantic forest, Atlantic forest and Brejos and Atlantic forest and Caatinga. Carrasco was mostly closely related to Cerradão, and Restinga was distantly related to any other unit. These findings indicate more complex patterns in the phylogenetic structure of lichen metacommunities, partly reflecting those of plant metacommunities, as a result of concurrent macroecological evolutionary histories. Our data supported floristic evidence that Carrasco is part of the Cerrado complex and not related to Caatinga.
Sex allocation in aquatic ferns: The role of body size
Authors: Coelho Flávia F. , Basulto Sofía R. , Fávaro Ana , Demetrio Guilherme R.
Published: March 2021

Patterns of resource allocation reflect the plastic strategies that result from different selective pressures imposed by the environment. However, biomass allocation can be limited by architectural restrictions that change with the plant size. Our knowledge about sex allocation in heterosporous aquatic ferns remains scarce and studies on the reproductive strategies of these plants may yield valuable information regarding the evolutionary history of heterospory. Here, we investigate resources allocation, both in number and in biomass, to produce megasporangia and microsporangia among three species of Salvinia with different body sizes. Salvinia oblongifolia, S. auriculata and S. minima were collected in temporary ponds on the floodplain of the Pandeiros River in Brazil. We counted megasporangia and microsporangia, and measured their dry mass in each ramet. We also measured the total vegetative biomass and total reproductive biomass of each ramet in each species. Resource allocation to megasporangia production is associated with the specific body size of each species. However, the allocation for microsporangia production was higher in the species with intermediate size, which probably may be related to the drought event. The total reproductive biomass of each species was not dependent on the total vegetative biomass, but despite a similar reproductive effort, species differ on which sex is prioritized in the allocation process. Our results provide the first data about the processes underlying the sex allocation of Salvinia in the floodplains. The production of sori is size dependent in each Salvinia species and is shaped by drought, an intense selective pressure in temporary wet habitats.
STRUCTURING ARTISTIC CREATIVITY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A ‘CREATIVE CITY’: Urban Sculpture Planning in Shanghai
Authors: Zheng Jane
Published: March 2021

This article explores the relationship between institutional environments and individual artists’ artistic creativity to provide an understanding of the ‘creative city’, using urban sculpture planning in Shanghai as a case study. I argue that political censorship alone will not stifle artist's creativity: when authoritarian power interacts with elite social networks and permits a certain form of market economy, artistic creativity becomes concentrated on the technical aspects of artistic representation and can be channeled towards utilitarian projects in service of the community and the creative economy. A less open or tolerant institutional setting results in a type of ‘structured creativity’—this refers to novel ideas and artistic expressions that emerge in the process of seeking valuable alternative outlets when facing political constraints. ‘Structured creativity’ characterizes the ‘creative city’ in countries such as China. The implication is that such ‘structured creativity’ contributes to the economy in terms of traditional statistical indicators, but is problematic in other ways. Richard Florida's ‘creative city’ thesis simplified the relationship between social conditions, creativity and economy; similarly, the complexity of this relationship has been overlooked in the critical literature about this topic.
Sustainable development of water resources in marginalised semi‐arid regions of India: Case study of Dahod in Gujarat, India
Authors: Chinnasamy Pennan , Maske Ambadas B. , Honap Vaishnavi , Chaudhary Sunita , Agoramoorthy Govindasamy
Published: March 2021

Increased water demand and frequency of droughts, due to climate change in India, has led to water scarcity in the domestic and agricultural sectors. In such scenarios, small scale and decentralised water infrastructures, for example, check dams, have reduced water demand extremes and climate change impacts on water resources, especially for marginalised and low income farmers in semi‐arid regions. This study aims to quantify the impact of a network of check dams on increasing soil moisture (SM) and crop productivity (CP) in a semi‐arid Indian region. As a case study, 52 check dams were mapped, from 1990 to 2017, across the Dahod district of Gujarat state, and increases in SM and CP were quantified using remote sensing data‐based indicators, including Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI). Results indicate an overall increase in NDVI from −0.2 to 0.1, and NDWI from 0.03 to 0.3, indicating an increase in vegetation cover and water content, respectively. In addition, spatiotemporal analysis indicates that the locations near the check dam had rapid increase in both indicators, and less dependence on rainfall variability. The study showed that remote sensing based indicators have been useful in documenting the impact of water recharge structures, especially in ungauged basins. However, it is important to use remote sensing data along with observation data for better accuracy of assessments. Results also indicate that the check dams could have been important in increasing water resource availability, as impact of other water resources is yet unknown in the region. Increased water resources, through improved sustainable development of water infrastructure, have increased the vegetation and decreased the vulnerability to climate change extremes, and thereby increased the socio‐economic status of marginalised farmers in Dahod.