bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Left Ventricular Assist Device Outcomes and Strategy 5 Years from Heart Transplant Allocation Score Change
Authors: Agronin Jacob , Brown Meredith , Calvelli Hannah , Rakita Val , Toyoda Yoshiya , Kashem Mohammed Abul
Published: September 2023

Background

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) adopted new criteria for the heart allocation score on 10/18/2018 to reflect changing trends of candidates’ mortality while awaiting transplant. We examined the impact of these policy changes on rates of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation and outcomes posttransplant from a relatively newer UNOS database.

Methods

The UNOS registry was used to identify first-time adult heart recipients with LVAD at listing or transplant who underwent transplantation between 1/1/2016 and 3/10/2020. Survival data was collected through 3/30/2023. Those listed prior to 10/18/2018 but transplanted after were excluded. Patients were divided into before or after change groups. Demographics and clinical parameters were compared. Survival was analyzed with Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests. A p<0.05 was considered significant.

Results

We identified 4599 heart recipients with LVAD in the before (N=3767) and after (N=832) score change eras. The after group had a lower rate of LVAD implantation while listed compared to the before group (19.4% vs 34.5%, p<0.0001), younger average age (53.1 ± 12.2 vs 54.1 ± 11.9, p=0.0350) and more likely to be female (24.9% vs 19.6%, p=0.0007); in both groups, most recipients (62%) were white. There was significantly farther distance from the donor hospital to transplant center in the after group (259.5 ± 246.8 NM vs 143.2 ± 182.1 NM, p<0.0001) and decreased waitlist days (83.5 ± 103.5 vs 369.0 ± 458.5, p<0.0001). Recipients in the after group were more likely to receive a CDC increased-risk donor organ (37.5% vs 30.2%, p=0.0002). Survival at 5-years was significantly reduced in the after group (60.5% vs 78.9%, p<0.0001).

Conclusions

The allocation score change in 2018 yielded considerable changes in mechanical circulatory support device implantation strategy and survival. The rate of LVAD implantation decreased with profoundly worse 5-year survival, showing further divergence from prior short-term post-transplant data.
miRNA and mRNA Signatures in Human Acute Kidney Injury Tissue
Authors: Janosevic Danielle , De Luca Thomas , Ferreira Ricardo Melo , Gisch Debora L. , Hato Takashi , Luo Jinghui , Yang Yingbao , Hodgin Jeffrey B. , Dagher Pierre C. , Eadon Michael T.
Published: September 2023

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is an important contributor to the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). There is a need to understand molecular mediators that drive either recovery or progression to CKD. In particular, the role of miRNA and its regulatory role in AKI is poorly understood. We performed miRNA and mRNA sequencing on biobanked human kidney tissues obtained in the routine clinical care of patients with the diagnoses of AKI and minimal change disease (MCD), in addition to nephrectomized (Ref) tissue from individuals without known kidney disease. Transcriptomic analysis of mRNA revealed that Ref tissues exhibited a similar injury signature to AKI, not identified in MCD samples. The transcriptomic signature of human AKI was enriched with genes in pathways involved in cell adhesion and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (e.g.,CDH6, ITGB6, CDKN1A). miRNA DE analysis revealed upregulation of miRNA associated with immune cell recruitment and inflammation (e.g., miR-146a, miR-155, miR-142, miR-122). These miRNA (i.e., miR-122, miR-146) are also associated with downregulation of mRNA such asDDR2andIGFBP6, respectively. These findings suggest integrated interactions between miRNAs and target mRNAs in AKI-related processes such as inflammation, immune cell activation and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. These data contribute several novel findings when describing the epigenetic regulation of AKI by miRNA, and also underscores the importance of utilizing an appropriate reference control tissue to understand canonical pathway alterations in AKI.
Engineering synthetic phosphorylation signaling networks in human cells
Authors: Yang Xiaoyu , Rocks Jason W. , Jiang Kaiyi , Walters Andrew J. , Rai Kshitij , Liu Jing , Nguyen Jason , Olson Scott D. , Mehta Pankaj , Collins James J. , Daringer Nichole M. , Bashor Caleb J.
Published: September 2023

Protein phosphorylation signaling networks play a central role in how cells sense and respond to their environment. Here, we describe the engineering of artificial phosphorylation networks in which “push-pull” motifs—reversible enzymatic phosphorylation cycles consisting of opposing kinase and phosphatase activities—are assembled from modular protein domain parts and then wired together to create synthetic phosphorylation circuits in human cells. We demonstrate that the composability of our design scheme enables model-guided tuning of circuit function and the ability to make diverse network connections; synthetic phosphorylation circuits can be coupled to upstream cell surface receptors to enable fast-timescale sensing of extracellular ligands, while downstream connections can regulate gene expression. We leverage these capabilities to engineer cell-based cytokine controllers that dynamically sense and suppress activated T cells. Our work introduces a generalizable approach for designing and building phosphorylation signaling circuits that enable user-defined sense-and- respond function for diverse biosensing and therapeutic applications.
Modeling flexible protein structure with AlphaFold2 and cross-linking mass spectrometry
Authors: Manalastas-Cantos Karen , Adoni Kish R. , Pfeifer Matthias , Märtens Birgit , Grünewald Kay , Thalassinos Konstantinos , Topf Maya
Published: September 2023

We propose a pipeline that combines AlphaFold2 (AF2) and crosslinking mass spectrometry (XL-MS) to model the structure of proteins with multiple conformations. The pipeline consists of two main steps: ensemble generation using AF2, and conformer selection using XL-MS data. For conformer selection, we developed two scores – the monolink probability score (MP) and the crosslink probability score (XLP), both of which are based on residue depth. We benchmarked MP and XLP on a large dataset of decoy protein structures, and showed that our scores outperform previously developed scores. We then tested our methodology on three proteins having an open and closed conformation in the Protein Data Bank: Complement component 3 (C3), luciferase, and glutamine-binding periplasmic protein (QBP), first generating ensembles using AF2, which were then screened for the open and closed conformations using experimental XL-MS data. In five out of six cases, the most accurate model within the AF2 ensembles – or a conformation within 1 Å of this model – was identified using crosslinks, as assessed through the XLP score. In the remaining case, only the monolinks (assessed through the MP score) successfully identified the open conformation of QBP. This serves as a compelling proof-of-concept for the effectiveness of monolinks. In contrast, the AF2 assessment score (pTM) was only able to identify the most accurate conformation in two out of six cases. Our results highlight the complementarity of AF2 with experimental methods like XL-MS, with the MP and XLP scores providing reliable metrics to assess the quality of the predicted models.
Genetic analysis of Indian sporadic young onset patient with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Authors: Roychowdhury Saileyee , Joshi Deepika , Singh Vinay Kumar , Faruq Mohammed , Das Parimal
Published: September 2023

Background

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an old onset devastating neurodegenerative disorder. Young-onset ALS cases especially sporadic ones who are between 25 and 45 years are rarely affected by the disease. Despite the identification of numerous candidate genes associated with ALS, the aetiology of the disease remains elusive due to extreme genetic and phenotypic variability. The advent of affordable whole exome sequencing has opened new avenues for unraveling the disease’s pathophysiology better.

Methods and Results

Our aim was to determine the genetic basis of an Indian-origin, young onset sporadic ALS patient with very rapid deterioration of the disease course without any cognitive decline who was screened for mutations in major ALS candidate genes by Whole exome sequencing. Variants detected were reconfirmed by Sanger Sequencing. The clinicopathological features were investigated and two heterozygous missense variants harboring each inANXA11,in one of the four conserved C terminal domains (R452W) and another in theSIGMAR1(R208W) were thus identified respectively. Both of these variants were predicted to be damaging by pathogenicity prediction tools and variousIn silicomethods.

Conclusions

Our study revealed two potentially pathogenic variants in two ALS candidate genes. The genetic makeup of ALS patients from India has been the subject of a few prior studies, but none of them examinedANXA11andSIGMAR1genes so far. These results establish the framework for additional research into the pathogenic processes behind these variations that result in sporadic ALS disease and further our understanding of the genetic makeup of Indian ALS patients.
Cellular aging is accelerated in the malignant clone of myeloproliferative neoplasms
Authors: Vieri Margherita , Tharmapalan Vithurithra , Kalmer Milena , Baumeister Julian , Nikolić Miloš , Schnitker Matthis , Kirschner Martin , Flosdorf Niclas , de Toledo Marcelo A. S. , Zenke Martin , Koschmieder Steffen , Brümmendorf Tim H. , Beier Fabian , Wagner Wolfgang
Published: September 2023

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are caused by somatic driver mutations, such asJAK2V617F, which might also affect cellular aging and senescence. Here, we analyzed the heterogeneity of aging in MPN patients and if this can be used to specifically target malignant cells. The mean epigenetic age was significantly accelerated in 129 MPN patients across all disease-entities, whereas premature telomere attrition was particularly observed in primary myelofibrosis. Overall, accelerated cellular aging correlated withJAK2V617Fallele frequency and was more pronounced in colony forming cells withJAK2V617Fas compared toJAK2wild- type colonies.JAK2V617Fmutation did not evoke clear acceleration of aging in syngeneic iPSC models upon short-term hematopoietic differentiation. On the other hand, a murineJak2V617Fmodel revealed epigenetic age-acceleration that therefore appears as sequel of disease progression. To investigate if the malignant clone might be targeted, we tested eight senolytic compounds, of which JQ1 and piperlongumine showed a reduction in allele burden and an increase in telomere length. Notably, treatment with the telomerase inhibitor BIBR-1532 reduced mutated colonies, particularly in patients with preexisting short telomeres. Our results indicate that cellular aging is accelerated in malignant MPN clones and this can provide a target for treatment with senolytic drugs or telomerase inhibitors.
Regional random mutagenesis driven by multiple sgRNAs and diverse on-target genome editing events to identify functionally important elements in non-coding regions
Authors: Morimoto Kento , Suzuki Hayate , Kuno Akihiro , Daitoku Yoko , Tanimoto Yoko , Kato Kanako , Murata Kazuya , Sugiyama Fumihiro , Mizuno Seiya
Published: September 2023

Functional regions that regulate biological phenomena are interspersed throughout eukaryotic genomes. The most definitive approach for identifying such regions is to confirm the phenotype of cells or organisms in which specific regions have been mutated or removed from the genome. This approach is invaluable for the functional analysis of genes with a defined functional element, the protein-coding sequence. In contrast, no functional analysis platforms have been established for the study of cis-elements or microRNA cluster regions consisting of multiple microRNAs with functional overlap. Whole-genome mutagenesis approaches, such as viaN-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) and gene trapping, have greatly contributed to elucidating the function of coding genes. These methods almost never induce deletions of genomic regions or multiple mutations within a narrow region. In other words, cis-elements and microRNA clusters cannot be effectively targeted in such a manner. Herein, we established a novel region-specific random mutagenesis method namedCRISPR-&Transposase-basedRegionaLMutagenesis (CTRL-Mutagenesis). We demonstrated that CTRL-mutagenesis randomly induces diverse mutations within target regions in murine embryonic stem cells. Comparative analysis of mutants harbouring subtly different mutations within the same region would facilitate the further study of cis-element and microRNA clusters.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Micro-structured polymer fixed targets for serial crystallography at synchrotrons and XFELs
Authors: Carrillo Melissa , Mason Thomas J. , Karpik Agnieszka , Martiel Isabelle , Kepa Michal W. , McAuley Katherine E. , Beale John H. , Padeste Celestino
Published: September 2023

Fixed targets are a popular form of sample-delivery system used in serial crystallography at synchrotron and X-ray free-electron laser sources. They offer a wide range of sample-preparation options and are generally easy to use. The supports are typically made from silicon, quartz or polymer. Of these, currently, only silicon offers the ability to perform an aperture-aligned data collection where crystals are loaded into cavities in precise locations and sequentially rastered through, in step with the X-ray pulses. The polymer-based fixed targets have lacked the precision fabrication to enable this data-collection strategy and have been limited to directed-raster scans with crystals randomly distributed across the polymer surface. Here, the fabrication and first results from a new polymer-based fixed target, the micro-structured polymer fixed targets (MISP chips), are presented. MISP chips, like those made from silicon, have a precise array of cavities and fiducial markers. They consist of a structured polymer membrane and a stabilization frame. Crystals can be loaded into the cavities and the excess crystallization solution removed through apertures at their base. The fiducial markers allow for a rapid calculation of the aperture locations. The chips have a low X-ray background and, since they are optically transparent, also allow for an a priori analysis of crystal locations. This location mapping could, ultimately, optimize hit rates towards 100%. A black version of the MISP chip was produced to reduce light contamination for optical-pump/X-ray probe experiments. A study of the loading properties of the chips reveals that these types of fixed targets are best optimized for crystals of the order of 25 µm, but quality data can be collected from crystals as small as 5 µm. With the development of these chips, it has been proved that polymer-based fixed targets can be made with the precision required for aperture-alignment-based data-collection strategies. Further work can now be directed towards more cost-effective mass fabrication to make their use more sustainable for serial crystallography facilities and users.
Citizen engagement and dialogic accounting through social media: a study of Italian regions
Authors: Contri Marco , Fissi Silvia , Gori Elena
Published: September 2023

Purpose

This exploratory study aims to investigate the use of Facebook as a dialogic accounting tool for promoting citizen engagement in Italian regions.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a mixed methodology. Indeed, it first collects some quantitative data to construct an engagement index for the Facebook pages of the Italian regions, and then it performs a content analysis of some posts while also examining the tenor of the related comments and the level of interaction between regions and citizens.

Findings

The Italian regions have mainly used their Facebook pages for public communication purposes rather than for public participation. Therefore, they have conceived social pages more as an instrument of self-legitimisation and thus monologic accounting and have rarely considered them as a tool for engaging citizens who, in turn, showed low interest in participating in online debates. Nature and environment, tourism promotion and sport were the most engaging content types. Findings also confirm that posting many messages does not automatically increase engagement.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to investigate the potential of social media from a dialogic accounting perspective, especially in the public sector. Additionally, it focuses on regions which are understudied in the literature, although they are critical actors in implementing public policies. Last but not least, this study offers a framework that integrates the literature on the use of social media for citizen engagement and research on such platforms as dialogic accounting tools.
Ability first or opportunity first in the m-health era? A hybrid SEM-ANN approach
Authors: Li Ping
Published: September 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to propose and test a model to explain users’ intention to adopt m-health devices and divide the importance of antecedents for users to adopt m-health devices based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework.

Design/methodology/approach

This research conducted an online survey with m-health app users and collected 562 valid responses. A hybrid SEM-ANN approach was employed to evaluate the research model and hypotheses.

Findings

The results show that motivation (M), opportunity (O), and ability (A) affect users’ flow experience and loyalty and further affect their adoption intention of m-health technology. Opportunity plays a more critical role in m-health adoption intention than ability.

Originality/value

This study comprehensively examined the factors that affect users’ deep engagement and m-health adoption from the perspective of MOA. It used the hybrid SEM-ANN method to divide the critical role of motivation, opportunity and ability, providing a new analysis approach for studying information technology (IT) behavior.
Exploring the influence of entrepreneurial identity on students’ choice between entrepreneurship courses and university-based incubators
Authors: Masoumi Mehdi (Mohammadmehdi)
Published: September 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to answer the following questions. What kind of entrepreneurial identities do students have that motivate them to choose either of the entrepreneurship course and university-based incubator? How do students involve in the entrepreneurship ecosystem at university based on their entrepreneurial identity?

Design/methodology/approach

For this study, the author began to gather information using previous knowledge and any aspect of a work, namely, from the literature review to represent interpretive syntheses of the meaning-making literature review addressing the research question.

Findings

This study suggests what happens to entrepreneur students from academia and the reason that they end up in one of the two aforementioned paradigms. This paper aims to underpin the issue of how various entrepreneurial identities of students cause substantial contributing factors in forming such entrepreneurial activities at university and throughout the entire innovation ecosystem.

Research limitations/implications

Almost all of the content of the entrepreneurship education (EE) courses and incubator training is oriented towards consensual entrepreneurship methods, in accordance with entrepreneurship education. Although the core contents of the EE courses and university-based incubators’ training are the same, the outcomes are quite different.

Originality/value

This study considers the students’ entrepreneurial identities with a focus on their point of view that led them to end up in one of the two common entrepreneurship resources at universities: the EE course and entrepreneurial activities related to university-based incubators.
Timnit Gebru: seeking to promote diversity and ethics in AI
Authors: Qumer Syeda Maseeha
Published: September 2023

Learning outcomes

This case is designed to enable students to understand the role of women in artificial intelligence (AI); understand the importance of ethics and diversity in the AI field; discuss the ethical issues of AI; study the implications of unethical AI; examine the dark side of corporate-backed AI research and the difficult relationship between corporate interests and AI ethics research; understand the role played by Gebru in promoting diversity and ethics in AI; and explore how Gebru can attract more women researchers in AI and lead the movement toward inclusive and equitable technology.

Case overview/synopsis

The case discusses how Timnit Gebru (She), a prominent AI researcher and former co-lead of the Ethical AI research team at Google, is leading the way in promoting diversity, inclusion and ethics in AI. Gebru, one of the most high-profile black women researchers, is an influential voice in the emerging field of ethical AI, which identifies issues based on bias, fairness, and responsibility. Gebru was fired from Google in December 2020 after the company asked her to retract a research paper she had co-authored about the pitfalls of large language models and embedded racial and gender bias in AI. While Google maintained that Gebru had resigned, she said she had been fired from her job after she had raised issues of discrimination in the workplace and drawn attention to bias in AI. In early December 2021, a year after being ousted from Google, Gebru launched an independent community-driven AI research organization called Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research (DAIR) to develop ethical AI, counter the influence of Big Tech in research and development of AI and increase the presence and inclusion of black researchers in the field of AI. The case discusses Gebru’s journey in creating DAIR, the goals of the organization and some of the challenges she could face along the way. As Gebru seeks to increase diversity in the field of AI and reduce the negative impacts of bias in the training data used in AI models, the challenges before her would be to develop a sustainable revenue model for DAIR, influence AI policies and practices inside Big Tech companies from the outside, inspire and encourage more women to enter the AI field and build a decentralized base of AI expertise.

Complexity academic level

This case is meant for MBA students.

Social implications

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CCS 11: Strategy
Impact of remote working on the executive isolation and career of CXOs in India
Authors: Kappal Rishi , Mishra Dharmesh K.
Published: September 2023

Purpose

Executive isolation of C-suite executives (CXOs), amplified by imposed and voluntary remote working practices, has emerged as a major challenge that is impacting the collaborative needs of CXOs, the work–life balance and hence career progression. This paper aims to examine the impact of remote working on executive isolation impacting the collaborative needs, work–life balance and career of CXOs from organizations in India.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative research approach was adopted for the study. The respondents based on inclusion criteria were selected through purposive sampling. The survey was administered to 50 CXOs representing multinational companies in India, of which 45 CXOs responded. The data was analyzed using MAXQDA 2022 (Verbi Software, Berlin, Germany).

Findings

Companies try to save costs by promoting remote working but might countermine its implications on CXOs collaborative needs, work–life balance and career slowdown. Businesses are now able to hire CXOs and other people who do not physically work alongside their counterparts but at the cost of enhancing executive isolation and loss of productivity. Imposed remote working can adversely affect the CXOs interactivity and productivity, thus enhancing executive isolation and impacting career progression.

Originality/value

The remote working was mandatory during the pandemic but became a practice henceforth. The impact of remote working on the CXOs collaborative needs, work–life balance and career progression has largely been unstudied. There is limited awareness about impact of remote working on executive isolation and its multiplier effect impacting the CXOs careers and it is an inward challenge which needs to be mitigated by the companies. This aspect can lead to the CXOs not being able to achieve their objectives, making the organizations lose trust on their ability to lead and eventually slowing down their career progression, due to remote working led executive isolation.
Exploring the diffusion of digital fashion and influencers' social roles in the Metaverse: an analysis of Twitter hashtag networks
Authors: Kim HaeJung Maria , Chakraborty Swagata
Published: September 2023

Purpose

The study aims to explore the digital fashion trend within the Metaverse, characterized by non-fungible tokens (NFTs), across Twitter networks. Integrating theories of diffusion of innovation, two-step flow of communication and self-efficacy, the authors aimed to uncover the diffusion structure and the influencer's social roles undertaken by social entities in fostering communication and collaboration for the advancement of Metaverse fashion.

Design/methodology/approach

Social network analysis examined the critical graph metrics to profile, visualize, and cluster the unstructured network data. The authors used the NodeXL program to analyze two hashtag keyword networks, “#metaverse fashion” and “#metawear,” using Twitter API data. Cluster, semantic, and time series analyses were performed to visualize the contents and contexts of communication and collaboration in the diffusion of Metaverse fashion.

Findings

The results unraveled the “broadcast network” structure and the influencers' social roles of opinion leaders and market mavens within Twitter's “#metaverse fashion” diffusion. The roles of innovators and early adopters among influencers were comparable in collaborating within the competition venues, promoting awareness and participation in digital fashion diffusion during specific “fad” periods, particularly when digital fashion NFTs and cryptocurrencies became intertwined with the competition in the Metaverse.

Originality/value

The study contributed to theory building by integrating three theories, emphasizing effective communication and collaboration among influencers, organizations, and competition venues in broadcasting digital fashion within shared networks. The validation of multi-faceted Social Network Analysis was crucial for timely insights, highlighting the critical digital fashion equity in capturing consumers' attention and driving engagement and ownership of Metaverse fashion.
How do enterprise social media affordances affect knowledge sharing within project teams: the social cognitive theory view
Authors: Ren Xu , Sun Xiangmei
Published: September 2023

Purpose

The use of enterprise social media (ESM) can promote knowledge sharing within project teams. However, the potential mechanism of ESM affordances influencing knowledge sharing has not been fully studied. This paper aims to develop a theoretical model to explore how individual psychological cognition and environmental factors affect ESM affordances.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical research using ESM applications was conducted in China, and 214 valid responses were collected for data analysis. Partial least squares structural equation modeling method was performed to test the theoretical model and hypotheses.

Findings

The results suggest the following implications: (1) the visibility, persistence, editability and association of ESM affordances all have a positive effect on the effectiveness of knowledge sharing in project teams. (2) The psychological safety and psychological empowerment of team members have a significant positive influence on ESM affordances. (3) The project task complexity positively moderates the positive effects which the visibility and association have on the effectiveness of knowledge sharing, and negatively moderates the positive relationship between the editability and knowledge sharing.

Originality/value

Based on the social cognitive theory, this paper highlights the roles of psychological cognitive factors and project task context in the effect of ESM affordances having on knowledge sharing within project teams. Moreover, it provides valuable suggestions for project managers in project and knowledge management.
The gender pay gap in the Visegrad Groups
Authors: Harman Jakub , Bartůsková Lucia
Published: September 2023

Purpose

The gender pay gap is a well-documented phenomenon in labor economics. Based on the 2018 Structure of Earnings Survey (SES), the authors estimate the impact of observable characteristics on the gender pay gap in Visegrad Group countries and provide policy recommendations on reducing the gender pay gap.

Design/methodology/approach

The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition is applied to estimate the values of explained and unexplained parts of the gender pay gap. Gender pay gap in unadjusted as well as adjusted form is estimated using data on the individual level.

Findings

The results show that unadjusted gender pay gap proved to be stable at more than 20%. The authors found evidence that education widens gender pay gap implying that men have higher returns on education than women. Tertiary education proved to be the highest contributor to widening of gender pay gap. Results also show that there is strong sectoral and occupational segregation. Decomposition proved that only 21% of gender pay gap could be explained by observed characteristics. The unexplained part showed negative values, meaning women would have higher wages, if they had characteristics like men.

Research limitations/implications

Structure of Earnings Survey data are published every four years; therefore the authors’ dataset from year 2018 might not completely reflect today's reality. Unfortunately, newer data are note available yet. Second, Structure of Earning Survey data do not contain variables representing social factors of respondents like marital status, number of children or labour market absence due to birth or childcare. Third, data used for this study do not contain firms that have less than 10 employees; therefore, considerable portion of the labour market is omitted.

Originality/value

Results of this study will help policymakers understand the roots and causes of the gender pay gap in Visegrad Group countries but addressing this issue requires further research.
Social capital accounting and financial performance improvement: the role of financial information reliability as a mediator
Authors: Rashid Chnar Abdullah
Published: September 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of accounting measurement and disclosure of social capital (AMDSC) in improving financial performance (FP) in industrial companies in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRG) and Sulaimani city. The research also examines the mediating role of reliability of financial information (RFI) between AMDSC and FP.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses SmartPLS to analyze the questionnaire that was sent to 10 industrial companies operating in the iron sector during 2021.

Findings

The findings reveal that AMDSC has a significant effect on improving the FP of the industrial companies in KRG. The results also confirm that the RFI mediates between AMDSC and FP. Thus, this suggests that social capital (SC) needs to be considered in the companies’ strategy to secure future financing in this area.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is limited to the iron sector of KRG/Sulaimani city. Future studies could address other sectors, such as sugar, cement, clothes, automobiles and medicines.

Originality/value

This paper focuses on improving FP in industrial companies in KRG and Sulaimani city through considering SC in their companies’ strategies, as there was no concern for SC in KRG before.
Online, offline, or both? The importance of coaching format for side effects in business coaching
Authors: Michalik Natalie M. , Schermuly Carsten C.
Published: September 2023

Purpose

Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, in recent years, face-to-face coaching has largely shifted to online coaching. The authors examined both the side effects of and coaching success in face-to-face, blended and online coaching from both coaches' and clients' perspectives. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned examination.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted two independent studies to examine the differences between the side effects of face-to-face, blended and online coaching. In Study 1 (N = 119), the authors compared the side effects of these formats using a quasi-experimental design and tested differences in perceived coaching success from the coaches' perspective. In Study 2 (N = 104), the authors integrated the client perspective on the side effects of coaching formats into the design and tested the differences.

Findings

Coaches in the face-to-face format experienced a significantly lower prevalence of side effects for their clients compared to coaches who engaged in the blended and online coaching formats. From the client perspective, clients experienced the most side effects of the blended coaching format. Neither study showed any differences between the coaching formats in perceived coaching success.

Practical implications

The results provide guidance to practitioners in choosing the most suitable coaching format for themselves. Being aware of side effects in coaching can help both coaches and clients take appropriate measures to mitigate the impact of these effects.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to expand knowledge about side effects in coaching across different coaching formats from both coaches' and clients' perspectives. The findings provide evidence regarding the context in which coaching is currently performed in a post-COVID world, with sustainability remaining a global concern and a key driver for organizations.
Brand crowdfunding using followers boosted through gamification affordances: insights from two emerging markets
Authors: Nawaz Muhammad Zahid , Nawaz Shahid , Guzman Francisco
Published: September 2023

Purpose

Brand crowdfunding, launched through brands’ social media platforms, can provide a myriad of crowdfunding and branding benefits, such as strengthening brands’ social networks, validating product launches, generating mass exposure and enabling cocreation. Gamification positions brand crowdfunding as an exciting and joyful activity that more deeply engages prosumers. Anchored on resource-based theory, theory of planned behavior and service-dominant logic, this paper aims to develop a brand crowdfunding framework for established brands with insights from two emerging markets: China and India.

Design/methodology/approach

A deductive cross-sectional design is used to gather data from an established brand’s (e.g. Xiaomi) social media followers in China (n = 826) and India (n = 358), which is analyzed through PLSc-SEM.

Findings

The results reveal that social media brand engagement is an antecedent of brand crowdfunding participation, brand crowdfunding intention is a predictor of brand loyalty and gamification is a significant moderator in technology-oriented societies.

Originality/value

The paper develops a brand crowdfunding framework that provides insights on how established brands can leverage crowdfunding to enhance their new product development process. The results contribute to the social media brand engagement, crowdfunding, gamification and emerging markets literature.
Towards environmental sustainability: nexus of ecological footprint, human capital, economic growth and energy consumption in India
Authors: Ritu Rajveer Kaur , Kaur Amanpreet
Published: September 2023

Purpose

The research is geared towards studying the impact of “GDP per capita (GDP)”, “energy consumption (EC)”, “human capital (HC)” and “trade openness (TO)” on India's ecological footprint (EF) from 1997–1998 to 2019–2020.

Design/methodology/approach

The autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) bound test was used to look at the short-run and long-term coefficients and the cointegration of the variables.

Findings

The results depicted a long-run connection between the variables. The long-run results found a favourable relationship between GDP, EC and EF, indicating that economic growth through heavy reliance on fossil fuels contributes to environmental unsustainability. An inverse relationship between HC, TO and EF was also observed, indicating that education fosters pro-environmental behaviour and leads to adopting cleaner technology that contributes to environmental sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

The research substantiates India's pressing requirement for sustainable development, ensuring a harmonious balance between economic performance and environmental preservation. A carefully designed policy needs to be formulated to mitigate emissions stemming from growth in India. Policymakers are urged to implement measures that promote ecologically friendly tools, utilities and transportation to curb long-term environmental degradation.

Originality/value

The study is novel, incorporating an exhaustive review using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). This study further examines how India's EF is affected by its HC; the preceding literature has yet to discuss much about the connection between HC and the environment. Finally, the study employed advanced econometric techniques, namely the cointegration technique and ARDL model, to find the relationship between EF, GDP, HC, EC and TO.
Trust in word of voice communication: why consumers adhere to purchase recommendations made by smart voice assistants
Authors: Hernández Ortega Blanca Isabel , Lucia-Palacios Laura
Published: September 2023

Purpose

This study explores the role of smart voice assistants (SVAs) as purchase recommenders, a phenomenon the authors term “word of voice” (WOV) communication. By integrating human–computer interaction (HCI) literature and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) research, the authors examine what makes consumers trust in SVA-transmitted WOV communication following their initial interactions with their SVAs during a purchase process (i.e. post-trust); and the authors propose that consumers' perceptions of their SVAs' smart capabilities (i.e. cognitive, emotional and social) are critically important for building this trust. Moreover, the study explores the influence of post-trust on consumers' adherence to WOV communication, measured by three types of behavioural intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from a survey of 202 United States (US)-based SVA users who employ them to obtain purchase recommendations were collected and analysed. They confirmed the validity of the measurement scales and provided input for the partial least squares modelling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

The results demonstrated that post-trust in WOV communication partially or totally mediates the effect of smart capabilities on consumer adherence to WOV communication; identified the key role of cognitive, emotional and social smart capabilities for building consumers' post-trust in WOV and demonstrated the influence of this trust on behavioural intentions.

Originality/value

The present study contributes by examining the employment of SVAs as recommenders during the purchase process; the authors term this type of communication WOV. It analyses consumers with experience of using SVAs in their purchase processes, revealing that post-trust in WOV communication is the psychological mechanism that explains how the smart capabilities of SVAs determine consumer adherence to the recommendations they receive.
As an emerging market Turkish culture’s quest to be positioned on Meyer’s cultural map
Authors: Dinçer Mustafa Abdül Metin , Yıldırım Mustafa , Dil Esra
Published: September 2023

Purpose

This study aims to reveal Türkiye's place on the global cultural map through eight dimensions compared to other countries with the help of these two subresearch questions: “Where is Türkiye positioned on Meyer's map, and how is the positioning when country groups are taken into account?”.

Design/methodology/approach

This issue is considered necessary regarding the country’s business culture, which is an emerging market. For this, 17 senior executives engaged in international trade activities were selected as cases. The eight dimensions of Erin Meyer’s culture map were analyzed by considering the interview data obtained from the executives.

Findings

As a result of the analysis, it was determined that Türkiye is in a position that can be called an east–west synthesis in terms of culture, even though it is geographically evaluated within MENA and that it is located close to the middle of the continuum axis on the basis of almost all dimensions. However, the three dimensions out of eight – communication, deciding and trusting – are relatively far from the middle. The authors believe that this situation is closely related to Türkiye’s unique historical characteristics.

Research limitations/implications

The placement of the nations on a cultural map may be useful for practitioners. By looking at the relative position on this map and taking it into consideration while building connections and negotiating, for instance, businesses and policymakers who wish to enhance their ties with Türkiye can be aware of the distinctions between their own countries and Türkiye. The inhibiting nature of qualitative research prevents generalization; however, much bigger data set may be used for a comparable approach. Further research can be done to solve this issue because the cases under examination do not permit comparisons specific to the American continent.

Originality/value

The theoretical contribution of this study lies in its focused revelation of Turkey’s cultural positioning within the context of emerging markets. Positioning the countries on the cultural map can provide some convenience to the practitioners. Türkiye is a crucial clustering center when global production is considered. This opens the country to contact other cultures and enables intercultural transfer and learning.
The behaviour of quasi-static puncture resistance property for textile body armor soft panels
Authors: Fayed A.I.H. , Abo El Amaim Y.A. , Abdelsalam Ossama R. , Elgohary Doaa H.
Published: September 2023

Purpose

This paper aims to estimate the performance of protective clothing used to resist puncture (anti-stab property).

Design/methodology/approach

Seven single-layer (one layer) samples were investigated in this research. The first three samples were already used for the purpose of (anti-stab property), manufactured from Du-Pont product (commercial samples). The rest of the samples were locally designed and manufactured for the same purpose. These seven samples have then been examined after been added in conjunction with WL Kevlar XP (S 104) witness multilayers (eight layers) panel to create which are called multilayer samples.

Findings

The results of the statistical analysis for one-way ANOVA illustrated significant effect for single layer samples for all properties. While for multi-layer samples, the results showed a significant difference for all variables except displacement. The Tukey post hoc test observed a significant effect for some samples; also, other samples show a non-significant effect between samples.

Originality/value

It was observed that the locally manufactured samples serve the purpose as (anti-stab samples) compared with the commercial samples. The radar chart shows that for single-layer sample, the fifth sample fulfill the highest radar chart area, whereas for multi-layer samples, the sixth sample achieved the highest radar chart area.
Research on the cooperative train control method in the metro system for energy saving
Authors: Li Siyao , Yuan Bo , Bai Yun , Liu Jianfeng
Published: September 2023

Purpose

To address the problem that the current train operation mode that train selects one of several offline pre-generated control schemes before the departure and operates following the scheme after the departure, energy-saving performance of the whole metro system cannot be guaranteed.

Design/methodology/approach

A cooperative train control framework is formulated to regulate a novel train operation mode. The classic train four-phase control strategy is improved for generating specific energy-efficient control schemes for each train. An improved brute force (BF) algorithm with a two-layer searching idea is designed to solve the optimisation model of energy-efficient train control schemes.

Findings

Case studies on the actual metro line in Guangzhou, China verify the effectiveness of the proposed train control methods compared with four-phase control strategy under different kinds of train operation scenarios and calculation parameters. The verification on the computation efficiency as well as accuracy of the proposed algorithm indicates that it meets the requirement of online optimisation.

Originality/value

Most existing studies optimised energy-efficient train timetable or train control strategies through an offline process, which has a defect in coping with the disturbance or delays effectively and promptly during real-time train operation. This paper studies an online optimisation of cooperative train control based on the rolling optimisation idea, where energy-efficient train operation can be realised once train running time is determined, thus mitigating the impact of unpredictable operation situations on the energy-saving performance of trains.
Association of psoriasis with depression, anxiety, and suicidality: A bidirectional two‐sample Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Chu Mengyang , Shen Shengxian , Zhu Zhenlai , Li Zhiguo , Bai Yaxing , Ma Jingyi , Hao Junfeng , Wang Lei , Fu Meng , Dang Erle , Wang Gang , Shao Shuai
Published: September 2023

Psoriasis is a chronic, refractory inflammatory skin disease, with a high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities, including depression, anxiety, and even suicidality, which may in turn initiate or exacerbate skin inflammation. However, the causal relationships between these comorbidities remain unclear. To investigate the cause–effect relationships between psoriasis and mental disorders including depression, anxiety, and suicidality, we conducted a bidirectional two‐sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study utilizing summary statistics from the most comprehensive genome‐wide association studies of psoriasis (n = 306 123), broad depression (n = 500 199), major depressive disorder (n = 173 005), anxiety (n = 17 310), and suicide attempts (n = 50 264). Using the random‐effects inverse‐variance weighted method as primary method, the forward MR analyses indicated that psoriasis was significantly associated with higher odds of broad depression (odds ratio [OR] 1.030, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.010–1.051, P = 0.003) and suggestively associated with an increased risk of major depressive disorder (OR 1.054, 95% CI 1.002–1.109, P = 0.040), but not with the risk of anxiety (P = 0.160) or suicide attempts (P = 0.648). In reverse MR analyses, significant causal impact of broad depression (OR 1.363, 95% CI 1.103–1.684, P = 0.004) and major depressive disorder (OR 1.890, 95% CI 1.285–2.781, P = 0.001), but not anxiety (P = 0.787) and suicide attempts (P = 0.961) on psoriasis risk was observed. In addition, the results of primary analysis are consistent across sensitivity analyses, albeit the MR–Egger regression model produced wide CIs and negative results in several analyses. In conclusion, this MR study indicates a bidirectional causal relationship between psoriasis and depression that was previously unrecognized, which highlights the significance of screening for depression in psoriasis patients and initiating appropriate interventions. Further studies are required to elucidate the pathophysiology of the bidirectional causal relationship between these two conditions.