bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Simple and Robust Fabrication and Characterization of Conductive Carbonized Nanofibers Loaded with Gold Nanoparticles for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications
Authors: Nekounam Houra , Gholizadeh Shayan , Allahyari Zahra , Mirzaei Esmaeil , Shokrgozar Mohammad Ali , Faridi-Majidi Reza
Published: March 2020

Bone tissue engineering is a new and applicable emerging approach to repair the bone defects. In this regard, designing and robust fabrication of tissue engineering scaffolds that could provide an appropriate environment for cell proliferation and differentiation is of high interest. Electrical conductive scaffolds which provide a substrate for stimulating cell growth and differentiation through a physiologically relevant physical signaling, electrical stimulation, has shown a highly promise in this approach. In this paper, we fabricated carbon nanofiber/gold nanoparticle (CNF/GNP) conductive scaffolds using two distinct methods; blending electrospinning in which gold nanoparticles were blended with electrospinning solution and electrospun, and electrospinning/electrospraying in which gold nanoparticle was electrosprayed simultaneously with electrospinning. The obtained electrospun mats underwent stabilization/carbonization process to prepare CNF/GNP scaffolds. The scaffolds were characterized by SEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. SEM characterizations showed improved morphology and a slight decrease in the diameter of the spinned and sprayed nanofibers with moderate concentrations (from 178.66 ± 38.40 nm to 157.94 ± 24.14 nm and 120.81 ± 13.77 nm, respectively), In the electrosprayed form, better size distributions of nanofibers and less adhesion between individual fibers was observed, while XRD analysis confirmed the crystal structure of the nanofibers. Raman spectroscopy revealed enhancement in the graphitization of the structure, and the electrical conductivity of the structure improved by up to 29.2% and 81% in electrospraying and blending electrospinning modes, respectively. Indirect MTT and LDH toxicity assays directly were performed to assess MG63 cell toxicity, but no significant toxicity was observed and the scaffolds did not adversely affect cell proliferation. Overall, it can be concluded that in early tests, this structure have significant potential for bone tissue engineering applications.

Abstract Figure

Figure 1:
The time-series ages distribution of the reported COVID-2019 infected people suggests the undetected local spreading of COVID-2019 in Hubei and Guangdong provinces before 19th Jan 2020
Authors: Wu Chao , Zheng Min
Published: March 2020

COVID-2019 is broken out in China. It becomes a severe public health disaster in one month. Find the period in which the spreading of COVID-2019 was overlooked, and understand the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-2019 in the period will provide valuable information for the countries facing the threats of COVID-2019. The most extensive epidemiological analysis of COVID-2019 shows that older people have lower infection rates compared to middle-aged persons. Common sense is that older people prefer to report their illness and get treatment from the hospital compared to middle-aged persons. We propose a hypothesis that when the spreading of COVID-2019 was overlooked, we will find more older cases than the middle-aged cases.

At first, we tested the hypothesis with 4597 COVID-2019 infected samples reported from 26th Nov 2019 to 17th Feb 2020 across the mainland of China. We found that 19th Jan 2020 is a critical time point. Few samples were reported before that day, and most of them were older ones. Then samples were explosively increased after that day, and many of them were middle-aged people. We have demonstrated the hypothesis to this step.

Then, we grouped samples by their residences(provinces). We found that, in the provinces of Hubei and Guangdong, the ages of samples reported before 19th Jan 2020 are significantly higher than the ages of samples reported after that day. It suggests the COVID-2019 may be spreading in Hubei and Guangdong provinces before 19th Jan 2020 while people were unconscious of it.

At last, we proposed that the ages distribution of each-day-reported samples could serve as a warning indicator of whether all potential COVID-2019 infected people are found.

We think the power of our analysis is limit because 1. the work is data-driven, and 2. only ∼5% of the COVID-2019 infected people in China are included in the study. However, we believe it still shows some value for its ability to estimate the possible unfound COVID-2019 infected people.
Virus shedding patterns in nasopharyngeal and fecal specimens of COVID-19 patients
Authors: Zhang Ning , Gong Yuhuan , Meng Fanping , Bi Yuhai , Yang Penghui , Wang Fusheng
Published: March 2020

Diagnosis is the key point for confirmation and treatment of COVID-19. we focused on comparative analysis of virus dynamics between the upper respiratory and feces specimens in the COVID-19 patients. A total of 66 upper respiratory swabs, 51 feces, 56 urine and 56 plasma samples were sequentially collected from 23 patients in a designated hospital. The plasma and urine samples were all negative, except for urine samples from two severe cases at the latest available detection point. Conversely, virus was shed in respiratory swabs and feces samples during the diseased period. Ten of 12 (83.3%) cases were positive for feces samples, while 14 of 21 (66.7%) were positive for respiratory samples. In addition, the median duration of virus shedding was 10.0 days (IQR 8.0 to 17.0) in the upper respiratory swabs, but was 22.0 days (IQR 15.5 to 23.5) for the feces. Notably, at 26 days after discharge, case 3 (a 45-year-old) was detected positive again in the feces samples, but appears to be healthy and negative for respiratory swabs. These results indicated that beside respiratory samples, intestinal samples (e.g. feces) should be recommended for diagnosis of COVID-19, especially before a patient discharge and for monitoring the relapse of discharged patients.
Disposable N95 Masks Pass Qualitative Fit-Test But Have Decreased Filtration Efficiency after Cobalt-60 Gamma Irradiation
Authors: Cramer Avilash , Tian Enze , Yu Sherry H. , Galanek Mitchell , Lamere Edward , Li Ju , Gupta Rajiv , Short Michael P.
Published: March 2020

The current COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic shortage of masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) in hospitals around the globe [1]. One component of PPE that is in particular demand are disposable N95 face masks. To alleviate this, many methods of N95 mask sterilization have been studied and proposed with the hope of being able to safely reuse masks [2]. Two major considerations must be made when re-sterilizing masks: (1) the sterilization method effectively kills pathogens, penetrating into the fibers of the mask, and (2) the method does not degrade the operational integrity of the N95 filters.

We studied Cobalt-60 (60Co) gamma irradiation as a method of effective sterilization without inducing mask degradation. Significant literature exists supporting the use of gamma radiation as a sterilization method, with viral inactivation of SARS-CoV reported at doses of at most 10 kGy [3], with other studies supporting 5 kGy for many types of viruses [4]. However, concerns have been raised about the radiation damaging the fiber material within the mask, specifically by causing cross-linking of polymers, leading to cracking and degradation during fitting and/or deployment [5, 6].

A set of 3M 8210 and 9105 masks were irradiated using MIT’s 60Co irradiator. Three masks of each type received 0 kiloGray (kGy), 10 kGy and 50 kGy of approximately 1.3 MeV gamma radiation from the circular cobalt sources, at a dose rate of 2.2kGy per hour.

Following this sterilization procedure, the irradiated masks passed a OSHA Gerson Qualitative Fit Test QLFT 50 (saccharin apparatus) [7] when donned correctly, performed at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in a blinded study repeated in triplicate. However, the masks’ filtration of 0.3 µm particles was significantly degraded, even at 10 kGy.

These results suggest against gamma, and possibly all ionizing radiation, as a method of disposable N95 sterilization. Even more importantly, they argue against using the qualitative fit test alone to assess mask integrity.
The comparative superiority of IgM-IgG antibody test to real-time reverse transcriptase PCR detection for SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosis
Authors: Liu Rui , Liu Xinghui , Han Huan , Shereen Muhammad Adnan , Niu Zhili , Li Dong , Liu Fang , Wu Kailang , Luo Zhen , Zhu Chengliang
Published: March 2020

Background

As the increasing number of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients caused by the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which caused an outbreak initiated from Wuhan, China in December, 2019, the clinical features and treatment of COVID-19 patients have been understood. However, it is urgent to need the rapid and accurate detection for SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosis. We aimed to evaluate the antibodies-based and nucleic acid-based tests (NAT) for SARS-CoV-2-infected patients.

Method

We retrospectively and observationally studied 133 patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 and admitted in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, China, from Feb 17 to Mar 1, 2020. Demographic data, symptoms, clinical examination, laboratory tests, and clinical outcomes were collected. Data were compared between IgM-IgG antibody test and real-time RT-PCR detection for COVID-19 patients.

Results

Of 133 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, there were 44 moderate cases, 52 severe cases, and 37 critical cases with no significant difference of gender and age among three subgroups. Overall, the positive ratio in IgM antibody test was higher than in RT-PCR detection. In RT-PCR detection, the positive ratio was 65.91%, 71.15%, and 67.57% in moderate, severe, and critical cases, respectively. Whereas, the positive ratio of IgM/IgG antibody detection in patients was 79.55%/93.18%, 82.69%/100%, and 72.97%/97.30% in moderate, severe, and critical cases, respectively. Moreover, the concentrations of antibodies were also measured in three subgroups.

Conclusion

The IgM-IgG antibodies-based test exhibited a comparative superiority to the NAT for COVID-19 diagnosis, which provides an effective complement to the false negative results from NAT for SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosis.
Cell-free biogenesis of bacterial division proto-rings that can constrict liposomes
Authors: Godino Elisa , López Jonás Noguera , Zarguit Ilias , Doerr Anne , Jimenez Mercedes , Rivas Germán , Danelon Christophe
Published: March 2020

A major challenge towards the realization of an autonomous synthetic cell resides in the encoding of a division machinery in a genetic programme. A key event in the bacterial cell cycle is the assembly of cytoskeletal proteins into a ring that defines the division site. At the onset of the formation of theEscherichia colidivisome, a proto-ring consisting of FtsZ and its membrane recruiting proteins takes place. Here, we show that FtsA-FtsZ ring-like structures driven by cell-free gene expression can be reconstituted on planar membranes and inside liposome compartments. Such cytoskeletal structures are found to constrict the membrane and generate budding vesicles, a phenotype that has not been reported before. Additional expression of the FtsZ cross-linker protein ZapA yields more rigid FtsZ bundles that attach to the membrane but fail to produce budding spots or necks in liposomes. These results provide new insights on the self-organization of basic cytoskeletal elements involved in bacterial division. Moreover, they demonstrate that gene-directed protein synthesis and assembly of membrane-constricting FtsZ-rings can be combined in a liposome-based artificial cell.
NAD+prevents septic shock-induced death by non-canonical inflammasome blockade and IL-10 cytokine production in macrophages
Authors: Iske Jasper , El Fatimy Rachid , Nian Yeqi , Ghouzlani Amina , Eskandari Siawosh K. , Cetina Biefer Hector Rodriguez , Vasudevan Anju , Elkhal Abdallah
Published: March 2020

Septic shock is characterized by an excessive inflammatory response depicted in a cytokine storm that results from invasive bacterial, fungi, protozoa, and viral infections. Non-canonical inflammasome activation is crucial in the development of septic shock promoting pyroptosis and pro-inflammatory cytokine production via caspase-11 and Gasdermin-D (GSDMD). Here, we show that NAD+treatment protected mice towards bacterial and LPS induced endotoxic shock by blocking the non-canonical inflammasome specifically. NAD+administration impeded systemic IL-1β and IL-18 production and GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis of macrophages via the IFN-β/STAT-1 signaling machinery. More importantly, NAD+administration not only improved casp-11 KO (knockout) survival but rendered WT mice completely resistant to septic shock via the IL-10 signaling pathway that was independent from the non-canonical inflammasome. Here, we delineated a two-sided effect of NAD+blocking septic shock through a specific inhibition of the non-canonical inflammasome and promoting immune homeostasis via IL-10, underscoring its unique therapeutic potential.
Hormone Receptor-status Prediction in Breast Cancer Using Gene Expression Profiles and Their Macroscopic Landscape
Authors: Yoon Seokhyun , Won Hye Sung , Kang Keunsoo , Qiu Kexin , Park Woong June , Ko Yoon Ho
Published: March 2020

The cost of next-generation sequencing technologies is rapidly declining, making RNA-seq-based gene expression profiling (GEP) an affordable technique for predicting receptor expression status and intrinsic subtypes in breast cancer (BRCA) patients. Based on the expression levels of co-expressed genes, GEP-based receptor-status prediction can classify clinical subtypes more accurately than can immunohistochemistry (IHC). Using data from the cancer genome atlas TCGA BRCA and METABRIC datasets, we identified common predictor genes found in both datasets and performed receptor-status prediction based on these genes. By assessing the survival outcomes of patients classified using GEP- or IHC-based receptor status, we compared the prognostic value of the two methods. We found that GEP-based HR prediction provided higher concordance with the intrinsic subtypes and a stronger association with treatment outcomes than did IHC-based hormone receptor (HR) status. GEP-based prediction improved the identification of patients who could benefit from hormone therapy, even in patients with non-luminal BRCA. We also confirmed that non-matching subgroup classification affected the survival of BRCA patients and that this could be largely overcome by GEP-based receptor-status prediction. In conclusion, GEP-based prediction provides more reliable classification of HR status, improving therapeutic decision making for breast cancer patients.
Detecting genomic deletions from high-throughput sequence data with unsupervised learning
Authors: Li Xin , Wu Yufeng
Published: March 2020

Structural variation (SV), which ranges from 50 bp to ∼3 Mb in size, is an important type of genetic variations. Deletion is a type of SV in which a part of a chromosome or a sequence of DNA is lost during DNA replication. Three types of signals, including discordant read-pairs, reads depth and split reads, are commonly used for SV detection from high-throughput sequence data. Many tools have been developed for detecting SVs by using one or multiple of these signals. In this paper, we develop a new method called EigenDel for detecting genomic deletions. EigenDel first takes advantage of discordant read-pairs and clipped reads to get initial deletion candidates, and then it clusters similar candidates by using unsupervised learning methods. After that, EigenDel uses a carefully designed approach for calling true deletions from each cluster. We conduct various experiments to evaluate the performance of EigenDel on low coverage sequence data. Our results show that EigenDel outperforms other major methods in terms of improving capability of balancing accuracy and sensitivity as well as reducing bias. EigenDel can be downloaded fromhttps://github.com/lxwgcool/EigenDel.
Renewable Fatty Acid Ester Production inClostridium
Authors: Feng Jun , Zhang Jie , Feng Yiming , Wang Pixiang , Jiménez-Bonilla Pablo , Gu Yanyan , Zhou Junping , Zhang Zhong-Tian , Cao Mingfeng , Shao Zengyi , Borovok Ilya , Huang Haibo , Wang Yi
Published: March 2020

Production of renewable chemicals through biological routes is considered as an urgent solution for fossil energy crisis. However, endproduct toxicity inhibits microbial performance and is a key bottleneck for biochemical production. To address this challenge, here we report an example of biosynthesis of high-value and easy-recoverable derivatives to alleviate endproduct toxicity and enhance bioproduction efficiency. By leveraging the natural pathways in solventogenic clostridia for co-producing acyl-CoAs, acids and alcohols as precursors, through rational screening for host strains and enzymes, systematic metabolic engineering— including rational organization of ester-synthesizing enzymes inside of the cell, and elimination of putative prophages, we developed strains that can produce 20.3 g/L butyl acetate and 1.6 g/L butyl butyrate respectively, which were both the unprecedented levels in microbial hosts. Techno-economic analysis indicated a production cost of $986 per metric tonne for butyl acetate production from corn stover comparing to the market price of $1,200-1,400 per metric tonne of butyl acetate, suggesting the economic competitiveness of our developed bioprocess. Our principles of selecting the most appropriate host for specific bioproduction and engineering microbial chassis to produce high-value and easy-separable endproducts are highly applicable to other bioprocesses, and could lead to breakthroughs in biofuel/biochemical production and general bioeconomy.
Conflicts with diarrheal pathogens trigger rapid evolution of an intestinal signaling axis
Authors: Carey Clayton M. , Apple Sarah E. , Hilbert Zoё A. , Kay Michael S. , Elde Nels C.
Published: March 2020

The pathogenesis of infectious diarrheal diseases is largely attributed to enterotoxin proteins that disrupt intestinal water absorption, causing severe dehydration. Despite profound health consequences, the impacts of diarrhea-causing microbes on the evolutionary history of host species are largely unknown. We investigated patterns of genetic variation in mammalian Guanylate Cyclase-C (GC-C), an intestinal receptor frequently targeted by bacterial enterotoxins, to determine how hosts might adapt in response to diarrheal infections. Under normal conditions, GC-C interacts with endogenous guanylin peptides to promote water secretion in the intestine, but signaling can be hijacked by bacterially-encoded heat-stable enterotoxins (STa) during infection, which leads to overstimulation of GC-C and diarrhea. Phylogenetic analysis in mammals revealed evidence of recurrent positive selection in the GC-C ligand-binding domain in primates and bats, consistent with selective pressures to evade interactions with STa. Usingin vitroassays and transgenic intestinal organoids to model STa-mediated diarrhea, we show that GC-C diversification in these lineages results in substantial variation in toxin susceptibility. In bats, we observe a unique pattern of compensatory coevolution in the endogenous GC-C ligand uroguanylin, reflecting intense bouts of positive selection at the receptor-ligand interface. These findings demonstrate control of water physiology as a previously unrecognized interface for genetic conflict and reveal diarrheal pathogens as a source of selective pressure among diverse mammals.
Extracellular vesicles and their miRNA cargo in retinal health and degeneration: mediators of homeostasis, and vehicles for targeted gene therapy
Authors: Wooff Yvette , Cioanca Adrian V. , Chu-Tan Joshua A. , Aggio-Bruce Riemke , Schumann Ulrike , Natoli Riccardo
Published: March 2020

1.1.

Purpose

Photoreceptor cell death and inflammation are known to occur progressively in retinal degenerative diseases, however the molecular mechanisms underlying these biological processes are largely unknown. Extracellular vesicles (EV) are essential mediators of cell-to-cell communication with emerging roles in the modulation of immune responses. EVs including exosomes encapsulate and transfer nucleic acids, including microRNA (miRNA), to recipient cells which in disease may result in dysfunctional immune responses and a loss of homeostatic regulation. In this work we investigated the role of isolated retinal small-medium sized EV (s-mEV) which includes exosomes in both the healthy and degenerating retina.

Methods

Isolated s-mEV from normal retinas were characterized using dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy and western blotting, and quantified across 5 days of photo-oxidative damage-induced degeneration using nanotracking analysis. Small RNAseq was used to characterize the miRNA cargo of retinal s-mEV isolated from healthy and damaged retinas. Finally, the effect of exosome inhibition on cell-to-cell miRNA transfer and immune modulation was conducted using systemic daily administration of exosome inhibitor GW4869 andin situhybridization of s-mEV-abundant miRNA, miR-124-3p. Electroretinography and immunohistochemistry was performed to assess functional and morphological changes to the retina as a result of GW4869-induced exosome depletion.

Results

Results demonstrated an inverse correlation between s-mEV secretion and photoreceptor survivability, with a decrease in s-mEV numbers following degeneration. Small RNAseq revealed that s-mEVs contained uniquely enriched miRNAs in comparison to in whole retinal tissue however, there was no differential change in the s-mEV miRNAnome following photo-oxidative damage. Exosome inhibition via the use of GW4869 was also found to exacerbate retinal degeneration, with reduced retinal function and increased levels of inflammation and cell death demonstrated following photo-oxidative damage in exosome-inhibited mice. Further, GW4869-treated mice displayed impaired translocation of photoreceptor-derived miR-124-3p to the inner retina during damage.

Conclusions

Taken together, we propose that retinal s-mEV and their miRNA cargo play an essential role in maintaining retinal homeostasis through immune-modulation, and have the potential to be used in targeted gene therapy for retinal degenerative diseases.
CiBER-seq dissects genetic networks by quantitative CRISPRi profiling of expression phenotypes
Authors: Muller Ryan , Meacham Zuriah A. , Ferguson Lucas , Ingolia Nicholas T.
Published: March 2020

To realize the promise of CRISPR/Cas9-based genetics, approaches are needed to quantify a specific, molecular phenotype across genome-wide libraries of genetic perturbations. We address this challenge by profiling transcriptional, translational, and post-translational reporters using CRISPR interference with barcoded expression reporter sequencing (CiBER-seq). Our barcoding approach connects an entire library of guides to their individual phenotypic consequences using pooled sequencing. We show that CiBER-seq profiling fully recapitulates the integrated stress response (ISR) pathway in yeast. Genetic perturbations causing uncharged tRNA accumulation activated ISR reporter transcription. Surprisingly, tRNA insufficiency also activated the reporter, independent of the Gcn2 kinase that senses uncharged tRNAs. By uncovering alternate triggers for ISR activation, we illustrate how precise, comprehensive CiBER-seq profiling provides a powerful and broadly applicable tool for dissecting genetic networks.
Advice from a systems-biology model of the Corona epidemics
Authors: Westerhoff Hans V. , Kolodkin Alexey N.
Published: March 2020

Using standard systems biology methodologies a 14-compartment dynamic model was developed for the Corona virus epidemic. The model predicts that : (i) it will be impossible to limit lockdown intensity such that sufficient herd immunity develops for this epidemic to die down, (ii) the death toll from the SARS-CoV-2 virus decreases very strongly with increasing intensity of the lockdown, but (iii) the duration of the epidemic increases at first with that intensity and then decreases again, such that (iv) it may be best to begin with selecting a lockdown intensity beyond the intensity that leads to the maximum duration, (v) an intermittent lock down strategy should also work and be more acceptable socially and economically, (vi) an initially intensive but adaptive lockdown strategy should be most efficient, both in terms of its low number casualties and shorter duration, (vii) such an adaptive lockdown strategy offers the advantage of being robust to unexpected imports of the virus, e.g. due to international travel, (viii) the eradication strategy may still be superior as it leads to even fewer deaths and a shorter period of economic lockdown maximum, but should have the adaptive strategy as backup in case of unexpected inflation imports (ix) earlier detection of infections is perhaps the most effective way in which the epidemic can be controlled more readily, whilst waiting for vaccines.
Trainee auditors' perception of ethical climate and workplace bullying in Chinese audit firms
Authors: Liu Anthony A.
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper aims to investigate the relationship between the audit firm's ethical climate and workplace bullying perceived by trainee auditors in Chinese audit firms.

Design/methodology/approach

An Ethical Climate Questionnaire and a Negative Acts Questionnaire are adapted from the existing organization studies and business ethics literature to fit in the audit firm context and are administered in a survey on 205 trainee auditors with a four-month long work placement in audit firms. SPSS is used in statistical analyses and tests.

Findings

This study confirms that some but not all types of organizational ethical climate significantly affect the perceived workplace bullying in audit firms. The results of testing for the relations between workplace bullying and ethical climate after breaking down workplace bullying into the work-related and person-related bullying sub-categories provide some different conclusions. Besides the impacts of the ethical climate on workplace bullying, this paper also finds out that trainee auditor's gender, the leader–subordinate gender difference, firm size and audit engagement team size are more likely to affect the perception of one or more of the bullying categories in audit firms.

Practical implications

This study implies some guidance for the audit firms to establish healthy ethical climates that can help them to recruit, train and retain young skilled auditing professionals.

Social implications

The findings of this study imply that a healthy ethical climate can help develop the audit profession and markets by deterring workplace bullying in audit firms.

Originality/value

This paper extends the organizational studies on the impact of the audit firm's organizational ethical climate on workplace bullying in the auditing profession. It also extends the gender roles in organization studies by stratifying the levels of workplace harassment.
The antecedents of entrepreneurial intention among women entrepreneurs in India
Authors: Chhabra Sakshi , Raghunathan Rajasekaran , Rao N.V. Muralidhar
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of entrepreneurial intention in promoting women entrepreneurship in Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This study seeks to clarify the construct of entrepreneurial intention and then reports the validation of the entrepreneurial intention instrument.

Design/methodology/approach

An instrument has been designed and administered on a sample of 103 respondents across India from women entrepreneurs to understand the entrepreneurial intention by using cluster and snowball sampling. The data has been streamlined and then analyzed using descriptive analysis for validity and reliability checks.

Findings

This research was aimed to determine the constructs of entrepreneurial intention. Through data analysis, it has been observed that the reliability coefficients reveal the adequacy of the sample. The Cronbach’s alpha values for all the items in the instrument were found to be greater than or equal to 0.6. Strong correlations were also found between direct and indirect measures of entrepreneurial intention and hence confirmed that all the measures in the instrument were well constructed. Analysis has also explained the relationship between various constructs of entrepreneurial intention by using Pearson’s correlation coefficients. Strong and positive values of correlation explain the existence of the convergent and discriminant validity of the instrument.

Research limitations/implications

The research results obtained from the analysis of reliability and validity tests not only provides the establishment of the relationship among the various constructs but also suggests that the model provides a promising potential to measure entrepreneurial intention. This study will contribute to new knowledge of the conditions of women entrepreneurship from different perspectives by developing and validating an analytic model for promoting the women entrepreneurship in MSMEs of India.

Practical implications

From a government perspective, this model will help in designing training programmes for promoting women entrepreneurship in India. The obtained result also brings significant implications for practice as well as raises a broad future direction for other researchers

Originality/value

Extended SCCT model has recently suggested an inclusive framework of factors affecting the entrepreneurial intention, there is not much attempt made in research using this theory as background for predicting intention in the context of women entrepreneurship. This paper attempts to fill this gap by formulating a conceptual model for measuring entrepreneurial intention among women entrepreneurs by integrating and adapting the constructs of extended social cognitive career theory model and entrepreneurial potential model.
A hybrid-fuzzy TOPSIS method to analyze the consumption and buying behavior of fishery and aquaculture products (FAPs) in the EU28
Authors: Cantillo Javier , Martin Juan Carlos , Román Concepción
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this investigation is to develop a hybrid fuzzy TOPSIS methodology in order to understand in a practical and integrated way, the consuming and buying behavior of EU residents towards Fishery and Aquaculture Products (FAPs), with an emphasis in the consumption and buying frequency.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained from the Special Eurobarometer Survey (European Union, 2018b), which is a survey of 27,732 EU residents with different socio-demographic characteristics that represent the 28 EU countries. A hybrid fuzzy TOPSIS methodology that synthesizes the consuming and buying behavior of the EU residents toward FAPs was developed.

Findings

The results show that among the countries, Spain has the highest consumption and buying patterns of FAPs, while among the generations it corresponds to the residents born between 1928 and 1945. In addition, there are important differences that depend on the country of residence as well as the generation of the residents. The elasticity analysis evidenced that marketing strategies would have the biggest impact in the countries located in the Central-Eastern zone of the EU and on the generation formed by the people born after 1980.

Originality/value

Although in the literature there are many studies that aimed to understand the behavior of consumers for FAPs, few investigations have focused on analyzing and integrating both the consumption and buying behavior, and to our best knowledge, there are no studies providing a methodology that allow making comparisons between different countries regarding the consumption and buying behavior of FAPs.
Corporate governance in the largest family firms in Latin America
Authors: Vazquez Pedro , Carrera Alejandro , Cornejo Magdalena
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The aim of this study is to explore and understand corporate governance patterns in family firms across Latin America. This is in response to several calls in the academic literature urging for more empirical studies in corporate governance in developing regions.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a configurative perspective, a hierarchical cluster analysis is applied to a sample of the 155 largest Latin American family firms.

Findings

The authors identify three main corporate governance configurations across Latin American countries. First, the exported governance model resembles many characteristics of Anglo-American and Continental Europe governance patterns of public listed control, having independence from the board of directors, and mainly hiring non-family management. Second, the super-familial governance model describes private ownership where one or multiple families control both the board of directors and the top-management team. Finally, the hybrid governance model is the largest cluster identified in the sample and combines governance characteristics of both of the foregoing configurations. This configuration exhibits ownership structured through public offerings of shares combined with leadership of the board of directors by a family member as well as moderate family influence on the board and management.

Originality/value

This is the first study to investigate corporate governance in the largest listed and privately-owned family firms in Latin America. The article extends the conversation on family firm heterogeneity and contributes to the configurative approach in the family business field by offering a cross-country perspective and identifying meaningful taxonomies that are applicable beyond national boundaries.
Start with why: and answer with motivating language
Authors: Holmes William T. “Toby”
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to increase the leadership and organizational effectiveness concepts presented by Simon Sinek in his 2009 book “Start with Why” by connecting them to Motivating Language Theory and presenting the integrated framework within a double-loop organizational and developmental learning model.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach of this conceptual paper is to link Sinek’s concepts WHY/HOW/WHAT with Motivating Language Theory’s constructs Meaning-Making Language/Empathetic Language/Direction-Giving Language to support deeper implementation as well as maximize implementation of WHY/HOW/WHAT through implementation of the higher-level variable Motivating Language. Additionally, this conceptual paper expands upon Sinek’s discussion of process and outcomes through the illustration of a double-loop organizational learning and development model that highlights data-driven decision-making, working from the inside-out organizational processes, and the connection between outcomes and reflection to improve organizational work.

Findings

The findings of this conceptual paper are motivating language theory can enhance and extend Sinek’s organizational and leadership assertions, and the creation of a double-loop organizational learning and development model provides greater clarity and insight to Sinek’s initial concepts presented in Start with Why. These findings provide practitioners greater tools and resources for implementation in the field as well as continue to provide scholars with an ongoing thread of connections and applications of Motivating Language Theory.

Originality/value

The originality of this conceptual paper builds off Sinek’s assertion that communication is vital to leaders and organizations by giving it context and specificity in the form of a well-established leadership and organizational communication theory.
SMEs’ dynamic capabilities and value creation: the mediating role of competitive strategy
Authors: Rashidirad Mona , Salimian Hamid
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to explicate the role of dynamic capabilities in the ability of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to create value and also investigate the relationship among different dynamic capabilities, competitive strategy and SMEs’ value sources.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical evidence based on a survey conducted on a sample of 441 UK-based SMEs was used to test the research hypotheses.

Findings

The findings illustrate that sensing, learning, integrating and coordinating capabilities play a significant role in SMEs’ value creation, and competitive strategy mediates the impact of dynamic capabilities on value creation.

Research limitations/implications

This study demonstrates the benefits of understanding the relationship among the four types of dynamic capabilities, competitive strategy and value creation. Moreover, this study contributes to the notion of the contingency nature of dynamic capabilities.

Practical implications

It offers managers insight into the aspects on which to focus their efforts to enhance their firm’s capacity of value creation.

Originality/value

While much of the prior studies have conceptually/qualitatively investigated the financial return of uni-dimensional dynamic capabilities of large firms in the manufacturing sector, this study made a significant effort to quantitatively examine the non-financial value potential of SMEs in service sector through four processes of dynamic capabilities.
Sustainable built asset management performance indicators and attributes
Authors: Cooper Justine , Lee Angela , Jones Keith
Published: March 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to identify key performance indicators (KPIs), and their corresponding attributes, required to successfully manage asset management sustainably in a built environment context. Improving the sustainability of existing housing stock is a major challenge facing the UK social housing sector. There is a lack of support to navigate the growing and often incongruent information relating to sustainable development and how to operationalise it. The problem is twofold; first, the current (single criterion) condition-based approach to maintenance planning constrains asset managers and does not fully address the social, environmental and economic aspects of sustainability. Second, the toolkits available for assessing the sustainability of housing are often generic and are time consuming and expensive to implement.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reports the findings of a participatory research project with a leading London-based housing association, using a series of landlord and tenant workshops to derive a set of attributes associated with KPIs to fully reflect the local requirements of the landlord and their interpretation of the sustainability agenda. Five KPIs are considered to be measurable, directly affected by maintenance work and independent of each other were identified by this landlord (comfort, running costs, adaptability, maintenance costs and community).

Findings

The resulting outputs, in a policy context, will provide a clear route map to social housing landlords of how to improve the sustainability of their housing stock with the additional benefits of addressing fuel poverty and carbon emission targets, whilst at the same time, help create and maintain housing in which people want to live.

Originality/value

The proposed approach is flexible enough to incorporate the individual requirements of landlords and be able to adapt to changes in government policy (local and central) in a timely, robust, transparent and inclusive format.
Team leader’s conflict management styles and innovation performance in entrepreneurial teams
Authors: Yin Jielin , Jia Muxiao , Ma Zhenzhong , Liao Ganli
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate how a team leader’s conflict management style (CMS) affects team innovation performance (TIP) in entrepreneurial teams using a team emotion perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

It is proposed in this study that team passion mediates the impact of team leader’s CMSs on team performance, which is further moderated by team emotional intelligence (TEI). Then this study collected paired data from 105 teams including 105 team leaders and 411 team members to test the proposed model.

Findings

The results show that a team leader’s cooperative CMS has a significant positive impact on TIP and team passion further mediates the relationship between the team leader’s CMSs and TIP. The results also show that TEI moderates the relationship between the leader’s CMSs and team passion.

Originality/value

This study helps enriches the literature of conflict management by exploring the mechanisms through which a team leader’s CMSs affect team performance in entrepreneurial activities, and the findings of this study highlight the important role of team passion in this process. In addition, this study integrates the research on conflict management and the research on team passion in entrepreneurial teams to provide a new perspective to explore the dynamic process of entrepreneurial activities, which sheds light on the investigation of the important implications of effective conflict management in the entrepreneurship.
Thermal effects of copper-graphene composite films in a human skin analogous for the application to clothing
Authors: Ko Yelin , Shin Sora , Choi Yong Seok , Hong Byung-Hee , Park Sang-Yoon , Lee Joo-Young
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to explore heat-accumulative and thermal-conductive characteristics of copper-graphene composite film (Cu-G film) while applying it to a human-skin analogue.

Design/methodology/approach

In the preliminary experiment, the authors evaluated the thermal conductive characteristics of the Cu-G film in three covered conditions (no film, copper film, and Cu-G film conditions). For the first factorial experiment, the heat-accumulative properties over heated pig skin were compared at air temperatures of 10, 25 and 35°C. For the second factorial experiment, 105 trials were conducted on pig skin by combining air temperatures, trapped air volumes, and numbers of film layers.

Findings

The results from the preliminary experiment showed that the Cu-G film distributed the surface heat to the outside of the Cu-G film, which resulted in even distribution of heat inside and outside the Cu-G film, whereas the copper film accumulated heat inside the copper film. The human-skin analogue of pig skin, however, showed the opposite tendency from that of the plastic. The pig-skin temperatures beneath the Cu-G film were higher than those beneath the copper film, and those differences were remarkable at the air temperature of 10°C. The accumulative heat was affected by the trapped air volume, fit to the skin, and number of Cu-G film layers.

Originality/value

In conclusion, the Cu-G film more effectively accumulated heat on the human-skin analogue than copper film, and those effects were more marked in cold environments than in mild or hot environments.
Transformational leadership and attorneys' performance in law firms
Authors: Phillips J. Mark , Kang Jae Hyeung , Choi David Y. , Solomon George T.
Published: March 2020

Purpose

This study examines how transformational leadership on the part of senior attorneys in law firms may affect their subordinate attorneys' performance in an industry experiencing both distinctive leadership challenges and widespread economic upheaval. Specifically, our multilevel theoretical model attempts to capture the moderated mediation relationships between transformational leadership, innovative climate, entrepreneurial orientation, and individual performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs of a multilevel path analysis to examine the earlier described conceptual model utilizing primary data collected from 484 attorneys at 31 professional service firms.

Findings

The authors used multilevel path analysis to examine the existence and the extent of a multilevel mediation effect. They found that a firm's entrepreneurial orientation mediates the relationship between supervising attorneys' transformational leadership and individual attorneys' performances. The authors also found that the indirect effect of supervising attorneys' transformational leadership on individual attorneys' performances through entrepreneurial orientation is conditional on the degree of firm innovative climate.

Originality/value

The authors draw on theories of social learning to construct a dual-level theoretical model that connects domains within the leadership and entrepreneurship literatures. It does so by examining the relationships between the law firms' supervising attorneys' change-oriented leadership and their subordinate attorneys' billable hours during a period of severe economic disruption.
An analysis of residue net estate distribution to bayt al-māl in Singapore
Authors: Rasban Sadali , Abdullah Adam , Hasan Aznan
Published: March 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the current practice in Singapore regarding an inheritance issue: disposal of the residual net estate to the bayt al-māl, which is identified as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, MUIS). The issue arises when the deceased leaves farḍ (fixed-share) heir(s) and/or dhawū al-arḥām (outer family members) but there is no ʿaṣabah (agnatic residuary heir by blood). Farḍ legal heirs are those beneficiaries for whom the Qurʾān prescribes inheritance of a pre-determined share. Disposal of the residual net estate to the bayt al-māl results in a reduction in the share due to the farḍ legal heir or worse, a total loss to the dhawū al-arḥām legal heirs.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach based on library and case study research has been adopted to elaborate practices that fall under the purview of the Administration of Muslim Law Acts (AMLA), Chapter 3.

Findings

The current practice seems biased against, especially, women and spouses. It creates high dissatisfaction in the community, especially those affected by such practices. This paper elaborates on the practice of residual net estate distribution in Singapore and the contemporary practices of the four Sunni madh-habs – the Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī jurisprudential schools – in other countries.

Research limitations/implications

In Singapore, Muslim law is defined and implemented by the civil court, not the Syariah Court or MUIS. The recommendation to change from the current classical practice by the Syariah Court and MUIS to the contemporary practice that is relevant to today’s context lies with the civil court and Government of Singapore. The choice for the Syariah Court and MUIS to adopt the contemporary practice as per Ḥanafī School by rule of the court or the government is beyond this research. Zayd ibn Thābit, Caliph Abū Bakr and a small number of companions held the view that the residue net estate asset must go to the bayt al-māl, the current classical practice. The contemporary practice adopted by Sayyidina ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, Jābir ibn Zayd and majority of the companions’ view, is not in favour of the residue net estate asset to go to the bayt al-māl; rather they view that it must be returned to the legal heirs.

Practical implications

Awareness in the community in the current controversial practice in Singapore when the residue net estate through the farāʾiḍ law was giving to bayt al-māl instead of returning to farḍ or dhawū al-arḥām in the absence of the ʿaṣabah legal heir as stated in the Inheritance Certificate issued by Syariah Court.

Social implications

To understand the contemporary Muslim law and the practical and just application in today’s Singapore context as supported by the AMLA, Chapter 3.

Originality/value

This is the first study that challenges the current practice by the Syariah Court and MUIS in Singapore, thereby endeavouring to restore justice to the community.