bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interconnected Blameworthiness
Authors: Collins Stephanie , de Haan Niels
Published: January 2021

This paper investigates agents’ blameworthiness when they are part of a group that does harm. We analyse three factors that affect the scope of an agent’s blameworthiness in these cases: shared intentionality, interpersonal influence, and common knowledge. Each factor involves circumstantial (and some resultant) luck. The more each factor is present, the greater is the scope of each agent’s vicarious blameworthiness for the other agents’ contributions to the harm. We then consider an agent’s degree of blameworthiness, as distinct from her scope of blameworthiness. We suggest that an agent mostly controls her degree of blameworthiness—but even here, luck constrains what possible degrees of blameworthiness are open to her.
Wandering of the central black hole in a galactic nucleus and correlation of the black hole mass with the bulge mass
Authors: Inoue Hajime
Published: January 2021

We investigate a mechanism for a super-massive black hole at the center of a galaxy to wander in the nucleus region. A situation is supposed in which the central black hole tends to move by the gravitational attractions from the nearby molecular clouds in a nuclear bulge but is braked via the dynamical frictions from the ambient stars there. We estimate the approximate kinetic energy of the black hole in an equilibrium between the energy gain rate through the gravitational attractions and the energy loss rate through the dynamical frictions in a nuclear bulge composed of a nuclear stellar disk and a nuclear stellar cluster as observed from our Galaxy. The wandering distance of the black hole in the gravitational potential of the nuclear bulge is evaluated to get as large as several 10 pc, when the black hole mass is relatively small. The distance, however, shrinks as the black hole mass increases, and the equilibrium solution between the energy gain and loss disappears when the black hole mass exceeds an upper limit. As a result, we can expect the following scenario for the evolution of the black hole mass: When the black hole mass is smaller than the upper limit, mass accretion of the interstellar matter in the circumnuclear region, causing the AGN activities, makes the black hole mass larger. However, when the mass gets to the upper limit, the black hole loses the balancing force against the dynamical friction and starts spiraling downward to the gravity center. From simple parameter scaling, the upper mass limit of the black hole is found to be proportional to the bulge mass, and this could explain the observed correlation of the black hole mass with the bulge mass.
Changes in Quantity of Opioids Dispensed following Florida’s Restriction Law for Acute Pain Prescriptions
Authors: Hincapie-Castillo Juan M , Easey Taylor , Hernandez Carlos , Maguire Michael , Usmani Silken A , Vouri Scott Martin , Goodin Amie
Published: January 2021

Objective

To assess the impact of Florida’s 3-day opioid prescription supply law, effective July 2018, on opioids dispensed for acute pain patients.

Methods

Pharmacy claims from a health plan serving a large Florida employer from January 2015 through March 2019 were analyzed. We used an interrupted time series study design accounting for autocorrelation of trends before and after policy change. Acute pain patients met inclusion criteria if they had not received any opioid containing medications in the past 180 days. Patients could contribute to additional new use time if subsequent opioid claims occurred ≥180 days since the previous claim. Outcomes included mean number of units dispensed of the initial opioid prescription, mean morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) per day of initial prescription by month, and mean total MMEs per initial prescription by month.

Results

A total of 8,375 enrollees had 10,583 unique opioid starts in the given timeframe. Following the policy, there was an immediate significant decrease in the units dispensed per prescription of 4.9 (95% confidence interval [CI] −8.95, −.82 units). Additionally, there was a significant immediate reduction in total MMEs dispensed per prescription of 25.6 (95% CI −44.76, −6.44 MMEs).

Conclusions

Among a group of privately-insured plan enrollees in Florida, and as a result of the law, there were significant decreases in the number of units dispensed, and total MMEs of opioid prescriptions. The immediate reduction in new opioid utilization following policy implementation suggests effective policy; however, impacts on chronic pain patients were not assessed.
The Spanish Version of the Fear of Kidney Failure Questionnaire: Validity, Reliability, and Characterization of Living Donors With the Highest Fear of Kidney Failure
Authors: Torres Xavier , Menjivar Ana , Baillès Eva , Rangil Teresa , Delgado Isabel , Musquera Mireia , Paredes David , Martínez Montserrat , Avinyó Núria , Vallés Carmen , Cañas Laura , Lorenzo Dolores , Vila-Santandreu Anna , Ojeda Raquel , Arcos Emma , De Sousa-Amorim Erika , Fernández Antón , Rodrigue James R.
Published: January 2021

Background.

Measures of fear of progression or recurrence of illnesses have been criticized for neglecting cross-cultural validity. Therefore, we assessed the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Fear of Kidney Failure Questionnaire (FKFQ), to determine whether postdonation fear of kidney failure (FKF) influenced the donors’ psychosocial status, and define variables that characterized donors with high FKFQ scores.

Methods.

We included 492 participants (211 donors) in a multicenter, 11-year, retrospective, cross-sectional study. Donors were classified with a Latent Class Analysis of the FKFQ-item scores and characterized with a multivariable logistic regression analysis. We calculated the risk ratio based on predicted marginal probabilities.

Results.

The Spanish version of the FKFQ showed acceptable psychometric properties. FKF was uncommon among donors, but we detected a small subgroup (n = 21, 9.9%) with high FKF (mean FKFQ score = 14.5, 3.1 SD). Compared with other donors, these donors reported higher anxiety and depression (38% and 29% of potential anxiety and depressive disorders), worse quality of life, and less satisfaction with the donation. Donors with high FKFQ scores were characterized by higher neuroticism combined with postdonation physical symptoms that interfered with daily activities.

Conclusions.

The FKFQ was cross-culturally valid, and thus, it may be used to assess the FKF in Spanish-speaking donors. New interventions that promote positive affectivity and evidence-based treatments for worry could be adapted for treating FKF.
Liver Transplantation in Locally Unresectable, Undifferentiated Embryonal Cell Sarcoma
Authors: Babu Benoy I. , Bigam David L. , Gilmour Susan M. , Dajani Khaled Z. , Shapiro A.M. James , Kneteman Norman M.
Published: January 2021

Background.

Undifferentiated embryonal cell sarcoma (UESL) of the liver is the third most common malignant liver disease of childhood presenting as a rapidly enlarging intraabdominal mass. This systematic review explores the practicality of liver transplantation as a viable option in the treatment armamentarium for locally advanced undifferentiated embryonal cell sarcoma.

Methods.

A systematic review of the literature was performed using Medline and Embase, from inception of databases to December 31, 2018. Keywords and MeSH headings used were embryonal sarcoma, mesenchymal sarcoma, and liver transplant. Reviews and manuscripts with incomplete data were excluded.

Results.

Twenty-eight patients had orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) as a curative treatment option. The median age at presentation was 8 and 27 years in the pediatric and adult population, respectively, with a similar male to female ratio. A majority of the patients presented with abdominal pain, palpable mass, and a normal alpha-feto-protein. The median tumor size was 15 cm mainly affecting the right lobe (62%) of the liver. Eighty-two percent of the patients underwent primary OLT and 5 patients had salvage OLT. One death (3.6%) was due to initial misdiagnosis and management for hepatoblastoma. Recurrence was noted in 7.1% of the population. The median follow-up was noted to be 28.5 months. The documented survival rate post-liver transplant for UESL was 96%.

Conclusions.

Based on available data and the very positive results therein, liver transplantation is a practical and justifiable use of a scarce resource as a treatment option for locally unresectable, undifferentiated embryonal cell sarcoma. The authors propose (accepting existence of different proposals) neoadjuvant therapy before curative resection, and if not achievable, then liver transplantation followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is an option for suitable candidates. For recurrent tumors after surgical resection, adjuvant therapy with salvage liver transplantation is an option.
Utility of Serial Donor-derived Cell-free DNA Measurements for Detecting Allograft Rejection in a Kidney Transplant Recipient After PD-1 Checkpoint Inhibitor Administration
Authors: Lakhani Laila , Alasfar Sami , Bhalla Anshul , Aala Amtul , Rosenberg Avi , Ostrander Darin , Schollenberger Megan D. , Brennan Daniel C. , Lipson Evan J.
Published: January 2021

Background.

Donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) is a useful biomarker of rejection that originates from allograft cells undergoing injury. Plasma levels <1% in kidney transplant recipients have a high negative predictive value for active allograft rejection. The utility of this biomarker in kidney transplant recipients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy is unknown.

Methods.

We describe a case in which serial dd-cfDNA monitoring facilitated the use of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, which is known to be associated with high rates of rejection, in a kidney transplant recipient with metastatic cancer.

Results.

A 72-y-old man with end-stage kidney disease secondary to autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease underwent living unrelated kidney transplant in December 2010. His immunosuppression regimen included tacrolimus, mycophenolate, and prednisone. In July 2017, he presented with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. After his disease progressed through radiation therapy and cetuximab, he received pembrolizumab (antiprogrammed cell death protein 1). His dd-cfDNA level was undetectable at baseline, then increased during treatment but remained <1%. This trend, despite fluctuations in serum creatinine levels during therapy, allowed for continuation of pembrolizumab and successful treatment of his metastatic cancer without clinically evident allograft rejection. After discontinuation of pembrolizumab, dd-cfDNA levels fell below the level of detection. Genetic analysis of the cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma demonstrated a genetic profile distinct from the dd-cfDNA, indicating that tumor lysis did not impact increases in dd-cfDNA.

Conclusions.

Serial dd-cfDNA measurements may provide a useful, noninvasive biomarker for detecting allograft injury that may facilitate the use of immunomodulatory therapies in organ transplant recipients with cancer.
Phenotypic and genetic characteristics of Streptococcus mutans isolates from site-specific dental plaque in China
Authors: Liu Shanshan , Li Huihui , Zhang Kai , Guo Zhenfei , Zheng Qingwei , Hu Fuyong , Zhang Wei , Sun Yu , Guan Jun-chang
Published: January 2021

Introduction.

Streptococcus mutans

is an important cariogenic microbe.

Hypothesis/Gap Statement. The potential characteristics of

S. mutans

isolates from site-specific dental plaque are still not clear.

Aim. This study aimed to investigate the phenotypic and genetic characteristics of

S. mutans

isolates from site-specific dental plaque in China.

Methodology. We used

S. mutans

isolated from children with early-childhood caries (ECC) and caries-free children to compare the phenotypic and genetic characteristics of

S. mutans

from site-specific dental plaque samples. The ECC subjects presented two sites: a cavitated lesion and a sound surface. The caries-free subjects presented one sound surface. Growth pattern, biofilm, decrease in pH, extracellular polysaccharide, expression levels of virulence-related genes, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and phylogenetic trees were evaluated among these three sites.

Results. The phenotypes detected between the cavitated and sound surfaces of ECC children were similar. However, the capacity for biofilm formation, pH drop and expression levels of genes (gtfB and spaP) of

S. mutans

in the caries-free group were lower compared with those of the ECC group. We identified 44 new alleles and 77 new sequence types. More than 90 % of the children with ECC shared an identical sequence type. The distribution of sequence types among different subjects showed diversity, and child-to-child transmission was detected.

Conclusions. This is the first report of MLST on site-specific dental plaques in a single subject, and indicates that

S. mutans

isolated from site-specific dental plaque of a single subject showed similar phenotypes as a result of the isolates were closely related.
Sporulation is dispensable for the vegetable-associated life cycle of the human pathogenBacillus cereus
Authors: Antequera-Gómez María Luisa , Díaz-Martínez Luis , Guadix Juan Antonio , Sánchez-Tévar Ana María , Sopeña-Torres Sara , Hierrezuelo Jesús , Doan Hung K. , Leveau Johan H.J. , de Vicente Antonio , Romero Diego
Published: January 2021

Bacillus cereusis a common food-borne pathogen that is responsible for important outbreaks of food poisoning in humans. Diseases caused byB. cereususually exhibit two major symptoms, emetic or diarrheic, depending on the toxins produced. It is assumed that after the ingestion of contaminated vegetables or processed food, spores of enterotoxigenicB. cereusreach the intestine, where they germinate and produce the enterotoxins that are responsible for food poisoning. In our study, we observed that sporulation is required for the survival ofB. cereusin leaves but is dispensable in ready-to-eat vegetables, such as endives. We demonstrate that vegetative cells ofB. cereusthat are originally impaired in sporulation but not biofilm formation are able to reach the intestine and cause severe disorders in a murine model. We propose that loss of part of the sporulation programme and reinforcement of structural factors related to adhesion, biofilm formation and pathogenic interaction with the host are adaptive traits ofB. cereuswith a life cycle primarily related to human hosts. Furthermore, our findings emphasise that the number of food poisoning cases associated withB. cereusis underestimated and suggest the need to revise the detection protocols, which are based primarily on spores and toxins.
Multi Task Deep Learning for Genomic Predictions
Authors: Guo Baohong
Published: January 2021

Genomic predictions have been recognized as a new promising technique in animal and plant breeding. Linear mixed model is a widely used statistical technique, but it may not be desirable for large training sets and number of molecular markers, because it is intensive in computation. Deep learning is a subfield of machine learning and it can be used for complex predictions on a large scale. Multi task deep learning (MT-DL) incorporates related tasks(labels or traits) into one learning process to enable the learning model to perform better than single task deep learning (ST-DL). I applied MT-DL to genotype by environment genomic predictions to predict the performances of breeding lines at multiple environments. I compared MT-DL with linear mixed model-based Bayesian genotype × environment method (BGGE) and separate genomic predictions on single environments with widely used rrBLUP, ridge regression and ST-DL using cross validations. Compared with rrBLUP, MT-DL and non-linear BGGE showed a moderate increase of 9.4 and 7.6%, respectively, ST-DL has a small increase of 5.4%, ridge regression had a similar prediction accuracy and linear BGGE had a small decrease of −2.0% for prediction accuracy. I also found that all methods including rrBLUP had an overfitting, this is likely because yield genomic predictions are complex and the data set used in this study are small. rrBLUP, ridge regression, ST-DL and MT-DL has similar overfitting. Difference between training and test set prediction accuracies was between 0.344 and 0. 387. Linear and nonlinear BGGE methods seem to have much worse overfitting than other methods. Difference between training and test set prediction accuracies were 0.429 and 0.472, respectively. I also discussed the potential applications of ST-DL and MT-DL in genomic predictions of hybrid crops such as maize
Wnt target enhancer regulation by a CDX/TCF transcription factor collective and a novel DNA motif
Authors: Ramakrishnan Aravinda-Bharathi , Chen Lisheng , Burby Peter , Cadigan Ken M.
Published: January 2021

Transcriptional regulation by Wnt signalling is primarily thought to be accomplished by a complex of β-catenin and TCF family transcription factors (TFs). Although numerous studies have suggested that additional TFs play roles in regulating Wnt target genes, their mechanisms of action have not been investigated in detail. We characterised a Wnt-responsive element (WRE) downstream of the Wnt target geneAxin2and found that TCFs and Caudal-related homeodomain (CDX) proteins were required for its activation. Using a new separation-of-function TCF mutant, we found that WRE activity requires the formation of a TCF/CDX complex. Our systematic mutagenesis of this enhancer identified other sequences essential for activation by Wnt signalling, including several copies of a novel CAG DNA motif. Computational and experimental evidence indicates that the TCF/CDX/CAG mode of regulation is prevalent in multiple WREs. Put together, our results demonstrate the complex nature of cis- and trans- interactions required for signal-dependent enhancer activity.
REPP: A robust cross-platform solution for online sensorimotor synchronization experiments
Authors: Anglada-Tort Manuel , Harrison Peter M. C. , Jacoby Nori
Published: January 2021

Sensorimotor synchronization (SMS), the rhythmic coordination of perception and action, is a fundamental human skill that supports many behaviors, from daily repetitive routines to the most complex behavioural coordination, including music and dance (Repp 2005; Repp & Su, 2013). Research on SMS has been mostly conducted in the laboratory using finger tapping paradigms, where participants typically tap with their index finger to a rhythmic sequence of auditory stimuli. However, these experiments require equipment with high temporal fidelity to capture the asynchronies between the time of the tap and the corresponding cue event. Thus, SMS is particularly challenging to study with online research, where variability in participants’ hardware and software can introduce uncontrolled latency and jitter into recordings. Here we present REPP (Rhythm ExPeriment Platform), a novel technology for measuring SMS in online experiments that can work efficiently using the built-in microphone and speakers of standard laptop computers. The audio stimulus (e.g., a metronome or a music excerpt) is played through the speakers and the resulting signal is recorded along with participants’ responses in a single channel. The resulting recording is then analyzed using signal processing techniques to extract and align timing cues with high temporal accuracy. In this paper, we validate REPP through a series of calibration and behavioural experiments. We demonstrate that our technology achieves high temporal accuracy (latency and jitter within 2 ms on average), high test-retest reliability both in the laboratory (r= .87) and online (r= .80), and high concurrent validity (r= .94). We also show that REPP is fully automated and customizable, enabling researchers to monitor experiments in real time and to implement a wide variety of SMS paradigms. We discuss methods for ensuring high recruiting efficiency and data quality, including pre-screening tests and automatic procedures for quality monitoring. REPP can therefore open new avenues for research on SMS that would be nearly impossible in the laboratory, reducing experimental costs while massively increasing the reach, scalability and speed of data collection.
Fluorescent Glycan Fingerprinting of SARS2 Spike Proteins
Authors: Wu Zhengliang L , Ertelt James M
Published: January 2021

Glycosylation is the most common post-translational modification and has myriad biological functions. However, glycan analysis and research has always been a challenge. Here, we would like to present new techniques of glycan fingerprinting based on enzymatic fluorescent labeling and gel electrophoresis. The method is illustrated on SARS-2 spike (S) glycoproteins. SARS-2, a novel coronavirus and the causative agent of COVID-19 pandemic, has devastated the world since the end of 2019. To obtain the N-glycan fingerprint of a S protein, glycans released from the protein are first labeled through enzymatic incorporation of fluorophore-conjugated sialic acid or fucose, and then separated on acrylamide gel through electrophoresis, and finally visualized with a fluorescent imager. To identify the labeled glycans of a fingerprint, glycan standards and glycan ladders that are enzymatically generated are run alongside the samples as references. By comparing the mobility of a labeled glycan to that of a glycan standard, the identity of glycans maybe determined. Due to lack of enzyme for broad O-glycans releasing, O-glycans on the RBD protein are labeled with fluorescent sialic acid and digested with trypsin to obtain labeled glycan peptides that are then separated on gel. Glycan fingerprinting could serve as a quick way for global assessment of the glycosylation of a glycoprotein.
Altered temporal sequence of transcriptional regulators in the generation of human cerebellar granule cells
Authors: Behesti Hourinaz , Kocabas Arif , Buchholz David E. , Carroll Thomas S. , Hatten Mary E.
Published: January 2021

Brain development is regulated by conserved transcriptional programs across species, but little is known about divergent mechanisms that create species-specific characteristics. Among brain regions, the cerebellum is now recognized to contribute to human cognitive evolution having a broad range of non-motor cognitive functions in addition to motor control. Emerging studies highlight the complexity of human cerebellar histogenesis, compared with non-human primates and rodents, making it important to develop methods to generate human cerebellar neurons that closely resemble those in the developing human cerebellum. Here we report a rapid and simple protocol for the directed derivation of the human ATOH1 lineage, the precursor of excitatory cerebellar neurons, from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC), and strategies to decrease culture variability; a common limitation in hPSC studies. Upon transplantation into juvenile mice, early postmitotic hPSC-derived cerebellar granule cells migrated along glial fibers and integrated into the cerebellar cortex. By Translational Ribosome Affinity Purification (TRAP)-seq, the ATOH1 lineage most closely resembled human cerebellar tissue in the second trimester. Unexpectedly, TRAP-seq identified a heterochronic shift in the expression of RBFOX3 (NeuN) and NEUROD1, which are classically associated with differentiated neurons, within granule cell progenitors (GCPs) in the human external granule layer. This molecular divergence may provide the mechanism by which the GCP pool persists into year two post birth in humans, but only lasts for two weeks in mice. Our approach provides a scalablein vitromodel of the human ATOH1 lineage that yields cerebellar granule cells within 48 days as well as a strategy for identifying uniquely human cellular and molecular characteristics.
Hydrophobic residues advance the onset of simple coacervation in intrinsically disordered proteins at low densities: Insights from field theoretical simulations studies
Authors: Ramanjanappa Satwik , Iyer Sahithya S. , Srivastava Anand
Published: January 2021

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) have engendered a definitive change in the way we think about the classical “sequence-structure-function” dogma. Their conformational pliability and rich molecular recognition features endow them with the ability to bind to diverse partners and predispose them to an elaborate functional armory. And of late, with studies on IDP-based liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) leading to formation of functional subcellular coacervates - best described as “membrane-less organelles (MLOs)”, IDPs are also bringing about paradigmatic changes in the way we think about biomolecular assemblies and subcellular organization. Though it is well recognized that the phase behavior of a given IDP is tightly coupled to its amino-acid sequences, there are only a few theories to model polyampholyte coacervation for IDPs. Recently, Joan-Emma Shea and co-workers used field theoretical simulations (FTS) to elucidate the complete phase diagram for LLPS of IDPs by considering different permutations of 50-residues chain representing 25 Lysine and 25 Glutamic acid [1]. Our work is an extension of that FTS framework where we develop and solve an augmented Hamiltonian that also accounts for hydrophobic interactions in the chain. We show that incorporation of hydrophobic interactions result in an advanced onset of coacervation at low densities. The patterning of hydrophobic, positive and negative residues plays important role in determining relative differences in the onset of phase separation. Though still very coarse-grained, once additional chemical specificities are incorporated, these high throughput analytical theory methods can be used as a starting point for designing sequences that drive LLPS.
The trade policy response to COVID-19 and its implications for international business
Authors: Curran Louise , Eckhardt Jappe , Lee Jaemin
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to explore trade policy measures taken in response to COVID-19 and analyses in detail their extent and nature. It assesses their compatibility with World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements: specifically, whether they were necessary and justifiable efforts to protect the security and health of populations and asks how this widespread recourse to trade barriers may impact on international business?

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyses an extensive database from the International Trade Centre of trade measures taken in response to COVID-19. It differentiates by type of country, nature and coverage of measures (imports or exports, type of product…). On the basis of existing jurisprudence, this paper analyses whether restrictive measures were likely to be judged legal under WTO rules.

Findings

This paper finds that, although the majority of trade measures are probably justifiable, there were nevertheless many measures whose coverage and/or nature was such that a justification under existing WTO exceptions is, at the very least, arguable. Such widespread and intense instigation of potentially WTO incompatible measures in such a short period of time undoubtedly undermines the global trade rules on which international business has relied for decades.

Originality/value

There is little existing analysis of the legality of measures taken under the security exceptions and no substantial analyses of the measures taken in response to COVID-19. Furthermore, little scholarly attention has been paid to the impacts on international business of the increasing use of WTO “exceptions” to justify trade measures to protect national industries and populations.
Looking in the mirror: the global '68 through the Brazilian daily press
Authors: Hernández Huerta José Luis
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This article explains the process of construction and configuration of the Brazilian social imaginary on the global '68 using the daily press as source material.

Design/methodology/approach

It looks at the narratives conveyed by the press about the condition, situation, motivations, aspirations and capacity for action of young university students. The analysis is focused mainly on the usage of totalitarian language and permits an in-depth view of the reality of life in Brazil at the time and the role played by the students in the resistance to the dictatorship. It also includes an analysis of how other students' protests of 1968 – in Poland and Mexico – were portrayed through the media, and how they helped to shape the collective imaginary about Brazilian university students, situating it in a conjuncture of broader dimensions and connections.

Findings

The youth of Brazil, Poland and Mexico were represented as active political and social subjects, capable of defying, and sometimes profoundly upsetting, the established order. Violence and the discourse of violence were constant unifying elements in the narratives created by the daily press. This helped generate an image of university students which portrayed them as a rebellious, revolutionary and/or subversive sector of the population, responsible for one of the most extensive and profound social and political crises which those countries had experienced in decades.

Originality/value

This is the first study of the Brazilian reception of the '68 Polish and Mexican students' protest and its implications for the social narrative of students' resistance in Brazil.
Developing smart community based on information and communication technology: an experience of Kemaman smart community, Malaysia
Authors: Mohd Satar NurulHuda , Saifullah Md. Khaled , Masud Muhammad Mehedi , Kari Fatimah Binti
Published: January 2021

Purpose

In light of the rapid evolution of information and communication technology (ICT), every society is faced with many issues such as social exclusion, inequality and the digital divide. Hence, there is need to solve these complex challenges without comprising any development objective. A practical solution in this regard includes establishment of a sustainable model of community development. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the role of education in promoting the awareness on the use of ICT-based infrastructure among the general public to enhance their socioeconomic status. In addition, this study sets out to establish the nexus between socioeconomic status, ICT programme as well as the awareness of Kemaman Smart Community (KSC) development project.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopted a quantitative approach based on data collected through a survey on information literacy in KSC. The logit behavioural model and structural equation model were adopted as a quantitative technique to verify the objective of the study.

Findings

The result of the logit behavioural model showed that education, income and age have a positive impact on the KSC programme awareness. The SEM models revealed that income level and education (especially at the tertiary level) significantly enhance the awareness of KSC project. On the contrary, poverty remains regressive towards the community awareness of KSC programmess

Practical implications

Information literacy and knowledge-based programme promote a more inclusive development approach. Moreover, education, socioeconomic status, information literacy and knowledge-based programme are essential to develop a smart community towards achieving a high-income nation status. Future replication of smart community project in other parts of Malaysia may need to consider these factors for a comprehensive community development strategy.

Originality/value

KSC is the first smart city initiative by the government of Malaysia. Besides, primary data were used in this study. The findings of the study will provide academics and policymakers a better understanding of the smart city initiative.
A method of locating the 3D centers of retroreflectors based on deep learning
Authors: Zhang BinBin , Zhang Fumin , Qu Xinghua
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Laser-based measurement techniques offer various advantages over conventional measurement techniques, such as no-destructive, no-contact, fast and long measuring distance. In cooperative laser ranging systems, it’s crucial to extract center coordinates of retroreflectors to accomplish automatic measurement. To solve this problem, this paper aims to propose a novel method.

Design/methodology/approach

We propose a method using Mask RCNN (Region Convolutional Neural Network), with ResNet101 (Residual Network 101) and FPN (Feature Pyramid Network) as the backbone, to localize retroreflectors, realizing automatic recognition in different backgrounds. Compared with two other deep learning algorithms, experiments show that the recognition rate of Mask RCNN is better especially for small-scale targets. Based on this, an ellipse detection algorithm is introduced to obtain the ellipses of retroreflectors from recognized target areas. The center coordinates of retroreflectors in the camera coordinate system are obtained by using a mathematics method.

Findings

To verify the accuracy of this method, an experiment was carried out: the distance between two retroreflectors with a known distance of 1,000.109 mm was measured, with 2.596 mm root-mean-squar error, meeting the requirements of the coarse location of retroreflectors.

Research limitations/implications

The research limitations/implications are as follows: (i) As the data set only has 200 pictures, although we have used some data augmentation methods such as rotating, mirroring and cropping, there is still room for improvement in the generalization ability of detection. (ii) The ellipse detection algorithm needs to work in relatively dark conditions, as the retroreflector is made of stainless steel, which easily reflects light.

Originality/value

The originality/value of the article lies in being able to obtain center coordinates of multiple retroreflectors automatically even in a cluttered background; being able to recognize retroreflectors with different sizes, especially for small targets; meeting the recognition requirement of multiple targets in a large field of view and obtaining 3 D centers of targets by monocular model-based vision.
Repositioning luxury fashion brands as intentional agents: the roles of consumer envy and admiration
Authors: Joo Bo Ra , Kim Hye-Young
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Building on the Brands as Intentional Agents Framework (BIAF), the aim of this study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of social media marketing (SMM) as a tool to communicate luxury fashion brands' good intentions toward the general public.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 488 US female consumers was used to test a conceptual model delineating the sequential linkages from luxury fashion brands' intentions to brand emotions (i.e. envy vs admiration) and to consumer–brand relationships (i.e. emotional brand attachment and brand forgiveness). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to test the measurement and structural models.

Findings

The results indicated that luxury fashion brands' “populist” intentions had a positive impact on consumer admiration. Both consumer envy and admiration had positive effects on emotional brand attachment and brand forgiveness. However, admiration had a stronger effect than envy on these relational consumer responses.

Originality/value

This study identified that luxury fashion brands, frequently stereotyped as exclusive, can become brands admired by mass-market consumers by expressing warmth on social media. Drawing on social psychological perspectives and the BIAF, this study adds to the literature on luxury brands' social media communication by demonstrating the effectiveness of brand warmth to induce consumers' strong relational outcomes.
Traumatic stress sufferers: work as therapy or trigger?
Authors: Williams Scott , Williams Jonathan
Published: January 2021

Purpose

While a return to work following trauma exposure can be therapeutic, this is not always so. As with many topics related to traumatic stress in organizations, several contingency factors complicate the effort to draw an overarching conclusion about whether returning to work is therapeutic. The purpose of this paper is to present important determinants of whether work is therapeutic or triggering for those with traumatic stress conditions. The need for contingency approaches in the study of traumatic stress in organizations is illustrated.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature on traumatic stress in organizations is reviewed.

Findings

Three of the key determinants of whether a return to work is therapeutic or triggering for traumatic stress sufferers are trauma-type contingencies, condition-type contingencies and work-setting contingencies. For instance, human-caused and task-related traumas are more likely than natural disasters to make a return-to-work triggering. Additionally, the time since developing a traumatic stress condition is inversely related to the degree of improvement in that condition through the experience of working. Moreover, managerial actions can affect how therapeutic an employee’s return to work is.

Practical implications

These findings suggest the challenges of reintegrating a traumatized employee to the workplace can be highly situation-specific. Careful consideration of the traumatic event suffered by each traumatic stress victim, their traumatic stress condition, and the work setting to which they would return are recommended.

Social implications

Promoting mental health in organizations can contribute to employers’ social performance.

Originality/value

Examination of the factors that complicate predicting whether work is therapeutic posttrauma demonstrates how contingency approaches can advance research on trauma in organizations.
Insecurity and turnover as robots take charge: impact of neuroticism and change-related uncertainty
Authors: Priyadarshi Pushpendra , Premchandran Rajesh
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Data were collected using a survey questionnaire of 379 participants from business process outsourcing (BPO) organizations affected by robotic process automation (RPA). Structural equation modelling and hierarchical regression analysis were used to test the hypothesized relationships between the study variables.

Design/methodology/approach

The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a moderated-mediation model examining the relationships between uncertainty around changes due to RPA, neuroticism and job insecurity, and turnover intentions among BPO employees in India.

Findings

Uncertainty around RPA and neuroticism cause job insecurity among employees resulting in their intent to quit the organization. Further, the impact of job insecurity is influenced by employees' commitment to automation. Outlining the ways in which RPA-driven change impacts employees and organizations, our findings underscore the need for upskilling the affected employees besides developing coping mechanisms as a buffer to the negative impacts of large-scale automation-driven transformation in the industry under study.

Originality/value

Amidst the debate around the impact of RPA in developing countries, our research is the first attempt to systematically examine how RPA has led to concerns around job security leading to turnover intention among employees in the Indian BPO sector. It uniquely highlights the role of personality besides the issue of growing uncertainty due to RPA, requiring the immediate attention of organizations.
Dispersion of flexural waves in a borehole with a tensile fracture in an anisotropic stress environment
Authors: Kayama Kosuke , Mikada Hitoshi , Takekawa Junichi
Published: January 2021

The effect of tensile fracture in a vertical borehole under anisotropic horizontal stress conditions is numerically investigated in terms of the dispersion of flexural wave generated in dipole sonic logging. Our three‐dimensional model comprises a borehole filled with water and a tensile fracture intersecting the borehole in the borehole axial direction. Two shear waves are excited individually to produce particle displacements polarized in two orthogonal radial directions using two dipole sources aligned in the two polarized directions. A vertical array of equispaced dipole sensors is placed at the centre of the borehole along the borehole axis. We assumed that the surrounding formation possesses transversally isotropic anisotropy with the isotropy plane parallel to the borehole axis due to horizontal stress anisotropy. We examined the dispersion of flexural waves travelling along a borehole in our numerical models that include either fast or slow formation with various depths of tensile fractures. Our numerical results show that the deeper the penetration depth of a tensile fracture, the higher the slowness of shear waves polarized perpendicular to the tensile fracture for both slow and fast formation models. Our results indicate that the flexural dispersion behaviour could be used to investigate the depth of penetration of a tensile fracture that can be produced by either drilling or hydraulic fracturing.
Population structure of Erysiphe necator on domesticated and wild vines in the Middle East raises questions on the origin of the grapevine powdery mildew pathogen
Authors: Gur Lior , Reuveni Moshe , Cohen Yigal , Cadle‐Davidson Lance , Kisselstein Breanne , Ovadia Shmuel , Frenkel Omer
Published: January 2021

Plant pathogens usually originate and diversify in geographical regions where hosts and pathogens co‐evolve. Erysiphe necator, the causal agent of grape powdery mildew, is a destructive pathogen of grapevines worldwide. Although Eastern US is considered the centre of origin and diversity of E. necator, previous reports on resistant native wild and domesticated Asian grapevines suggest Asia as another possible origin of the pathogen. By using multi‐locus sequencing, microsatellites and a novel application of amplicon sequencing (AmpSeq), we show that the population of E. necator in Israel is composed of three genetic groups: Groups A and B that are common worldwide, and a new group IL, which is genetically differentiated from any known group in Europe and Eastern US. Group IL showed distinguished ecological characteristics: it was dominant on wild and traditional vines (95%); its abundance increased along the season; and was more aggressive than A and B isolates on both wild and domesticated vines. The low genetic diversity within group IL suggests that it has invaded Israel from another origin. Therefore, we suggest that the Israeli E. necator population was founded by at least two invasions, of which one could be from a non‐East American source, possibly from Asian origin.
The terror of the good: working the edge of experience
Authors: Carpenter Dunbar S.
Published: January 2021

This paper considers the topic of the ‘good’ within the literature and in clinical work. Milder forms of the good which arise on the personal level generate defences against personal vulnerability. More powerful forms of the good, which the author calls the ‘truly good’, arise on an archetypal level and overwhelm the ego, generating fear, even terror. The ‘truly good’ invokes defences against the dissolution of an intact sense of self. In both mild and intense forms, the good will arise in every analysis, will challenge boundaries of both client and analyst, and touch the core of the analytic relationship. It demands acknowledgement. Within these two categories, the author identifies five forms of the good that may arise in containable and uncontainable intensities: beauty, intimacy, becoming, love, and encounters with the divine. Exploring encounters with the good in its various forms expands the range of tolerable human experience – one of the fundamental goals of analysis. Living the good, or at times suffering the truly good, furthers individuation as it enlarges access to experiences of profound meaning, including the divine or the numinous.
Microbial production of small peptide: pathway engineering and synthetic biology
Authors: Wu Zhiyong , Li Youran , Zhang Liang , Ding Zhongyang , Shi Guiyang
Published: January 2021

Small peptides are a group of natural products with low molecular weights and complex structures. The diverse structures of small peptides endow them with broad bioactivities and suggest their potential therapeutic use in the medical field. The remaining challenge is methods to address the main limitations, namely (i) the low amount of available small peptides from natural sources, and (ii) complex processes required for traditional chemical synthesis. Therefore, harnessing microbial cells as workhorse appears to be a promising approach to synthesize these bioactive peptides. As an emerging engineering technology, synthetic biology aims to create standard, well‐characterized and controllable synthetic systems for the biosynthesis of natural products. In this review, we describe the recent developments in the microbial production of small peptides. More importantly, synthetic biology approaches are considered for the production of small peptides, with an emphasis on chassis cells, the evolution of biosynthetic pathways, strain improvements and fermentation.
Chromosome‐level assembly of the brown planthopper genome with a characterized Y chromosome
Authors: Ye Yu‐Xuan , Zhang Hou‐Hong , Li Dan‐Ting , Zhuo Ji‐Chong , Shen Yan , Hu Qing‐Ling , Zhang Chuan‐Xi
Published: January 2021

Hundreds of insect genome sequences have been reported; however, most sequencing projects have not determined the sex chromosomes, and no Y chromosomes from a heterometabolous insect have been identified and characterized to date. The brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stål) is the most economically damaging pest to rice and is also an ideal research subject for paddy ecology and functional genomics. We previously assembled a draft female genome mainly using second‐generation sequencing technologies, with a contig N50 of only 24 kb, due to the large size and excessive repetitive regions in the N. lugens genome. Here, we utilize third‐generation sequencing technologies and Hi‐C data to generate a high‐quality male N. lugens assembly with a contig N50 of 1.01 Mb, a scaffold N50 of 69.96 Mb and more than 95.6% of the assembled bases located on 16 chromosomes. Fourteen autosomes and two sex chromosomes (X + Y) were identified, filling in the gap related to the Y chromosome in heterometabolous insects. A total of 18,021 protein‐coding genes and 6423 long‐noncoding RNAs were predicted with full‐length cDNA sequencing data. All 315 of the Y chromosome genes (Y‐genes) were derived from autosomal and X‐chromosome duplications. Large‐scale RNA interference (RNAi) experiments were conducted against the N. lugens Y‐genes, demonstrating that 7 Y‐genes were essential for normal BPH development or male organ development, suggesting the importance of Y‐genes. The first identified Y chromosome in heterometabolous insects will help gain more insight into sex determination, fertility and chromosome evolution.