bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Contrasting Variable and Stable Subsurface Microbial Populations: an ecological time series analysis from the Deep Mine Microbial Observatory, South Dakota, USA
Authors: Osburn Magdalena R. , Casar Caitlin P. , Kruger Brittany , Momper Lily , Flynn Theodore M. , Amend Jan P.
Published: September 2020

The deep subsurface contains a vast reservoir of microbial life. While recent studies have revealed critical details about this biosphere including the sheer diversity of microbial taxa and their metabolic potential, long-term monitoring of deep subsurface microbial populations is rare, thus limiting our understanding of subsurface microbial population dynamics. Here we present a four-year time series analysis of subsurface microbial life from the Deep Mine Microbial Observatory (DeMMO), Lead, SD, USA. We find distinct and diverse populations inhabiting each of 6 sites over this ~1.5 km deep slice of terrestrial crust, corresponding to distinct geochemical habitats. Alpha diversity decreases with depth and beta diversity measures clearly differentiate samples by site over time, even during substantial perturbations. Population dynamics are driven by a subset of variable (and often relatively abundant) OTUs, but the vast majority of detected OTUs are stable through time, constituting a core microbial community. The phylogenetic affiliations of both stable and variable taxa, including putative sulfate reducers, methanogens, spore formers, and many uncultivated lineages, are similar to those found previously in subsurface environments. This work reveals the dynamic nature of the terrestrial subsurface, contributing to a more holistic understanding than can be achieved when viewing shorter timeframes.

Originality-Significance Statement

This four-year record of deep mine microbial diversity and geochemistry is the first of its kind and allows for direct investigation of temporal trends in deep subsurface biogeochemistry. We identify disparate populations of variable and stable taxa, suggesting the presence of a core deep subsurface microbiome with unique niche partitioning.
ATP activation of peritubular cells drives testicular sperm transport
Authors: Fleck David , Kenzler Lina , Mundt Nadine , Strauch Martin , Uesaka Naofumi , Moosmann Robert , Bruentgens Felicitas , Missel Annika , Mayerhofer Artur , Merhof Dorit , Spehr Jennifer , Spehr Marc
Published: September 2020

Spermatogenesis, the complex developmental process of male germ cell proliferation, differentiation, and maturation, is the basis of male fertility and reproductive fitness. In the seminiferous tubules of the testes, spermatozoa are constantly generated from spermatogonial stem cells through a stereotyped sequence of mitotic and meiotic divisions. The basic physiological principles, however, that control both maturation and luminal transport of the still immotile spermatozoa within the seminiferous tubules remain poorly, if at all, defined. Here, we show that coordinated contractions of smooth muscle-like testicular peritubular cells provide the propulsive force for luminal sperm transport towards the rete testis and epididymis. Using a mouse model forin vivoimaging, we describe and quantify spontaneous tubular contractions and show a causal relationship between peritubular Ca2+waves and peristaltic transport. Moreover, we identify P2 receptor-dependent purinergic signaling pathways as physiological triggers of tubular contractions bothin vitroandin vivo. When challenged with extracellular ATP, transport of luminal content inside the seminiferous tubules displays stage-dependent directionality. We thus suggest that paracrine purinergic signaling coordinates peristaltic recurrent contractions of the mouse seminiferous tubules to propel immotile spermatozoa to the rete testis. Consequently, our findings could have substantial pharmaceutical implications for both infertility treatment and / or male contraception.
Targeting Oncogenic Mutations in Colorectal Cancer using Cryptotanshinone
Authors: Vundavilli Haswanth , Datta Aniruddha , Sima Chao , Hua Jianping , Lopes Rosana , Bittner Michael
Published: September 2020

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent types of cancer in the world and ranks second in cancer deaths in the US. Despite the recent improvements in screening and treatment, the number of deaths associated with CRC is still very significant. The complexities involved in CRC therapy stem from multiple oncogenic mutations and crosstalk between abnormal pathways. This calls for using advanced molecular genetics to understand the underlying pathway interactions responsible for this cancer. In this paper, we construct the CRC pathway from the literature and using an existing public dataset on healthy vs tumor colon cells, we identify the genes/pathways that are mutated and are possibly responsible for the disease progression. We then introduce drugs in the CRC pathway, and using a boolean modeling technique, we deduce the drug combinations that produce maximum cell death. Our theoretical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of Cryptotanshinone, a traditional Chinese herb derivative, achieved by targeting critical oncogenic mutations and enhancing cell death. Finally, we validate our theoretical results using wet lab experiments on HT29 and HCT116 human colorectal carcinoma cell lines.
Complexity and 1/f slope jointly reflect brain states
Authors: Medel Vicente , Irani Martín , Crossley Nicolás , Ossandón Tomás , Boncompte Gonzalo
Published: September 2020

Characterization of brain states is essential for understanding its functioning in the absence of external stimuli. Brain states differ on their balance between excitation and inhibition, and on the diversity of their activity patterns. These can be respectively indexed by 1/f slope and Lempel-Ziv Complexity (LZc). However, whether and how these two brain state properties relate remain elusive. Here we analyzed the relation between 1/f slope and LZc with two in-silico approaches and in both rat EEG and monkey ECoG data. We contrasted resting state with propofol anesthesia, which directly modulates the excitation-inhibition balance. We found convergent results among simulated and empirical data, showing a strong, inverse and non trivial monotonic relation between 1/f slope and complexity, consistent at both ECoG and EEG scales. We hypothesize that differentially entropic regimes could underlie the link between the excitation-inhibition balance and the vastness of the repertoire of brain systems.
Increased Excitability and Heightened Magnitude of Long-term Potentiation at Hippocampal CA3-CA1 Synapses in a Mouse Model of Neonatal Hyperoxia Exposure
Authors: Ramani Manimaran , Miller Kiara , Ambalavanan Namasivayam , McMahon Lori L
Published: September 2020

Preterm infants exposed to supraphysiological oxygen (hyperoxia) during the neonatal period have hippocampal atrophy and cognitive dysfunction later in childhood and as adolescents. Previously, we reported that 14-week-old adult mice exposed to hyperoxia as newborns had spatial memory deficits and hippocampal shrinkage, findings that mirror those of adolescents who were born preterm. Area CA1 region of the hippocampus that is crucial for spatial learning and memory is highly vulnerable to oxidative stress. In this study, we investigated the long-term impact of neonatal hyperoxia exposure on hippocampal CA3-CA1 synaptic function. Male and female C57BL/6J mouse pups were continuously exposed to either 85% normobaric oxygen or air between postnatal days 2-14. Hippocampal slice electrophysiology at CA3-CA1 synapses was then performed at 14 weeks of age. We observed that hyperoxia exposed mice have heightened strength of basal synaptic transmission measured in input-output curves, increased fiber volley amplitude indicating increased axonal excitability, and heightened LTP magnitude at CA3-CA1 synapses, likely a consequence of increased postsynaptic depolarization during the tetanus. These data demonstrate that supraphysiological oxygen exposure during the critical neonatal developmental period leads to pathologically heightened CA3-CA1 synaptic function during early adulthood which may contribute to hippocampal shrinkage and learning and memory deficits we previously reported. Furthermore, these changes may account for cognitive disorders in children born preterm who were exposed to prolonged oxygen supplementation.
Targeting ischemia-induced KCC2 hypofunction rescues refractory neonatal seizures and mitigates epileptogenesis in a mouse model
Authors: Sullivan Brennan J. , Kipnis Pavel A. , Carter Brandon M. , Kadam Shilpa D.
Published: September 2020

Neonatal seizures pose a clinical challenge for their early detection, acute management, and mitigation of long-term comorbidities. A major cause of neonatal seizures is hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy that results in seizures that are frequently refractory to the first-line anti-seizure medication phenobarbital (PB). One proposed mechanism for PB-inefficacy during neonatal seizures is the reduced expression and function of the neuron-specific K+/Cl−cotransporter 2 (KCC2), the main neuronal Cl−extruder that maintains chloride homeostasis and influences the efficacy of GABAergic inhibition. To determine if PB-refractoriness after ischemic neonatal seizures is dependent upon KCC2 hypofunction and can be rescued by KCC2 functional enhancement, we investigated the recently developed KCC2 functional enhancer CLP290 in a CD-1 mouse model of refractory ischemic neonatal seizures quantified with vEEG. We report that acute CLP290 intervention can rescue PB-resistance, KCC2 expression, and the development of epileptogenesis after ischemic neonatal seizures. KCC2 phosphorylation sites have a strong influence over KCC2 activity and seizure susceptibility in adult experimental epilepsy models. Therefore, we investigated seizure susceptibility in two different knock-in mice in which either phosphorylation of S940 or T906/T1007 was prevented. We report that KCC2 phosphorylation regulates both neonatal seizure susceptibility and CLP290-mediated KCC2 functional enhancement. Our results validate KCC2 as a clinically relevant target for refractory neonatal seizures and provide insights for future KCC2 drug development.
The potential of parrotfish faeces in replenishing reefs with coral-associated microbiome
Authors: Velásquez-Rodríguez Trigal M. , Zuluaga-Arias Catalina , Montaño-Salazar Sandra M. , González John M. , Sánchez Juan Armando
Published: September 2020

Sparisoma virideis the most abundant parrotfish in the Caribbean and is considered as the most important excavator due to corallivore behaviour. Parrotfishes are a keystone group that favour the growth and resilience of coral reefs removing macroalgae and structuring the benthic communities. The microbial symbiotic communities are involved in multiple functions related to nutrition and immunity maintaining corals health. BecauseS. viridescrape coral tissues, the skeleton and the algae on coral, it could be important reservoirs or vectors of microorganism for the corals through the faeces dispersion, however, the role of parrotfishes as reservoirs are poorly studied. Establishing microbial communities present in parrotfish faeces will contribute to understand the ecological impact of parrotfishes in coral resilience. We investigated the composition of disseminated bacteria and the extent to which the cell integrity of dinoflagellate photosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) is maintained in the faeces and compare with sediments and water column controls. Then, we analysed diversity and structure of bacterial communities at family level and search similarities between faeces of the study and coral associated microbiome reported in the literature. Similar levels of structural integrity and photosynthetic health of Symbidiodinaceae cells were found in both faeces and reef sediments. Besides, the sediments microbiome echoes the parrotfish faecal microbiome by sharing high diversity and a similar bacterial community composition. Several bacterial families were present in parrotfish faeces and in coral microbiome reported in the literature highlighting the dispersal potential of parrotfishes replenishing coral reefs. Despite the sampling limitations, these findings uncover the potential role of the excavator parrotfish in enriching environmental reservoirs, especially reef sediments, with coral-associated bacteria and photosynthetic microalgae. Parrotfishes could reinforce the coral microbiome and facilitate coral symbiont acquisition, key features critical to maintaining the fitness of one of the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. This finding could be considered as a first step in uncovering a mechanism for reef-microbiome maintenance.
Antifungal benzimidazoles disrupt vasculature by targeting one of nine β-tubulins
Authors: Garge Riddhiman K. , Cha Hye Ji , Lee Chanjae , Gollihar Jimmy D. , Kachroo Aashiq H. , Wallingford John B. , Marcotte Edward M.
Published: September 2020

Thiabendazole (TBZ) is an FDA-approved benzimidazole widely used for its antifungal and antihelminthic properties. We showed previously that TBZ is also a potent vascular disrupting agent and inhibits angiogenesis at the tissue level by dissociating vascular endothelial cells in newly formed blood vessels. Here, we uncover TBZ’s molecular target and mechanism of action. Using human cell culture, molecular modeling, and humanized yeast, we find that TBZ selectively targets only 1 of 9 human β-tubulin isotypes (TUBB8) to specifically disrupt endothelial cell microtubules. By leveraging epidemiological pesticide resistance data and mining chemical features of commercially used benzimidazoles, we discover that a broader class of benzimidazole compounds, in extensive use for 50 years, also potently disrupt immature blood vessels and inhibit angiogenesis. Thus, besides identifying the molecular mechanism of benzimidazole-mediated vascular disruption, this study presents evidence relevant to the widespread use of these compounds while offering potential new clinical applications.
Time and space resolved modelling of the heating induced by synchrotron X-ray nanobeams
Authors: Bonino Valentina , Torsello Daniele , Prestipino Carmelo , Mino Lorenzo , Truccato Marco
Published: September 2020

X-ray synchrotron sources, possessing high power density, nanometric spot size and short pulse duration, are extending their application frontiers up to the exploration of direct matter modification. In this field, the use of atomistic and continuum models is now becoming fundamental in the simulation of the photoinduced excitation states and eventually in the phase transition triggered by intense X-rays. In this work, the X-ray heating phenomenon is studied by coupling the Monte Carlo method (MC) with the Fourier heat equation, to first calculate the distribution of the energy absorbed by the systems and finally to predict the heating distribution and evolution. The results of the proposed model are also compared with those obtained removing the explicit definition of the energy distribution, as calculated by the MC. A good approximation of experimental thermal measurements produced irradiating a millimetric glass bead is found for both of the proposed models. A further step towards more complex systems is carried out, including in the models the different time patterns of the source, as determined by the filling modes of the synchrotron storage ring. The two models are applied in three prediction cases, in which the heating produced in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ microcrystals by means of nanopatterning experiments with intense hard X-ray nanobeams is calculated. It is demonstrated that the temperature evolution is strictly connected to the filling mode of the storage ring. By coupling the MC with the heat equation, X-ray pulses that are 48 ps long, possessing an instantaneous photon flux of ∼44 × 1013 photons s−1, were found to be able to induce a maximum temperature increase of 42 K, after a time of 350 ps. Inversely, by ignoring the energy redistribution calculated with the MC, peaks temperatures up to hundreds of degrees higher were found. These results highlight the importance of the energy redistribution operated by primary and secondary electrons in the theoretical simulation of the X-ray heating effects.
Helical ensembles outperform ideal helices in molecular replacement
Authors: Sánchez Rodríguez Filomeno , Simpkin Adam J. , Davies Owen R. , Keegan Ronan M. , Rigden Daniel J.
Published: September 2020

The conventional approach in molecular replacement is the use of a related structure as a search model. However, this is not always possible as the availability of such structures can be scarce for poorly characterized families of proteins. In these cases, alternative approaches can be explored, such as the use of small ideal fragments that share high, albeit local, structural similarity with the unknown protein. Earlier versions of AMPLE enabled the trialling of a library of ideal helices, which worked well for largely helical proteins at suitable resolutions. Here, the performance of libraries of helical ensembles created by clustering helical segments is explored. The impacts of different B-factor treatments and different degrees of structural heterogeneity are explored. A 30% increase in the number of solutions obtained by AMPLE was observed when using this new set of ensembles compared with the performance with ideal helices. The boost in performance was notable across three different fold classes: transmembrane, globular and coiled-coil structures. Furthermore, the increased effectiveness of these ensembles was coupled to a reduction in the time required by AMPLE to reach a solution. AMPLE users can now take full advantage of this new library of search models by activating the `helical ensembles' mode.
Evaluation of the electrochemical corrosion behavior of anodic aluminum oxide produced by the two-step anodization process
Authors: Yılmaz Bengisu , Hapçı Ağaoğlu Gökçe , Yüksel Behiye , Orhan Gökhan
Published: September 2020

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the effect of different pore diameter and pore length on corrosion properties of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) film.

Design/methodology/approach

AAO layer was produced by two-step anodization aluminum in oxalic acid. The surface morphology was investigated using field emission scanning electron microscopy. The pore diameters were ranging from 25 ± 5 to 65 ± 5 nm and the pore length ranging from 5 to 17 µm. The corrosion properties of the AAO films was analyzed by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests. Corrosion properties and morphology of the anodic films depending on anodization times and pore expansion times were evaluated.

Findings

All highlights of this work can be summarized with the following specified below: more treatment with the protective barrier layer of the solution as the pore diameter increases depends on the morphology of the nanotube structured AAO layer. The excellent corrosion resistance renders AAO films without pore expansion very promising. The oxide layer thickness does not affect the corrosion resistance. The better corrosion resistance of AAO films at low pore length can be ascribed to the barrier layer thickness and the more homogeneous structure. The presence of defects for the higher pore length decreases its corrosion resistance.

Originality/value

The AAO films were fabricated by a two-step anodization method in oxalic acid. The anodization times and pore expansion times affect the corrosion performance. The AAO film without pore expansion has good corrosion resistance. The corrosion resistance decreases as the pore length increases.
Teratogenic potential of traditional Malaysian vegetables (ulam) in the zebrafish model
Authors: Omar Alya Hanisah , Kue Chin Siang , Dianita Roza , Yu Ke-Xin
Published: September 2020

Purpose

Traditional Malaysian vegetables, also known as ulam, are believed to have healing properties among the local community. Ulam is commonly reported to have high antioxidant content which makes it a popular food. The purpose of this paper is to determine the teratogenic potential of eight ulam, using zebrafish model. The tested ulam were Cosmos caudatus, Gynura procumbens, Labisia pumila var. alata, Phaleria macrocarpa, Polygonum minus, Piper sarmentosum, Premna foetida and Sauropus androgynous.

Design/methodology/approach

Methanol extract of ulam was prepared using the maceration method. Various concentrations of extracts were tested against fish embryo short-term toxicity test. The lethal concentration (LC50) and teratogenic effect of the ulam were determined.

Findings

Among all tested species, L. pumila, P. foetida and S. androgynous showed 100% lethal effect towards zebrafish embryos at concentrations of 10 µg/mL, 1,000 µg/mL and 100 µg/mL, respectively. The three ulam have exhibited teratogenic effect on zebrafish embryos after 72 h post-fertilization. L. pumila had induced yolk sac edema at 1.0 µg/mL for normalized measurement of 108.3 ± 2.0% (which is higher than negative control, p < 0.05, median = 110.7%), while P. foetida had induced pericardial edema at 100 µg/mL for normalized measurement of 124.0 ± 4.6% (which is higher than negative control, p < 0.05, median = 124.3%). On the other hand, S. androgynus induced curve trunk at 30 µg/mL for the presence of 70.9 ± 4.2%.

Originality/value

The teratogenic effect of L. pumila, P. foetida and S. androgynous suggests the possible disruption in the embryogenesis in zebrafish, namely Notch, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and retinoic acid pathways. The results of ulam gave possible implications and insights on the cancer pathways involved, which could be a useful target for cancer research. This is the first report on teratogenicity evaluation of Malaysian ulam showing relationship to cancer pathways by using zebrafish embryo model.
A bibliometric analysis on packaging research: towards sustainable and healthy packages
Authors: Vila-Lopez Natalia , Küster-Boluda Inés
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The basis of this paper is to carry on a bibliometric analysis to investigate how “marketing” decisions have affected “packaging” success in different disciplines. This analysis covers from the first paper published on this topic (in 1956) to the last papers published in 2019.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 1,170 scientific papers (including 14,177 citations within those papers) were retrieved from the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus, dated from 1956 to 2019. Scimat software was used to analyse the data.

Findings

The results of this paper show that two main sectors constitute the focus of packaging studies from a marketing approach: food and tobacco. Recently, the main topics of research have evolved towards sustainable and health packaging, concerning different agents involved in packaging decisions: retailers, marketers, consumers and producers. So, both lines of research represent promising lines of research.

Originality/value

Three different investigating profiles (i.e. engineers, marketers-psychologists and doctors-scientists) have examined how packaging should be prepared to succeed. However, a holistic bibliometric analysis about “packaging” and “marketing” is missing from those three branches of knowledge. This study is important to guide future lines of research to fill the identified gaps.
Organic and conventional apple fermented bySaccharomyces boulardii– The effect of the antioxidant quercetin on cellular oxidative stress
Authors: Silva Farinazzo Fernanda , Bervelieri Madeira Tiago , Carlos Fernandes Maria Thereza , Ishii Mauro Carolina Saori , Bosso Tomal Adriana Aparecida , Nixdorf Suzana Lucy , Garcia Sandra
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence ofSaccharomyces boulardiion the kinetics of fermentation for organic and conventional apple pulp and to verify the effect of the antioxidant quercetin on the response to cellular oxidative stress.

Design/methodology/approach

The kinetic parameters, the content of phenolic compounds, the quantity of quercetin and the antioxidant activity were determined during the fermentation process. The effect of quercetin on cellular oxidative stress was also investigated.

Findings

The content of phenolic compounds, the antioxidant activity and the quercetin concentration were higher in the organic fermented apple pulp (ORG) than in the conventional fermented apple pulp (CON). However, both apple pulps were considered ideal substrates for the growth ofS. boulardii, suggesting that they are potentially probiotic. After fermentation, the quercetin concentration in the ORG treatment and YPDQ treatment (YPD broth with 0.1 mg quercetin rhamnoside/mL) increased viability by 9%, while in the CON treatment generated there was an increase of 6% in viability, compared to the YPD control treatment (YPD broth).

Originality/value

The high concentration of quercetin in the organic apple pulp supports the proposal that quercetin reduces the oxidative stress mediated by reactive oxygen species through its antioxidant action onS. boulardiithat have similarities to mammalian eukaryotic cells. These findings suggest that fermented organic apple pulp could be consumed as a potential non-dairy probiotic product.
Stakeholder management in open innovation projects: a multiple case study analysis
Authors: Urbinati Andrea , Landoni Paolo , Cococcioni Francesca , De Giudici Ludovico
Published: September 2020

Purpose

In recent years, companies have started to open up their Research and Development (R&D) and their innovation activities to external partners. They aim to access new resources and capabilities and to gain shorter time-to-markets. However, as several studies have shown, it can be difficult to manage collaborative (open) innovation projects to achieve desired outcomes. Starting from this premise, the paper investigates how project stakeholder management is different in open innovation projects from traditional R&D projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The study has a qualitative nature and is based on the interpretative paradigm with an inductive orientation. The paper leverages interviews with experts involved in open innovation projects conducted in two Science and Technology Parks between Sweden and Italy.

Findings

The analysis shows how companies manage multiple stakeholders in open innovation projects and the peculiarities project stakeholder management faces in these projects when compared with traditional R&D projects. The paper shows how the relationships with external partners in open innovation projects are regulated by informal identification and analysis frameworks, which reduce the tensions deriving from these multiple collaborations. In addition, it underlines a set of good practices, and project management aspects for developing effective absorptive capacity of know-how, resources, and capabilities from external stakeholders in open innovation projects.

Originality/value

The paper analyzes for the first time how companies manage multiple stakeholders in open innovation projects in a different way from traditional R&D projects. Furthermore, the paper introduces a shift in the focus of the analysis: it focuses on the level of the project conducted through multiple collaborations instead of on the level of the firms involved in the project. Finally, the paper integrates open innovation research with project management research.
The mediating effect of meaningful work between human resource practices and innovative work behavior: a study of emerging market
Authors: Singh Nishant , Bamel Umesh , Vohra Veena
Published: September 2020

Purpose

This study is aimed at examining the mediating effect of meaningful work (MFW) between human resource practices (HRP) i.e. staffing, training, participation, performance-based evaluation, and reward with innovative work behavior (IWB) of Indian small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) employees.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a cross-sectional study with data of 199 respondents collected from the Indian SME sector. The mediation path was analyzed using multiple hierarchical regression analysis and processes.

Findings

Results of the study indicate that human resource practices, i.e. staffing, training and participatory decision making, are positively related to IWB; MFW mediates the relationships between these human resource practices and IWB. Interestingly, performance-based evaluation and reward are not found to be related positively to IWB in SMEs.

Originality/value

The study adds value to SME literature on how SMEs may promote innovation amongst their employees. In addition, the findings of the present study add to human resource management (HRM) literature regarding practices in Indian SMEs.
A novel systematic product ideation model using technology trends
Authors: Tauqeer Muhammad Ahmad , Bang Knut Erik
Published: September 2020

Purpose

This study aims to present a novel approach of using technology trends to trigger product ideas. It is primarily addressed to product ideation where limited applied approaches are available.

Design/methodology/approach

The model is built by extending the theoretical framework of ideation study. It comprises morphological analysis with product breakdown as primary and technological trends as a secondary dimension to prompt product ideas from user’s intuition. The approach is multidisciplinary using insights from the areas of cognition, management strategy and project management. The model is further tested in two different test configurations with university students (n= 81).

Findings

The results indicate that this systematic model can increase the quality and number of ideas generated by the students compared to generally practised approaches. It is shown that this approach increases the chances of triggering ideas.

Research limitations/implications

The testing of the present model is comprehensive and in no means exhaustive.

Practical implications

Because of the shrinking product life cycle, organisations have a need for systematic product ideation models that can assist in innovating their product ranges. It is important to study idea generation for products to not only assist product innovation but also comprehensively understand the process of creativity. The proposed model is primarily addressed to product innovation projects where limited practical tools are available for product ideation. The present model is easy to apply and has the tendency to generate novel product ideas that can lead to successful product innovations.

Originality/value

Product innovation currently has limited systematic ideation tools where this study contributes.
Contract design and supplier performance: an empirical investigation using multi-criteria, decision analysis
Authors: Vlachos Ilias
Published: September 2020

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how contract design influences supplier performance. This study synthesises three theoretical views (efficiency, relational, contingency) and provides empirical support on how effective contract design improves supplier performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reviewed contract design literature and uncovered 18 factors that may impact supplier performance. Multi-criteria, decision-making analysis examined the impact of contract factors on three supplier groups: average-, over- and under-performers. Procurement experts working with a large multinational company dealing with hundreds of procuring contracts, yearly, provided their judgement on the impact of these factors on supplier performance. Semi-structured interviews with experts and other evidence were used for data and method triangulation.

Findings

Results show that contracting with under- and over- performers presents significant differences: in the case of over-performers, contracts have a dual, yet discrete, efficiency and relational role: at transaction level, they emphasise formality, protect from opportunism and include both liquidated damages and legal action clauses. At relational level, they focus on relational learning and incentivising suppliers. However, in the case of under-performers, contracts appear to focus on contingency factors, which can be a source of ambiguity, particularly in complex environments, and trust, which has a negative impact on supplier performance.

Social implications

Improving contract design can help reduce partner opportunism, reduce inter-firm conflicts and avoid disputes that can bear a social cost. This study demonstrates that companies can use advanced analytical tools to reflect upon their own decision-making process of contact design in making transparent supplier performance assessments.

Originality/value

To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study using decision-making techniques to enhance supplier performance by improving the contract design process.
Middle-income customers and their perception of Islamic banking in Sylhet: one of Bangladesh’s most pious cities
Authors: Rahman Md. Mizanur , Chowdhury Mohammad Ashraful Ferdous , Haque Md. Mahmudul , Rashid Mamunur
Published: September 2020

Purpose

Owing to religious and economic preferences in Muslim-dominated countries, middle-income customers are at the heart of banks’ strategic targeting. This study aims to investigate selected middle-income Islamic bank customers from Sylhet, one of Bangladesh’s top religious and cultural cities, to examine their perceptions of the Islamic banking services.

Design/methodology/approach

This study forwards three determinants of overall satisfaction. These are perceived relative advantage (PRA), perceived risk management (PRM) and perceived customer engagement (PCE). The study has used structured questionnaire and collected complete data on 300 middle-income Islamic bank users. The data was analysed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM).

Findings

While all the three selection factors significantly influence overall satisfaction, PCE has greater positive impact on overall customer satisfaction, followed by PRA and PRM. “Convenient location”, “competitive charges” and “return on deposit despite low earnings” are the top three instruments measuring “PCE”. Religion did not qualify as a standalone selection factor. The results are robust across tests conducted by using EFA, CFA and SEM.

Practical implications

Gross purchasing power of middle-income class in Bangladesh grew from 7% to over 30% during the past decade, and the purchasing power of this class stood at US$100bn. Having a greater portion of this population as Muslims, banks can design products and marketing campaigns by using the three selection criteria that offer a combination of faith and non-faith-based variables.

Originality/value

Similar studies on the middle-income customer group have been rare, especially from the Islamic banking perspective. These findings offer a concise list of three factors for the bank managers to build their strategies. With respect to the Vision 2021, these findings carry greater socio-economic significance given the transition of Bangladesh to a middle-income country.
Nigeria’s automotive policy and the quest for a viable automotive industry: a lesson for the developing economies
Authors: Agbo Cornelius Ogbodo Anayo
Published: September 2020

Purpose

It is of concern that several attempts at making Nigeria an automobile producing country have not yielded much success. This paper aims to re-examine the history of automobile manufacturing and the consequences of auto policies of successive governments towards having a viable automotive industry in Nigeria and the lessons therefrom.

Design/methodology/approach

Dispersed data were assembled from both primary and secondary sources on the automobile industry activities in Nigeria. The historic data cover Nigeria’s vehicles need, production levels, importations and local content developments. Time series data on Nigeria’s crude oil prices and the devaluation of the local currency were obtained and analyzed to elucidate effects and provide the trajectory. A comparative analysis of the policies of successful countries with initial status with Nigeria was carried out to elucidate the policy pitfalls in Nigeria’s industrial policies.

Findings

The automotive policies in Nigeria are not self-sustaining. It has been curiously observed that the automotive policy on import substitution and local content development approach did not include the key components in automobile manufacturing, making it a footloose industry. Nigeria’s crude petroleum mono-economy affects the manufacturing sector negatively. A fall in international crude oil price causes free fall of the country’s currency in the international market, the cost of imported new vehicles and parts become prohibitively high, consequently, individuals, as well as corporate organizations, resorted to imported fairly used vehicles and parts for their transportation needs. Capacity utilization dropped abysmally.

Originality/value

Nigeria’s experience has demonstrated the critical role the government can play in safeguarding the automobile industry in the developing economies. Apart from diversification of the economy, there is a need, therefore, for a more refined and pragmatic approach in the formulation of policies to enable only genuine investors to operate in the automobile industry which hitherto has been an all-comers affair with many taking advantage of unguarded and unguided government incentives.
A preliminary study on exploring the critical success factors for developing COVID-19 preventive strategy with an economy centric approach
Authors: Kashyap Ankur , Raghuvanshi Juhi
Published: September 2020

Purpose

In the wake of COVID-19, most of the countries at present, are in a dilemma whether to extend lockdown at the cost of economy or to improve the hard-hit economy by lifting the lockdown. It is indicated by the reputed organizations and medical fraternity that corona will stay here for a longer period contrary to the earlier assumptions. Hence the purpose of this study is to suggest a strategy which balances both preventive measures and economic losses to control the pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

There is a need for the identification of the critical success factors (CSFs) for developing COVID-19 preventive strategies to control the pandemic with an economy-centric approach.

Findings

The six CSFs identified are “Effective communication”, “Social distancing”, “Adopting new technology”, “Modify the rules and regulation at workplace”, “Sealing the borders of the territory” and “Strong leadership and government control”.

Research limitations/implications

The study has a vital contribution to literature as no previous study has identified CSFs for developing COVID-19 preventive strategies while focusing on the economy.

Practical implications

Further, these identified CSFs are helpful in medium and longer-term planning which is required to rebalance and re-energize the economy following this epidemic crisis.

Originality/value

The study has given a model that depicts the cause and influence relationship between the key factors in the system under question. The importance of study increases many fold, as resources are limited and the outcome of the study could be used to channelize the resources effectively.
Disease's hidden death toll: Using parasite aggregation patterns to quantify landscape‐level host mortality in a wildlife system
Authors: Wilber Mark Q. , Briggs Cheryl J. , Johnson Pieter T. J.
Published: September 2020

World‐wide, infectious diseases represent a major source of mortality in humans and livestock. For wildlife populations, disease‐induced mortality is likely even greater, but remains notoriously difficult to estimate—especially for endemic infections. Approaches for quantifying wildlife mortality due to endemic infections have historically been limited by an inability to directly observe wildlife mortality in nature.

Here we address a question that can rarely be answered for endemic pathogens of wildlife: what are the population‐ and landscape‐level effects of infection on host mortality? We combined laboratory experiments, extensive field data and novel mathematical models to indirectly estimate the magnitude of mortality induced by an endemic, virulent trematode parasite (Ribeiroia ondatrae) on hundreds of amphibian populations spanning four native species.

We developed a flexible statistical model that uses patterns of aggregation in parasite abundance to infer host mortality. Our model improves on previous approaches for inferring host mortality from parasite abundance data by (i) relaxing restrictive assumptions on the timing of host mortality and sampling, (ii) placing all mortality inference within a Bayesian framework to better quantify uncertainty and (iii) accommodating data from laboratory experiments and field sampling to allow for estimates and comparisons of mortality within and among host populations.

Applying our approach to 301 amphibian populations, we found that trematode infection was associated with an average of between 13% and 40% population‐level mortality. For three of the four amphibian species, our models predicted that some populations experienced >90% mortality due to infection, leading to mortality of thousands of amphibian larvae within a pond. At the landscape scale, the total number of amphibians predicted to succumb to infection was driven by a few high mortality sites, with fewer than 20% of sites contributing to greater than 80% of amphibian mortality on the landscape.

The mortality estimates in this study provide a rare glimpse into the magnitude of effects that endemic parasites can have on wildlife populations and our theoretical framework for indirectly inferring parasite‐induced mortality can be applied to other host–parasite systems to help reveal the hidden death toll of pathogens on wildlife hosts.
Harrison's rule scales up to entire parasite assemblages but is determined by environmental factors
Authors: Maestri Renan , Fiedler Maico S. , Shenbrot Georgy I. , Surkova Elena N. , Medvedev Sergei G. , Khokhlova Irina S. , Krasnov Boris R.
Published: September 2020

Harrison's rule states that parasite body size and the body size of their hosts tend to be positively correlated. After it was proposed a century ago, a number of studies have investigated this trend, but the support level has varied greatly between parasite/host associations. Moreover, while the rule has been tested at the individual species level, we still lack knowledge on whether Harrison's rule holds at the scale of parasite and host communities.

Here, we mapped flea (parasites) and rodent (hosts) body sizes across Mongolia and asked whether Harrison's rule holds for parasite/host assemblages (i.e. whether a parasite's average body size in a locality is positively correlated with its host's average body size). In addition, we attempted to disentangle complex relationships between flea size, host size and environmental factors by testing alternative hypotheses for the determinants of fleas' body size variation.

We gathered occurrence data for fleas and rodents from 2,370 sites across Mongolia, constructed incidence matrices for both taxa and calculated the average body sizes of fleas and their hosts over half‐degree cells. Then, we applied a path analysis, accounting for spatial autocorrelation, trying to disentangle the drivers of the correlation between parasite and host body sizes.

We found a strong positive correlation between average flea and host size across assemblages. Surprisingly though, we found that environmental factors simultaneously affected the body sizes of both fleas and hosts in the same direction, leading to a most likely deceptive correlation between parasite and host size across assemblages.

We suggest that environmental factors may, to a great extent, reflect the environmental conditions inside the hosts' burrows where fleas develop and attain their adult body size, thus influencing their larval growth. Similarly, rodent body size is strongly influenced by air temperature, in the direction predicted by Bergmann's rule. If our findings are valid in other host–parasite associations, this may explain the dissenting results of both support and lack thereof for Harrison's rule.
The political economy of Australian regulatory reform
Authors: Allen Darcy W. E. , Berg Chris , Lane Aaron M. , McLaughlin Patrick A.
Published: September 2020

The problem of regulatory accumulation has increasingly been recognised as a policy problem in its own right. Governments have then devised and implemented regulatory reform policies that directly seek to ameliorate the burdens of regulatory accumulation (e.g. red tape reduction targets). In this paper we examine regulatory reform approaches in Australia through the lens of policy innovation. Our contributions are twofold. We first examine the evolutionary discovery process of regulatory reform policies in Australia (at the federal, intergovernmental, and state levels). This demonstrates a process of policy innovation in regulatory mechanisms and measurements. We then analyse a new measurement of regulatory burden based on text analytics, RegData: Australia. RegData: Australia uses textual analysis to count ‘restrictiveness clauses' in regulation – such as ‘must’, ‘cannot’ and ‘shall’ – thereby developing a new database (RDAU1.0). We place this ‘restrictiveness clauses’ measurement within the context of regulatory policy innovation, and examine the potential for further innovation in regulatory reform mechanisms.
Molecular basis of the silkworm mutant rel causing red egg color and embryonic death
Authors: Luo Jiang‐Wen , An Er‐Xia , Lu Ya‐Ru , Yang Ling , Gai Ting‐Ting , He Song‐Zhen , Wu Song‐Yuan , Hu Hai , Li Chun‐Lin , Lu Cheng , Tong Xiao‐Ling , Dai Fang‐Yin
Published: September 2020

The coloration and hatchability of insect eggs can affect individual and population survival. However, few genetic loci have been documented to affect both traits, and the genes involved in regulating these two traits are unclear. The silkworm recessive mutant rel shows both red egg color and embryo mortality. We studied the molecular basis of the rel phenotype formation. Through genetic analysis, gene screening and sequencing, we found that two closely linked genes, BGIBMGA003497 (Bm‐re) and BGIBMGA003697 (BmSema1a), control egg color and embryo mortality, respectively. Six base pairs of the Bm‐re gene are deleted in its open reading frame, and BmSema1a is expressed at abnormally low levels in mutant rel. BmSema1a gene function verification was performed using RNA interference and clustered randomly interspersed palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR‐associate protein 9. Deficiency of the BmSema1a gene can cause the death of silkworm embryos. This study revealed the molecular basis of silkworm rel mutant formation and indicated that the Sema1a gene is essential for insect embryo development.