bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reorganization of postmitotic neuronal chromatin accessibility for maturation of serotonergic identity
Authors: Zhang Xinrui L. , Spencer W. Clay , Tabuchi Nobuko , Kitt Meagan M. , Deneris Evan S.
Published: October 2021

Maturation of transcriptomes encoding unique neuronal identities requires selective accessibility of transcription factors to cis-regulatory sequences in nucleosome- embedded postmitotic chromatin. Yet the mechanisms controlling postmitotic neuronal chromatin accessibility are poorly understood. We used ATAC-seq, ChIPmentation, and single-cell analyses to show that heterogeneous chromatin landscapes are established early and reveal the regulatory programs driving subtype identities of Pet1-lineage neurons that generate serotonin (5-HT) neurons. Distal enhancer accessibility is highly dynamic as Pet1 neurons mature, suggesting the existence of regulatory factors that reorganize postmitotic neuronal chromatin. We find that Pet1 and Lmx1b control chromatin accessibility to select Pet1-lineage specific enhancers for 5-HT neurotransmission and synaptogenesis. Additionally, these factors are required to maintain chromatin accessibility during early maturation suggesting that postmitotic neuronal open chromatin is unstable and requires continuous regulatory input. Together our findings reveal postmitotic transcription factors that reorganize accessible chromatin for neuron specialization.
Organizing memories for generalization in complementary learning systems
Authors: Sun Weinan , Advani Madhu , Spruston Nelson , Saxe Andrew , Fitzgerald James E.
Published: October 2021

Memorization and generalization are complementary cognitive processes that jointly promote adaptive behavior. For example, animals should memorize a safe route to a water source and generalize to features that allow them to find new water sources, without expecting new paths to exactly resemble previous ones. Memory aids generalization by allowing the brain to extract general patterns from specific instances that were spread across time, such as when humans progressively build semantic knowledge from episodic memories. This cognitive process depends on the neural mechanisms of systems consolidation, whereby hippocampal-neocortical interactions gradually construct neocortical memory traces by consolidating hippocampal precursors. However, recent data suggest that systems consolidation only applies to a subset of hippocampal memories; why certain memories consolidate more than others remains unclear. Here we introduce a novel neural network formalization of systems consolidation that highlights an overlooked tension between neocortical memory transfer and generalization, and we resolve this tension by postulating that memories only consolidate when it aids generalization. We specifically show that unregulated memory transfer can be detrimental to generalization in unpredictable environments, whereas optimizing systems consolidation for generalization generates a high-fidelity, dual-system network supporting both memory and generalization. This theory of generalization-optimized systems consolidation produces a neural network that transfers some memory components to the neocortex and leaves others dependent on the hippocampus. It thus provides a normative principle for reconceptualizing numerous puzzling observations in the field and provides new insight into how adaptive behavior benefits from complementary learning systems specialized for memorization and generalization.
YeastMate: Neural network-assisted segmentation of mating and budding events in S. cerevisiae
Authors: Bunk David , Moriasy Julian , Thoma Felix , Jakubke Christopher , Osman Christof , Hörl David
Published: October 2021

Here, we introduce YeastMate, a user-friendly deep learning-based application for automated detection and segmentation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells and their mating and budding events in microscopy images. We build upon Mask R-CNN with a custom segmentation head for the subclassification of mother and daughter cells during lifecycle transitions. YeastMate can be used directly as a Python library or through a stand-alone GUI application and a Fiji plugin as easy to use frontends.

The source code for YeastMate is freely available at https://github.com/hoerlteam/YeastMate under the MIT license. We offer packaged installers for our whole software stack for Windows, macOS and Linux. A detailed user guide is available at https://yeastmate.readthedocs.io.
A quantitative model of sporadic axonal degeneration in theDrosophilavisual system
Authors: Richard Mélisande , Doubková Karolína , Nitta Yohei , Kawai Hiroki , Sugie Atsushi , Tavosanis Gaia
Published: October 2021

In human neurodegenerative diseases, neurons undergo axonal degeneration months to years before they die. Here, we developed a system modelling early degenerative events inDrosophilaadult photoreceptor cells. Thanks to the stereotypy of their axonal projections, this system delivers quantitative data on sporadic and progressive axonal degeneration of photoreceptor cells. Using this method, we show that exposure of adult flies to a constant light stimulation for several days overcomes the intrinsic resilience of R7 photoreceptors and leads to progressive axonal degeneration. This was not associated with apoptosis. We furthermore provide evidence that loss of synaptic integrity between R7 and a postsynaptic partner preceded axonal degeneration, thus recapitulating features of human neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, our experiments uncovered that neurotransmission to postsynaptic partners of R7 and their response are required to initiate degeneration, suggesting that postsynaptic cells signal back to the photoreceptor to maintain axonal structure. This model can be used to dissect cellular circuit mechanisms involved in the early events of axonal degeneration, allowing for a better understanding of how neurons cope with stress and lose their resilience capacities.
PSEA: A phenotypic similarity ensemble approach for prioritizes candidate genes to aid mendelian disease diagnosis
Authors: Wang Zhonghua , Liu Lipei , Chen Chao , Liu Xi , Tang Fei , Zhang Yixiang , Chen Yunmei , Wang Yaoshen , Sun Jun , Peng Zhiyu
Published: October 2021

Motivation

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is increasingly applied to the molecular diagnosis of genetic disorders. However, challenges for the interpretation of NGS data remain given the massive number of variants produced by NGS. Careful assessment is required to identify the most likely disease-causing variants that best match the patients’ clinical phenotypes, which is highly experience-dependent and of low cost-effectiveness.

Results

The human phenotype ontology (HPO) together with the information content (IC) are widely used for phenotypic similarity evaluation. Here, we introduce PSEA, a new phenotypic similarity evaluation tool capable of quantifying groups of HPO terms unbiasedly. By comparing with other methods, PSEA show optimal performance and show a higher tolerance to phenotypic noise or incompleteness. We also developed a web server for disease-causing gene prioritization and HPO-gene weighted linkage visualization.

Availability

Source code and Web service are free available at https://github.com/zhonghua-wang/psea and https://phoenix.bgi.com/psea, respectively.

Contact

wangzhonghua@genomics.cn

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
ATP and Substrate Binding Regulates Conformational Changes of Human Peroxisomal ABC Transporter ALDP
Authors: Xiong Chao , Jia Li-Na , Shen Ming-He , Xiong Wei-Xi , Xiong Liu-Lin , Wang Ting-Hua , Zhou Dong , Liu Zheng , Tang Lin
Published: October 2021

The malfunction of ABCD1 causes X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD), a rare neurodegenerative disease that affect all tissues in human. Residing in the peroxisome membrane, ABCD1 plays a role in the translocation of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA) for their damage by β-oxidation. Here, we present five Cryo-Electron microscopy structures of ABCD1 in four conformational states. Combined with functional analysis, we found that substrate and ATP trigger the closing of two nucleotide binding domains (NBDs) over a distance of 40 Å and the rearrangement of the transmembrane domains. Each of the three inward-facing structure of ABCD1 has a vestibule opens to cytosol with variable size. Furthermore, the structure of ABCD1 in the outward-facing state supports that ATP molecules pull the two NBDs together and open the transmembrane domain to the peroxisomal lumen for substrate release. The five structures provide a snapshot of substrate transporting cycle and mechanistic implications for disease-causing mutations.
Enhanced metanephric specification to functional proximal tubule enables toxicity screening and infectious disease modelling in kidney organoids
Authors: Vanslambrouck Jessica M. , Wilson Sean B. , Tan Ker Sin , Groenewegen Ella , Rudraraju Rajeev , Neil Jessica , Lawlor Kynan T. , Mah Sophia , Scurr Michelle , Howden Sara E. , Subbarao Kanta , Little Melissa H.
Published: October 2021

While pluripotent stem cell-derived kidney organoids are now being used to model renal disease, the proximal nephron remains immature with limited evidence for key functional solute channels. This may reflect early mispatterning of the nephrogenic mesenchyme and/or insufficient maturation. Here we show that enhanced specification to metanephric nephron progenitors results in elongated and radially aligned proximalised nephrons with distinct S1 - S3 proximal tubule cell types. Such PT-enhanced organoids possess improved albumin and organic cation uptake, appropriate KIM-1 upregulation in response to cisplatin, and improved expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry factors resulting in increased viral replication. The striking proximo-distal orientation of nephrons resulted from localized WNT antagonism originating from the organoid stromal core. PT-enhanced organoids represent an improved model to study inherited and acquired proximal tubular disease as well as drug and viral responses.
A Novel Mice Model of Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia Generated by CRISPR/Cas9
Authors: Hou Cuilan , Jiang Xunwei , Qiu Qingzhu , Zheng Junmin , Lin Shujia , Chen Shun , Xu Meng , Zhang Yongwei , Xie Lijian , Xiao Tingting
Published: October 2021

Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) has been considered as one of the most important causes of children’s sudden cardiac death. Mutations in the genes for RyR2 and CASQ2, two mainly subtypes of CPVT, have been identified. However, the mutation in the gene of TECRL was rarely reported, which could be another genetic cause of CPVT. We evaluated myocardial contractility, electrophysiology, calcium handling in Tecrl knockout (Tecrl KO) mice and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Immediately after epinephrine plus caffeine injection, Tecrl KO mice showed much more multiple premature ventricular beats and ventricular tachycardia. The Tecrl KO mice demonstrate CPVT phenotypes. Mechanistically, intracellular calcium amplitude was reduced, while time to baseline of 50 was increased in acute isolated cardiomyocytes. RyR2 protein levels decreased significantly upon cycloheximide treatment in TECRL deficiency cardiomyocytes. Overexpression of TECRL and KN93 can partially reverse cardiomyocytes calcium dysfunction, and this is p-CaMKII/CaMKII dependent. Therefore, a new CPVT mouse model was constructed. We propose a previously unrecognized mechanism of TECRL and provide support for the therapeutic targeting of TECRL in treating CPVT.
Direct induction of human neurons from fibroblasts carrying the neuropsychiatric 22q11.2 microdeletion reveals transcriptome- and epigenome-wide alterations
Authors: Purmann Carolin , Ang Cheen Euong , Tanabe Koji , Zhang Yue , Kundu Soumya , Danko Tamas , Ma Shining , Mitelpunkt Alexis , Wong Wing Hung , Bernstein Jonathan , Hallmayer Joachim , Aronow Bruce , Südhof Thomas C , Kundaje Anshul , Wernig Marius , Urban Alexander E.
Published: October 2021

Standard methods for the creation of neuronal cells via direct induction from primary tissue use perinatal fibroblasts, which hinders the important study of patient specific genetic lesions such as those underlying neuropsychiatric disorders. To address this we developed a novel method for the direct induction of neuronal cells (induced neuronal cells, iN cells) from adult human fibroblast cells. Reprogramming fibroblasts into iN cells via recombinant virus resulted in cells that stain for markers such as MAP2 and PSA-NCAM and exhibit electrophysiological properties such as action potentials and voltage dependent sodium- and potassium currents that reveal a neuronal phenotype. Transcriptome and chromatin analysis using RNA-Seq, microRNA-Seq and ATAC-Seq, respectively, further confirm neuronal character. 22q11.2 Deletion-Syndrome (22q11DS) is caused by a large 3 million base-pair heterozygous deletion on human chromosome 22 and is strongly associated with neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric phenotypes such as schizophrenia and autism. We leverage the direct-iN cell model for the study of genetic neurodevelopmental conditions by presenting gene-by-gene as well as networkwide effects of the 22q11DS deletion on gene expression in human neuronal cells, on several levels of functional genomics analysis. Some of the genes within the 22q11DS deletion boundary exhibit unexpected cell-type-specific changes in transcript levels, and genome-wide we can detect dysregulation of calcium channel subunit genes and other genes known to be involved in autism or schizophrenia, such as NRXN1, as well synaptic pathways. This genome-wide effect on gene expression can also be observed at the microRNA and chromatin levels, showing that the iN cells have indeed converted to a neuronal phenotype at several regulatory levels: chromatin, protein-coding RNAs and microRNAs, revealing relevant disease pathways and genes. We present this model of inducing neurons from fibroblasts as a useful general resource to study the genetic and molecular basis of normal and abnormal brain development and brain function.
Nicotinamide riboside kinase-2 inhibits JNK pathway and limits dilated cardiomyopathy in mice with chronic pressure overload
Authors: Shahzadi Syeda Kiran , Marzook Hezlin , Qaisar Rizwan , Ahmad Firdos
Published: October 2021

Nicotinamide riboside kinase-2 (NRK-2) has recently emerged as a critical regulator of cardiac remodeling however, underlying molecular mechanisms is largely unknown. To explore the same, NRK2 knockout (KO) and littermate control mice were subjected to trans-aortic constriction (TAC) or sham surgeries and cardiac function was assessed by serial M-mode echocardiography. A mild cardiac contractile dysfunction was observed in the KOs at the early adaptive phase of remodeling followed by a significant deterioration during the maladaptive cardiac remodeling phase. Consistently, NRK2 KO hearts displayed increased cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure reflected by morphometric parameters as well as increased fetal genes ANP and BNP expressions. Histological assessment revealed an extensive left ventricular (LV) chamber dilatation accompanied by elevated cardiomyopathy and fibrosis in the KO hearts post-TAC. In a gain-of-function model, NRK-2 overexpressing in AC16 cardiomyocytes displayed significantly attenuated fetal genes ANP and BNP expression. Consistently, NRK-2 overexpression attenuated angiotensin II-induced cardiomyocyte death. Mechanistically, we identified NRK-2 as a regulator of JNK MAP kinase and mitochondrial function where NRK-2 overexpression in human cardiomyocytes markedly suppressed the angiotensin II-induced JNK activation and mitochondrial depolarization. Thus, our results demonstrate that NRK-2 plays protective roles in pressure overload-induced dilatative cardiac remodeling and, genetic ablation exacerbates dilated cardiomyopathy, interstitial collagen deposition, and cardiac dysfunction post-TAC due, in part, to increased JNK activation and mitochondrial dysfunction.
OAC-39 is an O-acyltransferase required for the synthesis of maradolipids in the dauer larva of C. elegans
Authors: Penkov Sider
Published: October 2021

Upon overcrowding or low food availability, the nematode C. elegans enters a specialized diapause stage for survival, called the dauer larva. The growth-arrested, non-feeding dauer larva undergoes a profound metabolic and physiologic switch underlying its extraordinary stress resistance and longevity. One of the metabolic signatures of dauer larvae is the accumulation of the disaccharide trehalose, which lowers the sensitivity of worms to desiccation and hyperosmotic shock. Previously, we have found that trehalose is incorporated as a headgroup into dauer-specific 6,6’-di-O-acyltrehalose lipids, named maradolipids. Despite comprising a bulk fraction of the polar lipids in dauer larvae, little is known about the physiological function of maradolipds because the enzyme(s) involved in their synthesis has not yet been identified. Here, we report that the dauer-upregulated O-acyltransferase homolog OAC-39 is essential for the synthesis of maradolipids. This enzyme is enriched at the apical region of the intestinal cells of dauer larvae, where it might participate in the structuring of the gut lumen. As OAC-39 is most probably responsible for the last step of maradolipid synthesis, its identification will pave the way for the elucidation of the function of this obscure class of lipids.
Case report: five-year experience of AKT inhibition with miransertib (MK-7075) in an individual with Proteus syndrome
Authors: Ours Christopher A. , Sapp Julie C. , Hodges Mia B. , de Moya Allison J. , Biesecker Leslie G.
Published: October 2021

Proteus syndrome is a rare overgrowth disorder caused by postzygotic activating variants in AKT1. Individuals may develop a range of skin, bone, and soft tissue overgrowth leading to functional impairment and disfigurement. Therapy for this disorder is limited to supportive care and surgical intervention. Inhibitors of AKT, originally designed as cancer therapeutics, are a rational, targeted pharmacologic strategy to mitigate the devastating morbidity of Proteus syndrome. We present the 5-yr follow-up of an 18-yr-old male with Proteus syndrome treated with miransertib (MK-7075), an oral pan-AKT inhibitor. At completion of a planned 48-wk phase 1 pharmacodynamic study, the individual derived sufficient benefit that the study was amended to permit continued use and assess the long-term safety of miransertib. The treatment has been well-tolerated with mild treatment-attributed side effects including headache, transient hyperglycemia, and transient elevations of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and bilirubin. The patient has experienced sustained improvement of pain and slowed growth of bilateral plantar cerebriform connective tissue nevi. This case report supplements the data from our prior study extending those findings out to 5 years. It shows that at the doses used, miransertib has a favorable safety profile and durable benefit of improving symptoms of pain and slowing progression of overgrowth in Proteus syndrome in a single individual. Although an uncontrolled single report cannot prove safety or efficacy, these data lend support to the encouraging preliminary data of our prior phase 1 pharmacodynamic study.
Four-pronged decision support framework for implementing industrialized construction projects
Authors: Wuni Ibrahim Yahaya , Shen Geoffrey Qiping , Ogungbile Adedayo Johnson , Ayitey Jonathan Zinzi
Published: October 2021

Purpose

Industrialized construction (IC) is promoted to address some of the ills associated with the processes and products of the traditional construction approach. With several successful projects, IC is progressively becoming a preferred alternative construction approach and spurred the interest of contractors, developers and housing authorities in the technology. Increasingly, these stakeholders are keen to ascertain the compatibility and feasibility of using IC in their projects. This paper aims to develop a knowledge-based decision support framework for implementing industrialized construction projects (ICPs) that can facilitate better and informed decision-making when deciding to implement ICPs.

Design/methodology/approach

A comprehensive literature review was implemented to recruit 40 decision support factors (DSFs) and grouped into project requirements, location and site attribute, labour considerations and organizational factors. A 3-member expert panel validated the relevance of 35 DSFs, which became candidates for a structured questionnaire survey of experts in 18 countries. Statistical techniques are used to evaluate and prioritize the DSFs, leading to the development of a conceptual framework.

Findings

Statistical analysis revealed 33 significant DSFs. The top five most significant factors that could influence the decision to implement IC in a project include a stringent requirement for project quality control, suitability of the design for IC, organizational readiness and competencies in ICPs, client receptivity to IC and the need to minimize field construction time. A framework of project requirements, location and site attributes, labour considerations and organizational factors was proposed as decision support.

Practical implications

The proposed framework may help to inform decision-making regarding the implementation of IC in a project. It has wider applicability because it includes technical, managerial and operational aspects of and the required competencies for IC, which are shared between project types and territories. The prioritized DSFs could be used as a guide when implementing IC, especially in countries where bespoke decision support systems cannot be developed.

Originality/value

The paper delineated the most important DSFs that are shared between IC project types and territories and can be used to investigate the compatibility of using IC in a proposed project. This research constitutes the first exclusive attempt at delineating, quantifying and ranking the sets of decision-making factors, drawing on international data set and contributes to the empirical checklist of DSFs for ICPs.
Assessment of the quality of digital libraries based on the principles of information architecture. Research plan
Authors: Głowacka Ewa
Published: October 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed plan of research on the information architecture of digital library websites.

Design/methodology/approach

The research plan was prepared on the basis of a critical analysis of the scientific literature concerning the areas and criteria for the analysis and evaluation of the information architecture of digital resources. The evaluation criteria selected in individual areas of information architecture and the entire evaluation model were tested on the example of Europeana. The study proposes criteria for all areas of information architecture: service identity, organizational system, labeling system and navigation system.

Findings

The proposed research model containing areas and criteria for assessing usefulness from the point of view of information architecture may complement the methodology for assessing digital libraries. In a structured manner, it presents areas important for building good digital resources together with criteria for heuristic evaluation. This thesis is confirmed by a study conducted on the example of Europeana.

Research limitations/implications

For a more precise assessment of quality, you can add to the proposed criteria related to the information architecture the criteria proposed by Nielsen or other authors. These include, e.g. help users recognize, diagnose and recover from errors, result relevance, consistency of terminology and specific action conventions and an appropriate visual presentation.

Practical implications

The model can be used to assess the quality of websites of various digital libraries.

Originality/value

The methodology of assessing the quality of digital libraries is in the stage of formation and development. Such studies can apply evaluation criteria prepared to analyze all kinds of information systems and most of all web pages. At the beginning of the 21st century, concepts of using information architecture principles to design and evaluate digital libraries’ usability began to take shape. However, no detailed criteria for evaluating digital libraries based on the principles of information architecture have been presented.
An enhanced segmentation technique and improved support vector machine classifier for facial image recognition
Authors: Rangayya  , Virupakshappa  , Patil Nagabhushan
Published: October 2021

Purpose

One of the challenging issues in computer vision and pattern recognition is face image recognition. Several studies based on face recognition were introduced in the past decades, but it has few classification issues in terms of poor performances. Hence, the authors proposed a novel model for face recognition.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed method consists of four major sections such as data acquisition, segmentation, feature extraction and recognition. Initially, the images are transferred into grayscale images, and they pose issues that are eliminated by resizing the input images. The contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) utilizes the image preprocessing step, thereby eliminating unwanted noise and improving the image contrast level. Second, the active contour and level set-based segmentation (ALS) with neural network (NN) or ALS with NN algorithm is used for facial image segmentation. Next, the four major kinds of feature descriptors are dominant color structure descriptors, scale-invariant feature transform descriptors, improved center-symmetric local binary patterns (ICSLBP) and histograms of gradients (HOG) are based on clour and texture features. Finally, the support vector machine (SVM) with modified random forest (MRF) model for facial image recognition.

Findings

Experimentally, the proposed method performance is evaluated using different kinds of evaluation criterions such as accuracy, similarity index, dice similarity coefficient, precision, recall and F-score results. However, the proposed method offers superior recognition performances than other state-of-art methods. Further face recognition was analyzed with the metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall and F-score and attained 99.2, 96, 98 and 96%, respectively.

Originality/value

The good facial recognition method is proposed in this research work to overcome threat to privacy, violation of rights and provide better security of data.
Key supply chain strategies for the post-COVID-19 era: implications for resilience and sustainability
Authors: Paul Sanjoy Kumar , Moktadir Md. Abdul , Ahsan Kamrul
Published: October 2021

Purpose

The impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak continue to devastate supply chain operations. To attain a competitive advantage in the post-COVID-19 era, decision-makers should explore key supply chain strategies to move forward and ready their policies to be implemented when the crisis sufficiently subsides. This is a significant and practical decision-making issue for any supply chain; hence, the purpose of this study is to explore and analyse key supply chain strategies to ensure robustness and resilience in the post-COVID-19 era.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted an expert survey targeting practitioners and academics to explore key supply chain strategies as means of moving forward in the post-COVID-19 era. Further, the key strategies were quantitatively analysed by applying the best-worst method (BWM) to determine their priority importance in the context of the manufacturing sector.

Findings

The results revealed that supply chain resilience and sustainability practices could play a dominant role in this period. The findings of the study can assist supply chain decision-makers in their formulations of key strategies.

Originality/value

This is the first study to investigate key supply chain strategies for the post-COVID-19 era. This study will help practitioners paying attention to resilience and sustainability practices for managing the impacts of future large-scale disruptions.
Antecedents of hedonism affecting memorable tourism experience (MTE) leading to revisit intention in tourists
Authors: Tiwari Abhijeet Vikramaditya , Bajpai Naval , Singh Deependra , Vyas Vishal
Published: October 2021

Purpose

This study aims to examine the hedonism attributes, memorable tourism experience (MTE), revisit intention and their relationships. This study explores the antecedents of hedonism as physical environment, shopping at the destination, service quality, personalisation and exclusivity that influence MTE. The relationship of hedonism factors with revisit intention is also investigated in light of the mediation of MTE between them.

Design/methodology/approach

For this study, a sample of 600 tourists is collected by using the convenience sampling technique. The collected data is analysed by using the confirmatory factor analysis-structural equation modelling approach.

Findings

The empirically validated model recommends the significant relationships between the hedonism elements and revisits intention with the mediating effect of MTE. The findings suggest that tourists who positively perceive hedonism attributes are more likely to have positive MTEs, and they revisit the destination.

Originality/value

This research study examines the relationship of hedonism determinants with MTE of the tourists leading to their revisit intention for a tourism destination. It helps to understand MTE as the main component to affect tourists’ revisit intention for a destination and make sustainable tourism.
An examination of SME involvement in public procurement under bid lot sizing
Authors: Namagembe Sheila , Ntayi Mpeera Joseph , Kalid Awad
Published: October 2021

Purpose

This study aims to examine the influence of market logics on tendering capabilities and small and medium enterprise (SME) involvement in public procurement, the influence of SME governance mechanisms on tendering capabilities and SME involvement in public procurement and the influence of tendering capabilities on SME involvement in public procurement.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected from owners/managers of SMEs registered by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority. The SPSS software and CB-SEM software were used to obtain results on the influence of market logics on tendering capabilities and SME involvement in public procurement, the influence of SME governance mechanisms on tendering capabilities and SME involvement in public procurement and the influence of tendering capabilities on SME involvement in public procurement.

Findings

Findings indicated that SME involvement in public procurement is mainly influenced by their governance mechanisms whilst both market logics and governance mechanisms had a positive influence on tendering capabilities of SME firms. Market logics and tendering capabilities had no effect on SME involvement.

Research limitations/implications

The study mainly focussed on SMEs’ involvement in public procurement. The research has implications for decision makers in government and SME firms concerned with enhancing levels of SME involvement in public procurement activities.

Originality/value

Many governments are now focussing on procurement lot sizing so as to increase SME involvement in public procurement. Despite the use of lot sizing, SME involvement in public procurement is still low in many developing countries and also declining in others. Aspects such as market logics and governance mechanisms that may help understand the variations in involvement have not been given significant attention.
The synergistic effects of LMX and procedural justice climate on employee motivation and customer loyalty in a retail service context
Authors: Jung Jin Ho , Yoo Jaewon , Jung Yeonsung
Published: October 2021

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to test how leader–member exchange (LMX) interacts with procedural justice climate to influence three types of employee motivation (i.e. achievement striving motivation, status striving motivation and communion striving motivation). Furthermore, this study empirically examines the indirect effects of LMX on customer loyalty through employee motivation and service orientation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a matched sample of 188 retail service employees and 376 customers from a large shopping mall in South Korea to test the empirical model. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and bootstrapping method were employed to test a series of proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The results show that LMX significantly enhances customer loyalty through two motivational dimensions and service orientation. In particular, this study shows that achievement and status striving motivation are directly related to service orientation, but communion striving motivation does not affect customer-focused service attitude. In addition, procedural justice climate serves as a critical moderator and synergistically interacts with LMX to influence achievement and status striving motivation.

Research limitations/implications

This study offers new insight regarding how managers' roles in both individual (leader–member exchange) and organizational (procedural justice climate) level affect different forms of retail service employee motivation and service orientation, which in turn, result in customer loyalty.

Practical implications

The results suggest that when retail service employees perceive procedural fairness at retail stores, they are more motivated to work hard to complete their assignments and achieve their sales goals in conjunction with leader support. Therefore, managers must provide a clear guideline and procedure regarding salary raises and performance evaluations or engage in thorough discourse on such matters with employees prior to announcements of such decisions. Moreover, as retail service employees interact with customers in the frontline, and how they serve customers plays a key role in creating customer loyalty. Managers should encourage retail service employees to engage in service-oriented behaviors.

Originality/value

The results suggest that LMX facilitates more formal task-related motivation to achieve either tasks or status while it is less related to relationship-building motivation, which is a unique contribution of this study. The results offer better understating of how LMX differentially leads to specific types of employee motivation in the existing literature.
Birth order revelations about managers
Authors: Berisha Gentrit , Krasniqi Besnik , Lajçi Rrezon
Published: October 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to reveal the effects of birth order in decision-making style, conflict handling style and propensity for participative decision-making. The intention is to open the perspective of birth order research in organizational studies, as an important individual difference of managers.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted with 230 managers from different industries in Kosovo. Self-report measures were used for decision-making style, conflict handling style and participatory decision-making constructs.

Findings

Results indicate that only children are more avoidant and spontaneous decision-makers. Firstborns are rational in decision-making and prefer problem-solving in conflict handling. Middleborns are intuitive decision-makers and use compromising in conflict handling. Lastborns make decisions rationally and use both compromising and problem-solving in conflicting situations. In addition, lastborns appeared to have a more positive attitude toward participative decision-making, followed by middleborns, firstborns and only children.

Research limitations/implications

Birth order affects managers’ behaviors in decision-making and conflict situations. Relationship dynamics in sibships are reflected in organizational settings, affecting how people behave in decision-making and conflict handling.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to attest how birth order influences the ways managers make decisions, handle conflicts and involve others in decision-making. As birth order cannot be changed, such knowledge is critical.
Upholding parental responsibility by family mediation: revisiting the role of the law for children in divorce in Hong Kong
Authors: Law Sau-wai
Published: October 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse the different requirements of Practice Direction 15.10 (which governs the process of family mediation in Hong Kong) and Practice Direction 31 (which governs the process of general mediation in Hong Kong), and to highlight the need to incorporate the spirit of family mediation into legislation to better protect children’s interest in a family dispute.

Design/Methodology/approach

The paper reviews and compares the content on Practice Direction 15.10 and Practice Direction 31 issued by Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, and adopts interpretative and analytical approaches to evaluate their impact.

Findings

In an effort to promote parental responsibility-based negotiation in divorce proceeding, a missed opportunity in enacting the Children Proceedings (Parental Responsibility) Bill in 2015 might be a blessing in disguise as it offers another chance for policy makers to consider how to direct parties to negotiate and communicate, to seek and benefit from professional guidance on a continuous basis, and to seek alternative channels to resolve disputes other than the court room. The policy and the law advocating a switch from a “rights-based” to “responsibility-based” approach in handling children’s matters should be revisited by incorporating the spirit of family mediation into legislation.

Originality/value

Analyses are conducted through direct contextual review and documentary research. This paper conducts literal analysis of court guidance and unveils policy implications for the general public. It would be of interest to judicial officers, scholars and government officials concerning children’s rights and parental responsibility in divorce proceedings.
Financial literacy and retirement planning in Ghana
Authors: Sarpong-Kumankoma Emmanuel
Published: October 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the impact of financial literacy on savings and retirement planning in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses primary data collected from a sample of formal sector workers and probit models, to assess how financial literacy affects retirement planning.

Findings

The empirical analysis of this study shows that most individuals lack knowledge of basic concepts of finance. This study finds that only about 27% of respondents were able to correctly answer three simple questions on inflation, interest compounding and risk diversification. Generally, the young, the old, women, low-income earners and the less educated perform worst on financial literacy measures. Also, financial literacy has a positive significant impact on the probability of saving for retirement.

Practical implications

The low level of financial literacy observed should be of concern to policymakers. Evidently, concrete measures are required to strengthen the knowledge of particularly those in the vulnerable groups such as the young, the old, women, low-income earners and the less educated, in order to enable them to prepare adequately for retirement.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the scant financial literacy and financial behavior literature in developing countries such as Ghana.
Asthma severity and impact on perinatal outcomes: an updated systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Xu Z , Doust JA , Wilson LF , Dobson AJ , Dharmage SC , Mishra GD
Published: October 2021

Background

Large‐scale studies exploring the associations of asthma severity, exacerbations and medication use with adverse perinatal outcomes have been published in recent years.

Objectives

To update evidence on the associations of asthma severity, exacerbations and medication use with the adverse perinatal outcomes of preterm delivery (PD), low birthweight (LBW) and small‐for‐gestational‐age (SGA).

Search strategy

PubMed, Embase, Wanfang, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from inception to 1 January 2021.

Selection criteria

Cohort studies comparing the likelihood of adverse perinatal outcomes in groups of asthmatic women stratified by asthma severity, asthma exacerbations or medication use, or comparing the likelihood of adverse perinatal outcomes between non‐asthmatic women and asthmatics of various levels of severity and exacerbation.

Data collection and analysis

Two authors independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Random‐effects models were used to meta‐analyse the results.

Main results

Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria. The odds of delivering SGA babies increased with maternal asthma severity. Pregnant women with an asthma exacerbation had higher odds of delivering LBW babies and SGA babies, compared with pregnant women with asthma but without an exacerbation (pooled adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.15, 95% CI 1.02–1.29 for LBW; number of studies with adjusted OR 3; I2 = 0%) (pooled adjusted OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.04–1.23 for SGA; number of studies with adjusted OR 4; I2 = 0%) and compared to pregnant women without asthma. Oral corticosteroids use during pregnancy was associated with increased odds of LBW, but not PD.

Conclusions

The available data suggest that maternal asthma severity and exacerbations are associated with increased odds of LBW and SGA babies.

Tweetable abstract

A systematic review and meta‐analysis found that maternal asthma severity and exacerbations are associated with increased odds of delivering low birthweight and small‐for‐gestational‐age babies.
Food prices, processing, and shocks: Evidence from rice and COVID‐19
Authors: Goeb Joseph , Zone Phoo Pye , Kham Synt Nang Lun , Zu A. Myint , Tang Yulu , Minten Bart
Published: October 2021

Rice is the staple food for about half of the world's population and mills are the essential processing link between farmers and consumers, making rice milling one of the most important agro‐processing sectors globally. This paper assesses changes in rice and paddy prices, and processing margins during the COVID‐19 pandemic shock through the lens of rice mills in Myanmar. Our data, collected through telephone surveys with a large number of medium‐ and large‐scale rice millers in September 2020, reveal significant disruptions from the COVID‐19 pandemic, including transportation restrictions, employee lay‐offs, and reduced operations relative to normal times. However, milling margins, and paddy and rice prices were mostly stable, showing only minor increases compared to 2019. Rice prices increased most for the varieties linked to export markets, though the gains were mostly passed through to farmers as higher paddy prices. Similarly, higher rice prices achieved by modern mills—due to extra processing—were mostly transmitted to producers. Our results also highlight the major importance of byproducts—broken rice and rice bran—sales to overall milling margins as byproduct sales allowed mill operators to sustain negative paddy‐to‐rice margins.
The 1782 Gaming Bill and Lottery Regulation Acts (1782 and 1787): Gambling and the Law in Later Georgian Britain
Authors: Harris Bob
Published: October 2021

This article brings forward new evidence regarding the circumstances surrounding the origins and authorship of the Gaming Bill of 1782, which was designed to suppress the roulette‐type game of ‘Even and Odd’. Hitherto, this Bill has presented something of a puzzle, not only in terms of why it was proposed, but its strange fate; it was never signed into law. The Gaming Bill is viewed alongside a parallel series of parliamentary measures from the 1780s aimed at regulating more tightly the official lottery and derivatives thereof, including, most controversially, lottery insurance, one aspect of which was betting on the outcomes of the lottery draw. By placing these initiatives within a single analytical frame, much can be learnt about the role of parliament and the law in regulating gambling in this period, but also the profound limits of the law in this sphere.
Edmund Burke, the French Revolution and the Battle for the Soul of the Whig Party*
Authors: Skjönsberg Max
Published: October 2021

Edmund Burke split dramatically with Charles James Fox and his Whig connection after the outbreak of the French Revolution. In his Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs (1791), Burke contended that he had not abandoned his party's principles and that it was the Foxite Whigs who had morphed into a new party. The article demonstrates that while Burke believed that the French Revolution rendered old party battles irrelevant to an extent, he did not lose his confidence in the creed of his party as he understood it, nor in the idea of party as such, as the remaining years of his life demonstrate. Key members of the party stayed attached to the doctrine of party loyalty Burke had formulated, which meant that he was for some years a lone voice of dissent within the Whig camp. Eventually, however, many of the ‘Old Whigs’ became convinced of Burke's interpretation of events in France and their threat to Britain, and joined William Pitt the Younger in a coalition government in 1794, leaving Fox and a small rump in opposition. Several Whigs and Liberals in the 19th century rehabilitated Burke's reputation, but they regretted his split with Fox and many believed that he had become insane in the 1790s. However, this article concludes by suggesting that the position he took on the French Revolution in opposition to Fox and the Foxites may have helped rather than hindered the survival of Burkean Whiggism in the first decades of the 19th century.
Adult height after treatment of neurosecretory dysfunction and comparison to idiopathic GHD
Authors: Binder Gerhard , Hähnel Julia , Weber Karin , Schweizer Roland
Published: October 2021

Objective

Neurosecretory dysfunction (NSD) causes growth hormone deficiency (GHD). Data on adult height after recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) treatment are lacking.

Design and Patients

We collected treatment data of all patients with NSD seen between 1990 and 2017 at our outpatient department (tertiary centre) and measured adult height. For comparison, patients with idiopathic GHD were used. Diagnoses were based on short stature (<−2 standard deviation score [SDS]), continuously low height velocity (<25th percentile), delayed bone age (by >1 SD) and low serum IGF‐1 concentration (<−2 SDS). NSD was defined by normal GH challenge results, but subnormal spontaneous GH secretion. Exclusion criteria were no information on adult height, underweight and other short stature disorders.

Results

Out of 67 patients diagnosed with NSD, six were still growing, 31 had test results exceeding validated GH cut‐offs and three had other disorders causing short stature. Out of the 25 eligible patients with NSD, 21 could be recruited. These patients reached an adult height of −0.85 SDS (mean); 0.34 SDS below midparental height. Height gain during treatment was 2.01 SDS. This outcome was not different to 32 patients with idiopathic GHD.

Conclusions

Long‐term results suggest the viability of the diagnosis of NSD and the efficacy of rhGH treatment.