bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The information signature of diverging lineages
Authors: Moore Douglas G. , Morales Matheo , Biddy Austin R. , Walker Sara I. , Dolby Greer A.
Published: September 2021

Divergence and speciation are the generators of biodiversity on Earth. Yet, we still seek to understand why species are unevenly distributed across taxa and geographic settings. This is partly because we lack a way to directly compare aspects of population divergence across unrelated species and an integrative quantitative framework for how geographical setting relates to genetic divergence. Here we postulate that, based on communications theory, there is a communications channel between Earth’s surface and the structuring of genomic information among populations. Each species is a separate receiver of this message. Organism traits determine the clarity of that channel. Calculating the partial information decomposition (PID) of genetic metrics under different evolutionary scenarios can measure the signature of this communication. We showin silicohow the informational decomposition of 97,200 genetic lattices varies as lineages diverge. The decomposed nodes of Tajima’s D, θW, and π show strong context-dependent information signatures, while FSTwas least informative. Specific decompositions detected whether lineages divergence with or without gene flow better than current SFS-based tools. The study of information in an evolutionary genomic and landscape context suggests it may be a helpful framework and for understanding the diversity of life across Earth and their coevolution.
Heterologous synapsis in C. elegans is regulated by meiotic double-strand breaks and crossovers
Authors: Liu Hanwenheng , Gordon Spencer G. , Rog Ofer
Published: September 2021

Alignment of the parental chromosomes during meiotic prophase is key to the formation of genetic exchanges, or crossovers, and consequently to the successful production of gametes. In almost all studied organisms, alignment involves synapsis: the assembly of a conserved inter-chromosomal interface called the synaptonemal complex (SC). While the SC usually synapses homologous sequences, it can assemble between heterologous sequences. However, little is known about the regulation of heterologous synapsis. Here we study the dynamics of heterologous synapsis in the nematode C. elegans. We characterize two experimental scenarios: SC assembly onto a folded-back chromosome that cannot pair with its homologous partner; and synapsis of pseudo-homologs, a fusion chromosome partnering with an unfused chromosome half its size. We observed elevated levels of heterologous synapsis when the number of meiotic double-strand breaks or crossovers were reduced, indicating that the promiscuity of synapsis is regulated by break formation or repair. By manipulating the levels of breaks and crossovers, we infer both chromosome-specific and nucleus-wide regulation on heterologous synapsis. Finally, we identify differences between the two conditions, suggesting that attachment to the nuclear envelope plays a role in regulating heterologous synapsis.
Analysis of changes occurring in Codon Positions due to mutations through the cellular automata transition rules
Authors: Sengupta Antara , Ghosh Sreeya , Choudhury Pabitra Pal
Published: September 2021

Variation in the nucleotides of a codon may cause variations in the evolutionary patterns of a DNA or amino acid sequence. To address the capability of each position of a codon to have non-synonymous mutations, the concept of degree of mutation has been introduced. The degree of mutation of a particular position of codon defines the number of non-synonymous mutations occurring for the substitution of nucleotides at each position of a codon, when other two positions of that codon remain unaltered. A Cellular Automaton (CA), is used as a tool to model the mutations of any one of the four DNA bases A, C, T and G at a time where the DNA bases correspond to the states of the CA cells. Point mutation (substitution type) of a codon which characterizes changes in the amino acids, have been associated with local transition rules of a CA. Though there can be transitions of a 4-state CA with 3-neighbourhood cells, here it has been possible to represent all possible point mutations of a codon in terms of combinations of 16 local transition functions of the CA. Further these rules are divided into 4 classes of equivalence. Also, according to the nature of mutations, the 16 local CA rules of substitutions are classified into 3 sets namely, ‘No Mutation’, ‘Transition’ and ‘Transversion’. The experiment has been carried out with three sets of single nucleotide variations(SNVs) of three different viruses but the symptoms of the diseases caused by them are to some extent similar to each other. They are SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2 and H1N1 Type A viruses. The aim is to understand the impact of nucleotide substitutions at different positions of a codon with respect to a particular disease phenotype.
miR-573 rescues endothelial dysfunction during dengue infection under PPARγ regulation
Authors: Banerjee Shefali , Yuin Kong Hao , Xin Chin Wei , Hann Chu Justin Jang
Published: September 2021

Early prognosis of abnormal vasculopathy is essential for effective clinical management of severe dengue patients. An exaggerated interferon (IFN) response and release of vasoactive factors from endothelial cells cause vasculopathy. This study shows that dengue 2 (DENV2) infection of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) results in differentially regulated miRNAs important for endothelial function. miR-573 was significantly down-regulated in DENV2-infected HUVEC due to decreased Peroxisome Proliferator Activator Receptor Gamma (PPARγ) activity. Restoring miR-573 expression decreased endothelial permeability by suppressing the expression of vasoactive angiopoietin 2 (ANGPT2). We also found that miR-573 suppressed the proinflammatory IFN response through direct downregulation of toll like receptor 2 (TLR2) expression. Our study provides a novel insight into miR-573 mediated regulation of endothelial function during DENV2 infection which can be further translated into a potential therapeutic and prognostic agent for severe dengue patients.
In Silico analysis of PE_PGRS20 (Rv1068c) protein in Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv
Authors: Ahmad Saleem , Kesavan AnupKumar
Published: September 2021

The genetic makeup of Mycobacterium tuberculosis reveals the presence of an unknown repeat sequence of PE_PGRS family proteins that are responsible for antigenic variations and many unknown functions that includes necrosis of macrophage and apoptosis. The structure and function of these glycine-rich proteins can be predictable by homology modeling, the Ab-initio method, or by using different tools of bioinformatics. In this study, we selected, PE_PGRS20 (Rv1068c) an unknown PE_PGRS protein. We suggest that the PE_PGRS20 gene is linked with the others genes of the espACD operon which are the virulence factors in the M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain. The genes associated with this protein secretion system can perform the synthesis of a special type of fatty acid known as phthioceroldimycocerates (PDIM).

Docking with different anti TB drugs shows binding with PE_PGRS20 protein which suggests that the target protein may involve in the drug resistance.
Adaptation and Compensation in a Bacterial Gene Regulatory Network Evolving Under Antibiotic Selection
Authors: Patel Vishwa , Matange Nishad
Published: September 2021

Gene regulatory networks allow organisms to generate coordinated responses to environmental challenges. In bacteria, regulatory networks are re-wired and re-purposed during evolution, though the relationship between selection pressures and evolutionary change is poorly understood. In this study, we discover that early evolutionary response of Escherichia coli to the antibiotic trimethoprim involves de-repression of PhoPQ signalling, a Mg2+-sensitive two-component system, by inactivation of the MgrB feedback-regulatory protein. We report that de-repression of PhoPQ confers trimethoprim-tolerance to E. coli by hitherto unrecognized transcriptional up-regulation of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), target of trimethoprim. As a result, mutations in mgrB precede and facilitate the evolution of drug resistance. Using laboratory evolution, genome sequencing and mutation re-construction, we show that populations of E. coli challenged with trimethoprim are faced with the evolutionary ‘choice’ of transitioning from tolerant to resistant by mutations in DHFR, or compensating for the fitness costs of PhoPQ de-repression by inactivating the RpoS sigma factor, itself a PhoPQ-target. Outcomes at this evolutionary branch-point are determined by strength of antibiotic selection, such that high pressures favour resistance, while low pressures favour cost-compensation. Our results relate evolutionary changes in bacterial gene regulatory networks to strength of selection and provide mechanistic evidence to substantiate this link.
Stimulus degradation impairs performance in a rodent continuous performance test
Authors: DeBrosse Adrienne C. , Li Ye , Wiseman Robyn , Ross Racine , Garrison Sy’Keria , Hallock Henry L. , Barrow James C. , Martinowich Keri , Carr Gregory V.
Published: September 2021

Sustained attention is a core cognitive domain that is often disrupted in neuropsychiatric disorders. Continuous performance tests (CPTs) are the most common clinical assay of sustained attention. In CPTs, participants produce a behavioral response to target stimuli and refrain from responding to non-target stimuli. Performance in CPTs is measured as the ability to discriminate between targets and non-targets. Rodent versions of CPTs (rCPT) have been developed and validated with both anatomical and pharmacological studies, providing a translational platform for understanding the neurobiology of sustained attention. In human studies, using degraded stimuli (decreased contrast) in CPTs impairs performance and patients with schizophrenia experience a larger decrease in performance compared to healthy controls. In this study, we tested multiple levels of stimulus degradation in a touchscreen version of the CPT in mice. We found that stimulus degradation significantly decreased performance in both males and females. The changes in performance consisted of a decrease in stimulus discrimination, measured as d’, and increases in hit reaction time and reaction time variability. These findings are in line with the effects of stimulus degradation in human studies. Overall, female mice demonstrated a more liberal response strategy than males, but response strategy was not affected by stimulus degradation. These data extend the utility of the mouse CPT by demonstrating that stimulus degradation produces equivalent behavioral responses in mice and humans. Therefore, the degraded stimuli rCPT has high translational value as a preclinical assay of sustained attention.
Population assessment and habitat associations of the Visayan HornbillPenelopides paniniin Northwest Panay, Philippines
Authors: Mynott Holly Isabelle , Lee David Charles , Santillan Rhea Aranas , Jürgen Schwarz Christian , Tacud Benjamin , Fernandez Arcel Dryden , Kerhoas Daphne
Published: September 2021

Background

Seven out of 10 hornbill species in the Philippines are threatened with extinction. Among these is the Endangered Visayan hornbillPenelopides panini, found on Panay and Negros islands. Threatened by habitat loss and hunting, its population size is thought to have declined from 1,800 individuals 20 years ago to less than 1,000. However, a recent study on Negros estimated 3,564 individuals across three core forest blocks. This study aims to quantify the Visayan hornbill population size in and around the Northwest Panay Peninsula Natural Park (NWPPNP) on Panay, the largest contiguous low-elevation forest landscape remaining across its range, and its broad habitat associations across a gradient of environmental degradation.

Methods

Hornbills were surveyed using 10-minute Distance sampling point counts (n = 362) along transects (average length 1.1 km). Habitat variables were recorded, while habitat was classified into: primary forest, secondary forest, plantation or open habitat. Using Distance software, population densities were estimated for, and post-stratified by habitat, with the overall population estimate taken as a mean of habitat density estimates weighted by habitat area. Using logistic binary regression, hornbill occurrence was modelled against reduced habitat factors extracted from factor analysis of the habitat data.

Results

Surveys covered 204.4 km2of the 374.8 km2Northwest Panay Peninsula. Hornbills were not recorded in plantation or open habitats. The estimated density of hornbills was significantly higher in primary forest (17.7 individuals km−2± 29.7% CV) than in secondary forest (5.0 individuals km−2± 36.7 %CV;z= 9.538,P< 0.001). The overall population estimate is 2,231 individuals ± 24.4 %CV for the NWPPNP and environs, and 2,949 individuals ± 23.1 %CV for the entire Northwest Panay Peninsula. One habitat factor, described by increasing numbers of large trees, elevation and distance from the Park’s boundary, had a significant positive effect in explaining hornbill occurrence, with hornbills significantly more likely to occur in primary forest than the other habitat types.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates the habitat preference of the Visayan hornbill, highlights the importance of the NWPPNP for the species’ conservation, and provides strong evidence for re-assessing the global population size.
JAMMIT Analysis Defines 2 Semi-Independent Immune Processes Common to 29 Solid Tumors
Authors: Zitello Emory , Vo Michael , Chen Shaoqiu , Bowler Scott , Khadka Vedbar , Wenska Thomas , Hoffmann Peter , Okimoto Gordon , Deng Youping
Published: September 2021

Immunophenotype of solid tumors has relevance to cancer immunotherapy, as not all patients respond optimally to treatment utilizing monoclonal antibodies. Bioinformatic studies have failed to clearly identify tumor immunophenotype in a way that encompasses a wide variety of tumor types and highlights fundamental differences among them, complicating prediction of patient clinical response. The novel JAMMIT algorithm was used to analyze mRNA data for 33 cancer types in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We found that B cells and T cells constitute the principal source of variation in most patient cohorts, and that virtually all solid malignancies formed three hierarchical clustering patterns with similar molecular features. The second main source of variability in transcriptomic studies we attribute to monocytes. We identified the three tumor types as TC1-mediated, TC17-mediated and non-immunogenic immunophenotypes and used a 3-gene signature to approximate infiltration by agranulocytes. Methods of in silico validation such as pathway analysis, Cibersort and published data from treated cohorts were used to substantiate these findings. Monocytic infiltrate is found to be related to patient survival according to immunophenotype, important differences in some solid tumors are identified and deficiencies of common bioinformatic approaches relevant to diagnosis are detailed by this work.
Cryo-ET of HIV reveals Env positioning on Gag lattice and structural variation among Env trimers
Authors: Prasad Vidya Mangala , Leaman Daniel P. , Lovendahl Klaus N. , Croft Jacob T. , Benhaim Mark A. , Hodge Edgar A. , Zwick Michael B. , Lee Kelly K.
Published: September 2021

HIV-1 Env mediates viral entry into host cells and is the sole target for neutralizing antibodies. However, Env structure and organization in its native virion context has eluded detailed characterization. Here we used cryo-electron tomography to analyze Env in mature and immature HIV-1 particles. Immature particles showed distinct Env positioning relative to the underlying Gag lattice, providing insights into long-standing questions about Env incorporation. A 9.1Å sub-tomogram averaged reconstruction of virion-bound Env in conjunction with structural mass spectrometry revealed unexpected features, including a variable central core of the gp41 subunit, heterogeneous glycosylation between protomers plus a flexible stalk that allows Env tilting and variable exposure of neutralizing epitopes. Together, our results provide an integrative understanding of HIV assembly and structural variation in Env antigen presentation.
Neck motor unit activity displays neural signatures of temporal control during sequential saccade planning
Authors: Basu Debaleena , Sendhilnathan Naveen , Murthy Aditya
Published: September 2021

Goal-directed behavior involves the transformation of neural movement plans into appropriate muscle activity patterns. Studies involving single saccades have shown that a rapid, direct pathway links saccade planning in frontal eye fields (FEF) to neck muscle activity. It is unknown if the rapid connection between FEF and neck muscle is maintained during sequential saccade planning. We show that sequence planning signals in the FEF are preserved in the neck EMG, although the activity is delayed specifically for the second saccade. Our results suggest that while the direct link between FEF and neck muscle facilitates downstream continuation of FEF response patterns, an indirect route exists through an inhibitory control center like the basal ganglia, limiting the information flow during processing of saccade sequences. Thus, the indirect and direct pathways from the FEF may function together to enable rapid synchronous, but controlled eye-head responses to sequential gaze shifts.
A Cytosolic Reductase Pathway is Required for Complete N-Glycosylation of an STT3B-Dependent Acceptor Site
Authors: van Lith Marcel , Pringle Marie Anne , Fleming Bethany , Gaeta Giorgia , Im Jisu , Gilmore Reid , Bulleid Neil J
Published: September 2021

N-linked glycosylation of proteins entering the secretory pathway is an essential post-translational modification required for protein stability and function. Previously, it has been shown that there is a temporal relationship between protein folding and glycosylation, which influences the occupancy of specific glycosylation sites. Here we use an in vitro translation system that reproduces the initial stages of secretory protein translocation, folding and glycosylation under defined redox conditions. We found that the efficiency of glycosylation of hemopexin was dependent upon a robust NADPH-dependent cytosolic reductive pathway, which could also be mimicked by the addition of a membrane impermeable reducing agent. The identified hypoglycosylated acceptor site is adjacent to a cysteine involved in a short range disulfide bond, which has been shown to be dependent on the STT3B-containing oligosaccharyl transferase. We also show that efficient glycosylation at this site is dependent on the STT3A-containing oligosaccharide transferase. Our results provide further insight into the important role of the ER redox conditions in glycosylation site occupancy and demonstrate a link between redox conditions in the cytosol and glycosylation efficiency.
Tomato leaves under stress: A comparison of stress response to mild abiotic stress between a cultivated and a wild tomato species
Authors: Reimer Julia J. , Thiele Björn , Biermann Robin T. , Junker-Frohn Laura V. , Wiese-Klinkenberg Anika , Usadel Björn , Wormit Alexandra
Published: September 2021

Tomato is one of the most produced crop plants on earth and growing in the fields and greenhouses all over the world. Breeding with known traits of wild species can enhance stress tolerance of cultivated crops. In this study, we investigated responses of the transcriptome as well as primary and secondary metabolites in leaves of a cultivated and a wild tomato to several abiotic stresses such as nitrogen deficiency, chilling or warmer temperatures, elevated light intensities and combinations thereof.

The wild species responded different to varied temperature conditions compared to the cultivated tomato. Nitrogen deficiency caused the strongest responses and induced in particular the secondary metabolism in both species but to much higher extent in the cultivated tomato. Our study supports the potential of a targeted induction of valuable secondary metabolites in green residues of horticultural production, that will otherwise only be composted after fruit harvest. In particular, the cultivated tomato showed a strong induction in the group of mono caffeoylquinic acids in response to nitrogen deficiency. In addition, the observed differences in stress responses between cultivated and wild tomato can lead to new breeding targets for better stress tolerance.
Free energy and stacking of eumelanin nanoaggregates
Authors: Soltani Sepideh , Sowlati-Hashjin Shahin , Tetsassi Feugmo Conrard Giresse , Karttunen Mikko
Published: September 2021

Eumelanin, a member of the melanin family, is a black-brown insoluble pigment. It possesses a broad range of properties such as antioxidation, free radical scavenging, photo-protection, and charge carrier transportation. Surprisingly, the exact molecular structure of eumelanin remains undefined. It is, however, generally considered to consist of two main building blocks, 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI) and 5,6-dihydroxyindole carboxylic acid (DHICA). We focus on DHI and report, for the first time, a computational investigation of structural properties of DHI eumelanin aggregates in aqueous solutions. First, multi-microsecond molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at different concentrations were performed to investigate aggregation and ordering of tetrameric DHI-eumelanin protomolecules. This was followed by umbrella sampling (US) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to study the physical mechanisms of stacking. Aggregation occurs through formation of nanoscale stacks and was observed in all systems. Further analyses showed that aggregation and coarsening of the domains is due to decrease in hydrogen bonds between the eumelanins and water; while domains exist, there is no long-range order. The results show non-covalent stacks with and interlayer distance between eumelanin protomolecules being less than 3.5 Å. This is in good agreement with transmission electron microscopy data. Both free energy calculations and DFT revealed strong stacking interactions. The electrostatic potential map provides an explanation and a rationale for the slightly sheared relative orientations and, consequently, for the curved shapes of the nanoscale domains.
DeepConsensus: Gap-Aware Sequence Transformers for Sequence Correction
Authors: Baid Gunjan , Cook Daniel E. , Shafin Kishwar , Yun Taedong , Llinares-López Felipe , Berthet Quentin , Wenger Aaron M. , Rowell William J. , Nattestad Maria , Yang Howard , Kolesnikov Alexey , Töpfer Armin , Ammar Waleed , Vert Jean-Philippe , Vaswani Ashish , McLean Cory Y. , Chang Pi-Chuan , Carroll Andrew
Published: September 2021

Pacific BioScience (PacBio) circular consensus sequencing (CCS) generates long (10-25 kb), accurate “HiFi” reads by combining serial observations of a DNA molecule into a consensus sequence. The standard approach to consensus generation uses a hidden Markov model (pbccs). Here, we introduce DeepConsensus, which uses a unique alignment-based loss to train a gap-aware transformer-encoder (GATE) for sequence correction. Compared to pbccs, DeepConsensus reduces read errors in the same dataset by 42%. This increases the yield of PacBio HiFi reads at Q20 by 9%, at Q30 by 27%, and at Q40 by 90%. With two SMRT Cells of HG003, reads from DeepConsensus improve hifiasm assembly contiguity (NG50 4.9Mb to 17.2Mb), increase gene completeness (94% to 97%), reduce false gene duplication rate (1.1% to 0.5%), improve assembly base accuracy (Q43 to Q45), and also reduce variant calling errors by 24%.
Colloidal aggregators in biochemical SARS-CoV-2 repurposing screens
Authors: O’Donnell Henry R. , Tummino Tia A. , Bardine Conner , Craik Charles S. , Shoichet Brian K.
Published: September 2021

To fight the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, much effort has been directed toward drug repurposing, testing investigational and approved drugs against several viral or human proteins in vitro. Here we investigate the impact of colloidal aggregation, a common artifact in early drug discovery, in these repurposing screens. We selected 56 drugs reported to be active in biochemical assays and tested them for aggregation by both dynamic light scattering and by enzyme counter screening with and without detergent; seventeen of these drugs formed colloids at concentrations similar to their literature reported IC50s. To investigate the occurrence of colloidal aggregators more generally in repurposing libraries, we further selected 15 drugs that had physical properties resembling known aggregators from a common repurposing library, and found that 6 of these aggregated at micromolar concentrations. An attraction of repurposing is that drugs active on one target are considered de-risked on another. This study suggests not only that many of the drugs repurposed for SARS-CoV-2 in biochemical assays are artifacts, but that, more generally, when screened at relevant concentrations, drugs can act artifactually via colloidal aggregation. Understanding the role of aggregation, and detecting its effects rapidly, will allow the community to focus on those drugs and leads that genuinely have potential for treating COVID-19.

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Robust designation of meiotic crossover sites by CDK-2 through phosphorylation of the MutSγ complex
Authors: Haversat Jocelyn , Woglar Alexander , Klatt Kayla , Akerib Chantal C. , Roberts Victoria , Salazar Catcher C. , Chen Shin-Yu , Arur Swathi , Villeneuve Anne M. , Kim Yumi
Published: September 2021

Crossover formation is essential for proper segregation of homologous chromosomes during meiosis. Here we show thatC. elegansCyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK-2) forms a complex with cyclin-like protein COSA-1 and supports crossover formation by promoting conversion of meiotic double-strand breaks (DSBs) into crossover-specific recombination intermediates. Further, we identify MutSγ component MSH-5 as a CDK-2 phosphorylation target. MSH-5 has a disordered C-terminal tail that contains 13 potential CDK phosphosites and is required to concentrate crossover-promoting proteins at recombination sites. Phosphorylation of the MSH-5 tail appears dispensable in a wild- type background, but when MutSγ activity is partially compromised, crossover formation and retention of CDK-2/COSA-1 at recombination sites are exquisitely sensitive to phosphosite loss. Our data support a model in which robustness of crossover designation reflects a positive feedback mechanism involving CDK-2-mediated phosphorylation and scaffold-like properties of the MSH-5 C-terminal tail, features that combine to promote full recruitment and activity of crossover-promoting complexes.
HIV-1 Induction of Tolerogenic DCs is Mediated by Cellular Interaction with Suppressive T Cells
Authors: Svanberg Cecilia , Nyström Sofia , Govender Melissa , Bhattacharya Pradyot , Che Karlhans F , Ellegård Rada , Shankar Esaki M , Larsson Marie
Published: September 2021

HIV-1 infection gives rise to a multilayered immune impairment in most infected individuals. The crosstalk between Dendritic cells and T cells plays an important part in the induction of immune responses. The chronic presence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 during the dendritic cells (DCs) priming and activation of T cells promotes the expansion of suppressor cells in a contact dependent manner. The mechanism behind the T cell side of this HIV induced impairment is well studied, whereas little is known about the reverse effects exerted on the DCs in this setting.

Here we assessed the phenotype and transcriptome profile of mature DCs that have been in contact with suppressive T cells. The DCs in the HIV exposed DC-T cell coculture obtained a more tolerogenic/suppressive phenotype with increased expression of e.g., PDL1, Gal-9, HVEM, and B7H3, mediated by their cellular interaction with T cells. The transcriptomic analysis showed a clear type I IFN response profile as well as an activation of pathways involved in T cell exhaustion.

Taken together, our data indicate that the prolonged and strong IFN type I signaling induced by the presence of HIV during DC-T cell cross talk could play an important role in the induction of the tolerogenic DCs and suppressed immune response.
Illusion of control in farmers’ investment and financing decisions
Authors: Labajova Katarina , Höhler Julia , Lagerkvist Carl-Johan , Müller Jörg , Rommel Jens
Published: September 2021

Purpose

People’s tendency to overestimate their ability to control random events, known as illusion of control, can affect financial decisions under uncertainty. This study developed an artifactual field experiment on illusion of control for a farm machinery investment.

Design/methodology/approach

In an experiment with two treatments, the individual farmer was either given or not given a sense of control over a random outcome. After each decision, the authors elicited perceived control, and a questionnaire collected additional indirect measures of illusion of control from 78 German farmers and 10 farm advisors.

Findings

The results did not support preregistered hypotheses of the presence of illusion of control. This null result was robust over multiple outcomes and model specifications. The findings demonstrate that cognitive biases may be small and difficult to replicate.

Research limitations/implications

The sample is not representative for the German farming population. The authors discuss why the estimated treatment effect may represent a lower bound of the true effect.

Originality/value

Illusion of control is well-studied in laboratory settings, but little is known about the extent to which farmers’ behavior is influenced by illusion of control.
Does firm's philanthropy lead to more missions: theory and evidence
Authors: He Ling-Yun , Zhang Hongzhen
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Inspired by the comparison of charity donations among candidates in rural elections, the authors linked the non-profit motives of charity to corporate pollution emissions. And on this basis, the authors aim to provide theoretical and empirical explanations for the relationship between corporate philanthropy and pollution. The authors find that the desire to pursue more pollution emissions stimulates the firm's philanthropy, which is similar to the public welfare donations in rural elections.

Design/methodology/approach

Firstly, the authors construct a game-theoretical framework consisting of an entrepreneur and a bureaucrat to study the environmental cost of corporate philanthropy through the impact on pollution emission by the firm. Secondly, the authors used various empirical methods, including hybrid OLS, IV-2SLS, PSM, etc., to empirically test the impact of a firm's philanthropy on corporate pollution emissions. Finally, the authors use the output and abatement input as intermediary variables and apply the intermediary effect model to test the impact mechanism between corporate philanthropy and corporate pollution emissions.

Findings

Theoretical model finds that the firm invests more in philanthropy discharges more emissions when the theoretical model is in political equilibrium. Besides, empirical results show that corporate philanthropy will lead to more pollution emissions by reducing abatement input and increasing production. Finally, the heterogeneity test finds that compared with state-owned enterprises, the intention of non-state-owned enterprises' philanthropy for more pollution emission is more obvious. Moreover, the improvement of regional environmental regulation can significantly inhibit the realization of corporate philanthropy's poor motive.

Practical implications

The results have obvious policy implications for China's future policy-making. Firstly, regulatory agencies should pay close attention to the charitable behaviors of firms with serious negative environmental externalities, and prevent them from replacing more pollution emissions with philanthropy. Besides, due to weak environmental supervision in rural areas, rural polluting enterprises will be more inclined to make charitable donations to the village collective to obtain more emission rights. Therefore, the government should strengthen environmental supervision in rural areas to prevent enterprises from wanton pollution.

Originality/value

By constructing a game-theoretical framework consisting of an entrepreneur and a bureaucrat, the authors expound on corporate philanthropy's pollution motivation and decision-making mechanism for the first time in theory. Besides, this paper finds that the desire to pursue more pollution emissions also stimulates the firm's philanthropy. This paper expands the literature on corporate charitable donation motivations.
Enhanced model of the innovation-decision process, for modular-technological-process innovations in construction
Authors: Gledson Barry
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to establish an enhanced model of the innovation-decision process (IDP), specifically for construction. As context, innovation diffusion theory (IDT) is concerned with explaining how some innovations successfully stick whilst others fail to propagate. Because theoretical models provide abstracted representations of systems/phenomena, established IDT models can help decision-making units with innovation-related sense-marking and problem-solving. However, these occasionally fail or require enhancement to represent phenomena more successfully. This is apparent whenever middle-range theory seems ill-fitted to the complexity of construction.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative research via 13 semi-structured interviews occurred, with participants recruited via convenience and purposive sampling strategies. The study forms part of a broader mixed-method study (n = 246) informed by a research philosophy of pragmatism, investigating the applicability of classic IDT to the adoption of four-dimensional (4D) building information modelling (4D BIM) by the UK construction sector.

Findings

This diffusion study resulted in the adaptation of an existing IDP model, ensuring a better contextual fit. Classified more specifically as a modular-technological-process innovation, 4D BIM with its potential to provide construction planning improvements is used as a vehicle to show why, for construction, an existing model required theoretical extensions involving additional stages, decision-action points and outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

This model can assist construction industry actors with future adoption/rejection decisions around modular-technological-process innovations. It also aids the understanding of scholars and researchers, through its various enhancements and by reinforcing the importance of existing diffusion concepts of compatibility and trialability, for these innovation types.

Originality/value

An enhanced model of the IDP, specifically for construction, is established. This construction-centric contribution to IDT will be of interest to construction scholars and to practitioners.
Media multiplicity and collaborative innovation with suppliers: evidence from China
Authors: Liu Ruihong , He Yuanqiong , Ding Xiu-Hao , Li Jianhong
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Based on media choice theories and real option theory, this study aims to explore the role of communication media portfolio in achieving collaborative innovation with suppliers.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data of the Study of Competitiveness, Technology and Firm Linkages 2002 collected by the World Bank and the Enterprise Survey Organization of the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, this study employed logit model to test the hypotheses. Moreover, some robustness analyses were conducted.

Findings

This study suggests that media multiplicity increases the probability for a firm to achieve collaborative innovation with suppliers on the basis of real option theory. Furthermore, distance from the suppliers and relationship formality make media multiplicity further important in collaborative innovation with suppliers.

Originality/value

Through investing how communication media portfolio affecting collaborative innovation with suppliers and the contingency factors, this study complements existing studies just concentrating on supplier capabilities, relationships with suppliers and characteristics of supplier network. Moreover, this study contributes in the information system field by exploring the role of media portfolio rather than individual media.
Queering critical literacies: disidentifications and queer futurity in an afterschool storytelling and roleplaying game
Authors: Storm Scott , Jones Karis
Published: September 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the critical literacies of high school students engaged in a youth participatory action research (YPAR) project focused on a roleplaying game,Dungeons and Dragons, in a queer-led afterschool space. The paper illustrates how youth critique and resist unjust societal norms while simultaneously envisioning queer utopian futures. Using a queer theory framework, the authors consider how youth performed disidentifications and queer futurity.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is a discourse analysis of approximately 85 hours of audio collected over one year.

Findings

Youth engaged in deconstructive critique, disidentifications and queer futurity in powerful enactments of critical literacies that involved simultaneous resistance, subversion, imagination and hope as youth envisioned queer utopian world-building through their fantasy storytelling. Youth acknowledged the injustice of the present while radically envisioning a utopian future.

Originality/value

This study offers an empirical grounding for critical literacies centered in queer theory and explores how youth engage with critical literacies in collaboratively co-authored texts. The authors argue that queering critical literacies potentially moves beyond deconstructive critique while simultaneously opening spaces for resistance, imagination and utopian world-making through linguistic and narrative-based tools.
Project managing in post-conflict environments: an exploration of the resource profiles of Sri Lankan non-governmental organizations involved in development projects
Authors: Nanthagopan Yogarajah , Williams Nigel L.
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The aim of this study is to examine the configuration of project resources in organizations operating in a post-conflict country environment using a Resource-Based View (RBV) perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Data collection was undertaken using a quantitative survey study of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) involved in development projects in Sri Lanka, which obtained 445 responses. An Exploratory Factor Analysis and subsequent Confirmatory Factor Analysis were performed to identify and confirm the Project Management (PM) resource profile composition of these organizations.

Findings

The study identified resource profiles incorporated items at the team, organizational and collaborative social resource levels and did not differ significantly by organization type. This suggests that the current focus of PM RBV research that implicitly uses a competitive advantage derived framework may need to be adapted for contexts such as post-conflict environments.

Research limitations/implications

For organizations seeking to deliver projects in developing countries, the findings indicate that relational capacity in the form of a collaborative social resource may be required to adapt team and organizational resources to post-conflict environments.

Practical implications

The lessons learnt from NGOs can be of value to other organisations seeking to operate in post-conflict environments. The findings from this research reveal that organizations in Sri Lanka establish resource profiles that meet domestic and external requirements. For the management of these organizations, recognition of the inherent contradictions of this strategy can enable the optimization of resource profiles, improving organizational efficiencies.

Originality/value

The study has used insights from NGOs involved in international and local development projects to extend current knowledge of PM resources. While NGOs are distinctive, the critical PM resources identified here may be of value to private and public organizations seeking to develop project resource profiles adapted to emerging markets.
Environmental performance, environmental management and company valuation
Authors: Abrams Roy , Han Seungmin , Hossain Mehdi Tanzeeb
Published: September 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between environmental performance and management and company valuation. With a specific focus on company valuation, this study shows how a firm’s environmental activities, including its environmental management practices, are perceived and valued by its stockholders.

Design/methodology/approach

Newsweek’s green ranking data between 2014 and 2016 were used to support this analysis. Environmental performances and environmental management practices of 345 Fortune 500 companies from various industries were included in the data set.

Findings

The analysis finds higher valuations for US companies that are more efficient in managing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, it empirically shows that investors place a higher value on companies with the following environment-related management policies: initiatives that reward top management for achieving environmental goals and third-party auditing of environmental performance.

Originality/value

By incorporating corporate environmental management practices as an additional environmental performance criterion, this research fills a gap in the literature on the potential relationship between corporate environmental performance and company valuation.
Workplace bullying and turnover intentions of nurses: the multi-theoretic perspective of underlying mechanisms in higher-order moderated-serial-mediation model
Authors: Ul Hassan Faqir Sajjad , Ikramullah Malik , Iqbal Muhammad Zahid
Published: September 2021

Purpose

This study examines the relationship between workplace bullying (WPB) and the turnover intentions (TIs) of nurses, both directly and indirectly, i.e. through serial mediation of psychological contract violation (PCV) and poor employee wellbeing (EWB). And that with the moderating effect of servant leadership (SL) on its final path to TIs of nurses.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 285 nurses voluntarily participated in the survey through convenient sampling from 13 different district hospitals. The authors performed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the study's measurement and structural models.

Findings

Overall, results indicated 62% prevalence rate of WPB and TIs of nurses had 67% variance explained by the exogenous factors. Workplace bullying was found to have direct as well as indirect relationship with TIs of nurses. For the latter, PCV and poor EWB were found to have partially mediated, both singly and serially. The moderating effect of SL on the serial mediation pathway was negative and significant.

Originality/value

Drawing on a tripartite theoretical perspective, this study illuminates the mechanism underlying WPB-TIs relationship with an advanced multivariate statistical technique in the nursing work setting in a developing country.
Do Islamic Holy days affect stock returns? Empirical evidence from Asian and African markets
Authors: Ali Irfan , Akhter Waheed , Chaudhry Naukhaiz
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The Islamic Holy days are among the most celebrated spiritual traditions in the world and are observed by more than 1.5 billion Muslims. This study aims to investigate the effect of these events on the regular returns of stock exchanges in selected Muslim countries.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examines data from eight Asian and African stock exchanges from 2001 to 2019. Isolating the effect of Gregorian calendar anomalies, it aims to evaluate the effect of Islamic Holy days on stock returns by running a pooled random effect panel regression on all the stock exchanges examined.

Findings

The results reveal the positive impact of Eid-ul-Fitr on Asian markets, the negative impact of Eid Milad-un-Nabi on the African stock market’s returns and the positive effect of the Holy month of Ramadan on both markets. Some Gregorian calendar anomalies also were found in these markets.

Practical implications

The research has significant implications for marketing professionals to recognize business opportunities and investors to efficiently manage their stock portfolio during Islamic events of Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid Milad-un-Nabi and Ramadan in relevant Muslim countries.

Originality/value

Given the research gap between Gregorian and Islamic calendar anomalies, this paper contributes by combining the effect of Islamic Holy days on the returns of selected Muslim-dominated financial markets.
Sale and leaseback to market cap rate ratio in emerging markets – an empirical study in Vietnam
Authors: Truong Quan Le , Yiu Chung Yim
Published: September 2021

Purpose

This study hypothesises that sale and leaseback (SLB) cap rate is lower than the market cap rate in emerging economies, and the difference is due to institutional cost and vacancy risk. This study aims to provide a novel SLB-Cap-Rate Model to assess the performance of SLB transaction (SLBT).

Design/methodology/approach

SLBT data are generally not publicly available in developing countries. This study collected data from 31 SLBTs by conducting semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in Vietnam in 2019. The market cap rates were collected from consultants' reports. The hypotheses are tested by three regression models.

Findings

The results show that the SLBT cap rate is significantly less than the market cap rate in Vietnam, and most of the cap rate discount can be explained by institutional and risk factors. This suggests that SLBT helps to reduce search costs for tenants and vacancy risks. It explains why SLBTs are becoming more common in emerging countries.

Practical implications

The study has a strong practical implication for assessing the performance of SLBT for both buyers and sellers. It introduces a novel model for analysing the cap rates and potential risks of SLBT to facilitate property investment decisions.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the studies that contains new knowledge on SLBs in a developing country specifically Vietnam.