bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neuronal non-CG methylation is an essential target for MeCP2 function
Authors: Tillotson Rebekah , Cholewa-Waclaw Justyna , Chhatbar Kashyap , Connelly John , Kirschner Sophie A. , Webb Shaun , Koerner Martha V. , Selfridge Jim , Kelly David , De Sousa Dina , Brown Kyla , Lyst Matthew J. , Kriaucionis Skirmantas , Bird Adrian
Published: July 2020

DNA methylation is implicated in neuronal biology via the protein MeCP2, mutation of which causes Rett syndrome. MeCP2 recruits the NCOR1/2 corepressor complexes to methylated cytosine in the CG dinucleotide, but also to non-CG methylation, which is abundant specifically in neuronal genomes. To test the biological significance of its dual binding specificity, we replaced the MeCP2 DNA binding domain with an orthologous domain whose specificity is restricted to mCG motifs. Knock-in mice expressing the domain-swap protein displayed severe Rett syndrome-like phenotypes, demonstrating that interaction with sites of non-CG methylation, specifically the mCAC trinucleotide, is critical for normal brain function. The results support the notion that the delayed onset of Rett syndrome is due to the late accumulation of both mCAC and its reader MeCP2. Intriguingly, genes dysregulated in bothMecp2-null and domain-swap mice are implicated in other neurological disorders, potentially highlighting targets of particular relevance to the Rett syndrome phenotype.
Predicting trajectories and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance evolution
Authors: Pinheiro Fernanda , Warsi Omar , Andersson Dan I. , Lässig Michael
Published: July 2020

Bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics by a multitude of mechanisms. A central, yet unsolved question is how resistance evolution affects cell growth at different drug levels. Here we develop a fitness model that predicts growth rates of common resistance mutants from their effects on cell metabolism. We map metabolic effects of resistance mutations in drug-free environments and under drug challenge; the resulting fitness trade-off defines a Pareto surface of resistance evolution. We predict evolutionary trajectories of dosage-dependent growth rates and resistance levels, as well as the prevalent resistance mechanism depending on drug and nutrient levels. These predictions are confirmed by empirical growth curves and genomic data ofE. colipopulations. Our results show that resistance evolution, by coupling major metabolic pathways, is strongly intertwined with systems biology and ecology of microbial populations.
Identification of antibiotics for use in selection of the chytrid fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans
Authors: Robinson Kristyn A. , Dunn Mallory , Hussey Shane P. , Fritz-Laylin Lillian K.
Published: July 2020

Global amphibian populations are being decimated by chytridiomycosis, a deadly skin infection caused by the fungal pathogens Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and B. salamandrivorans (Bsal). Although ongoing efforts are attempting to limit the spread of these infections, targeted treatments are necessary to manage the disease. Currently, no tools for genetic manipulation are available to identify and test specific drug targets in these fungi. To facilitate the development of genetic tools in Bd and Bsal, we have tested five commonly used antibiotics with available resistance genes: Hygromycin, Blasticidin, Puromycin, Zeocin, and Neomycin. We have identified effective concentrations of each for selection in both liquid culture and on solid media. These concentrations are within the range of concentrations used for selecting genetically modified cells from a variety of other eukaryotic species.
A new long-read dog assembly uncovers thousands of exons and functional elements missing in the previous reference
Authors: Wang Chao , Wallerman Ola , Arendt Maja-Louise , Sundström Elisabeth , Karlsson Åsa , Nordin Jessika , Mäkeläinen Suvi , Pielberg Gerli Rosengren , Hanson Jeanette , Ohlsson Åsa , Saellström Sara , Rönnberg Henrik , Ljungvall Ingrid , Häggström Jens , Bergström Tomas F. , Hedhammar Åke , Meadows Jennifer R. S. , Lindblad-Toh Kerstin
Published: July 2020

Here we present a new high-quality canine reference genome with gap number reduced 41-fold, from 23,836 to 585. Analysis of existing and novel data, RNA-seq, miRNA-seq and ATAC-seq, revealed a large proportion of these harboured previously hidden elements, including genes, promoters and miRNAs. Short-read dark regions were detected, and genomic regions completed, including the DLA, TCR and 366 cancer genes. 10x sequencing of 27 dogs uncovered a total of 22.1 million SNPs, Indels and larger structural variants (SVs). 1.4% overlap with protein coding genes and could provide a source of normal or aberrant phenotypic modifications.
Rapid, robust plasmid verification byde novoassembly of short sequencing reads
Authors: Gallegos Jenna. E. , Rogers Mark F. , Cialek Charlotte , Peccoud Jean
Published: July 2020

Plasmids are a foundational tool for basic and applied research across all subfields of biology. Increasingly, researchers in synthetic biology are relying on and developing massive libraries of plasmids as vectors for directed evolution, combinatorial gene circuit tests, and for CRISPR multiplexing. Verification of plasmid sequences following synthesis is a crucial quality control step that creates a bottleneck in plasmid fabrication workflows. Crucially, researchers often elect to forego the cumbersome verification step, potentially leading to reproducibility and— depending on the application—security issues. In order to facilitate plasmid verification to improve the quality and reproducibility of life science research, we developed a fast, simple, and open source pipeline for assembly and verification of plasmid sequences from Illumina reads. We demonstrate that our pipeline, which relies onde novoassembly, can also be used to detect contaminating sequences in plasmid samples. In addition to presenting our pipeline, we discuss the role for verification and quality control in the increasingly complex life science workflows ushered in by synthetic biology.
Predicting Eating Disorder and Anxiety Symptoms Using Anorexia Nervosa and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Polygenic Scores
Authors: Yilmaz Zeynep , Schaumberg Katherine , Halvorsen Matt , Goodman Erica L. , Brosof Leigh C. , Crowley James J. ,   Anorexia Nervosa Genetics Initiative,   Eating Disorders Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium,   Tourette Syndrome/Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Mathews Carol A. , Mattheisen Manuel , Breen Gerome , Bulik Cynthia M. , Micali Nadia , Zerwas Stephanie C.
Published: July 2020

Clinical, epidemiological, and genetic findings support an overlap between eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and anxiety symptoms. However, little research has examined the role of genetic factors in the expression of eating disorders and OCD/anxiety phenotypes. We examined whether the anorexia nervosa (AN), OCD, or AN/OCD transdiagnostic polygenic scores (PGS) predict eating disorders, OCD, and anxiety symptoms in a large population-based developmental cohort. Using summary statistics files from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Freeze 2 AN and Freeze 1 OCD GWAS, we first conducted an AN/OCD transdiagnostic GWAS meta-analysis and then calculated PGS for AN, OCD, and AN/OCD in participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children with available genetic and phenotype data on eating disorder, OCD, and anxiety diagnoses and symptoms (sample size 3,212-5,369 per phenotype). We observed sex differences in the PGS prediction of eating disorder, OCD, and anxiety-related phenotypes, with AN genetic risk manifesting at an earlier age and playing a more prominent role in eating disorder phenotypes in boys than in girls. Compulsive exercise was the only phenotype predicted by all three PGS (e.g., PAN(boys)=0.0141 at age 14; POCD(girls)=0.0070 at age 16; PAN/OCD(all)=0.0297 at age 14). Our results suggest that earlier detection of eating disorder, OCD, and anxiety-related symptoms could be made possible by including measurement of genetic risk for these psychiatric conditions while being mindful of sex differences.
Comparison of Multimorbidity in COVID-19 infected and general population in Portugal
Authors: Froes Miguel , Neves Bernardo , Martins Bruno , Silva Mário J.
Published: July 2020

Abstract

Understanding COVID-19 and its risk factors in the Portuguese population is critical to combat this condition. To study the impact of multimorbidity in the population with COVID-19 infection, we performed a descriptive analysis of a dataset extracted from all reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Portugal until June 30, 2020. We observed a prevalence of multimorbidity in 6.77% of the 36,244 infected patients. Patients showed an increased risk of hospitalization, ICU admission and mortality with OR 2.22 (CI 95%: 2.13-2.32) for every additional morbidity. Further studies should confirm these findings and special attention should be made on data collection to ensure proper recording of patient comorbidities.
Plasma IL-6 Levels following Corticosteroid Therapy as an Indicator of ICU Length of Stay in Critically ill COVID-19 Patients
Authors: Awasthi Samir , Wagner Tyler , Venkatakrishnan AJ , Puranik Arjun , Hurchik Matthew , Agarwal Vineet , Conrad Ian , Kirkup Christian , Arunachalam Raman , O’Horo John , Kremers Walter , Kashyap Rahul , Morice William , Halamka John , Williams Amy W. , Faubion William A. , Badley Andrew D. , Gores Gregory J. , Soundararajan Venky
Published: July 2020

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions and mortality in severe COVID-19 patients are driven by “cytokine storms” and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Interim clinical trial results suggest that the corticosteroid dexamethasone displays superior 28-day survival in severe COVID-19 patients requiring ventilation or oxygen. Among 16 patients with plasma IL-6 measurement post-corticosteroid administration, a higher proportion of patients with an IL-6 value over 10 pg/mL have worse outcomes (i.e. ICU Length of Stay > 15 days or death) when compared to 41 patients treated with non-corticosteroid drugs including antivirals, tocilizumab, azithromycin, and hydroxychloroquine (p-value = 0.0024). Given this unexpected clinical association between post-corticosteroid IL-6 levels and COVID-19 severity, we hypothesized that the Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR or NR3C1) may be coupled to IL-6 expression in specific cell types that govern cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Examining single cell RNA-seq data from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of severe COVID-19 patients and nearly 2 million human cells from a pan-tissue scan shows that alveolar macrophages, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells co-express both NR3C1 and IL-6. The mechanism of Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR) agonists mitigating pulmonary and multi-organ inflammation in some COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure, may be in part due to their successful antagonism of IL-6 production within lung macrophages and vasculature.
Methodological Rigor in COVID-19 Clinical Research – A Systematic Review and Case-Control Analysis
Authors: Jung Richard G. , Di Santo Pietro , Clifford Cole , Prosperi-Porta Graeme , Skanes Stephanie , Hung Annie , Parlow Simon , Visintini Sarah , Ramirez F. Daniel , Simard Trevor , Hibbert Benjamin
Published: July 2020

Objective

To systematically evaluate the quality of reporting of currently available COVID-19 studies compared to historical controls.

Design

A systematic review and case-control analysis

Data sources

MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials until May 14, 2020

Study selection

All original clinical literature evaluating COVID-19 or SARS-CoV2 were identified and 1:1 historical control of the same study type in the same published journal was matched from the previous year

Data extraction

Two independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full-texts and independently assessed methodological quality using Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool, Newcastle- Ottawa Scale, QUADAS-2 Score, or case series checklist.

Results

9895 titles and abstracts were screened and 686 COVID-19 articles were included in the final analysis in which 380 (55.4%) were case series, 199 (29.0%) were cohort, 63 (9.2%) were diagnostic, 38 (5.5%) were case-control, and 6 (0.9%) were randomized controlled trials. Overall, high quality/low-bias studies represented less than half of COVID-19 articles - 49.0% of case series, 43.9% of cohort, 31.6% of case-control, and 6.4% of diagnostic studies. We matched 539 control articles to COVID-19 articles from the same journal in the previous year for a final analysis of 1078 articles. The median time to acceptance was 13.0 (IQR, 5.0-25.0) days in COVID-19 articles vs. 110.0 (IQR, 71.0-156.0) days in control articles (p<0.0001). Overall, methodological quality was lower in COVID-19 articles with 220 COVID-19 articles of high quality (41.0%) vs. 392 control articles (73.3%, p<0.0001) with similar results when stratified by study design. In both unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression, COVID-19 articles were associated with lower methodological quality (odds ratio, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.20 to 0.33, p<0.0001).

Conclusion

Currently published COVID-19 studies were accepted more quickly and were found to be of lower methodological quality than comparative studies published in the same journal. Given the implications of these studies to medical decision making and government policy, greater effort to appropriately weigh the existing evidence in the context of emerging high-quality research is needed.

Study registration

PROSPERO: CRD42020187318
Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of (E)-1-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-2-(2-nitrobenzylidene)hydrazine
Authors: Çelikesir Sevim Türktekin , Akkurt Mehmet , Shikhaliyev Namiq Q. , Suleymanova Gulnar T. , Babayeva Gulnare V. , Gurbanova Nurana V. , Mammadova Gunay Z. , Bhattarai Ajaya
Published: July 2020

In the title compound, C13H9Cl2N3O2, the 2,6-dichlorophenyl ring and the nitro-substituted benzene ring form a dihedral angle of 21.16 (14)°. In the crystal, face-to-face π–π stacking interactions occur along the a-axis direction between the centroids of the 2,6-dichlorophenyl ring and the nitro-substituted benzene ring. Furthermore, these molecules show intramolecular N—H...Cl and C—H...O contacts and are linked by intermolecular N—H...O and C—H...Cl hydrogen bonds, forming pairs of hydrogen-bonded molecular layers parallel to (20\overline{2}). The Hirshfeld surface analysis of the crystal structure indicates that the most important contributions to the crystal packing are from H...H (23.0%), O...H/H...O (20.1%), Cl...H/H...Cl (19.0%), C...C (11.2%) and H...C/C...H (8.0%) interactions.
Recovery and noise cancelling of the fetal heart signal using a combination of NLMS algorithm and S-G filter
Authors: Ghasemi Ali , Shama Farzin , Karimi Gholamreza , Khosravi Farshad
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide appropriate methods for reducing the abnormalities on the extracted fetal heart signal from the maternal electrocardiogram (ECG).

Design/methodology/approach

In this regard, the extracted signal of the fetal heart from the mother, improved using an active noise cancelation (ANC) system. It uses commonly adaptive algorithms of normalized least mean squares (NLMS). In the present paper, fetal extraction and denoising methodology are proposed. This methodology uses a combination of the NLMS algorithm with Savitzky–Golay (S-G) filter.

Findings

The obtained results show that a combination of NLMS algorithm with filter coefficient of 15 and µ = 0.02 and S-G filter has a better qSNR (qSNR = 3.6727) and good performance for fetal ECG extraction in comparison with the other works for average fmSNR in the range of −30 to −15 dB. Also, with considering the SNR value of −24.7 dB before filtering and SNR = 3.1861 dB after filtering; the SNR improvement of 27.8861 dB has been obtained.

Originality/value

A new method in the extract and noise reduction of fetal ECG from maternal ECG by the combination of NLMS algorithm and S-G filter is proposed.
Is diversity debate farfetched? Psychological contract expectations, performance and intention to stay
Authors: Pant Jyoti Joshi , Venkateswaran Vijaya
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to understand whether psychological contract (PC) expectations manifest differently for diversity clusters of gender, physical disability and region in relation to job performance and intention to stay.

Design/methodology/approach

It is a survey-based study. Data from 1,065 information technology and business process management professionals were analysed using partial least square based structural equation model (PLS-SEM) and multigroup analysis.

Findings

The met PC expectations related to career growth and development impact performance and are influenced by regional diversity. The met PC expectations related to job and work environment impact the intention to stay. Gender and physical disability do not influence any relationship.

Research limitations/implications

The findings related to physical disability are based on a small sample of 60 employees. This could be reflective of their actual participation in the workplace.

Practical implications

No significant differences were found between men and women employees with/without physically disability. However, regional diversity creates significant differences. Diversity policies should reckon these similarities/differences while viewing requirements of job performance and determinants of intention to stay.

Social implications

One needs to be careful while assuming diversity as a heterogeneous phenomenon. The reality could reflect both differences and similarities. Diverse employee groups having a common set of expectations is a socially positive evolution connoting better social integration.

Originality/value

This article is one of the first to research the influence of gender, physical disability and regional diversity on PC and its outcomes in India. Regional diversity has not been studied based on this framework and this adds to the body of knowledge.
Baromeeter: the funding conundrum
Authors: Ghosh Dastidar Surajit
Published: July 2020

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes are as follows: to understand the different options available for funding; to illustrate the growth of the food services industry in India; and to understand a business model canvas.

Case overview/synopsis

Baromeeter (BOM), was a Delhi-based startup founded in the year 2016 by Rishabh Vyas, a 26-year-old MBA graduate. Currently, BOM has operations in Delhi-NCR with 50,000 monthly website visitors and 200-plus partner restaurants and cafes in Delhi-NCR with brands such as Imperfecto, Junkyard Café, Garam Dharam, Out of the Box, Boombox, Jungle Jamboree and many more. BOM also receives over 1,000 deal bookings and 200 plus party bookings monthly. Going forward, Rishabh has plans to expand to other cities such as Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Bangalore. However, there are certain challenges. So far, the startup has raised funds from friends and families. He was confident that he had a compelling product. However, he knew he had to look for fresh investments to scale up. The existing funds may sustain the operations of the company for another six months. Rishabh was considering a number of options. However, whom to approach? Would banks be interested in lending money? How about participating in angel investor’s meet?

Complexity academic level

The case is suitable for a course in graduate and an undergraduate course in entrepreneurship. The case can be used to understand the business model canvas and to understand the funding options available for startups.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.
MHD hybrid nanofluid flow over a permeable stretching/shrinking sheet with thermal radiation effect
Authors: Yashkun Ubaidullah , Zaimi Khairy , Abu Bakar Nor Ashikin , Ishak Anuar , Pop Ioan
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the heat transfer characteristic of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) hybrid nanofluid over the linear stretching and shrinking surface in the presence of suction and thermal radiation effects.

Design/methodology/approach

Mathematical equations are transformed into pairs of self-similarity equations using similarity transformation. Boundary value problem solver (bvp4c) in MATLAB was adopted to solve the system of reduced similarity equations. In this study, the authors particularly examine the flow and heat transfer properties for different values of suction and thermal radiation parameters using single-phase nanofluid model. A comparison of the present results shows a good agreement with the published results.

Findings

It is noticed that the efficiency of heat transfer of hybrid nanofluid (Cu-Al2O3/H2O) is greater than the nanofluid (Cu/H2O). Furthermore, it is also found that dual solutions exist for a specific range of the stretching/shrinking parameter with different values of suction and radiation parameters. The results indicate that the skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number increase with suction effect. The values of the skin friction coefficient increases, but the local Nusselt number decreases for the first solution with the increasing of thermal radiation parameter. It is also observed that suction and thermal radiation widen the range of the stretching/shrinking parameter for which the solution exists.

Practical implications

In practice, the investigation on the flow and heat transfer of MHD hybrid nanofluid through a stretching/shrinking sheet with suction and thermal radiation effects is very important and useful. The problems related to hybrid nanofluid has numerous real-life and industrial applications, for example microfluidics, manufacturing, transportation, military and biomedical, etc.

Originality/value

In specific, this study focused on increasing thermal conductivity using a hybrid nanofluid mathematical model. This paper is able to obtain the dual solutions. To the best of author’s knowledge, this study is new and there is no previous published work similar to present study.
Effect of wall conduction on the heat transfer characteristics of supercritical n-decane in a horizontal rectangular pipe for cooling of a scramjet combustor
Authors: Li Yong , Xie Gongnan , Sunden Bengt Ake
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to numerically study the influence of wall conduction on the heat transfer of supercritical n-decane in the active regenerative cooling channels.

Design/methodology/approach

A horizontally placed rectangular pipe with a solid zone and another one without a solid zone were used. A drastic variation of thermo-physical properties was emphatically addressed. After the verification of mesh and turbulence models comparing with the experimental results, a mesh number of 4.5 M and the low Reynolds number SST k-ω turbulence model were chosen. The solution of the governing equations and the acquisition of the numerical results were executed by the commercial software FLUENT 2020 R1.

Findings

The numerical results indicate that there is a heat transfer deterioration (HTD) potential for the upper wall, lower wall and sidewall with the decrease of mass flux. Due to wall conduction, the distribution of the fluid temperature at spanwise-normal planes becomes uniform and this feature also takes advantage of the relatively uniform transverse velocity. For the streamwise-normal planes, the low fluid temperature appears close to the upper wall at the region near the sidewall and vice versa for the region near the centre. Undoubtedly, the secondary flow at the cross-section plays a crucial role in this process and the relatively cool mainstream is affected by the vortices.

Originality/value

This study warns that the wall conduction must be considered in the practical design and thermal optimization due to the sensibility of thermo-physical properties to the heat flux. The secondary flow caused by the buoyancy force (gravity) plays a significant role in the supercritical heat transfer and mixed convection heat transfer should be further studied.
MDAIC – a Six Sigma implementation strategy in big data environments
Authors: Koppel Siim , Chang Shing
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Modern production facilities produce large amounts of data. The computational framework often referred to as big data analytics has greatly improved the capabilities of analyses of large data sets. Many manufacturing companies can now seize this opportunity to leverage their data to gain competitive advantages for continuous improvement. Six Sigma has been among the most popular approaches for continuous improvement. The data-driven nature of Six Sigma applied in a big data environment can provide competitive advantages. In the traditional Six Sigma implementation – define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) problem-solving strategy where a human team defines a project ahead of data collection. This paper aims to propose a new Six Sigma approach that uses massive data generated to identify opportunities for continuous improvement projects in a manufacturing environment in addition to human input in a measure, define, analyze, improve and control (MDAIC) format.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed Six Sigma strategy called MDAIC starts with data collection and process monitoring in a manufacturing environment using system-wide monitoring that standardizes continuous, attribute and profile data into comparable metrics in terms of “traffic lights.” The classifications into green, yellow and red lights are based on pre-control charts depending on how far a measurement is from its target. The proposed method monitors both process parameters and product quality data throughout a hierarchical production system over time. An attribute control chart is used to monitor system performances. As the proposed method is capable of identifying changed variables with both spatial and temporal spaces, Six Sigma teams can easily pinpoint the areas in need to initiate Six Sigma projects.

Findings

Based on a simulation study, the proposed method is capable of identifying variables that exhibit the biggest deviations from the target in the Measure step of a Six Sigma project. This provides suggestions of the candidates for the improvement section of the proposed MDAIC methodology.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a new approach for the identifications of projects for continuous improvement in a manufacturing environment. The proposed framework aims to monitor the entire production system that integrates all types of production variables and the product quality characteristics.
Well-being through group exercise: immigrant women’s experiences of a low-threshold training program
Authors: Luth-Hanssen Nancie , Fougner Marit , Debesay Jonas
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Immigrant women show a higher risk of mental health problems and report higher levels of musculoskeletal disorders. Norwegian psychomotor physiotherapy (NPMP) is a body awareness treatment that has been used to alleviate musculoskeletal disorders and mental distress. The purpose of this study is to explore immigrant women’s participation in a low threshold training group and identify what motivates and affects their attendance and well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is informed by a phenomenological approach. The data collection methods consisted of participatory observation and interviews. Observations and interviews were carried out between December 2016 and March 2017.

Findings

The findings show that the content and context of the movement group, being able to participate in exercises wearing own clothes and relying on previous body experiences motivate the women to attend and continue in the training program. NPMP inspired group training takes into account women’s cultural preferences and values. The culture-sensitive approach to physical exercise seems to motivate attendance and contribute to social and mental well-being. Low threshold physical programs should, therefore, be considered to provide immigrant women with the opportunity to experience well-being and social participation.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the better understanding and promotion of the physical and mental health of immigrants.
Multidimensional impact of food security on household welfare: evidences from a household survey in three Indian states
Authors: Satapathy Jyotirmayee , Nayak Narayan Chandra , Mahakud Jitendra
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The welfare impacts of the food security on the beneficiaries can be understood from multiple dimensions. This paper, thus, examines the impact of the India's National Food Security Act (NFSA) on the welfare of the beneficiary households from a multidimensional perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on a sample household survey covering three different states of India. The stratified random sampling technique was used to select the states, districts and blocks. Sample villages and households were selected purposively. A total of 1,523 households comprising 1,069 beneficiary and 454 non-beneficiary households constituted the sample. In order to find out the impact of the programme on different dimensions of welfare, the endogenous switching regression model is employed as it helps control for any absence of randomization and the unobserved heterogeneity bias. Propensity score matching is also employed to supplement the results.

Findings

The substitution effect and income effect of the food subsidy policy combined improve the overall welfare of the households presented through the subjective measures of food consumption behaviour, income transfer and educational achievements. The bargaining effect of the food subsidy programme is reflected in the enhanced social status and women's empowerment. The food security programme seems to augment the food consumption of the beneficiaries as observed from the food consumption score.

Research limitations/implications

The food security policy has improved the overall welfare of the households and can play a major role in enhancing household welfare even further. The non-beneficiaries' welfare could have increased if they would have been included in the food security programme. The subjective assessment may, however, be subjected to personal biases, and there is also absence of a common reference point. Hence, the implications of the findings may be generalized with caution.

Originality/value

This study provides evidences of the impacts of food subsidy from a multidimensional standpoint considering both subjective and objective dimensions of household welfare.
Household overspending on marriage: the scale of the problem and government reactions around the world
Authors: Sadigov Turkhan
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The article offers an empirical investigation of the incidence and scale of household marriage overspending around the world, and the governments' reaction once the problem emerges.

Design/methodology/approach

This study relies on regression analysis of open source data from legislation, mass media, and judiciary hearings for 141 countries. In the Phase 1 logistic regression of cross-country large-N data is used to identify country-incidence of marriage cost escalation. In the Phase 2 ordered logistic regression is used to uncover statistically significant factors that predict the probability of alternative government reactions in 87 countries which experience marriage cost escalation.

Findings

In a strong collectivist sociocultural environment, driven by informality, the rise of middle classes, combined with the decline of traditional hierarchies, and limited opportunities for economic mobility motivates households to enter emulative wedding spending, thus leading to overspending. Governments' reaction depends on available policy resources, and the economic scale of the problem.

Research limitations/implications

The research findings suggest that rising living standards in the developing countries are more likely to escalate wedding costs, and consequently reinforce traditional values.

Originality/value

Academic literature links marriage-related overspending to armed insurgency, child marriage and decreasing state efficiency. Despite the problem's scope, existing research has not comprehensively addressed both its causes, and cross-country differences in government reactions to it. The article addresses both of the mentioned gaps, by offering a conceptual model of marriage cost escalation.
Are non-farming consumers willing to pay “a good market price” for iron-biofortified finger millet? Evidence from experimental auctions in Karnataka, India
Authors: Meier Claudia , El Benni Nadja , Sakamma Srinivasaiah , Moakes Simon , Grovermann Christian , Quiédeville Sylvain , Stolz Hanna , Stolze Matthias , Umesh K. Basegowda
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Biofortification of staple crops is a promising strategy to alleviate micronutrient deficiencies in rural populations of the developing world. The possibility to sell biofortified crops at “a good market price” plays a vital role for the acceptance by smallholder farmers. This study is therefore focused on non-farming consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for biofortified crops.

Design/methodology/approach

Specifically, we elicited non-farming consumers' WTP a premium for the improved iron content (+30% iron) in a 1kg finger millet bag using a 2nd price Vickrey auction with six auction rounds and one health- and one process-related information treatment. Due to multiple bids per subject, premiums were analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model, controlling for market feedback and auction round.

Findings

Despite more than half of the respondents being skeptical toward new crop varieties, the acceptance rate was very high (98% with a WTP above zero). The average premium amounted to 27% and could be significantly increased with the provision of health-related information. In contrast, information about the breeding method was ineffective. The WTP was significantly higher for higher income and lower for higher age, education and skepticism toward new crop varieties and increased with increasing rounds.

Research limitations/implications

Our results suggest that non-farming consumers are willing to pay “a good market price” for iron-biofortified finger millet. Our analysis also confirms the importance of health-related information for raising consumers' WTP. This information supports the further development and introduction of biofortified crops to alleviate micronutrient malnutrition.

Originality/value

This study adds to the still limited literature on consumers' WTP for iron-biofortified crops in India, focusing on non-farming consumers to assess the price such crops can achieve on the market.
When leader is morally corrupt: interplay of despotic leadership and self-concordance on moral emotions and bullying behavior
Authors: Syed Fauzia , Akhtar Muhammad Waheed , Kashif Muhammad , Asrar-ul-Haq Muhammad , ain Qurt ul , Husnain Mudassir , Aslam Muhammad Kashif
Published: July 2020

Purpose

This study investigates despotic leadership (DL) as an antecedent to bullying behavior with a mediating role of moral emotions at work. Another aim is to study the moderating role of self-concordance to buffer the relationship between DL and arousal of moral emotions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected two-source (self-reported and supervisor reported) time-lagged data in the shape of a three-wave survey (i.e. one month time interval for each time) from 242 dyads in the health sector of Pakistan.

Findings

The results revealed that moral emotions mediated the relationship between DL and bullying behavior. Furthermore, self-concordance moderates the relationship between DL and moral emotions, such that the relationship will be stronger in the case of low self-concordance.

Research limitations/implications

Managers need to promote a culture that accommodates diversity of opinion at the organization so that everyone is able to express and share their views openly. Organizations should encourage supervisors to participate in leadership development programs aimed at eliminating DL.

Originality/value

This study establishes the role of self-concordance and moral emotions in the relationship between despotic leadership DL and bullying behavior.
Measuring the influence values of lean criteria on leanness
Authors: Tekez Esra Kurt , Taşdeviren Gökhan
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of lean criteria on leanness as well as prioritize them, taking the relationships between dimensions into consideration for manufacturing enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

This study considers leanness over quality, cost, delivery and innovation (QCDI) performance dimensions. Twenty eight criteria related with these dimensions were determined that are focused on manufacturing organizations and then fuzzy analytic network process (ANP) approach was used to determine the influence value of each criterion on leanness.

Findings

The existing literature shows a lack of studies on systematically measuring the impact of lean criteria on leanness. To fill the gap, this paper presents a fuzzy ANP approach. Firstly interactions between the performance dimensions were configured. Then, according to the relationship, weights were obtained while taking the network structure that allows dynamic multidirectional relationships for interdependencies among performance dimensions into consideration. This provides a more accurate approach for determining the impact value on leanness performance in real-life decision-making environments.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this study is that only manufacturing enterprises have been considered. Different criteria may need to be developed for service organizations.

Practical implications

This study gives a real insight to lean practitioners in the manufacturing system. Due to the fact it is difficult to achieve all the criteria at the same time for a company, this study is significant for manufacturers, indicating which criteria should primarily be focused on in order to achieve leanness.

Originality/value

Applying fuzzy ANP on interrelated QCDI performance dimensions to evaluate the impact of lean criteria on leanness is the novelty of this study in the related literature. The fuzzy ANP approach is thought to be a more suitable approach to obtain more realistic and accurate results with the power to cope with ambiguity. This study provides a systematic measurement of the influence of lean criteria, also considering interdependencies between performance dimensions. Another contribution of this study is adding innovation to the performance dimensions that are commonly known as quality, cost and delivery to assess leanness in a comprehensive manner.
Blockchain adoption in the supply chain: an appraisal on challenges
Authors: Ghode Dnyaneshwar Jivanrao , Yadav Vinod , Jain Rakesh , Soni Gunjan
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Adoption of blockchain technology (BT) leads to shrinking supply chains, produces a better quality product, saves product development time and increases the customized offering to the customer. Since it is a new and growing area of research, researchers and practitioners are not entirely aware of challenges in the adoption of BT in supply chain (SC). Therefore, the objective of this research is to provide an overview of BT in SC and modeling of challenges in the adoption of BT in SC.

Design/methodology/approach

Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is used to model the challenges of adoption of BT in SC. Challenges are identified by the literature review and verified by expert's opinions.

Findings

This study presents some key challenges, i.e. to develop trust within SC management system, obey the governance rules and regulations of institution while implementation of BT in SC, provide transparency of data, obtain tamperproof data to avoid fraud, improve coordination and information sharing among the SC partners, choose a profit-earning product SC for adoption of BT, adopt societal changes and train the participants to strengthen behavioral intention towards adoption of BT in SC. Additionally, interrelationships among the challenges have been identified. This work discusses potential implications based on challenges and provides a platform for the adoption of BT in SC.

Originality/value

The interrelations of the challenges will provide valuable understandings for developing BT solutions in SC to the practitioners.
Consequences of sustainable innovations on the reshoring drivers’ framework
Authors: Martínez-Mora Carmen , Merino Fernando
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how the introduction of new technologies can lead to reconsidering the division of the production process as well as the location of each stage, which may mean reshoring some of them.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on the analysis of the consequences of new technologies developed and introduced in the market to be applied in the final stage of jeans manufacturing. The paper presents the relevance of this technology, based on an in-depth interview with the representatives of the firm as well as firm and press reports, specialised websites and so on. The information of the reshoring company has been confirmed by its press releases.

Findings

The results show that a new technology justifies the reconsideration of the stages in which the production process can be divided and, once this division is considered viable, the drivers for reshoring can become more/less important in the reshoring decision.

Practical implications

Firms that previously offshored should consider that new technological processes may lead them to slice their value chains differently, causing them to seek the optimal location for each of the stages.

Originality/value

Most of the reshoring literature is based on a static framework where the production process is considered stable and the reasons for reshoring must reside in the change of relevant parameters (such as cost differentials, need to be more flexible, monitoring costs higher than expected, etc.). This paper reveals that changes in the production process, even in traditional sectors, may lead to reshoring/backshoring.
The significance of a sponsored event on lesser-known brands in a competitive environment
Authors: Su Yiran , Kunkel Thilo
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Existing research neglected examining the environmental effect of an event on the effectiveness of sponsorship activation in a competitive setting. The purpose of this study is to explore how the event environment impacts consumers’ attitudinal and behavioral responses to competitive brands that co-present at an event.

Design/methodology/approach

The research comprised an exploratory pre-test and two studies at a sport event with a retailing environment. The exploratory pre-test was used to examine the competitive relationship in the local market between the market leader and the lesser-known sponsoring brand. Study 1 used structural equation modelling to test how the event environment impacts consumers’ attitudes toward both brands at the post-consumption stage. Study 2 compared actual sales data of the two competing brands to examine the immediate effect of the sponsorship space on consumption.

Findings

The results revealed the event environment had an impact on consumers’ brand attitude toward both the lesser known sponsoring brand and the non-sponsoring market leader. However, the effect on the sponsoring brand that activated its sponsorship was influenced by consumer involvement with the event and was more salient. Furthermore, the product sales of the less-known sponsoring brand outperformed that of the market leader that co-presented at the event.

Originality/value

This study addresses a call to go beyond exploring the brand image of the sponsoring brands in isolation and holistically examine sponsorship effectiveness. The study contributes to knowledge on both attitudinal and actual behavioural outcomes of sponsorship activation in a competitive environment.
Optimal pooling strategies under heterogeneous risk classes
Authors: Klein Florian , Schmeiser Hato
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine optimal pooling strategies from the perspective of an insurer's shareholders underlying a default probability driven premium loading and convex price-demand functions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use an option pricing framework for normally distributed claims to analyze the net present value for different pooling strategies and contrast multiple risk pools structured as a single legal entity with the case of multiple legal entities. To achieve the net present value maximizing default probability, the insurer adjusts the underlying equity capital.

Findings

The authors show with the theoretical considerations and numerical examples that multiple risk pools with multiple legal entities are optimal if the equity capital must be decreased. An equity capital increase implies that multiple risk pools in a single legal entity are generally optimal. Moreover, a single risk pool for multiple risk classes improves in relation to multiple risk pools with multiple legal entities whenever the standard deviation of the underlying claims increases.

Originality/value

The authors extend previous research on risk pooling by introducing a default probability driven premium loading and a relation between the premium level and demand through a convex price-demand function.
Companion cocreation: improving health service encounters of the elderly
Authors: Suárez-Álvarez Leticia , Suárez-Vázquez Ana , del Río-Lanza Ana-Belén
Published: July 2020

Purpose

The increase of life expectancy leads to the elderly living with one or more chronic illnesses. Communication between the elderly and the health-care professional is fundamental but can be difficult. For that reason, it is common to find the patient with an accompanying family member in the doctor’s surgery. The purpose of this paper is to analyze one of the possible actions of the companion during the provision of the medical service: the co-creation of value (through its two dimensions: coproduction and value-in-use) and its effects on the satisfaction of both the companion and the elderly patient.

Design/methodology/approach

A model has been tested through a system of structural equations using the statistical package EQS 6.2. The sample used is made up of 1,814 informants (907 companions and 907 patients).

Findings

The importance of coproduction between the accompanying person and the health-care professional is shown, to obtain greater levels of satisfaction (of the companion and the patient), whereas a negative role is conferred to the dimension value-in-use. This paper shows a positive impact of the satisfaction of the companion on that of the patient.

Practical implications

It is necessary to have health-care professionals who play a proactive role when facilitating the participation in the appointment with the doctor so as not to leave the initiative of participation in the hands of the companions.

Originality/value

Chronic illnesses are an important focal point of medical attention. Good management of the relations between those involved is fundamental for the diagnosis and adherence to treatment.