bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Introducing biomarkers for invasive fungal disease in haemato-oncology patients: a single-centre experience
Authors: Martinelli Anthony W. , Wright Callum B. , Lopes Marta S. , Swayne Rosemary L. , Krishnamurthy Pramila , Crawley Charles , Uttenthal Ben , Follows George , Babar Judith , Aliyu Sani H. , Enoch David A. , Sander Clare R.
Published: July 2022

Hypothesis/Gap Statement. The impacts of increased biomarker testing on antifungal prescribing have not yet been fully examined in a real-life setting.

Objectives. Biomarkers for invasive fungal disease (IFD) have been shown to reduce antifungal prescriptions in neutropaenic haemato-oncology patients. Our study aimed to assess the real-life impacts of introducing a novel biomarker-based pathway, incorporating serum galactomannan and Aspergillus PCR, for pyrexial haemato-oncology admissions.

Methods. Patients with neutropaenic fever were identified prospectively after introduction of the new pathway from 2013–2015. A historical group of neutropaenic patients who had blood cultures taken from 2009–2012 was generated for comparison. Clinical details, including demographics, underlying diagnosis, investigations, radiology and antimicrobial treatment were obtained.

Results. Prospective data from 308 patients were compared to retrospective data from 302 patients. The proportion of patients prescribed an antifungal medication was unchanged by the pathway (P=0.79), but the pattern was different, with more patients receiving targeted antifungals (P=0.04). A negative serum galactomannan test was not sufficient evidence to withhold therapy, with 17.2% of these episodes felt to have possible or probable IFD using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Invasive Fungal Infections Cooperative Group and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Mycoses Study Group (EORTC/MSG) criteria. There was no difference in 30-day mortality (P=0.21) or 1-year mortality (P=0.57) following introduction of the pathway.

Conclusions. Biomarkers can be used safely as part of a multidisciplinary approach to the diagnosis of IFD in neutropaenic haemato-oncology patients. Whilst they do not necessarily result in antifungal therapy being withheld, they can allow more confident diagnosis of IFD and more specific antifungal therapy in selected cases.
An updated nomenclature for plant ribosomal protein genes
Authors: Scarpin M. Regina , Busche Michael , Martinez Ryan E. , Harper Lisa C. , Reiser Leonore , Lan Ting , Xiong Wei , Mo Beixin , Tang Guiliang , Chen Xuemei , Bailey-Serres Julia , Browning Karen , Brunkard Jacob O.
Published: July 2022

Ban et al. (2014) proposed a nomenclature for ribosomal proteins (r-proteins) that reflects the current understanding of ribosomal protein evolution. In the past few years, this nomenclature has been widely adopted among biomedical researchers and microbiologists. This homology-based r-protein nomenclature has not been as widely adopted among plant biologists, however, presumably because r-protein nomenclature is much more complicated in plants due to gene duplication. Here, we propose compatible upgrades to the homology-guided nomenclature proposed by Ban et al. (2014) so that this naming system can be adopted for widespread use in the plant biology community. We note that Lan et al. (2022) recently proposed updated nomenclature for plant cytosolic ribosomal proteins, focused on Arabidopsis and rice. The nomenclature outlined here is an extension of that proposed by Lan et al. (2022), expanding to include organellar ribosomes and additional species, with the intent that this nomenclature can serve as a template to guide future plant genome annotations. A more detailed comparison highlighting how this naming system builds on the Ban et al. (2014) and Lan et al. (2022) nomenclatures is offered below.

At this time, we request community feedback on this proposed nomenclature so that the naming system ultimately chosen represents a broad consensus. Feedback can be communicated to the this working group at plantribosome@gmail.com before July 25th, 2022. Coauthors of this letter and anyone in the scientific community expressing significant interest will then discuss this feedback as a group, reach a consensus agreement, and communicate the updated nomenclature rules through a letter to the editor (expected to be published at The Plant Cell) and the databases at TAIR and MaizeGDB.
Effects of age and sex on dendritic D2 autoreceptor inhibition in substantia nigra dopamine neurons
Authors: Troyano-Rodriguez Eva , Handa Kylie , Branch Sarah Y , Beckstead Michael J
Published: July 2022

Substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) dopamine neurons are required for voluntary movement and reward learning, and advanced age is associated with motor and cognitive decline. In the midbrain, D2-type autoreceptors located on dendrodendritic synapses between dopamine neurons control cell firing through G protein-activated potassium (GIRK) channels. We previously showed that aging disrupts dopamine neuron pacemaker firing in mice, but only in males. Here we show that D2-receptor inhibitory postsynaptic currents (D2-IPSCs) in aged male mice are moderately smaller compared to young males as well as females, regardless of age. Local application of dopamine revealed a reduction in the amplitude of the D2-receptor currents in old males compared to young, pointing to a postsynaptic mechanism that could not be explained by impairment of the GIRK channels or degeneration of the dendritic arbor. Kinetic analysis showed no differences in D2-IPSCs in old versus young mice or between sexes. Potentiation of D2-IPSCs by corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) is also conserved in aging, indicating preservation of plasticity mechanisms. These findings have implications for understanding dopamine transmission in aging in both sexes and could explain in part the increased susceptibility of males to SNc degeneration of dopamine neurons in neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Spontaneous behavioral coordination between pedestrians emerges through mutual anticipation rather than mutual gaze
Authors: Murakami Hisashi , Tomaru Takenori , Feliciani Claudio , Nishiyama Yuta
Published: July 2022

Human activities are often performed together between two or more persons, as if they are a complex dance. Threading through a crowd is a striking example of such coordinated actions. Behavioral coordination should help to reduce head-on collisions, smooth a pedestrian’s pathway through a crowd, and promote a self-organization process. Although mutual anticipation between pedestrians would be a candidate for underlying mechanisms of behavioral coordination, it remains largely unexplored, especially in terms of visual information. Here, we investigated the effects of mutual anticipation between a pair of pedestrians performing simple avoidance tasks using a combination of motion- and eye-tracking systems. We found that pedestrians in a baseline condition spontaneously coordinated their walking speed and angle until passing each other. Visually distracting one of the pedestrians decreased the level of behavioral coordination, indicating that spontaneous coordination emerges through mutual anticipation. Importantly, blocking the pedestrians’ gaze information alone did not alter their walking, clearly ruling out the assumption that mutual gaze impacts pedestrian anticipation behavior. Moreover, eye-movement analysis demonstrated that the direction of a pedestrian’s gaze changed depending on the uncertainty of the oncoming pedestrian’s motion and that pedestrians tend to look ahead toward the ultimate passing direction before they actually walked in that direction. We propose that body motion cues may be sufficient and available for implicit negotiation on potential future motions. Our findings should be useful in various fields, including research on improvisational motions, pedestrian transportation, and robotic navigation.
The Entwined African and Asian Genetic Roots of the Medieval Peoples of the Swahili Coast
Authors: Brielle Esther S. , Fleisher Jeffrey , Wynne-Jones Stephanie , Broomandkhoshbacht Nasreen , Callan Kim , Curtis Elizabeth , Iliev Lora , Lawson Ann Marie , Oppenheimer Jonas , Qiu Lijun , Stewardson Kristin , Workman J. Noah , Zalzala Fatma , Ayodo George , Gidna Agness O. , Kabiru Angela , Kwekason Amandus , Mabulla Audax Z.P. , Manthi Fredrick K. , Ndiema Emmanuel , Ogola Christine , Sawchuk Elizabeth , Al-Gazali Lihadh , Ali Bassam R. , Ben-Salem Salma , Letellier Thierry , Pierron Denis , Radimilahy Chantal , Rakotoarisoa Jean-Aimé , Culleton Brendan , Sirak Kendra , Mallick Swapan , Rohland Nadin , Patterson Nick , Mwenje Mohammed Ali , Ahmed Khalfan Bini , Mohamed Mohamed Mchulla , Williams Sloan , Monge Janet , Kusimba Sibel , Prendergast Mary E. , Reich David , Kusimba Chapurukha M.
Published: July 2022

The peoples of the Swahili coast of eastern Africa established a literate urban culture by the second millennium CE. They traded across eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean and were among the first sub-Saharan practitioners of Islam. An open question has been the extent to which these early interactions between Africans and non-Africans were accompanied by genetic admixture. We report genome-wide ancient DNA from 80 individuals in five medieval and early modern (1300-1800 CE) coastal towns, as well as people from an inland town postdating 1650 CE. Over half of the ancestry of most coastal individuals came from African ancestors; these African ancestors were primarily female. A slightly smaller proportion of ancestry was from Asia. This Asian component was approximately eighty to ninety percent from Near Eastern males and ten to twenty percent from Indian females. Peoples of African and Asian origins began to mix by around 1000 CE, a time when archaeological evidence documents changes on the coast that are often interpreted as marking the large-scale adoption of Islam. Before roughly 1500 CE, the Near Eastern ancestry detected in the individuals was mainly Persian-related, consistent with the narrative of the Kilwa Chronicle, the oldest history told by the Swahili themselves. After this time, the sources of Near Eastern ancestry became increasingly Arabian, consistent with the archaeological and historical evidence of growing interactions between the Swahili coast and parts of southern Arabia. Subsequent interactions of Swahili coast peoples with other Asian and African groups further changed the ancestry of present-day peoples relative to the ancient individuals we sequenced, highlighting how Swahili genetic legacies can be more clearly understood with ancient DNA.
Scale-free correlations and criticality in an experimental model of brain cancer
Authors: Wood Kevin B. , Comba Andrea , Motsch Sebastien , Grigera Tomás S. , Lowenstein Pedro
Published: July 2022

Collective behavior spans several orders of magnitudes of biological organization, ranging from cell colonies, to flocks of birds, to herds of wildebeests. In this work, we investigate collective motion of glioblastoma cells in an ex-vivo experimental model of malignant brain tumors. Using time-resolved tracking of individual glioma cells, we observed collective motion characterized by weak polarization in the (directional) velocities of single cells, with fluctuations correlated over many cell lengths. The correlation length of these fluctuations scales approximately linearly with the total population size, and these scale-free correlations suggest that the system is poised near a critical point. To further investigate the source of this scale-free behavior, we used a data-driven maximum entropy model to estimate the effective length scale (nc) and strength (J) of local interactions between tumor cells. The model captures statistical features of the experimental data, including the shape of the velocity distributions and the existence of long range correlations, and suggests that nc and J vary substantially across different populations. However, the scale and strength of the interactions do not vary randomly, but instead occur on the boundary separating ordered and disordered motion, where the model exhibits classical signs of criticality, including divergences in generalized susceptibility and heat capacity. Our results suggest that brain tumor assemblies are poised near a critical point characterized by scale-free correlations in the absence of strong polarization.
Transcriptomic cell type structures in vivo neuronal activity across multiple time scales
Authors: Schneider Aidan , Azabou Mehdi , McDougall-Vigier Louis , Parks David , Ensley Sahara , Bhaskaran-Nair Kiran , Nowakowski Tom , Dyer Eva L. , Hengen Keith B.
Published: July 2022

Cell type is hypothesized to be a key determinant of the role of a neuron within a circuit. However, it is unknown whether a neuron’s transcriptomic type influences the timing of its activity in the intact brain. In other words, can transcriptomic cell type be extracted from the time series of a neuron’s activity? To address this question, we developed a new deep learning architecture that learns features of interevent intervals across multiple timescales (milliseconds to >30 min). We show that transcriptomic cell class information is robustly embedded in the timing of single neuron activity recorded in the intact brain of behaving animals (calcium imaging and extracellular electrophysiology), as well as in a bio-realistic model of visual cortex. In contrast, we were unable to reliably extract cell identity from summary measures of rate, variance, and interevent interval statistics. We applied our analyses to the question of whether transcriptomic subtypes of excitatory neurons represent functionally distinct classes. In the calcium imaging dataset, which contains a diverse set of excitatory Cre lines, we found that a subset of excitatory cell types are computationally distinguishable based upon their Cre lines, and that excitatory types can be classified with higher accuracy when considering their cortical layer and projection class. Here we address the fundamental question of whether a neuron, within a complex cortical network, embeds a fingerprint of its transcriptomic identity into its activity. Our results reveal robust computational fingerprints for transcriptomic types and classes across diverse contexts, defined over multiple timescales.
Loss of FOXP3 function causes expansion of two pools of autoreactive T cells in patients with IPEX syndrome
Authors: Borna Šimon , Lee Esmond , Lakshmanan Uma , Mavers Melissa , Narula Mansi , Ramachandran Akshaya , Baker Jeanette , Schulze Janika , Olek Sven , Marois Louis , Gernez Yael , Bhatia Monica , Bertaina Alice , Roncarolo Maria Grazia , Meffre Eric , Bacchetta Rosa
Published: July 2022

The monogenic autoimmune disease Immunedysregulation polyendocrynopathy entheropathy X-linked syndrome (IPEX) has elucidated the essential function of the transcription factor FOXP3 and of thymic-derived regulatory T (Treg) cells in controlling autoimmunity. However, the presence of autoreactive T cells in IPEX remains undetermined, thus representing a crucial gap in understanding the origin of autoimmunity in a FOXP3 deficient immune system. Combining epigenetic analysis as a lineage marker of Treg identity and TCR sequencing to assess the self-reactive clones, we showed that IPEX patients have two pools of expanded autoreactive T cells. The first originates from the expansion of autoreactive effector T cells (Teff), likely due to loss of Treg suppressive function since it is absent in carrier mothers, in whom Treg cells are functional. The second pool originates, unexpectedly, from Treg cells which lose their phenotypic markers, including CD25 and FOXP3. We call these loss of identity Treg cells and show that they are i) suppressed by healthy donor Treg in a patient post hematopoietic transplantation despite low donor chimerism, and ii) not detectable in patients with Autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy syndrome (APECED), a monogenic autoimmune disease of thymic origin. Moreover, we demonstrate that FOXP3 knock-out in Treg cells leads to increased Treg expansion and production of Th17 and Th2 cytokines, known to be increased in IPEX patients. These results suggest that the loss of identity Treg cells could directly contribute to immune dysregulation in IPEX. Collectively, we provide a better understanding of autoimmunity and novel ways to monitor the effects of Treg cell therapies in IPEX disease or other autoimmune diseases.

One Sentence Summary

Mutations of FOXP3 gene in humans cause expansion of autoreactive T cells originating from both effector T cells and regulatory T cells which gain effector function.
Canadian newspapers support mifepristone medical abortion to improve fulfillment of the right to health (2015-2019)
Authors: Kendall Tamil , Sriram Pallavi , Parmar Amrit , Norman Wendy V.
Published: July 2022

In 2015, mifepristone, the international gold standard for medical abortion, was approved for use in Canada. Our content analysis of Canadian newspaper coverage describes arguments in favor or against medical abortion and the evolving regulatory framework for mifepristone from six months before approval until the last province included the medication as a publicly insured health benefit (2015-2019).

Our study found an exceptionally high level of support for the approval, introduction and removal of regulatory barriers to mifepristone for medical abortion. Of 402 articles, 67% were pro-medical abortion, 25% presented balanced or neutral coverage and only 8% presented solely anti-medical abortion viewpoints. Of the 761 stakeholders cited, more than 90% made positive or neutral statements about medical abortion. Most articles discussed medical abortion as a health issue and contained arguments about how liberalization of the regulatory framework and public payment for mifepristone would improve abortion availability (68%), accessibility (87%), acceptability (34%) and quality (19%). Mifepristone’s introduction in Canada was presented in newspapers as a way to increase women’s health, specifically in rural areas where disparities in abortion access exist.

Rather than formal balance, which presents contrasting arguments as equally valid even when the scientific evidence for one vastly outweighs the other, our study identified evidentiary balance where coverage aligned with the majority of evidence and expert opinion. Our results differ from analyses in other high-income countries (United Kingdom, United States) that have found that media frame abortion as a stigmatized and controversial issue or mention abortion predominantly with respect to electoral politics rather than as a health issue. The Canadian print media presented overwhelmingly favorable arguments towards the expansion of mifepristone medical abortion and served to destigmatize abortion by framing the introduction and universal coverage of medical abortion as fulfilling core components of the right to health.
Use of illness severity scores to predict mortality in interstitial lung disease patients hospitalised with acute respiratory deterioration
Authors: Williams Rachel L , Hyams Catherine , Robertshaw Joe , Gonzalez Maria Garcia , Szasz-Benczur Zsuzsa , White Paul , Maskell Nick A , Finn Adam , Barratt Shaney L
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Hospitalisations relating to acute respiratory deteriorations (ARD) in Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) have poor outcomes. Factors predicting adverse outcomes are not fully understood and data addressing the use of illness severity scores in prognostication are limited.

Objective

To investigate the use of CURB-65 and NEWS-2 severity scores in the prediction of mortality following ARD-ILD hospitalisation, using prospective methodology and to validate previously determined cut-offs, derived from a retrospective study cohort.

Methods

A dual-centre prospective observational cohort study of all adults (≥18y) hospitalised with ARD-ILD in Bristol, UK (n=179). Gender-Age-Physiology (GAP), CURB-65 and NEWS-2 scores were calculated for each eligible admission.

Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used to quantify the strength of discrimination for NEWS-2 and CURB-65 scores. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the relationship between baseline severity scores and mortality.

Results

GAP showed some merit at predicting 30-day mortality (AUC=0.64,P=0.015); whereas CURB-65 showed modest predictive value for in-hospital (AUC=0.72,P<0.001) and 90-day mortality (AUC=0.67,P<0.001). NEWS-2 showed higher predictive value for in-hospital (AUC=0.80,P<0.001) and 90-day mortality (AUC=0.75,P<0.001), with an optimal derived cut-off ≥6.5 found to be sensitive and specific for predicting in-hospital (83% and 63%) and 90-day (73% and 72%) mortality. In exploratory analyses, GAP score addition improved the predictive ability of NEWS-2 against 30-day mortality and CURB-65 across all time-periods.

Conclusion

NEWS-2 has good discriminatory value for predicting in-hospital mortality and moderate discriminatory value for predicting 90-day mortality. The optimal NEWS-2 cut-off value determined was the same as in a previous retrospective cohort, confirming the NEWS-2 score shows promise in predicting mortality following ARD-ILD hospitalisation.
Combining AFM, XPS and chemical hydrolysis to understand the complexity and dynamics of C. vulgaris cell wall composition and architecture
Authors: Demir-Yilmaz Irem , Schiavone Marion , Esvan Jérôme , Guiraud Pascal , Formosa-Dague Cécile
Published: July 2022

The microalgae cell wall represents its interface with its environment and a strong barrier to disrupt in order to extract the cell’s products. Understanding its composition and architecture is a challenge that if overcome, could lead to substantial advancements in optimizing microalgae-production systems. However, the cell wall is a dynamic and complex structure that evolves depending on the growth phase or culture conditions. To apprehend this complexity, an experimental approach combining AFM, XPS, and chemical hydrolysis followed by HPAEC-PAD was developed to understand the cell wall of Chlorella vulgaris, a biotechnologically-relevant green microalgae species. Exponential and stationary growth stages were investigated, as well as saline stress condition inducing lipid production. Results showed that both the cell wall composition and architecture changes in stationary phase, with an increase of the lipidic fraction at the expanse of the proteic fraction, changes in the polysaccharidic composition, and a significant increase of its rigidity. Under saline stress, cell wall architecture seems to be affected as its rigidity decreases importantly. Altogether, this study demonstrates the power of combining these three techniques to give new insights into C. vulgaris cell wall, in terms of composition and architecture, and of its dynamics in different conditions.
Efficient algorithms for designing maximally sized orthogonal DNA sequence libraries
Authors: Gowri Gokul , Sheng Kuanwei , Yin Peng
Published: July 2022

Orthogonal sequence library design is an essential task in bioengineering. Typical design approaches scale quadratically in the size of the candidate sequence space. As such, exhaustive searches of sequence space to maximize library size are computationally intractable with existing methods. Here, we present SeqWalk, a time and memory efficient method for designing maximally-sized orthogonal sequence libraries using the sequence symmetry minimization heuristic. SeqWalk encodes sequence design constraints in a de Bruijn graph representation of sequence space, enabling the application of efficient graph traversal techniques to the problem of orthogonal DNA sequence design. We demonstrate the scalability of SeqWalk by designing a provably maximal set of > 106 orthogonal 25nt sequences in less than 20 seconds on a single standard CPU core. We additionally derive fundamental bounds on orthogonal sequence library size under a variety of design constraints.
ION CHANNEL THERMODYNAMICS STUDIED WITH TEMPERATURE JUMPS MEASURED AT THE CELL MEMBRANE
Authors: Bassetto Carlos A Z , Pinto Bernardo I , Latorre Ramon , Bezanilla Francisco
Published: July 2022

Perturbing the temperature of a system modifies its energy landscape thus providing a ubiquitous tool to understand biological processes. Here, we developed a framework to generate sudden temperature jumps (Tjumps) and sustained temperature steps (Tsteps) to study the temperature dependence of membrane proteins under voltage-clamp, while measuring the membrane temperature. Utilizing the melanin under the Xenopus laevis oocytes membrane as a photothermal transducer, we achieved short Tjumps up to 10 ºC in less than 1.5 ms and constant Tsteps for durations up to 150 ms. We followed the temperature at the membrane with submillisecond time resolution by measuring the time-course of membrane capacitance, which is linearly related to temperature. We applied Tjumps in Kir 1.1b, which reveals a highly temperature-sensitive blockage relief and characterized the effects of Tsteps on the temperature-sensitive channels TRPM8 and TRPV1. These newly developed approaches provide a general tool to study membrane proteins thermodynamics.
Inflammatory sub-phenotypes in sepsis: relationship to outcomes, treatment effect and transcriptomic sub-phenotypes
Authors: Antcliffe David B , Mi Yuxin , Santhakumaran Shalini , Burnham Katie L , Prevost A Toby , Ward Josie K , Marshall Timothy , Bradley Claire , Al-Beidh Farah , Hutton Paula , McKechnie Stuart , Davenport Emma E , Hinds Charles J , O’Kane Cecilia M , McAuley Daniel F , Shankar-Hari Manu , Gordon Anthony C , Knight Julian C
Published: July 2022

Rationale

Heterogeneity of sepsis limits discovery and targeting of treatments. Clustering approaches in critical illness have identified patient groups who may respond differently to therapies. These include in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) two inflammatory sub-phenotypes, using latent class analysis (LCA), and in sepsis two Sepsis Response Signatures (SRS), based on transcriptome profiling. It is unknown if inflammatory sub-phenotypes such as those identified in ARDS are present in sepsis and how sub-phenotypes defined with different techniques compare.

Objectives

To identify inflammatory sub-phenotypes in sepsis using LCA and assess if these show differential treatment responses. These sub-phenotypes were compared to hierarchical clusters based on inflammatory mediators and to SRS sub-phenotypes.

Methods

LCA was applied to clinical and biomarker data from two septic shock randomized trials. VANISH compared norepinephrine to vasopressin and hydrocortisone to placebo and LeoPARDS compared levosimendan to placebo. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was applied to 65, 21 and 11 inflammatory mediators measured in patients from the GAinS (n=124), VANISH (n=155) and LeoPARDS (n=484) studies.

Measurements and Main Results

LCA and HCA identified a sub-phenotype of patients with high cytokine levels and worse organ dysfunction and survival, with no interaction between LCA classes and trial treatment responses. Comparison of inflammatory and transcriptomic sub-phenotypes revealed some similarities but without sufficient overlap that they are interchangeable.

Conclusions

A sub-phenotype with high levels of inflammation and increased disease severity is consistently identifiable in sepsis, with similarities to that described in ARDS. There was limited overlap with the transcriptomic sub-phenotypes.
Functional Imaging from Fly Photoreceptors
Authors: Chen Pei-Ju , Li Yan , Lee Chi-Hon
Published: July 2022

In this protocol, we describe the procedures for visualizing light-evoked calcium changes in fly visual neurons using two-photon microscopy. Before starting the imaging, the visual stimulation system should be set up properly. To facilitate later data analysis, we recommend synchronizing (or time-stamping) imaging and visual stimuli during experiments. Depending on the scientific question and experimental design, the visual stimuli can be modified. Here we provide an example protocol for measuring the intensity–response function in fly ultraviolet (UV)-sensing photoreceptors using UV illumination. For this purpose, precise time-stamping or synchronization is not required.
Study on the construction workforce management based on lean construction in the context of COVID-19
Authors: Jiang Lixuan , Zhong Hua , Chen Jianghong , Cheng Jiajia , Chen Shilong , Gong Zili , Lun Zhihui , Zhang Jinhua , Su Zhenmin
Published: July 2022

Purpose

The construction industry is facing challenges not only for workers' mobility in the pandemic situation but also for Lean Construction (LC) practise in responding to the high-quality development during the post-pandemic. As such, this paper presents a construction workforce management framework based on LC to manage both the emergency goal in migrant worker management and the long-term goal in labour productivity improvement in China.

Design/methodology/approach

The framework is created based on the integrated culture and technology strategies of LC. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is taken to explore factors influencing the mobility of construction workers and to measure labour productivity improvement. The case study approach is adopted to demonstrate the framework application.

Findings

For method application, a time-and-motion study and Percent Plan Complete indicator are proposed to offer labour productivity measurements of “resources efficiency” and “flow efficiency”. Moreover, the case study provides an industry level solution for construction workforce management and Lean Construction culture shaping, as well as witnesses the LC culture and technology strategies alignment contributing to LC practise innovation.

Originality/value

Compared with previous studies which emphasised solely LC techniques rather than socio-technical system thinking, the proposed integration framework as well as implementation of “Worker's Home” and “Lean Work Package” management models in the COVID-19 pandemic contribute to new extensions of both the fundamental of knowledge and practise in LC.
Predictive model assessment and selection in composite-based modeling using PLS-SEM: extensions and guidelines for using CVPAT
Authors: Sharma Pratyush N. , Liengaard Benjamin D. , Hair Joseph F. , Sarstedt Marko , Ringle Christian M.
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Researchers often stress the predictive goals of their partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analyses. However, the method has long lacked a statistical test to compare different models in terms of their predictive accuracy and to establish whether a proposed model offers a significantly better out-of-sample predictive accuracy than a naïve benchmark. This paper aims to address this methodological research gap in predictive model assessment and selection in composite-based modeling.

Design/methodology/approach

Recent research has proposed the cross-validated predictive ability test (CVPAT) to compare theoretically established models. This paper proposes several extensions that broaden the scope of CVPAT and explains the key choices researchers must make when using them. A popular marketing model is used to illustrate the CVPAT extensions’ use and to make recommendations for the interpretation and benchmarking of the results.

Findings

This research asserts that prediction-oriented model assessments and comparisons are essential for theory development and validation. It recommends that researchers routinely consider the application of CVPAT and its extensions when analyzing their theoretical models.

Research limitations/implications

The findings offer several avenues for future research to extend and strengthen prediction-oriented model assessment and comparison in PLS-SEM.

Practical implications

Guidelines are provided for applying CVPAT extensions and reporting the results to help researchers substantiate their models’ predictive capabilities.

Originality/value

This research contributes to strengthening the predictive model validation practice in PLS-SEM, which is essential to derive managerial implications that are typically predictive in nature.
A squeezed lemon or an appetizing olive? Exploring expatriate and repatriate talent management
Authors: Valk Reimara
Published: July 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Global Talent Management (GTM) approaches and praxis with a specific focus on global deployment goal congruence and alignment between expatriates and the organization, talent recognition, valuation and utilization of repatriates.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative research in this paper entails interviews with 78 expatriates and repatriates across the globe, investigating their experiences with, perspectives on and perceptions of GTM praxis and approaches.

Findings

Findings of this study revealed firstly, that there is incongruence and misalignment of goals in global deployment where organizational, financial goals prevailed over social and human-oriented goals. Secondly, a lack of global talent pools and pipelines where interviewees indicated that expatriate assignments (EAs) were typically reactionary without strategic forward thinking on talent management (TM), observable through organizations' focus on short-term return on investment (ROI) on EAs instead of long-term talent investments. Thirdly, there was little recognition and non-utilization of cross-cultural human capital and talents upon repatriation.

Research limitations/implications

This study relied on self-reports of expatriates' and repatriates' perceptions of and experiences with GTM approaches. Future research should gather multi-actor, multiple-source data from expatriates and repatriates, senior leaders, line managers, GTM strategic business partners to gain more insight into GTM approaches and praxis.

Practical implications

Organizations are recommended to conduct “Global Talent Management Open Strategy Formation” as the foundation of an evidence-based, integrative GTM architecture and praxis to ensure GTM effectiveness.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature by advocating for sustainable, people-centric GTM to safeguard the longevity and sustainability of all members of the talent ecosystem.
Indigenous knowledge, traditional knowledge and local knowledge: what is the difference? An informetrics perspective
Authors: Onyancha Omwoyo Bosire
Published: July 2022

Purpose

This study aims to explore the similarities and differences between the three concepts that are commonly used to describe the knowledge of traditional and indigenous communities, namely, indigenous knowledge, traditional knowledge and local knowledge, with a view to contributing to the discourse on conceptualizing indigenous knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was extracted from the Scopus database using the main terms that are used for indigenous knowledge, namely, “indigenous knowledge” (IK), “traditional knowledge” (TK) and “local knowledge” (LK). Data were analyzed according to the themes drawn from the objectives of the study, using the VOSviewer software and the analytical tool embedded in the Scopus database.

Findings

The findings indicate that whereas IK and LK are older concepts than TK, TK has become more visible in the literature than the former; there is minimal overlap in the use of the labels in the literature; the three labels’ literature is largely domiciled in the social sciences; and that there were variations in representation of the labels according to countries and geographic regions.

Practical implications

The author avers that the scatter of literature on the knowledge of traditional and indigenous peoples under the three main labels has huge implications on the accessibility and use the literature by stakeholders including researchers, students, information and knowledge managers and information service providers.

Originality/value

This study demonstrates the application of informetrics beyond is traditional use to assess trends, nature and types of research patterns and mathematical modeling of information patterns to encompass the definition of the scope of concepts as covered in the literature.
Social ties, absorptive capacity, and the adoption of green innovation: a social capital perspective
Authors: Ali Adnan , Jiang Xu , Ali Afzaal
Published: July 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine how social ties (i.e. business ties and political ties) affect the adoption of green innovation in the context of emerging economies, separately and comparatively. In addition, this study also seeks to examine how absorptive capacity shapes the relationships between social ties and the adoption of green innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical model with hypothesized relationships is proposed and tested using regression in SPSS. This study’s sample consists of a dataset covering 272 Chinese firms (based on a total of 544 respondents) operating in various industries with two key informants in each firm.

Findings

The authors find that business ties and political ties both facilitate the adoption of green innovation, whereas business ties influence the adoption more strongly than political ties do. This study’s findings also show that absorptive capacity strengthens the positive relationships between the two types of social ties and the adoption of green innovation.

Originality/value

Although scholarship has amply documented the role that social ties play in influencing corporate performance, few studies have considered how and under what conditions these ties can impact the adoption of green innovation. Overall, the authors add value to the environmental management and social capital literature by providing novel insights into the differential roles that business ties and political ties play in the adoption of green innovation under the influence of absorptive capacity.
Partners' knowledge utilization and exploratory innovation: the moderating effect of competitive and collaborative relationships
Authors: Xiao Jiuling , Bao Yuting
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Partners' knowledge is an essential source of knowledge for organizations in the collaborative innovation. Exploratory innovation is an innovation strategy that is significant to the organization and is characterized by learning and absorbing new knowledge for new products and technology. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of partners' knowledge utilization on exploratory innovation and to analyze further the moderating effect of previous competitive and collaborative relationships between organizations on the above relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the patent data of 1,636 organizations in the nano-biopharmaceutical field collaboratively from 1998 to 2020 are used as a sample. The knowledge networks and collaboration networks are constructed through the patent data. A negative binomial regression method is used to conduct the empirical study.

Findings

The results indicate that partners' knowledge utilization has an inverted U-shaped effect on exploratory innovation. The competitive relationship steepens the inverted U-shape effect of partners' knowledge utilization on exploratory innovation and makes the turning point to the left. The collaborative relationship steepens the inverted U-shape effect of partners' knowledge utilization on exploratory innovation and makes the turning point to the right.

Originality/value

This study is the first to examine the impact of partners' knowledge utilization on exploratory innovation and to explore the role of the competitive and collaborative relationships between organizations. It extends current research in organizational innovation and knowledge management by providing insight into partners' knowledge utilization.
Putting the “service” into B2B marketing: key developments in service research and their relevance for B2B
Authors: Wirtz Jochen , Kowalkowski Christian
Published: July 2022

Purpose

The business-to-business (B2B) marketing literature is heavily focused on the manufacturing sector. However, it is the B2B service sector that shows the highest growth in gross domestic product (GDP). Beyond a vibrant stream of literature on servitization, the B2B literature has neglected drawing on the wider service literature. This paper aims to examine recent streams of service research that have promising implications and research opportunities for B2B marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

Together, the author team has decades of research, managerial and executive teaching experience related to B2B marketing and services marketing and management. The observations and reflections in this paper originate from this unique perspective and are supplemented by insights from 16 expert interviews.

Findings

The authors identify and discuss in this paper four broad and related themes from the service literature that can stimulate B2B research and practice. First, the authors highlight the implications for capturing value in economies with their rapidly increasing specialization and related growth in B2B services. Specifically, the authors explain where B2B firms should focus on to gain bargaining power in the value chains of the future. Second, an additional strategy to enhance a B2B firm’s power to capture value is servitization, which allows firms to get closer to their customers, increase their switching costs and build strategic partnerships. The authors explore how firms can use service productization to enhance their chances of successful servitization. Third, servitization is expensive, and productivity and scalability are often a challenge in B2B contexts. These issues are tackled in a recent service research stream on cost-effective service excellence (CESE) where the authors derive implications for B2B firms. Fourth and related to CESE, latest developments in intelligent automation offer exciting opportunities for B2B services to be made more scalable.

Originality/value

This paper is based on the unique perspective of the author team and a panel of experts and connects major streams of service research to the B2B literature.
Library as place: conceptual model for public libraries and their transition
Authors: Kawamoto Marika , Koizumi Masanori
Published: July 2022

Purpose

In this information age, demonstrating the significance of physical libraries is increasingly important. The roles and functions of libraries have been discussed using the concept of the library as place in interdisciplinary perspectives. However, the overall structure of the concept is inadequate because there are multifaceted arguments; how the concept has changed is not clear either. The purpose of this study is to clarify the whole picture of the roles and functions of the library as place in public libraries and to show the transition of the roles and functions.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative content analysis and time-series analysis were conducted using 175 related articles that mentioned the roles and functions of the library as a place.

Findings

An overall of 2,966 codes about library as a place was extracted and organised into a conceptual model, comprising 3 symbolic infrastructures (Wisdom, Heritage and Community), 11 categories (Intelligence, Creativity, Novelty, Culture and History, Neutrality, Equality, Empowerment, Publicness, Privacy, Sociability and Friendliness) and 30 subcategories. The study found that concepts of the library as place have developed rapidly since the 1990s, and roles have diversified from traditional ones.

Originality/value

The conceptual model of the library as place in this study, which integrates diverse perspectives such as physical spaces, activities and symbols, is the first of model's kind.
Taking open answers seriously: gaining insights into the perilous undercurrent of organizational change
Authors: Schouten Hannelore , Benders Jos , Heusinkveld Stefan
Published: July 2022

Purpose

This study aims to discuss the usefulness of free-text comments to gain insights into participants' opinions about an organizational change project.

Design/methodology/approach

A secondary analysis of 152 free-text answers to an open question in a questionnaire evaluating the implementation of lean facility design was conducted.

Findings

The authors identified three categories of responses to change: (1) dismissive – lean unrelated, (2) dismissive – lean related and (3) supporting – lean related. Notably, the large majority of the comments were dismissive by nature and unrelated to lean. Furthermore, critical responses also emanate from the most supportive group (critical friends).

Practical implications

Quintessential to change management is understanding how those involved perceive the changes. Free-text comments offer an opportunity to gain a view on these perceptions, particularly perceptions that often stay covert whilst having the potential to undermine change initiatives. At the same time, the comments may also be used to capitalize on constructive criticisms.

Originality/value

This study delivers a unique view on how free comments allow developing a broader understanding of hospital staff's responses to an organizational change initiative and particularly its “undercurrent” that may potentially have significant implications to change processes.
The role of reference points and organizational identity in strategic adaptation to performance feedback
Authors: Blettner Daniela Patricia , Gollisch Simon
Published: July 2022

Purpose

This study aims to elucidate reference points and organizational identity in letters to shareholders (LTSs) of publishing companies and develops propositions on their relation to strategic adaptation. This study examines how characteristics of reference points (number, temporality and specificity) and organizational identity (focus, discontinuity and distinctiveness) relate to strategic adaptation. This research advances performance feedback theory and behavioral strategy by presenting rich data on how managers use reference points. This study also theorizes on the role of organizational identity as an observation frame. Finally, this study informs managers on how they can adapt reference points and organizational identity to drive strategic adaptation in their organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses text analysis of LTSs of eight companies in the global publishing industry over six years. The research design is an exploratory, comparative case study.

Findings

The authors present the findings of rich empirical data analysis of reference points and organizational ideology, develop a typology and propose three proposed relationships. This paper develops three propositions on how characteristics of reference points (number, temporality and specificity) and organizational identity (focus, discontinuity and distinctiveness) relate to strategic adaptation.

Originality/value

This study elucidates reference points that managers use when they make sense of performance feedback. This study further develops a typology of reference points and suggests propositions on how reference points and organizational identity relate to strategic adaptation. The novel linguistic approach to revealing reference points-in-use and the study of decision-making in its empirical context contribute to a better understanding of the micromechanims of decision-making that are central to behavioral strategy.