bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A CRISPR-Cas9 screen reveals a role for WD repeat-containing protein 81 (WDR81) in the entry of late penetrating viruses
Authors: Snyder Anthony J. , Abad Andrew T. , Danthi Pranav
Published: September 2021

Successful initiation of infection by many different viruses requires their uptake into the endosomal compartment. While some viruses exit this compartment early, others must reach the degradative, acidic environment of the late endosome. Mammalian orthoreovirus (reovirus) is one such late penetrating virus. To identify host factors that are important for reovirus infection, we performed a CRISPR-Cas9 knockout (KO) screen that targets over 20,000 genes in fibroblasts derived from the embryos of C57/BL6 mice. We identified seven genes (WDR81, WDR91, RAB7, CCZ1, CTSL, GNPTAB, and SLC35A1) that were required for the induction of cell death by reovirus. Notably, CRISPR-mediated KO of WD repeat-containing protein 81 (WDR81) rendered cells resistant to reovirus infection. Susceptibility to reovirus infection was restored by complementing KO cells with human WDR81. Although the absence of WDR81 did not affect viral attachment efficiency or uptake into the endosomal compartments for initial disassembly, it delayed viral gene expression and diminished infectious virus production. Consistent with the role of WDR81 in impacting the maturation of endosomes, WDR81-deficiency led to the accumulation of reovirus particles in dead-end compartments. Though WDR81 was dispensable for infection by VSV (vesicular stomatitis virus), which exits the endosomal system at an early stage, it was required for VSV-EBO GP (VSV that expresses the Ebolavirus glycoprotein), which must reach the late endosome to initiate infection. These results reveal a broad, previously unappreciated role for WDR81 in promoting the replication of late penetrating viruses.

AUTHOR SUMMARY

Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that require the contributions of numerous host factors to complete the viral life cycle. Thus, the host-pathogen interaction can regulate cell death signaling and virus entry, replication, assembly, and egress. Functional genetic screens are useful tools to identify host factors that are important for establishing infection. Such information can also be used to understand cell biology. Notably, genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screens are robust due to their specificity and the loss of host gene expression. Mammalian orthoreovirus (reovirus) is a tractable model system to investigate the pathogenesis of neurotropic and cardiotropic viruses. Using a CRISPR-Cas9 screen, we identified WD repeat-containing protein 81 (WDR81) as an essential host factor for reovirus infection of murine cells. Ablation of WDR81 blocked a late step in the viral entry pathway. Further, our work indicates that WDR81 is required for the entry of vesicular stomatitis virus that expresses the Ebolavirus glycoprotein.
Balance between protective and pathogenic immune responses to pneumonia in the neonatal lung enforced by gut microbiota
Authors: Stevens Joseph , Steinmeyer Shelby , Bonfield Madeline , Wang Timothy , Gray Jerilyn , Lewkowich Ian , Xu Yan , Du Yina , Guo Minzhe , Wynn James L. , Zacharias William , Salomonis Nathan , Miller Lisa , Chougnet Claire , O’Connor Dennis Hartigan , Deshmukh Hitesh
Published: September 2021

While modern clinical practices like cesarean sections and perinatal antibiotics have improved infant survival, treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics alters intestinal microbiota and causes dysbiosis. Infants exposed to perinatal antibiotics have an increased likelihood of life-threatening infections, including pneumonia. Here, we investigated how gut microbiota sculpt pulmonary immune responses, promoting recovery and resolution of infection in newborn rhesus macaques. Early-life antibiotic exposure, mirroring current clinical practices, interrupted the maturation of intestinal commensal bacteria and disrupted the developmental trajectory of the pulmonary immune system as assessed by single-cell proteomic and transcriptomic analyses of the pulmonary immune response. Early-life antibiotic exposure rendered newborn macaques susceptible to bacterial pneumonia, mediated by profound changes in neutrophil senescence, inflammatory signaling, and macrophage dysfunction. Pathogenic reprogramming of pulmonary immunity was reflected by a hyperinflammatory signature in all pulmonary immune cell subsets. Distinct patterns of immunoparalysis, including dysregulated antigen presentation in alveolar macrophages, impaired costimulatory function in T helper cells, and dysfunctional cytotoxic responses in natural killer (NK) cells, were coupled with a global loss of tissue-protective, homeostatic pathways in lungs of dysbiotic newborns. Fecal microbiota transfer corrected the broad immune maladaptations and protected against severe pneumonia. These data demonstrate the importance of intestinal microbiota in programming pulmonary immunity. Gut microbiota promote balance between pathways driving tissue repair and inflammatory responses, thereby leading to clinical recovery from infection in infants.

One sentence summary

Gut microbiota promote clinical recovery by reinforcing the balance between regenerative pathways driving tissue homeostasis and inflammatory responses limiting pathogens in infected neonatal lungs.
Efficient Differentially Private Methods for a Transmission Disequilibrium Test in Genome Wide Association Studies
Authors: Yamamoto Akito , Shibuya Tetsuo
Published: September 2021

To achieve the provision of personalized medicine, it is very important to investigate the relationship between diseases and human genomes. For this purpose, large-scale genetic studies such as genome-wide association studies are often conducted, but there is a risk of identifying individuals if the statistics are released as they are. In this study, we propose new efficient differentially private methods for a transmission disequilibrium test, which is a family-based association test. Existing methods are computationally intensive and take a long time even for a small cohort. Moreover, for approximation methods, sensitivity of the obtained values is not guaranteed. We present an exact algorithm with a time complexity of 𝒪(nm) for a dataset containingnfamilies andmsingle nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We also propose an approximation algorithm that is faster than the exact one and prove that the obtained scores’ sensitivity is 1. From our experimental results, we demonstrate that our exact algorithm is 10, 000 times faster than existing methods for a small cohort with 5, 000 SNPs. The results also indicate that the proposed method is the first in the world that can be applied to a large cohort, such as those with 106SNPs. In addition, we examine a suitable dataset to apply our approximation algorithm. Supplementary materials are available athttps://github.com/ay0408/DP-trio-TDT.
Using trait data improves correlation between environment and community data only if abundances are considered
Authors: Lengyel Attila , Barabás Sándor , Berki Boglárka , Csecserits Anikó , Gyalus Adrienn , Lhotsky Barbara , Ónodi Gábor , Rédei Tamás , Botta-Dukát Zoltán
Published: September 2021

A straightforward way to explore variation between communities is to calculate dissimilarity indices and relate them with environmental and spatial variables. Communities are most often represented by the (relative) abundances of taxa they comprise; however, more recently, the distribution of traits of organisms included in the communities has been shown more strongly related to ecosystem properties. In this study, we test whether taxon- or trait-based dissimilarity is correlated more tightly with environmental difference and geographical distance and how the abundance scale influences this correlation. Our study system is grassland vegetation in Hungary, where we sampled vegetation plots spanning a long productivity gradient from open dry grasslands to marshes in three sites. We considered three traits for vascular plants: canopy height, specific leaf area and seed mass. We obtained field estimates of normalized vegetation difference index (NDVI) as proxy of productivity (water availability) for each plot. We calculated between-community dissimilarities using a taxon-based and a trait-based index, using raw and square-root transformed abundances and presence/absence data. We fitted distance-based redundancy analysis models with NDVI difference and geographical distance on the dissimilarity matrices and evaluated them using variance partitioning. Then, using the pooled data, we calculated non-metric multidimensional scaling ordinations (NMDS) from all types of dissimilarity matrices and made pairwise comparisons using Procrustes analysis. Data analysis was done separately for the three sites.

We found that taxonomical dissimilarity matches environmental and spatial variables better when presence/absence data is used instead of abundance. This pattern was mainly determined by the increasing variation explained by space at the presence/absence scale. In contrast to this trend, with trait-based dissimilarity, accounting for abundance increased explained variation significantly due to the higher explanatory power of NDVI. With abundance data, considering traits improved environmental matching to a great extent in comparison with taxonomical information. However, with presence/absence data, traits brought no advantage over taxon-based dissimilarity in any respect. Changing the abundance scale caused larger difference between ordinations in the case of trait-based dissimilarity than with taxonomical dissimilarity.

We conclude that considering relevant traits improves environmental matching only if abundances are also accounted for.

Supporting information

Additional graphs supporting the results are presented as appendix.

Open research

Data used in this research are publicly available from Dryad ###link to be supplied upon acceptance###
Avian haemosporidians (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) status in selected bird groups (Old world Flycatchers, Warblers, Babblers, and Thrushes) of India and their phylogenetic relationships with other lineages of the world
Authors: Vipin  , Singh Ashutosh , Dixit Rajnikant , Tripathi Narinder Kumar , Singh Bhim , Sharma Vinita , Sharma Chandra Prakash , Mohan Dhananjai , Gupta Sandeep Kumar
Published: September 2021

The avian haemosporidians (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) are widely distributed and may affect the host populations from body damage at individual level to the extinction of a population. The knowledge about their status may help in future avifauna conservation plans. Hence, we examined the avian haemosporidians status, in selected bird groups (Old world Flycatchers, Warblers, Babblers, and Thrushes) of India, and their phylogenetic relationships with other known lineages of the world. We used the common genetic marker (Cytochrome b gene fragment of 479 bp) with information on the geographic distribution of parasite and host species available at MalAvi database. The prevalence of avian haemosporidians, from northern, eastern, and southern parts of India and phylogenetic genetic analysis of lineages was carried out to know the genetic relatedness among them at local and world level. The MCC tree revealed six Haemosporidian lineages in which one was common (H_MSP01) and five were unique (H_CYOPOL01, H_CHD01, H_CYORUB01, H_EUMTHA01, and P_GEOCIT01). The avian host richness Index was 2.0852. 9.9%, prevalence of Haemosporidian infection was found in 111 DNA samples belonging to 6 host species. The Haemoproteus prevalence was found to be 9.0 % across five host species (Phylloscopus trochiloides, Cyornis poliogenys, C. hainanus dialilaemus, C. rubeculoides, Eumiyas thalassinus) and Plasmodium prevalence was 0.9% in Geokichla citrina. Spatial phylogeny at global level showed H_MSP01 lineage, found in different host species in India, was genetically related to H. pallidus lineages (COLL2 and PFC1) in parts of Africa, Europe, North America, Malaysia, and Philippines. The Plasmodium lineage (P_GEOCIT01) was related to PADOM16 in Egypt with poor sequence similarity (93.89%). The statistical analysis suggested that the haemosporidian’s host species distribution range was directly and significantly associated with the altitude, minimum temperature, and relative humidity. H_MSP01 distribution was in accordance with H. pallidus having a wide geographic and host range.
Synthesis, structure and in vitro biological properties of a new copper(II) complex with 4-{[3-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]methyl}benzoic acid
Authors: Li Xinhua , Niu Mengyuan , Wang Ai , Lu Liping , Englert Ulli , Feng Sisi , Zhang Lizhen , Yuan Caixia
Published: September 2021

The new copper(II) complex dichloridobis(4-{[3-(pyridin-2-yl-κN)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl-κN
2]methyl}benzoic acid)copper(II) methanol sesquisolvate hemihydrate, [CuCl2
L
2]·1.5CH3OH·0.5H2O, (1), has been synthesized from CuCl2·2H2O and the ligand 4-{[3-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]methyl}benzoic acid (L, C15H11N3O2). The complex was characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Two chloride ligands and two bidentate L ligands coordinate the CuII centre in 1 in a Jahn–Teller-distorted octahedral geometry of rather unusual configuration: a chloride substituent and a pyrazole N atom of an N,N′-chelating ligand occupy the more distant axial positions. Classical O—H...O hydrogen bonds and O—H...Cl interactions link neighbouring complex molecules and cocrystallized methanol molecules into chains that propagate parallel to the b direction. The title compound shows intriguing bioactivity: the effects of 1 on the enzymatic activity of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) and on the viability of human breast cancer cells of cell line MCF7 were evaluated. Complex 1, with an IC50 value of 0.51 µM, can efficiently inhibit PTP1B activity. An enzyme kinetic assay suggests that 1 inhibits PTP1B in a noncompetitive manner. A fluorescence titration assay indicates that 1 has a strong affinity for PTP1B, with a binding constant of 4.39 × 106
M
−1. Complex 1 may also effectively decrease the viability of MCF7 cells in an extent comparable to that of cisplatin (IC50 = 6.3 µM). The new copper complex therefore represents a promising PTP1B inhibitor and an efficient antiproliferation reagent against MCF7 cells.
The role of an objective function in the mathematical modelling of wide-angle X-ray diffraction curves of semi-crystalline polymers
Authors: Rabiej Małgorzata , Rabiej Stanisław
Published: September 2021

To decompose a wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) curve of a semi-crystalline polymer into crystalline peaks and amorphous halos, a theoretical best-fitted curve, i.e. a mathematical model, is constructed. In fitting the theoretical curve to the experimental one, various functions can be used to quantify and minimize the deviations between the curves. The analyses and calculations performed in this work have proved that the quality of the model, its parameters and consequently the information on the structure of the investigated polymer are considerably dependent on the shape of an objective function. It is shown that the best models are obtained employing the least-squares method in which the sum of squared absolute errors is minimized. On the other hand, the methods in which the objective functions are based on the relative errors do not give a good fit and should not be used. The comparison and evaluation were performed using WAXD curves of seven polymers: isotactic polypropylene, polyvinylidene fluoride, cellulose I, cellulose II, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate and polyamide 6. The methods were compared and evaluated using statistical tests and measures of the quality of fitting.
Requirements and process analysis for ports and waterways openBIM ISO standards development
Authors: Bradley Alex , Li Haijiang , Qin Honglei , Xi Wen , Peel Daniel , Nisbet Nicholas
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Defining building information modelling (BIM) standards for the infrastructure domain is a central issue to the successful implementation of BIM in civil engineering domains. To this end, this paper aims to present a requirements and process analysis for the ports and waterways domain to address the lack of BIM standards development, using the information delivery manual (IDM) approach and the ethos of openBIM standards.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses the IDM approach. This involves the definition of use cases, process maps, exchange scenarios and subsequent exchange requirements. All these developments were sourced and validated by a series of international industry consultations.

Findings

The paper identifies 30 domain relevant use cases collated from existing sources and new cases. An overview and detailed ports and waterways process map (defining actors, activities and data exchanges). The process maps highlighted 38 exchange scenarios between various activities. Various exchange requirements were defined and are discussed in the context of the required information exchange model and the extensions required to fulfil the needs of the domain. The analysis provides the core information for the next steps of development for a substantial extension to the Industry Foundation Classes and the supporting data dictionary standards.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the international scope of the research, the outcomes can be applied by any stakeholders in the domain of ports and waterways. Therefore, some variation is expected at a national and organizational level. This research has the potential to accelerate the adoption of openBIM standards within the ports and waterways domain leading to increases in efficiency, collaborative working.

Originality/value

This paper reviews the requirements of an identified gap in the provision of openBIM standards relevant and applicable to the domain of ports and waterways.
The direct and interactive effects of retail community engagement
Authors: Lund Donald J. , Hansen John D. , Robicheaux Robert A. , Cid Oreja Clara
Published: September 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the direct and interactive effects of community engagement and economic value on customers’ trust in, and commitment to, the retailer. This paper also examines the extent to which these variables, in turn, drive desirable behavioral outcomes in the form of positive word of mouth communications and share of customer.

Design/methodology/approach

Study results are derived from a cross-sectional survey of 1,757 respondents.

Findings

The authors find that retailer community engagement positively impacts word of mouth and share of customer indirectly through commitment and trust. As hypothesized, the results support a suppressing interaction between community engagement and economic value on trust. Contrary to the hypothesis, the interactive effects on commitment are positive.

Research limitations/implications

The study uses cross-sectional, single-sourced data. Incorporating secondary data or using experiments would reinforce these findings. This research is limited to local community engagement, future studies could broaden the focus to strategies that benefit communities outside the local area.

Practical implications

Study results indicate that managers can indeed build stronger customer relationships through community engagement as customers are more apt to be trusting of and committed to retailers perceived to be more actively engaged in the community. These findings are particularly important considering that community engagement is typically less expensive than other marketing strategies. Community investments are inexpensive initiatives that retailers can leverage to generate a big impact in the hearts and minds of their customers.

Originality/value

While it seems logical to assume that community engagement will benefit retailers in the form of stronger customer relationships, the authors empirically validate this assumption. The finding that community engagement simultaneously serves as both an antecedent and moderator is novel, albeit counterintuitive in the sense that the variable negatively moderates the economic value-trust relationship while positively moderating the economic value-commitment relationship. Taken in their totality, these findings indicate that community engagement serves to simultaneously drive stronger customer relationships while also differentially affecting the way customers arrive at their assessments.
Spectators' perceived social benefits, subjective well-being and support intention: non-mega-parasporting events' educational perspective
Authors: Yamashita Rei , Muneda Masaya
Published: September 2021

Purpose

It is crucial to create an inclusive society through sport. Many researchers have focused on the social benefits of hosting events and identified the necessity of revealing the impact of parasport. There is inadequate knowledge of what local residents perceive from spectating non-mega-parasporting events. Therefore, this research aimed to reveal the influence of spectators' perceived social benefits, subjective well-being, and support for parasport events.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted with questionnaires distributed to spectators of two wheelchair basketball tournaments. Of the 2,100 questionnaires distributed, 1,996 were returned; of these, 1,544 were rejected because of not having local resident status. The final response rate of useable questionnaires was 22.6% (n = 452).

Findings

Both community benefits and cultural/educational benefits positively affected subjective well-being, which also significantly affected support for the event. Further, there was no significant moderating effect of having family members or close friends with disability.

Practical implications

The results indicate that sporting event managers can collaborate with local educational boards and use sporting events as educational material for children to raise next-generation, highly diversity-minded leaders from the local area.

Originality/value

This study revealed that parasporting events have educational value. Additionally, athletes with disabilities inspire spectators, which changes the perception of their educational impacts.
Conflicts, trust toward the acquirer from emerging economies and post-acquisition cooperation intention
Authors: Zhang Xun , Wu Jun , Zhang Ning , Xu Biao
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of inter-group conflicts on the trust toward the acquirer and then further on cooperation intention after acquisitions in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As), in the lens of the social classification theory. Two types of conflicts (realistic conflicts and symbolic conflicts) and a mediating mechanism (trust toward the acquirer) exhibit different effects on cooperation intention. The research further examines two moderating coping strategies (localizing management and assigning trustworthy expatriate managers) and tests their effectiveness in promoting trust toward the acquirer and increasing cooperation intention in cross-border M&As.

Design/methodology/approach

The research hypotheses were empirically tested in the context of post-acquisition of Chinese companies' cross-border M&As. In total, 600 questionnaires were provided to the research participants of 37 acquired firms/units from advanced economies of 12 Chinese companies, and 209 valid questionnaires were collected (the response rate is 34.83%). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to verify data validity and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were employed to test relational and moderating effects.

Findings

This research demonstrates that both realistic and symbolic conflicts can reduce the intention to cooperate, but the latter does not have a significant influence. The results also uncover that whether employees from acquired firms trust in their acquirers mediates the relationship between realistic conflicts and cooperation intention. Moreover, management localization (a measurement of whether local/original managers are retained with a high degree of freedom and autonomy after M&As) and trustworthiness of expatriate managers (a measurement of whether the assigned expatriate managers is trustworthy) positively moderate the relation between realistic conflicts and trust toward the acquirer. In addition, trust toward the acquirer mediates the interaction of realistic conflicts and management localization on the cooperation intention of the acquirers' employees.

Originality/value

This study examines how inter-organizational conflicts influence trust toward the acquirer and then cooperation intentions in the context of Chinese companies' M&A behavior of targets from developed countries and gain supportive evidence, which enriches the literature on the management of international M&As. By introducing two management localization and trustworthiness of expatriate managers into the model, the research deepens our knowledge of how to build trust toward the acquirer in cross-border M&As.
Managerial ability, earnings quality and ISIS: evidence from Iraq
Authors: Bazrafshan Ameneh , Makarem Naser , Hesarzadeh Reza , SalmanAbbood Wafaa
Published: September 2021

Purpose

This study investigates the association between managerial ability and earnings quality in firms listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange and how the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) influences the association.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a sample of firms listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange over the period 2012–2018. Managerial ability is quantified using data envelopment analysis, and earnings quality is measured by earnings restatement, earnings persistence, accruals quality and earnings response coefficient. Panel regression analysis is used to examine the research hypotheses.

Findings

The findings indicate that managerial ability positively affects earnings quality of Iraqi firms and that ISIS weakens the relationship between managerial ability and earnings quality. These findings are robust to the alternative measures of managerial ability, as well as to various approaches used to address endogeneity including propensity-score matching and a difference-in-differences analysis.

Originality/value

This study provides insight into the impact of managerial ability on earnings quality in an under-studied emerging market. Furthermore, this study broadens the existing literature about the financial consequences of a modern terrorist group, ISIS.
Wearable IoT based diagnosis of prostate cancer using GLCM-multiclass SVM and SIFT-multiclass SVM feature extraction strategies
Authors: Chandrasekhara Swetha Parvatha Reddy , Kabadi Mohan G. , Srivinay Srivinay
Published: September 2021

Purpose

This study has mainly aimed to compare and contrast two completely different image processing algorithms that are very adaptive for detecting prostate cancer using wearable Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Cancer in these modern times is still considered as one of the most dreaded disease, which is continuously pestering the mankind over a past few decades. According to Indian Council of Medical Research, India alone registers about 11.5 lakh cancer related cases every year and closely up to 8 lakh people die with cancer related issues each year. Earlier the incidence of prostate cancer was commonly seen in men aged above 60 years, but a recent study has revealed that this type of cancer has been on rise even in men between the age groups of 35 and 60 years as well. These findings make it even more necessary to prioritize the research on diagnosing the prostate cancer at an early stage, so that the patients can be cured and can lead a normal life.

Design/methodology/approach

The research focuses on two types of feature extraction algorithms, namely, scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) and gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) that are commonly used in medical image processing, in an attempt to discover and improve the gap present in the potential detection of prostate cancer in medical IoT. Later the results obtained by these two strategies are classified separately using a machine learning based classification model called multi-class support vector machine (SVM). Owing to the advantage of better tissue discrimination and contrast resolution, magnetic resonance imaging images have been considered for this study. The classification results obtained for both the SIFT as well as GLCM methods are then compared to check, which feature extraction strategy provides the most accurate results for diagnosing the prostate cancer.

Findings

The potential of both the models has been evaluated in terms of three aspects, namely, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. Each model’s result was checked against diversified ranges of training and test data set. It was found that the SIFT-multiclass SVM model achieved a highest performance rate of 99.9451% accuracy, 100% sensitivity and 99% specificity at 40:60 ratio of the training and testing data set.

Originality/value

The SIFT-multi SVM versus GLCM-multi SVM based comparison has been introduced for the first time to perceive the best model to be used for the accurate diagnosis of prostate cancer. The performance of the classification for each of the feature extraction strategies is enumerated in terms of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity.
Retail quality, market environment and business survival in the retail Apocalypse: an investigation of the sporting goods retail industry
Authors: Mao Luke L.
Published: September 2021

Purpose

In the era of the retail Apocalypse, the surge of e-commerce has transmuted the competitive landscape for many traditional retailers that heavily rely on brick-and-mortar stores. This study examines the relationship among retail quality, market environment and businesses' survival in the context of the sporting goods retail industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a data set from yelp.com, the authors examine the survival of 1,360 stores within 306 zip codes in the United States using mixed effects logistic modeling.

Findings

(1) Retail quality is positively related to survival, but the relationship is nonlinear; (2) the author find a null relationship between market competition and survival, which is subject to several competing interpretations; (3) 10% of the individual variation in survival is due to systematic differences between zip codes and (4) chain stores and stores with more heterogenous reviews have a higher closure rate.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by offering an empirical testing of the relationship between retail quality and business survival and examining the impact of trading area in the modern marketing milieu. The findings have practical implications for site selection and designing a service quality program.
Social media information and student performance: the mediating role of hedonic value (entertainment)
Authors: Dzogbenuku Robert Kwame , Doe Joshua Kofi , Amoako George Kofi
Published: September 2021

Purpose

This study evaluates the mediating role of social media entertainment on social information (content) and social media performance, during the COVID-19 era.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data were randomly gathered from 373 students from two top universities (public and private) in Ghana, a sub-Saharan African economy. Data analysis was achieved utilizing the partial least square–structural equation model (PLS-SEM).

Findings

Social media (SM) entertainment partly mediates the link between social media content and social media performance of students, suggesting that social media entertainment is almost indispensable in creating social media content to achieve optimum performance among tertiary students.

Research limitations/implications

The use of cross-sectional data alone for this study does not give us the opportunity to observe the social media activities of respondents over a longer period. Future studies could, therefore, include longitudinal data.

Practical implications

The findings in this study suggest that faculties can modify their pedagogical activities to include social media and reflect some entertainment content, since it has an influence on student performance within the social media space.

Social implications

SM has a great influence on students' performance socially and academically; therefore, educational stakeholders like university authorities, faculties, parents and guardians, and the government should consider social media as a tool for attaining educational goals.

Originality/value

The study extends the use of UTAUT2, in understanding students' learning and behavior processes, by linking antecedents of adoption to the post-adoption effect.
Perceived benefits and post-adoption usage of education management information system
Authors: Stamenkov Gjoko , Zhaku-Hani Rezarta
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to explore and explain education management information system (EMIS) post-adoption in the context of mandatory settings, focusing on perceived benefits and individual and institutional post-adoption usage.

Design/methodology/approach

To fulfill the research objectives, the study proposes a conceptual model grounded in the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework. Data for model validation were obtained via a questionnaire and were collected from 144 teachers in public primary schools in the Republic of North Macedonia. For statistical analysis, PLS-SEM was used.

Findings

Based on the conducted statistical analysis, it is found that in mandatory environments, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, compatibility, complexity and governmental support are the factors that have indirect effects on the post-adoption usage, and only the factors, technological knowledge and external information and communication technology (ICT) support, have direct effects on the post-adoption usage. The individual post-adoption usage in mandatory settings depends on whether benefits are perceived in the course of EMIS usage; they become a central factor due to the accumulated knowledge and experience.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this study is to theoretically and empirically discover the most important factors that influence EMIS post-adoption usage. Perceived benefits are considered as external factors to the TOE framework and mediate the effect of TAM-TOE factors on individual post-adoption usage.
Proposing total quality management as a buffer between global software development challenges and project success
Authors: Hashmi Syed Danial , Shahzad Khurram , Izhar Muhammad
Published: September 2021

Purpose

This study aims to empirically investigate the relationship between different global software development (GSD) challenges (management, process, social, technical and environmental challenges) and software project success. Further, the study examines the moderating role of total quality management (TQM) between the relationship of GSD challenges and success of software projects.

Design/methodology/approach

Using two field studies, the authors collected data form software developers working in globally distributed teams. In study 1 (n = 194), relationship of different dimensions of GSD challenges (management, process, social, technical and environmental challenges) and project success was examined. In study 2 (n = 138), moderating role of TQM was examined on the relationship of GSD challenges and project success.

Findings

The results of study 1 indicate that there is a negative relationship between all dimensions of GSD challenges and project success. Findings of study 2 confirmed that TQM practices moderate the negative relationship between GSD challenges and project success.

Practical implications

The findings of the study provide guidelines to the project managers of software industry to mitigate GSD challenges using TQM practices.

Originality/value

Study adds in the literature of TQM, GSD challenges and project success by (1) empirically investigating the relationship between different GSD challenges and software project success and (2) by examining the moderating role of TQM practices on relationship of GSD challenges and project success in global software development industry.
Multiscale linearized inversion of surface‐wave dispersion curves
Authors: Wang Zhinong , Sun Chengyu , Wu Dunshi
Published: September 2021

In recent years, surface‐wave analysis method has been developed rapidly in many fields. Multichannel analysis of surface waves can provide near‐surface one‐dimensional shear‐wave velocity profiles. Because linearized inversion of surface‐wave dispersion curves relies heavily on the choice of the initial model, setting an inappropriate initial model can lead to poor inversion results, or even failure of inversion. However, it is difficult to establish a reasonable initial model without a priori information, which is unavailable in most cases. To cope with this problem, a multiscale linearized inversion method is proposed for surface‐wave dispersion curves inversion. In contrast with the traditional single‐scale linearized inversion, the key idea of the proposed multiscale surface‐wave inversion method is the introduction of a merging and splitting process of layers. After every scale inversion, the merging and splitting operations automatically optimize the inversion model, making it gradually approach to a reasonable subsurface stratification. Multiscale surface‐wave inversion method reduces the difficulty of establishing the initial model and has high computational efficiency. In addition, it has strong ability to identify high‐velocity or low‐velocity interlayers and thin layers, especially suited for the geological conditions with obvious stratification. In synthetic tests, the proposed method was compared with the single‐scale surface‐wave inversion and particle swarm optimization algorithm to demonstrate the effectiveness and practicability of multiscale surface‐wave inversion method. We also applied the multiscale surface‐wave inversion method to field seismic data acquired in Guizhou, China and Texas, USA. Borehole and crosshole test data were compared with the inversion results of field data to prove the reliability of the proposed method.
Propofol suppresses cell proliferation in gastric cancer cells through NRF2‐mediated polyol pathway
Authors: Cao Yajun , Fan Long , Li Linkai , Zhou Jiexian
Published: September 2021

Propofol, a widely used short‐acting intravenous sedative agent, has gradually gained attention due to the tumour‐suppressing role and non‐anaesthetic effect. Dysfunction of metabolic reprogramming has been recognised as a well‐documented factor for tumour progression. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of propofol on the polyol pathway in gastric cancer cells. In this study, we found that propofol treatment led to a significant downregulation of cell proliferation in BGC823 and GES‐1 cells, which was attributed to the decreased AR‐mediated polyol pathway. Both aldo‐keto reductase family 1, member B1 (AKR1B1) and AKR1B10 were significantly reduced in BGC823 and GES‐1 cells in response to propofol stimulation, leading to decreased AR activity and sorbitol level. Addition of sorbitol could reverse the inhibitory effect of propofol on cell proliferation. Mechanically, propofol treatment drastically inhibited phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of nuclear factor (erythroid‐derived 2)‐like 2 (NRF2), subsequently decreased the binding of NRF2 to AR promoter. Overexpression of NRF2 resulted in the recovery of AR expression in gastric cancer cell with propofol treatment. Taken together, these finding showed that propofol suppressed cell proliferation in BGC823 and GES‐1 cell through NRF2‐mediated polyol pathway, which would aid the selection of sedation for patients with gastric cancer.
Why geography matters to the economic history of India
Authors: Roy Tirthankar
Published: September 2021

That geography shapes long‐run economic change is almost an axiom in economic history, but there is neither adequate understanding nor much agreement about how this influence works. This article is an attempt to contextualise Indian economic history against what we now know of this influence. It is also an attempt to define the geographical condition of the South Asia region in a manner compatible with the purpose of economic history, which is to explain the deep roots of economic growth and inequality.
ESG and Stock Price Crash Risk: Role of Financial Constraints*
Authors: Bae JinCheol , Yang Xiaotong , Kim Myung‐In
Published: September 2021

This paper investigates whether corporate performance measured from three aspects—environmental, social responsibility and governance (“ESG”)—are associated with stock price crash risk, and also examines how the relation between ESG ratings and stock price crash risk is affected by the degree of financial constraint. Our empirical results show that ESG ratings reduce the stock price crash risk, and this relation is significantly alleviated for financially constrained firms. The results imply that greater financial constraint suppresses the positive role of corporate social responsibility in mitigating the risk of a stock price crash.
Implementation trial of a cognitive behavioural therapy programme for reducing student stress in the final year of secondary school
Authors: Jagiello Tess , Wuthrich Viviana M. , Ellis Louise A.
Published: September 2021

The final year of secondary school has been shown to be associated with heightened student stress. Psychological interventions have been shown to be effective in reducing and preventing distress in students during this school period, although the widespread adoption of these interventions into school settings is limited. There have been recent calls for research to examine the implementation success of evidence‐based programmes when used by schools in school settings. The present study aimed to evaluate the implementation success of an evidence‐based cognitive‐behavioural therapy programme (Study without Stress) using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE‐AIM) framework. At one Australian high school, all tutor group teachers were trained by the school counsellor to deliver the programme in standard school classes to students in the lead up to their final year of secondary school. Students (n = 80) and teachers (n = 11) reported on programme success against the RE‐AIM framework at pre‐intervention, post‐intervention, and three‐month follow‐up. The findings indicated that SWOS was implemented successfully by the school. SWOS was associated with maintaining student stress levels at normal levels over time, as well as reducing the severity of stress for initially highly distressed students. The findings provide evidence from implementation science that SWOS can be adapted and delivered effectively by school staff to manage stress in final year secondary school students.
Tragic trade‐offs accompany carnivore coexistence in the modern world
Authors: Bruskotter Jeremy T. , Vucetich John A. , Gilbert Sophie L. , Carter Neil H. , George Kelly A.
Published: September 2021

Two vital policy aims—biodiversity conservation and food production—are increasingly in conflict. Efforts to evaluate trade‐offs between agriculture and conservation have shaped scholarly discourse around two broad strategies to agricultural production that seek to either “share” land with biodiversity or “spare” land from agriculture. However, efforts to negotiate these trade‐offs are challenged by rising concern for the welfare of individual animals, both wild and domestic. We use recent efforts to “coexist” with large carnivores to illustrate how sharing and sparing strategies both create tragic, and often unacknowledged trade‐offs between livestock production and carnivore conservation. We conclude the best means of conserving carnivores while feeding the world's growing population requires explicitly confronting and adjudicating ethical trade‐offs associated with sharing and sparing approaches. To accomplish this, we recommend engaging scholars trained in ethics and social justice and use of deliberative processes to synthesize disparate facts and competing values when evaluating trade‐offs.
Self‐organised pattern formation increases local diversity in metacommunities
Authors: Guill Christian , Hülsemann Janne , Klauschies Toni
Published: September 2021

Self‐organised formation of spatial patterns is known from a variety of different ecosystems, yet little is known about how these patterns affect the diversity of communities. Here, we use a food chain model in which autotroph diversity is described by a continuous distribution of a trait that affects both growth and defence against heterotrophs. On isolated patches, diversity is always lost over time due to stabilising selection, and the local communities settle on one of two alternative stable community states that are characterised by a dominance of either defended or undefended species. In a metacommunity context, dispersal can destabilise these states and complex spatio‐temporal patterns in the species’ abundances emerge. The resulting biomass‐trait feedback increases local diversity by an order of magnitude compared to scenarios without self‐organised pattern formation, thereby maintaining the ability of communities to adapt to potential future changes in biotic or abiotic environmental conditions.
Discursive struggles in “real” families: Korean adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth family reunions
Authors: Docan‐Morgan Sara
Published: September 2021

Objective

This study explores transnational Korean adoptees' interactions with their adoptive families surrounding birth family reunion.

Background

Using relational dialectics theory as a guide, this study takes an adoptee‐centered approach to understanding the broader cultural and relational discourses that interplay with adoptee and adoptive parent messages surrounding birth family reunions.

Method

In‐depth interviews with 19 Korean adult adoptees from the United States and Denmark were conducted to explore adoptive family interactions surrounding reunion.

Results

Most participants reported that their adoptive parents responded supportively to reunion. Still, participants' responses revealed two main discourses surrounding their own communication with their adoptive family surrounding reunion: reassuring their adoptive family and holding back affection or questions toward the birth family in the presence of an adoptive parent. Cultural discourses about having only one set of “real” parents and other adoptees' experiences interplayed with the discourses of reassurance and holding back. Adoptees whose parents were open about their birth family from a young age tended recall reassuring their parents.

Conclusion

Even with adoptive parent support, adoptees may still feel the need to reassure their adoptive parents and hold back affection and curiosity toward the birth family.

Implications

Holding back may prevent adoptees from engaging with their birth families fully. Reassuring turns the focus toward the adoptive parents. Practitioners should encourage ongoing communication about the birth family, and adoptive parents should show active support for the reunion and interest in the birth family afterward.