bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Codependence in the Nephromyces species swarm depends on heterospecific bacterial endosymbionts
Authors: Paight Christopher , Hunter Elizabeth Sage , Lane Christopher E
Published: October 2020

The phylum Apicomplexa encompasses 6000 ubiquitous animal parasites, including Plasmodium, the most deadly human parasite on Earth. Anciently parasitic lineages, like apicomplexans, lose core metabolic pathways over time, as they evolve less costly scavenging mechanisms. The recent description of a mutualistic apicomplexan, Nephromyces, from deep within this parasitic group, opened the possibility of an evolutionary innovation that allowed an escape from a parasitic lifestyle. Nuclear genome data from Nephromyces, as well as the three bacterial symbionts that live within this species complex, demonstrate that the bacteria within Nephromyces contribute essential cofactors and amino acids that have enabled Nephromyces to abandon a parasitic lifestyle. Among these, bacterial lipoic acid appears to be a key cofactor for the reduction of virulence in Nephromyces. However, whereas we use FISH microscopy to reveal that each individual Nephromyces harbors no more than one endosymbiont type, no single bacterial endosymbiont can account for all missing metabolites. Based on the unique habitat of Nephromyces, as well as genomic, culturing, and wild population data, we conclude that Nephromyces has evolved as an extraordinary clade of codependent species, unlike any previously described.
The influence of rewards on incidental memory: more does not mean better
Authors: Cheng Si , Jiang Ting , Xue Jingming , Wang Songxue , Chen Chuansheng , Zhang Mingxia
Published: October 2020

Studies have revealed that rewards promote long-term memory, even in an incidental way. However, most previous studies using the incidental paradigm have included two reward levels, and it is still not clear how the reward magnitude influences memory. Adopting the incidental paradigm and three reward levels, the current study revealed that the reward magnitude impacted 1-d delayed episodic memory in a nonlinear, inverted U-shaped pattern. An additional experiment showed that there was no reward effect in immediate episodic memory. Our results support the dopaminergic memory consolidation theory and further imply that the reward magnitude needs to be considered in the theory.
Using rat operant delayed match-to-sample task to identify neural substrates recruited with increased working memory load
Authors: Gobin Christina , Wu Lizhen , Schwendt Marek
Published: October 2020

The delayed match-to-sample task (DMS) is used to probe working memory (WM) across species. While the involvement of the PFC in this task has been established, limited information exists regarding the recruitment of broader circuitry, especially under the low- versus high-WM load. We sought to address this question by using a variable-delay operant DMS task. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained and tested to determine their baseline WM performance across all (0- to 24-sec) delays. Next, rats were tested in a single DMS test with either 0- or 24-sec fixed delay, to assess low-/high-load WM performance. c-Fos mRNA expression was quantified within cortical and subcortical regions and correlated with WM performance. High WM load up-regulated overall c-Fos mRNA expression within the PrL, as well as within a subset of mGlu5+ cells, with load-dependent, local activation of protein kinase C (PKC) as the proposed underlying molecular mechanism. The PrL activity negatively correlated with choice accuracy during high load WM performance. A broader circuitry, including several subcortical regions, was found to be activated under low and/or high load conditions. These findings highlight the role of mGlu5- and/or PKC-dependent signaling within the PrL, and corresponding recruitment of subcortical regions during high-load WM performance.
speckle-tracking: a software suite for ptychographic X-ray speckle tracking
Authors: Morgan Andrew J. , Murray Kevin T. , Quiney Harry M. , Bajt Saša , Chapman Henry N.
Published: October 2020

In recent years, X-ray speckle-tracking techniques have emerged as viable tools for wavefront metrology and sample imaging applications. These methods are based on the measurement of near-field images. Thanks to their simple experimental setup, high angular sensitivity and compatibility with low-coherence sources, these methods have been actively developed for use with synchrotron and laboratory light sources. Not only do speckle-tracking techniques give the potential for high-resolution imaging, but they also provide rapid and robust characterization of aberrations of X-ray optical elements, focal spot profiles, and sample position and transmission properties. In order to realize these capabilities, software implementations are required that are equally rapid and robust. To address this need, a software suite has been developed for the ptychographic X-ray speckle-tracking technique, an X-ray speckle-based method suitable for highly divergent wavefields. The software suite is written in Python 3, with an OpenCL back end for GPU and multi-CPU core processing. It is accessible as a Python module, through the command line or through a graphical user interface, and is available as source code under Version 3 or later of the GNU General Public License.
Public attitudes to people with ASD: contact, knowledge and ethnicity
Authors: Gemegah Eli , Hartas Dimitra , Totsika Vasiliki
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The increase in autism prevalence and presentation in the media suggests a rise in public awareness. This paper aims to explore what factors (contact, knowledge and ethnicity) may be associated to positive attitudes towards individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey examined contact with and knowledge of ASD among Black, Asian and White ethnic groups to predict public attitudes to people with ASD.

Findings

In multiple regression models, the results suggested that the level of contact predicts positive attitudes towards autism when demographic factors were accounted. The level of knowledge about autism were significantly associated to attitudes, but not consistently when demographic factors were accounted. However, differences in knowledge and attitudes to people with ASD were identified amongst Black, Asian and White ethnic groups.

Research limitations/implications

These findings have implications for policy and public health and education campaigns, including ensuring contact and knowledge of autism among the public.

Originality/value

These findings have implications for policy and public health and education campaigns, including ensuring contact and knowledge of autism among the public. Additionally, further effort is required to target public knowledge and attitudes to autism, particularly among ethnic groups. Institutional support tailored to encourage structured and unstructured contact across public domains such as education, health, social and care practices could effectively reduce prejudice between the public and people with ASD over time.
Addressing corporate social responsibility in corporations: a content analysis of Amazon's and Walmart's websites
Authors: Ertem-Eray Tugce
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyze how Amazon and Walmart, two of the largest global companies, present the balance among their economic, social and environmental activities and construct their identities as good corporate citizens helping to create a sustainable world.

Design/methodology/approach

A content analysis methodology was applied to the companies' official websites in order to examine their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework was used to provide coding categories.

Findings

The findings indicate that expectations and pressures from the public may help trigger companies to report their CSR efforts. In addition, this study also indicates that the triple bottom line TBL concept does not fully explain each companies' global CSR efforts.

Originality/value

Most CSR studies have analyzed communication in only one country, rather than taking a global view. This study examines how Amazon and Walmart have constructed their identity as global corporate citizens and how they work to communicate their identity globally.
Market uncertainty, innovation of firms in alliance and alliance partner characteristics
Authors: Han JungYun , Kang Ribuga
Published: October 2020

Purpose

While prior alliance literature has focused on how firms exploit alliance strategies to enhance performance and innovation, little is known about whether market uncertainty increases, decreases or has no effect on innovation outcomes of firms involved in alliances, and under what conditions these firms promote innovation in an uncertain market through alliances. Relatedly, innovation research has examined the impact of environmental uncertainty on innovation; however, this line of research does not answer the question in the alliance context.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data of firms engaged in alliances in the US pharmaceutical and biotechnical industries between 1990 and 2015, the authors examine firms' alliance partner characteristics and innovation outputs in terms of innovation quantity and exploratory innovation.

Findings

We find that market uncertainty hampers innovation quantity and exploratory innovation of firms involved in alliances, because in this environment, relational risks and coordination challenges outweigh the benefits of knowledge sharing from partners. However, the authors find that alliance partners' characteristics such as a different industry and different country origins mitigate the negative effect of market uncertainty on these firms' innovation by offering new business opportunities and enhancing their learning capability.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the alliance literature by addressing a significant question of whether and how market uncertainty matters in the innovation output of firms involved in alliances and how these firms address the environmental challenges and promote innovation. The study also contributes to innovation research by delineating the nature of market uncertainty and its impact on innovation in an alliance context.
Measuring customer experience management and its impact on financial performance
Authors: Klink Richard R. , Zhang Jason Q. , Athaide Gerard A.
Published: October 2020

Purpose

With the considerable attention given to customer experience (CX) today, customer experience management (CXM) has been touted as one of the most promising management approaches for organizations. The purpose of this paper is threefold: develop a scale to measure the CXM construct, investigate the financial outcomes of CXM and assess the impact of moderator variables (e.g. market turbulence) on these financial outcomes while accounting for the effects of control variables (e.g. firm size).

Design/methodology/approach

The study involves a survey of 233 firms (across 10 industries) involved in CXM. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation modeling (SEM), instrumental variables and moderated regression analyzes are used to test four hypotheses.

Findings

The results support treating CXM as a second-order construct comprising three dimensions: cultural mindset toward CXs, strategic directions for designing CXs and firm capabilities of continually renewing CXs. Furthermore, CXM is positively related to financial performance; this effect increases as market turbulence, competitive intensity and technological turbulence increases.

Research limitations/implications

With our CXM measure, future research can advance CXM theory by examining other outcome variables (e.g. employee satisfaction) and moderators (e.g. culture), as well as introduce antecedents to CXM (e.g. company heritage). Limitations include the concerns normally associated with using self-reported measures of performance, convenience samples and cross-sectional designs.

Practical implications

This research provides managerial prescriptions of when to invest in CXM initiatives to enhance financial performance. It also provides managers a CXM diagnostic to help assess their level of CXM maturity.

Originality/value

This paper develops CXM theory by advancing a measure of the CXM construct, relating the construct to an outcome variable (main effect) and introducing moderating variables to shed light on the generalizability of the main effect.
From personal values to entrepreneurial intention: a systematic literature review
Authors: Hueso Juan Alberto , Jaén Inmaculada , Liñán Francisco
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This systematic literature review (SLR) analyses the existing contributions, jointly studying personal values (PVs) and intentions in entrepreneurship. Despite the long tradition that these two constructs enjoy in social psychology, they have only recently been considered together in entrepreneurship research.

Design/methodology/approach

To conduct this SLR, three widely used databases were searched (Scopus, ABI-INFORM and Web of Science). A total of 451 initial hits were successively narrowed down to a final list of 22 journal articles matching the inclusion criteria. This field of research is very recent since the selected papers have all been published since 2011, half of which have appeared since 2017.

Findings

The predominant approach in these papers was the consideration of PVs as antecedents in the formation of entrepreneurial intentions (EIs). In particular, basic human values (BHV) theory for PVs and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) for intentions are the prevalent frameworks. The influence of PVs differs notably depending on the motivational antecedent of intention being considered and also on the specific (general vs social) EI analysed.

Originality/value

This SLR is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first review that addresses this fast-growing area of research. It provides a comprehensive mapping of the contributions to date as well as an integrative conceptual framework to synthetise accumulated knowledge. It also identifies subsisting knowledge gaps and a number of future research opportunities.
Product-service systems in Egypt: a multicase evaluation of field repair
Authors: Owida Aly , Byrne P.J. , Heavey Cathal , El-Kilany Khaled S.
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper aims to evaluate field repair within product-service system (PSS) models operated by multinational manufacturers in the Egyptian emerging market to better understand the unique characteristics of this evolving market and to identify differences compared to established markets.

Design/methodology/approach

Case research was conducted on multinational manufacturers providing field repair services in Egypt. The sample is made up of 12 companies across different industries using convenience and purposive sampling. Data were collected using structured interviews.

Findings

There is no common model for field repair PSSs provision in the Egyptian emerging market even within the same industry, which is influenced by several factors. One of these factors is the market type being emerging or established. However, some commonalities have been found between some industries such as computer, telecommunications and document processing. Yet, there is no structural difference in the supply networks used to provide field repair service offerings in the Egyptian emerging market compared to established markets with the trend of outsourcing evident as a main attribute of a PSS in emerging markets. The main differences between established and emerging markets are related to country, culture and customer factors, which are market-based. Among the main challenges and risks that internationalized manufacturers face in Egypt, is the low level of customer awareness.

Research limitations/implications

Findings are limited to the studied cases and industries; yet, internationalized firms must deal with some unique challenges and difficulties in emerging markets.

Practical implications

This paper assesses PSS requirements and provides deeper insights for companies looking to provide or expand manufacturing-based offerings into the Egyptian emerging market.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the evolving research on PSSs, particularly in emerging markets through identifying and describing different field repair PSS models in the Egyptian emerging market.
Assessing socio-economic development in Bodoland Territorial Area District of Assam in India
Authors: Basumatary Nicodim , Panda Bhagirathi
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The study attempts to assess the socio-economic development in Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) of Assam in North Eastern Region of India. This region is one of the most underdeveloped areas in India. The study also examines whether demographic and social characteristics in the form of social groups, number of family members, number of employed members in the family, education of the head of household, sources of income and location determine the variation in the level of socio-economic development. The authors surveyed 400 households during February to May 2018 in both rural and urban areas of BTAD to achieve the objective of the study.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use the concept of Amartya Sen's capability approach (CA) for assessment of development and constructed an index of Multidimensional Development.

Findings

There is variation in the distribution of developmental parameters across the study area. It is found that urban locations have better achievement in the multidimensional index score, while the spread of development is not even in the rural locations. An interesting revelation of this study is that while urban areas depict better performance in income, asset, education and empowerment, they have a relatively lower score in health dimension as compared to rural areas. The study shows that level of development depends on demographic as well as social characteristics of the households.

Research limitations/implications

This study does not analyse temporal dynamics of development that is necessary to examine how development evolves because of data constraints.

Originality/value

The study provides an understanding of the socio-economic development in BTAD area in a multidimensional framework. This study is the first of its kind to assess the nature and extent of development realised in BTAD through the capability framework. The study supports more recent findings.
The role of farm diversification and peasant habitus for farm resilience in mountain areas: the case of the Ötztal valley, Austria
Authors: Stotten Rike
Published: October 2020

Purpose

By examining a case study in Tyrol, Austria, the paper aims to demonstrate the role of farm diversification and the influence of the peasants’ habitus on social-ecological resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a field study conducted in two remote villages of the Ötztal valley, Austrian Alps, this study provides insights into the interplay of tourism and farming and its impact on farm resilience. Qualitative narrative interviews, the so-called farm biographies, served to investigate these issues. Interpretations of data are based on qualitative content analysis.

Findings

The results highlight that farming and tourism are highly enmeshed in the case study area and that the additional income creates room for manoeuvre for the farms to activate their adaptive capability. At the same time, peasant values guide the farming activities. The farms in this study demonstrate a strong farm resilience that is enabled by farm diversification and rooted in their peasant habitus. This positively affects the social-ecological resilience.

Originality/value

In contrast to other studies, which have mainly applied the concepts of social or community resilience to investigate the resilience and vulnerability of rural areas, this study highlights the resilience of farms in mountain areas.
The most appropriate strategy to enhance civil servants’ neutrality in the governance
Authors: Hadiyantina Shinta
Published: October 2020

Purpose

Comprehensive basis to measure civil servants’ neutrality in the effectuation of concurrent regional head elections, valid basis to determine the most appropriate strategy to enhance civil servants’ neutrality in the governance.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is a normative or doctrinal research. Secondary data are retrieved from the literature in the forms of legal documents and regulations concerning civil servants’ role in general elections. In this research, two products of law were analyzed as follows: first, the one related to the urgency of civil servants’ neutrality in regional head election and second, the one related to the synchronization of legal norms about civil servants’ neutrality during regional head elections. Data analysis was done using a juridical qualitative analysis model.

Findings

The urgency of neutrality is real in the implementation of concurrent regional head elections due to 3 reasons as follows: Historically, state civil apparatus neutrality and regulations. There is a synchronization of the neutrality of the civil state apparatus in the legislation concerning civil state apparatus with the laws and regulations concerning the implementation of concurrent regional head elections including the following: Act Number 5 of 2014, Act Number 10 of 2016 and Act Number 8 of 2012.

Originality/value

The study investigated the neutrality of civil servants during the concurrent regional head election in Indonesia. The objectives of this research were investigating, comprehending and analyzing the urgency of civil servants’ neutrality in regional head election, and describing and analyzing the synchronization of civil servants’ neutrality based on the laws related to civil servants and laws related to the effectuation of concurrent regional head election.
Mapping environmentally sustainable practices in textiles, apparel and fashion industries: a systematic literature review
Authors: Islam Md Mazedul , Perry Patsy , Gill Simeon
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This paper reviews the literature on environmentally sustainable practices in textile, apparel and fashion (TAF) industries to allow the mapping of practices across various manufacturing processes and the development of a conceptual framework to guide investigation of the extent of sustainable practices in TAF industries from an environmental perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review was undertaken, consisting of bibliometric and content analysis of 91 articles published in peer-reviewed journals over a 10-year period.

Findings

The inclusion of sustainable practices from all manufacturing stages in this review illustrates the diversity and complexities of environmental practices in TAF contexts. However, there is less research in developing country contexts, where most TAF production takes place and a paucity of research in upstream stages of garment washing and dyeing, and the manufacture of trims, accessories and packaging.

Research limitations/implications

The focus is on environmental sustainability and upstream manufacturing processes. The review includes literature in the form of academic journal articles from selected databases during the period January 2010–June 2020.

Practical implications

This review provides academics with a unified depiction of environmentally sustainable practices to stimulate further scholarly research and provides guidance for managers to develop firm sustainability competency by summarising best practices at different manufacturing stages

Originality/value

This review comprehensively maps the academic literature on environmentally sustainable practices in TAF industries from an upstream manufacturing operations context. It highlights the contribution of scholarly study to the knowledge base on environmentally sustainable practices in TAF industries.
COVID-19 policy responses: reflections on governmental financial resilience in South Asia
Authors: Upadhaya Bedanand , Wijethilake Chaminda , Adhikari Pawan , Jayasinghe Kelum , Arun Thankom
Published: October 2020

Purpose

First, the paper examines the short-term fiscal and budgetary responses of the South Asian governments to the COVID-19 pandemic. Next, it brings out the implications of such responses, focusing on India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on multiple secondary data sources, including the viewpoints of experts and government officials. Data are analysed using the ideas of financial resilience.

Findings

South Asian governments' response to the pandemic shows a gap in understanding the magnitude of the problem and in developing financial resilience. This paper points out the importance of avoiding austerity, becoming more cautious in accepting lending conditions, rethinking public sector accountability and revitalising mutual collaboration through SAARC for developing financial resilience, both at individual country and regional levels.

Originality/value

The study offers some insights on policy implications for South Asian governments in terms of building financial resilience to deal with future crises.
Line managers and employees use of lean task boards in Norwegian municipal healthcare sector: a tool for action learning?
Authors: Antonsen Yngve , Bye Geir
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This study aims to analyse the line managers and employees’ use of lean task boards over time in Norwegian municipalities using action learning theory. The research question was the following: what kind of action learning processes do the line managers and employees’ use of the lean task board promote in municipalities’ healthcare units?

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative case study data from a Norwegian municipality involved analyses of 750 internal self-recorded logs from task board sessions from 6 different units and 25 semi-structured interviews of managers and employees.

Findings

The task board works for line managers to make employees responsible for forwarding ideas, solutions and implementation of new actions. The use of the task boards contributes to systemising work through establishing new routines and improving orderliness at work. The line managers used the task boards as a project management system to track progress in the purchasing of diverse equipment and initiatives to improve professionalism and their units’ facilities. The study explains the learning challenges for managers using the lean task board, as the method promotes finding experience-based solutions that do not involve critical reflection and use of theory.

Practical implications

The lean task board is well-suited for managers to promote learning processes that counteract chaos in local healthcare organisations. However, the task board has limitations as a method for improving services amongst healthcare units and for solving difficult problems.

Originality/value

The study contributes to understanding how action learning theory can be applied to the analysis of the results of lean task board sessions
What matters in cost of debt: audit partner public-client specialization or busyness?
Authors: Sanoran Kanyarat (Lek)
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This study aims to examine whether audit partner public-client specialization and busyness impact the cost of debt.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses data from companies in Thailand for the 1998–2016 period. To measure the cost of debt, this study uses the realized interest cost, measured as the total interest expense for the one year ahead divided by the average value of total debt outstanding during that year.

Findings

The results show a positive association between the cost of debt and two measures of public-client specialization and busyness, which are the number of public clients audited by an individual audit partner in each year and the proportion of the number of public clients divided by the number of total clients in an individual audit partner’s portfolio.

Originality/value

In the literature, there is a lack of research on whether a higher number of public clients in an audit partner’s portfolio leads to better or worse perceived audit quality. This study extends prior literature by examining whether creditors’ perception of audit quality depends on the audit partner specialization or busyness and specifically, on the number of public clients of the auditor. The findings indicate that public-client busyness of a particular audit partner, rather than the audit partner public-client specialization, matters in the cost of debt.
Institutional environments and entrepreneurial start-ups: an international study
Authors: Li Tianchen
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The purposes of this research are to examine how individuals' cognition is related to the rate of entrepreneurial start-ups and how this relationship can be modified by three institutional pillars.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing upon a multilevel analysis and a global context comprising 67 countries, cross-level analyses are performed to assess the joint effects of entrepreneurial cognition and institutions on the rate of entrepreneurial start-ups.

Findings

The findings confirm the role of entrepreneurial cognition (i.e. self-efficacy, risk attitude and opportunity perception) in individuals' decisions to start new businesses and reveal how this relationship can be diversely influenced by country-level institutional pillars.

Practical implications

This paper could be useful for designing policies to promote entrepreneurial activity through institutions in different countries.

Originality/value

The results contribute to the development of theoretical and knowledge bases by offering a multilevel perspective on how entrepreneurial cognition and institutional environments operate as interacting determinants that influence entrepreneurship.
Fatal case of pancreatic panniculitis caused by occult neuroendocrine tumor in the corresponding organ: A case report and review of the published work
Authors: Kasamatsu Hiroshi , Oyama Noritaka , Hasegawa Minoru , Oku Yohei , Inoue Genki , Kimura Makiko , Kanno Masataka , Kawakami Takumi , Ohta Hajime , Yoneshima Manabu
Published: October 2020

Pancreatic panniculitis (PP) is a rare clinical variant of subcutaneous fat necrosis, developing in patients with a variety of pancreatic diseases such as acute or chronic pancreatitis, tumors and cysts. The tumor‐associated PP represents a noteworthy skin manifestation of underlying internal malignancies, also known as dermadrome. Among causative pancreatic tumors, acinar cell carcinoma is the most frequent malignancy; however, little is known about how the origin of tumor cells and progression stage of pancreatic tumors potentially contribute to the establishment of panniculitis. Here, we present a 69‐year‐old Japanese male case of clinically aggressive PP on the bilateral legs, whose skin lesions developed prior to the diagnosis of occult pancreatic tumor and liver metastasis. Moreover, the immunopathology of the pancreatic lesion revealed neuroendocrine tumor (NET), a rare pathological variant. Skin lesions immediately spread to the upper limbs with extensive ulcerations and necrosis, accompanied by high levels of serum lipase and elastase, but not with other pancreatic enzymes. He died 2 months after the initial development of the skin lesion due to rapid deterioration of general condition. We reviewed 14 cases, including ours, of PP with NET in the pancreas thus far reported, to identify the clinicopathological characteristics regarding to what extent this rare complication could reflect the clinical course of pancreatic tumors and overall prognosis. Our published work review found that the disease has a significant male predominance (male : female, 13:1) and cases with occult pancreatic tumors died within 4 months after the development of their skin lesions. Our case was the poorest prognostic outcome. This report emphasizes that dermatologists should recognize PP with NET, reflecting a fatal prognosis, and to make a prompt diagnosis.
Phylogenetically conserved host traits and local abiotic conditions jointly drive the geography of parasite intensity
Authors: LoScerbo Daniella , Farrell Maxwell J. , Arrowsmith Julie , Mlynarek Julia , Lessard Jean‐Philippe
Published: October 2020

The role of biotic interactions in shaping species distributions is a cornerstone of biogeographic theory; yet, it remains elusive. Such interactions are more likely to have an influence on organisms with obligate associations, such as hosts and their parasites. Whereas abiotic conditions may affect the abundance and distribution of parasites in ways similar to free‐living species, attributes of the host could also play a part.

Here, we focus on parasitic water mites and their dragonfly and damselfly hosts, and use a hierarchical Bayesian model to examine the relative influence of the abiotic environment and biotic factors such as local host community structure and individual host characteristics on parasite intensity along a broad‐scale environmental gradient. Specifically, we assessed how climate, surrounding vegetation, water chemistry, host community structure as well as the relative abundance and body mass of host species affected the intensity of parasitism on individual hosts along a latitudinal gradient.

We found that water chemistry and body mass of the host were the best predictors of variation in parasite intensity among hosts. High parasite intensity was observed in hosts sampled from lakes with high pH, dissolved oxygen and conductivity. Additionally, we found that the intensity of parasitism was strongly influenced by host species identity. In particular, body mass, which shows strong phylogenetic signal, was negatively related to parasite intensity. It may be that larger species, or individuals within species, are more immune to high level of parasitism and/or body mass is correlated with other traits of the host which relate to immunity.

Considering both the abiotic environment and attributes of host species is necessary to understand why certain host individuals and locations exhibit more intense parasitism. Amid widespread decline of insect populations world‐wide, some of which are attributed to pathogens and parasites, models predicting rates of parasitism in space and time could become an essential tool for guiding management and conservation efforts.

A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Incorporating External Green Infrastructure Models into Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) Simulations Using Interface Files
Authors: Yang Yang , Chui Ting Fong May
Published: October 2020

The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) is widely used to predict the quantity and quality of stormwater runoff and runoffs from other drainage systems in urban catchments. However, it can be useful to replace the green infrastructure (GI) model in SWMM for certain applications. This paper explains why and how GIs can be modeled using models of choice and proposes a method to systematically incorporate external GI models into SWMM when using it to model the other elements of the catchment. A file‐based coupling method is presented that uses a GI model of choice to compute the output hydrographs of selected contributing drainage areas. These GI outputs are then used as input flows to SWMM in the form of routing interface or rainfall data files. This study also presents a toolbox that contains functions to create the external files and to modify the SWMM input files to accommodate the external modeling of a part of the catchment using a GI model of choice. Finally, the use of the coupling method and the toolbox is illustrated using two case studies investigating the effectiveness of different GI models and the parameter estimation of subcatchments after implementing GIs. In summary, the proposed method and toolbox enable the use of different GI models in SWMM catchment‐scale studies.
Subclinical atherosclerosis in systemic sclerosis: Different risk profiles among patients according to clinical manifestations
Authors: Sciarra Iliana , Vasile Massimiliano , Carboni Alessia , Stefanantoni Katia , Iannace Nicoletta , Angelelli Carlotta , Scarno Antongiulio G. , Valesini Guido , Riccieri Valeria
Published: October 2020

Introduction

Like other autoimmune diseases, systemic sclerosis (SSc) has been described to be associated with accelerated atherosclerosis (ATS). Before clinical manifestations of cardiovascular disease (CVD) occur, subclinical ATS can be investigated in different ways.

Aim

To evaluate the presence of subclinical ATS in a group of patients with SSc, and to identify different risk profiles among patients.

Methods

Subclinical ATS was reviewed in 43 SSc patients and 27 healthy controls, using 2 methods: carotid ultrasound and flow mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery.

Results

Plaques were statistically more frequent in SSc patients than in controls (65% vs 30%, P = .006); intima‐media thickness of common carotid artery (CCA‐IMT) resulted in statistically higher (median value 0.8 mm vs 0.55 mm; P < .0001) while FMD was significantly lower (median value 9% vs 14%; P = .0086) in patients compared to healthy controls. Among the SSc patients, thickening of CCA‐IMT was significantly associated with the presence of diastolic dysfunction of left ventricle (absence of diastolic dysfunction: odds ratio [OR] 0.2, 95% CI 0.04‐0.92, P = .038) and with a higher Framingham score (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.03‐1.6], P = .024). The diffuse cutaneous form was slightly protective against pathological FMD (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.022‐0.71, P = .019).

Conclusions

This study confirms the involvement of macrocirculation in SSc patients, detecting the presence of subclinical ATS markers more frequently in patients compared to healthy controls. Framingham score, diastolic dysfunction of left ventricle and limited cutaneous form of the disease appeared to be associated with a higher risk of developing ATS.
Policy Opportunities and Constraints for Addressing Urban Precarity of Migrant Populations
Authors: Siddiqui Tasneem , Szaboova Lucy , Adger W. Neil , Safra de Campos Ricardo , Bhuiyan Mohammad Rashed Alam , Billah Tamim
Published: October 2020

Addressing sources and drivers of precarity among marginalized migrant populations in urban spaces is central to making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable for all. Yet dominant policy discourses continue to frame migrants as problematic causes of insecurity and tend to exclude them from policy processes. Deliberative democratic theory suggests that inclusive processes have the potential to create innovative solutions for resilient cities. This study elicits and reports on self‐identified sources of precarity and insecurity as experienced by new low‐income migrant populations. It combines visual ethnography and deliberative democracy tools in an action research process that facilitated dialogue between migrant populations, urban planners and policy stakeholders. The objective is to elicit policy opportunities and constraints for changing dominant discourses, with a view to enhance marginalized lives and to implement sustainable urban infrastructure in Chattogram, the second largest city of Bangladesh. The results show options for addressing precarity, developed through facilitating migrants and planners to engage with each other’s perspectives. Priorities include focusing on insecure tenure, exposure to environmental hazards, and representation in planning processes. Integrating the perspectives and lived experiences of migrant urban populations into policy processes potentially leads to more effective, sustainable and legitimate solutions.
Efficacy and safety of bevacizumab in advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients with stable disease after two cycles of first‐line chemotherapy: A multicenter prospective cohort study
Authors: Ai Bin , Zhang Li , Huang Dingzhi , Chen Jun , Liu Zhe , Hu Xingsheng , Zhou Shengyu , Hu Yi , Zhao Jun , Yang Fan
Published: October 2020

Bevacizumab is the first antiangiogenetic monoclonal antibody, combined with platinum‐based double agent chemotherapy, which has been reported to improve the objective response rate (ORR) and progression‐free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced nonsquamous non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to improve overall survival (OS) in patients when combined with carboplatin and paclitaxel. However, serious adverse effects have been reported to be associated with bevacizumab therapy. In this multicenter prospective cohort study of advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients with stable disease after two cycles of platinum‐based double agent chemotherapy, we will compare the ORR between the group who continued with their original chemotherapy regimen and the group in which bevacizumab was added to the original regimen. It is expected that there will be an ORR improvement of 20% in patients in the bevacizumab group plus chemotherapy, compared with those in the original chemotherapy group. This study has been registered as Clinical Trial NCT03240549.
Phylogenetically aligned component analysis
Authors: Collyer Michael L. , Adams Dean C.
Published: October 2020

It has become common in evolutionary biology to characterize phenotypes multivariately. However, visualizing macroevolutionary trends in multivariate datasets requires appropriate ordination methods.

In this paper we describe phylogenetically aligned component analysis (PACA): a new ordination approach that aligns phenotypic data with phylogenetic signal. Unlike phylogenetic principal component analysis (Phy‐PCA), which finds an alignment of a principal eigenvector that is independent of phylogenetic signal, PACA maximizes variation in directions that describe phylogenetic signal, while simultaneously preserving the Euclidean distances among observations in the data space.

We demonstrate with simulated and empirical examples that with PACA, it is possible to visualize the trend in phylogenetic signal in multivariate data spaces, irrespective of other signals in the data. In conjunction with Phy‐PCA, one can visualize both phylogenetic signal and trends in data independent of phylogenetic signal.

Phylogenetically aligned component analysis can distinguish between weak phylogenetic signals and strong signals concentrated in only a portion of all data dimensions. We provide empirical examples that emphasize the difference. Use of PACA in studies focused on phylogenetic signal should enable much more precise description of the phylogenetic signal, as a result.

Overall, PACA will return a projection that shows the most phylogenetic signal in the first few components, irrespective of other signals in the data. By comparing Phy‐PCA and PACA results, one may glean the relative importance of phylogenetic and other (ecological) signals in the data.
Transcriptomic analysis of eyelid pigmentation in Hereford cattle
Authors: Jara E. , Peñagaricano F. , Menezes C. , Tardiz L. , Rodons G. , Iriarte A. , Armstrong E.
Published: October 2020

The study of skin color in cattle holds both economic and scientific interest. Several ocular diseases of cattle have been associated with low pigmentation of the eyelids, including ocular squamous cell carcinoma and infectious keratoconjunctivitis, the two most common ocular diseases affecting cattle production. Although low eyelid pigmentation is a well‐known risk factor for various ocular diseases, the genetic and biological basis of this relationship is largely unknown. We investigated the transcriptome of eyelid skin in Hereford cattle using RNA‐sequencing technology. Two contrasting groups were evaluated: steers that were completely pigmented and steers with no pigmentation in both eyelids. Most of the up‐regulated genes in pigmented samples are directly implicated in melanogenesis and melanosome development, whereas up‐regulated genes in non‐pigmented samples are implicated in cancer development and the immune system, among other functions. Interestingly, network analysis comparing pigmented vs. non‐pigmented samples revealed significant differences in the co‐expression patterns of genes related to melanosome, pigmentation and defense response to bacteria, showing higher gene activity, greater co‐expression patterns and tighter co‐regulation mechanisms in pigmented samples. Overall, our findings indicate that bovine eyelid pigmentation depends on the expression of many genes involved not only in pigmentation and melanosome function but also related to inflammatory response, infection and tumoral pathways.
Identification of genes related to intramuscular fat independent of backfat thickness in Duroc pigs using single‐step genome‐wide association
Authors: Zhang Z. , Zhang Z. , Oyelami F. O. , Sun H. , xu Z. , Ma P. , Wang Q. , Pan Y.
Published: October 2020

Intramuscular fat (IMF) is an important meat‐quality trait of pigs, which influences pork’s shearing force, hydraulics, tenderness and juicy flavor. However, to achieve a higher percentage of lean meat, pigs with lower backfat thickness (BF) are intensively selected for, which may lead to a reduction in pork quality. Therefore, the objective of this study was to locate loci that affect IMF without changing BF. A single‐step GWAS was performed on 950 Duroc pigs genotyped by a 50K SNP chip in order to detect genomic variants relevant to IMF and BF. The significant SNPs detected were afterwards divided into a BF subset (seven SNPs), an IMF subset (11 SNPs) and a subset of both traits (12 SNPs), according to their P‐value and LD. After SNP and QTL annotation, our results indicated that SSC1: 167938652, 166363826, 164829874 and 167171587 might be associated with IMF without changing BF. In the subset of both traits, we found that the combined effect of ALGA0006602 (SSC1: 159538854) and 12784636 (SSC1: 160773437) might improve the IMF without changing BF. Our gene annotation result showed that TLE3, ITGA11, SMAD6, PAQR5 and [RNF152A/G × MC4RA/A] genes might affect IMF independently of BF. We believe that the SNPs and genes identified in this study will be valuable for the future molecular breeding of IMF in Duroc pigs.
A joint analysis strategy reveals genetic changes associated with artificial selection between egg‐type and meat‐type ducks
Authors: Gu H. , Zhu T. , Li X. , Chen Y. , Wang L. , Lv X. , Yang W. , Jia Y. , Jiang Z. , Qu L.
Published: October 2020

Egg‐type ducks and meat‐type ducks are predominantly commercial or indigenous and have been subjected to artificial directional selection. These two duck types differ substantially in body shape, production performance and reproductivity. However, the genetic changes associated with phenotypic differences remain unclear. Here, we compared the two duck types at the genomic and transcriptomic levels. We identified a large number of SNPs and genes in genomic divergent regions in terms of FST and θπ values. The corresponding genes were mainly enriched in embryonic development function and metabolic pathway. RNA‐seq analysis also revealed differential gene expression in the liver and gonads. The differentially expressed genes were functionally associated with signal transmission and substance metabolism respectively. Furthermore, we found that seven genes were related to differentiation between the two types by both g genome and transcriptome analysis and were plausible candidate genes. These genes were annotated to GO categories of cell development and disease immunity. These findings will enable a better understanding of the artificial selection history of meat and egg ducks and provide a valuable resource for future research on the breeding of these two lineages.