bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impaired online error-correction disrupts synchronization to external events in autism
Authors: Vishne Gal , Jacoby Nori , Malinovitch Tamar , Epstein Tamir , Frenkel Or , Ahissar Merav
Published: September 2020

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by impaired social skills and accompanied by motor and perceptual atypicalities. Its etiology is an open question, partly due to the diverse range of associated difficulties. Based on recent observations that individuals with autism are slow in updating perceptual priors, we now hypothesized that motor updating is also slow. Slow motor updating is expected to hamper the ability to synchronize to external events, since asynchronies are corrected sluggishly. Since sensorimotor synchronization is important for social bonding and cooperation, its impairment is expected to impair social skills. To test this hypothesis, we measured paced finger tapping to a metronome in neurotypical, ASD, and dyslexia groups. Dyslexia was assessed as a control group with a non-social neurodevelopmental atypicality. Only the ASD group showed reduced sensorimotor synchronization. Trial-by-trial computational modelling revealed that their ability to form controlled motor responses and to maintain reliable temporal representations was adequate. Only their rate of error-correction was slow and was correlated with the severity of their social difficulties. Taken together, these findings suggest that slow updating in autism contributes to both sloppy sensorimotor performance and difficulties in forming social bonds.

Significance

The prevalence of autism diagnosis has increased immensely is the last decades. Yet its etiology remains a challenge, partly since the functional relations between characteristic social difficulties, perceptual and motor atypicalities are not understood. Using trial-by-trial computational modelling, we show that a single deficit underlies the poor synchronization of individuals with autism in both static and changing environments. Slow updating, leading to slow online error correction of motor plans, has an immense explanatory power explaining both difficulties in sensorimotor synchronization, and social impairments.
Sex-specific retinal anomalies induced by chronic social stress in mice
Authors: Arsenault E , Lavigne AA , Mansouri S , Francis K , Bittar TP , Quessy F , Abdallah K , Barbeau A , Hébert M , Labonté B
Published: September 2020

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common consequences of chronic stress. Still, there is currently no reliable biomarker to detect individuals at risk to develop MDD. Recently, the retina emerged as an effective way to approach the brain and investigate psychiatric disorders with the use of the electroretinogram (ERG). In this study, cones and rods ERGs were performed in male and female mice before and after chronic social defeat stress (CSDS). Mice were then divided as susceptible or resilient to stress. Significant results were only observed in rods ERGs. In males, susceptible mice showed prolonged a-wave implicit times at baseline that were shortened after CSDS. The a-wave was also decreased in both susceptible and resilient male mice after CSDS. In females, rod a-waves were shorter in susceptible than in control mice after CSDS resulting from the latter demonstrating delayed a-waves. Baseline ERGs were able to predict – to some extent – the expression of susceptibility and resilience before stress exposition in male and female mice. Overall, our findings suggest that retinal activity is a presumptive biomarker of stress response and that the ERG could potentially serve as a predicting tool of the stress response in mice.
Synaptic correlates of associative fear memory in the lateral amygdala
Authors: Choi Dong Il , Kim Ji-il , Kim Jooyoung , Lee Hoonwon , Choi Ja Eun , Park Pojeong , Jung Hyunsu , Kaang Bong-Kiun
Published: September 2020

Successful adaptation to the environment requires accurate responding to external threats by recalling specific memories. However, elucidating underlying neural substrates of associative fear memory was limited due to the difficulties in direct examination of extinction-induced changes of specific synapses that encode an auditory fear memory. Using dual-eGRASP (enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein Reconstitution Across Synaptic Partners), we found that synapses between engram cells or synaptic engram showed a significantly larger spine morphology at auditory cortex (AC) to lateral amygdala (LA) projections after auditory fear conditioning. Fear extinction reversed the enhanced synaptic engram spines while re-conditioning with the same tone and shock restored the size of the synaptic engram. Taken together, we suggest that the synaptic engram may represent a different state of fear memory.

One Sentence Summary

Associative fear memory enlarged the spine morphology of synapses between engram neurons in the amygdala, which was diminished by memory extinction and restored by re-conditioning, suggesting that connections between engram cells represent a different state of fear memory.
Herpes simplex virus entry by a non-conventional endocytic pathway
Authors: Tebaldi Giulia , Pritchard Suzanne M. , Nicola Anthony V.
Published: September 2020

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) causes significant morbidity and mortality in humans worldwide. HSV-1 enters epithelial cells via an endocytosis mechanism that is low pH-dependent. However, the precise intracellular pathway has not been identified, including the compartment where fusion occurs. In this study, we utilized a combination of molecular and pharmacological approaches to better characterize HSV entry by endocytosis. HSV-1 entry was unaltered in both cells treated with siRNA to Rab5 or Rab7 and cells expressing dominant-negative forms of these GTPases, suggesting entry is independent of the conventional endo-lysosomal network. The fungal metabolite brefeldin A (BFA) and the quinoline compound Golgicide A (GCA) inhibited HSV-1 entry via beta-galactosidase reporter assay and impaired incoming virus transport to the nuclear periphery, suggesting a role for trans Golgi network (TGN) functions and retrograde transport in HSV entry. Silencing of Rab9 or Rab11 GTPases, which are involved in the retrograde transport pathway, resulted in only a slight reduction in HSV infection. Together these results suggest that HSV enters host cells by an intracellular route independent of the lysosome-terminal endocytic pathway.

IMPORTANCE

HSV-1, the prototype alphaherpesvirus, is ubiquitous in the human population and causes lifelong infection that can be fatal in neonatal and immunocompromised individuals. HSV enters many cell types by endocytosis, including epithelial cells, the site of primary infection in the host. The intracellular itinerary for HSV entry remains unclear. We probed the potential involvement of several Rab GTPases in HSV-1 entry, and suggest that endocytic entry of HSV-1 is independent of the canonical lysosome-terminal pathway. A non-traditional endocytic route may be employed, such as one that intersects with the TGN. These results may lead to novel targets for intervention.
PYMEVisualize: an open-source tool for exploring 3D super-resolution data
Authors: Marin Zach , Graff Michael , Barentine Andrew E. S. , Soeller Christian , Chung Kenny Kwok Hin , Fuentes Lukas A. , Baddeley David
Published: September 2020

Localization-based super-resolution microscopy techniques such as PALM, STORM, and PAINT are increasingly critical tools for biological discovery. These methods generate lists of single fluorophore positions that capture nanoscale structural details of subcellular organisation, but to develop biological insight, we must post-process and visualize this data in a meaningful way. A large number of algorithms have been developed for localization post-processing, transforming point data into representations which approximate traditional microscopy images, and performing specific quantitative analysis directly on points. Implementations of these algorithms typically stand in isolation, necessitating complex workflows involving multiple different software packages. Here we present PYMEVisualize, an open-source tool for the interactive exploration and analysis of 3D, multicolor, single-molecule localization data. PYMEVisualize brings together a broad range of the most commonly used post-processing, density mapping, and direct quantification tools in an easy-to-use and extensible package. This software is one component of the PYthon Microscopy Environment (python-microscopy.org), an integrated application suite for light microscopy acquisition, data storage, visualization, and analysis built on top of the scientific Python environment.
Susceptibility of midge and mosquito vectors to SARS-CoV-2 by natural route of infection
Authors: Balaraman Velmurugan , Drolet Barbara S. , Gaudreault Natasha N , Wilson William C. , Owens Jeana , Bold Dashzeveg , Swanson Dustin A. , Jasperson Dane C. , Noronha Leela E. , Richt Juergen A. , Mitzel Dana N
Published: September 2020

SARS-CoV-2 is a recently emerged, highly contagious virus and the cause of the current pandemic. It is a zoonotic virus, although its animal origin is not clear yet. Person-to-person transmission occurs by inhalation of infected droplets and aerosols, or by direct contact with contaminated fomites. Arthropods transmit numerous viral, parasitic, and bacterial diseases; however, the potential role of arthropods in SARS-CoV-2 transmission is not fully understood. Thus far, a few studies have demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 replication is not supported in cells from certain insect species nor in certain species of mosquitoes after intrathoracic inoculation. In this study, we expanded the work of SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility to biting insects after ingesting a SARS-CoV-2infected blood meal. Species tested includedCulicoides sonorensisbiting midges, as well asCulex tarsalisandCulex quinquefasciatusmosquitoes, all known biological vectors for numerous RNA viruses. Arthropods were allowed to feed on SARS-CoV-2 spiked blood and at various time points post infection analyzed for the presence of viral RNA and infectious virus. Additionally, cell lines derived fromC. sonorensis(W8a),Ae. aegypti(C6/36),Cx. quinquefasciatus(HSU), andCx. tarsalis(CxTrR2) were tested for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility. Our results indicate that none of the biting insects, nor the insect cell lines support SARS-CoV-2 replication. We conclude, that biting insect do not pose a risk for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to humans or animals following a SARS-CoV-2 infected blood meal.
p107 mediated mitochondrial function controls muscle stem cell proliferative fates
Authors: Bhattacharya Debasmita , Oresajo Oreoluwa , Scimè Anthony
Published: September 2020

Muscle wasting diseases and aging are associated with impaired myogenic stem cell selfrenewal and a diminished number of their proliferating progenitors (MPs). Importantly, distinct metabolic states govern MP proliferation and differentiation. Central to this is the regulation between glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation (Oxphos). However, the mechanisms that connect these energy provisioning centers to control cell behaviour remain obscure. Herein, our results reveal a mechanism by which mitochondrial-localized transcriptional co-repressor p107 governs MP proliferation. We found p107 directly interacts at the mitochondrial DNA promoter, repressing mitochondrial-encoded genes. This reduces mitochondrial ATP generation, by limiting the electron transport chain complex formation. Importantly, the amount of ATP generated by the mitochondrial function of p107 is directly associated to the cell cycle rate. Sirt1, whose activity is dependent on the cytoplasmic by-product of glycolysis, NAD+, directly interacts with p107 impeding its mitochondrial localization and function. The metabolic control of cell cycle, driven by differential p107 mitochondrial function, establishes a new paradigm to manipulate muscle cell proliferative fates that is likely to extend to most other dividing cell types.
Distinct subcellular localization of a Type I CRISPR complex and the Cas3 nuclease in bacteria
Authors: Govindarajan Sutharsan , Borges Adair , Bondy-Denomy Joseph
Published: September 2020

CRISPR-Cas systems are prokaryotic adaptive immune systems that have been well characterized biochemically, butin vivospatiotemporal regulation and cell biology remains largely unaddressed. Here, we used fluorescent fusion proteins to study the localization of the Type I-F CRISPR-Cas system native toPseudomonas aeruginosa. When targeted to an integrated prophage, the crRNA-guided (Csy) complex and a majority of Cas3 molecules in the cell are recruited to a single focus. When lacking a target in the cell, however, the Csy complex is broadly nucleoid bound, while Cas3 is diffuse in the cytoplasm. Nucleoid association for the Csy proteins is crRNA-dependent, and inhibited by expression of anti-CRISPR AcrIF2, which blocks PAM binding. The Cas9 nuclease is also nucleoid localized, only when gRNA-bound, which is abolished by PAM mimic, AcrIIA4. Our findings reveal PAM-dependent nucleoid surveillance and spatiotemporal regulation in Type I CRISPR-Cas that separates the nuclease-helicase Cas3 from the crRNA-guided surveillance complex.
What we talk about when we talk about color
Authors: Twomey Colin R. , Roberts Gareth , Brainard David H. , Plotkin Joshua B.
Published: September 2020

Names for colors vary widely across languages, but color categories are remarkably consistent (Berlin & Kay, 1969). Shared mechanisms of color perception help explain consistent partitions of visible light into discrete color vocabularies (Regier et al., 2007). But the mappings from colors to words are not identical across languages, which may reflect communicative needs – how often speakers must refer to objects of different color (Gibson et al., 2017). Here we quantify the communicative needs of colors in 130 different languages by means of a novel inference algorithm. We find that communicative needs are not uniform: some regions of color space exhibit 30-fold greater demand for communication than other regions. The regions of greatest demand correlate with the colors of salient objects, including ripe fruits in primate diets. Our analysis also reveals a hidden diversity in the communicative needs of colors across different languages, which is partly explained by differences in geographic location and the local biogeography of linguistic communities. Accounting for language-specific, non-uniform communicative needs improves predictions for how a language maps colors to words, and how these mappings vary across languages. Our account closes an important gap in the compression theory of color naming, while opening new directions to study cross-cultural variation in the need to communicate different colors and its impact on the cultural evolution of color categories.
Implantable photonic neural probes for light-sheet fluorescence brain imaging
Authors: Sacher Wesley D. , Chen Fu-Der , Moradi-Chameh Homeira , Luo Xianshu , Fomenko Anton , Shah Prajay , Lordello Thomas , Liu Xinyu , Almog Ilan Felts , Straguzzi John N. , Fowler Trevor M. , Jung Youngho , Hu Ting , Jeong Junho , Lozano Andres M. , Lo Patrick Guo-Qiang , Valiante Taufik A. , Moreaux Laurent C. , Poon Joyce K. S. , Roukes Michael L.
Published: September 2020

Significance

Light-sheet fluorescence microscopy is a powerful technique for high-speed volumetric functional imaging. However, in typical light-sheet microscopes, the illumination and collection optics impose significant constraints upon the imaging of non-transparent brain tissues. Here, we demonstrate that these constraints can be surmounted using a new class of implantablephotonic neural probes.

Aim

Mass manufacturable, silicon-based light-sheet photonic neural probes can generate planar patterned illumination at arbitrary depths in brain tissues without any additional micro-optic components.

Approach

We develop implantable photonic neural probes that generate light sheets in tissue. The probes were fabricated in a photonics foundry on 200 mm diameter silicon wafers. The light sheets were characterized in fluorescein and in free space. The probe-enabled imaging approach was tested in fixed andin vitromouse brain tissues. Imaging tests were also performed using fluorescent beads suspended in agarose.

Results

The probes had 5 to 10 addressable sheets and average sheet thicknesses < 16 μm for propagation distances up to 300 μm in free space. Imaging areas were as large as ≈ 240 μm × 490 μm in brain tissue. Image contrast was enhanced relative to epifluorescence microscopy.

Conclusions

The neural probes can lead to new variants of light-sheet fluorescence microscopy for deep brain imaging and experiments in freely-moving animals.
The environmentally friendly role of edible insect restaurants in the tourism industry: applying an extended theory of planned behavior
Authors: Choe Ja Young (Jacey) , Kim Jinkyung Jenny , Hwang Jinsoo
Published: September 2020

Purpose

This study aims to examine diners’ behavioral intention to visit an edible insect restaurant, which is known to play an important role in sustainability, by integrating the theory of planned behavior and the norm activation theory.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 439 samples were collected in South Korea. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypotheses.

Findings

The attitudes were influenced by subjective norms. Intentions were affected by the attitudes, the subjective norms and the perceived behavioral control. In addition, the five dimensions of cognitive triggers, which include environmental awareness, ascribed responsibility, biospheric value, environmental concern and perceived effectiveness, positively affected personal norms, and the personal norms positively influenced behavioral intentions.

Practical implications

It is an important practical implication of this study that tourism practitioners were delivered with the knowledge of establishing marketing strategies based on the destination’s green image of insect restaurants.

Originality/value

This study is expected to contribute to the extant knowledge, which will enable an understanding of the sustainability values of edible insect restaurants, and it will guide tourism practitioners to establish effective sustainable practices for the tourism industry.
Farmers' social networks and the diffusion of modern crop varieties in India
Authors: Negi Digvijay Singh , Birthal Pratap , Kumar Anjani , Tripathi Gaurav
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The main aim of this paper is to assess the relevance of caste-based social networks in the dissemination of technologies and innovations in the Indian agriculture.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the unit-level data from a large-scale farm survey, this paper constructs a multidimensional index of social networks encompassing households' castes and information sources within the administrative boundaries of a district and subsequently assesses its association with the adoption of modern seeds of staple food crops.

Findings

There is a strong effect of caste-based networks on the adoption of modern seeds of different crops, but the effect is linked to the stage of technological change, i.e. the network effect is stronger for the crop that has experienced late technological change. Further, the behavior of network members is found to have a bigger impact on the individuals' technology adoption decisions as compared to the characteristics of individuals in the network.

Research limitations/implications

Given likely, increases in demand for diverse information and limited outreach of public extension systems, the findings suggest that in a socially heterogeneous society the caste-based social networks can serve as an important channel for the dissemination of information and innovations.

Originality/value

What is unique in this paper is that it constructs a multidimensional index of social networks embedding the farm households' castes and information sources within the administratively defined boundaries of a geographical region.
A perspective on the positioning of Indian business schools post COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Rana Sudhir , Anand Arpan , Prashar Sanjeev , Haque Moon Moon
Published: September 2020

Purpose

We respond to calls from business schools (B-schools), apex education bodies, regulators, activist groups and researchers for more rigorous research to understand the future strategies of B-schools in India. We specifically examine the challenges posed by the current COVID-19 pandemic (and possible future similar eventualities) and the current and long-term strategies being planned to combat such crises.

Design/methodology/approach

To reveal the real-life scenario, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 academic leaders (Deans and Directors) of B-schools in India. These respondents were from both public and private institutions across the country. Open-ended questions were framed for exploration to help the authors understand the way forward in the Indian B-school context.

Findings

Findings reveal that B-schools in India are preparing themselves to overcome short-term challenges faced due to COVID-19 as well as transforming themselves through long-term strategies.

Originality/value

The study outlines strategic plans for some imaginative reassessments that B-schools may consider as a reaction to a pandemic-like emergency. The focus is on distinguishing the imperatives, creating a key guide for meeting immediate requirements, allotting assets in a prudent way to update educational course curricula and teaching methods and building the required academic infrastructure. The ability to focus on enduring changes (e.g. creating an e-learning framework and providing a safe and secure learning environment to students as per government mandates) will provide B-schools with a new lease of life in the future.
A fuzzy set analysis of the determinants of intention to adapt and pro-environmental behaviour
Authors: El-Deeb Sara , Correia Maria , Richter Christian
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate what drives people to show a willingness to mitigate the effects of climate change. To accomplish this goal, this research uses the theory of planned behaviour to examine whether attitude towards climate change, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control are potential determinants of a pro-environmental intention and thus a pro-environmental behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

This explanatory paper applies a Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis to identify the key drivers of pro-environmental intention and behaviour. A non-probability convenience sample of 481 Egyptian respondents was collected.

Findings

This study finds that awareness combined with a willingness to pay to mitigate climate change are key drivers of pro-environmental intention. Moreover, personal responsibility and confidence in the ability to mitigate climate change also trigger climate-friendly intentions. Finally, it is found that societal engagement and willingness to take action increase the propensity to exhibit pro-environmental behaviour.

Research limitations/implications

The results of our analysis cannot be generalized to the Egyptian population as a whole as our sample only comprises a sample of Egyptian students.

Originality/value

This paper is novel as it is the first that applies Qualitative Comparative Analysis to the Theory of Planned Behaviour. By doing so, the paper sheds light on the understanding of key cognitive, social-psychological and behavioural factors which lead to environmental actions. Hence, it provides policy-makers with a framework to support a more sustainable society.
Do national cultures matter in the containment of COVID-19?
Authors: Cao Cong , Li Ning , Liu Li
Published: September 2020

Purpose

This paper empirically investigates how cultural variations in individualism and tightness affected the containment of COVID-19 using data from 54 nations during a 30-day period of government intervention.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors utilized the hierarchical regression approach to check the effects of three cultural variables – the individualism measure, taken from Hofstede’s six-dimension national culture index, and the measure of cultural tightness, based on the three tightness–looseness indexes calculated by Irem Uz (2015) and their interaction – on the changes in the prevalence rate (ΔPR) and crude mortality rate (ΔCMR) and case fatality rate (CFR) while controlling for the stringency of government responses to COVID-19, median age and population density.

Findings

Significant relationships were found between cultural variables and national performance in slowing the spread of the coronavirus, measured by ΔPR, ΔCMR and CFR. After controlling for the stringency of government responses, median age and population density, the authors found that cultural tightness and individualism as well as their interactions remain to be pivotal. Loose and individualistic cultures led to faster increases in PR and CMR and higher CFR. A four-quadrant conceptual framework is developed to categorize and discuss the national differences.

Originality/value

The paper integrated two constructs – cultural tightness–looseness and individualism–collectivism – to form a theoretical lens to guide the authors’ analyses while using the real-time COVID-19 data as a natural experiment for theorizing and testing. This study’s findings have significant policy implications in government responses, strategic planning, cultural adaptability and policy implementations for the world’s continuous battle against the pandemic.
Construction and empirical research on acceptance model of service robots applied in hotel industry
Authors: Zhong Lina , Zhang Xiaoya , Rong Jia , Chan Hing Kai , Xiao Jinyu , Kong Haoyu
Published: September 2020

Purpose

Robots, as the crystallization of new artificial intelligence, are being applied in various fields, especially the hotel industry. They are seizing the opportunities, using technology to improve the overall quality and comprehensive competitiveness. However, they also cause many problems due to practical limitations. The purpose of this paper is to study customers' recognition and acceptance of hotel service robots to guide the successful promotion of this technology.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposed a comprehensive model based on the theory of planned behavior, the technology acceptance model and then the perceived value-based acceptance model. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, grouped regression analysis and path analysis was adopted to validate the impacts of each variable to obtain the final reliable model using data collected from hotel guests using a self-designed questionnaire.

Findings

The empirical research based on the theoretical model shows that the constructed conceptual model can thoroughly explain the influencing factors of hotel robot acceptance, enrich the acceptance theory and provide academic support for the use and popularization of hotel service robots. Among all variables, attitude, usefulness and perceived value are the factors that have the greatest impact on acceptance. They have significant differences in the effects of adjustment variables such as gender, educational level, whether hotel robots have been used, and whether other robot services have been experienced on different paths in the model.

Practical implications

This paper explored the customer acceptance of service robots in hotels, helped to understand the process of decision-making on service robot selection and contributed to the theoretical extension of the hospitality industry. The work guides hotel management to promote better-personalized products and services of robot technology in the hospitality industries.

Originality/value

The acceptance study on hotel service robots provides insight into the hotel industry to understand customers' attitudes and acceptance of emerging technology.
Internal and external successions in family firms: a meta-analysis
Authors: Schlömer-Laufen Nadine , Rauch Andreas
Published: September 2020

Purpose

Despite much progress in the field of family business research, there is still no unequivocal quantitative evidence on how many family businesses are generally transferred within the family and how many are sold to nonfamily members. Accordingly, the purpose of our paper is to overcome this data problem and to try to get a better estimate of these rates.

Design/methodology/approach

To determine a better estimate of intrafamily successions in Germany, we conducted a meta-analysis of 33 samples from 27 studies covering 75,522 firms facing or having already faced a business transfer.

Findings

Our results indicate that 62% of these family firms are (planned to be) transferred to family members. This type of industry strongly determines the mode of succession. However, methodological issues like study quality and sample design also influence estimated succession rates.

Practical implications

Policymakers need robust statistics so they can base their actions and economic policies on reliable information. However, in the absence of official statistics – as in the case of family firms handing over their company within or outside the family – information is difficult to generate. Our findings provide a generalizable estimate of prevalence rates, providing German policymakers, and those in other countries when applying these methods, with useful information.

Originality/value

This paper suggests that a theory of family firm succession needs to consider more deeply the context in which succession decisions occur. By exploring variables affecting succession rates such as firm size and industry but also methodological issues like sample design and study quality, our analysis also provides a better understanding of central determinants of successions within and outside the family.
Barriers to adoption of blockchain technology in green supply chain management
Authors: Bag Surajit , Viktorovich Dmitriev Aleksandr , Sahu Atul Kumar , Sahu Anoop Kumar
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify the barriers to the adoption of blockchain technology in green supply chain management (GSCM) and further analyze the cause and effect relationship to prioritize the barriers for making strategic decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study examines 15 potential barriers related to the adoption of blockchain in GSCM which is identified from the literature review and finalized after subsequent discussions with industry professionals. Integrated Fuzzy-Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory approach is used to analyze cause and effect relationships and prioritize the barriers. Fuzzy set theory is used to handle the uncertainty and vagueness associated with the personnel biases and data deficiency problems. Three small to medium enterprises’ (SMEs’) are considered for gathering data and further analyzing the crucial barriers that are impeding the adoption of blockchain technology in GSCM.

Findings

The findings reveal that “lack of management vision” and “cultural differences among supply chain partners” are the most influencing barriers, whereas; “collaboration challenges” and “hesitation and workforce obsolescence” are the most influential barriers in the adoption of blockchain in GSCM.

Research limitations/implications

The study is developed based on 15 selected barriers which were further tested using data from three SMEs’ in the emerging economy of India. The adoption of blockchain technology in GSCM is at a nascent stage and more research studies are necessary to extend the knowledge base.

Practical implications

Managers need to eliminate the barriers and extend the blockchain technology application in GSCM. Managers need to develop the mission and vision of the company by doing proper alignment of blockchain technology with GSCM goals. Second, managers need to make strong collaborations and remove the hesitation and workforce obsolescence barrier by providing the right education and pieces of training.

Originality/value

Blockchain technology in GSCM is in a nascent stage. This study extends the knowledge base by identifying and further prioritizing the leading blockchain barriers that need to be overcome for effectively adopting blockchain in GSCM.
Enterprise social media usage and knowledge hiding: a motivation theory perspective
Authors: Ma Liang , Zhang Xin , Ding Xiaoyan
Published: September 2020

Purpose

Reducing employees’ knowledge hiding is vital for enterprise managers. The development of enterprise social media brings opportunities for them to manage employees’ knowledge-hiding behaviors. However, whether the use of enterprise social media inhibits or promotes knowledge hiding is still unclear. The purpose of this study is to explore how enterprise social media usage affect employees' knowledge hiding.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation model, this paper proposes a research model to investigate the relationship between enterprise social media usage and knowledge hiding, using a structural equation modeling analysis of 288 employees’ data.

Findings

The results show that work-related public social media usage has an inhibiting effect on employees’ knowledge hiding, whereas the effect of work-related private social media usage on employees’ knowledge hiding is not significant; socially related public social media and private social media usage has a promoting effect on employees’ knowledge hiding; and job engagement acts in a positive moderating role between socially related private and public social media usage and evasive hiding.

Originality/value

First, this paper contributes to knowledge-hiding literature by revealing the relationship between enterprise social media usage and knowledge hiding. Second, this study contributes to motivation theory by clarifying how the use of enterprise social media with different motivations affects knowledge hiding. Third, this paper also contributes to knowledge-hiding literature by revealing a boundary condition, namely, job engagement.
A knowledge management system framework for an open biomedical repository: communities, collaboration and corroboration
Authors: Kruesi Lisa , Burstein Frada , Tanner Kerry
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to assess the opportunity for a distributed, networked open biomedical repository (OBR) using a knowledge management system (KMS) conceptual framework. An innovative KMS conceptual framework is proposed to guide the transition from a traditional, siloed approach to a sustainable OBR.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reports on a cycle of action research, involving literature review, interviews and focus group with leaders in biomedical research, open science and librarianship, and an audit of elements needed for an Australasian OBR; these, along with an Australian KM standard, informed the resultant KMS framework.

Findings

The proposed KMS framework aligns the requirements for an OBR with the people, process, technology and content elements of the KM standard. It identifies and defines nine processes underpinning biomedical knowledge – discovery, creation, representation, classification, storage, retrieval, dissemination, transfer and translation. The results comprise an explanation of these processes and examples of the people, process, technology and content dimensions of each process. While the repository is an integral cog within the collaborative, distributed open science network, its effectiveness depends on understanding the relationships and linkages between system elements and achieving an appropriate balance between them.

Research limitations/implications

The current research has focused on biomedicine. This research builds on the worldwide effort to reduce barriers, in particular paywalls to health knowledge. The findings present an opportunity to rationalize and improve a KMS integral to biomedical knowledge.

Practical implications

Adoption of the KMS framework for a distributed, networked OBR will facilitate open science through reducing duplication of effort, removing barriers to the flow of knowledge and ensuring effective management of biomedical knowledge.

Social implications

Achieving quality, permanency and discoverability of a region’s digital assets is possible through ongoing usage of the framework for researchers, industry and consumers.

Originality/value

The framework demonstrates the dependencies and interplay of elements and processes to frame an OBR KMS.
COVID-19 is killing education budgets: are educational public-private partnerships an answer?
Authors: Mitra Romita
Published: September 2020

Purpose

Education budgets are being reduced by many governments, especially in low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries, as finite resources are diverted toward the health crisis brought about by the pandemic. As the crisis continues, some governments may opt to turn to education public-private partnerships (PPP) to meet funding shortfalls and build capacity. This paper discusses some of the common critiques of educational PPPs, examines some pertinent case studies, and offers suggestions for practitioners and decision-makers on sustainable and ethical PPPs in education.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on existing literature and current reporting by international/intergovernmental organizations to explore the complex role of public and private collaboration and agency in education and offers insights and suggestions to the challenges that may arise with increased educational PPPs as a result of the pandemic.

Findings

PPPs are controversial, susceptible to issues of accountability and transparency, and findings so far are varied, and yet countries may turn to them to address funding and resource shortfalls arising from the pandemic. The author proposes recommendations to address the common issues in educational PPPs.

Originality/value

This paper will contribute to the evolving conversation on educational PPPs, its role and limitations.
Twenty years of XBRL: what we know and where we are going
Authors: Bartolacci Francesca , Caputo Andrea , Fradeani Andrea , Soverchia Michela
Published: September 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to extend the knowledge of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) to synthesize what 20 years of accounting and business literature on XBRL suggests about the effective improvement from its implementation in financial reporting.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of 142 articles resulted in the identification of 5 primary research streams: adoption issues; financial reporting; decision-making processes, market efficiency and corporate governance; audit and assurance issues; and non-financial reporting.

Findings

The results reveal a scarcity of studies devoted to explicating the consequences of XBRL implementation on financial reporting outside the SEC’s XBRL mandate and listed companies’ contexts. Also, some papers’ results question the usefulness of the language on the decision-making process. The overall lack of literature concerning the impact of XBRL on financial statement preparers, especially with reference to SMEs, is evident. Moreover, the consequences on corporate governance choices and the relevant internal decision-making processes are rarely debated.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are useful for users of companies’ financial disclosure policies, particularly for regulators who manage XBRL implementation in countries where XBRL has not yet been adopted as well as for others working in specific areas of financial disclosure, such as non-financial reporting and public sector financial reporting.

Originality/value

This study differs from previous literature on XBRL as it focuses on a wider period of analysis and offers a unique methodology – combination of bibliometric and systematic review – as well as a business perspective for deepening XBRL.
The short-term and long-term impacts of the procedural justice training
Authors: Dai Mengyan , Hu Xiaochen , Thomas Lindsey , Kenter Robert
Published: September 2020

Purpose

This study examines the short- and long-term changes in officers' attitudes toward four elements of procedural justice (i.e. trustworthiness, respect, neutrality and voice) after a department-wide procedural justice training program.

Design/methodology/approach

This study utilized the pretest–posttest, single-group design to evaluate the training with two waves of officer surveys and conducted multivariate analyses to assess the factors that could have an impact on the training effects.

Findings

The training was effective in increasing officers' support for all four elements of procedural justice immediately, and the effects remained significant over 18 months. In addition, the analyses found that there were racial differences in officers' attitudes before and after the training, and the immediate supervisors' priority played an important role in the training effects.

Originality/value

There has been limited systematic research on police training. This study contributes to the understanding of how procedural justice training can help improve police-community relations and reduce the attitudinal differences between White officers and minority officers.
Structuring unequal relations: role trajectories in informal dementia care
Authors: Fletcher James Rupert
Published: September 2020

Transitions into informal care roles are associated with various characteristics, for example gender and geographic proximity, but such associations are insufficient to explain role delegation, overlooking the interpersonal structure–agency nexuses that constitute role trajectories. This paper explores unequal role delegation within 7 families affected by dementia, presenting data from interviews with 7 people with dementia and 26 carers living in the community in the United Kingdom. Two key care roles are identified: the relatively un‐involved role of peripheral actors and the lynchpin role of main carers who take on most of the care tasks. These roles emerge from negotiations around a range of extraneous factors that collectively comprise cumulative baggage, including historic conflicts and childcare commitments. The unequal distribution of care reflects widely noted demographic associations with role delegation, but is enacted and justified through the interpersonal negotiation of personalised meanings regarding individual circumstances and suitability. Though deeply personal when taken at face value, these meanings imbibe sociocultural norms and political economies of care to structurally position family members in relation to each other and signpost appropriate candidates for caring roles, even before such care is required.
Demand for Crop Insurance in Developing Countries: New Evidence from India
Authors: Ghosh Ranjan Kumar , Gupta Shweta , Singh Vartika , Ward Patrick S.
Published: September 2020

Determining farmers’ real demand for crop insurance is difficult, especially in developing countries, where there is a lack of formal financial sector integration and a high reliance on informal risk mitigation options. We provide some new estimates of farmers’ willingness‐to‐pay for insurance in the context of a large‐scale subsidised programme in India. We conducted a discrete choice experiment with agricultural households across four states in India, enabling us to estimate preferences for specific insurance policy attributes such as coverage period, method of loss assessment, timing of indemnity payments and the cost of insurance. Our results suggest that farmers do value crop insurance under certain conditions and some are willing to pay a premium for such coverage in excess of the subsidised rates they are currently required to pay under this programme. In particular, farmers value the assurances that they will receive timely payouts when they incur losses, and may not have a strong preference for the method with which losses are assessed. On the other hand, farmers are quite sensitive to coverage periods. Our baseline assessment shows that when optimised to farmer requirements, there can be a sizeable demand for crop insurance by developing country farmers.
Pediatric circumcision using n‐butyl‐cyanoacrylate plusMSmonomer: Bacteriostatic and cosmetic advantages over suture
Authors: Spinelli Claudio , Bertocchini Alessia , Leoni Matteo , Calani Chiara , Morganti Riccardo , Strambi Silvia
Published: September 2020

Purpose

The aim of this study is to compare the use of n‐butyl‐cyanoacrylate plus MS monomer (NBCA‐MS) glue with suture in pediatric circumcision.

Materials and Methods

Between January 2013 and January 2017, 160 consecutive pediatric patients (range 18 months–14 years, mean 7.5 years) underwent circumcision. Eighty patients were randomly allocated to the glue group and 80 to the suture group. In the glue group wound margins were approximated by n‐butyl‐cyanoacrylate plus MS monomer (NBCA‐MS) glue while in the suture group interrupted 5‐0 polyglycolic acid stitches were used. Each group was randomized into two subgroups: forty patients (subgroup A) received antibiotics (6 days of amoxicillin/clavulanic acid) and 40 (subgroup B) patients did not receive any postoperative drug. Operative time, pain score, postoperative complications and cosmesis were statistically evaluated.

Results

The operation time was significantly higher in the suture group; pain severity and duration were not significantly lower in the glue group. In the 80 patients of the glue group no complications occurred; in the suture group 20 (25%) cases of wound edema and 6 (7.5%) infections occurred. Cosmesis evaluation 1 and 6 months postoperatively showed significantly better results in the glue group.

Conclusion

Our study demonstrates that NBCA‐MS glue wound closure in pediatric circumcision is a safe and effective technique.
Pan‐genome analysis of Exiguobacterium reveals species delineation and genomic similarity with Exiguobacterium profundum PHM 11
Authors: Srivastava Alok Kumar , Srivastava Ruchi , Sharma Anjney , Bharati Akhilendra Pratap , Tiwari Praveen Kumar , Singh Alok Kumar , Srivastava Anchal Kumar , Chakdar Hillol , Kashyap Prem Lal , Saxena Anil Kumar
Published: September 2020

The stint of the bacterial species is convoluting, but the new algorithms to calculate genome‐to‐genome distance (GGD) and DNA–DNA hybridization (DDH) for comparative genome analysis have rejuvenated the exploration of species and sub‐species characterization. The present study reports the first whole genome sequence of Exiguobacterium profundum PHM11. PHM11 genome consist of ~ 2.92 Mb comprising 48 contigs, 47.93% G + C content. Functional annotations revealed a total of 3033 protein coding genes and 33 non‐protein coding genes. Out of these, only 2316 could be characterized and others reported as hypothetical proteins. The comparative analysis of predicted proteome of PHM11 with five other Exiguobacterium sp. identified 3806 clusters, out of which the PHM11 shared a total of 2723 clusters having 1664 common clusters, 131 singletons and 928 distributed between five species. The pan‐genome analysis of 70 different genomic sequences of Exigubacterium strains devoid of a species taxon was done on the basis of GGD and the DDH which identified eight genomes analogous to the PHM11 at species level and may be characterized as E. profundum. The ANI value and phylogenetic tree analysis also support the same. The results regarding pan‐genome analysis provide a convincing insight for delineation of these eight strains to species.