bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
BOLD response to multiple grip forces in MS: going beyond the main effect of movement in BA 4a and BA 4p
Authors: Alahmadi Adnan A.S. , Pardini Matteo , Samson Rebecca S , D’Angelo Egidio , Friston Karl J , Toosy Ahmed T , Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott Claudia A.M.
Published: October 2020

This study highlights the importance of looking beyond the main effect of movement to study alterations in functional response in the presence of central nervous system pathologies such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Data show that MS selectively affects regional BOLD (Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent) responses to variable grip forces (GF). It is known that the anterior and posterior BA 4 areas (BA 4a and BA 4p) are anatomically and functionally distinct. It has also been shown in Healthy volunteers that there are linear (1storder, typical of BA 4a) and non-linear (2nd-4thorder, typical of BA 4p) BOLD responses to different levels of GF applied during a dynamic motor paradigm. After modelling the BOLD response with a polynomial expansion of the applied GFs, the particular case of BA 4a and BA 4p were investigated in Healthy Volunteers (HV) and MS subjects. The main effect of movement (0th order) analysis showed that the BOLD signal is greater in MS compared to healthy volunteers within both BA 4 sub-regions. At higher order, BOLD-GF responses were similar in BA 4a but showed a marked alteration in BA 4p of MS subjects, with those with greatest disability showing the greatest deviations from the healthy response profile. Therefore, the different behaviour in HV and MS could only be uncovered through a polynomial analysis looking beyond the main effect of movement into the two BA 4 sub-regions. Future studies will investigate the source of this pathophysiology, combining the present fMRI paradigm with blood perfusion and non-linear neuronal response analysis.
Adaptive management plans rooted in quantitative ecological predictions of ecosystem processes: putting monitoring data to practical use
Authors: Damgaard Christian
Published: October 2020

It is demonstrated how a hierarchical structural equation model that is fitted to temporal ecological monitoring data from a number of sites may be used to generate local ecological predictions and how these local ecological predictions may form the basis of adaptive management plans. Local ecological predictions will be made for the cover of cross-leaved heath on Danish wet heathlands, which is one of the indicators that determine the conservation status of wet heathlands under different management scenarios. Based on a realistic example, the model predictions concludes that grazing by domestic herbivores on wet heathlands with a relatively low cover cross-leaved heath cannot be recommended as the only management practice. Generally, it is recommended to use ecological monitoring data to generate quantitative and credible local adaptive management plans where the uncertainty is taken into account.
Statistics used to infer inter-breeding between humans and Neanderthals are strongly predicted by flanking sequence heterozygosity
Authors: Amos William
Published: October 2020

A large and rapidly expanding literature has grown out of the observation that humans carry a genetic legacy reflecting ancient inter-breeding with archaic hominins such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. However, a recent study suggests that a commonly used statistic used to assess legacy size, D, is driven mainly by heterozygous sites in Africa acting to increase divergence from our common ancestor rather than introgressed fragments outside Africa reducing divergence. To test this new model, I analysed how D is influenced by heterozygosity within a kilobase of each putative introgressed base. I find that flanking heterozygosity is a potent predictor of D, with introgression always being inferred as having occurred into the population with lower heterozygosity. This pattern cannot be driven by any introgressed fragments themselves, which simulations show create the exact converse pattern, but instead appears to be generated by heterozygosity acting to drive increased divergence from the ancestral sequence. This new model explains why introgression of haploid or semi-haploid regions is essentially lacking and why introgression is often inferred around immune genes and other regions under strong selection. More generally, these results raise the possibility that reported legacies are largely an artefact arising out of the false assumption that mutation rate is constant.
Dopamine neuron synaptic connectivity defines physiological striatal domains
Authors: Chuhma Nao , Oh Soo Jung , Rayport Stephen
Published: October 2020

Dopamine neurons projecting to the striatum control movement, cognition, and motivation. They do so via slower, dopamine volume transmission and also via faster synaptic dopamine, glutamate and GABA transmission. To define the scope of these synaptic actions, we recorded dopamine neuron synaptic currents in the four major classes of striatal neurons. This revealed that dopaminergic and GABAergic synaptic actions are widespread; glutamatergic synaptic actions are robust in the medial nucleus accumbens and the anterolateral dorsal striatum, mediating fast and slow excitation, respectively. Dopamine neuron synaptic actions in cholinergic interneurons are the strongest and most complex, involving all three transmitters, their multiple receptors, and are the most regionally heterogeneous. The caudal striatum forms a single domain with overall weak dopamine neuron synaptic actions. This synaptic mapping reveals that dopamine neuron synaptic actions extend across the entire striatum, are regionally heterogeneous and organized in physiological domains, determined mainly by their excitatory actions.
Neural silences can be localized rapidly using noninvasive scalp EEG
Authors: Chamanzar Alireza , Behrmann Marlene , Grover Pulkit
Published: October 2020

A rapid and cost-effective noninvasive tool to detect and characterize suppressed neural activity can be of significant benefit for the diagnosis and treatment of many disorders. We propose a novel algorithm, SilenceMap, for uncovering the absence of electrophysiological signals, or neural “silences”, using noninvasive scalp electroencephalography (EEG) signals. By accounting for the contributions of different sources to the power of the recorded signals, and using a novel hemispheric baseline approach and a convex spectral clustering framework, SilenceMap permits rapid detection and localization of regions of silence in the brain using a relatively small amount of EEG data. SilenceMap substantially outperformed existing source localization algorithms in estimating the center-of-mass of the silence for three pediatric patients with lobectomy, using less than 3 minutes of EEG recordings (13, 2, and 11mm vs. 25, 62, and 53mm), as well for 70 different simulated regions of silence based on a real human head model (11±0.5mm vs. 54±2.2mm). SilenceMap paves the way towards accessible early diagnosis and continuous monitoring of altered physiological properties of human cortical function.
Motor resonance is modulated by an object’s weight distribution
Authors: Rens Guy , de Xivry Jean-Jacques Orban , Davare Marco , van Polanen Vonne
Published: October 2020

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies showed that corticospinal excitability (CSE) is modulated during observation of object lifting, an effect termed ‘motor resonance’. Specifically, motor resonance is driven by movement features indicating object weight, such as object size or observed movement kinematics. We investigated in 16 humans (8 females) whether motor resonance is also modulated by an object’s weight distribution. Participants were asked to lift an inverted T-shaped manipulandum with interchangeable center of mass after first observing an actor lift the same manipulandum. Participants and actor were instructed to minimize object roll and rely on constrained digit positioning during lifting. Constrained positioning was either collinear (i.e., fingertips on the same height) or noncollinear (i.e., fingertip on the heavy side higher than the one on the light side). The center of mass changed unpredictably before the actor’s lifts and participants were explained that their weight distribution always matched the actor’s one. Last, TMS was applied during both lift observation and planning of lift actions. Our results showed that CSE was similarly modulated during lift observation and planning: when participants observed or planned lifts in which the weight distribution was asymmetrically right-sided, CSE recorded from the thumb muscles was significantly increased compared to when the weight distribution was left-sided. During both lift observation and planning, this increase seemed to be primarily driven by the weight distribution and not specifically by the (observed) digit positioning or muscle contraction. In conclusion, our results indicate that complex intrinsic object properties such as weight distributions can modulate activation of the motor system during both observation and planning of lifting actions.

Highlights

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Motor resonance is observation-induced activity in the observer’s motor system

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We used a dyadic lifting task of objects with asymmetrical weight distribution

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We investigated which movement features modulate motor resonance

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Motor resonance is modulated by the object’s weight distribution

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Motor resonance is driven by observed and planned digit positioning
Tunability enhancement of gene regulatory motifs through competition for regulatory protein resources
Authors: Das Swetamber , Choubey Sandeep
Published: October 2020

Gene regulatory networks (GRN) orchestrate the spatio-temporal levels of gene expression, thereby regulating various cellular functions ranging from embryonic development to tissue home-ostasis. Some patterns called “motifs” recurrently appear in the GRNs. Owing to the prevalence of these motifs they have been subjected to much investigation both in the context of understanding cellular decision making and engineering synthetic circuits. Mounting experimental evidence suggest that 1) the copy number of genes associated with these motifs vary, and 2) proteins produced from these genes bind to decoy binding sites on the genome as well as promoters driving the expression of other genes. Together, these two processes engender competition for protein resources within a cell. To unravel how competition for protein resources affect the dynamical properties of regulatory motifs, we propose a simple kinetic model that explicitly incorporates copy number variation (CNV) of genes and decoy binding of proteins. Using quasi steady-state approximations, we theoretically investigate the transient and steady-state properties of three of the commonly found motifs: autoregulation, toggle switch and repressilator. While protein resource competition alters the timescales to reach the steady-state for all these motifs, the dynamical properties of toggle switch and repressilator are affected in multiple ways. For toggle switch, the basins of attraction of the known attractors are dramatically altered if one set of proteins bind to decoys more frequently than the other, an effect which gets suppressed as copy number of toggle switch is enhanced. For repressilators, protein sharing leads to emergence of oscillation in regions of parameter space that were previously non-oscillatory. Intriguingly, both the amplitude and frequency of oscillation are altered in a non-linear manner through the interplay of CNV and decoy binding. Overall, competition for protein resources within a cell provides an additional layer of regulation of gene regulatory motifs.
A synthetic RNA-based biosensor for fructose-1,6-bisphosphate that reports glycolytic flux
Authors: Ortega Alvaro D. , Takhaveev Vakil , Bonsing-Vedelaar Silke , Long Yi , Mestre-Farràs Neus , Incarnato Danny , Ersoy Franziska , Olsen Lars Folke , Mayer Günter , Heinemann Matthias
Published: October 2020

Metabolic heterogeneity, the occurrence of different metabolic phenotypes among cells, represents a key challenge in health and biotechnology. To unravel its molecular basis, tools probing metabolism of single cells are needed. While RNA devices harbor huge potential for the development of such tools, until today, it is challenging to createin vivo-functional sensors for any given metabolite. Here, we developed from scratch an RNA-based sensor for fructose-1,6-bisphosphate (FBP), a doubly phosphorylated intermediate of glycolysis. Starting fromin vitroselection of an RNA aptamer and its structural analyses, we developed libraries of RNA-based regulatory devices with this aptamer and the hammerhead ribozyme as an actuator. Through FACS-seq-based high-throughput screening in yeast, we identifiedin vivo-functional FBP-sensing devices that generate fluorescent readout dependent on intracellular FBP concentration. As FBP reports the flux through glycolysis, the developed RNA device can be used to sense the glycolytic rate in single cells, offering unprecedented possibilities to investigate the causes of metabolic heterogeneity.
A parental transcriptional response to microsporidia infection induces inherited immunity in offspring
Authors: Willis Alexandra R. , Zhao Winnie , Sukhdeo Ronesh , Wadi Lina , El Jarkass Hala Tamim , Claycomb Julie M. , Reinke Aaron W.
Published: October 2020

Inherited immunity is an emerging field and describes how the transfer of immunity from parents to offspring can promote progeny survival in the face of infection. The mechanisms of how inherited immunity is induced are mostly unknown. The intracellular parasiteNematocida parisiiis a natural microsporidian pathogen ofCaenorhabditis elegans. Here, we show thatN. parisii-infected worms produce primed offspring that are resistant to microsporidia infection. We find that immunity is induced in a dose dependent manner and lasts for a single generation. Intergenerational immunity prevents host cell invasion byN. parisiiand also enhances survival to the bacterial pathogenPseudomonas aeruginosa. Further, we show that inherited immunity is triggered by the host transcriptional response to infection, which can also be induced through maternal somatic depletion of negative regulators PALS-22 and the retinoblastoma protein ortholog LIN-35. We show that other biotic and abiotic stresses, such as viral infection and cadmium exposure, that induce a similar transcriptional response to microsporidia can also induce immunity in progeny. Our results demonstrate that distinct stimuli can induce inherited immunity to provide resistance against multiple classes of pathogens. These results show that activation of an innate immune response can provide protection against pathogens not only within a generation, but also in the next generation.
HiC-DC+: systematic 3D interaction calls and differential analysis for Hi-C and HiChIP
Authors: Sahin Merve , Wong Wilfred , Zhan Yingqian , Van Deynze Kinsey , Koche Richard , Leslie Christina S.
Published: October 2020

We present HiC-DC+, a software tool for Hi-C/Hi-ChIP interaction calling and differential analysis using an efficient implementation of the HiC-DC statistical framework. HiC-DC+ integrates with popular preprocessing and visualization tools, includes TAD and A/B compartment callers, and outperformed existing tools in H3K27ac HiChIP benchmarking as validated by CRISPRi-FlowFISH. Differential HiC-DC+ analysis recovered global principles of 3D organization during cohesin perturbation and differentiation, including TAD aggregation, enhancer hubs, and promoter-enhancer loop dynamics.
Expansion of gamma-butyrolactone signaling molecule biosynthesis to phosphotriester natural products
Authors: Kudo Yuta , Awakawa Takayoshi , Du Yi-Ling , Jordan Peter A. , Creamer Kaitlin E. , Jensen Paul R. , Linington Roger G. , Ryan Katherine S. , Moore Bradley S.
Published: October 2020

Bacterial hormones, such as the iconic gamma-butyrolactone A-factor, are essential signaling molecules that regulate diverse physiological processes, including specialized metabolism. These low molecular weight compounds are common inStreptomycesspecies and display species-specific structural differences. Recently, unusual gamma-butyrolactone natural products called salinipostins were isolated from the marine actinomycete genusSalinisporabased on their anti-malarial properties. As the salinipostins possess a rare phosphotriester motif of unknown biosynthetic origin, we set out to explore its construction by the widely conserved 9-genesptoperon inSalinisporaspecies. We show through a series of in vivo and in vitro studies that thesptgene cluster dually encodes the saliniphostins and newly identified A-factor-like gamma-butyrolactones (Sal-GBLs). Remarkably, homologous biosynthetic gene clusters are widely distributed amongst many actinomycete genera, includingStreptomyces,suggesting the significance of this operon in bacteria.
Aberrant Epithelial Differentiation Contributes to Pathogenesis in a Murine Model of Congenital Tufting Enteropathy
Authors: Das Barun , Okamoto Kevin , Rabalais John , Young Jocelyn , Barrett Kim E. , Sivagnanam Mamata
Published: October 2020

Background & Aims

Congenital Tufting Enteropathy (CTE) is an intractable diarrheal disease of infancy caused by mutation of Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EpCAM). The cellular and molecular basis of CTE pathology has been elusive. We hypothesized that the loss of EpCAM in CTE results in altered lineage differentiation and defects in absorptive enterocytes thereby contributing to CTE pathogenesis.

Methods

Intestine from CTE mice was evaluated for specific markers by RT-qPCR, western blotting and immunostaining. Body weight, blood glucose and intestinal enzyme activity were also investigated. A CTE enteroid model was used to assess whether the decreased census of secretory cells could be rescued.

Results

CTE mice exhibited alterations in brush-border function, disaccharidase activity and glucose absorption, potentially contributing to nutrient malabsorption and impaired weight gain. Altered cell differentiation in CTE mice led to decreased secretory cells and increased numbers of absorptive cells, though the absorptive enterocytes lacked key features, causing brush border malfunction. Further, treatment with Notch signaling inhibitor, DAPT, increased the numbers of major secretory cell types in CTE enteroids (Graphical abstract 1).

Conclusions

Alterations in intestinal epithelial cell differentiation in CTE mice favor an increase in absorptive cells at the expense of secretory cells. Although the proportion of absorptive enterocytes is increased, they lack key functional properties. We conclude that these effects underlie pathogenic features of CTE such as malabsorption and diarrhea, and ultimately the failure to thrive seen in patients. The ability of DAPT to reverse aberrant differentiation suggests a possible therapeutic strategy.

Synopsis

A murine model of Congenital Tufting Enteropathy exhibits altered intestinal cell differentiation, leading to increased absorptive and decreased secretory cells, which can be reversed with DAPT. Absorptive enterocytes in these mice are also dysfunctional, contributing to disease pathogenesis.

Graphical Abstract
Compact and evenly distributedk-mer binning for genomic sequences
Authors: Nyström-Persson Johan , Keeble-Gagnère Gabriel , Zawad Niamat
Published: October 2020

The processing ofk-mers (subsequences of lengthk) is at the foundation of many sequence processing algorithms in bioinformatics, includingk-mer counting for genome size estimation, genome assembly, and taxonomic classification for metagenomics. Minimizers - orderedm-mers wherem < k- are often used to groupk-mers into bins as a first step in such processing. However, minimizers are known to generate bins of very different sizes, which can pose challenges for distributed and parallel processing, as well as generally increase memory requirements. Furthermore, although various minimizer orderings have been proposed, their practical value for improving tool efficiency has not yet been fully explored. Here we present Discount, a distributedk-mer counting tool based on Apache Spark, which we use to investigate the behaviour of various minimizer orderings in practice when applied to metagenomics data. Using this tool, we then introduce the universal frequency ordering, a new combination of frequency counted minimizers and universalk-mer hitting sets, which yields both evenly distributed binning and small bin sizes. We show that this ordering allows Discount to perform distributedk-mer counting on a large dataset in as little as 1/8 of the memory of comparable approaches, making it the most efficient out-of-core distributedk-mer counting method available.
Direct measurements of mRNA translation kinetics in living cells
Authors: Metelev Mikhail , Volkov Ivan L. , Lundin Erik , Gynnå Arvid H. , Elf Johan , Johansson Magnus
Published: October 2020

Ribosome mediated mRNA translation is central to life as we know it. The cycle of translation has, however, not been characterized in a living cell. Here we have developed a live-cell ribosome-labeling method, which allows us to characterize the whole processes of finding an mRNA and translating it, using single-molecule tracking techniques. We find that more than 90% of both bacterial ribosomal subunits are engaged in elongation at any particular time, and that neither of the subunits, in general, continues translation from one open reading frame to the next on a poly-cistronic mRNA. Furthermore, we find that a variety of previously published orthogonal ribosomes, with altered anti-Shine-Dalgarno sequences, show significant binding to endogenous mRNAs, with the rate of translation initiation only modestly affected. Hence, our results suggest that other mRNA elements than the SD sequence play major roles in directing the ribosome to the correct translation start sites.
BMP signalling facilitates transit amplification in the developing chick and human cerebellum
Authors: Rook V , Haldipur P , Millen K , Butts T , Wingate RJ
Published: October 2020

The external granule layer (EGL) is a transient proliferative layer that gives rise to cerebellar granule cell neurons. Extensive EGL proliferation characterises the foliated structure of amniote cerebella, but the factors that regulate EGL formation, amplification within it, and differentiation from it, are incompletely understood. Here, we characterise bone morphogenic protein (BMP) signalling during cerebellar development in chick and human and show that while in chick BMP signalling correlates with external granule layer formation, in humans BMP signalling is maintained throughout the external granule layer after the onset of foliation. We also show via Immunohistochemical labelling of phosphorylated Smad1/5/9 the comparative spatiotemporal activity of BMP signalling in chick and human. Usingin-ovoelectroporation in chick, we demonstrate that BMP signalling is necessary for subpial migration of granule cell precursors and hence the formation of the external granule layer (EGL) prior to transit amplification. However, altering BMP signalling does not block the formation of mature granule neurons but significantly disrupts that pattern of morphological transitions that accompany transit amplification. Our results elucidate two key, temporally distinct roles for BMP signallingin vivoin organising first the assembly of the EGL from the rhombic lip and subsequently the tempo of granule neuron production within the EGL.

Significance statement

Improper development of cerebellar granule neurons can manifest in a plethora of neurodevelopmental disorders, including but not limited to medulloblastoma and autism. Many studies have sought to understand the role of developmental signalling pathways in granule cell neurogenesis, using genetic manipulation in transgenic mice. To complement these insights, we have used comparative assessment of BMP signalling during development in chick and human embryos andin vivomanipulation of the chick to understand and segregate the spatiotemporal roles of BMP signalling, yielding important insights on evolution and in consideration of future therapeutic avenues that target BMP signalling.
The Evolution of Immune Sensitivity under Immunopathological and Autoimmune Costs
Authors: Aldakak Lafi , Rühli Frank , Galipaud Matthias , Bender Nicole
Published: October 2020

Hosts with high immune sensitivity benefit from rapid recovery but suffer multiple costs thereof. We distinguish between immunopathological costs due to collateral damage and autoimmune costs due to false positives against self. Selection on sensitivity follows different trajectories depending on the cost nature and the overlap degree between host- and parasitic molecular signatures. Increased parasite virulence selects for higher immune sensitivity under immunopathological costs but low sensitivity when the costs are autoimmune, contradicting previous theoretical results. Longer lifespan of the host selects for low sensitivity under immunopathology to avoid accumulated tissue damage. Under autoimmune costs, hosts with a shorter lifespan cannot afford to shorten it further due to autoimmunity and evolve lower immune sensitivity. Longer lifespan selects for high or low sensitivity depending on the presence of immune memory. These results extend our understanding of selection on immune sensitivity and help explain phenomena like the cytokine shock and chronic infections.
Measuring pro-poor growth: a comparative study and a fuzzy logic-based method
Authors: Kacem Rami Haj , Kacem Saoussen Bel Hadj
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This paper has two purposes. The first is to provide a critical evaluation of current methods of measuring monetary versus non-monetary pro-poor growth. The second is to propose an alternative method based on the fuzzy logic aggregation approach, which allows including both monetary and non-monetary indicators simultaneously for measuring the “global pro-poor growth”.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology that we propose is based on the fuzzy logic approach to aggregate both monetary and non-monetary indicators simultaneously and thus to calculate the “Global Welfare Index”. This index will be considered as the main global wellbeing indicator based on which a “Global Growth Incidence Curve” is constructed to analyze the pro-poor growth. 10; Also, an application of the main previous procedures for measuring monetary vs non-monetary pro-poor growth is presented to compare their results and to discuss their advantages and limitations.

Findings

Empirical validation using Tunisian data reveals that on one hand, results of the pro-poor growth analysis are very sensitive to the used measurement method and may lead to different conclusions. On the other hand, our alternative procedure may provide a more appropriate analysis of pro-poor growth given that it takes into consideration the multidimensional aspect of poverty while remaining faithful to the fundamental principle of pro-poor growth measurement.

Originality/value

The proposed method for constructing the “Global Growth Incidence Curve” is original given that it presents a new procedure to take into account both monetary and non-monetary indicators simultaneously, which allows having a more global view of the phenomenon. Also, the comparative study of the different proposed methods in the literature of measuring pro-poor growth is useful to identify their limitations and advantages.
The importance of trust for electronic commerce satisfaction: an entrepreneurial perspective
Authors: Shirazi Farid , Adam Nawal Abdalla , Shanmugam Mohana , Schultz Carsten D.
Published: October 2020

Purpose

Social commerce has seen a prosperous growth following the rise of social media, in particular, social networking sites have established novel ways to communicate and transact between firms and people. The rise of new technologies has also directed to changes in how entrepreneurs convey their business. Despite intensive social commerce research, the challenges of social commerce for entrepreneurs have attracted less attention and especially neglected the role of trust and satisfaction in electronic commerce.

Design/methodology/approach

This research use a survey to collect data. The authors use structural equation modeling-partial least square (SEM-PLS) to analysis the data. This quantitative research provides new insights in the food industry.

Findings

This research thus provides insights into social commerce by analyzing the role of trust in the relationship between customers' social media activities and customers' satisfaction. The present study finds a mediating effect of trust in developing satisfaction. Social media activities facilitate a positive level of trust that in turn creates a satisfying environment for customers in social commerce. The research provides theoretical and practical implications at the end of the study.

Originality/value

The findings provide good knowledge for the food industry to stay connected with customers and develop their satisfaction.
The impact of political connection and risk committee on corporate financial performance: evidence from financial firms in Malaysia
Authors: Aldhamari Redhwan , Mohamad Nor Mohamad Naimi , Boudiab Mourad , Mas'ud Abdulsalam
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This study aims to examine the association between the effectiveness of risk committee (RC) and firms’ performance in Malaysian context. It also explores whether political connection has an impact on the relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

This study, using a principle components analysis, derives a factor score for RC attributes to proxy the effectiveness of RC. It also uses both accounting and market performance to measure the company performance.

Findings

Using a sample of financial firms from 2004 to 2018, this study finds that both accounting and market performance are higher for firms with an effective RC. It also finds that the effectiveness of RC in monitoring and management of risks is more pronounced for politically connected firms (PCFs). In further tests, the paper finds that RC attributes (i.e. RC independence, qualification and gender) are positively and significantly associated with accounting performance, while those of RC existence and overlap are positively and significantly related to market performance. The study also finds that RC size (RC diligence) has a positive (negative) impact on financial firms accounting and market performance. The further analysis also shows that PCFs with a separate as well as larger RCs experience both higher accounting and market performance. This study’s results are robust for concerns of endogeneity.

Practical implications

The findings of this study resolve the ongoing debates surrounding political connection by suggesting financial firms not to have politically connected board members as doing so may deteriorate their performance. This study’s results are also useful for investors, regulators and policymakers.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study, for the first time, introduces on the interaction term between the effectiveness of RCs and political connection to empirically explore how an effective RC may reduce the potential risk of political ties. As such, this study adds to the literature and sheds light on an aspect of risk (i.e. risk stems from establishing close link with the government) that is growing in importance.
Exploring critical influencing factors for the site selection failure of waste-to-energy projects in China caused by the “not in my back yard” effect
Authors: Cong Xuhui , Wang Liang , Ma Li , Skibnewski M.
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This study aims to explore the critical influencing factors that lead to the site selection failure of waste-to-energy (WtE) projects in China under the influence of the “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) effect, which can provide references to improve the decision-making process of similar projects in the future.

Design/methodology/approach

The fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method was used to propose an analytical framework for exploring the critical influencing factors affecting the site selection failure of WtE projects. The causal relationship between different influencing factors is finally determined on the basis of the opinions of 12 experts from universities, government departments, consulting units, planning and design units, construction units and WtE enterprises.

Findings

Results showed that six crucial factors resulted in the site selection failure of WtE projects from the NIMBY effect perspective: “Insufficient public participation,” “Near the place of residence,” “Nonstandard government decision-making processes,” “Low information disclosure,” “Destroys the surrounding environment,” and “Imperfect compensation scheme.”

Originality/value

Results can determine the priorities and causal relationships among the various influencing factors. The decision-making optimization suggestions can provide reference for decision- makers, thereby possibly promoting the scientific and standardization of site selection decision process.
Modelling performance measurement barriers of humanitarian supply chain
Authors: Patil Anchal , Shardeo Vipulesh , Madaan Jitender
Published: October 2020

Purpose

Humanitarian supply chain (HSC) has been constantly challenged with multiple issues due to the complex dynamics of the disaster. These issues are inevitable and interrelated. The issues produce undesirable cascading effects that make performance measurement complicated. This paper aims to identify and model the critical barriers in the HSC.

Design/methodology/approach

The study identifies 17 barriers through the relevant literature and interviews with the stakeholders related to humanitarian organization (HO) in the developing economy. The barriers have been identified from strategic, technological, organizational, economic and operational point of view. Further, the barriers were ranked based on the degree of influence using the grey analytic network process (ANP) approach. The interrelationship among the influential barriers is established through modified total interpretive structural modelling (mTISM). To analyse and demonstrate the iterative consensus among the stakeholders, kappa statistics was adopted.

Findings

The barriers have been ranked to determine their extent of influence and modelled to reveal the interrelationship among them. The issues concerned with skills of personnel are the most influential barrier. Other three critical barriers identified are: chaotic operative environment, conflicting objectives of HO and lack of funding for information technology (IT) infrastructure. Appropriate funds need to be allocated towards IT infrastructure and personnel training.

Originality/value

Both quantitative and qualitative performance measurement frameworks had been proposed earlier for HSC. However, limited literature addresses the implementation issues with the available frameworks. This study advances the knowledge on performance measurement barriers of HSC and develops a functional description to identify the critical role of performance measurement in HOs. The study proposes a new version of the interpretive structure modelling, using mTISM technique, to determine the contextual interactions between various HSC performance measurement barriers.
Numerical approach to interpret the attributes of porous journal bearings using couple-stress fluid
Authors: Patil Shalini M. , Vinay C.V. , P.A. Dinesh
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the amalgamated consequences of nonNewtonian fluid and permeability for nonporous journal spinning with constant tangential velocity inside a rough porous bearing.

Design/methodology/approach

The flow is assumed to have developed under low Reynolds number, and the flow is governed by reduced Navier–Stokes equations. Based on Stokes theory for couple-stress fluid, a closed form of nonNewtonian Reynolds equation is obtained. Finite difference based multigrid method is adopted to study the various parameters of journal bearings.

Findings

It is found that bearing attributes such as pressure distribution and weight carrying capacity are commanding for nonNewtonian couple-stress fluid compared to the classical Newtonian case.

Originality/value

The multigrid method for the Reynolds equation is used, which accelerates the convergence rate of the solution and is independent of the grid size. The effects of couple-stress fluid promote the enhanced pressure distribution in the fluid. Both increased weight bearing capacity and delayed squeezing time reduce the skin-friction and hence take longer time to come in contact with each other.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-02-2020-0051/
Promoting the welfare, protection and care of victims of child trafficking during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
Authors: Rafferty Yvonne
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on victims of child trafficking. It highlights findings from research on other pandemics and outbreaks, the impact of child trafficking on children, the impact of COVID-19 on children and the impact of COVID-19 on victims of child trafficking.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper focuses on the global impact of COVID-19 on victims of child trafficking. It highlights findings from research on other pandemics, the impact of child trafficking on children, the impact of COVID-19 on children and the impact of COVID-19 on victims of child trafficking. The findings provide a useful framework to guide the development of social policies to address this global crisis and to empower social workers and allied professionals to implement effective service responses. This is a crucial time for the entire world to diminish the impact of COVID-19, address this unprecedented crisis and uphold the human rights of all children.

Findings

These findings provide a useful framework to guide the development of social policies to address this global pandemic and to support social workers and allied professionals to implement effective service responses.

Originality/value

The author proposes three basic action items: commit to the promises made in international and regional mandates and guidelines; address the risk and vulnerability factors that have been identified; and implement the promising prevention activities described in the literature.
Joining the dots? Tackling child exploitation during Covid-19
Authors: Racher Anna , Brodie Isabelle
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to report on findings from action research undertaken in response to the Covid-19 pandemic by the Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme (TCESP), a Department for Education funded programme that provides support to local areas in improving their strategic approach to child exploitation and extra-familial harm.

Design/methodology/approach

The research included a scoping review of the literature, and focus groups with programme staff, strategic leaders and professionals from different services across England. To provide a strategic lens, findings were then considered in relation to TCE’s “Joining the dots” framework, which encourages examination of the relationships between different forms of child exploitation.

Findings

The action research highlighted the emerging and tentative nature of the knowledge base relating to child exploitation and extra-familial harm in the context of Covid-19. Findings revealed that there had been innovation in the use of digital methods and direct working, integration of practical support with other forms of service delivery and in partnership working, and also considerable variation in approach across different local areas.

Practical implications

Strategic leaders need to use the evidence emerging from lockdown as a basis for further interrogation of emerging data alongside the views of young people, families and communities and their wider workforce. This includes new information about changing patterns of exploitation. Digital delivery and innovation need to be supported by clear strategic guidance, based on review of the evidence regarding increased digital communication and its impact. New partnerships developed between services, data sharing and innovative ways of working that have taken place during lockdown need to be monitored and evaluated for quality and impact.

Originality/value

The action research findings offer a snapshot of practice regarding child exploitation and extra-familial harm at a mid-point in the Covid-19 lockdown in England and Wales.
Innovative startups in Italy. Managerial challenges of knowledge spillovers effects on employment generation
Authors: Barboza Gustavo , Capocchi Alessandro
Published: October 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the impact of knowledge spillover effects (KSE) on employment levels using a sample of 245 Italian Innovative startup companies created as a result of the legislative changes of Law Decree 179/12 introduced in Italy in 2012.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a parsimonious model with the employment level as the dependent variable. The paper tests for the impact that the measures of industry competition, specialization and diversity have on the level of employment in the Innovative Startup sector in Italy. The data uses a sample of 245 firms, across 20 geographic regions in Italy for three economic sectors at the 2-Dig NAICS classification.

Findings

The empirical results provide evidence in favor of regional specialization as the main force to create and transfer knowledge resulting in increased employment; while higher levels of competition and a more diverse regional production bases result in lower firm employment levels. Employment levels for these firms are also time-dependent, and thus mainly determined at the time of the firm’s creation. This study also found a lack of technological convergence across regions, that are inherent regional differences are not bridged by knowledge spillover effects.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is based on a sample of Italian Innovative Startups and consequently, further research with a potentially larger sample and, perhaps, a sample across countries could also shed some light on the issues relating to KSE and their effects on employment generation and firm formation.

Practical implications

From a practical point of view, the results indicate that regional disparity and limited transmission of KSE across regions remain an impediment to the flow of knowledge. This in turn may limit the development of entrepreneurial activities and further development of new firms. Practical implications regarding knowledge management indicate that firms face time and spatial challenges when developing, transferring and acquiring knowledge. In sum, the evidence points out in favor of existent and persistent regional heterogeneity in terms of economic and technological specialization as sources of employment.

Originality/value

This research adds to the empirical evidence focusing on the effects of knowledge spillover effects in the Innovative Startup segment of the economy. This research highlights the applicability of knowledge spillover effects accounting for levels of industry competition, specialization and diversity. We also provide a measure of cluster formation and concentration at the sectoral and regional levels. Thus, the research provides a better understanding under which conditions knowledge is more likely to have positive or negative effects on employment generation.
Information processing by elderly consumers: a five-decade review
Authors: Guido Gianluigi , Pichierri Marco , Rizzo Cristian , Chieffi Verdiana , Moschis George
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to review scholarly research on elderly consumers’ information processing and suggest implications for services marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

The review encompasses a five-decade period (1970–2018) of academic research and presents relevant literature in four main areas related to information processing: sensation, attention, interpretation and memory.

Findings

The study illustrates how each of the aforementioned phases of the information processing activity may affect how elderly individuals buy and consume products and services, emphasizing the need for a better comprehension of the elderly to develop effectual marketing strategies.

Originality/value

The study provides readers with detailed state-of-the-art knowledge about older consumers’ information processing, offering a comprehensive review of academic research that companies can use to improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts that target the elderly market.
Public libraries on Facebook: content analysis of Turkish public libraries' posts
Authors: Çakmak Tolga , Eroğlu Şahika
Published: October 2020

Purpose

The study aims to analyze the posts shared by public libraries in Turkey on their official Facebook pages. The targets of the study are to detect content categories shared by the libraries and to describe user interaction of libraries on the basis of their posted content.

Design/methodology/approach

The study examined data relating to 23,027 posts shared by 116 public libraries through descriptive and content analyses. The content analysis on the posts identified general topic and sub-topics through both machine-tagging and checks by the authors. Turkish word parsing applications and stop lists were employed in the designation of sub-categories. In this process, word clusters were identified to allow for the designation of sub-topic headings through the use of the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) technique.

Findings

The present study identified that a significant portion of the 116 public libraries in Turkey with official Facebook pages had started to use this platform in the year 2017. According to the findings, the user interaction of libraries generally occurs in the form of likes. Analyses on the topic categories of the posts established that a remarkable number of public libraries in Turkey targeted users from pre-school children to young adults.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the existing body of literature as one of the first research studies describing the current situation concerning public libraries in Turkey through the analysis of the content they generate on Facebook pages.