bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characterization of a haplotype-reference panel for genotyping by low-pass sequencing in Swiss Large White pigs
Authors: Nosková Adéla , Bhati Meenu , Kadri Naveen Kumar , Crysnanto Danang , Neuenschwander Stefan , Hofer Andreas , Pausch Hubert
Published: March 2021

Background

The key-ancestor approach has been frequently applied to prioritize individuals for whole-genome sequencing based on their marginal genetic contribution to current populations. Using this approach, we selected 70 key ancestors from two lines of the Swiss Large White breed that have been selected divergently for fertility and fattening traits and sequenced their genomes with short paired-end reads.

Results

Using pedigree records, we estimated the effective population size of the dam and sire line to 72 and 44, respectively. In order to assess sequence variation in both lines, we sequenced the genomes of 70 boars at an average coverage of 16.69-fold. The boars explained 87.95 and 95.35% of the genetic diversity of the breeding populations of the dam and sire line, respectively. Reference-guided variant discovery using the GATK revealed 26,862,369 polymorphic sites. Principal component, admixture and FSTanalyses indicated considerable genetic differentiation between the lines. Genomic inbreeding quantified using runs of homozygosity was higher in the sire than dam line (0.28 vs 0.26). Using two complementary approaches (CLR and iHS), we detected 51 signatures of selection. However, only six signatures of selection overlapped between both lines. We used the sequenced haplotypes of the 70 key ancestors as a reference panel to call 22,618,811 genotypes in 175 pigs that had been sequenced at very low coverage (1.11-fold) using GLIMPSE. The genotype concordance, non-reference sensitivity and non-reference discrepancy between thus inferred and Illumina PorcineSNP60 BeadChip-called genotypes was 97.60, 98.73 and 3.24%, respectively. The low-pass sequencing-derived genomic relationship coefficients were highly correlated (r > 0.99) with those obtained from microarray genotyping.

Conclusions

We assessed genetic diversity within and between two lines of the Swiss Large White pig breed. Our analyses revealed considerable differentiation, even though the split into two populations occurred only few generations ago. The sequenced haplotypes of the key ancestor animals enabled us to implement genotyping by low-pass sequencing which offers an intriguing cost-effective approach to increase the variant density over current array-based genotyping by more than 350-fold.
Efficient high-resolution TMS mapping of the human motor cortex by nonlinear regression
Authors: Numssen Ole , Zier Anna-Leah , Thielscher Axel , Hartwigsen Gesa , Knösche Thomas R. , Weise Konstantin
Published: March 2021

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a powerful tool to investigate causal structure-function relationships in the human brain. However, a precise delineation of the effectively stimulated neuronal populations is notoriously impeded by the widespread and complex distribution of the induced electric field.

Here, we propose a method that allows rapid and feasible cortical localization at the individual subject level. The functional relationship between electric field and behavioral effect is quantified by combining experimental data with numerically modelled fields to identify the cortical origin of the modulated effect. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) from three finger muscles were recorded for a set of random stimulations around the primary motor area. All induced electric fields were nonlinearly regressed against the elicited MEPs to identify their cortical origin.

We could distinguish cortical muscle representation with high spatial resolution and localized them primarily on the crowns and rims of the precentral gyrus. A post-hoc analysis revealed exponential convergence of the method with the number of stimulations, yielding a minimum of about 180 random stimulations to obtain stable results.

Establishing a functional link between the modulated effect and the underlying mode of action, the induced electric field, is a fundamental step to fully exploit the potential of TMS. In contrast to previous approaches, the presented protocol is particularly easy to implement, fast to apply, and very robust due to the random coil positioning and therefore is suitable for practical and clinical applications.
Quantifying the effects of intraspecific trait variation and interspecific trait correlations on interacting populations - a nonlinear averaging approach
Authors: van Benthem Koen J. , Bagawade Rishabh , Blüml Chantal , Nabutanyi Peter , Thon Frans M. , Wittmann Meike J.
Published: March 2021

Interactions between two species, e.g. between a predator species and a prey species, can often be described as the sum of many individual-by-individual interactions whose outcomes depend on the traits of the interacting individuals. These traits often vary substantially among individuals in each species, and individuals do not always interact randomly, e.g. due to plastic responses to a shared environmental factor in a heterogeneous landscape. Here we investigate the impact of intraspecific trait variation (ITV) and such interspecific trait correlations on species interactions via nonlinear averaging. Building on past models that integrate over an interaction kernel to obtain the impacts of ITV, we develop a modeling framework that allows to model arbitrary species interactions, with interspecific trait correlations as novel feature. Based on two key ingredients, a joint trait distribution and a two-dimensional interaction function, the average interaction parameters (e.g. average predation rate) can be quantified numerically, approximated using an insightful Taylor approximation, and compared to cases without ITV. We highlight two applications of our framework. First, we study the quantitative and qualitative effects of ITV and trait correlations in a simple predator-prey model and show that even in the absence of evolution, variation and trait correlations among interacting individuals can make or break the coexistence between species. Second, we use simulated field data for a predator-prey system to show how the impact of ITV on an ecological interaction can be estimated from empirical data.

Highlights

We model how intraspecific trait variation in two species affects their interaction.

Our framework allows correlations between the traits of interacting individuals.

Trait variation and correlations can strongly affect ecological interactions.

Trait variation and correlations can make or break coexistence.

The effect of intraspecific trait variation can be estimated from data.
Identifying regions in prefrontal cortex related to working memory improvement: a novel meta-analytic method using electric field modeling
Authors: Wischnewski Miles , Mantell Kathleen E. , Opitz Alexander
Published: March 2021

Altering cortical activity using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to improve working memory (WM) performance. Due to large inter-experimental variability in the tDCS montage configuration and strength of induced electric fields, results have been mixed. Here, we present a novel meta-analytic method relating behavioral effect sizes to electric field strength to identify brain regions underlying largest tDCS-induced WM improvement. Simulations on 69 studies targeting left prefrontal cortex showed that tDCS electric field strength in lower dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann area 45/47) relates most strongly to improved WM performance. This region explained 7.8% of variance, equaling a medium effect. A similar region was identified when correlating WM performance and electric field strength of right prefrontal tDCS studies (n = 18). Maximum electric field strength of five previously used tDCS configurations were outside of this location. We thus propose a new tDCS montage which maximizes the tDCS electric field strength in that brain region. Our findings can benefit future tDCS studies that aim to affect WM function.

Highlights

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We summarize the effect of 87 tDCS studies on working memory performance

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We introduce a new meta-analytic method correlating tDCS electric fields and performance

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tDCS-induced electric fields in lower DLPFC correlate significantly with improved working memory

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The lower DLPFC was not maximally targeted by most tDCS montages and we provide an optimized montage
DNA Preparation inVitis viniferaL. For Third Generation Sequencing
Authors: Androniki Bibi C. , Anastasios Kollias , Maria Astrinaki , Despoina Vassou , Dimitris Kafetzopoulos , Kriton Kalantidis , Panagiotis Moschou N.
Published: March 2021

Background

There have been several attempts to sequence the genome ofVitis viniferaL. (grapevine), utilizing low-resolution second-generation platforms. Nevertheless, the characterization of the grapevine genetic resources and its adaptation to vulnerable conditions could be better addressed through extensive and high-resolution genome sequencing.

MinION is a third-generation sequencer preferred by many laboratories due to its relatively low cost, ease of use and small size. Even though this long-read technology has been rapidly improving, to reach its full potential requires high-quality DNA.

Results

Here we establish a workflow for DNA extraction suitable for MinION sequencing long reads from grapevine. This protocol was tested with leaf samples from different positions on annual growing branches of grapevine, Purified nuclei from fresh young leaves that led to high quality, long DNA fragments, suitable for long-read sequencing were successfully generated. It is evident that longer reads in grapevine associate with both fresh tissue and adjusted conditions used for nuclei purification.

Conclusions

We propose that this workflow presents a significant advancement for long-read quality DNA isolation for grapevine and likely other plant species.
Niche shifts lead to hybridization between twoAmazonaparrot sister-species introduced to Southern California
Authors: Maley James M. , Freeland Rowdy J. , DeRaad Devon A. , Zellmer Amanda J. , Schedl Margaret E. , Durham Brooke , Tsai Whitney L.E. , Terrill Ryan S. , Sannapareddy Siddharth , Garrett Kimball L. , McCormack John E.
Published: March 2021

This paper has been withdrawn by the authors while evaluating reviewer concerns about interpretation of the genomic data and due to errors found by the authors in the scoring of photos. Therefore, the authors do not wish this work to be cited as a reference for the project. If you have any questions, please contact the corresponding author.
Structurally Distributed Surface Sites Tune Allosteric Regulation
Authors: McCormick James W. , Russo Marielle A.X. , Thompson Samuel , Blevins Aubrie , Reynolds Kimberly A.
Published: March 2021

Our ability to rationally optimize allosteric regulation is limited by incomplete knowledge of the mutations that tune allostery. Are these mutations few or abundant, structurally localized or distributed? To examine this, we conducted saturation mutagenesis of a synthetic allosteric switch in which Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) is regulated by a blue-light sensitive LOV2 domain. Using a high-throughput assay wherein DHFR catalytic activity is coupled toE. coligrowth, we assessed the impact of 1548 viable DHFR single mutations on allostery. Despite most mutations being deleterious to activity, fewer than 5% of mutations had a statistically significant influence on allostery. Most allostery disrupting mutations were proximal to the LOV2 insertion site. In contrast, allostery enhancing mutations were structurally distributed and enriched on the protein surface. Combining several allostery enhancing mutations yielded near-additive improvements to dynamic range. Our results indicate a path towards optimizing allosteric function through variation at surface sites.
Notch signaling via Hey1 and Id2b regulates Müller glia’s regenerative response to retinal injury
Authors: Sahu Aresh , Devi Sulochana , Jui Jonathan , Goldman Daniel
Published: March 2021

Zebrafish Müller glia (MG) respond to retinal injury by suppressing Notch signaling and producing progenitors for retinal repair. A certain threshold of injury-derived signal must be exceeded in order to engage MG in a regenerative response (MG’s injury-response threshold). Pan-retinal Notch inhibition expands the zone of injury-responsive MG at the site of focal injury, suggesting that Notch signaling regulates MG’s injury-response threshold. We found that Notch signaling enhanced chromatin accessibility and gene expression at a subset of regeneration-associated genes in the uninjured retina. Two Notch effector genes,hey1andid2b, were identified that reflect bifurcation of the Notch signaling pathway, and differentially regulate MG’s injury-response threshold and proliferation of MG-derived progenitors. Furthermore, Notch signaling component gene repression in the injured retina suggests a role for Dll4, Dlb, and Notch3 in regulating Notch signaling in MG and epistasis experiments confirm that the Dll4/Dlb-Notch3-Hey1/Id2b signaling pathway regulates MG’s injury-response threshold and proliferation.
Impact of Vaccine Prioritization Strategies on Mitigating COVID-19: An Agent-Based Simulation Study using an Urban Region in the United States
Authors: Tatapudi Hanisha , Das Rachita , Das Tapas K.
Published: March 2021

Background

Approval of novel vaccines for COVID-19 had brought hope and expectations, but not without additional challenges. One central challenge was understanding how to appropriately prioritize the use of limited supply of vaccines. This study examined the efficacy of the various vaccine prioritization strategies using the vaccination campaign underway in the U.S.

Methods

The study developed a granular agent-based simulation model for mimicking community spread of COVID-19 under various social interventions including full and partial closures, isolation and quarantine, use of face mask and contact tracing, and vaccination. The model was populated with parameters of disease natural history, as well as demographic and societal data for an urban community in the U.S. with 2.8 million residents. The model tracks daily numbers of infected, hospitalized, and deaths for all census age-groups. The model was calibrated using parameters for viral transmission and level of community circulation of individuals. Published data from the Florida COVID-19 dashboard was used to validate the model. Vaccination strategies were compared using a hypothesis test for pairwise comparisons.

Results

Three prioritization strategies were examined: a minor variant of CDC’s recommendation, an age-stratified strategy, and a random strategy. The impact of vaccination was also contrasted with a no vaccination scenario. The study showed that the campaign against COVID-19 in the U.S. using vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna 1) reduced the cumulative number of infections by 10% and 2) helped the pandemic to subside below a small threshold of 100 daily new reported cases sooner by approximately a month when compared to no vaccination. A comparison of the prioritization strategies showed no significant difference in their impacts on pandemic mitigation.

Conclusions

Even though vaccines for COVID-19 were developed and approved much quicker than ever before, their impact on pandemic mitigation was small as the explosive spread of the virus had already infected a significant portion of the population, thus reducing the susceptible pool. A notable observation from the study is that instead of adhering strictly to a sequential prioritizing strategy, focus should perhaps be on distributing the vaccines among all eligible as quickly as possible, after providing for the most vulnerable. As much of the population worldwide is yet to be vaccinated, results from this study should aid public health decision makers in effectively allocating their limited vaccine supplies.
Cargo crowding, stationary clusters and dynamical reservoirs in axonal transport
Authors: Kumar Vinod , Vasudevan Amruta , Venkatesh Keertana , Maiya Reshma , Sood Parul , Murthy Kausalya , Koushika Sandhya P. , Menon Gautam I.
Published: March 2021

Molecular motors drive the directed transport of presynaptic vesicles along the narrow axons of nerve cells. Stationary clusters of such vesicles are a prominent feature of axonal transport, but little is known about their physiological and functional relevance. Here, we develop a simulation model describing key features of axonal cargo transport with a view to addressing this question, benchmarking the model against our experiments in the touch neurons ofC. elegans. Our simulations provide for multiple microtubule tracks and varied cargo motion states while also incorporating cargo-cargo interactions. Our model also incorporates obstacles to vesicle transport in the form of microtubule ends, stalled vesicles, and stationary mitochondria. We devise computational methodologies to simulate both axonal bleaching and axotomy, showing that our results reproduce the properties of both moving as well as stationary cargo in vivo. Increasing vesicle numbers leads to larger and more long-lived stationary clusters of vesicular cargo. Vesicle clusters are dynamically stable, explaining why they are ubiquitously seen. Modulating the rates of cargo motion-state switching allows cluster lifetimes and flux to be tuned both in simulations and experiments. We demonstrate, both in simulations and in an experimental system, that suppressing reversals leads to larger stationary vesicle clusters being formed while also reducing flux. Our simulation results support the view that the physiological significance of clusters is located in their role as dynamic reservoirs of cargo vesicles, capable of being released or sequestered on demand.
Long-term cross-scale comparison of grazing and mowing on plant diversity and community composition in a salt-marsh system
Authors: Chen Qingqing , Bakker Jan P. , Alberti Juan , Bakker Elisabeth S. , Smit Christian , Olff Han
Published: March 2021

Land abandonment is increasing in recent decades in Europe, usually accompanied by a decline in biodiversity. Whether livestock grazing and mowing can safeguard biodiversity across spatial scales in the long term is unclear.

Using a 48-year experiment in a salt marsh, we compared land abandonment (without grazing and mowing) and seven management regimes including cattle grazing, early season mowing, late season mowing, both early and late season mowing, and grazing plus each of the mowing regimes on plant diversity at the local (i.e. plot) and landscape scales (i.e. across plots). Also, we compared their effects on community composition (both in identities and abundances) in time and space.

Under land abandonment, plant diversity declined in the local communities and this decline became more apparent at the landscape scale, particularly for graminoids and halophytes. All management regimes, except the late season mowing, maintained plant diversity at these scales.

Local plant communities under all treatments underwent different successional trajectories, in the end, diverged from their initial state except for that under grazing (a cyclic succession). Interannual composition change remained stable over time under land abandonment and grazing plus early season mowing. It increased over time under grazing and late season mowing, it increased in the second half of the experiment under other treatments. Vegetation homogenized in the landscape over time under land abandonment while vegetation was heterogeneous under all management regimes.

Synthesis.Our experiment suggests that late season mowing may not be sustainable to conserve plant diversity in salt marshes. Other management regimes can maintain plant diversity across scales and vegetation heterogeneity in the landscape in the long term, but local community composition may change over time.
Temperature and O2, but not CO2, interact to affect aerobic performance of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)
Authors: Montgomery Daniel W. , Simpson Stephen D. , Davison William , Goodrich Harriet R. , Engelhard Georg H. , Birchenough Silvana N.R. , Wilson Rod W.
Published: March 2021

Climate change causes warming, decreased O2, and increased CO2 in marine systems and responses of organisms will depend on interactive effects between these factors. We provide the first experimental assessment of the interactive effects of warming (14 to 22°C), reduced O2 (∼3 – 21 kPa O2), and increased CO2 (∼400 or ∼1000 µatm ambient CO2) on four indicators of aerobic performance (standard metabolic rate, SMR, maximum metabolic rate, MMR, aerobic scope, and hypoxia tolerance, O2crit), blood chemistry, and O2 transport (P50) of a marine fish, the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Warming increased SMR and O2crit (i.e. reduced hypoxia tolerance) as well as MMR in normoxia but there was an interactive effect with O2 so that hypoxia caused larger reductions in MMR and aerobic scope at higher temperatures. Increasing CO2 had minimal effects on SMR, MMR and O2crit and did not show interactive effects with temperature or O2 for any measured variables. Aerobic performance was not linked to changes in blood chemistry or P50. Despite lack of effects of CO2 on aerobic performance, increased CO2 induced 30% mortality of fish exercised in low O2 at 22°C indicating important threshold effects independent of aerobic performance. Overall, our results show temperature and O2, but not CO2, interact to affect aerobic performance of sea bass, disagreeing with predictions of the oxygen- and capacity-limited thermal tolerance hypothesis.
Total phenolic content, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial potentials of Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L.) seed extract
Authors: Oyeyinka Samson A. , Abdulsalam Aminat O. , Ahmed El-Imam Amina M. , Oyeyinka Adewumi T. , Olagunju Omotola Folake , Kolawole Fausat L. , Arise Abimbola K. , Adedeji Emmanuel O. , Njobeh Patrick B.
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Bambara groundnut is a hard-to-cook grain and this has limited its utilisation to some extent. However, the grain is a good source of phytochemicals with antioxidant properties. This study investigated the total phenol content, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial potentials of hot-water extract of four Bambara groundnuts differentiated by their seed coats (cream, black, maroon and brown).

Design/methodology/approach

Bambara grains were heated in water at a ratio 1:20 (w/v) and the grains brought to boiling in a controlled water bath. As soon as boiling started, the temperature was reduced to 90 °C to reduce the evaporation rate. The extracts were withdrawn within 30 min, which was chosen from a preliminary study where beyond this time, the extract was drying off and the amount of solution obtained was not sufficient for the initial run. Grain colour and composition and antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties of the extract were determined using standard methods.

Findings

Protein (20.57–26.31%) and carbohydrate (55.43–61.09%) were the major components of the grain. Grain type and boiling time generally affected the total phenolic content of the extract. Cream Bambara displayed substantially lower total phenolic content at all boiling times compared with the maroon, brown and black Bambara groundnuts. The total flavonoid contents and total phenolic contents of the Bambara groundnut extracts were dependent on the boiling time and type of grain. The extracts showed no activity against Candida albicans, but the maroon coat Bambara demonstrated a peak inhibition of 6.00 mm against Escherichia coli. The total phenolic, flavonoid contents and the antioxidant properties of the grains generally followed the order Maroon > Black > Brown.

Originality/value

This study has demonstrated the possibility of promoting the use of Bambara groundnut beyond the current level of usage by using simple processing method of boiling to extract phytochemicals with medicinal properties.
Building, sustaining and growing: disability inclusion in business
Authors: Gould Robert , Mullin Courtney , Parker Harris Sarah , Jones Robin
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the unique and the complementary aspects of disability inclusion and diversity strategies and to offer insight for organizations to integrate disability within diversity frameworks.

Design/methodology/approach

The research team conducted semi-structured interviews with diversity and inclusion “champions” from large businesses to learn about policies, practices and processes for fostering disability inclusion. The businesses have all received national recognition for supporting employees with disabilities.

Findings

Interviewees described strategies to build, sustain and grow disability inclusion by framing disability similarly to other diversity categories. The champions suggested practices to improve disability inclusion initiatives within their organizations.

Originality/value

There is limited information on what organizations are doing to support disability inclusion in the workplace. This study builds on the existing literature and responds to calls for case information from business personnel to gather data about common and effective practices.
The determinants of bank branch location in India: an empirical investigation
Authors: Zhang Quanda , Arora Rashmi , Colombage Sisira
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Bank branching plays a significant role in a wide range of economic activities. Existing studies on determinants of bank branching activities largely focus on developed countries; studies devoted to developing countries are scant. The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of bank branching activities in one of the largest developing country India.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ a unique longitudinal data to study the determinants of bank branch location in India. These data are collected at the state level covering 25 Indian states for the period 2006–2017. The authors employ Poisson regression that are better suited for modeling counted dependent variable.

Findings

First, region and bank specific factors such as size of population and bank deposits influence location of bank branches. Second, the relationship between these factors and branch locations is heterogeneous across different types of banks and across states with different business environments.

Practical implications

First, from the view of banks, considering the factors of branch location are crucial in order to set out branching strategy. Irrespective of policy measures aimed at promoting financial inclusion in India, the authors show that banks consider economic activities in the region in locating their branches. Second, from the view of policy makers and regulators, such branching strategy could potentially contribute to financial exclusion. As a result, population in the less developed regions may be excluded from accessing financial services. Hence, policy makers and regulators should take into this account when formulating policies aimed at promoting financial inclusion.

Originality/value

First, while existing studies largely focus on developed countries, studies devoted to developing countries are scant. To the best of our knowledge, the authors have not come across any study that investigates the determinants of bank branch location in India, so the authors reasonably believe that this study is a first-of-its-kind. Second, the study provides a new perspective concerning how regional and bank specific factors influence banks of different ownership in locating branches. Third, while traditional regression used to be a method of choice among early studies, the authors employ Poisson regression that is better suited for modeling counted dependent variable.
Sustainable antibacterial printing of cellulosic fabrics using an indigenous chitosan-based thickener with distinct natural dyes
Authors: Raza Zulfiqar Ali , Anwar Faiza , Abid Sharjeel
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Chitosan is widely considered as a natural polymer and a diverse finish to impart antibacterial property and enhanced dye uptake of textiles. Herein, the authors have investigated the feasibility of using chitosan/starch blend as a thickener in screen printing of cellulosic fabrics with some natural dyes.

Design/methodology/approach

The polymeric blend of chitosan/starch was prepared and used as a thickener for screen printing with three natural dye extracts, namely, Curcuma tinctoria (turmeric), Beta vulgaris (beet) roots and Lawsonia alba (henna) leaves on cellulosic fabrics like cotton and viscose. The viscosity and rheological properties of print paste as a fresh and after overnight shelving were examined. The influence of polymeric blends on cellulosic fabrics' print properties was inspected by determining their colorfastness, rubbing fastness, tensile strength and antibacterial activity.

Findings

The results depicted that chitosan/starch blend as printing thickener increased the shade depth with good wet and dry rubbing fastness for all the test natural dyes. The antibacterial activity of resultant printed cellulosic fabrics was found to be satisfactory against broad-spectrum bacterial strains.

Practical implications

This study's outcome is the development of chitosan blend thickeners to print the cellulosic fabrics with indigenous natural dyes.

Originality/value

The authors found no previous report on the synthesis of chitosan-based antibacterial blend thickeners with three distinct natural dyes and their application in screen printing of native and regenerated cellulosic fabrics of cotton and viscose, respectively.
FG-SMOTE: Fuzzy-based Gaussian synthetic minority oversampling with deep belief networks classifier for skewed class distribution
Authors: Hemalatha Putta , Amalanathan Geetha Mary
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Adequate resources for learning and training the data are an important constraint to develop an efficient classifier with outstanding performance. The data usually follows a biased distribution of classes that reflects an unequal distribution of classes within a dataset. This issue is known as the imbalance problem, which is one of the most common issues occurring in real-time applications. Learning of imbalanced datasets is a ubiquitous challenge in the field of data mining. Imbalanced data degrades the performance of the classifier by producing inaccurate results.

Design/methodology/approach

In the proposed work, a novel fuzzy-based Gaussian synthetic minority oversampling (FG-SMOTE) algorithm is proposed to process the imbalanced data. The mechanism of the Gaussian SMOTE technique is based on finding the nearest neighbour concept to balance the ratio between minority and majority class datasets. The ratio of the datasets belonging to the minority and majority class is balanced using a fuzzy-based Levenshtein distance measure technique.

Findings

The performance and the accuracy of the proposed algorithm is evaluated using the deep belief networks classifier and the results showed the efficiency of the fuzzy-based Gaussian SMOTE technique achieved an AUC: 93.7%. F1 Score Prediction: 94.2%, Geometric Mean Score: 93.6% predicted from confusion matrix.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed research still retains some of the challenges that need to be focused such as application FG-SMOTE to multiclass imbalanced dataset and to evaluate dataset imbalance problem in a distributed environment.

Originality/value

The proposed algorithm fundamentally solves the data imbalance issues and challenges involved in handling the imbalanced data. FG-SMOTE has aided in balancing minority and majority class datasets.
E-learning satisfaction and retention: a concurrent perspective of cognitive absorption, perceived social presence and technology acceptance model
Authors: Salimon Maruf Gbadebo , Sanuri Sany Mohd Mokhtar , Aliyu Olayemi Abdullateef , Perumal Selvan , Yusr Maha Mohammed
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to concurrently test the effect of cognitive absorption and perceived social presence on technology acceptance model core variables, e-satisfaction and e-retention among undergraduate students of Northern Malaysian public universities.

Design/methodology/approach

To empirically test the model, the authors developed quantitative research by collecting data from 730 undergraduate students of public universities in the Northern states of Malaysia. Partial least squares–structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

Findings

The results of the study reveal that cognitive absorption has a direct significant and positive effect on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of e-learning platforms and an indirect effect on e-satisfaction and e-retention. Equally, perceived social presence has a direct positive and significant effect on perceived ease of use and an indirect effect on e-satisfaction and e-retention, while e-satisfaction positively and significantly influences electronic retention. However, perceived social presence has an insignificant effect on perceived usefulness.

Practical implications

The findings of this study provide insights to practitioners, academia and university management, policymakers, designers and marketers on how to use the selected variables to improve the e-learning systems generally, and LearningZone Moodle in particular.

Originality/value

Several studies have been conducted in the domain of electronic learning; none of them, however, concurrently linked cognitive absorption and perceived social presence with technology acceptance model core factors to predict e-satisfaction and e-retention using LearningZone Moodle. This study helps the research community to fill this gap as the literature lacks a concerted discussion concerning these variables to significantly predict e-satisfaction and e-retention in an online learning context.
Housing construction costs and house rents fluctuations in an emerging property market: the case of Osogbo, Nigeria
Authors: Chiwuzie Augustina , Dabara Daniel Ibrahim
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Cost of construction of residential properties as well as its subsequent rent trends remain a major challenge to stakeholders in the property rental markets of emerging economies. This study examined the relationship between housing construction costs and house rents fluctuations in Osogbo, Nigeria, to provide information for informed investment decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a survey, where three sets of questionnaires were administered on building contractors; estate surveyors and valuers and private residential property owners. The data required comprise the estimated average construction costs and average market rents for two and three-bedroom bungalows in the study area from 2008 to 2018. These data were respectively sourced from all the 15 firms of building contractors and 25 firms of estate surveyors and valuers in Osogbo, Nigeria. Stratified random sampling was employed to select 180 property owners from three medium-density residential districts of Osogbo. Secondary data on macroeconomic variables were sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools.

Findings

The authors found a significant positive relationship (0.749) between construction costs and house rents trends; both variables maintained ascending trends. Construction costs and house rents inflation rates exhibited random fluctuations with the former having a higher mean inflation rate (10.47%). However, the difference was not statistically significant (p-value = 0.317 > 0.05). Respondents identified consumer price index (CPI) inflation among other macroeconomic variables as the strongest predictor of both construction costs and house rents fluctuations. However, evidence from further analysis of the time series suggested otherwise.

Practical implications

The result confirms construction cost as one of the vital supply factors of the housing market, which is often pass through to house rents. The positive relationship between construction costs and house rents trends should trigger new development which, will, in turn, allow rental housing investments to expand into new areas with prospects for profits that could be earned by domestic and foreign investors.

Originality/value

This study to the best knowledge of the researchers is the first to relate housing construction cost to house rent in Osogbo, Nigeria; thereby adding to the body of knowledge in this field.
Cross‐sex testosterone therapy modifies the renal morphology and function in female rats and might underlie increased systolic pressure
Authors: Lichtenecker Débora Conte Kimura , Argeri Rogerio , Castro Charlles Heldan de Moura , Dias‐da‐Silva Magnus Regios , Gomes Guiomar Nascimento
Published: March 2021

Testosterone esters are hormones commonly used for affirming gender identity in transmen. The present study evaluates the effect of testosterone on renal morphology and function in an animal model submitted to cross‐sex hormone therapy used for transmen. Two‐month‐old Wistar rats were divided into three groups: male control (MC), female control (FC), and female on testosterone therapy (FTT). The FTT group received testosterone cypionate (3.0 mg/kg, i.m.), and the MC and MF groups received vehicle oil every 10 days for 4 months. Renal function and indirect systolic blood pressure (SBP) measurements were evaluated at 6 months of age. Plasma and urine concentrations of urea, creatinine, sodium, potassium, osmolality, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were measured. The kidneys were weighed, paraffin‐embedded, and histological sections were prepared to evaluate the glomerular area. We verified that the FTT group, in comparison to FC, had increased kidney weight [MC, 3.2 ± 0.05; FC, 1.8 ± 0.04; FTT, 2.2 ± 0.06; g], decreased urine osmolarity [MC, 486.9 ± 18.3; FC, 1012.0 ± 5.4; FTT, 768.2 ± 40.3 mOsm/L/g kw], reduced GFR [MC, 0.77 ± 0.04; FC, 0.78 ± 0.02; FTT, 0.67 ± 0.03; mL/min/g kw], larger glomerular area [MC, 9334 ± 120.8; FC, 7884 ± 112.8; FTT, 9078 ± 133.4 µm2], and higher SBP [MC, 126 ± 3.4; FC, 119 ± 1.0; FTT, 131 ± 1.4; mmHg]. Sodium excretion was higher in FC and FTT in comparison to MC [MC, 0.34 ± 0.05; FC, 0.56 ± 0.06; FTT, 0.54 ± 0.04; mEq/24 h/g kw]. Cross‐sex hormone therapy with testosterone in female rats induces renal morphofunctional changes and may underlie increased systolic pressure, suggesting an adaptation similar to what is observed in transmen on long‐term testosterone therapy.
Behavioural Framework for Managing Conflicts of Interest in Professional Accounting Firms
Authors: Ishaque Maria , Attah‐Boakye Rexford , Yusuf Fatima
Published: March 2021

This paper proposes a behavioural framework to complement professional accounting firms’ measures for managing conflicts of interest. Following an empirical examination of the process through which conflicts of interest affect accounting professionals’ decision‐making, we develop guidance for practitioners that will enable them to incorporate behavioural interventions while establishing the context, assessing, treating, controlling and monitoring conflicts of interest. The interventions are aimed at strengthening accounting professionals’ independence in fact by increasing the professionals’ expectation that compliant decision‐making will result in positive outcomes, increasing their perception that making compliant decisions is less difficult than making the alternative decisions, facilitating the formation of highly ethical judgements and lowering their propensity to disengage.

The data were collected through a quasi‐experiment with 105 professionals from the Big Four accounting firms in the UK. Our work offers practical implications for professional accountants, executive directors, regulatory bodies, executive training and academic research. Other professions facing the ramifications of conflicts of interest (e.g. law, engineering, medicine and architecture) may also use the proposed framework to improve their ethics policies and corporate governance codes for managing conflicts of interest.
Entrepreneurial Finance and HRM Practices in Small Firms
Authors: Di Pietro Francesca , Monaghan Sinéad , O'Hagan‐Luff Martha
Published: March 2021

As new ventures grow, they face significant challenges to their internal operations and organizational structure. These challenges are particularly evident in small, entrepreneurial firms, who have limited resources, under‐developed capabilities and often seek funding from external investors to enable growth. We draw on institutional theory, particularly institutional logics, to explore the role of different investors on human resource management (HRM) in small, entrepreneurial firms. Using qualitative multiple‐case study analysis of seven firms within the Irish agrifood industry, our study shows how external investors can prompt changes to HRM, illustrating three approaches to HRM practice: operational – aimed at improving efficiency and internal functioning through human resources; strategic – aimed at improving firm performance and competitive advantage; and transformational – leading to a fundamental redirection of the firm. These findings facilitate the development of a framework for how investor logic prompts changes to HRM practices of small, entrepreneurial firms. By examining the interaction of institutional logics, this paper contributes a more nuanced understanding of entrepreneurial finance and its implications on HRM practices in small, entrepreneurial firms.
Mind the gap: How party–voter incongruence fuels the entry and support of new parties
Authors: VAN DE WARDT MARC , OTJES SIMON
Published: March 2021

This article examines to what extent ideological incongruence (i.e., mismatch between policy positions of voters and parties) increases the entry of new parties in national parliamentary elections and their individual‐level electoral support. Current empirical research on party entry and new party support either neglects the role of party–voter incongruence, or it only examines its effect on the entry and support of specific new parties or party families. This article fills this lacuna. Based on spatial theory, we hypothesise that parties are more likely to enter when ideological incongruence between voters and parties is higher (Study 1) and that voters are more likely to vote for new parties if these stand closer to them than established parties (Study 2). Together our two studies span 17 countries between 1996 and 2016. Time‐series analyses support both hypotheses. This has important implications for spatial models of elections and empirical research on party entry and new party support.
A chromosome level genome assembly of Propsilocerus akamusi to understand its response to heavy metal exposure
Authors: Sun Xiaoya , Liu Wenbin , Li Ruoqun , Zhao Cong , Pan Lina , Yan Chuncai
Published: March 2021

Chironomidae species are universally used for studying the impact of pollutants in aquatic systems. The nonbiting midge Propsilocerus akamusi is often found in urban streams and is suitable for use as a toxicological bioindicator. However, few studies have previously examined metal stress in this species. We sequenced the genome of this urban midge to address this question. Here, we present the first chromosome‐level genome of P. akamusi, obtained from Illumina short‐read and PacBio long‐read sequences with Hi‐C technology. The size of the very small assembled genome was 85.83 Mb with a contig N50 of 6.2 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 26.1 Mb. This assembly revealed significant expansion of haemoglobin (Hb) genes, some of which formed large tandem repeats. Transcriptomic studies for copper tolerance identified four genes in the tandem array that were highly expressed, all of which presented intron loss. This characteristic might highlight the potential role of Hb genes in copper tolerance. Additionally, detoxification genes, chemosensory genes and heat shock protein genes of this midge were identified, some of which are associated with metal stress. The high‐quality assembled genome of P. akamusi and the transcriptomic analyses provide new insight into the molecular mechanisms of heavy metal stress. Our comparison of the P. akamusi genome with other dipteran genomes provides valuable resources for understanding the evolutionary history, genetics, and ecology of this species as well as those of other midges.
Biglycan, tumor endothelial cell secreting proteoglycan, as possible biomarker for lung cancer
Authors: Morimoto Hirofumi , Hida Yasuhiro , Maishi Nako , Nishihara Hiroshi , Hatanaka Yutaka , Li Cong , Matsuno Yoshihiro , Nakamura Toru , Hirano Satoshi , Hida Kyoko
Published: March 2021

Objectives

In lung cancer, surgery remains the most curative treatment and limited resection is beneficial for patients with low cardiopulmonary function and low malignancy tumors. However, there are no biomarkers of low malignancy to select candidates for limited resection without compromising the outcome of treatments. Recently we identified biglycan (BGN) as a tumor endothelial cell (TEC) marker that is associated with tumor progression in various cancers. In this study, we analyzed the association between BGN expression in TECs in lung cancer and cancer progression in patients.

Materials and Methods

First, we performed immunohistochemistry of BGN with resected lung tumor tissues of 155 patients who had undergone thoracic surgery and analyzed the correlation between BGN‐positive vessel density in primary lung tumors and clinicopathological factors. Second, we measured the BGN levels in preoperative serum of other 46 patients with lung cancer by ELISA, and analyzed the correlation between BGN expression in tumor tissues and blood BGN levels.

Results

High BGN expression in the TECs was significantly associated with T factor, and was a significant negative predictor. BGN levels in preoperative serum of 46 patients with lung cancer was significantly correlated with BGN expression in the TECs. Preoperative serum BGN level was significantly lower in healthy volunteers and less invasive adenocarcinoma than in invasive adenocarcinoma and other lung carcinomas. These results suggest that low BGN level in preoperative serum in patients with lung cancer might indicate low malignancy.

Conclusions

BGN can be a potential biomarker for lung cancer.