bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Postlaryngectomy supraglottic stenosis revealed by three-dimensional computed tomography reconstruction
Authors: Chon JinYoung , Hong SungJin , Lee SangHoon , Shin MinJung , Cha SeungHee , Lee JiYung
Published: February 2022

Rationale:

Supraglottic stenosis is a rare cause of airway obstruction. It can be induced by radiation, trauma, autoimmune diseases, or caustic exposure, and is often misdiagnosed as asthma. Detailed airway information is necessary to re-establish the normal functioning of the airway.

Patient concerns:

A 78-year-old woman with severe dyspnea and hypercarbia was scheduled for surgery to resolve airway obstruction, previously known as supraglottic stenosis.

Diagnoses:

To determine the exact internal shape of the stenotic lesion, we reconstructed three dimensional computed tomography (CT) images depicted a tubular supraglottic stenosis.

Interventions:

The patient underwent tracheotomy under monitored anesthesia care and local anesthesia, followed by general anesthesia. For long-term management of the patient, the otorhinolaryngologist excised the supraglottic stricture via micro-laryngeal surgery using a CO2 laser and applied mitomycin to prevent further obstruction.

Outcomes:

The patient recovered uneventfully after anesthesia, and symptom due to supraglottic stenosis was improved.

Lessons:

During airway management of patients with postlaryngectomy supraglottic stenosis, three-dimensional reconstructed computed tomography images facilitate airway configuration in addition to endoscopy and other radiological findings.
Etiology of Nasal Bone Fracture: A Retrospective Analysis of 1,441 Patients in China
Authors: Zhang Pu , Zhao Jing , Zang Meirong , Gao Haitao , Wang Xin , Mu Junshang
Published: February 2022

Nasal bone fracture is the most common injury in the craniofacial area. Understanding the etiology of nasal bone fracture is important for the development of preventive public health programs. In this study, the authors retrospectively examined medical records to extract information about sex, age, injury time, injury cause, occupation, and place of residence (urban or rural) from 1441 patients with nasal bone fracture to investigate the etiology of nasal bone fracture in China. Among the 1441 patients, the ratio of males to females was 3.4:1. The mean patient age was 29.25 years. The most common occupation was student (31.02%). Violence was the most common cause of injury in male patients (35.82%), whereas slip-and-fall accidents were the most common cause in female patients (32.11%). Violence was the most common cause of injury in both urban and rural patients, and 74.19% were attacked by others without a weapon. This report provides important data about the etiology of nasal bone fracture in China and will help improve nasal bone fracture prevention measures.
Nasal Tip Remodeling Using Autologous Cartilage Grafts: Systematic Review
Authors: Gentile Pietro , Cervelli Valerio
Published: February 2022

Objective:

The objective of this study was to perform a systematic review of the literature to assess the clinical outcomes and safety profile of autologous cartilage grafts (A-CGs) in nasal tip remodeling (NTR).

Methods:

The protocol was developed following the Preferred Reporting for Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-Protocols guidelines. A multistep search of the PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus database, and Cochrane databases has been performed to identify papers on A-CGs use in NTR. Of the 253 articles initially identified, only 39 articles providing either retrospective (n= 35) or prospective (n= 4) data about outcomes, descriptions, and complications of the A-CGs use in NTR were selected. Of these, 3 articles focused on alloplastic grafts were excluded

Results:

The nasal septum, concha, and ribs have been the main donor sites to build A-CGs to be used in NTR. Septal cartilage turned out to a specific and versatile, useful for many types of grafts tools, presenting a low rate of resorption, extrusion, and warping. Auricular concha cartilage has been used to correct both the internal and external nasal valve collapse, whereas rib chondral grafts have been used to improve the structural support when septal cartilage was not available. Crushed cartilage, minced cartilage, and diced cartilage have been used in noses with thinner soft tissues.

Conclusions:

Eighty percent of the analyzed studies focused on the description of the adopted surgical technique and A-CGs procedures of preparation, displaying encouraging aesthetic and functional outcomes with generally low levels of complications. Collected data confirmed the safety and efficacy of A-CGs-related interventions in NTR without major side effects.
Delayed Soft Tissue Changes after Clockwise Rotation of the Maxillo-Mandibular Complex
Authors: Kwon Jin-Ju , Kang Young-Hoon , Hwang Dae-Seok
Published: February 2022

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate delayed soft tissue changes of the maxilla-mandibular complex MMC using three-dimensional (3D) cone-beam computed tomography after clockwise repositioning orthognathic surgery.

Methods:

This study included 21 patients that underwent maxilla-mandibular complex clockwise rotational orthognathic surgery by 1 doctor from January 2015 to June 2019. Radiographic images (panorama, lateral cephalogram, posteroanterior view, and conebeam computed tomography) were taken and 3D analysis was performed using the Invivo 5 (Anatomage Inc, Santa Clara, CA) to acquire 3D images before surgery, immediately after surgery, at 6 months after surgery and 21 months after surgery. The 9 soft tissue landmarks were measured and compared in terms of postoperative changes in transverse, vertical, and anteroposterior directions. The points were at the outer commissure of the eye fissure (Exocathion; Exc_r, Exc_l), at the midline of both the nasal root and the nasofrontal suture, analogous to bony N (soft tissue nasion; N), the most prominent point on the nasal tip (Pronasale; Prn), the most lateral point in the curved baseline of each ala, indicating the facial insertion of the nasal wing base (Alare curvature; Ac_r, Ac_l), the most lateral point on the soft tissue contour of each mandibular angle (Soft tissue Gonion; Go_r, Go_l), and the most inferior midpoint on the soft tissue contour of the chin (soft tissue menton; Me).

Results:

The most prominent point of the nasal tip (Prn) moved 1.36 mm upward and 1.55 mm forward in the vertical and anteroposterior planes immediately after surgery. However, there were no significant changes in Ac_r and Ac_l even immediately after surgery. Both soft tissue gonions shifted downward and forward between immediately after surgery and 6 months after surgery. However, no significant change was observed in the value of any of the 9 soft tissue points between 6 months and 21 months after surgery (P value < 0.05).

Conclusions:

No significant changes were observed between 6 and 21 months after surgery, which suggests no delayed soft tissue changes occur in surgically treated patients after the resolution of surgically-related facial edema and swelling and postsurgical remodeling of hard tissue in overlying soft tissue.
Simultaneous Management of Condylar Osteochondroma and Secondary Malformation With a New Intraoral Approach
Authors: Zheng Li Wu , Dong Shi Ying , Li Jing Wen , Wu Zhong Xing
Published: February 2022

Purpose:

The present study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of simultaneous management of condylar osteochondroma and its secondary dentofacial deformities using an intraoral surgical approach.

Methods:

Six patients with condylar osteochondroma were treated with intraoral vertical ramus osteotomies and condylar resection. The free rising branch was used for reconstructing the temporomandibular joint. The simultaneous orthognathic surgery and plastic surgery were performed sequentially to correct the secondary dentofacial deformities. The indexes of aesthetic symmetry, occlusion relationship, temporomandibular joint function, condylar height, and volume change were assessed in the subsequential follow up.

Results:

The mean follow up period was 31 months. All patients had no tumor recurrence. The ipsilateral joint function, occlusal relationship, and facial symmetry were satisfied. The ipsilateral condylar reconstruction had no obvious bone resorption and the ramus height was maintained well. Postoperative assessment showed the preoperative design was accurately fulfilled.

Conclusions:

The simultaneous condylar osteochondroma resection and temporomandibular joint reconstruction using intraoral approach avoids extraoral scars and correct facial asymmetry without compromising the long-term joint function and occlusal relationship.
Transnasal Medial Canthopexy Supported with Autogenous Bone Graft: A New Method for Repair of Traumatic Telecanthus
Authors: Abdelmegeed Ahmed Gaber , Haredy Mostafa Mamdoh , Mazeed Ahmed S. , Hifny Mahmoud A.
Published: February 2022

Introduction:

The medial canthus is an important structure to maintain the shape of the eye and assist in drainage of the lacrimal sac. Traumatic telecanthus is a difficult deformity to treat which involves both esthetic and functional aspects. Transnasal wiring remains the gold standard for repair of the medial canthal tendon (MCT) avulsion; however, it is often complicated by canthal drift, extrusion of wires, and in-fracture of the contralateral orbital bones from pressure by tied wires. In order to overcome traditional transnasal wiring technique pitfalls, this study proposes a transnasal wiring fixation method supported with a bone graft to treat patients presenting with telecanthus following complex nasoorbitoethmoid fractures.

Patients and Methods:

From December 2018 to October 2020, 12 patients with traumatic telecanthus underwent transnasal wiring fixation of the MCT supported with bone graft. The wire holding the MCT was delivered through a single hole to the contralateral side and secured to a small bone graft by passing the wire through 2 holes in the graft in a button-like fashion. Then the wire end is pulled again to the affected side through the same hole and the 2 wires ends are tightly twisted after setting the MCT posterior to the lacrimal crest.

Results:

Restoration of the MCT to its normal position was achieved in all patients. There were no observed major complications. Only 2 cases of wound infection and 1 case of dacrocystitis were encountered, which settled with conservative management. The preoperative palpebral fissure width (mean: 28.33mm ± 2.188mm) was significantly lower than the postoperative palpebral fissure width (mean: 34.17mm ± 1.03mm) (P<0.05).

Conclusions:

This study introduces a modified technique of transnasal wiring fixation to restore palpebral shape and intercanthal distance. The proposed technique could eliminate most of the frequently observed complications of the traditional methods.
Transcriptomic analysis of aging mouse sciatic nerve reveals early pathways leading to sarcopenia
Authors: Comfort Nicole , Gade Meethila , Strait Madeleine , Merwin Samantha J. , Antoniou Daphne , Memou Anna , Rideout Hardy J. , Corti Stefania , Kariya Shingo , Re Diane B.
Published: February 2022

Background

Sarcopenia, the age-associated decline in skeletal muscle mass and strength, has long been considered a disease of muscle only, but accumulating evidence suggests that sarcopenia could originate from the neural components controlling muscles. To identify early molecular changes in the efferent nerves that may drive sarcopenia initiation, we performed a longitudinal transcriptomic analysis of the sciatic nerve in aging mice.

Methods

Sciatic nerve and gastrocnemius muscle were obtained from young adult, middleaged, old, and sarcopenic (5,18, 21 and 24 months old, respectively) C57BL/6J female mice (n=6 per age group). Sciatic nerve RNA was extracted and subjected to RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), with real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) validation of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Functional enrichment analysis of clusters of genes associated with patterns of gene expression across age groups was performed. Sarcopenia was confirmed with qRT-PCR of previously established markers of sarcopenia onset in gastrocnemius muscle.

Results

We detected 33 significant DEGs in sciatic nerve of 18-month-old mice compared to 5-month-old mice (absolute value of fold change > 2; false discovery rate [FDR] < 0.05) which we validated with qRT-PCR of the three top up- and down-regulated genes. Up-regulated genes were associated with circadian rhythm and the AMPK signaling pathway, while down-regulated genes were associated with biosynthesis and metabolic pathways and circadian rhythm. Strikingly, we detected a significant increase in Myog expression (log2 fold change = 18.93, FDR q-value = 1.54×10−12) in sciatic nerve of 18-month-old mice, before up-regulation in muscle was observed. We identified seven clusters of genes with similar expression patterns across groups. Functional enrichment analysis of these clusters revealed biological processes that may be implicated in sarcopenia initiation including extracellular matrix organization and circadian regulation of gene expression.

Conclusions

Gene expression changes in mouse peripheral nerve can be detected prior to overt clinical onset of sarcopenia. These early molecular changes we report shed a new light on biological processes that may be implicated in sarcopenia initiation and pathogenesis. Future studies will validate which of the key changes we reported have disease modifying and/or biomarker potential.
Effects of clozapine-N-oxide and compound 21 on sleep in laboratory mice
Authors: Traut Janine , Mengual Jose Prius , Meijer Elise J. , McKillop Laura E. , Alfonsa Hannah , Hoerder-Suabedissen Anna , Song Seoho Michael , Molnár Zoltán , Akerman Colin J. , Vyazovskiy Vladyslav V. , Krone Lukas B.
Published: February 2022

Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) are chemogenetic tools for remote control of targeted cell populations using chemical actuators that bind to modified receptors. Despite the popularity of DREADDs in neuroscience and sleep research, potential effects of the DREADD actuator clozapine-N-oxide (CNO) on sleep have never been systematically tested. Here we show that intraperitoneal injections of commonly used CNO doses (1, 5, and 10 mg/kg) alter sleep in wild-type male laboratory mice. Using electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) to analyse sleep, we found a dose-dependent suppression of rapid eye-movement (REM) sleep, changes in EEG spectral power during non-REM (NREM) sleep, and altered sleep architecture in a pattern previously reported for clozapine. Effects of CNO on sleep could arise from back-metabolism to clozapine or binding to endogenous neurotransmitter receptors. Interestingly, we found that the novel DREADD actuator, compound 21 (C21, 3 mg/kg), similarly modulates sleep despite a lack of back-metabolism to clozapine. Our results demonstrate that both CNO and C21 can modulate sleep of mice not expressing DREADD receptors. This implies that back-metabolism to clozapine is not the sole mechanism underlying side effects of chemogenetic actuators. Therefore, any chemogenetic experiment should include a DREADD-free control group injected with the same CNO, C21 or newly developed actuator. We suggest that electrophysiological sleep assessment could serve as a sensitive tool to test the biological inertness of novel chemogenetic actuators.
Epigenetic cell memory: The gene’s inner chromatin modification circuit
Authors: Bruno Simone , Williams Ruth J. , Del Vecchio Domitilla
Published: February 2022

Epigenetic cell memory allows distinct gene expression patterns to persist in different cell types despite a common genotype. Although different patterns can be maintained by the concerted action of transcription factors (TFs), it was proposed that long-term persistence hinges on chromatin state. Here, we study how the dynamics of chromatin state affect memory, and focus on a biologically motivated circuit motif, among histones and DNA modifications, that mediates the action of TFs on gene expression. Memory arises from time-scale separation among three circuit’s constituent processes: basal erasure, auto and cross-catalysis, and recruited erasure of modifications. When the two latter processes are sufficiently faster than the former, the circuit exhibits bistability and hysteresis, allowing active and repressed gene states to coexist and persist after TF stimulus removal. The duration of memory is stochastic with a mean value that increases as time-scale separation increases, but more so for the repressed state. This asymmetry stems from the cross-catalysis between repressive histone modifications and DNA methylation and is enhanced by the relatively slower decay rate of the latter. Nevertheless, TF-mediated positive autoregulation can rebalance this asymmetry and even confers robustness of active states to repressive stimuli. More generally, by wiring positively autoregulated chromatin modification circuits under time scale separation, long-term distinct gene expression patterns arise, which are also robust to failure in the regulatory links.
Splicing inactivation generates hybrid mRNA-snoRNA transcripts targeted by cytoplasmic RNA decay
Authors: Liu Yanru , DeMario Samuel , He Kevin , Gibbs Michelle R. , Barr Keaton W. , Chanfreau Guillaume F.
Published: February 2022

Many small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNA)s are processed from introns of host genes, but the importance of splicing for proper biogenesis and the fate of the snoRNAs is not well understood. Here we show that inactivation of splicing factors or mutation of splicing signals leads to the accumulation of partially processed hybrid mRNA-snoRNA transcripts (hmsnoRNA). HmsnoRNAs are processed to the mature 3′-ends of the snoRNAs by the nuclear exosome and bound by snoRNP proteins. HmsnoRNAs are unaffected by translation-coupled RNA quality control pathways, but they are degraded by the major cytoplasmic exonuclease Xrn1p due to their mRNA-like 5′-extensions. These results show that completion of splicing is required to promote complete and accurate processing of intron-encoded snoRNAs and that splicing defects lead to degradation of hybrid mRNA-snoRNA species by cytoplasmic decay, underscoring the importance of splicing for the biogenesis of intron encoded snoRNAs.

Significance Statement

Small nucleolar RNAs mediate modifications of nucleosides within ribosomal RNAs, which are necessary for proper ribosomal function and translation. Many snoRNAs are encoded within introns of host genes and accurate biogenesis of these small RNAs is required to produce functional snoRNAs. The work presented here shows that when the splicing reactions are inactivated, snoRNAs undergo a distinct biogenesis pathway which leads to the production of aberrant hybrid RNAs that contain both mRNAs and small RNAs components of the host genes. While snoRNAs are primarily found in the nucleolus, these hybrid RNAs are degraded by the cytoplasmic mRNA degradation pathway. These results demonstrate the importance of splicing to promote accurate snoRNA processing and prevent the production of aberrant mRNA-snoRNA hybrids.
Machine Learning and Radiomics for Osteoporosis Risk Prediction Using X-ray Imaging
Authors: Dadsetan Saba , Kitamura Gene , Arefan Dooman , Guo Yuan , Clancy Kadie , Yang Lu , Wu Shandong
Published: February 2022

Osteoporosis is a significant health and economic issue, as it predisposes patients to a higher risk of bone fracture. Measuring bone mineral density has been shown to be an accurate way to assess the risk for osteoporosis. The most common way for bone density testing is a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, which may be recommended for patients with increased risk of osteoporosis. Radiograph imaging is widely available in clinical settings and acquired for many reasons, such as trauma or pain. The goal of this project is to extract radiomics information from pelvic X-rays (both the hip and femoral neck regions) to assess the risk of osteoporosis (triaging patients into “normal” vs. “at-risk”, or “low risk” vs. “high risk” categories). The motivation here is not to replace the DEXA scan but to proactively identify patients at risk for osteoporosis and appropriately refer them to management options. We apply machine learning-based radiomics techniques on a study cohort of 565 patients. Our preliminary results show that a correlation between the radiomics features extracted from pelvic X-rays and the level of osteoporosis risk derived from the DEXA test results.
Comprehensive comparison between azacytidine and decitabine treatment in an acute myeloid leukemia cell line
Authors: Aumer Tina , Gremmelmaier Constanze B. , Runtsch Leander S. , Yeşiltaç Nur , Kaiser Stefanie , Traube Franziska R.
Published: February 2022

Azacytidine (AzaC) and decitabine (AzadC) are cytosine analogs that covalently trap DNA methyltransferases, which place the important epigenetic mark 5-methyl-2’-deoxycytidine by methylating 2’-deoxycytidine (dC) at the C5 position. AzaC and AzadC are used in the clinic as antimetabolites to treat myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia and are explored against other types of cancer. Although their principal mechanism of action is known, the downstream effects of AzaC and AzadC treatment are not well understood and the cellular prerequisites that determine sensitivity towards AzaC and AzadC remain elusive. Here, we investigated the effects and phenotype of AzaC and AzadC exposure on the acute myeloid leukemia cell line MOLM-13. We found that while AzaC and AzadC share many effects on the cellular level, including decreased global DNA methylation, increased formation of DNA double strand breaks, transcriptional downregulation of important oncogenes and similar changes on the proteome level, AzaC failed in contrast to AzadC to induce apoptosis in MOLM-13. The only cellular marker that correlated with this clear phenotypical outcome was the level of hydroxy-methyl-dC, an additional epigenetic mark that is placed by TET enzymes and repressed in cancer cells. Whereas AzadC increased hmdC substantially in MOLM-13, AzaC treatment did not result in any increase at all. This suggests that hmdC levels in cancer cells should be monitored as a response towards AzaC and AzadC and considered as a biomarker to judge whether AzaC or AzadC treatment leads to cell death in leukemic cells.
Activating ligands of Uncoupling protein 1 identified by rapid membrane protein thermostability shift analysis
Authors: Cavalieri Riccardo , Hazebroek Marlou Klein , Cotrim Camila A. , Lee Yang , Kunji Edmund R. S. , Jastroch Martin , Keipert Susanne , Crichton Paul G.
Published: February 2022

Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) catalyzes mitochondrial proton leak in brown adipose tissue for heat production, and may combat metabolic disease if activated in humans. During the adrenergic stimulation of brown adipocytes, free fatty acids generated from lipolysis activate UCP1 via an unclear interaction. Here, we have utilized membrane protein thermostability shift analysis to characterize the interaction of activating molecules with purified UCP1. We reveal that activators influence the protein through a specific destabilizing interaction, behaving as transport substrates that shift UCP1 to a less stable conformation of a transport cycle. Through the detection of specific stability shifts in screens, we identify novel activators, including the drug ibuprofen, where ligand analysis indicates a relatively wide structural specificity for interacting molecules. Ibuprofen induces UCP1 activity in liposomes and isolated brown fat mitochondria, but not in cultured brown adipocytes. Though the drug does induce activity in UCP1-expressing HEK293 cells, demonstrating that the targeting of UCP1 in cells by approved drugs is in principle achievable as a therapeutic avenue, but requires variants with more effective delivery in brown adipocytes.
Exploring the lncRNA localization landscape within the retinal pigment epithelium under normal and stress conditions
Authors: Kaczynski Tadeusz J. , Au Elizabeth D. , Farkas Michael H.
Published: February 2022

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as a class of genes whose importance has yet to be fully realized. It is becoming clear that the primary function of lncRNAs is to regulate gene expression, and they do so through a variety of mechanisms that are critically tied to their subcellular localization. Although most lncRNAs are poorly understood, mapping lncRNA subcellular localization can provide a foundation for understanding these mechanisms. Here, we present an initial step toward uncovering the localization landscape of lncRNAs in the human retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) using high throughput RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq). To do this, we differentiated human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into RPE, isolated RNA from nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions, and performed RNA-Seq on both. Furthermore, we investigated lncRNA localization changes that occur in response to oxidative stress. We discovered that, under normal conditions, most lncRNAs (76%) are seen in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm to a similar degree, but of the transcripts that are highly enriched in one compartment, more are nuclear (18.6%) than cytoplasmic (5.6%). Interestingly, under oxidative stress conditions, we observed an increase in lncRNA localization in both nuclear (23.5%) and cytoplasmic (9.7%) fractions. In addition, we found that nuclear localization was partially attributable to the presence of previously described nuclear retention motifs, while adenosine to inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing appeared to play a very minimal role. Our findings regarding lncRNA localization in the RPE provide two avenues for future research: 1) how lncRNAs function in the RPE, and 2) how one environmental factor, in isolation, may play a role in retinal disease pathogenesis.
Identification of putative enhancer-like elements predicts regulatory networks active in planarian adult stem cells
Authors: Neiro Jakke , Sridhar Divya , Dattani Anish , Aboobaker Aziz
Published: February 2022

Planarians have become an established model system to study regeneration and stem cells, but the regulatory elements in the genome remain almost entirely undescribed. Here, by integrating epigenetic and expression data we use multiple sources of evidence to predict enhancer elements active in the adult stem cell populations that drive regeneration. We have used ChIP-seq data to identify regions with histone modifications consistent with enhancer identity and activity, and ATAC-seq data to identify accessible chromatin. Overlapping these signals allowed for the identification of a set of high confidence candidate enhancers predicted to be active in planarian adult stem cells. These enhancers are enriched for predicted transcription factor (TF) binding sites for TFs and TF families expressed in planarian adult stem cells. Foot-printing analyses provided further evidence that these potential TF binding sites are potentially occupied in adult stem cells. We integrated these analyses to build testable hypotheses for the regulatory function of transcription factors in stem cells, both with respect to how pluripotency might be regulated, and to how lineage differentiation programs are controlled. We found that our predicted GRNs were independently supported by existing TF RNAi/RNA-seq data sets, providing further evidence that our work predicts active enhancers regulating adult stem cells and regenerative mechanisms.
Does audit committee constrain firms’ risks in Malaysian family manufacturing firms?
Authors: Wan Mohammad Wan Masliza , Nik Salleh Nik Mohamad Zaki , Wan Yusoff Wan Fadzilah
Published: February 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between audit committees’ characteristics and firms’ risk in Malaysian manufacturing firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The effect of audit committees on firms’ risk is investigated by 930 firm-year observations between the fiscal years of 2004 and 2009 of Bursa Malaysia listed firms during the global financial crisis. Panel data regression analysis is used to analyze the relationship.

Findings

The findings of this study indicate that audit committee’s independence reduces firms’ risk. Nonetheless, across various analysis, the authors fail to associate audit committee’s qualification and membership in professional bodies with firms’ risk. Consistently, the authors find that family ownership is negatively associated with IDIOSYNCRATIC risks, supporting previous studies claim that family firms are more risk averse than non-family firms.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis is confined to Malaysian family manufacturing sectors during global financial crisis 2007–2008.

Originality/value

This study offers insights into the importance of audit committees’ qualification and knowledge in Malaysian family manufacturing firms in reducing firms’ risk and providing stability to investors investment.
Enablers for the adoption and use of BIM in main contractor companies in the UK
Authors: Shojaei Reyhaneh S. , Oti-Sarpong Kwadwo , Burgess Gemma
Published: February 2022

Purpose

Widespread efforts to promote the use of building information modelling (BIM) as part of the construction industry transformation agenda in many advanced countries are yet to reach the wished-for effects. While there are various studies on the factors influencing BIM adoption, empirical evidence detailing how construction companies can successfully adopt BIM in their organisations remains scarce. This paper identifies and describes how enabling factors are implemented by large UK contractor firms to transform their organisations using BIM for projects.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative exploratory approach is employed in this paper. Data are gathered through 42 semi-structured interviews with professionals in strategic and management roles in construction companies in the UK, followed by case studies of five leading main contractor companies selected to provide examples of how they implemented the identified enablers.

Findings

This research identifies and describes six key enabling factors that influence successful BIM adoption and implementation, namely, committed leadership and management; a digital transformation strategy with realistic objectives; building a capable supplier network; building trust-based relationships with clients; upskilling employees; and establishing a robust structure for effective collaboration and communication.

Practical implications

Nine practical recommendations are provided to guide construction firms in taking steps to adopt and use BIM in their organisations and for their projects.

Originality/value

This study provides empirical evidence detailing how key enablers are implemented towards successful BIM adoption and use by large UK contractors.
Impact of leader's e-competencies on employees' wellbeing in global virtual teams during COVID-19: the moderating role of emotional intelligence
Authors: Chaudhary Priya , Rohtagi Mukta , Singh Reetesh K. , Arora Simple
Published: February 2022

Purpose

The current study aims is to investigate the impact of leader's e-competencies on the emotional wellbeing of employees in GVTs. Also, the moderating role of a leader's emotional intelligence in enhancing the wellbeing of the employees during the pandemic was explored.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of 810 employees belonging to international IT companies was conducted. The conceptual model was hypothesized and validated using CFA and PL-SEM.

Findings

The three core e-competencies of leaders (e-communication skills, e-change management skills and e-technological skills) impacting the wellbeing of employees in the COVID pandemic were found. Also, emotional intelligence significantly moderated the association of leader's e-competencies and the wellbeing of employees.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited to IT sector companies. Data were collected using the snowball sampling technique through a self-reported questionnaire. Future studies can explore the relationship between e-leadership and variables like job performance in other sectors.

Practical implications

A unique framework of “leaders” e-competencies and employees' wellbeing, moderated by emotional intelligence, has been proposed and validated. The present study is relevant for guiding the traditional leaders and managers transitioning to e-leaders due to the pandemic.

Originality/value

The current exploration is one of its kinds to understand the dynamics of study variables in international workplaces. Today, the majority of organizations are conducting their business through GVTs. Therefore, the emerging leaders have to display specific e-competencies to contribute to employees' wellbeing effectively.
Forced or voluntary reluctance or voluntary preference to work? Women in hotel industry: evidence from Sri Lanka
Authors: Kodagoda Thilakshi , Jayawardhana Sandaruu
Published: February 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to understand why women in Sri Lanka are reluctant to work in the hotel industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a qualitative approach to gather in-depth information from existing women employees and prospective women employees and thematic analysis used as an analytical strategy.

Findings

This research identified a particular woman's career choice in the hotel industry is the outcome of a series of complex challenges and opinions. Second, these challenges include individual, societal and organisational factors and revealed how those factors affect women's career choice either reluctant voluntarily or by force or by their preference. Finally, parental influence is also a challenge that has supportive (prefer to work) or hindering (reluctant to work) effects on their children's career.

Research limitations/implications

As the sample size is small, extensive research is warranted.

Practical implications

This research suggested two practical implications: should create a women-friendly environment at the hotel industry and educate women that they have many opportunities to explore their careers in the hotel industry.

Originality/value

This study has provided new research avenues and this would be the first known qualitative review directly focused on existing and potential women employees in the hotel industry.
Prediction of unsteady, internal turbulent cavitating flow using dynamic cavitation model
Authors: Ullas P.K. , Chatterjee Dhiman , Vengadesan S.
Published: February 2022

Purpose

Understanding the interaction of turbulence and cavitation is an essential step towards better controlling the cavitation phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to bring out the efficacy of different modelling approaches to predict turbulence and cavitation-induced phase changes.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper compares the dynamic cavitation (DCM) and Schnerr–Sauer models. Also, the effects of different modelling methods for turbulence, unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) and detached eddy simulations (DES) are also brought out. Numerical predictions of internal flow through a venturi are compared with experimental results from the literature.

Findings

The improved predictive capability of cavitating structures by DCM is brought out clearly. The temporal variation of the cavity size and velocity illustrates the involvement of re-entrant jet in cavity shedding. From the vapour fraction contours and the attached cavity length, it is found that the formation of the re-entrant jet is stronger in DES results compared with that by URANS. Variation of pressure, velocity, void fraction and the mass transfer rate at cavity shedding and collapse regions are presented. Wavelet analysis is used to capture the shedding frequency and also the corresponding occurrence of features of cavity collapse.

Originality/value

Based on the performance, computational time and resource requirements, this paper shows that the combination of DES and DCM is the most suitable option for predicting turbulent-cavitating flows.
Institutional change and stability in strategic networks in the Brazilian pharmaceutical industry
Authors: Monticelli Jefferson Marlon , Wegner Douglas
Published: February 2022

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the dynamics of the institutional change and institutional stability undergone by strategic networks (SNs) in the pharmaceutical industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed a case study with four Brazilian SNs which followed different patterns of institutional change and institutional stability. Twenty network managers and network members from the pharmaceutical industry were interviewed, and documents were analyzed.

Findings

The results show how and why institutions changed or remained the same. More specifically, exogenous shocks can negatively impact the competitive environment influencing institutional change in SNs. Moreover, endogenous shocks may prevent institutional change and stimulate institutional stability. Continuous interaction between institutions and SNs is the key to institutional change, especially if public and private policies are considered a source of political institutions.

Originality/value

Research has highlighted the endogenous influence of SNs on firms in selecting their partners and arranging their positions in the SNs, but little attention has been paid to how SNs themselves respond to institutions or promote institutional change. This study explains how and why change fails at the network level, additionally pinpointing the main sources of the institutional change and inertia in SNs. As such, network members may use different strategies to stimulate institutional change or stability according to their interests.
Determinations of system justification versus psychological reactance consumer behaviours in online taboo markets
Authors: Badewi Amgad Ali , Eid Riyad , Laker Ben
Published: February 2022

Purpose

This research aims to understand the determinants of consumers' behaviour and motivations to buy taboo items online. Two theoretical lenses, theories of psychological reactance and system justification, are invoked to frame the role of online shopping in shaping consumer behaviour in taboo markets.

Design/methodology/approach

A naturalistic inquiry paradigm was used to test a sample of 34 Saudi women who were buying taboo products online.

Findings

The determinant of such behaviour is based on differences in understanding the ritual restrictions between people, their society and their country. The four principal attitudes towards restrictions are justifying, accepting, rejecting and reacting. These attitudes frame five motivations: satisfying the restriction, to be unique, but aligned with social norms; breaking social norms; aligning one's self-image to liberal societies; and joy in challenging legal restrictions. The motives for online shopping are justification/utilitarian, to accommodate other restrictions in going to local markets; and reactance hedonic, to break restrictions. These motivations create seven different patterns of online shopping behaviour.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the literature by presenting an alternative perspective on online shopping motivations for taboo products. Furthermore, this research calls for a new socio-psychological theory for understanding the role of technology in influencing consumer behaviour in restrictive societies.
Sexual assault of older people by hospital staff in England
Authors: Warburton-Wynn Amanda
Published: February 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the findings of this research. A research paper was published in October 2021 highlighting results of freedom of information (FOI) requests sent to National Health Service (NHS) Trusts in England. The FOI requests asked for the number of incidents of sexual assault reported by hospitals where the victim was aged over 60 and the alleged perpetrator was a member of staff.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology involved sending FOI requests to all 206 NHS hospital Trusts in England requesting information on reported incidents of sexual assault against patients over 60 years old from 2016/17 to 20/21, where the alleged perpetrator was a member of staff (including agency staff). Along with the number of reports, the FOI request also asked for the sex of the victim and alleged perpetrator, whether the incident was reported to police, the outcome of the police investigation and whether any internal disciplinary processes were followed.

Findings

Of the hospitals that responded with some data (others were nil return), 56 individual reports meeting the criteria of the FOI were identified. A further 19 hospitals advised that they held reports of such incidents but, under general data protection regulations, they were unable to disclose exact numbers, but they were less than 5, some hospitals said less than 10, so the research can only count one for each of these. The resulting findings are that there were at least 75 reports of sexual assault on patients over 60 by hospital staff in the past five years. The findings also show that whilst the majority of victims were female, 30% were male and that a disappointing number were reported to police – only 16. Of these, 14 were closed as “No Further Action” by the police.

Originality/value

Whilst there has been some research into sexual violence against older people, most notably by Dr Hannah Bows, the issue of sexual assault happening whilst in hospital perpetrated by hospital staff has not been studied.
Training, corporate culture and organizational work models for the development of corporate entrepreneurship in SMEs
Authors: González-Tejero Cristina Blanco , Molina Cayetano Medina
Published: February 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of corporate entrepreneurship. To this end, the learning process of the individual in skills, competencies and agile methodologies is considered, as well as the influence of corporate culture, ways of working and organizational capabilities in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

This study was performed by means of an email survey questionnaire, conducted on 241 SMEs in Madrid and Guadalajara (Spain). The hypotheses were tested with structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

The results yielded a positive and direct link between the organization and the training of business leaders in programs of skills and competencies, as well as between this training and corporate entrepreneurship processes carried out in the organization. However, there is an indirect relationship between organizational activity and processes of the organization and intrapreneurship activities.

Research limitations/implications

The research provides a practical contribution to the SME perspective and raises awareness of the importance of intrapreneurial activities for business development. Hence, it becomes relevant to focus on training plans that have a direct impact on the development of business innovations that lead to corporate entrepreneurship.

Originality/value

This research contributes to contextualize and enrich the literature on corporate entrepreneurship by addressing the gap related to corporate culture, innovation and skills, through a model that shows the relationship between the variables.
The effect of tourists' gastronomic experience on emotional and cognitive evaluation: an application of S-O-R paradigm
Authors: Şahin Ayşe , Kılıçlar Arzu
Published: February 2022

Purpose

The main aim of this study is to determine the effect of tourists' gastronomic experiences on food consumption emotions and experiential value. This research also examines the effect of emotions and experiential value on behavioral intention.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey was distributed to foreign tourists visiting Istanbul, Turkey. Using survey responses from 491 tourists, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

In the current study, the results showed that tourists' gastronomic experiences positively and substantially influenced their experiential value and food consumption emotions.

Research limitations/implications

In this study, the model created by Quan and Wang (2004) about the role of food in touristic experience is supported by empirical results. In the current study, the stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) paradigm was adopted as the theoretical underpinning and was used to develop a holistic research framework. The findings of the research provide certain practical implications for how destinations can design, market and offer gastronomic experiences.

Originality/value

The research on tourists' gastronomic experience and food consumption emotions is limited although numerous studies on tourists' emotions have been conducted. This study is also one of the first to empirically evaluate the tourists' gastronomic experience with the emotional (food consumption emotions), cognitive (experiential value) and behavioral dimensions via S-O-R paradigm.
The patient experience of telehealth access and clinical encounters in Australian health care during COVID-19: implications for enhancing integrated care
Authors: White Jennifer , Byles Julie , Walley Tom
Published: February 2022

Purpose

Telehealth consultations are likely to continue while living with COVID-19 and the risk of other pandemics. Greater understanding of patient perceptions is important in order to inform future integrated care models involving telehealth.

Design/methodology/approach

An interpretative qualitative study. Fifteen, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with diverse range of community dwelling patients who attended outpatient clinics at The John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle. Data were analysed using an inductive thematic approach.

Findings

Key themes were identified: (1) telehealth is valuable in a pandemic; (2) telehealth accessibility can be challenging; (3) there are variations in care experiences, especially when visual feedback is lacking; (4) telehealth for acute and complex care needs may lead to gaps and (5) considerations towards the future of telehealth, beyond a pandemic.

Research limitations/implications

There is a shortfall in evidence of the patient experience of integrated care within a telehealth framework. The results provided practical insights into how telehealth services can play a greater role in integrated care.

Practical implications

Apart from the need for affordable access to high-speed data for basic Internet access, the author posit the need for patient and clinician training towards promoting communication that is underpinned by choice, trust and shared decision-making.

Originality/value

Telehealth is important towards keeping patients safe during COVID-19. Key findings extend knowledge of the practical implications need to promote integrated telehealth systems. While there is a benefit in extending telehealth to more preventative activities, there is also a need for greater service coordination and sharing of information between treating clinicians. Overall the results highlight telehealth consultations to be an effective means of treating well-known conditions and for follow-up rather than for acute conditions.