bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Snake River alfalfa virus, a tentative endornavirus infecting alfalfa (Medicago sativaL.) in Washington State, USA
Authors: Postnikova Olga A. , Irish Brian M. , Eisenback Jonathan , Nemchinov Lev G.
Published: November 2022

Here we report, for the first time, an occurrence of Snake River alfalfa virus (SRAV) in Washington state, USA. SRAV was recently identified in alfalfa (Medicago sativaL.) plants and western flower thrips in south-central Idaho and proposed to be a first flavi-like virus identified in a plant host. We argue that the SRAV, based on its abundance in alfalfa plants, genome structure, presence in alfalfa seeds, and seed-mediated transmission is a member of theEndornaviridaefamily.
Enrichment of charge-absent regions in phase separated proteins
Authors: Nicolaou Sonia T. , Verma Chandra S. , Warwicker Jim
Published: November 2022

Many studies focus on the relationship between protein charge and liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), generally finding that a large degree of charge neutralisation is involved for condensate formation. Here, sequences within human proteins that lack the charge-bearing residues Asp, Glu, Lys, and Arg (termed charge-absent) are analysed alongside annotation for involvement in LLPS. Scaffold proteins, central to condensate formation, on average possess longer charge-absent regions than those not key for LLPS. Charge-absent regions tend to have relatively high hydropathy scores. Overall, they are enriched in Ala, Gly, Pro, and Ser with more specific groupings evident when the subset is clustered by amino acid composition. For several proteins, segments with charge-absent regions have been identified as modulators of LLPS. It is hypothesised that for at least some of the charge-absent regions, a lack of charged group desolvation energy, together with a relatively hydrophobic sequence composition, may facilitate condensation through homomeric interactions. If this is the case, it should be relatively easy to modulate through incorporation of charge through engineering, potentially including pH-sensing.
An integrated Bayesian framework for multi-omics prediction and classification
Authors: Mallick Himel , Porwal Anupreet , Saha Satabdi , Basak Piyali , Svetnik Vladimir , Paul Erina
Published: November 2022

With the growing commonality of multi-omics datasets, there is now increasing evidence that integrated omics profiles lead to the more efficient discovery of clinically actionable biomarkers that enable better disease outcome prediction and patient stratification. Several methods exist to perform host phenotype prediction from crosssectional, single-omics data modalities but decentralized frameworks that jointly analyze multiple time-dependent omics data to highlight the integrative and dynamic impact of repeatedly measured biomarkers are currently limited. In this article, we propose a novel Bayesian ensemble method to consolidate prediction by combining information across several longitudinal and cross-sectional omics data layers. Unlike existing frequentist paradigms, our approach enables uncertainty quantification in prediction as well as interval estimation for a variety of quantities of interest based on posterior summaries. We apply our method to four published multi-omics datasets and demonstrate that it recapitulates known biology in addition to providing novel insights while also outperforming existing methods in estimation, prediction, and uncertainty quantification. Our open-source software is publicly available athttps://github.com/himelmallick/IntegratedLearner.
C-low threshold mechanoreceptor activation becomes sufficient to trigger affective pain in spinal cord-injured mice in association with increased respiratory rates
Authors: Noble Donald J. , Dongmo Rochinelle , Parvin Shangrila , Martin Karmarcha K. , Garraway Sandra M.
Published: November 2022

The mechanisms of neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury (SCI) are not fully understood. In addition to the plasticity that occurs within the injured spinal cord, peripheral processes, such as hyperactivity of primary nociceptors, are critical to the expression of pain after SCI. In adult rats, truncal stimulation within the tuning range of C-low threshold mechanoreceptors (C-LTMRs) contributes to pain hypersensitivity and elevates respiratory rates (RRs) after SCI. This suggests that C-LTMRs, which normally encode pleasant, affiliative touch, undergo plasticity to transmit pain sensation following injury. Because tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression is a specific marker of C-LTMRs, in the periphery, here we used Th-Cre adult mice to investigate more specifically the involvement of C-LTMRs in at-level pain after thoracic contusion SCI. Using a modified light-dark chamber conditioned place aversion (CPA) paradigm, we assessed chamber preferences and transitions between chambers at baseline, and in response to mechanical and optogenetic stimulation of C-LTMRs. In parallel, at baseline and select post-surgical timepoints, mice underwent non-contact RR recordings and von Frey assessment of mechanical hypersensitivity. The results showed that SCI mice avoided the chamber associated with C-LTMR stimulation, an effect that was more pronounced with optical stimulation. They also displayed elevated RRs at rest and during CPA training sessions. Importantly, these changes were restricted to chronic post-surgery timepoints, when hindpaw mechanical hypersensitivity was also evident. Together, these results suggest that C-LTMR afferent plasticity, coexisting with a potentially facilitatory state of sympathetic activation, drives at-level affective pain following SCI in adult mice.

Contribution to the field statement

Preclinical studies have only recently sought to understand biological mechanisms connecting peripheral afferent neuron hypersensitivity to pain. Using mechanical brush and selective optogenetic activation in transgenic mice, this study investigated the role of an implicated subpopulation of sensory afferents, the C-low threshold mechanoreceptors (C-LTMRs), that may be transformed from pleasurable touch- to pain-encoding neurons after spinal cord injury (SCI). C-LTMR activation after SCI evoked at-level conditioned pain responses associated with sympathetic activation (increased respiratory rates). These studies provide a foundation for research into the peripheral afferent mechanisms of pain that is expected to translate into new options for pain control in humans.
Awakening adult neural stem cells: NOX signalling as a positive regulator of quiescence to proliferation transition in theXenopusretina
Authors: Donval A. , Hernandez Puente CV , Lainé A. , Roman D. , Vessely R. , Leclercq J. , Perron M. , Locker M.
Published: November 2022

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are both harmful molecules sustaining the pathogenesis of several diseases and essential modulators of cell behaviours. In particular, a growing wealth of data suggest that ROS-dependent signalling pathways might be critical in conferring embryonic or adult stem cells their specific properties. However, how stem cells control ROS production and scavenging, and how ROS in turn contribute to stemness remain poorly understood. Using theXenopusretina as a model system, we first investigated the redox status of retinal stem cells (RSCs). We discovered that they exhibit higher ROS levels compared to progenitors and retinal neurons and express a set of specific antioxidant genes. We next addressed the question of ROS functional involvement in these cells. Using pharmacological or genetic tools, we demonstrate that inhibition of NADPH oxidase (NOX)-dependent ROS production increases the proportion of quiescent RSCs. This is surprisingly accompanied by an apparent acceleration of the mean division speed within the remaining proliferating pool. Our data further unveil that such impact on RSC cell cycling is achieved by modulation of the Wnt/Hedgehog signalling balance. Altogether, we highlight that RSCs exhibit distinctive redox characteristics and exploit NOX signalling to limit quiescence and fine-tune their proliferation rate.
The Cousa objective: a long working distance air objective for multiphoton imagingin vivo
Authors: Yu Che-Hang , Yu Yiyi , Adsit Liam M. , Chang Jeremy T. , Barchini Jad , Moberly Andrew H. , Benisty Hadas , Kim Jinkyung , Young Brent K. , Heng Kathleen , Farinella Deano M. , Leikvoll Austin , Pavan Rishaab , Vistein Rachel , Nanfito Brandon R. , Hildebrand David G. C. , Otero-Coronel Santiago , Vaziri Alipasha , Goldberg Jeffrey L. , Ricci Anthony J. , Fitzpatrick David , Cardin Jessica A. , Higley Michael J. , Smith Gordon B. , Kara Prakash , Nielsen Kristina J. , Smith Ikuko T. , Smith Spencer LaVere
Published: November 2022

Multiphoton microscopy can resolve fluorescent structures and dynamics deep in scattering tissue, but applying this techniquein vivocan be limited by short working distance water-immersion objectives. Here we present an ultra long working distance (20 mm) air objective called the Cousa objective. It is optimized for performance across multiphoton imaging wavelengths, offers a > 4 mm2field-of-view with submicron lateral resolution, and is compatible with commonly used multiphoton imaging systems. We share the full optical prescription, and report performance includingin vivo2-photon and 3-photon imaging in a range of species and preparations.
A jasmonate-responsive ERF transcription factor regulates steroidal glycoalkaloid biosynthesis genes in eggplant
Authors: Shoji Tsubasa , Saito Kazuki
Published: November 2022

Steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) are a class of cholesterol-derived anti-nutritional defense compounds that are produced in species of the genusSolanum, such as tomato (S. lycopersicum), potato (S. tuberosum), and eggplant (S. melongena). However, the regulation of defense-related metabolites in eggplant remains underexplored. In tomato and potato, the JASMONATE-RESPONSIVE ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR 4 (JRE4) transcription factor positively regulates a large number of genes involved in SGA biosynthesis. Here, we report that overexpression of eggplantJRE4(SmJRE4) induces numerous metabolic genes involved in SGA biosynthesis in leaves. We demonstrate jasmonate-dependent induction ofSmJRE4and its downstream metabolic genes and show that ethylene treatment attenuates this induction. Our findings thus provide molecular insights into SGA biosynthesis and its regulation in this major crop.
Immunogenicity of non-canonical HLA-I tumor ligands identified through proteogenomics
Authors: Lozano-Rabella Maria , Garcia-Garijo Andrea , Palomero Jara , Yuste-Estevanez Anna , Erhard Florian , Martín-Liberal Juan , de Olza Maria Ochoa , Matos Ignacio , Gartner Jared J. , Ghosh Michael , Canals Francesc , Vidal August , Piulats Josep Maria , Matias-Guiu Xavier , Braña Irene , Muñoz-Couselo Eva , Garralda Elena , Schlosser Andreas , Gros Alena
Published: November 2022

Tumor antigens are central to antitumor immunity. Recent evidence suggests that peptides from non-canonical (nonC) aberrantly translated proteins can be presented on HLA-I by tumor cells. Here, we investigated the immunogenicity of nonC tumor HLA-I ligands (nonC-TL) to better understand their contribution to cancer immunosurveillance and their therapeutic applicability. Using proteogenomics, we identified 517 nonC-TL from 9 patients with melanoma, gynecological, and head and neck cancer. We found no recognition of the 507 nonC-TL tested by autologousex vivoexpanded tumor reactive T-cell cultures while the same cultures demonstrated reactivity to mutated, cancer-germline, or melanocyte differentiation antigens. However,in vitrosensitization of donor peripheral blood lymphocytes against 170 selected nonC-TL, led to the identification of T-cell receptors (TCRs) specific to three nonC-TL, two of which mapped to the 5’ UTR regions of HOXC13 and ZKSCAN1, and one mapping to a non-coding spliced variant of C5orf22C. T cells targeting these nonC-TL recognized cancer cell lines naturally presenting their corresponding antigens. Expression of the three immunogenic nonC-TL was shared across tumor types and barely or not detected in normal cells. Our findings predict a limited contribution of nonC-TL to cancer immunosurveillance but demonstrate they may be attractive novel targets for widely applicable immunotherapies.
Biomechanics of Finger Pad Response under Torsion
Authors: de Dunilac Sophie du Bois , Bulens David Córdova , Lefèvre Philippe , Redmond Stephen J. , Delhaye Benoit P.
Published: November 2022

Surface skin deformation of the finger pad during partial slippage at finger-object interfaces elicits tactile feedback. During object manipulation, torque is often present, which can cause partial slippage. Until now, studies of surface skin deformation have used stimuli sliding on rectilinear tangential trajectories.

Here we studied surface skin dynamics under torsion. A custom robotic platform stimulated the finger pad with a flat transparent surface, controlling the normal forces and rotation speeds applied while monitoring the contact interface using optical imaging.

We observed the characteristic pattern by which partial slips develop, starting at the periphery of the contact and propagating towards its centre, and the resulting surface strains. The 20-fold range of normal forces and angular velocities used highlights the effect of those parameters on the resulting torque and skin strains. While normal force increases the contact area, generated torque, strains, and twist angle required to reach full slip, angular velocity increases loss of contact at the periphery and strain rates (although not total strains). We also discuss the surprisingly large inter-individual variability in skin biomechanics, notably observed in the twist angle the stimulus needed to rotate before reaching full slip.
Choice of friction coefficient deeply affects tissue behaviour in epithelial vertex models
Authors: Guerrero Pilar , Perez-Carrasco Ruben
Published: November 2022

To understand the mechanisms that coordinate the formation of biological tissues, the use of numerical implementations is necessary. The complexity of such models involves many assumptions and parameter choices that result in unpredictable consequences, obstructing the comparison with experimental data. Here we focus on vertex models, a family of spatial models used extensively to simulate the dynamics of epithelial tissues. Usually, in the literature, the choice of the friction coefficient is not addressed using quasi-static deformation arguments that generally do not apply to realistic scenarios. In this manuscript, we discuss the role that the choice of friction coefficient has on the relaxation times and consequently in the conditions of cell cycle progression and division. We explore the effects that these changes have on the morphology, growth rate, and topological transitions of the tissue dynamics. These results provide a deeper understanding of the role that an accurate mechanical description plays in the use of vertex models as inference tools.
Reconstruction algorithms for grain mapping by laboratory X-ray diffraction contrast tomography
Authors: Fang Haixing , Ludwig Wolfgang , Lhuissier Pierre
Published: November 2022

X-ray-based non-destructive 3D grain mapping techniques are well established at synchrotron facilities. To facilitate everyday access to grain mapping instruments, laboratory diffraction contrast tomography (LabDCT), using a laboratory-based conical polychromatic X-ray beam, has been developed and commercialized. Yet the currently available LabDCT grain reconstruction methods are either ill-suited for handling a large number of grains or require a commercial licence bound to a specific instrument. To promote the availability of LabDCT, grain reconstruction methods have been developed with multiple reconstruction algorithms based on both forward and back calculations. The different algorithms are presented in detail and their efficient implementation using parallel computing is described. The performance of different reconstruction methods is assessed on synthetic data. The code to implement all the described algorithms has been made publicly accessible with the intention of fostering the development of grain mapping techniques on widely available laboratory instruments.
Lean and agile supply chain strategies: the role of mature and emerging information technologies
Authors: Oliveira-Dias Diessica de , Maqueira Marín Juan Manuel , Moyano-Fuentes José
Published: November 2022

Purpose

The significant changes that supply chains (SCs) are undergoing and the emergence of disruptive technologies have led to a growing effort to integrate novel and mature technologies into existing SC strategies. Thus, this study investigates the relationships between mature information technologies (ITs), emerging IT and the lean supply chain (LSC) and agile supply chain (ASC) strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical study based on structural equation modeling of survey data from 256 Spanish focal companies has been conducted to test six hypotheses.

Findings

Drawing on resource orchestration, our results point to mature IT use being an enabler of both LSC and ASC strategy implementation. The results also show an LSC mediating effect on the relationship between mature IT and ASC when SCs follow both strategies. Also, the implementation of emerging IT requires a process of consolidation over time to be genuinely useful as a facilitating mechanism for developing both the lean and agile strategies along the SC. In this sense, a suitable mix needs to be orchestrated between emerging and mature IT.

Originality/value

This study sheds light on the relevance of the mature IT and emerging IT in the context of two SC strategies (lean/agile) and provides practical and theoretical implications.
Explaining job satisfaction through the use of work–familybenefits and their impact on the employee’s family context
Authors: Gutiérrez Vargas Liliana María , Alegre Joaquin , Pasamar Susana
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This study analyses the relationship between the use of work–family benefits and job satisfaction (JS). Furthermore, it proposes that work-to-family conflict (WFC) and work-to-family enrichment (WFE) play a mediating role in this relationship. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are gathered from 1,051 employees of Colombian organisations. Partial least squares path modelling is used.

Findings

The results show that the perception of WFE to a greater extent and the WFC perception, to a lesser extent, are significant mediators in the relationship between the use of benefits and JS.

Practical implications

This study justifies investments and initiatives on the adoption and promotion of work–family benefits. Moreover, it provides practical clues on how to boost JS: WFC and WFE are variables to be considered.

Originality/value

This study proposes a multiple mediation model to analyse the relationship between the actual use of work–family benefits and JS from a family perspective. It contributes to the literature in examining antecedents of JS, highlighting the role of WFE.
Sport sponsorship as a booster for customer engagement: the role of activation, authenticity and attitude
Authors: Schönberner Jan , Woratschek Herbert
Published: November 2022

Purpose

In marketing research, it is widely acknowledged that customer engagement leads to higher reputation, lower costs and increased revenues for firms. However, there are still open questions on how sport sponsorship can drive customer engagement. It is hypothesized that sponsors' activations correlate with customer engagement toward the sponsor. Specifically, the roles of sponsorship authenticity and attitudes toward the sponsor have received little attention in this context. Accordingly, this study aims to test the effects of sponsors' activations on customer engagement disposition (CED) and customer engagement behavior (CEB) by considering the roles of sponsorship authenticity and attitudes toward the sponsor.

Design/methodology/approach

An online experiment with a factorial between-subjects design with 529 total participants was conducted. Data were analyzed through analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and binary regression analysis.

Findings

Sponsors' activations can lead to positive or negative CEB, depending on how sport consumers evaluate the activation. Sponsorship authenticity reduces or enhances CEB following a sponsor's activation. Moreover, consumers' prior attitudes toward the sponsor influence the relationship between sponsors' activations and CED. The findings further showed that CED leads to CEB.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the sport sponsorship literature by empirically proving that sponsors' activations increase customer engagement toward the sponsors. Moreover, this is the first study testing consequences of sponsors' activations in relation to sponsorship authenticity and consumers' attitudes. Furthermore, the authors enrich the customer engagement literature by discussing the sponsors' activations as a marketing strategy to increase customer engagement and consequently firms' performance.
How enabling and coercive control systems influence individuals’ behaviors? Analysis under the lens of construal level theory
Authors: Santos Vanderlei dos , Beuren Ilse Maria
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This stud aims to analyze the influence that the enabling and coercive management control systems (MCS) have on the individuals’ mental representations and their commitment to goals, satisfaction with the system and perceived organizational support. Under the lens of the construal level theory (CLT), it is assumed that: individuals exhibit more positive behaviors when the MCS is enabling rather than coercive; the effects of MCS on the behavior of individuals are explained by the way they mentally represent events; and these effects are intensified or mitigated according to the psychological distance.

Design/methodology/approach

The predictions were tested in an experiment with 131 undergraduate students, assuming a company that decides to implement a performance measurement system.

Findings

The results show that enabling MCS are interpreted more abstractly (high level of construction) and coercive MCS are represented more concretely (low level of construction). Furthermore, enabling systems lead to more positive behaviors (commitment to goals and perceived organizational support) than coercive ones, however, the satisfaction with the MCS is affected by both depending on psychological distance.

Originality/value

The CLT allowed broadening the understanding of the effects of enabling and coercive controls on individuals’ behavior, by assuming that mental representation can explain individuals’ behaviors. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to point out that temporal distance can attenuate the negative effects of coercive MCS on satisfaction with the system.
Shaping circular economy in the built environment in Africa. A bibliometric analysis
Authors: Mhlanga Jacob , Haupt Theodore C. , Loggia Claudia
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the intellectual structure shaping the circular economy (CE) discourse within the built environment in Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a bibliometric analysis approach to explore the intellectual structure of CE in the built environment in Africa. The authors collected 31 papers published between 2005 and 2021 from the Scopus database and used VOSviewer for data analysis.

Findings

The findings show that there are six clusters shaping the intellectual structure: demolition, material recovery and reuse; waste as a resource; cellulose and agro-based materials; resilience and low-carbon footprint; recycling materials; and the fourth industrial revolution. The two most cited scholars had three publications each, while the top journal was Resources, Conservation and Recycling. The dominant concepts included CE, sustainability, alternative materials, waste management, lifecycle, demolition and climate change. The study concludes that there is low CE research output in Africa, which implies that the concept is either novel or facing resistance.

Research limitations/implications

The data were drawn from one database, Scopus; hence, adoption of alternative databases such as Web of Science, Google Scholar and Dimensions could potentially have yielded a higher number of articles for analysis which potentially would result in different conclusions on the subject understudy.

Originality/value

This study made a significant contribution by articulating the CE intellectual structure in the built environment, identified prominent scholars and academic platforms responsible for promoting circularity in Africa.
The formation and preservation of behavioral integration in the top management team of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Authors: Mendenhall Mark E. , Butler Frank C. , Roundy Philip T. , Ehat Andrew F.
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to study the formation and preservation of behavioral integration (BI) in the top management team (TMT) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1844 to the present.

Design/methodology/approach

An analytically structured history approach within a case exemplar framework is adopted. Theoretical insights are extrapolated from the case study to form a process model of BI formation and preservation in TMTs.

Findings

The findings reveal that three factors primarily influence BI creation (induction, education and cementation) and that BI is preserved via an iterative process that is driven by CEO conservatorship, intentional mentoring and social modeling.

Originality/value

This study investigates an unexplored area in upper echelons theory: the process by which BI is formed and preserved in TMTs and presents a process model of BI formation and preservation that shifts attention in the literature from analyses of the effect of BI on various organizational outcomes to how it can be formed in the first place and then preserved.
Links between reading acquisition level, emotional difficulties and academic performance in school-aged children
Authors: Ihbour Said , Essaidi Oumaima , Laaroussi Meriem , Najimi Mohamed , Chigr Fatiha
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This study aims to examine the associations between reading difficulties, anxiety and depressive symptoms, self-esteem status and academic achievement among children of school age in the Moroccan context.

Design/methodology/approach

This cross-sectional study was carried out on 302 Moroccan students aged 9 to 16 years, the latter having voluntarily participated in the different stages of the proposed assessments. Standardized reading tests administered individually allowed us to classify participants into three groups (good readers, intermediate level and weak readers). The subjects completed the measurements of three self-evaluative scales: the Beck depression inventory, the Coopersmith scale of self-esteem and the Taylor questionnaire of manifest anxiety. The variable of academic achievement is constituted by calculating the grade point averages of the last three semesters.

Findings

Emotional disturbances are more frequent in the “weak readers” and the “intermediate level” group when compared to the good readers. Academic achievement and reading level are negatively correlated with anxious-depressive symptoms and positively with self-esteem at each reading level; the analysis of the results does not show any relevant difference in terms of the psychopathological disorder intensity between girls and boys.

Research limitations/implications

This study emphasizes improving education and psychological support for learners. It also encourages the strengthening of strategies for dealing with learning disabilities and the emotional distress associated with them.

Practical implications

The trend toward an inclusive school and the recruitment of school psychologists is advantages to be considered in the Moroccan educational system.

Originality/value

In addition to psychopathological vulnerability and academic failure, the social and family dimensions of self-esteem are impaired in weak readers.
Consumer response to celebrity transgression: investigating the effects of celebrity gender and past transgressive and philanthropic behaviors using real celebrities
Authors: Rifon Nora J. , Jiang Mengtian , Wu Shuang
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This study aims to develop and test a new research model of consumer response to celebrity transgression. It examines the effects of celebrity past transgression and philanthropic histories in influencing consumer acceptance (i.e. forgiveness and blame) of a single celebrity transgression behavior and the subsequent endorsement potential of the transgressed celebrity. It also examines consumer acceptance of celebrity transgressions from the gender perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

By using real celebrities, this study conducted a 2 (transgression history: high vs low) × 2 (philanthropic history: high vs low) × 2 (celebrity gender: male vs female) between-subject online experiment with 823 US young adults.

Findings

Results showed that forgiving (blaming) the transgressed celebrity was positively (negatively) associated with the celebrity’s endorsement potential. Transgression history had a significantly negative indirect effect on endorsement potential via its negative effect on forgiveness and positive effect on blame. Philanthropic history mitigated the negative indirect effect of transgression history on endorsement potential only for male celebrities, not female celebrities.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the current human brand and celebrity transgression literature and fills the research gap by using real male and female celebrities to incorporate the real history of celebrities as determinants of consumer judgment of celebrity transgression. This study also makes its unique contributions by focusing on the celebrity-related outcomes and demonstrating the moderating roles of past philanthropic behaviors and celebrity gender for their potential to mitigate the negative effects of transgression history on consumer responses to a single transgression.
How can innovation district performance be assessed? Insights from South East Queensland, Australia
Authors: Adu McVie Rosemary Sokalamis , Yigitcanlar Tan , Erol Isil , Xia Bo
Published: November 2022

Purpose

Many cities across the world are actively investing in ways to excel in the innovation economy through the development of innovation districts as one of the most popular policy options. While innovation districts are among the leading drivers of innovation activities in cities, they are also high-cost and high-risk investments. Besides, holistic approaches for assessing these districts’ multifaceted performances are scarce. Bridging this knowledge gap is critical, hence, this paper aims to explore how innovation district performance can be assessed through a classification framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper introduces a multidimensional innovation district classification framework and applies it into Australian innovation districts with divergent features, functions, spatial and contextual characteristics. The study places 30 innovation districts from South East Queensland under the microscope of the framework to assess the multifaceted nature of innovation district performance. It uses qualitative analysis method to analyse both the primary and secondary data, and descriptive analysis with basic excel spreadsheet calculations to analyse the validity of the data.

Findings

The data analysis clusters 30 innovation districts from South East Queensland under three performance levels – i.e. desired, acceptable and unsavoury – concerning their form, feature and function characteristics.

Originality/value

The results disclose that the framework is a practical tool for informing planners, developers and managers on innovation district performances, and it has the capability to provide guidance for policymakers on their policy and investment decisions regarding the most suitable innovation district types and characteristics to consider.
The role of information for the customer journey in mobile food ordering apps
Authors: Rita Paulo , Eiriz Vasco , Conde Beatriz
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This study aims to determine how to influence the customer journey of mobile food ordering applications (MFOAs) users. It researches how available information could influence customers’ intention to use MFOAs platforms in the prepurchase stage and explores the potential of personalized information to improve customer satisfaction with these services in the postpurchase stage.

Design/methodology/approach

This research followed a mixed design, combining qualitative (focus groups) and quantitative (online survey) research and using both content analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling.

Findings

Two types of available information (firm-generated information and online customer reviews) had a positive influence on the behavioral intention to use MFOAs. Additionally, findings showed that different web personalization strategies, namely, content personalization, functional personalization and system-driven personalization, were useful tools to create customer satisfaction with this type of platform.

Research limitations/implications

The study discusses limitations regarding the sample and sampling process, indicator variables and measures.

Practical implications

The present research provides actionable insights for online food delivery providers.

Originality/value

This study addresses a research gap in the literature and provides a novel and richer understanding of customer behavior toward mobile food delivery platforms. Also, it adds to the personalization research by identifying and testing a range of web personalization strategies.
When individual action requires collective approval: a roadmap for solar power adoption by strata property owners
Authors: Charters Ben , Heffernan Troy , Daly Matthew
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to examine a situation in which individual action requires collective approval – solar power adoption in strata properties – and offers a motivation-opportunity-ability theory-based model with which such a situation may be approached.

Design/methodology/approach

A Delphi methodology was undertaken for this study, with three iterative questionnaires administered online to a panel of strata property, renewable energy and sustainable housing experts.

Findings

The Delphi panel’s insights have informed a new conceptual model, the Strata Solar Champion Roadmap (SSCR), outlining the variables affecting strata-based solar power adoption.

Research limitations/implications

Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to test and enhance the model’s generalisability. Further case studies or quantitative analysis measuring the strength of the relationships identified in the SSCR model is particularly necessary. The SSCR could also be applied when examining other common strata governance disputes.

Practical implications

Policymakers and social marketers are encouraged to apply the SSCR when planning interventions to facilitate strata scheme solar power adoption. Furthermore, the SSCR offers guidance to strata property owners and strata schemes seeking to adopt solar power, thus increasing renewable energy use in a major sector of the Australian energy market.

Originality/value

Within this context, the SSCR’s conceptualisation of strata-based solar PV adoption provides new insights into individual behaviour change requiring collective approval.
Researchingwithplaces: on using engaged scholarship in marketing
Authors: Steadman Chloe , Millington Steve
Published: November 2022

Purpose

As a core element of the marketing mix, place is of central concern within marketing. Yet existing literature typically presents accounts of research about rather than with places. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to argue that engaged scholarship can help academics, practitioners, policymakers and communities to work collaboratively to solve place-based “wicked problems”. Specifically, this paper focuses on high street revitalisation, a challenge frustrating policymakers and communities since the 1980s.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on a mixed-method research project conducted with place-based stakeholders in Manchester, the UK, to discuss the benefits and challenges arising through an engaged scholarship approach.

Findings

The authors outline several benefits to engaged scholarship, including forming tailored solutions to place-based problems, engendering trust and ongoing research partnerships and generating real-world impact beyond the academy. However, the authors also draw attention to the challenges including political sensitivities within places, additional layers of scrutiny and challenges to dissemination arising through partnership working with organisations external to the university.

Originality/value

Whereas a range of techniques have been used to research places within marketing, engaged scholarship is lacking. This paper, therefore, provides first-hand insights into the benefits and challenges that the authors experienced using the approach. This is of significance because of the rising importance of generating real-world impact within the academy, which the authors feel requires more institutional support. This paper also suggests Van de Ven’s diamond model of engaged scholarship extends to encompass issues of research governance.
Landscape‐scale drivers of liana load across a Southeast Asian forest canopy differ to the Neotropics
Authors: Waite Catherine E. , van der Heijden Geertje M. F. , Field Richard , Burslem David F. R. P. , Dalling James W. , Nilus Reuben , Rodríguez‐Ronderos M. Elizabeth , Marshall Andrew R. , Boyd Doreen S.
Published: November 2022

Lianas (woody vines) are a key component of tropical forests, known to reduce forest carbon storage and sequestration and to be increasing in abundance. Analysing how and why lianas are distributed in forest canopies at landscape scales will help us determine the mechanisms driving changes in lianas over time. This will improve our understanding of liana ecology and projections of tropical forest carbon storage now and into the future. Despite competing hypotheses on the mechanisms driving spatial patterning of lianas, few studies have integrated multiple tree‐level biotic and abiotic factors in an analytical framework. None have done so in the Palaeotropics, which are biogeographically and evolutionarily distinct from the Neotropics, where most research on lianas has been conducted.

We used an unoccupied aerial system (UAS; drone) to assess liana load in 50‐ha of Palaeotropical forest canopy in Southeast Asia. We obtained data on hypothesised drivers of liana spatial distribution in the forest canopy, including disturbance, tree characteristics, soil chemistry and topography, from the UAS, from airborne LiDAR and from ground surveys. We integrated these in a comprehensive analytical framework to extract variables at an individual‐tree level and evaluated the relative strengths of the hypothesised drivers and their ability to predict liana distributions through boosted regression tree (BRT) modelling.

Tree height and distance to canopy gaps were the two most important predictors of liana load, with relative contribution values in BRT models of 34.60%–45.39% and 7.93%–10.19%, respectively. Our results suggest that taller trees were less often and less heavily infested by lianas than shorter trees, opposite to Neotropical findings. Lianas also occurred more often, and to a greater extent, in tree crowns close to canopy gaps and to neighbouring trees with lianas in their crown.

Synthesis. Despite their known importance and prevalence in tropical forests, lianas are not well understood, particularly in the Palaeotropics. Examining 2428 trees across 50‐ha of Palaeotropical forest canopy in Southeast Asia, we find support for the hypothesis that canopy gaps promote liana infestation. However, we also found that liana presence and load declined with tree height, which is opposite to well‐established Neotropical findings. This suggests a fundamental difference between Neotropical and Southeast Asian forests. Considering that most liana literature has focused on the Neotropics, this highlights the need for additional studies in other biogeographic regions to clarify potential differences and enable us to better understand liana impacts on tropical forest ecology, carbon storage and sequestration.
The role of Australian local government in economic development: Building international engagement capacity
Authors: Walker Matthew , Fan Shea X. , Huang Xueli , Bartram Timothy
Published: November 2022

Sister city relationships (SCRs) are a platform through which local governments (LGs) engage internationally. Increasingly, there is an expectation that such international engagement delivers economic opportunities and returns. Many LGs are therefore pursuing local economic development (LED) through their SCRs. Drawing on a national survey of Australian LGs (stage 1) and interviews with key council staff and stakeholders in five LG areas maintaining Australia–China SCRs (stage 2), this paper contributes to growing literature on LED by examining how LGs have developed their own capacities and supported local small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage internationally. Our findings reveal insights into how Australian LGs have achieved international engagement through two strategies that leverage their SCRs, namely building government's capabilities and developing SMEs’ capabilities. This paper contributes new insights into the evolving role of LGs in LED, including both current experimentation, challenges, and future opportunities.

Points for practitioners

A growing number of Australian local governments pursue LED through their Chinese sister city relationships.

Supporting the internationalisation of SMEs is an emerging component of local government pursuit of LED.

International engagement of local governments has necessitated enhanced capacities in human, external, and financial resources.

Findings highlight the unique and often overlooked role of local‐to‐local diplomatic and economic relations.
Precautionary versus Signalling Motive of Share Repurchases: Evidence from Policy Uncertainty and the COVID‐19 Crisis
Authors: Chen Zhong , Lei Zicheng , Xia Chunling
Published: November 2022

Using policy‐related uncertainty as a shock to firms’ internal and external financing frictions, we find significantly lower repurchase likelihoods, short‐term market reactions, and post‐announcement completion rates of open market share repurchases during periods of high policy uncertainty. Firms are more likely to switch from a high‐ to a low‐commitment repurchase technique when policy uncertainty is high. In contrast, for firms that are significantly undervalued ex ante, higher policy uncertainty leads to more repurchase activities. In addition, we show that the COVID‐19 crisis is associated with a lower repurchase likelihood for financially constrained firms or those with high cash flow volatility, while undervalued firms repurchased more shares during the pandemic period. Our results are robust after controlling for potential sources of endogeneity and conducting a battery of robustness tests. Collectively, our evidence suggests that the relationship between uncertainty and share repurchases is conditional on institutional contexts. Firms’ level of financial flexibility, their demand for signalling, and the credibility and magnitude of repurchase signals all significantly affect their precautionary and signalling motives.
Conceptualising informal institutions: Drawing on the case of guanxi
Authors: Barbalet Jack
Published: November 2022

Institutions regulate social life through formal rules and sanctions. These are distinguished from another source of social regulation, the informal incentives and constraints inherent in cultural currents and customary practices. Informal practices may be based not simply on cultural forces, though, but expectations regularised by informal rules and sanctions, which may operate as informal institutions. One approach holds that informal institutions arise out of formal institutional voids. Another holds that informal institutions operate in response to situations in which formal institutions frustrate the interests of individuals and groups who engage informal institutions to augment, compromise, or subvert formal institutions. After developing the concept of informal institution, the article goes on to indicate how an informal relationship pervasive in modern China, guanxi, may be understood as an informal institution. It is shown that by drawing on the case of guanxi the scope of the concept informal institution can be extended and also that our understanding of guanxi is enriched when the concept of informal institution is applied to its analysis.
Documentation dynamics: Note composition, burden, and physician efficiency
Authors: Apathy Nate C. , Rotenstein Lisa , Bates David W. , Holmgren A. Jay
Published: November 2022

Objective

To analyze how physician clinical note length and composition relate to electronic health record (EHR)‐based measures of burden and efficiency that have been tied to burnout.

Data Sources and Study Setting

Secondary EHR use metadata capturing physician‐level measures from 203,728 US‐based ambulatory physicians using the Epic Systems EHR between September 2020 and May 2021.

Study Design

In this cross‐sectional study, we analyzed physician clinical note length and note composition (e.g., content from manual or templated text). Our primary outcomes were three time‐based measures of EHR burden (time writing EHR notes, time in the EHR after‐hours, and EHR time on unscheduled days), and one measure of efficiency (percent of visits closed in the same day). We used multivariate regression to estimate the relationship between our outcomes and note length and composition.

Data Extraction

Physician‐week measures of EHR usage were extracted from Epic's Signal platform used for measuring provider EHR efficiency. We calculated physician‐level averages for our measures of interest and assigned physicians to overall note length deciles and note composition deciles from six sources, including templated text, manual text, and copy/paste text.

Principal Findings

Physicians in the top decile of note length demonstrated greater burden and lower efficiency than the median physician, spending 39% more time in the EHR after hours (p < 0.001) and closing 5.6 percentage points fewer visits on the same day (p < 0.001). Copy/paste demonstrated a similar dose/response relationship, with top‐decile copy/paste users closing 6.8 percentage points fewer visits on the same day (p < 0.001) and spending more time in the EHR after hours and on days off (both p < 0.001). Templated text (e.g., Epic's SmartTools) demonstrated a non‐linear relationship with burden and efficiency, with very low and very high levels of use associated with increased EHR burden and decreased efficiency.

Conclusions

“Efficiency tools” like copy/paste and templated text meant to reduce documentation burden and increase provider efficiency may have limited efficacy.
What can be done to improve diagnosis of aortic dissection?
Authors: Kelly Anne‐Maree , Lee Xiu Qing , Curran Justin
Published: November 2022

Aortic dissection (AD) is rare. Missed AD is a common reason for coronial investigations and civil claims for medical negligence. Recommendations include improved education, supervision and information transfer, reminders in chest pain pathways and higher rates of investigation for AD. Higher investigation rates pose risks to patients and the health system which may not be in balance with the likelihood of AD. The appropriate diagnostic yield of investigation to balance risk and benefit has not been defined. The AD detection risk score pathway has been proposed as a useful diagnostic tool but concerns about its derivation, validation and utility remain. In this paper, we try to draw together published literature and local audit data to develop recommendations about what might be done to reduce the number of missed AD cases in EDs and what the impact of higher investigation rates might be.