bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Taxonomic distribution of metabolic functions underpins nutrient cycling inTrichodesmiumconsortia
Authors: Koedooder Coco , Zhang Futing , Wang Siyuan , Basu Subhajit , Haley Sheean T. , Tolic Nikola , Nicora Carrie D. , del Rio Tijana Glavina , Dyhrman Sonya T. , Gledhill Martha , Boiteau Rene M. , Rubin-Blum Maxim , Shaked Yeala
Published: March 2023

The photosynthetic and diazotrophic cyanobacteriumTrichodesmiumis a key contributor to marine biogeochemical cycles in the subtropical-oligotrophic oceans.Trichodesmiumforms colonies that harbor a distinct microbial community, which expands their functional potential and is predicted to influence the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and iron (C, N, P, and Fe). To link key traits to taxa and elucidate how community structure influences nutrient cycling, we assessed Red SeaTrichodesmiumcolonies using metagenomics and metaproteomics. This diverse consortium comprises bacteria that typically associate with algae and particles, such as the ubiquitousAlteromonas macleodii,but also lineages specific toTrichodesmium, such as members from the order Balneolales. These bacteria carry functional traits that would influence resource cycling in the consortium, including siderophore biosynthesis, reduced phosphorus metabolism, vitamins, denitrification, and dissimilatory-nitrate-reduction-to-ammonium (DNRA) pathways. Denitrification and DNRA appeared to be modular as bacteria collectively completed the steps for these pathways. The vast majority of associated bacteria were auxotrophic for vitamins, indicating the interdependency of consortium members.Trichodesmiumin turn may rely on associated bacteria to meet its high Fe demand as several lineages can synthesize the photolabile siderophores vibrioferrin, rhizoferrin, and petrobactin, enhancing the bioavailability of particulate-Fe to the entire consortium. Our results highlight thatTrichodesmiumis a hotspot for C, N, P, Fe, and vitamin exchange. The functional redundancy of nutrient cycling in the consortium likely underpins its resilience within an ever-changing global environment.

Importance

Colonies of the cyanobacteriaTrichodesmiumact as a biological hotspot for the usage and recycling of key resources such as C, N, P and Fe within an otherwise oligotrophic environment. WhileTrichodesmiumcolonies are known to interact with a unique community of algae and particle-associated microbes, our understanding of the taxa that populate these colonies and the gene functions they encode is still limited. Characterizing the taxa and adaptive strategies that influence consortium physiology and its concomitant biogeochemistry is critical in a future ocean predicted to have increasing particulate fluxes and resource-depleted regions.
Coxiella burnetiiactively blocks IL-17-induced oxidative stress in macrophages
Authors: Clemente Tatiana M. , Augusto Leonardo , Angara Rajendra K. , Gilk Stacey D.
Published: March 2023

Coxiella burnetiiis a highly infectious pathogen that causes Q fever, a leading cause of culture-negative endocarditis.Coxiellafirst targets alveolar macrophages and forms a phagolysosome-like compartment called theCoxiella-ContainingVacuole (CCV). Successful host cell infection requires the Type 4B Secretion System (T4BSS), which translocates bacterial effector proteins across the CCV membrane into the host cytoplasm, where they manipulate numerous cell processes. Our prior transcriptional studies revealed thatCoxiellaT4BSS blocks IL-17 signaling in macrophages. Given that IL-17 is known to protect against pulmonary pathogens, we hypothesize thatC. burnetiiT4BSS downregulates intracellular IL-17 signaling to evade the host immune response and promote bacterial pathogenesis. Using a stable IL-17 promoter reporter cell line, we confirmed thatCoxiellaT4BSS blocks IL-17 transcription activation. Assessment of the phosphorylation state of NF-κB, MAPK, and JNK revealed thatCoxielladownregulates IL-17 activation of these proteins. Using ACT1 knockdown and IL-17RA or TRAF6 knockout cells, we next determined that IL17RA-ACT1-TRAF6 pathway is essential for the IL-17 bactericidal effect in macrophages. In addition, macrophages stimulated with IL-17 generate higher levels of reactive oxygen species, which is likely connected to the bactericidal effect of IL-17. However,C. burnetiiT4SS effector proteins block the IL-17-mediated oxidative stress, suggesting thatCoxiellablocks IL-17 signaling to avoid direct killing by the macrophages.

Importance

Bacterial pathogens are constantly evolving mechanisms to modulate the hostile host environment encountered during infection.Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, is a fascinating example of intracellular parasitism.Coxiellasurvives in a phagolysosome-like vacuole and uses the Dot/Icm type IVB secretion system (T4BSS) to deliver bacterial effector proteins into the host cell cytoplasm to manipulate several host cell functions. We recently demonstrated thatCoxiellaT4BSS blocks the IL-17 signaling in macrophages. Here, we found thatCoxiellaT4BSS inhibits IL-17 activation of the NF-κB and MAPK pathways and blocks IL-17-mediated oxidative stress. These findings reveal a novel strategy employed by intracellular bacteria to escape the immune response during initial stages of infection. Further identification of virulence factors involved in this mechanism will bring to light new therapeutic targets to prevent Q fever development into a chronic life-threatening endocarditis.
Human resources analytics: where do we go from here?
Authors: Bahuguna Prakash Chandra , Srivastava Rajeev , Tiwari Saurabh
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Human resource analytics (HRA) has developed as a new business trend and challenge, stressing the strategic relevance of human resource management (HRM) to senior management executives. HRA is a process that uses statistical techniques, to link HR practices to organizational performance. The purpose of this study is to carry out recent development in HRA, bibliometric analysis and content analysis to present a comprehensive account of HRA to fill the gap in the evolution and status of its research.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on the recent advances in HRA in terms of it evolution and advancement by analyzing and drawing conclusions 480 articles retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database from 2003 to March 2022. The methodology is divided into four steps: data collection, analysis, visualization and interpretation. The study performed a rigorous bibliometric assessment of HRA using the bibliometric R-package and VOS viewer.

Findings

The findings based on the literature survey, and bibliometric analysis, reveal the path-breaking articles, the prominent authors, most contributing institutions and countries that have contributed to the HRA scholarship. The results show that the number of publications has significantly increased from 2015 onwards, reaching a maximum of 101 journals in 2021. The USA, China, India, Canada and the United Kingdom were the most productive countries in terms of the total number of publications. Human Resource Management Journal, Human Resource Management, International Journal of Manpower, and Journal of Organizational Effectiveness-People and Performance are the top four academic outlets in the field of HRA. Additionally, the study identifies four clusters of HRA research and the knowledge gaps in HRA scholarship.

Research limitations/implications

The present study is based on the articles retrieved from the WoS. The study underpins HRA research to understand the trends and presents a structured account. However, the study is not free from limitations. It is recommended that future research could be undertaken by combining WoS and Scopus databases to have a more detailed and comprehensive view. This study indicates that the field is still in its infancy stage. Hence, there is a need for more arduous research on the topic to help develop a better understanding of this field.

Originality/value

The findings of knowledge clusters will drive future researchers to augment the field. The evolution of the four clusters and their subsequent development will fill the gaps in the literature. This study enriches the HRA literature and the findings of this study may assist academicians, researchers and managers in furthering their research in the identified research clusters
Developing a collection around transgender life-writing at Senate House Library, University of London
Authors: Leahy Amy
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this case study is to document the process of building a collection of works around transgender life-writing, following the identification of a significant gap in the existing collections.

Design/methodology/approach

This case study describes and evaluates a collection development project undertaken at Senate House Library, University of London. After evaluating four comparable case studies, guidelines were developed for acquisitions to the collection, based on subject, conservation needs and financial expense.

Findings

Twenty items were selected for the collection, dating from 1933 to 2015, including books and magazines in multiple languages. The items acquired for the collection push back against the genre’s traditional preoccupation with transition. Writers describe their experiences as a racing driver and fighter pilot (Roberta Cowell), an NGO director (A. Revathi), a Buddhist monk (Michael Dillon), a professional tennis player and ophthalmologist (Renée Richards), and a travel writer, journalist and mountaineer (Jan Morris).

Research limitations/implications

Challenges included setting the scope of the collection, and questions around the cataloguing and arrangement of materials.

Practical implications

Items acquired for the collection entered the library separately and were processed individually by the library’s cataloguing team as they arrived. Several issues arose during this stage of the project.

Social implications

To serve the needs of library users effectively, it is necessary to analyse the imbalances in collections as a routine practice.

Originality/value

The case study is original in focusing on a comparably small project with larger implications for the user experience and inclusivity of a library and its collections.
Corporate governance, financial transparency and currency devaluation shocks: evidence from Egypt
Authors: Hassaan Marwa , Salah Wafaa
Published: March 2023

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the association between corporate governance and financial transparency, using the moderating role of an Egyptian currency devaluation decision as a policy shock.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected for a sample of companies listed on the Egyptian stock exchange from 2014 to 2019. To control for time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity, the authors analyse panel data using an estimated generalised least squares regression model.

Findings

The findings underline the pitfalls of assuming that corporate governance mechanisms are effective regardless of circumstances and support the complementary roles of a number of theories in interpreting the empirical findings.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to non-financial companies and includes only corporate board and audit committee governance mechanisms. The study results have important implications for policymakers, international lending institutions, investors and accounting standards setters. It is of particular importance to policymakers in other less-developed countries with similar economic conditions.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first empirical attempt to provide evidence of the impact of a currency devaluation shock on the relationship between corporate governance and financial transparency within the Egyptian context as an example of a transitional economy. Hence, it provides a significant theoretical and empirical contribution to the literature.
Process monitoring and terminal verification of π–section girder cable-stayed bridge
Authors: Zhang Kexin , Li Dachao , Xue Xingwei
Published: March 2023

Purpose

In this paper, taking a p-section girder cable-stayed bridge as an example, the construction monitoring and load test of the bridge are implemented.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to ensure the safety of cable-stayed bridge structure in construction and achieve the internal force state of the completed bridge, the construction process is monitored for liner and stress of the p-section girder, construction error and safety state during construction. At the same time, to verify whether the bridge can meet the design requirements, the static and dynamic load tests are done.

Findings

The results of construction monitoring show that the stress state of the structure during construction is basically consistent with the theoretical calculation and design requirements. The final measured stress state of the structure is within the allowable range of the cable-stayed bridge, and the structural stress state is normal and meets the specification requirements. The load tests results show that the measured deflection of the midspan section of the main girder is less than the theoretical calculation value. The maximum deflection of the main girder is 48.03 mm, which is less than 54.25 mm of the theoretical value, indicating that the main girder has sufficient structural stiffness. Under the dynamic load test, the natural frequency of the three spans of the bridge is less than the theoretical frequency.

Originality/value

This study can provide important reference value for the construction and maintenance of similar p-section girder cable-stayed bridges.
Examining the negative relationship between length of stay at a hotel and customer satisfaction: evidence from online customer reviews
Authors: Kim Jong Min , Han Jeongsoo
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Studies that investigate the length of stay as a predictor of consumer post-purchase behavior are rare despite its importance in efficient hotel management. By analyzing online customer reviews, this study aims to fill this gap in the extant literature on the relationship between length of stay and customer satisfaction level.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected and used online review data on hotels in London for this study. A series of linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the effect of length of stay on customer satisfaction as measured by review ratings. The authors used the Mahalanobis matching approach to confirm the empirical findings.

Findings

This analysis shows that length of stay is negatively associated with customer satisfaction. Additionally, the authors find that this negative relationship is stronger in high-end hotels than in low-end hotels.

Research limitations/implications

The research findings contribute to the literature by shedding light on a new stream of research, namely, length of stay. Additionally, the research findings offer novel insights that could help hotel managers understand the trade-off between longer stays and customer satisfaction.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first few studies to show the systematic impact of length of stay on the valence of online review ratings, as well as the moderating effect of hotel levels by analyzing customer online reviews on hotel experiences.
Differences in fabric hand perceptions among Japanese and Chinese individuals
Authors: Ishikawa Tomoharu , Tsunetou Junki , Yanagida Yoshiko , Yanaka Mutsumi , Mitsui Minoru , Sasaki Kazuya , Ayama Miyoshi
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The study aimed to clarify differences in fabric hand perceptions among Japanese and Chinese participants and implement online shopping strategies that enable consumers to easily recognize fabric texture.

Design/methodology/approach

Forty (20 Japanese and 20 Chinese) participants knowledgeable about clothing and fabric were recruited. Participants evaluated fabric by sight and touch in a visuotactile experiment (VTE). The stimulus material comprised 39 fabric samples representing a broad range of fabric attributes (7 fibers, 5 weaving/knitting techniques and 3 yarn thicknesses and density). A Mann–WhitneyUtest and a factor analysis were conducted to determine differences in responses for the different fabric variables.

Findings

The fabric hand perceptions factors were similar between both groups. Japanese participants showed a stronger preference for fabrics that felt wet. Japanese participants’ fabric hand perceptions had a 3-factor structure, while Chinese participants had a 2-factor structure. Chinese participants regarded “crisp” as perceptually and linguistically equivalent to “stretchy.”

Originality/value

The study’s findings suggest that Chinese people have stronger preferences in fabrics than Japanese people do. Japanese people evaluate fabric hand in a more nuanced manner than Chinese individuals, including discerning different fabric attributes, such as fiber and yarn thickness and density. Thus, nationality may influence fabric hand perceptions more than fabric knowledge does. Specifically, in evaluating “crispness,” the results required further analysis because differences in nationality may have affected evaluations regarding perception and linguistic perspectives. The findings provide design guidelines for implementing online shopping strategies adapted to each participant group.
The need for a nursing specific patient safety definition, a viewpoint paper
Authors: Chatzi Anna V. , Malliarou Maria
Published: March 2023

Purpose

This viewpoint article discusses and analyses the need and benefits of a patient safety definition within the context of nursing.

Design/methodology/approach

This viewpoint article is supported by literature review, statutory documents and expert knowledge evidence. All these sources provided a unified narrative of the background, current aspects and future needs of patient safety.

Findings

The need for strengthening patient safety and the nurses' role within healthcare's actions towards patient safety are discussed. The predominant role of nurses due to the proportionate size and significant role along with the need for clarification of patient safety in nursing terms is recognised. Research evidence of nursing areas with safety issues and relevant nursing interventions are presented. Based on all findings, a research-based nursing specific patient safety definition is proposed. This definition includes three axes: what is patient harm, how this harm can be eliminated or reduced and which are the areas of nursing practice that are identified to provide opportunity for patient harm. These axes include nursing specifications of the patient safety definition.

Originality/value

It is the first time that a nurse specific patient safety definition is proposed. This definition strives to enhance nurse practitioners' understanding and engagement with patient safety by clarifying aspects of patient safety within everyday nursing practice.
The impact of knowledge management on the digital supply chain – a bibliometric literature review
Authors: Gagliardi Anna Roberta , Festa Giuseppe , Usai Antonio , Dell'Anno Davide , Rossi Matteo
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Using an abductive perspective, this study aims to review the scientific literature about the governance and management of the digital supply chain (DSC) in the context of the business organizations, providing an overview of the state of the art of the research and outlining a future research agenda with a knowledge management (KM) focus.

Design/methodology/approach

After investigating the Scopus database, 54 articles were identified as relevant and then subjected to an initial discernment. After this assessment, 34 articles focusing on operations management were further analyzed through both a bibliometric analysis and a content analysis.

Findings

The DSC represents a research area of increasing attention, with relevant contributions to several aspects of the field, as well as about KM. At the same time, the results show that the scientific literature on DSC models, solutions and applications is fragmented. Although the analysis has found a heterogeneous literature, two main streams of research seem to emerge: KM in the business culture development about DSC and KM in the business technological evolution about DSC.

Originality/value

Although there exists growing interest in the scientific community, or perhaps because of this, area of research remains fragmented and under-theorized, thus requiring more systematic studies considering both economic and social aspects of the DSC. This study aims to provide innovative insights about this evolution, especially highlighting the two main contributions of KM in DSCs that have been revealed (business culture development and business technological evolution).
Drivers for the implementation of modular construction systems in the AEC industry of developing countries
Authors: Bello Abdulkabir Opeyemi , Eje Doris Omonogwu , Idris Abdullahi , Semiu Mudasiru Abiodun , Khan Ayaz Ahmad
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The growing demand for housing and infrastructure, as well as the requirement for affordable housing, has been a significant factor, necessitating investigation for sustainable approaches and implementation of alternative construction innovations. Hence, this study aims to identify and assess the drivers for implementing modular construction systems (MCS) in developing countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts a quantitative research approach to seek respondents’ opinions on the factors that can drive the implementation of MCS in developing countries. Accordingly, a structured questionnaire was used as an instrument of data collection based on five Likert scales. The data was analysed using the mean score, one sample t-test, Kruskal–Wallis, factor analysis (FA) and Pearson correlation analysis.

Findings

Results show that 15 of the 16 major identified drivers were statistically significant towards implementing MCS, which indicates that the drivers are crucial for implementing MCS in developing countries. However, the Kruskal–Wallis test reveals that the respondents have varying opinions on the identified drivers. FA categorised the drivers into four categories, namely, “management and sustainability”, “key performance”, “know-how and logistics” and “regulations and policies”. A strong relationship among the four categories of drivers was established using Pearson correlation, which indicated that all the drivers’ categories are essential for implementing MCS in developing countries.

Originality/value

This study identified and assessed the drivers towards implementing MCS in developing countries. The study concludes that the identified drivers are essential for implementing MCS in developing countries. Also, the study considers the government the most placed player in driving the implementation of MCS in developing countries.
A two-regime analysis of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution process
Authors: Hegde Sharika J. , Mahmassani Hani , Smilowitz Karen
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework to evaluate and assess the performance of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution process that is sensitive to the unique supply-side and demand-side constraints exhibited in the US vaccine rollout.

Design/methodology/approach

A queuing framework that operates under two distinct regimes is formulated to analyze service rates that represent system capacity to vaccinate (under the first regime) and hesitancy-induced throughput (under the second regime). These supply- and hesitancy-constrained regimes form the focus of the present paper, as the former reflects the inherent ability of the nation in its various jurisdictions to mobilize, whereas the latter reflects a critical area for public policy to protect the population’s overall health and safety.

Findings

The two-regime framework analysis provides insights into the capacity to vaccinate and hesitancy-constrained demand, which is found to vary across the country primarily by politics and region. The framework also allows analysis of the end-to-end supply chain, where it is found that the ability to vaccinate was likely constrained by last-mile administration issues, rather than the capacity of the manufacturing and transportation steps of the supply chain.

Originality/value

This study presents a new framework to consider end-to-end supply chains as dynamic systems that exhibit different regimes because of unique supply- and demand-side characteristics and estimate rollout capacity and underlying determinants at the national, state and county levels.
Markowitz-based Shariah compliant portfolio model with stochastic purification and probabilistic compliance screening constraints
Authors: Puspita Dila , Kolkiewicz Adam , Tan Ken Seng
Published: March 2023

Purpose

One important study in the portfolio investment is the study of the optimal asset allocations. Markowitz is the pioneer of modern portfolio theory that analyses the performance of portfolio based on the mean (reward) and variance (risk). Motivated by the Markowitz's mean variance model, the purpose of this paper is to propose a new portfolio optimization model that takes into consideration both processes of purification and screening, which are key to constructing a Shariah-compliant portfolio. In practice, this paper introduces a stochastic purification variable and a probabilistic screening constraint into a portfolio model.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the authors study the stochastic nature of purification variable and apply it to both investment and dividend purification. Second, recognizing that the importance of on-going screening could adversely affect the portfolio strategy, the authors impose probabilistic constraints to control the risk of compliance change. They evaluate the proposed model by formulating the screening constraints at both asset and portfolio levels, together with three different financial screening divisors that are broadly used by the international Shariah boards. The authors also conduct an extensive empirical study using a sample of Shariah-compliant public companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.

Findings

Based on the empirical example presented in this paper, the authors found that the purification variable in the proposed model is closer to the practice in the Sharia capital market in terms of the nature of the non-constant data, and this variable reduces the total income of portfolio which has not been captured in the previous literature. The authors also have successfully derived the portfolio screening constraint to mitigate the risk of the asset change to be non-compliant in the future.

Originality/value

Based on the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that proposed the stochastic purification and the dynamic of screening processes into the Shariah portfolio model. This paper also examines the impact of non-short-selling, purification and screening policies to the performance of Shariah portfolio.
Liquid consumption and Islam: The Continual Drift Adjustment (CDA) framework
Authors: Allayarova Nilufar , Kadirov Djavlonbek , Krisjanous Jayne , Johnstone Micael-Lee
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the tendencies of liquid consumption in Muslim communities and analyse its impact on Muslims’ consumption practices from the holistic perspective. Liquid consumption refers to a transient and less-materialised mode of consumption that requires both minimal attachment to possessions and hybrid ownership.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper that is based on the distinction between Islam as a holistic perspective and Islamic practice as it is applied in different contexts and situations. The Continual Drift Adjustment (CDA) framework of Muslim consumers’ behaviour is developed to be deployed as an analysis framework.

Findings

The CDA framework maintains that some problematic cases of Muslim consumption behaviours indicate the drift towards disbalance. Depending on their nature, liquid consumption practices can have different impacts on the drift. Liquid consumption practices underscored by instrumental dissemblance, intellectual insecurity and spiritual scepticism intensify the drift, whereas the incorporation of spiritual sincerity, faithful submission and existential gratefulness into practices and behaviour helps to attenuate the drift.

Research limitations/implications

This research contributes to the theory of liquid consumption by incorporating the religious perspective. Liquid consumption in Islam is a complex area of research, specifically considering the ambivalent meanings of liquidity in Islamic thought.

Practical implications

Marketers of liquid consumption solutions must be aware of these offerings’ double-edged impact on the well-being of Muslim communities. Muslim consumers should be guided towards spiritual sincerity, faithful submission and existential gratefulness in the best way possible, although it must be noted that the customary techniques of marketing would lean towards stimulating the disbalance.

Originality/value

This research is unique because it deals with a topic that has not been researched in the Islamic marketing discipline to this date.
How do family and non-family ties affect knowledge sharing in SMEs in a developing country? Linking social capital and network strength
Authors: Ahomka Yeboah Moses
Published: March 2023

Purpose

This study aims to examine how differences in the strength of interpersonal ties affect the social structure of organisational family and non-family relationships and their implications for work-related interactions.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a quantitative approach. The hypotheses were tested using multi-group analysis in PLS-SEM as implemented in WarpPLS Version.

Findings

The results show that both family and non-family organisational members are inclined to ask from others whom they previously have given information, implying that reciprocity in work-related interactions in the workplace is present at the dyad level. Furthermore, the existing robust strength of ties among family employees facilitate a three-way relationship where each member is responsible for the quality of work-related interactions between other members. This means that triadic communication is only present within family networks. While, the absence of strong interpersonal ties within non-family network fuels the popularity effect, where non-family employees who are perceived to be knowledgeable tend to be approached by others for work-related information.

Originality/value

This study brings to the fore a nuanced perspective that complements our current understanding of the implications of social relationships within family and non-family employee groups on work-related interactions in the workplace. It provides clues on how family and non-family employees identify with the firm through their informal relational embeddedness towards work-related interactions within the organisation.
Typology of e-commerce shoppers: the case of COVID-19
Authors: Ramadan Zahy , Farah Maya , Abosag Ibrahim , Sleiman Alaa
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has drastically changed the entire market structure and shopping behaviors across the world. While shoppers rushed toward e-commerce platforms during the pandemic, the key debate that rose was on how this behavior will evolve post COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to explore the different categories of e-commerce platforms’ users and propose a distinctive customer typology in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory qualitative research design was adopted because of the novelty of the subject. In total, 43 participants were interviewed, including 27 consumers and 16 experts in the field of e-commerce.

Findings

Based on the findings, this study distinguishes between two stages of e-commerce usage during the pandemic. Furthermore, this study identifies four key typologies of e-commerce shoppers that are expected to form at the end of the coronavirus: duty-bound, e-watcher, makeshift and onli-vorous shoppers. The characteristics and businesses strategies pertaining to each of the identified groups are discussed.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is among the first to identify the different stages, while proposing an innovative typology of e-commerce platform post COVID-19. This study also offers useful recommendations to deal with similar future crises.
Sevoflurane‐induced P300 promotes neuron apoptosis via Sp1/CDK9 pathway
Authors: Zhou Xiaoqin , Liu Chuntong , Xia Daolin
Published: March 2023

Exposure to sevoflurane leads to serious neurological side effects, including neuronal apoptosis and cognitive impairment. In the mouse model, cyclin dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) was significantly downregulated after exposure to sevoflurane, but the effect of CDK9 on neuronal apoptosis and cognitive impairment after sevoflurane exposure has not been elucidated. Here, we found that the upregulation of P300 by sevoflurane in vitro and in vivo inhibited the expression of CDK9 and induced neuron apoptosis. The effect of sevoflurane on CDK9 expression is based on inhibition of its transcription process. P300 inhibited the binding of Sp1 to DNA by affecting the level of Sp1 acetylation, thereby inhibiting the expression of CDK9, cell‐cycle arrest and increasing neuron apoptosis. After the use of P300 inhibitor, the acetylation level of Sp1 decreased, thereby increasing binding in the CDK9 promoter region and exerting anti‐apoptosis effects. Mice exposed to sevoflurane using P300 inhibitor also showed decreased levels of apoptosis of cortical cells and a decrease in recent cognitive impairment. In summary, sevoflurane‐induced P300 inhibited activity of Sp1 by increasing Sp1 acetylation modification, down‐modulates CDK9 expression and promotes the occurrence of neuronal apoptosis.
Flying high: Sampling savanna vegetation with UAV‐lidar
Authors: Boucher Peter B. , Hockridge Evan G. , Singh Jenia , Davies Andrew B.
Published: March 2023

The flexibility of UAV‐lidar remote sensing offers a myriad of new opportunities for savanna ecology, enabling researchers to measure vegetation structure at a variety of temporal and spatial scales. However, this flexibility also increases the number of customizable variables, such as flight altitude, pattern, and sensor parameters, that, when adjusted, can impact data quality as well as the applicability of a dataset to a specific research interest.

To better understand the impacts that UAV flight patterns and sensor parameters have on vegetation metrics, we compared 7 lidar point clouds collected with a Riegl VUX − 1LR over a 300 × 300 m area in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. We varied the altitude (60 m above ground, 100 m, 180 m, and 300 m) and sampling pattern (slowing the flight speed, increasing the overlap between flightlines and flying a crosshatch pattern), and compared a variety of vertical vegetation metrics related to height and fractional cover.

Comparing vegetation metrics from acquisitions with different flight patterns and sensor parameters, we found that both flight altitude and pattern had significant impacts on derived structure metrics, with variation in altitude causing the largest impacts. Flying higher resulted in lower point cloud heights, leading to a consistent downward trend in percentile height metrics and fractional cover. The magnitude and direction of these trends also varied depending on the vegetation type sampled (trees, shrubs or grasses), showing that the structure and composition of savanna vegetation can interact with the lidar signal and alter derived metrics. While there were statistically significant differences in metrics among acquisitions, the average differences were often on the order of a few centimetres or less, which shows great promise for future comparison studies.

We discuss how these results apply in practice, explaining the potential trade‐offs of flying at higher altitudes and with alternate patterns. We highlight how flight and sensor parameters can be geared toward specific ecological applications and vegetation types, and we explore future opportunities for optimizing UAV‐lidar sampling designs in savannas.
How to generate accurate continuous thermal regimes from sparse but regular temperature measurements
Authors: von Schmalensee Loke
Published: March 2023

In ecology, there is an emerging emphasis on the importance of capturing temperature variation at relevant scales. Temperature fluctuates continuously in nature but is sampled at discrete time points, so how often should ecologists measure temperature to capture its variation? A recent development in thermal ecology is the use of spectral analysis of temperature time series to determine at what frequencies important temperature fluctuations occur. Building on this, I borrow from signal processing theory to show how continuous thermal regimes can be effectively reconstructed from discrete, regular, measurements, and provide a rule of thumb for designing temperature sampling schemes that capture ecologically relevant temporal variation.

I introduce sinc interpolation, a method for reconstructing continuous waveforms from discrete samples. Furthermore, I introduce the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem, which states that continuous complex waveforms can be perfectly sinc‐interpolated from discrete, regular, samples if sampling intervals are sufficiently short. To demonstrate the power of these concepts in an ecological context, I apply them to several published high‐resolved (15‐min intervals) temperature time series used for ecological predictions of insect development times. First, I use spectral analysis to illuminate the fluctuation frequencies that dominate the temperature data. Second, I employ sinc interpolation over artificially thinned versions of the temperature time series. Third, I compare interpolated temperatures with observed temperatures to demonstrate the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem and its relation to spectral analysis. Last, I repeat the ecological predictions using sinc‐interpolated temperatures.

Daily, and less frequent, fluctuations dominated the variation in all the temperature time series. Therefore, in accordance with the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem, 11‐h measurement intervals consistently retrieved most 15‐min temperature variation. Moreover, previous predictions of insect development times were improved by using sinc‐interpolated, rather than averaged, temperatures.

By identifying the highest frequency at which ecologically (or otherwise) relevant temperature fluctuations occur and applying the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem, ecologists (or others doing climate‐related research) can use sinc interpolation to produce remarkably accurate continuous thermal regimes from sparse but regular temperature measurements. Surprisingly, these concepts have remained largely unexplored in ecology despite their applicability, not least in thermal ecology.
Religion as a social determinant of women's cancer screening: Evidence from state level data for policy and resource allocation
Authors: Medcalfe Simon K. , Slade Catherine P. , Habegger Wendy
Published: March 2023

Religion as a Social Determinant of Health (SDOH) is established in relevant literature. The challenge is to translate the theoretical and empirical relationship between religion and health to practical applications and policymaking to build partnerships between state government entities and faith‐based organizations. Our manuscript focuses on the connection between adherence to religion and the pernicious public health problem of cancer in women. Using publicly available state level data and Ordinary Least Square regression analysis, we identify the SDOH, including adherence to religion, that are associated with state level rates of cancer screening for women. We confirm that states with higher levels of adherence to religion have higher rates of cancer screening for women including Pap smear and mammogram. Our results show that the magnitude of the effect of adherence to religion and state level rates of cancer screening for women is similar to that of other key SDOH. Our results provide state‐level targets for population health improvements that should be addressed with policy that recognizes and encourages partnerships with faith‐based organizations to improve health for women.
Assessing removal methods for controlling Dichrostachys cinerea encroachment and their impacts on plant communities in an East‐African savannah ecosystem
Authors: Utaile Yonas Ugo , Honnay Olivier , Cheche Simon Shibru , Helsen Kenny
Published: March 2023

Questions

Woody plant encroachment is known to adversely affect the biodiversity and functioning of savannah ecosystems, yet removal strategies have been shown to have variable success. Here, we evaluated the effectiveness of three woody removal methods or treatments for controlling the leguminous thorny shrub Dichrostachys cinerea, and assessed plant community responses following removal.

Location

Savannah plains of Nech Sar National Park, South‐Ethiopian rift valley.

Methods

Based on a total of seventy‐two 10 m × 10 m experimental plots spread across six blocks, we carried out: (a) stump burning; (b) stump application with glyphosate herbicide; and (c) mechanical uprooting on D. cinerea, and monitored the number, height, and thickness of resprouts and the number of resprouting stumps for two consecutive years. In addition, we surveyed all vascular plant species per plot for each removal method and control.

Results

We found that the uprooting treatment resulted in a higher number of resprouting stumps and lower number of resprouts, and a smaller resprout height and diameter. The fire treatment showed the greatest reduction in the number of resprouting stumps and resprouts, whereas glyphosate treatment showed intermediate results although resprout height and diameter were significantly greater compared with the uprooting treatment. Whereas plant species richness and diversity were higher in the fire treatment, they were adversely affected in the uprooting treatment.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate that none of the woody removal methods were effective enough to completely eradicate D. cinerea from the field trials after only one intervention, suggesting the need for follow‐up management actions considering their impacts on both woody encroachment and biodiversity restoration.
Neural stem cells transplantation combined with ethyl stearate improve PD rats motor behavior by promoting NSCs migration and differentiation
Authors: Huang Jiapei , Yi Lan , Yang Xiaoxiao , Zheng Qi , Zhong Jun , Ye Sen , Li Xican , Li Hui , Chen Dongfeng , Li Caixia
Published: March 2023

Background

In recent years, the ability of neural stem cells (NSCs) transplantation to treat Parkinson's disease (PD) has attracted attention. However, it is still a challenge to promote the migration of NSCs to the lesion site and their directional differentiation into dopaminergic neurons in PD. C‐C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) and C‐C motif chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) are expressed in the brain and are important regulators of cell migration. It has been reported that ethyl stearate (PubChem CID: 8122) has a protective effect in 6‐OHDA‐induced PD rats.

Methods

Parkinson's disease rats were injected with 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) into the right substantia nigra, and striatum followed by 8 μL of an NSC cell suspension containing 100 μM ethyl stearate and 8 × 105 cells in the right striatum. The effect of transplantation NSCs combined with ethyl stearate was assessed by evaluating apomorphine (APO)‐induced turning behavior and performance in the pole test. Quantitative real‐time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR), Western blotting (WB), and immunofluorescence staining were also performed.

Results

NSCs transplantation combined with ethyl stearate ameliorated the behavioral deficits of PD rats. PD rats that received transplantation NSCs combined with ethyl stearate exhibited increased expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and an increased number of green fluorescent protein (GFP)‐positive cells. Furthermore, GFP‐positive cells migrated into the substantia nigra and differentiated into dopaminergic neurons. The expression of CCL5 and CCR5 was significantly increased after transplantation NSCs combined with ethyl stearate.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that NSCs transplantation combined with ethyl stearate can improve the motor behavioral performance of PD rats by promoting NSCs migration from the striatum to the substantia nigra via CCL5/CCR5 and promoting the differentiation of NSCs into dopaminergic neurons.
IRCM‐Caps: An X‐ray image detection method for COVID‐19
Authors: Qiu Shuo , Ma Jinlin , Ma Ziping
Published: March 2023

Objective

COVID‐19 is ravaging the world, but traditional reverse transcription‐polymerase reaction (RT‐PCR) tests are time‐consuming and have a high false‐negative rate and lack of medical equipment. Therefore, lung imaging screening methods are proposed to diagnose COVID‐19 due to its fast test speed. Currently, the commonly used convolutional neural network (CNN) model requires a large number of datasets, and the accuracy of the basic capsule network for multiple classification is limital. For this reason, this paper proposes a novel model based on CNN and CapsNet.

Methods

The proposed model integrates CNN and CapsNet. And attention mechanism module and multi‐branch lightweight module are applied to enhance performance. Use the contrast adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) algorithm to preprocess the image to enhance image contrast. The preprocessed images are input into the network for training, and ReLU was used as the activation function to adjust the parameters to achieve the optimal.

Result

The test dataset includes 1200 X‐ray images (400 COVID‐19, 400 viral pneumonia, and 400 normal), and we replace CNN of VGG16, InceptionV3, Xception, Inception‐Resnet‐v2, ResNet50, DenseNet121, and MoblieNetV2 and integrate with CapsNet. Compared with CapsNet, this network improves 6.96%, 7.83%, 9.37%, 10.47%, and 10.38% in accuracy, area under the curve (AUC), recall, and F1 scores, respectively. In the binary classification experiment, compared with CapsNet, the accuracy, AUC, accuracy, recall rate, and F1 score were increased by 5.33%, 5.34%, 2.88%, 8.00%, and 5.56%, respectively.

Conclusion

The proposed embedded the advantages of traditional convolutional neural network and capsule network and has a good classification effect on small COVID‐19 X‐ray image dataset.
Convergence of carbon sink magnitude and water table depth in global wetlands
Authors: Li Jinquan , Jiang Mingkai , Pei Junmin , Fang Changming , Li Bo , Nie Ming
Published: March 2023

Wetlands are strategic areas for carbon uptake, but accurate assessments of their sequestration ability are limited by the uncertainty and variability in their carbon balances. Based on 2385 observations of annual net ecosystem production from global wetlands, we show that the mean net carbon sinks of inland wetlands, peatlands and coastal wetlands are 0.57, 0.29 and 1.88 tons of carbon per hectare per year, respectively, with a mean value of 0.57 tons of carbon per hectare per year weighted by the distribution area of different wetland types. Carbon sinks are mainly in Asia and North America. Within and across wetland types, we find that water table depth (WTD) exerts greater control than climate‐ and ecosystem‐related variables, and an increase in WTD results in a stronger carbon sink. Our results highlight an urgent need to sustain wetland hydrology under global change; otherwise, wetlands are at high risk of becoming carbon sources to the atmosphere.