bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SRGP-1/srGAP and AFD-1/Afadin stabilize HMP-1/α-Catenin at rosettes to seal internalization sites following gastrulation inC. elegans
Authors: Serre Joel M. , Slabodnick Mark M. , Goldstein Bob , Hardin Jeff
Published: November 2022

A hallmark of gastrulation is the establishment of germ layers by internalization of cells initially on the exterior. InC. elegansthe end of gastrulation is marked by the closure of the ventral cleft, a structure formed as cells internalize during gastrulation, and the subsequent rearrangement of adjacent neuroblasts that remain on the surface. We found that a nonsense allele ofsrgp-1/srGAPleads to 10-15% cleft closure failure. Deletion of the SRGP-1 C-terminal domain led to a comparable rate of cleft closure failure, whereas deletion of the N-terminal F-BAR region resulted in milder defects. Loss of the SRGP-1 C-terminus or F-BAR domain results in defects in rosette formation and defective clustering of HMP-1/α-catenin in surface cells during cleft closure. A mutant form of HMP-1 with an open M domain can suppress cleft closure defects insrgp-1mutant backgrounds, suggesting that this mutation acts as a gain-of-function allele. Since SRGP-1 binding to HMP-1 is not favored in this case, we sought another HMP-1 interactor that might be recruited when HMP-1 is constitutively open. A good candidate is AFD-1/Afadin, which genetically interacts with cadherin-based adhesion later during embryonic elongation. AFD-1 is prominently expressed at the vertex of neuroblast rosettes in wildtype, and depletion of AFD-1/Afadin increases cleft closure defects insrgp-1andhmp-1R551/554Abackgrounds. We propose that SRGP-1 promotes nascent junction formation in rosettes; as junctions mature and sustain higher levels of tension, the M domain of HMP-1 opens, allowing maturing junctions to transition from recruitment of SRGP-1 to AFD-1. Our work identifies new roles for α-catenin interactors during a process crucial to metazoan development.
The role of the cerebellum in learning to predict reward: evidence from cerebellar ataxia
Authors: Nicholas Jonathan , Amlang Christian , Lin Chi-Ying R. , Montaser-Kouhsari Leila , Desai Natasha , Pan Ming-Kai , Kuo Sheng-Han , Shohamy Daphna
Published: November 2022

Recent findings in animals have challenged the traditional view of the cerebellum solely as the site of motor control, suggesting that the cerebellum may also be important for learning to predict reward from trial-and-error feedback. Yet, evidence for the role of the cerebellum in reward learning in humans is lacking. Moreover, open questions remain about which specific aspects of reward learning the cerebellum may contribute to. Here we address this gap through an investigation of multiple forms of reward learning in individuals with cerebellum dysfunction, represented by cerebellar ataxia cases. Nineteen participants with cerebellar ataxia and 57 age- and sex-matched healthy controls completed two separate tasks that required learning about reward contingencies from trial-and-error. To probe the selectivity of reward learning processes, the tasks differed in their underlying structure: while one task measured incremental reward learning ability alone, the other allowed participants to use an alternative learning strategy based on episodic memory alongside incremental reward learning. We found that individuals with cerebellar ataxia were profoundly impaired at reward learning from trial-and-error feedback on both tasks, but retained the ability to learn to predict reward based on episodic memory. These findings provide evidence from humans for a specific and necessary role for the cerebellum in incremental learning of reward associations based on reinforcement. More broadly, the findings suggest that alongside its role in motor learning, the cerebellum likely operates in concert with the basal ganglia to support reinforcement learning from reward.
Reliable detection of eczema areas for fully automated assessment of eczema severity from digital camera images
Authors: Attar Rahman , Hurault Guillem , Wang Zihao , Mokhtari Ricardo , Pan Kevin , Olabi Bayanne , Earp Eleanor , Steele Lloyd , Williams Hywel C. , Tanaka Reiko J.
Published: November 2022

Assessing the severity of eczema in clinical research requires face-to-face skin examination by trained staff. Such approaches are resource-intensive for participants and staff, challenging during pandemics, and prone to inter- and intra-observer variation. Computer vision algorithms have been proposed to automate the assessment of eczema severity using digital camera images. However, they often require human intervention to detect eczema lesions and cannot automatically assess eczema severity from real-world images in an end-to-end pipeline.

We developed a new model to detect eczema lesions from images using data augmentation and pixel-level segmentation of eczema lesions on 1345 images provided by dermatologists. We evaluated the quality of the obtained segmentation compared to that of the clinicians, the robustness to varying imaging conditions encountered in real-life images, such as lighting, focus, and blur and the performance of downstream severity prediction when using the detected eczema lesions. The quality and robustness of eczema lesion detection increased by approximately 25% and 40%, respectively, compared to our previous eczema detection model. The performance of the downstream severity prediction remained unchanged.
Pharmacological modulators of epithelial immunity uncovered by synthetic genetic tracing of SARS-CoV-2 infection responses
Authors: Jiang Ben , Schmitt Matthias Jürgen , Rand Ulfert ,   Carlos Company, Grossman Melanie , Serresi Michela , Cicin-Sain Luka , Gargiulo Gaetano
Published: November 2022

Epithelial immune responses govern tissue homeostasis and offer drug targets against maladaptation. Here, we report a framework to generate drug discovery-ready reporters of cellular responses to viral infection. We reverse engineered epithelial cell responses to SARS-CoV-2, the viral agent fueling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and designed synthetic transcriptional reporters whose molecular logic comprises interferon-α/β/γ-, and NF-κB pathways. Such regulatory potential reflected single-cell data from experimental models to severe COVID-19 patient epithelial cells infected by SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2, type-I interferons, and RIG-I drive reporter activation. Live-cell-image-based phenotypic drug screens identified JAK inhibitors and DNA damage inducers as antagonistic modulators of epithelial cell response to interferons, RIG-I stimulation, and SARS-CoV-2. Synergistic or antagonistic modulation of the reporter by drugs underscored their similar mechanism of action. Thus, this study describes a tool for dissecting antiviral responses to infection and sterile cues, and a rapid approach to other emerging viruses of public health concern in order to discover rational drug combinations.
Salicylic acid-related ribosomal protein CaSLP improves drought andPst. DC3000tolerance in pepper
Authors: Zhang Huafeng , Pei Yingping , ul Haq Saeed , Khan Abid , Chen Rugang
Published: November 2022

The ribosomal protein SA plays an essential role in multiple aspects and is involved in plant growth and response to various stresses. Drought threatens pepper yield and quality. However, the resistance mechanism of pepper in response to drought are complex and not yet fully understood. Here, we describe the role ofCaSLPin mediating pepper tolerance to drought stress. we found thatCaSLPwas highly expressed under drought and salicylic acid (SA) stress, and CaSLP was localized in cell nucleus and cytomembrane. Knockout ofCaSLPgene significantly decreased the pepper drought tolerance, while transient expression ofCaSLPleads to drought tolerance in pepper, and overexpression of theCaSLPdramatically increased the drought stress tolerance in Arabidopsis. Furthermore, exogenous spring salicylic acid enhanced drought tolerance. The characterization of resistance molecular mechanisms in the Pseudomonas syringae pv.TomatoDC3000 (Pst.DC3000) is of great significance for the pepper yield and quality, we found thatCaSLP-knockdown pepper plants demonstrated decreasedPst.DC3000tolerance, whereas ectopic expression of theCaSLPincreased thePst.DC3000stress tolerance in Arabidopsis. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) results showed that CaNAC035 physically interacts with CaSLP in the cell nucleus, and theCaNAC035was identified as an upstream partner of theCaPR1promoter and activated the transcription. Taken together, our data demonstrated thatCaSLPplays an essential role in the regulation of drought stress. Our study elucidates the roles ofCaSLPresponse to drought stress tolerance. Furthermore, a possible regulatory model and molecular mechanisms under drought stress is proposed.
Actin filaments accumulate in the nucleus during interphase and remain in the vicinity of condensing chromosomes during prophase to metaphase in zebrafish early embryos
Authors: Oda Haruka , Sato Yuko , Kawashima Shigehiro A. , Fujiwara Yusuke , Pálfy Máté , Wu Edlyn , Vastenhouw Nadine L. , Kanai Motomu , Kimura Hiroshi
Published: November 2022

In the cytoplasm, filamentous actin (F-actin) plays a critical role in cell regulation, including cell migration, stress fiber formation, and cytokinesis. Recent studies have shown that actin filaments that form in the nucleus are associated with diverse functions. Here, using live imaging of an F-actin-specific probe, superfolder GFP-tagged utrophin (UtrCH-sfGFP), we demonstrated the dynamics of nuclear actin in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. In early zebrafish embryos up to around the high stage, UtrCH-sfGFP increasingly accumulated in nuclei during the interphase and reached a peak during the prophase. After nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD), patches of UtrCH-sfGFP remained in the vicinity of condensing chromosomes during the prometaphase to metaphase. When zygotic transcription was inhibited by injecting α-amanitin, the nuclear accumulation of UtrCH-sfGFP was still observed at the sphere and dome stages, suggesting that zygotic transcription may induce a decrease in nuclear F-actin. The accumulation of F-actin in nuclei may contribute to proper mitotic progression of large cells with rapid cell cycles in zebrafish early embryos, by assisting in NEBD, chromosome congression, and/or spindle assembly.

Summary statement

Filamentous actin accumulates in the nucleus of zebrafish early embryos and forms patches associating with condensing chromosomes during prophase.
Metagenome-based metabolic modelling predicts unique microbial interactions in deep-sea hydrothermal plume microbiomes
Authors: Kuppa Baskaran Dinesh Kumar , Umale Shreyansh , Zhou Zhichao , Raman Karthik , Anantharaman Karthik
Published: November 2022

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are abundant on the ocean floor and play important roles in ocean biogeochemistry. In vent ecosystems such as hydrothermal plumes, microorganisms rely on reduced chemicals and gases in hydrothermal fluids to fuel primary production and form diverse and complex microbial communities. However, microbial interactions that drive these complex microbiomes remain poorly understood. Here, we use microbiomes from the Guaymas Basin hydrothermal system in the Pacific Ocean to shed more light on the key species in these communities and their interactions. We built metabolic models from metagenomically assembled genomes (MAGs) and infer possible metabolic exchanges and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events within the community. We highlight possible archaea–archaea and archaea–bacteria interactions and their contributions to robustness of the community. Cellobiose, D-Mannose 1-phosphate, O2, CO2, and H2S were among the most exchanged metabolites. Ten microbes, including eight bacteria and two archaea, were identified as key contributors. These microorganisms uniquely enhanced the metabolic capabilities of the community by donating metabolites that cannot be produced by any other community member. Archaea from the DPANN group stood out as key microbes, benefiting significantly from accepting metabolites from other members of the microbiome. Amino acids were the key auxotrophy driving metabolic interactions in the community. Finally, over 200 horizontal gene transfer events were predicted in the community, the majority of which were betweenGammaproteobacteriaandAlphaproteobacteria. Overall, our study provides key insights into the microbial interactions that drive community structure and organisation in complex hydrothermal plumes and deep-sea microbiomes.
Hydrodynamic and anthropogenic disturbances co-shape microbiota rhythmicity and community assembly within intertidal groundwater-surface water continuum
Authors: Zhao Ze , Zhang Lu , Zhang Guoqing , Gao Han , Chen Xiaogang , Li Ling , Ju Feng
Published: November 2022

Tidal hydrodynamics drive the groundwater-seawater exchange and shifts in microbiota structure in the coastal zone. However, how the coastal water microbiota structure and assembly patterns respond to periodic tidal fluctuations and anthropogenic disturbance remain unexplored in the intertidal groundwater-surface water (GW-SW) continuum, although it affects biogeochemical cycles and coastal water quality therein. Here, through hourly time-series sampling in the saltmarsh tidal creek, rhythmic patterns of microbiota structure in response to daily and monthly tidal fluctuations in intertidal surface water are disentangled for the first time. The similarity in archaeal community structures between groundwater and ebb-tide surface water (R2=0.06,p=0.2) demonstrated archaeal transport through groundwater discharge, whereas multi-source transport mechanisms led to unique bacterial biota in ebb-tide water. Homogeneous selection (58.6%-69.3%) dominated microbiota assembly in the natural intertidal GW-SW continuum and the presence of 157 rhythmic ASVs identified at ebb tide and 141 at flood tide could be attributed to different environmental selection between groundwater and seawater. For intertidal groundwater in the tidal creek affected by anthropogenically contaminated riverine inputs, higher microbial diversity and shift in community structure were primarily controlled by increased co-contribution of dispersal limitation and drift (jointly 57.8%) and enhanced microbial interactions. Overall, this study fills the knowledge gaps in the tide-driven water microbial dynamics in coastal transition zone and the response of intertidal groundwater microbiota to anthropogenic pollution of overlying waters. It also highlights the potential of microbiome analysis in enhancing coastal water quality monitoring and identifying anthropogenic pollution sources (e.g., aquaculture pathogenicVibrio) through the detection of rhythmic microbial variances associated with intertidal groundwater discharge and seawater intrusion.
A method to adjust for the uncertainty of predicted expression in transcriptome-wide association study
Authors: Majumdar Arunabha , Haldar Tanushree
Published: November 2022

Transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) is a powerful approach to identifying novel genes associated with complex phenotypes. Standard TWAS approaches build a prediction model for the genetic component of expression based on reference transcriptome data. Next, an outcome is regressed on the predicted expression in separate GWAS data. The traditional TWAS approach disregards the uncertainty of predicted expression, which can lead to unreliable inference on gene-phenotype associations. We propose a novel approach to adjust for the uncertainty of predicted expression in TWAS. We adapt techniques from measurement error theory and implement bootstrapping algorithms for penalized regression to explicitly obtain an adjustment factor that needs to be incorporated in the unadjusted TWAS. We base the framework on adaptive Lasso. We use extensive simulations to show that the traditional TWAS inflates the type I error rate, whereas the adjusted TWAS adequately controls it. At the expense of an inflated false positive rate, the unadjusted TWAS offers a limited increase in power than the adjusted TWAS, which is statistically unjustified. Our approach produces more accurate estimates of the gene’s effect size than a traditional approach. We demonstrate the merits of the adjusted approach by conducting TWAS for height and lipid phenotypes, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides while integrating the Geuvadis transcriptome and UK Biobank GWAS data.
Whole-cortex in situ sequencing reveals peripheral input-dependent cell type-defined area identity
Authors: Chen Xiaoyin , Fischer Stephan , Rue Mara CP , Zhang Aixin , Mukherjee Didhiti , Kanold Patrick O , Gillis Jesse , Zador Anthony M
Published: November 2022

The cortex is composed of neuronal types with diverse gene expression that are organized into specialized cortical areas. These areas, each with characteristic cytoarchitecture (Brodmann 1909; Vogt and Vogt 1919; Von Bonin 1947), connectivity (Zingg et al. 2014; Harris et al. 2019), and neuronal activity (Schwarz et al. 2008; Ferrarini et al. 2009; He et al. 2009; Meunier et al. 2010; Bertolero et al. 2015), are wired into modular networks (Zingg et al. 2014; Harris et al. 2019; Huang et al. 2020). However, it remains unclear whether cortical areas and their modular organization can be similarly defined by their transcriptomic signatures and how such signatures are established in development. Here we used BARseq, a high-throughputin situsequencing technique, to interrogate the expression of 104 cell type marker genes in 10.3 million cells, including 4,194,658 cortical neurons over nine mouse forebrain hemispheres at cellular resolution.De novoclustering of gene expression in single neurons revealed transcriptomic types that were consistent with previous single-cell RNAseq studies(Yao et al. 2021a; Yao et al. 2021b). Gene expression and the distribution of fine-grained cell types vary along the contours of cortical areas, and the composition of transcriptomic types are highly predictive of cortical area identity. Moreover, areas with similar compositions of transcriptomic types, which we defined as cortical modules, overlap with areas that are highly connected, suggesting that the same modular organization is reflected in both transcriptomic signatures and connectivity. To explore how the transcriptomic profiles of cortical neurons depend on development, we compared the cell type distributions after neonatal binocular enucleation. Strikingly, binocular enucleation caused the cell type compositional profiles of visual areas to shift towards neighboring areas within the same cortical module, suggesting that peripheral inputs sharpen the distinct transcriptomic identities of areas within cortical modules. Enabled by the high-throughput, low-cost, and reproducibility of BARseq, our study provides a proof-of-principle for using large-scalein situsequencing to reveal brain-wide molecular architecture and to understand its development.
A novel pathway of functional microRNA uptake and mitochondria delivery
Authors: Liu Jiachen , Li Weili , Li Jianfeng , Song Eli , Liang Hongwei , Rong Weiwei , Jiang Xinli , Xu Nuo , Wang Wei , Qu Shuang , Zhang Yujing , Zhang Chen-Yu , Zen Ke
Published: November 2022

Extracellular miRNAs serve as signal molecules in the recipient cells. Uptake of extracellular miRNAs by the recipient cells and their intracellular transport, however, remains elusive. Here we show RNA phase separation as a novel pathway of miRNA uptake. In the presence of serum, synthetic miRNAs rapidly self-assembly into ∼110nm discrete nanoparticles which enable miRNAs’ entry into different cells. Depleting serum cationic proteins prevents the formation of such nanoparticles and thus blocks miRNA uptake. Different from lipofectamine-mediated miRNA transfection in which the majority of miRNAs are in lysosomes of transfected cells, nanoparticles-mediated miRNA uptake predominantly delivers miRNAs into mitochondria in a polyribonucleotide nucleotidyltransferase 1-dependent manner. Functional assays further show that the internalized miR-21 via miRNA phase separation enhances mitochondrial translation of Cytochrome b, leading to increase in ATP and ROS reduction in HEK293T cells. Our findings reveal a previously unrecognized mechanism for uptaking and delivering functional extracellular miRNAs into mitochondria.

Synopsis

RNA phase separation-based extracellular miRNA uptake and PNPT1-mediated mitochondrial delivery of internalized miRNAs

miRNAs can self-assembly into ∼110nm nanoparticles to enter various cells in the presence of serum

miRNA phase separation is mediated by serum cationic proteins

Internalized miRNAs via this nanoparticle pathway are predominantly delivered to mitochondria

Mitochondrial delivery of the internalized miRNAs is mediated by PNPT1
ShigellaipaA mediates actin bundling through diffusible vinculin oligomers with activation imprint
Authors: Valencia-Gallardo Cesar , Aguilar-Salvador Daniel-Isui , Khakzad Hamed , Cocom-Chan Benjamin , Bou-Nader Charles , Velours Christophe , Zarrouk Yosra , Le Clainche Christophe , Malosse Christian , Lima Diogo Borges , Quenech’Du Nicole , Mazhar Bilal , Essid Sami , Fontecave Marc , Asnacios Atef , Chamot-Rooke Julia , Malmström Lars , Van Nhieu Guy Tran
Published: November 2022

Upon activation, vinculin reinforces cytoskeletal anchorage during cell adhesion. Activating ligands classically disrupt intramolecular interactions between the vinculin head and tail domain that binds to actin filaments. Here, we show thatShigellaIpaA triggers major allosteric changes in the head domain leading to vinculin homo-oligomerization. Through the cooperative binding of its three vinculin-binding sites (VBSs), IpaA induces a striking reorientation of the D1 and D2 head subdomains associated with vinculin oligomerization. IpaA thus acts as a catalyst producing vinculin clusters that bundle actin at a distance from the activation site and trigger the formation of highly stable adhesions resisting the action of actin relaxing drugs. Unlike canonical activation, vinculin homo-oligomers induced by IpaA appear to keep a persistent imprint of the activated state in addition to their bundling activity, accounting for stable cell adhesion independent of force transduction and relevant to bacterial invasion.
Human cerebrospinal fluid sample preparation and annotation for integrated lipidomics and metabolomics profiling studies
Authors: Hooshmand Kourosh , Xu Jin , Simonsen Anja Hviid , Wretlind Asger , de Zawadzki Andressa , Sulek Karolina , Hasselbalch Steen Gregers , Legido-Quigley Cristina
Published: November 2022

Objective

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based lipidomics and metabolomics approaches play an essential role in identifying molecular profiles and relevant clinical biomarkers associated with diseases. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a metabolically diverse biofluid and a key specimen for exploring biochemical changes in neurodegenerative diseases because its composition reflects brain metabolic activity. CSF lipidomics is receiving increasing attention owing to the importance of lipids in brain molecular signaling and their association with several neurological diseases. Detecting lipid species in CSF using MS-based techniques remains challenging because lipids are highly complex in structure and their concentrations span over a broad dynamic range. This work aimed to develop a robust lipidomics and metabolomics method based on commonly used two-phase extraction systems from human CSF samples.

Methods

Prioritizing lipid detection, biphasic extraction methods, Folch, Bligh & Dyer (B&D), Matyash and acidified Folch and B&D (aFolch and aB&D), were compared using 150 μl of human CSF samples (n=6) for the simultaneous extraction of lipids and metabolites with a wide range of polarity in a single extraction. Multiple chromatographical separation approaches, including reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC), hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC), and gas chromatography (GC), were utilized to characterize human CSF metabolome through MS-based untargeted approaches.

Results

A total of 219 lipids across 12 lipid subclasses were identified in CSF samples using RPLC-MS/MS. The aB&D method was found as the most reproducible technique (RSD <15%) for lipid extraction. We found remarkable differences in extraction efficiencies among the five different procedures. The aB&D and B&D yielded the highest peak intensities for targeted lipid internal standards and displayed superior extracting power for major endogenous lipid classes. A total of 674 unique metabolites with a wide polarity range were annotated in CSF using, combining RPLC-MS/MS (n=219), HILIC-MS/MS (n=304) and GC-QTOF MS (n=151).

Conclusions

Overall, our findings show that the aB&D extraction method provided suitable lipid coverage, reproducibility, and extraction efficiency for global lipidomics profiling of human CSF samples. In combination with RPLC-MS/MS lipidomics, complementary screening approaches enabled a comprehensive metabolite signature that can be employed in an array of clinical studies.
Adoption of modern technologies for implementing industry 4.0: an integrated MCDM approach
Authors: Javaid Mohd , Khan Shahbaz , Haleem Abid , Rab Shanay
Published: November 2022

Purpose

Modern technologies are seen as an essential component of the fourth industrial revolution (industry 4.0) and their adoption is vital to transform the existing manufacturing system into industry 4.0-based manufacturing system. Therefore, the primary objective of this research explores the barriers of modern technology adoption and their mitigating solutions in order to align with Industry 4.0 objectives.

Design/methodology/approach

Barriers to adopting modern technologies and respective mitigating solutions are identified from the available literature. Further, these barriers are ranked with the help of expert opinions by using the BWM method appropriately. The identified solutions are ranked using the combined compromise solution (CoCoSo) method.

Findings

Several modern technologies and their capabilities are recognised to support the industry 4.0-based manufacturing systems. This study identifies 22 barriers to the effective adoption of modern technologies in manufacturing and 14 solutions to overcome these barriers. Change management, the high initial cost of technology and appropriate support infrastructure are the most significant barriers. The most prominent solutions to overcome the most considerable barriers are ‘supportive research, development and commercialisation environment’, ‘updated policy and effective implementation’ and ‘capacity building through training’ that are the top three solutions that need to be addressed.

Research limitations/implications

The barriers and solutions of modern technology adoption are obtained through a comprehensive literature review, so there is a chance to ignore some significant barriers and their solutions. Furthermore, ranking barriers and solutions is done with expert opinion, which is not free from biases.

Practical implications

This identification and prioritisation of barriers will help managers to understand the barriers so they can better prepare themselves. Furthermore, the suggested solutions to overcome these barriers are helpful for the managers and could be strategically adopted through optimal resource utilisation.

Originality/value

This study proposes a framework to identify and analyse the significant barriers and solutions to adopting modern technologies in the manufacturing system. It might be helpful for manufacturing organisations that are willing to transform their manufacturing system into industry 4.0.
Do different dimensions of corporate social responsibility disclosure have different economic consequence: multi-approaches for profitability examination
Authors: Alshurafat Hashem , Ananzeh Husam , Al-Hazaima Huthaifa , Al Shbail Mohannad Obeid
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This study examines the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure (hereafter CSRD) on the Corporate Economic Performance (hereafter CEP) of a group of public shareholding companies in Jordan.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses different proxies to examine the impact of CSRD on companies’ financial and economic value. The data were collected from a sample of 94 companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2016. Based on a checklist of 41 indicators, this study employed the manual content analysis technique to collect and analyse CSRD data. A statistical analysis technique was also used to examine the hypothesized relationships between collected data on CSRD and profitability.

Findings

The findings indicate that CSRD is value-relevant. It is positively and statistically associated with firm value proxied by Tobin’s Q. In addition, it is positively and statistically associated with firm financial performance proxied by ROE and ROA.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to the research debate on the relationship between CSRD and CEP, particularly in developing nations. The study draws attention to the need for information on different dimensions of CSR, including human resource, environmental, product responsibility, and community participation, as disclosure on such dimensions is positively associated with profitability.

Practical implications

The findings provide important implications for Jordanian corporate managers to maintain CSRD in their best interest. With more emphasis on disclosing stand-alone CSR reports, corporate managers can present more information on different dimensions of CSR, attracting the attention of stakeholders such as investors, the government, media, and humanitarian activists and enhancing overall corporate goodwill.

Originality/value

CSRD activities reflect a positive impact on CEP. Due to the dearth of relevant research conducted in developing countries, this study provides empirical evidence on the positive relationship between CSRD and CEP in an emerging economy, with more emphasis on specific dimensions of CSR, including human resources, environmental, product responsibility, and community participation. Since multiple proxies exist to measure profitability, this study uses multi-approaches for profitability examination proxied by Tobin’s Q, ROE, and ROA. Moreover, the issue of CSR is original and interesting to be examined in the Jordanian context, where the listed firms have reported a homogeneous perception of CSR.
Managerial control systems and innovation partnership success: an empirical analysis in Italian firms
Authors: Pistoni Anna , Arcari Anna , Gigliarano Chiara
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This study analyses the link between product/service innovation, partnerships and Managerial Control System (MCS). Particularly, it aims to analyse empirically the role of MCS in supporting the innovation partnership successful functioning and management.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample of this study consists of 106 Italian manufacturing firms belonging to the sectors of the Italian economy with the largest number of registered patents according to the European trend chart on innovation.

Findings

The results show that MCS may play a key role in reducing risks and lowering the likelihood of failure of innovation partnerships. Particularly, the authors found a positive correlation between the use of informal control mechanisms and a partnership’s successful performance. Moreover, among informal control, the findings show that trust is the only true informal mechanism that can guarantee a successful collaboration. The results of this study may offer relevant implications for practitioners. With regard to the control of the partnership’s activities, the initiatives and creativity of those who are actively involved in the innovation process should not be inhibited; therefore, stifling them with strict rules and procedures would be ineffective but if a firm is not willing to give up formal control mechanisms altogether because it does not believe that a trust-based coordination is sufficiently reassuring, it should opt for “weak”, albeit formal, control mechanisms based on a shared production and management of plans and reports, thus ensuring a perfect information symmetry among different partners.

Originality/value

Notwithstanding the different opportunities provided by partnerships and strategic alliances to support there is a growing body of evidence of a high failure rate in such organisational forms. One of the causes cited in the literature is the high level of risk associated with alliances as compared to internal development of innovation. The risks mainly arise from the difficulties to obtain cooperation with partners that might have different objectives, and from the potential opportunistic behaviour of some of the partners. This is particularly true in innovation networks where the uncertainty of producing an interesting result is very high and the investments that the partners make are considerable. In this context, MCS could play a relevant role in reducing the risks and decreasing the likelihood of failure.
PFSA-ID: an annotated Indonesian corpus and baseline model of public figures statements attributions
Authors: Purnomo W.P. Yohanes Sigit , Kumar Yogan Jaya , Zulkarnain Nur Zareen
Published: November 2022

Purpose

By far, the corpus for the quotation extraction and quotation attribution tasks in Indonesian is still limited in quantity and depth. This study aims to develop an Indonesian corpus of public figure statements attributions and a baseline model for attribution extraction, so it will contribute to fostering research in information extraction for the Indonesian language.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is divided into corpus development and extraction model development. During corpus development, data were collected and annotated. The development of the extraction model entails feature extraction, the definition of the model architecture, parameter selection and configuration, model training and evaluation, as well as model selection.

Findings

The Indonesian corpus of public figure statements attribution achieved 90.06% agreement level between the annotator and experts and could serve as a gold standard corpus. Furthermore, the baseline model predicted most labels and achieved 82.026% F-score.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the resulting corpus is the first corpus for attribution of public figures’ statements in the Indonesian language, which makes it a significant step for research on attribution extraction in the language. The resulting corpus and the baseline model can be used as a benchmark for further research. Other researchers could follow the methods presented in this paper to develop a new corpus and baseline model for other languages.
A systematic literature review on supply chain resilience in SMEs: learnings from COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Mishra Ruchi , Singh Rajesh Kumar
Published: November 2022

Purpose

The study aims to review state-of-art literature on supply chain resilience in SMEs in the context of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and provides a comprehensive view of insights gained, gaps identified and suggests potential areas of future research.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a thorough search strategy, 46 articles were found relevant for this study. Each of these articles was further reviewed, classified and analysed to highlight the development of literature in this field and identify the significant focal area of research in this domain.

Findings

The classification of studies indicates a growing number of articles in the last two years with a significant focus on multiple industries and survey-based research design. The study's findings suggest that literature on supply chain resilience in SMEs falls into four categories: supply chain resilience principle, impact of COVID-19 pandemic on SMEs, strategies for developing supply chain resilience and role of Industry 4.0 technologies in supply chain resilience. We also identified knowledge gaps and suggested directions for future research to catalyse studies at the interface of supply chain resilience, SMEs and COVID-19 pandemic.

Research limitations/implications

The generalisability of this study can be limited to a specific population of online databases and selected time periods chosen for a particular period.

Originality/value

The study provides a structured literature review on studies published between 2012 and 2022 for the use of academicians and practitioners. Findings will be of great value for SMEs to improve their resilience during the uncertain business environment.
Can digital transformation improve transparency and accountability of public governance in Nigeria?
Authors: Shenkoya Temitayo
Published: November 2022

Purpose

Corruption within the Nigerian Government – at all levels – is endemic and a major problem. While there is ample evidence to buttress this fact, its effects are having a negative impact on the ability of the government to meet its agreed UN sustainable development targets, as well as the credibility of the government (nationally and internationally), and its ability to deliver on quality governance. Hence, this study aims to identify the power of digital transformation in curbing corruption and improving governance for sustainable development.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed method that encompasses the use of a systematic literature review and a bibliometric analysis was used to examine extant literatures – to derive lessons for the Nigerian Government and governments in other developing countries (most especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa).

Findings

The results obtained within this study show that digital transformation – brought by the fourth industrial revolution – is a verified solution to improving transparency and accountability in governance. However, the current technological infrastructure in Nigeria is too weak to support this innovation. Key infrastructures like high-speed internet, a harmonized data storage system, and communications among government organizations rarely exist.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the approach used in this research is unique as it is one of the earliest studies to provide a viable solution to the issue of corruption in public governance in Nigeria, while examining the effects of the digital transformation of governance globally.
Rural tourism activities in mass tourism destinations: residents vs non-residents perspectives
Authors: Fichter Tim , Román Concepción
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to examine rural tourism preferences as an alternative niche market to mass tourism destinations. The analysis discusses the differences in perceptions and willingness to pay (WTP) for various packages of rural tourism activities in Gran Canaria Island among residents and non-residents.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on a convenience sample of potential young customers who are familiar with outdoor recreational activities in nature. This study considers a discrete choice experiment that includes the type of accommodation as well as four types of rural tourism activities: active, passive, cultural and aquatic. The degree of preference for the considered attributes is obtained from the estimation of different discrete choice models.

Findings

Results reveal that the inclusion of the investigated attributes in holiday packages increases tourists’ utility, which motivates the promotion of rural tourism for young residents and non-residents. The most significant differences in perceptions of attributes between residents and non-residents were found in the activities of diving/snorkelling and stargazing, as well as the type of accommodation and package price.

Practical implications

This study will contribute to a better understanding of an alternative tourism market which will help key stakeholders in the tourism sector to better serve this important segment of the industry and to encourage more sustainable tourism in the future.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the WTP for rural tourism packages as a more sustainable alternative in mass tourism destinations and taking into account resident vs non-resident perceptions.
Analysing the Macrostructure of Spoken Strategic Communication: An Application of Argumentation Analysis on High‐Technology Newly Public Firms’ Earnings Conference Calls
Authors: Papadopoulou Tina , Theoharakis Vasilis , Jones Marian V. , Bhaumik Sumon K.
Published: November 2022

A firm's ability to fulfil their strategic goals largely depends on how they communicate their strategies with stakeholders. Argumentation plays a prominent role in the process of communicating with stakeholders, with the intention of persuading them and achieving goals of strategic significance. In this respect, analysing argument structure is of particular importance, since determining the components that comprise an argument is a prerequisite for evaluating its acceptability and, consequently, its ability to persuade. Therefore, employing a framework that is specifically developed for the analysis of argument structure can help address questions that are not otherwise tractable. The relatively few available empirical studies in strategic communication employ frameworks that are not optimized for spoken communication. As such, there is scope to adapt/refine existing frameworks to facilitate meaningful analysis of spoken strategic communication. In this paper, therefore, we draw on existing frameworks and posit an adaptation that enables us to analyse the macrostructure of spoken arguments. We demonstrate the application of this adapted framework by analysing earnings conference calls involving three high‐technology firms and financial analysts. By doing so, our study contributes to management practice and the literatures on strategic communication, as well as financial communications and investor relations.
Steroid hormone 20‐hydroxyecdysone disturbs fat body lipid metabolism and negatively regulates gluconeogenesis in Hyphantria cunea larvae
Authors: Zhang Sheng‐Yu , Gao Han , Askar Ankarjan , Li Xing‐Peng , Zhang Guo‐Cai , Jing Tian‐Zhong , Zou Hang , Guan Hao , Zhao Yun‐He , Zou Chuan‐Shan
Published: November 2022

The steroid hormone 20‐hydroxyecdysone (20E) has been described to regulate fat body lipid metabolism in insects, but its accurate regulatory mechanism, especially the crosstalk between 20E‐induced lipid metabolism and gluconeogenesis remains largely unclear. Here, we specially investigated the effect of 20E on lipid metabolism and gluconeogenesis in the fat body of Hyphantria cunea larvae, a notorious pest in forestry. Lipidomics analysis showed that a total of 1 907 lipid species were identified in the fat body of H. cunea larvae assigned to 6 groups and 48 lipid classes. The differentially abundant lipids analysis showed a significant difference between 20E‐treated and control samples, indicating that 20E caused a remarkable alteration of lipidomics profiles in the fat body of H. cunea larvae. Further studies demonstrated that 20E accelerated fatty acid β‐oxidation, inhibited lipid synthesis, and promoted lipolysis. Meanwhile, the activities of pyruvate carboxylase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, fructose‐1,6‐bisphosphatase, and glucose‐6‐phosphatase were dramatically suppressed by 20E in the fat body of H. cunea larvae. As well, the transcriptions of genes encoding these 4 rate‐limiting gluconeogenic enzymes were significantly downregulated in the fat body of H. cunea larvae after treatment with 20E. Taken together, our results revealed that 20E disturbed fat body lipid homeostasis, accelerated fatty acid β‐oxidation and promoted lipolysis, but negatively regulated gluconeogenesis in H. cunea larvae. The findings might provide a new insight into hormonal regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism in insect fat body.
Festschrift initiative: Celebrating Distinguished Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick AM
Authors: Turton Stephen M.
Published: November 2022

This Festschrift celebrates the distinguished 52‐year academic career of Jamie Kirkpatrick. All thirteen publications by Kirkpatrick in Geographical Research are curated as a virtual issue. Following a consultation process, six papers are highlighted in more detail. These were published from volume 13 to the latest volume. Kirkpatrick's research activities over the past five decades can be broadly sequenced into nine subject areas: (1) eucalypt genecology; (2) bush remnants in cities; (3) biogeography; (4) plant community survey and conservation planning; (5) fire ecology and management; (6) rare species ecology and management; (7) the politics of environment; (8) the socioecology of conservation in rural areas and gardens; and (9) biogeomorphology. His many publications and wide participation in public processes have, according to his own assessment, been a mixture of effective in changing the world, prescient, and wrong.
Epigenetic insight into effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on stress axis development: Systematic review with meta‐analytic approaches
Authors: Das Ujjal , Gangisetty Omkaram , Chaudhary Shaista , Tarale Prashant , Rousseau Bénédicte , Price Julianne , Frazier Ian , Sarkar Dipak K.
Published: November 2022

We conducted a systematic review with meta‐analytic elements using publicly available Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets to determine the role of epigenetic mechanisms in prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE)‐induced hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunctions in offspring. Several studies have demonstrated that PAE has long‐term consequences on HPA axis functions in offspring. Some studies determined that alcohol‐induced epigenetic alterations during fetal development persist in adulthood. However, additional research is needed to understand the major epigenetic events leading to alcohol‐induced teratogenesis of the HPA axis. Our network analysis of GEO datasets identified key pathways relevant to alcohol‐mediated histone modifications, DNA methylation, and miRNA involvement associated with PAE‐induced alterations of the HPA axis. Our analysis indicated that PAE perturbated the epigenetic machinery to activate corticotrophin‐releasing hormone, while it suppressed opioid, glucocorticoid receptor, and circadian clock genes. These results help to further our understanding of the epigenetic basis of alcohol's effects on HPA axis development.
Firm culture and internal control system
Authors: Abernethy Margaret A. , Li Wei , Zhang Yunyan , Shi Hanzhong
Published: November 2022

The corporate culture within firms is a significant concern for regulators, shareholders and other stakeholders. Drawing on a large sample of US firms, we use the political preferences of the top management team (TMT) to proxy for a firm's culture and examine whether it influences the decision to implement an effective internal control system (ICS) and whether the ICS plays a mediating role between the culture created by the TMT and financial reporting quality. We find that a Republican‐leaning TMT with a more conservative ideology is associated with a more effective internal control system. In addition, the TMT's political preferences affect financial reporting quality, both directly and indirectly, via the internal control system. A range of robustness tests reinforces our main findings.