bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PPIDomainMiner : Inferring domain-domain interactions from multiple sources of protein-protein interactions
Authors: Alborzi Seyed Ziaeddine , Ahmed Nacer Amina , Najjar Hiba , Ritchie David W , Devignes Marie-Dominique
Published: March 2021

Many biological processes are mediated by protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Because protein domains are the building blocks of proteins, PPIs likely rely on domain-domain interactions (DDIs). Several attempts exist to infer DDIs from PPI networks but the produced datasets are heterogeneous and sometimes not accessible, while the PPI interactome data keeps growing.

We describe a new computational approach called “PPIDM” (Protein-Protein Interactions Domain Miner) for inferring DDIs using multiple sources of PPIs. The approach is an extension of our previously described “CODAC” (Computational Discovery of Direct Associations using Common neighbors) method for inferring new edges in a tripartite graph. The PPIDM method has been applied to seven widely used PPI resources, using as “Gold-Standard” a set of DDIs extracted from 3D structural databases. Overall, PPIDM has produced a dataset of 84, 552 non-redundant DDIs. Statistical significance (p-value) is calculated for each source of PPI and used to classify the PPIDM DDIs in Gold (9,175 DDIs), Silver (24, 934 DDIs) and Bronze (50, 443 DDIs) categories. Dataset comparison reveals that PPIDM has inferred from the 2017 releases of PPI sources about 46% of the DDIs present in the 2020 release of the 3did database, not counting the DDIs present in the Gold-Standard. The PPIDM dataset contains 10, 229 DDIs that are consistent with more than 13, 300 PPIs extracted from the IMEx database, and nearly 23,300 DDIs (27.5%) that are consistent with more than 214,000 human PPIs extracted from the STRING database. Examples of newly inferred DDIs covering more than 10 PPIs in the IMEx database are provided.

Further exploitation of the PPIDM DDI reservoir includes the inventory of possible partners of a protein of interest and characterization of protein interactions at the domain level in combination with other methods. The result is publicly available athttp://ppidm.loria.fr/.

Author summary

We revisit at a large scale the question of inferring DDIs from PPIs. Compared to previous studies, we take a unified approach accross multiple sources of PPIs. This approach is a method for inferring new edges in a tripartite graph setting and can be compared to link prediction approaches in knowledge graphs. Aggregation of several sources is performed using an optimized weighted average of the individual scores calculated in each source. A huge dataset of over 84K DDIs is produced which far exceeds the previous datasets. We show that a significant portion of the PPIDM dataset covers a large number of PPIs from curated (IMEx) or non curated (STRING) databases. Such a reservoir of DDIs deserves further exploration and can be combined with high-throughput methods such as cross-linking mass spectrometry to identify plausible protein partners of proteins of interest.
A new triple fluorescence reporter system for discrimination of Apobec1 and Apobec3 C-to-U RNA editing activities and editing-dependent protein expression
Authors: Schweissthal Barbara , Brunken Kea , Brach Julia , Emde Leonie , Hetsch Florian , Fricke Steffen , Meier Jochen C.
Published: March 2021

The human body is composed of many different cell types which communicate with each other. In particular, the brain consists of billions of neurons and non-neuronal cells which are interconnected and require tight and precise regulation of cellular processes. RNA editing is a cellular process that diversifies gene function by enzymatic deamination of cytidine or adenine. This can result in changes of protein structure and function. Altered RNA editing is becoming increasingly associated with all kind of disease, but most approaches use advanced sequencing technologies to analyze bulk material. However, it is also becoming progressively evident that changes in RNA editing have to be analyzed and considered in a cell type specific way. We present here a triple fluorescence reporter system that discriminates between Apobec1- and Apobec3-dependent C-to-U RNA editing at the single cell level. In particular, the Apobec3 reporter enables C-to-U RNA editing inducible protein expression through generation of a RNA splice donor site. We used the new system here to analyze Apobec1- and Apobec3-dependent RNA editing in primary neuron culture. The results reveal a large heterogeneity of C-to-U RNA editing in neurons and glia cells, and they show that GABAergic neurons are not able to perform Apobec1-dependent RNA editing, but Apobec3-dependent editing. Altogether, the new system can be the foundation of therapeutic application systems that counteract changes in Apobec3-dependent RNA editing in disease while simultaneously monitoring Apobec1-dependent RNA editing at the single cell level.
SUMOylation of GMFB regulates the stability and function of GMFB in RPE cells under oxidative stress and inflammation
Authors: Sun Wan , Wang Juan , Zhang Jieping , Gao Furong , Ou Qingjian , Tian Haibin , Jin Caixia , Xu Jingying , Zhang Jingfa , huang Jian , Xu Guo-Tong , Lu Lixia
Published: March 2021

Glia maturation factor beta (GMFB) is a growth and differentiation factor that act as an intracellular regulator of signal transduction pathways. The SUMOylation is a post-translational modification (PTM) that plays a key role in protein subcellular localization, stability, transcription, and enzymatic activity. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of SUMOylation in the inflammation and progression of numerous diseases. But little is known about the relationship between GMFB and SUMOylation. Here we first report that GMFB can be mono-SUMOylated at multiple sites by the covalent addition of a single SUMO1 protein, and identified K20, K35, K58, and K97 as major SUMO acceptor sites. We also found that SUMOylation leading to increased stability and trans-localization of GMFB. Furthermore, RNA-seq data and Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (rt-qPCR) also indicated that the SUMOylated GMFB upregulated multiple pathways, including the cytokine-cytokin receptor interaction, NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway, and NF-kappa B signaling pathway. Our studies intend to provide a novel direction for the study into the biofunction of GMFB, SUMOylated GMFB and the mechanism, clinical therapy, and prognosis of inflammation-related RPE disorders like age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR).
Towards high spatially resolved microproteomics using expansion microscopy
Authors: Drelich Lauranne , Aboulouard Soulaimane , Franck Julien , Salzet Michel , Fournier Isabelle , Wisztorski Maxence
Published: March 2021

Expansion microscopy is an emerging approach for morphological examination of biological specimens at nanoscale resolution using conventional optical microscopy. To achieve physical separation of cell structures, tissues are embedded in a swellable polymer and expanded several folds in an isotropic manner. This work shows the development and optimization of physical tissue expansion as a new method for spatially resolved large scale proteomics. Herein, we established a novel method to enlarge the tissue section to be compatible with manual microdissection on regions of interest and to carry out MS-based proteomic analysis. A major issue in the Expansion microscopy is the loss of proteins information during the mechanical homogenization phase due to the use of Proteinase K. For isotropic expansion, different homogenization agents are investigated, both to maximize protein identification and to minimize protein diffusion. Better results are obtained with SDS. From a tissue section enlarge more than 3-fold, we have been able to manually cut out regions of 1mm in size, equivalent to 300µm in their real size. We identified up to 655 proteins from a region corresponding to an average of 940 cells. This approach can be performed easily without any expensive sampling instrument. We demonstrated the compatibility of sample preparation for expansion microscopy and proteomic study in a spatial context.

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Emergence of function from single RNA sequences by Darwinian evolution
Authors: Wachowius Falk , Porebski Benjamin T. , Johnson Christopher M. , Holliger Philipp
Published: March 2021

The spontaneous emergence of function from pools of random sequence RNA is widely considered an important transition in the origin of life. However, the plausibility of this hypothetical process and the number of productive evolutionary trajectories in sequence space are unknown. Here we demonstrate that function can arise starting from a single RNA sequence by an iterative process of mutation and selection. Specifically, we describe the discovery of both specific ATP or GTP aptamers - with micromolar affinity for their nucleotide ligand - starting each from a single, homopolymeric poly-A sequence flanked by conserved primer binding sites. Our results indicate that theab initiopresence of large, diverse random sequence pools is not a prerequisite for the emergence of functional RNAs and that the process of Darwinian evolution has the capacity to generate function even from single, largely unstructured RNA sequences with minimal molecular and informational complexity.
Bi-directional protein-protein interactions control liquid-liquid phase separation of PSD-95 and its interaction partners
Authors: Christensen Nikolaj Riis , Pedersen Christian Parsbæk , Sereikaite Vita , Pedersen Jannik Nedergaard , Vistrup-Parry Maria , Sørensen Andreas Toft , Otzen Daniel , Arleth Lise , Teilum Kaare , Madsen Kenneth L. , Strømgaard Kristian
Published: March 2021

The organization of the postsynaptic density (PSD), a protein-dense semi-membraneless organelle, is mediated by numerous specific protein-protein interactions (PPIs) which constitute a functional post-synapse. Postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95) interacts with a manifold of proteins, including the C-terminal of transmembrane AMPA receptor (AMAPR) regulatory proteins (TARPs). Here, we uncover the minimal essential peptide responsible for the stargazin (TARP-γ2) mediated liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) formation of PSD-95 and other key protein constituents of the PSD. Furthermore, we find that pharmacological inhibitors of PSD-95 can facilitate formation of LLPS. We found that in some cases LLPS formation is dependent on multivalent interactions while in other cases short peptides carrying a high charge are sufficient to promote LLPS in complex systems. This study offers a new perspective on PSD-95 interactions and their role in LLPS formation, while also considering the role of affinity over multivalency in LLPS systems.
Patterns of gene content and co-occurrence constrain the evolutionary path toward animal association in CPR bacteria
Authors: Jaffe Alexander L. , He Christine , Keren Ray , Valentin-Alvarado Luis E. , Munk Patrick , Bouma-Gregson Keith , Farag Ibrahim F. , Amano Yuki , Sachdeva Rohan , West Patrick T. , Banfield Jillian F.
Published: March 2021

Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) bacteria are small, likely episymbiotic organisms found across Earth’s ecosystems. Despite their prevalence, the distribution of CPR lineages across habitats and the genomic signatures of transitions amongst these habitats remain unclear. Here, we expand the genome inventory for Absconditabacteria (SR1), Gracilibacteria, and Saccharibacteria (TM7), CPR bacteria known to occur in both animal-associated and environmental microbiomes, and investigate variation in gene content with habitat of origin. By overlaying phylogeny with habitat information, we show that bacteria from these three lineages have undergone multiple transitions from environmental habitats into animal microbiomes. Based on co-occurrence analyses of hundreds of metagenomes, we extend the prior suggestion that certain Saccharibacteria have broad bacterial host ranges and constrain possible host relationships for Absconditabacteria and Gracilibacteria. Full-proteome analyses show that animal-associated Saccharibacteria have smaller gene repertoires than their environmental counterparts and are enriched in numerous protein families, including those likely functioning in amino acid metabolism, phage defense, and detoxification of peroxide. In contrast, some freshwater Saccharibacteria encode a putative rhodopsin. For protein families exhibiting the clearest patterns of differential habitat distribution, we compared protein and species phylogenies to estimate the incidence of lateral gene transfer and genomic loss occurring over the species tree. These analyses suggest that habitat transitions were likely not accompanied by large transfer or loss events, but rather were associated with continuous proteome remodeling. Thus, we speculate that CPR habitat transitions were driven largely by availability of suitable host taxa, and were reinforced by acquisition and loss of some capacities.

IMPORTANCE

Studying the genetic differences between related microorganisms from different environment types can indicate factors associated with their movement among habitats. This is particularly interesting for bacteria from the Candidate Phyla Radiation because their minimal metabolic capabilities require symbiotic associations with microbial hosts. We found that shifts of Absconditabacteria, Gracilibacteria, and Saccharibacteria between environmental ecosystems and mammalian mouths/guts probably did not involve major episodes of gene gain and loss; rather, gradual genomic change likely followed habitat migration. The results inform our understanding of how little-known microorganisms establish in the human microbiota where they may ultimately impact health.
LCK Regulates Homologous Recombination DNA Repair Identifying a New Target for Sensitizing PARP Inhibitors in HR Proficient Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Dey Goutam , Bharti Rashmi , Braley Chad , Alluri Ravi , Esakov Emily , Crean-Tate Katie , McCrae Keith , Joehlin-Price Amy , Rose Peter G. , Lathia Justin , Gong Zihua , Reizes Ofer
Published: March 2021

Poly-ADP Ribose Polymerase (PARP) targeted therapy is clinically approved for the treatment of homologous recombination (HR) repair deficient tumors. The remarkable success in treatment of HR repair deficient cancers has not translated to HR-proficient cancer. Our studies identify the mechanism of non-receptor lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase (LCK) in HR repair in endometrioid epithelial ovarian cancer (eEOC). LCK expression is induced and activation in the nucleus in response to DNA damage insult. LCK inhibition attenuates expression of RAD51, BRCA1, and BRCA2 proteins necessary for HR-mediated DNA repair, sufficient to suppress RAD51 foci formation, and augments γH2AX foci formation. Mechanistically, DNA damage leads to direct interaction of LCK with RAD51 and BRCA1 in a kinase dependent manner. Attenuation of LCK sensitized HR-proficient eEOC cells to PARP inhibitor in cell culture and pre-clinical mouse studies. These findings identify a new mechanism for expanding utility of PARP inhibitors in HR proficient ovarian cancer.

Graphical Abstract
Autism-associated CHD8 keeps proliferation of human neural progenitors in check by lengthening the G1 phase of the cell cycle
Authors: Coakley-Youngs Emma , Shorter Susan , Ranatunga Medhavi , Richardson Simon , Getti Giulia , Fivaz Marc
Published: March 2021

CHD8 (Chromodomain Helicase DNA Binding Protein 8) is a chromatin remodeler that preferentially regulates expression of genes implicated in early development of the cerebral cortex.De novomutations (DNMs) in CHD8 are strongly associated with a specific subtype of autism characterized by enlarged foreheads and distinct cranial features. The vast majority of these DNMs are heterozygous loss-of-function mutations with high penetrance for autism. HowCHD8haploinsufficiency alters the normal developmental trajectory of the human cortex is poorly understood and debated. Previous studies in the mammalian developing cortex have shown progressive lengthening of the G1 phase of the cell cycle as neural stem cells transition from proliferative to neurogenic divisions. G1 length has been proposed to operate as a molecular clock that controls timing of this crucial developmental switch. To determine the influence of CHD8 on cell cycle timing, we disrupted one allele ofCHD8in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), differentiated these cells into neural precursor cells (NPCs), and imaged cell cycle progression of individualCHD8+/−NPCs — in parallel with their isogenicCHD8+/+counterparts — during several rounds of cell division. We found a specific and marked decrease in G1 duration inCHD8+/−NPCs, resulting in an overall shortening of the cell cycle. Consistent with faster progression ofCHD8+/−NPCs through G1 and the G1/S checkpoint, we observed increased expression of E cyclins and elevated phosphorylation of Erk in these mutant cells — two central signalling pathways involved in S phase entry. Together, our findings show dysregulated proliferation of NPCs in a human stem cell model ofCHD8haploinsufficiency and predict enlargement of the neural progenitor pool inCHD8+/−developing brains, a phenotype that may explain macrocephaly in individuals withCHD8DNMs. Furthermore, our work provides further evidence for a link between autism and cancer and identifies MAPK signaling as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of this autism subtype.
Offsite construction skills evolution: an Australian case study
Authors: Ginigaddara Buddhini , Perera Srinath , Feng Yingbin , Rahnamayiezekavat Payam
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The construction industry is currently responding to pressures of industrialisation happening across all sectors. Consequently, offsite construction (OSC) has become a vehicle to achieve industrialisation. This requires changes in traditional construction processes resulting in possible changes in construction skill requirements. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to identify and review prevailing OSC practices and skills in the Australian construction industry. This study aims to critically analyse the existing skill profile classifications through a single case study and identify the need for an OSC specific skill classification.

Design/methodology/approach

This study follows a case study design, with an in-depth analysis of a single construction project. Only one case study was studied because scientifically, one example was enough to prove that the prevailing skill classifications do not represent OSC skills in a modern context. Data was retrospectively collected through semi-structured interviews of project stakeholders representing design, manufacture and assembly. Content analysis was conducted to analyse the collected data and produce findings.

Findings

This study identifies the inadequacy of the existing classification system, unavailability and the need of OSC specific skill categorisation. It highlights new skills that enter OSC; building information modelling engineer, three-dimensional draftsperson, OSC project manager and project coordinator, which are not identified in the available Australian skill classifications. These, together with existing skills need to be carved in to create a new skill classification.

Originality/value

This study is the first of its kind where a comprehensive OSC project is evaluated as a case study to determine OSC skill classification requirements in Australia.
Configuration analysis of influencing factors of operating efficiency based on fsQCA: evidence from China’s property insurance industry
Authors: Li Zhiguang , Li Yaokuang , Zhang Wei
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Based on the perspective of complexity theory, the operation process of property insurance companies can be regarded as a complex dynamic nonlinear chaotic system. This paper aims to measure the operating efficiency of 29 Chinese domestic property and casualty (P&C) companies and 18 foreign-invested P&C companies from 2011 to 2017 and outline the path to achieving high-quality development.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were obtained from the Chinese Insurance Yearbook and China Statistical Yearbook 2012–2018. The data envelopment analysis method was used to calculate the technical efficiency of property insurance companies and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis is used for configuration analysis of determinants affecting technical efficiency.

Findings

This paper founds the average technical efficiency of Chinese domestic P&C insurance companies was 0.914 and that of foreign-invested P&C insurance companies was 0.895. The average total factor productivity of Chinese domestic P&C insurance companies was 1.058 and that of foreign-invested P&C insurance companies was 1.051. There were three modes to improve the company’s technical efficiency, with high loss ratio and low reinsurance ratio, poor employee education and higher leverage ratio and high leverage ratio and low reinsurance ratio as the core conditions.

Originality/value

This study puts forward four applicable, targeted and proven ways to improve the technical efficiency of China’s P&C insurance industry. These configurations were verified by the cases of existing property insurance companies, which can provide practical references for the insurance industry.
Strategies to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on supply chain disruptions: a multiple case analysis of buyers and distributors
Authors: Butt Atif Saleem
Published: March 2021

Purpose

This paper explores the steps/countermeasures taken by buying and distributing firms to address supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs a multiple case study methodology and conducts 36 semi-structured interviews with senior managers of nine different firms producing, procuring or distributing products from China and other highly impacted South Asian regions (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India).

Findings

Results reveal that buying firms are moving to agile production, focusing on tier-1 supplier risk, enhancing inbound material visibility and temporarily closing production facilities to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19. Furthermore, distribution centres are modifying their inventory policies, evaluating alternative outbound routes and sources of supply to manage disruptions caused to their business operations amid COVID-19 outbreak.

Practical implications

Supply chain firms can use the countermeasures provided in this study to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and make the best out of this pandemic.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the supply chain literature by exploring the countermeasures taken by firms to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. In particular, this study explores such countermeasures from the perspective of two different entities (buyers and distributors) along the supply chain. Firms can use the countermeasures highlighted in this study to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the supply chain.
Role of ICT in emancipation of digital entrepreneurship among new generation women
Authors: Shukla Anuja , Kushwah Priyanka , Jain Eti , Sharma Shiv Kumar
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The role of information and communications technology (ICT) has been tested in various contexts of online shopping and the results show that ICT has successfully transformed the way of doing business. This study aims to propose that if women have adequate internet skills, namely, operative, informational and creative skills, their entrepreneurial intentions will be high.

Design/methodology/approach

This is descriptive research. The data was collected from 246 university students and analyzed using PLS-SEM.

Findings

The results of the study show that students belonging to entrepreneurial backgrounds have a positive attitude toward entrepreneurship. The impact of internet skills was mixed on the relationship of entrepreneurial attitude and entrepreneurial intention.

Research limitations/implications

The sample was not generalized as the sample consisted of urban and internet-using women. Future research can test the model for rural women entrepreneurs or usage of m-commerce for the same.

Practical implications

The results of the study show that women having the skills to operate the internet have higher intentions to become an entrepreneur. Thus, the e-commerce web-space can use the results to influence women of the new generation to use available tools in their journey of entrepreneurship.

Social implications

Women are an indispensable part of society. Empowering them will not only improve their confidence but will also strengthen the pillars of society.

Originality/value

Extensive research work has been done in the context of women entrepreneurship. The study is a novel attempt to test the effects of internet skills on entrepreneurial intention among new generation women. The results will be very much useful for future research and will extend the body of academic literature.
Fraud in higher education: a system for detection and prevention
Authors: de Souza-Daw Tony , Ross Robert
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Academic corruption and fraudulent practices have become problematic in recent years. Governments around the world have introduced dedicated higher education commissions to regulate higher education providers. The purpose of this paper is to design a system for the detection and prevention framework of fraudulent behaviour in higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper performs a survey on academic misconduct practices and expands the survey by analysing the accreditation process. This study further identifies common corrupt practices in the accreditation process with reference to particular accreditation standards or laws. If the accreditation process is as thorough as, this paper is led to believe, a higher institute may stop being compliant immediately after the accreditation process. playing a catch-me-if-you-can at the next accreditation cycle. The survey of the accreditation process and identification of corrupt practices lead to an identification of preventative and detective measures.

Findings

The review of accreditation procedures and conditions identifies that fraudulent practices can occur at every part of any policy and procedure. The framework prevents repudiation and allows for spontaneous investigations internally and externally. The blockchain prevented changes to the system and allow for auditing of changes. A system such as this could suppress accreditation fraud and minimise its corrupt impact. Not to mention identify with relative ease the severity and life of corrupt practice.

Originality/value

Contributions are made in the framework for detecting and preventing corrupt practices in Higher Education using blockchain immutable transactions. This enables real-time accreditation compliance checks and monitoring of conditions. External complaints or reviews can be conducted with minimum interactions from higher education providers.
The relationship between financial development and effectiveness of monetary policy: new evidence from ASEAN-3 countries
Authors: Abdul Karim Zulkefly , Kamal Basa Danie Eirieswanty , Abdul Karim Bakri
Published: March 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between financial development (FD) and monetary policy effectiveness (MPE) on output and inflation in ASEAN-3 countries (Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines).

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses an open economy structural vector autoregressive model to generate MPE. Then, an autoregressive distributed lagged (ARDL) model is used to analyze the effect of FD on MPE across countries.

Findings

The findings revealed that FD plays a different role in MPE across countries. In Malaysia, a more developed financial system tends to reduce the MPE on output, whereas in Singapore, results show that the more developed financial system (stock market capitalization) tends to increase MPE on output. However, in the Philippines, the main results show that the effect of FD (liquid liabilities) upon MPE on output is depending on the policy variable (interest rates or money supply).

Originality/value

This paper fills this gap by providing the first study of ASEAN-3 countries in examining how effective is a monetary policy in response to the development of the financial market across the country. Second, this paper considers two FD indicators, namely, the banking sector and capital market development in investigating its effect on MPE on output and inflation. Third, the authors construct the MPE in each country using a structural (identified) VAR model by aggregating the response of output growth and inflation rate on monetary policy changes (interest rate and money supply) using impulse–response function. Regarding this, the results of this study provide new empirical evidence and insight into the long debate on the relationship between FD and the MPE.
Strategic sourcing in Africa: the case for the labor market
Authors: Mayounga André T.
Published: March 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the impact of the labor market on the integration of Africa into the global supply chain (GSC).

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis of trends and comparison of data for 55 nations and territories in Africa using existing data from the World Bank and International Labor Organization, and government and nongovernment reports took place using qualitative content analysis methodology.

Findings

Africa’s labor market enhances the continent’s integration into the GSC despite challenges in other areas, with three pillars identifying the labor market’s strategic sourcing decisions.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis is limited to trends analysis, some of which may have changed during the study.

Practical implications

The findings will enable the global business industry and governments to envision the potential and design Africa’s labor market competitiveness across the African continent. The findings also establish the necessity and opportunity for enhanced infrastructure to attract additional foreign direct.

Social implications

The social implication of this paper is beyond the potential of Africa’s labor market. The paper illustrates how the African is setting to become the next sourcing hub for the global supply chain, allowing scholars to close any prevailing global sourcing gap in research.

Originality/value

This paper describes the potential of Africa’s supply of low-cost labor market and its integration in the GSC.
Strategic orientations, firm performance and the moderating effect of absorptive capacity
Authors: Ibarra-Cisneros Manuel-Alejandro , Demuner-Flores María del Rosario , Hernández-Perlines Felipe
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to study the moderating effect of absorptive capacity, defined as the set of organizational routines and processes through which companies acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit knowledge to produce a dynamic organizational capacity (Zahra and George, 2002), in three strategic orientations: market orientation; technology orientation and entrepreneurial orientation and their positive relationship in the performance of the medium and large Mexican manufacturing firms. Likewise, it is determined whether these three combined SOs influence firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The data was collected from 171 medium and large-sized Mexican manufacturing firms. The proposed hypotheses are tested using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

Despite the importance of knowledge for the development of firms, the results indicate that the moderating effect of absorptive capacity is only present in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. That is, firms cannot take advantage of knowledge simultaneously between the three strategic orientations. For their part, market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation exert a positive influence on firm performance.

Practical implications

The main practical implication for the manufacturing industry is that they must develop mechanisms to detect what kind of knowledge affects each strategic orientation, in this way it can make the absorptive capacity influence the relationships between SO and FP.

Originality/value

The main contribution consists of studying the moderating effect of the absorptive capacity on the relationship between three strategic orientations and firm performance, and not concentrating solely on the simultaneous use of these strategies as is commonly done.
Becoming morally disengaged: how long does it take?
Authors: Almeida Teresa , Abreu Francisca , Ramalho Nelson C.
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Leadership is a time-dependent process and a recent leadership research trend posits a central role of time-based variables. The dyadic tenure plays a keystone role in understanding leader–follower dynamics, especially as regards leader ethics. In line with this, from a social learning theory perspective, the authors propose a model that explains how and when ethical leaders' behaviors influence subordinates' moral disengagement.

Design/methodology/approach

With a sample of 220 employees, the present study tests the conditional indirect effect of ethical leadership on followers' moral disengagement via instrumental ethical climate (IEC), using dyadic tenure as the moderator variable. The analyses were conducted with Hayes PROCESS macro.

Findings

Results suggested that IEC fully mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and moral disengagement. Thus, when followers perceive low levels of ethical leadership, they notice higher levels of IEC, which is positively related to moral disengagement. However, IEC perception only influences moral disengagement when dyadic tenure approaches the third year.

Originality/value

This paper answers calls to include time-based variables in leadership studies. Hence, using dyadic tenure, this study gives support to previous propositions that were still awaiting empirical test.
Triaging online child abuse material: testing a decision support tool to enhance law enforcement and investigative prioritisation
Authors: Mount David , Mazerolle Lorraine , Zahnow Renee , James Leisa
Published: March 2021

Purpose

Online production and transmission of child abuse material (CAM) is a complex and growing global problem. The exponential increase in the volume of CyberTips of CAM offending is placing information processing and decision-making strains on law enforcement. This paper presents the outcomes of a project that reviewed an existing risk assessment tool and then developed a new tool for CAM triaging and investigative prioritisation.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a mixed method approach, the authors first explored the capacity of an existing risk assessment tool for predicting a police action. The authors then used these findings to design and implement a replacement CAM decision support tool. Using a random sample of CyberTip alert cases from 2018, the authors then tested the efficiency of the new tool.

Findings

The existing risk assessment tool was not fit for CAM triaging purposes. Just six questions from the old tool were found to be statistically and significantly associated with law enforcement agents achieving a police action. The authors found that an immediate threat of abuse/endangering a child, potential case solvability, CAM image assessment, chat assessment, criticality and some weighting for professional judgement were significant in being associated with a police action. The new decision support tool is more efficient to complete and achieved a 93.6% convergence of risk ratings with the old tool using 2018 case data.

Originality/value

This research is unique in its development of an evidence-based decision support tool that enhances the ability of law enforcement agents to objectively and efficiently triage and prioritise increasing numbers of CyberTip alerts.
Spatial patterns and ecological drivers of soil nematode β‐diversity in natural grasslands vary among vegetation types and trophic position
Authors: Xiong Dan , Wei Cunzheng , Wang Xugao , Lü Xiaotao , Fang Shuai , Li Yingbin , Wang Xiaobo , Liang Wenju , Han Xingguo , Bezemer Thiemo Martijn , Li Qi
Published: March 2021

Understanding biogeographic patterns of community assemblages is a core objective in ecology, but for soil communities these patterns are poorly understood. To understand the spatial patterns and underlying mechanisms of β‐diversity in soil communities, we investigated the β‐diversity of soil nematode communities along a 3,200‐km transect across semi‐arid and arid grasslands.

Spatial turnover and nested‐resultant are the two fundamental components of β‐diversity, which have been attributed to various processes of community assembly. We calculated the spatial turnover and nested‐resultant components of soil nematode β‐diversity based on the β‐partitioning framework. Distance matrices for the dissimilarity of soil nematode communities were computed using the ‘Sørensen’ method. We fitted negative exponential models to compare the distance decay patterns in nematode community similarity with geographic distance and plant community distance in three vegetation types (desert, desert steppe and typical steppe) and along the whole transect. Variation partitioning was used to distinguish the contribution of geographic distance and environmental variables to β‐diversity and the partitioned components.

Geographic distance and environmental filtering jointly drove the β‐diversity patterns of nematode community, but environmental filtering explained more of the variation in β‐diversity in the desert and typical steppe, whereas geographic distance was important in the desert steppe. Nematode community assembly was explained more by the spatial turnover component than by the nested‐resultant component. For nematode feeding groups, the β‐diversity in different vegetation types increased with geographic distance and plant community distance, but the nested‐resultant component of bacterial feeders in the desert ecosystem decreased with geographic distance and plant community distance.

Our findings show that spatial variation in soil nematode communities is regulated by environmental processes at the vegetation type scale, while spatial processes mainly work on the regional scale, and emphasize that the spatial patterns and drivers of nematode β‐diversity differ among trophic levels. Our study provides insight into the ecological processes that maintain soil biodiversity and biogeographic patterns of soil community assemblage at large spatial scales.
Journaling the COVID‐19 pandemic: Locality, scale, and spatialised bodies
Authors: Burton Alexander Luke
Published: March 2021

COVID‐19 has reconfigured, reaffirmed, and revealed socio‐material geographies in Australia and around the world. The pandemic is international but experiences of it exist in situated contexts. From strategies organising the human body by placing tape on supermarket floors to those using helicopter surveillance to identify illegal Easter barbecues, the impacts of COVID‐19 are mediated across different scales and are not experienced equally. In this article, I show how the COVID‐19 pandemic has revealed and compounded injustices and presented an opportunity to confront them. COVID‐19 is expressed via the production and circulation of meaning and diverse practices involving or implicating bodies, localities, and scales; among them one might include the advent of social distancing, the invention of “Fortress Tasmania,” from whence this work is written, and the constitution of bodies as dangerous yet vulnerable. I use autoethnography as an early career researcher and student trying to make sense of the COVID‐19 pandemic. This situated experience offers empirical diversity, context, and evocative narratives to enrich understandings of COVID‐19. The autoethnography is both a therapeutic outlet for a journaling, isolating honours student in suburban Tasmania and an attempt to make sense of body, locality, and scale in the geographies of pandemic.
Prognostic factors for progression‐free and overall survival in malignant pleural mesothelioma
Authors: Guzmán‐Casta Jordi , Carrasco‐CaraChards Sonia , Guzmán‐Huesca Jorge , Sánchez‐Ríos Carla Paola , Riera‐Sala Rodrigo , Martínez‐Herrera José Fabián , Peña‐Mirabal Erika Sagrario , Bonilla‐Molina Diana , Alatorre‐Alexander Jorge Arturo , Martínez‐Barrera Luis Manuel , Rodríguez‐Cid Jerónimo Rafael
Published: March 2021

Background

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an infrequent neoplasia with a poor prognosis and the majority of patients already have advanced disease at the time of presentation. Exposure to asbestos is the most important risk factor for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a neoplasia with a long preclinical stage that can span from 15 to 40 years.

Methods

This was a descriptive, observational, retrospective study of 136 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of mesothelioma, which compared histological subtypes, immunohistochemical biomarkers, concomitant chronic degenerative diseases, tobacco use, age at the time of diagnosis, clinical stage and chemotherapy agents used or other treatments such as radiotherapy and surgery to identify all the factors that impact in the prognosis of overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS).

Results

A total of 136 patients were included in the study. In the total study population, 84 patients were male (61.8%) and 52 were female (38.2%). Median PFS was nine months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.4–9.5 months) and median OS was 12 months (95% CI: 11.3–12.6). The results indicated that the most determining prognostic factors for OS and PFS were cell differentiation measured by immunohistochemical biomarkers, the treatment chosen, and that RECIST was the most significant in the evaluation of patient response to treatment.

Conclusions

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a cancer with a poor prognosis usually diagnosed at an advanced stage of disease. Our study revealed that the prognostic factors for OS and PS were cell differentiation, the treatment chosen and RECIST.
Identifying neural signatures of tobacco retail outlet exposure: Preliminary validation of a “community neuroscience” paradigm
Authors: Oliver Jason A. , Sweitzer Maggie M. , Engelhard Matthew M. , Hallyburton Matthew B. , Ribisl Kurt M. , McClernon Francis Joseph
Published: March 2021

An extensive epidemiological literature indicates that increased exposure to tobacco retail outlets (TROs) places never smokers at greater risk for smoking uptake and current smokers at greater risk for increased consumption and smoking relapse. Yet research into the mechanisms underlying this effect has been limited. This preliminary study represents the first effort to examine the neurobiological consequences of exposure to personally relevant TROs among both smokers (n = 17) and nonsmokers (n = 17). Individuals carried a global positioning system (GPS) tracker for 2 weeks. Traces were used to identify TROs and control outlets that fell inside and outside their ideographically defined activity space. Participants underwent functional MRI (fMRI) scanning during which they were presented with images of these storefronts, along with similar store images from a different county and rated their familiarity with these stores. The main effect of activity space was additive with a Smoking status × Store type interaction, resulting in smokers exhibiting greater neural activation to TROs falling inside activity space within the parahippocampus, precuneus, medial prefrontal cortex, and dorsal anterior insula. A similar pattern was observed for familiarity ratings. Together, these preliminary findings suggest that the otherwise distinct neural systems involved in self‐orientation/self‐relevance and smoking motivation may act in concert and underlie TRO influence on smoking behavior. This study also offers a novel methodological framework for evaluating the influence of community features on neural activity that can be readily adapted to study other health behaviors.
The historic flowering behaviour of River Red‐gum and Black Box in a flooding forest
Authors: Keatley Marie R. , Bren Leon J. , Hudson Irene L.
Published: March 2021

River Red‐gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and Black Box (E. largiflorens) are the dominant tree species of Barmah forest, Victoria; part of a floodplain ecosystem which has been identified as being under threat due to the reduced frequency and duration and altered timing of flooding associated with river regulation, water extraction and drought. The flooding regime plays a significant role in the phenology in both these species. Hence, establishing past flowering behaviour using long‐term records (1934 to 1973) provides a historical baseline against which current and future flowering behaviour can be judged. Black Box was more consistent in its flowering, with an annual failure recurrence interval of 1 in 36 years less compared to 1 in 9.25 years for River Red‐gum. Black Box was also the more intense flowering species and flowered for longer (4.0 ± 1.9 months compared to 2.1 ± 1.4 months), with its flowering period encompassing River Red‐gum’s. The flowering of the two species was therefore synchronous. River Red‐gum displayed evidence of flowering more intensely every second year and therefore some dependence on the previous year’s flowering; this was absent in Black Box. The influence of flooding on flowering intensity over this 40‐year interval indicated that flooding 10 years out of 13 years with an inundation period greater than 6 months has a depressive effect on flowering intensity while flooding in 7 out of 13 years with an inundation period of no greater than 5 months enhances flowering intensity. This is more so for Black Box than River Red‐gum. However, flooding is a recurring event in this study, and therefore, it is difficult to isolate the effect of a single flood on flowering.
Description of larva and adult female ofGolofa claviger(Linnaeus, 1771) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), with notes on taxonomy and biology
Authors: Silva Fernando A B , Valois Marcely
Published: March 2021

The third‐stage larva ofGolofa claviger(Linnaeus, 1771) is described for the first time based on specimens collected in the municipalities of Acará and Tailândia, Pará state, northern Brazil. A diagnosis, updated description of the female, key for known third‐stage larvae ofGolofaHope, 1837, and illustrations of key morphological characters are also given. Furthermore, taxonomic literature on females and immature stages of Dynastini from the New World is tabulated to provide an overview of genera and possible historical trends.