bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Coupling of Nuclear Translocation to Cell Size Promotes Robustness to Fluctuations in YAP/TAZ Concentration
Authors: Jones Ian , Arias-Garcia Mar , Pascual-Vargas Patricia , Beykou Melina , Dent Lucas , Chaudhuri Tara Pal , Roumeliotis Theodoros , Choudhary Jyoti , Sero Julia , Bakal Chris
Published: February 2023

The concentration of many transcription factors exhibit high cell-to-cell variability due to differences in synthesis, degradation, and cell size. How these factors are robust to fluctuations in concentration is poorly understood. Here we quantified the single cell levels of the YAP/TAZ transcriptional co-activators in parallel with cell morphology for over 400,000 single cells across 17 cell lines. We show the whole cell concentration of YAP/TAZ sub-scales with respect to size as cells grow during proliferation. However, the mean nuclear concentration of YAP/TAZ remains constant during the cell cycle. Theoretical modelling demonstrates that the extent to which whole cell YAP/TAZ dilutes in single cells during proliferative growth dictates the variability of YAP/TAZ levels across the population. Integrative analysis of imaging and proteomic data show the average nuclear YAP/TAZ concentration is predicted by differences in RAS/MAPK signalling, focal adhesion maturation, and nuclear transport processes. We developed a statistical framework capable of discriminating between perturbations that affect YAP/TAZ directly, or via changes in morphology. Deployment of these models on genetic screening data or small-molecule treatments reveal that inhibition of MEK, CDK4/6, LATS and RhoGTPases decouple nuclear YAP/TAZ from cell morphology by regulating nuclear translocation. Thus signalling activity couples size changes to YAP/TAZ translocation; leading to a stable pool of nuclear YAP/TAZ during proliferation.

Significance Statement

Many proteins dilute/concentrate with changes in cell size. It is unclear how robustness in cell signalling emerges across differently sized cells, with varying intracellular protein concentrations, over generations. Here, we have shown that despite whole cell dilution of the transcriptional co activators YAP/TAZ with increasing size, a steady-state nuclear concentration distribution is maintained across the population. Thus nuclear transport promotes robustness of signal response in the face of a dwindling cytoplasmic YAP/TAZ levels. An integrative approach revealed that focal adhesions, RAS/MAPK and nuclear import contributes to the the maintenance of YAP/TAZ nuclear levels. Cells appear to have evolved systems to ensure robustness against alterations to cell size during the cell cycle.
Skeletal morphology of bird wings is determined by thermoregulatory demand for heat dissipation in warmer climates
Authors: Weeks Brian C. , Harvey Christina , Tobias Joseph A. , Sheard Catherine , Zhou Zhizhuo , Fouhey David F.
Published: February 2023

The tendency for animals in warmer climates to be longer-limbed (Allen’s Rule) is widely attributed to the demands of thermoregulation. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear, because variation in limb-length can typically be driven by selection for both efficient heat retention and increased heat dissipation capacity. Using comparative phylogenetic models, we find that occurrence in warmer climates is associated with longer wing bones for 1,520 species of passerine birds. The highly vascularized musculature along these bones is only uncovered during flight, when the wings function as the primary site of heat exchange, cooling the organism by dissipating excess heat generated by muscular activity. Conversely, the musculature along the wing bones is insulated by feathering when at rest, playing a negligible role in heat retention, even in colder climates. Given this asymmetry in thermoregulatory roles, we can identify the positive relationship between temperature and wing bone length as a phenotypic gradient shaped by increased demand for heat dissipation in warmer climates. Our findings provide a clear illustration of the mechanism by which global warming can drive spatial and temporal trends in appendage length, and also highlight the role of heat dissipation in reshaping even the most critical features of vertebrate anatomy.

Significance Statement

Animals tend to be longer-limbed in warmer climates, but it remains unclear whether this pattern is driven by selection for cold tolerance at low temperatures or efficient heat dissipation at high temperatures. We show that for 1,520 species of passerines, bird wing bones are relatively longer in warmer climates. The vascularized musculature along these bones primarily functions in heat exchange during flight, when the overwhelming thermoregulatory challenge is dissipating heat, suggesting longer wing-bone length is driven by heat dissipation demands. Our findings reveal the pervasive impacts of thermoregulatory demands on even the most important functional traits.
Late-life isoleucine restriction promotes physiological and molecular signatures of healthy aging
Authors: Yeh Chung-Yang , Chini Lucas C.S. , Davidson Jessica W. , Garcia Gonzalo G. , Gallagher Meredith S. , Freichels Isaac T. , Calubag Mariah F. , Rodgers Allison C. , Green Cara L. , Babygirija Reji , Sonsalla Michelle M. , Pak Heidi H. , Trautman Michaela , Hacker Timothy A. , Miller Richard A , Simcox Judith , Lamming Dudley W.
Published: February 2023

In defiance of the paradigm that calories from all sources are equivalent, we and others have shown that dietary protein is a dominant regulator of healthy aging. The restriction of protein or the branched-chain amino acid isoleucine promotes healthspan and extends lifespan when initiated in young or adult mice. However, many interventions are less efficacious or even deleterious when initiated in aged animals. Here, we investigate the physiological, metabolic, and molecular consequences of consuming a diet with a 67% reduction of all amino acids (Low AA), or of isoleucine alone (Low Ile), in male and female C57BL/6J.Nia mice starting at 20 months of age. We find that both diet regimens effectively reduce adiposity and improve glucose tolerance, which were benefits that were not mediated by reduced calorie intake. Both diets improve specific aspects of frailty, slow multiple molecular indicators of aging rate, and rejuvenate the aging heart and liver at the molecular level. These results demonstrate that Low AA and Low Ile diets can drive youthful physiological and molecular signatures, and support the possibility that these dietary interventions could help to promote healthy aging in older adults.
Clustering-independent estimation of cell abundances in bulk tissues using single-cell RNA-seq data
Authors: Aubin Rachael G. , Montelongo Javier , Hu Robert , Gunther Elijah , Nicodemus Patrick , Camara Pablo G.
Published: February 2023

Single-cell RNA-sequencing has transformed the study of biological tissues by enabling transcriptomic characterizations of their constituent cell states. Computational methods for gene expression deconvolution use this information to infer the cell composition of related tissues profiled at the bulk level. However, current deconvolution methods are restricted to discrete cell types and have limited power to make inferences about continuous cellular processes like cell differentiation or immune cell activation. We present ConDecon, a clustering-independent method for inferring the likelihood for each cell in a single-cell dataset to be present in a bulk tissue. ConDecon represents an improvement in phenotypic resolution and functionality with respect to regression-based methods. Using ConDecon, we discover the implication of neurodegenerative microglia inflammatory pathways in the mesenchymal transformation of pediatric ependymoma and characterize their spatial trajectories of activation. The generality of this approach enables the deconvolution of other data modalities such as bulk ATAC-seq data.
Nucleus Accumbens Local Circuit for Cue-Dependent Aversive Learning
Authors: Belilos Andrew , Gray Cortez , Sanders Christie , Black Destiny , Mays Elizabeth , Richie Christopher , Sengupta Ayesha , Hake Holly , Francis T. Chase
Published: February 2023

Response to threatening environmental stimuli requires detection and encoding of important environmental features that dictate threat. Aversive events are highly salient which promotes associative learning about stimuli that signal this threat. The nucleus accumbens is uniquely positioned to process this salient, aversive information and promote motivated output, through plasticity on the major projection neurons in the brain area. We uncovered a nucleus accumbens core local circuit whereby excitatory plasticity facilitates learning and recall of discrete aversive cues. We demonstrate that putative nucleus accumbens substance P release and long-term excitatory plasticity on dopamine 2 receptor expressing projection neurons is required for cue-dependent fear learning. Additionally, we found fear learning and recall were dependent on distinct projection-neuron subtypes. Our work demonstrates a critical role for Nucleus Accumbens substance P in cue-dependent aversive learning.
Spontaneous onset of cellular markers of inflammation and genome instability during aging in the immune niche of the naturally short-lived turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri)
Authors: Morabito Gabriele , Dönertas Handan Melike , Sperti Luca , Seidel Jens , Poursadegh Aysan , Poeschla Michael , Valenzano Dario Riccardo
Published: February 2023

Turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) are naturally short-lived vertebrates, recapitulating several aspects of human aging, including protein aggregation, telomere shortening, cellular senescence, and declined antibody diversity. The mechanistic causes of systemic aging in killifish are still poorly understood. Here we ask whether killifish undergo significant age-dependent changes in the main hematopoietic organ, which together could contribute to systemic aging. To characterize immune aging in killifish, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing, proteomics, cytometry and a functional in vitro assay. Our data indicate how old killifish display increased inflammatory markers, and while immune cells from adult killifish display increased markers of proliferation and replication-independent DNA repair in progenitor-like cell clusters, progenitors from old killifish display extensive markers of DNA double-strand breaks. In less than 10 weeks, killifish undergo several dramatic spontaneous aging-related changes in the immune niche, which could be functionally linked with its extensive systemic aging and serve as targets for anti-aging interventions.
Watching ion-driven kinetics of ribozyme folding and misfolding caused by energetic and topological frustration one molecule at a time
Authors: Hori Naoto , Thirumalai D.
Published: February 2023

Folding of ribozymes into well-defined tertiary structures usually requires divalent cations. How Mg2+ions direct the folding kinetics has been a long-standing unsolved problem because experiments cannot detect the positions and dynamics of ions. To address this problem, we used molecular simulations to dissect the folding kinetics of theAzoarcusribozyme by monitoring the path each molecule takes to reach the folded state. We quantitatively establish that Mg2+binding to specific sites, coupled with counter-ion release of monovalent cations, stimulate the formation of secondary and tertiary structures, leading to diverse pathways that include direct rapid folding and trapping in misfolded structures. In some molecules, key tertiary structural elements form when Mg2+ions bind to specific RNA sites at the earliest stages of the folding, leading to specific collapse and rapid folding. In others, the formation of non-native base pairs, whose rearrangement is needed to reach the folded state, is the rate-limiting step. Escape from energetic traps, driven by thermal fluctuations, occurs readily. In contrast, the transition to the native state from long-lived topologically trapped native-like metastable states is extremely slow. Specific collapse and formation of energetically or topologically frustrated states occur early in the assembly process.

Graphical abstract
The synergetic effect from the combination of different adsorption resins in batch and semi-continuous cultivations ofS. cerevisiaecell factories to produce acetylated Taxanes precursors of the anticancer drug Taxol
Authors: Santoyo-Garcia Jorge H. , Walls Laura E. , Valdivia-Cabrera Marissa , Malci Koray , Jonguitud-Borrego Nestor , Halliday Karen J. , Rios-Solis Leonardo
Published: February 2023

In situproduct recovery is an efficient way to intensify bioprocesses as it can perform adsorption of the desired natural products in the cultivation. However, it is common to use only one adsorbent (liquid or solid) to perform the product recovery. For this study, the use of anin situproduct recovery method with three combined commercial resins (HP-20, XAD7HP and HP-2MG) with different chemical properties was performed. A new yeast strain ofSaccharomyces cerevisiaewas engineered using CRISPR Cas9 (strainEJ2) to deliver heterologous expression of oxygenated acetylated taxanes that are precursors of the anticancer drug Taxol ® (paclitaxel). Microscale cultivations using a definitive screening design (DSD) were set to get the best resin combinations and concentrations to retrieve high taxane titers. Once the best resin treatment was selected by the DSD, semi-continuous cultivation in high throughput microscale was performed to increase the total taxanes yield up to 783 ± 33 mg/L. The best T5α-yl Acetate yield obtained was up to 95 ± 4 mg/L, the highest titer of this compound ever reported by a heterologous expression. It was also observed that by using a combination of the resins in the cultivation, 8 additional uncharacterized taxanes were found in the gas chromatograms compared to the dodecane overlay method. Lastly, the cell-waste reactive oxygen species concentrations from the yeast were 1.5-fold lower in the resin’s treatment compared to the control with no adsorbent aid. The possible future implications of this method could be critical for bioprocess intensification, allowing the transition to a semi-continuous flow bioprocess. Further, this new methodology broadens the use of different organisms for natural product synthesis/discovery benefiting from clear bioprocess intensification advantages.
Liver-specific LXR inhibition represses reverse cholesterol transport in cholesterol-fed mice
Authors: Nishida Takafumi , Ayaori Makoto , Arakawa Junko , Suenaga Yumiko , Shiotani Kazusa , Uto-Kondo Harumi , Komatsu Tomohiro , Nakaya Kazuhiro , Endo Yasuhiro , Sasaki Makoto , Ikewaki Katsunori
Published: February 2023

Objective

High density lipoprotein (HDL) exerts an anti-atherosclerotic effect via reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). Several phases of RCT are transcriptionally controlled by Liver X receptors (LXRs). Although macrophage LXRs reportedly promote RCT, it is still uncertain whether hepatic LXRs affect RCTin vivo.

Approach and Results

To address this question, we induced hepatic overexpression of sulfotransferase family cytosolic 2B member 1 (Sult2b1) in mice. Sult2b1 facilitates generation of sulfated cholesterol, resulting in reduced production of LXR ligands (oxysterols), which impairs LXR signaling. Adenoviral vectors expressing Sult2b1 (Ad-Sult2b1) or luciferase were intravenously injected into mice under a normal or high-cholesterol diet. Hepatic Sult2b1 overexpression resulted in reduced expression of LXR-target genes - ATP-binding cassette transporter G5/G8, cholesterol 7α hydroxylase and LXRα itself - respectively reducing or increasing cholesterol levels in HDL and apolipoprotein B–containing lipoproteins (apoB-L). A macrophage RCT assay revealed that Sult2b1 overexpression inhibited fecal excretion of macrophage-derived3H-cholesterol only under a high-cholesterol diet. In a HDL kinetic study, Ad-Sult2b1 promoted catabolism/hepatic uptake of HDL-derived cholesterol, thereby reducing fecal excretion. We next performed anin vitrolipoprotein production assay which revealed a Sult2b1-mediated reduction/increase in HDL or apoB-L secretion from hepatocytes, respectively. Finally, in LXRα/β double knockout mice, hepatic Sult2b1 overexpression increased apoB-L levels, but there were no differences in HDL levels or RCT compared to the control, indicating that Sult2b1-mediated effects on HDL/RCT and apoB-L were distinct: the former was LXR-dependent, but not the latter.

Conclusions

Hepatic LXR inhibition negatively regulates circulating HDL levels and RCT by reducing LXR-target gene expression.

Graphic Abstract
Graded multidimensional clinical and radiological variation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and posterior cortical atrophy
Authors: Ingram Ruth U. , Ocal Dilek , Halai Ajay D. , Pobric Gorana , Cash David , Crutch Sebastian J. , Yong Keir X.X. , Lambon Ralph Matthew A.
Published: February 2023

Background and Objectives

Alzheimer’s disease spans heterogeneous typical and atypical phenotypes. Posterior cortical atrophy is one striking example, characterised by prominent impairment in visual and other posterior functions in contrast to typical, amnestic Alzheimer’s disease. The primary study objective was to establish how the similarities and differences of cognition and brain volumes within Alzheimer’s disease and posterior cortical atrophy (and by extension other Alzheimer’s disease variants), can be conceptualised as systematic variations across a transdiagnostic, graded multidimensional space.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional, single-center, observational, cohort study performed at the National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery, London, UK. Data were collected from a cohort of PCA and AD patients, matched for age, disease duration and MMSE scores. There were two sets of outcome measures: (1) scores on a neuropsychological battery containing 22 tests spanning visuoperceptual and visuospatial processing, episodic memory, language, executive functions, calculation, and visuospatial processing; and (2) measures extracted from high-resolution T1-weighted volumetric MRI scans. Principal component analysis was used to extract the transdiagnostic dimensions of phenotypical variation from the detailed neuropsychological data. Voxel-based morphometry was used to examine associations between the PCA-derived clinical phenotypes and the structural measures.

Results

We enrolled 93 PCA participants (mean: age = 59.9 yrs, MMSE = 21.2; 59/93 female) and 58 AD participants (mean: age = 57.1 yrs, MMSE = 19.7; 22/58 female). The principal component analysis for posterior cortical atrophy (sample adequacy confirmed: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin = 0.865) extracted three dimensions accounting for 61.0% of variance in patients’ performance, reflecting general cognitive impairment, visuoperceptual deficits and visuospatial impairments. Plotting Alzheimer’s disease cases into the posterior cortical atrophy-derived multidimensional space, and vice versa, revealed graded, overlapping variations between cases along these dimensions, with no evidence for categorical-like patient clustering. Likewise, the relationship between brain volumes and scores on the extracted dimensions was overlapping for posterior cortical atrophy and Alzheimer’s disease cases.

Discussion

These results provide evidence supporting a reconceptualization of clinical and radiological variation in these heterogenous Alzheimer’s disease phenotypes as being along shared phenotypic continua spanning posterior cortical atrophy and Alzheimer’s disease, arising from systematic graded variations within a transdiagnostic, multidimensional neurocognitive geometry.
Metabolic modeling of sex-specific tissue predicts mechanisms of differences in toxicological responses
Authors: Moore Connor J. , Holstege Christopher P. , Papin Jason A.
Published: February 2023

Male subjects in animal and human studies are disproportionately used for toxicological testing. This discrepancy is evidenced in clinical medicine where females are more likely than males to experience liver-related adverse events in response to xenobiotics. While previous work has shown gene expression differences between the sexes, there is a lack of systems-level approaches to understand the direct clinical impact effect of these differences. Here, we integrate gene expression data with metabolic network models to characterize the impact of transcriptional changes of metabolic genes in the context of sex differences and drug treatment. We used Tasks Inferred from Differential Expression (TIDEs), a reaction-centric approach to analyzing differences in gene expression, to discover that androgen, ether lipid, glucocorticoid, tryptophan, and xenobiotic metabolism have more activity in the male liver, and serotonin, melatonin, pentose, glucuronate, and vitamin A metabolism have more activity in the female liver. When TIDEs is used to compare expression differences in treated and untreated hepatocytes, we see little response in those sex-altered subsystems, and the largest differences are in subsystems related to lipid metabolism. Finally, using sex-specific transcriptomic data, we create individual and averaged male and female liver models and find differences in the import of bile acids and salts. This result suggests that the sexually dimorphic behavior of the liver may be caused by differences in enterohepatic recirculation, and we suggest an investigation into sex-specific microbiome composition as an avenue of further research.

Author Summary

Male-bias in clinical testing of drugs has led to a disproportionate number of hepatotoxic events in women. Previous works use gene-by-gene differences in biological sex to explain this discrepancy, but there is little focus on the systematic interactions of these differences. To this end, we use a combination of gene expression data and metabolic modeling to compare metabolic activity between the male and female liver and treated and untreated hepatocytes. We find several subsystems with differential activity in each sex; however, when comparing these subsystems with those pathways altered by hepatotoxic agents, we find little overlap. To explore these differences on a reaction-by-reaction basis, we use the same sex-specific transcriptomic data to contextualize the previously published Human1 human cell metabolic model. In these models we find a difference in flux for the import of bile acids and salts, suggesting a potential difference in enterohepatic circulation. These findings can help guide future drug design, toxicological testing, and sex-specific research to better account for the entire human population.
CircSSNN: circRNA-binding site prediction via sequence self-attention neural networks with pre-normalization
Authors: Cao Chao , Yang Shuhong , Li Mengli , Li Chungui
Published: February 2023

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play a significant role in some diseases by acting as transcription templates. Therefore, analyzing the interaction mechanism between circRNA and RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) has far-reaching implications for the prevention and treatment of diseases. Existing models for circRNA-RBP identification most adopt CNN, RNN, or their variants as feature extractors. Most of them have drawbacks such as poor parallelism, insufficient stability, and inability to capture long-term dependence. To address these issues, we designed a Seq_transformer module to extract deep semantic features and then propose a CircRNA-RBP identification model based on Sequence Self-attention with Pre-normalization. We test it on 37 circRNA datasets and 31 linear RNA datasets using the same set of hyperparameters, and the overall performance of the proposed model is highly competitive and, in some cases, significantly out-performs state-of-the-art methods. The experimental results indicate that the proposed model is scalable, transformable, and can be applied to a wide range of applications without the need for task-oriented fine-tuning of parameters. The code is available athttps://github.com/cc646201081/CircSSNN.

Author summary

In this paper, we propose a new method completely using the self-attention mechanism to capture deep semantic features of RNA sequences. On this basis, we construct a CircSSNN model for the cirRNA-RBP identification. The proposed model constructs a feature scheme by fusing circRNA sequence representations with statistical distributions, static local context, and dynamic global context. With a stable and efficient network architecture, the distance between any two positions in a sequence is reduced to a constant, so CircSSNN can quickly capture the long-term dependence and extract the deep semantic features. Experiments on 37 circRNA datasets show that the proposed model has overall advantages in stability, parallelism, and prediction performance. Keeping the network structure and hyperparameters unchanged, we directly apply CircSSNN to linRNA datasets. The favorable results show that CircSSNN can be transformed simply and efficiently without task-oriented tuning. In conclusion, CircSSNN can serve as an appealing circRNA-RBP identification tool with good identification performance, excellent scalability, and wide application scope, which is expected to reduce the professional threshold required for hyperparameter tuning in bioinformatics analysis.
Investigation of the strength of forged rivet joints made with different bucking bar gaps
Authors: Soylak Mustafa , Erturun Veysel
Published: February 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the rivet heads formed on the rivet strength by an experimental study if the bucking bar used in the forged rivet application includes gaps with different angles.

Design/methodology/approach

0.81 (0.032”) mm thick 2024 T3 sheets were used for the rivet joints. AD 2117 T4 forged rivets with a diameter of 3.2 mm (0.125″, 1/8″) are used for the joints. The special bucking bars (sidewall intersection angles of flat, 40°, 60° and 80°) were manufactured for the riveting process. To determine the mechanical properties of the prepared samples, cross-tension and tensile-shear tests were performed on a universal tensile testing machine.

Findings

As a result of the tensile-shear tests and cross-tensile, use of an 80 degrees bucking bar instead of rivets with a flat bucking bar increases the strength of the joint by approximately 20%. There is no systematic change in elongation. The results of tensile-shear and cross-tensile tests showed that forging rivets by special bucking bars have a significant effect on joint strength.

Originality/value

Increase in strength will require the use of thinner sheet metal and smaller rivets to achieve the same strength. This will reduce the weight of the aircraft. Weight reduction also means less fuel consumption and more economical flight. This increase in strength is a very important scientific achievement.
A study on the competitive dissemination of disinformation and knowledge on social media
Authors: Wu YiShu , Wang Dandan , Ma Feicheng
Published: February 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the evolutionary path and stable strategy for the competitive dissemination between disinformation and knowledge on social media to provide effective solutions to curb the dissemination of disinformation and promote the spread of knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the social capital (SC) theory, the benefit matrix is constructed and an evolutional game model is established in this paper. Through model solving and Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB) simulation, the factors that influence disinformation-believing users (DUs) and knowledge-believing users (KUs) to choose different strategies are analyzed.

Findings

The initial dissemination willingness, the disinformation infection probability, the knowledge infection probability and the knowledge penetration probability are proved to be crucial factors influencing the game equilibrium in the competitive dissemination process of disinformation and knowledge. Moreover, some countermeasures and recommendations for the governance of disinformation are proposed.

Originality/value

Currently most research interest lies in the disinformation dissemination model but ignores the interaction between disinformation and knowledge in the diffusion process. This study reveals the dynamic mechanism of social media users disseminating disinformation and knowledge and is expected to promote the formation of cleaner cyberspace.
Understanding TMS and knowledge transfer in the social media mobile App context
Authors: Yan Yalan , Xin Siyu , Zha Xianjin
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Knowledge transfer which refers to the communication of knowledge from a source so that it is learned and applied by a recipient has long been a challenge for knowledge management. The purpose of this study is to understand influencing factors of transactive memory system (TMS) and knowledge transfer.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the theories of communication visibility, social distance and flow, this study develops a research model. Then, data are collected from users of the social media mobile App. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is employed to analyze data.

Findings

TMS is a valid second-order construct in the social media mobile app context, which is more reflected by credibility. Meanwhile, communication visibility and social distance each have positive effects on TMS which further has a positive effect on knowledge transfer. Flow has a positive effect on knowledge transfer.

Practical implications

Developers of the mobile App should carefully consider the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in supporting TMS and knowledge transfer. They should consider recommendation algorithm so that the benefit of communication visibility can be retained. They should design the feature to classify users based on similarity so as to stimulate users' feeling of close social distance. They should keep on improving features based on users' holistic experience.

Originality/value

This study incorporates the perspectives of communication visibility, social distance and flow to understand TMS and knowledge transfer, presenting a new lens for research.
The fractal active low-pass filter within the local fractional derivative on the Cantor set
Authors: Wang Kang-Jia
Published: February 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to derive a new fractal active low-pass filter (LPF) within the local fractional derivative (LFD) calculus on the Cantor set (CS).

Design/methodology/approach

To the best of the author’s knowledge, a new fractal active LPF within the LFD on the CS is proposed for the first time in this work. By defining the nondifferentiable (ND) lumped elements on the fractal set, the author successfully extracted its ND transfer function by applying the local fractional Laplace transform. The properties of the ND transfer function on the CS are elaborated in detail.

Findings

The comparative results between the fractal active LPF (for γ = ln2/ln3) and the classic one (for γ = 1) on the amplitude–frequency and phase–frequency characteristics show that the proposed method is correct and effective, and is expected to shed light on the theory study of the fractal electrical systems.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, the fractal active LPF within the LFD calculus on the CS is proposed for the first time in this study. The proposed method can be used to study the other problems in the fractal electrical systems, and is expected to shed a light on the theory study of the fractal electrical systems.
A sensor data mining process for identifying root causes associated with low yield in semiconductor manufacturing
Authors: Kim Eunji , An Jinwon , Cho Hyun-Chang , Cho Sungzoon , Lee Byeongeon
Published: February 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the root cause of low yield problems in the semiconductor manufacturing process using sensor data continuously collected from manufacturing equipment and describe the process environment in the equipment.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a sensor data mining process based on the sequential modeling of random forests for low yield diagnosis. The process consists of sequential steps: problem definition, data preparation, excursion time and critical sensor identification, data visualization and root cause identification.

Findings

A case study is conducted using real-world data collected from a semiconductor manufacturer in South Korea to demonstrate the effectiveness of the diagnosis process. The proposed model successfully identified the excursion time and critical sensors previously identified by domain engineers using costly manual examination.

Originality/value

The proposed procedure helps domain engineers narrow down the excursion time and critical sensors from the massive sensor data. The procedure's outcome is highly interpretable, informative and easy to visualize.
Project-based learning and pedagogies for virtual reality-aided green building education: case study on a university course
Authors: Hou Huiying (Cynthia) , Lai Joseph H.K. , Wu Hao
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Green building education, an important aspect of sustainability in higher education, has rapidly expanded across the world. Yet, a bespoke pedagogical model integrating the essential elements of green building knowledge into a university course is lacking. To plug this deficiency, this study aims to develop an innovative pedagogical model that incorporates four types of teaching activities, namely, lecture, virtual reality (VR)-aided site visit, physical site visit and practicum-based project.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on an extensive review of the relevant literature and course materials, a pedagogical model was constructed for application to the teaching and learning activities of a university’s hospitality and real-estate programme. Using a case study approach involving in-depth interviews with green building professionals and a workshop coupled with an online survey on building professionals, the model’s transformative effectiveness was evaluated.

Findings

The study finds that the pedagogical model was able to effectively equip students with the essential green building knowledge pertinent to the different stages of a building life cycle. Concerns about wider applications of the model, including barriers to implementation in other academic programmes and resources for updating the VR platform, were identified.

Originality/value

The VR-aided and project-based pedagogy model is novel and effective in delivering green building education. Future work, particularly expanding the VR platform to cover more green building cases, thereby allowing multiple case studies to be conducted, is recommended for illustrating further contributions and implications of the model.
Tax compliance of small and medium sized enterprises in Ghana
Authors: Nartey Edward
Published: February 2023

Purpose

Tax compliance studies have been extensively conducted across various jurisdictions. However, only partial answers have so far been provided for the question: “Why do people pay tax?”. The aim of this study is to report tax compliance behavior from both the supply side (SMEs) and demand side (tax collecting authorities) in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of 233 responses comprising 169 SME managers and 64 tax officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority qualified for the study. Data were modelled using covariance-based structural equations modelling (AMOS Graphics version 23).

Findings

Isomorphic forces and tax fairness have a positive impact on tax compliance. However, the impact of strategic response on tax compliance was insignificant, which suggests that, although SMEs in Ghana adopt different strategies to respond to institutional pressures, such strategies do not influence their tax compliance behavior.

Research limitations/implications

This study investigates tax compliance behavior among SMEs using a survey design from only one developing country – Ghana. Based on a cross-sectional survey and the approach used to gather the sample data, assessing any changes over time may be impossible.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that SMEs’ tax compliance behaviors are shaped by institutional pressures in terms of obeying tax laws and filling their tax returns in a consistent manner. Given that isomorphic forces and tax fairness are significant predictors of tax compliance, SME tax compliance can be improved if strong institutions are incorporated in the administration of taxes. The findings also support the logical thinking of tax fairness theory that the higher SMEs perceived the tax system to be fair, the more their compliance behavior is encouraged.

Originality/value

This study represents one of the few to provide preliminary empirical evidence on tax compliance from the supply side of taxation in a developing economy. Therefore, the findings have implications for taxpayers in Ghana.
Organisational identity development by entrepreneurial firms using social media: a process-based model
Authors: Badran Amer , Tanner Sean , Alton Dave
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This paper aims to explore how entrepreneurs use social media (SM) to develop their organisational identity within business networks.

Design/methodology/approach

A single embedded case study was used comprising a case firm entrepreneur and eight connected network actors within an artisan food context in Ireland. Data was collected using an in-depth interview complemented with content analysis of networked firms’ Facebook posts (N = 1,652) over a three-year period.

Findings

This paper identifies four common network processes through which entrepreneurs can leverage SM to develop their organisational identity within networks. The processes are network relating, collaborating within networks, interacting with trends and connecting with community.

Research limitations/implications

Findings are limited to the Irish artisan food sector and explore identity development through a single SM platform. The applicability and variation of use of the processes across industries would serve to further refine the processes identified.

Practical implications

Practically, the four processes through which identity within a network can be developed using SM can help entrepreneurs to access and position themselves within business networks, gain access to resources and overcome the classic limitations of newness and smallness.

Originality/value

This paper provides a conceptual framework illustrating the processes involved in developing entrepreneurial organisational identity within business networks using SM. This paper adds to a growing literature that places interaction at the heart of identity development and responds to calls to further understanding of the process of identity development for entrepreneurial ventures.
Factors influencing the assessment of witnesses in juridical contexts: a literature review. Legal, civil and psychological implications
Authors: Iudici Antonio , Stefano Miriam , Binato Davide
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This study aims to provide an overview of studies concerning bias in law, particularly in judges’ decisions. The authors intend to bring to light the factors that can most frequently lead to unequal decisions to enable judges to better perform their function.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review was used as a methodology based on studies involving judges and juries.

Findings

The evidence reported by this review suggests how difficult the judge’s job is and how they can be unconsciously influenced by inferences, deductions and biases. The results show that the pleasantness of the witness and the confidence they exhibit during testification are crucial factors in influencing the decisions of judges and jurors. From these studies, it can be assumed that different personal aspects – smiling, pleasantness and the witness’s credibility – can be positively associated with each other, which could compromise the ongoing evaluation. Gender is another factor that can influence evaluations; in fact, witnesses are evaluated based on their own “gender” as well as that of the jurors. Another essential factor is self-confidence. Also, the age of both of the judge and of the witness can be a factor that influences decisions in court. Other factors such as communication effectiveness, degree of accuracy of reported information and non-verbal behaviour were also found to be important.

Research limitations/implications

Among the limitations of this research, the authors have to consider the low number of available research and that the most of these derive from a specific cultural context – the American one. There may also be limits to the way in which certain concepts are used in different parts of the world, particularly through a very broad construct, such as the credibility of witness.

Practical implications

This study highlights which inferences and biases can characterise decision-making processes and, above all, highlights the need for specific training courses aimed at managing the many processes involved in influencing human decisions.

Social implications

The authors believe that this work can raise awareness about the series of unconscious reasoning that may happen in the legal field, which has a major impact on people’s lives and on the general perception of justice.

Originality/value

In this research, the authors have considered some of the criteria that may intervene in the evaluation of witnesses, those present in the current scientific literature. From the research, it seems appropriate and necessary to provide judges with adequate training aimed at the recognition of their cognitive processes and bias. In fact, when they were made aware of them, they were less affected by bias, resulting in more objective and limiting improper inferences.
Assessing performance using maturity model: a multiple case study of public health supply chains in Nigeria
Authors: Abdulkadir Ramatu , Matellini Dante Benjamin , Jenkinson Ian D. , Pyne Robyn , Nguyen Trung Thanh
Published: February 2023

Purpose

This study aims to determine the factors and dynamic systems behaviour of essential medicine stockout in public health-care supply chains. The authors examine the constraints and effects of mental models on medicine stockout to develop a dynamic theory of medicine availability towards saving patients’ lives.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a mixed-method approach. Starting with a survey method, followed by in-depth interviews with stakeholders within five health-care supply chains to determine the dynamic feedback leading to stockout and conclude by developing a network mental model for medicines availability.

Findings

The authors identified five constraints and developed five case mental models. The authors develop a dynamic theory of medicine availability across cases and identify feedback loops and variables leading to medicine availability.

Research limitations/implications

The need to include mental models of stakeholders like manufacturers and distributors of medicines to understand the system completely. Group surveys are prone to power dynamics and bias from group thinking. This survey’s quantitative output could minimize the bias.

Originality/value

This study uniquely uses a mixed-method of survey method and in-depth interviews of experts to assess the essential medicine stockout in Nigeria. To improve medicine availability, the authors develop a dynamic network mental model to understand the system structure, feedback and behaviour driving stockouts. This research will benefit public policymakers and hospital managers in designing policies that reduce medicine stockout.
Islamic work ethic in behavioral accounting
Authors: Caniago Indra , Yuliansyah Yuliansyah , Dewi Fajar Gustiawaty , Komalasari Agrianti
Published: February 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this research paper is to review various results regarding ethics in behavioral accounting. It critiques accountants’ ethical standards and discusses Islamic work ethics to solve related problems.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed articles on accountant ethics published in Scopus from 2011 to 2021.

Findings

The findings describe a broader trend with a focus on the internal and external factors that influence the ethical behavior of accountants. The external factors are culture, ethical climate and training and education, whereas the internal ones are demographics, emotions and moral intensity, honesty, intention, personal attributes and professional vs commitment. Furthermore, Islamic work ethics is presented to overcome the problem of ethical behavior among accountants.

Research limitations/implications

It was concluded that knowledge of ethics in behavioral accounting provides sufficient scope for further research. The results show that the 11 criteria of Islamic work ethics produce quality work capable of avoiding violations while working for the good of the community and the environment.

Originality/value

The initial research focused on the relationship between Islamic work ethics in behavioral accounting.
Enhanced review facilitation service for C2C support: machine learning approaches
Authors: Ping Yanni , Buoye Alexander , Vakil Ahmad
Published: February 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to present a methodology for enhancing the quality and usefulness of online reviews for prospective customers to investigate how this contemporary form of instrumental support can be facilitated to strengthen customer-to-customer support.

Design/methodology/approach

This study develops an analytics framework with applications of machine learning models using customer review data from Amazon.com. Linear regression is commonly used for review helpfulness and sales prediction. In this study, Random Forest model is applied because of its strong performance and reliability. To advance the methodology, a custom script in Python is created to generate Partial Dependence Plots for intensive exploration of the dependency interpretations of review helpfulness and sales. The authors also apply K-Means to cluster reviewers and use the results to generate reviewer qualification scores and collective reviewer scores, which are incorporated into the review facilitation process.

Findings

The authors find the average helpfulness ratio of the reviewer as the most important determinant of reviewer qualification. The collective reviewer qualification for a product created based on reviewers’ characteristics is found important to customers’ purchase intentions and can be used as a metric for product comparison.

Practical implications

The findings of this study suggest that service improvement efforts can be performed by developing software applications to monitor reviewer qualifications dynamically, bestowing a badge to top quality reviewers, redesigning review sorting interfaces and displaying the consumer rating distribution on the product page, resulting in improved information reliability and consumer trust.

Originality/value

This study adds to the research on customer-to-customer support in the service literature. As customer reviews perform as a contemporary form of instrumental support, the authors validate the determinants of review helpfulness and perform an intensive exploration of its dependency interpretation. Reviewer qualification and the collective reviewer qualification scores are generated as new predictors and incorporated into the helpfulness-based review facilitation services.