bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Complementary CRISPR screen highlights the contrasting role of membrane-bound and soluble ICAM-1 in regulating antigen specific tumor cell killing by cytotoxic T cells
Authors: Mattes Ann-Kathrin , Gamez Marta Puig , Martin Eva , Boryn Lukasz , Baskaran Praveen , Huber Heinrich J. , Schuler Michael , Park John E. , Swee Lee Kim
Published: August 2022

Cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes (CTLs) are key players of adaptive anti-tumor immunity based on their ability to specifically recognize and destroy tumor cells. Many cancer immunotherapies rely on unleashing CTL function. However, tumors can evade killing through strategies which are not yet fully elucidated. To provide deeper insight into tumor evasion mechanisms in an antigen-dependent manner, we established a human co-culture system composed of tumor and primary immune cells. Using this system, we systematically investigated intrinsic regulators of tumor resistance by conducting a complementary CRISPR screen approach. By harnessing CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) and CRISPR knockout (KO) technology in parallel, we investigated gene gain-of-function as well as loss-of-function across genes with annotated function. CRISPRa and CRISPR KO screens uncovered 186 and 704 hits respectively, with 60 gene hits overlapping between both. These data confirmed the role of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and autophagy pathways and uncovered new genes implicated in tumor resistance to killing. Notably, we discovered thatILKAPencoding the integrin-linked kinase-associated serine/threonine phosphatase 2C, a gene previously unknown to play a role in antigen specific CTL-mediated killing, mediate tumor resistance independently from regulating antigen presentation, IFN-γ or TNF-α responsiveness. Moreover, our work describes the contrasting role of soluble and membrane-bound ICAM-1 in regulating tumor cell killing. The deficiency of membrane-bound ICAM-1 (mICAM-1) or the overexpression of soluble ICAM-1 (sICAM-1) induced resistance to CTL killing, whereas PD-L1 overexpression had no impact. These results highlight the essential role of ICAM-1 at the immunological synapse between tumor and CTL and the antagonist function of sICAM-1.
Productive and latent HIV infections originate in resting CD4+T cells
Authors: Wietgrefe Stephen W. , Anderson Jodi , Duan Lijie , Southern Peter J. , Zuck Paul , Wu Guoxin , Howell Bonnie J. , Reilly Cavan , Kroon Eugène , Chottanapund Suthat , Buranapraditkun Supranee , Sacdalan Carlo , Tulmethakaan Nicha , Colby Donn J. , Chomchey Nitiya , Prueksakaew Peeriya , Pinyakorn Suteeraporn , Trichavaroj Rapee , Hsu Denise , Vasan Sandhya , Manasnayakorn Sopark , de Souza Mark , Tovanabutra Sodsai , Schuetz Alexandra , Robb Merlin L. , Phanuphak Nittaya , Ananworanich Jintanat , Schacker Timothy W. , Haase Ashley T.
Published: August 2022

Productively and latently HIV-infected cells are the source of virus that respectively establishes and sustains systemic infections and the reservoir in which HIV persists and rebounds when anti-retroviral therapy (ART) is interrupted. While infected activated CD4+T cells are thought to be the principal source of HIV production, and reversion of activated infected cells to a resting state as the major pathway to establishment of the latently infected cell reservoir, we now show that in the earliest stages of detectable HIV infection in the lymphoid tissue reservoir, infection of resting CD4+T cells establishes the first populations of both productively and latently infected cells. We further show that the early infection of resting T cells reflects their predominance in lymphoid tissues and the expression of pTEFb in vivo in resting T cells to support their infection. The immediate establishment of productively and latently infected cell populations enable HIV to propagate and persist, and generates reservoirs from which infection can rebound despite instituting ART at the earliest stage of detectable infection.
hERG1 channel subunit composition mediates proton inhibition of IKr in hiPSC-CMs
Authors: Ukachukwu Chiamaka U. , Jimenez-Vazquez Eric N. , Jain Abhilasha , Jones David K.
Published: August 2022

hERG1 conducts cardiac IKr and is critical for repolarization of the human heart. Reduced IKr causes long QT syndrome and increases the risk for cardiac arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. At least two subunits combine to form functional hERG1 channels, hERG1a and hERG1b. Changes in hERG 1a/1b subunit abundance modulates IKr kinetics, magnitude, and drug sensitivity. Studies from native cardiac tissue have suggested that hERG1 subunit abundance is dynamically regulated, but the impact of altered subunit abundance on IKr and its response to external stressors is not well understood. Here, we used a substrate-driven hiPSC-CM maturation model to investigate how changes in relative hERG 1a/1b subunit abundance impact the response of native IKr to extracellular acidosis, a known component of ischemic heart disease and sudden infant death syndrome. IKr recorded from immature hiPSC-CMs display a two-fold greater inhibition by extracellular acidosis (pH 6.3) compared to matured hiPSC-CMs. qRT-PCR and immunocytochemistry demonstrated that hERG1a subunit mRNA and protein were upregulated, and hERG1b subunit mRNA and protein were downregulated in matured hiPSC-CMs compared to immature hiPSC-CMs. The shift in subunit abundance in matured hiPSC-CMs was accompanied by an increased in IKr density. Silencing the impact of hERG1b on native IKr kinetics by overexpressing a polypeptide identical to the hERG1a PAS domain reduced the magnitude of IKr proton inhibition in immature hiPSC-CMs to levels comparable to those observed in matured hiPSC-CMs. These data demonstrate that hERG1 subunit abundance is dynamically regulated and that hERG1 subunit abundance determines IKr sensitivity to protons in hiPSC-CMs.
Structures of LIG1 uncover the mechanism of sugar discrimination against a ribonucleotide at 3’- and 5’-end of the nick DNA
Authors: Tang Qun , Gulkis Mitchell , Çağlayan Melike
Published: August 2022

Human DNA ligase I (LIG1) is the main replicative ligase that seals Okazaki fragments and finalizes DNA repair pathways by joining canonical 3’-OH and 5’-P ends of the nick DNA in a three-step ligation reaction. Ribonucleotides can be misincorporated by DNA polymerases resulting in a nick with 3’-ribonucleotide while RNase H2 mediated cleavage leaves a nick harboring 5’-ribonucleotide during ribonucleotide excision repair. However, how LIG1 surveils DNA ends with a “wrong” sugar at atomic resolution is unknown. Here, we determine X-ray structures of LIG1/nick DNA complexes with 3’- or 5’-single ribonucleotide during different stages of the ligation reaction. Our LIG1/5’-rG:C structure reveals a global conformational change, which discriminates against 5’-RNA/DNA junctions at the initial step when the ligase-AMP intermediate is formed. Furthermore, we capture LIG1/3’-RNA-DNA heteroduplexes that are tolerated at the active site where AMP is transferred to nick DNA (step 2) and final phosphodiester bond formation occurs (step 3). Finally, we demonstrate the mutagenic and defective ligation of the nick DNA with 3’- and 5’-ribonucleotide, respectively,in vitro. Together, these results uncover how LIG1 encounters ribonucleotides embedded into genome during nuclear replication and the last step of DNA repair pathways to maintain genome integrity.
Ladder shaped microfluidic system enabling rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing with standardized concentration panel
Authors: Nguyen Ann V. , Yaghoobi Mohammad , Azizi Morteza , Davaritouchaee Maryam , Abbaspourrad Alireza
Published: August 2022

Antibiotics are often prescribed before pathogens are identified and susceptibility to the prescribed drug is confirmed; laboratory results may take up to 3 days. Using rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) this timeline can be compressed. We designed a microfluidic ladder-based system that generates a twofold serial dilution of antibiotics comparable to current national and international standards. This consolidated design, with minimal handling steps, has cut down the time-to-result for AST from 16-20 h to 4-5 h. Our system has a 91.75 % rate of agreement with the commercial AST system for Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial isolates from canine urinary tract infections (UTI) tested against seven clinically relevant antibiotics. Overall, the system showed a matching rate of 92.71 % - 94.54 % with Gram-negative pathogens, and 85.00 % - 88.57 % with Gram-positive pathogens with no statistical difference between the pathogens or antibiotics. We also tested bacteria filtered directly from urine samples, potentially reducing the total sample-to-result time from 2-3 days to 4 hours.
Overlapping local and systemic defense induced by an oomycete fatty acid MAMP and brown seaweed extract in tomato
Authors: Lewis Domonique C. , Stevens Danielle M. , Little Holly , Coaker Gitta L. , Bostock Richard M.
Published: August 2022

Eicosapolyenoic fatty acids are integral components of oomycete pathogens that can act as microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) to induce disease resistance in plants. Defense inducing eicosapolyenoic fatty acids include arachidonic (AA) and eicosapentaenoic acids, and are strong elicitors in solanaceous plants with bioactivity in other plant families. Similarly, extracts of the brown seaweed, Ascophyllum nodosum, used in sustainable agriculture as a biostimulant of plant growth, may also induce disease resistance. A. nodosum, similar to other macroalgae, is rich in eicosapolyenoic fatty acids, which comprise as much as 25% of total fatty acid composition. We investigated the response of roots and leaves from AA or a commercial A. nodosum extract (ANE) on root-treated tomatoes via RNA sequencing, phytohormone profiling, and disease assays. AA and ANE significantly altered transcriptional profiles relative to control plants, inducing numerous defense-related genes with both substantial overlap as well as differences in gene expression patterns. Root treatment with AA and, to a lesser extent, ANE also altered both salicylic acid and jasmonic acid levels while inducing local and systemic resistance to oomycete and bacterial pathogen challenge. Thus, our study highlights overlap in both local and systemic defense induced by AA and ANE, with potential for inducing broad-spectrum resistance against pathogens.
Ferroportin Depletes Iron Needed for Cell Cycle Progression in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Belvin B. Ross , Lewis Janina P.
Published: August 2022

Ferroportin (FPN), the only identified eukaryotic iron efflux channel, plays an important role in iron homeostasis and is down regulated in many cancers. To determine if iron related pathways are important for HNSCC progression and proliferation, we utilize a model of FPN over-expression to simulate iron depletion and probe associated molecular pathways. HNSCC cells are sensitive to iron chelation and ferroptosis, but a non-transformed normal oral keratinocyte (NOK) cell line is not. We found that FPN expression inhibits HNSCC cell proliferation and colony formation but NOK cells are unaffected. Inhibition of cell proliferation is rescued by the addition hepcidin. Decreases in proliferation are due to the disruption of iron homeostasis via loss of labile iron caused by elevated FPN levels. This in turn protects HNSCC cells from ferroptotic cell death. Expression of FPN induces DNA damage, activates p21 and reduces mRNA levels of cyclin proteins thereby inhibiting cell cycle progression of HNSCC cells, arresting cells in S-phase. Induction of FPN severely inhibits Edu incorporation and increases β-galactosidase activity, indicating cells have entered senescence. Finally, in an oral orthotopic mouse xenograft model, FPN induction yields a decrease of tumor growth. Our results indicate that iron plays a role in HNSCC cell proliferation and sustained growth and ferroptosis iron based therapeutic strategies may have potential therapeutic benefit.
Metabolic diversity in commensal protists regulates intestinal immunity and trans-kingdom competition
Authors: Gerrick Elias R. , Zlitni Soumaya , West Patrick T. , Carter Matthew M. , Mechler Claire M. , Olm Matthew R. , Caffrey Elisa B. , Li Jessica A. , Higginbottom Steven K. , Severyn Christopher J. , Kracke Frauke , Spormann Alfred M. , Sonnenburg Justin L. , Bhatt Ami S. , Howitt Michael R.
Published: August 2022

The microbiota influences intestinal health and physiology, yet the contributions of commensal protists to the gut environment have been largely overlooked. Here, we identified several new rodent- and human-associated parabasalid protists. Genomic and metabolomic analyses of murine parabasalids from the genusTritrichomonasrevealed species-level differences in the excretion of the metabolite succinate. This metabolic dissimilarity results in distinct small intestinal immune responses during protist colonization. Metabolic differences betweenTritrichomonasspecies also determine their ecological niche within the microbiota. By manipulating dietary fibers and developingin vitroprotist culture, we show that different parabasalid species preferentially rely on dietary polysaccharides or mucus glycans. These polysaccharide preferences create trans-kingdom competition with specific commensal bacteria, which affects intestinal immunity in a diet-dependent manner. Our findings reveal unappreciated diversity in commensal parabasalids, elucidate differences in commensal protist metabolism, and suggest how dietary interventions could regulate their impact on gut health.
Reconstruction of Small Subunit Ribosomal RNA from High-Throughput Sequencing Data: A Comparative Study of Metagenomics and Total RNA Sequencing
Authors: Hempel Christopher A. , Carson Shea E. E. , Elliott Tyler A. , Adamowicz Sarah J. , Steinke Dirk
Published: August 2022

The small subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is the most commonly used marker for the identification of microbial taxa, but its full-length reconstruction from high-throughput sequencing (HTS) data remains challenging, especially for complex and diverse environmental samples. Metagenomics and total RNA sequencing (total RNA-Seq) are target-PCR-free HTS methods that are used to characterize microbial communities and simultaneously reconstruct SSU rRNA sequences. However, more testing is required to determine and improve their effectiveness. In this study, we processed metagenomics and total RNA-Seq data retrieved from a commercially available mock microbial community using 112 combinations of commonly used data-processing tools, determined SSU rRNA reconstruction completeness of both sequencing methods for each species in the mock community, and analyzed the impact of data-processing tools on SSU rRNA and genome completeness. Total RNA-Seq allowed for the complete or near-complete reconstruction of all mock community SSU rRNA sequences and outperformed metagenomics. SSU rRNA completeness of metagenomics strongly correlated with the genome size of mock community species. The impact of data-processing tools was overall low, although certain tools resulted in significantly lower SSU rRNA completeness. These results are promising for the high-throughput reconstruction of novel full-length SSU rRNA sequences and could advance the simultaneous application of multiple -omics approaches in routine environmental assessments to allow for more holistic assessments of ecosystems.
Large-scale mapping and systematic mutagenesis of human transcriptional effector domains
Authors: DelRosso Nicole , Tycko Josh , Suzuki Peter , Andrews Cecelia , Aradhana  , Mukund Adi , Liongson Ivan , Ludwig Connor , Spees Kaitlyn , Fordyce Polly , Bassik Michael C. , Bintu Lacramioara
Published: August 2022

Human gene expression is regulated by over two thousand transcription factors and chromatin regulators1,2. Effector domains within these proteins can activate or repress transcription. However, for many of these regulators we do not know what type of transcriptional effector domains they contain, their location in the protein, their activation and repression strengths, and the amino acids that are necessary for their functions. Here, we systematically measure the transcriptional effector activity of >100,000 protein fragments (each 80 amino acids long) tiling across most chromatin regulators and transcription factors in human cells (2,047 proteins). By testing the effect they have when recruited at reporter genes, we annotate 307 new activation domains and 592 new repression domains, a ∼5-fold increase over the number of previously annotated effectors3,4. Complementary rational mutagenesis and deletion scans across all the effector domains reveal aromatic and/or leucine residues interspersed with acidic, proline, serine, and/or glutamine residues are necessary for activation domain activity. Additionally, the majority of repression domain sequences contain either sites for SUMOylation, short interaction motifs for recruiting co-repressors, or are structured binding domains for recruiting other repressive proteins. Surprisingly, we discover bifunctional domains that can both activate and repress and can dynamically split a cell population into high- and low-expression subpopulations. Our systematic annotation and characterization of transcriptional effector domains provides a rich resource for understanding the function of human transcription factors and chromatin regulators, engineering compact tools for controlling gene expression, and refining predictive computational models of effector domain function.
Multiplex editing of theNucleoredoxin1tandem array in poplar: from small indels to translocations and complex inversions
Authors: Chen Yen-Ho , Sharma Shakuntala , Bewg William P. , Xue Liang-Jiao , Gizelbach Cole R. , Tsai Chung-Jui
Published: August 2022

The CRISPR-Cas9 system has been deployed for precision mutagenesis in an ever-growing number of species, including agricultural crops and forest trees. Its application to closely linked genes with extremely high sequence similarities has been less explored. Here, we used CRISPR-Cas9 to mutagenize a tandem array of sevenNucleoredoxin1 (NRX1) genes spanning ~100 kb inPopulus tremula×alba. We demonstrated efficient multiplex editing with one single gRNA in 42 transgenic lines. The mutation profiles ranged from small indels and local deletions in individual genes to large genomic dropouts and rearrangements spanning tandem genes. We also detected complex rearrangements including translocations and inversions resulting from multiple cleavage and repair events. Target capture sequencing was instrumental for unbiased assessments of repair outcomes to reconstruct unusual mutant alleles. The work highlights the power of CRISPR-Cas9 for multiplex editing of tandemly duplicated genes to generate diverse mutants with structural and copy number variations to aid functional characterization.
The archaeal KEOPS complex possesses a functional Gon7 homolog and has an essential function independent of cellular t6A modification level
Authors: Wu Pengju , Gan Qi , Zhang Xuemei , Yang Yunfeng , Xiao Yuanxi , She Qunxin , Ni Jinfeng , Huang Qihong , Shen Yulong
Published: August 2022

KEOPS is a multi-subunit protein complex conserved in eukaryotes and archaea. It is composed of Pcc1, Kae1, Bud32, Cgi121, and Gon7 in eukaryotes and is primarily involved in N6-threonylcarbamoyl adenosine (t6A) modification of tRNAs. Recently, KEOPS is reported to participate in homologous recombination repair in yeast. To characterize the KEOPS in archaea (aKEOPS), we conducted genetic and biochemical analyses of its encoding genes in the hyperthermophilic archaeonSaccharolobus islandicus. We show that aKEOPS also possesses five subunits, Pcc1, Kae1, Bud32, Cgi121, and Pcc1-like (or Gon7-like), just as eukaryotic KEOPS. Pcc1-like has physical interactions with Kae1 and Pcc1 and can mediate the monomerization of the dimeric subcomplex (Kae1-Pcc1-Pcc1-Kae1), suggesting that Pcc1-like is a functional homolog of the eukaryotic Gon7 subunit. Strikingly, none of the genes encoding aKEOPS subunits, including Pcc1 and Pcc1-like, can be deleted in the wild type and in a t6A modification complementary strain named TsaKI, implying that aKEOPS complex is essential for an additional cellular process in this archaeon. Knock-down of the Cgi121 subunit leads to severe growth retardance in the wild type which is partially rescued in TsaKI. These results suggest that aKEOPS plays an essential role independent of cellular t6A modification level. In addition, archaeal Cgi121 possesses dsDNA-binding activity which relies on its tRNA 3’ CCA tail binding module. Our study clarifies the subunit organization of archaeal KEOPS and suggests of an origin of eukaryotic Gon7. The study also reveals a possible link between the function in t6A modification and the additional function presumably homologous recombination.
Inoculum and disease dynamics of citrus greasy spot caused by Zasmidium citri-griseum in sweet orange in Panama
Authors: Aguilera-Cogley Vidal , Sedano Elena , Vicent Antonio
Published: August 2022

Citrus greasy spot, caused by Zasmidium citri-griseum, is a disease characterized by inducing premature defoliation and a reduction in yield in different citrus species. Greasy spot is the most prevalent fungal disease in sweet orange in Panama. Nevertheless, no epidemiological information is available. In this study, the dynamics of the defoliation, inoculum production, airborne inoculum, and infection periods of Z. citri-griseum and their associations with environmental conditions were determined in Panama. The period from December to April was characterized by greater defoliation of trees, with the greatest amount of leaf litter being produced in January and February. The number of days until total leaf decomposition (DLD) was related to the number of rainy days >1mm (NRD), accumulated rainfall (AR), and average relative humidity (ARH). The number of ascospores released from leaf litter (ASCL) was related to DLD, NRD, AR, and average temperature (AT). The greatest amounts of airborne ascospores (AASC) of Z. citri-griseum occur during April and May, when the rainy season begins in Panama. Similarly, the highest incidence (INC) of greasy spot in the trap plants coincided with the months of the greatest availability of airborne ascospores. However, infections were also recorded during other times of the year. The AASC or INC data were fitted to Bayesian models including meteorological variables and an autoregressive temporal component, the latter being the most influential. The results obtained in this study will allow the development of more efficient and sustainable fungicide programs for greasy spot control in Panama.
Engineered nickel bioaccumulation in Escherichia coli by NikABCDE transporter and metallothionein overexpression
Authors: Diep P. , Shen H. , Wiesner J. A. , Mykytczuk N. , Papangelakis V. , Yakunin A. F. , Mahadevan R.
Published: August 2022

Mine wastewater often contains dissolved metals at concentrations too low to be economically extracted by existing technologies, yet too high for environmental discharge. The most common treatment is chemical precipitation of the dissolved metals using limestone and subsequent disposal of the sludge in tailing impoundments. While it is a cost-effective solution to meet regulatory standards, it represents a lost opportunity. In this study, we engineered Escherichia coli to overexpress its native NikABCDE transporter and a heterologous metallothionein to capture nickel at concentrations in local effluent streams. We found the engineered strain had a 7-fold improvement in the bioaccumulation performance for nickel compared to controls, but also observed a drastic decrease in cell viability due to metabolic burden or inducer (IPTG) toxicity. Growth kinetic analysis revealed the IPTG concentrations used based on past studies lead to growth inhibition, thus delineating future avenues for optimization of the engineered strain and its growth conditions to perform in more complex environments.
Stakeholder assessment in construction projects using a CRITIC-TOPSIS approach
Authors: Gaur Sulakshya , Dosapati Satyanarayana , Tawalare Abhay
Published: August 2022

Purpose

Stakeholder assessment is based on attributes possessed by stakeholders, making the process heavily reliant on evaluating attribute weights. The present assessment methods are based on Analytical Hierarchy Process, Analytical Network Process, and pairwise comparisons that heavily rely on decision-makers’ skills and knowledge. An objective evaluation of attribute weight needs to be done to overcome this challenge.

Design/methodology/approach

A Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) based approach, through the combined use of Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) methods has been incorporated to objectively evaluate the weights of the stakeholder attributes and their ranking with a specific focus on construction megaprojects. Five stakeholder attributes and twelve commonly associated stakeholders with megaprojects were considered to achieve this.

Findings

The new model presented power, durability and legitimacy as three important stakeholder attributes, further used to determine stakeholder importance. The client, contractor and project manager were identified as the top three internal stakeholders, and customers, local community and utility service providers as three crucial external stakeholders.

Research limitations/implications

The findings from the proposed method provide the practitioners with updated information about the attributes they need to look into when planning stakeholder involvement and management. Further, it also leads them to the established framework for the provided stakeholder ranking when planning their management strategies.

Originality/value

The use of CRITIC method allowed to address the possibility of any correlation between the attributes in their weight determination. This was one of the advantages as co-relation between the attributes during their weight determination has not been addressed in previous methods.
Storage losses, market development and household maize-selling decisions in China
Authors: Luo Yi , Huang Dong , Han Yan , Wu Laping
Published: August 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impacts of storage losses and market development on the maize-selling behaviours of rural households in China.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the survey data of 543 households from nine major maize production provinces in China, the authors introduce storage losses to a household's maize-selling decision-making model and use fractional logit model and ordered probit model to empirically analyse the impact of maize storage losses and market development on household maize-selling decisions in China. To overcome potential endogeneity problems, the authors select the weather at drying (whether bad weather occurs during the drying process) and harvest loss as instrumental variables and re-estimate the model.

Findings

The results show that increased storage losses prompt farmers to increase the proportion of maize sold within three months after harvest and sell maize in advance. Meanwhile, the degree of market development has a significant impact on farmers' maize-selling decisions. Other factors, such as the maize output, non-agricultural employment and awareness of loss control, also affect farmers' maize-selling behaviours.

Research limitations/implications

The government should promote advanced storage facilities, reduce household storage losses, decrease the phenomenon of centralised sales after harvest and help farmers freely choose the suitable time for sales. The government also needs to strengthen market information releases and publicity, reduce transaction costs and help farmers make reasonable sales decisions.

Originality/value

The authors introduce storage losses as a separate variable in a farmer's grain-selling decision model to empirically analyse the impact of storage losses on farmers' grain-selling behaviours. Moreover, the authors analyse the impact of market development on household grain-selling behaviours in China. These findings can help avoid oversupply in the market during the harvest season and alleviate the pressure on the market from the supply and demand imbalance. These results are also beneficial for farmers waiting for a higher price and increasing their income.
Employee-centric perspective on organizational crisis: how organizational transparency and support help to mitigate employees' uncertainty, negative emotions and job disengagement
Authors: Ruppel Christopher , Stranzl Julia , Einwiller Sabine
Published: August 2022

Purpose

The study focuses on the negative implications that an organizational crisis can have for individual employees. Specifically, it considers job-related uncertainty, negative emotions (anxiety and frustration) and job disengagement. Through the lens of the social exchange theory, it is argued that internal crisis communication needs to provide sufficient socioemotional resources to their employees in order to mitigate these negative outcomes. In particular, the study argues for internal crisis communication that fosters organizational transparency and organizational support to achieve these mitigating effects.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey among employees in Austria was administered one year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic – this specific crisis context particularly evoked job-related uncertainty and negative emotions which are considered relevant drivers of job disengagement. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling based on a sample of N = 410.

Findings

Results show that employees' perceptions of job-related uncertainty are strongly linked to job-related anxiety and frustration; job-related frustration, in turn, strongly influences job disengagement. Overall, employees' perceptions of organizational transparency and organizational support contribute both to prevent the risk of job disengagement; however, the processes how these effects evolve differ. Whereas organizational transparency works on the cognitive level via a reduction of employees' perceptions of uncertainty, organizational support shows its effect on the emotional level through a reduction of job frustration.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the scarce research on how internal crisis communication can address employees' uncertainty, negative emotions and job disengagement during a crisis. Moreover, despite the lack of organizational responsibility for creating the crisis, the study emphasizes organizational accountability to respond to the needs of its employees to mitigate negative effects.
The influence of personal skills development and coping self-efficacy on the affective occupational commitment of women in STEM fields
Authors: Blaique Lama , Pinnington Ashly H. , Al-Malkawi Husam-Aldin , Aldabbas Hazem
Published: August 2022

Purpose

Despite continuing under-representation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, the literature still falls short on identifying and explaining the factors that could contribute to women's persistence and commitment. The purpose of this research is to identify cognitive and behavioral factors that will support the occupational commitment of women in STEM.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative analysis is based on a questionnaire survey of 375 women working in STEM in the Middle East region. Multiple regression and bootstrapping methods were employed in the analysis of the data.

Findings

The results support the following hypotheses: personal skills development has a positive impact on affective occupational commitment and coping self-efficacy, and coping self-efficacy mediates the relationship between personal skills development and affective occupational commitment.

Originality/value

This study adds insights on the dynamic approaches adopted by women in STEM fields to overcome occupational career challenges by testing several internal drivers, coping self-efficacy and personal learning.
Allies as organizational change agents to promote equity and inclusion: a case study
Authors: Li Yun Ling , Evans Karoline , Bond Meg A.
Published: August 2022

Purpose

The current case study investigated how intentional, systematic planning can help organizations harness the energy of these willing allies who may be motivated to support change. The focus of the study is the development of a peer-to-peer approach, involving “Equity Leaders (ELs),” that was part of a larger, multi-level organization change initiative that addressed personal, interpersonal and structural considerations at a mid-sized public university in northeastern USA.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used multiple methods to collect data for the current study, including observations and interviews. Over the course of four years, the authors attended more than 50 EL meetings. In these meetings, the authors took notes regarding ELs' discussions on workshop development and planning, debates on workshop substances and ELs' personal reflections on these workshops. Following the fourth year of the program, the first two authors invited all current ELs to participate in semi-structured, open-ended interviews about their experience.

Findings

The case study shows that through careful planning, peer change can play multiple roles in pushing organizational changes. By embracing their formal responsibilities and yielding their informal power, change agents are able to cause radiating impact across as organizations. Organizations can also capitalize on the fact that employees are more likely to be engaged in the change effort when it is promoted by peers. Finally, the support and resources from the organizational leaders is important because these inputs not only legitimize change agents' roles but they also signify the importance of the actions.

Research limitations/implications

This study has limitations. First, the authors recognize that this was a qualitative study grounded in a single context. Although the study explored a novel context for understanding change agents—a deliberately planned initiative targeting social norms through addressing subtle biases like microaggressions—the authors recognize that additional examination would be necessary to understand how implementation may work in different contexts or organization types. Second, the authors also acknowledge that the authors’ positionality, as females studying a change initiative targeting gendered and intersectional microaggressions, may have shaped the role as researchers.

Originality/value

The findings underscore the notion that allies can serve as organized peer change agents to affect organizational culture. In alignment with the principles in the social ecological framework, the approach involved selecting change agents who are internal to the organization, have informal influence or power and can broaden the impact to other parts of the organization. Moreover, the results underscore the need for organizations to provide essential support and resources that can assist change agents to bridge organizational goals and individual actions.
Fairness in human resource management practices and engineers' intention to stay in Indian construction firms
Authors: Hazeen Fathima M. , Umarani C.
Published: August 2022

Purpose

More attention should be paid to human resource management practices, as they play a vital role in the retention of the skilled workforce for improved competitive advantage and reduced skill shortage. This study aims to examine the impact of engineers' satisfaction regarding fairness in key human resource management practices such as performance management, compensation and pay, and employee relations on their intention to stay in Indian construction firms.

Design/methodology/approach

This research was undertaken using a questionnaire survey conducted among 230 engineers working in Indian construction firms. Data collection was done by using self-administered questionnaires. The quantitative analysis of the collected data was carried out. The constructs involved in the study were validated using factor analysis. The correlation and regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between engineers' satisfaction with fairness in human resource practices and their intention to stay.

Findings

Results showed that satisfaction with fairness in human resource practices, such as performance management and employee relations are positively related to engineers' intention to stay, whereas satisfaction with fairness in employee relation practices highly predicts engineers' intention to stay.

Originality/value

This study adds to the body of knowledge by examining the impact of engineers' satisfaction with fairness in human resource practices on their intention to stay in the Indian construction sector, which is an under-researched area. Satisfaction with fairness in employee relation practices is identified as the strongest predictor of engineers' intention to stay. The finding of the research could help construction companies develop human resource practices and policies to promote the retention of construction professionals, particularly engineers, who work for them.
Shifting pedagogy, shifting practice: teachers’ perceptions of project-based learning in English language arts
Authors: Trepper Karoline , Boardman Alison , Garcia Antero
Published: August 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to explore teachers’ shifts in pedagogy and practice as they implemented a project-based learning (PBL) approach to teaching English Language Arts (ELA) for the first time.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors interviewed 10 ninth-grade ELA teachers in three schools after their first year enacting PBL. Initial codes were developed deductively from the interview questions and others emerged from the data. The authors also used memos to contextualize the interviews and triangulate findings.

Findings

Teachers described embracing new, expansive approaches to teaching ELA as they shifted from focusing on skills to big questions, and from literary analysis to “real-world” writing and assessment. These data illuminated three tensions around “traditional” versus PBL approaches to ELA: What counts as ELA? What counts as student success? And is PBL for everyone?

Originality/value

Few studies have explored teacher perceptions of PBL in secondary ELA classrooms. This paper uniquely illuminates some pathways for addressing the tension between “traditional” and PBL approaches. The authors call for deliberate, ongoing and gradualistic approaches to engaging in PBL routines that support educators to make meaningful shifts in instruction.
Path-dependency and path-shaping in translation of borrowed policy: outsourcing of teaching in public schools in Hong Kong and South Korea
Authors: Choi Tae-Hee
Published: August 2022

Purpose

The study systematically analyses the path dependency and path-shaping of borrowed education policy, tracing it from the global through the national to individual schools. It also revisits the case schools after five years to map the school level policy paths.

Design/methodology/approach

Recently, path-dependency heuristics have drawn attention in predicting educational policy trajectories. However, these studies are primarily theoretical, and those empirical studies do not capture what happens at the school level. This paper fills the research gap by presenting a model that synthesises the research from diverse fields and is informed by findings from a longitudinal case study of educational outsourcing in public schools in Hong Kong and Korea.

Findings

The findings highlight path dependency interactions across educational levels diachronically and synchronically, while aptly incorporating the creative ways school leaders exercise their agency therein. The paper concludes with new insights into policy trajectory and education outsourcing.

Originality/value

The study substantiates and extends previously suggested theoretical models on the paths of travelling educational policies and identifies the factors that shape the paths. It also sheds light on how school leaders navigate the structures that constrain their actions or create a new path and pursue their educational goals.
Factors that facilitate and obstruct the dissemination of physical education lesson study in Peru
Authors: Shiraishi Tomoya , Saito Kazuhiko , Kuga Alexander , Yamahira Yoshimi
Published: August 2022

Purpose

This study examined the factors that facilitated and obstructed the dissemination of a physical education lesson study (PELS) project in Peru, conducted in collaboration with Japan.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting a qualitative approach, five Peruvian stakeholders in the field of physical education (PE) were interviewed. All the interviews were transcribed. The data were analysed using the Steps for Coding and Theorization (SCAT).

Findings

The factors that obstructed the dissemination of PELS were lack of mutual observation of lessons among teachers and the resistance of teachers to the project due to the term “study” in “lesson study”. Conversely, online dissemination of PELS may significantly improve its position in Peru. Disseminating PELS through small group practice and deploying it in the field of education through stakeholder collaboration comprised facilitating factors.

Originality/value

This study could facilitate an understanding of Peruvian educational and PE culture and have ripple effects on the practice and dissemination of LS in other countries and subject areas.
Inference attacks based on GAN in federated learning
Authors: Ha Trung , Dang Tran Khanh
Published: August 2022

Purpose

In the digital age, organizations want to build a more powerful machine learning model that can serve the increasing needs of people. However, enhancing privacy and data security is one of the challenges for machine learning models, especially in federated learning. Parties want to collaborate with each other to build a better model, but they do not want to reveal their own data. This study aims to introduce threats and defenses to privacy leaks in the collaborative learning model.

Design/methodology/approach

In the collaborative model, the attacker was the central server or a participant. In this study, the attacker is on the side of the participant, who is “honest but curious.” Attack experiments are on the participant’s side, who performs two tasks: one is to train the collaborative learning model; the second task is to build a generative adversarial networks (GANs) model, which will perform the attack to infer more information received from the central server. There are three typical types of attacks: white box, black box without auxiliary information and black box with auxiliary information. The experimental environment is set up by PyTorch on Google Colab platform running on graphics processing unit with labeled faces in the wild and Canadian Institute For Advanced Research-10 data sets.

Findings

The paper assumes that the privacy leakage attack resides on the participant’s side, and the information in the parameter server contains too much knowledge to train a collaborative machine learning model. This study compares the success level of inference attack from model parameters based on GAN models. There are three GAN models, which are used in this method: condition GAN, control GAN and Wasserstein generative adversarial networks (WGAN). Of these three models, the WGAN model has proven to obtain the highest stability.

Originality/value

The concern about privacy and security for machine learning models are more important, especially for collaborative learning. The paper has contributed experimentally to private attack on the participant side in the collaborative learning model.
Structural accessibility barriers and service gaps facing refugees with disabilities in the United States
Authors: Hamidi Foad , Karachiwalla Zulekha
Published: August 2022

Purpose

The purpose of the scoping study was to understand the experiences of refugees with disabilities and their families in the US from expert service-provider perspectives, including gaps in resources and services. The authors also investigated challenges and opportunities for technology intervention in this space.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with six experts who serve refugees in the United States. The authors asked them about the experiences of refugees with disabilities and their families and inquired into challenges and opportunities for technology access for this population.

Findings

The authors found that refugees and their families are significantly impacted by disabilities and mental health challenges. Additionally, while refugees have access to resources and services, they face a number of structural barriers, including the need to navigate a complex healthcare system, geographic placements that sometimes make it difficult to access employment or healthcare services, and issues with accessing public transit.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of the current study is that the authors did not collect data directly from refugees with disabilities.

Practical implications

The authors offer several directions for practical improvements based on the findings, including improving structural support for refugees with disabilities and incentivizing health care providers utilizing more culturally aware language services.

Originality/value

While the number of refugees worldwide has doubled in the past decade and there is consensus that a significant number of refugees experience disabilities and mental health challenges, few projects have looked into the technology needs of refugees with disabilities. The exploratory study provides population-level insights on the experiences and accessibility barriers of refugees with disabilities in the United States.
Research hotspots and prospects of ethics education of science and technology in China based on bibliometrics
Authors: Wang Xu , Feng Xin , Guo Kaixuan
Published: August 2022

Purpose

Quantitative analysis of existing literature is conducted to compare the textual features of ethics education in science and technology under the broad theme of ethics in science and technology. On this basis, the authors reveal the research hotspots and topic evolution in this field, and propose development suggestions in conjunction with the 5W theory.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the authors visualize the graph and quantify the indicators in four aspects: time series, institutional collaboration, author co-authorship, and research hotspots.

Findings

Compared to ethics of science and technology, the research results in the field of ethics of science and technology education are limited. There is still room for improvement in the low density of cooperation between authors and institutions. The research themes are focused on theoretical discussions and countermeasure research. At present, the reform of ethics of science and technology is still in its infancy and has not yet formed a perfect system for education and personnel training. It is necessary for research on the ethical theory of technology to provide theoretical support.

Originality/value

In the context of sustainable development strategies, it is beneficial to explore the path of pedagogical optimization of ethics of science and technology in this study. This includes the maintenance of a good research environment and the realization of a healthy development in the field of science and technology.