bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association mapping of colour variation in a butterfly provides evidence that a supergene locks together a cluster of adaptive loci
Authors: Jay Paul , Leroy Manon , Le Poul Yann , Whibley Annabel , Arias Mónica , Chouteau Mathieu , Joron Mathieu
Published: June 2022

Supergenes are genetic architectures associated with discrete and concerted variation in multiple traits. It has long been suggested that supergenes control these complex polymorphisms by suppressing recombination between sets of coadapted genes. However, because recombination suppression hinders the dissociation of the individual effects of genes within supergenes, there is still little evidence that supergenes evolve by tightening linkage between coadapted genes. Here, combining a landmark-free phenotyping algorithm with multivariate genome-wide association studies, we dissected the genetic basis of wing pattern variation in the butterfly
Heliconius numata
. We show that the supergene controlling the striking wing pattern polymorphism displayed by this species contains several independent loci associated with different features of wing patterns. The three chromosomal inversions of this supergene suppress recombination between these loci, supporting the hypothesis that they may have evolved because they captured beneficial combinations of alleles. Some of these loci are, however, associated with colour variations only in a subset of morphs where the phenotype is controlled by derived inversion forms, indicating that they were recruited after the formation of the inversions. Our study shows that supergenes and clusters of adaptive loci in general may form via the evolution of chromosomal rearrangements suppressing recombination between co-adapted loci but also via the subsequent recruitment of linked adaptive mutations.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Genomic architecture of supergenes: causes and evolutionary consequences’.
Mutation accumulation opposes polymorphism: supergenes and the curious case of balanced lethals
Authors: Berdan Emma L. , Blanckaert Alexandre , Butlin Roger K. , Flatt Thomas , Slotte Tanja , Wielstra Ben
Published: June 2022

Supergenes offer spectacular examples of long-term balancing selection in nature, but their origin and maintenance remain a mystery. Reduced recombination between arrangements, a critical aspect of many supergenes, protects adaptive multi-trait phenotypes but can lead to mutation accumulation. Mutation accumulation can stabilize the system through the emergence of associative overdominance (AOD), destabilize the system, or lead to new evolutionary outcomes. One outcome is the formation of maladaptive balanced lethal systems, where only heterozygotes remain viable and reproduce. We investigated the conditions under which these different outcomes occur, assuming a scenario of introgression after divergence. We found that AOD aided the invasion of a new supergene arrangement and the establishment of a polymorphism. However, this polymorphism was easily destabilized by further mutation accumulation, which was often asymmetric, disrupting the quasi-equilibrium state. Mechanisms that accelerated degeneration tended to amplify asymmetric mutation accumulation between the supergene arrangements and vice-versa. As the evolution of balanced lethal systems requires symmetric degeneration of both arrangements, this leaves only restricted conditions for their evolution, namely small population sizes and low rates of gene conversion. The dichotomy between the persistence of polymorphism and degeneration of supergene arrangements likely underlies the rarity of balanced lethal systems in nature.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Genomic architecture of supergenes: causes and evolutionary consequences’.
Symbiopectobacterium purcellii, gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from the leafhopper Empoasca decipiens
Authors: Nadal-Jimenez Pol , Siozios Stefanos , Halliday Nigel , Cámara Miguel , Hurst Gregory D. D.
Published: June 2022

Bacterial endosymbionts are found in multiple arthropod species, where they play crucial roles as nutritional symbionts, defensive symbionts or reproductive parasites. Recent work has highlighted a new clade of heritable microbes within the gammaproteobacteria that enter into both obligate and facultative symbioses, with an obligately required unculturable symbiont recently given the name Candidatus Symbiopectobacterium. In this study, we describe a culturable rod shaped non-flagellated bacterial symbiont from this clade isolated from the leafhopper Empoasca decipiens. The symbiont is related to the transovarially transmitted ‘BEV’ bacterium that was first isolated from the leafhopper Euscelidius variegatus by Alexander Purcell, and we therefore name the symbiont Symbiopectobacterium purcellii sp. nov., gen. nov. We further report the closed genome sequence for S. purcellii. The genome is atypical for a heritable microbe, being large in size, without profound AT bias and with little evidence of pseudogenization. The genome is predicted to encode Type II, III and VI secretion systems and associated effectors and a non-ribosomal peptide synthase array likely to produce bioactive small molecules. The predicted metabolism is more complete than for other symbionts in the

Symbiopectobacterium

clade, and the microbe is predicted to synthesize a range of B vitamins. However, Biolog plate results indicate that the metabolism is depauperate compared to the sister clade, represented by

Pectobacterium carotovorum

. A quorum-sensing pathway related to that of

Pectobacterium

species (containing an overlapping expI-expR1 pair in opposite directions and a “solo” expR2) is evidenced, and LC-MS/MS analysis reveals the presence of 3-hydroxy-C10-HSL as the sole N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) in our strain. This AHL profile is profoundly divergent from that of other

Erwinia

and

Pectobacterium

species which produce mostly 3-oxo-C6- and 3-oxo-C8-HSL and could aid group identification. Thus, this microbe denotes one that has lost certain pathways associated with a saprophytic lifestyle but represents an important baseline against which to compare other members of the genus

Symbiopectobacterium

that show more profound integration into host biology. The type strain of Symbiopectobacterium purcellii gen. nov., sp. nov. is SyEd1T (LMG 32449T=CECT 30436T).
Protein-based Virtual Screening Tools applied for RNA-Ligand Docking identify new Binders of the preQ1-Riboswitch
Authors: Kallert Elisabeth , Fischer Tim R. , Schneider Simon , Grimm Maike , Helm Mark , Kersten Christian
Published: June 2022

Targeting RNA with small molecules is an emerging field. While several ligands for different RNA targets are reported, structure-based virtual screenings against RNAs are still rare. Here, we elucidated the general capabilities of protein-based docking programmes to reproduce native binding modes of small molecule RNA ligands and to discriminate known binders from decoys by the scoring function. The programmes were found to perform similar compared to the RNA-based docking tool rDOCK and the faced challenges during docking, namely protomer and tautomer selection, target dynamics and explicit solvent, do not largely differ from challenges in conventional protein-ligand docking. A prospective virtual screening with the Bacillus subtilis preQ1-riboswitch aptamer domain performed with FRED, HYBRID and FlexX, followed by microscale thermophoresis assays identified 6 active compounds out of 23 tested virtual screening hits with potencies between 29.5 nM and 11.0 μM. The hits were selected not solely based on their docking score, but for resembling key interactions of the native ligand. Therefore, this study demonstrates the general feasibility to perform structure-based virtual screenings against RNA targets, while at the same time it highlights pitfalls and their potential solutions when executing RNA-ligand docking.
Gene expression studies of WT1 mutant Wilms tumor cell lines in the frame work of published kidney development data reveals their early stem cell origin
Authors: Royer-Pokora Brigitte , Wruck Wasco , Beier Manfred
Published: June 2022

In order to get a better insight into the timing of WT1 mutant Wilms tumor development, we compared the gene expression profiles of nine established WT1 mutant Wilms tumor cell lines with published data from different kidney cell types during development. Publications describing genes expressed in nephrogenic precursor cells, ureteric bud cells, more mature nephrogenic epithelial cells and interstitial cell types were used. These studies uncovered that the WT1 mutant Wilms tumor cells lines express genes from the earliest nephrogenic progenitor cells, as well as from more differentiated nephron cells with the highest expression from the stromal/interstitial compartment. The expression of genes from all cell compartments points to an early developmental origin of the tumor in a common stem cell. Although variability of the expression of specific genes was evident between the cell lines the overall expression pattern was very similar. This is likely dependent on their different genetic backgrounds with distinct WT1 mutations and the absence/presence of mutant CTNNB1.
Paragraph - Antibody Paratope prediction using Graph Neural Networks with minimal feature vectors
Authors: Chinery Lewis , Wahome Newton , Moal Iain , Deane Charlotte M.
Published: June 2022

1

The development of new vaccines and antibody therapeutics typically takes several years and requires over $1bn in investment. Accurate knowledge of the paratope (antibody binding site) can speed up and reduce the cost of this process by improving our understanding of antibody-antigen binding. We present Paragraph, a structure-based paratope prediction tool that outperforms current state-of-the-art tools using simpler feature vectors and no antigen information.

Availability

Source code is freely available at www.github.com/oxpig

Contact

deane@stats.ox.ac.uk

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at bioRxiv online.
A prefrontal network model operating near steady and oscillatory states links spike desynchronization and synaptic deficits in schizophrenia
Authors: Crowe David A. , Willow Andrew , Blackman Rachael K. , DeNicola Adele L. , Chafee Matthew V. , Amirikian Bagrat
Published: June 2022

Schizophrenia results in part from a failure of prefrontal networks but we lack full understanding of how disruptions at a synaptic level cause failures at the network level. This is a crucial gap in our understanding because it prevents us from discovering how genetic mutations and environmental risks that alter synaptic function cause prefrontal network to fail in schizophrenia. To address that question, we developed a recurrent spiking network model of prefrontal local circuits that can explain the link between NMDAR synaptic and spike timing deficits we recently observed in a pharmacological monkey model of prefrontal network failure in schizophrenia. We analyze how the balance between AMPA and NMDA components of recurrent excitation and GABA inhibition in the network influence spike timing to inform the biological data. We show that reducing recurrent NMDAR synaptic currents prevents the network from shifting from a steady to oscillatory state in response to extrinsic inputs such as might occur during behavior. This explains how NMDAR synaptic deficits, implicated by genetic evidence as causal in schizophrenia, could prevent the emergence of 0-lag synchronous spiking in prefrontal local circuits during behavior, potentially disconnecting those circuits via spike-timing dependent mechanisms in the human disease.
Genome-wide association and genomic prediction of growth traits in the European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis)
Authors: Peñaloza Carolina , Barria Agustin , Papadopoulou Athina , Hooper Chantelle , Preston Joanne , Green Matthew , Helmer Luke , Hammerson Jacob Kean , Nascimento-Schulze Jennifer , Minardi Diana , Gundappa Manu Kumar , Macqueen Daniel J , Hamilton John , Houston Ross D , Bean Tim P
Published: June 2022

The European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) is a bivalve mollusc that was once widely distributed in Europe and represented an important food resource for humans for centuries. Populations ofO. edulisexperienced a severe decline across their biogeographic range mainly due to anthropogenic activities and disease outbreaks. To restore the economic and ecological benefits of European flat oyster populations, extensive protection and restoration efforts are in place within Europe. In line with the increasing interest in supporting restoration and oyster farming through the breeding of stocks with enhanced performance, the present study aimed to evaluate the potential of genomic selection for improving growth traits in a European flat oyster population obtained from successive mass-spawning events. Four growth-related traits were evaluated: total weight (TW), shell height (SH), shell width (SW) and shell length (SL). The heritability of the growth traits was moderate-low, with estimates of 0.45, 0.37, 0.22, and 0.32 for TW, SH, SW and SL, respectively. A genome-wide association analysis revealed a largely polygenic genetic architecture for the four growth traits, with two distinct QTLs detected on chromosome 4. To investigate whether genomic selection can be implemented in flat oyster breeding at a reduced cost, the utility of low-density SNP panels (down to 100 SNPs) was assessed. Genomic prediction accuracies using the full density panel were high (>0.83 for all traits). The evaluation of the effect of reducing the number of markers used to predict genomic breeding values revealed that similar selection accuracies could be achieved for all traits with 2K SNPs as for a full panel containing 4,577 SNPs. Only slight reductions in accuracies were observed at the lowest SNP density tested (i.e. 100 SNPs), likely due to a high relatedness between individuals being included in the training and validation sets during cross-validation. Overall, our results suggest that the genetic improvement of growth traits in oysters is feasible. Nevertheless, and although low-density SNP panels appear as a promising strategy for applying GS at a reduced cost, additional populations with different degrees of genetic relationship should be assessed to derive estimates of prediction accuracies to be expected in practical breeding programmes.
Regulation of a single Inositol 1-Phosphate Synthase homeolog by HSFA6B contributes to fiber yield maintenance under drought conditions in upland cotton
Authors: Yu Li’ang , Nelson Dittrich Anna C. , Zhang Xiaodan , Thirumalaikumar Venkatesh P. , Melandri Giovanni , Skirycz Aleksandra , Thorp Kelly R. , Hinze Lori , Pauli Duke , Nelson Andrew D.L.
Published: June 2022

Drought stress substantially impacts crop physiology resulting in alteration of growth and productivity. Understanding the genetic and molecular crosstalk between stress responses and agronomically important traits such as fiber yield is particularly complicated in the allopolyploid species, upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), due to reduced sequence variability between A and D subgenomes. To better understand how drought stress impacts yield, the transcriptomes of 22 genetically and phenotypically diverse upland cotton accessions grown under well-watered and water-limited conditions in the Arizona low desert were sequenced. Gene co-expression analyses were performed, uncovering a group of stress response genes, in particular transcription factors GhDREB2A-A and GhHSFA6B-D, associated with improved yield under water-limited conditions in an ABA-independent manner. DNA affinity purification sequencing (DAP-seq), as well as public cistrome data from Arabidopsis, were used to identify targets of these two TFs. Among these targets were two lint-yield associated genes previously identified through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) -based approaches,GhABP-DandGhIPS1-A. Biochemical and phylogenetic approaches were used to determine thatGhIPS1-Ais positively regulated by GhHSFA6B-D, and that this regulatory mechanism is specific to Gossypium spp. containing the A (old-world) genome. Finally, a SNP was identified within the GhHSFA6B-D binding site inGhIPS1-Athat is positively associated with yield under water limiting conditions. These data lay out a regulatory connection between abiotic stress and fiber yield in cotton that appears conserved in other systems such as Arabidopsis. This regulatory mechanism highlights how sub-genome dynamics contribute to phenotypic stress-response plasticity in cotton.
Zinc Finger MYND-Type Containing 8 (ZMYND8) is epigenetically regulated in mutant Isocitrate Dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) glioma to promote radioresistance
Authors: Carney Stephen V. , Banerjee Kaushik , Mujeeb Anzar , Zhu Brandon , Haase Santiago , Varela Maria L. , Kadiyala Padma , Tronrud Claire , Zhu Ziwen , Mukherji Devarshi , Gorla Preethi , Tagett Rebecca , Núñez Felipe J. , Luo Maowu , Lou Weibo , Ljungman Mats , Liu Yayuan , Xia Ziyun , Schwendeman Anna , Qin Tingting , Sartor Maureen A. , Costello Joseph , Cahill Daniel P. , Lowenstein Pedro R. , Castro Maria G.
Published: June 2022

Mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (mIDH1) alters the epigenetic regulation of chromatin, leading to a hypermethylation phenotype in adult glioma. Establishment of glioma-specific methylation patterns by mIDH1 reprogramming drives oncogenic features of cancer metabolism, stemness and therapeutic resistance. This work focuses on identifying gene targets epigenetically dysregulated by mIDH1. Treatment of glioma cells with mIDH1 specific inhibitor AGI-5198, upregulated gene networks involved in replication stress. Specifically, we found that the expression of ZMYND8, a regulator of DNA damage response was decreased in three patient-derived glioma cell cultures (GCC) after treatment with AGI-5198. ZMYND8 functions as a chromatin reader to modulate enhancer activity and recruit DNA repair machinery. Knockdown of ZMYND8 expression sensitized mIDH1 GCCs to radiotherapy marked by decreased cellular viability. Following IR, mIDH1 glioma cells with ZMYND8 knockout (KO) exhibit significant phosphorylation of ATM and sustained γH2AX activation. ZMYND8 KO mIDH1 GCCs were further responsive to IR when treated with either BRD4 or HDAC inhibitors. The accumulation of DNA damage in ZMYND8 KO mIDH1 GCCs promoted the phosphorylation of cell cycle checkpoint proteins Chk1 and Chk2. In addition, the recruitment of ZMYND8 to sites of DNA damage has been shown to be PARP- dependent. PARP inhibition further enhanced the efficacy of radiotherapy in ZMYND8 KO mIDH1 glioma cells. These findings indicate the impact of ZMYND8 in the maintenance of genomic integrity and repair of IR-induced DNA damage in mIDH1 glioma.

Translational Relevance:

Our understanding of radioresistance mechanisms in patient-derived glioma cell cultures (GCC) that endogenously express mIDH1-R132H are limited. We have uncovered a novel gene target Zinc Finger MYND-Type Containing 8 (ZMYND8) that is downregulated following treatment of human mIDH1 GCCs with mIDH1 specific inhibitors. We demonstrate that suppression of ZMYND8 expression by shRNA knockdown or genetic knockout reduces the cellular viability of mIDH1 GCCs to ionizing radiation (IR). Our findings reveal an epigenetic vulnerability of mIDH1 GCCs to ZMYND8 knockout (KO) which results in impaired resolution of IR-induced DNA damage and induction of cell cycle arrest. Additionally, ZMYND8 KO mIDH1 GCCs display increased radiosensitivity to inhibition of epigenetic regulators BRD4, HDAC, and PARP which could be mediated by enhanced replicative stress.
Stretchable mesh microelectronics for the biointegration and stimulation of neural organoids
Authors: Li Thomas L. , Liu Yuxin , Forro Csaba , Beker Levent , Bao Zhenan , Cui Bianxiao , Paşca Sergiu P.
Published: June 2022

Advances in tridimensional (3D) culture approaches have led to the generation of organoids that recapitulate cellular and physiological features of domains of the human nervous system. Although microelectrodes have been developed for long-term electrophysiological interfaces with neural tissue, studies of long-term interfaces between microelectrodes and free-floating organoids remain limited. In this study, we report a stretchable, soft mesh electrode system that establishes an intimate in vitro electrical interface with human neurons in 3D organoids. Our mesh is constructed with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) based electrically conductive hydrogel electrode arrays and an elastomeric poly(styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene) (SEBS) as the substrate and encapsulation materials. This mesh electrode can maintain stable electrochemical impedance in buffer solution under 50% compressive and 50% tensile strain. We have successfully cultured pluripotent stem cell-derived human cortical organoids (hCO) on this polymeric mesh for more than 3 months and demonstrated that organoids readily integrate with the mesh. Using simultaneous stimulation and calcium imaging, we show that electrical stimulation through the mesh can elicit intensity-dependent calcium signals comparable to stimulation from a bipolar stereotrode. This platform may serve as a tool for monitoring and modulating the electrical activity of in vitro models of neuropsychiatric diseases.
Quantifying dispersal between two colonies of northern elephant seals across 17 birth cohorts
Authors: Condit Richard , Hatfield Brian , Morris Patricia A. , Costa Daniel P.
Published: June 2022

Dispersal drives extinction-recolonization dynamics of metapopulations and is necessary for endangered species to recolonize former ranges. Yet few studies quantify dispersal and even fewer examine consistency of dispersal over many years. The northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) provides an example of the importance of dispersal. It quickly recolonized its full range after near extirpation by 19thcentury hunting, and though dispersal was observed it was not quantified. Here we enumerate lifetime dispersal events among females marked as pups at two colonies during 1994-2010, then correct for detection biases to estimate bidirectional dispersal rates. An average of 16% of females born at the Piedras Blancas colony dispersed northward 200 km to breed at Año Nuevo, while 8.0% of those born at Año Nuevo dispersed southward to Piedras Blancas. The northward rate fluctuated considerably but was higher than southward in 15 of 17 cohorts. The population at Piedras Blancas expanded 15-fold during the study, while Año Nuevo’s declined slightly, but the expectation that seals would emigrate away from high density colonies was not supported. During the 1990s, dispersal was higher away from the small colony toward the large. Moreover, cohorts born later at Piedras Blancas, when the colony had grown, dispersed no more than early cohorts. Consistently high natal dispersal in northern elephant seals means the population must be considered a single large unit in terms of response to environmental change. High dispersal was fortuitous to the past recovery of the species, and continued dispersal means elephant seals will likely expand their range further.
Water-Quality analysis and Fish diversity of Southern West Part of the West-Bengal
Authors: Chini Deep Sankar , Mondal Niladri , Kar Avijit , Bunholi Ingrid , Singh Sourav , Ghosh Pratik , Patra Prasanta , Patra Shampa , Patra Bidhan Chandra
Published: June 2022

Marine fishes are one of the important factors to stabilize the local aquatic ecosystem and regulating socio-economy of local fishermen. In this study we emphasized upon finding out the interrelationship in the water quality, anthropogenic activity, and fish habitat through the 31km stretch of East Medinipur coast in West Bengal, India which is known for its tourist destinations. The study was conducted monthly on different trawler fish landing sites from Dec 2018 to Dec 2021. During this period, we took fish samples and identified them. We took water quality data such as SST, Concentration of Chl-a, Turbidity, and DO for further correlation between the water quality and species diversity. Total 154 numbers of commercially important marine fish species were documented. Among them, 12 species are from Elasmobranch and the rest is Actinopterygii. As per the IUCN database, 13% of the total fish species are under the red list category and 16% of the species showing decreasing population trend. After analyzing the water quality data, we found out that DO, SST, Turbidity, and Chlorophyll-A correlate with the species richness and it also differs during the seasons.
Divergent Directed Evolution of a TetR-type Repressor Towards Aromatic Molecules
Authors: Nasr Mohamed A. , Martin Vincent J.J. , Kwan David H.
Published: June 2022

Reprogramming cellular behaviour is one of the hallmarks of synthetic biology. To this end, prokaryotic allosteric transcription factors (aTF) have been repurposed as versatile tools for processing small molecule signals into cellular responses. Expanding the toolbox of aTFs that recognize new inducer molecules is of considerable interest in many applications. Here, we first establish a resorcinol responsive aTF-based biosensor inEscherichia coliusing the TetR-family repressor RolR fromCorynebacterium glutamicum. We then perform an iterative walk along the fitness landscape of RolR to identify new inducer specificities, namely catechol, methyl catechol, caffeic acid, protocatechuate, L-DOPA, and the tumour biomarker homovanillic acid. Finally, we demonstrate the versatility of these engineered aTFs by transplanting them into the model eukaryoteSaccharomyces cerevisiae. This work provides a framework for efficient aTF engineering to expand ligand specificity towards novel molecules on laboratory timescales, which, more broadly, is invaluable across a wide range of applications such as protein and metabolic engineering, as well as point-of-care diagnostics.
In vivo imaging and regression analysis reveal cell-non-autonomous functions of Shroom3 during neural tube closure
Authors: Baldwin Austin T. , Kim Juliana H. , Wallingford John B.
Published: June 2022

During neural tube closure, neural ectoderm cells constrict their apical surfaces to bend and fold the tissue into a tube that will become the central nervous system. These cells are physically interconnected via N-cadherin, and mutation of critical genes within relatively small numbers of cells can result in neural tube closure defects due to non-cell autonomous cell behavior defects. Despite this finding, we have a poor understanding of how neuroepithelial cells interact during apical constriction. In our previous paper, we introduced an imaging and analysis paradigm for tracking and quantifying apical constriction during neural tube closure, while also using CRISPR/Cas9 to generate mosaic loss of function of the apical constriction gene shroom3. Here we analyze the behaviors of cells along the mosaic interface of our shroom3 crispant clones, and find that Shroom3 non-cell autonomously regulates apical constriction and N-cadherin localization. Control cells along the interface constrict less, while shroom3 crispant cells along the interface constrict more. Finally, we construct a partial least squares regression (PLSR) model to estimate how both autonomous and non-cell autonomous dynamics of actin and N-cadherin affect apical surface area in both control and shroom3 crispant cells. Overall, our results demonstrate a previously unidentified non-cell autonomous role for Shroom3 in neural tube closure.
The Arabidopsis endosperm is a temperature-sensing tissue that implements seed thermoinhibition through phyB and PIF3
Authors: Piskurewicz Urszula , Sentandreu Maria , Glauser Gaëtan , Lopez-Molina Luis
Published: June 2022

Seed thermoinhibition, the repression of germination under high temperatures, prevents seedling establishment under potentially fatal conditions. Thermoinhibition is relevant for ecology, phenology and agriculture, particularly in a warming globe. The temperature sensing mechanisms and signaling pathways sustaining thermoinhibition are unknown. We found that thermoinhibition in Arabidopsis thaliana is not autonomously controlled by the embryo but is rather implemented by the endosperm surrounding the embryo. High temperature is sensed through endospermic phyB by accelerating its reversion from the active signaling Pfr form into the inactive Pr form, as described in seedlings. This leads to stabilization of endospermic PIF3, which represses the expression of the endospermic ABA catabolic gene CYP707A1 and promotes endospermic ABA synthesis and release towards the embryo to block its growth. Furthermore, endospermic ABA represses embryonic PIF3 accumulation that would otherwise promote embryonic growth. Hence, under high temperatures PIF3 exerts opposite growth responses in the endosperm and embryo.
Effect of electric-arc-induced ablation on corrosion behavior of pipeline steel under high-voltage direct current interference
Authors: Wang Xiuyun , Cao Guofei , Wang Bei , Xing Yunying , Lu Minxu , Qiao Lijie , Zhang Lei
Published: June 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the effects of electric-arc-induced ablation on the corrosion behavior of pipeline steel in neutral and high pH environments.

Design/methodology/approach

Electrochemical testing, an atmospheric-pressure immersion experiment and various techniques (e.g. scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) were used to examine the effects of electric-arc-induced ablation on the corrosion behavior of pipeline steel in neutral and high pH environment.

Findings

Electric-arc-induced ablation occurred preferentially in areas of inclusion. The corrosion resistance of an ablation pit was lower than that of non-ablation areas. In the neutral soil solution, general corrosion was the dominant corrosion that affected pipeline steel; the effect of ablation was small but pitting corrosion could still be induced. In a high pH environment, the samples without ablation were passivated, whereas the samples with ablation pits could not be passivated; the ablation pits were likely to develop pitting corrosion.

Originality/value

Electric-arc-induced ablation can reduce the corrosion resistance of pipeline steel under high-voltage direct current interference.
The latest operational, contractual and organizational trends in IPD literature: review and future directions
Authors: Rankohi Sara , Bourgault Mario , Iordanova Ivanka
Published: June 2022

Purpose

Integrated project delivery (IPD) has attracted considerable attention in recent years, however only a few review studies captured the dynamic and evolving nature of this topic. The purpose of this study is to review the most recent IPD publications, in order to shed light on future research.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a systematic review methodology, the study aims to synthesize the current IPD literature, and frame the latest research and development in this domain. A systematic review is conducted to identify the current state-of-the-art of IPD research and the latest research themes and trends in this domain. A bibliometric analysis is performed to explain characteristics of screened articles, and through a thematic analysis the latest themes and trends are recognized.

Findings

In this study, based on IPD characteristics (contractual-regulative, operational-cognitive and organizational-structural), research themes (legal, commercial, technological, procedural, cultural and structural), sub-themes and their associated trends are identified. The latest emerging trends are mostly related to the contractual characteristics of IPD, and are focused on the combination of IPD with new business models and developing contractual guidelines for promoting IPD applications in off-site and on-site construction projects.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the body of knowledge by synthesizing the state of the art of IPD in construction literature and exposing the latest research trends in this area. A theoretical framework of integration in an IPD context is developed, based on the literature. Finally, future areas of studies are discussed.
Reference section identification of construction specifications by a deep structured semantic model
Authors: Lee Gitaek , Moon Seonghyeon , Chi Seokho
Published: June 2022

Purpose

Contractors must check the provisions that may cause disputes in the specifications to manage project risks when bidding for a construction project. However, since the specification is mainly written regarding many national standards, determining which standard each section of the specification is derived from and whether the content is appropriate for the local site is a labor-intensive task. To develop an automatic reference section identification model that helps complete the specification review process in short bidding steps, the authors proposed a framework that integrates rules and machine learning algorithms.

Design/methodology/approach

The study begins by collecting 7,795 sections from construction specifications and the national standards from different countries. Then, the collected sections were retrieved for similar section pairs with syntactic rules generated by the construction domain knowledge. Finally, to improve the reliability and expandability of the section paring, the authors built a deep structured semantic model that increases the cosine similarity between documents dealing with the same topic by learning human-labeled similarity information.

Findings

The integrated model developed in this study showed 0.812, 0.898, and 0.923 levels of performance in NDCG@1, NDCG@5, and NDCG@10, respectively, confirming that the model can adequately select document candidates that require comparative analysis of clauses for practitioners.

Originality/value

The results contribute to more efficient and objective identification of potential disputes within the specifications by automatically providing practitioners with the reference section most relevant to the analysis target section.
An integrated framework of behavioral reasoning theory, theory of planned behavior, moral norm and emotions for fostering hospitality/tourism employees’ sustainable behaviors
Authors: Meng Bo , Lee Myong Jae , Chua Bee-Lia , Han Heesup
Published: June 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to develop an integrated framework for a deeper understanding of employee sustainable behaviors in the workplace by using theories, such as behavioral reasoning theory, planned-behavior theory, goal-directed behavior theory, norm activation theory and belief-value-norm theory.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative approach is used in the present research. This study used data from 343 employees who are from the hospitality and tourism industry to investigate the formation of employees’ sustainable behaviors.

Findings

The research framework assumes that the reasons for sustainable behavior and the reasons against sustainable behavior predict global motives, which comprise attitude, subjective norm and behavioral control, and moral norm mediates the relationship between global motives, positive and negative anticipated emotions and behavioral intention. The hypothesized theoretical model had a sufficient degree of total variance with the behavioral intention and generally verified the hypothesized relationships, which served as a basis for modeling employee sustainable behavior in the workplace.

Originality/value

This study integrated a framework that contributes to employee sustainable behavior in the tourism and hospitality industry by identifying the effects of motivational process, moral process and emotional process to perform sustainable behavior.
Transparency, authenticity and purchase intentions: Chinese independent restaurants
Authors: Yang Huijun , Song Hanqun , Ding Qing Shan , Wang Hanjun
Published: June 2022

Purpose

Drawing on signalling theory and focusing on independent restaurants, this study aims to investigate how business signals (transparency information and exposure) affect business transparency, food authenticity and, ultimately, purchase intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a 2 × 2 between-subject experimental design, Study 1 examines the recipe and an internet-famous restaurant, and Study 2 assesses the food supply chain and a celebrity-owned restaurant. Analysis of covariance and PROCESS are used to analyse the data.

Findings

The results suggest that while revealing information on recipes and food supply chains positively affects business transparency, exposure has no significant impact. Additionally, secret recipes and revealed food supply chains contribute to higher food authenticity, whilst being a celebrity owner or internet-famous restaurant negatively affects food authenticity.

Research limitations/implications

Restaurant managers must be strategic and selective about the kinds of business signals they wish to reveal to customers. Secret recipes lead to higher food authenticity, whereas the revealed recipes and revealed food supply chains elicit higher business transparency. Independent restaurants should not rely on celebrity owners or seek internet fame, as neither type of exposure contributes to transparency or authenticity.

Originality/value

This study advances the theoretical understanding of signalling theory relating to the determinants of transparency and food authenticity in a hospitality context. Contrary to previous studies, it reveals that exposure, as a transparency signal, has no impact on either business transparency or food authenticity. It extends knowledge and understanding of different types of independent restaurants, especially internet-famous restaurants.
Composing as play: a vision for collaborative, multimodal authorship
Authors: DeJaynes Tiffany
Published: June 2022

Purpose

The following article examines the playful composing practices of two youth who built on their backgrounds as fan fiction writers, role-players, visual artists and gamers to co-author a multimodal novel across mediated spaces for composing throughout their high school careers.

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws on “connected ethnography” and qualitative practitioner inquiry to examine the playful composing practices of two urban youth.

Findings

The study demonstrates the playful, multimodal composing practices of youth – for learning, affiliation and leisure. Participants’ creative use of digital media reveals robust and productive composing practices that rely on collaboration; extensive multimodal experimentation (e.g. transmediation, the creation of paratexts and worldbuilding); and shared and individual expertise and socialization in various media communities (e.g. gaming and fan fiction).

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited by its small scope.

Practical implications

Participants’ leisure writing activities offer important insights into multimodal play, composing, collaboration and co-authorship.

Social implications

Schools have been slow to take up the multimodal and collaborative approaches to writing. The article offers implications for reimagining writing and the teaching of writing through creativity, play and collaboration.

Originality/value

The author argues that collaborative, multimodal authorship offers a social outlet, peer connection, and creative possibilities for writing development both in face-to-face and fully digital learning environments, something especially important to consider amid the unexpected surge of online learning due to COVID-19.
Measuring the impact of critical factors on government supported healthcare supply chain: an approach towards efficient governance
Authors: Dixit Anuj , Routroy Srikanta , Dubey Sunil Kumar
Published: June 2022

Purpose

A literature review revealed that government of various developing economies have put an effort on health-care supply chain through the executing critical factors (CFs) directly. Although they have attained some significant benefits in this tactic, but it was not up to satisfactory level. One of the reasons can be attributed to the fact that government/policy makers are not quantifying the impact of CFs on health-care supply chain. This paper aims to propose a methodology to quantify and estimate the impact of CFs on government-supported health-care supply chain (GHSC).

Design/methodology/approach

The Graph Theoretic Approach is proposed for estimating the impact and utility of CFs on an Indian GHSC. This study is also extended to scenario analysis for comparing results with different performance situation.

Findings

The results obtained from this study show that performance of Indian GHSC is satisfactory, but performance gaps exist which need to be reduced. In this research work, 12 CFs are identified under two significant categories (SCs), i.e. enablers and barriers and the intensity of enablers and barriers have been calculated to show the impact or influence of CFs on GHSC. The value of intensity shows that the role or impact of enabler category (i.e. performance measurement, employee recognition and reward, technology adoption, training cell, inbuilt analytical tool for IT system) is higher on Indian GHSC in comparison to barriers category to enhance the performance of GHSC.

Research limitations/implications

The obtained numerical results are completely in specific to the Indian perspective only; hence, they cannot be generalized for other countries. Simultaneously, this study is related to government supported health-care system; hence, the selection of expert panel was crucial due to the unavailability of doctors and other stakeholders of government system.

Practical implications

The proposed approach is aimed at providing a procedure for evaluating the impact of CFs on HSC in general and GHSC in specific. This study is an attempt to assist government and top management of GHSC to assess the impact of CFs on GHSC and accordingly define its course of actions.

Originality/value

Although various issues related to the CFs have been broadly identified and analyzed, no dedicated study has been reported in the field for quantification of impacts of CFs. Furthermore, this proposed model has an ability to recognize the specific contribution of each CF and overall contribution.
Determining and making sense of recruitment practices for tourism academics in the UK
Authors: Seraphin Hugues , Kennell James , Smith Simon , Mandić Ante , Kozak Metin
Published: June 2022

Purpose

This study aims to examine the influence of neoliberalism and managerialism on the recruitment of tourism academics in the UK. The study analyses how sustainable the recruitment and retention of talents are in the tourism industry. Importantly, this study provides particular focus on sustainable tourism roles, as well as the impacts of COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative content analysis focuses on academic jobs in tourism advertised on Jobs.ac.uk between June 2020 and July 2021.

Findings

Study findings reveal how, in the case of the UK, current educational ideologies, including neoliberalism and managerialism, significantly influence curriculum and recruitment. Such an approach facilitates the hidden curriculum of undisciplined tourism programmes and significantly constrains the prominence of sustainability principles. The development of curriculum, student life course and recruitment of academics are influenced by several variables (personal, environmental, behavioural), which must be identified to enable decision-makers to engage in efficient planning.

Originality/value

This study provides a unique focus on the recruitment of tourism academics encompassing crucial factors like sustainable tourism and COVID-19. The proposed framework creates the foundation for the investigation and discussion of academics’ recruitment in different contexts. This study also offers several new avenues for future research.
Tribological properties of copper-embedded self-lubricating bearing materials
Authors: Chen Cuicui , Yang Qian , Chen Qingan , Wang Yanhui , Xu Dong , Li Hezong , Zhang Xiliang , Harvey Christopher M. , Liu Jiwei
Published: June 2022

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the effects of graphite-MoS2 composite solid lubricant on the tribological properties of copper-based bearing materials under dry conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

The mixture of Graphite-MoS2 was inlaid in ZQSn6-6–3 tin bronze and ZQAl9-4 aluminum bronze matrix. These copper-embedded self-lubricating bearing materials were considered in friction pairs with 2Cr13 stainless steel, and their tribological properties were studied by using an MM200 wear test machine.

Findings

The results show that the friction coefficients and wear rates of copper-embedded self-lubricating bearing materials are lower than those of the ordinary copper-based bearing materials. The wear performance of the tin bronze inlaid self-lubricating bearing material is better than that of the aluminum bronze inlaid self-lubricating bearing material. The wear mechanism of the tin bronze bearing material is mainly adhesive wear, and that of the aluminum bronze bearing material is mainly grinding wear, oxidation wear and adhesive wear. The copper-embedded self-lubricating bearing materials had no obvious abrasion, whereas the aluminum bronze inlaid self-lubricating bearing material exhibited deep furrows and obvious abrasion under high loads.

Originality/value

These results are helpful for the application of copper-embedded self-lubricating bearing materials.
Affording managed opportunities for independence to build looked-after young people’s resilience: perceptions and experiences of care workers
Authors: Hlungwani Joyce , van Breda Adrian D.
Published: June 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the contribution of what the authors have termed, “managed opportunities for independence” (MOI) in building the resilience of young people in care.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a qualitative, grounded theory methodology. Nine child and youth care workers were purposively sampled from various child and youth and care centres in South Africa.

Findings

Findings indicate that MOI contribute to the development of resilience of young people in care.

Originality/value

Care-leaving literature recognizes that too much protection does not adequately prepare young people for independent living. There is also increasing attention to the resilience processes that enable care-leavers to thrive during the transition from care to independent living. However, there is limited empirical research that looks at how in-care programmes develop young people’s resilience. In addition, very little is said about what it means for child and youth care practice. This study’s focus on the contribution of “managed opportunities for independence” in building the resilience of young people in care provides a foundation for understanding the care-leaving process better.