bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Telephone-delivered compassion-focused therapy for adults with intellectual disabilities: a case series
Authors: Rawlings Gregg Harry , Wright Kevin Paul , Rolling Keeley , Beail Nigel
Published: June 2021

Purpose

Services are increasingly exploring the use of remote conferencing to deliver psychological interventions, which have become particularly important given the COVID-19 pandemic and infection control guidelines. This paper aims to explore the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of delivering psychological therapy remotely to adults with intellectual disabilities (ID).

Design/methodology/approach

As part of routine practice within an adult ID community health service, this paper develops a six-session programme based on compassion-focused therapy (CFT) and delivered it to six clients. Clients completed the psychological therapy outcome scale for ID 2nd edition, at assessment, pre- and post-therapy, as well as a feasibility and acceptability measure.

Findings

Six clients engaged in telephone therapy; four clients individually, while the remaining two were supported by their caregiver. Most clients found the intervention helpful, enjoyable and were pleased that they received telephone-delivered psychological therapy. A reduction was observed at post-therapy in distress (g = 0.33) and risk (g = 0.69). No difference was reported in psychological well-being. Five clients were subsequently discharged from psychological therapy.

Originality/value

To the knowledge, this is the first study examining the use of telephone therapy (including CFT) for individuals with ID. Findings add to the growing evidence suggesting individuals with ID can benefit from receiving adapted psychological therapies. Research is required to further explore the effectiveness of remote-therapies, who would most likely benefit from this approach and how remote treatments could be used within existing pathways.
Venturing into retail: SoGal and cherry blossom intimates
Authors: Munshaw Supriya , Black Christina
Published: June 2021

Study level/applicability

Graduate or Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Majors

Subject area

Entrepreneurship/Venture Capital (VC) Investing

Case overview

The case highlights a women-founded venture capital firm that values investments in diverse entrepreneurs and an innovative retail business started by two minority entrepreneurs. Students will be asked whether the firm should invest in the venture and will also be asked to discuss models that may help transform the retail business into a VC-backed scalable technology business.

Expected learning outcomes

By the end of the discussion, students will be able to evaluate the feasibility and scalability of a new business venture; and evaluate the alignment between a venture capital company and a new venture.

Supplementary Materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Social Implications

This case highlights the lack of resources for women and minority entrepreneurs as well as the underrepresentation of minority women in the VC industry.

Subject code

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship
Multilevel models of transformational leadership, behavioral integration of top management team and manager ambidexterity in SMEs
Authors: Duan Yuzhen , Peng Xiaobao , Gui Qiong , Zhou Haibin , Zhang Xuehe , Song Wei
Published: June 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the effect of transformational leadership (TL), behavioral integration of top management team (TMT) and team conflict on manager ambidexterity behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Hierarchical linear modeling has been applied to test the degree of influence of TL and behavioral integration of TMT on manager ambidexterity using data collected from 60 chief executive officers (CEOs) and 322 TMT members of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the Chinese electronic commerce industry.

Findings

The results suggest the following: transformational leadership is positively associated with the behavioral integration of TMT and a high level of TMT behavioral integration strengthens the positive relationship between transformational leadership and manager ambidexterity. Also, team conflict moderates the mediating role of TMT behavioral integration in the relationship of transformational leadership to manager ambidexterity.

Research limitations/implications

First, this study does not directly test whether transformational leadership encourages a focus on manager ambidexterity, although the results on behavioral integration draw attention to the usefulness of such leadership. Second, in focusing on manager ambidexterity, this paper omits key variables, especially skills and abilities.

Practical implications

Given that several aspects of leadership can be learned and adjusted, the findings suggest that organizations can improve their individual ambidexterity by helping the CEOs develop and display transformational leadership through training and mentoring. TMTs were found to rely mostly on the behavioral integration approach (collaborative behavior, quality of information exchange and joint decision-making) and team conflict management. Such reliance, in turn, predicts effective team behavioral coordination and subsequent manager ambidexterity.

Originality/value

First, this study goes beyond the current research that focuses primarily on ambidexterity at the inter-organizational alliance, firm and business unit levels. This earlier research lacks a conceptually and empirically validated understanding of ambidexterity at the level of the manager. In contrast, by investigating and examining the antecedents of manager ambidexterity behavior, the study develops an individual perspective to elucidate the ambidextrous mechanisms. Second, the study also contributes by explaining how transformational leadership relates to manager ambidexterity. To date, only limited research has disentangled how transformational leaders enhance managers’ teamwork (e.g. behavioral integration) and how such leaders affect the ambidextrous orientation of managers.
Tenant management under COVID-19 pandemic season among informal settlement rental housing in Ghana
Authors: Miller Appau Williams , Agbenyo Fauster , Mabakeng Menare Royal
Published: June 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the roles of landlords in tenant management during COVID-19 pandemic season among informal settlement neighbourhoods in urban Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a mixed methods research approach and foregrounds the discussions of the results with the social roles theory. Using the quota sampling procedure, this study used 467 semi-structured interviews of tenants from five old informal settlement neighbourhoods in urban Ghana. This study adopted the thematic analytical technique in the results section.

Findings

This study uncovered that landlords perform a gate-keeping social relationship role in ensuring tenant safety during the COVID-19 pandemic season through the provision of security, care and support, discipline, hard work, morale building to accountability. However, this study found that most landlords do not provide tenancy agreements to tenants which strained some social relationships in tenant management.

Originality/value

The application of social roles theory in this study provides a cutting-edge approach to the study of welfare of tenants living in informal settlement housing units during periods of pandemic. This study practically provides a participatory approach to analysing and discussing the roles of landlords in tenant management and proffering solutions for formalisation of these roles in housing policies in Ghana.
Interpretable MOOC recommendation: a multi-attention network for personalized learning behavior analysis
Authors: Fan Ju , Jiang Yuanchun , Liu Yezheng , Zhou Yonghang
Published: June 2021

Purpose

Course recommendations are important for improving learner satisfaction and reducing dropout rates on massive open online course (MOOC) platforms. This study aims to propose an interpretable method of analyzing students' learning behaviors and recommending MOOCs by integrating multiple data sources.

Design/methodology/approach

The study proposes a deep learning method of recommending MOOCs to students based on a multi-attention mechanism comprising learning records attention, word-level review attention, sentence-level review attention and course description attention. The proposed model is validated using real-world data consisting of the learning records of 6,628 students for 1,789 courses and 65,155 reviews.

Findings

The main contribution of this study is its exploration of multiple unstructured information using the proposed multi-attention network model. It provides an interpretable strategy for analyzing students' learning behaviors and conducting personalized MOOC recommendations.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that MOOC platforms must fully utilize the information implied in course reviews to extract personalized learning preferences.

Originality/value

This study is the first attempt to recommend MOOCs by exploring students' preferences in course reviews. The proposed multi-attention mechanism improves the interpretability of MOOC recommendations.
Demystifying cost misperception as a challenge to green building adoption in Nigeria
Authors: Ekung Samuel , Odesola Isaac , Opoku Alex
Published: June 2021

Purpose

The pertinent information about green buildings (GB) is laden with cost misperceptions (CM) that are paraded into adoption decisions without factual clarifications. The unsupported beliefs are fundamental to the disparaging low adoption of related technologies globally. The purpose of this paper is to explore the causes of CMs among construction stakeholders and why is it difficult to discredit this information?

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopted two-tier approaches involving a Delphi study and a questionnaire survey. Construction stakeholders and GB experts, totalling 415 were surveyed, while 12 professionals participated in the Delphi study. This study analysed data from 254 valid responses using Factor Analysis, Fussy Set Theory and Kruskal Wallis test to explain why CMs are prevalent.

Findings

The causes of CMs converge towards seven principal factors including low knowledge of GB practices, non-familiarity with performance metrics, inadequate evidence, poor-risk perceptions and reliance on the costs of exemplar projects. The results were explained using gaps in cost management, knowledge and sustainability accounting to show the critical improvements that can benefit GB adoption.

Practical implications

CMs are not abstract but develop from patterns that can be detected and understood within a specific context. Growing GB projects within a region would improve cost information, sustainability accounting, cost management and quality of evidence. GB cost information paraded into adoption decision processes are overestimated and overvalued beliefs of their financial implications. Tackling the important sources of CMs in the study is appropriate to improve rational decision-making aiding GB adoption.

Originality/value

This study untied causes of negative dispositions towards the cost of GB that distort stakeholders’ adoption decisions.
An improved discrete grey multivariable model for forecasting the R&D output of China—from the perspective of R&D institutions
Authors: Wang Jue , Qian Wuyong
Published: June 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to make a prediction of the R&D output of China from the perspective of R&D institutions and put forward a set of policy recommendations for further development of the science and technology in China.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, an improved discrete grey multivariable model is proposed, which takes both the interaction effects and the accumulative effects into account. As the current research on China's R&D activities is generally based on the perspective of universities or industrial enterprises above designated size while few studies put their focus on R&D institutions, this paper applies the proposed model to carry out an empirical analysis based on the data of China's R&D institutions from 2009 to 2019. The prediction results from the new model are then compared with three existing approaches and the comparison results indicate that the proposed model generally outperforms existing methods. A further prediction of the R&D output in China's R&D institutions is conducted into a future horizon from 2020 to 2023 by using the model.

Findings

The results indicate that China's R&D institutions have a good development trend and broad prospects, which is closely related to China's long-term investment in science and technology. Additionally, the R&D inputs of China possess obvious interaction effects and accumulative effects.

Originality/value

The paper considers the interaction effects and the accumulative effects of R&D inputs simultaneously and proposes an improved discrete grey multivariable model, which fills the gap in previous studies.
The circular economy: rearranging structural couplings and the paradox of moral-based sustainability-enhancing feedback
Authors: Neisig Margit
Published: June 2021

Purpose

Circular Economy is a policy and practice-oriented concept drawing mainly on engineering and natural science. This paper aims to contribute a conceptual development based on social systems theory. Does the Circular Economy have the prospect to become a sustainability-enhancing feedback mechanism potentializing an evolutionary systemic rearrangement of structural couplings, and will it encounter limitations as a general approach for a sustainable development?

Design/methodology/approach

By using the Luhmannian theory as method, core concepts are semantics, structure and rearrangement of structural couplings. In acknowledging the social system’s operational closure, social-metabolism with nature is discussed. The research is in three stages. First, structural couplings of matter and social systems. Second, structural couplings of organizational networks closing the loop–eventually using digitalization. Third, the Circular Economy encountering multicontextuality.

Findings

The paper provides: (1) A four-stage structural coupling enacting metabolism with nature allowing measurement of circularity potentially useable for feedback “irritating” relevant social systems’ reflexion. (2) Identification of obstacles encountered in the proliferation due to paradoxes of strategic decisions in organizations, difficulties of structural couplings of organizational networks and the paradox of digitalization. (3) Help by future digitalization but simultaneously new side-effects. (4) The multicontextuality as the limitation for a broad sustainability approach.

Originality/value

The paper answers a call for more social science theoretical research on the Circular Economy. It develops core conceptualizations based on social systems theory. Also, advices for future research and practical implementation are suggested.
Contributing role of regulatory compliance and Islamic operations in bank risk: evidence from Pakistan
Authors: Akhtar Shahzad , Hussain Haroon , Hussain Rana Yassir
Published: June 2021

Purpose

This study aims to estimate the regulatory compliance impact on the risk of banks operating in Pakistan. The direct and indirect regulatory compliance of conventional banks with Islamic operations in terms of risk from 2009 to 2017 are estimated.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a two-step system generalized method of moment (GMM) (dynamic panel) to examine the relationship between regulatory compliance, Islamic operations and the bank risk and tested the direct and indirect impacts of regulatory compliance and Islamic operations on the said risk.

Findings

Regulatory compliance has a significant and positive relation with bank risk, whereas the Islamic bank operations have a significant and negative relationship. Thus, regulatory compliance creates pressure on banks, but the Islamic operations of conventional banks reduce this pressure in direct and indirect ways.

Practical implications

Per the policy of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), banks shall pursue Islamic operations to reduce regulatory pressure and widen their scope. The results suggest that regulatory compliance creates pressure on bank risk irrespective of the type of the bank. Thus, the SBP should seek the appropriate measure for this occurrence.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the very first study that has considered the unique Islamic operations of conventional banks and estimated its impact on risk. Moreover, this work examined two types of bank risk instead of employing stability and market measure. This research is also the first to implement a two-step system GMM for the methodology.
Change through chaos: using bricolage in cross-sector social partnerships
Authors: Intindola Melissa , Ofstein Laurel
Published: June 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore bricolage as the missing link in understanding how cross-sector social partnerships form and operate in response to grand challenges. It is proposed that the weaving together of resources employed by members of cross-sector social partnerships (CSSPs) is bricolage in action and can be linked to Gray's (1985) facilitating conditions for collaboration. While existing research examines bricolage primarily at the individual level, this research studies collective bricolage, as implemented by a cross-sector social partnership in its process to address a grand challenge.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors follow the evolution of a Midwestern initiative aimed at the grand challenge of generational poverty. The deductive case study approach identifies the mechanisms of bricolage being employed in the initiative's evolution and ties these to Gray's (1985) seminal paper on interorganizational collaboration.

Findings

This case study has implications for academics conceptually struggling to understand grand challenges and the role of entrepreneurial initiatives in the public and nonprofit sectors, as well as practitioners currently involved in collaborative efforts to address said challenges.

Originality/value

This study enriches the discussion and enhances the link between the CSSP literature and new notions of social entrepreneurship that embrace the collective as their unit of analysis. This is the first work of its kind to link bricolage to a nascent CSSP and demonstrate how the entrepreneurial concept of bricolage is an inherent part of CSSP formation and operation.
Toward a meaningful experience: an explanation of the drivers of the continued usage of gamified mobile app services
Authors: Zhou Fei , Mou Jian , Kim Jongki
Published: June 2021

Purpose

This study argues that to drive users' continuance use behaviors, it is necessary to satisfy their desire for a meaningful experience when using information systems (IS). Therefore, this research explores the influencing mechanism by which gamified IS (immersive-related interaction, achievement-related interaction, and social-related interaction) impacts users' perceived benefits and continuance intention.

Design/methodology/approach

In this research, 367 users of Ant Forest are investigated in two waves through random sampling and the use of a structural equation model with SmartPLS 3.0 software.

Findings

The research results reveal the following: (1) both achievement-related interaction and social-related interaction can affect the user's continuance intention, while the direct impact of immersive-related interaction on the user's continuance intention is not supported; (2) users' perceived self-benefits fully mediate the relationships between achievement-related interaction and social-related interaction and users' continuance intention; and (3) perceived social benefits fully mediate the relationships between achievement-related interaction and social-related interaction and users' continuance intention.

Originality/value

This study supports the retention effects of gamification design on users' continuance intention by evocating users' dual perceived benefits.
Predicting the effects of body size, temperature and diet on animal feeding rates
Authors: Nunes Lucas T. , Barneche Diego R. , Lastrucci Naomi S. , Fraga Alana A. , Nunes José A. C. C. , Ferreira Carlos E. L. , Floeter Sergio R.
Published: June 2021

Consumption rates constitute a fundamental, yet relatively elusive quantity in ecophysiology and ecosystem ecology. Measuring consumption rates of highly mobile animals is often challenging, especially in the wild, which makes scientists rely on proxies such as bite rates. However, we still lack a theoretical framework that formally bridges these quantities.

Here we expanded a model based on the Metabolic Theory of Ecology to quantitatively characterise how consumption rates are related to bite rates, and predict how the latter should change with body size, temperature and diet. We test our predictions using mensurative experiments from eight populations of redlip blennies—genus Ophioblennius—across the Atlantic Ocean.

Bite rates scaled with body size according to our theoretical predictions. On the other hand, they increased at a faster‐than‐predicted rate with rising temperatures. This finding might be explained if the energetic content of Ophioblennius spp. diet—which is primarily composed by detritus across all populations—decreases with temperature. Yet, they seem to be consistent with the idea that populations adapted to warmer environments exhibit higher‐than‐expected grazing pressure on primary producers.

Current ocean warming is set to skew body size distributions towards smaller sizes, and our model indicates that the combined effects of smaller sizes and higher temperatures will increase mass‐specific consumption rates, with direct implications for how energy flows through food webs.
It's a hard knock life for some: Heterogeneity in infection life history of salmonids influences parasite disease outcomes
Authors: Bailey Christyn , Strepparava Nicole , Ros Albert , Wahli Thomas , Schmidt‐Posthaus Heike , Segner Helmut , Tafalla Carolina
Published: June 2021

Heterogeneity in immunity occurs across numerous disease systems with individuals from the same population having diverse disease outcomes. Proliferative kidney disease (PKD) caused byTetracapsuloides bryosalmonae, is a persistent parasitic disease negatively impacting both wild and farmed salmonids. Little is known of how PKD is spread or maintained within wild susceptible populations.

We investigated an aspect of fish disease that has been largely overlooked, that is, the role of the host phenotypic heterogeneity in disease outcome. We examined how host susceptibility toT. bryosalmonaeinfection, and the disease PKD, varied across different infection life‐history stages and how it differs between naïve, re‐infected and persistently infected hosts.

We investigated the response to parasite exposure in host phenotypes with (a) different ages and (b) heterogeneous infection life histories. Among (a) the age phenotypes were young‐of‐the‐year (YOY) fish and juvenile 1+ fish (fish older than one) and, for (b) juvenile 1+ infection survivors were either re‐exposed or not re‐ exposed to the parasite and response phenotypes were assigned post‐hoc dependant on infection status. In fish not re‐exposed this included fish that cleared infection (CI) or had a persistent infection (PI). In fish re‐exposed these included fish that were re‐infected (RI), or re‐exposed and uninfected (RCI). We assessed both parasite‐centric (infection prevalence, parasite burden, malacospore transmission) and host‐centric parameters (growth rates, disease severity, infection tolerance and the immune response).

In (a), YOY fish, parasite success and disease severity were greater and differences in the immune response occurred, demonstrating an ontogenetic decline of susceptibility in older fish. In (b), in PI and RI fish, parasite success and disease severity were comparable. However, expression of several adaptive immunity markers was greater in RI fish, indicating concomitant immunity, as re‐exposure did not intensify infection.

We demonstrate the relevance of heterogeneity in infection life history on disease outcome and describe several distinctive features of immune ontogeny and protective immunity in this model not previously reported. The relevance of such themes on a population level requires greater research in many aquatic disease systems to generate clearer framework for understanding the spread and maintenance of aquatic pathogens.
Ericoid mycorrhizal shrubs alter the relationship between tree mycorrhizal dominance and soil carbon and nitrogen
Authors: Ward Elisabeth B. , Duguid Marlyse C. , Kuebbing Sara E. , Lendemer James C. , Warren Robert J. , Bradford Mark A.
Published: June 2021

Plant–fungal associations strongly influence forest carbon and nitrogen cycling. The prevailing framework for understanding these relationships is through the relative abundance of arbuscular (AM) versus ectomycorrhizal (EcM) trees. Ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) shrubs are also common in forests and interactions between co‐occurring ErM shrubs and AM and EcM trees could shift soil biogeochemical responses. Here we test hypotheses that the effects of ErM shrubs on soil carbon and nitrogen either extend or are redundant with those of EcM trees.

Using regional vegetation inventory data (>3,500 plot observations) we evaluated the frequency, richness and relative abundance of ErM plants in temperate forests in the eastern United States and examined their relationship with EcM plant cover. We then used surface soil (7 cm) data from 414 plots within a single forest to analyse relationships between ErM plant cover, relative EcM tree basal area and soil carbon and nitrogen concentrations while accounting for other biogeochemical controls, such as soil moisture.

At both scales, we found a positive relationship between ErM and EcM plants, and the majority of ErM plants were in the shrub layer. Within the forest site, ErM plants strongly modulated tree mycorrhizal dominance effects. We found negative relationships between EcM relative basal area and soil carbon and nitrogen concentrations, but these relationships were weak to negligible in the absence of ErM plants. Both EcM relative basal area and ErM plant cover were positively associated with the soil carbon‐to‐nitrogen ratio. However, this relationship was driven by relatively lower nitrogen for EcM trees and higher carbon for ErM plants. As such, the functional effects of ErM plants on soil biogeochemistry neither extended nor were redundant with those of EcM trees.

Synthesis. We found that ErM shrubs strongly influenced the relationship between tree mycorrhizal associations and soil biogeochemistry, and the effects of ErM shrubs and EcM trees on carbon and nitrogen were functionally distinct. Our findings suggest that ErM shrubs could confound interpretation of AM versus EcM tree effects in ecosystems where they co‐occur but also bolster growing calls to consider mycorrhizal functional types as variables that strongly influence forest biogeochemistry.
State Policymaking and Stated Reasons: Prenatal Care for Undocumented Immigrants in an Era of Abortion Restriction
Authors: FABI RACHEL E. , SALONER BRENDAN , TAYLOR HOLLY
Published: June 2021

Policy Points

States can create policies that provide access to publicly funded prenatal care for undocumented immigrants that garner support from diverse political coalitions.

Policymakers have used a wide range of moral and practical reasons to support the expansion of care to this population, which can be tailored to frame prenatal policies for different stakeholder groups.

Context

Even though nearly 6% of citizen babies born in the United States have at least one undocumented parent, undocumented immigrants are ineligible for most public health insurance. Prenatal care is a recommended health service that improves birth outcomes, and some states, including both traditionally “blue” and “red” states, have opted to provide publicly funded coverage for prenatal services for people who are otherwise ineligible due to immigration status. This article explores how courts and legislatures in three states have approached the question of publicly funded prenatal care for undocumented immigrants and its relationship to the abortion debate, with a particular focus on the moral and practical justifications that policymakers employ.

Methods

We employed a review and qualitative analysis of the documents that comprise the legislative histories of prenatal policies in three case states: California, New York, and Nebraska.

Findings

This review and analysis of policy documents identified moral reasons based on appeals to different conceptions of moral status, respect for autonomy, and justice, as well as prudential reasons that appealed to the health and economic benefits of prenatal care for US citizens and legal residents. We found that much of the variation in reasons supporting policies by state can be traced to the state's position on the protection of reproductive rights and whether the policymakers in each state supported or opposed access to abortion. Interestingly, despite these differences, the states arrived at similar prenatal policies for immigrants.

Conclusions

There may be areas where policymakers with different political orientations can converge on health policies affecting access to care for undocumented immigrants. Future research should explore the reception of various message frames for expanding public health insurance coverage to immigrants in other contexts.
Broad‐scale applications of the Raspberry Pi: A review and guide for biologists
Authors: Jolles Jolle W.
Published: June 2021

The field of biology has seen tremendous technological progress in recent years, fuelled by the exponential growth in processing power and high‐level computing, and the rise of global information sharing. Low‐cost single‐board computers are predicted to be one of the key technological advancements to further revolutionise this field.

So far, an overview of current uptake of these devices and a general guide to help researchers integrate them in their work has been missing. In this paper I focus on the most widely used single‐board computer, the Raspberry Pi, and review its broad applications and uses across the biological domain.

Since its release in 2012, the Raspberry Pi has been increasingly taken up by biologists, in the laboratory, the field and in the classroom, and across a wide range of disciplines. A hugely diverse range of applications exists that ranges from simple solutions to dedicated custom‐build devices, including nest‐box monitoring, wildlife camera trapping, high‐throughput behavioural recording, large‐scale plant phenotyping, underwater video surveillance, closed‐loop operant learning experiments and autonomous ecosystem monitoring. Despite the breadth of its implementations, the depth of uptake of the Raspberry Pi by the scientific community is still limited.

The broad capabilities of the Raspberry Pi, combined with its low cost, ease of use and large user community make it a great research tool for almost any project. To help accelerate the uptake of the Raspberry Pi by the scientific community, I provide detailed guidelines, recommendations and considerations, and 30+ step‐by‐step guides on a dedicated accompanying website (http://raspberrypi‐guide.github.io). I hope this paper will help generate more awareness about the Raspberry Pi among scientists and thereby both fuel the democratisation of science and ultimately help advance our understanding of biology, from the micro‐ to the macro‐scale.
Identifying a novel biological mechanism for alcohol addiction associated with circRNA networks acting as potential miRNA sponges
Authors: Vornholt Eric , Drake John , Mamdani Mohammed , McMichael Gowon , Taylor Zachary N. , Bacanu Silviu‐Alin , Miles Michael F. , Vladimirov Vladimir I.
Published: June 2021

Our lab and others have shown that chronic alcohol use leads to gene and miRNA expression changes across the mesocorticolimbic (MCL) system. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are noncoding RNAs that form closed‐loop structures and are reported to alter gene expression through miRNA sequestration, thus providing a potentially novel neurobiological mechanism for the development of alcohol dependence (AD). Genome‐wide expression of circRNA was assessed in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) from 32 AD‐matched cases/controls. Significant circRNAs (unadj. p ≤ 0.05) were identified via regression and clustered in circRNA networks via weighted gene co‐expression network analysis (WGCNA). CircRNA interactions with previously generated mRNA and miRNA were detected via correlation and bioinformatic analyses. Significant circRNAs (N = 542) clustered in nine significant AD modules (FWER p ≤ 0.05), within which we identified 137 circRNA hubs. We detected 23 significant circRNA–miRNA–mRNA interactions (FDR ≤ 0.10). Among these, circRNA‐406742 and miR‐1200 significantly interact with the highest number of mRNA, including genes associated with neuronal functioning and alcohol addiction (HRAS, PRKCB, HOMER1, and PCLO). Finally, we integrate genotypic information that revealed 96 significant circRNA expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) (unadj. p ≤ 0.002) that showed significant enrichment within recent alcohol use disorder (AUD) and smoking genome‐wide association study (GWAS). To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the role of circRNA in the neuropathology of AD. We show that circRNAs impact mRNA expression by interacting with miRNA in the NAc of AD subjects. More importantly, we provide indirect evidence for the clinical importance of circRNA in the development of AUD by detecting a significant enrichment of our circRNA eQTLs among GWAS of substance abuse.
Merged phytosociological and geographical approach for multiple scale vegetation mapping as a baseline for public environmental policy in Mexico
Authors: Velazquez Alejandro , Medina‐García Consuelo , Gopar‐Merino Fernando , Duran Elvira , Pérez‐Vega Azucena , Mas Jean‐François , Giménez de Azcarate Joaquín , Blanco‐García Arnulfo , López‐Barrera Faustino , Castro‐López Valerio , Aguirre Rocío
Published: June 2021

Questions

What is the potential use of maps derived from a merged geographical and phytosociological approach to support the design of public environmental policies? Do these approaches and data sources deliver complementary land‐cover/vegetation maps?

Objective

The present article documents a joint phytosociological and geographical approach to improve vegetation cartography in temperate‐tropical transitional ecosystems.

Location

The research was conducted at national (Mexico) and state (Michoacán) scales. Mexico and Michoacán have been recognized as regions of high eco‐geographical complexity, where temperate‐tropical conditions intermingle, creating large eco‐socio‐cultural mosaics.

Methods

Data from 268 field verification sites and 223 relevés surveyed during the last two decades and recent land cover sources were used as the main inputs. The results were further validated by three workshops with local botanists and field verification during 2021.

Results

At the national level, Mexico's forests, shrubs, herbs, and non‐vascular major formation classes were hierarchically split by dominant life forms and prevailing climatic affiliations. At the state level, these major formation classes split into 19 sub‐formations, of which 15 were forest communities.

Conclusions

We discuss the scientific challenge of transitioning from land cover into vegetation maps and (dis)similarities of approaches reviewing concepts and analytical (quanti)qualitative instruments. The paper contrasts the present output with the experiences of other countries such as Canada, the United States, Bolivia, and Colombia. Finally, the results are discussed in light of their relevance for constructing public environmental policies, such as land use planning, establishment of protected areas, allocation of incentives for sustainable environmental services, and long‐term conservation practices.
A redescription of the appendicular skeleton of Squalus acanthias (Elasmobranchii: Squaliformes: Squalidae)
Authors: C. B. da Silva João Paulo , B. Vaz Diego F.
Published: June 2021

The anatomy of Squalus acanthias has been explored and investigated for the past 150 years. Despite being a relatively well‐known species, some anatomical inaccuracies on the paired fins persist throughout the literature, such as the presence of suprascapular cartilages and the morphology of the articular region of the pectoral fin. This study reassesses and provides new descriptions of the paired fins of Squalus acanthias, including comparisons with other representatives of Squalidae, aimed to expand the anatomical information of these species. All examined species of Squalus have two sites in the scapulocoracoid for the articulation of the pectoral basals: one facet articulating with the propterygium and a condyle for the mesopterygium (or both meso‐ and metapterygium). Additionally, the scapulocoracoid does not have a scapular process. Squalus acanthias is unique for having a series of barrel‐shaped elements in the anterior region of the scapula. These elements are lacking in all other examined species of Squalus and Cirrhigaleus (and sharks in general) and are likely an autapomorphy of S. acanthias.
The behavioural ecology of marine cleaning mutualisms
Authors: Caves Eleanor M.
Published: June 2021

Cleaning interactions, in which a small ‘cleaner’ organism removes and often consumes material from a larger ‘client’, are some of the most enigmatic and intriguing of interspecies interactions. Early research on cleaning interactions canonized the view that they are mutualistic, with clients benefiting from parasite removal and cleaners benefiting from a meal, but subsequent decades of research have revealed that the dynamics of these interactions can be highly complex. Despite decades of research on marine cleaning interactions (the best studied cleaning systems), key questions remain, including how the outcome of an individual cleaning interaction depends on ecological, behavioural, and social context, how such interactions arise, and how they remain stable over time. Recently, studies of marine parasites, long‐term data from coral reef communities with and without cleaners, increased behavioural observations recorded using remote video, and a focus on a larger numbers of cleaning species have helped bring about key conceptual advances in our understanding of cleaning interactions. In particular, evidence now suggests that the ecological, behavioural, and social contexts of a given cleaning interaction can result in the outcome ranging from mutualistic to parasitic, and that cleaning interactions are mediated by signals that can also vary with context. Signals are an important means by which animals extract information about one another, and thus represent a mechanism by which interspecific partners can determine when, how, and with whom to interact. Here, I review our understanding of the behavioural ecology of marine cleaning interactions. In particular, I argue that signals provide a useful framework for advancing our understanding of several important outstanding questions. I discuss the costs and benefits of cleaning interactions, review how cleaners and clients recognize and assess one another using signals, and discuss how signal reliability, or ‘honesty’, may be maintained in cleaning systems. Lastly, I discuss the sensory ecology of both cleaners and clients to highlight what marine cleaning systems can tell us about signalling behaviour, signal form, and signal evolution in a system where signals are aimed at multiple receiver species. Overall, I argue that future research on cleaning interactions has much to gain by continuing to shift the research focus toward examining the variable outcomes of cleaning interactions in relation to the broader behavioural, social, and ecological contexts.
Plant species specificity of ant–plant mutualistic interactions: Differential predation of termites by Camponotus crassus on five species of extrafloral nectaries plants
Authors: Calixto Eduardo Soares , Lange Denise , Moreira Xoaquín , Del‐Claro Kleber
Published: June 2021

There is increasing evidence that the outcomes of mutualistic interactions between ants and plants bearing extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) are context‐dependent. In particular, the total number, density, and size of EFNs, as well as the abundance and identity of ants attending host plants, are considered as key factors determining the nature and strength of ant–EFN‐bearing plant interaction. Although many previous studies have investigated context‐dependency in ant–plant protection mutualisms mediated by EFNs, few have tested whether the protective behavior of ants varies among sympatric plant species. In this study, we performed a field experiment to investigate the predatory behavior of a dominant ant species (Camponotus crassus, Formicinae) among five EFN‐bearing plant species growing in the Brazilian savanna. In particular, we studied the variation in the ant abundance, termite predation, and time spent to find termites of C. crassus among the plant species, and further analyzed whether this variation could be related to the extrafloral nectar volume and sugar concentration of each plant species. We found that abundance and termite predation of C. crassus markedly varied among plant species. Specifically, C. crassus ants were significantly more abundant, active, and protective in Qualea multiflora, the plant species that produced significantly higher volumes and sugar concentrations of nectar. Overall, our results suggest that variation in extrafloral nectar volume and sugar concentration can result in plant species specificity of defensive behavior of a dominant foliage‐dwelling ant in the Brazilian savanna.

Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.
Developmental Differences in Subjective Recollection and Its Role in Decision Making
Authors: Selmeczy Diana , Kazemi Alireza , Ghetti Simona
Published: June 2021

We examined how subjective assessments of recollection guide decision making. Subjective recollection was dissociated from accuracy during a forced‐choice recognition task. Distracters were either similar to targets (match condition) or to other studied, but untested items (nonmatch condition). We assessed 223 participants (112 males) across three experiments (137 White, 37 Asian‐American, 7 African‐American, 4 American‐Indian, 32 mixed race, 6 undisclosed). In Experiment 1, 6‐ to 10‐year‐olds and adults (N = 119) were less accurate (d = 0.70), but more likely to claim subjective recollection and make memory selections in anticipation of a reward in the nonmatch condition (ds = 0.64–0.70). This pattern was eliminated in 6‐ to 7‐year‐olds when we limited the number of selections (Experiment 2, N = 52), but was replicated when we required the selections to be counted (Experiment 3, N = 52), underscoring the effects of decision complexity on children’s self‐reflections.
Heterozygous HMGB1 loss‐of‐function variants are associated with developmental delay and microcephaly
Authors: Uguen Kévin , Krysiak Kilannin , Audebert‐Bellanger Séverine , Redon Sylvia , Benech Caroline , Viora‐Dupont Eléonore , Tran Mau‐Them Frederic , Rondeau Sophie , Elsharkawi Ibrahim , Granadillo Jorge L. , Neidich Julie , Soares Celia Azevedo , Tkachenko Natáliya , M. Amudhavalli Shivarajan , Engleman Kendra , Boland Anne , Deleuze Jean‐François , Bezieau Stéphane , Odent Sylvie , Toutain Annick , Bonneau Dominique , Gilbert‐Dussardier Brigitte , Faivre Laurence , Rio Marlène , Le Marechal Cedric , Ferec Claude , Repnikova Elena , Cao Yang
Published: June 2021

13q12.3 microdeletion syndrome is a rare cause of syndromic intellectual disability. Identification and genetic characterization of patients with 13q12.3 microdeletion syndrome continues to expand the phenotypic spectrum associated with it. Previous studies identified four genes within the approximately 300 Kb minimal critical region including two candidate protein coding genes: KATNAL1 and HMGB1. To date, no patients carrying a sequence‐level variant or a single gene deletion in HMGB1 or KATNAL1 have been described. Here we report six patients with loss‐of‐function variants involving HMGB1 and who had phenotypic features similar to the previously described 13q12.3 microdeletion syndrome cases. Common features included developmental delay, language delay, microcephaly, obesity and dysmorphic features. In silico analyses suggest that HMGB1 is likely to be intolerant to loss‐of‐function, and previous in vitro data are in line with the role of HMGB1 in neurodevelopment. These results strongly suggest that haploinsufficiency of the HMGB1 gene may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of the 13q12.3 microdeletion syndrome.
Expanding the phenotypic spectrum of FINCA (fibrosis, neurodegeneration, and cerebral angiomatosis) syndrome beyond infancy
Authors: Rapp Christina K. , Van Dijck Ine , Laugwitz Lucia , Boon Mieke , Briassoulis George , Ilia Stavroula , Kammer Birgit , Reu Simone , Hornung Stefanie , Buchert Rebecca , Sofan Linda , Froukh Tawfiq , Witters Peter , Rymen Daisy , Haack Tobias B. , Proesmans Marijke , Griese Matthias
Published: June 2021

Fibrosis, neurodegeneration, and cerebral angiomatosis (FINCA, MIM#618278) is a rare clinical condition caused by bi‐allelic variants in NHL repeat containing protein 2 (NHLRC2, MIM*618277). Pulmonary disease may be the presenting sign and the few patients reported so far, all deceased in early infancy. Exome sequencing was performed on patients with childhood interstitial lung disease (chILD) and additional neurological features. The chILD‐EU register database and an in‐house database were searched for patients with NHLRC2 variants and clinical features overlapping FINCA syndrome. Six patients from three families were identified with bi‐allelic variants in NHLRC2. Two of these children died before the age of two while four others survived until childhood. Interstitial lung disease was pronounced in almost all patients during infancy and stabilized over the course of the disease with neurodevelopmental delay (NDD) evolving as the key clinical finding. We expand the phenotype of FINCA syndrome to a multisystem disorder with variable severity. FINCA syndrome should also be considered in patients beyond infancy with NDD and a history of distinct interstitial lung disease. Managing patients in registers for rare diseases helps identifying new diagnostic entities and advancing care for these patients.