bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of aqueous antioxidants extracts from ginger, garlic and onion on 2-thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances and total volatile basic nitrogen content in chevon (goat meat) and pork during frozen storage
Authors: Chatepa Lesten Eliez Chisomo , Masamba Kingsley George , Tanganyika Jonathan
Published: August 2021

The study investigated the effect of 10% aqueous extracts of ginger (Zingiber officinale L.), garlic (Allium sativum L.) and onion (Allium cepa L.) on the quality of frozen chevon and pork as reflected by changes in values of 2-thiobartituric Acid Reactive Substances (2-TBARS), pH and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) over a 14 day storage under frozen conditions. Fresh samples each weighing 2 kg from chevon and pork were bought from the local slaughter houses in two locations 24hrs after slaughtering while ginger roots, garlic and onion bulbs were purchased from Mitundu local market in Lilongwe district, Malawi. The pH, total 2-TBARS and TVB-N of the thigh chevon and pork were measured from frozen storage at −20 °C after 14 days. The 10% aqueous extracts resulted in low pH values of 5.63, 5.79 and 5.67 at 14 d for chevon mixed with ginger, garlic and onion respectively. However, treated pork had higher pH content compared to treated chevon at 14 d. At day14 of frozen storage, the 2-TBARS expressed as mg MDA/kg meat, for chevon mixed with ginger, garlic and onion aqueous extracts were 2.62±0.01, 0 and 4.71±0.03 which was lower compared to the value of 5.93±0.01 for raw chevon. The TBARS values of chevon and pork mixed with ginger, garlic and onion and control chevon decreased from day 0 to 7 which eventually increased on 14 d. On 14 d, pork mixed with garlic extracts had lower TBARS value of 2.13±0.01 compared to 3.50±0.20, 2.26±0.01 and 3.92±0.01 for pork mixed with extracts of onion, ginger and control pork sample respectively. TVB-N, in mg/100g, was highest in control raw chevon and pork registering 95.70±0.32 and 84.00±0.40 at 14 d. Low values of TVB-N of 7.24±0.23, 12.37±0.23 and 16.61v±0.50 were registered in chevon mixed with aqueous extracts of ginger, garlic and onion compared to the values of 14.23±0.62, 22.87±0.47 and 18.86±0.14 for pork mixed with aqueous extracts of ginger, garlic and onion. The results of the study have revealed that natural aqueous antioxidant extracts of ginger, garlic and onion have antioxidative effect on lipid peroxidation in frozen stored fresh chevon and pork signifying that the use of these extracts can maintain quality.
CureSCi Metadata Catalog – Making sickle cell studies findable
Authors: Pan H. , Ives C. , Mandal M. , Qin Y. , Hendershot T. , Popovic J.R. , Brambilla D. , Stratford J.K. , Treadwell M. , Wu X. , Kroner B.
Published: August 2021

Objectives

To adopt the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) to enhance data sharing, the Cure Sickle Cell Initiative (CureSCi) MetaData Catalog (MDC) was developed to make Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) study datasets more Findable by curating study metadata and making them available through an open-access web portal.

Methods

Study metadata, including study protocol, data collection forms, and data dictionaries, describe information about study patient-level data. We curated key metadata of 16 SCD studies in a three-tiered conceptual framework of category, subcategory, and data element using ontologies and controlled vocabularies to organize the study variables. We developed the CureSCi MDC by indexing study metadata to enable effective browse and search capabilities at three levels: study, Patient-Reported Outcome (PRO) Measures, and data element levels.

Results

The CureSCi MDC offers several browse and search tools to discover studies by study level, PRO Measures, and data elements. The “Browse Studies,” “Browse Studies by PRO Measures,” and “Browse Studies by Data Elements” tools allow users to identify studies through pre-defined conceptual categories. “Search by Keyword” and “Search Data Element by Concept Category” can be used separately or in combination to provide more granularity to refine the search results. This resource helps investigators find information about specific data elements across studies using public browsing/search tools, before going through data request procedures to access controlled datasets. The MDC makes SCD studies more Findable through browsing/searching study information, PRO Measures, and data elements, aiding in the reuse of existing SCD data.
Modeling toes contributes to realistic stance knee mechanics in three-dimensional predictive simulations of walking
Authors: Falisse Antoine , Afschrift Maarten , De Groote Friedl
Published: August 2021

Physics-based predictive simulations have been shown to capture many salient features of human walking. Yet they often fail to produce realistic stance knee mechanics and terminal stance ankle plantarflexion. While the influence of the performance criterion on the predicted walking pattern has been previously studied, the influence of the mechanics has been less explored. Here, we investigated the influence of two mechanical assumptions on the predicted walking pattern: the complexity of the foot segment and the stiffness of the Achilles tendon. We found, through three-dimensional muscle-driven predictive simulations of walking, that modeling the toes and metatarsophalangeal joints, and thus using two-segment instead of single-segment foot models, contributed to robustly eliciting physiological stance knee flexion angles, knee extension torques, and knee extensor activity. Yet modeling toe joints did not improve ankle kinematics, nor did decreasing the Achilles tendon stiffness. The lack of predicted terminal stance ankle plantarflexion thereby remains an open question. Overall, this simulation study shows that not only the performance criterion but also mechanical assumptions affect predictive simulations of walking. Improving the realism of predictive simulations is required for their application in clinical contexts. Here, we suggest that using complex models is needed to yield such realism.
The diazepam binding inhibitor’s modulation of the GABA-A receptor is subunit-dependent
Authors: Borchardt Jennifer S. , Blecker Lucas M. , Tung Anton , Satyshur Kenneth A. , Czajkowski Cynthia
Published: August 2021

First synthesized in the 1950s, benzodiazepines are widely prescribed drugs that exert their anxiolytic, sedative and anticonvulsant actions by binding to GABA-A receptors, the main inhibitory ligand-gated ion channel in the brain. Scientists have long theorized that there exists an endogenous benzodiazepine, or endozepine, in the brain. While there is indirect evidence suggesting a peptide, the diazepam binding inhibitor, is capable of modulating the GABA-A receptor, direct evidence of the modulatory effects of the diazepam binding inhibitor is limited.

Here we take a reductionist approach to understand how purified diazepam binding inhibitor interacts with and affects GABA-A receptor activity. We used two-electrode voltage clamp electrophysiology to study how the effects of diazepam binding inhibitor vary with GABA-A receptor subunit composition, and found that GABA-evoked currents from α3-containing GABA-A receptors are weakly inhibited by the diazepam binding inhibitor, while currents from α5-containing receptors are positively modulated. We also used in silico protein-protein docking to visualize potential diazepam binding inhibitor/GABA-A receptor interactions that revealed diazepam binding inhibitor bound at the benzodiazepine α/γ binding site interface, which provides a structural framework for understanding diazepam binding inhibitor effects on GABA-A receptors. Our results provide novel insights into mechanisms underlying how the diazepam binding inhibitor modulates GABA-mediated inhibition in the brain.
Production and control of a Brazilian tailor-made meningococcal B vaccine
Authors: Jessouroun E , Santos AP , Figueira ES , Correa MB , Leal ML
Published: August 2021

Meningococcal disease has been a public health problem in Brazil since the serogroups A and C epidemics occurred in the 1970s. The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil has been working to develop a serogroup B meningococcal vaccine composed of detergent-treated outer membrane vesicles (OMV) and detoxified endotoxin (dLOS) from Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B prevalent strains. Experimental vaccine were produced in a pilot-scale under Good Manufacturing Practice condition (GMP). Physicochemical and biological controls were established based on what has been reported previously for OMV vaccines. The developed vaccine contained the main class 1, 2, 3, and 5 proteins, some minor iron-regulated proteins, and 5–10% residual lipopolysaccharide related to total protein content. The dLOS was added, as a vaccine component, in half of the total protein amount. The pyrogenicity of the final products, based on the residual LOS in OMVs, varied from 1.01 to 2.24 ng LOS/kg rabbit. Three experimental vaccines, were highly immunogenic in mice with better performance using higher antigen concentrations.
In vitro reconstitution demonstrates the amyloid-beta mediated myelin membrane deformation
Authors: Tiwari Anuj , Pradhan Sweta , Sannigrahi Achinta , Jha Suman , Chattopadhyay Krishnananda , Biswas Mithun , Saleem Mohammed
Published: August 2021

Amyloid-beta (Aβ) aggregation mediated neuronal membrane deformation, although poorly understood, is implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Particularly, whether Aβ aggregation can induce neuronal demyelination remains unknown. Here we show that Aβ-40 binds and induces extensive tubulation in the myelin membrane in vitro. The binding of Aβ-40 depends predominantly on the lipid packing defect densities and electrostatic interactions and results in rigidification of the myelin membrane in the early time scales. Furthermore, elongation of Aβ-40 into higher oligomeric and fibrillar species leads to eventual fluidization of the myelin membrane followed by extensive membrane tubulation observed in the late phase. Taken together, our results capture mechanistic insights into snapshots of temporal dynamics of Aβ-40 - myelin membrane interaction and demonstrate how short timescale, local phenomena of binding, and fibril mediated load generation manifests into long timescale, global phenomena of myelin tubulation and demonstrates the ability of Aβ-40 to demyelinate.
Structural transitions in the GTP cap visualized by cryo-EM of catalytically inactive microtubules
Authors: LaFrance Benjamin J , Roostalu Johanna , Henkin Gil , Greber Basil J , Zhang Rui , Normanno Davide , McCollum Chloe , Surrey Thomas , Nogales Eva
Published: August 2021

Microtubules (MTs) are polymers of α/β-tubulin heterodimers that stochastically switch between growth and shrinkage phases. This dynamic instability is critically important for MT function. It is believed that GTP hydrolysis within the MT lattice is accompanied by destabilizing conformational changes, and that MT stability depends on a transiently existing GTP cap at the growing MT end. Here we use cryo-EM and TIRF microscopy of GTP hydrolysis-deficient MTs assembled from mutant recombinant human tubulin to investigate the structure of a GTP-bound MT lattice. We find that the GTP-MT lattice of two mutants in which the catalytically active glutamate in α-tubulin was substituted by inactive amino acids (E254A and E254N) is remarkably plastic. Undecorated E254A and E254N MTs with 13 protofilaments both have an expanded lattice, but display opposite protofilament twists, making these lattices distinct from the compacted lattice of wildtype GDP-MTs. End binding proteins of the EB family have the ability to compact both mutant GTP-lattices and to stabilize a negative twist, suggesting that they promote this transition also in the GTP cap of wildtype MTs, thereby contributing to the maturation of the MT structure. We also find that the MT seam appears to be stabilized in mutant GTP-MTs and destabilized in GDP-MTs, supporting the proposal that the seam plays an important role in MT stability. Together, these first high-resolution structures of truly GTP-bound MTs add mechanistic insight to our understanding of MT dynamic instability.

Significance Statement

Microtubules (MTs) are non-equilibrium polymers that switch between states of growth and shrinkage. This property is critical for their function and is a consequence of GTP hydrolysis in the MT. The structure of the stable GTP part of the MT (the GTP cap) has previously been inferred from MTs polymerized with non-hydrolyzable GTP analogs. Here, we report the first high-resolution structures of MTs truly containing GTP, polymerized from mutated, hydrolysis-deficient tubulins. We find that GTP-MTs have an “expanded lattice” and a “closed seam”, structural characteristics possibly responsible for stabilizing the GTP cap. These results provide new insight into the structural transitions at growing MT ends, furthering our understanding of the bistable nature of MTs.
Mapping the genetic landscape of biomineralization in Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 with RB-Tnseq
Authors: McCausland Hayley C. , Wetmore Kelly M. , Arkin Adam P. , Komeili Arash
Published: August 2021

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are a phylogenetically diverse group of bacteria remarkable for their ability to biomineralize magnetite (Fe3O4) or greigite (Fe3S4) in organelles called magnetosomes. The majority of genes required for magnetosome formation are encoded by a magnetosome gene island (MAI). Most previous genetic studies in MTB have focused on the MAI, using screens to identify key MAI genes or targeted genetics to isolate specific genes and their function in one specific growth condition. Here, we conducted random barcoded transposon mutagenesis (RB-TnSeq) in Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 to identify the global genetic requirements for magnetosome formation under different growth conditions. We generated a library of 184,710 unique strains in a wild-type background, generating ~34 mutant strains for each gene. RB-TnSeq also allowed us to determine the essential gene set of AMB-1 under standard laboratory growth conditions. To pinpoint novel genes that are important for magnetosome formation, we subjected the library to magnetic selection screens in varied growth conditions. We compared biomineralization in standard growth conditions to biomineralization in high iron and anaerobic conditions, respectively. Strains with transposon insertions in the MAI gene mamT had an exacerbated biomineralization defect under both high iron and anerobic conditions compared to standard conditions, adding to our knowledge of the role of MamT in magnetosome formation. Mutants in amb4151, a gene outside of the MAI, are more magnetic than wild-type cells under anaerobic conditions. All three of these phenotypes were validated by creating a markerless deletion strain of the gene and evaluating with TEM imaging. Overall, our results indicate that growth conditions affect which genes are required for biomineralization and that some MAI genes may have more nuanced functions than was previously understood.
Trichoderma asperellum: First report in Bangladesh
Authors: Uddin Sheikh Afsar , Hossain Ismail - , Mahmud Hyat - , Monjil Mohammad Shahjahan , Hossain Mohammad Delwar
Published: August 2021

The experiment was conducted at four laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh to identify T. asperellum and its characterization was obtained from the rhizosphere of 49 different crops in 109 different locations of 36 districts in Bangladesh. Fifteen isolates of 88 isolates in T. asperellum were characterized on morphological and physiological features. All of the isolates were produced at 35 °C, but only TR27 and TR45 were grown and sporulate at 40 °C. Mycelial growth of all the isolates was reduced with the increasing of pH value. Molecular characterization in four isolates of TR27, TR45, TR70 and TR85 were studied at ITS and TEF region nucleotide sequencing among 15 isolates of T. asperellum and the morphological characterization at ITS and tef1 nucleotide sequencing was assimilated with molecular characterization. The isolates of TR45, TR70 and TR85 were found with 98% homology and TR27 exhibited 88% against their respective closest isolate. The isolates of TR27 and TR85 marked their respective nearest homology at 96%, while TR45 showed 99%, and 93% homology was signified with TR70 in TEF sequences. Three isolates (TR45, TR70 and TR85) were identified as T. asperellum of 100% bootstrap value and TR27 isolate was also recognized with 72% bootstrap value in phylogenetic tree. In phylogenetic analysis, tef1 extended better differentiation among the Trichoderma isolates within and among the groups of closely related species than the rDNA of the ITS region in reflecting wider variability in the isolates while a higher transversion ratio and evolutionary divergence were defined.
Identification and targeting of G-quadruplex structures inMALAT1long non-coding RNA
Authors: Mou Xi , Liew Shiau Wei , Kwok Chun Kit
Published: August 2021

RNA G-quadruplexes (rG4s) have functional roles in many cellular processes in diverse organisms. While a number of rG4 examples have been reported in coding messenger RNAs (mRNA), so far only limited works have studied rG4s in non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), especially in long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are of emerging interest and significance in biology. Herein, we report thatMALAT1lncRNA contains conserved rG4 motifs, forming thermostable rG4 structures with parallel topology. We also show that rG4s inMALAT1lncRNA can interact with NONO protein with high specificity and affinityin vitroand in nuclear cell lysate, and we providein vivodata to support that NONO protein recognizesMALAT1lncRNA via rG4 motifs. Notably, we demonstrate that rG4s inMALAT1lncRNA can be targeted by rG4-specific small molecule, peptide, and L-aptamer, leading to the dissociation ofMALAT1rG4-NONO protein interaction. Altogether, this study uncovers new and important rG4s inMALAT1lncRNAs, reveals their specific interactions with NONO protein, offers multiple strategies for targetingMALAT1and its RNA-protein complex via its rG4 structure, and illustrates the prevalence and significance of rG4s in ncRNAs.
Mycorrhizal inoculation and treatment with biochar and compost from pruning waste improve the qualitative properties of a calcareous soil under wheat cultivation
Authors: Vahedi Roghayeh , Rasouli-Sadaghiani MirHassan , Barin Mohsen , Vetukuri Ramesh Raju
Published: August 2021

Most calcareous soils have relatively low levels of organic matter. To address this issue and improve the qualitative properties of calcareous soils, soils can be treated with mycorrhizal fungi and/or exogenous organic material such as biochar or compost derived from tree pruning waste. To evaluate the effect of pruning waste biochar (PWB) and pruning waste compost (PWC) derived from apple and grape trees combined with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the biological indices of calcareous soils, a rhizobox study on wheat plants using a completely randomized design was conducted under greenhouse conditions. The studied factors included the source of the type of organic material applied (PWB, PWC, and control), the nature of the microbial inoculation (inoculation with AMF or no inoculation), and the zone to which the treatments were applied (rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil). At the end of the plant growth period, organic carbon (OC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass phosphorous (MBP), microbial respiration (BR), substrate-induced respiration (SIR), alkaline (ALP), acid (ACP) phosphatase enzyme activities in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils, and root mycorrhizal colonization were determined. Simultaneous application of a source of organic matter and AMF inoculation significantly increased the OC and biological indices of soil relative to those observed when applying organic matter without AMF inoculation. Additionally, MBC, MBP, ACP and ALP - enzymes activities in the rhizosphere zone were significantly higher than in the non-rhizosphere. AMF increased BR and SIR levels in the rhizosphere by 13.06% and 7.95% compared to non-rhizosphere, respectively. It can be concluded that in calcareous soils with low organic carbon contents, organic amendments such as PWC and PWB can improve soil biological properties by increasing microbial activity and changing the properties of the rhizosphere.
Target Enrichment Enhances the Sensitivity of Sanger Sequencing for BRAF V600 Mutation Detection
Authors: Gan Qiang , Fu Andrew , Liu Fang , Shen Shuo , Jamba Maidar , Liu Wei , Powell Mike , Zhang Aiguo , Sha Michael
Published: August 2021

BRAF is a serine/threonine protein kinase whose mutations lead to unregulated cell growth and cause different types of cancers. Since V600E is a major BRAF mutation and V600E detection as a companion diagnostic test (CDx) is stipulated in the labeling of the BRAF V600 inhibitors. Traditional Sanger sequencing cannot accurately detect mutations lower than 15% variant allele frequency (VAF) due to its limited sensitivity. Here we applied our patented XNA molecular clamping technology to modify Sanger sequencing template preparation by enriching the mutation population. We found that the use of our mutation-enriched template enhanced the analytical sensitivity of Sanger sequencing to 0.04% VAF. The method is verified to detect V600E, V600K, and V600R mutants and is validated for the known BRAF mutation status in clinical samples. Our streamlined protocol can be used for easy validation of the highly sensitive target-enrichment method for detecting BRAF V600 mutations using Sanger sequencing in clinical labs. In addition to BRAF V600 mutations, this method can be extended to the detection of other clinically important actionable mutations for cancer diagnostics.
Host cell amplification of nutritional stress contributes to persistence inChlamydia trachomatis
Authors: Pokorzynski Nick D. , Alla Monisha R. , Carabeo Rey A.
Published: August 2021

Persistence, a viable but non-replicating growth state, has been implicated in diseases caused byChlamydia trachomatis. Starvation of distinct nutrients produce a superficially similar persistent state, implying convergence on a common intracellular environment. We employed host-pathogen dual RNA-sequencing under both iron- and tryptophan-starved conditions to systematically characterize the persistent chlamydial transcriptome and to define common contributions of the host cell transcriptional stress response in shaping the intracellular environment. The transcriptome of the infected host cells was highly specific to each nutritional stress, despite comparable effects on chlamydial growth and development in each condition. In contrast, the chlamydial transcriptomes between nutritional conditions were highly similar, suggesting some overlap in host cell responses to iron limitation and tryptophan starvation that contribute to a common persistent phenotype. We demonstrate that a commonality in the host cell responses is the suppression of guanosine triphosphate (GTP) biosynthesis, a nucleotide for whichChlamydiaare auxotrophic. Pharmacological inhibition of host inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH1), which catalyzes the rate-limiting step inde novoguanine nucleotide synthesis, resulted in comparable GTP depletion to both iron and tryptophan starvation and induced chlamydial persistence. Moreover, IMPDH1 inhibition and iron starvation acted synergistically to control chlamydial growth. Thus, host cell reduction in GTP levels amplifies the nutritional stress to intracellular chlamydiae in infection-relevant models of persistence, illustrating the determinative role the infected host cell plays in bacterial stress responses.

IMPORTANCE

Bacteria respond to nutritional stress through universal and unique mechanisms. Genome reduction in theChlamydiaceae, a consequence of coevolution with their obligate eukaryotic hosts, has reduced their repertoire of stress response mechanisms. Here we demonstrate that the infected host cell may provide the context within which universal stress responses emerge forChlamydia trachomatis. We report that during starvation of the essential nutrients iron or tryptophan, a common response of the infected epithelial cell is the suppression of GTP biosynthesis, which induces a persistent developmental state in the pathogen. Thus, chlamydial persistence results from the combined effects of primary stresses on the pathogen and the host, with the latter eliciting a secondary host cell response that intensifies the inhospitable intracellular environment.
Corrosion inhibition of aluminium in hydrochloric acid medium using cimetidine as inhibitor: empirical and optimization studies
Authors: Onukwuli Okechukwu Okechukwu , Udeh Benson Chinweuba , Omotioma Monday , Nnanwube Ikechukwu Abuchi
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate cimetidine as corrosion inhibitor of aluminium in hydrochloric acid medium.

Design/methodology/approach

Cimetidine was characterized by gas chromatography mass spectrophotometer and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to determine its chemical composition and functional groups, respectively. Gravimetric, potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic techniques were used in the corrosion inhibition process. Thermodynamic and adsorption parameters were evaluated. And response surface methodology was used to optimize the corrosion inhibition process.

Findings

Analysis of the results revealed that major constituents of cimetidine include metronidazole, n-hexadecanoic acid cyclohexane and methyl ester. It has C-H stretch, C = N stretch, CH3C-H bend, ring C = C stretch, -C-O-O stretch, N-H bend, C-O stretch and C-H bend as predominant functional groups. Adsorption of molecules of the inhibitor on the aluminium surface was spontaneous, and it followed mechanism of physical adsorption. Response surface methodology revealed that quadratic model adequately described the inhibition efficiency of cimetidine as function of inhibitor concentration, temperature and time. Chemical and electrochemical results are in agreement that the cimetidine is a viable corrosion inhibitor. Cimetidine was revealed as mixed-type inhibitor because it controlled both cathodic and anodic reactions.

Originality/value

Empirical and optimization studies of cimetidine drug as corrosion inhibitor of aluminium in hydrochloric acid medium were carried out. The research results can provide the basis for deploying drugs (with mucosal protective and antacid properties) for corrosion control of metallic structures.
Behavioural errors and stock market investment decisions: recent evidence from Pakistan
Authors: Rashid Kashif , Tariq Yasir Bin , Rehman Mamoon Ur
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study examines the role of behavioural factors, such as confidence, optimism, pessimism and rational expectation, in affecting investment decisions in the Pakistani stock market.

Design/methodology/approach

Using daily trading data of Karachi Stock Exchange-100 index from January 2012 to December 2015, different regression models, including descriptive statistics and stationarity tests, are performed.

Findings

Results indicate that stock market trading has suffered from pessimistic behaviour of investors. In the first model, the authors find a positive sign of confidence and negative sign of optimism with the trading volume. The second model shows a positive role of confidence and rational expectations in affecting the trading volume in daily, Monday and Friday samples. The results of the third model show a negative sign of both optimism and rational expectation with the trading volume. Furthermore, the next model shows a negative sign of confidence combined with pessimism while testing their relationship with the trading volume. Finally, results of the final model suggest that optimism negatively affects the trading volume, and on the other hand, pessimism has a positive impact on the trading volume.

Research limitations/implications

The method and empirical testing of behavioural biases and their relationship with economic variable used in this study seem to be a promising way to better understand the role of psychology in deriving financial decisions for academics and policymakers.

Originality/value

This study uses secondary data for measuring behavioural biases and decomposes the effect between rational expectation and behavioural biases.
Finish your plate! Food disposition behaviour among late adolescents
Authors: Lim Tze-Yin , Lim Bibiana , Leong Choi-Meng , Le Andrea
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study explores the disposition behaviour of late adolescents towards unfinished food. Specifically, this paper identifies and discusses the manner (the how's) and the reasons (the why's) of food disposition.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted a taxonomy of decisions pertaining to consumer disposition processes. A generic qualitative approach based on personal interviews and focus group discussions was used to collect data from late adolescents. Data was subsequently analysed using content and thematic analyses.

Findings

The findings revealed five manners (the how's) of food disposition among late adolescents, namely keeping it for original purposes, leaving it for other people to dispose of, converting it for another purpose, trying to finish it and getting rid of it permanently. Additionally, there are three reasons (the why's) for food disposition among late adolescents, namely food-related factors, socio-cultural factors and personal factors.

Originality/value

Food waste has continually impacted food production, supply and consumption in a profound way. Responsible food disposition behaviour among individuals has become essential to improve food sustainability. Proper food disposition requires a behavioural change among individuals, including late adolescents, who are growing into adulthood. This study contributes to the body of knowledge of food systems by identifying how and why food is disposed of among late adolescents during their formative years. The findings can be utilised to raise awareness of food disposition behaviour and design food responsibility initiatives.
Conceptual framework of value management adoption in the Nigerian construction industry
Authors: Ojo Lekan Damilola , Ogunsemi Deji Rufus , Ogunsina Olusola
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The Nigerian construction industry is bedeviled with poor project performance and outcomes which value management (VM) could address if applied. The application of VM on Nigerian construction projects is very minimal due to certain obstacles, namely, lack of VM experts, paucity of knowledge on the techniques, etc., which inhibits the adoption into the construction industry. Therefore, this study aims to develop a conceptual framework of the adoption of VM on construction projects in a typical developing economy.

Design/methodology/approach

This study engaged 15 selected VM experts in two rounds of Delphi survey to develop a conceptual framework of VM adoption. The method of data analysis includes mean score, standard deviation, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance, chi-square (χ2) test, interrater agreement analysis and significant level analysis. The developed conceptual framework was sent to a team of local and international VM experts for validation.

Findings

This study reveals that the adoption of VM requires the collective effort of relevant stakeholders in the construction industry. The framework developed presents individual and collective activities to be undertaken by the stakeholders. The activities include training, legislation, government-funded research, etc. Thus, the adoption of innovative management methodology like VM requires the collaboration of academics, construction professional bodies and government parastatals. This will assist in the judicious use of limited construction resources and boost the relevance of the Nigerian construction industry among developing nations and in the global construction market.

Originality/value

This study used the opinions of few construction professionals that can be regarded as VM experts in Nigeria, as against engaging a pool of construction professionals who may not be knowledgeable in VM process. Engaging the few VM experts in the Nigerian construction industry is important to have a valid basis for drawing conclusion, as large questionnaire survey could be possibly filled by inexperienced or unqualified respondents if stringent criteria are not considered at the outset of this study.
Building information modeling as a tool for prevention of design defects
Authors: Koo Hyun Jeong , O’Connor James T.
Published: August 2021

Purpose

In recent decades, professionals in the architecture, engineering and construction industry have come to recognize building information modeling (BIM) as one of the most powerful technologies available to ensure successful project outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to explore the benefits of BIM on design defect prevention during the design phase of building projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors qualitatively analyzed 160 design defect leading indicators (LIs) to identify key themes for design defect prevention. Then, by matching appropriate BIM functionalities to each key LI theme, they identified BIM-supported key LI themes.

Findings

The result of this paper served as the foundation of a BIM-based key design processes framework, which identifies the necessary data, project parties, actions and applicable BIM functions for preventing particular design defects. In addition, the authors found that BIM implementation can benefit 71.2% of the LIs of the design defects associated with problematic deliverables.

Originality/value

This study establishes the current state of BIM use for design defect prevention and also gives practitioners precisely targeted guidelines for using BIM functions during the design phase for better quality management.
Ecocentric management mindset: a framework for corporate sustainability
Authors: Araujo Cecilia Lobo , Picavet Marc Eric Barda , Sartoretto Cristina Aparecida Pires de Souza , Dalla Riva Enrico , Hollaender Paulo Sodre
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study aims to propose a framework to drive organizations, and particularly multinational enterprises, to understand and internalize a sustainable mindset for implementing efficient and effective corporate sustainability initiatives and helping them achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Design/methodology/approach

The framework is based on the bidirectional iterative process of the flexible pattern matching methodology. The literature on ecocentric management was examined from top to bottom in its dialogue with corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The bottom-up phase was based on highly visible deviant cases of companies that were significantly recognized for their CSR or for their sustainability programs but became well-known examples of unsustainability. Additionally, an illustrative case was analyzed to examine the mindset in practice.

Findings

The study offers a framework based on six constructs that were identified in ecocentric management literature. It translates the ecocentric management mindset framework into behaviors for organizations that want to conduct efficient sustainable programs that help them achieve the SDGs.

Originality/value

The proposed new framework highlights the conceptual pillars of ecocentric management, and offers practical and theoretical perspectives on how sustainability can be better addressed at the corporate level, and help achieve the SDGs.
What can we know about the future? Epistemology and the credibility of claims about the world ahead
Authors: Clardy Alan
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the results of futures studies are knowledge or if not, what it is that futures studies actually produce. Five types of representations of the future are the result of these studies. As the value of futures studies depends on no small measure of their credibility, the standards for carrying out and reporting these studies are identified along with a description of how Toulmin’s model of informal logic can be used to best improve their credibility.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on a multi-disciplinary literature review and integrative analysis.

Findings

Using epistemological criteria for knowledge as truth, belief and rationale, the results of futures studies are not and cannot be knowledge. Instead, futures studies produce five kinds of “representations of the future”: predictions, projections and forecasts, scenarios, visions and structures for action. Six standards for conducting and reporting the results of futures studies are provided which will increase the credibility of these studies. Toulmin’s informal logic format will provide the foundation for the most persuasive basis of such studies.

Practical implications

Futurists will understand that the products of their studies are not knowledge and why this is the case. They will also understand that the type of futures studies they are conducting are either conditional, contingent propositions or normative prescriptions in nature. There are six guidelines for carrying out and reporting futures studies which can also be used to assess the quality of published studies. They will see how the use of a certain kind of informal logic can establish the most credible foundations for their studies.

Originality/value

As an integrative literature review, it incorporates and simplifies widely disparate existing contributions to the topic of the nature of knowledge regarding futures studies and the criteria for making such studies as credible as possible.
Institutional barriers to coffee tourism development: insights from Ethiopia – the birthplace of coffee
Authors: Degarege Gebeyaw Ambelu , Lovelock Brent
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify pathways to improve the performance and competitiveness of Ethiopia's tourism sector using coffee as one essential tourism experience, thereby improving the socio-economic conditions of the local communities who depend on coffee for their livelihoods.

Design/methodology/approach

Based upon qualitative focus group discussions undertaken with key informants in both the coffee and tourism sectors in Ethiopia.

Findings

Despite the existing tourism development potential, Ethiopia has not yet fully exploited this position. While the country uses coffee to assist its destination marketing strategies, practical interventions to position coffee as a primary tourism product are absent and remain of critical importance.

Research limitations/implications

In this exploratory study key informant participants from government and industry share their experience within this policy domain. It is acknowledged that future research aiming to provide a fuller picture of governance in this domain would also include the perspective of community-level coffee growers.

Practical implications

Paramount among the implications of this study is the need to enhance cross-sectoral planning and collaboration and to establish a bridging organisation that will help integrate the agricultural (coffee) sector and the tourism sector.

Social implications

This study identifies key governance-related obstacles to addressing rural poverty through coffee-related agri-tourism initiatives in Ethiopia.

Originality/value

This paper addresses, from a governance perspective, the obstacles and opportunities for coffee as a tourism product/experience in Ethiopia. The paper identifies what interventions and innovations in policy and practice are necessary to enhance the role of Ethiopia's coffee culture in the performance of the country's tourism sector.
Asymmetric effects of oil price changes on the Nigerian exchange rate
Authors: Onodje Patrick , Oke Temitope Ahmdalat , Aina Oluwatimilehin , Ahmed Nazeer
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of crude oil prices on the Nigerian exchange rate with emphasis on discriminating between the effects of positive and negative changes in oil price on exchange rate.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used monthly time series data from 1996:1 to 2019:6 and adopted two oil price measures, namely, Brent crude and West Texas Intermediary prices. For analysis, the authors used stepwise least squares to estimate a non-linear ARDL (NARDL) model and Wald tests to determine cointegration and the presence of asymmetric effects.

Findings

The findings showed that positive and negative Brent crude price changes significantly affect exchange rates differently in nominal terms, both in the long-run and short-run. However, the differences were purely in terms of effect size because the exchange rate decreased for both negative and positive oil price changes.

Originality/value

Whilst empirical research on asymmetries in the effect of oil price on exchange rate abounds, little evidence exists in Nigeria’s case. Although some studies previously tested for asymmetric oil price effects on the Nigerian currency, the approach used did not estimate long and short-run effects or test of long-run and short-run asymmetries. This paper fills this methodological gap using monthly using the NARDL approach. The NARDL approach provided the advantage of estimating effects for the long-run and short-run and testing for asymmetries in both time spans.
Impact of special regime generation management on electricity prices: the Portuguese case
Authors: Alves Carlos Francisco , Pinto Pedro Diogo
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The ex-post literature, which evaluates the real impact of renewable generation, is scarce. Most studies are simulations and therefore are not based on real data. This study aims to further this goal using a unique database of the Portuguese spot market, where there are powerful incentives for renewable electricity.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyses ex-post the impact of energy produced in special regime on the wholesale hourly spot market prices of Portuguese electricity during the period 2009–2016. This paper uses standard, two stage least squares and generalized method of moments multivariate regressions and other energy econometrics techniques.

Findings

It is found that special regime generation has a negative impact on the wholesale price. This impact is higher than that found in other markets. This paper also concludes that using special regime generation to supply the future growth of demand will decrease wholesale electricity spot prices more intensively than using other technologies.

Originality/value

This paper uses a unique database based on ex-post for the Portuguese spot market. The Portuguese case is particularly interesting, not only because of its strong incentives policy on renewable energy but also because its spot market is interconnected with the Spanish market. This paper contributes to the debate about the sustainability of current renewable electricity support schemes. The decreasing trend in electricity prices, with the introduction of new renewable capacity, can be incompatible with the required payments for non-renewable producers. This paper also shows that even if the price reduction on spot markets is transferred to final consumers, given that it is relatively small (8% spot price which represents 45% of the final price), compared with the cost of incentives (35% of the final price), consumers probably will not be able to support a new investment pipeline with a similar framework.
The relationship between health-care expenditure and disposable personal income: a panel econometric analysis on the EU countries
Authors: Özkaya Mehmet Hilmi , Alakbarov Naib , Gündüz Murat
Published: August 2021

Purpose

When the factors affecting health expenditures are examined in the literature, it is seen that one of the most important factors is income. In this context, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between out-of-pocket health expenditures and disposable personal income and revealing the income elasticity of health expenditures.

Design/methodology/approach

Therefore, short/long-term coefficients were obtained by analyzing Westerlund (2007) co-integration analysis and pooled mean group (PMG) regression methods for 22 European Union (EU) member states during the period 2003–2017. In addition, a comparison of the long-term coefficients for each country was obtained with augmented mean group (AMG) estimator.

Findings

The results of the AMG and PMG tests show that the long-term coefficients between disposable personal income and health expenditures are 0.83 and 0.97, respectively. These results imply that there is a significant relationship between the variables, and that health care should be categorized in the group of normal goods. However, the fact that the long-term coefficient is very close to 1, despite being classified in the category of necessity goods, requires more care to be taken in evaluating whether health services are luxury goods or necessity goods.

Originality/value

The use of second generation econometric tests on both cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity demonstrates the value of the study. On the other hand, obtaining similar results by investigating the relationship between variables using different appropriate econometric models reveals the importance of the methodology used in this study. It reveals important details in terms of the literature regarding the long-term and short-term results obtained in this study.
The Equality Act (2010)-pre- and post-pandemic historic development on equality and discrimination issues for employers: review of literature
Authors: Hussain Zahid , Rizvi Lubna Javed , Sheikh Hamid
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This paper is aimed to fulfil two purposes. First, this paper aims to review the literature and examine step by step evolution of the Equality Act 2010. Second, this paper will reflect on the guidelines issued for employers by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to address how to manage the risks arising during the current crisis and as organisations continue with planning for eventual return to the workplace and for those who are currently working remotely.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper has incorporated an integrative literature review reviews approach that aimed to synthesises secondary data about the literature to serve the aims of the paper in an integrated way.

Findings

The introduction of the Equality Act (2010) has made it much more difficult to discriminate against individuals as its coverage is much wider in comparison to any previous legislation. At that point, there were still many exceptions, which permitted discrimination and unequal treatment towards others. Over time, however, the law has become much more strict and developed to counter any discrimination in its attempt to try and eliminate it.

Originality/value

This paper has reflected on both pre- and post-covid developments of The Equality Act (2010) – and discrimination issues for employers.