bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
HIDDEN ELECTROPHORETIC VARIATION AT THE XANTHINE DEHYDROGENASE LOCUS IN A NATURAL POPULATION OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER
Authors: Ann Buchanan Barbara , Johnson Diana L E
Published: January 2021

Sixty-two isochromosomal lines of D. melanogaster were screened for cryptic electrophoretic variation at the xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) locus. Sequential polyacrylamide vertical slab gel electrophoresis was performed using four electrophoretic criteria. A total of 15 classes of electromorphs were revealed. D. melanogaster appears to exhibit as much polymorphism at this locus as other extensively studied Drosophila species.—No evidence for loci on the X or second chromosomes which modified XDH mobility was found. Six of the electromorphs were mapped to the Xdh (ry) structural locus. Eight of the remaining nine classes exhibited mobility variation consistent with structural variation at the Xdh locus. The final class exhibited aberrant patterns and is under further study.
GENETIC AND DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS OF THE LOCUS vnd IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER
Authors: White Kalpana , DeCelles Normand L , Enlow Thomas C
Published: January 2021

Genetic and developmental analysis of an X-linked vital locus vnd was undertaken. Embryos hemizygous for the original allele vnd did not hatch and exhibited a disorganized ventral nervous system (VNS). The mutation maps in the region 1B6-7 to 1B9-10, a subregion of an area previously shown to be essential to normal neural development. In this paper, we report isolation of five new alleles at the locus vnd. Genetic complementation analysis of all mutations at the vnd locus, with lethal alleles at adjacent loci, indicates that all lesions at the locus vnd affect only one vital gene function in the region. Four of the five alleles are embryonic lethal; one allele is subvital and behaves like an hypomorphic mutation. Hemizygous embryos for three of the four embryonic lethal alleles were inspected in histological sections; all exhibited disorganized VNS similar to the original allele. The developmental analysis in gynandromorphic genetic mosaics shows that (1) vnd  + gene function is not essential in most imaginal-disc cell derivatives, (2) only about 30% of the mosaic zygotes survive as adults, (3) mosaic zygotes with mutant tissue close to the head cuticle are least likely to survive, and (4) mutant tissue in the thoracic ganglion in the adult is not necessarily lethal. The mosaic data are consistent with the vnd  + gene function being necessary in neural cells derived from the anterioventral region of the blastoderm.
GENE IDENTITY AND GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION OF POPULATIONS IN THE FINITE ISLAND MODEL
Authors: Takahata Naoyuki
Published: January 2021

A formula for the variance of gene identity (homozygosity) was derived for the case of neutral mutations using diffusion approximations for the changes of gene frequencies in a subdivided population. It is shown that when gene flow is extremely small, the variance of gene identity for the entire population at equilibrium is smaller than that of the panmictic population with the same mean gene identity. On the other hand, although a large amount of gene flow makes a subdivided population equivalent to a panmictic population, there is an intermediate range of gene flow in which population subdivision can increase the variance. This increase results from the increased variance between colonies. In such a case, each colony has a predominant allele, but the predominant type may differ from colony to colony. The formula for obtaining the variance allows us to study such statistics as the coefficient of gene differentiation and the correlation of heterozygosity. Computer simulations were conducted to study the distribution of gene identity as well as to check the validity of the analytical formulas. Effects of selection were also studied by simulations.
A CYTOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF THE CHROMOSOMAL REGION SURROUNDING THE α-GLYCEROPHOSPHATE DEHYDROGENASE LOCUS OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER
Authors: Kotarski Michael A , Pickert Sally , MacIntyre Ross J
Published: January 2021

The chromosomal region surrounding the structural gene for α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (αGpdh, 2-20.5) of Drosophila melanogaster has been studied in detail. Forty-three EMS-induced recessive lethal mutations and five previously identified visible mutations have been localized within the 25A-27D region of chromosome 2 by deficiency mapping and in some cases by a recombination analysis. The 43 lethal mutations specify 17 lethal loci. ?Gpdh has been localized to a single polytene chromosome band, 25F5, and there apparently are no lethals that map to the αGpdh locus.
VIRILITY DEFICIENCY AND THE SEX-RATIO TRAIT IN DROSOPHILA PSEUDOOBSCURA. I. SPERM DISPLACEMENT AND SEXUAL SELECTION
Authors: Wu Chung-I
Published: January 2021

The Sex-Ratio (SR) phenomenon is associated with the X chromosome of many species of Drosophila. Males carrying SR transmit predominantly sperm bearing the X chromosome. SR, therefore, has a very significant advantage in segregation. This paper provides an experimental analysis of the role of virility selection in preventing the fixation of SR. SR males are found to suffer substantial virility reduction when mated with nonvirgin females but not with virgin females. The reduced virility arises because they are weaker in sperm displacement and are discriminated against by nonvirgin females. The virility deficiency of SR males is even more severe at low temperatures.
Decrypting healed fault zones: how gouge production reduces the influence of fault roughness
Authors: McBeck Jessica , Mair Karen , Renard François
Published: January 2021

Two key parameters control the localization of deformation and seismicity along and surrounding crustal faults: the strength and roughness of the pre-existing fault surface. Using 3-D discrete element method simulations, we investigate how the anisotropy and amplitude of roughness control the mechanical behaviour of healed faults within granite blocks during quasi-static triaxial compression. We focus on models in which the uniaxial compressive strength of the healed faults is about 25 per cent of that strength of the surrounding host rock. These models provide insights into the evolution of fracture network localization, fault roughness, gouge production, fault slip and stress concentrations along initially healed faults of varying roughness. In contrast to expectations, the uniaxial compressive strengths of models that host faults with root-mean-squared roughness amplitudes of 0.2–1.4 mm do not vary more than the change produced by variations in particle packing. To assess if this lack of influence arises from the evolving roughness of the faults, we track the roughness amplitudes parallel and perpendicular to the downdip direction throughout fault failure and slip. The de facto roughness does not provide an explanation for the lack of influence of roughness on compressive strength because the roughness of the faults does not evolve to similar values with slip. Rather, smoother faults remain smoother than rougher faults throughout the simulation. However, the rougher faults produce larger volumes of gouge than the smoother faults. The gouge lubricates the fault and thereby reduces the influence of roughness on compressive strength. These observations suggest that fault topography and the asperities that build this topography do not exert a significant impact on deformation. To quantify the influence of asperities on slip, we calculate correlation coefficients between the fault surface topography and components of the slip vectors. The observed negative correlation coefficients between the fault topography and fault-plane parallel slip quantify the degree to which asperities slow slip in the downdip direction. The observed positive correlation coefficients between the topography and fault-plane perpendicular movement quantify the degree to which asperities promote opening. Thus, this analysis shows how asperities control slip by acting as speed bumps that hinder fault-plane parallel slip and promote fault-plane normal opening as the healed faults slide. The asperities do not significantly control fault movement during the unlocking and failure of the healed faults, but only following the peak axial stress as the faults slide and damage zones develop. These models thus provide unparalleled access to the dynamics of reactivated healed faults.
Anti-libidinal Interventions and Human Rights
Authors: Forsberg Lisa
Published: January 2021

Anti-libidinal interventions (ALIs) are used in several jurisdictions to reduce male sex offenders’ libido. One common objection to these interventions holds that when offenders are either required to undergo them or offered to undergo them as an alternative to continued incarceration, ALIs violate recipients’ human rights. In this article, I examine this objection, which I call the human rights objection to ALIs, in relation to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Specifically, I examine the objection to ALIs in relation to Articles 3, 8 and 12 ECHR, which are the rights proponents of the human rights objection have identified as most relevant. I argue that the human rights objection in its current form fails to establish that ALIs violate recipients’ ECHR rights in respect of all these Articles.
Brain Activity of Benzoate, a D-Amino Acid Oxidase Inhibitor, in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment in a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial
Authors: Lane Hsien-Yuan , Tu Cheng-Hao , Lin Wei-Che , Lin Chieh-Hsin
Published: January 2021

Background

Current anti-dementia drugs cannot benefit mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Sodium benzoate (a D-amino acid oxidase [DAO] inhibitor) has been found to improve the cognitive function of patients with early-phase Alzheimer’s disease (mild Alzheimer’s disease or MCI). However, its effect on brain function remains unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of benzoate on functional magnetic resonance imaging in patients with amnestic MCI.

Methods

This was a 24-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that enrolled 21 patients with amnestic MCI and allocated them randomly to either of 2 treatment groups: (1) benzoate group (250–1500 mg/d), or (2) placebo group. We assessed the patients’ working memory, verbal learning and memory, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and regional homogeneity (ReHo) maps at baseline and endpoint.

Results

Resting-state ReHo decreased in right orbitofrontal cortex after benzoate treatment but did not change after placebo. Moreover, after benzoate treatment, the change in working memory was positively correlated with the change in ReHo in right precentral gyrus and right middle occipital gyrus; and the change in verbal learning and memory was positively correlated with the change in ReHo in left precuneus. In contrast, after placebo treatment, the change in working memory or in verbal learning and memory was not correlated with the change in ReHo in any brain region.

Conclusion

The current study is the first to our knowledge to demonstrate that a DAO inhibitor, sodium benzoate herein, can alter brain activity as well as cognitive functions in individuals with MCI. The preliminary finding lends supports for DAO inhibition as a novel approach for early dementing processes.
Applications of symmetry in point–line–plane frameworks for CAD
Authors: Fowler Patrick W , Guest Simon D , Owen John C
Published: January 2021

Computer-aided design (CAD) typically deals with geometries (points, lines, and planes) subject to constraints on distances and angles. Simple counting of freedoms and constraints, as used in the analysis of engineering structures, also provides a useful condition on the residual freedoms of a CAD drawing. Here, we derive general symmetry-extended counting equations to account more fully for the balance of freedoms and constraints in 2D point–line and 3D point–line–plane frameworks. General forms are given for symmetries of the freedoms of points, lines, and planes, and constraints based on distances and angles. The resulting toolkit can be used to give stronger conditions on dimensioning of CAD drawings. This importation to CAD of a physical point of view, in which residual freedoms correspond to the mechanisms and redundant constraints to the states of self-stress of a structure composed of bodies and joints, can often reveal hidden freedoms and redundancies in CAD systems. Point-group symmetry is not a panacea: Mechanisms that depend on specific geometries may escape detection by symmetry alone. One systematic limitation of this type is proved for polyhedra with planar faces and prescribed edge lengths.
Antiurolithic efficacy of a phenolic rich ethyl acetate fraction of the aerial parts of Aerva lanata (Linn) Juss. ex Schult. in ethylene glycol induced urolithic rats
Authors: Mandal Bitasta , Madan Swati , Ahmad Sayeed , Sharma Arun K , Ansari Mohd Hafizur Rehman
Published: January 2021

Objectives

The study was carried out to evaluate the in vivo antiurolithic efficaciousness of an ethyl acetate fraction of Aerva lanata (EAFAL) derived from the hydromethanolic extract of its aerial parts (HMEAL).

Methods

In vivo pharmacological potency of EAFAL was assessed by ethylene glycol (EG) induced urolithiasis model in male Wistar albino rats. Urine samples of the animals were analysed for physical parameters, stone promoters, inhibitors along with an evaluation of the biochemical parameters of serum and kidneys. Histopathological investigation of the kidneys was done. The fraction was further subjected to LC-MS and HPLC for its phytochemical evaluation.

Key findings

EAFAL demonstrated a significant antiurolithic effect by a restoration of the balance between urinary promoters and inhibitors along with an amelioration of the urinary pH. The abnormally elevated levels of serum nitrogenous substances, calcium, albumin, globulin, total protein along with altered renal calcium, oxalate and uric acid were also alleviated significantly followed by an improvement of the histopathological aberrancies. Phytochemical analysis showed evidence of phenolic components and flavonoids.

Conclusions

The current findings prove the beneficial role of phenolic and flavonoid rich EAFAL in ameliorating urolithiasis induced abnormalities of urine, serum and kidneys.
‘Zion, Memory and Hope of All Ages’: Nina Davis Salaman’s Romantic-Zionist Poetry
Authors: Devine Luke
Published: January 2021

This article analyses the romantic-Zionist poetry of Nina Davis Salaman, contextualising it alongside other fin-de-siècle Zionist poets to argue that she too similarly adopted bibliocentric, prophetic, and diasporic perspectives, particularly themes associated with the medieval Andalusian poetry of Judah Halevi. In doing so, Salaman, much like other Anglo-Jewish women writers, defined her own subjectivity in the context of nostalgic, romanticising religious and nationalistic discourses. However, uniquely, Salaman’s poetry adopts not only the themes of medieval Andalusian verse yearning for Zion-Jerusalem and the land of Israel, but also, as she put it, its diasporic ‘clothing of metre and rhyme’. Indeed, Salaman’s romantic poetry is populated with intertextual links recalling the biblical Prophets and Halevi’s exilic poetry, which offer historical and scriptural substantiation to support contemporaneous Zionist discourses. Songs of Many Days draws equally on her underlying belief that ‘metre and rhyme’, including in her own poetry, are a feature of diasporic existence.
John Rechy’s Sodomites
Authors: Ernest Samuel
Published: January 2021

Current church debates and queer scholarship unearth Sodom as a site for contesting the relationships between sexuality, religion, queerness, and destruction. In John Rechy’s novels City of Night and Numbers, the Sodom story provides an archetype for the books’ hustler narrators, whose insatiable desires draw them repeatedly back into ‘the city of night of the soul’, and ultimately, oblivion. Drawing on Heather Love and Catherine Keller, I read Rechy as adapting the Sodom story rather than rejecting it in favour of progress or liberation, as do many queer biblical interpreters and theologians. Rechy’s hustlers display a sodomitic subjectivity in their refusal to be whole, which has made his relation to gay/queer and Chicanx literary canons uneasy. Precisely in his ‘backwardness’, Rechy illustrates how theological categories continue to shape gay/queer identities in the 20th century and today.
The strange case of the transient HBL blazar 4FGL J1544.3−0649
Authors: Sahakyan N , Giommi P
Published: January 2021

We present a multifrequency study of the transient γ-ray source 4FGL J1544.3−0649, a blazar that exhibited a remarkable behaviour raising from the state of an anonymous mid-intensity radio source, never detected at high energies, to that of one of the brightest extreme blazars in the X-ray and γ-ray sky. Our analysis shows that the averaged γ-ray spectrum is well described by a power law with a photon index of 1.87 ± 0.04, while the flux above 100 MeV is (8.0 ± 0.9) × 10−9 photon cm−2 s−1, which increases during the active state of the source. The X-ray flux and spectral slope are both highly variable, with the highest 2–10 keV flux reaching (1.28 ± 0.05) × 10−10 erg cm−2 s−1. On several observations, the X-ray spectrum hardened to the point implying as SED peak moving to energies larger than 10 keV. As in many extreme blazars the broad-band spectral energy distribution can be described by a homogeneous one-zone synchrotron-self-Compton leptonic model. We briefly discuss the potential implications for high-energy multimessenger astrophysics in case the dual behaviour shown by 4FGL J1544.3−0649 does not represent an isolated case, but rather a manifestation of a so far unnoticed relatively common phenomenon.
The Three Hundred project: the gas disruption of infalling objects in cluster environments
Authors: Mostoghiu Robert , Arthur Jake , Pearce Frazer R , Gray Meghan , Knebe Alexander , Cui Weiguang , Welker Charlotte , Cora Sofía A , Murante Giuseppe , Dolag Klaus , Yepes Gustavo
Published: January 2021

We analyse the gas content evolution of infalling haloes in cluster environments from The Three Hundred project, a collection of 324 numerically modelled galaxy clusters. The haloes in our sample were selected within 5R200 of the main cluster halo at $z$ = 0 and have total halo mass M200 ≥ 1011h−1M⊙. We track their main progenitors and study their gas evolution since their crossing into the infall region, which we define as 1–4R200. Studying the radial trends of our populations using both the full phase-space information and a line-of-sight projection, we confirm the Arthur et al. (2019) result and identify a characteristic radius around 1.7R200 in 3D and at R200 in projection at which infalling haloes lose nearly all of the gas prior their infall. Splitting the trends by subhalo status,we show that subhaloes residing in group-mass and low-mass host haloes in the infall region follow similar radial gas-loss trends as their hosts, whereas subhaloes of cluster-mass host haloes are stripped of their gas much further out. Our results show that infalling objects suffer significant gaseous disruption that correlates with time-since-infall, cluster-centric distance, and host mass, and that the gaseous disruption they experience is a combination of subhalo pre-processing and object gas depletion at a radius that behaves like an accretion shock.
New approach to the broad-line-region radius in Mrk142 after considering potential short-term optical transient quasi-periodic oscillations
Authors: Zhang XueGuang
Published: January 2021

Mrk142 is known as the only outlier in R-L space (the correlation between BLR (broad-line region) radii and continuum luminosity) among the low-redshift local reverberation-mapped broad-line active galactic nuclei (BLAGNs) with moderate accretion rates, as its BLR radius is smaller than the expected R-L value. Here, by considering probable optical transient quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), a new approach to assessing the BLR radius is presented. Reliable transient QPOs in high-energy emissions from the vicinity of the black hole have been reported in several normal AGNs; however, to date there are few short-term, low-energy optical transient QPOs in normal BLAGNs (i.e. not the QPOs reported in blazars or in AGNs harbouring binary black hole systems). Using the photometric optical light curves, which are well described directly by sinusoidal functions, we report probable short-term optical transient QPOs with periodicities around 14  and 43 d in BLAGN Mrk142, indicating optical QPOs similar to but scaled from those in high-energy bands. By considering the 14-d QPOs related to the reprocessing procedure, a new approach to estimating the BLR radius is possible for Mrk142 through the reverberation mapping technique. The new BLR radius of Mrk142 obeys the R-L relationship well, demonstrating that this relationship is fundamental in local normal BLAGNs without ultra-high accretion rates.
Face-to-face classes during COVID-19: a call for deliberate and well-planned school health protocols in the Philippine context
Authors: Sarmiento Philip Joseph D , Sarmiento Cora Lyn T , Tolentino Rina Lyn B
Published: January 2021

Schooling is one of the most affected aspects of human life due to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In a recent correspondence published, the authors reminded every country of their responsibility to come up with strategies to reopen schools safely. This paper reiterates the adherence of school health protocols as significant in the delivery of face-to-face classes following national and international guidelines in mitigating the effects of COVID-19 pandemic as a public health crisis.
Assisted assembly of bacteriophage T7 core components for genome translocation across the bacterial envelope
Authors: Pérez-Ruiz Mar , Pulido-Cid Mar , Luque-Ortega Juan Román , Valpuesta José María , Cuervo Ana , Carrascosa José L.
Published: January 2021

In most bacteriophages, the genome transport across bacterial envelopes is carried out by the tail machinery. InPodoviridaeviruses, where the tail is not long enough to traverse the bacterial wall, it has been postulated that viral core proteins are translocated and assembled into a tube within the periplasm. T7 bacteriophage, a member from thePodoviridaefamily, infectsE. coligram-negative bacteria. Despite extensive studies, the precise mechanism by which this virus translocates its genome remains unknown. Using cryo-electron microscopy, we have resolved the structure two different assemblies of the T7 bacteriophage DNA translocation complex, built by core proteins gp15 and gp16. Gp15 alone forms a partially folded hexamer, which is further assembled by interaction with gp16, resulting in a tubular structure with dimensions compatible with traversing the bacterial envelope and a channel that allows DNA passage. The structure of the gp15-gp16 complex also shows the location in gp16 of a canonical transglycosylase motif essential in the bacterial peptidoglycan layer degradation. Altogether these results allow us to propose a model for the assembly of the core translocation complex in the periplasm, which helps in the understanding at the molecular level of the mechanism involved in the T7 viral DNA release in the bacterial cytoplasm.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

T7 bacteriophage infectsE. colibacteria. During this process, the DNA transverses the bacterial cell wall, but the precise mechanism used by the virus remains unknown. Previous studies suggested that proteins found inside the viral capsid (core proteins) disassemble and reassemble in the bacterial periplasm to form a DNA translocation channel. In this article we solved by cryo-electron microscopy two different assemblies of the core proteins that reveal the steps followed by them to finally form a tube large enough to traverse the periplasm, as well as the location of the transglycosylase enzyme involved in peptidoglycan degradation. These findings confirm previously postulated hypothesis and make experimentally visible the mechanism of DNA transport trough the bacterial wall.
Topology and hydraulic permeability estimation of explosively created fractures through regular cylindrical pore network models
Authors: Gharehdash Saba , Sainsbury Bre-Anne Louise , Barzegar Milad , Palymskiy Igor B. , Fomin Pavel A.
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This research study aims to develop regular cylindrical pore network models (RCPNMs) to calculate topology and geometry properties of explosively created fractures along with their resulting hydraulic permeability. The focus of the investigation is to define a method that generates a valid geometric and topologic representation from a computational modelling point of view for explosion-generated fractures in rocks. In particular, extraction of geometries from experimentally validated Eulerian smoothed particle hydrodynamics (ESPH) approach, to avoid restrictions for image-based computational methods.

Design/methodology/approach

Three-dimensional stabilized ESPH solution is required to model explosively created fracture networks, and the accuracy of developed ESPH is qualitatively and quantitatively examined against experimental observations for both peak detonation pressures and crack density estimations. SPH simulation domain is segmented to void and solid spaces using a graphical user interface, and the void space of blasted rocks is represented by a regular lattice of spherical pores connected by cylindrical throats. Results produced by the RCPNMs are compared to three pore network extraction algorithms. Thereby, once the accuracy of RCPNMs is confirmed, the absolute permeability of fracture networks is calculated.

Findings

The results obtained with RCPNMs method were compared with three pore network extraction algorithms and computational fluid dynamics method, achieving a more computational efficiency regarding to CPU cost and a better geometry and topology relationship identification, in all the cases studied. Furthermore, a reliable topology data that does not have image-based pore network limitations, and the effect of topological disorder on the computed absolute permeability is minor. However, further research is necessary to improve the interpretation of real pore systems for explosively created fracture networks.

Practical implications

Although only laboratory cylindrical rock specimens were tested in the computational examples, the developed approaches are applicable for field scale and complex pore network grids with arbitrary shapes.

Originality/value

It is often desirable to develop an integrated computational method for hydraulic conductivity of explosively created fracture networks which segmentation of fracture networks is not restricted to X-ray images, particularly when topologic and geometric modellings are the crucial parts. This research study provides insight to the reliable computational methods and pore network extraction algorithm selection processes, as well as defining a practical framework for generating reliable topological and geometrical data in a Eulerian SPH setting.
Transnational knowledge transfer or indigenous knowledge transfer: which channel has more benefits for China's high-tech enterprises?
Authors: Deng Ping , Lu Hao
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper compares four external technology acquisition channels' (foreign technology transfer, exporting, inter-industry R&D spillover and domestic technology transfer) contributions to Chinese high-tech enterprises' innovation in the moderating role of absorptive capacity (AC).

Design/methodology/approach

Using technological catch-up theory and China Statistics Yearbook on High Technology Industry, this research investigates 16 Chinese high-tech industries from 2004 to 2015 via negative binomial regression.

Findings

The results show that indigenous knowledge transfer improves foreign-funded enterprises' (FFEs) innovation, while transnational knowledge transfer is the main channel for state-owned enterprises' (SOEs) technology acquisition. AC strengthens the positive relationship between transnational knowledge transfer and innovation in SOEs and improves FFEs' innovation and exported tacit knowledge absorption.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on external technology acquisition (ETA) and innovation by examining the different mechanism of ETA instead of isolated strategy considering the AC and ownership structure of Chinese high-tech enterprises, which enrich the technological catch-up theory.
A unified perspective on the adoption of online teaching in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Mittal Amit , Mantri Archana , Tandon Urvashi , Dwivedi Yogesh K.
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The study aims to develop a theoretical model that highlights the determinants of the adoption of online teaching at the time of the outbreak of COVID-19. This study adopted a time-series analysis to understand the factors leading to the adoption of online teaching.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical data were gathered from 222 university faculty members by using an online survey. In the first phase, data were collected from those faculty members who had no experience of conducting online classes but were supposed to adopt online teaching as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown. After two weeks, a slightly modified questionnaire was forwarded to the same group of faculty members, who were conducting online classes to know their perception regarding the adoption and conduct of online teaching.

Findings

Both the proposed conceptual frameworks were investigated empirically through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Significant differences were found in the perceptions of faculty members regarding before and after conducting classes through online teaching.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by presenting and validating a theory-driven framework that accentuates the factors influencing online teaching during the outbreak of a pandemic. This research further extends the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology by introducing and validating three new constructs, namely: facilitative leadership, regulatory support and project team capability. Based on the findings, practical insights are provided to universities to facilitate adoption, acceptance and use of online teaching during a health-care emergency leading to campus lockdowns or the imposition of restrictions on the physical movement of people.
Hotel servicescape and customer citizenship behaviors: mediating role of customer engagement and moderating role of gender
Authors: Li Shuhao , Wei Min
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the effect of hotel servicescape on customer citizenship behaviors “CCBs” by addressing customer engagement as a mediator and gender as a moderator.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 619 questionnaires were collected from hotel customers. Structural equation modeling was applied for data analysis.

Findings

Customer engagement mediates the effects of physical and social servicescapes on CCBs of providing feedback to an organization, making recommendations and helping other customers. Moreover, the indirect effects of physical servicescape on the three types of CCBs through customer engagement are stronger for male than for female customers, whereas no significant gender difference is observed in those effects of social servicescape on these types of CCBs through customer engagement.

Research limitations/implications

This study can help hotels promote the three types of CCBs and customer engagement by creating wonderful physical and social servicescape elements. The major limitation is that this study collected survey data outside the hotel environment.

Originality/value

This study enriches current knowledge on the servicescape-driven responses by exploring how hotel servicescape elements affect the three types of CCBs through customer engagement. Additionally, the different moderating roles of gender in the indirect influences of servicescape elements on these types of CCBs are presented.
Probabilistic uncertain linguistic TODIM method based on the generalized Choquet integral and its application
Authors: Xiuqin Xu , Jialiang Xie , Na Yue , Honghui Wang
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a probabilistic uncertain linguistic (PUL) TODIM method based on the generalized Choquet integral, with respect to the interdependencies between criteria, for the selection of the best alternate in the context of multiple criteria group decision-making (MCGDM).

Design/methodology/approach

Owing to decision makers (DMs) do not always show completely rational and may have the preference of bounded rational behavior, this may affect the result of the MCGDM. At the same time, criteria interaction is a focused issue in MCGDM. Hence, a novel TODIM method based on the generalized Choquet integral selects the best alternate using PUL evaluation, where the generalized Choquet integral is used to calculate the weight of criterion. The generalized PUL distance measure between two probabilistic uncertain linguistic elements (PULEs) is calculated and the perceived dominance degree matrices for each alternate relative to other alternates are obtained. Furthermore, the comprehensive perceived dominance degree of each alternate can be calculated to get the ranking.

Findings

Potential application of the PUL-TODIM method is demonstrated through an evaluation example with sensitivity and comparative analysis.

Originality/value

As per author's concern, there are no TODIM methods with probabilistic uncertain linguistic sets (PULTSs) to solve MCGDM problems under uncertainty. Compared with the result of existing methods, the final judgment value of alternates using the extended TODIM methodology is highly corroborated, which proves its potential in solving MCGDM problems under qualitative and quantitative environments.
Finding frugal patent candidates: testing a thesaurus-based process model in the field of small household appliances
Authors: Kronemeyer Lena L. , Draeger Raik , Moehrle Martin G.
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Identifying ideas for frugal innovations could substantially support engineers and managers in their work. Patents may be a promising source of ideas for frugal innovations. The purpose of this paper is to show how patents of this kind can be identified.

Design/methodology/approach

Prior work has developed a generic process model to identify frugal patent candidates. They use semantic analysis and a frugal thesaurus for searching and characterizing frugal patent candidates. The question is, whether and how this process model can be applied to a different industry successfully? The field of small household appliances is selected as a testbed because it is known for including frugal innovations while having a different business model than the industrial field in which the thesaurus was developed.

Findings

Applying the process model leads to a number of 22 strongly frugal patent candidates, which are manually evaluated based on three frugal characteristics. Due to this analysis, a high fraction of the candidates could be identified as frugal patents, which validates the process model. In addition, this paper outlines several options for enhancing the process model, e.g. by separating between a frugal search and a frugal evaluation thesaurus.

Originality/value

The process model to identify frugal patent candidates can be used by engineers and technology managers to find ideas for frugal innovations. This paper not only shows its applicability in the industry of small household appliances but gives the basis for its successful transfer to other industries.
Economic optimization of heat exchanger networks based on geometric parameters using hybrid genetic-particle swarm algorithm technique
Authors: Farzin Amin , Ghazi Mehrangiz , Sotoodeh Amir Farhang , Nikian Mohammad
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide a method for designing the shell and tube heat exchangers and examine the total annual cost of heat exchanger networks from the economic view based on the careful design of equipment.

Design/methodology/approach

Accurate evaluation of heat exchanger networks performance depends on detailed models of heat exchangers design. The simulations variables include nine design variables such as flow direction determination of each of the two fluids, number of tubes, number of tube passes, length of tubes, the arrangement of tubes, size and percentage of baffle cut, tube diameter and tube pitch. The optimal designing of the heat exchangers is based on geometrical and hydraulic modeling and using a hybrid genetic particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO-GA) technique. In this paper, optimization and minimization of the total annual cost of heat exchanger networks are considered as the objective function.

Findings

In this study, a fast and reliable method is used to simulate, optimize design parameters and evaluate heat transfer enhancement. PSO-GA algorithms have been used to minimize the total annual cost, which includes investment costs of heat exchangers and pumps, operating costs (pumping) and energy costs for utilities. Three case studies of four, six and nine streams are selected to demonstrate the accuracy of the method. Reductions of 0.55%, 23.5% and 14.78% are obtained in total annual cost for the selected streams, respectively.

Originality/value

In the present study, a reliable method is used to simulate and optimize design parameters and the economic optimization of the heat exchanger networks. Taking into account the importance of shell and tube heat exchangers in industrial applications and the complexity in their geometry, the PSO-GA methodology is adopted to obtain an optimal geometric configuration. The total annual cost is chosen as the objective function. Applying this technique to case studies demonstrates its ability to accurately design heat exchangers to optimize the objective function of the heat exchanger networks by giving the detail of design.
Barriers to blockchain adoption in health-care industry: an Indian perspective
Authors: Sharma Manu , Joshi Sudhanshu
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to identify barriers toward the adoption of blockchain (BC) technology in Indian health-care industry and also examines the significant issues of BC applications in health-care industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The barriers of the study are identified by two phases including the review of literature and semistructured interviews with hospital staff and administration operating in India. The experts (N = 15) are being taken from top-level management, IT experts and patients from the hospitals. The study implemented integrated total interpretative structural modeling-FUZZY-Cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (TISM-FUZZY-MICMAC) methods for identifying the interrelationship among the barriers.

Findings

A total of 15 barriers have been determined in the Indian health-care industry through discussion with the selected experts. TISM is applied to develop multilevel structure for BC barriers. Further, FUZZY-MICMAC has been used to compute driving and dependent barriers. The findings suggest that low awareness related to legal issues and low support from high level of management have maximum driving power.

Research limitations/implications

The present study applies multicriterion approach to identify the limited barriers in BC adoption in health care. Future studies may develop the relationship and mark down the steps for implementation of BC in health-care setting of a developing economy. Empirical study can be conducted to verify the results along with selected case studies.

Practical implications

The present study identifies the BC adoption barriers in health-care industry. The study examines the pertinent issues in context to major support required, bottlenecks in adoption, key benefits of adoption planning and activities. The technology adoption practices are expected to provide applications such as distributed, secured medical and clinical data and patient centric systems that will enhance the efficiency of the health-care industry.

Originality/value

The study is among few primary studies that identify and analyze the BC adoption in health-care industry.
COVID-19 case fatality rates across Southeast Asian countries (SEA): a preliminary estimate using a simple linear regression model
Authors: Puno George R , Puno Rena Christina C , Maghuyop Ida V
Published: January 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine COVID-19 preliminary case fatality rates (CFR) across Southeast Asian (SEA) countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The study accessed the data on COVID-19 accumulated cases of fatalities and infections across SEA countries from the World Health Organization (WHO) website, covering the early days of March to May 21, 2020. The approach involved the computation of the CFR using the simple linear regression model. The slope of the regression line was the estimate of the CFR at a 95% confidence interval. The study also reviewed the different approaches of the SEA countries in dealing with the pandemic.

Findings

As of May 21, 2020, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines were the top three SEA countries with the highest record of COVID-19 infections. Brunei had one fatality, while Cambodia, Laos, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam had nil fatalities. Indonesia and the Philippines had the highest CFR with 6.66 and 6.59%, with R2 of 97.95 and 99.43%, respectively. Singapore had the lowest CFR (0.068%) despite high infections.

Originality/value

Increased CFR in Indonesia and the Philippines suggests that COVID-19 in the two countries is rising at an alarming rate. Strict implementation of shared management approaches to control the pandemic is seen to be closely associated with the decrease of CFR.
Integration, uncertainty and information: how do they affect planning performance?
Authors: Sagawa Juliana Keiko , Nagano Marcelo Seido
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Effective planning requires the participation of different functions and may be hampered by lack of integration and information quality (IQ). This paper aims to investigate the relationships among integration, uncertainty, IQ and performance, in the context of the production planning and control function. The literature lacks in-depth studies that consider these factors altogether, showing how they interact and how they contribute to improve business performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors introduce the variable of planning performance, which represents the quality of the production plans/planning process and is related to the frequency and causes of modifications to these plans. The relationships among the mentioned constructs are investigated by means of multiple case studies.

Findings

The results illustrate that integration is positively related to planning performance, and this relationship is mediated by IQ and moderated by uncertainty.

Originality/value

The presented analysis may help practitioners to foster interfunctional integration, better cope with uncertainty and improve information management, aiming to achieve better planning performance. The managers can choose integration and IQ improvement mechanisms that better fit to their environment/reality, using the four different cases as a benchmark. Moreover, this research contributes to the literature exploring this contingency perspective by means of in-depth case studies, considering that most of the existing research adopting this perspective is survey-based.
Sustainable development goals: transportation, health and public policy
Authors: Mohamad Taghvaee Vahid , Assari Arani Abbas , Nodehi Mehrab , Khodaparast Shirazi Jalil , Agheli Lotfali , Neshat Ghojogh Haji Mohammad , Salehnia Nafiseh , Mirzaee Amir , Taheri Saeed , Mohammadi Saber Raziyeh , Faramarzi Hady , Alvandi Reza , Ahmadi Rahbarian Hosein
Published: January 2021

Purpose

This study aims to assess and decompose the sustainable development using the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Iran in 2018, for proposing agenda-setting of public policy.

Design/methodology/approach

It ranks the SDGs not only in Iran but also in the region and the world to reveal the synergetic effects.

Findings

Based on the results, subaltern-populace generally suffers from the hegemonic domination of ruling elite-bourgeois, lack of strong institutions, heterogeneous policy networks and lack of advocacy role of non-governmental organizations, due to no transparency, issues in law or no rule of law, no stringent regulation, rent, suppression and Mafia, all leading to corruption and injustice.

Practical implications

To stop the loop of corruption-injustice, Iran should homogenize the structure of the policy network. Furthermore, the failed SDGs of the three-geographic analysis are the same in a character; all of them propose SDG 3, good health and well-being as a serious failed goal.

Social implications

In this regard, strong evidence is the pandemic Coronavirus, COVID 19 since 2019, due to its highly-disastrous consequences in early 2020 where the public policymakers could not adopt policies promptly in the glob, particularly in Iran.

Originality/value

In Iran, in addition to this, the malfunction of health is rooted in “subjective well-being” and “traffic deaths,” respectively. Concerning the transportations system in Iran, it is underscored that it is damaging the sustainable development from all the three pillars of sustainable development including, economic, social and environmental.
Internationalisation and financial performance: in the case of global automotive firms
Authors: Zainudin Rozaimah , Mahdzan Nurul Shahnaz , Mohamad Norzulkarnien Nor
Published: January 2021

Purpose

Given the mixed evidence on the relationship between internationalisation and firm performance, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of internationalisation on the financial performance in the setting of a matured and stagnant market, the global automotive industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses 37 automotive manufacturers covering from 2000 to 2015. Panel regression analyses were used to estimate the relationship between four financial performance variables (return on equity [ROE], return on asset [ROA], return on capital [ROC] and return on sales [ROS]) and three main independent variables (foreign assets to total assets [FATA], research and development intensity [RNDi], advertising intensity [ADVi]), controlling for product diversification, firm size, age and risk.

Findings

The findings reveal that automotive firms with a lower FATA ratio, lower RNDi and higher ADVi tend to achieve higher financial performance. However, the intensity of product diversification does not influence the financial performance of global automakers. Ceteris paribus, larger firms in terms of market capitalisation and new entrants into the market tend to have higher financial performance relative to smaller and older firms.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature first by examining the relationship between internationalisation and firm performance in the setting of a matured market, i.e. the automotive industry. Secondly, the paper uses a multinational sample at a global level; and third, it analyses financial performance on a comprehensive basis via four measures, namely, ROA, ROE, ROC and ROS, as the dependent variables.