bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Integrated metagenomic and bile acid metabolomic analysis of human fecal microbiota transplantation for recurrent Clostridioides difficile and/or inflammatory bowel diseases
Authors: Ramos Ruben Jesus Faustino , Zhu Chencan , Joseph Dimitri F , Thaker Shubh D , LaComb Joseph F , Markarian Katherine , Littmann Eric R. , Lee Hannah J , Petrov Jessica C , Monzur Farah , Morganstern Bradley M , Bucobo Juan Carlos , Buscaglia Jonathan M , Chawla Anupama , Small-Harary Lesley , Gathungu Grace , Morganstern Jeffrey A , Yang Jie , Li Jinyu , Robertson Charles E , Pamer Eric G. , Frank Daniel N , Cross Justin R , Li Ellen
Published: February 2022

Background

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an effective treatment of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections (rCDI). In comparison, FMT has more limited efficacy in treating either ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn’s disease (CD), two major forms of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). We hypothesize that FMT recipients with rCDI and/or IBD have baseline fecal bile acid (BA) compositions that differ significantly from that of their healthy donors and may be normalized by FMT.

Aim

To study the effect of single colonoscopic FMT on the microbial composition and function of recipients with rCDI and/or IBD.

Methods

Multi-omic analysis was performed on stools from 55 pairs of subjects and donors enrolled in two prospective single arm FMT clinical trials [ClinicalTrials.gov ID:NCT03268213, 479696, (IND) 15642, ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03267238, IND 16795]. Fitted linear mixed models were used to examine the effects of four recipient groups (rCDI - IBD, rCDI + IBD, UC - rCDI, CD - rCDI), FMT status (Donor, pre-FMT, 1-week post-FMT, 3-months post-FMT) and first order Group*FMT interactions.

Results

FMT was effective in preventing rCDI for up to one year in 92% of the rCDI - IBD group and 75% of the rCDI + IBD recipients. The donor-recipient Sørensen similarity index was < 0.6 in all donor-CDI recipient pairs but > 0.6 in some donor-IBD only recipient pairs at baseline. Increasing post-FMT similarity indices > 0.6 in IBD recipients, was not clearly associated with reduced fecal calprotectin levels. Fecal secondary BA levels were lower in rCDI ± IBD and CD – rCDI recipients compared to donors. FMT restored secondary BA levels in these recipients. Metagenomic baiE gene and some of the 8 bile salt hydrolase (BSH) phylotype abundances were significantly correlated with fecal BA levels.

Conclusion

Restoration of multiple secondary BA levels, including those recently implicated in immunomodulation, are associated with restoration of fecal baiE gene counts, suggesting that the 7-α-dehydroxylation step is rate-limiting.
Impact of low-dose intrathecal morphine on orthopedic surgery: a protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Lei Yue , Guanzhang Mu , Zengmao Lin , Haolin Sun
Published: February 2022

Introduction

Patients undergoing orthopedic surgery usually suffer considerably from peri-operative pain and intrathecal morphine (ITM) has recently been used as an effective analgesic method. The intrathecal morphine dose achieving optimal analgesia for orthopedic surgery while minimizing side effects has not yet been determined. There is currently a lack of literature synthesis on the safety and effects of low-dose ITM on orthopedic surgery.

Methods and analysis

A thorough literature search will be performed on multiple electronic databases and trial registries until January 11th 2022, and reference lists will be examined. Two independent reviewers will select studies, extract data and assess the risk of bias and quality of the included studies. We will select randomized controlled trials comparing low-dose ITM (<100μg) with high-dose ITM (<200μg) or placebo treatment or other comparatives. We will assess the risk of bias using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and Jadad score will be applied to assess the quality of each included trial. We will also use Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) to determine the confidence in effect estimates. Publication bias will be evaluated by visually inspecting funnel plots and Egger regression asymmetry test in estimations of more than 10 trials. Standard meta-analysis will be performed using R package meta.

Ethics and dissemination

The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal and related conferences. The data used in this meta-analysis will not contain individual patient data and ethical approval is therefore not required.
Demographic Characteristics and Clinical Features of COVID-19 Patients Admitted in a Combined Military Hospital of Bangladesh
Authors: Mahboob Sabiha , Johora Fatema , Abbasy Asma Akter , Jeenia Fatiha Tasmin , Ali Mohammad , Naharin Noor E , Ferdoush Jannatul
Published: February 2022

Background: COVID-19, one of the worst pandemics in humankinds history on December 2019. Clinical presentations of COVID-19 patients are varied and being closely similar to those of seasonal flu, its difficult to differentiate it on first presentation as COVID. Clinical scenario and demographic characteristics provide important guideline in the management of COVID.

Materials and Methods: The objective of this cross-sectional study was to explore the demographic characteristics and clinical features of COVID-19 patients admitted in a Combined Military Hospital of Bangladesh. Data were collected from treatment records of patients of the CMH Bogura during the period of June 2020 to August 2020. Total 219 RT-PCR positive admitted patients were included as study population.

Result: Among 219 patients, 78.6% were male and 21.5% female. Mean age of patients was 34.3 (12.2). Highest percentages (67.2%) of patients were from age group 21-40 years. 85.4% of the patients had no comorbidities, and hypertension (10.1%) was the most common comorbidity. Most (83.1%) of the admitted patients were diagnosed as mild cases. 96.4% cases were symptomatic and fever (84.5%) was the most common symptoms of COVID, followed by dry cough (46.6%), sore throat (19.6%), headache (18.3%), bodyache (17.8%), loss of appetite (15.5%), tiredness (15.5%) and anorexia (14.2%).

Conclusion: This single center study revealed younger age, male predominance, less presence of comorbidites, mild cases, high proportion of symptomatic patients, and fever and cough as the most common presenting features among the admitted COVID-19 patients in CMH Bogura.
Microbial dysbiosis and metabolic disorders promote rheumatoid arthritis across successive stages: a multi-omics cohort study
Authors: Cheng Mingyue , Zhao Yan , Cui Yazhou , Zhong Chaofang , Zha Yuguo , Li Shufeng , Cao Guangxiang , Li Mian , Zhang Lei , Ning Kang , Han Jinxiang
Published: February 2022

Background

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that typically progresses through four stages, from mild stiffness to severe disability. The critical involvement of gut microbial dysbiosis in promoting RA has been intriguing. The aim of this study was to investigate stage-specific roles of microbial dysbiosis and metabolic disorders in pathogenesis across successive stages of RA.

Methods

In this multi-omics cohort study, fecal metagenomic, plasma metabolomic data were collected from 76 patients grouped into four RA stages, 19 patients with osteoarthritis, and 27 healthy individuals in China. A non-redundant gene catalogue was constructed, functionally annotated, and clustered into metagenomic species (MGS). Leave-one-out analysis was performed to determine the MGS that most drove the microbial dysfunctions with RA across stages. Random forest algorithm was performed to investigate diagnostic potential of microbial or metabolic features for each stage. Additionally, to verify the bacterial invasion of the joint synovial fluid, we conducted 16S rRNA gene sequencing, bacterial isolation, and scanning electron microscopy on joint synovial fluid from another cohort of 271 RA patients grouped into four RA stages.

Findings

We found that microbial dysbiosis and metabolic disorders had stage-specific effects on RA progression. For instance, arginine succinyltransferase pathway was elevated mainly in the second and third stages of RA (p=1·4×10−3), which was driven byEscherichia coli, and it was correlated with the increase of the rheumatoid factor (p=1·35×10−3). Considerable elevation of methoxyacetic acid (p=1·28×10−8) and cysteine-S-sulfate (p=4·66×10−12) might inhibit osteoblasts in the second stage and enhance osteoclasts in the third stage, respectively. Moreover, fecal microbesEggerthella lentaandBifidobacterium longumthat were exclusively elevated in the fourth stage, were also detected in the joint synovial fluid.

Interpretation

Our findings elucidate for the first time the stage-specific roles of microbial dysbiosis and metabolic disorders across successive stages of RA, which open up new avenues for RA prognosis and therapy. We demonstrate the buildup of these effects might induce microbial invasion of the joint synovial fluid in the fourth stage of RA.
Epilepsy-associated increase in gonadotropin-releasing hormone neuron firing in diestrous female mice is independent of chronic seizure burden severity
Authors: Li Jiang , Christian-Hinman Catherine A.
Published: February 2022

Reproductive endocrine disorders are common comorbidities of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Our previous studies using the intrahippocampal kainic acid (IHKA) mouse model of TLE demonstrated that many females show prolonged estrous cycles and hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons exhibit elevated firing during diestrus. However, it is unknown whether the degree of change in GnRH neuron activity is dependent on epilepsy severity. Here, we used 24/7 in vivo EEG and in vitro electrophysiological recordings in acute brain slices to assess GnRH neuron firing in relation to chronic seizure burden in diestrous female mice at two months after IHKA injection. We found that percentage of time in seizure activity in the 24 hours prior to slice preparation is an accurate proxy of overall seizure burden. Firing rates of GnRH neurons from EEG-recorded IHKA mice were increased in comparison to controls, but no relationships were found between GnRH neuron firing and seizure burden measured in vivo. The independence of GnRH neuron firing rate in relation to seizure burden was unaffected by GnRH neuron soma location or estrous cycle length. Furthermore, GnRH neuron firing rates were not yet different from control values when measured 1 month after injection when epileptogenesis is already complete in IHKA mice. This result suggests a potential window for intervention to prevent epilepsy-associated GnRH neuron dysfunction. These findings indicate that the severity of epilepsy and the degree of downstream disruption to GnRH neuron activity are independent, suggesting that susceptibility to reproductive endocrine comorbidities is driven by other risk factors.
The chemokine receptor CXCR3 promotes CD8+T cell-dependent lung pathology during influenza pathogenesis
Authors: Guo Kai , Yombo Dan J.K , Xu Jintao , Wang Zhihan , Schmit Taylor , Tripathi Jitendra , Hur Junguk , Sun Jie , Olszewski Michal A. , Khan Nadeem
Published: February 2022

While the role of CD8+T cells in influenza clearance is established, their contribution to pathological lung injury is increasingly appreciated. To explore if protective versus pathological functions can be linked to CD8+T cell subpopulations, we dissected their responses in influenza-infected murine lungs. Our single-cell RNASeq (scRNAseq) analysis revealed significant diversity in CD8+T cell subpopulations during peak viral load vs. infection-resolved state. While enrichment of Cxcr3hiCD8+T effector (Teff) subset was associated with a more robust cytotoxic response, both CD8+Teffand CD8+T central memory (TCM) exhibited equally potent effector potential. The scRNAseq analysis identified unique regulons regulating the cytotoxic response in CD8+T cells. The neutralization of CXCR3 mitigated lung injury without affecting viral clearance. IFN-γ was dispensable to regulate the cytotoxic response of Cxcr3hiCD8+T cells. Collectively, our data imply that CXCR3 interception could have a therapeutic effect in preventing influenza-linked lung injury.

TEASER

The CXCR3 expressing CD8+ T cell subset causes severe lung pathology and exacerbates disease severity without affecting viral clearance during influenza infection
Crystal structure of (7-{[bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino-κ3
N,N′,N′′]methyl}-5-chloroquinolin-8-ol)dibromidozinc(II)
Authors: Kubono Koji , Kashiwagi Yukiyasu , Tani Keita , Yokoi Kunihiko
Published: February 2022

In the title compound, [ZnBr2(C22H19ClN4O)], the ZnII atom adopts a distorted square-pyramidal coordination geometry, formed by two bromido ligands and three N atoms of the bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amine moiety in the pentadentate ligand containing quinolinol. The ZnII atom is located well above the mean basal plane of the square-based pyramid. The apical position is occupied by a Br atom. The O and N atoms of the quinolinol moiety in the ligand are not coordinated to the ZnII atom. An intramolecular O—H...N hydrogen bond, generating an S(5) ring motif, stabilizes the molecular structure. In the crystal, the molecules are linked by intermolecular C—H...Br hydrogen bonds, generating ribbon structures containing alternating R
2
2(22) and R
2
2(14) rings. These ribbons are linked through an intermolecular C—H...Br hydrogen bond, forming a two-dimensional network sheet.
A model of online food delivery service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty: a combination of PLS-SEM and NCA approaches
Authors: Koay Kian Yeik , Cheah Chee Wei , Chang Yi Xuan
Published: February 2022

Purpose

The main purpose of this study is to explore how online food delivery (OFD) service quality influences customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 307 useable data collected from existing users of OFD services in Malaysia are used to verify the proposed hypotheses through partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Necessary condition analysis (NCA) is also conducted to identify the necessary conditions for customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Findings

The PLS results show that five dimensions of OFD service quality, including assurance, maintenance of meal quality and hygiene, reliability, security and system operation, are significant to customer satisfaction. Traceability is found to have no significant influence on customer satisfaction. Furthermore, customer satisfaction is a significant predictor of customer loyalty. The NCA results show that all dimensions of OFD service quality are necessary conditions for customer satisfaction and customer satisfaction is a necessary condition for customer loyalty.

Originality/value

Past studies have mainly utilised the sufficiency logic to understand customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the context of the OFD. This study is the first to perform NCA that relies on necessity logic to identify necessary conditions for customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Off-farm employment experience triggers heterogeneity of exiting part-time farming in rural China
Authors: Bai Yunli , Wang Weidong , Zhang Linxiu
Published: February 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the occupational specialization in rural labor market by analyzing the nature of part-time farming in rural China and estimating the impact of off-farm experience on the individual’s persistence and exit of part-time farming as well as its heterogeneity.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the panel data collected in 100 villages and 2,000 households across five provinces in 2008, 2012 and 2016, this study provides insights on the nature of part-time farming in rural labor market and find the impact and mechanism of off-farm employment experience on exiting part-time farming by adopting event history analysis.

Findings

Part-time farming is a stable long-run occupation in rural labor market of China from 2008 to 2015. Off-farm employment experience generally has positive effects on long-term part-time farming and the probability of exiting part-time farming. It significantly promotes female to exit part-time farming.

Originality/value

Based on the two-sector model, this study builds a conceptual framework of off-farm experience and occupational specialization and sets a theoretical basis of hazard model when using event history analysis. This study contributes to identify the impact of off-farm experience on persistence and exiting part-time farming in recent years. The empirical findings support the policy of promoting off-farm employment to improve occupational specialization.
The joint impact of HRM attributions and HRM system consistency on employee well-being: a two-wave study
Authors: Xiao Qijie , Cooke Fang Lee
Published: February 2022

Purpose

This study extends extant literature by establishing an integrative framework connecting different forms of HRM attributions (internal HRM well-being attributions and exploiting attributions, and external Labor Law attributions) and a specific single meta-feature of HRM system strength (consistency) to employee well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 279 paired and valid responses from eight manufacturing firms located in three cities in China were analyzed in this two-wave study. PROCESS macro tool was used to examine the mediating role of thriving at work and the moderating role of HRM system consistency in the relationship between HRM attributions and thriving at work.

Findings

Thriving at work mediated the relationship between internal HRM exploiting attributions, external Labor Law attributions and employee well-being. On the other hand, internal HRM well-being attributions did not indirectly influence employee well-being through thriving at work. HRM system consistency moderates the association between internal HRM attributions (rather than external Labor Law attributions) and thriving at work.

Research limitations/implications

This research is only concerned with a particular form of external attributions in one country. In fact, there is a wide range of other external HRM attributions (e.g. organizational intention to imitate their competitors in today’s global economy).

Practical implications

Managers should understand that managing the well-being of the workforce is an important part of HRM for responsible organizations and make efforts to improve employees’ affective-motivational states.

Originality/value

The authors offer insights into HRM attributions research by differentiating internal attributions from external Labor Law attributions based on their disparate implications for employee well-being.
Promoter ownership and bankruptcy reforms: evidence from India
Authors: Ramesh Vishnu K. , Ramesh Reshma K. , T. Jithesh
Published: February 2022

Purpose

The demand-side view of creditor rights posits a negative association between creditor rights and corporate borrowings. The purpose of this paper is as follows: first, the author examines whether the demand-side effect is more pronounced amongst firms with excess promoter shareholding. Subsequently, the authors analyze the impact of high promoter holdings on investment decisions owing to bankruptcy reforms.

Design/methodology/approach

To answer the above questions, the authors exploit the passage of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) (2016) that strengthens the creditor rights of lenders, which impacts the borrowings and financing activities of Indian corporates. Using a panel of listed Indian firms over the period of 2012–2019, the authors analyze how the IBC affects firms’ borrowings and financing decisions with excess promoter holdings.

Findings

The authors find that bankruptcy reforms led to a statistically significant decline in the use of borrowed funds (primarily secured and long-term debt) by firms with high concentrated holdings. The analysis also indicates that firms with excess promoter ownership face an increased cost of debt due to bankruptcy reforms. As a result, firms with excess promoter holdings curtail their investments. Overall, the results indicate that India’s bankruptcy reforms significantly affect the firms’ financing and investment decisions with highly concentrated ownership.

Originality/value

While past research has explored the relationship between bankruptcy reforms and demand for/supply of debt, the authors provide novel empirical evidence on the role of promoter holdings that affects the relationship between bankruptcy law and financing and investment decisions. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the role of ownership structure in the context of bankruptcy reforms by using a quasi-natural experiment.
Green service production and environmental performance in healthcare emergencies: role of big-data management and green HRM practices
Authors: Kumar Pradeep , Chakraborty Shibashish
Published: February 2022

Purpose

This study aims to examine the impact of big data management on green service production (GSP) and environmental performance (ENPr) while considering green HRM practices (GHRM) in healthcare emergencies.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected primary data from major healthcare organizations in India by surveying healthcare professionals. The data analysis through structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) reveals several significant relationships to extricate the underlying dynamics.

Findings

Grounded in the theories of service production and natural resource-based view (NRBV), this study conceptualizes GSP with its three dimensions of green procurement (GP), green service design (GSD) and green service practices (GSPr). The study conducted in India's healthcare sector with a sample size limited to healthcare professionals serving in COVID-19 identifies the positive and significant impact of big data management on GSP and ENPr that organizations seek to deploy in such emergencies. The findings of the study explain the moderating effects of GHRM on GSP-ENPr relationships.

Research limitations/implications

The study was conducted in the healthcare sector in India, and its sample size was limited to healthcare professionals serving in COVID-19. The practical ramifications for healthcare administrators and policymakers are suggested, and future avenues of research are discussed.

Originality/value

This paper develops a holistic model of big data analytics, GP, GSD, GSPr, GHRM and ENPr. This study is a first step in investigating how big data management contributes to ENPr in an emergency and establishing the facets of GSP as a missing link in this relationship, which is currently void in the literature. This study contributes to the theory and fills the knowledge gap in this area.
Challenges in creating egalitarian logistic ecosystem: cases of app-based cab aggregators (ABCAs)
Authors: Mehta Nikhil Kewal Krishna , Sharma Rohit , Chavan Shreyas
Published: February 2022

Purpose

Given the increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, egalitarian ecosystems may play an important role to establish equality among various stakeholders. With this idea, the study aimed to understand conflicts and challenges in creating an egalitarian ecosystem in the application-based cab aggregator (ABCA) market.

Design/methodology/approach

Narratives of various stakeholders involved in the ABCA business were collected. The study involved narrations from direct and indirect stakeholders up to saturation till common themes were found. Grounded theory methodology using constant comparison was explored to interpret the results. After the results were obtained, root cause analysis was undertaken using the why–why methodology to understand ground-level reality.

Findings

In total, 13 major issues were identified using grounded theory for narrative analysis that cab aggregator companies, driver-partners, and riders faced. The stakeholders' inability in the ecosystem to see each other's problems could be accorded to their self-interest, rational boundedness and asymmetric information. These findings collude with Banaji et al. (2004) and Chugh et al. (2005).

Originality/value

This study explained each stakeholder's perspectives about their counterparts that influence non-egalitarianism. The study further suggested possible areas for solving the issues and promoting cooperation.
Perceived quality factors that discriminate parents of orthodontic patients according to their satisfaction
Authors: Souki Gustavo Quiroga , Ávila Juliana Meire Silva de , Moura Luiz Rodrigo Cunha , Souki Bernardo Quiroga
Published: February 2022

Purpose

Monitoring the perception of quality by parents and the satisfaction with their children’s treatment is crucial in developing high-level health-care services. The purpose of this paper is to identify the perceived quality factors by parents of paediatric orthodontic patients according to the levels of satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey with 316 parents of paediatric orthodontic patients of 45 offices in a big Brazilian city was conducted. The questionnaires included statements on the parents’ satisfaction and perception of quality concerning their children’s treatment. The data were analysed using multivariate statistics (exploratory factor analysis, cluster analysis and discriminant analysis).

Findings

Parents were classified into three clusters according to their level of satisfaction. This survey identified 11 quality factors perceived by parents of patients regarding their children’s orthodontic treatment. Among them, five factors discriminated the clusters: orthodontist’s technical skills, administrative organisation, location (accessibility and convenience), treatment duration and dental supplies.

Practical implications

This research identified the perceived quality factors that most impacted parents of orthodontic patients’ satisfaction, contributing to dentists in developing strategies and actions to improve the quality of services in dental offices.

Originality/value

This paper included 11 perceived quality factors in the hypothetical model, identified through literature review and a qualitative phase. Moreover, multivariate statistical analyses confirmed the validity and reliability of the questionnaires, classified respondents in clusters and identified the perceived quality factors that most discriminated them. Therefore, the current investigation presented a more comprehensive and robust analysis than the previous studies on this topic.
Stock market development and agricultural growth of emerging economies in Africa
Authors: Ngong Chi Aloysius , Thaddeus Kesuh Jude , Asah Lionel Tembi , Ibe Godwin Imo , Onwumere Josaphat Uchechukwu Joe
Published: February 2022

Purpose

This research investigates the bond between stock market development and agricultural growth in African emerging economies from 1990 to 2020.

Design/methodology/approach

Agricultural value added to the gross domestic product measures agricultural growth and market capitalization and stock value traded measure stock market development.

Findings

The findings disclose that market capitalization negatively affects agricultural growth while stock value traded positively affects agricultural growth in the fully modified and dynamic ordinary least square techniques. The findings unveil bidirectional causality between labour and agricultural value added with unidirectional causality flow from agricultural value added to market capitalization and stock value traded.

Research limitations/implications

The governments should promote agricultural growth initiatives which stimulate stock market development. Effective methods required to encourage credit flow to the agricultural enterprises through the stock markets' intermediation should be promoted using aggressive policies which eliminate credit flow bottlenecks. Policy makers and regulatory authorities should implement policies which attract investors to the agricultural sector and encourage companies' listing in the stock markets. The capital market funding should be expanded to boost economic growth through agricultural value added.

Originality/value

Literature reveals divergent results on the relationship between stock market development and agricultural growth. Earlier studies provide conflicting findings on the bond between stock market development and agricultural growth. Some findings indicate positive link between stock market development and agricultural growth, while others show a negative association. Studies' results reveal opposing directions of causality between stock market development and agricultural growth.
Performance assessment of various seismic resistant systems for a multistory structure in different seismic zones of Bangladesh
Authors: Sobuz Md. Habibur Rahman , Meraz Md. Montaseer , Saha Ayan , Akid Abu Sayed Mohammad , Hasan Noor Md. Sadiqul , Rahman Mizanoor , Safayet Md. Abu
Published: February 2022

Purpose

This study aims to present the variations of optimal seismic control of reinforced cement concrete (RCC) structure using different structural systems. Different third-dimensional mathematical models are used to examine the responses of multistory flexibly connected frames subjected to earthquake excitations.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper examined a G + 50 multi-storied high-rise structure, which is analyzed using different combinations of moment resistant frames, shear walls, seismic outrigger systems and seismic dampers to observe the effectiveness during ground motion against soft soil conditions. The damping coefficients of added dampers, providing both upper and lower levels are taken into consideration. A finite element modeling and analysis is generated. Then the nature of the structure exposed to ground motion is captured with response spectrum analysis, using BNBC-2020 for four different seismic zones in Bangladesh.

Findings

The response of the structure is investigated according to the amplitude of the displacements, drifts, base shear, stiffness and torsion. The numerical results indicate that adding dampers at the base level can be the most effective against seismic control. However, placing an outrigger bracing system at the middle and top end with shear wall can be the most effective for controlling displacements and drifts.

Originality/value

The response of high-rise structures to seismic forces in Bangladesh’s soft soil conditions is examined at various levels in this study. This study is an original research which contributes to the knowledge to build earthquake resisting high-rises in Bangladesh.
Understanding farmers’ decision-making to use Islamic finance through the lens of theory of planned behavior
Authors: Abid Ali , Jie Shang
Published: February 2022

Purpose

This study aims to determine the non-economic factors that probably influence the Pakistani farmers to use Islamic finance for agricultural production. This paper analyzes the other religiosity and familial leadership constructs in the standard theory of planned behavior (TPB) model from the Islamic banking perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 233 farmers using snowball sampling techniques and partial least square structural equation modeling used for data analysis. An additional qualitative analysis was conducted of seven respondents through semi-structured interviews to deepen into knowledge about Islamic banking.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that attitude, subjective norms, religiosity and familial leadership to use Islamic banking among the farmers play a primary motivating role in manipulating their behavioral intentions to use it. However, PBC negatively affected the behavior of farmers to use Islamic banking.

Practical implications

This study highlights the importance of emotional attachment between the farmers and Islamic financial products according to Shariah law. Therefore, Islamic banks need effective strategies for the development of innovative products in the agricultural sector according to the Shariah principle.

Originality/value

The research contributes to the area of Islamic banking, demonstrating that “familial leadership” significantly influences an individual’s behavior toward decision-making to use Islamic finance.
How and when responsible leadership facilitates work engagement: a moderated mediation model
Authors: Dong Wenli , Zhong Lifeng
Published: February 2022

Purpose

Leaders are under increasing pressure to cultivate an engaged workforce in responsible ways, but how and when responsible leadership is related to employee work engagement remains unclear. Hence, this study aims to unfold the responsible leadership–work engagement relationship by exploring the mediating role of intrinsic corporate social responsibility (CSR) attributions and the moderating role of interactional justice.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiphase sample of 225 was collected from employees from the Chinese manufacturing industry. Hierarchical regression and PROCESS macro in SPSS were used to test the authors’ moderated mediation model.

Findings

The results demonstrate that responsible leadership is directly related to work engagement and indirectly related to it via employees' intrinsic CSR attributions. Interactional justice significantly strengthens the positive relationship between responsible leadership and intrinsic CSR attributions as well as the mediating effects of intrinsic CSR attributions.

Practical implications

To cultivate an engaged workforce that improves organizational effectiveness, firms and managers should facilitate responsible leadership, signal sincere motives of CSR activities and enhance fair interpersonal treatment at work. These can also be helpful in various fields (e.g. promoting public trust).

Originality/value

Based on social learning theory and attribution theory, this study empirically reveals the role of responsible leadership in enhancing work engagement. It sheds new light on the psychological mechanism and the boundary condition explaining how and when this linkage occurs, which advances research on responsible leadership and the individual-level analysis of CSR.
A closed-loop power battery supply chain differential game model considering echelon utilization under a cost subsidy
Authors: Yu Shan , Hou Qiang
Published: February 2022

Purpose

This study considered the dynamic equilibrium decision-making problem in a three-level supply chain comprising a manufacturer, a recycler and an echelon utilization (EchU) enterprise under the condition of cost-sharing coordination.

Design/methodology/approach

This study constructed a differential game model based on cost-sharing coordinated decision-making among a manufacturer, a recycler and an EchU enterprise operating under a cost subsidy. The study determined the optimal equilibrium strategies and evolutionary characteristics of subsidy mechanisms in a closed-loop supply chain. Finally, this study numerically simulated the path evolution process of vehicle battery EchU, the profit of each stakeholder and the sensitivity of parameters and verified the influences of various parameters on the overall structure and path.

Findings

The results show that a cost subsidy policy has a moderating effect on the EchU decision-making process and supply chain profit. The effect of that policy increases over time.

Practical implications

This study determined the equilibrium decision-making of enterprises in a closed-loop vehicle battery supply chain from a dynamic perspective, as well as the combined effects of government subsidy policies and cost-sharing coordination mechanisms.

Social implications

The results have important guiding significance for coordination and cooperation between enterprises in closed-loop supply chains, for their decision-making and for the development of government subsidies.

Originality/value

This study considered the effects of government subsidies on closed-loop supply chains and the introduction of an EchU market to a closed-loop vehicle battery supply chain.
Integrating corporate social responsibility and quality management into the TDABC costing system: a case study in the assembly industry
Authors: Vedernikova Olga , Morocho Villie , Sigcha Erik , Segarra-Tapia Lorena , Siguenza-Guzman Lorena
Published: February 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to show the potential of time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) to value and integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) and quality management (QM) processes in the assembly industry. It provides valuable insights about operational processes, sub-process and activities within assembly companies by using TDABC’s time equations with more accurate costs for the decision-making process.

Design/methodology/approach

The current paper proposes a new methodology framework with four QM and CSR implementation levels and several costing scenarios through the TDABC system. The valuation was built based on the activities of essential referents in each subject, such as ISO, Ethos Institute and electrostatic discharge control programs. To this end, a case study in the assembly industry processes was conducted with data from a TV assembler.

Findings

The results highlight that TDABC can be extended to perform a cost analysis with QM and CSR processes. The environmental management and occupational safety and health administration processes were considered part of CSR to do so. Consequently, managers can simulate the cost and impact of incorporating CSR and QM in assembly processes and thus decide the implementation degree and its corresponding planning according to the needs and available resources. In this particular case, the company increases a maximum of 12% of its resources to be socially responsible and manage its products’ quality.

Originality/value

Although theoretical models on CSR have been developed, the current study provides a practical framework based on TDABC scenarios that enterprises can easily implement to support and evaluate QM and CSR processes.
Cultivation and metabolic insights of an uncultured clade, Bacteroidetes VC2.1 Bac22 (Candidatus Sulfidibacteriales ord. nov.), from deep‐sea hydrothermal vents
Authors: Leng Hao , Zhao Weishu , Xiao Xiang
Published: February 2022

Bacteroidetes VC2.1 Bac22 (referred to as VC2.1) is an uncultured clade that is widely distributed in marine ecosystems, including hydrothermal vents, oxygen‐minimum zones and other anoxic, sulfide‐rich environments. However, the lack of cultured representatives and sequenced genomes of VC2.1 limit our understanding of its physiology, metabolism and ecological functions. Here, we obtained a stable co‐culture of VC2.1 with autotrophic microbes by establishing an autotrophy‐based enrichment from a hydrothermal vent chimney sample. We recovered a high‐quality metagenome‐assembled genome (MAG) that belonged to VC2.1. Phylogenetic analyses of both 16S rRNA genes and conserved protein markers suggested that VC2.1 belongs to a novel order in the Bacteroidetes phylum, which we named Candidatus Sulfidibacteriales. The metabolic reconstruction of this MAG indicated that VC2.1 could utilize polysaccharides, protein polymers and fatty acids as well as flexibly obtain energy via NO/N2O reduction and polysulfide reduction. Our results reveal the ecological potential of this novel Bacteroidetes for complex organic carbons mineralization and N2O sinks in deep‐sea hydrothermal vents. Furthermore, guided by the genome information, we designed a new culture medium in which starch, ammonium and polysulfide were used as the carbon source, nitrogen source and electron acceptor respectively, to isolate VC2.1 successfully.
Servicification and global value chain survival: Firm‐level evidence from India
Authors: Reddy Ketan , Sasidharan Subash
Published: February 2022

In this article, we study the role of servicification in sustaining global value chain participation. To empirically analyse the role of firm servicification on GVC survival, we draw information from a sample of 1,227 Indian manufacturing firms over 2001–2018. We use a complementary log–log model and find that higher servicification is associated with a lower hazard rate. Moreover, we account for the reverse causality in the model using a two‐stage residual inclusion method and correct for self‐selection using the propensity score matching estimator. Our finding of servicification aiding GVC survival remains robust to the endogeneity concerns. Further, our analysis also underscores the importance of servicification for sustaining GVC participation for firms with short‐trading spells.
Stakeholder Green Pressure and New Product Performance in Emerging Countries: A Cross‐country Study
Authors: Adomako Samuel , Simms Chris , Vazquez‐Brust Diego , Nguyen Hang T.T.
Published: February 2022

Despite the burgeoning literature on stakeholder green pressure, research is scarce on how it influences eco‐product innovation and new product performance. This article examines stakeholder green pressures as antecedents of eco‐product innovation and new product performance in firms operating in resource‐constrained countries. Using data gathered from surveys in Vietnam (N = 183) and Ghana (N = 217), we find that the positive effects of stakeholder green pressures on new product performance are serially mediated by environmental sustainability orientation and eco‐product innovation. Our findings contribute to ongoing efforts to clarify the mechanisms channelling stakeholder pressures into new product performance in resource‐constrained environments.
Aberrant arrangement of the musculocutaneous and median nerves in the thoracic limbs of a mixed‐breed dog cadaver
Authors: Kamali Younes
Published: February 2022

In the left thoracic limb of a male cadaver (adult mixed‐breed dog), the median nerve (MN) after departing from the common median/ulnar nerve (UN) trunk received two branches. One from the lateral thoracic nerve (LTN) and the other from the musculocutaneous nerve (MCN). These both passed cranial to the axillary artery at the level of the lateral thoracic artery and joined the median nerve. Thus, in the proximal brachium, the axillary artery was cradled by this union, similar to the ansa axillaris of large animals and similar formations reported in human and non‐human primates. In the distal brachium, the communicating branch ran unusually from the MN to the MCN on the left, and in both directions on the right. Awareness of such anatomical variations of the terminal branches of the brachial plexus (BP) in addition to the embryonic and evolutionary aspects can be useful in explaining neuroarterial signs with unknown origin, as those reported in human medicine.
Willingness to accept risk with medication in return for cure of symptoms among patients with Rome IV irritable bowel syndrome
Authors: Goodoory Vivek C. , Ng Cho Ee , Black Christopher J. , Ford Alexander C.
Published: February 2022

Background

Some drugs for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have serious side effects.

Aims

To examine the willingness of individuals with IBS to accept risks with medication in return for symptom cure.

Methods

We collected demographic, gastrointestinal symptoms, psychological health, quality of life and impact on work and daily activities data from 752 adults with Rome IV‐defined IBS. We examined median willingness to accept death in return for cure with a hypothetical medication using a standard gamble, according to these variables.

Results

Participants would accept a median 2.0% (IQR 0.0%‐9.0%) risk of death in return for a 98.0% (IQR 91.0%‐100.0%) chance of permanent symptom cure. The median accepted risk of death was higher in men (5.0% vs 2.0%, P < 0.001), those with continuous abdominal pain (4.0% vs 1.0%, P < 0.001), more severe symptoms (P = 0.005 for trend), abnormal depression scores (P < 0.001 for trend), higher gastrointestinal symptom‐specific anxiety (P < 0.001 for trend), and lower IBS‐related quality of life (P < 0.001 for trend). Those willing to accept above median risk of death were more likely to be male (17.1% vs 9.1%, P < 0.001), take higher levels of risks in their daily life (P = 0.008 for trend), and report continuous abdominal pain (53.1% vs 39.4%, P < 0.001), and had higher depression (P = 0.004 for trend) and lower quality of life (P < 0.001 for trend) scores.

Conclusion

Patients are willing to accept significant risks in return for cure of their IBS symptoms.
Pharmacovigilance in China: Evolution and future challenges
Authors: Song Haibo , Pei Xiaojing , Liu Zuoxiang , Shen Chuanyong , Sun Jun , Liu Yuqin , Zhou Lingyun , Sun Feng , Xiao Xiaohe
Published: February 2022

Drug‐related adverse reactions are among the main reasons for harm to patients under care worldwide and even their deaths. The pharmacovigilance system has been proven to be an effective method of avoiding or alleviating such adverse events. In 2019, after two decades of implementation of the drug‐related adverse reaction reporting system, China formally implemented a pharmacovigilance system with the Pharmacovigilance Quality Management Standards and a series of supporting technical documents created to improve the safety of medication given to patients. China's pharmacovigilance system has faced many problems and challenges during its implementation. This spontaneous reporting system is the main source of data for China's medication vigilance activities, but it has not provided sufficiently powerful evidence for regulatory decision‐making. In conformity with the health‐centred drug regulatory concept, the Chinese government has accelerated the speed of examination and approval of urgently needed clinical drugs and orphan drugs along with the requirement to improve the safety supervision of these drugs after their listing. China's marketing authorization holders (MAHs) must strengthen their pharmacovigilance capabilities as the primary responsible departments for drug safety. Chinese medical schools generally lack professional courses on pharmacovigilance. The regulatory authorities have recognized such problems and have made efforts to improve the professional capacity of pharmacovigilance personnel and to strengthen cooperation with stakeholders through the implementation of an action plan of medication surveillance and the establishment of a patient‐based adverse events reporting system and active surveillance systems, which will help China bridge the gap to bring its pharmacovigilance practice up to standards.
The behavioural and physiological ecology of embryos: responding to the challenges of life inside an egg
Authors: Du Wei‐Guo , Shine Richard
Published: February 2022

Adaptations of post‐hatching animals have attracted far more study than have embryonic responses to environmental challenges, but recent research suggests that we have underestimated the complexity and flexibility of embryos. We advocate a dynamic view of embryos as organisms capable of responding – on both ecological and evolutionary timescales – to their developmental environments. By viewing embryos in this way, rather than assuming an inability of pre‐hatching stages to adapt and respond, we can broaden the ontogenetic breadth of evolutionary and ecological research. Both biotic and abiotic factors affect embryogenesis, and embryos exhibit a broad range of behavioural and physiological responses that enable them to deal with changes in their developmental environments in the course of interactions with their parents, with other embryos, with predators, and with the physical environment. Such plasticity may profoundly affect offspring phenotypes and fitness, and in turn influence the temporal and spatial dynamics of populations and communities. Future research in this field could benefit from an integrated framework that combines multiple approaches (field investigations, manipulative experiments, ecological modelling) to clarify the mechanisms and consequences of embryonic adaptations and plasticity.