bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pyrophosphate-Mediated Repair of Damaged and Mismatched RNA by a Polymerase Ribozyme
Authors: Kent Alexandra D. , Yang Lucy L. , Lee Ivee A. , Lupták Andrej
Published: November 2022

Prior to the emergence of the contemporary biosphere, the early Earth is likely to have progressed through an RNA-based world. In such an evolving world, it would have been critical to have a system of genome replication that allowed heritable information to be transferred with an early catalyst, such as an RNA polymerase ribozyme. Though substantial effort has gone into evolving such a polymerase, many variants suffer from premature termination and low fidelity, resulting in low yields of full-length sequences and small quantities of active sequences, respectively. The ability to replicate and maintain a genome at a higher fidelity would lend an evolutionary advantage to an early evolvable system. Cells today achieve this through a variety of means, including complex damage repair mechanisms and proofreading pathways, but such dedicated machinery would likely not exist in an early evolving world. However, if an early polymerase possessed repair activity under specific conditions, replication would have been improved. Here we demonstrate the first example of ribozyme-mediated repair of damaged and mismatched RNA sequences. Under conditions of high pyrophosphate concentrations, we show that a polymerase ribozyme can repair RNA sequences terminated in a 2′ −3′ cyclic phosphate, a mismatch, or both, to allow further polymerization along a template. In many cases, the fidelity of the repaired RNA extension is significantly higher than priming from a mismatched base-pair; this observation suggests that mutations may have an allosteric effect on the fidelity of downstream replication. Finally, we show that the pyrophosphorolysis reaction directly yields a nucleoside triphosphate, providing the first evidence for ribozyme-catalyzed production of ATP. Increased fidelity and processivity of polymerization advances the longstanding goal of developing a self-replicating polymerase ribozyme.
CooccurrenceAffinity: An R package for computing a novel metric of affinity in co-occurrence data that corrects for pervasive errors in traditional indices
Authors: Mainali Kumar P. , Slud Eric
Published: November 2022

Analysis of co-occurrence data in ecology and biogeography with traditional indices has led to many problems. In our recent study (Mainali, Slud, Singer, & Fagan, 2022), we revealed the source of the problem that makes the traditional indices fundamentally flawed and completely unreliable, and we further developed a novel metric of association, alpha, with complete formulation of the null distribution for estimating the mechanism of affinity. We also developed the maximum likelihood estimate (MLE) of alpha in our prior study.

Here, we introduce theCooccurrenceAffinityR package that computes alpha MLE. We provide functions to perform the analysis based on a 2×2 contingency table of occurrence/co-occurrence counts as well as a m×n presence-absence matrix (e.g., species by site matrix). The flexibility of the function allows a user to compute the alpha MLE for entity pairs on matrix columns based on presence-absence states recorded in the matrix rows, or for entities on matrix rows based on presence-absence recorded in columns. We also provide functions for plotting the computed indices.

As novel components of this software paper not reported in the original study, we present theoretical discussions about median interval and four types of confidence intervals; we further develop functions (a) to compute those intervals, (b) to evaluate their true coverage probability of enclosing the population parameter, and (c) to generate figures.

CooccurrenceAffinityis a practical and efficient R package with user-friendly functions for end-to-end analysis and plotting of co-occurrence data in various formats, making it possible to compute the recently developed metric of alpha MLE as well as its median and confidence intervals introduced in this paper. The package supplements its main output of the novel metric of association with the three most common traditional indices of association in co-occurrence data: Jaccard, Sørensen–Dice, and Simpson.
Proteomic analysis of spermathecal fluid reveals factors related to long-term sperm storage in ant queens
Authors: Gotoh Ayako
Published: November 2022

Ant queens can maintain a large number of sperm cells for over a decade after mating at the beginning of their adult lives until they die. This ability is prominent because sperm cells cannot maintain their fertilization ability long after ejaculation in animals; however, the cellular mechanisms remain unclear. Sperm cells are maintained in the female sperm storage organ, the spermatheca, which supplies a suitable environment for sperm cells. To reveal the molecular basis of the long-term sperm storage mechanisms in ant queens, protein profiles enriched in the spermathecal fluid relative to the hemolymph were identified inLasius japonicususing mass spectrometry-based proteomics. Proteins related to the extracellular matrix, antioxidant, metabolic pathways, proteases, and with uncharacterized functions were enriched in the spermathecal fluid relative to the hemolymph. These enriched proteins were shared with highly expressed genes previously detected by transcriptome analyses of the spermatheca in queens ofCrematogaster osakensisbelonging to a different subfamily thanL. japonicus. It is considered that the ability for long-term sperm storage has evolved in the early ant lineage; therefore, the common proteins identified in the two ant species are crucial for this ability.
The fine-scale recombination rate variation and associations with genomic features in a butterfly
Authors: i Torres Aleix Palahí , Höök Lars , Näsvall Karin , Shipilina Daria , Wiklund Christer , Vila Roger , Pruisscher Peter , Backström Niclas
Published: November 2022

Genetic recombination is a key molecular mechanism that has profound implications on both micro- and macro-evolutionary processes. However, the determinants of recombination rate variation in holocentric organisms are poorly understood, in particular in Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). The wood white butterfly (Leptidea sinapis) shows considerable intraspecific variation in chromosome numbers and is a suitable system for studying regional recombination rate variation and its potential molecular underpinnings. Here, we developed a large wholegenome resequencing data set from a population of wood whites to obtain high-resolution recombination maps using linkage disequilibrium information. The analyses revealed that larger chromosomes had a bimodal recombination landscape, potentially due to interference between simultaneous chiasmata. The recombination rate was significantly lower in subtelomeric regions, with exceptions associated with segregating chromosome rearrangements, showing that fissions and fusions can have considerable effects on the recombination landscape. There was no association between the inferred recombination rate and base composition, supporting a negligible influence of GC-biased gene conversion in butterflies. We found significant but variable associations between the recombination rate and the density of different classes of transposable elements (TEs), most notably a significant enrichment of SINEs in genomic regions with higher recombination rate. Finally, the analyses unveiled significant enrichment of genes involved in farnesyltranstransferase activity in recombination cold-spots, potentially indicating that expression of transferases can inhibit formation of chiasmata during meiotic division. Our results provide novel information about recombination rate variation in holocentric organisms and has particular implications for forthcoming research in population genetics, molecular/genome evolution and speciation.
Consensus design and engineering of an efficient and high-yield Peptide Asparaginyl Ligase
Authors: Hemu Xinya , Zhang Xiaohong , Chang Hong Yi , En Poh Jin , Tam James P.
Published: November 2022

Plant legumains are Asn/Asp-specific endopeptidases (AEPs) that have diverse functions in plants. Peptide asparaginyl ligases (PALs) are a special legumain subtype that primarily catalyze peptide bond formation rather than hydrolysis. PALs are versatile protein engineering tools but are rarely found in nature. To overcome this limitation, here we describe a two-step method to design and engineer a high-yield and efficient recombinant PAL based on commonly found AEPs. We first constructed a consensus sequence derived from 1,500 plant legumains to design the evolutionarily stable legumain conLEG that could be produced inE. coliwith 20-fold higher yield relative to that for natural legumains. We then applied the LAD (ligase-activity determinant) hypothesis to exploit conserved residues in PAL substrate-binding pockets and convert conLEG into conPAL1-3. Functional studies showed that conLEG is primarily a hydrolase, whereas conPALs are ligases. Importantly, conPAL3 is a super-efficient and broadly active PAL for peptide and protein cyclization.
Minor variations in multicellular life cycles have major effects on adaptation
Authors: Isaksson Hanna , Brännström Åke , Libby Eric
Published: November 2022

Multicellularity has evolved several independent times over the past hundreds of millions of years and given rise to a wide diversity of complex life. Recent studies have found that large differences in the fundamental structure of early multicellular life cycles can affect fitness and influence multicellular adaptation. Yet, there is an underlying assumption that at some scale or categorization multicellular life cycles are similar in terms of their adaptive potential. Here, we consider this possibility by exploring adaptation in a class of simple multicellular life cycles of filamentous organisms that only differ in one respect, how many daughter filaments are produced. We use mathematical models and evolutionary simulations to show that despite the similarities, qualitatively different mutations fix. In particular, we find that mutations with a tradeoff between cell growth and group survival, i.e. “selfish” or “altruistic” traits, spread differently. Specifically, altruistic mutations more readily spread in life cycles that produce few daughters while in life cycles producing many daughters either type of mutation can spread depending on the environment. Our results show that subtle changes in multicellular life cycles can fundamentally alter adaptation.

Author summary

Early forms of multicellular organisms exhibit a wide range of life cycles. Though studies have explored how the structure of a life cycle determines the fitness of early multicellular organisms, far less is known about how it affects their adaptation. Studies that do investigate adaptation typically focus on large scale differences between life cycles, implicitly assuming that at some scale life cycles are similar in terms of their adaptation. In this study we consider this assumption by analyzing adaptation in a class of early multicellular life cycles where the only difference between them is the number of offspring they produce. We use mathematical models and evolutionary simulations to compute the fate of mutations that are either altruistic or selfish, depending on their effects on single cells and the groups to which they belong. We find that despite the similarity between life cycles they can adapt very differently. In particular, life cycles that produce few offspring consistently adapt via altruistic traits, while life cycles that produce many offspring adapt via either altruistic or selfish traits depending on the environment. Ultimately, we find that small scale differences in multicellular life cycles can have large effects on adaptation.
Cellpanelr: identify predictive biomarkers from cell line panel response data
Authors: Wassarman Douglas R. , Wu Taiasean , Shokat Kevan M.
Published: November 2022

Cellpanelr is an open-source R package and web application for analyzing user-generated cell panel screens using DepMap data sets. Cellpanelr can be used to identify mutation and expression biomarkers of cell line response, increasing the value and accessibility of cell panel experiments such as relative sensitivities to cancer drugs.

Availability and implementation

Hosted web application is available from shinyapps.io (https://dwassarman.shinyapps.io/cellpanelr). Source code and installation instructions are available from GitHub (https://github.com/dwassarman/cellpanelr).

Contact

dwassar@gmail.com
Towards universal synthetic heterotrophy using a metabolic coordinator
Authors: Sullivan Sean F. , Shetty Anuj , Bharadwaj Tharun , Krishna Naveen , Trivedi Vikas D. , Gopinarayanan Venkatesh Endalur , Chappell Todd C. , Sellers Daniel M. , Kumar R. Pravin , Nair Nikhil U.
Published: November 2022

Engineering the utilization of non-native substrates, or synthetic heterotrophy, in proven industrial microbes such asSaccharomyces cerevisiaerepresents an opportunity to valorize plentiful and renewable sources of carbon and energy as potential inputs to biotechnological processes. We previously demonstrated that activation of the galactose (GAL) regulon, a regulatory structure used by this yeast to coordinate substrate utilization with biomass formation during growth on galactose, during growth on the non-native substrate xylose results in a vastly altered gene expression profile and faster growth compared with constitutive overexpression of the same heterologous catabolic pathway. However, this effort involved the creation of a xylose-inducible variant of Gal3p (Gal3pS25144.1), the sensor protein of the GAL regulon, preventing this semi-synthetic regulon approach from being easily adapted to additional non-native substrates. Here, we report the construction of a variant Gal3pMC (metabolic coordinator) that exhibits robust GAL regulon activation in the presence of structurally diverse substrates and recapitulates the dynamics of the native system. Multiple molecular modeling studies confirm that Gal3pMCoccupies conformational states corresponding to galactose-bound Gal3p in an inducer-independent manner. Using Gal3pMCto test a regulon approach to the assimilation of the non-native lignocellulosic sugars xylose, arabinose, and cellobiose yields higher growth rates and final cell densities when compared with a constitutive overexpression of the same set of catabolic genes. The subsequent demonstration of rapid and complete co-utilization of all three non-native substrates suggests that Gal3pMC-mediated dynamic global gene expression changes by GAL regulon activation may be universally beneficial for engineering synthetic heterotrophy.
TheBRCA1isoform, BRCA1-IRIS, operates independently of the full-length BRCA1 in the Fanconi anemia pathway
Authors: Li Andrew G. , Chan Brenda C. , Murphy Elizabeth C. , He Ye , Ors Muhammed , Kong Qing , Cantor Sharon B. , Brugge Joan S. , Brown Myles , Livingston David M.
Published: November 2022

The tumor suppressorBRCA1encodes multiple protein products including the canonical BRCA1-p220 (p220), which plays important roles in repair of diverse types of DNA damage. However, contributions of otherBRCA1-encoded protein isoforms to DNA damage repair are less clear. Here, we report that the BRCA1-IRIS (IRIS) isoform has critical functions in the Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway and in repair of DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs). Loss of IRIS expression sensitizes cells to ICLs and impairs ICL repair. ICL formation stimulates association of IRIS with both FANCD2 and the FA core complex, which promotes FANCD2 recruitment to damage sites. The unique,BRCA1intron 11-encoded C-terminal tail of IRIS is required for complex formation with FANCD2 and for ICL-inducible FANCD2 mono-ubiquitylation. Collectively, our findings reveal that IRIS plays an essential role, upstream of the p220-directed HR, in the FA pathway through a previously unrecognized mechanism that depends on the IRIS-FANCA-FANCD2 interaction.

Highlights

BRCA1splicing isoform BRCA1-IRIS is required for interstrand crosslink (ICL) repair.

BRCA1-IRIS interacts with FANCD2 and promotes its recruitment to sites of ICL damage.

BRCA1-IRIS, but not BRCA1-p220, promotes ICL-inducible FANCD2 mono-ubiquitylation.

The unique C-terminal tail of BRCA1-IRIS is essential for its function in ICL repair.
Combining Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation with Antidepressants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Rakesh Gopalkumar , Cordero Patrick , Khanal Rebika , Himelhoch Seth S. , Rush Craig R.
Published: November 2022

Major depressive disorder (MDD) imposes significant disability on patients. In addition to antidepressants, brain stimulation modalities such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have been helpful in treatment of MDD. Novel TMS paradigms like theta burst stimulation (TBS) have rapidly become popular due to their effectiveness.

Given that both antidepressants and TMS are commonly used together and affect neuroplasticity, we reviewed studies that administered both these as treatments for MDD. Unlike ECT wherein previous trials have shown that continuing pharmacotherapy is useful while giving ECT, there are no consensus guidelines on what to do with antidepressants when starting TMS. So, we reviewed two groups of studies – 1) those that administered TMS and antidepressant pharmacotherapy concurrently and 2) those wherein TMS augmented antidepressants or were an adjunctive intervention to antidepressants. We performed a meta-analysis for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that administered TMS and antidepressants concurrently.

We found ten RCTs fulfilling criteria 1 and compared uniformly titrated antidepressant regimens combined with active versus sham TMS. We also found twenty studies fulfilling criterion 2, that used TMS as an augmenting or adjunctive intervention. Both groups of studies showed TMS combined with antidepressants had greater efficacy for treatment of MDD. We advocate for laboratory studies examining the interaction between TMS and antidepressants in a parametric fashion; in addition to randomized controlled trials that examine this combination to expedite remission in MDD.
Awake hippocampal replay is not required for short-term memory
Authors: Deceuninck Lies , Kloosterman Fabian
Published: November 2022

Short-term memory (STM) on a time scale of seconds to minutes is required to successfully perform day-to-day tasks, for example when engaging in a meaningful conversation. Previous studies in both rodents and primates have correlated hippocampal cellular activity and behavioural expression of STM. This research has led to models describing the putative neural mechanism in the hippocampus that mediate STM. In these models, a key role has been given to hippocampal replay – reactivation of neurons representing a trajectory through space– but definitive causal evidence that can challenge or confirm the model is missing.

In this study, we aimed to address the uncertainty around the role of awake replay in STM by collecting direct causal evidence from behaving rats. Signatures of replay events were detected in the hippocampus and disrupted using electrical stimulation of the ventral hippocampal commissure in rats that were trained on three different spatial memory tasks in a multi-arm radial maze. All tasks required memory of the recent past, but varied in the time scale over which information needed to be retained: (1) a multiple trial match-to sample task, (2) a single trial non-match to sample task and (3) a spatial sequence memory paradigm.

Rats readily learned the task rules, but disruption of awake replay did not affect task performance or other behavioral measures in any of the task. Altogether, our results show for the first time with definitive causal evidence that awake replay is not required for STM of events or of their temporal order.
Neurons alter endoplasmic reticulum exit sites to accommodate dendritic arbor size
Authors: Land Ruben , Fetter Richard , Liang Xing , Tzeng Christopher P. , Taylor Caitlin , Shen Kang
Published: November 2022

Nervous systems exhibit dramatic diversity in cell morphology and size. How neurons regulate their biosynthetic and secretory machinery to support such diversity is not well understood. Endoplasmic reticulum exit sites (ERESs) are essential for maintaining secretory flux, and are required for normal dendrite development, but how neurons of different size regulate secretory capacity remains unknown. InC. elegans, wefind that the ERES number is strongly correlated with the size of a neuron’s dendritic arbor. The elaborately branched sensory neuron, PVD, has especially high ERES numbers. Asymmetric cell division provides PVD with a large initial cell size critical for rapid establishment of PVD’s high ERES number before neurite outgrowth, and these ERESs are maintained throughout development. Maintenance of ERES number requires the cell fate transcription factor MEC-3,C. elegansTOR (ceTOR/let-363), and nutrient availability, withmec-3andceTOR/let-363mutant PVDs both displaying reductions in ERES number, soma size, and dendrite size. Notably,mec-3mutant animals exhibit reduced expression of aceTOR/let-363reporter in PVD, and starvation reduces ERES number and somato-dendritic size in a manner genetically redundant withceTOR/let-363perturbation. Our data suggest that both asymmetric cell division and nutrient sensing pathways regulate secretory capacities to support elaborate dendritic arbors.
Hybrid height and slope figuring method for grazing-incidence reflective optics
Authors: Wang Tianyi , Huang Lei , Ke Xiaolong , Zhu Yi , Choi Heejoo , Pullen Weslin , Negi Vipender , Kim Daewook , Idir Mourad
Published: November 2022

Grazing-incidence reflective optics are commonly used in synchrotron radiation and free-electron laser facilities to transport and focus the emitted X-ray beams. To preserve the imaging capability at the diffraction limit, the fabrication of these optics requires precise control of both the residual height and slope errors. However, all the surface figuring methods are height based, lacking the explicit control of surface slopes. Although our preliminary work demonstrated a one-dimensional (1D) slope-based figuring model, its 2D extension is not straightforward. In this study, a novel 2D slope-based figuring method is proposed, which employs an alternating objective optimization on the slopes in the x- and y-directions directly. An analytical simulation revealed that the slope-based method achieved smaller residual slope errors than the height-based method, while the height-based method achieved smaller residual height errors than the slope-based method. Therefore, a hybrid height and slope figuring method was proposed to further enable explicit control of both the height and slopes according to the final mirror specifications. An experiment to finish an elliptical-cylindrical mirror using the hybrid method with ion beam figuring was then performed. Both the residual height and slope errors converged below the specified threshold values, which verified the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed ideas.
Corrosion behavior of 316L SS under cavitation condition in simulated seawater
Authors: Yuan Quan , Li Ning , Li Yujie , Hao Junhua
Published: November 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the corrosion behavior of 316L stainless steel under cavitation condition in simulated seawater.

Design/methodology/approach

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and electrochemical noise analyses are used to characterize the electrochemical process during the cavitation erosion process.

Findings

Because of good corrosion resistance of this material, mechanical damage is the main cause of cavitation erosion. The alloy surface is in active dissolution state during the cavitation erosion process, and the corrosion rate is accelerated as time prolongs which is verified by electrochemical results.

Originality/value

Electrochemical noise is an effective way to study the corrosion under cavitation erosion process.
Investigating the determents of intelligent construction contract adoption: a refinement of the technology readiness index to inform an integrated technology acceptance model
Authors: McNamara Alan J. , Shirowzhan Sara , M.E. Sepasgozar Samad
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to identify the relevant contributing constructs of readiness for the implementation of intelligent contracts (iContracts) in the construction industry. This study investigates the relationship between the personality dimensions of technology readiness index (TRI) and the system specific factors of technology acceptance model (TAM) within the context of iContracts.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing insights from the extant literature and the author's previous qualitative investigations into iContract readiness constructs, a quantitative approach is used to operationalise the constructs by offering relevant statements to be measured and validated through a multiple-item scale against the users intent to accept the future iContract technology.

Findings

This study confirms and validates the relationship of the proposed iContract readiness index (iCRI) statements against the established TAM factors by offering 18 new constructs influencing technology readiness of the iContract technology. This study proves 9 of the 12 hypotheses highlighting key factors to be addressed for the successful development of the iContract technology.

Practical implications

This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by proposing a novel iCRI that informs an iContract technology readiness acceptance model (iCTRAM) for a trending technology. The iCTRAM can guide developers in producing an appropriate iContract solution and assess the readiness of users and organisations for the successful adoption of the iContract concept.

Originality/value

This study offers a unique theoretical framework, in an embryonic field, for predicting the success of iContract implementation within construction organisations. This study combines the established studies of TRI and TAM in producing a predictive iContract readiness assessment tool.
Positive affect as a resource and the mediating role of mindfulness on employees during times of disruption
Authors: Lawrence Eleanor , Cadet-Laborde Fabienne , Weisfeld-Spolter Suri , Yurova Yuliya , Tworoger Leslie
Published: November 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of employee state of mind through the lens of Conservation of Resources Theory, emphasizing the importance of mindfulness for employee productivity.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey consisting of previously validated instruments was administered to alumni of an MBA program, with 321 responses received from fully employed participants. The relationships among constructs were tested using partial least squares path modeling.

Findings

The effect of Work–Life Integration on Perceived Productivity in both groups of employees is fully mediated by Work Mindfulness. Interestingly, perceived Productivity of “negatively-minded” employees was driven by support and resources provided by their employers, but “positively-minded” employees did not require such support to boost their productivity.

Originality/value

Mindfulness has the potential to be beneficial in the workplace during periods of stress. Our results found that state of mind of individuals is an important construct to identify, particularly for those experiencing negative affect. For both groups, mindfulness mediated the results, suggesting actively incorporating mindfulness practices and training could be beneficial particularly for those with low levels of positive affect.
Examining teachers’ satisfaction with the new normal in a disruptive online hospitality, travel, and tourism education system
Authors: Chakraborty Tanusree , Bhandari Harveen , Mittal Amit
Published: November 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of teachers’ performance expectancy, teachers’ effort expectancy, teachers’ performance anxiety, teachers’ engagement, perceived student engagement, teachers’ digital competence, teachers’ normalization ease and perceived organizational support as predictors of teachers’ satisfaction with online teaching-learning, especially during a pandemic in the context of hospitality, tourism and travel education.

Design/methodology/approach

Conceptually, this study is grounded in the normalization process theory and examines teachers’ satisfaction by applying the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model. To test the proposed model, 374 complete survey forms were received for data analysis from teachers engaged with higher education institutes offering courses in the field of hospitality, travel and tourism. Minor modifications were made to the survey instrument based on inputs received after a pilot study.

Findings

The model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Of the eight constructs predicting teachers’ satisfaction in the online teaching-learning environment, two constructs, that is, teachers’ effort expectancy and teachers’ digital competence, were found to have an insignificant relationship. This finding hints at the emergence of a “new normal.”

Practical implications

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 study further extends the unified theory of acceptance and integrates it with the normalization process theory to test and validate the model in the unique context of hospitality education which is considered to be highly practice oriented.

Originality/value

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled educational institutions to shift to online learning modes. This is unprecedented for students and teachers of hospitality, travel and tourism, especially in a developing country like India, and it has brought with it a new set of challenges and opportunities. With the extension of the pandemic-induced lockdown in educational institutions, teachers – and other stakeholders – must adapt to this new normal of reliance on remote education.
Influence mechanism of technological innovation of electric power industry on carbon emission reduction in China
Authors: Yang Ming , Wang Duoxiang , Chen Xiaofeng , Lei Xiaomiao , Cao Linxiang
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This study aims to analyse the scientific relationship between technological innovation and carbon emissions. Taking the Chinese electric power industry as the empirical research object, this study examined the effect of power technological innovation on carbon emissions and proposed policy recommendations for the development of technological innovation in China.

Design/methodology/approach

This study first calculated the energy consumption and carbon emission level of the Chinese electric power industry from 2005 to 2018. Secondly, this study built an evaluation index system for technological innovation of electric power with six indicators: average utilisation hours of power generation equipment; power consumption rate of power plant; line loss rate; standard coal consumption for power generation; standard coal consumption for power supply; and number of patent applications granted for generation, conversion or distribution of electric power in China. Finally, from a practical point of view, the relationship between technological innovation and carbon emissions of the Chinese electric power industry from 2005 to 2018 is evaluated and analysed.

Findings

Power technology innovation has been found to have a long-term and relatively large effect on carbon emissions, and carbon emissions have a short-term and insignificant impact on power technology innovation.

Research limitations/implications

This study puts forward relevant suggestions for developing technological innovation and technology transfer, which is essential to establishing a low-carbon or zero-carbon power system in China.

Practical implications

This study provides empirical evidence for clarifying the relationship between technological innovation and carbon emissions in the power industry and further develops research theories on technological innovation and carbon emissions.

Social implications

Relevant authorities will adopt measures to promote technological innovation and development in the power sector to reduce carbon emissions.

Originality/value

This study built an evaluation index system with six indicators for technological innovation of electric power. The evaluation method was used to measure the technological innovation level of the Chinese electric power industry. The causal link between technological innovation and carbon emissions in China was analysed.
How does ethical climate enhance work–family enrichment? Insights from psychological attachment, psychological capital and job autonomy in the restaurant industry
Authors: Lim Weng Marc , Cabral Clement , Malik Nishtha , Gupta Sahil
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This study aims to propose a conceptual model that examines the role of ethical climate on work–family enrichment in the restaurant industry, which is one of the most vulnerable sectors affected by global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The mediating effects of psychological attachment and psychological capital and the moderating effects of job autonomy were also investigated to enrich understanding of ethical climate and work–family enrichment.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual model was evaluated by using a quantitative–qualitative mixed-methods approach. In Study 1, survey data was collected from a sample of 405 restaurant frontline employees and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. In Study 2, interviews were conducted with eight restaurant frontline employees and analyzed thematically. The data for Study 1 and Study 2 was collected from Jharkhand, a state in eastern India.

Findings

The results of Study 1 show a direct relationship between ethical climate and work–family enrichment. The mediating effect of psychological attachment and psychological capital on that direct relationship was also established, whereas job autonomy was found to be a significant moderator that negatively affects psychological attachment and work–family enrichment. The qualitative insights in Study 2 shed additional light on the rationales of the effects observed in Study 1 through the voices of restaurant frontline employees whilst triangulating the quantitative findings in Study 1.

Research limitations/implications

This research contributes novel insights that explain how ethical climate positively shapes work–family enrichment through the lens of psychological attachment and psychological capital, albeit cautiously, given the negative effect of job autonomy. Nevertheless, this research remains limited to restaurant frontline employees, thereby necessitating future research in other service industries to improve the generalizability of its findings.

Originality/value

This research offers a seminal extension of the direct effect of ethical climate on work–family enrichment (i.e. the “what”) by theorizing and validating the mediating (i.e. the “why”) and moderating (i.e. the “how”) effects of psychological attachment, psychological capital and job autonomy.
Success factors for the adoption of green lean six sigma in healthcare facility: an ISM-MICMAC study
Authors: Rathi Rajeev , Kaswan Mahender Singh , Antony Jiju , Cross Jennifer , Garza-Reyes Jose Arturo , Furterer Sandra L.
Published: November 2022

Purpose

Green lean six sigma (GLSS) is a sustainable development approach that leads to improved patient care with improved safety and quality of service to patients. This study aims to identify, study, model and analyze GLSS success factors for the Indian health-care facility.

Design/methodology/approach

Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and Impact Matrix Cross-Reference Multiplication Applied to a Classification analyses have been used to understand the hierarchical structure among the GLSS success factors. This enabled the development of dependency relationships between success factors, in particular, which factors support the development of other factors.

Findings

Specifically, this study found that the success factors “commitment of management” and “financial availability” are the most critical to GLSS implementation success, as they support the development of all other success factors. Meanwhile “embedding sustainable measures at each stage of the service”; “the capability and effectiveness of real-time data collection”; and “feedback and corrective actions” most directly support the GLSS implementation in the health-care facility and serve as the final indicators of implementation progress.

Research limitations/implications

The major implication of this research work lies in suggesting a direction for practitioners to execute the GLSS approach through a systematic understanding of classification and structural relationships among different enablers. This study also facilitates health-care managers to explore different GL wastes in hospitals and challenges to sustainability pursuits in health-care that assist in an organization’s efforts toward sustainable development.

Originality/value

This research work is the first of its kind that deals with the identification and analysis of the prominent factors that foster the inclusive implementation of GLSS within the health-care facility.
Project cost performance factors in the war-affected and conflict-sensitive Afghan construction industry
Authors: Kakar Ahmad Shah , Hasan Abid , Jha Kumar Neeraj , Singh Amarjit
Published: November 2022

Purpose

The Afghan construction industry faces resource shortages and heavily relies on foreign aid to fund public projects on the path to recovery and reconstruction. While the resource constraints demand cost-efficient delivery of construction projects, many Afghan public projects experience delays and cost overruns. This study aims to evaluate various attributes and factors influencing cost performance in public construction projects in Afghanistan.

Design/methodology/approach

The literature review and Delphi method identified 30 cost performance attributes relevant to the context of Afghanistan. Next, a questionnaire survey was conducted with construction management professionals working in the public sector in the Afghan construction industry to evaluate these attributes.

Findings

This study found that the lack of resources, poor project management skills and corruption in procurement are the leading causes behind cost overruns in Afghan public projects. This study also identified five latent factors influencing cost performance in public projects in Afghanistan: competency of the project team, socioeconomic and political support, governance and public procurement, planning and risk management and project characteristics.

Research limitations/implications

The exploratory factor analysis did not reveal the relative significance of different cost performance success factors. Moreover, the ranking of cost performance attributes is based on the responses from the public sector construction professionals only.

Practical implications

The construction industry in Afghanistan significantly contributes to the country’s social and economic growth and employment. This study’s findings will help researchers, project sponsors, government departments and industry practitioners interested in improving the cost performance in Afghan public projects.

Originality/value

Given the scarcity of research in war-affected and conflict-sensitive regions, this study fills a research gap on project cost performance by providing insights into the cost performance success factors in public projects in Afghanistan.
Let Them Eat Peanut Butter! Understanding Obstacles to Women's Embodied Sovereignty Through Peanut‐Based Agriculture and Aid in Haiti
Authors: Jenkins Laura Dudley
Published: November 2022

How did Haiti, where peanuts were once a staple crop often grown, traded, processed and shared by women, reach its contemporary food crisis, when some mothers must feed their children a diet of donated peanut‐based nutritional supplements to keep them alive? Case studies of peanuts as food aid in Haiti reveal the ways neoliberalism and disaster capitalism stymie women's embodied sovereignty. This article uses the concept of embodied sovereignty to build on food sovereignty literature, enabling a sharper focus on the bodies that produce, process, feed and eat food, as well as the historical production of gendered food responsibilities, and the life‐and‐death stakes of sovereign power.
Subculture wars: The struggle for the vape industry
Authors: Thirlway Frances
Published: November 2022

Drawing on a 2‐year study, I argue that the UK vape industry is engaged in a classificatory struggle between a subcultural industry and its “other”, the mainstream industry. I build on Thornton's analysis of club culture to characterize the subcultural vape industry as a community of taste built round a masculine aesthetic and a commitment to authenticity and DIY practice. Its attachment to complex systems and masculine spaces risked excluding customers without specialist knowledge or interest. The mainstream industry included tobacco companies which promoted vaping as a complementary category to smoking, linking their own vaping products to historic meanings of the cigarette as a lifestyle product. This task was hampered by the toxic legacy of combusted tobacco and its increasing reversion to a generic category rather than a branded product. Finally, the success of the price‐focused vaping industry has been largely overlooked, but suggests that for most consumers, electronic cigarettes are still a contrasting category to combusted tobacco and are purchased largely on price. I conclude that the exclusion of a feminized, classed “other” is a defining element of subcultural formation, itself an overwhelmingly male mechanism of group identity construction.
Ankylosing spondylitis occurring in a patient with Behçet disease after chronic brucellosis infection: A case report and review of the literature
Authors: Yilmaz Ebru
Published: November 2022

Behçet disease and ankylosing spondylitis are rarely seen together. This report presents a rare case of ankylosing spondylitis occurring in a patient with Behçet disease after chronic brucellosis infection. Infectious agents have long been considered one of the triggers for autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases. Therefore, rheumatic processes should be kept in mind, especially in treatment‐resistant cases.
The opioid epidemic: A worldwide exploratory study using the WHO pharmacovigilance database
Authors: Robert Marion , Jouanjus Emilie , Khouri Charles , Fouilhé Sam‐Laï Nathalie , Revol Bruno
Published: November 2022

Background and Aims

The current opioid epidemic in the United States began 20 years ago and has become the leading cause of accidental deaths in the country. This crisis prompted us to explore trends in opioid abuse and dependence worldwide. We sought to identify other countries at high‐risk of opioid use disorders, using the World Health Organization's (WHO) pharmacovigilance database.

Methods

We performed a disproportionality analysis using VigiBase, the WHO Global Individual Case Safety Report (ICSR) database. Five opioids used worldwide were included: oxycodone, fentanyl, morphine, tramadol, and codeine. We extracted all ICSRs associated with the drugs of interest, considered as suspect medication and recorded up until 5 June 2021, using the narrow Standardised MedDRA Query (SMQ) for drug abuse and dependence. Countries with at least one ICSR for each of the five opioids were retained. The relationship between the use of a drug (i.e. an opioid) and the occurrence of an adverse drug reaction (i.e. drug abuse and dependence) for each country was assessed by calculating the information component (IC) and its 99.9% CI [IC0005; IC9995], using a quasi‐Bayesian confidence propagation neural network (BCPNN). A hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward's method) of the IC0005 value for each of the five opioids was performed to identify subgroups of countries with similar reported risks of opioid abuse and dependence.

Results

Among 21 countries, the optimal number of clusters was calculated to be four, each with a Jaccard index >0.5 (0.95, 0.78, 0.65 and 0.75, respectively). Six countries with the highest signals of drug abuse and dependence were identified in cluster 1, with significant CIs for the five opioids of interest (IC0005 > 0), ranging from 0.9 to 5.8 for the lower endpoint.

Conclusions

There appear to be four distinct clusters of countries with similar opioid abuse and dependence profiles. The group with the highest reported risk for the opioids oxycodone, fentanyl, morphine, tramadol and codeine includes Australia, Canada, France, Germans, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Morphological features of the Egyptian Ossimi sheep tongue: New scanning electron microscopic insights into its papillary system adaptations to Egyptian ecological conditions
Authors: Abumandour Mohamed M. A. , Morsy Kareem , Elghoul Mahmoud
Published: November 2022

The current study aims to illustrate the gross and scanning electron microscopic characterizations and ultrastructural adaptation of the lingual papillary system of Egyptian Ossimi sheep to Egyptian ecological conditions. The tongue had three regions: the apex (with a slightly bifurcated tip), the body (subdivided into rostral and caudal parts) and the root (subdivided into rostral papillary and caudal non‐papillary parts). Torus linguae had two parts: the triangular rostral part (the caudal part of the body) and the quadrilateral wide part (the rostral part of the root). The lingual papillary system had mechanical (filiform, conical and lentiform) and gustatory (fungiform and circumvallate) types. Filiform papillae were heavily scattered on the dorsal surface of the apex, the rostral part of the body and the ventral surface of the papillary region of the tip. Filiform papillae had five subtypes (ventral and dorsal processed, triangular, leaf‐like and triangular‐processed papillae), while the conical papillae had three subtypes: two lingual (small, large) and one paralingual (elongated pointed), and the fungiform had two subtypes: the high‐density ovoid (on the ventral surface of the tip) and round papillae (on the dorsal surface) that possessed a high number of taste pores, not previously described. They ranged from 5 to 10 for ovoid and 25 to 25 for round papillae. Each circumvallate papilla had an ovoid bulb (with 2–5 taste pores) encircled by an annular groove and two pads (i.e. not described previously). The papillary system's regional divergence was specialized for their harsh and semi‐harsh diet.
“A Man's Lot”: Marriage, Military Service, and the First World War
Authors: Davis Cody
Published: November 2022

The study of personal experiences of British and Australian soldiers during the First World War can be further developed through a discrete analysis of married men's interactions with wartime masculine ideals. This article seeks to provide a preliminary insight into such interactions through the case‐study of two officers serving on the Western Front in 1916 and the correspondence they wrote to their wives throughout their military service. British Lieutenant Max Shaw and Australian Lieutenant Cecil Mills both voluntarily enlisted and served in France in 1916. Once they departed their homes to commence training, they immediately began corresponding with their wives, which can be seen as attempts to mediate a clashing sense of domestic and military loyalties. As these men transitioned from a civilian to a military lifestyle, their lingering domestic identities and the importance of their marriage within their sense of manhood continued to influence their adoption of a military identity.