bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Abortion occurs during double fertilisation and ovule development inPaeonia ludlowii
Authors: Chen Ting-qiao , Xie Meng-yu , Jiang Yu-meng , Yuan Tao
Published: July 2021

Paeonia ludlowii(Stern & G.Taylor) D.Y.Hong, a rare and endangered species, is indigenous to Tibet, China and propagated only by seed. Its natural reproduction is constrained by low fecundity. Excess seed abortion is a key factor restricting its natural reproduction, cultivation, introduction, and protection. In this study, we examined the characteristics of aborted ovules, developmental differences after flowering of normal and aborted ovules, and their ratios at different positions inP. ludlowiiovary. During pollination, fertilisation, and seed development, ovule abortion was frequent, with a random abortion position. There were four types of abortion, namely, abnormal pistil, sterile ovules, abnormal embryo sac, embryo and endosperm abortions. Of these, embryo and endosperm abortions could be divided into early abortion, middle abortion, and late abortion. The early aborted ovules stopped growing on day 12, the endoblast and endosperm in the embryo sac aborted gradually. Furthermore, the shape of the embryo sac cavity changed. The volume of aborted ovules was significantly different from that of fertile ovules. At ripening, the external morphology of different types of aborted seeds was significantly different.

Summary statement

Elucidation of the origin and characteristics of ovule abortion in an endangered Chinese plant species,Paeonia ludlowii.
X-Light: an open-source software written in Python to determine the residual stress by X-ray diffraction
Authors: Pham Tu-Quoc-Sang , Geandier Guillaume , Ratel-Ramond Nicolas , Mareau Charles , Malard Benoit
Published: July 2021

X-Light is an open-source software that is written in Python with a graphical user interface. X-Light was developed to determine residual stress by X-ray diffraction. This software can process the 0D, 1D and 2D diffraction data obtained with laboratory diffractometers or synchrotron radiation. X-Light provides several options for stress analysis and five functions to fit a peak: Gauss, Lorentz, Pearson VII, pseudo-Voigt and Voigt. The residual stress is determined by the conventional sin2ψ method and the fundamental method.
The dynamic network connectedness and hedging strategies across stock markets and commodities: COVID-19 pandemic effect
Authors: Mezghani Taicir , Ben Hamadou Fatma , Boujelbène Abbes Mouna
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate the dynamic network connectedness between stock markets and commodity futures and its implications on hedging strategies. Specifically, the authors studied the impact of the 2014 oil price drop and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on risk spillovers and portfolio allocation among stock markets (United States (SP500), China (SSEC), Japan (Nikkei 225), France (CAC40) and Germany (DAX)) and commodities (oil and gold).

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the authors used the Baba, Engle, Kraft and Kroner–generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (BEKK–GARCH) model to estimate shock transmission among the five financial markets and the two commodities. The authors rely on Diebold and Yılmaz (2014, 2015) methodology to construct network-associated measures.

Findings

Relying on the BEKK–GARCH, the authors found that the recent health crisis of COVID-19 intensified the volatility spillovers among stock markets and commodities. Using the dynamic network connectedness, the authors showed that at the 2014 oil price drop and the COVID-19 pandemic shock, the Nikkei225 moderated the transmission of volatility to the majority of markets. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the commodity markets are a net receiver of volatility shocks from stock markets. In addition, the SP500 stock market dominates the network connectedness dynamic during the COVID-19 pandemic, while DAX index is the weakest risk transmitter. Regarding the portfolio allocation and hedging strategies, the study showed that the oil market is the most vulnerable and risky as it was heavily affected by the two crises. The results show that gold is a hedging tool during turmoil periods.

Originality/value

This study contributes to knowledge in this area by improving our understanding of the influence of fluctuations in oil prices on the dynamics of the volatility connection between stock markets and commodities during the COVID-19 pandemic shock. The study’s findings provide more implications regarding portfolio management and hedging strategies that could help investors optimize their portfolios.
Value creation in mobile social media: a systematic review and agenda for future research
Authors: Ju Xingting , Chocarro Raquel , Martín Martín Oscar
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic review of the current state of research regarding mobile social media use for value creation by firms and customers and an agenda for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a systematic review following three main steps: keyword search, study selection and data extraction. A total of 53 articles were identified using academic databases and manual cross-referencing. By means of a thematic analysis method, the study addresses issues related to theory, methods, context, findings and gaps.

Findings

The study reviews and illustrates 14 value aspects of the mobile social media and value creation literature. The findings indicate that mobile social media are effective tools for firms to create and capture value from customers and for customers to co-create value.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the marketing and social media literature by proposing a conceptual framework that integrates the core components of value creation by firms and customers in the mobile social media context and by proposing an agenda for future research.
Residents’ attitudes toward tourism development at Al-Juhfa, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Algassim Ali Ahmad , Saufi Akhmad , Diswandi Diswandi , Scott Noel
Published: July 2021

Purpose

Al-Juhfa is a small village located near Rabigh City, between Makkah and Madinah, Saudi Arabia, with significant archaeological and religious resources. The purpose of this paper is to examine residents’ attitudes toward tourism development at Al-Juhfa.

Design/methodology/approach

The qualitative study uses purposive interviewing to recruit informants. Data was collected using semi-structured interview and open-ended questions. Eight semi-structured interviews were made and a list of open-ended questions was distributed to 134 informants. All data were analysed and no new codes were found after the answer of the first 49 informants analysed.

Findings

The results show that residents’ attitudes toward tourism development in general were positive with residents expecting to receive economic, social and environmental benefits. Residents were aware of potential positive and negative impacts of tourism development and appeared to balance these in developing their attitudes. Tourism was seen to empower residents and the religiosity of the community influenced their perception of tourism development.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by supporting the use of social exchange theory in this context and by recommending the inclusion of religiosity in further studies.
COVID-19 and health inequality: the nexus of race, income and mortality in New York City
Authors: Khayat Farzaneh , Teron Lemir , Rasoulyan Farzin
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate socioeconomic factors related to COVID-19 mortality rates in New York City (NYC) to understand the connections between socioeconomic variables, including race and income and the disease.

Design/methodology/approach

Using multivariable negative binomial regression, the association between health and mortality disparities related to COVID-19 and socioeconomic conditions is evaluated. The authors obtained ZIP code-level data from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the US Census Bureau.

Findings

This study concludes that the mortality rate rises in areas with a higher proportion of Hispanic and Black residents, whereas areas with higher income rates had lower mortality associated with COVID-19, among over 18,000 confirmed deaths in NYC.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the impacts of social, racial and wealth disparities in mortality rates. It brings to focus the importance of targeted policies regarding these disparities to alleviate health inequality among marginalized communities and to reduce disease mortality.
Enhancement of network coding in wireless sensor network using improved lion algorithm: intention toward maximizing network throughput and lifetime
Authors: Dike Prashant R. , Vishwanath T.S. , Rohakale Vandana
Published: July 2021

Purpose

Since communication usually accounts as the foremost problem for power consumption, there are some approaches, such as topology control and network coding (NC), for diminishing the activity of sensors’ transceivers. If such approaches are employed simultaneously, then the overall performance does raise as expected. In a wireless sensor network (WSN), the linear NC has been shown to enhance the performance of network throughput and reduce delay. However, the NC condition of existing NC-aware routings may experience the issue of false-coding effect in some scenarios and usually neglect node energy, which highly affects the energy efficiency performance. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new NC scheduling in a WSN with the intention of maximizing the throughput and minimizing the energy consumption of the network.

Design/methodology/approach

The improved meta-heuristic algorithm called the improved mutation-based lion algorithm (IM-LA) is used to solve the problem of NC scheduling in a WSN. The main intention of implementing improved optimization is to maximize the throughput and minimize the energy consumption of the network during the transmission from the source to the destination node. The parameters like topology and time slots are taken for optimizing in order to obtain the concerned objective function. While solving the current optimization problem, it has considered a few constraints like timeshare constraint, data-flow constraint and domain constraint. Thus, the network performance is proved to be enhanced by the proposed model when compared to the conventional model.

Findings

When 20 nodes are fixed for the convergence analysis, performed in terms of multi-objective function, it is noted that during the 400th iteration, the proposed IM-LA was 10.34, 13.91 and 50% better than gray wolf algorithm (GWO), firefly algorithm (FF) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), respectively, and same as LA. Therefore, it is concluded that the proposed IM-LA performs extremely better than other conventional methods in minimizing the cost function, and hence, the optimal scheduling of nodes in a WSN in terms of the multi-objective function, i.e. minimizing energy consumption and maximizing throughput using NC has been successfully done.

Originality/value

This paper adopts the latest optimization algorithm called IM-LA, which is used to solve the problem of network coding scheduling in a WSN. This is the first work that utilizes IM-LA for optimal network coding in a WSN.
Executive directors' pay-performance link and board diversity: evidence from high free cash flow and low-growth firms
Authors: Tee Chwee Ming
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine whether board diversity can attenuate weaker executive directors' pay-performance link in high free cash flow and low-growth firms (HFCF_LGRW).

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed the Malaysian dataset from 2005 till 2016 and the fixed-effect model to investigate the developed hypotheses. The two-stage least squares method (2SLS) is employed to mitigate endogeneity issues.

Findings

This study finds that a positive association between executive directors' pay and firm performance is weaker in HFCF_LGRW firms. However, board diversity, namely ethnic and gender diversity, can mitigate weaker executive directors' pay-performance link, indicating effective monitoring.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to reveal that executive directors' pay-performance link is weaker in firms with HFCF_LGRW growth, consistent with Jensen's (1986) free cash flow hypothesis. However, findings suggest that this agency problem in HFCF_LGRW firms is attenuated by board diversity, namely ethnic and gender diversity. This supports the notion that diversity in corporate boards serves as an effective internal monitor.
Measuring tourist behavioral intentions after the first outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Prima facie evidence from the Greek market
Authors: Poulaki Ioulia , Nikas Ioannis A.
Published: July 2021

Purpose

COVID-19 pandemic crisis has led the scientific community in continuous efforts to estimate its impact on tourism. UNWTO predictions indicated a decline in international tourist arrivals and the respective loss in revenues generated by tourist activity for the first year of the pandemic. Undoubtedly, such an impact may not be the same for every country, especially on a domestic level. In fact, the recovery process upon COVID-19 suggests domestic tourism as the driving force. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the tourist behavioral intentions after the first outbreak of COVID-19 with evidence from the Greek market.

Design/methodology/approach

A primary survey with questionnaires distributed via online channels (email and social media) has been undertaken to focus on the travelers’ preferences when it comes to the main parts that compose the holiday travel (destination, transport mode, accommodation type). Additionally, there were questions regard to their perceptions on the international norms of health protection against the virus.

Findings

The results of the survey illustrate some prima facie evidence of tourist behavioral intentions of Greeks, upon a statistical analysis, which indicates preference in domestic tourism and personalized services, issues related with travel costs and health safety awareness, toward tourism recovery process and customers’ reengagement and trust to the tourism businesses and destinations.

Originality/value

As Greece is a popular destination that includes a plethora of tourism cities, this paper illustrates the intentions of Greeks toward tourism activity upon pandemic crisis, when it comes to their travel preferences, as well as their perceptions on health and safety protocols applied in destinations and tourism businesses.
Does social media usage evoke employees' spirituality? A cross-level moderation model of inclusive leadership
Authors: Zhou Fei , Mou Jian
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of social media usage (SMU) and relational energy on employees' workplace spirituality within an organization from a psychological perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

This study proposes a research model based on self-determination theory. This research model was tested using a cross-level hierarchical regression analysis. Data were collected from 276 knowledge workers on 39 teams in 37 enterprises in China.

Findings

SMU has a significant positive impact on employees' relational energy and workplace spirituality. Relational energy partially mediates the relationships of cognitive usage and social usage of social media with workplace spirituality and fully mediates the relationship between hedonic usage of social media and workplace spirituality. Inclusive leadership positively affects workplace spirituality and acts as a negative cross-level moderating variable on the relationship between hedonic usage and workplace spirituality.

Practical implications

This work suggested that with appropriate SMU implications, enterprises might be able to integrate spirituality into human resource management practices to improve employees' meaningful life experiences within organizations.

Originality/value

The authors’ findings not only help to theoretically clarify the relationship between SMU and workplace spirituality but also enrich the relevant research on SMU in enterprises to improve employees' spiritual life within the organization.
Information technology exports and India's macro-economic indicators
Authors: Malik Manzoor Hassan
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to make a descriptive exploratory effort to discern the role of IT exports in India's macro-economic indicators, like national income, employment and balance of payment in the post-Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization strategy in the 1990s. The paper also explores the vital historical developments of various dimensions of IT, such as its export growth, major software and services exports destinations, compositions of IT exports and domestic growth in India.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on secondary data, which were collected from Balance of Payment Statistics Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy, National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM),rtd and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY). This study has used descriptive analysis and growth models for studying the objectives. Major IT sector dimensions, such as total output, exports revenue, domestic revenue, gross domestic product, employment and exports of the software and service industry, have been examined for the period 1991–2016.

Findings

The findings suggest that over the last 26 years, the information technology industry's economic footprint has extended by more than seven times. Over the same period, direct employment in the information technology sector increased at an average growth rate of around 17%. Software and services exports earn, on average, about three times greater than the other three major services of India's current account of the balance of payment.

Originality/value

This study focuses on originality in examining the role of IT exports in India's macro-economic indicators economic reforms of the 1990s and also explores the historical developments of various dimensions of IT exports and domestic growth in India. All the work has been done in original by the authors, and the work used has been acknowledged properly.
Paternity leave: stepchild of family-friendly policies moderating role of traditional masculinity ideology
Authors: Maheshwari Bhawana , Pandey Jatin , Billore Aditya
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the importance and influence of paternity leave on individual level organizational outcomes. Drawing on signaling theory, the study examines the relationship between paid paternity leave entitlement (PPLE) and organizational attractiveness (OA) through a mediating path of anticipated organizational support (AOS). Furthermore, the study proposes that this mediated relationship would be conditional on traditional masculinity ideology (TMI) such that the relationship would be stronger for individuals who score low on TMI.

Design/methodology/approach

The study analyzed a moderated mediation model using the data from a survey experiment. Data were collected from 264 professionals enrolled in an executive education course and will soon be looking for employment.

Findings

The findings supported the mediating role of AOS between PPLE and OA. As predicted, the positive impact of PPLE on AOS and OA is stronger for individuals scoring low on TMI.

Originality/value

This study takes a multidisciplinary approach to understand the underlying mechanisms that impact decisions related to employers. It is one of the few studies that study paternity leave in the Indian context and makes important contributions to theory and practice.
Analysis of price bundling and framing: the impact of availability and discount messaging
Authors: Won Misun , Shapiro Stephen L.
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine consumer behaviors toward a bundle of tickets and lodging using two different message framing: (1) scarcity framing for a high demand event, the All-Star Game, and (2) discount framing for a lower demand event, an MLB mid-week game.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through two online surveys of 836 sport consumers in total on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and were analyzed using a mix of analysis of variances (ANOVAs) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

Findings

Consumers are likely to buy products separately in a scarce situation. When discounts are offered as benefits of choosing a bundle, consumers with high willingness to pay (WTP) have higher purchase intentions (PI) and perceived value toward cumulative discounts.

Originality/value

This is the one of few studies that investigate (1) price bundling of products from two disparate industries where consumer demands fluctuate, (2) the effects of scarcity in a bundle, and (3) all possible discount messaging in a bundle.
Investigation of mechanical properties and tribological performance of Al-LSP and Al-Al2O3 composite
Authors: Dharmana Lokanadham , Kambagowni Venkata Subbaiah
Published: July 2021

Purpose

This study aims to develop the Al-Si-Mg metal matrix composite, reinforced distinctly with lime stone powder (LSP; 12% by weight) and Al2O3 (12% by weight), and compare their mechanical properties and tribological performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The composites are fabricated through stir casting process. In view of the previous work, the Al-LSP composite with LSP reinforcement (12 Wt.%) shows enhanced mechanical properties and tribological performance, as compared with other weight percentages.

Findings

Though the Al-LSP composite is less expensive, it shows similar hardness, tensile strength and specific strength, when compared with Al- Al2O3 composite. However, the Al-LSP composite exhibits significant enhancement of above three properties, when compared with Al-Si-Mg metal. The systematic factorial design of experiments is obtained through Taguchi OA [L9]. The tribological performance is estimated through wear rate (WR-mm3/m) and coefficient of friction (CF) by varying the operating parameters of sliding distance (SD), load (L) and sliding velocity (SV). According to ANOVA results, the optimal condition of WR for all the tested materials is L1SD3SV1. Further, the optimal condition of CF is L1SD1SV3 for Al-LSP and Al-Si-Mg metal, while L2SD3SV2 is for Al-Al2O3 composite. The regression equation predicts the measured experimental values within error band of ± 8 percentage.

Originality/value

A comparison of two composite materials (Al-LSP and Al-Al2O3) with same weight fractions (12%) shows almost same trend in both the mechanical and tribological testing process. However, the developed Al-LSP composite exhibited better properties than the Al-Al2O3 and Al-base. Therefore, Al-LSP can be suggested for automotive applications (i.e., connecting rod, cylinder liners, camshaft) and structural applications (such as frames, over hanging supports), without compromising in desirable original with properties of constituents in the new material, which is achievable for looking to the end uses.
Validation of serum apolipoprotein A1 in rabies virus‐infected mice as a biomarker for the preclinical diagnosis of rabies
Authors: Yamada Kentaro , Kuribayashi Koji , Inomata Naotaka , Noguchi Kazuko , Kimitsuki Kazunori , Demetria Catalino S. , Saito Nobuo , Inoue Satoshi , Park Chun‐Ho , Kaimori Ryo , Suzuki Motoi , Saito‐Obata Mariko , Kamiya Yasuhiko , Manalo Daria L. , Quiambao Beatriz P. , Nishizono Akira
Published: July 2021

Rabies is a type of acute fetal encephalitis caused by rabies virus (RABV). While it becomes incurable after symptom onset, it can be prevented by post‐exposure prophylaxis (PEP) during the long incubation period. While preclinical diagnosis aids the appropriate PEP administration, it is mostly nonfeasible owing to the absence of viremia or a specific antibody response during the incubation period. Here, an attempt was made to identify a serum biomarker for the preclinical diagnosis of rabies. Using the serum from a mouse inoculated intramuscularly (i.m.) with 5 × 105 focus‐forming units (FFU) of recombinant RABV expressing red firefly luciferase (1088/RFLuc) immediately before symptom onset, two‐dimensional differential gel electrophoresis was conducted, followed by mass spectrometry, and it was confirmed that apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) was up‐regulated. ELISA showed that the serum ApoA1 and specific antibody levels increased during the incubation period and on the day of symptom onset. Since a lower infectious dose can be used to induce the unstable and long incubation period generally observed in natural infection, the ApoA1 level in mice inoculated i.m. with 103 FFU of 1088/RFLuc was examined by monitoring viral dynamics using in vivo imaging. The serum ApoA1 and specific antibody levels were up‐regulated in 50% and 58.3% of mice exhibiting robust RABV replication, respectively, but not in mice exhibiting weak RABV replication. In addition, it was reported that ApoA1 was found to be a biomarker for neuronal damage. Additional biomarker candidates will be needed for the effective preclinical diagnosis of rabies.
Stop multitasking and just read: meta‐analyses of multitasking's effects on reading performance and reading time
Authors: Clinton‐Lisell Virginia
Published: July 2021

Background

Multitasking while reading is a commonplace activity. Many studies have been conducted examining the effect of multitasking on reading comprehension and times. The purpose of this meta‐analysis is to consolidate the empirical findings on reading comprehension and times in order to understand the overall effect of multitasking on reading. Characteristics of the reading situation, comprehension assessment and the secondary task were examined to determine if they varied the effect of multitasking.

Methods

A systematic search of studies on multitasking and reading was conducted. Only studies that used random assignment and had participants reading independently were included. This screening yielded 22 independent studies (20 reports) that met inclusion criteria, with 20 studies on reading comprehension and 9 studies on reading times. Most of the studies involved adults reading expository texts.

Results

Based on robust variance estimation analyses, multitasking had a negative effect on reading comprehension (g = −0.28, p = .002). The effect was similar after outliers were removed (g = −0.26, p = .001). Based on moderator analyses, this negative effect may only occur when time was limited because the reading pace was controlled by the experimenter (g = −0.54, p < .001) as there was not a reliable effect when reading was self‐paced (g = −0.14, p = .10). Multitasking during reading lead to longer reading times (g = 0.52, p < .001).

Conclusions

Multitasking during reading is detrimental to reading comprehension when time is limited. When readers control their own pace of reading, multitasking lengthens the time for the reading task. Therefore, multitasking while reading is less efficient than focusing attention on the primary task of reading.

Highlights

What is already known about this topic

Multitasking during reading is commonplace.

Human cognitive resources are limited.

Many studies exist on reading while multitasking.

What this paper adds

Overall effect for multitasking on reading comprehension is negative.

Multitasking when reading time is limited is detrimental to comprehension.

Multitasking has a greater negative effect when reading from paper than screens.

Self‐paced reading times are longer when multitasking.

Implications for theory, policy or practice

Multitasking while reading is an inefficient practice.

Students should be encouraged to focus on reading a text.
Effects of lycopene intake on HDL‐cholesterol and triglyceride levels: A systematic review with meta‐analysis
Authors: Inoue Takuro , Yoshida Kazutaka , Sasaki Erika , Aizawa Koichi , Kamioka Hiroharu
Published: July 2021

Lycopene is a lipophilic unsaturated carotenoid and has a very strong singlet oxygen‐quenching ability. Increased serum or plasma lycopene levels have been reported to be associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome. We aimed to investigate the effects of lycopene intake on blood HDL‐cholesterol (HCL‐c) and triglyceride (TG) levels, which are metabolic syndrome biomarkers, by systematic review and meta‐analyses of human interventional trials. We searched 15 databases and included studies that assessed the effects of oral lycopene intake on blood HDL‐c and TG levels of participants ≥18 years of age. Three reviewers independently selected applicable studies, then assessed study qualities. Data were pooled as standardized mean difference (SMD) and analyzed by random‐effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed by I2 statistics. Meta‐analysis including 12 trial arms (n = 781) revealed a significantly increased HDL‐c level in the lycopene group compared with that in the control group (SMD = 0.33 [95% CI: 0.12, 0.54], p = 0.002) and moderate heterogeneity (I2 = 45%). Most subgroup meta‐analyses (restricted to study design, test food type, intake period, and participants’ characteristics) showed similar results for HDL‐c level. On the other hand, meta‐analysis including 11 studies (n = 854) revealed no significant difference in TG level between the lycopene and control groups. Most studies which met eligibility criteria had moderate risk of bias. Funnel plots for HDL‐c and TG suggested an absence of publication bias. In conclusion, this systematic review and meta‐analyses suggested that lycopene intake significantly improved blood HDL‐c levels but not TG levels.
The chromosome‐scale assembly of the Canary Islands endemic spiderDysdera silvatica(Arachnida, Araneae) sheds light on the origin and genome structure of chemoreceptor gene families in chelicerates
Authors: Escuer Paula , Pisarenco Vadim A. , Fernández‐Ruiz Angel A. , Vizueta Joel , Sánchez‐Herrero Jose F. , Arnedo Miquel A. , Sánchez‐Gracia Alejandro , Rozas Julio
Published: July 2021

Here, we present the chromosome‐level genome assembly ofDysdera silvaticaSchmidt, 1981, a nocturnal ground‐dwelling spider endemic from the Canary Islands. The genusDysderahas undergone a remarkable diversification in this archipelago mostly associated with shifts in the level of trophic specialization, becoming an excellent model to study the genomic drivers of adaptive radiations. The new assembly (1.37 Gb; scaffold N50 of 174.2 Mb), was performed using the chromosome conformation capture scaffolding technique, represents a continuity improvement of more than 4500 times with respect to the previous version. The seven largest scaffolds or pseudochromosomes, which cover 87% of the total assembly size, probably correspond with the seven chromosomes of the karyotype of this species, including a characteristic large X chromosome. To illustrate the value of this new resource we performed a comprehensive analysis of the two major arthropod chemoreceptor gene families (i.e., gustatory and ionotropic receptors). We identified 545 chemoreceptor sequences distributed across all pseudochromosomes, with a notable underrepresentation in the X chromosome. At least 54% of them localize in 83 genomic clusters with a significantly lower evolutionary distances between them than the average of the family, suggesting a recent origin of many of them. This chromosome‐level assembly is the first high‐quality genome representative of the Synspermiata clade, and just the third among spiders, representing a new valuable resource to gain insights into the structure and organization of chelicerate genomes, including the role that structural variants, repetitive elements and large gene families played in the extraordinary biology of spiders.
Haploid, diploid, and pooled exome capture recapitulate features of biology and paralogy in two non‐model tree species
Authors: Lind Brandon M. , Lu Mengmeng , Obreht Vidakovic Dragana , Singh Pooja , Booker Tom R. , Aitken Sally N. , Yeaman Sam
Published: July 2021

Despite their suitability for studying evolution, many conifer species have large and repetitive giga‐genomes (16–31 Gbp) that create hurdles to producing high coverage SNP data sets that capture diversity from across the entirety of the genome. Due in part to multiple ancient whole genome duplication events, gene family expansion and subsequent evolution within Pinaceae, false diversity from the misalignment of paralog copies creates further challenges in accurately and reproducibly inferring evolutionary history from sequence data. Here, we leverage the cost‐saving benefits of pool‐seq and exome‐capture to discover SNPs in two conifer species, Douglas‐fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii (Mirb.) Franco, Pinaceae) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb., Pinaceae). We show, using minimal baseline filtering, that allele frequencies estimated from pooled individuals show a strong, positive correlation with those estimated by sequencing the same population as individuals (r > .948), on par with such comparisons made in model organisms. Further, we highlight the utility of haploid megagametophyte tissue for identifying sites that are probably due to misaligned paralogs. Together with additional minor filtering, we show that it is possible to remove many of the loci with large frequency estimate discrepancies between individual and pooled sequencing approaches, improving the correlation further (r > .973). Our work addresses bioinformatic challenges in non‐model organisms with large and complex genomes, highlights the use of megagametophyte tissue for the identification of paralogous artefacts, and suggests the combination of pool‐seq and exome capture to be robust for further evolutionary hypothesis testing in these systems.
Prediction of the potential global distribution of the Asian longhorned beetle Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) under climate change
Authors: Zhou Yuting , Ge Xuezhen , Zou Ya , Guo Siwei , Wang Tao , Zong Shixiang
Published: July 2021

The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is an important wood‐boring pest that has caused substantial damage to broadleaf trees in Asia, North America, and Europe.

We used the modelling software CLIMEX to project the potential global distribution of ALB based on both historical (1987–2016) and future (2021–2050) climate conditions. ALB has possible hosts in 37 genera, and their known distributions were incorporated into the model to assess their effect on pest distribution.

Suitable regions for ALB are predicted to be widely distributed under both historical and future climate conditions, and across all continents except Antarctica. With climate change, climate suitability would increase in the regions north of 30°N and decline in most regions south of 30°N.

The area of most climate‐suitable regions would be covered by potential hosts, and optimum hosts would dominate. The possibility of ALB outbreaks in the Northern Hemisphere is much higher than in the Southern Hemisphere, owing to the richer abundance of hosts.

These results provide theoretical guidance for developing effective ALB monitoring and mitigation measures.
Hsa_circ_0001326 regulates proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT of HTR‐8/SVneo cells via increasing IL16 expression
Authors: Liu Yang , Ma Xuemei , Liu Yingying
Published: July 2021

Background

Preeclampsia (PE) is a serious pregnancy complication. It has been shown that insufficient infiltration of extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs) is related to the pathogenesis of PE. Circular hsa_circ_0001326 (circ_0001326) has been uncovered to be upregulated in PE. However, the influence of circ_0001326 on the infiltration of trophoblasts is indistinct.

Methods

48 pregnant women (25 PE patients and 23 healthy controls) were recruited for this study. Human trophoblasts HTR‐8/Svneo were used for function analysis. Expression of circ_0001326 was evaluated by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR). The diagnostic value of circ_0001326 was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of HTR‐8/Svneo cells were determined using 3‐(4,5‐Dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT), 5‐ethynyl‐2’‐deoxyuridine (EdU), wound‐healing, and transwell assays. Protein levels were detected using Western blotting. The regulation mechanism of circ_0001326 was surveyed by bioinformatics analysis and dual‐luciferase reporter assay.

Results

Circ_0001326 was highly expressed in plasma samples and placental tissues of PE patients. Moreover, plasma circ_0001326 could distinguish PE patients from healthy controls (area under the curve (AUC) =0.793). Functionally, circ_0001326 overexpression repressed HTR‐8/Svneo cell proliferation, epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT), migration, and invasion, but circ_0001326 silencing had the opposing impact. Mechanically, circ_0001326 regulated interleukin‐16 (IL16) expression via sponging microRNA (miR)‐558. MiR‐558 mimic or IL16 knockdown overturned the inhibiting effect of circ_0001326 overexpression on HTR‐8/Svneo cell proliferation, EMT, migration, and invasion.

Conclusion

Circ_0001326 elevated IL16 expression via sponging miR‐558, thus curbing HTR‐8/Svneo cell proliferation, EMT, migration, and invasion, suggesting that circ_0001326 might be involved in the pathogenesis of PE.
Kentucky Kindling: Stoking Swidden Anthropology with Fire‐play on the Family Farm
Authors: Barnes Carolyn
Published: July 2021

This is a story about my family and “the farm.” Drawing on experimental ethnography and Southern gothic literature, it is also an allegory about a heated eroding present. It slowly builds, like a fire, layering scenes of ordinary life with hallucinatory stories that flare up on the landscape. Historical hauntings and multiple ominous horizons. How things were and are. How things coulda been different. This both taps into and troubles the life and verve of real and imagined rural Kentucky, and more broadly, the gyrating heats, horrors, and hypocrisies of contemporary America during the late capitalist Anthropocene. An experiment in “swidden anthropology,” this essay also fans the flames, fuels disorientation and despair, and foments crisis in American anthropology, perhaps kindling new methods and forging new genres suited to these “dark” and haunted end times.
Impact of smoking on pain and function in rotator cuff repair: a prospective 5‐year cohort follow‐up of 1383 patients
Authors: Caughey William J. , Maher Anthony , Leigh Warren B. , Brick Matthew J. , Young Simon W. , Walker Cameron G. , Caughey Michael A.
Published: July 2021

Background

This multicentre cohort study investigates the effect of smoking on the outcome of rotator cuff repair (RCR), with attention to age at presentation for surgery, pre‐operative and post‐operative pain and function and intra‐operative findings.

Methods

Patient information was collected pre‐operatively, including Flex Shoulder Function (Flex SF) and visual analogue scale pain, then at 6 months, 1, 2 and 5 years post‐operatively. Intra‐operative technical data were collected by the operating surgeon. Current smokers were classified by daily cigarette consumption.

Results

A total of 1383 RCRs in as many patients were included with an 84% 5‐year follow‐up. Smokers were on average 6.7 years younger than non‐smokers (51.8 vs. 58.5, P < 0.001). There was no difference in intra‐operatively assessed tear size both in anteroposterior dimension (P = 0.5) and retraction (P = 0.9). Pre‐operative Flex SF score in smokers was below that of non‐smokers (23.0 vs. 24.5, P = 0.002) and at 6 months (P = 0.02) but no different at 5 years (P = 0.7). Pain scores were higher in smokers than non‐smokers both pre‐operatively (5.34 vs. 4.67, P < 0.001) and up to 2 years (P < 0.001) but not at 5 years (P = 0.073).

Conclusion

Smokers undergoing RCR were younger than non‐smokers, and had worse pre‐operative pain scores and shoulder function. Poorer post‐operative function persisted to 6 months, and with higher reported pain to 2 years in smokers. However, at 5‐year follow‐up, patient‐reported outcomes were not affected by smoking status.
Factors affecting physician implementation of hospital pharmacists' medication appropriateness recommendations in older adults
Authors: Dalton Kieran , Fleming Aoife , O'Mahony Denis , Byrne Stephen
Published: July 2021

Aims

Non‐implementation of pharmacist recommendations by physician prescribers may prolong potentially inappropriate prescribing in hospitalised older adults, increasing the risk of adverse clinical outcomes. The aim of this study was to ascertain the key factors affecting physician prescriber implementation of pharmacists' medication appropriateness recommendations in hospitalised older adults.

Methods

Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with hospital pharmacists and physicians who provided care to older adults (≥65 years) in 2 acute university teaching hospitals in Ireland. Content analysis was employed to identify the key themes that influence physician prescriber implementation of pharmacist recommendations.

Results

Fourteen interviews were conducted with 6 hospital pharmacists and 8 hospital physicians between August 2018 and August 2019. Five key factors were found to affect physician implementation of pharmacist recommendations: (i) the clinical relevance and complexity of the recommendation—recommendations of higher priority and those that do not require complex decision‐making are implemented more readily; (ii) interprofessional communication—recommendations provided verbally, particularly those communicated face to face with confidence and assertion, are more likely to be implemented than written recommendations; (iii) physician role and identity—the grade, specialty, and personality of the physician significantly affect implementation; (iv) knowing each other and developing trusting relationships—personal acquaintance and the development of interprofessional trust and rapport greatly facilitate recommendation implementation; and (v) the hospital environment—organisational issues such as documentation in the patient notes, having the opportunity to intervene, and the clinical pharmacy model all affect implementation.

Conclusion

This study provides a deeper understanding of the underlying behavioural determinants affecting physician prescriber implementation of pharmacist recommendations and will aid in the development of theoretically‐informed interventions to improve medication appropriateness in hospitalised older adults.
Promoting employees’ pro‐environmental behaviour through empowering leadership: The roles of psychological ownership, empowerment role identity, and environmental self‐identity
Authors: Cheng Zhihui , Liu Wenxing , Zhou Kong , Che Yujie , Han Yi
Published: July 2021

This study develops a theoretical model to investigate when and why empowering leadership promotes employees’ pro‐environmental behaviour (PEB). Synthesising psychological ownership theory and role identity theory, we propose that empowering leadership positively affects the employees’ PEB and that this relationship is mediated by psychological ownership. Furthermore, we examine the moderating roles of empowerment role identity and environmental self‐identity in this relationship. By employing 203 leader–follower dyads as a sample, we find that empowering leadership is positively related to employees’ PEB and that employees’ psychological ownership mediates this relationship. Besides, we find that empowerment role identity plays a moderating role in the relationship between empowering leadership and employees’ psychological ownership such that the relationship is positive and significant when empowerment role identity is high but not significant when it is low. Finally, we observe that environmental self‐identity moderates the relationship between employees’ psychological ownership and PEB such that the relationship is positive and significant when environmental self‐identity is high, but not significant when it is low. Practically, we offer new insight into how and when organisations can leverage the positive effect of empowering leadership in the pursuit of promoting employees’ PEB.
Glutamatergic receptor expression changes in the Alzheimer's disease hippocampus and entorhinal cortex
Authors: Yeung Jason H. Y. , Walby Joshua L. , Palpagama Thulani H. , Turner Clinton , Waldvogel Henry J. , Faull Richard L. M. , Kwakowsky Andrea
Published: July 2021

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the leading form of dementia worldwide. Currently, the pathological mechanisms underlying AD are not well understood. Although the glutamatergic system is extensively implicated in its pathophysiology, there is a gap in knowledge regarding the expression of glutamate receptors in the AD brain. This study aimed to characterize the expression of specific glutamate receptor subunits in post‐mortem human brain tissue using immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy. Free‐floating immunohistochemistry and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used to quantify the density of glutamate receptor subunits GluA2, GluN1, and GluN2A in specific cell layers of the hippocampal sub‐regions, subiculum, entorhinal cortex, and superior temporal gyrus. Quantification of GluA2 expression in human post‐mortem hippocampus revealed a significant increase in the stratum (str.) moleculare of the dentate gyrus (DG) in AD compared with control. Increased GluN1 receptor expression was found in the str. moleculare and hilus of the DG, str. oriens of the CA2 and CA3, str. pyramidale of the CA2, and str. radiatum of the CA1, CA2, and CA3 subregions and the entorhinal cortex. GluN2A expression was significantly increased in AD compared with control in the str. oriens, str. pyramidale, and str. radiatum of the CA1 subregion. These findings indicate that the expression of glutamatergic receptor subunits shows brain region‐specific changes in AD, suggesting possible pathological receptor functioning. These results provide evidence of specific glutamatergic receptor subunit changes in the AD hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, indicating the requirement for further research to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms it entails, and further highlight the potential of glutamatergic receptor subunits as therapeutic targets.