bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A microfluidic platform for extraction and analysis of bacterial genomic DNA
Authors: Joesaar Alex , Holub Martin , Lutze Leander , Emanuele Marco , Kerssemakers Jacob , Pabst Martin , Dekker Cees
Published: October 2024

Bacterial cells organize their genomes into a compact hierarchical structure called the nucleoid. Studying the nucleoid in cells faces challenges because of the cellular complexity whilein vitroassays have difficulty in handling the fragile megabase-scale DNA biopolymers that make up bacterial genomes. Here, we introduce a method that overcomes these limitations as we develop and use a microfluidic device for the sequential extraction, purification, and analysis of bacterial nucleoids in individual microchambers. Our approach avoids any transfer or pipetting of the fragile megabase-size genomes and thereby prevents their fragmentation. We show how the microfluidic system can be used to extract and analyze single chromosomes fromB. subtiliscells. Upon on-chip lysis, the bacterial genome expands in size and DNA-binding proteins are flushed away. Subsequently, exogeneous proteins can be added to the trapped DNA via diffusion. We envision that integrated microfluidic platforms will become an essential tool for the bottom-up assembly of complex biomolecular systems such as artificial chromosomes.
Enhancing pigment production by a chromogenic bacterium (Exiguobacterium aurantiacum) using tomato waste extract: A Statistical approach
Authors: Zeleke Birhanu , Muleta Diriba , Dinka Hunduma , Tsegaye Dereje , Hassen Jemal
Published: October 2024

There is high demand for microbial pigments as promising alternative for synthetic pigments basically for safety and economic reasons. This study aimed at the optimization of yellowish-orange pigment production by Exiguobacterium aurantiacum using agro-waste extract as growth substrate. Air samples were collected using depositional method. Pure cultures of pigment producing bacteria were isolated by subsequent culturing on fresh nutrient agar medium and the potent isolate was identified using MALDI-TOF technique. Culture conditions were screened using Plackett-Burman design and the most three significant variables were optimized by response surface methodology. Fermentation was conducted in 150 mL agro-waste decoctions from which tomato waste extract was selected because of higher optical density of the culture compared to other agro-waste extracts. Pigment was extracted by solvent extraction method and the best solvent was selected based on its ability to dissolve the culture suspension. The pigment was characterized using spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques. Culture agitation rate, initial medium pH and concentration of yeast extract were identified as the most significant (p< 0.0001) variables affecting pigment production. At optimized conditions, 0.96 g/L of pigment was extracted from 4.73 g/L of culture biomass and the extracted pigment under optimized conditions was 1.6 times higher than the pigment extracted under un-optimized conditions. The spectroscopic and chromatographic analyses demonstrated the presence of different functional groups and carotenoids were identified as parts of the molecule responsible for the yellowish-orange pigmentation of the extract. This study demonstrated the potential for optimization of pigment production by bacteria using agro-waste extract as substrate. Hence, the current findings strongly encourage for further study at a large-scale level for industrial production.
Impact of media brand on cefiderocol disk diffusion results
Authors: DeMarco MG , Field AM , Donohue LE , Cox HL , Kidd TS , Barry KE , Mathers AJ
Published: October 2024

Introduction

Cefiderocol is a siderophore cephalosporin that utilizes iron transport systems to cross cell membranes. This unique strategy complicates antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) due to variable iron content in media. While guidance for using iron-depleted media exists for broth microdilution (BMD), disk diffusion (DD) with commercial media is a common AST method in the clinical laboratory. We investigated cefiderocol DD result variability using multiple Mueller-Hinton agar (MHA) brands.

Methods

DD results using Remel (Thermo Fisher Scientific, San Diego, CA), Hardy (Hardy Diagnostics, Springboro, OH), and BBL (Becton Dickenson, East Rutherford, NJ) MHA were compared to BMD using iron-depleted cation-adjusted Mueller-Hinton broth. BMD reproducibility, BMD trailing endpoints, and DD intra- and inter-brand variability in zones of inhibition were investigated.

Results

Forty-seven multidrug-resistant clinical isolates and three Antibiotic Resistance bank isolates composed ofPseudomonas aeruginosa, carbapenemase (CP-) and non-carbapenemase-producing (non-CP-) carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE),Acinetobacter baumanniicomplex,Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, andBurkholderia cepaciacomplex were tested. Categorical agreement (CA) ≥90% was only demonstrated using CLSI breakpoints with BBL agar. Intra- and inter-brand variability in DD were greatest forP. aeruginosaand CRE, with 30% (6/20) and 16.7% (3/18) exhibiting discrepant AST interpretations, respectively. Isolates not susceptible to cefiderocol via BMD were commonly associated with AST interpretation errors and lower CA.

Conclusions

Using commercial MHA for DD resulted in frequent AST interpretation discrepancies, particularly for isolates that were not susceptible to cefiderocol by BMD. Methods and quality control may need to be revisited to ensure the reliability of DD for cefiderocol AST.

IMPORTANCE STATEMENT

The novel mechanism of action of cefiderocol overcomes a variety of resistance mechanisms associated with gram-negative bacteria and positions the agent as an attractive option for infections involving multidrug-resistant pathogens. The availability of accurate, timely antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods for cefiderocol in clinical microbiology laboratories is critical as cefiderocol-resistant isolates have been described and may contribute to treatment failure. Iron-depleted broth microdilution testing may not be feasible for many clinical laboratories. While disk diffusion is an appealing, practical method to implement, our data demonstrate reproducibility issues across agar brands, most notably for organisms that do not test susceptible to cefiderocol via broth microdilution. Discrepant errors and misclassifications of resistant isolates as susceptible, and susceptible isolates as resistant, may mislead clinicians and compromise treatment efficacy. More work is needed to standardize practical yet reproducible methods for cefiderocol antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
Modulation of heteromeric glycine receptor function through high concentration clustering
Authors: Yu Hailong , Wang Weiwei
Published: October 2024

Ion channels are targeted by many drugs for treating neurological, musculoskeletal, renal and other diseases. These drugs bind to and alter the function of individual channels to achieve desired therapeutic effects. However, many ion channels function in high concentration clusters in their native environment. It is unclear if and how clustering modulates ion channel function. Human heteromeric glycine receptors (GlyRs) are the major inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors in the spinal cord and are active targets for developing chronic pain medications. We show that the α2β heteromeric GlyR assembles with the master postsynaptic scaffolding gephyrin (GPHN) into micron-sized clustered at the plasma membrane after heterologous expression. The inhibitory trans- synaptic adhesion protein neuroligin-2 (NL2) further increases both the cluster sizes and GlyR concentration. The apparent glycine affinity increases monotonically as a function of GlyR concentration but not with cluster size. We also show that ligand re-binding to adjacent GlyRs alters kinetics but not chemical equilibrium. A positively charged N- terminus sequence of the GlyR β subunit was further identified essential for glycine affinity modulation through clustering. Taken together, we propose a mechanism where clustering enhances local electrostatic potential, which in turn concentrates ions and ligands, modulating the function of GlyR. This mechanism is likely universal across ion channel clusters found ubiquitously in biology and provides new perspectives in possible pharmaceutical development.
A major disease-related point mutation in spastin alters dramatically the dynamics and allostery of the motor
Authors: Kahawatte Shehani , Macke Amanda C. , Clair Carter St. , Dima Ruxandra I.
Published: October 2024

Spastin is a microtubule-severing AAA+ ATPase that is highly expressed in neu-ronal cells and plays a crucial role in axonal growth, branching, and regeneration. This machine oligomerizes into hexamers in the presence of ATP and the microtubule carboxy-terminal tails (CTTs). Conformational changes in spastin hexamers, pow-ered by ATP hydrolysis, apply forces on the microtubule, ultimately leading to the severing of the filament. Mutations disrupt the normal function of spastin, impair-ing its ability to sever microtubules effectively and leading to abnormal microtubule dynamics in neurons characteristic for the set of neurodegenerative disorders called hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSP). Experimental studies have identified the HSP-related R591S (Drosophila melanogasternumbering) mutation as playing a crucial role in spastin. Given its significant role in HSP, we employed a combination of molecular dynamics simulations with machine learning and graph network based approaches to identify and quantify the perturbations caused by the R591S HSP mutation on spastin’s dynamics and allostery with functional implications. We found that the functional hex-amer, upon the HSP-related mutation, loses the ability to execute the primary motion associated with the severing action. The study of allosteric changes upon the mutation showed that the regions that are most perturbed are those involved in the formation of the inter-protomer contacts. The mutation induces rigidity in the allosteric networks of the motor making it more likely to experience loss of function as any applied per-turbations could not be easily dissipated by passing through a variety of alternative paths as in the wild-type (WT) spastin.
Ketogenesis protects against MASLD-MASH progression through mechanisms that extend beyond overall fat oxidation rate
Authors: Queathem Eric D. , Stagg David B. , Nelson Alisa B. , Chaves Alec B. , Crown Scott B. , Fulghum Kyle , Andre d’Avignon D. , Ryder Justin R. , Bolan Patrick J. , Hayir Abdirahman , Gillingham Jacob R. , Jannatpour Shannon , Rome Ferrol I. , Williams Ashley S. , Muoio Deborah M. , Ikramuddin Sayeed , Hughey Curtis C. , Puchalska Patrycja , Crawford Peter A.
Published: October 2024

Abstract

The progression of metabolic-dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) to metabolic-dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) involves complex alterations in both liver-autonomous and systemic metabolism that influence the liver’s balance of fat accretion and disposal. Here, we quantify the relative contribution of hepatic oxidative pathways to liver injury in MASLD-MASH. Using NMR spectroscopy, UHPLC-MS, and GC-MS, we performed stable-isotope tracing and formal flux modeling to quantify hepatic oxidative fluxes in humans across the spectrum of MASLD-MASH, and in mouse models of impaired ketogenesis. We found in humans with MASH, that liver injury correlated positively with ketogenesis and total fat oxidation, but not with turnover of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The use of loss-of-function mouse models demonstrated that disruption of mitochondrial HMG-CoA synthase (HMGCS2), the rate-limiting step of ketogenesis, impairs overall hepatic fat oxidation and induces a MASLD-MASH-like phenotype. Disruption of mitochondrial β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (BDH1), the terminal step of ketogenesis, also impaired fat oxidation, but surprisingly did not exacerbate steatotic liver injury. Taken together, these findings suggest that quantifiable variations in overall hepatic fat oxidation may not be a primary determinant of MASLD-to-MASH progression, but rather, that maintenance of hepatic ketogenesis could serve a protective role through additional mechanisms that extend beyond quantified overall rates of fat oxidation.
Visualizing developmental dynamics of nuclear morphology and transport machinery inDrosophila
Authors: Shindo Yuki , Balachandra Shruthi , Amodeo Amanda A.
Published: October 2024

Communication between the cytoplasm and the nucleus requires a continuous exchange of molecules across the nuclear envelope (NE). The nuclear pore complex (NPC) is the gateway embedded in the NE through which cargo moves, while transport receptors mediate the passage of macromolecules through the NPC. Although their essential role as the components of the nuclear transport machinery has been extensively studied, how these factors respond to developmental and environmental cues has been underexplored. Here we tag the nucleoporin Nup96 and the transport receptor Impβ with mEGFP and mScarlet-I at their endogenous loci inDrosophila. We demonstrate the functionality of these markers in multiple tissues and offer new options for better visualization of nuclear morphology in densely packed, complex tissues. Then, we characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of these markers in multiple developmental contexts. We find that Nup96 and Impβ form cytoplasmic puncta, whose size, numbers, and co-localization patterns change dynamically during oogenesis and early embryogenesis. Moreover, we find that the abundance of NPCs per nucleus decreases during early embryogenesis, complementing the emerging model in which NPCs play a regulatory role in development. The tools and observations described here will be useful in understanding the dynamic regulation of nuclear morphology and transport machinery in development.
Chromatin interaction maps identify oncogenic targets of enhancer duplications in cancer
Authors: Song Yueqiang , Li Fuyuan , Wang Shangzi , Wang Yuntong , Lai Cong , Chen Lian , Jiang Ning , Li Jin , Chen Xingdong , Bailey Swneke D. , Zhang Xiaoyang
Published: October 2024

As a major type of structural variants, tandem duplication plays a critical role in tumorigenesis by increasing oncogene dosage. Recent work has revealed that noncoding enhancers are also affected by duplications leading to the activation of oncogenes that are inside or outside of the duplicated regions. However, the prevalence of enhancer duplication and the identity of their target genes remains largely unknown in the cancer genome. Here, by analyzing whole-genome sequencing data in a non-gene-centric manner, we identify 881 duplication hotspots in 13 major cancer types, most of which do not contain protein-coding genes. We show that the hotspots are enriched with distal enhancer elements and are highly lineage-specific. We develop a HiChIP-based methodology that navigates enhancer–promoter contact maps to prioritize the target genes for the duplication hotspots harboring enhancer elements. The methodology identifies many novel enhancer duplication events activating oncogenes such asESR1,FOXA1,GATA3, GATA6, TP63, andVEGFA, as well as potentially novel oncogenes such asGRHL2, IRF2BP2, andCREB3L1. In particular, we identify a duplication hotspot on Chromosome 10p15 harboring a cluster of enhancers, which skips over two genes, through a long-range chromatin interaction, to activate an oncogenic isoform of theNET1gene to promote migration of gastric cancer cells. Focusing on tandem duplications, our study substantially extends the catalog of noncoding driver alterations in multiple cancer types, revealing attractive targets for functional characterization and therapeutic intervention.
Contour deformations for nonholomorphic actions
Authors: Lawrence Scott , Valgushev Semeon , Xiao Jianan , Yamauchi Yukari
Published: October 2024

We show how contour deformations may be used to control the sign problem of lattice Monte Carlo calculations with nonholomorphic Boltzmann factors. Such actions arise naturally in quantum mechanical scattering problems. The approach is demonstrated in conjunction with the holomorphic gradient flow. As our central example we compute the real-time evolution of a particle in a one-dimensional analog of the Yukawa potential.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Two-gluon one-photon vertex in a magnetic field and its explicit one-loop approximation in the intermediate field strength regime
Authors: Ayala Alejandro , Bernal-Langarica Santiago , Jaber-Urquiza Jorge , Medina-Serna José Jorge
Published: October 2024

We find the general structure for the two-gluon one-photon vertex in the presence of a constant magnetic field. We show that, when accounting for the symmetries satisfied by the strong and electromagnetic interactions under parity, charge conjugation and gluon interchange, and for gluons and photons on mass-shell, there exist only three possible tensor structures that span the vertex. These correspond to external products of the polarization vectors for each of the particles in the vertex. We also explicitly compute the one-loop approximation to this vertex in the intermediate field strength regime, which is the most appropriate one to describe possible effects of the presence of a magnetic field to enhance photon emission during preequilibrium in peripheral relativistic heavy-ion collisions. We show that the most favored direction for the photon to propagate is in the plane transverse to the field, which is consistent with a positive contribution to ν2 and may help to understand the larger than expected elliptic flow coefficient measured in this kind of reaction.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Spacetime symmetry breaking on nongeodesic leaves and a new form of matter
Authors: Magueijo João
Published: October 2024

We examine the permanent damage caused by the historical breakdown of full diffeomorphism invariance induced by a foliation. We focus on the case where the foliation is allowed to be nongeodesic after the interactions with the foliation switch off. Gravity and other forms of matter recover full diffeomorphism invariance only at the expense of introducing a new matterlike component, carrying the nonvanishing Hamiltonian (and momentum, as it turns out) left over from the violating past interactions. This matter form must be stress-free in the preferred frame; this is the only way a matter action can mimic the evolution of the leftover Hamiltonian (and momentum) driven by the Dirac hypersurface deformation algebra. Hence, if the preferred frame is nongeodesic, the equivalent matter component must have energy and a momentum current in this frame, but still no spatial stresses: an unusual form of “matter.” It is equivalent to a fluid with anisotropic stress in some regimes, reducing to dust in others, or even displaying completely new features in extreme situations. Its stress energy tensor is conserved. We provide two examples based on accelerated frames: Rindler space-time and the canonical Schwarzchild frame.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Limits on
WR
from Meson Decays
Authors: Alves Gustavo F. S. , Fong Chee Sheng , Leal Luighi P. S. , Funchal Renata Zukanovich
Published: October 2024

In this Letter we show that pseudoscalar meson leptonic decay data can be used to set stringent limits on the mass mWR of a right-handed vector boson, such as the one that appears in left-right symmetric models. We have shown that for a heavy neutrino with a mass mN in the range 50<mN/MeV<1900 one can constraint mWR≳(4–19)  TeV at 90% CL. This provides the most stringent experimental limits on the WR mass to date for this heavy neutrino mass range.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Advocating a place-space duality for an accounting research agenda
Authors: Yang ChunLei , Scapens Robert W. , Humphrey Christopher
Published: October 2024

Purpose

The paper proposes a place-space duality, rather than a dualism, for accounting research.

Design/methodology/approach

The discussion is informed by the literature in human geography, which, while developing the concept of space, has made an important distinction between abstract space and place as a site of experiential learning and memory.

Findings

The lack of a concept of place is a serious omission in the accounting literature and perpetuates an abstract sense of space, which can restrict the scope of accounting research.

Research limitations/implications

The paper calls for further research to study accounting in place and to explore both the collective and individual senses of place, as well as conscious and unconscious place associations. We recognise that there is limited prior accounting research on this topic and that there are challenges in conducting such interdisciplinary research, especially as there is a lack of common ground between research in human geography and accounting and little integration of the two literatures.

Practical implications

The paper proposes an accounting research agenda based on a place-space duality, which reflects the strength of people-place relationships, including place identities, place attachment and place dependence.

Originality/value

The paper provides a critique of the conceptualisation of space in accounting research, identifies place-space as a duality (rather than a dualism) and suggests a novel distinction between studying accounting in context and in place.
Work-related factors affecting mental well-being of young construction workers in South Australia
Authors: Tennakoon Tennakoon Mudiyanselage Maheshi Pabasara , Ranasinghe Udara , Samaraweera Aparna , Rameezdeen Raufdeen , Gallage Sasanka , Newman William Robert , White Benjamin James , Lim Delvin Noel Tze Wei
Published: October 2024

Purpose

Many work-related factors particularly affect the mental well-being of young construction workers and subsequently affect their productivity at work. Young construction workers in South Australia are more vulnerable than other workers because they consider the distress arising from work-related factors to be part of adapting to a new work life. Therefore, this study seeks to draw out the work-related factors that affect the mental well-being of young construction workers.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed a sequential mixed method approach including a preliminary qualitative case study and a quantitative survey. Around 20 interviews across two organisations were conducted in the initial case study and content analysis was used to contextualise the factors and identify new factors. Then, the outcome of the case study was fed into a questionnaire survey for further analysis. The survey received 43 valid responses. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on the survey outcome to assess and categorise the work-related factors.

Findings

The findings indicate ten prominent work-related factors contributing to poor mental well-being of young construction workers related to three main categories of factors, namely “nature of work”, “task-related stress” and “unsupportive behaviour”. The work-related factors that have the greatest impact on mental well-being are the machoism culture of industry, work overload and workplace bullying.

Originality/value

The outcome from this study enhances the understanding of key work-related factors affecting the mental well-being of young construction workers. Research findings would also help inform the development of clear, industry-informed initiatives tailored to protect and support young construction workers.
Unsafe behavior identification on construction sites by combining computer vision and knowledge graph–based reasoning
Authors: Mei Xinyu , Xu Feng , Zhang Zhipeng , Tao Yu
Published: October 2024

Purpose

Workers' unsafe behavior is the main cause of construction safety accidents, thereby highlighting the critical importance of behavior-based management. To compensate for the limitations of computer vision in tackling knowledge-intensive issues, semantic-based methods have gained increasing attention in the field of construction safety management. Knowledge graph provides an efficient and visualized method for the identification of various unsafe behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

This study proposes an unsafe behavior identification framework by integrating computer vision and knowledge graph–based reasoning. An enhanced ontology model anchors our framework, with image features from YOLOv5, COCO Panoptic Segmentation and DeepSORT integrated into the graph database, culminating in a structured knowledge graph. An inference module is also developed, enabling automated the extraction of unsafe behavior knowledge through rule-based reasoning.

Findings

A case application is implemented to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. Results show that the method can identify various unsafe behaviors from images of construction sites and provide mitigation recommendations for safety managers by automated reasoning, thus supporting on-site safety management and safety education.

Originality/value

Existing studies focus on spatial relationships, often neglecting the diversified spatiotemporal information in images. Besides, previous research in construction safety only partially automated knowledge graph construction and reasoning processes. In contrast, this study constructs an enhanced knowledge graph integrating static and dynamic data, coupled with an inference module for fully automated knowledge-based unsafe behavior identification. It can help managers grasp the workers’ behavior dynamics and timely implement measures to correct violations.
Addressing diversity in flux: identity work, identity negotiation and intersectionality insights
Authors: Donmanige Iresha , Almeida Shamika , Frino Betty
Published: October 2024

Purpose

Diversity management literature is at a crossroads with limitations in producing novel insights due to its heavy reliance on the etic approach and surface-level diversity. This paper reviews identity work, identity negotiation and intersectionality to propose an interdisciplinary lens that offers new insights and suggestions for future research that will advance the diversity management literature.

Design/methodology/approach

Our paper advances methods in the diversity management literature by reviewing interdisciplinary research using a dual approach: a bibliometric analysis of the vast literature examining 323 papers published between 1987 and 2023, supplemented by a summary review of the identified thematic clusters.

Findings

This study identified seven thematic clusters around identity construction, transformation and navigation processes. The study highlights significant research gaps in (1) context-specificity, (2) deep-level forms of diversity, (3) lack of focus on meso-level stakeholders, and most importantly (4) lack of focus on the interplay of micro-level and meso-level interactions.

Originality/value

This paper contributes in three ways. Firstly, it pioneers a dual approach to comprehending the research landscape on identity work, identity negotiation and intersectionality, employing bibliometric analysis and summary review. Secondly, with its interdisciplinary reach, it advocates for a more inclusive diversity management approach, exploring micro-meso-level interaction through new lenses. Lastly, it offers theoretical and practical contributions by proposing an integrated multiple lens to better address the challenges and tensions of an increasing diversity of the workforce.
Microfinance institution and moneylenders in a segmented rural credit market
Authors: Das Abhirupa , Sinha Uday Bhanu
Published: October 2024

Purpose

The effectiveness of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in rescuing poor borrowers from “clutches of” moneylenders has been a much-debated topic over the past few decades. This paper aims to contribute by presenting a model of competition between a socially motivated MFI and profit-maximizing moneylenders when market segmentation exists.

Design/methodology/approach

A principal–agent model is used to characterize equilibrium conditions under scenarios where only moneylenders operate, only MFI operates and when both co-exist to pose comparative results effectively.

Findings

The authors find unambiguous benefits arising when a welfare-maximizing MFI enters the market. However, there are benefits to having local agents like moneylenders on the ground who also have informational advantages.

Originality/value

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to evaluate the competition between MFI and moneylenders under the framework of captive and noncaptive segments with a mandatory savings requirement.
Wheel wear of mountain metro vehicles with complex line conditions
Authors: Qi Yayun , Ao Peng , Hou Maorui , Zhang Ailong
Published: October 2024

Purpose

Mountain metro vehicles have unique wheel wear characteristics due to the complex flat and longitudinal lines. With a combination of flat and longitudinal curved tracks, the traction and braking conditions are more frequent in mountain metro vehicles. This paper aims to analyze the wheel wear characteristics of mountain metro vehicles in complex flat and longitudinal lines.

Design/methodology/approach

A dynamic model of the mountain metro vehicle and a wear model are established to analyze the dynamic and wheel wear characteristics of mountain metro vehicles. The wheel wear law of mountain metro vehicles under complex track conditions is analyzed, and the suppression measure based on variable stiffness rotary arm nodes of mountain metro vehicles is proposed.

Findings

The results showed that the maximum wheel wear depth without considering the ramp track and considering the ramp track are 3.283 mm and 3.717 mm, respectively; the maximum wheel wear depth increases by 13.2%. Wheel wear can be effectively suppressed by the variable stiffness rotary arm model, and the maximum wear depth of the wheel profile is 3.316 mm, which is reduced by 10.79% compared with the constant stiffness model.

Originality/value

A dynamic model of a mountain metro vehicle is established, and the metro vehicle wheel wear under the large ramps under the traction and braking conditions is analyzed, and the metro vehicle wheel wear suppression measure based on variable stiffness rotary arm nodes is proposed.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-07-2024-0247
Personal enactment as an antidote to depressed mood’s effect on nurses’ work passion
Authors: Rahaman H.M. Saidur , Babalola Mayowa T. , Khan Abdul Karim , Hochwarter Wayne A.
Published: October 2024

Purpose

Because of the nature of nurses’ daily jobs, their work passion is critical for their quality performance and well-being. However, more research must examine the antecedents of nurses' work passion. Against this backdrop, in the present study, we draw on the conservation of resources (COR) theory to hypothesize that the negative relationship between nurses’ depressed mood at work and work passion is moderated by their enactment such that a relatively high level of personal enactment weakens the negative effect of depressed mood at work on their work passion.

Design/methodology/approach

We examine our hypothesis using a three-wave time-lagged design involving 147 nurses (RN or LPN) working at a medium-sized healthcare facility in the rural Southern USA.

Findings

Results support our hypothesis that nurses’ personal enactment moderates the relationship between their depressed mood at work and work passion.

Research limitations/implications

Nurses' depressed mood at work can be less harmful to their work passion, particularly when they demonstrate a relatively higher level of personal enactment.

Originality/value

This study demonstrates that personal enactment attenuates the adverse effects of depressed mood at work when nurses possess elevated work passion levels.
Casually cynical or trapped? Exploring gig workers’ reactions to psychological contract violation
Authors: Saksida Tina , Maffie Michael , Mihelič Katarina Katja , Culiberg Barbara , Merkuž Ajda
Published: October 2024

Purpose

Drawing on psychological contract (PC) theory and platform labor research, the purpose of our study was to explore gig workers’ reactions to perceived PC violation. Our study was set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought workplace health and safety issues into much sharper focus, even in nonstandard employment arrangements like gig work.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed a mixed-methods design. In Study 1, we tested a conceptual model of US-based ride-hail drivers’ (n = 202) affective and cognitive reactions to Uber’s (lack of) commitment to safe working conditions. In Study 2, we conducted interviews with 32 platform workers to further explore an unexpected finding from Study 1.

Findings

In Study 1, we found that drivers’ perceptions of PC violation were related to decreased trust in Uber and higher intentions to leave this line of work; however, cynicism toward Uber only predicted withdrawal intentions for those drivers who did not believe that they had job alternatives available outside of gig work. We explored this further in Study 2, where we found that workers with low economic dependence on gig work could afford to be casually cynical toward the platform, while high-dependence workers felt “trapped” in this line of work.

Originality/value

We contribute to the social/relational theoretical approach to gig work more broadly and to the literature on PC in platform work more specifically. We also add to the emerging literature on how economic dependence shapes workers’ experience of platform work. Our findings around low-dependence gig workers experiencing a more indifferent form of cynicism – which we have termed casual cynicism – highlight the importance of treating the context of gig work as unique, not merely an extension of traditional management research.
Perceptions and contradictions: a study of market orientation and innovation among Cuban entrepreneurs
Authors: Gómez García Luis Demetrio , Hernández Ruíz Alma Delia
Published: October 2024

Purpose

This study aims to examine whether market orientation or innovation is a more significant mediator between an entrepreneur’s culture and perceived success in Cuba, where innovation is highly regarded because of economic challenges and US embargoes, but doubts persist about market orientation because of its socialist economy.

Design/methodology/approach

Havana entrepreneurs were surveyed on culture, market orientation and innovation. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with the partial least squares approach in SmartPLS 4.

Findings

The results showed partial mediation for both market orientation and innovation. Culture significantly affects performance directly. Surprisingly, a less market-oriented culture enhances performance, with innovation acting as the stronger mediator, despite the inverse relationship between market orientation and innovation.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations include reliance on self-reported measures, lack of objective performance verification and a narrow focus on entrepreneurs rather than clients. Despite these constraints, the study provides valuable exploratory insights into Cuba’s closed economy, following the principle of being “approximately right than exactly wrong.”

Practical implications

The findings confirm the positive impact of Cubans’ innovative spirit on performance but reveal a contradiction: less market-oriented cultures perceive themselves as market-oriented and perform better. This misperception suggests the need for further investigation and training to promote market-oriented business culture. Collaboration with international business schools may be necessary, as this distortion could harm customer satisfaction.

Originality/value

The originality of the research lies in that, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on Cuban entrepreneurs’ market orientation. It has the value to illustrate how socialists’ ideology can contradict assumed theoretical established approaches about market functioning.
Service before self: exploring resilience and locus of control in the frontline service effort behavior
Authors: Shagirbasha Shameem , Madhan Kumar , Iqbal Juman , Khan Hamia
Published: October 2024

Purpose

Drawing on the conservation of resource (COR) theory, this study examines the direct relationships between customer incivility and service effort behavior with psychological resilience mediating this association. Furthermore, the study also explores the moderated-mediation effect of internal locus of control.

Design/methodology/approach

Two studies were carried out, employing a time-lagged approach. In study 1, data were collected from 422 frontline service employees in the hospitality sector. This was followed by Study 2 in which data were collected from 530 frontline service employees in banking and retail industries. The data were analyzed using SPSS PROCESS macros and AMOS.

Findings

The results specified that customer incivility negatively influences service effort behavior among frontline service employees. Moreover, it was also found that psychological resilience mediated the negative association between customer incivility and service effort behavior. Finally, the results show that the moderated-mediation effect of internal locus of control was also supported.

Originality/value

The study is an attempt to broaden the frontier of customer incivility and highlight how it affects service effort behavior. The findings also highlight the mediating role of psychological resilience between customer incivility and service effort behavior. Moreover, this study makes an enriching contribution by exploring the moderating role of internal locus of control. To the best of our knowledge, such associations remain outside the purview of previous examinations.
Corporate tax avoidance and narrative disclosure tone: a developing country perspective
Authors: Hasan Arshad , Anwar Waqas , Zhang Joseph H. , Marques Ana
Published: October 2024

Purpose

This study aims to examine the link between tax avoidance, corporate governance and narrative disclosure tone using a sample of public companies in Pakistan.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for 125 companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) are collected over 10 years from 2011 to 2020. Sentiment analysis is conducted to determine the disclosure tone, and regression analysis is used to test the association between the variables.

Findings

This paper finds that firms that engage in tax avoidance tend to use a more positive disclosure tone and are more likely to engage in impression management. Moreover, promoting sound governance through board independence and gender diversity is associated with a less positive disclosure tone. However, firms with more family board members and higher foreign ownership are more likely to use a more positive disclosure tone.

Practical implications

Regulators can use this information to develop better guidelines to protect investors and ensure faithful disclosures to address both positive and negative news.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the literature by examining corporate tax avoidance as a determinant of narrative disclosure tone, a relationship that has not been widely explored. Moreover, as most disclosure tone research has been conducted in developed countries, this paper provides valuable evidence from a developing country.
A macroecological analysis of ecological uniqueness of freshwater macrophyte assemblages across Europe and North America
Authors: Luukkonen Saara , Heino Jani , Hjort Jan , Helm Aveliina , Alahuhta Janne
Published: October 2024

Understanding spatial variation of species composition at different scales is essential for efficient conservation planning. Here, we investigate ecological uniqueness patterns of freshwater macrophyte assemblages at continental extents.

We explored the similarities and differences in the patterns of ecological uniqueness between Europe and North America in relation to species richness and environmental variables using macrophyte presence–absence data in 50 × 50 km grid cells. To describe the ecological uniqueness of macrophyte assemblages, we used an index called ‘local contribution to beta diversity’ (LCBD).

First, we used linear regression to evaluate the relationship between ecological uniqueness and species richness. Second, the variation of ecological uniqueness was modelled using environmental variables in generalized additive modelling (GAM). Third, boosted regression tree (BRT) analysis was performed with the same environmental variables to compare BRT results with the results from GAM.

The results revealed relatively similar patterns of ecological uniqueness in both continents. The relationship between species richness and ecological uniqueness was overall negative but showed differences in the form and degree of the relationship between Europe and North America. The main driver of ecological uniqueness in both continents was mean annual temperature, with further effects associated with annual precipitation, elevation range, alkalinity and the proportion of freshwaters in a grid cell.

Synthesis. Our results showed that species richness and ecological uniqueness may be negatively correlated at large spatial extents, and that the form of the relationship is likely to depend on the species richness profile of the area. The significant influence of climate on the ecological uniqueness of macrophyte assemblages suggests that changes in climate and land use may shape unique macrophyte assemblages. Thus, conservation strategies should consider protection measures, especially in the northern areas with unique macrophyte species assemblages, as they are expected to face many changes in the future. Identifying areas with high ecological uniqueness at different scales is important for efficient implementation of biodiversity conservation practices.
Decomposing the impact of genetically modified organism regulation on bilateral trade: An application to corn trade
Authors: Hedoui M. Amine , Beghin John C.
Published: October 2024

Our study investigates the impact of genetically modified organism (GMO) regulations on international agricultural trade, with a specific focus on GMO approvals. We analyse the effects of GMO regulations on bilateral trade through three main pathways: productivity enhancements in the exporting country, regulatory dissimilarities between trading partners and the influence of GMO approvals on demand in the importing country. Using a panel data set on corn trade and employing advanced econometric techniques, our findings reveal that GMO cultivation approvals in exporting countries have the most substantial and consistent positive effect on trade. Conversely, the impact of GMO demand approvals in importing countries is relatively smaller and negative. Additionally, regulatory dissimilarities between any two countries become negligible when accounting for the effects of cultivation and demand approvals. Thus, GMO approval regulations exert more significant multilateral effects on trade than bilateral ones.
Parents', Families', Communities' and Healthcare Professionals' Experiences of Care Following Neonatal Death in Healthcare Facilities in LMICs: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Ethnography
Authors: Wilson Charlotte , Atkins Bethany , Molyneux Richard , Storey Claire , Blencowe Hannah
Published: October 2024

Background

Ninety‐eight percent of neonatal deaths worldwide occur in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), yet there is little bereavement care guidance available for these settings.

Objectives

To explore parents', families' and healthcare professionals' experiences of care after neonatal death in healthcare facilities in LMICs.

Search Strategy and Selection Criteria

Four databases were searched for peer‐reviewed literature, meeting the inclusion criteria of qualitative studies exploring the experiences of people who provided or received bereavement care following neonatal death in a LMIC healthcare setting.

Data Collection and Analysis

Data were collected by two independent reviewers, collated through line‐by‐line coding and then reciprocal and refutational translation, and analysed through Noblit and Hare's seven‐step meta‐ethnography approach to create first‐, second‐ and third‐order themes.

Main Results

Seven first‐order themes extracted from the literature included emotional responses, social relationships, staff and systems, religion, connecting with the baby, coping strategies and economic concerns. From these data, three third‐order themes arose: The individual, the healthcare setting and the community/context.

Conclusions

Overarching themes in bereavement care shape grief responses and are often similar across geographical locations. Analysing these similarities allows a deeper understanding of the important elements of bereavement care and may be helpful to inform the creation of high‐quality, bereavement care guidelines suitable for use in LMIC settings.
Effectiveness of a Disability Liaison Officer service in a metropolitan emergency department
Authors: O'Shannessy Elizabeth , Talarico Carly , M c Caskie Douglas , Lakhani Ali , Koolstra Christine , Standen Janine , Roberts Karen , Smit De Villiers , Mitra Biswadev
Published: October 2024

Objectives

To identify the influence of a Disability Liaison Officer (DLO) service in the ED setting on people with disability (PWD). For this project, PWD included adults with communication disability, intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder.

Methods

This was a single‐centre retrospective cohort study, at an adult major referral ED in Melbourne, Australia. Patients were eligible for inclusion if they were ≥18 years of age, presented to the ED between 1 April 2022 and 30 April 2023, and had a disability alert in their electronic medical record. Eligible patients were divided into two cohorts: (i) patients managed using standard ED care and (ii) patients managed using DLO model. ED length of stay (LOS) was the main outcome measure.

Results

After adjusting for baseline differences in age, initial GCS and disability type, the DLO service was associated with earlier disposition from the ED (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.44; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23–1.69; P < 0.001). For the subgroup of patients discharged directly from the ED, the association of DLO service and earlier disposition remained statistically significant (aHR 2.47; 95% CI: 1.83–3.33; P < 0.001). Among patients admitted to the emergency short stay unit (aHR 1.67; 95% CI: 0.99–2.80; P = 0.06), and those admitted to inpatient wards (aHR 0.89; 95% CI: 0.65–1.23; P = 0.50), there was no significant association of the DLO service with time to disposition.

Conclusions

The DLO service was associated with a reduction in ED LOS for PWD. Further assessment of the service using patient‐ and carer‐reported outcome measures and cost‐effectiveness studies are indicated.