bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Designing a Multi-Epitope Vaccine Candidate against Salmonella Typhi Using Immunoinformatics Approach
Authors: Sirajee Ahmad Salman , Ahsan Sunjukta
Published: February 2022

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhi (Salmonella Typhi) is the causative agent of typhoid. A large population living in developing and under-developed countries are mainly susceptible to the infection of this pathogen. The use of an effective vaccine targeting the highest-risk populations could be an extremely useful approach in the prevention of typhoid. The currently licenced and widely used typhoid conjugate vaccine (Vi-TCV) can promote emergence of Vi antigen negative strains, necessitating the design of alternative vaccine candidates. Vaccine consisting of multiple epitopes from different surface proteins can serve as a solution to this problem. In this study, 10 Salmonella Typhi whole genome sequences were retrieved from NCBI database. From the proteomes of these organisms, epitopes from four surface proteins such as peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (Accession No. AYU85048.1), outer membrane protein S1 (Accession No. AYU86170.1), outer membrane protein F (Accession No. AYU85220.1 and outer membrane porin L (Accession No. AYU87629.1) returned better results than some other surface proteins in terms of antigenicity, promiscuity to interact with MHC alleles, non-allergenicity, non-similarity with human proteins, conservation and population coverage. These epitopes were joined together using suitable adjuvant and linkers, resulting in a vaccine candidate comprising 201 amino acids. This multi epitope vaccine candidate exhibited promising results in molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation and immune simulation. BLAST search revealed that the chosen epitopes for vaccine development against Salmonella Typhi are 100% identical with corresponding epitopes of Salmonella Paratyphi A, Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Enteritidis, indicating that the proposed vaccine might give cross protection against major Salmonella pathogenic serovars. The prospective results in this dry laboratory work demonstrates potential positive outcomes in the future for in vivo animal model testing and clinical analyses.
Nanoparticle-delivered TLR4 and RIG-I agonists enhance immune response to SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccine
Authors: Atalis Alexandra , Keenum Mark C , Pandey Bhawana , Beach Alexander , Pradhan Pallab , Vantucci Casey , Jain Ritika , Hosten Justin , Smith Clinton , Kramer Liana , Jimenez Angela , Ochoa Miguel Armenta , Frey David , Roy Krishnendu
Published: February 2022

Despite recent success in vaccinating populations against SARS-CoV-2, concerns about immunity duration, continued efficacy against emerging variants, protection from infection and transmission, and worldwide vaccine availability, remain. Although mRNA, pDNA, and viral-vector based vaccines are being administered, no protein subunit-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is approved. Molecular adjuvants targeting pathogen-recognition receptors (PRRs) on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) could improve and broaden the efficacy and durability of vaccine responses. Native SARS-CoV-2 infection stimulate various PRRs, including toll-like receptors (TLRs) and retinoic-acid-inducible gene I-like receptors (RIG-I). We hypothesized that targeting the same PRRs using adjuvants on nanoparticles along with a stabilized spike (S) protein antigen could provide broad and efficient immune responses. Formulations targeting TLR4 (MPLA), TLR7/8 (R848), TLR9 (CpG), and RIG-I (PUUC) delivered on degradable polymer-nanoparticles (NPs) were combined with the S1 subunit of S protein and assessed in vitro with isogeneic mixed lymphocyte reactions (iso-MLRs). For in vivo studies, the adjuvanted nanoparticles were combined with stabilized S protein and assessed using intranasal and intramuscular prime-boost vaccination models in mice. Combination NP-adjuvants targeting both TLR and RIG-I (MPLA+PUUC, CpG+PUUC, or R848+PUUC) differentially increased proinflammatory cytokine secretion (IL-1β, IL-12p70, IL-27, IFN-β) by APCs cultured in vitro, and induced differential T cell proliferation. When delivered intranasally, MPLA+PUUC NPs enhanced local CD4+CD44+ activated memory T cell responses while MPLA NPs increased anti-S-protein-specific IgG and IgA in the lung. Following intramuscular delivery, PUUC-carrying NPs induced strong humoral immune responses, characterized by increases in anti-S-protein IgG and neutralizing antibody titers and germinal center B cell populations (GL7+ and BCL6+ B cells). MPLA+PUUC NPs further boosted S-protein-neutralizing antibody titers and T follicular helper cell populations in draining lymph nodes. These results suggest that SARS-CoV-2-mimicking adjuvants and subunit vaccines could lead to robust and unique route-specific adaptive immune responses and may provide additional tools against the pandemic.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Physiological stress responses to non-mimetic model brood parasite eggs: leukocyte profiles and heat-shock protein Hsp70 levels
Authors: Ruiz-Raya Francisco , Abaurrea Teresa , Vigo Ramón , Soler Manuel
Published: February 2022

Obligate avian brood parasites lay their eggs in the nest of other bird species (hosts). Brood parasitism often imposes severe fitness costs on hosts, which selects for the evolution of effective anti-parasitic defences, such as recognition and rejection of brood parasite eggs. Glucocorticoids have been recently found to mediate host physiological and behavioural adjustments in response to brood parasite eggs; however, it remains unclear whether brood parasitism triggers a general response involving multiple physiological elements. In this study, we experimentally investigated whether a salient brood parasitic stimulus (the presence of a non-mimetic model egg in the nest) causes physiological adjustments in adult Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) at immune (leukocyte profiles) and cellular (heat-shock protein Hsp70 synthesis) level. Also, we explored whether these physiological changes are mediated by variations in corticosterone levels. We found that experimental brood parasitism caused an increase in heterophils and a decrease in lymphocytes, leading to higher H/L ratios in parasitized birds. Nevertheless, we did not find trade-offs between immune function and corticosterone levels. Hsp70 synthesis was not affected by our experimental manipulation. Our findings provide evidence that brood parasite eggs trigger a general stress response in egg-rejecter hosts, including changes in cellular immune profiles.
Stress-Mediated Attenuation of Translation Undermines T Cell Tumor Control
Authors: Riesenberg Brian P. , Hunt Elizabeth G. , Tennant Megan D. , Hurst Katie E. , Andrews Alex M. , Leddy Lee R. , Neskey David M. , Hill Elizabeth G. , Rangel Rivera Guillermo O. , Paulos Chrystal M. , Gao Peng , Thaxton Jessica E.
Published: February 2022

Protein synthesis enables cell growth and survival, but the molecular mechanisms through which T cells suppress or maintain protein translation in the stress of solid tumors are unknown. Using mouse models and human tumors we demonstrate that protein translation in T cells is repressed by the solid tumor microenvironment (TME) due to activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) via phosphorylation of the α subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (p-eIF2α). Given that acute glucose deprivation in T cells exacerbated p-eIF2α, we show that metabolic reprogramming toward glycolytic independence allays the UPR and p-eIF2α, enabling sustained protein translation in T cells in TME stress. UPR mitigation was associated with enhanced degradation of proteins in antitumor T cells, as proteasome inhibition resulted in eIF2α phosphorylation, attenuation of translation, and loss of antitumor efficacy. In contrast, proteasome stimulation relieved translation inhibition, inducing robust T cell tumor control, offering a new therapeutic avenue to fuel the efficacy of tumor immunotherapy.
Fundamental limits of amplification-free CRISPR-Cas12 and Cas13 diagnostics
Authors: Huyke Diego A. , Ramachandran Ashwin , Bashkirov Vladimir I. , Kotseroglou Efthalia K. , Kotseroglou Theofilos , Santiago Juan G.
Published: February 2022

Interest in CRISPR diagnostics continues to increase. CRISPR-Cas12 and -Cas13 based detection are particularly interesting as they enable highly specific detection of nucleic acids. The fundamental sensitivity limits of Cas12 and Cas13 enzymes are governed by their kinetic rates and are critical to develop amplification-free assays. However, these kinetic rates remain poorly understood and their reporting has been inconsistent. We here measure kinetic parameters for several enzymes (LbCas12a, AsCas12a, AapCas12b, LwaCas13a and LbuCas13a) and evaluate their limits of detection (LoD) for amplification-free target detection. Collectively, we here present quantitation of enzyme kinetics for 14 gRNAs and nucleic acid targets for a total of 50 sets of kinetic rate parameters and 25 LoDs. Importantly, we also validate the self-consistency our measurements by comparing trends and limiting behaviors with a Michaelis-Menten, trans-cleavage reaction kinetics model. Our measurements reveal that activated Cas12 and Cas13 enzymes exhibit typical trans-cleavage catalytic efficiencies between order 105 and 106 M-1 s-1. Moreover, for assays that use fluorescent reporter molecules (ssDNA and ssRNA) for target detection, we find most CRISPR enzymes have an amplification-free LoD in the picomolar range. We find also that successful detection of target requires cleavage (by activated CRISPR enzyme) of at least ~0.1% of the fluorescent reporter molecules. This fraction of cleaved reporters is required to differentiate signal from background, and we hypothesize that this fraction is largely independent of the detection method (i.e., endpoint vs reaction velocity). Our results provide a map of the feasible application range and highlight areas of improvement for the emerging field of CRISPR diagnostics.
ClustAssess: tools for assessing the robustness of single-cell clustering
Authors: Shahsavari Arash , Munteanu Andi , Mohorianu Irina
Published: February 2022

The transition from bulk to single-cell analyses refocused the computational challenges for high-throughput sequencing data-processing. The core of single-cell pipelines is partitioning cells and assigning cell-identities; extensive consequences derive from this step; generating robust and reproducible outputs is essential. From benchmarking established single-cell pipelines, we observed that clustering results critically depend on algorithmic choices (e.g. method, parameters) and technical details (e.g. random seeds).

We presentClustAssess, a suite of tools for quantifying clustering robustness both within and across methods. The tools provide fine-grained information enabling (a) the detection of optimal number of clusters, (b) identification of regions of similarity (and divergence) across methods, (c) a data driven assessment of optimal parameter ranges. The aim is to assist practitioners in evaluating the robustness of cell-identity inference based on the partitioning, and provide information for choosing robust clustering methods and parameters.

We illustrate its use on three case studies: a single-cell dataset of in-vivo hematopoietic stem and progenitors (10x Genomics scRNA-seq), in-vitro endoderm differentiation (SMART-seq), and multimodal in-vivo peripheral blood (10x RNA+ATAC). The additional checks offer novel viewpoints on clustering stability, and provide a framework for consistent decision-making on preprocessing, method choice, and parameters for clustering.
The gut bacterial community potentiates Clostridioides difficile infection severity
Authors: Lesniak Nicholas A. , Schubert Alyxandria M. , Flynn Kaitlyn J. , Leslie Jhansi L. , Sinani Hamide , Bergin Ingrid L. , Young Vincent B. , Schloss Patrick D.
Published: February 2022

The severity of Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) has increased over the last few decades. Patient age, white blood cell count, creatinine levels as well as C. difficile ribotype and toxin genes have been associated with disease severity. However, it is unclear whether there is an association between members of the gut microbiota and disease severity. The gut microbiota is known to interact with C. difficile during infection. Perturbations to the gut microbiota are necessary for C. difficile to colonize the gut. The gut microbiota can inhibit C. difficile colonization through bile acid metabolism, nutrient consumption and bacteriocin production. Here we sought to demonstrate that members of the gut bacterial communities can also contribute to disease severity. We derived diverse gut communities by colonizing germ-free mice with different human fecal communities. The mice were then infected with a single C. difficile ribotype 027 clinical isolate which resulted in moribundity and histopathologic differences. The variation in severity was associated with the human fecal community that the mice received. Generally, bacterial populations with pathogenic potential, such as Escherichia, Helicobacter, and Klebsiella, were associated with more severe outcomes. Bacterial groups associated with fiber degradation, bile acid metabolism and lantibiotic production, such as Anaerostipes and Coprobacillus, were associated with less severe outcomes. These data indicate that, in addition to the host and C. difficile, populations of gut bacteria can influence CDI disease severity.

Importance

Clostridioides difficile colonization can be asymptomatic or develop into an infection, ranging in severity from mild diarrhea to toxic megacolon, sepsis, and death. Models that predict severity and guide treatment decisions are based on clinical factors and C. difficile characteristics. Although the gut microbiome plays a role in protecting against CDI, its effect on CDI disease severity is unclear and has not been incorporated into disease severity models. We demonstrated that variation in the microbiome of mice colonized with human feces yielded a range of disease outcomes. These results revealed groups of bacteria associated with both severe and mild C. difficile infection outcomes. Gut bacterial community data from patients with CDI could improve our ability to identify patients at risk of developing more severe disease and improve interventions which target C. difficile and the gut bacteria to reduce host damage.
Molecular mechanisms involved in Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) egg quality: impairments at transcription and protein folding levels induce inefficient protein and energy homeostasis during early development
Authors: Yilmaz Ozlem , Jensen Anders Mangor , Harboe Torstein , Møgster Margareth , Jensen Ragnfrid Mangor , Mjaavatten Olav , Birkeland Even , Spriet Endy , Sandven Linda , Furmanek Tomasz , Berven Frode S. , Wargelius Anna , Norberg Birgitta
Published: February 2022

Background

Reproductive success and normal development in all animals are dependent on egg quality and developmental competence of the produced embryo. This study employed tandem mass tags labeling based liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for egg proteomic profiling to investigate differences in the global proteome of good versus poor quality Atlantic halibut eggs at 1-cell stage post fertilization.

Results

A total of 115 proteins were found to be differentially abundant between good and poor quality eggs. Frequency distribution of these proteins revealed higher protein folding activity in good quality eggs in comparison to higher transcription and protein degradation activities in poor quality eggs (p< 0.05). Poor quality halibut eggs were significantly enriched with additional proteins related to mitochondrial structure and biogenesis (p< 0.05). The differential abundance of a selection of proteins was first confirmed at gene expression level using a transcriptomic approach followed by a targeted proteomic approach (parallel reaction monitoring based mass spectrometry) in biological samples obtained from two consecutive reproductive seasons. The findings of global proteome profiling, together with the validation of differential abundance of targeted proteins and their related genes, suggest impairments in protein and energy homeostasis which might be related to unfolded protein response and mitochondrial stress in poor quality eggs. Additional transmission electron microscopy studies were taken to assess potential differences in abundance and morphological integrity of mitochondria between good and poor quality eggs. Observations reveal poor quality eggs to contain significantly higher number of mitochondria with higher number of cristae. These mitochondria, however, are significantly smaller and have a more irregular shape than those found in high-quality eggs. Therewithal difference in mtDNA levels represented bymt-nd5andmt-atp6genomic DNA abundance in this study, were found to be not statistically significant (p> 0.05) between good and bad quality eggs at both 1 hpf and 24 hpf stages.

Conclusion

Overall evidence from this study indicate that poor quality eggs undergo impairments at both transcription and translation level leading to endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial deficiencies. Additional research may be required to expediate the details and the potential of these impairments occurring in different species. Nonetheless, this study will pave the way for future research and will help in acceleration of recent advances in the field of embryonic developmental competence of living organisms.
Identification of interacting proteins of maize mosaic virus glycoprotein in its vector, Peregrinus maidis
Authors: Barandoc-Alviar Karen , Rotenberg Dorith , Martin Kathleen M. , Whitfield Anna E.
Published: February 2022

Rhabdovirus glycoproteins (G) serve multifunctional roles in virus entry, assembly, and exit from animal cells. We hypothesize that maize mosaic virus (MMV) G is required for invasion, infection, and spread in Peregrinus maidis, the planthopper vector. Using a membrane-based yeast two-hybrid assay, we identified 125 P. maidis proteins that physically interacted with MMV G, of which 68% matched proteins with known functions in endocytosis, vesicle-mediated transport, protein synthesis and turnover, nuclear import/export, metabolism and host defense. Physical interaction networks among conserved proteins indicated a possible cellular coordination of processes associated with MMV G translation, protein folding and trafficking. Non-annotated proteins contained predicted functional sites, including a diverse array of ligand binding sites. Cyclophilin A and apolipophorin III co-immunoprecipitated with MMV G, and each showed different patterns of co-localization with G in insect cells. This study describes the first protein interactome for a rhabdovirus spike protein and insect vector.
A widespread group of large plasmids in methanotrophic Methanoperedens archaea
Authors: Schoelmerich Marie C. , Oubouter Heleen T. , Sachdeva Rohan , Penev Petar , Amano Yuki , West-Roberts Jacob , Welte Cornelia U. , Banfield Jillian F.
Published: February 2022

Anaerobic methanotrophic (ANME) archaea conserve energy from the breakdown of methane, an important driver of global warming, yet the extrachromosomal genetic elements that impact the activities of ANME archaea are little understood. Here we describe large plasmids associated with ANME archaea of the Methanoperedens genus. These have been maintained in two bioreactors that contain enrichment cultures dominated by different Methanoperedens species and co-occur with Methanoperedens species in other anoxic environments. By manual curation we show that two of the plasmids are large (155,607 bp and 191,912 bp), circular, and replicate bidirectionally. The group of Methanoperedens species that carry these plasmids is related to “Ca. Methanoperedens nitroreducens”, “Ca. Methanoperedens ferrireducens”, “Ca. Methanoperedens manganicus" and the plasmids occur in the same copy number as the main chromosome. The larger plasmid encodes transporters that potentially enhance access to Ni, which is required for the methyl-CoM reductase (Mcr), Co required for the cobalamin cofactor needed for methyltransferases, and amino acid uptake. We show that many plasmid genes are actively transcribed, including genes involved in plasmid chromosome maintenance and segregation, a Co2+/Ni2+ transporter and cell protective proteins. Notably, one plasmid carries three tRNAs and two colocalized genes encoding ribosomal protein uL16 and elongation factor eEF2. These are not encoded in the host Methanoperedens genome and uL16 and eEF2 were highly expressed, indicating an obligate interdependence between this plasmid and its host. The finding of plasmids of Methanoperedens opens the way for the development of genetic vectors that could be used to probe little understood aspects of Methanoperedens physiology. Ultimately, this may provide a route to introduce or alter genes that may enhance growth and overall metabolism to accelerate methane oxidation rates.
Real-life performance of a COVID-19 rapid antigen detection test targeting the SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein for diagnosis of COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant
Authors: Michelena Paula de , Torres Ignacio , Ramos-García Ángela , Gosalbes Victoria , Ruiz Nidia , Sanmartín Ana , Botija Pilar , Poujois Sandrine , Huntley Dixie , Albert Eliseo , Navarro David
Published: February 2022

Objectives

It has been suggested that rapid antigen detection assays (RADT) may perform suboptimally in terms of sensitivity for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection. To address this issue, we conducted a prospective study in primary health centers to evaluate the clinical performance of the Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device in nasopharyngeal specimens (NP) carried out at the point of care.

Methods

We recruited 244 patients (median age, 40 years; range 2–96; 141 female) with clinical suspicion of COVID-19 (232 adults and 12 children). 228/244 patients had been fully vaccinated (two doses) with licensed COVID-19 vaccines prior to recruitment. Most patients (222/244) were SARS-CoV-2 naïve prior to enrollment. Patients were tested by RT-PCR and RADT within 5 days since symptoms onset.

Results

126 patients (51.6%) tested positive by both RT-PCR and RADT, 90 patients (36.8%) returned negative results by both assays and 28 patients (11.4%) yielded discordant results (RT-PCR+/RADT-). No patients tested RT-PCR-/RADT+. Overall specificity and sensitivity of RADT was 100% (95% CI, 95.9–100%) and 81.8% (95% CI, 75–87.1%) respectively. The sensitivity of the assay increased from 79.6% (95% CI, 66.4–88.5) when considering specimens collected at days 0–1 after symptoms onset, to 86.4% (95% CI, 66.7–95.3) when grouping the specimens obtained on days 4–5.

Conclusion

The Panbio™ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device perform well (≥80% sensitivity) as a point-of-care test for early diagnosis of COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant in primary healthcare centers.
Research on the influencing factors of knowledge transfer among construction workers based on social cognitive theory
Authors: Zhou Shan , Qin Luping , Zhang Jixuan , Cao Xinying
Published: February 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to employ social cognitive theory (SCT) as a theoretical framework to investigate the influencing factors affecting the knowledge transfer effectiveness of construction workers in China. The mediating role of their knowledge transfer willingness is also assessed.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire on knowledge transfer among Chinese construction workers is designed and subsequently analyzed by structural equation modeling (SEM), with a total sample of 288 construction workers.

Findings

The SEM results show that the knowledge self-efficiency, blood and geographic relationships, and trust relationship promote knowledge transfer willingness and positively influence the knowledge transfer effectiveness of construction workers. However, the effect of organizational culture on knowledge transfer willingness and effectiveness is nonsignificant.

Practical implications

The results are conducive to managers and governments formulating strategies to optimize the learning mechanism of construction workers and facilitate their obtaining of resources from the project, thus easing skill shortages and promoting the transformation of construction workers into industrial workers.

Originality/value

This paper innovatively proposes blood and geographic relationships as research variables, expanding their scope. Furthermore, SCT is applied to enable future research to better understand individual knowledge transfer behavior from both personal and environmental perspectives.
Top management team gender diversity and firm risk-taking in the hospitality industry
Authors: Ozdemir Ozgur , Erkmen Ezgi
Published: February 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the link between top management team (TMT) gender diversity and firm risk-taking in hospitality companies. The study also links female leadership to risk-taking. Finally, this study examines the moderating effects of TMT incentive pay and TMT age on the relationship between TMT gender diversity and firm risk-taking.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses an unbalanced data set of 81 hospitality firms and 888 firm-year observations over the period of 1992–2020. The study uses fixed-effects regression estimation for primary analyses and addresses potential endogeneity concerns via two-stage least square regression with firm fixed-effects instrumental variable regression. Risk-taking is measured by total firm risk (i.e. the annualized volatility of daily stock returns). Main results are supported with alternative measures of firm risk and estimation methods.

Findings

The study finds that increasing TMT gender diversity leads to a reduction in firm risk-taking in the hospitality industry. Moreover, the study finds that hospitality firms led by a female CEO experience lower firm risk compared to firms led by a male CEO. Finally, the study finds evidence that the relationship between TMT gender diversity and firm risk is contingent on the level of incentive pay awarded to TMT members and the age of TMT members. Increasing incentive pay and aging executive teams decrease the risk reduction effect of TMT gender diversity.

Practical implications

The findings of this study recommend that firm risk-taking in the hospitality industry is related to gender diversity in TMTs. Hence, the board of directors should pay attention to gender composition for executive positions for risk management. Moreover, the results also suggest that care should be exercised when using incentive pay to align the interests of managers and shareholders. Finally, the board of directors needs to consider both gender diversity and age of the TMT members for TMT composition to manage executives’ risk-taking behavior.

Originality/value

This study fills a research gap in the hospitality literature by providing empirical evidence for the link between TMT gender diversity and firm risk-taking. Additionally, the study introduces incentive pay and age of TMT as contingency factors for the link between TMT gender diversity and firm risk-taking.
Rethinking the wine list: restaurant customers’ preference for listing wines according to wine style
Authors: Staub Cornelia , Siegrist Michael
Published: February 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this research paper was to examine difficulties that consumers have when choosing wine in a restaurant and whether structuring a wine list according to taste rather than origin facilitates decision-making.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted two online studies in Switzerland to assess whether a wine list organized according to wine style categories, such as fresh and dry or bold and fruity, reduces consumers’ perceived difficulty of choice compared to a traditional origin-grouped wine list and which wine list consumers prefer. In the first study (N = 577), participants received either an origin- or a style-grouped wine list. In the second study (N = 276), participants received and evaluated both wine lists.

Findings

In Study 1, participants with the style-grouped wine list had a longer decision time, but perceived difficulty of choosing a wine was the same as that for the origin-grouped wine list. Study 2 revealed that participants strongly preferred either the origin- or style-grouped wine list. Overall, more than half the participants preferred the style-grouped wine list, indicating that many consumers may appreciate wine lists organized according to wine style.

Practical implications

The findings underscore that restaurants should recognize customer preferences for wine list structures, which may influence customer satisfaction.

Originality/value

This paper assesses consumer perceptions of different wine list structures and how these affect consumers’ selection of a wine in a restaurant.
A humanoid robotic hand capable of internal assembly and measurement in spacesuit gloves
Authors: Bai Rui , Kang Rongjie , Shang Kun , Yang Chenghao , Tang Zhao , Wang Ruiqin , Dai Jian S.
Published: February 2022

Purpose

To identify the dexterity of spacesuit gloves, they need to undergo bending tests in the development process. The ideal way is to place a humanoid robotic hand into the spacesuit glove, mimicking the motions of a human hand and measuring the bending angle/force of the spacesuit glove. However, traditional robotic hands are too large to enter the narrow inner space of the spacesuit glove and perform measurements. This paper aims to design a humanoid robot hand that can wear spacesuit gloves and perform measurements.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed humanoid robotic hand is composed of five modular fingers and a parallel wrist driven by electrical linear motors. The fingers and wrist can be delivered into the spacesuit glove separately and then assembled inside. A mathematical model of the robotic hand is formulated by using the geometric constraints and principle of virtual work to analyze the kinematics and statics of the robotic hand. This model allows for estimating the bending angle and output force/torque of the robotic hand through the displacement and force of the linear motors.

Findings

A prototype of the robotic hand, as well as its testing benches, was constructed to validate the presented methods. The experimental results show that the whole robotic hand can be transported to and assembled in a spacesuit glove to measure the motion characteristics of the glove.

Originality/value

The proposed humanoid robotic hand provides a new method for wearing and measuring the spacesuit glove. It can also be used to other gloves for special protective suits that have highly restricted internal space.
Modelling the strategies for improving maturity and resilience in medical oxygen supply chain through digital technologies
Authors: K.E.K. Vimal , Nadeem Simon Peter , Meledathu Sunil Siddharth , Suresh Gokul , Sanjeev Navaneeth , Kandasamy Jayakrishna
Published: February 2022

Purpose

Improving the medical oxygen supply chain (MOSC) is important to cope with the uneven demand and supply seen in the MOSC when India faced the second wave of COVID-19. This improvisation increases the supply chain (SC) maturity and consequently the efficiency and resiliency to tackle oxygen shortage across the country and to prevent another similar scenario from ever happening. The purpose of this study is to identify and prioritize the solutions to overcome the issues faced by the MOSC during the second wave of COVID-19 cases in India and in turn reduce the extent of casualties in the expected third wave.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses best worst method (BWM) and fuzzy technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution to classify the sub-criteria for solutions to solve major SC issues. BWM is used to determine the weights of the sub-criteria and fuzzy technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution for the final ranking of the solutions to be adopted.

Findings

The result of this study shows that the Internet of Things based tagging system is the best solution followed by horizontal and vertical integration of SC in making a resilient and digitized MOSC capable of handling general bottlenecks during a possible third wave.

Research limitations/implications

The research provides insights that can enable the personnel involved in MOSC. Proper understanding will help the practitioners involved in the SC to effectively tailor the operations and to allocate the resources available in an effective and dynamic manner by minimizing or eliminating the pre-existing bottlenecks within the SC.

Originality/value

The proposed framework provides an accurate ranking and decision-making tool for the implementation of the solutions for the maturity of the MOSC.
Research strength index to identify the performance of research universities: the case of Indonesia
Authors: Dimyati Muhammad , Putera Prakoso Bhairawa , Laksani Chichi Shintia , Zulhamdani Muhammad , Handoyo Setiowiji , Rianto Yan , Handoko Laksana Tri
Published: February 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to identify the strengths of the universities based on the research area which are prioritized by the Government of Indonesia in the National Medium Term Development Plan 2015–2019, in the research areas of food and agriculture; energy, new and renewable energy; health and medicine; transportation; telecommunication, information and communication; defense and security technologies and advanced materials.

Design/methodology/approach

The mapping of the research strength in Indonesian universities is performed by using data of the university research output in the Information System for Research and Community Service, Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education and categorized into seven categories, i.e. accredited national journals, international journals indexed by Scopus or others, Intellectual Property ownership, textbooks, prototypes and an appropriate technology. Based on the data obtained from Information System for Research and Community Service, there are 904 universities in Indonesia conducting research activities and generating 14,188 research outputs.

Findings

This paper analyzes 3 of the 9 National Research Priorities, namely, food, energy and health and medicine. The data show that there are 904 universities in Indonesia conducting research activities and producing 14,188 research results. The research strength index based on National Research Priorities shows that three universities have the highest cluster strength index. Gadjah Mada with an index value of 4.95 is the highest index in the food cluster. In the energy cluster of the Institut Teknologi Bandung with the highest index value of 0.63. Meanwhile, the Universitas Indonesia reached 2.06 as the highest index value in the health and medicine cluster.

Originality/value

Measurement of the strength of the study was conducted using data from research results from universities in 2016 which were recorded in the Information System for Research and Community Service. The University’s R&D strength is calculated from seven categories of research results: accredited national journals, international journals indexed by Scopus or others, intellectual property rights, textbooks, prototypes and appropriate technology products.
Development of institutional repositories in academic and research libraries in Nigeria
Authors: Eromosele George Osas , Adesina Olabisi Fadeke , Abdulrazaq Mutalib Olanrewaju , Aliyu Mahmud
Published: February 2022

Purpose

The development of an institutional repository for academic and research libraries makes possible the visibility of localized scholarly contents on web platform and also provide open access to restricted resources. This paper aims to explore the relevance of developing institutional repositories for open and unrestricted access to confined resources, and discusses academic and research libraries roles in developing institutional repositories; the types of software to be used for the development; and the hardware requirements for server setup and copyright issues. With more establishment of institutional repositories, access to localized information domiciled in the remote institutions can be easily accessed by visiting the institutional library online to retrieve the material.

Design/methodology/approach

To provide a thorough breakdown of the building of institutional repositories in the University of Ilorin, Library, webliography sources were consulted.

Findings

It has been established by the OpenDOAR which is the quality-assured, global Directory of Open Access Repositories that only 30 repositories have been created by some academic and research libraries in Nigeria. There is a need for more academic and research libraries in Nigeria to key into the initiative of developing online institutional repositories to give online visibility to their intellectual contents that have no copyright restrictions in meeting the researcher’s information needs.

Originality/value

This study revealed a thorough approach and various steps that should be followed in developing institutional repositories for academic and research libraries.
Compressing urban living in the dwelling: pandemic living praxis
Authors: Özçelik Sedef , Sevinç Kayihan Kutlu
Published: February 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to understand how the residents have utilized domestic spaces and furniture during three months' lockdown time for the Covid-19 virus spread measures and to explore how domestic living practices were adjusted which had been the daily urban activities previously.

Design/methodology/approach

The research method is a qualitative interpretivist philosophical approach with a quantitative data collection. Short questionnaires were conducted via e-mails with attached links via SurveyMonkey. The sample was the group of people who had been in active urban life before the pandemic and had been actively working at the office spaces.

Findings

Separate learning/working spaces were urged at home, at least for the set intervals in the daytime. Production in the kitchen also acted as an interactive production and entertainment. Balconies and terraces were re-discovered and acted as “urban-substitute open spaces”. The living room became the new venue for domestic interaction especially during working-learning breaks, for watching movies, personal care or reading sessions. Computers, tablets and smartphones became the urban activity base due to online meeting applications for social reasons, online shopping, working and learning. The separation of domains at home became essential.

Research limitations/implications

The study only focuses domestic uses of white-collar workers; during the lock-down period, Covid-19 pandemic. Sampling constraints are the employees who were active urban life before the pandemic and working at the office space. Sharing the house at least with one other roommate, sibling or spouse with or without children. Individuals who had not been working outside the home before the pandemic, people aged over 65, retired, permanent home workers, housewives, freelancers and other such demographic structures are excluded from the study.

Social implications

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first wave lockdown began between early March–June 2020, and millions of people were confined to the dwellings. “Staying home” stood for working-learning-shopping-interacting online, more production in the kitchen, using the living room as a domestic multi-functional venue, spending time on the terraces and balconies as domestic open spaces. The active living in the urban context dramatically shifted to “at-home living”.

Originality/value

The study only focuses on the three months' interval in which strict rules for staying home were enforced in Istanbul, Turkey. Schemas, charts and tables are generated concerning the input. The study challenges the making meaning via praxis of “to dwell” and urban living. Nevertheless, the main questions of housing such as production, social aspects, shared spaces, interaction are re-configured and the substitute urban space is created at home.
Selection for additive manufacturing using hybrid MCDM technique considering sustainable concepts
Authors: Chandra Mukesh , Shahab Faisal , KEK Vimal , Rajak Sonu
Published: February 2022

Purpose

In the present scenario, the demand for additive manufacturing (AM) has increased. Taking into account environmental problems and sustainability, manufacturers are now also considering the environmental and sustainability criteria in their decision-making process. The sustainability concept is known as the triple-bottom line, namely, economic, social and environmental perspectives. Sustainable concept selection in the manufacturing organisation can be considered as the selection of sustainable material, product design, process, method and technology. This study aims to select an appropriate AM process by considering sustainability from various available techniques.

Design/methodology/approach

Appropriate sustainable performance indicators for the AM were identified based on literature as well as in discussion with experts and decision-makers. The model addresses all the major dimensions of sustainable concepts of AM such as material/product quality, machine performance, market stability, total cost and ecological values. A hybrid multi-criteria decision-making approach, i.e. stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis and complex proportional assessment methods, have been used to select the best AM technique. While selecting criteria affecting AM machines and processes, criteria based on the sustainable concept are considered.

Findings

Among the four selected AM processes, i.e. fused diffusion modelling (FDM), laminated object manufacturing (LOM), stereolithography apparatus (SLA) and selective laser sintering (SLS), the best alternative was found to be FDM.

Research limitations/implications

The present study highlights some limitations in the selection of AM process and methodology used in this research. This study considers only four AM processes, i.e. FDM, LOM, SLA and SLS. Future work may include considering other AM processes and criteria that affect the sustainability of AM.

Practical implications

The present work will help researchers and production managers to decide the best AM alternatives to fabricate desired parts. Hence, AM can help in maximum energy utilisation, optimal consumption of resources, minimum material wastage and reduction of CO2 emission.

Originality/value

The study considers some important criteria, including energy consumption, eco-friendly and wastage-free production, that help sustainable AM. This study can result in a good economic efficiency of AM industries and, therefore, positively impact customers using green products.
An experimental and numerical investigation on mechanical properties of 3D printed continuous glass tow preg-reinforced composites
Authors: Mosleh Nastaran , Dariushi Soheil , Esfandeh Masoud
Published: February 2022

Purpose

In this paper, continuous glass tow preg-reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) composites were fabricated by using a 3D printing method, and the purpose of this study is the investigation of the fiber preimpregnation effect on the mechanical behavior of these composites. In addition, a simple theoretical approach (mixture law), which considers the elastic behavior of reinforced composites and a numerical simulation method based on finite element method (FEM), was used to predict the tensile stress–strain behavior of ABS/glass tow preg composites in the elastic region.

Design/methodology/approach

Different groups of preimpregnated glass tows with various ABS amounts (named 2%, 10%, 20% and 30%) were prepared by the solution impregnation method. Then, preimpregnated glass tows (prepregs or tow-pregs) were fed into the printer head along with the polymeric ABS filament to print the composites. The tensile, flexural and short beam tests were conducted to evaluate the mechanical properties of the printed composites.

Findings

The first result of using tow-pregs instead of dry tows in continuous fiber 3D printing is much easier printing, printability improvement and the possibility of printing layers with low thickness, which can further increase the mechanical properties. The mechanical test results showed all of the glass prepregs improve strength and modulus in the tensile, three-point bending and short beam tests compared with neat ABS specimens, but statistical analysis showed that ABS weight percentage in the prepregs had no significant effect on the mechanical strength of composites except for the tensile modulus. Samples containing 2%-prepreg (minimum ABS amount in the tow-pregs) showed a significant improvement in tensile modulus. In the simulation section, good agreement is obtained between the model predictions and experimental tensile results. The results show that an acceptable deviation (14%) exists between the experimental and predicted value of elastic modulus by the numerical model.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study showing the effects of ABS weight percentage in prepregs on the mechanical properties of 3D printed continuous fiber-reinforced composites and predicting the mechanical behavior of 3D printed composites by numerical simulation method.
Patterns of the use of advanced radiation therapy techniques for the management of bone metastases and the associated factors in Victoria
Authors: Fogarty Tamara , Tacey Mark , McCorkell Giulia , Kok David , Hornby Colin , Milne Roger L. , Millar Jeremy , Foroudi Farshad , Ong Wee Loon
Published: February 2022

Introduction

To describe the pattern of the use of advanced radiation therapy (RT) techniques, including intensity‐modulated RT (IMRT), volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and stereotactic body RT (SBRT) for the management of bone metastases (BM), and the associated factors in Victoria.

Methods

We used a population‐based cohort of patients from the state‐wide Victorian Radiotherapy Minimum Data Set (VRMDS) who received RT for BM between 2012 and 2017. The primary outcome was proportion of RT courses using advanced RT techniques. The Cochran‐Armitage test for trend was used to evaluate temporal trend in advanced RT use. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with advanced RT use.

Results

A total of 18,158 courses of RT were delivered to 10,956 patients–16,626 (91.6%) courses were 3D conformal RT, 857 (4.7%) IMRT/VMAT and 675 (3.7%) SBRT. There was a sharp increase in IMRT/VMAT use from <1% in 2012–2015, to 10.1% in 2016 and 16.3% in 2017 (P‐trend < 0.001). Increase in SBRT use was more gradual, from 1.2% in 2012 to 4.8% in 2016 and 5.5% in 2017 for SBRT (P‐trend<0.001). In multivariate analyses, year of RT was the strongest predictor of IMRT/VMAT use (OR = 41; 95%CI = 25–67; P < 0.001, comparing 2012–2013 and 2016–2017). Primary tumour type (prostate cancer) was the strongest predictor of SBRT use (OR = 6.07; 95% CI = 4.19–8.80; P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Overall, there was increasing trend in the use of advanced RT techniques for BM in Victoria, with a distinct pattern for IMRT/VMAT compared with SBRT – SBRT uptake was more gradual while IMRT/VMAT uptake was abrupt, occurring contemporaneously with Medicare Benefit Scheme funding changes in 2016.