bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Single- and duplex TaqMan-quantitative PCR for determining the copy numbers of integrated selection markers during site-specific mutagenesis in Toxoplasma gondii by CRISPR-Cas9
Authors: Haenggeli Kai Pascal Alexander , Hemphill Andrew , Müller Norbert , Schimanski Bernd , Olias Philipp , Müller Joachim , Boubaker Ghalia
Published: June 2022

Herein, we developed a single and a duplex TaqMan quantitative qPCR for absolute quantification of copy numbers of integrated dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (mdhfr-ts) drug selectable marker for pyrimethamine resistance in Toxoplasma gondii knockouts (KOs). The single TaqMan qPCR amplifies a 174 bp DNA fragment of the inserted mdhfr-ts and of the wild-type (WT) dhfr-ts (wt-dhfr-ts) which is present as single copy gene in Toxoplasma and encodes a sensitive enzyme to pyrimethamine. Thus, the copy number of the dhfr-ts fragment in a given DNA quantity from KO parasites with a single site-specific integration should be twice the number of dhfr-ts copies recorded in the same DNA quantity from WT parasites. The duplex TaqMan qPCR allows simultaneous amplification of the 174 bp dhfr-ts fragment and the T. gondii 529-bp repeat element. Accordingly, for a WT DNA sample, the determined number of tachyzoites given by dhfr-ts amplification is equal to the number of tachyzoites determined by amplification of the Toxoplasma 529-bp, resulting thus in a ratio of 1. However, for a KO clone having a single site-specific integration of mdhfr-ts, the calculated ratio is 2. We then applied both approaches to test T. gondii RH mutants in which the major surface antigen (SAG1) was disrupted through insertion of mdhfr-ts using CRISPR-Cas9. Results from both assays were in correlation showing a high accuracy in detecting KOs with multiple integrated mdhfr-ts. Southern blot analyses using BsaBI and DraIII confirmed qPCRs results. Both TaqMan qPCRs are needed for reliable diagnostic of T. gondii KOs following CRISPR-Cas9-mediated mutagenesis, particularly with respect to off-target effects resulting from multiple insertions of mdhfr-ts. The principle of the duplex TaqMan qPCR is applicable for other selectable markers in Toxoplasma. TaqMan qPCR tools may contribute to more frequent use of WT Toxoplasma strains during functional genomics.
Predicting the antigenic evolution of SARS-COV-2 with deep learning
Authors: Han Wenkai , Chen Ningning , Xu Xinzhou , Sahil Adil , Zhou Juexiao , Li Zhongxiao , Zhong Huawen , Zhang Ruochi , Wang Yu , Sun Shiwei , Cheung Peter Pak-Hang , Gao Xin
Published: June 2022

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) antigenic profile evolves in response to the vaccine and natural infection-derived immune pressure, resulting in immune escape and threatening public health. Exploring the possible antigenic evolutionary potentials improves public health preparedness, but it is limited by the lack of experimental assays as the sequence space is exponentially large. Here we introduce the Machine Learning-guided Antigenic Evolution Prediction (MLAEP), which combines structure modeling, multi-task learning, and genetic algorithm to model the viral fitness landscape and explore the antigenic evolution viain silicodirected evolution. As demonstrated by existing SARS-COV-2 variants, MLAEP can infer the order of variants along antigenic evolutionary trajectories, which is also strongly correlated with their sampling time. The novel mutations predicted by MLAEP are also found in immunocompromised covid patients and newly emerging variants, like XBB1.5. The predictions of MLAEP were validated by conducting in vitro neutralizing antibody binding assay, which demonstrated that the model-generated variants displayed significantly increased immune evasion ability compared with the controls. In sum, our approach enables profiling existing variants and forecasting prospective antigenic variants, thus may help guide the development of vaccines and increase preparedness against future variants. Our model is available athttps://mlaep.cbrc.kaust.edu.sa.
A new model to describe small-angle neutron scattering from foams
Authors: Kühnhammer Matthias , Braun Larissa , Ludwig Michael , Soltwedel Olaf , Chiappisi Leonardo , von Klitzing Regine
Published: June 2022

The modelling of scattering data from foams is very challenging due to the complex structure of foams and is therefore often reduced to the fitting of single peak positions or feature mimicking. This article presents a more elaborate model to describe the small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) data from foams. The model takes into account the geometry of the foam bubbles and is based on an incoherent superposition of the reflectivity curves arising from the foam films and the small-angle scattering (SAS) contribution from the plateau borders. The model is capable of describing the complete scattering curve of a foam stabilized by the standard cationic surfactant tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C14TAB) with different water contents, i.e. different drainage states, and provides information on the thickness distribution of liquid films inside the foam. The mean film thickness decreases with decreasing water content because of drainage, from 28 to 22 nm, while the polydispersity increases. These results are in good agreement with the film thicknesses of individual horizontal foam films studied with a thin-film pressure balance.
Ce-loaded silica nanoparticles in the epoxy nanocomposite coating for anticorrosion protection of carbon steel
Authors: Nguyen Thien Vuong , Tran Dai Lam , Nguyen Tuan Anh , Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong , Dao Phi Hung , Mac Van Phuc , Do Minh Thanh , Nguyen Thi Mai , Dang Thi My Linh
Published: June 2022

Purpose

This study aims to explore how the inhibitor-loaded nanocontainers can be used in the epoxy coating for protection of steel against corrosion. A self-healing anticorrosive coating can be easily fabricated by embedding the inhibitor-loaded nanocontainers into the epoxy coating matrices. For this purpose, first, cerium (a catholic corrosion inhibitor) is encapsulated into silica nanoparticles (SiO2@Ce). Thereafter, an epoxy nanocomposite coating has been prepared on steel substrate using these SiO2@Ce nanoparticles as nanofillers.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine the effect of SiO2@Ce nanocontainers on mechanical properties of epoxy coating, the abrasion resistance, impact resistance and adhesion strength of coating have been evaluated. To reveal the effect of SiO2@Ce nanocontainer on corrosion behavior of epoxy-coated steel, the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has been conducted in NaCl solution.

Findings

Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy/Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses indicate that Ce3+cations have been successfully loaded into the surface of silica nanoparticles (at the content of approximately 2 Wt.%). Mechanical tests of epoxy nanocomposite coatings indicate that the nanocomposite coatings with nanoparticles content of 2.5 Wt.% provide the highest values of abrasion resistance, impact resistance and adhesion strength. EIS results show that the presence of SiO2@Ce3+nanocontainers increases both coating resistance and polarization resistance. Along with the improvement the coating barrier performance, Ce inhibitor plays an important role in improving the anticorrosive performance at the steel–electrolyte interface.

Originality/value

The application of self-healing epoxy/SiO2@Ce nanocomposite coatings for the protection of carbon steel is very promising.
Did you get the message? Examining prompted and unprompted recall of messages in a safe food-handling media campaign
Authors: Charlesworth Jessica , Liddelow Caitlin , Mullan Barbara , Tan Henry , Abbott Bree , Potter Abbey
Published: June 2022

Purpose

The prevalence of foodborne illness remains high in Australia. In response, government initiatives have been implemented to inform consumers of ways to safely handle food. The aim of this study was to examine the accuracy of prompted and unprompted recall of messages from a safe food-handling media campaign in Western Australia, and whether this accuracy of prompted and unprompted recall differed by demographic factors and the mode of delivery of the campaign materials.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey responses from 121 participants (Mage = 47.15 years, SD = 15.52) who reported seeing or hearing the campaign were analysed. A series of chi-square tests were used to determine the accuracy of recall when prompted and unprompted, and the accuracy of unprompted and prompted recall across demographic factors and mode of delivery.

Findings

Results indicated that more participants accurately recalled the campaign messages when prompted (66.1%) compared to unprompted (35.5%), when they had seen outdoor advertisements (e.g. at bus stops or in shopping malls), and if they were between 30 and 45 years of age.

Originality/value

This study is the first to explore the uptake and comprehension of messages from a safe food-handling media campaign. Evaluation of safe food-handling media campaigns has shown some efficacy in relation to behaviour change; however, little is known about the uptake or comprehension of the campaign messages, and factors that may influence this.
The effect of organizational justice on employee performance in the Indian Public Sector Units: the role of organizational identification
Authors: Pattnaik Subhra , Tripathy Santosh Kumar
Published: June 2022

Purpose

Past studies have proved the effect of justice on performance. However, the findings across studies have been inconsistent and there remains a substantial unexplained variance between the constructs. Therefore, justice researchers urge for further exploration of the underlying mechanism of the relationship by introducing influencers. This study responds to such call of the researchers by testing the influence of organizational identification (OID) on the justice-performance relationship in the context of Indian Public Sector Units (PSUs).

Design/methodology/approach

The study is grounded in the positivism philosophy. The research hypotheses were tested using cross-sectional data gathered using a pre-tested questionnaire. In this study, the authors have used covariance-based structural equation modeling commercial software (AMOS 24.0).

Findings

OID did not mediate the relationship between justice facets and performance. Rather, informational justice, followed by procedural and distributive justice had direct positive influences on performance. OID, however, moderated the procedural justice-performance such that the relationship strengthened at higher levels of OID and the interpersonal justice-performance relationship such that the relationship dampened at higher levels of OID. Interestingly, the relationship between interpersonal justice and performance was insignificant in the absence of the moderator, showcasing the strongest case of moderation.

Originality/value

The paper explores OID as an influencer to justice-performance relationship in Indian PSU context for the very first time, thereby highlighting unique finings. It contributes to the further understanding of the unexplained variance in the justice-performance relationship.
Do emotions, desires and habits influence mutual fund investing? A study using the model of goal-directed behavior
Authors: Sourirajan Sunderarajan , Perumandla Swamy
Published: June 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether affective factors such as goal desires, positive anticipated emotions, anticipated regret and non-volitional actions like habits influence retail mutual fund investing.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the model of goal-directed behavior (MGB), the impact of affective factors and habits was compared against a cognitively driven model. Data were collected through a survey of 321 mutual fund investors across India and analyzed using the partial least squares method.

Findings

Goal-based desires were a significant driver of investing intentions while actual investing was driven by habits. Anticipated regret strongly influenced desires. The overall explanation of variance in intentions and investing behaviors was improved by 27 and 28% respectively by the new model.

Research limitations/implications

The current investments in mutual funds is used as a proxy for future investing behaviors so results need to be interpreted accordingly. Future research directions could include the effects of mood, impact of language, religion and culture.

Practical implications

For “emotionally complex” cultures, impact of emotive drivers and habits play a significant part in investing and fund houses need to orient their marketing accordingly.

Social implications

Awareness programs on how emotive issues and habits can hinder as well as enhance investment performance in markets would benefit retail investors.

Originality/value

The study is unique in analyzing affective and non-volitional factors and in showing that intentions are not sufficient to explain behaviors. It analyzes not just intentions as most studies do, but end behaviors of investors as well. It uses the MGB theoretical framework from behavioral psychology that has not been applied to financial behaviors before.
Analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on the financial performance of the hospitality and tourism industries: an ensemble MCDM approach in the Indian context
Authors: Ghosh Swagata , Bhattacharya Mousumi
Published: June 2022

Purpose

The Indian hospitality and tourism industries, major economic growth drivers and employment generators, have been greatly affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In FY 2020, the Indian tourism sector created 39 million jobs and contributed nearly US$194.3bn, or 6.8%, to India’s gross domestic product. The purpose of this study is to focus on ranking 22 listed hotels and 9 listed travel agencies in India based on their performance across 14 selected financial parameters in both the pre-COVID-19 year ending in March 2019 and the post-COVID-19 year ending in March 2021 to understand how the pandemic affected their businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

This research proposes to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial performance of 22 listed Indian hotels and 9 listed travel agencies evaluated over 14 financial parameters using a pipeline of two recently developed multicriteria decision-making techniques, method based on the removal effects of criteria (MEREC) and grey-based combined compromised solution (CoCoSo). First, the criteria weights are objectively determined using MEREC, and then the financial performances of the selected companies in both the hospitality and tourism industries are separately assessed using CoCoSo to get their overall performance score, based on which the companies are ranked in order of preference.

Findings

It was observed that Westlife Development, Lemon Tree Hotels, Indian Tourism Development Corporation, Royal Orchid and Country Club performed significantly poorer than their peers in the aftermath of the pandemic, whereas EIH, Advani Hotels and Resorts and TGB Banquets performed relatively better. Travel agencies Easy Trip and International Travel House performed particularly poorly because of the pandemic, but VMV Holidays performed relatively better in FY 2021.

Practical implications

The findings of the analysis will aid portfolio construction, corporate investment decisions, competition research, government policymaking and industrial analysis.

Originality/value

The proposed model is novel because it fills the research gap in the application of the integrated MEREC–CoCoSo method to study the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality and tourism sectors in India.
Health literacy, health literacy interventions and decision-making: a systematic literature review
Authors: Ghorbanian Zolbin Maedeh , Huvila Isto , Nikou Shahrokh
Published: June 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the relationship between elderly people's health literacy skills and those people's decision to make use of digital health service platforms. Despite the substantial influence of digitisation on the delivery of healthcare services, understanding how health intervention strategies might help empower elderly people's health literacy skills is critical.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyses the existing trends in research on the convergence of health literacy, health intervention programmes and digital health service platforms by reviewing 34 studies published between 2000 and 2020.

Findings

The findings of the review indicate three primary themes (health literacy skills, health management competency and attitude/confidence), which provide a summary of the current literature, and in all three the results show that health intervention programmes help to enhance health literacy skills of elderly people. Based on the review results and by organising the fragmented status quo of health intervention research, the authors develop a comprehensive research model and identify future research directions for research in this domain.

Practical implications

The findings will be useful to health professionals in two ways: (1) the findings provide practical information about the growing need to implement health literacy intervention programmes to satisfy elderly people's appetite for accessing health services due to cognitive and physiological impairments, and (2) the finding help them to understand that with digital health platforms, elderly people have quicker access to health services, improving the quality of care provided to them.

Originality/value

This paper presents a comprehensive research model for analysing the impact of health literacy skills on older people's ability and intention to access digital health information sources, considering various health intervention approaches.
Leveraging the potential of a technologically heterogeneous suppliers – a dynamic approach
Authors: Gelei Andrea , Kenesei Zsófia
Published: June 2022

Purpose

In today’s turbulent environment, it is important that companies effectively leverage resources available both in-house and in their interorganizational ties. The purpose of this study is to focus on technology as a key resource and aims to analyse contextual factors of the relationship between the technological heterogeneity of suppliers and the buyer firm’s short- and long-term performance in a dynamic approach.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper applies a mixed-method approach. The theoretical model has been developed based on extant literature, validated by a workshop with practitioners, and tested using structural equation modelling on a sample of 157 companies.

Findings

Suppliers’ technological heterogeneity has a significant positive effect on both the buyer’s actual business performance and its research and development capability. Business performance captures the short term, while the long-term performance implications of heterogeneity are understood as a precondition for future, technology-based competitiveness. The results show that both short- and long-term consequences are mediated by the buyer’s supply chain management efforts (SCMEs), while the relationship between technological heterogeneity and these efforts is moderated by the buyer’s networking capability (NC).

Research limitations/implications

This study provides the first evidence of potential long-term positive performance consequences of technologically heterogeneous suppliers. Additionally, it develops new insights into how the internal abilities of the focal firm might facilitate or hinder the positive implications of such heterogeneity. Specifically, the role of the buyer’s SCMEs and its NC is analysed. Industry-specific analyses offer new opportunities for future scholarship and future studies could extend research with other contextual factors.

Practical implications

Managers at different levels of the buyer firm should be aware of the organizational capabilities through which they can leverage the potential embedded in technologically heterogeneous suppliers. The results contribute to this understanding, which is especially important when a change in the environment (and the consequent changes in the level of technological heterogeneity) is constant.

Originality/value

This paper reflects on an important critique of the extant literature by applying a dynamic approach. Dynamization is twofold. Firstly, this study does not limit empirical analysis to short-term performance consequences. Secondly, this study discusses contextual factors that capture some aspects of the buyer’s ability to dynamically adapt to the changing environment. SCMEs align the supply chain of the buyer along customer requirements that change over time, while the NC is responsible for the ongoing reconfiguration of the supplier’s base.
Governing anticipation: UNESCO making humankind futures literate
Authors: Jennische Ulrik , Sörbom Adrienne
Published: June 2022

Purpose

This paper explores practices of foresight within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) program Futures Literacy, as a form of transnational governmentality–founded on the interests of “using the future” by “emancipating” the minds of humanity.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on ethnographic material gathered over five years within the industry of futures consultancy, including UNESCO and its network of self-recognized futurists. The material consists of written sources, participant observation in on-site and digital events and workshops, and interviews.

Findings

Building on Foucault's (1991) concept of governmentality, which refers to the governing of governing and how subjects politically come into being, this paper critically examines the UNESCO Futures Literacy program by answering questions on ontology, deontology, technology and utopia. It shows how the underlying rationale of the Futures Literacy program departs from an ontological premise of anticipation as a fundamental capacity of biological life, constituting an ethical substance that can be worked on and self-controlled. This rationale speaks to the mandate of UNESCO, to foster peace in our minds, but also to the governing of governing at the individual level.

Originality/value

In the intersection between the growing literature on anticipation and research concerning governmentality the paper adds ethnographically based knowledge to the field of transnational governance. Earlier ethnographic studies of UNESCO have mostly focused upon its role for cultural heritage, or more broadly neoliberal forms of governing.
Corporate social responsibility, marketing capabilities and consumer behavioral responses
Authors: Kankam-Kwarteng Collins , Donkor George Nana Agyekum , Forkuoh Solomon Kwarteng
Published: June 2022

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and marketing capability on consumer behavioral responses in the mobile telecommunication industry in Ghana. Particularly, the study estimated the moderating effect of marketing capability on the relationship between CSR and consumer behavioral responses.

Design/methodology/approach

Both customers and employees of three major mobile telecommunication companies were sampled for this work. A mixed linear regression technique was used to examine the relationship between corporate responsibility, marketing capability and customer behavioral responses.

Findings

The empirical results revealed that marketing capabilities moderate the relationship between CSR and consumer responses in the telecommunication industry.

Research limitations/implications

The study proposes practical dimensions to the mobile telecommunication companies that the extensive development of strong marketing capabilities serves a conduit for CSR to achieve favorable consumer responses.

Originality/value

The results have opened up rather a limitation studies on the moderation role marketing capabilities in relationship between CSR and consumer behavioral responses in the telecommunication industry.
Stakeholder salience and environmental stewardship among hotels in Malaysia
Authors: Rassiah Puspavathy , Mohd Nasir Norita , Khan Ghazala , Munir Sa'adiah
Published: June 2022

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the influence and impacts of stakeholders on the awareness and attitudes towards environmental management practices (EMPs) among hotel managers in Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 159 hotel managers participated in the survey. Structural equation modelling using the partial least squares (PLS) technique was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Owners and regulators influence hotel managers' environmental awareness and attitudes and their adoption of EMPs. Managers with a greater environmental awareness are more likely to adopt basic EMPs, while those with a greater environmental attitude are more likely to adopt advanced EMPs. In addition, stakeholder influence on managers' awareness and attitudes differs for hotels with and without an environmental policy.

Research limitations/implications

Other types of accommodation and stakeholders, demographic variations of hotels and different data collection methods could provide additional insights into the hotel sustainability issue.

Practical implications

Coercion may be needed to translate hotel managers' environmental awareness and attitudes into practices. Therefore, regulators should provide rules and penalties to enforce mandatory requirements and incentives to encourage environmental sustainability initiatives.

Social implications

The joint effort among stakeholders could create a societal norm that appreciates and maintains a sustainable environment and tourism industry.

Originality/value

This study emphasises the importance of stakeholder salience theory to understand the association between stakeholder influence on managers' awareness and attitudes and the adoption of EMPs by hotels in Malaysia. It is one of only a handful of studies that focuses on stakeholders' influence on environmental stewardship from managers' perspectives.
International tourists’ local African food consumption
Authors: Badu-Baiden Frank , Kim Seongseop (Sam) , Otoo Felix Elvis , King Brian
Published: June 2022

Purpose

This study aims to examine international tourists’ local African food consumption experiences by using an attribute–benefit–value–intention (ABVI) framework.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 336 respondents were collected in Ghana, Africa. A series of quantitative research methods were used in the data analysis to explicate the relationships.

Findings

By assessing critical structural relationships, 8 out of 14 hypothetical relationships were found to be empirically supported. They include the paths between food novelty, restaurant quality and food quality as antecedents of epistemic value, the path between restaurant quality and food quality and the path between restaurant quality and consumption value.

Originality/value

This study establishes the psychological mechanism behind tourists’ local food consumption experiences and further extends the utility of the consumption value theory and ABVI framework into the local food experience context. It confirms that tourists’ local food consumption experiences involve a sequential psychological process involving local food attribute evaluation, benefits sought, consumption values and future intention. This study offers a thorough explanation of variables that are crucial to promoting indigenous ethnic food consumption experience.
Shifts in dominance and complementarity between sessile oak and beech along ecological gradients
Authors: Jacobs Kristoffel , Jonard Mathieu , Muys Bart , Ponette Quentin
Published: June 2022

Whether tree species benefit from growing in a mixed forest depends on the relative importance of positive versus negative interactions, which varies according to abiotic conditions. In mixture with sessile oak Quercus petraea [Matt.] Liebl., European beech Fagus sylvatica L. is often competitively dominant. Sessile oak, however, is more resistant to water deficit stress. Under water‐limiting conditions, facilitation or even competition exerted by oak may gain in importance.

We investigated the relative importance of dominance and complementarity in seven triplets of pure and mixed forests in Belgium's temperate oceanic climate. We analysed ring width data of 145 oaks and 138 beech trees along three distinct gradients: a spatial (i) and a temporal (ii) water availability gradient and a temporal gradient in growing conditions (iii). Gradient (ii) was represented by a precipitation variable, obtained by defining a large set of candidate climate variables over variable time frames, narrowed down using a species and site‐specific lasso model. Growing conditions on a temporal gradient (iii) were represented by standardized tree growth. Two sets of linear mixed‐effects models were used. Growth models assess mixing effects on ring width along gradients (i) and (ii). Mixing index models test for all three gradients how they affect the relative difference in average ring width of trees in mixed and pure stands.

Beech trees grew faster than oak trees, and mixing further increased beech growth while decreasing oak growth, except on drier sites where the negative effect on oak growth disappeared. Low precipitation years, in contrast, reduced the beneficial effect of mixing on beech. In years of low growth, the positive mixing effect on beech growth was reinforced, and the negative mixing effect on oak growth decreased.

Synthesis. Mixing buffered against growth limitations in general, though this depends on the nature of the limitation and the gradient over which it is measured. On dry sites, competitive dominance of beech was replaced by higher complementarity between species. During dry years, however, oak did not profit from a decreased mixing benefit of beech.
phylogatR: Phylogeographic data aggregation and repurposing
Authors: Pelletier Tara A. , Parsons Danielle J. , Decker Sydney K. , Crouch Stephanie , Franz Eric , Ohrstrom Jeffery , Carstens Bryan C.
Published: June 2022

Patterns of genetic diversity within species contain information the history of that species, including how they have responded to historical climate change and how easily the organism is able to disperse across its habitat. More than 40,000 phylogeographic and population genetic investigations have been published to date, each collecting genetic data from hundreds of samples. Despite these millions of data points, meta‐analyses are challenging because the synthesis of results across hundreds of studies, each using different methods and forms of analysis, is a daunting and time‐consuming task. It is more efficient to proceed by repurposing existing data and using automated data analysis. To facilitate data repurposing, we created a database (phylogatR) that aggregates data from different sources and conducts automated multiple sequence alignments and data curation to provide users with nearly ready‐to‐analyse sets of data for thousands of species. Two types of scientific research will be made easier by phylogatR: large meta‐analyses of thousands of species that can address classic questions in evolutionary biology and ecology, and student‐ or citizen‐ science based investigations that will introduce a broad range of people to the analysis of genetic data. phylogatR enhances the value of existing data via the creation of software and web‐based tools that enable these data to be recycled and reanalysed and increase accessibility to big data for research laboratories and classroom instructors with limited computational expertise and resources.
Longitudinal changes in inflammatory biomarkers among patients with COVID‐19: A nationwide study in Iceland
Authors: Oskarsdottir Thora , Sigurdsson Martin I. , Palsson Runolfur , Eythorsson Elias
Published: June 2022

Objectives

All SARS‐CoV‐2‐positive persons in Iceland were prospectively monitored and those who required outpatient evaluation or were admitted to hospital underwent protocolized evaluation that included a standardized panel of biomarkers. The aim was to describe longitudinal changes in inflammatory biomarkers throughout the infection period of patients with COVID‐19 requiring different levels of care.

Design

Registry‐based study.

Setting

Nationwide study in Iceland.

Patients

All individuals who tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 by real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) from February 28 to December 31, 2020 in Iceland and had undergone blood tests between 5 days before and 21 days following onset of symptoms.

Measurements and Main Results

Data were collected from the electronic medical record system of Landspitali–The National University Hospital of Iceland. Data analyses were descriptive and the evolution of biomarkers was visualized using locally weighted scatterplot smoothing curves stratified by the worst clinical outcome experienced by the patient: outpatient evaluation only, hospitalization, and either intensive care unit (ICU) admission or death. Of 571 included patients, 310 (54.3%) only required outpatient evaluation or treatment, 202 (35.4%) were hospitalized, and 59 (10.3%) were either admitted to the ICU or died. An early and persistent separation of the mean lymphocyte count and plasma C‐reactive protein (CRP) and ferritin levels was observed between the three outcome groups, which occurred prior to hospitalization for those who later were admitted to ICU or died. Lower lymphocyte count, and higher CRP and ferritin levels correlated with worse clinical outcomes. Patients who were either admitted to the ICU or died had sustained higher white blood cell and neutrophil counts, and elevated plasma levels of procalcitonin and D‐dimer compared with the other groups.

Conclusions

Lymphocyte count and plasma CRP and ferritin levels might be suitable parameters to assess disease severity early during COVID‐19 and may serve as predictors of worse outcome.
Competitive exclusion and herbivore management in a context of livestock‐wildlife conflict
Authors: Marino Andrea , Rodríguez Victoria
Published: June 2022

Understanding competitive interactions is essential to properly inform management strategies, in particular in the context of livestock‐wildlife conflict across a degraded land, such as the case of wild guanacos in Patagonia. Guanacos are historically perceived by ranchers as livestock’s main competitors, and there is a growing demand for reducing their numbers. However, both competition theory and available evidence suggest a more complex interaction than the one assumed by the current management approach. This study aimed to test the occurrence of competitive exclusion of guanacos by domestic sheep at intra‐ranch scale. We assessed the spatial segregation of guanacos and sheep and compared guanaco occupancy patterns within a sheep ranch with those recorded within an adjacent protected area free from livestock. The probability of a group of herbivores being sheep instead of guanacos increased in bottom valleys and smaller paddocks and decreased as the distance to water increased. These results agree with the expected patterns of sheep habitat use resulting from physiological restrictions and grazing behaviour. Occupancy patterns within the ranch showed a higher proportion of guanacos in ridges, away from water sources and in larger paddocks, opposing those observed in the sheep‐free area where guanacos occupied mostly bottom valleys, irrespective of the distance to water. Areas used consistently by guanacos showed a higher per cent cover of preferred forage and basal‐plant cover, indicating a better range condition than those used predominately by sheep. Our results add to the solid body of evidence on spatial segregation of these species at coarser spatial scales, support the competitive exclusion of guanacos by sheep and suggest that intra‐ranch coexistence is possible because guanacos occupy areas underused or inaccessible to sheep. Under these conditions, it is unlikely that guanaco culling will improve sheep production and the empirical verification of the assumptions underlying current management initiatives becomes crucial.
Phytohormones in galls on eucalypt trees and in the gall‐forming wasp Leptocybe invasa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)
Authors: Wang Wei , Guo Wenfeng , Tang Jun , Li Xiaoqiong
Published: June 2022

The role played by phytohormones in insect galls and the mechanisms underlying plant manipulation by gall makers are still unclear.

Galls made by Leptocybe invasa on two Eucalyptus species were sampled, the correlations between the levels of nine phytohormones in galls and gall size were analysed, and phytohormone levels in the interior and exterior tissues of galls and L. invasa were determined.

During two larval stages, the levels of three forms of cytokinins (CKs) in the galls of the two plant species all showed significantly positive correlations with gall size. Brassinosteroids (BRs) and dihydrozeatin riboside (DHZR) occurred at significantly higher levels in the interior tissues of the galls compared to in the exterior tissues of galls. Isopentenyl adenosine (IPA) was significantly higher in L. invasa larvae themselves, compared to levels in the interior and exterior tissues of galls. However, the levels of DHZR and BR were significantly lower or similar in the L. invasa pupae compared to that in the interior and exterior tissues of the galls.

These findings indicate that phytohormones, especially CKs, act as key regulators of L. invasa galls, and that the larvae of L. invasa may themselves be a source of CKs.
How Organizational Capacity Can Improve Electoral Accountability
Authors: Foarta Dana
Published: June 2022

The organizational structure of the bureaucracy is a key determinant of policy outcomes. Bureaucratic agencies exhibit wide variation in their organizational capacity, which allows politicians to strategically shape policy implementation. This article examines what bureaucratic structure implies for the ability of voters to hold politicians electorally accountable. It explicitly models differences in organizational capacity across bureaucratic agencies and considers a problem where a politician must decide not only which policy to choose but which agency, or combination of agencies, will implement it. The choice of implementation feeds back into the choice of policy and this, in turn, affects how voters perceive the performance of the incumbent. This creates a chain of interdependence from agency structure to policy choice and political accountability. The formal model shows that the variation in organizational capacity serves the interests of voters by improving electoral control of politicians.
Palestinian counter‐forensics and the cruel paradox of property
Authors: KOHLBRY PAUL
Published: June 2022

In disputes
between Palestinian landowners and the Israeli state, several Palestinian surveyors in the West Bank use Ottoman‐era deeds to establish preinvasion land claims. Through a distinct practice of counter‐forensics, these surveyors transform landscapes, documents, and local knowledge into evidence of property ownership. They seek to establish the fact of Palestinian ownership before Israeli invasion and to build a legal and political narrative in which the settler state marks a deviation from scientific objectivity, liberal norms, and international political community. Counter‐forensics is part of a living archive of land defense in which property claims are both provisional and universal. As surveyors move through the cruel paradox of property, they engage in an anti‐colonial legal practice that seeks to hold the collective territory of the nation through a technical negotiation over individual plots of land. Their efforts reveal how property rights fail to protect Palestinian land, as well as why these rights remain important for those who defend the land. [property, law, land, surveying, counter‐forensics, settler colonialism, West Bank, Israel/Palestine]
Limitations of arterial partial pressure of oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen ratio for the evaluation of donor lung function
Authors: Fumagalli Jacopo , Colombo Sebastiano Maria , Scaravilli Vittorio , Gori Francesca , Pesenti Antonio , Zanella Alberto , Grasselli Giacomo
Published: June 2022

Background

Evaluation of donor lung function relies on the arterial oxygen partial pressure to inspired oxygen fraction ratio (PaO2/FiO2) measurement. Hemodynamic, metabolic derangements, and therapeutic intervention occurring during brain dead observation may influence the evaluation of gas exchange.

Methods

We performed a mathematical analysis to explore the influence of the extrapulmonary determinants on the interpretation of PaO2/FiO2 in the brain‐dead donor and during Ex‐Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP).

Results

High FiO2 and increased mixed venous oxygen saturation, caused by increased delivery and reduced consumption of oxygen, raise the PaO2/FiO2 despite substantial intrapulmonary shunt. Anemia does not modify the PaO2/FiO2—intrapulmonary shunt relationship. During EVLP, the reduced artero‐venous difference in oxygen content increases the PaO2/FiO2 without this corresponding to an optimal graft function, while the reduced perfusate oxygen‐carrying capacity linearizes the PaO2/FiO2—intrapulmonary shunt relationship.

Conclusions

Adopting PaO2/FiO2 to evaluate graft suitability for transplantation should account for extrapulmonary factors affecting its interpretation.
Supervisor–employee task conflict and supervisor ostracism: The moderating effect of interpersonal harmony values
Authors: Liu Cong , Li Ling , Li Hai , Bruk‐Lee Valentina , Ma Jie , Liu Ying
Published: June 2022

We examined the relationship among supervisor–employee task conflict, supervisor ostracism, and employee depression and job performance, as well as the moderating effect of supervisors' and employees' interpersonal harmony values. Data were collected from supervisors and employees at three timewaves. We found that supervisor–employee task conflict positively predicted supervisor ostracism, which in turn predicted higher employee depression and poorer job performance. The dualistic model of interpersonal harmony proposes that people show two motives in responding to conflicts while trying to maintain interpersonal harmony: an approach motive to promote high‐quality relationships (i.e. harmony enhancement) or an avoidance motive to prevent relationship disintegration (i.e. disintegration avoidance). From the supervisors' perspective, we found that supervisors' harmony enhancement values buffered the positive relationship between supervisor–employee task conflict and supervisor ostracism. From the employees' perspective, we found that employees' harmony enhancement values buffered whereas employees' disintegration avoidance value exacerbated the detrimental effect of supervisor ostracism on employee depression and job performance. Practical suggestions were offered to help both supervisors and employees manage workplace ostracism.
Editorial: intravenous to subcutaneous vedolizumab—switch without glitch!
Authors: Nadesalingam Vinoth , Subramanian Sreedhar
Published: June 2022

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Bergqvist et al papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16927 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.17073
Letter: progressive weakening of the concept that gluten has a detrimental effect on mental health and gut symptoms in the absence of coeliac disease—authors’ reply
Authors: Crawley Cæcilie , Savino Nadia , Husby Steffen
Published: June 2022

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Crawley et al papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16914 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16963
The inclusion of detoxified castor bean meal in sugarcane silage increases the carcass weight and the content of unsaturated fatty acids in lamb meat
Authors: Oliveira Aline Cardoso , Garcia Rasmo , de Almeida Vitor Visintin Silva , Oliveira Hellenn Cardoso , Pires Aureliano José Vieira , Silva Robério Rodrigues , Santos Leandro Soares , Moreno Greicy Mitzi Bezerra , Ribeiro Julimar do Sacramento , Lima Júnior Dorgival Morais de
Published: June 2022

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance and meat quality of lambs fed sugarcane silage containing increasing levels of detoxified castor bean meal (DCBM). Twenty‐four Santa Inês male sheep were used, with initial body weight of 25.34 ± 2.57 kg, distributed in a completely randomized design with four treatments (0, 70, 140, and 210 g/kg of DCBM in the sugarcane silage). Intake and digestibility of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) were positively influenced (P < 0.05) by the levels of DCBM. There was a linear increase (P < 0.05) on the intake and digestibility of neutral detergent fiber with the inclusion of DCBM. The daily and total gains showed a quadratic effect (P < 0.05) with the inclusion of DCBM, with a maximum point of 241.64 g/d and 18.12 kg at the level of 161.9 g/kg of DCBM. There was a linear increase (P < 0.01) on the hot carcass with the inclusion of DCBM. The inclusion of DCBM did not influence (P > 0.05) the levels of total lipids (2.1%) in lamb meat, but the levels of oleic acid (C18:1 n‐6c) and total monounsaturated fatty acids presented a quadratic effect (P < 0.05). It is recommended to include 160 g/kg of detoxified castor bean meal in sugarcane silage.
Incidence changes in risk factors associated with the decreasing number of birth‐related clavicle fractures in Finland: A nationwide retrospective birth cohort from 2004 to 2017
Authors: Kekki Maiju , Salonen Anne , Koukkula Topias , Laivuori Hannele , Tihtonen Kati , Huttunen Tuomas T.
Published: June 2022

Background

A clavicle fracture is one of the most common birth injuries. The objective of this study was to examine whether the decreased incidence of birth‐related clavicle fractures in Finland is because of temporal changes in their predisposing factors.

Methods

For this nationwide population‐based study, we used the Finnish Medical Birth Register and the Care Register for Health Care databases. The study population included all singleton, live‐born newborn born spontaneously or by vacuum‐assisted delivery, in cephalic presentation ≥37+0 weeks of gestation. The incidences of clavicle fractures, pregnancy characteristics, and risk assessments for fracture were calculated and compared between two time periods: 2004–2010 and 2011–2017.

Results

A total of 629 457 newborn were born vaginally between 2004 and 2017. The clavicle fracture incidence decreased from 17.6/1000 to 6.2/1000 live births. Shoulder dystocia, diabetes, and birthweight ≥4000 g were the strongest predisposing factors. The incidence of birthweight ≥4000 g decreased, meanwhile type 1 diabetes and shoulder dystocia remained stable and gestational diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and maternal obesity increased in the later study period. The incidence of clavicle fractures without known predisposing factors declined. Simultaneously, the cesarean birth rate remained stable (13.2%–13.1%), although the rate of vacuum‐assisted deliveries increased (8.5%–9.5%).

Discussion

The incidence of clavicle fractures decreased, even though the incidence of most risk factors remained stable or increased, and the cesarean birth rate remained stable. This decline may be related to the reduction of fracture incidence among deliveries without known risk factors, and the decrease in birthweight ≥4000 g.