bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Single-port magnetic-assisted sleeve gastrectomy
Authors: Borjas G. , Sánchez N. , Urdaneta A. , Maldonado A. , Ramos E.
Published: December 2021

Rationale:

Sleeve gastrectomy is the most frequent surgery performed worldwide in bariatric surgery. In recent years, there has been an increase in the tendency to perform this procedure using a single port; however, to date, there have been no reports of this magnet-assisted surgery. We developed a magnet-assisted sleeve gastrectomy technique to demonstrate the use of magnets in different steps of the surgery to perform this procedure.

Patient Concerns:

A 38-year-old woman with a body mass index of 36.2 kg/m2 attended the clinic with the desire to lose weight in order to improve her living conditions.

Diagnosis:

Based on her weight and height, the patient's body mass index was diagnosed as obese grade II. During the examination by the multidisciplinary team, the patient presented with a blood pressure of 133/86 mm Hg and was diagnosed with hypertension.

Intervention:

The sleeve gastrectomy technique was performed in a standard manner using a single port located in the umbilicus and a 5-mm port in the right upper quadrant. In addition, we used a magnet positioned on the outside of the patient's abdomen, and a grasper coupled to a magnet was positioned in different parts of the cavity to assist in different steps of the surgery.

Outcomes:

The surgery was successfully completed with no intraoperative complications with the use of magnetic devices. The patient was discharged 36 hours postoperatively with nutritional indications. At the month follow-up the patient lost 7 kg of initial weight.

Lessons:

The use of a novel magnetic device can achieve a greater degree of ease in the face of difficulties associated with single-port sleeve gastrectomy.
Scoping review of the association between postsurgical pain and heart rate variability parameters
Authors: So Vincent , Balanaser Marielle , Klar Gregory , Leitch Jordan , McGillion Michael , Devereaux P.J. , Arellano Ramiro , Parlow Joel , Gilron Ian
Published: December 2021

Surgical interventions can elicit neuroendocrine and sympathovagal responses, leading to cardiac autonomic imbalance. Cardiac complications account for approximately 30% of postoperative complications. Altered heart rate variability (HRV) was initially described in the 1970s as a predictor of acute coronary syndromes and has more recently been shown to be an independent predictor of postoperative morbidity and mortality after noncardiac surgery. In general, HRV reflects autonomic balance, and altered HRV measures have been associated with anesthetic use, chronic pain conditions, and experimental pain. Despite the well-documented relationship between altered HRV and postsurgical outcomes and various pain conditions, there has not been a review of available evidence describing the association between postsurgical pain and HRV. We examined the relationship between postsurgical pain and HRV. MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched until December 2020 and included all studies with primary data. Two reviewers independently assessed risk of bias for each study using the criteria outlined in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Review of Interventions. A total of 8 studies and 1002 participants were included. Studies examined the association of postsurgical pain and HRV or analgesia nociception index derived from HRV. There was a statistically significant association between HRV measures and postsurgical pain in 6 of 8 studies. Heterogeneity of studies precluded meta-analyses. No studies reported cardiovascular outcomes. There is a potential association between postsurgical pain and HRV or analgesia nociception index, although results are likely impacted by confounding variables. Future studies are required to better delineate the relationship between postsurgical pain and HRV and impacts on cardiovascular outcomes.
Effects of extreme meteorological conditions in 2018 on European methane emissions estimated using atmospheric inversions
Authors: Thompson R. L. , Groot Zwaaftink C. D. , Brunner D. , Tsuruta A. , Aalto T. , Raivonen M. , Crippa M. , Solazzo E.  , Guizzardi D. , Regnier P. , Maisonnier M. 
Published: December 2021

The effect of the 2018 extreme meteorological conditions in Europe on methane (CH4) emissions is examined using estimates from four atmospheric inversions calculated for the period 2005–2018. For most of Europe, we find no anomaly in 2018 compared to the 2005–2018 mean. However, we find a positive anomaly for the Netherlands in April, which coincided with positive temperature and soil moisture anomalies suggesting an increase in biogenic sources. We also find a negative anomaly for the Netherlands for September–October, which coincided with a negative anomaly in soil moisture, suggesting a decrease in soil sources. In addition, we find a positive anomaly for Serbia in spring, summer and autumn, which coincided with increases in temperature and soil moisture, again suggestive of changes in biogenic sources, and the annual emission for 2018 was 33 ± 38% higher than the 2005–2017 mean. These results indicate that CH4emissions from areas where the natural source is thought to be relatively small can still vary due to meteorological conditions. At the European scale though, the degree of variability over 2005–2018 was small, and there was negligible impact on the annual CH4emissions in 2018 despite the extreme meteorological conditions.

This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Rising methane: is warming feeding warming? (part 2)’.
Methane and the Paris Agreement temperature goals
Authors: Cain Michelle , Jenkins Stuart , Allen Myles R. , Lynch John , Frame David J. , Macey Adrian H. , Peters Glen P.
Published: December 2021

Meeting the Paris Agreement temperature goal necessitates limiting methane (CH
4
)-induced warming, in addition to achieving net-zero or (net-negative) carbon dioxide (CO
2
) emissions. In our model, for the median 1.5°C scenario between 2020 and 2050, CH
4
mitigation lowers temperatures by 0.1°C; CO
2
increases it by 0.2°C. CO
2
emissions continue increasing global mean temperature until net-zero emissions are reached, with potential for lowering temperatures with net-negative emissions. By contrast, reducing CH
4
emissions starts to reverse CH
4
-induced warming within a few decades. These differences are hidden when framing climate mitigation using annual ‘CO
2
-equivalent’ emissions, including targets based on aggregated annual emission rates. We show how the different warming responses to CO
2
and CH
4
emissions can be accurately aggregated to estimate warming by using ‘warming-equivalent emissions', which provide a transparent and convenient method to inform policies and measures for mitigation, or demonstrate progress towards a temperature goal. The method presented (GWP*) uses well-established climate science concepts to relate GWP100 to temperature, as a simple proxy for a climate model. The use of warming-equivalent emissions for nationally determined contributions and long-term strategies would enhance the transparency of stocktakes of progress towards a long-term temperature goal, compared to the use of standard equivalence methods.

This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Rising methane: is warming feeding warming? (part 2)’.
Adlercreutzia hattorii sp. nov., an equol non-producing bacterium isolated from human faeces
Authors: Sakamoto Mitsuo , Ikeyama Nao , Yuki Masahiro , Murakami Takumi , Mori Hiroshi , Iino Takao , Ohkuma Moriya
Published: December 2021

Two obligately anaerobic, Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped bacteria were isolated from faecal samples of healthy humans in Japan. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that these two strains (8CFCBH1T and 9CBH6) belonged to the genus

Adlercreutzia

, which is known as an equol-producing bacterium. The closest neighbours of strain 8CFCBH1T were

Adlercreutzia equolifaciens

subsp.

equolifaciens

DSM 19450T (98.6%),

Adlercreutzia equolifaciens

subsp.

celatus

do03T (98.4%),

Adlercreutzia muris

WCA-131-CoC-2T (96.6%),

Parvibacter caecicola

NR06T (96.4%),

Adlercreutzia caecimuris

B7T (95.3%) and

Adlercreutzia mucosicola

Mt1B8T (95.3%). The closest relatives to strain 9CBH6 were

A. equolifaciens

subsp.

equolifaciens

DSM 19450T (99.8%),

A. equolifaciens

subsp.

celatus

do03T (99.6%) and

A. muris

WCA-131-CoC-2T (96.8%). Strain 8CFCBH1T showed 22.3–53.5% digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) values with its related species. In addition, the average nucleotide identity (ANI) values between strain 8CFCBH1T and its related species ranged from 75.4 to 93.3%. On the other hand, strain 9CBH6 was considered as

A. equolifaciens

based on the dDDH and ANI values (>70% dDDH and >95–96% ANI). Strain 9CBH6 showed daidzein-converting activity, as expected from the result of genome analysis. The genome of strain 8CFCBH1T lacked four genes involved in equol production. Growing cells of strain 8CFCBH1T were not capable of converting daidzein. Based on the collected data, strain 8CFCBH1T represents a novel species in the genus

Adlercreutzia

, for which the name Adlercreutzia hattorii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of A. hattorii is 8CFCBH1T (=JCM 34083T=DSM 112284T).
Actinomadura violacea sp. nov., a madurastatin A1-producing strain isolated from lichen in Thailand
Authors: Kanchanasin Pawina , Phongsopitanun Wongsakorn , Yuki Masahiro , Kudo Takuji , Ohkuma Moriya , Nakashima Takuji , Tanasupawat Somboon
Published: December 2021

An actinomycete strain, LCR2-06T, isolated from a lichen sample on rock collected from Chiang Rai Province (Pong Phra Bat Waterfall), Thailand, was characterized using a polyphasic approach. The strain grew at 25–45 °C, pH 6–11 and on International

Streptomyces

Project 2 agar plate with 5 % (w/v) NaCl. It contained meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diamino acid in whole-cell hydrolysates. Rhamnose, ribose, xylose, madurose, glucose and galactose were detected as whole-cell sugar hydrolysates. Mycolic acids were absent. The N-acyl type of muramic acid was acetyl. The strain contained C16 : 0, TBSA 10-methyl C18 : 0 and 2-hydroxy C16 : 0 as the predominant fatty acids and MK-9(H6), MK-9(H4) and MK-9(H8) as the major menaquinones. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol and unidentified phospholipid. The draft genome of strain LCR2-06T was closely related to

Actinomadura barringtoniae

TBRC 7225T (99.2 %),

Actinomadura nitritigenes

NBRC 15918T (98.8 %),

Actinomadura montaniterrae

TISTR 2400T (98.5 %) and

Actinomadura physcomitrii

JCM 33455T (97.9 %). The draft genome of LCR2-06T was 11.1 Mb with 10 588 coding sequences with an average G+C content of 72.7 mol%. Results of genomic analysis revealed that the ANIb and ANIm values between strain LCR2-06T and

A. montaniterrae

TISTR 2400T were 90.0 and 92.0 %, respectively. The digital DNA–DNA hybridization value was 43.9 % in comparison with the draft genome of

A. montaniterrae

TISTR 2400T. The strain produced an antibacterial compound active against

Bacillus subtilis

ATCC 6633 and

Kocuria rhizophila

ATCC 9341. The results of taxonomic analysis suggested that strain LCR2-06T represented a novel species of the genus

Actinomadura

for which the name Actinomadura violacea sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is LCR2-06T (=JCM 33065T=KCTC 49547T=NBRC 114810T=LMG 32136T=TISTR 2935T).
Single-cell Multiomics Reveals Clonal T-cell Expansions and Exhaustion in Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm
Authors: DePasquale Erica A. K. , Ssozi Daniel , Ainciburu Marina , Good Jonathan , Noel Jenny , Villanueva Martin , Couturier Charles P. , Shalek Alex K. , Aranki Sary F. , Mallidi Hari R. , Griffin Gabriel K. , Lane Andrew A. , van Galen Peter
Published: December 2021

The immune system represents a major barrier to cancer progression, driving the evolution of immunoregulatory interactions between malignant cells and T-cells in the tumor environment. Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasms (BPDCN), a rare acute leukemia with plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) differentiation, provides a unique opportunity to study these interactions. pDCs are key producers of interferon alpha (IFNA) that play an important role in T-cell activation at the interface between the innate and adaptive immune system. To assess how uncontrolled proliferation of malignant BPDCN cells affects the tumor environment, we catalog immune cell heterogeneity in the bone marrow (BM) of five healthy controls and five BPDCN patients by analyzing 52,803 single-cell transcriptomes, including 18,779 T-cells. We test computational techniques for robust cell type classification and find that T-cells in BPDCN patients consistently upregulate interferon alpha (IFNA) response and downregulate tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFA) pathways. Integrating transcriptional data with T-cell receptor sequencing via shared barcodes reveals significant T-cell exhaustion in BPDCN that is positively correlated with T-cell clonotype expansion. By highlighting new mechanisms of T-cell exhaustion and immune evasion in BPDCN, our results demonstrate the value of single-cell multiomics to understand immune cell interactions in the tumor environment.
Topographically localised modulation of tectal cell spatial tuning by natural scenes
Authors: Sainsbury Thomas Trevelyan James , Diana Giovanni , Meyer Martin Patrick
Published: December 2021

Visual neurons can have their tuning properties contextually modulated by the presence of visual stimuli in the area surrounding their receptive field, especially when that stimuli contains natural features. However, stimuli presented in specific egocentric locations may have greater behavioural relevance, raising the possibility that the extent of contextual modulation may vary with position in visual space. To explore this possibility we utilised the small size and optical transparency of the larval zebrafish to describe the form and spatial arrangement of contextually modulated cells throughout an entire tectal hemisphere. We found that the spatial tuning of tectal neurons to a prey-like stimulus sharpens when the stimulus is presented in the context of a naturalistic visual scene. These neurons are confined to a spatially restricted region of the tectum and have receptive fields centred within a region of visual space in which the presence of prey preferentially triggers hunting behaviour. Our results demonstrate that circuits that support behaviourally relevant modulation of tectal neurons are not uniformly distributed. These findings add to the growing body of evidence that the tectum shows regional adaptations for behaviour.
Massively Parallel Selection of NanoCluster Beacons
Authors: Kuo Yu-An , Jung Cheulhee , Chen Yu-An , Kuo Hung-Che , Zhao Oliver S. , Nguyen Trung D. , Rybarski James R. , Hong Soonwoo , Chen Yuan-I , Wylie Dennis C. , Hawkins John A. , Walker Jada N. , Shields Samuel W. , Brodbelt Jennifer S. , Petty Jeffrey T. , Finkelstein Ilya J. , Yeh Hsin-Chih
Published: December 2021

NanoCluster Beacons (NCBs) are multicolor silver nanocluster probes whose fluorescence can be activated or tuned by a proximal DNA strand called the activator. While a single-nucleotide difference in a pair of activators can lead to drastically different activation outcomes, termed the polar opposite twins (POTs), it is difficult to discover new POT-NCBs using the conventional low-throughput characterization approaches. Here we report a high-throughput selection method that takes advantage of repurposed next-generation-sequencing (NGS) chips to screen the activation fluorescence of ∼40,000 activator sequences. We find the nucleobases at positions 7-12 of the 18-nucleotide-long activator are critical to creating bright NCBs and positions 4-6 and 2-4 are hotspots to generate yellow and red POTs, respectively. Based on these findings, we propose a “zipper bag model” that explains how these hotspots lead to the creation of distinct silver cluster chromophores and contribute to the difference in chromophore chemical yields. Combining high-throughput screening with machine learning algorithms, we establish a pipeline to rationally design bright and multicolor NCBs.
Metabolic profiling of serum for osteoarthritis biomarkers
Authors: Xiao Ziqian , Zhang Zhenyang , Huang Shanbin , Lon Jerome Rumdon , Xie Shuilin
Published: December 2021

Osteoarthritis is a prevalent aging disease in the world, and in recent years it has shown a trend toward younger age, which is becoming a major health problem in the world and seriously endangers the health of the elderly. However, the etiology and pathogenesis of osteoarthritis are still unclear, causing great trouble for treatment. To screen out potential biomarkers that could be used as identification of osteoarthritis and explore the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis, we performed untargeted metabolomics analysis of nine New Zealand rabbit serum samples by LC-MS / MS, including three normal serum samples (control group) and six osteoarthritis serum samples (case group). Finally 44 differential metabolites were identified, and the ROC analysis results indicated that a total of 36 differential metabolites could be used as potential biomarkers. Further metabolic pathway enrichment analysis was performed on these differential metabolites, and we found that a total of 17 metabolic pathways were affected, which may provide directions for the study of osteoarthritis mechanisms.
TbasCO: Trait-based Comparative ’Omics Identifies Ecosystem-Level and Niche- Differentiating Adaptations of an Engineered Microbiome
Authors: McDaniel E.A. , van Steenbrugge J.J.M , Noguera D.R. , McMahon K.D. , Raaijmakers J.M. , Medema M.H. , Oyserman B.O.
Published: December 2021

A grand challenge in microbial ecology is disentangling the traits of individual populations within complex communities. Various cultivation-independent approaches have been used to infer traits based on the presence of marker genes. However, marker genes are not linked to traits with complete fidelity, nor do they capture important attributes, such as the timing of expression or coordination among traits. To address this, we present an approach for assessing the trait landscape of microbial communities by statistically defining a trait attribute as shared transcriptional pattern across multiple organisms. Leveraging the KEGG pathway database as a trait library and the Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal (EBPR) model microbial ecosystem, we demonstrate that a majority (65%) of traits present in 10 or more genomes have niche-differentiating expression attributes. For example, while 14 genomes containing the high-affinity phosphorus transporter pstABCS display a canonical attribute (e.g. up-regulation under phosphorus starvation), we identified another attribute shared by 11 genomes where transcription was highest under high phosphorus conditions. Taken together, we provide a novel framework for revealing hidden metabolic versatility when investigating genomic data alone by assigning trait-attributes through genome-resolved time-series metatranscriptomics.
Kinetic frustration by limited bond availability controls the LAT protein condensation phase transition on membranes
Authors: Sun Simou , GrandPre Trevor , Limmer David T. , Groves Jay T.
Published: December 2021

LAT is a membrane-linked scaffold protein that undergoes a phase transition to form a two-dimensional protein condensate on the membrane during T cell activation. Governed by tyrosine phosphorylation, LAT recruits various proteins that ultimately enable condensation through a percolation network of discrete and selective protein-protein interactions. Here we describe detailed kinetic measurements of the phase transition, along with coarse-grained model simulations, that reveal LAT condensation is kinetically frustrated by the availability of bonds to form the network. Unlike typical miscibility transitions in which compact domains may coexist at equilibrium, the LAT condensates are dynamically arrested in extended states, kinetically trapped out of equilibrium. Modeling identifies the structural basis for this kinetic arrest as the formation of spindle arrangements, favored by limited multivalent binding interactions along the flexible, intrinsically disordered LAT protein. These results reveal how local factors controlling the kinetics of LAT condensation enable formation of different, stable condensates, which may ultimately coexist within the cell.
Environmentally-induced DNA methylation is inherited across generations in an aquatic keystone species (Daphnia magna)
Authors: Feiner Nathalie , Radersma Reinder , Vasquez Louella , Ringnér Markus , Nystedt Björn , Raine Amanda , Tobi Elmar W. , Heijmans Bastiaan T. , Uller Tobias
Published: December 2021

Environmental stress can result in epigenetic modifications that are passed down several generations. Such epigenetic inheritance can have significant impact on eco-evolutionary dynamics, but the phenomenon remains controversial in ecological model systems. Here, we used whole-genome bisulfite sequencing on individual water fleas (Daphnia magna) to assess whether environmentally-induced DNA methylation can persist for up to four generations. Genetically identical females were exposed to a control treatment, one of three natural stressors (high temperature, zinc, microcystin), or the methylation-inhibitor 5-azacytidine. After exposure, lines were propagated clonally for four generations under control conditions. We identified between 70 and 225 differentially methylated CpG positions (DMPs) between controls and F1 individuals whose mothers (and therefore they themselves as germ cells) were exposed to one of the three natural stressors. Between 46% and 58% of these environmentally-induced DMPs persisted until generation F4 without attenuation in their magnitude of differential methylation. DMPs were enriched in exons and largely stressor-specific, suggesting a possible role in environment-dependent gene regulation. In contrast, treatment with the compound 5-azacytidine demonstrated that pervasive hypo-methylation upon exposure is reset almost completely after a single generation. These results suggest that environmentally-induced DNA methylation is non-random and stably inherited across generations inDaphnia, making epigenetic inheritance a putative factor in the eco-evolutionary dynamics of fresh-water communities.

Author summary

Water fleas are important keystone species mediating eco-evolutionary dynamics in lakes and ponds. It is currently an open question in how far epigenetic inheritance contributes to the ability ofDaphniapopulations to adapt to environmental stress. Using a range of naturally occurring stressors and a multi-generational design, we show that environmentally-induced DNA methylation variants are stably inherited for at least four generations inDaphnia magna. The induced variation in DNA methylation are stressor-specific and almost exclusively found in exons, bearing the signatures of functional adaptations. Our findings imply that ecological adaptations ofDaphniato seasonal fluctuations can be underpinned by epigenetic inheritance of DNA methylation without changes in gene frequencies.
WESTPA 2.0: High-performance upgrades for weighted ensemble simulations and analysis of longer-timescale applications
Authors: Russo John D. , Zhang She , Leung Jeremy M. G. , Bogetti Anthony T. , Thompson Jeff P. , DeGrave Alex J. , Torrillo Paul A. , Pratt A. J. , Wong Kim F. , Xia Junchao , Copperman Jeremy , Adelman Joshua L. , Zwier Matthew C. , LeBard David N. , Zuckerman Daniel M. , Chong Lillian T.
Published: December 2021

The weighted ensemble (WE) family of methods is one of several statistical-mechanics based path sampling strategies that can provide estimates of key observables (rate constants, pathways) using a fraction of the time required by direct simulation methods such as molecular dynamics or discrete-state stochastic algorithms. WE methods oversee numerous parallel trajectories using intermittent overhead operations at fixed time intervals, enabling facile interoperability with any dynamics engine. Here, we report on major upgrades to the WESTPA software package, an open-source, high-performance framework that implements both basic and recently developed WE methods. These upgrades offer substantial improvements over traditional WE. Key features of the new WESTPA 2.0 software enhance efficiency and ease of use: an adaptive binning scheme for more efficient surmounting of large free energy barriers, streamlined handling of large simulation datasets, exponentially improved analysis of kinetics, and developer-friendly tools for creating new WE methods, including a Python API and resampler module for implementing both binned and “binless” WE strategies.

Table of Contents/Abstract Image

For the manuscript “WESTPA 2.0: High-performance upgrades for weighted ensemble simulations and analysis of longer-timescale applications” by Russo et al.
The concept of information architecture in the context of enterprise architecture
Authors: Kotusev Svyatoslav , Kurnia Sherah , Dilnutt Rod
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Information architecture (IA) is often understood as a comprehensive master plan for organizational data assets and is widely considered as an essential component of broader enterprise architecture (EA). However, the status and practical operationalization of IA still remain largely unclear. In order to clarify these questions, this paper investigates what instruments related to IA are actually employed in organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

This study builds on the analysis of architecture practices in 27 diverse organizations. Based on the semi-structured interviews with architects and the examination of utilized architectural documents, we explore IA-related instruments with their usage scenarios that have been adopted in the studied organizations.

Findings

The authors identify 12 distinct instruments used in the industry and analyze in detail their features, properties and relationships. This paper analysis shows that these instruments are rather diverse and largely inconsistent across different organizations. The study findings also suggest that IA cannot be considered as a comprehensive plan for information, but rather as a variable set of loosely related instruments and practices that help organizations manage information.

Originality/value

The study offers a unique perspective on the concept of IA, as it is practiced in the industry today, as well as a critical scrutiny of the respective prescriptions abundant in the existing literature. Although this study does not attempt to theorize on the findings, it makes a significant empirical contribution by offering a solid evidence-based view of IA and its key instruments currently missing in the available literature.
Consumer-dominant social marketing: a definition and explication
Authors: Anker Thomas Boysen , Gordon Ross , Zainuddin Nadia
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The emerging consumer-dominant logic of marketing captures consumers’ active and primary role in a range of mainstream marketing processes such as branding, product development and sales. However, consumers’ active role in driving pro-social behaviour change has not yet received close attention. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and explore consumer dominance in social marketing. The authors propose a definition of consumer-dominant social marketing (CDSM) and explicate five key elements which underpin the phenomenon.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual study offers an analysis informed by exemplars with significant representations of consumer-dominant pro-social behaviours and projects. The methodological approach is characterised as “envisioning conceptualisation”, which is explained in terms of MacInnis’ (2011) framework for conceptual approaches in marketing.

Findings

As a phenomenon, CDSM operationalises the following elements: power, agency, resources, value and responsibility. The authors demonstrate how these elements are interconnected and define their meaning, significance and implications in the context of social marketing and pro-social behaviour change. The authors also identify this new form of social marketing as existing on a continuum depending on the level of involvement or dominance of the consumer and of social marketers; at one end of this continuum, exclusive CDSM is entirely consumer-driven and does not engage with businesses or organisations, while on the other end, inclusive CDSM encompasses partnership with external stakeholders to achieve pro-social behaviour change.

Research limitations/implications

The existence of inclusive and exclusive CDSM points towards an intricate power balance between consumers, mainstream social marketers and businesses. While this study identifies and explains this substantial distinction, it is an important task for future research to systematise the relationship and explore the optimal balance between consumer activism and involvement of formalised organisations such as charities and businesses in pro-social behaviour change projects.

Practical implications

The study provides social marketing professionals with an understanding of the benefits of harnessing consumer empowerment to enhance the impact of social marketing interventions.

Originality/value

The study makes a theoretical contribution by introducing, defining and explicating consumer dominance as a substantive area of social marketing.
The impact of industry-oriented capstone courses on the employability of EECS students in technological universities
Authors: Chang Jen-Chia , Shih Hsiao-Fang , Liao Fan-Ru
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This study used the industry-oriented capstone course to increase the employability of electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) students in technological university.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, EECS students were selected and divided into groups, and the non-equivalent pretest–posttest quasi-experimental research method was adopted.

Findings

Industry-oriented capstone courses can improve students' employability, especially general ability, behaviour and attitude.

Practical implications

The results of this study and many other studies show that capstone courses are helpful for the soft skills of students.

Originality/value

This study provides evidence that industry-oriented capstone courses can improve EECS students' employability.
Does CEO power moderate the link between corporate social responsibility and bank earnings management
Authors: Miladi Emna , Chouaibi Jamel
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and earnings management (EM) in US commercial banks and examines whether the chief executive officer (CEO) power can moderate this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

For a sample of American commercial banks covering 2009–2018, several equations and regressions are used to measure the main proxies for bank EM. The authors use the fixed effects model and generalized method of moment to investigate the CSR–EM relationship.

Findings

The authors find a significant positive relation between CSR and EM. Moreover, the authors find that CEO power moderates the CSR–EM relationship. This study also suggests a bidirectional relationship between CSR and EM.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this paper have important policy implications for policymakers, regulators and investors in their attempts to constrain EM practices and enhance the quality of financial reporting in US commercial banks.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the literature by exploring the relationship between CSR practices and firm EM by particularly focusing on banking. This study offers new insights into whether the association between CSR practices and EM is moderated by the CEO power. To the best of the knowledge, the relationship between CSR and EM is not studied yet with the moderating role of CEO power.
Collaborative capabilities of cause-based social entrepreneurship alliance of firms
Authors: Ceesay Lamin B. , Rossignoli Cecilia , Mahto Raj V.
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This study examines the collaborative value practices of cause-based social entrepreneurship alliances. We investigate key drivers of value creation in such alliances.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilizes a longitudinal case study design approach involving four northern Italian businesses for investigating the cause-based social alliances.

Findings

The study findings suggest that cause-based alliance differ from other business relationships due to social mission of the alliance and orientation of partners to a specific social cause. However, over time involved firm may pursue commercial interests.

Research limitations/implications

The study utilizes a qualitative case study approach to examine the issues. This may have implications on generalizability of study findings. Further, the sample is limited to small firms, which limit its relevance for large firms.

Practical implications

Managers can utilize the study findings to guide the organizing process of a successful cause-based alliance and can implement it with positive outcomes for their firm.

Originality/value

This is one of the first study on the emerging phenomenon of cause-based social alliance. It contributes to the literature on social entrepreneurship. It informs and guides practitioners about motivations and drivers of such alliances.
Assessment of the mechanical properties of different textile materials used for outer shell of bulletproof vest: woven fabrics for military applications
Authors: Fayed A.I.H. , Abo El Amaim Y.A. , Ramy Ossama , Elgohary Doaa H.
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the performance of four different textile materials used as an outer shell of the bulletproof vest.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, four different textile materials were used, polyurethane treatment was applied as a surface coating for the woven samples. Mechanical properties were conducted for all samples; scanning electron microscope and X-ray energy disperse spectroscopy were executed to show the surface morphology of samples and the chemical composition of the coating material.

Findings

One-way ANOVA was used to statistically analyse the results, which proved that all variables were highly significantly affected by using different textile materials, despite the stiffness variable being not significantly affected by textile materials. An overall evaluation was done using radar chart, demonstrated that Cordura material accomplished the best functional performance, using two types of calibres 7.62 × 54 mild steel core and 7.62 × 54 armour piercing incendiary; the common mechanism was localized burn because of the incendiary effect of the projectile in addition to tearing mechanism starting from inside because of penetration effect of the steel core.

Originality/value

This work was addressed to analyse the impact of using four different materials on its performance as the outer shell of bulletproof vest to achieve the desired degree of protection.
Beyond El Arrebato: the seven stages of Conocimiento as instruments for radical reflection and the unlearning of white supremacy culture
Authors: García Mazari Sheila
Published: December 2021

Purpose

To be actively antiracist requires an internal reckoning, what Chicana activist and scholar Gloria E. Anzaldúa referred to as “el arrebato.” Used to describe the first of seven cycles through which conocimiento, or knowledge, is formed, el arrebato presents a shift in the understanding of the world as it has been prescribed by both patriarchy and white supremacy. This paper will use Anzaldúa's Seven Stages of Conocimiento to trace a Latinx librarian's journey in unlearning white supremacy toward a shift to antiracist practices.

Design/methodology/approach

This ethnography follows the author from her time as a Diversity Alliance resident librarian in an R1 library to her current position as a tenure-track librarian in a primarily white institution, outlining how the seven stages have led toward active interrogation of not only library structures but with the legacy of anti-Black and anti-Indigenous discourse within her own Latinx identity.

Findings

As an ongoing reflective practice, this paper presents a journey of learning and unlearning toward critically deconstructing the culture of “niceness” within librarianship, where the principles of neutrality and vocational awe lend to library structures that place responsibility on the individual for institutional trauma rather than rightly examining and reconstructing the environments and structures themselves.

Originality/value

This autoethnography presents the viewpoint of a first-generation Latinx librarian growing up in a tricultural context in the Midwest.
Launching chat service during the pandemic: inaugurating a new public service under emergency conditions
Authors: Decker Emy Nelson , Chapman Karen
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This article details the implementation of a live online chat service which was suddenly necessitated by the worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The approaches used to train chat operators during this time inform both current and future training initiatives toward continuous improvement in this academic library setting.

Design/methodology/approach

Chat transcripts from the period of March 2020–April 2021 serve as the dataset for this study.

Findings

In bringing a live chat service online during a global pandemic, chat transcripts from this period reveal 19.3% of all chat interactions related directly to COVID-19. The transcripts also reveal the types of questions, whether reference or directional, and these, combined with staffing patterns, indicate that staff were addressing reference questions more often than librarians. In addition, 25.2% of all transactions, whether by staff or librarians, resulted in tickets or referrals to hand off the question to a subject or functional specialist. These findings help to inform targeted face-to-face refresher training for chat operators.

Originality/value

While bringing a live chat service online is certainly not novel, the impetus behind the quick setup was. This unusual circumstance allowed for an in-depth look at the nature of chat and its training requirements and limitations due to campus stay-at-home orders. It also provided a new understanding that influenced subsequent face-to-face trainings.
The influence of multiple combinations of celebrity endorsers on consumers' intentions to purchase a sports-related product
Authors: von Felbert Aaron , Breuer Christoph
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Endorsement research has focused primarily on determining the effectiveness of single endorsers, whereas marketing practice shows that companies usually engage multiple endorsers to promote their brands and products. As academic evidence for multiple endorsers is limited and extant findings are ambiguous, the purpose of this study is to determine the influence of different multiple endorser combinations on consumers' purchase intentions for a sports-related product endorsement and to identify whether endorser-product congruence and consumers' involvement with the endorsed product moderate endorsers' influences.

Design/methodology/approach

Two-hundred thirty-three useful responses were collected to an online experiment, and endorsers' direct and indirect influences on consumers' purchase intentions were analyzed in serial mediation analyses. Potential moderating effects of endorser-product congruence and consumers' involvement with the endorsed product were tested in moderated regression analyses.

Findings

The study's findings show that using multiple endorsers has an overall positive influence on consumers' purchase intentions, which is mediated by their attitudes toward the advertisements and the endorsed brand. Endorser-product congruence moderates an endorsement's effectiveness, whereas a moderating effect of consumers' product involvement was not supported.

Originality/value

This study adds to the extant body of endorsement research by confirming the overall effectiveness of using multiple endorsers to influence consumers' intentions to purchase the endorsed product. In addition, by showing that endorser-product congruence determines endorsers' effectiveness in a multiple endorser context, the study extends the current research perspective and provides practical implications for marketing professionals on how to combine multiple endorsers.
Agility enhancement through agile manufacturing implementation: a case study
Authors: Kumar Rahul , Singh Kanwarpreet , Jain Sanjiv Kumar
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Dynamic business environment has a deep influence on production and management related exercises. In order to remain competitive, organization needs to coordinate with continuous and unpredictable changes taking place in the market. Globalization of markets is posing competitive pressure on firms, which leads them to adopt a new manufacturing paradigm termed agile manufacturing (AM). The purpose of the present case study is to explore the contribution of AM towards agility and productivity enhancements in an Indian manufacturing company.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is carried out at forging industry which has been assessed on certain key business performance indicators. The assessment highlighted various issues which had scope for improvement to enhance the agility of the organization. Therefore, a phase-wise implementation of AM is carried to reap the significant benefits as a result of AM implementation in the case study company. The methodology has been applied to decrease the inline rejection, increase the productivity and responsiveness of the organization.

Findings

The results revealed an improvement in performance score from 77.5 to 100. Further, an increase in productivity and reduction in line rejection has been achieved through the systematic implementation of AM.

Practical implications

The study highlights the contributions of strategic AM implementation to organizational performance and highlights the need for successful management of AM practices for establishing sustained performance of the organization.

Originality/value

The contribution of the present work is the phase-wise implementation of AM in the case studied company.
Role of Ang1‐7 in renal haemodynamics and excretion in streptozotocin diabetic rats
Authors: Kuczeriszka Marta , Dobrowolski Leszek , Walkowska Agnieszka , Baranowska Iwona , Sitek Joanna D. , Kompanowska‐Jezierska Elżbieta
Published: December 2021

The contribution of angiotensin (1–7) (Ang1‐7) to control of extrarenal and renal function may be modified in diabetes. We investigated the effects of Ang1‐7 supplementation on blood pressure, renal circulation and intrarenal reactivity (IVR) to vasoactive agents in normoglycaemic (NG) and streptozotocin diabetic rats (DM). In Sprague Dawley DM and NG rats, 3 weeks after streptozotocin (60 mg/kg i.p.) or solvent injection, Ang1‐7 was administered (400 ng/min) over the next 2 weeks using subcutaneously implanted osmotic minipumps. For a period of 5 weeks, blood pressure (BP), 24 h water intake and diuresis were determined weekly. In anaesthetised rats, BP, renal total and cortical (CBF), outer (OMBF) and inner medullary (IMBF) perfusion and urine excretion were determined. To check IVR, a short‐time infusion of acetylcholine or norepinephrine was randomly given to the renal artery. Unexpectedly, BP did not differ between NG and DM, and this was not modified by Ang‐1–7 supplementation. Baseline IMBF was higher in NG vs. DM, and Ang1‐7 treatment did not change it in NG but decreased it in DM. In the latter, Ang1‐7 increased cortical IVR to vasoconstrictor and vasodilator stimuli. IMBF decrease after high acetylcholine dose seen in untreated NG was reverted to an increase in Ang1‐7 treated rats. Irrespective of the glycaemia level, Ang1‐7 did not modify BP. However, it impaired medullary circulation in DM, whereas in NG it rendered the medullary vasculature more sensitive to vasodilators. Possibly, the medullary hypoperfusion in DM was mediated by Ang1‐7 activation of angiotensin AT‐1 receptors which are upregulated by hyperglycaemia.
Surviving Covid‐19: The Role of Human Resource Managers in Shaping Organizational Responses to Societal Paradox
Authors: Branicki Layla , Kalfa Senia , Brammer Stephen
Published: December 2021

This study examines the role played by Australian human resource (HR) managers in shaping organizational responses to the Covid‐19 pandemic from the perspective of paradox theory. We argue that the Covid‐19 crisis triggered a ‘societal paradox’ – protecting lives and the economy – that cascaded to organizations of all types. While studies suggest paradoxes cross levels of analysis, little is known regarding organizational responses to a societal paradox entailing interdependent and yet contradictory demands between socially significant objectives. We focus on HR managers because of their key role in providing Covid‐19 advice and support. Using a combination of cross‐sectional survey data (n = 680) and detailed semi‐structured interviews (n = 43), we examine variations in HR managers’ experience of, and responses to, organizational tensions generated by societal paradox. We find that HR managers play a key role in shaping whether organizational responses ‘replicate’ the initial societal paradox, or ‘magnify’ existing latent paradoxical tensions in the organization. We show how applying a societal lens adds insight to paradox theory, elucidate the HR‐related mechanisms that underpin variations in organizational experiences/responses and produce an inductive model to guide future studies.
On Feta and Fetta: Protecting EU geographical indications in Australia
Authors: Huysmans Martijn
Published: December 2021

The European Union (EU) protects about 1500 regional specialty foods such as Feta cheese and Gouda Holland. However, this geographical indications (GIs) protection does not automatically extend to other jurisdictions. This article tests a theory of EU demands for GIs in EU–Australia trade negotiations, using newly coded data on EU GI names in Australian supermarkets. Focusing on cheese, it confirms that the EU seeks protection for GIs where the authentic EU GI products are well established. The demand for protection does not seem to be driven primarily by current non‐GI uses of GI names, since a qualitative analysis reveals few product names that would be banned if EU demands are granted by Australia. These findings imply that Australian negotiators and producers should be less afraid of losing currently established generic food names—a fear that is especially present in the United States, which has strongly opposed the protection of GIs worldwide.