bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identification of differential gene expression pattern in lens epithelial cells derived from cataractous and non-cataractous lenses of Shumiya cataract rat
Authors: Ishida Hidetoshi , Shibata Teppei , Nakamura Yuka , Ishigaki Yasuhito , Singh Dhirendra P , Sasaki Hiroshi , Kubo Eri
Published: May 2020

The Shumiya cataract rat (SCR) is a model for hereditary cataract. Two-third of these rats develop lens opacity within 10-11-weeks. Onset of cataract is attributed to the synergetic effect of lanosterol synthase (Lss) and farnesyl-diphosphate farnesyltransferase 1 (Fdft1) mutant alleles that lead to cholesterol deficiency in the lenses, which in turn adversely affects lens biology including the growth and differentiation of lens epithelial cells (LECs). Nevertheless, the molecular events and changes in gene expression associated with the onset of lens opacity in SCR is poorly understood. In the present study, a microarray-based approach was employed to analyze comparative gene expression changes in LECs isolated from the pre-cataractous and cataractous stages of lenses of 5-, 8- and 10-week-old SCRs. The changes in gene expression observed in microarray results in the LECs were further validated using real-time PCR and western blot analyses. Lens opacity was not observed in 5-week-old rats. However, histological analysis revealed mild dysplasia in the anterior suture and poorly differentiated fiber cells at the bow region. Expression of approximately 100 genes, including major intrinsic protein of lens fiber (MIPand Aquaporin0), deoxyribonuclease II beta (Dnase2b), heat shock protein B1 (Hspb1), and crystallin γ (γCry) B, C, and F were found to be significantly downregulated (0.07-0.5 fold) in rat LECs derived from cataract lenses compared to that in noncataractous lenses (control). Thus, our study aimed to identify the gene expression patterns during cataract formation in SCRs, which may be responsible for cataractogenesis in SCR. We proposed that mutation in lanosterol synthase was responsible for the downregulation of genes associated with lens fiber differentiation, which in turn leads to the formation of cataract in these rats. Our findings may have wider implications in understanding the effect of cholesterol deficiency and the role of cholesterol-lowering therapeutics on cataractogenesis.
High Throughput Designing and Mutational Mapping of RBD-ACE2 Interface Guide Non-Conventional Therapeutic Strategies for COVID-19
Authors: Padhi Aditya K. , Kalita Parismita , Zhang Kam Y. J. , Tripathi Timir
Published: May 2020

Considering the current status of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, sequence variations and possibly structural changes in the rapidly evolving SARS-CoV-2 is highly expected in the coming months. The SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein is responsible for mediating viral attachment and fusion with cell membranes. Mutations in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the S-protein occur at the most variable part of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, and specific sites of S-protein have undergone positive selection impacting the viral pathogenicity. In the present work, we used high-throughput computation to design 100,000 mutants in RBD interfacial residues and identify novel affinity-enhancing and affinity-weakening mutations. Our data suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can establish a higher rate of infectivity and pathogenesis when it acquires combinatorial mutations at the interfacial residues in RBD. Mapping of the mutational landscape of the interaction site suggests that a few of these residues are the hot-spot residues with a very high tendency to undergo positive selection. Knowledge of the affinity-enhancing mutations may guide the identification of potential cold-spots for this mutation as targets for developing a possible therapeutic strategy instead of hot-spots, and vice versa. Understanding of the molecular interactions between the virus and host protein presents a detailed systems view of viral infection mechanisms. The applications of the present research can be explored in multiple antiviral strategies, including monoclonal antibody therapy, vaccine design, and importantly in understanding the clinical pathogenesis of the virus itself. Our work presents research directions for the exploitation of non-conventional solutions for COVID-19.
K-fiber bundles in the mitotic spindle are mechanically reinforced by Kif15
Authors: Begley Marcus A , Solon April L , Davis Elizabeth Mae , Sherrill Michael Grant , Ohi Ryoma , Elting Mary Williard
Published: May 2020

The mitotic spindle, a self-constructed microtubule-based machine, segregates chromosomes into two eventual daughter nuclei. In mammalian cells, microtubule bundles called kinetochore-fibers (k-fibers) anchor chromosomes within the spindle. Chromosome segregation thus depends on the mechanical integrity of k-fibers. Here, we investigate the physical and molecular basis of k-fiber bundle cohesion. We sever k-fibers using laser ablation, thereby detaching them from poles and testing the contribution of pole-localized force generation to k-fiber cohesion. We then measure the physical response of the remaining kinetochore-bound segments of the k-fibers. We observe that microtubules within ablated k-fibers often, but not always, splay apart from their minus-ends. Furthermore, we find that minus-end clustering forces induced in response to ablation seem at least partially responsible for k-fiber splaying. We also investigate the role of the putative k-fiber-binding kinesin-12 Kif15. We find that pharmacological inhibition of Kif15 microtubule binding reduces k-fiber mechanical integrity. In contrast, inhibition of its motor activity but not its microtubule binding does not greatly affect splaying. Altogether, the data suggest that forces holding k-fibers together are of similar magnitude to other spindle forces, and that Kif15, acting as a microtubule crosslinker, helps fortify and repair k-fibers. This feature of Kif15 may help support robust k-fiber function and prevent chromosome segregation errors.
UBTD1 regulates ceramide balance and endolysosomal positioning to coordinate EGFR signaling
Authors: Torrino S , Tiroille V , Dolfi B , Dufies M , Hinault C , Bonesso L , Dagnino S , Uhler JP , Irondelle M , Gay AS , Fleuriot L , Debayle D , Lacas-Gervais S , Cormont M , Bertero T , Bost F , Gilleron J , Clavel S
Published: May 2020

To adapt in an ever-changing environment, cells must integrate physical and chemical signals and translate them into biological meaningful information through complex signaling pathways. By combining lipidomic and proteomic approaches with functional analysis, we have shown that UBTD1 (Ubiquitin domain-containing protein 1) plays a crucial role in both the EGFR (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor) self-phosphorylation and its lysosomal degradation. On the one hand, by modulating the cellular level of ceramides through ASAH1 (N-Acylsphingosine Amidohydrolase 1) ubiquitination, UBTD1 controls the ligand-independent phosphorylation of EGFR. On the other hand, UBTD1,viathe ubiquitination of SQSTM1/p62 (Sequestosome 1) and endolysosome positioning, participates in the lysosomal degradation of EGFR. The coordination of these two ubiquitin-dependent processes contributes to the control of the duration of the EGFR signal. Moreover, we showed that UBTD1 depletion exacerbates EGFR signaling and induces cell proliferation emphasizing ahithertounknown function of UBTD1 in EGF-driven cell proliferation.
Musical expertise is associated with improved neural statistical learning
Authors: Lerousseau Jacques Pesnot , Schön Daniele
Published: May 2020

It is poorly known whether musical training leads to improvements in general cognitive abilities, such as statistical learning (SL). In standard SL paradigms, musicians have better performances than non-musicians. However, these better performances could be due to an improved ability to process sensory information, as opposed to an improved ability to learn sequence statistics. Unfortunately, these very different explanations make similar predictions on the performances averaged over multiple trials. To solve this controversy, we developed a Bayesian model and recorded electroencephalography (EEG) to study trial-by-trial responses. Our results confirm that musicians perform ~15% better than non-musicians at predicting items in auditory sequences that embed either simple or complex statistics. This higher performance is explained in the Bayesian model by parameters governing SL, as opposed to parameters governing sensory information processing. EEG recordings reveal a neural underpinning of the musician’s advantage: the P300 amplitude correlates with the Bayesian model surprise elicited by each item, and so, more strongly for musicians than non-musicians. Finally, early EEG components correlate with the Bayesian model surprise elicited by simple statistics, as opposed to late EEG components that correlate with Bayesian model surprise elicited by complex statistics surprise, and so more strongly for musicians than non-musicians. Overall, our results prove that musical expertise is associated with improved neural SL, and support music-based intervention to fine tune general cognitive abilities.
Classification of grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering patterns by convolutional neural network
Authors: Ikemoto Hiroyuki , Yamamoto Kazushi , Touyama Hideaki , Yamashita Daisuke , Nakamura Masataka , Okuda Hiroshi
Published: May 2020

Grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) patterns have multiple superimposed contributions from the shape of the nanoscale structure, the coupling between the particles, the partial pair correlation, and the layer geometry. Therefore, it is not easy to identify the model manually from the huge amounts of combinations. The convolutional neural network (CNN), which is one of the artificial neural networks, can find regularities to classify patterns from large amounts of combinations. CNN was applied to classify GISAXS patterns, focusing on the shape of the nanoparticles. The network found regularities from the GISAXS patterns and showed a success rate of about 90% for the classification. This method can efficiently classify a large amount of experimental GISAXS patterns according to a set of model shapes and their combinations.
The application of nonlinear least-squares estimation algorithms in atmospheric density model calibration
Authors: Zhang Houzhe , Gu Defeng , Duan Xiaojun , Shao Kai , Wei Chunbo
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the performance of three typical nonlinear least-squares estimation algorithms in atmospheric density model calibration.

Design/methodology/approach

The error of Jacchia-Roberts atmospheric density model is expressed as an objective function about temperature parameters. The estimation of parameter corrections is a typical nonlinear least-squares problem. Three algorithms for nonlinear least-squares problems, Gauss–Newton (G-N), damped Gauss–Newton (damped G-N) and Levenberg–Marquardt (L-M) algorithms, are adopted to estimate temperature parameter corrections of Jacchia-Roberts for model calibration.

Findings

The results show that G-N algorithm is not convergent at some sampling points. The main reason is the nonlinear relationship between Jacchia-Roberts and its temperature parameters. Damped G-N and L-M algorithms are both convergent at all sampling points. G-N, damped G-N and L-M algorithms reduce the root mean square error of Jacchia-Roberts from 20.4% to 9.3%, 9.4% and 9.4%, respectively. The average iterations of G-N, damped G-N and L-M algorithms are 3.0, 2.8 and 2.9, respectively.

Practical implications

This study is expected to provide a guidance for the selection of nonlinear least-squares estimation methods in atmospheric density model calibration.

Originality/value

The study analyses the performance of three typical nonlinear least-squares estimation methods in the calibration of atmospheric density model. The non-convergent phenomenon of G-N algorithm is discovered and explained. Damped G-N and L-M algorithms are more suitable for the nonlinear least-squares problems in model calibration than G-N algorithm and the first two algorithms have slightly fewer iterations.
Mobile money adoption and usage and financial inclusion: mediating effect of digital consumer protection
Authors: Okello Candiya Bongomin George , Ntayi Joseph Mpeera
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Drawing from the argument that mobile money services have a significant potential to provide a wide range of affordable, convenient and secure financial services, there have been rampant frauds on consumers of financial products over the digital financial platform. Thus, this study aims to establish the mediating effect of digital consumer protection in the relationship between mobile money adoption and usage and financial inclusion with data collected from micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in northern Uganda.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the main objective of this study, a research model was developed to test for the mediating effect of digital consumer protection in the relationship between mobile money adoption and usage and financial inclusion. The data were collected from MSMEs and structural equation modelling in partial least square (PLS) combined with bootstrap was applied to analyze and test the hypotheses of this study. The direct and indirect effect of mobile money adoption and usage on financial inclusion was tested through digital consumer protection as a mediator variable.

Findings

The findings from the PLS-structural equation modelling (SEM) showed that mobile money adoption and usage has both direct and indirect effect on financial inclusion. Moreover, financial inclusion is influenced by both mobile money adoption and usage and digital consumer protection.

Research limitations/implications

The study used partial least square (PLS-SEM) combined with bootstrap confidence intervals through a formative approach to establish the mediating effect of the mediator variable. Hence, it ignored the use of covariance-based SEM and the MedGraph programme. Furthermore, data were collected from samples located in Gulu district, northern Uganda and specifically from MSMEs. This limits generalization of the study findings to other population who also use mobile money services.

Practical implications

Promoters of digital financial services, managers of telecommunication companies, and financial inclusion advocates should consider strengthening the existing digital consumer protection laws on the mobile money platform. A collaborative approach between the mobile network operators, financial institutions and regulators should tighten the existing laws against mobile money fraudsters and an efficient mechanism for recourse, compensation and remedy should be set up to benefit the victims of frauds and cybercrime on the Fintech ecosystem.

Originality/value

The current study gives a useful insight into the critical mediating role of digital consumer protection as a cushion for promoting financial inclusion through mobile phones over the Fintech that face great threat and risk from cyber insecurity.
Analogical reasoning and regulatory focus: using the creative process to enhance consumer-brand outcomes within a co-creation context
Authors: Naletelich Kelly , Spears Nancy
Published: May 2020

Purpose

New product development (NPD) is increasingly being delegated to consumers, yet little research has investigated consumer-centric factors that may influence this delegation. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to uniquely combine regulatory focus and analogical reasoning to investigate new product ideation and downstream consumer-brand responses.

Design/methodology/approach

A series of experiments were undertaken.

Findings

Study 1 revealed that promotion-focused consumers (as opposed to prevention-focused consumers) have significantly greater purchase intentions if given an analogical reasoning task before engaging in new product ideation due to their cognitive flexibility. Study 2 tested the effects of near vs far analogies and found that promotion-focused consumers use analogical thinking to a greater extent and have significantly higher purchase intentions if primed with far analogies because regulatory fit is enhanced. However, analogical thinking and purchase intentions significantly drop if primed with near analogies. In contrast, prevention-focused consumers use analogical thinking to a greater extent and have significantly higher purchase intentions if shown near analogies, compared to far analogies, because of improved regulatory fit. Both studies confirm a serial mediation chain involving task engagement, self-brand connection, and brand sincerity.

Research limitations/implications

This research extends current understanding regarding the role of creative tasks within consumer NPD. It also uniquely links regulatory focus and consumer task engagement in NPD to increase favorable brand responses.

Practical implications

Findings offer managerial insights that can positively increase consumer-brand outcomes during NPD.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to demonstrate the importance of analogical thinking and consumer-centric factors (i.e., regulatory focus) during the NPD process. This avenue of research is important, as most studies have neglected ways in which to increase consumer NPD task engagement, leaving resources unutilized.
MOOC opinion mining based on attention alignment
Authors: Ouyang Yuanxin , Zhang Hongbo , Rong Wenge , Li Xiang , Xiong Zhang
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an attention alignment method for opinion mining of massive open online course (MOOC) comments. Opinion mining is essential for MOOC applications. In this study, the authors analyze some of bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT’s) attention heads and explore how to use these attention heads to extract opinions from MOOC comments.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach proposed is based on an attention alignment mechanism with the following three stages: first, extracting original opinions from MOOC comments with dependency parsing. Second, constructing frequent sets and using the frequent sets to prune the opinions. Third, pruning the opinions and discovering new opinions with the attention alignment mechanism.

Findings

The experiments on the MOOC comments data sets suggest that the opinion mining approach based on an attention alignment mechanism can obtain a better F1 score. Moreover, the attention alignment mechanism can discover some of the opinions filtered incorrectly by the frequent sets, which means the attention alignment mechanism can overcome the shortcomings of dependency analysis and frequent sets.

Originality/value

To take full advantage of pretrained language models, the authors propose an attention alignment method for opinion mining and combine this method with dependency analysis and frequent sets to improve the effectiveness. Furthermore, the authors conduct extensive experiments on different combinations of methods. The results show that the attention alignment method can effectively overcome the shortcomings of dependency analysis and frequent sets.
Mitigating sustainability risk in supplier populations: an agent-based simulation study
Authors: Hajmohammad Sara , Shevchenko Anton
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Many modern firms strive to become sustainable. To this end, they are required to improve not only their own environmental and social performance but also the performance of their suppliers. Building on population ecology theory, we explore how buyers' exposure to supplier sustainability risk and their subsequent risk management strategies at the buyer–supplier dyad level can lead to adherence to sustainability by the supplier populations.

Design/methodology/approach

We rely on a bottom-up research design, in which the actions of buyers within buyer–supplier dyads lead to population-wide changes on the supplier side. Specifically, we use experimental data on managing sustainability risk to build an agent-based simulation model and assess the effect of evolutionary processes on the presence of sustainable/unsustainable business practices in the supplier population.

Findings

Our findings suggest that buyers' cumulative actions in managing sustainability risk do not necessarily result in effective population-wide improvements (i.e. at a high rate and to a high degree). For example, in high risk impact conditions, the buyer population is usually able to decrease the population level risk in a long run, but they would need both power and resources for quickly achieving such improved outcomes. Importantly, this positive change, in most cases, is due to the fact that the buyer population selects out the suppliers with high probability of misconduct (i.e. decreased supplier population density).

Originality/value

Drawing on the organizational population ecology theory, we explore when, to what degree and how quickly the buyers' cumulative efforts can lead to population-wide changes in the level of supplier sustainability risk, as well as the composition and density of supplier population. Methodologically, this paper is one of the first studies which use a combination of experimental data and agent-based modeling to offer more valuable insights on supply networks.
Examining the willingness to produce organic vegetables in the Bono and Ahafo regions of Ghana
Authors: Dapaah Opoku Precious , Bannor Richard Kwasi , Oppong-Kyeremeh Helena
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to analyse the demographic, crop choice, institutional and environmental factors that will influence the vegetable growers in Bono and Ahafo regions of Ghana to produce organic vegetables. The study also assessed the knowledge level of vegetable growers on organic certification processes.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data were collected with the help of a structured questionnaire from 120 vegetable growers via a multistage sampling technique. The Heckman selection model was used to analyse the factors that influence farmers' willingness to adopt organic production as well as the intensity of adoption.

Findings

In this study, pepper (Capsicum spp) production, residential status, knowledge of organic certification processes, perceived negative environmental effect of conventional farming on the soil, and climate change positively influenced willingness to produce organic vegetables. Likewise, pepper production perceived negative environmental effect of conventional farming on the soil positively influenced the intensity of adoption. Household headship status, garden egg (Solanum integrifolium) production, perceived knowledge on grading and standards of vegetables, as well as the perception that only pesticides can be used to control vegetable pests negatively influenced the willingness to produce organic vegetables however perceived expertise of the farmer on grades and standards influenced intensity of adoption negatively.

Originality/value

In Ghana, even though most vegetable farmers do not have the requisite knowledge in the safe handling of pesticides, usage is widespread. Subsequent to this, is a health risk to farmers, consumers and the environment. As a result, there is a growing awareness that organic agriculture has a role to play in addressing problems associated with agrochemical use and over usage. However, most studies are consumer oriented with limited empirical research on the willingness to produce organics by farmers.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-12-2019-0723
Intellectual capital and technical efficiency of banks in an emerging market: a slack-based measure
Authors: Duho King Carl Tornam
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This paper investigates the impact of intellectual capital and its components on slack-based technical efficiency (SBM-TE) of banks.

Design/methodology/approach

Data envelopment analysis is used to compute SBM-TE scores and the Value-Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC™) model is used to measure intellectual capital. An unbalanced panel of 32 banks that operated from 2000 to 2017 has been used.

Findings

Overall, the efficiency scores are averaged at 79%, suggesting that an inefficient bank needs to enhance technical efficiency by 21% to be at par with the best performing banks. Beta-convergence and sigma-convergence exist among banks with faster speed evident among listed and local banks. Intellectual capital has a positive impact on SBM-TE and human capital is the main driver of technical efficiency among banks. This result is specifically evident among non-listed banks and foreign banks. Economies of scale property are also evident among the banks. Competition and asset tangibility inhibit technical efficiency among banks.

Practical implications

Banks are advised to invest in value-adding emerging technologies and their employees so as to enhance their efficiency. The study offers insights for policymakers, practitioners and researchers in emerging markets.

Originality/value

The study is premier in employing the SBM-TE to explain the intellectual capital and efficiency nexus, as well as, testing for both beta-convergence and sigma-convergence.
European intellectual property institutions and Chinese foreign direct investment
Authors: Alexiou Constantinos , Vogiazas Sofoklis
Published: May 2020

Purpose

We investigate the impact of the strength of intellectual property (IP) institutions on Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI).

Design/methodology/approach

We use two different measures of IP on a sample of 21 European countries in the period 2003–2015. Panel quantile methodology is applied to assess the relationship at several points of the conditional distribution of OFDI.

Findings

We provide novel and robust evidence revealing a highly negative relationship between OFDI and the strength of IP institutions in Europe. This relationship which is more pronounced in the median and upper-quantiles, bolsters the conventional theoretical expectation that high institutional distance between home and host countries is inversely related to OFDI. Equally important is the preliminary evidence of the non-linear impact of IP at the median and upper-quantiles as well as the impact of other controlling variables such as GDP, population, trade openness and unit labour costs on Chinese OFDI.

Originality/value

The ensuing theoretical implications are of great significance for future studies on the institutional distance and drivers of OFDI by emerging economies as well as for European policymakers in so far as the strengthening of IP institutions constitutes a gravitational point for inward investment flows from China.
RegTech solutions and AML compliance: what future for financial crime?
Authors: Kurum Esman
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This study aims to discuss the growing use of RegTech solutions by financial institutions to comply more efficiently with regulation in terms of anti-money laundering compliance and more specifically its influence on the evolution of financial crime in the next ten years.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on two online Delphi surveys sent to a panel of international experts composed of eight specially recruited professionals and specialists of anti-financial crime compliance and RegTech, five main predictions have been developed.

Findings

It was found that artificial intelligence would become the most impactful technology for financial institutions to fight financial crime, and that there will be a strong positive correlation between ever-more elaborated compliance programs and the level of sophistication of methods used for money laundering. Furthermore, the panel designated regulators’ recommendations as likely to be less influential than RegTech solutions, and the time required to integrate RegTech solutions for AML compliance as the main future challenge.

Originality/value

These predictions are meant to provide financial institutions and regulators with useful outlooks. While the reviewed literature focused on the role of regulations on the evolution of money laundering, this study puts stress on RegTech solutions and their impact on both compliance and financial crime.
Investigating interdependencies of sustainable supplier selection criteria: an appraisal using ISM
Authors: Chauhan Avanish Singh , Badhotiya Gaurav Kumar , Soni Gunjan , Kumari Prem
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Because of the increased global competition and the need for environment consciousness, organisations have started focusing on incorporating sustainability dimensions into suppler selection criteria. In the past decade, sustainable supplier selection has received much attention from researchers as well as industry practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to identify various sustainable supplier selection criteria (SSSC) and underlying interdependencies among prominent selection criteria to develop a framework for sustainability dimensions.

Design/methodology/approach

The sustainable criteria for supplier selection were established through comprehensive literature review. An interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach is used to investigate the interrelationships among these criteria.

Findings

A total of 21 SSSC under 3 dimensions (social, environmental and economic) are established. Ten criteria related to quality, capability, flexibility, waste management, pollution prevention, local community, employment practice, labour, etc. are exhibiting strong driving as well as dependence power, as demonstrated through ISM and matriced’ impacts croises-multiplication applique’ and classement (MICMAC) analysis. The findings show that delivery/service, eco design and rights of stakeholders are the “key” criteria having a high-driving and low-dependence power. These criteria require high attention from managers, while other criteria having low-driving and high-dependence power require secondary actions.

Research limitations/implications

The inter-relations for the development of ISM model and MICMAC analysis were obtained through the opinion of industry experts and academicians, which may tend to be subjectively biased. Further exploration is proposed to statistically validate the developed interdependency model.

Practical implications

This paper might act as a reference for the supplier development managers of organisations by providing an appraisal of various SSSC based on their interdependencies.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the knowledge base by proposing a framework of the interrelationships of the SSSC and also provides an additional perspective for managing these criteria based on ISM.
Why can CSR seem like putting lipstick on a pig? Evaluating CSR authenticity by comparing practitioner and consumer perspectives
Authors: Diers-Lawson Audra , Coope Kerry , Tench Ralph
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain and better understand some of the challenges and even contradictions in relationships between CSR and stakeholder attitudes by comparing consumer and practitioner perspectives on social responsibility, its role in organisations and its influence on consumer attitudes towards companies. The objective is to understand and evaluate factors influencing the authenticity of social responsibility as a contributor to an organisation’s value proposition.

Design/methodology/approach

Focus groups of consumers and practitioners (N = 39) were asked to explore CSR in a semi-structured discussion. Themes were analysed using a constant comparative method.

Findings

These data suggest that rather than existing on a continuum of authenticity, there are clear paths emerging for CSR efforts to be deemed authentic versus inauthentic that can begin to better explain the often-contradictory findings with regard to consumer attitudes towards CSR and an organisation’s value proposition. Consumer efficacy to influence an organisation and localised CSR emerge as critical determinants for evaluations of CSR as authentic. Further, these data also suggest practitioners may not understand consumer motivations and attitudes about CSR.

Originality/value

These data provide new insights into evaluations of CSR to explain when and why it can fail to meet its objectives. Ultimately, these data produce testable models for authentic (i.e. motivator) and inauthentic (hygiene) consumer judgements about CSR and draw implications for CSR leadership, learning and management.
For love or money: investigating the love of money, Machiavellianism and accounting students’ ethical perception
Authors: Maggalatta Alif , Adhariani Desi
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explain the effect of love of money and Machiavellianism on ethics perceptions of accounting students. The knowledge attained from this study will allow lecturers and academicians to improve the methods used for teaching ethics in accounting by evaluating the impact of two factors.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses survey and quantitative analysis. The data were collected by distributing offline and online questionnaires to students in a university in Indonesia.

Findings

The results show that both the love of money and Machiavellianism negatively affect ethical perception. Gender as one of the control variables is found to have a significant association with the love of money, Machiavellianism and ethical perception of accounting students.

Research limitations/implications

The practical implication of the research is the need to inform students on the negative impact of the love of money and Machiavellianism on ethics, as well as the required steps to overcome such negative impact by inserting ethics-related materials in several accounting courses.

Originality/value

Accounting students represent future accountants and highly ethical accountants will protect the profession and society from harmful consequences of unethical accounting and business practices.
Drivers of Ar-Rahnu (pawn) acceptance: Malaysian evidence
Authors: Mohd Thas Thaker Hassanudin , Khaliq Ahmad , Mohd Thas Thaker Mohamed Asmy Bin , Allah Pitchay Anwar Bin , Sakaran K. Chandra
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factor persuading the acceptance of Islamic pawn broking (Ar-Rahnu) among Islamic bank customers.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected the data using a self-administered questionnaire design and analysed using SPSS Statistics and smart partial least square. The study is restricted to only respondents who are based in the area of Klang Valley (Selangor and Kuala Lumpur), as these two areas have a larger number of Islamic banks and a decent number of Islamic banks’ clients. A total of 381 respondents’ responses are used for this study, and the constructs involved for analysis purpose are affect, social factor, facilitating conditions, perceived financial benefits and perceived risk constructs.

Findings

The finding suggests a significant positive association for social factor and perceived risk, while negative association learnt for affect on acceptance of Ar-Rahnu financing. On the same note, the facilitating condition and perceived financial benefit are found insignificantly related.

Practical implications

The findings generated from this study are expected to enrich the literature on the body of knowledge, as it has served to broaden the understanding of the Ar-Rahnu acceptance level in Malaysia. As mentioned, there is limited literature available using this type of financing. Existing studies focus too much on conventional financing products such as personal financing, credit card, short-term loan and many others. Less attention is given to Ar-Rahnu financing. Thus, this study expected to add value to the literature available in the context of Islamic pawn broking business. Moreover, the findings of this study will be very helpful for the Islamic financial institutions to find the best way to retain Ar-Rahnu clients and encourage more client to choose Ar-Rahnu as a mode of financing.

Originality/value

This study owns greater potential to assist Islamic financial institutions to discover the best techniques to retain and encourage the grander number of clients for Ar-Rahnu as a mode of financing.
Do FEARS drive Bitcoin?
Authors: Burggraf Tobias , Huynh Toan Luu Duc , Rudolf Markus , Wang Mei
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This study examines the prediction power of investor sentiment on Bitcoin return.

Design/methodology/approach

We construct a Financial and Economic Attitudes Revealed by Search (FEARS) index using search volume from Google's search engine to reveal household-level (“bankruptcy”, “unemployment”, “job search”, etc.) and market-level sentiment (“bankruptcy”, “unemployment”, “job search”, etc.).

Findings

Using a variety of quantitative methodologies such as the transfer entropy model as well as threshold regression and OLS, GLS and 2SLS estimations, we find that (1) investor sentiment has strong predictive power on Bitcoin, (2) household-level sentiment has larger effects than market-level sentiment and (3) the impact of sentiment is greater in low sentiment regimes than in high sentiment regimes. Based on these information, we build a hypothetical trading strategy that outperforms a simple buy-and-hold strategy both on an absolute and risk-adjusted basis. The results are consistent across cryptocurrencies and regions.

Research limitations/implications

The findings contribute to the ongoing debate in the literature on the efficiency of cryptocurrency markets. The results reveal that the Bitcoin market is not efficient in the sense of the efficient market hypothesis – asset prices do not fully reflect all available information and we were able to “beat the market”. In addition, it sheds further light on the debate whether Bitcoin can be considered a medium of exchange, i.e. a currency or an investment product. Because investors are reallocating their Bitcoin holdings during times of increased market sentiment due to liquidity needs, they obviously consider bitcoin an investment product rather than a currency.

Originality/value

This study is the first to examine the impact of investor sentiment measured by FEARS on Bitcoin return.
Anlotinib can overcome acquired resistance to EGFR‐TKIs via FGFR1 signaling in non‐small cell lung cancer without harboring EGFR T790M mutation
Authors: Lian Zengzhi , Du Wenwen , Zhang Yang , Fu Yulong , Liu Ting , Wang Anqi , Cai Tingting , Zhu Jianjie , Zeng Yuanyuan , Liu Zeyi , Huang Jian‐an
Published: May 2020

Background

Although many studies have defined mechanisms of resistance to EGFR‐TKIs, acquired resistance remains the major limitation of monotherapy with EGFR‐TKIs.

Methods

Cell viability was analyzed using a Cell Counting Kit‐8 (CCK‐8) assay. EGFR T790M mutation was sequenced on a HiSeq 4000 platform. mRNAs from HCC827 and HCC827 gefitinib‐resistant (GR) cells were analyzed by genome analyzer‐based deep sequencing. The effect of anlotinib on apoptosis and cell cycle arrest of HCC827 GR was detected by fluorescence‐activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis. A mouse xenograft model was used to assess the effect of anlotinib on HCC827 GR cells.

Results

The T790M mutation was found in the PC‐9 GR cell line but not in the HCC827 GR cell line. Anlotinib could suppress the growth of HCC827 GR cells by inhibiting FGFR1 in vitro and in a mouse xenograft model. Moreover, FGFR1 was overexpressed in HCC827 GR cells, and the knockdown of FGFR1 reversed gefitinib resistance in HCC827 GR cells. Furthermore, anlotinib induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in HCC827 GR cells by increasing the activity of Caspase‐3.

Conclusions

FGFR1 overexpression could be the mechanism of EGFR‐TKI acquired resistance and anlotinib can suppresse the growth of EGFR‐TKI‐resistant NSCLC cells without T790M mutation.
A case of ROS1‐rearranged lung adenocarcinoma exhibiting pleural effusion caused by crizotinib
Authors: Tachi Hiroaki , Nishino Kengo , Nakaizumi Taisuke , Kuramoto Kenya , Shimizu Kei , Yamamoto Yusuke , Kobayashi Keisuke , Ichimura Hideo , Sakata Akiko , Nawa Takeshi
Published: May 2020

Reports of crizotinib‐induced pleural effusion in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are limited. A 35‐year‐old Japanese woman was diagnosed with ROS1‐rearranged lung adenocarcinoma (primary left lower lobe, cT4N3M1c). Crizotinib was administered as first‐line therapy, and the primary and mediastinal hilar lymph node metastases rapidly shrank. On the fourth day of treatment, chest X‐ray demonstrated contralateral pleural effusion. On the 41st day of treatment, crizotinib was discontinued because of grade 3 neutropenia. Examination including surgical thoracoscopy did not reveal causative findings, and the continued cessation of drug administration enabled the right pleural effusion to decrease gradually and disappear, suggesting that this event was a side effect of crizotinib. The disease did not progress even though the drug was withdrawn for more than one year. In conclusion, crizotinib was considered to cause pleural effusion as an adverse event in a case of ROS1‐rearranged lung adenocarcinoma with a complete response.
AMPK‐mediated formation of stress granules is required for dietary restriction‐induced longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Kuo Chen‐Ting , You Guan‐Ting , Jian Ying‐Jie , Chen Ting‐Shin , Siao Yu‐Chen , Hsu Ao‐Lin , Ching Tsui‐Ting
Published: May 2020

Stress granules (SGs) are nonmembranous organelles that are dynamically assembled and disassembled in response to various stressors. Under stressed conditions, polyadenylated mRNAs and translation factors are sequestrated in SGs to promote global repression of protein synthesis. It has been previously demonstrated that SG formation enhances cell survival and stress resistance. However, the physiological role of SGs in organismal aging and longevity regulation remains unclear. In this study, we used TIAR‐1::GFP and GTBP‐1::GFP as markers to monitor the formation of SGs in Caenorhabditis elegans. We found that, in addition to acute heat stress, SG formation could also be triggered by dietary changes, such as starvation and dietary restriction (DR). We found that HSF‐1 is required for the SG formation in response to acute heat shock and starvation but not DR, whereas the AMPK‐eEF2K signaling is required for starvation and DR‐induced SG formation but not heat shock. Moreover, our data suggest that this AMPK‐eEF2K pathway‐mediated SG formation is required for lifespan extension by DR, but dispensable for the longevity by reduced insulin/IGF‐1 signaling. Collectively, our findings unveil a novel role of SG formation in DR‐induced longevity.
Mortality in adults with chronic hepatitis B infection in the United States: a population‐based study
Authors: Zhou Kali , Dodge Jennifer L. , Grab Joshua , Poltavskiy Eduard , Terrault Norah A.
Published: May 2020

Background

Chronic hepatitis B infection is an important contributor to mortality in the United States, yet impact of available and effective oral antivirals on mortality among infected individuals is unknown.

Aims

To compare risks and predictors of mortality in a recent time period between those with chronic, prior and no hepatitis B infection.

Methods

This is a population‐based cohort study of National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys participants between 1999 and 2014 linked to National Death Index data. Adults aged 20 years or older with hepatitis B serologic testing were included. Outcomes of all‐cause and liver‐related mortality were evaluated using Cox regression.

Results

Of 39 206 participants, 192 (0.5%) had chronic and 2694 (6.9%) had prior hepatitis B infection. The all‐cause age/sex‐standardised mortality rates for chronic, prior and uninfected were 21.4, 15.1 and 11.8 per 1000 person‐years respectively. Liver‐related mortality occurred at respective rates of 4.1, 0.3 and 0.1 per 1000 person‐years. In multivariable analyses, those with chronic infection had 1.9‐fold (95% CI 1.1‐3.3) increased hazard of all‐cause mortality and 13.3‐fold (95% CI 3.9‐45.5) increased hazard of liver‐related mortality compared to uninfected. Predictors of all‐cause mortality among chronic infection included heavy alcohol use (HR 18.3, 95% CI 3.3‐100.6) and higher alanine aminotransferase (HR 1.02, 95% CI 1.00‐1.03).

Conclusions

Mortality among adults living with chronic hepatitis B infection still exceeds that of uninfected despite availability of improved therapeutics. Identification of chronic infection, initiation of treatment among eligible and modulation of co‐factors for disease progression are needed to improve survival.
Using learning analytics in the Amazonas: understanding students’ behaviour in introductory programming
Authors: Pereira Filipe D. , Oliveira Elaine H. T. , Oliveira David B. F. , Cristea Alexandra I. , Carvalho Leandro S. G. , Fonseca Samuel C. , Toda Armando , Isotani Seiji
Published: May 2020

Tools for automatic grading programming assignments, also known as Online Judges, have been widely used to support computer science (CS) courses. Nevertheless, few studies have used these tools to acquire and analyse interaction data to better understand the students’ performance and behaviours, often due to data availability or inadequate granularity. To address this problem, we propose an Online Judge called CodeBench, which allows for fine‐grained data collection of student interactions, at the level of, eg, keystrokes, number of submissions, and grades. We deployed CodeBench for 3 years (2016–18) and collected data from 2058 students from 16 introductory computer science (CS1) courses, on which we have carried out fine‐grained learning analytics, towards early detection of effective/ineffective behaviours regarding learning CS concepts. Results extract clear behavioural classes of CS1 students, significantly differentiated both semantically and statistically, enabling us to better explain how student behaviours during programming have influenced learning outcomes. Finally, we also identify behaviours that can guide novice students to improve their learning performance, which can be used for interventions. We believe this work is a step forward towards enhancing Online Judges and helping teachers and students improve their CS1 teaching/learning practices.
Checkpoint blockade treatment sensitises relapsed/refractory non‐Hodgkin lymphoma to subsequent therapy
Authors: Carreau Nicole A. , Armand Philippe , Merryman Reid W. , Advani Ranjana H. , Spinner Michael A. , Herrera Alex F. , Ramchandren Radhakrishnan , Hamid Muhammad S. , Assouline Sarit , Santiago Raoul , Wagner‐Johnston Nina , Paul Suman , Svoboda Jakub , Bair Steven M. , Barta Stefan K. , Nathan Sunita , Karmali Reem , Torka Pallawi , David Kevin , Lansigan Frederick , Persky Daniel , Godfrey James , Chavez Julio C. , Xia Yuhe , Diefenbach Catherine
Published: May 2020

Patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) have limited options for salvage, and checkpoint blockade therapy (CBT) has little efficacy. Usage in solid malignancies suggests that CBT sensitises tumours to subsequent chemotherapy. We performed the first analysis of CBT on subsequent NHL treatment. Seventeen North American centres retrospectively queried records. The primary aim was to evaluate the overall response rate (ORR) to post‐CBT treatment. Secondary aims included progression‐free survival (PFS), duration of response (DOR) and overall survival (OS). Fifty‐nine patients (68% aggressive NHL, 69% advanced disease) were included. Patients received a median of three therapies before CBT. Fifty‐three (90%) discontinued CBT due to progression. Post‐CBT regimens included chemotherapy (49%), targeted therapy (30%), clinical trial (17%), transplant conditioning (2%) and chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR‐T) therapy (2%). The ORR to post‐CBT treatment was 51%, with median PFS of 6·1 months. In patients with at least stable disease (SD) to post‐CBT, the median DOR was significantly longer than to pre‐CBT (310 vs. 79 days, P = 0·005) suggesting sensitisation. Nineteen patients were transplanted after post‐CBT therapy. Median overall survival was not reached, nor affected by regimen. Prospective trials are warranted, as this may offer R/R NHL patients a novel therapeutic approach.