bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
NEAT1 promotes genome stability via m6A methylation-dependent regulation of CHD4
Authors: Mamontova Victoria , Trifault Barbara , Gribling-Burrer Anne-Sophie , Bohn Patrick , Preckwinkel Pit , Schmitz Werner , Gallant Peter , Papadopoulos Dimitrios , Eilers Martin , Gutschner Tony , Smyth Redmond P. , Burger Kaspar
Published: February 2024

Long non-coding (lnc)RNA emerge as regulators of genome stability. The nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) locus encodes two lncRNA isoforms that modulate gene expression, growth and proliferation in mammals. Interestingly, NEAT1 transcripts are overexpressed in many tumours and induced by DNA damage, suggesting a genome-protective function. However, the precise role of NEAT1 in the DNA damage response (DDR) is unclear. Here, we investigate the expression, modification levels, localization and structure of NEAT1 in response to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) induced by the topoisomerase-II inhibitor etoposide or the locus-specific endonuclease AsiSI. We find that induction of DSBs increases both the levels and N6-methyladenosine (m6A) marks on NEAT1, which promotes alterations in NEAT1 secondary structure and accumulation of hyper-methylated NEAT1 at a subset of promoter-associated DSBs to facilitate efficient DSB signalling. The depletion of NEAT1, in turn, delays the response to DSBs and triggers elevated DNA damage. The genome-protective role of NEAT1 is mediated by the RNA methyltransferase 3 (METTL3) and involves spreading of the chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 4 (CHD4) upon release from NEAT1. Together, we describe a novel RNA-dependent DDR pathway that couples NEAT1 to the recognition and repair of DSBs.
Mechanism of degrader-targeted protein ubiquitinability
Authors: Crowe Charlotte , Nakasone Mark A. , Chandler Sarah , Tatham Michael H. , Makukhin Nikolai , Hay Ronald T. , Ciulli Alessio
Published: February 2024

Small molecule degraders of disease-driving proteins offer a clinically proven modality with enhanced therapeutic efficacy and the potential to tackle previously undrugged targets. Thermodynamically stable and kinetically long-lived degrader-mediated ternary complexes can drive faster, more profound and durable target degradation, however the mechanistic features by which they impact on target ubiquitination remain elusive. Here, we solve cryo-EM structures of the VHL Cullin 2 RING E3 ligase complexed with degrader MZ1, target protein Brd4BD2and primed for catalysis with its cognate E2-ubiquitin bound. We find that Brd4BD2adopts a favourable orientation towards the E2 active site. In vitro ubiquitination coupled with mass spectrometry illuminates a patch of ubiquitinable lysines on one face of Brd4BD2, with Lys456 showing optimal distance and geometry for nucleophilic attack. Our results demonstrate the proficiency of MZ1 in directing the substrate towards catalysis, explains the favourability of Brd4BD2for ubiquitination, and reveals the flexibility of the enzyme in capturing sub-optimal lysines. We propose a model for ubiquitinability of degrader-recruited targets that provides a mechanistic blueprint for further rational drug design and optimization.

One-Sentence Summary

Structural assembly a PROTAC-mediated complex of whole Cullin RING E3 ligase with bound target and E2-ubiquitin reveals structural and mechanistic insights of specificity for target protein ubiquitination.
Seasonality of Respiratory, Enteric and Urinary Viruses Revealed by Wastewater Genomic Surveillance
Authors: Smith Matthew F. , Maqsood Rabia , Sullins Regan A. , Driver Erin M. , Halden Rolf U. , Lim Efrem S.
Published: February 2024

Wastewater surveillance can reveal population-level infectious disease burden and emergent public health threats can be reliably assessed through wastewater surveillance. While molecular methods for wastewater monitoring of microorganisms have traditionally relied on PCR-based approaches, next-generation sequencing can provide deeper insights via genomic analyses of multiple diverse pathogens. We conducted a year-long sequencing surveillance of 1,408 composite wastewater samples collected from 12 neighborhood-level access points in the Greater Tempe area, Arizona, USA, and show that variation in wastewater viromes is driven by seasonal time and location. Wastewater virome temporal dynamics were influenced in a cyclical manner, with the most dissimilarity between samples 23 weeks apart (i.e., winter vs summer, spring vs fall). We identified diverse urinary and enteric viruses including polyomaviruses, astroviruses and noroviruses, and showed that their genotypes/subtypes shifted across season. We show that while wastewater data of certain respiratory viruses like SARS-CoV-2 strongly correlate with clinical case rates, laboratory-reported case incidences were discordant with surges of high viral load in wastewater for other viruses like human coronavirus 229E. These results demonstrate the utility of wastewater sequencing for informing decision making in public health.

IMPORTANCE

Wastewater genomic sequencing surveillance can provide insights into the spread of pathogens in communities. Advances in next-generation sequencing methodologies allow for more precise detection of viruses in wastewater. Long-term wastewater genomic sequencing surveillance is an important tool for public health preparedness. This system can act as a public health observatory that gives real-time early warning for infectious disease outbreaks and improved response times.
School and meal characteristics associated with plate waste in K-12 cafeterias in the United States
Authors: Adjapong Eunice S. , Bender Kathryn E. , Schaefer Sophia , Roe Brian E.
Published: February 2024

Food wasted in primary and secondary education institutions creates nutritional losses, financial inefficiencies, and environmental degradation. While there is some evidence of how particular interventions within schools may influence the amount of waste created, there is little recent information about typical levels of food waste observed in U.S. schools and how these correlate with school and meal characteristics. We analyze data reported by more than 100 schools from 24 states as part of the World Wildlife Fund’s Food Waste Warriors project and identify how plate and beverage waste from school lunches are associated with school and meal service characteristics. We find schools that permit students to choose their own amount of milk report 76% less milk waste than those reliant upon individual milk cartons while schools that implement at least one non-curricular intervention (e.g., a table where students can share unopened) report significantly less produce waste than other schools. We confirm several patterns observed or hypothesized in the literature, including more waste generated by younger students and during the earliest and shortest lunch periods. We document several novel associations including more plate waste at smaller schools, during winter months and in the Northeast region. We find several nuanced patterns of waste related to the prevalence of free and reduced meal service and whether all meal elements are offered versus served. While this study cannot support rigorous evaluation of intervention effectiveness, it provides insights into school and program characteristics that may pose challenges for schools interested in reducing student plate waste.
Stability of initial glasma fields
Authors: Bazak Sylwia , Mrówczyński Stanisław
Published: February 2024

A system of gluon fields produced in the earliest phase of relativistic heavy-ion collisions, which is called , can be described in terms of classical fields. Initially there are chromoelectric and chromomagnetic fields along the collision axis. A linear stability analysis of these fields is performed, assuming that the fields are space-time uniform and using the SU(2) gauge group. We apply Milne coordinates and the gauge condition, which are usually used in studies of glasma. The chromoelectric field is in the Abelian configuration with the corresponding potential linearly depending on coordinates, but the chromomagnetic field is in the non-Abelian configuration generated by the potential of noncommuting components. The chromomagnetic field is found to be unstable, and the growth rate of the unstable mode is derived. Our findings are critically debated and confronted with the numerical simulations by Romatschke and Venugopalan, who found that the evolving glasma is unstable due to the Weibel instability, which is well known in electromagnetic plasma.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Refined analysis of
Ω−Ω¯+
polarization in electron-positron annihilation process
Authors: Zhang Zhe , Song Jiao Jiao , Zhou Ya-jin
Published: February 2024

We investigate the production of spin-3/2 hyperon pairs, Ω−Ω¯+, in electron-positron annihilation within the helicity formalism. A refined selection of helicity basis matrices is proposed to relate polarization expansion coefficients and spin density matrix elements and to illuminate their inherent physical interpretations and symmetrical properties. With a novel parametrization scheme of helicity amplitudes, we perform an analysis of polarization correlation coefficients for double-tag Ω−Ω¯+ pairs. We present three sets of expressions to describe the decay of Ω− hyperons, and further address the existing tension in the measurements of its decay parameters, particularly ϕΩ. The method and the framework developed in this paper can also be applied to studies of the production and decay mechanisms of other spin-3/2 particles.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
(2,2′-Bipyridine-κ2
N,N′)(4,4′-dimethoxy-2,2′-bipyridine-κ2
N,N′)palladium(II) bis(trifluoromethanesulfonate)
Authors: Vargas Brittney B. , Arman Hadi D. , Adrian Rafael A.
Published: February 2024

In the title complex salt, [Pd(C10H8N2)(C12H12N2O2)](CF3SO3)2, the palladium(II) atom is fourfold coordinated by two chelating ligands, 2,2′-bipyridine and 4,4′-dimethoxy-2,2′-bipyridine, in a distorted square-planar environment. In the crystal, weak π–π stacking interactions between the 2,2′-bipyridine rings [centroid-to-centroid distances = 3.8984 (19) Å] and between the 4,4′-dimethoxy-2,2′-bipyridine rings [centroid-to-centroid distances = 3.747 (18) Å] contribute to the alignment of the complex cations in columns parallel to the b-axis direction.
Household and entrepreneurial entry: an individual entrepreneurial capital perspective
Authors: Huang Yongchun , Wu Shangshuo , Chen Chengmeng , Zou Chen
Published: February 2024

Purpose

How does the family influence individual entrepreneurial entry? The literature does not provide a satisfactory answer. In this paper, we develop an individual entrepreneurial capital perspective to systematically evaluate the impact of current households on entrepreneurship at both theoretical and empirical levels.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) database from 2010 to 2018, we used logit regression models to examine the relationship between household size and opportunity- and necessity-motivated entrepreneurship.

Findings

The empirical results show that with the expansion of household size, the possibility of opportunity-motivated entrepreneurship shows a trend that first declines and then rises, and the possibility of necessity-motivated entrepreneurship shows an upward trend, suggesting that there are two types of opposing mechanisms that affect the relationship between household and entrepreneurial entry.

Practical implications

Family households are the starting point of individual growth and provide initial cognitive and social resources for decision-making. For entrepreneurs, it is necessary to make full use of household-based capital and networks to promote entrepreneurial activities. For the government, it is necessary to explore the development and implementation of household-based entrepreneurial policies.

Originality/value

Through analyses of the U-shaped relationship between household size and opportunity-motivated entrepreneurship and the positive relationship with necessity-motivated entrepreneurship, we reveal the relationship between household and entrepreneurship, reconcile the contradictions in the literature and contribute to the two fields of family studies and entrepreneurship.
Implications of metaverse, virtual reality, and extended reality for development and learning in organizations
Authors: Dastane Omkar , Rafiq Muhammad , Turner Jason J.
Published: February 2024

Purpose

This study investigates the implications and significance of immersive technologies (viz. metaverse, virtual reality, and extended reality) in organizational learning and development.

Design/methodology/approach

Employing a strategy map (using Biblioshiny) and network analysis (using VOSViewer), the study analyzed a total of 189 Scopus-indexed documents, spanning the period 1997 to 2023.

Findings

The findings revealed four thematic clusters, knowledge management, training, e-learning, and technology. Each cluster provided insights into the various facets of development and learning in respect to these technologies. The strategy map identified key themes, revealing core ideas, emerging trends, and foundational concepts within the domain.

Practical implications

Organizations can utilize this study to incorporate metaverse, virtual reality, and extended reality in organizational development, optimizing training and boosting employee experience and productivity.

Originality/value

While most literature delves into the technical side of immersive technologies, our study uncovers their impact on development and learning in organizations, addressing a critical research gap and offering a guiding framework.
Longitudinal relationship between parental and adolescent smartphone addiction: serial mediating effects of adolescent self-esteem and depression
Authors: Mun Il Bong
Published: February 2024

Purpose

This study longitudinally investigated the predictors and mediators of adolescent smartphone addiction by examining the impact of parental smartphone addiction at T1 on adolescent smartphone addiction at T3, as well as the separate and sequential role of adolescent self-esteem and depression at T2 as mediating factors.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a hierarchical regression and the PROCESS macro (Model 6) to investigate research model by collecting 3,904 parent-adolescent pairs. Panel data were collected from three waves of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS).

Findings

First, the result showed that parental smartphone addiction at T1 significantly and positively predicted adolescent smartphone addiction at T3. Second, the serial mediation analysis revealed that the impact of parental smartphone addiction at T1 on adolescent smartphone addiction at T3 was mediated by adolescent self-esteem and depression at T2 independently and serially.

Originality/value

The findings enhance our comprehension of the impact of parental smartphone addiction, adolescent self-esteem and depression, on adolescent smartphone addiction.
Research attitudes among pre-service teachers: unexpected outcomes emerging from a natural experiment
Authors: Vrikki Maria , Papanastasiou Elena C.
Published: February 2024

Purpose

The study assesses pre-service teachers' attitudes, confidence in research and intentions to use research by comparing the effectiveness of practical versus theoretical training in research methods courses.

Design/methodology/approach

This natural experiment examines the impact of the adaptations made to a research methods course for 848 pre-service teachers, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were naturally divided into two cohorts, each attending either the applied version, which required the completion of a whole research study, or the theoretical version, which did not require data collection and analyses. The data were collected through three questionnaires measuring attitudes, confidence and intentions toward research.

Findings

Inferential statistics revealed that pre-service teachers in the theoretical course (1) had more positive attitudes toward research and less anxiety, (2) had more intentions to integrate research in their daily practice and (3) had more confidence in engaging in educational research, compared to the pre-service teachers who completed the applied version of the course.

Originality/value

This study uniquely capitalizes on course adaptations, imposed due to the pandemic, to compare attitudes toward research. This is an ideal comparison because comparing attitudes of participants from different contexts involves many confounding variables. The study’s significance is amplified as, it not only elucidates the variances in attitudes, but also underscores the intricate relationship these attitudes share with the design of research courses. The insights yielded by this study offer substantial potential for reshaping pedagogical strategies in research methods instruction, thereby serving as a cornerstone for future educational innovations.
Recent developments in EU anti-corruption strategy: the missing element of the return of corrupt assets to “victim countries”
Authors: Ochnio Ariadna H.
Published: February 2024

Purpose

Recent developments in the EU’s anti-corruption strategy have brought the EU closer to meeting the UNCAC’s objectives, i.e. the Proposal for a Directive on combating corruption (2023) and the Proposal for a Directive on Asset Recovery and Confiscation (2022). This paper aims to discuss these developments from the perspective of the UNCAC, to identify missing elements in the EU’s asset recovery mechanisms.

Design/methodology/approach

Critical approach towards EU anti-corruption policy (discussing the problems and solutions). Review of EU developments in asset recovery law.

Findings

There is a political will on the part of the EU to fight corruption through the rules enshrined in the UNCAC. However, improving EU law by introducing a new type of confiscation of unexplained wealth and criminalising illicit enrichment, without establishing convergent rules for the return of corrupt assets from EU territory to the countries of origin, cannot be seen as sufficient action to achieve the UNCAC’s objectives. In modelling mechanisms of the return of assets, the EU should search for solutions to overcome the difficulties resulting from the ordre public clause remaining a significant factor conditioning mutual legal assistance.

Originality/value

This paper discusses the possible input of the EU, as a non-State Party to the UNCAC, to advance implementing the UNCAC solutions on asset recovery by establishing convergent rules for the return of corrupt assets from EU territory to countries of origin.
Phygital approach to value co-creation in international museums
Authors: Clemente Laura , Iodice Gesualda , Carignani Francesco , Greco Fabio , Bifulco Francesco
Published: February 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is, through an exploratory analysis, to identify good practices implemented by international museums in the phygital context and their classification in terms of customer experiences, in order to identify innovative cultural value creation and co-creation practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopt a qualitative approach of multiple case studies. The analysis conducted formed the information base through which to proceed with the classification of phygital customer experiences through the extended reality technologies framework

Findings

The analysis conducted on the selected international museums shows that the phygital formula can take on different characteristics depending on the technologies used and the purpose to be achieved and can be a useful tool for the co-creation of cultural value.

Originality/value

The originality of this contribution lies in the comparative analysis proposed among the case studies to intercept best practices in the phygital field, in the classification of phygital experiences through a novel frame of reference and in the identification of prospects for improvement of an emerging phenomenon in the literature on cultural sector management.
Developing non-traditional firm-specific advantages in domestic strategic factor markets: evidence from China
Authors: Wan Feng , Williamson Peter , Pandit Naresh
Published: February 2024

Purpose

Chinese firms are winning market share from foreign multinational enterprises in domestic markets. The international business literature suggests that this is happening because these firms are developing non-traditional firm-specific advantages (FSAs). Strategic factor market (SFM) theory provides a good basis for explaining how this is happening. However, it is underdeveloped in terms of analysing unique resources and unique access to those resources by Chinese firms in their domestic markets. This paper aims to develop a framework to understand how Chinese firms have developed non-traditional FSAs.

Design/methodology/approach

The case study method is adopted to explore how Chinese firms develop non-traditional FSAs. Specifically, the authors compare paired case studies of a Chinese firm and a foreign multinational in each of two industries.

Findings

The authors find that Chinese firms have developed non-traditional FSAs because of more relevant experience, better adapted strategies and privileged relationships. This has enabled Chinese firms to develop non-traditional FSAs.

Originality/value

The authors propose a framework that conceptualises non-traditional FSA development in Chinese firms as a product of superior access to unique and valuable resources in their domestic SFMs.
Can common institutional ownership inhibit corporate over-financialization? Evidence from China
Authors: Ding Hao
Published: February 2024

Purpose

Common institutional ownership is a phenomenon that has extended throughout the capital markets in recent years and has a significant impact on business strategy decisions. The study intends to investigate the effect of common institutional ownership on corporate over-financialization and potential functioning mechanisms.

Design/methodology/approach

Using panel data from Chinese-listed companies over the period of 2003–2021, the authors conduct regression models which controlled year-, industry- and regional fixed effects to explore the impact of common institutional ownership on corporate over-financialization.

Findings

This study concludes that corporate over-financialization may be prevented via common institutional ownership. The mechanism test suggests that common institutional ownership inhibits corporate over-financialization by improving internal control quality and enhancing financial flexibility. Besides, heterogeneity analysis shows that the inhibiting effect of common institutional ownership on corporate over-financialization is more pronounced in stability-oriented institutional investors and high financing constraints firms.

Originality/value

This paper makes a valuable contribution to the current studies on effective strategies to prevent enterprises from becoming overly financialized by recognizing common institutional ownership. Furthermore, this paper adds to the research on common institutional ownership’s economic consequences. Finally, this study provides management implications for how to optimize corporate governance structures, curb the financialization of entities in practice and promote the development of the real economy.
Nonsimilar mixed convection analysis of ternary hybrid nanofluid flow near stagnation point over vertical Riga plate
Authors: Farooq Umer , Bibi Amara , Nawaz Abbasi Javeria , Jan Ahmed , Hussain Muzamil
Published: February 2024

Purpose

This work aims to concentrate on the mixed convection of the stagnation point flow of ternary hybrid nanofluids towards vertical Riga plate. Aluminum trioxide (Al2O3), silicon dioxide (SiO2) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) are regarded as nanoparticles, with water serving as the base fluid. The mathematical model incorporates momentum boundary layer and energy equations. The Grinberg term for the viscous dissipation and the wall parallel Lorentz force coming from the Riga plate are taken into consideration in the context of the energy equation.

Design/methodology/approach

Through the use of appropriate nonsimilar transformations, the governing system is transformed into nonlinear nondimensional partial differential equations (PDEs). The numerical method bvp4c (built-in package for MATLAB) is used in this study to simulate governing equations using the local non-similarity (LNS) approach up to the second truncation level.

Findings

Numerous graphs and numerical tables expound on the physical properties of the nanofluid temperature and velocity profiles. The local Nusselt correlations and the drag coefficient for pertinent parameters have been computed in tabular form. Additionally, the temperature profile drops while the velocity profile increases when the mixed convection parameter is included to oppose the flow.

Originality/value

The fundamental goal of this work is to comprehend how ternary nanofluids move towards a vertical Riga plate in a mixed convective domain with stagnation point flow.
The “here and now” effect: JoMO, FoMO and the well-being of social media users
Authors: Eitan Tal , Gazit Tali
Published: February 2024

Purpose

The rapid growth of social media has changed how people interact and connect with one another while also giving rise to new social-media associated psychological experiences, such as the well-known fear of missing out (FoMO) and the somewhat new phenomena, the joy of missing out (JoMO). This study aims to develop a new scale for measuring JoMO and explore its independent nature and relationships with well-being, social comparison and demographic variables.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 230 participants filled out an online survey, including questions about demographic details, well-being, social media engagement, social comparison, FoMO and a new JoMO scale. The data was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, hierarchical regression and structural equation modeling.

Findings

The study confirmed the validity and reliability of the new JoMO scale in three sub-categories: active JoMO, passive JoMO and coping with disconnection. Younger individuals and those who were single, with weaker psychological well-being, higher engagement in social media and greater social comparison inclinations tended to experience higher levels of FoMO. Conversely, older individuals, women and those who enjoyed stronger psychological well-being and reduced social media engagement demonstrated higher levels of JoMO. The findings also suggest a complex relationship between FoMO and JoMO.

Practical implications

The creation of an innovative JoMO measurement tool could transform both scholarly research and practical approaches to digital media interactions. This tool offers a deeper understanding of the intricate links between JoMO and factors such as social comparison and FoMO, paving the way for targeted interventions. By utilizing this, experts can foster healthier online behaviors and better psychological health through increased JoMO consciousness, reduced social media engagement and social comparisons, and FoMO management. Therefore, this fresh instrument assists in clarifying and improving how individuals engage with digital technology.

Originality/value

This research validates the JoMO scale, enhancing our understanding of JoMO and its potential effects on well-being, as well as its associations with other variables. In addition, this research provides valuable insights for future studies on social media use and JoMO, and for developing effective strategies for managing healthier online experiences.
The role of employee personality in employee satisfaction and turnover: insights from online employee reviews
Authors: Wu Ruigang , Zhao Xuefeng , Li Zhuo , Xie Yang
Published: February 2024

Purpose

Online employee reviews have emerged as a crucial information source for business managers to evaluate employee behavior and firm performance. The purpose of this paper is to test the relationship between employee personality traits, derived from online employee reviews and job satisfaction and turnover behavior at the individual level.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors apply text-mining techniques to extract personality traits from online employee reviews on Indeed.com based on the Big Five theory. They also apply a machine learning classification algorithm to demonstrate that incorporating personality traits can significantly enhance employee turnover prediction accuracy.

Findings

Personality traits such as agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness are positively associated with job satisfaction, while extraversion and neuroticism are negatively related to job satisfaction. Moreover, the impact of personality traits on overall job satisfaction is stronger for former employees than for current employees. Personality traits are significantly linked to employee turnover behavior, with a one-unit increase in the neuroticism score raising the probability of an employee becoming a former employee by 0.6%.

Practical implications

These findings have implications for firm managers looking to gain insights into employee online review behavior and improve firm performance. Online employee review websites are recommended to include the identified personality traits.

Originality/value

This study identifies employee personality traits from automated analysis of employee-generated data and verifies their relationship with employee satisfaction and employee turnover, providing new insights into the development of human resources in the era of big data.
Perceived effects of key audit matters reporting on audit efforts, audit fees, audit quality, and audit report transparency: stakeholders’ perspectives
Authors: Bepari Md Khokan , Nahar Shamsun , Mollik Abu Taher
Published: February 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the perspectives of auditors, regulators and financial report preparers on the effects of key audit matters (KAMs) reporting on audit effort, fees, quality and report transparency.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders (13 Audit Partners, 5 Chief Financial Officers and 3 regulators) and thematically analysed the interviews. They use the frame of “Paradox of Transparency” to explain the findings.

Findings

Auditors perceive that the overall quality control of their audits has improved both in the planning and execution stages, and such improvement can mostly be attributed to the coercive pressures from professional bodies and regulators. Nevertheless, audit fee remains unchanged. Auditors disclose industry generic items and descriptions of KAMs, sometimes masking the real problem areas of the clients. Even after improving the performative audit quality, transparency of audit reporting has not improved. Issues that warrant going concern qualifications or audit report modifications are now reported as KAMs. Hence, KAMs reporting might make the audit report less transparent.

Practical implications

Localised audit environments and institutions affect the transparency of KAMs reporting. Without attention to corporate governance and auditors’ independence issues, paradoxically, performative improvement in audit quality (due to the KAMs reporting requirement) does not enhance the transparency of audit reports.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to provide field-level evidence in Bangladesh and other developing countries about the perceptions of auditors, financial report preparers and regulators on the effects of KAMs reporting on audit efforts, fees, quality and report transparency.
Exploring the user-generated content data to improve quality management
Authors: Maia Sara , Teixeira Domingues José Pedro , Rocha Varela Maria Leonilde R. , Fonseca Luis Miguel
Published: February 2024

Purpose

The focus of this research is to investigate if user-generated content (UGC) generated in the Booking platform can support quality management improvement within the hospitality industry by increasing customer satisfaction and eliminating defects more efficiently. Hence, it contributes to understanding how data-driven companies can rely on customer data to focus on innovation and performance improvement to meet customer requirements, eliminate defects and increase customer satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

Following the literature review, information was collected from the digital platform Booking, encompassing 15 hotel industry companies in Portugal Porto and Braga regions, selected due to their high number of customer reviews. This data was organized and categorized, eliminating all unnecessary information for the research and building an Excel database. The database was subsequently analysed with SPSS and Voyant software, performing statistical analysis, hypothesis testing and text-mining techniques to analyse the comments. After these analyses, applying quality tools allowed for more in-depth conclusions.

Findings

The research results highlight that customers' most relevant requirements in the Portuguese hospitality industry are breakfast, parking and a swimming pool. It was also possible to realize that the location is an attractive requirement, the bathroom is a must-be requirement and breakfast is a performance requirement. The results also allowed us to answer the most critical research question: “Is user-generated content a valuable aid to quality?” the answer is yes since it was possible to use the data to find improvements and faults/failures in the services.

Originality/value

The results of this study represent an essential step towards a complete understanding of how to take advantage of UGC within the hospitality industry by establishing a solid base of techniques, methods and quality tools for UGC analysis that can be applied in future research on different industry sectors.
What Observables Are Needed for Precision Data-Enabled Learning of Inverse Operators?
Authors: Yan Liangwu , Devasia Santosh
Published: February 2024

The advent of easy access to large amount of data has sparked interest in directly developing the relationships between input and output of dynamic systems. A challenge is that in addition to the applied input and the measured output, the dynamics can also depend on hidden states that are not directly measured. In general, it is unclear what type of data, such as past input and or past output is needed, to learn inverse operators (that predict the input needed to track a desired output for control purposes) with a desired precision. The main contribution of this work is to show that, irrespective of the selected model, removing the hidden-state dependence and achieving a desired precision of inverse operators require (i) a sufficiently-long past history of the output and (ii) sufficiently-precise estimates of the output's instantaneous time derivatives that are necessary and sufficient for linear systems, and under some conditions, for nonlinear systems. This insight, about the required observables (output history and derivative) for removing the hidden-state dependence and achieving precision, is used to develop a data-enabled algorithm to learn the inverse operator for multi-input multi-output square systems. Simulation examples are used to illustrate that neural nets (with universal approximation property) can learn the inverse operator with sufficient precision only if the required observables, identified in this work, are included in training.
Energy Exascale Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations With the Spectral Element Method
Authors: Merzari Elia , Coppo Leite Victor , Fang Jun , Shaver Dillon , Min Misun , Kerkemeier Stefan , Fischer Paul , Tomboulides Ananias
Published: February 2024

Development and application of the open-source GPU-based fluid-thermal simulation code, NekRS, are described. Time advancement is based on an efficient kth-order accurate timesplit formulation coupled with scalable iterative solvers. Spatial discretization is based on the high-order spectral element method (SEM), which affords the use of fast, low-memory, matrix-free operator evaluation. Recent developments include support for nonconforming meshes using overset grids and for GPU-based Lagrangian particle tracking. Results of large-eddy simulations of atmospheric boundary layers for wind-energy applications as well as extensive nuclear energy applications are presented.
MeshPointNet: 3D Surface Classification Using Graph Neural Networks and Conformal Predictions on Mesh-Based Representations
Authors: Heyrani Nobari Amin , Rey Justin , Kodali Suhas , Jones Matthew , Ahmed Faez
Published: February 2024

In many design automation applications, accurate segmentation and classification of 3D surfaces and extraction of geometric insight from 3D models can be pivotal. This paper primarily introduces a machine learning-based scheme that leverages graph neural networks for handling 3D geometries, specifically for surface classification. Our model demonstrates superior performance against two state-of-the-art models, PointNet + + and PointMLP, in terms of surface classification accuracy, beating both models. Central to our contribution is the novel incorporation of conformal predictions, a method that offers robust uncertainty quantification and handling with marginal statistical guarantees. Unlike traditional approaches, conformal predictions enable our model to ensure precision, especially in challenging scenarios where mistakes can be highly costly. This robustness proves invaluable in design applications, and as a case in point, we showcase its utility in automating the computational fluid dynamics meshing process for aircraft models based on expert guidance. Our results reveal that our automatically generated mesh, guided by the proposed rules by experts enabled through the segmentation model, is not only efficient but matches the quality of expert-generated meshes, leading to accurate simulations.
Repurposing screen identifies novel candidates for broad-spectrum coronavirus antivirals and druggable host targets
Authors: Haid Sibylle , Matthaei Alina , Winkler Melina , Sake Svenja M. , Gunesch Antonia P. , Milke Vanessa , Köhler Natalie M. , Rückert Jessica , Vieyres Gabrielle , Kühl David , Nguyen Tu-Trinh , Göhl Matthias , Lasswitz Lisa , Zapatero-Belinchón Francisco J. , Brogden Graham , Gerold Gisa , Wiegmann Bettina , Bilitewski Ursula , Brown Richard J. P. , Brönstrup Mark , Schulz Thomas F. , Pietschmann Thomas
Published: February 2024

Libraries composed of licensed drugs represent a vast repertoire of molecules modulating physiological processes in humans, providing unique opportunities for the discovery of host-targeting antivirals. We screened the Repurposing, Focused Rescue, and Accelerated Medchem (ReFRAME) repurposing library with approximately 12,000 molecules for broad-spectrum coronavirus antivirals and discovered 134 compounds inhibiting an alphacoronavirus and mapping to 58 molecular target categories. Dominant targets included the 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor, the dopamine receptor, and cyclin-dependent kinases. Gene knock-out of the drugs’ host targets including cathepsin B and L (CTSB/L; VBY-825), the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR; Phortress), the farnesyl-diphosphate farnesyltransferase 1 (FDFT1; P-3622), and the kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1; Omaveloxolone), significantly modulated HCoV-229E infection, providing evidence that these compounds inhibited the virus through acting on their respective host targets. Counter-screening of all 134 primary compound candidates with SARS-CoV-2 and validation in primary cells identified Phortress, an AHR activating ligand, P-3622-targeting FDFT1, and Omaveloxolone, which activates the NFE2-like bZIP transcription factor 2 (NFE2L2) by liberating it from its endogenous inhibitor KEAP1, as antiviral candidates for both an
Alpha
- and a
Betacoronavirus
. This study provides an overview of HCoV-229E repurposing candidates and reveals novel potentially druggable viral host dependency factors hijacked by diverse coronaviruses.
Simulated drug disposition in critically ill patients to evaluate effective PK/PD targets for combating
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
resistance to meropenem
Authors: Zhang Xiaonan , Wang Yan , Li Sanwang , Xie Feifan , Yi Hanxi
Published: February 2024

Bacterial infections, including those caused by
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
, often lead to sepsis, necessitating effective antibiotic treatment like carbapenems. The key pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) index correlated to carbapenem efficacy is the fraction time of unbound plasma concentration above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the pathogen (%
fT
> MIC). While multiple targets exist, determining the most effective one for critically ill patients remains a matter of debate. This study evaluated meropenem’s bactericidal potency and its ability to combat drug resistance in
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
under three representative PK/PD targets: 40%
fT
> MIC, 100%
fT
> MIC, and 100%
fT
> 4× MIC. The hollow fiber infection model (HFIM) was constructed, validated, and subsequently inoculated with a substantial
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
load (1 × 10
8
CFU/mL). Different meropenem regimens were administered to achieve the specified PK/PD targets. At specified intervals, samples were collected from the HFIM system and subjected to centrifugation. The resulting supernatant was utilized to determine drug concentrations, while the precipitates were used to track changes in both total and drug-resistant bacterial populations over time by the spread plate method. The HFIM accurately reproduced meropenem’s pharmacokinetics in critically ill patients. All three PK/PD target groups exhibited a rapid bactericidal response within 6 h of the initial treatment. However, the 40%
fT
> MIC and 100%
fT
> MIC groups subsequently showed bacterial resurgence and resistance, whereas the 100%
fT
> 4× MIC group displayed sustained bactericidal activity with no evidence of drug resistance. The HFIM system revealed that maintaining 100%
fT
> 4× MIC offers a desirable microbiological response for critically ill patients, demonstrating strong bactericidal capacity and effective prevention of drug resistance.
Phylogenomic, structural, and cell biological analyses reveal that
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
replicates in acidified Rab7A-positive vacuoles of
Acanthamoeba castellanii
Authors: Rivera Javier , Valerdi-Negreros Julio C. , Vázquez-Enciso Diana M. , Argueta-Zepeda Fulvia-Stefany , Vinuesa Pablo
Published: February 2024

Acanthamoeba
species are clinically relevant free-living amoebae (FLA) ubiquitously found in soil and water bodies. Metabolically active trophozoites graze on diverse microbes via phagocytosis. However, functional studies on Rab GTPases (Rabs), which are critical for controlling vesicle trafficking and maturation, are scarce for this FLA. This knowledge gap can be partly explained by the limited genetic tools available for
Acanthamoeba
cell biology. Here, we developed plasmids to generate fusions of
A. castellanii
strain Neff proteins to the N- or C-termini of mEGFP and mCherry2. Phylogenomic and structural analyses of the 11 Neff Rab7 paralogs found in the RefSeq assembly revealed that eight of them had non-canonical sequences. After correcting the gene annotation for the Rab7A ortholog, we generated a line stably expressing an mEGFP-Rab7A fusion, demonstrating its correct localization to acidified macropinocytic and phagocytic vacuoles using fluorescence microscopy live cell imaging (LCI). Direct labeling of live
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
ESTM1D_MKCAZ16_6a (Sm18) cells with pHrodo Red, a pH-sensitive dye, demonstrated that they reside within acidified, Rab7A-positive vacuoles. We constructed new mini-Tn7 delivery plasmids and tagged Sm18 with constitutively expressed mScarlet-I. Co-culture experiments of Neff trophozoites with Sm18::mTn7TC1_Pc_mScarlet-I, coupled with LCI and microplate reader assays, demonstrated that Sm18 underwent multiple replication rounds before reaching the extracellular medium via non-lytic exocytosis. We conclude that
S. maltophilia
belongs to the class of bacteria that can use amoeba as an intracellular replication niche within a
Stenotrophomonas
-containing vacuole that interacts extensively with the endocytic pathway.

IMPORTANCE

Diverse
Acanthamoeba
lineages (genotypes) are of increasing clinical concern, mainly causing amoebic keratitis and granulomatous amebic encephalitis among other infections.
S. maltophilia
ranks among the top 10 most prevalent multidrug-resistant opportunistic nosocomial pathogens and is a recurrent member of the microbiome hosted by
Acanthamoeba
and other free-living amoebae. However, little is known about the molecular strategies deployed by
Stenotrophomonas
for an intracellular lifestyle in amoebae and other professional phagocytes such as macrophages, which allow the bacterium to evade the immune system and the action of antibiotics. Our plasmids and easy-to-use microtiter plate co-culture assays should facilitate investigations into the cellular microbiology of
Acanthamoeba
interactions with
Stenotrophomonas
and other opportunistic pathogens, which may ultimately lead to the discovery of new molecular targets and antimicrobial therapies to combat difficult-to-treat infections caused by these ubiquitous microbes.
Emphysematous pyelonephritis with progression to necrotising fasciitis of the posterior cervical region and the retropharyngeal space
Authors: Kumar Rakesh , Chandran Sasi Kumar , Dangi Anuj Deep , Kumar Santosh
Published: February 2024

A man in his 50s with diabetes presented with backache, left flank pain and fever. On evaluation, he was found to have emphysematous pyelonephritis of the left kidney with a paranephric abscess extending into the posterior abdominal wall and superiorly up to the posterior chest wall and inferiorly extending up to the posterior superior iliac spine. The management involved the initiation of broad-spectrum antibiotics and percutaneous drainage of the abscess. However, as he continued to worsen symptoms-wise, he underwent computed-enhanced CT of the abdomen and thorax. The imaging revealed the presence of a purulent collection in the left lumbar region with an extension along the posterior cervical region and the retropharyngeal space. He underwent a fasciotomy of the lumbar region. The occurrence of emphysematous pyelonephritis along with necrotising fasciitis is uncommon and requires early aggressive management with broad-spectrum antibiotics and adequate drainage. This emphasises the need for early reimaging if the patient does not settle with antibiotics or percutaneous drainage.
10-year success story in CTEPH treatment: breaking the myth of rareness
Authors: Moura de Azevedo Sofia , Furtado Inês , Carvalho Luísa , Reis Abílio
Published: February 2024

Unlike acute pulmonary embolism (PE), the resolution of thrombi is ineffective in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), leading to reorganisation and fibrotic changes within the pulmonary arteries. The authors report the case of a man in his 60s with polycythemia vera, under warfarin, following an acute PE. He was admitted a year later with right heart failure and haemodynamic instability. Acute over chronic PE caused this severe presentation, confirmed by right heart catheterisation and pulmonary scintigraphy. The challenging diagnosis and management involved transfer to a centre specialised in pulmonary vascular disease. Normalisation of functional and haemodynamic parameters, sustained in 10-year follow-up, was achieved with anticoagulation and triple therapy with prostanoids as a bridge to pulmonary thromboendarterectomy. Targeted medical therapy, not standard at that time, was crucial to recovering conditions for transfer. An individualised approach, integrating multidisciplinary pulmonary hypertension expertise, provides the basis for the best care for CTEPH.