bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Response ofProsopis farctato copper and cadmium stress and potential for accumulation and translocation of these heavy metals
Authors: Gishini Mohammad Fazel Soltani , Azizian Abolfazl , Alemzadeh Abbas , Shabani Marzieh , Amin Seifollah , Hildebrand David 
Published: November 2020

AbstractFew studies have evaluated the effects of various levels of heavy metals on medicinal plants. The impact of gradually increased soil levels of copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) on the medicinal plant native to Southwest Asia and North Africa,Prosopis farcta, irrigated with metal-enriched water was determined. The exposure of plants to Cd or Cu decreased plant growth and increased Cd and Cu concentration in their shoots and roots. External Cd or Cu in the soil increased the uptake of both elements. Regression analysis showed that the weight of both shoots and roots decreased linearly with the increase of Cu and Cd contents in roots and shoots. Results showed that Cd was more toxic than Cu. The water content of shoots and roots decreased linearly with increased heavy metal levels.P. farctacould take up Cu and Cd in both Cu- and Cd-contaminated soils, however, it was more capable for transporting Cd from roots to shoots rather than Cu.P. farctais a natural accumulator for Cu and Cd under gradually increased levels of these metals in the soil.
An epithelialNfkb2pathway exacerbates intestinal inflammation by supplementing latent RelA dimers to the canonical NF-κB module
Authors: Chawla Meenakshi , Mukherjee Tapas , Deka Alvina , Chatterjee Budhaditya , Sarkar Uday Aditya , Singh Amit K. , Kedia Saurabh , Banoth Balaji , Biswas Subhra K , Ahuja Vineet , Basak Soumen 
Published: November 2020

AbstractAberrant inflammation associated with human ailments, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is typically fuelled by the inordinate activity of RelA/NF-κB transcription factors. As such, the canonical NF-κB module mediates controlled nuclear activation of RelA dimers from the latent cytoplasmic complexes. What provokes pathological RelA activity in the colitogenic gut remains unclear. The noncanonical NF-κB pathway promotes immune organogenesis involvingNfkb2gene products. Because NF-κB pathways are intertwined, we asked if noncanonical signaling aggravated inflammatory RelA activity. Our investigation revealed frequent engagement of the noncanonical pathway in human IBD. In a mouse model, anNfkb2function exacerbated gut inflammation by amplifying the epithelial RelA activity induced upon intestinal injury. Our mechanistic studies clarified that cell-autonomousNfkb2signaling supplemented latent NF-κB dimers leading to hyperactive canonical RelA response in the inflamed colon. In sum, regulation of latent NF-κB dimers links noncanonical signaling to RelA-driven inflammatory pathologies and may provide for therapeutic targets.In briefNoncanonical NF-κB signals in intestinal epithelial cells supplement latent RelA dimers that, in turn, aggravated canonical NF-κB response in the colitogenic gut exacerbating intestinal inflammation.HighlightsHuman IBD involves the frequent engagement of the noncanonical NF-κB pathway.Mice deficient in the noncanonical signal transducerNfkb2are resistant to experimental colitis.Noncanonical NF-κB signaling supplements latent RelA NF-κB dimers.Noncanonical NF-κB signaling amplifies canonical NF-κB response to TLR ligands.
Testing for the Marshall–Lerner condition in Egypt: an empirical analysis
Authors: Adams John , Metwally Ali 
Published: November 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent evidence can be found for the presence of the Marshall–Lerner (ML) condition regarding the trade balances of Egypt. The theoretical basis of the ML is presented and then tested using Egyptian trade data from 1965 to 2017.Design/methodology/approachThe data are analysed via standard ordinary least squares models subject to the constraints imposed by economic theory, specifically ML theory, in which the coefficients represent elasticities. A range of tests are undertaken to establish the validity of the models and the model results including multicollinearity, unit root and co-integration in order to avoid spurious regressions.FindingsThe export model strongly suggests that real exports of Egyptian goods and services are elastic with respect to changes in the real effective exchange rate (REER), with a coefficient weight of −1.64 and is significant at 1%. However, for the import model the coefficient weight of the REER −1.17 and is significant at 1%. This result contradicts ML theory, where an increase in the REER makes imports cheaper and thus causes them to increase.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of the study are two in particular, the first is that the frequency of the data employed is annual, not monthly or even quarterly, which means that the sample size would have been larger, and the estimated parameters could have been more accurate in forecasting the future behaviour of exports and imports. There could be several other indicators that might have clear impacts on exports and imports. In other words, it is possible that a model with consumer spending and government spending as well as terms of trade, inflation, interest rate spread and taxes is going to capture more of the variation that occurs in Egypt's trade balance components.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that the Egypt-International Monetary Fund plan (depreciation) is likely to have a positive effect on the economy. However, this does not mean that the deficit of the trade balance is going to change into a surplus once the policies of the plan are fully applied, but it does mean the deficit will reduce. Only in the long run is the trade balance likely to record a sustainable surplus. But the latter will heavily depend on the structure of exports and imports and maintaining price stability, both of which are key government policy areas.Originality/valueThe paper builds on previous theoretical and empirical work in this field and in particular is focussed on Egypt. There are extremely few analyses of the ML condition regarding Egypt. This paper provides new information on this and can also be utilized by researchers to further develop the analysis and method through identification of other potentially relevant variables within a single country ML study.
The power of diversification: Do African fixed-income investors have a chance in Malaysian Sukuk market?
Authors: Abdulkarim Fatima Muhammad , Tabash Mosab I. 
Published: November 2020

PurposeThis study investigates the presence of portfolio diversification benefits for South African, Nigerian, Ghanaian and Kenyan fixed-income investors diversifying bond portfolios in the Malaysian sovereign Sukuk market.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses wavelet coherence and a multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic (GARCH) model. The data cover the period from September 2013 to January 2019.FindingsThe findings obtained from the wavelet coherence model reveal evidence of portfolio diversification opportunities for African fixed-income investors in the Malaysian sovereign Sukuk market. These opportunities are more significant in the short- and medium-term investment horizons than in the long-term. Also, the results of multivariate GARCH show that the Malaysian Sukuk market has a negative unconditional correlation with the South African bond market, signifying better diversification benefits for these investors.Practical implicationsThe findings have implications for both fund managers and investors intending to include Sukuk in a diversified portfolio to reduce their risks and maximize their return from bonds.Originality/valueTo the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first study to examine the opportunities for African investors in the Malaysian Sukuk market.
Entrepreneurship education and sustainable development: mediating role of entrepreneurial skills
Authors: Edokpolor James Edomwonyi 
Published: November 2020

PurposeThis study aims to examine the mediating role of entrepreneurial skills developed by undergraduates (ESDU) in the relationship between entrepreneurship education (EE) and the core values of sustainable development (CVSD).Design/methodology/approachThis is a correlational study that used a structured questionnaire for quantitative data collection from 399 purposively selected Nigerian university undergraduates.FindingsThe results confirmed the statistically significant and positive mediating role of ESDU on the relationship between EE and the CVSD.Originality/valueThis study has contributed to the mediating role of ESDU in the relationship between EE and the CVSD. This interrelationship can further provide a better understanding or insights into how ESDU can help mediate the relationship between EE and the CVSD.
Are consumers loyal to genetically modified food? Evidence from Australia
Authors: Rabbanee Fazlul K. , Afroz Tanzim , Naser Mostafa Mahmud 
Published: November 2020

PurposeGenetically modified (GM) food has received considerable interest from academics and practitioners. However, research on consumer loyalty towards GM food is relatively sparse. Guided by the theory of planned behaviour, this study aims to explore the factors that influence consumer repurchase intention and behavioural loyalty towards GM food.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 464 Australian consumer panel members surveyed through a nationwide online survey, with data analysed by structural equation modelling using AMOS (v. 22.0).FindingsThe findings reveal that consumer loyalty towards GM food is influenced by the interplay between awareness of benefits and risks, situational and social influences and attitude and repurchase intention. Female consumers are found to not only possess a relatively more favourable attitude and repurchase intention, but also are more loyal towards GM food compared to male consumers. Unlike older consumers, younger consumers' loyalty towards GM food is influenced by their attitude and repurchase intention. The relevant policy implications of the findings are discussed.Practical implicationsAs consumers have contrasting views about GM food, to influence their loyalty, it is important for GM food industries as well as policy makers to better understand how to address consumers' varying concerns about GM food.Originality/valueThis study offers a parsimonious model for explaining the factors that influence consumer loyalty towards GM food.
A novel matrix based systematic approach for vulnerability assessment
Authors: Sabouhi Hamed , Doroudi Aref , Fotuhi-Firuzabad Mahmud , Bashiri Mahdi 
Published: November 2020

Purpose
This paper aims to propose a novel matrix-based systematic approach for vulnerability assessment.

Design/methodology/approach
The proposed method consists of two major steps. First, the power network is modeled as a topological combination of edges (transmission lines, transformers, etc.) and nodes (buses, substations, etc.). The second step is to use an axiomatic design-based index for topology analysis. This index is based on the systematic counting of possible routes from the start (generators) to destination (loads), considering load importance, before and after a disruption.

Findings
The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through an illustrative example and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 14-bus power system. It was shown that the load’s importance influences the results of the vulnerability analysis. The proposed method has some advantages over traditional graph theory such as an explicit description of multiple transmission nodes and assets with multiple conversion processes. Furthermore, it would help the power grid operators and asset investment managers to be better to assess the vulnerable components.

Research limitations/implications
The proposed method can be used in planning, optimization, robustness and hardening of power systems.

Originality/value
The paper presents a matrix-based systematic approach to evaluate and quantify the vulnerability of the power grid’s components.
How can governments nudge students to become ebook readers? Evidence from Indonesia
Authors: Pratama Ahmad R. , Firmansyah Firman M. 
Published: November 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate if and how government intervention can nudge students to become ebook readers.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 1,144 students from four middle and high schools in urban and rural areas of Indonesia participated in this study. The results from statistical analyses were further discussed through the lens of the nudge theory.FindingsThis paper founds evidence that government intervention in the form of the Buku Sekolah Elektronik (BSE) policy that has been providing free electronic textbooks for more than a decade can help nudge students to become ebook readers. After controlling for student’s demographic information, this paper founds that their awareness of such a policy is significantly associated with a stronger preference toward ebooks while having no significant effect on their preferences toward printed book format. This paper also founds that mobile device adoption plays an important role where early adopters tend to prefer ebook format, whereas laggards are more associated with printed book format.Originality/valueMany have studied the benefits of using ebooks in learning, but the literature also shows that most students still prefer reading printed books over ebooks. This is true not only in developing countries where problems with infrastructures can hamper the adoption of ebooks in general but also in developed countries where ebooks are much more prevalent, even among the general population. This paper showed how government interventions have the potency to help tip the scales and nudge students to become ebook readers.
Respect: give it to get it! Does leadership complimented with respect can foster creativity?
Authors: Hai Mahnoor , Latif Shahid , Bilal Ahmad Raza , Ahmad Bilal 
Published: November 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to advance the prevalent leadership–creativity perspective by examining respectful engagement as a missing link between transformational leadership and employees creativity in the tourism and hospitality industry of Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 288 supervisor–subordinate dyads of hotel and tourism industry in Pakistan. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was used to validate the measurement model and to test the proposed hypotheses using SmartPLS 3.0.FindingsThe results suggest that transformational leadership and respectful engagement are significantly related and that respectful engagement fosters employee creativity. The study further confirmed that respectful engagement mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and employee creativity.Practical implicationsBesides theoretical contribution, the study has several managerial implications for the tourism and hospitality industry. Globally, in the tourism and hospitality industry, the service selling proposition is largely based on creativity. Hence, the study suggests the managers of tourism and hospitality industry should adopt a transformational leadership style to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage of creativity. The study further recommends the managers capitalize on their transformational leadership style to observe respectful engagement in the workplace, which in turn can encourage employees to behave creatively.Originality/valueTheoretically, this paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge in a couple of ways. Firstly, while several empirical studies have discussed the impact of transformational leadership on employee creativity, and various mediating models have also been tested in this regard, little effort has been made to study the links between transformational leadership and employee creativity despite existing awareness about the importance of respectful engagement for employee creativity. Thus, the current study examines employee creativity with the lens of transformational leadership and respectful engagement. Secondly, the study integrates the theories of transformational leadership, employee engagement and employee creativity.
Data-literate citizenry: how US state standards address data and data visualizations in social studies
Authors: Shreiner Tamara L. 
Published: November 2020

PurposeData literacy – the ability to read, analyze, interpret, evaluate and argue with data and data visualizations – is an essential competency in social studies. This study aims to examine the degree to which US state standards require teachers to teach data literacy in social studies, addressing the questions: to what extent are US social studies teachers required to teach data literacy? If they are required to teach it, are they provided with guidance about competencies to address at each school or grade level and with respect to particular content?Design/methodology/approachThe study used content analysis, using a variety of priori and emergent codes, to review social studies standards documents from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.FindingsFindings indicate that although state standards suggest that data visualizations should play a role in social studies instruction, they provide poor guidance for a coherent, progressive and critical approach across grade levels.Originality/valueResearchers currently know little about if and how teachers address data literacy in social studies education. This study provides a snapshot of guidance teachers across states are given for teaching data literacy, and by extension, the quality of data literacy instruction recommended for students across the USA.
Home country institutional impact on the choice of direct vs indirect exports: an emerging markets perspective
Authors: Elango B. , Pangarkar Nitin 
Published: November 2020

PurposeThis study uses the notions of institutional harshness and uncertainty avoidance in the home country to explain the choice between direct and indirect exporting strategies by emerging market firms.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on a dataset of 23,256 observations on firms from 32 countries spread over 11 years (2006–2016). Since only some firms undertake exports, the Heckman procedure is used to control for sample self-selection. In the first stage, we predict which firms will choose to export, and, in the second stage, we examine the factors driving the choice made by firms involved in exports between direct and indirect exports strategies.FindingsThe analyses reveal that firms are more likely to choose direct exports when institutional harshness is high and when they are from countries with low uncertainty avoidance. We also find that the strength of the relationship between institutional harshness and the choice of direct exports is moderated at high levels of uncertainty avoidance.Research limitations/implicationsWhile this study's empirical models account for many firm-level factors as well as home country differences discussed in the literature, we acknowledge there could be other temporal, firm or country idiosyncratic factors not included in our analysis driving the key choices examined in the paper.Originality/valueThis study makes three contributions to exporting literature. First, it highlights the drivers of the choice between direct and indirect exports. This choice is an important facet of exporting strategy and has received scant attention in prior IB research. Second, it demonstrates how the choice between direct and indirect exports is impacted by the degree of the home country's institutional harshness and uncertainty avoidance. Third, it offers insights on how the interaction of formal and informal home market institutional factors influences export strategy.
Trust as a multidimensional phenomenon in LMX relationships
Authors: Hirvi Sari Kristiina , Laulainen Sanna , Taskinen Helena 
Published: November 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to address the construction of trust in leader member exchange (LMX) relationships as a multidimensional phenomenon and identify the importance of emotional and collective factors contributing to this phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachTen health care professionals (five leaders and five members) were interviewed to subject to qualitative thematic analysis.FindingsFour main themes in the data were identified (work roles, collectivity, interaction and participation) and linked to two main elements of LMX trust relations: core and contextual. The results extend understanding of the construction and maintenance of trust in LMX relationships, indicating that it is a more complex and socially constructed phenomenon than previously described.Research limitations/implicationsDespite identified limitations of the study (the small amount of empirical material, interpretive research method and purposive sampling of participants), the findings reveal that constructing trust in LMX relationships is more multidimensional than generally portrayed in traditional LMX theory and its three-stage continuum. This study suggests that a broader perspective should be adopted in LMX research, treating it not only as a collective phenomenon but also considering leaders and members as emotional individuals.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the multidimensional nature of LMX relationships is helpful for developing interpersonal relationships in organizations and leadership practices through recognition of the importance of the transparency, practices and adequacy of mutual interaction. The results presented here may contribute to such understanding and help leaders to relate to members as both subjective individuals and parts of a complex social network. The results may also increase members' awareness of possible ways that they can promote the development of good LMX relationships in organizations.Originality/valueThe novelty of the study relates to the identification of the collective, emotional and multidimensional nature of LMX relationships.