bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Optimizing mechanostable anchor points of engineered lipocalin in complex with CTLA-4
Authors: Liu Zhaowei , Moreira Rodrigo A. , Dujmović Ana , Liu Haipei , Yang Byeongseon , Poma Adolfo B. , Nash Michael A. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWe used single-molecule AFM force spectroscopy (AFM-SMFS) to screen residues along the backbone of a non-antibody protein binding scaffold (lipocalin/anticalin), and determine the optimal anchor point that maximizes binding strength of the interaction with its target (CTLA-4). By incorporating non-canonical amino acids into anticalin, and using click chemistry to attach an Fgβ peptide at internal sequence positions, we were able to mechanically dissociate anticalin from CTLA-4 by pulling from eight different anchoring residues using an AFM cantilever tip. We found that pulling on the anticalin from residue 60 or 87 resulted in significantly higher rupture forces and a decrease inkoffby 2-3 orders of magnitude over a force range of 50-200 pN. Five of the six internal pulling points tested were significantly more stable than N- or C-terminal anchor points, rupturing at up to 250 pN at loading rates of 0.1-10 nN sec-1. Anisotropic network modelling and molecular dynamics simulations using the Gō-MARTINI approach explained the mechanism underlying the geometric dependency of mechanostability. These results suggest that optimization of attachment residue position for therapeutic and diagnostic cargo can provide large improvements in binding strength, allowing affinity maturation without requiring genetic mutation of binding interface residues.
Metabolic breakdown of non-small cell lung cancers by mitochondrial HSPD1 targeting
Authors: Parma Beatrice , Ramesh Vignesh , Gollavilli Paradesi Naidu , Siddiqui Aarif , Pinna Luisa , Schwab Annemarie , Marschall Sabine , Zhang Shuman , Pilarsky Christian , Napoli Francesca , Volante Marco , Urbanczyk Sophia , Mielenz Dirk , Daa Schrøder Henrik , Stemmler Marc , Wurdak Heiko , Ceppi Paolo 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACTThe identification of novel targets is of paramount importance to develop more effective drugs and improve the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Since cells alter their metabolic rewiring during tumorigenesis and along cancer progression, targeting key metabolic players and metabolism-associated proteins represents a valuable approach with a high therapeutic potential. Metabolic fitness relies on the functionality of heat shock proteins (HSPs), molecular chaperones that facilitate the correct folding of metabolism enzymes and their assembly in macromolecular structures. Here, we show HSPD1 (HSP60) as a survival gene ubiquitously expressed in NSCLC and associated with poor patients’ prognosis. HSPD1 knockdown or its chemical disruption by the small molecule KHS101 induces a drastic breakdown of oxidative phosphorylation, and suppresses cell proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. By combining drug profiling with transcriptomics and through a whole-genome CRISPR/Cas9 screen, we demonstrate that HSPD1-targeted anti-cancer effects are dependent on OXPHOS and validated molecular determinants of KHS101 sensitivity, in particular, the creatine-transporter SLC6A8 and the subunit of the cytochrome c oxidase complex COX5B. These results highlight mitochondrial metabolism as an attractive target and HSPD1 as a potential theranostic marker for developing therapies to combat NCSLC.SignificanceHSPD1 elimination or disruption interferes with NSCLC metabolic activity causing a strong OXPHOS-dependent energetic breakdown, which the cancer cells fail to overcome, highlighting HSPD1 as a potential theranostic marker for improving lung cancer therapy.
Corporate governance, internal audit quality and financial reporting quality of financial institutions
Authors: Kaawaase Twaha Kigongo , Nairuba Catherine , Akankunda Brendah , Bananuka Juma 
Published: March 2021

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to establish the relationship between corporate governance attributes (board expertise, board independence and board role performance), internal audit quality and financial reporting quality using evidence from Uganda's financial institutions.Design/methodology/approachThis study research design is cross sectional and correlational. The study used a questionnaire survey of Chief Finance Officers, Senior Accountants and Internal audit managers of financial institutions in Uganda. Data were analyzed with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences.FindingsResults indicate that board expertise and board role performance are significantly associated with financial reporting quality. Also, internal audit quality is significantly associated with financial reporting quality. Board independence is not a significant predictor of financial reporting quality.Originality/valueThis paper provides insights of what matters for financial reporting quality in Uganda's financial reporting quality. It uses the qualitative characteristics of financial statements to measure financial reporting quality. This paper focuses mainly on the conceptual framework developed by the International Accounting Standards Board.
Has the dependence structure of the BRICS exchange rates changed after the financial crisis? Evidence from R-Vine copula model
Authors: Zhang Zhuoqun , Zhang Tao 
Published: March 2021

PurposeThe authors examine the dependence structure of the BRICS exchange rates.Design/methodology/approachThe authors construct a regular vine copula model to study the co-movements of exchange rates in BRICS controlling the influences from the SDR currencies and the oil prices.FindingsThe main findings show that, after the financial crisis, RMB pursued a more balanced strategy shifting from USD-centered to USD-EUR dependency and the oil prices become more dependent on RUB than USD, which could weaken the dollar hegemony. From robustness tests, we find that the inclusion of RMB in SDR has certain but limited impacts on the dependence structure and the influence of the GBP weakened as well. The results have important implications for currency trade, policy design and the future of the BRICS.Originality/valueThe contribution of this paper is twofold. First, we examine the interdependence structure of the BRICS exchange rates controlling for the influence of SDR currencies and the oil prices with R-Vine copula model. Second, we compare the pre- and after-crisis structure and see if the financial crisis and the BRICS summits have changed the structure.
The effect of the COVID-19 crisis on the perception of digitisation in the purchasing process: customers and retailers perspective
Authors: Dvorak Jiri , Komarkova Lenka , Stehlik Lukas 
Published: March 2021

Purpose
The market for goods and services is a continually changing environment influenced by many internal and external factors. The majority of economies in the World were deeply hit by the coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19) in the first half of 2020. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the role of a crisis, COVID-19 in this case, in moderating the market environment and its ability to accelerate or slow down ongoing processes.

Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey was used to obtain the opinions of 100 customers and 100 local retailers on the digitisation of the shopping process in a medium-sized Czech town. After the first wave of crisis faded away, the respondents reflected on their opinions before, during and after the crisis. The data were processed using linear mixed models respecting repeated measures.

Findings
The crisis seems to have shifted the interest of both groups towards e-commerce but it did not change the disproportion in opinions between them. The interest of customers was significantly higher, even after the crisis.

Research limitations/implications
The credibility of the results is limited mainly by the one-time gathering of the data after the crisis. However, the results indicate a persistent challenge to which small retailers are exposed.

Originality/value
The originality of the results comes from the specific situation brought about by the COVID-19 crisis and the structure of respondents, enabling us to catch an immediate shift of opinions caused by the crisis and to compare the changes in both groups of respondents.
Combining lifelines to thrive: a stage-based need fulfilment network of international assignees
Authors: Ray Prantika , Maheshwari Sunil Kumar 
Published: March 2021

PurposeThe paper tries to understand the needs of the international assignees across the different stages of expatriation and how different developers in the professional and non-professional sphere render support and advice through these stages.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors have interviewed 20 expatriates of various nationalities and tried to understand the various needs of the expatriates across the three initial stages of an assignment.FindingsThe paper finds that four important mentors in an expatriation assignment play multiple need-based mentoring functions at various assignment stages: host country nationals (HCNs), parent country nationals, fellow expatriates and family.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contributes to the literature on the need-based support rendered to expatriates during an international assignment. The paper, however, does not incorporate the perceptions of other vital stakeholders in the network and their intentions to contribute to the developmental network.Practical implicationsThis paper lays down important practical implications for expatriates and the human resource management (HRM) professionals. This paper urges the practitioners to take a nuanced approach for developing expatriates than a generalized mentoring programme.Originality/valueThis study highlights the changing needs of the international assignees across the stages of an international assignment and demonstrates the important intra-organizational and extra-organizational developers such as family members in the fulfilment of these needs.
Help-seeking for mental health concerns: review of Indian research and emergent insights
Authors: Sanghvi Prachi Bhavesh , Mehrotra Seema 
Published: March 2021

PurposeThe purpose of this review was to examine Indian research on help-seeking for mental health problems in adults.Design/methodology/approachOriginal Indian research studies on help-seeking for mental health, published from the year 2001−2019 were searched on PubMed, EBSCO, ProQuest and OVID using a set of relevant keywords. After applying exclusion criteria, 52 relevant research studies were identified.FindingsThe reviewed studies spanned a variety of themes such as barriers and facilitators to help-seeking, sources of help-seeking, causal attributions as well as other correlates of help-seeking, process of help-seeking and interventions to increase help-seeking. The majority of these studies were carried out in general community samples or treatment-seeking samples. Very few studies incorporated non-treatment seeking distressed samples. There is a severe dearth of studies on interventions to improve help-seeking. Studies indicate multiple barriers to seeking professional help and highlight that mere knowledge about illness and availability of professional services may be insufficient to minimize delays in professional help-seeking.Originality/valueHelp-seeking in the Indian context is often a family-based decision-making process. Multi-pronged help-seeking interventions that include components aimed at reducing barriers experienced by non-treatment seeking distressed persons and empowering informal support providers with knowledge and skills for encouraging professional help-seeking in their significant others may be useful.
Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B virus infection among medical laboratory science students in a Ghanaian tertiary institution
Authors: Tawiah Philip Apraku , Abaka-Yawson Albert , Effah Emmanuel Sintim , Arhin-Wiredu Kingsley , Oppong Kwabena 
Published: March 2021

PurposeThis study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among medical laboratory science students (MLSSs) in the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Ghana.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional study design was employed to recruit a total of 178 students into the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather relevant information on risk factors, and a hepatitis B diagnostic test kit was used to test for HBV infection. Descriptive, chi-square test, bivariate and multiple logistic regression statistical analysis were computed. Significance was observed at p < 0.05.FindingsThe prevalence of HBV infection among MLSSs was 6.7%. Torn gloves and splash of blood and body fluids contributed to 43.0% and 28.0% of all the risk factors of HBV infection, respectively. Also, 43.3% of students had received at least one dose of the hepatitis B vaccination. Sharp object-related injury and torn gloves increased the odds of HBV infection, while vaccination decreased the odds of HBV infection.Originality/valueThis study reveals the prevalence of HBV among MLSSs, who are recognized as being among the high-risk student populations aside from student nurses.
Challenges of a social enterprise supporting mothers in Hungary
Authors: Primecz Henriett 
Published: March 2021

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how and to what extent social enterprise can contribute to improving women's life in Hungary.Design/methodology/approachThe case study was based on a four-month organizational ethnographic study of a café. Participant and non-participant observations were supplemented with interviews with the founder, the manager, visitors and informal conversations with the staff and visitors. Social media communication was also reviewed.FindingsThe empirical results from the organizational ethnography allowed us to gain insights into the impact of the investigated organization on its target group, young mothers, in a post-socialist gender context. The dominant post-socialist gender regime has remained almost entirely untouched and the outcome of the operation of the social enterprise only helped women to accommodate their everyday life to their disadvantaged social situation.Originality/valueWhile previous studies have uncovered the dualistic nature of social enterprises, this analysis shows that an award-winning and popular social enterprise in Hungary could nevertheless only minimally influence the social situation of women. In spite of the good intention of the owner, the all-encompassing prescribed gender roles are hardly questioned, and consequently, women's situation hardly ameliorates.
A framework for managing innovation in higher education: lessons learnt from the UAE iPad initiative
Authors: Wilson Kenesha , Sy Jobila 
Published: March 2021

Purpose
Managing educational innovation in higher education institutions is a complex process that requires specific strategies based on research and proven frameworks. The aim of this paper was to examine how Bolman and Deal’s (2003) theoretical framework can be used to analyse organisational change processes and to evaluate the progress and outcomes of an educational innovation initiative at a university in the Gulf. This educational innovation involved the use of iPads in curricular practices to enhance pedagogical strategies and student learning outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach
An ethnographic case study methodology was used to make an empirical inquiry that investigated data obtained from direct observations, informal interviews, holistic field notes and documents to better understand a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context.

Findings
A critical analysis of this iPad initiative suggested that the main areas of leading and managing this innovation, through Bolman and Deal’s framework, were effectively centred around the human resources, structural and political frames but were less affected by the symbolic frame.

Originality/value
The authors provide suggestions, based on their experiences as faculty members and academic administrators, on how such innovations can be effectively led and managed. In addition, a new cross-cultural model is proposed for managing future educational innovations in higher education, particularly in the Gulf region. This new model could also be used to effectively evaluate the implementation and management of other educational changes such as those precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learning and innovation in youth-owned small businesses
Authors: Adeosun Oluyemi Theophilus , Shittu Ayodele Ibrahim 
Published: March 2021

Purpose
The birth and survival rate of youth-owned businesses has been a major concern for policymakers, industry and academics alike. Learning and innovation play important roles and more critical is the mediating factors and how it impacts the enterprise competitiveness of youth-owned businesses and hence worth studying. Therefore, this study aims to examine the impact of mediating factors such as government support, informal network society and external knowledge infrastructure on learning and innovation in youth-owned small businesses in Lagos, Nigeria, from a cross-sectional perspective.

Design/methodology/approach
Leveraging the sectoral system of innovation theory, we use a primary research method and data obtained from a structured questionnaire administered among a sample of 1,000 registered youth-owned small businesses in Lagos, while 30 in-depth interviews were also conducted. The exploratory factor analysis was used for data examination.

Findings
The findings show that even though government support, informal network society and external knowledge all have a positive relationship with learning and innovation in youth-owned small businesses, government support has the most impactful impact. The informal network society via a trade association, professional network and social media are also critical in knowledge transfer in youth-owned businesses.

Originality/value
The significance of learning and innovation is more important as many small businesses do not have the privilege of standard human resource management (HRM) systems. This paper looks at the mediating factors affecting the introduction of innovative practices in youth-owned and managed small businesses and how productivity is enabled in a developing county context.
Administering crocin ameliorates anxiety‐like behaviours and reduces the inflammatory response in amyloid‐beta induced neurotoxicity in rat
Authors: Hadipour Mohammadmehdi , Bahari Zahra , Afarinesh Mohammad Reza , Jangravi Zohreh , Shirvani Hossein , Meftahi Gholam Hossein 
Published: March 2021

AbstractAnxiety, hippocampus synaptic plasticity deficit, as well as pro‐inflammatory cytokines, are involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The present study is designed to evaluate the possible therapeutic effect of crocin on anxiety‐like behaviours, hippocampal synaptic plasticity and neuronal shape, as well as pro‐inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus using in vivo amyloid‐beta (Aβ) models of AD. The Aβ peptide (1–42) was bilaterally injected into the frontal‐cortex. Five hours after the surgery, the rats were given intraperitoneal (IP) crocin (30 mg/kg) daily up to 12 days. Elevated plus maze results showed that crocin treatment after bilateral Aβ injection significantly increased the percentage of spent time into open arms, frequency of entries, and percentage of entries into open arms as compared with the Aβ group. In the open field test, the Aβ+crocin group showed a higher percentage of spent time in the centre and frequency of entries into central zone as compare with the Aβ treated animals. Administering crocin increased the number of soma, dendrites and axonal arbores in the CA1 neurons among the rats with Aβ neurotoxicity. Cresyl violet (CV) staining showed that crocin increased the number of CV‐positive cells in the CA1 region of the hippocampus compared with the Aβ group. Silver‐nitrate staining indicated that crocin reduced neurofibrillary tangle formation induced by Aβ. Crocin treatment attenuated the expression of TNF‐α and IL‐1β mRNA in the hippocampus compared with the Aβ group. Our results suggest that crocin attenuated Aβ‐induced anxiety‐like behaviours and neuronal damage, and synaptic plasticity loss in hippocampal CA1 neurons may via its anti‐inflammatory effects.
Risk aversion and urban land development options
Authors: Fan Gang‐Zhi , Pu Ming , Sing Tien Foo , Zhang Xiaoyu 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis study empirically tests the volatility effects on land development options using the Singapore's government land sales data from 1996 to 2018. We find that development land option premiums increase by 5% on average with one standard deviation increase in conditional volatility, which is consistent with the prediction of the standard real options model. However, the high volatility effects on development options are negative in an extremely high volatility state, and risk‐averse developers exercise development options earlier than that predicted by the risk‐neutral model. The reduction in real option premium in an extremely high volatility state is not explained by market competition and risk‐mitigating mechanism. The results reveal the real estate developers’ behavior change in different states of market volatility.
Outcomes of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt procedures: a 10‐year experience
Authors: Tandon Bhuwan , Ramachandran Jeyamani , Narayana Sumudu , Muller Kate , Pathi Ramon , Wigg Alan J. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIntroductionTransjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPSS) is an effective modality in reducing portal pressure, and its current main indications are for the management of recurrent ascites and variceal bleeding. The demand and indications for TIPSS are growing. However, it is a complicated and technically demanding procedure with poorer outcomes associated with low volume centres. The aim of this study was, therefore, to review the outcomes of TIPSS at a ‘low volume’ single centre. Outcomes assessed included indications, safety, efficacy and survival.MethodsA retrospective study was undertaken of all patients who underwent a TIPSS procedure over 10 years at tertiary referral centre for complex liver disease and transplantation. Kaplan–Meier method was used to calculate actuarial survival and log‐rank analysis was used to determine significant differences in survival.ResultsThirty‐eight patients underwent the TIPSS procedure between January 2008 and December 2018. Technical, haemodynamic and clinical success were 95%, 92% and 92% respectively. Cumulative survival at one month, one year and five years were 86.8%, 72% and 44.7% respectively. Results achieved standards published in practice parameters to evaluate TIPSS safety and efficacy.ConclusionAt a low volume centre, TIPSS usage was associated with high rates of technical, haemodynamic (HPVG reduction) and clinical success. Low volume should not be a contraindication to providing a TIPSS service; however, auditing outcomes and understanding specific institutional factors that influence quality are important requirements for low volume centres.