bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Physiological changes throughout the ear due to age and noise - a longitudinal study
Authors: Blockley Alix , Ogle Daisy , Woodrow Charlie , Montealegre-Z Fernando , Warren Ben 
Published: November 2021

AbstractBiological and mechanical systems, whether by their overuse or their aging, will inevitably fail. Hearing provides a poignant example of this with noise-induced and age-related hearing loss. Hearing loss is not unique to humans, however, and is experienced by all animals in the face of wild and eclectic differences in ear morphology and operation. Here we exploited the high throughput and accessible tympanal ear of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (mixed sex) to rigorously quantify changes in the auditory system due to noise exposure (3 kHz pure tone at 126 dB SPL) and age. We analysed tympanal dispalcements, morphology of the auditory Müller’s organ and measured activity of the auditory nerve, the transduction current and electrophysiological properties of individual auditory receptors. We found that noise mildly and transiently changes tympanal displacements, decreases both the width of the auditory nerve and the transduction current recorded from individual auditory neurons. Whereas age – but not noise - decreases the number of auditory neurons and increases their resting potential. Multiple other properties of Müller’s organ were unaffected by either age or noise including: the number of supporting cells in Müller’s organ or the nerve, membrane resistance and capacitance of the auditory neurons. The sound-evoked activity of the auditory nerve decreased as a function of age and this decrease was exacerbated by noise, with the largest difference during the middle of their life span. This ‘middle-aged deafness’ pattern of hearing loss mirrors that found for humans exposed to noise early in their life.Key point summaryAge and noise lead to hearing loss.Tympanal displacements have a transient and delayed reduction after noise.The number of auditory neurons decreases with age. The width of the auditory nerve is reduced with noise exposure.Locusts repeatedly exposed to noise lost their hearing compared to silent controls, but their hearing became similar to old silent control locusts due to age-related hearing loss dominating.The electrophysiological properties of the auditory neurons and the transduction current remained unchanged for aged locusts but repeated noise exposure led to a cumulative decrease in the transduction current.
Mechanical activation drives tenogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells in aligned dense collagen hydrogels
Authors: Park Hyeree , Nazhat Showan N. , Rosenzweig Derek H. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractTendons are force transmitting mechanosensitive tissues predominantly comprised of highly aligned collagen type I fibres. In this study, the recently introduced gel aspiration-ejection method was used to rapidly fabricate aligned dense collagen (ADC) hydrogel scaffolds. ADCs provide a biomimetic environment compared to traditional collagen hydrogels that are mechanically unstable and comprised of randomly oriented fibrils. The ADC scaffolds were shown to be anisotropic with comparable stiffness to immature tendons. Furthermore, the application of static and cyclic uniaxial loading, short-term (48 h) and high-strain (20%), resulted in a 3-fold increase in both the ultimate tensile strength and modulus of ADCs. Similar mechanical activation of human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) seeded ADCs in serum- and growth factor-free medium induced their tenogenic differentiation. Both static and cyclic loading profiles resulted in a greater than 12-fold increase in scleraxis gene expression and either suppressed or maintained osteogenic and chondrogenic expressions. Following the 48 h mechanoactivation period, the MSC-seeded scaffolds were matured by tethering in basal medium without further external mechanical stimulation for 19 days, altogether making up 21 days of culture. Extensive cell-induced matrix remodeling and deposition of collagens type I and III, tenascin-C and tenomodulin were observed, where initial cyclic loading induced significantly higher tenomodulin protein content. Moreover, the initial short-term mechanical stimulation elongated and polarized seeded MSCs and overall cell alignment was significantly increased in those under static loading. These findings indicate the regenerative potential of the ADC scaffolds for short-term mechanoactivated tenogenic differentiation, which were achieved even in the absence of serum and growth factors that may potentially increase clinical translatability.Graphical abstract
Toxoplasma gondii phosphatidylserine flippase complex ATP2B-CDC50.4 critically participates in microneme exocytosis
Authors: Bisio Hugo , Krishnan Aarti , Marq Jean-Baptiste , Soldati-Favre Dominique 
Published: November 2021

SummaryRegulated microneme secretion governs motility, host cell invasion and egress in the obligate intracellular apicomplexans. Intracellular calcium oscillations and phospholipid dynamics critically regulate micronemes exocytosis. Despite its importance for the lytic cycle of these parasites, molecular mechanistic details about exocytosis are still missing. Some members of the P4-ATPases act as flippases, changing the phospholipid distribution by translocation from the outer to the inner leaflet of the membrane. Here, the localization and function of the repertoire of P4-ATPases was investigated across the lytic cycle of Toxoplasma gondii. Of relevance, ATP2B and the non-catalytic subunit cell division control protein 50.4 (CDC50.4) form a stable heterocomplex at the parasite plasma membrane, essential for microneme exocytosis. This complex is responsible for flipping phosphatidylserine (PS), which presumably acts as a lipid mediator for the organelle fusion with the plasma membrane. DOC2.1, a previously described key egress and invasion factor, is shown here to be affected in its function in egress upon mutation on residues putatively involved in calcium binding. This study points toward the importance of PS in microneme exocytosis and unveils subtle differences in the signaling cascades leading to organelle secretion between intracellular and extracellular parasites to ensure egress and invasion, respectively.Author SummaryBiological membranes display diverse functions, including membrane fusion, which are conferred by a defined composition and organization of proteins and lipids. Apicomplexan parasites possess specialized secretory organelles (micronemes), implicated in motility, invasion and egress from host cells. Microneme exocytosis is already known to depends on phosphatidic acid for its fusion with the plasma membrane. Here we identify a type P4-ATPase and its CDC50 chaperone (ATP2B-CDC50.4) that act as flippase and contribute to the enrichment of phosphatidylserine (PS) in the inner leaflet of the parasite plasma membrane. PS and the previously described C2-containing protein DOC2.1 differentially participate in microneme exocytosis in the context of environmental changes. Overall, our results shed light on the importance membrane homeostasis and lipid composition in controlling microneme secretion.
Directionality of PYD filament growth determined by the transition of NLRP3 nucleation seeds to ASC elongation
Authors: Hochheiser Inga V. , Behrmann Heide , Hagelueken Gregor , Rodríguez-Alcázar Juan F. , Kopp Anja , Latz Eicke , Behrmann Elmar , Geyer Matthias 
Published: November 2021

SUMMARYInflammasomes sense intrinsic and extrinsic danger signals to trigger inflammatory responses and pyroptotic cell death. Homotypic pyrin domain (PYD) interactions of inflammasome forming Nod-like receptors with the adaptor protein ASC mediate oligomerization into helical filamentous assemblies. These supramolecular organizing centers recruit and activate caspase-1, which results in IL-1β family cytokine maturation and pyroptotic cell death. The molecular details of the critical step in signal transduction of inflammasome signaling, however, remain ill-defined. Here, we describe the cryo-EM structure of the human NLRP3 PYD filament at 3.6 Å resolution. We identify a unique pattern of highly polar interface residues that form the homomeric interactions leading to characteristic filament ends that we designate as A- and B-end, respectively. Coupling a titration polymerization assay to cryo-EM, we demonstrate that the ASC adaptor protein elongation on NLRP3 PYD filament seeds is unidirectional, associating exclusively to the B-end of the NLRP3 filament. Notably, NLRP3 and ASC PYD filaments exhibit the same symmetry in rotation and axial rise per subunit, allowing for a continuous transition between NLRP3 as the nucleation seed and ASC as the elongator. Integrating the directionality of filament growth, we present a molecular model of the ASC speck consisting of active NLRP3–NEK7, ASC, and Caspase-1 proteins.
Exploration of burnout in early-career construction management professionals in the USA
Authors: Franz Bryan , Wang Tong , Issa Raja Raymond 
Published: November 2021

PurposeConstruction managers face many work-related stressors induced by unrealistic schedule expectations, tight budgets, and long hours. Over time, these stressors can result in both mental and physical exhaustion, a condition referred to as burnout. Early-career managers are a key worker demographic, as they represent the near-term future of the construction industry, yet they have a high risk for burnout. The purpose of this study is to explore the prevalence of burnout in new construction managers, and to identify which individual or work-related factors are associated with feelings of burnout.Design/methodology/approachUsing the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS), data from 146 early-career professionals (less than 10 years of experience) with construction management degrees in the USA were collected and analyzed using correlational and best subset regression techniques.FindingsThe results show that the early-career demographic in the USA experiences both the Emotional Exhaustion and Cynicism dimensions of burnout at comparable levels to prior studies with more mid-to-late career respondents. However, the Professional Efficacy dimension was significantly higher in early-career professionals than any other sample. No individual factors, such as gender, marital status, or number of children, were predictive of any dimension of burnout. Instead, only work-related factors including co-worker friendliness, opportunities for personal development and promotion, and the ability to control the work pacing were strongly associated with one or more dimensions of burnout.Originality/valueThis study is the first to explore burnout in the key early-career demographic for construction managers in the United States construction industry. This work provides evidence that organizational policies and culture have a greater efficacy in alleviating burnout in this demographic, when compared to the work–life balance of the individual.
Contributions and challenges of voluntary organizations towards the integration of refugees into the job market
Authors: da Silva Pablo Marlon Medeiros , El-Aouar Walid Abbas , Firmino Thaís Teles , de Sousa Juliana Carvalho , da Silva Wesley Vieira 
Published: November 2021

PurposeThis study aims to understand the contributions and challenges of voluntary organizations towards the integration of refugees into the job market.Design/methodology/approachDescriptive research with a qualitative approach based on interpretivism was used, applied to mediators of social entities in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.FindingsThe findings of this study support the importance of voluntary organizations in the employment of refugees, based on background that will contribute directly to the training of displaced persons in the Brazilian labor market. Meanwhile, difficulties such as post-employment refugee monitoring, legislative obstacles to the verification of skills, structural and human capital limitations of mediators, the national economic crisis and the lack of government support are identified as the main challenges for long-term assistance to refugees.Practical implicationsThe results of the study can foster greater participation of public policymakers and society in supporting the third sector, aiming at a greater reach in the provision of services of mediators for the effective integration of refugees in Brazil.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on the integration of refugees into the labor market by demonstrating the importance of voluntary organizations in this process. It also demonstrates how the main challenges of the third sector in the Brazilian context impact its support in facilitating and maintaining the employment of displaced persons.
Identifying and classifying the contributing factors to financial resilience
Authors: Zahedi Javad , Salehi Mahdi , Moradi Mahdi 
Published: November 2021

Purpose
This paper aims to identify, classify and rank the contributing factors to financial resilience.

Design/methodology/approach
The present study is of a mixed-method and significant contributing factors have been identified after analyzing and reviewing the literature on resilience and financial resilience. These factors were classified and ranked using the analytic hierarchy process method. This paper operationalizes the concept of financial resilience.

Findings
The study results show that consistency in production and sales, access to a reliable supply chain, management ability to environmental adaptability, regional dimension and social support from the government’s side are among the determining factors in financial resilience at the market level. Some elements such as flexibility, risk identification, income, foreign exchange benefits, innovation in presenting goods and services, firm size and responsiveness of partners and beneficiaries inside and outside the organization are among the leading contributing factors at the organization level and management manner. Finally, the staff’s efficiency in using organization resources, shareholder staff and learning culture in the organization are among the main contributing factors to financial resilience under the staff’s influence.

Originality/value
The study results may give managers direction to evaluate companies’ resilience, especially in the emerging economy; besides, it improves the literature on the topic.
Heterogeneous effect of oil production on environmental degradation: panel evidence from OPEC member countries
Authors: Danmaraya Ismail Aliyu , Jakada Aminu Hassan , Mahmood Suraya , Ibrahim Bello Alhaji , Ali Ahmad Umar 
Published: November 2021

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to look at the asymmetric effect of oil production on environmental degradation in OPEC member countries from 1970–2019.Design/methodology/approachThe authors build a nonlinear panel ARDL–PMG model using the Shinet al.(2014) nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach in panel form to assess both the short- and long-run impact of positive and negative oil production movements on CO2emissions.FindingsThe result demonstrates that the variables are cointegrated. According to the linear long run coefficients, oil production, FDI inflows and economic growth both have a positive and significant relationship with CO2emissions, implying that they deteriorate environmental quality in OPEC countries, while renewable energy has a negative relationship with CO2, implying that increasing renewable energy improves environmental quality. The asymmetric findings prove that positive and negative shocks of oil production exert a positive effect on carbon emissions in short run and long run.Research limitations/implicationsTo begin with, the empirical assessments do not include all OPEC member nations; researchers are advised to resolve this constraint by looking at the economies of other OPEC members. Albeit the lack of data for other energy sources may serve as another constraint of this research, future research is expected to broaden the current framework via other energy sources such as nuclear, electricity, biomass, solar as well as wind.Originality/valueThe research adds to the body of knowledge as many of the prevailing studies in the literature failed to look at the asymmetric effect of oil production on the quality of environment. This is another gap in the literature that the current study is set out to fill. This study adds oil production as an explanatory variable and helps to extend the existing literature for OPEC countries, which could propose a solution to deal with ensuing environmental issues.
Is lean a theory? Viewpoints and outlook
Authors: Åhlström Pär , Danese Pamela , Hines Peter , Netland Torbjørn H. , Powell Daryl , Shah Rachna , Thürer Matthias , van Dun Desirée H. 
Published: November 2021

PurposeLean remains popular in a wide range of private and public sectors and continues to attract a significant amount of research. However, most of this research is not grounded in theory. This paper presents and discusses different expert viewpoints on the role of theory in lean research and practice and provides guidelines for future research.Design/methodology/approachSeven experienced lean authors independently provide their views to the question “is Lean a theory?” before Rachna Shah summarizes the viewpoints and provides a holistic outlook for lean research.FindingsAuthors agree, disagree and sometimes agree to disagree. However, a close look reveals agreement on several key points. The paper concludes that Lean is not a theory but has plenty of theoretical underpinnings. Many lean-related theories provide promising opportunities for future research.Originality/valueAs researchers, we are asked to justify our research drawing on “theory,” but what does that mean for a practice-driven phenomenon such as lean? This paper provides answers and directions for future research.
Exploring the digital humanities research agenda: a text mining approach
Authors: Joo Soohyung , Hootman Jennifer , Katsurai Marie 
Published: November 2021

PurposeThis study aims to explore knowledge structure and research trends in the domain of digital humanities (DH) in the recent decade. The study identified prevailing topics and then, analyzed trends of such topics over time in the DH field.Design/methodology/approachResearch bibliographic data in the area of DH were collected from scholarly databases. Multiple text mining techniques were used to identify prevailing research topics and trends, such as keyword co-occurrences, bigram analysis, structural topic models and bi-term topic models.FindingsTerm-level analysis revealed that cultural heritage, geographic information, semantic web, linked data and digital media were among the most popular topics in the recent decade. Structural topic models identified that linked open data, text mining, semantic web and ontology, text digitization and social network analysis received increased attention in the DH field.Originality/valueThis study applied existent text mining techniques to understand the research domain in DH. The study collected a large set of bibliographic text, representing the area of DH from multiple academic databases and explored research trends based on structural topic models.
How do transaction costs, capabilities and networks influence the procurement strategies of small agri-food firms? Evidence from the wine industry
Authors: Varella Miranda Bruno , Ross Brent , Franken Jason , Gómez Miguel 
Published: November 2021

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to disentangle the drivers of adoption of procurement strategies in situations where small agri-food firms deal with constrained organizational choices. More specifically, the authors investigate the role of transaction costs, capabilities and networks in the definition of feasible “make-or-buy” choices in emerging wine regions.Design/methodology/approachThis article analyzes a unique dataset of small wineries from five US states: Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New York and Vermont. The reported results derive from both a hurdle model (i.e. a probit model and a truncated regression model) and a tobit model.FindingsThe results suggest the importance of trust as a replacement for formal governance structures whenever small firms deal with highly constrained sets of organizational choices. On the other hand, the level of dependence on a limited mix of winegrape varieties and the perception that these varieties are fundamental in building legitimacy help to explain higher rates of vertical integration.Originality/valueThis study is important because it sheds light on organizational constraints that affect millions of farmers across the globe. The study of “make-or-buy” decisions in agri-food supply chains has mostly relied on the implicit assumption that all organizational choices are available to every firm. Nevertheless, limited capabilities and the participation in low-density networks may constrain the ability of a firm to adopt a governance mechanism. Stated organizational preferences and actual organizational choices may thus differ.
Internationalization and CSR reporting: evidence from US companies and their Polish subsidiaries
Authors: Cho Charles H. , Krasodomska Joanna , Ratliff-Miller Paulette , Godawska Justyna 
Published: November 2021

PurposeThis study examines the internationalization effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, specifically aiming to identify and compare the CSR reporting practices of large US multi-national corporations (MNCs) and their Polish subsidiaries.Design/methodology/approachBased on content analysis and using a disclosure index, the authors examined the CSR information posted on, or linked to, the corporate websites of a sample of 60 US-based MNCs and their subsidiaries operating in Poland.FindingsThe findings indicate that US companies, despite operating in a less regulated environment, had more extensive disclosure than their Polish subsidiaries and covered more CSR-related topics. CSR disclosures within the US subsample were analogous in volume and detail. By contrast, only about half of Polish companies provided CSR disclosures, which were more diverse in volume and in the types of activities disclosed. The authors did not find a significant positive correlation between the CSR disclosures of the two subsamples.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature on internationalization processes and sustainability practices. It provides insights into the CSR reporting of companies located in Central and Eastern European countries. The findings also have implications for policymakers in incentivizing the enhancement of the reporting disclosure practices of companies.
Renewable energy consumption, nonrenewable energy consumption, CO2 emissions and economic growth in Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Van Cam Thi , Le Hoi Quoc 
Published: November 2021

PurposeThis study intended to analyze the impact of nonrenewable energy consumption, renewable energy consumption, CO2 emissions on per capita income growth in Vietnam in the period 1990–2019.Design/methodology/approachThe present study adopts the technique of the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration for the annual data collection of Vietnam.FindingsThe results of the study show that in the long term, nonrenewable energy consumption increases per capita income, but CO2 emissions reduce per capita income. In the short run, changes in nonrenewable energy consumption and renewable energy consumption promote per capita income growth in Vietnam. However, changes in nonrenewable energy consumption in the past have had a negative impact on the current income growth of Vietnamese people.Originality/valueThe current study provides new insights into the growth effect of nonrenewable energy consumption, renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The papers suggests important implications to Vietnam in setting the long-run policies to boost the effect of energy consumption and CO2 emissions on growth in Vietnam in the coming time.