bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Immunopeptidomics-based design of highly effective mRNA vaccine formulations againstListeria monocytogenes
Authors: Mayer Rupert L. , Verbeke Rein , Asselman Caroline , Aernout Ilke , Gul Adillah , Eggermont Denzel , Boucher Katie , Thery Fabien , Maia Teresa M. , Demol Hans , Gabriels Ralf , Martens Lennart , Bécavin Christophe , De Smedt Stefaan , Vandekerckhove Bart , Lentacker Ine , Impens Francis 
Published: August 2022

ABSTRACTListeria monocytogenesis a foodborne intracellular bacterial pathogen leading to human listeriosis. Despite a high mortality rate and increasing antibiotic resistance no clinically approved vaccine againstListeriais available. AttenuatedListeriastrains offer protection and are tested as antitumor vaccine vectors, but would benefit from a better knowledge on immunodominant vector antigens. To identify novel antigens, we screened forListeriaepitopes presented on the surface of infected human cell lines by mass spectrometry-based immunopeptidomics. In between more than 15,000 human self-peptides, we detected 68Listeriaepitopes from 42 different bacterial proteins, including several known antigens. Peptide epitopes presented on different cell lines were often derived from the same bacterial surface proteins, classifying these antigens as potential vaccine candidates. Encoding these highly presented antigens in lipid nanoparticle mRNA vaccine formulations resulted in specific CD8+ T-cell responses and high levels of protection in vaccination challenge experiments in mice. Our results pave the way for the development of a clinical mRNA vaccine againstListeriaand aid to improve attenuatedListeriavaccines and vectors, demonstrating the power of immunopeptidomics for next-generation bacterial vaccine development.
Asymmetric expression of homoeologous genes in wheat roots modulates the early phase of iron-deficiency signalling
Authors: Kaur Gazaldeep , Meena Varsha , Kumar Anil , Suman Gaurav , Tyagi Deepshikha , Joon Riya , Balk Janneke , Pandey Ajay K 
Published: August 2022

AbstractIron (Fe) limitation leads to dramatic changes in gene expression in plants, to induce iron uptake and mobilization, while at the same time restrict Fe-dependent metabolism and growth. Although transcriptional changes in response to Fe deficiency have recently been charted in wheat, this was performed at a stage when photosynthesis and growth were severely impacted, confounding primary and secondary responses. Here, we specifically uncover the transcriptional landscape of wheat roots during the early stages of the Fe deficiency response (4 and 8 days) and after Fe resupply. Root growth was significantly inhibited at day 4, but chlorosis only became apparent on day 8. The number of differentially expressed genes increased from 1386 on day 4 to 3538 on day 8, with an overlap of 2006 genes. Genes with dynamic changes in expression patterns include membrane transporters and transcription factors shown to be involved in Fe homeostasis in other plant species. Comparative analysis of the Fe deficiency response at 4, 8 and 20 days identified a core set of Fe-regulated genes.Analysis of the expression of homoeologs suggests an increase in induction bias at 8 days compared to 4 days particularly, A genome contributing high at 4 days and the A+D genomes at 8 days. Overall, our work will contribute towards fundamental knowledge of the Fe signalling networks in wheat and point to the interplay of the three sub-genomes in this hexaploid species to fine tune the transcriptional response.
ROS are evolutionary conserved cell-to-cell signals
Authors: Fichman Yosef , Rowland Linda , Oliver Melvin J. , Mittler Ron 
Published: August 2022

AbstractCell-to-cell communication is fundamental to multicellular organisms and unicellular organisms living in a microbiome. A unique cell-to-cell communication mechanism that uses reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a signal (termed the ‘ROS wave’) was recently identified in flowering plants. Here we report that a ROS-mediated cell-to-cell signaling process, like the ROS wave, can be found in ferns, mosses, unicellular algae, amoeba, mammalian cells, and isolated hearts. We further show that this process can be triggered by a localized stress treatment or H2O2application and blocked by inhibition of NADPH oxidases, and that in unicellular algae, it communicates important stress-response signals between cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that cell-to-cell ROS signaling evolved before unicellular and multicellular organisms diverged. The finding of a ROS wave-like signaling process in mammalian cells further contributes to our understanding of different diseases and could impact the development of new drugs that target cancer or heart disease.
Corporate branding and firm performance: a study among Oman hotel industry
Authors: Thottoli Mohammed Muneerali , Al Harthi Fatma Nasser 
Published: August 2022

PurposeThe study aims to assess how corporate branding affects firm performance in the context of the Oman hotel industry, listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX).Design/methodology/approachThis study approach was made by way of a mixed method. First, it examines qualitative and exploratory information collected from companies’ internet sites, audited annual reports (the financial year 2019) published in MSX, web searches and websites of companies and travel agencies from all the eight listed hotel companies in the MSX to examine the impact of corporate branding on firm performance proxied by return of assets (ROA) and return of equity (ROE) and secondly, it assesses the measurement and structural models by applying partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe findings recommend that well-thought-out web marketing on corporate branding by hotel companies leads to firm performance. The findings indicate that corporate branding on travel agency websites and a company’s own website can help businesses become more profitable. In addition, there is a synergistic connection on corporate branding of the hotel industry, including the presentation of a novel hotel narrative, the conception of a cornerstone loyalty program, the demonstration of excellence in hospitality and service, information on timely amenities like Covid-19 safety measures and the use of technology and experiential elements through platforms like the company website or the website of the travel agent all essential to achieve firm financial performance. As per the importance–performance matrix map, websites of travel agents (agoda.com, booking.com and hotels.com) had the importance (agoda.com 0.616, booking.com 0.959 and hotels.com 1.036) to impact companies’ corporate branding and firm performance, whereas Google search shows a value of −1.954, which has no impact on companies’ corporate branding.Research limitations/implicationsThe study considered only one hotel/tourism industry to know the effect of corporate branding on firm performance. Further studies may be chosen on other industries needed to allow for generalization.Practical implicationsThis study aims to provide insights into how the hotel industry can make use of corporate branding through the company website, Google sites and websites of companies’ travel agency by providing timely updated promotion, facilities, quality services and hygiene matters to enhance firm performance.Originality/valueThis study provides empirical evidence to find various factors of corporate branding of the hotel industry’s firm performance. In addition, the study offers valuable insight into the nonmonetary measures of achievements.
Integrated entitymetrics analysis for health information on bipolar disorder using social media data and scientific literature
Authors: Timakum Tatsawan , Song Min , Kim Giyeong 
Published: August 2022

PurposeThis study aimed to examine the mental health information entities and associations between the biomedical, psychological and social domains of bipolar disorder (BD) by analyzing social media data and scientific literature.Design/methodology/approachReddit posts and full-text papers from PubMed Central (PMC) were collected. The text analysis was used to create a psychological dictionary. The text mining tools were applied to extract BD entities and their relationships in the datasets using a dictionary- and rule-based approach. Lastly, social network analysis and visualization were employed to view the associations.FindingsMental health information on the drug side effects entity was detected frequently in both datasets. In the affective category, the most frequent entities were “depressed” and “severe” in the social media and PMC data, respectively. The social and personal concerns entities that related to friends, family, self-attitude and economy were found repeatedly in the Reddit data. The relationships between the biomedical and psychological processes, “afraid” and “Lithium” and “schizophrenia” and “suicidal,” were identified often in the social media and PMC data, respectively.Originality/valueMental health information has been increasingly sought-after, and BD is a mental illness with complicated factors in the clinical picture. This paper has made an original contribution to comprehending the biological, psychological and social factors of BD. Importantly, these results have highlighted the benefit of mental health informatics that can be analyzed in the laboratory and social media domains.
How innovation types affect users' continuous knowledge sharing intention: a self-determination perspective
Authors: Chen Chunfeng , Zhang Depeng 
Published: August 2022

PurposeThis research aims to investigate the effects of innovation types (exploratory innovation vs. exploitative innovation) on users' psychological perceptions (perceived self-improvement and prosocial impact) and continuous knowledge sharing intention and the moderating effects of monetary incentives.Design/methodology/approachThe research model was developed based on the self-determination theory. A two-study approach involving an online survey (n = 338) and an online experiment (n = 160) was employed to collect quantitative data. Structural equation modeling and variance analysis were adapted to analyze the data.FindingsThe results show that exploratory innovation leads to higher perceived self-improvement among users than exploitative innovation, whereas exploitative innovation leads to higher perceived prosocial impact than exploratory innovation. The perceived self-improvement and perceived prosocial impact positively affects users' continuous knowledge sharing intention. Monetary incentives moderate the relationships among perceived self-improvement, perceived prosocial impact and continuous knowledge sharing intention.Originality/valueThis research highlights the role of users' experience of initial participation in forming continuous knowledge sharing intentions and also reveals the effectiveness of monetary incentives in different types of innovation activities. The findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of the antecedents of users' continuous knowledge sharing behavior, offering new insights and recommendations for managerial practitioners.
When do price discounts become attractive? A study comparing discount strategies on consumer perceptions
Authors: Tan Wee Kheng 
Published: August 2022

PurposeWhile regular price discount (RPD) promotions remain popular, marketers have also introduced gambled price discounts (GPDs) in recent years. There is a need to understand the performance and limitation of the relatively novel GPD, because the importance of pricing and the surprise element inherent in GPD could cause the promotions to backfire when inappropriately applied. This study compared the performance of GPD and RPD via consumers' perception of their attractiveness through quality cues of product types (experience and search goods) and word-of-mouth (WOM) content (affective and cognitive).Design/methodology/approachAnalysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied on a 2 (product type: experience goods [hotel rooms] vs. search goods [printers]) × 2 (word-of-mouth type: affective vs. cognitive) × 2 (price promotion type: GPD vs. RPD) between-subjects scenario experimental design (resulting in eight conditions).FindingsAnalysis of the 600 returns revealed that RPD does well for both search and experience goods, but GPD is more attractive for the marketing of experience goods. GPD works better with cognitive than with affective WOM.Originality/valueGPD is a relatively new domain in marketing research. This study contributes to GPD literature and behavioral pricing literature. The study also adds to a better understanding of the dynamics, usefulness and limitations of GPD by considering the roles played by surprise element inherent in GPD and comparing it with RPD.
A conceptual framework for identifying sustainable business practices of small and medium enterprises
Authors: Rao Purnima , Verma Shubhangi , Rao Akshat Aditya , Joshi Rajni 
Published: August 2022

PurposeThe purpose of the current paper is to identify the factors responsible for achieving business sustainability. This paper further attempts to develop a conceptual framework that can help SMEs to achieve viable business growth through improved sustainable performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study follows a methodical examination of literature published on SMEs during COVID-19. Specifically, the combination of keywords has primarily centred on SMEs, Business Practices, COVID-19 and Pandemic. The 155 research papers identified for the analysis have been classified as per geographical spread, type of papers, central theme, and theoretical foundations, which finally is followed by rigourous thematic analysis.FindingsThis research contributes to the SME literature by providing methodological, conceptual and practical rigour. The framework proposed by the research covers all the relevant areas which can be useful in preparing sustainable business trajectory for SMEs. It outlines the required directives for designing sustainable business practices for SMEs and includes macro and micro determinants. It also opens up future research avenues in different areas identified in the research. Future research can be performed on comparing business practices of SMEs across the emerging and developed economies.Practical implicationsIn this study, we propose a framework that enables the design of sustainable business practices and thereby supports SMEs to combat any uncertain events or shocks. SMEs that can work on adopting sustainable business practices may sculpt novel avenues for growth and competitive advantage for their business.Originality/valueThe study is distinctive in nature as it is based on the examination of literature published during a phenomenological event (COVID-19) which depicts the sudden and unaccounted disruptions faced by SMEs and thereby strategies formulated around the significant glitches.
Analysis of urban parameters via geoprocessing as a basis for city's master plans: the case of Ribeirão da Neves city/ MG – Brazil
Authors: Ferreira Jordan 
Published: August 2022

PurposeThe intention of this work is to generate a tool to facilitate the visualization of urban parameters, critically discussing the current form of urban planning in Brazil and thus facilitate popular participation in decisions, considering that since 2001, it is foreseen by law that the elaboration processes of municipal urban plans in Brazil must have popular participation in order to be legitimized.Design/methodology/approachThe method consists of three-dimensionally modeling the constructive potential within the lots, using the parameters of the Ribeirão das Neves city master plan (State of Minas Gerais, Brazil), using computer software, to predict the impact on landscape that the parameters generate and comparing different software programs.FindingsWith the proposed tool, it became clear that many of the city's parameters alone cannot reach the guidelines of the master plan, and the comparison of two software programs generated options for different local realities. It is a methodology that is able to provide excellent support for urban planning laws in Brazil to be more effective and less delayed.Originality/valueThe software was configured with a script developed by the Geoprocessing Laboratory of a university in Brazil and was used for the first time to completely analyze a municipal master plan for the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, generating a tool able to be used in master plans' review.
Sustainable innovation for shared mobility: contextual and consumer factors of an Indian car subscription business model
Authors: Chaudhuri Ranjan , Chatterjee Sheshadri , Ghosh Arka , Vrontis Demetris , Thrassou Alkis 
Published: August 2022

PurposeThe paper aims to examine the nature and scale of the sustainability value of car sharing and to identify, through consumer analysis, the contextual and consumer factors of success of car subscription as a business model.Design/methodology/approachThe study evaluates the car sharing model against the sustainable development goals defined by the United Nations in 2019. Individual interviews were performed for preliminary understanding of the factors affecting consumers' choices. Subsequently, through two phases of data collection, factor analysis and path model analysis were performed to identify and confirm latent factors. Consumer market segmentation was performed using cluster analysis.FindingsCar sharing was found to have an overall positive net impact, with certain potential negative dimensions. Willingness, financial affordability, location and experience were identified as the key factors of consumers opting for car subscriptions. The findings further highlight the significant business potentialities of car subscription in India, consequent also to consumers' attitudes toward car ownership.Practical implicationsThe research has substantial implications for both society and business, with the former being presented with an innovative sustainable means of transportation, and the latter with the elements of success of an entrepreneurial business model to support the former.Originality/valueThe study is a pioneer in objectively evaluating and prescribing positive social and business value creation for and through car subscription in India, based on consumer analysis.
Forced transition to technology: role of self-efficacy and big five personality variables in the adoption of technology
Authors: Tripathi Nachiketa , Upadhyay Satwik , Das Himasmita 
Published: August 2022

PurposeThe present study is mainly concerned with investigating the migration to online learning under the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and analysing the adoption of technology in the context of Indian educational organisations. The purpose of the paper is to identify aspects that explain and predict the adoption propensity of new technology by users as a dependent variable, with perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PE) as independent variables and personality and self-efficacy as the moderator variables.Design/methodology/approachAn online as well as offline survey is collected from N = 202 employees (teachers/faculty) from private (N = 97) and public (N = 105) educational organisations located in India. A conceptual model of technology adoption is developed and validated, measuring the impact of Big Five personality factors and self-efficacy on technology adoption.FindingsResults of moderation analysis suggest that personality traits moderate the relationship between PU, PE and acceptance of technology (TAP).Originality/valueThe present research uniquely contributes to the limited literature on the role of personality and self-efficacy in adopting technology and the outcomes. Furthermore, the research captures the theoretical and practical understanding of the PU, PE and TAP link in educational organisation and COVID-19 context.
The theory of multinational enterprises in the digital era: state-of-the-art and research priorities
Authors: Li Fei , Chen Yan , Ortiz Jaime , Wei Mengyang 
Published: August 2022

PurposeDeglobalization and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have severely hindered multinational enterprise (MNE) investment. At the same time, digital technology is seriously challenging it with traditional production factor flows. Few studies have realized that the impact of digitalization is not limited to either transaction costs or the location-boundness of firm-specific advantages (FSAs), but extends to profound changes in the fundamental essence of MNEs. There is still limited understanding of this body of knowledge as a whole, including how its subtopics are interrelated. This study took the production factor change perspective to review MNE theory in the digital era. Therefore, this study aims to identify any upcoming and undeveloped themes in order to provide a platform suited to direct future research.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a summary and a review of 151 articles published between 2007 and 2020. Such review was conducted to systematically explain the connotations and influential mechanisms of digital empowerment on MNE theory. This was achieved by using the CiteSpace citation visualization tool to build a keyword co-occurrence network.FindingsThe research findings pertain to how digitalization expands, breaks through, and even reshapes traditional MNE theory from four distinctive angles: the influential factors of internationalization, the process of internationalization, competitive advantage, and location choice. The findings are followed by the presentation of future research directions.Originality/valueThis paper presents an examination of MNE theory in the digital era from the perspective of production factor change. In doing so, it identifies significant theoretical innovation opportunities for future scholarly research priorities.
Managerial coaching and sales performance: the influence of salesforce approaches and organisational demands
Authors: Coimbra Joana , Proença Teresa 
Published: August 2022

PurposeThis study intends to understand if managerial coaching, a sustainable competitive strategy, has an impact on sales performance, through customer and results orientation of the salesforce. It also aims to investigate whether pressure for results, one of the predominant demands in organizations today, and the centralisation of decisions, a traditional management demand still present in several organizations, undermine the effect of coaching on performance.Design/methodology/approachThe 167 responses collected, through the distribution of questionnaires among workers in the commercial area, were analysed through a structural equation model using the partial least square (PLS) technique.FindingsThe results of this study confirm that managerial coaching has a positive impact on sales force performance through customer and results orientation, with customer orientation having a greater impact on performance. It was also found that centralised decision-making and pressure for results do not undermine the relationship between managerial coaching and performance, and they even reinforce the positive impact of results orientation on performance.Practical implicationsManagerial coaching practices can impact sales, especially when associated with customer orientation, freeing employees from the pressure for results and the centralisation demands. This scenario favours a more sustainable and emancipatory sales force management.Originality/valueThis study is the first to integrate organizational demands, namely pressure for results and centralisation, to better understand the effect of managerial coaching on sales performance, through customer and results orientation, thereby extending previous research on this topic.