Socio-Ecological Disruptions at Critical Periods During Development Alter Stress Responses and Hippocampal Dendritic Morphology of Prairie Voles: Implications for Social Monogamy

Emotions are often associated with the evolution of monogamy. For example, fear of cuckoldry has been recently proposed as the driving force for human monogamy. We used prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) as a model of human behavior to study how stress reactivity is shaped by socio-ecological disruptions experienced as neonates and as subadults. We hypothesized that social disruptions would have a greater impact on the vole's stress levels than ecological disruptions, and that females would be more susceptible to the experience than males. At 6 days postpartum, the housing conditions were manipulated to have offspring raised by: (1) both parents under a protective cover (NoDisrupt); (2) Both parents uncovered (EcoDisrupt); (3) Mother alone covered (SocDisrupt); (4) Mother alone uncovered (SocEcoDisrupt). To experience disruptions as subadults, offspring were weaned then housed either alone (Isolate) or with a same-sex sibling (Social). As adults, each offspring was placed in an open-field arena and tested over 3 consecutive days to measure its behavior in response to an empty space (Day1), a same-sex vole in a container (Day2), and an empty container (Day3). The brain of a subgroup of subjects was processed for Golgi staining to assess the impact of disruptions on hippocampal dendritic morphology in adulthood. Males that experienced social disruption in early life displayed lower stress levels on Day2 of testing than males and females in other groups. This effect was only evident in males that did not experience social disruptions as subadults. Socio-ecological disruptions at postpartum had an unanticipated impact on the hippocampus of the voles. The apical dendrites of the CA3 neurons in male and female voles that experienced either social or ecological disruptions in early life and remained socially isolated as subadults were longer than those in undisturbed voles. Our results suggest that social disruptions experienced in early life modulate the male's stress-related behaviors and may thus influence his monogamous tendencies. Exposure to disruptions may also impact the memory circuits of the brain that monogamous animals use to make mating decisions

THE ROLE OF SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE IN SUPPLY CHAIN RECONFIGURATION: EVIDENCE FROM QATAR

Supply chain resilience has emerged as a key attribute in wake of increased risk susceptibilities due to globalized operations. This dissertation aims to understand the role of supply chain resilience and reconfiguration in context of economic-political risk. A systematic mapping review was conducted to identify the gaps in contemporary literature on supply chain resilience and reconfiguration. Based on literature review, a model utilizing Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) is proposed to understand the relationships among the enablers of supply chain resilience to effectively mitigate the economic-political risk. The results of ISM model were utilized to propose a model, which empirically investigated the impact of supply chain resilience on supply chain reconfiguration considering the impact of key antecedents of supply chain resilience. Descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing and partial least squares modeling using data from the selected organizations in Qatar provided useful information about the recovery of supply chains following an economic-political risk event of blockade in Qatar. Risk management culture, agility, and collaboration significantly support supply chain resilience, which assist in supply chain reconfiguration. In this research, supply chain reconfiguration emerged as a key variable determining the ability of supply chains to adjust in the wake of risk events or in a dynamic business environment. To focus resources towards building supply chain reconfiguration capabilities a multi-criteria decision framework integrating Analytic Network Process (ANP) and Balanced Scorecard to prioritize the variables associated with supply chain reconfiguration was proposed in the research. The findings reported in the thesis improves the understanding of supply chain resilience and reconfiguration in a developing economy. It proposes models and framework to understand resilience and reconfiguration variables that would enable businesses to develop resilient supply chains to effectively mitigate risks and improve continuity of operations

Supply chain resilience under economic-political risk: A case of developing economy

The aim of this study was to identify enablers of supply chain resilience to economic-political risks and establish the relationships among them using interpretive structural modelling. A comprehensive review of the literature was followed by input from experts from industry and academia to develop a hierarchical model. Cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) analysis was used to classify enablers into four categories. The results identified key variables that would help develop resilient supply chains to successfully mitigate economic-political risks in a developing economy under a blockade. The study contributes to literature on supply chain resilience by studying it in a new context and under a previously unexplored influence. 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.. All rights reserved.Rana Sobh is a Professor of Marketing at the College of Business and Economics at Qatar University. She received her PhD in Marketing from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, in 2006. During her work at the Qatar University, she received several grants from Qatar National Research Fund. Her work in the area of consumer culture theory and international marketing communication was published in reputable international journals.Scopu

Prioritization of supply chain reconfiguration variables using balanced score card and analytic network process

Supply chain reconfiguration has emerged as a key variable that determines the capability of supply chain to adjust itself in wake of risks or dynamic business environment. However, supply chain reconfiguration is dependent on several variables that need to be prioritized to focus resources for improvement. The study reported in this paper proposes a multi-criteria decision approach to prioritize the variables associated with supply chain reconfiguration. The novelty of the proposed model lies in its capability to integrate the dimensions of balance scorecard and analytic network process. The proposed model is evaluated for a case supply chain from retail sector. 2020, International Forum of Management Scholars. All rights reserved.RanaSobh is a Professor of Marketing at the College of Business and Economics at Qatar University. She received a PhD in Marketing from the University of Auckland, New Zealand in 2006. During her work at Qatar University, Dr. Sobh received several grants from Qatar National Research Fund. Her work in the area of Consumer Culture Theory and international marketing communication was published in reputable international journals.Scopu

Preliminary Investigation of Heavy Metals in Deposited Dust on Roadside Sidr Leaves

Urban pollution has different forms; one of them is air pollution by natural sources such as dust storms or by anthropogenic sources such as traffic, whereas both are considered among the most risky environmental problems especially when it reaches soil surface and is transported to plants and enters food chain. The current study aims to evaluate the heavy metals in dust, deposited on the leaves of the Sidr trees by roadsides as a first step in assessing the use of this plant as a bio-monitor of environmental pollution. The Sidr tree was chosen to evaluate the impact of pollution because it is very common in the region and among evergreen trees in the streets, gardens and residential areas of Doha. The study was carried out close to Qatar University campus in Doha city (traffic intersections and near construction activities) as well as from a farm (located far away from traffic) as a control sample. The concentrations of ten traffic-related metals namely iron (Fe), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), aluminum (Al), barium (Ba), and mercury (Hg) were determined in the deposited dust on leaves using ICP-OES. In our preliminary findings, we found that the distribution of trace metals in leaf dust samples from our study is similar to those reported in an earlier study done in southwestern Iran

Antecedents and consequences of supply chain resilience and reconfiguration: an empirical study in an emerging economy

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: to investigate the antecedents of resilience and to highlight the importance of resilience in achieving reconfiguration in supply chains. Design/methodology/approach: This paper draws on literature on supply chain resilience and collects data from 253 companies in Qatar to understand the influence of the antecedents of supply chain resilience and the impact of resilience on reconfiguration using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings: The findings show that antecedents like risk management culture, agility and collaboration positively affect the supply chain resilience. Further, the study establishes that companies can leverage their supply chain resilience to reconfigure supply chain in case of disruptions. Practical implications: This study is important for supply chain managers in Qatar, as the country faced major disruption of supply chains in wake of the blockade imposed by its neighbors with which it had the only land route and maximum trade. The findings from this study should aid mangers in developing resilient supply chains. Originality/value: This paper highlights the role of supply chain resilience in achieving reconfiguration. Further, novelty of the work reported in this paper lies in its context where supply chains recently faced actual disruptions.Scopu

A systematic mapping review exploring 10 years of research on supply chain resilience and reconfiguration

Supply chain resilience and reconfiguration are emerging disciplines that allow supply chains to recover from events and quickly return to normal or equilibrium levels of operations. This paper aims to provide a systematic mapping review to classify studies on supply chain resilience and reconfiguration. In total, 286 studies published between January 2009 and May 2019 were identified, of which 94 were selected for review. The analysis provided a number of thematic areas: descriptive view of the selected articles; geographical areas; type of research; research methods; and supply chain resilience enablers and reconfiguration characteristics. The major significance of this study is to provide an assessment of the state of existing knowledge on supply chain resilience and reconfiguration and to suggest future research directions. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first systematic mapping study conducted on supply chain resilience and reconfiguration literature.Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library.Scopu

Assessing the Use of <i>Ziziphus spina-christi</i> as a Sustainable Solution for Biomonitoring of Urban Air Quality: A Case Study from Qatar

Globally, urbanization, industrialization, and transportation have worsened urban air quality in recent decades. Using sustainable, cost-effective methods to monitor and reduce air pollution is crucial. The best Nature-based Solution (NbS) for urban environmental cleanup is plants. Roadside plants are key carriers of air pollution and have various tolerances. Ziziphus spina-christi’s air pollution tolerance was assessed using the Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI). The Bioconcentration Factor (BCF) examined the heavy metal accumulation capacity of Ziziphus spina-Christi’s fruits and leaves. Two sampling sites were studied: a reference location remote from human activity and a densely populated metropolitan region. Ziziphus spina-christi is considered a tolerant species in Qatar, based on its calculated value of APTI in this study. Both total chlorophyll and ascorbic acid influence APTI levels and have a strong positive correlation with APTI. BCF values in leaves were higher than fruits indicating that the leaves of Ziziphus spina-christi have a greater potential for metal absorption than its fruits. Moreover, the leaves of Ziziphus spina-christi showed a potential for mercury accumulation (BCF > 1), thus it is a good candidate to be used for phytoremediation in areas of mercury contamination. The integration of both APTI and BCF methods is significant and beneficial in advising policymakers and urban planners regarding suitable tree species for sustainable urban development

Impact of leadership gender stereotyping on managing familial conflict, matrimonial strategies, divorce decisions and marital satisfaction in Qatar

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the direct and indirect effects of leadership style and gender roles on managing familial conflict (MFC), as well as how such conflict resolution affects divorce decisions and overall marital satisfaction (SF) in Qatar. Design/methodology/approach: A 20-item questionnaire, corresponding to 20 indicators for six latent variables, was administered to 550 married couples in Qatar. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett's test of sphericity were calculated. The path analysis was measured using structural equation modeling. Findings: Matrimonial strategies adopted by spouses positively affected familial conflict resolution, and successfully MFC both positively affected marital SF and reduced the inclination to seek a divorce. However, men were not found to be visionary leaders in familial relationships regarding conflict resolution. Leadership gender stereotyping did not positively influence the perception of women's competency (WC). The WC did not positively affect the managing of familial conflict. Research limitations/implications: This study provides strategic insights regarding how MFC in Qatar influences marital SF. Understanding the determinants of divorce decisions and marital SF furthers understanding of how married couples can sustain healthy relationships. Originality/value: This study empirically correlates three fields of family research: gender role; conflict resolution and marital SF. It explains how divorce issues have escalated in Qatar and explores the influence on modern social life of sexism, patriarchal roots and Oriental androcentrism. Many factors must be considered when examining matrimonial strategies (MSs), especially if there is debate over the ideal number of children. Strategizing models can curtail conflict that might lead to divorce

Acute clinical evaluation for syndesmosis injury has high diagnostic value

Purpose: To determine the diagnostic value of injury history, physical examination, six syndesmosis tests and overall clinical suspicion for syndesmosis injury. Methods: All athletes (> 18 yrs) with an acute ankle injury presenting within 7 days post-injury were assessed for eligibility. Acute ankle injuries were excluded if imaging studies demonstrated a frank fracture or 3 T MRI could not be acquired within 10 days post-injury. Standardized injury history was recorded, and physical examination was performed by an Orthopaedic Surgeon or Sports Medicine Physician. Overall clinical suspicion was documented prior to MRI. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the association between independent predictors and syndesmosis injury. Results: Between September 2016 and July 2019, a total of 150 acute ankle injuries were included. The median time from injury to acute clinical evaluation was 2 days (IQR 2). Prior to clinical evaluation, the median patient reported Visual Analog Scale for pain was 8/10 (IQR 2). Syndesmosis injury was present in 26 acute ankle injuries. An eversion mechanism of injury had a positive LR 3.47 (CI 95% 1.55–7.77). The squeeze tests had a positive LR of 2.20 (CI 95% 1.29–3.77) and a negative LR of 0.68 (CI 95% 0.48–0.98). Overall clinical suspicion had a sensitivity of 73% (CI 95% 52–88) and negative predictive value of 89% (CI 95% 78–95). Multivariate regression analyses demonstrated significant association for eversion mechanism of injury (OR 4.99; CI 95% 1.56–16.01) and a positive squeeze test (OR 3.25; CI 95% 1.24–8.51). Conclusions: In an acute clinical setting with patients reporting high levels of ankle pain, a negative overall clinical suspicion reduces the probability of syndesmosis injury. Eversion mechanism of injury and a positive squeeze test are associated with higher odds of syndesmosis injury. Level of evidence: Level III