Gender disparities and positioning in collaborative hospitality and tourism research

Purpose: To explore gender disparities in the production of tourism knowledge with particular reference to academic journals. Design/methodology/approach: Authorship and co-authorship analyses were conducted of data extracted from articles and research notes published between 1965 and 2016 in 25 hospitality and tourism journals. Findings: Gender imbalances are evident in the production of knowledge, though the disparities appear to be decreasing. While heterophilic research collaborations (those between men and women) show some evidence of higher productivity, homophilic collaborations (between males) have greater impact. The findings highlight gender imbalances in international collaborations, in SSCI listed journals, in first authoring, and by country. There is evidence of higher collaborative levels amongst male authors and the differences have increased over time. The positioning of men and women within tourism scholarly networks shows no marked differences. Practical Implications: This data-driven analysis provides decision-makers and policymakers with evidence to support well targeted programs that advance female contributions in hospitality and tourism research collaborations. For example, senior academics and University administrators might offer support for female researchers to become more actively involved in hospitality and tourism research groups and projects. Universities or schools might also seek to encourage collaborations between male and female researchers in their performance indicators. Originality/Value: This study is one of the first to examine gender disparities and positioning in collaborative hospitality and tourism research

Cell Cycle Regulation of the Stem Loop Binding Protein: A Key Regulator in Histone mRNA Metabolism

Metazoan replication-dependent histone mRNAs are unique among eukaryotic mRNAs since they lack polyadenylated tails, instead ending in a conserved stem-loop. Expression of these histone mRNAs is tightly cell cycle regulated mostly via posttranscriptional mechanisms which are mediated by the 3’ stem-loop. The stem loop binding protein (SLBP), which binds to 3’ end of histone mRNAs, plays a major role in histone mRNA metabolism by participating in multiple steps including histone mRNA processing, translation and stability. SLBP expression is limited to S phase, and cell-cycle regulation of SLBP is one of the major mechanisms that restrict histone mRNA biosynthesis and thus histone production to the S phase. The SLBP level is quite low during G1 and it dramatically increases towards S phase. It has been shown that the low level of SLBP at early G1 is due to the low translation efficiency of SLBP mRNA and the translation of SLBP is activated as cells approach S phase. At the end of S phase, SLBP is rapidly degraded depending on phosphorylations of two threonines in N-terminal SFTTP sequences. In this dissertation, I have further elucidated the molecular details of the mechanisms involved in cell cycle regulation of SLBP expression. I have determined Cyclin A/Cdk1 as the kinase that triggers degradation of SLBP at the end of S phase by phosphorylating SLBP Thr61. Cyclin A/Cdk1 activity is cell cycle regulated similar to SLBP Thr61 phosphorylation and is the major activity in late S-phase cells that phosphorylates Thr61. We propose that as Cyclin A/Cdk1 activity reaches to certain level near the end of S-phase, and it triggers SLBP degradation as one of the mechanisms to shut down histone mRNA biosynthesis. Moreover, I have shown that the SLBP coding sequence is sufficient to induce low translational efficiency of SLBP mRNA as a regulation to keep the SLBP protein level low at early G1. I further showed that at some point in early G1, SLBP translation efficiency recovers back to S phase level but protein stability decreases. It is likely that there is then regulated degradation of SLBP limiting SLBP level until next G1/S

Effects of hemolysis interference on routine biochemistry parameters

Introduction: Hemolysis is still the most common reason for rejecting samples, while reobtaining a new sample is an important problem. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of hemolysis in different hemolysis levels for mostly used biochemical parameters to prevent unnecessary rejecti-ons. Materials and methods: Sixteen healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. Four hemolysis levels were constituted according to hemoglobin concentrations and they were divided into five groups: Gro-up I: 0-0.10 g/L, Group II: 0.10-0.50 g/L, Group III: 0.51-1.00 g/L, Group IV: 1.01-2.50 g/L, Group V: 2.51-4.50 g/L. Lysis was achieved by mechanical trauma. Results: Hemolysis interference affected lactate dehydrogenase (LD) and aspartate aminotransfera-se (AST) almost at undetectable hemolysis by visual inspection (plasma hemoglobin 1 g/L). Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), cholesterol, gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT), and inorganic phosphate (P) concentrations were not interfered up to severely hemolyzed levels (hemoglobin: 2.5-4.5 g/L). Albumin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), amylase, chloride, HDL-cholesterol, creatine kinase (CK), glucose, magnesium, total protein, triglycerides, un-saturated iron binding capacity (UIBC) and uric acid differences were statistically significant, but re-mained within the CLIA limits. Conclusion: To avoid preanalytical visual inspection for hemolysis detection, improper sample rejec-tion, and/or rerun because of hemolysis, it is recommended in this study that, routine determination of plasma or serum free hemoglobin concentrations is important. For the analytes interfered with hemolysis, new samples have to be requested

The effect of storage time and freeze-thaw cycles on the stability of serum samples

Introduction: Optimal storage of serum specimens in central laboratories for a long period for multicenter reference interval studies, or epidemiologic studies remains to be determined. We aimed to examine the analytical stability of chemistry analytes following numerous freeze-thaw and long term storage. Materials and methods: Serum samples were obtained from 15 patients. Following baseline measurement, sera of each subject were aliquoted and stored at -20 ˚C for two experiments. A group of sera were kept frozen for up to 1, 2 and 3 months and then analyzed for stability. The other experiment consisted of one to ten times of freeze and thaw cycles. Total of 17 chemistry analytes were assayed at each time point. The results were compared with those obtained from the initial analysis of fresh samples. Median or mean changes from baseline (T0) concentrations were evaluated both statistically and clinically according to the desirable bias. Results: Of the analytes studied, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatine kinase (CK), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), direct bilirubin, glucose, creatinine, cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL) were stable in all conditions. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid, total protein, albumin, total bilirubin, calcium, lactate dehydrogenase (LD) were changed significantly (P < 0.005). Conclusions: As a result, common clinical chemistry analytes, with considering the variability of unstable analytes, showed adequote stability after 3 months of storage in sera at -20 °C, or up to ten times of freeze-thaw cycle. All the same, such analysis can only be performed for exceptional cases, and this should be taken into account while planning studies

Bibliometric studies in tourism

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in Annals of Tourism Research on 02/11/2016, available online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2016.10.006 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.This study evaluates bibliometric studies in tourism, depicts emerging themes, and offers critical discussions for theory development and future research. To achieve this aim, 190 papers with bibliometric analyses from leading hospitality and tourism journals were selected and critically analyzed. The research findings reveal that bibliometric articles published in these journals significantly increased after 2008. However, systematic review studies emerged as the major group, and relatively few studies utilized evaluative bibliometric and relational bibliometric studies. Study results suggest that paucity still exists, particularly in relational bibliometric studies in tourism. This is one of the first studies in this area that offers critical discussions and suggestions related to theory development and future research in this research vein

The link among board characteristics, corporate social responsibility performance, and financial performance: Evidence from the hospitality and tourism industry

The aim of this study is twofold: to explore whether board characteristics (i.e. a sustainability committee, board independence, board diversity, and board diligence) lead to greater corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance, and to test whether CSR performance enhances firms\u27 financial performance in the hospitality and tourism (H&T) industry. Data were collected from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database for the H&T firms listed there between 2011 and 2018. We employed panel data analysis, after which we ran robustness tests. The results indicated that having a CSR committee and female directors on the board are robust factors driving firms to show superior CSR performance in all dimensions, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG). Independent directors and directors\u27 diligence selectively enhance the overall CSR score and individual pillars of CSR. Investigating the relationship between CSR performance and firms\u27 financial performance did not produce a significant outcome. The findings propose a straightforward roadmap for H&T firms and policymakers to identify characteristics of CSR-friendly boards

Cornual molar ectopic pregnancy

The aim of this study is to present a rarely seen cornual molar ectopic pregnancy case regarding with literature. 36 years old patient with the third pregnancy was referred to our clinic with the prediagnosis of viable ectopic pregnancy. The patient had two vaginal delivery history and she had vaginal bleeding as spotting onwards fifteen days. Ultrasonographicassessment demonstrated ectopic pregnancy with positive fetal cardiac activity and 8mm crown-rump length (6W5D) at right cornual region. The patient was performed cornotomy with laparotomy. Postoperative pathological evaluation was reported as a partial molar pregnancy. β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) values declined dramatically and so additional treatment was not applied. Molar ectopic pregnancy findings are usually seen as conventional pregnancies and β-hCG values and histopathological evaluation is important for correct diagnosis and follow up

Intellectual capital in hospitality and tourism: a critical review and future research agenda

Purpose The purpose of this research is to provide a critical review of the intellectual capital (IC) research in hospitality and tourism (HT) literature. Design/methodology/approach This study uses 141 research papers published on IC in HT between 2003 and 2021 to offer the findings of a systematic review of publications that cover the issue of IC as a holistic concept, rather than just a component of it, within the sector. Findings The progress on the topic is addressed. The authors\u27 findings also reveal the related research productivity, main themes compared to other service sectors and methodologies applied in the knowledge field. In order to provide a tangible structure in the field, a research agenda is offered. Research limitations/implications This study analyzed the development of IC research in the HT literature by focusing on journal articles in the Scopus database. The findings could aid researchers in (re)designing their study goals so they may add to both general IC literature and literature related to HT. Originality/value A strong positive relationship between IC and HT organizations’ performance has been demonstrated, but no study has previously mapped the research constituents of publications in IC research. To contribute to the endeavor of knowledge consolidation on this subject, the authors\u27 paper covers the research that has been done so far on the under-researched issue of IC in HT from a new perspective