bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Promoting entrepreneurship based on university students' perceptions of entrepreneurial attitude, university environment, entrepreneurial culture and entrepreneurial training
Authors: Valencia-Arias Alejandro , Arango-Botero Diana , Sánchez-Torres Javier A.
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to verify some relationships between entrepreneurial attitude, university environment, entrepreneurial culture and entrepreneurial training, which can be used to promote entrepreneurship among university students.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 3,005 questionnaires answered by students from ten universities in Colombia was gathered and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used for the analysis.

Findings

The results show that the more a student perceives an entrepreneurial culture and the more training he or she receives, the more entrepreneurial attitude he or she will have. Also, it was found that entrepreneurial culture has a positive effect on university environment, and the latter has a positive effect on entrepreneurial training.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of this study was that only ten Colombian universities were sampled; therefore, general inferences cannot be made. Additionally, the variables investigated here may have not accurately measured the full scale of the entrepreneurship programmes in such universities or the way the culture of these institutions had a direct impact on students. Projects such as the Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students' Survey (GUESSS), which measure variables related to entrepreneurship at the university level, enable universities to shape their policies around this important topic. This study indicates that universities should offer training in entrepreneurial, problem-solving and communication skills to produce entrepreneurs who can better face current challenges.

Originality/value

Other studies have discussed entrepreneurial culture, but they usually deal with university environment, entrepreneurial training and entrepreneurial attitudes separately. This study integrates all these factors and measures the level of interaction between them.
Organizational resilience, job satisfaction and business performance
Authors: Beuren Ilse Maria , dos Santos Vanderlei , Theiss Viviane
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze the effects of organizational resilience on job satisfaction and business performance in companies that have undergone corporate reorganizations.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was carried out on a sample of 102 executives and managers from Brazilian companies that underwent corporate reorganization. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results indicate that organizational resilience influences business performance (in the dimensions of economy-financial, customers and processes/learning) and job satisfaction (in the dimensions of financial and personal benefits). However, the relations between job satisfaction and business performance were partial, indicating that satisfaction can affect performance through other variables.

Research limitations/implications

The main study implication lies on the empirical immersion regarding the effects of active organizational resilience on multi-faceted business performance, to the detriment of only the financial view and on job satisfaction.

Practical implications

The distinct effects of resilience on business performance and job satisfaction provide managers with insight into how to allocate resources, in order to benefit the interests of both employer and employee.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to provide empirical evidence of the effects of active organizational resilience on multi-dimensional business performance. The results provide new insights into this relationship and may clarify divergent results found in the literature. It also provides evidence of the effects of active organizational resilience on job satisfaction in companies that have undergone corporate reorganizations, events that are supposed to require resilient skills.
SSVEP-based active control of an upper limb exoskeleton using a low-cost brain–computer interface
Authors: Xu Yue , Wu Qingcong , Chen Bai , Chen Xi
Published: August 2021

Purpose

For the robot-assisted upper limb rehabilitation training process of the elderly with damaged neuromuscular channels and hemiplegic patients, bioelectric signals are added to transform the traditional passive training mode into the active training mode.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper mainly builds a steady-state visual stimulation interface, an electroencephalography (EEG) signal processing platform and an exoskeleton robot verification platform. The target flashing stimulation blocks provide visual stimulation at the specified position according to the specified frequency and stimulate EEG signals of different frequency bands. The EEG signal-processing platform constructed in this paper removes the noise by using Butterworth band-pass filtering and common average reference filtering on the obtained signals. Further, the features are extracted to identify the volunteer’s active movement intention through the canonical correlation analysis (CCA) method. The classification results are transmitted to the upper limb exoskeleton robot control system, combined with the position and posture of the exoskeleton robot to control the joint motion of robot.

Findings

Through a large number of experimental studies, the average accuracy of offline recognition of motion intention recognition can reach 86.1%. The control strategy with a three-instruction judgment method reduces the average execution error rate of the entire control system to 6.75%. Online experiments verify the feasibility of the steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP)-based rehabilitation system.

Originality/value

An EEG signal analysis method based on SSVEP is integrated into the control of an upper limb exoskeleton robot, transforming the traditional passive training mode into the active training mode. The device used to record EEG is of very low cost, which has the potential to promote the rehabilitation system for further widely applications.
Wearable sensor-based pattern mining for human activity recognition: deep learning approach
Authors: Bijalwan Vishwanath , Semwal Vijay Bhaskar , Gupta Vishal
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to deal with the human activity recognition using human gait pattern. The paper has considered the experiment results of seven different activities: normal walk, jogging, walking on toe, walking on heel, upstairs, downstairs and sit-ups.

Design/methodology/approach

In this current research, the data is collected for different activities using tri-axial inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor enabled with three-axis accelerometer to capture the spatial data, three-axis gyroscopes to capture the orientation around axis and 3° magnetometer. It was wirelessly connected to the receiver. The IMU sensor is placed at the centre of mass position of each subject. The data is collected for 30 subjects including 11 females and 19 males of different age groups between 10 and 45 years. The captured data is pre-processed using different filters and cubic spline techniques. After processing, the data are labelled into seven activities. For data acquisition, a Python-based GUI has been designed to analyse and display the processed data. The data is further classified using four different deep learning model: deep neural network, bidirectional-long short-term memory (BLSTM), convolution neural network (CNN) and CNN-LSTM. The model classification accuracy of different classifiers is reported to be 58%, 84%, 86% and 90%.

Findings

The activities recognition using gait was obtained in an open environment. All data is collected using an IMU sensor enabled with gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer in both offline and real-time activity recognition using gait. Both sensors showed their usefulness in empirical capability to capture a precised data during all seven activities. The inverse kinematics algorithm is solved to calculate the joint angle from spatial data for all six joints hip, knee, ankle of left and right leg.

Practical implications

This work helps to recognize the walking activity using gait pattern analysis. Further, it helps to understand the different joint angle patterns during different activities. A system is designed for real-time analysis of human walking activity using gait. A standalone real-time system has been designed and realized for analysis of these seven different activities.

Originality/value

The data is collected through IMU sensors for seven activities with equal timestamp without noise and data loss using wirelessly. The setup is useful for the data collection in an open environment outside the laboratory environment for activity recognition. The paper also presents the analysis of all seven different activity trajectories patterns.
Examining effectiveness of online and offline channel integration
Authors: Oh Chung Heon
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Channel conflicts between initial providers (IPs) and independent middlemen (IMM) can hinder the market penetration of IPs, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises with low brand awareness.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study is used to describe the introduction of an agent-friendly graphic user interface (AFGUI) as a compromise for the basic needs of the IP and IMM, both for the successful market entry of IPs and to encourage the IMM to accept original brand manufacturing (OBM), which can maximize the benefits of IPs after a successful product/service launch.

Findings

This case study shows that the AFGUI significantly contributes to increasing the IMM’s OBM selection. Comparing the “before AFGUI introduction” group to the group of IMMs who have been SeaHerb’s – a manufacturer of brown seaweed extract – IMM for fewer than three years shows that the latter group’s OBM selection can positively affect the order amount.

Originality/value

The AFGUI can integrate traditional offline distribution channel systems into online distribution systems. Regarding the AFGUI’s functional effectiveness for preventing fake sellers and fake products, further research on its adoption by online platform providers (e.g. Amazon and eBay) is recommended.
Contingent conditions on the effectiveness of salesperson acquisition-retention ambidexterity: the motivation–opportunity–ability framework
Authors: Zheng Yaqin , Liu Dong , Zheng Yi , Zang Zhimei
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate moderators affecting the impact of salesperson acquisition-retention (AR) ambidexterity on sales performance based on the motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected triadic data through 391 questionnaires from salespeople, 50 questionnaires from sales managers and archival data about each salesperson’s performance. Hierarchical linear modeling was applied to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results indicate that salesperson AR ambidexterity positively affects sales performance. The positive effect is strengthened by capability control but weakened by outcome control and activity control. The authors also find that sales experience and market attractiveness hurt the effectiveness of salesperson AR ambidexterity.

Research limitations/implications

First, this study does not examine the mediating mechanism underlying the effect of salesperson AR ambidexterity. Second, sales-service ambidexterity is another ambidextrous variable for salespeople. Future research can consider AR and sales-service ambidexterity together.

Practical implications

First, managers should be cautious when encouraging experienced salespeople to conduct AR ambidexterity. Second, managers need to use capability control to motivate salespeople with AR ambidextrous behaviors. Third, AR ambidexterity could be not required in a market with many opportunities.

Originality/value

Although some studies have examined the effectiveness of salesperson AR ambidexterity, they reveal inconsistent findings, which suggest contingent conditions on the effectiveness of salesperson AR ambidexterity. However, the attention on the contingent conditions is limited. Therefore, this paper systematically investigates the contingent conditions from the MOA framework. The findings provide some insights into when salesperson AR ambidexterity is effective.
The influences of Islamic retail mix approach on purchase decisions
Authors: Monoarfa Hilda , Juliana Juliana , Setiawan Rahman , Abu Karim Rizuwan
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the influence of the Islamic retail mix of product, price, promotion and store atmosphere on consumers' purchase decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The research method is a survey with a purposive sampling technique, involving 100 respondents. The data was analyzed using the SEM PLS analysis tool.

Findings

Products and promotions are partially insignificant to purchasing decisions in Islamic retail. This is because consumers are convinced of all the products offered by the sharia retail mix, so they are less concerned with products and promotions. However, this study reinforces that price and store atmosphere has a significant impact on purchasing decisions in Islamic retail.

Research limitations/implications

This study focuses on product, price, promotion and store as its variable dependent, with two of the variables are less significant compared to the rest. In addition, the samples are relatively small, leading to concerns about its ability to generalize the results of the study. The instruments that are used are also relatively limited. Additionally, the relevant characteristics of respondents are not evenly distributed. Thus, further study investigating similar topics might need to increase the number of samples, expand the characteristics of the sample, and including such variables as process, location, brand equity and customer’s trust level.

Practical implications

To encourage consumers to make purchases on Islamic retail, companies should emphasize price and store atmosphere, which are the main considerations for consumers in making purchases at Islamic retail. Product and promotion are less prominent in Islamic retail because they are similar to those carried out by conventional retail.

Originality/value

This paper is significant in investigating the effect of sharia retail product mix, price, promotion and store atmosphere on consumer purchasing decisions at Sehati Muslim Mart Daarut Tauhid (SMM-DT), which is located in a famous boarding school in Indonesia. This study has succeeded in revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the variables that influence consumer purchasing decisions in Islamic retail.
Innovation capabilities and the organization of the firm: evidence from Brazil
Authors: Pufal Nathália Amarante , Zawislak Paulo Antônio
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine different types of organization of the firm considering the innovation capabilities of manufacturing firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors carried out an innovation survey with Brazilian manufacturing firms. A sample of 1,156 firms was analyzed in this paper. Collected data were analyzed using multivariate data analysis techniques. From an innovation capabilities approach, it was possible to identify different types of organization of the firm.

Findings

Results show four different types of organization of the firm: advanced, intermediate and basic stability-oriented and change-oriented. Each type presents a different innovation capabilities arrangement. The successful strategies toward innovation are related to change-oriented organization of the firm and advanced stability-oriented organization of the firm.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to the literature by presenting a different view on the organization of the firm, encompassing the capabilities approach and thus a higher level on the perception of firms' heterogeneity. This study contributes to narrow the literature gap on how firms internally coordinate its different capabilities into a coherent organization to sustain an innovative behavior.

Practical implications

These straightforward findings can serve as a guideline so that managers can conduct changes within their companies toward more innovation. Managers can reconsider its organization as a way to foment innovation, once it is identified as a key strategy for competitiveness.

Social implications

This study may help managers understand that focusing on stability-driven capabilities is riskier if change-driven capabilities are not present in an adequate and aligned level of development. The outcome may be the growth of the cost structure greater than the potential return. Conversely, managers should also understand that once change-driven capabilities are in a glance, they need do follow up with stability-driven capabilities. Here, the risk is not having an adequate structure to sustain the upcoming growth, arising from innovation. In short, not only “cost and value” should be taken together, but they must be arranged following the specific situation of the company. Every company should manage costs either to sustain new added value or to allow the addition of new value.

Originality/value

The study is based on a unique dataset that traces a large set of companies, being able to check different types of firm organization and associate it with innovation capabilities. The study relates to an emerging economy, which has not received adequate attention until now, largely because of the lack of micro-level data. The study is based on a robust theoretical model of innovation capabilities, which is being tested through such data. Finally, results elucidate ways to improve innovation performance of firms.
A comparison of Australians, Chinese and Sri Lankans' payment preference at point-of-sale
Authors: Senali Madugoda Gunaratnege , Cripps Helen , Meek Stephanie , Ryan Maria M.
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The rise of digital transaction technology has been transformative for businesses however consumer attitudes to this technology can vary. The comparison of Australians, Chinese and Sri Lankans’ consumers salient attitudes toward payment methods at the Point-of-Sale (POS) provides businesses with insights into the factors impacting consumers' payment preference.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative methodology was employed for data collection from Australian, Chinese and Sri Lankan participants. A combination of focus groups and individual interviews were carried out with a total of 35 participants.

Findings

Results indicate that factors of perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility, perceived risk, perceived rewards, perceived situations and social influence impact consumers' payment preference at POS across all three countries, however the degree of impact varies in importance across the three countries.

Practical implications

In the cross-cultural comparison of the consumers' payment preference, this research highlights the complex interplay of factors that shapes these payment preferences. The findings, given the growing digitization of transactions, provides banking and financial institutions with a foundational model that can be used to improve their services and business model.

Originality/value

Previous studies failed to distinguish between payment choice at the time of the transaction and payment preference which is repeated behaviour. This study is the first to compare the consumers' payment preference across Australian, Chinese and Sri Lankan consumers and responds to calls for additional research that generalises consumers' payment preferences across cultures.
Towards nearly zero energy building concept – visual comfort and energy efficiency assessments in a classroom
Authors: Mahyuddin Norhayati , Samzadeh Mozhgan , Zaid Suzaini M. , Ab Ghafar Norafida
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to raise awareness on how a simple action by the occupant can significantly influence building energy efficiency, cost and CO2 emissions to the environment. Classrooms in schools are the primary energy consumers (45.4%) due to the use of artificial lighting, despite Malaysia's tropical climate being ideal for daylight exploitation. This paper focuses on assessing the workplane daylight distribution quality and quantity in baseline and existing conditions of a typical pre-school classroom in Kuala Lumpur as a model-based exploration strategy towards nearly Zero Energy Buildings.

Design/methodology/approach

The adopted method is based on the calculation of average daylight factor (DF), daylight illuminance level (IL) and uniformity ratio (UR) parameters affected by the internal fixed drapes through computational and in situ measurements according to the requirements of the law and respective standards comprising the MS1525:2019, GBI and BREEAM.

Findings

The results show how user behaviour can turn a well-daylit area (Net Lettable Area>90%) into a poor-daylit area (NLA<5%) by sacrificing natural daylight. All the parameters' values were significantly decreased from 10% (UR) up to 88% (ADF). Full dependency on artificial lighting has imposed a total of RM18858.90 and CO2 emissions of 25,362 kg for all pre-schools' classrooms in the country per day.

Social implications

The paper develops the occupants' awareness on their contribution to climate change and global warming through the information and transparency provided.

Originality/value

The evidence indicates that a simple action by the occupant can significantly influence visual comfort, EE, cost and CO2 emissions to the environment.
Information traceability platforms for asset data lifecycle: blockchain-based technologies
Authors: Brandín Roberto , Abrishami Sepehr
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The emergence of new digital technologies in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution presents a turning point that could change the fate of the traditional ways of designing, build and manage asset data. Disruptive technologies such as Blockchain and theInternet of things (IoT) are one of the main pillars that are driving this revolution. The integration of decentralised networks and automated workflows has the potential to become a pivotal factor in construction projects, especially in supply chain ecosystems within the off-site manufacturing field. Obstacles related to fragmented information, interoperability, transparency and “big data” management are the main drivers for change that the industry needs to address. Whilst organisations and users can automate workflows and processes by utilising IoT technology to transfer data without human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction, the interaction, storage and management of the data generated are not safe or reliable.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach outlined in this paper addresses the challenges that IoT and centralised networks present. Blockchain, a peer-to-peer distributed database, offers the possibility to support and maintain the asset information without interruptions in all the stages of the life cycle. The synergy between these technologies, along with other techniques, methods and platforms (such as building information modeling (BIM)), based on a single environment, will support information traceability from the strategic definition to end of life.

Findings

The framework of this study presents an excellent opportunity to apply new workflows and processes with the application of new technologies and protocols. It benefits from a well-established platform such as BIM to enable the coordination and management of digital assets as well as giving illustration and collaboration to the supply chain members. IoT and Blockchain are the other layers that work together with the third layer (BIM). This framework proposed the use of these platforms to ensure the information traceability of physical and digital assets, data automation and information management, in a dynamic supply chain ecosystem, bringing efficiency and transparency to stakeholders and users.

Practical implications

This study provides an exploratory framework to be used by the supply chain members in offsite manufacturing, and the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry in general, to track asset information throughout their entire life cycle securely and transparently.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the knowledge of IoT, Blockchain technology and BIM use in offsite manufacturing under the AEC industry. It provides a basis for future research by professionals, experts and academics regarding these technologies and their workflows.
The new concept of quality in the digital era: a human resource empowerment perspective
Authors: Balouei Jamkhaneh Hadi , Shahin Arash , Parkouhi Sahar Valipour , Shahin Reza
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study aims to identify the drivers of human resource empowerment in understanding the new concept of Quality 4.0 in the digital era.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the literature of quality management evolution in the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) and the position of the required workforce in Quality 4.0 were reviewed and then by using the opinions of experts and managers of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS) firms, a set of driver effects on the readiness and ability of human resources was identified in the context of Quality 4.0. After identifying the drivers, cause-and-effect relationships among these drivers were investigated using the Grey DEMATEL technique.

Findings

A total of 29 Quality 4.0 drivers of readiness and workforce ability were identified, based on multiple interactions of quality management in different stages of the production cycle. They were divided into new valuation approaches, composite dimensions, team creativity and thorough inspection. “Technical abilities and capability to solve problems” was identified as the most significant driver.

Practical implications

Findings help KIBS firms to take necessary measures and plans. Consequently, they can increase the readiness and ability of human resources based on the changes in managing Quality 4.0. Also, considering the importance of each driver, they will be able to take a step towards total quality improvement.

Originality/value

Despite extensive research on the subject of the fourth Industrial Revolution, research on the human aspects required for managing Quality 4.0 is limited. This study was performed to examine the cause-and-effect relationships between human resource drivers to adapt to the changes in Quality 4.0.
Viable but non‐cultivable state: a strategy for Staphylococcus aureus survivable in dual‐species biofilms with Pseudomonas aeruginosa?
Authors: Magalhães Andreia Patrícia , Grainha Tânia , Sousa Ana Margarida , França Ângela , Cerca Nuno , Pereira Maria Olívia
Published: August 2021

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are two of the most prevalent respiratory pathogens in cystic fibrosis patients. Both organisms often cause chronic and recalcitrant infections, in large part due to their ability to form biofilms, being these mixed‐species infections correlated with poor clinical outcomes. In this study, the hypothesis that S. aureus adopts phenotypes allowing its coexistence with P. aeruginosa during biofilm growth was put forward. We noticed that S. aureus undergoes a viable but non‐cultivable (VBNC) state in the dominated P. aeruginosa dual‐species consortia, whatsoever the strains used to form the biofilms. Moreover, an increased expression of genes associated with S. aureus virulence was detected suggesting that the phenotypic switching to VBNC state might account for S. aureus pathogenicity and, in turn, influence the clinical outcome of the mixed‐species infection. Thus, P. aeruginosa seems to induce both phenotypic and transcriptomic changes in S. aureus, helping its survival and coexistence in the dual‐species biofilms. Overall, our findings illustrate how interspecies interactions can modulate bacterial virulence in vitro, contributing to a better understanding of the behaviour of P. aeruginosa–S. aureus dual‐species biofilms.
PP‐1β and PP‐2Aα modulate cAMP response element‐binding protein (CREB) functions in aging control and stress response through de‐regulation of αB‐crystallin gene and p300‐p53 signaling axis
Authors: Wang Ling , Zhang Lan , Gong Xiao‐Dong , Fu Jia‐Ling , Gan Yu‐Wen , Hou Min , Nie Qian , Xiang Jia‐Wen , Xiao Yuan , Wang Yan , Zheng Shu‐Yu , Yang Lan , Chen Huimin , Xiang Meng‐Qing , Liu Yizhi , Li David Wan‐Cheng
Published: August 2021

The function of the transcription factor, cAMP response element‐binding protein (CREB), is activated through S133 phosphorylation by PKA and others. Regarding its inactivation, it is not well defined. cAMP response element‐binding protein plays an essential role in promoting cell proliferation, neuronal survival and the synaptic plasticity associated with long‐term memory. Our recent studies have shown that CREB is an important player in mediating stress response. Here, we have demonstrated that CREB regulates aging process through suppression of αB‐crystallin and activation of the p300‐p53‐Bak/Bax signaling axis. First, we determined that two specific protein phosphatases, PP‐1β and PP‐2Aα, can inactivate CREB through S133 dephosphorylation. Subsequently, we demonstrated that cells expressing the S133A‐CREB, a mutant mimicking constant dephosphorylation at S133, suppress CREB functions in aging control and stress response. Mechanistically, S133A‐CREB not only significantly suppresses CREB control of αB‐crystallin gene, but also represses CREB‐mediated activation of p53 acetylation and downstream Bak/Bax genes. cAMP response element‐binding protein suppression of αB‐crystallin and its activation of p53 acetylation are major molecular events observed in human cataractous lenses of different age groups. Together, our results demonstrate that PP‐1β and PP‐2Aα modulate CREB functions in aging control and stress response through de‐regulation of αB‐crystallin gene and p300‐p53‐Bax/Bak signaling axis, which regulates human cataractogenesis in the aging lens.
The impact of COVID‐19 on the sensitivity of D‐dimer for pulmonary embolism
Authors: Elberts Samuel J. , Bateman Ryan , Koutsoubis Alexandra , London Kory S. , White Jennifer L. , Fields J. Matthew
Published: August 2021

Objective

This study seeks to evaluate the test characteristics of D‐dimer for pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients with a concurrent diagnosis of COVID‐19. We hypothesized that the sensitivity of D‐dimer for PE at current institutional cut points would be similar to those without COVID‐19.

Methods

This is a multicenter retrospective observational cohort study across five urban and suburban EDs in the same health care system. The electronic health record was queried for all computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) studies from December 1, 2019, to October 22, 2020. All ED patients who underwent CTPA had D‐dimer and COVID‐19 testing completed in a single encounter were included in the study. Baseline demographics were obtained. Test characteristics of D‐dimer for PE were calculated for patients with and without COVID‐19. Additionally, receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curves were constructed for two different D‐dimer assays.

Results

There were 1158 patient encounters that met criteria for analysis. Performance of D‐dimer testing for PE was similar between COVID‐19–positive and –negative patients. In COVID‐19–positive patients, the sensitivity was 100% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 87.6%–100%), specificity was 11.9% (95% CI = 7.9%–17.1%), and negative predictive value (NPV) was 100%. In COVID‐19–negative patients the sensitivity was 97.6% (95% CI = 91.5%–99.7%), specificity was 14.4% (95% CI = 12.1%–17%), and NPV was 98.3% (95% CI = 93.8%–99.6%). For assay 1 the area under the curve (AUC) for COVID‐19–positive patients was 0.76 (95% CI = 0.68–0.83), and for COVID‐19–negative patients, 0.73 (95% CI = 0.69–0.77). For assay 2, AUC for COVID‐19–positive patients was 0.85 (95% CI = 0.77–0.92), and for COVID‐19–negative patients, 0.80 (95% CI = 0.77–0.84). Inspection of the ROC curve for assay 1 revealed that 100% sensitivity was maintained up to a threshold of 0.67 FEU (fibrinogen equivalent units; from 0.50 FEU) with an increase in specificity to 29% (from 18.7%), and for assay 2, 100% sensitivity was maintained up to a threshold of 662 D‐dimer units (DDU; from 230 DDU) with an increased specificity to 59% (from 6.1%).

Conclusion

Results from this multicenter retrospective study did not find a significant difference in sensitivity of D‐dimer for PE due to concomitant COVID‐19 infection. Further study is required to determine if PE can safely be excluded based on D‐dimer results alone in patients with suspected or proven COVID‐19 or if adjusted D‐dimer levels could have a role in management.
Letter: the diagnostic and prognostic significance of liver histology in alcoholic hepatitis
Authors: Vaz Karl , McLean Catriona , Majeed Ammar , Little Robert , Kemp William , Roberts Stuart
Published: August 2021

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Forrest et al and Forrest & Goldin papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16157 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16559
Editorial: liver disease in secondary care—‘money or your life’
Authors: Trivedi Palak. J.
Published: August 2021

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Roberts et al papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16488 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16562
Chronic stress experience, sleep, and physical activity: Relations with change in negative affect and acute stress response to a naturalistic stressor
Authors: Nordberg Hannah , Kroll Juliet L. , Rosenfield David , Chmielewski Michael , Ritz Thomas
Published: August 2021

Objectives

Prior research indicates that chronic stress increases allostatic load and alters individuals’ affective response to stress. Recent studies have linked health‐related behaviours including poor sleep and physical inactivity with elevated negative affect responses to stress. This study extends prior work to investigate chronic stress experience, sleep, and physical activity as predictors of negative affect and acute stress experience during acute, sustained naturalistic stress.

Design

Students (N = 637) were assessed during an academic semester and end‐of‐term final exam period.

Methods

Self‐report ratings of chronic stress experience, negative affect, acute stress experience, sleep, physical activity, demographics, and health were obtained. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses examined the extent to which chronic stress experience, sleep duration and sleep quality, habitual physical activity, and their interactions, predicted changes in negative affect and acute stress experience during final exams. Health‐related behaviours were also examined as mediators between chronic stress experience and changes in negative affect and acute stress experience.

Results

Greater chronic stress experience and shorter exam period sleep duration, but not habitual sleep duration or physical activity, predicted greater increases in negative affect and acute stress experience. Poorer overall sleep quality was a significant predictor in these models and partially mediated the relation between chronic stress experience and negative affect and acute stress experience.

Conclusions

Findings highlight the importance of chronic stress experience and sleep in predicting individuals’ affective health during naturalistic stress. Interventions that reduce chronic stress experience and improve sleep may help individuals’ buffer against impairments to affective health during these episodes.
Normal‐Driven Spherical Shape Analogies
Authors: Liu Hsueh‐Ti Derek , Jacobson Alec
Published: August 2021

This paper introduces a new method to stylize 3D geometry. The key observation is that the surface normal is an effective instrument to capture different geometric styles. Centered around this observation, we cast stylization as a shape analogy problem, where the analogy relationship is defined on the surface normal. This formulation can deform a 3D shape into different styles within a single framework. One can plug‐and‐play different target styles by providing an exemplar shape or an energy‐based style description (e.g., developable surfaces). Our surface stylization methodology enables Normal Captures as a geometric counterpart to material captures (MatCaps) used in rendering, and the prototypical concept of Spherical Shape Analogies as a geometric counterpart to image analogies in image processing.
Learning Direction Fields for Quad Mesh Generation
Authors: Dielen Alexander , Lim Isaak , Lyon Max , Kobbelt Leif
Published: August 2021

State of the art quadrangulation methods are able to reliably and robustly convert triangle meshes into quad meshes. Most of these methods rely on a dense direction field that is used to align a parametrization from which a quad mesh can be extracted. In this context, the aforementioned direction field is of particular importance, as it plays a key role in determining the structure of the generated quad mesh. If there are no user‐provided directions available, the direction field is usually interpolated from a subset of principal curvature directions. To this end, a number of heuristics that aim to identify significant surface regions have been proposed. Unfortunately, the resulting fields often fail to capture the structure found in meshes created by human experts. This is due to the fact that experienced designers can leverage their domain knowledge in order to optimize a mesh for a specific application. In the context of physics simulation, for example, a designer might prefer an alignment and local refinement that facilitates a more accurate numerical simulation. Similarly, a character artist may prefer an alignment that makes the resulting mesh easier to animate. Crucially, this higher level domain knowledge cannot be easily extracted from local curvature information alone. Motivated by this issue, we propose a data‐driven approach to the computation of direction fields that allows us to mimic the structure found in existing meshes, which could originate from human experts or other sources. More specifically, we make use of a neural network that aggregates global and local shape information in order to compute a direction field that can be used to guide a parametrization‐based quad meshing method. Our approach is a first step towards addressing this challenging problem with a fully automatic learning‐based method. We show that compared to classical techniques our data‐driven approach combined with a robust model‐driven method, is able to produce results that more closely exhibit the ground truth structure of a synthetic dataset (i.e. a manually designed quad mesh template fitted to a variety of human body types in a set of different poses).
Surface Map Homology Inference
Authors: Born J. , Schmidt P. , Campen M. , Kobbelt L.
Published: August 2021

A homeomorphism between two surfaces not only defines a (continuous and bijective) geometric correspondence of points but also (by implication) an identification of topological features, i.e. handles and tunnels, and how the map twists around them. However, in practice, surface maps are often encoded via sparse correspondences or fuzzy representations that merely approximate a homeomorphism and are therefore inherently ambiguous about map topology. In this work, we show a way to infer topological information from an imperfect input map between two shapes. In particular, we compute a homology map, a linear map that transports homology classes of cycles from one surface to the other, subject to a global consistency constraint. Our inference robustly handles imperfect (e.g., partial, sparse, fuzzy, noisy, outlier‐ridden, non‐injective) input maps and is guaranteed to produce homology maps that are compatible with true homeomorphisms between the input shapes. Homology maps inferred by our method can be directly used to transfer homological information between shapes, or serve as foundation for the construction of a proper homeomorphism guided by the input map, e.g., via compatible surface decomposition.
The Diamond Laplace for Polygonal and Polyhedral Meshes
Authors: Bunge A. , Botsch M. , Alexa M.
Published: August 2021

We introduce a construction for discrete gradient operators that can be directly applied to arbitrary polygonal surface as well as polyhedral volume meshes. The main idea is to associate the gradient of functions defined at vertices of the mesh with diamonds: the region spanned by a dual edge together with its corresponding primal element — an edge for surface meshes and a face for volumetric meshes. We call the operator resulting from taking the divergence of the gradientDiamondLaplacian. Additional vertices used for the construction are represented as affine combinations of the original vertices, so that the Laplacian operator maps from values at vertices to values at vertices, as is common in geometry processing applications. The construction is local, exactly the same for all types of meshes, and results in a symmetric negative definite operator with linear precision. We show that the accuracy of the Diamond Laplacian is similar or better compared to other discretizations. The greater versatility and generally good behavior come at the expense of an increase in the number of non‐zero coefficients that depends on the degree of the mesh elements.
Policing Race and Performing State Power: Immigration Enforcement and Undocumented Latinx Immigrant Precarity in Central Florida
Authors: Kline Nolan
Published: August 2021

In the United States, undocumented Latinx immigrants’ precarious social positions are rooted in aggressive immigration enforcement practices that create a contestant threat of detection and deportation. This threat extends into the US interior, and in some US cities, immigrant policing practices rely on law enforcement officers racially profiling Latinx immigrants. Several social scientists have described the numerous consequences of racially‐based immigrant policing, but insufficient scholarship examines the role urban and suburban spaces play in constructing the policing regimes that structure undocumented immigrants’ precarity. In this article, I examine the relationship between immigration enforcement regimes, automobiles, and the suburban roadways in a previously rural Central Florida exurb. Using frameworks of automobility, illegality, and necropolitics, I show how Central Florida’s expanding suburban infrastructure contributes to immigrant policing efforts. I further show how spectacles of immigration enforcement, such as parking border patrol vehicles along specific highways, are performances of state power to reinforce racial hierarchies. Overall, I argue that spatial and material conditions—such as driving vehicles that law enforcement officers associate with undocumented immigrants on specific roadways—serve to simultaneously underscore undocumented immigrants’ vulnerability and to signal to white residents how law enforcement officers maintain white supremacy by targeting undocumented Latinx drivers.
Augmentation stability and early wound healing outcomes of guided bone regeneration in peri‐implant dehiscence defects with L‐ and I‐shaped soft block bone substitutes: A clinical and radiographic study
Authors: Jung Eun‐Hee , Jeong Seong‐Nyum , Lee Jae‐Hong
Published: August 2021

Objectives

To retrospectively evaluate whether guided bone regeneration (GBR) with L‐ and I‐shaped demineralized bovine bone mineral with 10% collagen (DBBM‐C) differs from GBR with DBBM in terms of augmentation stability and early wound healing outcomes in peri‐implant dehiscence defects.

Methods

A total of 91 peri‐implant defects were grafted with 24 L‐ (GBR‐L), 22 I (GBR‐I)‐shaped DBBM‐C, and 45 DBBM (GBR‐P). Cone‐beam computed tomography images were obtained after surgery and at 5 months follow‐up. The horizontal thickness (HT0, HT2, HT4), vertical thickness (VT), and VT at 45° angle (45‐VT) of the augmented hard tissue were measured. Early postoperative discomfort and wound healing outcomes were assessed 2 weeks after surgery, and periotest values were also measured at 5 months in all groups.

Results

At 5 months follow‐up, the change at HT0 and VT of the GBR‐L (HT0: −0.63 ± 0.55 mm, VT: −0.77 ± 0.60 mm) and GBR‐I (HT0: −0.68 ± 0.53 mm, VT: −0.91 ± 0.73 mm) groups was significantly more stable than that of the GBR‐P (HT0: −1.30 ± 0.77 mm, VT: −1.57 ± 0.67 mm) group (p < .05). The GBR‐L group (−0.74 ± 0.54 mm) showed better augmentation stability than the other two groups at the change at 45‐VT. Early postoperative discomfort, wound healing outcomes, and periotest values did not differ significantly between the three groups.

Conclusion

Within the limitations of this study, L‐ and I‐shaped DBBM‐Cs used for GBR were more beneficial in terms of horizontal augmentation stability than DBBM after a 5‐month healing period.
SLCO1B1 *15 allele is associated with methotrexate‐induced nausea in pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Mehta Rishi S. , Taylor Zachary L. , Martin Lisa J. , Rosen Michael J. , Ramsey Laura B.
Published: August 2021

Low‐dose methotrexate (MTX) is an immunosuppressant used to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). SLCO1B1 genetic variation has been associated with delayed MTX clearance and increased toxicity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between SLCO1B1 genetic variation and MTX‐induced nausea in children with IBD. We performed a single center retrospective chart analysis of 278 patients who were prescribed MTX for IBD. Two hundred two patients had banked DNA and were genotyped for three SLCO1B1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs4149056, rs2306283, and rs11045819). Diplotypes were determined by combining the SNPs into *1, *4, *5, *14, *15, and *37 alleles. Incidence of nausea was abstracted from clinician notes. Prescriptions and demographics were extracted from the medical record. The cohort was 69.8% boys, 89.1% White, and 87.6% had a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease with a mean age of 16.0 (± 3.8) years. MTX‐induced nausea was noted in 34% of the cohort. MTX‐induced nausea was associated with the number of reduced‐function *15 alleles (p = 0.034) and occurred 2.26 times more often in patients with at least one *15 allele who did not initiate MTX treatment with concomitant ondansetron (p = 0.034). MTX‐induced nausea was significantly independently associated with SLCO1B1 diplotype (p = 0.006) after controlling for MTX dose group and concomitant ondansetron. Our data demonstrate that the SLCO1B1 *15 allele is associated with MTX‐induced nausea in pediatric patients with IBD. Additionally, *15 allele carriers could benefit from a dose reduction of MTX to reduce exposure and treatment initiation with concomitant ondansetron to reduce nausea.
Giant benign lymphangioendothelioma with positive expression of Wilms tumor 1: A case report
Authors: Teixeira Diogo , Canelhas Áurea , Costa Miguel , Magalhães César , Ferreira Eduarda Osório , César Artur
Published: August 2021

Benign lymphangioendothelioma (BL, acquired progressive lymphangioma) is a rare, slow‐growing lymphatic tumor, first described 40 years ago, with fewer than 50 published cases. Clinically, it presents as a skin‐colored or erythematous patch. Definitive diagnosis requires histopathological examination. The immunohistochemical staining profile is still controversial regarding Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) expression, a marker of proliferative and neoplastic, rather than malformative nature. Here, we report a case of a 60‐cm‐long BL on the breast of an adult female. Biopsy revealed irregular vascular spaces dissecting the collagen bundles lined by swollen endothelial cells but without cellular atypia. Positivity for podoplanin (D2‐40), CD31, and WT1 was observed, supporting the neoplastic nature of this lesion. Dermatologists and pathologists must be aware of this entity for early diagnosis and treatment.