bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A fast radiometric correction method for Sentinel-2 satellite images
Authors: Moradi Elahe , Sharifi Alireza
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Radiometric calibration is a method that estimates the reflection of the target from the measured input radiation. The purpose of this study is to radiometrically calibrate three spectral bands of Sentinel-2A, including green, red and infrared. For this purpose, Landsat-8 OLI data are used. Because they have bands with the same wavelength range and they have the same structure. As a result, Landsat-8 OLI is appropriate for relative radiometric calibration.

Design/methodology/approach

The method used in this study is radiometric calibration uncorrected data from a sensor with corrected data from another sensor. Also, another aim of this study is a comparison between radiometric correction data and data that, in addition to radiometric correction, has been sharpened with panchromatic data. In this method, both of them have been used for radiometric calibration. Calibration coefficients have been obtained using the first-order polynomial equation.

Findings

This study showed that the corrected data has more valid answers than corrected and sharpened data. This method studied three land-cover types, including soil, water and vegetation, which it obtained the most accurate coefficients of calibration for soil class because R-square in all three bands was above 88%, and the root mean square error in all three bands was below 0.01. In the case of water and vegetation classes, only results of red and infrared bands were suitable.

Originality/value

For validating this method, the radiometric correction module of SNAP software was used. According to the results, the coefficient of radiometric calibration of the Landsat-8 sensor was very close to the coefficients obtained from the corrected data by SNAP.
The mediating effect of work engagement on innovative work behavior and the role of psychological well-being in the job demands–resources (JD-R) model
Authors: Koroglu Şennur , Ozmen Omur
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study revisits the role of work engagement (WE) on innovative work behavior (IWB) in conjunction with the job demands–resources (JD-R) model, specifically examining its mediating role between antecedent variables of psychological well-being (PWB), interpersonal conflict (IPC) and perceived organizational support (POS).

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted within five different sectors and 416 work settings in Turkey. A cross-sectional, correlational research design was used, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to test the mediating effect of WE.

Findings

The results of the SEM provided partial support for eight hypotheses. The results of this study demonstrate a positive relationship between PWB, POS, WE and IWB. This indicates that resources are vital in increasing both WE and IWB. As expected, the correlation of IPC and IWB resulted in a negative relationship. The findings demonstrate a positive relationship between PWB and WE and IWB.

Research limitations/implications

Extending the model, future research could incorporate the antecedents as mediators and utilize them to further explore the mechanisms of employee engagement (EE) and the IWB link. It would also be beneficial to include other variables such as personal differences, trust, personal environment fit, fairness in the workplace, recognition and organizational culture and employee value proposition as moderators of EE and IWB.

Practical implications

The findings offer the suggestion of few practical applications such as the need to encourage organizations to enhance PWB to foster positive feelings in the work environment. This includes increasing employees' effort and dedication by utilizing POS in the workplace and considering employee's well-being. Additionally, EE should be an important organizational strategy to positively influence employee creativity within the workplace.

Social implications

This research was conducted within the Turkish business context; it would be worthwhile to validate the findings of this study in a multicultural context that did not share similar basic characteristics as those in Turkey. There could be a comparative study of EE between Turkey and other countries as a cross-cultural investigation.

Originality/value

The results of data analysis have revealed an enhanced understanding of the role of the mediation effect of WE on IWBs. This study also expands the concept that psychological well-being can enhance WE, which in turn corresponds to more IWB in the context of the JD-R model. The findings indicate that in order to better comprehend its function, IPC needs to be further examined with other antecedents.
Integrating risk management's best practices to estimate deep excavation projects’ time and cost
Authors: Heravi Gholamreza , Taherkhani Amir Hosein , Sobhkhiz Soroush , Hassandokht Mashhadi Ali , Zahiri-Hashemi Rouzbeh
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study provides an integrated risk-based cost and time estimation approach for deep excavation projects. The purpose is to identify the best practices in recent advances of excavation risk analysis (RA) and integrate them with traditional cost and time estimation methods.

Design/methodology/approach

The implemented best practices in this research are as follows: (1) fault-tree analysis (FTA) for risk identification (RI); (2) Bayesian belief networks (BBNs), fuzzy comprehensive analysis and Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) for risk analysis; and (3) sensitivity analysis and root-cause analysis (RCA) for risk response planning (RRP). The proposed approach is applied in an actual deep excavation project in Tehran, Iran.

Findings

The results show that the framework proposes a practical approach for integrating the risk management (RM) best practices in the domain of excavation projects with traditional cost and time estimation approaches. The proposed approach can consider the interrelationships between risk events and identify their root causes. Further, the approach engages different stakeholders in the process of RM, which is beneficial for determining risk owners and responsibilities.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the project management body of knowledge by integrating recent RM best practices in deep excavation projects for probabilistic estimation of project time and cost.
Be zhongyong and be ethical: dual leadership in promoting employees’ thriving at work
Authors: Guo Shenghao , Hu Qianqian
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The roles that one single leadership style plays on motivating employees have been studied. However, in reality, an individual may exhibit more than one type of leadership style. This study aims to reveal how zhongyong leadership can lead to employees’ thriving at work in China, with a glance at ethical leadership as a moderator. The intrinsic motivation of employees is also considered as a mediator to show the specific path that bridges employees’ perceived leadership styles and their thriving at work.

Design/methodology/approach

Using three-period data from a sample of 346 employees working in Chinese companies, this study performs regression and bootstrap analyzes in PROCESS macro to test the hypotheses. By adopting the Johnson-Neyman technique, this study further identifies the specific moderating range within which ethical leadership makes a difference.

Findings

The positive correlation between zhongyong leadership and employees’ thriving at work only withstand scrutiny when the level of ethical leadership is sufficiently high and employees’ intrinsic motivation plays a mediating role. Specifically, when the ethical leadership level is higher than 6.022 (on a seven-point scale), zhongyong leadership can significantly increase the intrinsic motivation of employees and their thriving at work will be stronger as a result. On the contrary, when ethical leadership is lower than 1.089 (on a seven-point scale), this mediated relationship will head exactly in the opposite direction.

Originality/value

This study focuses on investigating the effects of multiple positive leadership behaviors on promoting employees’ thriving at work. The resultant findings provide compelling evidence for the integration of different leadership styles in practice and consolidate the theoretical underpinnings of related research on thriving at work.
Wire length optimization of VLSI circuits using IWO algorithm and its hybrid
Authors: Nath Subhrapratim , Sing Jamuna Kanta , Sarkar Subir Kumar
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Advancement in optimization of VLSI circuits involves reduction in chip size from micrometer to nanometer level as well as fabrication of a billions of transistors in a single die where global routing problem remains significant with a trade-off of power dissipation and interconnect delay. This paper aims to solve the increased complexity in VLSI chip by minimization of the wire length in VLSI circuits using a new approach based on nature-inspired meta-heuristic, invasive weed optimization (IWO). Further, this paper aims to achieve maximum circuit optimization using IWO hybridized with particle swarm optimization (PSO).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper projects the complexities of global routing process of VLSI circuit design in mapping it with a well-known NP-complete problem, the minimum rectilinear Steiner tree (MRST) problem. IWO meta-heuristic algorithm is proposed to meet the MRST problem more efficiently and thereby reducing the overall wire-length of interconnected nodes. Further, the proposed approach is hybridized with PSO, and a comparative analysis is performed with geosteiner 5.0.1 and existing PSO technique over minimization, consistency and convergence against available benchmark.

Findings

This paper provides high performance–enhanced IWO algorithm, which keeps in generating low MRST value, thereby successful wire length reduction of VLSI circuits is significantly achieved as evident from the experimental results as compared to PSO algorithm and also generates value nearer to geosteiner 5.0.1 benchmark. Even with big VLSI instances, hybrid IWO with PSO establishes its robustness over achieving improved optimization of overall wire length of VLSI circuits.

Practical implications

This paper includes implications in the areas of optimization of VLSI circuit design specifically in the arena of VLSI routing and the recent developments in routing optimization using meta-heuristic algorithms.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills an identified need to study optimization of VLSI circuits where minimization of overall interconnected wire length in global routing plays a significant role. Use of nature-based meta-heuristics in solving the global routing problem is projected to be an alternative approach other than conventional method.
COVID-19, migration and inclusive cities through e-governance: strategies to manage asylum seekers in Durban, South Africa
Authors: Kariuki Paul , Goyayi Maria Lauda , Ofusori Lizzy Oluwatoyin
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the role of electronic governance (e-governance) in enabling asylum seekers’ access to public services in the city of Durban, South Africa. Because of COVID-19, the government scaled down its operations, limiting access to public services, including among migrants.

Design/methodology/approach

Because of COVID-19-related restrictions, a systematic review was conducted of the relevant academic literature as well as the information portals of relevant government departments, municipalities and research reports on migration and refugees in South Africa. A total of 320 peer-reviewed research articles were identified. These were filtered and 68 relevant articles were selected.

Findings

The study found that asylum seekers have limited access to public services via information communication technology-enabled mechanisms. Whilst the city government has embraced e-governance, it is still in its nascent stages.

Research limitations/implications

This study was limited to a desktop one because of COVID-19 restrictions and it focused exclusively on asylum seekers. Therefore, its findings can only be generalised to this category of people.

Practical implications

Future studies on this subject should gather data from all categories of migrants to gain in-depth perspectives.

Social implications

All spheres of governance in South Africa should recognise asylum seekers as a constituency that deserves access to public services. E-governance can facilitate easier access to these services, and policies need to be aligned with this reality.

Originality/value

This study examined the efficacy of e-governance in enabling access to government services by asylum seekers during COVID-19. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other study on this subject was conducted during this period.
Comparative analysis of schooling situations using longitudinal data: improving enrollment patterns of individual children in Honduras
Authors: Ashida Akemi
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This longitudinal study aims to understand the circumstances of and changes in student enrollment in Honduras by comparing geographically and socioeconomically different areas and students' year of school entrance.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample was made up of 4,043 students from seven primary schools in a regional city and the capital city. Students' enrollment patterns, schooling and trajectories from entrance to departure, whether as a result of graduating or dropping out, were examined.

Findings

The number of students who graduated without repetition increased, and most of the students accessed primary education at the official entrance age. However, grade repetitions and dropouts were observed in the regional city in particular, and differences were also found in the school departure age by region. In the regional city, continuation of schooling after a change in residence has become more common in recent years. Adopting an automatic promotion policy could be one strategy for reducing grade repetitions and dropouts; however, further discussion is required to prepare a remedial opportunity for students who might otherwise lack the minimum proficiency level.

Originality/value

Few studies have examined changes in school enrollment in Honduras from a micro perspective. This study contributes a practical approach to exploring educational trends in the region by explaining how students reached their final grades by tracking trajectories, which has not been observed so far in terms of the accumulated average.
Board independence and earnings management: influence of family business generation
Authors: Bansal Manish
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study aims at investigating the moderating role of family business generation on the association between board independence and earnings management practices of Indian family firms.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses panel data regression models to analyze the data. Board independence is operationalized via the proportion of independent directors on board and the dual role of chief executive officer. Earnings management is operationalized through discretionary accruals, which are estimated by the performance-adjusted modified Jones model (Kothariet al., 2005). Family business generation is based on the firm’s age, where each generation is equated to a period of 25 years. The parameters of interest are estimated through the hybrid model (Allison, 2009) which controls for the unobserved cross-sectional heterogeneity across firms while estimating the coefficients for time-invariant variables.

Findings

Based on a sample of 26,962 Bombay Stock Exchange–listed firm-years, spanning over 13 years from the year ending March 2007 to March 2019, the results exhibit that Indian family firms are less likely to be engaged in earnings management; board independence is ineffective in controlling the earnings management practices of firms, and this relation is found to be more pronounced among family firms; first-generation family firms are more likely to be engaged in earnings management than second- or third-generation firms; and board independence has a weaker role in curbing the earnings management practices of first-generation family firms. Overall, the results exhibit that generational involvement significantly influences the association between family firms and earnings management and moderates the relationship between board independence and earnings management. These results are robust to sensitivity measures.

Originality/value

This is the first study that examines the moderating impact of family business generation on the association between board independence and earnings management according to the author’s knowledge. Besides, this is among the earlier attempts to investigate the earnings management practices of Indian family firms.
Brand clarity of local and global brands in fast-moving consumer goods: an empirical study in a Middle East country
Authors: Vaziri Maryam , Llonch-Andreu Joan , López-Belbeze Pilar
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze different brand clarity levels (BCLs) of local, global and glocal types of brands in fast-moving consumer goods from the consumer's perspective. The study also intends to identify whether the consumer's previous experience with such brands may impact BCL.

Design/methodology/approach

Twenty-eight global and local brands were used to test the hypotheses by conducting a survey with 400 consumers in the emerging economy of Iran. The authors applied a quantitative technique of brand classification, previously proposed in the literature. After categorizing the brands as local, global or glocal, one-way ANOVA, Tukey post hoc and t-test analyses were performed to identify whether the different types of brands had different BCLs.

Findings

The results showed that brand clarity was significantly higher for local bands than for global or glocal brands and that it was higher for glocal bands than for global brands. Furthermore, the consumer's prior experience with a brand had no impact on BCL for different types of brands.

Social implications

For global brand managers, it is essential to know that local brands in Middle Eastern emerging markets may have more brand clarity than global brands. Therefore, if global brands intend to enter these markets, adopting a glocal positioning appears to be a helpful strategy. Besides, the results suggest that managers should analyze brand categorization from the consumer's perspective, i.e. from a subjective instead of an objective perspective.

Originality/value

This was the first study analyzing the BCL of local, global and glocal brands and identifying significant differences in their BCL.
Attributes of the internal audit function and effectiveness of internal audit services: evidence from local government authorities in Tanzania
Authors: Mahyoro Athuman Kalokola , Kasoga Pendo Shukrani
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine how the level of attributes of the internal audit function relates to the effectiveness of internal audit services in local government authorities (LGAs) in Tanzania.

Design/methodology/approach

Data have been collected through a survey whereby 510 respondents from LGAs in Tanzania through their Heads of Internal Audit Functions, Internal Auditors and Chairpersons of Audit Committees respond to the questionnaire. The data were subjected to principal component analysis and exploratory factor analysis to reduce the set of items and to provide continuous scores for use in multiple regression analyses.

Findings

The findings reveal that audit quality; organization setting and auditee attributes have a significant positive influence on the effectiveness of internal audit services in LGAs in Tanzania.

Research limitations/implications

The study covered only LGAs in Tanzania. Future research in this field should address the gaps identified in the study.

Practical implications

This paper highlights areas that need management attention on the improvement of the effectiveness of internal audit units.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature of both internal auditing and management studies by linking the level of attributes of internal audit function which are audit quality, organization setting, auditee attributes and effectiveness of internal audit services in Tanzania.
Does market digitalization always benefit firms? The Latin American case
Authors: Sanchez-Riofrio Angelica M. , Lupton Nathaniel C. , Rodríguez-Vásquez John Gabriel
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Prior research has found that firms' adoption of digital technologies (i.e. digitalization) enhances transaction efficiency and improves firm performance. However, this finding is based on the assumption that firms respond to consumers' adoption of digital technology (market digitalization) in a timely fashion. The study investigates the impact of market digitalization on firm performance in Latin America, where resistance to change is often higher, despite the positive impact on performance when companies respond to the environmental shock of digitalization by restructuring.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from seven Latin American countries from 1997 to 2018 (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and Mexico), fixed-effects panel regression robustly supports the results.

Findings

Most Latin American firms fail to capitalize on the benefits of market digitalization, and their performance declines as a result. The authors extend research on digitalization by incorporating theoretical insights from the restructuring literature, finding that implementing a substantial restructuring strategy is a viable way to overcome market digitalization.

Originality/value

The authors demonstrate that the digitalization–firm performance relationship is more complex than has been described in studies using samples from developed economies. The authors establish restructuring as an effective adaptation strategy in Latin America, although the institutional environment's characteristics may constrain or discourage firms from adopting it.
Managerial ability and stock price crash risk – the role of managerial overconfidence
Authors: Liu Jiaxin , Lei Dongliang
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the relation between managerial ability and stock price crash risk, conditional on managerial overconfidence. In addition, conditional on managerial overconfidence, the authors investigate the effect of managerial ability on firms’ choice of bad news hoarding channels, which result in a stock price crash.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of 24,289 firm-years from companies listed on Compustat and CRSP from 1994 to 2018, the authors conduct panel regression analysis.

Findings

The authors find that managerial ability is positively associated with stock price crash risk only when managerial overconfidence is high. Furthermore, the authors find that managerial ability seems to exacerbate (attenuate) the bad news withholding by the overconfident managers using the earnings guidance (earnings management) channel. The authors find limited evidence that high-ability managers are likely to withhold bad news through the overinvestment channel and “other channels” when managers are overconfident. Finally, the authors find that the joint effect of managerial overconfidence and managerial ability on firms’ crash risk is more pronounced when there is a material weakness in firms’ internal controls, high investor belief heterogeneity and high information asymmetry. However, this effect appears to dissipate during the recent financial crisis in 2008.

Originality/value

This research reveals that managerial ability is costly to firms by engendering bad news hoardings and stock price crash risk when managers are overconfident. It also sheds light on how managerial overconfidence and managerial ability affect managers’ choice of bad news withholding channels and stock price crash risk. Finally, the paper is of practical value to the board of directors in selecting the prospective executives.
Manufacturability analysis of extremely fine porous structures for selective laser melting process of Ti6Al4V alloy
Authors: Ding Liping , Tan Shujie , Chen Wenliang , Jin Yaming , Zhang Yicha
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The manufacturability of extremely fine porous structures in the SLM process has rarely been investigated, leading to unpredicted manufacturing results and preventing steady medical or industrial application. The research objective is to find out the process limitation and key processing parameters for printing fine porous structures so as to give reference for design and manufacturing planning.

Design/methodology/approach

In metallic AM processes, the difficulty of geometric modeling and manufacturing of structures with pore sizes less than 350 μm exists. The manufacturability of porous structures in selective laser melting (SLM) has rarely been investigated, leading to unpredicted manufacturing results and preventing steady medical or industrial application. To solve this problem, a comprehensive experimental study was conducted to benchmark the manufacturability of the SLM process for extremely fine porous structures (less than 350 um and near a limitation of 100 um) and propose a manufacturing result evaluation method. Numerous porous structure samples were printed to help collect critical datasets for manufacturability analysis.

Findings

The results show that the SLM process can achieve an extreme fine feature with a diameter of 90 μm in stable process control, and the process parameters with their control strategies as well as the printing process planning have an important impact on the printing results. A statistical analysis reveals the implicit complex relations between the porous structure geometries and the SLM process parameter settings.

Originality/value

It is the first time to investigate the manufacturability of extremely fine porous structures of SLM. The method for manufacturability analysis and printing parameter control of fine porous structure are discussed.
Innovations and eco-sustainability: exploring the role of organizational environment
Authors: Chaudhary Richa , Kumar Chandan
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze the contribution of the diffusion of innovation framework to eco-sustainability. It examines the interplay of organizational environment, innovation and innovation adopters’ characteristics on the diffusion of environmental sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for empirical validation were obtained through an offline survey from the hospitals. The proposed conceptual framework was tested using the hierarchical regression analysis technique.

Findings

The results show that diffusion of innovation characteristics and organizational environment significantly influence the environmental sustainability index. The adopters’ characteristics do not have any direct effect on the environmental sustainability but this effect becomes significant in the presence of a favorable organizational environment.

Practical implications

Focusing on innovations that offer an advantage over the existing processes, are compatible with the existing system, are uncomplicated and simple to implement and can be experimented before full implementation may greatly accelerate the adoption of eco-innovations in hospitals. Fostering an organizational environment where employees are encouraged and rewarded for contributing to sustainable innovations can play a substantial role in the implementation of environmental sustainability innovations.

Originality/value

This study is an original contribution as it advances the limited understanding of the predictors and moderators of environmental sustainability in hospitals.
Modeling the decision-making process of financial path transition from entrepreneur's perspective using a fuzzy cognitive mapping
Authors: Benhamed Anji , EL Hajjar Said , Hamad Yaseen Fatima , Amara Noamen
Published: August 2021

Purpose

This study explores how entrepreneurs modify their financial path(s) and go beyond job security to attain greater financial freedom. The present work examines the cash-flow quadrant (CFQ) attributes and demonstrates the importance of the push-pull factors for an individual's quadrant transition in achieving financial freedom.

Design/methodology/approach

A hypothetical model and an abductive approach were used through regression models in a population sample of 260 Bahraini entrepreneurs. Fuzzy participatory cognitive mapping was also used to develop a conceptual model of financial path transition's decision making among entrepreneurs and study the impact of certain push-pull factors on the entrepreneurs' decisions.

Findings

The triangulated study identifies six categories of variables: financial freedom, workplace condition, independence, salary level, family life-building and retirement savings as key pull-push factors that significantly impact financial path transition's decision. Fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) extends our knowledge of the dynamics of CFQ transitions from a push-pull factor perspective. The results indicate no significant differences between the variables listed in the regression model and the fuzzy cognitive map model. Four categories of pull-push factors appeared as the entrepreneurs' top rankings when ordered by complexity, centrality scores and impact weight. These categories were workplace conditions, financial freedom, independence and salary level. The findings widen the scope of knowledge of each quadrant and rationalize how and why such factors impact quadrant decisions among Bahraini entrepreneurs.

Originality/value

Many studies discuss the CFQ model and consider its quadrants a specific method for identifying a unique financial path to generate income. A shifting quadrant occurs when individuals want to change their financial path and move beyond job security to achieve more financial freedom. Although this transition is well-established in the literature, the factors accounting for the individual's transition across quadrants have not received enough attention. This study fills this gap and calls for more in-depth investigations of this area to better understand the dynamics of CFQ transitions from a push-pull factor perspective.
Aging impairs the essential contributions of non‐glial progenitors to neurorepair in the dorsal telencephalon of the Killifish Nothobranchius furzeri
Authors: Van houcke Jolien , Mariën Valerie , Zandecki Caroline , Vanhunsel Sophie , Moons Lieve , Ayana Rajagopal , Seuntjens Eve , Arckens Lutgarde
Published: August 2021

The aging central nervous system (CNS) of mammals displays progressive limited regenerative abilities. Recovery after loss of neurons is extremely restricted in the aged brain. Many research models fall short in recapitulating mammalian aging hallmarks or have an impractically long lifespan. We established a traumatic brain injury model in the African turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri), a regeneration‐competent vertebrate that evolved to naturally age extremely fast. Stab‐wound injury of the aged killifish dorsal telencephalon unveils an impaired and incomplete regeneration response when compared to young individuals. In the young adult killifish, brain regeneration is mainly supported by atypical non‐glial progenitors, yet their proliferation capacity clearly declines with age. We identified a high inflammatory response and glial scarring to also underlie the hampered generation of new neurons in aged fish. These primary results will pave the way to unravel the factor age in relation to neurorepair, and to improve therapeutic strategies to restore the injured and/or diseased aged mammalian CNS.
Information inputs and technical efficiency in midwest corn production: evidence from farmers' use of yield and soil maps
Authors: McFadden Jonathan R. , Rosburg Alicia , Njuki Eric
Published: August 2021

There is increasing interest in how big data will affect U.S. crop production, yet little is known about the field‐level effects of “small” (i.e., individual farm) data. We help to fill this void by studying the relationship between Midwest corn production and the information contained in yield and soil maps. Research on this relationship is lacking, perhaps because maps are information inputs that may not enter the production function in a way comparable to conventional inputs. Using detailed USDA survey data, we implement a stochastic frontier analysis to evaluate how mapping technologies influence field productivity. Controlling for farmers' endogenous choice of technologies, we find evidence of direct (frontier‐shifting) and indirect (efficiency‐enhancing) productivity effects. Depending on model, field output increases by 5.6% or 11.9% as a result of map adoption. Yield maps increase expected efficiency by 8.5%, and soil maps increase expected efficiency by 7.2%, on average. These effects differ by operator demographics, such as years of experience with the field, and structural characteristics, such as whether the field is insured and if it is owned by the operator. Given that yield and soil maps are not universally adopted, our results suggest there remain opportunities to increase productivity through field‐level information use.
The impact of incomplete clinical information and initial biopsy technique on the histopathological diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma
Authors: Kok Yonatan , Scott Karen , Pham Alan , Liu Wenyuan , Roberts Hugh , Pan Yan , McLean Catriona , Chamberlain Alex , Kelly John W. , Mar Victoria J.
Published: August 2021

Background/Objectives

Increased rates of histopathological misdiagnosis of melanoma have been associated with incisional punch more so than shave biopsy when compared with complete excisional biopsy. It is unknown how the increasing utilisation of shave biopsy may impact melanoma diagnosis. The extent to which the provision of clinical information to the pathologist may improve diagnostic accuracy remains unclear. This study assessed the impact of both initial biopsy technique and provision of adequate clinical information to pathologists on the accuracy of histopathological diagnosis of melanoma and disease progression.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort with nested case‐control study of all histopathological false‐negative and false‐positive melanoma diagnoses from January 2014 to May 2019 from the Victorian Melanoma Service electronic database. Cases were assessed for the initial biopsy type, provision of clinical information on pathology request forms and disease progression associated with false‐negative diagnosis.

Results

Partial shave biopsy had higher odds of false‐negative (OR 5.19, 95% CI 2.89–9.32; P < 0.001) and false‐positive diagnoses (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.45–2.63; P < 0.001) of melanoma when compared with elliptical excisional biopsy. These odds ratios were comparable with those found with incisional punch biopsy. Providing the suspected clinical diagnosis to pathologists also reduced the odds of false‐negative diagnosis with melanoma progression by 3.8‐fold (P = 0.02).

Conclusion

The choice of initial biopsy technique and providing the suspected clinical diagnosis to pathologists are important for correct histopathological diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma and prevention of further disease progression.
SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and venous thromboembolism after surgery: an international prospective cohort study
Authors:   COVIDSurg Collaborative,   GlobalSurg Collaborative
Published: August 2021

SARS‐CoV‐2 has been associated with an increased rate of venous thromboembolism in critically ill patients. Since surgical patients are already at higher risk of venous thromboembolism than general populations, this study aimed to determine if patients with peri‐operative or prior SARS‐CoV‐2 were at further increased risk of venous thromboembolism. We conducted a planned sub‐study and analysis from an international, multicentre, prospective cohort study of elective and emergency patients undergoing surgery during October 2020. Patients from all surgical specialties were included. The primary outcome measure was venous thromboembolism (pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis) within 30 days of surgery. SARS‐CoV‐2 diagnosis was defined as peri‐operative (7 days before to 30 days after surgery); recent (1–6 weeks before surgery); previous (≥7 weeks before surgery); or none. Information on prophylaxis regimens or pre‐operative anti‐coagulation for baseline comorbidities was not available. Postoperative venous thromboembolism rate was 0.5% (666/123,591) in patients without SARS‐CoV‐2; 2.2% (50/2317) in patients with peri‐operative SARS‐CoV‐2; 1.6% (15/953) in patients with recent SARS‐CoV‐2; and 1.0% (11/1148) in patients with previous SARS‐CoV‐2. After adjustment for confounding factors, patients with peri‐operative (adjusted odds ratio 1.5 (95%CI 1.1–2.0)) and recent SARS‐CoV‐2 (1.9 (95%CI 1.2–3.3)) remained at higher risk of venous thromboembolism, with a borderline finding in previous SARS‐CoV‐2 (1.7 (95%CI 0.9–3.0)). Overall, venous thromboembolism was independently associated with 30‐day mortality (5.4 (95%CI 4.3–6.7)). In patients with SARS‐CoV‐2, mortality without venous thromboembolism was 7.4% (319/4342) and with venous thromboembolism was 40.8% (31/76). Patients undergoing surgery with peri‐operative or recent SARS‐CoV‐2 appear to be at increased risk of postoperative venous thromboembolism compared with patients with no history of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Optimal venous thromboembolism prophylaxis and treatment are unknown in this cohort of patients, and these data should be interpreted accordingly.
Malinowski’s Latinx Gardeners: Domestic Interruptions and the Manicured Resplendence of Zoom University
Authors: Zárate Salvador
Published: August 2021

During the pandemic, the separation between our work lives and personal lives has become complicated and sometimes untenable. By exploring an instance where my professional duties—guest lecturing for a colleague’s class—were interrupted by a residential gardener and his leaf blower just outside my window, I demonstrate how the pandemic and the crises it represents to ethnographic research might be thought alongside the Latinx migrant service labor economy of Southern California. By drawing attention to Latinx migrant labor practices, I demonstrate how doing our ethnographic and scholarly work amid a pandemic and from home can depend on a regime of outsourced work that sustains our affective and material needs and desires, forming the invisible conditions to our scholarly productivity.
Del Nido cardioplegia in adult cardiac surgery: analysis of myocardial protection and post‐operative high‐sensitivity Troponin T
Authors: Ross Jordan D. W. , Newland Richard F. , Hamson Rhys T. J. , Rice Gregory D. , Baker Robert A.
Published: August 2021

Background

del Nido cardioplegia has been adopted for use in adult cardiac surgery, despite a lack of robust randomised evidence supporting equivalence or superiority to conventional hyperkalaemic blood cardioplegia. We investigated the clinical surrogates of myocardial protection, and performed an extensive analysis of post‐operative high‐sensitivity Troponin T (hs‐TnT) values in a general adult cardiac surgery population receiving del Nido, in comparison to a historical hyperkalaemic blood cohort.

Method

171 consecutive patients of a single surgeon from between November 2018 and June 2020 received del Nido, and were compared to a historical cohort of 326 patients between January 2016 and November 2018 who received hyperkalaemic blood cardioplegia. Clinical markers of myocardial protection were compared, as were hs‐TnT values at 6, 12, 24, and 72‐h post‐operatively. Equivalence between groups was determined using the two one‐sided tests procedure.

Results

There was no difference between the groups in the incidence of post‐operative low cardiac output state, inotropic support, or myocardial infarction. Del Nido patients had less defibrillation requirement, and more spontaneous resumption of normal sinus rhythm. High‐sensitivity Troponin T values were similar at all time‐points including in a coronary artery bypass graft subgroup, and in those patients with elevated pre‐operative hs‐TnT.

Conclusion

In a broad cohort of adult cardiac surgery patients, including those undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery and those with recent myocardial infarction, del Nido provides equivalent myocardial protection and clinical outcomes when compared to hyperkalemic blood cardioplegia. Post‐operative high‐sensitivity Troponin T values were also equivalent between the groups.
Progressive alcohol‐related liver fibrosis is characterised by imbalanced collagen formation and degradation
Authors: Thiele Maja , Johansen Stine , Gudmann Natasja S. , Madsen Bjørn , Kjærgaard Maria , Nielsen Mette Juul , Leeming Diana J. , Jacobsen Suganya , Bendtsen Flemming , Møller Søren , Detlefsen Sönke , Karsdal Morten , Krag Aleksander ,   the GALAXY Consortium
Published: August 2021

Background

Liver fibrosis accumulation is considered a turnover disease, with formation exceeding degradation, although this hypothesis has never been tested in humans.

Aims

To investigate extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling in a biopsy‐controlled study of alcohol‐related liver disease (ALD) patients.

Methods

We evaluated the relationship between formation and degradation of four collagens as a function of histological fibrosis, inflammation and steatosis in 281 patients with ALD and 50 matched healthy controls. Post hoc, we tested the findings in a cohort of patients with alcohol‐related cirrhosis and assessed the collagens' prognostic accuracy. We assessed the fibrillar collagens type III (PRO‐C3/C3M) and V (PRO‐C5/C5M), the basement membrane collagen IV (PRO‐C4/C4M), and the microfilament interface collagen VI (PRO‐C6/C6M).

Results

Mean age was 54 ± 6 years, 74% male, fibrosis stage F0/1/2/3/4 = 33/98/84/18/48. Compared to controls, patients with ALD had higher levels of type III collagen formation and degradation, with the highest concentrations in those with cirrhosis (PRO‐C3 = 8.2 ± 1.7 ng/mL in controls, 14.6 ± 13.5 in ALD, 34.8 ± 23.1 in cirrhosis; C3M 7.4 ± 1.9 in controls, 9.3 ± 4.4 in ALD, 14.0 ± 5 in cirrhosis). ECM remodelling became increasingly imbalanced in higher stages of liver fibrosis, with formation progressively superseding degradation. This was particularly pronounced for type III collagen. We observed similar imbalance for inflammatory severity, but not steatosis.

Conclusions

ALD is characterised by both elevated collagen formation and degradation, which becomes increasingly imbalanced with more severe disease. Net increase in fibrillar collagens contributes to fibrosis progression. This has important implications for monitoring and very early identification of patients at highest risk of progressing to cirrhosis.
‘Not relevant’ responses in the era of COVID-19: are we underestimating Dermatology Life Quality Index values?
Authors: Kearney N. , Hambly R. , Alsharqi A. , Kirby B.
Published: August 2021

Since March 2020, the UK and Ireland have entered a series of lockdowns in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic with restrictions resulting in the closure of nonessential retail, hospitality and sports with employees encouraged to work from home. In this retrospective study we have demonstrated a significant decrease in DLQI values, increase in the number of ‘not relevant’ responses (NRRs) in the DLQI and change between DLQI and the modified DLQI-R during the pandemic. Given the restrictions imposed on our patients, it is important for clinicians to identify the number of NRRs in the DLQI and acknowledge the potential effect on treatment decisions and data collection for disease registries and clinical trials during the pandemic.
A dot that went for a walk: People prefer lines drawn with human‐like kinematics
Authors: Chamberlain Rebecca , Berio Daniel , Mayer Veronika , Chana Kirren , Leymarie Frederic Fol , Orgs Guido
Published: August 2021

A dominant theory of embodied aesthetic experience (Freedberg & Gallese, 2007, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11, 197) posits that the appreciation of visual art is linked to the artist’s movements when creating the artwork, yet a direct link between the kinematics of drawing actions and the aesthetics of drawing outcomes has not been experimentally demonstrated. Across four experiments, we measured aesthetic responses of students from arts and non‐arts backgrounds to drawing movements generated from computational models of human writing. Experiment 1 demonstrated that human‐like drawing movements with bell‐shaped velocity profiles (Sigma Lognormal [SL] and Minimum Jerk [MJ]) are perceived as more natural and pleasant than movements with a uniform profile, and in both Experiments 1 and 2 movements that were perceived as more natural were also preferred. Experiment 3 showed that this effect persists if lower‐level dynamic stimulus features are fully matched across experimental and control conditions. Furthermore, aesthetic preference for human‐like movements were associated with greater perceptual fluency in Experiment 3, evidenced by unbiased estimations of the duration of natural movements. In Experiment 4, line drawings with visual features consistent with the dynamics of natural, human‐like movements were preferred, but only by art students. Our findings directly link the aesthetics of human action to the visual aesthetics of drawings, but highlight the importance of incorporating artistic expertise into embodied accounts of aesthetic experience.
We know more than we ever learned: Processes involved in accumulation of world knowledge
Authors: Bauer Patricia J.
Published: August 2021

Accumulating information and knowledge is a major task of development. A common assumption is that we build our storehouse of world knowledge, our semantic memory, through direct experience. Although direct experience is involved, to explain fully how we know all that we know, we also must consider processes that allow for integration of information learned in separate yet related episodes of direct learning, as well as inferential processes that operate over integrated representations and permit productive extension of knowledge. In this article, I describe the self‐derivation through integration paradigm my colleagues and I developed to model these processes. Using this paradigm, we charted individual and developmental variability throughout childhood and in young adults. Several findings support the contention that the self‐derivation through integration paradigm provides a valid model for how we build semantic knowledge, including the observations that performance on the task correlates with and predicts individuals’ world knowledge and academic success.
Product and service innovation with customer recognition
Authors: Li Krista J.
Published: August 2021

Product and service innovation is important for brands to succeed in a competitive marketplace. As information technology advances, customer recognition becomes a growing industry trend; that is, brands track customers' purchase history, recognize and price discriminate between repeat and new customers.The trend of customer recognition has changed the nature and intensity of competition between brands. In this article, we examine how customer recognition and the associated changes in competition affect brands' incentives to invest in product and service innovation. We find that when brands have similar equity, customer recognition increases brands' incentives to invest in product and service innovation. However, when brands have sufficiently different equity, customer recognition leads the stronger brand to invest more and the weaker brand to invest less in product and service innovation. In addition, extant literature suggests that customer recognition reduces brand profits. In contrast, we find that customer recognition can increase the weaker brand's profit but decreases it more for the stronger brand. Thus, collecting customers' purchase history data for customer recognition can be beneficial for weaker brands but detrimental for stronger brands.