bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The role of contract incompleteness factors in project disputes: a hybrid fuzzy multi-criteria decision approach
Authors: Gurgun Asli Pelin , Koc Kerim
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Contract incompleteness with deficiency, inconsistency, defectiveness, and ambiguity in contract clauses, which can cause misunderstandings and misinterpretations, may result with disputes in projects. This study aims to investigate contract incompleteness factors with a hybrid fuzzy multi-criteria decision approach.

Design/methodology/approach

Contract incompleteness factors were ranked by fuzzy VIKOR (Visekriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) method, and the most significant factors were subjected to fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) to examine their causal relationships. The study is not limited to ranking the identified factors solely, since their cause-effect interactions are also essential for proper risk management in construction projects.

Findings

Hybrid use of multi-criteria analysis reveals that ambiguity in enforceability including excessive demands and significant amendments in the scope of works are the top two causal contract incompleteness factors, while lack of implementation details and focus of focal point, and insufficient supporting and technical documents are the most affected ones.

Originality/value

Contractual causes of disputes due to contract incompleteness factors other than requirements of the contracts have been rarely investigated in the literature. The research is one of the first studies in the literature investigating the causal relationship among factors in construction contracts, which might lead to project disputes. Findings are expected to improve contract drafting, eventually contributing to effective risk management in construction projects.
Exploring consumer constructions of local food: meanings and influences
Authors: Banerjee Rajlakshmi , Quinn Barry
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This study aims to focus on local food consumption and specifically seeks to explore how consumers construct the meaning of local food and the nature of relationships between key influences on the local food purchase intention.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-stage qualitative methodology was adopted consisting of five focus group discussions and 25 semi-structured interviews with consumers in Northern Ireland. Focus groups explored consumer meanings of local food. Semi-structured interviews sought to explore in more depth the inter-relationships between the influences on the purchase intention and the role of moral norms.

Findings

Five key influences on the purchase intention are identified (quality attributes, experience and familiarity, emotional attributes, the setting, support for the local economy). These influences are connected with a range of self-interest, altruistic and moral factors.

Research limitations/implications

This study was undertaken in a specific geographical setting and thus the generalisation of the findings is limited. Future research should ascertain the views of stakeholders (producers and retailers) to provide multi-actor constructions and understandings of local food.

Practical implications

There are a number of practical implications for marketers from this study that provide considerable scope to differentiate local food products. A more nuanced understanding of consumer motivations and their understanding of local food will help marketers to develop brand image linked to the themes identified here such as product familiarity and rural connections. Furthermore, the local food servicescape or setting should be managed carefully to construct an emotional attachment and positive consumer experience, whilst promoting trust and perceptions of quality.

Originality/value

Previous studies on local food consumer behaviour have considered the influences on local food consumer behaviour in quite binary terms (self-interest and altruistic factors). This study unpicks the key influences on the purchase intention, based on a thematic analysis, and proposes a new categorisation and set of interrelationships around five key themes.
Design thinking: a cognitive resource for improving workforce analytics and training evaluation
Authors: Zafar Natasha , Asadullah Muhammad Ali , Haq Muhammad Zia Ul , Siddiquei Ahmad Nabeel , Nazir Sajjad
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The firms use training evaluation practices (TEPs) to determine the return of billions of dollars spent on employee training and development activities. The firms need to modernize the set of TEPs for evidence-based workforce management decisions. This study aims to examine a mediation mechanism to explain how human resource (HR) professionals’ design thinking (DT) mindset strengthens the set of TEPs using predictive workforce analytics (PWAs).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used SPSS computational named MLMED to test the proposed relationships by collecting data from 180 management professionals serving in subsidiaries of multinational corporations in Pakistan.

Findings

The statistical results demonstrated that DT is not directly related to firms’ TEPs. However, the statistical results supported the mediating role of firms’ use of PWAs between DT and TEPs.

Originality/value

The findings offer a new perspective for firms to use HR professionals’ DT mindset for modernizing the set of existing HR practices.
A study to explore the linkage between green training and sustainable organizational performance through emotional intelligence and green work life balance
Authors: Deshpande Pallavi , Srivastava Anugamini Priya
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This study aims to review the role of green training and green work life balance (GWLB) on sustainable organizational performance (SOP) with a moderating variable “Emotional Intelligence” (EI).

Design/methodology/approach

For the development of the construct of the present study, a Scopus database was selected and research papers published in indexed journals were considered. Relevant keywords were selected and literature was searched on green training, EI, SOP, GWLB. The literature was reviewed to find out the linkage and possibility of development of integrated model. The main focus was on highlighting the relevance of green training on GWLB and its influence on SOP.

Findings

SOP can be achieved with the intervention of EI and GWLB; further green training is one of the influential practices of human resource development (HRD) which helps to develop the green behavior.

Research limitations/implications

It can give new insight to the organization for application of green human resource practices for SOP. Development and designing the cohesive environmental work culture and willingness to protect environment through green training can be implemented by HRD. Perhaps, the application of green training encourages GWLB.

Practical implications

Quantitative research and cross sectional study is required to find out the intervening role of EI and work–life balance between green training and SOP across a broader range of sectors.

Originality/value

This research extends the literature review and developed a new integrated model which shows the link between green training and SOP.
Do multilingual employees better adjust to work environment changes? Examining the case of a credit union during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Veach Timothy , Yoon Yeongjoon , Iglesias John D.
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Organizations have been challenged to identify antecedents to improved employee adjustment to the work environment changes that arose in the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic. This study aims to explore the effect of multilingualism on employee ability to adjust to workplace changes based on the concept that multilinguals have been found to switch between tasks more efficiently as compared to monolinguals.

Design/methodology/approach

Applying a sequential explanatory mixed methods research approach, quantitative performance evaluation data on 207 credit union employees is analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling to predict employee performance, and thematic analysis of qualitative data representing the adjustment narratives of six monolingual and six multilingual employees within the sample is conducted, corresponding to the period during which employees were adjusting to broad workplace changes after the onset of the global pandemic.

Findings

The results suggest greater predicted improvement in the performance of multilingual employees. Reliance on the task-switching ability associated with multilingualism is found to be the primary self-evaluative factor for successful change adjustment among multilingual employees.

Practical implications

In light of work performance benefits identified in this study, organizations may consider multilingualism as a characteristic preceding better adjustment to organizational change, and not simply as a skill applicable to tasks requiring language proficiency, suggesting practical implications for human resource and organizational management.

Originality/value

This is the first sequential explanatory study focusing on the task-switching ability of multilinguals as an antecedent to change adjustment evidenced by improved work performance within an organizational context.
The soft skills bases in digital academic entrepreneurship in relation to digital transformation
Authors: Garcez Ana , Franco Mário , Silva Ricardo
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Digital technology changes the organizational structure of traditional firms, creating opportunities for entrepreneurship. These modifications are known as “digital transformation” (DT). In addition, higher education institutions (HEIs) are altering the form of student–lecturer and teaching–learning interaction, where DT restructures the bases of soft skills (SS). Since SS are difficult to measure, this study aims to analyze the bases of SS for digital academic entrepreneurship, responding to the following research question: What are the bases of digital academic entrepreneurship and how are they formed?

Design/methodology/approach

An extensive integrative review of the literature revealed that due to the editable, re-combinable, reprogrammable and generating nature of digital technology, the basis of DT, it is necessary to develop SS in higher education students.

Findings

The results show that the competencies can be developed considering three major groupings: (1) individual characteristics, (2) cultural characteristics and (3) knowledge sharing.

Practical implications

Since SS are not easily taught, this study shows how the use of digital tools can help and support this type of process. It is suggested, therefore, that those in charge of HEIs should use the pillars presented in the framework proposed here to guide their institutions' strategic planning. With these pillars in mind, the aim is to stimulate an entrepreneurial mentality in students and develop digital academic entrepreneurship.

Originality/value

An innovative conceptual model of digital academic entrepreneurship is proposed from the perspective of SS, where the interlinking of those groupings is permeated by DT, as well as the disruptive role of digital technology, leading to the development of an entrepreneurial mentality in HEI students.
Incorporating multidimensional images into cultural heritage destination: does it help to explain and analyse better?
Authors: Lam Jason M.S. , Makhbul Zafir Khan Mohamed , Aziz Norzalita Abd , Ahmat Mohd Amirul Hafidz
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The present study aims to examine and explain cultural heritage destination by applying multiple dimension image model (cognitive–affective–conative aspects).

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 233 international heritage-based tourists were surveyed on-site at some of the most prominent historical attractions in Malacca, one of the first cities in Malaysia declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The covariance-based structural equation modelling was applied to examine the hypotheses.

Findings

The structural equation modelling validated that cognitive image aspects such as living culture, intangible and tangible are affected positively. The effects are statistically significant for conative and affective images. On the other hand, cognitive tangible image is an aspect that impacted affective image to a lesser degree than conative image. Whereas affective image attributes were found to have significant and positive influence on conative image.

Originality/value

This study enriches the limited empirical research study on heritage image conceptualisation by expanding into tri-component model. The destination image has garnered a great deal of attention, particularly due to its significant and impactful influence on the decision-making and the sustainable behaviour of tourists, and it has since become the subject of many studies in the tourism and hospitality literatures. But most research concerning heritage image for destinations has considered the construct uni-dimensionally.
The heuristics applied by tech entrepreneurs in the Middle East during opportunity evaluation
Authors: Hjeij Mohamad
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This study aims to explore the heuristics applied by tech entrepreneurs in the Middle East during the opportunity evaluation process.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple case-based methodology was applied, which consisted of semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurial experts from different cities in the Middle East. Qualitative data analysis was then performed with inductive thematic coding using the Eisenhardt method.

Findings

The results suggest that entrepreneurs mostly use six heuristics to evaluate opportunities quickly. Three of them are related to the opportunity as an abstract idea, and three are connected with the person (s) involved in the opportunity. In addition, entrepreneurs in the Middle East were more interested in the personal characteristics of the opportunity presenter than in the opportunity itself.

Research limitations/implications

Identifying the heuristics applied by experts may neglect the perspective of the community of entrepreneurs as a whole. Hence, future research should target a wider segment of entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the effect of applying such heuristics on the strategic growth of startups remains an open question.

Practical implications

The identified heuristics are aligned with the hands-on approach of entrepreneurship and can be applied as a decision-making technique for aspiring entrepreneurs who seek to succeed in this region.

Originality/value

This study explores the under-examined topic of heuristics in opportunity evaluation within the regional context of the Middle East, which has also been scarcely investigated. It sheds light on the importance of cultural factors in identifying the cognitive shortcuts used in a business context.
Whether family ownership affects the relationship between CSR and EM: evidence from Chinese listed firms
Authors: Rahman Md Jahidur , Zheng Xinying
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This study explores the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and earnings management (EM) in China and whether family ownership impacts this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The research data are the financial reports and CSR disclosure reports of Chinese listed companies from the CSMAR database for the 2010–2020 period. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to analyze the relationship between various variables in this study.

Findings

Results show that CSR significantly and positively affects accrual-based EM (AEM) but does not affect real EM (REM). Moreover, family ownership influences the positive relationship between CSR and AEM. Compared with non-family enterprises, family enterprises tend to disclose less CSR performance but also have lower AEM behavior.

Originality/value

This result is related to the information transparency of listed enterprises and Socioemotional Wealth theory. This study provides reference for domestic and foreign investors and other stakeholders in understanding the impact of family ownership on the relationship between CSR and earnings management to optimize their investment decisions.
Augmenting women empowerment: a systematic literature review on microfinance-led developmental interventions
Authors: Parwez Sazzad , Patel Ruchi
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This study aims to explore economic, social, psychological and political empowerment and dis-empowerment of women caused by microfiance interventions. Women tend to face the brunt of societal discrimination created by economic, social, psychological and political disempowerment. This led to the emergence of the microfinance model for the rural poor and specifically focused on women as an agency for social change.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on a systemic literature review to examine microfinance-led women empowerment to reduce the ambiguity in theoretical and empirical underpinning.

Findings

The study’s findings suggest that even though microfinance as a developmental model is not a runaway success, it did make some positive impact on the status of women.

Originality/value

This study shows that the microfinance program empowers women and reduces societal inequalities to some extent, but literature also suggests that microfinance as a model has failed to make the requisite socio-economic change, and in some cases, there is adverse impact.
Using care plans in mental health nursing clinical education: are we forcing students to pretend?
Authors: Ançel Gülsüm , Çekiç Yasemin , Canbulat Şahinde
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Students have an opportunity to integrate their theoretical knowledge into practice, develop skills to provide quality nursing care and gain clinical experience by using care plans. For this reason, it is important and necessary to identify students’ feelings, opinions and behaviors regarding care plans. This study aims to evaluate students’ opinions about working with a care plan to develop a realistic practice and achievable goals in clinical training of mental health nursing education.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 90 senior nursing students were enrolled in this study, and data were collected from 63 students who received informed consent. In the data collection, a structured “Learning-Teaching Process Assessment Form” which consists of two parts created by the researchers in accordance with the qualitative research model was applied at the end of training period. The data were analyzed manually by researchers with “thematic analysis” method.

Findings

The analysis of data revealed three categories and ten themes. More than half of the students stated that they were not satisfied with the care plan, but they found working with a care plan as realistic, whereas the majority of them found it difficult planning a care plan, but found it beneficial to working with the care plan.

Originality/value

This study results show that different strategies are needed for students to implement nursing process effectively.
Reimagining career education with the future senses
Authors: Westacott Marguerite
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Career education and employability have become Australian university curriculum and pedagogy priorities to meet the changing world of work and federal government parameters linking higher education funding to graduate employment outcomes. This conceptual paper aims to present the hypothesis that emphasis on integrating career education in the curriculum can provide an opportunity to embed future-thinking concepts by reframing future-focussed career education practice to futures focussed. It proposes that using a Futures Senses lens to expand current career pedagogy liberates career education from individualised cognitive decision-making and self-analysis; to include the affective, collective imagining, ancestral voices and innate gifts.

Design/methodology/approach

A suite of five career education pedagogical tools that have been embedded by the author in the curriculum of an enabling education course in a regional Australian university; are described, analysed and reconceptualised using the Futures Senses. A Causal Layered Analysis provides a layered comparison of future-focussed and futures focussed career education.

Discussion

The discussion reflects on current pedagogical practice by the author and indicates pragmatic implications for applying a future-focussed approach to career education practice. Implementation of these reimagined activities provides an opportunity for future qualitative research.

Originality/value

Opportunity exists to leverage rising institutional demands and political agendas of integrating career education in the tertiary curriculum, as a means of embedding futures concepts, thinking and pedagogy. The reimagined activities are a pragmatic offering that can be used by educators to initiate and nurture futures thinking.
A snapshot of sustainability assurance market in New Zealand
Authors: Hsiao Pei-Chi Kelly , Scott Tom , Zang Zeting
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This study aims to provide a snapshot of voluntary sustainability assurance in New Zealand (NZ) in 2020. we assess the frequency of different assurance elements and discuss aspects of current practices that potentially contribute to the audit expectation gap. we also test whether the determinants of voluntary sustainability assurance in NZ are consistent with international findings.

Design/methodology/approach

For 118 companies listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange in 2020, we hand collected data on whether sustainability information was assured, subject matter assured, assurance level, outcome, provider, disclosure of detailed procedures, standard referenced and criteria applied. we then examine the influences of voluntary sustainability assurance using both univariate and regression analysis.

Findings

Approximately 20% of listed companies that disclosed sustainability information provide a sustainability assurance report, indicating low levels of assurance compared to international practices. we note that the presence of different forms of assurance and certification, placement of sustainability information before financial statements and the associated audit report and mixture of assurance levels potentially contribute to the audit expectation gap. Further, voluntary sustainability assurance practices are diverse, and there are notable differences between Big Four accounting firms and other providers in terms of assurance level and standard referenced. Consistent with prior studies, we find size and industry classification as two main drivers of voluntary sustainability assurance.

Originality/value

We contribute NZ-specific insights to the sustainability assurance literature. The findings on voluntary sustainability assurance practices and reflection on the audit expectation gap are timely and relevant to the new climate-related disclosure mandate and pending assurance requirements.
Financial literacy resources in US public libraries: website analysis
Authors: Faulkner Ash E.
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This article explores the financial literacy resources patrons can discover and/or access on the webpages of the largest 48 US public libraries in order to assess the strength of public libraries' current support to patrons seeking assistance with personal financial matters.

Design/methodology/approach

The author completed a website analysis of the largest 48 US public libraries, as defined by the four sets of criteria in the American Library Association (ALA) publication. Website analysis was completed via a standardized checklist assessment covering full-site searching, catalog content, the availability of relevant guides and/or workshops, and any other relevant online resources.

Findings

Public libraries provide many resources relevant to patrons searching for personal finance topics, but some of these resources are not ideally highlighted on libraries' websites. Site search tools are generally less efficient than catalog search tools. Only half of the studied libraries have relevant online guides, but all libraries have some relevant online resources.

Originality/value

While there are a number of research articles exploring how public libraries support financial literacy in their communities, there has not yet been an in-depth exploration of how public libraries support this literacy, specifically through the materials highlighted and/or available via their websites. This research addresses this gap in the literature.
Moving beyond corporate statements on diversity to build a truly inclusive environment for staff
Authors: Chakraverty Julie
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse how leaders can foster inclusive environments within their companies that support a diversity of employees. The piece discusses the rise of “cancel culture”, arguing that protecting against cultural misstep is increasingly important due to the rise of social media.

Design/methodology/approach

The piece uses experience in senior leadership, as well as personal lived experience of diversity and inclusion in the workplace to draw conclusions around how DE&I policies can be improved.

Findings

It is essential that senior leaders and HR teams build a strong diversity strategy that accounts for the lived experiences of staff, and pushes for real, concrete change in the workplace.

Originality/value

Conversely to the actions of many large corporations, here the author posits that creating an external image centred around diversity and inclusion is not enough to create a psychologically secure environment for employees.
Outcomes of government digitization and effects on accountability in Benin
Authors: Zumofen Raphaël , Kakpovi Bellarminus Gildas , Mabillard Vincent
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to explain the impacts of the ongoing digitization reform in Benin. It demonstrates that a well-conducted reform can reduce corruption, improve performance and bring citizens closer to the administration. It also highlights the elements needed to ensure the success of such a reform.

Design/methodology/approach

The impacts of the digitization of services and processes on both administrative structures and accountability mechanisms are described and discussed through the analysis of interviews conducted with government officials and key external stakeholders.

Findings

Findings indicate that the implementation of new technologies has created difficulties for public servants and that reaching out to the entire population is still proving challenging. However, the reform has helped prevent abuses and corruption in management, and it has raised hopes of improving the state–citizen relationship in the long run.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the research on digitization, accountability and state–citizen relationships in developing countries. It fills a gap in the literature by directly analyzing the relationship between digitization and public accountability in Benin.
Dermoscopic furrow ink test of the palmar lesion in loricrin keratoderma
Authors: Shirahama Toshihiro , Hamada Takahiro , Abe Toshifumi , Arakawa Masataka , Teye Kwesi , Koga Hiroshi , Ishii Norito , Nakama Takekuni
Published: April 2022

Palmoplantar keratodermas (PPK) comprise a heterogeneous group of keratinization disorders that gradually progress during childhood, resulting in difficulties to establish a diagnosis and to identify a candidate gene for sequencing. Dermoscopic examination with staining of palmoplantar skin using a whiteboard marker, so‐called “furrow ink test”, could be a useful tool for differentiation between furrow and ridge in understanding the morphological characteristics of PPK. One of the striking features in autosomal dominant loricrin keratoderma (LK) is diffuse PPK with honeycomb pattern. In this study, we performed dermoscopic furrow ink test in a Japanese family of LK with the most frequent mutation c.684dup, p.Ser229Valfs*107 in the loricrin gene. The severe lesion revealed that irregular circular hyperkeratoses were aggregated and normal structures of furrows and ridges were disrupted. To accurately describe the nature of this dermoscopic patterned skin surface, we suggest that the condition could be termed as “irregular cobblestone appearance” rather than “honeycomb pattern”. Regular cobblestone appearance to maintain parallel furrow structure was observed in early or mild hyperkeratotic lesions. Eccrine sweat glands that open on the surface of ridges nearly disappeared, resulting in hypohidrosis.
Multidimensional structural racism predicts birth outcomes for Black and White Minnesotans
Authors: Chantarat Tongtan , Van Riper David C. , Hardeman Rachel R.
Published: April 2022

Objective

The objective of this study is to determine the linkage between multidimensional structural racism typologies and preterm birth (PTB), low birthweight (LBW), and small‐for‐gestational‐age (SGA) birth among infants of White, US‐born Black, and foreign‐born Black pregnant people in Minnesota.

Data Sources

The measures of structural racism were based on the 2017 American Community Survey 5‐year estimates and the 2017 jail incarceration data from the Vera Institute of Justice. Birth outcomes of infants born in 2018 were based on birth records from the Minnesota Department of Health.

Study Design

We conducted a latent class analysis to identify multidimensional structural racism typologies in 2017 and related these typologies to birth outcomes of pregnant people who gave birth in Minnesota in 2018 using Vermunt's 3‐step approach. Racial group‐specific age‐adjusted risks of PTB, LBW, and SGA by structural racism typologies were estimated.

Data Collection

Study data were from public sources.

Principal Findings

Our analysis identified three multidimensional structural racism typologies in Minnesota in 2017. These typologies can have high structural racism in some dimensions but low in others. The interactive patterns among various dimensions cannot simply be classified as “high” (i.e., high structural racism in all dimensions), “medium,” or “low.” The risks of PTB, LBW, and SGA for US‐born Black pregnant Minnesotans were always higher than for their White counterparts regardless of the typologies in which they lived during pregnancy. Furthermore, these excess risks among US‐born Black pregnant people did not vary significantly across the typologies. We did not find clear patterns when comparing the predicted risks for infants of US‐ and foreign‐born Black pregnant people.

Conclusion

Multidimensional structural racism increases the risks of adverse birth outcomes for US‐born Black Minnesotans. Policy interventions to dismantle structural racism and eliminate birth inequities must be multi‐sectoral as changes in one or a few dimensions, but not all, will unlikely reduce birth inequities.
Hepatic steatosis: Ultrasound assessment using attenuation imaging (ATI) with liver biopsy correlation
Authors: Welman Christopher J , Saunders Jacqualine , Zelesco Marilyn , Abbott Steven , Boardman Glenn , Ayonrinde Oyekoya T
Published: April 2022

Introduction

Hepatic steatosis duration and severity are risk factors for liver fibrosis and cardiometabolic disease. We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of attenuation imaging (ATI), compared with histologic hepatosteatosis grading in adults with varied suspected liver pathologies.

Methods

Liver biopsy was performed on 76 patients (51 women, 25 men) with non‐malignant diffuse parenchymal liver disease, within 4 weeks of multiparametric liver ultrasound including attenuation imaging (ATI). Skin‐liver capsule distance (SCD) and body mass index (BMI) were measured. Histologic steatosis was graded none (S0), mild (S1), moderate (S2) or severe (S3). We compared histology and sonographic parameters.

Results

The median patient age was 50.5 (range 18–83) years and BMI 28.9 kg/m2 (interquartile range 24.0–33.3). The distribution of histologic steatosis grade was S0 (44%), S1(17%), S2(30%) and S3(9%). Median ATI value for each biopsy steatosis grade was 0.60 (IQR: 0.52–0.65), 0.65 (IQR: 0.6–0.71), 0.83 (IQR: 0.74–0.90) and 0.90 (IQR: 0.82–1.01) dB/cm/MHz for S0, S1, S2 and S3, respectively. The AUC of ATI for detection of any steatosis (S1‐S3) and moderate to severe steatosis (S2‐S3) was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.75–0.91) and 0.91 (95% CI: 0.83–0.99) with cut‐offs of 0.55 and 0.62 dB/cm/MHz. ATI threshold of 0.74 dB/cm/MHz was able to discriminate between S0‐S1 and S2‐3 with accuracy, CI and kappa statistic of 0.8889, 0.65–0.98 and 0.7534.

Conclusion

We found a good correlation between ATI and steatosis grade. The most accurate discrimination was between none to mild (S0‐1) and moderate to severe (S2‐3) steatosis.
Improving the synergistic combination of programmed death‐1/programmed death ligand‐1 blockade and radiotherapy by targeting the hypoxic tumour microenvironment
Authors: Mudassar Faiqa , Shen Han , Cook Kristina M , Hau Eric
Published: April 2022

Immune checkpoint inhibition with PD‐1/PD‐L1 blockade is a promising area in the field of anti‐cancer therapy. Although clinical data have revealed success of PD‐1/PD‐L1 blockade as monotherapy or in combination with CTLA‐4 or chemotherapy, the combination with radiotherapy could further boost anti‐tumour immunity and enhance clinical outcomes due to the immunostimulatory effects of radiation. However, the synergistic combination of PD‐1/PD‐L1 blockade and radiotherapy can be challenged by the complex nature of the tumour microenvironment (TME), including the presence of tumour hypoxia. Hypoxia is a major barrier to the effectiveness of both radiotherapy and PD‐1/PD‐L1 blockade immunotherapy. Thus, targeting the hypoxic TME is an attractive strategy to enhance the efficacy of the combination. Addition of compounds that directly or indirectly reduce hypoxia, to the combination of PD‐1/PD‐L1 inhibitors and radiotherapy may optimize the success of the combination and improve therapeutic outcomes. In this review, we will discuss the synergistic combination of PD‐1/PD‐L1 blockade and radiotherapy and highlight the role of hypoxic TME in impeding the success of both therapies. In addition, we will address the potential approaches for targeting tumour hypoxia and how exploiting these strategies could benefit the combination of PD‐1/PD‐L1 blockade and radiotherapy.
Age‐based differences in quantity and frequency of consumption when screening for harmful alcohol use
Authors: Callinan Sarah , Livingston Michael , Dietze Paul , Gmel Gerhard , Room Robin
Published: April 2022

Background and aims

Survey questions on usual quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption are regularly used in screening tools to identify drinkers requiring intervention. The aim of this study was to measure age‐based differences in quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and how this relates to the prediction of harmful or dependent drinking.

Design

Cross‐sectional survey.

Setting

Australia.

Participants

Data were taken from 17 399 respondents who reported any alcohol consumption in the last year and were aged 18 and over from the 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, a broadly representative cross‐sectional survey on substance use.

Measurement

Respondents were asked about their frequency of consumption, usual quantity per occasion and the other items of the AUDIT.

Findings

In older drinkers, quantity per occasion [β = 0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.43, 0.64 in 43–47‐year‐olds as an example] was a stronger predictor of dependence than frequency per occasion (β = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.17, 0.31). In younger drinkers the reverse was true, with frequency a stronger predictor (β = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.39, 0.69 in 23–27‐year‐olds) than quantity (β = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.18, 0.34 in 23–27‐year‐olds). Frequency of consumption was not a significant predictor of dependence in respondents aged 73 years and over (β = −0.03, 95% CI = −0.08, 0.02). Similar patterns were found when predicting harmful drinking. Despite this, as frequency of consumption increased steadily with age, the question on frequency was responsible for at least 65% of AUDIT scores in drinkers aged 53 years and over.

Conclusions

In younger drinkers, frequent drinking is more strongly linked to dependence and harmful drinking subscale scores on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) than quantity per occasion, yet quantity per occasion has a stronger influence on the overall AUDIT score in this group. In older drinkers, frequency of consumption is not always a significant predictor of the AUDIT dependence subscale and is a weak predictor of the harmful drinking subscale.
The impact of India's demonetization on domestic agricultural trade
Authors: Aggarwal Nidhi , Narayanan Sudha
Published: April 2022

We examine the impact of an extreme monetary shock, India's demonetization of 2016, on domestic agricultural trade. Using data from around 3000 regulated markets for 35 major crops, we find that trade value fell by 16.3–16.8% in the short run, settling at 11.8–12.1% after eight months, driven primarily by a decline in prices. Triple difference estimates suggest sharpest impacts for kharif crops, perishables and crops with minimal government intervention. Markets far away from banks fared worse. Our results suggest that the implosion of value of agricultural trade domestically persisted two growing seasons beyond the one that coincided with the shock, whereas existing findings suggest that the negative impact on the economy as a whole dissipates in that time.
The ultimate intimacy
Authors: LAMRANI MYRIAM
Published: April 2022

Death—the image of the skeleton—has long been the symbol of a strong Mexican state. But, like most symbols, it has many faces. Nowhere is this more evident than in Oaxaca, where tourists flock to attend joyful Day of the Dead celebrations while the cult to La Santa Muerte, a sanctified death, is growing strong. Through the ethnographic lens of this image, I approach other representations of the slain body to reassess the country's intimacy with death against a backdrop of violence. This analysis unveils different scales of intimacies (from devotion to the nation), reckoning with how these images straddle the boundaries between politics, criminality, and religion. Ultimately, I offer the concept oftransintimacy, proposing that thetransintimatecollapses well‐known anthropological dichotomies, for it is not only a feature of how people relate with these images, but it is also at the very heart of our discipline. [transintimacy,images,anthropological theory,nationalism,death,violence,Santa Muerte,Oaxaca,Mexico]
Evaluation of endothelial dysfunction with cardio‐ankle vascular index measurements in patients with erectile dysfunction
Authors: Bulbul Emre , Aydin Ercan , Yilmaz Emre
Published: April 2022

Background

It has been reported that there is a relationship between erectile dysfunction and endothelial dysfunction. However, a practical and non‐invasive method to clinically evaluate this relationship has not yet been determined. The cardio‐ankle vascular index is a marker of arteriosclerosis that develops as a result of endothelial dysfunction.

Objective

To investigate the correlation between the cardio‐ankle vascular index and the presence and severity of erectile dysfunction.

Materials/methods

This was a case‐control study including 74 patients that presented to the urology department of our institution with erectile dysfunction (without cardiovascular risk factors) and 86 healthy individuals of similar age. The patients with erectile dysfunction and the control group were evaluated using the five‐item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF‐5). Cardio‐ankle vascular index and ankle‐brachial pressure index measurements were performed using the VaSera VS‐1000 (Fukuda‐Denshi Company, Ltd, Tokyo, Japan) device.

Results

The mean age was 59.8 ± 1.3 years for the erectile dysfunction group and 57.9 ± 1.1 years for the control group. The mean right (R)‐cardio‐ankle vascular index values of the erectile dysfunction and control groups were 9.20 ± 2.6 and 8.11 ± 1.8, respectively (p = 0.014), and their mean left (L)‐cardio‐ankle vascular index values were 9.08 ± 2.7 and 7.96 ± 1.2, respectively (p = 0.008). The mean International Index of Erectile Function score of the patients with erectile dysfunction was 10.1 ± 3.6. An inverse correlation was found between the R‐cardio‐ankle vascular index and L‐cardio‐ankle vascular index and the International Index of Erectile Function score (r = −0.411, p = 0.011, and r = −0.454, p < 0.001, respectively).

Discussion and Conclusion

According to our findings, the cardio‐ankle vascular index was higher in patients with erectile dysfunction than in healthy individuals.
Maternal beta‐blocker dose and risk of small‐for gestational‐age in women with heart disease
Authors: Sørbye Ingvil Krarup , Haualand Randi , Wiull Henriette , Letting Anne‐Sofie , Langesæter Eldrid , Estensen Mette‐Elise
Published: April 2022

Introduction

Beta‐blockers are prescribed for many pregnant women with heart disease, but whether there is a dose‐dependent effect on fetal growth remains to be examined. We aimed to investigate if antenatal beta‐blocker use and dose were associated with delivering a small‐for‐gestational‐age infant among women with heart disease.

Material and methods

Our cohort included women with heart disease who delivered at Oslo University Hospital between 2006 and 2015. Maternal heart disease was classified into modified WHO risk scores. Women with beta‐blocker treatment were dichotomized into whether they had been treated with a low or high dose based on clinical factors. We compared the risk of delivering a small‐for‐gestational‐age infant in women exposed to high doses, low doses, or with no exposure to antenatal beta‐blockers while adjusting for severity of maternal heart disease in logistic regression models.

Results

Of a total of 540 pregnancies among women with heart disease, 163 (30.2%) were exposed to beta‐blocker treatment. The majority were treated with metoprolol (86.5%). Almost twice as many babies in the beta‐blocker group were small‐for‐gestational‐age, compared with the non‐exposed group (19.8 vs 9.5%, P < 0.001). Women using a high‐dose beta‐blocker had a five‐fold increased risk of delivering a small‐for‐gestational‐age infant compared with non‐exposure (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.22–10.78, P < 0.001). Women using a low dose of beta‐blocker had a two‐fold increased risk of delivering a small‐for‐gestational‐age infant; however, the confidence interval included the null (aOR 1.75, 95% CI 0.83–3.72, P = 0.143). Results when restricting the analyses to metoprolol showed the same pattern, but with attenuation of risks.

Conclusions

We found a five‐fold increased risk of delivering a small‐for‐gestational‐age infant in women with heart disease treated with a high dose of beta‐blocker, and a two‐fold increased risk among those treated with a low dose, showing an apparent dose–response relation. Close monitoring of fetal growth is warranted among women with heart disease treated with beta‐blockers. As drug therapy in pregnancy concerns both mother and fetus, an optimum balance for both should be the goal.
Immediate skin‐to‐skin contact may have beneficial effects on the cardiorespiratory stabilisation in very preterm infants
Authors: Linnér Agnes , Lode Kolz Karoline , Klemming Stina , Bergman Nils , Lilliesköld Siri , Markhus Pike Hanne , Westrup Björn , Rettedal Siren , Jonas Wibke
Published: April 2022

Aim

Our aim was to investigate what effect immediate skin‐to‐skin contact with a parent had on the cardiorespiratory stabilisation of very preterm infants.

Methods

This randomised clinical trial was conducted during 2018–2021 at two university hospitals with three neonatal intensive care units in Norway and Sweden. Infants born from 28+0 to 32+6 weeks of gestation were randomised to immediate skin‐to‐skin contact with a parent for the first six postnatal hours or standard incubator care. The outcome was a composite cardiorespiratory stability score, based on serial measures of heart and respiratory rate, respiratory support, fraction of inspired oxygen and oxygen saturation.

Results

We recruited 91 newborn infants with a mean gestational age of 31+1 (range 28+4–32+6) weeks and mean birth weight of 1534 (range 555–2440) g: 46 received immediate skin‐to‐skin contact and 45 received incubator care. The group who received skin‐to‐skin contact had an adjusted mean score of 0.52 higher (95% confidence interval 0.38–0.67, p < 0.001) on a scale from zero to six when compared to the control group.

Conclusion

Immediate skin‐to‐skin contact for the first six postnatal hours had beneficial effects on the cardiorespiratory stabilisation of very preterm infants.
Changes in the network structure of mental health after a multicomponent positive psychology intervention in adolescents: A moderated network analysis
Authors: Tejada‐Gallardo Claudia , Blasco‐Belled Ana , Alsinet Carles
Published: April 2022

The effectiveness of multicomponent positive psychology interventions (MPPIs) on adolescents' mental health has been studied with the use of standard procedures throughout the scientific literature. However, little is known about the potential mechanisms underlying the network structure of mental health following the dual‐factor model after an MPPI. We relied on network analysis to explore the reorganization of the connections between mental health indicators after a school‐based MPPI. Adolescents from two high schools in Spain were randomly allocated to the 6‐week intervention group (n = 85) or to the control group (n = 135). Network analysis showed that the relations between the two differentiated network dimensions of mental health (i.e. well‐being and psychological distress) changed after the intervention. Unlike control participants, emotional well‐being was negatively associated with depression and stress, while psychological well‐being was positively related to stress after the intervention. The present study supports the viability of the network approach in analyzing the connections between mental health indicators as defined by the dual‐factor model and the contribution of MPPIs to change the complex pattern of relations between the dimensions of well‐being and psychological distress.
Lead isotope analysis of Meroitic period glass from Nubia with LA‐MC‐ICP‐MS
Authors: Spedding Juliet V
Published: April 2022

Analytical studies of glass found at sites in Nubia (ancient Sudan) have shown the variety of glass present during ancient times. This study examines Meroitic period (c.350 bce–350 ce) glass from Nubia: here categorized as low‐lead and high‐lead. The lead (Pb) isotopes of 13 of the high‐lead sealing‐wax red and low‐lead translucent blue, translucent blue/green, colourless and red samples from the sites of Faras, Gabati and Meroe are examined by laser ablation multi‐collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐MC‐ICP‐MS) analysis to suggest an Eastern Mediterranean source for the lead due to their overlap with Egyptian and Levantine vitreous and non‐vitreous objects and five Turkish and Greek ore sources.
An examination of Recuay kaolin pottery production and exchange through petrography and LA‐ICP‐MS (100–700 CE; Ancash, Peru)
Authors: Grávalos M. Elizabeth , Bria Rebecca E. , Lau George F.
Published: April 2022

This article examines the production and exchange of kaolin ceramics among Recuay communities in highland Ancash, Peru (ca. 100–700 ce). We draw upon geochemical (laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry; LA‐ICP‐MS) and petrographic data to investigate raw material use, provenance, and intraregional trade. We present data on 115 decorated and plain ceramics sampled from nine archaeological sites, which we compare with data on raw kaolin clays. The results indicate a complex network of production and exchange, which included: (1) local production near almost all sites; (2) the limited exchange of ceramic vessels; and (3) the possible distribution of kaolin clay from at least two sources.