bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Responsible leadership and workplace safety: do safety culture and safety motivation matter?
Authors: Yeboah Moses Ahomka , Kalvei Mustapha , Ansong Linda Obeng , Ansong Abraham
Published: July 2024

Purpose

We sought to examine the effect of responsible leadership on employee safety in the workplace both directly and indirectly through mediation effects of safety motivation and safety culture in the oil and gas industry in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

We employed a quantitative approach (survey) to collect data from 226 pump attendants of the fuel stations in the Accra Metropolis. This study used PLS-SEM to test the research hypotheses in the study.

Findings

Our findings show that leaders’ responsible behaviours had a positive and significant impact on both their employees’ wellbeing and safety as well as their motivation to adhere to safety standards and also imbibe a sense of safety culture in the workplace. Furthermore, the inclusion of safety motivation and safety culture as mediating variables reveal that leaders’ ability to achieve a robust workplace safety through responsible leadership was partially contingent on these organisational factors.

Practical implications

We highlight that leaders should continuously improve their responsible leadership behaviours and also the management of oil and gas companies should encourage managers to focus on day-to-day interactions with employees on safety-related matters (e.g. effectively inspiring and motivating employees to adhere to safety standards and procedures and applying sanctions when necessary).

Originality/value

This study answers the recent calls for a contingency perspective on the relationship between leadership styles and organisational/employee level outcomes by providing empirical support for our conceptual model which identifies safety motivation and safety culture as important organisational factors by which responsible leaders can positively influence workplace safety.
The influence of fintech and financial knowledge on sustainable business success: exploring the mediating effect of financial accessibility in Indian
Authors: Sreenu Nenavath
Published: July 2024

Purpose

The present study aims to investigate the effects of sector 4.0 technologies, particularly Financial Technology (Fintech), on Sustainable Business Success (SBS) within the Indian garment sector. It aims to analyse the impact of Fintech Integration (IF) and Extent of Financial Knowledge (EFK) on sustainability performance, with a focus on understanding the mediating effect of Financial Accessibility (FA) in this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilizes covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) to analyse data collected from 683 enterprises in the Indian garment sector. The theoretical frameworks of Ecological Modernization Theory (EMT) and the Resource-Based View are employed to guide the research.

Findings

The investigation reveals that Fintech Integration (IF) and environmental friendliness knowledge significantly impact the promotion and maintenance of sustainability within the Indian garment sector. Moreover, the study highlights the moderating influence of financial Accessibility (FA) on the associations among fintech integration, Extent of Financial Knowledge, and sustainability attainment. Furthermore, sensitivity studies demonstrate that improved financial access positively affects a firm’s sustainability performance.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the existing literature by addressing significant knowledge gaps and offering practical insights for managers and policymakers in the Ready-Made Garments (RMG) industry. It provides a comprehensive approach that integrates fintech and financial expertise to enhance credit accessibility and foster long-term viability for enterprises within the Indian garment sector. The originality lies in its holistic perspective, combining technological integration with the Extent of Financial Knowledge to drive sustainability in a specific industrial context, thus providing valuable guidance for industry stakeholders.
How can firms get benefits from the innovation ecosystem? Empirical evidence from Pakistan
Authors: Tang Heng , Ali Shoaib
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This research intends to analyze the innovation ecosystem factors that play a vital role in firm performance. As a result, large-scale empirical studies on the innovation ecosystem are rare, and fewer efforts have been made to determine if and how different factors affect the ecosystem models of firms. There has yet to be a substantial empirical study on the innovation ecosystem.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were acquired from Pakistani IT companies. The results show that factors of the innovation ecosystem significantly contribute to business performance. The essential assumption is that resource endowment, organizational culture, knowledge and competence, and technology capability are allied to the innovation ecosystem.

Findings

The findings are crucial from a managerial view because firms must focus on changing their innovation ecosystem factors model to achieve greater performance. Radical changes in the firms will only be worthwhile if they value their resource endowments. To attain superior firm performance via influential factors of the innovation ecosystem, IT administrators need to build organizational cultural capacities to adapt to changes brought on by digitization quickly and effectively. However, this must be supplemented by improving organizational knowledge, competencies and technological capabilities to enable organizations to modify their ecosystems.

Originality/value

Eventually, firms can better respond to changes in their settings if they combine these variables by implementing an effective innovation ecosystem model, which leads to greater sector and superior financial performance.
CSR practices and earnings management: the mediating effect of accounting conservatism and the moderating effect of corporate governance: evidence from Finnish companies
Authors: Alqatan Ahmad , Hichri Abir
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This study aims to examine the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on earnings management (EM). Furthermore, the authors assessed the mediating effect of accounting conservatism (AC) on the CSR-EM relationship over the long term. The authors also tested the moderating effect of corporate governance (CG) on the AC-EM relationship in the Finnish context.

Design/methodology/approach

Linear regressions were applied to panel data using Thomson Reuters’ ASSET4 database. Data were collected from 140 Finnish firms between 2005 and 2022.

Findings

The results confirm that negative CSR has an impact on EM. Moreover, AC mediates the relationship between CSR and EM. Likewise, CG moderates the relationship between AC and EM.

Practical implications

This paper may interest academic researchers and potential and current investors. This paper will help investors make relevant investment decisions. Managers should pay special attention to their EM. These firms must take social responsibility vis-a-vis all their stakeholders.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to use AC as a mediator and CG as a moderating variable in the Finnish context. This research will enrich the literature by providing a comprehensive picture of the relationships between CSR and EM through AC and CG in developed markets. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the implications of CSR in Finnish companies.
Mapping the field of sensory marketing: a comprehensive bibliometric analysis
Authors: Shivangi  , Kumar Jitender
Published: July 2024

Purpose

The objective of this review article is to meticulously examine and critically evaluate the present body of literature on sensory marketing. The study aims to explore this domain’s latest trends and prospects using diverse metrics such as annual publication trends, authorship patterns, most cited publications, sources analysis, co-citation patterns, keyword analysis and thematic analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

In the study, bibliometric analysis is used to assess the different advancements in the field. To perform performance analysis, science mapping and network analysis, VOSviewer, Bibloshiny and MS Excel are used. Additionally, the Scopus database is used to extract literature related to the subject area.

Findings

The most cited author of the domain is Biswas D, while the most prolific source of the domain is Plos One, additionally “An integrative review of sensory marketing: Engaging the senses to affect perception, judgment, and behavior” is stated as the most cited publication in the domain. Moreover, experiential marketing is reported as the most important keyword of the domain. Additionally, other findings reported are stated in the main body of the research study.

Practical implications

Practical implications of the study extended to marketing practitioners, future researchers and various stakeholders interested in the subject area.

Originality/value

What stands this research paper apart from other studies is the comprehensive approach to the evaluation of literature using VOSviewer, Bibloshiny and MS Excel and in-depth evaluation of the domain using performance analysis, science mapping, network analysis and thematic analysis.
Sustainable pre-treatment of cellulose knitwear in digital pigment printing processes
Authors: Glogar Martina , Ercegovic Razic Sanja
Published: July 2024

Purpose

In the field of research on the application of digital printing to textile materials, there are still many research issues that arise from the very demanding interaction of digital printing technology and the complex, heterogeneous surface system of textile materials. This is precisely why the area of pre-treatment of textile materials is in need of research, and the purpose of this research was to establish the level of influence of physical and chemical activation of the textile surface with plasma and the possibility of improving the quality of the print and colour reproduction.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper deals with the possibility of applying argon and oxygen cold low-pressure plasma in the processing of cellulose knitted fabrics, with the aim of improving the quality of the print and colour reproduction in digital pigment inkjet printing. The selected raw material samples were 100% raw cotton and lyocell. After plasma treatment, the samples were printed by digital ink jet printing with water-based pigment printing ink. An analysis of the micromorphological structure of untreated and plasma-treated samples before and after printing was carried out, and a comparative analysis of the colour of the printed elements was carried out depending on the pre-treatment.

Findings

The conducted research showed a positive influence of plasma pre-treatment on the coverage of the fibre surface with pigments, the uniformity of pigment distribution along the fibre surface and the uniformity of the distribution of the polymeric binder layer. This has a positive effect on colour reproduction. Also, certain improvements in colourfastness to washing were obtained.

Research limitations/implications

Considering the complexity of the topic, although exhaustive, this research is not sufficient in itself, but opens up new questions and gives ideas for further research that must be carried out in this area.

Practical implications

Also, this kind of research contributes to the possibility of adopting the idea of industrial plasma transformation, as an ecologically sustainable functionalisation of textiles, which has not yet been established.

Originality/value

This research is certainly a contribution to the establishment of acceptable textile pre-treatment methods in the field of digital printing, as one of the key quality factors in digital textile printing (DTP). Considering the still large number of obstacles and unanswered questions encountered in the field of digital printing on textiles, this kind of research is a strong contribution to the understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of the complex interaction between printing ink and textile.
Shifting job expectations in the era of generative AI hype – perspectives of journalists and copywriters
Authors: Vicsek Lilla , Pinter Robert , Bauer Zsófia
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This interview study examines Hungarian journalists' and copywriters' expectations of generative AI’s impact on their professions and factors influencing these views during a period of hype.

Design/methodology/approach

While acknowledging the specialized knowledge of journalists and copywriters relative to the general public, the study employs the sociology of expectations framework to interpret their anticipations not as objective forecasts of the future, but rather as phenomena shaped by diverse influences. The research comprises 30 semi-structured interviews conducted in spring 2023 to explore these expectations and their contributing factors.

Findings

Results reveal ChatGPT’s media coverage as pivotal, encouraging the professionals interviewed to experiment with AI, reassess their roles, and cause a shift in their job expectations. At the same time, this shift was limited. Skepticism about hyperbolic media formulations, their own experiences with ChatGPT and projecting its constraints into the future, contextual factors, and optimism bias contributed to moderating their expectations. They perceived AI as an enhancer of efficiency and quality, not as a radical disruptor. Copywriters were more open to integrating AI in their work, than journalists.

Research limitations/implications

The results underscore the importance of further research to explore subjective experiences associated with technological change, particularly considering their complex social, psychological, and cultural influences.

Originality/value

The study uniquely contributes to the sociology of expectations by highlighting how a complex interplay of factors can shape professionals' anticipation of the impact of AI on their careers, including optimism bias and media hype.
Effects of the instructional message used to introduce game-based learning, prior knowledge, prior gaming experience and flow on learning
Authors: Portier-Charneau Coralie , Sanchiz Mylene
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to examine whether the instructional message used to introduce game-based learning (GBL), prior knowledge, flow and prior gaming experience have an impact on secondary students’ learning outcomes, perceived game utility and motivation to use the game.

Design/methodology/approach

Fifty-four 9th grades students enrolled in this quasi-experimental study. Both groups played the same game. The experimental group was told that they would be playing a game, whereas the control group was told that they would be doing an exercise. The game was designed to promote knowledge recall about familiar mathematical concepts. Prior knowledge was assessed. An immediate and a two-days delayed post-evaluated learning outcomes. Flow, prior gaming experience, perceived game utility and motivation to use the game were assessed with questionnaires after playing.

Findings

Introducing the GBL activity as a game increased immediate learning outcomes for low knowledgeable students, but these benefits did not extend to longer term. Indeed, when the GBL activity was presented as an exercise, low higher knowledgeable students obtained poorer longer-term learning outcomes than more knowledgeable ones, whereas no difference appeared when the GBL was introduced as an exercise. Prior gaming experience and the type of instructional message used to introduce a GBL activity positively influenced perceived game utility and motivation to use the game.

Originality/value

This study is the first to highlight that the way a GBL activity is framed affects differently low and higher knowledgeable students’ learning outcomes and influences perceived game utility and motivation to use the game.
Effect of composite textured rough surfaces on the lubrication performance of cylindrical roller bearings
Authors: Deng Linfeng , Su Jie , Jin Zeyuan
Published: July 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of different types of textures on the friction lubrication performance of cylindrical roller bearings.

Design/methodology/approach

In the present study, the composite texture hydrodynamic lubrication model that takes into account the effects of surface roughness is established, and the Reynolds equation for the oil film is numerically solved using the finite difference method. The study investigates the oil film carrying capacity and maximum pressure of bearings under two different arrangements of four composite textures and conducts a comparative analysis of the oil film characteristics under various texture parameters and surface roughness levels.

Findings

When the roughness of the inner texture surface and the contact surface are equal, the bearing capacity of the composite texture is intermediate between the two textures. The impact trend of surface roughness on fluid dynamic pressure effects varies with the type of composite texture; the internal roughness of the texture affects the micro-hydrodynamic pressure action. Composite textures with different depths exhibit improved bearing capacities; elliptical cylindrical parallel and elliptical hemispherical parallel textures perform better when their area densities are similar, while other types of composite textures show enhanced bearing performance as the ratio of their area densities increases.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the theoretical investigations and analyses on designing the textured rolling bearings with high lubrication performance.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-02-2024-0050
Understanding experiences of adverse digital incorporation of ridesharing drivers in Bangladesh
Authors: Hazra Ummaha , Priyo Asad Karim Khan , Sheikh Jamil Jahangir
Published: July 2024

Purpose

Bangladesh recently experienced frequent demonstrations by drivers of ridesharing applications. Since the drivers are not excluded from the technology environment, rather they are a part of the digital ecosystem, these protests may point toward the existence of unequal interactional outcomes for different stakeholders afforded by the digital system within the country’s social and cultural contexts. This research is an attempt to unveil the reasons behind value inequality experienced by drivers of ridesharing applications in Bangladesh and understand how power asymmetries influence adverse digital incorporation that can result in the emergence of resistance.

Design/methodology/approach

We obtain the data by conducting interviews with 91 drivers of ridesharing platforms in Dhaka, Bangladesh and analyze our data using thematic analysis. We propose an integrated framework unifying adverse digital incorporation (ADI) with the “powercube” model to illuminate our inquiry.

Findings

We find the existence of all three drivers to ADI – ignorance/deceit, direct compulsion and exclusion – exclusion being the most prevalent – that are experienced by the drivers of ridesharing applications in Bangladesh. We also find support for the four causes behind value inequality – design inequality, resource inequality, institutional inequality and relational inequality with the respondents placing the highest emphasis on relational inequality. There are visible, hidden and invisible forms of power involved in how the drivers are incorporated into the ridesharing platforms. The forms of power in the platform environment are exercised primarily in closed spaces and the invited spaces for the drivers are very few. The drivers in response to the closed spaces of power create their own space (claimed space) through the help of social media and other messaging apps. We also find that the power over the drivers is exercised at global, national and local levels.

Practical implications

Our research identifies norms specific to the social and cultural contexts of Bangladesh and can help decision-makers to make more informed choices during the formulation of future digital platform guidelines. Based on the research findings, the paper also makes short-term and long-term policy recommendations.

Social implications

This research has implications for creating a decent work environment for ridesharing drivers which broadly falls under the Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8).

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that integrates the ADI model with the “powercube” framework to reveal that the drivers working on the ridesharing platforms in Bangladesh are adversely incorporated into the digital system where value inequalities are operating within the power dimensions.
Does the balance matter? The gender within government and municipal indebtedness
Authors: Cabaleiro Roberto , Buch Enrique
Published: July 2024

Purpose

It was to investigate whether gender diversity – gender balance – within political municipal government teams affected the municipal indebtedness. Government ideology, the gender of the mayor and the wealth of the municipal environment were considered as moderators.

Design/methodology/approach

We used GMM estimators on two dynamic models and a sample of 144 Spanish municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants for the period 2013–2022.

Findings

Gender diversity within government teams reduces the municipal debt. Furthermore, the government right-wing ideology and the female gender of the mayor are robust moderators of the effects of the gender diversity within government teams on institutional indebtedness.

Research limitations/implications

The differences in financial autonomy and powers to apply public policies by municipalities in the different countries, as well as some differential aspects within the right-wing ideological spectrum, may condition our findings. Within relational demography, gender diversity impacts municipal performance, opening the way to explore other relations in future research.

Practical implications

The tendency to implement legislation to try to achieve high gender balances within political decision-making bodies generates higher gender diversity, and our research shows that it leads to a better financial performance, a matter of transcendental importance for EU, credit rating agencies, and lenders.

Originality/value

This study provides new knowledge about the effect of gender within political decision-making bodies on municipal budgetary management. It is the first research analysing the impact of gender balance in the strict sense within decision-making bodies on municipal indebtedness.
Protective role of apigenin nanoparticles in cisplatin induced cardiotoxicity in rats
Authors: Alaqeel Nouf
Published: July 2024

Purpose

This study aims to assess the effect of both apigenin-loaded zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) and apigenin only against cisplatin (CP)-induced experimental cardiotoxicity.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 32Wister rats (male) were randomly divided (n = 8) into four groups. Normal control group, CP group received CP (20 mg/kg); treated group I received CP and then received apigenin (0.78 mg/kg/day) orally; treated group II received CP and then received apigenin loaded ZnONPs. At the end of the experiment (10 days), samples were extracted from each rat for the assessment of complete blood picture, lipid profile, atherogenic indices, oxidative status, inflammatory and cardiotoxicity markers as well as histological examination.

Findings

The results indicated that CP produced significant alterations in the complete blood picture, lipidemic profile, atherogenic indices, antioxidation capacity and cardiac inflammatory markers as well as function enzymes as compared with the control group. Administration of apigenin only showed a non-significant change in the atherogenic indices, oxidative status and cardiotoxicity parameters, indicating incomplete cardio-protection against CP upon. Additionally, all the observed alterations in CP group were reversed when apigenin nanoparticle at lower dose was used with ZnONPs which was also confirmed by histopathological investigation.

Originality/value

The apigenin loaded ZnONPs exert protective effects against CP-induced experimental cardiotoxicity and improved cardiac function, suggesting a potential adjuvant role of apigenin nanoparticles against cardiotoxicity.
Disruption of pollination by herbivores is rescued by nectar yeasts
Authors: Deng Guo‐Cui , Dai Can , Song Qing‐Qing , Zhang You‐Xuan , Zhang Xiao‐Xiao , Wang Xiao‐Fan , Gong Yan‐Bing
Published: July 2024

Attracting pollinators to achieve successful reproduction is a key challenge for wild plants that may be disturbed by complex multispecies interactions in nature. Pairwise plant–pollinator interactions have traditionally been studied for decades, while ignoring other ecological players may obscure a comprehensive understanding on how plants recruit partners or combat enemies in the pollination process. Hence, integrated studies considering the inherent complexity of ecological interactions are needed, which may open up new perspectives for deciphering intricate systems and predicting ecological consequences.

We examined the presence of nectar yeasts using a combination of high‐throughput sequencing, cultivation and microscopy and quantified floral herbivory by evaluating the incidence of flowers with visible holes in 13 natural populations of Iris bulleyana in the Hengduan Mountains of southwest China during 2017–2022. We combined yeast inoculation and herbivore manipulation treatments to illustrate the isolated and combined impacts of two contrasting nectarivorous organisms, the ascomycetous yeast Metschnikowia reukaufii and adult sawflies, on pollinator visitation and plant reproductive success in two populations. In the lab, we first employed gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to profile the volatile metabolites of yeast‐inoculated nectar relative to control, followed by a behavioural bioassay to test the preference of honeybees for these microbial volatiles.

Yeasts commonly inhabited floral nectar and insect herbivores frequently bit holes in the perianth tube to consume nectar and nectaries. Nectar yeasts indirectly facilitated plant reproduction through increased pollinator visits, probably because of microbial metabolism as honeybees preferred nectar volatiles produced by yeasts in behavioural bioassays. Insect herbivores increased total floral visits but reduced legitimate visits by inducing legitimate‐to‐robbing behavioural changes of honeybees, thus leading to lower seed production. The detrimental effect of herbivory was mitigated by the presence of yeasts, which diminished the relative proportion of robbing visits and thereby ‘rescued’ flowers from reproductive failure.

Synthesis: Overall, we found contrasting effects of non‐pollinator species, including both micro‐ and macro‐organisms, on plant–pollinator interactions in a biodiversity hotspot, where pollination deficit may be a ubiquitous phenomenon. Our findings suggest that both microbial and herbivory effects are likely to be important in explaining the exact causes of pollen limitation in species‐rich areas, highlighting the biological context dependence of species interactions in natural ecosystems.
Disturbance‐mediated community characteristics and anthropogenic pressure intensify understorey plant invasions in natural forests
Authors: Jo Insu , Bellingham Peter J. , Mason Norman W. H. , McCarthy James K. , Peltzer Duane A. , Richardson Sarah J. , Wright Elaine F.
Published: July 2024

Although disturbance is considered a major driver of plant invasions across many systems, our understanding of the mechanisms by which disturbance mediates understorey invasions in natural forests is limited.

We used a national natural forest inventory dataset spanning New Zealand's wide climatic and soil fertility gradients to disentangle disturbance‐mediated community characteristics driving abundance, species richness and functional composition of understorey plant invasions.

Disturbance‐mediated declines in canopy tree abundance and increases in soil fertility and pH increased non‐native plant richness and cover relative to co‐occurring native plant assemblages. Cover of non‐native species also increased with proximity to anthropogenic land cover.

Non‐native plant assemblages had higher community‐weighted mean (CWM) values for specific leaf area (SLA) but lower CWM values for height and woodiness relative to native assemblages irrespective of disturbance. However, greater nearby anthropogenic land cover drove increased woodiness in non‐native assemblages but decreased woodiness in co‐occurring native assemblages.

Synthesis: Our study provides the first national‐scale evidence that canopy disturbance effects on soil properties increase both richness and abundance of non‐native plants in natural forest understories. We also revealed functional trait differences between native and non‐native assemblages (SLA in particular), which could alter fundamental forest ecosystem processes like litter decomposition and nutrient cycling. Finally, landscape‐scale anthropogenic impacts may exacerbate forest invasions by increasing non‐native abundance and favouring woody invaders, which may achieve dominance in future forest communities over the longer‐term.
The messy ethics of household biogas in Tanzania: ambivalence and aesthetics in energy‐from‐waste
Authors: Phillips Kristin D.
Published: July 2024

Household biogas is an off‐grid energy technology that converts human, animal, and agricultural waste into fuel. This article analyses the emergence and use of household biogas technologies in Tanzania to theorize energy ethics in a postcolonial world. It engages Jane Bennett's theorization of the ‘energetics’ and aestheticization of ethics to ask how people assert and think through their own notions of good energy in postcolonial Africa. It documents two distinct registers people use to evaluate the ethics of biogas. The ‘circle of life’ register mobilizes popular environmental aesthetics of circle, cycle, and reuse as well as neoliberal and socialist political aesthetics of self‐containment and self‐reliance to enchant biogas with an ethical aura. The ‘excremental ambivalence’ register, alternately, disenchants biogas through referencing the polyvalent semiotics of shit and the sedimentation of racial and economic inequalities that condition the propagation of biogas. People engage both registers in the context of specific political economic and ecological conditions that also affect biogas uptake or refusal. The article thus argues that political economy, materiality, and aestheticization all play a role in people's ethical orientation to biogas and that ambivalence is a defining feature of energy transition in the Global South.
Clean, competitive, and productive? The impact of environment‐friendly technologies on exporting and productivity of the manufacturing companies in Belarus
Authors: Shershunovich Yauheniya , Mirzabaev Alisher
Published: July 2024

The impact of trade on the environment is a big concern, with increasing focus on the role of international trade in climate change. This study explores the bidirectional relationships between export intensity, adoption of environmentally friendly measures, and productivity using the firm‐level data from Belarus. It aims to answer whether exporting enterprises are more environmentally oriented and whether the application of cleaner technologies brings productivity improvement and increases the export intensity of an enterprise. We estimate a system of structural equations using three‐stage least squares in which export intensity, adoption of environmentally friendly measures, and productivity are by design treated as endogenous. The findings show that when a company adopts one more environmentally friendly measure, it increases its export intensity by 4.4%–4.6%. Adoption of cleaner technologies improves labor productivity in a company by 20.7%, but it is negatively associated with its resource productivity (a 1.9% decrease), which results in the neutral effect on the total productivity.
Unpredictable supplementation of vitamin D to infants in the neonatal intensive care unit: An experimental study
Authors: Albinsson Eva , Grönlund Astrid Bergentz , Paulsson Mattias , Wikström Sverre , Ahlsson Fredrik
Published: July 2024

Aim

Extremely premature infants receive nutrition and medication through nasogastric tubes. Breastmilk given accordingly is subject to fat loss. This study aimed to investigate whether this could also apply to vitamin D.

Methods

A questionnaire investigated vitamin D administration at a level III neonatal intensive care unit in Sweden in 2021. Feeding simulations with breastmilk and various vitamin D mixtures were done accordingly. After administration, vitamin D3 concentration was analysed using chromatography with mass spectrometry, followed by repeated simulations with vitamin D mixtures without breastmilk in 2023.

Results

The questionnaire was completed by 10 persons. Vitamin D was administered as drops using an enteral syringe and a nasogastric tube in conjunction with a breastmilk meal. In the feeding simulations, vitamin D3 concentration after administration was significantly higher using a syringe alone compared to standard administration. When vitamins were administered according to standard but without breastmilk, 100% of the vitamin D and 40% of the multivitamins were lost. The vitamins adhered to the material, mainly in the nasogastric tube.

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that standard vitamin D supplementation in the neonatal intensive care unit may be unpredictable when administered by enteral syringe and nasogastric tube. We suggest using direct oral administration whenever possible.
CREST‐UK: Real‐world effectiveness, safety and outpatient delivery of CPX‐351 for first‐line treatment of newly diagnosed therapy‐related AML and AML with myelodysplasia‐related changes in the UK
Authors: Mehta Priyanka , Campbell Victoria , Maddox Jamie , Floisand Yngvar , Kalakonda Anita J. M. , O'Nions Jenny , Coats Thomas , Nagumantry Sateesh , Hodgson Katherine , Whitmill Richard , Amott Ian , Flynn Gillian , Taussig David , Zhao Rui , Cunningham Nicholas , Roset Montse , Cuadras Daniel , Medalla Greg , Kuter Hayley , Park Saemi , Legg Alex , Khan Anjum B.
Published: July 2024

Favourable outcomes with CPX‐351 versus conventional 7 + 3 were demonstrated in the pivotal phase III trial in adults aged 60–75 years with newly diagnosed, highrisk/secondary acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). As a complement to the clinical trial and to address important data gaps, the CPX‐351 Real‐World Effectiveness and SafeTy (CREST‐UK; NCT05169307) study evaluated the use of CPX‐351 in routine clinical practice in the UK, in 147 patients with newly diagnosed therapy‐related AML or AML with myelodysplasia‐related changes. Best response of complete remission or complete remission with incomplete platelet or neutrophil recovery was achieved by 53% of evaluable patients. Kaplan–Meier median overall survival (OS) was 12.8 months (95% confidence interval 9.2–15.3). Fifty (34%) patients proceeded to haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT); median OS landmarked from the HCT date was not reached. There were no new safety concerns with CPX‐351 identified in CREST‐UK. Patients treated with CPX‐351 in the outpatient setting spent an average of 24.4, 16.7, 28.2, and 27.7 fewer days on the ward compared with inpatients during first induction, second induction, first consolidation, and second consolidation, respectively. The results from CREST‐UK provide valuable insights into the effectiveness, safety, and outpatient delivery of CPX‐351 in routine clinical practice in the UK.
Efficacy of thrombopoietin receptor agonists versus rituximab in non‐responsive immune thrombocytopenia—A single centre retrospective analysis
Authors: Stolz Sebastian M. , Schwotzer Rahel , Rösler Wiebke , Hofer Kevin D. , Balabanov Stefan , Manz Markus G. , Rieger Max J.
Published: July 2024

Management of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) beyond initial glucocorticoid therapy is challenging. In this retrospective single‐centre cohort study, we compared all ITP patients relapsed or non‐responsive to glucocorticoid therapy treated with either continuous TPO‐RAs (n = 35) or rituximab induction (n = 20) between 2015 and 2022. While both groups showed high initial complete response rates (CR, 68.6 vs. 80.0%, ns), the overall rate of progression to the next therapy was higher after time‐limited rituximab (75.0 vs. 42.9%), resulting in a lower relapse‐free survival (median 16.6 vs. 25.8 months, log‐rank; p < 0.05). We conclude that both treatments show similar initial efficacy and their ideal duration of therapy warrants further investigation.
A pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic analysis of l‐glutamine for the treatment of sickle cell disease: Implications for understanding the mechanism of action and evaluating response to therapy
Authors: Sadaf Alina , Dong Min , Pfeiffer Amanda , Korpik Jennifer , Kalfa Theodosia A. , Latham Teresa , Vinks Alexander A. , Ware Russell E. , Quinn Charles T.
Published: July 2024

The mechanisms of action of l‐glutamine for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD) are not well understood and there are no validated clinical biomarkers to assess response. We conducted a three‐week, dose‐ascending trial of glutamine and measured the pharmacokinetic (PK) exposure parameters, peak concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve (AUC). We used a panel of biomarkers to investigate the pharmacodynamics (PD) of glutamine and studied PK–PD relationships. There was no plasma accumulation of glutamine, glutamate, arginine or other amino acids over time, but modestly improved arginine bioavailability was observed. In standard analysis by dose levels over time, there were no measurable effects on blood counts, viscosity, ektacytometry or reactive oxygen species (ROS). In PK–PD analysis, however, higher glutamine exposure (Cmax or AUC) was associated with increased whole blood viscosity and cellular dehydration, yet also with higher haemoglobin concentration, increased haematocrit‐to‐viscosity ratio, decreased reticulocyte ROS, improved RBC deformability and decreased point of sickling. This novel PK–PD analysis identified biomarkers reflecting the positive and negative effects of glutamine, helping to elucidate its mechanisms of action in SCD. PK‐optimized dosing to achieve glutamine exposure (AUC or Cmax) that is associated with salutary biological effects should be studied to support its therapeutic use.
GATA2 deficiency syndrome: A compensatory mechanism gone awry?
Authors: Rio‐Machin Ana
Published: July 2024

In their paper, using zebrafish models, Gioacchino et al. have demonstrated the GATA2 haploinsufficiency, the genetic hallmark of GATA2 deficiency syndrome, promotes erythroid and myeloid cytopenia, and have discovered a self‐regulatory mechanism to compensate GATA2 levels and protein function.

Commentary on: Gioacchino et al. GATA2 heterozygosity causes an epigenetic feedback mechanism resulting in myeloid and erythroid dysplasia. Br J Haematol 2024;205:580‐593.
Change from Above or Pressure from Below? The Diffusion of Cannabis Reform in Latin America
Authors: Durán‐Martínez Angélica , Pennell Connor
Published: July 2024

What explains variation in the adoption of cannabis regulation reforms, both for medical and recreational purposes, across Latin America? This article argues that social mobilisation is essential to understand where debates for reform emerge and become stronger. Yet it further contends that policy adoption depends on the existence of pro‐reform elite political coalitions. These coalitions in turn depend on whether drug policy becomes a legislative priority and on specific conditions of the party system. The article compares four countries that show variation in the timing and content of reform: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Dependence of Europe's most threatened mammals on movement to adapt to climate change
Authors: Alagador Diogo
Published: July 2024

Current rates of climate change and gloomy climate projections confront managers and conservation planners with the need to integrate climate change into already complex decision‐making processes. Predicting and prioritizing climatically stable areas and the areas likely to facilitate adaptive species’ range adjustments are important stages in maximizing conservation outcomes and rationalizing future land management. I determined, for the most threatened European terrestrial mammal species, the spatial adaptive trajectories (SATs) of highest expected persistence up to 2080. I devised simple spatial network indices for evaluation of species in those SATs: total persistence; proportion of SATs that offer in situ adaptation (i.e., stable refugia); number of SATs converging in a site; and relationship between SAT convergence and persistence and protected areas, the Natura 2000 and Emerald networks, and areas of low human disturbance. I compared the performance of high‐persistence SATs with a scenario in which each species remained in the areas with the best climatic conditions in the baseline period. The 1000 most persistence SATs for each of the 39 species covered one fifth of Europe. The areas with the largest adaptive potential (i.e., high persistence, stability, and SAT convergence) did not always overlap for all the species. Predominantly, these regions were located in southwestern Europe, Central Europe, and Scandinavia, with some occurrences in Eastern Europe. For most species, persistence in the most climatically suitable areas during the baseline period was lower than within SATs, underscoring their reliance on adaptive movements. Importantly, conservation areas (particularly protected areas) covered only minor fractions of species persistence among SATs, and hubs of spatial climate adaptation (i.e., areas of high SAT convergence) were seriously underrepresented in most conservation areas. These results highlight the need to perform analyses on spatial species’ dynamics under climate change.
Assessment of Posttransplant Bacteremia Caused by Extended‐Spectrum Beta‐Lactamase–Producing Gram‐Negative Bacteria Among Kidney Transplant Recipients
Authors: Tilley Madeleine S. , Edwards Seth W. , Brown Matthew L. , Li Peng , Mehta Shikha , Walker Jeremey , Gutierrez Kristofer C.
Published: July 2024

Background

Extended‐spectrum beta‐lactamase–producing gram‐negative rods (ESBL‐GNR) are a rising cause of bacteremia in kidney transplant recipients (KT). The study purpose was to examine patient mortality, allograft survival, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at the end of 1 year, and readmission rates while looking at treatment strategies among KTs with ESBL‐GNR and non–ESBL‐GNR bacteremia at our institution.

Methods

This study was a retrospective, cohort analysis of KTs with gram‐negative bacteremia from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021. The primary outcome of the study was mortality. Patient outcomes were assessed for 365 days after positive blood cultures.

Results

The study included 63 patients. Of these, 18 (29%) patients had bacteremia caused by an ESBL‐GNR and 45 (71%) patients had bacteremia caused by a non–ESBL‐GNR. Patient survival at 90 days was 94% in the ESBL‐GNR group and 96% in the non–ESBL‐GNR group. Ciprofloxacin was the most common antimicrobial therapy at discharge (68.9%) in the non–ESBL‐GNR group whereas ertapenem was the most common in the ESBL‐GNR group (44.5%). Median eGFR at discharge was 41 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the ESBL‐GNR group and 48 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the non–ESBL‐GNR group. Ninety‐day readmission occurred in 9 (50%) ESBL‐GNR patients and 14 (32%) non–ESBL‐GNR patients. None of the above comparisons are statistically significant (p > 0.05). Eleven (61%) ESBL‐GNR and 2 (4%) non–ESBL‐GNR patients used outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Among KTs with ESBL‐GNR bacteremia, no significant difference was detected in mortality or allograft function compared to non–ESBL‐GNR bacteremia.
A phase I thorough QT/QTc study evaluating therapeutic and supratherapeutic doses of avacopan in healthy participants
Authors: Miao Shichang , Staehr Peter , Tai Ezra , Darpo Borje , Xue Hongqi , Armas Danielle , Webster Kenneth , Oberoi Rajneet K.
Published: July 2024

This phase I thorough QTc, double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐ and positive‐controlled, parallel group, multiple‐dose study evaluated avacopan's effect on cardiac repolarization using concentration‐QTc (C‐QTc) as the primary analysis. Avacopan 30 mg b.i.d. (therapeutic dose) was administered orally on days 1 through 7 followed by avacopan 100 mg b.i.d. (supratherapeutic dose) on days 8 through 14 in 29 healthy participants. Moxifloxacin 400 mg and placebo were administered on days 1 and 15 in a nested crossover design for assay sensitivity in separate cohorts to 28 participants. Time‐matched plasma concentrations and up to 10 replicate ECGs were obtained on prespecified days at baseline and postdose on days 1, 7, 14, and 15. The mean change from baseline on QTcF for avacopan (−5.5 to 3.5 ms) was similar to placebo (−6.9 to 1.4 ms) across days 1, 7, and 14. The mean effect on ΔΔQTcF (90% CI) was estimated as 1.5 ms (−0.17 to 3.09) and 0.8 ms (−2.41 to 4.05) for 30 and 100 mg avacopan b.i.d. treatments, respectively. Based on the C‐QTc analysis, avacopan's effect on ΔΔQTcF >10 ms can be excluded within the observed plasma concentration range of up to ~1220 and ~335 ng/mL for avacopan and active major metabolite, M1, respectively. The estimated population slopes showed a shallow relationship, which was not statistically significant. There was no clinically meaningful effect of avacopan on heart rate or cardiac conduction (PR and QRS intervals). Avacopan appeared to be generally well tolerated in this study population.
It's more than just beating teen pregnancy: Incentivizing comprehensive sex education programs in the United States
Authors: Cauley Erin
Published: July 2024

Currently in the United States, many states provide abstinence only education to students, if sexual education is mandatory at all. This is largely because of the 2017 policy that redirected funding through grants from comprehensive sexual education to abstinence only education. This Note proposes that the current administration redirect the money back to comprehensive sexual education policies that were productive during the early 2010s. The federal government should also provide a level‐based curriculum to states to ease the implementation of comprehensive sexual education in schools.