bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact and success of health-care-related social media usage – pre- and post-COVID analysis
Authors: Srivastava Mallika , Raina Madhur
Published: October 2022

Purpose

The overall purpose of this empirically validated research paper is to determine factors that impact the success of using social media channels by consumers for salvaging health-care information by integrating constructs of the information system (IS) success model, e-health service quality and perceived usefulness during pre- and post-COVID settings.

Design/methodology/approach

Online survey responses of 243 consumers for study 1 and 184 consumers for study 2 were validated using factor analysis to understand consumers’ attitudes toward social media use. Constructs from existing literature and theories have been extracted to develop the proposed model, which has been empirically validated through statistical tests. A paired-samples t-test was also conducted to compare the customer satisfaction mean of pre- and post-COVID conditions; and word of mouth (WOM) for pre- and post-COVID conditions.

Findings

The outcome of this study supports that service quality and information quality conclusively influence customer satisfaction of consumers for health-care information among respondents pre COVID, and service quality, perceived usefulness and information quality conclusively affect customer satisfaction of consumers for health-care information among respondents post COVID. Furthermore, the e-health service quality contributes noteworthy in shaping the consumers’ satisfaction with social media usage for study 2 and information quality for study 1. A paired-samples t-test revealed that the two groups behaved significantly differently for customer satisfaction and WOM in the two groups.

Research limitations/implications

At prima facie, this study has a geographical limitation for the sample size. The respondents for the online research were from the urban suburb of Bengaluru, India. The data collection has not focused on any precise social media channel.

Practical implications

Identification and comprehension of constructs that influence consumer satisfaction related to social media usage for health-care information can assist health-care managers in developing appropriate strategies for consumers to maximize social media usage. Moreover, this study provides an insight into the consumer’s perception of using social media channels for seeking health-care information.

Originality/value

This study recommends an empirically validated model for the success of social media in a consumer setting for the health-care scenario. This research is a unique attempt that inspects social media satisfaction by adapting constructs from existing theories of the IS success model, e-health service quality and perceived usefulness.
Determinants of panic buying during COVID-19: causes and consequences
Authors: Ali Md. Rostam , Khan Abdul Gaffar , Islam Md. Nazmul , Akram Umair
Published: October 2022

Purpose

Despite the abundant literature on panic buying during COVID-19 pandemic, the several causes and consequences of panic buying have been enormously ignored. The purpose of this study is to emphasize the consumer’s behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and illustrate the comprehensive theoretical model of consumers’ panic buying to investigate its causes and consequences in a developing country empirically to uncover this gap.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected data from 419 households of all socioeconomic classes of Bangladesh. A hierarchical regression model analyzed the data.

Findings

This study finds that internal and external factors such as rumors, government strategies, fear and anxiety and health security significantly affect consumers’ panic buying behaviors. This finding supports some theories of human behavior. This study also finds that panic buying has internal and external consequences such as price hike, shortage of supply of products, dissatisfaction of consumers and increase in utility (benefit) of the products but not on consumer’s budget. This finding supports as well as contradicts some established theories of human and consumer behavior.

Originality/value

This study proves that panic buying cannot help the consumers and they are the ultimate sufferers of this. The findings of this study will help the government, media, suppliers and consumers to interact properly to maintain panic buying during a pandemic crisis. Giving a holistic explanation of the causes and consequences of panic buying by introducing some novel variables is a momentous strength of this study.
Fifty shades of CEO duality: CEO personal risk preference, duality and corporate risk-taking
Authors: Lin Karen Jingrong , Karim Khondkar , Hu Rui , Dunn Shaymus
Published: October 2022

Purpose

This study investigates whether and how chief executive officers (CEOs) with personal risk-taking preference (expressed in owning a pilot license) will act differently when they are vested with additional power serving as board chairs.

Design/methodology/approach

Regressions analyses are performed using a sample of Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 1,500 firms with available data during 1996–2009. CEO's risk-taking outcomes are measured using firms' total risk, idiosyncratic risk and research and development expenditures (R&D) investment.

Findings

Firms led by pilot CEOs have greater firm risks, yet CEO duality attenuates the relationship. Further channel tests show that CEO duality suppresses CEO's risk-taking tendencies through managers' reputation concerns.

Research limitations/implications

The findings highlight the importance of incorporating human factors into consideration of appropriate governance structures for a firm. Future studies can expand the existing data and further explore the relationship between human factors and governance structures on other firm strategies.

Practical implications

Regulators may focus mainly on regulatory setting based on the “best practice” of governance yet overlook human influence in corporate dynamics. For shareholders, hiring managers with distinct styles will change corporate outcomes but different governance mechanisms could be devised to adapt to CEOs with various personalities.

Originality/value

Prior studies show that both CEO personal preferences and firms' governance structure affect corporate policies, and this paper complements prior studies by exploring how the two may interact to shape corporate policy and its outcomes. This paper also adds to the literature showing that CEO duality could serve a disciplinary role.
Analysing the master plan development and urban heritage of Najaf City in Iraq
Authors: Farhan Sabeeh Lafta , Alobaydi Dhirgham , Anton Daniel , Nasar Zuhair
Published: October 2022

Purpose

This paper is intended to assess the developments conducted on the master plan of Old Najaf, mainly in three areas: the Imam Ali Holy Shrine and its surroundings, the Great Market Area and the location of the Town of Visitors.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to analyse the implementation of the transformation phases in Old Najaf, the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) technique was used to identify and organise the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to the examined case study of the city's historic centre. At the first stage, all available data (photographs, maps, documents and reports) were collected from different sources, including previous studies by governmental institutions, departments and agencies. Ultimately, the SWOT analysis was used for each identified phase in the morphological evolution of the historic centre. This can offer an opportunity to observe the implications of urban planning practices in Old Najaf from the mid-20th century to the present day. In order to identify the well-organised urban design practices and appropriate strategies, the implemented studies and projects were examined by the four factors of the SWOT analysis.

Findings

The current results have revealed important urban transformations, already made and/or ongoing, of those aforementioned three main areas, which imply a great loss of the city's traditional character and urban heritage. Further, the environmental and socio-economic issues should be involved in the analysis to evaluate how they have influenced the current outcomes of Old Najaf in relation to the urban configuration and orientation.

Originality/value

The rich cultural and architectural heritage of Al-Najaf historic centre is dramatically neglected and seriously threatened to be lost. Hence, conservation on both tangible and intangible levels is urgently needed. It is the first paper which focussed on this problem and tries to learn from the British Conservation Experiences in this field.
Compensation structure impact on executive value judgment shift resulting in occurrence of fraud
Authors: Lux Don , Raval Vasant , Wingender John
Published: October 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine whether executive compensation structure is a predictor of a value judgment shift facilitating fraud. The Raval (2018) disposition-based fraud model theorizes that in a fraud, a judgment shift occurs that results in an intentional action. Judgment shifts are influenced by intertemporal rewards, an executive compensation structure comprising salary (immediate reward) and delayed compensation in performance-based incentives.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an archival data set consisting of frauds identified through Securities and Exchange Commission Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases, the compensation structure of executives involved in frauds is compared against the compensation structure of executives in a peer control group.

Findings

There was a significant difference in the intertemporal rewards of the compensation structures between the two groups, indicating that compensation structure presents intertemporal choices leading to a judgment shift that influences the deliberate action of fraud.

Research limitations/implications

This study represents the first empirical test of the disposition-based fraud model using intertemporal rewards leading to judgment shift.

Practical implications

Executive compensation structure should reduce intertemporal rewards for executives reducing judgment shifts that can result in risk of fraud.

Originality/value

This study addresses how executive compensation structure can result in fraud.
The impact of utilitarian, social and hedonic values on hotel booking mobile app engagement and loyalty: a comparison of generational cohorts
Authors: Vayghan Saeed , Baloglu Dennis , Baloglu Seyhmus
Published: October 2022

Purpose

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the underlying consumer values that drive hotel booking mobile app users to engage more with the app and use the app continuously for hotel booking purposes.

Design/methodology/approach

By conducting confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) on the data collected through the Qualtrics online survey platform from 506 respondents in the United States, the proposed measurements and structural models were tested.

Findings

The findings for both Generation Xers and Millennials revealed that hedonic and social values influenced mobile app engagement, which strongly influenced mobile app loyalty. Thus, to enhance customer engagement and indirectly influence mobile app loyalty, the app value delivery should appeal to social and hedonic values. Although the utilitarian values for using apps had a potential direct impact on mobile app loyalty, the mediation analysis showed that mobile app engagement, when connecting consumption values to mobile app loyalty, served as a full mediator for Generation Xers and a partial mediator for Millennials.

Practical implications

This study provides insights into how hotels and online travel agent (OTA) marketing managers may consider augmenting user engagement with hotel booking mobile apps. This study suggests that hoteliers and OTAs should further develop their user experience efforts to enhance the utilitarian features of their mobile app to increase revenue from repeat purchases. Additionally, this study provides implications for enhancing the hedonic and social features of hotel booking mobile apps to appeal to Millennials and Gen Xers.

Originality/value

This study developed and assessed an integrated model to investigate the relationships between consumption values, engagement and loyalty in hotel booking mobile apps. Furthermore, it examined generational cohorts' role in the relationships between these constructs.
Falling in the same predicament again? A network embeddedness perspective of organizational failure recidivism in special treatment firms
Authors: Cheng Wan , Jiang Yusi
Published: October 2022

Purpose

Studies on organizational failure learning have focused on whether and how organizations learn from failures but have paid limited attention on the persistence of failure learning. This study centers on failure recidivism and answers why organizations would fall into repeated failures after learning from them.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a sample of Chinese publicly listed firms that once recovered from special treatment status, the authors use event history technique and Cox proportional hazards regression model.

Findings

The authors find that reviviscent firms with higher interlock centrality are less likely to decline again, and underperforming partners can strengthen the role of interlock tie in failure recidivism. By contrast, politically connected reviviscent firms are more likely to decline again, and this effect attenuates for firms located in more market-oriented regions.

Research limitations/implications

The authors’ contribution comes from the close integration of literature on failure learning and network embeddedness perspective to examine how social networks affect the learning process of failure recidivism.

Practical implications

The study provides important practical implications for organizations, especially those that once experienced failures or are experiencing failures.

Originality/value

Combining organizational learning theory and network embeddedness perspective, the study provides novel insights into answering how firms embedded in different types of social networks affect failure learning persistence differently.
Integrating corporate social responsibility into business functions and its impact on company performance: evidence from the Indonesian manufacturing industry
Authors: Rinawiyanti Esti Dwi , Xueli Huang , As-Saber Sharif N.
Published: October 2022

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the integration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at a functional level and examine its impact on company performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from 435 Indonesian manufacturing companies, 11 hypotheses were tested on direct, indirect and total effects of the relationship between functional CSR integration and its impact on company performance. The stakeholder and contingency theories were applied.

Findings

The findings of this study reveal that functional CSR integration has a significant impact on customer, employee, operational and financial performances. The findings show that the relationship between functional CSR integration and financial performance can be mediated by customer, employee and operational performances. The results of this study also highlight that functional CSR integration has a stronger total effect on both customer and financial performances in environmentally non-sensitive industries than in environmentally sensitive ones.

Research limitations/implications

This study expands the prior studies by providing a theoretical framework for the relationship between CSR integration and company performance, as well as testing the framework using quantitative research.

Practical implications

The findings can encourage managers to effectively integrate CSR into business functions to achieve superior social and financial performance, particularly in a developing country context.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to empirically investigate the performance implications of integrating CSR into business functions and reveals new findings on how such integration can substantially improve company performance.
Vocational training for livelihood and rehabilitation of persons with intellectual disabilities
Authors: Chithrangathan Chinchu
Published: October 2022

Purpose

Rehabilitation facilities available for persons with intellectual disabilities are low in India. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an action research programme undertaken in Thrissur district, Kerala, India, to provide institution-based vocational training to selected beneficiaries of BUDS rehabilitation institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 40 students were selected for the training programme. Different vocational activities were included according to criteria such as the abilities of students, sustainability and therapeutic value.

Findings

The results of data analysis showed that fraternity, engagement and collectivism were the themes that emerged from the conversations with students, teachers and parents. Some students showed marked improvements in various areas of functioning.

Research limitations/implications

Larger replication studies could provide more evidence for wider implementation.

Practical implications

There is a possibility of scaling up the model at the state or national level.

Social implications

This model could be adopted for providing better services to persons with intellectual disabilities in similar low- and middle-income settings.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first known attempt at examining the utility of vocational activity training as therapeutic intervention for persons with intellectual disabilities in India.
Diurnal pastoralism does not reduce juvenile recruitment nor elevate allostatic load in spotted hyenas
Authors: Dheer Arjun , Davidian Eve , Courtiol Alexandre , Bailey Liam D. , Wauters Jella , Naman Philemon , Shayo Victoria , Höner Oliver P.
Published: October 2022

Anthropogenic activity can have substantial effects on wildlife. These effects may vary according to the characteristics of the activity and the species involved. Although effects on behaviour are well studied, studies of effects on fitness and physiology are scarce, particularly for group‐living species.

We exploited a natural experimental setup to investigate the effect of diurnal pastoralism on juvenile recruitment and allostatic load in a population of free‐ranging spotted hyenas in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, over a 24‐year period.

Pastoralism was restricted to the territories of two of the eight study clans, allowing us to compare juvenile recruitment in exposed and unexposed clans. We also compared faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations (fGMC)—a biomarker of an organism's allostatic load—between exposed and unexposed clans using 975 faecal samples from 475 hyenas.

We found no detectable difference in juvenile recruitment nor fGMC between the exposed and unexposed clans, indicating that the pastoralism had no substantial deleterious effect on the spotted hyenas. The lack of a deleterious effect likely stems from the combined effect of the predictable and undisruptive nature of the pastoralism, the socio‐ecology of spotted hyenas and the Ngorongoro Crater's consistently abundant prey.

Our findings demonstrate that exposure to anthropogenic activity may be compatible with the persistence of certain group‐living species, especially if the overlap between the species' critical behaviours and the activity is limited. Our study thereby provides new perspectives for ecologists, conservation biologists and stakeholders who seek to assess human–wildlife conflicts and balance the needs of local human communities and wildlife.
Heading Home? Reshoring and Sustainability Connectedness from a Home‐Country Consumer Perspective
Authors: Gillani Alvina , Kutaula Smirti , Budhwar Pawan S.
Published: October 2022

Extensive globalisation has presented several sustainability challenges highlighted in the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. These include the environmental impact of global product procurement and manufacturing and the irregular treatment of indigenous workers in developing countries. Thus, reshoring, defined as a firm's voluntary strategy to partially or totally relocate production to the home country, is gaining traction. However, most research on reshoring focuses on firms, leaving the consumers’ perspective under‐researched. Here, we examine British consumers’ perspectives on reshoring to the UK and sustainability. By employing the theoretical lens of connectedness, anchored in attachment theory, we conducted 30 in‐depth interviews using projective techniques and analysed the data using the constant comparison method. We found that consumers not only positively viewed their connectedness with the concept of reshoring from a sustainability perspective, but also appraised it from a global perspective, demonstrating empathy towards the host country. Further, they doubted corporations’ motives regarding reshoring. Three theoretical dimensions emerged based on consumers’ connectedness with reshoring and sustainability, specifically, supporting reshoring conditionally, inclusive reshoring, and doubting reshoring.
Why didn't you scream? Epistemic injustices of sexism, misogyny and rape myths
Authors: MacKenzie Alison
Published: October 2022

In this paper, I discuss rape myths and mythologies, their negative effects on rape and sexual assault complainants, and how they prejudicially construct women qua women. The backdrop for the analysis is the Belfast Rugby Rape Trial, which took place in 2018. Four men, two of whom were well-known rugby players, were acquitted of rape and sexual assault in a nine-week criminal trial that dominated local, national and international attention. The acquittal resulted in ‘I Believe Her’ rallies and protests across Northern Ireland. Of concern were the deeply sexist and misogynistic text exchanges among the acquitted about the complainant and women more generally. One month after the trial, the Criminal Justice Board of Northern Ireland commissioned an independent review of the arrangements to deliver justice in cases of serious sexual offences. The Gillen Review proposed 16 key recommendations, among them measures to dispel rape myths and the role that Relationship and Sex Education in schools could play in combatting these myths. I will explore these issues using Miranda Fricker's construction of epistemic injustice. I argue that there is little appreciation of the profound impact that routine testimonial injustice—where the credibility of a speaker is deflated or undermined on account of her social identity—can have on the wellbeing of speakers and how it ramifies with other forms of injustice. To illustrate, I draw on neurological explanations to show why attributions of sexual consent are unjustly sustained in cases of rape and sexual assault.
Character education and the instability of virtue
Authors: Smith Richard
Published: October 2022

Character education in schools in England is flourishing. I give many examples of the enthusiasm for it as well as drawing attention to the UK government's new ambivalence towards it. Character education seems largely impervious to the many criticisms to which it has been subjected. I touch on these only briefly as my focus is on a criticism that has received little coverage. This is because the virtues on offer are unstable. They are best understood as sites on which we contest our understanding of what it is to be a good person rather than reach conclusive answers. There is support for this argument in Aristotle, notwithstanding its many oddities and those of some modern uses of his conception of the virtues. The proliferation of the virtues in the practice and theory of education today is, I suggest, a sign of weakness and not of strength, while the very instability of the virtues demands that they be continually discussed and debated. This places them at the heart of any vision of education worth having.
Obedience
Authors: Rocha Samuel D
Published: October 2022

This is a phenomenological description of existential obedience, which draws out a contrast between it and ressentiment and existential envy, and compares it with pedagogical obedience. The discussion is developed with reference especially to the work of Erich Fromm, Emerson, and Nietzsche. Eds: This paper forms part of a special issue titled ‘Beyond Virtue and Vice: Education for a Darker Age’, in which the editors invited authors to engage in exercises of ‘transvaluation’. Certain apparently settled educational concepts (from agency and fulfilment to alienation and ignorance) can be reinterpreted and transvaluated (in a Nietzschean vein) such that virtues become vices, and vices, virtues. The editors encouraged authors to employ polemics and some occasional exaggeration to reimagine educational values that are all too readily accepted within contemporary educational discourses.
Hornification: Lessons learned from the wood industry for attenuating this phenomenon in plant‐based dietary fibers from food wastes
Authors: Aghajanzadeh Sara , Fayaz Goly , Soleimanian Yasamin , Ziaiifar Aman Mohammad , Turgeon Sylvie L. , Khalloufi Seddik
Published: October 2022

A significant amount of waste is annually generated worldwide by the supply chain of the food industry. Considering the population growth, the environmental concerns, and the economic opportunities, waste recovery is a promising solution to produce valuable and innovative ingredients for food and nonfood industries. Indeed, plant‐based wastes are rich in dietary fibers (DF), which have relevant technical functionalities such as water/oil holding capacity, swelling capacity, viscosity, texture, and physiological properties such as antioxidant activity, cholesterol, and glucose adsorption capacities. Different drying technologies could be applied to extend the shelf life of fresh DF. However, inappropriate drying technologies or process conditions could adversely affect the functionalities of DF via the hornification phenomenon. Hornification is related to the formation of irreversible hydrogen bindings, van der Waals interactions, and covalent lactone bridges between cellulose fibrils during drying. This review aims to capitalize on the knowledge developed in the wood industry to tackle the hornification phenomenon occurring in the food industry. The mechanisms and the parameters affecting hornification as well as the mitigation strategies used in the wood industry that could be successfully applied to foods are summarized. The application of conventional drying technologies such as air or spray‐drying increased the occurrence of hornification. In contrast, solvent exchange, supercritical drying, freeze‐drying, and spray‐freeze‐drying approaches were considered effective strategies to limit the consequences of this phenomenon. In addition, incorporating capping agents before drying attenuated the hornification. The knowledge summarized in this review can be used as a basis for process design in the valorization of plant‐based wastes and the production of functional DF that present relevant features for the food and packaging industries.
Trehalose and its applications in the food industry
Authors: Chen Anqi , Tapia Hugo , Goddard Julie M. , Gibney Patrick A.
Published: October 2022

Trehalose is a nonreducing disaccharide composed of two glucose molecules linked by α, α‐1,1‐glycosidic bond. It is present in a wide variety of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, insects, plants, and invertebrate animals. Trehalose has distinct physical and chemical properties that have been investigated for their biological importance in a range of prokaryotic and eukaryotic species. Emerging research on trehalose has identified untapped opportunities for its application in the food, medical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries. This review summarizes the chemical and biological properties of trehalose, its occurrence and metabolism in living organisms, its protective role in molecule stabilization, and natural and commercial production methods. Utilization of trehalose in the food industry, in particular how it stabilizes protein, fat, carbohydrate, and volatile compounds, is also discussed in depth. Challenges and opportunities of its application in specific applications (e.g., diagnostics, bioprocessing, ingredient technology) are described. We conclude with a discussion on the potential of leveraging the unique molecular properties of trehalose in molecular stabilization for improving the safety, quality, and sustainability of our food systems.
Regulation of fungal community and the quality formation and safety control of Pu‐erh tea
Authors: Xu Jia , Wei Yang , Li Fanglan , Weng Xinchu , Wei Xinlin
Published: October 2022

Pu‐erh tea belongs to dark tea among six major teas in China. As an important kind of post‐fermented tea with complex microbial composition, Pu‐erh tea is highly praised by many consumers owing to its unique and rich flavor and taste. In recent years, Pu‐erh tea has exhibited various physiological activities to prevent and treat metabolic diseases. This review focuses on the fungi in Pu‐erh tea and introduces the sources, types, and functions of fungi in Pu‐erh tea, as well as the influence on the quality of Pu‐erh tea and potential safety risks. During the process of fermentation and aging of Pu‐erh tea, fungi contribute to complex chemical changes in bioactive components of tea. Therefore, we examine the important role that fungi play in the quality formation of Pu‐erh tea. The associations among the microbial composition, chemicals excreted, and potential food hazards are discussed during the pile‐fermentation of Pu‐erh tea. The quality of Pu‐erh tea has exhibited profound changes during the process of pile‐fermentation, including color, aroma, taste, and the bottom of the leaves, which are inseparable from the fungus in the pile‐fermentation of Pu‐erh tea. Specifically, the application prospects of various detection methods of mycotoxins in assessing the safety of Pu‐erh tea are proposed. This review aims to fully understand the importance of fungi in the production of Pu‐erh tea and further provides new insights into subtly regulating the piling process to improve the nutritional properties and guarantee the safety of Pu‐erh tea.
The geography of religions: Comparing Buddhist and Taoist sacred mountains in China
Authors: Qiu Mengyuan , Pei Qing , Lin Ziyuan
Published: October 2022

Increasing attention has been given to geographical contributions to cultural heritage in religion. However, comparative quantitative research remains scarce. As a first attempt, this study presents findings from comparative spatial and statistical analyses of the geographical distribution and features of mountains in China sacred in Taoism and Buddhism. Because both have strong orientations to natural environments, we find more similarities than differences between them, even though the two religions have different origins, philosophies, and doctrines. The results empirically support the influences of Taoism on Buddhism in China, findings that supplement current understandings of Buddhism in China in terms of the geographical dynamics of integration and sinicisation of Chinese culture. The findings also enrich current debates, including in this journal, emphasising the importance of environmental symbols in studies on geography and religion. Connecting humanity with physical geography in light of the changes, including grief, being wrought in the Anthropocene, we hope to inspire more geographically grounded and methodologically eclectic studies on religions.
Habitat restoration is the greatest challenge for population recovery of Hainan gibbons (Nomascus hainanus)
Authors: HE Qingqing , YAN Shasha , GARBER Paul A. , REN Baoping , QI Xvming , ZHOU Jiang
Published: October 2022

Hainan gibbons are among the world's most critically endangered primates, with a remaining population of only 35 individuals distributed across 5 social groups in the Bawangling Branch of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park, China. Habitat conversion and forest fragmentation over the past 40 years have reduced their geographical distribution by 95%. In the absence of a quantitative assessment of the availability of remaining suitable habitat, it is unclear whether this species can survive to the end of this century. We used behavioral observations, ArcGIS, remote sensing, stereo optical imagery, and MaxEnt modeling to identify patterns of Hainan gibbon range use and compare changes in the distribution of suitable forest types and areas of forest fragmentation over the past 20 years (2000–2020). The results indicate that the combined range of the 5 extant Hainan gibbon groups totaled 14.89 km2. The home range of the smallest group (Group E, 3 individuals) was 1.51 km2, which likely represents the minimum home range size for this species. The remaining area of highly suitable and moderately suitable habitat totals 26.9 km2. However, habitat connectivity across the gibbon range is very low (less than 0.5), limiting the ability of Hainan gibbons to move between forest patches. The results of this study indicate that the availability of suitable habitat in Bawangling is insufficient to allow for future Hainan gibbon population growth. Therefore, immediate action must be taken to restore, reforest, and establish ecological corridors to reconnect areas of suitable habitat for these critically endangered gibbons.
Navigating the glass labyrinth: Addressing gender diversity in Australian and New Zealand representative radiology leadership
Authors: Ayesa Sally L. , McEniery Jane C. , Hill Laura S. , McCloskey Cassie E. , Lee Emmeline H.
Published: October 2022

Introduction

Gender inequity among representative leadership in Clinical Radiology is a global issue, with the lack of gender diversity in leadership even more marked when compared to workforce representation. Women leaders face a disproportionate magnitude of seen and unseen challenges to leadership engagement and progression when compared to men (a ‘glass labyrinth’), which is likely contributing to this discrepancy. The aim of the study was to examine and reflect on the state of gender diversity in representative leadership within the RANZCR Faculty of Clinical Radiology.

Methods

Review of the 2021 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) Board, Clinical Radiology Faculty Council and local Branch Committees with regard to the numbers of women and men in representative roles.

Results

In 2021, the RANZCR Board had no women representatives from Clinical Radiology (one woman representative from Radiation Oncology). 1/5 Clinical Radiology Faculty Council office Bearers were women. Local Branch Committees had 16.3% (13/80) women representatives. Three branches (the NSW, ACT and Victorian branches) had no women representatives. There were no women Committee Chairs, Branch Secretaries or Treasurers, with 2/7 Branch Education Officers women.

Conclusion

The issues underpinning gender inequality in representative leadership are complex and diverse, resulting in disproportionate losses of women radiologists along the leadership pathway compared to men. Unconscious biases, including assumptions of inferior capability, capacity and credibility among women radiologist leaders, create unique challenges at organisational, institutional and personal levels. Change cannot be achieved by passive momentum alone: concrete initiatives and active engagement are required. To improve leadership diversity, strategies must be multifaceted and supported at an organisational level.
Root cortical aerenchyma, characteristics and nutrient use efficiency of different maize hybrids during drought and rehydration process
Authors: Hua Chen , Chengxiang Mou , Jintrawet Attachai , Jianfeng Chen , Mei Yin , Libo Fu , Wei Wang , Wang Zhiyuan
Published: October 2022

The importance of cortical aerenchyma in flood and drought resistance is well established. However, effects of the combination of the two factors remain unclear. We tested the hypothesis that under conditions of substantial water alteration, enhanced root cortical aerenchymas (RCAs) could not only exert a positive effect on root functions under drought periods but also influence nitrogen capture, soil exploration and compensation growth after rehydration. Three maize varieties, Yurui2 (YR2), Yunrui6 (YR6) and Yunrui167 (YR167), were grown under rainfed field conditions, and a subset was grown initially under well‐watered and extreme‐drought conditions, followed by the same simulated rainfed field conditions, in order to compare the effects on the RCAs during the growing season. Root morphology and function parameters were measured, and variation in the RCAs was induced by water stress. Under extreme drought, we found substantial variation in the RCAs (from 0% to 37%) and drought tolerance performance. During the rehydration stage, different RCA components exerted different effects on maize, recovery parameters and plant N use efficiency. YR6 showed resilient growth, whereas recovery was inhibited in YR167 and YR2, respectively, which possessed the lowest and highest RCA area percentages. The results support the hypothesis that RCA area percentage under drought periods are important for maize recovery after post‐drought rehydration.
Fusion and expansion of vitellogenin vesicles during Caenorhabditis elegans intestinal senescence
Authors: Zhai Chao , Zhang Nan , Li Xi‐Xia , Chen Xi , Sun Fei , Dong Meng‐Qiu
Published: October 2022

Some of the most conspicuous aging phenotypes of C. elegans are related to post‐reproductive production of vitellogenins (Vtg), which form yolk protein (YP) complexes after processing and lipid loading. Vtg/YP levels show huge increases with age, and inhibition of this extends lifespan, but how subcellular and organism‐wide distribution of these proteins changes with age has not been systematically explored. Here, this has been done to understand how vitellogenesis promotes aging. The age‐associated changes of intestinal vitellogenin vesicles (VVs), pseudocoelomic yolk patches (PYPs), and gonadal yolk organelles (YOs) have been characterized by immuno‐electron microscopy. We find that from reproductive adult day 2 (AD 2) to post‐reproductive AD 6 and AD 9, intestinal VVs expand from 0.2 to 3–4 μm in diameter or by >3000 times in volume, PYPs increase by >3 times in YP concentration and volume, while YOs in oocytes shrink slightly from 0.5 to 0.4 μm in diameter or by 49% in volume. In AD 6 and AD 9 worms, mislocalized YOs found in the hypodermis, uterine cells, and the somatic gonadal sheath can reach a size of 10 μm across in the former two tissues. This remarkable size increase of VVs and that of mislocalized YOs in post‐reproductive worms are accompanied by extensive fusion between these Vtg/YP‐containing vesicular structures in somatic cells. In contrast, no fusion is seen between YOs in oocytes. We propose that in addition to the continued production of Vtg, excessive fusion between VVs and mislocalized YOs in the soma worsen the aging pathologies seen in C. elegans.
Habitat suitability and dispersal of invasive Striga species under climate change in Africa
Authors: David Oyinade A. , Obiakara Maxwell C. , Fabolude Gift O. , Akomolafe Gbenga F. , Ajiboye Modupe D.
Published: October 2022

Striga species are highly invasive annual parasitic plants posing significant economic losses to the production of cereal grains and legumes in Africa. There is no explicit knowledge about the potential distribution of some important Striga species in Africa. In this study, we used the Maximum Entropy modelling algorithm (MaxEnt 3.4) to identify the bioclimatic variables that best explain the current geographic distribution of the three most aggressive Striga species in Africa. Present‐day climatically suitable areas were estimated at 14.53 million km2 (S. asiatica), 14.89 million km2 (S. hermonthica) and 12.13 million km2 (S. generioides), amounting to about 48%, 49% and 60% of the climatic space in Africa, respectively. Approximately, 11 million km2 were identified as stable and suitable across present and future periods for S. hermonthica, compared with 9 and 6 million km2 for S. asiatica and S. gesnerioides, respectively. Model projections showed that none of the study species would be able to disperse across much of northern and southern Africa. Striga hermonthica had the highest proportion (3.4%–9.3%) of colonised areas after dispersal simulations. The three Strigas predicted to be invasive in the tropical rainforest and tropical savannah of Africa. Breeding of polyploid Striga which causes sterility is considered as an alternative biological control to its spread.
Pharmacological perturbation of peroxisome‐proliferator‐activated receptor gamma alters motility and mitochondrial function of bovine sperm
Authors: Losano João Diego de Agostini , Daigneault Bradford W.
Published: October 2022

Background

Sperm transit through the female reproductive relies upon maintenance of sperm motility. Peroxisome‐proliferator‐activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a ligand‐activated nuclear transcription factor with roles in glucose metabolism and reproductive processes including placental function. PPARγ roles in the mammalian postejaculatory sperm function are incompletely defined.

Objectives

Determine expression, localization, and functions of PPARγ in postejaculatory bovine sperm.

Materials and methods

Frozen‐thawed bovine sperm from three to four different bulls were pooled and subjected to immunofluorescence and western blot for detection and localization of PPARγ. Functions in sperm energetics were explored through the addition of pharmacological inhibition (GW; GW9662) and activation (Ros; Rosiglitazone) in the culture medium at 0 and 24 h under non‐capacitating conditions. Samples were analyzed for sperm kinematics (CASA) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP; JC‐1 fluorophore).

Results

PPARγ was detected in bovine sperm and co‐localized to the acrosome with re‐localization to the equatorial region in acrosome‐compromised sperm. The addition of Ros 50 µM for 24 h maintained superior total and progressive motility of sperm compared to vehicle control (VC‐DMSO 0.01%). The PPARγ antagonist GW 1 µM was detrimental to both total and progressive motility. A challenge experiment (Ros + GW) partially rescued total and progressive motility phenotypes observed with GW incubation. GW‐treated samples had a lower number of sperm with high MMP at 24 h compared to Ros or VC. The negative GW MMP phenotype was reversed with the addition of Ros + GW. Likewise, GW‐treated samples had more sperm with low MMP compared to VC and Ros, and this phenotype was partially restored with Ros + GW.

Conclusion

PPARγ is expressed in post‐ejaculatory bovine sperm with regulatory roles in sperm motility and MMP. These findings implicate PPARγ as a novel regulator of postejaculatory mammalian sperm energetics through non‐canonical signaling mechanisms.
Transcatheter mitral valve‐in‐valve: treatment of rheumatic heart disease in young patients
Authors: Knox Abbey , Bennetts Jayme S. , Gimpel Damian , Newland Richard F. , Baker Robert A. , Joseph Majo X. , Rice Gregory D. , Kangaharan Nadarajah , Sinhal Ajay
Published: October 2022

Background

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in young people presents a complex management problem. In Australia a significant proportion of those affected are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Transcatheter mitral valve‐in‐valve (TMViV) replacement has emerged as an alternative to redo surgery in high‐risk patients with degenerated mitral bioprostheses. The aim of this study is to review outcomes of TMViV replacement in young patients with RHD.

Methods

A single‐centre, retrospective review of prospectively collected data on patients undergoing TMViV from December 2017 to June 2021. Primary outcome was major adverse cardiovascular events. Secondary outcome was post‐operative trans‐thoracic echocardiogram (TTE) results.

Results

There were seven patients with a mean age of 33 years and predominantly female (n = 5). Pre‐operative comorbidities included diabetes (29%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (43%), left ventricular dysfunction (43%) and current smoking status (80%). Post‐operative median length of hospital stay was 4 days with no post‐operative renal failure, stroke, return to theatre, valve embolization or in hospital mortality. Post‐operative TTE showed either nil or trivial central mitral regurgitation, no paravalvular leak and a median gradient of 5 mmHg (IQR 4.5, 7) across the new bioprosthesis; sustained at median follow‐up of 22 months.

Conclusion

Current literature of TMViV replacement is focused on an older population with concurrent comorbidities. This study provides a unique insight into TMViV replacement in a young cohort of patients with complex social and geographical factors which sometimes prohibits the use of a mechanical valve. The prevalence of RHD remains high for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, planning for future repeat valve operations should be considered from the outset. We consider TMViV as a part of a staged procedural journey for young patients with RHD.
A longitudinal study on the stability and causal relationships between disability acceptance, self‐efficacy, and interpersonal ability among Koreans with disability
Authors: Kim Eun Hye , Cui Li Na , Nho Choong Rai
Published: October 2022

The purpose of this study was to explore the longitudinal, reciprocal effects between disability acceptance, self‐efficacy, and interpersonal ability and to discuss implications for persons with disability. For this purpose, we used the third (2018–2020) raw data of the second Panel Survey of Employment for the Disabled (PSED), implemented by the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disability. We used an autoregressive cross‐lagged model to test reciprocal effects, and 4420 persons with disability responded to the three above‐mentioned waves of the PSED. The findings were as follows. First, disability acceptance, self‐efficacy, and interpersonal ability had significant effects on disability acceptance, self‐efficacy, and interpersonal ability in the third, fourth, and fifth waves. Second, there was a statistically significant longitudinal, reciprocal relationship between disability acceptance and self‐efficacy. In addition, self‐efficacy had a significant longitudinal, reciprocal relationship with interpersonal ability. However, interpersonal ability had a statistically significant longitudinal effect on disability acceptance, but not vice versa. Based on these results, we provided suggestions regarding how to improve disability acceptance, self‐efficacy, and interpersonal ability among persons with disability.