bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adoption of sustainable agricultural practices in Brazil: understanding the influence of socioeconomic and psychological factors
Authors: Foguesatto Cristian Rogério , Machado João Armando Dessimon
Published: June 2021

Purpose

Despite substantial efforts made by Brazil’s government to increase the adoption rate of sustainable agricultural practices (SAP), many of them have not been adopted by the farmers. This paper explores the factors influencing the adoption of SAP in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, one of the largest Brazilian grain producers.

Design/methodology/approach

Using four logistic models, the authors test a conceptual framework that provides a systemic view of farmers' adoption decisions from a sample of 172 farmers.

Findings

The findings show that the adoption of SAP is influenced by farmers' socioeconomic characteristics (e.g. gender, level of education, farm size, asset values and farm income), attributes of SAP (compatibility of agricultural practice) and psychological factors (ecocentrism, anthropocentrism, and beliefs about climate change).

Research limitations/implications

The results presented may not reflect the characteristics of the region studied because random sampling was not employed. Also, other psychological statements should be used in the questionnaire.

Originality/value

Little attention has been given to the analysis of farmers' psychological factors in studies on the adoption of agricultural conservation practices. This study provides a “systemic approach” that measures both socioeconomic and psychological factors.
Voluntary simplicity: a content analysis of consumer comments
Authors: Tosun Petek , Sezgin Selime
Published: June 2021

Purpose

The voluntary simplification (VS) movement has stemmed from Western societies and gained momentum in the 1980s, but the trend has failed to become a primary perspective for most consumers. The accompanying concepts of conscious consumption, minimalism and accepting that sometimes “less is more” are still vivid in the digital era. The purpose of this study is to provide a deep and recent understanding of the consumer comments about minimalism in Turkey and examine their associations with the prominent themes in the VS literature.

Design/methodology/approach

Consumer comments posted on online platforms were analyzed by content analysis and word frequency analysis.

Findings

Consumer comments were in parallel to the themes in the VS literature and were classified under personal growth, material simplicity, sustainability, proper technology usage and self-sufficiency categories. Personal growth, material simplicity and sustainability were the first three dimensions mentioned. The prominent sub-themes that emerge from data were psychological well-being, inner peace, freedom, meaningful experiences and getting rid of belongings. A word frequency analysis pointed out that “life” and “owning” were the evident words in the personal growth category, “purchasing things” were mostly mentioned in the material simplicity category and “plastic litter” and “excessive consumption” were the prominent concerns in the sustainability category.

Originality/value

VS required further research in different national contexts. Besides, an analysis of the dimensions of VS was needed. This study contributes by providing recent and rich findings from a developing country, connecting them with the VS themes in the literature and suggesting a conceptual framework enriched by sub-themes that emerged from data.
Impact of individual and brand level factors in generation of different user-generated content
Authors: Soylemez Kemal Cem
Published: June 2021

Purpose

This study aims to categorize user-generated content (UGC) based on the target audience, namely, brand-oriented content (BOC) and community-oriented content (COC). By using the equity theory, this study investigated how personal factors (motivations and self-construal) and brand/product factors (brand luxury) drive members to generate brand-oriented or COC.

Design/methodology/approach

Experimental studies were conducted with online brand community (OBC) participants who had been active in an OBC in the past 30 days.

Findings

Both in Studies 1 and 3, participants with an independent self-construal generated more BOC relative to COC, whereas participants with an interdependent self-construal generated more COC relative to BOC. In Study 1, extrinsically motivated participants generated more BOC relative to COC, whereas intrinsically motivated participants generated more COC relative to BOC. However, this finding was not confirmed in Study 3. In Study 2, the participants of luxury brand communities generated more COC relative to BOC, whereas participants of affordable brand communities generated more BOC relative to COC. However, this finding was not confirmed in Study 3.

Practical implications

This research provides marketing practitioners with an opportunity to focus on different motivation types in different contexts. The study also helps marketing departments understand the relationship between brand characteristics and UGC types. Finally, the insights of this study can also be useful in a brand extension context.

Originality/value

This study has constructed a better understanding of content generation in OBCs by categorizing UGC based on their target audience.
Shariah, presentation and content dimensions of Web 2.0 applications and the firm value of Islamic financial institutions in the GCC countries
Authors: Musleh Alsartawi Abdalmuttaleb , Reyad Sameh , Madbouly Araby
Published: June 2021

Purpose

This study aims to examine the relationship between the three dimensions of Web 2.0 disclosure (Shariah, content and presentation) and the firm value of listed Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stock exchanges.

Design/methodology/approach

A checklist of 118 items was used to measure the level of Web 2.0 disclosure for the IFIs that are listed on the GCC stock exchanges. Data were gathered from the websites of the IFI samples, where researchers looked for annual reports, RSS, widgets, web-casting and the layout and design of the websites.

Findings

Based on the results, the level of the Shariah dimension by GCC IFIs was 74.93%, the level of the content dimension was 76.33%, the level of the presentation dimension was 78.03% and the level of the overall Web 2.0 disclosure was 75.73%, and a positive and significant relationship between the content dimension and Tobin’s Q.

Practical implications

In addition to other reforms, this study recommends IFIs to improve their regulations, risk management and standardization.

Originality/value

This study offers a new contribution as it adds a new perspective to the online financial disclosure literature, which is the Shariah dimension. Furthermore, this study provides empirical evidence for interested parties in the Islamic banking industry such as users and regulators in the GCC countries concerning the importance and usage of Web 2.0 applications for disclosure and its positive impact on adding a premium to IFIs.
A novel hybrid DEMATEL-K-means clustering algorithm for modeling the barriers of green computing adoption in the Philippines
Authors: Abellana Dharyll Prince Mariscal , Mayol Paula Esplanada
Published: June 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a novel hybrid-decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory-K means clustering algorithm as a decision-making framework for analyzing the barriers of green computing adoption.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review is conducted to extract relevant green computing barriers. An expert elicitation process is performed to finalize the barriers and to establish their corresponding interrelationships.

Findings

The proposed approach offers a comprehensive framework for modeling the barriers of green computing adoption.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this paper provide insights on how the barriers of green computing adoption facilitate the adoption of stakeholders. Moreover, the paper provides a framework for analyzing the structural relationships that exist between factors in a tractable manner.

Originality/value

The paper is one of the very first attempts to analyze the barriers of green computing adoption. Furthermore, it is the first to offer lenses in a Philippine perspective. The paper offers a novel algorithm that can be useful in modeling the barriers of innovation, particularly, in green computing adoption.
Entrepreneurs’ competencies and networking as determinants of women-owned ventures success in post-economic crisis era in Greece
Authors: Kyrgidou Lida , Mylonas Naoum , Petridou Eugenia , Vacharoglou Evdokia
Published: June 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine factors leading to venture success, emphasizing the role of entrepreneurs as critical in the whole process, based on a sample of women entrepreneurs. Drawing upon the competence-based view of the firm, it examines the effect of entrepreneurial competencies, managerial competencies and reliance on networks toward increased female venture success rates.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured questionnaire was allocated to women entrepreneurs to seek respondents’ perceptions. Principal component analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation was undertaken to confirm the constructs’ validity. A hierarchical regression analysis was performed to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Networking stands out as having the most significant positive effect on venture success while entrepreneurial and managerial core competencies are both important, with entrepreneurial competencies demonstrating a slightly higher score. Also, years of entrepreneurial experience, entrepreneurial family background and family status prove significant.

Research limitations/implications

The study confirms prior research, highlighting the role of entrepreneurs as central, sharpening understanding of the required determinants of venture success. It further provides new insight into venture success from the perspective of the competence-based theory, highlighting clear-cut competencies.

Practical implications

The study paves the way for the design of entrepreneurial learning programs targeting entrepreneurs and particularly females, highlighting the need for on-going education and educational programs to support entrepreneurs and distinctly women.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the effective management of venture progress and success and provides insight into entrepreneurs and policymakers.
How can dynamic capabilities make sense in avoiding value co-creation traps?
Authors: Sun Xinbo , Zhang Qingqiang
Published: June 2021

Purpose

The existing research rarely explains the role of dynamic capabilities in the creation of value co-creation behaviors. The purpose of this paper is to explore how dynamic capabilities play a role in avoiding value co-creation traps and generating new value co-creation behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper collects rich interview and archival data from two Chinese manufacturing companies to examine value co-creation in digital servitization by the case study.

Findings

The paper discovers the value co-creation traps that enterprises face in digital servitization and analyzes the important role of resource and technology integration capabilities in avoiding these traps. Also, the research explores how network capability affects the generation of new value co-creation behaviors.

Originality/value

This paper develops a framework for dynamic capabilities to avoid value co-creation traps and generate new value co-creation behaviors.
Assessment of phenolic content, pesticide residue and biological activities of organic lemon and cucumber in Lebanese market
Authors: Dwaidy Jana , Cheaib Dina , Jammoul Adla , El Darra Nada , Al Khatib Alissar
Published: June 2021

Purpose

This study aims to evaluate the safety and quality of organic food product versus conventional ones in the Lebanese market.

Design/methodology/approach

Selected organic and conventional Lemon and cucumber were assessed for the presence of pesticides residues using LC-MS/MS and GC/MS/MS, also compared at the level of total polyphenols content, flavonoids, tannins and tested for their antiradical and antibacterial activities.

Findings

The findings indicate that organic lemons were contaminated by four types of pesticide residues (33.33%), while one pesticide residue (22.22%) was detected in conventional one, which were all below the European Union Maximum Residue Limits. For cucumber, six pesticide residues (66.66%) were detected in organic samples, while in conventional, eight pesticide residues (55.55%) were detected. However, absolutely four samples (44.44%) in each of conventional and organic cucumber samples surpass the maximum residue levels. Both lemon and cucumber, regardless of the farming systems, possess potent antioxidant activity with no significant difference, except for lemon, where total polyphenol was highly significant in conventional. Additionally, this study showed that lemon of conventional origin was slightly more effective in inhibiting the growth of gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains compared to organic samples, while both cucumber types did not exert any antibacterial effect.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to assess the polyphenols, pesticide residue and biological activities of organic lemon and cucumber in Lebanese market as well as comparing conventional to organic.
The bankruptcy law of Saudi Arabia: policy, operation and comparison
Authors: Alarifi Fahad
Published: June 2021

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to analyze the new Bankruptcy Law in Saudi Arabia (KSA Bankruptcy Law) under both a comparative lens and a policy-oriented one, while highlighting some of the most essential operational steps and procedures in a bankruptcy proceeding under the law.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach adopted analyzes the specific mechanics and procedures of a bankruptcy law under the general policies and goals of bankruptcy. Additionally, where appropriate, a brief comparison to the US Bankruptcy code and its provisions is presented to provide an alternative approach on how similar issues are handled under a reputable and proven bankruptcy system.

Findings

Overall, the KSA Bankruptcy Law is a major accomplishment and advancement to the Kingdom’s insolvency regime. The law consolidated and codified the laws governing bankruptcy under the Kingdom’s prior regime, and followed the structure of a modern bankruptcy regime. In doing so, several of the law’s policies and objectives have been fulfilled by providing an effective, predictable and reliable bankruptcy system.

Originality/value

Given the relatively recent adoption of the KSA Bankruptcy Law, the paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the law’s operation and its effectiveness in achieving its policy goals as a modern bankruptcy law.
Situating Africa in the exports patterns of China's Belt and Road Initiative: A network analysis
Authors: Dumor Koffi , Li Yao , Ampaw Enock Mintah , Essel Charles Hackman K. , Essel Edwina Oheneasi , Mutiiria Onesmus Mbaabu
Published: June 2021

This study analytically examines the structure and characteristics of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and African trade networks by applying network analysis techniques through a critical and in‐depth description of the international trade of Eastern African countries as part of the world trade network. Sixty‐four countries' trade flow data between 2000 and 2018 from the International Monetary Fund, was used, and the network indices indicate that the BRI significantly enhances the trade network's connectivity. The empirical results indicate that density, the degree of centralization, and average node intensity are typically growing, and China is in the central position of the network. Furthermore, East African intra‐regional trade tends to be more densely connected under the BRI. This, in effect, demonstrates that the BRI countries have experienced a rise in intra‐regional trade at different levels of economic development. Therefore, this study recommends that policymakers should consider the BRI's critical role in reforming trade policies to build a resilient and sustainable African economy.
Diagnostic value of implantable loop recorders in patients with unexplained syncope or palpitations
Authors: Radovanović Nikola N. , Pavlović Siniša U. , Kirćanski Bratislav , Branković Nemanja , Vujadinović Nikola , Sajić Vojislav , Milašinović Ana , Bisenić Vesna , Živković Mirjana , Milašinović Goran
Published: June 2021

Background

The implantable loop recorder (ILR) is a small cardiac rhythm‐monitoring device. Our aim was to determine ILR diagnostic value in patients with unexplained syncope, presyncope, or palpitations suggesting cardiac arrhythmias.

Methods

This has been a retrospective, observational, single‐center study. We included 181 patients in whom ILR was implanted at the Clinical Center of Serbia between January 2006 and July 2019. An event was marked as diagnostic if it led to a diagnosis and ILR was considered diagnostic if it verified or excluded an arrhythmia as the cause of syncope or palpitations.

Results

The mean age was 51.8 ± 17.8 years and 94 (51.9%) were male. The mean follow‐up period was 20.2 ± 15.8 months. ILR was diagnostic in 98 patients (54.1%). There was no significant difference in diagnostic value of ILR in regard to the baseline patients’ characteristics. The mean time to occurrence of the diagnostic event was 11.1 ± 9.6 months. The time to occurrence of a diagnostic event did not differ significantly between patients who underwent basic as compared to extended diagnostics before ILR implantation.

Conclusions

ILR was able to achieve an etiological diagnosis in 54.1% of patients with unexplained syncope, presyncope, or palpitations suggesting cardiac arrhythmias. In a subgroup of patients with recurrent palpitations, ILR was significantly less diagnostic than in patients with syncope or presyncope. ILR should be implanted beforehand in syncope evaluation process.
Evaluation of a parent‐led cognitive behaviour therapy programme in routine clinical practice: A controlled trial
Authors: Byrne Gary , Connon Graham , Martin Elaine , McHugh Suzanne , Power Liz
Published: June 2021

Parent‐led cognitive behavioural therapy for child anxiety disorders have garnered a growing evidence base. However, it is unclear how such approaches translate into routine clinical practice. The current study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an 8‐session treatment (From Timid to Tiger) in reducing child anxiety and behavioural difficulties, as well as family accommodation. The parents of 71 children (aged 4–11) were assigned to the treatment or a waitlist control. Parent report measures were completed pre‐treatment, at treatment‐end, and at 3‐month follow‐up. Parents assigned to the waitlist were assessed 8 weeks after the initial assessment. Findings indicated that parents who attended the group reported significant reductions in child anxiety and behavioural difficulties. In addition, the parents in the treatment group reported a reduction in family accommodation compared to those in the waitlist. The current control trial provides tentative evidence of the use and effectiveness of such parent‐led approaches in addressing child anxiety difficulties commonly seen in routine clinical practice.

Practitioner points

Parent‐led approaches are effective treatments in managing child anxiety difficulties.

Very little research to date has assessed the effectiveness of such approaches in routine clinical practice.

The From Timid to Tiger program is a brief parent‐led CBT intervention.

The programme was effective in reducing child anxiety and behavioural difficulties.

Parents also reported a reduction in behaviours related to family accommodation.

Such programmes show promise and can be used in routine clinical practice.
PKD2 gene variants in Chinese patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease
Authors: Xu Dechao , Bian Rongrong , Tuo Suxin , Li Xuezhen , Chen Jing , Xing Xiaohong , Lu Yunhui , Sun Lijun , Tang Xiaojing , Yu Shengqiang , Mao Zhiguo , Ma Yiyi , Mei Changlin
Published: June 2021

PKD2 gene variants account for 4.5% to 20% of patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Little is known about the clinical characteristics of PKD2 variants in Chinese patients with ADPKD. Herein, we performed a comprehensive search for variants of PKD2 gene in 44 Chinese ADPKD pedigrees and a total of 37 variants were identified. Of these 37 variants, 18 were nonsense variants, 10 frameshift variants, 4 missense variants, and 5 splice site variants. 11/37 variants were detected for the first time. The median age at diagnosis was 30.5 years, and positive family history was detected in 77.27% patients, liver cysts in 68.18%, hypertension in 45.45%, nephrolithiasis in 31.82%, macro‐hematuria in 22.73%, and proteinuria in 13.63%. The level of estimated glomerular filtration rate in 8/39 patients were blow 60 ml/min/1.73m2. 11/17 patients were classified as rapid progression by Mayo Clinic classification. The end stage renal disease (ESRD) events were reported in 9/22 pedigrees, and the presence of nephrolithiasis and macro‐hematuria were significantly associated with ESRD in the pedigrees with PKD2 variants. The identified variants and clinical features will facilitate the early diagnosis and prognosis prediction in Chinese ADPKD patients with PKD2 variants.
Social isolation and group size are associated with divergent gene expression in the brain of ant queens
Authors: Manfredini Fabio , Martinez‐Ruiz Carlos , Wurm Yannick , Shoemaker De Wayne , Brown Mark J. F.
Published: June 2021

Social life and isolation pose a complex suite of challenges to organisms prompting significant changes in neural state. However, plasticity in how brains respond to social challenges remains largely unexplored. The fire ants Solenopsis invicta provide an ideal scenario for examining this. Fire ant queens may found colonies individually or in groups of up to 30 queens, depending on key factors such as density of newly mated queens and availability of nesting sites. We artificially manipulated availability of nesting sites to test how the brain responds to social versus solitary colony founding at two key timepoints (early vs. late colony founding) and to group size (large vs. small groups). We adopted a powerful neurogenomic approach to identify even subtle differences of gene expression between treatment groups, and we built a global gene co‐expression network of the fire ant brain to identify gene modules specifically associated with the different components of the social environment. The difference between group and single founding queens involves only one gene when founding behavior is still plastic and queens can switch from one modality to another, while hundreds of genes are involved later in the process, when behaviors have lost the initial plasticity and are more canalized. Furthermore, we find that large groups are associated with greater changes in gene expression than small groups, showing that even potentially subtle differences in the social environment can be linked to different neurogenomic states.
Plasma levels do not predict thrombin generation in patients taking direct oral anticoagulants
Authors: Metze Michael , Klöter Tristan , Stöbe Stephan , Rechenberger Björn , Siegemund Roland , Siegemund Thomas , Laufs Ulrich , Petros Sirak , Pfrepper Christian
Published: June 2021

Background

The antithrombotic effect of direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) in specific clinical scenarios is difficult to assess.

Objective

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of DOAC on thrombin generation (TG) in relation to their plasma level.

Methods

Eighty patients newly started on anticoagulation were included, 20 patients for each DOAC—apixaban, edoxaban, rivaroxaban, and dabigatran. Plasma was sampled before DOAC (baseline), at plasma peak time, 6 and 12 hours after starting DOAC for quantification of drug levels and TG.

Results

The baseline TG before DOAC intake showed inter‐individual variability. All DOACs significantly prolonged lag time (LT) and time to peak (TTP), but did not change endogenous thrombin potential (ETP). Anti‐Xa inhibitors but not dabigatran reduced thrombin peak, but the effect of apixaban at plasma peak was less pronounced (factor 1.6). LT and TTP prolongation of dabigatran was lower compared to anti‐Xa inhibitors. All DOACs showed a nonlinear dose‐response relationship, with the greatest antithrombotic effect at lower DOAC plasma levels. The inhibition of TG parameters between baseline and peak was parallel between individual patients but the coefficient of variation of TG was lower compared to drug levels.

Conclusion

The antithrombotic effect at DOAC peak plasma level measured by TG depends on the patient‐specific baseline TG level and the drug‐specific inhibition by the particular DOAC. Although peak plasma levels have a high variability, the variation of TG is lower compared to drug levels. Therefore, TG assays may be superior to plasma levels in the assessment of the intensity of anticoagulation.
The influence of history, geography and environment on patterns of diversification in the western terrestrial garter snake
Authors: Hallas Joshua M. , Parchman Thomas L. , Feldman Chris R.
Published: June 2021

Aim

A central aim of biogeography is to understand how biodiversity is generated and maintained across landscapes. Here, we establish phylogenetic and population genetic patterns in a widespread reptile to quantify the influence of historical biogeography and current environmental variation on patterns of genetic diversity.

Location

Western North America.

Taxon

Western terrestrial garter snake, Thamnophis elegans.

Methods

We used double‐digest RADseq to estimate phylogenetic relationships and characterize population genetic structure across the three widespread subspecies of T. elegans: T. e. vagrans (wandering garter snake), T. e. elegans (mountain garter snake) and T. e. terrestris (coast garter snake). We assessed patterns of dispersal and vicariance across biogeographic regions using ancestral area reconstruction (AAR) and deviations from isolation‐by‐distance across the landscape using estimated effective migration surfaces (EEMS). We identified environmental variables potentially shaping local adaptation in regional lineages using genetic‐environment association (GEA) analyses.

Results

We recovered three well‐differentiated genetic groups that correspond to the three subspecies. AAR analyses inferred the eastern Cascade Range as the ancestral area, with dispersal to both the east and west across western North America. Populations of T. e. elegans displayed a latitudinal gradient in genetic variation across the Sierra Nevada and northern California, while populations of T. e. terrestris show discrete genetic breaks consistent with well‐known biogeographic barriers. Lastly, GEA analyses identified allele frequency shifts at loci associated with a common set of environmental variables in both T. e. elegans and T. e. terrestris.

Main Conclusion

T. elegans is composed of distinct evolutionary lineages, each with its own geographic range and history of diversification. T. e. elegans and T. e. terrestris show unique patterns of diversification as populations dispersed from east to west and while adapting to the new environments they colonized. Historical events, landscape features and environmental variation have all contributed to patterns of differentiation in T. elegans.
Bone‐level changes around implants with 1‐ or 3‐mm‐high abutments and their relation to crestal mucosal thickness: A 1‐year randomized clinical trial
Authors: Muñoz Marta , Busoms Emma , Vilarrasa Javi , Albertini Matteo , Ruíz‐Magaz Vanessa , Nart José
Published: June 2021

Aim

To evaluate 1‐year bone‐level changes around subcrestal platform‐switching implants with 1 or 3 mm definitive abutments. The influence of mucosal thickness on bone‐level alterations was further analysed.

Materials and methods

Implants were placed in the posterior sextants and positioned 1.5 mm subcrestally with an abutment of 1 or 3 mm height. Final restorations were delivered after 16 weeks. Radiographic measurements of inter‐proximal bone level were the primary outcome and were adjusted by vertical mucosal thickness. Peri‐implant clinical conditions and resonance frequency analysis were also compared.

Results

A total of 65 subjects with 99 implants were analysed. The overall 1‐year implant survival rate between the 1‐ and 3‐mm groups was 96.4% and 94.4%, respectively. Statistically significant lower inter‐proximal marginal bone‐level changes were observed in the 3‐mm group (1 mm: −0.17 ± 0.02 mm at mesial and −0.21 ± 0.02 mm distal; 3 mm: −0.03 ± 0.02 mm at mesial and −0.03 ± 0.02 mm and distal; mesial: p = .001; distal: p < .001). Initial vertical mucosal thickness was not correlated with inter‐proximal marginal bone loss.

Conclusions

Subcrestal implants with 3‐mm abutment were associated with minimal inter‐proximal bone loss. Independent of the abutment height, crestal mucosal thickness was not correlated with bone loss.
Prevalence of periodontitis based on the 2017 classification in a Norwegian population: The HUNT study
Authors: Stødle Ida Haukåen , Verket Anders , Høvik Hedda , Sen Abhijit , Koldsland Odd Carsten
Published: June 2021

Aim

This cross‐sectional study assesses the prevalence of periodontitis in a large Norwegian population, based on the 2017 World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri‐implant Diseases and Conditions. The prevalence of periodontitis was determined by bone loss recorded on radiographs (orthopantomogram [OPG] and bitewing [BW]) and by clinical examination.

Materials and methods

As part of a large population health study (The HUNT Study), 7347 participants aged 19 years and older were invited to the HUNT4 Oral Health Study. Radiographic bone loss (RBL) and periodontal stage and grade were assessed in 4863 participants.

Results

Periodontal examination was performed in 4863 participants. RBL and clinical registrations corresponding to periodontitis as defined were observed in 72.4%. The prevalence of periodontitis increased after 40 years of age, with severe forms occurring primarily after 60 years of age. Stage I was observed in 13.8%, Stage II in 41.1%, Stage III in 15.3%, and Stage IV in 2.3% of the population. Grade A, B, and C was observed in 5.7%, 60.2%, and 6.2%, respectively.

Conclusion

Periodontitis was frequently observed in the investigated population. The prevalence of periodontitis Stage III and Stage IV combined was observed in 17.6% of the study population.
Anadromous red‐spotted masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masouishikawae), a southernmost sea‐migration form of salmonid, displays low variation in both age at seaward migration and sea age
Authors: Noda Shohei , Ueda Rui , Tanaka Tatsuya , Shirai Kotaro , Kishi Daisuke , Sato Takuya
Published: June 2021

We examined variations in age at seaward migration and sea age for the anadromous form of red‐spotted masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou ishikawae) in two Japanese rivers. The anadromous form of red‐spotted masu salmon expressed only two sea migration patterns in the two rivers: (a) the majority of the salmon (95%,n = 81) were of age‐0, and age‐1 migrants were rare (n = 4); and (b) all the salmon examined (n = 22) made a return migration within a year, with 23% of the salmon exhibiting potamodromy in the river. Owing to low variation in their sea migratory patterns, the anadromous form of red‐spotted masu salmon is likely vulnerable to environmental fluctuations.
Effectiveness of a reablement training program for homecare staff on older adults' sedentary behavior: A cluster randomized controlled trial
Authors: Rooijackers Teuni H. , Kempen Gertrudis I. J. M. , Zijlstra G. A. Rixt , van Rossum Erik , Koster Annemarie , Lima Passos Valéria , Metzelthin Silke F.
Published: June 2021

Background/Objectives

Homecare staff often take over activities instead of “doing activities with” clients, thereby hampering clients from remaining active in daily life. Training and supporting staff to integrate reablement into their working practices may reduce clients' sedentary behavior and improve their independence. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the “Stay Active at Home” (SAaH) reablement training program for homecare staff on older homecare clients' sedentary behavior.

Design

Cluster randomized controlled trial (c‐RCT).

Setting

Dutch homecare (10 nursing teams comprising a total of 313 staff members).

Participants

264 clients (aged ≥65 years).

Intervention

SAaH seeks to equip staff with knowledge, attitude, and skills on reablement, and to provide social and organizational support to implement reablement in homecare practice. SAaH consists of program meetings, practical assignments, and weekly newsletters over a 9‐month period. The control group received no additional training and delivered care as usual.

Measurements

Sedentary behavior (primary outcome) was measured using tri‐axial wrist‐worn accelerometers. Secondary outcomes included daily functioning (GARS), physical functioning (SPPB), psychological functioning (PHQ‐9), and falls. Data were collected at baseline and at 12 months; data on falls were also collected at 6 months. Intention‐to‐treat analyses using mixed‐effects linear and logistic regression were performed.

Results

We found no statistically significant differences between the study groups for sedentary time expressed as daily minutes (adjusted mean difference: β 18.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] −22.4, 59.3), p = 0.374) and as proportion of wake/wear time (β 0.6 [95% CI −1.5, 2.6], p = 0.589) or for most secondary outcomes.

Conclusion

Our c‐RCT showed no evidence for the effectiveness of SAaH for all client outcomes. Refining SAaH, by adding components that intervene directly on homecare clients, may optimize the program and require further research. Additional research should explore the effectiveness of SAaH on behavioral determinants of clients and staff and cost‐effectiveness.
Soybean production in Paraguay: Agribusiness, economic change and agrarian transformations
Authors: Wesz Junior Valdemar João
Published: June 2021

Contemporary corporate‐led agricultural commodity production has seen profound transformations in rural spaces. This article focuses on soybean production in Paraguay, analysing corporate activity in the productive, commercial and economic dynamics of the soybean market and identifies the impacts of this monoculture on small farmers. Drawing on mixed methods, the research points to high levels of concentration of this market in the hands of a few transnational companies, which control the value chain via contractual relations with farmers. Through a complex set of relations, soybean production has seen smallholder farmers fall into debt and become unable to maintain their activity and migrate to new regions, leasing their land and, in the worst cases, lose both their land and status as farmers.
Development of self‐pollinating breeding line with closed‐flowering traits in buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)
Authors: Suzuki Tatsuro , Sekiguchi Yurie , Hara Takahiro , Katsu Kenjiro , Matsuura Asana
Published: June 2021

Buckwheat has open‐flower morphology; therefore, isolation is necessary to propagate even in self‐pollinating lines. Here, we developed a self‐pollinating closed flower breeding line ‘CFK1’ by crossing between closed‐flowering individual and self‐pollinating breeding line. Progeny analysis suggested that the closed‐flowering trait would be dominated by double recessive gene, which we named closed‐flowering A and B (cfA and cfB). The evaluation test of outcrossing rate in the field revealed that ‘CFK1’ had 0% in progeny. An a histochemical investigation of flower buds morphology using scanning electron microscope revealed that the petals of ‘CFK1’ were tightly adhered to other petals whereas completely separated in wild type. The agronomic characteristics were evaluated by performance test. Compared to leading variety ‘Shinanonatsusoba’, the ‘CFK1’ had lower plant height, total weight, grain yield and 1‐L weight whereas higher plant height, total weight, grain yield and 1‐L weight when compared to ‘IH3’. The preharvest‐sprouting resistance of ‘CFK1’ is slightly stronger than that of other tested buckwheat. From these results, ‘CFK1’ is promising self‐pollinating breeding line that is resistant for outcrossing.
(Dis)play: Paper Showrooms of Soviet Labor
Authors: FERRARI GABRIELLA A.
Published: June 2021

This article analyzes how the avant‐garde display techniques of the early Soviet period were remediated into the book format to transform visual literacy into production skills. Illustrated children's books adopted multi‐media visual techniques originally found in exhibitions to transform the printed page into a dynamic tool for teaching children how to become the workers of the future. In the 1920s and 1930s, Soviet displays were unrivaled propaganda tools, capable of activating and mobilizing visitors as much as modern media such as cinema and radio. Because of their reliance on a combination of tactile, visual, auditory and physical communication strategies, exhibitions offered Soviet authors and illustrators a set of formal and narrative strategies that responded to new theories of child‐reader perception in the field of Soviet pedagogy. By analyzing the representational language of At the Exhibition against the background of El’ Lissitzky's demonstration room, I show that thematic and formal aspects of exhibition display transform the book into a visual template and a road‐map that gradually leads the reader from observing to making Soviet things. Similarly, in analyzing the role of text and image in the preschool picture book Our Review I show how curatorial strategies typical of dioramas are embedded in the book medium and transform it into an interactive display. Radically transformed into a portable diorama, the book becomes a training device directs the child‐reader to inscribe his or her actions into a system of collectively enforced social practices. Through the book‐turned‐display, Soviet children were trained into new visual practices that promised to transform them into producers, organizers and surveyors of their own culture.
Bacterial leaf streak 1 encoding a mitogen‐activated protein kinase confers resistance to bacterial leaf streak in rice
Authors: Ma Zengfeng , Qin Gang , Zhang Yuexiong , Liu Chi , Wei Minyi , Cen Zhenlu , Yan Yong , Luo Tongping , Li Zhenjing , Liang Haifu , Huang Dahui , Deng Guofu
Published: June 2021

Bacterial leaf streak (BLS) is a major bacterial disease of rice. Utilization of host genetic resistance has become one of the most important strategies for controlling BLS. However, only a few resistance genes have been characterized. Previously, a recessive BLS resistance gene bls1 was roughly mapped on chromosome 6. Here, we further delineated bls1 to a 21 kb region spanning four genes. Genetic analysis confirmed that the gene encoding a mitogen‐activated protein kinase (OsMAPK6) is the target of the allelic genes BLS1 and bls1. Overexpression of BLS1 weakened resistance to the specific Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola (Xoc) strain JZ‐8, while low expression of bls1 increased resistance. However, both overexpression of BLS1 and low expression of bls1 could increase no‐race‐specific broad‐spectrum resistance. These results indicate that BLS1 and bls1 negatively regulate race‐specific resistance to Xoc strain JZ‐8 but positively and negatively control broad‐spectrum resistance, respectively. Subcellular localization demonstrated that OsMAPK6 was localized in the nucleus. RGA4, which is known to mediate resistance to Xoc, is the potential target of OsMAPK6. Overexpression of BLS1 and low expression of bls1 showed increase in salicylic acid and induced expression of defense‐related genes, simultaneously increasing broad‐spectrum resistance. Moreover, low expression of bls1 showed increase an in jasmonic acid and abscisic acid, in company with an increase in resistance to Xoc strain JZ‐8. Collectively, our study provides new insights into the understanding of BLS resistance and facilitates the development of rice host‐resistant cultivars.
Reflecting on Geography higher education in Sri Lanka: Unpacking/releasing the hegemonic burden…
Authors: Hennayake Nalani
Published: June 2021

This commentary explores the nature and the challenges in Geography Higher Education in Sri Lanka. It discusses how geographical thinking is undermined through sub‐disciplinary fragmentation and the hegemonic grip of Anglophone Geography, which allows less space for Sri Lanka’s own Geography. It urges for the need to unpack and release the hegemonic burden, paving way towards a “decolonial praxis” aimed at a Sri Lankanised Geography.
Professional Men of Outward Success
Authors: Sinclair Bruce
Published: June 2021

Thirty of the most prominent men in American mechanical industry attended that first meeting of ASME founders in the New York editorial offices of American Machinist on 16 February 1880. They chose as chairman the brilliant consultant to the American Bessemer Steel Association, Alexander Lyman Holley, and, characteristically, he provided a focus for the gathering, outlining both the intellectual boundaries of the mechanical engineering profession and the advantages to be derived from association. All the steps necessary to establish a new engineering society were taken at that meeting. It generated a membership list, committees to nominate officers and to draft by-laws, and scheduled a formal organizational meeting for 7 April in the Stevens Institute auditorium to ratify these measures. The number of those interested in the project grew over the next two months. About 80 men attended the second meeting, which among other things, established for years to come the exclusively masculine character of the Society.
The Technical Sphere of Action
Authors: Sinclair Bruce
Published: June 2021

One of those appointed in 1911 to compose the initial draft of the Boiler Code was Colonel Edward Daniel Meier, who had studied in Germany, where he graduated from the Royal Polytechnic College in Hanover before returning to the United States. After distinguished service with the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War, and a rise in the ranks to the position of Colonel, he designed machinery for compressing cotton and in 1884 was one of the founders, and later president, of the Heine Safety Boiler Company. He designed and installed boilers in New York City’s new Grand Central Station and was the first to introduce the Diesel engine to the United States, after it was patented in 1892.
Whither ASME?
Authors: Sinclair Bruce
Published: June 2021

As the 1939 annual meeting of the Society approached, Clarence Davies found it natural to sum up his judgment of ASME’s situation. The war in Europe was sure to involve the United States somehow. Besides, 1939 marked his twentieth anniversary in the organization and he had just seen it through five years of the depression as its chief administrative officer. He felt some pride in having maintained so many of the Society’s programs and yet kept the budget in balance, although he also saw the harsh effects of long financial drought. Those might have been reasons enough for his candid and confidential memorandum to Council, but on top of them, Davies spent practically all his waking hours concerned with ASME and he thought he knew what it ought to be doing. And just as at the beginning of the depression he had been inspired by Charles A. Beard’s Whither Mankind, at the end of it he entitled his own observations ‘Whither ASME?’
OCS Rehabilitation and Kevlar Contact Wire Fall Prevention VTA San Jose, CA
Authors: White Paul F. , Kola Gerti , Siddiq Ash , Ng Alan
Published: June 2021

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) required their original overhead contact system (OCS) along North 1st Street between interstate highway I-880 and West San Carlos Street at the Guadalupe River (opened in 1987) to be rehabilitated. HNTB was chosen to assist with the project and the first task included an overall inspection of the line to ascertain condition, operational deficiencies, and safety concerns. From this inspection, VTA prepared a scope of work for HNTB to perform and then prepare design documents for contractor bidding. During the inspection process, VTA further requested an evaluation of pole deflection in their Guadalupe Yard. Of interest is the line from Younger Street to the Guadalupe River at West San Carlos Street being joint pantograph and trolley pole compatible as VTA operates heritage streetcars during their Christmas holiday season.

The inspection of the OCS revealed deficiencies and safety concerns due to the age and type of equipment in use, most of it being original. Trolley frogs, crossover pans, and section insulators had field constructed gliders that were non-standard or inconsistent between assemblies. Trolley wires were suspended by clamps with no insulation requiring span wire insulators which made the span wire between the insulators alive at 750 volts. An open faced disconnect switch was too close to an apartment balcony with the possibility of the live parts being touched by people on the balcony, and some OCS poles were too short to raise span wires for adjustment. During inspection, a trolley wire broke at a trolley frog anchor tip and fell to the street at the pedestrian mall in downtown San Jose. VTA systems engineering had the idea of supporting the single contact wire supported and clamped to a Kevlar messenger wire. This support system in theory was proven to prevent the broken contact wire to hang 3.047m [10 feet] above ground, a CPUC G.O. 95 requirement. Similar Kevlar restraining supports were used by VTA to prevent the contact and messenger wires from falling down as a result of in-span insulator failure. VTA directed HNTB to use VTA’s idea to design a system of wire constraint using Kevlar synthetic rope to prevent wires from falling.

This paper describes the deficiencies and safety concerns discovered during inspection and how they were eliminated through creative OCS design. It further describes the process of inspection, direction, design, and operation of the rehabilitation project and how the use of Kevlar synthetic rope was used to keep trolley wire from falling during wire breaks both in theory and actuality. It also describes the issues encountered during construction, stagger issues from joint operation, pole extension implementation, and general improvements made to the OCS.