bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hospital Perinatal Transmission Dynamics of Antimicrobial Resistance, Bangladesh, 2020
Authors: Styczynski Ashley , Amin Mohammed Badrul , Parveen Shahana , Pervez Abu , Zeba Dilruba , Akhter Akhi , Pitchik Helen , Islam Mohammad Aminul , Hossain Muhammed Iqbal , Saha Sumita Rani , Gurley Emily S. , Luby Stephen
Published: June 2022

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global health threat that contributes to substantial neonatal mortality. Bangladesh has reported some of the highest rates of AMR among bacteria causing neonatal sepsis. To better understand routes of AMR transmission to newborns, we aimed to characterize the frequency of and risk factors for AMR colonization of mothers and newborns during hospitalization for delivery. We enrolled 177 pregnant women presenting for delivery to a tertiary care hospital in Faridpur, Bangladesh, during February-October 2020. We collected vaginal and rectal swabs from mothers on presentation and after delivery as well as rectal swabs from newborns. We also collected swabs from the hospital environment proximal to the patients. Swabs were plated on chromogenic agars selective for extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase producing organisms (ESBL) and carbapenem-resistant organisms (CRO). We performed univariable and multivariable analyses to determine factors associated with ESBL/CRO colonization. Prior to delivery, 17% of mothers had vaginal colonization and 71% had rectal colonization with ESBLs; 4% had vaginal colonization and 13% had rectal colonization with CROs. Seventy-nine percent of women underwent cesarean deliveries (C-section). Ninety-eight percent of women received prophylactic antibiotics during hospitalization. Following delivery, nearly 90% of mothers and newborns were colonized with ESBLs and over 70% with CROs. Of the 290 environmental samples, 77% were positive for ESBLs, and 69% were positive for CROs. Maternal and newborn colonization at discharge were both associated with C-section (RR for maternal 1.4; 95% CI 1.0-1.8 and newborn 1.3; 95% CI 1.1-1.7). Facility-based deliveries increase exposure to AMR organisms, likely driven by intense use of antibiotics and frequent C-sections. Greater attention should be given to the use of perinatal antibiotics, indications for C-sections, and infection prevention practices to reduce the high prevalence of colonization with antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Early visual cortex tracks speech envelope in the absence of visual input
Authors: Bednaya Evgenia , Mirkovic Bojana , Berto Martina , Ricciardi Emiliano , Martinelli Alice , Federici Alessandra , Debener Stefan , Bottari Davide
Published: June 2022

Neural entrainment to continuous speech is typically observed within the language network and can be modulated by both low-level acoustic features and high-level meaningful linguistic units (e.g., phonemes, phrases, and sentences). Recent evidence showed that visual cortex may entrain to speech envelope, however its putative role in the hierarchy of speech processing remains unknown. We tested blindfolded participants who listened to semantically meaningful or meaningless stories, either in quiet or embedded in multi-talker babble noise. Entrainment to speech was assessed with forward linear modeling of participants’ EEG activity. We investigated (1) low-level acoustic effects by contrasting neural tracking of speech presented in quiet or noise and (2) high-level linguistic effects by contrasting neural tracking to meaningful or meaningless stories. Results showed that envelope tracking was enhanced and delayed for speech embedded in noise compared to quiet. When semantic information was missing, entrainment to speech envelope was fastened and reduced. Source modeling revealed that envelope tracking engaged wide neural networks beyond the auditory cortex, including early visual cortex. Surprisingly, while no clear influence of semantic content was found, the magnitude of visual cortex entrainment was affected by low-level features. The decrease of sound SNR-level dampened visual cortex tracking, suggesting an active suppressing mechanism in challenging listening conditions. Altogether, these findings provide further evidence of a functional role of early visual cortex in the entrainment to continuous speech.
Enhancing value in healthcare: towards a trans-disciplinary approach
Authors: Maguire William , Murphy Lyn
Published: June 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to suggest how decision-makers may work towards a broader perspective on value than that expressed in financial economics-based accounting terms to enhance value in healthcare.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors review published academic research and reports on practice across a range of disciplines.

Findings

The authors find that while value is a multidimensional concept, which is open to perceptions that differ across stakeholders in healthcare, financial economics-based accounting is essentially mono-disciplinary and dominates decisions. Enhancing value in health is a wicked problem, and a trans-disciplinary approach has the potential to enable decision-makers to enhance value.

Practical implications

The suggest that a trans-disciplinary approach, which dissolves disciplinary boundaries, is capable of enabling decision-makers to work towards understanding and enhancing value by fostering awareness of stakeholders' perceptions of value. A critical caveat is that a trans-disciplinary approach does not guarantee ready-made or immediate solutions; it does, however, offer the means to struggle towards a destination which may be continually shifting.

Originality/value

This study highlights the importance of a broader understanding of the concept of value than that implied by financial economics-based accounting and recognises the perceptions of stakeholders. It explores the inter-relationship among “the view from nowhere”, wicked problems and trans-disciplinarity and recommends a trans-disciplinary approach with a view to enhancing value in that broader sense. In this way, it contributes to the accounting literature, which has previously paid little attention to some of these aspects.
Can intellectual capital promote the competitive advantage? Service innovation and big data analytics capabilities in a moderated mediation model
Authors: Alkhatib Ayman Wael , Valeri Marco
Published: June 2022

Purpose

This study explores the connection between intellectual capital (IC) components and the competitive advantage (CA) of the hospitality sector in Jordan through the mediating role of service innovation as well as the moderating role of big data analytics capabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from the hospitality sector with a sample of 402 respondents. Data were analysed using SmartPLS, a bootstrapping technique was used to analyse the data. The mediating effect for service innovation and the moderating effect for big data analytics capabilities were performed.

Findings

The results showed that the proposed moderated-mediation model was accepted because the relationships between the constructs were statistically significant. The results of the data analysis supported a positive relationship between human capital, structural capital and relational capital and the CA as well as a mediating effect of service innovation. The findings confirmed that there is a moderating relationship for big data analytics capabilities between service innovation and CA. The results illustrate the importance of IC and service innovation in enhancing CA in the Jordanian hospitality sector in light of the big data analytics capabilities.

Research limitations/implications

This cross-sectional study provides a snapshot at a given moment in time, a methodological limitation that affects the generalisation of the limitation's results, and the results are limited to one sector.

Originality/value

This research developed a theoretical model to incorporate IC components, service innovation, big data analytics capabilities and CA. This paper offers new theoretical and practical contributions that add value to the innovation and CA literature by testing the moderated-mediation model of these constructs in the hospitality sector which has been greatly affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study is distinguished from other studies by highlighting the role of IC and service innovation in enhancing CA as service innovation contributes to the formation of many organisational advantages in the Jordanian hospitality sector.
Foodstagramming as a self-presentational behavior: perspectives of tourists and residents
Authors: Lin Bingna , Fu Xiaoxiao , Lu Lu
Published: June 2022

Purpose

This study aims to investigate diners’ self-presentation mechanism as manifested in foodstagramming. Drawing upon the social cognitive and self-presentation theories, this study develops a conceptual model to examine the relationships among food experiential value (i.e. extrinsic value and intrinsic value), self-efficacy, strategic self-presentation and self-presentation outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopt a multi-study approach with two empirical studies (Study 1: tourists, n = 254; Study 2: residents, n = 252) and use partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the proposed model.

Findings

The results consistently show significant effects of extrinsic value, intrinsic value and self-efficacy on strategic self-presentation, which subsequently evokes perceived enjoyment and behavioral intention. The impact of food experiential value on self-efficacy varies between tourists and residents. The mediating effects of self-efficacy and strategic self-presentation are also confirmed.

Practical implications

Restaurant managers and destination marketers should acknowledge the importance of food experience as expressive capital and recognize self-presentation as a meaningful tool that links restaurant food experience with consumers’ personal branding. Businesses should strive to create a desired experiential setting shaped by food price, restaurant service, food aesthetics and consumers’ feelings, allowing diners to translate these stimuli into self-presentational resources.

Originality/value

This study dives into an important, yet under-examined, phenomenon of foodstagramming. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to theoretically link food experience to foodstagramming behavior via a self-presentation mechanism. Findings provide important theoretical and managerial implications.
The power of institutions on international marketing: reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic can inform international marketing activities
Authors: Griffith David A. , Yalcinkaya Goksel
Published: June 2022

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the influence that nation-states can have on the engagement of international marketing activities. The purpose of this study is to understand the influence of the institutional response to the COVID-19 pandemic on international marketing activities and to highlight the need to formally incorporate institutional economics into the study of international marketing phenomena.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses institutional economics as the environmental element of the general theory of competitive rationality to present a foundation for understanding how state actions influence marketing and international marketing activities. Data are presented and empirically tested, demonstrating the heterogeneity of government influence on personal and economic freedoms during the pandemic, both of which influenced international marketing activities. To broaden the implications of this work, we also provide anecdotal illustrations unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic to demonstrate the breadth of nation-state influence on international marketing activities.

Findings

Heterogeneity in nation-state formal and informal institutional elements influence international marketing activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, other incidents, unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrate the importance of contextualizing international marketing activities under a holistic institutional framework.

Originality/value

The paper employs the general theory of competitive rationality along with institutional economics to provide a theoretical foundation to better understand the differential impact on international marketing as a result of formal and informal institutional influences. This general framework can be employed to provide a holistic understanding of both international and cross-national marketing activities.
Validating the antecedents of customer M-payment loyalty: an empirical investigation
Authors: Tripathi Shalini Nath , Malik Nishtha , Rana Nripendra P. , Vishnani Sushma , Srivastava Shalini
Published: June 2022

Purpose

The study aims to explore antecedents and consequences of customer experience (CE) by positing a comprehensive framework taking cognizance of customer loyalty (CL), customer advocacy (CA), customer value dimensions, and subjective norms (SN).

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a mixed-method sequential explanatory design where data were collected in two stages. In the initial stage (quantitative study), data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 395 respondents at two different periods and the data were analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. These results were further verified in the second stage (qualitative study) by conducting semi-structured interviews of 37 respondents for which the data were analyzed using NVivo.

Findings

The results suggested a positive and significant relationship between utilitarian value (UV) and CA, hedonic value (HV) and CA as well as with CE. Further, the relationship between UV and CA is sequentially mediated by CE and CL; and the relationship between HV and CA is sequentially mediated by CE and CL. SN was also found to moderate the relationship between CE and CL. The qualitative analysis of the transcripts indicated major themes including HV (enjoyment), UV (usefulness and convenience), recommending mobile payment (M-payment) services, advocating for M-payment services and talking positively about the service provider.

Originality/value

The current study uses the mixed-method approach and comprehensively explores key dimensions of customer value associated with CE and CA, formalizes a relationship between all the facets, delivering valuable takeaways for academics and practitioners (for designing effective CE programs). The current study's uniqueness lies in the fact that the study is one of the first studies to explore the mediating roles of CE and CL using a serial-mediation approach, between UV, HV, SV, and CA. The moderating role of SN between CE and CL is also a novel contribution to the existing body of literature.
The role of leadership skills in the adoption of business intelligence and analytics by SMEs
Authors: Wee Mak , Scheepers Helana , Tian Xuemei
Published: June 2022

Purpose

A key finding in the extant literature on adopting information systems has been the importance of management support and a champion. Further research has indicated that business managers need to have appropriate IT knowledge and skills to lead adoption adequately. In the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), this role is usually assumed by the owner/manager. This research aims to synthesise these two tenets by identifying and understanding the type of business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) leadership skills that owners/managers need to develop during the adoption of BI&A.

Design/methodology/approach

Five BI&A knowledge areas are identified and connected to different types of BI&A leadership skills through qualitative in-depth case studies of fourteen Australian SMEs.

Findings

The case studies reveal that several BI&A leadership skills need to be developed to bring SMEs to higher stages of BI&A adoption.

Practical implications

This study proposes a BI&A leadership skills development framework that allows practitioners to develop progressive BI&A skills concerning managing data, analytical skills, business processes, social and cultural change, and investment decisions to achieve sustainable operational, management and strategic goals.

Originality/value

The paper takes a unique approach that links five knowledge areas to BI&A leadership skills that owners/managers need to ensure for effective adoption and orchestration of BI&A in their organisations. The BI&A leadership framework includes a developmental approach that relates to the iterative and complex nature of BI&A adoption.
Online listening responses and e-learning performance
Authors: Du Zhao , Wang Fang , Wang Shan , Xiao Xiao
Published: June 2022

Purpose

This research investigates the impact of learners' non-substantive responses in online course forums, referred to as online listening responses, on e-learning performance. A common type of response in online course forums, online listening responses consist of brief, non-substantive replies/comments (e.g. “agree,” “I see,” “thank you,” “me too”) and non-textual inputs (e.g. post-voting, emoticons) in online discussions. Extant literature on online forum participation focuses on learners' active participation with substantive inputs and overlooks online listening responses. This research, by contrast, stresses the value of online listening responses in e-learning and their heterogeneous effects across learner characteristics. It calls for recognition and encouragement from online instructors and online forum designers to support this activity.

Design/methodology/approach

The large-scale proprietary dataset comes from a leading MOOC (massive open online courses) platform in China. The dataset includes 68,126 records of learners in five MOOCs during 2014–2018. An ordinary least squares model is used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses.

Findings

Online listening responses in course forums, along with learners' substantive inputs, positively influence learner performance in online courses. The effects are heterogeneous across learner characteristics, being more prominent for early course registrants, learners with full-time jobs and learners with more e-learning experience, but weaker for female learners.

Originality/value

This research distinguishes learners' brief, non-substantive responses (online listening responses) and substantive inputs (online speaking) as two types of active participation in online forums and provides empirical evidence for the importance of online listening responses in e-learning. It contributes to online forum research by advancing the active-passive dichotomy of online forum participation to a nuanced classification of learner behaviors. It also adds to e-learning research by generating insights into the positive and heterogeneous value of learners' online listening responses to e-learning outcomes. Finally, it enriches online listening research by introducing and examining online listening responses, thereby providing a new avenue to probe online discussions and e-learning performance.
The emotional constraints of emancipatory information systems
Authors: Vaidya Ranjan , Myers Michael D.
Published: June 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to highlight the importance of the study of emotions in the successful implementation of information systems projects in developing countries. This paper studies one emotion, namely, anger, and discusses its detrimental impact on information system interventions. This paper suggests that controls are necessary for the management of anger emotion.

Design/methodology/approach

This research study explores the case of an Indian agricultural marketing board that implemented an information systems project on the integration of agricultural markets. The data was collected through semistructured interviews from four stakeholder groups. This paper uses a qualitative approach and analyzes the data using thematic analysis. Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice is used to study emotions in the case.

Findings

This paper finds that anger is the prominent emotion displayed at public sector organizations in India. This paper permeates all aspects of public organizations and has a detrimental impact on successfully implementing the information systems projects. Successful implementation of the information systems (IS) projects in India will need to have a framework for managing the anger emotion.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper within the information systems discipline that focuses on anger and its detrimental impact on successful IS interventions. A unique contribution of this paper is a framework for the study of emotions. This paper also introduces the idea of controls for emotional management.
Striving for the bottom line: the impact of supervisor bottom-line mentality on employees' work effort and helping behavior
Authors: Chen Silu , Zhu Yanghao , Liu Wenxing , Mao Jianghua , Gao Kai
Published: June 2022

Purpose

This study aims to advance the bottom-line mentality (BLM) literature by drawing on goal-setting theory to examine the positive effects of supervisor BLM on employees' behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected survey data from 291 full-time employees from various Chinese organizations at three different points in time.

Findings

The authors found that supervisor BLM and employees' collectivism orientation interacted to influence employees' bottom-line goal commitment such that the positive relationship between supervisor BLM and employees' bottom-line goal commitment was stronger when employees' collectivism orientation was high rather than low. Furthermore, they found that employees' collectivism orientation moderated the positive indirect effects of supervisor BLM on employees' work effort and helping behavior via bottom-line goal commitment such that the indirect effects were stronger when employees had a high rather than a low collectivism orientation.

Originality/value

The authors explored the “bridge side” of supervisor BLM on employees' behavior, especially after being moderated by collectivism orientation. Our results can help managers develop a comprehensive understanding of BLM.
Patterns of phenotypic plasticity along a thermal gradient differ by trait type in an alpine plant
Authors: Arnold Pieter A. , Wang Shuo , Catling Alexandra A. , Kruuk Loeske E. B. , Nicotra Adrienne B.
Published: June 2022

Climate change presents many challenges for plants, a major one of which is the steady increase in the temperatures that plants are exposed to during germination, growth and reproduction. Generating a more complete understanding of the capacity for plants to respond and of the role that phenotypic plasticity plays in facilitating species' responses to warming temperatures is a central objective in global change ecology.

Different traits expressed across life stages might be expected to exhibit a variety of responses to temperature due to phenotypic plasticity and genetic variation, even within a species. However, the extent of the variation among trait types and the relative contribution of plasticity and genetics to responses along a thermal gradient are not well understood. Here, we studied an alpine plant, Wahlenbergia ceracea, to determine the shapes of plastic responses in 14 traits across germination, leaf, physiology and reproductive fitness trait types across a broad thermal gradient of temperatures while also comparing responses among family lines.

Trait types differed markedly: germination, leaf and reproductive traits showed nonlinear plasticity with best performance at intermediate temperatures, whereas physiology traits were generally less responsive to temperature. Variation in plasticity among families was lowest for the traits most necessary for tolerating environmental extremes (e.g. heat tolerance), suggesting that physiology traits may be canalised and fitness suffers for it. In contrast, variation in means, and plasticity in some cases, among families in germination traits suggests genetic variation and hence the potential for these few traits to respond to selection.

Our results illustrate the variety of responses that may occur in response to temperature, and the frequent occurrence of complex nonlinear plastic responses that would not have been apparent with comparison of fewer temperatures. We discuss the physiological, ecological and evolutionary insights our findings provide into the response of wild species to the changing climate.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Can fire‐age mosaics really deal with conflicting needs of species? A study using population hotspots of multiple threatened birds
Authors: Verdon Simon J. , Clarke Michael F.
Published: June 2022

Locations that support high densities of a species (‘population hotspots’) often have a disproportionate influence on species' persistence. In fire‐prone ecosystems, managers attempting to promote population hotspots of multiple species must understand how hotspot locations might shift with post‐fire succession and how much overlap exists in the locations of population hotspots for multiple species. Mangers are then tasked with resolving fire‐management conflicts in overlapping locations.

We studied three co‐occurring threatened bird species in a fire‐prone ‘mallee’ region of south‐eastern Australia. We undertook field surveys for each species (1,508 surveys, 540 sites; 9‐ha each). We used N‐mixture models to determine (a) what factors affect species' density (including post‐fire succession); (b) species' population sizes; (c) locations of species' current population hotspots and locations that may become population hotspots in the future as the post‐fire successional state changes and (d) the degree of overlap in the current and possible future hotspots of species.

We found substantial variation in the densities of the three species across the study area, with roughly half of each species' population occurring in only 20% of potential habitat (i.e. population hotspots). All species shared a preference for subtle depressions in the landscape, resulting in substantial overlap in their population hotspots. Two species had contrasting responses to post‐fire succession in the subtle depressions. As a result, there was only a narrow post‐fire period that supported population hotspots of both species, creating a challenge for fire managers in these shared locations.

Synthesis and applications. Many studies make vague recommendations for fire‐age mosaics that do not provide conservation managers with the detail they need to implement appropriate fire‐age mosaics. By contrast, we explicitly quantify, then balance the conflicting post‐fire needs of species in locations that support population hotspots of multiple species. Using this approach, we develop principles to guide the implementation of fire‐age mosaics in such locations. This approach represents an important step towards applying fire‐age mosaic theory to effectively support species conservation.
Ministerial policy dominance in parliamentary democracies
Authors: KLÜSER K. JONATHAN , BREUNIG CHRISTIAN
Published: June 2022

To what extent do ministries dominate a particular policy domain? The policy dictator model and many principle‐agent models of governmental control that followed suit assume that governments create ministries with clear and exclusive policy responsibilities. We test this assertion using data from parliamentary bills from Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. For each bill, we observe its substantial policy content and the responsible ministry. The data show that bills on similar issues regularly are drafted by different ministries in parliamentary democracies. About 40 per cent of policy issues cannot be ascribed to one dominant ministry. The regularities elucidate that ministerial division of labour within governments is considerably more complex than commonly assumed. The variegated level of ministerial dominance across policy domains calls for a new research agenda on how governments assign responsibility for legislative action in parliamentary democracies.
Longitudinal assessment of drinking changes during the pandemic: The 2021 COVID‐19 follow‐up study to the 2019 to 2020 National Alcohol Survey
Authors: Kerr William C. , Ye Yu , Martinez Priscilla , Karriker‐Jaffe Katherine J. , Patterson Deidre , Greenfield Thomas K. , Mulia Nina
Published: June 2022

Background

Surveys of changes in drinking during the COVID‐19 pandemic have primarily relied on retrospective self‐report. Further, most such surveys have not included detailed measures of alcohol use patterns, such as beverage‐specific consumption, nor measures of alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms that would allow a comprehensive understanding of changes in alcohol use.

Methods

Data from 1819 completed interviews from the N14C follow‐up survey to the 2019 to 2020 National Alcohol Survey (N14) were conducted between January 30 and March 28, 2021. Questions on alcohol use from the Graduated Frequency series, beverage‐specific quantity and frequency, and DSM‐5 AUD items were asked in both surveys and used to estimate changes from pre‐pandemic drinking to drinking during the pandemic. Analyses focus on changes in these measures over time and comparisons between key subgroups defined by gender, race/ethnicity, and age.

Results

Key findings include particularly large increases in drinking and AUD for African Americans and women, reduced drinking and heavy drinking prevalence among men and White respondents, and a concentration of increased drinking and AUD among respondents aged 35 to 49. Increases in alcohol use were found to be driven particularly by increases in drinking frequency and the consumption of spirits.

Conclusions

Results confirm prior findings of overall increases and subgroup‐specific changes, and importantly, provide detailed information on the patterns of change across major socio‐demographic subgroups. Substantial increases in the prevalence of DSM‐5 moderate to severe AUDs are a novel finding that is of particular concern.
The effects of maternal penning on the movement ecology of mountain caribou
Authors: Ford A. T. , Noonan M. J. , Bollefer K. , Gill R. , Legebokow C. , Serrouya R.
Published: June 2022

Translocation and captivity are important tools for conservation biology and wildlife management. Understanding the movement ecology of animals following their release in novel terrain is critical to predicting the success of wildlife restoration efforts. Mountain caribou have high conservation value – efforts to restore their populations across western Canada involve hundreds of millions of dollars in science, monitoring, and management activity. Here, we examined the movements of adult female caribou (N = 36) following their translocation to, and release from, a maternity pen (‘penned caribou’) and compared these movements to animals that were not translocated (‘unpenned caribou’, N = 22). A maternity pen is a temporary holding facility, within the animals’ existing range, that enables them to bear and raise their young in the absence of predators and with augmented resources. Penned and unpenned animals had similar home range sizes (1052.2 and 1314.6 km2, respectively, P = 0.46) though penned animals moved through the landscape in a faster yet less directed manner. We found some evidence that memory may improve the efficiency of space use. Home ranges with higher quality habitats tended to be smaller than home ranges with poorer quality habitats irrespective of penning status. Penned animals ranged at lower elevation (~150 m) than unpenned animals, particularly in spring and early winter. For penned animals, we did not detect evidence of homing back to the original capture site. The best predictor of how caribou will use the landscape appears to be proximity to the location of the release site. To maximize the fitness of released caribou, future plans for maternity pens and captive breeding programs need to consider the management of food, predators, and habitat across the 1000–2000 km2 that will form the home range near the release site.
Citizen science indicates significant range recovery and defines new conservation priorities for Earth's most endangered pinniped in Greece
Authors: Adamantopoulou S. , Karamanlidis A. A. , Dendrinos P. , Gimenez O.
Published: June 2022

Conservation actions for endangered species often require detailed data over large temporal and spatial scales, which are usually hard to obtain from traditional scientific surveys that operate at localized scales. In contrast to the terrestrial conservation world where citizen science has become nowadays a highly relevant and useful tool to overcome such difficulties, Marine Citizen Science is still highly underrepresented. Using a dataset of 20 years of citizen science data and appropriate statistical modelling, we developed a methodological approach to monitor the presence of the endangered, notoriously elusive Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus. We used sighting data collected in Greece from 2000 to 2020 and fitted dynamic occupancy models that allow inferring range dynamics whilst accounting for species imperfect detectability to estimate species occupancy. The occurrence of Mediterranean monk seals of all age categories combined, and pups separately, increased during the study period. Mediterranean monk seal occurrence increased also spatially: the distribution of the species in Greece increased by approximately 12.5% for seals of all age categories and by approximately 185% for monk seal pups. Most of this distribution (i.e. 67 and 72% of the distribution of seals of all age categories and of pups, respectively) was located within the boundaries of the network of protected areas in the country. These results indicate a significant range recovery of the Mediterranean monk seal in Greece over the last two decades and facilitate the prioritization of conservation actions for the species in the country. We demonstrate how occupancy modelling and citizen science can be used to evaluate the distribution of an endangered species and become a highly relevant and reliable tool in marine mammal conservation. We advocate the increased use of citizen science in the conservation of the Mediterranean monk seal in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Common genetic variation in KATNAL1 non‐coding regions is involved in the susceptibility to severe phenotypes of male infertility
Authors: Cerván‐Martín Miriam , Bossini‐Castillo Lara , Guzmán‐Jiménez Andrea , Rivera‐Egea Rocío , Garrido Nicolás , Lujan Saturnino , Romeu Gema , Santos‐Ribeiro Samuel ,   IVIRMA Group,   Lisbon Clinical Group, Castilla José Antonio , Gonzalvo María del Carmen , Clavero Ana , Maldonado Vicente , Vicente Francisco Javier , Burgos Miguel , Jiménez Rafael , González‐Muñoz Sara , Sánchez‐Curbelo Josvany , López‐Rodrigo Olga , Pereira‐Caetano Iris , Marques Patricia Isabel , Carvalho Filipa , Barros Alberto , Bassas Lluís , Seixas Susana , Gonçalves João , Larriba Sara , Lopes Alexandra Manuel , Palomino‐Morales Rogelio Jesús , Carmona Francisco David
Published: June 2022

Background

Previous studies in animal models evidenced that genetic mutations of KATNAL1, resulting in dysfunction of its encoded protein, lead to male infertility through disruption of microtubule remodelling and premature germ cell exfoliation. Subsequent studies in humans also suggested a possible role of KATNAL1 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms in the development of male infertility as a consequence of severe spermatogenic failure.

Objectives

The main objective of the present study is to evaluate the effect of the common genetic variation of KATNAL1 in a large and phenotypically well‐characterised cohort of infertile men because of severe spermatogenic failure.

Materials and methods

A total of 715 infertile men because of severe spermatogenic failure, including 210 severe oligospermia and 505 non‐obstructive azoospermia patients, as well as 1058 unaffected controls were genotyped for three KATNAL1 single‐nucleotide polymorphism taggers (rs2077011, rs7338931 and rs2149971). Case–control association analyses by logistic regression assuming different models and in silico functional characterisation of risk variants were conducted.

Results

Genetic associations were observed between the three analysed taggers and different severe spermatogenic failure groups. However, in all cases, the haplotype model (rs2077011*C | rs7338931*T | rs2149971*A) better explained the observed associations than the three risk alleles independently. This haplotype was associated with non‐obstructive azoospermia (adjusted p = 4.96E‐02, odds ratio = 2.97), Sertoli‐cell only syndrome (adjusted p = 2.83E‐02, odds ratio = 5.16) and testicular sperm extraction unsuccessful outcomes (adjusted p = 8.99E‐04, odds ratio = 6.13). The in silico analyses indicated that the effect on severe spermatogenic failure predisposition could be because of an alteration of the KATNAL1 splicing pattern.

Conclusions

Specific allelic combinations of KATNAL1 genetic polymorphisms may confer a risk of developing severe male infertility phenotypes by favouring the overrepresentation of a short non‐functional transcript isoform in the testis.
Fear of childbirth in pregnancy was not increased during the COVID‐19 pandemic in the Netherlands: a cross‐sectional study
Authors: Zilver Sanne J. M. , Hendrix Yvette M. G. A. , Broekman Birit F. P. , de Leeuw Robert A. , de Groot Christianne J. M. , van Pampus Maria G.
Published: June 2022

Introduction

Fear of childbirth is a well‐known problem during pregnancy and can have implications for childbirth, including prolonged labor, use of epidural analgesia, obstetric complications, presence of traumatic stress symptoms, or request for an elective cesarean section. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has affected mental health and therefore could have increased fear of childbirth during the pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate fear of childbirth during the pandemic in the Netherlands compared with a reference group from before the pandemic.

Material and methods

We conducted a cross‐sectional study to evaluate pregnant women during the first and second waves of COVID‐19 compared with both each other and with pregnant women from before the pandemic. Participants were recruited through social media platforms, hospitals, and midwifery practices. Pregnant women aged ≥18 years who had mastered the Dutch language were eligible to participate. Fear of childbirth was measured with the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire online using a cut‐off score of ≥85 to indicate clinically relevant fear of childbirth. The primary outcome was the prevalence of fear of childbirth. We undertook additional analyses to specifically look at possible effect modification.

Results

In total, 1102 pregnant women completed the questionnaire during the first wave of the pandemic, 731 during the second wave, and 364 before the pandemic. Fear of childbirth was present in 10.6%, 11.4%, and 18.4%, respectively. We considered possible effect modification, which indicated that age and parity had a significant influence. In participants during the first wave of COVID‐19, nulliparous women had significantly lower odds (odds ratio [OR] 0.50; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.34–0.73; p < 0.01) of having a fear of childbirth than did the reference group. Both younger participants in the first wave (OR 0.59; 95% CI 0.37–0.93; p < 0.05) and older participants in the first wave (OR 0.44; 95% CI 0.28–0.71; p < 0.01) and the second wave (OR 0.36; 95% CI 0.21–0.62; p < 0.01) of COVID‐19 had lower odds of fear of childbirth than the reference group.

Conclusions

Pregnant women during the first and second waves of COVID‐19 had lower fear of childbirth scores than pregnant women before the pandemic, indicating less fear of childbirth during the pandemic. This could be explained by an increased level of information, more time to consume information, and better work–life balance with more people working at home during the pandemic.
Political connection and CSR: Evidence from Korea
Authors: Park SeHyun
Published: June 2022

Scholars have been raising voices for corporate leadership in politics, namely the political corporate social responsibility (CSR). While many anecdotes of democratic deficits to corporations support the claim, it is still dubious whether corporations can be trusted with such a role. If the motivation for CSR is for further value creation as the resource based‐view suggests, they may thrive in their political role by creating shared value for both private and public sectors. However, if their motivation is mere societal acceptance as the institutional theory suggests, they will fail to serve both public and private; firms will fulfill self‐interest at the cost of society at best. One way to investigate this is to examine the interaction between political connection and CSR and thereby reveal the motivation for CSR. While both concepts have been extensively studied separately, their interaction has been sparsely explored with inconclusive mixed results. Thus, this paper clarifies the effect of political connection on CSR. To this end, this paper exploits the 2008 presidential election in South Korea as an exogenous shock to the channels for political connection. This paper captures the difference‐in‐difference estimate of the effect of political connection on CSR with instrumental variables to alleviate endogeneity problems and two‐way fixed effects to handle firm heterogeneity. As a result, this paper demonstrates a negative causal effect of political connection on CSR, a decline by 4.9% on average, which resolves the conflict in the literature. In addition, the negative effect supports institutional theory over the resource based‐view as the motivation for CSR and raises a cautious voice for political CSR.
The eco‐evolutionary history of Madagascar presents unique challenges to tropical forest restoration
Authors: Culbertson Katherine A. , Treuer Timothy L. H. , Mondragon‐Botero Ariadna , Ramiadantsoa Tanjona , Reid J. Leighton
Published: June 2022

High biodiversity and endemism combined with persistently high deforestation rates mark Madagascar as one of the hottest biodiversity hot spots. Contemporary rising interest in large‐scale reforestation, both globally and throughout Madagascar itself, presents a promising impetus for forest restoration and biodiversity conservation across the island. However, Madagascar may face unique restoration challenges due to its equally unique eco‐evolutionary trajectory, which must be understood to enable successful ecological restoration. We conducted a systematic review of potential barriers to restoration for terrestrial forest biomes (rain forests, dry forests, and subhumid highland forests) in Madagascar. Our results indicate that aboveground biomass recovery of Malagasy forests appears to be slower than other tropical forests. We suggest four key synergistic factors that inhibit restoration in Madagascar: (a) lack of resilience to shifting nutrient and fire regimes arising from widespread high‐intensity shifting cultivation; (b) predominance of nutrient‐poor, highly weathered ferralitic soils; (c) vulnerability of regenerating native trees to competition with invasive species due to their evolutionary isolation; and (d) low seed dispersal into regenerating forests due to the unique dependence of Malagasy trees on dispersal by forest‐dependent endangered or extinct primates. However, we note that rigorous experimental study of regenerating forests in Madagascar is currently lacking. There are great opportunity and need for such research to disentangle drivers and interactions inhibiting forest restoration. These studies would enable reforestation practitioners to effectively capitalize on current global momentum to implement the large‐scale restoration necessary for the conservation of Madagascar's numerous endemic species.

Abstract in Malagasy is available with online material
Improved glycaemic control and weight benefit with iGlarLixi versus insulin glargine 100 U/mL in Chinese people with type 2 diabetes advancing their therapy from basal insulin plus oral antihyperglycaemic drugs: Results from the LixiLan‐L‐CN randomized controlled trial
Authors: Yuan Xiaoyong , Guo Xiaohui , Zhang Junqing , Dong Xiaolin , Lu Yibing , Pang Wuyan , Gu Shenghong , Niemoeller Elisabeth , Ping Lin , Nian Gaowei , Souhami Elisabeth ,   LixiLan‐L‐CN investigators
Published: June 2022

Aims

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of iGlarLixi compared with iGlar in Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes advancing therapy from basal insulin ± oral antihyperglycaemic drugs.

Materials and methods

LixiLan‐L‐CN (NCT03798080) was a 30‐week randomized, active‐controlled, open‐label, parallel‐group, multicentre study. Participants were randomized 1:1 to iGlarLixi or iGlar. The primary objective was to show the superiority of iGlarLixi over iGlar in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) change from baseline to Week 30.

Results

In total, 426 participants were randomized to iGlarLixi (n = 212) or iGlar (n = 214). Mean age was 58 years, 67% had a body mass index ≥24 kg/m2, corresponding to overweight/obesity, and the mean diabetes duration was 12.3 years. From mean baseline HbA1c of 8.1% in both groups, greater decreases were seen with iGlarLixi versus iGlar [least squares mean difference: −0.7 (95% confidence interval: −0.9, −0.6)%; p < .0001] to final HbA1c of 6.7% and 7.4%, respectively. HbA1c <7.0% achievement was greater with iGlarLixi (63.3%) versus iGlar (29.9%; p < .0001). Mean body weight decreased with iGlarLixi and increased with iGlar [least squares mean difference: −0.9 (95% confidence interval: −1.4, −0.5) kg; p = .0001]. Hypoglycaemia incidence was similar between groups. Few gastrointestinal adverse events occurred (rated mild/moderate) with a slightly higher incidence with iGlarLixi than iGlar.

Conclusions

iGlarLixi provided better glycaemic control and facilitated more participants to reach glycaemic targets alongside beneficial effects on body weight, no additional risk of hypoglycaemia, and few gastrointestinal AEs, supporting iGlarLixi use as an efficacious and well tolerated therapy option in Chinese people with long‐standing T2D advancing therapy from basal insulin.
The endowment effect and the trading of draft picks in major professional U.S. sports
Authors: Hobbs Jeff , Singh Vivek
Published: June 2022

Several studies have examined the endowment effect. Others have documented the influence of behavioral economics in sports. However, there exists little research on the endowment effect in sports. We study this phenomenon through the trading of draft picks in three major professional sporting organizations: the National Basketball Association, National Football League, and National Hockey League. We find strong evidence of the endowment effect overall and varying degrees of it across leagues. We find that it exists beyond information asymmetries, differences in trading activity, the prior short‐term trading relationships of the teams involved and the desire of non‐endowed, one‐time owners of picks to repurchase those picks.