bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Conservation of isolate substrate preferences in mixed communities revealed through ribosomal marker protein profiling
Authors: Saichek Nicholas R , Wang Ying , Kosina Suzanne M , Bowen Benjamin P , Chakraborty Romy , Northen Trent R
Published: May 2021

Assessment of structure-function relationships is a central theme in microbial ecology. However, the degree that isolate metabolic activities are conserved in communities remains unclear. This is because tracking population dynamics and substrate partitioning in microbial communities remains technically challenging. Here, we describe the application of a mass spectrometry-based ribosomal marker protein profiling with stable isotope probing approach that allows for concurrent monitoring of community structure dynamics and resource assimilation within a five-member synthetic soil bacterial community. Using this approach, we find that isolate substrate preferences for glutamine and phenylalanine are largely conserved in the community and can be predicted using a weighted-sum model. However, time-series monitoring revealed a significant delay in phenylalanine incorporation by two of the strains, as well as enhanced growth for Variovorax paradoxus presumably due to interspecies interactions. The unique utility of this approach to temporally probe resource incorporation and community structure enables deciphering the dynamic interactions occurring within the community. Extension of this approach to other communities under various environmental perturbations is needed to reveal the generality of microbial conservation of substrate preferences.
mRNA vaccine-induced T cells respond identically to SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern but differ in longevity and homing properties depending on prior infection status
Authors: Neidleman Jason , Luo Xiaoyu , McGregor Matthew , Xie Guorui , Murray Victoria , Greene Warner C. , Lee Sulggi A. , Roan Nadia R.
Published: May 2021

While mRNA vaccines are proving highly efficacious against SARS-CoV-2, it is important to determine how booster doses and prior infection influence the immune defense they elicit, and whether they protect against variants. Focusing on the T cell response, we conducted a longitudinal study of infection-naïve and COVID-19 convalescent donors before vaccination and after their first and second vaccine doses, using a high-parameter CyTOF analysis to phenotype their SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells. Vaccine-elicited spike-specific T cells responded similarly to stimulation by spike epitopes from the ancestral, B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variant strains, both in terms of cell numbers and phenotypes. In infection-naïve individuals, the second dose boosted the quantity and altered the phenotypic properties of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells, while in convalescents the second dose changed neither. Spike-specific T cells from convalescent vaccinees differed strikingly from those of infection-naïve vaccinees, with phenotypic features suggesting superior long-term persistence and ability to home to the respiratory tract including the nasopharynx. These results provide reassurance that vaccine-elicited T cells respond robustly to emerging viral variants, confirm that convalescents may not need a second vaccine dose, and suggest that vaccinated convalescents may have more persistent nasopharynx-homing SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells compared to their infection-naïve counterparts.
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells produce type I interferon and reduce viral replication in airway epithelial cells after SARS-CoV-2 infection
Authors: Cervantes-Barragan Luisa , Vanderheiden Abigail , Royer Charlotte J. , Davis-Gardner Meredith E. , Ralfs Philipp , Chirkova Tatiana , Anderson Larry J. , Grakoui Arash , Suthar Mehul S.
Published: May 2021

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 has caused a pandemic of unprecedented dimensions. SARS-CoV-2 infects airway and lung cells causing viral pneumonia. The importance of type I interferon (IFN) production for the control of SARS-CoV-2 infection is highlighted by the increased severity of COVID-19 in patients with inborn errors of type I IFN response or auto-antibodies against IFN-α. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are a unique immune cell population specialized in recognizing and controlling viral infections through the production of high concentrations of type I IFN. In this study, we isolated pDCs from healthy donors and showed that pDCs are able to recognize SARS-CoV-2 and rapidly produce large amounts of type I IFN. Sensing of SARS-CoV-2 by pDCs was independent of viral replication since pDCs were also able to recognize UV-inactivated SARS-CoV-2 and produce type I IFN. Transcriptional profiling of SARS-CoV-2 and UV-SARS-CoV-2 stimulated pDCs also showed a rapid type I and III IFN response as well as induction of several chemokines, and the induction of apoptosis in pDCs. Moreover, we modeled SARS-CoV-2 infection in the lung using primary human airway epithelial cells (pHAEs) and showed that co-culture of pDCs with SARS-CoV-2 infected pHAEs induces an antiviral response and upregulation of antigen presentation in pHAE cells. Importantly, the presence of pDCs in the co-culture results in control of SARS-CoV-2 replication in pHAEs. Our study identifies pDCs as one of the key cells that can recognize SARS-CoV-2 infection, produce type I and III IFN and control viral replication in infected cells.

Importance

Type I interferons (IFNs) are a major part of the innate immune defense against viral infections. The importance of type I interferon (IFN) production for the control of SARS-CoV-2 infection is highlighted by the increased severity of COVID-19 in patients with defects in the type I IFN response. Interestingly, many cells are not able to produce type I IFN after being infected with SARS-CoV-2 and cannot control viral infection. In this study we show that plasmacytoid dendritic cells are able to recognize SARS-CoV-2 and produce type I IFN, and that pDCs are able to help control viral infection in SARS-CoV-2 infected airway epithelial cells.
CSR committee attributes and CSR performance: UK evidence
Authors: Elmaghrabi Mohamed Esmail
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This study aims to explore the set of corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee attributes that may enhance CSR performance and CSR strategy formation and reduce CSR controversies.[AQ1] Towards this end, the study also explores the differences between companies with and without CSR committees in terms of these three CSR performance facets.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a sample of financial times stock exchange (FTSE) 100 non-financial companies in 2015–2017. Kruskal-Wallis test is conducted to test the differences in CSR performance in firms with CSR board-level committee, CSR management committee and no committees. Additionally, a regression model is used to explore the attributes of CSR committees that lead to better/less CSR performance and CSR strategy/CSR controversies. A two-stage least squares regression model was used as a robustness check.

Findings

Firms with board CSR committee have better CSR performance and CSR strategy and lower CSR controversies than both firms with no CSR committees and firms with a CSR management committee. Regression results show that CSR committees that are predominantly consisting of independent board members, chaired by a female director and setting more meetings have better CSR performance. Additionally, CSR committees were found to have lower CSR controversies when having more independent directors and a chair with CSR expertise. CSR strategy was better with the CSR committee represented by a larger group of members.

Originality/value

This study makes several contributions to the sustainability governance literature and regulatory/guidance interfaces. There is extant literature examining audit committee attributes and their effects on various firm outcomes. The same can be said on the regulations of the audit committee. CSR committees’ composition and benefits are, by far, less regulated and largely under-researched. Hence, this paper is considered an early attempt to explore the CSR performance improvements a CSR committee may bring and the composition that would bring better CSR performance.
“Like will to like” or “opposites attract”? Management board diversity affects employer attractiveness
Authors: Schäpers Philipp , Windscheid Leon , Mazei Jens , Thielsch Meinald T. , Hertel Guido
Published: May 2021

Purpose

How diversity in management boards affects employer attractiveness has yet to be fully clarified. This paper aims to contrast the two main theoretical rationales – similarity attraction and diversity attraction – and examines whether potential employees are more attracted to an organization with a homogenous board (in terms of gender and ethnicity) or to an organization with a diverse board.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants (N = 629) were simultaneously presented with two pictures of management boards, whereby the gender and ethnic composition of the boards were manipulated. Moreover, to examine whether social desirability influences the ratings of an organization’s attractiveness, survey anonymity was varied using an indirect questioning technique.

Findings

The findings supported the diversity attraction rationale: organizations with gender-balanced, multicultural boards were seen as more attractive than organizations with monolithic boards. However, this effect seemed to be influenced – at least partially – by social desirability.

Research limitations/implications

Additional research is needed to examine the extents to which people care about the degree of similarity between themselves and a management board.

Practical implications

The findings illustrate board composition as an employer branding strategy. Specifically, the results indicate that an organization can benefit from a diverse management board when this information is communicated to applicants.

Social implications

People’s attitudes toward organizations with diverse boards seem – in part – to be rooted in their motivation to comply with social norms.

Originality/value

Theoretical accounts (similarity attraction theory vs diversity attraction) lead to somewhat contradicting predictions, and the available empirical evidence was rather indirect and correlational. This study provides a controlled empirical investigation contrasting the two contradicting predictions.
Effect of divider wall-to-end wall distance on the vortical structures and heat transfer characteristics of two-pass channel using topological analysis
Authors: Zhao Zhiqi , Luo Lei , Qiu Dandan , Wang Songtao , Wang Zhongqi , Sunden Bengt Ake
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This study aims to explore the 3 D separated flow fields and heat transfer characteristics at the end wall of a serpentine channel with various turn clearances using topological analysis and critical points principles of three-dimensional vortex flow.

Design/methodology/approach

This aims to explore the 3 D separated flow fields and heat transfer characteristics at the end wall of a serpentine channel with various turn clearances using topological analysis as well as critical points principles of three-dimensional vortex flow.

Findings

The endwall heat transfer in the narrow spacing passage is significantly stronger than that in a wide spacing channel. As the gap clearance is kept at 0.87 times of the hydraulic diameter, the endwall heat transfer and thermal performance can be accordingly enhanced with low pressure drops, which is because a relatively strong concentrated impingement flow for the medium gap clearance helps to restrain the downstream fluid flow and enhance the shear effect of the secondary flow.

Practical implications

The numerical results can be applied in designing sharp turn of serpentine channel in heat exchangers, heat sinks, piping system, solar receiver and gas turbine blades.

Originality/value

The evolution mechanism of the vortices in the turning region under different gap clearance was analyzed, and thermal enhancement characteristics were predicted innovatively using topological analysis method.
Examining the links between logistics outsourcing, company competitiveness and selected performances: the evidence from an emerging country
Authors: Afum Ebenezer , Agyabeng-Mensah Yaw , Acquah Innocent Senyo Kwasi , Baah Charles , Dacosta Essel , Owusu Clifford Sekyere , Amponsah Owusu Joseph
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This study examines the mediation effects of time-based competitiveness, cost-based competitiveness and customer performance between logistics outsourcing and financial performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study relied on a questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument and further employed partial least squares structural equation modelling technique to test all formulated hypotheses.

Findings

The results demonstrate that logistics outsourcing has a significant positive impact on time-based competitiveness, cost-based competitiveness, customer performance and financial performance. Time-based competitiveness and cost-based competitiveness were both found to have a significant positive impact on financial performance; however, customer performance had no significant impact on financial performance. The mediation analysis further indicates that while both time-based competitiveness and cost-based competitiveness play mediation effects between logistics outsourcing and financial performance, customer performance plays no mediation effect between logistics outsourcing and financial performance.

Research limitations/implications

The sampled firms for this study came from a single emerging country; hence, the results cannot be generalized or imported to reflect the results that may be obtained from other emerging geographical settings.

Practical implications

The results provide sufficient evidence for managers to turn their attention to logistics outsourcing, as a transformative business initiative, to gain time-based and cost-based competitiveness so as to improve financial performance.

Originality/value

The study provides significant insight and makes an additional contribution to literature in the area of logistics outsourcing, especially by collecting data from an emerging country. Modelling time-based competitiveness, cost-based competitiveness and customer performance as mediating variables between logistics outsourcing and financial performance make this work relatively different from other studies.
A comparative analysis of maintenance strategies and data application in asset performance management for both developed and developing countries
Authors: Wakiru James Mutuota , Pintelon Liliane , Muchiri Peter , Chemweno Peter
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The present study empirically compares maintenance practices under asset performance management (APM), employed by firms in developed and developing countries (Belgium and Kenya, respectively).

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical observations and theoretical interpretations on maintenance practices under APM are delineated. A comparative cross-sectional survey study is conducted through an online questionnaire with 151 respondents (101 Kenya, 50 Belgium). Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics like independent t-test and phi coefficient were used for analyzing the data.

Findings

In both countries, reduction of maintenance and operational budget, return on assets, asset ageing and compliance aspects were established as critical factors influencing the implementation of asset maintenance and performance management (AMPM). A significant difference in staff competence in managing vibration, ultrasound and others like predictive algorithms was found to exist between the firms of the two countries. The majority of firms across the divide utilize manual and computer-based tools to integrate and analyse various maintenance data sets, while standardization and maintenance knowledge loss were found to adversely affect maintenance data management.

Research limitations/implications

The study findings are based on the limited number of returned responses of the survey questionnaire and focused on only two countries representing developed and developing economies. This study not only provides practitioners with the practical guidelines for benchmarking, but also induces the need to improve the asset maintenance strategies and data application practices for asset performance management.

Practical implications

The paper provides insights to researchers and practitioners in the articulation of imperative effective maintenance strategies, benchmarking and challenges in their implementation, considering the different operational context.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to theory and practice within the field of AMPM where no empirical research comparing developed and developing countries exist.
Worker health in formal electronic waste recycling plants
Authors: Côté Daniel , Gravel Sylvie , Gladu Stéphanie , Bakhiyi Bouchra , Gravel Sabrina
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This article explores the protective measures and the occupational health and safety (OHS) prevention strategies in place in the formal electronic equipment recycling (e-recycling) industry, more specifically in the Greater Montreal area (Quebec, Canada) and their consequences: health inequalities and level of compliance with environmental standards.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted using two respondent-specific questionnaires, one for workers and one for supervisors. Data collection and analytic procedures drew from qualitative content analysis. It was tempted to identify differences in OHS practices in relation to the workers' employment status and to link the companies' OHS concerns to their level of compliance with environmental standards.

Findings

The article highlights specific OHS issues in the formal e-recycling industry. Enforcing compliance with environmental standards as a lever for promoting OHS appears to be a promising strategy. Another main finding was the workforce diversity and related OHS vulnerabilities in this industry and the challenges they pose to employers' ability to adequately and equally reach and protect all workers involved.

Originality/value

To date, too little attention appears to have been paid to working conditions and worker protection in this rapidly growing sector. Specific prevention programmes could be implemented and adapted to the industry's diverse workforce and its multiple OHS vulnerabilities. This issue calls for the international community to take responsibility, as many electronic waste (e-waste) generated worldwide is shipped to developing countries, where lack of regulation and control is much more striking in a sector that remains very largely informal.
Making for learning: how graduate students discuss and design for maker-focused pedagogy
Authors: Humburg Megan , Tan Verily , Maltese Adam V. , Simpson Amber , Danish Joshua A.
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This study aims to understand how graduate students in a maker education course discuss beliefs about making and implement these beliefs as pedagogy in their curricular designs.

Design/methodology/approach

Interview transcripts from seven students were analyzed thematically for conceptions of making and learning. Lesson plans were also coded for elements of making, and the authors compared students’ articulated ideas about making with the practical implementation of making in their designs.

Findings

Students reflected on the nature of making and the possible benefits and tensions surrounding the use of making for learning. Multiple students discussed benefits for their future learning and careers. Comparisons between interview and lesson plans highlight both successful alignments and key gaps in the application of making principles, including struggles that students encountered when translating their beliefs about making into real-world pedagogy.

Research limitations/implications

Given the limited sample size, future research should explore the extent to which educators in other contexts encounter similar or different obstacles in their development of maker-focused pedagogies.

Practical implications

Findings can be used to inform future maker education courses to better support students in successfully translating core principles of making from general beliefs into effective and practical pedagogical strategies.

Originality/value

Despite widespread interest in combining making with educational spaces, much remains to be understood about the strategies that educators use to integrate elements of making into their pedagogy. This study contributes discussions of the benefits and tensions that maker educators may encounter when blending tenets of making with the needs of formal education.
Exploring ideation strategies as an opportunity to support and evaluate making
Authors: Worsley Marcelo
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to compare two types of prompts, encouraging participants to think about real-world examples or engineering principles to show how these two approaches can result in vastly different design practices.

Design/methodology/approach

Two studies (N = 20, N = 40) examine the impact of two different prompts. Non-expert students, from high school and university, completed a hands-on, engineering design task in pairs. Half were prompted to ideate using real-world examples, while the other half were prompted to ideate using engineering principles. The findings are based on human coding and artifact analyses.

Findings

In both studies, and across multiple measures, students in the principle-based condition performed better than students in the example-based condition.

Research limitations/implications

A seemingly small difference in how students are prompted or encouraged to approach a problem can have a significant impact on their experience. The findings also suggest that leveraging engineering principles, even when those principles are only loosely formed, can be effective even for non-experts. Finally, the findings motivate identifying student reasoning strategies over time as a potential means for assessment in Makerspaces.

Practical implications

Encouraging makers to think about different ways for approaching problems can be an important way to help them succeed. It may also be a useful way to chronicle their learning pathway.

Originality/value

To the author's knowledge, explicitly looking at ideation strategies has not been widely discussed within the Maker community as a way to support learners, or as a way to evaluate learning.
Not all evidence is created equal: assessment artifacts in maker education
Authors: Rosenheck Louisa , Lin Grace C. , Nigam Rashi , Nori Prasanth , Kim Yoon Jeon
Published: May 2021

Purpose

When using embedded, student-centered assessment tools for maker education, understanding the characteristics of a body of evidence can help teachers guide the assessment process. This study aims to examine assessment artifacts from a makerspace program and present a set of qualities that emerged, which researchers and maker educators can use to evaluate the quality of evidence before interpreting it and making claims about student learning.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used the interpretive analysis approach to identify salient qualities in a body of evidence of maker learning. Data sources included student assessment artifacts, researchers’ analytic memos, notes on the coding and analysis process, background stories and field observations.

Findings

The study found that the assessment artifacts generated by students aligned with the maker-related target skills. A set of qualities was produced that can be used to describe the strength of a body of evidence and help determine whether it is appropriate to be used in the meaning making phase.

Practical implications

The qualities identified in this study can be directly incorporated into the embedded assessment toolkit to provide feedback on the strength of evidence for learning in makerspaces.

Originality/value

Assessment methods for maker education are nascent, and ways to describe the quality of a student-generated body of evidence have not yet been established. This study applies existing knowledge of embedded assessment and reflective practice toward the creation of a new way of assessing skills that are difficult to measure.
Is one good enough? Gauging brand love using a visual single-item measure
Authors: Moussa Salim
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Though brand love is recognized as being an important marketing topic both for theory and practice, a gap still exists with regard to its operationalization. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes a single-item measure (SIM) that uses a visual rating scale (i.e., a rating scale combining verbal with nonverbal contents).

Design/methodology/approach

Three studies covering over 700 respondents and examining three international brands over three product categories were conducted to test the new measure.

Findings

Findings provide consistent evidence for the reliability and validity of the proposed measure. They also demonstrate that brand love, as gauged by the new SIM, is good in predicting positive word of mouth, willingness to pay a higher price, and willingness to forgive brand mishaps.

Research limitations/implications

The paper focuses on brand love mainly from a measurement perspective.

Practical implications

This paper provides a practical and parsimonious tool to measure brand love.

Originality/value

Extant SIMs of brand love are less than ordinal, content invalid, of unknown reliability, and of untested concurrent validity. This paper provides academics and practitioners alike with a SIM of brand love that is ordinal, content valid, and tested in terms of reliability and concurrent validity.
Cold water swimming for well-being
Authors: Oliver Billie
Published: May 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the health and well-being benefits of outdoor, cold water swimming.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper describes the personal experience of one cold water swimmer. It also explores some of the research literature suggesting there is evidence of the benefits to the health and well-being of people of all ages.

Findings

The paper explores literature suggesting there is evidence of the benefits of “blue therapy” to the health and well-being of people of all ages.

Originality

This paper describes the personal experience of one cold water swimmer. However, a growing body of published literature suggests there is value in “blue therapy” informing future social prescribing programmes.
A model of bead size based on the dynamic response of CMT-based wire and arc additive manufacturing process parameters
Authors: Fang Xuewei , Ren Chuanqi , Zhang Lijuan , Wang Changxing , Huang Ke , Lu Bingheng
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This paper aims at fabricating large metallic components with high deposition rates, low equipment costs through wire and wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) method, in order to achieve the morphology and mechanical properties of manufacturing process, a bead morphology prediction model with high precision for ideal deposition of every pass was established.

Design/methodology/approach

The dynamic response of the process parameters on the bead width and bead height of cold metal transfer (CMT)-based AM was analyzed. A laser profile scanner was used to continuously capture the morphology variation. A prediction model of the deposition bead morphology was established using response surface optimization. Moreover, the validity of the model was examined using 15 groups of quadratic regression analyzes.

Findings

The relative errors of the predicted bead width and height were all less than 5% compared with the experimental measurements. The model was then preliminarily used with necessary modifications, such as further considering the interlayer process parameters, to guide the fabrication of complex three-dimensional components.

Originality/value

The morphology prediction of WAAMed bead is a critical issue. Most research has focused on the formability and defects in CMT-based WAAM and little research on the effect of process parameters on the morphology of the deposited layer in CMT-based WAAM has been conducted. To test the sensitivities of the processing parameters to bead size, the dynamic response of key parameters was investigated. A regression model was established to guide the process parameter optimization for subsequent multi-layer or component deposition.
How tech-savvy organizations are outperforming their peers during the pandemic
Authors: Payraudeau Jean-Stéphane , Marshall Anthony , Jacob Dencik , Handa Rachna
Published: May 2021

Purpose

Executives surveyed by the IBM Institute for Business Value indicated that they are dramatically accelerating their company’s digital transformation during the pandemic. And fully two-thirds said that the pandemic has allowed them to advance specific transformation initiatives that previously had encountered resistance.

Design/methodology/approach

To better guide others seeking to make the transformation, the researchers looked at which technologies make a difference between high performing and struggling businesses in this period of extraordinary change and challenges.

Findings

The “technology mix” recipe for success is changing. Increasingly, cloud and AI are becoming performance differentiators. Not only does technology adoption vary greatly across industries, but the relationship between technology adoption and financial performance varied significantly among industries.

Practical implications

Cloud has become a more important contributor to revenue performance during the pandemic in 11 of the industries analyzed

Originality/value

Tech-savvy organizations outperformed their peers in revenue growth across the 12 industries where technology acted as a performance differentiator.
The conceptual framework on integrated flexibility: an evolution to data-driven supply chain management
Authors: Khanuja Anurodhsingh , Jain Rajesh Kumar
Published: May 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to establish a relationship between supply chain integration (SCI) and supply chain flexibility (SCF) to develop a two-dimensional approach, i.e. integrated flexibility.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on a relational view and dynamic capability theory, this paper argues that integrated flexibility is the strategy that enables organisations to achieve different positions and states to create distinctive capability. The article has proposed the conceptual framework that connects different supply chain strategies and practices to improve supply chain performance (SCP) considering the cross-disciplinary approach.

Findings

The conceptual framework around the new perspective, i.e. integrated flexibility, is built to deal with issues related to operations management. The paper suggests examining the mediating effect of SCF between SCI and SCP and the moderating role of knowledge management (KM), data analytics (DA) and quality management (QM) practices on their relationship. Moreover, research direction in terms of propositions and implications are developed to showcase how underlying practices streamline the supply chain and lead to superior SCP.

Practical implications

The proposed framework discusses the degree of integration and flexibility levels to guide practitioners in designing a supply chain strategy with their partners and answering how much resources need to be extended to achieve flexible operations and realise SCP.

Originality/value

Authors have developed an entirely new integrated flexibility concept that provides a base to sustain in the competitive market. The foundation of integrated flexibility is built on relational view and dynamic capability theory and supported by DA, QM and KM.
Short‐term responses to a human‐altered landscape do not affect fat dynamics of a migratory ungulate
Authors: Dwinnell Samantha P. H. , Sawyer Hall , Kauffman Matthew J. , Randall Jill E. , Kaiser Rusty C. , Thonhoff Mark A. , Fralick Gary L. , Monteith Kevin L.
Published: May 2021

According to risk‐sensitive foraging theory, animals should make foraging decisions that balance nutritional costs and gains to promote fitness. Human disturbance is a form of perceived risk that can prompt avoidance of risky habitat over acquisition of food. Consequently, behavioural responses to perceived risk could induce nutritional costs.

Population declines often coincide with increases in human disturbance, which likely is associated with direct and indirect habitat loss. Nevertheless, behavioural and physiological responses to perceived risks associated with human disturbance could be an added nutritional deficit with population‐level repercussions.

Using GPS‐collar data from three populations of migratory mule deer Odocoileus hemionus exposed to a gradient of established industrial energy development on winter ranges where direct and indirect habitat loss were well documented, we evaluated whether exposure and behavioural responses to human disturbance alter changes in nutritional condition (i.e. fat reserves) over winter.

Although animals exhibited behaviours indicative of perceived risk of human disturbance, such as increased movement rates and avoidance of infrastructure, exposure and behavioural responses to human disturbance had little to no measurable effect on fat loss over a winter. Instead, catabolism of fat reserves occurred primarily as a function of the amount of fat animals had entering winter, suggesting that, in the short term, animals were able to mitigate the energetic costs of perceived risk of human disturbance over winter. Animals, however, did not appear to overcome persistent food limitations, and animals with less food availability lost more fat over winter.

Our findings heed caution in using short‐term behavioural and physiological responses to inform long‐term nutritional consequences of human disturbance. Although animals appear to mitigate the energetic costs of perceived risk, food limitations exacerbated by broader‐scale avoidance of food near human disturbance may be the primary pathway causing the frequently observed population declines following human disturbance to pristine landscapes.

A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Counter‐gradient variation of reproductive effort in a widely distributed temperate oak
Authors: Caignard Thomas , Kremer Antoine , Bouteiller Xavier P. , Parmentier Julien , Louvet Jean‐Marc , Venner Samuel , Delzon Sylvain
Published: May 2021

The genetic and phenotypic variability of life‐history traits determines the demographic attributes of tree populations and, thus, their responses to anthropogenic climate change. Growth‐ and survival‐related traits have been widely studied in forest ecology, but little is known about the determinism of reproductive traits.

Using an elevation gradient experiment in the Pyrenees, we assessed the degree to which variations in reproductive effort along climatic gradients are environmentally or genetically driven, by comparing oak populations (Quercus petraea) growing under field and common garden conditions.

In situ monitoring revealed a decline in reproductive effort with increasing elevation and decreasing temperature. In common garden conditions, significant genetic differentiation was observed between provenances for reproduction and growth: trees from cold environments (high elevations) grew more slowly, and produced larger acorns in larger numbers. Our observations show that genetic and phenotypic clines for reproductive traits have opposite signs (counter‐gradient) along the environmental gradient as opposed to growth, for which genetic variation parallels phenotypic variation (co‐gradient).

The counter‐gradient found here for reproductive effort reveals that genetic variation partly counteracts the phenotypic effect of temperature, moderating the change in reproductive effort according to temperature. We consider the possible contribution to this counter‐gradient in reproductive effort as an evolutionary trade‐off between reproduction and growth.

A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Confirmation of clonal reproduction of Fagus crenata Blume from Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture
Authors: Worth James R. P. , Mori Hideki , Kitamura Keiko
Published: May 2021

While clonal growth is important in the East Asian Fagus subgenus Engleriana and the North American Fagus grandifolia (subgenus Fagus), for other subgenus Fagus species the vast majority of regeneration involves sexual reproduction with clonal growth only rarely observed. Here we aim to confirm using nuclear microsatellite markers whether clonal growth occurs in the Japanese endemic species Fagus crenata (subgenus Fagus) by investigating the origin of multi‐stemmed clumps found within a high‐elevation dwarf beech forest on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture. We found that all stems collected from three separate clumps belonged to the same clump‐specific multi‐locus genotypes. The maximum size of clones was 3–4 m in diameter, comparable in size to those seen in the predominantly asexually regenerating Japanese species Fagus japonica (subgenus Engleriana). The species capacity for clonal growth is likely to underlie its ability to persist at high‐elevation exposed sites at the limits of its ecological range.
Soil exposure accelerates recovery of the gut microbiota in antibiotic‐treated mice
Authors: Li Na , Zhang Honglin , Bai Zhimao , Jiang Haitao , Yang Fan , Sun Xiao , Lu Zuhong , Zhou Dongrui
Published: May 2021

Environmental exposure to low cleanliness prevents the occurrence of allergic diseases and increases the richness and diversity of the intestinal microbiota. Antibiotics are widely used in clinical infection therapy but destroy the balance of the gut microbiota. In this study, the effects of cleanliness of the living environment on the gut microbiota are evaluated after administration of antibiotics. The patterns of gut microbiota are compared before and after antibiotic treatment in mice living in a higher standard clean environment with those of mice living in an unclean environment. The results show that dust exposure prevents the reduction in gut microbiota diversity following antibiotic treatment in mice and impaired structural changes in the gut microbiota. Additionally, dust exposure accelerates the recovery of the gut microbiota, regardless of consumption of a high‐fat or normal diet. An unsanitary environment can reduce the effects of antibiotics on intestinal microecology in mice. These findings provide insights into approaches for regulating antibiotic‐induced symbiosis of the gut microbiota and preventing diseases.
Effect of relative age on childhood mental health: A cohort of 9,548,393 children and adolescents
Authors: Chen Mu‐Hong , Huang Kai‐Lin , Hsu Ju‐Wei , Tsai Shih‐Jen , Su Tung‐Ping , Chen Tzeng‐Ji , Bai Ya‐Mei
Published: May 2021

Background

The effect of relative age on the diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive behavior disorder (DD), anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder and the prescription for ADHD and antidepressant medications remains unclear.

Aim

To clarify the impact of relative age in a school year with the diagnoses of ADHD, DD, anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder and the prescription for ADHD and antidepressant medications.

Methods

The annual cutoff birthdate for entry to school in Taiwan is August 31. The Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database was used to enroll 9,548,393 children and adolescents aged 3–17 years during the study period (September 1, 2001, to August 31, 2011). The Poisson regression model was performed to examine the likelihood of receiving diagnoses of ADHD, DD, anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder, as well as the prescription of ADHD and antidepressant medications among children born in August (the youngest) and September (the oldest).

Results

Both boys and girls born in August had a higher risk of being diagnosed as having ADHD (odds ratio [OR] = boys: 1.65, girls: 1.80), DD (1.29, 1.45), anxiety disorder (1.49, 1.33), and depressive disorder (1.10, 1.10). Furthermore, children born in August were more likely to be prescribed ADHD medication (1.71, 1.72) and antidepressants (1.18, 1.09) compared with those born in September.

Discussion

Relative age, as an indicator of neurocognitive maturity, is a critical factor for the likelihood of being diagnosed as having ADHD, DD, anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder among children and adolescents.
When Issue Salience Affects Adjudication: Evidence from Swiss Asylum Appeal Decisions
Authors: Spirig Judith
Published: May 2021

Immigration is a top concern among citizens across the globe. Research shows that the salience of immigration shapes voters' political behavior, but little is known about whether it influences judicial behavior. This article theorizes that variation in issue salience influences judges' behavior when there is a clear connection between the legal and a generally salient, politicized issue. I test this argument drawing on all Swiss asylum appeal decisions reached between 2007 and 2015. I find that higher asylum salience leads judges to decide otherwise similar asylum appeals less favorably. This effect is not restricted to judges affiliated with anti‐immigrant parties, unlikely to be driven by accountability pressures, and strongest for those topics known to drive anti‐immigrant sentiment in the general public. Together, these findings raise concerns that issue salience threatens the consistency of judicial decisions.
Kompromat Can Align Incentives but Ruin Reputations
Authors: Hübert Ryan , Little Andrew T.
Published: May 2021

Political leaders face many agency problems, such as managing subordinates who may not honestly report information. One potential solution to these problems is kompromat: the threat to release compromising information. Using a cheap talk model, we demonstrate how kompromat can improve communication, making both principal and agent better off. However, using kompromat to solve an agency problem generates two costs. First, its mere existence means it may leak inadvertently. Second, because kompromat works by threatening the reputation of subordinates, common knowledge that an organization uses kompromat might be costly even if it is never leaked. These possibilities may foreclose all communication from a subordinate who would have provided truthful information in the absence of kompromat.
Models of remote professional supervision for psychologists in rural and remote locations: A systematic review
Authors: Varela Sharon M. , Hays Catherine , Knight Sabina , Hays Richard
Published: May 2021

Introduction

Psychology workforce shortages in geographically rural or remote contexts have highlighted the need to understand the supervisory experiences of psychologists practising in these locations, and the models of supervision employed to support their practice and improve client safety.

Objective

To review the models of remote professional supervision and the supervisory experiences of psychologists practising in rural and remote locations.

Design

Using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for mixed‐methods systematic review, 8 health and education databases were searched using keyword and subject heading searches.

Findings

The initial search identified 413 studies. A full‐text review identified 4 papers that met the inclusion criteria and were subjected to a methodological appraisal by 2 reviewers. Three studies included qualitative data, with 2 using transcribed interviews. Two studies reported quantitative data, with only one study including a statistical analysis of the outcomes.

Discussion

The results for the efficacy of the current models of remote supervision being used within the allied health and psychology professions are limited, with methodological limitations cautioning generalisability of results. The experiences of psychologists engaged in remote supervision do not appear to have changed over the past decade despite technological advances.

Conclusions

Quality professional supervision is critical for the sustainability of the psychology workforce in rural and remote locations, reducing professional isolation, and for improved patient outcomes. This review identified a need for improved evidence for remote supervision models for psychologists working in geographically rural and remote locations. Lessons can be learned from other health professions’ models of remote supervision.
Malignancies requiring temporal bone resection: An Australian single‐institution experience
Authors: Schachtel Michael J. C. , Gandhi Mitesh , Bowman James J. , Erian Christopher , Porceddu Sandro V. , Panizza Benedict J.
Published: May 2021

Background

Malignancies in and around the temporal bone are aggressive and difficult to manage. In Queensland (Australia), where skin cancer rates are exceedingly high, tumours extending to the temporal bone from surrounding structures occur more commonly than primary cancers. Yet, a paucity of evidence exists as to their management and outcomes. This study aimed to review an Australian centre's experience of managing temporal and peritemporal bone malignancies, reporting on patient and tumour characteristics, treatment, and survival outcomes.

Methods

Retrospective analysis of patients with primary temporal bone cancer and cancers extending to the temporal bone managed by the Queensland Skull Base Unit (Princess Alexandra Hospital) between 2000 and 2019.

Results

A total of 222 patients were identified, of which 203 (91.4%) had cutaneous primaries, with 167 (75.2%) being squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). 73.9% presented with locoregionally recurrent or residual disease. Secondary tumours (92.8%) were 12 times more frequent than primary malignancies (7.2%), with the preauricular subsite the most common (45.5%). In the 201 patients (90.5%) who underwent curative intent surgery, 5‐year overall survival, disease‐free survival (DFS), and disease‐specific survival was 46.6%, 52.2%, and 65.9%, respectively. The preauricular subsite (p = 0.004), melanoma (vs. SCC, p = 0.027), involved margins (p < 0.001), and pathologically involved nodes (p < 0.001) were associated with significantly worse DFS.

Conclusion

This is one of the largest studies of temporal bone malignancy in the literature, comprised primarily of secondary cutaneous malignancies. Although clear differences in epidemiological characteristics exist around the world, survival remains poor. Treatment should focus on achieving a clear margin of resection to optimize outcomes.
Comparison of small incision lenticule extraction and transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy in terms of visual quality in myopia patients
Authors: Lin Meng , Zhou Haitao , Hu Zhongli , Huang Jinhai , Lu Fan , Hu Liang
Published: May 2021

Purpose

To comprehensively compare visual quality between small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (tPRK).

Methods

Sixty‐four eyes in the SMILE group and 42 eyes in the tPRK group were enrolled in this study. In both groups, visual acuity, manifest refraction, higher‐order aberrations (HOAs), contrast sensitivity (CS) at four spatial frequencies (3, 6, 12, 18 c/d) under three conditions (photopic, low glare, high glare), the cut‐off value of the modulation transfer function (MTFcut‐off), the objective scatter index (OSI) and the Strehl ratio (SR) were measured preoperatively and 1, 3 and 6 months postoperatively.

Results

At 6 months postoperatively, the SMILE and tPRK groups showed similar safety, efficacy and predictability. Additionally, MTFcut‐off, SR and OSI exhibited comparable results. In contrast, the photopic area under the logarithm of the CS function (AULCSF) showed better outcomes in the tPRK group than in the SMILE group (SMILE versus tPRK: 1.21 ± 0.10 versus 1.25 ± 0.09, p = 0.014). Furthermore, the induced coma aberrations were larger in the SMILE group (SMILE versus tPRK: 0.10 ± 0.16 versus 0.06 ± 0.12, 95% CI [0.08, 0.31], p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Both SMILE and tPRK obtained comparable visual quality at 6 months postoperatively, accompanied by better photopic CS and smaller induced coma aberrations with tPRK. Paying more attention to alignment or developing a centration technique would be beneficial for visual quality when performing SMILE.