bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association between dietary protein intake, diet quality and diversity, and obesity among women of reproductive age in Kersa, Ethiopia
Authors: Roba Aklilu Abrham , Assefa Nega , Roba Kedir Teji , Dessie Yadeta , Hamler Elena , Fawzi Wafaie
Published: November 2023

Introduction

In Ethiopia, there is limited evidence on the effect of dietary protein intake on women’s body mass index. Therefore, this study investigated the association between dietary protein intake, diet quality, and overweight and obesity.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 897 women of reproductive age. Food frequency questionnaires were used to assess 7-day dietary intake. It was converted into protein and other macro-nutrient intakes, Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women, and Global Dietary Quality Score. Body Mass Index (BMI) of overweight & obese women were defined as ≥25 kg/m2. An adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval (in a multivariate logistic regression model) was used to determine the strength of the association between BMI and dietary protein intake, adjusting for potential confounders.

Results

The median dietary protein intake was 41.3 (32.9, 52.6) grams/day or 0.8 (0.6, 1.0) grams/kilogram of body weight/day. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 7.5% (n = 67). Only 220 (24.5%) women could meet the recommended minimum dietary diversity of five or more food groups out of 10 per day. Furthermore, only 255 (28.4%) women were found to have a low risk for nutrient adequacy. Interestingly, women who consumed moderate dietary protein had a significantly lower likelihood of being overweight or obese, with AOR of 0.21 (95% CI 0.10–0.48). Similarly, those who consumed a high amount of protein had even lower odds, with AOR of 0.03 (95% CI 0.01–0.14), compared to those who consumed a low amount of dietary protein. Age of 40–49 years (AOR = 3.33, 95% CI 1.24–8.95) compared to 18–29 years, non-farmers (AOR = 3.21, 95% CI 1.55–6.62), higher consumption of food from unhealthy groups (AOR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.05–1.61), and high fat intake (AOR = 1.06, 95% CI 1.04–1.09) were associated with overweight and obesity.

Conclusions and recommendations

The study indicated an inverse relationship between BMI and dietary protein intake. It also revealed that women who consumed foods from unhealthy or unhealthy when consumed in excessive amounts were more likely to be overweight or obese. Increasing dietary protein consumption can help reproductive-age women reduce the odds of obesity and overweight. Furthermore, community-based educational programs, policy changes, and healthcare services can support this effort.
Effectiveness of a positive deviance approach to improve mother’s nutritional knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, and child’s nutritional status in Maji District, West Omo Zone, South West region, Ethiopia: a cluster randomized control trial
Authors: Gizaw Abraham Tamirat , Sopory Pradeep , Sudhakar Morankar
Published: November 2023

Background

Achieving appropriate feeding for infants and young children continues to be a struggle. These impediments are not only due to limited food availability but also inadequate knowledge, unfavorable attitudes, and low self-efficacy. A positive deviant approach (PDA) addressing positive and possible solutions inherent in a community focusing on problems is applied in Africa and particularly to Ethiopia. Therefore, this trial is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of PDA in improving mothers’ nutritional knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and children’s nutritional status.

Method

This was a cluster randomized control trial in which 516 mothers were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group after collecting baseline data. The trial participants in the intervention cluster received a positive deviant intervention for 6 months, whereas those in the control group received only the usual care. Trained positive deviant mothers (PDM) delivered the intervention. A pretested, structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Generalized estimating equation regression analysis adjusted for baseline covariates and clustering was used to test the intervention effect.

Result

The results showed that PDA improved breastfeeding outcomes in the intervention groups compared to their counterparts. A mean difference (MD) of breastfeeding (BF) knowledge (MD = 6.47; 95% CI: 6.45–6.49), BF attitude (MD = 12.68; 95% CI: 11.96–13.40), and BF self-efficacy (MD = 3.13; 95% CI: 3.05–3.21) was observed favoring the intervention. The intervention group showed better improvement in complementary feeding (CF) knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy among mothers compared to the control group. A mean difference in CF knowledge (MD = 4.53, 95% CI: 4.31–4.75), CF attitude (MD = 9.14, 95% CI: 8.52–9.75), and CF self-efficacy (MD = 11.64, 95% CI: 11.16–12.12) were observed favoring the intervention. At the end of the 6-month follow-up, children in the intervention group showed a lower prevalence of underweight (18.23%) (95% CI: 4.55, 22.54%; p = 0.004) compared with the control group.

Conclusion

PDA was effective in improving mothers’ nutritional knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy and reducing children’s underweight in the intervention area.

Clinical trial registration:ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier PACTR202108880303760.
A Novel Road Crack Detection Technology Based on Deep Dictionary Learning and Encoding Networks
Authors: Fan Li , Zou Jiancheng
Published: November 2023

Road crack detection is an important indicator of road detection. In real life, it is very meaningful work to detect road cracks. With the rapid development of science and technology, especially computer science and technology, quite a lot of methods have been applied to crack detection. Traditional detection methods rely on manual identification, which is inefficient and prone to errors. In addition, the commonly used image processing methods are affected by many factors, such as illumination, road stains, etc., so the results are unstable. In the research on pavement crack detection, many research studies mainly focus on the recognition and classification of cracks, lacking the analysis of the specific characteristics of cracks, and the feature values of cracks cannot be measured. Starting from the deep learning method in computer science and technology, this paper proposes a road crack detection technology based on deep learning. It relies on a new deep dictionary learning and encoding network DDLCN, establishes a new activation function MeLU, and adopts a new differentiable calculation method. The technology relies on the traditional Mask-RCNN algorithm and is implemented after improvement. In the comparison of evaluation indicators, the values of recall, precision, and F1-score reflect certain superiority. Experiments show that the proposed method has good implementability and performance in road crack detection and crack feature measurement.
A New Octocorallia-Associated Shrimp of the Genus Periclimenes (Crustacea, Caridea, Palaemonidae) from West Africa
Authors: Fransen Charles H. J. M. , Wirtz Peter
Published: November 2023

A new shrimp species of the genus Periclimenes is described based on specimens collected in the Bissagos Islands, Guinea-Bissau. Specimens were collected from an unidentified octocoral. This is the ninth species in the genus known to be from the East Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Poor Efficacy of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Plus Chemotherapy in Lung Cancer Patients with EGFR/ERBB2 Exon 20 Insertion
Authors: Zheng Yue , Fu Yang , Chen Yueyun , Li Qing , Liu Ting , Ding Zhenyu
Published: November 2023

Background: EGFR and ERBB2 exon 20 insertion (Ex20ins) account for a small fraction of patients with EGFR mutations. The efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for these patients was still controversial. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled lung cancer patients harboring either EGFR or ERBB2 Ex20ins mutations. All the patients were treated with platinum-based chemotherapy plus ICIs, or platinum-based chemotherapy. The demographic features and clinical outcome of each patient were reviewed and analyzed. Results: When treated with immunochemotherapy, patients with EGFR/ERBB2 Ex20ins mutations (n = 31) had poor PFS compared with those without EGFR mutations (n = 141, 5.0 mon and 11.2 mon, p < 0.001). When compared with those with EGFR classic mutations who received immunotherapy as the salvage therapy (n = 24), these patients with EGFR/ERBB2 Ex20ins mutations had similar PFS (5.0 mon and 4.1 mon, p = 0.625), ORR (37.5% vs. 48.4%), and DCR (70.8% vs. 77.4%). In the patients with EGFR/ERBB2 Ex20ins mutations, the PFS of those treated with chemotherapy (n = 54) and those treated with immunochemotherapy (n = 31) was 6.5 mon vs. 5.0 mon (p = 0.066). In the EGFR Ex20ins subgroup, the PFS of addition of bevacizumab to chemotherapy (n = 20) and chemotherapy alone (n = 16) was 8.8 mon and 5.2 mon, respectively (p = 0.082) or immunochemotherapy (n = 15, 8.8 mon and 5.0 mon, p = 0.097). Similarly, in the ERBB2 subgroup, the combination of bevacizumab and chemotherapy achieved a numerically longer PFS over chemotherapy alone (9.1 mon and 4.5 mon, p = 0.253), but there was no statistical significance. Conclusions: This study showed that platinum-based chemotherapy plus ICIs had limited efficiency compared to platinum-based chemotherapy for patients with EGFR/ERBB2 Ex20ins. Chemotherapy plus bevacizumab may be a potential scheme for these patients.
Application of Quantitative Parameters of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in Common Benign and Malignant Lesions in Pediatric Livers: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Han Dan , Wang Ting , Wang Ruiqi , Chen Jingyu , Tang Yi
Published: November 2023

We aimed to investigate the diagnostic utility of quantitative parameters of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for benign and malignant liver lesions in pediatric patients. This was a single-center retrospective analysis of children with liver lesions who underwent CEUS at our hospital between July 2019 and February 2023. The CEUS perfusion patterns for all lesions were qualitatively analyzed using histopathology, contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, contrast-enhanced computed tomography, or long-term clinical follow-up as reference standards. The CEUS images were quantitatively analyzed using SonoLiver® software (TomTec Imaging Systems, Munich, Germany) to obtain data regarding quantitative parameters and dynamic vascular pattern (DVP) parametric images, including rise time (RT), time to peak (TTP), mean transit time (mTT), and maximum intensity (IMAX). Statistical analysis was carried out using Student’s t-test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to evaluate the diagnostic value of quantitative parameters. A total of 53 pediatric cases were included in this study, and 88.57% (31/35) of malignant lesions exhibited hyper-enhancement with rapid washout patterns; the same proportion of DVP parametric images exhibited washout patterns. Conversely, 94.44% (17/18) of benign lesions showed hyper-enhancement with slow washout patterns, and the same proportion of DVP parametric images showed no-washout patterns. RT, TTP, and mTT were significantly shorter in the malignant group than in the benign group (p < 0.05), while IMAX showed no significant difference (p > 0.05). ROC analysis indicated that mTT < 113.34 had the highest diagnostic value, with an area under the curve of 0.82. CEUS quantitative analysis had an accuracy of 98.11%, while qualitative analysis had an accuracy of 92.45%, with no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05). Quantitative analysis of CEUS provides valuable assistance in differentiating benign and malignant liver lesions in children. Among all quantitative parameters, mTT holds promise as a potentially valuable tool for identifying liver tumors.
Let’s Ask the Other Side: Teaching Gymnasium Plant Biology from a Teacher’s Perspective
Authors: Kováčik Jozef , Vydra Marek
Published: November 2023

It has been repeatedly found that plant biology is less attractive for students than other biology fields. We, therefore, focused on the opposite and, through an online questionnaire, we asked biology teachers at gymnasia throughout Slovakia how they teach plant biology and where they experience problems. Almost 30% of teachers characterized technical equipment as insufficient but use some visual aids for ca. 50% of lessons. Despite the dominant use of microscopy, teachers admit that students’ biggest shortcomings are found in the anatomy of organs, photosynthesis, ontogenesis and its regulation by exogenous/endogenous factors, or when connecting knowledge about tissues with their functions. About half of the teachers rate their knowledge of plant anatomy and physiology as sufficient, but these teachers rate only about 20% of their students in the same way. Based on the negative correlation between the use of aids and the lack of student knowledge, and, at the same time, the positive correlation between the activity of teachers and better technical equipment, we conclude that the mainly neglected technical infrastructure does not allow for a better practical education (e.g., only 13.7% of gymnasia have analytical balances and only 1.6% a spectrophotometer). Furthermore, almost 90% of teachers mentioned that online education during COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected students’ knowledge. We hope that our research can contribute to changes in the Slovak educational curriculum focused on plant biology in a more scientific direction and inspire research in other countries, with the aim of exchanging knowledge regarding the species diversity of plants around the world and their importance for people and the environment.
Residents and Stakeholder Opinions on Township Tourism in Langa, Cape Town, South Africa
Authors: Donaldson Ronnie , Iirmdu Tina Odinakachi , Majiet Musfiqah , Van der Spuy Pauline
Published: November 2023

Township tourism has become more varied, offering a wider range of products, experiences and services. In this paper, we examine residents and stakeholders’ opinions on township tourism in Langa, Cape Town, South Africa; an area characterised by crime, unemployment, housing backlogs and poverty. Using a qualitative approach, this paper reports on empirical evidence conducted with key tourism stakeholders to understand some of their perceptions regarding township tourism development in Langa. Concerns about safety, poor infrastructure and a lack of interaction between tourists and the local community are raised by Langa residents and community leaders. Their dissatisfaction with tour guides and tour routes serves as a reminder of the need for more inclusive practices. While business owners are aware of the potential of tourism in promoting cross-cultural dialogue, deepening understanding and creating priceless experiences, they are constrained by perceptions of crime, a lack of tourist exposure to local establishments and the exclusion from decision-making processes. Despite these difficulties that township tourism faces, it is crucial to promote ethical tourism practices that put emphasis on genuine encounters and local community empowerment.
Genetic and Epigenetic Characteristics in Isolated Pancreatic Metastases of Clear-Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Sellner Franz , Compérat Eva , Klimpfinger Martin
Published: November 2023

Isolated pancreatic metastases of renal cell carcinoma (IsPMRCC) are a rare manifestation of metastatic, clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in which distant metastases occur exclusively in the pancreas. In addition to the main symptom of the isolated occurrence of pancreatic metastases, the entity surprises with additional clinical peculiarities: (a) the unusually long interval of about 9 years between the primary RCC and the onset of pancreatic metastases; (b) multiple pancreatic metastases occurring in 36% of cases; (c) favourable treatment outcomes with a 75% 5-year survival rate; and (d) volume and growth-rate dependent risk factors generally accepted to be relevant for overall survival in metastatic surgery are insignificant in isPMRCC. The genetic and epigenetic causes of exclusive pancreatic involvement have not yet been investigated and are currently unknown. Conversely, according to the few available data in the literature, the following genetic and epigenetic peculiarities can already be identified as the cause of the protracted course: 1. high genetic stability of the tumour cell clones in both the primary tumour and the pancreatic metastases; 2. a low frequency of copy number variants associated with aggressiveness, such as 9p, 14q and 4q loss; 3. in the chromatin-modifying genes, a decreased rate of PAB1 (3%) and an increased rate of PBRM1 (77%) defects are seen, a profile associated with a favourable course; 4. an increased incidence of KDM5C mutations, which, in common with increased PBRM1 alterations, is also associated with a favourable outcome; and 5. angiogenetic biomarkers are increased in tumour tissue, while inflammatory biomarkers are decreased, which explains the good response to TKI therapy and lack of sensitivity to IT.
Assessing Excessive Keratinization in Acral Areas through Dermatoscopy with Cross-Polarization and Parallel-Polarization: A Dermatoscopic Keratinization Scale
Authors: Calik Jacek , Pilarski Bogusław , Migdał Monika , Sauer Natalia
Published: November 2023

Excessive epidermal hyperkeratosis in acral areas is a common occurrence in dermatology practice, with a notable prevalence of approximately 65% in the elderly, especially in plantar lesions. Hyperkeratosis, characterized by thickening of the stratum corneum, can have various causes, including chronic physical or chemical factors, genetic predispositions, immunological disorders, and pharmaceutical compounds. This condition can significantly impact mobility, increase the risk of falls, and reduce the overall quality of life, particularly in older individuals. Management often involves creams containing urea to soften hyperkeratotic areas. Currently, subjective visual evaluation is the gold standard for assessing hyperkeratosis severity, lacking precision and consistency. Therefore, our research group proposes a novel 6-point keratinization scale based on dermatoscopy with cross-polarization and parallel-polarization techniques. This scale provides a structured framework for objective assessment, aiding in treatment selection, duration determination, and monitoring disease progression. Its clinical utility extends to various dermatological conditions involving hyperkeratosis, making it a valuable tool in dermatology practice. This standardized approach enhances communication among healthcare professionals, ultimately improving patient care and research comparability in dermatology.
Preparation of ZnO Nanosheet Array and Research on ZnO/PANI/ZnO Ultraviolet Photodetector
Authors: Zhang Xuanzhen , Feng Yunhui , Fu Fangbao , Wang Huan
Published: November 2023

High-performance ultraviolet photodetectors have important scientific research significance and practical application value, which has been the focus of researchers. In this work, we have constructed a highly photosensitive UV photodetector with a unique “sandwich” structure, which was mainly composed of two layers of ZnO nanosheet arrays and one layer of polyaniline (PANI). The results showed that the UV current of ZnO/PANI devices was 100 times higher than that of pure ZnO devices under the same UV irradiation time. At a 365 nm wavelength, the device had excellent photocurrent responsiveness and photoconductivity. This high performance was attributed to the large specific surface area of ZnO nanosheets and the p-n junction formed between P-type PANI nano-porous film and N-type ZnO nanosheets. This provides a solid theoretical basis for the application of ZnO nanosheets in ultraviolet detection, and possesses significance for the development of ultraviolet photodetectors.
Lightweight RepVGG-Based Cross-Modality Data Prediction Method for Solid Rocket Motors
Authors: Yang Huixin , Zheng Shangshang , Wang Xu , Xu Mingze , Li Xiang
Published: November 2023

Solid rocket motors (SRMs) have been popularly used in the current aerospace industry. Performance indicators, such as pressure and thrust, are of great importance for rocket monitoring and design. However, the measurement of such signals requires high economic and time costs. In many practical situations, the thrust measurement error is large and requires manual correction. In order to address this challenging problem, a lightweight RepVGG-based cross-modality data prediction method is proposed for SRMs. An end-to-end data prediction framework is established by transforming data across different modalities. A novel RepVGG deep neural network architecture is built, which is able to automatically learn features from raw data and predict new time-series data of different modalities. The effectiveness of the proposed method is extensively validated with the field SRM data. The accurate prediction of the thrust data can be achieved by exploring the pressure data. After calculation, the percentage error between the predicted data and the actual data is less than 5%. The proposed method offers a promising tool for cross-modality data prediction in real aerospace industries for SRMs.
Standardization: A Necessary Support for the Utilization of Sludge/Biosolids in Agriculture
Authors: Spinosa Ludovico , Molinari Livia
Published: November 2023

One of the issues facing modern society, regardless of the socio-economic level of the communities involved, is the development of sustainable strategies for the management of sludge/biosolids. Nowadays, it is imperative to replace solutions aimed at simply “disposing of” with those oriented toward “maximizing recovery benefits”. It is desirable that agricultural use remains the main option in sludge/biosolids management; however, to ensure effective and safe agronomic benefits, correctly fulfill the legal requirements, and build stakeholder and public confidence, rigorous and sustainable procedures need to be established. The development of realistic and enforceable regulations is crucial, as they represent the right balance between the different aspects of coordinated and effective management. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that regulations must be supported by standardized characterization procedures and good practice guidelines because well-defined procedures allow the legal requirements to be correctly and uniformly met, as well as to reliably compare the results obtained under different conditions and their wide application in different regulatory contexts. In this article, the main aspects for (i) the sustainable application of sludge/biosolids in agriculture and (ii) the development of standardized characterization methods and procedures, thus ensuring effective agronomic benefits and guaranteeing quality/safety of agricultural products, are discussed. Some pieces on the evolution of European legislation in this field are also provided. Details and results of the research activities behind the development of these methods/procedures can be found in the referenced documents.
A Few-Shot Learning Based Fault Diagnosis Model Using Sensors Data from Industrial Machineries
Authors: Siraj Farhan Md. , Ayon Syed Tasnimul Karim , Uddin Jia
Published: November 2023

Efficient maintenance in the face of complex and interconnected industrial equipment is crucial for corporate competitiveness. Traditional reactive approaches often prove inadequate, necessitating a shift towards proactive strategies. This study addresses the challenges of data scarcity and timely defect identification by providing practical guidance for selecting optimal solutions for various equipment malfunction scenarios. Utilizing three datasets—Machine Sound to Machine Condition Monitoring and Intelligent Information (MIMII), Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), and Machinery Failure Prevention Technology (MFPT)—the study employs the Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) as a preprocessing method to enhance feature extraction. To determine the best preprocessing technique, Gammatone Transformation, and raw data are also considered. The research optimizes performance and training efficiency by adjusting hyperparameters, minimizing overfitting, and using the KERAS Early Halting API within resource constraints. To address data scarcity, which is one of the major obstacles to detecting faults in the industrial environment, Few-shot learning (FSL) is employed. Various architectures, including ConvNeXt Base, Large MobileNetV3, ResNet-18, and ResNet-50, are incorporated within a prototypical network-based few-shot learning model. MobileNet’s lower parameter count, high accuracy, efficiency, and portability make it the ideal choice for this application. By combining few-shot learning, MobileNet architecture, and STFT preprocessing, this study proposes a practical and data-efficient fault diagnosis method. The model demonstrates adaptability across datasets, offering valuable insights for enhancing industrial fault detection and preventive maintenance procedures.
The Use of Case Study and Grounded Theory Research Strategy in Interpretive Research in Tourism
Authors: Risfandini Andini , Adinda Putri Mustika
Published: November 2023

The purpose of this paper is to discuss case studies and grounded theory research strategies in the field of tourism to encourage researchers to adopt the qualitative approach in conducting research. This paper addresses the topic of how to improve the reliability, validity, and generalizability of qualitative research. Yin (2018) proposed that a case study can be used as a research strategy in qualitative research to verify and extend a theory, meanwhile, for Eisenhardt (1989) and Gioia et al. (2012), a case study is used to build a theory using grounded theory. Both strategies are equally useful in the tourism sector. The choice of the research strategy depends on the research paradigm and how the researchers position themselves in the paradigm inquiry namely: ontologically, epistemologically, and methodologically. This article is significant to encourage researchers in tourism to adopt a qualitative approach in conducting research when the researchers intend to gain a deep understanding of the phenomena in tourism such as customer behavior, purchase intention, decision-making process, and tourist motivation.
Optimal Conservative Therapy Use among Adult Cure Glomerulonephropathy Participants with IgA Nephropathy
Authors: Rajasekaran Arun , Larkina Maria , Julian Bruce A. , Canetta Pietro A. , Roehm Bethany A. , Khalid Myda , Mariani Laura H. , Rizk Dana V.
Published: November 2023

Key Points

Optimal supportive therapy with BP and proteinuria control is pivotal in treating patients with IgA nephropathy.

Suboptimal treatment of hypertension and proteinuria persisted in many patients with IgA nephropathy in the Cure Glomerulonephropathy Network study.

Many patients had above-target proteinuria despite optimal BP control and may benefit from novel therapies or clinical trials.
Modeling of operational reliability of running wheels of overhead cranes of seaports
Authors: Viktor Strelbitskyi , Liubov Bovnegra , Andrii Pavlyshko
Published: November 2023

Overhead cranes are widely in operation in sea and river ports for cargo transshipment in open and closed storage areas. Since they are the main link in technological processes, the productivity of Port production lines depends on their reliable and continuous operation. It is known that during the operation of cranes, 90% of the running wheels fail and are replaced with new ones due to intensive wear of the edges, and 60-70% of crane rails due to wear of their side faces. Since the service life is the main indicator of the durability of parts and assemblies, therefore, increasing the installation of wheel life is an urgent task, which will reduce the cost of repair and operation of cranes. As the experience of operation shows, running wheels have the most worn elements of movement mechanisms. Thus, their service life ranges from several months to 2-3 years. This is due to the fact that replacing the wheels is cheaper compared to replacing the crane track. Since the service life is the main indicator of the durability of parts and assemblies, therefore, increasing the installation of wheel life is an urgent task, which will reduce the cost of repair and operation of cranes. Analysis of studies of complex technical systems shows that the reliability of overhead crane mechanisms operated for more than 30 years in the Seaport is not fully understood, the nature of wheel damage depends on the operating conditions. For research, 4 identical overhead cranes with a lifting capacity of 10 tons were selected, which operate in Hook mode in seaports. Crane wheels are made of 65g steel by casting. Crane mechanisms were visually examined and wheel wear was measured after 3 months during 4 years of operation. Based on the research results, the parameters of the Wear model from time to time in the form of a step function are calculated. The obtained values of the correlation coefficient indicate that there is a fairly tight relationship between wear and operating time. The average error value for the proposed model does not exceed 6.1%, which is quite acceptable for engineering calculations. It is established that the service life of Crane wheels does not exceed 3.3...3.4 years of operation, which is less than 4 years specified by the manufacturer.
Sustainable leadership in practice in Hungary
Authors: Bencsik Andrea , Berke Szilard
Published: November 2023

'Sustainability' is one of the most widely used terms today. The practice of sustainability in organisations has been analysed from many perspectives, but fewer studies have focused on the role of leadership, specifically sustainability leadership. Sustainable leadership is not about altruism or charity work or just thinking 'green'. Sustainable leadership makes organisations more competitive, more resilient, faster, more responsive and more attractive to customers. It helps attract talented employees and makes businesses more attractive to investors. Ensuring these conditions is a major management challenge. The aim of this research is to assess the extent to which Hungarian managers are prepared to meet the requirements of sustainable management. The research model, the pyramid of sustainable leadership is based on the belief that leaders should pay attention to social and environmental issues and encourage organisational learning and development. The sustainable leadership pyramid details the three pillars of social, environmental and economic sustainability. These pillars must be balanced to ensure sustainable management. Learning and development form the basis of the pyramid, and social and environmental responsibility and economic performance build on this. The research is based on interviews with 32 top managers of SMEs, using the elements of Avery and Bergsteiner's sustainable management pyramid as the basis for the interview questions. The structured interviews took the form of face-to-face discussions. The questions addressed all elements of the pyramid. Audio recordings of the recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using the Atlas 8 software. The results show that the elements of the pyramid as elements of expectations for sustainable leadership are only partially reflected in management practice. The most significant gap is in the implementation of the elements of the pyramid presenting the steps of the knowledge management process. The Honeybee philosophy as a contribution to the competitive advantage of organisations is only partially implemented, and overcoming the gaps is a major challenge. The research provides a new approach to sustainable management expectations and valuable lessons for SME managers. Future research will aim to expand the sample for international comparison.
Leadership and job satisfaction in the public healthcare sector: An empirical analysis of employees’ motivations
Authors: Kitsios Fotis , Kamariotou Maria
Published: November 2023

The supply of health services, which are primarily supplied by the human resources that staff the health facilities, makes the field of health extremely difficult. The conduct of health professionals as a result of their efforts heavily influences the quality of the services under study. To boost their efficiency and, by extension, the effectiveness of the health units, the administrations of the health units must place a high value on the use of the human component. Simply said, incentives are necessary to incentivize healthcare staff in order for them to please patients and improve their efficacy. Incentives provided to healthcare personnel appear to help them overcome these issues and provide patients with the best care possible, even in situations where they lack the appropriate resources and tools. Many academics argue that giving employees what they need in the form of incentives is a potent weapon that managers may use to motivate them and boost productivity. All health organizations should make use of this component, as it can assist them in addressing and resolving significant issues that restrict their effectiveness. In this context, it's critical to stress that motivating healthcare professionals is urgently needed because doing so improves their performance, which in turn improves the effectiveness of the services offered and the satisfaction of patients. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the potential sources of employee motivation at a public hospital in Northern Greece. Regression analysis was used to examine data that were gathered from 74 hospital personnel. The findings indicate that connections with co-workers and degree of performance are the primary drivers of employee motivation, with pay and job features playing a supporting role. These findings demonstrate that in order for the hospital's administration to increase employee performance, it is necessary to foster a positive work environment and recognize people for their contributions.
Leadership in a Private Higher Education Institution in Mexico:
Authors: OLIVAS CASTELLANOS ELSA CATALINA , DE GUNTHER DELGADO LEONEL , RODRÍGUEZ ÁLVAREZ EDUARDO , DÍAZ MALDONADO CÉSAR , FIGUEROA ISLAS ELISA ANAETTE
Published: November 2023

Leadership for the new digital era and the 4.0 industry comes with some challenges for organizations across the board; and, in the education field, for institutions and educators alike. Understanding the need to transform and innovate processes is necessary to offer high-quality programs to students and competitive opportunities to educators. In Higher Education (HE) institutions, it is of great urgency to assign and distribute such leadership skills and tasks to educators and students, to provide and ease specific tasks at hand, and to encourage collaborators in the development of leadership skills for the classroom and to promote lifelong leadership skills for students too. In Mexico, the HE system looks to include new ways to innovate, collaborate and even compete with other national and foreign institutions for the most qualified human capital. Tecnologico de Monterrey, a private institution, is not only one of the top-ranking universities in Mexico, but it also has a strong emphasis on leadership development for its students and collaborators. The case of Sonora Norte Campus is a successful one, its empowerment approach toward building, nurturing, and developing quality leaders. A qualitative study was conducted to identify the practices of the institution and the leadership practices in the institution's different schools. We conducted semi-structured interviews with leaders and collaborators which resulted in understanding the leadership dynamics on the campus, the different styles of leadership among its collaborators as well as some of the challenges they face. This study provides a look into the leadership in a private HE institution, and some of its successful practices. This study proves to be relevant for other heads of HE institutions in the world (and in other Tecnologico de Monterrey campuses nationwide) interested in adding and researching effective leadership practices to their agendas.
Inclusive Leadership for Employee Workplace Well-Being in Public Organizations
Authors: Ashmawy Iman
Published: November 2023

Various public organizations realize that promoting workplace well-being is crucial for the effectiveness of their employees. It is believed that when creating an environment where employees feel welcomed, are treated fairly, and their contributions are appreciated, they will be happy and work better. Therefore, diversity management has gained increased attention. However, since diversity does not necessarily mean inclusion in decision-making and the appreciation of employee differences and input, a growing body of research has advocated the adoption of positive relational leadership styles, such as inclusive leadership. Inclusive leadership embraces employee differences, manages diversity, and recognizes employee input. Hence this paper investigates how inclusive leadership correlates to employee workplace well-being in public organizations. Relying on quantitative analysis, a questionnaire was distributed to N= 234 Egyptian local government officials who demonstrated diversity in gender and educational levels. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 20. The study's conclusions reveal that inclusive leadership has an uneven influence on employee workplace well-being based on educational levels. The correlation was strongest among the least educated and weakest among the highly educated. Gender, on the other hand, did not show any significant difference in the correlation between inclusive leadership and workplace well-being and hence, was not considered for further analysis. Moreover, the traits of inclusive leadership have different effects on employee workplace well-being based on their educational levels. For the least educated, leadership accessibility had the greatest influence on employee workplace well-being, while for the highly educated, leadership openness had the strongest influence. In conclusion, this paper highlights the importance of inclusive leadership in promoting employee workplace well-being in public organizations, especially for marginalized groups who may feel excluded in the workplace. Additionally, public organizations should recognize that inclusive leadership practices should be tailored to meet the diverse needs of employees based on their educational levels.
Spiritual Leadership and Meaningful Work: The Roles of Intrinsic Motivation and Gender
Authors: Udahemuka Fidelis , Walumbwa Fred , Ngoye Ben
Published: November 2023

In recent years, many employees have come to view their work not only as a means to earn a living but also as a source of personal fulfillment and purpose. This shift in perception is driven by various factors, including changes in societal values and the human desire to make a difference in the world. As such, organizations with insufficient knowledge of employees’ need for meaningful work suffer reduced performance and productivity, higher employee turnover, and employees’ physical and mental work-related health conditions. Although prior studies have found that spiritual leadership positively and significantly influences employees’ meaningful work, relatively little is known about the underlying mechanism and the condition under which this relationship occurs. This empirical study aims to investigate how and when spiritual leadership relates to employees’ meaningful work focusing on intrinsic motivation as a mediator and employee gender as a moderator using data from employees of public and private commercial banks in Kenya. The study’s cross-sectional design adopted a self-reported data collection approach. The banks were stratified into three tiers: 1, 2, and 3, and 532 questionnaires were distributed to randomly selected respondents from the tiers, and 448 valid responses were received. A semi-structural equation modeling using SmartPLS 4 was used to analyze the data. The results reveal that spiritual leadership, directly and indirectly, impacts meaningful work partially mediated by intrinsic motivation, while gender moderates this relationship. The study contributes to theory by examining intrinsic motivation and gender as the underlying mechanisms of how and when spiritual leadership translates into employees’ meaningful work. Practically, the findings suggest that incorporating spiritual leadership as a potential leader behavior in the banking sector and paying attention to employees’ gender can improve the perception of meaningful work, which has been found to relate to employees’ well-being and positive job outcomes. Implications of our findings and recommendations for future research are further discussed.
The local labour market as a focus of place marketing
Authors: Labudová Lenka , Jánošová, PhD. Doc. PhDr. Denisa , Widera, prof. UE Dr. hab. Zbigniew
Published: November 2023

Analysing the use of place marketing, in which the labour market is treated as a territorial sub-product, both in the scientific literature and in local government activities, a significant deficiency is to be found. Scientific studies, concentrating on place marketing, point out that its area of interest includes workplaces, but there is little development of this issue. The question arises whether local labour markets should be treated as a territorial product? In the opinion of the authors, in view of the manpower shortage and changes in demographic processes, this area should be one of the centres of attention of local governments in their development processes, because destabilisation of local labour markets threatens their proper development. The aim of this paper is to provide guidelines concerning place marketing in local governments, the product of which is the local labour market. The value of the study and the recommendations derived from it is based on providing a new perspective on the process of place marketing, taking into account an important element for the functioning of local governments' resources, which is the labour market. The research results emphasize the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to place marketing, especially when it comes to the labor market. Instead of treating the labor market as a minor part, local governments should recognize its significance in a holistic manner. The study also highlights the need to learn from marketing practices in economic sectors and how they can enhance local government development. However, it's worth noting that political divisions can hinder marketing efforts, so involving various stakeholders and considering potential drawbacks is essential. Local governments should be involved in creating conditions for the development of their labour markets, and place marketing can be an appropriate tool for this purpose. Designing marketing activities should help to adjust the territorial offer to the needs of potential target groups of customers. Marketing activities towards territorial products are included in the marketing management of local governments, understood as a process of managing a settlement unit with the use of marketing concepts. The implementation of the place marketing concept in management practice is a response to the dynamics of change in the areas where local governments are forced to compete.
Public Administration Leadership and Public Policies
Authors: Fialho Elisabete
Published: November 2023

This is a study of Portuguese central public administration addressing leadership typology, using the Full Range Leadership (FRL) model to better understand the leadership effectiveness process (Bass & Avolio, 1994). The study examines of the impact of training, professional experience, and organizational context on managers performance as well as predominant leadership styles. A total of 422 participants in the Portuguese state central public administration responded to this quantitate research.The results indicate that the perception of leadership style differs significantly between leaders and followers, as does the perception of evaluation. Regarding the organization where they work, significant differences were found in the perception of transformational leadership, contingent rewards, laissez-faire, recruitment, training, and evaluation. The association between leadership style and public policies is significant, and this relationship is moderated by whether the participant holds a managerial position. This study tells us what type of leadership is predominant in public administration and its association withpublic policies.
Mapping Knowledge Needs of Hospital Estates and Facilities Management Teams: Insights from a Delphi Study
Authors: Von Behr Carl-Magnus , Minshall Tim , Clarkson John
Published: November 2023

The role of Estates and Facilities Management (EFM) in the healthcare sector is often overlooked despite its crucial contribution to the efficient delivery of clinical services. This paper explores the knowledge needs of EFM professionals at different job levels within the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. Using a modified Delphi-technique approach, we collected data from three rounds of online questionnaires with a total of 152 EFM professionals. With the use of content analysis and descriptive statistics, we identify the most commonly reported knowledge needs across different organisational levels. Hierarchical clustering heatmaps visualise these varying knowledge needs of different job roles and their priority levels, allowing for easy identification of target areas for professional development. We identify four key categories of knowledge areas, illustrating evolving needs as professionals progress in their careers. Within these areas, four trends emerged across various hierarchical levels. Firstly, a reliance on external Authorising Engineers (AEs) for Technical Expertise & Experience, Benchmarking & New Technologies, and Professional Development was evident, raising concerns about aligning organisational expectations with top management expertise. Secondly, the skills required for the sustainability and digitalisation agenda lack emphasis, highlighting a crucial gap between organisational strategy and practical focus. Collaborative Proficiency surfaced as important for Managers and Heads of EFM, underscoring the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. However, at the Director of EFM level, there is a lower emphasis on networking and collaboration, which is in contrast to the current restructuring of the NHS towards Integrated Care Systems. Furthermore, the Directors of EFM have a strong focus on Financial Management skills, possibly influenced by the prevalent Board reporting structures. This focus, paired with the lack of focus on Technical Expertise & Experience and Benchmarking & New Technologies could influence the ability to secure funding for cutting-edge technologies while posing a large financial risk of relying on legacy systems. These findings underscore the need for targeted training programmes addressing these disparities and emphasise the importance of aligning organisational structures with evolving knowledge needs for effective healthcare EFM management. The research contributes to the understanding of knowledge management in organisational hierarchies and offers a framework applicable to other sectors and organisations. To enhance understanding, future studies could delve deeper into the identified trends, aiming to uncover the underlying causes and intricacies shaping the identified patterns.