bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Talent management in private universities: the case of a private university in the United Kingdom
Authors: Gerhardt Trevor , Karsan Sheila
Published: April 2022

Purpose

In an uncertain and competitive higher educational landscape, expedient management of professional capital could increase knowledge capital by ensuring the recruitment and retention of experienced and highly qualified academic staff. In this paper, a case study of a private university aims to evaluate the talent management of academic staff.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary datum amongst academic staff was collected using an online survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis of interviews and descriptive analysis of three forms of survey were triangulated for richer data.

Findings

Most of the academic staff in this private university were intrinsically motivated and there was a low expectation to be active in research and publication. However, bibliometrics was a priority amongst senior academics interviewed. The lack of talent management in bibliometric profiles expressed by senior academics hamper academic progression and could contribute to high turnover intentions as push factors. Overall, there were no explicit talent management strategies by management identified.

Research limitations/implications

This is a small-scale research project.

Practical implications

Management should explore various options for structuring career paths within the organisational structure to secure career commitment of the employees. Within private universities, this could take the form of secondments to industry as part of work-based learning projects which could then also result in research and publication.

Social implications

Private universities widen the access to higher education and as such are an important research focus for improvements in quality and the retention of staff.

Originality/value

Research of staff talent management in a UK private university.
Does renewable energy consumption promote economic growth? An empirical analysis of panel threshold based on 54 African countries
Authors: Muazu Abdullahi , Yu Qian , Liu Qin
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth, using the threshold variables of non-renewable energy consumption, urbanization level and per-capita income.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a panel threshold regression model, on combined African countries and divided African countries into five regions (northern, western, central, southern and eastern Africa). The study used panel data from 54 African countries, from 1990 to 2018.

Findings

This study established a threshold interval where the significant negative impact of renewable energy consumption on the economic growth of combined African countries is different at each split asymmetric phase, meaning the relationship is negative and non-linear. Further, the study established the threshold effect of divided African countries into regions, revealed a negative effect of renewable energy consumption on economic growth and compared the differences of threshold effect and coefficient in the regions, which further highlight the varying resource and renewable energy development across African countries.

Practical implications

This study recommends strategies and investment priorities on energy transition, through optimizing renewable energy in Africa, hence aggressive investment in the renewable energy sector is highly encouraged especially for the oil-producing state to promote clean and sustainable energy.

Originality/value

The contribution of this study is the establishment of a non-linear panel threshold model to examine the asymmetric effect of renewable energy consumption on economic growth which to the best of the authors’ knowledge is pioneer research in Africa. Additionally, an in-depth analysis of renewable energy consumption’s effect on the economic growth of all the regions in Africa.
Financial independence of women – the impact of social factors on women empowerment in small island developing states (SIDS)
Authors: Rughoobur-Seetah Soujata , Hosanoo Zuberia , Balla Soupramanien Loga Devi
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This study aims to understand and analyse the financial independence of women in small island developing states, with a focus on Mauritius. Factors such as employer choice, domestic violence, sociological factors, lack of opportunities and empowerment and the legal framework have been identified as potential influencers of the financial independence of women.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted where residents of Mauritius were targeted to have a more generic overview of the subject matter. A response rate of 347 was received. The partial least square structural equation modeling was used to analyse the proposed framework.

Findings

A total of 12 hypotheses were proposed and only 2 hypotheses were confirmed. The sociological factors, lack of opportunities, domestic violence and employer choice appeared not to have a significant influence on the financial independence of women. The legal system had a significant influence on the financial independence of women.

Originality/value

It must be acknowledged that the literature is rich with studies on financial independence. Nevertheless, not much has been prescribed in the literature from the perspective of small developing economies and having women at the centre of the debate. The theory of gender and power and the social learning theory were used as the theoretical foundation.
Foreign coworker nationality, cultural distance, and perception of cultural diversity in the workplace
Authors: Orsini Philippe , Magnier-Watanabe Remy
Published: April 2022

Purpose

As Japan has been slowly opening up to foreign workers to supplement its shrinking workforce, local employees have had to deal with increased diversity at work, owing to the presence of foreign coworkers. This paper aims to investigate the relationship between foreign coworkers’ nationality (specifically Chinese, Korean and those from Western countries) and the perception of the benefits and threats of cultural diversity in the workplace by Japanese employees.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of Japanese employees working in Japan, half of which working with foreigners, was used, focusing on those Japanese employees who reported working with foreign coworkers of a single nationality.

Findings

The authors found that Japanese workers’ perceived benefits of cultural diversity at work, but not perceived threats, are significantly impacted by the unique nationality of their foreign coworkers. Specifically, the effect of coworker nationality is most apparent for the two benefits of “understanding of diverse groups in society” and “social environment,” whereby cultural distance is significantly and positively related to these perceived benefits. And more benefits from cultural diversity at work are perceived by Japanese employees in the presence of Western or Chinese, rather than South Korean coworkers.

Practical implications

In the Japanese context, hiring employees from certain distant and heterogeneous cultures and nationalities could increase the positive perception of multiculturalism at work, therefore facilitating diversity management and fostering inclusion in the culture of the firm.

Originality/value

Very little research in Japan has examined perception biases among native employees based on the nationality of their foreign coworkers, which is critical as globally minded Japanese firms are trying to increase their level of internal internationalization.
Ethnicity and entrepreneurial learning experiences as predictors of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and outcome expectations
Authors: Adebusuyi Adeola Samuel , Adebusuyi Olubusayo Foluso
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the antecedents of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and entrepreneurial outcome expectations (EOE) using the distal parts of the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) in an entrepreneurial context. Specifically, this study examined the influence of indigenous ethnic groups in Nigeria (Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa) and entrepreneurial learning experiences (ELE) on ESE and EOE.

Design/methodology/approach

The design of the study is cross-sectional. Data were collected from 335 students from three purposively selected tertiary institutions in Nigeria. This study analysed the data with Bayesian structural equation modelling.

Findings

Firstly, there are no indigenous ethnic group differences in ELE except for negative emotions and vicarious learning. Secondly, contrary to popular beliefs, the Igbo ethnic group did not perform better than the other ethnic groups on the significant ELE. Thirdly, three of the five ELE factors directly led to ESE and EOE and indirectly led to EOE.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to compare the indigenous ethnic groups in Nigeria on entrepreneurial outcomes and investigate the antecedents of ESE and EOE as posited by SCCT.
Resurrecting the evil genius: examining the relationship between unethical behavior and perceived competence
Authors: Motro Daphna , Sullivan Daniel
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Using the stereotype content model (SCM) as a framework, the authors examine how the negative relationship between peoples’ unethical behavior and perceptions of their competence only holds when the unethical act is simple.

Design/methodology/approach

In two studies, participants (n = 401) evaluated the competence of an employee who behaved unethically. In one condition, the unethical behavior was complex (e.g. computer hacking), while in the other it was simple (e.g. stealing items from a closet).

Findings

Our findings are built on prior work by showing that employees are considered significantly more competent when their unethical behavior is complex as opposed to simple (“evil genius” effect).

Practical implications

Employees may not be discouraged from engaging in complex unethical behavior if they recognize that it might not affect their reputation as a competent employee. Given the negative impact of unethical behavior, this is a consequence that organizations would likely seek to avoid.

Originality/value

The authors expand on the SCM by making a clear distinction between how certain behaviors (unethical and complex) influence trait perceptions (warmth and competence). In doing so, the authors identify a moderator – act complexity – that weakens the negative relationship between individuals’ unethical behavior and perceptions of their competence.
Augmented reality magic mirror in the service sector: experiential consumption and the self
Authors: El-Shamandi Ahmed Khaled , Ambika Anupama , Belk Russell
Published: April 2022

Purpose

This paper examines what the use of an augmented reality (AR) makeup mirror means to consumers, focusing on experiential consumption and the extended self.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employed a multimethod approach involving netnography and semi-structured interviews with participants in India and the UK (n = 30).

Findings

Two main themes emerged from the data: (1) the importance of imagination and fantasy and (2) the (in)authenticity of the self and the surrounding “reality.”

Research limitations/implications

This research focuses on AR magic makeup mirror. The authors call for further research on different AR contexts.

Practical implications

The authors provide service managers with insights on addressing gaps between the perceived service (i.e. AR contexts and the makeup consumption journey) and the conceived service (i.e. fantasies and the extended self).

Originality/value

The authors examine the lived fantasy experiences of AR experiential consumption. In addition, the authors reveal a novel understanding of the extended self as temporarily re-envisioned through the AR mirror.
Modeling of resettable fuses characteristics for protection of solar arrays from current overloads
Authors: Lyashkov Alexander Yu. , Makarov Vladimir O. , Plakhtii Yevhen G.
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The paper aims to substantiate optimization directions of resettable fuses parameters to protect solar arrays from overcurrent.

Design/methodology/approach

The method of modeling the electrophysical characteristics of resettable fuses is used.

Findings

Resettable fuses currently produced are of little use for protecting photovoltaic cells (PVC) in solar arrays from overcurrent. The volume fraction of the conductive filler should be about 0.15, near the percolation threshold. Thus, reducing the resistance by increasing the amount of filler is not possible. The matrix of the composite should consist of a material with a significant proportion of the crystalline phase to ensure a sharp increase in the composite's volume near the melting point. Using a polymer with a lower melting point instead of polyethylene can reduce the power required to switch a resettable fuses.

Originality/value

The possibility of using resettable fuses based on polymer composite materials with a positive temperature coefficient of resistance to protect photovoltaic solar cells from current overloads is considered. Modeling of the electrophysical characteristics of modern industrial fuses of this type based on polyethylene-nanocarbon composites has been carried out. The limits of their applicability for the protection of photovoltaic solar cells are analyzed. On the basis of the obtained results, the optimization directions of the resettable fuses parameters for use in the protection circuits of PVC of solar array are determined.
Low viscosity & high-performance resorcinol epoxy acrylate preparation & application in stereolithography 3D printing
Authors: Desai Prashil , Jagtap R.N.
Published: April 2022

Purpose

There is a rising demand for high-performance 3D printed objects that have established potential applications in the sector of dental, automotive, electronics, aerospace, etc. Thus, to meet the requirements of high-performance 3D printed objects, this study has synthesized, formulated and applied a resorcinol epoxy acrylate (REA) oligomer to a stereolithography (SLA) 3D printer.

Design/methodology/approach

Different formulations were developed by blending reactive diluents in the concentration of 10%, 15% and 20%, along with the fixed quantity of photo-initiators in the REA oligomer. The structure of synthesized REA oligomer was confirmed using 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and 1H NMR spectroscopy, and the rheological properties for prepared REA formulations were also evaluated. The ultraviolet (UV)-cured specimens of all REA formulations were thoroughly examined based on physical, chemical, optical, mechanical and thermal properties. The best suitable formulation was selected for SLA 3D printing.

Findings

As perceived, UV cured REA specimens exhibit superior mechanical, chemical and thermal properties, portraying the ability to use as a high-performance material. The increase in the concentration of reactive diluents indicated a significant improvement in the properties of REA resin. The 20% diluted formulation achieved excellent compatibility with a SLA 3D printer; thus, 3D objects are cast with good dimensional stability and printability.

Originality/value

Resorcinol-based resins have always been a key additive used to enhance properties in the coating and tire industry. In a new attempt UV, curable REA has been applied to a SLA 3D printer to cast high-performance 3D printed objects.
Mobile financial services (MFS) and digital inclusion – a study on customers’ retention and perceptions
Authors: Afroze Dilruba , Rista Faria Islam
Published: April 2022

Purpose

Mobile financial service (MFS) is a fast-growing industry in the emerging markets of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It provides benefits to economically marginalised people who are excluded by formal financial channels. While many people tend to use MFSs, several others do not. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore customer loyalty with a specific focus on understanding the user behaviour of MFSs in Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted 12 in-depth personal interviews with various types of users from the urban area of Bangladesh to comprehend their perceptions about the use of MFS. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interviews and understand the behavioural patterns of the respondents.

Findings

The authors found a gap between the registered users and active users of MFS and found some interesting factors leading to this phenomenon. These are dependency, lack of basic digital literacy, lack of perceived usefulness, lack of perceived ease of use, security concerns and transaction costs. The present study also suggested that if employers make it mandatory for employees to get their salaries through MFS, it will increase the number of active users. In addition, this study extensively focused on the behavioural patterns of women using MFS.

Practical implications

The study’s key practical implication is that MFS providers investments towards adding new features result in improved relationships with users and retain them in the market.

Originality/value

Some of these factors have not been previously documented in the literature. For example, female dependency on their male counterparts while using MFS is an interesting issue that needs to be minimised, as suggested by the present research findings.
Learning from the future as a novel paradigm for integrating organizational learning and innovation
Authors: Peschl Markus F.
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to challenge processes of organizational learning and innovation that are based on making use of, extrapolating, or adapting past experiences and knowledge, because such a strategy turns out to be incapable of dealing with the challenges of today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment. As a possible way out, a conceptual model is proposed that integrates organizational learning and innovation as a future-driven learning process and a future-making practice.

Design/methodology/approach

This work is conceptual in nature, drawing on (both theoretical/philosophical and empirical) interdisciplinary concepts and evidence from a variety of fields, including organizational studies, organizational learning, innovation studies, systems theory and systems biology, as well as cognitive science.

Findings

The author proposes a paradigm shift in organizational learning: from a future-oriented perspective, organizational learning can be viewed as an innovation process that is based on “learning from the future as it emerges.” A conceptual approach is presented that integrates future-oriented innovation and organizational learning as a future-making practice. It is based on learning from future potentials as a source for sustainable innovations. Both epistemological/ontological foundations and organizational implications are discussed.

Originality/value

This paper introduces a new perspective on the role of future-oriented innovation in the context of organizational learning. It shows how organizational learning and innovation can be integrated and how shortcomings of absorptive capacity can be overcome by assuming a future-driven perspective. Furthermore, an epistemology of future knowledge/potentials and its applications for organizations is developed.
Species provenance and traits mediate establishment and performance in an invaded grassland
Authors: Charles Lachlan S. , Maron John L. , Larios Loralee
Published: April 2022

In many invaded grasslands, dominant exotic species can produce large amounts of litter that modify local abiotic conditions and species' interactions. These novel conditions can reduce native species abundance and promote the persistence of exotic species, yet the strength of this disparity may be influenced by how consumer pressure interacts with litter accumulation. Consumers may exacerbate this disparity by preferentially targeting native species or by promoting heterogeneity in microhabitats due to their movement and small‐scale ground disturbances that favours fast growing exotic species. How species respond to litter accumulation and consumer pressure may depend on either evolutionary differences, whereby exotics species may benefit from a lack natural predators, or by functional differences, in which species' physiological traits may confer fitness advantages to low‐light conditions or herbivory or granivory pressure.

We examined the impact of litter presence and small mammal herbivory on the establishment and reproduction of functionally diverse exotic versus native species seeded across sites that naturally vary in resource availability in an annual invaded California grassland. We assessed whether seed mass and leaf nitrogen content (LNC) were predictive of successful establishment and reproduction.

Litter accumulation affected exotic and native species differently, with litter significantly decreasing native recruitment and reproduction, while exotics were largely unaffected. Small mammals had a slight positive effect on the establishment of native species when litter was present but did not influence exotic species. Regardless of species provenance, larger seeded species established at a higher density while species with lower leaf nitrogen content had a higher density of reproductive individuals. Native species that successfully established and reproduced were functionally different in LNC than the resident community, while successful exotic species were functionally more similar to the resident community in LNC.

Our study demonstrates that exotic species outperformed native species regardless of the presence of litter or herbivory pressure. Without the removal or thinning of litter, it is likely that exotic species will continue to dominate, resulting in positive feedback that further favours the persistence of exotic species within this invaded grassland system.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Regulation of open populations of a stream insect through larval density dependence
Authors: McIntosh Angus R. , Greig Hamish S. , Howard Simon
Published: April 2022

In organisms with complex life cycles, the various stages occupy different habitats creating demographically open populations. The dynamics of these populations will depend on the occurrence and timing of stochastic influences relative to demographic density dependence, but understanding of these fundamentals, especially in the face of climate warming, has been hampered by the difficulty of empirical studies.

Using a logically feasible organism, we conducted a replicated density‐perturbation experiment to manipulate late‐instar larvae of nine populations of a stream caddisfly, Zelandopsyche ingens, and measured the resulting abundance over 2 years covering the complete life cycle of one cohort to evaluate influences on dynamics.

Negative density feedback occurred in the larval stage, and was sufficiently strong to counteract variation in abundance due to manipulation of larval density, adult caddis dispersal in the terrestrial environment as well as downstream drift of newly hatched and older larvae in the current. This supports theory indicating regulation of open populations must involve density dependence in local populations sufficient to offset variability associated with dispersal, especially during recruitment, and pinpoints the occurrence to late in the larval life cycle and driven by food resource abundance.

There were large variations in adult, egg mass and early instar abundance that were not related to abundance in the previous stage, or the manipulation, pointing to large stochastic influences. Thus, the results also highlight the complementary nature of stochastic and deterministic influences on open populations. Such density dependence will enhance population persistence in situations where variable dispersal and transitioning between life stages frequently creates mismatches between abundance and the local availability of resources, such as might become more common with climate warming.
Memory, ghosts and the good life: Sati in Theravada cultural contexts
Authors: Cassaniti Julia
Published: April 2022

Mindfulness in its English rendering brings together a mix of historical influences, from Zen to Romanticism to yoga. Still, the most central concept from which it draws is sati, a Theravada Buddhist Pali term first translated as mindfulness over 100 years ago. This article reports on the findings of an ethnographic investigation of sati in the Theravada‐majority countries of Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, where the concept is widely used for a range of religious, therapeutic and colloquial ends. Based on interviews and questionnaires involving over 600 monks, psychiatrists and lay Buddhist practitioners, the article explores aspects of sati that are not often recognized (or recognized as much) in Western, secular mindfulness contexts. These qualities include attention to memory in present‐moment awareness, the potency of supernatural engagements and a social‐ethical orientation towards living well. Highlighting these qualities allows for a greater appreciation of cultural diversity within contemporary global mindfulness practices and suggests possibilities for further developing the global therapeutic potential of mindfulness.
Am I going mad?: Adverse meditation events and the anthropology of ethics
Authors: Mckay Francis
Published: April 2022

There has been growing interest in meditation adversities amongst mindfulness communities in recent years. This article documents US meditator distress upon experiencing incoherence in the eclectic resources supporting their practice. How might the anthropology of ethics consider self‐cultivation practices when the traditions supporting them fail due to incoherence? We need further research on moral bricolage to answer that question.
Two‐year follow‐up of infant and maternal outcomes after planned early delivery or expectant management for late preterm pre‐eclampsia (PHOENIX): A randomised controlled trial
Authors: Beardmore‐Gray Alice , Greenland Melanie , Linsell Louise , Juszczak Edmund , Hardy Pollyanna , Placzek Anna , Hunter Rachael , Sparkes Jenie , Green Marcus , Shennan Andrew , Marlow Neil , Chappell Lucy C. ,   the PHOENIX Study Group
Published: April 2022

Objective

We evaluated the best time to initiate delivery in late preterm pre‐eclampsia in order to optimise long‐term infant and maternal outcomes.

Design

Parallel‐group, non‐masked, randomised controlled trial.

Setting

Forty‐six maternity units in the UK.

Population

Women with pre‐eclampsia between 34+0 and 36+6 weeks of gestation, without severe disease, were randomised to planned delivery or expectant management.

Main outcome measures

Infant neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years of age, using the Parent Report of Children’s Abilities – Revised (PARCA‐R) composite score.

Results

Between 29 September 2014 and 10 December 2018, 901 women were enrolled in the trial, with 450 women allocated to planned delivery and 451 women allocated to expectant management. At the 2‐year follow‐up, the intention‐to‐treat analysis population included 276 women (290 infants) allocated to planned delivery and 251 women (256 infants) allocated to expectant management. The mean composite standardised PARCA‐R scores were 89.5 (SD 18.2) in the planned delivery group and 91.9 (SD 18.4) in the expectant management group, with an adjusted mean difference of −2.4 points (95% CI −5.4 to 0.5 points).

Conclusions

In infants of women with late preterm pre‐eclampsia, the average neurodevelopmental assessment at 2 years lies within the normal range, regardless of whether planned delivery or expectant management was pursued. With the lower than anticipated follow‐up rate there was limited power to demonstrate that these scores did not differ, but the small between‐group difference in PARCA‐R scores is unlikely to be clinically important.
Uncooperative society, uncooperative politics or both? Trust, polarization, populism and COVID‐19 deaths across European regions
Authors: CHARRON NICHOLAS , LAPUENTE VICTOR , RODRÍGUEZ‐POSE ANDRÉS
Published: April 2022

Why have some territories performed better than others in the fight against COVID‐19? This paper uses a novel dataset on excess mortality, trust and political polarization for 165 European regions to explore the role of social and political divisions in the remarkable regional differences in excess mortality during the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic. First, we investigate whether regions characterized by a low social and political trust witnessed a higher excess mortality. Second, we argue that it is not only levels, but also polarization in trust among citizens – in particular, between government supporters and non‐supporters – that matters for understanding why people in some regions have adopted more pro‐healthy behaviour. Third, we explore the partisan make‐up of regional parliaments and the relationship between political division – or what we refer to as ‘uncooperative politics’. We hypothesize that the ideological positioning – in particular those that lean more populist – and ideological polarization among political parties is also linked to higher mortality. Accounting for a host of potential confounders, we find robust support that regions with lower levels of both social and political trust are associated with higher excess mortality, along with citizen polarization in institutional trust in some models. On the ideological make‐up of regional parliaments, we find that, ceteris paribus, those that lean more ‘tan’ on the ‘GAL‐TAN’ spectrum yielded higher excess mortality. Moreover, although we find limited evidence of elite polarization driving excess deaths on the left‐right or GAL‐TAN spectrums, partisan differences on the attitudes towards the European Union demonstrated significantly higher deaths, which we argue proxies for (anti)populism. Overall, we find that both lower citizen‐level trust and populist elite‐level ideological characteristics of regional parliaments are associated with higher excess mortality in European regions during the first wave of the pandemic.
Fragmented landscape generator (flsgen): A neutral landscape generator with control of landscape structure and fragmentation indices
Authors: Justeau‐Allaire Dimitri , Blanchard Grégoire , Ibanez Thomas , Lorca Xavier , Vieilledent Ghislain , Birnbaum Philippe
Published: April 2022

Neutral landscape models have many applications in ecology, such as supporting spatially explicit simulations, developing and evaluating landscape indices. However, current approaches provide few options to produce large landscapes with controlled composition and fragmentation indices.

We introduce flsgen (Fragmented Landscape Generator), a new neutral landscape generator that addresses this limitation by providing a high level of control over 14 landscape indices. The main novelty of flsgen is the decomposition of landscape generation into two steps: the solving of a constraint satisfaction problem and the generation of a landscape raster with a stochastic algorithm. The latter relies on a continuous environmental gradient that influences the landscape's spatial configuration.

flsgen can generate fine‐grained artificial landscapes in small amounts of time, which makes it suited to produce large landscape series systematically. We demonstrate the features of flsgen through three illustrative use cases.

flsgen is a practical and efficient tool that expands the current possibilities of neutral landscape models and widens their potential applications. To facilitate its uptake, flsgen is available as free and open‐source software through a Java API, a command‐line interface or an R package.
Sonic matters: Singing as method and the epistemology of singing across Bengali esoteric lineages
Authors: Lorea Carola
Published: April 2022

“Songs are knowledge” (gāne jñān) is a recurrent saying among Bauls, Fakirs, Sahajiyas, and other Bengali esoteric and heterodox communities. The sonic dimension of songs is related to cosmogonic vibration, seed, food, and feminine bodily fluids. Singing, requiring breath control and concentration, is associated with yoga. How is the performance of songs simultaneously an embodied way of knowing and an act of indigenous scholarship? Can the epistemology of singing coexist with hegemonic sensory epistemologies in a postcolonial South Asia? This article draws upon a ten‐year ethnographic engagement with Bengali‐speaking gurus and performers to discuss how singing provides a transformative and anthropopoietic knowledge, rooted in bodily experience and exchanged among performers‐listeners to build togetherness in ways that subvert dominant ideologies of relatedness. This article also adopts Bengali understandings of ensounded knowledge to question the ocularcentric and scriptist epistemologies that underlie modern academia. Taking songs seriously as ways of knowing in their own right, I suggest singing as method and using the feelingful body as a research tool, not only for an ethnography that reflects the sensory epistemology of the communities I work with but also as a promising way to decolonize anthropology's epistemic ethnocentrism.
Comparison of visual outcomes of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and typical neovascular age‐related macular degeneration—up to 10 years of follow‐up
Authors: Park Jun Young , Park Young Joo , Park Sang Jun , Park Kyu Hyung , Yeo Joon Hyung , Kim June‐Gone , Yoon Young Hee , Lee Joo Yong , Woo Se Joon
Published: April 2022

Purpose

To investigate long‐term visual outcomes of patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and typical neovascular age‐related macular degeneration (nAMD) in the real‐world setting.

Methods

Retrospective, multicenter, noninterventional consecutive cohort study. Two hundred eighty‐five eyes of 261 patients with PCV and 902 eyes of 877 patients with typical nAMD, who could be followed up 1 year or longer from 2005 to 2018, were included. Mean changes in best‐corrected visual acuity (BCVA) from baseline in the PCV and the typical nAMD groups were compared.

Results

Mean follow‐up period of total patients was 4.3 ± 2.8 (1–10) years. Baseline BCVA was better in the PCV group than that in the typical nAMD group (0.59 ± 0.52 versus 0.79 ± 0.63 logMAR, p < 0.001). The mean changes in BCVA from baseline in the PCV and nAMD group were +2.1 and −0.1 letters at 1 year, −0.2 and −3.7 letters at 3 years, −3.9 and −10.5 letters at 5 years and − 8.7 and − 12.1 letters at 7 years, respectively. Before 2006, the initial BCVA was sustained for approximately 1 year in eyes with PCV and for less than half year in eyes with typical nAMD. However, after 2007, when anti‐VEGF agents were available, the initial BCVA was sustained for 4 years in eyes with PCV, while it was sustained for 1 year in eyes with typical nAMD.

Conclusion

In the real‐world, long‐term BCVA deteriorated in both PCV and typical nAMD groups, but the PCV group showed better visual outcomes than the typical nAMD group.
Osteonecrosis in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: Incidence, risk factors, radiological patterns and evolution in a single‐centre cohort
Authors: Brivio Erica , Cossio Andrea , Borra Davide , Silvestri Daniela , Prunotto Giulia , Colombini Antonella , Verna Marta , Rizzari Carmelo , Biondi Andrea , Conter Valentino , Valsecchi Maria Grazia , Balduzzi Adriana
Published: April 2022

Osteonecrosis (ON) is a well‐known sequela of paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treatment. Incidence differs substantially among studies and the clinical significance of radiological findings is not fully established. We analysed 256 consecutive patients with ALL treated in our Institution between October 2010 and December 2016. Within the cohort, 41 developed ON, with a mean 5‐year cumulative incidence of 18.5 (standard error, SE, 5.7)% overall. The mean (SE) 5‐year cumulative incidence of ON was 12.7 (2.1)% after censoring upon stem cell transplantation (SCT) and/or relapse. Patients aged ≥10 years and patients allocated to the high‐risk stratum had a 10‐fold and fivefold higher risk of ON respectively. The risk of ON was more than double in relapsed patients, whereas no significant impact of gender, immunophenotype and SCT was demonstrated. Multiple lesions (median four joints involved per patient) were detected by magnetic resonance imaging in all but one patient, with the knee being the most affected joint. Lesions affecting convex joint surfaces experienced the worst evolution, whereas most lesions on diaphyses and concave surfaces remained radiologically stable or disappeared during follow‐up. ON has a high prevalence in paediatric ALL, presenting with multiple lesions. Lesions involving convex surfaces were at higher risk of radiological deterioration.
A phase II trial to evaluate the combination of pixantrone and obinutuzumab for patients with relapsed aggressive lymphoma: Final results of the prospective, multicentre GOAL trial
Authors: Hess Georg , Hüttmann Andreas , Witzens‐Harig Mathias , Dreyling Martin H. , Keller Ulrich , Marks Reinhard , Ernst Thomas , Pott Christiane , Viardot Andreas , Frontzek Fabian , Trautmann Marcel , Ruckes Christian , Deuster Oliver , Rosenwald Andreas , Theobald Matthias , Lenz Georg
Published: April 2022

The prognosis of patients with relapsed diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remains poor with current options. Here we prospectively evaluated the combination of pixantrone with obinutuzumab for up to six cycles for patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL. Overall response rate (ORR) was the primary end‐point. Sixty‐eight patients were evaluated, median age was 75 years, median number of prior lines was three (range 1–10), 52 patients (76.5%) were diagnosed with DLBCL and 16 (23.5%) patients had transformed indolent lymphoma or follicular lymphoma (FL) IIIB. ORR was 35.3% for all and 40% for evaluable patients (16.6% complete response), median progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 2.8 months and 8 months, respectively. Analysis of the cell of origin revealed a superior course for patients with non‐GCB (germinal centre B‐cell‐like) phenotype [median OS not reached (n.r.) vs 5.2 months]. Patients with one prior line had an improved outcome over patients treated in later lines (PFS n.r. vs 2.5 months). Disease progression was the main reason for premature termination. Adverse events were mainly haematologic. The combination treatment revealed no unexpected adverse events. Most relevant non‐haematologic toxicity was infection in 28% of patients. In summary, pixantrone–obinutuzumab showed clinical activity with sometimes long‐term remission; however, the trial failed to meet its primary end‐point.
Management of children and adults with all stages of nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma — All StAGEs: A consensus‐based position paper from the Hodgkin lymphoma subgroup of the UK National Cancer Research Institute
Authors: Shankar Ananth , Hall Georgina W. , McKay Pam , Gallop‐Evans Eve , Fielding Patrick , Collins Graham P.
Published: April 2022

A consensus statement for the management for patients of all ages with all stages of nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) — All StAGEs — is proposed by representatives of the UK National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Hodgkin lymphoma study group and the Children's Cancer & Leukaemia Group. Based on current practices and published evidence, a consensus has been reached regarding diagnosis, staging and risk‐ik7 stratified management which includes active surveillance, low‐ and standard‐dose immunochemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Darwin’s Hawkmoth (Xanthopan praedicta) responds to bat ultrasound at sonar‐jamming rates
Authors: Rubin Juliette J.
Published: April 2022

This paper reveals that Xanthopan praedicta (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) is part of the bat–moth coevolutionary dynamic. I played recordings of bat echolocation to live X. praedicta and found that males respond with such dense ultrasound they can likely jam bat sonar. Female X. praedicta and two other sphingid species do not produce ultrasonic responses.

Abstract in French is available with online material.
Wind dispersal and 1‐year survival of Vataireopsis iglesiasii (Fabaceae) seedlings in a Neotropical lowland rain forest
Authors: Queenborough Simon A. , Alvia Pablo , Valencia Renato
Published: April 2022

Populations of many tropical tree species are regulated by negative distance‐ and density‐dependent processes (NDD), yet most studies on the effects of conspecific seedling and adult neighbors on seedling survival have focused on animal‐dispersed species. Species with seeds dispersed by wind may not be moved as far on average as seeds dispersed by animals, but some seeds may be dispersed a lot further, suggesting that knowledge of dispersal mechanism may help in our understanding of NDD. In this study, we took advantage of a high‐fecundity reproductive event that occurred for an individual isolated canopy tree of Vataireopsis iglesiasii in a tropical lowland rain forest site in Amazonian Ecuador to document seed dispersal and seedling survival to 1‐year post‐dispersal. Most seeds did not disperse far: 86% of germinated seedlings were found within 100 m. Mortality was high: only 49 of the 1732 monitored seedlings survived one year and only five survived a further four years. We found a significant negative effect of conspecific seedling density (but no effect of distance from the parent tree) on 1‐year survival. Rare long‐distance dispersal events may increase the probability of a seed reaching specific habitats, such as high‐light patches, and surviving beyond one year, thereby shifting the population recruitment curve outwards away from adult trees and maintaining diversity in species‐rich forests.

Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.
Inhibition of EGFR and MEK surmounts entrectinib resistance in a brain metastasis model of NTRK1‐rearranged tumor cells
Authors: Suzuki Chiaki , Nishiyama Akihiro , Arai Sachiko , Tange Shoichiro , Tajima Atsushi , Tanimoto Azusa , Fukuda Koji , Takumi Yohei , Kotani Hiroshi , Takeuchi Shinji , Yanagimura Naohiro , Ohtsubo Koushiro , Yamamoto Norio , Omori Koichi , Yano Seiji
Published: April 2022

Tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) inhibitors have demonstrated histology‐agnostic efficacy in patients with neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase (NTRK) gene fusion. Although responses to TRK inhibitors can be dramatic and durable, duration of response may eventually be limited by acquired resistance via several mechanisms, including resistance mutations such as NTRK1‐G595R. Repotrectinib is a second‐generation TRK inhibitor, which is active against NTRK1‐G595R. However, its efficacy against entrectinib‐resistant tumors has not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we established entrectinib‐resistant tumor cells (M3B) in a brain metastasis model inoculated with NTRK1‐rearranged KM12SM cells and examined the sensitivity of M3B cells to repotrectinib. While M3B cells harbored the NTRK1‐G595R mutation, they were unexpectedly resistant to repotrectinib. The resistance was due to extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) reactivation partially mediated by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activation. We further demonstrate that the triplet combination of repotrectinib, EGFR inhibitor, and MEK inhibitor could sensitize M3B cells in vitro as well as in a brain metastasis model. These results indicate that resistant mutations, such as NTRK1‐G595R, and alternative pathway activation, such as ERK activation, could simultaneously occur in entrectinib‐resistant tumors, thereby causing resistance to second‐generation inhibitor repotrectinib. These findings highlight the importance of intensive examinations to identify resistance mechanisms and application of the appropriate combination treatment to circumvent the resistance.
Outcomes of colorectal cancer resection in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a national population‐based analysis in England and Wales
Authors: Kuryba Angela J. , Vallance Abigail E. , Boyle Jemma M. , Braun Michael S. , Blake Helen A. , van der Meulen Jan , Fearnhead Nicola S. , Walker Kate
Published: April 2022

Aim

The aim was to compare early postoperative outcomes and 2‐year cancer‐specific mortality following colorectal cancer (CRC) resection in patients with and without inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in England and Wales.

Method

Records for patients in the National Bowel Cancer Audit who had major CRC resection between April 2014 and December 2017 were linked to routinely collected hospital level administrative datasets and chemotherapy and radiotherapy datasets. Multivariable regression models were used to compare outcomes with adjustment for patient and tumour characteristics.

Results

In all, 63 365 patients were included. 1285 (2.0%) had an IBD diagnosis: 839 (65.3%) ulcerative colitis, 435 (33.9%) Crohn's disease and 11 (0.9%) were indeterminate. IBD patients were younger, had more advanced cancer staging and a higher proportion of right‐sided tumours. They also had a higher proportion of emergency resection, total/subtotal colectomy, open surgery and stoma formation at resection, with longer hospital admissions and higher rates of unplanned readmission and reoperation. Fewer rectal cancer patients with IBD received neoadjuvant radiotherapy (24.8% vs. 36.0%, P = 0.005) whilst similar proportions of Stage III colon cancer patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. Ninety‐day postoperative mortality was similar, but unadjusted 2‐year cancer‐specific mortality was significantly higher in patients with IBD (subdistribution hazard ratio 1.35, 95% CI 1.18–1.55). Risk adjustment for patient and tumour factors reduced this association (adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio 1.22, 95% CI 1.05–1.43).

Conclusion

Patients with IBD and CRC are a distinct patient group who develop CRC at a younger age and undergo more radical surgery. They have worse cancer survival, with the difference in prognosis appearing after the early postoperative period.
Iterated Learning Models of Language Change: A Case Study of Sino‐Korean Accent
Authors: Ito Chiyuki , Feldman Naomi H.
Published: April 2022

Iterated learning models of language evolution have typically been used to study the emergence of language, rather than historical language change. We use iterated learning models to investigate historical change in the accent classes of two Korean dialects. Simulations reveal that many of the patterns of historical change can be explained as resulting from successive generations of phonotactic learning. Comparisons between different iterated learning models also suggest that Korean learners’ phonotactic generalizations are guided by storage of entire syllable‐sized units, and provide evidence that perceptual confusions between different forms substantially impacted historical change. This suggests that in addition to accounting for the evolution of broad general characteristics of language, iterated learning models can also provide insight into more detailed patterns of historical language change.