bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trusting in indigenous institutions: exporting SMEs in Nigeria
Authors: Omeihe Kingsley Obi , Simba Amon , Rae David , Gustafsson Veronika , Khan Mohammad Saud
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to develop new insights into the interplay between trust, indigenous institutions and weak/dysfunctional formal institutions using the Nigerian context – a developing country in Western Africa. It advances new understanding on how Nigerian entrepreneurs trust in their indigenous institutions such as family ties, kinship, chieftaincy, religion, cooperatives and trade associations to resolve disputes arising from their exporting activities as opposed to dormant formal institutions in their country.

Design/methodology/approach

This exploratory study adopts an interpretive research paradigm, and it utilises a case study strategy. Data collected through observations, archival records and qualitative conversations with 36 exporting Nigerian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is analysed by utilising a combination of within and cross-case analysis techniques. Doing so enabled an in-depth study of the methods their owner-managers use in order to take advantage of the relationships they established through their long-standing cultural institutions in the place of weak formal institutions in their country.

Findings

Indigenous institutions have evolved to replace formalised institutions within the business environment in Nigeria. They have developed to become an alternative and trusted arbiter for solving SMEs' export issues because of weak/dysfunctional formal institutions in the Western African country. The owner-managers of exporting SMEs perceive formal institutions as representing a fragmented system that does not benefit their export businesses.

Practical implications

The findings demonstrate that there is need for policymakers to consider the role of informal institutions in the Nigerian context. Such an approach is essential given the economic importance and increasing number of SMEs that trade and export their goods through informal structures in Nigeria.

Originality/value

The study indicates that it is not just the void or absence of institutions that exist in a developing country such as Nigeria, but weak/dysfunctional formal institutions have been replaced by culturally embedded informal institutions. Thus, the study provides a new theoretical avenue depicting the concept of trusting in indigenous institutions.
An insight into the associations between environmental activity management, environmental management systems and performance
Authors: Baird Kevin , Su Sophia Xia , Tung Amy
Published: July 2021

Purpose

This study uses the survey method to examine the associations between the three levels of environmental activity management (EAM) (environmental activity analysis, environmental activity cost analysis and environmental activity based costing) with environmental management systems (EMSs), and assesses the effectiveness of these EAM practices and EMSs by examining their associations with both environmental and financial performance. While this study is unable to assert causality, the findings provide an important insight into the need to integrate EMSs and EMA practices, specifically EAM. In addition, the findings provide an initial insight into the relationship between the extent of use of these practices and organisational performance (environmental and financial).

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected using a mail survey of 659 manufacturing organisations identified from the Onesource on-line database. A total of 140 completed questionnaires were returned (21.2%), 72 (10.9%) following the initial mail-out, and a further 68 (10.3%) from the follow-up mail-out.

Findings

In respect to the association between EAM and EMSs, this study provides empirical evidence to support the integration of EAM practices with the use of EMSs, suggesting the relationships between the two is bi-directional. In respect to the association between EMSs with environmental and financial performance, while the extent of use of EMSs is not associated with financial performance, there is strong evidence supporting the positive association between EMSs with environmental performance. Further, while there are minimal results regarding the direct association between the three EAM practices and environmental performance, a cyclical relationship between EAM and financial performance is identified.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by providing an empirical insight into the relationship between the extent of adoption of EMSs and the use of EMA. The focus on the relationship between EMSs and EMA is pertinent owing to the sparse research on EMA practices and the “importance of using such [EAM] practices and integrating them within the organisation rather than using them on an ad hoc basis” (Phan et al., 2018, p. 657). This study also contributes to the literature by examining the effectiveness of both practices in respect to their association with environmental and financial performance.
Political connection, family ownership and corporate risk disclosure: empirical evidence from Jordan
Authors: Alshirah Malek Hamed , Alshira’h Ahmad Farhan , Lutfi Abdalwali
Published: July 2021

Purpose

This study aims to empirically examine whether the political connection is related to risk disclosure practices. The study also seeks to contribute to the existent risk disclosure literature by investigating the moderator effect of family ownership on this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The content analysis approach was used to collect data and determine the level of risk disclosure over the non-financial Jordanian firms listed on 1Amman Stock Exchange. The sample of this study contains 376 annual reports over four years from 2014 to 2017. It used the random effect regressions to examine the hypothesis of the study.

Findings

The results show that politically connected companies disclose less risk information than the unconnected ones in Jordan. The results also refer that family ownership contributes in mitigating the negative effect of the political connection on the level of corporate risk.

Practical implications

The results have implications for regulatory institutions such as the Jordan Securities Commission to take the negative effect of political connection in their consideration and impose further regulations to monitor this board’s attribute and control politicians’ domination on the board decisions.

Originality/value

The current study also contributes to the body of literature by investigating the effects of the political connections on the level of risk disclosure in the financial reports. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first to examine the effect of the political connection on the risk disclosure practices. Moreover, the study is among the first studies that examine the moderating role of family ownership on such relationship.
Trauma-informed servant leadership in health and social care settings
Authors: Mahon Daryl
Published: July 2021

Purpose

Practitioners, organisations and policy makers in health and social care settings are increasingly recognising the need for trauma-informed approaches in organisational settings, with morbidity and financial burdens a growing concern over the past few years. Servant leadership has a unique focus on emotional healing, service to others as the first priority, in addition to the growth, well-being and personal and professional development of key stakeholders. This paper aims to discuss Trauma Informed Servant Leadership (TISL).

Design/methodology/approach

A targeted review of the servant leadership and trauma-informed care literature was conducted. Relevant studies, including systematic review and meta-analysis, were sourced, with the resulting interpretation informing the conceptual model.

Findings

Although there are general guidelines regarding how to go about instituting trauma-informed approaches, with calls for organisational leadership to adapt the often cited six trauma-informed principles, to date there has not been a leadership approach elucidated which takes as its starting point and core feature to be trauma informed. At the same time, there is a paucity of research elucidating trauma outcomes for service users or employees in the literature when a trauma-informed approach is used. However, there is a large body of evidence indicating that servant leadership has many of the outcomes at the employee level that trauma-informed approaches are attempting to attain. Thus, the author builds on a previous conceptual paper in which a model of servant leadership and servant leadership supervision are proposed to mitigate against compassion fatigue and secondary trauma in the health and social care sector. The author extends that research to this paper by recasting servant leadership as a trauma-informed model of leadership that naturally operationalises trauma-informed principles.

Research limitations/implications

A lack of primary data limits the extent to which conclusions can be drawn on the effectiveness of this conceptual model. However, the model is based on robust research across the differential components used; therefore, it can act as a framework for future empirical research designs to be studies at the organisational level. Both the servant leadership and trauma-informed literatures have been extended with the addition of this model.

Practical implications

TISL can complement the trauma-informed approach and may also be viable as an alternative to trauma-informed approaches. This paper offers guidelines to practitioners and organisations in health and social care on how to operationalise important trauma-informed principles through leadership.

Social implications

This conceptual model may help reduce the burden of trauma and re-traumatisation encountered by practitioners and service users in health and social care settings, impacting on morbidity.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is a novel approach, the first of its kind.
Are business and management journals anti-replication? An analysis of editorial policies
Authors: Tipu Syed Awais Ahmad , Ryan James Christopher
Published: July 2021

Purpose

This study aims to explore the degree to which the editorial policies of business and management journals explicitly or implicitly discourage replication studies.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines differences in editorial policy toward replication studies relative to journal quality, age and sub-discipline area. A total of 600 journals (listed as Q1 and Q2 in Scopus) were selected for the current study.

Findings

The results reveal that out of 600 selected journals, only 28 (4.7%) were explicitly open to considering replication studies, while 331 (55.2%) were neutral, being neither explicitly nor implicitly dismissive of replication studies. A further 238 (39.7%) were implicitly dismissive of replication studies, and the remaining 3 (0.5%) journals were explicitly disinterested in considering replication studies for publication. CiteScore and Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) of neutral journals were significantly lower than those of journals, which were implicitly discouraging replication research. With regard to the journals implicitly discouraging replications (238), journals in the subcategory of business and international management (51) had the highest percentage (21.4%) followed by strategy and management 30 (12.6%) and Organizational Behavior (OB) and Human Resource (HR) 25 (10.5%).

Originality/value

The available literature does not explore the degree to which the editorial policies of business and management journals explicitly or implicitly discourage replication studies. The current study attempts to address this gap in the literature. Given the lack of support for replications among business and management journals, the current paper sets forth the suggested steps which are deemed crucial for moving beyond the replication crisis in the business and management field.
Accurate composition dependent thermo mechanical lifetime estimation of hour glass type solder joint in electronic assemblies
Authors: Olenev Leonid Anatolevich , Zakieva Rafina Rafkatovna , Smirnova Nina Nikolaevna , Shichiyakh Rustem Adamovich , Ershov Kirill Aleksandrovich , Geetha Nisith
Published: July 2021

Purpose

This study aims to present a more accurate lifetime prediction model considering solder chemical composition.

Design/methodology/approach

Thermal cycling and standard creep tests as well as finite element simulation were used.

Findings

The study found lower error in the solder joint lifetime evaluation. The higher the Ag content is, the higher the lifetime is achieved.

Originality/value

It is confirmed.
Patterns of thyroid dysfunctions in adolescent patients suffering from severe acne during isotretinoin treatment
Authors: Salem Hareedy Mohammad , Mahmoud Waleed Ahmed , Tawfik Khaled Mohamed
Published: July 2021

Although oral isotretinoin has been widely used as a basic treatment of acne in adolescents, several studies have noted some alterations in thyroid functions during oral isotretinoin therapy. Therefore, the present study aims at evaluating the possible changes in thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxin (fT4) and free triiodothyronine (fT3) levels during isotretinoin treatment and analyzing the possible factors which may contribute to such changes. In the present study, 47 patients received (0.5 mg/kg oral isotretinoin) for treatment of severe acne. TSH, fT4 and fT3 were measured at baseline, after 3 and 6 months. ANOVA tests were used for statistical analyses. The levels of fT4 and fT3 decreased significantly during isotretinoin treatment (from 0.85 ± 0.04 and 3.1 ± 0.26 at baseline to 0.81 ± 0.023 and 2.76 ± 0.2 after 6 months, respectively). The decrease was accompanied by significant elevation of TSH (0.66 ± 0.05 at baseline to 0.695 ± 0.05 after 6 months). The duration of therapy (but not the dose) has significantly affected all the hormonal changes. Previous incomplete or intermittent isotretinoin treatment had significantly influenced the changes in fT4 only, while gender affected the changes of TSH. Isotretinoin treatment can decrease fT4, fT3 and increase TSH. The pattern of these changes was affected by gender and previous isotretinoin therapy. Different doses of isotretinoin did not affect the hormonal changes, but the duration has been the major influencing factor.
The Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961) and farm households’ adoption of technology: evidence from China*
Authors: Hu Xinyan , Chen Xiangpo , Yao Siqi , Zhang Gaiqing
Published: July 2021

The diffusion of new technology is an important driver of agricultural development, especially in the developing world. In this research, we follow the persistence of major historical events, employing a difference‐in‐differences method to carefully examine the long‐term effect of China’s 1959–1961 famine on farm households’ current decisions to adopt technology. Further, we combine a mediating regression procedure with a bootstrap method to explore the mechanism of impact in this relationship. Overall, this study provides strong empirical evidence that the Great Famine attenuated technology adoption; moreover, a 1% increase in exposure to famine in childhood and adolescence resulted in a 0.137% decrease in the probability of technology adoption when controlling for village dummies. An analysis of mediating effects reveals that risk preferences account for the channel of famine persistence.
Do Mandatory Disclosure Requirements for Private Firms Increase the Propensity of Going Public?
Authors: AGHAMOLLA CYRUS , THAKOR RICHARD T.
Published: July 2021

This paper investigates the effect of mandatory disclosure requirements for private firms on their decision to go public. Using detailed project‐level data for biopharmaceutical firms, we explore the effects of a legal reform that exogenously required firms to publicly disclose information regarding clinical trials. Exploiting cross‐sectional heterogeneity in firms' exposure to the regulation based on their internal development portfolios, we find that affected firms are significantly more likely to transition to public equity markets following the reform. Moreover, firms that go public because of the increased disclosure requirements subsequently reduce the size of their project portfolios while shifting to safer investments acquired externally. We provide additional evidence for the main hypothesis using a second setting: a 2006 German reform which enhanced the enforcement of mandatory disclosure requirements for private firms. The results suggest that private firms' general information environment and disclosure requirements influence the propensity of going public.
Clinical management of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome
Authors: Day Ed , Daly Chris
Published: July 2021

Up to half of individuals with a history of long‐term, heavy alcohol consumption will experience the alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) when consumption is significantly decreased or stopped. In its most severe form, AWS can be life‐threatening. Medically assisted withdrawal (MAW) often forms the first part of a treatment pathway. This clinical review discusses key elements of the clinical management of MAW, necessary adjustments for pregnancy and older adults, likely outcome of an episode of MAW, factors that might prevent completion of the MAW process and ways of overcoming barriers to ongoing treatment of alcohol use disorder. The review also discusses the use of benzodiazepines in MAW. Although there is clear evidence for their use, benzodiazepines have been associated with abuse liability, blunting of cognition, interactions with depressant drugs, craving, delirium, dementia and disrupted sleep patterns. Because glutamatergic activation and glutamate receptor upregulation contribute to alcohol withdrawal, anti‐glutamatergic strategies for MAW and other potential treatment innovations are also considered.
When State Building Backfires: Elite Coordination and Popular Grievance in Rebellion
Authors: Garfias Francisco , Sellars Emily A.
Published: July 2021

We examine the complementary influence of elite politics, popular grievances, and central government weakness on rebellion. Efforts to strengthen the central state often come at the expense of the elite intermediaries charged with maintaining local political control. By driving a wedge between local elites and the central government, centralizing reforms can reduce intermediaries' willingness to repress mobilization, providing an opening for popular rebellion during both localized and national crises. For a given level of commoner grievance, revolts from below are thus more likely to be attempted and more likely to spread where elites' incentives to enforce order have been diminished. We formalize these ideas and provide supportive evidence using subnational data on rebellion, tax centralization, and drought in colonial Mexico from the late seventeenth century to the War of Independence.
Health effects of exposure to chlorination by‐products in swimming pools
Authors: Couto Mariana , Bernard Alfred , Delgado Luís , Drobnic Franchek , Kurowski Marcin , Moreira André , Rodrigues‐Alves Rodrigo , Rukhadze Maia , Seys Sven , Wiszniewska Marta , Quirce Santiago
Published: July 2021

Concerns have been raised regarding the potential negative effects on human health of water disinfectants used in swimming pools. Among the disinfection options, the approaches using chlorine‐based products have been typically preferred. Chlorine readily reacts with natural organic matter that are introduced in the water mainly through the bathers, leading to the formation of potentially harmful chlorination by‐products (CBPs). The formation of CBPs is of particular concern since some have been epidemiologically associated with the development of various clinical manifestations. The higher the concentration of volatile CBPs in the water, the higher their concentration in the air above the pool, and different routes of exposure to chemicals in swimming pools (water ingestion, skin absorption, and inhalation) contribute to the individual exposome. Some CBPs may affect the respiratory and skin health of those who stay indoor for long periods, such as swimming instructors, pool staff, and competitive swimmers. Whether those who use chlorinated pools as customers, particularly children, may also be affected has been a matter of debate. In this article, we discuss the current evidence regarding the health effects of both acute and chronic exposures in different populations (work‐related exposures, intensive sports, and recreational attendance) and identify the main recommendations and unmet needs for research in this area.
Food immunotherapy practice: Nation differences across Europe, the FIND project
Authors: Rodríguez del Río Pablo , Alvarez‐Perea Alberto , Blumchen Katharina , Caimmi Davide , Caubet Jean Christoph , Konstantinopoulos Anastasios Panagiotis , Riggioni Carmen , Fassio Filippo , Karakoc‐Aydiner Elif , Le Thuy May , Patel Nandinee , Savolainen Johannes , Vazquez‐Ortiz Marta , Alvaro Lozano Montserrat
Published: July 2021

Background

Food allergen immunotherapy (FA‐AIT) practice is known to vary globally. This project aims to identify and characterize European centres performing FA‐AIT.

Methods

An EAACI task force conducted an online survey to gather relevant information regarding FA‐AIT practice and setting‐specific resources after reviewing the published literature and congress abstracts throughout Europe.

Results

We identified 102 FA‐AIT centres in 18 countries; only Spain (n = 39) and France (n = 16) had ≥10 such centres. Overall, most facilities were hospital‐based (77.5%), publicly funded (80.4%) and delivered FA‐AIT as routine clinical care (80.4%). On average, departments had 3 allergists/paediatric allergists and 2 nurses. Surveyed centres had provided FA‐AIT for a median of 9 years [1–24] to a median of 105 [5–2415] patients. The estimated total number of treated patients was 24875, of whom 41.3% received AIT for milk, 34.2% egg, 12.8% peanut and 11.7% other foods. Anaphylaxis to AIT doses requiring over 4–6 h of observation was reported by 70.6% of centres, ICU admissions by 10.8% and eosinophilic esophagitis by 45.1%. Quality of life and sustained unresponsiveness were evaluated in 20.6% and 54.9% of centres, respectively. The main contraindications for food AIT were severe asthma (57%‐63%), eosinophilic esophagitis (56%‐48%) and age below 5 years (47%‐41%).

Conclusions

In Europe, FA‐AIT is provided mostly in clinical practice. Significant variation is seen in the number of centres per country, facility characteristics and inclusion/exclusion criteria, and in certain aspects of protocols. Potential inequality in access to AIT has been identified as well as the need for education and guidance for treatment standardization.
Modelling temporal genetic and spatio‐temporal residual effects for high‐throughput phenotyping data*
Authors: Verbyla A. P. , De Faveri J. , Deery D. M. , Rebetzke G. J.
Published: July 2021

High‐throughput phenomics data are being collected in both the laboratory and the field. The data are often collected at many time points and there may be spatial variation in the laboratory or field that impacts on the growth of the plants, and that may influence the traits of interest. Modelling the genetic effects is of primary interest in such studies, but these effects might be biased if non‐genetic effects present in the experiment are ignored. With data that are collected both in time and space, there may be a need to jointly model these multi‐dimensional non‐genetic effects. Thus both modelling of genetic effects over time and non‐genetic effects over time and space in a one‐stage analysis is considered. An experiment that involves field phenomics data with four dimensions, two in space and two in time, provides the vehicle to examine the models. Factor analytic (FA) models are often used for genetic effects for different environments to provide reliable estimates of genetic variances and correlations. As the time dimension defines the environments, FA models are examined for the phenomics data. Reduced rank tensor smoothing splines are presented as a possible approach for modelling the spatio‐temporal effects, although an additional term is included for heterogeneity over the two time dimensions. This approach is feasible, although very time‐consuming. The process of model selection for the genetic effects is presented including tests, information criteria and diagnostics. Comparisons of more simplistic models are made with the reduced rank tensor spline. This also shows the interplay between the genetic and residual models in model selection.
Extremely low birthweight neonates with phenylketonuria require special dietary management
Authors: Zemanova Marketa , Chrastina Petr , Sebron Vaclav , Prochazkova Dagmar , Jahnova Helena , Sanakova Petra , Prochazkova Lucie , Tesarova Barbara , Zeman Jiri
Published: July 2021

Aim

Extremely low birthweight (ELBW) neonates require a high protein intake, but this can be challenging in the very rare cases when they also have phenylketonuria (PKU). This is due to a lack of suitable parenteral nutrition or enteral formula. Our aim was to analyse tolerance to phenylalanine in these infants.

Material

There are approximately 110 000 children born in the Czech Republic each year. A neonatal screening programme from 2005 to 2020 found that 320 neonates had PKU, including 30 premature neonates with a birth weight of less than 2500 g.

Results

This study focused on three neonates who were born with ELBWs of 720, 740 and 950 g, respectively. Phenylalanine levels normalised in ELBW neonates with PKU within 1 week of the introduction of low‐phenylalanine parenteral or enteral nutrition. The tolerance to phenylalanine was very high (70–110 mg/kg) in the first months of life, due to a rapid weight gain, but significantly decreased during infancy.

Conclusion

Extremely low birthweight neonates with PKU need special dietary management. Regular assessments of phenylalanine are necessary during the first weeks of life to allow prompt dietary adjustments that reflect rapid weight gain and transitory high tolerance to phenylalanine.
Exploring the impact of a Technical and Vocational Education and Training qualified person on the socio‐economic well‐being of the household: A case study from Samoa
Authors: Taua'a Susana , Penaia Frances K.
Published: July 2021

This study explores the impact of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) on households in Samoa, particularly those households that invested in the TVET qualification and certification of at least one member of their household. Significant benefits accrue to households through productive employment of the TVET‐certified household member, and this study is one of a kind designed to gather some base line socio‐economic data from 15 case study households to validate these claims. The study is framed within the sustainable livelihoods approach and capabilities approach. Improved skills of TVET persons provide a sustainable livelihood for their households and enabled strengthening of people's capabilities to make significant contributions to their families, community and national development agenda. Questionnaires and focus group discussions were methods engaged to answer the study question on the socio‐economic impacts of TVET‐certified members on their households. The results substantiated what we have always observed and believed, that the households with at least one TVET‐certified member is able to make positive physical and social contributions towards improving the livelihood of the entire household.
Effects of soybean meal supplementation on ruminal kinetics of feed particle size reduction and passage in dairy cows fed rice straw
Authors: Win Kyaw San , Ueda Koichiro , Kondo Seiji
Published: July 2021

Six ruminal‐cannulated nonlactating Holstein Friesian cows (mean body weight:660 ± 42.9 kg) were used to investigate the effect of soybean meal (SBM) supplementation on voluntary rice straw (RS) intake, feed particle size reduction, and passage kinetics in the rumen. They were allocated to two dietary treatments: RS alone or RS supplemented with SBM. Voluntary dry matter intake of RS and total tract fiber digestibility was increased by SBM supplementation (p < 0.05). Supplementation with SBM decreased rumination time per dietary dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDFom) intake (p < 0.01). Particle size distribution in the rumen and total ruminal NDFom digesta weights were not affected by SBM supplementation. However, the disappearance rates of total digesta and large and small particles from the rumen were increased by SBM supplementation (p < 0.01). Moreover, SBM supplementation increased the rate of size reduction in ruminal particles (p < 0.05). In situ disappearance of DM and NDFom of RS in the rumen was greater in SBM‐supplemented cows than in nonsupplemented cows (p < 0.05). This study clearly showed that increased ruminal RS particle size reduction, passage, and fermentation due to SBM supplementation accelerated the RS particle clearance from the rumen and resulted in increased voluntary RS intake of dairy cows.
Drivers of CSR anchoring in transition economies: Evidence from Poland
Authors: Doś Anna , Pattarin Francesco
Published: July 2021

We examine the drivers of corporate social responsibility anchoring in Poland, a country that has undergone a profound transition from a command economy to a free market system. We use a fine‐grained theoretical framework to understand the influence of the interactions between regulative, normative, and cultural‐cognitive aspects of institutions with firm organizational factors on the diffusion of corporate social responsibility. We show that, in Poland, companies use their slack resources to adopt corporate social responsibility only when facing strong normative or regulative institutional pressures in their organizational fields. When such pressures are absent, companies prefer value‐enhancing functions of their resources other than investing in corporate social responsibility. We propose a multilevel approach for studying drivers of corporate social responsibility and show how the importance of organizational‐level drivers emerges clearly only if the interactions with institutional‐level features are considered. The main policy implication of our study is that corporate social responsibility may establish in Poland, as well as in other Eastern Europe countries, provided that designed and formalized institutional processes reach relevant organizational fields. Furthermore, we find that, for business managers, employing financial slack for social responsibility projects may be perceived as institutionally legitimate or not depending on the type of institutional pressures prevailing in each organizational field.
Investigating when religious culture increases trade credit: A signaling theory approach
Authors: Li Yaoqin , Zhu Danfeng
Published: July 2021

Drawing on signaling theory, we propose that religious culture leads suppliers to alter their beliefs about their customers’ trustworthiness. Strong religious cultures are interpreted as a signal of fewer agency problems and less information asymmetry, which helps firms gain more trade credit from suppliers. The empirical tests performed in this study show that firms headquartered in areas with strong religious cultures receive more trade credit than other firms. This positive relation is more prominent when such firms are located in areas with lower levels of social trust. A further analysis reveals that the increasing effect of religious culture on trade credit eases financing constraints. Overall, our findings indicate that religious culture can be a broad indicator of firms’ ethical preferences that influences their access to trade credit by signaling their potential for a high level of trustworthiness.
How phenological tracking shapes species and communities in non‐stationary environments
Authors: Wolkovich E. M. , Donahue Megan J.
Published: July 2021

Climate change alters the environments of all species. Predicting species responses requires understanding how species track environmental change, and how such tracking shapes communities. Growing empirical evidence suggests that how species track phenologically – how an organism shifts the timing of major biological events in response to the environment – is linked to species performance and community structure. Such research tantalizingly suggests a potential framework to predict the winners and losers of climate change, and the future communities we can expect. But developing this framework requires far greater efforts to ground empirical studies of phenological tracking in relevant ecological theory. Here we review the concept of phenological tracking in empirical studies and through the lens of coexistence theory to show why a community‐level perspective is critical to accurate predictions with climate change. While much current theory for tracking ignores the importance of a multi‐species context, basic community assembly theory predicts that competition will drive variation in tracking and trade‐offs with other traits. We highlight how existing community assembly theory can help understand tracking in stationary and non‐stationary systems. But major advances in predicting the species‐ and community‐level consequences of climate change will require advances in theoretical and empirical studies. We outline a path forward built on greater efforts to integrate priority effects into modern coexistence theory, improved empirical estimates of multivariate environmental change, and clearly defined estimates of phenological tracking and its underlying environmental cues.
Mapping the environmental field: Networks of foundations, ENGOs and think tanks
Authors: Carroll William K. , Graham Nicolas , Shakespear Mark
Published: July 2021

In mobilizing funds that selectively support non‐profits, foundations shape the political field. This study maps the funding relationships between foundations, ENGOs and think tanks in Canada and considers the implications for environmental politics. We examine foundation funding for different strains of environmental politics and policy‐planning and consider how ENGOs and think tanks are clustered as communities within a foundation‐centred support network. Of particular interest are ‘clean growth’ ENGOs that have emerged as key proponents of business‐friendly approaches to the climate crisis. We find that the ENGOs receiving large grants tend to be conservationist while the think tanks tend to be conservative. Communities in the network are divided between several clusters of corporate and family foundations supporting conservative think tanks, clean growth ENGOs and conservationist ENGOs, and a segment of the network in which one municipal and several family foundations, support more social‐ecological organizations, thereby facilitating more transformative visions and policies. Although few in number, clean growth organizations tend to receive giant donations, in some cases from corporate foundations aligned with the fossil‐fuel sector. Recent adoption of clean growth as governmental policy and its embrace within philanthropic missions could reshape the environmental field towards ‘clean growth’, as ENGOs seek funding and legitimacy.
Alantolactone is a natural product that potently inhibits YAP1/TAZ through promotion of reactive oxygen species accumulation
Authors: Nakatani Keisuke , Maehama Tomohiko , Nishio Miki , Otani Junji , Yamaguchi Keiko , Fukumoto Miki , Hikasa Hiroki , Hagiwara Shinji , Nishina Hiroshi , Mak Tak Wah , Honma Teruki , Kondoh Yasumitsu , Osada Hiroyuki , Yoshida Minoru , Suzuki Akira
Published: July 2021

Yes‐associated protein 1 (YAP1) and its paralogue PDZ‐binding motif (TAZ) play pivotal roles in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and abnormal activation of these TEAD transcriptional coactivators is found in diverse cancers in humans and mice. Targeting YAP1/TAZ signaling is thus a promising therapeutic avenue but, to date, few selective YAP1/TAZ inhibitors have been effective against cancer cells either in vitro or in vivo. We screened chemical libraries for potent YAP1/TAZ inhibitors using a highly sensitive luciferase reporter system to monitor YAP1/TAZ‐TEAD transcriptional activity in cells. Among 29 049 low‐molecular‐weight compounds screened, we obtained nine hits, and the four of these that were the most effective shared a core structure with the natural product alantolactone (ALT). We also tested 16 other structural derivatives of ALT and found that natural ALT was the most efficient at increasing ROS‐induced LATS kinase activities and thus YAP1/TAZ phosphorylation. Phosphorylated YAP1/TAZ proteins were subject to nuclear exclusion and proteosomic degradation such that the growth of ALT‐treated tumor cells was inhibited both in vitro and in vivo. Our data show for the first time that ALT can be used to target the ROS‐YAP pathway driving tumor cell growth and so could be a potent anticancer drug.
Optimized Processing of Localized Collisions in Projective Dynamics
Authors: Wang Qisi , Tao Yutian , Brandt Eric , Cutting Court , Sifakis Eftychios
Published: July 2021

We present a method for the efficient processing of contact and collision in volumetric elastic models simulated using the Projective Dynamics paradigm. Our approach enables interactive simulation of tetrahedral meshes with more than half a million elements, provided that the model satisfies two fundamental properties: the region of the model's surface that is susceptible to collision events needs to be known in advance, and the simulation degrees of freedom associated with that surface region should be limited to a small fraction (e.g. 5%) of the total simulation nodes. In such scenarios, a partial Cholesky factorization can abstract away the behaviour of the collision‐safe subset of the face model into the Schur Complement matrix with respect to the collision‐prone region. We demonstrate how fast and accurate updates of bilateral penalty‐based collision terms can be incorporated into this representation, and solved with high efficiency on the GPU. We also demonstrate iterating a partial update of the element rotations, akin to a selective application of the local step, specifically on the smaller collision‐prone region without explicitly paying the cost associated with the rest of the simulation mesh. We demonstrate efficient and robust interactive simulation in detailed models from animation and medical applications.
Phylogeny‐based conservation priorities for Australian freshwater fishes
Authors: Tims Amy R. , Alroy John
Published: July 2021

Conservation scientists are increasingly interested in the question of how extinction prunes the tree of life. This question is particularly important for Australian freshwater fishes because there is a broad mix of ∼300 old and young species, many of which are severely threatened. We used a complete species‐level phylogeny of Australian freshwater fishes to examine phylogenetic nonrandomness of extinction risk. We computed the potential loss of phylogenetic diversity by simulating extinction across the tree under a pattern weighted based on International Union for Conservation of Nature extinction risk category and compared this loss to projected diversity loss under a random null model of extinction. Finally, we calculated EDGE (evolutionary distinctiveness, global endangerment) scores for 251 freshwater and 60 brackish species and compiled a list of high‐priority species for conservation actions based on their extinction risk and evolutionary uniqueness. Extinction risk was not random and was clustered in both diversity cradles (recently diversifying, species‐rich clades, such as Galaxiidae and Percichthyidae) and museums (older, species‐poor groups, such as freshwater chondrichthyans). Clustered extinction made little difference to the average expected loss of phylogenetic diversity. However, the upper bound of loss was higher under a selective model of extinction, particularly when the counts of species lost were low. Thus, the loss of highly threatened species would diminish the tree of life more than a null model of randomly distributed extinction.  High priority species included both widely recognized and charismatic ones, such as the Queensland lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri), river sharks, and freshwater sawfishes, and lesser‐known species that receive less public attention, including the salamanderfish (Lepidogalaxias salamandroides), cave gudgeons, and many galaxiids, rainbowfishes, and pygmy perches.
Properties of a new nitrogen‐free additive as an alternative to urea and its application in reactive printing
Authors: Wang Chenglong , Xian Yongfang , Wang Hongmei , Wu Minghua , Wang Yijia , Yu Deyou , Wang Lili
Published: July 2021

The development of a urea substitute with little nitrogen has become a hot research topic for cleaner production in reactive printing. In the current study, a mixture made from glycerol and 1,4‐butanediol (1:1, w/w), namely, urea substitute glycerol butanediol (USGB), was used instead of urea in the printing paste formulation. USGB’s abilities of moisture adsorption, swelling fibres and solubilisation to reactive dyes were compared with those of urea. The printing properties of USGB on different fabrics with reactive dyes were intensively investigated in comparison with urea and commercial 391‐H. The results showed that USGB’s ability to swell viscose fibres was superior to that of urea. When the dosage of USGB was within 8‐10 wt% in the printing paste, the colour yield of USGB on viscose fabrics drew near to that of urea and was higher than that of 391‐H. During viscose printing of reactive blue dyes with different shades and structures, the colour performance of USGB was close to that of urea and higher than that of 391‐H. Furthermore, USGB could obtain good printing effects in deep printing with Reactive Turquoise K‐GL on different fabrics. Compared with urea, the content of ammonia‐nitrogen and total nitrogen in the printing wastewater using USGB were greatly reduced, which is of huge significance for lowering ammonia‐nitrogen emissions in the printing industry.
IL‐36α and IL‐36γ expressions in the differential diagnosis of palmoplantar psoriasis and palmoplantar eczema: A retrospective histopathologic and immunohistochemical study
Authors: Erdem Ozan , Leblebici Cem , Koku Aksu Ayşe Esra , Erdil Duygu , Kara Polat Asude , Gürel Mehmet Salih
Published: July 2021

Background

Diagnosing hyperkeratotic lesions on the palms and soles is often challenging for both clinicians and pathologists. Interleukin (IL)‐36 cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis.

Methods

We retrospectively re‐evaluated hematoxylin‐eosin‐stained biopsy specimens of 30 patients with clinically diagnosed palmoplantar psoriasis (PP) and 30 patients with palmoplantar eczema (PE), and then performed IL‐36α and IL‐36γ immunohistochemistry.

Results

Among the histopathologic features, thinning of the rete ridges and vertical alternation of parakeratosis and orthokeratosis had the highest positive predictive value (PPV) in diagnosing PP (72.7% and 69.3%, respectively). Immunohistochemically, patients with PP predominantly showed diffuse or focal strong expression with IL‐36α and IL‐36γ staining in the upper layers of the epidermis (86.7% and 83.3%, respectively). The comparison of the mean IL‐36α and IL‐36γ expression scores significantly differed between PP and PE (P < .001). Among all histopathologic and immunohistochemical features, diffuse strong expression of IL‐36α and IL‐36γ staining had the highest PPVs in favor of a diagnosis of PP (75% and 76.7%, respectively).

Conclusions

Our data suggest that IL‐36α and IL‐36γ immunohistochemistry can be used in the differential diagnosis of PP and PE.
Does Fintech Narrow the Gender Wage Gap? Evidence from China
Authors: Guo Qing , Chen Siyu , Zeng Xiangquan
Published: July 2021

Information and communication technology promotes the rapid development of fintech, which has a far‐reaching impact on wage distribution in China. Using data from the Chinese General Social Survey and the Index of Digital Financial Inclusion, this study examines the impact of fintech on the gender wage gap. We find that fintech (i) narrows the gender wage gap; (ii) reduces capital constraints and operating costs, thereby promoting female entrepreneurship, driving more women into employment, and enabling women to increase their wages and bargaining power within the household; and (iii) positively impacts the wages of women (and men) who have lower family economic status, and helps women (but not men) counter the risk of decline in wages caused by childbearing and caring under the two‐child policy. These findings have important policy implications and provide evidence of women's improving economic conditions leading to a reduced gender wage gap.
Comparison of conventional and liquid‐based cytology using The Paris System for Reporting Urinary Cytology
Authors: Goutas Dimitris , Savvidou Kyriaki , Vrettou Klio , Meletis Emmanouel , Levis Panagiotis , Constantinides Constantine , Lazaris Andreas C. , Mikou Panagiota
Published: July 2021

Background

This retrospective study was conducted to compare the conventional cytospin method and ThinPrep liquid‐based urinary cytology in diagnosing bladder cancer using The Paris System (TPS) of classification.

Methods

We retrieved files for 2020, at the Cytopathology Department of Laiko Hospital, of urinary cases diagnosed according to TPS. Cytospin and ThinPrep slides were separately reviewed and new diagnoses were rendered, then compared with the original diagnosis and histology when available. Risk of high‐grade malignancy (ROHM) for each TPS category was assessed, along with accuracy parameters of each method and their combination.

Results

The study material comprised 100 cases of void urinary cytology classified as 20 high‐grade urothelial carcinoma (HGUC = TPS5) cases, 20 of suspicion for HGUC (SHGUC = TPS4), 25 of atypical urothelial cells (AUC = TPS3), and 35 of negative for HGUC (NHGUC = TPS2). A single inadequate (TPS1) case and 4 of low‐grade urothelial neoplasm (TPS6) were excluded as small in number. The ROHM was 95% for HGUC, 55% for SHGUC, 28% for AUC and 5.7% for NHGUC. Agreement with the original diagnosis was 86% for cytospin and 82% for ThinPrep. No significant differences were observed among the two techniques or their combination regarding sensitivity and specificity, with a mild advantage for cytospin. Interobserver reproducibility and repeatability were high.

Conclusion

No significant differences were found concerning sensitivity and specificity between cytospin and ThinPrep when applying TPS criteria. TPS is a reliable classification scheme for either conventional/cytospin or liquid‐based cytology, or their combination.