bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Curriculum as and for Praxis
Authors: Regelski Thomas A.
Published: November 2021

In this chapter, the cumulative effect of the previous five chapters supports a model of a praxis-oriented curriculum. The basic emphasis is designing curriculum that facilitates and promotes musicing by students and skills that can be used outside of school and after graduation. Warning: Reliance on (i.e., thoughtlessly imitating) this model is not recommended. The model cannot be understood without consulting at least Chapters Three through Five. The three dimensions of a praxical curriculum are identified as (a) the action or praxis dimension, (b) the musicianship or competency dimension, and (c) the dimension that addresses attitudes, values, and personal rewards. A model of such a curriculum for middle school chorus is presented, as edited by the author and several in-service chorus teachers. It can easily be a model for the various curricular needs of band, orchestra, and general music classes. It concludes with suggestions for means of evaluating a praxical curriculum. Such a curriculum is situated: it obtains only in regard to specific conditions in a particular school—though multiple teachers in a school district can and should be guided by a shared curriculum they developed together.
The Arrival of the Death of God
Authors: Ledewitz Bruce
Published: November 2021

While there are many sincere religious believers, this culture no longer believes in God. That is why the Covid-19 pandemic did not raise serious issues of theodicy publicly. Friedrich Nietzsche’s Madman announcing the Death of God in 1882 concluded that he had come too early. His time is now. The Death of God unfolded through the disenchantment described by Max Weber and arrived with full force with the New Atheists in the early part of this century. Sam Harris announced the end of faith, which turned out to mean, in its denial of binding authority and objective justification, the death of truth. Now we each judge everything ourselves. The New Atheists also undermined human solidarity in politics. The breakdown in public life is the final flowering of the Death of God.
Faithless American Public Life
Authors: Ledewitz Bruce
Published: November 2021

The crisis in American public life is our own doing. The underlying power of truth is unaffected. The manifestations of the crisis are that Americans now lack faith in everything. We feel the universe does not care about our purposes, so we lose confidence in purpose itself. We cannot justify being good without God. We do not trust expertise. We lack faith in the future. We lack faith in the disciplines. In law, Arthur Leff’s writing shows the depth of our lack of faith. Even religion and science are undermined. Our lack of faith is both internal—participants in these endeavors have lost faith in them—and external—the public has lost faith in these endeavors.
On Justifying the Study of Religion
Authors: Miller Richard B.
Published: November 2021

This chapter takes up the question whether the study of religion can be justified and indicates why scholars of religion deny themselves reasons for tackling that question. It uses as its point of departure Max Weber’s lecture, “Science as a Vocation” as articulating a methodological standard for studying religion, one that privileges value-neutrality and avows an “ascetic ideal” (following Nietzsche). It is argued that this ideal poses obstacles to making justificatory claims on behalf of studying religion and fortifies a repressive scholarly conscience in the field’s regime of truth. The chapter adds that this conscience is not entirely repressive and notes the presence of quixotic, haphazard appeals to normative ideals that materialize in the study of religion. Lastly, it sketches the book’s alternative to the ascetic ideal and describes ideas from moral philosophy that inform the book’s critical and constructive argument.
Embodied Practice and Materialist Phenomenology
Authors: Miller Richard B.
Published: November 2021

This chapter critically examines the Materialist-Phenomenological Method for studying religion and the work of the sociologist of religion Manuel A. Vásquez. This method focuses on the study of embodied religious practices, visual cultures, vernacular idioms, and particular locales as these are studied according to historical and often ethnographic methods of analysis. The chapter interrogates Vásquez’s work More than Belief: A Materialist Theory of Religion, which proffers a “somatocentric” theory that aims to escape the legacy of Cartesian dualism. The chapter raises questions about Vásquez’s philosophical anthropology and shows how he repeats and reinforces the firewall separating the study of religion from reasons for studying it. In More than Belief, the chapter shows, one encounters the fact-value dualism that underwrites the ascetic ideal in religious studies, one so thoroughgoing that it prevents Vásquez from grasping the need to provide philosophical reasons to justify his theory.
Introduction
Authors: Ackerman Edwin F.
Published: November 2021

The reader is introduced to the main themes of the book, outlining the ways the Mexican and Bolivian cases have been studied by previous scholars. The chapter argues that, paradoxically, the PRI success and the MNR’s failure have both been separately attributed to the same factor: the attempt to articulate variegated and fragmented social sectors. A comparative study of the cases can answer why the attempt was successful in one case but not the other. The reader is also introduced to the organization of the book as whole, which is divided in three parts: the first concerning theoretical discussions around party formation, the second which delves into the empirical cases in detail, and a third that draws out the broader implications of the study.
2007–2012 Food Price Spikes and Crisis—A Decade and a Half Later
Authors: Lele Uma , Agarwal Manmohan , Goswami Sambuddha
Published: November 2021

The food price crisis, which intermittently lasted from 2006 to about 2012–13, raised a number of issues about the roles of markets and states in ensuring food security at home and globally. This issue has arisen once again in 2020, as a result of COVID-19, undoing years of progress, but it is being resolved differently than the earlier crisis. There are fewer trade restrictions. Among the issues that the food price crisis raised was the domino effect of the US biofuel policies on maize, wheat, and rice prices in 2007–8, leading to a “perfect storm,” and policy responses of large exporters, leading to key debates about global interdependence, national vs. global objectives, and policy measures adopted by some countries—some of these debates have remained unresolved. Implications for the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-COVID-19 world are drawn in the chapter, regarding trade vs. stabilization, information systems, safety nets, and investment strategies.
Abundance-based approaches
Authors: Knape Jonas , Lindén Andreas
Published: November 2021

Across a wide range of different organisms, abundance data form one of the backbones for understanding the dynamics of populations. This type of data consists of measures of population size over time or space in the form of numbers of individuals, biomass, areal cover, or other measures. Abundance data contain no direct information about demographic processes but are available at larger scales or higher resolution in space and time than direct demographic data. This chapter introduces some of the basic statistical modeling strategies that can be used to learn about populations from abundance data in the absence of information about demographic details. These strategies include standard but flexible regression techniques, including mixed and additive models, time-series methods such as auto-regressive and state-space models, as well as simple population growth models derived from ecological theory.
Survival analyses
Authors: Cubaynes Sarah , Galas Simon , Richaud Myriam , Aguilar Ana Sanz , Pradel Roger , Tavecchia Giacomo , Colchero Fernando , Roques Sebastien , Shefferson Richard , Camarda Carlo Giovanni
Published: November 2021

Survival analyses are a key tool for demographers, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists. This chapter presents the most common methods and illustrates their use for species across the Tree of Life. It discusses the challenges associated with various types of survival data, how to model species with a complex life cycle, and includes the impact of environmental factors and individual heterogeneity. It covers the analysis of ‘known-fate’ data collected in lab conditions, using the Kaplan–Meier estimator and Cox’s proportional hazard regression analysis. Alternatively, survival data collected on free-ranging populations usually involve individuals missing at certain monitoring occasions and unknown time at death. The chapter provides an overview of capture–mark–recapture (CMR) models, from single-state to multi-state and multi-event models, and their use in animal and plant demography to estimate demographic parameters while correcting for imperfect detection of individuals. It discusses various inference frameworks available to implement CMR models using a frequentist or Bayesian approach. Only humans are an exception among free-ranging populations, with the existence of several consequent databases with perfect knowledge of age and cause of death for all individuals. The chapter presents an overview of the most common models used to describe mortality patterns over age and time using human mortality data. Throughout, focus is placed on eight case studies, which involve lab organisms, free-ranging animal populations, plant populations, and human populations. Each example includes data and codes, together with step-by-step guidance to run the survival analysis.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Evidence Law and Factfinding
Authors: Fisher Talia
Published: November 2021

Utility considerations have been central to legal factfinding, at least since the days of Jeremy Bentham, the founding father of utilitarianism and a prominent evidence law theorist. A direct line can be drawn from Bentham’s “principle of utility” to cost-benefit analysis (CBA) so it would seem only natural that the realms of evidence law and judicial factfinding would harbor this type of reasoning. However, when legal scholarship began to incorporate economic reasoning and to address issues from a CBA perspective, evidence law and the practice of judicial factfinding remained very much out of the picture. The object of this chapter is to highlight the prospects for integrating CBA into contemporary evidentiary policy and institutions, and to draw the general contours of the evolving scholarship in these fields of research. It describes and analyzes two economically driven models of evidence and proof: the cost-minimization model, geared toward minimization of the cost of errors and the cost of accuracy as a total sum, and the primary behavior model aiming to incentivize socially optimal behavior and interactions. This analysis identifies the models’ difficulties, engendered, for the most part, by the misalignment between the private and the social costs and benefits of adjudication, and addresses the models’ relationship to the existing evidentiary rules and institutions.
Organizational dynamics in community ensembles
Authors: Camlin David A.
Published: November 2021

Looking into organizational dynamics in community ensembles, this chapter addresses the questions of: (1) how musical, social, and paramusical factors shape participation in community music ensembles; (2) how participants progress from peripheral or non-participation to full participation in such ensembles; and (3) what factors both facilitate and impede such participation, and how these tensions might be addressed. The meaning of participation in community music ensembles is something which is constantly negotiated and renegotiated between those involved. The chapter introduces a number of theoretical perspectives as “lenses” through which to view the resulting discussion. These include a consideration of the inherent tensions involved in performing both “works” and “relationships” as a holistic practice, as well as the value of a “situated” understanding of sociocultural practice, and how this can lead to the formation of “rational communities” of practice which both include and exclude participants in the formation of group identity.
The impact of group identity on the social dynamics and sustainability of chamber music ensembles
Authors: Blackburn Alana
Published: November 2021

Group identity is viewed as a way to distinguish one group from another. In a competitive, ever-changing environment, group identity is considered increasingly important for a musical ensemble in terms of developing a niche, gaining audience attention, and creating a successful performing team. Thirty professional chamber musicians from “unconventional” or “non-traditional” ensembles were individually interviewed about their personal experiences working within this environment. Results show that group identity emerges in two main ways: members sharing similar characteristics, goals, and objectives, often based on repertoire choice and programming; and the sound or musical aesthetic developed through an interpretation of repertoire, instrumental combination, and the collective skills and knowledge of the musicians. This case study highlights the need for a constant vision and aesthetic concept throughout the lifetime of the ensemble in order for it to be sustainable, yet having to evolve and adapt to changing environmental factors and external influences.
Embodiment, process, and product in ensemble expression
Authors: Timmers Renee
Published: November 2021

To what extent do musicians need to have a common idea about the music in order to give a coherent, joint performance? An expressive performance is traditionally seen as generated from a cognitive representation of music, which predicts that a shared musical idea should be central. An embodied and enactive perspective on performance, in contrast, emphasizes the emergent and externalized character of performance, as “togetherness” is achieved in the sounds, movements, and material performed. Reconsidering cognitive processes from an embodied perspective challenges us to find new ways to measure and conceptualize ensemble performance. This includes how we measure musical coordination as something that is achieved not between pairs of individuals, but in relation to the joint sonic output. It also includes how we conceive of expression and aesthetics in performance contexts, as an emergent product that is the outcome of embodied processes and ways of interacting.
Musical interaction, social communication, and wellbeing
Authors: Rabinowitch Tal-Chen , Gill Satinder
Published: November 2021

Music plays a prominent role in human interaction, and is thought to have broad impact on social, emotional, and intellectual competencies, and on personal wellbeing. In order to better understand how, why, and under what conditions music affects wellbeing, this chapter summarizes recent work that demonstrates specific aspects of wellbeing that are positively affected by joint engagement in music. In particular, the chapter focuses on the role of synchrony experience in enhancing social-emotional attitudes and behaviors. The chapter introduces a working model that aims to explain the processes by which synchrony during joint music-making may help to develop and refine social-emotional competencies, suggesting the potential for enhanced wellbeing. The case is made for a future multi-disciplinary approach to researching direct links between synchrony experience and wellbeing, as well as to understanding the most effective ways to use musical interaction to enhance wellbeing.
Encountering the singing body
Authors: Galbreath Daniel , Thatcher Gavin
Published: November 2021

Workshops to explore the embodied experiences of creative, relational voicing took place for classically trained singers, and their reflections are discussed and interpreted. Such reflections offer critical insight into a previously developed practice, through which we seek to facilitate performers’ encounters of their own and others’ voices and bodies as unified. This approach is founded on our previously published argument that classical voice training and practice have historically used the voicing body as a tool obedient to a “higher-order” mind. In these workshops, the aim is not only to redress this mind–body–voice segregation, but also to interrogate participants’ impressions and experiences of this effort using a series of questionnaires. Findings suggest that such a reflective experience offers potential benefits to singers’ wellbeing by encouraging them to perceive their own and others’ sounding bodies as something to be understood and explored creatively rather than disciplined and subdued.
Imperial Monumentalism, Ceremony, and Forms of Pageantry
Authors: Hilsdale Cecily J.
Published: November 2021

Taking the figure of the obelisk as its organizing principle, this chapter considers the dynamic, performative, and commemorative dimensions of empire. Over time and across cultures, obelisks have come to anchor imperial ceremonial across such broad terrain as ancient Egypt, Augustan Rome, Byzantine Constantinople (New Rome), and Ottoman Kostantiniyye. In surveying these diverse contexts marked by great monoliths, this chapter traces the relationship between imperial ritual as performed in time and over time and the persistent monumental articulations that structured and memorialized those ephemeral performances. By presenting a focused analysis of the dynamic relationship between concrete and ephemeral performances of imperial ceremonial over a nearly global scale, this chapter insists on the importance of a diachronic view of the long interactions of empires from the New Kingdom Egypt to the Ottoman Empire and beyond.
Improving Communication by Standardizing Pediatric Rapid Response Team Documentation
Authors: Lamsal Riwaaj , Johnson Jenna K. , Mulla Mehdijaffer , Marmet Jordan , Somani Arif
Published: November 2021

Background:

Rapid response teams (RRTs) have been used by multiple hospital systems to enhance patient care and safety. However, processes to document rapid response events (RRE) are often varied among providers and teams, which can lead to suboptimal communication of recommendations to both the primary medical team and family.

Methods:

A preintervention chart review was conducted from January–March 2018 and revealed suboptimal baseline documentation following RREs. A literature review and survey of RRT team members led to the creation of a standardized document with an Epic SmartPhrase which included six key elements of RRE documentation: physical examination, intervention performed, response to intervention, plan of care, communication with care team, and communication with family. A postintervention chart review was completed from April-June 2019 to assess improvements in documentation with the use of this SmartPhrase.

Results:

There were 23 RRE activations in the postintervention period, of which 60.8% were due to respiratory distress. The documentation of the six key elements improved (p < .05) after SmartPhrase creation and serial educational interventions.

Conclusions:

Standardized RRE documentation of six key elements significantly improved with the implementation of an Epic SmartPhrase. Improved quality of documentation enhances communication between team members and can contribute to safer patient care.
HIV continuum of care: bridging cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses
Authors: Touloumi Giota , Thomadakis Christos , Pantazis Nikos , Papastamopoulos Vasileios , Paparizos Vasilios , Metallidis Simeon , Adamis Georgios , Chini Maria , Psichogiou Mina , Chrysos Georgios , Sambatakou Helen , Barbunakis Emmanouil , Vourli Georgia , Antoniadou Anastasia
Published: November 2021

Objective:

The aim of this study was to propose a unified continuum-of-care (CoC) analysis combining cross-sectional and longitudinal elements, incorporating time spent between stages.

Design:

The established 90-90-90 target follows a cross-sectional four-stage CoC analysis, lacking information on timing of diagnosis, antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation, and viral suppression durability.

Methods:

Data were derived from the Athens Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (AMACS). In the cross-sectional CoC, we added stratification of diagnosed people with HIV (PWH) by estimated time from infection to diagnosis; of those who ever initiated ART or achieved viral suppression by corresponding current status (in 2018); and cumulative incidence function (CIF) of ART initiation and viral suppression, treating loss-to-follow-up (LTFU) as competing event. Viral suppression was defined as viral load less than 500 copies/ml. Viral suppression durability was assessed by the CIF of viral load rebound.

Findings:

About 89.1% of PWH in 2018 were diagnosed (range of diagnoses: 1980–2018). Median time to diagnosis was 3.5 years (IQR: 1.1–7.0). Among diagnosed, 89.1% were ever treated, of whom 86.7% remained on ART. CIF of ART initiation and LTFU before ART initiation were 80.9 and 6.0% at 5 years since diagnosis, respectively. Among treated, 89.4% achieved viral suppression, of whom 87.4% were currently virally suppressed. The CIF of viral load rebound was 24.2% at 5 years since first viral suppression but substantially reduced in more recent years.

Interpretation:

The proposed analysis highlights time gaps in CoC not evident by the standard cross-sectional approach. Our analysis highlights the need for early diagnosis and identifies late presenters as a key population for interventions that could decrease gaps in the CoC.
Minimally Invasive or Open Esophagectomy for Treatment of Resectable Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma? Answer From a Real-world Multicenter Study
Authors: Liu Fangfang , Yang Wenlei , Yang Wei , Xu Ruiping , Chen Lei , He Yu , Liu Zhen , Zhou Fuyou , Hou Bolin , Zhang Liqun , Zhang Lixin , Zhang Fan , Cai Fen , Xu Huawen , Lin Miaoping , Liu Mengfei , Pan Yaqi , Liu Ying , Hu Zhe , Chen Huanyu , He Zhonghu , Ke Yang
Published: November 2021

Objective:

To evaluate the long-term and short-term outcomes of MIE compared with OE in localized ESCC patients in real-world settings.

Background:

MIE is an alternative to OE, despite the limited evidence regarding its effect on long-term survival.

Methods:

We recruited 5822 consecutive patients with resectable ESCC in 2 typical high-volume centers in southern and northern China, 1453 of whom underwent MIE. Propensity score-based overlap weighted regression adjusted for multifaceted confounding factors was used to compare outcomes in the MIE and OE groups.

Results:

Five-year OS was 62.7% in the MIE group and 57.7% in the OE group. The overlap weighted Cox regression showed slightly better OS in the MIE group (hazard ratio 0.93, 95% confidence interval: 0.82–1.06). Although duration of surgery was longer and treatment cost higher in the MIE group than in the OE group, the number of lymph nodes harvested was larger, the proportion of intraoperative blood transfusions lower, and postoperative complications less in the MIE group. 30-day (risk ratio [RR] 0.77, 0.381.55) and 90-day (RR 0.79, 0.46–1.35) mortality were lower in the MIE group versus the OE group, although not statistically significant. These findings were consistent across different analytic approaches and subgroups, notably in the subset of ESCC patients with large tumors.

Conclusions:

MIE can be performed safely with OS comparable to OE for patients with localized ESCC, indicating MIE may be recommended as the primary surgical approach for resectable ESCC in health facilities with requisite technical capacity.
Micromonospora tarapacensis sp. nov., a bacterium isolated from a hypersaline lake
Authors: Villalobos Alvaro S. , Wiese Jutta , Borchert Erik , Rahn Tanja , Slaby Beate M. , Steiner Leon X. , Künzel Sven , Dorador Cristina , Imhoff Johannes F.
Published: November 2021

Strain Llam7Twas isolated from microbial mat samples from the hypersaline lake Salar de Llamará, located in Taracapá region in the hyper-arid core of the Atacama Desert (Chile). Phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genomic traits were studied. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences assigned the strain to the familyMicromonosporaceaewith affiliation to the generaMicromonosporaandSalinispora. Major fatty acids were C17 : 1ω8c, iso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0and anteiso-C17 : 0. The cell walls containedmeso-diaminopimelic acid andll-2,6 diaminopimelic acid (ll-DAP), while major whole-cell sugars were glucose, mannose, xylose and ribose. The major menaquinones were MK-9(H4) and MK-9(H6). As polar lipids phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol and several unidentified lipids, i.e. two glycolipids, one aminolipid, three phospholipids, one aminoglycolipid and one phosphoglycolipid, were detected. Genome sequencing revealed a genome size of 6.894 Mb and a DNA G+C content of 71.4 mol%. Phylogenetic analyses with complete genome sequences positioned strain Llam7Twithin the familyMicromonosporaceaeforming a distinct cluster withMicromonospora(formerXiangella)phaseoliDSM 45730T. This cluster is related toMicromonospora pelagivivensKJ-029T,Micromonospora craterilacusNA12T, andMicromonospora craniellaeLHW63014Tas well as to all members of the former generaVerrucosisporaandJishengella, which were re-classified as members of the genusMicromonospora, forming a clade distinct from the genusSalinispora. Pairwise whole genome average nucleotide identity (ANI) values, digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) values, the presence of the diamino acidll-DAP, and the composition of whole sugars and polar lipids indicate that Llam7Trepresents a novel species, for which the nameMicromonospora tarapacensissp. nov. is proposed, with Llam7T(=DSM 109510T,=LMG 31023T) as the type strain.
Genomic analysis based on chromosome-level genome assembly reveals an expansion of terpene biosynthesis of Azadirachta indica
Authors: Du Yuhui , Song Wei , Yin Zhiqiu , Wu Shengbo , Liu Jiaheng , Wang Ning , Jin Hua , Qiao Jianjun , Huo Yi-Xin
Published: November 2021

Azadirachta indica (neem), an evergreen tree of the Meliaceae family, is a source of the potent biopesticide azadirachtin. The lack of a chromosome-level assembly impedes the understanding of in-depth genomic architecture and the comparative genomic analysis of A. indica. Here, a high-quality genome assembly of A. indica was constructed using a combination of data from Illumina, PacBio, and Hi-C technology, which is the first chromosome-scale genome assembly of A. indica. The genome size of A. indica is 281 Mb anchored to 14 chromosomes (contig N50=6 Mb and scaffold N50=19 Mb). The genome assembly contained 115 Mb repetitive elements and 25,767 protein-coding genes. Evolutional analysis revealed that A. indica didn’t experience any whole-genome duplication (WGD) event after the core eudicot γ event, but some genes and genome segment might undergo recent duplications. The secondary metabolite clusters, TPS genes, and CYP genes were also identified. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that most of the A. indica-specific TPS genes and CYP genes were located on the terpene-related clusters on chromosome 13. It is suggested that chromosome 13 may play an important role in the specific terpene biosynthesis of A. indica. And the gene duplication events may be responsible for the terpene biosynthesis expansion in A. indica. This will shed light on terpene biosynthesis in A. indica and facilitate comparative genomic research of the family Meliaceae.
Uncovering the architecture of selection in two Bos taurus cattle breeds
Authors: Rowan Troy N. , Schnabel Robert D. , Decker Jared E.
Published: November 2021

Selection alters the genome via hard sweeps, soft sweeps, and polygenic selection. However, mapping polygenic selection is difficult because it does not leave clear signatures on the genome like a selective sweep. In populations with temporally-stratified genotypes, the Generation Proxy Selection Mapping (GPSM) method identifies variants associated with generation number (or appropriate proxy) and thus variants undergoing directional allele frequency changes. Here, we use GPSM on two large datasets of beef cattle to detect associations between an animal’s generation and 11 million imputed SNPs. Using these datasets with high power and dense mapping resolution, GPSM detected a total of 294 unique loci actively under selection in two cattle breeds. We observed that GPSM has a high power to detect selection in the very recent past (< 10 years), even when allele frequency changes are small. Variants identified by GPSM reside in genomic regions associated with known breed characteristics, such as fertility and maternal ability in Red Angus and carcass merit and coat color in Simmental. Over 60% of the selected loci reside in or near (<50 kb) annotated genes. Additionally, 36% of selected loci overlap known epigenetic marks or putative functional genomic regions. Using RAiSD and nSL, we identify hundreds of putative selective sweeps; however, these sweeps have little overlap with polygenic selected loci. This makes GPSM a complementary approach to sweep detection methods when temporal genotype data are available. The selected loci that we identify across methods demonstrate the complex architecture of selection in domesticated cattle.
Ca2+activity is required for injury-induced migration of microglia in zebrafishin vivo
Authors: Du Tian , Zhou Xi , Zhang Robert Duyang , Du Xu-Fei
Published: November 2021

Objectives

Microglia are the resident immune cells in the brain. Brain injury can activate the microglia and induce its directional migration towards injury sites for exerting immune functions. While extracellular ATP released from the injury site mediates the directionality of activated microglia’s migration, what endows activated microglia with migration capability remains largely unexplored.

Methods

In the present study, we used the larval zebrafish as anin vivomodel to visualize the dynamics of both morphology and Ca2+activity of microglia during its migration evoked by local brain injury.

Results

We found that, in response to local injury, activated microglia exhibited an immediate Ca2+transient and later elevated Ca2+bursts frequency during its migration towards the local injury site (P< 0.01). Furthermore, suppression of Ca2+activities significantly retarded microglial migration (P< 0.05).

Conclusion

Thus, our study suggests that intracellular Ca2+activity is required for activated microglia’s migration.
Pseudomonassynergizes with fluconazole againstCandidaduring treatment of polymicrobial infection
Authors: Hattab Siham , Dagher Anna-Maria , Wheeler Robert T.
Published: November 2021

Polymicrobial infections are challenging to treat because we don’t fully understand how pathogens interact during infection and how these interactions affect drug efficacy.Candida albicansandPseudomonas aeruginosaare opportunistic pathogens that can be found in similar sites of infection such as in burn wounds and most importantly in the lungs of CF and mechanically ventilated patients.C. albicansis particularly difficult to treat because of the paucity of antifungal agents, some of which lack fungicidal activity. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of anti-fungal treatment duringC. albicans-P. aeruginosaco-culturein vitroand co-infection in the mucosal zebrafish infection model analogous to the lung. We find thatP. aeruginosaenhances the activity of fluconazole (FLC), an anti-fungal drug that is fungistaticin vitro, to promote both clearance ofC. albicansduring co-infectionin vivoand fungal killingin vitro. This synergy between FLC treatment andbacterial antagonism is partly due to iron piracy, as it is reduced upon iron supplementation and knockout of bacterial siderophores. Our work demonstrates that FLC has enhanced activity in clinically relevant contexts and highlights the need to understand antimicrobial effectiveness in the complex environment of the host with its associated microbial communities.
Environment of origin and domestication affect morphological, physiological, and agronomic response to water deficit in chile pepper (Capsicum sp.)
Authors: McCoy J.E. , McHale L. , Kantar M. , Jardón-Barbolla L. , Mercer K.L.
Published: November 2021

Global climate change is having a significant effect on agriculture by causing greater precipitation variability and an increased risk of drought. To mitigate these effects, it is important to identify specific traits, adaptations, and germplasm that improve tolerance to soil water deficit. Local varieties, known as landraces, have undergone generations of farmer-mediated selection and can serve as sources of variation, specifically for tolerance to abiotic stress. Landraces can possess local adaptations, where accessions adapted to a particular environment will outperform others grown under the same conditions. We explore adaptations to water deficit in chile pepper landraces from across an environmental gradient in Mexico, a center of crop domestication and diversity, as well in improved varieties bred for the US. In the present study, we evaluated 25 US and Mexico accessions in a greenhouse experiment under well-watered and water deficit conditions and measured morphological, physiological, and agronomic traits. Accession and irrigation regime influenced biomass and height, while branching, CO2 assimilation, and fruit weight were all influenced by an interaction between accession and irrigation. A priori group contrasts revealed possible adaptations to water deficit for primary branching, CO2 assimilation, and plant height associated with geographic origin, domestication level, and pepper species. Additionally, within the Mexican landraces, the number of primary branches had a strong relationship with precipitation from the environment of origin. This work provides insight into chile pepper response to water deficit and adaptation to drought and identifies possibly tolerant germplasm.
An evaluation of the psychosocial group programme at an inpatient detoxification and stabilisation unit: a service improvement project
Authors: Rettie Hannah , Georgewill Joya , Stacey Sarah , Griffith Emma
Published: November 2021

Purpose

The benefits of including a psychosocial group programme alongside a medical inpatient detoxification and stabilisation regime has been recognised within addiction research; however, a “gold standard” psychosocial intervention has not been established. This small-scale study aimed to evaluate the psychosocial group (“Straight Ahead”) currently running at a substance use inpatient unit based in the UK.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-methods questionnaire design aimed to capture service user perspectives of the group programme via a questionnaire and assess whether an individual’s recovery capital and emotion regulation scores improved during their stay.

Findings

Thirty-four service users participated in the evaluation. Results indicate the group significantly increased individuals’ recovery capital scores; however, it did not significantly improve emotion regulation. The three themes from the qualitative results focused on the importance of shared experiences, learning of new skills and the group as a positive experience. Service users provided suggestions for improvements, and these informed the provision of service-specific recommendations for the team and project commissioner.

Originality/value

The evaluation provides tentative support for the use of the Straight Ahead programme and provides an insight into what service users find helpful when attending a psychosocial group during an inpatient detoxification admission.
Organizational unlearning, knowledge generation strategies and radical innovation performance: evidence from a transitional economy
Authors: Zhang Feng , Lyu Chongchong , Zhu Lei
Published: November 2021

Purpose

Empirical results remain unclear as to whether organizational unlearning can improve radical innovation performance. The purpose of this study is to investigate how, and under which conditions, organizational unlearning influences firms’ radical innovation performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the knowledge-based view, this study develops a theoretical model that hypothesizes a positive relationship between organizational unlearning and radical innovation performance, which is mediated by knowledge generation strategies. It also proposes that the impact of unlearning on knowledge generation strategies will be moderated by dysfunctional competition. Using survey data from 191 Chinese manufacturing firms, the hierarchical regressions were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The empirical results show that organizational unlearning not only impacts radical innovation performance directly, but also indirectly affects radical innovation performance through two distinct types of knowledge generation strategies: (internal) knowledge creation and (external) information searching. Moreover, dysfunctional competition plays a dual role, strengthening the positive relationship between organizational unlearning and information search and weakening the positive relationship between organizational unlearning and knowledge creation.

Research limitations/implications

The present research broadens the understanding of how to promote radical innovation performance, which has great potential to improve the performance of firms on the market. Specifically, it deepens the knowledge of how organizational unlearning facilitates radical innovation performance by focusing on two distinct types of knowledge generation strategies as the crucial links, and enriches existing literature on the effectiveness of organizational unlearning in a dysfunctional competitive environment.

Practical implications

Practicing organizational unlearning for firms’ long-term success requires firms to develop and implement appropriate knowledge generation strategies in accordance with the characteristics of market competition in their operating environment.

Originality/value

This study offers new insights into how and under what conditions organizational unlearning affects radical innovation performance, enhancing the understanding of how organizational unlearning can be implemented to drive firm radical innovation.
An investigation of sponsor attributes on six megaproject cases
Authors: Louw Willem , Steyn Herman , Wium Jan , Gevers Wim
Published: November 2021

Purpose

Executive sponsors play a significant role in the success of megaprojects which, in turn, affect national economies and millions of people. However, the literature on the requisite attributes of project sponsors on megaprojects is still sparse. The purpose of the paper is to provide guidelines to company boards and executives who are tasked to appoint suitable executive sponsors to megaprojects. Thus, the paper contributes to the sparse literature on megaproject sponsors.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 26 senior managers, with experience in megaprojects ranging from 8 to 15 years – and who were involved in 6 recent megaprojects with a combined value of US$13.75bn – were interviewed on the attributes of megaproject sponsors. Transcriptions of semi-structured, open-ended interviews were analysed with computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS).

Findings

The study identified the most essential attribute as appropriate seniority, being empowered and accountable, with appropriate seniority, being empowered and accountable, with apposite credibility and with both personal and positional power. The study also uncovered 13 attributes – all components of “competence” – which have not previously been explicitly identified in literature as elements of sponsor “competence”.

Originality/value

In the current study guidelines are provided for the selection and appointment of appropriate megaproject sponsors.
Linking supply chain professional's competencies to resilience in a turbulent world
Authors: Asghar Muhammad Idrees , Aslam Haris , Saeed Amer
Published: November 2021

Purpose

This research aims to understand how competencies for supply chain professionals are developed and how they can affect the manager's performance, especially the manager's resilience in times of significant supply chain disruptions.

Design/methodology/approach

A research model was developed based on a comprehensive literature survey in the area of individual competencies grounded in the knowledge-based view of the firm. We tested our research model using a quantitative, survey-based study with a sample of 175 Pakistani supply chain managers. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM).

Findings

The analysis identified corporate training and knowledge sharing as the main antecedents of supply chain professional's competencies. It also showed that these competencies result in higher performance in the form manager's resilience and job performance.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides a valuable framework for organisations to focus on skill-developing training and promoting a knowledge-sharing culture among employees to achieve desired performance levels.

Originality/value

This study is unique as no prior research studied such a comprehensive model of antecedents and consequences of supply chain professionals' competencies.
Preventing organizational knowledge leakage: the influence of knowledge seekers’ awareness, motivation and capability
Authors: Bloodgood James M. , Chen Andrew N.K.
Published: November 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how a knowledge-seeking organization’s awareness of valuable knowledge, and the motivation and capability to acquire the knowledge, influence attempts to acquire the knowledge. This study also aims to identify how knowledge-possessing organizations recognize the possibility of and craft strategies to prevent this knowledge leakage.

Design/methodology/approach

A process model is created and an empirical examination is performed to help knowledge-possessing organizations understand and identify situations where potential knowledge-seeking organizations will attempt to acquire valuable knowledge.

Findings

Knowledge-seeking organizations must be aware of valuable knowledge, and have the motivation and capability to acquire it in order to attempt to acquire the knowledge. Accordingly, knowledge-possessing organizations can inhibit awareness, motivation and capability of potential knowledge-seeking organizations to stave off and degrade knowledge acquisition attempts.

Research limitations/implications

Employment of the awareness, motivation and capability framework provides a comprehensive approach for researchers to hypothesize and empirically examine the factors most relevant to knowledge leakage. This approach expands the literature on absorptive capacity by increasing emphasis on awareness and motivation with regard to knowledge acquisition.

Practical implications

Employment of the awareness, motivation and capability framework provides managers with the means to comprehensively assess the likelihood that other organizations will attempt to acquire their knowledge. It also helps managers determine efficient and effective ways to inhibit knowledge leakage.

Originality/value

The authors pioneer the application of the awareness, motivation and capability framework to knowledge leakage. The authors subsequently propose a process model and empirically examine the relationships pertaining to knowledge leakage and its prevention.
What makes volunteer mentors tick? A case study in a preparatory online training course
Authors: Cicchinelli Analia , Pammer-Schindler Viktoria
Published: November 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to understand what drives people – their motivations, autonomous learning attitudes and learning interests – to volunteer as mentors for a program that helps families to ideate technological solutions to community problems.

Design/methodology/approach

A three-phase method was used to build volunteer mentor profiles; elicit topics of interest and establish relationships between those. The mentor profiles were based on self-assessments of motivation, attitude toward lifelong learning and self-regulated learning strategies. The topics of interest were elicited through content analysis of answers to reflection questions. Statistical methods were applied to analyze the relationship between the interests and the mentor profiles.

Findings

Bottom-up clustering led to the identification of three mentor groups (G1 “low”; G2 “high” and G3 “medium”) based on pre-survey data. While content analysis led to identifying topics of interest: communication skills; learning AI; mentoring; prototype development; problem-solving skills; working with families. Analyzing relationships between mentor profile and the topics of interest, the group G3 “medium,” with strong intrinsic motivation, showed significantly more interest in working with families. The group with the overall highest scores (G2 “high”) evidenced also substantial interest in learning about AI, but with high variability between members of the group.

Originality/value

The study established different types of learning interests of volunteer mentors and related them to the mentor profiles based on motivation, self-regulated learning strategies and attitudes toward lifelong learning. Such knowledge can help organizations shape the volunteering experience to provide more value to volunteers. Furthermore, the reflection questions can be used by volunteers as an instrument for reflection and by organizations to elicit the learning interests of volunteers.
What drives working adults to be better prepared for their retirements?
Authors: Chua Soo Ming , Chin Phaik Nie
Published: November 2021

Purpose

This study aims to understand the drivers that help working adults to be better prepared for retirement, by examining the relationship between financial literacy (FL), financial attitude (FA), financial well-being (FWB), financial behavior (FB) and retirement preparation (RP). RP includes multidimensional measures, which are retirement confidence, retirement planning, long-term financial planning and private retirement schemes (PRS) participation.

Design/methodology/approach

This was a quantitative study adopting non-probability sampling with self-administered questionnaire distributed to all working adults. Descriptive analysis was used to examine the 294 useable data, and the multiple logistic regression analysis was adopted for hypothesis testing.

Findings

The empirical results show that FB is positively associated with RP and then followed by FWB on retirement confidence. Although insignificant influence is found on FL and FA, better FL and FA will still improve individuals' RP.

Research limitations/implications

The study provides insights to working adults that practicing positive FB and good FWB will improve RP. Besides, for financial institutions, income level is the main determinant for consumers to participate in PRS; for policy makers, to incorporate financial attributes knowledge as part of the school curriculum since early school years.

Originality/value

This study is one of the few studies in Malaysia that explored FL, FA, FB and FWB on retirement planning, respectively.