bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neo-rural small entrepreneurs’ motivations and challenges in Portugal’s low density regions
Authors: Dal Bello Ubyrajara Brasil , Marques Carla , Sacramento Octávio , Galvão Anderson
Published: June 2021

Purpose

This study sought to fill a gap in the literature by examining the dynamics of neo-rural small entrepreneurs’ business activities as little research has been done on these individuals. The research was conducted in three of Portugal’s low density territories (i.e. Miranda do Douro, Penamacor and Aljezur), focusing on understanding these outsider entrepreneurs’ main motivations and challenges after they decide to leave the city to settle in rural areas and become small business owners.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected in semi-structured interviews with 26 neo-rural entrepreneurs. The multiple-case study method was applied to assess the differences and similarities between the interviewees and their respective contexts. NVivo 11.0 software was used to conduct content analysis.

Findings

The results reveal that rural environments appear to attract these new entrepreneurs for various reasons, such as taking advantage of business opportunities, searching for a better quality of life and responding to family needs. The multiple motives contributing to the need for change and entrepreneurship fit well within social cognitive theory. However, these individuals subsequently experience difficulties related mainly to a lack of infrastructure, little preexisting knowledge, a need for financial capital and the absence of the right workforce.

Originality/value

The findings on the experiences, difficulties and challenges of neo-rural entrepreneurs constitute new contributions because few existing studies have concentrated on migration and/or immigration entrepreneurship in rural contexts. The results can serve as a starting point for other similar studies.
Authenticity, local creatives and place branding: a case study from the Blue Mountains, Australia
Authors: Sandbach Katrina
Published: June 2021

Purpose

This paper discusses the notion of authenticity and the role of local creatives in the place branding process based on a case study of Mtns Made, a brand for the creative industries in the Blue Mountains of Sydney, Australia. This paper aims to examine the development, implementation and management of a place brand from the ground-up and explore the implications for a situated place branding practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The concept of brand culture was used as a theoretical lens to view place branding. A qualitative case study approach was taken, incorporating the collection of primary and secondary documents, observation of online platforms and real-world events, field notes and personal reflection from an insider position.

Findings

The findings of this study suggest that local creatives can and have played a central role in place branding. The study also illustrates a model for place branding that centres on stakeholder participation in an ongoing process.

Originality/value

Local culture and creativity are largely viewed as assets for place branding; this paper draws attention to the agency of local creatives in the place branding process. This study offers three pillars of place brand authenticity and establishes a framework for place brand analysis based on a branding design strategy.
Unravelling the differential effects of pride and guilt along with values on green intention through environmental concern and attitude
Authors: Mukherjee Bidhan , Chandra Bibhas
Published: June 2021

Purpose

In response to scholarly calls, the study aims to extend and magnify the existing understanding by unravelling the differential impact of anticipated emotions on green practice adoption intention through a proposed model by integrating anticipated pride and guilt in the same continuum along with values (altruistic, biospheric and egoistic) on an employee's attitude.

Design/methodology/approach

A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data randomly from 307 employees and middle-level executives of three subsidiaries of CIL through the simple random sampling (SRS) technique. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM).

Findings

Results demonstrate that anticipated guilt influences individual cognitions and future ecological decision-making through improved attitude and higher concern for the environment while pride influences only through improved attitude. Other than biospheric and altruistic values, anticipated guilt is a direct and important antecedent of concern. Altruistic values are more influential predictors of environmental intentions in comparison to biospheric values. At the same time, environmental concern is more robust in predicting eco-intentions than attitude.

Originality/value

It makes notable difference from other studies by not only exploring the validity of the relationship between values on attitude and environmental concern but has also considered anticipated emotions of pride and guilt together alongside values on the same continuum as an antecedent of environmental attitude and concern towards employees’ green behavioural intention at the workplace. The findings are believed to provide a common consensus on differential effects of different states of emotions on environmental concern and attitude.
Municipal infrastructure management using smart city landscape design and sustainable architecture technologies
Authors: Geng Zhirong , Zhu Zunling
Published: June 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Chinese municipal infrastructure management using urban landscape design smart technologies and to propose an adaptive approach to introduce the best policy and architectural sustainable planning in the country.

Design/methodology/approach

The topic of urban environment design is deemed significant as no universal model for the implementation of landscape design ideas in China have been proposed yet.

Findings

The study presents the authors' socioeconomic and socio-ecological vision of the strategies closely related to sustainable development concept. Besides, the paper provides a comparative analysis of the developed vision and other studies' approaches to determining Chinese cities' readiness for the implementation of smart services, architectural and territorial planning in conformity with the laws of nature. The study uncovered the main directions and residents' preferences for the introduction of urban environment design technologies in the cities of China for sustainable management of territories.

Originality/value

Step-by-step recommendations were developed for municipal infrastructure management. The article proposes directions for sustainable architectural planning and urban landscape design in compliance with the principle of harmonious human–nature coexistence and environmental safety.
Social entrepreneurs as institutional entrepreneurs: evidence from a comparative case study
Authors: Chatzichristos Georgios , Nagopoulos Nikolaos
Published: June 2021

Purpose

This study aims to illuminate the field conditions under which social entrepreneurship can become institutionalized and transform the existing institutional fields.

Design/methodology/approach

A comparative case study was conducted among three social enterprises, within different regional institutional fields, following a most different systems design: OTELO, in Mühlviertel, ADC MOURA, in Baixo Alentejo and STEVIA HELLAS in Phthiotis.

Findings

The results indicate some of the field conditions under which an institutionalization of social entrepreneurship can thrive, namely, a high civil approval, a highly institutionalized and decentralized institutional field that allows the social enterprise to remain autonomous, as well the anchoring of the venture to a pre-existing counter-hegemonic narrative or/and to an embedded network that drives the dissemination a new institutional logic forward.

Research limitations/implications

The institutionalization of the voluntary collective action that social entrepreneurship embodies has significant limitations. The same is true for innovation, which tends to lose its innovative spirit as it becomes institutionalized. Future research has to explore if institutionalized social entrepreneurship can maintain a voluntary perspective and an innovative drift.

Originality/value

Most studies on institutional entrepreneurship deploy in-depth case studies while multi-case comparative research remains rare. The current comparative study adds significantly to the understanding of institutional entrepreneurship, as it compares different degrees of institutionalization and successful institutional entrepreneurs to non-successful ones.
Air-travel services industry in the post-COVID-19: the GPS (Guard-Potentiate-Shape) model for crisis navigation
Authors: Bodolica Virginia , Spraggon Martin , Khaddage-Soboh Nada
Published: June 2021

Purpose

Extant crisis response literature focuses on the survival and adaptation efforts of organizations, leaving the opportunity of deploying more proactive market-shaping strategies unexplored. This paper aims to examine the early strategic responses deployed by air-travel services players for navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a qualitative case study and grounded theory methods, this research analyzes how DUBZ – a purposefully selected company operating in the air-travel services sector in the emirate of Dubai (UAE) – responded to the coronavirus disruption.

Findings

Using this unique case as a basis for grounded theorizing, a framework was developed for understanding how air-travel service providers can effectively navigate through the crisis – the guard-potentiate-shape model. The advanced model suggests that in times of disruption, industry players should adopt several strategies to: guard against failure; potentiate innovative change; and shape the future design of air-travel services. An outcome of forward-looking shaping strategies that may define the new post-pandemic normal in the air-travel services sector constitutes the idea of “scattered/diffused airports” with a modified design of airport services architecture.

Originality/value

The insights from the grounded theoretical framework contribute to both the empirical research on crisis management and the nascent literature on market-shaping strategies. Air-travel services organizations may learn how to increase their resilience and build new industry normalcy in the post-disruption period.
Genome‐wide DNA methylation and transcription analysis in tongue and biceps femoris muscles of cloned pigs with macroglossia
Authors: Yang Q. , Qiao C. M. , Liu W. W. , Jiang H. Y. , Jing Q. Q. , Liao Y. Y. , Xing Y. Y.
Published: June 2021

Cloned animals are prone to abnormal phenotypes such as enlarged tongue, fetal oversize, and progeria. In the present study, whole‐genome bisulfite sequencing and mRNA sequencing were performed on tongue and biceps femoris muscles of cloned piglets with and without macroglossia, in an attempt to elucidate the epigenetic causes of the macroglossia phenotype. We identified 14 958 and 18 752 differentially methylated regions in the tongue and biceps femoris muscles, respectively, of macroglossia piglets and these correspond to 4574 and 4772 differentially methylated genes compared with the control group (piglets without macroglossia). Larger methylation difference was found in tongue muscle than in biceps femoris muscle. In total, 114 genes in tongue and 72 genes in biceps femoris muscles were found to be differentially expressed between the two groups. Of these differentially expressed genes in tongue muscle, 31 were also differentially methylated genes, among which DIO3 and ZIC1 were imprinting or predicted imprinting genes. These two and another six overlapping genes (ALDH1A2, MKX, MAB21L2, CA3, RANBP3L, and MYL10) are crucial factors involved in embryonic development or tissue and organ development. GO enrichment analysis suggested possible alteration of these processes. Our study provides novel molecular insights into the formation of macroglossia in cloned pigs.
A further survey of the quantitative trait loci affecting swine body size and carcass traits in five related pig populations
Authors: Li L.‐y. , Xiao S.‐j. , Tu J.‐m. , Zhang Z.‐k. , Zheng H. , Huang L.‐b. , Huang Z.‐y. , Yan M. , Liu X.‐d. , Guo Y.‐m.
Published: June 2021

Breeding for good meat quality performance while maintaining large body size and desirable carcass traits has been the major challenge for modern swine selective breeding. To address this goal, in the present work we studied five related populations produced by two commercial breeds (Berkshire and Duroc) and two Chinese breeds (Licha black pig and Lulai black pig). A single‐trait GWAS performed on 20 body size and carcass traits using a self‐developed China Chip‐1 porcine SNP50K BeadChip identified 11 genome‐wide significant QTL on nine chromosomes and 22 suggestive QTL on 15 chromosomes. For the 11 genome‐wide significant QTL, eight were detected in at least two populations, and the rest were population‐specific and only mapped in Shanxia black pig. Most of the genome‐wide significant QTL were pleiotropic; for example, the QTL around 75.65 Mb on SSC4 was associated with four traits at genome‐wide significance level. After screening the genes within 50 kb of the top SNP for each genome‐wide significant QTL, NR6A1 and VRTN were chosen as candidate genes for vertebrae number; PLAG1 and BMP2 were identified as candidate genes for body size; and MC4R was the strong candidate gene for body weight. The four genes have been reported as candidates for thoracic vertebrae number, lumbar vertebrae number, carcass length and body weight respectively in previous studies. The effects of VRTN on thoracic vertebrae number, carcass length and body length have been verified in Shanxia black pig. Therefore, the VRTN genotype could be used in gene‐assisted selection, and this could accelerate genetic improvement of body size and carcass traits in Shanxia black pig.
Learning curve for laparoscopic cholecystectomy has not been defined: A systematic review
Authors: Reitano Elisa , de'Angelis Nicola , Schembari Elena , Carrà Maria Clotilde , Francone Elisa , Gentilli Sergio , La Greca Gaetano
Published: June 2021

Background

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is one of the most performed surgeries worldwide but its learning curve is still unclear.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted according to the 2009 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐analyses guidelines. Two independent reviewers searched the literature in a systematic manner through online databases, including Medline, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar. Human studies investigating the learning curve of laparoscopic cholecystectomy were included. The Newcastle–Ottawa scale for cohort studies and the GRADE scale were used for the quality assessment of the selected articles.

Results

Nine cohort studies published between 1991 and 2020 were included. All studies showed a great heterogeneity among the considered variables. Seven articles (77.7%) assessed intraoperative variables only, without considering patient's characteristics, operator's experience, and grade of gallbladder inflammation. Only five articles (55%) provided a precise cut‐off value to see proficiency in the learning curve, ranging from 13 to 200 laparoscopic cholecystectomies.

Conclusions

The lack of clear guidelines when evaluating the learning curve in surgery, probably contributed to the divergent data and heterogeneous results among the studies. The development of guidelines for the investigation and reporting of a surgical learning curve would be helpful to obtain more objective and reliable data especially for common operation such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
Novel impedance‐pH parameters are associated with proton pump inhibitor response in patients with inconclusive diagnosis of gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease according to Lyon Consensus
Authors: Ribolsi Mentore , Frazzoni Marzio , Marabotto Elisa , De Carlo Giovanni , Ziola Sebastiano , Maniero Daria , Balestrieri Paola , Cicala Michele , Savarino Edoardo
Published: June 2021

Background

The Lyon Consensus delineates impedance‐pH parameters that can demonstrate/exclude gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In patients with acid exposure time between 4% and 6%, GERD diagnosis has been considered inconclusive. In these cases, mean nocturnal baseline impedance (MNBI) and post‐reflux swallow‐induced peristaltic wave (PSPW) index may either confirm or refute GERD diagnosis and represent predictors of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) response.

Aims

To investigate the diagnostic yield of MNBI and PSPW index and their relationship with PPI response in patients with inconclusive GERD diagnosis.

Methods

Review of impedance‐pH tracings from PPI responder/non‐responder patients with typical reflux symptoms. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine the association of MNBI and PSPW index to PPI response.

Results

Among 233 patients evaluated, 145/233 (62.2%) were PPI responders; 62 had conclusive and 65 inconclusive evidence of GERD, 46 had reflux hypersensitivity, and 60 functional heartburn. Abnormal MNBI and PSPW index were significantly more frequent in inconclusive GERD as compared to the functional heartburn group (P < 0.001). Within the inconclusive GERD group, 35/65 (54%) patients were PPI responders and displayed a significantly higher proportion of cases with pathological MNBI or PSPW index as compared to non‐responders (32/35 [91.4%] and 30/35 [85.7%] vs 9/30 [30%] and 7/30 [23.3%], P < 0.001). By multivariate analysis, pathological PSPW index and/or MNBI values were significantly associated with PPI response in all groups.

Conclusions

The present study highlights the value of MNBI and PSPW index as adjunctive metrics in characterising patients with inconclusive evidence of GERD and identifying those responsive to PPI treatment.
A formalized approach to choosing the best methods for reconstructing stature in the case of poorly preserved skeletal series
Authors: Mahler Robert
Published: June 2021

Stature, as the universal measure of the well‐being of a population, is one of the three basic characteristics, besides sex and age, of every osteological analysis. Reconstructing living stature using the length of long bones and linear regression is the method of choice, especially in the case of poorly preserved human skeletal material obtained from archaeological excavations. Although the choice of the best formulae is usually based on intuition, the need for a more formal approach is paramount. However, the solutions adopted to date require a significant number of well‐preserved skeletons, which is rarely possible in bioarchaeological research.

For skeletal series consisting of very incomplete skeletons, it has been shown that a simple comparison of the mean differences in stature estimation using femur, humerus, and radius bone pairs may be instrumental for selecting the most appropriate of the available stature reconstruction methods. The results were confronted with the consistency of the same methods but also using bones that could not have been used previously; that is the tibia, fibula and ulna. All the methods tested were then compared with those selected as being the most consistent to see if the results they produce are significantly different.
Current knowledge, challenges and innovations in developmental pharmacology: A combined conect4children Expert Group and European Society for Developmental, Perinatal and Paediatric Pharmacology White Paper
Authors: Smits Anne , Annaert Pieter , Cavallaro Giacomo , De Cock Pieter A. J. G. , de Wildt Saskia N. , Kindblom Jenny M. , Lagler Florian B. , Moreno Carmen , Pokorna Paula , Schreuder Michiel F. , Standing Joseph F. , Turner Mark A. , Vitiello Benedetto , Zhao Wei , Weingberg Annelie‐Martina , Willmann Raffaella , van den Anker John , Allegaert Karel
Published: June 2021

Developmental pharmacology describes the impact of maturation on drug disposition (pharmacokinetics, PK) and drug effects (pharmacodynamics, PD) throughout the paediatric age range. This paper, written by a multidisciplinary group of experts, summarizes current knowledge, and provides suggestions to pharmaceutical companies, regulatory agencies and academicians on how to incorporate the latest knowledge regarding developmental pharmacology and innovative techniques into neonatal and paediatric drug development.

Biological aspects of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion throughout development are summarized. Although this area made enormous progress during the last two decades, remaining knowledge gaps were identified. Minimal risk and burden designs allow for optimally informative but minimally invasive PK sampling, while concomitant profiling of drug metabolites may provide additional insight in the unique PK behaviour in children. Furthermore, developmental PD needs to be considered during drug development, which is illustrated by disease‐ and/or target organ‐specific examples. Identifying and testing PD targets and effects in special populations, and application of age‐ and/or population‐specific assessment tools are discussed. Drug development plans also need to incorporate innovative techniques such as preclinical models to study therapeutic strategies, and shift from sequential enrolment of subgroups, to more rational designs.

To stimulate appropriate research plans, illustrations of specific PK/PD‐related as well as drug safety‐related challenges during drug development are provided. The suggestions made in this joint paper of the Innovative Medicines Initiative conect4children Expert group on Developmental Pharmacology and the European Society for Developmental, Perinatal and Paediatric Pharmacology, should facilitate all those involved in drug development.
Thymopentin alleviates premature ovarian failure in mice by activating YY2/Lin28A and inhibiting the expression of let‐7 family microRNAs
Authors: Liu Te , Jing Fangyuan , Huang Peirong , Geng Zixiang , Xu Jianghong , Li Jiahui , Chen Danping , Zhu Ying , Wang Zhenxin , Huang Willian , Chen Chuan
Published: June 2021

Objective

Thymopentin (5TP) significantly improved typical murine premature ovarian failure (POF) symptoms induced by a high‐fat and high‐sugar (HFHS) diet. However, its effect and mechanism remain unclear.

Materials and methods

RNA‐Seq was used to detect the differentially expressed genes among each group. HFHS‐induced POF mouse model was generated and injected with siRNA using Poly (lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) as a carrier.

Results

RNA‐Seq suggested that 5TP promoted the expression of Yin Yang 2 (YY2) in mouse ovarian granulosa cell (mOGC) of HFHS‐POF mice. Luciferase reporter assay indicated that 5TP promoted the binding of YY2 to the specific sequence C(C/T)AT(G/C)(G/T) on the Lin28A promoter and promoted Lin28A transcription and expression. We continuously injected PLGA‐cross‐linked siRNA nanoparticles targeting YY2 into HFHS‐POF mice (siYY2@PLGA), which significantly reduced the therapeutic effect of 5TP. siYY2@PLGA injection also significantly attenuated the upregulation of Lin28a expression in mOGCs induced by 5TP and enhanced the expression of let‐7 family microRNAs, thereby inhibiting the proliferation and division of mOGCs. qPCR results showed that there was a significant difference in the expression levels of exosome‐derived Yy2 mRNAs between POF patients and normal women, and that there was a specific correlation between the expression level of exosome‐derived Yy2 and the peripheral concentrations of the blood hormones pregnenolone, progesterone and oestradiol.

Conclusions

Thymopentin promotes the transcriptional activation of Lin28A via stimulating transcription factor YY2 expression, inhibits the activity of let‐7 family microRNAs and alleviates the ageing of ovarian granulosa cells, ultimately achieving a therapeutic effect on POF in mice.
A European eel (Anguilla anguilla) case study using structured elicitation to estimate instream infrastructure passability for freshwater fishes
Authors: Thomas Merryn J. , Pawar Sayali K. , Januchowski‐Hartley Stephanie R.
Published: June 2021

Conservation efforts are hampered by limited understanding about how different types of instream infrastructure impact migration patterns and fish survival. We used a rapid, fully online IDEA protocol to elicit expert judgments for the passability of seven different in‐stream infrastructures to elver European eels (Anguilla anguilla) in Great Britain. Nine experts provided judgments via our online survey, followed by a second elicitation via email for reflection and adjustment of initial estimates. We found that on average, bridges were judged the most passable (95% passability), followed by fords, nonperched culverts, weirs, sluices, dams, and perched culverts (7%). Results showed a high degree of agreement about how passable bridges and perched culverts are for elver eels, but less certainty about other infrastructure. Thirty‐four distinct factors were identified that experts believed influence infrastructure passability for elver eels, including: the structure itself, hydraulics, elver characteristics, obstructions (e.g., debris accumulation), and vegetation (e.g., to aid climbing). We discuss how our rapid, online‐only variation on the IDEA protocol compares with the more traditional protocol, and how the expert estimates generated in this study can be used in future scenario building and connectivity modeling, with a view to improving conservation to support species persistence.
Opioid use disorder during pregnancy: long‐term developmental outcomes
Authors: Alinsky Rachel H , Alexander G Caleb
Published: June 2021

This commentary is on the original article by Levine et al. on pages 1114–1122 of this issue and systematic review by Gao et al. on pages 22–28 of the January 2021 issue.
Sentiment analysis for Urdu online reviews using deep learning models
Authors: Safder Iqra , Mahmood Zainab , Sarwar Raheem , Hassan Saeed‐Ul , Zaman Farooq , Nawab Rao Muhammad Adeel , Bukhari Faisal , Abbasi Rabeeh Ayaz , Alelyani Salem , Aljohani Naif Radi , Nawaz Raheel
Published: June 2021

Most existing studies are focused on popular languages like English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and others, however, limited attention has been paid to Urdu despite having more than 60 million native speakers. In this paper, we develop a deep learning model for the sentiments expressed in this under‐resourced language. We develop an open‐source corpus of 10,008 reviews from 566 online threads on the topics of sports, food, software, politics, and entertainment. The objectives of this work are bi‐fold (a) the creation of a human‐annotated corpus for the research of sentiment analysis in Urdu; and (b) measurement of up‐to‐date model performance using a corpus. For their assessment, we performed binary and ternary classification studies utilizing another model, namely long short‐term memory (LSTM), recurrent convolutional neural network (RCNN) Rule‐Based, N‐gram, support vector machine , convolutional neural network, and LSTM. The RCNN model surpasses standard models with 84.98% accuracy for binary classification and 68.56% accuracy for ternary classification. To facilitate other researchers working in the same domain, we have open‐sourced the corpus and code developed for this research.
Production of dallisgrass in response to NPK fertilizer in southwest China and its implications for cultivation
Authors: Wang Leiting , Ding Leilei , Wang Puchang , Zhao Lili , Yu Qingqing
Published: June 2021

Dallisgrass (Paspalum dilatatum Poir.), a warm‐season forage, is a perennial grass with high nutritional value, good palatability and high‐stress resistance in subtropical regions worldwide. However, very limited information is available on the cultivation of dallisgrass, especially in southwest China. Soils in different areas with pasture cultivation histories were collected and mixed evenly as substrate soil. Pot experiments after fertilization with nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are used to analyze the dallisgrass growth characteristics, dry matter biomass (DM), photosynthetic characteristics, nutrient accumulation, agronomic efficiency (AE), partial factor productivity (PFP) and recovery efficiency (RE). A three‐factor (N, P, K) and five‐level (N: 0, 48.66, 120, 191.34 and 240 kg/ha; P: 0, 68.93, 170, 271.07 and 340 kg/ha; K: 0, 30.41, 75, 119.59 and 150 kg/ha) quadratic regression orthogonal rotation combination design was used with three experimental plots per management strategy for multiple comparisons within each harvest. Compared with no fertilization, the optimal treatment (OPT, N 48.66 kg/ha, P 68.93 kg/ha, K 119.59 kg/ha) increased yield by 46.3%, but the effect of NPK alone was not significant. This is because OPT improves the morphology and photosynthetic characteristics of dallisgrass, cause the dry matter during the growth period is significantly (p < .05) increased, and the average nutrient use efficiency (7.45%) under the OPT management measures was much higher than the under N, P and K fertilization alone (approximately 2.61 times). More meaningfully, we found that the demand for P and K fertilizer in dallisgrass in a typical subtropical mountainous region of China is higher than that for N. Overall, these findings have important implications for the cultivation of dallisgrass.
Mitigating the dark side of agile teams: Peer pressure, leaders’ control, and the innovative output of agile teams
Authors: Khanagha Saeed , Volberda Henk W. , Alexiou Andreas , Annosi Maria Carmela
Published: June 2021

Increasingly, organizations have been employing self‐managing teams to circumvent bureaucratic controls and stimulate innovation. However, this goal is not easily achieved; in many situations, informal controls replace formal controls. This study develops a multi‐level perspective of control. We explicitly analyze control mechanisms at different levels of the organization and how they affect innovative team output. We theorize and empirically investigate a potential downside of horizontal social control mechanisms at the team level (i.e., peer pressure) affecting self‐managing teams’ innovative outcomes. We also discuss managerial control mechanisms at the organizational level (i.e., interactive and diagnostic management control systems) that may help to mitigate such negative effects. We theorize how they may influence the innovative output of self‐managing teams, both directly and interactively. We chose a multi‐level, multi‐source setting for our study and ran three parallel surveys with employees in a Fortune 500 firm where 248 team members, 126 internal team leaders, and 97 organizational leaders enabled us to create a unique database of 97 self‐managing software development teams. Our findings confirm that peer pressure is common among established agile teams and that it negatively influences the innovative output of the agile teams. Moreover, our findings show that the magnitude of the effect of peer pressure is contingent on control mechanisms at higher levels within the organization. This enables us to provide new theoretical insights regarding the paradoxical effect of managerial control systems when it comes to flat organizations and autonomous teams. Additionally, we provide practical guidelines for managers who increasingly adopt agile practices but at the same time face issues with regard to innovation.
COVID‐19, media coverage of bats and related Web searches: a turning point for bat conservation?
Authors: Cerri Jacopo , Mori Emiliano , Ancillotto Leonardo , Russo Danilo , Bertolino Sandro
Published: June 2021

SARS‐CoV‐2, the virus that caused the COVID‐19 pandemic, is genomically similar to a SARS‐like beta‐coronavirus found in Asian rhinolophid bats. This evolutionary relationship impressed the global media, which then emphasised bats as key actors in the spillover that resulted in the pandemic. In this study, we highlight changes in the traditional and new media coverage of bats and in Internet search volumes that occurred since the beginning of the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2020.

We analysed Google and Wikipedia searches for bats and coronaviruses in 21 countries and eight languages, as well as television broadcasts in the USA, some of which have global coverage, between January 2016 and December 2020. In January 2020, the amount of television news about bats boomed, and news associated with the term ‘bat’ shifted to COVID‐19‐related topics. A nearly identical pattern was observed in Google searches during 2020 at the global scale. The daily time series of television coverage and Internet search volumes on bats and coronavirus in the USA covaried in the first quarter of 2020, in line with the existence of a media bubble. Time‐series analysis revealed that both the Google Trends index and visits to Wikipedia pages about bats boomed in early 2020, despite the fact that this time of year is usually characterised by low search volumes.

Media coverage emphasised, correctly or not, the role of bats in the COVID‐19 pandemic and amplified public interest in bats worldwide. The public image of these mammals, in many cases threatened and important ecosystem service providers, was seriously compromised. We therefore recommend that policymakers and journalists prioritise scientifically accurate communication campaigns about bats, which would help counteract the surge in bat persecution, and leverage interest towards positive human–bat interactions.
A 3D reconstruction method for buildings based on monocular vision
Authors: Xu Boqiang , Liu Chao
Published: June 2021

The three‐dimensional (3D) reconstruction technology based on computer vision has greatly facilitated damage inspection and assessment and construction monitoring of civil engineering. However, there are several problems in its implementation. A new method of 3D reconstruction is hereby proposed in this paper regarding the geometrical characteristics of pictures of buildings. An algorithm can normalize the 3D‐reconstructed point cloud model so that its length, width, and height are parallel to the coordinate axis of the world coordinate system, and the absolute scale of the point cloud model can be obtained. Compared with the traditional one, this methodology can maintain better accuracy. This paper establishes the theoretical framework of the methodology, and steps for implementation are given by using digital image processing technology. After analyzing the results of a field experiment, it has been proven that this methodology can make the best use of the geometric features and improve the efficiency of the traditional reconstruction algorithm and therefore result in high accuracy.
Distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. and Borrelia miyamotoi in Ixodes tick populations in Northern Germany, co‐infections with Rickettsiales and assessment of potential influencing factors
Authors: Knoll S. , Springer A. , Hauck D. , Schunack B. , Pachnicke S. , Fingerle V. , Strube C.
Published: June 2021

To determine Borrelia spp. (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae) prevalence and species distribution in Northern Germany, Ixodes ticks were sampled from April to October in 2018 and 2019 by the flagging method at three locations each in five regions. Analysis by quantitative real‐time PCR of 3150 individual ticks revealed an overall prevalence of 30.6%, without significant differences between tick stages (31.7% positive adults, 28.6% positive nymphs). Significant differences were observed in seasonal infection rates, but not between regions, landscape types or sampling years. Analysis of co‐infections with Rickettsiales indicated a negative association between Borrelia and Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection. The most frequent Borrelia species differentiated by Reverse Line Blot were B. afzelii and B. garinii/B. bavariensis, followed by B. valaisiana, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. spielmanii and B. lusitaniae. Furthermore, B. miyamotoi was identified in 12.9% of differentiable samples. No effect of region nor landscape type on species composition was found, but significant variations in the distribution at the different sampling sites within a region were observed. The detected monthly fluctuations in prevalence and the differences in intra‐regional Borrelia species distribution underline the importance of long‐term and multi‐location monitoring of Borrelia spp. in ticks as an essential part of public health assessment.
Surfactin induces autophagy, apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest in human oral squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Vo Thi Thuy Tien , Wee Yinshen , Cheng Hsin‐Chung , Wu Ching‐Zong , Chen Yuh‐Lien , Tuan Vo Phuoc , Liu Ju‐Fang , Lin Wei‐Ning , Lee I‐Ta
Published: June 2021

Objectives

To investigate the anticancer effects and underlying mechanisms of surfactin on human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Materials and Methods

The capacity of surfactin to induce apoptosis, autophagy, and cell cycle arrest of two different human OSCC cell lines was investigated by cell viability, acridine orange staining, and cell cycle regulatory protein expression, respectively. The signaling network underlying these processes were determined by the analysis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase activity, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress‐related protein levels, calcium release, mitogen‐activated protein kinases activation, and cell cycle regulatory protein expression through corresponding reagents and experiments under various experimental conditions using specific pharmaceutical inhibitors or small interfering RNAs.

Results

Surfactin was able to induce apoptosis through NADPH oxidase/ROS/ER stress/calcium‐downregulated extracellular signal‐regulated kinases 1/2 pathway. Surfactin could also lead to autophagy that shared the common regulatory signals with apoptosis pathway until calcium node. Cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase caused by surfactin was demonstrated through p53 and p21 accumulation combined p34cdc2, phosphorylated p34cdc2, and cyclin B1 inhibition, which was regulated by NADPH oxidase‐derived ROS.

Conclusion

Surfactin could induce apoptosis, autophagy, and cell cycle arrest in ROS‐dependent manner, suggesting a multifaced anticancer agent for OSCC.
Maxillary osteomyelitis induced by rhinosinusal mucormycosis in a tropical country
Authors: Pulino Bianca de F. B. , Guerra Raphael C. , dos Santos Déborah L. , Faverani Leonardo P. , Hochul‐Vieira Eduardo
Published: June 2021

Mucormycosis is an opportunistic, and frequently lethal, fungal infection that occurs in patients with immunocompromised states, such as diabetes mellitus. This infection invades not only the paranasal sinuses, but also the maxillae, zygoma, and rhinocerebral structures, which results in massive destruction of the facial skeleton and soft tissue. It progresses in patients with underlying comorbidities, such as diabetes mellitus, haematologic malignancy, cerebral malignancy, renal failure, and systemic immunosuppression. Most cases occur in tropical countries. The relationship between mucormycosis and these underlying conditions has been widely discussed in the literature. This study sought to report the case of a patient diagnosed with glioblastoma and mucormycosis in the maxilla, who was successfully treated with surgery and isavuconazonium sulfate (Cresemba).
Contributions of the international plant science community to the fight against human infectious diseases – part 1: epidemic and pandemic diseases
Authors: Lobato Gómez Maria , Huang Xin , Alvarez Derry , He Wenshu , Baysal Can , Zhu Changfu , Armario‐Najera Victoria , Blanco Perera Amaya , Cerda Bennasser Pedro , Saba‐Mayoral Andera , Sobrino‐Mengual Guillermo , Vargheese Ashwin , Abranches Rita , Abreu Isabel Alexandra , Balamurugan Shanmugaraj , Bock Ralph , Buyel Johannes.F. , da Cunha Nicolau B. , Daniell Henry , Faller Roland , Folgado André , Gowtham Iyappan , Häkkinen Suvi T. , Kumar Shashi , Ramalingam Sathish Kumar , Lacorte Cristiano , Lomonossoff George P. , Luís Ines M. , Ma Julian K.‐C. , McDonald Karen. A. , Murad Andre , Nandi Somen , O’Keefe Barry , Oksman‐Caldentey Kirsi‐Marja , Parthiban Subramanian , Paul Mathew J. , Ponndorf Daniel , Rech Elibio , Rodrigues Julio C. M. , Ruf Stephanie , Schillberg Stefan , Schwestka Jennifer , Shah Priya S. , Singh Rahul , Stoger Eva , Twyman Richard M. , Varghese Inchakalody P. , Vianna Giovanni R. , Webster Gina , Wilbers Ruud H. P. , Capell Teresa , Christou Paul
Published: June 2021

Infectious diseases, also known as transmissible or communicable diseases, are caused by pathogens or parasites that spread in communities by direct contact with infected individuals or contaminated materials, through droplets and aerosols, or via vectors such as insects. Such diseases cause ˜17% of all human deaths and their management and control places an immense burden on healthcare systems worldwide. Traditional approaches for the prevention and control of infectious diseases include vaccination programmes, hygiene measures and drugs that suppress the pathogen, treat the disease symptoms or attenuate aggressive reactions of the host immune system. The provision of vaccines and biologic drugs such as antibodies is hampered by the high cost and limited scalability of traditional manufacturing platforms based on microbial and animal cells, particularly in developing countries where infectious diseases are prevalent and poorly controlled. Molecular farming, which uses plants for protein expression, is a promising strategy to address the drawbacks of current manufacturing platforms. In this review article, we consider the potential of molecular farming to address healthcare demands for the most prevalent and important epidemic and pandemic diseases, focussing on recent outbreaks of high‐mortality coronavirus infections and diseases that disproportionately affect the developing world.
Urban segregation and consumption inequality: Does hukou conversion matter in China?
Authors: Wen Le , Paudel Krishna P. , Chen Youhua , He Qinying
Published: June 2021

This paper develops a simple theoretical model and offers empirical evidence of urban segregation on consumption inequality between rural‐to‐urban migrants and urban residents. Our analyses are based on the 2007 China Household Income Project (CHIP) and the 2017 China Migrants Dynamics Survey (CMDS) data. Results obtained from propensity score matching and 2SLS methods show that urban segregation caused by the hukou system leads to significant consumption inequality between rural‐to‐urban migrants and urban residents. Hukou conversion matters for improving migrants’ consumption, but when or how hukou was transferred makes little difference. Besides, we find that the disparity in consumption between rural‐to‐urban migrants and urban residents is more prominent in the higher‐income group or in cities with stricter restrictions on hukou conversion. Finally, our results are robust to a series of sensitivity checks.
Abiotic and biotic processes controlling travertine deposition: Insights from eight hot springs in Japan
Authors: Shiraishi Fumito , Hanzawa Yusaku , Nakamura Yuki , Eno Yuki , Morikawa Asayo , de Mattos Rafael França , Asada Jiro , Cury Leonardo Fadel , Bahniuk Anelize Manuela
Published: June 2021

Contributions of abiotic and biotic processes on travertine deposition are still not well‐understood due to technical difficulties, despite that the travertines draw attention as analogues for ancient microbial carbonates and oil reservoirs. To evaluate their contributions, this study examined eight hot springs in Japan. Water chemistry analyses showed common downstream trends: a decrease in CO2 concentration and increases in CO32− concentration and pH. Mineralogical analysis showed that the constituent minerals of travertines at six hot springs were both calcite and aragonite, while one was just calcite and another only aragonite. Microscopic observations of travertine surfaces indicated the dominance of cyanobacteria secreting extracellular polymeric substances without a detectable amount of carboxyl groups. Small particles were sometimes entangled/covered by these cyanobacteria. Microelectrode measurements showed the occurrence of abiotic CaCO3 precipitation and photosynthetic induction/inhibition of CaCO3 precipitation, the extent of which was different at each site. By integrating these results, the contributions of abiotic and biotic processes were evaluated. Cyanobacteria inhabiting travertine surfaces were generally not calcified regardless of an ambient high CaCO3 saturation state; instead, they contributed to creating pore spaces and trap/bind suspended particles. Downstream CO2 degassing increased the CaCO3 saturation state by shifting carbonate chemical equilibrium and caused abiotic CaCO3 precipitation. Suspended particles trapped by cyanobacteria increased the surface area for crystal growth to further accelerate precipitation. The contribution of photosynthesis‐induced CaCO3 precipitation was low because of several factors, including variable cyanobacteria populations and photosynthetic inhibition of CaCO3 precipitation. The average contributions of photosynthesis‐induced CaCO3 precipitation, Ca2+ adsorption and abiotic precipitation in the eight hot springs were 16%, 3% and 81%, respectively, indicating predominance of the abiotic process for travertine deposition. Mineralogical composition of travertines significantly correlated with concentrations of SO42− and Mg2+, much more than with Mg/Ca ratio and water temperature, suggesting their importance for controlling CaCO3 polymorphs in travertines.
The role of labor market institutions in the impact of immigration on wages and employment*
Authors: Foged Mette , Hasager Linea , Yasenov Vasil
Published: June 2021

We collect 1,030 previously estimated wage effects and 432 employment effects of immigration, and we document that the mean and median effects on the relative wage are negative and significantly different from the small positive mean and median effects on the average wage. The pattern is reversed for employment effects where the magnitudes are also smaller. Combining the effect sizes with measures of labor market institutions, we find that institutions might shield native workers from relative wage consequences but reduce the average wage effect of immigration. We do not detect a significant and robust association for the employment effects.