bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimisation of microwave‐assisted extraction and functional elucidation of bioactive compounds from Cola nitida pod
Authors: Olalere Olusegun Abayomi , Gan Chee‐Yuen , Akintomiwa Olumide Esan , Adeyi Oladayo , Adeyi Abiola
Published: February 2021

Introduction

The quality characteristics and stability of phenolic by‐products from Cola nitida wastes are critical factors for drug formulation and food nutraceutical applications.

Objectives

In this study, the effect of electromagnetic‐based microwave‐reflux extraction on the total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, morphological characteristics, physisorption and chromatographic phenolic profiles were successfully investigated. These physicochemical analyses are often employed in the standardisation of dried herbal and food nutraceutical products.

Material and methods

In this study, the electromagnetic‐based extraction process was optimised using the Box–Behnken design. The oleoresin bio‐products were subsequently characterised to determine the total phenolic content, morphological and microstructural degradation. These analyses were conducted to elucidate the effect of the microwave heating on the C. nitida pod powder.

Results

From the predicted response, the optimal percentage yield was achieved at 26.20% under 5.39 min of irradiation time, 440 W microwave power and oven temperature of 55°C. Moreover, the rapid estimation of the phenolic content and antioxidant capacity were recorded at 124.84 ± 0.064 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dry weight (d.w.) and 6.93 ± 0.34 μg/mL, respectively. The physicochemical characterisation results from the Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and physisorption analyses showed remarkable changes in the micro‐surface area (13.66%) characteristics.

Conclusion

The recorded optimal conditions established a basis for future scale‐up of microwave extraction parameters with a potential for maximum yield. The physiochemical characterisation revealed the functional characteristics of C. nitida and their tolerance to microwave heating.
Attitudes towards involving children in decision‐making surrounding lung transplantation
Authors: Barsky Emily E. , Berbert Laura M. , Dahlberg Suzanne E. , Truog Robert D.
Published: February 2021

Background

Medical care has shifted from a paternalistic model towards one centered around patient autonomy and shared decision‐making (SDM), yet the role of the pediatric patient in decision‐making is unclear. Studies suggest that many children with chronic disease are capable of making medical decisions at a young age, yet no standardized approaches have been developed for involving children in these decisions.

Methods

This is a single‐center survey study investigating the attitudes of pediatric pulmonologists towards involvement of children in decisions regarding lung transplantation, utilizing a hypothetical case scenario with systematic manipulation of age and maturity level. We evaluated physician belief regarding ultimate decision‐making authority, reconciliation of parent–child discordance, and utility of ethics and psychiatry consultation services.

Results

The majority of pediatric pulmonologists at this center believe decision‐making authority rests with the parents. The effects of age and maturity are unclear. In instances of parent–child disagreement, physicians are more likely to try to convince parents to defer to the child if the child is both older and more mature. Physicians are divided on the utility of ethics and psychiatry consultations.

Conclusion

Involvement of children with cystic fibrosis in SDM is broadly supported but inconsistently implemented. Despite evidence that children with chronic disease may have decisional capacity at a young age, the majority of physicians still grant decisional authority to parents. There are numerous barriers to involving children in decisions, including legal considerations. The role of age and maturity level in influencing these decisions appears small and warrants further investigation.
Strategies to overcome interferences in elemental and isotopic geochemical analysis by quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: A critical evaluation of the recent developments
Authors: Balaram V.
Published: February 2021

Quadrupole Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP‐MS) instruments were introduced into geochemical and mineral exploration laboratories nearly four decades ago, providing a technique that could meet their longstanding requirement for the precise and accurate determination of several groups of trace elements and isotopes in geological materials such as rocks, minerals, ores, soils, sediments, and natural water samples. Despite its popularity among geochemists, the technique suffered from spectral and non‐spectral interferences some of which seriously affected the quality of the data generated. These interferences have also had a significant impact on the ability of ICP‐MS systems to achieve low detection limits. Over the last three decades, technical advances such as the development of high‐resolution (HR)‐ICP‐MS, cool plasma, collision/reaction cell technology (CCT), dynamic reaction cell (DRC) technology, collision reaction interface (CRI), kinetic energy discrimination (KED), tandem mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS/MS)/triple quadrupole ICP‐MS, and multi‐quadrupole ICP‐MS have been introduced to eliminate/minimize many of these interferences, with each technique having its strengths and limitations. These technologies have extended the range of elements that can be measured accurately not only in geological materials, but also in several other matrices, with lower detection limits than before. In addition, other methods such as internal standardization, isotope‐dilution, standard addition and matrix‐matching calibrations have contributed to improving the quality of the data. This paper provides a review of these new developments from the geochemical analysis point of view.
New feedback control techniques of quaternion fuzzy neural networks with time‐varying delay
Authors: Aouiti Chaouki , Jallouli Hediene
Published: February 2021

This article addresses the problems of fixed‐time stabilization for a class of quaternion fuzzy neural networks (QFNNs) with time‐varying delay. The QFNNs are developed by dividing our system into four real‐valued parts based on the Hamilton rule. Then, based on fixed‐time stability theory, some inequality techniques, and selecting the appropriate controllers and Lyapunov function, a novel criterion guaranteeing the fixed‐time stabilization and the finite‐time stabilization of the addressed system is derived. Finally, three numerical examples are presented to show the effectiveness of our theoretical results.
Space‐time modeling of child mortality at the Admin‐2 level in a low and middle income countries context
Authors: Godwin Jessica , Wakefield Jon
Published: February 2021

The Sustainable Development Goals call for a total reduction of preventable child mortality before 2030. Further, the goals state the desirability to have subnational mortality estimates. Estimates at this level are required for health interventions at the subnational level. In a low and middle income countries context, the data on mortality typically consist of household surveys, which are carried out with a stratified, cluster design, and census microsamples. Most household surveys collect full birth history (FBH) data on birth and death dates of a mother's children, but censuses collect summary birth history (SBH) data which consist only of the number of children born and the number that died. In previous work, direct (survey‐weighted) estimates with associated variances were derived from FBH data and smoothed in space and time. Unfortunately, the FBH data from household surveys are usually not sufficiently abundant to obtain yearly estimates at the Admin‐2 level (at which interventions are often made). In this paper we describe four extensions to previous work: (i) combining SBH data with FBH data, (ii) modeling on a yearly scale, to combine data on a yearly scale with data at coarser time scales, (iii) adjusting direct estimates in Admin‐2 areas where we do not observe any deaths due to small sample sizes, (iv) acknowledge differences in data sources by modeling potential bias arising from the various data sources. The methods are illustrated using household survey and census data from Kenya and Malawi, to produce mortality estimates from 1980 to the time of the most recent survey, and predictions to 2020.
Corn Starch‐Chitosan Proportion Affects Biodegradable Film Performance for Food Packaging Purposes
Authors: Bof María Julieta , Locaso Delia Elisa , García María Alejandra
Published: February 2021

This work proposes an advance towards the scaling of biodegradable films based on corn starch and chitosan, considering the relevant film properties that condition their use for food packaging and their economic feasibility. The influence of corn starch: chitosan (CS:CH) proportion and chitosan molecular weight used in the formulation is also studied. Chitosan (CH) addition improves film forming dispersions (FFDs) stability stored under refrigerated conditions and enhances the film UV barrier properties and elongation at break, however material costs are higher. Films
with higher starch content exhibited higher elastic modulus and tensile strength. Water vapor barrier, heat‐sealing capacity, and sealing resistance also increase with the corn starch (CS) proportion in film formulation. Taking into consideration the chitosan type used, the polymer‐plasticiser and polymer‐solvent interactions prevail and led to the development of more flexible materials in film formulations with low molecular weight chitosan (LMW‐CH). Meanwhile, polymer‐polymer interactions also became relevant in those obtained with MMW‐CH leading to resistant films. The obtained results indicate that composite films could be used in food packaging design, with those formulated with 75% CS and 25% medium molecular weight chitosan (MMW‐CH) being a good option considering both the film's properties as well as its economical feasibility.
Lanabecestat: Neuroimaging results in early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Zimmer Jennifer A. , Shcherbinin Sergey , Devous Michael D. , Bragg Sonja M. , Selzler Katherine J. , Wessels Alette M. , Shering Craig , Mullen Jamie , Landry John , Andersen Scott W. , Downing AnnCatherine M. , Fleisher Adam S. , Svaldi Diana Otero , Sims John R.
Published: February 2021

Introduction

Lanabecestat, a beta‐site amyloid precursor protein‐cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) inhibitor, was investigated as a potential Alzheimer's disease (AD)‐modifying treatment. As previously reported, amyloid beta (Aβ) neuritic plaque burden reduction did not result in clinical benefit. Lanabecestat's effects on neuroimaging biomarkers and correlations between neuroimaging biomarkers and efficacy measures are reported.

Methods

AMARANTH and DAYBREAK‐ALZ were 104‐ and 78‐week, multicenter, randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled studies of lanabecestat in early symptomatic AD (AMARANTH) and mild AD dementia (DAYBREAK‐ALZ). Patients randomly (1:1:1) received placebo, lanabecestat 20 mg, or lanabecestat 50 mg daily (AMARANTH, n = 2218; DAYBREAK‐ALZ, n = 1722). Florbetapir positron emission tomography (PET), fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET, flortaucipir PET, and volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used to measure Aβ neuritic plaque burden, cerebral metabolism, aggregated tau neurofibrillary tangles, and brain volume, respectively. Additionally, florbetapir perfusion scans were performed in DAYBREAK‐ALZ. Efficacy measures included 13‐item Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale–Cognitive Subscale, Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Activities of Daily Living Inventory, Clinical Dementia Rating–Sum of Boxes, Functional Activities Questionnaire, and Mini‐Mental State Examination. These studies stopped early due to futility.

Results

Despite previously observed annualized reduction in Aβ neuritic plaque burden, there were no treatment differences in annualized change of aggregated tau neurofibrillary tangle burden (AMARANTH, n = 284; DAYBREAK‐ALZ, n = 70), cerebral metabolism (AMARANTH, n = 260; DAYBREAK‐ALZ, n = 38) and perfusion (DAYBREAK‐ALZ, n = 213). Greater brain volume reduction (AMARANTH, n = 1697 [whole brain]; DAYBREAK‐ALZ, n = 650 [whole brain]) occurred on lanabecestat compared to placebo. Higher baseline aggregated tau neurofibrillary tangle burden, lower cerebral metabolism, and lower brain volumes correlated with poorer baseline efficacy scores and greater clinical worsening. Lower baseline cerebral perfusion correlated with poorer baseline efficacy scores. Reduction in cerebral metabolism or whole brain volume correlated with clinical worsening, regardless of treatment assignment.

Discussion

Tau pathology and cerebral metabolism assessments showed no evidence of lanabecestat slowing pathophysiologic progression of AD. Lanabecestat exposure was associated with brain volume reductions. Correlations between imaging measures and cognitive assessments may aid future study design.
The longitudinal relationship between sleep problems and school burnout in adolescents: A cross‐lagged panel analysis
Authors: Liu Xiaoting , Zhang Lijin , Wu Guoqiang , Yang Rui , Liang Yuan
Published: February 2021

Introduction

Despite the growing body of cross‐sectional research linking sleep problems and school burnout, hardly any research has investigated the longitudinal relationship between these two constructs. The aim of this study was to examine the bidirectional association between sleep problems and school burnout in middle school students.

Methods

A prospective design was used incorporating four time points (approximately 6‐month interval). The participants were 1226 (50.3% girls) middle school students from 4 public schools who were in 7th grade at baseline. On average, participants were approximately 12.5 years old at the beginning of the study (Mage = 12.73, SD = 0.68). All participants completed self‐report measures in classrooms during regular school hours. The data were analyzed using a cross‐lagged structural equation model. We also examined the stability of sleep problems and school burnout in time, and investigated the moderating role of gender.

Results

The results indicated there is a moderate stability for both sleep problems and school burnout, and those students with sleep problems were more likely to develop school burnout, and vice versa. Gender did not moderate the bidirectional relationship.

Conclusions

These results suggest that future studies should investigate whether implementing intervention for sleep problems can decrease the occurrence of school burnout and whether interventions targeting school burnout can improve sleep problems.
COVID-19: Opportunity to Re-Imagine Our Response to a National Medical Crisis
Authors: Remick Kyle N. , Carr Brendan G. , Elster Eric
Published: February 2021

The US is facing the most significant health challenge since the 1918–1919 flu pandemic. A response commensurate with this challenge requires engaged leadership and organization across private and public sectors that span federal agencies, public and private healthcare systems, professional organizations, and industry. In the trauma and emergency care communities, we have long discussed the tension between competition in healthcare and the need for regional cooperation to respond to large-scale disasters. The response to COVID-19 has required unprecedented coordination of private and public sector entities. Given the competitive nature of the US health system, these sectors do not regularly work together despite the requirement to do so during a national emergency. This crisis has exposed how structural aspects of the present healthcare system have limited our ability to rapidly transition to a whole-nation response during a national crisis. We propose a renewed focus on the intersection of the healthcare system and national security, with the express goal of creating a public-private partnership focused on leveraging our healthcare infrastructure to support the national security interests of the US.
Pioneers of Sociological Science
Authors: Goldthorpe John H.
Published: February 2021

Goldthorpe reveals the genealogy of present-day sociological science through studies of the key contributions made by seventeen pioneers in the field, ranging from John Graunt and Edmond Halley in the mid-seventeenth century to Otis Dudley Duncan, James Coleman and Raymond Boudon in the late twentieth. Goldthorpe's biographies of these figures and analyses of their work reveal clear lines of intellectual descent, building towards the author's model of sociology as the study of human populations across time and place, previously outlined in his book Sociology as a Population Science (Cambridge, 2015). The extent to which recent developments such as computational sociology and analytical sociology are in continuation with the efforts of these influential thinkers is also critically examined. Pioneers of Sociological Science will appeal to students and scholars of sociology and to anyone engaged in social science research, from statisticians to social historians.
Camberwell Assessment of Need for Adults with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities
Authors: Xenitidis Kiriakos , Slade Mike , Thornicroft Graham , Bouras Nick
Published: February 2021

The Camberwell Assessment of Need for adults with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (CANDID) is a widely used tool for the assessment of health and social needs of people with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems. It uses the assessment approach adopted by CAN, the world's leading mental health needs assessment measure. Two versions of the CANDID are available: CANDID-S (short version) and CANDID-R (research version). Both versions are aimed at researchers and practitioners working with people with intellectual disabilities, and are suitable for clinical use in community and hospital-based services. Fully updated based on current policy, practice and terminology, this second edition introduces a more intuitive need rating system and an accessible rating algorithm. Guidance on how to use the measures is provided, as well as an overview of research developments since the first edition. The assessment forms are freely available to download from the CAN website (researchintorecovery.com/can) and cambridge.org.
A Comparison of Mortuary Practices among the Tucson Basin Hohokam and Trincheras Traditions
Authors: Cerezo-Román Jessica I.
Published: February 2021

Mortuary rituals are compared and contrasted in order to better understand social interaction between the Tucson Basin Hohokam of southern Arizona and the Trincheras tradition populations of northern Sonora. This interaction is explored through the examination of ideas about personhood and embodiment, and their relationship to the biological profiles and posthumous treatments of individuals during the Hohokam Classic period (AD 1150–1450) and the occupation of Cerro de Trincheras (AD 1300–1450). In both areas, cremation was the main burial custom, and both groups had complex, multistage cremation rituals, in which burning of the body played only a small part. Examination of rich archaeological data and well-excavated contexts at these sites revealed remarkable similarities and differences in body treatment during the mortuary ritual. Tucson Basin Hohokam mortuary practices suggest a strongerconnection to,andremembrance of,the deceased within smaller social groups. In contrast, mortuary practices at Cerro de Trincheras emphasize similarities among the various cremated individuals, with rituals directed more toward the broader social group. Results suggest that the two groups were fundamentally similar in how they treated the bodies of the dead during the cremation process, but different in how the dead were remembered and commemorated.
ESTIMATION OF HIGH CONDITIONAL TAIL RISK BASED ON EXPECTILE REGRESSION
Authors: Hu Jie , Chen Yu , Tan Keqi
Published: February 2021

Assessing conditional tail risk at very high or low levels is of great interest in numerous applications. Due to data sparsity in high tails, the widely used quantile regression method can suffer from high variability at the tails, especially for heavy-tailed distributions. As an alternative to quantile regression, expectile regression, which relies on the minimization of the asymmetric l2-norm and is more sensitive to the magnitudes of extreme losses than quantile regression, is considered. In this article, we develop a new estimation method for high conditional tail risk by first estimating the intermediate conditional expectiles in regression framework, and then estimating the underlying tail index via weighted combinations of the top order conditional expectiles. The resulting conditional tail index estimators are then used as the basis for extrapolating these intermediate conditional expectiles to high tails based on reasonable assumptions on tail behaviors. Finally, we use these high conditional tail expectiles to estimate alternative risk measures such as the Value at Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES), both in high tails. The asymptotic properties of the proposed estimators are investigated. Simulation studies and real data analysis show that the proposed method outperforms alternative approaches.
The fields of values of characters of degree not divisible byp
Authors: Navarro Gabriel , Tiep Pham Huu
Published: February 2021

We study the fields of values of the irreducible characters of a finite group of degree not divisible by a primep. In the case where$p=2$, we fully characterise these fields. In order to accomplish this, we generalise the main result of [ILNT] to higher irrationalities. We do the same for odd primes, except that in this case the analogous results hold modulo a simple-to-state conjecture on the character values of quasi-simple groups.
Institutional policies and readiness in management of critical illness among patients with viral hemorrhagic fever
Authors: DiLorenzo Madeline A. , Baker Christoph A. , Herstein Jocelyn J. , Evans Laura , Lowe John J. , Gibbs Shawn G. , Bhadelia Nahid
Published: February 2021

Objective:

In response to the 2013–2016 Ebola virus disease outbreak, the US government designated certain healthcare institutions as Ebola treatment centers (ETCs) to better prepare for future emerging infectious disease outbreaks. This study investigated ETC experiences and critical care policies for patients with viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF).

Design:

A 58-item questionnaire elicited information on policies for 9 critical care interventions, factors that limited care provision, and innovations developed to deliver care.

Setting and participants:

The questionnaire was sent to 82 ETCs.

Methods:

We analyzed ordinal and categorical data pertaining to the ETC characteristics and descriptive data about their policies and perceived challenges. Statistical analyses assessed whether ETCs with experience caring for VHF patients were more likely to have critical care policies than those that did not.

Results:

Of the 27 ETCs who responded, 17 (63%) were included. Among them, 8 (47%) reported experience caring for persons under investigation or confirmed cases of VHF. Most felt ready to provide intubation, chest compressions, and renal replacement therapy to these patients. The factors most cited for limiting care were staff safety and clinical futility. Innovations developed to better provide care included increased simulation training and alternative technologies for procedures and communication.

Conclusions:

There were broad similarities in critical care policies and limitations among institutions. There were several interventions, namely ECMO and cricothyrotomy, which few institutions felt ready to provide. Future studies could identify obstacles to providing these interventions and explore policy changes after increased experience with novel infectious diseases, such as COVID-19.
Effect of spatial dimension on a model of fluid turbulence
Authors: Clark Daniel , Ho Richard D.J.G. , Berera Arjun
Published: February 2021

A numerical study of the$d$-dimensional eddy damped quasi-normal Markovian equations is performed to investigate the dependence on spatial dimension of homogeneous isotropic fluid turbulence. Relationships between structure functions and energy and transfer spectra are derived for the$d$-dimensional case. Additionally, an equation for the$d$-dimensional enstrophy analogue is derived and related to the velocity derivative skewness. Comparisons are made to recent four-dimensional direct numerical simulation results. Measured energy spectra show a magnified bottleneck effect which grows with dimension whilst transfer spectra show a varying peak in the nonlinear energy transfer as the dimension is increased. These results are consistent with an increased forward energy transfer at higher dimensions, further evidenced by measurements of a larger asymptotic dissipation rate with growing dimension. The enstrophy production term, related to the velocity derivative skewness, is seen to reach a maximum at around five dimensions and may reach zero in the limit of infinite dimensions, raising interesting questions about the nature of turbulence in this limit.
A multi-study approach to examine the interplay of proactive personality and political skill in job crafting
Authors: Philip Jestine
Published: February 2021

The current research examines the combined role of proactive personality and political skill in job crafting and work engagement by integrating the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and trait activation theory. Self-reported survey responses collected from three samples – university students (study 1,N= 363) and panel data (study 2,N= 300 and study 3,N= 206) – were analyzed using the PROCESS macro. Results revealed that political skill strengthened the relationship between proactive personality and work engagement and between proactive personality and job crafting when trait activated. Furthermore, perceived supervisor support did not interact with the job crafting–work engagement relationship with trait activation, suggesting that proactive individuals rely on self-resources to improve engagement when presented with trait-relevant situational cues. The findings extend JD-R theory to offer the interplay of proactive trait and political skill in facilitating overall job crating. JD-R is identified as a contextual condition for trait activation.
Tic of the Iceberg: Strategies to Support Students With Tourette Syndrome in Higher Education
Authors: Elsom Sandra , Hansen Angela
Published: February 2021

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a challenging and poorly understood condition that can have a considerable negative effect on an individual’s ability to learn, despite there being little to no impact on their intelligence. In this paper, we detail the experiences of 2 higher education staff who supported a student with severe TS to undertake studies in a university bridging program. We make suggestions and recommendations for teachers who have students with TS. Over the course of 5 semesters, the teaching team researched TS in order to understand what the student was facing and adjusted their teaching strategies and the learning environment to overcome the complications that the condition presented. The design of the learning environment and the embedded accessible pedagogy that we found helpful are framed and discussed using the 3 primary principles of universal design for learning: engagement, representation, and action and expression. The authors utilise the minimal model of Rolfe, Freshwater, and Jasper (2001) to reflect upon and share their practice.
SEPARATING DIAGONAL STATIONARY REFLECTION PRINCIPLES
Authors: FUCHS GUNTER , LAMBIE-HANSON CHRIS
Published: February 2021

We introduce three families of diagonal reflection principles for matrices of stationary sets of ordinals. We analyze both their relationships among themselves and their relationships with other known principles of simultaneous stationary reflection, the strong reflection principle, and the existence of square sequences.
The Role of MNE Subsidiaries in the Practice of Global Business Models in Transforming Economies
Authors: Ngoasong Michael Zisuh , Wang Jinmin , Amdam Rolv Petter , Bjarnar Ove
Published: February 2021

This study provides new insights into the role of subsidiary managers in the practice of global business models of multinational enterprises in transforming economies. Drawing on the global business model literature and through semi-structured interviews with a leading Norwegian maritime multinational enterprise in China, we have developed and critically explored a theoretical framework for uncovering how subsidiary managers understand and manage the tensions between the headquarters based in a western country and the subsidiaries based in a transforming economy. More specifically, when implementing the global business model in the transforming economy, subsidiary managers need to undertake effective management of structural, behavioural, and cultural tensions along with the global integration-local responsiveness dilemma. Subsidiary managers can contribute to solving structural tensions between the headquarters and subsidiary by undertaking effective market sensing and knowledge transfer activities to integrate the transforming economies into the MNE's global production networks. Meanwhile, they need to make effective relationship management to solve behavioural and cultural tensions.
Multidexterity: Combining Competing Business Models in Transforming Economies
Authors: Demir Robert , Angwin Duncan
Published: February 2021

In an attempt to respond to recent calls for better understanding the coexistence of multiple business models, we develop the concept of ‘multidexterity’ – the ability to develop, nurture, and execute several distinctive BM strategies simultaneously across different levels and functions of the MNC and its host markets. To illustrate this approach, we describe a European healthcare firm entering the rapidly transforming economy of China and facing regulatory constraints and ambiguities in the application of industry standards. This situation is a generic challenge for MNCs entering rapidly transforming economies, which they help in turn to substantially alter and develop. We argue multidextrous business models are effective entry strategies for MNCs. They also help resolve two conceptual limitations in the BMI literature: (1) the problem of environmental contingencies and (2) the interrelatedness of factors at the macro, meso, and micro levels. We address these problems from a practice approach. We provide some implications for the concept of multidexterity and business models and address managerial challenges and prospects in developing multidextrous organizations.
Nation Branding in the Post-Communist World: Assessing the Field of Critical Research
Authors: Kaneva Nadia
Published: February 2021

In the second decade of the 21st century, the practices, discourses, and implications of nation branding have attracted growing interest from scholars in the humanities and social sciences seeking to understand the linkages between national identities, reputations, governance, and the phenomenon of nation branding. This strand of critical research, as opposed to instrumentalist approaches, is the focus of this review. In line with the scope of the journal, the review looks at nation branding research that relates to the countries of the former communist bloc. The analysis finds that the state of the field is fragmented due to its multi-disciplinary nature. It is also argued that the field may be suffering from methodological nationalism. The discussion identifies epistemological and theoretical approaches, pointing out gaps and limitations along the way. It is suggested that research in the field can be grouped into “identity studies” and “practice studies” as a way to better understand key theoretical influences. Finally, it is proposed that future research should look at nation branding both as a field of practice that merits critical examination in its own right and as a lens that can be used to investigate changes in the state of nationhood today.
Gender and policy persuasion
Authors: Anderson-Nilsson Georgia , Clayton Amanda
Published: February 2021

Are policy arguments more or less persuasive when they are made by female politicians? Using a diverse sample of American respondents, we conduct a survey experiment which randomly varies the gender associated with two co-partisan candidates across four policy debates. We find strong effects contingent on respondent partisanship and gender, most notably on the issue of access to birth control. On this issue, regardless of the candidate's stance, Democratic respondents, particularly Democratic men, are much more likely to agree with the female candidate. Conversely, Republican respondents, particularly Republican women, are much more likely to agree with the male candidate. We discuss the implications of our findings for the meaning of gender as a heuristic in a highly partisan environment.
Resveratrol inclusion alleviated high-dietary-carbohydrate-induced glycogen deposition and immune response of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides
Authors: Liu Yijun , Liu Ning , Wang An , Chen Naisong , Li Songlin
Published: February 2021

Excessive hepatic glycogen accumulation commonly impairs hepatocytes function and further produces negative effects on growth and health status of carnivorous fish. A 9-week feeding trial was conducted to explore the potential regulation of resveratrol (RSV) on high-carbohydrate-induced glycogen deposition and immune response of largemouth bass. Results showed that high dietary carbohydrate (10 % inclusion of starch) led to hepatic glycogen accumulation and post-prandial hyperglycemia compared with the diet with 5 % starch, which was both alleviated with the inclusion of RSV. The use of RSV promoted the expression of sirtuin 1, which was down-regulated by high dietary carbohydrate. Meanwhile, RSV inclusion promoted the expression of genes involved in insulin pathway and glycolysis and inhibited the expression of gluconeogenesis-related genes. Additionally, high dietary carbohydrate significantly reduced lysozyme content but increased complement C4 content, which were both reversed with RSV supplementation. Meanwhile, RSV inclusion inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines but promoted anti-inflammatory cytokines expression, compared with the high carbohydrate treatment. In conclusion, RSV inclusion was beneficial in alleviating high-dietary-carbohydrate-induced glycogen accumulation and immune response in largemouth bass.
A combination of pirfenidone and TGF-β inhibition mitigates cystic echinococcosis-associated hepatic injury
Authors: Wang Erqiang , Liao Zhenyu , Wang Lianghai , Liao Yuan , Xu Xiaodan , Liu Ping , Wang Xian , Hou Jun , Jiang Huijiao , Wu Xiangwei , Chen Xueling
Published: February 2021

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) occurs in the intermediate host's liver, assuming a bladder-like structure surrounded by the host-derived collagen capsule mainly derived from activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). However, the effect of CE on liver natural killer (NK) cells and the potential of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signalling inhibition on alleviating CE-related liver damage remain to be explored. Here, by using the CE-mouse model, we revealed that the inhibitory receptors on the surface of liver NK cells were up-regulated, whereas the activating receptors were down-regulated over time. TGF-β1 secretion was elevated in liver tissues and mainly derived from macrophages. A combination of TGF-β signalling inhibitors SB525334 and pirfenidone could reduce the expression of TGF-β1 signalling pathway-related proteins and collagen production. Based on the secretion of TGF-β1, only the pirfenidone group showed a depressing effect. Also, the combination of SB525334 and pirfenidone exhibited a higher potential in effectively alleviating the senescence of the hepatocytes and restoring liver function. Together, TGF-β1 may be a potential target for the treatment of CE-associated liver fibrosis.
Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation boosts mood recovery after effort exertion
Authors: Ferstl Magdalena , Teckentrup Vanessa , Lin Wy Ming , Kräutlein Franziska , Kühnel Anne , Klaus Johannes , Walter Martin , Kroemer Nils B.
Published: February 2021

Background

Mood plays an important role in our life which is illustrated by the disruptive impact of aberrant mood states in depression. Although vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been shown to improve symptoms of depression, the exact mechanism is still elusive, and it is an open question whether non-invasive VNS could be used to swiftly and robustly improve mood.

Methods

Here, we investigated the effect of left- and right-sided transcutaneous auricular VNS (taVNS)v.a sham control condition on mood after the exertion of physical and cognitive effort in 82 healthy participants (randomized cross-over design) using linear mixed-effects and hierarchical Bayesian analyses of mood ratings.

Results

We found that 90 min of either left-sided or right-sided taVNS improved positive mood [b= 5.11, 95% credible interval, CI (1.39–9.01), 9.6% improvement relative to the mood intercept, BF10= 7.69,pLME= 0.017], yet only during the post-stimulation phase. Moreover, lower baseline scores of positive mood were associated with greater taVNS-induced improvements in motivation [r= −0.42, 95% CI (−0.58 to −0.21), BF10= 249].

Conclusions

We conclude that taVNS boosts mood after a prolonged period of effort exertion with concurrent stimulation and that acute motivational effects of taVNS are partly dependent on initial mood states. Collectively, our results show that taVNS may help quickly improve affect after a mood challenge, potentially by modulating interoceptive signals contributing to the reappraisal of effortful behavior. This suggests that taVNS could be a useful add-on to current behavioral therapies.
Posttraumatic stress disorder: from gene discovery to disease biology
Authors: Polimanti Renato , Wendt Frank R.
Published: February 2021

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex mental disorder afflicting approximately 7% of the population. The diverse number of traumatic events and the wide array of symptom combinations leading to PTSD diagnosis contribute substantial heterogeneity to studies of the disorder. Genomic and complimentary-omic investigations have rapidly increased our understanding of the heritable risk for PTSD. In this review, we emphasize the contributions of genome-wide association, epigenome-wide association, transcriptomic, and neuroimaging studies to our understanding of PTSD etiology. We also discuss the shared risk between PTSD and other complex traits derived from studies of causal inference, co-expression, and brain morphological similarities. The investigations completed so far converge on stark contrasts in PTSD risk between sexes, partially attributed to sex-specific prevalence of traumatic experiences with high conditional risk of PTSD. To further understand PTSD biology, future studies should focus on detecting risk for PTSD while accounting for substantial cohort-level heterogeneity (e.g. civilian v. combat-exposed PTSD cases or PTSD risk among cases exposed to specific traumas), expanding ancestral diversity among study cohorts, and remaining cognizant of how these data influence social stigma associated with certain traumatic events among underrepresented minorities and/or high-risk populations.
ON THE CONVERGENCE RATE OF POTENTIALS OF BRENIER MAPS
Authors: Gunsilius Florian F.
Published: February 2021

The theory of optimal transportation has experienced a sharp increase in interest in many areas of economic research such as optimal matching theory and econometric identification. A particularly valuable tool, due to its convenient representation as the gradient of a convex function, has been the Brenier map: the matching obtained as the optimizer of the Monge–Kantorovich optimal transportation problem with the euclidean distance as the cost function. Despite its popularity, the statistical properties of the Brenier map have yet to be fully established, which impedes its practical use for estimation and inference. This article takes a first step in this direction by deriving a convergence rate for the simple plug-in estimator of the potential of the Brenier map via the semi-dual Monge–Kantorovich problem. Relying on classical results for the convergence of smoothed empirical processes, it is shown that this plug-in estimator converges in standard deviation to its population counterpart under the minimax rate of convergence of kernel density estimators if one of the probability measures satisfies the Poincaré inequality. Under a normalization of the potential, the result extends to convergence in the
$L^2$
norm, while the Poincaré inequality is automatically satisfied. The main mathematical contribution of this article is an analysis of the second variation of the semi-dual Monge–Kantorovich problem, which is of independent interest.
ON PROFITABILITY OF NAKAMOTO DOUBLE SPEND
Authors: Grunspan Cyril , Pérez-Marco Ricardo
Published: February 2021

Nakamoto doublespend strategy, described in Bitcoin foundational article, leads to total ruin with positive probability. The simplest strategy that avoids this risk incorporates a stopping threshold when success is unlikely. We compute the exact profitability and the minimal double spend that is profitable for this strategy. For a given amount of the transaction, we determine the minimal number of confirmations to be requested by the recipient that makes the double-spend strategy non-profitable. This number of confirmations is only 1 or 2 for average transactions and for a small relative hashrate of the attacker. This is substantially lower than the original Nakamoto number, which is about six confirmations and is widely used. Nakamoto analysis is only based on the success probability of the attack instead of on a profitability analysis that we carry out.
The challenge of relational referents in early word extensions: Evidence from noun-noun compounds
Authors: SNAPE Simon , KROTT Andrea
Published: February 2021

Young children struggle more with mapping novel words onto relational referents (e.g., verbs) compared to non-relational referents (e.g., nouns). We present further evidence for this notion by investigating children's extensions of noun-noun compounds, which map onto combinations of non-relational referents, i.e., objects (e.g.,babyandbottleforbaby bottle), and relations (e.g., abottleFORbabies). We tested two- to five-year-olds’ and adults’ generalisations of novel compounds composed of novel (e.g.,kig donka) or familiar (e.g.,star hat) nouns that were combined by one of two relations (e.g.,donkathat has akigattached (=attachment relation) versusdonkathat stores akig(=function relation)). Participants chose between a relational (shared relation) and a non-relational (same colour) match. Results showed a developmental shift from encoding non-relational aspects (colour) towards relations of compound referents, supporting the challenge of relational word referents. Also, attachment relations were more frequently encoded than function relations.
The cocked hat: formal statements and proofs of the theorems
Authors: Bárány Imre , Steiger William , Toledo Sivan
Published: February 2021

Navigators have been taught for centuries to estimate the location of their craft on a map from three lines of position, for redundancy. The three lines typically form a triangle, called a cocked hat. How is the location of the craft related to the triangle? For more than 80 years navigators have also been taught that, if each line of position is equally likely to pass to the right and to the left of the true location, then the likelihood that the craft is in the triangle is exactly 1/4. This is stated in numerous reputable sources, but was never stated or proved in a mathematically formal and rigorous fashion. In this paper we prove that the likelihood is indeed 1/4 if we assume that the lines of position always intersect pairwise. We also show that the result does not hold under weaker (and more reasonable) assumptions, and we prove a generalisation to$n$lines.
Crystal structure of pimecrolimus Form B, C43H68ClNO11
Authors: Bhaskar Shivang , Golab Joseph T. , Kaduk James A. , Gindhart Amy M. , Blanton Thomas N.
Published: February 2021

The crystal structure of pimecrolimus Form B has been solved and refined using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data and optimized using density functional techniques. Pimecrolimus crystallizes in the space group P21 (#4) with a = 15.28864(7), b = 13.31111(4), c = 10.95529(5) Å, β = 96.1542(3)°, V = 2216.649(9) Å3, and Z = 2. Although there are an intramolecular six-ring hydrogen bond and some larger chain and ring patterns, the crystal structure is dominated by van der Waals interactions. There is a significant difference between the conformation of the Rietveld-refined and the DFT-optimized structures in one portion of the macrocyclic ring. Although weak, intermolecular interactions are apparently important in determining the solid-state conformation. The powder pattern is included in the Powder Diffraction File™ (PDF®) as entry 00-066-1619. This study provides the atomic coordinates to be added to the PDF entry.
Family Minds: A randomized controlled trial of a group intervention to improve foster parents’ reflective functioning
Authors: Adkins Tina , Reisz Samantha , Hasdemir Dilara , Fonagy Peter
Published: February 2021

Family Minds is a brief group psychoeducational parenting intervention designed to increase the reflective functioning (RF) and mentalization skills of foster parents. RF is important for foster parents who have to build relationships with children whose adverse experiences increase their risk for psychosocial challenges. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) for Family Minds was conducted in Texas with 89 foster parents. The main aims of this study were to examine whether the intervention could significantly increase the RF/mentalization skills of the foster parents and decrease their parenting stress. After 6 weeks, compared with the control group, intervention foster parents improved their RF via a lowering of pre-mentalizing and also significantly decreased parenting stress related to parent–child dysfunctional interactions. Other measures of RF and parenting stress showed no significant differences between groups. Foster child behavior was not significantly different between groups, although data at 6 months showed a possible lowering of internalizing symptoms for children of intervention parents. This RCT provides some encouraging evidence that Family Minds may increase RF in foster parents, improve parental sensitivity and their ability to emotionally regulate, decrease parenting stress related to challenging interactions with their foster children, and possibly decrease children's internalizing behavior.
Identifiability of stochastically modelled reaction networks
Authors: ENCISO GERMAN , ERBAN RADEK , KIM JINSU
Published: February 2021

Chemical reaction networks describe interactions between biochemical species. Once an underlying reaction network is given for a biochemical system, the system dynamics can be modelled with various mathematical frameworks such as continuous-time Markov processes. In this manuscript, the identifiability of the underlying network structure with a given stochastic system dynamics is studied. It is shown that some data types related to the associated stochastic dynamics can uniquely identify the underlying network structure as well as the system parameters. The accuracy of the presented network inference is investigated when given dynamical data are obtained via stochastic simulations.