bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Full reciprocal-space mapping up to 2000 K under controlled atmosphere: the multipurpose QMAX furnace
Authors: Guinebretière René , Arnaud Stephan , Blanc Nils , Boudet Nathalie , Thune Elsa , Babonneau David , Castelnau Olivier
Published: April 2020

A furnace that covers the temperature range from room temperature up to 2000 K has been designed, built and implemented on the D2AM beamline at the ESRF. The QMAX furnace is devoted to the full exploration of the reciprocal hemispace located above the sample surface. It is well suited for symmetric and asymmetric 3D reciprocal space mapping. Owing to the hemispherical design of the furnace, 3D grazing-incidence small- and wide-angle scattering and diffraction measurements are possible. Inert and reactive experiments can be performed at atmospheric pressure under controlled gas flux. It is demonstrated that the QMAX furnace allows monitoring of structural phase transitions as well as microstructural evolution at the nanoscale, such as self-organization processes, crystal growth and strain relaxation. A time-resolvedin situoxidation experiment illustrates the capability to probe the high-temperature reactivity of materials.
Molecular conformational evolution mechanism during nucleation of crystals in solution
Authors: Li Xin , Wang Na , Yang Jinyue , Huang Yunhai , Ji Xiongtao , Huang Xin , Wang Ting , Wang Honghai , Hao Hongxun
Published: April 2020

Nucleation of crystals from solution is fundamental to many natural and industrial processes. In this work, the molecular mechanism of conformational polymorphism nucleation and the links between the molecular conformation in solutions and in crystals were investigated in detail by using 5-nitrofurazone as the model compound. Different polymorphs were prepared, and the conformations in solutions obtained by dissolving different polymorphs were analysed and compared. The solutions of 5-nitrofurazone were proven to contain multiple conformers through quantum chemical computation, Raman spectra analysis, 2D nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy spectra analysis and molecular dynamics simulation. The conformational evolution and desolvation path was illustrated according to the 1H NMR spectra of solutions with different concentrations. Finally, based on all the above analysis, the molecular conformational evolution path during nucleation of 5-nitrofurazone was illustrated. The results presented in this work shed a new light on the molecular mechanism of conformational polymorphism nucleation in solution.
Banks’ CSR reporting – Do women have a say?
Authors: Tapver Triinu , Laidroo Laivi , Gurvitš-Suits Natalie Aleksandra
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to determine the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting of listed banks and female representation on boards while controlling for the impact of gender quotas.

Design/methodology/approach

Logistic regressions are used with bank fixed effects on a global sample of 285 commercial banks from 2005 to 2017.

Findings

There exists a positive association between the proportion of women on board and banks’ CSR disclosure. Positive association remains also after quota corrections for banks with either below- or above-quota female representation. Further, adding more women to boards than required by quota could affect boards’ CSR reporting in masculine countries but not in feminine countries.

Research limitations/implications

The results are not generalizable to smaller listed banks and the used estimation approach does not enable to detect causality.

Practical implications

Policymakers interested in improving banks’ CSR reporting could introduce gender quotas.

Social implications

Gender quotas can enforce banks’ sustainable behaviour.

Originality/value

First, it is the first study to thoroughly control for gender quotas while investigating the association between female representation on boards and CSR disclosure. Second, this paper moves forward from the so-far predominant concentration on single-country studies on banks’ CSR reporting. Third, this paper covers the aspect of a country’s masculinity-femininity as a factor that could influence the association between CSR disclosure and female representation.
New evidence on accelerator performance based on funding and location
Authors: Cánovas-Saiz Lydia , March-Chordà Isidre , Yagüe-Perales Rosa Maria
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Seed accelerators (SAs) appear as a more advanced version of business incubators. These for-profit organizations in exchange of equity, help setting new start-ups by providing mentoring and funding during its first months. Due to their emergent nature, the impact and expectations of SAs remains largely unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to throw new light on this field by empirically assessing for the first time the performance and prospects of these organizations through a survey of 116 SAs.

Design/methodology/approach

A model based on the Business Incubators literature is built with four categories covering size, location, age and profitability variables, leading to two hypotheses to be tested empirically over a survey of 116 SAs.

Findings

Some remarkable findings arise after implementation of both bivariate and multivariate analysis. The results confirm a higher size and performance in the US and in the oldest SAs at statistically significant levels.

Research limitations/implications

The study is not free from limitations but the findings make a contribution to the still scarce existing literature on SAs, and provide some managerial implications to their stockholders, to investors and to entrepreneurs.

Practical implications

The findings concerning performance indicators are especially helpful for investors, primarily concerned with the percentage return on investment factor, the period and the investment rounds needed to achieve exit. Another key issue is the SA's role as an employment seedbed. At first glance, the amount of employment, both overall and per company, might seem small given the young age of these firms. The impact of SAs on the generation of new employment is difficult to measure as it usually takes place in further stages of development of the tenant companies, the so-called scale-up process. Nonetheless, at present, the number of new companies being born is remarkable and, in terms of employment, the results are indeed promising. Our findings also offer important implications for entrepreneurs, venture investors and policy-makers. To entrepreneurs, our findings offer insight on the expectations to hold in the accelerator programs.

Social implications

For policy-makers and would-be accelerator founders, our results support the idea shared in the literature that accelerators can be an effective entrepreneurial intervention, even in small entrepreneurial ecosystems, compared to the strongest entrepreneurial hubs (Hallen et al., 2017).

Originality/value

SAs are a very recent phenomenon which is blooming all over the world, especially in developed countries. SAs are therefore considered a key agent in the prospects of any entrepreneurial ecosystem. However, no studies have so far analysed the impact and performance of this emerging instrument. This is precisely the main purpose of this paper, to offer for the first time an approximate and exploratory assessment on the impact and prospects of SAs, based on a database.
Effect of monetary policy on bank risk: does market structure matter?
Authors: Hussain Muntazir , Bashir Usman , Bilal Ahmad Raza
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the risk-taking channel of monetary policy transmission in the Chinese banking industry. This study also investigates the role of various other factors in the risk-taking channel.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used panel data from 2000 to 2012, and a dynamic panel model (Difference GMM) was applied.

Findings

The empirical findings of this paper suggest that loose monetary policy rates increase bank risk-taking. Unlike previous studies, the results of this paper suggest that the bank-specific factors (size, liquidity and capitalization) do not significantly affect the risk-taking channel. However, the market structure does have a stabilizing effect on monetary policy transmission and the risk-taking channel. Higher market power weakens the risk-taking channel of monetary policy transmission.

Practical implications

Of significance to the policymakers' point of view is that loose monetary policy induces banks to take excessive risks. However, such effects can be mitigated by encouraging a proper level of market power in banking markets.

Originality/value

This study investigated the risk-taking channel of monetary policy transmission for the Chinese banking industry. Due to the unique features of the People's Bank of China (PBC, Central Bank of China) policy, this study also contributes to the literature by comparing price-based and quantity-based monetary policy tools and their effectiveness in financial stability and monetary policy transmission. Furthermore, the role of market structure is also investigated in the risk-taking channel.
Reverse decoupling: Ukrainian case of healthcare financing system reform
Authors: Vakulenko Veronika , Bourmistrov Anatoli , Grossi Giuseppe
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore inter-organizational interactions that might result in prolonged decoupling between central governments' ideas and local governments' practices during the reform of an institutional field (i.e. healthcare).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a qualitative study of the centrally directed reform of the healthcare financing system in Ukraine and focusses on practices and reform ideas from 1991 to 2016.

Findings

The findings show that, for more than 25 years, local governments, as providers of healthcare services, faced two major problems associated with drawbacks of the healthcare financial system: line-item budgeting and fragmentation of healthcare funds. Over 25 years, central government's attempts to reform the healthcare financing system did not comprehensively or systematically address the stated problems. The reformers' ideas seemed to focus on creating reform agendas and issuing new laws, instead of paying attention to challenges in local practices.

Practical implications

This article has two main points that are relevant for practitioners. First, it calls for greater involvement from local actors during all stages of public sector reforms, in order to ensure the relevance of developed reform strategies. Second, it points to potential challenges that central governments may face when conducting healthcare financing system reforms in transitional economies.

Originality/value

The paper's contribution is twofold: it outlines reasons for problematic implementation of healthcare financing system reform in Ukraine and explains them through a “reverse decoupling” concept.
A product reputation framework based on social multimedia content
Authors: Ennaji Fatima Zohra , El Fazziki Abdelaziz , El Alaoui El Abdallaoui Hasna , Benslimane Djamal , Sadgal Mohamed
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to bring together the textual and multimedia opinions, since the use of social data has become the new trend that enables to gather the product reputation traded in social media. Integrating a product reputation process into the companies' strategy will bring several benefits such as helping in decision-making regarding the current and the new generation of the product by understanding the customers’ needs. However, image-centric sentiment analysis has received much less attention than text-based sentiment detection.

Design/methodology/approach

In this work, the authors propose a multimedia content-based product reputation framework that helps in detecting opinions from social media. Thus, in this case, the analysis of a certain publication is made by combining their textual and multimedia parts.

Findings

To test the effectiveness of the proposed framework, a case study based on YouTube videos has been established, as it brings together the image, the audio and the video processing at the same time.

Originality/value

The key novelty is the implication of multimedia content in addition of the textual one with the goal of gathering opinions about a certain product. The multimedia analysis brings together facial sentiment detection, printed text analysis, opinion detection from speeches and textual opinion analysis.
“When I saw my peers annotating”
Authors: Kalir Jeremiah Holden , Morales Esteban , Fleerackers Alice , Alperin Juan Pablo
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Social annotation (SA) is a genre of learning technology that enables the annotation of digital resources for information sharing, social interaction and knowledge production. This study aims to examine the perceived value of SA as contributing to learning in multiple undergraduate courses.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 59 students in 3 upper-level undergraduate courses at a Canadian university participated in SA-enabled learning activities during the winter 2019 semester. A survey was administered to measure how SA contributed to students’ perceptions of learning and sense of community.

Findings

A majority of students reported that SA supported their learning despite differences in course subject, how SA was incorporated and encouraged and how widely SA was used during course activities. While findings of the perceived value of SA as contributing to the course community were mixed, students reported that peer annotations aided comprehension of course content, confirmation of ideas and engagement with diverse perspectives.

Research limitations/implications

Studies about the relationships among SA, learning and student perception should continue to engage learners from multiple courses and from multiple disciplines, with indicators of perception measured using reliable instrumentation.

Practical implications

Researchers and faculty should carefully consider how the technical, instructional and social aspects of SA may be used to enable course-specific, personal and peer-supported learning.

Originality/value

This study found a greater variance in how undergraduate students perceived SA as contributing to the course community. Most students also perceived their own and peer annotations as productively contributing to learning. This study offers a more complete view of social factors that affect how SA is perceived by undergraduate students.
Revealing the interface nature of ZDDP tribofilm by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atom probe tomography
Authors: Hsu Chia-Jui , Barrirero Jenifer , Merz Rolf , Stratmann Andreas , Aboulfadl Hisham , Jacobs Georg , Kopnarski Michael , Mücklich Frank , Gachot Carsten
Published: April 2020

Purpose

To decrease wear and friction, zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) has been used in engine oil for several decades, but the mechanism of the tribofilm formation is still unclear. The purpose of this study is to characterize the chemical details of the tribofilm by using high-resolution approaching.

Design/methodology/approach

An ISO VG 100 mineral oil mixed with ZDDP was used in sliding tests on cylindrical roller bearings. Tribofilm formation was observed after 2 h of the sliding test. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atom probe tomography (APT) were used for chemical analysis of the tribofilm.

Findings

The results show that the ZDDP tribofilm consists of the common ZDDP elements along with iron oxides. A considerable amount of zinc and a small amount of sulfur were observed. In particular, an oxide interlayer with sulfur enrichment was revealed by APT between the tribofilm and the steel substrate. The depth profile of the chemical composition was obtained, and a tribofilm of approximately 40 nm thickness was identified by XPS.

Originality/value

A sulfur enrichment at the interface is observed by APT, which is beneath an oxygen enrichment. The clear evidence of the S interlayer confirms the hard and soft acids and bases principle.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at:https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-01-2020-0035/
Challenges and barriers in finding, forming and performing for network creation
Authors: Moazzez Hashem , Torabi Khargh Mohammad , Nilforoushan Hadi , Sahebkar Khorasani Mohammad
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is as follows: studying a case for technological innovation in Iran; studying the process of network creation; studying different challenges in finding, forming and performing of a collaboration network; studying comprehensive identification and analysis of the challenges in the network creation process; studying an active collaboration network in the field of medical equipment; and studying a network with different partners (consisting of a large company, a small- and medium-sized company, two subcontractors, three universities, a start-up, an accelerator and a venture capital fund).

Design/methodology/approach

The qualitative research method has been used because of a deep and rich analysis of the studied network. The study also provides an overview of finding and forming of partners and details of collaborations in the network, including partner’s goals from network entry, initial negotiations between members, business plan, shared resources and final results are expressed. The data used in this study has been collected by a totally seven semi-structured interviews. To analyze the collected data by open coding, the MAXQDA12 software was used and the basic concepts were identified and were categorized based on their similarities.

Findings

The studied network was identified as a strategic alliance. Details of finding, forming and performing of the studied network were explained. In total, 4 collaboration models and 28 different challenges in the network creation process were identified. In total, 28 different challenges were divided into 7 categories (based on their existence or absence in each of the 4 identified collaboration models). In total, seven categories of challenges were analyzed completely and the relations between challenges and partners of collaboration models were studied.

Originality/value

The collaboration network studied in this research involves several technological collaborations among different actors. Saadat, as the hub of this network, has been involved in all these collaborations, and other members have joined the network in accordance with network requirements and their capabilities. This network has been formed and developed with the aim of developing and producing various modules of vital signs monitoring since 2009. Some of the collaborations in this network, which are for production of a specific module and require long-term collaboration between the partners (such as the production of electrocardiograph or heart attack rapid diagnostic module), continue to be ongoing and some of them that focus on research and development or acquisition of technical knowledge (such as academic collaboration) after the specified result has been ended.
The long run relationship between fish production, marine trade balance and foreign direct investment
Authors: Jamei Naseem H. , Nurmakhanova Mira , Mustafa Shahbaz , Egbulonu Alloysius , Hadidan Wagdi
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on testing the long-run relationship between fish production and two main variables, the foreign direct investment inflow and the marine trade balance in Oman, which is one of the Arab Gulf countries, during the period 1985-2016.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses what known as the two-step Engle–Granger cointegration test to give evidence for the long-run relationship among the variables.

Findings

The results show that there are a negative long- and short-run relations between fish production and marine trade balance; moreover, any shocks will be corrected within two periods at the most. 

Originality/value

This study is one of few studies in using the econometric models to study the impact of fish production on marine trade balance and foreign direct investment.
Thermo-diffusion of solid cylinders based upon refined dual-phase-lag models
Authors: Zenkour Ashraf M.
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The thermo-diffusion analysis of an isotropic cylinder under thermal flux and chemical potential impacts has been discussed. Improvements of Green and Naghdi generalized thermoelasticity theory have been proposed.

Design/methodology/approach

Some models with and without energy dissipation have been presented as well as the simple forms of Green–Naghdi (G–N) theories. These novel multi- and single-/dual-phase-lag models are presented to investigate the thermo-diffusion of the solid cylinder. The closed-form solution of thermo-diffusion governing equations of solid cylinder has been obtained to deduce all field variables.

Findings

A comparison study between the simple G–N II and III models and their improved models has been presented. The validations of outcomes are acceptable and so benchmarks are reported to help other investigators in their future comparisons.

Originality/value

The modified Green and Naghdi theories of types II and III are presented to get novel and accurate models of single- and dual-phase-lag of multiterms. The heat of mass diffusion equation as well as the constitutive equations for the stresses and chemical potential of a solid cylinder is added to the present formulation. The system of three differential coupled equations is solved, and all field variables are obtained for the thermal diffusion of the solid cylinder. Some validation examples and applications are presented to compare the simple and modified Green and Naghdi theories of types II and III. Sample plots are illustrated along the radial direction of the solid cylinder. Some results are tabulated to serve as benchmark results for future comparisons with other investigators. The reported and illustrated results show that the simple G–N II and III models yield the largest values of all field quantities. The single-phase-lag models give the smallest values. However, the dual-phase-lag model yields results that are intermediate between those of the simple and single-phase-lag G–N models.
Bounded rationality in a P2P lending market
Authors: Kim Dongwoo
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This study seeks to provide a systematic analysis of bounded rationality expressed by individual lenders in a Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending market.

Design/methodology/approach

26,383 personal loan listings collected from Moneyauction in Korea, were analyzed with binary logit regression. 6 hypothesis based on bounded rationality theory were constructed and tested. Binary logit regression was employed as both dependent variables have binary characteristics and can thus be assigned values equal to 0 or 1.

Findings

The results confirm that individual P2P lenders make their funding decisions based on bounded rationality, arousing from cognitive limitations, incomplete information, and time constraints.

Research limitations/implications

By adopting the theory of bounded rationality, this study attempts to prepare the theoretical background for an explanation of the decision behavior of individual lenders in a P2P lending market.

Practical implications

The findings of this research emphasize the importance of the platform provider's role to facilitate the sustainable market growth of P2P lending as an alternative form of finance. As the rationality of individual lenders is bounded during their decision-making process according to the research findings, the platform provider must continuously adjust their decision criteria by referencing the cumulative loan repayment data.

Originality/value

This study attempts to identify for the first time the suboptimal decision making by individual lenders in a P2P lending market on the basis of bounded rationality theory.
Testing deviations from PPP and UIP: evidence from BRICS economies
Authors: Prabheesh K.P. , Garg Bhavesh
Published: April 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the interrelations between purchasing power parity (PPP) and uncovered interest parity (UIP) in BRICS economies, namely, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, by checking the validity of the capital-enhanced equilibrium exchange rate (CHEER) approach. Further, this study tests whether the CHEER results are data frequency-dependent.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study uses monthly data ranging from 1997M01 to 2016M12 and considers the US economy as the representative foreign country. The study uses structural break unit root test and structural break cointegration technique to test the presence of economic relationships between nominal exchange rates and each of the price and interest rate differentials. Then, the study examines the validity of the CHEER approach by testing the appropriate theoretical restrictions.

Findings

The cointegration results suggest the existence of two cointegrating vectors representing UIP and PPP conditions. For all countries, the data appear to support the hypothesis that the system contains UIP and PPP relations. However, each of the international parity hypotheses is strongly rejected when formulated in isolation and jointly, leading to repudiation of the CHEER validity. Further, it is found that the results are data frequency-dependent and suggest that higher frequencies should be used as they provide additional information.

Originality/value

First, the literature on equilibrium exchange rates in BRICS economies is scanty. BRICS economies are large-emerging economies and one of the fastest growing economies and thus entail an empirical enquiry on their exchange rates. Second, the empirical application has mainly used monthly data to test the validity of the CHEER approach. However, data frequencies could affect the results. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to check data frequency-dependency in examination of the CHEER approach.
Warmer nights offer no respite for a defensive mutualism
Authors: Higashi Clesson H. V. , Barton Brandon T. , Oliver Kerry M.
Published: April 2020

Ecologically relevant symbioses are widespread in terrestrial arthropods but based on recent findings these specialized interactions are likely to be especially vulnerable to climate warming. Importantly, empirical data and climate models indicate that warming is occurring asynchronously, with night‐time temperatures increasing faster than daytime temperatures. Daytime (DTW) and night‐time warming (NTW) may impact ectothermic animals and their interactions differently as DTW results in greater daily temperature variation and moves organisms nearer to their thermal limits, while NTW avoids thermal limits and may relieve constraints of cooler night‐time temperatures; a nuance that has largely been ignored in the literature.

In laboratory experiments, we investigated how the timing of warming influences a widespread defensive mutualism involving the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum, and its heritable symbiont, Hamiltonella defensa, which protects against an important natural enemy, the parasitic wasp Aphidius ervi.

Three aphid sublines were experimentally created from single aphid genotype susceptible to A. ervi: one line infected with a highly protective H. defensa strain, one infected with a moderately protective strain and one without any facultative symbiont. We examined aphid fitness in the presence and absence of parasitoids and when exposed to an average 2.5°C increase occurring across three warming scenarios (night‐time vs. daytime vs. uniform) relative to no‐warming controls.

An increase of 2.5°C, as predicted to occur by the IPCC before 2100, was sufficient to disable the aphid defensive mutualism regardless of the timing of warming; a surprising result given that the daily maxima for control and NTW scenarios were identical. We also found that warming negatively impacted (a) symbiont‐mediated interactions between host and parasitoid more than symbiont‐free ones; (b) species interactions (host–parasitoid) more than each participant independently and (c) aphids more than parasitoids even though higher trophic levels are generally predicted to be more affected by warming.

Here we show that 2.5°C warming, regardless of timing, negatively impacted a common microbe‐mediated defensive mutualism. While this was a laboratory‐based study, results suggest that temperature increases predicted in the near‐term may disrupt the many ecological symbioses present in terrestrial ecosystems.
Abruptly and irreversibly changing Arctic freshwaters urgently require standardized monitoring
Authors: Heino Jani , Culp Joseph M. , Erkinaro Jaakko , Goedkoop Willem , Lento Jennifer , Rühland Kathleen M. , Smol John P.
Published: April 2020

Arctic regions support a wide variety of freshwater ecosystems. These naturally oligotrophic and cold‐water streams, rivers, ponds and lakes are currently being impacted by a diverse range of anthropogenic pressures, such as accelerated climate change, permafrost thaw, land‐use change, eutrophication, brownification and the replacement of northern biota with the range expansion of more southern species.

Multiple stressors are rapidly changing Arctic freshwater systems as aquatic habitats are becoming more suitable for species originating from more southerly regions and thereby threatening biota adapted to cold waters. The livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples of the north will be altered when ecosystem services associated with changes in biodiversity are affected. Unfortunately, monitoring of biodiversity change in Arctic freshwaters is currently inadequate, making it difficult, if not impossible, to predict changes in ecosystem services.

Synthesis and applications. We propose a three‐step approach to better address and facilitate monitoring of the rapid ecological changes that Arctic freshwater ecosystems are currently experiencing as a result of climate change. First, we should increase our efforts in the monitoring of freshwaters across all Arctic countries by setting up a network of monitoring sites and devoting more effort to a broad‐scale baseline survey using standardized methods. Second, we should enhance modelling efforts to include both ecological change and socio‐economic development. These models should help pinpoint species, ecosystems and geographical areas that are likely to show abrupt changes in response to any changes. Third, we should increase interaction among scientists, policymakers and different stakeholder groups. In particular, Indigenous Peoples must be involved in the leadership, planning and execution of monitoring and assessment activities of Arctic freshwaters. The proposed approach, which is critical to detecting the effects of climate change in the circumpolar region, has broader applications for global coordination of Arctic freshwater biomonitoring. Through routine monitoring, standardization of methods, enhanced modelling of integrated scientific and socio‐economic change, and increased collaboration within and among sectors, more effective monitoring and management of climate change impacts on freshwater biodiversity will be possible in the Arctic and globally.
Community‐level interactions between plants and soil biota during range expansion
Authors: Koorem Kadri , Snoek Basten L. , Bloem Janneke , Geisen Stefan , Kostenko Olga , Manrubia Marta , Ramirez Kelly S. , Weser Carolin , Wilschut Rutger A. , van der Putten Wim H.
Published: April 2020

Plant species that expand their range in response to current climate change will encounter soil communities that may hinder, allow or even facilitate plant performance. It has been shown repeatedly for plant species originating from other continents that these plants are less hampered by soil communities from the new than from the original range. However, information about the interactions between intra‐continental range expanders and soil communities is sparse, especially at community level.

Here we used a plant–soil feedback experiment approach to examine if the interactions between range expanders and soil communities change during range expansion. We grew communities of range‐expanding and native plant species with soil communities originating from the original and new range of range expanders. In these conditioned soils, we determined the composition of fungi and bacteria by high‐throughput amplicon sequencing of the ITS region and the 16S rRNA gene respectively. Nematode community composition was determined by microscopy‐based morphological identification. Then we tested how these soil communities influence the growth of subsequent communities of range expanders and natives.

We found that after the conditioning phase soil bacterial, fungal and nematode communities differed by origin and by conditioning plant communities. Despite differences in bacterial, fungal and nematode communities between original and new range, soil origin did not influence the biomass production of plant communities. Both native and range expanding plant communities produced most above‐ground biomass in soils that were conditioned by plant communities distantly related to them.

Synthesis. Communities of range‐expanding plant species shape specific soil communities in both original and new range soil. Plant–soil interactions of range expanders in communities can be similar to the ones of their closely related native plant species.
‘Too Much, too Indigestible, too Fast’? The Decades of Struggle for Abortion Law Reform in Northern Ireland
Authors: Sheldon Sally , O'Neill Jane , Parker Clare , Davis Gayle
Published: April 2020

In July 2019, the UK Parliament voted by an overwhelming majority for fundamental reform of Northern Ireland's archaic abortion laws. Regulations implementing the reform came into effect on 25 March 2020. Drawing on extensive archival resources and a small number of interviews, we locate this extraordinary political moment in a broader historical context. We explore the factors that blocked the possibility of reform in either Westminster or Stormont for over five decades and consider what it was that had changed in 2019 to render it possible. While the measure passed in Westminster represents a radical rupture with the past, we suggest that it was anything other than sudden, rather representing the culmination of decades of sustained campaigning. We conclude by briefly discussing what this change is likely to mean for the future.
Effect of progestogen for women with threatened miscarriage: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Li L , Zhang Y , Tan H , Bai Y , Fang F , Faramand A , Chong W , Hai Y
Published: April 2020

Background

Threatened miscarriage is a common complication of pregnancy. Results of randomised controlled trials on the efficacy of progestogen in the treatment of threatened miscarriage remain inconsistent.

Objective

To investigate whether the use of progestogen is associated with improved event rate of live birth and other benefits in women with threatened miscarriage.

Search strategy

Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase and Cochrane CENTRAL Register of Controlled Trials from their inception until 8 July 2019.

Selection criteria

Randomised controlled trials comparing progestogen with a placebo or no treatment for pregnancy outcomes in women with threatened miscarriage.

Data collection and analysis

Two authors independently conducted data extraction and assessed study quality. We calculated risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals using the Mantel–Haenszel approach for dichotomous outcomes.

Main results

Ten trials with a total of 5056 participants were eligible for analysis. The use of progesterone increased the incidence of live birth (RR 1.07, 95% CI 1.00–1.15; P = 0.04; I2 = 18%), with benefit only seen with the use of oral progestogen (RR 1.17, 95% CI 1.04–1.31; P = 0.008; I2 = 0%) and not with vaginal progesterone (RR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00–1.08; P = 0.07; I2 = 0%). Similarly, progestogen reduced the risk of miscarriage (RR 0.73, 95% CI 0.59–0.92), with benefit only seen with oral progestogen and not with vaginal progesterone.

Conclusion

Progestogens may have benefits on live birth rate and miscarriage rate for women with threatened miscarriage. These benefits appear to be confined to the use of oral progestogen, and no statistically significant improvements were seen with vaginal progesterone.

Tweetable abstract

A meta‐analysis of 10 trials found that progestogens increased live birth rates and reduced miscarriage rates for women with threatened miscarriage.
Radiation dose escalation with modified fractionation schedules for locally advanced NSCLC: A systematic review
Authors: Zehentmayr Franz , Grambozov Brane , Kaiser Julia , Fastner Gerd , Sedlmayer Felix
Published: April 2020

Concomitant chemo‐radiotherapy (cCRT) with 60 Gy in 30 fractions is the standard of care for stage 111 non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). With a median overall survival of 28.7 months at best and maximum locoregional control rates of 70% at two years, the prognosis for these patients is still dismal. This systematic review summarizes data on dose escalation by alternative fractionation, which has been explored as a primary strategy to improve both local control and overall survival over the past three decades. A Pubmed literature search was performed according to the PRISMA guidelines. Because of the large variety of radiation regimens total doses were converted to EQD2,T. Only studies using an EQD2,T of at least 49.5 Gy, which corresponds to the conventional 60 Gy in six weeks, were included. In a total of 3256 patients, the median OS was 17 months (range 7.4–30 months). While OS was better for patients treated after the year 2000 (P = 0.003) or with a mandatory 18F‐FDG‐PET‐CT in the diagnostic work‐up (P = 0.001), treatment sequence did not make a difference (P = 0.106). The most commonly reported toxicity was acute esophagitis (AE) with a median rate of 24% (range 0%–84%). AE increased at a rate of 0.5% per Gy increment in EQD2,T (P = 0.016). Dose escalation above the conventional 60 Gy using modified radiation fractionation schedules and shortened OTT yield similar mOS and LRC regardless of treatment sequence with a significant EQD2,T dependent increase in AE.

Key points

Significant findings

Modified radiation dose escalation sequentially combined with chemotherapy yields similar outcome as concomitant treatment.

OS is better with the mandatory inclusion of FDG‐PET‐CT in the diagnostic work‐up.

The risk of acute esophagitis increases with higher EQD2,T.

What this study adds

Chemo‐radiotherapy (CRT) with modified dose escalation regimens yields OS and LC rates in the range of standard therapy regardless of treatment sequence. This broadens the database of curative options in patients who are not eligible concomitant CRT.
Systematic age‐, organ‐, and diet‐associated ionome remodeling and the development of ionomic aging clocks
Authors: Zhang Bohan , Podolskiy Dmitriy I. , Mariotti Marco , Seravalli Javier , Gladyshev Vadim N.
Published: April 2020

Aging involves coordinated yet distinct changes in organs and systems throughout life, including changes in essential trace elements. However, how aging affects tissue element composition (ionome) and how these changes lead to dysfunction and disease remain unclear. Here, we quantified changes in the ionome across eight organs and 16 age groups of mice. This global profiling revealed novel interactions between elements at the level of tissue, age, and diet, and allowed us to achieve a broader, organismal view of the aging process. We found that while the entire ionome steadily transitions along the young‐to‐old trajectory, individual organs are characterized by distinct element changes. The ionome of mice on calorie restriction (CR) moved along a similar but shifted trajectory, pointing that at the organismal level this dietary regimen changes metabolism in order to slow down aging. However, in some tissues CR mimicked a younger state of control mice. Even though some elements changed with age differently in different tissues, in general aging was characterized by the reduced levels of elements as well as their increased variance. The dataset we prepared also allowed to develop organ‐specific, ionome‐based markers of aging that could help monitor the rate of aging. In some tissues, these markers reported the lifespan‐extending effect of CR. These aging biomarkers have the potential to become an accessible tool to test the age‐modulating effects of interventions.
Do fetal extravillous trophoblasts circulate in maternal blood postpartum?
Authors: van de Looij Anne , Singh Ripudaman , Hatt Lotte , Ravn Katarina , Jeppesen Line D. , Nicolaisen Bolette H. , Kølvraa Mathias , Vogel Ida , Schelde Palle , Uldbjerg Niels
Published: April 2020

Introduction

Circulating fetal extravillous trophoblasts may offer a superior alternative to cell‐free fetal DNA for noninvasive prenatal testing. Cells of fetal origin are a pure source of fetal genome; hence, unlike the cell‐free noninvasive prenatal test, the fetal cell‐based noninvasive prenatal test is not expected to be affected by maternal DNA. However, circulating fetal cells from previous pregnancies may lead to confounding results.

Material and methods

To study whether fetal trophoblast cells persist in maternal circulation postpartum, blood samples were collected from 11 women who had given birth to a boy, with blood sampling at 1‐3 days (W0), 4‐5 weeks (W4‐5), around 8 weeks (W8) and around 12 weeks (W12) postpartum. The existence of fetal extravillous trophoblasts was verified either by X and Y chromosome fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis or by short tandem repeat analysis. To exclude technological bias in isolating fetal cells, blood samples were also collected from 10 pregnant women between a gestational age of 10 and 14 weeks, the optimal time frame for cell‐based noninvasive prenatal test sampling. All the samples were processed according to protocols established by ARCEDI Biotech for fetal extravillous trophoblast enrichment and isolation.

Results

Fetal extravillous trophoblasts were found in all the 10 samples from pregnant women between a gestational age of 10 and 14 weeks. However, only 4 of 11 blood samples taken from women at 1‐3 days postpartum rendered fetal extravillous trophoblasts, and only 2 of 11 samples rendered fetal extravillous trophoblasts at 4 weeks postpartum.

Conclusions

In this preliminary dataset on few pregnancies, none of the samples rendered any fetal cells at or after 8 weeks postpartum, showing that cell‐based noninvasive prenatal testing based on fetal extravillous trophoblasts is unlikely to be influenced by circulating cells from previous pregnancies.
Toward a More Expansive View of Priming in Organizations: Reflections on Chen, Latham, Piccolo, and Itzchakov
Authors: Schneider Benjamin
Published: April 2020

The commentary first briefly presents selected notes on the Chen et al. (in press) excellent and inclusive article on primed goals and their effects. Then, it suggests that there exist at least two major streams of research that are conceptually allied with the priming construct that can serve to expand the range and importance of the implications of primed goals: the self‐fulfilling prophecy (SFP) and the organizational climate constructs. Brief reviews of these robust research literatures are then presented and linked conceptually to priming. The conclusion reached is that the validity of the priming construct has potentially wider conceptual and practical application and validity than a surface reading of the Chen et al. (2020) review might suggest.
Comparative accuracy of ferritin, transferrin saturation and soluble transferrin receptor for the diagnosis of iron deficiency in inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Daude Sébastien , Remen Thomas , Chateau Thomas , Danese Silvio , Gastin Isabelle , Baumann Cédric , Gueant Jean Louis , Peyrin‐Biroulet Laurent
Published: April 2020

Background

The diagnosis of iron deficiency is based on ferritin and transferrin saturation (TfS) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, yet guideline thresholds are not evidence‐based. Soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) is one of the best noninvasive tests in patients with inflammation.

Aims

To evaluate the accuracy of ferritin and/or TfS for diagnosing iron deficiency in IBD and identify the optimal thresholds of these parameters using sTfR as reference.

Methods

Two hundred and two patients (2072 samples) receiving at least one infusion of biologic (vedolizumab or infliximab) were included.

Results

In ulcerative colitis patients with C‐reactive protein (CRP) <10 mg/L, optimal iron deficiency diagnostic performances were observed with ferritin and TfS thresholds of 65 µg/L (sensitivity of 0.78 and specificity of 0.76) and 16% (sensitivity of 0.79 and specificity of 0.90), respectively. For ulcerative colitis patients with CRP > 10 mg/L, the thresholds with the best diagnostic performance were 80 µg/L (sensitivity of 0.75 and a specificity of 0.82) for ferritin and 11% for TfS (sensitivity of 0.75 and a specificity of 0.82). There was no added value for combined ferritin and TfS. No ferritin or TfS threshold had good diagnostic performance in Crohn's disease patients (AUC for ferritin was 0.65 (95% CI 0.55‐0.75) and the AUC for TfS was 0.70 (95% CI 0.61‐0.78).

Conclusion

Ferritin and TfS are reliable parameters for iron deficiency diagnosis only in ulcerative colitis patients, at thresholds different from current guidelines. In Crohn's disease patients, sTfR should be used given the poor diagnostic performance of ferritin and TfS.
Right‐Wing Populism and Climate Change Denial: The Roles of Exclusionary and Anti‐Egalitarian Preferences, Conservative Ideology, and Antiestablishment Attitudes
Authors: Jylhä Kirsti M. , Hellmer Kahl
Published: April 2020

Populist right‐wing politicians and voters tend to dismiss climate change. To investigate possible reasons for this, we tested correlations between climate change denial and variables linked to right‐wing populism (Study 1: N = 1,587; Study 2: N = 909). The strongest predictor of climate change denial was an index capturing exclusionary and anti‐egalitarian preferences (opposition to, e.g., multiculturalism and feminism), followed by traditional values (Study 1) and Social Dominance Orientation (Study 2). Populist antiestablishment attitudes correlated only weakly with climate change denial, and this correlation vanished when exclusionary and anti‐egalitarian preferences were controlled for. Also, the effects of authoritarianism (Study 2) and (low) openness vanished in the full models. Climate change denial did not correlate with (low) agreeableness, which is a personality trait linked to populism. However, both antiestablishment attitudes and climate change denial correlated with pseudoscientific beliefs (e.g., anti‐vaccination attitudes) (Study 1). To conclude, we did not find support for a notable linkage between climate change denial and populist antiestablishment attitudes. Thus, when addressing climate change denial, it could be more beneficial to focus on the ideological worldviews that are being protected by denial, such as endorsement of the existing societal power relations, than on the antiestablishment arguments used by some who deny.
Mechanism‐based treatment of cancer with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies
Authors: Abdou Yara , Pandey Manu , Sarma Maithreyi , Shah Shrunjal , Baron Jeffrey , Ernstoff Marc S.
Published: April 2020

Immune checkpoints are cell surface molecules that initiate regulatory pathways which have powerful control of CD8+ cytolytic T cell activity. Antagonistic and agonistic antibodies engaging these molecules have demonstrated profound impact on immune activation and have entered clinical use for the treatment of a variety of diseases. Over the past decade, antagonistic antibodies known as immune checkpoint inhibitors have become a new pillar of cancer treatment and have reshaped the therapeutic landscape in oncology. These agents differ in their mechanism of action and toxicity profiles compared to more traditional systemic cancer treatments such as chemo‐ and targeted therapies. This article reviews the pharmacology of this new class of agents.