bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Entrepreneurial orientation driven employee retention: mediating role of human capital development
Authors: Kapur Inakshi , Tyagi Pallavi
Published: December 2022

Purpose

The study explores how organizations can leverage an entrepreneurial orientation to encourage human capital development and employee retention. The mediating role of human capital development is also examined.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected from 224 IT sector employees in India, and analysis was done using Covariance Based Structural Equation Modeling.

Findings

Significant, positive relationships were reported between entrepreneurial orientation and human capital development and employee retention. Furthermore, human capital development showed a positive effect on employee retention. Finally, the mediating role of human capital development in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and employee retention was also positively significant.

Originality/value

The study explores the role played by human capital development in strengthening the association between entrepreneurial orientation and employee retention.
Barriers to BIM for facilities management adoption in Nigeria: a multivariate analysis
Authors: Ikediashi Dubem Isaac , Ansa Otoabasi Asuquo , Ujene Anthony Okwogume , Akoh Sani Reuben
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Building information modelling (BIM) has been established in the literature as a successful platform that creates an intelligent virtual model for processing data from conceptual design through construction to operational stage of a facility. However, its adoption for facilities management (FM) provision in Nigeria has been slow due to inherent barriers. The aim of this paper is to (1) assess and categorise using factor analysis BIM for FM barriers and (2) model the barriers using stakeholders' personal/professional attributes.

Design/methodology/approach

Anchored on quantitative research design, 205 copies of structured questionnaire were distributed to key stakeholders and facilities managers in Nigeria's three strategic cities while 135 valid responses were received giving a response rate of 65.8%. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics while multiple regression analysis was used to model the barriers. Kruskal Wallis test was used to test the only hypothesis postulated for the study.

Findings

The study established lack of awareness of BIM for FM, poor supporting infrastructure for Internet services, and lack of education and training as the top three rated barriers militating against adoption of BIM for FM in Nigeria while corruption, widespread mistakes and errors and cultural issues were established as the three least rated barriers. Besides, findings also established eight underlying factors that explained 23 barrier factors used for the study which were subsequently used to develop eight regression models. In effect, gender, professional affiliation, organisation, experience, education, expertise, BIM for FM project type, and location were found to statistically predict the 8 extracted factors driving perceived barriers of BIM for FM adoption in Nigeria.

Practical implications

The study has provided a framework of barrier factors to help stakeholders identify specific barriers for which appropriate measures can be taken to ameliorate consequences of the perceived barriers. Meanwhile, an improved and rejuvenated advocacy on inherent benefits of BIM for facilities management by frontline stakeholders could potentially steer up interests and increased participation of stakeholders on BIM for FM.

Originality/value

The unique study developed the first ever regression model that links BIM for FM barriers to professional attributes of facilities management stakeholders in Nigeria.
The economics of Pope Francis: the promise of markets and the poverty of intervention
Authors: Mead Kling Hannah , Norgaard Julia R. , Wenzel Nikolai G.
Published: December 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to study Catholic Social Theory (CST) and its implications for economic development. From the early days of CST through the papacy of Benedict XVI, the Church has been consistent about the promise and limits of markets. Markets offer the necessary foundation for human flourishing – but they must be ordered toward the common good and they carry the potential for spiritual loss. Pope Francis has changed course from over a century of CST, with a markedly different view of business, labor and free markets.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper summarizes 130 years of CST regarding the economy and describes the turn Pope Francis takes from this tradition. This paper discusses economic theory and analyzes the importance of markets for economic development and assesses Pope Francis’ economics in light of this theory.

Findings

This paper discusses the findings that – despite what we assume to be good intentions – the economics of Pope Francis would condemn billions to poverty. Others (Whaples, 2017a) have discussed the economics of Pope Francis.

Originality/value

Others (Whaples, 2017a) have discussed the economics of Pope Francis. This paper finds, however, that most of the critiques are too gentle, and do not recognize the full deleterious impact of the application of the new teachings.
Internationalization of transnational entrepreneurial firms from an advanced to emerging economy: the role of transnational mixed-embeddedness
Authors: Li Nicolas , Borah Dhruba , Kim Jihye , Ji Junzhe
Published: December 2022

Purpose

This study investigates the role of transnational mixed-embeddedness when transnational entrepreneurial firms (TEFs) become internationalized. First-generation immigrant entrepreneurs who maintain business arrangements in their home and host countries own TEFs. In many cases, they internationalize from emerging economies to advanced economies. Nevertheless, this study focuses on TEF cases that internationalize from an advanced to an emerging economy, which prior transnational entrepreneurship studies have largely overlooked.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses a qualitative approach based on six TEF case studies from Canada and the UK venturing into China to explore TEFs' internationalization.

Findings

The case studies explore the elements that constitute TEFs' cognitive and relational embeddedness—two main types of embeddedness—in home and host countries and how TEFs exploit such embeddedness for their internationalization. The results suggest that high levels of transnational mixed-embeddedness help TEFs reduce resource and institutional distance barriers in home countries, thereby assisting their internationalization. A framework that visualizes the role of transnational mixed-embeddedness in TEFs' internationalization and novel categorizations of transnational mixed-embeddedness is proposed.

Originality/value

Although there has been a growing demand for research on the emergence of internationalized smaller firms, there have been few empirical efforts on TEFs' internationalization. It is still unclear how TEFs internationalize differently than homegrown entrepreneurial firms. This study fills this gap in transnational entrepreneurship literature by examining the influence of transnational mixed-embeddedness on TEFs' internationalization.
Organizing for supply chain resilience: a high reliability network perspective
Authors: Peters Esmee , Knight Louise , Boersma Kees , Uenk Niels
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Both high reliability theory (HRT) and “new school” supply chain resilience (SCR) promote a multi-layered, adaptable, transformational, and holistic perspective on organizing and managing. The authors explore whether, and if so how, HRT offer fresh perspectives on the SCR challenges experienced during COVID-19 and on organizing for future resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

Addressing SCR at the interorganizational network level, and blending theory synthesis and case study research, the authors assess if and how HRN constructs and practices can guide analysis of SCR in dynamic, complex networks, and help shape development pathways towards organizing for resilience. Findings draw on thick description and iterative coding of data (58 interviews and 200+ documents) on the buyer network responsible for managing the supply of critical medical products in the Netherlands.

Findings

HRT highlights the interconnectedness of challenges encountered during COVID-19 and helps design future resilience through three lessons. Organizing for SCR requires (1) both anticipation and containment strategies, (2) stable working relationships characterized by trust, and (3) a clear basis of command underpinned by experience-based legitimacy.

Originality/value

Distinctive from SCR, which views crises as “black swans”, HRT organizes around everyday consideration of the risk of failure. Taking a buyer network perspective, the authors move beyond the buyer-supplier network focus in SCR. The authors contend that emphasis on measures such as supplier base management, stockpiling, and domestic production are essential but not sufficient. Rather, HRT implies that deep structural and social ties within the buyer network should also be emphasized.
Do institutional pressures promote green innovation? The effects of cross-functional coopetition in green supply chain management
Authors: Xu Yizhen , Chin Wynne , Liu Yide , He Kai
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Green supply chain management is an effective, environment-friendly business practice. Based on institutional theory and dynamic capability theory, the study examines the effect of institutional pressures to implement green supply chain management (GSCM) on green innovation, by considering the mediation effects of cross-functional coopetition.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted a survey of Chinese companies and collected 1,481 responses. The effects of institutional pressures for GSCM implementation were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

This study finds that coercive pressure, normative pressure and mimetic pressure for GSCM implementation are sufficient conditions to promote green innovation. Normative and mimetic pressures have significant positive effects on cross-functional coopetition. Cross-functional coopetition not only mediates the relationship between normative pressure and mimetic pressure and green innovation but also represents a necessary condition for it to occur.

Practical implications

First, managers should comprehend environmental regulations, embrace social norms on the environment and focus on competitors' successful GSCM practices. Second, management can organize training and establish performance-based rewards for enhancing a cross-functional coopetitive mindset to effectively respond to institutional pressures. Third, companies should establish multi-functional groups and informal networking via social events to motivate interaction, knowledge sharing and creative tension to achieve green innovation.

Originality/value

This paper expands the application of institutional theory to investigate the antecedent effects of institutional pressures on cross-functional coopetition. In addition, the study deepens understanding of dynamic capability theory in analyzing dynamic processes of cross-functional coopetition based on three dimensions of sensing, seizing and reconfiguring and empirically examines its mediating effects on institutional pressures and green innovation.
Establishing trust in the sharing economy: an analysis of organizational, systems and interpersonal level trust
Authors: Calabro Andrea , Nisar Tahir M. , Torchia Mariateresa , Tseng Hsiao-Ting
Published: December 2022

Purpose

In this study, the authors examine how organizational-, systems- and interpersonal-level trust may be required for a smooth functioning of the firms in the sharing economy (SE). The research objective is to explore the trust-building mechanisms of Airbnb, a leading SE organization, and its aim to foster generalized trust. An investigation of the Airbnb's promotion of different trust-building mechanisms will allow to evaluate their effectiveness in how they can help overcome scepticism and distrust between the transacting parties. Consequently, the authors can develop a unique theoretical perspective on generalized trust in SE environments and better understand any trust-related barriers preventing SE transactions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ a case study approach to investigate the research questions with the aim to fully understand the abstract and complex nature of trust. They focus on Airbnb as the company enjoys a leading market position, being a sharing economy firm. Moreover, the personal nature of accommodation sharing, which is the business of Airbnb, increases users' trust requirements, and so the company must take active steps to promote trust between the transacting parties. The authors adopt thematic analysis to execute the data analysis of the study's findings, which are derived from emergent themes and directed by the research objectives and relevant literature.

Findings

The results show that users of Airbnb are concerned about the danger of opportunistic hosts, although they are primarily motivated to use the company's services due to its economic benefits. Nevertheless, the success of Airbnb platform stems from the trust that the company has succeeded in establishing among its users, in particular interpersonal trust. Analysis reveals that generalized trust is fostered at an interpersonal level in the form of peer reviews, at an organizational level in terms of brand familiarity and at a systems level in regards to interface design.

Originality/value

The authors advance the argument that confidence to transact in the social economy stems from a combination of three levels of trust, including organizational-, systems- and interpersonal-level trust. These findings contribute to the body of trust research in information technology and people literature from its unique investigative setting, whilst simultaneously strengthening the primarily speculative research on SE with in-depth empirical evidence.
Heterogeneous analysis of free trade agreement between Pakistan and China: a policy guideline for CPEC
Authors: Imran Muhammad , Sattar Abdul , Alam Md Shabbir
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Economic ties and formation of trade blocks escalates the movement of goods among the participants and bring different economic and structural changes. Therefore, the current research emphasises on the distribution of market structure and industrial value added among the participant countries of China–Pakistan economic corridor project while focussing on pre and post FTA status.

Design/methodology/approach

This study utilises the footloose capital model for analysing whether China or Pakistan is more suitable for attracting factors of production to increase their share of industrial value added. For econometric analyses the current research utilises data from 1995 to 2018 and maximum likelihood effect method to assess factors that affect regional value-added distribution.

Findings

Results show that both countries owe different level of economic developments. Effect of capital is, comparatively, similar for both countries while Pakistan supports trade openness which points towards the fact of positive utilisation of abundant labour resources in Pakistan by establishing industrial structure either through domestic capital formation or foreign investment. Whereas, share of labour and trade openness of China positively affect value added production of China.

Originality/value

This is one of the unique studies that studies the regional economic treaties usefulness for any developing country across Asia. Where this study uses the footloose capital model and maximum likelihood method for its analysis which is not previously done, while for detailed analyses the study further divides the timeframe into two parts as pre-FTA ranges from 1995 to 2006, post-FTA from 2007 to 2018 while overall results consist of whole-time frame.
The population brain versus the population's brains: how entrepreneurs confound population planning
Authors: Jacobsen Peter
Published: December 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the full opportunity cost of population policies by contrasting standard models of optimal population, which consider individuals to be homogeneous laborers, with a view that considers individuals' capacity for entrepreneurship. This paper therefore examines this relationship between population and economic growth with entrepreneurship considered.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on James Buchanan's dichotomy of the organismic theory of government finance vs the individualistic theory and applies this dichotomy to population planning. This framework reveals entrepreneurial capacity is only compatible with the open-ended individualistic view. Lastly, the paper utilizes considers the number of potential entrepreneurs lost to China's one child policy and considers the case of Jack Ma as a concrete example of the potential opportunity cost of policies which seek to curb population growth.

Findings

The analysis shows it is impossible for either natural scientists or economists to determine a welfare-enhancing population policy. Creative and entrepreneurial individuals contribute to the economy in ways not captured by standard models. The implication is policies seeking to curb population growth may inhibit economic growth by reducing potential entrepreneurs. Politicians cannot measure the opportunity cost of forgone entrepreneurs, and therefore the costs of such policies are unseen.

Originality/value

While economists have examined the potential gains from creativity, this contribution is unique in that it highlights the inherent open-endedness involved in entrepreneurship means the opportunity cost of a forgone individual cannot be know because market conditions created by entrepreneurs do not exist absent the entrepreneurs.
The protection of whistleblowers in South African criminal cases
Authors: Nortje Jacobus Gerhardus J.
Published: December 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse the extent of protection available for whistleblowers in South African criminal cases.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper first provides a brief background of crime in South Africa and argues that the concept of the whistleblower is just a buss word or collective noun. The methodology of this paper consists of a literature review of whistleblowers and relevant laws that can be used to protect whistleblowers in South African criminal cases.

Findings

This paper concludes that the existing law as primarily contained in the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 provides appropriate protection for whistleblowers in South African criminal cases.

Research limitations/implications

Whistleblowers provide information on criminal, civil and disciplinary wrongdoings. This study focuses on the protection of whistleblowers pursuant to mainly the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper lies in the approach to the handling of whistleblowers in South African criminal cases. This is the first research done with the emphasis on the use of mainly the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 to protect whistleblowers in South African criminal cases. The contribution of the study is that, by using this approach, it can provide protection and save lives, and it may enhance the willingness of whistleblowers to blow the whistle, which will be beneficial to the community of South Africa as a whole.
A new theoretical model for online customer review intention
Authors: Chatterjee Sheshadri , Chaudhuri Ranjan , Vrontis Demetris , Kastanakis Minas
Published: December 2022

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the insights on how international customer behavior is impacted toward online customer review (OCR) by the mediating effects of social and personal norms in the varied cultural context. The study also investigates how support of peer influence could moderate the effect of OCR.

Design/methodology/approach

This study has used socialization theory, congruity theory and theory of planned behavior along with studies of different literature to develop a conceptual model. The conceptual model has been validated using PLS-SEM analysis with survey considering 306 usable respondents. The mediating effects and moderating impacts have been analyzed by mediating analysis process (process tool) and multi group analysis, respectively.

Findings

The results of the model, with 62% explanative power, highlight that social norm acts as a strong mediating variable to impact OCR intention while peer influence acts as a vital moderator to impact OCR intention.

Research limitations/implications

The theoretical model provides a solid foundation to future researchers for further study in this field. This study also provides the practitioners a unique opportunity towards understanding customer motivation for OCR intention. Accordingly, practitioners could bring some transformational changes in their organizations for getting better reviews from the customers.

Originality/value

This study develops a unique theoretical model with high explanative power. Very few studies have ventured in this field. This study has added value to the body of literature on consumer behavior as well as individualism. Furthermore, this study has developed some of the novel relationships between different factors such as individualism, peer influence, international consumers, social norm and so on in the context of OCR which is one of the unique contributions of this study.
Thermomechanical behavior of Glulam-beam connected to CLT-wall assemblies with steel doweled connections before, during and after fire
Authors: Shabanian Milad , Braxtan Nicole Leo
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Thermomechanical behavior of intermediate-size beam-to-wall assemblies including Glulam-beams connected to cross-laminated timber (CLT) walls with T-shape steel doweled connections was investigated at ambient temperature (AT) and after and during non-standard fire exposure.

Design/methodology/approach

Three AT tests were conducted to evaluate the load-carrying capacity and failure modes of the assembly at room temperature. Two post-fire performance (PFP) tests were performed to study the impact of 30-min (PFP30) and 60-min (PFP60) partial exposure to a non-standard fire on the residual strength of the assemblies. The assemblies were exposed to fire in a custom-designed frame, then cooled and loaded to failure. A fire performance (FP) test was conducted to study the fire resistance (FR) during non-standard fire exposure by simultaneously applying fire and a mechanical load equal to 65% of the AT load carrying capacity.

Findings

At AT, embedment failure of the dowels followed by splitting failure at the Glulam-beam and tensile failure of the epoxy between the layers of CLT-walls were the dominant failure modes. In both PFP tests, the plastic bending of the dowels was the only observed failure mode. The residual strength of the assembly was reduced 14% after 30 min and 37% after 60 min of fire exposure. During the FP test, embedment failure of timber in contact with the dowels was the only major failure mode, with the maximum rate of displacement at 51 min into the fire exposure.

Originality/value

This is the first time that the thermomechanical performance of such an assembly with a full-contact connection is presented.
The effectiveness of project-based learning on Emirati undergraduate students in a microbiology course
Authors: Ayoub Moubareck Carole
Published: December 2022

Purpose

A composting project was introduced into an undergraduate microbiology course, to evaluate its efficacy against traditional lecturing for teaching environmental sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

The research project was a semester-long intervention. Three groups of students participated in the study: a group of 47 female undergraduate students were involved in a composting project, a group of 43 female students were exposed to a traditional lecture and a group of 34 students were the control group. A pretest and a posttest were used, along with poster presentations for the composting project students. In addition, a questionnaire was used to examine students' attitudes toward composting and their waste management practices.

Findings

The project and lecture groups showed significant increases in average test-scores, with the post-project increase (20.9 points) being higher than the post-lecture increase (12.3 points). The questionnaire revealed that nonorganic waste recycling was practiced irregularly, while food waste was reused as livestock feed by 38% of the students. Composting was not common, but 23% of the students in the project group started household composting during the project. The students who were most satisfied with the project outcomes were willing to spend higher prices for a composting box (p = 0.036), showing a high correlation between awareness raising and environmental sustainability practices.

Social implications

The project-based learning approach had more impact than the traditional lecture in teaching environmental sustainability to the students. The project succeeded in improving students' composting knowledge and increased their interest in continuing the composting practices at home.

Originality/value

The study is the first attempt to measure the direct impact of composting education on Emirati students' knowledge of, and interest in environmental sustainable practices, vis-à-vis composting.
Conceptual model of knowledge management system for scholarly publication cycle in academic institution
Authors: Hidayat Deden Sumirat , Sensuse Dana Indra , Elisabeth Damayanti , Hasani Lintang Matahari
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Study on knowledge-based systems for scientific publications is growing very broadly. However, most of these studies do not explicitly discuss the knowledge management (KM) component as knowledge management system (KMS) implementation. This background causes academic institutions to face challenges in developing KMS to support scholarly publication cycle (SPC). Therefore, this study aims to develop a new KMS conceptual model, Identify critical components and provide research gap opportunities for future KM studies on SPC.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a systematic literature review (SLR) method with the procedure from Kitchenham et al. Then, the SLR results are compiled into a conceptual model design based on a framework on KM foundations and KM solutions. Finally, the model design was validated through interviews with related field experts.

Findings

The KMS for SPC focuses on the discovery, sharing and application of knowledge. The majority of KMS use recommendation systems technology with content-based filtering and collaborative filtering personalization approaches. The characteristics data used in KMS for SPC are structured and unstructured. Metadata and article abstracts are considered sufficiently representative of the entire article content to be used as a search tool and can provide recommendations. The KMS model for SPC has layers of KM infrastructure, processes, systems, strategies, outputs and outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

This study has limitations in discussing tacit knowledge. In contrast, tacit knowledge for SPC is essential for scientific publication performance. The tacit knowledge includes experience in searching, writing, submitting, publishing and disseminating scientific publications. Tacit knowledge plays a vital role in the development of knowledge sharing system (KSS) and KCS. Therefore, KSS and KCS for SPC are still very challenging to be researched in the future. KMS opportunities that might be developed further are lessons learned databases and interactive forums that capture tacit knowledge about SPC. Future work potential could identify other types of KMS in academia and focus more on SPC.

Originality/value

This study proposes a novel comprehensive KMS model to support scientific publication performance. This model has a critical path as a KMS implementation solution for SPC. This model proposes and recommends appropriate components for SPC requirements (KM processes, technology, methods/techniques and data). This study also proposes novel research gaps as KMS research opportunities for SPC in the future.
Trait impressions from voices: Considering multiple ‘origin stories’ and the dynamic nature of trait‐related cues
Authors: Lavan Nadine
Published: December 2022

Experimental findings for trait impressions from voices are often discussed in relation to potential evolutionary origins. This commentary takes Sutherland and Young's (2022) account of the different potential origins of facial trait impressions to suggest that vocal trait impressions should also be viewed as having been shaped by cultural and individual learning.
A sedimentary record of the evolution of the global marine phosphorus cycle
Authors: Planavsky Noah J. , Asael Dan , Rooney Alan D. , Robbins Leslie J. , Gill Benjamin C. , Dehler Carol M. , Cole Devon B. , Porter Susannah M. , Love Gordon D. , Konhauser Kurt O. , Reinhard Christopher T.
Published: December 2022

Phosphorus (P) is typically considered to be the ultimate limiting nutrient for Earth's biosphere on geologic timescales. As P is monoisotopic, its sedimentary enrichment can provide some insights into how the marine P cycle has changed through time. A previous compilation of shale P enrichments argued for a significant change in P cycling during the Ediacaran Period (635–541 Ma). Here, using an updated P compilation—with more than twice the number of samples—we bolster the case that there was a significant transition in P cycling moving from the Precambrian into the Phanerozoic. However, our analysis suggests this state change may have occurred earlier than previously suggested. Specifically in the updated database, there is evidence for a transition ~35 million years before the onset of the Sturtian Snowball Earth glaciation in the Visingsö Group, potentially divorcing the climatic upheavals of the Neoproterozoic from changes in the Earth's P cycle. We attribute the transition in Earth's sedimentary P record to the onset of a more modern‐like Earth system state characterized by less reducing marine conditions, higher marine P concentrations, and a greater predominance of eukaryotic organisms encompassing both primary producers and consumers. This view is consistent with organic biomarker evidence for a significant eukaryotic contribution to the preserved sedimentary organic matter in this succession and other contemporaneous Tonian marine sedimentary rocks. However, we stress that, even with an expanded dataset, we are likely far from pinpointing exactly when this transition occurred or whether Earth's history is characterized by a single or multiple transitions in the P cycle.
Rarity, geography, and plant exposure to global change in the California Floristic Province
Authors: Rose Miranda Brooke , Velazco Santiago José Elías , Regan Helen M. , Franklin Janet
Published: December 2022

Aim

Rarity and geographic aspects of species distributions mediate their vulnerability to global change. We explore the relationships between species rarity and geography and their exposure to climate and land use change in a biodiversity hotspot.

Location

California, USA.

Taxa

One hundred and six terrestrial plants.

Methods

We estimated four rarity traits: range size, niche breadth, number of habitat patches, and patch isolation; and three geographic traits: mean elevation, topographic heterogeneity, and distance to coast. We used species distribution models to measure species exposure—predicted change in continuous habitat suitability within currently occupied habitat—under climate and land use change scenarios. Using regression models, decision‐tree models and variance partitioning, we assessed the relationships between species rarity, geography, and exposure to climate and land use change.

Results

Rarity, geography and greenhouse gas emissions scenario explained >35% of variance in climate change exposure and >61% for land use change exposure. While rarity traits (range size and number of habitat patches) were most important for explaining species exposure to climate change, geographic traits (elevation and topographic heterogeneity) were more strongly associated with species' exposure to land use change.

Main conclusions

Species with restricted range sizes and low topographic heterogeneity across their distributions were predicted to be the most exposed to climate change, while species at low elevations were the most exposed to habitat loss via land use change. However, even some broadly distributed species were projected to lose >70% of their currently suitable habitat due to climate and land use change if they are in geographically vulnerable areas, emphasizing the need to consider both species rarity traits and geography in vulnerability assessments.
Antioxidant activity increased due to dynamic changes of flavonoids in orange peel during Aspergillus niger fermentation
Authors: Liu Ruiting , Tao Yexing , Xu Tingting , Wu Ting , Yu Qian , Pan Siyi , Xu Xiaoyun
Published: December 2022

Rich in flavonoids, orange peel (OP) converted into tangerine peel (TP) after long‐term storage and metabolism by surface microorganisms. The antioxidant activity of OP increased during ageing, but underlying mechanisms were still not clear. The current study simulated the ageing process by inoculating Aspergillus niger on OP. Antioxidant activity, total flavonoids, enzyme activities and hesperidin content were analysed at different fermentation times. The results showed that antioxidant activity was constantly increased and relatively consistent with total flavonoids. The maximum growth rate of antioxidant activity and total flavonoids appeared in 24–48 h. Total flavonoids content increased from 4.68 ± 0.04 to 8.32 ± 0.15 mg RE/g and positively co‐relate with cellulase and β‐glucosidase activities. During fermentation, nine flavonoids content accumulated, except that hesperidin began to convert into hesperetin after 72 h. In summary, these findings suggested that A. niger fermentation, which led to an increase in antioxidant activity, promoted the accumulation of flavonoids and transformation of hesperidin in OP. This study provided a microbial method for the effective utilisation of OP pomace.
Gut microbiome composition is similar between pregnant women with excess body fat with healthy and less healthy dietary intake patterns
Authors: O'Connor Hannah , Li Sherly , Hodge Allison , Callaway Leonie , David Mclntyre Harold , Barrett Helen , Wilkinson Shelley A. , Nitert Marloes Dekker
Published: December 2022

Background

Dietary composition influences the composition of the gut microbiota in healthy adults. Little is known about the effect of dietary patterns on gut microbiota composition in pregnancy. This cross‐sectional study aimed to investigate the associations between two diet quality scores adapted from the Australian Recommended Food Score (ARFS) and the Mediterranean Dietary Score (MDS) with the composition of the gut microbiota in pregnant women with excess body fat at 28 weeks' gestation.

Methods

Women from the Study of Probiotics IN Gestational diabetes (SPRING) who had completed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ; n = 395) were classified according to tertiles of ARFS and the MDS. Higher dietary pattern scores in both the ARFS and the MDS represent better diet quality. Gut microbiota composition was assessed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and analysed using MicrobiomeAnalyst in a subset of 196 women with faecal samples.

Results

No significant difference was found in alpha or beta diversity. A higher ARFS was associated with a higher abundance of Ruminococcus and lower abundance of Akkermansia, whereas a higher MDS was associated with a higher abundance of Ruminococcus and Butyricicoccus, though these changes disappeared after correction for multiple testing.

Conclusion

These results suggest that dietary patterns defined by the ARFS and MDS were not associated with gut microbiota composition in pregnant women classified as overweight and obese at 28 weeks’ gestation within this study.
A Model of True CHOICES: Learnings from a Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health Clinic in Tennessee that Provides Abortions and Opened the City's First Birth Center
Authors: Grayson Nikia , Quinones Nicole , Oseguera Talita
Published: December 2022

CHOICES: Memphis Center for Reproductive Health staff is passionate about ensuring that everyone has access to the full continuum of comprehensive reproductive health care (including abortion, gender‐affirming care, miscarriage management, and community birth) regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, HIV status, economic status, or religious beliefs. Memphis, Tennessee, has a history of limited community birth options (birthing outside of hospital walls). In 2017, when home birth services were added to CHOICES and plans for opening Memphis’ first freestanding birth center were being imagined, it was intentional to create a model in which midwifery care could be accessible for patients who may be eligible for state‐funded health care services, those considered at higher health risk than traditional low‐risk midwifery patients, or both. In fact, individuals and their families with limited out‐of‐pocket funds and those historically marginalized would purposely receive holistic, individualized care based on their unique health care needs and personal desires, driven by a reproductive justice framework. In this article, we outline the success and challenges of addressing the reproductive health needs of marginalized communities, including the benefits of a nonprofit business model, operationalizing reproductive justice concepts, and the reclamation of Black midwifery. We also discuss the challenges of caring for Black birthing people and providing abortion and gender‐affirming care in a politically hostile environment. Although individuals have complex needs, at its core, CHOICES believes that every person must be seen as whole human beings and that each can be cared for by a midwife. The CHOICES approach is informed by evidence‐based information, clinical judgment, and an intentional partnership with and investment in a people who have historically been and are presently pushed to the margins, neglected, and blamed for poor health outcomes and demise. Striving to adapt the CHOICES model of care in other parts of the country is important now more than ever following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Prognostic indicators for survival of downer cattle treated using a flotation tank in a referral hospital: 190 cases (2000‐2020)
Authors: Holschbach Chelsea L. , Raabis Sarah M. , Peek Simon F.
Published: December 2022

Background

Nonambulatory cattle present therapeutic challenges in addition to animal welfare concerns. Flotation therapy is a treatment option, but more information regarding prognostic indicators for survival is needed to guide use of this modality.

Hypothesis/Objectives

Evaluate historical and clinical variables assessed during hospitalization as prognostic indicators for survival in recumbent cattle undergoing flotation treatment in a referral hospital.

Animals

A total of 190 nonambulatory dairy cattle.

Methods

Retrospective case series. Medical records were analyzed from cattle undergoing flotation between 2000 and 2020. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association of clinical variables with survival to discharge.

Results

Eighty‐nine of 190 (47%) recumbent cattle survived to discharge. For each additional day of hospitalization, cattle were 1.10 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02, 1.21) times more likely to survive. Cattle unable to walk out of the tank after their first float session were 0.11 (95% CI, 0.04, 0.28) times less likely to survive compared to cattle that could and inappetent cattle were 0.22 (95% CI, 0.07, 0.63) times less likely to survive compared to cattle with normal appetites. Cattle diagnosed with coxofemoral luxation or toxemia were 0.11 (95% CI, 0.02, 0.65) and 0.16 (95% CI, 0.02, 0.90) times less likely to survive, respectively, compared to cattle with causes of recumbency that were undetermined.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Walking out of the tank after the first float session, appetite, diagnosis, and days of hospitalization are associated with outcome in nonambulatory dairy cattle treated by flotation. These findings can be used to determine likely outcome and guide treatment, referral, or euthanasia decisions.
Sovereignty from ‘ground zero’: Power through performance in independent South Sudan
Authors: Doll Christian J
Published: December 2022

Through a reading of the South Sudanese independence ceremony as a ritual of statehood, I show how state actors in South Sudan declared and performed their claim to sovereignty in the face of extraordinary challenge. Central to their performance was their rendering of a national chronotope and their assertion of what I call rebel sovereignty: their articulation of themselves as both saviours from oppression and legitimate wielders of state power. State actors' equal appeal to local antipathy to centralised power and international norms of statehood, as well as their performative redefinition of international undermining as partnership, demonstrates the necessity of contemporary sovereign performance to define both the content and context of extant political realities. More broadly, the ritual demonstrates the performative basis of sovereignty and the increasing necessity of sovereign aspirants to acknowledge the impossibility of sovereign control and redefine challenges and critiques of this power as they assert it.
Reply: Promotion of physical activity after hospitalization for COPD exacerbation: The importance of the motivational interview
Authors: Valeiro Beatriz , Ramon María Antonia
Published: December 2022

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CHANGES IN DIFFERENTIAL GENE EXPRESSION PATTERN IN FLY HEADS AS THE RESPONSE TO AN EXPERIMENTALLY EVOLVED X CHROMOSOME
Authors: Manat Ye.
Published: December 2022

Sexually antagonistic (SA) mutations that increase fitness in one sex and decrease it in the other sex (also known as intralocus sexual conflict) are central to the sexual antagonism hypothesis of sex chromosome evolution. It was suggested long ago (by Fisher, in 1931) that tight linkage to a sex-determining locus facilitates the accumulation of SA mutations even when their detrimental effect in one sex exceeds its benefit in the other. Due to the difficulties in detecting SA alleles directly, we know very little about the nature of X-linked SA mutations and their role in the evolution of differential gene expression between sexes. To investigate how X-linked SA mutations affect the transcriptome profile in both sexes, we analyzed changes in genome-wide gene expression pattern in Drosophila melanogaster head tissue that had undergone 95 generations of a female-limited X-chromosome experimental evolution. We found an evidence of change in gene expression towards to the female optimum, which we interpret as the result of resolution of sexual conflict over X-linked SA mutations. In addition, we also found a potential unknown gene expression effect of the balancer chromosome on gene expression (that was necessary to use to limit the inheritance of target X chromosome to the female line). All these findings indicate that a highly polymorphic nature of the X chromosome with an important role in genome-wide gene expression profile.
Heat-Transfer Temperature Patterns of a Multicomponent Structure by Comparative Methods
Authors: Kayan C. F.
Published: December 2022

For a thick two-dimensional corner composed of two different materials of unequal thickness, with fluid-boundary conductance on each side, and with a temperature difference established between the two boundary fluids, the isotherms throughout the solid corner are distorted in irregular fashion. Accordingly, calculation is difficult. This problem has been studied by various methods and comparative results have been obtained for the internal temperature distribution. The methods include the experimental “geometrical” and the network electrical analogies, as well as the solution of the equivalent electrical network by the process of arithmetical iteration.
Combustion Studies Using the Golay Photothermal Detector With an Infrared Monochromator
Authors: Agnew J. T.
Published: December 2022

At the Franklin Institute Research and Development Laboratories, a research project is in progress in connection with which certain techniques in infrared detection and spectroscopy have been developed. This paper contains the results of some experiments conducted with equipment developed in connection with this project which is sponsored by the General Engineering Branch, Signal Corps, Army Service Forces, U. S. Army.
Progress Report No. 2 on Tool-Chip Interface Temperatures
Authors: Trigger K. J.
Published: December 2022

This report is a continuation of Progress Report No. 1 which was presented in 1947 before the Society. The investigation is principally concerned with the effects of cutting speed upon cutting temperature, chip thickness, and chip hardness, when steel at various hardness levels is machined with cemented-carbide tools. In most of the tests conducted, a steel-cutting grade of carbide tool was used. This type contained tungsten, titanium, and tantalum carbides and is referred to as a triple-carbide tool. A straight tungsten-carbide tool was used in one series of tests in order to compare the performance with that of the triple-carbide composition. The cobalt content of each grade was normal for the particular type and intended cutting service. Details of the tests are given in this paper.
Thermal Environment of Railroad Passenger Cars
Authors: Browne K. A. , Guins S. G.
Published: December 2022

Appreciating the limitations imposed by conventional railroad heating and air-conditioning equipment on thermal environment from the passenger viewpoint, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway undertook a research program to develop means for improving substantially the thermal comfort in cars. Various controls and their components were investigated. Radiant panel and floor heating and cooling were tested in a car in the Budd Company cold room and on the road. Then the car was completely re-equipped with means for accomplishing the objective and put into service test. It features effective control of humidity in the summer, no recirculating air in the overhead system, forced-convection heating and cooling panels, low temperature gradients, and lack of draft. This paper is a progress report on the project, which is continuing.
Centrifugal Blowers for Two-Cycle Diesel Engines
Authors: Cramer Robert
Published: December 2022

The usual means for supplying scavenging air to two-cycle Diesel engines is by reciprocating piston pump, by engine-driven positive-displacement blower, or by motor-driven blower, either of the positive-displacement type or centrifugal type. The pressure-volume characteristics of the centrifugal blower are less favorable for engine scavenging than those of either the Roots-type blower or the reciprocating pump. In spite of its somewhat lower efficiency, the centrifugal blower offers a solution to the problem of installing maximum additional horsepower to a plant restricted in space. This paper deals with the characteristics of this type blower and its advantages for certain applications.