bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An evaluation of ChatGPT and Bard (Gemini) in the context of biological knowledge retrieval
Authors: Caspi Ron , Karp Peter D.
Published: June 2024

ChatGPT and Bard (now called Gemini), two conversational AI models developed by OpenAI and Google AI, respectively, have garnered considerable attention for their ability to engage in natural language conversations and perform various language-related tasks. While the versatility of these chatbots in generating text and simulating human-like conversations is undeniable, we wanted to evaluate their effectiveness in retrieving biological knowledge for curation and research purposes. To do so we asked each chatbot a series of questions and scored their answers based on their quality. Out of a maximal score of 24, ChatGPT scored 5 and Bard scored 13. The encountered issues included missing information, incorrect answers, and instances where responses combine accurate and inaccurate details. Notably, both tools tend to fabricate references to scientific papers, undermining their usability. In light of these findings, we recommend that biologists continue to rely on traditional sources while periodically assessing the reliability of ChatGPT and Bard. As ChatGPT aptly suggested, for specific and up-to-date scientific information, established scientific journals, databases, and subject-matter experts remain the preferred avenues for trustworthy data.
Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 regulates HIV-1 replication in human CD4+ T cells
Authors: Martinez Zachary S. , Gutierrez Denisse A. , Valenzuela Carlos , Seong Chang-Soo , Llano Manuel
Published: June 2024

The cellular enzyme poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) regulates multiple processes that are potentially implicated in HIV-1 infection. However, the role of PARP-1 in HIV-1 infection remains controversial, with reports indicating or excluding that PARP-1 influence early steps of the HIV-1 life cycle. Most of these studies have been conducted with Vesicular Stomatitis virus Glycoprotein G (VSV-G)-pseudotyped, single-round infection HIV-1; limiting our understanding of the role of PARP-1 in HIV-1 replication. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of PARP-1 deficiency or inhibition in HIV-1 replication in human CD4+ T cells. Our data showed that PARP-1 knockout increased viral replication in SUP-T1 cells. Similarly, a PARP-1 inhibitor that targets PARP-1 DNA-binding activity enhanced HIV-1 replication. In contrast, inhibitors affecting the catalytic activity of the enzyme were inactive. In correspondence with the pharmacological studies, mutagenesis analysis indicated that the DNA-binding domain was required for the PARP-1 anti-HIV-1 activity, but the poly-ADP-ribosylation activity was dispensable. Our results also demonstrated that PARP-1 acts at the production phase of the viral life cycle since HIV-1 produced in cells lacking PARP-1 was more infectious than control viruses. The effect of PARP-1 on HIV-1 infectivity required Env, as PARP-1 deficiency or inhibition did not modify the infectivity of Env-deleted, VSV-G-pseudotyped HIV-1. Furthermore, virion-associated Env was more abundant in sucrose cushion-purified virions produced in cells lacking the enzyme. However, PARP-1 did not affect Env expression or processing in the producer cells. In summary, our data indicate that PARP-1 antagonism enhances HIV-1 infectivity and increases levels of virion-associated Env.

Importance

Different cellular processes counteract viral replication. A better understanding of these interfering mechanisms will enhance our ability to control viral infections. We have discovered a novel, antagonist effect of the cellular enzyme poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) in HIV-1 replication. Our data indicate that PARP-1 deficiency or inhibition augment HIV-1 infectivity in human CD4+ T cells, the main HIV-1 target cellin vivo. Analysis of the mechanism of action suggested that PARP-1 antagonism increases in the virus the amounts of the viral protein mediating viral entry to the target cells. These findings identify for the first time PARP-1 as a host factor that regulates HIV-1 infectivity, and could be relevant to better understand HIV-1 transmission and to facilitate vaccine development.
Legal obligation of ESG reporting and the quality of environmental disclosure practices: the case of Moroccan listed industrial companies
Authors: Namoussi Fatima Zahra , Cherqaoui Mariam
Published: June 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the impact of the legal obligation for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting, introduced in 2019 by the Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC), on the environmental disclosure practices of industrial companies listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE).

Design/methodology/approach

An analysis of the content of the ESG reports of the industrial listed companies on the CSE is carried out over the two years that frame the year of implementation of the AMMC circular, i.e. 2018 and 2020, to analyze the difference in the quality of their environmental disclosures using a conformity criterion based on the Environmental section (N°300) of the “Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)” standards.

Findings

The results confirm the presence of a positive effect of the legal obligation for ESG reporting on the quality of environmental reporting of Moroccan industrial listed companies. However, the degree of compliance with the GRI framework remains incomplete.

Originality/value

This study helps to highlight the effectiveness of regulatory measures in improving the disclosure of relevant corporate environmental reporting of listed companies. The study also provides an overview of the progress made in implementing quality environmental reporting standards, specifically the GRI framework, in a developing country, namely, Morocco.
Economic crisis, innovation and organizational responses: evidence from Brazil
Authors: Feitosa Paulo , Garcia Renato
Published: June 2024

Purpose

The economic crisis of 2008 resulted in a unique context for the empirical experimentation of organizational learning and entrepreneurship theories from Schumpeterian inspiration. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the economic downturns change the limits and possibilities to pursue both exploration and exploitation and thus achieve innovative performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examines an original database with the patent portfolio of 2,309 firms based in Brazil, covering a period of eight years preceding the 2008 economic crisis, that is 2000–2007, and five years thereafter, 2008–2013. To test the hypotheses empirically, the authors use the negative binomial model.

Findings

The findings add to the literature in two ways. First, this study found a positive association between exploitation and exploration behaviour and innovative performance. However, this relation is curvilinear because there are diminishing negative effects on innovation. Second, regarding the distinction between creative destruction and creative accumulation, the results support the prevalence of creative accumulation, although consistent with the notion of co-occurrence of both models.

Originality/value

This study expands the discussion on how entrepreneurs respond to the economic crisis in specific contexts of an emerging economy. We provide new empirical evidence through the exploration of a unique data set on the patent portfolio of 2,309 firms based in Brazil. Most of the previous literature has applied this topic to developed countries, and there are few studies that apply this topic outside the focus of US and European countries.
Organizing visions for data-centric management: how Norwegian policy documents construe the use of data in health organizations
Authors: Solberg Mads , Kirchhoff Ralf , Oksavik Jannike Dyb , Wessel Lauri
Published: June 2024

Purpose

Norway, like other welfare states, seeks to leverage data to transform its pressured public healthcare system. While managers will be central to doing so, we lack knowledge about how specifically they would do so and what constraints and expectations they operate under. Public sources, like the Norwegian policy documents investigated here, provide important backdrops against which such managerial work emerges. This article therefore aims to analyze how key Norwegian policy documents construe data use in health management.

Design/methodology/approach

We analyzed five notable policy documents using a “practice-oriented” framework, considering these as arenas for “organizing visions” (OVs) about managerial use of data in healthcare organizations. This framework considers documents as not just texts that comment on a topic but as discursive tools that formulate, negotiate and shape issues of national importance, such as expectations about data use in health management.

Findings

The OVs we identify anticipate a bold future for health management, where data use is supported through interconnected information systems that provide relevant information on demand. These OVs are similar to discourse on “evidence-based management,” but differ in important ways. Managers are consistently framed as key stakeholders that can benefit from using secondary data, but this requires better data integration across the health system. Despite forward-looking OVs, we find considerable ambiguity regarding the practical, social and epistemic dimensions of data use in health management. Our analysis calls for a reframing, by moving away from the hype of “data-driven” health management toward an empirically-oriented, “data-centric” approach that recognizes the situated and relational nature of managerial work on secondary data.

Originality/value

By exploring OVs in the Norwegian health policy landscape, this study adds to our growing understanding of expectations towards healthcare managers' use of data. Given Norway's highly digitized health system, our analysis has relevance for health services in other countries.
Ramadhan effect towards Nifty Shariah indices in India
Authors: Kalimuthu Kokila , Shaik Saleem
Published: June 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse the weekday effect on the Nifty Shariah indices as per the Islamic calendar. The study is intended to know about the return and volatility of these indices during Ramadhan and non-Ramadhan days.

Design/methodology/approach

The study focuses on analysing the Nifty Shariah indices and Sensex daily returns collected from NSE India and BSE India, respectively, during the period of 1 August 2016 to 31 July 2022. Descriptive statistics are used to analyse the data, while the Ordinary Least Square method is used to determine the impact of weekdays on the Nifty Shariah indices. Additionally, the study applies the GARCH statistical model to examine the influence of Ramadhan on the returns and volatility of the Nifty Shariah indices.

Findings

All of the Nifty Shariah indices produced positive returns during the overall sample period. According to the study, Tuesday index returns outperform other weekdays. The GARCH model indicated that the coefficient values for the Nifty 50 Shariah and Nifty 500 Shariah indices were negative. Ramadhan has a strong negative effect on volatility, according to this study.

Originality/value

The outcomes of the research are beneficial for investors aiming to exploit daily or weekly price fluctuations, rather than pursuing extended investment periods. Furthermore, fund managers can employ these findings to shape trading strategies, and academics can examine the performance of Shariah indices in the Indian context. This enables devout investors to make significant financial choices, thus advancing ethical values in society and upholding standards of both public and private morality.
Value-added services and e-commerce platform competitiveness: a game theoretic approach
Authors: Du Xueke , Li Wenli , Cui Li , Jia Yibo , Wu Lin
Published: June 2024

Purpose

In response to the intense competition in the platform economy, e-commerce platforms are actively introducing value-added services to maintain their competitiveness. However, how effective these value-added services are in fulfilling this purpose remains unclear. This paper explores how value-added services can enhance e-commerce platform competitiveness, measured by both user scale and reputation, considering the effect of network externalities.

Design/methodology/approach

A bilateral e-commerce platform with potential high-quality sellers and low-quality sellers on one side and potential buyers on the other side was chosen as research setting. Game theory models are constructed to simultaneously consider the behaviors of all actors (including sellers, buyers and the platform).

Findings

On the one hand, to increase the seller scale, basic services play a substituting role in determining the effect of value-added services. On the other hand, to increase the buyer scale and improve platform reputation, basic services play a fundamental role in determining the effect of value-added services. Furthermore, the higher the loss rate of the product value, the bigger the room for providing value-added services. With increasing loss rate of the product value, participating buyers who are attracted by value-added services are the fastest growing indicators; this indicates that the most significant effect of value-added services is its increase in the buyer scale.

Practical implications

Basic services determine the lower limit of platform competitiveness, while value-added services set the upper limit. The results of this paper can instruct different types of platforms to enhance their competitiveness in different ways.

Originality/value

(1) While previous studies on how to enhance platform competitiveness only considered scale or reputation separately, this paper applies a new perspective of platform competitiveness, namely the improvement of both the seller scale/buyer scale and platform reputation. (2) According to the characteristics of bilateral platforms, game theory models are constructed to explore how value-added services can enhance platform competitiveness considering both positive and negative network externalities. (3) The existing literature studies basic services and value-added services in a fragmented state; this paper contributes to research on value-added services by considering the mutual effect between basic and value-added services.
Heinz von Foerster's operational epistemology: orientation for insight into complexity
Authors: Saratxaga Arregi Arantzazu
Published: June 2024

Purpose

Based on the reception of the principle of self-organization, the core of Heinz von Foerster's operational theories, I hypothesize how Heinz von Foerster's theory can be an orientation model for the epistemological problem of complexity. I have chosen this study to demonstrate complexity as an epistemological problem. This is because the question of how order arises - the core problem of complexity - is an epistemological question for which Heinz von Foerster developed an epistemology of self-organization. I do not present new research because HvF already had the complex organization of systems in mind. Rather, I build a critical approach to complexity on the research and work on operational epistemology in HvF.

Design/methodology/approach

This article aims to provide an orientation for a philosophical and epistemological understanding of complexity through a reading of Heinz von Foerster's operational theory. The article attempts to establish complexity as an epistemological phenomenon through the following method: (1) a conceptual description of the science of complexity based on the turn to thermodynamic time, (2) a genealogy of complexity going back to the systemic method, and (3) Heinz von Foerster's cybernetic approach to self-organization.

Findings

Based on the reception of the principle of self-organization, the core of Heinz von Foerster's operational theories, the conclusion is drawn that complexity as a description is based on language games.

Research limitations/implications

The results present complexity not as an object of science, but as a description that stands for the understanding of complex description.

Social implications

The hypothesis that complexity is a question of description or observation, i.e. of description for what language serves, has enormous social implications, in that the description of complexes and the recognition of their orders (patterns) cannot be left to algorithmic governmentality, but must be carried out by a social agency.

Originality/value

HvF's operational epistemology can serve as an epistemological model for critical complexity theory.
Compulsory environmental pollution liability insurance and corporate risk taking: a difference-in-difference approach
Authors: Liu Sheng , Mai Qing , Chen Xiuying
Published: June 2024

Purpose

Many developing countries have encountered frequent pollution accidents during their rapid development, while the previously weak environmental insurance systems could seriously undermine the progress of sustainable development. Some developing countries like China has initiated and strengthened environmental pollution liability insurance, so how effective this system would be in resolving enterprises environmental risks need to be further revealed.

Design/methodology/approach

This research identifies the possible consequence that compulsory environmental pollution liability insurance pilot (CEPLIP) policy would bring to the risk-taking capacity of heavy-polluting corporations of China by the Differences-in-Differences (DID) approach.

Findings

The result supports the implementation of CEPLIP policy in increasing corporate risk-taking capacity. Furthermore, the CEPLIP policy can promote the corporate’s risk-taking capacity by reducing financial distress constraints and enhancing trade credit, supporting its dual role of “fallback effect” as well as “external supervision effect” of environmental insurance. As a result of heterogeneity test, the policy is more pronounced in enterprise samples with mature life cycle stage or lower industrial concentration degree. Similarly, it is more significant in enterprise samples owned better environmental management capabilities or greater strategic deviance.

Originality/value

This paper verifies the effectiveness of the CEPLIP policy by strengthening its supervision mechanism and restraining opportunistic behavior tendency and provides implications for alleviating increasing environmental risk pressure and building more sustainable environmental protection management systems.
Generations X, Y, Z: the effects of personal and positional inequalities on critical thinking digital skills
Authors: Lissitsa Sabina
Published: June 2024

Purpose

In a time of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation, critical thinking has become the most important skill for discerning false, incomplete, and outdated information and communication online. The study examines the effects of personal (gender, age, ethnicity, religiosity, and Big Five personality traits) and positional inequalities (education, occupational status, language proficiency) on critical thinking digital skills (CTDS) among generations X, Y, and Z.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey was conducted among 1,495 Israeli Jews between the ages of 18 and 57, belonging to the X, Y, and Z generations.

Findings

The findings show that CTDS among Gen X were significantly lower, by a large margin, than those of the younger generations, while Gen Z reported the highest level of these skills. Multivariate analysis indicated different effect patterns of personal and positional categorical variables on CTDS. We found that the contribution of personal demographic inequalities (gender, age, ethnicity and religiosity) to the explained variance in CTDS was most pronounced in Gen Y, compared to Gen X and Gen Z. The contribution of Big Five personality traits and positional social inequalities (education, occupational status and language proficiency) to explaining CTDS was similar between Gen X and Gen Y, but much less pronounced among Gen Z.

Practical implications

Understanding the intergenerational differences in CTDS is crucial for tailoring educational approaches, promoting inclusivity, and harnessing the diverse strengths of each generation to navigate an ever-evolving digital landscape successfully.

Originality/value

First of its kind, this study combines Generational Cohort Theory with Resources and Appropriation Theory to identify which inequalities may hinder the acquisition of one of today’s most vital skills among three generations.
Coverage of the research documents with top altmetric attention scores in online news
Authors: Nabavi Majid
Published: June 2024

Purpose

This paper investigates the news coverage of research documents with the top Altmetric attention score (AAS) using a descriptive and explorative approach.

Design/methodology/approach

A dataset comprising 1,000 articles with high AAS was retrieved from Altmetric.com. The DOIs of these articles were then used to retrieve citation data from Dimensions. Data collection was finalized on February 11, 2024, and separate Excel files were merged using SPSS. The research included subject analysis and conducted correlation and Mann–Whitney U statistical tests.

Findings

The study reveals that the highest number of articles with high AAS were published in 2020. News post correlation with citation count is stronger than with AAS score. From the top AAS documents, titles of those with the highest news post counts include public concern keywords, and their subjects were primarily biomedical and clinical sciences. While no significant difference exists between multidisciplinary and specialty journal news posts, there is an increase in the variety of news sources in 2020 and 2021. Documents on biomedical and clinical sciences receive the most attention primarily from US-based news outlets, and many of the news outlets covering top AAS documents do not have specific subject orientations.

Practical implications

Researchers and journal editors should prioritize factors influencing research news coverage, including subjects, writing styles, and publication sources. Science writers should expand their coverage to include academic publications from subject areas beyond biomedical and clinical sciences. They can also consider diverse publication sources, such as preprints.

Originality/value

This study offers insights into the news coverage of top social-attention academic articles and is among the first to analyze the news coverage of academic publications.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-12-2022-0666
Effects of perceived value dimensions on customer brand loyalty towards luxury cars
Authors: Femina E.P. , Santhi P.
Published: June 2024

Purpose

The research aims to examine the influence of perceived value (PV) dimensions on brand loyalty of luxury car owners and to examine the mediating role of attitudinal loyalty (AL) between PV dimensions and behavioral loyalty (BL).

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data for the study were gathered from the luxury car owners in Kerala, India. The construct measurements have been adopted from previous research studies. Structural equation modeling with the partial least square (PLS) technique was used to analyze the measurements and conceptual model.

Findings

The findings show that out of four PV dimensions among luxury car owners, the hedonic value (HV) significantly influences their AL. Economic value influences BL, and social values have an impact on AL as well as BL, but the relationship of functional value with any is not supported by the results. AL is a strong predictor of BL, and it actively mediates the relationship of HV and symbolic value with BL.

Practical implications

The manufactures of luxury cars provide more importance to hedonic and symbolic elements while launching new models and consider the price perceptions of the targeted customers while making decisions related to brand attachment and brand loyalty.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the decision-making of the rapidly growing vehicle market by examining the perceptions and by providing the effects of perceived values among luxury car owners. Also, it extends the literature by developing a framework for PV dimensions on AL and BL and also incorporated the mediating role of AL.
Contrasting mechanisms of non‐vascular and vascular plants on spatial turnover in multifunctionality in the Antarctic continent
Authors: Cui Hanwen , Chen Shuyan , Song Hongxian , Liu Ziyang , Chen Jingwei , Zhang Anning , Xiao Sa , Jiang Xiaoxuan , Yang Zi , Li Xin , An Lizhe , Ding Haitao , van der Plas Fons
Published: June 2024

Dominant plants play crucial roles in supporting the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Plants can influence the spatial heterogeneity of environmental factors, as well as the spatial turnover in the composition of soil communities (i.e. β‐diversity of soil communities). However, we still poorly understand how dominant plants drive the spatial turnover in multiple ecosystem functions (β‐multifunctionality hereafter), and to which extent the effects of dominant plants are mediated by changes in environmental heterogeneity and the β‐diversity of soil communities.

Antarctica supports one of the most challenging environments on the planet including low temperature and water availability. Here, we collected soil samples under three dominant plants (lichen, moss and vascular plants) and bare ground. We measured carbon storage, nutrient availability, nutrient decomposition, microbial biomass and pathogen control to calculate β‐multifunctionality.

Both non‐vascular and vascular plants were associated with increased β‐multifunctionality compared to bare ground. We further showed that lichen mainly affected β‐multifunctionality through soil temperature heterogeneity and β‐bacterial diversity. Similarly, moss mainly affected β‐multifunctionality through the spatial heterogeneity of soil water content and β‐bacterial diversity. However, vascular plants did not significantly affect environmental heterogeneity. Instead, the responses of β‐multifunctionality to vascular plants were mainly driven by the β‐diversity of soil communities. These results indicate that environmental heterogeneity is important for turnover in multiple ecosystem functions in early successional stages (dominated by non‐vascular plants), while the importance of soil communities' heterogeneity becomes more significant in late successional stages (dominated by vascular plants).

Synthesis. Our findings highlight the fundamental role of dominant plants in controlling the spatial turnover in ecosystem functions, and suggest that accelerated succession under current climate warming may increase bacterial β‐diversity but decrease abiotic heterogeneity, thereby leading to both increases (e.g. regarding functions related to microbial biomass) and decreases (e.g. regarding functions related to nutrient availability) in β‐multifunctionality and hence the spatial turnover in levels of ecosystem functioning.
Phytoremediating the air down under: Evaluating airborne particulate matter accumulation by 12 plant species in Australia
Authors: Roy Anamika , Mandal Mamun , Przybysz Arkadiusz , Haynes Alison , Robinson Sharon A. , Sarkar Abhijit , Popek Robert
Published: June 2024

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is the most inhaled hazardous air pollutant that can cause adverse health impacts. Plants can remove such contaminants and act as biological filters through phytoremediation. In this study, we screened 12 Australian native species (two deciduous trees, three evergreen shrubs, and seven evergreen trees) growing in three regions to determine their potential in accumulating leaf surface (SPM) and in‐wax PM (WPM). Among the screened species, Lagunaria patersonia (139.22 μg cm−2) was the most effective PM accumulator, followed by Ficus obliqua (131.02 μg cm−2). L. patersonia is an Australian native tree with a dense crown that can efficiently trap PM due to air turbulence between its leaves and branches; broad leaves with a rough texture enhance the plant's ability to trap PM. On the contrary, morphological characteristics like evergreen leaves with hairy appendages may act as an efficient trap for PM in F. obliqua. Due to smoother leaves, the least effective species were F. rubignosa and Eucalyptus saligna. In addition to leaf shape, leaf structures and micromorphology influence PM accumulation. For instance, Pittosporum undulatum accumulated more PM due to its wrinkled and folded leaf structures despite a significantly lower waxes layer. The findings highlight the importance of planting efficient PM accumulator species to shield vulnerable areas from pollution and decrease human exposure to pollutants. The sink capacity of these species can be used in urban tree planning to combat air pollution and improve air quality.
Common‐garden study of introgression at loci associated with traits adaptive to coastal environment from Quercus dentata into Quercus mongolica var. crispula
Authors: Nagamitsu Teruyoshi , Uchiyama Kentaro , Izuno Ayako , Shimizu Hajime
Published: June 2024

Adaptive introgression, which can provide genetic diversity resulting in the expansion to novel habitats and the creation of different ecotypes, has been proposed in oaks (genus Quercus). In northern Japan, Quercus mongolica var. crispula (Qc) is common in inland habitats, and Quercus dentata (Qd) occurs in coastal habitats. At the northern distributional limit of Qd, Quercus × angustilepidota (Qa), a hybrid taxon between Qc and Qd, occurs in coastal habitats. These taxa, Qc, Qa, and Qd, were transplanted to inland and coastal common gardens (sites). Genotypes at 27 495 loci, phenotypes of eight leaf and shoot traits, and the size of 30‐year‐old trees were measured for 224 individuals in both sites. Genotypic variation revealed a hybrid zone between Qc and Qd, including both northern‐edge Qd admixed with Qc and coastal Qa backcrossed to Qc. Phenotypes of Qa trees were intermediate between those of Qc and Qd trees. The size of Qa and Qd trees was smaller than that of Qc trees in the inland site but was larger in the coastal site, suggesting adaptation of Qa and Qd to coastal environment. Local ancestry was estimated from phased genotypes of admixed trees using reference genotypes of 47 Qc and 25 Qd trees, indicating heterogeneous ancestry along chromosomes. Admixture mapping of local ancestry detected loci significantly associated with a leaf trait, which were located in an introgressed genomic region with genes related to stress response. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the genetic basis of adaptive introgression resulting in Qd‐like phenotypes of Qa.
Pollination biology of Gossypium turneri: Autonomous selfing provides reproductive assurance in an endangered wild cotton from Sonora, Mexico
Authors: Yescas‐Romo Karla Fabiola , Hayano‐Kanashiro Corina , Molina‐Freaner Francisco
Published: June 2024

The wild cotton, Gossypium turneri, is a rare and endemic species from the state of Sonora, Mexico, threatened by habitat destruction, tourism development, and buffelgrass invasion in the municipality of Guaymas. As a consequence, G. turneri is now classified as endangered under Mexican legislation. This study aimed to document several aspects of the reproductive biology of this wild cotton to suggest conservation plans. The flowers of G. turneri remain open for only 1 day. Throughout the day, the flowers are visited by a diverse group of insects, including bees and butterflies. Pollination treatments revealed that this species is self‐compatible, capable of autonomous self‐pollination, and showed mixed evidence of pollen limitation. Although the flowers exhibit herkogamy, curved styles were observed that make the stigma come into contact with anthers. These results indicate that autonomous self‐pollination is caused by style curvature. Fruit set values and seed production per fruit in open pollinated control flowers were low, suggesting that this species produces a small number of seeds. These results provide new insights into this rare species, indicating that the species has a mechanism that provides reproductive assurance under low pollinator visitation, allowing for its persistence. The collection of seeds from the remaining populations for germplasm banks and the maintenance of live plants in botanical gardens are proposed for the conservation of this rare species.
The Spectrum of State Approaches to Medicaid Maternity Care Contracting
Authors: MURPHY CAITLIN , MARKUS ANNE ROSSIER , MORRIS REBECCA , JOHNSON KAY , ROSENBAUM SARA , ZEPHYRIN LAURIE C.
Published: June 2024

Policy Points

Maternal health is influenced by the quality and accessibility of care before, during, and after pregnancy.

Nationwide, Medicaid covers nearly one in two births and uses managed care as a central means for carrying out these responsibilities. Thus, managed care plays a fundamental role in assuring timely, equitable, quality care and improving maternal health outcomes.

A close review of managed care contracts makes evident that the absence of a national set of maternal health standards has caused challenges in setting expectations for managed care performance.

State Medicaid agencies adopt a variety of approaches and underlying philosophies for contracting.

Context

Managed care is how Medicaid agencies principally furnish maternity care. For this reason, the contracts that Medicaid agencies enter into with managed care organizations have attracted strong interest as a means of improving maternal health access, quality, and equity. However, limited research has documented the extent to which states use these agreements to set binding expectations across the maternal health continuum and how states approach the task of maternal health contracting.

Methods

To explore maternal health contracting within Medicaid Managed Care, this study took a three‐phase, sequential approach: (1) an extensive literature review to identify clinical guidelines and expert recommendations regarding maternal health “best practices” for people with elevated health and social needs, (2) a review of the managed care contracts in use across 40 states and Washington, DC, to determine the extent to which they incorporate these best practices, and (3) interviews conducted with four state Medicaid agencies to better understand how states approach maternal health when developing their contracts.

Findings

The evidence on maternal health best practices reveals nearly 60 “best practices,” although the literature review also underscored the extent to which these recommendations are fragmented across numerous professional bodies and government agencies and are thus difficult for Medicaid agencies to ascertain. The contracts themselves reflect an approach to the maternal health continuum in a fragmented and incomplete way. Thematic analysis of interviews with state Medicaid agencies revealed three key approaches to contracting for maternity care: an “organic” approach, an “intentional” approach, and an approach “grounded” in state strategy.

Conclusions

The absence of comprehensive, integrated guidelines reflecting the full maternal health continuum likely complicates the contracting task and contributes to incomplete, ambiguous contracts. A major step would be the development of a “best practices tool” that helps state Medicaid agencies translate evidence into comprehensive, clear contracting expectations.
Adjunct cultures of autochthonous Lactobacillus strains to diversify and improve cheese maturation
Authors: Giménez Paula , Peralta Guillermo Hugo , Wolf Irma Verónica , Hynes Erica Rut , Bergamini Carina Viviana
Published: June 2024

This study evaluated the influence of 11 autochthonous mesophilic lactobacilli strains on maturation profile of a miniature semihard cheese. Five strains of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, three Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, two Lacticaseibacillus casei and one Lacticaseibacillus paracasei, were evaluated individually as adjunct cultures. Three groups of strains were distinguished regarding their influence: One group was characterised by consumption of citrate and production of several volatile compounds, another group by its acidification and peptidolytic activity, while two strains had no influence. The combined use of strains with different properties as adjunct cultures probably allows further improvement and diversification of cheese flavour.
Time series methods for the analysis of soundscapes and other cyclical ecological data
Authors: Yoh Natalie , Haley Charlotte L. , Burivalova Zuzana
Published: June 2024

Biodiversity monitoring has entered an era of ‘big data’, exemplified by a near‐continuous collection of sounds, images, chemical and other signals from organisms in diverse ecosystems. Such data streams have the potential to help identify new threats, assess the effectiveness of conservation interventions, as well as generate new ecological insights. However, appropriate analytical methods are often still missing, particularly with respect to characterizing cyclical temporal patterns.

Here, we present a framework for characterizing and analysing ecological responses that represent nonstationary, complex temporal patterns and demonstrate the value of using Fourier transforms to decorrelate continuous data points. In our example, we use a framework based on three approaches (spectral analysis, magnitude squared coherence, and principal component analysis) to characterize differences in tropical forest soundscapes within and across sites and seasons in Gabon.

By reconstructing the underlying, cyclic behaviour of the soundscape for each site, we show how one can identify circadian patterns in acoustic activity. Soundscapes in the dry season had a complex diel cycle, requiring multiple harmonics to represent daily variation, while in the wet season there was less variance attributable to the daily cyclic patterns.

Our framework can be applied to most continuous, or near‐continuous ecological data collected at a fine temporal resolution, allowing ecologists to explore patterns of temporal autocorrelation at multiple levels for biologically meaningful trends. Such methods will become indispensable as biological big data are used to understand the impact of anthropogenic pressures on biodiversity and to inform efforts to mitigate them.
Beyond the numbers: Classifying contributory factors and potentially avoidable adverse events in the gynaecology service of National Women's Health at Auckland District Health Board
Authors: Sathiyaselvan Ahalya , Harilall Mahesh , Blaj Ines , Eva Lois , Farquhar Cynthia
Published: June 2024

Background

Adverse events (AEs) during health care are common and may have long‐term consequences for patients. Although there is a tradition of reviewing morbidity and mortality in gynaecology, there is no recommended system for reporting contributory factors and potential avoidability.

Aims

To identify factors that contributed to AEs in the gynaecology service at National Women's Health at Auckland District Health Board and to determine potential avoidability, with the use of a multidisciplinary morbidity review.

Materials and Methods

Contributory factors from a review of AEs in gynaecology services were identified and classified as organisational and/or management factors, personnel factors and barriers to patients accessing and engaging with care. Potential avoidability of the AE was also considered. A descriptive analysis of the morbidity review of patients who had an AE from 2019 to 2022 was undertaken.

Results

One hundred and fifty‐three cases of AEs were reviewed and 77 (50.3%) were associated with contributory factors. Of all cases, 45 (29.4%) had organisational factors, 54 (35.3%) had personnel factors and patient factors resulting in barriers to care contributing to 11 (7.2%) cases. Sixty‐five cases (42.5%) were classified as potentially avoidable. Of these 65 cases, 38 (58.5%) had organisational factors, 48 (73.8%) had personnel factors and nine (13.9%) had barriers to care.

Conclusions

The AE review process reported 50.3% of AEs had contributory factors that were classified as organisational, personnel and barriers to patients accessing care and that 42.5% of the AEs were potentially avoidable. These reviews can be used for making recommendations that potentially lead to improvements in gynaecology.
Effect of a powered and a manual toothbrush in subjects susceptible to gingival recession: A 36‐month randomized controlled clinical study
Authors: Sutor Simone , Graetz Christian , Geiken Antje , Straßburger Martin , Löwe Carolin , Holtmann Bernhard , Conrad Jonas , Sälzer Sonja , Dörfer Christof E.
Published: June 2024

Objective

The objective of this long‐term clinical study was to evaluate the influence of a newly developed powered toothbrush (PT) on the size and number of pre‐existing gingival recessions (GR) in comparison to a manual toothbrush (MT).

Methods

This was a prospective, single‐blind, parallel‐group, randomized controlled clinical study. Participants without periodontitis, but with at least two teeth (index teeth) showing GR ≥2 mm were randomized to brush either twice daily with a MT or with a PT with a linear magnetic drive causing the round brush head to produce gentle micro vibrations along with oscillating‐rotating movements. Primary outcome parameter was the mean change of GR at the index teeth over 36 months.

Results

Totally 87 out of 92 participants completed the study (MT/PT: n = 42/n = 45). At the 36‐month evaluation the mean (standard deviation) change of GR at index teeth differed significantly between MT 0.17 (0.77) and PT −0.10 (0.63) (p = 0.013). Furthermore, the amount of GR sites which improved ≥1 mm or remained stable during the study period did not differ between MT and PT, but the number of sites worsened ≥1 mm was significantly in favour for PT (MT 23 (25.5%) versus PT 10 (10.6%); p = 0.009). A binary logistic regression identified tooth type (OR = 2.991 for pre−/molar (1.096 [95% CI 1.002–8.933]; p = 0.050)) and manual brushing (OR = 3.341 (1.206 [95% CI 1291–8648]; p = 0.013)) as risk factors for recession impairment at the index teeth. There were no differences between groups for adverse events.

Conclusion

In a population with pre‐existing gingival recessions and consequently a high risk of developing further recession the PT seems to be favourable with regard to further development of GR.
Strategic channel decisions for the supplier and specialized e‐retailer in the presence of a third‐party marketplace
Authors: Sun Shuxiao , Hu Huaqing , Ge Zehui , Li Yanlin
Published: June 2024

With the advancement of e‐commerce and the intensification of market competition, many suppliers have leveraged third‐party online marketplaces to expand their sales channels and bolster competitiveness. This poses potential threats to e‐retailers specializing in the core business of certain categories. This study examines a specialized e‐retailer's selling mode choice (reselling, in‐marketplace selling, or agency selling mode) and how this choice interacts with a supplier's channel strategy (marketplace, e‐retailer, or both/dual channels) in the presence of a third‐party marketplace. Our findings indicate that (1) the e‐retailer's optimal selling mode is contingent on the supplier's sales service quality and efficiency, and the e‐retailer's market occupation. Generally, when initially occupying a small market, the e‐retailer prefers selling in a third‐party marketplace, whereas when the initial market is relatively large, the e‐retailer is more inclined to opt for the reselling (agency selling) mode if the supplier's sales efficiency is low (high). Additionally, if the supplier's sales service quality is low, the e‐retailer will never choose the agency selling mode. (2) Exclusively introducing the marketplace channel is not the optimal choice for the supplier. Instead, adopting a dual channel is better when the direct selling cost is not too high. (3) Under certain scenarios, the supplier can manipulate the e‐retailer's channel by introducing the marketplace channel and offering a reference price without actually selling any products.
Intermittent hypoxia increases lipid insulin resistance in healthy humans: A randomized crossover trial
Authors: Briançon‐Marjollet Anne , Netchitaïlo Marie , Fabre Fanny , Belaidi Elise , Arnaud Claire , Borel Anne‐Laure , Levy Patrick , Pépin Jean‐Louis , Tamisier Renaud
Published: June 2024

Sympathetic overactivity caused by chronic intermittent hypoxia is a hallmark of obstructive sleep apnea. A high sympathetic tone elicits increases in plasma free fatty acid and insulin. Our objective was to assess the impact of 14 nights of chronic intermittent hypoxia exposure on sympathetic activity, glucose control, lipid profile and subcutaneous fat tissue remodelling in non‐obese healthy humans. In this prospective, double‐blinded crossover study, 12 healthy subjects were randomized, among them only nine underwent the two phases of exposures of 14 nights chronic intermittent hypoxia versus air. Sympathetic activity was measured by peroneal microneurography (muscle sympathetic nerve activity) before and after each exposure. Fasting glucose, insulin, C‐peptide and free fatty acid were assessed at rest and during a multisampling oral glucose tolerance test. We assessed histological remodelling, adrenergic receptors, lipolysis and lipogenesis genes expression and functional changes of the adipose tissue. Two weeks of exposure of chronic intermittent hypoxia versus ambient air significantly increased sympathetic activity (p = 0.04). Muscle sympathetic nerve activity increased from 24.5 [18.9; 26.8] before to 21.7 [13.8; 25.7] after ambient air exposure, and from 20.6 [17.4; 23.9] before to 28.0 [24.4; 31.5] bursts per min after exposure to chronic intermittent hypoxia. After chronic intermittent hypoxia, post‐oral glucose tolerance test circulating free fatty acid area under the curve increased (p = 0.05) and free fatty acid sensitivity to insulin decreased (p = 0.028). In adipocyte tissue, intermittent hypoxia increased expression of lipolysis genes (adipocyte triglyceride lipase and hormone‐sensitive lipase) and lipogenesis genes (fatty acid synthase; p < 0.05). In this unique experimental setting in healthy humans, chronic intermittent hypoxia induced high sympathetic tone, lipolysis and decreased free fatty acid sensitivity to insulin. This might participate in the trajectory to systemic insulin resistance and diabetes for patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
Supernatural Attributions for Extraordinary Events: Examining Cognitive and Contextual Predictors
Authors: Wilt Joshua A. , Exline Julie J. , Stauner Nick
Published: June 2024

Why do people make supernatural attributions (SA) for events? This article focused on five possible predictors: stressfulness, unusual events, religiousness, seeing a supernatural explanation as meaningful, and seeing supernatural entities as powerful. We also predicted that people would be more likely to adopt supernatural explanations seen as highly accessible, motivating, and plausible. We focused primarily on SA in general and secondarily on specific entities. We tested preregistered hypotheses using survey data in two samples of undergraduates: one reporting life‐changing events (N = 594) and another reporting on an event with a supernatural air, or supernaturally perceived events (N = 475). Results supported all proposed predictors except for stressfulness. Path analyses revealed that, in both samples, predictors were linked with seeing supernatural explanations as accessible, plausible, and motivating; these ratings, in turn, had positive associations with SA. These results begin to integrate previous theory and research on individual predictors of SA.