bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Creating value networks through a learning society for Indigenous women tourism entrepreneurs
Authors: Shrestha Roshis Krishna , L'Espoir Decosta Jean-Nöel Patrick , Shrestha Rupa
Published: January 2023

Purpose

This study aims to integrate social embeddedness with learning society philosophy to explore how grassroots associations of Indigenous women tourism entrepreneurs can leverage their social network to co-create value.

Design/methodology/approach

A critical feminist perspective considers the intersectional experiences of Indigenous women tourism entrepreneurs from the rural Manasalu region of Nepal. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews with local tourism stakeholders were carried out. Hermeneutics in tandem with Indigenous methods of analysis ensured consideration of Indigenous ontologies and social locations beyond being merely theoretically driven.

Findings

A paradox of Indigenous women’s empowerment emerged where several efforts for empowerment presented themselves as a double-edged sword. Individuals’ social capital and social support for the sustenance and stability of grassroots associations ensure collective and continuous learning through a value-creation framework.

Research limitations/implications

Collective self-reflection and self-determination for knowledge creation and sharing amongst social ties shed new light on the role of an Indigenous standpoint on value creation.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that captures how the intersectionality of Indigenous women entrepreneurs in grassroots associations use their social capital through contesting, leveraging and learning to transform their social network into a value network.
The impact of emotional intelligence, increasing job demands behaviour and subjective well-being on teacher performance: teacher-gender differences
Authors: Amirian Seyed Morteza , Amirian Seyedeh Khadijeh , Kouhsari Masoumeh
Published: January 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the critical roles of emotional intelligence, increasing job demands behaviour and subjective well-being in teachers' performance throughout their gender.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the authors used multi-group structural equation modelling and mediation analysis of a sample of 602 primary school teachers in Iran.

Findings

This study found that emotional intelligence significantly affected teachers' performance. Teachers' emotional intelligence and increasing job demands behaviour were significant predictors of teacher performance in both genders. Furthermore, increasing job demand behaviour had a stronger mediating effect than subjective well-being on the relationship between emotional intelligence and teachers' performance in both genders.

Originality/value

This model is an attempt to examine possible gender differences on the relationships between teachers' emotional intelligence and their job performance by mediating roles of subjective well-being and increasing job demands behaviours in a specific societal and educational context.
“Even though we are elders living alone”: has social support reshaped the care of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Authors: Wannachot Washiraporn , Phukrongpet Pimporn , Rattanasuteerakul Kanokporn , Daovisan Hanvedes
Published: January 2023

Purpose

This study aims to explore how social support has reshaped the care of older adults living alone in northeast Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a qualitative method using a narrative gerontological perspective with a descriptive design. Purposive sampling was conducted from 20 in-depth narrative interviews between November 2021 and February 2022 in Maha Sarakham province, northeast Thailand. Data transcriptions were performed using a narrative analytical process.

Findings

The in-depth narrative interviews indicated that older adults living alone during the coronavirus pandemic valued a comfortable life, a sense of place, favourable living arrangements, self-reliance, life goals and meaningful life. The gerontological analysis showed that social support for older adults living alone included a social safety net, networking, supporting needs, physical care and mental health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first qualitative narrative gerontological study to explore how social support reshaped the care of older adults living alone during the COVID-19 pandemic in northeast Thailand.
Exploring middle-level school leadership styles through role-play simulations
Authors: Iftach Geva , Shapira-Lishchinsky Orly
Published: January 2023

Purpose

The study's main goal is to investigate different leadership styles that characterize middle-level leaders, the intermediate leadership tier of role holders in school, as they practice leadership scenarios through active participation in a professional learning process of role-play simulation, using a social-ecological approach.

Design/methodology/approach

Thirty middle-level leaders from different Israeli high schools and districts participated in the study during an M.A. course in an educational leadership program. The authors used qualitative analysis to examine role-play simulations of leadership scenarios based on group debriefings. This content analysis was conducted within a two-dimensional theoretical framework composed of leadership style theory and a social-ecological model.

Findings

The study findings address four main leadership styles: authentic, transformational, participative and transactional. Regarding their appearance within different social-ecological layers, the interpersonal layer was the most salient one with a prominent appearance of transformational and authentic leadership styles. On the organizational and communal layers, authentic leadership was more prominent. The study findings demonstrate multidimensionality in both the leadership styles and social-ecological layers, as different styles appeared in different layers concurrently.

Practical implications

The findings may help articulate the nature and characteristics of middle-level school leadership. They may also provide relevant theoretical content and instructional strategy to develop simulation-based preparation programs for middle-level leaders.

Originality/value

The study findings highlight unique leadership characteristics of middle-level school leaders and suggest a contextual perception of their leadership styles within a social-ecological framework.
Intellectual capital before and during COVID-19 in the hotel industry: the moderating role of tangible assets
Authors: Ognjanovic Jasmina , Dzenopoljac Vladimir , Cavagnetto Stefano
Published: January 2023

Purpose

The study aims to assess the relative impact of intellectual capital (IC) as opposed to tangible assets on profitability and employee performance in hotels in Serbia before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study was undertaken in 2019, the year before COVID-19, and 2020, the year of COVID-19's major impact. This study utilizes the Value-Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC) as a measure of efficient use of IC. Financial data were collected from 163 hotels in Serbia. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The results revealed that IC was a relevant factor for both profitability and employee performance before and during the COVID-19. However, the study reveals a negative moderating effect of tangible capital efficiency (TCE), meaning that with the increase of TCE, the relationship between IC and performance becomes weaker.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of the study is rooted in VAIC's ability to fully incorporate all elements of IC, leaving the relational capital out.

Practical implications

To achieve better performance, hotel management should direct resources more towards IC and less toward tangible assets, which implies doing more with less.

Originality/value

The results indicate the importance of IC in a period of crisis for the industry and economy that are not recognized as knowledge intensive. To the best of the authors' knowledge, no other study has attempted to assess the relative contribution of tangible assets and IC before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The magnitude and consequences of money laundering
Authors: Nazar Sadia , Raheman Abdul , Anwar ul Haq Muhammad
Published: January 2023

Purpose

This study aims to estimate the amount of money laundering (ML) with multiple proxy approaches and measure the effects of ML on various indicators of the economic and financial sectors. Theoretical justifications are recruited from the parasite theory of organised crime.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research methodology was used on a balanced panel data set to test the study’s hypothesis through generalised method of moment (GMM). The study sample consisted of 77 countries, and the data was collected for 15 years (2005–2019).

Findings

A study has found that 1.23% of global gross domestic product is laundered yearly, and there is no noticeable decline in ML activities. Further study has also found that ML has devastating effects on countries, government revenue, foreign investment, economic development, political and peace conditions, bank liquidity, interest rate volatility and exchange rate volatility. The study has not witnessed the negative consequence of ML on countries’ inflation rates.

Practical implications

Estimates of the study guide policymakers about the volume of resources fleeing and helps them to decide the level of response needed. Further findings help them prioritise the response system according to the area most affected.

Originality/value

This study is an original contribution by the authors and has studied the effects of ML by computing the amount of ML by four different proxies.
The mediating effect of data analytics on the relationship between organizational psychological safety and advisory services
Authors: Sihombing Ranto Partomuan , Agustia Dian , Soewarno Noorlailie
Published: January 2023

Purpose

Data analytics can change the working of advisory services (AS) that internal auditors routinely carry out. Not getting psychological support from employers and co-workers can cause internal auditors to be reluctant to use data analytics. Based on trait activation theory, this study aims to examine the mediating effect of data analytics on the relationship between organizational psychological safety (OPS) and AS.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors surveyed inspectorate auditors in government ministries and institutions who are internal government auditors in Indonesia. This study applied the partial least square structural equation modeling method to test the hypothesis. The total respondents involved in this study were 103 auditors.

Findings

There are two main findings in this study. First, OPS has a direct effect on AS. Second, data analytics mediates the relationship between OPS and AS.

Practical implications

This study’s finding has implications for leaders in ministries and government agencies to provide psychological support so that inspectorate auditors increasingly take advantage of data analytics in the process of AS that are always carried out.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the mediating effect of data analytics on the relationship between OPS and AS.
Decision-making and resilience in agriculture: improving awareness of the role of accounting
Authors: Tingey-Holyoak Joanne Louise , Wheeler Sarah Ann , Seidl Constantin
Published: January 2023

Purpose

Australian agriculture is facing increasingly uncertain weather patterns which is impacting financial performance, exacerbated by worsening terms of trade and a decline in commodity prices. Increasing the resilience and adaptive capacity of the primary production sector is of key importance. Governments and farmer groups often depict technology adoption as the salvation of farming, frequently ignoring the importance of decision-making processes and soft information skills and needs. The purpose of this study is to explore farmer decision-making and resilience and, in doing so, address ongoing challenges with soft information, including the inaccessibility of accounting data and a lack of awareness of its formal role in strategic decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a strategic choice perspective, we explore the links between farmer characteristics, attitudes, technology orientation, decision-making and financial performance to investigate how accounting data and tools could better support growers’ adaptive capacity. Detailed on-farm interviews were conducted with 25 grape growers across the Riverland in South Australia, with information thematically and descriptively analysed.

Findings

Results show that farmers with low operating profit margins spend double the time making decisions and struggle with minimising variable costs, especially water costs. Lower profit growers were also less likely to perceive climate change as a threat and demonstrated lower resilience.

Originality/value

The results highlight the potential for accountants to make more use of data-driven technological advances and for this information to be used to enhance on-farm strategic decision-making and support innovative business models. Simply packaged biophysical and financial data could also support strategic decisions and adaptation of farmers struggling to make a profit.
Mental health care using video during COVID-19: service user and clinician experiences, including future preferences
Authors: Samad Lamiya , Teague Bonnie , Elzubeir Khalifa , Moreira Karen , Agarwal Nita , Bagge Sophie , Marriott Emma , Wilson Jonathan
Published: January 2023

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate service user (SU) and clinician acceptability of video care, including future preferences to inform mental health practice during COVID-19, and beyond.

Design/methodology/approach

Structured questionnaires were co-developed with SUs and clinicians. The SU online experience questionnaire was built into video consultations (VCs) via the Attend Anywhere platform, completed between July 2020 and March 2021. A Trust-wide clinician experience survey was conducted between July and October 2020. Chi-squared test was performed for any differences in clinician VC rating by mental health difficulties, with the content analysis used for free-text data.

Findings

Of 1,275 SUs completing the questionnaire following VC, most felt supported (93.4%), and their needs were met (90%). For future appointments, 51.8% of SUs preferred video, followed by face-to-face (33%), with COVID-related and practical reasons given. Of 249 clinicians, 161 (64.7%) had used VCs. Most felt the therapeutic relationship (76.4%) and privacy (78.7%) were maintained. Clinicians felt confident about clinical assessment and management using video. However, they were less confident in assessing psychotic symptoms and initiating psychotropic medications. There were no significant differences in clinician VC rating by mental health difficulties. For future, more SUs preferred using video, with a quarter providing practical reasons.

Originality/value

The study provides a real-world example of video care implementation. In addition to highlighting clinician needs, support at the wider system/policy level, with a focus on addressing inequalities, can inform mental health care beyond COVID-19.
Different patterns and drivers of fungal communities between phyllosphere and rhizosphere in alpine grasslands
Authors: Li Yang , Tian Dashuan , Pan Junxiao , Zhou Benjamin , Zhang Ruiyang , Song Lei , Wang Jinsong , Niu Shuli
Published: January 2023

Epiphytic fungi are vital in enhancing their host plant performance and can also cause plant diseases. Generally, phyllosphere fungal community are majorly driven by climate, while rhizosphere fungal community are determined by soil properties and spatial distance. However, the differences in the relative effects of environmental factors on fungal community compositions and network structures remain far from clear between phyllosphere and rhizosphere.

In this study, we conducted a large‐scale field survey along a 1400 km transect in the Tibetan Plateau and explored the composition and structure of phyllosphere and rhizosphere fungal communities from two dominant grass species (Leontopodium nanum and Stipa purpurea). L. nanum is widely distributed in relatively wet areas of alpine grasslands but S. purpurea prefers relatively dry areas. The geographical distributions of these two species overlap in the middle of the transect

First, we found that precipitation was more important than temperature to affect fungal alpha diversity. High precipitation significantly promoted fungal alpha diversity in both phyllosphere and rhizosphere. Second, climate and spatial variables explained more variations in fungal community in the phyllosphere than rhizosphere. Specifically, greater precipitation promoted the relative abundances of pathotrophic fungi in the phyllosphere and rhizosphere, whereas lower precipitation only stimulated the relative abundances of symbiotrophic fungi in the rhizosphere. Third, precipitation had different impacts on phyllosphere and rhizosphere fungal networks between host species. Drought caused lower node number of fungal networks in the phyllosphere and rhizosphere of L. nanum. However, for S. purpurea, drought led to more complex and positive fungal networks in the phyllosphere and rhizosphere. Overall, these results indicated that precipitation caused different fungal community compositions along the transect between phyllosphere and rhizosphere, but consistently shaped their fungal networks.

This study is among the first to provide compelling evidence on the large‐scale spatial variations and controlling factors for epiphytic fungal community in alpine grasslands. These new findings help to understand the role of epiphytic fungal community in affecting the functions of alpine grasses to cope with extreme environments.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Resource competition drives an invasion‐replacement event among shrew species on an island
Authors: Browett Samuel S. , Synnott Rebecca , O'Meara Denise B. , Antwis Rachael E. , Browett Stephen S. , Bown Kevin J. , Wangensteen Owen S. , Dawson Deborah A. , Searle Jeremy B. , Yearsley Jon M. , McDevitt Allan D.
Published: January 2023

Invasive mammals are responsible for the majority of native species extinctions on islands. While most of these extinction events will be due to novel interactions between species (e.g. exotic predators and naive prey), it is more unusual to find incidences where a newly invasive species causes the decline/extinction of a native species on an island when they normally coexist elsewhere in their overlapping mainland ranges.

We investigated if resource competition between two insectivorous small mammals was playing a significant role in the rapid replacement of the native pygmy shrew Sorex minutus in the presence of the recently invading greater white‐toothed shrew Crocidura russula on the island of Ireland.

We used DNA metabarcoding of gut contents from >300 individuals of both species to determine each species' diet and measured the body size (weight and length) during different stages of the invasion in Ireland (before, during and after the species come into contact with one another) and on a French island where both species have long coexisted (acting as a natural ‘control’ site). Dietary composition, niche width and overlap and body size were compared in these different stages.

The body size of the invasive C. russula and composition of its diet changes between when it first invades an area and after it becomes established. During the initial stages of the invasion, individual shrews are larger and consume larger sized invertebrate prey species. During later stages of the invasion, C. russula switches to consuming smaller prey taxa that are more essential for the native species. As a result, the level of interspecific dietary overlap increases from between 11% and 14% when they first come into contact with each other to between 39% and 46% after the invasion.

Here we show that an invasive species can quickly alter its dietary niche in a new environment, ultimately causing the replacement of a native species. In addition, the invasive shrew could also be potentially exhausting local resources of larger invertebrate species. These subsequent changes in terrestrial invertebrate communities could have severe impacts further downstream on ecosystem functioning and services.
Self‐Assessment versus Self‐Improvement Motives: How Does Social Reference Group Selection Influence Organizational Responses to Performance Feedback?
Authors: Blettner Daniela , Kotiloglu Serhan , Lechler Thomas G.
Published: January 2023

The performance feedback theory (PFT) proposes that organizations compare their performance to other organizations (i.e. their social reference group) and initiate responses based on this comparison. While social comparison represents a core element of the PFT, it is not well understood how organizations select social reference groups and how this selection may affect organizational responses (e.g. risk‐taking, change, innovation). We propose that the motives that organizations use to select their social reference groups impact their responses to performance feedback. Our meta‐analysis of 99 empirical PFT studies focuses on two motives underlying the selection of social reference groups for performance feedback: self‐assessment and self‐improvement. While self‐assessment through comparison requires the selection of a relevant set of referent organizations, self‐improvement relies on the selection of the highest performing referent organizations. Our results show that organizational responses to performance feedback differ depending on which motive‐based reference group is selected for comparison. These differences are more evident when performance is above aspirations. This finding has important implications for PFT researchers to predict organizational responses more precisely.
The evolving impact of COVID‐19 on women's health
Authors: Crosbie Emma
Published: January 2023

Deputy Editor‐in‐Chief, Emma Crosbie, discusses her top articles from this issue in an audio podcast available at: https://soundcloud.com/bjog/February‐editorial‐2023.
Stability and antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds during in vitro digestion
Authors: Li Chun Xiao , Wang Fu Rong , Zhang Bing , Deng Ze Yuan , Li Hong Yan
Published: January 2023

The impact of phenolic compounds on the human body depended on the type, content, bioavailability, and antioxidant activity. After digestion, different phenolic compounds had different changes of bioavailability and antioxidant activity, which needed to be considered in the application. In this experiment, the structural stability and antioxidant activity of 27 phenolic compounds (phenolic acids, flavonols, flavonoids, and flavanones) were investigated during the in vitro simulated digestion. This experiment eliminated the influence of food matrix, provide a basis for regularity for the changes of phenolic substances in different materials. Results showed that the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds with different structures varied, and there was a conformational relationship between the structure and stability. After oral digestion, most of the phenolic compounds underwent degradation and the cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) values decreased to a large extent (p < 0.05). After gastric digestion, the content (p > 0.05) and CAA values (p < 0.05) of most phenolic compounds increased. However, after intestinal digestion, the phenolic compounds were degraded to a greater extent, and different structures of phenolic compounds had different changes in CAA values (p < 0.05). In general, the CAA values of most phenolic compounds after in vitro digestion were lower than the initial value. The 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′‐azino‐bis (3‐ehylbenzthiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) (ABTS), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) values of phenolic acids and flavonols decreased after in vitro simulated digestion (p < 0.05), while the values of DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP of most flavonoids (p < 0.05) increased. The increased oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) values were found in most phenolic acids, flavonols, and flavonoids (p < 0.05), and most flavanones showed unremarkable changes in ORAC values (p > 0.05). In general, the changing trend of chemical‐based antioxidant activity was consistent with the content of phenolic compounds.
Implementation of an automated, user‐centered point‐of‐care ultrasound workflow improves documentation and billing
Authors: Thompson Brian , Schoenfeld Elizabeth , Westafer Lauren , Visintainer Paul , Budhram Gavin
Published: January 2023

Background

Point‐of‐care ultrasound (POCUS) is a central component of emergency medical care. However, clinicians often fail to adequately document their examinations, causing problems for downstream clinicians and quality assurance processes as well as loss of revenue. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a user‐centered POCUS documentation workflow system for examination ordering, documentation, selective archival, and billing on POCUS documentation in a large academic emergency department (ED).

Methods

In this quasi‐experimental study, we examined POCUS documentation 22 months before and 12 months after implementation of a user‐centered, automated ultrasound workflow (October 2018–July 2021). The workflow allows for electronic health record (EHR) order entry to populate a virtual ultrasound worklist, automatic demographic information retrieval to ultrasound machines, selective image storage to a hospital picture archive and communications system and/or POCUS archive Ultralinq, generation of an EHR report, and integrated billing triggers. Data were retrieved using Current Procedural Terminology codes for billed POCUS examinations during the study period. We also collected monthly hospital registry data to quantify ED visits to control for volume. We compared the number and per‐visit rate of POCUS documented using descriptive statistics and segmented linear regression before and after implementation of the workflow.

Results

In the 22‐month preimplementation period, 209,725 ED visits occurred. During this period, POCUS was completely documented in 13,514 or in 6.4% of ED visits. There were an average of 614 scans documented per month. In the 12‐month postimplementation period, 97,418 ED visits occurred. During this period, POCUS was completely documented in 10,001 visits, or 10.3% of ED visits. There were an average of 833 scans documented per month. Linear regression analysis showed a significant increase in average monthly POCUS documentation of 265.34 scans/month (95% CI 150.60–380.09, p < 0.001) at the time of the intervention.

Conclusions

In this single‐center study, POCUS documentation increased by more than 60% following the implementation of a user‐centered POCUS workflow that reduced the burden on the clinician by automating data entry, improving data flow between ultrasound machines and the EHR and integrating billing.
Upadacitinib treatment in patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis: A retrospective single‐centre Australian review of 14 patients post phase 3 clinical trial
Authors: Bennett Michaela , Sinclair Rodney D. , Eisman Samantha
Published: January 2023

Recent phase 2b and phase 3 clinical trials support the safety and efficacy of the selective Janus kinase (JAK)‐1 inhibitor upadacitinib (UPA) in the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD). However, to date, there is little experience with UPA therapy for AD in Australia. We report findings from a retrospective study to better understand the therapeutic response and side effects noted in a single‐centre Australian cohort.
The effect of a sexual abuse history on symptoms and anorectal physiology findings in patients presenting to a colorectal pelvic floor service
Authors: Hanna Mark , Bray Gerard , Ding Ye Chen , Srinath Havish , Warwick Andrea , Gillespie Christopher
Published: January 2023

Background

Studies report that 12%–23% of patients with functional anorectal disorders have a history of sexual abuse (SA). This article aims to assess whether there is a difference in symptom severity, quality of life or anorectal physiology findings in female patients presenting to a colorectal pelvic floor service with and without a history of sexual abuse.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of all female patients attending a single tertiary pelvic floor unit for faecal incontinence or constipation between 2017 and 2019 was performed. Patients were divided into two groups depending on the presence or absence of a volunteered history of sexual abuse. Validated quality of life and symptom severity scores, along with anorectal physiology studies were analysed and compared between the two groups.

Results

There were 148 patients included in the study period and 17% reported a history of SA. There was no statistically significant difference in symptom severity, quality of life scores or anorectal physiology studies between those with and without a history of SA.

Conclusion

In female patients seeking management for defaecatory symptoms, those who have reported a history of SA did not demonstrate any significant difference in symptom severity, quality of life or physiological measures when compared to those without a history of SA.
The impact at stake: Risk and return in publicly listed social impact firms
Authors: Giacomini Emanuela , Marinelli Nicoletta , Riccetti Luca
Published: January 2023

This study investigates the risk and return characteristics of impact investing in the public equity market. We use a unique hand‐collected dataset of 50 US listed firms whose product (or service) addresses at least one of the global social and environmental challenges, as defined by the United Nations Social Development Goals (SDGs). We designate such firms Impact Firms, and we compare their financial performance to a matched sample of Non‐Impact Firms in the time span 2002–2019. Our results show that Impact and Non‐Impact Firms have similar level of financial performance and both volatility and systemic risk over the entire sample period. At the same time, Impact Firms show a slightly lower negative skewness of the returns over the entire sample period, but not during crisis periods. However, compared to matched Non‐Impact Firms, Impact Firms outperform during periods of market crisis, generating a valuable dampening of downside risk.
Mandibular bone characteristics, drilling protocols, and final insertion torque for titanium‐zirconium mini‐implants for overdentures: A cross‐sectional analysis
Authors: Leles Cláudio Rodrigues , Leles José Luiz Rodrigues , Curado Thalita Fernandes Fleury , Silva Jésio Rodrigues , Nascimento Lays Noleto , de Paula Marcella Silva , Maniewicz Sabrina , Schimmel Martin , McKenna Gerald
Published: January 2023

Objective

The aim of this study was to assess the final insertion torque values achieved using site‐specific drilling protocols for a novel mini implant system for removable complete overdentures. Anatomical and technical factors influencing final insertion torque were recorded and analyzed.

Material and Methods

Participants were randomized to two surgical protocol groups (flapped or flapless) and all received four mini implants (Straumann® mini implant system; Straumann AG) in the anterior mandible, using a 1.6 mm needle drill and a 2.2 mm pilot drill for the implant bed site preparation. The final insertion torque was recorded as the main outcome variable during surgery. Bone type, radiographical bone density, ridge form, implant length, and the drilling protocol were considered as independent variables. Descriptive statistics, generalized estimating equations (GEE) regression, and heatmap charts were used for data analyses.

Results

A total of 296 mini implants were placed in 74 patients (mean age = 64.1 ± 8.0; 64.9% female) using flapless (n = 37) or flapped (n = 37) surgeries. Mean final insertion torque was 55.8 ± 18.4 Ncm (10.5% > 35 Ncm, 48.9% between 35 and 65 Ncm, and 40.6% > 65 Ncm). The needle drill was used in only 43.9% of the implant bed sites. Higher final torque values were observed for higher bone densities (bone type I > II > III, and D1–D2 > D3–D4), highly resorbed ridge forms (5–6 > 3–4), flapped surgeries, and male patients. However, regression models showed that the likelihood of achieving optimal insertion torque (≥35 and ≤65 Ncm) was higher for females (OR = 2.14; 95%CI = 1.14–4.01; p = 0.018), ridge forms 3–4 (OR = 2.87; 95%CI = 1.05–7.85; p = 0.040), and flapless surgeries (OR = 1.96; 95%CI = 1.09–3.51; p = 0.024).

Conclusions

Sufficient primary stability for immediate loading was achieved for the majority of the mini implants placed. Surgical implant bed preparation should be site‐specific to achieve optimal primary stability for immediate loading while avoiding excessive insertion torque.
Shifting norms, multiplying actors, turbulent times: An emerging landscape of international development co‐operation
Authors: Taylor Peter , Macdonald Keir , Huckstep Sam , Sun Yu
Published: January 2023

Motivation

Universal challenges require collective responsibility for identifying future pathways and solutions, unprecedented levels of global co‐operation and a clear set of principles and norms to shape needed actions and responses. In a changing landscape of actors, the norms that have previously evolved and served the interests of one particular group of actors may no longer be fit for purpose.

Purpose

The article explores questions about how and why different societal actors and stakeholders are shaping and informing development co‐operation norms, and whether newer members of a growing community of development aid providers will want to sit at an existing table, or go their own way, individually or with other collectives.

Methods and approach

The article responds to these questions by drawing on existing literature, and offering an analysis of past, present, and possible future directions for the emergence of international development norms and supernorms. Building on this analysis, it casts forward, to examine the role of new actors and the emergence of new norms, paying particular attention to South–South development co‐operation.

Findings

The article proposes a series of challenges and choices which may determine future pathways for current and emerging international development norms. It concludes that emerging donors can challenge or co‐operate with existing norms, while traditional donors must decide how to react to the emergence of other development actors: to contest, or to co‐ordinate and co‐operate through the emergence of new norms which are created and agreed to by both old and new actors.

Policy implications

Future processes of negotiation will require dedicated policy spaces in which global actors can negotiate and contest new norms in a shared quest to secure their position in the complex, ever‐shifting landscape of international co‐operation arrangements.
Performance and population prediction of Opisina arenosella on four species of palm plants
Authors: Yan Sanqiang , Lin Nanfang , Xiang Kaiping , Kuang Fuping , Lyu Baoqian , Lu Hui , Tang Jihong , Zhang Qikai , Qiu Haiyan , Tang Xue , Liu Zhuo
Published: January 2023

Opisina arenosella Walker (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae) is a major pest of coconut, Cocos nucifera L. (Arecaceae), but also of other palm plant species. Information on its life history on hosts other than coconut is missing. Age‐stage two‐sex life tables and a population prediction model were used to assess the development, survival, reproduction, and population growth potential of O. arenosella populations bred from four palm plants: C. nucifera, Livistona chinensis (Jacq.) R.Br. ex Mart., Roystonea regia (Kunth) O.F. Cook, and Elaeis guineensis Jacq. The results revealed that O. arenosella could complete a generation on all four hosts. Still, they showed relatively high fitness on L. chinensis, second to that on C. nucifera, with the shortest generation time (egg to pupa, 71.1 days), higher stage survival (egg: 0.89; larva: 0.74; pupa: 0.56), fecundity (176.3 eggs), and population growth potential. On L. chinensis, net reproductive rate, R0, was 35.1, gross reproduction rate, GRR = 88.8, intrinsic rate of increase, r = 0.049 per day, finite rate of increase, λ = 1.050 per day, mean generation time, T = 72.1 days, and doubling time, DT = 14.1 days. Based on 10 eggs, the population prediction model showed that larval populations on L. chinensis could develop to the third generation in 180 days and reached the peak value (9870.2 larvae) on day 158. Besides coconut, all three palm plant species can support O. arenosella to complete the life cycle. The outcomes of this research may be beneficial in formulating pest management strategies for palm crops.
Characterization of striatal dopamine projections across striatal subregions in behavioral flexibility
Authors: van der Merwe Rochelle K. , Nadel Jacob A. , Copes‐Finke Della , Pawelko Sean , Scott Jesse S. , Ghanem Marwan , Fox M. , Morehouse Caroline , McLaughlin Robert , Maddox Charlie , Albert‐Lyons Ruth , Malaki Golara , Groce Virginia , Turocy Alaina , Aggadi Nada , Jin Xin , Howard Christopher D.
Published: January 2023

Behavioural flexibility is key to survival in a dynamic environmentWhile flexible, goal‐directed behaviours are initially dependent on dorsomedial striatum, they become dependent on lateral striatum as behaviours become inflexible. Similarly, lesions of dopamine terminals in lateral striatum disrupt the development of inflexible habits. This work suggests that dopamine release in lateral striatum may drive inflexible behaviours, though few studies have investigated a causative role of subpopulations of striatal dopamine terminals in reversal learning, a measure of flexibility. Here, we performed two optogenetic experiments to activate dopamine terminals in dorsomedial (DMS), dorsolateral (DLS) or ventral (nucleus accumbens [NAc]) striatum in DAT‐Cre mice that expressed channelrhodopsin‐2 via viral injection (Experiment I) or through transgenic breeding with an Ai32 reporter line (Experiment II) to determine how specific dopamine subpopulations impact reversal learning. Mice performed a reversal task in which they self‐stimulated DMS, DLS, or NAc dopamine terminals by pressing one of two levers before action‐outcome lever contingencies were reversed. Largely consistent with presumed ventromedial/lateral striatal function, we found that mice self‐stimulating medial dopamine terminals reversed lever preference following contingency reversal, while mice self‐stimulating NAc showed parial flexibility, and DLS self‐stimulation resulted in impaired reversal. Impairments in DLS mice were characterized by more regressive errors and reliance on lose‐stay strategies following reversal, as well as reduced within‐session learning, suggesting reward insensitivity and overreliance on previously learned actions. This study supports a model of striatal function in which DMS and ventral dopamine facilitate goal‐directed responding, and DLS dopamine supports more inflexible responding.
The importance of stories in wildlife management
Authors: Goyes David R.
Published: January 2023

Storytelling shapes how we understand the world and act in it, including our interactions with nature. For instance, the oral stories Indigenous peoples around the world transmit from generation to generation about the sacred bond between humans and non‐humans in the world establish a respectful relationship with ecosystems. However, we have yet to fully understand how stories shape conservation and restoration practices beyond Indigenous communities. In this article, I demonstrate the function of stories in impeding conservation and restoration as well as their potential in advancing conservation and restoration. I interviewed central stakeholders in Norway's wildlife management—activists, civil servants and parliamentarians—and interpreted their stories using narrative theory to analyse how their stories affected what they did in terms of wildlife management. Each cluster of stakeholders relies on different story sources for their work: activists invoke moral stories, civil servants convey scientific accounts and parliamentarians narrate episodes of power. By relying on these diverse sources of stories, I show that the three groups of stakeholders see the world as it relates to conservation and restoration differently from each other, diverge in their actions, and as a result fail to cooperate in wildlife management. The stories that stakeholders tell are telling. The policymaking implications of understanding the power of stories are significant: efficient conservation and restoration programmes require cooperation, but diverging narratives weaken the likelihood of this cooperation. Furthermore, while most governments around the world use international environmental treaties as the narrative source to guide their efforts in preventing the decimation of nature, none of the stakeholders in wildlife management I interviewed relied on this source in their storytelling. While my interviewees are Norwegian, my findings forefront the worldwide importance of stories in conservation and restoration practices.
Clinical profiles and ethnic heterogeneity of sporadic fatal insomnia
Authors: Chen Zhongyun , Chu Min , Zhang Jing , Kong Yu , Xie Kexin , Cui Yue , Ye Hong , Liu Li , Li Junjie , Wang Lin , Wu Liyong
Published: January 2023

Background and purpose

This study was undertaken to elucidate the clinical profile of sporadic fatal insomnia (sFI), assess the similarities and differences between sFI and fatal familial insomnia (FFI), and evaluate the influence of ethnicity on the phenotype of sFI patients.

Methods

The data of sFI and FFI patients were retrieved from our case series and through literature review. The clinical and diagnostic features of sFI and FFI were compared, as were the phenotypes of Asian and Caucasian sFI patients.

Results

We identified 44 sFI and 157 FFI cases. The prevalence of sleep‐related, neuropsychiatric, and autonomic symptoms among the sFI patients were 65.9%, 100.0%, and 43.2%, respectively. Compared to FFI, sFI exhibited longer disease duration and a higher proportion of neuropsychiatric symptoms, whereas FFI was characterized by a higher incidence of sleep‐related and autonomic symptoms in the early stages of the disease or throughout its course. In addition, a higher proportion of the sFI patients showed hyperintensity on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and periodic sharp wave complexes on electroencephalography compared to the FFI patients, especially those presenting with pathological changes associated with MM2‐cortical type sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. The Asian sFI patients had a higher proportion of males and positivity for cerebrospinal fluid 14‐3‐3 protein, and fewer sleep‐related symptoms compared to Caucasian sFI patients. The age at onset and duration of sFI differed between ethnic groups, but the difference failed to reach statistical significance.

Conclusions

Despite its similarities to FFI, sFI is characterized by longer disease duration, higher proportion of neuropsychiatric symptoms, and hyperintensity on MRI, along with differences in the clinical characteristics based on ethnicity.
The genomic and bioclimatic characterization of Ethiopian barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) unveils challenges and opportunities to adapt to a changing climate
Authors: Caproni Leonardo , Lakew Basazen Fantahun , Kassaw Seyoum Asefie , Miculan Mara , Ahmed Jemal Seid , Grazioli Simona , Kidane Yosef Gebrehawaryat , Fadda Carlo , Pè Mario Enrico , Dell'Acqua Matteo
Published: January 2023

The climate crisis is impacting agroecosystems and threatening food security of millions of smallholder farmers. Understanding the potential for current and future climatic adaptation of local crop agrobiodiversity may guide breeding efforts and support resilience of agriculture. Here, we combine a genomic and climatic characterization of a large collection of traditional barley varieties from Ethiopia, a staple for local smallholder farmers cropping in challenging environments. We find that the genomic diversity of barley landraces can be partially traced back to geographic and environmental diversity of the landscape. We employ a machine learning approach to model Ethiopian barley adaptation to current climate and to identify areas where its existing diversity may not be well adapted in future climate scenarios. We use this information to identify optimal trajectories of assisted migration compensating to detrimental effects of climate change, finding that Ethiopian barley diversity bears opportunities for adaptation to the climate crisis. We then characterize phenology traits in the collection in two common garden experiments in Ethiopia, using genome‐wide association approaches to identify genomic loci associated with timing of flowering and maturity of the spike. We combine this information with genotype–environment associations finding that loci involved in flowering time may also explain environmental adaptation. Our data show that integrated genomic, climatic, and phenotypic characterizations of agrobiodiversity may provide breeding with actionable information to improve local adaptation in smallholder farming systems.
Global warming intensity of biofuel derived from switchgrass grown on marginal land in Michigan
Authors: Kim Seungdo , Dale Bruce E. , Martinez‐Feria Rafael , Basso Bruno , Thelen Kurt , Maravelias Christos T. , Landis Douglas , Lark Tyler J. , Robertson G. Philip
Published: January 2023

Energy crops for biofuel production, especially switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), are of interest from a climate change perspective. Here, we use outputs from a crop growth model and life cycle assessment (LCA) to examine the global warming intensity (GWI; g CO2 MJ−1) and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential (Mg CO2 year−1) of biofuel systems based on a spatially explicit analysis of switchgrass grown on marginal land (abandoned former cropland) in Michigan, USA. We find that marginal lands in Michigan can annually produce over 0.57 hm3 of liquid biofuel derived from nitrogen‐fertilized switchgrass, mitigating 1.2–1.5 Tg of CO2 year−1. About 96% of these biofuels can meet the Renewable Fuel Standard (60% reduction in lifecycle GHG emissions compared with conventional gasoline; GWI ≤37.2 g CO2 MJ−1). Furthermore, 73%–75% of these biofuels are carbon‐negative (GWI less than zero) due to enhanced soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. However, simulations indicate that SOC levels would fail to increase and even decrease on the 11% of lands where SOC stocks >>200 Mg C ha−1, leading to carbon intensities greater than gasoline. Results highlight the strong climate mitigation potential of switchgrass grown on marginal lands as well as the needs to avoid carbon rich soils such as histosols and wetlands and to ensure that productivity will be sufficient to provide net mitigation.