bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative Performance of Polygenic Risk Scores for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Subtypes in theAll of UsResearch Program
Authors: Smith Johanna L. , Norland Kristjan , Hamed Marwan E. , Yu Yue , Na Jie , Dikilitas Ozan , Schaid Daniel J. , Kullo Iftikhar J.
Published: November 2024

Background

Performance and portability of contemporary polygenic risk scores (PRS) for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) phenotypes vary based on different methods, training data, and trait ascertainment.

Objectives

We aimed to investigate performance and portability of contemporary PRS for ASCVD subtypes: coronary heart disease (CHD), abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), ischemic stroke (IS), and peripheral artery disease (PAD), using theAll of UsWorkbench which provides access to a large diverse cohort with phenotype and whole genome sequence data. We also developed and evaluated a multi-trait PRS for each subtype.

Methods

Performance of PRS for 4 ASCVD traits and related risk factors was compared across genetic ancestry groups in 245,388All of Usparticipants. Genetic EUR, African (AFR), Admixed American (AMR), and remaining ancestry groups (combined as Other, OTH) were defined byAll of Usbased on principal components. PRS for CHD, IS, AAA, PAD, and multi-trait (combining PRS for the 4 traits as well as PRS for ASCVD risk factors) were assessed for portability across genetic ancestry groups using hazard ratios (HR) per SD increase.

Results

For CHD, CHDPGS003725performed the best (HR for 1 SD increase [95% CI]), across 4 genetic ancestry groups (EUR: 1.72[1.67-1.78], AFR: 1.24[1.18-1.31], AMR: 1.48[1.37-1.59], OTH: 1.65[1.52-1.79]). The best performing PRS for AAA was AAAPGS003972(EUR: 1.68[1.59-1.78], AFR: 1.29[1.13-1.48], AMR: 1.30[1.06-1.60], OTH: 1.45[1.20-1.75]). The best performing IS PRS was ISPGS000039in AFR (1.12[1.06-1.17]), AMR (1.11[1.04-1.19]), and OTH (1.23[1.09-1.38]), and ISPGS004939in EUR (1.16[1.12-1.20]). For PAD, PADPGS004940performed best in EUR (1.26[1.22-1.30]), AFR (1.11[1.05-1.18]), AMR (1.08[1.01-1.16]), and OTH (1.13[1.04-1.22]). Multi-trait PRS performed better than individual trait PRS for each ASCVD phenotype. Also, PRS derived from multi-ancestry cohorts performed better than those derived from single ancestry.

Conclusions

PRS for ASCVD developed from multi-ancestry cohorts and multiple related traits performed best across ancestrally diverse and admixed individuals. PRS for CHD and AAA performed better than those for IS and PAD.
Intersectional consequences for marginal fairness in prediction models for emergency admissions
Authors: Lett Elle , Shahbandegan Shakiba , Barak-Corren Yuval , Fine Andy , La Cava William G.
Published: November 2024

Background

Fair clinical prediction models are crucial for achieving equitable health outcomes. Recently, intersectionality has been applied to develop fairness algorithms that address discrimination among intersections of protected attributes (e.g., Black women rather than Black persons or women separately). Still, the majority of medical AI literature applies marginal de-biasing approaches, which constrain performance across one or many isolated patient attributes. We investigate the extent to which this modeling decision affects model equity and performance in a well-defined use case in emergency medicine.

Methods

The study focused on predicting emergency room admissions using electronic health record data from two large U.S. hospitals, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (MIMIC-IV-ED, n=160,016) and Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH, n=22,222), covering both adult and pediatric populations. In a comprehensive experiment over fairness definitions, modeling methods, we compared the performance of single- and multi-attribute, marginal de-biasing approaches to intersectional de-biasing approaches.

Results

Intersectional de-biasing produces greater reductions in subgroup calibration error (MIMIC- IV: 21.2%; BCH: 27.2%) than marginal de-biasing (MIMIC-IV: 10.6%; BCH: 22.7%), and also lowers subgroup false negative rates on MIMIC-IV an additional 3.5% relative to marginal de-biasing. These fairness gains were achieved without a significant decrease in model accuracy between baseline and intersectionally-debiased models (MIMIC-IV: AUROC=0.85±0.00, both models; BCH: AUROC=0.88±0.01 vs 0.87±0.01). Intersectional de-biasing more effectively lowered subgroup calibration error and FNRs in low-prevalence groups in both datasets compared to other de-biasing conditions.

Conclusion

Intersectional de-biasing better mitigates performance disparities across intersecting groups compared to marginal approaches for emergency admission prediction. These strategies meaningfully reduce group-specific error rates without compromising overall accuracy. These findings highlight the importance of considering interacting aspects of patient identity in model development, and suggest that intersectional de-biasing would be a promising gold standard for ensuring equity in clinical prediction models.
The 5-methylcytosine DNA glycosylase ROS1 antagonizes parent-of-origin specific DNA methylation in Arabidopsis endosperm
Authors: Hemenway Elizabeth A. , Gehring Mary
Published: November 2024

DNA methylation patterning is a consequence of opposing activities of DNA methyltransferases and DNA demethylases. In flowering plants, two distinct female gametes, the egg cell and the central cell, are fertilized, producing what will become the embryo and the endosperm of the seed. In Arabidopsis, a 5-methylcytosine DNA glycosylase, DME, demethylates regions in the central cell genome, leading to methylation differences between maternally- and paternally-inherited endosperm genomes after fertilization.DMEis required for endosperm gene imprinting. Homologues ofDMEincludeROS1,DML2andDML3. It is unknown whether any of these DNA glycosylases are required for endosperm methylation patterning. We show thatROS1prevents hypermethylation of paternally-inherited alleles in the endosperm at regions that lack maternal or paternal-allele methylation in wild-type. Thus,ROS1promotes epigenetic symmetry between genomes in the endosperm by preventing paternal genome hypermethylation. We propose thatROS1andDMEact in a parent-of-origin-specific manner at shared endosperm targets, and consider implications for the evolution of imprinting mechanisms.
Understanding solid nitrogen through molecular dynamics simulations with a machine-learning potential
Authors: Kirsz Marcin , Pruteanu Ciprian G. , Cooke Peter I. C. , Ackland Graeme J.
Published: November 2024

We construct a fast, transferable, general purpose, machine-learning interatomic potential suitable for large-scale simulations of N2. The potential is trained only on high quality quantum chemical molecule-molecule interactions; no condensed phase information is used. Although there are no explicit or implicit many-molecule interaction terms, the potential reproduces the experimental phase diagram including the melt curve and the molecular solid phases of nitrogen up to 10GPa. This demonstrates that many-molecule interactions are unnecessary to explain the condensed phases of N2. With increased pressure, transitions are observed from cubic (α), which optimizes quadrupole-quadrupole interactions, through tetragonal (γ), which allows more efficient packing, to monoclinic (λ), which packs still more efficiently. On heating, we obtain the hcp three-dimensional (3D) rotor phase (β) and, at pressure, the cubic δ phase which contains both 3D and 2D rotors, tetragonal δ* phase with 2D rotors, and the rhombohedral ε. Molecular dynamics demonstrates where these phases are indeed rotors, rather than frustrated order. The model supports the metastability of the complex ι phase, but not the reported existence of the wide range of bond lengths. The thermodynamic transitions involve both shifts of molecular centers and rotations of molecules: the onset of rotation is rapid, whereas motion of molecular centers is inhibited and we suggest that this is the cause of the experimentally observed sluggishness of transitions. Routine density functional theory calculations give a similar picture to the potential.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Frozen stars: Black hole mimickers sourced by a string fluid
Authors: Brustein Ram , Medved A. J. M.
Published: November 2024

The frozen star is a nonsingular, ultracompact object that, to an external observer, looks exactly like a Schwarzschild black hole, but with a different interior geometry and matter composition. The frozen star needs to be sourced by an extremely anisotropic fluid, for which the sum of the radial pressure and energy density is either vanishing or perturbatively small. Here, we show that this matter can be identified with the string fluid resulting from the decay of an unstable D-brane or a brane-antibrane system at the end of open-string tachyon condensation. The string fluid corresponds to flux tubes emanating from the center and ending at the Schwarzschild radius of the star. The effective Lagrangian for this fluid can be recast into a Born-Infeld form. When the fluid Lagrangian is coupled to that of Einstein’s gravity, the static, spherically symmetric solutions of the equations of motion are shown to be the same as those describing the frozen star model. Frozen stars can therefore be viewed as a gravitationally backreacted BIons model or that of gravitationally confined flux tubes. The Born-Infeld Lagrangian provides a complete set of equations that describe the dynamics of the frozen star in a generic state, which is not necessarily static nor spherically symmetric. Our framework therefore should allow a fully dynamical and out-of-equilibrium description of the frozen star model which will be relevant to gravitational waves observations of mergers of astrophysical black holes.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Polyvinyl fluoride: Predicting polarization in a complex soft matter system
Authors: Frostenson Carl M. , Olsson Pär A. T. , Hyldgaard Per
Published: November 2024

We use first-principle density functional theory (DFT) to predict properties for semicrystalline polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) and compare with polyvinylidiene fluoride. We note that the crystalline regions of PVF are complex in the sense that we lack a complete experimental characterization of the detailed atomic organization. We therefore turn to DFT to predict both the structure and associated materials properties, illustrating a possible work flow for complex soft-matter modeling. We rely on the nonempirical consistent-exchange van der Waals density functional version [K. Berland and P. Hyldgaard, ] and identify plausible ground-state and excited-state motifs. From there we predict the elastic response of the crystalline motifs, and an upper limit estimate of the PVF polarization at room temperature.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Challenges in sensemaking and reasoning in the context of degenerate perturbation theory in quantum mechanics
Authors: Keebaugh Christof , Marshman Emily , Singh Chandralekha
Published: November 2024

We discuss an investigation of student sensemaking and reasoning in the context of degenerate perturbation theory (DPT) in quantum mechanics. We find that advanced undergraduate and graduate students in quantum physics courses often struggled with expertlike sensemaking and reasoning to solve DPT problems. The sensemaking and reasoning were particularly challenging for students as they tried to integrate physical and mathematical concepts to solve DPT problems. Their sensemaking showed local coherence but lacked global consistency with different knowledge resources getting activated in different problem-solving tasks even if the same concepts were applicable. Depending upon the issues involved in the DPT problems, students were sometimes stuck in the “physics mode” or “math mode” and found it challenging to coordinate and integrate the physics and mathematics appropriately to solve quantum mechanics problems involving DPT. Their sensemaking shows the use of various reasoning primitives. It also shows that some advanced students struggled with self-monitoring and checking their answers to make sure they were consistent across different problems. Some also relied on memorized information, invoked authority, and did not make appropriate connections between their DPT problem solutions and the outcomes of experiments. Advanced students in quantum mechanics often displayed analogous patterns of challenges in sensemaking and reasoning as those that have been found in introductory physics. Student sensemaking and reasoning show that these advanced students are still developing expertise in this novel quantum physics domain as they learn to integrate physical and mathematical concepts.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
The value-relevance of gains on bargain purchase: do actions speak louder than words?
Authors: Badenhorst Wessel M.
Published: November 2024

Purpose

This paper investigates whether disclosure quality and a history of overpaying for acquisitions are associated with differences in the value-relevance of gains on bargain purchase with high disclosure prominence.

Design/methodology/approach

Findings are from multivariate regression results, using a sample of firms listed in South Africa from 2010 to 2019, where a mandatory earnings reconciliation provides high disclosure prominence for gains on bargain purchase.

Findings

Given high disclosure prominence, disclosure quality is not associated with differences in the pricing of gains on bargain purchase. Instead, most gains on bargain purchase are priced as future losses (unrecognised liabilities). However, when a firm has a history of overpaying for acquisitions, gains on bargain purchase are priced as transitory economic gains.

Research limitations/implications

Further research is required to determine if overpaying for acquisitions similarly communicates the credibility of gains on bargain purchase when disclosure prominence is low.

Practical implications

Disclosure prominence can reduce disclosure processing costs and increase the value-relevance of complex acquisition accounting. High disclosure quality cannot compensate for a weak acquisition track record.

Originality/value

Findings deepen our understanding of the pricing of gains on bargain purchase. This paper presents empirical results that reconcile previously conflicting theoretical views of gains on bargain purchase (as unrecognised assets or as unrecognised liabilities), by shedding light on the role that a record of overpaying for acquisitions plays in the value-relevance of gains on bargain purchase.
Digital technologies and social sustainability in the digital transformation age: a systematic analysis and research agenda
Authors: Qadri Usman Ahmad , Ghani Mazuri Binti Abd , Abbas Ulfat , Kashif Abdul Rauf
Published: November 2024

Purpose

This paper aims to systematically review the constructive effects of digital transformation (DT) on social sustainability, examining its impact across democracy and governance, social cohesion, quality of life, equality and diversity. It emphasizes the need for appropriate frameworks that incorporate DT strategies in organizational practices to improve social sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review was carried out through Web of Science and Scopus databases to identify the distinctive papers that explored the impact of DT on social sustainability. It analyzes how various digital technologies, like Internet of Things, cloud computing and mobile computing, can be strategically embedded in organizational practices to optimize social sustainability outcomes.

Findings

This study reveals that although DT significantly enhances operational capabilities and consumer experiences, its integration into social sustainability practices is often overlooked. It proposes a novel framework that aligns digital capabilities with sustainability goals, aiming to enrich organizational performance and societal welfare. This paper identifies dynamic capabilities as crucial for sustaining competitive advantage in a digitally transformed business landscape.

Research limitations/implications

The primary limitation is the reliance on secondary data, which may not fully capture the rapid advancements in DT. Future research should focus on empirical studies to validate the proposed framework and explore the dynamic capabilities required for integrating DT in social sustainability practices.

Originality/value

This study extends the discourse on DT by linking it explicitly with social sustainability, presenting a structured analysis that highlights the need for strategic integration of digital technologies within organizational sustainability practices. It fills a gap in the literature by proposing a comprehensive framework for organizations to follow, thereby contributing to the theoretical and practical understanding of DT’s role in enhancing social sustainability.
Examining the efficacy of core competencies of municipal leaders in transforming local government in South Africa
Authors: Muringa Tigere , Shava Elvin
Published: November 2024

Purpose

This study aims to examine the efficacy of municipal leaders’ leadership competencies in transforming local government in South Africa. Specifically, it focuses on identifying core competencies and obstacles that influence successful governance outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The research employed a mixed-methods approach. Qualitative focus group interviews were conducted with n = 50 municipal leaders, stakeholders and experts. Additionally, an online survey was administered to N = 121 municipal leaders. The sample was drawn from eight local municipalities across South Africa, including Emfuleni Municipality, Ehlanzeni Municipality, Mbombela Municipality, Bushbuckridge Municipality, Msunduzi Municipality, Okahlamba Municipality, the City of Johannesburg and Tshwane MunicipalityNelson Mandela, Matlosana, Emfuleni, Ehlanzeni, Mbombela, Bushbuckridge, Msunduzi, Okahlamba, Mbombela Local Municipalities, the City of Johannesburg. Data analysis encompassed thematic coding and statistical analysis.

Findings

The findings suggest that the practical application of core competencies by municipal leaders is crucial for navigating complex challenges, fostering innovation and improving organizational culture and employee morale within local government agencies.

Research limitations/implications

Research limitations include sample bias, reliance on self-reported data, contextual specificity to South Africa, potential for subjective interpretation and lack of long-term impact assessment.

Practical implications

Understanding the key competencies required for effective municipal leadership can inform training and development programmes for current and aspiring leaders. Practical application of these competencies can enhance governance outcomes, foster innovation and improve employee morale.

Social implications

Effective municipal leadership can contribute to social cohesion and service delivery, thus impacting the lives of citizens positively. By empowering employees and engaging stakeholders, municipal leaders can drive enduring outcomes and contribute to the overall well-being of communities.

Originality/value

This study fills a gap in existing research by examining the efficacy of leadership competencies within the context of South African municipal leadership. By identifying core competencies and obstacles, it provides valuable insights for improving governance and service delivery at the local government level.
Analysing brand attachment for restaurant table booking mobile application
Authors: Srivastava Neha , Malhotra Gunjan
Published: November 2024

Purpose

Restaurant table booking (RTB) mobile apps are transforming how consumers reserve tables in the restaurants of their choice. This study analyses how RTB mobile apps influence brand attachment (BA) and brand commitment (BC), highlighting the moderation effect of desire for uniqueness (DU) by integrating visual content theory and social exchange theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Data [N = 414] were collected through the survey method from consumers having experience in using RTB mobile apps. The data were analysed through structural equation modelling using AMOS and SPSS PROCESS macro to examine moderated relationship.

Findings

The results confirm that content aesthetic quality, perceived technical interactivity and brand investments influence BA and BC in the RTB mobile app and also confirm the moderating role of the DU.

Originality/value

The present work is among the first to study the sources of BA in the RTB mobile app domain. Thus, it contributes to the literature on the restaurant industry to understand consumers' BA behaviour to achieve BC.
The public and private mix in the production of childcare: a case study of 21st century South Korea
Authors: Ryu Sunwoo
Published: November 2024

Purpose

The aim of this study is to demonstrate the usefulness of the “publicness” and “privateness” concepts in examining childcare policy reforms. Understanding them as having multiple facets, this paper challenges the way in which childcare-going-public is often simply assessed based on the coverage of publicly-funded childcare services. Instead, it highlights that the process should be more thoroughly examined by considering who pays for whom to provide childcare, where it takes place, how it is regulated, and what kinds of normative ideals it works towards.

Design/methodology/approach

The research design is two-fold. Firstly, it coins the concepts of “publicness” and “privateness” based on existing literature on welfare pluralism and public administration. It then unpacks the key facets constituting this conceptual twin within the childcare context, which are utilised to craft four models of childcare production. Secondly, this framework is analytically applied to explore 21st-century South Korea to track the changes and continuities in its childcare production models across four governments.

Findings

The analysis shows that while South Korea's childcare publicness increased in terms of funding, its privateness was bolstered in regard to the location of childcare, the way that publicly-funded childcare services were regulated and delivered, and the manner in which childcare was partially consolidated as a familial responsibility.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a new conceptual framework to analyse the complex and multi-layered process of how childcare goes public, which is analytically applied to a cross-governmental comparative study of South Korea.
Financing the capital-constrained farmer under random yield and investment information asymmetry: bank credit versus trade credit
Authors: Li Yina , Li Zhuyuan , Ye Fei
Published: November 2024

Purpose

Financing the capital-constrained farmers to facilitate the production of agri-products is one of the greatest challenges facing the farming supply chain in the developing countries. In this study, we investigate the optimal financing scheme for the farming supply chain under random yield and investment information asymmetry environment to support rural economic development.

Design/methodology/approach

We analyze a stylized model of farming supply chain where the capital-constrained farmer produces and sells agri-products through the agribusiness firm, and investigate the optimal financing scheme incorporating the investment information asymmetry and the challenge of yield uncertainty.

Findings

The results show that there is no one financing scheme equilibrium dominates for all situations, the financing scheme equilibrium is affected by the bank’s supervision cost to monitor the farmer’s moral hazard behavior, the variance of random yield and the farmer’s initial capital. The preference of the financing scheme for the agribusiness firm may be different from that for the farmer. The agribusiness firm might suffer from overfinancing problem under trade credit financing when the bank’s supervision cost is larger and the farmer’s own initial capital is lower; the higher variance of random yield will flare up the effect.

Practical implications

This study sheds light on the choice of financing scheme under random yield and investment information asymmetry environment. This problem is particularly important for developing economies. Financing the capital-constrained farmers not only increases supplies of food and industrial raw materials, but also reduces poverty. The findings provide managerial implications for practitioners for how to leverage different financing scheme to support rural economic development.

Originality/value

This study develops new theoretical model for farming supply chain financing incorporating the challenge of yield uncertainty and investment information asymmetry, the two prominent factors that would impact the financial risk significantly. We analyze the equilibrium under both bank financing and trade credit financing schemes, and the results suggest that the financing scheme equilibrium is affected by the bank’s supervision cost to monitor the farmer’s moral hazard behavior, the variance of random yield and the farmer’s initial capital. The agribusiness firm might suffer from overfinancing problem under trade credit financing.
Austrian FDI in Asian economies: Does knowledge capital matter?
Authors: Raeskyesa Dewa Gede Sidan
Published: November 2024

Purpose

While Austrian foreign direct investment (FDI) in Asian economies experiences a rising trend, the following question arises: Why does Austria invest more in certain economies over others? This study intends to assess the factors that drive Austrian investment in Asian economies.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the ownership, location and internalization framework and the knowledge capital approach, this study hypothesizes that knowledge capital significantly attracts FDI from Austria. Meanwhile, this study applies the panel-corrected standard error method to analyze data for 11 Asian economies from 1990 to 2022.

Findings

After considering endogeneity, the results show a positive and significant correlation between expenditure in research and development per gross domestic product (GDP) in the host economies and FDI inflow from Austria. In addition, the study reveals that factors such as market size, trade openness and natural resources in the host economies significantly influence Austria’s FDI, which indicates that Austrian investors fall into the three main FDI typologies: market-seeking, resources-seeking and efficiency-seeking.

Originality/value

This study fills the literature gap by becoming the first to analyze the determinants of Austrian FDI in Asian economies, thus enriching our understanding of Austria’s global investment pattern.
Enhancing ambidextrous green innovation: the role of green supply chain integration, knowledge capabilities and technology dynamism in manufacturing
Authors: Javed Asma , Li Qian , Basit Abdul
Published: November 2024

Purpose

In the context of the environmental degradation challenge in manufacturing firms, greening the supply chain (SC) is the most widely endorsed method to mitigate the adverse repercussions of climate change. Based on organizational learning and resource dependence theories, the aim of this research is to know how green supply chain external integration (GSCEI) and green supply chain internal integration (GSCII) influence ambidextrous green innovation (AGI). It also examines the mediating roles of green absorptive capacity (GAC) and green knowledge integration capability (GKIC), as well as the moderating role of green technology dynamism (GTD).

Design/methodology/approach

To assess the hypothesized model, data were obtained with 386 questionnaires from managers employed in manufacturing firms in Pakistan applying a cross-sectional approach. A partial least square structural equation modeling technique was implemented to evaluate the data.

Findings

The results revealed that GSCEI and GSCII substantially impact AGI. Moreover, GAC and GKIC serve as mediators between GSCEI and AGI. GAC and GKIC also intervene in the relationship between GSCII and AGI. GTD was significant as a moderator for the correlation between GSCEI and AGI. However, it does not moderate the relationship between GSCII and AGI.

Practical implications

This research offers significant comprehension and an innovative approach for manufacturing organizations to curb environmental corrosion by stimulating AGI through green SC integration. It suggests to practitioners that integrating internal knowledge with external partners expands communication and collaboration to ensure that resources connected with environmental preservation flow smoothly.

Originality/value

This research is a valuable addition to the field, as it explores for the first time the missing link among the studied constructs. It opened the black box of how knowledge-related capabilities facilitate knowledge resources to elicit AGI, an area that has not yet been explored.
Impact of teacher lecturing skills, ICT resources, physical classroom environment and library facilities on university image: student satisfaction as a mediator
Authors: Hanaysha Jalal Rajeh , Eli Taleb Bilal
Published: November 2024

Purpose

The objective of this research was to test the effect of information and communication technology (ICT) resources, library facilities, teacher lecturing skills and physical classroom environment on student satisfaction and university image. This paper also sought to contribute to the existing body of knowledge by confirming the role of student satisfaction as a mediator among the stated factors and university image.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 314 students at higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using a survey instrument. Throughout the data analysis stage, the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed in order to validate the research instrument and test the hypotheses.

Findings

The findings verified that teacher lecturing skills and ICT resources have a positive effect on both student satisfaction and university image. Moreover, the study revealed that the library facilities and physical classroom environment positively affect both student satisfaction and university image. Lastly, the analysis showed that student satisfaction mediates the link between the stated factors and university image.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the published literature by investigating the direct and indirect effects of teacher lecturing skills, ICT resources, physical classroom environment and library facilities on university image via student satisfaction at HEIs in the UAE. This study is the first to integrate all of these factors into a single research model.
Corporate social performance through instrumental stakeholder theory: a sector-specific perspective
Authors: Arian Adam , Sands John , Rahman Habib Ur , Khatatbeh Ibrahim N.
Published: November 2024

Purpose

This study uses instrumental stakeholder theory to explore the relationship between corporate social performance (CSP) and financial performance in various market sectors. It aims to show how CSP, driven by stakeholder demands in different markets, affects financial outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Using panel data analysis on data from 2007 to 2020, this research examines how stakeholder demand impacts a firm's ability to turn social performance into financial gains. The study ensures reliable results by addressing methodological and endogeneity issues related to CSP.

Findings

The results show that a firm's success in converting social performance into financial benefits depends on stakeholder demands in different markets. While better CSP generally leads to improved financial performance, the extent of this benefit varies based on stakeholder expectations. This highlights the importance of managers strategically addressing stakeholder demands to maximize financial returns from social initiatives.

Originality/value

By examining the CSP–financial performance link through the lens of market and stakeholder demands, this research provides new insights into how firms can strategically gain stakeholder support for financial benefits. It shows the long-term value of CSP as an investment that gains stakeholder support over time. This approach broadens the understanding of CSP by considering diverse stakeholder influences across industries, filling a gap in long-term CSP research.
Research on passenger flow control at metro transfer stations based on real-time flow calculation of streamlines
Authors: Lei Bin , Hou Zhuoxing , Suo Yifei , Liu Wei , Luo Linlin , Lei Dongbo
Published: November 2024

Purpose

The volume of passenger traffic at metro transfer stations serves as a pivotal metric for the orchestration of crowd flow management. Given the intricacies of crowd dynamics within these stations and the recurrent instances of substantial passenger influxes, a methodology predicated on stochastic processes and the principle of user equilibrium is introduced to facilitate real-time traffic flow estimation within transfer station streamlines.

Design/methodology/approach

The synthesis of stochastic process theory with streamline analysis engenders a probabilistic model of intra-station pedestrian traffic dynamics. Leveraging real-time passenger flow data procured from monitoring systems within the transfer station, a gradient descent optimization technique is employed to minimize the cost function, thereby deducing the dynamic distribution of categorized passenger flows. Subsequently, adhering to the tenets of user equilibrium, the Frank–Wolfe algorithm is implemented to allocate the intra-station categorized passenger flows across various streamlines, ascertaining the traffic volume for each.

Findings

Utilizing the Xiaozhai Station of the Xi’an Metro as a case study, the Anylogic simulation software is engaged to emulate the intra-station crowd dynamics, thereby substantiating the efficacy of the proposed passenger flow estimation model. The derived solutions are instrumental in formulating a crowd control strategy for Xiaozhai Station during the peak interval from 17:30 to 18:00 on a designated day, yielding crowd management interventions that offer insights for the orchestration of passenger flow and operational governance within metro stations.

Originality/value

The construction of an estimation methodology for the real-time streamline traffic flow augments the model’s dataset, supplanting estimated values derived from surveys or historical datasets with real-time computed traffic data, thereby enhancing the precision and immediacy of crowd flow management within metro stations.
Mixture reliability analysis of a product consisting of new and remanufactured components
Authors: Chakraborty Kaustov , Bag Surajit , Chiarini Andrea
Published: November 2024

Purpose

The rapid increase in importance of the remanufacturing operation in the present scenario is just because of its ability to retrieve the functional value of the End-of-Use or End-of-Life products which is as good as the original product. However, customers are still concerned about the reliability of the remanufactured product which is considered as one of the major problems in the area of remanufacturing. The purpose of this paper is to study and analyse the behavioural pattern of the mixture failure rate of a remanufactured product.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to analyse the behavioural pattern of the mixture failure rate, different proportions of new and remanufactured products are mixed. In this paper, a two-parameter Weibull distribution is used to observe the mixture failure rate characteristics. Also, the mixture failure rate of the remanufactured product is evaluated under two conditions, that is when the shape parameter of new and remanufactured components is the same and when the shape parameter values are different.

Findings

From the analysis, it is observed that the mixture failure rate is always decreasing in nature when the shape parameter values are same. In that case, the value of the mixture failure rate depends only on the proportion of the new components. When the shape parameter values are different, the mixture failure rate characteristics depend upon the shape parameter value of the remanufactured product.

Originality/value

The results of the research can be applied to any remanufactured automotive product. This study also shows the behavioural characteristics of the mixture failure rate of a remanufactured product at different mixture proportions.
Effectiveness of long‐term bimekizumab treatment and predictive factors for responders in moderate‐to‐severe psoriasis: A 52‐week real‐world study
Authors: Hagino Teppei , Saeki Hidehisa , Fujimoto Eita , Kanda Naoko
Published: November 2024

Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory skin disease in which the interleukin (IL)‐23/IL‐17 axis plays a central role. Bimekizumab is a novel antibody that targets both IL‐17A and IL‐17F. This retrospective study aimed to assess the long‐term effectiveness and safety of 52‐week treatment with bimekizumab, and to identify predictive factors for short‐ (16 weeks) and long‐term (52 weeks) responders (i.e., achievers of a Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score of 100) to bimekizumab in Japanese patients with psoriasis. The study was conducted on 56 Japanese patients (aged ≥ 15 years) with moderate‐to‐severe psoriasis treated with bimekizumab from May 2022 to March 2024. The therapeutic effectiveness was evaluated by the transition of PASI scores during treatment. Baseline characteristics and clinical and laboratory indexes were compared between responders and poor responders. Treatment‐emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were recorded to assess the safety of the treatment. At week 52, the achievement of PASI 100, static Physician's Global Assessment 0/1, and the Dermatology Life Quality Index 0/1 were 72.4%, 94.7%, and 93.3%, respectively. Short‐term responders showed lower baseline values of neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio, monocyte‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and systemic inflammatory response index compared to poor responders. Long‐term responders showed younger age and lower MLR compared to poor responders. TEAEs were mild or moderate, without serious adverse events. Long‐term treatment with bimekizumab is effective and safe for psoriasis patients. Lower MLR and younger age might predict long‐term response to treatment with bimekizumab, aiding in personalized treatment strategies.
Adaptation in the Anthropocene: How behavioural choice and colour change enables chameleon prawns to camouflage on non‐native seaweeds
Authors: Duarte Rafael C. , Ryan Beks , Dias Gustavo M. , Stevens Martin
Published: November 2024

Animals combine colour change and behavioural choices to enhance concealment and adapt to changes in habitat in time and space. However, non‐native and invasive habitat‐forming plants and seaweeds can change the landscape, challenging animals to remain camouflaged, especially when the colour of the new habitat differs from the native backgrounds.

The chameleon prawn (Hippolyte varians) exhibits remarkable colour variation and effective camouflage against different native seaweeds in shallow tidepools. Individuals optimize crypsis by choosing colour‐matching seaweeds and changing colour over time. In some locations, the prawn's native habitats are now replaced by non‐native seaweeds of different coloration and structure, making it important to understand whether substrate choice and colour change facilitates the occupation of these seaweeds and enables prawns to camouflage against new backgrounds.

Using image analysis and visual modelling of a fish predator, we assessed the colour variation and camouflage of chameleon prawns occupying the non‐native seaweeds brown wireweed (Sargassum muticum) and pink harpoon weed (Asparagopsis armata) in southwest UK. We performed laboratory trials to examine whether prawns maintain their preference for colour‐matching native substrates when given a choice between them and non‐native seaweeds, and if they can change their coloration to improve camouflage against non‐native substrates.

Prawns exhibit phenotypic diversity and camouflage that varied with the non‐native seaweed species, with low colour variation and effective camouflage on pink harpoon weed, but high colour diversity and reduced concealment against brown wireweed. Prawns choose non‐native seaweeds when the alternative native substrate provides mismatching coloration, but they did not exhibit any preference between colour‐matching native and non‐native seaweeds. Once in non‐native habitats, prawns change their appearance over a few days to match the background, sometimes faster than when changing on native seaweeds of contrasting coloration.

Although human activities considerably modify the coloration of marine landscapes by increasing the establishment of non‐native seaweeds, the impacts of those changes appear less severe for colour‐changing species, such as chameleon prawns, and will depend on the similarity between the colour of the new substrates and the original native backgrounds, and how animals use behaviour and physiology to match new habitats.
Resource pulses drive spatio‐temporal dynamics of non‐native bark beetles and wood borers
Authors: Brockerhoff Eckehard G. , Sopow Stephanie L. , Bader Martin K.‐F.
Published: November 2024

Clear‐fell harvesting of non‐native plantation forests in the southern hemisphere creates large amounts of woody debris that is used for breeding by non‐native bark beetles and wood borers. Limited competition and a shortage of natural enemies allow some invasive pine bark beetles and wood borers to become highly abundant and cause phytosanitary issues.

Replicated transects (550–750 m long) of funnel traps baited with alpha‐pinene and ethanol spanning even‐aged Pinus radiata stands were established in New Zealand's largest plantation forest and monitored from pre‐harvest until up to 5 years post‐harvesting to test the effects of harvesting residue resource pulses on the spatio‐temporal population dynamics of Hylurgus ligniperda, Hylastes ater and Arhopalus ferus.

Generalised additive mixed model analyses of trap captures of >687,000 H. ligniperda, >7600 H. ater and >5000 A. ferus individuals showed greatly elevated populations for the first 2–3 years post‐harvest. Subsequently, populations returned to very low levels once the resource pulse was exhausted. Spatial patterns of captures reflecting beetle dispersal from breeding material showed a curvilinear decline along the breeding resource gradient by up to 95% from the interior of a recently harvested stand into an adjacent, previously harvested stand with exploited resources.

Synthesis and applications. The results show that forest management characterised by ongoing harvesting of neighbouring stands facilitates the build‐up of large populations of bark beetles and wood borers of phytosanitary concern. This is due to recurrent resource pulses caused by the supply of substantial amounts of breeding material from tree felling. Our findings can inform forest planning aimed at avoiding such harvesting patterns, by assisting with the development and implementation of strategies for the management of beetle populations across the landscape. Most beetles dispersed <400 m beyond the source stand edge, although some beetles are likely to have dispersed further. Keeping a distance of 1–2 km between recently felled stands and those scheduled for felling would be expected to reduce rapid population growth. This knowledge can also be used to reduce seedling attack, minimise infestation of logs, and ultimately, mitigate pathway and biosecurity risks, with important implications for forest product exports and quarantine measures.
A shadow on democracy? The shadow economy and government responsiveness
Authors: FENZL MICHELE
Published: November 2024

Government responsiveness is a key feature and justification for democracy. Yet, previous studies show that the ability of governments to deliver responsive policies critically depends on the availability of resources. This study suggests that the shadow economy hurts democratic responsiveness because it reduces government revenues and decreases the reliability of economic statistics. Governments facing lower resources then respond to wider economic constraints and not to their publics. Using Eurobarometer data to evaluate public opinion in 15 European democracies and data on welfare generosity to measure policy outputs, this study finds that larger submerged economies correspond to less responsive governments. Additionally, the empirical analysis highlights that the shadow economy makes welfare systems less generous and taxation rates more demanding. These novel results have important implications for our understanding of democracy and help us clarify the conditions under which governments are more or less likely to deliver responsive policies. Finally, these results demonstrate the importance of studying the political consequences of the shadow economy.
Comparing imputation approaches for immigration status in ED visits: Implications for using electronic medical records
Authors: Axeen Sarah , Gorman Anna , Schneberk Todd , Ro Annie
Published: November 2024

Objective

This study aimed to compare imputation approaches to identify the likely undocumented patient population in electronic health record (EHRs). EHR are a promising source of information on undocumented immigrants' medical needs and care utilization, but there is no verified way to identify immigration status in the data. Different approaches to approximating immigration status in EHR introduce unique biases, which in turn has major implications on our understanding of undocumented immigrant patients.

Study setting and design

We used a dataset of all emergency department (ED) visits from 2016 to 2019 in the Los Angeles Department of Health Services (LADHS) merged across patient medical records, demographic data, and claims data. We included all ED visits from our patient groups of interest and limited to patients at or over the age of 18 years at the time of their ED visit and excluded empty encounter records (n = 1,106,086 ED encounters).

Data sources and analytic sample

We created three patient groups: (1) US‐born, (2) foreign‐born documented, and (3) undocumented using two different imputation approaches: a logical approach versus statistical assignment. We compared predicted probabilities for two outcomes: an ED visit related to a behavioral health (BH) disorder and inpatient admission/transfer to another facility.

Principal findings

Both approaches provide comparable estimates among the three patient groups for ED encounters for a BH disorder and inpatient admission/transfer to another facility. Undocumented immigrants are less likely to have a BH diagnosis in the ED and are less likely to be admitted or transferred compared to the US‐born.

Conclusions

Researchers should consider expanding EHR with administrative data when studying the undocumented patient population and may prefer a logical approach to estimate immigration status. Researchers who rely on payer status alone (i.e., restricted Medicaid) as a proxy for undocumented immigrants in EHR should consider how this may bias their results. As Medicaid expands for undocumented immigrants, statistical assignment may become the preferred method.