bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Competition between hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells controls hematopoietic stem cell compartment size
Authors: Miao Runfeng , Chun Harim , Gomes Ana Cordeiro , Choi Jungmin , Pereira João P.
Published: December 2021

Cellular competition for limiting hematopoietic factors is a physiologically regulated but poorly understood process. Here, we studied this phenomenon by hampering hematopoietic progenitor access to Leptin receptor+ mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (MSPCs) and endothelial cells (ECs). We show that HSC numbers increased by 2-fold when multipotent and lineage-restricted progenitors failed to respond to CXCL12 produced by MSPCs and ECs. HSCs were qualitatively normal, and HSC expansion only occurred when early hematopoietic progenitors but not differentiated hematopoietic cells lacked CXCR4. Furthermore, the MSPC and EC transcriptomic heterogeneity was remarkably stable, suggesting that it is impervious to dramatic changes in hematopoietic progenitor interactions. Instead, HSC expansion was caused by increased availability of membrane-bound stem cell factor (mSCF) on MSPCs and ECs due to reduced consumption by cKit-expressing hematopoietic progenitors. These studies revealed an intricate homeostatic balance between HSCs and proximal hematopoietic progenitors regulated by cell competition for limited amounts of mSCF.
Cell transcriptomic atlas of the non-human primate Macaca fascicularis
Authors: Han Lei , Wei Xiaoyu , Liu Chuanyu , Volpe Giacomo , Zhuang Zhenkun , Zou Xuanxuan , Wang Zhifeng , Pan Taotao , Yuan Yue , Zhang Xiao , Fan Peng , Guo Pengcheng , Lai Yiwei , Lei Ying , Liu Xingyuan , Yu Feng , Shangguan Shuncheng , Lai Guangyao , Deng Qiuting , Liu Ya , Wu Liang , Shi Quan , Yu Hao , Huang Yunting , Cheng Mengnan , Xu Jiangshan , Liu Yang , Wang Mingyue , Wang Chunqing , Zhang Yuanhang , Xie Duo , Yang Yunzhi , Yu Yeya , Zheng Huiwen , Wei Yanrong , Huang Fubaoqian , Lei Junjie , Huang Waidong , Zhu Zhiyong , Lu Haorong , Wang Bo , Wei Xiaofeng , Chen Fengzhen , Yang Tao , Du Wensi , Chen Jing , Xu Shibo , An Juan , Ward Carl , Wang Zongren , Pei Zhong , Wong Chi-Wai , Liu Xiaolei , Zhang Huafeng , Liu Mingyuan , Qin Baoming , Schambach Axel , Isern Joan , Feng Liqiang , Liu Yan , Guo Xiangyu , Liu Zhen , Sun Qiang , Maxwell Patrick H. , Barker Nick , Muñoz-Cánoves Pura , Gu Ying , Mulder Jan , Uhlen Mathias , Tan Tao , Liu Shiping , Yang Huanming , Wang Jian , Hou Yong , Xu Xun , Esteban Miguel A. , Liu Longqi
Published: December 2021

Studying tissue composition and function in non-human primates (NHP) is crucial to understand the nature of our own species. Here, we present a large-scale single-cell and single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas encompassing over one million cells from 43 tissues from the adult NHP Macaca fascicularis. This dataset provides a vast, carefully annotated, resource to study a species phylogenetically close to humans. As proof of principle, we have reconstructed the cell-cell interaction networks driving Wnt signalling across the body, mapped the distribution of receptors and co-receptors for viruses causing human infectious diseases and intersected our data with human genetic disease orthologous coordinates to identify both expected and unexpected associations. Our Macaca fascicularis cell atlas constitutes an essential reference for future single-cell studies in human and NHP.
Forty years of political skill and will in organizations: a review, meta-theoretical framework and directions for future research
Authors: Maher Liam P. , Ejaz Aqsa , Nguyen Chi Lan , Ferris Gerald R.
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the scholarship on political skill and political will so that the authors might inspire future work that assesses these constructs individually and in tandem.

Design/methodology/approach

The “political skill” and “political will” concepts were introduced about 40 years ago, but they only have been measured and produced empirical results much more recently. Since that time, substantial research results have demonstrated the important roles political skill and political will play in organizational behavior. This paper provides a comprehensive review of this research, draws conclusions from this work and provides a meta-theoretical framework of political skill and political will to guide future work in this area.

Findings

Scholarship in this area has developed quite rapidly for political skill, but less so for political will. The authors hope that recent developments in a political will can set the stage for scholars to create a theoretical and empirical balance between these two related constructs.

Originality/value

The authors corral the vast and widespread literature on political skill and will and distill the information for scholars and practitioners alike.
Epistemological freedom: activating co-learning and co-production to decolonise knowledge production
Authors: Khan Maheen , Ruszczyk Hanna A. , Rahman Mohammad Feisal , Huq Saleemul
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to challenge and address the limitations of the traditional system of knowledge production that is embedded in disaster and climate change research studies, and research studies in general. It argues that knowledge production in research processes conforms to colonialist thinking or west-inspired approaches. Such a system often results in the omission of crucial information due to a lack of participation, inclusion and diversity in knowledge production.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper proposes practices and recommendations to decolonise knowledge production in disaster and climate change research studies, and research studies in general. It provides a brief literature review on the concepts of decolonisation of knowledge and epistemological freedom, and its origins; assesses the need for knowledge decolonisation, emphasising on the integration of local knowledge from grassroots women-led initiatives in instances where disasters and crises are being investigated in vulnerable communities, especially in the Global South; and finally the paper proposes to decolonise knowledge production through activating co-learning and co-production. The practices have been developed from the work of relevant authors in the field and case studies.

Findings

Through a brief literature review on previous discourses on the topic of knowledge decolonisation and analysis of recent case studies on disaster and crisis management and community resilience, the paper finds that there exists a lack of pluralism and inclusion in epistemology which limits the pursuit to obtain the whole truth in the production of knowledge in research studies.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the discussion of decolonisation of knowledge in the field of disaster and climate change research studies, and research processes in general. It provides in-depth analyses of recent case studies of emerging community resilience and local practices that were crucial in the face of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.
International acquisitions and efficiency and productivity of the Serbian cement industry
Authors: Savović Slađana , Mimović Predrag , Domanović Violeta
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This paper explores the impact of international acquisitions on the efficiency and productivity of the cement industry in an emerging economy.

Design/methodology/approach

The data envelopment analysis (DEA) and Malmquist index (MI) are used to calculate the partial efficiency and productivity of individual inputs (materials, labour and fixed assets), as well as the total factor efficiency and productivity during the period 2000–2018. DEA and MI are combined with bootstrapping to perform succinct statistical inferences for determining the accuracy of results. In this paper we apply the input-oriented CCR DEA Window model. With respect to the level of analysis, data was collected from individual companies and then aggregated data at the industry level.

Findings

The research results show that international acquisitions positively affect efficiency of the cement industry in the long term. Efficiency of capital is lower in the short period after acquisitions. Additionally, international acquisitions positively affect partial productivity, as well as total factor productivity of the cement industry.

Practical implications

The results of the study may be significant for managers and policy makers to design appropriate strategies for the improvement of the cement industry performance over time.

Originality/value

Research in emerging economies related to subject matter is limited, and this is one of the earliest research studies which explore change in efficiency and productivity at the level of Serbian cement industry.
Investigating the constraints for managing the protection of historic buildings in remote areas of Saudi Arabia: a DEMATEL modelling approach
Authors: Sodangi Mahmoud , Kazmi Zaheer Abbas
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The paper is aimed at identifying, analysing and prioritizing the critical constraints affecting efficient management of historic buildings in remote areas of Saudi Arabia.

Design/methodology/approach

Thematic content analysis and expert-based evaluation approaches were used to identify and evaluate the constraints. The DEMATEL technique was deployed to define the interrelationship complexities between the constraints and evaluate the impact of these interrelationships to ascertain the influential constraints.

Findings

The results identify “lack of clearly defined roles for the multiple government agencies” as the most influential constraint for managing historic sites and buildings in remote areas of Saudi Arabia.

Research limitations/implications

The contextual interrelationship between the constraints is due to the experts' perceptions, which may be biased due to their proficiencies and professional backgrounds. Since the evidence on which the findings of this paper are established is predominantly from experiences related to historic sites and buildings in remote areas of Saudi Arabia, the results of this paper may not be entirely applicable elsewhere.

Practical implications

The paper provides invaluable methodology that can support practitioners and policymakers to establish sustainable strategies that can enhance the management and protection of historic buildings in remote areas of Saudi Arabia.

Originality/value

This study noticeably contributes to knowledge by providing comprehensive understanding of the major impediments to the successful management of historic buildings in remote areas of Saudi Arabia, which can assist in mitigating the potential impacts of these constraints and to advocate for the achievement of efficient management and protection of the historic sites and buildings.
Pets and people: information experience of multispecies families
Authors: Solhjoo Niloofar , Krtalić Maja , Goulding Anne
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This paper introduces more-than-human perspective in information behaviour and information experience studies. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to understandings of the concept of multispecies families by exploring their significant dimensions related to information phenomena involving multiple contexts, situations, spaces, actors, species, and activities.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on previous research in human information behaviour and human-animal studies, our ideas around information experience of multispecies families are developed conceptually. The paper builds both on previous empirical findings about human information behaviour and the new domain of information experience.

Findings

The paper proposes a holistic approach both to information phenomena in everyday living with companion animals including embodied, affective, cognitive, social, digital, and objectual information that shapes pet care and management practices, and to the context of study, including work, domestic, and leisure aspects of multispecies family.

Originality/value

This study broadens our understanding of information phenomena in multispecies families, and so contributes to the field of information experience. It also provides insights for animal welfare scientists to help them understand the information behaviour of humans who are responsible for keeping and caring for animals.
Improving the detection and reporting of suspicious financial transactions: the Spanish case
Authors: Clavijo Suntura Joel Harry
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the obligation of regulated entities to detect unusual and suspicious transactions and to report them to external control bodies, as established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations, the European Community Directive and also the Spanish regulations for the Prevention of Money Laundering. This research paper also aims to create a model to identify and report suspicious transactions to improve financial institutions’ current procedures.

Design/methodology/approach

According to the Spanish regulations which comply with the FATF recommendations and the European Community Directive on the Prevention of Money Laundering, regulated entities must detect unusual and suspicious transactions. Within this framework, the present research work analyzes both criteria and procedures used by the regulated entities to report suspicious operations. It also assesses the efficiency of the reports sent to an external control body. For this purpose, both analytical and interpretative methods are used in this research paper.

Findings

In Spain, the current procedures followed by regulated entities to analyze unusual transactions are complex. This results in difficulties to report suspicious transactions involving money laundering. As a consequence, the cases of suspicious transactions reported to the external control body are often unclear and the related process is inefficient.

Originality/value

The creation of a harmonized model with the aim of detecting suspicious operations and analyzing them will improve the detection and the effectiveness of the suspicious operations procedure which are reported to the external control body. However, such unified model should take into account the currently used activities proposed by each financial institution.
Global sanctions against corruption and asset recovery: a European approach
Authors: Pavlidis Georgios
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to critically examine whether it is timely and actionable for the European Union (EU) to adopt a global sanctions regime against corruption and how such a regime can be designed to maximise its efficiency. This paper argues that developing such a dedicated framework is necessary, feasible and supportive of the international fight against corruption and the efforts to enhance the recovery of corruption proceeds.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on reports, legislations, legal scholarships and other open-source data on global sanctions against corruption and the recovery of corruption proceeds.

Findings

This paper argues in favour of a dedicated global sanctions regime against corruption, which is necessary to mitigate significant risks for the EU internal market.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to examine recent legislative developments, such as the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime and the UK Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations, and the possible development of an EU-dedicated global sanctions regime against corruption with strong asset recovery components.
Does entrepreneur perception of the city’s decline matter to place attachment?
Authors: Wilkerson James M. , Sorokach Frank M. , Wafa Marwan A.
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between local entrepreneurs’ perception of the city’s decline and their place attachment (measured in terms of commitment to the declining city and sense of how the declining city compares to other cities).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors surveyed entrepreneurs in a relatively small sample (N = 105) from a declining city of about 78,000 residents in the USA.

Findings

The authors found significant inverse correlations and found that, after controlling for length of residency, the entrepreneur’s perception of the city’s decline predicted lower place attachment. The authors also tested a moderation hypothesis and observed that, whereas professional-service entrepreneurs with both stronger and weaker perceptions of the city’s decline showed similar place attachment, non-professional entrepreneurs showed significantly more variation, displaying both the highest place attachment when weak in perceptions of the city’s decline and the lowest place attachment when strong in perceptions of the city’s decline.

Research limitations/implications

The authors discuss implications for place attachment, place image and place branding research, as well as for the study of place context’s effects on entrepreneurship.

Practical implications

Results hold implications for place branding’s participative development and for reasons to expect some difficulty in place branding when the context is a declining city.

Originality/value

Relative to prior research in place management, the research features a neglected segment of the city’s population, business owners, to study place attachment. Relative to prior entrepreneurship research, the authors advance the study of context’s effects on entrepreneurship by extending it to the place context of declining cities, which are not usually featured in entrepreneurship studies.
An epidemiological survey of anhidrotic/hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia in Japan: High prevalence of allergic diseases
Authors: Inazawa‐Terada Minako , Namiki Takeshi , Omigawa Chika , Fujimoto Tomoko , Munetsugu Takichi , Ugajin Tsukasa , Shimomura Yutaka , Ohshima Yuichiro , Yoshida Kazue , Niizeki Hironori , Hayashi Ryota , Nakano Hajime , Yokozeki Hiroo
Published: December 2021

Anhidrotic/hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (A/HED) is a congenital disorder characterized by anhidrosis/hypohidrosis and inadequate hair and dental dysplasia. Large‐scale case studies of patients with A/HED have already been conducted overseas, while there has been no large‐scale study, but only a few case reports in Japan. Furthermore, an epidemiological study of this disease has not been conducted in Japan to date. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of A/HED patients, the status of genetic aberrations and complications of A/HED in Japan. Initially, we conducted a physician‐initiated questionnaire survey of A/HED patients who visited medical institutions across Japan to investigate their backgrounds, clinical symptoms, genotypes, diagnostic methods and complications of A/HED. We also investigated the presence or absence of various allergic diseases (atopic dermatitis‐like skin manifestations, bronchial asthma and food allergies). Questionnaires were also obtained from 26 patients with ectodermal dysplasia (ED) who visited four medical institutions. We compared the incidence of allergic diseases in healthy controls in a similar study to that of patients. Twenty‐four of those patients were considered to have A/HED, of which 18 had a confirmed genetic diagnosis and were genotyped. All patients had anhidrosis or hypohidrosis, hair and dental dysplasia, and unique facial appearance; 23 patients had several cutaneous manifestations and seven patients had periorbital pigmentation. In addition, there was a significantly higher incidence of atopic dermatitis‐like cutaneous manifestations, bronchial asthma and food allergies in the A/HED patients than in healthy controls. We report the results from a questionnaire survey of 24 patients with A/HED. This is the first report of a large number of A/HED patients in Japan. This study clarifies the status of clinical diagnosis and genetic testing of A/HED patients in Japan, as well as the characteristics of their skin symptoms and allergic complications.
Mini‐acoustic sensors reveal occupancy and threats to koalas Phascolarctos cinereus in private native forests
Authors: Law Brad , Kerr Isobel , Gonsalves Leroy , Brassil Traecey , Eichinski Phil , Truskinger Anthony , Roe Paul
Published: December 2021

Forests on private land have a wide range of uses that span activities such as recreation, primary production and nature conservation. Traditionally, it has been difficult for researchers to access private land to undertake systematic surveys. We used mini‐acoustic sensors (Audiomoth) mailed via the postal service to overcome landholder concerns about researchers accessing private property, with a focus on properties used for private native forestry.

We surveyed koalas, an iconic threatened marsupial, in north‐east New South Wales, Australia using passive acoustics, with repeat surveys over consecutive nights to account for imperfect detection in an occupancy modelling framework.

Over 3 years, we surveyed 128 sites and recorded 2,560 male bellows. Detection probability over seven nights was high (>0.79), but varied substantially between years, due to use of different sensors, housings and weather conditions. After accounting for detection probability, modelling revealed that koalas commonly occupied private native forests of the study region (probability of occupancy = 0.58 ± 0.08).

Occupancy was modelled against several covariates and it varied with the landscape extent of sealed roads (₋ve), NDVI (₋ve) and a habitat suitability model (+ve, but minor). There was no support for occupancy in private forests to be related to a range of other factors including extent of surrounding cleared land, timber harvesting history, fire and other measured habitat features.

Synthesis and applications. We conclude that mini‐acoustic recorders mailed to landholders were a highly effective method for assessing koala occupancy, after accounting for variable detection, and the approach could be deployed more widely for a range of species. Private native forests in partly cleared landscapes are commonly occupied by koalas, highlighting that this tenure is crucial for koala conservation and that practices seeking to balance conservation and production should be encouraged. In addition to sensitive habitat management in private forests, sealed road density is a major threat needing to be addressed.
Blame shifting and blame obfuscation: The blame avoidance effects of delegation in the European Union
Authors: HEINKELMANN‐WILD TIM , ZANGL BERNHARD , RITTBERGER BERTHOLD , KRIEGMAIR LISA
Published: December 2021

The delegation of governance tasks to third parties is generally assumed to help governments to avoid blame once policies become contested. International organizations, including the European Union (EU), are considered particularly opportune in this regard. The literature lacks assessments of the blame avoidance effects of delegation, let alone of the effects of different delegation designs. To address this gap in the literature, we study public blame attributions in the media coverage of two contested EU policies during the financial crisis and the migration crisis. We show that the blame avoidance effect of delegation depends on the delegation design: When agents are independent (dependent) of government control, we observe lower (higher) shares of public blame attributions targeting the government (blame shifting effect), and when agents are external (internal) to the government apparatus, overall public blame attributions for a contested policy will be less (more) frequent (blame obfuscation effect). Our findings yield important normative implications for how to maintain governments’ accountability once they have delegated governance tasks to third parties.
Examining the impact of a crime gun intelligence center
Authors: Flippin Michaela R. , Katz Charles M. , King William R.
Published: December 2021

With gun crime on the rise, efforts to curb this form of violence have captured the attention of government agencies and police departments alike. One form of such efforts is the proliferation of Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGICs) in police departments across the country. However, with only three non‐peer‐reviewed evaluations of these CGICs to date, our understanding of their effectiveness is limited. The present study aims to fill this gap by examining the impact of the Phoenix Police Department's (PPD) CGIC on clearance rates and prosecutorial outcomes for gun crimes. The data for this study come from PPD’s Records Management System (RMS), computer‐aided dispatch (CAD) system, impounded evidence, National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) lead data, and arrest data. Prosecutorial data were supplied by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office (MCAO). This study examined pretest and posttest differences that occurred over the study period. Difference‐in‐difference (DID) models were calculated to assess the impact of the CGIC on the outcome measures of interest. We found that from the year prior to the CGIC to 2 years post‐CGIC, NIBIN inputs increased by 115%, NIBIN leads increased by 163%, timeliness of entry (of ballistics evidence) improved with 32% of processed items entered within 24–48 h in the second year of the CGIC compared with only 3% the year preceding the CGIC, and clearance rates for arrests increased significantly. These findings have implications for the continued adoption of CGIC, as well as the utility of NIBIN.
Sexual audience affects male's reproduction investment without consequences on reproductive outputs
Authors: Louâpre Philippe , Muller Karen , Bettencourt‐Amarante Soline , Thiery Denis , Moreau Jérôme
Published: December 2021

Males evolved plastic strategies to respond to male–male competition and exhibit adaptive traits and behaviors maximizing their access to the females and limiting sperm competition. Mating behaviors allow males to express quick responses to current sexual audience, that is, the number of nearby conspecifics prone to mate. In contrast, physiological responses are frequently delayed because they are constrained by the time and resources having to be mobilized to produce and export sperm and associated products. This is especially critical in species for which males produce spermatophores. Here we investigated in what extend moth males (the tortricid moth Lobesia botrana) producing spermatophores exhibit plastic behavioral and physiological responses to different sexual audiences before and during mating and the consequences for their reproductive output. We found that males adjusted their mating behaviors and spermatophore size to a potentially elevated risk of sperm competition perceived before mating. In addition, males responded to the closed presence of females during mating by reducing their mating duration. Surprisingly, the various behavioral and physiological responses we highlighted here were not fully reflected in their reproductive performance as we did not reveal any effect on fecundity and fertility of their mate. The selective pressure exerted on males experiencing male–male competition could thus be sufficient to trigger adjustment in male mating behaviors but constrains physiological responses according to the perception of competition.
International human resource management in multinational companies: Global norm making within strategic action fields
Authors: Edwards Tony , Almond Phil , Murray Gregor , Olga Tregaskis
Published: December 2021

The formation of global norms that affect work is a crucial element to how multinational companies (MNCs) achieve a degree of HR integration internationally. We establish a ‘strategic action fields’ framework to guide research into global norm‐making in MNCs in general and for analysing the work of those that we term ‘globalising actors’—those who are active in globalising a firm's management of its human resources—in particular. We position our framework with relation to existing research in international human resource management, and show how the field can benefit from achieving an approach to global norm‐making that is contextualised, personalised and contested.
Smoothed dynamic factor analysis for identifying trends in multivariate time series
Authors: Ward Eric J. , Anderson Sean C. , Hunsicker Mary E. , Litzow Michael A.
Published: December 2021

Ecological processes are rarely directly observable, and inference often relies on estimating hidden or latent processes. State‐space models have become widely used for this task because of their ability to simultaneously estimate the multiple sources of variation (natural variability and variance attributed to observation errors). For multivariate time series, a second aim is often dimension reduction, or estimating a number of latent processes that are smaller than the number of observed time series. Dynamic factor analysis (DFA) has been used for performing time‐series dimension reduction, where latent processes are modelled as random walks. Whereas this may be suitable for some situations, random walks may be too flexible for other cases.

Here, we introduce a new class of models, where latent processes are modelled as smooth functions (basis splines, penalized splines or Gaussian process models). We implement these models in our bayesdfa r package, which uses the rstan package for fitting. After evaluating model performance with simulated data, we apply conventional models and our smooth trend models to two long‐term datasets from the west coast of the United States: (a) a 35‐year dataset of pelagic juvenile rockfishes and (b) a 39‐year dataset of fisheries catches.

Our simulations demonstrate that models matching the underlying trend smoothness make better out‐of‐sample predictions, but this advantage diminishes with increasing levels of observation error. For both case studies, the best smooth trend models had higher predictive accuracy, and yielded more precise predictions, compared to the conventional approach.

The smooth trend factor models introduced here offer a new approach for state‐space dimension reduction of multivariate time series. These flexible Bayesian models may be particularly useful for data that are clumped in time, for data with high signal to noise ratios and generally for data where the underlying trend is assumed to be relatively smooth.
Impacts of macrocyclic lactones on larval survival, growth and development of three dung beetle species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)
Authors: Mackenzie Sigrid L , Hall Graham , Schaerf Timothy M , Andrew Nigel R
Published: December 2021

Macrocyclic lactones (MLs) are some of the most pervasive chemicals used in cattle management to control internal parasites. However, the drenches can have a range of lethal and sublethal impacts, potentially impacting the efficiency of adult dung beetles at burying dung and negatively impacting their larval growth, development and survival. Here, we assess the impacts of adult dung beetles provisioning their larvae with cattle faecal residues containing three commonly used cattle drenches in Australia – moxidectin, abamectin and doramectin. We used the larvae of two introduced tunnelling (paracoprid) species: Onthophagus binodis and Onitis viridulus, and one introduced rolling (telecoprid) species: Sisyphus rubrus. We anticipated that dung beetle larvae feeding on dung containing an ML would have altered growth patterns to those larvae feeding on untreated dung. Further, beetle larvae exposed to an ML in the dung would have different growth patterns, depending on the time the chemical took to be excreted from the treated cattle, with the anticipation that the chemical may have a peak excretion time. We also expected that dung beetle larvae feeding on dung containing an ML would have a decreased survival rate compared to dung beetle larvae feeding on untreated dung. We found that abamectin and doramectin were more toxic to beetle larvae than moxidectin and control dung, across all three species, and these chemicals also had the greatest negative impact on larval growth and development. Abamectin excreted 7 days after treatment resulted in few live larvae. Overall, moxidectin was the least toxic ML to the larvae assessed, and generally, the drench impacts were reduced as time since exposure increased.
The masturbatory premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (MPEDT): A novel psychometric tool to evaluate premature ejaculation during masturbation
Authors: Xi Yu , Zhang Hui , Colonnello Elena , Limoncin Erika , Jannini Emmanuele A. , Zhang Yan
Published: December 2021

Background

Premature ejaculation (PE) is a highly prevalent male sexual dysfunction. Its current definition, together with the most used diagnostic tools, does not include nonvaginal sexual intercourse such as anal sex, self‐masturbation and/or partnered‐masturbation, and other forms of sexual stimulation. However, diagnostic psychometry currently available is exclusively evaluating PE in the vaginal coitus.

Objectives

To validate a new tool, the masturbatory premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (MPEDT), by assessing the control over ejaculation and its psychological effects during self‐masturbation, rather than heterosexual vaginal intercourse.

Materials and methods

We studied 135 male patients aging from 18 to 40 years seeking medical care for PE in the Infertility and Sexual Medicine Department from June to September 2020. All the participants were asked to fill the premature ejaculation diagnostic tool PEDT and MPEDT questionnaires to estimate the PE symptoms during, respectively, intercourse and self‐masturbation. The reliability/validity, the factor analysis of the tool, and the diagnostic sensitivity/specificity of MPEDT were calculated.

Results

The overall Cronbach alpha was 0.884. In our adjusted model, both root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) were lower than 0.08, while goodness of fit index, adjusted goodness of fit index, non‐normed fit index (NNFI), and comparative fit index (CFI) were higher than 0.9. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) is 0.943 ± 0.015. The results suggest MPEDT points being ≤5 as “normal,” ≥7 as “PE during self‐masturbation,” and 6 as “suspected PE,” with the sensitivity of 91.9% and specificity of 88.1%.

Discussion

An efficient diagnostic psychometric tool is needed for the individuals who, based on the impaired control over ejaculation during self‐masturbation, may also suffer from PE during partnered intercourse. MPEDT is able to evaluate the existence of PE symptoms not necessarily during heterosexual intercourse but rather during self‐masturbation, possibly aiding to the diagnosis, as well as planning and follow‐up of a prompt therapeutical strategy.

Conclusion

MPEDT could be considered a new, objective, and reliable diagnostic tool for the evaluation of the existence of PE symptoms.
Discussion on “distributional independent component analysis for diverse neuroimaging modalities” by Ben Wu, Subhadip Pal, Jian Kang, and Ying Guo
Authors: Mejia Amanda F.
Published: December 2021

I applaud the authors on their innovative generalized independent component analysis (ICA) framework for neuroimaging data. Although ICA has enjoyed great popularity for the analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, its applicability to other modalities has been limited because standard ICA algorithms may not be directly applicable to a diversity of data representations. This is particularly true for single‐subject structural neuroimaging, where only a single measurement is collected at each location in the brain. The ingenious idea of Wu et al. (2021) is to transform the data to a vector of probabilities via a mixture distribution with K components, which (following a simple transformation to ) can be directly analyzed with standard ICA algorithms, such as infomax (Bell and Sejnowski, 1995) or fastICA (Hyvarinen, 1999). The underlying distribution forming the basis of the mixture is customized to the particular modality being analyzed. This framework, termed distributional ICA (DICA), is applicable in theory to nearly any neuroimaging modality. This has substantial implications for ICA as a general tool for neuroimaging analysis, with particular promise for structural modalities and multimodal studies. This invited commentary focuses on the applicability and potential of DICA for different neuroimaging modalities, questions around details of implementation and performance, and limitations of the validation study presented in the paper.
Developing a programme theory for the Systemic Practice Model in children's social care: Key informants' perspectives
Authors: Aaltio Elina , Isokuortti Nanne
Published: December 2021

Vague programme descriptions are known to impede implementation and evaluation. Yet social work change programmes often fail to describe in detail how they aim to provide better outcomes for children and families. This study focused on the Systemic Practice Model (SPM), which is a Finnish adaptation of Reclaiming Social Work, a practice model developed in England. The SPM aims to deliver systemic practice in children's social care and has recently been widely disseminated across Finland. However, research has found both considerable variation in its delivery and a lack of clarity about what it is. This study, applying realist evaluation, aimed to formulate a programme theory based on the perceptions of key informants (n = 12) involved in the national development and dissemination of the SPM during the period 2017–2019. The analysis yielded three core components (a systemic team, systemic weekly meetings, and systemic practice) and two context‐mechanism‐outcome (CMO) configurations, which represent causal chains of the SPM. The findings should enable its quality implementation and meaningful outcome and process evaluation. The findings will also aid organizations and practitioners both to identify changes required in their service provision and prevent adverse effects. This programme theory should be tested and refined with empirical data.
Crafting futures with hope: Young climate activists’ imaginaries in an age of crisis and uncertainty
Authors: Spyrou Spyros , Theodorou Eleni , Christou Georgina
Published: December 2021

This article explores the future imaginaries of young climate activists in Cyprus in the light of the unfolding climate crisis and the uncertainty and urgency it engenders. We analyse young people's imagined futures and their struggles to manage fear and despair through the cultivation of a collective sense of hope which allows them to act as future‐makers and to work towards creating more just and sustainable futures. Through our empirical illustration, we also make the more general case for attending to the future as a productive temporal condition in Childhood Studies’ explorations of contemporary childhoods.
First Asian Kidney Donor Profile Index (KDPI) and Estimated Post‐Transplant Survival (EPTS) models, with validation against US models in Thai population
Authors: Larpparisuth Nuttasith , Nivatvongs Supanit , Ingsathit Atiporn , Noppakun Kajohnsak , Lumpaopong Adisorn , Townamchai Natavudh , Pongsakul Cholathip , Attajarusit Yuwadee , Supaporn Thanom , Premasathian Nalinee
Published: December 2021

Introduction

Differences in transplant characteristics limit the application of kidney donor profile index (KDPI) and estimated post‐transplant survival (EPTS) models developed in Western countries to Asian populations.

Methods

We analyzed data of the Thai Transplant Registry and the Thai Red Cross Society on 2558 DDKTs performed between 2001 and 2014. Thai KDPI and EPTS models were developed using Cox regression, and validation against the US models.

Results

Thai KDPI was developed based on seven donor factors: age, height, best estimated glomerular filtration rate, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cerebrovascular accident, and adrenaline infusion. The Thai and US donor risk index had comparable predictive abilities for transplant survival (C‐statistics .5871 vs. .5548; P = .429). KTs from donors with a US KDPI > 70% demonstrated significantly worse 5‐year transplant survival. The Thai EPTS model was developed from four recipient factors: age, body weight, diabetes mellitus, and hepatitis C infection. The C‐statistics of the Thai and US EPTS models were comparable (.5924 vs. .6039; P = .360). A US EPTS > 70% was revealed in only 2.5% of our cohort.

Conclusions

The first simplified KDPI and EPTS models for an Asian population were developed. Our models are available at www.thai‐kdpi‐epts.org.
High quality social environment buffers infants’ cognitive development from poor maternal mental health: Evidence from a study in Bhutan
Authors: Juvrud Joshua , Haas Sara A. , Lindskog Marcus , Astor Kim , Namgyel Sangay C. , Wangmo Tshering , Wangchuk  , Dorjee Sithar , Tshering Kinzang P. , Gredebäck Gustaf
Published: December 2021

Poor maternal mental health negatively impacts cognitive development from infancy to childhood, affecting both behavior and brain architecture. In a non‐western context (Thimphu, Bhutan), we demonstrate that culturally‐moderated factors such as family, community social support, and enrichment may buffer and scaffold the development of infant cognition when maternal mental health is poor. We used eye‐tracking to measure early building blocks of cognition: attention regulation and social perception, in 9‐month‐old Bhutanese infants (N = 121). The cognitive development of Bhutanese infants in richer social environments was buffered from poor maternal mental health, while for infants in environments with lower rates of protective social environment factors, worse maternal mental health significantly predicted greater costs for infant attention, a fundamental building block cognition. International policies and interventions geared to improve maternal mental health and child health outcomes should incorporate each regions’ unique family, cultural, and community support structures.
The influence of attentional biases on multiple working memory precision parameters for children and adults
Authors: Shimi Andria , Scerif Gaia
Published: December 2021

Working memory (WM) improves dramatically during childhood but what drives this improvement is not well understood. One influential account thus far has proposed a simple increase in storage capacity. However, recent findings have shown that multiple factors, such as differences in the ability to use attention to enhance the maintenance of internal representations, as well as changes in WM precision, also interact in influencing age‐related differences in WM capacity. We aimed to examine whether and how the developing ability to orient attention retrospectively to internal representations influences WM precision. To do so, we employed a paradigm that combined the continuous‐recall WM task with the partial‐cueing report task. Specifically, 7‐year‐olds and young adults were asked to reproduce the colour of a probe item in a colour wheel. The initial memory array, which included the probe item, could be followed by a spatial cue that directed participants’ attention to a location in the memory array (a ‘retro‐cue’). Results showed that attentional biases engendered by retro‐cues facilitated overall precision compared to uncued baseline performance, for both age groups, although to a smaller degree in 7‐year‐olds compared to adults. Importantly, investigation of modelling parameters suggested that children demonstrate lower representational quality of items in WM but that spatial attentional cues improve overall precision by increasing the probability of target storage, maintenance and recall, and by reducing misbinding errors as well as random guessing, not by changing representational quality. These results add significantly to our knowledge on the relation between retrospective attention and WM development.
Foundations of indigenous knowledge on disasters due to natural hazards: lessons from the outlook on floods among the Bayira of the Rwenzori region
Authors: Bwambale Bosco , Muhumuza Moses , Kahigwa Thaddeo Tibasiima , Baluku Stanley Mbalibulha Bakahinga , Kasozi Humphrey , Nyeko Martine , Kervyn Matthieu
Published: December 2021

The role of indigenous knowledge in increasing context specificity and exposing blind spots in scientific understanding is widely evidenced in disaster studies. This paper aims to structure the processes that shape indigenous knowledge production and its optimisation using the case of floods. An inductive analytical approach is applied among riparian indigenous communities (focus on the Bayira) of the Rwenzori region of Uganda where plenty of indigenous flood practices have been recorded. Indigenous knowledge of floods is found to be based on intimate comprehension of local hydrometeorological regularities. Insofar as these regularities follow natural dynamics, indigenous socio‐epistemic processes are noted to be consistent with the laws of nature. Coupled with regular open sociocultural deliberations, the conceptualisation of hydrometeorological regularities induces an indigenous ontology and empiricist epistemology. This, together with the techniques used, is the driver of crucial epistemic virtues which enable indigenous knowledge to provide disaster solutions that are adapted, pragmatic, and holistic.
A Perspective‐Taking Theory of Open‐Mindedness: Confronting the Challenge of Motivated Reasoning
Authors: Southworth James
Published: December 2021

Previous research on open‐mindedness, whether by critical thinking researchers, philosophers of education, or intellectual virtue theorists, has not sufficiently addressed the challenge posed by cognitive bias, particularly motivated reasoning. How can students develop their open‐mindedness when they are often motivated to preserve their prior beliefs? In this paper, James Southworth proposes a theory of open‐mindedness that attempts to confront the problem of motivated reasoning. He argues that to be open‐minded is to be receptive to ideas that challenge one's prior beliefs. He discusses two central and interrelated aspects of receptivity: (1) a motivation toward the truth, and (2) an ability and disposition to take on the perspective of an individual(s) who holds an opposing belief. While open‐mindedness includes cognitive, affective, and motivational dimensions, Southworth argues that it is narrow in scope. Open‐mindedness does not concern neutral scenarios. Moreover, open‐mindedness does not require the ability to reason well. Southworth concludes by considering some practical implications of this account with respect to reading and writing practices in higher education.