bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Protection Across Age Groups of BNT162b2 Vaccine Booster against Covid-19
Authors: Bar-On Yinon M. , Goldberg Yair , Mandel Micha , Bodenheimer Omri , Freedman Laurence , Alroy-Preis Sharon , Ash Nachman , Huppert Amit , Milo Ron
Published: October 2021

BACKGROUND

Following administration to persons 60+ years of age, the booster vaccination campaign in Israel was gradually expanded to younger age groups who received a second dose >5 months earlier. We study the booster effect on COVID-19 outcomes.

METHODS

We extracted data for the period July 30, 2021 to October 6, 2021 from the Israeli Ministry of Health database regarding 4,621,836 persons. We compared confirmed Covid-19 infections, severe illness, and death of those who received a booster ≥12 days earlier (booster group) with a nonbooster group. In a secondary analysis, we compared the rates 3-7 days with ≥12 days after receiving the booster dose. We used Poisson regressions to estimate rate ratios after adjusting for possible confounding factors.

RESULTS

Confirmed infection rates were ≈10-fold lower in the booster versus nonbooster group (ranging 8.8-17.6 across five age groups) and 4.8-11.2 fold lower in the secondary analysis. Severe illness rates in the primary and secondary analysis were 18.7-fold (95% CI, 15.7-22.4) and 6.5-fold (95% CI, 5.1-8.3) lower for ages 60+, and 22.0-fold (95% CI, 10.3-47.0) and 3.2-fold (95% CI, 1.1-9.6) lower for ages 40-60. For ages 60+, COVID-19 associated death rates were 14.7-fold (95% CI, 9.4-23.1) lower in the primary analysis and 4.8-fold (95% CI, 2.8-8.2) lower in the secondary analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

Across all age groups, rates of confirmed infection and severe illness were substantially lower among those who received a booster dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine.
Rhesus negative males have an enhanced IFNγ-mediated immune response to influenza A virus
Authors: Sugrue Jamie A. , Smith Megan , Posseme Celine , Charbit Bruno ,   Milieu Interieur Consortium, Bourke Nollaig M. , Duffy Darragh , O’Farrelly Cliona
Published: October 2021

The Rhesus D antigen (RhD) has been associated with susceptibility to several viral infections. Reports suggest that RhD-negative individuals are better protected against infectious diseases and have overall better health. However, potential mechanisms contributing to these associations have not yet been defined. Here, we used transcriptomic and genomic data from theMilieu Interieurcohort of 1000 healthy individuals to explore the effect of RhD on immune responses. We used the rs590787 SNP in the RHD gene to classify the 1000 donors as either RhD-positive or -negative. Whole blood was stimulated with LPS, polyIC, and the live influenza A virus and the NanoString human immunology panel of 560 genes used to assess donor immune response and to investigate sex specific effects. Using regression analysis, we observed no significant differences in responses to polyIC or LPS between RhD-positive and - negative individuals. However, upon sex-specific analysis, we observed over 30 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between RhD-positive (n=401) and RhD-negative males (n=78). Interestingly these Rhesus-associated differences were not seen in females. Further investigation, using gene set enrichment analysis, revealed enhanced IFNγ signalling in RhD-negative males. This amplified IFNγ signalling axis may explain the increased viral resistance previously described in RhD-negative individuals.
The consequences of a year of the COVID-19 pandemic for the mental health of young adult twins in England and Wales
Authors: Rimfeld Kaili , Malanchini Margherita , Arathimos Ryan , Gidziela Agnieszka , Pain Oliver , McMillan Andrew , Ogden Rachel , Webster Louise , Packer Amy E. , Shakeshaft Nicholas G. , Schofield Kerry L. , Pingault Jean-Baptiste , Allegrini Andrea G. , Stringaris Argyris , von Stumm Sophie , Lewis Cathryn M. , Plomin Robert
Published: October 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all our lives, not only through the infection itself, but also through the measures taken to control the virus’s spread (e.g., lockdown). Here we investigated how the COVID-19 pandemic and unprecedented lockdown affected the mental health of young adults in England and Wales. We compared the mental health symptoms of up to 4,000 twins in their mid-twenties in 2018 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (T1) to those in a four-wave longitudinal data collection during the pandemic in April, July, and October 2020, and in March 2021 (T2-T5). The average changes in mental health were small-to-medium and mainly occurred from 2018 (T1) to March 2020 (T2, one month following the start of lockdown; average Cohen d=0.14). Despite the expectation of catastrophic effects on the pandemic on mental health of our young adults, we did not observe trends in worsening mental health during the pandemic (T3-T5). Young people with pre-existing mental health problems were adversely affected at the beginning of the pandemic, but their increased problems largely subsided as the pandemic persisted. Twin analyses indicated that the aetiology of individual differences did not change during the lockdown. The average heritability of mental health symptoms was 33% across 5 waves of assessment, and the average genetic correlation between T1 and T2-T5 was .95, indicating that genetic effects before the pandemic (T1) are substantially correlated with genetic effects up to a year later (T2-T5). We conclude that on average the mental health of young adults in England and Wales has been remarkably resilient to the effects of the pandemic and associated lockdown.
Age and body mass index affect fit of spirometry GLI references in schoolchildren
Authors: Mozun Rebeca , Ardura-Garcia Cristina , Pedersen Eva S. L. , Usemann Jakob , Singer Florian , Latzin Philipp , Moeller Alexander , Kuehni Claudia E.
Published: October 2021

Background

References from the Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI) are widely used to interpret children’s spirometry results. We assessed fit for healthy schoolchildren.

Methods

LuftiBus in the school (LUIS) is a population-based cross-sectional study done from 2013-2016 in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Parents and children aged 6-17 years answered questionnaires about respiratory symptoms and lifestyle. Children underwent spirometry in a mobile lung function lab. We calculated GLI-based z-scores for FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, and FEF25-75for healthy White participants. We defined appropriate fit to GLI references by mean values ±0.5 z-scores. We assessed if fit varied by age, body mass index, height, and sex using linear regression models.

Results

We analysed data from 2036 children with valid FEV1measurements of which 1762 also had valid FVC measurements. The median age was 12.2 years. Fit was appropriate for children aged 6-11 years for all indices. In adolescents aged 12-17 years, fit was appropriate for FEV1/FVC (mean: -0.09; SD: 1.02) z-scores, but not for FEV1(mean: -0.62; SD: 0.98), FVC (mean: -0.60; SD: 0.98), and FEF25-75(mean: -0.54; SD: 1.02). FEV1, FVC, and FEF25-75z-scores fitted better in children considered overweight (means: -0.25, -0.13, -0.38) than normal weight (means: -0.55, -0.50, -0.55;p-trend: <0.001, 0.014, <0.001). FEV1, FVC, and FEF25-75z-scores depended on both age and height (pinteraction: 0.034, 0.019, <0.01).

Conclusion

GLI-based FEV1, FVC, and FEF25-75z-scores do not fit White Swiss adolescents well. This should be considered when using reference equations for clinical decision making, research and international comparison.

Take home message

Our study suggests GLI-based FEV1, FVC, and FEF25-75z-scores over detect abnormal lung function in Swiss adolescents, and more so among slimmer adolescents, which has important implications for clinical care, research, and international comparisons.
A longitudinal analysis of pneumococcal vaccine serotypes in pneumonia patients in Germany
Authors: Bahrs Christina , Kesselmeier Miriam , Kolditz Martin , Ewig Santiago , Rohde Gernot , Barten-Neiner Grit , Rupp Jan , Witzenrath Martin , Welte Tobias , Pletz Mathias W. ,   for the CAPNETZ Study Group
Published: October 2021

Recently, a 15-valent (PCV15) and a 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV20) have been licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration and are under evaluation by the European Medicines Agency. PCV15 contains all serotypes of the 13-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV13) plus serotype 22F and 33F and PCV20 includes PCV13 serotypes plus serotypes 8, 10A, 11A, 12F, 15B, 22F, 33F. We investigated pneumococcal serotype distribution, secular trends and proportion of pneumonia caused by serotypes included in PCV13, PCV15, PCV20, and the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) among adult patients with all-cause community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) between 2013 and 2019. We applied logistic mixed regression modelling to assess annual trends. Urine samples from adult patients with CAP treated in the community or hospital in Germany and included in the CAPNETZ study, a prospective multi-centre cohort study, were analysed by two serotype-specific multiplex urinary antigen detection assays (UAD1/UAD2) at Pfizer’s Vaccines Research and Development Laboratory. UAD1 detects serotypes in PCV13, UAD2 detects additional serotypes in PCV20 plus serotypes 2, 9N, 17F and 20. Out of 1,831 patients screened, urine samples with a valid UAD test result were available for 1,343 patients (73.3%). Among those patients, 829 patients (61.7%) were male, 792 patients (59.0%) were aged ≥60 years, 1038 patients (77.3%) had at least one comorbidity and 1,204 patients (89.7%) were treated in the hospital. The overall proportion of vaccine-type pneumonia among all-cause CAP for PCV13, PCV15, PCV20 and PPV23 was 7.7% (n=103), 9.1% (n=122), 12.3% (n=165) and 13.3% (n=178). Over the entire observation period, we did not observe evidence for significant annual trends in pneumococcal vaccine serotype coverage against pneumonia in adults (PCV13: OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.83-1.05; PCV15: OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.84-1.03; PCV20: OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.86-1.04; PPV23: OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.90-1.08). In conclusion, our data show i) no decline of PCV13 serotypes in all-cause CAP between 2013-2019 mainly due to a persistently high proportion of serotype 3 suggesting no meaningful effect of childhood PCV13 vaccination on PCV13 coverage in pneumonia in adults during this time period and ii) that the gap in the coverage between PCV20 and PPV23 was small and did not increase over the entire observation time.
Anatomical Predictors of Left Internal Carotid Artery Catheterization in Transradial Angiography
Authors: Choi Seon Woong , Kim Hoon , Kim Seong Rim , Park Ik Seong , Kim Sunghan
Published: October 2021

Introduction

Transradial angiography (TRA) has received considerable attention in the field of neurointervention owing to its advantages over transfemoral approaches. However, the difficulty of left internal carotid artery (ICA) catheterization under certain anatomical conditions of the aortic arch and its branches is a limitation of TRA. This study aimed to investigate the anatomical predictors of successful catheterization of the left ICA in TRA.

Materials and Methods

From January 2020 to October 2020, 640 patients underwent TRA at a single institute. Among them, 263 consecutive patients who were evaluated by contrast-enhanced MRI before TRA were included in our study and assigned to success and failure groups, according to whether left ICA catheterization was possible or not. Anatomical predictors that may affect the success of left ICA catheterization in TRA were investigated for the purposes of our study.

Results

The multivariable analysis included variables that demonstrated significant univariate associations with ICA catherization (P<0.0001). Variables included in the model were the type of aortic arch, height of right subclavian artery, turn-off angle of the left common carotid artery (CCA), distance between innominate artery to the left CCA, angulation of right subclavian artery, and angulation of the left CCA, which we identified as significant predictors of left ICA catheterization.

Conclusion

Success of left ICA catheterization in TRA was related to the vascular geometry of the aortic arch and its branches. Evaluating the anatomical predictors identified in this study using pre-procedure imaging may enhance the success rate of left ICA catheterization in TRA.
Tonic inhibition of the chloride/proton antiporter ClC-7 by PI(3,5)P2 is crucial for lysosomal pH maintenance
Authors: Leray Xavier , Hilton Jacob , Nwangwu Kamsi , Becerril Alissa , Mikusevic Vedrana , Fitzgerald Gabriel , Amin Anowarul , Weston Mary R. , Mindell Joseph A.
Published: October 2021

The acidic luminal pH of lysosomes, maintained within a narrow range, is essential for proper degrative function of the organelle and is generated by the action of a V-type H+ ATPase, but other pathways for ion movement are required to dissipate the voltage generated by this process. ClC-7, a Cl-/H+ antiporter responsible for lysosomal Cl- permeability, is a candidate to contribute to the acidification process as part of this “counterion pathway”. The signaling lipid PI(3,5)P2 modulates lysosomal dynamics, including by regulating lysosomal ion channels, raising the possibility that it could contribute to lysosomal pH regulation. Here we demonstrate that depleting PI(3,5)P2 by inhibiting the PIKfyve kinase causes lysosomal hyperacidification, primarily via an effect on ClC-7. We further show that PI(3,5)P2 directly inhibits ClC-7 transport and that this inhibition is eliminated in a disease-causing gain-of-function ClC-7 mutation. Together these observations suggest an intimate role for ClC-7 in lysosomal pH regulation.
Practice coordination by principles: a contemporary MNC approach to coordinating global practices
Authors: Kristiansen Alexander , Schweizer Roger
Published: October 2021

Purpose

In the mainstream international business literature on multinational corporations (MNCs), an authoritative central headquarter (HQ) that transfers standardised practices to its subsidiaries remains the norm. This study aims to explore how MNCs coordinate their management practices through principles.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on empirical findings from a qualitative in-depth single case study based on evidence-rich qualitative data including observations from how a high-tech MNC headquartered in Sweden coordinates its development practices.

Findings

An alternative informal coordination approach (i.e. coordination by principles) is identified. Additionally, antecedents and implications of the approach are presented.

Practical implications

Coordination by Principles may facilitate the internalisation of practices and be a feasible compromise between context adaptation and traditional standardisation, particularly for MNCs with highly heterogeneous research and development operations.

Originality/value

This paper highlights the importance of acknowledging that firm practices often are based on management ideas that HQs adopt to prevent loss of legitimacy. As such, this study contributes to the scarce literature that critically questions the assumption that HQs solely transfer practices to subsidiaries to improve subsidiary efficiency and performance.
Intangible assets as possible indicators for the growth of the Hungarian firms
Authors: Katona Klára
Published: October 2021

Purpose

Intellectual capital has become one of the most important factors in the knowledge economy. It is the combination of human capital and structural capital. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of intellectual capital, especially the effect of structural capital on the productivity of Hungarian firms between 2007 and 2017.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyzes the impact of intellectual capital on the output of the Hungarian firms in a fixed effect dynamic model, using the lagged dependent and explanatory variables method. This study is based on annual reports of Hungarian enterprises.

Findings

This study proved that intellectual capital was a relevant source of the effectiveness of the firms in Hungarian industry in the examined period, and structural capital had the strongest impact on productivity of the firms.

Research limitations/implications

The annual report as database nonetheless bears the specificity and the limitation of the model alike. Labor costs, the proxy for human capital can measure the level only indirectly. Intangible assets, the proxy for structural capital contain more items which are optional.

Practical implications

The results reflect that the internally developed knowledge became the most relevant source for Hungarian firms to increase their productivity, but externally generated innovation may offer further possible sources to boost their own efficiency.

Originality/value

Unlike the previous empirical research in Hungary the source of variables in this model is based on the data of annual reports. This database allows to examine a larger panel investigation for a longer period than those methods which collect data on a voluntary basis, e.g. Community Innovation Survey.
A novel simulation framework for crowd transportations
Authors: Li Zhihui , Sun Hongbo
Published: October 2021

Purpose

With the development of the modern economy, vehicles are no longer a luxury for people, which greatly facilitate people’s daily life, but at the same time bring traffic congestion. How to relieve traffic congestion and improve its capacity is a hot research area. This paper aims to propose a new simulation framework for crowd transportations to ease traffic congestion.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper establishes related simulation models such as vehicles, traffic lights and advisers. Then the paper describes their relationships, gives their interaction mechanism and solidifies the above into a software implementation framework.

Findings

This paper proposes a simulation framework for crowd transportations.

Originality/value

In this framework, traffic lights are used as a control method to control the road network and road conditions are used as an Affecter to influence individual behavior. The vehicle passing rate is defined by the correlation between endowment and the start time of the traffic lights. In this framework, members are related, dynamically adjusted according to road conditions and dynamically optimized member decisions. The optimal path is dynamic and real-time adjustments are made for each step forward. It is different from the traditional optimal path in which there is only one fixed one and it is different from the macroscopic optimal path that does not exist.
Examining the gendered organizations: evidence of institutional discrimination
Authors: Vasconcelos Anselmo Ferreira
Published: October 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine how a group of special companies, i.e. highly acknowledged and awarded ones operating in Brazil handle the gender issue.

Design/methodology/approach

This investigation relies on historical analysis by addressing essentially a surface-level indicator (i.e. gender preferences). Rather, this study is grounded on data from the companies that were awarded as one of the best organizations to work for in Brazil by Época-Great Place to Work® Institute and Guia Você S/A lists (between 2012 and 2016). As a result, four organizations were selected, that is, the most representative examples of gender doing.

Findings

Overall, it found that the glass ceiling is apparently breaking down within at least some germane Brazilian organizations. However, data suggest that other sorts of institutional discrimination may be taking place, i.e. the one in which a feminist mindset may be permeating an organization or even a whole business sector. Under such a scenario, male workers will likely have only a few opportunities.

Research limitations/implications

The sample size of this study does not permit that the results be generalized. In addition, data were elicited from only a specific cohort of companies.

Practical implications

It was found no substantial evidence that these organizations are making strides toward at least mitigating the effects of their gender unbalance, although gender equality and, broadly speaking, diversity does not constitute a new management topic anymore.

Originality/value

Unlike other investigations, it encompasses a larger sample of companies, draws exclusively upon gender-based organizations and is grounded on multiple sources of information. Additionally, data revealed that gendered organizations may encompass different levels of salience.
The impact of economic uncertainty and financial stress on consumer confidence: the case of Japan
Authors: Ghosh Sudeshna
Published: October 2021

Purpose

This study explores the response of consumer confidence in policy uncertainty in the Japanese context. The study also considers the dynamism of stock market behavior and financial stress and its impact on consumer confidence, which has remained unaddressed in the literature. The role of these control variables has important implications for policy discussions, particularly when other countries can learn from Japanese experiences.

Design/methodology/approach

The nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model postulated by Shin et al. (2014) was used for studying the asymmetric response of consumer confidence to policy uncertainty. This method has improved estimates compared to traditional linear cointegration methods.

Findings

The findings confirm the asymmetric impact of policy uncertainty on the consumer confidence index in Japan. The impact of the rise in policy uncertainty is greater than that of a fall in asymmetry on consumer confidence in Japan. Furthermore, the Wald test confirmed asymmetric behavior.

Originality/value

The contribution of this study is threefold. First, this study contributes to the extant literature by analyzing the asymmetric response of consumer confidence to policy uncertainty, controlling for both the financial stress and stock price indices. Second, to test the robustness of the exercise, the study utilized different frequencies of observations. Third, this study is the first to utilize the concept of Arbatli et al. (2017) to formulate a combined index of uncertainty based on economic policy uncertainty index, along with uncertainty indices such as fiscal, monetary, trade and exchange rate policies to study the overall impact of policy uncertainty.
Modelling construction 4.0 as a vaccine for ensuring construction supply chain resilience amid COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Osunsanmi Temidayo Oluwasola , Aigbavboa Clinton Ohis , Thwala Wellington Didibhuku Didibhuku , Molusiwa Ramabodu
Published: October 2021

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic came with a lot of stress, uncertainty and disruption for managing the construction supply chain (CSC). The disruption in return caused weak resilience of CSC activities. Unfortunately, the existing models for managing CSC focus on preparedness and recovery while neglecting the visibility perspective of resilience CSC. Towards creating a resilience CSC, this study modelled construction 4.0 as the vaccine for supply chain resilience in the construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey questionnaire was used to collect data randomly from construction stakeholders. The questionnaire was analysed with a structural equation model analysis using SmartPLS while conducting tests such as path coefficient analysis, discriminant analysis and importance-performance analysis.

Findings

This study discovered that construction 4.0 is a significant tool and vaccine for ensuring visibility, recovery and adaptation within the supply chain. Construction 4.0 will function as a vaccine for ensuring resilience because of its capacity to optimise CSC management by introducing an evidence-based management approach and less dependent on implicit knowledge. Towards reaping the full potential of construction 4.0, it should be adopted as a moderating variable.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited by the use of a single methodology (quantitative) without including a qualitative method to understand better and explore the impact of construction 4.0 on CSC resilience. The qualitative part can be carried out by conducting interviews targeted at construction stakeholders.

Practical implications

In spite of the limitations, the findings of this study contributed to building a more responsive and resilient CSC during the pandemic period. Furthermore, this study also presented the crucial construction 4.0 technology capable of ensuring resilience within the CSC.

Originality/value

This paper presents a model for applying construction 4.0 as a vaccine for ensuring CSC resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic period. This study contributed to ensuring that decisions made within the CSC adopt an evidence-based approach.
Disentangling the individual entrepreneurial orientation and SMEs success nexus: an action-based interplay of exploration activities and entrepreneurial alertness
Authors: Bilal Ahmad Raza , Fatima Tehreem
Published: October 2021

Purpose

This study aims to extend the much-held strategic entrepreneurial orientation stance and conceptualized it as a psychological disposition of small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) owners. Based on this notion, the authors theorized that individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) is a precursor of success in manufacturing sector SMEs. Building on the credo of action regulation, the authors clarified the IEO and SMEs’ success association by introducing exploration activities as a conduit. Further, the authors posited that entrepreneurial alertness augments the nexus of IEO, exploration activities and SMEs success.

Design/methodology/approach

A three-wave survey was done by drawing a cluster-based sample of 389 SME owners in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan. The mediation and moderation analysis were done by PROCESS macro that uses bootstrapping with 5,000 draws to calculate the indirect (Model 4), conditional and conditional indirect effects (Model 7) at a 95% confidence interval.

Findings

The results offered empirical support to the conjectured association among IEO and SMEs’ success mediated by exploration activities. Moreover, the conditional direct (between IEO and exploration activities) and indirect impact (among IEO and SMEs’ success mediated by exploration activities) of entrepreneurial alertness was substantiated.

Originality/value

The authors added to the sprouting body of knowledge in the field of entrepreneurial orientation by focusing on its individual-level psychological conception. The authors have unlocked the interplay between IEO and SMEs’ success via the role of action characteristics of exploration activities and entrepreneurial alertness based on the action regulation tenet. Thus, the authors made a novel contribution by linking the micro-level entrepreneurial orientation and actions with macro-level SMEs' success.
Top management team heterogeneity, corporate social responsibility and firm risk: an emerging country perspective
Authors: Shakil Mohammad Hassan , Abdul Wahab Nor Shaipah
Published: October 2021

Purpose

This study aims to examine the effects of top management team (TMT) heterogeneity and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the firm risk of Bursa Malaysia listed firms. Also, this study examines the moderating effect of CSR between TMT heterogeneity and firm risk.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses panel regression models to test the hypotheses. The sample of this study is Bursa Malaysia non-financial listed firms from 2013 to 2017 with 3,055 observations.

Findings

This study finds significant effects of TMT age and tenure heterogeneities on total risk. Effects on idiosyncratic risk are evident only within age heterogeneity. Further, this study finds negative effects of CSR on total and idiosyncratic risks. CSR significantly moderates the relationship between total TMT heterogeneity and firm systematic risk.

Practical implications

This study reduces the literature gap by providing useful insights on the effects of CSR activities and TMT heterogeneity on firm risk. The findings can also provide hints to investors to assist them in assessing firm risk based on TMT heterogeneity and firms’ CSR. This study can also benefit shareholders in their attempts to mitigate the risk of their portfolio by investing in firms that are socially responsible as firms with high CSR suffer lower total and idiosyncratic risks.

Originality/value

Previous studies have emphasised on the influence of TMT characteristics and CSR on firm performance. However, studies that investigate the effects of TMT heterogeneity and CSR on firm risk are limited in the context of Malaysia.
Cu3Sn-microporous copper composite joint for high-temperature die-attach applications
Authors: Pan Zhen , Sun Fenglian
Published: October 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to design a novel die-attach composite joint for high-temperature die-attach applications based on transient liquid phase bonding. Moreover, the microstructure, shear strength, electrical property, thermal conductivity and aging property of the composite joint were investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

The composite joint was made of microporous copper and Cu3Sn. Microporous copper was immersed into liquid Sn to achieve Sn-microporous copper composite structure for die attachment. By the thermo-compression bonding, the Cu3Sn-microporous copper composite joint with a thickness of 100 µm was successfully obtained after bonding at 350 °C for 5 min under a low pressure of 0.6 MPa.

Findings

After thermo-compression bonding, the resulting interconnection could withstand a high temperature of at most 676 °C, with the entire Sn transforming into Cu3Sn with high remelting temperatures. A large shear strength could be achieved with the Cu3Sn-microporous copper in the interconnections. The formed bondlines demonstrated a good electrical and thermal conductivity owing to the large existing amount of copper in the interconnections. Furthermore, the interconnection also exhibited excellent reliability under high temperature aging at 300 °C.

Originality/value

This die-attach composite joint was suitable for power devices operating under high temperatures or other harsh environments.
A phantom ultrasonic insect chorus repels low‐flying bats, but most are undeterred
Authors: Sedlock Jodi L. , Gomes Dylan G. E. , Rubin Juliette J. , Woody Sarah , Hadi Buyung A. R. , Barber Jesse R.
Published: October 2021

The acoustic environment can serve as a niche axis, structuring animal behaviour by providing or obscuring salient information. Meadow katydid choruses occupy the ultrasonic, less studied, realm of this acoustic milieu, form dense populations in some habitats and present a potential sensory challenge to co‐occurring ultrasonic‐hearing animals. Aerial‐hawking insectivorous bats foraging immediately over vegetation must listen for echoes of their prey and other cues amidst the chorus din.

We experimentally created the cacophony of a katydid chorus in a katydid‐free rice paddy using an aggregation of 100 ultrasonic speakers in a 25 × 25 m grid to test the hypothesis that aerially hawking bats are averse to this noise source. We alternated between chorus‐on and chorus‐off hourly, and acoustically monitored bat activity and arthropod prey abundance.

We found that our phantom katydid chorus reduced bat activity nearest the sound source by 39.3% (95% CI: 7.8%–60.0%) for species whose call spectrum fully overlapped with the chorus, and elicited marginal reductions in activity in species with only partial spectral overlap.

Our study suggests that ultrasonic insect choruses degrade foraging habitat, potentially suppressing bats’ ecosystem services as consumers of pests; and, given the global distribution of meadow katydids, may provide an underappreciated force modifying animal behaviour in other grassland habitats.

A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Advancing Action on Health Equity Through a Sociolegal Model of Health
Authors: SCHRAM ASHLEY , BOYD‐CAINE TESSA , FORELL SUZIE , BAUM FRAN , FRIEL SHARON
Published: October 2021

Policy Points

Health actors can use the law more strategically in the pursuit of health and equity by addressing governance challenges (e.g., fragmented and overlapping mandates between health and nonhealth institutions), employing a broader rights‐based discourse in the public health policy process, and collaborating with the access to justice movement.

Health justice partnerships provide a road map for implementing a sociolegal model of health to reduce health inequities by strengthening legal capacities for health among the health workforce and patients. This in turn will enable them to resolve health issues with legal solutions, to dismantle service silos, and to drive systemic policy and law reform.

Context

In the field of public health, the law and legal systems remain a poorly understood and substantially underutilized tool to address unfair or unjust societal conditions underpinning health inequities. The aim of our article is to demonstrate the value of expanding from a social model of health to a sociolegal model of health and empowering health actors to use the law more strategically in the pursuit of health equity.

Methods

We propose a modified version of the framework for the social determinants of health (SDoH) equity developed by the 2008 World Health Organization Commission on the Social Determinants of Health by conceptually integrating the functions of the law as identified by the 2019 Lancet–O'Neill Institute Commission on Global Health and Law.

Findings

Access to justice provides a critical intersection between social models of public health and work in the justice fields. Addressing the inequities produced through the policies and institutions governing society unites the causes of those seeking to enhance access to justice and those seeking to reduce health inequities. Health justice partnerships (HJPs) are an example of a sociolegal model of health in action. Through the resolution of health issues with legal solutions at the individual level, the dismantling of service silos at the institutional level, and policy and law reform at the systemic level, HJPs demonstrate how the law can be used as a tool to reduce social and health inequities.

Conclusions

Greater attention to law as a tool for health creates space for increased collaboration among legal and health scholars, practitioners, and advocates, particularly those working in the areas of the social determinants of health and access to justice, and a promising avenue for reducing health inequities.
Revisiting the Impact of Goals on Affect and Effort*
Authors: Lane Dorian
Published: October 2021

Performance goals are one of the most prevalent management controls used in practice to address motivational concerns. Goals influence employees' affective state by enabling them to evaluate their performance against a standard and determine if their performance is satisfactory. The objective of this paper is to understand and extend the current management accounting literature on goals and their effect on employee effort via affect. I address this objective in three ways. First, I conduct a systematic review of the management accounting literature to determine what we know about goals and determine if the literature acknowledges the important effects that goals have on affect. From the literature review, I note the paucity of research that examines the affective consequences of using performance goals. Second, I discuss some of the prominent theories from psychology that explain the relationship between goals and affect and provide suggestions for research questions. Third, I develop an experimental manipulation using online participants to demonstrate that goal attainment and goal failure lead to significant positive and negative affective reactions, respectively. By sharing my research method, I provide a starting point that accounting researchers can employ to examine how affect can influence effort, which has an important causal linkage with performance outcomes.
Pulpal and periapical disease in crowned vital teeth: A prospective matched cohort study
Authors: Mohamed Khazin Sobrina , Abdullah Dalia , Liew Amy Kia Cheen , Soo Eason , Ahmad Tarib Natasya
Published: October 2021

This study aimed to determine the incidence and contributing factors to pulpal and periapical disease in crowned vital teeth. Seventy‐three pairs of healthy teeth were included and divided into two groups; ‘crowned’ and ‘untreated’ groups. The crowned group was prepared for full coverage crown and no treatment was carried out on the untreated group. Both groups were subjected to clinical and radiographic examination to detect endodontic signs and symptoms pre‐operatively and one‐week after crown cementation. Electric pulp test was also subjected to both groups, pre‐operatively, after tooth preparation and before crown cementation. The incidence of pulpal and periapical disease was 6.8% and 1.4%, respectively, after tooth preparation. Factors associated with pulpal and periapical disease were exposed pulp during tooth preparation and pre‐operative bone level <35%. Despite the low incidence, the occurrence of pulpal and periapical disease within a short period is noteworthy.
Preserving local biodiversity through crop diversification
Authors: Strobl Eric
Published: October 2021

Using the case study of birds and food crops, we investigate whether diversifying crop production can enhance preservation of local biodiversity. To this end we combine annual bird survey data, high resolution land use data, and phylogenetic trees to create a landscape level panel data set covering the conterminous United States for over a decade. Our econometric analysis shows that greater local food crop hetereogeneity increases local avian diversity, although this is spatially limited. Supplementary county level data provides evidence that more food crop diversity is unlikely to be at the cost of lower revenues.
Metrics Management and Bureaucratic Accountability: Evidence from Policing
Authors: Eckhouse Laurel
Published: October 2021

Bureaucracies increasingly use quantitative measures to monitor personnel behavior. I develop a model of the incentives created bymetrics management, a bureaucratic accountability technique, using policing as a case to show that monitoring can lead public‐interest motivated bureaucrats to focus on work not in the public interest. Second, I develop a new measure of data manipulation in crime statistics: although theory predicts the presence of manipulation, researchers observe only the altered data. I solve this using the fact that police departments can reclassify rapes (but not other violent crimes) as “unfounded,” concluding the reported crime did not occur. Finally, I test the effects of metrics management in policing using a novel data set. CompStat is associated with at least 3,500 additional minor arrests per city‐year, substantial data manipulation, and no decrease in serious crime. These results have implications for bureaucracies implementing metrics management, scholarship using administrative data, and legal implementation.
The association between access to emergency respite and hospital admission: A longitudinal, cohort case register study
Authors: Patil Dipti , Hall Abigail , Hasan Syeda , Pye Holly , Lonergan Paul , Bowker Lindsay , Bethina Laxmiram , Morris Rohan
Published: October 2021

Accessible Summary

Local areas have a register of people with a learning disability who are at risk of going to hospital. This register helps learning disability services to know when a person needs extra support, such as emergency respite, to stop them going to hospital.

This study aimed to see what factors were related to whether people with a learning disability went to hospital for their mental health problems.

Service users on the registers in five areas from 2019 were included in this study. What support each person had while they were at risk was looked at.

51 cases were reviewed. We found a relationship between emergency respite and needing to go to hospital. This suggests that emergency respite is related to reducing the chances of someone going to hospital for their mental health problems.

The chance to use emergency respite and support may help stop people with a learning disability needing to go to hospital for their mental health. This study can help services to provide the right support for people.

Background

Reducing hospital admissions for people with a learning disability is a key objective of national guidelines. However, there are currently little available data which indicate factors which might reduce the risk of hospital admission. Using a cohort of people at risk of hospital admission, this research sought to explore the association between access to emergency respite and hospital admission.

Methods

This study accessed data from 76 clients who were based within Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, who were on the Dynamic Risk Register due to assessed risk of possible hospital admission. After the employment of inclusion criteria, data from 51 clients were used in the analysis. The study accessed data from clinical records and any professionals meeting minutes (e.g., care and treatment review) from a 12‐month period; information was collected pertaining to participants’ diagnoses and the treatments and interventions that they had received.

Findings

Whilst controlling for other interventions, a significant association between hospital admission and access to emergency respite was found, with emergency respite significantly reducing the odds of hospital admission (OR 0.05, CI 0 to 0.36, p = .001). Not having access to emergency respite increased the odds of hospital admission by 20.56 times.

Conclusion

In the study catchment area, emergency respite appears to be significantly associated with a reduction in hospital admission, independent of other interventions offered. Further research is necessary to explore if this study's findings are replicable in other areas. This study has implications for the development of emergency respite services in local areas.
A STING inhibitor suppresses EBV‐induced B cell transformation and lymphomagenesis
Authors: Miyagi Shouhei , Watanabe Takahiro , Hara Yuya , Arata Masataka , Uddin Md. Kamal , Mantoku Keisuke , Sago Ken , Yanagi Yusuke , Suzuki Takeshi , Masud H. M. Abdullah Al , Kawada Jun‐ichi , Nakamura Shigeo , Miyake Yasuyuki , Sato Yoshitaka , Murata Takayuki , Kimura Hiroshi
Published: October 2021

Epstein‐Barr virus‐associated lymphoproliferative disease (EBV‐LPD) is frequently fatal. Innate immunity plays a key role in protecting against pathogens and cancers. The stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is regarded as a key adaptor protein allowing DNA sensors recognizing exogenous cytosolic DNA to activate the type I interferon signaling cascade. In terms of EBV tumorigenicity, the role of STING remains elusive. Here we showed that treatment with the STING inhibitor, C‐176, suppressed EBV‐induced transformation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In an EBV‐LPD mouse model, C‐176 treatment also inhibited tumor formation and prolonged survival. Treatment with B cells alone did not affect EBV transformation, but suppression of EBV‐induced transformation was observed in the presence of T cells. Even without direct B cell‐T cell contact in a transwell system, the inhibitor reduced the transformation activity, indicating that intercellular communication by humoral factors was critical to prevent EBV‐induced transformation. These findings suggest that inhibition of STING signaling pathway with C‐176 could be a new therapeutic target of EBV‐LPD.
Promoting functional development for children with cerebral palsy in low‐income countries
Authors: Tann Cally J
Published: October 2021

This commentary is on the original article by Andrews et al. on pages 70–79 of this issue.
COVID‐19 school closures and cumulative disadvantage: Assessing the learning gap in formal, informal and non‐formal education
Authors: González Sheila , Bonal Xavier
Published: October 2021

Reducing physical contact has been the most common strategy adopted by governments to reduce the spread of the COVID‐19 disease. It has led most countries to close their schools. Previous evidence on the effects of teacher strikes, summer holidays, armed conflicts or any other cause of school closure on learning suggest that the effects of COVID‐19 will be highly significant for some and will vary depending on students' previous performance, family characteristics, age or education track, among other factors. Recent evidence shows that learning losses during school closures have been widespread and especially intense among the more disadvantaged students. In this article we evaluate the magnitude of the gap regarding opportunities to learn in formal, informal and non‐formal education between families depending on their cultural and economic capital. An online survey (n = 35,937) was carried out during the second week of the confinement (March 2020) in Catalonia. The survey targeted families with children between three and eighteen years. The responses show remarkable social inequalities in opportunities to learn. In this article, we describe the magnitude of the learning gap between social groups and explore which are the most significant factors that explain educational inequalities. Our findings reveal a process of cumulative disadvantage that results from unequal opportunities in formal, informal and non‐formal education and underline the need to address both school and family factors to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on learning opportunities.
Anxiety, lexicon, and morphosyntax in instructed L2 Spanish
Authors: Kirk Sadler , Grinstead John , Nibert Holly J.
Published: October 2021

Although generalized anxiety has increased among college students, it is unclear what effect this has on language anxiety. While language anxiety has been shown to negatively affect second language achievement, its impact at the level of specific linguistic subdomains has not been evaluated. In what follows, we explore what relationship, if any, exists between Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Foreign Language Anxiety and whether either construct is predictive of L2 Spanish lexical or morphosyntactic development. Results reveal that while foreign language anxiety and generalized anxiety are related, only foreign language anxiety is significantly and negatively predictive of both morphosyntactic and lexical development in the context of instructed L2 Spanish, while general anxiety was only marginally predictive of morphosyntax, but not lexicon.
Lowering whole cost for sugarcane‐based ethanol production by engineered Zymomonas mobilis
Authors: Dai Yonghua , Wu Bo , Liu Panting , Chen Mao , Song Chao , Gou Qiyu , Liu Renbin , Xu Yansheng , Hu Guoquan , He Mingxiong
Published: October 2021

Lowering cost will prompt the sustainable development of sugarcane‐based ethanol industry. In this work, we developed a low‐cost process for ethanol production from sugarcane by a genetically engineered Zymomonas mobilis. Fermentation media were first optimized, resulting in a 15.54% increase in ethanol fermentation efficiency as compared to control media. To further reduce the byproduct levan formation, a levansucrase‐encoding gene of Z. mobilis, sacB, was deleted through the type I‐F CRISPR‐Cas system, which resulted in a further elevation of both ethanol conversion ratio and productivity comparing with the starting strain ZMS912 (87.50% vs. 76.77%, 1.95 g/L/h vs. 1.71 g/L/h). Moreover, we conducted fed‐batch fermentation for ethanol production using sugarcane juice in 5 L bioreactors and employing the optimized media and engineered strain. The results showed that maximum ethanol titer of 81.59 g/L and productivity of 5.83 g/L/h were achieved. Finally, preliminary techno‐economic assessment demonstrated that our efforts to modify media and strain could reduce the processing cost of ethanol production from sugarcane juice, which provides the feasibility for economic ethanol production in the future.