bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gender differences in the medical industries’ payments to physicians: a systematic review
Authors: Makowska Marta , Sillup George P.
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to explore gender differences in payments made to physicians by the pharmaceutical and medical device industries via the performance of a systematic review of articles based on the Open Payments Database (OPD).

Design/methodology/approach

Three databases (Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed) were searched for articles published from September 30, 2014 to May 10, 2019, using two search terms: “Sunshine Act” and “Open Payments.” The systematic review is reported according to preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

Findings

The search identified 359 abstracts. Thirty-nine articles were selected for full review, and 17 of these met the inclusion criteria. Although the articles considered are based on the same database, they adopt diverse approaches and analyses are conducted in different ways. A substantial proportion of the studies show total payments from the two industries to be higher for male physicians than for female physicians. However, a few exceptions exist, higher female mean or median values occurring for payments involving research, ownership, honoraria, grants, royalties/licenses and travel/lodgings. Also, in the case of obstetric–gynecological specializations, a higher proportion of women than men are shown to cooperate with the industries.

Originality/value

There is gender inequality in terms of industries’ funding for doctors. While analyses of secondary OPD data show that a gender inequality exists, they do not provide an understanding of why this occurs. However, from the exceptions identified, it can be speculated that this phenomenon is connected with greater adherence to ethical standards on the part of female physicians and/or the likelihood that fewer opportunities for industrial cooperation are extended to them.
The effects of task environment and organizational agility on perceived managerial discretion and strategy implementation in a pharmaceutical company
Authors: Theodore Wilsa , Kasali Rhenald , Balqiah Tengku Ezni , Sudhartio Lily
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the relationship between task environment, organizational agility, perceived managerial discretion and strategy implementation on unit performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the literature review, a structural model was developed. A 74-item questionnaire was circulated among middle managers in sales and marketing. The data collection method used purposive sampling. A total of 228 valid responses were obtained. This study was conducted in a leading pharmaceutical company in Indonesia. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Findings

Based on the data analysis, this study shows that task environment and organizational agility act as antecedents of perceived managerial discretion, which drives strategy implementation resulting in unit performance.

Originality/value

Different from previous studies that examined the linkage of inertial forces and discretion, this research scrutinized the effects of organizational agility on perceived managerial discretion and the direct role of perceived managerial discretion on internal strategy implementation.
3D texture parameters for wear scars after severe regime
Authors: Deleanu Lorena , Ionescu Traian Florian , Cristea George Catalin , Suciu Cornel Camil , Georgescu Constantin
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to present an analysis of several 3 D texture parameters for the entire wear scars obtained in severe regime, on a four-ball tester. The aim of this analysis is to correlate the tribological parameter as wear scar diameter to texture parameters.

Design/methodology/approach

Tested lubricants were rapeseed oil, rapeseed oil additivated with 1% Wt nano TiO2 and rapeseed oil additivated with 1%Wt nano ZnO. The severe regime was applied for 1400 rpm and for loads increasing in steps of 50 N, from 500 to 900 N. Several analyzed roughness parameters (height parameters and functional ones) could be related to the evolution of a wear parameter, the wear scar diameter. Comparing the values for neat rapeseed oil and additivated variants, the texture parameters allow for evaluating if the additives protect or not the worn surfaces.

Findings

Measurements pointed out two groups of roughness parameters: one that has an evolution depending on wear scar diameter (WSD) and load (Sa, St, functional parameters) and one including Ssk that has shown no dependence on load and WSD. Also, the functional parameters Spk and Svk follow in a similar manner the wear parameter, WSD, but Sk is the least dependent on load. For the highest load, amplitude parameters such as Sa and St are following the tendency of WSD. Each lubricant has its particular correlation between wear parameters and texture quality, expressed by the help of a set of roughness parameters.

Research limitations/implications

Such studies help tribologists to rank lubricants based on a combined analysis with wear parameters and texture parameters.

Practical implications

The results allow for evaluating new formulated lubricants.

Originality/value

The study on the quality on worn surfaces introduces the original idea of analyzing the entire wear scar surface (approximated by an ellipse with the axes as those experimentally measured) by the help of a set of 3 D roughness parameters.
Reading in the age of digital distraction
Authors: Liu Ziming
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Digital distraction is a common phenomenon in e-reading contexts, and it is worth exploring in depth from the perspectives of information (digital content), users (readers) and technology (digital reading medium). Since screen reading has close links with multitasking and potential distraction, any investigation of reading in the digital environment must factor in this reality. This paper aims to investigate the extent and effects of digital distraction while reading on screens. Special emphases go to exploring multitasking while reading.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey and analysis methods are employed.

Findings

The extent of digital distraction among college students it found is alarming. All the top four sources of distraction are communication-based activities. Female students tend to concentrate more than males when they read on screens. An overwhelming majority of participants choose to read in print to reduce distractions and to concentrate effectively. Screen reading is inherently distracting, primarily due to multitasking. It appears that repeated multitasking during academic endeavors carries substantial costs.

Originality/value

Implications of digital distraction are discussed, and directions of future research are suggested.
Nexus among intellectual capital, interorganizational learning, industrial Internet of things technology and innovation performance: a resource-based perspective
Authors: Rehman Shafique Ur , Ashfaq Khurram , Bresciani Stefano , Giacosa Elisa , Mueller Jens
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The authors observe the influence of intellectual capital (IC) on innovation performance with the mediating role of interorganizational learning (IOL) in the Pakistani automotive industry. Besides, industrial Internet of things (IoT) technology is used as moderating variables between IOL and innovation performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling (SEM) presents scholars with extra flexibility and enhanced research conclusions. SEM is described as a statistical methodology and the best tool used for hypothesis testing. The authors used partial least squares SEM for testing hypotheses. The simple random sampling technique followed to collect data from respondents, and 492 questionnaires were used for analysis.

Findings

The outcomes reveal that IC enhances innovation performance and IOL. Moreover, IOL increases innovation performance. IOL significantly mediates between IC and innovation performance. Industrial IoT technology improves innovation performance. Finally, industrial IoT technology strengthens the positive association between IOL and innovation performance.

Practical implications

This study concentrates on the issue of how managers use IOL and industrial IoT technology to take higher advantage of IC that increases innovation performance.

Originality/value

This is the initial study that builds a theoretical framework to integrate IC, IOL, industrial IoT technology and innovation performance. Although prior researchers observe the association between IC and innovation performance, less concentration was paid to understand the role of interorganizational leadership and industrial IoT technology in leveraging organizational IC.
Opening manufacturing flexibility's black box: the unexplored role of internal flexibility
Authors: Pérez-Pérez Marta , Serrano-Bedia Ana-María , López-Fernández María-Concepción
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test a research model exploring the complex links between internal and external manufacturing flexibility capabilities (IF and EF) and competitive advantage (CA).

Design/methodology/approach

A survey approach with responses from 266 Spanish manufacturing firms from different industries was used. Structural equation modelling and SPSS macro PROCESS were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Manufacturing flexibility (MF) is a dual-dimensional concept composed by IF and EF, which are complementary and hierarchical in its development. Contrary to previous assumptions, IF does not always express its final competitive effect through EF, which only partially mediates the IF–CA relationship. Thus, IF and EF independently can positively enhance a firm's CA, being the direct effect of the IF being stronger than EF.

Practical implications

This study offers practical insights supporting a guide for prioritising flexibility capabilities through the holistic MF implementation, thus assisting managers wishing to formulate MF strategies seeking efficiency and customer value advantages relative to competitors.

Originality/value

The main novelty of this work is to explore for the first time the direct and indirect role of IF on CA, enlarging the assumptions of the flexibility funnel framework (FFF) and the strategic view of MF. The study is also unique due to both the depth and breadth of the investigation of the basis of the use of resource-based theory (RBT) and by employing a recent and comprehensive MF conceptual systematisation to guide the measurement approach.
Social marketing benchmark criteria use in health behaviour change interventions in pacific islands populations: a systematic review
Authors: Ryan Sarah T. , Kariippanon Katharina Elisabeth , Okely Anthony D. , Stanley Rebecca M. , Waqa Gade , Randle Melanie
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Social marketing has been widely used to effectively and voluntarily change behaviours worldwide. The social marketing benchmark criteria offer a framework to apply this approach. This paper aims to examine the extent of use and predictors of success of social marketing benchmark criteria in changing the health behaviours of Pacific Islands populations.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic review of studies designed to change health behaviours among Pacific Islands populations. Studies were assessed against the social marketing benchmark criteria to determine the extent to which the reported intervention used a social marketing approach; and whether the use of the social marketing benchmark criteria led to more effective interventions.

Findings

In total, 22 studies were included. In total, 13 were conducted within the Pacific Islands and 9 were aimed at Pacific Islands populations living in America, New Zealand or Hawaii. The most common criteria used were behaviour change, insight and customer orientation. Theory criterion was least commonly used. There was no clear indication of which criterion or combination of criteria, resulted in more effective interventions.

Research limitations/implications

Further empirical evaluations of social marketing interventions within the Pacific Islands context are required to appropriately assess effective predictors of success for this population group. Studies of social marketing interventions targeting non-Pacific Islands populations in non-Pacific Island countries and territories may have limited applicability to Pacific Islanders living in Pacific Island countries and territories.

Originality/value

While similar studies have been conducted, this is the first study to review all behaviour change interventions by applying a social marketing lens in the Pacific Islands. While globally this may have been reviewed, the Pacific Islands has a unique context that needs to be considered, rather than assuming a one size fits all approach. This study offers a comprehensive overview of existing health behaviour change interventions in the Pacific Islands and a call to action to move social marketing forward within the Pacific Islands.
Does supplier involvement enhance financial performance? The encapsulation effects of product modularity and smartness
Authors: Wang Yu , Jia Tao , Chen Jinliang , Chen Qiujun
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This study aims to explore the conditional relationships between supplier involvement and financial performance. From a problem-solving perspective, this study takes the focal firm as a problem-solving system. It is postulated that supplier involvement enhances financial performance by helping solve complex problems of new product development. Furthermore, product modularity and smartness are considered contingent factors to clarify the boundary conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

The ordinary least squares regression was conducted to test the hypotheses based on survey data from 136 high-tech firms in China.

Findings

Supplier involvement is positively related to financial performance. Product modularity weakens the impact of supplier involvement on financial performance. Furthermore, product smartness strengthens the negative influence of product modularity on the relationship between supplier involvement and financial performance.

Originality/value

This study combines supplier involvement with product attributes. It takes a problem-solving perspective to rethink suppliers’ roles in new product development as problem-solvers rather than resource holders. Furthermore, this study advances the encapsulation effects of product modularity and smartness to influence the supplier involvement–financial performance link.
Achieving resilience through knowledge management practices and risk management culture in agri-food supply chains
Authors: Ali Imran , Golgeci Ismail , Arslan Ahmad
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Given the increasingly turbulent business landscape and unprecedented incidents (e.g. Covid-19), firms must achieve supply chain resilience (SCRes) as a dynamic capability to bounce back from adversities and ensure continuity of operations. The purpose of this study is to integrate the three interrelated [knowledge management, risk management culture (RMC) and resilience] but often separately discussed concepts to advance the understanding of their intertwined influence on SCRes in the agri-food supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a cross-sectional survey approach where quantitative data is collected from 349 participants from the Australian agri-food supply chains to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

Exposure to supply chain risks triggers the deployment of specific knowledge management practices in the agri-food supply chains. Further, the analysis on serial mediation suggests that firms’ knowledge management practices work sequentially (knowledge acquisition, assimilation and application) and develop a RMC to achieve SCRes amid supply chain risks.

Practical implications

The findings of this study inform practitioners and policymakers who seek to understand the key mechanisms that facilitate the development of SCRes when facing supply chain risks, particularly in the Australian agri-food supply chains.

Social implications

The growth of the food industry through more resilient food supply chains could ensure sustained food supply and more employment opportunities.

Originality/value

Using dynamic capability theory, the authors devise a novel empirical model that explicates how knowledge management practices and RMC instigate the dynamic capability of SCRes amid supply chain risks facing agri-food supply chains.
Why top managements must change their fundamental assumptions
Authors: Denning Stephen
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Despite today’s profusion of customer-centric rhetoric, most business people still believe that the primary purpose of business is profits. But the most resilient and sustainably successful firms consistently select one primary purpose: enrich the lives of their customers. 10;

Design\methodology\approach

The article maps how the most valuable and fastest growing firms are paving the way for an era of customer-driven capitalism.

Findings

In the current digital age, an obsession with delivering value to customers is proving to be the key driving force for success.

Practical\implications

The goal of customer-value primacy is not a threat to other stakeholders.

Originality\value

Customer-driven leadership is a hallmark of successful management in the current context. Top management must institute and continuously support a value creation process that works backwards from the future. 10;
Commentary on: “Lost in the literature”. People with intellectual disabilities who identify as trans: a narrative review
Authors: Zirnsak Tessa-May
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss the barriers that people with intellectual disabilities face to come out as transgender in the context of a paucity of research with or about this group.

Design/methodology/approach

The commentary and brief overview of trans participation in literature on people with intellectual disabilities presented in this paper is informed by a Queer Theory and Critical disabilities Studies approach.

Findings

Researchers in this area are correct that there is insufficient literature that addressed the experiences of trans people with intellectual disabilities; however, for trans people with intellectual disabilities to be involved in research they must first be safe to self-identify and come out in their communities and services. Existing research suggests that people with intellectual disabilities may face additional barriers to self-identifying as LGTBQ, and that for those who have claimed a trans identity, it is not safe to come out.

Social implications

There is a need for researchers and professional and lived experience experts to be engaged in policy and social research with the aim of creating safe spaces and communities for people with intellectual disabilities to explore and affirm their gender.

Originality/value

There are no published papers that redirect focus from a paucity of research into the experiences of trans people with intellectual disabilities towards addressing why trans people with intellectual disabilities may choose not to come out in a context of hostility towards transgender identity in disabilities services.
Case study: 4D consistent receiver coupling corrections applied to deep‐water ocean bottom cable data
Authors: de Souza Bezerra Moacyr , Simmons James L. , Gaiser James E.
Published: December 2021

We develop processing techniques to attenuate S‐wave noise observed on the vertical component while also correcting for poor coupling between sensors and the seabed on deep‐water ocean bottom cable seismic data from offshore Brazil. To study these techniques, we simulate the effects of poor sensor coupling with synthetic ocean bottom cable data by introducing transfer functions that characterize the coupling system. Furthermore, by combining surveys from the deep‐water time‐lapse (4 dimensions) seismic project using an interleaving process, we can analyse coupling coefficient changes over time and obtain an S‐wave noise model that is more statistically accurate. This noise model can then be adaptively subtracted from the field data, leading to an improved normalized root mean square between surveys.
Cryptic niche differentiation of novel sediment ecotypes of Ruegeria pomeroyi correlates with nitrate respiration
Authors: Lin Xingqin , McNichol Jesse , Chu Xiao , Qian Yang , Luo Haiwei
Published: December 2021

Marine intertidal sediments fluctuate in redox conditions and nutrient availability, and they are also known as an important sink of nitrogen mainly through denitrification, yet how denitrifying bacteria adapt to this dynamic habitat remains largely untapped. Here, we investigated novel intertidal benthic ecotypes of the model pelagic marine bacterium Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS‐3 with a population genomic approach. While differing by only 1.3% at the 16S rRNA gene level, members of the intertidal benthic ecotypes are complete denitrifiers whereas the pelagic ecotype representative (DSS‐3) is a partial denitrifier lacking a nitrate reductase. The intertidal benthic ecotypes are further differentiated by using non‐homologous nitrate reductases and a different set of genes that allow alleviating oxidative stress and acquiring organic substrates. In the presence of nitrate, the two ecotypes showed contrasting growth patterns under initial oxygen concentrations at 1 vol% versus 7 vol% and supplemented with different carbon sources abundant in intertidal sediments. Collectively, this combination of evidence indicates that there are cryptic niches in coastal intertidal sediments that support divergent evolution of denitrifying bacteria. This knowledge will in turn help understand how these benthic environments operate to effectively remove nitrogen.
Fish bone migration after pancreaticoduodenectomy: Incidence and treatment options
Authors: Takada Yoshihisa , Ishikawa Takuya , Kawashima Hiroki , Mizutani Yasuyuki , Ohno Eisaburo , Iida Tadashi , Ogawa Hiroshi , Hayashi Masamichi , Takami Hideki , Onoe Shunsuke , Ishigami Masatoshi
Published: December 2021

Objective

Migration of a fish bone to the bile duct or pancreatic duct is a possible complication after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). The aim of this study was to clarify the incidence and indications for intervention in such cases.

Methods

We reviewed the cases with fish bone migration after PD detected on computed tomography (CT) scan between October 2000 and October 2020 were reviewed and the incidence of fish bone migration, presence of symptoms and signs, therapeutic modalities and patient outcomes were analyzed.

Results

Among the 1475 PD procedures performed at our institution during the study period, 14 cases of fish bone migration were noted on CT, the incidence of which was 0.95% (14/1475). The time duration from surgery to the detection of fish bone ranged from 88 to 5902 days (median 917 d). Ten patients remained asymptomatic without therapeutic intervention for up to 2919 days (median 509 d). Four patients were treated by endoscopy, either at the patient's request (n = 1) or because of their symptoms (n = 3), and removal was successful in three cases but failed in one case in which the fish bone migrated to the right intrahepatic bile duct. No surgical treatment was required in any case.

Conclusions

The incidence of fish bone migration on CT after PD was about 1%. Some cases resolved spontaneously, and most of the asymptomatic cases required no intervention. For symptomatic cases, endoscopic treatment should be considered first. It is important to confirm the location of the fish bone by CT and determine whether it can be removed.
Shifts in xylanases and the microbial community associated with xylan biodegradation during treatment with rumen fluid
Authors: Takizawa Shuhei , Asano Ryoki , Fukuda Yasuhiro , Baba Yasunori , Tada Chika , Nakai Yutaka
Published: December 2021

Treatment with rumen fluid improves methane production from non‐degradable lignocellulosic biomass during subsequent methane fermentation; however, the kinetics of xylanases during treatment with rumen fluid remain unclear. This study aimed to identify key xylanases contributing to xylan degradation and their individual activities during xylan treatment with bovine rumen microorganisms. Xylan was treated with bovine rumen fluid at 37°C for 48 h under anaerobic conditions. Total solids were degraded into volatile fatty acids and gases during the first 24 h. Zymography showed that xylanases of 24, 34, 85, 180, and 200 kDa were highly active during the first 24 h. Therefore, these xylanases are considered to be crucial for xylan degradation during treatment with rumen fluid. Metagenomic analysis revealed that the rumen microbial community’s structure and metabolic function temporally shifted during xylan biodegradation. Although statistical analyses did not reveal significantly positive correlations between xylanase activities and known xylanolytic bacterial genera, they positively correlated with protozoal (e.g., Entodinium, Diploplastron, and Eudiplodinium) and fungal (e.g., Neocallimastix, Orpinomyces, and Olpidium) genera and unclassified bacteria. Our findings suggest that rumen protozoa, fungi, and unclassified bacteria are associated with key xylanase activities, accelerating xylan biodegradation into volatile fatty acids and gases, during treatment of lignocellulosic biomass with rumen fluid.
Coverture and the Debtors' Prison in the Long Eighteenth Century
Authors: Wakelam Alexander
Published: December 2021

Until the late nineteenth century, the activities of English women were curtailed by the common law doctrine of coverture. While previous scholarship has documented how wives were able to subvert coverture to trade independently of husbands, little has been observed on how third parties similarly minimised common law. Through debt imprisonment – a largely extrajudicial process – this article reveals how creditors could force property ownership on married women against their will. That imprisoned wives struggled to assert their coverture further reveals the inferiority of contemporary rigid interpretations of coverture compared with the pressing needs of commercial interests.
Women's Strategies for Managing Land in Rural England, circa 1700‐1800
Authors: Rhodes Joshua
Published: December 2021

Analysing landholding histories of sixty‐one women farming land in Puddletown, Dorset, across the eighteenth century, this article shows, first, that the scale of women's ownership and occupation of land declined over time and, second, that women were less likely to expand and more likely to retire or scale back their farming enterprises than men. These differences are accounted for by age because most women landholders were widows and, therefore, generally older than their male counterparts. Like young men, younger widows expanded their farming enterprises, while women widowed later in life were more likely to scale back their holdings, as were elderly men.
The Georgian Landlady: Surrogate Mother, Love Interest or Hard‐Nosed Businesswoman?
Authors: Williamson Gillian
Published: December 2021

‘Private lodging’, the letting of a room/rooms in their home by a resident householder, was widespread in Britain's Georgian towns and cities. Contemporary fiction, drama, prints and life‐writing reveal how observers and lodgers often took harsh, gendered attitudes to landladies. They were too attractive, or conversely too ugly, garrulous, mercenary. Lodgers, especially men, often expected a level of service that went beyond a commercial rental agreement: emotional support, company and nursing care, for example. This article uses a range of sources to examine these attitudes and then, reading between the lines, capture the viewpoint of the largely silent Georgian landlady. It uncovers a commercial market‐place of lodging in which middling‐sort women were routinely and skilfully engaged in paid work in the home beyond the provisioning and care of the affective nuclear family.
Comparative Study of Acid and Alkaline Stimulants with Granite in an Enhanced Geothermal System
Authors: XU Jianan , FENG Bo , CUI Zhenpeng , LIU Xiyao , KE Zunsong , FENG Guanhong
Published: December 2021

The Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) is an artificial geothermal system that aims to economically extract heat from hot dry rock (HDR) through the creation of an artificial geothermal reservoir. Chemical stimulation is thought to be an effective method to create fracture networks and open existing fractures in hot dry rocks by injecting chemical agents into the reservoir to dissolve the minerals. Granite is a common type of hot dry rock. In this paper, a series of chemical stimulation experiments were implemented using acid and alkaline agents under high temperature and pressure conditions that mimic the environment of formation. Granite rock samples used in the experiments are collected from the potential EGS reservoir in the Matouying area, Hebei, China. Laboratory experimental results show that the corrosion ratio per unit area of rock is 3.2% in static acid chemical experiments and 0.51% in static alkaline chemical experiments. The permeability of the core is increased by 1.62 times in dynamic acid chemical experiments and 2.45 times in dynamic alkaline chemical experiments. A scanning electron microscope analysis of the core illustrates that secondary minerals, such as chlorite, spherical silica, and montmorillonite, were formed, due to acid‐rock interaction with plagioclase being precipitated by alkaline‐rock interactions. Masking agents in alkaline chemical agents can slightly reduce the degree of plagioclase formation. A chemical simulation model was built using TOUGHREACT, the mineral dissolution and associated ion concentration variation being reproduced by this reactive transport model.
Hydraulic Conductivity Characteristics of Hot Dry Rocks under Different Fracture Modes
Authors: LIU Xin , FENG Bo , LIU Yulong , YUAN Yilong
Published: December 2021

Enhanced geothermal system (EGS) is an effective method for developing and utilizing hot dry rock (HDR). The key to the effectiveness of EGS is the construction of an artificial fracture network. The permeability of fractures has severe effects on the heat transfer efficiency and sustainability of geothermal energy. However, the evolution characteristics of hydraulic conductivity under different failure modes have not been adequately studied for HDR. To clarify this, rocks with different failure modes were investigated by conducting thermal triaxial compression experiments, and the fluid seepage related to different rock failure modes was comprehensively investigated. The results showed that the characteristic stresses and crack surface roughness of the rock increased as the confining pressure increased. The permeability in the composited failure mode was the largest (11.4 μm2), followed by that in the Y‐shaped shear failure mode (9.7 μm2), and that in the single‐shear failure mode was the smallest (7.2 μm2). The confining pressures had an inhibitory effect on permeability. As the confining pressure increased from 5 to 30 MPa, the permeability decreased by 88.8%, 88.4%, and 89.9%, respectively. In contrast, the permeability was significantly enhanced by 128.3%, 94.6%, and 131% as the flow rate increased from 3 to 7 mL/min.
Thermodynamic and Techno‐economic Analysis of a Triple‐pressure Organic Rankine Cycle: Comparison with Dual‐pressure and Single‐pressure ORCs
Authors: YU Hao , LU Xinli , ZHANG Wei , ZHANG Jiaqi
Published: December 2021

Investigation of a triple‐pressure organic Rankine cycle (TPORC) using geothermal energy for power generation with the net power output of the TPORC analyzed by varying the evaporation pressures, pinch temperature differences (tpp) and degrees of superheat (tsup) aimed to find the optimum operation conditions of the system. The thermodynamic performance of the TPORC was compared with a dual‐pressure organic Rankine cycle (DPORC) and a single‐pressure ORC (SPORC) for geofluid temperatures ranging from 100°C to 200°C, with particular reference to the utilization of a hot dry rock (HDR) geothermal resource. Thermodynamic performances of the TPORC system using eight different organic working fluids have also been investigated in terms of the net power outputs. Results show that a higher geofluid mass flow rate can make a considerable contribution to shortening the payback period (PBP) as well as to decreasing the levelized electricity cost (LEC), especially when the geofluid temperature is low. For the temperature range investigated, the order from high to low based on thermodynamic and techno‐economic performances is found to be TPORC > DPORC > SPORC. In terms of using geothermal resources within the given temperatures range (100°C–200°C), the TPORC system can be a better choice for geothermal power generation so long as the wellhead geofluid temperature is between 140°C and 180°C.
Heat Flow Distribution and Thermal Mechanism Analysis of the Gonghe Basin based on Gravity and Magnetic Methods
Authors: WANG Zhuo , ZENG Zhaofa , LIU Zhuo , ZHAO Xueyu , LI Jing , BAI Lige , ZHANG Ling
Published: December 2021

Geothermal resource is indispensable as a clean, renewable, stable and cheap resource. Nowadays in China, the Gonghe Basin, located in northeastern Qinghai Province, has been thought to be a promising geothermal area. To explore geothermal energy potential in and around the Gonghe Basin, geophysical means including magnetic and gravity methods were used to plot distribution. Firstly, we inversed Moho depth and Curie point depth in and around the basin using gravity and magnetic data, respectively, through an improved Parker–Oldenburg algorithm. Secondly, seven different thermal models were established, considering radiogenic heat, basement depth, anomalous heat source and simulated corresponding temperature field and heat flow. These were analyzed numerically and we found the high heat flow in the Gonghe Basin co‐acted with radiogenic heat, an anomalous heat source and conductive heat. The distribution of seismic activities indicates that the Langshan–Wuwei–Gonghe Fault might have provided channels for transporting heat effectively.
Conditioned social preference and reward value of activating oxytocin‐receptor‐expressing ventral tegmental area neurons following repeated daily binge ethanol intake
Authors: Peris Joanna , Totten Katye , Montgomery Darrice , Lester Hannah , Weatherington Arnika , Piotrowski Brian , Sowell Sam , Doyle Kristen , Scott Karen , Tan Yalun , MacFadyen Kaley A. , Engle Hannah , de Kloet Annette D. , Krause Eric G.
Published: December 2021

Background

Individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) exhibit a disruption of social behavior and dysregulation of oxytocin signaling in the brain, possibly reflecting decreased activation of oxytocin receptors (OxTRs) in reward pathways in response to social stimuli. We hypothesize that daily binge ethanol intake causes a deficit in social reward and oxytocin signaling in the ventral tegmental area (VTA).

Methods

After 9 weeks of daily binge ethanol intake (blood ethanol concentration >80 mg%), OxTR‐cre mice underwent conditioned place preference for social reward. Separate groups of mice were tested for the effects of binge ethanol on voluntary social interactions, food reward, locomotion, and anxiety‐like behaviors. A subset of mice underwent transfection of OxTR‐expressing VTA neurons (VTAOxtr) with a light‐sensitive opsin, followed by operant training to respond to light delivered to VTA.

Results

Ethanol‐naïve male mice increased the time spent on the side previously paired with novel mice while ethanol‐treated mice did not. Binge ethanol did not affect conditioned place preference for food reward in males, but this response was weakened in ethanol‐treated females. Ethanol treatment also caused a sex‐specific impairment of voluntary social interactions with novel mice. There were minimal differences between groups in measures of anxiety and locomotion. Ethanol‐naïve mice had significantly greater operant responding for activation of VTAOxtr than sham‐transfected mice but ethanol‐treated mice did not. There was no difference in the number of VTAOxtr after binge ethanol.

Conclusions

Daily binge ethanol causes social reward deficits that cannot be explained by nonspecific effects on other behaviors, at least in males. Only ethanol‐naïve mice exhibited positive reinforcement caused by activation of VTAOxtr while daily binge ethanol did not alter the number of VTAOxtr in either males or females. Thus, subtle dysregulation of VTAOxtr function may be related to the social reward deficits caused by daily binge ethanol.
Remittances and income inequality in the Philippines
Authors: Akçay Selçuk
Published: December 2021

The economic and social consequences of remittances are attracting greater attention from scholars and policymakers. This study investigates how international remittances affect income inequality in a highly out‐migration and remittance‐dependent country, the Philippines. This study shows that the inequality‐remittances nexus is inverse U‐shaped, suggesting that remittances have an income‐equalising effect only after a threshold level, validating the existence of a remittance Kuznets Curve. The findings are robust to various measures of income inequality. Also, Lind and Mehlum's (2010) test of an inverse U‐pattern between inequality and remittances verifies this non‐linearity.
Active‐comparator restricted disproportionality analysis for pharmacovigilance signal detection studies of chronic disease medications: An example using sodium/glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors
Authors: Alkabbani Wajd , Gamble John‐Michael
Published: December 2021

Aims

Disproportionality analysis is a common pharmacovigilance tool to detect safety signals of type 2 diabetes medications from spontaneous drug reporting databases. The aim was to demonstrate the impact of using active‐comparator restricted disproportionality analysis (ACR‐DA), wherein the reference group is restricted to reports with a clinically appropriate active comparator.

Methods

Using reports from the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System, we assessed if sodium/glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are associated with higher reporting of 5 potential adverse events: acute kidney injury, genitourinary tract infections, diabetic ketoacidosis, fractures, and amputations. For each adverse event, we calculated the proportional reporting ratio (PRR) and adjusted reporting odds ratio (aROR [95% confidence interval, CI]) using 3 types of reference groups: no SGLT2 inhibitor (background risk reference), other diabetes drugs (therapeutic class reference), and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors (active comparator reference).

Results

Based on ACR‐DA, we did not detect a safety signal for acute kidney injury (PRR 0.92 [0.81–1.04]; aROR 0.78 [95% CI 0.72–0.85]) or fractures (PRR 0.44[95% CI 0.17–1.15]; aROR 0.74 [95% CI 0.61–0.91]) associated with SGLT2 inhibitors compared to dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors. However, we detected safety signals for genitourinary tract infections (PRR 2.75[2.02–3.76]; aROR 2.54[2.26–2.86], diabetic ketoacidosis (PRR 63.85[39.37–103.53; aROR 91.49[70.66–118.48]), and amputations (PRR 52.60 [19.66–140.75]; aROR 22.64 [15.32–33.42].

Conclusion

The use of the proposed ACR‐DA to detect safety signals of type 2 diabetes medications may reduce false positive safety signals through careful selection of the comparator which is expected to reduce channelling bias.
Role of lipoic acid in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Xie Hongsheng , Yang Xiufang , Cao Yuan , Long Xipeng , Shang Huifang , Jia Zhiyun
Published: December 2021

Lipoic acid (LA) is an endogenous antioxidant that exists widely in nature. Supplementation with LA is a promising approach to improve the outcomes of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This systematic review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of both in vitro and in vivo studies describing the pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety, and mechanism of LA in MS‐related experiments and clinical trials. A total of 516 records were identified by searching five databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library. Overall, we included 20 studies reporting LA effects in cell and mouse models of MS and 12 studies reporting LA effects in patients with MS. Briefly, cell experiments revealed that LA protected neurons by inhibiting the expression of inflammatory mediators and activities of immune cells. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mouse experiments demonstrated that LA consistently reduced the number of infiltrating immune cells in the central nervous system and decreased the clinical disability scores. Patients with MS showed relatively stable Expanded Disability Status Scale scores and better walking performance with few adverse events after the oral administration of LA. Notably, heterogeneity of this evidence existed among modeling methods, LA usage, MS stage, and trial duration. In conclusion, this review provides evidence for the anti‐inflammatory and antioxidative effects of LA in both in vitro and in vivo experiments; therefore, patients with MS may benefit from LA administration. Whether LA can be a routine supplementary therapy warrants further study.
Modulation of the rat hippocampal‐cortex network and episodic‐like memory performance following entorhinal cortex stimulation
Authors: Jiang Yin , Liu De‐Feng , Zhang Xin , Liu Huan‐Guang , Zhang Chao , Zhang Jian‐Guo
Published: December 2021

Aims

Entorhinal cortex (EC) deep brain stimulation (DBS) has shown a memory enhancement effect. However, its brain network modulation mechanisms remain unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the functional connectivity in the rat hippocampal‐cortex network and episodic‐like memory performance following EC‐DBS.

Methods

7.0 T functional MRI (fMRI) scans and episodic‐like memory tests were performed 3 days and 28 days after EC‐DBS in healthy rats. The fMRI data processing was focused on the power spectra, functional connectivity, and causality relationships in the hippocampal‐cortex network. In addition, the exploration ratio for each object and the discrimination ratio of the “when” and “where” factors were calculated in the behavioral tests.

Results

EC‐DBS increased the power spectra and the functional connectivity in the prefrontal‐ and hippocampal‐related networks 3 days after stimulation and recovered 4 weeks later. Both networks exhibited a strengthened connection with the EC after EC‐DBS. Further seed‐based functional connectivity comparisons showed increased connectivity among the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and EC, especially on the ipsilateral side of DBS. The dentate gyrus is a hub region closely related to both the EC and the prefrontal cortex and receives information flow from both. Moreover, acute EC‐DBS also enhanced the discrimination ratio of the “where” factor in the episodic‐like memory test on Day 3.

Conclusion

EC‐DBS caused a reversible modulation effect on functional connectivity in the hippocampal‐cortex network and episodic‐like memory performance.
Translation and validation of the Greek version of the Modified Weight Bias Internalization Scale in an adult population
Authors: Argyrides Marios , Charalambous Zoe , Anastasiades Elly , Michael Katerina
Published: December 2021

Weight bias internalization (WBI) has been identified as a global public health concern, which is associated with significant psychological and physical consequences. Despite increased interest in WBI worldwide, cross‐cultural research is limited by the lack of availability of validated measures. The aim of the current study was therefore to translate into Greek and validate the Modified Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS‐M), the most widely used instrument in the measurement of WBI. An online convenience sample of 642 participants (364 women and 278 men) completed the Greek translation of the WBIS‐M and validated the measures of satisfaction with appearance, investment in appearance, weight/appearance anxiety, body appreciation, dysfunctional eating habits and global self‐esteem to assess convergent validity. Principal factor and confirmatory analyses revealed that the WBIS‐M upheld its one‐factor structure. The WBIS‐M showed adequate internal consistency, convergent validity and 3‐week test–retest reliability. These findings provide support for the cross‐cultural equivalence of the WBIS‐M and for the utility of this measure in Greek‐speaking populations.
The application of body mass index‐based eligibility criteria may represent an unjustified barrier to renal transplantation in people with obesity
Authors: Tan Alanna , Wilson Scott , Sumithran Priya
Published: December 2021

The prevalence of both obesity and end‐stage kidney disease is increasing. In many centres, obesity is considered a relative contraindication to kidney transplantation due to an association with short‐ and longer‐term adverse outcomes. This leads to delayed transplant waitlisting and longer organ waiting times for people with obesity. This review evaluates whether intentional pre‐transplant weight loss in people with obesity improves kidney transplant outcomes. There are currently no data showing that non‐surgical weight loss of 10% or more improves graft or patient survival over 4–5 years. Outcomes from bariatric surgery cohorts have been generally neutral or favourable after pre‐transplant weight loss of ~25%. Given the survival benefit of kidney transplantation compared to maintenance dialysis, and the difficulty of achieving and maintaining weight loss, the common practice of recommending weight loss to achieve arbitrary targets prior to waiting list activation needs to be carefully considered.
Ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether applied to crosslinking dyeing of cotton fabric with madder dye
Authors: Cai Xiaoyu , Li Hong , Zhang Li , Yan Jun
Published: December 2021

Cotton fabric dyed with natural madder dye exhibits poor dyeing properties. Although mordant improves the dyeing property of cotton fabric, it changes the madder dye colour tonality (the hue angle). In this study, ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE) was used as a crosslinking agent to dye cotton fabrics with natural madder dye and improve the surface colour depth (K/S) and colour fastness. The molecular structure, crystal structure and surface morphology of crosslinked dyed cotton were analysed using Fourier Transform–infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The results showed that crosslinked dyed cotton fabric had two different ether bonds, and that crosslinked dyeing mainly occurred in the amorphous area. Compared with direct dyed cotton fabric, the hue angle (h°) of crosslinked dyed cotton fabric did not undergo an obvious change, K/S increased by 5, and the rubbing fastness, washing fastness and light fastness increased by 2‐3 levels, indicating that the dyeing property of cotton fabric with natural madder dye could be improved by using EGDE as a crosslinking agent. Compared with raw cotton fabric, the bending length of crosslinked dyed cotton fabric was reduced by 2.28 cm, the wrinkle recovery angle increased by 80.7° and the ultraviolet protection factor value was more than 40, indicating that crosslinked dyed cotton fabric had great softness, wrinkle resistance and excellent ultraviolet resistance. In addition, the water contact angle of the cotton fabric only changed slightly after crosslinking dyeing, and the crosslinked dyed cotton fabric still had good hydrophilicity. Therefore, EGDE was a viable crosslinking agent for cotton fabric with madder dye.