bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does CEO power moderate the link between labor productivity and financial performance: agency theory or stewardship theory
Authors: Aliahmadi Saeid
Published: December 2023

Purpose

This study investigates the moderating effect of CEO power on the relationship between labor productivity and financial performance in the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE).

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the power of the CEO variable was measured using the power index method and its effect on the relationship between labor productivity and financial performance was tested using a multivariate regression. The study sample consisted of 1,040 observations and 130 firms listed on the TSE over an eight-year period between 2012 and 2019. Panel data and appropriate statistical techniques were applied to estimate models. In this study, Tobin’s Q and return on assets (ROA) are the two variables used to measure financial performance.

Findings

The results of the hypotheses show that the link between labor productivity and financial performance based on Tobin’s Q and ROA strengthens with increasing CEO power. Thus, the stewardship theory is approved on the TSE. In addition, CEO power and labor productivity have a positive impact on firm performance.

Research limitations/implications

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to examine the moderating impact of CEO power on the relationship between labor productivity and firms' financial performance in emerging capital markets. Therefore, the results of this study can be used by investors, board of directors, policymakers and regulations.

Practical implications

Taking into consideration the sanctions on Iran's economy during the study period and to increase the productivity and financial performance of the company, the results of this study can provide a practical guide for the board of directors to consider the characteristics of CEO power and how to choose it in the emerging capital market. Additionally, the study results show that investors should choose companies with strong CEO to invest in the Iranian capital market.

Originality/value

The current study is the first study conducted in an emerging economy to examine the moderating impact of CEO power on the link between labor productivity and financial performance.
How and when domestic and international collaboration networks influence innovation performance of SMEs: evidence from China
Authors: Lu Chang , Qi Yong , Hao Shibo , Yu Bo
Published: December 2023

Purpose

This study aims to explore the effect of collaboration networks (domestic and international collaboration networks) on the innovation performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It also investigates the mediating role of business model innovation, the moderating role of entrepreneurial orientation and government institutional support between them.

Design/methodology/approach

Hierarchical regression analysis is adopted to test the hypotheses based on survey data provided by 223 manufacturing SMEs in China.

Findings

The results reveal that domestic and international collaboration networks positively affect SMEs' innovation performance. Business model innovation mediates domestic and international collaboration networks-SMEs’ innovation performance relationships. Entrepreneurial orientation positively moderates international collaboration networks–SMEs’ innovation performance relationship, and government institutional support positively moderates domestic and international collaboration networks–SMEs’ innovation performance relationships.

Practical implications

The findings indicate that managers of SMEs should invest in domestic and international collaboration networks and business model innovation to enhance SMEs' innovation performance. Moreover, entrepreneurial orientation and government institutional support should be valued when SMEs try to enhance their innovation performance by embedding in domestic and international collaboration networks.

Originality/value

This study broadens the authors' understanding of the relationship between collaboration networks and firms' innovation performance by classifying collaboration networks into domestic and international dimensions and investigating their direct impacts on SMEs' innovation performance. Besides, this study reveals how and when domestic and international collaboration networks influence the innovation performance of SMEs.
Gender diversity on corporate boards: perceptions on quotas
Authors: Lefley Frank , Vychová Helena , Trnková Gabriela
Published: December 2023

Purpose

This paper aims to seek the perceptions of potential future corporate managers and directors on the issues raised in the literature, especially recent articles in the corporate communications literature, concerning corporate board gender quotas. It focusses on the Czech Republic, where research on board gender diversity is sparse.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is part of much more comprehensive research into board gender diversity. It adopts a questionnaire approach, with this paper focussing on 13 research statements. A Likert Scale of 1–4 (Strongly Agree; Agree; Disagree; Strongly Disagree) was applied to the perceived views expressed. The questionnaires were completed by university students at a public university in the Czech Republic during March–April 2023. A pilot questionnaire was conducted in February 2023, resulting in minor changes being made. The data is analysed using SPSS and MedCalc® statistical software.

Findings

There is overwhelming opposition to quotas, even from women. The opinions expressed by the respondents to this research, in many respects, support the literature, but there is unmistakable evidence of gender bias. Regarding the positive female benefits of quotas, male respondents disagreed; regarding the negative issues of quotas, male respondents agreed more than their female counterparts.

Practical implications

The research findings have important implications for how women recruited through quotas may be received onto corporate boards – what challenges will they likely face? Some current female candidates for directorship, who would have been selected on merit and perceived as such by their male counterparts, may now be hesitant to apply for such positions if they are seen as being appointed due to quotas. Therefore, the selection procedure must continue to be based on merit and seen as such.

Originality/value

One of the important aspects of the paper is that it focusses on a country that has, until recently, resisted pressures to implement mandatory corporate board gender quotas; in this respect, it has a corpus of originality and value. The Czech Republic and other European countries will also be affected by the recent EU law on gender balance or corporate boards. The paper also highlights the perceptions of potential future directors on various issues of board gender quotas.
Influence of corporate governance on exit time: evidence from French zombie firms
Authors: Veganzones David , Severin Eric
Published: December 2023

Purpose

This study investigates the connection between corporate governance and zombie firm’s exit time.

Design/methodology/approach

With a sample of 2,794 French zombie firms, the analysis focuses on four aspects of corporate governance: board size (BS), managerial ownership (MO), director turnover (DT) and ownership concentration, using tobit regression.

Findings

Dimensions of corporate governance have an important role in determining zombie firms’ exit time. MO and ownership concentration increase zombie firm exit time, whereas larger BSs and DT reduce it.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to include corporate governance as a characteristic relevant to zombie firms’ exit time. It provides new insights on why some zombie firms remain in the market longer than expected.
Using the conservation of resources theory to understand volunteer adaptability: a personal resource for reducing burnout
Authors: Allen Joseph A.
Published: December 2023

Purpose

Burnout has been known to negatively affect volunteers. However, information involving various factors that influence their burnout is severely lacking. This study aims to examine how volunteers displayed adaptability, the ability to change their thoughts, actions and/or behaviors in uncertain situations, to offset the negative relationship with burnout. This study also examined the amount of training a volunteer reported as one factor that may act to moderate this negative relationship between adaptability and burnout.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the conservation of resources (COR) theory, the author investigated how volunteers try to maintain their current level of resources, which aids in coping with stress and lowering their risk of burnout.

Findings

Using regression, the author discovered that adaptability was negatively related to burnout and this relationship was stronger for volunteers who reported less training. Training was confirmed as a moderator in this relationship. In sum, training acted as a buffer in the negative relationship involving adaptability and burnout.

Originality/value

The current study is one of the few to adopt theories often used to understand employee experiences, and apply them to volunteers. Interestingly, across a variety of volunteer environments, these employment theories and relationships, including adaptability, appear to matter.
High-order relaxation methods for nonequilibrium two-phase flow equations
Authors: Harbate Fatima , Izem Nouh , Seaid Mohammed , Zeidan Dia
Published: December 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the two-phase flow problems involving gas–liquid mixture.

Design/methodology/approach

The governed equations consist of a range of conservation laws modeling a classification of two-phase flow phenomena subjected to a velocity nonequilibrium for the gas–liquid mixture. Effects of the relative velocity are accounted for in the present model by a kinetic constitutive relation coupled to a collection of specific equations governing mass and volume fractions for the gas phase. Unlike many two-phase models, the considered system is fully hyperbolic and fully conservative. The suggested relaxation approach switches a nonlinear hyperbolic system into a semilinear model that includes a source relaxation term and characteristic linear properties. Notably, this model can be solved numerically without the use of Riemann solvers or linear iterations. For accurate time integration, a high-resolution spatial reconstruction and a Runge–Kutta scheme with decreasing total variation are used to discretize the relaxation system.

Findings

The method is used in addressing various nonequilibrium two-phase flow problems, accompanied by a comparative study of different reconstructions. The numerical results demonstrate the suggested relaxation method’s high-resolution capabilities, affirming its proficiency in delivering accurate simulations for flow regimes characterized by strong shocks.

Originality/value

While relaxation methods exhibit notable performance and competitive features, as far as we are aware, there has been no endeavor to address nonequilibrium two-phase flow problems using these methods.
Customer loyalty in the banking sector: a meta-analytic study
Authors: Buhler Rafaela Nascimento , De Oliveira Santini Fernando , Junior Ladeira Wagner , Rasul Tareq , Perin Marcelo Gattermann , Kumar Satish
Published: December 2023

Purpose

This study aims to synthesize and integrate findings from diverse research on the antecedents and moderators of customer loyalty in the banking sector. Through a comprehensive meta-analysis, the research seeks to understand the primary drivers of bank loyalty and the potential cultural, economic and social indicators that might influence these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

A rigorous meta-analysis was conducted, analyzing 275 studies with 1,365 effect sizes involving over 134,000 bank customers from more than 50 countries. The research evaluated the effect sizes of the main relationships between loyalty antecedents and consequences and assessed the influence of cultural, economic and social moderators.

Findings

The study identified key antecedents of bank loyalty, with responsiveness, privacy, commitment, trust and empathy being paramount. Cultural dimensions, such as individualism and masculinity, significantly moderate the relationships between trust and loyalty. The human development index (HDI) was also identified as a significant economic moderator, particularly influencing the relationship between satisfaction and bank loyalty.

Originality/value

This research offers a holistic view of bank loyalty, bridging gaps from conflicting findings in prior literature. Examining a vast array of studies across diverse cultural and economic contexts provides empirical generalizations about bank loyalty behavior, offering valuable insights for academia and the banking industry.
Utilising a hybrid DMAIC/TAM model to optimise annual maintenance shutdown performance in the dairy industry: a case study
Authors: Trubetskaya Anna , Ryan Alan , Powell Daryl John , Moore Connor
Published: December 2023

Purpose

Output from the Irish Dairy Industry has grown rapidly since the abolition of quotas in 2015, with processors investing heavily in capacity expansion to deal with the extra milk volumes. Further capacity gains may be achieved by extending the processing season into the winter, a key enabler for which being the reduction of duration of the winter maintenance overhaul period. This paper aims to investigate if Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques can be used to enhance operational maintenance performance, thereby releasing additional processing capacity.

Design/methodology/approach

Combining the Six-Sigma Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control (DMAIC) methodology and the structured approach of Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) widely used in process industries creates a novel hybrid model that promises substantial improvement in maintenance overhaul execution. This paper presents a case study applying the DMAIC/TAM model to Ireland’s largest dairy processing site to optimise the annual maintenance shutdown. The objective was to deliver a 30% reduction in the duration of the overhaul, enabling an extension of the processing season.

Findings

Application of the DMAIC/TAM hybrid resulted in process enhancements, employee engagement and a clear roadmap for the operations team. Project goals were delivered, and original objectives exceeded, resulting in €8.9m additional value to the business and a reduction of 36% in the duration of the overhaul.

Practical implications

The results demonstrate that the model provides a structure that promotes systematic working and a continuous improvement focus that can have substantial benefits for wider industry. Opportunities for further model refinement were identified and will enhance performance in subsequent overhauls.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the structure and tools of DMAIC and TAM have been combined into a hybrid methodology and applied in an Irish industrial setting.
Dependence as strategy: extending resource dependence theory and clarifying its understanding of the strategic options of dependent firms
Authors: Coşkun Recai , Öztürk Oğuzhan
Published: December 2023

Purpose

This study aims to critically evaluate resource dependence theory’s (RDT) assumptions and explanations about dependence and the dependent firm’s strategic options. The authors argue that RDT’s perception of dependence is problematic because it evaluates dependence as a purely negative situation in which all firms, by definition, seek to develop strategies to change the power structure of such relationships. On the contrary, the authors argue that there are situations in which dependent firms are in agreement with dependence and, therefore, develop strategies that do not aim to change the balance of power in the relationship, but rather to strengthen their position within the relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is designed as a theoretical discussion. The authors critically evaluate and discuss current understanding and assumptions about RDT’s dependence explanations. Drawing on insights from the strategic management literature, the authors offer a new perspective on the problematic areas in the dependence explanations of the RDT.

Findings

Drawing on insights from the strategic management literature, the authors argue that dependent firms enjoy certain advantages due to the dependence relationship to gain sustainable competitive advantages over their rivals and potential competitors. These advantages include factors such as increasing growth potential, developing capabilities and competencies, building relationships of trust with powerful firms and leveraging their reputations and references that contribute to the sustainable strategic advantages of dependent firms. The authors believe that this study has the potential to spur new research that further challenges the assumptions of the RDT and empirically tests its propositions.

Originality/value

The authors propose a research framework on dependence as a strategic option that has the possibility of expanding RDT’s current dependence explanation.
Drivers of MSME loan defaults using survival analysis: implications for lenders and policy planners
Authors: Saha Asish , Hock-Eam Lim , Yeok Siew Goh
Published: December 2023

Purpose

The authors analyse the determinants of loan defaults in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) loans in India from the survival duration perspective to draw inferences that have implications for lenders and policymakers.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use the Kaplan–Meier survivor function and the Cox Proportional Hazard model to analyse 4.29 lakhs MSME loan account data originated by a large bank having a national presence from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2020.

Findings

The estimated Kaplan–Meier survival function by various categories of loan and socio-demographic characteristics reflects heterogeneity and identifies the trigger points for actions. The authors identify the key identified default drivers. The authors find that the subsidy amount is more effective at the lower level and its effectiveness diminishes significantly beyond an optimum level. The simulated values show that the effects of rising interest rates on survival rates vary across industries and types of loans.

Practical implications

The identified points of inflection in the default dynamics would help banks to initiate actions to prevent loan defaults. The default drivers identified would foster more nuanced lending decisions. The study estimation of the survival rate based on the simulated values of interest rate and subsidy provides insight for policymakers.

Originality/value

This study is the first to investigate default drivers in MSME loans in India using micro-data. The study findings will act as signposts for the planners to guide the direction of the interest rate to be charged by banks in MSME loans, interest subvention and tailoring subsidy levels to foster sustainable growth.
Organizational learning, strategic guanxi networking, co-creation marketing strategy and B2B export performance: evidence from emerging market export venture
Authors: Sima Herbert , Chung Henry F.L. , Liu Yulong
Published: December 2023

Purpose

Drawing on the organizational learning and relational governance literature, this study aims to advance a theoretical model to explain the export performance of emerging market export ventures.

Design/methodology/approach

This study selects quantitative methodology because the main objective of this study is to explore the role of export ventures’ performance (past) on guanxi networking, co-creation marketing strategies and present performance.

Findings

The empirical evidence suggests that guanxi networking and co-creation strategy can mediate the relationship between export venture performance in the preceding year and export venture performance in the following year. In addition, this study also provides some guidance for emerging market export ventures on how to build a strong guanxi networking and create opportunities for collaboration when the effect of export performance in the preceding year on current performance is absent.

Originality/value

The authors propose the inclusion of strategic guanxi networking-related factors (e.g. top executives’ ties with business-to-business customers, such as distributors in the host market) in the prior performance-current performance paradigm. The outcomes of this study also contribute to extant organizational learning theory research by integrating preceding performance research with the co-creation theory. The study offers new insights into organizational learning and relational governance from the emerging market perspective.
Financial leverage, percentage of female borrowers and financial sustainability of microfinance institutions
Authors: Githaiga Peter Nderitu , Bitok Stephen Kosgei
Published: December 2023

Purpose

This paper examines the influence of financial leverage on the financial sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs) and the moderating role of the percentage of female borrowers (PFB).

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a global sample of 646 MFIs drawn from the World Bank Mix Market and panel data for 2010–2018. The study employs ordinary least squares (OLS) and the one-step system generalized method of moments (SGMM) as regression estimation methods.

Findings

The findings of this study reveal that financial leverage and the PFB have a negative and significant effect on financial sustainability. The findings further show that the interaction between financial leverage and the PFB positively affects the financial sustainability of MFIs.

Practical implications

The findings inform MFIs' managers on the adverse effect of financial leverage and the PFB in their quest for financial sustainability. The findings also demonstrate that MFIs can leverage female borrowers to reverse the adverse effect of financial leverage on financial sustainability of MFIs.

Originality/value

Previous studies examined the direct effect of financial leverage and reported incongruent results. Because female borrowers are at the epicenter of MFI lending, this study fills the gap in the literature by examining whether the proportion of female borrowers moderates the relationship between financial leverage and MFIs' financial sustainability using a global dataset.
Achieving manufacturing supply chain resilience: the role of paradoxical leadership and big data analytics capability
Authors: Xu Ting , Liu Xinyu
Published: December 2023

Purpose

Despite the escalating significance and intricate nature of supply chains, there has been limited scholarly attention devoted to exploring the cognitive processes that underlie supply chain management. Drawing on cognitive-behavioral theory, the authors propose a moderated-mediation model to investigate how paradoxical leadership impacts manufacturing supply chain resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

By conducting a two-wave study encompassing 164 supply chain managers from Chinese manufacturing firms, the authors employ partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to empirically examine and validate the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The findings indicate that managers' paradoxical cognition significantly affects supply chain resilience, with supply chain ambidexterity acting as a mediating mechanism. Surprisingly, the study findings suggest that big data analytics negatively moderate the effect of paradoxical cognition on supply chain ambidexterity and supply chain resilience, while positively moderating the effect of supply chain ambidexterity on supply chain resilience.

Research limitations/implications

These findings shed light on the importance of considering cognitive factors and the potential role of big data analytics in enhancing manufacturing supply chain resilience, which enriches the study of behavioral operations.

Practical implications

The results offer managerial guidance for leaders to use paradoxical cognition frames and big data analytics properly, offering theoretical insight for future research in manufacturing supply chain resilience.

Originality/value

This is the first empirical research examining the impact of paradoxical leadership on supply chain resilience by considering the role of big data analytics and supply chain ambidexterity.
Modelling the traits of consumer resilience: implications to emerging markets
Authors: Rajesh R.
Published: December 2023

Purpose

The author identifies the traits of consumer resilience in emerging markets, classifies these major traits into five categories and analyses the influence relationships among them with distinctive focus on the psychological and personal resilience aspects.

Design/methodology/approach

The influence relations among the traits of consumer resilience from an expert perspective were identified with typical focus on electronic supply chains, and later the same was analysed through an intelligent influence modelling method, the grey causal modelling (GCM).

Findings

The major traits were analysed using the GCM, where the cause–consequence relations were observed for various objectives and the situational effects are noted. By constructing a magnitude plot and further a causal magnitude table, the important influence traits of consumer resilience for the considered case were observed and the same were auxiliary validated using an interpretive structural modelling (ISM) based approach.

Research limitations/implications

As perceived from the results, it is evident that social support and recommendations from customers emerge as the principal influence traits of consumer resilience from an expert perspective, considering the case. The study can be further extended empirically to validate the findings.

Practical implications

Altogether, the author can recommend for practitioners that the influence of family, society, friends, peers as well as ratings from the customers can determine the level of consumer resilience. Hence, practitioners of customer relationship management can focus on improving the product and brand awareness among customers, so that more customers may recommend for typical products.

Originality/value

Consumer resilience depend on several factors, where the author has identified 25 major traits of the same and classified them into five major categories, including individual psychological factors, individual attitudes, individual socio demographic factors, micro environmental factors and macro environmental factors and the influence relations among them were studied from an expert perspective.
A bibliometric and systematic review analysis of adopting decision intelligence analytics for rational decision-making
Authors: Annu Annu , Tripathi Ravindra
Published: December 2023

Purpose

This paper aims to study and discover the unsearched area in behavioral finance in the new era of technology enhancement. The study has been done with two significant methodologies of reviews. This study also covers the whole structure of the investment decision scenario.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic and bibliometric analysis has been done to make this study conceptual. Data collection sources are highly indexed journals, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The “R” package has been used to do bibliometric analysis. Start with data cleaning and import the data in biblioshiny to get and interpret the result. A total of 642 data has been finalized from 1973 to 2022.

Findings

Various noticeable results have been found to accomplish the objectives and fill the gap in the study. There is a need to research both technological and psychological factors to determine the relation of these two variables with the investment decision-making of investors.

Originality/value

This study has done a systematic literature review and a bibliometric analysis that shows the importance of technology enhancement for further research, which has been searchable throughout this study.
Taking on the world: the internationalisation of City Football Group
Authors: Richardson Christopher
Published: December 2023

Purpose

Football is at once both a global sport and one that is defined by fiercely guarded local boundaries. For a firm operating within this highly lucrative industry and with ambitions of establishing a strong international presence for itself, a balance must be struck between riding on the game’s global appeal on the one hand and the need to somehow embed itself within particular local spaces on the other. This study aims to analyse how one such firm, the holding company City Football Group (CFG), is going about achieving this.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper that adopts a broadly inductive approach, building on an extensive analysis of both theoretical research and publicly available secondary data to develop a framework depicting three key strategies associated with CFG’s internationalisation.

Findings

Three factors are identified as being especially pertinent in CFG’s international expansion: the composition of CFG’s top management team; the attempts to establish a unifying “City identity”; and CFG’s forays into more peripheral leagues around the world after having established itself at the “top end” of the game.

Practical implications

The framework presented in this paper is particularly oriented towards a practitioner audience. Managers of firms operating in football, as well as in other industries in which the pressure to be both globally integrated and locally responsive is particularly acute, can draw lessons from both the framework and the broader insights presented here on CFG’s global expansion.

Social implications

Football is widely regarded as the world’s most popular sport, and fans often take matters very seriously when it comes to the club they support. How football clubs are run is, therefore, a matter of considerable societal interest, as demonstrated by various fan protests over the years. As global, multi-club ownership structures like that adopted by CFG become more commonplace, this study will provide football fans with some insight into the strategies of these companies and how their own clubs fit within these ownership models.

Originality/value

This study addresses an under-researched topic: the international expansion of a prominent football holding company.
Strategic measurement and evaluation of municipal social media: insight from front-line personnel in the United States
Authors: Stone Jeffrey A. , Flanders Kimberly J. , Robles Pedro , Can Salih Hakan
Published: December 2023

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how a sample of US municipalities use social media for strategic communication, focusing on efforts to effectively measure and evaluate that communication. Research questions focus on measurement and evaluation practices, as well as the motivations and impacts associated with these practices.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses a qualitative approach. Interviews were conducted with 12 municipal government personnel responsible for social media communication. The self-selected participants represent 10 states and all US Census regions. Data was content analyzed and categorized according to four research questions, with emergent themes described.

Findings

The results show a diverse set of approaches and motivations, with surface-level measurement and evaluation methods. Initial efforts at moread hocuse of social media are moving toward more deliberate strategies, but limited resources inhibit progress for some municipalities.

Originality/value

Few studies exist which explore how US municipalities formally measure and evaluate their social media activities as part of their overall strategic communication efforts. This study adds to the existing literature by providing insight into the measurement and evaluation practices that municipalities use to assess their social media communication. The study also provides a basis for larger and deeper investigations of municipal strategic communication practices related to measurement and evaluation.
Knowledge capitalization and perceived fairness of reward in real estate sector: mediating role of shared leadership
Authors: Kumari Arpana , Aggarwal Prachi
Published: December 2023

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic brought uncertain working patterns in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world wherein unleashing power of knowledge became prototypical for real-time decision-making capacity of organizational workforce. Drawing from Vroom’s expectancy theory, this study aims to investigate whether shared leadership (SL) mediates the impact of perceived fairness of rewards (PFR) on knowledge capitalization (KC).

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of 484 employees in the Indian real estate industry was completed in two phases. Confirmatory factor analysis and structured equation model were applied for analysis and hypothesis testing.

Findings

PFR positively affected employee’s KC in Indian real estate industry. Also, SL partially mediated the effect of PFR on KC.

Practical implications

This study indicates the positive impact of PFR on employees’ KC and demonstrates position of SL for boosting its occurrence in organizations.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to investigate the mediating role of SL between relationship of PFR and KC of employees.
An ensemble approach to species distribution modelling reconciles systematic differences in estimates of habitat utilization and range area
Authors: Harris J. , Pirtle J. L. , Laman E. A. , Siple M. C. , Thorson James T.
Published: December 2023

Species distribution models (SDMs) are an important tool for conservation and resource management. However, managers are often interested in derived quantities such as range or area occupied, and how these are calculated can have a large impact.

Ecosystem‐based management typically requires spatial information about species distributions, which is increasingly generated from SDMs that are then processed to identify occupied habitat. Many types of SDMs exist, but there is little research regarding how this model‐choice affects outcomes when defining occupied habitat, in part because these models generate different types of output.

We fit a suite of five SDMs to data for 208 species/life stage combinations in three marine ecosystems while ensuring that they all estimate a ‘common currency’ of numerical abundance. We then calculate out‐of‐sample predictive performance to weight these constituents in an ensemble SDM.

Results show that this approach can reduce bias arising from a priori specification of individual SDMs resulting in a better fit to survey data (constituent SDMs had a median of 7% higher RMSE). The SDMs had a range of responses relative to the ensemble, with MaxEnt typically predicting a median 1.3% higher area occupied, and negative‐binomial GAMs predicting 21.4% lower area occupied.

Two potential methods of identifying the area of occupied habitat from SDM outputs are compared—probability‐based and cumulative density‐based methods. We find that cumulative densities result in smaller estimates of area occupied, and we recommend careful consideration of how model‐choice affects occupied‐habitat estimates in spatial management.

Policy implications: Finally, we discuss how the patterns identified during the 5‐year Review of Essential Fish Habitat for Alaska should be carefully considered by managers using SDMs to identify habitat that may be impacted by anthropogenic activities.
Comparative microbiome analysis of Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks at the Korea Combat Training Center in 2022
Authors: Kim Minsung , Oh Singeun , Yi Myung‐hee , Kim Myungjun , Yun Sohyeon , Choi Jun Ho , Yoon Moonsoo , Yong Tai‐Soon , Lee Buddle , Noh Kyung Tae , Park Quehn , Lee Chanhee , Kim Ju Yeong
Published: December 2023

The Korea Combat Training Center (KCTC), located in Gangwon Province, is a restricted military training facility where research on the environmental conditions and health risks to military personnel has been limited. In this study, using iSeq 100, we investigated the bacterial abundance and microbiome of Haemaphysalis longicornis specimens collected at the KCTC from June to August 2022, to assess current and potential public health risks to military personnel. Our results show that adult ticks had significantly greater species richness compared with larvae and nymphs, with no notable differences in diversity across developmental stages. Principal coordinate analysis of the microbial communities did not show differences attributable to any single factor, such as collection location or date. Coxiella‐like endosymbionts (AB001519) were identified in all 13 samples, and Jatrophihabitans, Sphingomonas, and Spirosoma were consistently found across all samples. In addition, iSeq 100 also identified Rickettsia rickettsii and Borrelia spp., which were not detected with conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Fibroblast growth factor 23 and calcium‐phosphate metabolism in relation to cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 1 diabetes
Authors: Vermeulen Stephanie , Scheffer‐Rath Mirjam E. A. , Besouw Martine T. P. , van der Vaart Amarens , de Borst Martin H. , Boot Annemieke M.
Published: December 2023

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the major cause of mortality in type 1 diabetes (T1D). The objective of this study is to evaluate fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) and calcium‐phosphate metabolism in relation to cardiovascular risk factors in adults with and without T1D.

Methods

A case–control study was conducted using data from patients with T1D and age‐ and sex matched controls without T1D from the Lifelines Cohort Study.

Results

We included 302 adults in the T1D group and 302 adults in the control group. Median age was 42 years. Median glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in the T1D group was 7.8%. FGF23 of all patients with T1D was not significantly different from controls. Females with T1D had significantly higher FGF23 than males with T1D (83.3 vs 69.3 U/mL, p = 0.002), this was not observed in controls. Serum phosphate, calcium, and alkaline phosphatase were higher and parathyroid hormone was lower in patients with T1D, compared to controls (all p < .001), all within normal range. In the T1D group, FGF23 was positively correlated with serum phosphate (p < .001), alkaline phosphatase (p = .01), and calcium (p = .030), these correlations were not observed in controls. Median FGF23 was significantly higher in current smokers than in nonsmokers with T1D (84.9 vs 73.5 U/mL, p < .05).

Conclusions

Serum calcium, phosphate, and alkaline phosphatase were higher in patients with T1D than in controls and were positively correlated to FGF23 in patients with T1D. Current smokers with T1D had higher FGF23 than nonsmokers with T1D. These findings may contribute to the increased risk of CVD in patients with T1D.

image
Insight into the significance of CD8+ tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes in squamous cell lung cancer
Authors: Shiomi Kazu , Ichinoe Masaaki , Ushiwata Ai , Eshima Koji , Nagashio Ryo , Hayashi Shoko , Sonoda Dai , Kondo Yasuto , Maruyama Raito , Mikubo Masashi , Murakumo Yoshiki , Satoh Yukitoshi
Published: December 2023

Background

Although there are great expectations regarding the use of tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) to predict effects of immunotherapies and prognosis, knowledge about TILs remains insufficient for clinical application.

Methods

We objectively investigated the prognostic significance of tumor‐infiltrating CD8 + lymphocytes (CD8 + TILs) in squamous cell lung cancer (SQ‐LC). Among patients who underwent surgical resection of SQ‐LC in 2011–2017, 100 patients with pathological stage IA3‐III were immunohistochemically studied to evaluate CD8 + TILs in the tumor stroma and parenchyma. The impact of CD8 + TILs on relapse‐free survival was analyzed using a Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and multivariate analyses using Fine‐Gray and Cox proportional hazards models.

Results

The multivariate analysis showed that large and small numbers, but not intermediate numbers, of CD8 + TILs in the tumor stroma may be related to a more favorable prognosis (small vs. intermediate: HR, 0.64; 95% CI: 0.29–1.41, p = 0.27; large vs. intermediate: HR, 0.48; 95% CI: 0.21–1.09, p = 0.08). In contrast, a large number of CD8 + TILs in the tumor parenchyma was associated with a poor prognosis (HR, 2.60; 95% CI: 0.91–7.42, p = 0.075). An exploratory analysis showed a potentially strong association between an extremely large number of CD8 + TILs in the tumor parenchyma and a poor prognosis, even with a large number of CD8 + TILs in the tumor stroma.

Conclusion

Our study provided partial but important information on the significance of CD8 + TILs in SQ‐LC. To use CD8 + TILs as biomarkers, a better understanding of CD8 + TILs as well as other important components in the tumor microenvironment and the inflammatory phenotypes they form may be needed.
Sex differences in preterm respiratory morbidity: A recent whole‐population study
Authors: Dassios Theodore , Harris Christopher , Williams Emma E. , Greenough Anne
Published: December 2023

Aim

To determine whether there were differences between male and female infants in respiratory morbidity in a whole population of extremely preterm infants, including infants born below 24 weeks of gestation.

Methods

Retrospective whole‐population study of all infants <28 weeks of gestation admitted to a neonatal unit in England from 2014 to 2019. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) development was defined as any respiratory support at 36 weeks postmenstrual age.

Results

The 11 844 infants had a median (IQR) gestational age of 26.0 (24.9–27.1) weeks and a birth weight of 0.81 (0.67–0.96) kg. The duration of invasive ventilation was longer in male compared to female infants who were born at 24–27 completed weeks of gestation (p < 0.001), but not significantly different between male and female infants born at 22 and 23 weeks of gestation (p = 0.446). The incidence of BPD was higher in male compared to female infants born at 24–27 weeks of gestation (p < 0.001) but not different between male and female infants born at 22 and 23 weeks of gestation (p = 0.148).

Conclusion

Respiratory morbidity was more pronounced in male compared to female extremely preterms, only in gestations 24–27 completed weeks. Male predominance was absent in infants born below 24 weeks of gestation.
The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2023/24: Catalytic receptors
Authors: Alexander Stephen P. H. , Fabbro Doriano , Kelly Eamonn , Mathie Alistair A. , Peters John A. , Veale Emma L. , Armstrong Jane F. , Faccenda Elena , Harding Simon D. , Davies Jamie A. , Beuve Annie , Brouckaert Peter , Bryant Clare , Burnett John C. , Farndale Richard W. , Friebe Andreas , Garthwaite John , Hobbs Adrian J. , Jarvis Gavin E. , Koesling Doris , Kuhn Michaela , MacEwan David , Monie Tom P. , Potter Lincoln R. , Russwurm Michael , Schmidt Harald H. H. W. , Stasch Johannes‐Peter , Waldman Scott A.
Published: December 2023

The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2023/24 is the sixth in this series of biennial publications. The Concise Guide provides concise overviews, mostly in tabular format, of the key properties of approximately 1800 drug targets, and nearly 6000 interactions with about 3900 ligands. There is an emphasis on selective pharmacology (where available), plus links to the open access knowledgebase source of drug targets and their ligands (https://www.guidetopharmacology.org/), which provides more detailed views of target and ligand properties. Although the Concise Guide constitutes almost 500 pages, the material presented is substantially reduced compared to information and links presented on the website. It provides a permanent, citable, point‐in‐time record that will survive database updates. The full contents of this section can be found at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.16180. Catalytic receptors are one of the six major pharmacological targets into which the Guide is divided, with the others being: G protein‐coupled receptors, ion channels, nuclear hormone receptors, enzymes and transporters. These are presented with nomenclature guidance and summary information on the best available pharmacological tools, alongside key references and suggestions for further reading. The landscape format of the Concise Guide is designed to facilitate comparison of related targets from material contemporary to mid‐2023, and supersedes data presented in the 2021/22, 2019/20, 2017/18, 2015/16 and 2013/14 Concise Guides and previous Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in close conjunction with the Nomenclature and Standards Committee of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (NC‐IUPHAR), therefore, providing official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where appropriate.
Serum thrombospondin‐2 level changes with liver stiffness improvement in patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Mak Jimmy Ho Cheung , Lui David Tak‐Wai , Fong Carol Ho‐Yi , Cheung Chloe Yu‐Yan , Wong Ying , Lee Alan Chun‐Hong , Hoo Ruby Lai‐Chong , Xu Aimin , Tan Kathryn Choon‐Beng , Lam Karen Siu‐Ling , Lee Chi‐Ho
Published: December 2023

Objective

Baseline circulating thrombospondin‐2 (TSP2) level was identified as a potential novel hepatic fibrosis biomarker that associates with development and progression of hepatic fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes. Here, we investigated whether circulating TSP2 levels changed with improvement in liver stiffness (LS), which reflects liver fibrosis on transient elastography.

Design

Serum TSP2 levels were measured in participants from a randomized, open‐label intervention study, at baseline and after 24‐weeks treatment of either dapagliflozin 10 mg (N = 30) or sitagliptin 100 mg daily (N = 30). Vibration‐controlled transient elastography was performed to evaluate the severity of hepatic fibrosis and steatosis using LS and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), respectively.

Patients and Measurements

Among all 60 participants with similar clinical characteristics at baseline (mean HbA1c 8.9%, CAP 289 dB/m and LS 5.8 kPa), despite similar HbA1c lowering, treatment with dapagliflozin, but not sitagliptin, led to significant improvements in body weight (BW) (p = .012), CAP (p = .015) and LS (p = .011) after 24 weeks.

Results

Serum TSP2 level decreased significantly from baseline in dapagliflozin‐treated participants (p = .035), whereas no significant change was observed with sitagliptin. In correlation analysis, change in serum TSP2 levels only positively correlated with change in LS (r = .487, p = .006), but not with changes in BW, CAP or HbA1c after dapagliflozin treatment.

Conclusions

Serum TSP2 level decreased with LS after dapagliflozin treatment, and was independent of improvements in BW, glycemic control and hepatic steatosis, further supporting the potential of serum TSP2 level as a novel hepatic fibrosis biomarker in type 2 diabetes.