bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The role of sexting and related behaviors to victimization via nonconsensual pornography: an exploratory analysisof university students
Authors: Marcum Catherine D. , Zaitzow Barbara H. , Higgins George E.
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of university students with nonconsensual pornography. The focus of the present work is on nonconsensual pornography – the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images and sexual extortion – that are becoming common experiences for many people. While the forms of nonconsensual pornography may vary, each case has one thing in common: the offender has shared a private image of the victim without the victim’s consent.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for this study was collected from student participants at a southeastern university. The stratified sample of university students was sent a link to an online survey and the responses of those who chose to respond were used in subsequent analyses (n = 300).

Findings

The findings of this exploratory study show low self-control as a significant predictor of sexting. Significant predictors of victimization via nonconsensual pornography included participation in sexting and use of dating apps.

Originality/value

While not generalizable, the descriptive data provide an important landscape for consideration of policy and legal recommendations to protect potential victims as well as would-be perpetrators beyond a university setting.
Moving from a goods- to a service-oriented organization: a perspective on the role of corporate culture and human resource management
Authors: Zabala Kristina , Campos José Antonio , Narvaiza Lorea
Published: September 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the internal elements that help in the introduction of a service logic into a goods-oriented organization by focusing on corporate culture and human resource management (HRM) practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a qualitative single case study research design. Data have been collected through archival data and 14 semi-structured interviews to managers, employees and retailers of a bike manufacturer.

Findings

The research identifies the following three new internal elements affecting the service orientation of corporate culture of a company with a customization strategy: shared vision built up with the participation of the whole organization; rooting the service orientation into the past history; passion and collaborative study deployed through digital tools. Additionally, related to HRM, the research finds another two elements: emotional salary and that a collective way of understanding and sharing the service infusion is needed.

Research limitations/implications

Given that this is a qualitative research based on a single case study the identified key elements of corporate culture and HRM practices cannot be used as a predictive tool. However, the depth of evidence is significant and allows analytical generalizations, which enable us to put forward tentative propositions for future research.

Practical implications

For managers of industrial firms, the identified elements provide an insight on how to smooth the transition from goods-to service-oriented organization. The shift demands the development of an adequate corporate culture and distinctive management of human resources.

Originality/value

Building on previous literature, the research offers the academic community five new soft elements to be studied in the service infusion process and can guide top managers on how to engage the entire organisation in a service-oriented manner.
Governing urban diversity through myths of national sameness – a comparative analysis of Denmark and Sweden
Authors: Jensen Tina Gudrun , Söderberg Rebecka
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore problematisations of urban diversity in urban and integration policies in Denmark and Sweden; the paper aims to show how such policies express social imaginaries about the self and the other and underlying assumptions of sameness that legitimise diverging ways of managing urban diversity and (re)organising the city.

Design/methodology/approach

Inspired by anthropology of policy and post-structural approaches to policy analysis, the authors approach urban and integration policies as cultural texts that are central to the organisation of cities and societies. With a comparative approach, the authors explore how visions of diversity take shape and develop over time in Swedish and Danish policies on urban development and integration.

Findings

Swedish policy constructs productiveness as crucial to the imagined national sameness, whereas Danish policy constructs cultural sameness as fundamental to the national self-image. By constructing the figure of “the unproductive”/“the non-Western” as the other, diverging from an imagined sameness, policies for organising the city through removing and “improving” urban diverse others are legitimised.

Originality/value

The authors add to previous research by focussing on the construction of the self as crucial in processes of othering and by highlighting how both nationalistic and colour-blind policy discourses construct myths of national sameness, which legitimise the governing of urban diversity. The authors highlight and de-naturalise assumptions and categorisations by showing how problem representations differ over time and between two neighbouring countries.
The main challenges of Public Sector Accounting reforms and World Bank's Public Sector Accounting and Reporting (PULSAR) Program
Authors: Gourfinkel Dmitri
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to contribute to a dialogue between practitioners and academics. The article discusses the relevance of Public Sector Accounting (PSA) reforms, including their key approaches and challenges, and the role of the World Bank's Public Sector Accounting and Reporting (PULSAR) Program.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a practitioner's viewpoint, which reflects World Bank and PULSAR Program's publicly available documents and the opinions of a practitioner involved in the implementation of PSA reforms.

Findings

Implementation of PSA reforms, based on the good international standards and practices, such as International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), represents an opportunity for governments to significantly improve (1) the quality, reliability and comparability of their financial information; (2) decision-making process of the high-level public officials; and (3) the overall levels of fiscal transparency and public sector accountability and performance. There are several main approaches of the PSA reform implementation that could be observed across the globe. In practice, many countries and different jurisdictions face multiple challenges associated with PSA reform implementation. The World Bank and PULSAR Program in particular represent a valuable source of knowledge generation and sharing, and also acts as a catalyst for promoting PSA reforms in beneficiary countries.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of this article (which are also its strength in terms of fitness for purpose) are that as a practitioner's viewpoint, it provides a brief overview and personal judgements rather than an empirical analysis of developments applying a theoretical framework.

Social implications

A practitioner's engagement with academic supports increased understanding of the respective views leading to better outcomes for practitioners and academics working in the area of public sector accounting.

Originality/value

The article provides a practitioner's input on the relevance of PSA reforms and their key challenges.
Harnessing social listening to explore consumer cognitive bias: implications for upstream social marketing
Authors: Mehmet Michael , Heffernan Troy , Algie Jennifer , Forouhandeh Behnam
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how upstream social marketing can benefit from using social media commentary to identify cognitive biases. Using reactions to leading media/news publications/articles related to climate and energy policy in Australia, this paper aims to understand underlying community cognitive biases and their reasonings.

Design/methodology/approach

Social listening was used to gather community commentary about climate and energy policy in Australia. This allowed the coding of natural language data to determine underlying cognitive biases inherent in the community. In all, 2,700 Facebook comments were collected from 27 news articles dated between January 2018 and March 2020 using exportcomments.com. Team coding was used to ensure consistency in interpretation.

Findings

Nine key cognitive bias were noted, including, pessimism, just-world, confirmation, optimum, curse of knowledge, Dunning–Kruger, self-serving, concision and converge biases. Additionally, the authors report on the interactive nature of these biases. Right-leaning audiences are perceived to be willfully uninformed and motivated by self-interest; centric audiences want solutions based on common-sense for the common good; and left-leaning supporters of progressive climate change policy are typically pessimistic about the future of climate and energy policy in Australia. Impacts of powerful media organization shaping biases are also explored.

Research limitations/implications

Through a greater understanding of the types of cognitive biases, policy-makers are able to better design and execute influential upstream social marketing campaigns.

Originality/value

The study demonstrates that observing cognitive biases through social listening can assist upstream social marketing understand community biases and underlying reasonings towards climate and energy policy.
A flexible mathematical model for crew pairing optimization to generate n-day pairings considering the risk of COVID-19: a real case study
Authors: Shafipour-Omrani Bahareh , Rashidi Komijan Alireza , Sadjadi Seyed Jafar , Khalili-Damghani Kaveh , Ghezavati Vahidreza
Published: September 2021

Purpose

One of the main advantages of the proposed model is that it is flexible to generate n-day pairings simultaneously. It means that, despite previous researches, one-day to n-day pairings can be generated in a single model. The flexibility in generating parings causes that the proposed model leads to better solutions compared to existing models. Another advantage of the model is minimizing the risk of COVID-19 by limitation of daily flights as well as elapsed time minimization. As airports are among high risk places in COVID-19 pandemic, minimization of infection risk is considered in this model for the first time. Genetic algorithm is used as the solution approach, and its efficiency is compared to GAMS in small and medium-size problems.

Design/methodology/approach

One of the most complex issues in airlines is crew scheduling problem which is divided into two subproblems: crew pairing problem (CPP) and crew rostering problem (CRP). Generating crew pairings is a tremendous and exhausting task as millions of pairings may be generated for an airline. Moreover, crew cost has the largest share in total cost of airlines after fuel cost. As a result, crew scheduling with the aim of cost minimization is one of the most important issues in airlines. In this paper, a new bi-objective mixed integer programming model is proposed to generate pairings in such a way that deadhead cost, crew cost and the risk of COVID-19 are minimized.

Findings

The proposed model is applied for domestic flights of Iran Air airline. The results of the study indicate that genetic algorithm solutions have only 0.414 and 0.380 gap on average to optimum values of the first and the second objective functions, respectively. Due to the flexibility of the proposed model, it improves solutions resulted from existing models with fixed-duty pairings. Crew cost is decreased by 12.82, 24.72, 4.05 and 14.86% compared to one-duty to four-duty models. In detail, crew salary is improved by 12.85, 24.64, 4.07 and 14.91% and deadhead cost is decreased by 11.87, 26.98, 3.27, and 13.35% compared to one-duty to four-duty models, respectively.

Originality/value

The authors confirm that it is an original paper, has not been published elsewhere and is not currently under consideration of any other journal.
Users’ response toward online doctor consultation platforms: SOR approach
Authors: Goyal Sandeep , Chauhan Sumedha , Gupta Parul
Published: September 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the external and internal stimuli, which affect the organismic experiences of the users and thereby influence their response in terms of behavioral intention toward the use of online doctor consultation platforms.

Design/methodology/approach

The study operationalized the stimulus–organism–response framework for the research model and surveyed 357 users in India who had experienced online doctor consultation platforms. The analysis has been done using the structural equation modeling approach.

Findings

The authors’ main results indicate the following key points. One, perceived usefulness, social influence, health anxiety, offline consultation habit and perceived technology usage risk are significant predictors of perceived value. In contrast, perceived ubiquity is identified to be an insignificant predictor of perceived value. Second, social influence and perceived technology usage risk have significant influence on trust. However, perceived usefulness is not a significant predictor of trust.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to the theory by integrating technology-oriented factors with behavioral attributes for determining the behavioral intention of users toward the online doctor consultation platforms.

Practical implications

The managerial contributions of this study involve highlighting those technology-oriented and behavioral elements, which can be targeted to attract more users toward these platforms.

Originality/value

This is an original study that has looked beyond the role of technology-oriented factors in influencing the perceived value and trust elements while investigating the behavioral intention among the users toward the online doctor consultation platforms.
Consumers with specialised and diverse experience produce more helpful reviews
Authors: Hou Lei , Pan Xue
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Experienced reviewers in general can produce high-quality product reviews, and thereby get more helpful votes. This paper explores the question that whether the depth and width of the reviewers' experience distribution have effects on the helpfulness of their reviews.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting the restaurant review data from Yelp, the present paper classifies the restaurants in to different categories applying the Word2Vec technique, such as Asian or fast food. By evaluating the number of a user's historical reviews in a specific category, and the evenness of such distribution in different categories, the experience specialty and experience diversity are defined respectively.

Findings

The analysis shows that users specialised in a given category can produce more helpful reviews in that category. The users with diverse historical experience, i.e. have posted reviews for many categories, also can produce helpful reviews. In addition, the experience diversity shows a positive moderation effect on the influence of experience specialty. Thus, users with diverse experience while specialized in a particular category are the source of most helpful reviews.

Originality/value

While previous studies mostly consider the raw number of historical reviews as a reviewer's experience, we distinguish such experience by product category and focus on the width and depth of its distribution. The results not only shed lights on the mining of high-quality reviews and reviewers but also provide insights on the management of online review platforms and electronic marketing.
A comprehensive approach of hydrological issues related to ground water using GIS in the Hindu holy city of Gaya, India
Authors: Lohani Tarun Kumar , Ayana Melkamu Teshome , Mohammed Abdella Kemal , Shabaz Mohammad , Dhiman Gaurav , Jagota Vishal
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Gaya, the holy city of Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, is facing an acute shortage of potable water. Although the city is blessed with some static and dynamic water bodies all around the region, they do not fulfill the requirement of millions of public either inhabitants of the area or tourists or pilgrims flocking every day. Countless crowds, congested roads, swarming pedestrians, innumerable vehicles moving throughout the day and night have made the city into a non-livable one. The present status of surface water is a mere nightmare to the requirements of the people. Due to which, massive ground water pumping mostly illegally has added a grid in addition to the other socio-economic issues.

Design/methodology/approach

To focus on such problem, the ground water of the region was studied thoroughly by calculating the depth of water level, discharge, pre-and post-monsoon water table and specifically the storativity in ten different locations. Some data were acquired, others were assessed, and few are calculated to provide an overall view of the ground water scenario.

Findings

After a long and tedious field study, it was finally established from that static water level ranges from 2.45 to 26.59 m, below ground level (bgl), discharge varies from 3.21 m3/day to 109.32 m3/day. Post pumping drawdown falls between 0.93 m and 16.59 m, whereas the specific capacity lies in between 0.96 and 7.78 m3/hr/m. Transmissivity, which is a key objective to assess ground water potential ranges from 109.8 to 168.86 m2/day.

Originality/value

This research work is original.
Global agricultural trade impact of the 2011 triple disaster in Japan: A gravity approach*
Authors: Dadakas Dimitrios , Tatsi Stavroula
Published: September 2021

We examine the evolution of global agricultural trade flows in the light of the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan. After the 2011 disasters, safety concerns led to the implementation of international surveillance measures on agricultural products from Japan. The physical damages, the domestic and foreign restrictions to production and trade, combined with actual and perceived health risks, affected consumer behaviour and reshaped production, consumption and trade. The existing literature has thoroughly examined individual sectoral effects, mainly through stylised facts and mainly for Japan; however, there is no analysis to date on the effects of the triple disaster on global trade flows of agriculture. With Japan holding 4.1 per cent of global exports of agricultural products and 0.4 per cent of global imports, transmission of the effects to global markets could lead to disruptions in global supply chains, worldwide distribution and trade. We use a gravity approach, together with 2000–2018 panel data and a Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) estimator to discuss the impact of the disasters on global trade flows of agriculture. Results for Japan indicate a negative effect on both exports and imports extending until 2014. Counterfactual analysis results suggest transmission of the negative effects to global exports of agricultural products.
Macroeconomic effects of COVID‐19: A mid‐term review*
Authors: Rungcharoenkitkul Phurichai
Published: September 2021

This article provides an interim assessment of the macroeconomic consequences of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Estimates suggest a median output loss of approximately 6.5% in 2020, a gap that is expected to narrow to around 4% of the pre‐pandemic trend by the end of 2021. There is, however, a high dispersion of economic losses across economies, reflecting varying exposures to the pandemic and societies' responses. High‐frequency indicators and epidemiological models provide some insight into the interactions between the pandemic evolution and societies' strategies for combating it, including the role of vaccination. The article draws lessons from experiences thus far and discusses challenges ahead.
Associations between breast implants and postpartum lactational mastitis in breastfeeding women: retrospective study
Authors: Shalev Ram H , Ram S , Wiser I , Tchernin N , Chodick G , Cohen Y , Rofe G
Published: September 2021

Objective

To examine the putative associations between breast implants and postpartum lactational mastitis.

Design

Observational retrospective study.

Setting

Digital database of Maccabi Healthcare Services, integrated health maintenance organisation in Israel.

Population

Breastfeeding mothers from 2003 to 2016 based on an initial health maintenance organisation data set of 28 383 singleton live births in Israel.

Methods

Multivariate analysis and propensity score matching were used to test the extent to which breast implants were associated with lactational mastitis during the 6‐month postpartum period in breastfeeding mothers. Analyses for potential confounders were adjusted for socio‐economic status, smoking and parity.

Main outcome measure

Lactational mastitis among breastfeeding women with breast implants compared with women without breast implants.

Results

Mothers with breast implants (n = 6099) were significantly (P < 0.001) more likely to be diagnosed with postpartum mastitis (8.3%) than mothers with no breast implants(n = 22 284) (6.6%) at an odds ratio of 1.22 (95% CI 1.09–1.35) after adjusting for confounders.

Conclusion

Breast augmentation is associated with an increased risk of postpartum lactational mastitis in the 6‐month postpartum period. In light of these findings, it is important for health professionals to instruct women who have undergone breast augmentation on correct breastfeeding techniques, ways to avoid risk factors, and to be alert to signs permitting the early detection of lactational mastitis.

Tweetable abstract

A study of over 28,000 breastfeeding women has shown that breast augmentation is associated with an increased risk of postpartum lactational mastitis in the six‐month postpartum period.
Globalisation strategies and roles among Australian junior mining firms in Latin America
Authors: Nunez‐Picado Adriana , Martinus Kirsten , Sigler Thomas
Published: September 2021

Australian junior mining firms’ globalisation strategies and roles inside the sector remain understudied in economic geography. Such firms are often overshadowed by larger global mining interests, whose operations drive most foreign direct investment, capital, and operational expenditure tied to resource extraction. Unlike large multinationals and state‐owned enterprises, junior firms are nimble, often untethered from path‐dependent national systems, less encumbered by statutory constraints or corporate structures, and less accountable to shareholders. This study sought to understand globalisation strategies and roles among junior mining firms by reference to a case study of 55 Australian junior firms in Latin America. We used spatial analysis to uncover three patterns of junior firm globalisation strategies and roles: specialised service providers supporting the further development of mature and emerging mining industries; regional spearheads opening new destinations; and mineral avant‐gardists developing new speculative industries that are critical to clean energy technologies. We conclude both that Australian junior firms play a crucial role in the development of critical resource basins in other nations and that there are significant forms of firm heterogeneity and functional integration at the core of mining globalisation that need to be more comprehensively incorporated in economic geography research.
Do inflowing sophisticated investors induce classification shifting? New evidence from market liberalisation in China
Authors: Lu Junwei , Bu Xiaoxia , Chen Jing
Published: September 2021

Viewing the Shanghai‐Hong Kong Stock Connect (SHSC) programme as an initiative of China’s market liberalisation programme, this study examines whether inflowing sophisticated investors induce classification shifting in firms listed on China’s A‐share market. Our analysis, based on a difference‐in‐differences research design, demonstrates that the influx of sophisticated investors has led to classification shifting in non‐cross‐listed or non‐QFII pilot firms after the launch of the SHSC programme in 2014. The study also illustrates the roles of internal corporate governance and external auditor quality in curbing classification shifting. Our study contributes to a more fine‐grained understanding of classification shifting and sheds new light on the unintended adverse effects of market liberalisation.
Whole genome survey and genetic markers development of crocodile flathead Cociella crocodilus
Authors: Zhao R. , Lu Z. , Cai S. , Gao T. , Xu S.
Published: September 2021

Flatheads in family Platycephalidae are ecologically and commercially important marine fish species in the Indo‐West Pacific. Due to similar morphological characters, the taxonomy and phylogenetics of flatheads are in confusion. Studies on phylogenetics and molecular marker development are required to discriminate congeners of flatheads. In the present study, we performed whole genome survey sequencing of crocodile flathead Cociella crocodilus to provide genomic information and genetic markers of this species. In total, 54.03 Gb of clean genomic data were generated. The genome size was estimated to be 732.99 Mb with the heterozygosity ratio of 0.73% and the repeat sequence ratio of 33.48%. The preliminary assembled genome sequences were 794.07 Mb with contig N50 of 1504 bp. We detected 2 624 875 genome‐wide SNPs with transition/transversion ratio of 1.422. A total of 313 842 microsatellite motifs were identified, most of which were dinucleotide motifs with a frequency of 74.89%. In addition, we assembled the complete mitogenome of C. crocodilus and subsequent phylogenetic analysis were performed. Phylogenetic analyses revealed numbers of polyphyletic groups in family Platycephalidae. The reported genomic data and genetic markers in our study should be useful in further phylogeny and phylogenomics studies of flathead species.
Risk of Relapse Among Opioid‐Dependent Patients Treated With Extended‐Release Naltrexone or Buprenorphine‐Naloxone: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Opheim Arild , Gaulen Zhanna , Solli Kristin Klemmetsby , Latif Zill‐e‐Huma , Fadnes Lars T. , Benth Jūratė Šaltytė , Kunøe Nikolaj , Tanum Lars
Published: September 2021

Background and Objectives

Compare the risk of relapse to heroin and other illicit opioids among opioid‐dependent patients receiving treatment with extended‐release naltrexone (XR‐NTX) or buprenorphine‐naloxone (BP‐NLX).

Methods

Re‐analyzed data from a 12‐week multicenter, open‐label, randomized treatment study with a subsequent 36‐week open‐label follow‐up study. All patients, N = 143, had completed detoxification and received at least one dose of study medication.

Results

Of 143 patients (72% men), mean age 36 years, 71 received XR‐NTX and 72 BP‐NLX. The risk of first relapse and the risk of any relapse to heroin and other illicit opioids were both significantly lower in the XR‐NTX group compared with the BP‐NLX group (hazard ratio [HR], 0.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.28‐0.76; P = .002, and HR, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.04‐0.29; P < .001, respectively) and (HR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.09‐0.27; P < .001 and HR, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.03‐0.09; P < .001, respectively). There was a stable low risk of relapse among participants receiving XR‐NTX in the follow‐up.

Discussion and Conclusions

Compared to BP‐NLX, patients on XR‐NTX had a substantially reduced risk of relapse to illicit opioids and showed a stable low risk of relapse over time in longer‐term treatment.

Scientific Significance

Our data support XR‐NTX as a first‐line treatment option for patients with opioid addiction both in short and longer‐term treatment. This is the first European study showing that XR‐NTX significantly reduces the risk of first and any relapse to heroin use in opioid‐dependent patients compared to BP‐NLX. Our data contradict previous data from the X:BOT study, showing no significant difference in relapse risk between the groups in a 6‐month randomised controlled trial. (© 2021 Authors. The American Journal on Addictions published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry). (Am J Addict 2021;30:451–458)
Mud volcanoes and dissolution structures as kinematic markers during salt tectonic deformation
Authors: Kirkham Chris , Cartwright Joe
Published: September 2021

The recognition of linear trails of fluid escape pipes that have been deformed by salt flow have recently been suggested to offer a novel approach to reconstructing the internal kinematics of thick salt sequences deforming under gravity. These deformed pipes constrain a number of key parameters for salt tectonic analysis including the salt flow direction, translation distance of the top salt and overburden, the internal flow profile and from the flow velocity, the bulk viscosity of the salt. Here we interpret and characterise two previously unrecognised large‐scale strain markers within a salt sequence that may be equally as valuable as the deformed pipes for constraining salt flow. This study is based on the interpretation of a ca. 4,600 km2 3D seismic survey from the outer slope of the Nile Cone, offshore Egypt, located at the boundary between the extensional and translational domains of the deformed marginal region of the Messinian salt basin. We mapped five deformed pipe trails that allow us to constrain the average flow velocity of the top salt, at ca. 2 mm/yr over the past 2–3 Myrs. The salt flowed in a basinward NW/NNW direction away from the basin margin. In addition, we mapped two large (ca. 2 km diameter) salt dissolution depressions formed by subjacent dissolution of the evaporites. These are presently located down the salt flow direction of a large remnant erosional high at the base of the salt, and in the general alignment of one of the pipe trails. We therefore argue that this dissolution structure most likely formed by fluid venting from the base salt high, and as such can be used to measure translation direction, distance and average velocity. The second of the two novel kinematic indicators requires mapping of genetically connected mud volcanoes and their depletion zones. The study area contains over 400 individual mud volcanoes that are sourced from beneath the salt and erupted from the Early Pliocene to Recent. A subset of these, extruded at or near to the present day seafloor, have well imaged pre‐salt depletion zones vertically beneath the erupted volcanic cones. A smaller subset, typically buried Early Pliocene extrusions, is found to have volcanic cones that are systematically offset laterally from their corresponding depletion zones, with an offset direction and distances closely matched with other kinematic markers. Hence we suggest that mud volcanic plumbing systems can provide another independent kinematic marker from which to infer salt flow regime.
Cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 regulates development of xenogenic graft versus host disease in mice via modulation of host immune responses induced by changes in human T cell engraftment and gene expression
Authors: Gao Chunxu , Gardner Debra , Theobalds Marie-Clare , Hitchcock Shannon , Deutsch Heather , Amuzie Chidozie , Cesaroni Matteo , Sargsyan Davit , Rao Tadimeti S , Malaviya Ravi
Published: September 2021

Graft versus host disease (GvHD) is a major clinical problem with a significant unmet medical need. We examined the role of cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) in a xenogenic GvHD (xeno-GvHD) model induced by injection of human peripheral mononuclear cells (hPBMC) into irradiated non-obese diabetic (NOD) SCID gamma (NSG) mice. Targeting the CTLA-4 pathway by treatment with CTLA-4 immunoglobulin (Ig) prevented xeno-GvHD, while anti-CTLA-4 antibody treatment exacerbated the lethality and morbidity associated with GvHD. Xeno-GvHD is associated with infiltration of hPBMCs into the lungs, spleen, stomach, liver and colon and an increase in human proinflammatory cytokines, including interferon (IFN)-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-5. Infiltration of donor cells and increases in cytokines were attenuated by treatment with CTLA-4 Ig, but remained either unaffected or enhanced by anti-CTLA-4 antibody. Further, splenic human T cell phenotyping showed that CTLA-4 Ig treatment prevented the engraftment of human CD45+ cells, while anti-CTLA-4 antibody enhanced donor T cell expansion, particularly CD4+ (CD45RO+) subsets, including T box transcription factor TBX21 (Tbet)+ CXCR3+ and CD25+ forkhead box protein 3 (FoxP3) cells. Comprehensive analysis of transcriptional profiling of human cells isolated from mouse spleen identified a set of 417 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by CTLA-4 Ig treatment and 13 DEGs by anti-CTLA-4 antibody treatment. The CTLA-4 Ig regulated DEGs mapped to down-regulated apoptosis, inflammasome, T helper type 17 (Th17) and regulatory T cell (Treg) pathways and enhanced Toll-like receptor (TLR) receptor signaling, TNF family signaling, complement system and epigenetic and transcriptional regulation, whereas anti-CTLA-4 antibody produced minimal to no impact on these gene pathways. Our results show an important role of co-inhibitory CTLA-4 signaling in xeno-GvHD and suggest the therapeutic utility of other immune checkpoint co-inhibitory pathways in the treatment of immune-mediated diseases driven by hyperactive T cells.
Glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor and basic fibroblast growth factor derived from skeletal muscle pericytes increase the barrier function of endothelial cells in the endomysium
Authors: Ishiguchi Eri , Sano Yasuteru , Maeda Toshihiko , Shimizu Fumitaka , Fujisawa Miwako , Honda Masaya , Takeshita Yukio , Koga Michiaki , Kanda Takashi
Published: September 2021

Objectives

In skeletal muscle, the capillaries have tight junctions (TJs) that are structurally similar to those in the blood‐brain barrier (BBB) and blood‐nerve barrier (BNB). Although the endomysial capillaries include endothelial cells and pericytes, the properties of the endomysial pericytes have not been well elucidated. The purpose of this study was to establish a human skeletal muscle pericyte cell (HSMPCT) line, and examine whether the established cell line has similar properties to pericytes from the BBB and BNB.

Method

HSMPCTs were isolated and introduced with retroviruses harboring temperature‐sensitive SV40 T antigen and telomerase genes. Then, we examined whether this cell line modifies the barrier function of a human skeletal muscle microvascular endothelial cell line, TSM15.

Results

A new HSMPCT cell line was successfully established. The conditioned media (CM) from HSMPCTs increased the transendothelial electrical resistance of the TSM15 cells and decreased permeability to 10kD‐dextran. Glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) increased the barrier function of TSM15 cells. The CM of HSMPCTs with anti‐GDNF or anti‐bFGF antibodies attenuated the effect of upregulating the barrier function of TSM15 cells. These results indicate that soluble factors, such as GDNF and bFGF, released from HSMPCTs strengthen the barrier function of TSM15 cells.

Conclusion

GDNF and bFGF released from HSMPCTs increase the barrier function of endomysial endothelium. These HSMPCTs and TSM15 cells, which are recognized as an in vitro model of the endomysial capillary, might facilitate the analysis of the pathophysiology of the microvasculature in human skeletal muscle.
A re‐analysis of the data in Sharkey et al.’s (2021) minimalist revision reveals that BINs do not deserve names, but BOLD Systems needs a stronger commitment to open science
Authors: Meier Rudolf , Blaimer Bonnie B. , Buenaventura Eliana , Hartop Emily , von Rintelen Thomas , Srivathsan Amrita , Yeo Darren
Published: September 2021

Halting biodiversity decline is one of the most critical challenges for humanity, but monitoring biodiversity is hampered by taxonomic impediments. One impediment is the large number of undescribed species (here called “dark taxon impediment”) whereas another is caused by the large number of superficial species descriptions, that can only be resolved by consulting type specimens (“superficial description impediment”). Recently, Sharkey et al. (2021) proposed to address the dark taxon impediment for Costa Rican braconid wasps by describing 403 species based on COI barcode clusters (“BINs”) computed by BOLD Systems. More than 99% of the BINs (387 of 390) were converted into species by assigning binominal names (e.g. BIN “BOLD:ACM9419” becomes Bracon federicomatarritai) and adding a minimal diagnosis (consisting only of a consensus barcode for most species). We here show that many of Sharkey et al.’s species are unstable when the underlying data are analyzed using different species delimitation algorithms. Add the insufficiently informative diagnoses, and many of these species will become the next “superficial description impediment” for braconid taxonomy because they will have to be tested and redescribed after obtaining sufficient evidence for confidently delimiting species. We furthermore show that Sharkey et al.’s approach of using consensus barcodes as diagnoses is not functional because it cannot be applied consistently. Lastly, we reiterate that COI alone is not suitable for delimiting and describing species, and voice concerns over Sharkey et al.’s uncritical use of BINs because they are calculated by a proprietary algorithm (RESL) that uses a mixture of public and private data. We urge authors, reviewers and editors to maintain high standards in taxonomy by only publishing new species that are rigorously delimited with open‐access tools and supported by publicly available evidence.
T cell–mediated autoimmunity in immune thrombocytopenia
Authors: Vrbensky John R. , Nazy Ishac , Clare Rumi , Larché Mark , Arnold Donald M.
Published: September 2021

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by a low platelet count and an increased risk of bleeding. In addition to anti‐platelet autoantibodies, CD8+ T cells have been implicated as a mechanism of platelet destruction. The current evidence for the existence of platelet‐specific CD8+ T cells in ITP is inconclusive. The purpose of this review is to summarize the studies that investigated CD8+ T cells in ITP and to review the methods that have been used to detect autoreactive CD8+ T cells in other autoimmune diseases.
Female choice and male aggression in the polymorphic lizard Sceloporus minor
Authors: García‐Rosales Aaron , Stephenson Barry P. , Ramírez‐Bautista Aurelio , Manjarrez Javier , Pavón Numa P.
Published: September 2021

In comparison with some other vertebrate groups, female choice in lizards is relatively poorly understood. In contrast, aggressive behavior in lizards has been better studied; nevertheless, there are many genera and even whole families for which little or no information on aggressive behavior has been described. Therefore, the objective of this study was to experimentally evaluate the importance of morphometric traits, body coloration, and behavioral attributes of male Sceloporus minor from a population in central Mexico in order to (1) determine whether female choice exists in this species, and if so, identify which features of males females are using to do so, and (2) identify the phenotypic features of males that predict dominance status in contests between dominant and subordinate males. We found that females of S. minor indeed show a preference for males on the basis of ventral patch color; specifically, females chose males with ventral patches of Spectrum Blue or True Blue over males with ventral patches of other blue hues, but found no evidence of choice based on other morphological characters examined. Results also showed that winner (i.e., dominant) males exhibited more aggressive behaviors and were larger in body size than subordinate (i.e., loser) males. Notably, we found no support for a role of male polymorphic dorsal coloration on either female choice or male contest outcome. The results of this study showed evidence of female choice and male‐male competition, suggesting that in this population, males exhibit intrasexual interactions to compete for resources such as territories and produce displays that serve in part to attract females.
A multi‐criteria decision making approach for strategy formulation using Pythagorean fuzzy logic
Authors: Sarkar Biswajit , Biswas Animesh
Published: September 2021

The objective of this paper is to develop Pythagorean fuzzy (PF) multi‐objective optimization by ratio analysis (PF‐MOORA) plus full MULTIplicative form (PF‐MULTIMOORA) method for solving multicriteria decision making (MCDM) problems with completely unknown information of criteria weights. In the model formulation process, a new distance measure is defined to quantify the difference between PF sets by combining Hamming distance and Hausdorff metric. This distance measure is, subsequently, implemented in entropy weight model for determining unknown weights of criteria, and also in reference point approach for obtaining preference indices of alternatives. To overcome the deficiencies occurred in existing MULTIMOORA method, like multiple comparisons, circular reasoning, and so on, an aggregation‐based approach is recommended in the proposed PF‐MULTIMOORA. To demonstrate the feasibility and practicality of the proposed method, an example concerning strategy prioritization of a tiles manufacturing company is presented. In the strategy evaluation process, at first, the judgement values provided by the decision maker are expressed in linguistic terms, and then those are converted into PF numbers through a PF weighting scale. The sensitivity of the proposed model is validated by changing of weights of criteria which impact on the ranks of the strategies. To show robustness of the developed method, the result attained by applying PF‐MULTIMOORA is compared with existing techniques, not only in crisp and fuzzy quantitative strategic planning matrix context, but also using four other MCDM methods, namely, modified PF‐MOORA, as a particular case of the proposed PF‐MULTIMOORA technique, PF weighted sum, PF‐TOPSIS and PF‐VIKOR.
Climate mediates the relationship between plant biodiversity and forest structure across the United States
Authors: Hakkenberg Christopher R. , Goetz Scott J.
Published: September 2021

Aim

Empirical biodiversity – forest structure relationships (BSRs) underlie the use of forest structure as a remotely sensible proxy of biodiversity. However, little is known about how BSRs generalize to continental scales or how climate interacts with structure to drive local patterns in plant diversity. Resolving these research gaps in macrosystems ecology will strengthen our understanding of the biogeography of plant diversity, with implications for global‐scale biodiversity mapping.

Location

USA.

Time period

Contemporary.

Major taxa studied

Vascular plants and trees.

Methods

We combined climate variables with field measurements and airborne lidar from all forest and woodland plots in the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) to characterize the role of climate in constraining BSRs across the United States. Spatial generalized linear mixed models were used to quantify the individual and joint effects of structure and climate on vascular plant and tree diversity.

Results

These findings provide evidence for broad‐scale BSRs across the USA; namely, between plant/tree diversity and forest structural metrics in the vertical and horizontal planes. Vascular plant diversity was positively related to horizontally heterogeneous and bottom‐skewed canopies, whereas tree diversity was positively associated with canopy cover and structural heterogeneity. In addition, climate variables related to stress (negatively), energy (positively) and seasonality (negatively) affected broad‐scale patterns in diversity, with water availability (but not temperature) exerting significant effects on structural conditions. Importantly, climate and structure interact to explain variance in BSRs along coldness, mean temperature and evapotranspiration gradients.

Main conclusions

Our findings reinforce the importance of local context dependence in assessing non‐stationary biogeographical patterns in forest biodiversity, as well as the unique ways that forest structure and climate interact to constrain plant diversity. Beyond these theoretical insights, this study provides an empirical foundation for generalizing remotely sensed estimates of climate and forest structure to model biodiversity over vast extents.
Pharmacists reducing medication risk in medical outpatient clinics: a retrospective study of 18 clinics
Authors: Snoswell Centaine L. , De Guzman Keshia R. , Barras Michael
Published: September 2021

Background

The role of pharmacists in hospital inpatient settings is well recognised; however, pharmacists are relatively new to outpatient clinic settings in Australia. Evidence to justify the clinical effectiveness of pharmacists, in terms of identifying and resolving medication‐related problems in an outpatient setting in Australia is limited.

Aims

To investigate the clinical effectiveness of outpatient clinic pharmacists across multiple medical disciplines.

Methods

A retrospective observational study was conducted by auditing medical records for patients who had an outpatient clinic pharmacist consult between June 2019 and February 2020 in a large quaternary hospital. All pharmacist recommendations targeting a medication‐related problem were audited. Recommendations were considered ‘resolved’ if accepted and actioned by the patient and/or a clinician. The resolved recommendations were risk rated using a validated tool for medication‐related patient harm.

Results

There were 18 clinic pharmacist roles across multiple medical disciplines, of which 46 pharmacists conducted outpatient consults. A total of 7599 consults was conducted and a purposeful random sample of 572 (8%) consults was audited for 552 unique patients. There were 399 recommendations recorded in the notes by clinic pharmacists, a mean (standard deviation) of 0.95 (0.97) per patient. Of these, 328 (82%) were resolved; 269 (82%) were classified as low or moderate risk and 59 (18%) were classified as high‐risk recommendations.

Conclusions

Clinic pharmacists in multidisciplinary outpatient clinics are effective at identifying and resolving medication‐related problems. Our research demonstrated that 18% of these resolved recommendations prevented a high‐risk medication‐related harm event.