bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Better performance after mergers and acquisitions? The case of US farmer cooperatives
Authors: Grashuis Jasper
Published: April 2023

Purpose

This study analyzes the long-term effect of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity on the profitability, efficiency and liquidity of the largest 500 farmer cooperatives in the United States.

Design/methodology/approach

Secondary data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture are complemented with primary data collected from print media publications about M&A activity by US farmer cooperatives. The analysis is based on group comparisons of means and distributions to study the effect of M&A activity on financial performance.

Findings

Farmer cooperatives with M&A activity generally have lower profitability, efficiency and liquidity than farmer cooperatives without M&A activity, both at the time of the merger or acquisition as well as afterward. Marketing cooperatives in particular perform worse following M&As. Also, the post-merger performance of farmer cooperatives with M&A activity is not affected by the profitability, efficiency or liquidity of the target.

Originality/value

Research on the post-merger performance of farmer cooperatives is both scarce and dated. This study analyzes the effect of M&A activity for a relatively large sample and a relatively long time period (2005–2020).
Mediating effect of innovation capability between entrepreneurial resources and micro business performance
Authors: Taleb Taleb S.T. , Hashim Norashidah , Zakaria Norria
Published: April 2023

Purpose

This study aims to examine the effect of entrepreneurial resources on micro businesses and the mediating role of innovation capability in this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured questionnaire was used to gather data for this quantitative study, which adopted partial least squares structural equation modelling to test the hypotheses on a sample of 455 women entrepreneurs in Malaysia.

Findings

The results reveal that entrepreneurial resources, particularly technical resources, positively and significantly affect innovation capability and enhance business performance. Furthermore, innovation capability mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial resources and microbusiness performance.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes theoretically by combining six entrepreneurial resources into a single framework in light of the resource-based view and finance-based theory. The results corroborate the effects of entrepreneurial resources on the performance of women’s micro businesses and the mediating role of innovation capability in this relationship. However, the cross-sectional design study limited this study’s ability to engage respondents in a more in-depth analysis of pertinent themes.

Practical implications

This research provides guidance and directions for business managers/owners and decision makers to adopt and improve entrepreneurial resources to achieve superior performance and competitive advantages. It presents evidence of innovation capability’s significant role in converting resources into innovative outcomes and creating value. Additionally, it is useful for policymakers to design development programmes for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in emerging markets.

Social implications

This study highlights the value of innovation with a variety of entrepreneurial resources for women business owners that significantly impact Malaysian employment and gross domestic product and may have a positive social impact by enhancing social life in local communities. The nation’s unique context of multiracial and ethnic groups reflects Malaysia’s truly Asian ethnic composition.

Originality/value

This study fills the research gap by offering empirical evidence of the mediating role of innovation capability in the link between entrepreneurial resources and microbusiness performance, thus significantly contributing to emerging markets worldwide, where women-owned micro businesses are increasingly generating value and employment.
Extrapolative time-series modelling of house prices: a case study from Sydney, Australia
Authors: Herath Shanaka , Mangioni Vince , Shi Song , Ge Xin Janet
Published: April 2023

Purpose

House price fluctuations send vital signals to many parts of the economy, and long-term predictions of house prices are of great interest to governments and property developers. Although predictive models based on economic fundamentals are widely used, the common requirement for such studies is that underlying data are stationary. This paper aims to demonstrate the usefulness of alternative filtering methods for forecasting house prices.

Design/methodology/approach

We specifically focus on exponential smoothing with trend adjustment and multiplicative decomposition using median house prices for Sydney from Q3 1994 to Q1 2017. The model performance is evaluated using out-of-sample forecasting techniques and a robustness check against secondary data sources.

Findings

Multiplicative decomposition outperforms exponential smoothing at forecasting accuracy. The superior decomposition model suggests that seasonal and cyclical components provide important additional information for predicting house prices. The forecasts for 2017–2028 suggest that prices will slowly increase, going past 2016 levels by 2020 in the apartment market and by 2022/2023 in the detached housing market.

Research limitations/implications

We demonstrate that filtering models are simple (univariate models that only require historical house prices), easy to implement (with no condition of stationarity) and widely used in financial trading, sports betting and other fields where producing accurate forecasts is more important than explaining the drivers of change. The paper puts forward a case for the inclusion of filtering models within the forecasting toolkit as a useful reference point for comparing forecasts from alternative models.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper undertakes the first systematic comparison of two filtering models for the Sydney housing market.
Tribology for sustainable solutions: tribometer wear testings of the human dental care tribosystem tooth–bamboo toothbrush–toothpaste
Authors: Reiser Matthias , Beau Patrick , Patzer Gregor , Niessner Matthias
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Environmentally friendly products are finding a place in everyday lives more frequently, like bamboo toothbrushes. However, the authors find no statement from consumer protection centers about their impact on the human well-being or dental health in daily use. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the tribological parameters between tooth, toothpaste and toothbrush laboratory tests with a focus on abrasive wear.

Design/methodology/approach

The real-world system was systematically transferred to a laboratory scale, which was implemented to a Schwing-Reib-Verschleiß tribometer tribometer (Optimol Instruments). For an abstraction of the real-world system, as many components of the original tribosystem as possible were retained. In addition, the abstraction was selected so that the method could be transferred to other tribometers. For the evaluation of the test subjects, an optical measurement method was developed to investigate the forms of wear.

Findings

Based on eight test series, it is possible to differentiate between the tribological partners by the wear results. With the help of the measurement method, it will be possible to recommend the use of sustainable oral hygiene products for everyone in everyday life in future. According to the findings, the use of low-cost toothbrushes and highly abrasive toothpaste should be avoided. The effects of an aggressive brushing technique cannot be compensated by gentle toothbrushes and toothpastes.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first approach to investigate the wear behavior of tooth–toothpaste–toothbrush while substitute the tooth with dental gypsum. The approach is relevant for developing screening tests with high respect to transferability to the real-world application.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-11-2022-0339/
How do environmental taxes affect green process innovation? Evidence from the Chinese manufacturing industry
Authors: Wei Lan , Zhang Yanbo , Jia Jinan
Published: April 2023

Purpose

The absence of government intervention and market supervision cannot effectively promote green process innovation in manufacturing industries. As a new government regulation approach, environmental taxes provide a platform to internalize the externality of environmental pollution. This paper empirically investigates the impact of environmental taxes on green process innovation and the moderating effects of industry pollution heterogeneity and green credit.

Design/methodology/approach

This research collects manufacturing industry data ranging from 2008 to 2020, resulting in a total of 351 observations. Time-individual, two-way fixed effect models are constructed to examine the hypotheses.

Findings

The results indicate environmental taxes have an inverted-U effect on green process innovation in manufacturing industries. Implementation intensity of the current environmental taxes on China's manufacturing industries does not reach an inflection point. Further analysis suggests that environmental taxes exert influence on the inverted-U relationship with low-pollution industries displaying a steeper curvilinear pattern than high-pollution industries. Moreover, the analysis shows that green credit plays a moderating role in the inverted-U relationship, as low green credit provides more limited stimulus than high green credit in terms of the effect of environmental taxes on green process innovation.

Research limitations/implications

This study offers empirical evidence to accommodate negative externalities of corporate production and provides new perspectives in nudging corporate green-process innovation.

Originality/value

This paper verifies the effect of environmental taxes on green process innovation amid industry pollution heterogeneity by introducing an industrial-level analysis unit. This study improves the means by which environmental taxes are measured. Existing literature has narrowly used pollution discharge fees as a proxy for environmental taxes. The authors have summed up the taxes on vehicle and vessels, urban land use, urban maintenance and construction, vehicle purchases, waste gas, wastewater and solid waste to measure the effect of environmental taxes in this study.
Impacts of digital twins on new business creation: insights from manufacturing industry
Authors: Timperi Mira , Kokkonen Kirsi , Hannola Lea , Elfvengren Kalle
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Digital twins (DTs) and other data-based solutions are gaining an increasing foothold in manufacturing business, whereas a mere physical product is often insufficient to satisfy all customers’ expectations. As a result, companies are seeking novel ways of value creation, and one exciting opportunity is the use of DTs in new business creation, where they can offer diverse possibilities for innovative businesses. This paper aims to examine the impacts and challenges of DTs on new business creation in the manufacturing industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a qualitative research approach, which combined semistructured interviews and an iterative Delphi study as research methods. The participants for the interviews and Delphi study were from different sectors and roles in the manufacturing industry. Altogether, 10 interviewees from eight companies took part in the interviews, and the expert panel of the Delphi method contained 12 professionals.

Findings

The results of the study indicated that DT can significantly impact the business models of manufacturing companies. DT can enhance operations, offer cost savings and business growth and allow stakeholders to focus on core competencies while developing their businesses. Several challenges for leveraging DT were identified, such as data ownership, resource allocation, internal bureaucracy and the difficulty of demonstrating the actual value of data-based services to potential customers.

Originality/value

This paper provides a structured expert-led assessment of the potential impacts of DT utilization in the creation of new business opportunities.
Identification of multiple nonlinear lap joints using instantaneous power flow balance
Authors: Anish R. , Shankar K.
Published: April 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply the novel instantaneous power flow balance (IPFB)-based identification strategy to a specific practical situation like nonlinear lap joints having single and double bolts. The paper also investigates the identification performance of the proposed power flow method over conventional acceleration-matching (AM) methods and other methods in the literature for nonlinear identification.

Design/methodology/approach

A parametric model of the joint assembly formulated using generic beam element is used for numerically simulating the experimental response under sinusoidal excitations. The proposed method uses the concept of substructure IPFB criteria, whereby the algebraic sum of power flow components within a substructure is equal to zero, for the formulation of an objective function. The joint parameter identification problem was treated as an inverse formulation by minimizing the objective function using the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm, with the unknown parameters as the optimization variables.

Findings

The errors associated with identified numerical results through the instantaneous power flow approach have been compared with the conventional AM method using the same model and are found to be more accurate. The outcome of the proposed method is also compared with other nonlinear time-domain structural identification (SI) methods from the literature to show the acceptability of the results.

Originality/value

In this paper, the concept of IPFB-based identification method was extended to a more specific practical application of nonlinear joints which is not reported in the literature. Identification studies were carried out for both single-bolted and double-bolted lap joints with noise-free and noise-contamination cases. In the current study, only the zone of interest (substructure) needs to be modelled, thus reducing computational complexity, and only interface sensors are required in this method. If the force application point is outside the substructure, there is no need to measure the forcing response also.
Business engagement for the SDGs in COVID-19 time: an Italian perspective
Authors: Scarpa Francesco , Torelli Riccardo , Fiandrino Simona
Published: April 2023

Purpose

This paper aims to understand how companies addressed and revisited their sustainable development goals (SDGs) engagement during COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

The study conducts semi-structured interviews with the sustainability managers of 16 Italian listed companies acting for the accomplishment of the SDGs. Then, the interviews’ transcripts and the companies’ sustainability reports were thematically analysed to tease out relevant findings.

Findings

The findings show that companies have intensified their SDGs efforts during COVID-19, implementing an approach closer to the “Sustainability for Braving Crisis”. The findings unveil the transformational mechanisms which determined and facilitated this improvement at three levels of the business SDGs engagement: “WHY” (general awareness and motivations), “HOW” (governance mechanisms, organizational structure and stakeholder dialogue) and “WHAT” (SDGs identification and prioritization and actions for the SDGs). These findings uncover the mechanisms through which a global crisis may prompt and catalyse sustainable business practices, acting as i) an inspirational and empowering event, ii) an organisational lever and iii) a reference point.

Practical implications

This research has important implications for practice and policy, as it offers managers and stakeholders guidance to understand how companies have reshaped their sustainability practices during the pandemic and drives future corporate responses in times of crisis.

Social implications

This study shows that a crisis may be a powerful lever to intensify business sustainability practices towards a better contribution to the SDGs.

Originality/value

This study focuses on how companies have revised their SDGs practices when faced with a global crisis such as COVID-19.
Feasibility and self‐perceived effectiveness of an online training program on dysphagia in residential aged care homes in mainland China
Authors: Law Thomas , Wei Yifeng , Wong Kay H. Y. , Hu Yunyi , Tong Michael C. F. , Lee Kathy Y. S.
Published: April 2023

Background

With a rapidly aging population in mainland China, dysphagia has become one of the common geriatric disorders which creates a huge demand on speech and language therapists (SLTs). The major challenge is the shortage of SLTs in China. In addition, frontline practitioners in mainland China may not be well equipped with the knowledge and practical skills in dysphagia management due to lack of systematic training and the work nature.

Aims

This study evaluates the self‐perceived effectiveness and feasibility of an online training program that aims to enhance the self‐assessed knowledge and skills of SLTs providing dysphagia care in residential aged care homes.

Methods and Procedures

Sixteen SLTs working in a residential aged care homes in mainland China attended a three‐hour pilot online training program which consists of didactic lecture and practical skills activity components. A total of 10 participants completed an online questionnaire one month after the training to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of this online training program.

Outcomes and Results

The preliminary results demonstrated participants’ self‐perception of high training effectiveness in theoretical knowledge and practical skills. A majority of the participants perceived that the training enhanced their theoretical knowledge and all of them perceived that they acquired practical skills. All respondents were satisfied with the online training approach. They also highlighted the advantage and challenges of the online training approach.

Conclusions and Implications

Online training is an effective and feasible approach for theoretical knowledge and practical skills transfer in SLT training and could ultimately benefit the delivery of services for individuals with dysphagia in mainland China.

What this paper adds

What is already known on the subject

Previous studies have shown that online training approach is as effective as face‐to‐face training in increasing professional knowledge. Online training programs may be more cost efficient and time efficient when compared with face‐to‐face training.

What this study adds

The present study provided preliminary evidence to support the feasibility and effectiveness of using online training on dysphagia for speech and language therapists working in residential aged care homes in mainland China.

What are the clinical implications of this work?

From the participants’ perception, online training approach is effective and feasible in delivering theoretical knowledge and practical skills. It may be a better training approach for mainland China considering the lack of expertise and accessibility to training.
Exploring Australian emergency department clinicians' knowledge, attitudes and adherence to the national peripheral intravenous catheter clinical care standard: A cross‐sectional national survey
Authors: Xu Hui (Grace) , Rickard Claire M , Takashima Mari , Butterfield Michael , Pink Edward , Ullman Amanda J
Published: April 2023

Objective

This study aimed to (i) capture clinicians' knowledge, attitude and adherence to the first Australian national peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) Clinical Care Standard, (ii) examine the instrument performance of the knowledge related questions and (iii) explore the educational needs for, and barriers to, Standard adherence among Australian ED clinicians.

Methods

A cross‐sectional national online survey was conducted from March to June 2022, using a snowball sampling method. The survey used 5‐point Likert scales and multiple‐choice questions to capture respondents' knowledge, attitude and adherence to the Standard as well as the educational needs for, and barriers to, Standard adherence.

Results

In total, 433 ED nurses and doctors responded. Although nearly half (n = 206, 47.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 55.5–65.8) of respondents claimed that they were unfamiliar with the Standard, questions on PIVC knowledge yielded that most respondents had adequate knowledge of most of the key standards. Respondents' attitudes towards multiple intravenous insertion attempts and ongoing PIVC competency monitoring are not in agreement with the Standard. Self‐reported practices regarding routine insertion of idle catheters (55%; 95% CI 49.9–59.9), using antecubital fossa as the first insertion site (84%; 95% CI 80–87), insertion without confidence (46%; 95% CI 41.2–51.1) and lack of routine reviewing the ongoing needs of PIVC (40%; 95% CI 35.3–45.1) were not aligned with the Standard. Unawareness of the Standard and non‐practical recommendations were rated as the top barriers to Standard adherence.

Conclusion

The findings of the survey suggest that the Standard may need modification to align with the needs of ED clinicians. Future studies need to explore the applicability and relevancy of some recommendations in the ED settings as they may cause low adherence to the Standard.
New Insights into the Mesozoic Large‐scale Intra‐plate Magmatism and Mineralization in South China from Seismic Tomography
Authors: SHI Danian , LÜ Qingtian , SHEN Yang , XU Xiaoming , ZHANG Yongqian , XU Yao , ZHAO Jinhua , GU Yumin , SHI Jianyu , CHEN Changxin
Published: April 2023

A great amount of new S‐wave data has been combined to image the mantle structure down to lower mantle depth near the southeastern margin of Eurasia and understand the tectonics in South China since the Mesozoic. Our results reveal a large‐scale structure beneath the South China Sea, with a prominent, broad low‐velocity feature of at least 1500‐km wide in and below the mantle transition zone (MTZ) and a pronounced low‐velocity feature of nearly 500‐km wide in the lowermost mantle. Together these features may represent the head‐and‐tail of an upwelling mantle plume that has interacted with and deformed by the subducting plates in the region. The Andaman–Sumatra plate is seen subducting steeply without stagnation in the MTZ over the large‐scale low‐velocity structure, suggesting that the upwelling mantle may have exerted significant influence on the overlying plate tectonics. Our results suggest a long‐term extensional regime near the southeastern margin of Eurasia, which may help to understand the formation of the large‐scale intra‐plate magmatism and mineralization with accumulation of huge amount of rare metal elements in South China during the Mesozoic, and the continental breakup, the southeastward extrusion of Indochina, and the opening of the South China Sea during the Cenozoic.
A Numerical Simulation Study of Temperature and Pressure Effects on the Breakthrough Pressure of CO2 in Unsaturated Low‐permeability Rock Core
Authors: HU Zhikai , LI Yi , LI Qi , DIAO Yujie , MA Xin , LIU Hejuan , FENG Guanhong , WANG Fugang , YU Qingchun
Published: April 2023

Gas breakthrough pressure is a key parameter to evaluate the sealing capacity of caprock, and it also plays important roles in safety and capacity of CO2 geological storage. Based on the published experimental results, we present numerical simulations on CO2 breakthrough pressure in unsaturated low‐permeability rock under 9 multiple P‐T conditions (which can keep CO2 in gaseous, liquid and supercritical states) and thus, a numerical method which can be used to accurately predict CO2 breakthrough pressure on rock‐core scale is proposed. The simulation results show that CO2 breakthrough pressure and breakthrough time are exponential correlated with P‐T conditions. Meanwhile, pressure has stronger effects on experimental results than that of temperature. Moreover, we performed sensitivity studies on the pore distribution index λ (0.6, 0.7, 0.8, and 0.9) in van Genuchten‐Muale model. Results show that with the increase of λ, CO2 breakthrough pressure and breakthrough time both show decreasing trends. In other words, the larger the value of λ is, the better the permeability of the caprock is, and the worse the CO2 sealing capacity is. The numerical method established in this study can provide an important reference for the prediction of gas breakthrough pressure on rock‐core scale and for related numerical studies.
How much carbon is stored in the terrestrial ecosystems of the Chilean Patagonia?
Authors: Perez‐Quezada Jorge F. , Moncada Macarena , Barrales Patricio , Urrutia‐Jalabert Rocío , Pfeiffer Marco , Herrera Aldo Farías , Sagardía Rodrigo
Published: April 2023

We estimated the amount of carbon (C) stored in terrestrial ecosystems of the Chilean Patagonia and the proportion within protected areas. We used existing public databases that provide information on C stocks in biomass and soils. Data were analysed by ecosystem and forest type in the case of native forests. Our results show that some ecosystems have been more extensively studied both for their stocks in biomass and soils (e.g. forests) compared with others (e.g. shrublands). Forests and peatlands store the largest amount of C because of their large stocks per hectare and the large area they cover. The total amount of C stored per unit area varies from 261.7 to 432.8 Mg C ha−1, depending on the published value used for soil organic C stocks in peatlands, highlighting the need to have more precise estimates of the C stored in this and other ecosystems. The mean stock in national parks (508 Mg C ha−1) is almost twice the amount stored in undisturbed forests in the Amazon. State and private protected areas contain 58.9% and 2.1% of the C stock, respectively, playing a key role in protecting ecosystems in this once pristine area.
Trends in early gestation stillbirths and neonatal deaths in New South Wales, Australia 2002–2019
Authors: Parry Marissa , Torvaldsen Siranda , Nippita Tanya A. , Bowen Jennifer , Morris Jonathan M. , Ibiebele Ibinabo
Published: April 2023

Background

Little research has focused on understanding trends in early gestation (20–27 weeks) stillbirths and neonatal deaths.

Aims

To examine trends in early gestation stillbirths and neonatal deaths in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

Materials and Methods

Population‐based cohort study of all births ≥20 weeks gestation among female NSW residents during 2002 to 2019, induced pregnancy terminations excluded. Stillbirth rates by gestational age and birth year were calculated per 1000 fetuses‐at‐risk (FAR). Neonatal death rates by gestational age and birth year were calculated per 1000 live births. Linear regression was used to examine trends in stillbirth and neonatal death rates among all, singleton and twin births.

Results

Declining trends in early gestation stillbirth and neonatal death rates were found. Stillbirth rates decreased from 1.9 and 0.9/1000 FAR in 2002 to 1.6 and 0.7 in 2019 for 20–23 and 24–27 week groups, respectively. Neonatal rates decreased from 940 and 315/1000 live births in 2002 to 925 and 189 in 2019 for the 20–23 and 24–27 week groups, respectively. Among singleton births, declining trends in stillbirth and neonatal death rates across all age groups were observed, except for 37–38 week stillbirths. No trends in twin stillbirth rates were found across gestational age groups, although a decreasing trend was observed for 20–23 week twin neonatal deaths.

Conclusions

Trends in early gestation stillbirth and neonatal deaths have declined in recent decades in NSW but further efforts are needed to reduce both early and late gestation stillbirth rates among twin births.
Bleb morphology of glaucoma drainage devices on magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Correia Barão Rafael , Berhanu David , Bernardo Matos Diogo , Barata André Diogo , Sousa Rita , Abegão Pinto Luís
Published: April 2023

Purpose

To evaluate bleb morphology features of different glaucoma drainage devices (GDD) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials and Methods

Prospective cohort study of GDD and bleb morphology in consecutive glaucoma patients implanted with Ahmed Glaucoma Valve (AGV), Paul Glaucoma Implant (PGI), Baerveldt Glaucoma Implant (BGI) and Ahmed ClearPath (ACP) devices. Thirty‐six eyes from 30 consecutive patients underwent standardized GDD implantation followed by MRI at least 1 month after surgery. Main outcomes included bleb volume and endplate position relative to the optic nerve. Secondary outcomes included intraocular pressure (IOP), medication and surgical complications during a 12‐month follow‐up.

Results

Seven eyes were implanted with the AGV (19%), 5 with BGI (14%), 16 with PGI (44%) and 8 with ACP (22%). MRI scans were obtained 85 ± 66 days after surgery. Mean total bleb volume was 563 ± 390 mm3. This bleb volume was inversely correlated with early post‐operative IOP (day 7; rs = −0.3326, p = 0.0475) but positively correlated with IOP at 12 months (rs = 0.3592, p = 0.0341). No significant difference in total bleb volume was found between GDD types (p = 0.1223). A double‐layered bleb was observed in 34 eyes (94%). The inferior bleb volume was significantly larger in PGI devices versus other GDD types (380 ± 205 vs. 193 ± 161 mm3; p = 0.0043). Distance from the endplate to the optic nerve was 9.5 ± 4.0 mm, similar across GDDs (p = 0.2519).

Conclusions

Double‐layered blebs are a common finding with GDDs. Bleb volume showed different correlations with IOP at distinct timepoints and the PGI device formed larger blebs. A standardized GDD implantation technique ensures a safe distance from the GDD endplate to the optic nerve.
Exploring the interactive mechanism of acarbose with the amylase SusG in the starch utilization system of the human gut symbiont Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron through molecular modeling
Authors: Kwain Samuel , Dominy Brian N. , Whitehead Kristi J. , Miller Brock A. , Whitehead Daniel C.
Published: April 2023

The α‐amylase, SusG, is a principal component of the Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (Bt) starch utilization system (Sus) used to metabolize complex starch molecules in the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We previously reported the non‐microbicidal growth inhibition of Bt by the acarbose‐mediated arrest of the Sus as a potential therapeutic strategy. Herein, we report a computational approach using density functional theory (DFT), molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to explore the interactive mechanism between acarbose and SusG at the atomic level in an effort to understand how acarbose shuts down the Bt Sus. The docking analysis reveals that acarbose binds orthosterically to SusG with a binding affinity of −8.3 kcal/mol. The MD simulation provides evidence of conformational variability of acarbose at the active site of SusG and also suggests that acarbose interacts with the main catalytic residues via a general acid–base double‐displacement catalytic mechanism. These results suggest that small molecule competitive inhibition against the SusG protein could impact the entire Bt Sus and eliminate or reduce the system's ability to metabolize starch. This computational strategy could serve as a potential avenue for structure‐based drug design to discover other small molecules capable of inhibiting the Sus of Bt with high potency, thus providing a holistic approach for selective modulation of the GI microbiota.
Transethosomes: Cutting edge approach for drug permeation enhancement in transdermal drug delivery system
Authors: Nayak Bhabani Shankar , Mohanty Biswaranjan , Mishra Bibaswan , Roy Harekrishna , Nandi Sisir
Published: April 2023

The skin is a major route of drug administration. Despite the high surface area of the skin, drug delivery via the skin route is problematic due to its physiological obstacles. The formulation scientist has developed a vesicular system to enhance the skin's absorption of bioactive substances. Among numerous vesicular systems, concept of transethosomes (TEs) introduced in 2012 are being tested for drug delivery to the dermis. When transferosomes and ethosomes interact, TEs are produced. It consists of water, ethanol, phospholipids, and an edge activator. Ethanol and the edge activator increase the absorption of medication through the skin. In the presence of ethanol and an edge activator, skin permeability can increase. The advantages of TEs include increased patient compliance, bypassing first‐pass metabolism, including non‐toxic raw components, being a noninvasive method of drug delivery, being more stable, biocompatible, biodegradable, and administered in semisolid form. TEs can be produced through the use of hot, cold, mechanical dispersion, and conventional techniques. The morphology, shape, size, zeta potential, drug loading efficiency, vesicle yield, biophysical interactions, and stability of TEs define them. Recent studies reported successful transdermal distribution of antifungal, antiviral, anti‐inflammatory, and cardiovascular bioactive while using ethosomes with significant deeper penetration in skin. The review extensively discussed various claims on TEs developed by researchers, patents, and marketed ethosomes. However, till today no patens being granted on TEs. There are still lingering difficulties related to ethanol‐based TEs that require substantial research to fix.
Flaws and uncertainties in pandemic global excess death calculations
Authors: Ioannidis John P. A. , Zonta Francesco , Levitt Michael
Published: April 2023

Several teams have been publishing global estimates of excess deaths during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Here, we examine potential flaws and underappreciated sources of uncertainty in global excess death calculations. Adjusting for changing population age structure is essential. Otherwise, excess deaths are markedly overestimated in countries with increasingly aging populations. Adjusting for changes in other high‐risk indicators, such as residence in long‐term facilities, may also make a difference. Death registration is highly incomplete in most countries; completeness corrections should allow for substantial uncertainty and consider that completeness may have changed during pandemic years. Excess death estimates have high sensitivity to modelling choice. Therefore different options should be considered and the full range of results should be shown for different choices of pre‐pandemic reference periods and imposed models. Any post‐modelling corrections in specific countries should be guided by pre‐specified rules. Modelling of all‐cause mortality (ACM) in countries that have ACM data and extrapolating these models to other countries is precarious; models may lack transportability. Existing global excess death estimates underestimate the overall uncertainty that is multiplicative across diverse sources of uncertainty. Informative excess death estimates require risk stratification, including age groups and ethnic/racial strata. Data to‐date suggest a death deficit among children during the pandemic and marked socioeconomic differences in deaths, widening inequalities. Finally, causal explanations require great caution in disentangling SARS‐CoV‐2 deaths, indirect pandemic effects and effects from measures taken. We conclude that excess deaths have many uncertainties, but globally deaths from SARS‐CoV‐2 may be the minority of calculated excess deaths.
IoT based arrhythmia classification using the enhanced hunt optimization‐based deep learning
Authors: Kumar Abhishek , Kumar Swarn Avinash , Dutt Vishal , Shitharth S. , Tripathi Esha
Published: April 2023

The advancement of information technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), and several miniaturize equipment's enhances the healthcare field that provides real‐time patient monitoring, which helps to provide medication anywhere and anytime. However, accurate detection is still a challenging task for which an effective classification model is introduced in this research. The proposed method is the Enhanced Hunt optimization based Deep convolutional neural network (Enhanced Hunt based‐Deep CNN), in which the Enhanced Hunt optimization algorithm (EHOA) is developed by fusing the hunting habit of the predator and the herding characteristics of herding dog for enhancing the global optimal convergence. Here, the ECG signal from the individuals is collected using the IoT network and stored in the Hospital server, which is accessed by the doctor when requested, the classification is performed using the Enhanced Hunt based‐Deep CNN and the performance revealed the effectiveness with the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 95.33%, 94.92%, and 97.57%.
Political geography and the value relevance of real options
Authors: Douidar Shaddy , Pantzalis Christos , Park Jung Chul
Published: April 2023

Corporate political geography influences the value of real options because proximity to political power can trigger greater exposure to uncertainty and/or more growth opportunities. Our empirical tests reveal that although areas closely aligned with the president experience a boost in real options’ value relevance, this effect is significant only among the majority of firms that are neither politically connected nor reliant on government contracts. Our findings are consistent with the notion that political connections essentially eliminate policy uncertainty (render real options value‐irrelevant), whereas government dependence additionally inhibits investment in growth opportunities (ability to exploit volatility) from proximity to political power.
Human Health Risk Assessment of Elevated Fe and Mn Intake in Groundwater in Yangtze Catchment
Authors: Tan Haoyan , Zhang Caixiang , Li Jiasen , Zeng Ming , Cheng Yikang
Published: April 2023

Globally, it has been reported that groundwater contains elevated levels of Fe and Mn. However, the risk of prolonged exposure to groundwater with elevated Fe and Mn was often ignored due to their much lower carcinogenic risk. To assess the human health risk of elevated Fe and Mn intake in groundwater, 1863 groundwater samples from the Yangtze catchment, a densely populated and economically prosperous area of China, were collected in this study. The spatial distributions of Fe and Mn in groundwater were investigated by the geographic information system (GIS) and their health risk assessment was done. The results indicated that 38.6% and 50.3% of the groundwater samples were defined as “elevated/high” levels for Fe and Mn, respectively, exceeding 0.3 and 0.1 mg/L (World Health Organization guidelines). Moreover, in the groundwater of Yangtze Catchment, the order of Fe and Mn contents is followed by upper< middle< lower. Based on the calculated hazard index (HI), HIadult and HIchild were in a range of 0‐4.91 and 0‐11.07, respectively. There was an area of 3,483 and 35,523 km2 with a non‐carcinogenic risk from Fe and Mn, correspondingly. The numbers of affected adults and children were about 3,018,066 and 2,775,007, respectively. It means that 0.20% and 2.00% of the study area or 0.64% and 0.59% of the total population will suffer health risks from Fe and Mn intake in groundwater, respectively. Therefore, a significant basis for groundwater safety in the Yangtze catchment and similar areas was provided in this study.
AN APOLOGIA FOR ARTHUR LOVEJOY'S LONG‐RANGE APPROACH TO THE HISTORY OF IDEAS
Authors: Mouton Nico
Published: April 2023

Arthur Lovejoy's long‐range approach to the history of ideas is little appreciated and largely abandoned. The list of Lovejoy's supposed sins is long. His critics have charged that, among other things, he treated ideas as timeless entities with essences that are independent of individual thinkers, separate from specific texts, isolated from immediate contexts, and insulated from intellectual change. This article defends Lovejoy against such attacks and argues that his approach is still viable and valuable.
Life in the hole: The impact of solitary confinement in the United States
Authors: Tadros Eman , Carufel Amber , Smith Jennifer
Published: April 2023

An estimated 84,000 incarcerated individuals face solitary confinement in the United States criminal justice system. Solitary confinement is seen as a cruel punishment, with lasting effects, for incarcerated individuals. Human rights organisations, medical associations, policymakers, and incarcerated people have argued for the discontinuation of solitary confinement. After being in solitary confinement for an extended period, incarcerated people can suffer worsening and future mental health issues, physical health concerns and issues with relationships during and after serving their time in prison. This article reviews the available research and the purpose of the article is to show the detrimental effects solitary confinement has on incarcerated individuals. Clinical and policy implications for prisons that use solitary confinement are discussed to dissuade usage.
Accurate quantification on the change of some live pathogenic microbial flora in fermented feed
Authors: Chen Huayou , Kang Lingyu , Li Keyi , Feng Tao , Ni Zhong , Gao Ebin , Fang Zhen
Published: April 2023

Real‐time monitoring of harmful bacteria in the process of feed fermentation is an important step to control and optimise feed quality. Real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) can effectively determine the total amount of pathogenic bacteria but does not distinguish between active and inactive bacteria. In this work, propidium monoazide dyes (PMA) were combined with qPCR technology to explore the changes of microflora during the fermentation of artificially contaminated feed. The results indicated that the Cycle Threshold (Ct) values of sample detected by PMA‐qPCR were all higher than the results of qPCR. PMA could effectively nullify the influence of dead bacteria in the detection of viable bacteria. It was found that the growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Shigella flexneri, and Staphylococcus aureus were inhibited during the fermentation process of soybean meal feed with the mortality rates were 99.89, 95.07 and 97.73%, respectively. However, the growth of beneficial bacteria were not affected by the presence of harmful bacteria after 60 days of storage. These results suggest that anaerobically fermented feed is a promising substitute for antibiotics in animal feed and using PMA‐qPCR for real‐time monitoring of harmful bacteria in fermented feed will further improve the safety risk assessment of fermented feed.
Association between medication literacy and blood pressure control among hypertensive patients
Authors: Qin Ning , Yao Ziqiang , Shi Shuangjiao , Duan Yinglong , Li Xiao , Liu Haoqi , Zheng Feng , Zhong Zhuqing
Published: April 2023

Aim

This study aimed to explore the association between medication literacy and blood pressure control among hypertensive patients.

Background

Blood pressure control is a challenge for global health systems. Medication literacy is essential for medication self‐management in hypertensive patients and a basis for managers to develop comprehensive intervention strategies for hypertension medication use.

Design

A cross‐sectional observational study was conducted.

Methods

A total of 378 hypertensive patients was selected by convenience sampling from two tertiary hospitals and four community health service centres from December 2021 to January 2022 in Changsha, China. Associations between medication literacy and blood pressure control were identified with chi‐square, independent samples t‐tests and logistic regression analyses.

Results

The average medication literacy score of the hypertensive patients investigated was low. Over a third of patients had uncontrolled blood pressure. Logistic regression analysis showed that medication literacy was an influencing factor for blood pressure control rate in hypertensive patients.

Conclusions

Medication literacy and blood pressure control among hypertensive patients was poor. Medication literacy was a facilitator of blood pressure control so improving medication literacy may be of value to improve blood pressure control in hypertensive patients.
The role of courage and interactional justice in emotional exhaustion of emergency nurses: A cross‐sectional study in Turkey
Authors: Koksal Kemal , Mert Ibrahim Sani
Published: April 2023

Aim

The study aimed to understand the role of courage and interactional justice in the emotional exhaustion of emergency nurses.

Background

Nurses judge managers' interactions with them. Rude and inappropriate interactions of administrators with nurses are among the reasons that increase the emotional exhaustion of nurses. A courageous nurse can diminish the negative effect of injustice on emotional exhaustion by voicing this unfairness.

Introduction

Increasing nurses' emotional exhaustion due to working conditions is a fundamental problem in the health sector. Perception of justice and courage, studied in organizational psychology, are significant antecedents of emotional exhaustion. Individuals with high courage are more likely to seek support and cope with job demands.

Methods

Using the cross‐sectional method, the authors performed descriptive, correlation, and regression analyses to test the hypotheses. Data were obtained from 317 emergency nurses currently working in four public hospitals as emergency nurses or have worked in the last three years.

Results

Interactional justice was significantly and negatively related to emotional exhaustion but was positively related to workplace social courage. High courage strengthens the negative relationship between interactional justice and emotional exhaustion.

Conclusion

Nurses with high courage can reduce emotional exhaustion by raising a voice to request more respectful, honest, polite, and appropriate communication when their managers do not treat them fairly.

Implications for nursing practice and policies

Managers' supportive interventions are necessary and helpful in alleviating stressors that cause emotional exhaustion in nurses. The authorities should see and accept managerial unfairness in health, and steps should be taken toward a solution. There is an urgent need to create a communication environment where nurses can courageously share their problems.
Gender, race, and job satisfaction of law graduates: Intersectional evidence from the National Survey of College Graduates
Authors: Hersch Joni
Published: April 2023

Studies typically find that lawyers have high job satisfaction and that women are not less satisfied than are men. But racial differences as well as gender differences by race or ethnicity in satisfaction may be masked because most lawyers identify as racially White. To examine whether job satisfaction differs by race and whether gender and race/ethnicity have an intersectional relation to job satisfaction, I use data on nearly 13,000 law graduates drawn from six waves of the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) conducted between 2003 and 2019. The NSCG uniquely provides a large enough sample to examine intersectionality in job satisfaction of law graduates as well as to compare satisfaction of lawyers to those employed in other occupations. Job satisfaction is strikingly low among Black women and Asian women law graduates. Asian women lawyers have satisfaction similar to White men lawyers but substantially lower satisfaction if not employed as a lawyer. Black women have substantially lower satisfaction in either employment situation. The lower satisfaction of Asian and Black women law graduates is not due to differences in personal characteristics, family status or background, job characteristics, or differences in values.