bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reduction in cardiolipin reduces expression of creatine transporter-1 and creatine transport in hBMEC/D3 human brain microvessel endothelial cells
Authors: Miller Donald W. , Hatch Grant M.
Published: January 2022

Background

Cardiolipin (CL) is the signature phospholipid of mitochondria and regulates a plethora of cellular functions including mitochondrial energy production. There is little knowledge of how CL regulates uptake and membrane transport processes in mammalian cells. Endothelial cells of the blood brain barrier (BBB) play a vital role in uptake of metabolites into the brain and are enriched in mitochondria compared with peripheral endothelial cells. We examined how deficiency in BBB endothelial CL regulates the expression of selected drug and metabolite transporters and their function.

Methods

Cardiolipin synthase-1 (hCLS1) was knocked down in a human brain microvessel endothelial cell line, hBMEC/D3, by Lipofectamine® transfection with hCLS1 siRNA and CL levels, CL synthase activity and the mRNA expression of selected blood brain barrier drug and metabolite transporters examined. Mock transfected hBMEC/D3 cells served as controls. The incorporation of [14C]creatine and [14C]oleate into hBMEC/D3 cells was determined as a measure of solute metabolite transport and protein expression of the creatine transporter determined.

Results

Knockdown of the CL biosynthetic enzyme hCLS1 in hBMEC/D3 reduced CL and CL synthase activity and the mRNA expression of creatine transporter-1, p-glycoprotein and breast cancer resistance protein compared to controls. In contrast, mRNA expression of ATP binding cassette subfamily C members-1, -3, multidrug resistance-associated protein-4 variants 1, -2, and fatty acid transport protein-1 were unaltered. Although ATP production was unaltered by hCLS1 knockdown, incorporation of [14C]creatine into hBMEC/D3 cells was reduced compared to controls. The reduction in [14C]creatine incorporation was associated with a reduction in creatine transporter-1 protein expression. In contrast, incorporation of [14C]oleic acid into hBMEC/D3 cells and the mRNA expression of fatty acid transport protein-1 was unaltered by knockdown of hCLS1 compared to controls.

Conclusion

Knockdown of hCLS1 in hBMEC/D3, with a corresponding reduction in CL, results in alteration in expression of specific solute membrane transporters.
Shortage of nurses in Hong Kong: the challenges ahead
Authors: Lam Gigi
Published: January 2022

Purpose

The aging of a population poses significant challenges to healthcare, housing, social security and elderly care services. Active aging is promoted by the Hong Kong government but is compromised by a shortage of nurses, doctors and professional aides. This study aims to review the history of nursing education in Hong Kong, evaluate Hong Kong's nursing manpower policy with a macro–micro analysis based on sociological imagination and provide sound recommendations.

Design/methodology/approach

This article analyzes the nursing shortage in Hong Kong. A comprehensive literature review was conducted, concerning the Hong Kong healthcare workforce and covering relevant government reports, consultation papers and articles from academic journals from 1943 to the present.

Findings

The nursing shortage in Hong Kong can be understood from both absolute and relative terms. The total number of practicing nurses and fresh graduates registering through the four aforementioned pathways increased from 17,034 in 1996 to 61,295 in 2020 (growth rate of 74.4%), but it is predicted that there will be a shortage of 455, 1,383 and 1,669 nurses in 2020, 2025 and 2030, respectively. Moreover, Hong Kong had 8.2 nurses per 1,000 people in 2020. Although this rate exceeds those of China, South Korea and Singapore, it lags behind those of the USA and Australia as well as the international recommendation of nine nurses per 1,000 people. The nurse shortage has been further aggravated by an interaction between macro factors, including aging population, a lack of coherent and long-term nursing manpower policy (an analysis is based on a health policy triangle), numerous obstacles imposed on nurses from abroad and micro factors emanating from an interplay of push–pull factors among nurses.

Practical implications

The proportion of the Hong Kong population aged 65 years or older was 18% in 2019. The availability of healthcare workers is essential for attaining optimal health outcomes for older adults. The high turnover rate of nurses in public hospitals negatively affects the provision of timely high-quality medical services in the dual-track medical system. Therefore, workforce projections should be made every three years. Such policy should rely primarily on local nurses trained both by University Grant Committee-funded institutions and by self-financed tertiary institutions. Foreign nurses should be a supplementary resource. The budget allocated to the public healthcare sector should be increased to improve remuneration, provide abundant training opportunities and improve working environment to retain nurses in public hospitals.

Originality/value

Given that deep-seated problems surrounding the quantity and quality of nurses, the avenues for pursuing nursing degree education and the turnover rate of nurses in public hospitals remain unsolved, it is imperative to investigate how to alleviate the healthcare workforce shortage in Hong Kong.
Family firms, national culture and corporate social performance: a meta-analysis
Authors: Chen Jiawen , Liu Linlin
Published: January 2022

Purpose

Extant literature is ambiguous on the corporate social performance (CSP) of family firm. This paper aims to synthesize existing evidence of the relationship between family firm and corporate responsibility performance, and to examine the moderating effects of national culture.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a meta-analysis of the relationship between family firm and CSP, as well as the role of national culture on shaping this relationship.

Findings

The findings show evidence of greater CSP among family firms compared to nonfamily firms. The family firm–CSP relationship was moderated by cultural values such as ingroup collectivism, humane orientation and future orientation, and the moderating effects depended on cultural tightness.

Originality/value

The results help reconcile inconclusive prior findings, and elucidates family firms' corporate social responsibility in different cultures.
Japanese stone monuments and disaster memory – perspectives for DRR
Authors: Garnier Emmanuel , Lahournat Florence
Published: January 2022

Purpose

The paper focuses on an aspect of disaster often overlooked by experts: that of disaster memory both as a prevention tool and one potentially contributing to the resilience of vulnerable communities in Japan. The objective is, more specifically, to explore one specific source of disaster memory in Japan, namely the disaster-related stone monuments scattered throughout the archipelago.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the goals, the authors have studied several types of materials. First, the authors have used the “Natural Disaster Monument” online database compiled by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GIS), data upon which the authors based the field research study, focused on water-related disaster in Otsu city (Shiga Prefecture). Simultaneously, the authors have systematically searched Japanese newspapers since the middle of the 19th century as well as the archives of Shiga prefecture in order to collect additional information on the statistical reality of these monuments, the context of their creation and in order to better estimate the severity of our case studies.

Findings

First, the findings show that stone monuments are indeed structuring elements of disaster memory in Japan. Not only are they present throughout the archipelago, but in addition, they are still for the most part visited by local communities. Second, the findings show how this material culture of disaster, as a vector of disaster memory, could be used as a tool to better understand and bring awareness to the occurrence of specific hazards, especially to future generations.

Originality/value

The authors promote an interdisciplinary approach by associating anthropology and history. The study offers a new and original character about an object of study relating to both the cultural and historical fields but still often neglected as a tool and object of research in DDR. The authors provide a method and suggest ways to integrate these stone monuments into DDR policies. Finally, the authors propose to better integrate these monuments into the overall reflection on disaster awareness and disaster mitigation.
Designing rule-based conversational agents with behavioral programming: a study of human subjects
Authors: Rosenfeld Ariel , Haimovich Nitzan
Published: January 2022

Purpose

In this work, the authors propose to harness the advantages of behavioral programming as a new technique for designing rule-based conversational agents.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine the study’s hypotheses, the authors perform a first-of-its-kind user study through which the authors examine how potential designers, both expert designers, computationally-oriented designers, and otherwise, leverage behavioral programming (BP) and dialog graphs for designing conversational agents (CAs). The authors also use two standard CA settings common in the literature: designing a CA representative for a user in an online dating service and a non-character player in a role-playing game (RPG).

Findings

The study’s results indicate that BP can be successfully utilized by computationally-oriented designers, with or without prior knowledge in CA design, and can facilitate the design of better CAs (i.e. more accurate and more robust). However, to capitalize on these potential advantages, designers may be required to devote more time to the design process and are likely to encounter higher temporal demand levels. These results suggest that BP, which was initially proposed and evaluated in the general context of software design, can constitute a valuable alternative to the classic rule-based CA design technique commonly practiced today.

Research limitations/implications

An important limitation of this study is the relatively small participant pool. While the authors do plan to extend this study in the future, the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation makes it ever more complex to conduct formal user studies of this kind. It is, however, important to note that despite the low number of participants, many of the results are found to be statistically significant.

Practical implications

The authors plan to continue this line of work and conduct human studies for additional design techniques in other popular agent-based settings. Specifically, the authors seek to explore how people of different backgrounds should design agents for various tasks such as automated negotiation (e.g. how should a person design a representative agent to negotiate on her behalf?) and social choice (e.g. how should a person design a voting bot to represent her in online voting systems?).

Originality/value

People are increasingly interacting with conversational agents in various settings and for a variety of reasons, as the market size of those agents keeps on growing every year. Through a first-of-its-kind human study (N = 41), consisting of both expert designers, computationally-oriented designers, and otherwise, the authors demonstrate a few key advantages and limitations of BP in the realm of conversational agents and propose its consideration as an alternative to the classic dialog graph technique.
Accessibility of music festivals: a British perspective
Authors: Alvarado Karla Gabriela
Published: January 2022

Purpose

This investigation aims to critically assess accessibility for persons with disabilities (PWDs) at music festivals in the UK.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic review of the literature was conducted, followed by a case study focused on analysing accessible facilities and services offered at Glastonbury, Creamfields, Latitudes and Bestival Festivals. These two research strategies made use of secondary data only.

Findings

Based on the analysis of the needs of PWDs when attending a music festival and the facilities and services currently offered at the four UK music festivals studied in this research, three themes emerged: (1) insufficient attention is given to venue and site design characteristics, (2) current access booking tools appear to be confusing and bureaucratic and (3) staff awareness is of great concern among PWDs because employees do not have sufficient knowledge about the different types of disabilities and their individual needs.

Practical implications

By identifying current barriers affecting the experience of PWDs while attending music festivals in the UK, this research guides festival managers to deliver a more accessible music festival experience by suggesting the implementation of new approaches in terms of services and physical spaces provided.

Originality/value

This paper provides festival managers and future researchers with an essential foundation for creating more inclusive music festivals since it mentions critical factors that are currently missing and that can ensure success when responding to PWDs' needs and desires. The information in this investigation can be taken as an initial point to develop a theoretical framework through primary research focused on accessible festival design.
Aerodynamic and flight dynamic parametric studies of a flapping wing
Authors: Chetia Tandralee , Rajaram Dhayalan , Sreejalekshmi Kumaran G.
Published: January 2022

Purpose

Flapping-wing vehicles show various advantages as compared to fixed wing vehicles, making flapping-wing vehicles' study necessary in the current scenario. The present study aims to provide guidelines for fixing geometric parameters for an initial engineering design by a simple aerodynamic and flight dynamic parametric study.

Design/methodology/approach

A mathematical analysis was performed to understand the aerodynamics and flight dynamics of the micro-air vehicle (MAV). Only the forces due to the flapping wing were considered. The flapping motion was considered to be a combination of the pitching and plunging motion. The geometric parameters of the flapping wing were varied and the aerodynamic forces and power were observed. Attempts were then made to understand the flight stability envelope of the MAV in a forward horizontal motion in the vertical plane with similar parametric studies as those conducted in the case of aerodynamics.

Findings

From the aerodynamic study, insights were obtained regarding the interaction of design parameters with the aerodynamics and feasible ranges of values for the parameters were identified. The flapping wing was found to have neutral static stability. The flight dynamic analysis revealed the presence of an unstable oscillatory mode, a stable fast subsidence mode and a neutral mode, in the forward flight of the MAV. The presence of unstable modes highlighted the need for active control to restore the MAV to equilibrium from its unstable state.

Research limitations/implications

The study does not take into account the effects of control surfaces and tail on the aerodynamics and flight dynamics of the MAV. There is also a need to validate the results obtained in the study through experimental means which shall be taken up in the future.

Practical implications

The parametric study helps us to understand the extent of the impact of the design parameters on the aerodynamics and stability of the MAV. The analysis of both aerodynamics and dynamic stability provides a holistic picture for the initial design. The study incorporates complex mathematical equations and simplifies such to understand the aerodynamics and flight stability of the MAV from an engineering perspective.

Originality/value

The study adds to already existing knowledge on the design procedures of a flapping wing.
The effect of social network sites usage on absenteeism and labor outcomes: longitudinal evidence
Authors: Chen Jie
Published: January 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is multifold. First, it is to investigate the relationship between social network sites (SNSs) usage and youth's school absenteeism. Second, it is to identify causal relationship between SNSs usage and absenteeism. Third, it is to explore whether SNSs usage causally affects youth's study–work choice after leaving high school. In addition to SNSs usage in general, abnormal SNSs usage is further discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) data are utilised. Lagged variable analysis is used to alleviate reverse causality. Instrumental variable approach and the Lewbel method are used to identify causality. Random effects panel data approach (without and with IVs) is additionally applied to increase efficiency and account for individual-specific effects. Random effects approach allowing for within and between effects is applied, enabling us to control for fixed effects. The primary instrument is a dummy indicating whether a youth more often communicates with close friend electronically or face-to-face.

Findings

Using SNSs leads to significantly higher probability of a teenager being late for school, skipping class and having trouble not following school rules. The effect is more consistent regarding abnormal SNSs usage, compared to SNSs usage in general. Additionally, SNSs usage decreases the probability of a youth studying after 18 years old, even after controlling for absenteeism.

Practical implications

The findings in this paper highlight the importance of preventing youth (e.g. via enabling children-safe mode or setting up maximum daily access time) from overusing SNSs.

Social implications

With the transition to hybrid (mixing remote and face-to-face) learning during and after COVID-19, online interactions are becoming inevitable in students' learning. The findings in this paper indicate that usage, especially abnormal usage, of SNSs increases the probability of absenteeism call for attention from stakeholders including teachers, parents and youth themselves.

Originality/value

This paper provides the first causal and longitudinal evidence linking SNSs usage to absenteeism and youth labor outcomes.
The use of social media and the prevalence of depression: a multi-country examination of value co-creation and consumer well-being
Authors: Griffith David A. , Lee Hannah Soobin , Yalcinkaya Goksel
Published: January 2022

Purpose

Social media is a product that is co-created by consumers and multinational enterprises, that partially manage the customer experience and that has garnered significant attention in the field of international marketing. However, international marketing scholars have yet to address the societal costs of the use of social media, even as academics in other disciplines and business leaders are raising alarm that social media has created a digital ecosystem that may harm individuals within the global market. The objective of this research is to examine the generalizability of the relationship between the use of social media and the prevalence of depression across countries.

Design/methodology/approach

Employing social cohesion theory and the social network approach of the strength of ties, this work examines the relationship between the use of social media and time spent on social media at the country level and the prevalence of depression. The authors examine this issue within a 28-country, eight-year, unbalanced panel dataset, accounting for cultural, economic and structural factors.

Findings

The authors find that as more people within a country use social media, the prevalence of depression in that country increases. However, the authors also find that as the average time spent on social media in a country increases the deleterious relationship between the use of social media and the prevalence of depression diminishes.

Originality/value

Answering the calls in the international marketing literature for a greater understanding of the externalities (i.e. consumer well-being effects) of marketing activities of multinational companies, this study demonstrates the varying relationships of the use of and time spent on social media and the prevalence of depression at the population level, across a wide variety of countries, thus also contributing to the effort to improving generalizations from multi-country comparisons in international research.
Employee deviance: the impacts of techno-insecurity and moral disengagement
Authors: Chiu Chao-Min , Tan Chiew Mei , Hsu Jack Shih-Chieh , Cheng Hsiang-Lan
Published: January 2022

Purpose

Employees may see technostress, that is, the stress experienced by individuals as a result of the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), as a threat to their jobs. In other words, employees may have a strong sense of job insecurity because of the ICT. This study aims to examine why and when employees might respond to technology-induced job insecurity (techno-insecurity) by engaging in workplace deviance – an activity that is costly for organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors apply partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses, using a sample of 354 valid responses.

Findings

The authors found that job-related technostress creators and technology-related technostress creators are positively associated with techno-insecurity. Techno-insecurity affects deviant behavior by increasing employees' moral disengagement. The authors also found that informal sanctions moderated the relationship between techno-insecurity and moral disengagement, while formal sanctions moderated the relationship between moral disengagement and deviance.

Originality/value

This study contributes to a better understanding of employee techno-insecurity and deviance by expanding the technostress literature and applying moral disengagement theory.
Value-capture in digital servitization
Authors: Agarwal Girish Kumar , Simonsson Johan , Magnusson Mats , Hald Kim Sundtoft , Johanson Anders
Published: January 2022

Purpose

Digital capabilities in operations and delivery through constant data acquisition and future predictions have accelerated digital servitization through reduced uncertainty. New flexibility in value-capture concepts like dynamic and value-based pricing is introduced, which was impossible before. This paper explores two things. Firstly, how embracing contractual flexibility of price-variance and contract lengths influences customer perceived value in artificial intelligence (AI) enabled digital offerings. Secondly, the role transparency plays in the perceived value of such offerings.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses an experiment-based survey and quantitative assessment within a business-to-business setup with 137 respondents across a couple of industrial manufacturers in the Nordic region.

Findings

The authors observations indicate that value-capture-related flexibilities introduced by digital offerings, namely price fluctuations and longer contract lengths, are perceived to deliver more value to customers than standard offerings with known conditions. The authors findings indicate that introduced flexibilities are perceived as opportunities rather than uncertainties leading to higher perceived value by customers. The increased value perception can be explained by the transparency of these offerings provided by data-driven digital technologies'.

Originality/value

The paper is an original work to understand the value-capture implication of digital servitization. The authors discuss the possibilities of different value-capture strategies that companies can adopt within digital business models.
Police interactions in post-colonial India: how particularistic accountability, legitimacy and tolerated illegality condition everyday policing in Delhi and Kerala
Authors: Varghese Ashwin
Published: January 2022

Purpose

The paper aims to relocate discussions on police stops and police interactions from the Anglophone world to the particularistic context of the post-colonial state of India. The paper further frames the everyday policing practices in a theoretical dialog between questions of legitimacy, accountability and tolerated illegalities. For that purpose, the author contextualizes the discussion in the post-colonial state of India, in the jurisdictions of two police stations (PSs), in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the State of Kerala.

Design/methodology/approach

The author conducted ethnographic studies in one station each in Kerala and Delhi, India, from February to July 2019 and July 2019 to January 2020, respectively. The study mapped everyday power relations as the relations manifested within the site and jurisdiction of the PSs.

Findings

Through the research, the author found that to fully understand everyday practices of policing, especially police interactions and police stops, one must contextualize the police force within the administrative power-sharing relations, police force's accountability structures, legal procedures and class dynamics, which mark the terrain in which personnel function. In that terrain, the author found that the dialog between particularistic legitimacy, accountability and tolerated illegalities offered an important framework to interpret the everyday policing practices.

Originality/value

Through the paper, the author seeks to expand the analysis of ethnographic descriptions of policing by contextualizing them in the political economy of the state. In doing so, the author aims to provide a framework through which police interactions in post-colonial India could be understood
Critical success factors of strategic information systems planning: a Delphi approach
Authors: Yaokumah Winfred , Omane-Antwi Boasiako B. , Asante-Offei Kwame Okwabi
Published: January 2022

Purpose

Strategic information systems planning (SISP) has been identified as a key strategy underpinning an effective utilization of information systems (IS) to achieve the core objectives of an organization. This study aims at identifying, ranking and prioritizing factors that IS and business executives consider critical for the success of IS projects.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted a qualitative research approach with a 3-round Delphi process to get experts' opinions on critical success factors (CSFs) necessary for successful SISP. A forty-two panel of experts was selected using defined criteria. Quantitative analyses of the data were performed using Kendall's coefficient of concordance and chi-square to obtain a consensus among the experts.

Findings

The findings revealed the top managers' understanding of strategic priorities, aligning IS strategies with the organizational strategic plan and availability of internal resources to deliver IS services as the first three key CSFs of SISP. Other highly ranked CSFs were the management's understanding of the role of IS and the need to educate top management on the importance of IT in supporting the business strategy.

Originality/value

The CSFs factors obtained in this study would lay a foundation for future research and could be incorporated into a new theoretical model of IS planning.
Asymmetric connectedness among S&P 500, crude oil, gold and Bitcoin
Authors: Hung Ngo Thai
Published: January 2022

Purpose

This paper investigates the dynamic intercorrelation among cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) and conventional financial assets (gold, oil and S&P 500).

Design/methodology/approach

The dynamic contemporaneous nexus has been analyzed using spillover index developed and extended by Diebold and Yilmaz (2012, 2014) and Kyrtsou-Labys (2006) nonlinear causality tests. This study is implemented using the daily data spanning from January 2013 to December 2021.

Findings

First, using the spillover index, the authors find evidence that the S&P 500 was a net transmitter of volatility from oil and gold markets, but a net receiver of volatility from Bitcoin. Return spillovers from crude oil were transmitted first to gold, and Bitcoin markets and return spillovers from gold were transmitted to Bitcoin. Second, Kyrtsou-Labys nonlinear causality tests provide us further insights into the lead-lag interconnections among the four key considered variables from the economic perspective. Specifically, a close inspection of these empirical results, the integration of the four key assets is significant. Similarly, price fluctuation dependency among Bitcoin, stock, gold and oil markets is generally minimal, but it strengthens throughout the COVID-19 period.

Originality/value

This paper is the first study employing the spillover index Diebold-Yilmaz alongside with Kyrtsou-Labys nonlinear causality tests not only to capture the directional return spillover effects but also to highlight the potential presence of asymmetric causality relationships, nonlinear effects among assets under investigation that the previous studies have been ignored in these relations. Therefore, the main contribution of this article to the related literature in this field is significant.
How do CSR disclosures facilitate knowledge-sharing behaviors?
Authors: Liu Xiaoping , He Hong
Published: January 2022

Purpose

Drawing on the stakeholder theory and stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model, this study examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures and users' knowledge-sharing behaviors on social media (SM). Two underlying mechanisms are used to explain the relationship between CSR disclosures and knowledge sharing, namely, CSR identification and content richness.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical analysis based on a negative binomial regression model is conducted using CSR data disclosed on corporate official Microblog in the past year on 30 companies with a high CSR development index in China.

Findings

CSR disclosures are positively related to users' knowledge-sharing behaviors, and this relationship is mediated by CSR identification. Content richness strengthens the positive relationship between CSR disclosures and users' CSR identification. User's retweeting behavior is positively related to commenting behavior.

Originality/value

This is one of the few studies to investigate the relationship between CSR disclosures and knowledge sharing on SM. The findings of this study can help companies formulate and implement effective CSR disclosure strategies to achieve sustainable development of companies.
Time for life? The spillover effect of strain-based family-to-work conflict on early retirement intentions and the role of HR practice flexibility
Authors: Cui Guodong , Wang Fuxi , Sun Jian-Min , Cheng Yanyuan
Published: January 2022

Purpose

To cope with the workforce shortages brought by population ageing, it is critical to understand the workplace micro-foundations that determine the mechanisms of older workers' early retirement intentions. Drawing on the conservation of resource theory, this study examines the spillover effect of strain-based family-to-work conflict (SFWC) on early retirement intentions, with emotional exhaustion as a mediator. Additionally, it investigates the contextual resources, HR practice flexibility, as a boundary condition for the above relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

The study tests the hypotheses by employing a multi-sourced matching sample of 231 workers (aged 45–65) and their 49 managers.

Findings

The results of cross-level analysis revealed that SFWC has a positive indirect relationship with early retirement intentions, through increased emotional exhaustion. The relationship between emotional exhaustion and early retirement intentions is weaker when older employees experience higher HR practice flexibility.

Originality/value

This study is the first to use a resources perspective to analyse early retirement mechanisms, and it examines the spillover effect of SFWC on early retirement intentions. The findings also contribute to the literature on the role of HR practice for ageing workers.
Epidemiological differences between sexes affect management efficacy in simulated chronic wasting disease systems
Authors: Rogers Will , Brandell Ellen E. , Cross Paul C.
Published: January 2022

Sex‐based differences in physiology, behaviour and demography commonly result in differences in disease prevalence. However, sex differences in prevalence may reflect exposure rather than transmission, which could affect disease control programmes. One potential example is chronic wasting disease (CWD), which has been observed at greater prevalence among male than female deer.

We used an age‐ and sex‐structured simulation model to explore harvest‐based management of CWD under three different transmission scenarios that all generate higher male prevalence: (1) increased male susceptibility, (2) high male‐to‐male transmission or (3) high female‐to‐male transmission.

Both female and male harvests were required to limit CWD epidemics across all transmission scenarios (approximated by R0), though invasion was more likely under high female‐to‐male transmission.

In simulations, heavily male‐biased harvests controlled CWD epidemics and maintained large host populations under high male‐to‐male transmission and increased male susceptibility scenarios. However, male‐biased harvests were ineffective under high female‐to‐male transmission. Instead, female‐biased harvests were able to limit disease transmission under high female‐to‐male transmission but incurred a trade‐off with smaller population sizes.

Synthesis and applications. Higher disease prevalence in a sex or age group may be due to higher exposure or susceptibility but does not necessarily indicate if that group is responsible for more disease transmission. We showed that multiple processes can result in the pattern of higher male prevalence, but that population‐level management interventions must focus on the sex responsible for disease transmission, not just those that are most exposed.
The consequences of coastal offsets for fisheries
Authors: Ma Deqiang , Rhodes Jonathan R. , Maron Martine
Published: January 2022

Biodiversity offsetting is increasingly used to mitigate biodiversity impacts from development, but the practice of offsetting rarely considers how to also mitigate losses of ecosystem services. Offset rules, such as how near an offset must be to an impact site, may help ensure biodiversity offsets also counterbalance losses of ecosystem services but this has not yet well understood.

We explored how different rules for siting coastal offsets could change net impacts to a provisioning ecosystem service: fishery resources in Queensland, Australia. A spatially explicit model incorporating supply, flow and demand of fishery resources was developed to simulate contributions of offset sites to commercial fisheries in Queensland, Australia. We simulated offsets for losses due to 63 real projects that damaged mangroves and 14 projects damaging seagrasses.

We found that the percentage of species suffering net negative outcomes for the whole commercial fishery increased from about 68% when offsets were located close to impact sites to >85% when there were no restrictions on offset location. All fisheries for seagrass offsets suffered net economic losses under both scenarios, but these were worse when offsets were not required to be near to impact sites.

Offsetting outcomes varied substantially across species. Species with shorter maximum dispersal distance and higher dispersal decay parameters suffered greater net losses.

Synthesis and applications. Our model quantified impacts of fishery habitat depletion and offsets on fishery resources and the approach can be applied to assess impacts of losses of fishery habitats globally. The findings suggest that to minimize losses of fishery resources caused by habitat depletion, offset policy should generally locate offset sites at the locations available for restoration that are nearest to impact sites, unless specific information about the relative contributions of sites to impacted fisheries is available to guide offset location.
The entwinement of policy, design and care scripts: Providing alternative choice‐dependency situations with care robots
Authors: Nickelsen Niels Christian Mossfeldt , Simonsen Abildgaard Johan
Published: January 2022

The use of robots to assist feeding has become important for people with an impaired arm function. Yet, despite large‐scale dissemination strategies, it has proven difficult to sustain the use of this technology. This ethnographic study draws on the script approach to discuss the use of robots to assist feeding. The empirical work was done at locations in Denmark and Sweden. Drawing on document studies, interviews, observation of meals and video footage, we discuss (1) policy strategies promoting ideas such as self‐reliance; (2) design visions promoting ideas such as empowerment; (3) and three scripts of care: (a) the script of choice, (b) the script of eating alone and (c) the script of eating together. We argue that scripts entwine and give rise to and prevent the use of robots. The study contributes to the script literature and the care robot literature by substantiating that care robots may generate choice‐dependency situations for users. Rather than the somewhat overflowing ‘self‐reliance’ and ‘empowerment’, alternative configurations of choice and dependency emerge, in which some situations fit users better than others. We conclude that although sustaining the use of feeding robots is difficult, in some cases, useful choices arise for both end‐users and care providers.
Naturally occurring phenolic compounds as promising antimycotoxin agents: Where are we now?
Authors: Ahmed Omar S. , Tardif Charles , Rouger Caroline , Atanasova Vessela , Richard‐Forget Florence , Waffo‐Téguo Pierre
Published: January 2022

Mycotoxins are metabolites produced by molds that contaminate food commodities, are harmful to both humans and animals, as well as cause economic losses. Many countries have set regulatory limits and strict thresholds to control the level of mycotoxins in food and feedstuffs. New technologies and strategies have been developed to inhibit toxigenic fungal invasion and to decontaminate mycotoxins. However, many of these strategies do not sufficiently detoxify mycotoxins and leave residual toxic by‐products. This review focuses on the use of phenolic compounds obtained from botanical extracts as promising bioagents to inhibit fungal growth and/or to limit mycotoxin yields. The mechanism of these botanicals, legislation concerning their use, and their safety are also discussed. In addition, recent strategies to overcome stability and solubility constraints of phenolic compounds to be used in food and feed stuffs are also mentioned.
Association between metabolic syndrome and radiographic spine osteoarthritis: Cross‐sectional analysis using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Authors: Kim Seong‐Kyu , Choe Jung‐Yoon
Published: January 2022

Objective

A relationship between spine osteoarthritis (OA) and metabolic syndrome has not been established. This study evaluated whether metabolic syndrome is associated with radiographic spine OA in the Korean population.

Methods

A total of 2252 subjects older than 50 years who underwent plain radiography of the lumbar spine during the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2012 were enrolled. Radiographic grading of the lumbar spine was performed using the Kellgren‐Lawrence (K‐L) grading scale, ranging from grade 0 to grade 2. K‐L grade 2 was defined as lumbar spine OA, while those of K‐L grade 0 or 1 were defined as controls.

Results

The prevalence of spine OA was 28.1% (n = 689). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in spine OA was not different from that among controls. The cumulative number of metabolic syndrome components was significantly different between spine OA and controls (P = .027). Subjects with K‐L grade 1 or grade 2 showed higher proportion of metabolic syndrome and its cumulative components than those of K‐L grade 0. Two or 3 or more metabolic syndrome components were significantly associated with spine OA (P = .012 and P = .010, respectively). Abnormal waist circumference was weakly associated with spine OA (odds ratio 1.233, 95% CI 1.000‐1.520, P = .050). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that older age and female gender were linked with spine OA, but not metabolic syndrome.

Conclusion

This study found lack of association between metabolic syndrome and radiographic spine OA.
Learning and investment under demand uncertainty in container shipping
Authors: Jeon Jihye
Published: January 2022

This article investigates the role of demand uncertainty in explaining cyclical investment fluctuations in the container shipping industry. I develop and estimate a dynamic oligopoly model with learning in which firms choose investment and scrapping. In this model, firms are uncertain about the true parameters in the underlying process for demand, and form and revise their beliefs using available information. Counterfactual analysis reveals that uncertainty about the demand process amplifies investment cycles through (i) leading firms to revise beliefs more drastically as they experience demand fluctuations, and (ii) intensifying strategic incentives among firms.
Do Sell‐Side Analysts Play a Role in Hedge Fund Activism? Evidence from Textual Analysis*
Authors: Chen Huimin (Amy) , Shohfi Thomas D.
Published: January 2022

We investigate variation in information production by sell‐side analysts and its potential role in hedge fund activist intervention, an important external corporate governance mechanism that creates shareholder value. Using textual analysis to derive an activism dictionary from intervention objectives and tactics, we find substantially more activism content in pre‐intervention analyst reports of target firms than propensity score matched control firms. Activism content is associated with more detailed reports containing more quantitative information. Target firm intervention‐date stock returns are significantly higher when activist intention (13D) filings are supported by reports with more general and objective‐specific activism content. Of activists' public letters to stakeholders, 31.9% directly mention sell‐side analysis, amplifying the association between target returns and analyst report information. The relationship between analyst information and activism returns is robust to using brokerage closures as an exogenous shock and is consistent with analyst incentives. Activist funds with no prior disclosed position in target firms and more experienced funds capture higher returns from sell‐side information. Overall, our results suggest sell‐side analysts play a significant informational role in supporting hedge fund activism.
The Impact of Control Systems on Corporate Innovation†
Authors: Miller Brian P. , Sheneman Amy G. , Williams Brian M.
Published: January 2022

This study examines the impact of control systems on corporate innovation. Innovation is key to firm performance and growth, allowing corporations to stay competitive in their industry. We expect control systems to improve information flows within the firm by allowing managers to better identify and patent their most valuable intellectual property. Despite our prediction that control systems positively impact innovation, a priori, this relation is unclear as these same control systems may create an overly restrictive bureaucratic environment that may mitigate the benefits of effective controls for innovation. Using various measures of control system quality, we find evidence that effective control systems are associated with more innovation. Overall, the results of our study suggest effective control systems are associated with the ability of a firm to leverage its innovative projects. Our results suggest that corporations with effective control systems are more likely to be able to react to market and technology changes by ensuring their best ideas are patented.
Are investments in material corporate social responsibility issues a key driver of financial performance?
Authors: Badía Guillermo , Gómez‐Bezares Fernando , Ferruz Luis
Published: January 2022

In this study, we address a lesser‐studied aspect of corporate social responsibility (CSR): distinguishing between investments in material versus immaterial CSR issues. The financial performance of stock portfolios formed according to material and general CSR issues is examined over the period 2007 to 2018 in the European Union and the United States. We find that materiality is relevant to finding the best and worst firms both in terms of CSR and financial performance, more significantly in the EU than in the US market. However, general CSR scores, including material and immaterial issues, do not discriminate the best firms.
Vegetation phenology in the Argentinean Wet Chaco: Assessing seasonality and precipitation dependence throughNDVI MODIStime series (2000–2018)
Authors: Bigerna Marina , Bazylenko Andriy , Torrella Sebastián
Published: January 2022

Plant phenology, that is, the timing of plant growth and development, is sensitive to climate and land‐use changes. Despite its importance in the context of global change, little is known about the plant phenology of subtropical regions. In the Argentinean Wet Chaco region, which is currently under high pressure due to land‐use intensification, the phenology patterns of its natural land covers are remarkably understudied. This important aspect of vegetation functioning can be effectively monitored through indices based on satellite imagery, such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Thus, in this work, we used the NDVI from MODIS imagery to analyse plant phenology in the Argentinean Wet Chaco and discuss its implications in the current context of global change. NDVI time series were analysed for the period 2000–2018 for the following plant categories: riparian forest, forest islet, dense and open palm savanna and flooding grassland. Their seasonality and precipitation marginal response (PMR) were also assessed. The riparian forest presented the highest NDVI annual mean values and lowest PMR, followed by the forest islet. The flooding grassland presented the highest seasonality and palm savannas the highest precipitation dependence, with even higher PMR values in drier years. Climate change models predict an increase in precipitation in the region. If this occurs, palm savannas and flooding grasslands could present a more stable phenology. This would imply better conditions for cattle grazing and would, thus, reinforce the current land‐use pressure. On the contrary, this increase in precipitation would not have an impact over the photosynthetic activity of both types of forest, since our results suggest that this parameter is not limited by rainfall. In the current context of climate change and land‐use intensification, the results obtained provide key knowledge for a better use, management and conservation of the environments of the Argentinean Wet Chaco.

Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.
Editorial: concurrent fatty liver and chronic viral hepatitis: a dual calamity leading to increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma?
Authors: Wang Jennifer , Pillai Anjana A.
Published: January 2022

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Kim et al papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16706 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16765
Editorial: global liver fat accumulation and global health–towards a sustainable development goal
Authors: Ayonrinde Oyekoya T. , Van Rooyen Derrick M.
Published: January 2022

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Lazarus et al papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16720 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16768
Letter: combination of common and novel rare NUDT15 variants should also be considered—authors' reply
Authors: Chao Kang , Zhu Xia , Gao Xiang
Published: January 2022

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Chao et al papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16600 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16719