bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bio-networking among librarians, parents, and children in a modern children’s library: a phenomenological study
Authors: Guirguis Bernadette M. , Alsheikh Negmeldin
Published: March 2023

Purpose

This study aimed to understand how parents and librarians describe their lived experiences in a modern children’s library that aims to create a triad bond through the organization of multiliteracy events and activities.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a phenomenological case study approach using two semistructured interviews, the first with parents (n = 5) and the second with library staff (n = 5), to record their lived experiences in creating and attending literacy events and activities.

Findings

The findings indicated multiplicities of transformative and heterotypic spaces that juxtapose different yet compatible and vicarious experiences for librarians, parents and their children. The virtual and interactive features of the library fuel children’s curiosity and creativity and afford them authentic materials through a creative blend of local heritage and technology-mediated multimodal literacies. Moreover, the librarians engage in constant program evaluation and upgrades. The library environment creates a vibrant bio-network for disseminating literacy through creativity and ingenuity and affords an affinity space for community socialization.

Research limitations/implications

This study has some limitations and delimitations. The data for this study were collected during the pandemic, which affected the sample size. Moreover, the children’s views were not considered, which could broaden our understanding of the phenomena. Furthermore, the study relied on interviews as the sole source of data; other sources, such as archival data and documents, could enrich the data and increase the study’s rigor. Finally, the study is confined to only one site.

Practical implications

The study found that a “living library” philosophy with an enthusiastic and attentive staff that caters to patrons’ interests draws parents and children to visit. Additionally, unexpected fun activities that occur when sufficient children are present keep them engaged and motivated to stay and learn more. The study suggests that librarians, architects, school leaders, policymakers and educators should consider how to conceptualize, design and experience a modern library space that prioritizes literacy activities and incorporates technology to inspire children’s innovations. The findings can be applied to both public and academic libraries.

Originality/value

The findings from this study could provide researchers, teachers, administrators, librarians and artificial intelligence with a viable orientation to envision new ways of reconceptualizing public and school libraries to create affinity spaces for the literate community, especially in a non-western context such as the United Arab Emirates.
The effects of IT chargeback on strategic alignment and performance: the contingent roles of business executives' IT competence and CIOs' business competence
Authors: Cheng Rocky Chung-Ngam , Men Xiaohua , Hsieh J.J. Po-An , Cheng Zhuo June , Cui Xiaocong , Wang Tiange , Hsu Sheng-Hsun
Published: March 2023

Purpose

In the era of the digital economy, organizations are under much pressure to justify their information technology (IT) spending on digital transformation. Some organizations have thus implemented IT chargeback, an IT governance (ITG) mechanism, to clarify and allocate IT costs among various business units. While practitioners have stressed the importance of IT chargeback, there has been little theoretical effort that investigates its strategic effects and boundary conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

Synthesizing the ITG literature and the resource-based view (RBV), the authors develop a research model to examine if IT chargeback affects IT–business strategic alignment and, in turn, organizational performance and how human IT resources strengthen the impacts of IT chargeback. The authors designed a survey to collect data from 103 firms and tested the model using partial least squares (PLS).

Findings

The authors found that IT chargeback promoted strategic alignment and then organizational performance only for firms with business-competent chief information officers (CIOs), rather than IT-competent business executives.

Originality/value

This study enriches the ITG literature by exploring the strategic value of an IT cost governance mechanism (i.e. IT chargeback). This study further proposes and validates a measure of IT chargeback. Drawing on the RBV, this study quantitatively investigates the strategic impacts and boundary contingencies of IT chargeback. This study also advances the CIO literature by identifying the strategic leading role, instead of the traditional supporting role, of CIOs in modern organizations.
Flawed public diplomacy: when Croatia Instagram Riviera narrative destination branding ignores dark tourism amateurs
Authors: Seccardini Gabriela , Desmoulins Lucile
Published: March 2023

Purpose

This article tackles Croatian public diplomacy, destination and nation branding vis-à-vis an emerging Instagram trend to publish dark tourism related pictures sometimes using the official hashtag CroatiaFullOfLife; hence, poking Croatia tourism development accounts, which promote the country as merely a Riviera destination, and deletes the memories of Yugoslavian and Second Independence wars. Such a monolithic, shortsighted and amnesic destination branding strategy neglects alternative public tourism and public diplomacy opportunities.

Design/methodology/approach

The article may improve the understanding of the links between the concepts of Public Diplomacy, nation and destination branding through an exploratory study of dark tourism amateurs experiences in Croatia, documented by pictures published on Instagram, the key digital social media for destination branding. It also outlines the history of Croatian tourism and government's efforts in promoting the overwhelming image of a sunny sea destination since the launching of the “Croatia Full Of Life” destination branding campaign in 2015. The study compares what and how dark tourism amateurs and Croatian main social media influencers publish contents destined to foreign publics.

Findings

Croatia's official PR strategies and Instagram accounts ignore the increasing interest of foreign tourists, local younger generations and artists in abandoned places and Yugoslavian and Homeland War heritage monuments. These “light dark chiaroscuro” places are nowhere to be seen on Croatia's official Instagram account. Croatian government fails to embrace some aspects of the nation identity and to take advantage of Instagram trends and niche dark tourism influencers to boost and enrich its public diplomacy and the memorialization process of the darkest aspects of its past.

Originality/value

This research suggests that international Instagram influencers as well as local photographers, artists and history amateurs promote many shades of light–dark chiaroscuro tourism approaches. Their posts tell new narratives about the past and its memorialization, far from the silence and denial promoted by Croatian official Instagram accounts. Mainstream IG Croatian lifestyle marketing influencers and institutional accounts consistently shows beaches, blue waters and bikinis strictly respecting a monolithic, shortsighted and amnesic destination branding strategy. This study shows that some destination and nation-branding strategies could hinder rather than enhance public diplomacy.
Technology and innovation development in Ethiopian construction industry: the challenges and improvement mechanisms
Authors: Mengistu Desalegn Girma , Ashene Daniel Alemayehu , Halabo Handebo Ayele
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges and potential improvement mechanisms for the development of technology and innovation in the Ethiopian construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were adopted. While a structured questionnaire was used for the quantitative data collection, semi-structured interview was used for qualitative data collection. In analyzing the quantitative data, mean score was used to rank the variables and factor analysis was conducted to identify the underlying dimensions of the research constructs. The qualitative data was analyzed thematically focusing on specific objectives of the study; the challenges and improvement mechanisms of technology and innovation development.

Findings

The findings indicate that the major challenges are nature of the industry and lack of awareness, weak capacity of companies and the regulatory instruments, inadequate tender duration and poor monitoring and controlling practice. The suggested improvement mechanisms are effective coordination of the process and awareness creation, promoting technology and innovation in the procurement process and technology and innovation consideration in construction project registration.

Originality/value

Effectiveness of construction industry improvement programmes is affected by inappropriateness of the adopted implementation mechanisms. Understanding the operating environment; the enablers and potential barriers, is important for the success of any envisioned improvement programme. The improvement framework proposed by this study indicates the potential intervention areas and improvement mechanisms to effectively induce and enhance technology and innovation development in the construction industry. Major pillars of the improvement framework are improving regulatory framework, raising awareness and stakeholder engagement and continual monitoring and controlling of the practice.
The physician CEO advantage and hospital performance during the COVID-19 pandemic: capacity utilization and patient satisfaction
Authors: Belasen Alan , Belasen Ariel , Feng Zhilan
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Prior studies have shown that physician-led hospitals have several advantages over non-physician-led hospitals. This study seeks to test whether these advantages also extend to periods of extreme disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which affect bed availability and hospital utilization.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors utilize a bounded Tobit estimation to identify differences in patient satisfaction rates and in-hospital utilization rates of top-rated hospitals in the United States.

Findings

Among top-rated US hospitals, those that are physician-led achieve higher patient satisfaction ratings and are more likely to have higher utilization rates.

Research limitations/implications

While the COVID-19 pandemic generated greater demand for inpatient beds, physician-led hospitals improved their hospitals’ capacity utilization as compared with those led by non-physician leaders. A longitudinal study to show the change over the years and whether physician Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are more likely to improve their hospitals’ ratings than non-physician CEOs is highly recommended.

Practical implications

Recruiting and retaining physicians to lead hospitals, especially during disruptions, improve hospital’s operating efficiency and enhance patient satisfaction.

Originality/value

The paper reviews prior research on physician leadership and adds further insights into the crisis leadership literature. The authors provide evidence based on quantitative data analysis that during the COVID-19 pandemic, physician-led top-rated US hospitals experienced an improvement in operating efficiency.
The impact of chief executive officers’ religiosity on banks’ financial performance in Indonesia
Authors: Surya Juanda , Rahajeng Dian Kartika
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the religiosity of the chief executive officer (CEO) on Indonesian banks’ performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The research method used was a review of the annual reports of banking companies in Indonesia from 2015 to 2019 and a web-based search to determine the religiosity of the CEOs. This study comprised 88 banking companies in Indonesia that come under the supervision of the Financial Services Authority.

Findings

The results of this study show that banks led by religious CEOs had better financial performance, as measured by their ROA and ROE, than those led by not very spiritual CEOs. These results indicate the importance of religiosity in organizations, especially at the top management level, for achieving better bank performance.

Practical implications

This research results show that religiosity plays an essential role in the banking business sector. This research adds to the literature on CEOs’ characteristics based on their religiosity and the concomitant effect on banking performance.

Originality/value

This study shows how individual religious beliefs influence the corporate behavior of top management, particularly the CEOs, and why this is crucial for organizational decision-making. This study measures an individual's religiosity (i.e. a CEO) based on that individual's actions in their workplace environment.
Interactive impact of fairness concerns and competition on supply chain coordination
Authors: Wang Lirong , Lan Yingjie , Zhou Deming
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Fairness concerns in the supply chain management have recently caught much attention in the OM research community. The combined effect of fairness and competition on supply chain coordination and the interplay between them, however, have yet to be thoroughly examined.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors study a multiplayer supply chain with one supplier and two competing retailers with fairness concerns by a three-player Stackelberg game model. This theoretical study provides equilibrium solutions under different ranges of fairness and competition combinations. Besides theoretical analysis, the authors also conduct standard economic experiments and estimate structural parameters using experimental data.

Findings

The authors find that a simple wholesale price can coordinate the whole supply chain with certain conditions of fairness and competition. Moreover, although fairness concerns always decrease the wholesale price and increase retailers' profit share, downstream competition weakens such effects and decreases downstream players' market share. The experiments confirm the existence of fairness concerns and the interaction of competition and fairness, as shown in the theoretical analysis.

Research limitations/implications

A more comprehensive model with both distributional and peer-induced fairness considered could generate better insights in the interactive impact of competition and fairness. Moreover, the authors followed the previous channel competition literature and modeled the demand with linear demand function which makes the game decisions trackable in closed form solution. A more general demand function could result in different solutions and thus new insights.

Originality/value

The authors’ work provides a comprehensive theoretical study of the interaction between fairness concerns and competition and clarifies the in-depth connection between the effects of competition and fairness concerns in the literature.
High-performance work systems and future time perspective mediation through two lenses courage and well-being: testing a serial mediation mechanism
Authors: Mohsin Muhammad
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Upon the premises of social exchange theory (SET), this study aimed at hypothesizing and examining a serial mediation model that investigated the underlying mechanism through which a high-performance work system (HPWS) affects individuals’ future time perspective (FTP).

Design/methodology/approach

The hypothesized relationships were examined using responses collected from 275 employees from 15 local private banks and 40 established branches through a proportionate stratified sampling technique. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) PROCESS macro 3.0 and analysis of moment’s structure (AMOS) 24.0 were employed for data analysis purposes.

Findings

The study revealed that HPWS is indirectly related to the individuals’ FTP through workplace social courage (WSC) and employee well-being (EWB) sequentially. Prescriptions for theoretical and managerial implications were discussed, and future research viewpoints with limitations were acknowledged.

Originality/value

This study illuminated the underlying mechanism and theoretical logic linking HPWS and individuals’ FTP by proposing the serial mediating effect of WSC and EWB.
COVID-19 and sustainable environment: understanding higher education students' willingness to pay more for food delivery containers
Authors: Sia Joseph Kee-Ming , Hii Ivy S.H. , Ho Jie Min
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has increased the use of food delivery containers in the food and beverage industry. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the aim of this paper is twofold: Firstly, it examines the influence of three elements of TPB (attitude, perceived behavioral control and subjective norm) and time pressure on the intention to reuse reusable food delivery containers (ITR). Secondly, it examines ITR as an antecedent to the willingness to pay more for reusable food delivery containers (WTPM).

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 401 higher education institution (HEI) students and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

The study found that the three elements of TPB influenced ITR. Furthermore, the results revealed that ITR directly influenced WTPM. Surprisingly, time pressure did not influence ITR.

Originality/value

The research is one of the earliest studies to investigate HEI students' intention to reuse food delivery containers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study contributes to TPB by presenting a novel, integrated model to explain the independent roles of time pressure and ITR on ITR and WTPM, respectively. Finally, it contributes to the existing body of knowledge on pro-environmental behavior among HEI students and advances methodologically by establishing the PLS-SEM approach.
Information security and technical issues of cloud storage services: a qualitative study on university students in Hong Kong
Authors: Hui Shing Cheong , Kwok Ming Yung , Kong Elaine W.S. , Chiu Dickson K.W.
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Although cloud storage services can bring users valuable convenience, they can be technically complex and intrinsically insecure. Therefore, this research explores the concerns of academic users regarding cloud security and technical issues and how such problems may influence their continuous use in daily life.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative study used a semi-structured interview approach comprising six main open-ended questions to explore the information security and technical issues for the continuous use of cloud storage services by 20 undergraduate students in Hong Kong.

Findings

The analysis revealed cloud storage service users' major security and technical concerns, particularly synchronization and backup issues, were the most significant technical barrier to the continuing personal use of cloud storage services.

Originality/value

Existing literature has focused on how cloud computing services could bring benefits and security and privacy-related risks to organizations rather than security and technical issues of personal use, especially in the Asian academic context.
Board Refreshment: Like a Breath of Fresh Air
Authors: Dah Bilal Al , Dah Mustafa A. , Frye Melissa B.
Published: March 2023

Using a sample of firms listed on the S&P1500 index for the period 2006–2021, we develop a comprehensive board refreshment index to examine why firms refresh as well as to consider the effects of such changes on the monitoring efforts of the board. We measure refreshment as a within‐board measure of the changes in diversity based on gender, nationality, age, interlocks, classification, education level and financial expertise. We find that longer‐tenured boards with older directors are more likely to refresh. Better‐governed firms and more diverse boards are also more likely to seek refreshment. We find a positive relation between board refreshment and CEO turnover‐performance sensitivity, pay‐for‐performance sensitivity and pay‐for‐risk sensitivity. Thus, our findings suggest that board refreshment promotes more effective board monitoring as well as efficient managerial contracting. Analysing board refreshment addresses an important shortcoming in the board diversity literature by directly studying the dynamics of boards.
“Where the spirit of wisdom lies”: Inculturation, self‐determination and the authority of First Nations
Authors: Rademaker Laura Michelle
Published: March 2023

By the 1970s, Christian missions to Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory were enthusiastic supporters of Indigenous self‐determination, even as they sought to maintain a missionary presence in Aboriginal communities. This article asks how missions continued to seek to influence and direct Aboriginal churches and communities through espousing self‐determination, and how Aboriginal leaders engaged with and exploited this apparent contradiction. Focusing on contributions to the missiological publication Nelen Yubu from Deacon Boniface Pedjert, Patrick Dodson, Miram Rose Ungunmerr‐Baumann, Dyiniyini Gondarra and Alice Kelly this article considers how Aboriginal leaders and thinkers managed and challenged non‐Indigenous expectations set for them around how their decolonisation was to proceed. Self‐determination, for missionaries, could be achieved by a new, supposedly more enlightened mission to “inculturate” the gospel. Whereas missionaries presumed Aboriginal church leaders' authority rested in their cultural authenticity, these Aboriginal leaders were also asserting other sources of authority including their culture, but especially the authority that arises from Country itself.
Facing arrhythmia. Reconstructing time in the pandemic by the metropolitan creative classes in Poland
Authors: Krajewski Marek , Rogowski Łukasz , Frąckowiak Maciej
Published: March 2023

This paper shows how the metropolitan creative classes in Poland reacted to the changes in the organization of everyday life caused by the COVID‐19 pandemic, especially its temporality and rhythmicity. The pandemic and lockdowns reorganized previous ways of experiencing and managing time. Based on our empirical research and research by other scholars, we have identified some of the most common disruptions of pandemic temporality. However, a vital element of the article is to specify how the social category we studied dealt with these disruptions. In doing so, we show that the response to the breakdown of the previous order of everyday life was to restore a sense of stability actively. We were also interested in the possible, also negative consequences of the findings for the social category under study. The empirical basis for the article are in‐depth interviews conducted during the fourth phase of the ongoing research project [title anonymized], which began during the first weeks of the lockdown in Poland.
Plasma‐activated liquids for mitigating biofilms on food and food contact surfaces
Authors: Zhao Yunlu , Bhavya Mysore Lokesh , Patange Apurva , Sun Da‐Wen , Tiwari Brijesh K.
Published: March 2023

Plasma‐activated liquids (PALs) are emerging and promising alternatives to traditional decontamination technologies and have evolved as a new technology for applications in food, agriculture, and medicine. Contamination caused by foodborne pathogens and their biofilms has posed challenges and concerns to the food industry in terms of safety and quality. The nature of the food and the food processing environment are major factors that contribute to the growth of various microorganisms, followed by the biofilm characteristics that ensure their survival in severe environmental conditions and against traditional chemical disinfectants. PALs show an efficient impact against microorganisms and their biofilms, with various reactive species (short‐ and long‐lived ones), physiochemical properties, and plasma processing factors playing a crucial role in mitigating biofilms. Moreover, there is potential to improve and optimize disinfection strategies using a combination of PALs with other technologies for the inactivation of biofilms. The overarching aim of this study is to build a better understanding of the parameters that govern the liquid chemistry generated in a liquid exposed to plasma and how these translate into biological effects on biofilms. This review provides a current understanding of PALs‐mediated mechanisms of action on biofilms; however, the precise inactivation mechanism is still not clear and is an important part of the research. Implementation of PALs in the food industry could help overcome the disinfection hurdles and can enhance biofilm inactivation efficacy. Future perspectives in this field to expand existing state of the art to seek breakthroughs for scale‐up and implementation of PALs technology in the food industry are also discussed.
CEO facial structure and stock price crash risk
Authors: Zheng Zunxin , Li Donghui , Zhong Tingyong , Wang Tian , He Ling
Published: March 2023

This study conducted an empirical analysis of a manually collected sample of chief executive officer (CEO) facial structure measurements (facial width‐to‐height ratio [FWHR]) to examine the relationship between FWHR and stock price crash risk. The samples were collected for the period 2008–2019 from Chinese A‐share listed firms. The results revealed a positive impact of FWHR on stock price crash risk. The positive impact is more pronounced for firms in which CEOs are entrusted with greater powers, firms that appoint a higher number of independent directors, or which function in a more competitive product market. Various robustness and endogeneity tests confirm our main conclusions.
The effectiveness of sanctions on disclosure regulation: Australian evidence
Authors: Chen Xiaomeng Charlene , Choi Ka Wai , Wright Sue , Wu Hai
Published: March 2023

We investigate the deterrent effects of securities law enforcement sanctions with different levels of severity. Our setting is Australia's Continuous Disclosure Regulation, which features a range of sanctions from light through to more punitive. We find that after civil and administrative sanctions are imposed on a firm, market liquidity of industry‐peer firms significantly improves relative to non‐industry‐peers. Our results are robust to alternative measures, tests and models. The findings suggest that less costly and lighter sanctions are useful enforcement tools, providing important policy implications for securities regulators on the selection of sanctions to enforce disclosure regulation.
Dealing with low‐probability shocks: The role of selected heuristics in farmers’ risk management decisions
Authors: Duden Christoph , Mußhoff Oliver , Offermann Frank
Published: March 2023

Dealing with weather extremes is a major challenge for farmers and often comes at high costs for public budgets. Therefore, we investigate the influence of specific simplified decision rules, so‐called heuristics, on farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for protecting themselves against low‐probability and high‐consequence weather shocks. To this end, we conducted a framed field experiment with 237 farmers in Germany, using incentivized lottery‐based multiple price lists. We explored the effects of different heuristics within the prospect theory framework. Our results indicate that, on average, farmers exhibit risk‐loving behavior towards monetary losses, leading to a low WTP for risk mitigation. The results also suggest that the imitation heuristic, shock experience heuristics, and the threshold of concern heuristic influence farmers’ WTP. Farmers specifically imitate successful farmers when these are risk‐loving. The lack of personal experience with low‐probability events induces farmers to assign less weight to low‐probability shocks, which lowers their WTP. Farmers also systematically assign less weight to low‐probability shocks that they consider “too rare to be concerned about.” Accounting for the use of these heuristics can help design improved risk management instruments and policies.
Subgroup effects should be examined using both relative and absolute effect measures
Authors: Socha Peter , Harper Sam , Hutcheon Jennifer A.
Published: March 2023

Treatment effects can be measured on the relative scale (eg, risk ratios, odds ratios) or the absolute scale (eg, risk differences). If the baseline risk of an outcome is different between subgroups, the effect of the treatment will differ between subgroups on at least one scale (relative, absolute, or both). We illustrate this using two examples from the literature where only relative effects were estimated, but conclusions about subgroup differences would likely have changed had absolute effects also been considered. To identify all meaningful subgroup differences, researchers and clinicians should compare effects on the relative and absolute scale.
Re‐childing the COVID‐19 pandemic; and what we lose from the un‐childed public
Authors: Spray Julie
Published: March 2023

For several decades childhood scholars have noted children's systematic exclusion from public in many risk‐averse societies, a disappearance exacerbated during the COVID‐19 pandemic. While many have noted the impoverishing effects for children from such exclusion, during my stay in a New Zealand Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) facility, I came to ask, what does society lose when we un‐child the public? Through a feature comic, I draw the story of how children infiltrated MIQ's age‐segregated spatial–temporal boundaries to inadvertently or deliberately deliver unique forms of care to others with whom they otherwise had no contact. If MIQ represents a microcosmic refraction of New Zealand's adult‐centric structure, then children's chalk drawings demand a radical rethinking of who and what constitutes public health care and remind us what we gain when we recognize what children do for us.
In Search of Free Spaces to Breathe: Turkey's United June Movement, Social Uprising, and Spatial Maintainability
Authors: Çömlekçi Mehmet Fatih , Güney Serhat
Published: March 2023

This study examines the socio‐spatial practices of the United June Movement (UJM), a grassroots movement that drew inspiration from the neighbourhood forums of the Gezi Park protests. We argue that the counter‐sites of politicisation and symbolic places engraved on the social movements’ memory formed the socio‐spatial base of solidarity networks and the long‐term political organising of UJM. Secondly, we suggest that in an authoritarian context, activist organisations nourishing from full‐scale protests such as UJM need to form, reshape, and sustain free spaces where they feel protected. For testing these arguments, we designed fieldwork around UJM with an ethnographic approach. We concluded that the desire for social change has the potential of generating alternative visions in a spatiotemporal context, but in the medium term, it can turn into a feeling of self‐enclosure or being besieged. Even so, such attempts leave a perpetual legacy, tagged to certain spaces and geographies.
IVIg treatment increases thrombin activation of platelets and thrombin generation in paediatric patients with immune thrombocytopenia
Authors: Schmugge Markus , Franzoso Francesca Daniela , Winkler Jeannine , Kroiss Sabine , Seiler Monika , Speer Oliver , Rand Margaret L.
Published: March 2023

Summary

Clinical manifestations and laboratory parameters of haemostasis were investigated in 23 children with newly diagnosed immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) before and after intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment. ITP patients with platelet counts of less than 20 × 109/L and mild bleeding symptoms, graded by a standardized bleeding score (BS), were compared with healthy children with normal platelet counts and children with chemotherapy‐related thrombocytopenia. Markers of platelet activation and platelet apoptosis in the absence and presence of platelet activators were analysed by flow cytometry; thrombin generation in plasma was determined. ITP patients at diagnosis presented with increased proportions of platelets expressing CD62P and CD63 and activated caspases, and with decreased thrombin generation. Thrombin‐induced activation of platelets was reduced in ITP compared with controls, while increased proportions of platelets with activated caspases were observed. Children with a higher BS had lower proportions of CD62P‐expressing platelets compared with those with a lower BS. IVIg treatment increased the number of reticulated platelets, the platelet count to more than 20 × 109/L and improved bleeding in all patients. Decreased thrombin‐induced platelet activation, as well as thrombin generation, were ameliorated. Our results indicate that IVIg treatment helps to counteract diminished platelet function and coagulation in children with newly diagnosed ITP.
The utility of a random cortisol level in determining neonatal central adrenal insufficiency
Authors: Bulan Ayse , Pyle‐Eilola Amy L. , Mamilly Leena , Chaudhari Monika , Henry Rohan K.
Published: March 2023

Objectives

While it has been established within the first 4 months of life that there is no circadian rhythm, what is unclear is the usefulness of a random serum cortisol (rSC) level in determining neonatal central adrenal insufficiency (CAI). The objective of the study is to determine the utility of using rSC in infants less than 4 months old in the evaluation of CAI.

Design and Patients

Retrospective chart review of infants who underwent a low dose cosyntropin stimulation test ≤4 months of life with rSC taken as baseline cortisol before stimulation. Infants were divided into three groups: those diagnosed with CAI, those at risk for CAI (ARF‐CAI) and a non‐CAI group. Mean rSC for each group was compared, and ROC analysis was used to identify rSC cut‐off for the diagnosis of CAI.

Results

Two hundred and fifty one infants with the mean age of 50.5 ± 38.08 days, and 37% of these were born at term gestation. The mean rSC were lower in the CAI group (1.98 ± 1.88 mcg/dl) as compared to the ARF‐CAI (6.27 ± 5.48 mcg/dl, p = .002) and non‐CAI (4.6 ± 4.02 mcg/dl, p = .007) groups. ROC analysis identified a cut‐off of rSC level of 5.6 mcg/dL is associated with 42.6% sensitivity and 100% specificity for the diagnosis of CAI in term infants.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that though an rSC can be used within the first 4 months of life, its value is best when done ≤30 days of life. Moreover, a diagnostic cut‐off for CAI using rSC levels was identified for term infants.
Coagulation factor dysregulation in polycystic ovary syndrome is an epiphenomenon of obesity
Authors: Moin Abu Saleh Md , Sathyapalan Thozhukat , Butler Alexandra E. , Atkin Stephen L.
Published: March 2023

Objective

Obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) exhibit a hypercoagulable state, with the suggestion that this may be obesity‐driven rather than an intrinsic facet of PCOS; however, this has not yet been definitively determined since body mass index (BMI) is so highly correlated with PCOS. Therefore, only a study design where obesity, insulin resistance and inflammation are matched can answer this question.

Design

This was a cohort study. Patients Weight and aged‐matched nonobese women with PCOS (n = 29) and control women (n = 29) were included. Measurements Plasma coagulation pathway protein levels were measured. Circulating levels of a panel of nine clotting proteins known to differ in obese women with PCOS were determined by Slow Off‐rate Modified Aptamer (SOMA)‐scan plasma protein measurement.

Results

Women with PCOS showed a higher free androgen index (FAI) and anti‐Müllerian hormone, but measures of insulin resistance, and C reactive protein (as a marker of inflammation), did not differ between the nonobese women with PCOS and the control women. Seven pro‐coagulation proteins (plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1, fibrinogen, fibrinogen gamma chain, fibronectin, d‐dimer, P‐selectin and plasma kallikrein) and two anticoagulant proteins (vitamin K‐dependent protein‐S and heparin cofactor‐II) known to be elevated in obese women with PCOS did not differ from controls in this cohort.

Conclusions

This novel data show that clotting system abnormalities do not contribute to the intrinsic mechanisms underlying PCOS in this nonobese noninsulin resistant population of women with PCOS matched for age and BMI, and without evidence of underlying inflammation, but rather the clotting factor changes are an epiphenomenon coincident with obesity; therefore, increased coagulability is unlikely in these nonobese PCOS women.
Treatment of insulin poisoning: A 100‐year review
Authors: Moyns Emma J. , Ferner Robin E.
Published: March 2023

Background

Insulin poisoning, as opposed to hypoglycaemia induced by therapeutic doses of insulin, is rare, and guidelines on management differ. We have reviewed the evidence on treatment of insulin poisoning.

Methods

We searched PubMed, EMBASE and J‐Stage with no restrictions of date or language for controlled studies on treatment of insulin poisoning, collected published cases of insulin poisoning from 1923, and used data from the UK National Poisons Information Service.

Results

We identified no controlled trials of treatment in insulin poisoning and few relevant experimental studies. Case reports described 315 admissions (301 patients) with insulin poisoning between 1923 and 2022. The insulin with the longest duration of action was long‐acting in 83 cases, medium‐acting in 116, short‐acting in 36 and a rapid‐acting analogue in 16. Decontamination by surgical excision of the injection site was reported in six cases. To restore and maintain euglycaemia, almost all cases were treated with glucose, infused for a median 51 hours, interquartile range 16–96 h in 179 cases; 14 patients received glucagon and nine octreotide; adrenaline was tried occasionally. Both corticosteroids and mannitol were occasionally given to mitigate hypoglycaemic brain damage. There were 29 deaths reported, 22/156 (86% survival) up to 1999 and 7/159 (96% survival) between 2000 and 2022 (p = 0.003).

Conclusions

There is no randomized controlled trial to guide treatment of insulin poisoning. Treatment with glucose infusion, sometimes supplemented with glucagon, is almost always effective in restoring euglycaemia, but optimum treatments to maintain euglycaemia and restore cerebral function remain uncertain.
Tuloni Biya and its impact on menstrual health: A qualitative exploration of the menstrual experiences of adolescent girls in Assam
Authors: Dutta Daisy , Chakraborti Chhanda , Mishra Pulak
Published: March 2023

Motivation

The status of menstrual health (MH) and hygiene management is very low in India due to a widespread culture of silence and secrecy regarding menstruation but, among the Hindu community in the north‐east state of Assam, the celebration of Tuloni Biya is a significant cultural event that openly celebrates a girl's menarche.

Purpose

Assuming that this cultural event is indicative of the openness of society towards menstruation, this study explores the cultural celebration of menarche and its various lesser‐known details. It aims to find out the role of this celebration of menarche on adolescent girls' MH preparedness.

Methods and approach

A qualitative approach is used. In‐depth interviews were conducted with well‐informed community members to gather information on the historical background of this cultural event; interviews with some adolescent girls from the community to learn about their experiences of menstrual management and the impact of Tuloni Biya.

Findings

The main purpose of celebrating Tuloni Biya among the Assamese Hindu community is to announce when a girl reaches puberty because the celebration of the power of fertility gives girls and women the social status of being fertile, which the community regards as worthy of respect. Notwithstanding the lack of silence and secrecy about menstruation, the social taboo and stigma still remain. Assam continues to perform poorly in relation to MH, and the cultural celebration of menarche in Assam does not appear to have any significantly positive impact in this regard.

Policy implications

Tuloni Biya could be used as a development tool for bringing constructive changes in MH preparedness in the community, for instance, by celebrating Tuloni Biya (cultural customs and rituals) and the celebration of menstruation (MH education and literacy); through knowledge‐sharing sessions by teachers on the occasion of Tuloni Biya; arranging the gifts of kits for MH management from the Health Ministry of Assam on the occasion of Tuloni Biya; training of mothers by the public health system in how to use the opportunity of Tuloni Biya to equip their daughters with adequate information and guidance on MH.
Association between state ownership participation and the performance of private firms: Evidence from China
Authors: Niu Feng , Zhang Liuzhen , Su Wunhong
Published: March 2023

The mixed ownership reform aims to improve the performance of firms, which is important for optimizing the overall economic layout and promoting firms to sustainable development. Therefore, an important issue is whether state ownership participation in private firms improves their performance in the context of the mixed ownership reform. This study investigates whether and how state ownership participation affects the performance of private firms using Chinese listed private firms from 2010 to 2020. The results of this study indicate that state ownership participation significantly eliminates the performance of private firms. Further results show that there is a U‐shaped relationship between the mixed ownership model and the performance of private firms. At the same time, firm transparency and financing constraints play a negative moderating role in the relationship between the mixed ownership model and the performance of private firms. The findings of this study enrich the literature on factors influencing the performance of private firms, provide empirical evidence for mixed ownership reforms in China, and further reveal the characteristics of Chinese accounting practices and the logical rules behind the operation of these practices.
Forest and grassland habitats support pollinator diversity more than wildflowers and sunflower monoculture
Authors: Vujanović Dušanka , Losapio Gianalberto , Mészáros Minucsér , Popov Snežana , Markov Ristić Zlata , Mudri Stojnić Sonja , Jović Jelena , Vujić Ante
Published: March 2023

Intensively managed agricultural landscapes often lack suitable habitats to support diverse wildlife, particularly harming pollinator communities. Besides mass flowering crops, remnant patches of natural and semi‐natural vegetation may play a key role in maintaining and conserving biodiversity. Yet, the effects of different natural habitats, including forests and grasslands, on different pollinator communities are poorly understood at the landscape scale.

We examined the abundance, richness, and diversity of wild bees and hoverflies, two key pollinator groups, across a land‐use gradient spanning forest edges, grassland, wildflower strips, and sunflower monoculture. We also examined the distribution of hoverfly larvae trophic guilds and wild bee nesting traits across the above‐mentioned land‐use gradient. Finally, we evaluated the impact of landscape structure (forest, grassland, and water cover in the surrounding landscape) on pollinator community composition.

Our results indicate that forest and grassland habitats supported a higher abundance and greater richness of pollinators than wildflower strips and sunflower monocultures. Furthermore, hoverflies were more sensitive to habitat and floristic homogenization than wild bees. Sunflower and wildflower habitats also hosted a lower diversity of larvae trophic guilds and wild bee nesting guilds as compared to forests and grasslands.

Our study suggests that conserving and restoring forest and grassland habitats within agricultural mosaics may serve as the main ‘refuge’ for wild pollinators.
Do long‐lasting effects of epidural polarization of afferent fibres depend on persistent sodium current?
Authors: Kaczmarek Dominik , Jankowska Elzbieta
Published: March 2023

Few attempts have so far been made to define the mechanisms underlying the hour‐long effects of trans‐spinal stimulation combined with epidural polarization. In the present study, we investigated the potential involvement of non‐inactivating sodium channels in afferent fibres. To this end, riluzole, a blocker of these channels, was administered locally to the dorsal columns close to the site of the excitation of afferent nerve fibres by epidural stimulation in deeply anaesthetized rats in vivo. Riluzole did not prevent the induction of the polarization‐evoked sustained increase in the excitability of dorsal column fibres but tended to weaken it. It likewise weakened but did not abolish the sustained polarization‐evoked shortening of the refractory period of these fibres. These results lead to the conclusion that the persistent sodium current may contribute to the sustained post‐polarization‐evoked effects but is only partly involved in both the induction and the expression of these effects.
Host size selection and progeny sex determination in Hymenoepimecis bicolor (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae)
Authors: Sobczak Jober Fernando , Xavier Gabriel Máximo , Gonzaga Marcelo Oliveira , Penteado‐Dias Angélica Maria
Published: March 2023

Some hymenopteran parasitoids induce intricate behavioral alterations in their spider hosts. Despite these refined adaptations, the success of their attacks and larval development relies on careful host selection. Large hosts will certainly assure the biomass required for the parasitoid larva to pupate, but the selection of large hosts is constrained by the risks involved in the process of host subduing and immobilization. Temporal oscillations in the availability of hosts within the optimal size range may compose another important component of selection. To investigate these issues, we tested the hypothesis that Hymenoepimecis bicolor consistently attacks, and has the reproduction period synchronized with medium‐sized individuals of its host, the spider Trichonephila clavipes. We observed that (i) medium–small hosts are preferential victims, (ii) the period of oviposition of H. bicolor is synchronized with the availability of host individuals within these size classes, and (iii) these preferences can be strong enough to remain stable, regarding the temporal variation in the availability of the most suitable hosts. We also reported that (iv) parasitoid females destinate unfertilized eggs to small hosts, which produce male larvae. Data on these aspects allowed us to discuss why there is a preference for specific host sizes. The factors involved include the larval demands, the relative size between the adult wasps and spiders, and the capacity of the hosts to acquire food during larval development.
Fatigue life prediction of welded joints based on improved support vector regression model under two‐level loading
Authors: Zou Li , Yang Yibo , Yang Xinhua , Sun Yibo
Published: March 2023

To meet the lightweight needs of modern machinery equipment, welded structure is widely used in practical engineering. During the service period, the welded structure is often subjected to multilevel variable amplitude loading, and fatigue failure is easy to occur. Due to the complexity and stochasticity of fatigue process, the traditional life prediction models cannot meet the demand of practical engineering. In this work, a novel prediction model based on the whale optimization algorithm (WOA) together with the support vector regression (SVR), namely, a WOA‐SVR model, is established. It combines the advantages of WOA and SVR for global searching optimization and high prediction accuracy dealing with small sample size. By taking into account the sequence of loadings and the interaction effect between loadings, the proposed WOA‐SVR model could overcome the deficiencies and shortcomings in existing models. Experiment results show that WOR‐SVR has better prediction performance than five models.