bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cortical, muscular, and kinetic activity underpinning attentional focus strategies during visuomotor control
Authors: Parr J. V. V. , Gallicchio G. , Canales-Johnson A. , Uiga L. , Wood G.
Published: July 2022

Focusing internally on movement control or bodily sensations is frequently shown to disrupt the effectiveness and efficiency of motor control when compared to focusing externally on the outcome of movement. Whilst the behavioural consequences of these attentional strategies are well documented, it is unclear how they are explained at the corticomuscular level. The aim of the present study was to investigate how attentional focus strategies affect kinetic, cortical, muscular, and corticomuscular activity during an isometric force precision task. In a repeated measures design, we measured force, EEG and EMG activity from twenty-seven participants who performed 160 isometric contractions of the right hand whilst encouraged to adopt either an internal or external focus through a combination of instructions, secondary tasks, and self-report evaluations. Results indicated that focusing internally led to poorer force accuracy and steadiness compared to an external focus. An internal focus also increased muscle activity of the forearm flexor, increased EEG alpha activity across the parieto-occipital cortex, lowered frontal midline EEG theta activity, and lowered beta corticomuscular coherence between the forearm flexor and contralateral motor cortex. The results of this study provide a holistic understanding of how attentional focus strategies alter neuromuscular control during an isometric force precision task, paving the way for exploring how the behavioural consequences of attentional strategies can be explained at the corticomuscular levels across a wide range of motor tasks and contexts.
Strigolactone mediates moso bamboo root response to phosphate stress
Authors: Wang Qian , Yang Ping , Asim Muhammad , Gui Renyi , Zhou Mingbing
Published: July 2022

Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) grows in soils with widespread phosphate (Pi) deficiency, resulting in low shoot yield. While it also suffers from high Pi due to heavy fertilization, which causes the degradation of bamboo forest. A novel plant hormone, strigolactone (SL), plays a key role in root growth and development under Pi stress, but its regulatory mechanism has not been systematically reported. Our study investigated SL-mediated mechanism in response to Pi stress in moso bamboo. We compared the root growth under low, sufficient and high Pi, and analyzed the temporary trends of gene expression in primary root tip region and lateral root primordium zone. The effects of SL-analog (GR24) and SL-inhibitor (TIS108) on root architecture at low and high Pi were evaluated. SL biosynthesis and signaling are the main pathways of root response to Pi stress. With the decrease of Pi level, 5-deoxystrigol and strigol in the root exudates increase significantly. Under low Pi, SL is indispensable for the maintenance of root cell morphology, and promotes primary root elongation and reduces lateral root formation by upregulating the expression of phosphorous starvation response genes and downregulating the expression of abscisic acid response genes. The absence of SL at high Pi releases the inhibition of ethylene responsive genes’ expression to inhibit root elongation and promote branching. In general, SL mediates the response of bamboo roots to Pi stress by regulating its biosynthesis and signal transduction and influencing other hormone pathways.
Differences in the regulatory strategies of marine oligotrophs and copiotrophs reflect differences in motility
Authors: Noell Stephen E. , Brennan Elizabeth , Washburn Quinn , Davis Edward W. , Hellweger Ferdi L. , Giovannoni Stephen J.
Published: July 2022

Aquatic bacteria frequently are divided into lifestyle categoriesoligotrophorcopiotroph. Oligotrophs have proportionately fewer transcriptional regulatory genes than copiotrophs and are generally non-motile/chemotactic. We hypothesized that the absence of chemotaxis/motility in oligotrophs prevents them from occupying nutrient patches long enough to benefit from transcriptional regulation. We first confirmed that marine oligotrophs are generally reduced in genes for transcriptional regulation and motility/chemotaxis. Next, using a non-motile oligotroph (Ca. Pelagibacter st. HTCC7211), a motile copiotroph (Alteromonas macleodiist. HOT1A3), and [14C]L-alanine, we confirmed that L-alanine catabolism is not transcriptionally regulated in HTCC7211 but is in HOT1A3. We then found that HOT1A3 took 2.5-4 min to initiate L-alanine oxidation at patch L-alanine concentrations, compared to <30s for HTCC7211. By modeling cell trajectories, we predicted that, in most scenarios, non-motile cells spend <2 min in patches, compared to >4 mins for chemotactic/motile cells. Thus, the time necessary for transcriptional regulation to initiate prevents transcriptional regulation from being beneficial for non-motile oligotrophs. This is supported by a mechanistic model we developed, which predicted that HTCC7211 cells with transcriptional regulation of L-alanine metabolism would produce 12% of their standing ATP stock upon encountering an L-alanine patch, compared to 880% in HTCC7211 cells without transcriptional regulation.
All–atom molecular dynamics simulation of the combined effects of different phospholipids and cholesterol contents on electroporation
Authors: Guo Fei , Wang Ji , Zhou Jiong , Qian Kun , Qu Hongchun , Liu Ping , Zhai Shidong
Published: July 2022

The electroporation mechanism could be related to the composition of the plasma membrane, and the combined effect of different phospholipids molecules and cholesterol contents on electroporation is rarely studied and concluded. In this paper, we applied all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to study the effects of phospholipids and cholesterol contents on bilayer membrane electroporation. The palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine (POPC) model, palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (POPE) model and 1:1 mixed model of POPC and POPE called PEPC were three basic models. An electric field of 0.45 V/nm was applied to nine models including three basic models with cholesterol contents of 0%, 24%, and 40%. The interfacial water molecules moved under the electric field, and once the first water bridge formed, the rest of the water molecules would dramatically flood into the membrane. The simulation showed that a rapid rise in the Z component of the average dipole moment of interfacial water (Z-DM) indicated the occurrence of electroporation, and the same increment of Z-DM represented the similar change in the size of water bridge. With the same cholesterol content, the formation of the first water bridge was the most rapid in POPC model regarding the average electroporation time (tep), and the average tep of the PEPC model was close to that of the POPE model. We speculate that the difference in membrane thickness and initial hydrogen bonds of interfacial water affecting the average tep among different membrane composition. Our results reveal the influence of membrane composition on electroporation mechanism at the molecular level.
Quantifying mutant huntingtin protein in human cerebrospinal fluid to support the development of huntingtin-lowering therapies
Authors: Vauleon Stephanie , Schutz Katharina , Massonnet Benoit , Gruben Nanda , Manchester Marianne , Buehler Alessandra , Schick Eginhard , Boak Lauren , Hawellek David J
Published: July 2022

Background

Huntington’s disease (HD) is caused by a cytosine adenine guanine-repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene. This results in the production of toxic mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT), which has an elongated polyglutamine (polyQ) stretch near the protein’s N-terminal end. The pharmacological lowering of mHTT expression in the brain targets the underlying driver of HD and is one of the principal therapeutic strategies being pursued to slow or stop disease progression. This report describes the characterisation and validation of an assay designed to quantify mHTT in the cerebrospinal fluid of individuals with HD, for use in registrational clinical trials.

Methods

The assay was optimised, and its performance was characterised with recombinant huntingtin protein (HTT) varying in overall and polyQ-repeat length.

Results

The assay was successfully validated by two independent laboratories in regulated bioanalytical environments and showed a steep signal increase as the polyQ stretch of recombinant HTTs pivoted from wild-type to mutant protein forms. Linear mixed effects modelling confirmed highly parallel dose-response curves for HTTs, with only a minor impact of individual slopes of the dose-response for different HTTs (typically <5% of the overall slope). This implies an equivalent quantitative signal behaviour for HTTs with differing polyQ-repeat lengths.

Conclusion

The reported method may be a reliable biomarker tool with relevance across the spectrum of HD mutations, which can facilitate the clinical development of HTT-lowering therapies in HD.

Trial registration

Not applicable.

Funding

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.
Long-term mitotic DNA damage promotes chromokinesin-mediated missegregation of polar chromosomes in cancer cells
Authors: Novais-Cruz Marco , Pombinho António , Sousa Mafalda , Maia André F. , Maiato Helder , Ferrás Cristina
Published: July 2022

DNA damage response (DDR) during interphase involves active signalling and repair to ensure genomic stability. However, how mitotic cells respond to DNA damage remains poorly understood. Supported by correlative live-/fixed-cell microscopy analysis we found that mitotic cells exposed to several cancer chemotherapy compounds acquire and signal DNA damage, regardless of how they interact with DNA. In-depth analysis upon long-term DNA damage during mitosis revealed a spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC)-dependent, but DDR-independent, mitotic delay. This delay was due to the presence of misaligned chromosomes that ultimately satisfy the SAC and missegregate, leading to micronuclei formation. Mechanistically, we show that long-term mitotic DNA damage specifically stabilizes kinetochore-microtubule attachments in cancer cells, causing the missegregation of polar chromosomes due to the action of arm-ejection forces by chromokinesins. Overall, these findings unveil that long-term therapeutic DNA damage regimens contribute to genomic instability through a surprising link between the stabilization of kinetochore-microtubule attachments and chromokinesin-mediated missegregation of polar chromosomes in cancer cells.
The presence of BBB hastens neuronal differentiation of cerebral organoids – the potential role of endothelial derived BDNF
Authors: Fedele Giorgia , Cazzaniga Alessandra , Castiglioni Sara , Locatelli Laura , Tosoni Antonella , Nebuloni Manuela , Maier Jeanette A. M.
Published: July 2022

Despite remaining the best in vitro model to resemble the human brain, a weakness of human cerebral organoids is the lack of the endothelial component that in vivo organizes in the blood brain barrier (BBB). Since the BBB is crucial to control the microenvironment of the nervous system, this study proposes a co-culture BBB and cerebral organoids. We utilized a BBB model consisting of primary brain microvascular endothelial cells and astrocytes in a transwell system. Starting from induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) we generated human cerebral organoids which were then cultured in the absence or presence of an in vitro model of BBB. We evaluated if the presence of the BBB influences the maturation of cerebral organoids. By morphological analysis, it emerges that in the presence of the BBB the cerebral organoids are better organized than controls in the absence of the BBB. This effect seems to be driven by Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), a neurotrophic factor released by the endothelial component of the BBB, which is involved in neurodevelopment, neuroplasticity and neurosurvival.

Graphical Abstract

The current culture model of human cerebral organoids does not require the presence of a BBB (left side). However, the BBB is an important source of BDNF, which is crucial for neurodevelopment and brain health. The cerebral organoids co-cultured for 4 days in the presence of the BBB show a higher cortical organization than the organoids cultured in the absence of the BBB, as illustrated on the right.
Mixed-frequency data-driven forecasting the important economies' performance in a smart city: a novel RUMIDAS-SVR model
Authors: Wang Weiqing , Zhang Zengbin , Wang Liukai , Zhang Xiaobo , Zhang Zhenyu
Published: July 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to forecast the development performance of important economies in a smart city using mixed-frequency data.

Design/methodology/approach

This study introduces reverse unrestricted mixed-data sampling (RUMIDAS) to support vector regression (SVR) to develop a novel RUMIDAS-SVR model. The RUMIDAS-SVR model was estimated using a quadratic programming problem. The authors then use the novel RUMIDAS-SVR model to forecast the development performance of all high-tech listed companies, an important sector of the economy reflecting the potential and dynamism of urban economic development in Shanghai using the mixed-frequency consumer price index (CPI) producer price index (PPI), and consumer confidence index (CCI) as predictors.

Findings

The empirical results show that the established RUMIDAS-SVR is superior to the competing models with regard to mean absolute error (MAE) and root-mean-squared error (RMSE) and multi-source macroeconomic predictors contribute to the development performance forecast of important economies.

Practical implications

Smart city policy makers should create a favourable macroeconomic environment, such as controlling inflation or stabilising prices for companies within the city, and companies within the important city economic sectors should take initiative to shoulder their responsibility to support the construction of the smart city.

Originality/value

This study contributes to smart city monitoring by proposing and developing a new model, RUMIDAS-SVR, to help the construction of smart cities. It also empirically provides strategic insights for smart city stakeholders.
Weather-induced shocks, coping strategies and farmer food consumption in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: a case in Long An province
Authors: Nguyen Canh Thi , Ngo Thanh Quang , Nguyen Quan Hong
Published: July 2022

Purpose

The paper aims to assess the impact of weather-induced shocks on household food consumption in the rural Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) through the case of Long An province and evaluate the effectiveness of widely used coping strategies in mitigating weather-related shock impacts.

Design/methodology/approach

The system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation method is applied to explore information on shock incidence, recovery, and time occurrences. The paper uses a sample of 272 repeated farming households from 5-wave survey data from 2008 to 2016, resulting in 1,360 observations.

Findings

The paper confirms the robust negative effect of a natural shock on food consumption. Additionally, using savings proves to be the most potent measure to smooth food consumption. Other favorable coping strategies are “getting assistance from relatives, friends” or “getting assistance from the Government, and non-government organizations (NGOs).” The mitigating effects are also traced in the current analysis.

Research limitations/implications

Using caution when generalizing the results from Long An to the whole VMD is reasonable. The rather limited observations of coping strategies do not allow the authors to analyze any specific strategy.

Originality/value

The proposed approach employs the GMM technique and controls for endogenous coping strategies and thus provides accurate estimates of the effects of weather-related shocks and the mitigation effectiveness in the rural VMD.
Developing a scale to measure problems in finding a good fit
Authors: Shin Eonyou , Chung Te-Lin Doreen , Damhorst Mary Lynn
Published: July 2022

Purpose

The purposes of this study were twofold: (1) to develop a scale for measuring consumers' perceived problems of finding a good fit (PFGF) and (2) to provide evidence of several types of scale validities including nomological validity through examining the relationship between PFGF and body esteem based on attribution theory.

Design/methodology/approach

Scale development took place in three steps: (1) An initial pool of items was generated based on a previous study; (2) preliminary quantitative tests of reliability and validity of items were performed, including confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs); and (3) final scale validation through a discriminant and nomological validity test was conducted using CFA and the structural equation model (SEM). CFAs and SEM with the mediation effect were performed using Preacher and Hayes' (2008) bootstrap procedure in Mplus.

Findings

Of the 20 items (four items for physical, eight items for aesthetic and eight items for functional) generated in Step 1, a total of 14 items (four items for physical, five items for aesthetic and five items for functional) were remained through preliminary tests of reliability and validity of the scale in Step 2. In Step 3, the 14 items were finalized and validated through testing the hypothesized mediating effect of internal attribution of fit problems between the PFGF scale and the measures of body esteem. The results of consumers' internal causal attribution process of fit problems supported attribution theory.

Originality/value

The study contributes to understanding consumer fit perceptions by developing a scale to assess PFGF that may be a key factor influencing multiple apparel shopping behaviors. The multidimensional scale of perceived PFGF should be useful to provide solutions to PFGF based on information from customers. Better understanding of perceived PFGF will ultimately increase consumer satisfaction with apparel.
No trust, no use: how young retail investors build initial trust in financial robo-advisors
Authors: Nourallah Mustafa , Öhman Peter , Amin Muslim
Published: July 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyse the effect of a set of determinants on initial trust and behavioural intention to use financial robo-advisors (FRAs).

Design/methodology/approach

The theory of perceived risk and the behavioural finance paradigm were used to develop a conceptual model of retail investors’ initial trust in FRAs. Data collected from 554 young retail investors (YRIs) from Sweden and Malaysia were analysed using structural equation modelling.

Findings

The results of this study indicate that the amount of public information, social media information-seeking and a rational decision style are significantly related to initial trust in FRAs, which in turn is significantly and positively related to the behavioural intention to use this technology. However, none of the risks under study significantly affect the initial trust in FRAs.

Practical implications

Information is vital to inducing YRIs to rely on FRAs, so the more public and social media information is available, the higher their intention to use this technology. However, YRIs vary in decision style, and the results suggest implementing a more sophisticated system than the current “one-size-fits-all” approach to YRI behaviour.

Originality/value

The empirical-based model enhances the knowledge of the initial phase of trust-building, when YRIs lack sufficient experience of FRAs. By collecting data from two countries, the study’s novel conclusions may help in developing effective FRA services for the youth segment.
The role of information literacy in promoting “discovery” to cultivate the entrepreneurial mindset
Authors: Bosman Lisa , Kotla Bhavana , Cuesta Carolina , Duhan Neeraj , Oladepo Taofeek
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Accessibility to entrepreneurial education can be very restrictive because of associated barriers (e.g. add-on course/credit cost and prolonged duration) that prevent students from gaining entry into learning experiences. This study aims to provide an approach to address the gap of inaccessibility. This study proposes the integration of entrepreneurially minded coursework into aviation coursework using information literacy (IL) exercises by incorporating readings, videos, student-centered online discussions and student-facilitated presentations.

Design/methodology/approach

Students participated in an intervention consisting of five entrepreneurially minded online discussions where they watched a video or read an article and then responded to a series of questions. Upon completion of the intervention, participants completed a survey related to student learning outcomes and satisfaction.

Findings

The results from this study provide insight into changes in student perceptions after engaging in IL exercises designed to develop the entrepreneurial mindset. There is evidence that online discussions, journal article critiques and student-facilitated presentations are effective ways to integrate IL into aviation courses to cultivate entrepreneurial mindsets among students.

Originality/value

Several university-based approaches currently exist to help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset, including majors and minors in entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship coursework and centers for entrepreneurship that offer extracurricular learning experiences. Although these approaches offer a great foundation, they are typically viewed as “extra” with high barriers to entry. The limited focus on integration into coursework (whereby everyone gets an opportunity) prevents equitable access to a larger contingent of students. Therefore, in this study, we propose one approach to integrating the entrepreneurial mindset into coursework.
Human management and self-care: a proposal based on Foucault
Authors: Hernández Blanca Yenny , Toro-Jaramillo Ivan-Dario , Vélez Oscar Alonso
Published: July 2022

Purpose

The main purpose of this research is to support corporate Human Management, based on the notion of subject and subjectivity in relation to Foucault's proposal of self-care, as a search for overcoming the disjunction that exists today between economic organisations and the people who make them up.

Design/methodology/approach

This study aims at creating a proposal based on Foucault's theory of self-care through which the care of others is salvaged for human management, from the perspective of the philosophical intention to make life a “work of art”. To such end, a qualitative methodology was used based on the hermeneutics that served as the methodology to review Foucault's work. Subsequently, research was conducted on scientific data, and the following variables were analysed: Subject, Subjectivity and Self-care by means of a cross-reference search with the human management and organisation variables. This provides meaning and interpretation to reality, from the idea of constructing subjectivity in turn from an ethical–aesthetic resistance.

Findings

The ethical concern that gave rise to this study is based on the characteristics of economic rationality, which is imposed on business organisations and affects not only the behaviour of people but also the interventions or interpretations about other. Thus, Foucault's self-care becomes a possibility not only to take care of oneself but also, in terms of the main goal of human management, to take care of others.

Originality/value

From this research, it is possible to break the excluding paradigm traced from the various theoretical positions of the subject present in the vision of human management, for an inclusive vision, which, without ignoring the economic objective established by the organisations, allows approaching the subject from the pragmatic point of view alone. As can be seen in the course of this article, it was intended, from hermeneutics as a possibility and search for meaning, to approach Human Management from a critical viewpoint accompanied by Foucault, who allowed to approach the notion of subject and subjectivity from the care of oneself, with the intention of proposing an ethical stance towards the subject working in the company, as a way to see oneself and to look at others. In this sense, the impact of the research is placed, from this perspective, in the teaching and practice of Human Management as an area of productive organisations.
The importance of social connections in combating compulsive exercise among group-exercise participants: a network analysis
Authors: Patterson Megan S. , Amo Christina , Francis Allison N. , Heinrich Katie M. , Prochnow Tyler , Hunyadi Jocelyn , Miller Sydney
Published: July 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to use social network analysis (SNA) to determine whether compulsive exercise (CE) was related to social connections and network position among participants of group-exercise programs.

Design/methodology/approach

Members from two group-exercise programs (Gym 1: n = 103; Gym 2: n = 56) completed an online survey measuring their social connections within the program, CE, depressive symptoms and sense of belonging. Network position was calculated for each person based on network centrality scores (i.e. closeness, eigenvector centrality). Linear network autocorrelation models determined whether respondents reported similar CE as their network ties (i.e., network effects) and whether network position was related to CE in these networks.

Findings

Eigenvector centrality (i.e., being connected to popular/important people within the network; Gym 1: parameter estimate [PE] = 0.51, p < 0.01, Gym 2: PE = 0.39, p = 0.02) and network effects (i.e. having similar CE scores as direct network ties; Gym 1: PE = 0.07, p < 0.01, Gym 2: PE = 0.19, p < 0.01) were related to CE among participants in these programs.

Originality/value

This study builds on existing SNA research suggesting the importance of social connections and network position on CE, and, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is the first to explore these effects among group-exercise participants. This study describes how the social environment can impact, both positively and negatively, someone’s susceptibility for CE and supports fostering social connections within group-exercise programs as a way to potentially combat harmful CE among its participants.
An integrative review on online ethnography methods: differentiating theoretical bases, potentialities and limitations
Authors: Nascimento Thaysa , Suarez Maribel Carvalho , Campos Roberta Dias
Published: July 2022

Purpose

As a result of the advancement of the online environment, several methodological proposals emerged to establish procedures for digital qualitative research. While the various online ethnography methods overlap, they are not equivalent in terms of their theoretical bases, procedures and goals. The purpose of this article is to add clarity to their main differences, depicting specificities, potentialities and limitations of each method.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual article results from an integrative literature review that brought together studies that proposed, debated or used qualitative research methods in the digital environment. The research focused on the primary indexed journals publishing cultural studies in the past 20 years.

Findings

The literature review highlights four methods – virtual ethnography, digital ethnography, netnography and the post-application programming interface ethnography. The integrative literature review adds clarity depicting the main premises and procedures of each method. The present analysis positions the different methods considering two dimensions: the focus on the boundaries of the group/culture investigated, and the focus on the platform agency, affordances and specific dynamics.

Originality/value

The article proposes a comparative framework outlining points of convergence and divergence to create a reference for researchers on topics of significance while designing and conducting a research study in a digital environment. This conceptual organization highlights and supports qualitative researchers on their methodological challenges.
Supply chain stakeholder pressure for the adoption of sustainable supply chain practices: examining the roles of entrepreneurial and sustainability orientations
Authors: Vidal Natalia G. , Spetic Wellington , Croom Simon , Marshall Donna
Published: July 2022

Purpose

This study examines the relationship between supply chain stakeholder pressure from customers and suppliers for the adoption of social and environmental sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices given the simultaneous conditional effects of both entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and sustainability orientation (SO).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a survey of US firms focused on their relationship with their top supplier or buyer by spend. This study used conditional process analysis to measure the relationship between stakeholder pressure and adoption of SSCM practices as well as the double moderation effects of EO and SO on this relationship.

Findings

The results show that both EO and SO simultaneously function as moderators of the effect of supply chain stakeholder pressure on the adoption of social and environmental SSCM practices. However, EO will only get firms so far in the adoption of SSCM practices. Once a strong SO takes effect, higher practice adoption ensues but the effect of stakeholder pressure weakens.

Practical implications

For those firms that have lower levels of SO, EO and supply chain stakeholder pressure are still essential drivers for the adoption of SSCM practice. The results of this study suggest that focal firms should work closely with suppliers to increase their levels of SO while also maintaining pressure for the adoption of SSCM practices.

Originality/value

This study shows the concurrent effect of two organizational level drivers on the adoption of SSCM practices, indicating that efforts in developing a strong SO are more likely to prepare firms for the adoption of SSCM practices.
Regularized seismic amplitude inversion via variational inference
Authors: Zidan Ahmed , Li Yunyue , Cheng Arthur
Published: July 2022

Over the years, seismic amplitude variation with offset has been successfully applied for predicting the elastic properties of the subsurface. Nevertheless, the solution of the amplitude inversion is not stable due to insufficient information in the recorded seismic data. To enhance the stability, various amplitude inversions under a Bayesian framework have been introduced and most of which are based on single‐component a priori probability densities, which can be solved deterministically. For multi‐component a priori densities, Monte Carlo sampling methods are often used to obtain the posterior distribution of the inverted parameters. The variational methods, on the other hand, provide the gradients of the parameters with respect to the data. Here, we present an inversion framework that uses the gradients of the variational inference as regularization. Due to the ill‐posedness of the amplitude inversion, solving the likelihood of the data leads to solutions that may exist within the low‐probability regions of the a priori density. The rule of the regularization (variational inference gradient) is, therefore, to force solutions within the high‐probability regions that enhance the stability of the inversion process. The performance of the regularization is tested using synthetic and field data examples to jointly estimate the elastic and Thomsen's anisotropy parameters. The proposed constrained optimization successfully predicts the P‐wave velocity, S‐wave velocity and P‐wave anisotropy and preferably constrains the density and near‐vertical anisotropy parameters.
Fallow deer foraging alone does not preserve the vegetation of traditionally sheep‐grazed calcareous grasslands
Authors: Rupprecht Denise , Jedrzejek Birgit , Hölzel Norbert
Published: July 2022

The goal of this study was to evaluate to what extent wild ungulates (fallow deer) can contribute to the maintenance of semi‐natural calcareous grasslands, which are a threatened habitat type (natura 2000 code *6210).

In a 10‐year exclosure experiment, we tested the effects of ungulate foraging using three treatments: (A) control with combined foraging of herded sheep and wild fallow deer, (B) sheep exclosure with only deer foraging and (C) total exclosure with no foraging.

Treatments not grazed by sheep (B, C) were characterized by significantly declining species numbers, litter accumulation and shrub encroachment. Despite high population densities, the effect of fallow deer alone (B) was weak: Succession of woody species was only partly inhibited, while annuals, short‐growing and rosette‐building plant species were strongly suppressed by litter accumulation.

Only the combination of sheep and fallow deer foraging preserved vegetation structure and species richness and led to a promotion of target species.

Synthesis and applications. We conclude that we need to continue the traditional land‐use forms such as sheep grazing in order to maintain calcareous grasslands. However, we should also raise our awareness for wild animals and analyse more in depth their potential contribution to the conservation management of open habitats.
Functional rarity and evolutionary uniqueness of threatened species across different scales and habitats in a Central European flora
Authors: Sfair Júlia C. , Lososová Zdeňka , Chytrý Milan , de Bello Francesco
Published: July 2022

With the potential extinction of threatened species, communities and species pools could become functionally and phylogenetically impoverished, especially if threatened species had distinct traits and evolutionary histories compared to least concern species. Alternatively, threatened species would have similar traits and evolutionary histories, and their extinction could imply the loss of functionally and phylogenetically ‘redundant’ species.

We tested whether threatened plant species are functionally and phylogenetically rarer than least concern species. We considered two scales of plant assemblage (plots and species pools) from an intensively sampled temperate region (Czech Republic), using a sample of 23,072 vegetation plots classified into eight habitat groups. We analysed the traits and phylogeny of 1,730 species of angiosperms recorded in these plots.

We found that the potential loss of threatened species could have minor functional and phylogenetic consequences for the communities in any habitat and at each assemblage scale. However, detailed analysis of individual traits revealed that some threatened species tend to have some unique trait value, such as being small and having lighter seeds.

Phylogenetically unique species tended to be the most functionally rare, although this pattern was only weakly significant. This generally suggests similar conservation strategies for functionally rare and evolutionarily unique species.

Policy implications. We show how novel tools related to functional rarity and phylogenetic uniqueness could be used to understand the role of threatened species in communities and different habitat types. This allows to understand which species and habitats could provide great functional and phylogenetic contributions to biodiversity to better guide management and conservation programmes. To fully achieve this potential, greater efforts in collecting functional trait information for threatened species remain urgent as well as considering both individual and combined trait information when estimating the functional originality of species.
THE URBAN LAB: Imaginative Work in the City
Authors: Rahmawan‐Huizenga Sabrina , Ivanova Dara
Published: July 2022

In the field of city‐governance urban labs are being constructed as experimental spaces of knowledge production, innovation and urban governance. This perspective is mirrored in the majority of the literature engaging with the urban lab. However, empirical evidence shows that ‘urban labs’ are also constituted through imaginative work practices that remain unexplored in theory and practice. In order to address this gap and to delineate how these spaces matter for urban governance, this article critically examines urban lab projects in the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. We approach the initiatives under study from the perspective of the urban imaginary, which is shaped through three types of imaginative work—branding, dreaming and assimilating. These imaginative practices reveal how the process of constructing and practising the urban lab has political implications for the city. This point is important, as it brings up questions about urban governance and participation, such as who has access to, and who is allowed to imagine and experiment in, the city? In this way we connect the literature on urban imaginaries to debates on participation and experimental urban governance in the urban lab.
The arduous work of making claims in the wake of disaster: Perspectives from policyholders
Authors: Bourova Evgenia , Ramsay Ian , Ali Paul
Published: July 2022

With its promise of protection and peace of mind, insurance ownership is a key component of Australia’s national strategy to manage and spread costs of disaster recovery. We argue that an arduous and confusing claims process can have profound impacts on policyholders’ capacities to live safely in their homes as well as on their physical and mental health, finances, and levels of trust in insurers. Yet there has been little empirical research on policyholders’ experiences of putting this promise to the test by claiming on policies in the wake of disaster. In this article, we analyse interviews with policyholders who faced problems when making a building or home contents insurance claim following bushfire, flood, or storm. Evidence shows that aspects of claims processes place significant demands on policyholders’ financial and emotional resources, often in the aftermath of deeply traumatic and destabilising events. Our findings raise questions about the extent to which insurers’ claims handling processes and outcomes are consistent with requirements that call on insurers to respond efficiently, professionally, practically, and compassionately when and after disaster strikes.
Pregnancy in adult‐onset dermatomyositis/polymyositis: A systematic review
Authors: Tang Keyun , Zhou Jia , Lan Yining , Zhang Hanlin , Jin Hongzhong
Published: July 2022

Background

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) in pregnancy is uncommon but may result in complications for both mother and the fetus.

Aim

In this systematic review, we summarized the current literature investigating outcomes of pregnancy related to the dermatomyositis/polymyositis (DM/PM) process.

Content

We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases and included 61 studies reporting the disease course, pregnancy outcomes, and management of both pregnancy and DM/PM in the final analysis.The specific information of 221 pregnancies was extracted and these pregnancies were divided into three distinct forms: pregnancies after disease onset (n = 159), pregnancies with new disease onset (n = 37), and pregnancies followed by postpartum onset (n = 25). In most cases, DM/PM disease activity remained stable or improved throughout pregnancy (80.2%) and the postpartum period (83.9%). Active DM/PM during pregnancy significantly increased the risk of stillbirth or neonatal death (12% vs. 1%, P = .005) and preterm birth (34.7% vs. 11%, P < .001). The rates of other poor outcomes (total fetal loss, low birth weight, and intrauterine growth retardation) were also increased in pregnancies with active disease. Mainstay treatments for active DM/PM during pregnancy are glucocorticoids and intravenous immunoglobins.

Implications

The present results underline the importance of good control of myopathy in optimizing the pregnancy outcomes of women with DM/PM.
Does authenticity always breed mental health? A cross‐cultural comparison between the United States and China
Authors: Xia Mengya , Xu Xiaobo
Published: July 2022

Numerous studies on Western cultures have suggested a strong linkage between authenticity and mental health. However, little is known about whether such an association can be generalized to Eastern cultures. This study aimed to conduct a cross‐cultural comparison on the association between three dimensions of authenticity (authentic living, self‐alienation, and accepting external influence) and two factors of mental health (negative and positive) across Western and Eastern cultures. Measurement invariance tests were carried out and multigroup structural regression models developed on two college samples from the US (n = 392) and China (n = 281). Results suggested that the associations between authenticity and the negative factor of mental health were consistent across cultures, where both self‐alienation and accepting external influence were positively associated with anxiety. However, the associations between authenticity and the positive factor of mental health were different in the US and Chinese samples. Specifically, both authentic living and accepting external influence were significantly associated with life satisfaction in the US sample but not in the Chinese sample. Findings stress that having a nondistorted perception of the true self is critically related to lower levels of anxiety across cultures and highlighted the need to identify culture‐specific promotive factors for life satisfaction.
Anaesthetists' current practice and perceptions of aerosol‐generating procedures: a mixed‐methods study
Authors: Shrimpton A. J. , Osborne C. E. D. , Brown J. M. , Cook T. M. , Penfold C. , Rooshenas L. , Pickering A. E.
Published: July 2022

The evidence base surrounding the transmission risk of ‘aerosol‐generating procedures’ has evolved primarily through quantification of aerosol concentrations during clinical practice. Consequently, infection prevention and control guidelines are undergoing continual reassessment. This mixed‐methods study aimed to explore the perceptions of practicing anaesthetists regarding aerosol‐generating procedures. An online survey was distributed to the Membership Engagement Group of the Royal College of Anaesthetists during November 2021. The survey included five clinical scenarios to identify the personal approach of respondents to precautions, their hospital's policies and the associated impact on healthcare provision. A purposive sample was selected for interviews to explore the reasoning behind their perceptions and behaviours in greater depth. A total of 333 survey responses were analysed quantitatively. Transcripts from 18 interviews were coded and analysed thematically. The sample was broadly representative of the UK anaesthetic workforce. Most respondents and their hospitals were aware of, supported and adhered to UK guidance. However, there were examples of substantial divergence from these guidelines at both individual and hospital level. For example, 40 (12%) requested respiratory protective equipment and 63 (20%) worked in hospitals that required it to be worn whilst performing tracheal intubation in SARS‐CoV‐2 negative patients. Additionally, 173 (52%) wore respiratory protective equipment whilst inserting supraglottic airway devices. Regarding the use of respiratory protective equipment and fallow times in the operating theatre: 305 (92%) perceived reduced efficiency; 376 (83%) perceived a negative impact on teamworking; 201 (64%) were worried about environmental impact; and 255 (77%) reported significant problems with communication. However, 269 (63%) felt the negative impacts of respiratory protection equipment were appropriately balanced against the risks of SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission. Attitudes were polarised about the prospect of moving away from using respiratory protective equipment. Participants' perceived risk from COVID‐19 correlated with concern regarding stepdown (Spearman's test, R = 0.36, p < 0.001). Attitudes towards aerosol‐generating procedures and the need for respiratory protective equipment are evolving and this information can be used to inform strategies to facilitate successful adoption of revised guidelines.
Design and evaluation of perception reconstruction with sensor system for artificial anal sphincter based on vector similarity
Authors: Han Ding , Yan Guozheng , Hua Fangfang , Wang Lichao , Wang Zhiwu , Jiang Pingping , Kuang Shuai
Published: July 2022

Background

Artificial organs are playing an increasingly important role in medical field. Artificial anal sphincter, as an example, is a widely used medical device for fecal incontinence. Though it could help patients maintain continence, the issue of perception reconstruction is still unsolved, which means that patients cannot control defecation as desired.

Methods

In this paper, a novel sensor system based on vector similarity has been analyzed and evaluated. The sensor system is a self‐packaged strain gauge sensor with a small size 14.5 mm × 6 mm, especially for medical device implanted in body to reconstruct perception function. In order to overcome the disadvantages of single threshold judgment, a more accurate and reliable judgment standard for content pressure detection in rectum is developed by using vector similarity method. Therefore, in the novel sensor system, standard multi‐parameters are comprehensive considered. Furthermore, weight‐optimization of sensors are investigated since each sensor has played a different role in detection. Finally, sensor calibration, in vitro and in vivo experiments are established.

Results

In sensor calibration, the result R2 > 0.99 presents the strain gauge pressure sensor has a good linearity. After that, a series of in vitro experiments have been conducted. The optimized sensor system shows a high accuracy rate in perception reconstruction, which is 87.5% on early warning and 95% on the alarm. In the following in vivo experiments. The results indicate that the average accuracy of the proposed perception reconstruction module has increased by 17.7%, compared with that without optimized sensor system.

Conclusions

All of these have proven that the novel perception reconstruction module with sensor system based on vector similarity is more acceptable and reliable.
A deontic perspective on organizational citizenship behavior toward the environment: The contribution of anticipated guilt
Authors: Raineri Nicolas , Hericher Corentin , Mejía‐Morelos Jorge Humberto , Paillé Pascal
Published: July 2022

This study draws on deontic justice theory to examine an unexplored socioemotional micro‐foundation of corporate social responsibility (CSR), namely anticipated guilt, in an effort to improve our understanding of employees’ moral reactions to their organization’s CSR. We empirically investigate whether environmental CSR induces anticipated guilt (i.e., concerns about future guilt for not contributing to organizational CSR) leading to organizational environmental citizenship behavior. We also consider two boundary conditions related to the social nature of anticipated guilt: line manager support for the environment and negative environmental group norms. To test our hypotheses, we analyzed data from a convenience sample of 503 managers working in Mexican organizations, using Latent Moderated Structural equation modeling. Overall, our results support the deontic argument that employees care about CSR because CSR embodies moral concerns. Specifically, our findings show that efforts to avoid a guilty conscience increase when the line manager provides increased resources and control to act for the environment, and when group members do not care for the environment, suggesting that employees feel they have to compensate for their group’s moral failure.