bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Why do consumers resist digital innovations? An innovation resistance theory perspective
Authors: Talwar Manish , Corazza Laura , Bodhi Rahul , Malibari Areej
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Despite the efforts of governments and firms, consumer resistance toward digital innovations in the retail finance space continues to manifest rather visibly. Yet, the causes of consumer resistance toward innovations such as online procurement of financial products continue to remain under-explored. The present study attempts to address this gap by examining barriers that may constitute Indian consumers' resistance to buying financial products marketed digitally, using insurance as an exemplar. Precisely, the study measures five classic innovation resistance theory (IRT) barriers constituting consumers' resistance toward procuring digitally marketed insurance and examines the influence of consumers' demographic characteristics, measured through age and gender.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual model, resting on the theoretical proposition of IRT, was tested using data collected from 420 smartphone users. Given that, the data did not satisfy the multivariate assumptions of normality, homoscedasticity and linearity, artificial neural network approach was used for analysis. The analysis served as the basis for determining the relative importance of the five barriers in influencing consumer resistance.

Findings

The results indicated that the image barrier was the most influential barrier impacting consumer resistance, followed by usage, tradition, risk and value barriers. Moreover, as revealed by the values of correlations, the direction of influence was positive. Notably, the relationship of all barriers except tradition with consumer resistance was found to be nonlinear.

Originality/value

The study makes a novel contribution in two ways – one by extending IRT to a new area, i.e., resistance to buying financial products online, thereby further enhancing its applicability, and the other by exploring consumer resistance to e-procurement of life and nonlife insurance, which to the best of the authors' knowledge, has not been examined so far despite the established exigency.
Does perceived behavioral control mediate customers' innovativeness and continuance intention of e-money? The moderating role of perceived risk and e-security
Authors: Hoque Mohammad Enamul , Susanto Perengki , Shah Najeeb Ullah , Khatimah Husnil , Mamun Abdullah Al
Published: March 2023

Purpose

With the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the usage of e-money has been reinforced to reach the next level. Therefore, this study aims to examine the mediating role of perceived behavioral control (PBC) on the nexus of customers' innovativeness and continuance intention of electronic money (e-money). This study also explores the moderating roles of perceived risk (PR) and electronic security (e-security) in relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employed a structured questionnaire for data collection and the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for empirical estimations.

Findings

The authors' findings reveal that customers' innovativeness promotes continuance intention of using e-money and demonstrate that PBC partially mediates the relation between customers' innovativeness and continuance intention of using e-money. The empirical findings also reveal that PR negatively moderates the relationship between customers' innovativeness and continuance intention and the relationship between customers' innovativeness and PBC. The empirical findings also exhibit that perceived e-security enhances the degree of the relationship between customers' innovativeness and continuance intention and the relationship between customers' innovativeness and PBC.

Practical implications

The findings shed light on an important factor that increases the likelihood of repeat e-money usage and has direct managerial implications for customer experience and risk concerns. Hence, the findings imply that e-money service providers should run a promotional advertisement highlighting what additional features are included or offered and how these could be beneficial for the customers. Furthermore, e-money service providers should provide some tutorial videos in order to increase innovative customers' control over e-money services as well as highlight how risk and security are protected.

Originality/value

This paper integrates three key theories: the diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the PR theory in post-adoption behavior of e-money usage. The current study also attempts to fill a literature gap by examining the moderating role of PR and e-security, which could be useful within the relationship between customers' innovativeness, PBC and customers' continued intentions of e-money usage.
Mechanisms for developing operational capabilities in digital servitization
Authors: Momeni Khadijeh , Raddats Chris , Martinsuo Miia
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Digital servitization concerns how manufacturers utilize digital technologies to enhance their provision of services. Although digital servitization requires that manufacturers possess new capabilities, in contrast to strategic (or dynamic) capabilities, little is known about how they develop the required operational capabilities. The paper investigates the mechanisms for developing operational capabilities in digital servitization.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents an exploratory study based on 15 large manufacturers operating in Europe engaged in digital servitization.

Findings

Three operational capability development mechanisms are set out that manufacturers use to facilitate digital servitization: learning (developing capabilities in-house), building (bringing the requisite capabilities into the manufacturer), and acquiring (utilizing the capabilities of other actors). These mechanisms emphasize exploitation and exploration efforts within manufacturers and in collaborations with upstream and downstream partners. The findings demonstrate the need to combine these mechanisms for digital servitization according to combinations that match each manufacturer’s traditional servitization phase: (1) initial phase - building and acquiring, (2) middle phase - learning, building and acquiring, and (3) advanced phase - learning and building.

Originality/value

This study reveals three operational capability development mechanisms, highlighting the parallel use of these mechanisms for digital servitization. It provides a holistic understanding of operational capability development mechanisms used by manufacturers by combining three theoretical perspectives (organizational learning, absorptive capacity, and network perspectives). The paper demonstrates that digital servitization requires the significant application of building and acquiring mechanisms to develop the requisite operational capabilities.
Does PLS in Islamic banking limit excessive money creation?
Authors: Ben Jedidia Khoutem , Hamza Hichem
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Bank lending is the major source of monetary expansion. Bank-led money creation is a key issue in both conventional and Islamic financial systems. The purpose of this paper is to examine the issues related to Islamic banking money creation. In this conceptual paper, the authors investigate the involvement of profit and loss sharing (PLS) in money creation and especially how can PLS limit money creation “out of nothing.” In this regard, the authors examine the potential of the PLS principle in tackling the excessive money creation phenomenon.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a normative approach regarding Islamic bank money creation that fits Sharia directives. In fact, this study discusses “what ought to be,” that is, the values and norms of PLS money creation that impede excessive money creation.

Findings

Overall, Islamic banks create money differently compared to conventional ones. Especially, by avoiding a purely financial intermediary, money creation under the PLS principle sustains a strong relationship with the real economy and leads to a lower money multiplier. Therefore, PLS mechanisms allow financing through real assets and not credit assets “out of nothing.” This could prevent excessive money creation from causing harmful effects on indebtedness and financial instability.

Practical implications

PLS offers a valuable resolution for banking system money creation through the optimization of Islamic bank financing by facilitating the separation of the monetary function from the credit one. This reform thought reinforces the stability value of money allowing it to fully perform its functions with reference to the directives of Sharia. This especially allows the integrity and purchasing power of money, the reduction of the gap between the evolution of both real and financial economies and, consequently, the indebtedness and crisis. It is recommended to promote PLS financing by reforming institutional and regulatory constraints.

Originality/value

This study addresses the contemporary issue of money creation by Islamic banks through the PLS approach. The conceptual framework of this paper highlights the reformist role of PLS in limiting money creation through Mudarabah approach within fractional reserve banking.
An SLR of firm ambidexterity: organizing a future research path forward
Authors: Kafetzopoulos Panagiotis , Psomas Evangelos , Kafetzopoulos Dimitrios
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Given that the literature in terms of business ambidexterity is continually growing, the of this paper is to identify the future research suggestions made by several authors with regard to ambidexterity and to group them into meaningful themes.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review (SLR) of peer reviewed journal articles in the field of ambidexterity was conducted. A total of 128 relevant articles were selected, which were published in 58 journals over the past 2 decades (2000–2021).

Findings

The plethora of the future research suggestions made by several authors with regard to ambidexterity are analytically presented. Moreover, based on these suggestions, meaningful future research themes were revealed and these were further classified into three broad categories, namely “factors influencing the adoption of ambidexterity and its success”, “the types of ambidexterity” and “the effects of ambidexterity”.

Research limitations/implications

The subjectivity of grouping the future research suggestions into themes as well as not examining the interrelationships among these themes, are limitations of the present study. Based on these limitations, future literature review studies can be conducted.

Practical implications

As this is a SLR focusing on developing future ambidexterity research themes, there are no direct practitioner implications. However, practitioners may benefit from future research prompted by this SLR.

Originality/value

This study contributes to management literature by suggesting future research not only on organizational ambidexterity like previous studies, but also on four different approaches to ambidexterity.
Does Russia–Ukraine war generate herding behavior in Moscow Exchange?
Authors: Bougatef Khemaies , Nejah Imen
Published: March 2023

Purpose

This study examines whether the Russia–Ukraine war affects herding behavior in the Moscow Exchange.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ the daily stock closing prices of 40 firms, which constitute the MOEX Russia Index from June 16, 2021, to November 30, 2022. The period before the invasion ranges from June 16, 2021, to February 23, 2022, while the post-invasion period runs from February 24, 2022, to November 30, 2022.

Findings

The findings suggest that the Russia–Ukraine war led to the formation of herding behavior among investors in Moscow Exchange. However, this herding behavior seems to be prevalent only during market downturns.

Research limitations/implications

The results are important for policymakers and fund managers since they help them understand behavior patterns of investors during periods of war. Given the devastating effect of herd behavior on market stability, policymakers should implement a strategy to avoid this behavior. The formation of herding behavior during the Russia–Ukraine war indicates that uncertainty and fear caused by Western sanctions lead investors to imitate others which, in turn, could lead to equity mispricing. Thus, firm managers should take into account this evidence in equity issuance decisions in order to time the market. The findings raise questions about the validity of the efficient market hypothesis during the periods of war.

Originality/value

This study represents the first attempt to explore whether the Russia–Ukraine conflict contributes to the appearance of herding behavior among investors on Moscow Exchange.
Broadening the circle: creativity, regeneration and redistribution in value loops
Authors: Palakshappa Nitha , Venkateswar Sita , Ganesh Shiv
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Increasing industrial agriculture and economic crisis has generated creative responses in pursuit of responsible solutions to the human and environmental cost of globalization by applying these models to promote social responsibility, help sustain livelihoods and foster biodiversity. A key issue concerns how responsible and circular businesses might provide appropriate responses to large-scale “wicked” problems. This paper aims to ask what such creativity looks like in the context of a circular economy that attempts to build closed value loops, by examining a case from the organic cotton textile industry: Appachi Eco-Logic.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses an ethnographic extended-case approach to identify two phases of creative growth at Appachi Eco-Logic, examining how closing the value loop and creating circularity involved broadening the circle to include more and more actors.

Findings

This study identifies two major challenges to achieving and maintaining full circularity before concluding with a broad provocation for the study of circular economies.

Originality/value

The case offers insight into fundamental features of circularity, regeneration and redistribution, which can be used by managers to build responsible and sustainable closed value loops.
PLANNING AND GOVERNANCE IN A POSTCOLONIAL CONTEXT: A Historical Institutionalist Approach to Land Use Planning in Morocco
Authors: Rahmouni Noussayba , Saizen Izuru
Published: March 2023

This study is concerned with the way colonial land use planning practices have persisted within local institutional structures in the former French colony of Morocco. We use a historical institutionalist approach to reevaluate Morocco's land use planning history and identify key feedback mechanisms that support the continuity of colonial practices within the Moroccan planning institutional structure. We used institutional mappings to identify key actors involved in planning and examined the formal power relations between them. Interviews were used to discuss the effect of informal interactions on the development of land use plans. We argue that aspects of French colonial planning that persisted within the Moroccan local institutional structure have created constraints for Moroccan land use planning. We focus in particular on how a centralist formalization of planning institutions has hampered the effectiveness of decentralization reforms and explain how institutional patterns deriving from the French paternalist approach to colonial rule have persisted in the form of a duality in modern planning structures. Finally, we argue that this path dependence has been strengthened by the creation of the derogation system as a potential way out for actors who are most capable of inducing change.
Occurrence of phthalates in different food matrices: A systematic review of the main sources of contamination and potential risks
Authors: da Costa Júlia Moraes , Kato Lilian Seiko , Galvan Diego , Lelis Carini Aparecida , Saraiva Thiago , Conte‐Junior Carlos Adam
Published: March 2023

This systematic review aimed to investigate the occurrence of phthalates (phthalic acid esters [PAEs]) in different food matrices, as well as report the main sources of PAEs in food, the potential risks to the population, and the factors that influence its migration from food contact materials (FCMs) to food. Nineteen PAEs were identified, including di‐(2‐ehtylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl‐phthalate (DBP), benzylbutyl phthalate (BBP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), and diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) in fruits and vegetables, milk and dairy products, cereals, meat, fish, fat and oils, snacks, condiments and sauces, miscellaneous, and baby food. Fifty‐seven values of PAEs were above the legal limits of countries. DEHP is the PAE with the highest incidence, with maximum concentrations above the specific migration limit (SML) for milk and dairy products, oils and fats, fish, cereals, condiments and sauces, meat, and fruits and vegetables. The risk of exceeding the tolerable daily intake (TDI) was high for DEHP and DBP in fish, fat and oils, cereals, and milk and dairy products for children and adults. Fat and oils are the most critical food for DEHP, DBP, BBP, and DINP. Comparing the estimated daily intake (EDI) with the TDI, there was a risk for “milk and dairy products” in adults and for “cereal and cereal products” in children concerning DEHP. “Cereal and cereal products” presented a risk in children and adults concerning DBP. The “fat and oils” category presented a risk in children and adults about DBP and DINP. Temperature, contact time between food and the FCM, fat percent, and acidity positively correlate with the PAE's migration. The contamination occurs in many steps of the production chain.
Disparities in the receipt of alcohol brief intervention: The intersectionality of sex, age, and race/ethnicity
Authors: Parthasarathy Sujaya , Chi Felicia W. , Metz Verena , Kline‐Simon Andrea , Asyyed Asma , Campbell Cynthia I. , Sterling Stacy
Published: March 2023

Background and Aims

The increasing trend in alcohol consumption among women, exacerbated by the COVID‐19 pandemic, is of growing concern. Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment in primary care is an efficacious and cost‐effective treatment approach for unhealthy alcohol use. However, disparities exist in delivery of brief interventions by sex, age and race/ethnicity. This study measures brief intervention rates among eligible patients by sex, age and race/ethnicity and their intersectionality, in the context of a program of systematic alcohol screening and brief intervention program in adult primary care in a large, integrated health‐care delivery system.

Design, Setting and Participants

This was a population‐based observational study among primary care clinics in an integrated health‐care delivery system in Northern California, USA. The participants comprised adult (18+) patients (n = 287 551) screening positive for unhealthy alcohol use between January 2014 and December 2017.

Measurements

Receipt of brief intervention, patient and provider characteristics from electronic health records.

Findings

Multi‐level logistic regression showed that women had lower odds of receiving brief intervention than men among all age, racial/ethnic groups and drinking levels. Sex differences were greater among those aged 35–49 years [odds ratio (OR) = 0.67, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.64, 0.69]) and 50–65 years (OR = 0.69, 95% CI =0.66, 0.72) than among other age groups. Sex differences in odds of receiving brief intervention were greater for the Latino/Hispanic group for women versus men (OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.66, 0.72) and smaller for the Asian/Pacific Islander group (OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.72, 0.81).

Conclusion

In the United States, compared with men, women appear to have lower odds of receiving brief intervention for unhealthy alcohol use across all age groups, particularly during middle age. Black women and Latina/Hispanic women appear to be less likely to receive brief intervention than women in other race/ethnicity groups. Receipt of brief intervention does not appear to differ by drinking levels between men and women.
One More Time? Parties’ Repeated Electoral Entry in Younger Democracies
Authors: Ibenskas Raimondas , van de Wardt Marc
Published: March 2023

Why and how parties continue contesting elections (“repeated entry”) is an underresearched question despite its essence for party survival and party‐system stability. We study repeated entry in three decades of elections in 10 Central and Eastern European countries using a new dataset that records almost 1,000 entry decisions. Our findings underline the importance of separating between first‐ and second‐league parties based on whether in the previous election a party could obtain representation alone. First‐league parties (those that could gain representation alone) almost always contest the next election. Second‐league parties (those that could not win representation alone) exit electoral competition quite frequently and adopt more diverse repeated‐entry strategies. We find that second‐league parties’ repeated entry depends on their closeness to the representation threshold, access to resources, and the number of competitors in their niche, but not on institutional constraints or voter dissatisfaction.
Splenic flexure cancer survival: a 25‐year experience and implications for complete mesocolic excision (CME) and central vascular ligation (CVL)
Authors: Naidu Krishanth , Chapuis Pierre H. , Brown Kilian G. M. , Chan Charles , Rickard Matthew J. F. X. , Ng Kheng‐Seong
Published: March 2023

Background

The management of splenic flexure cancers (SFCs) in the era of complete mesocolic excision (CME) and central vascular ligation (CVL) is challenging because of its variable lymphatic drainage. This study aimed to compare survival outcomes for SFCs and non‐SFCs, and better understand the clinicopathological characteristics which may define a distinct SFC phenotype.

Methods

An observational cohort study at Concord Hospital, Sydney was conducted with patients who underwent resection for colon adenocarcinoma (1995–2019). Clinicopathological data were extracted from a prospective database. Overall survival (OS) and disease‐free survival (DFS) estimates and their associations to clinicopathological variables were investigated with Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression analyses.

Results

Of 2149 patients with colon cancer, 129 (6%) had an SFC. The overall 5‐year OS and DFS rates were 63.6% (95% CI 62.5–64.7) and 59.4% (95% CI 58.3–60.5), respectively. SFCs were not associated with OS (P = 0.6) or DFS (P = 0.5). SFCs were more likely to present urgently (P < 0.001) with obstruction (P < 0.001) or perforation (P = 0.03), and more likely to require an open operation (P < 0.001). These characteristics were associated with poorer survival outcomes. No differences were noted between SFCs and non‐SFCs with respect to tumour stage (P = 0.3).

Conclusion

SFCs have a distinct phenotype, the individual characteristics of which are associated with poorer survival. However, the survivals of SFCs and non‐SFCs are similar, possibly because the most important determinant of outcome, tumour stage, is no different between the groups. This may have implications for the surgical approach to SFCs with respect to standardization of CME and CVL surgery for these cancers.
Use of Thiel‐embalmed cadavers in urology training and their ability to retain real‐life anatomy: a systematic review
Authors: Chytas Dimitrios , Gyftopoulos Kostis
Published: March 2023

Background

Thiel‐embalmed cadavers (TeCs) have been proposed as an alternative and probably safer method of surgical training, compared to formalin‐embalmed cadavers. We aimed to perform a systematic review on the use of TeCs in urology training and their ability to represent real‐life anatomy.

Methods

PubMed, SCOPUS and Cochrane databases were searched for articles with purpose to explore the use of TeCs in urology training, without date restrictions, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) statement. From each paper, we evaluated the type of procedure, the number of participants, the type of study, the educational outcomes and their level, according to Kirkpatrick hierarchy.

Results

Of the 225 records initially retrieved, eight articles were eventually included. All studies evaluated participants' perceptions about the procedure. Overall, urology trainees and specialists have positively commented on the educational value of TeCs, which have been also found able to adequately mimic real‐life conditions. In all the eight studies, trainees stated that tissue quality of TeCs was adequately realistic and considered TeCs as a useful surgical training tool.

Conclusion

Although the use of TeCs in urology training has so far been limited, their value as a surgical training tool has been positively perceived. These outcomes suggest that TeCs may also enhance urology trainees' surgical skills and may encourage their implementation as a simulation tool in urology training.
Towards Optimizing Hospitalized Older adults' MEdications (TO HOME): Multi‐centre study of medication use and outcomes in routine care
Authors: Hilmer Sarah N. , Lo Sarita , Kelly Patrick J. , Viney Rosalie , Blyth Fiona M. , Le Couteur David G. , McLachlan Andrew J. , Arora Sheena , Hossain Lutfun , Gnjidic Danijela
Published: March 2023

Aims

Comprehensively investigate prescribing in usual care of hospitalized older people with respect to polypharmacy; potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) according to Beers criteria; and cumulative anticholinergic and sedative medication exposure calculated with Drug Burden Index (DBI). Specifically, to quantify exposure to these measures on admission, changes between admission and discharge, associations with adverse outcomes and medication costs.

Methods

Established new retrospective inpatient cohort of 2000 adults aged ≥75 years, consecutively admitted to 6 hospitals in Sydney, Australia, with detailed information on medications, clinical characteristics and outcomes. Conducted cross‐sectional analyses of index admission data from cohort.

Results

Cohort had mean (standard deviation) age 86.0 (5.8) years, 59% female, 21% from residential aged care. On admission, prevalence of polypharmacy was 77%, PIMs 34% and DBI > 0 in 53%. From admission to discharge, mean difference (95% confidence interval) in total number of medications increased 1.05 (0.92, 1.18); while prevalence of exposure to PIMs (−3.8% [−5.4, −2.1]) and mean DBI score (−0.02 [−0.04, −0.01]) decreased. PIMs and DBI score were associated with increased risks (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval]) of falls (PIMs 1.63 [1.28, 2.08]; DBI score 1.21[1.00, 1.46]) and delirium (PIMs 1.76 [1.38, 1.46]; DBI score 1.42 [1.19, 1.71]). Each measure was associated with increased risk of adverse drug reactions (polypharmacy 1.42 [1.19, 1.71]; PIMs 1.87 [1.40, 2.49]; DBI score 1.90 [1.55, 2.15]). Cost (AU$/patient/hospital day) of medications contributing to PIMs and DBI was low ($0.29 and $0.88).

Conclusion

In this large cohort of older inpatients, usual hospital care results in an increase in number of medications and small reductions in PIMs and DBI, with variable associations with adverse outcomes.
Identifying and Estimating Effects of Sustained Interventions under Parallel Trends Assumptions
Authors: Renson Audrey , Hudgens Michael G. , Keil Alexander P. , Zivich Paul N. , Aiello Allison E.
Published: March 2023

Many research questions in public health and medicine concern sustained interventions in populations defined by substantive priorities. Existing methods to answer such questions typically require a measured covariate set sufficient to control confounding, which can be questionable in observational studies. Differences-in-differences rely instead on the parallel trends assumption, allowing for some types of time-invariant unmeasured confounding. However, most existing difference-in-differences implementations are limited to point treatments in restricted subpopulations. We derive identification results for population effects of sustained treatments under parallel trends assumptions. In particular, in settings where all individuals begin follow-up with exposure status consistent with the treatment plan of interest but may deviate at later times, a version of Robins' g-formula identifies the intervention-specific mean under stable unit treatment value assumption, positivity, and parallel trends. We develop consistent asymptotically normal estimators based on inverse-probability weighting, outcome regression, and a double robust estimator based on targeted maximum likelihood. Simulation studies confirm theoretical results and support the use of the proposed estimators at realistic sample sizes. As an example, the methods are used to estimate the effect of a hypothetical federal stay-at-home order on all-cause mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020 in the United States.
Agribusiness, Legislative Elections and Party Fragmentation in Brazil
Authors: Santos Fabiano , Moreira Thiago
Published: March 2023

The article explores the impact of agribusiness on the politics of legislative elections in Brazil. The central argument is that social contexts dominated by agribusiness tend to amplify the number of right‐wing micro‐parties, due firstly to the economic interests prevalent in such regions and secondly given the ‘catch all’ nature of Brazil's traditional right and centre‐right political parties. By showing how agribusiness favours the proliferation of small parties, we may also reveal one of the main reasons behind the ‘hyperfragmentation’ of Brazil's party system.
Feature Representation for High‐resolution Clothed Human Reconstruction
Authors: Pu Juncheng , Liu Li , Fu Xiaodong , Su Zhuo , Liu Lijun , Peng Wei
Published: March 2023

Detailed and accurate feature representation is essential for high‐resolution reconstruction of clothed human. Herein we introduce a unified feature representation for clothed human reconstruction, which can adapt to changeable posture and various clothing details. The whole method can be divided into two parts: the human shape feature representation and the details feature representation. Specifically, we firstly combine the voxel feature learned from semantic voxel with the pixel feature from input image as an implicit representation for human shape. Then, the details feature mixed with the clothed layer feature and the normal feature is used to guide the multi‐layer perceptron to capture geometric surface details. The key difference from existing methods is that we use the clothing semantics to infer clothed layer information, and further restore the layer details with geometric height. We qualitative and quantitative experience results demonstrate that proposed method outperforms existing methods in terms of handling limb swing and clothing details. Our method provides a new solution for clothed human reconstruction with high‐resolution details (style, wrinkles and clothed layers), and has good potential in three‐dimensional virtual try‐on and digital characters.
Guarding the Urban Elite: Hospitality Security in São Paulo
Authors: Robb Larkins Erika , Durão Susana
Published: March 2023

In the past decade, Brazil's largest city, São Paulo, has witnessed an exponential growth in private security. In this article, we contribute to understandings of how security shapes urban life by focusing on what we call hospitality security, which takes place in elite spaces of residence and leisure such as high‐end neighborhoods, gated communities, and shopping malls. Drawing on long‐term ethnographic fieldwork, we argue that hospitality security is a specific urban formation that combines protection with care for spaces and clients. As such, it is not just another paid protection service, but is viewed as a necessary force for creating a desirable quality of life and fostering an ease of urban circulation that is seen as absent from public spaces due to high crime and ongoing eruptions of police violence. Hospitality security thus attempts to produce urban stability and predictability by maintaining harmony in residential and commercial environments and ensuring foreseeable social interactions while requiring security guards to uphold an unequal, racialized status quo.
Intracranial hypertension after cerebral venous thrombosis—Risk factors and outcomes
Authors: Wei Huimin , Jiang Huimin , Zhou Yifan , Liu Lu , Zhou Chen , Ji Xunming
Published: March 2023

Background and Purpose

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a special cerebrovascular disease that accounts for around 0.5%–1.0% of all strokes and often occurs in younger adults. Intracranial hypertension is the most frequent symptom of acute CVT due to venous occlusion. This study aimed to ascertain the risk factors for intracranial hypertension after CVT and to investigate whether intracranial hypertension at diagnosis may affect patient outcomes.

Methods

We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of all patients treated for acute/subacute CVT at our department between 2018 and 2021. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify potential risk factors associated with intracranial hypertension after CVT and clinical outcomes at the 6‐month follow‐up.

Results

A total of 293 acute/subacute CVT survivors were eligible for inclusion, with 245 patients (83.60%) experiencing concomitant intracranial hypertension at diagnosis. In the multivariable regression analysis, hereditary thrombophilia (OR 2.210, 95% CI 1.148–4.254, p = 0.018) and thrombosis location of superior sagittal sinus (SSS) and right lateral sinus (LS) (OR 4.115, 95% CI 1.880–9.010, p = 0.000) were independently associated with intracranial hypertension. 83.67% of patients with intracranial hypertension after CVT had favorable functional outcomes (mRS score, 0–2), whereas they more often had residual visual impairment (15.51% vs. 4.17%, p = 0.036) at follow‐up. The risk factors for residual visual impairment were papilledema (OR 2.971, 95% CI 1.231–7.170, p = 0.015) and visual disturbances at diagnosis (OR 2.869, 95% CI 1.123–7.327, p = 0.028), thrombosis location (SSS and right LS [OR 10.811, 95% CI 4.208–27.773, p = 0.000]; SSS and left LS [OR 3.139, 95% CI 1.409–6.995, p = 0.005]), and CVT recurrence (OR 4.763, 95% CI 1.556–14.584, p = 0.006).

Conclusions

Intracranial hypertension is the most common clinical symptom of acute CVT. At follow‐up, patients with intracranial hypertension after CVT were more prone to develop residual visual impairment.
Assessing the accuracy of the International Academy of Cytology Yokohama System for reporting breast fine needle aspiration biopsy cytology at a Vietnamese oncology centre
Authors: Tam Nguyen Thi , Makram Abdelrahman M. , Elsheikh Randa , Khader Sarah Abd Elaziz , Mai Anh Nam , Toan Nguyen‐Sy , Huy Nguyen Tien , Hanh Bui Thi My
Published: March 2023

Background

Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB), accompanied by classification systems for cytology, can offer a cheap and convenient option for the diagnosis of breast cancer in women with suspicious breast lumps. In this study, we aimed to assess the accuracy of the International Academy of Cytology (IAC) Yokohama system in a Vietnamese oncology centre.

Methods

A retrospective cross‐sectional study was conducted from November 2021 to April 2022 at Vietnam National Cancer Hospital. We included patients with full hospital records regarding breast lesions for which FNAB was indicated. A total of 803 patients' FNAB specimens were assessed according to the IAC Yokohama system. The basic characteristics were summarised using the appropriate summary measurements. The risk of malignancy (ROM) was calculated for each classification category.

Results

The median age was 42.7 years (range: 14‐85). The mean size of the lesions was 17.9 mm (range: 4‐123 mm). We had 215 histopathological reports. The most common benign and malignant diagnoses were fibroadenoma and invasive carcinoma, respectively. The ROM for categories II, III, IV, and V was calculated as 3.4%, 37.5%, 95%, and 99.2% respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 96.4%, 97.2%, 98.5%, and 93.2%, respectively.

Conclusion

The IAC Yokohama system offers a good option with which to predict underlying breast pathology using a simple and cheap procedure. However, pathologists require continuous training to ensure accurate interpretation of the slides.
Micro‐temporal analyses of crime related to alcohol outlets: A comparison of outcomes over weekday, weekend, daytime and nighttime hours
Authors: Gruenewald Paul J. , Sumetsky Natalie , Mair Christina , Lee Juliet P. , Ponicki William R.
Published: March 2023

Introduction

Causal relationships between alcohol outlets and crime are inferred from their statistical associations across neighbourhoods. However, many unobserved covariates may confound these effects. Recognising that outlet sales vary by time of day and day of week, we assess whether areas with more bars/pubs, restaurants or off‐premise outlets have more crime during days and times when alcohol sales are greatest.

Methods

Annual administrative crime counts, sociodemographic data and other area characteristics of 336 Census block groups in Oakland, California, USA, were related to outlet densities from 2000 to 2015. Bayesian space–time Poisson models were used to measure associations between outlet densities and crime during: (i) weekday daytime; (ii) weekday nighttime; (iii) weekend daytime; and (iv) weekend nighttime periods (four seemingly unrelated equations). Comparisons of parameter estimates across equations provided an assessment of outlet effects on crime across days and times within the same analysis units using the same constellation of confounding covariates.

Results

Assault and driving under the influence crime incidents during weekend evening hours were more frequent in Census block group areas with greater numbers of bar/pubs. Burglaries were consistently greater in areas with greater densities of restaurants.

Discussion and Conclusions

The spatiotemporal signature relating densities of bars/pubs over weekend evening hours to assault and driving under the influence incidents suggests that these outlets are a critical source of these crimes across neighbourhoods. Prevention programs and policies that focus upon specific drinking establishments, days and times may be most effective in reducing assault and impaired driving incidents in neighbourhoods.
Spatial Income Inequality, Convergence, and Regional Development in a Lower Middle‐Income Country: Satellite Evidence from the Philippines
Authors: Pagaduan Jesson A.
Published: March 2023

This paper examines spatial income inequality and convergence in the Philippines—a lower middle‐income country with historically high inequality—and its course over the process of economic development. Combining higher quality nighttime lights (NTLs) with gridded population data, I construct subnational measures of spatial inequality for the 17 administrative regions in the country in the period 2000–2020. Using this unique dataset, I first document the tremendous improvement in income disparities over the last two decades. Income per capita across provinces has converged rapidly, and income dispersion within administrative regions has narrowed markedly. Then, I uncover a U‐shaped relationship between spatial inequality and economic development, which is robust; across alternative measures of inequality; to the outlier effects of highly urbanized cities; across parametric and semiparametric specifications; to business‐cycle effects; and to persistence of spatial inequality. Finally, I confirm that structural transformation acts as a transmission channel of this U‐shaped link.
Financial intermediation, inclusion, Fintech, and income inequality in Africa: Robust evidence from the supply and demand side data
Authors: Ashenafi Biruk B. , Yan Dong
Published: March 2023

The current literature on the finance‐inequality nexus fall short of providing extensive evidence. This paper fills the gap by framing the financial sector; to the development of financial intermediation (supply side) and individual use of financial services (demand side). The first approach decouples the financial sector into the banking and stock market. We use the 5‐year nonoverlapping averaged data from 1980 to 2017 across 49 countries and employ a panel data fixed effect and two‐stage least squared estimation (2sls). We show that banking and stock market development widens income inequality. Besides, the effect is more prominent in countries that have a banking and stock market than countries only with the banking sector. The second approach uses financial inclusion and financial technology (Fintech) data from three waves of survey data in 2011, 2014 and 2017 on the individual use of financial services across 39 countries. We obtain three key findings. First, institutional quality significantly affects financial inclusion and Fintech. Second, Fintech positively affects inclusion and savings. Third, financial inclusion and Fintech exacerbate income inequality. Our result asserts a natural tendency that financial sector development exacerbate income inequality in Africa.
Growth and behaviour of juvenile European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in sandy and stony bottom substrates
Authors: Motyka Roman , Calles Olle , Lind Lovisa , Watz Johan
Published: March 2023

Understanding how the physical habitat influences growth and behaviour is essential for developing effective habitat restoration programmes of threatened and endangered fish species. In our study, we compared the growth and behaviour of juvenile European eel during 13 weeks in aquaria with either sand (0.8–2 mm) or pebbles (25–40 mm) as bottom substrate. In aquaria with the pebble substrate, eel grew significantly faster than in aquaria with sand (specific growth rate 0.15 vs. 0.11% day−1). Moreover, growth rates varied more for individuals inhabiting aquaria with sand than in those with pebbles (coefficient of variation 1.26 vs. 0.67). Habitat‐dependent growth rates may partly be explained by the observed differences in behavioural patterns. In aquaria with sand, eel left the substrate more often and moved close to the bottom or freely in water column. In aquaria with pebbles, eel remained hidden in the substrate to a high degree, also during feeding. These results may be important for prioritising connectivity‐ and habitat‐restoring measures and for optimization of restocking programmes.
Current perspectives on resistance to chimeric antigen receptor T‐cell therapy and strategies to improve efficacy in B‐cell lymphoma
Authors: Ong Shin Yeu , Chen Yunxin , Tan Melinda Si Yun , Ho Aloysius Yew Leng , Hwang William Ying Khee , Lim Francesca Lorraine Wei Inng
Published: March 2023

Although chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T‐cell therapy has demonstrated remarkable efficacy in patients with chemo‐refractory B‐cell lymphoma, a significant portion is refractory or relapse. Resistance is a major barrier to improving treatment efficacy and long‐term survival in CAR T‐cell therapy, and clinicians have very limited tools to discriminate a priori patients who will or will not respond to treatment. While CD19‐negative relapses due to loss of target antigen is well described, it accounts for only about 30% of cases with treatment failure. Recent efforts have shed light on mechanisms of CD19‐positive relapse due to tumor intrinsic resistance, T‐cell quality/manufacturing, or CAR T‐cell exhaustion mediated by hostile tumor microenvironment. Here, we review the latest updates of preclinical and clinical trials to investigate the mechanisms of resistance and relapse post CAR T‐cell therapy in B cell lymphoma and discuss novel treatment strategies to overcome resistance as well as advances that are useful for a CAR T therapist to optimize and personalize CAR T‐cell therapy.
Surgical management of an atypical chronic fracture of the third trochanter of the femur
Authors: Tischmacher Adeline , Beaumont Audrey , Campos Schweitzer Ariane , Rossignol Fabrice , Denoix Jean‐Marie
Published: March 2023

Fractures of the third trochanter of the femur are an uncommon cause of hindlimb lameness in the horse. The diagnosis is easily made with ultrasonography. Reported prognosis is good after a period of rest and a progressive return to exercise. This case report describes a third trochanter fracture in a 5‐year‐old trotter mare, which is atypical in terms of both its clinical presentation and management. At the dynamic examination, a left hind lameness was only observed when harnessed at the track. Nuclear scintigraphic examination revealed a marked increase in radiopharmaceutical uptake on the third trochanter of the left femur. Radiographic and ultrasonographic findings confirmed an old complete fracture of the third trochanter of the left femur, with a displaced fragment. The mare was referred for surgical treatment in order to remove the fractured third trochanter. At the follow‐up examination, the mare was sound in hand and imaging revealed successful resection of the main fractured fragment. After a period of stall rest, the mare progressively resumed training and then racing 7.5 months after the surgery, performing at its expected level. Surgical treatment may be an option for chronic fractures of the third trochanter.
Five‐ versus seven‐day dosing intervals of extended‐release injectable omeprazole in the treatment of equine squamous and glandular gastric disease
Authors: Sundra Tania , Kelty Erin , Rendle David
Published: March 2023

Background

An extended‐release injectable omeprazole formulation (ERIO) has become a popular treatment for equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) and equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) where it is available; however, published data are limited and optimal treatment regimens have not been determined.

Objectives

To compare effects of treatment on ESGD and EGGD when an ERIO formulation is administered at either 5‐ or 7‐day intervals.

Study design

Retrospective clinical study.

Methods

Case records and gastroscopy images of horses with ESGD or EGGD treated with ERIO were reviewed. Images were anonymised and graded by one researcher masked to treatment group. Treatment responses were compared between the two treatment schedules using univariable ordered logistic regression.

Results

Forty‐three horses were treated with ERIO at 5‐day intervals and 39 horses at 7‐day intervals. Signalment and presenting signs did not differ between groups. The proportions of horses with EGGD healing (to grade 0 or 1) in association with ERIO used at 5‐day intervals (93%) were higher than associated with treatment at 7‐day intervals (69%; odds ratio [OR]: 2.41, 95% CI: 1.23–4.74, p = 0.01). For ESGD, there was no significant difference in the proportion of horses healing in association with treatment at 5‐day intervals (97%) compared with 7‐day intervals (82%; OR: 2.75, 95% CI: 0.91–8.31, p = 0.07). Four of 328 injections were associated with an injection‐site reaction (1%).

Main limitations

Retrospective study design, lack of randomisation and limited case numbers.

Conclusions

The use of ERIO at 5‐day intervals might be more appropriate than the 7‐day interval that is used currently.