bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pastoralist conflict: children as catalysts for peace building
Authors: Dzinekou Jonas Yawovi , Kabui Anne Christine
Published: March 2022

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes of this paper are as follows: to uncover the social innovation in the peacebuilding model of the Children for Peace Initiative (CPI); to identify the key success factors of the CPI model; to discuss the sustainability of the model of CPI-Kenya; and to apply the contact theory and personal transformation theory to CPI model.

Case overview/synopsis

The case is written to address the issue of intercommunity peacebuilding between the Pokot and Samburu. It focusses on social innovation in peacebuilding implemented in seven villages among the Pokot and Samburu. The activities revolve around the involvement of children as key actors in peacebuilding and the exchange of heifer between the communities to sustain the peace. The heifer is one of the sources of conflict. In this case, this powerful cultural symbol is used to create bonding and friendship between the conflicting communities. While there were many peacebuilding attempts in the pastoralist communities, CPI-Kenya introduced a model that focusses on building a new human relationship between the communities. It includes all the social groups of the communities, making it more successful and sustainable than other previous attempts.The two co-founders, Monica Kinyua and Hilary Bukuno, narrated the story of how the CPI-Kenya started, highlighting the uniqueness of their peace-building approach and the strategy they adopted to build a new relationship between the communities. They shared powerful stories of how CPI managed to bring a peaceful living between the Samburu and Pokot in Baragoi, particularly in Amaya and Longewan villages.In the beginning, the main challenge for the CPI-Kenya team was finding the right approach to implement their peace innovation by making children become the catalyst of peace in their communities. With children at the centre of the CPI model, the best approach was getting entry through schools. The school is an accepted social system that has over time gained trust from all parents who send their children there.The case provides the students with the element that is essential for social innovation in the community. The students can learn from the case the importance of collaboration for social initiative, community engagement and inclusive peacebuilding. It portrays a unique strategy in community leadership and management. Further, the students will learn one concrete application of the human contact theory and personal transformation theory. The case highlight how cultural symbols that are sources of conflict can be turned into the symbol of peace. Starting with one group of people in a community and growing into other groups in the same community through a ripple effect.

Complexity academic level

The case can be used for Master’s and Doctorate.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 11: Strategy.
Facilitating EFL teachers’ professional development through CLS of English literature instruction
Authors: Zhang Huaqing , Luo Shaoqian
Published: March 2022

Purpose

Against the backdrop of China’s curriculum reform, this paper explores how a Chinese lesson study (CLS) of English literature instruction in a senior high school promotes the teacher participant’s professional development (PD) in teacher beliefs and emotions, teaching contents, teaching approaches and learner outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted the CLS approach to explore the teacher participant, Lily’s PD. Three rounds of CLS of short fiction instruction were conducted. Triangulated data including interviews, reflection journals, discussion notes and lesson materials were collected for directed qualitative content analysis.

Findings

The results show that through the CLS, Lily has (1) changed her beliefs about the curriculum and literature instruction, and improved her emotion management and become more resilient and motivated; (2) shifted her teaching focus from forms and facts to meanings; (3) adopted a more learner-centred and inquiry-based teaching approach and (4) received satisfactory learner outcomes including increased learner participation and quality output. The follow-up class observations suggest the sustainability of such development.

Originality/value

This study applies and validates a conceptual framework of teachers’ PD, and establishes the value of promoting curriculum reform and facilitating EFL teachers’ PD through CLS and literature instruction.
Inventory planning under supplier uncertainty in a two-level supply chain
Authors: Yassine Noura
Published: March 2022

Purpose

Due to uncertainty in supply chains caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), organizations are adjusting their supply chain design to address challenges faced during the pandemic. To safeguard their operations against disruption in order quantities, supply chain members have been looking for alternate suppliers. This paper considers a two-level supply chain consisting of a manufacturer and two suppliers of a certain type of components required for the production of a finished product. The primary supplier (supplier A) is unreliable, in the sense that the quantity delivered is usually less than the ordered quantity. The proportion of the ordered quantity delivered by supplier A is a random variable with a known probability distribution. The secondary supplier (supplier B) always delivers the order in its entirety at a higher cost and can respond instantaneously. In order for supplier B to respond instantaneously, the manufacturer is required to reserve a certain quantity at an additional cost. Once the quantity received from the main supplier is observed, the manufacturer may place an order not exceeding the reserved quantity.

Design/methodology/approach

A mathematical model describing the production/inventory situation of the supply chain is formulated. The model allows the determination of the manufacturer's optimal ordering policy.

Findings

An expression for the expected total cost per unit time function is derived. The optimal solution is determined by solving a system of nonlinear equations obtained by minimizing the expected total cost function.

Practical implications

The proposed model can be used by supply chain managers aiming at identifying various ways of handling the uncertainty in the flow of supplies across the chain.

Originality/value

This proposed model addresses a gap in the production/inventory literature.
Human activity recognition in WBAN using ensemble model
Authors: Boga Jayaram , V. Dhilip Kumar
Published: March 2022

Purpose

For achieving the profitable human activity recognition (HAR) method, this paper solves the HAR problem under wireless body area network (WBAN) using a developed ensemble learning approach. The purpose of this study is,to solve the HAR problem under WBAN using a developed ensemble learning approach for achieving the profitable HAR method. There are three data sets used for this HAR in WBAN, namely, human activity recognition using smartphones, wireless sensor data mining and Kaggle. The proposed model undergoes four phases, namely, “pre-processing, feature extraction, feature selection and classification.” Here, the data can be preprocessed by artifacts removal and median filtering techniques. Then, the features are extracted by techniques such as “t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding”, “Short-time Fourier transform” and statistical approaches. The weighted optimal feature selection is considered as the next step for selecting the important features based on computing the data variance of each class. This new feature selection is achieved by the hybrid coyote Jaya optimization (HCJO). Finally, the meta-heuristic-based ensemble learning approach is used as a new recognition approach with three classifiers, namely, “support vector machine (SVM), deep neural network (DNN) and fuzzy classifiers.” Experimental analysis is performed.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed HCJO algorithm was developed for optimizing the membership function of fuzzy, iteration limit of SVM and hidden neuron count of DNN for getting superior classified outcomes and to enhance the performance of ensemble classification.

Findings

The accuracy for enhanced HAR model was pretty high in comparison to conventional models, i.e. higher than 6.66% to fuzzy, 4.34% to DNN, 4.34% to SVM, 7.86% to ensemble and 6.66% to Improved Sealion optimization algorithm-Attention Pyramid-Convolutional Neural Network-AP-CNN, respectively.

Originality/value

The suggested HAR model with WBAN using HCJO algorithm is accurate and improves the effectiveness of the recognition.
A bibliometric analysis of the structure and trends of customer engagement in the context of international marketing
Authors: Srivastava Mukta , Sivaramakrishnan Sreeram
Published: March 2022

Purpose

Research in customer engagement (CE) has gained momentum in the last decade, thanks to its growing popularity among scholars and practitioners. The Marketing Science Institute (MSI), for instance, has been continually listing CE as part of its Tier I research priorities since 2010. CE scholars have also studied the construct in the international marketing context. Hofstede's characterization of cultures as either individualist or collectivist helped scholars explain the need for different CE strategies across countries, and the domain seems to be evolving ever since. The ever-growing interest of CE scholars in the international market and cross-cultural scenarios requires a comprehensive and scientific review of the literature. Using bibliometric analysis, this study fills this critical gap by mapping the intellectual structure of CE research in the context of international marketing and provides future research directions to scholars in this domain.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have used VOSviewer and Biblioshiny software packages to conduct a bibliometric analysis of 109 articles in the domain.

Findings

The major findings include the most influential countries, journals, articles and authors, the different research streams and their development and the future research directions in the domain. When CE is considered in an international marketing context, four broad themes emerged. The first theme is about differences in customer engagement behaviors across cultures. The second theme is about the development of CE and related constructs. The third theme relates to how brands have used CE and CBE (customer brand engagement) across different international contexts. The fourth theme is all about the conceptual and methodological support for the study of CE.

Originality/value

This study is a novel attempt at providing a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of CE research in the international marketing context, using a combination of VOSviewer and Biblioshiny software packages.
Corruption, R&D and performance: firm-level evidence from Latin America
Authors: Viglioni Marco Túlio Dinali , Ferreira Manuel Portugal , Aveline Carlos Eduardo Stefaniak , Alcântara Juciara Nunes de
Published: March 2022

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how firms' perceived level of corruption moderates the relationship between Research and Development (R&D) investments and firms' financial performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study has used dynamic panel data for local private and public firms from Latin American countries (Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru) during 2012–2019. The unbalanced panel was estimated using generalized method of moments (GMM) and instrumental variables (IVs) to account for endogeneity issues.

Findings

The results showed that corruption has a direct and positive effect on firms' financial performance. Moreover, while firms' financial performance increases in the presence of corruption, the authors' findings suggest that corruption negatively moderates the relationship between R&D investments and firms' financial performance. This finding exposes the debate “grease the wheels” once corruption appears to work much more like sand than grease on more innovative firms. Finally, the authors observed a negative effect of long-term R&D investments on firms' performance, indicating that high levels of corruption harm even more long-term innovative activities.

Research limitations/implications

The authors have delimited the scope to firms from four Latin American countries, and thus, the generalization to other countries, from Latin America or other emerging countries, needs to be made with caution. Furthermore, the authors used the corruption perception index (CPI) to assess the extent of corruption and, apparently, using a single measure may limit the understanding. Future research may deepen the authors' comprehension by exploring the effects of the different practices or types of corruption.

Practical implications

The authors' findings have challenging policy implications denoting policymakers need to prioritize the institutional quality to reduce corruption and foster firms' R&D investments.

Originality/value

The paper has adopted a unique firm-level dataset from an underresearched region. This enriches a long-standing debate by providing new insights of corruption effects in Latin America. Therefore, the authors provided new evidence of the moderating relationship between corruption and R&D investments on more innovative firms' performance.
Stakeholder management challenges in mega construction projects: critical success factors
Authors: Mashali Ayman , Elbeltagi Emad , Motawa Ibrahim , Elshikh Mohamed
Published: March 2022

Purpose

The construction industry is facing massive challenges due to the huge construction development, and stakeholder management (SM) practices, especially on megaprojects. The purpose of this paper is to investigate critical success factors (CSFs) encountered by key construction stakeholders to enhance SM practices on mega construction projects (MCPs).

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey is carried out among the most important construction companies in Qatar. Three steps are used to finalize and evaluate the questionnaire before proceeding with the full survey, validity, pretesting and pilot study. Quantitative data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Science software.

Findings

This paper identifies the key factors contributing to improving SM performance in MCPs; none of these is uncommon, but here they come together in a more integrative way.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations related to this research are briefly outlined as follows: the research was carried out in the State of Qatar. So, the findings are limited to the Qatari construction industry. The construction industry in Qatar is different from other countries where public projects have the priority to develop the infrastructure of the country prior to the world cup competition. The scope of this research is limited to MCPs. The impact of low awareness and knowledge of SM is not considered. However, the study is still reasonable and fortunately suitable to evaluate SM in MCPs.

Practical implications

Identifying these factors is expected to assist project participants in MCPs in improving projects’ performance and completing construction within the predefined time and cost.

Originality/value

This study makes a significant contribution through identifying the CSFs that lead to develop efficient SM in MCPs. Moreover, the research findings are important for project stakeholders, organizations, contractors, engineers and local authorities who implement SM in MCPs. Moreover, it will enhance the application of SM practices in construction megaprojects and allow project key stakeholders to place emphasis on tackling the crucial challenges identified in this research.
Institutional factors and the timing of land development: a survival analysis applied to the GZM Metropolis in Poland
Authors: Reyman Katarzyna , Maier Gunther
Published: March 2022

Purpose

The purpose of the article is to improve the understanding of the role of institutional factors in real estate development. The authors take into account zoning (existence and type), type of right of disposal and type of buyer and seller of property in a multivariate econometric estimation. Dependent variable of the analysis is the time between acquisition of empty land and the application for a building permit, a period when many important development decisions have to be made. This indicator is closely related to debated phenomena like land hording and speculation.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors estimate a Cox proportional hazard model with the time between acquisition and application for a building permit as dependent variable and institutional indicators and a number of control variables as explanatory variables. Study area is the GZM Metropolis in the South of Poland. This region shows enough variability in institutional arrangements to allow for this type of analysis.

Findings

The analysis shows that institutional factors significantly influence the real estate development process. In areas that have not issued a zoning plan, the period until the building permit application is significantly longer. When the state is involved in a transaction (as purchaser or seller), it also takes longer until the building permit application is submitted. Although the instrument is usually intended to speed up development, perpetual usufruct implies a longer period until building permit application. Because of the results the authors get for control variables and for robustness checks, the authors are confident of the results of the analysis.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that deals with the question how institutional factors influence the timing of real estate development. By using data for a region in Poland, the authors also add to knowledge about real estate development in CEE countries.
Does board-level employee representation impact firms’ value? Evidence from the European countries
Authors: Silva Sónia , Silva Armando , Machado Ricardo Bahia
Published: March 2022

Purpose

Using, for the first time, a sample of European listed firms from 30 countries with different legal regimes of board-level employee representation (BLER), the purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of BLER on firms’ value of European public companies, where employee representation is voluntary or imposed by law depending on the country of origin.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a difference-in-differences approach and a matching procedure, the authors analyze the impact of BLER on firms' value.

Findings

The results of this paper suggest that BLER adopted voluntarily affects positively firms’ value comparing to a group of firms where employee representation is in some way mandatory. Moreover, the findings of this paper show that firms from countries where BLER is not imposed by law tend to pay higher dividends. Nevertheless, the evidence presented in this paper only holds for low levels of employee representation on the board.

Research limitations/implications

This research not only provides some evidence in favor of the codetermination on corporate governance but also offers new avenues for discussing the conditions necessary for codetermination to be effective, especially the level of employees' participation on board.

Practical implications

This study provides to policymakers new insights for them to gain perspective, analyze and decide if codetermination is a useful tool to improve firms’ performance or at least in what conditions it should be applied.

Social implications

This study incentives the discussion of the proper way to include workers in firms’ boards with expected benefits on firms’ performance, economies and societies.

Originality/value

This paper provides evidence of a positive (but limited) impact on firms’ value derived from voluntary codetermination.
Leadership and its influence on employee absenteeism: a qualitative review
Authors: Løkke Ann-Kristina
Published: March 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the last 50 years of empirical research on leaders' influence on employee absenteeism. Furthermore, the aim is to direct future management research by identifying what is still undiscovered regarding areas such as leadership concepts, measurements of absenteeism, methodology and country-specific contexts of the studies.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a qualitative review which is suitable as the literature on leadership and employee absenteeism is still emergent and characterized by heterogeneity in terms of operationalization of absenteeism and leadership concepts, respectively, as well as types of analyses.

Findings

This review identifies different aspects of leadership affecting employee absence, i.e. leadership behaviours (i.e. task, relational, change, passive), leadership styles, leaders' social modelling and attitudes, and leaders' management of health and absence. Furthermore, a number of gaps in extant research are identified as well as a research agenda is provided.

Originality/value

This review is the first of its kind and hence contributes more profound insights into leaders' influence on employee absenteeism. Leaders as a factor explaining employee absenteeism have only played a minor role, in large theoretical contributions, and the exact behaviour and style is not elaborated much in the literature. Thus, this paper provides practical and theoretical considerations over the role of leaders in shaping employee absenteeism.
Wisdom in higher education: discussions with education academics utilising theBhagavad Gita
Authors: Rampal Shelly , Smith Sue Erica , Soter Anna
Published: March 2022

Purpose

In this paper we seek to provide insight as to how wisdom is, or might be, perceived and enacted in Higher Education contexts. Selected constructs of wisdom derived from theBhagavad Gitaprovided a platform from which seven invited College of Education faculty participants considered their own framings of wisdom in the contexts of their own professional and personal lives.

Design/methodology/approach

This case study has drawn upon constructs of wisdom proffered by key Indian scholars who share this epistemological stance. A three-stage process was deployed, comprised of an introductory close-ended survey, an open-ended questionnaire to determine personalised insights and semi-structured interviews to clarify and member-check the data.

Findings

The participant academics' reflections offered a convergence on rich potential to pursue wisdom in Education and promote ethics, integrity, skilful action and inclusion. Furthermore, a general concern among the group of seven faculty who participated, was a perceived lack of humility in academia.

Research limitations/implications

A sample of seven participants precludes generalizable findings. Some ambiguities of constructs like “Love of God”, “Duty” and “Inner peace” provided space for participants to interrogate their own understandings.

Originality/value

“Wisdom” in Higher Education has not been an explicit topic of research until relatively recently. Based on the present study, which entailed in-depth written responses to questions that asked faculty respondents about their perceptions of the place and role of “wisdom” in Higher Education settings, we can however, suggest possible directions for wisdom-focused research in pluricultural Higher Education contexts.
Rhodococcus equiU19 strain harbors a nonmobilizable virulence plasmid
Authors: Suzuki Yasunori , Takai Shinji , Kubota Hiroaki , Hasegawa Noeru , Ito Shino , Yabuuchi Yoshino , Sasaki Yukako , van Duijkeren Engeline , Kakuda Tsutomu
Published: March 2022

Rhodococcus equiis the causative agent of pyogenic pneumonia in foals, and a virulence‐associated protein A (VapA) encoded on the pVAPA virulence plasmid is important for its pathogenicity. In this study, we analyzed the virulence of R. equi strain U19, originally isolated in the Netherlands in 1997 and the genetic characteristics of the pVAPA_U19 plasmid. U19 expressed VapA that was regulated by temperature and pH and underwent significant intracellular proliferation in macrophages. The restriction fragment length polymorphism of pVAPA_U19 digested with EcoRI was similar to that of pREAT701 (85 kb Type I) harbored by R. equi ATCC33701, although the band pattern at 10–20 kb differed. Whole‐genome sequencing showed that pVAPA_U19 was 51,684 bp in length and that the vapA pathogenicity island region and the replication/participation were almost identical to those in pREAT701. By contrast, the open reading frames (ORF26–ORF45) genes of pREAT701 (approximately 29,000 bp) were absent from pVAPA_U19. In this lacking region, mobility (MOB) genes, such as relaxase, which allow conjugative DNA processing, and the mating pair formation (MPF) genes, which are a form of the Type IV secretion system and provide the mating channel, were present. Coculture between U19 and five different recipient strains (two plasmid‐cured strains and three cryptic plasmid‐harboring strains) demonstrated that pVAPA_U19 could not support conjugation. Therefore, pVAPA_U19 does not differ significantly from the previously reported pVAPA in terms of virulence and plasmid replication and maintenance but is a nonmobilizable plasmid unable to cause conjugation because of the absence of genes related to MOB and MPF.
Dapagliflozin attenuates high glucose‐induced endothelial cell apoptosis and inflammation through AMPK/SIRT1 activation
Authors: Faridvand Yousef , Kazemzadeh Hamid , Vahedian Vahid , Mirzajanzadeh Pourya , Nejabati Hamid Reza , Safaie Nasser , Maroufi Nazila Fathi , Pezeshkian Masoud , Nouri Mohammad , Jodati Ahmadreza
Published: March 2022

Hyperglycaemia is a major cause of pathophysiological processes such as oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis in diabetes. Dapagliflozin (DAPA), a novel hypoglycaemic drug, has been shown to have anti‐apoptotic, anti‐inflammatory, and antioxidant effects in multiple experimental studies. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of DAPA in the hyperglycaemic condition to identify associated molecular mechanisms. human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) endothelial cells were treated with 40 mM glucose for 72 h to establish an in vitro high glucose (HG) condition model, and then additional groups co‐treated with or without DAPA before glucose treatment. Then, cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS), pro‐inflammatory cytokines (IL‐6 and TNF‐α), apoptosis, and SIRT1 expression were measured. The results showed that DAPA pretreatment resulted in increased cell viability. Additionally, DAPA pretreatment decreased endothelial ROS, IL‐6, and TNF‐α levels in endothelial cells subjected to HG conditions. Moreover, DAPA pretreatment significantly prevented HG‐induced apoptosis and caspase‐3 activity in HUVECs. Furthermore, DAPA increased the expression of SIRT1, PGC‐1α, and increased the phosphorylation levels of AMPK (p‐AMPK) in a set of HG conditions in HUVECs. However, the endothelial protective effects of DAPA were abolished when cells were subjected to the SIRT1 inhibitor (EX‐527) and AMPK inhibitor (Compound C). These findings suggest that DAPA can abrogate HG‐induced endothelial cell dysfunction by AMPK/SIRT1 pathway up‐regulation. Therefore, suggesting that the activation of AMPK/SIRT1 axis by DAPA may be a novel target for the treatment of HG‐induced endothelial cell injury.
Pregnancy and childbirth during incarceration: A qualitative systematic review of lived experiences
Authors: Kirubarajan Abirami , Tsang Jackie , Dong Susan , Hui Jeanette , Sreeram Padmaja , Mohmand Zuhal , Leung Shannon , Ceccacci Alessandra , Sobel Mara
Published: March 2022

Background

Incarcerated individuals who experience pregnancy or childbirth in correctional facilities face unique considerations for obstetric care and consequently are at greater risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.

Objectives

To characterise patient experiences regarding pregnancy and childbirth during incarceration via qualitative synthesis.

Search strategy

Medline‐OVID, EMBASE, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, Social Work Abstracts, Web of Science, Scopus and PsycInfo were systematically searched from inception to 24 December 2020. Supplementary searches were performed using the Scopus database.

Selection criteria

Only original, peer‐reviewed literature was examined. Eligible studies were assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research.

Results

After screening 4173 original database citations, 24 studies that met inclusion criteria were included and analysed via thematic analysis. The 24 studies included perspectives from 645 female patients who had experienced incarceration, 69 healthcare providers and 70 prison staff. Key patient‐reported concerns for the well‐being of pregnant individuals during incarceration included mental health challenges, dehumanisation of prenatal care and delivery, lack of privacy, stigma, psychological trauma, lack of emotional support and shackle usage during pregnancy and/or labour. The studies reported a lack of support for patients to access female correctional officers or guards, privacy during intimate examinations, timely medical care and support for breastfeeding. Above all, the psychological trauma of separation from one's newborn after birth was of utmost devastation.

Conclusions

Our systematic review highlights the dire need for accountability and interventions to improve pregnancy and childbirth care for incarcerated individuals.

Tweetable abstract

This systematic review describes lived experiences of pregnancy & childbirth during incarceration, including dehumanisation, psychological trauma, and use of shackles.
Efficient polymer‐mediated delivery system for thiocyclam: Nanometerization remarkably improves the bioactivity toward green peach aphids
Authors: Wang Ye , Xie Yong‐Hui , Jiang Qin‐Hong , Chen Hong‐Tao , Ma Rui‐Hao , Wang Zhi‐Jiang , Yin Mei‐Zhen , Shen Jie , Yan Shuo
Published: March 2022

The unscientific application of synthetic pesticides has brought various negative effects on the environment, hindering the sustainable development of agriculture. Nanoparticles can be applied as carriers to improve pesticide delivery, showing great potential in the development of pesticide formulation in recent years. Herein, a star polymer (SPc) was constructed as an efficient pesticide nanocarrier/adjuvant that could spontaneously assemble with thiocyclam or monosultap into a complex, through hydrophobic association and hydrogen bonding, respectively, with the pesticide‐loading contents of 42.54% and 19.3%. This complexation reduced the particle sizes of thiocyclam from 543.54 to 52.74 nm for pure thiocyclam, and 3 814.16 to 1 185.89 nm for commercial preparation (cp) of thiocyclam. Interestingly, the introduction of SPc decreased the contact angles of both pure and cp thiocyclam on plant leaves, and increased the plant uptake of cp thiocyclam to 2.4–1.9 times of that without SPc. Meanwhile, the SPc could promote the bioactivity of pure/cp thiocyclam against green peach aphids through leaf dipping method and root application. For leaf dipping method, the 50% lethal concentration decreased from 0.532 to 0.221 g/L after the complexation of pure thiocyclam with SPc, and that decreased from 0.390 to 0.251 g/L for cp thiocyclam. SPc seems a promising adjuvant for nanometerization of both pure and cp insecticides, which is beneficial for improving the delivery efficiency and utilization rate of pesticides.
Individual automatic detection and identification of big cats with the combination of different body parts
Authors: SHI Chunmei , XU Jing , ROBERTS Nathan James , LIU Dan , JIANG Guangshun
Published: March 2022

The development of facial recognition technology has become an increasingly powerful tool in wild animal individual recognition. In this paper, we develop an automatic detection and recognition method with the combinations of body features of big cats based on the deep convolutional neural network (CNN). We collected dataset including 12 244 images from 47 individual Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) at the Siberian Tiger Park by mobile phones and digital camera and 1940 images and videos of 12 individual wild Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) by infrared cameras. First, the single shot multibox detector algorithm is used to perform the automatic detection process of feature regions in each image. For the different feature regions of the image, like face stripe or spots, CNNs and multi‐layer perceptron models were applied to automatically identify tiger and leopard individuals, independently. Our results show that the identification accuracy of Amur tiger can reach up to 93.27% for face front, 93.33% for right body stripe, and 93.46% for left body stripe. Furthermore, the combination of right face, left body stripe, and right body stripe achieves the highest accuracy rate, up to 95.55%. Consequently, the combination of different body parts can improve the individual identification accuracy. However, it is not the higher the number of body parts, the higher the accuracy rate. The combination model with 3 body parts has the highest accuracy. The identification accuracy of Amur leopard can reach up to 86.90% for face front, 89.13% for left body spots, and 88.33% for right body spots. The accuracy of different body parts combination is lower than the independent part. For wild Amur leopard, the combination of face with body spot part is not helpful for the improvement of identification accuracy. The most effective identification part is still the independent left or right body spot part. It can be applied in long‐term monitoring of big cats, including big data analysis for animal behavior, and be helpful for the individual identification of other wildlife species.
Resected stage I anaplastic lymphoma kinase‐positive lung adenocarcinoma has a negative impact on recurrence‐free survival
Authors: Fujibayashi Yusuke , Tane Shinya , Kitazume Mai , Kuroda Sanae , Kimura Kenji , Kitamura Yoshitaka , Nishio Wataru
Published: March 2022

Background

The clinical and prognostic implications of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) status in resected lung cancers remain unclear. In this study we analyzed the prognostic and predictive significance of ALK‐positive among patients with completely resected lung adenocarcinoma.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 197 patients with lung adenocarcinoma who underwent complete surgical resection and had been tested for their ALK status. We investigated the impact of an ALK‐positive status on the recurrence‐free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) and examined the predictive factors for an ALK‐positive status.

Results

ALK positivity was noted in 36 (18%) out of 197 patients, and when limited to stage I patients, in 24 (19%) out of 124. In the pathological‐stage I population, while the OS exhibited no significant difference between ALK‐positive and ALK‐negative patients (5‐year OS rate, 81.2% vs. 89.8%, p = 0.226), the RFS of ALK‐positive patients was significantly worse than that of ALK‐negative patients (5‐year RFS rate, 55.9% vs. 78.8%, p = 0.018). A multivariate analysis showed that ALK‐positive status (hazard ratio [HR] 3.431, p = 0.009) was an independent prognostic factor for the RFS. Regarding the relationship between clinicopathological factors and an ALK‐positive status, a high‐grade histological subtype, including solid and micropapillary subtypes (odds ratio [OR] 5.464, p < 0.001), and never‐smokers (OR 4.292, p = 0.018) were associated with ALK‐positive.

Conclusion

A high‐grade histological subtype and never‐smokers were associated with ALK positivity, and the RFS of ALK‐positive patients was worse than that of ALK‐negative patients among patients with completely resected stage I lung adenocarcinoma.
MHC class I‐α population differentiation in a commercial fish, the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)
Authors: Ratcliffe Frances C. , Garcia de Leaniz Carlos , Consuegra Sofia
Published: March 2022

Identifying population structuring in highly fecund marine species with high dispersal rates is challenging, but critical for conservation and stock delimitation for fisheries management. European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) is a commercial species of fisheries and aquaculture relevance whose stocks are declining in the North Atlantic, despite management measures to protect them and identifying their fine population structure is needed for managing their exploitation. As for other marine fishes, neutral genetic markers indicate that eastern Atlantic sea bass form a panmictic population and is currently managed as arbitrarily divided stocks. The genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are key components of the adaptive immune system and ideal candidates to assess fine structuring arising from local selective pressures. We used Illumina sequencing to characterise allelic composition and signatures of selection at the MHC class I‐α region of six D. labrax populations across the Atlantic range. We found high allelic diversity driven by positive selection, corresponding to moderate supertype diversity, with 131 alleles clustering into four to eight supertypes, depending on the Bayesian information criterion threshold applied, and a mean number of 13 alleles per individual. Alleles could not be assigned to particular loci, but private alleles allowed us to detect regional genetic structuring not found previously using neutral markers. Our results suggest that MHC markers can be used to detect cryptic population structuring in marine species where neutral markers fail to identify differentiation. This is particularly critical for fisheries management, and of potential use for selective breeding or identifying escapes from sea farms.
Chimpanzees as ecosystem service providers: Seed dispersal of an economically important plant resource
Authors: Aguado William D. , Rogers Haldre S. , Pruetz Jill D.
Published: March 2022

Vertebrate‐mediated seed dispersal is vital to the maintenance of diversity in tropical ecosystems, and seed‐dispersing animals are increasingly thought to provide ecosystem services by dispersing the seeds of plant species utilized by people. However, few studies have demonstrated a link between vertebrate frugivores and plants used by people, thus limiting the generalizability of the seed‐disperser‐as‐ecosystem‐service‐provider concept. We examined the effectiveness of western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) as seed dispersers (i.e., their influence on seedling recruitment) of an economically important fruit resource, Saba senegalensis, at the site of Fongoli, a savanna‐woodland environment in southeastern Senegal. The fruit from the Saba vine is commonly harvested from the wild by local people and is also an important food item for chimpanzees. We conducted germination experiments on gut‐passed seeds alongside non‐gut‐passed seeds and analyzed the germination success of chimpanzee‐dispersed seeds in situ. We also analyzed the effect of habitat type and canopy cover at each seed dispersal site to determine which sites are most suitable for Saba germination. Germination trials showed that chimpanzee gut passage and manual pulp removal increased the likelihood of germination over seeds left intact. Nearly a quarter of chimpanzee‐dispersed seeds germinated in situ and Saba seeds were distributed nonrandomly throughout Fongoli, with more dispersed seeds found in habitats most suitable for Saba germination. These results suggest that chimpanzees aid in the early stages of Saba recruitment and thus provide an ecosystem service via seed dispersal that may contribute to the well‐being of local people.

Abstract in French is available with online material.
Contribution of psychosocial vulnerability and resilience to academic achievement of primary school children in South Africa
Authors: van Breda Adrian D.
Published: March 2022

The aim of this article is to explore the contribution of psychosocial vulnerability and resilience to the academic achievement of primary school children attending a low‐fee, private, primary school in a township in Gauteng province, South Africa. In poorer communities, family and community challenges can be overwhelming, compromising the capacity of children to engage in education and achieve academically. The study draws on quantitative data from 116 primary school children, plus at least one family member (mostly mothers), including measures of family vulnerability and resilience, child resilience and reading and spelling scores. Vulnerability on its own had little impact on participants' academic achievement. However, the resilience of the child, as perceived by the family member, did impact academic achievement, but only for children with higher levels of vulnerability. This supports the buffering and differential impact theories in resilience. Implications for school social work practice are set out.
Validation of a smart shirt for heart rate variability measurements at rest and during exercise
Authors: Schams Peter , Feodoroff Boris , Zacher Jonas , Eibl Angi , Froböse Ingo
Published: March 2022

Heart rate variability (HRV) monitoring is a promising option to estimate the autonomic nervous system regulation responding to exercise. Textiles with embedded sensors recording heartbeat intervals are a simple tool for data collection. The so‐called smart shirts offer comfort for daily use and are managed easily. Their measurement accuracy for HRV calculation at rest is promising, but remains questionable during exercise. Therefore, the present study validated the Ambiotex smart shirt using HRV indices (root mean square of successive differences, rel. HF power [high‐frequency power percentage of total power] and rel. LF [low‐frequency power percentage of total power] power) during exercise. Eighty‐three healthy participants (31 ± 6 years; 39 females, 44 males) completed an incremental exercise test on a bicycle ergometer wearing the smart shirt and an electrocardiogram simultaneously. We compared HRV indices of segments at rest (5 min), at warm‐up (3 min) and twice at the exercise test (each 5 min). At rest and at warm‐up, we observed excellent linear relationship (r > 0.96; R2​​​​​ > 0.94), excellent relative reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient ≥ 0.98; α ≥ 0.98) and acceptable agreement (bias < 10%). During the exercise test, measurement accuracy declined with increasing intensity but remained high (>0.8), although results for partial HRV indices were insufficient. In addition, percentage bias was unacceptable during an exercise test. However, the findings support the validity of the smart shirt for measuring HRV, especially at rest and at warm‐up. We suggest using the smart shirt for monitoring HRV indices on a daily basis, but caution should be taken in the interpretation of HRV indices obtained during moderate to vigorous exercise intensities.
Living at the limit in the Pyrenees: Peripheral and endemic plants are rare but underrepresented in protection lists
Authors: Pironon Samuel , Gómez Daniel , Font Xavier , García María B.
Published: March 2022

Aim

Mountains shelter high biological diversity and constitute both important barriers and confluence areas for species. They often contain species whose populations occur at their range limit (peripheral species), which according to the “Centre‐Periphery” hypothesis (CPH) are expected to occur in marginal environments, exhibit low abundance and consequently high vulnerability. Our study investigates this hypothesis for the flora of the Pyrenees, a biogeographical crossroads containing a large proportion of the total European plant diversity.

Location

Pyrenees.

Methods

We determined whether more than 2600 native plant species were endemic to the Pyrenees or found at the centre or periphery of their whole distribution range within the mountain chain. We then compared the ecological preferences, local and regional abundance, and conservation status among central, peripheral and endemic species.

Results

A quarter of the flora was found at its geographic range limit within the Pyrenees. Endemic and peripheral species were more likely to be soil specialists in alpine grasslands and rocks, and exhibited smaller regional ranges than central species, but their local abundance did not tend to differ. Peripheral species at their southern range edge were more widespread regionally than at their northern range edge. Peripheral taxa were more prevalent in the Pyrenean red list of threatened species (55%) compared to national and regional protection lists (40% and 31%, respectively).

Main conclusions

Peripheral species contribute substantially to the diversity of the Pyrenean flora. They follow the predictions of the CPH given their occurrence in scarce habitats, their low regional abundance and their high vulnerability according to the Pyrenean red list, although they tend to show similar local abundances as other species and are infrequent in protection lists. Integrative and cross‐border assessments of the ecology and rarity of mountain floras provide better estimates of their vulnerability and ensure more efficient prioritization of their conservation.
Parents’ experiences of using remote monitoring technology to manage type 1 diabetes in very young children during a clinical trial: Qualitative study
Authors: Hart Ruth I. , Kimbell Barbara , Rankin David , Allen Janet M. , Boughton Charlotte K. , Campbell Fiona , de Beaufort Carine , Fröhlich‐Reiterer Elke , Ware Julia , Hofer Sabine E. , Kapellen Thomas M. , Rami‐Merhar Birgit , Thankamony Ajay , Hovorka Roman , Lawton Julia ,   the KidsAP Consortium
Published: March 2022

Aims

To explore parents’ experiences of using remote monitoring technology when caring for a very young child with type 1 diabetes during a clinical trial.

Methods

Interviews were conducted with parents of 30 children (aged 1–7 years) participating in a trial (the KidsAP02 study) comparing hybrid closed‐loop insulin delivery with sensor‐augmented pump therapy. In both arms, parents had access to remote monitoring technology. Data analysis focused on identification of descriptive themes.

Results

Remote monitoring technology gave parents improved access to data which helped them pre‐empt and manage glucose excursions. Parents observed how, when children were in their own care, they could be more absent while present, as their attention could shift to non‐diabetes‐related activities. Conversely, when children were others’ care, remote monitoring enabled parents to be present while absent, by facilitating oversight and collaboration with caregivers. Parents described how remote monitoring made them feel more confident allowing others to care for their children. Parents’ confidence increased when using a hybrid closed‐loop system, as less work was required to keep glucose in range. Benefits to children were also highlighted, including being able to play and sleep uninterrupted and attend parties and sleepovers without their parents. While most parents welcomed the increased sense of control remote monitoring offered, some noted downsides, such as lack of respite from caregiving responsibilities.

Conclusions

Remote monitoring can offer manifold benefits to both parents and very young children with type 1 diabetes. Some parents, however, may profit from opportunities to take ‘time out’.