bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Two-dimensional superconducting MoSi2N4(MoN)4n homologous compounds
Authors: Liu Zhibo , Wang Lei , Hong Yi-Lun , Chen Xing-Qiu , Cheng Hui-Ming , Ren Wencai
Published: November 2022

The number and stacking order of layers are two important degrees of freedom that can modulate the properties of 2D van der Waals (vdW) materials. However, the layers’ structures are essentially limited to the known layered 3D vdW materials. Recently, a new 2D vdW material, MoSi2N4, without known 3D counterparts, was synthesized by passivating the surface dangling bonds of non-layered 2D molybdenum nitride with elemental silicon, whose monolayer can be viewed as a monolayer MoN (-N-Mo-N-) sandwiched between two Si-N layers. This unique sandwich structure endows the MoSi2N4 monolayer with many fascinating properties and intriguing applications, and the surface-passivating growth method creates the possibility of tuning the layer's structure of 2D vdW materials. Here we synthesized a series of MoSi2N4(MoN)4n structures confined in the matrix of multilayer MoSi2N4. These super-thick monolayers are the homologous compounds of MoSi2N4, which can be viewed as multilayer MoN (Mo4n+1N4n+2) sandwiched between two Si-N layers. First-principles calculations show that MoSi2N4(MoN)4 monolayers have much higher Young's modulus than MoN, which is attributed to the strong Si-N bonds on the surface. Importantly, different from the semiconducting nature of the MoSi2N4 monolayer, the MoSi2N4(MoN)4 monolayer is identified as a superconductor with a transition temperature of 9.02 K. The discovery of MoSi2N4(MoN)4n structures not only expands the family of 2D materials but also brings a new degree of freedom to tailor the structure of 2D vdW materials, which may lead to unexpected novel properties and applications.
Ribociclib and palbociclib-induced erythema multiforme: a case report
Authors: Vrana Eleni , Mylona Stella , Bobos Mattheos , Kontovinis Loukas , Papazisis Konstantinos
Published: November 2022

Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors (CKIs), ribociclib, palbocilb and abemaciclib, have been approved in combination with endocrine therapy for the treatment of hormone receptor-positive and human epidermal growth factor 2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Severe dermatological adverse events are rare with these agents; however, they require direct recognition and management in order not to become life-threatening. Erythema multiforme (EM) belongs to a dermatopathic spectrum that includes immune-mediated, widespread hypersensitivity reaction, which occurs with varying degrees of severity and affects the skin and/or the mucosa. We hereby present a case of ribociclib- and palbociclib-related EM. We sought to report this case given the implication of two agents from the same drug class in EM onset. We also aim to emphasize the breadth of mechanisms of actions of CKIs, with an impingement in the immune system as well, and the importance of promptly identifying and handling such skin toxicities.
Long-term response to olaparib in a patient with metastatic pancreatic cancer associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome
Authors: Tsuneizumi Michiko , Terada Shuzo , Usui Takeshi , Yamaguchi Kei , Hayami Ryosuke , Matsunuma Ryoichi
Published: November 2022

BRCA mutations are associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer (PC). Olaparib, an oral poly (adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, has been approved for the treatment of metastatic PC with a germline BRCA mutation. In this report, we present the case of a metastatic PC harboring a germline BRCA2 mutation, and the daughter of the patient, who had bilateral breast cancers harboring the same germline mutation, suggesting that the PC was associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome. Although PC is an aggressive disease and has poor prognosis, olaparib was administered as maintenance therapy following modified FOLFIRINOX, providing clinical benefits for >12 months.
Diagnosing STEMI in right then left bundle branch block pattern ventricular escape rhythm (case report)
Authors: Alsagaff Mochamad Yusuf , Pratama Muhammad Dedy , Ranuh I G N Iswan Rahmadi , Lusida Terrence Timothy Evan
Published: November 2022

Electrocardiography is the fastest bedside tool for rapidly identifying patients with acute coronary syndromes who require emergency reperfusion therapy. Some of the circumstances that make identification more complex are bundle branch block patterns. ST elevation in the right bundle branch block (RBBB) can still be detected, but the left bundle branch block (LBBB) must use specific criteria such as Sgarbossa and Barcelona. We present a patient with anteroseptal ST-segment elevation (STEMI), total AV block (TAVB) with ventricular escape rhythm RBBB pattern, and then turned into a LBBB pattern. Fortunately, it immediately turned into sinus rhythm after reperfusion therapy. It is essential to be able to identify STEMI in patients with BBB patterns. In addition, to provide the best possible outcomes for the patient, we must understand that the best way to manage STEMI with TAVB is to immediately install a temporary pacemaker and initiate reperfusion therapy.
A case of nail psoriasis improved with treatment by risankizumab
Authors: AlAjlan Abdulmajeed , Qasim Raghda , AlTassan Fatimah , Qadoumi Tala , AlKaff Tuqa
Published: November 2022

Nail psoriasis causes significant aesthetic and functional disabilities. The treatment of nail psoriasis is essential to improve the health outcomes and quality of life among patients. Pain associated with intralesional injections, inadequate penetration into the nail and underlying tissue, poor adherence to therapy, limited efficacy and recurrent relapses are among the many challenging issues with topical therapy. While conventional systemic therapies are still useful and often appropriate for some patients, current evidence indicates that highly selective agents including anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha, anti-interleukin (IL)-17 and anti-IL-12/23 antibodies that are primarily available for plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis have also demonstrated long-term efficacy in the treatment of nail psoriasis. We report a case of nail psoriasis improved with treatment by risankizumab.
Morphine Versus Oxycodone for Cancer Pain Using a Catechol-O-methyltransferase Genotype Biomarker: A Multicenter, Randomized, Open-Label, Phase III Clinical Trial (RELIEF Study)
Authors: Matsuoka Hiromichi , Tsurutani Junji , Chiba Yasutaka , Fujita Yoshihiko , Sakai Kiyohiro , Yoshida Takeshi , Nakura Miki , Sakamoto Ryo , Makimura Chihiro , Ohtake Yoichi , Tanaka Kaoru , Hayashi Hidetoshi , Takeda Masayuki , Okuno Tatsuya , Takegawa Naoki , Haratani Koji , Koyama Atsuko , Nishio Kazuto , Nakagawa Kazuhiko
Published: November 2022

Background

We hypothesized that the high-dose opioid requirement in patients carrying the rs4680-GG variant in the COMT gene encoding catechol-O-methyltransferase would be greater for patients taking morphine than for those taking oxycodone, thus providing a much-needed biomarker to inform opioid selection for cancer pain.

Methods

A randomized, multicenter, open-label trial was conducted at a Japanese hospital’s palliative care service. Patients with cancer pain treated with regular doses of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or acetaminophen were enrolled and randomized (1:1) into morphine (group M) and oxycodone (group O) groups. The minimum standard dose of immediate-release (IR) oral opioids was repeatedly administered by palliative care physicians to achieve pain-reduction goals (Pain reduction ≥ 33% from baseline and up to ≤ 3 on a numerical rating scale). The primary endpoint was the proportion of subjects requiring high-dose opioids on day 0 with the GG genotype.

Results

Of 140 participants who developed cancer-related pain among 378 subjects registered and pre-screened for the genotype, 139 were evaluated in the current study. Among patients carrying a COMT rs4680-GG genotype, 48.3% required high-dose opioids in group M, compared with the 20.0% in group O (95% CI, 3.7%-50.8%; P = .029). Of those with the non-GG genotype, 41.5% treated with morphine and 23.1% with oxycodone required high-dose opioids (95% CI, 3.3%-38.3%; P = 0.098).

Conclusion

Using the COMT rs4680 genotype alone is not recommended for selecting between morphine and oxycodone for pain relief.
Governing Antibiotic Risks in Australian Agriculture: Sustaining Conflicting Common Goods Through Competing Compliance Mechanisms
Authors: Degeling Chris , Hall Julie
Published: November 2022

The One Health approach to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) requires stakeholders to contribute to cross-sectoral efforts to improve antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). One Health AMR policy implementation is challenging in livestock farming because of the infrastructural role of antibiotics in production systems. Mitigating AMR may require the development of more stringent stewardship obligations and the future limitation of established entitlements. Drawing on Amatai Etzioni’s compliance theory, regulatory analyses and qualitative studies with stakeholder groups we examine the structural and socio-cultural dimension of antibiotic use and AMS compliance in Australian beef and dairy production. We found a disconnect between how antibiotic use is conceptualised by farmers and the way in which AMS policies construe agricultural AMR risks. Under the umbrella of food safety standards and national-level prescribing restrictions, farmers and veterinarians interact around antibiotic use with different operating logics and compliance mechanisms. These parallel regimes service distinct and sometimes competing common goods of food security and antibiotic preservation. Further reforms to mitigate AMR need to account for the value orientations of different groups and the embeddedness of the constraints imposed by existing systems. Advocacy for greater AMR precaution in agriculture should acknowledge and compensate for erosions in competing common goods and the cost of proposed interventions.
Contribution of avoidable mortality to life expectancy inequalities in Wales: a decomposition by age and by cause between 2002 and 2020
Authors: Currie Jonny , Schilling Hayden T , Evans Lloyd , Boyce Tammy , Lester Nathan , Greene Giles , Little Kirsty , Humphreys Ciarán , Huws Dyfed , Yeoman Andrew , Lewis Sally , Paranjothy Shantini
Published: November 2022

Objectives

To explore the contribution of avoidable mortality to life expectancy inequalities in Wales during 2002–2020.

Design

Observational study.

Setting

Wales, 2002–20, including early data from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

We used routine statistics for 2002–2020 on population and deaths in Wales stratified by age, sex, deprivation quintile and cause of death. We estimated the contribution of avoidable causes of death and specific age-categories using the Arriaga decomposition method to highlight priorities for action.

Results

Life expectancy inequalities rose 2002–20 amongst both sexes, driven by serial decreases in life expectancy amongst the most deprived quintiles. The contributions of amenable and preventable mortality to life expectancy inequalities changed relatively little between 2002 and 2020, with larger rises in non-avoidable causes. Key avoidable mortality conditions driving the life expectancy gap in the most recent period of 2018–2020 for females were circulatory disease, cancers, respiratory disease and alcohol- and drug-related deaths, and also injuries for males.

Conclusions

Life expectancy inequalities widened during 2002–20, driven by deteriorating life expectancy in the most deprived quintiles. Sustained investment in prevention post-COVID-19 is needed to address growing health inequity in Wales; there remains a role for the National Health Service in ensuring equitable healthcare access to alongside wider policies that promote equity.
Measuring the effects of the social rural university campus
Authors: Benneworth Paul , Maxwell Kate , Charles David
Published: November 2022

There has been demand in many countries for the establishment of small campuses in more rural locations to spread the benefits of higher education both through the provision of university courses and through the positive economic spill-overs for these communities. Evaluations of the impacts of these universities according to current models show limited effects due to their small scale and specialization. Yet whilst there are clearly spill-over benefits from rural campuses into local communities, these are not only of the traditional (knowledge and economic) variety. Rather, regional campuses create social infrastructure that supports these places’ quality of life. This article seeks to develop a proposal for how such social impacts of regional campuses could be evaluated by creating a conceptual framework that articulates how university-region learning communities contribute to socio-economic development trajectories of rural regions. Our overarching hypothesis is that social rural campuses are places where local learning communities work with globally sourced knowledge to make it useful and usable in particular local contexts. Over time, these activities form the basis of regular contact networks, and the benefits they bring become woven into the provision of place-specific welfare services. As a result, the university’s contributions play a more structural role, and the students are involved in creating more lasting benefits by providing the interaction underpinning these structural collaborations. Our model is exemplified through an exploration of the context of the status of rural university campuses in Norway, and a case study of the Academy of Music, an outpost of the multi-campus University of Tromsø (UiT The Arctic University of Norway).
Factors affecting variability in free oxylipins in mammalian tissues
Authors: Aukema Harold M. , Ravandi Amir
Published: November 2022

Purpose of the review

Along with the growing interest in oxylipins is an increasing awareness of multiple sources of variability in oxylipin data. This review summarizes recent findings that highlight the experimental and biological sources of variation in free oxylipins.

Recent findings

Experimental factors that affect oxylipin variability include different methods of euthanasia, postmortem changes, cell culture reagents, tissue processing conditions and timing, storage losses, freeze-thaw cycles, sample preparation techniques, ion suppression, matrix effects, use and availability of oxylipin standards, and postanalysis procedures. Biological factors include dietary lipids, fasting, supplemental selenium, vitamin A deficiency, dietary antioxidants and the microbiome. Overt, but also more subtle differences in health affect oxylipin levels, including during resolution of inflammation and long-term recovery from disease. Sex, genetic variation, exposure to air pollution and chemicals found in food packaging and household and personal care products, as well as many pharmaceuticals used to treat health conditions also affect oxylipin levels.

Experimental sources of oxylipin variability can be minimized with proper analytical procedures and protocol standardization. Fully characterizing study parameters will help delineate biological factors of variability, which are rich sources of information that can be used to probe oxylipin mechanisms of action and to investigate their roles in health.
Listeria innocua infection in an old case of Total Knee Replacement-an unusual case report
Authors: Gupta Minakshi , Saha Uma Shankar , Kumar Ritesh , Laik Jayanta , Mishra Minakshi
Published: November 2022

Prosthetic implant associated arthritis due to Listeria, is mostly reported due to Listeria monocytogenes. Here, we describe a patient , who underwent Total Knee Replacement, 12 years ago, presented with pain, tenderness, redness, and local rise in temperature in right knee. Purulent fluid was aspirated. Upon microbiological analysis, culture yielded Listeria innocua.

Listeria innocua was a rare incidence. Listeria is not reported as a contaminant and routine cultures may be negative. Because of long interval between surgery and onset of symptoms, clinical suspicion, radiological investigations and analysing multiple samples are of immense help
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Bacteremia with Splenic Abscesses: A Case Report
Authors: Zewude Rahel Tefera , Alem Zersenay , Stefanovic Aleksandra
Published: November 2022

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is a gram-negative bacillus from the family of Yersiniacae. Similar to the other member of the family, Yersinia enterocolitica, Y. pseudotuberculosis most commonly presents with enteric illness [1].
The sources of infection with Y. pseudotuberculosis include contaminated food such as dairy and vegetables or contaminated water [2].  Direct contact with animals including dogs, rodents, rabbits, farm animals or birds has also been described as other modes of acquisition [1,2]. Community outbreaks secondary to contaminated lettuce, carrots, and water have been reported in Finland, Japan, Russia and Canada [3,4].
Although it often presents as mild gastroenteritis, several other clinical manifestations have been reported with Y. pseudotuberculosis [1]. Pseudoappendicitis with mesenteric lymphadenitis is a well described phenomenon and many patients in the 20th century underwent appendectomies due to erroneous diagnosis after presenting with right lower quadrant abdominal pain [5]. Bacteremia is rare and when it occurs it has been associated with abscesses in spleen, liver, kidneys, lung with granulomatous appearance that mimics tuberculosis [5,6]. Although it is commonly a self-limiting illness in immunocompetent patients without liver disease, septicemia with Y. pseudotuberculosis is thought to carry a fatality rate that exceeds 75% without antibiotics [2].
Here we present a case of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis bacteremia with splenic abscesses in a patient with previously undiagnosed liver cirrhosis.
Acinetobacter sedimenti sp. nov., isolated from beach sediment
Authors: Zheng Kaiwen , Hong Yi , Guo Zhen , Debnath Sanjit Chandra , Yan Cen , Li Kejing , Chen Gen , Xu Jinzhong , Wu Fabai , Zheng Daoqiong , Wang Pinmei
Published: November 2022

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile, non-haemolytic, oxidase-negative, catalase-positive bacillus strain (A3.8T) was isolated from beach sediment from Zhairuo Island, PR China. The strain grew at pH 6.0–9.0 (optimum, 7.0), with 0–4.5 % NaCl (optimum, 2 %) and at 10–35 °C (optimum, 30 °C). Its whole-genome sequence was 2.5 Mb in size, with a DNA G+C content of 41.6 mol%. On the basis of the results of core genome phylogenetic analysis, A3.8T represents a separate branch within the clade formed by five species of the genus

Acinetobacter

with ‘Acinetobacter marinus’ as the most closely related species. The average nucleotide identity compared with the closely related species of the genus

Acinetobacter

was below 83.66 % and digital DNA–DNA hybridization values were less than 28.80 %. The predominant fatty acids included C18 : 1ω9c, C16 : 0 and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c). Q-9 was the major respiratory quinone. The polar lipids are mainly composed of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, two phospholipids, an aminolipid and four unknown lipids. A3.8T cannot assimilate dl-lactate and weakly utilizes l-glutamate, l-leucine, l-phenylalanine and l-tartrate, which distinguishes it from other species of the genus

Acinetobacter

. On the basis of the genotype, phenotype and biochemical data, strain A3.8T represents a novel species of the genus

Acinetobacter

, for which the name Acinetobacter sedimenti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is A3.8T (=MCCC 1K07161T=LMG 32568T).
Self-Supervised Pretraining Enables High-Performance Chest X-Ray Interpretation Across Clinical Distributions
Authors: Iyer Niveditha S. , Gulati Aditya , Banerjee Oishi , Logé Cécile , Farhat Maha , Saenz Agustina D. , Rajpurkar Pranav
Published: November 2022

Chest X-rays (CXRs) are a rich source of information for physicians – essential for disease diagnosis and treatment selection. Recent deep learning models aim to alleviate strain on medical resources and improve patient care by automating the detection of diseases from CXRs. However, shortages of labeled CXRs can pose a serious challenge when training models. Currently, models are generally pretrained on ImageNet, but they often need to then be finetuned on hundreds of thousands of labeled CXRs to achieve high performance. Therefore, the current approach to model development is not viable on tasks with only a small amount of labeled data. An emerging method for reducing reliance on large amounts of labeled data is self-supervised learning (SSL), which uses unlabeled CXR datasets to automatically learn features that can be leveraged for downstream interpretation tasks. In this work, we investigated whether self-supervised pretraining methods could outperform traditional ImageNet pretraining for chest X-ray interpretation. We found that SSL-pretrained models outperformed ImageNet-pretrained models on thirteen different datasets representing high diversity in geographies, clinical settings, and prediction tasks. We thus show that SSL on unlabeled CXR data is a promising pretraining approach for a wide variety of CXR interpretation tasks, enabling a shift away from costly labeled datasets.
Statistical Inference of Enhancer-Gene Networks Reveals Pivotal Role of T-bet Expression Intensity for T Helper Cell Fate
Authors: Kommer Christoph , Zhang Qin , Hegazy Ahmed N. , Löhning Max , Höfer Thomas
Published: November 2022

Mammalian genomes harbor many more enhancers than genes, which greatly complicates the elucidation of cell-state-specific regulatory networks. Here, we developed a computational framework for learning enhancer-based gene networks from joint data on enhancer activity and transcript abundance. Dissecting the developmental plasticity of T helper (Th) cells with this approach, we uncovered a highly connected enhancer-gene network that supports graded Th-cell differentiation states, rather than mutual exclusivity of type-1 and type-2 immunity. Machine learning identifies a small number of regulatory enhancer types as network hubs. Hub enhancers in Th1 cells integrate as inputs the expression level of the master-regulator transcription factor, T-bet, and STAT signals governed by the cytokine environment. The quantitative balance between cell-intrinsic T-bet, driving phenotypic stability, and environmental cues enabling plasticity explains the heterogeneous reprogramming capacities of individual Th1 cells differentiating during natural infectionsin vivo. Moreover, we provide a framework for elucidating genome-scale regulatory networks based on enhancer activity.
MAGE: Strain Level Profiling of Metagenome Samples
Authors: Walia Vidushi , Saipradeep V.G , Srinivasan Rajgopal , Sivadasan Naveen
Published: November 2022

Metagenomic profiling from sequencing data aims to disentangle a microbial sample at lower ranks of taxonomy, such as species and strains. Deep taxonomic profiling involving accurate estimation of strain level abundances aids in precise quantification of the microbial composition, which plays a crucial role in various downstream analyses. Existing tools primarily focus on strain/subspecies identification and limit abundance estimation to the species level. Abundance quantification of the identified strains is challenging and remains largely unaddressed by the existing approaches. We propose a novel algorithm MAGE (Microbial Abundance GaugE), for accurately identifying constituent strains and quantifying strain level relative abundances. For accurate profiling, MAGE uses read mapping information and performs a novel local searchbased profiling guided by a constrained optimization based on maximum likelihood estimation. Unlike the existing approaches that often rely on strain-specific markers and homology information for deep profiling, MAGE works solely with read mapping information, which is the set of target strains from the reference collection for each mapped read. As part of MAGE, we provide an alignment-free and kmer-based read mapper that uses a compact and comprehensive index constructed using FM-index and R-index. We use a variety of evaluation metrics for validating abundances estimation quality. We performed several experiments using a variety of datasets, and MAGE exhibited superior performance compared to the existing tools on a wide range of performance metrics.
Digital audiovisual content in marketing and distributing cultural products during the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
Authors: Gryllakis Nikolaos , Matsiola Maria
Published: November 2022

Purpose

The aim of the present study is to reflect upon the use of digital audiovisual content for the marketing of cultural events in the relative organisations and foundations during the turbulent times of the COVID-19 pandemic by conveying experts' interviews. The main question that the study seeks to touch upon is whether the digital audiovisual techniques implemented by cultural foundations and festivals in Greece during the COVID-19 pandemic were efficient in promoting artwork and stressing on social presence and whether their marketing and distributing processes of the artistic and cultural products manage to attract audience engagement and further enhance the foundations' brand. What the research seeks to examine is issues such as digital content creation, arts marketing, use of digital media and new technologies, brand identity and strategy building. Particular digital campaigns of foundations will be reviewed from a closer focus.

Design/methodology/approach

The qualitative research is based on experts' interviews. The primary foundations that are in focus are the organisations of Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF), Dimitria Festival in Thessaloniki, Greece and a major cultural foundation in Athens, Greece the Onassis Foundation.

Findings

A proper combination of interesting audiovisual content and precise brand aspirations in terms of identity and vision are what will lead a foundation to the audience it desires. Adaptability is the element that defined the foundations in the turbulence of the times of a pandemic, and creativity is what made some foundations differentiate themselves from others. The digitization that the pandemic brought can be considered as a positive dimension as well, since foundations can combine digital and physical spectacles in the near future so that they can always be relevant.

Research limitations/implications

This study identifies certain limitations that could be investigated by future research, the main one being the small number of the organisations and foundations under research and the limited number of interviewees. Furthermore, the fact that the research was performed in cultural institutions and that audiovisual features were integral in the artwork they serve could be considered as a limitation.

Originality/value

The originality of this research lies in the examination and registration of the implementation of innovative digital audiovisual techniques by cultural foundations in Greece to reach their audience during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Business strategy, spiritual capital and environmental sustainability performance: mediating role of environmental management process
Authors: Tjahjadi Bambang , Soewarno Noorlailie , Karima Tsanya El , Sutarsa Annisa Ayu Putri
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the influence of business strategy and spiritual capital on environmental sustainability performance. Furthermore, it investigates whether the influence is mediated by environmental management process.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is designed as a quantitative research. A survey method is employed for collecting 454 data from the managers/owners of Indonesian manufacturing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to test the hypothesis. A mediation research approach is employed to describe the relationship between research variables.

Findings

The findings demonstrate the following important results. First, business strategy affects environmental sustainability performance. Second, spiritual capital affects environmental sustainability performance. Third, environmental management process fully mediates the effect of business strategy on environmental sustainability performance. Fourth, environmental management process partially mediates the effect of spiritual capital on environmental sustainability performance.

Originality/value

This study addresses the issue of previous research gaps. By employing a mediation research framework, this study argues that environmental management process has a mediating role in business strategy–environmental sustainability performance relationships. Furthermore, it addresses the lack of empirical studies regarding the effect of spiritual capital on environmental sustainability performance via environmental management process. Thus, this research emphasizes the role of management or business process in developing resource-based view (RBV), natural resource-based view (NRBV), sustainability theory and MSMEs' management practices.
Challenges, policy and politics in drug checking: reflections of the TEDItorial team
Authors: Van der Linden Nicolas , Koning Raoul Pieter Joost , van der Gouwe Daan , Ventura Mireia , Measham Fiona
Published: November 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present some of the continued resistance and challenges faced by drug checking services (DCS) and review how the existing literature and the contributions to the special issue address them, with a view to making recommendations.

Design/methodology/approach

The existing literature and the contributions to the special issue are reviewed.

Findings

Drug checking cannot be equated with quality control. With the appropriate equipment and chemistry staff, DCS can provide quantitative analysis and reliable results. When the product does not match expectations, service users discard the tested substance of concern. To more easily compare the results of different studies and better evaluate drug checking, standardisation of measures is desirable. Uptake of drug checking, notably in festivals, is low and depends in part on the capacity of DCS. Drug checking has added value in monitoring drug markets and is complementary with chemical (forensic) analysis.

Originality/value

This paper interrogates in a relatively comprehensive way the continued resistance to drug checking in light of theoretical and empirical research to derive recommendations that are specific to drug checking and that are addressed to health professionals, researchers and also to policymakers.
Bridging the gap between reflective learning and reflective practice through anticipatory reflection
Authors: Glaister Catherine , Gold Jeff
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse student perspectives on the contribution that teaching anticipatory reflection can make to the development of their reflective practice. The project explores lived student experiences of anticipatory reflection and the value students attribute to these in helping them bridge the transfer gap between reflective learning and reflective practice.

Design/methodology/approach

An interpretivist approach is taken whereby student reflections on the students' experiences of practicing anticipatory reflection in a workshop setting were analysed using template analysis to understand the value attributed to these. Students were guided through a series of exercises including visualisation of future events and the nature of future practice as well as reflective writing.

Findings

Students identified multiple benefits of being taught and practising anticipatory reflection. Specifically, high levels of realism, personal relevance and engagement were reported, as well as increased confidence, self-efficacy and self-belief. In addition, the development of empathy and increases in self-awareness were common benefits of working through the process of anticipatory reflection.

Originality/value

In contrast to existing retrospective approaches, here the authors focus on the future, using anticipatory reflection to inform pedagogical approaches enabling students to experience anticipatory reflection in a classroom setting. The positive value attributed to experiencing anticipatory reflection suggests that the temporal focus in teaching reflection should evolve to incorporate prospective approaches which have a valuable role to play in bridging existing transfer gaps between reflective learning and practice.
Decision support system for the selection of students for Erasmus+ short-term mobility
Authors: Teixeira José , Alves Sandro , Mariz Pedro , Almeida Fernando
Published: November 2022

Purpose

The current student selection process for short-term mobility actions under the Erasmus + program (i.e. intensive programs and blended intensive programs) is based exclusively on the students' order of enrolment and their grades. This study offers an alternative approach using the analytic hierarchy process based on a four-layer model that collects information about the specificities of each project and the profile of the students and also promotes greater inclusion and homogenization of the project teams.

Design/methodology/approach

A decision support system was built by decomposing it into three stages: the predesign stage, in which the problem is characterized, and the user requirements are identified; the design stage, in which the models, the database and the interfaces are formulated; and the field stage, in which six test scenarios were built to validate the proposed solution.

Findings

The results show that this model can be applied with various selection criteria among students and consider both their hard and soft skills. It can also be applied to help build teams in which the students' knowledge is aligned with the technical skills required by the projects.

Originality/value

The proposed approach is innovative in that it responds to the emerging challenge of short-term European mobility programs that aim to involve students with multidisciplinary competencies. The solution considers both hard and soft skills in the selection of students, which allows changing the student selection paradigm and obtaining potentially more homogeneous multicultural teams with greater learning potential.
Examining technology improvement, procedural application and governance on the effectiveness zakat distribution
Authors: Syed Yusuf Sharifah Norzehan , Sanawi Nur Hanida , Ghani Erlane K. , Muhammad Rifqi , Daud Dalila , Kasim Eley Suzana
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This study aims to examine the factors influencing the effectiveness of zakat distribution to university students. Specifically, it examines technology improvement, procedural application and governance on Sarawak university students’ zakat distribution effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used the questionnaire as a research instrument and divided it into five parts. Part A gathers demographic information of respondents. Part B measures the respondent’s opinion on current technology improvement. Part C measures university students’ opinion on zakat application procedures. Part D measures the governance concept of the zakat institution. Part E measures the effectiveness of zakat distribution.

Findings

This study found technology improvement and governance significantly influence the effectiveness of zakat distribution to university students. This study provides no significant influence of the procedural application on zakat distribution’s efficacy to university students.

Research limitations/implications

This study suggested that technology plays an essential role in zakat distribution effectiveness by providing faster data processing, easier retrieval of information and time reduction to complete a task. The enforcement of good governance by zakat institutions allows them to be competitive, meets the stakeholders’ demand and serves them better.

Practical implications

This study provides understanding to the zakat institutions in developing appropriate zakat distribution strategies and strengthening their management and governance system.

Originality/value

This paper integrates technology improvement, procedural application and governance in zakat distribution.
Empowerment of women's entrepreneurship in family business through Twitter
Authors: Blanco-Gonzalez-Tejero Cristina , Cano-Marin Enrique
Published: November 2022

Purpose

The main purpose is to provide a global understanding of the role of women in entrepreneurship and family businesses, enabling the evaluation of the impact and the sentiment their role generates. To this end, empowerment and businesswomen's positioning through user-generated content (UCG) on Twitter is assessed.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is carried out from a quantitative and qualitative perspective through the evaluation of UGC from the social platform Twitter. A total of 37,852 tweets have been collected and subsequently analysed about the role of entrepreneurial women. For that purpose, a set of supervised machine learning algorithms have been developed for sentiment analysis, as a natural language processing (NLP) technique, outlining random forest as the one with the highest accuracy. Finally, social network analysis (SNA) techniques and graph theory are applied to a generated text-to-network, which enables the identification of the most relevant topics in the discussion.

Findings

The results revealed a positive relationship in the sentiment of the generated content in relation to women entrepreneurs and leaders. An increasing trend was evidenced in the number of published tweets, as well as in the identified topics, highlighting the needs and challenges faced by women in the business environment as the most widely discussed.

Research limitations/implications

The study develops both theoretical and practical implications so that the findings result in applications in academia and society. The performed analysis creates consciousness about the challenges of women in society, specifically in entrepreneurship.

Originality/value

The study contributes to further enriching the literature on women's entrepreneurship by addressing UGC via Twitter around the role of women, entrepreneurship and power positions.
Beyond the call of duty: how servant leadership promotes discretionary and constructive efforts to effect workplace functional change
Authors: Enwereuzor Ibeawuchi K. , Abel Chima Agwu , Ugwu Leonard I.
Published: November 2022

Purpose

Given the intensified need to be responsive to change, employees' discretionary and constructive efforts, such as those aimed at effecting workplace functional change (i.e. taking charge), are required to enhance organizational effectiveness. Therefore, the authors reckon that due to their serving attitude of prioritizing the needs of others above the self and their motivational qualities, the servant leadership approach can enhance the confidence of subordinates' capabilities to perform a range of meaningful activities (i.e. role breadth self-efficacy; RBSE), which in turn should facilitate their engagement in taking charge.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected data from 324 leader-subordinate dyads (i.e. academicians) from two federal universities in Nigeria. The authors assessed the measurement and structural models with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

This study found that servant leadership and RBSE were crucial enablers of subordinates' taking charge. Furthermore, a positive relationship between servant leadership and RBSE was found. Lastly, RBSE was a partial mediating mechanism partly underlying the positive relationship between servant leadership and taking charge.

Practical implications

Selecting and training leaders to practice servant leadership in Nigerian public universities may serve as a springboard for employees to take charge because it also enables them to develop their RBSE.

Originality/value

The current study sheds light on the psychological process through which servant leadership affects subordinates' taking charge by identifying RBSE as a crucial motivational state partly underlying the process.
MSQ: a mobile and social-based Q&A system
Authors: Chuang Yung-Ting , Wang Ching-Hsien
Published: November 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a mobile and social-based question-and-answer (Q&A) system that analyzes users' social relationships and past answering behavior, considers users' interest similarity and answer quality to infer suitable respondents and forwards the questions to users that are willing to give high quality answers.

Design/methodology/approach

This research applies first-order logic (FOL) inference calculation to generate question/interest ID that combines a users' social information, interests and social network intimacy to choose the nodes that can provide high-quality answers. After receiving a question, a friend can answer it, forward it to their friends according to the number of TTL (Time-to-Live) hops, or send the answer directly to the server. This research collected data from the TripAdvisor.com website and uses it for the experiment. The authors also collected previously answered questions from TripAdvisor.com; thus, subsequent answers could be forwarded to a centralized server to improve the overall performance.

Findings

The authors have first noticed that even though the proposed system is decentralized, it can still accurately identify the appropriate respondents to provide high-quality answers. In addition, since this system can easily identify the best answerers, there is no need to implement broadcasting, thus reducing the overall execution time and network bandwidth required. Moreover, this system allows users to accurately and quickly obtain high-quality answers after comparing and calculating interest IDs. The system also encourages frequent communication and interaction among users. Lastly, the experiments demonstrate that this system achieves high accuracy, high recall rate, low overhead, low forwarding cost and low response rate in all scenarios.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a mobile and social-based Q&A system that applies FOL inference calculation to analyze users' social relationships and past answering behavior, considers users' interest similarity and answer quality to infer suitable respondents and forwards the questions to users that are willing to give high quality answers. The experiments demonstrate that this system achieves high accuracy, high recall rate, low overhead, low forwarding cost and low response rate in all scenarios.
A conceptual framework for analysing compensation for expropriation of customary property rights
Authors: Kabanga Lucky , Mooya Manya Mainza
Published: November 2022

Purpose

This paper develops a conceptual framework that is applicable in various compensation settings vis-a-vis relevant legal frameworks, compensation processes and practices, compensation outcomes and adequacy of resultant compensation by using a common evaluative framework, to address the lack of such a conceptual framework in the compensation literature. Also, by developing a new conceptual framework, this paper provides a platform and an analytical tool for anchoring and analysing future research on compensation for expropriation of various property rights.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper is based on original thought and review of literature on compensation for expropriation.

Findings

A critical analysis of existing literature on compensation for expropriation of customary properties reveals that most studies are inadequately informed by relevant compensation theories and that each study uses its own tailor-made analytical framework. This entails that there is no general conceptual framework for anchoring new studies in compensation and aid in extrapolating their results to similar populations and contexts.

Originality/value

This paper makes novel contribution to knowledge by developing a new conceptual framework for analysing compensation for expropriation of customary property rights, which is not there currently. Essentially, by developing the new conceptual framework, this paper provides a basis for anchoring new research works in compensation and their analyses, thereby making a further contribution to knowledge.
Helminth‐associated changes in host immune phenotype connect top‐down and bottom‐up interactions during co‐infection
Authors: Seguel Mauricio , Budischak Sarah A. , Jolles Anna E. , Ezenwa Vanessa O.
Published: November 2022

Within‐host parasite interactions can be mediated by the host and changes in host phenotypes often serve as indicators of the presence or intensity of parasite interactions.

Parasites like helminths induce a range of physiological, morphological and immunological changes in hosts that can drive bottom‐up (resource‐mediated) or top‐down (immune‐mediated) interactions with co‐infecting parasites. Although top‐down and bottom‐up interactions are typically studied in isolation, the diverse phenotypic changes induced by parasite infection may serve as a useful tool for understanding if, and when, these processes act in concert.

Using an anthelmintic treatment study of African buffalo, Syncerus caffer, we tracked changes in host immunological and morphological phenotypes during helminth‐coccidia co‐infection to investigate their role in driving independent and combinatorial bottom‐up and top‐down parasite interactions. We also examined repercussions for host fitness.

Clearance of a blood‐sucking helminth, Haemonchus, from the host gastrointestinal tract induced a systemic Th2 immune phenotype, while clearance of a tissue‐feeding helminth, Cooperia, induced a systemic Th1 phenotype. Furthermore, the Haemonchus‐associated systemic Th2 immune phenotype drove simultaneous top‐down and bottom‐up effects that increased coccidia shedding by changing the immunological and morphological landscapes of the intestine.

Higher coccidia shedding was associated with lower host body condition, a lower chance of pregnancy and older age at first pregnancy, suggesting that coccidia infection imposed significant condition and reproductive costs on the host.

Our findings suggest that top‐down and bottom‐up interactions may commonly co‐occur and that tracking key host phenotypes that change in response to infection can help uncover complex pathways by which parasites interact.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Is ideological polarisation by age group growing in Europe?
Authors: O'GRADY TOM
Published: November 2022

Prominent theories claim that young Europeans are increasingly socialist as well as divided from their elders on non‐economic issues. This paper asks whether age‐based polarisation is really growing in Europe, using new estimates of the ideological positions of different age groups in 27 European countries across four issue domains from 1981 to 2018. The young in Europe turn out to be relatively libertarian: more socially liberal than the old in most countries but also more opposed to taxation and government spending. These age divides are not growing either: today's differences over social issues and immigration are similar in size to the 1980s, and if anything are starting to fall. Analysis of birth cohorts points to persistent cohort effects and period effects as the explanation for these patterns; there is little evidence that European cohorts become uniformly more right‐wing or left‐wing with age. Hence age‐based polarisation need not be a permanent or natural feature of European politics but is dependent on the changing social, political and economic climate.