bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Meritocracy, personality traits and recruitment: some insights from the Qatari enterprising community
Authors: Baroun AbdulWahab Esmaeel
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a picture on the impact of the meritocracy and personality traits on the recruitment process in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the State of Qatar.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used ADANCO software for carrying a structural equation modelling analysis and for descriptive statistics.

Findings

The findings showed that meritocracy and personality traits had an impact on recruitment process. In addition, meritocracy showed to be more important than personality traits in the recruitment process.

Research limitations/implications

This research is conducted only in one country, i.e. the State of Qatar, and findings cannot be generalised for other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council and abroad. Extending this research in other countries and comparing the findings will help create a better portray on the role of meritocracy and personality traits on the recruitment process.

Practical implications

This paper will help the Qatari and other SMEs owners to use a more comprehensive approach during the recruitment of their employees, considering that the process of recruitment plays an important role within the overall human resource management. Recruiting the right people has become an extremely daunting mission for SMEs, given that competition for talent is increasingly becoming a very tough and uncompromising issue.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the only paper that has researched the role of meritocracy and personality traits on the recruitment process in the SMEs in the State of Qatar and abroad. Separate studies were conducted that treat the impact of meritocracy and personality on recruiting the right person(s) for the company, but none treated these aspects together in one single paper.
Salesperson ethics behavior as antecedent of Islamic banking customer loyalty
Authors: Wijaya Tony , Nasuka Moh , Hidayat Anas
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The development of the banking industry is encouraging increasingly fierce competition. In the face of banking competition, Islamic banks need to build customer loyalty by paying attention to ethical aspects. Ethics has an essential role in forming and preserve relationships between companies and customers in the long term. The measurement model of salesperson ethical behavior in this study was built using the Islamic-based marketing concept. This study aims to test empirical models of Islamic ethics-based salesperson behavior in increasing customer loyalty of Islamic banks through the aspect of customer trust.

Design/methodology/approach

Research data were obtained from 165 Islamic bank customers in the Central Java, Indonesia, using the purposive sampling method. Data analysis in this study uses structural equation modeling.

Findings

The study shows that the Islamic ethics-based salesperson behavior has a positive effect on customer trust in a salesperson, customers’ trust in Islamic banks and customer loyalty. Customer trust in a salesperson has positively and significantly influenced customer trust in Islamic banks and customer loyalty. Customer trust in Islamic banks has a positive and significant effect on customer loyalty.

Practical implications

This study’s results are expected to be used to reference maintenance salesperson in Islamic banking to behave based on Islamic principles. Islamic marketing principles need to be applied through salespersons behaving realistically (al-Waqi’iyyah) and humanistic concepts (insaniyyah). The application of Islamic ethics can limit and avoid deviant behavior from salespeople that is detrimental to consumers and organizations. The behavior of salespeople based on Islamic ethics will build consumer trust in both organizations and salesperson so that it has implications for consumer loyalty.

Originality/value

This paper provides new findings to understand Islamic banking consumer loyalty that focuses on Islamic ethical salesperson behavior point of view. This paper also presents a new measurement of research variables from an Islamic perspective in examining the role of Islamic ethics-based salesperson behavior toward banking customer loyalty. This study takes the object of research in Islamic banking that has different characteristics from conventional financial institutions.
Social support as a driver of social entrepreneurial intentions: the moderating roles of entrepreneurial education and proximity to the US small business administration
Authors: Seyoum Belay , Chinta Ravi , Mujtaba Bahaudin Ghulam
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is two-fold: to examine the relationship between social support and social entrepreneurial intentions and to test the moderating roles of entrepreneurial education and physical proximity to the office of the US Small Business Administration.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts a quantitative methodological approach. The hypotheses are tested on a sample of 1,245 respondents who intend to start a business in the state of Florida. Factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to identify the relationship between social support and social entrepreneurial intentions.

Findings

The hypotheses are supported by the results. The study found a positive and significant relation between social support and social entrepreneurial intentions. It also establishes the moderating effects of entrepreneurial education and proximity to office of the US Small Business Administration on the relationship between social support and social entrepreneurial intentions, i.e. our results show not only that higher levels of social support are associated with higher entrepreneurial intentions but that this association becomes stronger with entrepreneurial education and proximity to the office of the US Small Business Administration.

Originality/value

This is the first empirical study that highlights the role of entrepreneurial education and physical proximity to the US Small Business Administration in moderating the relations between social support and social entrepreneurial intentions. The study contributes to the understanding of factors that influence social entrepreneurial intentions.
Understanding immigrant entrepreneurship: a home-country entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective
Authors: Duan Carson , Sandhu Kamaljeet , Kotey Bernice
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Given the importance of immigration and immigrant entrepreneurs in advanced economies, the authors take an entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective to study the home-country benefits possessed by immigrant entrepreneurs and how home-country entrepreneurial ecosystem factors affect immigrant entrepreneurial motivations, activities and outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual research paper follows McGaghie, Bordage and Shea's (2001) four-step new theory creation process, which suggests that new theories can be created through facts extraction from the extant literature.

Findings

The authors propose that although immigrant entrepreneurs are unable to take full benefit of the host-country entrepreneurial ecosystem due to blocked mobility, they do have capabilities to access and use their home-country entrepreneurial resources and opportunities. The authors further propose that home-country entrepreneurial capital can be systemically analyzed through the framework of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The results imply that immigrant entrepreneurship as a social and economic phenomenon can be studied more holistically from both host- and home-country perspectives compared to the traditional research boundary of the host-country only.

Research limitations/implications

The research focuses on the identification of home-country effects on immigrant entrepreneurship through the lens of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Testable propositions provide directions for future empirical research on the field of immigrant entrepreneurship from a home-country perspective. The research concludes that a holistic immigrant entrepreneurship study should consider dual (host- and home-country) entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Practical implications

Immigrant entrepreneurs benefit from both host- and home-country entrepreneurial ecosystems. This paper suggests co-effects of dual entrepreneurial ecosystems lead to a high rate of entrepreneurship and business success within some immigrant groups. Policymakers can increase economic activities by developing and deploying programs to encourage immigrants to embed in host- and home-country entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Originality/value

Based on the framework of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, this paper brings a novel perspective to examining home-country effects on immigrant entrepreneurship. It theoretically conceptualizes that immigrants have higher entrepreneurship rates than native-born populations because they have access to extra home-country entrepreneurial capital.
Synthesis of new phosphorous-containing flame retardant and the properties of flame retardant epoxy resins
Authors: Zhang Hongkun , Gong Xianyun , Li Zan , Wang Yang
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The epoxy resins need to be added with flame retardant to ensure safety in practical applications. There were a lot of highly toxic substances in the flame retardant used in the past, which caused greater harm to human body and the environment. Therefore, this study aims to propose a research on the synthesis of new phosphorous-containing flame retardant and the properties of flame retardant epoxy resins.

Design/methodology/approach

The flame retardant intermediate DOPO was synthesized using o-phenylphenol as the substrate. The intermediate was mixed with D4Vi under certain conditions to synthesize a new phosphorous-containing flame retardant. The flame retardant was added to the epoxy resins to prepare the flame retardant epoxy resins.

Findings

The experimental results show that the synthetic new phosphorous-containing flame retardant is far less harmful than the flame retardant used in the past and has extremely low toxicity, which is suitable for use in practical projects.

Originality/value

The new phosphorus-containing flame retardant synthesized by forms a more uniform and dense carbon layer in the combustion process, which well protects the underlying materials, thus improving the flame retardancy of epoxy resin materials. The harm of the new phosphorus-containing flame retardant is far less than that of ordinary flame retardant. The flame retardant used in the past has very low toxicity and is suitable for practical engineering.
Mental time travel and the valuation of financial investments
Authors: Blake David , Pickles John
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to portray the valuation of financial investments as mental time travel.

Design/methodology/approach

In a series of thought investments, $1 invested in an investment fund is mentally projected forward in time and then discounted back to the present – with no objective time passing. The thought investments feature symmetric valuation (in which discount rates exactly match projection rates) and asymmetric valuation (in which discount rates and projection rates happen to differ). They show how asymmetric valuation can result in differences between the current personal value and market value of an investment and, by way of real-world illustration, between a closed-end investment fund's net asset value and its market value. The authors explore possible reasons for asymmetric valuation.

Findings

Thought investments illustrating mental time travel can be used to help understand both financial investment valuation generally and, more specifically, established explanations of the closed-end investment fund puzzle. The authors show how different expectations, different perceptions of time and risk and different risk and time preferences might help determine value.

Originality/value

There are vast literatures on prospection, discounting and future-orientated or intertemporal decision-making. The authors’ innovation is to illustrate how these mental activities might combine to facilitate financial investment valuation. In particular, the authors show that a low personal discount rate could be a consequence of a shortened perception of future time and vice versa.
Multidimensional credit attitude and credit card debt behavior in the United States
Authors: Lee Jae Min , Lee Yoon G.
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to construct composite index variables of credit attitude using six attitudinal variables. This study also examines the relationship between consumer credit attitude and credit card debt behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used the pooled dataset of the 2010 and 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) released by the Federal Reserve Board. A total of 8,417 households were used as our analytic sample. The credit card indices were constructed using factor analysis with polychoric correlations. Factors of the credit card debt behaviors were estimated using hierarchical logistic regression models.

Findings

The results of factor analysis identified two credit attitude indices (wants and needs). The results of hierarchical logistic regression analyses show that the credit attitude indices have a positive influence on payment behaviors; households with more favorable attitudes about credit use for non-necessities (wants) were more likely to hold an outstanding credit card balance, have irregular payment practice and pay a revolving charge.

Originality/value

Although there is ample documentation in the literature of credit behavior, the current literature is deficient in some areas for not addressing unobserved consumer attitudinal dispositions. Further, the separate treatment of selected survey items or an additive scale of survey items has been widely used; however, this approach cannot capture multidimensional characteristics among attitudinal items if credit attitude is not necessarily unidimensional. In response to the shortfall in the extant literature on credit card behavior, this study examined multidimensional aspects of credit attitude as a determinant of credit card debt behavior through methodological justification. Implications for future research and practitioners are provided.
Electronic records management – a state of the art review
Authors: Oladejo Babatunde , Hadžidedić Sunčica
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the state of the art in electronic records management (ERM) with the goal of identifying the prevailing research topics, gaps and issues in the field.

Design/methodology/approach

First, a wide search was performed on academic research databases, limited to the period between 2008–2018. Second, the search results were reviewed for relevance and duplicates. Finally, the study sources were checked against the list of journals and conferences ranked by computing research and education and JourQual. The final sample of 55 selected studies was analyzed in depth.

Findings

ERM has lost some research momentum due to being deeply embedded in affiliate information systems areas and the changing records management landscape. Additionally, the requirement models specified by Governmental/National Archives might have constrained technology innovation in ERM. A lack of application was identified for the social media research area.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations were encountered in available search tool functionality and keyword confusion leading to inflated search results. While effort has been made to obtain optimal search results, some relevant articles may have been omitted.

Originality/value

The last ERM state-of-the-art review was in 1997. A lot has changed since then. This paper will help researchers understand the current state of ERM research, its understudied areas and identify gaps for future studies.
Information management practices in public tertiary health-care facilities: an empirical investigation from the state of Kuwait
Authors: Alhuwail Dari
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to gain insights about information management practices in public health-care organizations in Kuwait and offer recommendations to improve these practices.

Design/methodology/approach

This study involves secondary analysis of quantitative and qualitative accreditation-related data pertaining to the compliance with the Information Management standard at seven public tertiary health-care facilities over two accreditation cycles.

Findings

Overall, organizations improved their compliance with the Information Management standard. However, issues exist with effectively and efficiently transmitting data, aggregating clinical and administrative data and using the information for both strategic planning and quality improvement initiatives.

Research limitations/implications

The analysed data set does not provide information about the improvements done between the accreditation cycles. Caution should be applied before assuming generalizability of the results, considering the context and social constructs around the health-care system is essential.

Practical implications

Compliance with predetermined criteria through accreditation can improve information management practices. Without proper management of information at health-care facilities, achieving safe and effective patient care is futile. The role of health information technology (IT) should not be sidelined; robust health IT solutions can help support good information management practices thereby improving care quality and aiding health-care reform.

Originality/value

Concerning information management, health-care organizations providing focused services have clear advantages over organizations providing general care services. Considering the type of care organization (general vs specialized) can provide insights into how information management practices can affect the operations of the organization.
Mitigating dilemmas in postgraduate researcher mental health and well-being project implementation: critical reflections from three former implementers
Authors: Valeix Sophie , Moss Rachel , Morris Charlotte
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to present the critical reflections of three women implementers formerly working in projects that seek to support the mental health and well-being (MHW) of postgraduate researchers (PGRs), which has become a recent focus for UK researchers and policymakers. The paper offers an experience-based perspective on tensions in PGR-MHW project implementation by providing personal accounts of several social dilemmas the authors encountered. From reflecting on experiences, the authors derived recommendations for mitigating such dilemmas when designing and delivering future projects.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the experiences of dilemmas as female project implementers of PGR-MHW projects were recalled, listed and discussed and identified broad overarching themes. Second, one dilemma for each of the three themes was fleshed out according to the ones that carried meaning for how the role was personally experienced. Third, what the accounts of dilemmas meant for project implementation and outcomes was analyzed. Then the findings to existing literature where similar tensions were identified were linked, including how these could be mitigated.

Findings

The dilemmas experienced as implementers in PGR-MHW projects fit among three interconnected themes: identity, values, and motivations and relationships. It was showed that, although they may be hard to see, the dilemmas presented in this paper impede project’s success, outcomes for PGRs and implementers’ well-being. Mitigating such dilemmas when designing, funding, implementing and evaluating future projects is not straightforward, and the findings in this article open avenues to tackle this problem.

Originality/value

Focusing on reflections of female implementers, the paper provides an original perspective on PGR-MHW project evaluation. Using reflective writing as a research tool allowed us to identify overlooked dilemmas in project implementation. Honest and critical accounts of implementers’ experiences revealed important lessons such as different framings of project success, the intersection between the personal and the professional and individual responsibilities in project networks.
Research on digital flow control model of urban rail transit under the situation of epidemic prevention and control
Authors: Sun Qi , Sun Fang , Liang Cai , Yu Chao , Zhang Yamin
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Beijing rail transit can actively control the density of rail transit passenger flow, ensure travel facilities and provide a safe and comfortable riding atmosphere for rail transit passengers during the epidemic. The purpose of this paper is to efficiently monitor the flow of rail passengers, the first method is to regulate the flow of passengers by means of a coordinated connection between the stations of the railway line; the second method is to objectively distribute the inbound traffic quotas between stations to achieve the aim of accurate and reasonable control according to the actual number of people entering the station.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyzes the rules of rail transit passenger flow and updates the passenger flow prediction model in time according to the characteristics of passenger flow during the epidemic to solve the above-mentioned problems. Big data system analysis restores and refines the time and space distribution of the finely expected passenger flow and the train service plan of each route. Get information on the passenger travel chain from arriving, boarding, transferring, getting off and leaving, as well as the full load rate of each train.

Findings

A series of digital flow control models, based on the time and space composition of passengers on trains with congested sections, has been designed and developed to scientifically calculate the number of passengers entering the station and provide an operational basis for operating companies to accurately control flow.

Originality/value

This study can analyze the section where the highest full load occurs, the composition of passengers in this section and when and where passengers board the train, based on the measured train full load rate data. Then, this paper combines the full load rate control index to perform reverse deduction to calculate the inbound volume time-sharing indicators of each station and redistribute the time-sharing indicators for each station according to the actual situation of the inbound volume of each line during the epidemic. Finally, form the specified full load rate index digital time-sharing passenger flow control scheme.
Is knowledge a tenement? The mediating role of team member exchange over the relationship of big five personality traits and knowledge-hiding behavior
Authors: Hamza M. Ali , Rehman Saqib , Sarwar Adnan , Choudhary Komal Nadeem
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The organizational success to achieve and maintain its competitiveness is ascribed in the effectiveness of its knowledge management (KM) system, which depends on its employees’ impetus to exhibit knowledge sharing behavior. When an employee hides knowledge, an organization somewhat loses its part of knowledge, which causes loss to the organization eventually. This study aims to examine the impact of personality traits and one’s ethnicity on knowledge hiding behavior (KHB) by focusing on mediating role of team member exchange (TMX).

Design/methodology/approach

A total 308 questionnaires are collected from the public sector organizations (Livestock and Dairy Development Department, Punjab, Pakistan), out of them 300 are used in the analysis. Through Google e-survey form, cross-sectional data using convenience sampling are collected from the Gazetted officers (managerial level) of the department.

Findings

The paper provides empirical insights about three personality traits, i.e. openness, conscientiousness and neuroticism, and ethnicity have positive relation with KHB, whereas TMX as a mediator converts this positive relation into negative. Remaining two personality traits, i.e. extraversion and agreeableness, have negative relation with KHB, whereas TMX as a mediator strengthens this negative relationship with KHB.

Research limitations/implications

The broad context of research and large number of items made it difficult to collect the responses. In future studies, 50 items of big five should be replaced with mini scale. Empirical explanation of the relation between ethnicity and knowledge hiding is an addition to body of knowledge in general, particularly in context of Pakistan.

Practical implications

This study has the power to help managers in managing their team members and to understand what kind of personality and social group involvements promote knowledge sharing culture within the organization.

Originality/value

To broaden the understanding of KM domain, this study adds value in the relationship between big five personality traits, ethnicity and KHB of employees by finding the mediating effect of TMX in the context of Pakistani organizations.
Emotional intelligence and innovative work behaviour in knowledge-intensive organizations: how tacit knowledge sharing acts as a mediator?
Authors: Malik Shehla
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This study aims to examine the underlying process through which emotional intelligence impacts employees’ innovative work behaviour by testing the mediating role played by tacit knowledge sharing in organizations. The direct and indirect effects of emotional intelligence on innovative work behaviour of employees were explored.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 171 full-time employees of five high-tech knowledge-intensive organizations located in India. The hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling.

Findings

The results revealed that emotional intelligence had a direct positive impact on tacit knowledge sharing and innovative work behaviour of employees. Similarly, tacit knowledge sharing positively influenced innovative work behaviour. The study further showed that the relationship between emotional intelligence and innovative work behaviour was partially mediated by tacit knowledge sharing.

Practical implications

To enhance innovative behaviour at work, organizations should concentrate on building the emotional competencies of its employees to increase their emotional intelligence level through suitable training programs. Besides, organizations should also focus on shaping a knowledge-sharing culture by building systems and processes through which free exchange of tacit knowledge among employees can be promoted to enhance their innovative work behaviour.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the existing pool of knowledge by demonstrating the unexplored effect of emotional intelligence on innovative work behaviour via the mediating role of tacit knowledge sharing. It also advances current literature on emotional intelligence, tacit knowledge sharing and innovative work behaviour by discussing useful theoretical implications of the findings.
Interspecific protection against oxidative stress: green algae protect harmful cyanobacteria against hydrogen peroxide
Authors: Weenink Erik F. J. , Matthijs Hans C. P. , Schuurmans J. Merijn , Piel Tim , van Herk Maria J. , Sigon Corrien A. M. , Visser Petra M. , Huisman Jef
Published: February 2021

Oceanographic studies have shown that heterotrophic bacteria can protect marine cyanobacteria against oxidative stress caused by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Could a similar interspecific protection play a role in freshwater ecosystems? In a series of laboratory experiments and two lake treatments, we demonstrate that freshwater cyanobacteria are sensitive to H2O2 but can be protected by less‐sensitive species such as green algae. Our laboratory results show that green algae degrade H2O2 much faster than cyanobacteria. Consequently, the cyanobacterium Microcystis was able to survive at higher H2O2 concentrations in mixtures with the green alga Chlorella than in monoculture. Interestingly, even the lysate of destructed Chlorella was capable to protect Microcystis, indicating a two‐component H2O2 degradation system in which Chlorella provided antioxidant enzymes and Microcystis the reductants. The level of interspecific protection provided to Microcystis depended on the density of Chlorella. These findings have implications for the mitigation of toxic cyanobacterial blooms, which threaten the water quality of many eutrophic lakes and reservoirs worldwide. In several lakes, H2O2 has been successfully applied to suppress cyanobacterial blooms. Our results demonstrate that high densities of green algae can interfere with these lake treatments, as they may rapidly degrade the added H2O2 and thereby protect the bloom‐forming cyanobacteria.
Re‐evaluating diagnostic thresholds for intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy: case–control and cohort study
Authors: Mitchell AL , Ovadia C , Syngelaki A , Souretis K , Martineau M , Girling J , Vasavan T , Fan HM , Seed PT , Chambers J , Walters JRF , Nicolaides K , Williamson C
Published: February 2021

Objective

To determine the optimal total serum bile acid (TSBA) threshold and sampling time for accurate intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) diagnosis.

Design

Case–control, retrospective cohort studies.

Setting

Antenatal clinics, clinical research facilities.

Population

Women with ICP or uncomplicated pregnancies.

Methods

Serial TSBA measurements were performed pre‐/postprandially in 42 women with ICP or uncomplicated pregnancy. Third‐trimester non‐fasting TSBA reference ranges were calculated from 561 women of black, south Asian and white ethnicity. Rates of adverse perinatal outcomes for women with ICP but peak non‐fasting TSBA below the upper reference range limit were compared with those in healthy populations.

Main outcome measures

Sensitivity and specificity of common TSBA thresholds for ICP diagnosis, using fasting and postprandial TSBA. Calculation of normal reference ranges of non‐fasting TSBA.

Results

Concentrations of TSBA increased markedly postprandially in all groups, with overlap between healthy pregnancy and mild ICP (TSBA <40 μmol/l). The specificity of ICP diagnosis was higher when fasting, but corresponded to <30% sensitivity for diagnosis of mild disease. Using TSBA ≥40 μmol/l to define severe ICP, fasting measurements identified 9% (1/11), whereas non‐fasting measurements detected over 91% with severe ICP. The highest upper limit of the non‐fasting TSBA reference range was 18.3 µmol/l (95% confidence interval: 15.0–35.6 μmol/l). A re‐evaluation of published ICP meta‐analysis data demonstrated no increase in spontaneous preterm birth or stillbirth in women with TSBA <19 µmol/l.

Conclusions

Postprandial TSBA levels are required to identify high‐risk ICP pregnancies (TSBA ≥40 μmol/l). The postprandial rise in TSBA in normal pregnancy indicates that a non‐fasting threshold of ≥19 µmol/l would improve diagnostic accuracy.

Tweetable abstract

Non‐fasting bile acids improve the diagnostic accuracy of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy diagnosis.
Slower response to treatment of iron‐deficiency anaemia in pregnant women infected with HIV: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Hull JC , Bloch EM , Ingram C , Crookes R , Vaughan J , Courtney L , Jauregui A , Hilton JF , Murphy EL ,   for the REDS‐III South Africa Program
Published: February 2021

Objective

Antenatal anaemia is associated with increased peripartum transfusion requirement in South Africa. We studied whether HIV was associated with the response to treatment of iron‐deficiency anaemia.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

Hospital‐based antenatal anaemia clinic in South Africa.

Sample

Equal‐sized cohorts of pregnant women testing positive for HIV (HIV+) and testing negative for HIV (HIV−) with iron‐deficiency anaemia.

Methods

Haemoglobin trajectories of women with confirmed iron‐deficiency anaemia (ferritin < 50 ng/ml) were estimated from the initiation of iron supplementation using mixed‐effects modelling, adjusted for baseline HIV status, ferritin level, maternal and gestational ages and time‐varying iron supplementation.

Main outcome measures

Haemoglobin trajectories.

Results

Of 469 women enrolled, 51% were HIV+, 90% of whom were on antiretroviral therapy (with a mean CD4+ lymphocyte count of 403 cells/mm3). Anaemia diagnoses did not differ by HIV status. A total of 400 women with iron‐deficiency anaemia were followed during treatment with oral or intravenous (6%) iron therapy. In multivariable analysis, haemoglobin recovery was 0.10 g/dl per week slower on average in women who were HIV+ versus women who were HIV− (P = 0.001), 0.01 g/dl per week slower in women with higher baseline ferritin (P < 0.001) and 0.06 g/dl per week faster in women who were compliant with oral iron therapy (P = 0.002).

Conclusions

Compared with women who were HIV−, women who were HIV+ with iron‐deficiency anaemia had slower but successful haemoglobin recovery with iron therapy. Earlier effective management of iron deficiency could reduce the incidence of peripartum blood transfusion.

Tweetable abstract

Among pregnant women with iron‐deficiency anaemia in South Africa, HIV slows haemoglobin recovery in response to oral iron therapy.
Prospective Association of Digital Media Use with Alcohol Use Initiation and Progression Among Adolescents
Authors: Riehm Kira E. , Thrul Johannes , Barrington‐Trimis Jessica L. , Kelleghan Annemarie , Mojtabai Ramin , Leventhal Adam M.
Published: February 2021

Background

Although adolescents commonly use digital media and consume alcohol , longitudinal evidence of the association between these behaviors is scant. This study examined the association between the frequency of digital media use and the subsequent initiation or progression of alcohol use. We also examined whether these associations were moderated by gender and race/ethnicity.

Methods

The study included 2,473 adolescents from a prospective cohort in the Los Angeles, CA area who were surveyed in fall 2015 (11th grade, baseline for the current study) and every 6 months through the end of high school (Spring 2017, 12th grade). At baseline, youth self‐reported the total number of 14 digital media activities (e.g., checking social media, streaming music/videos, texting) they engaged in at a high frequency (i.e., many times a day) over the past week. Scores ranged from 0 (i.e., no reported high‐frequency digital media use) to 14 (i.e., reported engagement in all 14 digital media activities at a high frequency). Self‐report measures of ever using alcohol, number of days of alcohol use in the past 30 days (0 to 30), binge drinking (yes/no), and covariates (i.e., demographics and measures of behavioral health and other substance use) were assessed at each time point.

Results

Among respondents who at baseline reported never using alcohol (n = 1,214), high‐frequency engagement in each additional digital media activity was associated with 4% higher odds of initiating alcohol use (aOR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.07) across follow‐up. Among respondents who at baseline reported ever using alcohol (n = 1,259), baseline high‐frequency engagement in each additional digital media activity was associated at follow‐up with 3% more days of alcohol use in the past 30 days (aIRR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.06). Digital media use and binge drinking were not statistically significantly associated at follow‐up. There was no evidence of moderation by gender or race/ethnicity.

Conclusions

Digital media use frequency was modestly associated with increased risk of initiation and progression of alcohol use in adolescence. Additional research is needed to determine potential mechanisms for these associations.
Relationship between PASI and FDLQI in paediatric psoriasis, and treatments used in daily clinical practice
Authors: Kim Emma , Fischer Gayle
Published: February 2021

Background/Objectives

Psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory skin disease that affects 0.71% of children. Skin diseases can have a significant impact on quality of life not only for the children affected by psoriasis, but also for their parents and carers. This study aimed to achieve more insight into the quality of life (QOL) of family of paediatric patients with psoriasis, and to investigate whether disease severity scores correlate with Family Dermatology Life Quality Index (FDLQI) scores. In addition, we also observed the treatments used to treat paediatric psoriasis in daily clinical practice.

Methods

Patients with paediatric psoriasis aged 16 and under who visited our outpatient department were included. Baseline Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and FDLQI were measured and analysed.

Results

Of 157 patients were included in the study. Median PASI was 4.2 (IQR 2.6–6.9), and the median FDLQI was 12 (IQR 7–17). The correlation coefficient between PASI and FDLQI was 0.44 (P < 0.001). Burden of care was the highest scoring item on the FDLQI, followed by emotional impact. 146 patients were treated with topical therapy with a mean improvement in PASI of 3.92. 19 patients underwent phototherapy, and 19 underwent systemic therapy.

Conclusions

In this largest study to date studying the impact of PASI on FDLQI, disease severity was found to be strongly associated with adverse quality of life of family members of paediatric psoriasis patients.
Effects of thermostable phytase supplemented in diets on growth performance and nutrient utilization of broilers
Authors: Song Tingting , Yu Caiyun , Zhao Xu , Chen Fengliang , Liu Yanjie , Yang Chongwu , Yang Zaibin
Published: February 2021

Phytase is an enzyme that has the ability to release phosphorous (P) from phytate by hydrolyzing inositol‐phosphate linkages. Recently, thermostable phytases have gained great consideration because the reduction in phytase activity was found when exposed to heat during feed pelleting. In this study, the effects of the granular thermostable phytase (Aspergillus niger) on growth performance and nutrient utilization of broilers were investigated. A total of 96 21‐day‐old Arbor Acres broilers were randomly distributed into six treatments including basal diet (control) and basal diet supplemented with 500, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, 8,000 U of phytase/kg. In general, the metabolizable energy (ME) and the apparent and true availability of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), ether extract (EE), crude protein (CP), and amino acids (AA) showed both linearly (p < .01) and quadratically (p < .01) increase with increasing levels of phytase in the diet. Additionally, diet supplementation with phytase could improve (p < .05) body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), and feed/gain (F/G) on day 42 compared with the control. The results suggested that diet supplementation of the granular thermostable phytase in the crumbled pellets could improve chicken growth performance and nutrient utilization.
A digital self‐report survey of mood for bipolar disorder
Authors: Sagorac Gruichich Tijana , David Gomez Juan Camilo , Zayas‐Cabán Gabriel , McInnis Melvin G. , Cochran Amy L.
Published: February 2021

Objectives

Bipolar disorder (BP) is commonly researched in digital settings. As a result, standardized digital tools are needed to measure mood. We sought to validate a new survey that is brief, validated in digital form, and able to separately measure manic and depressive severity.

Methods

We introduce a 6‐item digital survey, called digiBP, for measuring mood in BP. It has three depressive items (depressed mood, fidgeting, fatigue), two manic items (increased energy, rapid speech), and one mixed item (irritability); and recovers two scores (m and d) to measure manic and depressive severity. In a secondary analysis of individuals with BP who monitored their symptoms over 6 weeks (n = 43), we perform a series of analyses to validate the digiBP survey internally, externally, and as a longitudinal measure.

Results

We first verify a conceptual model for the survey in which items load onto two factors (“manic” and “depressive”). We then show weekly averages of m and d scores from digiBP can explain significant variation in weekly scores from the Young Mania Rating Scale (R2 = 0.47) and SIGH‐D (R2 = 0.58). Lastly, we examine the utility of the survey as a longitudinal measure by predicting an individual’s future m and d scores from their past m and d scores.

Conclusions

While further validation is warranted in larger, diverse populations, these validation analyses should encourage researchers to consider digiBP for their next digital study of BP.
Mixed axial and transverse deep‐water systems: The Cretaceous post‐rift Lysing Formation, offshore Norway
Authors: Hansen L. A. S. , Hodgson D. M. , Pontén A. , Thrana C. , Obradors Latre A.
Published: February 2021

Deep‐water stratigraphic successions from syn‐ to post‐rift stages are an archive of evolving physiographic configurations, and can record axial and transverse sedimentary sources. The healing of topography decreases the influence of syn‐rift structures on sedimentation patterns and transport processes over time, which leads to a long‐term transition from dominantly axial to transverse dispersal patterns. The Halten and Dønna terraces, offshore mid‐Norway, comprise a series of rift‐related sub‐basins established during the Jurassic, which were infilled with sediments during the Cretaceous. The Cretaceous Lysing Formation developed as slope‐ and basin‐floor fans within a series of weakly confined post‐rift sub‐basins with some shallow marine deposits interpreted on the basin margins. A deep‐water setting is supported by seismic interpretation, and bed type and architectural element analysis in all cored and uncored wells in the area. We document that an axial submarine fan system was active throughout the post‐rift stage due to subtle inherited topography from syn‐rift structures, which interacted with locally sourced transverse sediment sources. This led to a complicated stratigraphic architecture, with lobe fringe deposits of the axial fan system juxtaposed with channel‐fills and channel‐lobe transition zone deposits of transverse systems. The refined palaeogeographic reconstruction of the Lysing Formation illustrates how subtle topography can impact sediment routing patterns many millions of years after the end of rifting and can be used for palaeoenvironmental interpretations in other post‐rift settings.
Thrust duplexing and transpression in the Yanshan Mountains: Implications for early Mesozoic orogenesis and decratonization of the North China Craton
Authors: Liu Shaofeng , Zhang Andong , Lin Chengfa , Zhang Bo , Yuan Haotian , Huang Diying , Steel Ronald J. , Horton Brian K.
Published: February 2021

The configuration and kinematics of fold‐thrust belts are essential for clarifying the plate boundary conditions through which ancient orogenic belts evolved. Temporal and spatial variations in extension versus contraction within convergent plate margins are related to changes in plate kinematics and subduction geometry. The Yanshan Mountains, located along the northeastern margin of the North China Craton and bounded by the Central Asian Orogenic Belt to the north and the Pacific subduction zone to the east, underwent multiple phases of intra‐continental deformation during the Mesozoic. The issue of whether early Mesozoic deformation was extensional or contractional has remained controversial. New regional structural mapping and detailed sedimentological investigations, coupled with age constraints provided by zircon U‐Pb geochronology, provide sufficient temporal and spatial resolution to show that shortening and thrust‐top basin systems dominated during the early Mesozoic. Our results show that the Dengzhangzi Basin within the Lingyuan fold‐thrust belt developed during the construction of a major Late Triassic Chapeng antiformal‐stack duplex system, with episodic, east‐vergent forward‐breaking thrusts and subsequent ‘beheading’ by out‐of‐sequence, top‐to‐east thrusting in the latest Triassic or earliest Jurassic. The neighbouring Guojiadian Basin in the east was generated during top‐to‐SSE sinistral transpression along the Niuyingzi thrust system in the Middle to earliest Late Jurassic. These results support a new model of early craton decratonization involving (a) thrusting along the northern margin of the North China Craton and (b) transpressional deformation in the east driven by the Central Asian Ocean collision and flat‐slab subduction of the Palaeo‐Pacific Plate beneath the East Asian continental margin. Our findings suggest that large‐scale shortening and crustal/lithospheric thickening, triggered by flat‐slab subduction in the North China Craton, were fundamental components of craton decratonization. Subsequent slab roll‐back during the Cretaceous led to lithospheric thinning and crustal extension in the North China Craton.
Vascular reconstitution in the tumor for more effective tumor immunotherapy
Authors: Takakura Nobuyuki
Published: February 2021

It has been widely accepted that the regulation of the tumor microenvironment is an important strategy in cancer treatment. Particularly, control of the tumor vasculature has been suggested to be critical for antitumor immunotherapy. Effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy depends on the quality and quantity of immune cells infiltrating into tumor tissues, which may be affected by the status of the tumor vasculature. Under physiological conditions, immune cells migrate from the intravascular lumen into the parenchyma especially by passing through the vascular wall of venulae. Extravasation of immune cells is induced from venulae where endothelial cells (ECs) are fully covered with pericytes from the basal side. Interaction of pericytes with ECs contributes to immune cell extravasation by several steps, ie, adhesion of immune cells to intraluminal ECs, transmigration, and chemotaxis of immune cells. Blood vessels are structurally immature and non‐functional in tumors, and therefore, induction of maturation in the tumor vasculature is a promising strategy for effective cancer therapies and is relevant not only for immune cell migration but also drug delivery.
Immune deficiency, autoimmune disease and intellectual disability: A pleiotropic disorder caused by biallelic variants in the TPP2 gene
Authors: Atallah Isis , Quinodoz Mathieu , Campos‐Xavier Belinda , Peter Virginie G. , Fouriki Athina , Bonvin Christophe , Bottani Armand , Kumps Camille , Angelini Federica , Bellutti Enders Felicitas , Christen‐Zaech Stéphanie , Rizzi Mattia , Renella Raffaele , Beck‐Popovic Maja , Poloni Claudia , Frossard Valérie , Blouin Jean‐Louis , Rivolta Carlo , Riccio Orbicia , Candotti Fabio , Hofer Michael , Unger Sheila , Superti‐Furga Andrea
Published: February 2021

Four individuals from two families presented with a multisystemic condition of suspected genetic origin that was diagnosed only after genome analysis. The main phenotypic features were immune system dysregulation (severe immunodeficiency with autoimmunity) and intellectual disability. The four individuals were found to be homozygous for a 4.4 Kb deletion removing exons 20–23 (NM_003291.4) of the TPP2 gene, predicting a frameshift with premature termination of the protein. The deletion was located on a shared chromosome 13 haplotype indicating a Swiss founder mutation. Tripeptidyl peptidase 2 (TPP2) is a protease involved in HLA/antigen complex processing and amino acid homeostasis. Biallelic variants in TPP2 have been described in 10 individuals with variable features including immune deficiency, autoimmune cytopenias, and intellectual disability or chronic sterile brain inflammation mimicking multiple sclerosis. Our observations further delineate this severe condition not yet included in the OMIM catalog. Timely recognition of TPP2 deficiency is crucial since (1) immune surveillance is needed and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation may be necessary, and (2) for provision of genetic counselling. Additionally, enzyme replacement therapy, as already established for TPP1 deficiency, might be an option in the future.