bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
LATAM and Spanish SME barriers to Industry 4.0
Authors: De Lucas Ancillo Antonio , Gavrila Gavrila Sorin , Fernández del Castillo Díez José Raúl , Corro Beseler Juan
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Existing studies are scarce, especially on the Industry 4.0 application to firms' innovation and competitiveness, and even more on the application to LATAM and Spanish SMEs. This paper tries to fill this gap by explaining the results of applying a systematic model, to understand which are the SMEs' strengths and weaknesses in relation to the Industry 4.0 transformation.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic methodology involving documentation analysis, visits to the companies, interviews with employees and managers, making a preliminary diagnosis, crossing their needs with the enablers that can apply. The fieldwork was carried out during a two month period (2019), on a target sample of 22 SMEs operating under industrial productive activity already exporting or planning their internationalization toward LATAM regions.

Findings

There are relevant barriers that need to be overcome in order to enter Industry 4.0 and, in this specific analysis, the following major classification was obtained: (1) Technological barrier, (2) Training barrier, (3) Economic barrier and (4) Contextual barrier.

Originality/value

This paper provides new insights and sets a starting point regarding LATAM and Spanish’ Industry 4.0 situation, while contributing to the SMEs competitiveness by providing deeper understanding of the barriers and limitations in adopting Industry 4.0, pointing out some implications and suggestions for organizations to implement.
Demystifying performance difference between local and foreign contractors through organisational culture
Authors: Tembo Chipozya Kosta , Muleya Franco , Phiri Emmanuellie
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This research aimed to investigate the extent to which organisational culture is practised in local and foreign contractors in grade one and two categories and how it affects their performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach for this research was positivist in nature adopting a mono-method of data collection through a survey using self-administered questionnaires. A total of 138 questionnaires were distributed among public clients and large-scale contractors registered in the stated grades, and 112 questionnaires were returned for analysis representing an overall response rate of 81% for contractors and clients.

Findings

Findings revealed that in organisational culture, significant differences were found for management style and dominant characteristics of the organisation between local and foreign contractors. Differences were not found for leadership styles, measures of success and organisational glue. Results suggest that for local contractors to perform better, significant changes are needed to their management style and dominant characteristics of their organisations.

Originality/value

Foreign contractors in the Zambian construction industry are reportedly outperforming local contractors making them preferred contractors on larger public projects accounting for 85% of construction projects by value of works. This study presents the differences in organisational culture between foreign and local firms. It further demonstrates that organisational culture plays a key role in determining performance of a contracting firm. The study presents areas that local contractors can improve in organisational culture in order to remain competitive.
Causes of road projects' delays: a case of Blantyre, Malawi
Authors: Mwamvani Henry Duncan John , Amoah Christopher , Ayesu-Koranteng Emma
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The study aims to find the causes of road projects implementation delays in Blantyre, one of the four city councils (CCs) in Malawi.

Design/methodology/approach

The study followed a qualitative research approach using a Blantyre City Council (BCC) as a case study. This study combined in-depth, face-to-face interviews with councillors, secretariat staff, consultants, and contractors who worked on the city's road projects. Data gathered were analysed using thematic content analysis. Also, some road project documents were examined.

Findings

The findings from the case study revealed the primary cause of road project construction delays as the shortage of engineers in conducting detailed proposed projects surveys resulting in incomplete project scope definition before contractor's procurement. Other identified factors were service providers delaying the removal of existing public utility infrastructure from project sites, client funding issues, scope changes, and client delays in issuing instructions to the contractors during project implementation. Another factor was the shortage of construction equipment and construction materials experienced by some appointed contractors.

Research limitations/implications

Only road construction projects and stakeholders operating from Blantyre city, Malawi, were contacted for the study; thus, the findings may not be generalizable.

Practical implications

There is an urgent need to increase technical employees, especially engineers and other critical technical staff such as quantity surveyors in Blantyre. Employees' conditions of service should be conducive to attract qualified people to undertake effective management and assessment of projects before commencement to identify the feasibility of proposed projects to decrease the rate of road construction project delays.

Originality/value

The study has established Blantyre city's core challenges in implementing its road projects seamlessly and has provided mitigation measures for dealing with the shortcomings.
Think human, act digital: activating data-driven orientation in innovative start-ups
Authors: Visvizi Anna , Troisi Orlando , Grimaldi Mara , Loia Francesca
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The study queries the drivers of innovation management in contemporary data-driven organizations/companies. It is argued that data-driven organizations that integrate a strategic orientation grounded in data, human abilities and proactive management are more effective in triggering innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

Research reported in this paper employs constructivist grounded theory, Gioia methodology, and the abductive approach. The data collected through semi-structured interviews administered to 20 Italian start-up founders are then examined.

Findings

The paper identifies the key enablers of innovation development in data-driven companies and reveals that data-driven companies may generate different innovation patterns depending on the kind of capabilities activated.

Originality/value

The study provides evidence of how the combination of data-driven culture, skills' enhancement and the promotion of human resources may boost the emergence of innovation.
“Still haven't found what I am looking for”: rural black students' perceived work readiness and assessment of labor market access
Authors: Harry Tinashe , Chinyamurindi Willie Tafadzwa
Published: December 2021

Purpose

South African Black graduates experience a transition challenge between the higher education context and the labor market system. The study focuses on rural Black students' perceived work readiness and assessment of labor market access in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

Focus groups and unstructured individual interviews were conducted with 30 final-year students enrolled at a historically Black university in South Africa.

Findings

Four main narratives were found to affect rural Black students' perceptions of work readiness and their assessment of labor market access in South Africa. These include: (1) language of instruction within the higher education system, (2) challenges around access to career counseling and guidance services, (3) dealing with a curriculum system not relevant to the lived experiences of Black people and finally, (4) challenges inherent within higher education institution attended by Black students. A thread among these four appraisals appears to be the rural Black students' concern around the entire education system from basic to higher education.

Originality/value

The paper sheds light and presents an understanding of perceptions of an educational system and issues around work readiness and labor market access in South Africa.
The impact of COVID-19 on research within the homeless services sector
Authors: Waegemakers Schiff Jeannette , Weissman Eric Paul , Scharf Deborah , Schiff Rebecca , Campbell Stephanie , Knapp Jordan , Jones Alana
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss the challenges of conducting research with homelessness services frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

Between 2015 and 2019, the research team surveyed frontline staff in three cities about their psychosocial stressors and needs. In 2020, the authors replicated the previous study and expanded data collection to seven cities across Canada to determine the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the well-being of frontline staff. This report describes how the authors adapted the research methodologies to continue work throughout the pandemic, despite various restrictions.

Findings

The original studies had very high participation rates because of several methodological approaches that minimized barriers, especially in-person data collection. During the pandemic, distancing requirements precluded replication of these same methods. Research strategies that enabled staff participation during working hours, with designated time allotted for participation, was key for ensuring high participation rates, as access to technology, availability of free time and other factors frequently make online survey research a hardship for these staff. Restrictive interpretation and regional variations of COVID-19 guidelines by some research ethics boards were also a challenge to rapid and responsive data collection.

Originality/value

Few studies describe the experiences of frontline workers in the homelessness sector, and quantitative reports of their experiences are particularly scant. Consequently, little is known about specific methodologies that facilitate large-scale data collection in the homelessness services sector. The present research advances the field by providing lessons learned about best practice approaches in pre and post COVID-19 front line worker contexts. A strength of this research is the well-controlled design. The authors collected data within several of the organizations that had previously participated. This fortunate baseline provided opportunity for comparison before and during the pandemic; the authors can highlight factors that might have had influence during the pandemic.
Migrants and non-migrants' welfare on cocoa farms in Ghana: Multidimensional poverty index approach
Authors: Amfo Bismark , Osei Mensah James , Aidoo Robert
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The study assessed welfare of migrant and non-migrant labourers on cocoa farms in Ghana, using multidimensional poverty index (MPI) with four dimensions (education, health, dietary diversity, living standards) and 21 indicators. Specifically, we examined and compared non-monetary welfare of migrant and non-migrant labourers on cocoa farms in Ghana by adopting MPI approach. Also, we explored the factors affecting labourers' welfare.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 400 labourers was used. Qualitative and quantitative data were used. Quantile regression was used to investigate factors affecting labourers' deprivation in the different domains of non-monetary welfare.

Findings

Labourers on cocoa farms are generally deprived in all the welfare indicators. Apart from having low education, labourers were underfed and lived under poor conditions. Though both migrants and non-migrants were multidimensionally poor, welfare of the later was higher than the former. Welfare of migrants and non-migrants on cocoa farms are influenced by similar factors: secondary occupation, income, credit accessibility, nature of contract and distance to social amenities.

Research limitations/implications

For migrants, permanent status improves welfare. To improve labourers' welfare for enhanced productivity, cocoa farmers should provide permanent/long-term contracts for labourers and government should provide social amenities in cocoa-producing communities.

Originality/value

Most previous welfare studies focused on farmers, with little attention paid to welfare of labourers on cocoa farms. We examined and compared the factors that affect migrant and non-migrant labourers' welfare on cocoa farms in Ghana. Moreover, we adopted the MPI (non-monetary) approach to assess labourers' welfare, instead of the expenditure and income approaches prevalent in literature.
Gym users: an enabler in creating an acceptance of sports and fitness wearable devices in India
Authors: Raman Prashant , Aashish Kumar
Published: December 2021

Purpose

There are two-fold objectives to this research. First is to analyse the importance of technology readiness (TR) for the users in using sports and fitness wearable devices in India. And second is to explore if gymnasium (gym) users are much more technologically ready as compared to non-gym users to use sports and fitness wearable devices.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses technology readiness and acceptance model (TRAM) to examine the users' intention to use sports and fitness wearable devices. Data from a survey of 907 respondents from India were collected and partial least squares (PLS)-structural equation modelling (SEM) technique was used to empirically examine it.

Findings

The outcomes reveal that innovativeness and optimism have a positive influence on perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU), and insecurity and discomfort have a negative influence on PEOU and PU. Both PEOU and PU act as important determinants in the user's intention to use sports and fitness wearable devices. The multi-group analysis (MGA) suggests that gym users tend to exhibit more positive intention towards using sports and fitness wearable devices and show higher probability of using the wearable devices relative to non-gym users.

Originality/value

There are hardly any studies on intention to use sports and fitness wearable devices in India. The current research tries to understand the intention behind the gym users and non-gym users to use sports and fitness wearable devices. The outcomes of the research will help the marketers to align their promotional campaign based on the new segmentation variable “gym-user/non-gym user”. The research also highlights the importance of TR in the use of sports and fitness wearable devices in India.
The effects of socio-technical integration on sustainability practices: a supply chain perspective
Authors: Shan Shuo , Shou Yongyi , Kang Mingu , Park Youngwon
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This study aims to investigate sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) through the lens of socio-technical system (STS) theory. Specifically, it examines the individual and synergistic effects of social and technical integration on two main sustainability practices (i.e. sustainable production and sustainable sourcing). Supply chain uncertainty is further explored as a key environmental factor.

Design/methodology/approach

A moderated joint effects model was hypothesized. A sample of 759 manufacturing firms was used to test the proposed hypotheses by hierarchical linear regression.

Findings

The results show that both social and technical integration have positive effects on sustainable production and sustainable sourcing. Interestingly, social and technical integration have an enhancing synergistic effect on sustainable sourcing, which is further strengthened in high-uncertainty supply chains.

Originality/value

This study extends the application of STS theory in the SSCM setting. It enriches the sustainability literature by uncovering the impact of the interplay among the firm's social, technical and environmental systems on sustainable production and sourcing, and offers system-wide insights for sustainability management.
Evolution of omni-channel business models: a new community-based omni-channel and data-enabled ecosystem
Authors: Wang Rui , Xie Xuanli , Ma Hao
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The authors seek to crack the model of new retail by outlining the unique business model known as community-based omni-channel and data-enabled ecosystem.

Design/methodology/approach

The study’s analyses of Hema cases and other examples reveal a new omni-channel model, a community-based and data-enabled ecosystem model.

Findings

The ecosystem targets local customers within a limited geographical range. It is also data-enabled and effectively leverages large-scale data on consumers, store operations, supply chains and logistics to ensure the smooth functioning of the ecosystem.

Originality/value

The authors hope the typology brings new insights to the development of omni-channel retail.
Radical changes in the lives of international professional women with children: from airports to home offices
Authors: Primecz Henriett
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to discover the impact of restrictions connected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the work and life of international professional women with children.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative, explorative research was conducted with 12 international professional women, who were professional women with children under 12; semi-structured online interviews were used.

Findings

The radical decrease in international travel combined with an increase in online work and the increased demand of parenting resulted in work overflow, temporary re-traditionalisation of gender relations and a radical decrease in international mobility with respect to future prospects.

Research limitations/implications

The relatively small and non-representative sample needs to be complemented with further investigation into the social and economic consequences of restrictions connected with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Social implications

A large-scale crisis like the pandemic-related lockdown has had a tremendous effect on societies, including with regard to gender relations. Reflection will be needed in the aftermath of the crises and the gender equality achieved before the lockdown needs to be rebuilt.

Originality/value

The exceptional case of the COVID-19 pandemic generated the need to understand the new situation, especially in the life of mobile professionals and women with small children.
Reliability and validity of the Static-99R in sex offenders with intellectual disabilities
Authors: Pouls Claudia , Jeandarme Inge
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Risk assessment studies involving recidivism in sex offenders with intellectual disabilities (SOIDs) continue to be scarce, limited and producing mixed results. This study aims (to test the ability ...) to test the ability of one such instrument (the Static-99R) to predict intramural sexual and violent incidents involving members of this group.

Design/methodology/approach

The Static-99R was prospectively scored for 38 SOIDs. Occurrences of any violent or sexual incident and/or illegal sexual behaviour were recorded during a minimum period of six months. Predictive accuracy was analysed using several performance indicators.

Findings

The Static-99R significantly predicted sexual incidents (area under the curve = 0.70) but failed to predict violent and illegal sexual incidents. Regarding illegal sexual incidents, the instrument was better at detecting low-risk individuals than high-risk offenders.

Originality/value

Risk assessment studies, both in offenders with and without an intellectual disability (ID), rarely use multiple accuracy estimates. The current study used both discrimination and calibration indicators to evaluate the ability of the Static-99R to detect low- and high-risk offenders.
Customer fairness perceptions in augmented reality-based online services
Authors: Christ-Brendemühl Sonja , Schaarschmidt Mario
Published: December 2021

Purpose

An increasing number of retailers is trying to stimulate customers by embedding augmented reality (AR) features such as video try-on into the online shopping experience. As such AR-based online services require customers to actively participate in the service provision, this paper aims at investigating fairness perceptions and customer responses associated with AR-enabled customer participation.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual framework of this study is based on equity theory. To compare customer responses after an in-store service encounter as opposed to AR-enabled customer participation involving video try-on, this study contains a between-subject online experiment. The effective sample comprisesN = 215 participants.

Findings

The data analysis demonstrates that AR-enabled customer participation leads to significantly lower levels of distributive, procedural and price fairness as well as lower engagement intentions than in-store service encounters. Simultaneously, participants in the video try-on scenario report higher negative word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions than in the in-store scenario.

Research limitations/implications

The extra mile customers go when using AR-based online services is reflected in less favorable fairness evaluations.

Practical implications

Service managers should design AR applications in a manner that requires minimum customer participation.

Originality/value

This study contributes to service research by linking AR-enabled customer participation to evaluations of distributive, procedural and price fairness and their outcomes. This is vital to fully exploit the potential of AR in services.
How can autonomy improve consumer experience when interacting with smart products?
Authors: Lucia-Palacios Laura , Pérez-López Raúl
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This paper analyzes the direct and indirect effects of the autonomy of smart home speakers on consumer experience, weighing its benefits and costs in the following areas: usefulness, interactivity, coolness, service failure severity and intrusiveness. Experience value is examined as an antecedent of repurchase intention.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling is applied to data collected from 607 users of smart home speakers. Mediating effects are examined between autonomy and experience value.

Findings

Autonomy has no direct effect on experience value, since the positive effect is fully mediated by interactivity, intrusiveness, perceived usefulness and coolness. Failure severity has no mediating effect and has no influence on experience value. Usefulness, coolness and interactivity show positive mediating effects between autonomy and experience value, while intrusiveness has a negative mediating effect. The better the consumer's experience response, the greater the repurchase intention.

Practical implications

Companies should highlight the benefits (interactivity, usefulness and coolness) and attempt to reduce the costs (intrusiveness) associated with smart device autonomy. Firms can use these aspects to increase the rate of smart-device adoption.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the interactive research literature by empirically examining the mediating effect of interactivity and coolness. Additionally, this research offers evidence of the full mediation effect of usefulness, interactivity, coolness and intrusiveness. Finally, this research shows that failure severity is not always important and that it can be context specific.
How consumer opinions are affected by marketers: an empirical examination by deep learning approach
Authors: Yu Billy
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The natural language processing (NLP) technique enables machines to understand human language. This paper seeks to harness its power to recognise the interaction between marketers and consumers. Hence, this study aims to enhance the conceptual and future development of deep learning in interactive marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

This study measures cognitive responses by using actual user postings. Following a typical NLP analysis pipeline with tailored neural network (NN) models, it presents a stylised quantitative method to manifest the underlying relation.

Findings

Based on consumer-generated content (CGC) and marketer-generated content (MGC) in the tourism industry, the results reveal that marketers and consumers interact in a subtle way. This study explores beyond simple positive and negative framing, and reveals that they do not resemble each other, not even in abstract form: CGC may complement MGC, but they are incongruent. It validates and supplements preceding findings in the framing effect literature and underpins some marketing wisdom in practice.

Research limitations/implications

This research inherits a fundamental limitation of NN model that result interpretability is low. Also, the study may capture the partial phenomenon exhibited by active reviewers; lurker-consumers may behave differently.

Originality/value

This research is among the first to explore the interactive aspect of the framing effect with state-of-the-art deep learning language model. It reveals research opportunities by using NLP-extracted latent features to assess textual opinions. It also demonstrates the accessibility of deep learning tools. Practitioners could use the described blueprint to foster their marketing initiatives.
Measuring environmental performance in business to business relationships: a bibliometric review
Authors: Burki Umar , Najam Usama , Dahlstrom Robert
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This study presents a bibliometric review of environmental performance in business to business relationships research.

Design/methodology/approach

We applied suitable keywords to retrieve relevant peer-reviewed articles from the Web of Science database between 1992 and 2019. The study uses bibliographic coupling as a tool to screen 358 relevant articles' titles, abstracts, keywords, frameworks and headings for analysis. For visualization analysis, the study applied the visualizing scientific landscapes viewer.

Findings

Our review systematically reports about the evolution of environmental performance in business-to-business literature relationships. Bibliometric procedures reveal prominent authors and publication outlets (journals) as well as noteworthy thematic and theoretical contributions to the literature.

Practical implications

This study provides a comprehensive overview of environmental performance in business relationships and theoretical directions for further research.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to business literature by outlining emerging research themes and theoretical clusters on environmental performance for future research.
Architectural design communication (ADC) in online education during COVID-19 pandemic: a comparison of Turkish and Spanish universities
Authors: Akçay Kavakoğlu Ayşegül , Güleç Özer Derya , Domingo-Callabuig Débora , Bilen Ömer
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The paper aims to examine the concept of architectural design communication (ADC) for updating design studio dynamics in architectural education during the Covid-19 pandemic. Within this perspective, the changing and transforming contents of architectural education, the thinking, representation and production mediums are examined through the determined components of ADC. There are five components in the study, which are (1) Effective Language Use, (2) Effective use of Handcrafts, (3) Effective Technical Drawing Knowledge, (4) Effective Architectural Software Knowledge and (5) Outputs.

Design/methodology/approach

The research method is based on qualitative and quantitative methods; a survey study is applied and the comparative results are evaluated with the path analysis method. The students in the Department of Architecture of two universities have been selected as the target audience. Case study 1 survey is applied to Altinbas University (AU) and Case study 2 survey is applied to Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV) students during the COVID-19 pandemic; ‘19-‘20 spring term, online education.

Findings

As a result, two-path analysis diagrams are produced for two universities, and a comparative analysis is presented to reveal the relationships of the selected ADC components.

Originality/value

This paper fulfills an identified need to study how ADC can be developed in online education platforms.
Good practices in Italian therapeutic communities. Outcomes 2020 of quality accreditation program “Visiting DTC Project”
Authors: Bruschetta Simone
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to present results achieved by the first, and to date only, Democratic Therapeutic Communities (DTC) quality improvement program developed in Italy, in the past 10 years, named “Visiting DTC Project.” Process of bottom-up identification, definition and evaluation of good practices of TCs for adult users with long term severe mental disorders will be described. In addition, a five-phase clinical care pathway will be presented for the same user category, developed by the “Visiting DTC Project” to comply with Italian National Health Service accreditation standards for TCs.

Design/methodology/approach

“Visiting DTC Project” involved 40 Italian TCs, since 2012 until 2020, in an action research on good practices developed throw a democratic and bottom-up methodology. Project’s methodology is the “Democratic Peer-to-peer Accreditation,” a kind of professional scientific quality accreditation and continuous improvement process for community mental health services. Scientific model for the definition of service standards and principles of treatment is the British “Democratic Therapeutic Community,” which the “Visiting DTC Project” is organizationally inspired by.

Findings

In the eighth annual cycle of the program for TC with adult users of mental health services a significantly effective good practice procedure (GPP), with good practical efficacy, was finally identified (for the first time after eight years), but still no best practice. GPP with the title “Multi-family Community Meeting” is the Good Practice of the year 2020. No Best Practice has yet been identified. An integrated clinical care pathway for Adult DTCs Users in five phases is also presented. This care pathway organizes advanced standards of Community Group Quality in a map, to support the description and planning of the five phases of the user’s clinical work in DTC treatment.

Originality/value

Cooperation with local community services, organizations and networks, as well as a therapeutic environment based on informal coexistence and cooperation between TC members, are thus, together with care of family relationships, the main characteristics of the Italian experience of implementing and developing the Italian DTC treatment model. These characteristics make it clear how fragile Italian DTCs are at this moment. They are still in an early stage of development. All the most applied and effective best practice procedures are dependent on a wide and dense network of relationships, formal and informal, which cross the therapeutic environment and interconnect TC members with all other stakeholders.
Successful treatment of Netherton syndrome with dupilumab: A case report and review of the literature
Authors: Wang Jianbo , Yu Ling , Zhang Shuai , Wang Chen , Li Zhenlu , Li Ming , Zhang Shoumin
Published: December 2021

Netherton syndrome (NS) is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disease caused by SPINK5 gene mutation without specific effective therapies available. We report a case of NS confirmed by whole exome sequencing of DNA using peripheral blood, and Sanger sequencing found two new mutations associated with her clinical presentation located at SPINK5 gene c.1220+5G>A from her father and c.1870delA from her mother. The patient was treated with dupilumab (600 mg at week 0, then 300 mg every 2 weeks, s.c.). The clinical manifestation and dermoscopic images of the patient’s hair showed remarkable improvement after dupilumab treatment with no adverse effects. We also reviewed previous reports to learn more about the therapeutic effect and adverse reactions of NS treated with dupilumab.
Flare‐up of generalized pustular psoriasis combined with systemic capillary leak syndrome after coronavirus disease 2019 mRNA vaccination
Authors: Yatsuzuka Kazuki , Murakami Masamoto , Kuroo Yuta , Fukui Maiko , Yoshida Satoshi , Muto Jun , Shiraishi Ken , Sayama Koji
Published: December 2021

Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is characterized by acute flare‐ups induced by various factors, but few reports have described GPP onset or flare‐up induced by vaccination. To our knowledge, only three such cases following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) vaccination have been reported. We herein report a case of GPP flare‐up after COVID‐19 mRNA vaccination. A 65‐year‐old man with GPP controlled by infliximab presented with widespread pustular erythema, fever, and malaise following his second COVID‐19 mRNA vaccination. A skin eruption was apparent at the injection site. He also exhibited systemic capillary leak syndrome (SCLS), which responded rapidly to secukinumab and systemic corticosteroids. Two biopsies, one of which was of the injection site, revealed not only findings typical of GPP, but also a dermal mixed‐cell infiltration with eosinophils, and microthrombi in the small dermal vessels. The latter findings have been observed in cutaneous lesions induced by both COVID‐19 infection and vaccination. This is the first case of a GPP flare‐up accompanied by SCLS induced by a COVID‐19 mRNA vaccine. Also, this is the first flare‐up induced by the second vaccine dose, and the first such report including detailed histological data, including for the injection site.
The contributions of individual traits to survival among terrestrial juvenile pond‐breeding salamanders
Authors: Messerman Arianne F. , Leal Manuel
Published: December 2021

Individual survival is influenced by interactions between local environmental conditions and an organism's morphological, behavioural and physiological traits. Studies examining the effects of individual phenotypes on survival under variable conditions are relatively rare among early transitional life stages, although the vital rates of these life stages can importantly influence population dynamics.

We experimentally examined the effects of initial body mass, movement, standard metabolic rate (SMR) and respiratory surface area water loss (RSAWL) on survival in the transitional juvenile life stage of two biphasic amphibian species (Ambystoma maculatumandA. opacum) in a 7‐month mark–recapture study under semi‐natural conditions.

Juveniles with a larger initial body mass, lower initial SMR and/or a lower tendency to change locations had a higher likelihood of known survival. In contrast, we found no significant effect of RSAWL on juvenile survival.

The relationships between individual phenotypes and survival did not differ between species, but equivalent species‐specific survival rates may have been attributed to larger initial body sizes inA. maculatumand lower SMR inA. opacum.

Our results illuminate the complex ways in which individual traits influence survival during the early transitional life stage of two ambystomatid species under varying abiotic conditions. More generally, our findings illustrate potential advantages of simultaneously examining multiple traits to evaluate survival.

A freePlain Language Summarycan be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Histone acetyltransferases MystA and MystB contribute to morphogenesis and aflatoxin biosynthesis by regulating acetylation in fungus Aspergillus flavus
Authors: Chen Xuan , Wu Lianghuan , Lan Huahui , Sun Ruilin , Wen Meifang , Ruan Danrui , Zhang Mengjuan , Wang Shihua
Published: December 2021

Myst family is highly conserved histone acetyltransferases in eukaryotic cells and is known to play crucial roles in various cellular processes; however, acetylation catalysed by acetyltransferases is unclear in filamentous fungi. Here, we identified two classical nonessential Myst enzymes and analysed their functions in Aspergillus flavus, which generates aflatoxin B1, one of the most carcinogenic secondary metabolites. MystA and MystB located in nuclei and cytoplasm, and mystA could acetylate H4K16ac, while mystB acetylates H3K14ac, H3K18ac and H3K23ac. Deletion mystA resulted in decreased conidiation, increased sclerotia formation and aflatoxin production. Deletion of mystB leads to significant defects in conidiation, sclerotia formation and aflatoxin production. Additionally, double‐knockout mutant (ΔmystA/mystB) display a stronger and similar defect to ΔmystB mutant, indicating that mystB plays a major role in regulating development and aflatoxin production. Both mystA and mystB play important role in crop colonization. Moreover, catalytic domain MOZ and the catalytic site E199/E243 were important for the acetyltransferase function of Myst. Notably, chromatin immunoprecipitation results indicated that mystB participated in oxidative detoxification by regulating the acetylation level of H3K14, and further regulated nsdD to affect sclerotia formation and aflatoxin production. This study provides new evidences to discover the biological functions of histone acetyltransferase in A. flavus.
Benchmarking cesarean delivery rates using machine learning‐derived optimal classification trees
Authors: Gimovsky Alexis C. , Zhuo Daisy , Levine Jordan T. , Dunn Jack , Amarm Maxime , Peaceman Alan M.
Published: December 2021

Objective

To establish a case‐adjusted hospital‐specific performance evaluation tool using machine learning methodology for cesarean delivery.

Data Sources

Secondary data were collected from patients between January 1, 2015 and February 28, 2018 using a hospital's “Electronic Data Warehouse” database from Illinois, USA.

Study Design

The machine learning methodology of optimal classification trees (OCTs) was used to predict cesarean delivery rate by physician group, thereby establishing the case‐adjusted benchmarking standards in comparison to the overall hospital cesarean delivery rate. Outcomes of specific patient populations of each participating practice were predicted, as if each were treated in the overall hospital environment. The resulting OCTs estimate physician group expected cesarean delivery outcomes, both aggregate and in specific clinical situations.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

Twelve thousand eight hunderd and forty one singleton, vertex, term deliveries, cared for by practices with ≥50 births.

Principal Findings

The overall rate of cesarean delivery was 18.6% (n = 2384), with a range of 13.3%–33.7% amongst 22 physician practices. An optimal decision tree was used to create a prediction model for the hospital overall, which defined 23 patient cohorts divided by 46 nodes. The model's performance for prediction of cesarean delivery is as follows: area under the curve 0.73, sensitivity 98.4%, specificity 16.1%, positive predictive value 83.7%, negative predictive value 70.6%. Comparisons with the overall hospital's specific‐case adjusted benchmark groups revealed that several groups outperformed the overall hospital benchmark, and some practice groups underperformed in comparison to the overall hospital benchmark.

Conclusions

OCT benchmarking can assess physician practice‐specific case‐adjusted performance, both overall and clinical situation‐specific, and can serve as a valuable tool for hospital self‐assessment and quality improvement.
Clinical significance of a novel reticulocyte‐based erythropoietin resistance index in HD patients: A retrospective study
Authors: Ueda Eiko , Fujikawa Tetsuya , Toya Yoshiyuki , Kuji Tadashi , Kakimoto‐Shino Midori , Kawai Yuki , Kawano Tomoyuki , Azushima Kengo , Wakui Hiromichi , Tamura Kouichi
Published: December 2021

Introduction

The erythropoietin resistance index (ERI) is an indicator of erythropoiesis‐stimulating agent (ESA) responsiveness and is typically calculated using Hb. However, Hb does not directly reflect ESA‐induced erythropoiesis because of its long‐term nature. We thus designed a novel ERI calculated with reticulocyte Hb (RetHb), a real‐time index, and investigated its association with mortality in HD patients.

Methods

We calculated the ERI using the change in RetHb before and after ESA administration (ERIΔRetHb) and retrospectively analyzed its association with 3‐year all‐cause mortality using Kaplan–Meier survival curves and Cox regression analyses.

Results

A total of 102 patients were included. Patients with the highest ERIΔRetHb had the worst prognosis according to the Kaplan–Meier survival curves (Log‐rank p = 0.02). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the ERIΔRetHb was significantly and independently associated with all‐cause mortality (hazard ratio: 9.82, 95% CI [1.50, 64.41], p = 0.02).

Conclusion

The ERIΔRetHb was significantly and independently associated with all‐cause mortality in HD patients.
DiversityScanner: Robotic handling of small invertebrates with machine learning methods
Authors: Wührl Lorenz , Pylatiuk Christian , Giersch Matthias , Lapp Florian , von Rintelen Thomas , Balke Michael , Schmidt Stefan , Cerretti Pierfilippo , Meier Rudolf
Published: December 2021

Invertebrate biodiversity remains poorly understood although it comprises much of the terrestrial animal biomass, most species and supplies many ecosystem services. The main obstacle is specimen‐rich samples obtained with quantitative sampling techniques (e.g., Malaise trapping). Traditional sorting requires manual handling, while molecular techniques based on metabarcoding lose the association between individual specimens and sequences and thus struggle with obtaining precise abundance information. Here we present a sorting robot that prepares specimens from bulk samples for barcoding. It detects, images and measures individual specimens from a sample and then moves them into the wells of a 96‐well microplate. We show that the images can be used to train convolutional neural networks (CNNs) that are capable of assigning the specimens to 14 insect taxa (usually families) that are particularly common in Malaise trap samples. The average assignment precision for all taxa is 91.4% (75%–100%). This ability of the robot to identify common taxa then allows for taxon‐specific subsampling, because the robot can be instructed to only pick a prespecified number of specimens for abundant taxa. To obtain biomass information, the images are also used to measure specimen length and estimate body volume. We outline how the DiversityScanner can be a key component for tackling and monitoring invertebrate diversity by combining molecular and morphological tools: the images generated by the robot become training images for machine learning once they are labelled with taxonomic information from DNA barcodes. We suggest that a combination of automation, machine learning and DNA barcoding has the potential to tackle invertebrate diversity at an unprecedented scale.
Correlation between clinicopathological characteristics of lung adenocarcinoma and the risk of venous thromboembolism
Authors: Zhang Yuan , Shi Zhongyue , Yi Jiawen , Zhao Jin , Zhang Shu , Feng Wei , Zhu Min , Hu Bin , Zhang Yuhui
Published: December 2021

Background

Patients with primary lung adenocarcinoma are at increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, lung adenocarcinoma characteristics differ across histological subtypes. Therefore, we performed comprehensive analyses on the clinicopathological characteristics of lung adenocarcinoma and risk of VTE.

Methods

A total of 952 surgically resected lung adenocarcinoma cases were reviewed and classified according to criteria of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC)/American Thoracic Society (ATS) /European Respiratory Society (ERS). The correlation between this classification and VTE risk was retrospectively analyzed. The risks of other clinicopathological features including pleural invasion, vascular invasion and associated surgical intervention risks were also assessed.

Results

Of the 952 patients, 100 (10.4%) cases experienced VTE events during the follow‐up period. Among those with VTE, 28 (28%) were found before surgery, 47 (47%) were found within 1 month after surgery, and 91 (91%) were found in hospital. Univariate analysis revealed that ages, extent of resection and presence of micropapillary features were predictive of VTE risk. Furthermore, multivariable analysis demonstrated that the presence of micropapillary features (subdistribution hazard ratio [SHR] 1.560, 95% CI: 1.043–2.330) and age >60 (SHR: 2.270, 95% CI:1.491–3.470) were associated with increased risk of VTE. After one year, the probability of developing VTE was 13.1% and 8.3% in patients with micropapillary features and those without, respectively.

Conclusions

VTE is a common complication for lung adenocarcinoma patients who undergo surgery, especially during the perioperative process and hospitalization. Presence of micropapillary subtype and age are positively associated with VTE risk.
Health‐related quality of life is dynamic in alcoholic hepatitis and responds to improvement in liver disease and reduced alcohol consumption
Authors: Madathanapalli Abhishek , Tang Qing , Lammert Craig , Samala Niharika , Shah Vijay H. , Sanyal Arun , Chalasani Naga , Desai Archita P.
Published: December 2021

Background

The impact of alcoholic hepatitis (AH) on health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) remains inadequately described. We aimed to characterize HRQOL in AH and heavy drinkers (HD), and its associations with clinical variables and outcomes.

Methods

This is a post hoc analysis of participants in the Translational Research and Evolving Alcoholic Hepatitis Treatment 001 study (NCT02172898). HRQOL was measured using Short Form Health Survey (SF‐36). Mean SF‐36 scores were compared in AH and HD with two‐sample t‐tests. Associations among clinical characteristics, 30‐day mortality, and SF‐36 mental and physical component scores (MC, PC) were investigated with generalized linear and logistic multivariate regression models. Trends of MC and PC scores were analyzed using one‐way ANOVA.

Results

Participants with AH (n = 258) and HD (n = 181) were similar demographically. AH cases had a mean Model for End‐stage Liver Disease (MELD) score of 23 (7). AH cases had lower PC scores [37 (10) vs. 48 (11), p < 0.001] but higher MC scores [37 (13) vs. 32 (13), p < 0.001]. MC scores were independently associated with age, male gender, and daily alcohol consumption; PC scores were independently associated with age, BMI, alanine aminotransferase concentration, alkaline phosphatase concentration, white blood cell counts, and the presence of ascites. With each 5‐point decrease in the baseline PC score, the adjusted odds of dying within 30 days increased by 26.7% (95% CI 1% to 46%). Over time, HRQOL in AH improved (day 0 to day 180 delta PC score: 4.5 ± 1.7, p = 0.008; delta MC score: 9.8 ± 2.0, p < 0.001). Participants with a MELD score <15 by day 180 had greater increases in PC scores than those with MELD score ≥15 (delta PC score 7.1 ± 1.8 vs. −0.7 ± 2.3, p = 0.009), while those abstinent by day 180 had greater increases in MC scores than those who were not abstinent (delta MC score 9.1 ± 1.8 vs. 2.8 ± 2.4, p = 0.044).

Conclusions

HRQOL is poor in AH and HD in a domain‐specific pattern. Independent of MELD score, lower baseline HRQOL is associated with higher 30‐day mortality. Over time, HRQOL improves with greater gains seen in individuals with improved MELD scores and those who were abstinent.