bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Testing times: governing a pandemic with numbers
Authors: Ahmad Salman , Connolly Ciaran , Demirag Istemi
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Using Dean's (2010) analytics of government, this research explores how regimes of governing practices are linked to the underlying policy rationalities in dealing with the UK government's COVID-19 testing policies as a strategy for governing at a distance, including how targets were set and operationalized.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on the UK government's policy documents, other official publications (plans) and parliamentary discourse, together with publicly available media information related to its COVID-19 policies.

Findings

This research reveals that, with respect to the governance of COVID-19 in the UK, testing has the dual role of inscription for the government's performance and classification for the pandemic risks. The analysis illustrates that the central role of testing is as a technology for classification for identifying and monitoring the virus-related risks. Moreover, our discourse analysis suggests that initially COVID-19 testing was used by the UK government more for performance communication, with the classificatory role of testing and its performativity as a strategic device evolving and only being acknowledged by government gradually as the underlying testing infrastructure was developed.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is based upon publicly available reports and other information of a single country's attempts to control COVID-19 over a relatively short period of time.

Originality/value

This paper provides a critical understanding of the role of (accounting) numbers in developing an effective government policy for governing COVID-19.
The role of national service in enhancing employability skills of tertiary graduates in Ghana: a case of national service personnel in the Central Region
Authors: Segbenya Moses , Oppong Nana Yaw , Baafi-Frimpong Sally Abena
Published: February 2021

Purpose

One of the means to enhance the employability skills of tertiary graduates transiting into the job market has been the compulsory national service instituted by the Government of Ghana. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to examine the contribution of the mandatory national service to enhance the employability of tertiary graduates in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used the longitudinal descriptive survey design to sample 375 national service personnel (2018 and 2019 batches) of 13,874 service personnel posted to the Central Region of Ghana, and 31 employers.

Findings

The study found human relation, communication and experience to enter the job market were perceived higher by tertiary graduates in Ghana. It was also found that the preferred employers amongst tertiary graduates were the government, multinational companies and public schools. Skills mismatch between the acquired skills of tertiary graduates and the skills required by employers was also found. Responsible factor identified was the posting of personnel for national service without considering their academic background and future job aspirations. Tertiary graduates transiting into the job market after the national service preferred to be employed by the government because of the lack of entrepreneurial skills.

Practical implications

Therefore, it was recommended that the national service secretariat post national service personnel to organisations that reflect personnel's career aspiration.

Originality/value

This is original research carried out by the researchers and was not sponsored by any organisation/institution.
Design and implementation of high-speed and low-power consumption Moore-based loopback adder on FPGA
Authors: Mohan Kumar B.N. , Rangaraju H.G.
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Finite impulse response (FIR) digital filters are a general element in several digital signal processing (DSP) systems. In VLSI platform, FIR is a developing filter because the complexity of design grows with the length of the FIR filter and also it has less latency. Generally, the FIR filter is designed dominated by the multiplier and adder. The conventional FIR filters occupy more area because of several numbers of adders and multipliers for filter designs.

Design/methodology/approach

To overcome this issue, the Vedic Multiplier (VM) and Moore-based LoopBack Adder (MLBA) approach-based optimal FIR filter were designed in this research. Normally, the coefficient has been generated manually, which performs the FIR filter operation. So, the coefficient was generated from the MATLAB filter design and analysis tool. All pass coefficient was introduced in this research, which performs the processing element (PE). The VM approach was utilized in the PE to multiply the filter inputs and coefficients. This research employs the Moore-based LBA (MLBA) in the accumulator for the adding output of the PE. An MLBA approach is a significantly reduced area and increases speed by applying a looping transform function. Here, the proposed method is called a VM-MLBA-FIR filter. In this research, the FIR filter was done in Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) Xilinx by using Verilog code on various Virtex devices.

Findings

The experiment results showed that VM-MLBA-FIR filter reduced 26.88% of device utilization and 0.32 W of minimum power consumption compared to the existing PSA-FIR filter.

Originality/value

The experiment results showed that VM-MLBA-FIR filter reduced 26.88% of device utilization and 0.32 W of minimum power consumption compared to the existing PSA-FIR filter.
Making performance management relevant in complex and inter-institutional contexts: using outcomes as performance attractors
Authors: French Max , Mollinger-Sahba Ali
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Modern public service systems tackle many complex issues by operating across institutional boundaries. Performance management must operate in this context without clear lines of accountability or central authority. This paper introduces and develops the theoretical mechanism of “performance attraction” to describe how outcomes and associated performance indicators can operate as organising instruments in inter-institutional contexts by attracting, rather than directing, institutional behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

We explore the “performance attractor” role played by outcomes through a multiple case study analysis of three prominent outcomes frameworks operating at the regional, national and international levels: the Scottish Government's National Performance Framework, the Western Australian Alliance to End Homelessness Outcomes Measurement and Evaluation Framework and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

Findings

We find support for two theorised mechanisms facilitated by the performance attractor concept: (1) that performance attractors enable coordination by creating a shared sense of responsibility for interdependent goals while also permitting autonomous navigation of individual contexts and (2) that performance attractors support performance improvement by motivating collective learning and adaptation informed by institutional interdependencies. Cases relied primarily on voluntary adoption of outcomes frameworks, rather than utilising more coercive forms of accountability. Further studies should explore the institutional response to performance attractors to better understand the potential of this mechanism.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to a growing body of critical literature that has explored alternatives to traditional control-oriented performance management in complex and inter-institutional settings. We describe design principles that policymakers and practitioners can adopt to construct more effective performance frameworks in these conditions.
How are emotions about COVID-19 impacting society? The role of the political elite and grassroots activism
Authors: Gravante Tommaso , Poma Alice
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the role of emotions in the polarization that emerged during the first months of the pandemic. So, the authors will analyze the social response of two opposing social actors: political elites that have minimized the risks of the pandemic and grassroots groups that have promoted mutual support for vulnerable people suffering from the various effects of the pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

For the analysis, the authors will primarily refer to Hochschild's proposal and the recent literature on emotions and protest. The method is to analyze official statements by politicians from the UK, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Italy and the social responses that have emerged from different mutual support groups and solidarity networks in those countries, as well as in Chile and Argentina.

Findings

The authors will show how the conflicting responses can exacerbate social polarization in our societies. This polarization goes beyond the political spectrum, and in some cases even social classes, and reaches into the realms of values, emotions and practices. The authors will also show how the response from grassroots activism makes it possible to overcome guilt, shame and other emotions of trauma, among other things.

Originality/value

An analysis of the emotional dimension of two opposing responses to the pandemic will show how these responses have a deep impact on society, ranging from demands for values and practices that legitimize a status quo, to discussing, breaking away from or overcoming social behavior based on individualism and social determinism.
Effects of polymers concentration on EHL film-forming in point contacts
Authors: Qiu Liangwei , Chen Xiaoyang , Dong Fakai
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to experimentally investigate the film-forming capability of base oils containing poly-methacrylate (PMA) and poly-isobutene (PIB), in a point contact under pure rolling.

Design/methodology/approach

By using the relative light intensity method, the film thickness is calculated from the interferometer images which are captured by multiple-contact optical elastohydrodynamic lubricated test rig.

Findings

The test results reveal that polymers, both PMA and PIB, have a significant contribution to the film-forming capability of base oils and the film thickness increases with concentration. The forming-film capabilities for PMA and PIB in base oils are similar at low concentration, while PIB gives a higher film thickness than PMA at high concentration. Shear-thinning phenomenon are observed in all polymer-based oils.

Originality/value

The polymer usually as an additive is added into the low viscosity base oils to improve the properties of lubricant oil. This paper reports the lubricated properties of PMA and PIB with different concentrations in base oils and to evaluate their functional mechanism in a point contact.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-07-2020-0263/
Jumping over the network threshold of information diffusion: testing the threshold hypothesis of social influence
Authors: Wang Cheng-Jun , Zhu Jonathan J.H.
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Social influence plays a crucial role in determining the size of information diffusion. Drawing on threshold models, we reformulate the nonlinear threshold hypothesis of social influence.

Design/methodology/approach

We test the threshold hypothesis of social influence with a large dataset of information diffusion on social media.

Findings

There exists a bell-shaped relationship between social influence and diffusion size. However, the large network threshold, limited diffusion depth and intense bursts become the bottlenecks that constrain the diffusion size.

Practical implications

The practice of viral marketing needs innovative strategies to increase information novelty and reduce the excessive network threshold.

Originality/value

In all, this research extends threshold models of social influence and underlines the nonlinear nature of social influence in information diffusion.
Multi-continuum manipulators shape reconstruction using inertial navigation sensors and cameras
Authors: Guo Hao , Ju Feng , Wang Ning , Chen Bai , Wei Xiaoyong , Wang Yaoyao , Wang Dan
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Continuum manipulators are often used in complex and narrow space in recent years because of their flexibility and safety. Vision is considered to be one of the most direct methods to obtain its spatial shape. However, with the improvement of the cooperation requirements of multiple continuum manipulators and the increase of space limitation, it is impossible to obtain the complete spatial shape information of multiple continuum manipulators only by several cameras.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a fusion method using inertial navigation sensors and cameras to reconstruct the shape of continuum manipulators in the whole workspace. The camera is used to obtain the position information, and the inertial navigation sensor is used to obtain the attitude information. Based on the above two information, the shape of the continuum manipulator is reconstructed by fitting Bézier curve.

Findings

The experiment result of single continuum manipulator shows that the cubic Bézier curves is applicable to curve fitting of variable curvature, the maximum fitting error is about 2 mm. Meanwhile, the experiment result shows that this method is not affected by obstacles and can still reconstruct the shape of the continuum manipulators in 3-D space by detecting the position and attitude information of the end.

Originality/value

According to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on spatial shape reconstruction of multiple continuum manipulators and the first study to introduce inertial navigation sensors and cameras into the field of shape reconstruction of multiple continuum manipulators in narrow space. This method is suitable for shape reconstruction of manipulator with variable curvature continuum manipulator. When the vision of multiple continuum manipulators is blocked by obstacles, the spatial shape can still be reconstructed only by exposing the end point. The structure is simple, but it has certain accuracy within a certain range.
Formation of clusters in cultural heritage – strategies for optimizing resources in museums
Authors: Moreno - Mendoza Héctor , Santana - Talavera Agustín , Molina - González José
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to affirm that it is possible to segment visitors of cultural heritage into homogeneous groups according to a series of characteristics to detect the variables that have statistical significance to identify visitor clusters.

Design/methodology/approach

Four case studies were selected, where a total of 500 questionnaires were made to visitors. The authors proceeded with cluster analysis using SPSS software to differentiate visitor segments. Four groups of visitors were first identified and which have subsequently been reduced to three, according to several factors.

Findings

The main contributions of this paper are: (1) the segment to which each one of the determinants of the cultural tourism product is dedicated; (2) the variable object of the analysis, i.e. the formation of visitor segments; and (3) the inclusion of less studied variables such as type of accommodation contracted, treatment offered in the museums or entrance price.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis has been developed in different museums, with different management models, in a specific place. However, the results are generalizable to other places and to other institutions that manage cultural heritage. The implications are management strategies for a sustainable cultural development in institutions of tourism and heritage.

Practical implications

From a practical point of view, the results are useful for cultural managers, travel agencies, tour operators, tourism companies or political offices, among others, because they generate new ideas and strategies focused on maximizing the use of the resources of cultural institutions.

Social implications

For both local and non-local agents, the knowledge of the factors that make up the groups of visitors in the heritage sites represents a strategy in aspects of marketing, promotion and distribution, thus generating capacities for the different intermediaries, and the possibility of negotiating lower prices with better benefits. It is also possible to create new products destined for other publics.

Originality/value

The study is original because this has not been published.
Deconstructing the shared leadership emergence process in entrepreneurial teams
Authors: Lyndon Shiji , Pandey Ashish
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Entrepreneurship literature has not sufficiently explored the process of how, at different points in time, different members of the co-founding team emerge as leaders. The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the phenomenon of shared leadership emergence process amongst co-founders in entrepreneurial teams.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a qualitative approach. 21 co-founders from 7 entrepreneurial teams participated in the study. In-depth interviews were conducted. The data were analysed using Nvivo 11 software.

Findings

The study elaborates the process model of shared leadership emergence. The study found that shared interpersonal cognition and trust amongst the co-founders lead to claiming and granting of leadership. The findings also illustrate various strategies used by co-founders to emerge as leaders.

Practical implications

The findings provide key insights to entrepreneurial teams by illuminating what kind of leadership dynamics should be developed, right from the initial stages of the venture. Also, the findings would be beneficial to investors, mentors and coaches of the entrepreneurial teams and ventures, by highlighting team dynamics to be considered before making any investment or team development decisions.

Originality/value

The inductive approach adopted in the study helps in understanding the process of shared leadership emergence in entrepreneurial teams, which is not adequately answered by previous studies. The study extends both shared leadership and entrepreneurship literature by providing a process theory of leadership emergence.
Developing a catch-up model of technology: a grounded theory approach
Authors: Saghafi Fatemeh , Mohaghar Ali , Kashiha Monireh
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Catch-up is a process during which the countries that are behind the technological borders try to reduce their technological gaps. For a company or country in the catch-up process, a suitable level of technological capabilities and absorption capacity is necessary as a fixed advance requirement. This paper aims to develop a catch-up model of technology.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reviewed 90 published articles in the field of business management in Q1 and Q2 journals from the very beginning to the year of 2018 so that a framework can be presented for a catch-up. This framework has been obtained according to the process of grounded theory and by combining the previous studies.

Findings

Accordingly, a framework of six categories has been presented including causal factors, main category, background factors, intervening factors, strategies and consequences. Finally, three general approaches including independence, collaboration and cooperation, are introduced and each of these categories has been described in a spectrum of this approach.

Originality/value

This is the first study to conceptualize a catch-up model of technology by grounded theory.
Facilitating transmuters' acquisition of data scientist knowledge based on their educational backgrounds: state-of-the-practice and challenges
Authors: Ramzan Muhammad Javed , Khan Saif Ur Rehman , ur-Rehman Inayat , Rehman Muhammad Habib Ur , Al-khannaq Ehab Nabiel
Published: February 2021

Purpose

In recent years, data science has become a high-demand profession, thereby attracting transmuters (individuals who want to change their profession due to industry trends) to this field. The primary purpose of this paper is to guide transmuters in becoming data scientists.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory study was conducted to uncover the challenges faced by data scientists according to their educational backgrounds. An extensive set of responses from 31 countries was received.

Findings

The results reveal that skill requirements and tool usage vary significantly with educational background. However, regardless of differences in academic background, the data scientists surveyed spend more time analyzing data than operationalizing insight.

Research limitations/implications

The collected data are available to support replication in various scenarios, for example, for use as a roadmap for those with an educational background in art-related disciplines. Additional empirical studies can also be conducted specific to geographical location.

Practical implications

The current work has categorized data scientists by their fields of study making it easier for universities and online academies to suggest required knowledge (courses) according to prospective students' educational background.

Originality/value

The conducted study suggests the required knowledge and skills for transmuters to acquire, based on their educational background, and reports a set of motivational factors attracting them to adopt the data science field.
Big data and data analytics in auditing: in search of legitimacy
Authors: De Santis Federica , D’Onza Giuseppe
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This study aims to analyze the utilization of big data and data analytics (BDA) in financial auditing, focusing on the process of producing legitimacy around these techniques, the factors fostering or hindering such process and the action auditors take to legitimate BDA inside and outside the audit community.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis bases on semi-structured interviews with partners and senior managers of Italian audit companies.

Findings

The BDA’s legitimation process is more advanced in the audit professional environment than outside the audit community. The Big Four lead the BDA-driven audit innovation process and BDA is used to complement traditional audit procedures. Outside the audit community, the digital maturity of audit clients, the lack of audit standards and the audit oversight authority’s negative view prevent the full legitimation of BDA.

Practical implications

This research highlights factors influencing the utilization of BDA to enhance audit quality. The results can, thus, be used to enhance the audit strategy and to innovate audit practices by using BDA as a source of adequate audit evidence. Audit regulators and standards setters can also use the results to revise the current auditing standards and guidance.

Originality/value

This study adds to the literature on digital transformation in auditing by analyzing the legitimation process of a new audit technique. The paper answers the call for more empirical studies on the utilization of BDA in financial auditing by analyzing the application of such techniques in an unexplored operational setting in which auditees are mainly medium-sized enterprises and family-run businesses.
Achieving triple bottom line performance: highlighting the role of social capabilities and environmental management accounting
Authors: Solovida Grace T. , Latan Hengky
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The relationship between the elements of the triple bottom line (TBL) is a controversial area that is constantly debated in the sustainability literature. This study addresses this debate by testing the relationships between these elements, while considering environmental management accounting (EMA) as a mediating influence.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper examines survey responses from upper-level managers from ISO 14001-certified manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX). The hypotheses were tested using a partial least squares approach, and bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap confidence intervals were used to test the significance of the relationships between variables.

Findings

The authors found a direct relationship between the TBL elements and the role of EMA and social performance in mediating the relationship between economic performance and environmental performance.

Research limitations/implications

This research also provides new insights into the progress of the social resource-based view (SRBV) theory, where the social element missing from the TBL approach can be found.

Practical implications

The findings of this article imply that it is worthwhile to invest in corporate sustainability because it is thereby possible to simultaneously achieve economic, environmental and social performance, since such elements are truly integrated. In addition, possession of EMA management tools is necessary to enhance the relationships between economic performance and environmental performance. Furthermore, social performance seems to constitute an important bond between both of these, indicating that the social element of the TBL is necessary to achieve truly competitive performance.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the corporate environmental management literature by providing empirical evidence regarding the TBL elements.
Board independence and corporate social responsibility reporting: mediating role of stakeholder power
Authors: Rashid Afzalur
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This study aims to examine the association between board independence and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting and the moderating role of stakeholder power on the association between board independence and CSR reporting.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of 707 Bangladeshi firm-year observations, this study uses a content analysis technique to develop a 24-item of CSR reporting index. This study uses the ordinary least squares regression method to examine the relationship between board independence and CSR reporting.

Findings

The study finds that board independence does not influence CSR activities and relevant reporting in general. However, the non-influence of board independence and CSR reporting is offset by stakeholder power. Insider ownership, firm age, firm size, growth opportunities and market capitalisation have a positive influence on such reporting.

Practical implications

While this study suggests that stakeholders’ influence is an important factor in determining the firms’ incentives to disclose CSR information, this finding creates a new debate on the efficacy of independent directors and whether they are good monitors and are able to fulfil all the stakeholders’ expectations.

Originality/value

This study makes an important contribution to the literature on CSR practices by documenting that firms having powerful stakeholders induce the board and management to make more CSR reporting practices in the context of emerging economies.
HRM in Brazil: an institutional approach
Authors: Amorim Wilson Aparecido Costa de , Cruz Marcus Vinicius Gonçalves da , Sarsur Amyra Moyzes , Fischer André Luiz
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this work is to comparatively study human resources management (HRM) areas in Brazil, at the national level, analyzing how companies considered labor market and labor relations aspects when building their strategies and when configuring people management models in place in the country (2014–2019), based on local conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

The subject was approached through qualitative analysis, encompassing document survey, systematic literature review, specialists' panel discussions, eight focus groups (43 human resources [HR] managers), interviews (16 union members), applying institutional approach to people management.

Findings

In regards to labor market and unions, HR areas faced different conditions across Brazilian regions. They have dealt with those influences on their strategic and quotidian decisions in an unstructured fashion. HR areas remain constructed as traditional, adjuvant and far from strategic level. In the institutionalization process – normative isomorphism – a professional HR jargon use was identified. HR areas usually act in collective bargaining, resorting to specialized professionals or consulting companies. During the economic crisis, HR professionals' attitude had a reactive nature, responding to organizations leadership, with little dedication to the emerging context.

Practical implications

This work enables important players like HR managers, union members and specialists in public policies to interpret the institutionalization phenomena of practices related to management, labor market and labor relations in the country.

Social implications

Understanding the effects of the relations among state, companies and unions allows the different power vectors, acting upon the institutionalization process of people management areas in the Brazilian case, to be outlined.

Originality/value

This study applies the institutional approach to understand the economic and social heterogeneity affecting organizations in Brazil. It enhances the knowledge on HRM areas scope and their articulation toward labor market and relations.
Exploratory data analysis for cybersecurity
Authors: Miranda-Calle Julián Darío , Reddy C. Vikranth , Dhawan Parag , Churi Prathamesh
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The impact of cyberattacks all over the world has been increasing at a constant rate every year. Performing exploratory analysis helps organizations to identify, manage and safeguard the information that could be vulnerable to cyber-attacks. It encourages to the creation of a plan for security controls that can help to protect data and keep constant tabs on threats and monitor their organization’s networks for any breaches.

Design/methodology/approach

The purpose of this experimental study is to state the use of data science in analyzing data and to provide a more detailed view of the most common cybersecurity attacks, what are the most accessed logical ports, visible patterns, as well as the trends and occurrence of attacks. The data to be processed has been obtained by aggregating data provided by a company’s technology department, which includes network flow data produced by nine different types of attacks within every day user activities. This could be insightful for many companies to measure the damage caused by these breaches but also gives a foundation for future comparisons and serves as a basis for proactive measures within industry and organizations.

Findings

The most common cybersecurity attacks, most accessed logical ports and their visible patterns were found in the acquired data set. The strategies, which attackers have used with respect to time, type of attacks, specific ports, IP addresses and their relationships have been determined. The statistical hypothesis was also performed to check whether attackers were confined to perform random attacks or to any specific machines with some pattern.

Originality/value

Policies can be suggested such that if an attack is conducted on a specific machine, which can be prevented by identifying the machine, ports and duration of the attacks on which the attacker is targeting and to formulate such policies that the organization should follow to tackle these targeted attacks in the future.
Anti‐phosphatidylserine/prothrombin complex antibodies in patients with cutaneous vasculitis: Possible involvement in the pathogenesis
Authors: Kawakami Tamihiro , Tamura Yuto , Dong Yupeng , Yoshinari Miku , Nishibata Yuka , Masuda Sakiko , Tomaru Utano , Ishizu Akihiro
Published: February 2021

We assessed the IgG and IgM prevalence of anti‐phosphatidylserine/prothrombin complex (aPS/PT) antibodies (Abs) in patients with vasculitis using a novel commercial ELISA kit. To examine whether aPS/PT Abs were involved in the pathogenesis of cutaneous vasculitis, inbred wild‐type rats were intravenously administered with a rat IgM class aPS/PT monoclonal Ab established previously or with rat immunoglobulins as controls. To express PS on the surface of vascular endothelium, these rats were given a subcutaneous injection of cell‐free histones in advance. Serum IgM aPS/PT Ab levels were elevated in patients with systemic vasculitis with skin involvement and cutaneous arteritis compared to those in patients with systemic vasculitis without skin involvement and healthy controls. There was no significant difference in the serum levels of IgG aPS/PT Abs between the patients and healthy controls. Correspondingly, inbred wild‐type rats intravenously administered with the aPS/PT monoclonal IgM Ab after appropriate priming‐subcutaneous histone injection developed cutaneous vasculitis. Some rats given rat IgM instead of the aPS/PT monoclonal Ab also developed cutaneous vasculitis, whereas vasculitis did not occur in rats given IgG or only priming by histones. We suggested that IgM aPS/PT Abs could be involved in the pathogenesis of cutaneous vasculitis based on these findings.
Nebivolol protects against cyclophosphamide‐induced nephrotoxicity through modulation of oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis
Authors: Wanas Hanaa , El‐Shabrawy Mohamed , Mishriki Amal , Attia Hisham , Emam Mohamed , Aboulhoda Basma Emad
Published: February 2021

The usefulness of cyclophosphamide (CP) in the treatment of multiple human malignancies and immunological diseases is hindered by the danger of developing nephrotoxicity. The toxic metabolites of CP are suggested to be responsible for oxidative stress resulted from the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and stimulation of lipid peroxidation. Nebivolol (NEB) is a third‐generation selective B1 adrenoceptor antagonist, but it has also various pharmacological properties such as anti‐inflammation, anti‐apoptotic, and antioxidant activities. Thus, the present study aims to explore the potential protective effect of NEB against CP‐induced nephrotoxicity. A cumulative dose of CP (75 mg/kg) was administered to albino rats by intraperitoneal injection. The protective effect of NEB was investigated by co‐administration of NEB (10 mg/kg orally daily). Administration of NEB with CP significantly improved renal functions and reduced the oxidative renal changes induced by CP injection. Co‐administration of NEB ameliorated apoptosis and inflammatory markers that were markedly exaggerated by CP. Our results indicated that NEB could be used as a protective agent against CP‐induced nephrotoxicity.
Facilitator lessons from online psychoeducational group for relational well‐being in India during COVID‐19 pandemic
Authors: Joshi Aparna , Joshi Amrita , Chatterjee Ipsita , Kantak Chinmayee , Puntambekar Anushree
Published: February 2021

The COVID‐19 pandemic has affected the mental health of individuals, along with their couple and familial relationships, necessitating an effective response. Teletherapy offers an option to address these relationship concerns amidst pandemic‐specific mobility restriction. Against this setting, Sukoon, a project of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India, initiated a five‐session online psychoeducational group series on relational wellbeing. This paper explores facilitator’s reflections and learnings based on session documentation and facilitator notes. Preparing well and selecting participants carefully for online psychoeducational groups was critical to success. Effectiveness was enhanced by flexibly adapting the therapy process (didactic and interactive elements) to fit online delivery and the cultural context. Identifying the potential of online psychoeducational groups for relational wellbeing could make it a valuable addition to the COVID‐19 pandemic mental health response toolkit.

Practitioner points

Effective preparation and careful selection of group members is key to the success of therapist facilitated online psychoeducational groups.

Psychoeducational groups comprising didactic and interactive elements are more suitable for effective online group processes.

Use of co‐facilitators managing various channels of communication (audio, chat) is important.

Group facilitators need to be cognisant of challenges of online medium and address them in an ongoing manner.
Austerity, staff inadequacy, and contracting‐out social services: How many government inquiries does it take to improve social policy outcomes in aged care?
Authors: Farr‐Wharton Ben , Brunetto Yvonne , Xerri Matthew
Published: February 2021

This study examines policy implementation as it unfolds from policy, to the contractors and then to its impact on employees delivering the social service. Multilevel statistical analysis is used to examine survey data from 36 contractors and 542 employees. The use of multilevel analysis provides a methodological tool and subsequent analysis new to the discipline of public administration. The results indicate a strong positive association between resource (in)adequacy decision‐making at the contractor level and employee outcomes. The contribution of the paper is new evidence to support the widening of existing quality care indicators to include organisational support metrics for contractors.
Unrecognized Expected Credit Losses and Bank Share Prices
Authors: WHEELER P. BARRETT
Published: February 2021

Accounting for credit losses under U.S. GAAP is transitioning from an incurred to an expected loss model. The model change was motivated by concerns that reporting only incurred losses does not provide investors with sufficient and timely information about banks’ credit risk. In this paper, I develop a measure of lifetime expected credit losses using vintage analysis to examine whether stock prices reflect information about unrecognized expected credit losses in an incurred loss regime. Consistent with investors being able to obtain information about expected losses that are not recognized in the financial statements, I find that unrecognized expected credit losses are negatively associated with bank stock prices. The pricing of these losses is stronger for larger banks, consistent with lower costs of obtaining this information for banks with better information environments. I also find that recorded allowances were less than estimated expected losses, on average, consistent with concerns that implementing the expected loss model will adversely impact regulatory capital adequacy.
Meat analogs: Protein restructuring during thermomechanical processing
Authors: Beniwal Akashdeep Singh , Singh Jaspreet , Kaur Lovedeep , Hardacre Allan , Singh Harjinder
Published: February 2021

Increasing awareness of inefficient meat production and its future impact on global food security has led the food industry to look for a sustainable approach. Meat products have superior sensorial perception, because of their molecular composition and fibrous structure. Current understanding in the science of food structuring has enabled the utilization of alternative or nonmeat protein ingredients to create novel structured matrices that could resemble the textural functionality of real meat. The physicochemical and structural changes that occur in concentrated protein systems during thermomechanical processing lead to the creation of a fibrous or layered meat‐like texture. Phase transitions in concentrated protein systems during protein‒protein, protein‒polysaccharide, protein‒lipid, and protein‒water interactions significantly influence the texture and the overall sensory quality of meat analogs. This review summarizes the roles of raw materials (moisture, protein type and concentration, lipids, polysaccharides, and air) and processing parameters (temperature, pH, and shear) in modulating the behavior of the protein phase during the restructuring process (structure‒function‒process relationship). The big challenge for the food industry is to manufacture concept‐based (such as beef‐like, chicken‐like, etc.) meat analogs with controlled structural attributes. This information will be useful in developing superior meat analogs that fulfill consumer expectations when replacing meat in their diet.
Acoustic vibration technology: Toward a promising fruit quality detection method
Authors: Ding Chengqiao , Feng Zhe , Wang Dachen , Cui Di , Li Weihao
Published: February 2021

Understanding fruit quality is an effective way to reduce fruit loss and waste by providing proper strategies for fruit processing and management. Various noninvasive technologies have been developed for assessing fruit quality. Among them, acoustic vibration technology has received considerable attention from academics. As the fruit ripens, the physical and biochemical diversities of fruit cell lead to changes in the vibration characteristics of the fruit, which verified the feasibility of assessing fruit firmness by acoustic vibration technology from the microscopic view. Besides, the acoustic and vibration theories also provided the theoretical basis for this technology. The measurement system was mainly consisted of excitation devices, detection sensors, and signal processing modules. By using different excitation methods and devices, the fruit could demonstrate a free or forced vibration. The response signals of fruit were influenced by detection methods and sensors. To meet the requirement of high‐throughput detection, noncontact excitation devices and detection sensors were more suitable for on‐line applications. In addition, the relative locations of excitation and detection points and the posture style of fruit also had an impact on the measurement results, which should be determined before the test. Moreover, the proper data analysis method was equally important to extract potential parameters to improve the performance of prediction models. This paper provided a comprehensive overview concerning the principle, system composition, data analysis, and on‐line applications of acoustic vibration technology, and discussed the perspectives of future trends to promote the intensive study and further extension of this technology.
Evaluation of the properties of whey protein films with modifications
Authors: Xu Yun‐peng , Wang Ying , Zhang Tao , Mu Guang‐qing , Jiang Shu‐juan , Zhu Xue‐mei , Tuo Yan‐feng , Qian Fang
Published: February 2021

Whey protein concentrate (WPC) has been widely studied as a biodegradable bio‐based packaging material in the food industry. In this study, different whey protein films were obtained through physical, chemical, enzymatic, and composite modifications. The molecular structure, micro‐morphology, mechanical properties, barrier properties, and other characteristics of the films were evaluated. The results illustrated that the thickness of WPC with composite modification increased and the transmittance decreased, but the mechanical properties and barrier properties were more prominent. The WPC film prepared by physical modification combined with transglutaminase has the best film‐forming effect, the tensile strength (TS) was 5.45 MPa, the elongation at break (EAB) was 25.19%, the WVP was 5.53 g·mm/m2·hr·kPa, and the Oxygen permeability (OP) was 1.83 meq/K, and its microstructure was and uniform. In addition, based on the the results of SDS‐PAGE and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), the intermolecular and intramolecular interactions of various modification methods on WPC were studied, thus contributing to analyze the properties of the film. This study provides theoretical basis and technical support for the industrial production of protein‐based films.
Efficient, automated and robust pollen analysis using deep learning
Authors: Olsson Ola , Karlsson Melanie , Persson Anna S. , Smith Henrik G. , Varadarajan Vidula , Yourstone Johanna , Stjernman Martin
Published: February 2021

Pollen analysis is an important tool in many fields, including pollination ecology, paleoclimatology, paleoecology, honey quality control, and even medicine and forensics. However, labour‐intensive manual pollen analysis often constrains the number of samples processed or the number of pollen analysed per sample. Thus, there is a desire to develop reliable, high‐throughput, automated systems.

We present an automated method for pollen analysis, based on deep learning convolutional neural networks (CNN). We scanned microscope slides with fuchsine stained, fresh pollen and automatically extracted images of all individual pollen grains. CNN models were trained on reference samples (122,000 pollen grains, from 347 flowers of 83 species of 17 families). The models were used to classify images of different pollen grains in a series of experiments. We also propose an adjustment to reduce overestimation of sample diversity in cases where samples are likely to contain few species.

Accuracy of a model for 83 species was 0.98 when all samples of each species were first pooled, and then split into a training and a validation set (splitting experiment). However, accuracy was much lower (0.41) when individual reference samples from different flowers were kept separate, and one such sample was used for validation of models trained on remaining samples of the species (leave‐one‐out experiment). We therefore combined species into 28 pollen types where a new leave‐one‐out experiment revealed an overall accuracy of 0.68, and recall rates >0.90 in most pollen types. When validating against 63,650 manually identified pollen grains from 370 bumblebee samples, we obtained an accuracy of 0.79, but our adjustment procedure increased this to 0.85.

Validation through splitting experiments may overestimate robustness of CNN pollen analysis in new contexts (samples). Nevertheless, our method has the potential to allow large quantities of real pollen data to be analysed with reasonable accuracy. Although compiling pollen reference libraries is time‐consuming, this is simplified by our method, and can lead to widely accessible and shareable resources for pollen analysis.
Training of healthcare providers and use of long‐acting reversible contraception in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A systematic review
Authors: Stokholm Bækgaard Rasmus , Gjærevold Damhaugh Eirik , Mrema Dorah , Rasch Vibeke , Khan Khalid , Linde Ditte S.
Published: February 2021

Introduction

Unintended pregnancy, a major global health issue resulting in unsafe terminations of pregnancy and maternal deaths in low‐ and middle‐income countries, could be significantly reduced through increased use of modern contraception, including long‐acting reversible contraceptives (LARC). Training of healthcare providers to administer such contraceptives may improve uptake. We conducted a systematic review to collate the end‐user uptake data following training of healthcare providers in low‐ and middle‐income countries.

Material and methods

We searched PubMed, Embase, the Global Health Library and the Cochrane Library up to 23 May 2020. The review was restricted to low‐ and middle‐income countries and focused on healthcare providers who had received training in LARC. Studies that reported contraceptive uptake among women, preference of LARC among healthcare workers and/or women, and unplanned pregnancies within 12 months of LARC initiation were included. All included studies underwent quality assessment using either the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool or the Newcastle‐Ottawa Scale. PROSPERO registration number CRD42020185291.

Results

A total of 28 studies (end‐users n = 6 112 544) were included (27 cohort studies and one randomized trial). Nineteen studies were set in Africa, five in Asia, one in Central America and four were multi‐country studies. Twenty‐eight studies reported LARC use among women, and 25 studies found an increase in uptake of LARC by women using short‐acting methods switching to longer‐acting methods or by recruiting new users of LARC. The randomized controlled trial was assessed as high quality and reported positive findings; however, there was great heterogeneity in the type of intervention and of how outcomes were measured among the other included studies. Further, the quality of these studies varied, although it should be noted that the poor‐quality studies reflected the trends of those of higher quality.

Conclusions

Despite heterogeneity, current evidence indicates that training of healthcare providers in LARC may increase the uptake among women in low‐ and middle‐income countries. More robust studies are warranted to inform policy.