bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Communication aimed at engendering trustworthiness: An analysis of CSR messages on Twitter
Authors: Zarzycka Ewelina , Krasodomska Joanna , Dobija Dorota , Grabowski Wojciech , Jemielniak Dariusz
Published: September 2023

A growing body of research is exploring corporate communication in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on social media (SM). Nonetheless, while these studies have shown that SM communication may be an effective tool for reaching and engaging various stakeholders, how the design of corporate CSR communication engenders trustworthiness has yet to be examined. To address this gap, we suggest that SM communication may include important signals related to trust; thus, we investigate whether companies use sources of trustworthiness (reputation, performance, and appearance) while communicating with stakeholders and the response of the latter to such communication. Our empirical analysis is based on a database containing over 66,000 CSR‐related messages from eight companies focusing on communication extracted from Twitter. These data are coded according to three sources of trustworthiness and two dimensions of CSR communication (social and environmental). Our findings indicate that all three attributes of trustworthiness are used by companies in their CSR social media communication. We also document how corporate efforts to use CSR communication that engenders trustworthiness influence stakeholder engagement. Our study therefore contributes to the literature on trust in relation to CSR by illustrating the importance of signaling that includes different sources of trustworthiness or their combination in corporate communication. By analyzing how the various trust attributes included in CSR communication affect SM reactions, we also identify which attributes lead to greater stakeholder engagement overall, particularly for the two analyzed dimensions of CSR communication.
HOXD8 suppresses renal cell carcinoma growth by upregulating SHMT1 expression
Authors: Yang Yang , Zhang Minghui , Zhao Yaxuan , Deng Tingzhi , Zhou Xiang , Qian Hanxu , Wang Mengxuan , Zhang Chuanchuan , Huo Zhengjin , Mao Zijun , Shao Zhufeng , Liu Mengxue , Yang Chunhua , Lin Chunhua , Xu Fuyi , Tian Geng , Zhang Yin
Published: September 2023

Amplification of amino acids synthesis is reported to promote tumorigenesis. The serine/glycine biosynthesis pathway is a reversible conversion of serine and glycine catalyzed by cytoplasmic serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT)1 and mitochondrial SHMT2; however, the role of SHTM1 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is still unclear. We found that low SHMT1 expression is correlated with poor survival of RCC patients. The in vitro study showed that overexpression of SHMT1 suppressed RCC proliferation and migration. In the mouse tumor model, SHMT1 significantly retarded RCC tumor growth. Furthermore, by gene network analysis, we found several SHMT1‐related genes, among which homeobox D8 (HOXD8) was identified as the SHMT1 regulator. Knockdown of HOXD8 decreased SHMT1 expression, resulting in faster RCC growth, and rescued the SHMT1 overexpression‐induced cell migration defects. Additionally, ChIP assay found the binding site of HOXD8 to SHMT1 promoter was at the −456~−254 bp region. Taken together, SHMT1 functions as a tumor suppressor in RCC. The transcription factor HOXD8 can promote SHMT1 expression and suppress RCC cell proliferation and migration, which provides new mechanisms of SHMT1 in RCC tumor growth and might be used as a potential therapeutic target candidate for clinical treatment.
Measuring the ratio of true‐positive to false‐positive judgements made by child and family social workers in England: A case vignette study
Authors: Wilkins David , Meindl Melissa
Published: September 2023

Social workers routinely make judgements and decisions as part of their everyday practice. The nature and quality of these can have a significant and long‐lasting impact on the children and families concerned. In this paper, we present an analysis of more than 20 000 judgements (n = 21 193) made by social workers (n = 586) in relation to case vignettes, based on a series of anonymized referrals (n = 12) to social services in England. We do so to ascertain how accurately the social workers were able to predict subsequent actions, events and outcomes, and to calculate the ratio of true positives to false positives at various decision thresholds. We find that the social workers' predictions were more accurate than chance in relation to all but one of the referrals, albeit at the cost of a high rate of false positive errors. We consider these findings in relation to what appears to be a general lowering of the threshold for child protection interventions in England in recent years and in relation to who suffers the injustice of false positive errors in child and family social work.
Influence of the presence of dental implants on the accuracy and difficulty level of diagnosis of furcation involvement in molars: An in vitro CBCT study
Authors: Xavier Paula N. I. , Vizzotto Mariana B. , Arús Nádia Assein , Tiecher Priscila F. da S. , Gamba Thiago de Oliveira , Fontana Mathias Pante , Beltrão Rodrigo Gomes , da Silveira Heraldo L. D.
Published: September 2023

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the possible interference of image artifacts (IA) generated by dental implants in the evaluation of furcation involvement (FI) in molars.

Methods

Tomographic scans of first molars (1M) were performed in dry skulls in the absence and presence of titanium (TI) and zirconia (ZI) dental implants. FI grades were simulated in the alveoli of the 1Ms. Diagnostic accuracy of FI and level of difficulty were verified. Chi‐squared test and logistic regression analysis were used.

Results

There was no difference in the diagnostic accuracy of FI between the arches (p = .117). The highest diagnostic accuracy value for the implant variable was found in the absence of implants (88.3%) and the lowest in the presence of two ZI implants (66.7%). The highest diagnostic accuracy value for FI was observed in grade 0 (G0). There was no significant difference between the arches regarding the evaluators' perception of difficulty (p > .05). Assessments were considered difficult in 12.7% of the TI implants and in 29% of the ZI implants. Regarding the number of dental implants, assessments were considered difficult in 24.4% cases including one implant and 17.4% cases including two implants. The logistic regression model showed a significant p‐value only for one and two ZI implants (p = .0061 and p = .0096, respectively).

Conclusion

The presence of dental implants in the region adjacent to the area of investigation of FI decreased the diagnostic accuracy while increasing the perception of difficulty by the examiners, especially in cases with ZI implants.
Impact of atopic dermatitis on occupational contact dermatitis among young people: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Dietz Jojo B. , Menné Torkil , Meyer Harald W. , Viskum Sven , Flyvholm Mari‐Ann , Ahrensbøll‐Friis Ulrik , John Swen M. , Johansen Jeanne D.
Published: September 2023

Background

Occupational contact dermatitis (OCD) is a common occupational disease. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a known risk factor for OCD.

Objectives

To determine the prevalence of previously diagnosed AD among young workers with recognized OCD and assess its impact on OCD prognosis.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study. A questionnaire was sent to 6251 workers with recognized OCD who were under 35 years at notification (response rate: 47%). Of the respondents, 2392 answered a question about previous doctor‐diagnosed AD and were included in the study. Eczema severity, occupational consequences and quality of life were examined using statistical analyses comparing workers with and without previously diagnosed AD.

Results

The prevalence of previously diagnosed AD was 41.8% (95% CI: 39.8–43.8). Women had a higher AD prevalence, and workers with AD reported OCD at a younger age. Workers with AD reported more frequent and severe eczema symptoms and had a higher risk of OCD negatively affecting job and occupation choices. Health‐related quality of life was more adversely affected in workers with AD.

Conclusions

AD significantly impacts severity and has long‐term consequences for young people with OCD. Targeted prevention strategies need to be developed.
DECONSTRUCTING HISTORICIST TIME, OR TIME'S SCRIBE
Authors: Kleinberg Ethan
Published: September 2023

This article investigates the enduring chronopolitics of Historicism. To do so, I work through two dominant understandings of Historicism: the view that “historicism” is a means to account for the historian's own standpoint or historical situation as the place from which they take up and interpret the past, which I call Historicism A, and the separate (though now more popular) understanding of “historicism” that is derived from Karl Popper's The Poverty of Historicism, which I call Historicism B. I am less interested in what draws these varying definitions of Historicism apart and instead investigate a point of intersection in their understanding of time and temporality. Both strains serve politics via a concept of time as a neutral, uniform, and apolitical scale upon which any political or ideological agenda is enacted. Time here serves as the basis for historical explanation, but its neutrality, homogeneity, and extra‐historicality are a trick. I employ Gérard Genette's analytic of the palimpsest, with the help of Nancy Partner, to expose the ways that Historicism allows the past to be rewritten and overwritten to political and ideological ends that the temporal construct conceals. This then enables me to work through the politics of Historicism and ultimately deconstruct Historicist time, demonstrating how the universal or eternal claims of Enlightenment or pre‐Historicist thought are actually maintained in Historicism as the mechanism to advance political and ideological positions under the cloak of neutrality. In what follows, I make the temporal mechanism of Historicism explicit in order to expose the ethical failings that this mechanism conceals.
Professional use of social media platforms by independent dental hygienists in the Netherlands: A quantitative study
Authors: van Capelleveen Marlotte C. , Slot Dagmar Else
Published: September 2023

Aim

This study examines the prevalence of the professional use of social media platforms by independent DHs in the Netherlands and assesses the associated personal and demographic factors.

Methods

In this exploratory, observational, cross‐sectional study, independent DHs who were members of the Dutch Dental Hygienist Association (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Mondhygiënisten: NVM) were included. Data were collected from the DH practices' websites. Statistics included frequency distributions, percentages, chi‐square tests for the relationship between the parameters, and multiple logistic regression for the associations between social media use and the personal and demographic factors.

Results

A total of 830 independent DHs from 670 different practices were included in the study. Of these DHs, 34.4% had a link to a social media platform on their website. DHs with practices in the west or south of the Netherlands were more likely to use Facebook (p = 0.035 and p = 0.002, respectively) than those in the east or north. The likelihood of DHs with 4 years of training using Facebook was 1.910 greater than those with 2 years of training (p = 0.002). Furthermore, DHs who graduated in Utrecht were more likely to use Instagram (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Over a third of the independent DHs in the Netherlands used social media for professional purposes. DHs who trained in Utrecht for 4 years and who had a practice in the west or south of the Netherlands were more likely to use social media for professional purposes.
Dissociation, Physical Pain, and Suicide: A Hypothesis
Authors: Orbach Israel
Published: September 2023

The hypothesis of this paper states that at least some suicidal individuals are characterized by a disposition toward dissociation manifested in relative insensitivity to physical pain and indifference to their bodies. Three main topics are discussed: dissociation and suicide, psychological aspects of pain, and pain and suicide. Various theoretical and experimental studies suggest that certain stress conditions lead to the development of dissociative tendencies, and that once these tendencies are established, they become an integral part of suicidal behavior. Psychological variables that affect pain tolerance are presented and they include perception, motivation, emotions, and behavioral and cognitive strategies of pain control. These can increase tolerance of pain in suicidal individuals, making the suicidal act possible. The specific relationships of pain and suicide are then introduced through an examination of pain analgesia in the phenomenon of self‐harm. The integration of the material suggests that early and continuous stress lead to the simultaneous development of dissociative tendencies (including indifference to the body and pain) and heightened vulnerability to stress. These dispositions may facilitate suicidal behavior in the face of mounting intolerable stress, helplessness, and hopelessness. Preliminary empirical support for the present hypothesis is cited. This hypothesis shifts the focus of attention from the question of what causes suicide to what facilitates suicide, and in so doing suggests new directions for research and therapy.
The Escape Theory of Suicide in College Students: Testing a Model That Includes Perfectionism
Authors: Dean Paul J. , Range Lillian M. , Goggin William C.
Published: September 2023

A model of the escape theory of suicide was tested, using the following measures: the Life Experiences Survey, the Socially Prescribed Perfectionism subscale, the Self‐Rating Depression Scale, the Hopelessness Scale, the Reasons for Living Inventory, and the Scale for Suicide Ideation. College students (N = 114) completed all of these measures, and results were correlated. LISREL path analysis failed to validate the proposed model. All proposed paths were significant, except for the reciprocal path proposed between negative life events and socially prescribed perfectionism. Two residual paths were also significant: from socially prescribed perfectionism to suicide ideation, and from hopelessness to suicide ideation. A revised model constructed from these significant paths had a good overall fit, which suggests that an interactional model is more appropriate than a linear one.
On the biodiversity of diatom communities in lakes of East China: Geochemical effects dominated after eutrophication
Authors: Zhao Yanjie , Wang Rong , Xu Min , Zhang Enlou
Published: September 2023

Aim

Over the last century, lakes all over the world have experienced significant eutrophication and become more susceptible to critical transitions. This has prompted a growing need to understand how community dynamics shift following ecological perturbations. This study aims to elucidate the present status, spatial patterns and determinants of biological diversity, and how they have changed in response to alterations driven by eutrophication.

Location

Lakes of East China, mostly in the Yangtze River Basin.

Taxa

Bacillariophyceae (163 species in 33 genres, see taxa names in Appendix S1).

Methods

The environmental conditions of over 60 lakes were assessed based on parameters such as water quality, physical characteristics and biogeochemical constituents. Surface sediment samples and high‐resolution sediment records were collected to quantify the biodiversity of diatom communities, and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the major environmental gradients. Meanwhile, linear regression, canonical correlation analysis and Mantel tests were used to quantify the correlations between variables.

Results

Biodiversity metrics showed no distinct geographic patterns, although areas near large lakes showed comparatively high evenness. Smaller pairwise dissimilarities were observed among hypereutrophic lakes in comparison to lakes with a lower trophic status. The past century has witnessed a decrease in both pairwise dissimilarity and the standard deviation of evenness. A significant statistical association was found between dissimilarity and ionic concentration and composition in the surface sediment of lakes, rather than nutrient levels.

Main Conclusions

Following regional eutrophication and human disturbance, a significant reduction in biodiversity differentiation was observed in lakes located in East China. Currently, the dominant factor in determining the beta diversity of diatom communities is geochemical conditions rather than nutrient concentrations. Long‐term stress caused by cultural eutrophication may also have altered the dominant determinant of regional biodiversity and diatom community dynamics.
Loss of the parkinsonism‐associated protein FBXO7 in glutamatergic forebrain neurons in mice leads to abnormal motor behavior and synaptic defects
Authors: Wang Jingbo , Joseph Sabitha , Vingill Siv , Dere Ekrem , Tatenhorst Lars , Ronnenberg Anja , Lingor Paul , Preisinger Christian , Ehrenreich Hannelore , Schulz Jörg B. , Stegmüller Judith
Published: September 2023

Mutations in PARK15, which encodes for the F‐box protein FBXO7 have been associated with Parkinsonian Pyramidal syndrome, a rare and complex movement disorder with Parkinsonian symptoms, pyramidal tract signs and juvenile onset. Our previous study showed that systemic loss of Fbxo7 in mice causes motor defects and premature death. We have also demonstrated that FBXO7 has a crucial role in neurons as the specific deletion in tyrosine hydroxylase‐positive or glutamatergic forebrain neurons leads to late‐onset or early‐onset motor dysfunction, respectively. In this study, we examined NEX‐Cre;Fbxo7fl/fl mice, in which Fbxo7 was specifically deleted in glutamatergic projection neurons. The effects of FBXO7 deficiency on striatal integrity were investigated with HPLC and histological analyses. NEX‐Cre;Fbxo7fl/fl mice revealed an increase in striatal dopamine concentrations, changes in the glutamatergic, GABAergic and dopaminergic pathways, astrogliosis and microgliosis and little or no neuronal loss in the striatum. To determine the effects on the integrity of the synapse, we purified synaptic membranes, subjected them to quantitative mass spectrometry analysis and found alterations in the complement system, endocytosis and exocytosis pathways. These neuropathological changes coincide with alterations in spontaneous home cage behavior. Taken together, our findings suggest that FBXO7 is crucial for corticostriatal projections and the synaptic integrity of the striatum, and consequently for proper motor control.

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Real‐world practice of estrogen and progestogen prescriptions in menopausal women in Japan: A descriptive study using a Japanese claims database
Authors: Inayama Yoshihide , Mizuno Kayoko , Egawa Miho , Yamaguchi Ken , Hamanishi Junzo , Takeuchi Masato , Mandai Masaki , Kawakami Koji
Published: September 2023

Aim

This study aimed to investigate the real‐world clinical practice of estrogen and progestogen prescriptions for menopausal women.

Methods

Using a health care database in Japan, we conducted a cross‐sectional study on estrogen prescriptions and detailed analyses of newly initiated estrogens and concomitant prescriptions of progestogens. Data between January 2005 and December 2021 were analyzed.

Results

In 2021, the proportion of women aged 45–49 years receiving estrogens was 25.8 [95% confidence interval (CI): 25.3, 26.3] per 1000 women, while it was 6.4 [95% CI: 6.0, 6.7] for those aged ≥60 years. The prescription of estrogens gradually increased in women aged 50–59 years after 2009. In women without a history of hysterectomy, transdermal estradiol was the primary form of estrogens prescribed for ≥180 days, in women aged <60 years. The proportion of transdermal estradiol gradually increased each year, whereas that of oral‐conjugated equine estrogens decreased. Among progestogen, the proportions of dydrogesterone and transdermal norethisterone acetate increased over time, while that of medroxyprogesterone acetate decreased. Approximately 30% of women prescribed estrogens for ≥180 days did not initiate progestogen concurrently. In women undergoing hysterectomy, progestogen was not initiated in >90% of cases, and transdermal estradiol was prescribed in approximately 80% of cases in 2021.

Conclusions

This study reviewed the prescription of estrogens in menopausal women in Japan. A considerable number of women with a uterus are receiving estrogen therapy rather than estrogen‐progestogen therapy (EPT), despite the guidelines recommending the use of EPT in these women.
Growing Institutional Complexity and Field Transition: Towards Constellation Complexity in the German Energy Field
Authors: Bohn Stephan , Gümüsay Ali Aslan
Published: September 2023

By applying a dynamic approach to field‐level institutional complexity, we explore how growing institutional complexity affects fields over time. We examine field transition processes, which are shaped by the number of logics, the nature of their relationships and the shifts in dominance. Focusing on Germany's energy field, our analysis identifies a variety of conflicts that arose among up to seven institutional logics in the context of the German energy transition, i.e., the transition towards a low carbon energy market. The paper makes two theoretical contributions to the institutional complexity and field literature. First, we develop a process model explaining the field‐level consequences of two different types of growing complexity, namely increasing and accelerating complexity. Second, we identify conflicting logic constellations as a distinct form of complexity that we term constellation complexity. We discuss our contributions in light of the literature on institutional logics and fields and show how applying a dynamic perspective to institutional complexity supports scholars in conceptualizing field transition processes.
Vegetation change over 140 years in a sagebrush landscape of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, New Mexico, USA
Authors: Fox Kara M. , Margolis Ellis Q. , Lopez Manuel K. , Kasten Ella A. , Stevens Jens T.
Published: September 2023

Questions

Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) ecosystems across the western United States have experienced many changes in ecosystem dynamics and vegetation composition over the last century due to livestock grazing, non‐native species, and changing climate and fire regimes. We conducted the first systematic investigation of historical vegetation composition and vegetation change in a sagebrush landscape in the southwestern United States, asking whether sagebrush or grass dominated the landscape historically?

Location

The Rio Grande del Norte National Monument (RGDN), northern New Mexico, USA.

Methods

We combined General Land Office (GLO) surveys from 1881 with modern vegetation maps, field vegetation surveys, and sagebrush ages from growth ring analysis to test for changes in vegetation in the RGDN over the last 140 years.

Results

We found that big sagebrush presence across the study area increased significantly, from being present on 16% of section lines in 1881 to 79% in 2019, and only three section lines lost sagebrush presence during that period. Concurrently, the number of section lines with low grass index more than doubled since 1881, while moderate and high grass index declined. Grass declined equally in areas where sagebrush increased and areas with no change in sagebrush, suggesting that changes in both vegetation types were catalyzed by external factors, likely including overgrazing. The growth ring analysis of 93 sagebrush revealed a maximum age of 87 years and establishment in every decade since the 1930s, consistent with the GLO results.

Conclusions

The significant vegetation changes in the RGDN over the last century, including an increase of sagebrush, provide important context about the shifting mosaic of grasslands and shrublands relevant to current and future management and ecosystem dynamics.
Aquinas on the Fixity of the Will After Death
Authors: Feser Edward
Published: September 2023

Aquinas holds that after death, the human soul can no longer change its basic orientation either toward God or away from him. He takes this to be knowable not only from divine revelation but by purely philosophical reasoning. The heart of his position is that the basic orientation of an angelic will is fixed immediately after its creation, and that the human soul after death is relevantly like an angel. This article expounds and defends Aquinas's position, paying special attention to the action theory underlying it.
Providence, Divine Causality, and the Gratuitousness of Love: A Thomist Perspective
Authors: Van Nieuwenhove Rik
Published: September 2023

Broadly drawing on the writings of Thomas Aquinas, this article is a systematic-theological (rather than historical-theological) engagement with the theme of providence and divine causality. It aims to dispel some modern misunderstandings of these topics by highlighting how pre-modern approaches differ from today's perspective. It does so by arguing, firstly, that Thomas, given his teleological focus, construes divine causality not so much as efficient causality but rather in terms of final causality. I will also make the point that Thomas's calling God a ‘universal cause’ should not be construed in terms of omni-causality, as if God predetermines every event (be it necessarily or contingently). In the final part of this contribution, I make some observations on the arbitrariness of afflictions and the connection with the gratuitousness of charity within the providential ordering.
Aquinas's Fourth Way, Beauty, and Virtues
Authors: Pouivet Roger
Published: September 2023

Many questions have been raised concerning the logical validity of Aquinas's Fourth Way. Some commentators judge the Fourth Way to be problematic while others find it delightful. In this paper, the Fourth Way is understood as a reflection on what it is to attribute to things around us scalar predicates. Does the Fourth Way not resemble what Wittgenstein observes when speaking about ‘the standard meter’? If so, is the Fourth Way significantly different from what might be called a ‘mystical’ line of thinking? If not, it would be this mystical meaning that is used in the Way with respect to ‘God exists’. How should we understand this mystical meaning? By noting that beauty appears as a response-dependent property and by stressing that in order to attribute it to something we must possess certain virtues. Beauty would then be relative to virtues which are linked to the mystical meaning of ‘God’. Why could such a use, concerning the predicate ‘beautiful’ (even if that is not mentioned in the Fourth Way) not constitute an explanation of ‘what we call God’? This is a question to which the reading of the Fourth Way might lead.
What policies are there and what policies are missing? A Photovoice study of adolescents' perspectives on obesity‐prevention policies in their local environment
Authors: Banik Anna , Knai Cecile , Klepp Knut‐Inge , Rutter Harry , Rito Ana , Lien Nanna , Baillergeau Evelyne , Szczuka Zofia , Boberska Monika , Kulis Ewa , Luszczynska Aleksandra
Published: September 2023

The aim of this study was to investigate adolescents' critical awareness of whether obesity prevention policies targeting physical activity (PA) and nutrition were operating in their local community. Participants were 41 adolescents (aged 16–18, 90% women) recruited from three communities in Poland. Prior to this study, they were involved in obesity‐prevention participatory initiatives (conducted within the CO‐CREATE project), where obesity‐related public policy limitations were analyzed in a youth‐led discussion. A Photovoice exercise was designed to capture obesity‐related public policies that were either present or absent in young people's local environments. The photographs (N = 213) were coded and mapped according to the policy themes they illustrated, using the MOVING and NOURISHING frameworks. The public policies represented in the photographs are most frequently related to: healthy retail or food service environments; food advertising or promotion; structures and surroundings that promote PA; and infrastructure and opportunities that support public or active transport. Adolescents are critically aware of the presence and lack of specific public policies operating in their local environment, particularly policies affecting structural aspects of food and PA environments. Policy‐oriented photovoice exercises may prompt critical awareness among adolescents and empower them to contribute to obesity prevention policy processes.
Co‐creating obesity prevention policies with youth: Policy ideas generated through the CO‐CREATE project
Authors: Conway‐Moore Kaitlin , Knai Cécile , Finegood Diane , Johnston Lee , Brinsden Hannah , Aguiar Anaely , Kopainsky Birgit , Önal Furkan , Helleve Arnfinn , Klepp Knut‐Inge , Lien Nanna , Luszczynska Aleksandra , Rito Ana Isabel , Rønnestad Alfred Mestad , Ulstein Madeleine , Blanchard Laurence , Savona Natalie , Rutter Harry
Published: September 2023

Despite growing recognition of the importance of applying a systems lens to action on obesity, there has only been limited analysis of the extent to which this lens has actually been applied. The CO‐CREATE project used a youth‐led participatory action research approach to generate policy ideas towards the reduction of adolescent overweight and obesity across Europe. In order to assess the extent to which these youth‐generated policy ideas take a systems approach, we analyzed them using the Intervention Level Framework (ILF). The ILF ascribes actions to one of five system levels, from Structural Elements, the least engaged with system change, up to Paradigm, which is the system's deepest held beliefs and thus the most difficult level at which to intervene. Of the 106 policy ideas generated by young people during the CO‐CREATE project, 91 (86%) were categorized at the level of Structural Elements. This emphasis on operational rather than systems level responses echoes findings from a previous study on obesity strategies. Analyzing the distribution of systems level responses using the ILF has the potential to support more effective action on obesity by allowing identification of opportunities to strengthen systems level responses overall.
Bryophytes dominate plant regulation of soil microclimate in alpine grasslands
Authors: Jaroszynska Francesca , Althuizen Inge , Halbritter Aud Helen , Klanderud Kari , Lee Hanna , Telford Richard J. , Vandvik Vigdis
Published: September 2023

Soil temperature and moisture are important regulators of a broad range of biotic and abiotic processes in terrestrial ecosystems. Vegetation can, in turn, play a role in regulating soil microclimate, which creates potential for powerful and interactive feedbacks from soil and vegetation on the atmosphere. Although the regulatory effect of vegetation on soil microclimatic conditions has been quite extensively and empirically assessed, most studies have determined the net effect of intact woody vegetation versus bare ground. However, for other plant functional groups we lack a clear understanding of their role and any climate‐context dependency in controlling microclimatic conditions.

We investigated the role of three major plant functional groups – graminoids, forbs and bryophytes – in regulating soil microclimate in semi‐natural alpine grasslands. Using a fully factorial above‐ground biomass removal experiment, we assessed the role of these plant functional groups in regulating soil temperature amplitude, soil moisture, and number of freezing days. The experiment was replicated across orthogonal temperature and precipitation gradients in Norway to assess whether the effects of functional group abundance varied with climate.

The effect of plant biomass on soil microclimate varied among functional groups across the climatic gradients. Bryophytes reduced growing season soil temperature, whereas graminoids and forbs did not (0.5ºC compared to 0ºC), and with a stronger effect in colder climates at higher elevations and on days with high solar radiation. Bryophyte biomass further reduced the number of soil freezing days at boreal and sub‐alpine sites. Finally, graminoid biomass partly explained variation in soil moisture: soils dried more under graminoids at drier sites.

Our findings highlight that functional group identity plays a key role in regulating soil microclimate in alpine grasslands across seasons. The strong effect of bryophytes on soil temperature points to their importance in the plant community for a variety of ecosystem functions, some of which may be indirectly vulnerable to future warming via biomass reductions of bryophytes.
Analysis of Zinc and Stromal Immunity in Disuse Osteoporosis: Mendelian Randomization and Transcriptomic Analysis
Authors: Lyu Fei , Wang Li , Jia Yiming , Wang Yuanlin , Qi Haolan , Dai Zhengxu , Zhou Xuyang , Zhu Haoran , Li Bing , Xu Yujing , Liu Jun
Published: September 2023

Objective

Disuse osteoporosis is known to be primarily caused by a lack of exercise. However, the causal relationships between zinc and immunity and disuse osteoporosis remain unknown. This study investigated these relationships and their potential mechanisms.

Methods

This study was an integrative study combining genome‐wide association studies and transcriptomics. Two‐sample Mendelian randomization analysis (MR) was used to analyze the causal relationships between exposures (zinc, immunity, physical activity) and the outcome (osteoporosis) with the aid of single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as instrumental variables (IVs). Four models, MR‐Egger, inverse variance weighted, weighted median and MR‐Pleiotrophy RESidual Sum and Outlier (MRPRESSO), were used to calculate odds ratio values. Sensitivity and heterogeneity analyses were also performed using MRPRESSO and MR‐Egger methods. The mRNA transcriptomic analysis was subsequently conducted. Zinc metabolism scores were acquired through single‐sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis algorithms. Stromal scores were obtained using the R Package “estimate” algorithms. Important Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Ontology pathways were also derived through gene set variation analysis. Cytoscape software helped construct the transcription factor (TF)–mRNA–microRNA (miRNA) network. Virtual screening and molecular docking were performed. Polymerase chain reaction validation was also carried out in vivo.

Results

Causal relationships were demonstrated between zinc and exercise (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.30–2.95, p = 0.001), exercise and immunity (95% CI = 0.36–0.80, p = 0.002), exercise and osteoporosis (95% CI = 0.97–0.99, p = 0.0007), and immunity disorder and osteoporosis (95% CI = 1.30–2.03, p = 0.00002). One hundred and seventy‐nine mRNAs in important modules were screened. Combining the differential expressional genes (DEGs) and the Boruta selection, six DEGs were screened (AHNAK, CSF2, ADAMTS12, SRA1, RUNX2, and SLC39A14). TF HOXC10 and miRNA hsa‐miR‐204 were predicted. Then, the TF–mRNA–miRNA network was successfully constructed. RUNX2 and SLC39A14 were identified as hub mRNAs in the TF–mRNA–miRNA network. Eventually, the novel small drug C6O4NH5 was designed according to the pharmacophore structure of SLC39A14. The docking energy for the novel drug was −5.83 kcal/mol. SLC39A14 and RUNX2 were downregulated (of statistical significance p‐value < 0.05) in our animal experiment.

Conclusion

This study revealed that zinc had a protective causal relationship with disuse osteoporosis by promoting exercise and immunity. SLC39A14 and RUNX2 mRNA participated in this zinc‐related mechanism.
Broad‐spectrum resistance gene RPW8.1 balances immunity and growth via feedback regulation of WRKYs
Authors: Yang Xue‐Mei , Zhao Jing‐Hao , Xiong Xiao‐Yu , Hu Zhang‐Wei , Sun Ji‐Fen , Su Hao , Liu Yan‐Jing , Xiang Ling , Zhu Yong , Li Jin‐Lu , Bhutto Sadam Hussain , Li Guo‐Bang , Zhou Shi‐Xin , Li Chi , Pu Mei , Wang He , Zhao Zhi‐Xue , Zhang Ji‐Wei , Huang Yan‐Yan , Fan Jing , Wang Wen‐Ming , Li Yan
Published: September 2023

Arabidopsis RESISTANCE TO POWDERY MILDEW 8.1 (RPW8.1) is an important tool for engineering broad‐spectrum disease resistance against multiple pathogens. Ectopic expression of RPW8.1 leads to enhanced disease resistance with cell death at leaves and compromised plant growth, implying a regulatory mechanism balancing RPW8.1‐mediated resistance and growth. Here, we show that RPW8.1 constitutively enhances the expression of transcription factor WRKY51 and activates salicylic acid and ethylene signalling pathways; WRKY51 in turn suppresses RPW8.1 expression, forming a feedback regulation loop. RPW8.1 and WRKY51 are both induced by pathogen infection and pathogen−/microbe‐associated molecular patterns. In ectopic expression of RPW8.1 background (R1Y4), overexpression of WRKY51 not only rescues the growth suppression and cell death caused by RPW8.1, but also suppresses RPW8.1‐mediated broad‐spectrum disease resistance and pattern‐triggered immunity. Mechanistically, WRKY51 directly binds to and represses RPW8.1 promoter, thus limiting the expression amplitude of RPW8.1. Moreover, WRKY6, WRKY28 and WRKY41 play a role redundant to WRKY51 in the suppression of RPW8.1 expression and are constitutively upregulated in R1Y4 plants with WRKY51 being knocked out (wrky51 R1Y4) plants. Notably, WRKY51 has no significant effects on disease resistance or plant growth in wild type without RPW8.1, indicating a specific role in RPW8.1‐mediated disease resistance. Altogether, our results reveal a regulatory circuit controlling the accumulation of RPW8.1 to an appropriate level to precisely balance growth and disease resistance during pathogen invasion.
The impact of COVID‐19 on supply chain credit risk
Authors: Ağca Şenay , Birge John R. , Wang Zi'ang , Wu Jing
Published: September 2023

While global supply chains provide firms with a buffer against local shocks, they expose firms to multiregional risks. The COVID‐19 pandemic and its differential impact on different regions in the world offer an opportunity to explore these effects. We investigate the multiregional supply chain risk by focusing on credit risk measured by abnormal credit default swaps (CDS) spreads and US–China supply chain networks. Our evidence shows that local risks propagate through global supply chains to other regions. Using a matched sample, we find that abnormal CDS spreads for firms with Chinese supply chain partners increase by 12% to 13% relative to the average raw CDS spreads due to supply chain disruptions during the economic shutdown in China, and the abnormal CDS spreads decrease by 9% to 13% relative to the average raw CDS spreads when the supply chain activities resume in China. We also find that having a more global customer base can mitigate the effects of local household demand shocks. Lastly, we discover that firm size, supply chain network centrality, cash holdings, inventory, strong credit ratings, capital redeployability, and the number of segments increase resilience to global supply chain shocks, while financial leverage, operational leverage, and market competition weaken supply chain resilience.
Impact of mobile payment adoption on household expenditures and subjective well‐being
Authors: He Quan , Ma Wanglin , Vatsa Puneet , Zheng Hongyun
Published: September 2023

This paper estimates the effects of mobile payment adoption on household expenditures and people's subjective well‐being. We consider four categories of household expenditures (that on clothes, durable goods, consumer goods, and cultural and leisure activities) and four indicators (life satisfaction, contentment, income satisfaction, and depression) of subjective well‐being. We use the Augmented Inverse Probability Weighting estimator to analyze the 2017 Chinese General Social Survey data while accounting for the selection bias inherent in mobile payment adoption. The empirical results show that people's decisions to adopt mobile payment are positively associated with their educational levels, car ownership, social interaction, internet penetration rate, and residential location. Mobile payment adoption significantly increases household expenditures on consumer goods and cultural and leisure activities but not on expenditures on clothes and durable goods. Moreover, mobile payment adoption significantly decreases people's contentment while increasing depression. We also find that mobile payment adoption significantly decreases the contentment of urban people but significantly increases the depression of rural people.
Street‐level bureaucrats' discretion between individual and institutional factors: The analysis of the minimum income policy implementation in two Italian regions
Authors: Andreotti Alberta , Coletto Diego , Rio Anna
Published: September 2023

The article provides and empirically tests an analytical model that considers the relationship between the discretionary power of street‐level bureaucrats (SLBs) and the institutional and organisational structures at meso and macro levels. The proposal maintains a bottom‐up perspective in the analysis of discretionary practices; at the same time, it highlights the relevance of multilevel governance systems as institutional spaces in opening and constraining the room for manoeuvre of SLBs. The analytical model is tested to comparatively analyse the implementation of the Italian guaranteed minimum income (Reddito di Cittadinanza) in two different regional welfare systems. The analysis focused on the practices and perceptions of the “navigators”, a new professional group introduced to implement the same policy. The fieldwork pointed out different spaces for and forms of discretion, highlighting that different institutional arrangements affect discretion and the variability of practices; however individual and professional group factors coupled with similar external constraints nuanced this variability with the emergence of common ones. In this article, the analytical model allowed to consider in a comparative perspective how institutional factors, besides individual and professional ones, influence discretion.
3D‐printed electrospun fibres for wound healing
Authors: Ye Xilin , Zhang Enshuo , Huang Yaqin , Tian Feng , Xue Jiajia
Published: September 2023

Wound management for acute and chronic wounds has become a serious clinical problem worldwide, placing considerable pressure on public health systems. Owing to the high‐precision, adjustable pore structure, and repeatable manufacturing process, 3D‐printed electrospun fibre (3DP‐ESF) has attracted widespread attention for fabricating wound dressing. In addition, in comparison with 2D electrospun fibre membranes fabricated by traditional electrospinning, the 3D structures provide additional guidance on cell behaviour. In this perspective article, we first summarise the basic manufacturing principles and methods to fabricate 3DP‐ESF. Then, we discuss the function of 3DP‐ESF in manipulating the different stages of wound healing, including anti‐bacteria, anti‐inflammation, and promotion of cell migration and proliferation, as well as the construction of tissue‐engineered scaffolds. In the end, we provide the current challenge faced by 3DP‐ESF in the application of skin wound regeneration and its promising future directions.
On the distribution of modular inverses from short intervals
Authors: Garaev Moubariz Z. , Shparlinski Igor E.
Published: September 2023

For a prime number p and integer x with , let denote the multiplicative inverse of x modulo p. In this paper, we are interested in the problem of distribution modulo p of the sequence
and in lower bound estimates for the corresponding exponential sums. As representative examples, we state the following two consequences of the main results.

For any fixed and for any sufficiently large integer N, there exists a prime number p with
such that

For any fixed positive , there exists a positive constant c such that the following holds: for any sufficiently large integer N there is a prime number such that
and
Attenuation of Detrimental Hub Leakage Effects in an Axial Compressor Rotor by Customized Geometrical Design Features
Authors: Petermann Jannik , Schulz Kevin , Becker Bernd , Gümmer Volker
Published: September 2023

The aerodynamic impact of hub gap leakage on the performance characteristics of an axial compressor rotor in conventional design (no blisk) with a high hub-to-tip ratio has been investigated using three-dimensional steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations. The inclusion of circumferential hub gaps in front of the leading edge and after the trailing edge, as well as inter-platform leakage, reduced the total pressure ratio and the polytropic efficiency of the rotor by as much as 3.74% and 3.97%, respectively, compared to a design case with clean endwalls. Potential design recommendations in terms of improved aerodynamic robustness against leakage effects were derived from the separate sealing of each hub gap. Six geometry modifications were assessed, which based on these results. In a throttled operating condition, large edge radii in the front gap on the disk and platform partially recovered the initial losses of both the total pressure ratio (17.7%) and polytropic efficiency (19.6%). A circular lateral platform shape with the opening pointing toward the blade’s pressure side showed superior loss recovery capabilities at a dethrottled operating point. The combination of both features did not reduce the losses further. However, the circular lateral platform shape combined with smaller front gap chamfers proved more beneficial in a throttled state.
Pressure Characteristic Rollover of a Transonic Centrifugal Impeller
Authors: Cao Teng , Hayashi Yoshihiro , Tomita Isao
Published: September 2023

This paper presents a detailed numerical investigation of a transonic centrifugal compressor to understand the mechanism causing its pressure rise characteristic rollover, which fundamentally impacts compressor stability. Distinct characteristic rollover behaviors at different compressor speeds are predicted and studied. It is found that the impeller characteristic rollover occurs at high blade tip Mach number (>1) conditions. It is the result of a combination of the inducer and exducer performance. The inducer is found to stall early, while the exducer is mostly a stable part maintaining the overall impeller stability. The overall impeller characteristic rolls over when the exducer’s performance deteriorates significantly, which happens at higher flow conditions toward high speed. This is due to the flow compressibility effect (density change). It shows that the flow density across the impeller increases with the blade tip Mach number. The increased density leads to a reduced exducer exit flow coefficient with higher workload and aerodynamic losses. Detailed analysis is carried out to understand the 1D and 3D flow mechanisms governing the inducer and exducer, hence the impeller characteristic.