bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Are vegans generous? An exploration of the success factors of vegan crowdfunding projects
Authors: Giakoumelou Anastasia , Raimo Nicola , Petruzzella Felice , Vitolla Filippo
Published: January 2023

Purpose

Crowdfunding is a relatively new alternative method of raising capital for new ventures. In recent years, crowdfunding has also gained prominence within the food industry. On the basis of signaling theory, this study aims to analyze the success factors of vegan crowdfunding campaigns, which remains unexplored in academia.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs a logistic regression analysis on a sample of 200 vegan crowdfunding campaigns launched in Europe between 2014 and 2021 on the popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.

Findings

The results show that the number of images, comments and updates as well as the readability of project descriptions positively impact the success rate of vegan crowdfunding campaigns. Furthermore, the length of the project description has a negative effect, whereas the number of videos has no bearing on the success of vegan crowdfunding campaigns.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study pioneers examining the success factors of vegan crowdfunding campaigns. This study enriches the literature in several ways. First, this study contributes to an open debate on the success factors of crowdfunding. Second, this study provides knowledge about the factors that can favor the success of vegan initiatives. Third, this study confirms the usefulness of signaling theory as a theoretical framework for understanding vegan crowdfunding.
Identifying struggling teams in online challenge-based learning
Authors: Nguyen Ha , Gijlers Hannie , Pisoni Galena
Published: January 2023

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to determine how students perceive groupwork and identify patterns of less successful groups in online challenge-based learning.

Design/methodology/approach

This study involved 29 university students working in nine teams in an online challenge-based course. The authors applied Volet's (2001) Student Appraisal of Group Assignments (SAGA) instrument to measure students' perceptions on six constructs: Cognitive Benefits, Motivation Influence, Affect, Interpersonal, Management, and Group Assessment. Questionnaires were administered at different time points (before, during, and after the project). Focus groups were conducted to gain insights into students' experiences.

Findings

Findings suggest that students reporting decreasing or stalling perception scores on the Motivation Influence, Interpersonal constructs would likely not be in high-performing groups. Additionally, challenge-based learning is less suitable for time-compressed courses.

Originality/value

The study expands the understanding of students' perceptions of online challenge-based learning, at different performance levels, and difficulties in these projects. Practical implications of this study are support for teachers in identifying struggling teams, and designing and facilitating challenge-based courses.
Frontline employees' performance in the financial services industry: the significance of trust, empathy and consumer orientation
Authors: Raza Basharat , St-Onge Sylvie , Ali Muhammad
Published: January 2023

Purpose

Based upon social exchange theory, this study investigates the mediating effect of consumers' trust in banking industry frontline employees on two relationships: (1) the relation between consumers' perceptions of frontline employees' empathy and consumers' perceptions of frontline employees' performance, and (2) the relation between consumers' perception of frontline employees' customer orientation and consumers' perceptions of frontline employees' performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used a time-lag research design to collect data through online questionnaires distributed in two waves. The sample comprises 375 respondents having experience and interaction with banking frontline employees.

Findings

Results confirm the mediating effect of consumers' trust in the banking industry on the relationships between their perceptions of frontline employees' empathy and consumer orientation on the one hand and their perceptions of frontline employees' performance on the other hand.

Practical implications

Results may be helpful to policymakers and managers in the service industries, prompting them to adopt approaches and strategies designed to build strong relationships with consumers, thus increasing consumers' trust and frontline employees' performance.

Originality/value

This study confirms the relevance of social exchange theory in understanding the role of consumers' trust and perceptions of frontline employees' empathy and consumer orientation in understanding their perception of frontline employee performance in the banking industry.
Developing a wearable human activity recognition (WHAR) system for an outdoor jacket
Authors: Lee Hyunseung
Published: January 2023

Purpose

The emergence of smart wearables using clothing as a technology platform is a significant milestone with considerable implications for industrial convergence, creating new value for fashion. This paper aimed to present a premeditated prototype to integrate a human activity recognition (HAR) system into outdoor clothing.

Design/methodology/approach

For the development of wearable HAR (WHAR) clothing, this paper explored three subject areas: fashion design related to the structural feature of the clothing platform, electronics related to wearable circuits and modules design and graphic user interface design related to smartphone application development.

Findings

For WHAR functions in outdoor terrains, the coexistence of accelerometer–gyroscope sensing and distance-sensing could be practical to surpass the technological limitation of activity and posture recognition with gyro sensors highly depending on the changes of acceleration and angles.

Research limitations/implications

Through the vital sign check and physical activity–change recognition function, this study's WHAR system allows users to check their health by themselves and avoid overwork. A quick rescue is possible manually and automatically in a dangerous situation by notifying others. Thus, it can help protect users' health and safety (life).

Originality/value

This study designed the modularization of HAR functions generally installed in indoor medical spaces. Through the approach, smart clothing–embracing WHAR systems optimized for health and safety care for outdoor environments was pursued to diversify expensive roles of clothing for technological applications.
Supply chain followership: the case of Tetra Pak’s recyclers in China
Authors: Gong Yu , Jia Fu , Brown Steve
Published: January 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore an under-researched topic of supply chain followership (SCF) in the context of recycling chains.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a multiple case study approach, the authors conducted interviews with Tetra Pak senior managers and recyclers who recycle used beverage cartons (UBCs) in China.

Findings

Based on the dimensions of critical thinking and active engagement, the authors classify SCF into four types. Focal companies could evaluate their suppliers’ behaviours and followership types to initiate corresponding strategies to better manage their relationships. In addition, the authors found SCF to be a dynamic concept, which can be constantly evaluated.

Originality/value

This study is one of the earliest efforts to empirically explore the concept of SCF. The paper extends the followership concept from an individual level to an organizational level in the recycling chain context and presents a useful concept of followership for companies seeking to manage their supply chain relationships.
Early career teachers thriving in the everyday challenges of teaching: understanding the relationship between professional competence and teacher buoyancy
Authors: Tang Sylvia Yee Fan , Lo Eric Siu Chung , Yeh Fang-Yin , Cheng May May Hung
Published: January 2023

Purpose

This study examined the relationship between early career teachers' (ECTs') perceived professional competence (PC) and teacher buoyancy (TB) and the contribution of such dynamic interaction between ECTs' perceived PC and TB to their thriving in the face of everyday teaching challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a concurrent mixed-methods research design. A total of 218 ECTs taking a postgraduate, part-time initial teacher education programme completed two quantitative measures: Professional Competence Questionnaire and Teacher Buoyancy Scale – Extended Version. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between PC and TB. Qualitative data via semi-structured interviews were collected from 14 survey respondents and were interpreted through a case study approach.

Findings

The quantitative findings showed: (1) Competence in classroom teaching predicts the personal and contextual dimensions of teacher buoyancy; and (2) Competence to work in schools predicts the personal dimension of teacher buoyancy. The qualitative findings showed two cases that exemplified how the dynamic interaction between ECTs' perceived PC and the personal and contextual dimensions of TB supported their development of teaching expertise.

Originality/value

The paper provides empirical findings on the relationship between PC and TB. It highlights ECTs' perceived Competence to work in schools as goal alignment and engagement with school policy as a crucial facilitating condition that develops ECTs' capacity to face daily challenges and engenders their thriving in terms of development of teaching expertise.
“Facilitators” vs “substitutes”: the influence of artificial intelligence products’ image on consumer evaluation
Authors: Wang Xin , Zhu Hong , Jiang Di , Xia Shaoang , Xiao Chunqu
Published: January 2023

Purpose

The rapid innovation of artificial intelligence (AI) technology promotes the prosperity of the AI product market. However, consumers seem to have negative attitudes (e.g. prejudice, aversion) toward AI products and services. Those negative attitudes are rooted in the fear that AI might replace humans. The authors thus propose that turning the image of AI from substitutes to facilitators can alleviate identity threat perception. This paper aims to examine how the image of AI products (facilitators vs substitutes) influences consumer evaluation and explores the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses four experiments with between-subjects designs to investigate whether the image of AI products (facilitators vs substitutes) will affect consumer evaluation in specific consumption and service scenarios. The same products (or services) were manipulated as “substitute” or “facilitator” through advertisement slogans. Participants were randomly assigned to a condition and read the advertisement, then they reported their evaluation. The mediator perceived identity threat and the moderator preconceived perceptions of AI risks were measured by scales. The moderator, self-affirmation, was manipulated through the instruction of the experiment.

Findings

This study demonstrates that consumers give higher evaluation of AI products in the image of the facilitator than in the image of the substitute (Study 1). The underlying mechanism is that the perceived identity threat caused by “facilitator” products is lower than “substitute” products (Study 2). The effect of AI image is moderated by consumers’ preconceived perceptions of AI risks (Study 3) and self-affirmation (Study 4). Specifically, for consumers who have a strong AI risk-perception, this effect exists, but it disappears for consumers who have a weak AI risk perception. When consumers are given a strong self-affirmation, the negative impact of the “substitute” image disappears.

Originality/value

This paper analyzes the psychological root of consumers’ negative evaluation of AI technology from the perspective of AI’s image. The proposed typology of “substitutes” and “facilitators” helps expand the vision on brand/product image and enriches the research on consumer self-identity in today’s highly informatized market. The findings shed light on how to choose appropriate image for AI products, which will be crucial for increasing consumers’ acceptance of AI products.
The asymmetric effect of COVID-19 on investor sentiment: evidence from NARDL model
Authors: Mili Mehdi , Al Amoodi Asma Yahiya , Bawazir Hana
Published: January 2023

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the asymmetric impact of daily announcements regarding COVID-19 on investor sentiment in the stock market.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a Non-Linear Autoregressive Distribution Lag (NARDL) model that relies on positive and negative partial sum decompositions of the Coronavirus indicators. Five investor sentiments had been used and the analysis is conducted on the full sample period from 24th February 2020 to 25th March 2021.

Findings

The results show that new cases have a greater impact on investor sentiment compared to daily announcements of new deaths related to COVID-19. In addition to revealing a significant impact of new COVID-19 new cases and new death announcements on a daily basis on investor sentiment over the short- and long-term, this paper also highlights the nonlinearity and asymmetry of this relationship in the short and long run. Investors' sentiments are more affected by negative news regarding Covid 19 than positive news.

Originality/value

Financial markets have been severely affected by COVID-19 pandemic. This study is the first to measure the extent of reaction of investors to positive and negative announcements of COVID-19. Interestingly, this study examines the asymmetric effect of daily announcements on new cases and new deaths by COVID-19 on investor sentiments and derive many implications for portfolio managers.
Shareholder-initiated environmental and energy resolutions: too little too late?
Authors: Viviers Suzette , Steenkamp Lee-Ann
Published: January 2023

Purpose

Given the urgency to address the climate change crisis, the purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of 12 macro-level antecedents on energy and environmental (E&E) shareholder activism in 12 developed countries. Focus was placed on shareholder-initiated E&E resolutions.

Design/methodology/approach

Panel regressions were used to evaluate the relationships between the macro-level antecedents and two dependent variables, namely, the number of shareholder-initiated E&E resolutions filed and voting support for these resolutions.

Findings

The number of shareholder-initiated E&E resolutions filed increased slightly over the research period (2010–2019) but received very little voting support on average. Most of the 1,116 considered resolutions centred on the adoption or amendment of nuclear and environmental policies. Several resolutions called for improved E&E reporting. A significant relationship was found between the number of shareholder-initiated E&E resolutions filed and the rule of law.

Research limitations/implications

The empirical evidence confirmed limited voting support for shareholder-initiated E&E resolutions and the importance of the rule of law in advancing the E&E social movement.

Practical implications

As the E&E social movement is gaining momentum, listed companies in the considered countries are likely to experience more pressure from shareholder activists.

Social implications

To achieve participatory and inclusive climate governance, shareholder activists should collaborate more closely with other challengers in the E&E social movement, notably policy makers and those promoting the rule of law.

Originality/value

The authors considered macro-level antecedents of E&E shareholder activism that have received scant attention in earlier studies. Social movement theory was used as a novel theoretical lens.
Influence of distracted mutual fund investors on corporate ESG decoupling: evidence from China
Authors: Liu Yupei , Li Weian , Meng Qiankun
Published: January 2023

Purpose

This study aims to explore whether investors’ inattention is associated with firms’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) decoupling, which is defined as the misalignment between the implementation and incorporation of ESG policies.

Design/methodology/approach

Focusing on a sample of the components of ESG ratings for China Securities Index (CSI) 300 companies between 2017 and 2019, the authors test the relationship between firms’ ESG decoupling level and mutual fund investors’ distraction by applying exogenous shocks to their portfolios.

Findings

The results show that firms with distracted mutual fund investors engage in more external than internal ESG actions, leading to a high ESG decoupling level. Mutual fund investors use “threat of exit” rather than “voice” as a governance mechanism to influence corporate ESG decoupling. While external ESG actions mitigate stock price crash risk, internal ESG actions increase firm value; firms with a high ESG decoupling level suffer lower valuations.

Practical implications

This study has implications for increasing the congruence between firms’ external and internal ESG actions, thereby improving firms’ ESG performance and long-term economic outcomes.

Social implications

This paper helps policy-makers and regulators to reassess how ESG policies can be implemented to be consistent with organizations’ core business activities.

Originality/value

Contributing to prior studies of greenwashing and corporate social responsibility decoupling, this paper extends decoupling literature by revisiting ESG impacts in an integrated framework and explores the antecedents of corporate ESG decoupling from the perspective of institutional investor monitoring.
Analysis of critical success factors for successful integration of lean six sigma and Industry 4.0 for organizational excellence
Authors: Samanta Maharshi , Virmani Naveen , Singh Rajesh Kumar , Haque Syed Nadimul , Jamshed Mohammed
Published: January 2023

Purpose

Manufacturing industries are facing dynamic challenges in today’s highly competitive world. In the recent past, integrating Industry 4.0 with the lean six sigma improvement methodologies has emerged as a popular approach for organizational excellence. The research aims to explore and analyze critical success factors of lean six sigma integrated Industry 4.0 (LSSI).

Design/methodology/approach

This research study explores and analyzes the critical success factors (CSFs) of LSSI. A three-phase study framework is employed. At first, the CSFs are identified through an extensive literature review and validated through experts’ feedback. Then, in the second phase, the initial list of CSFs is finalized using the fuzzy DELPHI technique. In the third phase, the cause-effect relationship among CFSs is established using the fuzzy DEMATEL technique.

Findings

A dyadic relationship among cause-and-effect category CSFs is established. Under the cause category, top management commitment toward integrating LSSI, systematic methodology for LSSI and organizational culture for adopting changes while adopting LSSI are found to be topmost CSFs. Also, under the effect category, organizational readiness toward LSSI and adaptability and agility are found to be the uppermost CSFs.

Practical implications

The study offers a framework to understand the significant CSFs for LSSI implementation. Insights from the study will help industry managers and practitioners to implement LSSI and achieve organizational excellence.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, CSFs of LSSI are not much explored in the past by researchers. Findings will be of great value for professionals in developing long-term operations strategies.
Psoriasis patient preferences for the use of biologics during the coronavirus era
Authors: Tada Yayoi , Itakura Asako , Hosono Kumiko , Kawamura Taisuke
Published: January 2023

Understanding patient preferences concerning the use of biologics for psoriasis treatment can support proper treatment selection to satisfy their needs. In Japan, limited studies have reported psoriasis patients' preferences for the use of biologics, and many of those focused on the improvement of skin symptoms. The present study was conducted as a web‐based questionnaire survey using the discrete choice experiment approach to investigate the preferences of psoriasis patients for the use of biologics, as well as to describe social and clinical factors that influence these preferences. The following attributes were selected for the discrete choice experiment: efficacy at 1 year, risk of serious infections requiring hospitalization, incidence of injection site reactions, administration route and visits, co‐payment, indications, and efficacy on skin symptoms and other manifestations (the last two have not been evaluated in previous studies). Data were collected from October 4 to October 8, 2021. An analysis of data from 357 psoriasis patients indicated that the most preferred attributes for biologics selection were administration route and visits, followed by the risk of serious infections requiring hospitalization. Some differences were observed among specific subgroups. This study demonstrated that patients with psoriasis prefer biologics with a less frequent administration route and visit schedule and a lower risk of serious infections requiring hospitalization, which contrasts with the results obtained in previous studies where the highest importance was placed on drug effectiveness. These results may reflect the personal and social impact of the coronavirus disease outbreak at the time of the survey. The results of this study might help physicians properly select biologics that satisfy psoriasis patients' needs, leading to better treatment adherence.
Post‐fire peatland recovery by peat moss inoculation depends on water table depth
Authors: Shepherd Harry E. R. , Martin Isa , Marin Andreea , Cruijsen Peter M. J. M. , Temmink Ralph J. M. , Robroek Bjorn J. M.
Published: January 2023

Peatland restoration is essential to preserve biodiversity and carbon stored in peat soils. Common restoration techniques such as rewetting do not always result in the full recovery of peatland taxonomic and functional properties, threatening the resilience of restored peatlands and their carbon stores.

Here, we study the use of peat moss inoculation in stimulating the short‐term taxonomic and functional recovery of a wildfire‐impacted peatland using mesocosms at high and low water table depth, representing ideal and adverse hydrological conditions respectively.

Inoculation in conjunction with high water tables accelerated the recovery of the vascular plant and prokaryote communities. Importantly, Sphagnum—the keystone genus in these peatlands—only established in inoculated mesocosms. Together, this resulted in an increased CO2 uptake by approximately 17 g m−2 day−1 and reduced overall nutrient content in the peat pore water.

Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that inoculation can be used to accelerate the establishment of peatland‐specific species. In addition, they suggest the potential to combine peat moss inoculation and hydrological restoration to accelerate the uptake of carbon back into the system post‐fire. This offers a basis for future work exploring the long‐term use of inoculation to return disturbed peatlands to their pre‐degraded state, and a wider application of soil inoculation as a mechanism for functional recovery.
FTO demethylates m6A modifications in CDKAL1 mRNA and promotes gastric cancer chemoresistance by altering mitochondrial dynamics
Authors: Liu Na , Liu Chang , Wang Zixuan , Wang Longqing , Wang Jiang , Kong Jing
Published: January 2023

N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) modification is the most common mRNA modification that is considered a new layer of mRNA epigenetic regulation. Demethylase fat mass and obesity‐associated protein (FTO) are important in the dynamic regulation of m6A, but their role in gastric cancer (GC) is not fully understood. This study revealed that FTO and CDKAL1 were up‐regulated in GC cells and tissue. CDKAL1 is the downstream target of FTO‐mediated m6A modification, with FTO promoting GC cell proliferation through CDKAL1 and inducing mitochondrial fusion, eventually causing GC chemoresistance. In conclusion, FTO contributes to the increasing resistance of GC cells to 5‐fluorouracil (5‐Fu) by upregulating CDKAL1 and inducing mitochondrial fusion.
In sight, in mind: Spatial proximity to protest sites and changes in peoples' political attitudes
Authors: Xu Duoduo , Guo Jiao
Published: January 2023

Occupying public spaces can be an effective tactic for conveying a semantic message of protest and gaining wider support; however, it may also severely disrupt the everyday lives of non‐participants and causes a backfire. Therefore, it remains unclear whether and how the occupy movements have shifted political attitudes among the general public. Bringing a social‐spatial perspective to the case of the Occupy Central Movement (OCM) in Hong Kong, this study investigates how the attitudinal impact of occupation has varied according to people's spatial proximity to the protest sites. Using two waves of individual‐level panel data collected right before and after the OCM and detailed geo‐information on the respondents' home addresses and the occupied areas, we apply a difference‐in‐differences (DIDs) design to identify the causal link between space and attitudes. In addition, propensity score matching (PSM) methods are used to ensure the comparability of nearby and faraway residents. The results show that after the OCM, residents living near the occupied areas not only maintained their support for the pro‐democracy camp but also became more liberal as compared to faraway residents. This phenomenon can be explained by the “on‐site” effect, which suggests that the direct exposure to protestors' solidarity and the repressive actions of authorities arouse bystanders' sympathy for the protestors and support for their political cause. Such influence appears to be long‐lasting and can be evidenced by the local election results after the protest.
“That shit doesn't fly”: Subcultural constraints on prison radicalization
Authors: Bucerius Sandra M. , Schultz William , Haggerty Kevin D.
Published: January 2023

Many observers describe prison subcultures as inherently and irredeemably antisocial. Research directly ties prison subcultures to violence, gang membership, and poor reintegration. In extreme cases, research has also suggested that prison subcultures contribute to incarcerated people joining radical groups or embracing violent extremist beliefs. These claims, however, ignore key differences in the larger cultural and social context of prisons. We examine the relationship between prison subcultures and prison radicalization based on semistructured qualitative interviews with 148 incarcerated men and 131 correctional officers from four western Canadian prisons. We outline several imported features of the prison subculture that make incarcerated people resilient to radicalized and extremist messaging. These features include 1) national cultural imaginaries; 2) the racial profile of a prison, including racial sorting or a lack thereof; and 3) how radicalization allowed incarcerated men and correctional officers to act outside the otherwise agreed‐to subcultural rules. Our research findings stress the importance of contemplating broader sociocultural influences when trying to understand the relationship between radicalization and prison dynamics and politics.
Wheat gluten–based coatings and films: Preparation, properties, and applications
Authors: Xu Jingwen , Li Yonghui
Published: January 2023

Effective food packaging that can protect foodstuffs from physical, chemical, and biological damage and maintain freshness and quality is essential to the food industry. Wheat gluten shows promise as food packaging materials due to its edibility, biodegradability, wide availability, low cost, film‐forming potential, and high resistance to oxygen. The low mechanical properties and poor water permeability of wheat gluten coatings and films limit their wide applications; however, some inferior properties can be improved through various solutions. This work presents a comprehensive review about wheat gluten–based coatings and films, including their formulation, processing methods, properties, functions, and applications. The mechanical and water resistance properties of coatings and films can be reinforced through wheat gluten modification, combinations of different processing methods, and the incorporation of reinforcing macromolecules, antioxidants, and nanofillers. Antioxidants and antimicrobial agents added to wheat gluten can inhibit microbial growth on foodstuffs, maintain food quality, and extend shelf life. Performances of wheat gluten–based coatings and films can be further improved to expand their applications in food packaging. Current research gaps are identified. Future research is needed to examine the optimal formulation and processing of wheat gluten–based coatings and films and their performance.
Patient experiences of a care transition intervention for Veterans to reduce emergency department visits
Authors: Seidenfeld Justine , Ramos Katherine , Bruening Rebecca A. , Sperber Nina R. , Stechuchak Karen M. , Hastings Susan N.
Published: January 2023

Objectives

Care transition interventions (CTIs) are used to improve outcomes after an emergency department (ED) visit. A recent randomized controlled trial of a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) CTI titled Discharge Information and Support for Patients receiving Outpatient care in the ED (DISPO ED) demonstrated no difference in repeat ED visits. However, changes in health care utilization are not the only measures of a CTI worth evaluation, and there is interest in using patient‐centered outcomes to assess CTIs as well. To inform future CTI design and outcome measure selection, the study aims were to understand how patients experienced the CTI and what elements they valued.

Methods

This was a qualitative study of participants randomized to the intervention arm of the DISPO ED trial using semistructured interviews. The interview guide included questions about clinical health and other issues addressed by the study nurse, the most and least helpful aspects of the intervention, and impacts of the intervention on their perceptions of self‐management. Interviews were analyzed using directed content analysis.

Results

Our sample comprised 24 participants, with average age of 61 years, 58% male, and 50% Black or African American. We identified six major themes related to (1) experiences during the intervention and (2) elements they valued. Patients reported clinical health coaching recommendations covering a wide range of topics as well as care coordination actions such as appointment scheduling. Valuable elements of the intervention highlighted personal characteristics of the study nurse that promoted a sense of interpersonal connection and empathy in their interactions.

Conclusions

Intervention users described assistance with care coordination as well as clinical concerns. We identified aspects that were highly valued by the participants, such as interpersonal support and empathy from the interventionist. These findings suggest the need for more comprehensive nonutilization outcome measures for CTIs to capture the patient's perspective.
Serotonergic and dopaminergic control of impulsivity in gambling disorder
Authors: Kaasinen Valtteri , Honkanen Emma A. , Lindholm Kari , Jaakkola Elina , Majuri Joonas , Parkkola Riitta , Noponen Tommi , Vahlberg Tero , Voon Valerie , Clark Luke , Joutsa Juho , Seppänen Marko
Published: January 2023

Gambling disorder (GD) is major public health issue. The disorder is often characterized by elevated impulsivity with evidence from analogous substance use disorders underlining prominent roles of brain monoamines in addiction susceptibility and outcome. Critically, GD allows the study of addiction mechanisms without the confounder of the effects of chronic substances. Here, we assessed the roles of striatal dopamine transporter binding and extrastriatal serotonin transporter binding in GD as a function of impulsivity using [123I]FP‐CIT SPECT imaging in 20 older adults with GD (DSM‐5 criteria; mean age 64 years) and 40 non‐GD age‐ and sex‐matched controls. We focused on GD in older individuals because there are prominent age‐related changes in neurotransmitter function and because there are no reported neuroimaging studies of GD in older adults. Volume‐of‐interest‐based and voxelwise analyses were performed. GD patients scored clearly higher on impulsivity and had higher tracer binding in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex than controls (p < 0.001), likely reflecting serotonin transporter activity. The binding in the medial prefrontal cortex positively correlated with impulsivity over the whole sample (r = 0.62, p < 0.001) as well as separately in GD patients (r = 0.46, p = 0.04) and controls (r = 0.52, p < 0.001). Striatal tracer binding, reflecting dopamine transporter activity was also positively correlated with impulsivity but showed no group differences. These findings highlight the role of prefrontal serotonergic function in GD and impulsivity. They identify cerebral coordinates of a potential target for neuromodulation for both GD and high impulsivity, a core phenotypic dimensional cognitive marker in addictions.
Risk stratification of sudden cardiac death in asymptomatic female Brugada syndrome patients: A literature review
Authors: Leung Keith Sai Kit , Radford Danny , Huang Helen , Lakhani Ishan , Li Christien Ka Hou , Hothi Sandeep Singh , Wai Abraham Ka Chung , Liu Tong , Tse Gary , Lee Sharen
Published: January 2023

Background and Objectives

Risk stratification in Brugada syndrome remains a difficult problem. Given the male predominance of this disease and their elevated risks of arrhythmic events, affected females have received less attention. It is widely known that symptomatic patients are at increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) than asymptomatic patients, while this might be true in the male population; recent studies have shown that this association might not be significant in females. Over the past few decades, numerous markers involving clinical symptoms, electrocardiographic (ECG) indices, and genetic tests have been explored, with several risk‐scoring models developed so far. The objective of this study is to review the current evidence of clinical and ECG markers as well as risk scores on asymptomatic females with Brugada syndrome.

Findings

Gender differences in ECG markers, the yield of genetic findings, and the applicability of risk scores are highlighted.

Conclusions

Various clinical, electrocardiographic, and genetic risk factors are available for assessing SCD risk amongst asymptomatic female BrS patients. However, due to the significant gender discrepancy in BrS, the SCD risk amongst females is often underestimated, and there is a lack of research on female‐specific risk factors and multiparametric risk scores. Therefore, multinational studies pooling female BrS patients are needed for the development of a gender‐specific risk stratification approach amongst asymptomatic BrS patients.
Potential role of volatile organic compound breath testing in the Australasian colorectal cancer pathway
Authors: Gower Helen , Danielson Kirsty , Dennett A. P. Elizabeth , Deere Joseph
Published: January 2023

With colonoscopy resources under pressure and inequitable participation rates in our screening programmes, there is an urgent need to consider trialling new testing technology for the detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) in Australasia. Research has shown that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from the human body can act as biomarkers for CRC, indicating high sensitivity and specificity for early and late‐stage CRC and for adenomatous polyps. Breath‐based VOC testing shows promise due to acceptability and ease of sampling via simple hand‐held devices. Analysis can occur via mass spectrometry, or via ‘e‐nose’ or sensor techniques. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge in using VOC‐based testing for CRC. Adoption of this technique has the potential to improve CRC survival, reduce incidence and reduce colonoscopy burden in Australasia, and positively impact on ethnic disparities in cancer outcomes. Future multicentre trials should be conducted using standardized processes and protocols. This will ensure accuracy and reproducibility under different environmental and physiological conditions, and for different ethnic groups. Studies should be explicitly targeted to various points along the CRC patient pathway.
Visual function correlates with neurodevelopment in a population cohort of school‐aged children born extremely preterm
Authors: Ingvaldsen Sigrid Hegna , Hansen Tor Ivar , Håberg Asta K. , Moholdt Viggo , Evensen Kari Anne I. , Dammann Olaf , Austeng Dordi , Morken Tora Sund
Published: January 2023

Aim

To investigate visual function and neurodevelopment in a geographically defined population cohort of school‐aged children born extremely preterm.

Methods

All children born extremely preterm in Central Norway between 2006 and 2011 (n=65) were identified, and 36 (median age, min/max: 13, 10/16) were included. Best‐corrected visual acuity (BCVA), contrast sensitivity (four spatial frequencies), parent‐reported challenges and neuropsychological testing in learning, executive functions, motor skills, perception, reaction time, working and visual memory, processing speed, and pattern separation were measured. Brain MRI (3T) was acquired and read by a neuroradiologist.

Results

Median (min/max) BCVA letter score was 85 (35/91) in the better and 82 (13/89) in the worse eye. ROP participants (n=7) had lower contrast sensitivity in the two highest spatial frequencies (p = 0.024 and p = 0.004). Parent‐reported challenges correlated negatively with BCVA (learning: p = 0.014; executive functions: p = 0.002; motor skills: p = 0.000; and perception: p = 0.001), while motor skills correlated negatively with one (p = 0.010) and perception with two (p = 0.003 and p = 0.009) of four spatial frequencies. Neuropsychological tests were reduced relative to norms. None had MRI‐verified preterm brain injury.

Conclusion

Visual function was subnormal and correlated with parent‐reported challenges in a small cohort of extremely preterm school‐aged children, indicating that visual function may be a marker of neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Significant age by childhood trauma interactions on grey matter volumes: A whole brain VBM analysis
Authors: Malhi Gin S. , Das Pritha , Outhred Tim , Bell Erica , Gessler Danielle , Bryant Richard , Mannie Zola
Published: January 2023

Background

Childhood trauma is deleterious to long term brain development. The changes are variable, and depend on gender, age and the nature of the trauma. In this exploratory analysis, we investigated the effects of exposure to emotional trauma on grey matter (GM) volumes in adolescent females.

Methods

We explored GM volumes in non‐clinical females aged 12–17 years who had been exposed to either higher (HET; N = 75) or minimal (MET; N = 127) emotional trauma. High‐resolution T1‐weighted structural images were analysed with an optimised FSL‐VBM protocol. The General Linear Model was run on HET versus MET with continuous age as an interaction. Mean GM volumes were extracted from significant corrected age interaction statistical maps and scrutinised with SPSS®.

Results

We observed greater HET*age than MET*age interactions (corrected p‐value = 0.0002), in 4 separate bilateral cortical regions associated with mood disorders. Scrutiny of these regions showed significant GM volume enlargements in the early adolescent HET group (p = 0.017) and reductions in the late adolescent HET group (p < 0.0001). Notably, there were no differences in middle adolescence (p > 0.05).

Limitations

Causality cannot be inferred from this cross‐sectional study and the onset of trauma cannot be determined using retrospective measures.

Conclusions

Whilst GM volumes diminish from early adolescence onwards, our results show that HET impacts this brain development, perhaps first via unstable adaptative mechanisms, followed by maladaptive processes in late adolescence. This suggests that compromises of emotional and cognitive self‐regulation in mood disorders may underpin the structural abnormalities observed across multiple brain regions in these teenage girls.
Retrieval of a misdeployed lumen‐apposing metal stent in walled‐off necrosis by a parallel withdrawal technique using a double‐channel endoscope
Authors: Liao Yi‐Jun , Tonozuka Ryosuke , Itoi Takao
Published: January 2023

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Optimal unemployment policy
Authors: Lawson Nicholas
Published: January 2023

This paper shows that the optimal policy to deal with unemployment features important roles for monitoring of search and job search assistance, with the optimal combined policy also incorporating more generous unemployment insurance (UI). These results are significantly different from the previous literature, which has overwhelmingly focused on UI on its own. I incorporate two empirically relevant phenomena that have often been ignored: private consumption smoothing and fiscal externalities from income taxes. I estimate a job search model using indirect inference on data from the March Current Population Survey, and simulate the model to evaluate a variety of policy reforms.
Eavesdropping Books as Testimony: Witnessing Secondhand Crimes Against Humanity with Young Children
Authors: Furman Cara E.
Published: January 2023

How do educators talk about trauma with young children? Specifically, how do they address children's secondhand experiences of crimes against humanity? In this article, Cara E. Furman argues that classrooms for young children must witness these experiences. A genre of picture books that Furman terms “eavesdropping texts” offer testimony that both witnesses and invites children's secondhand experiences of crimes against humanity. Here, Furman couples a close reading of the books with literary criticism and trauma theory in order to showcase the nuances of the genre and the pedagogical potential of eavesdropping books for young readers.
An online intervention to promote mental health literacy for psychosis amongst parents of adolescents: A pilot randomized controlled trial
Authors: Nakanishi Miharu , Tanaka Takahiro , Nishida Atsushi , Mandai Nozomu , Kitamura Nobutaka , Yoshii Hatsumi
Published: January 2023

Aim

This study evaluated an online mental health literacy intervention to improve help‐seeking for psychosis amongst parents of adolescents.

Methods

A total of 2496 parents of first‐grade junior high school students, recruited from a Japan‐based survey company, participated in a randomized controlled trial in July 2016; participants were randomly allocated to the intervention (n = 1248) or control group (n = 1248). They were assessed at baseline and one‐week post intervention. The intervention group received a 30‐minute online educational programme that included a narrative of the mother of an adolescent with psychosis.

Results

There were no between‐group differences in changes in the rate of ‘no help‐seeking’ in any hypothetical situations of a child's psychosis and prodromal symptoms.

Conclusions

The intervention might have been suboptimal to improve mental health literacy for psychosis amongst parents of adolescents. A narrative message from a service user may be helpful to encourage parents in help‐seeking.
Impacts of the carbon tax on green shipping supply chain under the port competition
Authors: Song Jingyao , Xu Changyan , Wang Chuanxu
Published: January 2023

The shipping industry plays an important role in international trade and world economic development. In particular, the rapid growth of the shipping industry since 2020 has become an important factor in supporting and stimulating the rapid recovery of the global economy in the post epidemic era. However, under the background that climate warming has increasingly become the theme of common concern for all mankind, greenhouse gas emission reduction has increasingly attracted the attention of governments of all countries, and has also become the requirement for production and operation of all industries, the green, environmental protection and sustainable development of the shipping industry have also become the focus of participants in all sectors. As environmental problems put forward requirements of a green shipping industry, some policies aimed at reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon tax, have brought considerations to the strategies of ports and enterprises, especially concerning their competition and cooperation. This study established a shipping supply chain system composed of two ports and one shipping company in order to analyse the impact of carbon tax on the shipping supply chain, and to optimize the decision‐making of government, ports and shipping companies. Through three‐level Stackelberg game of four models including ports cooperating or not cooperating with each other, and carbon tax levied on ports or the shipping company, the study finds that the collection of carbon tax will reduce the container handling volume of ports thus reducing the profits of both ports and the shipping company, but the handling volume when the government puts carbon tax on ports is lower than that when it puts carbon tax on the shipping company, and the handling volume under the port cooperation mode is lower than that under the port non‐cooperation mode. As the collector of carbon tax, the government's income when taxing ports is higher than that when taxing shipping companies, and when ports cooperate, the government's income is lower than that when ports do not cooperate. Moreover, no matter the ports cooperate with each other or not, the impact of carbon tax on port container handling volume under the mode of carbon tax levied by the government on ports is more significant than that when carbon tax is levied on the shipping company, leaving the former mode a lower container handling volume and lower profit. The findings of this study have the following significance and suggestions for the participants of shipping supply industry: In order to maximize the government's target value, the government should give priority to taxing shipping companies rather than ports; Under the background of carbon tax, ports should choose limited non‐cooperation strategies.