bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does fintech lead to better accounting practices? Empirical evidence
Authors: Osei-Assibey Bonsu Mandella , Wang Ying , Guo Yongsheng
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Innovation in fintech presents great opportunities and huge challenges for accounting practices around the world. This paper aims to examine the impact of Fintech on accounting practices including financial reporting, performance management, budgeting, auditing, risk and fraud management. Fintech is proxied by the adoption of AI and big data analysis in accounting practices.

Design/methodology/approach

We chose African countries as our focus countries and surveyed chartered and qualified accountants in both Ghana and Nigeria. With 201 questionnaires qualified for our final analyses, we adopted the structural equation modelling to analyse the impact of Fintech on accounting practices.

Findings

The empirical results show that the impact of AI and big data on accounting practices is positive and significant, indicating that fintech could potentially mitigate the agency problem in accounting practices and lead to better accounting practices. Interestingly, we find that, in general, the impact of AI is larger than that of big data.

Originality/value

Our results provide significant insights to regulators, policymakers and managers about the future development of adopting fintech in the regulation and governance framework at both macro and micro levels for accounting practice.
The determinants of internal audit quality
Authors: Samagaio António , Felício Teresa
Published: April 2023

Purpose

This study aims to understand the behavior of internal auditors towards quality and analyze if some organizational and individual factors influence internal audit quality.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample is constituted by Portuguese internal auditors, and the methodology includes the use of partial least squares – structuring equation model (PLS-SEM) to test the hypothesis under study.

Findings

The results show that there is a negative relationship between reduced audit quality practices (RAQP) and organizational commitment and independence. The results found that time pressure positively affect RAQP. There is no evidence that perceived organizational support (POS) and risk profile are determinants of RAQP.

Originality/value

This work contributes by extending the literature about the determinants of internal audit quality, but also to the practice by understanding the factors that influence the behavior of internal auditors and by making recommendations that allow an improvement of the quality of internal auditing.
The impact of justice on information sharing and innovation performance: a social exchange theory perspective
Authors: Huo Baofeng , Liu Xu , Li Siyu
Published: April 2023

Purpose

With more demand-driven innovation activities, manufacturers must proactively engage in information sharing activities with their customers for better innovation performance. This study aims to inquire into the impacts of information sharing activities between manufacturers and customers (including information system usage and information content sharing) on manufacturers’ innovation performance and considers interfirm justice (including distributive justice, procedural justice and interactional justice) as information sharing antecedents.

Design/methodology/approach

The social exchange theory is applied to develop the conceptual model. The authors examine the conceptual model with the structural equation modeling approach using data collected from 213 Chinese manufacturers.

Findings

Interactional justice promotes information system usage. Both interactional justice and procedural justice increase information content sharing, while distributive justice decreases it. Information content sharing directly improves innovation performance and fully mediates the relationship between information system usage and innovation performance.

Originality/value

This research enriches empirical studies on justice-information sharing relationships by systematically investigating the impacts of three types of justice on different information sharing activities. It also adds to the application of social exchange theory in the practices of interfirm justice and information sharing. Besides, it probes into influencing mechanisms of different information sharing activities, information system usage and information content sharing, on innovation performance. The findings can guide firms to implement interfirm justice and information sharing practices for superior innovation performance.
Development and validation of a real-time testbed for renewable energy integration studies: South African grid code case study
Authors: Joubert Gideon Daniel , Raji Atanda Kamoru
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Despite South Africa’s ailing electrical grid, substantial renewable energy (RE) integration is planned for the country. As grid-integrated RE affects all grids differently, this study aims to develop an adaptable grid code-guided renewable power plant (RPP) control real-time simulation testbed, tailored to South African grid code requirements to study grid-integrated RE’s behaviour concerning South Africa’s unique conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

The testbed is designed using MATLAB’s Simulink and live script environments, to create an adaptable model where grid, RPP and RPP guiding grid codes are tailorable. This model is integrated with OPAL-RT’s RT-LAB and brought to real-time simulation using OPAL-RT’s OP4510 simulator. Voltage, frequency and short-circuit event case studies are performed through which the testbed’s abilities and performance are assessed.

Findings

Case study results show the following. The testbed accurately represents grid code voltage and frequency requirements. RPP point of connection (POC) conditions are consistently recognized and tracked, according to which the testbed then operates simulated RPPs, validating its design. Short-circuit event simulations show the simulated wind farm supports POC conditions relative to short-circuit intensity by curtailing active power in favour of reactive power, in line with local grid code requirements.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first design of an adaptable grid code-guided RPP control testbed, tailored to South African grid code requirements in line with which RPP behavioural and grid integration studies can be performed.
The shift in research trends related to artificial intelligence in library repositories during the coronavirus pandemic
Authors: Nugroho Prasetyo Adi , Anna Nove E. Variant , Ismail Noraini
Published: April 2023

Purpose

This study sought to analyze the correlation between artificial intelligence (AI) and libraries and examine whether there were any shifts in research trends related to these two topics during the coronavirus pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The study gathered secondary data from the Scopus website using the keywords “AI,” “library” and “repository,” from 1993 to 2022. Data were re-analyzed using the bibliometric software VOSviewer to examine the trending country's keyword relations and appearance and Biblioshiny to study the publication metadata.

Findings

Index keywords, such as “human,” “deep learning,” “machine learning,” “surveys” and “open-source software,” became popular during 2020, being closely related to digital libraries. Additionally, the annual scientific production of papers increased significantly in 2021. Words related to data mining also had the most significant growth from 2019 to 2022 because of the importance of data mining for library services during the pandemic.

Practical implications

This study provides insight for librarians for the implementation of AI to support repositories during the pandemic. Librarians can learn how to maximize the AI-based repository services in academic libraries during the pandemic. Furthermore, academic libraries can create policies for repository services using AI.

Social implications

This study can lead researchers, academicians and practitioners in conducting research on AI in library repositories.

Originality/value

As research on AI and digital repositories remains limited, the study identifies themes and highlights the knowledge gap existing in the field.
Collectively crafting the sales job: linking charismatic leadership to sales teams’ performance
Authors: Luu Tuan Trong
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Irrespective of the importance of collective job crafting for team performance, its antecedents have not been fully comprehended. Drawing upon social cognitive theory, this study proposes that sales managers’ charismatic leadership interacts with collective proactive personality in predicting collective job crafting, which in turn influences sales teams’ customer relationship performance and financial performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 481 sales employees and 64 sales managers from 64 sales departments of tour companies. These multi-source data were analyzed through structural equation modeling.

Findings

The findings revealed that charismatic leadership was positively associated with sales teams’ collective job crafting, which was in turn positively related to sales teams’ customer relationship performance and financial performance. Collective proactive personality negatively moderated the impact of charismatic leadership on collective job crafting.

Originality/value

This study advances the extant knowledge by identifying the role of collective job crafting in translating charismatic leadership into sales teams’ performance.
Using ANTi-microhistory to theorize a typology of organizational crisis
Authors: Horner Carley , Holland Joseph , Novicevic Milorad
Published: April 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to present qualitative research of the past organizational crisis at Mississippi Chemical Corporation that the authors use to theorize a typology of organizational crisis from the leadership perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors combined ANTi-microhistory approach and staff ride research design to re-enact the sensemaking of the company’s former crisis leaders and elicit their retrospective oral accounts. A long interview format was used to interview the crisis leaders.

Findings

The authors found that the former crisis leaders not only conceptualized organizational crisis conventionally as an event or as a process but also that they engaged in the denial of the crisis to guard the company’s reputation and competed with their claims against the stakeholder claims about the ways how the crisis was to be managed.

Originality/value

Based on the paper’s findings, the authors proposed an original typology of organizational crisis.
Impacts of ecological restoration on the genetic diversity of plant species: A global meta‐analysis
Authors: Wei Xinzeng , Xu Yaozhan , Lyu Linyu , Xiao Zhiqiang , Wang Shitong , Yang Teng , Jiang Mingxi
Published: April 2023

In contrast to the depth of knowledge available for the enhancement of plant species diversity and ecosystem services through ecological restoration, our understanding of how ecological restoration impacts genetic diversity (GD) of plant species has not yet been synthesized.

We performed a global meta‐analysis to examine whether ecological restoration improved GD of plant species in restored populations. First, we compared the GD of restored populations with reference or degraded populations. Second, we explored whether the influence of ecological restoration on plant GD varies between species with different characteristics (life form and threat status), between different restoration strategies (active/passive, seeding/planting, mixture/non‐mixture) or between different restoration times (<50 and ≥ 50 years; with an average of 29.3 years).

The GD of restored populations was significantly lower (HE, 1.06%;PPB, 5.10%, andSWI, 4.95%) than in reference populations but was comparable to degraded populations. The inbreeding coefficient (FIS, the proportion by which the heterozygosity of an individual is reduced by inbreeding) was consistently comparable between restored populations and reference or degraded populations.

Woody species but not herbs and forest but not grassland ecosystem had significantly lower GD in restored populations than in reference populations. Passive but not active restoration, seeding rather than planting, and mixing materials from different sources rather than using a single source, all significantly increased the GD of restored populations. When the restoration time was ≥50 years, in contrast to <50 years, GD was comparable between the restored and reference populations.

Synthesis and applications. In general, ecological restoration did not significantly improve the GD of plant species compared to reference or degraded populations. This might be due in part to the relatively short restoration time. Using passive restoration, seeding, and mixed sources could significantly increase the GD of restored populations. We emphasize that GD should not be treated as a minor cobenefit of ecological restoration for other purposes and that the recovery of GD should be listed as a vital goal in future ecological restoration with plant species.
Matrix metalloproteinase activity during methamphetamine cued relapse
Authors: Lewandowski Stacia I. , Hodebourg Ritchy , Wood Samuel K. , Carter Jordan S. , Nelson Katherine H. , Kalivas Peter W. , Reichel Carmela M.
Published: April 2023

Relapse to drug seeking involves transient synaptic remodelling that occurs in response to drug‐associated cues. This remodelling includes activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to initiate catalytic signalling in the extracellular matrix in the nucleus accumbens core (NAcore). We hypothesized that MMP activity would be increased in the NAcore during cue‐induced methamphetamine (meth) seeking in a rat model of meth use and relapse. Male and female rats had indwelling jugular catheters and bilateral intracranial cannula targeting the NAcore surgically implanted. Following recovery, rats underwent meth or saline self‐administration (6 h/day for 15 days) in which active lever responding was paired with a light + tone stimulus complex, followed by home cage abstinence. Testing occurred after 7 or 30 days of abstinence. On test day, rats were microinjected with a fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)‐quenched gelatin substrate that fluoresces following cleavage by MMP‐2,9, allowing for the quantification of gelatinase activity during cued‐relapse testing. MMP‐2,9 activity was significantly increased in the NAcore by meth cues presentation after 7 and 30 days of abstinence, indicating that remodelling by MMPs occurs during presentation of meth associated cues. Surprisingly, although cue‐induced seeking increased between Days 7 and 30, MMP‐2,9 activity did not increase. These findings indicate that although MMP activation is elicited during meth cue‐induced seeking, MMP activation did not parallel the meth seeking that occurs during extended drug abstinence.
Alcohol's harm to others in 2021: Who bears the burden?
Authors: Laslett Anne‐Marie , Room Robin , Kuntsche Sandra , Anderson‐Luxford Dan , Willoughby Bree , Doran Christopher , Jenkinson Rebecca , Smit Koen , Egerton‐Warburton Diana , Jiang Heng
Published: April 2023

Background and aims

Alcohol's harm to others (AHTO) has become a key driver of national and international alcohol policy. This study aimed to produce a contemporary, comprehensive estimate of the correlates and harms from others' drinking in 2021 in Australia.

Design, setting, participants and measurements

Across Australia, 2574 adults (1380 women; 1172 men) were sampled via two cross‐sectional survey modes: a random‐digit dial mobile phone sample of 1000 people and 1574 people from the Life in Australia™ panel survey. In 2021 participants were asked about harms they had experienced from the drinking of family, friends, co‐workers and the public in the past year. Applying combined sample weights from each mode, bivariable and adjusted multivariable logistic regressions were used to analyse differences in rates of AHTO by participant gender, age, residence in rural or metropolitan regions, country of birth, education and employment.

Findings

In 2021, 23.6% reported being negatively affected by strangers' drinking and 21.3% by the drinking of someone they knew, with 34.3% reporting being negatively affected a lot or a little by either; 42.4% of respondents reported specific harms from strangers' drinking. Thus, 48.1% of respondents reported any harm (negative effects or specific harms) from others' drinking. Women, younger people, Australian‐born and heavier episodic drinkers reported significantly higher rates of AHTO compared with other respondents. Smaller percentages (7.5%) of participants reported being harmed substantially by others' drinking, including by people they knew (5.8%) or strangers (2.3%). Stratified analyses showed that heavier drinking, furloughed, younger men who were born overseas in English‐speaking countries were affected by others' drinking, whereas women were affected regardless of these factors (apart from age).

Conclusions

More than one‐third of Australian adults appear to have been negatively affected by others' drinking in 2021, with women, younger people and heavier drinkers at greater risk. Substantial harm appears to be more likely to arise from the drinking of people Australians know than from strangers' drinking.
Review article: Putting some muscle into sarcopenia—the pathogenesis, assessment and clinical impact of muscle loss in patients with inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Gold Stephanie L. , Raman Maitreyi , Sands Bruce E. , Ungaro Ryan , Sabino João
Published: April 2023

Background

Sarcopenia, a loss of skeletal muscle mass or function, affects up to 50% of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and is associated with poor clinical outcomes including increased hospitalizations, need for surgery and post‐operative complications. Despite the high prevalence and clinical significance of sarcopenia in patients with IBD, few patients undergo routine muscle evaluation.

Aim

The goal of this study was to review the mechanisms of sarcopenia in patients with IBD and understand novel modalities to assess and treat impaired muscle mass or function.

Methods

Pubmed and Cochrane databases were searched including articles published up to February 2023 utilizing the following keywords: “inflammatory bowel disease”, “IBD”, “Crohn's disease”, “ulcerative colitis”, “sarcopenia”, “myosteatosis”, “muscle health”, and “frailty”.

Results

The pathogenesis of sarcopenia in IBD is not well defined, however, there is evidence supporting the role of malabsorption, reduced protein intake, chronic inflammation, dysbiosis, decreased physical activity, medication effects and hormone signaling from visceral adiposity. Traditional sarcopenia assessment techniques include direct measurements on cross sectional imaging. However, given the time, cost and radiation exposure associated with cross sectional imaging, new bedside tools are now available to estimate muscle mass, including assessment of grip strength, mid upper arm circumference and body composition utilizing bioelectrical impedance analysis. In addition, novel biomarkers for assessing muscle mass and techniques utilizing point of care ultrasound have been proposed to make sarcopenia evaluation more streamlined in the IBD clinic.

Conclusion

Sarcopenia is associated with poor clinical outcomes independent of IBD activity and therefore muscle health should be assessed in all IBD patients at routine intervals. Future studies to better our understanding of the pathophysiology as well as most effective management of sarcopenia in IBD will help guide clinical care and reduce disease related complications.
Evaluation of a downstaging, bidirectional version of the Montreal classification of Crohn's disease: Analysis of 5‐year follow‐up data from the prospective BioCrohn study
Authors: Bokemeyer Bernd , Plachta‐Danielzik Sandra , di Giuseppe Romina , Helwig Ulf , Teich Niels , Schmidt Carsten , Hartmann Petra , Sobotzki Christina , Schreiber Stefan
Published: April 2023

Objective

Under the assumption of irreversibility, the Montreal classification provides a unidirectional assessment of the complications and behaviour of Crohn's disease (CD) that does not allow for downstaging. We examined the use of a bidirectional Montreal classification system that can capture disease regression.

Design

From the BioCrohn Registry, an inception cohort of patients with CD for ≤12 months duration was defined and followed up for 5‐years. Cumulative probabilities for developing complications were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Potential associations of explanatory variables with disease progression were estimated with Cox regression.

Results

Among 393 incident CD patients (of whom 255 completed the entire follow‐up), the 5‐year cumulative probability of developing complications was 41.5% (15.6% and 25.9% for stricturing and penetrating complications respectively). Perianal disease (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 8.45 [4.74–15.07]) and surgical resection of the intestine (2.71 [1.50–4.92]) in the very early phase of the disease were associated with a higher risk of developing a penetrating complication within the 5‐year follow‐up. The use of a bidirectional Montreal classification system which can account for disease regression demonstrated that 90% of patients exhibited inflammatory disease behaviour at 5 years, in contrast to 58%, if the hierarchical, unidirectional Montreal classification system was used.

Conclusion

An additional bidirectional disease behaviour assessment capturing reversed or fully controlled complications may provide a more realistic appraisal of the complexity and unmet needs of patients treated with advanced therapies.
Effects of GBT1118, a voxelotor analog, on intestinal pathophysiology in sickle cell disease
Authors: Haroun Elio , Dutta Dibyendu , Lim Seah H.
Published: April 2023

Voxelotor is an allosteric haemoglobin (Hb) modulator that binds covalently and reversibly to Hb alpha chain to facilitate improved Hb‐O2 affinity and arterial oxygen. It, therefore, reduces the susceptibility of erythrocytes carrying Haemoglobin S to sickle. In this study, we have used GBT1118, an analog of voxelotor, to treat male Townes sickle cell disease (SCD) mice to investigate whether the Hb modulator could attenuate the intestinal pathophysiologic changes associated with SCD. Compared with mice fed with control chow, GBT1118‐treated mice showed improvement in the intestinal pathophysiology. These mice exhibited improved small intestinal barrier functions, reduced intestinal microbial density, reduced enterocyte injury, lower serum lipopolysaccharides and smaller spleens. These improvements were observed after only 3 weeks of GBT1118 treatment. Benefits were also observed after experimentally‐induced vaso‐occlusive crisis (VOC). Recovery from the VOC‐induced changes was faster in mice that were treated with GBT1118. The improved small intestinal barrier function was associated with higher expression of genes encoding enterocyte E‐cadherin, JAM‐A, ZO‐1, MUC‐2 and occludin while the lower intestinal microbial density associated with higher expression of genes encoding the antimicrobial peptides defensin‐α 1 and defensin‐α 4. Our findings provide the evidence to support the beneficial effects of GBT1118 in SCD‐related intestinal pathophysiology.
Transoral CO2 laser‐modified posterior cordotomy combined with plasma ablation subtotal arytenoidectomy for bilateral vocal fold paralysis: A retrospective study
Authors: Lin Qin , Huang Chunyan , Chen Wei , Chen Xiaoqiang , Yi Xuehan , Wang Desheng , Li Chen
Published: April 2023

Objectives

To investigate the effect of transoral CO2 laser‐modified posterior cordotomy combined with plasma ablation subtotal arytenoidectomy for bilateral vocal fold paralysis (BVFP).

Design

A retrospective study with medical records from 2017 to 2021 in our hospital.

Setting

A single‐centre study.

Participants

This retrospective study included 22 patients with BVFP. They underwent transoral CO2 laser‐modified posterior cordotomy combined with plasma ablation subtotal arytenoidectomy in our hospital from 2017 to 2021.

Main Outcome Measures

Preoperative and postoperative swallowing and phonation functions were evaluated in all patients.

Results

All 22 patients with a tracheostomy were successfully decannulated within 6 months after surgery without subsequent revision operations, and the width of the posterior glottis was more than 3.9 mm in all patients when they inspired. The statistical analysis showed that there was no difference in vocal function and swallowing function in all patients compared to preoperative (p > .05).

Conclusion

Transoral CO2 laser‐modified posterior cordotomy combined with plasma ablation subtotal arytenoidectomy enlarges the posterior glottis in patients with BVFP, which maintains airway patency without significant worsening in voice and swallowing function.
Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Recursive Pattern Processing in Human Adults
Authors: Dedhe Abhishek M. , Piantadosi Steven T. , Cantlon Jessica F.
Published: April 2023

The capacity to generate recursive sequences is a marker of rich, algorithmic cognition, and perhaps unique to humans. Yet, the precise processes driving recursive sequence generation remain mysterious. We investigated three potential cognitive mechanisms underlying recursive pattern processing: hierarchical reasoning, ordinal reasoning, and associative chaining. We developed a Bayesian mixture model to quantify the extent to which these three cognitive mechanisms contribute to adult humans’ performance in a sequence generation task. We further tested whether recursive rule discovery depends upon relational information, either perceptual or semantic. We found that the presence of relational information facilitates hierarchical reasoning and drives the generation of recursive sequences across novel depths of center embedding. In the absence of relational information, the use of ordinal reasoning predominates. Our results suggest that hierarchical reasoning is an important cognitive mechanism underlying recursive pattern processing and can be deployed across embedding depths and relational domains.
Human Variability and the Explore–Exploit Trade‐Off in Recommendation
Authors: Yang Scott Cheng‐Hsin , Rank Chirag , Whritner Jake A. , Nasraoui Olfa , Shafto Patrick
Published: April 2023

The enormous scale of the available information and products on the Internet has necessitated the development of algorithms that intermediate between options and human users. These algorithms attempt to provide the user with relevant information. In doing so, the algorithms may incur potential negative consequences stemming from the need to select items about which it is uncertain to obtain information about users versus the need to select items about which it is certain to secure high ratings. This tension is an instance of the exploration–exploitation trade‐off in the context of recommender systems. Because humans are in this interaction loop, the long‐term trade‐off behavior depends on human variability. Our goal is to characterize the trade‐off behavior as a function of human variability fundamental to such human–algorithm interaction. To tackle the characterization, we first introduce a unifying model that smoothly transitions between active learning and recommending relevant information. The unifying model gives us access to a continuum of algorithms along the exploration–exploitation trade‐off. We then present two experiments to measure the trade‐off behavior under two very different levels of human variability. The experimental results inform a thorough simulation study in which we modeled and varied human variability systematically over a wide rage. The main result is that exploration–exploitation trade‐off grows in severity as human variability increases, but there exists a regime of low variability where algorithms balanced in exploration and exploitation can largely overcome the trade‐off.
The nano‐windmill exerts superior anti‐inflammatory effects via reducing choline uptake to inhibit macrophage activation
Authors: Liu Nanxin , Zhong Yuke , Pang Xiaoxiao , Li Mingzheng , Cannon Richard D. , Mei Li , Cai Xiaoxiao , Ji Ping
Published: April 2023

Macrophages' activation plays a central role during the development and progression of inflammation, while the regulation of metabolic reprogramming of macrophages has been recently identified as a novel strategy for anti‐inflammatory therapies. Our previous studies have found that tetrahedral framework nucleic acid (tFNA) plays a mild anti‐inflammatory effect by inhibiting macrophage activation, but the specific mechanism remains unclear. Here, by metabolomics and RNA sequencing, choline uptake is identified to be significantly repressed by decreased slc44a1 expression in tFNA‐treated activated macrophages. Inspired by this result, combined with the excellent delivery capacities of tFNA, siR‐slc44a1 is loaded into the tFNA to develop a new tFNA‐based small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery system named ‘nano‐windmill,’ which exhibits a synergetic role by targeting slc44a1, finally blowing up the anti‐inflammatory effects of tFNA to inhibit macrophages activation via reducing choline uptake. By confirming its anti‐inflammatory effects in chronic (periodontitis) and acute (sepsis) inflammatory disease, the tFNA‐based nanomedicine developed for inflammatory diseases may provide broad prospects for tFNA upgrading and various biological applications such as anti‐inflammatory.
Targeting RORα in macrophages to boost diabetic bone regeneration
Authors: Shen Yufeng , Tang Qingming , Wang Jiajia , Zhou Zheng , Yin Ying , Zhang Yifan , Zheng Wenhao , Wang Xinyuan , Chen Guangjin , Sun Jiwei , Chen Lili
Published: April 2023

Diabetes mellitus (DM) has become a serious threat to human health. Bone regeneration deficiency and nonunion caused by DM is perceived as a worldwide epidemic, with a very high socioeconomic impact on public health. Here, we find that targeted activation of retinoic acid‐related orphan receptor α (RORα) by SR1078 in the early stage of bone defect repair can significantly promote in situ bone regeneration of DM rats. Bone regeneration relies on the activation of macrophage RORα in the early bone repair, but RORα of DM rats fails to upregulation as hyperglycemic inflammatory microenvironment induced IGF1‐AMPK signalling deficiency. Mechanistic investigations suggest that RORα is vital for macrophage‐induced migration and proliferation of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) via a CCL3/IL‐6 depending manner. In summary, our study identifies RORα expressed in macrophages during the early stage of bone defect repair is crucial for in situ bone regeneration, and offers a novel strategy for bone regeneration therapy and fracture repair in DM patients.
Frequency of delirium and its associated factors among COVID‐19 inpatients in Iran
Authors: Alizadeh Arimi Fatemeh , Zarghami Mehran , Moosazadeh Mahmood , Mehravaran Hossein , Sedighi Faranak , Ghasemian Roya , Elyasi Forouzan
Published: April 2023

Background and aim

Delirium has been presented as the leading cause of sudden change in the mental state of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). Given that the delayed diagnosis of such a dysfunction is often associated with excess mortality, it seems essential to devote vastly more attention to this significant clinical characteristic.

Materials and methods

This cross‐sectional study was performed on 309 patients [viz. 259 cases hospitalized in general wards and 50 individuals admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU)]. For this purpose, a Demographic‐Clinical Information Questionnaire, the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM), the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM‐ICU), the Richmond Agitation‐Sedation Scale (RASS) and face‐to‐face interviews were completed by a trained senior psychiatry resident. The data analysis was further done with the SPSS Statistics V22.0 software package.

Results

Out of 259 patients admitted to the general wards and 50 cases in the ICU due to COVID‐19, 41 (15.8%) and 11 (22%) individuals were diagnosed with delirium, respectively. As well, a significant relationship was observed between the incidence rate of delirium and age (p < 0.001), level of education (p < 0.001), hypertension (HTN) (p = 0.029), a history of stroke (p = 0.025), a history of ischemic heart disease (IHD) (p = 0.007), a history of psychiatric disorders, a history of cognitive impairment (p < 0.001), use of hypnotic and antipsychotic medications (p < 0.001) and a history of substance abuse (p = 0.023). Among 52 patients with delirium, only 20 cases had received psychiatric consultation by consultation‐liaison psychiatry service for the possibility of delirium.

Conclusion

In view of the high frequency of delirium among COVID‐19 inpatients, their screening for this important mental state should be a priority in clinical settings.
Continuous glucose monitoring in patients with post‐bariatric hypoglycaemia reduces hypoglycaemia and glycaemic variability
Authors: Cummings Cameron , Jiang Alex , Sheehan Amanda , Ferraz‐Bannitz Rafael , Puleio Alexa , Simonson Donald C. , Dreyfuss Jonathan M. , Patti Mary Elizabeth
Published: April 2023

Aim

To determine whether continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) can reduce hypoglycaemia in patients with post‐bariatric hypoglycaemia (PBH).

Materials and Methods

In an open‐label, nonrandomized, pre‐post design with sequential assignment, CGM data were collected in 22 individuals with PBH in two sequential phases: (i) masked (no access to sensor glucose or alarms); and (ii) unmasked (access to sensor glucose and alarms for low or rapidly declining sensor glucose). Twelve participants wore the Dexcom G4 device for a total of 28 days, while 10 wore the Dexcom G6 device for a total of 20 days.

Results

Participants with PBH spent a lower percentage of time in hypoglycaemia over 24 hours with unmasked versus masked CGM (<3.3 mM/L, or <60 mg/dL: median [median absolute deviation {MAD}] 0.7 [0.8]% vs. 1.4 [1.7]%, P = 0.03; <3.9 mM/L, or <70 mg/dL: median [MAD] 2.9 [2.5]% vs. 4.7 [4.8]%; P = 0.04), with similar trends overnight. Sensor glucose data from the unmasked phase showed a greater percentage of time spent between 3.9 and 10 mM/L (70‐180 mg/dL) (median [MAD] 94.8 [3.9]% vs. 90.8 [5.2]%; P = 0.004) and lower glycaemic variability over 24 hours (median [MAD] mean amplitude of glycaemic excursion 4.1 [0.98] vs. 4.4 [0.99] mM/L; P = 0.04). During the day, participants also spent a greater percentage of time in normoglycaemia with unmasked CGM (median [MAD] 94.2 [4.8]% vs. 90.9 [6.2]%; P = 0.005), largely due to a reduction in hyperglycaemia (>10 mM/L, or 180 mg/dL: median [MAD] 1.9 [2.2]% vs. 3.9 [3.6]%; P = 0.02).

Conclusions

Real‐time CGM data and alarms are associated with reductions in low sensor glucose, elevated sensor glucose, and glycaemic variability. This suggests CGM allows patients to detect hyperglycaemic peaks and imminent hypoglycaemia, allowing dietary modification and self‐treatment to reduce hypoglycaemia. The use of CGM devices may improve safety in PBH, particularly for patients with hypoglycaemia unawareness.
The impact of COVID‐19 on children and adolescents attending Child and Youth Mental Health Services in Queensland, Australia
Authors: Payne Leanne , Goijen Hedwig J. , Cobham Vanessa , Bor William , Stathis Stephen S. , Coghill David C. , Middeldorp Christel M.
Published: April 2023

Objective

This explorative study aims to provide insight into impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic and associated restrictions, on mental health of children and adolescents treated at Child and Youth Mental Health Services, and their parents.

Method

The COVID‐19 Mental Health Survey was disseminated to parents of children and adolescents under treatment at community Child and Youth Mental Health Services (Brisbane, Australia) between July–November 2020 throughout different stages of COVID‐19 related restrictions. Parents of 110 children participated.

Results

Most reported child's symptoms were sadness (46%), anxiety (60%), lack of focus (61%), lack of joy in their usual activities (38%) and reduction in sleep (42%). Parental emotions were significantly correlated with their child's emotions. Parent's lack of enjoyment of usual activities had the overall strongest average correlation (0.27) but this was no longer significant once other variables were controlled for. Children who attended school remotely for some of the days had a significantly (p < .05) higher risk of having more reported symptoms. Interestingly, in later stages of the lockdown with further easing of restrictions, symptoms also tended to be more severe.

Conclusion

Cross‐sectional data on children and adolescents in Queensland, Australia with pre‐existing mental health issues suggests mental health continued to deteriorate through the pandemic even as restrictions eased. Changes in schooling seem to be an especially important risk factor.
“Turning back the clock”: A positive strategy for changing unacceptable youth behavior
Authors: Rimehaug Tormod
Published: April 2023

This paper describes “Turning back the clock” (TBC)—an innovative strategy addressing unacceptable or coercive youth behavior based on nonviolent principles, inspired by the nonviolent resistance movement (NVR)—also called connecting authority or caring authority (CA) approaches to guidance and supervision of parents and other adults. Variants of NVR/CA have been evaluated as effective in RCT and pre–post designs. TBC has not been evaluated regarding its effectiveness but shows promising usability in case studies. The aim of this description of the TBC strategy is to encourage development and testing of its usability on large scale to improve it and pave the way for effectiveness evaluations. The core of TBC is to create possibilities for improving behavior without delay by negotiating the social timeline narrative. This allows improvement through reenactment of events immediately after having said or done something unfortunate or unacceptable instead of waiting for the next comparable situation. Adults introduce the strategy by modeling it before youths are encouraged to improve their own misbehavior immediately without waiting for a later opportunity. Finally, adults declare that a set of unacceptable behaviors will be considered disqualifying to any request or demand, but that attempting again as if it had not happened can be a possibility: Using the TBC strategy. This declaration is intended to increase youth's interest in using TBC themselves, and with successful use reduce escalation of conflicts into coercion and threats.
Calling time on alien plantscapes
Authors: Gillman Len
Published: April 2023

Both urban and rural environments around the globe have become dominated by alien plant species to the extent that plantscapes from one region or country have become difficult to distinguish from many others. This process of plant community homogenisation comes at a cost to cultural identity and undermines people's sense of place. Although invasive alien plant species have received considerable attention in recent decades, issues with non‐invasive alien plant species have largely been ignored, and yet they contribute significantly to biotic homogeneity and impose an ever accumulating invasion debt: a debt that increases in proportion with their population sizes. By contrast, an abundance of native species in the places where people live is important for strengthening commitment to biodiversity conservation. Is there therefore sufficient evidence of harm from increasing numbers of non‐invasive alien plants to justify local and central governments introducing measures to substantially reduce the proportion of non‐invasive aliens in both urban and rural environments?
Niche modelling predicts that soil fungi occupy a precarious climate in boreal forests
Authors: Qin Clara , Pellitier Peter T. , Van Nuland Michael E. , Peay Kabir G. , Zhu Kai
Published: April 2023

Aim

Efforts to predict the responses of soil fungal communities to climate change are hindered by limited information on how fungal niches are distributed across environmental hyperspace. We predict the climate sensitivity of North American soil fungal assemblage composition by modelling the ecological niches of several thousand fungal species.

Location

One hundred and thirteen sites in the United States and Canada spanning all biomes except tropical rain forest.

Major Taxa Studied

Fungi.

Time Period

2011–2018.

Methods

We combine internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences from two continental‐scale sampling networks in North America and cluster them into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at 97% similarity. Using climate and soil data, we fit ecological niche models (ENMs) based on logistic ridge regression for all OTUs present in at least 10 sites (n = 8597). To describe the compositional turnover of soil fungal assemblages over climatic gradients, we introduce a novel niche‐based metric of climate sensitivity, the Sørensen climate sensitivity index. Finally, we map climate sensitivity across North America.

Results

ENMs have a mean out‐of‐sample predictive accuracy of 73.8%, with temperature variables being strong predictors of fungal distributions. Soil fungal climate niches clump together across environmental space, which suggests common physiological limits and predicts abrupt changes in composition with respect to changes in climate. Soil fungi in North American climates are more likely to be limited by cold and dry conditions than by warm and wet conditions, and ectomycorrhizal fungi generally tolerate colder temperatures than saprotrophic fungi. Sørensen climate sensitivity exhibits a multimodal distribution across environmental space, with a peak in climates corresponding to boreal forests.

Main Conclusions

The boreal forest occupies an especially precarious region of environmental space for the composition of soil fungal assemblages in North America, as even small degrees of warming could trigger large compositional changes characterized mainly by an influx of warm‐adapted species.
Paradox as resistance in male dominated fields and the value of (sur)facing enthymematic narratives
Authors: Mease Jennifer J. , Neal Bronwyn
Published: April 2023

Women working in masculine organizational contexts face a challenge of balancing (1) access to power by co‐opting masculine discourse in ways that risk reinforcing it, with (2) challenging and resisting practices that privilege masculinity. In this manuscript, we address one communication strategy for navigating that challenge: The denial/acknowledgment paradox in which women explicitly deny that gender affected their experience, but also describe the many ways it affected their experience. To do so, we examined transcripts of interviews with 11 women candidates who ran in the 2017 Virginia House of Delegates election in the United States and demonstrated this paradoxical communication strategy. Our analysis offers five different structures of the denial/acknowledgment paradox and shows how four of those structures engage what we call an “enthymematic narrative” of victimhood. Ultimately, we argue that (sur)facing the enthymematic narrative amplifies the generative potential of the denial/acknowledgment paradox and suggest that (sur)facing enthymematic narratives should be taken up more broadly as a strategy for organizational and social change.
Life‐stage and sex influence Philornis ectoparasitism in a Neotropical woodpecker Melanerpes striatus with essential male parental care
Authors: LaPergola Joshua B.
Published: April 2023

The nestlings of many Neotropical bird species suffer from Philornis (Diptera: Muscidae) ectoparasitism. Although nestlings are typically considered the intended targets, recent work indicates that Philornis infest adult birds more frequently than previously appreciated, yet few studies have concurrently surveyed nestlings and adults for Philornis in the same population. Over six field seasons (2012–17), I documented the presence of current or recent subcutaneous Philornis infestations on adult and nestling Hispaniolan Woodpeckers Melanerpes striatus from the same population in the central Dominican Republic. I tested the following three non‐mutually exclusive hypotheses regarding the occurrence of Philornis on adult birds: (1) nestlings are more vulnerable to Philornis parasitism than adults, (2) nesting is associated with Philornis parasitism in adults, and (3) Philornis parasitism is associated with incubation and brooding investment. Although nestling and adult woodpeckers exhibited similar prevalence of parasitism, parasitized nestlings hosted on average 3.5 times more Philornis wounds (larvae plus empty wounds) than parasitized adults. Nesting per se was not significantly associated with parasitism among adults, as breeding and non‐breeding adults showed similar prevalence and intensity. However, nests with Philornis‐infested young were significantly more likely to have one or both parents also infested, in contrast to nests with infestation‐free young. Furthermore, adult males, which perform overnight incubation and brooding, were significantly more likely to be parasitized than adult females. This last result supports the hypothesis that incubation and brooding investment increase the risk of Philornis parasitism for adults, but this conclusion is complicated by the lack of an association between parasitism and nesting status. Together, these results raise questions about the degree of host life‐stage specialization and whether adult parasitism is incidental or part of an alternative parasitic strategy for Philornis.
Students' abilities to formulate exhaustive titles as a key to comprehending arguments
Authors: Shilo Gila , Ragonis Noa
Published: April 2023

Titles are used to find and express the main idea of a given text. This study examines the ability of 357 eleventh‐grade high school students to formulate meaningful titles for argument paragraphs. Additionally, the link between the ability to provide proper titles and the ability to recognize the argument claim is examined. The study relates to three types of argument structures. The results reveal that most students failed to convey the main idea in all three argument structures. Moreover, even students who succeeded in indicating the main claim, failed to suggest exhaustive titles. Analysis reveals seven different types of inaccuracies in titles students formulated, and reasons for such are offered. Ten recommendations for teaching are suggested in conclusion.
Intelligent optimal demand response implemented by blockchain and cooperative game in microgrids
Authors: Bai Fenhua , Zhang Chi , Zhang Xiaohui
Published: April 2023

Distributed renewable energy supply (RES) is a new pattern for the transformation of power grids. As a characteristic case of RES, microgrids have an advantage in convenient operation. However, the energy management of microgrids remains as a major concern. With the emergence of the decentralized paradigm, blockchain potentially provides a reliable energy data metering and payment for the whole life cycle of energy management. In particular, the demand response (DR) in the microgrid can stimulate demanders to spontaneously manage their load consumption and maintain the balance of the energy trading market. To achieve optimal DR, a dynamic pricing strategy under the blockchain and game‐theoretic approach is proposed. First, the blockchain‐based architecture is applied to ensure the reliability of energy data and lay a foundation of binding agreements for games. Then, the pricing mechanism under the cooperative game is formulated to optimize DR. Moreover, to help resolve the optimal response quantity and reduce the supply punishment of the RES providers, the DR requires accurate forecasting of the energy generation and consumption profiles. Therefore, an ensemble method Long Short‐Term Gate Support (LSTGS) is designed to forecast the RES and load power for intelligent agent to make decision on effective energy scheduling and DR. Taking the classic distributed energy context as a case study, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach and show that it can achieve DR profits maximized and improve the stability of the energy‐trading market.