bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Haemosporidian infection does not alter aerobic performance in the Pink-sided Junco (Junco hyemalis mearnsi)
Authors: Stager Maria , Eddy Douglas K. , Cheviron Zachary A. , Carling Matthew D.
Published: September 2021

Avian haemosporidia are blood parasites that can have dramatic fitness consequences on their hosts, including largescale population declines when introduced to naïve hosts. Yet the physiological effects that accompany haemosporidian infection and underlie these fitness decrements are poorly characterized in most wild birds. Because haemosporidia destroy host red blood cells and consume host hemoglobin, they are predicted to have detrimental impacts on avian blood-oxygen transport and, as a result, reduce aerobic performance. However, the documented effects of infection on avian hematological traits vary across species and no effects have been demonstrated on avian aerobic performance to date. Here we quantified the physiological effects of haemosporidian infections on wild ‘Pink-sided’ Juncos (Junco hyemalis mearnsi) breeding in northwestern Wyoming, USA. We assayed hematological traits (hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit) and aerobic performance (resting and summit metabolic rates, thermogenic endurance, and aerobic scope), then screened individuals for haemosporidian infectionpost-hoc(n= 106 adult juncos). We found that infection status did not correlate with any of the physiological indices that we measured, suggesting there is little cost of haemosporidian infection on either junco aerobic performance or energy budgets. Our results highlight the need for more studies of haemosporidia infections in a broader range of species and in a wider array of environmental contexts.
Elucidating spatially-resolved changes in host signaling during Plasmodium liver-stage infection
Authors: Glennon Elizabeth K.K. , Tongogara Tinotenda , Primavera Veronica I. , Reeder Sophia M. , Wei Ling , Kaushansky Alexis
Published: September 2021

Upon transmission to the human host, Plasmodium sporozoites exit the skin, are taken up by the blood stream, and then travel to the liver where they infect and significantly modify a single hepatocyte. Low infection rates within the liver have made proteomic studies of infected hepatocytes challenging, particularly in vivo, and existing studies have been largely unable to consider how protein and phosphoprotein differences are altered at different spatial locations within the heterogeneous liver. Using digital spatial profiling, we characterized changes in host signaling during Plasmodium yoelii infection in vivo without disrupting the liver tissue, and measured variation between infected cells. Moreover, we measured alterations in protein expression around infected hepatocytes and identified a subset of CD163+ Kupffer cells that migrate towards infected cells during infection. These data offer the first insight into the heterogeneity of the infected hepatocyte in situ and provide insights into how the parasite may alter the local microenvironment to influence its survival and modulate immunity.
Disruption of origin chromatin structure by helicase activation in the absence of DNA replication
Authors: Hoffman Rachel A. , MacAlpine Heather K. , MacAlpine David M.
Published: September 2021

Prior to initiation of DNA replication, the eukaryotic helicase, Mcm2-7, must be activated to unwind DNA at replication start sites in early S phase. To study helicase activation within origin chromatin, we constructed a conditional mutant of the polymerase α subunit Cdc17 (or Pol1) to prevent priming and block replication. Recovery of these cells at permissive conditions resulted in the generation of unreplicated gaps at origins, likely due to helicase activation prior to replication initiation. We used micrococcal nuclease (MNase)-based chromatin occupancy profiling under restrictive conditions to study chromatin dynamics associated with helicase activation. Helicase activation in the absence of DNA replication resulted in the disruption and disorganization of chromatin, which extends up to 1 kb from early, efficient replication origins. The CMG holohelicase complex also moves the same distance out from the origin, producing single-stranded DNA that activates the intra-S-phase checkpoint. Loss of the checkpoint did not regulate the progression and stalling of the CMG complex but rather resulted in the disruption of chromatin at both early and late origins. Finally, we found that the local sequence context regulates helicase progression in the absence of DNA replication, suggesting that the helicase is intrinsically less processive when uncoupled from replication.
On-grid and in-flow mixing for time-resolved cryo-EM
Authors: Klebl David P. , White Howard D. , Sobott Frank , Muench Stephen P.
Published: September 2021

Time-resolved cryo-electron microscopy (TrEM) allows the study of proteins under non-equilibrium conditions on the millisecond timescale, permitting the analysis of large-scale conformational changes or assembly and disassembly processes. However, the technique is developing and there have been few comparisons with other biochemical kinetic studies. Using current methods, the shortest time delay is on the millisecond timescale (∼5–10 ms), given by the delay between sample application and vitrification, and generating longer time points requires additional approaches such as using a longer delay line between the mixing element and nozzle, or an incubation step on the grid. To compare approaches, the reaction of ATP with the skeletal actomyosin S1 complex was followed on grids prepared with a 7–700 ms delay between mixing and vitrification. Classification of the cryo-EM data allows kinetic information to be derived which agrees with previous biochemical measurements, showing fast dissociation, low occupancy during steady-state hydrolysis and rebinding once ATP has been hydrolysed. However, this rebinding effect is much less pronounced when on-grid mixing is used and may be influenced by interactions with the air–water interface. Moreover, in-flow mixing results in a broader distribution of reaction times due to the range of velocities in a laminar flow profile (temporal spread), especially for longer time delays. This work shows the potential of TrEM, but also highlights challenges and opportunities for further development.
Structure and mechanism of the γ-glutamyl-γ-aminobutyrate hydrolase SpuA from Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Chen Yujing , Jia Haizhu , Zhang Jianyu , Liang Yakun , Liu Ruihua , Zhang Qionglin , Bartlam Mark
Published: September 2021

Polyamines are important regulators in all living organisms and are implicated in essential biological processes including cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa possesses an spuABCDEFGHI gene cluster that is involved in the metabolism and uptake of two polyamines: spermidine and putrescine. In the proposed γ-glutamylation–putrescine metabolism pathway, SpuA hydrolyzes γ-glutamyl-γ-aminobutyrate (γ-Glu-GABA) to glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). In this study, crystal structures of P. aeruginosa SpuA are reported, confirming it to be a member of the class I glutamine amidotransferase (GAT) family. Activity and substrate-binding assays confirm that SpuA exhibits a preference for γ-Glu-GABA as a substrate. Structures of an inactive H221N mutant were determined with bound glutamate thioester intermediate or glutamate product, thus delineating the active site and substrate-binding pocket and elucidating the catalytic mechanism. The crystal structure of another bacterial member of the class I GAT family from Mycolicibacterium smegmatis (MsGATase) in complex with glutamine was determined for comparison and reveals a binding site for glutamine. Activity assays confirm that MsGATase has activity for glutamine as a substrate but not for γ-Glu-GABA. The work reported here provides a starting point for further investigation of polyamine metabolism in P. aeruginosa.
A cohesive model of predicting tax evasion from the perspective of fraudulent financial reporting amongst small and medium sized enterprises
Authors: Ngah Zainal Abidin , Ismail Norashikin , Abd Hamid Nadiah
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The issue of tax evasion through fraudulent financial reporting committed by companies is a major concern facing the tax authority in Malaysia. As such, the purpose of this study is to propose a cohesive model of predicting tax evasion from the perspective of fraudulent financial reporting amongst small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) taxpayers.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed model for this study is designed to explore the extent of the relationships between the independent variables: family ownership firms, company size, presence of tax professionals, company’s duration in business and frequency of tax audits and the moderating variable, i.e. tax audit officers’ level of competence; and the dependent variable, i.e. tax evasion from the perspective of fraudulent financial reporting. This study is grounded on four theories: agency theory, political cost theory, economic deterrence theory and competency theory. Data will be gathered from actual audit cases resolved by the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia. Ordinary least square regression analysis is proposed for the investigation.

Findings

This study anticipates that family ownership firms, company size, presence of tax professionals, company’s duration in business and frequency of tax audits could be associated with tax evasion amongst SMEs in Malaysia. This study further proposes that highly competent tax audit officers could mitigate the relationship between frequency of tax audits and tax evasion practices amongst SMEs in Malaysia.

Originality/value

This study should be able to provide a cohesive model of predicting tax evasion from the perspective of fraudulent financial reporting amongst SMEs in Malaysia. Research on fraudulent financial reporting amongst SMEs is very limited, especially involving the level of competence of the tax audit officers; therefore, this study should contribute to the tax evasion literature by providing a comprehensive model of predicting tax evasion through fraudulent financial reporting using a Malaysian tax setting.
Successful family business succession: Utilizing peer groups for critical leadership skills development
Authors: Wittmer Jenell Lynn-Senter , Longenecker Clinton Oliver , Jones Angie
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The current study explores the necessary leadership skills required for leadership succession in family businesses as well as best development activities for each skill. The current study provides suggestions for best practices in developing and utilizing peer groups as a leadership development method.

Design/methodology/approach

A needs assessment was conducted by surveying 150 family-business leaders. Leaders were asked, “What are your most pressing leadership development needs for your organization as you move toward succession? A follow-up question was then asked: “For each of these skills, what method would best help develop this skill for family business leaders?” The responses were content analyzed, placed into themes, and rank ordered.

Findings

High agreement amongst business leaders was found as eight leadership skills were cited by high percentages of family-business leaders. Leaders overwhelmingly reported peer developmental activities as being the best method for developing these skills.

Originality/value

Succession planning in family-businesses is critical as many family business fail to make it past the first or second generation. However, little research explores what specific leadership skills are necessary for optimal succession. As well, many leaders in public organizations seek individual methods of development, such as executive coaching, whereas family business leaders seek group activities to learn with/through their peers.
Improved particle swarm optimization for mean-variance-Yager entropy-social responsibility portfolio with complex reality constraints
Authors: Deng Xue , Lin Yingxian
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The weighted evaluation function method with normalized objective functions is used to transform the proposed multi-objective model into a single objective one, which reflects the investors' preference for returns, risks and social responsibility by adjusting the weights. Finally, an example is given to illustrate the solution steps of the model and the effectiveness of the algorithm.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the possibility theory, assuming that the future returns of each asset are trapezoidal fuzzy numbers, a mean-variance-Yager entropy-social responsibility model is constructed including piecewise linear transaction costs and risk-free assets. The model proposed in this paper includes six constraints, the investment proportion sum, the non-negativity proportion, the ceiling and floor, the pre-assignment, the cardinality and the round lot constraints. In addition, considering the special round lot constraint, the proposed model is transformed into an integer programming problem.

Findings

The effects of different constraints and transaction costs on the effective frontier of the portfolio are analyzed, which not only assists investors to make decisions close to their expectations by setting appropriate parameters but also provides constructive suggestions through the overall performance of each asset.

Originality/value

There are two improvements in the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm: one is that the complex constraints are specifically satisfied by using a renewable 0–1 random constraint matrix and random scaling factors instead of fixed ones; the other is eliminating the particles with poor fitness and randomly adding some new particles that satisfy all the constraints to achieve the goal of global search as much as possible.
Artificial intelligent towards hotels’ competitive advantage. An exploratory study from the UAE
Authors: Hussein Al-shami Samer Ali , Mamun Abdullah Al , Ahmed Elsadig Musa , Rashid Nurulizwa
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Hotel industry is witnessing a radical change as a result of technology interaction such as artificial intelligence (AI) in service tasks. As a result of this transformation, the pattern of service delivery based on human interaction has been changed to digital interaction. This brought opportunities to the hotels industry and consolidate its competitive advantage. However, the understanding gap still existed in both practical implementation and literature, especially in developing countries. Therefore, this paper aims to explore how hotels use AI to carry out services tasks.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopted the qualitative research method through Semi interviews. The sample was purposively selected from five 5-star hotels in the UAE, meanwhile, the managers were the targeted respondents.

Findings

Through content analysis, the authors find that the UAE hotels use AI in managing trip planning, reception service and room services. The authors also find that there are four key drivers that improve the performance of AI, which include AI infrastructure flexibility, strategic alignment, management and skills. Finally, the authors found four indicators of the impact of AI on hotels, which are quality, cost and market share and customers satisfaction.

Originality/value

This study is one of few studies that explored the use of AI in the hotels industry and discussed how AI influence several aspects of hotels performance and helped them to attain their competitive advantage. This study is also one of few studies and the first study in UAE to explore the key drivers of AI performance in UAE hotels.
Factors influencing Jamaican householders’ housing choice
Authors: Jackson Anetheo , Archer Carol Dean
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to bridge the gap in knowledge of Jamaican householders’ housing choices and to provide empirical research that will support the inclusion of the householders’ perspectives in developing housing policies and programmes in Jamaica.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey of 430 householders drawn from public housing developments in 6 of 14 parishes in Jamaica was conducted. A pragmatic approach was taken in this study. As such, both qualitative and quantitative data were used to investigate the factors influencing householders’ housing choices. The data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis to extract the main factors influencing the householders’ housing choices.

Findings

The research revealed that the dwelling features and its environment, accessibility and neighbourhood attributes are three factors influencing householders’ housing choice. Notably, the dwelling and its immediate environment explained the majority of the variance in housing choice. This suggests that if householders are given a choice between a larger more desirable dwelling in a clean, safe and well-maintained community and housing with proximity to work, job opportunities, urban services and other proximity variables, they are less likely to choose the latter.

Research limitations/implications

The factors obtained from this study provide some insights into the scale of preference of the household heads and desired attributes of affordable housing solutions. They also shed some light on what might have caused some past affordable housing solutions to be undesirable. In addition to this, there is some intuition that there may be efficacy in adopting a community development approach to housing. These results have strong implications for housing planning. However, given the island’s challenge with the proliferation of squatter settlements, it is recommended that further research, which includes these householders’ be carried out.

Originality/value

This research is the first to examine the views of Jamaican householders’ with the purpose of understanding what influences their choice of housing. The findings provide new insights into the trade-off that householders may be willing to make in choosing their housing. The results provide a source of reference in reviewing the performance of past policies and programmes.
The impact of information sharing on supply chain adaptability and operational performance
Authors: Yang Lu , Huo Baofeng , Gu Minhao
Published: September 2021

Purpose

This study looks beyond firm boundaries to depict supply chain (SC) adaptability and classifies it into internal, customer and supplier dimensions to investigate their performance implications, respectively. This study also examines the enablers of SC adaptability based on information processing theory.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applies the structural equation modeling method to investigate relationships among SC information sharing, SC adaptability and operational performance using data collected from 216 manufacturers in China.

Findings

Internal information sharing has a positive impact on three dimensions of SC adaptability, whereas supplier and customer information sharing only have a positive impact on supplier adaptability. Customer and supplier information sharing interact to positively influence the three dimensions of SC adaptability, while internal and customer information sharing interact to negatively affect customer adaptability. We also find that all the three dimensions of SC adaptability can enhance operational performance.

Originality/value

This study contributes to providing a holistic definition of SC adaptability and classifies it into three dimensions. It also investigates antecedents and performance outcomes of SC adaptability.
Barriers for Lean implementation in the textile industry
Authors: Robertsone Galina , Mezinska Iveta , Lapina Inga
Published: September 2021

Purpose

The fundamentals of Lean are applicable and can be used in any industry, even non-profit and government organizations, however, there might be certain limitations due to the nature and the specifics of the industry. This study aims to explore what barriers of Lean implementation textile manufacturers might encounter. The authors consider the problem is worth to be explored for the potential to improve the effectiveness of Lean implementation in textile sector companies.

Design/methodology/approach

This research was conducted by using qualitative content analysis with open coding of the selected literature followed by empirical research in a Latvian textile manufacturing company.

Findings

The presented literature review shows Lean implementation barriers and critical success factors in various industries. The findings from the case study can be divided into two groups. The first confirmed the barriers already identified in the previous research. The second identified industry specific implementation barriers that were not recognized in the related literature.

Research limitations/implications

The original research was limited in scope to one Latvian textile manufacturer, therefore future studies on the subject to confirm the outcome of the research are required.

Originality/value

There is a limited number of studies on the application of Lean in the textile and apparel industry. The literature on Lean implementation in the Latvian manufacturing sector is also limited. The results of this research may have a practical application for textile manufactures considering implementing Lean in their processes.
Fashion supply chain transparency: do as I say not as I do
Authors: Muratore Adriana Pigeard , Marques Leonardo
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Fashion brands are under heavy criticism for often exhibiting poor working conditions and producing environmental damage. Pressure comes from initiatives such as Fashion Transparency Index (FTI) by Fashion Revolution to assess fashion brands' transparency based on information publicly disclosed. But an understanding of how such movements reflect in a Global South country characterised by institutional voids is still absent.

Design/methodology/approach

While the FTI ranks individual brands, in this study the authors have analysed 305 documents extracted from the websites of 20 Brazilian fashion brands to unpack practices and re-bundle them according to three archetypes – opaque, translucent and transparent – that display a maturity curve.

Findings

The authors show that advancement is heterogeneous, and we complement previous research exposing the limits of an NGO in driving transparency by investigating a context embedded in institutional voids. The authors show that most fashion brands restrict transparency to tier-1 suppliers. Moreover, although fashion brands increasingly demand disclosure from their suppliers, they do not clarify their own purchasing practices such as cancellation and payment policies. On the positive note, the authors show that maturity for transparent brands can include the actionability concept by engaging with consumer via surveys and educative content.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to theory by offering a maturity curve of fashion supply chain transparency. The authors contribute to practice by offering the three archetypes – opaque, translucent and transparent. This study unveils heterogeneity and asymmetry between the levels of transparency that buying firms demand from their suppliers against what they provide about their own practices.
Emotional costs of service labor: do consumers care?
Authors: Moran Nora , Ronen Sigalit
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Consumers can provide monetary tips to service employees as a reward for their efforts. However, consumers’ ability to recognize the demands of these jobs could affect tipping behavior. This study aims to examine the difficulty consumers have recognized the emotional toll of service work, and how this affects tipping behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Three experiments were conducted with US participants to determine how the focus on emotional burdens of service work affects willingness to tip lower level service employees.

Findings

Results reveal that when consumers hear about the emotional costs of service labor, they report less willingness to tip low-level workers, compared to when they learn about other job costs or contributions. Results further show that reducing power distance between customers and workers can increase willingness to tip when emotional costs are emphasized.

Research limitations/implications

This research contributes to the services literature by showing how feelings of power affect whether consumers appreciate certain job costs, and, in turn, their tipping behavior.

Practical implications

This research clarifies how consumers perceive job demands, which has direct consequences for tipping behavior and suggests more strategies to improve tips.

Social implications

Findings can help advocates looking to advance the status and compensation for lower-level service workers.

Originality/value

This research is first to explore why the emotional costs of service labor are not recognized in certain cases, and provides insight on how to improve customer treatment of lower-level service labor.
Addressing health literacy in the digital domain: insights from a literature review
Authors: Palumbo Rocco , Nicola Capolupo , Adinolfi Paola
Published: September 2021

Purpose

Promoting health literacy, i.e. the ability to access, collect, understand and use health-related information, is high on the health policy agenda across the world. The digitization of health-care calls for a reframing of health literacy in the cyber-physical environment. The article systematizes current scientific knowledge about digital health literacy and investigates the role of health-care organizations in delivering health literate health-care services in a digital environment.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review was accomplished. A targeted query to collect relevant scientific contributions was run on PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. A narrative approach was undertaken to summarize the study findings and to envision avenues for further development in the field of digital health literacy.

Findings

Digital health literacy has peculiar attributes as compared with health literacy. Patients may suffer from a lack of human touch when they access health services in the digital environment. This may impair their ability to collect health information and to appropriately use it to co-create value and to co-produce health promotion and risk prevention services. Health-care organizations should strive for increasing the patients’ ability to navigate the digital health-care environment and boosting the latter’s value co-creation capability.

Practical implications

Tailored solutions should be designed to promote digital health literacy at the individual and organizational level. On the one hand, attention should be paid to the patients’ special digital information needs and to avoid flaws in their ability to contribute to health services’ co-production. On the other hand, health-care organizations should be involved in the design of user-friendly e-health solutions, which aim at engaging patients in value co-creation.

Originality/value

This contribution is a first attempt to systematize extant scientific knowledge in the field of digital health literacy specifically focused on the strategies and initiatives that health-care organizations may take to address the limited digital health literacy pandemic.
Interacting elevational and latitudinal gradients determine bat diversity and distribution across the Neotropics
Authors: Bogoni Juliano A. , Carvalho‐Rocha Vítor , Ferraz Katia M. P. M. B. , Peres Carlos A.
Published: September 2021

New World bats are heavily affected by the biophysical setting shaped by elevation and latitude. This study seeks to understand the patterns of bat species diversity across elevational, latitudinal and vegetation height gradients throughout the Neotropics.

Systematically gathered putative and empirical data on bat species distribution across the entire Neotropics were examined using descriptive statistics, spatial interpolation of bat taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity, generalized linear models, generalized linear mixed models and phylogenetic generalized least squares.

We uncoupled the effects of elevation, latitude and vegetation height to predict Neotropical bat diversity, showing that dietary level, home range and habitat breadth were the most important ecological traits determining coarse‐scale bat distributions. Latitude was largely responsible for sorting the regional species pool, whereas elevation appears to apply an additional local filter to this regional pool wherever tropical mountains are present, thereby shaping the structure of montane assemblages.

Bats provide multiple ecosystem services and our results can help pinpoint priority areas for bat research and conservation across all Neotropics, elucidate the thresholds of species distributions, and highlight bat diversity hotspots at multiple scales.
Stratified View of Institutional Fit
Authors: Fernandez‐Giordano Marisel , Gutierrez Leopoldo , Llorens‐Montes Francisco Javier , Choi Thomas Y.
Published: September 2021

Institutional theory suggests that organizations pursue legitimacy by institutional fit. However, there is a debate about the relationship between institutional fit and performance. Thus, the goal of the present study is to delve more deeply into this issue. Specifically, we evaluate how three dimensions of fit (technology, structure and culture) are related to organizational performance. The analysis is based on survey data and secondary archival data from a sample of 200 firms. Results show that the association of institutional fit and organizational performance varies along different dimensions of fit, which supports the stratified view of institutional fit. According to the results, there is a positive correlation between institutional fit and performance on the technological dimension, no correlation between institutional fit and performance on the structural dimension and a negative correlation between institutional fit and performance on the cultural dimension. One thing is clear: we should consider a stratified view of institutional fit when considering its implications for performance. A possible explanation for the disparity among different dimensions of fit is that it may arise from the levels of organizational resistance associated with the type of change of each dimension.
Norway's Food Waste Reduction Governance: From Industry Self‐Regulation to Governmental Regulation?
Authors: Szulecka Julia , Strøm‐Andersen Nhat
Published: September 2021

The scale of food waste across Europe is alarming, and its reduction has recently been identified as an important public policy issue. However, effective solutions require initiative and action both from the government and the food industry. What are the drivers of industry self‐regulation in this area? We provide an in‐depth analysis of the emergence and evolution of Norway's food waste reduction governance. In 2017, food sector companies signed a Voluntary Industry Agreement on food waste reduction, but as of 2021, a shift towards a binding law is increasingly likely. With outcome‐explaining process tracing, we test three hypotheses, identifying causal factors and mechanisms that explain the emergence of the Agreement, and apply a typology of (self‐)regulation to show how different actors and mechanisms played an important role in different phases of the process. We find that, initially, food waste reduction governance was clearly industry‐led. However, societal and political pressure was necessary for institutionalizing self‐regulation and its timing. We also note that despite Norway's tradition for co‐regulation, in the wake of the Agreement, lawmakers continued to pressure the government for a binding law, with a clear move from initial industry self‐regulation towards state‐steered regulation.
Proposed cutoff for fetal scalp blood lactate in intrapartum fetal surveillance based on neonatal outcomes: a large prospective observational study
Authors: Iorizzo L , Carlsson Y , Johansson C , Berggren R , Herbst A , Wang M , Leiding M , Isberg P‐E , Kristensen K , Wiberg‐Itzel E , McGee T , Wiberg N
Published: September 2021

Objective

Determination of lactate in fetal scalp blood (FBS) during labour has been recognised since the 1970s. The internationally accepted cutoff of >4.8 mmol/l indicating fetal acidosis is exclusive for the point‐of‐care device (POC) LactatePro™, which is no longer in production. The aim of this study was to establish a new cutoff for scalp lactate based on neonatal outcomes with the use of the StatstripLactate®/StatstripXpress® Lactate system, the only POC designed for hospital use.

Design

Observational study.

Setting

January 2016 to March 2020 labouring women with indication for FBS were prospectively included from seven Swedish and one Australian delivery unit.

Population

Inclusion criteria: singleton pregnancy, vertex presentation, ≥35+0 weeks of gestation.

Method

Based on the optimal correlation between FBS lactate and cord pH/lactate, only cases with ≤25 minutes from FBS to delivery were included in the final calculations.

Main outcome measures

Metabolic acidosis in cord blood defined as pH <7.05 plus BDecf >10 mmol/l and/or lactate >10 mmol/l.

Results

A total of 3334 women were enrolled of whom 799 were delivered within 25 minutes. The areas under the receiver operating characteristics curves (AUC) and corresponding optimal cutoff values were as follows; metabolic acidosis AUC 0.87 (95% CI 0.77–0.97), cutoff 5.7 mmol/l; pH <7.0 AUC 0.83 (95% CI 0.68–0.97), cutoff 4.6 mmol/l; pH <7.05 plus BDecf ≥12 mmol/l AUC 0.97 (95% CI 0.92–1), cutoff 5.8 mmol/l; Apgar score <7 at 5 minutes AUC 0.74 (95% CI 0.63–0.86), cutoff 5.2 mmol/l; and pH <7.10 plus composite neonatal outcome AUC 0.76 (95% CI 0.67–0.85), cutoff 4.8 mmol/l.

Conclusion

A scalp lactate level <5.2 mmol/l using the StatstripLactate®/StatstripXpress® system will safely rule out fetal metabolic acidosis.

Tweetable abstract

Scalp blood lactate <5.2 mmol/l using the StatstripLactate®/StatstripXpress system has an excellent ability to rule out fetal acidosis.
Nexus between economic growth, financial development, and energy consumption in Sub‐Saharan African countries: A dynamic approach
Authors: Tinta Abdoulganiour Almame , Ouedraogo Salifou , Thiombiano Noel
Published: September 2021

This study investigates the nexus between economic growth, financial development, and renewable energy consumption in Sub‐Saharan African countries. Using a dynamic approach and seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) from 48 countries over the period 2000–2019, the findings show that financial development, government expenditures, capital, international trade, education, and the quality of governance have positive impacts on economic growth while inflation has a negative effect. In the long run, energy consumption and foreign direct investments increase economic growth only in high income and upper middle‐income countries (HI‐UMIC). In contrast, in lower middle‐income countries (LMIC) and low income countries (LIC), the cost of transforming renewable energies is a burden for growth. This reverse effect on growth in LMIC and LIC is amplified by natural resource dependence and foreign direct investments (FDI) volatility. Furthermore, renewable energy consumption is driven by financial development, growth, urbanization, foreign direct investment, education, and the quality of governance via scale effect. From the results, new insights for policymakers such as fiscal policies, trade‐led growth policies, and monetary policies, are provided to support the renewable energy sector, enhance financial development and economic growth.
Oxygen sensing, anaesthesia and critical care: a narrative review
Authors: Slingo M. E. , Pandit J. J.
Published: September 2021

In 2019, the scientists who discovered how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability were awarded the Nobel Prize. This elegant sensing pathway is conserved throughout evolution, and it underpins the physiology and pathology that we, as clinicians in anaesthesia and critical care, encounter on a daily basis. The purpose of this review is to bring hypoxia‐inducible factor, and the oxygen‐sensing pathway as a whole, to the wider clinical community. We describe how this unifying mechanism was discovered, and how it orchestrates diverse changes such as erythropoiesis, ventilatory acclimatisation, pulmonary vascular remodelling and altered metabolism. We explore the lessons learnt from genetic disorders of oxygen sensing, and the wider implications in evolution of all animal species, including our own. Finally, we explain how this pathway is relevant to our clinical practice, and how it is being manipulated in new treatments for conditions such as cancer, anaemia and pulmonary hypertension.
Neonatal burns: a 10‐year review of community‐ and hospital‐acquired neonatal burns in Western Australia
Authors: van Oudtshoorn Sarah , Wood Fiona , McWilliams Tania
Published: September 2021

Background

There are very few studies in the literature focusing on neonatal burns, and to our knowledge this is the largest study on this topic.

Methods

A retrospective review was conducted over a 10‐year period from 2010 to 2020 to investigate the incidence, mechanisms involved and outcomes for burn injuries in neonates in Western Australia. This study included children aged 4 weeks or younger who sustained a burns injury requiring admission to hospital or during their hospital admission. Premature infants who sustained burns during a hospital admission in the neonatal intensive care unit and were under 4 weeks corrected age were also included. Short‐term outcomes of burn injuries included infection and need for surgery, and the long‐term outcomes included scarring and requirement for laser therapy.

Results

Over the 10‐year period, 30 burn injuries were sustained by 27 neonates. Thirteen (43.3%) of these burns occurred at home or in the community, and 17 (56.7%) occurred in hospital. Scalds (n = 4) and sunburn (n = 4) were the most common mechanism in the community, while chemical (n = 12) burns including extravasation injuries were the most common sustained in hospital. No neonates required theatre for skin grafting or laser therapy for scarring. There were no infected burns in the cohort. Time to healing ranged from 2 to 62 days with a mean of 12.1 days.

Conclusion

Outcomes for burns sustained in the neonatal period in Western Australia are generally positive, and have not been associated with infection and have low rates of scarring.
Individualised, targeted step count intervention following gastrointestinal cancer surgery: The Fit‐4‐Home randomised clinical trial
Authors: Steffens Daniel , Solomon Michael J. , Beckenkamp Paula R. , Koh Cherry E. , Yeo David , Sandroussi Charbel ,   Fit‐4‐Home Collaborators, Hancock Mark J.
Published: September 2021

Background

To determine the effectiveness of an individualised, daily targeted step count intervention and usual care compared with usual care alone on improving surgical and patient reported outcomes.

Methods

The Fit‐4‐Home trial was a pragmatic, randomised controlled trial conducted from April 2019 to February 2021. Patients undergoing elective surgery for liver, stomach or pancreatic cancer in two Australian hospitals were recruited. Participants were randomly allocated to receive an individualised, targeted step count intervention and usual care (intervention) or usual care alone (control). A wearable activity tracker was provided to the intervention group to monitor their daily step count target. Primary outcome was the length of stay in the gastrointestinal ward. Secondary outcomes included postoperative complication rates, discharge destination, quality of life, physical activity, pain, fatigue, distress and hospital re‐admission within 30 days. Outcome measures were compared between groups using non‐parametric statistics.

Results

Of the 96 patients recruited, 47 were randomised to the intervention group and 49 were randomised to the control group. The median (interquartile) length of stay in the ward was 7 days (5.0–13.0) in the intervention group and 7 days (5.0– 12.0) in the control group (p = 0.330). Fatigue scores were worse in the intervention group when compared to control (p = 0.018). No other differences between groups were observed.

Conclusions

An individualised, daily targeted step count intervention and usual care did not confer additional benefits in reducing the length of stay in the ward compared to usual care alone for patients undergoing gastrointestinal cancer surgery.

Trial Registration

Registered with the Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12619000194167).
Endurance training may improve exercise capacity, lung function and quality of life in Fontan patients
Authors: Hedlund Eva , Lundell Bo
Published: September 2021

Children born with univentricular hearts undergo staged surgical procedures to a Fontan circulation. Long‐term experience with Fontan palliation has shown dramatically improved survival but also of a life‐long burden of an abnormal circulation with significant morbidity. Many Fontan patients have reduced exercise capacity, oxygen uptake, lung function and quality of life. Endurance training may improve submaximal, but not maximal, exercise capacity, lung function and quality of life. Physical activity and endurance training is also positively correlated with sleep quality. Reviewing the literature and from our single‐centre experience, we believe there is enough evidence to support structured individualised endurance training in most young Fontan patients.
The deficit bias: Candidate gender differences in the relative importance of facial stereotypic qualities to leadership hiring
Authors: Pireddu Sara , Bongiorno Renata , Ryan Michelle K. , Rubini Monica , Menegatti Michela
Published: September 2021

Recent findings highlight two facets of the two fundamental stereotype content dimensions of agency (i.e., ‘dominance’ and ‘competence’) and communality (i.e., ‘morality’ and ‘sociability’; e.g., Abele et al., 2016) with implications for understanding gender inequality in the workplace (e.g., Prati et al., 2019). Extending this research and contributing to the facial first impressions literature, we examined how these facets of agency and communality when inferred from White men’s and women’s faces, along with attractiveness, influence their leadership suitability. In three studies in the United Kingdom (total N = 424), using student and working samples and two managerial descriptions, we found an unexpected pattern of results, supported by an internal meta‐analysis: attractiveness and competence were the most important predictors of hirability for all candidates. For women, dominance was the next most important predictor; for men, morality and sociability were more important than dominance. Moreover, morality and sociability were more important in evaluating men than women, while dominance was more important in evaluating women than men. Findings are discussed in terms of a ‘deficit bias’, whereby the qualities women and men are considered to lack – dominance for women, morality, and sociability for men – may be given more weight when evaluating their leadership suitability.
Multiple drivers of invasive lionfish culling efficiency in marine protected areas
Authors: Davis Alexandra C. D. , Akins Lad , Pollock Clayton , Lundgren Ian , Johnston Michelle A. , Castillo Bernard , Reale‐Munroe Kynoch , McDonough Vanessa , Moneysmith Shelby , Green Stephanie J.
Published: September 2021

Designing effective local management for invasive species poses a major challenge for conservation, yet factors affecting intervention success and efficiency are rarely evaluated and incorporated into practice. We coordinated regional efforts by divers to cull invasive lionfish (Pterois spp.) on 33 U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean protected coral reefs from 2013 to 2019 and estimated removal efficiency and efficacy as a function of environmental and habitat conditions, invasion status, and personnel expertise. Highly experienced individuals culling during crepuscular periods (<2 hr from sunrise/sunset) are three times more efficient (in terms of minutes) than novice divers during midday, suggesting: (a) retention of experienced individuals is key for efficient programs, and (b) planning culls with personnel and time of day in mind increases the number of sites covered with the same effort. Lionfish behavior and habitat characteristics had little effect on removal efficiency and efficacy, but divers had higher capture success at reefs with higher lionfish densities. We suggest reefs with persistently <20 fish ha−1 as low priority, given that impacts to native fauna are unlikely and culling effectiveness declines to <50% below this level. Incorporating efficiency factors in spatial management planning along with density estimates derived from remotely sensed data can ensure limited resources for control are extended across a greater range of invaded habitats.
Removal of an embedded foreign body in the stomach by a technique of endoscopic submucosal dissection
Authors: Carvalho Ana Catarina , Pires Francisco , Araújo Ricardo
Published: September 2021

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The emergence of post‐Westphalian health governance during the Covid‐19 pandemic: the European Health Union
Authors: Fraundorfer Markus , Winn Neil
Published: September 2021

The response to the Covid‐19 pandemic in 2020–21 was dominated by the Westphalian primacy of national territory and sovereignty, significantly worsening and prolonging this crisis. Global platforms for cross‐border coordination and cooperation were constrained by national self‐interest. Arguably, the lack of a worldwide supranational (or post‐Westphalian) authority in health governance is one important structural reason for the fragmented, chaotic, and ineffective response to Covid‐19. The failure of Westphalian governance responses to the pandemic provides a unique opportunity for post‐Westphalian governance structures to be established and contribute to reforming international pandemic preparedness. While this is unlikely to happen soon at the global level, a comprehensive framework is emerging at the European Union level in the form of a European Health Union. Through a combined conceptualisation of supranational governance and the securitisation process of international health crises, Covid‐19 has opened the door to post‐Westphalian health governance coordinated by the European Commission.
Crisis responses, opportunity, and public authority during Covid‐19's first wave in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan
Authors: Kirk Tom , Green Duncan , Allen Tim , Carayannis Tatiana , Bazonzi José , Ndala José , Stys Patrycja , Muzuri Papy , Nyenyezi Aymar , Vlassenroot Koen , Nyuon Abraham Diing Akoi , Macdonald Anna , Owor Arthur , Storer Liz , Okello Joseph , Hopwood Julian , Porter Holly , Oryem Robin , Parker Melissa , Akello Grace
Published: September 2021

Discussions on African responses to Covid‐19 have focused on the state and its international backers. Far less is known about a wider range of public authorities, including chiefs, humanitarians, criminal gangs, and armed groups. This paper investigates how the pandemic provided opportunities for claims to and contests over power in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan. Ethnographic research is used to contend that local forms of public authority can be akin to miniature sovereigns, able to interpret dictates, policies, and advice as required. Alongside coping with existing complex protracted emergencies, many try to advance their own agendas and secure benefits. Those they seek to govern, though, do not passively accept the new normal, instead often challenging those in positions of influence. This paper assesses which of these actions and reactions will have lasting effects on local notions of statehood and argues for a public authorities lens in times of crisis.