bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Does international expansion constrain growth? Business groups, internationalization, institutional distance, and the Penrose effect
Authors: Lin Wen-Ting , Chen Ying-Yu , Ahlstrom David , Wang Linda C. 
Published: September 2020

PurposeThis paper aims to use the institutional and information-processing perspectives to explore their association with between internationalization and the Penrose effect phenomenon for business groups (BGs).Design/methodology/approachThe authors use ordinary least squares regression models to test arguments about data pertaining to 101 Taiwanese BGs’ foreign direct investments.FindingsThe results indicate that greater levels of depth and scope in the process of internationalization during one period may negatively affect rates of growth in the following period. The results further demonstrate that institutional distance moderates the relationship.Research limitations/implicationsUsing the perspective of information-processing demands, the authors provide alternate explanations regarding the relationship between the process of internationalization (depth, scope and rhythm) and the Penrose effect.Originality/valueOwners and managers should focus on both the depth and the scope of internationalization. BGs are likely to incur high dynamic adjustment costs, which then limit the rate of BGs’ growth. Managers should balance international market uncertainty with current managerial resources when determining how deeply and broadly to expand internationally and where to enter. In addition, as recent major panel studies suggest, management capabilities and practices can improve significantly, which has a positive effect on firm growth and performance. This does require the careful development and acquisition of the managerial resources needed for internationalization.
Influence of ABS print parameters on a 3D open-source, self-replicable printer
Authors: Alves Guimarães André Luiz , Gerlin Neto Vicente , Foschini Cesar Renato , dos Anjos Azambuja Maximiliano , Hellmeister Luiz Antonio Vasques 
Published: September 2020

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate and discuss the influence of printing parameters on the mechanical properties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) print by fused deposition modelling (FDM). The mechanical properties of ABS are highly influenced by printing parameters, and they determine the final product quality of printed pieces.

Design/methodology/approach
For the paper’s purpose, five main parameters (extrusion temperature, infill pattern, air gap, printing speed and layer thickness) were selected and varied during ABS printing on an open-source and self-replicable FDM printer. Three different colors of commercially available ABS were also used to investigate color and printing parameter’s influence on the tensile strength.

Findings
The research results suggest that two parameters (infill pattern and layer thickness) were most influential on the mechanical properties of print ABS, being able to enhance its tensile strength. Another key influential factor was material color selected prior to printing, which influenced the tensile strength of the print specimen.

Originality/value
This study provides information on print parameters’ influence on the tensile strength of ABS print on replicable open-source three-dimensional (3D) printers. It also suggests the influence of materials’ color on print pieces’ tensile strength, indicating a new parameter for materials selection for 3D printing.
Defined benefit pension policies and social responsibility performance: do socially responsible firms walk the talk?
Authors: Harjoto Maretno Agus , Laksmana Indrarini 
Published: September 2020

PurposeThis study aims to examine whether socially responsible firms have well-funded employee pension programs and whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance is associated with management discretionary choice of pension accounting assumptions.Design/methodology/approachThe current study examines the impact of CSR performance on two measures of pension funding and two pension accounting assumptions using regression analysis. This study uses a panel data of 13,099 firms-years across 1,428 US firms from 1992 to 2015.FindingsFirms with higher CSR scores report higher pension net assets and are less likely to have underfunded pension than their counterparts. These firms also adopt more responsible (conservative) pension accounting assumptions (i.e. lower discount rate and a higher rate of compensation increase) to estimate pension benefit obligations. Results are stronger for firms that operate in the materials and industrial sectors and for the post-2000 period when underfunded pension has become more prevalent. Firms with higher CSR scores are also less likely to have a pension freeze.Originality/valueThis study examines the signaling role of CSR by using the signaling theory to explain how senders view the signaling process as a channel to build their reputation and the correspondent inference theory to explain how receivers process and assess the signal. It provides evidence that the signal provided by CSR score is reliable in assessing firms’ commitment to non-investing stakeholders, such as employees, providing valuable information for potential employees making career decisions and for managers considering employee pension as part of corporate strategies to attract high quality workforce. This study provides inputs for public accountants providing assurance services that CSR performance has a significant impact on management reporting choices. This study also provides evidence that CSR could be considered a private provision of public goods that internalize the negative externality of the prevalent underfunded pension phenomenon.
Spatial analysis of underfill flow in flip-chip encapsulation
Authors: Ng Fei Chong , Zawawi Mohd Hafiz , Abas Mohamad Aizat 
Published: September 2020

Purpose
The purpose of the study is to investigate the spatial aspects of underfill flow during the flip-chip encapsulation process, for instance, meniscus evolution and contact line jump (CLJ). Furthermore, a spatial-based void formation mechanism during the underfill flow was formulated.

Design/methodology/approach
The meniscus evolution of underfill fluid subtended between the bump array and the CLJ phenomenon were visualized numerically using the micro-mesh unit cell approach. Additionally, the meniscus evolution and CLJ phenomenon were modelled analytically based on the formulation of capillary physics. Meanwhile, the mechanism of void formation was explained numerically and analytically.

Findings
Both the proposed analytical and current numerical findings achieved great consensus and were well-validated experimentally. The variation effects of bump pitch on the spatial aspects were analyzed and found that the meniscus arc radius and filling distance increase with the pitch, while the subtended angle of meniscus arc is invariant with the pitch size. For larger pitch, the jump occurs further away from the bump entrance and takes longer time to attain the equilibrium meniscus. This inferred that the concavity of meniscus arc was influenced by the bump pitch. On the voiding mechanism, air void was formed from the air entrapment because of the fluid-bump interaction. Smaller voids tend to merge into a bigger void through necking and, subsequently, propagate along the underfill flow.

Practical implications
The microscopic spatial analysis of underfill flow would explain fundamentally how the bump design will affect the macroscopic filling time. This not only provides alternative visualization tool to analyze flow pattern in the industry but also enables the development of accurate analytical filling time model. Moreover, the void formation mechanism gave substantial insights to understand the root causes of void defects and allow possible solutions to be formulated to tackle this issue. Additionally, the microfluidics sector could also benefit from these spatial analysis insights.

Originality/value
Spatial analysis on underfill flow is scarcely conducted, as the past research studies mainly emphasized on the temporal aspects. Additionally, this work presented a new mechanism on the void formation based on the fluid-bump interaction, in which the formation and propagation of micro-voids were numerically visualized for the first time. The findings from current work provided fundamental information on the flow interaction between underfill fluid and solder bump to the package designers for optimization work and process enhancement.
Evidence of ongoing complement activation on adipose tissue from an 11‐year‐old girl with Barraquer–Simons syndrome
Authors: Corvillo Fernando , Nozal Pilar , López‐Lera Alberto , De Miguel María P. , Piñero‐Fernández Juan Alberto , De Lucas Raúl , García‐Concepción María D , Beato María J. , Araújo‐Vilar David , López‐Trascasa Margarita 
Published: September 2020

AbstractBarraquer–Simons syndrome (BSS), a form of acquired partial lipodystrophy, is a rare condition characterized by gradual loss of adipose tissue from the upper body, keeping intact the white adipose tissue of the lower extremities. The etiology of BSS is not well understood, and clinical follow‐up studies have not been assessed in these patients. Moreover, no histological studies have been conducted during the active phase of the disease, and complement system activation products have not been sought in the affected areas. The objective of this work was to analyze the clinical, immunological and histological events in an 11‐year‐old girl with BSS over a 5‐year follow‐up period. Clinical data were collected during six regular visits for a time period of 5 years. The circulating levels of C3, C3adesArg (a product released upon C3 activation), C4 and immunoglobulins (Ig) were quantified in serum while fat tissue from lipoatrophic areas was examined by immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence approaches. In her regular visits, no clinical or laboratory abnormalities had been observed in the patient, except for the progression of lipoatrophy linked to the C3 hypocomplementemia and the occurrence of C3 nephritic factor. Adipose tissue from the patient showed atrophied and dead adipocytes, an abnormal production of extracellular matrix, and a remarkable accumulation of infiltrating CD68 macrophages and adipocyte precursors (marked by c‐Kit positiveness). Simultaneous detection of IgG, C3, C5a and C5b‐9 proved the ongoing complement activity and complement‐directed injury within the adipose tissue. Our results showed the first evidence that the complement system hyperactivation occurs within the adipose tissue and is linked with fat loss in patients with BSS.
Community context and dispersal stochasticity drive variation in spatial spread
Authors: Dallas Tad , Melbourne Brett , Hastings Alan 
Published: September 2020

Abstract

Dispersal is a key process in shaping species spatial distributions. Species interactions and variation in dispersal probabilities may jointly influence species spatial dynamics.

However, many studies examine dispersal as a neutral process, independent of community context or intraspecific variation in dispersal behaviour.

Here, we use controlled, replicated communities of two Tribolium species (T. castaneum and T. confusum) to examine how intraspecific variation in dispersal behaviour and community context influence dispersal dynamics in simple experimental landscapes composed of homogeneous habitat patches.

We found considerable individual‐level variation in dispersal probability that was unrelated to body size variation. Further, the context of dispersal mattered, as T. castaneum dispersal was reduced in two‐species communities, while T. confusum dispersal was unaffected by community composition. Incorporating individual‐level variation into a two‐species stochastic spatial Ricker model, we provide evidence that individual‐level variability in dispersal behaviour results in more variable spatial spread than assuming individuals have the same dispersal probability. Further, interspecific competition resulted in more variable spatial spread.

The variability in spatial spread observed in our tightly controlled and replicated experimental system and in our stochastic model simulations points to potential fundamental limitations in forecasting species shifting ranges without considering potential interspecific interactions and demographic variability in dispersal behaviour.
Invertebrate community structure predicts natural pest control resilience to insecticide exposure
Authors: Greenop Arran , Cook Samantha M. , Wilby Andrew , Pywell Richard F. , Woodcock Ben A. 
Published: September 2020

Abstract

Biological pest control has become one of the central principles of ecological intensification in agriculture. However, invertebrate natural enemies within agricultural ecosystems are exposed to a myriad of different pesticides at both lethal and sub‐lethal doses, that may limit their capacity to carry out pest control. An important question is how underlying diversity in invertebrate predator species, linked to their unique susceptibility to insecticides, can act to increase the resilience of natural pest control.

We explore this issue by assessing the effects of sub‐lethal insecticide exposure on the predation rates of 12 generalist predators feeding on the aphid Sitobion avenae (Aphididae). Predation rates within a 24‐hr period were assessed (predation assessment) for each species after receiving one of the following treatments: (a) no prior deltamethrin exposure before the predation assessment (control); (b) deltamethrin exposure immediately before the predation assessment (resistance) and (c) deltamethrin exposure 5 days before the predation assessment (recovery). Extrapolating from these species‐specific measures of resistance and recovery, we predicted the resilience of community level predation to insecticide exposure for predator communities associated with 256 arable fields in the UK.

There was large variation in sub‐lethal effects of the insecticide between even closely related species. This ranged from species showing no change in predation rates following sub‐lethal insecticide exposure (high resistance), species showing only immediate depressed feeding rates after 24 hr (high recovery) or those with depressed feeding rates after 5 days (low resistance and recovery).

The community level analysis showed that resistance and recovery of natural pest control was predicted by both community phylogenetic diversity (positively) and weighted mean body mass (negatively). However, the removal of numerically dominant species from the analysis modified these effects.

Synthesis and applications. Our results highlight the role of community diversity in maintaining the resilience of natural pest control following insecticide use. Importantly, less diverse assemblages dominated by predator species that show low resilience to insecticide exposure, may show a greater depression in pest control than diverse assemblages under insecticide based farmland management.
Do bark beetle outbreaks amplify or dampen future bark beetle disturbances in Central Europe?
Authors: Sommerfeld Andreas , Rammer Werner , Heurich Marco , Hilmers Torben , Müller Jörg , Seidl Rupert 
Published: September 2020

Abstract

Bark beetle outbreaks have intensified in many forests around the globe in recent years. Yet, the legacy of these disturbances for future forest development remains unclear. Bark beetle disturbances are expected to increase further because of climate change. Consequently, feedbacks within the disturbance regime are of growing interest, for example, whether bark beetle outbreaks are amplifying future bark beetle activity (through the initiation of an even‐aged cohort of trees) or dampening it (through increased structural and compositional diversity).

We studied bark beetle–vegetation–climate interactions in the Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany), an area characterised by unprecedented bark beetle activity in the recent past. We simulated the effect of future bark beetle outbreaks on forest structure and composition and analysed how disturbance‐mediated forest dynamics influence future bark beetle activity under different scenarios of climate change. We used process‐based simulation modelling in combination with machine learning to disentangle the long‐term interactions between vegetation, climate and bark beetles at the landscape scale.

Disturbances by the European spruce bark beetle were strongly amplified by climate change, increasing between 59% and 221% compared to reference climate. Bark beetle outbreaks reduced the dominance of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) on the landscape, increasing compositional diversity. Disturbances decreased structural diversity within stands (α diversity) and increased structural diversity between stands (β diversity). Overall, disturbance‐mediated changes in forest structure and composition dampened future disturbance activity (a reduction of up to −67%), but were not able to fully compensate for the amplifying effect of climate change.

Synthesis. Our findings indicate that the recent disturbance episode at the Bavarian Forest National Park was caused by a convergence of highly susceptible forest structures with climatic conditions favourable for bark beetle outbreaks. While future climate is increasingly conducive to massive outbreaks, the emerging landscape structure is less and less likely to support them. This study improves our understanding of the long‐term legacies of ongoing bark beetle disturbances in Central Europe. It indicates that increased diversity provides an important dampening feedback, and suggests that preventing disturbances or homogenizing post‐disturbance forests could elevate the future susceptibility to large‐scale bark beetle outbreaks.
Characterisation of a rat model of mechanical low back pain at an advanced stage using immunohistochemical methods
Authors: Park Thomas S. W. , Khan Nemat , Kuo Andy , Nicholson Janet R. , Corradini Laura , Smith Maree T. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractChronic low back pain (LBP) has high prevalence in the adult population which is associated with enormous disability. Hence, our aim was to further characterise our LBP rat model by using immunohistological and immunohistochemical methods at an advanced stage (day 49) of the model. Male Sprague‐Dawley rats were anaesthetised and their lumbar L4/L5 and L5/L6 intervertebral discs (IVDs) were punctured (0.5 mm outer diameter, 2 mm‐deep) 10 times per disc. Sham‐rats underwent similar surgery, but no discs were punctured. For LBP‐ but not sham‐rats, noxious pressure hyperalgesia was fully developed in the lumbar axial deep tissues on day 21 post‐surgery, which was maintained until at least day 49. In the lumbar (L4–L6) dorsal root ganglia (DRGs), somatostatin (SRIF) and the somatostatin receptor type 4 (SST4 receptor) were co‐localised with substance P and IB4, markers of small diameter unmyelinated peptidergic and non‐peptidergic C‐fibres respectively as well as with NF200, a marker of medium to large diameter neurons. On day 49, there was increased expression of SRIF but not the somatostatin receptor type 4 (SST4 receptor) in the lumbar DRGs and the spinal dorsal horns. There were increased DRG expression levels of the putative pro‐nociceptive mediators: phosphorylated p38 (pp38) mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphorylated p44/p42 MAPK (pp44/pp42 MAPK) as well as pp38 MAPK expression levels in the lumbar spinal cord. Taken together, the increased expression of SRIF in the lumbar DRGs and spinal cord and its co‐localisation with nociceptive fibres in DRG sections suggest a potential role of SRIF in modulating chronic mechanical LBP.
Economic growth dynamics between resource‐rich and resource‐poor countries in sub‐Saharan Africa: The role of politics and institutions
Authors: Adika Gameli 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThis paper employs the system generalized method of moments to examine the diversity of economic growth in 33 resource‐rich and resource‐poor countries in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) over the period 1996–2017. The last decade has witnessed resource‐poor countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia sustain impressive economic growth while resource‐rich countries such as Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to struggle. On the other hand, non‐oil resource‐rich countries such as Botswana and Namibia record steady economic growth rates. Are resource‐rich countries better off? Or is there sufficient evidence in support of the resource curse phenomenon in SSA? We examine the resource curse hypothesis and the effects of political and institutional variables in explaining economic growth in SSA. We find that resource‐rich countries grow at an annual average of 1.3% more than resource‐poor countries. Furthermore, we find strong complementarity between institutional quality and economic growth in resource‐rich countries; a stable democracy, political stability, and periodic rotation of political power are critical prerequisites in sustaining economic growth in resource‐rich countries in SSA. Overall, the findings suggest weak evidence in support of the resource curse phenomenon in SSA.
Capital flight and diamond exports in the Central African Republic: The role of political governance crisis
Authors: Yapatake Kossele Thales Pacific , Njong Mom Aloysius 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between capital flight, diamond exports and political governance crisis in the Central African Republic. To achieve this, use is made of multiple correspondence analysis to construct a political governance crisis index, and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model and Bound test for co‐integration are employed to establish short‐run and long‐run relationships. The short‐run results show political governance crisis and diamond exports have a significant and negative effect on capital flight. The interaction term between diamonds exports and political governance crisis is found to be positively related to capital flight in the short run. The long‐run equilibrium shows a significant and negative relationship between political governance crisis, diamond exports, and gross domestic product growth even though the interaction between political governance crisis and diamond exports show a positive and significant relationship. The total natural resource rent is found to be positively related to capital flight but not statistically significant. It is then recommended that a combination of stable political governance associated with reducing corruption in public affairs and promoting transparency in the management of the diamond sector be strengthened to effectively reduce the flight of capital.