bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
“A conceptual four-stage maturity model of a firm's green manufacturing technology alternatives and performance measures”
Authors: Shukla Ganesh Prasad , Adil Gajendra K. 
Published: April 2021

PurposeThis paper develops a contingency based model to understand how green technologies and green manufacturing performance measures evolve with the green manufacturing maturity levels of the firms.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual research model is developed by synthesizing extant literature. An illustrative case study of a paint manufacturing company is conducted, analyzing its five key green initiatives, which it has undertaken to demonstrate the research model. The primary means of data collection was interviews and document analysis.FindingsIt was observed that for all the five green initiatives, the choice of green technologies and the use of green manufacturing performance measures corroborate with the proposed research model. Further, the initial green manufacturing effort was motivated to comply with regulations, which subsequently shifted to gain strategic advantage, such as cost reduction and visibility.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed model was applied only to an Indian paint manufacturing company with their five key green initiatives, which potentially limits the generalizability of the findings to other industries and/or geographies.Practical implicationsThe findings would aid practitioners in understanding both selection of green technology and the use of green manufacturing performance measures, based on a firm's maturity stage.Originality/valueThis study conducts a much-needed research on the evolution of green technology alternatives and green manufacturing performance measures for firms according to the four-stage maturity model derived from the natural resourced-based view.
Cognitive biases' influence on employees' product creativity and product performance: evidences from Italian manufacturing technology firms
Authors: Cristofaro Matteo , Leoni Luna , Giardino Pier Luigi 
Published: April 2021

PurposeThis paper aims to empirically investigate how cognitive biases influence employees' product creativity (EPC) and related product performance. In particular, the paper primarily studies (1) the direct effect of employees' implicit creativity – based on five cognitive biases – and explicit creativity on EPC; and (2) the mediating role of coworkers' heuristic transfer between shared leadership and EPC.Design/methodology/approachData have been obtained from big Italian manufacturing technology firms through a series of online questionnaires that resulted in 555 answers from R&D employees and their direct managers, who are, respectively, involved and responsible for the proposal of manufacturing technology products. The developed four theoretical hypotheses have been tested through correlation analysis, hierarchical regression, mediation analysis and structured equation modelling.FindingsCognitive biases positively influence EPC in manufacturing technology firms, leading to positive product performance. In particular, implicit creative personality better predicts EPC than explicit creative personality; whilst, shared leadership leads to a cognitive convergence among co-workers through the spread of heuristics that positively influence EPC.Originality/valueThe originality of this work lies in having: (1) investigated the influence of cognitive biases in creativity, (2) hypothesized and proved that co-workers' heuristic transfer mediates the relationship between shared leadership and EPC; (3) conducted the first specific study on employees' creativity in manufacturing technology firms; and (4) first implemented the implicit creative personality measurement, apart from those who conceptualized it.
The nexus between risk factor disclosures and short-run performance of IPOs – evidence from literature
Authors: Grover Krishan Lal , Bhullar Pritpal Singh 
Published: April 2021

PurposeThe main purpose of the present study is to stretch the theoretical framework of existing stock of literature with reference to Risk Disclosures in IPO Prospectus and IPO performance. The systematic literature review study endows easy and quick access to researchers as well as categorization of the available literature.Design/methodology/approachFifty research papers, which has been published or presented from 2000 to 2019 and are related to IPO risk disclosures and IPO performance, have been finalized. Further, these research papers were categorized based upon the five different variables to identify the probable research gap in the selected topic.FindingsThis review provides a coherent summary of past studies related to topic and develop a comprehensive evidence on relationship between disclosure of risk factors and IPO underpricing in short run. It shows the existing research gap that needs to be fulfilled to expand the research horizon of future research studies.Research limitations/implicationsThe sole limitation of the study is that being a systematic literature review study, it does not carry any empirical results.Practical implicationsThe investors will be able to identify the key risk factors, disclosed in IPO prospectus, that may have probable dent on the short-term return from IPO. The findings will further help the investors and financial analyst to identify the degree of impact of risk disclosures that are listed in IPO prospectus.Originality/valueThe paper is a first of its kind to stretch the existing literature and develop theoretical framework in the context of risk factor discloses in IPO prospectus and IPO performance with reference to India. The present study is an attempt to integrate the existing gap between empirical research and existing literature and suggest the techniques to the future practitioners to widen the horizon of their research.
Management and environmental sustainability – guidelines for architectural and engineering design firms
Authors: de Paula Nathalia , Melhado Silvio 
Published: April 2021

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to draw up management guidelines on environmental sustainability for architectural and engineering design firms.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is derived from a research experience between 2010 and 2018. That experience comes from three source sets: Management Development Program for Design Firms from the Research Line of Management Design, Department of Civil Construction Engineering, University of São Paulo in Brazil; papers including a doctoral thesis; and literature review. Revisiting and investigating processes were conducted by research questions, resulting in lessons learned, management difficulties and guidelines.FindingsThe guidelines were drawn up from a strategic sphere, understanding internal and external factors to the firm, diagnosis of the firm's management and sustainability, a building sustainability plan, implications of the plan for management processes, plan monitoring and control and plan evaluation.Research limitations/implicationsThe studies were mostly conducted in Brazil, and one of them in the USA. Other studies could be carried out in other countries comparing findings or implementing the guidelines.Practical implicationsThe findings will provide feedback to Management Development Program for Design Firms (PDGEP) in the action research method. Moreover, the knowledge about firm's capabilities can advance understanding of architectural and engineering (AE) design firm management as support for sustainability, performance and building information modeling (BIM).Originality/valueArchitectural and engineering design firms are hardly discussed; design is treated in the building project context, giving prominence to technical solutions, not to management ones.
Unboxing the green box: an empirical assessment of buying behavior of green products
Authors: Ch Tehreem Raza , Awan Tahir Mumtaz , Malik Haider Ali , Fatima Tayyba 
Published: April 2021

PurposeBecause of the increasing significance of green marketing and its aspects, it develops a need for examining the impact of all these factors on green product buying behavior. As social media marketing also has an enormous positive impact on green product buying behavior, this study aims to provide a cohesive role of green marketing and social media marketing in determining green purchase behavior.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, data were collected through an online survey by using convenience sampling from 692 respondents, and through structural equation modeling, the hypothesized associations among variables of this study were empirically tested.FindingsThe findings suggest that attitude, eco-labels and green advertising had a significant influence on the decision to purchase green products. The influence of peer groups, behavioral intention and price consciousness was also examined. Peer influence did not moderate the relation between green buying behavior and environmental concern.Originality/valueThe influence of factors like attitudes, price consciousness, behavioral intentions social media marketing, eco-labels, and environmental concern green purchase behavior has not been scrutinized cohesively in the past. The current study used the theory of planned behavior in elucidating green buying behavior.
Plant diversity enhanced yield and mitigated drought impacts in intensively managed grassland communities
Authors: Grange Guylain , Finn John A. , Brophy Caroline 
Published: April 2021

Abstract

There is a global requirement to improve the environmental sustainability of intensively managed grassland monocultures that rely on high rates of nitrogen fertiliser, which is associated with negative environmental impacts. Multi‐species grass–legume mixtures are a promising tool for stimulating both productivity and sustainability in intensively managed grasslands, but questions remain about the benefit of increasing the diversity of plant functional groups.

We established a plot‐scale experiment that manipulated the diversity of plant communities from a six‐species pool comprising three functional groups: grasses, legumes and herbs (two species each). Communities were grown as monocultures, or mixtures of two to six species, following a simplex design. This allowed us to quantify species’ identity effects and functional group interaction effects. To investigate the impact of severe weather events, main plots were split and two levels of water supply, ‘rainfed’ and a 2‐month experimental drought, were applied. Mineral nitrogen fertiliser was applied at 150 kg ha−1 year−1, and a Lolium perenne monoculture received 300 kg ha−1 year−1 (300N) as a highly fertilised comparison. Annual above‐ground biomass was measured for 2 years.

We found a strong positive effect on yield due to functional group interactions. Multi‐species communities with three functional groups yielded more than the best‐performing monoculture over a large range of different relative abundances of the three functional groups. The highest diversity community outperformed the 300N L. perenne under rainfed conditions.

Although species' monoculture yields were generally reduced by the experimental drought, the interaction effects were not affected by drought and remained sufficiently large for the six‐species mixture under drought to have similar yields to both the best‐performing monoculture and the 300N L. perenne under rainfed conditions.

Synthesis and applications. Plant diversity can result in higher yields, mitigate the yield risks associated with extreme weather events and displace fertiliser inputs and their embedded greenhouse gas emissions. Multi‐species swards offer a practical, farm‐scale management action to enhance the sustainability of intensive grassland production.
Single human oocyte transcriptome analysis reveals distinct maturation stage‐dependent pathways impacted by age
Authors: Llonch Sílvia , Barragán Montserrat , Nieto Paula , Mallol Anna , Elosua‐Bayes Marc , Lorden Patricia , Ruiz Sara , Zambelli Filippo , Heyn Holger , Vassena Rita , Payer Bernhard 
Published: April 2021

AbstractFemale fertility is inversely correlated with maternal age due to a depletion of the oocyte pool and a reduction in oocyte developmental competence. Few studies have addressed the effect of maternal age on the human mature oocyte (MII) transcriptome, which is established during oocyte growth and maturation, however, the pathways involved remain unclear. Here, we characterize and compare the transcriptomes of a large cohort of fully grown germinal vesicle stage (GV) and in vitro matured (IVM‐MII) oocytes from women of varying reproductive age. First, we identified two clusters of cells reflecting the oocyte maturation stage (GV and IVM‐MII) with 4445 and 324 putative marker genes, respectively. Furthermore, we identified genes for which transcript representation either progressively increased or decreased with age. Our results indicate that the transcriptome is more affected by age in IVM‐MII oocytes (1219 genes) than in GV oocytes (596 genes). In particular, we found that transcripts of genes involved in chromosome segregation and RNA splicing significantly increased representation with age, while genes related to mitochondrial activity showed a lower representation. Gene regulatory network analysis facilitated the identification of potential upstream master regulators of the genes involved in those biological functions. Our analysis suggests that advanced maternal age does not globally affect the oocyte transcriptome at GV or IVM‐MII stages. Nonetheless, hundreds of genes displayed altered transcript representation, particularly in IVM‐MII oocytes, which might contribute to the age‐related quality decline in human oocytes.
Vesicular glutamate transporter modulates sex differences in dopamine neuron vulnerability to age‐related neurodegeneration
Authors: Buck Silas A. , Steinkellner Thomas , Aslanoglou Despoina , Villeneuve Michael , Bhatte Sai H. , Childers Victoria C. , Rubin Sophie A. , De Miranda Briana R. , O'Leary Emma I. , Neureiter Elizabeth G. , Fogle Keri J. , Palladino Michael J. , Logan Ryan W. , Glausier Jill R. , Fish Kenneth N. , Lewis David A. , Greenamyre J. Timothy , McCabe Brian D. , Cheetham Claire E. J. , Hnasko Thomas S. , Freyberg Zachary 
Published: April 2021

AbstractAge is the greatest risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD) which causes progressive loss of dopamine (DA) neurons, with males at greater risk than females. Intriguingly, some DA neurons are more resilient to degeneration than others. Increasing evidence suggests that vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT) expression in DA neurons plays a role in this selective vulnerability. We investigated the role of DA neuron VGLUT in sex‐ and age‐related differences in DA neuron vulnerability using the genetically tractable Drosophila model. We found sex differences in age‐related DA neurodegeneration and its associated locomotor behavior, where males exhibit significantly greater decreases in both DA neuron number and locomotion during aging compared with females. We discovered that dynamic changes in DA neuron VGLUT expression mediate these age‐ and sex‐related differences, as a potential compensatory mechanism for diminished DA neurotransmission during aging. Importantly, female Drosophila possess higher levels of VGLUT expression in DA neurons compared with males, and this finding is conserved across flies, rodents, and humans. Moreover, we showed that diminishing VGLUT expression in DA neurons eliminates females' greater resilience to DA neuron loss across aging. This offers a new mechanism for sex differences in selective DA neuron vulnerability to age‐related DA neurodegeneration. Finally, in mice, we showed that the ability of DA neurons to achieve optimal control over VGLUT expression is essential for DA neuron survival. These findings lay the groundwork for the manipulation of DA neuron VGLUT expression as a novel therapeutic strategy to boost DA neuron resilience to age‐ and PD‐related neurodegeneration.
A closer look at alcohol‐induced changes in the ghrelin system: novel insights from preclinical and clinical data
Authors: Deschaine Sara L. , Farokhnia Mehdi , Gregory‐Flores Adriana , Zallar Lia J. , You Zhi‐Bing , Sun Hui , Harvey Deon M. , Marchette Renata C. N. , Tunstall Brendan J. , Mani Bharath K. , Moose Jacob E. , Lee Mary R. , Gardner Eliot , Akhlaghi Fatemeh , Roberto Marisa , Hougland James L. , Zigman Jeffrey M. , Koob George F. , Vendruscolo Leandro F. , Leggio Lorenzo 
Published: April 2021

AbstractGhrelin is a gastric‐derived peptide hormone with demonstrated impact on alcohol intake and craving, but the reverse side of this bidirectional link, that is, the effects of alcohol on the ghrelin system, remains to be fully established. To further characterize this relationship, we examined (1) ghrelin levels via secondary analysis of human laboratory alcohol administration experiments with heavy‐drinking participants; (2) expression of ghrelin, ghrelin receptor, and ghrelin‐O‐acyltransferase (GOAT) genes (GHRL, GHSR, and MBOAT4, respectively) in post‐mortem brain tissue from individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) versus controls; (3) ghrelin levels in Ghsr knockout and wild‐type rats following intraperitoneal (i.p.) alcohol administration; (4) effect of alcohol on ghrelin secretion from gastric mucosa cells ex vivo and GOAT enzymatic activity in vitro; and (5) ghrelin levels in rats following i.p. alcohol administration versus a calorically equivalent non‐alcoholic sucrose solution. Acyl‐ and total‐ghrelin levels decreased following acute alcohol administration in humans, but AUD was not associated with changes in central expression of ghrelin system genes in post‐mortem tissue. In rats, alcohol decreased acyl‐ghrelin, but not des‐acyl‐ghrelin, in both Ghsr knockout and wild‐type rats. No dose‐dependent effects of alcohol were observed on acyl‐ghrelin secretion from gastric mucosa cells or on GOAT acylation activity. Lastly, alcohol and sucrose produced distinct effects on ghrelin in rats despite equivalent caloric value. Our findings suggest that alcohol acutely decreases peripheral ghrelin concentrations in vivo, but not in proportion to alcohol's caloric value or through direct interaction with ghrelin‐secreting gastric mucosal cells, the ghrelin receptor, or the GOAT enzyme.
Economic cycles and inequalities in alcohol‐related mortality in the Baltic countries and Finland in 2000–2015: a register‐based study
Authors: Stickley Andrew , Baburin Aleksei , Jasilionis Domantas , Krumins Juris , Martikainen Pekka , Kondo Naoki , Leinsalu Mall 
Published: April 2021

AbstractAimTo estimate whether large macroeconomic fluctuations in the 2000s affected inequalities in alcohol‐related mortality in the Baltic countries and Finland.DesignLongitudinal register‐based follow‐up study.SettingEstonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland.ParticipantsGeneral population in the 35–74 age group.MeasurementsSocioeconomic status was measured by the highest achieved educational level and was categorised using the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 as low (included categories 0–2), middle (3–4), and high (5–8). Educational inequalities in alcohol‐related mortality in 2000–2003, 2004–2007, 2008–2011 and 2012–2015 were examined using census‐linked longitudinal mortality data. We estimated age‐standardised mortality rates and the relative and slope index of inequality.FindingsAlcohol‐related mortality increased in all countries in 2004–2007 except among Estonian women and decreased/remained the same from 2008 onward except among Latvian men. By 2012–2015 alcohol‐related mortality was still higher than in 2000–2003 in Finland, Latvia and Lithuania (women only). Relative inequalities increased across the study period in all countries (significantly in Lithuania and Latvia). The 2004–2007 increase in relative inequalities was mostly driven by a larger mortality increase among the low educated, whereas in 2008–2011 and in 2012–2015 inequalities often increased because of a larger relative mortality decline among the high educated. However, these period changes in relative inequalities and between educational groups were often not statistically significant. Absolute inequalities were larger in 2012–2015 versus 2000–2003 in all countries except Estonia (decrease).ConclusionIn the Baltic countries and Finland, alcohol‐related mortality tended to increase faster among the low educated during a period of economic expansion (2004–2007) and decrease more among the high educated during a period of economic recession (2008–2011).
Evaluation of Movements Matter: A social media and hospital‐based campaign aimed at raising awareness of decreased fetal movements
Authors: Chan Lilian , Gordon Adrienne , Warrilow Kara , Wojcieszek Aleena , Firth Tracy , Loxton Felicity , Bauman Adrian , Flenady Vicki 
Published: April 2021

BackgroundThe Movements Matter campaign aimed to raise awareness of decreased fetal movements (DFM) among pregnant women and inform clinicians of best practice management.AimTo conduct a process evaluation of campaign implementation, and an impact evaluation of the campaign’s effects on knowledge and experiences of pregnant women, and attitudes and practices of clinicians in relation to DFM.MethodsThis study used a cross‐sectional before‐after design. Pregnant women and clinicians were sampled at five hospitals. Women were surveyed about their knowledge of DFM, and actions to take if they noticed DFM. Clinicians were asked about their current practices and attitudes about informing women about DFM. Logistic regression was used to calculate campaign effects on outcome measures.ResultsThe Movements Matter campaign reached 653 262 people on social media, as well as being covered on news media and popular women’s websites. The evaluation surveyed 1142 pregnant women pre‐campaign and 473 post‐campaign, and 372 clinicians pre‐campaign and 149 post‐campaign. Following the campaign, women were more likely to be aware that babies should move the same amount in late pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.81, 95% CI 1.43–2.27), and were more likely to contact their health service immediately if their baby was moving less (aOR 1.52, 95% CI 1.22–1.91). Clinicians were 2.84 times more likely to recommend women should come in for assessment if they experience DFM (95% CI 1.35–5.97).ConclusionsThis evaluation has shown that a campaign using social media and in‐hospital education materials led to some increases in knowledge about fetal movements among pregnant women.