bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The application of risk-based inspections on furnace high-pressure cooling systems incorporating proportional hazards and steam explosion consequence modelling
Authors: Lelo Nzita Alain , Heyns P. Stephan , Wannenburg Johann 
Published: September 2024

Purpose Steam explosions are a major safety concern in many modern furnaces. The explosions are sometimes caused by water ingress into the furnace from leaks in its high-pressure (HP) cooling water system, coming into contact with molten matte. To address such safety issues related to steam explosions, risk based inspection (RBI) is suggested in this paper. RBI is presently one of the best-practice methodologies to provide an inspection schedule and ensure the mechanical integrity of pressure vessels. The application of RBIs on furnace HP cooling systems in this work is performed by incorporating the proportional hazards model (PHM) with the RBI approach; the PHM uses real-time condition data to allow dynamic decision-making on inspection and maintenance planning.Design/methodology/approach To accomplish this, a case study is presented that applies an HP cooling system data with moisture and cumulated feed rate as covariates or condition indicators to compute the probability of failure and the consequence of failure (CoF), which is modelled based on the boiling liquid-expanding vapour explosion (BLEVE) theory.Findings The benefit of this approach is that the risk assessment introduces real-time condition data in addition to time-based failure information to allow improved dynamic decision-making for inspection and maintenance planning of the HP cooling system. The work presented here comprises the application of the newly proposed methodology in the context of pressure vessels, considering the important challenge of possible explosion accidents due to BLEVE as the CoF calculations.Research limitations/implications This paper however aims to optimise the inspection schedule on the HP cooling system, by incorporating PHM into the RBI methodology, as was recently proposed in the literature by Lelo et al. (2022). Moisture and cumulated feed rate are used as covariate. At the end, risk mitigation policy is suggested.Originality/valueIn this paper, the proposed methodology yields a dynamically calculated quantified risk, which emphasised the imperative for mitigating the risk, as well as presents a number of mitigation options, to quantifiably affect such mitigation.
Banking-as-a-service? American and European G-SIBs performance
Authors: Ben Bouheni Faten , Sidaoui Mouwafac , Leshchinskii Dima , Zaremba Bryan , Albashrawi Mousa 
Published: September 2024

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate how the implementation of digital banking services (mobile applications) by globally systemically important banks (G-SIBs) affects banks’ performance in the USA and Europe from 2005 to 2022.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs advanced econometric methods to analyze the link between deposits and banking performance, utilizing linear regressions and multivariate Bayesian regressions.FindingsOur results indicate that customer deposits positively impact a bank’s performance after the introduction of the mobile application feature of check deposits, whereas social risk negatively impacts banking financial performance. These findings support the hypothesis that technology implementation improves the profitability and growth of traditional banks.Research limitations/implicationsWhile findings are robust econometrically in linear and Bayesian regressions, variables reflecting the digitalization of banks remain limited. For instance, the number of mobile users or the volume of digital transactions per bank since the implementation of the mobile app is not available.Practical implicationsIn a rapidly growing technology and constantly changing customers behaviors, this research has practical implications from bankers’ perspective to continue the technological innovation efforts and from regulators’ perspective to strengthen requirements for the digital banking services.Social implicationsWe provide empirical evidence that including a banking app for smartphones’ users for remote banking services benefit the financial performance of banks. However, the social risk remains significant for banks in terms of customers' satisfaction, data privacy and cybersecurity.Originality/valueThis paper employs an innovative approach to create a mobile app “discriminatory” factor and examine the relationship between deposits and banks’ performance before and after the introduction of a mobile app for too-big-to-fail banks in Europe and the USA. Additionally, we consider the social risk component of the ESG score, as a bank’s decision to implement mobile applications and technology for its customers potentially affects social risks associated with customer satisfaction and technology usability.
Does employee intervention encourage or discourage the spread of dysfunctional customer behavior?
Authors: Huang Yu-Shan (Sandy) , Liu Ruping 
Published: September 2024

PurposeDysfunctional customer behavior (DCB) is costly and problematic for organizations. This research seeks to understand how DCB spreads and how businesses can effectively deal with it through employee intervention.Design/methodology/approachThis research conducted a survey study and an experimental study to examine the proposed model.FindingsThrough two studies, we discovered that when an employee intervenes to stop DCB and is perceived as having high coping ability, observing customers learn from the employee’s action, resulting in reduced empathy toward the dysfunctional customer and diminished intentions to engage in DCB. Conversely, if they perceive the employee as having low coping ability, the intervention backfires, enhancing the observers’ empathy toward the dysfunctional customer and consequently leading them to engage in more DCB.Originality/valueThis research unveils an additional mechanism that explains the spread of DCB. It also contributes to the employee intervention literature by shedding light on when employee intervention can backfire. Further, our application of social learning theory along with the person-situation interaction literature offers a fresh perspective in explaining service exchanges.
Police production and crime in the urban space: a systematic review of indicators, metrics and methods
Authors: Taques Fernando Henrique , Nepomuceno Thyago Celso Cavalcante 
Published: September 2024

PurposeEmpirical literature is the primary source of understanding how policing can effectively reduce criminal activities. Spatial analyses can identify particular effects that can explain and assist in constructing appropriate regional strategies and policies; nevertheless, studies that use spatial regression methods are more limited and can provide a perspective on specific effects in a more disaggregated regional context.Design/methodology/approachThis research aims to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) to understand the relationship between crime indicators and police production using spatial regression models. We consider a combination of Kitchenham and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocols as a methodological strategy in five bibliographic databases for collecting scientific articles.FindingsThe SLR suggests a limited amount of evidence that meets the criteria defined in the research strategy. Several particularities are observed regarding police and criminal production metrics, either in terms of aggregation level, indicator transformations or scope of analysis. A broader time perspective did not necessarily indicate statistical significance compared to models with a single-period sample.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest the possibility of expanding efforts by the public sector to provide policing data with the intention of conducting appropriate research using spatial analysis. This step could allow for a more robust integration between the public sector and researchers, strengthening policing strategies, evaluating the effectiveness of public security policies and assisting in the development of strategies for future policy actions.Originality/valueLimited empirical evidence meets the criteria of spatial regression models with temporal components considering police production and criminality indicators. Constructing an SLR with this scope is an unprecedented contribution to the literature. The discussion can enhance the understanding of approaches for studying the relationship between police efforts and crime prevention.
Insect seed‐predator networks respond positively to restoration on a tropical island
Authors: Costa Alba , Heleno Ruben , Dufrene Yanick , Huckle Eleanor , Mendes Sara Beatriz , Whittington Andrew E. , van Veen Frank J. F. , Kaiser‐Bunbury Christopher N. 
Published: September 2024

Abstract

When non‐native species invade ecosystems, coevolved plant–animal interactions and associated ecological functions are altered, often to the detriment of local biodiversity. While mutualistic interactions can benefit from—and assist with—ecological restoration through the removal of non‐native species, community‐level changes in antagonistic interactions due to restoration are less well understood. Insect seed predators provide important ecosystem functions, but can also have antagonistic effects through pre‐dispersal seed predation which can cause fruit abortion or premature fruit drop, potentially affecting plant community composition.

Here, we used a network approach and data on trophic interactions from a large‐scale field experiment to investigate the differences in insect seed predator communities between native restored sites (where non‐native plants were removed) and unrestored sites dominated by non‐native plants on the island of Mahé, Seychelles.

Restored sites contained more individuals and species of seed predators (up by 81% and 50% respectively), and experienced a greater predation intensity (1.06 ± 0.53 vs. 0.27 ± 0.09), and predator specialisation compared to unrestored sites. The proportion of predated samples was similar between treatments (~14%). Beta diversity, measured as species and interaction turnover, increased at restored sites.

Synthesis and applications: Our findings imply that vegetation restoration generates marked biodiversity benefits on native seed predator communities and their interactions. However, removing non‐native plants did not result in the elimination of non‐native seed predators, which might require targeted control measures. Our results highlight the importance of considering the effects of restoration on antagonistic interactions, in addition to those reported for pollination and seed dispersal services. Management practices should aim to control plant invasions for the conservation of native plant communities that serve as resources and refugia both for mutualists (e.g., seed dispersers and pollinators) and native insect seed‐predator antagonists, both of which benefit native ecosystem function.
Variability of the sexual reproductive part in stinging nettle Urtica dioica L. (Urticaceae): From flower to genet
Authors: Popova Ksenia B. , Ustinova Elena N. , Lysenkov Sergey N. , Bogdanova Aleksandra S. , Kuznetsov Dmitriy V. , Larina Valeriya V. , Oleynik Gleb S. 
Published: September 2024

AbstractStinging nettle, Urtica dioica L., is a widely distributed subdioecious long‐rhizomatous plant. Within a single population growing in the territory of the Zvenigorod Biological Station of Lomonosov Moscow State University, eight plots were selected in stinging nettle thickets to study the variability of the sexual reproductive part in U. dioica depending on internal and external factors. As monoecious ramets are relatively common in the studied population, four gender forms were distinguished based on the ratio of male and female flowers. On 156 ramets of different gender forms and 36 genets, it was shown that predominantly male plants are shorter, while predominantly female plants have larger and more widely spread inflorescences compared to other gender forms. The pubescence type (spreading or appressed unicellular hairs) shows the greatest repeatability within the merigenet. True monoecy in stinging nettle is widespread: male and female flowers of different gender forms were found in 10 out of 36 genets. The most common inflorescence architecture types in the studied population were proxigynous and basigynous. Both normal pistillate and normal staminate flowers, as well as flowers with morphological abnormalities formed based on flowers of different sexes can be found on the same ramet, which suggests the presence of paradioecious lability.
Nocturnal moth pollination in an alpine orchid, Platanthera tipuloides
Authors: Shibata Akari , Kudo Gaku 
Published: September 2024

AbstractPollination success of alpine plants is often restricted by low and unpredictable pollinator activity because of harsh and unstable weather conditions, where nocturnal pollination is rare. The alpine orchid, Platanthera tipuloides (Orchidaceae), has inconspicuous greenish yellow flowers with a sweet scent and a long spur that contains nectar. These floral traits are expected to be related to nocturnal moth pollination. To elucidate the pollination mode and reproductive characteristics of this species, we measured floral traits (spur length, nectar content in the spur, floral scent), documented flower visitors using camera traps, and quantified self‐compatibility and the degree of pollen limitation through controlled pollinations at two study plots in the Taisetsu Mountains, northern Japan. It was revealed that P. tipuloides is self‐incompatible and pollen limitation was absent at one of the study plots. The flowers emitted more volatile substances during the night, including lilac aldehyde isomers, which are known to attract moths. A nocturnal moth, Entephria amplicosta, was observed foraging nectar from the flowers, while no diurnal visitors were observed. The proboscis of E. amplicosta was shorter than the spur length, but it was long enough to access the accumulated nectar in the spurs. These results suggest that nocturnal pollination by moths is possible and can be efficient even in an alpine ecosystem with harsh environmental conditions.
What does it mean to ‘live well’? The contentious politics of vivir bien as alternative development
Authors: Doyle Matthew 
Published: September 2024

AbstractVivir bien is widely used by academics, activists, and governments of the Latin American ‘Pink Tide’ to refer to alternatives to conventional economic development based on indigenous worldviews claimed to oppose capitalist modernity. Through ethnography of local politics within a Bolivian Quechua community, this article explores how the term has been vernacularized and contested among local leaders, illustrating that their understandings of development and ‘living well’ do not reflect a binary opposition between ‘Western’ and ‘indigenous’ ways of being. Debates concerning vivir bien instead express varied notions of self‐government and aspirations for autonomy informed by centuries of struggle as colonized peoples.
Emergency Maternal Hospital Readmissions in the Postnatal Period: A Population‐Based Cohort Study
Authors: Pritchett Ruth V. , Rudge Gavin , Taylor Beck , Cummins Carole , Kenyon Sara , Jones Ellie , Morad Sharon , MacArthur Christine , Jolly Kate 
Published: September 2024

ABSTRACTObjectiveTo determine the change in English emergency postnatal maternal readmissions 2007–2017 (pre‐COVID‐19) and the association with maternal demographics, obstetric risk factors and postnatal length of stay (LOS).DesignNational cohort study.SettingAll English National Health Service hospitals.PopulationA total of 6 192 140 women who gave birth in English NHS hospitals from April 2007 to March 2017.MethodsStatistical analysis using birth and readmission data from routinely collected National Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) database.Main Outcome MeasuresRate of emergency postnatal maternal hospital readmissions related to pregnancy or giving birth within 42 days postpartum, readmission diagnoses and association with maternal demographic factors, obstetric risk factors and postnatal LOS.ResultsA significant increase in the rate of emergency postnatal maternal readmissions from 15 128 (2.5%) in 2008 to 20 734 (3.4%) in 2016 (aOR 1.32, 95% CI 1.28–1.37) was found. Risk factors for readmission included minoritised ethnicity (particularly Black or Black British ethnicity: aOR 1.35, 95% CI 1.31–1.39); age < 20 years (aOR 1.09, 95% CI 1.05–1.12); 40+ years (aOR 1.07, 95% CI 1.03–1.10); primiparity (multiparity: aOR 0.92, 95% CI 0.91–0.93); nonspontaneous vaginal birth modes (emergency caesarean: aOR 1.86, 95% CI 1.82–1.90); longer LOS (4+ vs. 0 days: aOR 1.58, 95% CI 1.53–1.64); and obstetric risk factors including urinary retention (aOR 2.34, 95% CI 2.06–2.53) and postnatal wound breakdown (aOR 2.01, 95% CI 1.83–2.21).ConclusionsThe concerning rise in emergency maternal readmissions should be addressed from a health inequalities perspective focusing on women from minoritised ethnic groups; those < 20 and ≥ 40 years old; primiparous women; and those with specified obstetric risk factors.
Counter‐hegemonic ethics for sustainable business
Authors: Hurtado Hurtado Joshua , Heikkurinen Pasi , Ruuska Toni , Hagolani‐Albov Sophia E. , Koppelmäki Kari 
Published: September 2024

AbstractBusiness ethics scholarship proposes alternatives for making companies sustainable. While these models may have advanced business practice, the alternatives rarely challenge the hegemony of the economic system. This article develops a new normative frame for sustainable business by investigating articulations of counter‐hegemony and their ethical implications. Employing political discourse theory and drawing insights from a case in food production, the article finds three articulations of counter‐hegemonic ethics: (1) the virtue of socio‐ecological embeddedness, (2) the duty of local provisioning, and (3) the utility of regeneration. These findings reflect the three generic normative ethical theories and are proposed to support advancing sustainability. As its main contribution, the study contributes to the field of business ethics by offering a novel normative foundation that challenges power relations in the society, especially those concerning the hegemonic articulations of industrial economy.
Multi‐scale learning for fine‐grained traffic flow‐based travel time estimation prediction
Authors: Abideen Zain Ul , Sun Xiaodong , Sun Chao 
Published: September 2024

AbstractIn intelligent transportation systems (ITS), achieving accurate travel time estimation (TTE) is paramount, much like route planning. Precisely predicting travel time across different urban areas is vital, and an essential requirement for these privileges is having fine‐grained knowledge of the city. In contrast to prior studies that are restricted to coarse‐grained data, we broaden the scope of traffic flow forecasting to fine granularity, which provokes explicit challenges: (1) the prevalence of inter‐grid transitions within fine‐grained data introduces complexity in capturing spatial dependencies among grid cells on a global scale. (2) stemming from dynamic temporal dependencies. To address these challenges, we propose the multi‐scaling hybrid model (MSHM) as a novel approach. Initially, a multi‐directional convolutional layer is first used to acquire high‐level depictions for each cell to retrieve the semantic attributes of the road network from local and global aspects. Next, we incorporate the characteristics of the road network and coarse‐grained flow features to regularize the local and global spatial distribution modeling of road‐relative traffic flow using an enhanced deep super‐resolution (EDSR) technique. Benefiting from the EDSR method, our approach can generate high‐quality fine‐grained traffic flow maps. Furthermore, to continuously provide accurate TTE over time by leveraging well‐designed multi‐scale feature modeling, we incorporate a multi‐scale feature expression of each road segment, capturing intricate details and important features at different scales to optimize the TTE. We conducted comprehensive trials on two real‐world datasets, BJTaxi and NYCTaxi, aiming to achieve superior results compared to baseline methods.
Role of Wnt5a in modulation of osteoporotic adipose‐derived stem cells and osteogenesis
Authors: Liu Lin , Luo Shihong , Li Qiumei , Huang Kui , Jiang Yuan , Zeng Lu , Lan Xiaorong , Li Qing , Xiao Jingang 
Published: September 2024

AbstractOsteoporosis, a condition marked by the deterioration of bone microarchitecture and increased facture risk, arises from a disruption in bone metabolism, with osteoclasts surpassing osteoblasts in bone resorption versus formation. The Wnt signalling pathway, a key regulator of bone maintenance, remains partially understood in osteoporosis. Our research delves into the role of Wnt‐related molecules in this disease. In osteoporotic adipose‐derived stem cells (OP‐ASCs), we detected a significant decrease in Ctnnb1 and Frizzled‐6 (Fzd6), contrasted by an increase in Gsk‐3β and Wnt5a. Activation of the Wnt pathway by LiCl resulted in elevated Ctnnb1 and Fzd6, but decreased Gsk‐3β and Wnt5a levels, promoting OP‐ASCs' bone‐formation capacity. In contrast, inhibition of this pathway by DKK‐1 led to diminished Ctnnb1 and Fzd6, and increased Gsk‐3β and Wnt5a, adversely affecting osteogenesis. Furthermore, our findings show that overexpressing Wnt5a impedes, while silencing it enhances the bone‐forming capability of OP‐ASCs. In a cranial bone defect model, the implantation of Wnt5a‐silenced OP‐ASCs with biphasic calcium phosphate scaffolds significantly promoted new bone formation. These observations indicated a repression of the canonical Wnt pathway and a stimulation of the non‐canonical pathway in OP‐ASCs. Silencing Wnt5a increased the osteogenic and regenerative abilities of OP‐ASCs. Our study suggests targeting Wnt5a could be a promising strategy for enhancing bone regeneration in post‐menopausal osteoporosis.