bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Lifting the veil on environment-social-governance rating methods
Authors: Stubbs Wendy , Rogers Paul 
Published: October 2013

Purpose
– There is growing recognition that numerous business drivers contribute to financial performance and investment returns but they are not included in a company's profit and loss statements. In the investment industry, these wider sets of value drivers are known as environment-social- governance (ESG) factors. A small number of specialized ESG rating agencies provide information to investors about the extent to which firms' behaviors are socially responsible. However, a major criticism of these rating agencies is the lack of transparency in their methods. This paper aims to examine the issues of subjectivity, transparency and uniformity of ESG ratings by exploring the methods used to assess ethics performance by an Australian rating agency.

Design/methodology/approach
– A case study was conducted on an Australian ESG rating provider, Regnan. The data for the analysis were sourced from internal Regnan documents.

Findings
– The paper found that a level of subjectivity is inevitable in ESG ratings and the call for uniformity may inhibit innovation, but these issues can be addressed by increased transparency of the rating methods.

Research limitations/implications
– Further research is required to understand what level and, combination of, uniformity and transparency is sufficient to satisfy stakeholder requirements for ESG information.

Practical implications
– The discussion of the factors underlying the ethics performance rating may prompt more open and transparent debate on how to assess ethical performance of companies, and increase investor confidence in ESG ratings. It may also provide more direction to companies on how to strengthen their ethical performance.

Originality/value
– There is growing recognition that numerous business drivers contribute to financial performance and investment returns but they are not included in a company's profit and loss statements. These “ESG” factors can account for up to 66 percent of the market value of globally listed companies. In response to calls for more transparency on how ESG factors are assessed, and how ethical performance is appraised, this paper attempts to lift the veil on ESG rating methods.
Stakeholder thinking in sustainability management: the case of Novozymes
Authors: Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen Esben , Hove Henriksen Morten , Frier Claus , Søby Jeanette , Jennings Vernon 
Published: October 2013

Purpose
– The objective of the paper is to describe and discuss how the biotech company Novozymes integrates stakeholder thinking into everyday sustainability practices.

Design/methodology/approach
– The paper is based on first-hand experiences as well as secondary information from Novozymes' stakeholder-oriented sustainability activities.

Findings
– The paper illustrates how a company is striving to transform the general stakeholder principles into concrete, manageable actions. Moreover, the paper describes some of the needs, challenges, and paradoxes experienced by an organisation that is trying to make sense of stakeholder thinking.

Originality/value
– The contribution of this paper is to provide a detailed analysis of how various stakeholder relations management methods can be used in practice to integrate sustainability in an organisation.
Hummingbirds can fuel expensive hovering flight completely with either exogenous glucose or fructose
Authors: Chen Chris Chin Wah , Welch Kenneth Collins 
Published: October 2013

Summary

Hummingbirds have specialized on a diet consisting almost exclusively of a mixture of sucrose, glucose and fructose found in floral nectar. Previous studies have shown that hummingbirds can fuel energetically expensive hovering flight almost exclusively using recently ingested sucrose. However, the relative capacities for the direct utilization of glucose and fructose by hovering hummingbirds remain unknown.
13C‐enriched solutions of glucose and fructose were fed to ruby‐throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) separately. Along with simultaneous measurements of gas exchange during hovering we collected exhaled breath samples using feeder‐mask respirometry and analysed these to determine the isotopic signatures of exhaled carbon dioxide. We found that hovering hummingbirds transition from exclusively oxidizing endogenous fatty acids when fasted, to oxidizing newly ingested carbohydrates when given access to either glucose or fructose solutions. We then switched hummingbirds to the respective unlabelled solutions of glucose or fructose to estimate carbohydrate turnover kinetics.
During the period of availability of enriched solutions, the percentage of metabolism supported by exogenous sugar increased from 0% to near 100% in some individuals. On average, hummingbirds fuelled 81% and 88% of their metabolism during hovering flight with exogenous glucose and fructose, respectively.
The amount of energy ingested, fractional turnover of ingested sugars in the pool of actively metabolized substrates, amount oxidized, energy expended and proportion of hovering metabolism supported by each hexose were all similar between glucose and fructose.
By foraging frequently and fuelling hovering flight directly with ingested monosaccharides hummingbirds avoid the energetic tax associated with the cost of synthesis of fats from these sugars prior to their oxidation. Remarkably, hovering hummingbirds are able to utilize fructose and glucose equally, a physiological feat which no mammals are thought to match, and one that suggests novel physiological capacities for the oxidation of fructose by active muscle tissues in hummingbirds. The data presented here indicate hummingbirds enhance net energy intake though specialization of diet, behaviour, and, uniquely, metabolic physiology.
Long‐term biological legacies of herbivore density in a landscape‐scale experiment: forest understoreys reflect past deer density treatments for at least 20 years
Authors: Nuttle Tim , Ristau Todd E. , Royo Alejandro A. 
Published: October 2013

Summary

Ungulate browsers, when at high densities, are major drivers of vegetation change in forests world‐wide. Their effects operate via a variety of generalizable mechanisms related to plant palatability and relative growth rate with respect to browsing pressure.

Though such impacts are obviously long‐lasting when they determine composition of tree regeneration, we document in a unique long‐term (30 year) experiment that biological legacies of initial deer density persist in the understorey herbaceous vegetation at least 20 years after deer densities were equalized.

We sampled understorey vegetation in former clear‐cut areas where density of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was manipulated (3.9–31.2 deer km−2) for 10 years (1979–1990), and stands experienced ambient deer density (ca. 10–12 deer km−2) for the next 20 years (1990–2010) to determine whether initial deer density treatments still influenced understorey vegetation in 30‐year‐old, closed‐canopy forests.

Stands initially (1979–1990) exposed to higher deer densities had ca. five times higher fern cover and three times the seedling and forb cover in 2010, as well as significantly lower angiosperm species density, compared to stands initially exposed to lower deer densities.

These results appear driven by deer avoidance of ferns, allowing them to expand at high deer density and sequester sites for decades.

Synthesis. Our long‐term, experimental results show unequivocally that elevated deer densities cause significant, profound legacy effects on understorey vegetation persisting at least 20 years. Of relevance regionally and globally where high deer densities have created depauperate understoreys, we expect that deer density reduction alone does not guarantee understorey recovery; stands may need to be managed by removing recalcitrant understorey layers (e.g. ferns).
Nonparametric Generalized Least Squares in Applied Regression Analysis
Authors: O'Hara Michael , Parmeter Christopher F. 
Published: October 2013

AbstractThis paper compares a nonparametric generalized least squares (NPGLS) estimator to parametric feasible GLS (FGLS) and variants of heteroscedasticity robust standard error estimators (HRSE) in an applied setting. NPGLS consistently estimates the unknown scedastic function and produces more efficient parameter estimates than HRSE. We apply these various approaches for handling heteroscedasticity to data on professor rankings obtained from RateMyProfessors.com. We find that the statistical significance of key variables differs across seven versions of HRSE, leading to different conclusions, and a standard parametric approach to FGLS suffers from misspecification. NPGLS combines the virtues of both of these parametric approaches.
Does Market Structure Influence Price Transmission in the Agro‐food Sector? A Meta‐analysis Perspective
Authors: Bakucs Zoltán , Fałkowski Jan , Fertő Imre 
Published: October 2013

AbstractThere exists a large literature on price transmission in agro‐food sectors. However, a great majority of empirical studies focus on the existence of asymmetry and, by and large, do not investigate the reason for its presence or absence. This is in sharp contrast to the theoretical literature that provides a number of explanations of why we should expect (a)symmetry. In response, this paper investigates the reasons for asymmetric price transmission in the agro‐food chain, using meta‐analysis of existing studies. Our focus is on the organizational and institutional characteristics of the agro‐food supply chain. Our findings suggest that asymmetric price transmission in farm–retail relationships is more likely to occur in sectors/countries with more fragmented farm structure, higher governmental support and more restrictive regulations on price controls in the retail sector. On the other hand, more restrictive regulations on entry barriers in the retail sector and the relative importance of the sector tend to promote symmetric farm–retail price transmission. The latter is also more likely in the presence of a strong processing industry.
Farm Level Costs of Agri‐environment Measures: The Impact of Entry Level Stewardship on Cereal Farm Incomes
Authors: Udagawa Chihiro , Hodge Ian , Reader Mark 
Published: October 2013

AbstractApplying a difference‐in‐difference approach with propensity score matching, we examine the impact of participation in the Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) scheme on cereal farm incomes in eastern England. We assess the extent to which impacts are related to a) the source of income affected – whether only from agricultural or total business income; b) the channel of the impact – through land use and/or labour input; and c) the level of impacts through time. In addition, we assess the appropriateness of the level of the ELS payment. We find that: a) entering the ELS scheme could negatively affect cereal farm incomes – in particular, the total business income; b) that negative impacts arise primarily in relation to the use of land resources; c) that impacts may diminish over a relatively short period of time; and d) that the ELS payment broadly compensates for losses without providing over compensation. Given the diminishing negative impact over time, the level of ELS payment might need to be reviewed in the longer term, although policy evaluation should consider the wider implications for efficiency of alternative payment levels. We also discuss some limitations of the approach and potential extensions.
Endoscopic nasobiliary drainage with sphincterotomy in acute obstructive cholangitis: A prospective randomized controlled trial
Authors: Zhang Ru Ling , Zhao Hang , Dai Yan Miao , Zhu Feng , Li Lei , Li Bai Wen , Luo Sheng Zheng , Wan Xin Jian 
Published: October 2013

ObjectiveWe aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of endoscopic nasobiliary drainage (ENBD) with or without endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) for temporary biliary decompression in patients with acute obstructive cholangitis.MethodsIn total, 72 patients with acute obstructive cholangitis were prospectively randomized to undergo emergency ENBD with EST (EST group, n = 36) or without EST (non‐EST group, n = 36). The clinical outcomes and complications between the two groups were compared.ResultsEndoscopic nasobiliary decompression was successful in all 72 patients. Four patients underwent a second endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to replace the nasobiliary catheter due to blockage (one in the EST group and two in the non‐EST group) or migration (one in the EST group). The mean serum γ‐glutamyltransferase and total bilirubin levels after treatment were significantly higher in the non‐EST group than in the EST group (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences were observed for other parameters evaluated. The total complication rate was similar between the two groups (EST 25.0% vs non‐EST 19.4%). Although hemorrhage occurred more frequently in the EST group and acute pancreatitis in the non‐EST group, these differences were not significant.ConclusionsEST is helpful and safe for biliary drainage while ENBD without EST is the first choice for acute cholangitis. EST may increase the efficacy of ENBD in patients with papillary inflammatory stricture and thick bile.
Development and validation of clinical diagnostic models for the probability of malignancy in solitary pulmonary nodules
Authors: Dong Jingsi , Sun Nan , Li Jiagen , Liu Ziyuan , Zhang Baihua , Chen Zhaoli , Gao Yibo , Zhou Fang , He Jie 
Published: October 2013

AbstractBackgroundIt is critical to develop a non‐invasive and accurate method for differentiating between malignant and benign solitary pulmonary nodules. In large sample studies, the effectiveness of the diagnostic prediction model as a tool of assessment of the probability of malignancy is still unclear. The establishment of a diagnostic model based on large samples is needed.MethodsIn this study, 3358 patients diagnosed with a solitary pulmonary nodule between January 2005 and March 2013, were enrolled. All patients received surgery for pulmonary nodule resection. Clinical characters, preoperative biomarker results, and computed tomography scan findings were collected. All patients were randomly separated into a training set (n = 1679) and a test set (n = 1679); we used training sets to build a diagnostic model for the malignancy probability of pulmonary nodules, and applied the test set to validate our model, as well as other published diagnostic models.ResultLogistic regression analysis identified 11 clinical characteristics as independent predictors of malignancy in patients with a solitary pulmonary nodule. The goodness‐of‐fit statistic for the model indicated that the observed proportion of malignancies did not differ from the predicted proportion (P = 0.571). The area under the curves of the receiver operator characteristic curve for our model in the training set was 0.935.ConclusionAs the accuracy of the model was high, we suggest that the diagnostic model can be used as a tool to help guiding clinical decisions, when the clinician cannot make a definitive diagnosis of a solitary pulmonary nodule.
A pharmacological network for lifespan extension in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Ye Xiaolan , Linton James M. , Schork Nicholas J. , Buck Linda B. , Petrascheck Michael 
Published: October 2013

SummaryOne goal of aging research is to find drugs that delay the onset of age‐associated disease. Studies in invertebrates, particularly Caenorhabditis elegans, have uncovered numerous genes involved in aging, many conserved in mammals. However, which of these encode proteins suitable for drug targeting is unknown. To investigate this question, we screened a library of compounds with known mammalian pharmacology for compounds that increase C. elegans lifespan. We identified 60 compounds that increase longevity in C. elegans, 33 of which also increased resistance to oxidative stress. Many of these compounds are drugs approved for human use. Enhanced resistance to oxidative stress was associated primarily with compounds that target receptors for biogenic amines, such as dopamine or serotonin. A pharmacological network constructed with these data reveal that lifespan extension and increased stress resistance cluster together in a few pharmacological classes, most involved in intercellular signaling. These studies identify compounds that can now be explored for beneficial effects on aging in mammals, as well as tools that can be used to further investigate the mechanisms underlying aging in C. elegans.
Human protein aging: modification and crosslinking through dehydroalanine and dehydrobutyrine intermediates
Authors: Wang Zhen , Lyons Brian , Truscott Roger J. W. , Schey Kevin L. 
Published: October 2013

SummaryNonenzymatic post‐translational modification (PTM) of proteins is a fundamental molecular process of aging. The combination of various modifications and their accumulation with age not only affects function, but leads to crosslinking and protein aggregation. In this study, aged human lens proteins were examined using HPLC–tandem mass spectrometry and a blind PTM search strategy. Multiple thioether modifications of Ser and Thr residues by glutathione (GSH) and its metabolites were unambiguously identified. Thirty‐four of 36 sites identified on 15 proteins were found on known phosphorylation sites, supporting a mechanism involving dehydroalanine (DHA) and dehydrobutyrine (DHB) formation through β‐elimination of phosphoric acid from phosphoserine and phosphothreonine with subsequent nucleophilic attack by GSH. In vitro incubations of phosphopeptides demonstrated that this process can occur spontaneously under physiological conditions. Evidence that this mechanism can also lead to protein–protein crosslinks within cells is provided where five crosslinked peptides were detected in a human cataractous lens. Nondisulfide crosslinks were identified for the first time in lens tissue between βB2‐ & βB2‐, βA4‐ & βA3‐, γS‐ & βB1‐, and βA4‐ & βA4‐crystallins and provide detailed structural information on in vivo crystallin complexes. These data suggest that phosphoserine and phosphothreonine residues represent susceptible sites for spontaneous breakdown in long‐lived proteins and that DHA‐ and DHB‐mediated protein crosslinking may be the source of the long‐sought after nondisulfide protein aggregates believed to scatter light in cataractous lenses. Furthermore, this mechanism may be a common aging process that occurs in long‐lived proteins of other tissues leading to protein aggregation diseases.
H3K4 demethylase activities repress proliferative and postmitotic aging
Authors: Alvares Stacy M. , Mayberry Gaea A. , Joyner Ebony Y. , Lakowski Bernard , Ahmed Shawn 
Published: October 2013

SummaryHomeostasis of postmitotic and proliferating cells is maintained by pathways that repress stress. We found that the Caenorhabditis elegans histone 3 lysine 4 (H3K4) demethylases RBR‐2 and SPR‐5 promoted postmitotic longevity of stress‐resistant daf‐2 adults, altered pools of methylated H3K4, and promoted silencing of some daf‐2 target genes. In addition, RBR‐2 and SPR‐5 were required for germ cell immortality at a high temperature. Transgenerational proliferative aging was enhanced for spr‐5; rbr‐2 double mutants, suggesting that these histone demethylases may function sequentially to promote germ cell immortality by targeting distinct H3K4 methyl marks. RBR‐2 did not play a comparable role in the maintenance of quiescent germ cells in dauer larvae, implying that it represses stress that occurs as a consequence of germ cell proliferation, rather than stress that accumulates in nondividing cells. We propose that H3K4 demethylase activities promote the maintenance of chromatin states during stressful growth conditions, thereby repressing postmitotic aging of somatic cells as well as proliferative aging of germ cells.
The Association Between Blood Alcohol Content and Cheerfulness, Focus Distraction, and Sluggishness Among Young Adults Attending High School Parties
Authors: Eliasen Marie , Rod Morten H. , Flensborg‐Madsen Trine , Petersen Jørgen H. , Grønbæk Morten , Tolstrup Janne S. 
Published: October 2013

BackgroundThe belief that alcohol makes you cheerful is one of the main reasons for engaging in high‐risk drinking, especially among young adults. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between blood alcohol content (BAC) and cheerfulness, focus distraction, and sluggishness among students attending high school parties.MethodsParticipants included 230 students attending high school parties. BAC, measured by use of a breath analyzer, self‐reported cheerfulness (on a score from 0 to 16), focus distraction (score from 0 to 8), and sluggishness (score from 0 to 4) were assessed several times during the party. Data were analyzed by means of linear regression, including robust standard errors and stratified on sex.ResultsFor girls, cheerfulness increased up to a BAC of 0.113 g% and decreased at higher BACs. At BACs of 0.020, 0.050, 0.100, and 0.150 g% cheerfulness was 11.0 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 10.4 to 11.6), 12.4 (95% CI: 11.8 to 12.9), 13.5 (95% CI: 13.0 to 14.0), and 13.1 (95% CI: 11.9 to 14.4), respectively. For boys, the association was linear with an increase of 0.18 points in cheerfulness (95% CI: 0.01 to 0.36) for every 0.010 g% increase in BAC. Focus distraction increased with increasing BAC: 0.22 (95% CI: 0.16 to 0.28) and 0.24 (95% CI: 0.14 to 0.33) points for girls and boys, respectively, per 0.010 g% increase in BAC. The degree of sluggishness increased only slightly with increasing BAC with 0.02 (95% CI: 0.02 to 0.05) and 0.03 (95% CI: −0.01 to 0.07) points for every 0.010 g% increase in BAC for girls and boys, respectively.ConclusionsCheerfulness increased up to a certain BAC value for girls, while it increased linearly for boys. Focus distraction increased with increasing BAC.
Balance—a pragmatic randomized controlled trial of an online intensive self‐help alcohol intervention
Authors: Brendryen Håvar , Lund Ingunn Olea , Johansen Ayna Beate , Riksheim Marianne , Nesvåg Sverre , Duckert Fanny 
Published: October 2013

AbstractAimsTo compare a brief versus a brief plus intensive self‐help version of ‘Balance’, a fully automated online alcohol intervention, on self‐reported alcohol consumption.DesignA pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Participants in both conditions received an online single session screening procedure including personalized normative feedback. The control group also received an online booklet about the effects of alcohol. The treatment group received the online multi‐session follow‐up program, Balance.SettingOnline study in Norway.ParticipantsAt‐risk drinkers were recruited by internet advertisements and assigned randomly to one of the two conditions (n = 244).MeasurementsThe primary outcome was self‐reported alcohol consumption the previous week measured 6 months after screening.FindingsRegression analysis, using baseline carried forward imputation (intent‐to‐treat), with baseline variables as covariates, showed that intervention significantly affected alcohol consumption at 6 months (B = 2.96; 95% confidence interval = 0.02–5.90; P = 0.049). Participants in the intensive self‐help group drank an average of three fewer standard alcohol units compared with participants in the brief self‐help group.ConclusionsThe online Balance intervention, added to a brief online screening intervention, may aid reduction in alcohol consumption compared with the screening intervention and an educational booklet.