bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Developing a framework for integrating blockchain technology into earthquake risk mitigation and disaster management strategies of smart cities
Authors: Habib Ahed , Alnaemi Abdulrahman , Habib Maan 
Published: May 2024

PurposeEarthquakes pose a significant challenge to human safety and the durability of infrastructure, highlighting the urgent need for innovative disaster management strategies. This study addresses the gap in current earthquake disaster management approaches, which are often related to issues of transparency, centralization and sluggish response times. By exploring the integration of blockchain technology into seismic hazard management, the purpose of the research is to overcome these limitations by offering a novel framework for integrating blockchain technology into earthquake risk mitigation and disaster management strategies of smart cities.Design/methodology/approachThis study develops an innovative approach to address these issues by introducing a blockchain-based seismic monitoring and automated decision support system for earthquake disaster management in smart cities. This research aims to capitalize on the benefits of blockchain technology, specifically its real-time data accessibility, decentralization and automation capabilities, to enhance earthquake disaster management. The methodology employed integrates seismic monitoring data into a blockchain framework, ensuring accurate, reliable and comprehensive information. Additionally, smart contracts are utilized to handle decision-making and enable rapid responses during earthquake disasters, offering an effective alternative to traditional approaches.FindingsThe study results highlight the system’s potential to foster reliability, decentralization and efficiency in earthquake disaster management, promoting enhanced collaboration among stakeholders and facilitating swift actions to minimize human and capital loss. This research lays the foundation for further exploration of blockchain technology’s practical applications in other disaster management contexts and its potential to transform traditional practices.Originality/valueCurrent methodologies, while contributing to the reduction of earthquake-related impacts, are often hindered by limitations such as lack of transparency, centralization and slow response times. In contrast, the adoption of blockchain technology can address these challenges and offer benefits over various aspects, including decentralized control, improved security, real-time data accessibility and enhanced inter-organizational collaboration.
Marketing odyssey for a digitally native brand: a case study of Sunbird Straws
Authors: Modi Shailavi , Balaji Vedha , Datta Pallavi , Singh Yugantar 
Published: May 2024

Research methodology
The case study incorporated a combination of primary and secondary data collection approach. The authors interviewed Dr Varghese, the co-founder of Sunbird Straws and the protagonist in this case study. In addition, secondary data was obtained from various sources such as newspaper articles, journal publications and company reports.

Case overview/synopsis
On a rosy and vibrant morning in 2017, Dr Saji Varghese, a professor at Christ University in Bangalore, stumbled upon a curved coconut leaf on the campus resembling a straw. This sparked his motivation to transform coconut leaves into a natural straw, prompting him to initiate experiments with coconut leaves in his kitchen. The process of boiling and straining leaves became his method for crafting an eco-friendly straw. After numerous attempts, he successfully produced straws from coconut leaves, introducing a distinctive and creative concept incubated at IIM Bangalore. These unique straws, crafted by Varghese, prioritised environmental friendliness and were also crafted entirely from biodegradable materials, free from harmful chemicals. These straws demonstrated durability in hot and cold beverages for up to 3 h, maintaining their integrity without becoming soggy or leaking. As the business flourished, it reached a critical juncture. The primary challenge centred around product marketing, mainly due to consumer unfamiliarity with such sustainable straws. This was a product that also fell under the category of low involvement for consumers. Raising awareness about the product and persuading consumers to purchase presented a significant hurdle. In response, Varghese assigned his team to develop cost-effective marketing strategies. Given the start-up nature of the business, advertising budgets were constrained, and the objective was to achieve a positive return on advertising spend for every investment in advertising the product. In addition, the focus was on increasing the likelihood of selling the straws on both business-to-business and business-to-consumer levels. In this case study, Varghese’s role and predicament exemplify the delicate equilibrium that entrepreneurs frequently grapple with, striking a balance between marketing strategy and return on ad spent to steer the trajectory of their businesses. It offered a valuable examination of the nuanced decisions marketers encounter as they strive for both profitability and customer-centric products.

Complexity academic level
The case study is relevant to the marketing discipline. All undergraduate and postgraduate-level marketing courses in higher education institutions can use this case study. It can also be used in integrated marketing communication or digital marketing classes. It can be used further in the hospitality and management fields. Also, online courses in marketing can include this case study.
Using multi‐scale spatial models of dendritic ecosystems to infer abundance of a stream salmonid
Authors: Lu Xinyi , Kanno Yoichiro , Valentine George P. , Rash Jacob M. , Hooten Mevin B. 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Understanding patterns of species abundance is essential for planning landscape‐level conservation. The complex hierarchies of dendritic ecosystems result in different levels of heterogeneity at distinct geographic scales. Species responses to dynamic environmental drivers may also vary spatially depending on their interactions with landscape features. Monitoring abundance by explicitly quantifying their spatial and temporal variation is important for strategic management.

We analysed brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) count data collected from 173 sites in western North Carolina between 1989 and 2015. We developed a Bayesian hierarchical model that used single‐ and multi‐pass electro‐fishing data and characterized their respective capture probabilities. We quantified spatial variation using a multi‐scale process model representative of the nested stream habitats, and we investigated differences in population temporal trends and responses to seasonal weather patterns by space and life stage.

Trout abundance was lower on the Atlantic slope of the Eastern Continental Divide than in the interior, on average, and the Atlantic slope juveniles were more adversely affected by high winter flows. However, Atlantic slope populations of both lifestages demonstrated positive temporal trends, whereas Interior juveniles demonstrated a negative trend. We found higher spatial variation than temporal variation in abundance when conditioned on the covariates, where the primary source of spatial heterogeneity was revealed at the segment level, compared to watershed or network levels.

Our multi‐scale spatial model outperformed simpler models in abundance estimation and out‐of‐sample prediction. The inferred per‐pass capture probabilities indicated that single‐pass surveys were as efficient as multi‐pass surveys.

Synthesis and applications. Our study suggested conservation priority should involve multiple criteria, including present‐day abundance, temporal trend and sensitivity to environmental drivers. Based on the inferred scale‐specific variations in trout abundance, we recommend that future surveys strategically combine single‐pass surveys with multi‐pass surveys to optimize abundance estimation. Our approach is widely applicable to other species and ecosystems occupying dendritic habitats.
Georgian Literary Needlework Pictures, Realization, and Iconic Meaning‐Making
Authors: Jung Sandro 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThis article examines a group of Georgian needlework pictures based on late eighteenth‐century cabinet prints of literary works. Focusing on how these needlework productions were realized, including which decisions regarding the colour of silk thread and chromatic patterns, as well as visual revision, were made by the female silkworker, the article seeks to introduce these pictures as meaningful remediations of printed visual literary culture. The silkworks will be shown to advance interpretations of and to provide framing for six literary characters and the ways in which their stories were iconically rendered by the silkworkers.
The geopolitics of supply chains: EU efforts to ensure security of supply
Authors: Glencross Andrew 
Published: May 2024

AbstractRecently, the EU launched a number of initiatives to prevent the weaponising of supply chains and build resilience against interruptions. This article explores attempts to ensure security of supply in three sectors: semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical raw materials. The analysis contrasts the measures taken in each sector in order to highlight commonalities and explain differences in approach and impact. This comparison of the EU's three principal policies for mitigating supply chain disruption shows the EU has equipped itself with more policy tools in the area of critical raw materials. The argument put forward to explain this prioritisation is that the weaponisation of critical raw materials has already taken place and risks stoking a political backlash against the EU green deal. Consequently, the evidence shows how the EU's geoeconomic hedging marks a move away from an overriding commitment to free markets as part of the postwar liberal international order. Rather, the EU is experimenting with market‐directing mechanisms involving state aid, stockpiling and regulatory interventions in the name of security of supply. This change illustrates not just the fraying of the liberal international trade order but also the part that the EU is playing in this transformation.
Government subsidies and income smoothing
Authors: Pappas Kostas , Walker Martin , Xu Alice Liang , (Colin) Zeng Cheng 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThis study examines the relationship between government subsidies and income smoothing using a sample of US‐listed firms. We find that subsidized firms smooth their earnings more aggressively than their unsubsidized peers. This finding is consistent with the reasoning that subsidized firms bear higher political costs and have more incentives to smooth earnings to avoid public attention. In addition, smoothing by subsidized firms is more pronounced when the subsidies are granted through non‐tax‐related channels than through tax‐based channels, and the positive association between government subsidies and income smoothing is stronger for firms under higher public scrutiny and with less transparent information environments. Further analysis shows that smoothing by subsidized firms serves mainly to obfuscate earnings and that subsidized firms that smooth earnings tend to continue receiving subsidies in the future. Overall, our results help explain the role of government subsidies in shaping firms' accounting and disclosure choices.
Amygdala neuronal dyshomeostasis via 5‐HT receptors mediates mood and cognitive defects in Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Wu Xin‐Rong , Zhu Xiao‐Na , Pan Yuan‐Bo , Gu Xue , Liu Xian‐Dong , Chen Si , Zhang Yu , Xu Tian‐Le , Xu Nan‐Jie , Sun Suya 
Published: May 2024

AbstractBehavioral changes or neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are common features in dementia and are associated with accelerated cognitive impairment and earlier deaths. However, how NPSs are intertwined with cognitive decline remains elusive. In this study, we identify that the basolateral amygdala (BLA) is a key brain region that is associated with mood disorders and memory decline in the AD course. During the process from pre‐ to post‐onset in AD, the dysfunction of parvalbumin (PV) interneurons and pyramidal neurons in the amygdala leads to hyperactivity of pyramidal neurons in the basal state and insensitivity to external stimuli. We further demonstrate that serotonin (5‐HT) receptors in distinct neurons synergistically regulate the BLA microcircuit of AD rather than 5‐HT levels, in which both restrained inhibitory inputs by excessive 5‐HT1AR signaling in PV interneurons and depolarized pyramidal neurons via upregulated 5‐HT2AR contribute to aberrant neuronal hyperactivity. Downregulation of these two 5‐HT receptors simultaneously enables neurons to resist β‐amyloid peptides (Aβ) neurotoxicity and ameliorates the mood and cognitive defects. Therefore, our study reveals a crucial role of 5‐HT receptors for regulating neuronal homeostasis in AD pathogenesis, and this would provide early intervention and potential targets for AD cognitive decline.
Effects of increasing instrument size and taper on the disinfection and shaping of mandibular incisors
Authors: Barbosa Ana Flávia Almeida , Silva Emmanuel João Nogueira Leal , Versiani Marco Aurélio , Lima Carolina Oliveira , Oliveira Letícia de Almeida Pereira Reis , Massa Graziela dos Santos , Eustáquio Thayná Cristine da Silva , Lopes Ricardo Tadeu , Sassone Luciana Moura 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThis study assessed canal preparation effects on disinfection and dentin preservation. Thirty mandibular incisors were paired into two experimental groups (n = 10). Following contamination, the initial microbial sample was collected. Instruments 30/0.03 (Group 1) and 30/0.05 (Group 2) were employed and a second sample was obtained. Canals were enlarged using instruments 40/0.03 and 40/0.05, respectively, and a third sample was collected. Final irrigation was performed, and sample S4 obtained. A final scan evaluated volume, surface area, unprepared areas, removed dentin and dentin thickness. Data were analysed using Student t‐test, Mann–Whitney, Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn tests. A significant difference was observed between S1 and other time points (p < 0.05). Comparison between groups showed no differences in bacterial loads and in the percentage of microbial reduction (p > 0.05). Group 2 exhibited greater reduction in dentin thickness than group 1 in the mesial aspect of the root (p < 0.05). Instrument 30/0.03 might provide effective disinfection and safety during mandibular incisors canal preparation.
Can open cholecystectomy be taught by cadaveric simulation?
Authors: Killoran Callie Breanne , de Costa Alan 
Published: May 2024

AbstractBackgroundLaparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the current standard of treatment for surgical gallbladder removal as it has an overall improved post‐operative recovery compared to Open Cholecystectomy (OC). This has resulted in the loss of exposure to surgical trainees and the associated technical skills and decision‐making required to convert to OC. The aim of this study is to provide construct validity to the proposition that cadaveric simulation can be used successfully to teach and learn open cholecystectomy.MethodsParticipants (n = 25) were surveyed on a 9‐point questionnaire using a 5‐point Likert scale to determine their opinion on cadaveric simulation as a tool for teaching OC.ResultsOverall respondents deemed the tool as highly translatable. There was no significant correlation in the responses between candidates versus tutors (P = 0.05,r = 0.51).ConclusionsThe outcome of the survey revealed that participants agreed that cadaveric simulation is a positive learning tool to aid in OC.
Can regional anticoagulation with calcium‐free dialysate be extended to maintenance hemodialysis?
Authors: Petitclerc Thierry , Béné Bernard 
Published: May 2024

AbstractBackgroundRegional anticoagulation in hemodialysis avoids the use of heparin, which is responsible for both hemorrhagic and non‐hemorrhagic complications. Typically, blood is decalcified by injecting citrate into the arterial line of the extracorporeal circuit. Calcium‐free dialysate improves anticoagulation efficacy but requires injection of a calcium‐containing solution into the venous line and strict monitoring of blood calcium levels. Recent improvements have made regional anticoagulation with calcium‐free dialysate safer and easier.Observations(1) Adjusting the calcium injection rate to ionic dialysance avoids the risk of dyscalcemia, thus making unnecessary the monitoring of blood calcium levels. This adjustment could be carried out automatically by the hemodialysis monitor. (2) As calcium‐free dialysate reduces the amount of citrate required, this can be supplied by dialysate obtained from currently available concentrates containing citric acid. This avoids the need for citrate injection and the risk of citrate overload. (3) Calcium‐free dialysate no longer needs the dialysate acidification required for avoiding calcium carbonate precipitation in bicarbonate‐containing dialysate.ConclusionsRegional anticoagulation with calcium‐free dialysate enables an acid‐ and heparin‐free procedure that is more biocompatible and environmentally friendly than conventional bicarbonate hemodialysis. The availability of specific acid‐free concentrates and adapted hemodialysis monitors is required to extend this procedure to maintenance hemodialysis.
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: A review
Authors: Benvenuto Simone , Avcin Tadej , Taddio Andrea 
Published: May 2024

AbstractAimTo comprehensively review the literature on multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS‐C).MethodsNarrative review of relevant studies published between April 2020 and January 2024.ResultsMIS‐C is a SARS‐CoV‐2‐related hyperinflammatory syndrome developing 2–6 weeks after COVID‐19 in genetically susceptible individuals. Persisting fever, mucocutaneous manifestations, GI and cardiac involvement, together with lymphopenia and elevated inflammatory and cardiac markers are the main clinical features. It is believed to recognise some pathogenetic and clinical overlap with Kawasaki disease. New case definitions have been proposed after an assessment of the diagnostic performance of existing criteria; epidemiological criterion is however progressively losing its usefulness as the pandemic turns into an endemic and in the areas with the highest rates of COVID‐19 vaccination. Current guidelines recommend both intravenous immunoglobulin and glucocorticoids in the first‐line immunomodulatory treatment, mainly based on comparative retrospective cohorts; the actual role of biologics remains to be adequately established. Strict follow‐up is mandatory, especially for those with severe cardiac involvement, as longitudinal studies evaluate the long‐term evolution of cardiac damage.ConclusionIn this paper, we review the epidemiological, pathogenetic, clinical and prognostic features of MIS‐C, and outline the main questions which still remain unanswered after more than 3 years of research.
Editorial: High qHBsAg—Is it a good or bad signal? Authors' reply
Authors: Lin Hsin‐Che , Jeng Wen‐Juei , Yang Hwai‐I 
Published: May 2024

LINKED CONTENTThis article is linked to Lin et al papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.17915 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.17965.
Stressors in the family‐work system, family‐friendly management practice assessment and dedication to work: A comparative analysis between fathers and mothers
Authors: Kulik Liat 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThe study explored the correlations between stressors in the family‐work system, the assessment of family‐friendly management practices, and work dedication among parents in Israel, with a comparison between fathers and mothers. The research sample included 317 Jewish parents, each with at least one child under the age of 10 (158 mothers, 159 fathers). Quantitative methods were employed, and data were collected by the Israeli Panels Research Institute. Women tend to make more accommodation requests for childcare and experience greater discrimination at work than fathers. Accommodation requests and assessments of non‐family‐friendly management practices correlated with feelings of being discriminated against among both men and women. However, discrimination correlated negatively to work dedication only among women. Negative experiences at work contribute more to explaining the dedication of women to work than the dedication of men.Public significance statement
The findings indicate that for both genders, perceptions of management as non‐family‐friendly and the frequency of accommodation requests are positively correlated with experiences of discrimination among working parents. However, the experience of discrimination is negatively correlated with work dedication only among mothers. These findings underscore the importance of organizations pursuing a family‐friendly agenda. Advancing such an agenda is pivotal, as it could mitigate experiences of discrimination and thereby contribute indirectly to employee well‐being.
Value change, reprogenetic technologies, and the axiological underpinnings of reproductive choice
Authors: Rueda Jon 
Published: May 2024

AbstractValue change is a phenomenon that is gaining increasing attention in ethical analyses of technologies. However, a comprehensive study of how reprogenetic technologies and values coevolve is lacking. To remedy this gap, in this overview article, I address the relationship between reprogenetics and value change. This contribution thus argues for the importance of investigating the phenomenon of value change in relation to the technological controversies discussed in bioethics. To meet this goal, I begin by clarifying, first, how technologies shape reproductive choice. I then clarify what “values” and “moral values” are, how reprogenetic technologies are value laden, and what values are often discussed in reprogenetics debates. Next, I show five types of value changes that have occurred in advance in reproductive and genetic technologies. Finally, I argue for the bioethical relevance of discussing future techno‐value change, pointing out the descriptive and normative challenges of this philosophical endeavor.
Client‐centered flexible planning of home‐based postpartum care: A randomized controlled trial on the quality of care
Authors: Lambermon Fleur J. , van Duijnhoven Noortje T. L. , Dedding Christine , Kremer Jan A. M. 
Published: May 2024

AbstractBackgroundStandardization of health systems often hinders client‐centered care. This study investigates whether allowing more flexibility in the planning range of the Dutch home‐based postpartum care service improves its quality of care, as innovative approach to client‐centered care.MethodsA randomized controlled trial was conducted (2017–2019), in which pregnant women who intended to breastfeed were assigned into two groups (1:1). The intervention group was allowed to receive care up to the 14th‐day postpartum, instead of the first 8–10 consecutive days (“usual care”). Primary outcome measure was the proportion of newborns still receiving exclusively breastmilk on final caring day of the service. This so‐called successful breastfeeding rate is currently used by the Dutch health sector to measure the quality of care. Secondary outcome measures were self‐care experience, overall care experience, and exclusive breastfeeding duration rate.ResultsBased on data from 1275 participants, there was no difference in exclusive breastfeeding on final caring day (86,7% intervention group vs. 88,9% control group, RR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.98–1.07). Both groups showed similar self‐care experiences. Women in the intervention group had slightly poorer overall care experience and lower exclusive breastfeeding duration rates.ConclusionsThis study found no effect on the quality of care when allowing more flexibility in the planning range of home‐based postpartum care. Women can, therefore, be offered more flexibility to suit them. Given the confusion in interpreting the sector's current main quality indicator, we call for an inclusive dialogue on how to best measure the quality of home‐based postpartum care.