bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Managerial capture of sustainability assurance. Empirical evidence and capital market reactions
Authors: Sánchez-Sancho Marta , Martínez-Ferrero Jennifer , Perote-Peña Javier 
Published: November 2023

Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the potential influence of managers on sustainability assurance. When the quality of sustainability reporting is questionable because of subsequent restatements, the authors explore whether assurance is used to enhance its credibility as a legitimization tool or as an impression management strategy. Additionally, the authors analyze how capital markets react to this potential managerial capture and, particularly, whether investors penalize this practice through the cost of capital.

Design/methodology/approach
Using an international sample from 2012 to 2016 and panel data regressions, this study relies on DICTION’s master variables of optimism and certainty to examine the impact of managers on assurance and the market’s reaction to these practices.

Findings
The study shows that some managers might use assurance as a legitimization tool rather than as a means of reinforcing the credibility of sustainability reporting. In such cases, the results reveal that investors penalize (reward) managerial influence (no influence) on assurance.

Practical implications
The new findings help companies understand that they will not improve their financing terms if investors perceive that managers have influenced assurance. Moreover, these findings emphasize the need for standardization to clarify assurance criteria and prevent managerial influence.

Social implications
Managerial influence on assurance raises doubts about its value in terms of reducing information asymmetry and especially improving investors’ decision-making.

Originality/value
The present study represents the first evidence of the potential use of assurance for non-informative purposes. The authors provide clear evidence of how investors penalize managerial influence on assurance, in contrast to the mainstream literature, which shows that this practice always improves investors’ decision-making and is rewarded.
Immune checkpoint inhibitor‐induced epidermal necrolysis: A narrative review evaluating demographics, clinical features, and culprit medications
Authors: Satoh Takashi K. , Neulinger Matthias Munoz , Stadler Pia‐Charlotte , Aoki Rui , French Lars E. 
Published: November 2023

AbstractImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have transformed cancer treatment but can cause immune‐related adverse events (irAEs). Severe cutaneous irAEs, including epidermal necrolysis, are rare but potentially life‐threatening. There is limited understanding of the clinical features and management of ICI‐induced Stevens‐Johnson syndrome (SJS)/toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), so we aimed to analyze 95 cases of ICI‐induced SJS/TEN (35 cases of SJS, 26 cases of TEN, two cases of SJS/TEN overlap, and 32 cases of unspecified) to increase knowledge of this condition among oncologists and dermatologists. We conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed for all relevant case reports published until the end of December 2022, and collected data on patient demographics, cancer type, ICI regimen, time to onset of SJS/TEN, clinical presentation, management strategies, and outcomes. PD‐1 inhibitors were the most common ICIs associated with SJS/TEN (58.9%), followed by the combination of PD‐1 and CTLA‐4 inhibitors (11.6%), and PD‐L1 inhibitors (6.3%). Lung cancer and melanoma were the most frequent malignancies treated (35.8% and 25.4%, respectively). SJS/TEN occurred most frequently within the first 4 weeks (51.7%), and corticosteroid monotherapy was the most commonly chosen systemic treatment (56.4%). The overall mortality rate of ICI‐induced SJS/TEN was 30.8%. Our findings highlight the frequency and severity of ICI‐induced SJS/TEN and the urgent need for predictive molecular biomarkers aimed at preventive measures and early intervention.
Influence of WC addition on mechanical properties of (HfNbTaZrTiMo)C‐Co cermet
Authors: Deng Xiao‐Chun , Kang Xiao‐Dong , Zhang Guo‐Hua 
Published: November 2023

Abstract(HfNbTaZrTiMo)C‐Co high entropy carbide cermet was fabricated by conventional vacuum sintering. The effect of WC addition on the mechanical properties of cermets was also investigated. For cermets without WC addition, with the extension of sintering time, the hardness of cermets first rose and then fell, while the fracture toughness showed a decreasing trend. The increase in sintering temperature led to a decline in hardness and an enhancement of fracture toughness. The (HfNbTaZrTiMo)C‐15 wt. % Co cermet sintered at 1450°C for 2 h had the best comprehensive properties, with the hardness and fracture toughness of 16.36 ± 0.17 GPa and 7.19 MPa·m1/2, respectively. After adding WC, there was a typical black core (undissolved (HfNbTaZrTiMo)C phase)‐gray rim (seven‐component (HfNbTaZrTiMoW)C solid solutions) structure in the cermets. Meanwhile, Mo diffused into WC to form (Mo, W)C solid solutions. The formations of (HfTaZrNbMoTiW)C and (Mo, W)C solid solutions resulted in an improvement in hardness. In addition, since the addition of WC enhanced the wettability between carbides phase and Co phase, the comprehensive properties of cermets were improved. The hardness and fracture toughness of the (HfNbTaZrTiMo)C‐42.5 wt. % WC‐15 wt.% Co cermet sintered at 1450°C for 2 h were 17.42 ± 0.06 GPa and 8.22 MPa·m1/2, respectively.
Effects of pore size on electrical and thermal properties of porous SiC ceramics
Authors: Das Dulal , Lucio Maria Dolores Sosa , Kultayeva Shynar , Kim Young‐Wook 
Published: November 2023

AbstractPorous SiC ceramics with three different pore sizes (∼7, ∼45, and ∼98 μm) and two different porosities (∼54% and ∼63%) were prepared to investigate the effects of pore size on electrical and thermal properties of the porous ceramics. With an increase in pore size from ∼7 to ∼98 μm at the same porosity (∼54%), the electrical and thermal conductivities of the porous ceramics increased from ∼1.01 to ∼2.30 Ω−1·cm−1 and ∼14.3 to ∼26.2 W·m−1K−1, respectively. Similar trends have been obtained in the ceramics with ∼63% porosity. The porous SiC ceramic with larger pore size has smaller pore/strut interface area at the same porosity, which leads to less carrier scattering and phonon‐pore scattering at the pore/strut interfaces, resulting in higher electrical and thermal conductivities, respectively. These results suggest that the electrical and thermal properties of porous SiC ceramics can be successfully tuned by adjusting the pore size and porosity depending on the application.
Parental supporter in pediatric resuscitation: A mixed‐method study with Delphi and analytic hierarchy process
Authors: Ghavi Arezoo , Hassankhani Hadi , Meert Kathleen L. 
Published: November 2023

AbstractIntroductionProviding support to parents is an evidence‐based practice and a crucial part of family‐centered nursing care. However, it is not clear who and how to provide the best support to parents during and after their child's resuscitation attempts.PurposeThis study was conducted to explore the characteristics and roles of parental supporters responsible for caring for parents during and after their child's resuscitation.MethodsThis is a mixed‐method study combining the Delphi technique and the Analytic Hierarchy Process. A list of potentially important items describing the characteristics and roles of parental supporters caring for parents during and after pediatric resuscitation was developed through qualitative interviews with parents and members of the resuscitation team, and a thorough literature search. Then, the Delphi round was conducted with key experts. In the final step, the Analytic Hierarchy Process was used for ranking items in the order of their importance.ResultsA list with 69 items describing the characteristics and roles of parental supporters was developed. 15 items (21.74%) were related to the “Characteristics of parental supporter” category; 8 items (11.59%) were related to the “Roles of a parental supporter during resuscitation” category; 13 items (18.84%) were related to the “Roles of a parental supporter after successful resuscitation” category; 23 items (33.34%) were related to the “Roles of a parental supporter after unsuccessful resuscitation” category; and 10 items (14.49%) were related to the “Roles of a parental supporter after unsuccessful resuscitation with help of other staff of the hospital” category.ConclusionThe findings of this study can be used to develop guidelines that include parental supporter characteristics and roles to support parents during and after their child's resuscitation according to family‐centered care practices in pediatric settings.Clinical RelevanceStudy findings indicate the need for the presence of a parental supporter during and after pediatric resuscitation, whether witnessed by the parents or not. Knowledge regarding the characteristics and roles of parental supporters can be used in practice to uphold family‐centered nursing care during critical situations.
Forest understorey flowering phenology responses to experimental warming and illumination
Authors: Lorer Eline , Verheyen Kris , Blondeel Haben , De Pauw Karen , Sanczuk Pieter , De Frenne Pieter , Landuyt Dries 
Published: November 2023

Summary
Species are altering their phenology to track warming temperatures. In forests, understorey plants experience tree canopy shading resulting in light and temperature conditions, which strongly deviate from open habitats. Yet, little is known about understorey phenology responses to forest microclimates.
We recorded flowering onset, peak, end and duration of 10 temperate forest understorey plant species in two mesocosm experiments to understand how phenology is affected by sub‐canopy warming and how this response is modulated by illumination, which is related to canopy change. Furthermore, we investigated whether phenological sensitivities can be explained by species' characteristics, such as thermal niche.
We found a mean advance of flowering onset of 7.1 d per 1°C warming, more than previously reported in studies not accounting for microclimatic buffering. Warm‐adapted species exhibited greater advances. Temperature sensitivity did not differ between early‐ and later‐flowering species. Experimental illumination did not significantly affect species' phenological temperature sensitivities, but slightly delayed flowering phenology independent from warming.
Our study suggests that integrating sub‐canopy temperature and light availability will help us better understand future understorey phenology responses. Climate warming together with intensifying canopy disturbances will continue to drive phenological shifts and potentially disrupt understorey communities, thereby affecting forest biodiversity and functioning.
Value of q waves in lateral and left precordial leads in patients with left bundle branch block to predict the response to cardiac resynchronization therapy
Authors: Zhang Shimeng , Zhang Hengli , Gu Kai , Li Mingfang , Liu Hailei , Wang Cheng , Chen Minglong 
Published: November 2023

AbstractBackgroundThe cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) non‐response rate can reach 30% in heart failure (HF) patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB). This study aimed to evaluate the value of baseline q waves in leads I, V5, or V6 in predicting response to CRT in patients with HF and LBBB.MethodsPatients with HF (left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35%) and LBBB receiving CRT implantation were retrospectively enrolled. Baseline characteristics and electrocardiogram parameters, including lateral and left precordial q waves were evaluated. Non‐response to CRT was defined as the improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 5% at a 6‐month follow‐up.ResultsA total of 132 patients (mean age 63.0 ± 10.4 years, 94 [71.2%] male) were included. Among them, 32 patients with q waves in leads I, V5, or V6 were classified into the qLBBB (+) group, and the rest without q waves in these leads were defined as the qLBBB (‐) group. The CRT non‐response rate in the qLBBB (+) group was markedly higher than that in the qLBBB (‐) group (68.8% vs. 33.3%, p < .001). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that the presence of baseline q waves in leads I, V5, or V6 remained significantly associated with a higher rate of CRT non‐response in patients with HF and LBBB (odds ratio: 4.8, 95% confidence interval: 1.5–15.0, p = .007).ConclusionAny q wave in leads I, V5, or V6 was an independent predictive factor for CRT non‐response in patients with HF and LBBB.
Lessons from the COVID‐19 pandemic: Mortality impacts in Poland versus European Union
Authors: Kundzewicz Zbigniew W. , Ebi Kristie L. , Duszyński Jerzy 
Published: November 2023

AbstractWith COVID‐19 moving toward an endemic phase, it is worthwhile to identify lessons from the pandemic that can promote the effective strengthening of national health systems. We look at a single country, Poland, and compare it with the European Union (EU) to contrast approaches and outcomes. Among possible relevant indices, we examine characteristics of COVID‐19‐related mortality and excess all‐cause mortality from March 2020 to February 2022. We demonstrate that both the numbers of COVID‐related deaths and all‐cause deaths in Poland were much higher than the EU average for most months in the study period. We juxtapose the percentage of fully vaccinated population and cumulative COVID‐19 deaths per million people for EU Member States and show that typically higher vaccination rates are accompanied by lower mortality. We also show that, in addition to medical science, the use of a risk science toolbox would have been valuable in the management of the COVID‐19 pandemic in Poland. Better and more widespread understanding of risk perception of the pandemic and the COVID‐19 vaccines would have improved managing vaccine hesitancy, potentially leading to more effective pro‐vaccination measures.
Spatial Visual Feedback for Robotic Arc-Welding Enforced by Inductive Machine Learning
Authors: Putnik Goran D. , Petrovic Petar B. , Shah Vaibhav 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
An intelligent system for spatial visual feedback is presented, which enables the robot's autonomy for a range of robotic assembly tasks, in particular for arc welding, in an unstructured and “fixtureless” environment. The robot's autonomy is empowered by an embedded inductive inference-based machine learning module which learns a welded object's structural properties in the form of geometrical properties. In particular, the system tries to recognize line segments, using a spatial (three-dimensional) visual sensor in order to autonomously execute the objective task. The innovative result is that the recognition of the geometric primitives is done without a predefined Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model, significantly improving the system's autonomy and robustness. The system is validated on real-world welding tasks.
A Sensing Integrated Metal Additive Manufacturing Platform for Exploring the Use of Non-Standard Powders
Authors: Singh Dhami Harish , Ranjan Panda Priti , Saikiran Puli , Garg Richie , Viswanathan Koushik 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Research applications that rely on commercial directed energy deposition (DED) based metal additive manufacturing (AM) systems are commonly constrained by their inflexibility in handling various non-standard powders, lack of fine system control, and inherent difficulty with sensor integration. In this work, we present the design of a sensing-integrated platform for metal additive manufacturing. A modular design allows easy modification of specific sub-systems, such as laser integration or powder delivery mechanisms, to enable capabilities that are difficult to realize with commercial systems. As an example, we demonstrate DED performance using non-conventional inexpensive powders produced via abrasion and water atomization techniques. System performance is evaluated using integrated sensors and complemented by numerical/ analytical calculations. Based on these results, a nominal operation map combining thermal field with powder flow is generated for determining process parameters suitable for a given material/build combination and can be generally applicable for any DED AM system. In addition to handling non-spherical and alternatively sourced powders, the system capabilities for printing multi-material complex contours are demonstrated.
Safeguarding Multi-Fidelity Bayesian Optimization Against Large Model Form Errors and Heterogeneous Noise
Authors: Zanjani Foumani Zahra , Yousefpour Amin , Shishehbor Mehdi , Bostanabad Ramin 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Bayesian optimization (BO) is a sequential optimization strategy that is increasingly employed in a wide range of areas such as materials design. In real-world applications, acquiring high-fidelity (HF) data through physical experiments or HF simulations is the major cost component of BO. To alleviate this bottleneck, multi-fidelity (MF) methods are used to forgo the sole reliance on the expensive HF data and reduce the sampling costs by querying inexpensive low-fidelity (LF) sources whose data are correlated with HF samples. However, existing multi-fidelity BO (MFBO) methods operate under the following two assumptions that rarely hold in practical applications: (1) LF sources provide data that are well correlated with the HF data on a global scale, and (2) a single random process can model the noise in the MF data. These assumptions dramatically reduce the performance of MFBO when LF sources are only locally correlated with the HF source or when the noise variance varies across the data sources. In this paper, we view these two limitations and uncertainty sources and address them by building an emulator that more accurately quantifies uncertainties. Specifically, our emulator (1) learns a separate noise model for each data source, and (2) leverages strictly proper scoring rules in regularizing itself. We illustrate the performance of our method through analytical examples and engineering problems in materials design. The comparative studies indicate that our MFBO method outperforms existing technologies, provides interpretable results, and can leverage LF sources which are only locally correlated with the HF source.
Toward Artificial Empathy for Human-Centered Design
Authors: Zhu Qihao , Luo Jianxi 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
In the early stages of the design process, designers explore opportunities by discovering unmet needs and developing innovative concepts as potential solutions. From a human-centered design perspective, designers must develop empathy with people to truly understand their experiences and needs. However, developing empathy is a complex and subjective process that relies heavily on the designer's empathic capability, and is often subject to the experiences of a small group of people. Therefore, the development of empathic understanding is intuitive, and the discovery of underlying needs can be serendipitous and unrepresentative. This paper aims to provide insights from artificial intelligence research to indicate the future direction of AI-driven human-centered design, considering the essential role of empathy. Specifically, we conduct an interdisciplinary investigation of research areas such as data-driven user research, empathic design, and artificial empathy. Based on this foundation, we discuss the role that artificial empathy can play in human-centered design and propose an artificial empathy framework for human-centered design. Building on the mechanisms behind empathy and insights from empathic design research, the framework aims to break down the rather complex and subjective process of developing empathic understanding into modules and components that can potentially be modeled computationally. Furthermore, we discuss the expected benefits of developing such systems and identify research opportunities to suggest future research efforts.
The Influence of Digital Sketching Tools on Concept Novelty and Evolution
Authors: Das Madhurima , Huang May , Xu Christine , Yang Maria C. 
Published: November 2023

Abstract
Digital tools for sketching, such as tablets, have become popular for streamlining design work and keeping a large quantity of sketches in one place. However, their impact on design creativity, novelty, and concept evolution is not yet well understood. Here, we present a controlled human subjects study that assesses the influence of tablets (iPads) on concept novelty and evolution in the context of an engineering design concept generation exercise. We expect that iPad use will not influence concept novelty due to its similar speed of use as pen and paper sketching. We expect to see different patterns in concept evolution between the two types of tools, namely, that iPad users will demonstrate more iteration on a concept (concept evolution) than pen and paper users due to the fact that iPad features make it easy to copy and paste previous sketches and then modify them. We find that the tool used is not correlated with concept novelty. Additionally, we find no strong differences in overall concept evolution quantities between the two tools, though we see that iPad sketches exhibited more cases of consecutive concept evolution than nonconsecutive whereas paper and pen sketches showed an equal amount of both consecutive and nonconsecutive concept evolution. Results indicate that overall, iPads may not significantly inhibit designers’ creative skills and thus could be a reasonable replacement for pen and paper sketching, which has implications for both design education and practice.
Micro-nanoemulsion and nanoparticle-assisted drug delivery against drug-resistant tuberculosis: recent developments
Authors: Suman Simpal Kumar , Chandrasekaran Natarajan , Priya Doss C. George 
Published: November 2023

SUMMARY

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health problem and the second most prevalent infectious killer after COVID-19. It is caused by
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
(
Mtb
) and has become increasingly challenging to treat due to drug resistance. The World Health Organization declared TB a global health emergency in 1993. Drug resistance in TB is driven by mutations in the bacterial genome that can be influenced by prolonged drug exposure and poor patient adherence. The development of drug-resistant forms of TB, such as multidrug resistant, extensively drug resistant, and totally drug resistant, poses significant therapeutic challenges. Researchers are exploring new drugs and novel drug delivery systems, such as nanotechnology-based therapies, to combat drug resistance. Nanodrug delivery offers targeted and precise drug delivery, improves treatment efficacy, and reduces adverse effects. Along with nanoscale drug delivery, a new generation of antibiotics with potent therapeutic efficacy, drug repurposing, and new treatment regimens (combinations) that can tackle the problem of drug resistance in a shorter duration could be promising therapies in clinical settings. However, the clinical translation of nanomedicines faces challenges such as safety, large-scale production, regulatory frameworks, and intellectual property issues. In this review, we present the current status, most recent findings, challenges, and limiting barriers to the use of emulsions and nanoparticles against drug-resistant TB.