bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How to explain stock returns of utility companies from an environmental, social and corporate governance perspective
Authors: López‐Cabarcos M. Ángeles , Santos‐Rodrigues Helena , Quiñoá‐Piñeiro Lara , Piñeiro‐Chousa Juan 
Published: March 2023

AbstractSustainability is a major challenge in today's business world, making environmental, social and governance criteria an indispensable tool for business management and investment decisions. Using 2020 data of 47 companies from the STOXX Europe Total Market Utilities Index and qualitative comparative analysis, this study aims to analyse how the combination of CO2 equivalent emissions, sustainability compensation incentives, environmental investments, environment management training, and policy fair competition leads to utility companies' stock market returns. Two subsample models (electricity and non‐electricity utilities) have been considered in the study. The results point to the absence of CO2 equivalent emissions, the absence of incentives, and the presence of environmental investment as key variables to lead to stock market returns. The findings provide relevant information for managers and practitioners of utilities industry to achieve improvements in the environmental, social and governance management practices, maintaining profitability in financial markets and facilitating decision‐making for investors.
A double boost 9‐level switched capacitor‐based multilevel inverter for photovoltaic applications
Authors: Agarwal Ritika , Gupta Krishna Kumar , Singh Shakti 
Published: March 2023

SummaryA self‐balancing 9‐level inverter is proposed in this paper. To generate a 9‐level voltage with a gain of two requires a single DC source, eight power switches, three capacitors, and two diodes. Without additional circuitry, the voltages of the capacitors in the proposed topology can achieve inherent balance. The peak‐inverse‐voltage (PIV) of six power switches equals or less than the source voltage, and the other two are twice. As power switches are complementary, the proposed topology requires fewer gate drivers. Furthermore, the self‐balancing capability of capacitors' voltage helps in simple control complexity. The description of topology, mode of operation, modulation strategy, and design of the capacitor of proposed topology are presented. The advantages of the proposed inverter are examined by comparing it with switched capacitor multilevel inverters (MLIs). Finally, a 9‐level prototype is built to verify the theoretical analysis and the practical efficacy of the proposed inverter.
Local and landscape environmental heterogeneity drive ant community structure in temperate seminatural upland grasslands
Authors: Pérez‐Sánchez Antonio J. , Schibalski Anett , Schröder Boris , Klimek Sebastian , Dauber Jens 
Published: March 2023

AbstractEnvironmental heterogeneity is an important driver of ecological communities. Here, we assessed the effects of local and landscape spatial environmental heterogeneity on ant community structure in temperate seminatural upland grasslands of Central Germany. We surveyed 33 grassland sites representing a gradient in elevation and landscape composition. Local environmental heterogeneity was measured in terms of variability of temperature and moisture within and between grasslands sites. Grassland management type (pasture vs. meadows) was additionally included as a local environmental heterogeneity measure. The complexity of habitat types in the surroundings of grassland sites was used as a measure of landscape environmental heterogeneity. As descriptors of ant community structure, we considered species composition in terms of nest density, community evenness, and functional response traits. We found that extensively grazed pastures and within‐site heterogeneity in soil moisture at local scale, and a high diversity of land cover types at the landscape scale affected ant species composition by promoting higher nest densities of some species. Ant community evenness was high in wetter grasslands with low within‐site variability in soil moisture and surrounded by a less diverse landscape. Fourth‐corner models revealed that ant community structure response to environmental heterogeneity was mediated mainly by worker size, colony size, and life history traits related with colony reproduction and foundation. We discuss how within‐site local variability in soil moisture and low‐intensity grazing promote ant species densities and highlight the role of habitat temperature and humidity affecting community evenness. We hypothesize that a higher diversity of land cover types in a forest‐dominated landscape buffers less favorable environmental conditions for ant species establishment and dispersal between grasslands. We conclude that spatial environmental heterogeneity at local and landscape scale plays an important role as deterministic force in filtering ant species and, along with neutral processes (e.g., stochastic colonization), in shaping ant community structure in temperate seminatural upland grasslands.
Spatial–temporal variations in vegetation with changing water stress in the Kongqi River basin, China
Authors: Zhang Haoyue , Wang Xu‐Sheng , Zhang Jun , Gu Xiaofan , Yin Lihe , Yeh Pat J.‐F. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractIdentifying dominant water stress on vegetation growth over the arid basins is essential to better understand ecosystems and water interactions, which are fundamental in managing regional water resources. The Kongqi River basin is an ecologically sensitive area with limited water resources in the northern part of Tarim Basin in northwest China. How is the spatial distribution of vegetation controlled by natural conditions and anthropogenic regulation of water resources is a concern for ecology system protection. This study explores the spatio–temporal variations in the remote‐sensing vegetation index across the basin and identifies water stress forces with the Mann–Kendall trend test and linear regression analysis. Results show that the controls of vegetation change are different among geomorphological units over the past 20 years. In the northern mountains, the increasing vegetation trend mainly responds to climate change, particularly to increased precipitation. In contrast, in the plain area, the vegetation change is controlled by changes in hydrologic and anthropogenic water stresses. A significant rise in surface water and groundwater utilization counteracts the negative effect of the increasing hydrologic water stress in the upstream oasis. However, the increasing anthropogenic water stress contributed to more than 50% of vegetation decay in the downstream area during 2004–2015. The ecological water conveyance beginning in 2016 has promoted vegetation restoration, but the effect decreased with distance to the upstream area and showed a delay in response. This study provides evidence for ecological consequence of anthropogenic water stress that is beneficial to improve water resources management and ecosystem restoration.
Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and atrial fibrillation: a Sub‐Saharan African perspective
Authors: Mboweni Nonkanyiso , Maseko Muzi , Tsabedze Nqoba 
Published: March 2023

AbstractCardiovascular diseases are a well‐established cause of death in high‐income countries. In the last 20 years, Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) has seen one of the sharpest increases in cardiovascular disease‐related mortality, superseding that of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, in South Africa. This increase is evidenced by a growing burden of heart failure and atrial fibrillation (AF) risk factors. AF is a common comorbidity of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), which predisposes to an increased risk of stroke, rehospitalizations, and mortality compared with patients in sinus rhythm. AF had the largest relative increase in cardiovascular disease burden between 1990 and 2010 in SSA and the second highest (106.4%) increase in disability‐adjusted life‐years (DALY) between 1990 and 2017. Over the last decade, significant advancements in the management of both HFrEF and AF have emerged. However, managing HFrEF/AF remains a clinical challenge for physicians, compounded by the suboptimal efficacy of guideline‐mandated pharmacotherapy in this group of patients. There may be an essential role for racial differences and genetic influence on therapeutic outcomes of HFrEF/AF patients, further complicating our overall understanding of the disease and its pathophysiology. In SSA, the lack of accurate and up‐to‐date epidemiological data on this subgroup of patients presents a challenge in our quest to prevent and reduce adverse outcomes. This narrative review provides a contemporary overview of the epidemiology of HFrEF/AF in SSA. We highlight important differences in the demographic and aetiological profile and the management of this subpopulation, emphasizing what is currently known and, more importantly, what is still unknown about HFrEF/AF in SSA.
Analysis of DNA methylation markers for tissue identification in individuals with different clinical phenotypes
Authors: Silva Deborah S. B. S. , Ecker Haley , Walcott Johnisa , Weeden Rebecca , Medina Adriana , Gorson Juliette M. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractDeoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation patterns can be used to identify the type of tissue or body fluid found at a crime scene. However, tissue‐related methylation levels have not been analyzed in individuals with different illnesses and medical conditions in forensic‐specific studies. The primary goal of this study was to investigate if certain clinical phenotypes can alter the methylation levels of CpG sites in genes involved in tissue typing. Four studies with focus on DNA methylation analysis on individuals with different clinical conditions were selected from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Then, a list of 137 CpG sites was compiled for further investigation. Statistical tests were performed to compare the beta‐values results obtained for the control groups and the individuals affected by medical conditions. For each study, CpG sites that presented significant statistical differences between patients and control group were identified and it was possible to notice that DNA methylation levels can be affected in sites with potential forensic use. Although the observed DNA methylation variation (less than 10% difference) in this study would likely not cause any issues in body fluid identification, the results are important to show that this type of analysis should be taken into consideration when investigating and further validating body fluid markers. The CpG sites identified in this study should be further investigated by future studies on body fluids identification, and due to the significant difference in methylation levels in samples from affected individuals, caution must be taken before including these sites in tissue identification investigations.
Parental dieting impacts inpatient treatment outcomes for adolescents with restrictive eating disorders
Authors: Duck Sarah Ann , Guarda Angela S. , Schreyer Colleen C. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractObjectiveParental feeding practices and disordered eating are potential risk factors for the development of disordered eating in children and adolescents. This study measured the relationship between parental dieting behaviours and inpatient treatment outcomes for adolescents with restrictive eating disorders (EDs).MethodParents of adolescents with restrictive EDs (N = 45) admitted to a specialty integrated inpatient‐partial hospital meal‐based ED treatment programme completed questionnaires assessing parental eating and exercise behaviours. Adolescent clinical data, including percentage median body mass index (%mBMI) at admission and discharge and rate of weight gain, were abstracted from the electronic medical record.ResultsAdolescents whose parents reported dieting had a slower rate of weight gain (3.47 lbs./week) compared to participants whose parents were not dieting (4.54 lbs./week; p = 0.017). Additionally, participants whose parents reported dieting had a lower %mBMI at programme discharge (M = 93.56) than participants whose parents did not report dieting (M = 95.99; p = 0.033).ConclusionParental dieting behaviours may impact an adolescent's response to inpatient ED treatment. Findings suggest a need to assess parental dieting behaviour, and when appropriate, provide additional psychoeducation regarding the potential risks of weight or shape‐focussed dialogue and the benefits of modelling adaptive meal behaviours.
Equivalent dimensionality reduction method of doubly‐fed induction generator model and discrimination of Hopf bifurcation type
Authors: Chen Wei , Li Qiangqiang , Wei Zhanhong , Ding Cong , Wang Kun 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe strong coupling, multivariate, and nonlinear characteristics of the mathematical model of a doubly‐fed induction generator (DFIG) make it challenging to analyze the bifurcation category of the DFIG. Therefore, in this study, we developed a method for analyzing the DFIG model via topologically equivalent dimensionality reduction in the neighborhood of bifurcation values based on the central manifold theorem and realized the discrimination of the Hopf bifurcation type of the DFIG. We established a complex frequency domain model of the DFIG and then calculated the critical open‐loop gain point using the root trajectory method to obtain the relationship between the critical open‐loop gain point and Hopf bifurcation. Thereafter, we performed topological equivalence dimensionality reduction in the neighborhood of the DFIG bifurcation values based on the central manifold theorem. Subsequently, the Hopf bifurcation type of the system was determined using the stability index (first Lyapunov exponent) of the Hopf bifurcation. Finally, a nonlinear time‐domain simulation was used to verify that the four and two‐dimensional DFIGs generate a stable limit cycle by supercritical Hopf bifurcation under the tuning parameter. The results indicated that the proposed method was feasible and effective in the neighborhood of bifurcation values in the state parameter space of DFIG, which provides a theoretical basis for the control of Hopf bifurcation of the DFIG.
Study on tillering stage cold tolerant response in overwintering cultivated rice via comparative transcriptomic
Authors: Huang Lunxiao , Yu Jie , Liu Qian , Yu Kunchi , Zhang Qiuyu , Fan Mao , Jiang Fei , Han Jiajia , Wei Hongyu , Jian Wei , Zhao Zhengwu 
Published: March 2023

AbstractRice adaptation to low temperatures involves changes in their genetic and physiological architecture, caused by complex and variable transcriptional regulatory networks to regulate between growth and stress resistance. Overwintering rice survives cold winter and germinates the following spring. The perennial and cold‐tolerant properties present great potential regarding rice breeding and food security. In this study, the cold‐tolerant overwintering cultivar rice, “glutinous rice 89‐1” (Gr 89‐1), and an indica cultivar rice, “R07,” were placed at 4°C at the tillering stage and sampled at 0, 12, 24, and 96 h, and recovery 7 days. Physiological indicators of each sample were measured, and transcriptome analysis was performed. The results revealed that the overwintering cultivar rice Gr 89‐1 exhibited a pattern of physiological parameters consistent with the cold‐tolerant phenotype, less membrane damage accumulation and water loss with increasing duration of low temperature, and a stable increase in peroxidase activities, catalase activities, and soluble sugar content. Transcriptome analysis of two cultivars at 0, 12, and 24 h under 4°C revealed different gene expression patterns to low temperatures. Compared with R07, gene ontology terms of nuclear lumen, endomembrane system, organelle membrane, and envelope were enriched in Gr 89‐1, suggesting an alteration of membrane composition during cold acclimation. Specific upregulated transcription factors and cold‐tolerance regulators indicated a coordinated response between signal transduction, energy regulation, cell cycle, and circadian rhythm, which might help maintain cell homeostasis and improve Gr 89‐1 survival under cold stress. Two candidate genes OsETR3 and NAC78 were screened out, they significantly upregulated at 12 and 24 h of cold treatment in Gr 89‐1 and were higher than R07, and they were involved in cell wall remodeling and endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis under stress, respectively, which may relate to the cold‐tolerant trait of Gr 89‐1.
Long‐term outcomes in Hodgkin lymphoma survivors. Temporary trends and comparison with general population
Authors: Núñez‐García Beatriz , Clemente Mariola Blanco , Sánchez Juan Cristóbal , Royuela Ana , Ibargüen Blanca Cantos Sánchez de , Méndez Miriam , López‐Ibor Jorge V. , Martínez Marta , Traseira Cristina , Garitaonaindia Yago , Aguado Ramón , Calvo Virginia , Torrente María , Parejo Consuelo , Provencio Zaida , Provencio Mariano 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe high cure rates of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) make this oncological disease among those with the greatest number of long‐term survivors. This single‐institution study including 383 HL patients with up to 45 years of follow‐up, analyses the morbidity and mortality of this population after treatments in comparison with the overall Spanish population, and investigates whether it has changed over time stratifying by periods of time, as a consequence of therapeutic optimization. The median age was 34.8 years (range 15–87) with median overall survival of 30 years, significantly higher in women (HR 0.58, 95% CI 0.42–0.79) (p = 0.0002). 185 late‐stage diseases were noted (35% patients), cardiovascular disease (CVD) being the most frequent (23.2%). 30% of patients developed at least one second malignant neoplasm (SMN) to give a total of 174 SMNs. 20.9% of the patients died from HL and 67.0% died from non‐HL causes (32.2% from SMN, 17% from CVD). The overall standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was 3.57 (95% CI: 3.0–4.2), with striking values of 7.73 (95% CI: 5.02–8.69) and of 14.75 (95% CI: 11.38–19.12) for women and patients <30 years at diagnosis, respectively. Excluding HL as the cause of death, the SMRs of those diagnosed before 2000 and from 2000 were proved to be similar (3.88 vs 2.73), maintaining in this last period an unacceptable excess of mortality due to secondary toxicity in patients cured of HL. Our study confirm that HL treatment substantially reduces the life expectancy of patients cured of HL. In recent periods, despite therapeutic optimization, deaths from toxicity continue to occur, mainly from CVD and SMN. Risk‐factor monitoring should be intensified, prevention programs developed, and therapeutic optimization of LH investigated, especially in two vulnerable groups: those aged <30 years at diagnosis, and women.
Caregiver perspectives of risk and protective factors influencing early childhood development in low‐income, urban settings: A social ecological perspective
Authors: Draper Catherine E. , Cook Caylee J. , Howard Steven J. , Makaula Hleliwe , Merkley Rebecca , Mshudulu Mbulelo , Tshetu Nosibusiso , Scerif Gaia 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThis qualitative study explored caregivers' perceptions of factors influencing early childhood development in low‐income, urban South African settings, from a social ecological perspective. Individual interviews were conducted with 15 caregivers of 3–5‐year‐old children; a reflexive thematic analysis approach was adopted. In the family and home context, caregivers spoke about their role in developing, nurturing, providing, protecting and disciplining their children. Risks included low socioeconomic status, dysfunctional relationships and caregiver mental health; resources related to early learning and social support. In the preschool/school context, caregivers discussed the value of early learning, and priorities for selecting early childhood care and education settings. Community risks included violence and crime; resources mentioned were social support, community programmes and infrastructure. The social ecological model provides a holistic and contextually relevant perspective for understanding multiple factors (risks and protective factors) influencing early childhood development in low‐income South African settings.
A case of metastatic renal cell carcinoma successfully treated with deferred cytoreductive nephrectomy following lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab combination therapy
Authors: Sato Hiroaki , Sazuka Tomokazu , Fujimoto Ayumi , Kagitani Sakurako , Arai Takayuki , Goto Yusuke , Imamura Yusuke , Sakamoto Shinichi , Ikeda Jun‐Ichiro , Ichikawa Tomohiko 
Published: March 2023

IntroductionCombination therapy using immuno‐oncology drugs with tyrosine kinase inhibitors is increasingly important in the therapeutic strategy for metastatic renal cell carcinomas. Here, we report a case of metastatic renal cell carcinoma that was successfully treated with deferred cytoreductive nephrectomy following lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab combination therapy.Case presentationA 49‐year‐old man was referred to our hospital with a diagnosis of advanced right kidney cancer with multiple lung metastases (cT3aN0M1). The size of the primary tumor was so huge that it exceeded 20 cm in diameter, pushing the liver and intestines to the left. After administration of lenvatinib and pembrolizumab combination as first‐line treatment, all the metastatic lung lesions disappeared, and the primary lesion shrank significantly. Robot‐assisted radical nephrectomy was successfully performed, resulting in complete surgical remission.ConclusionDeferred cytoreductive nephrectomy following a lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab combination is a useful therapeutic strategy for achieving complete remission of metastatic renal cell carcinomas.
The dynamics of information system development in developing countries: From mutual exclusion to hybrid vigor
Authors: Nguyen Thanh Ngoc , Nielsen Petter 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe integration of isolated software components into large‐scale and complex information systems is a topic that attracts the interest of many information systems practitioners and researchers. However, less attention is given to the intricate processes by which these infrastructures are built using multiple independent software components. Different actors introduce these components, which can lead to a “battleground of functional roles” where components are replacing and blocking each other. To better understand this phenomenon, we conducted multiple case studies involving the development of a large‐scale information system for communicable disease detection, prevention, and control in Vietnam. We collected empirical data through various methods, including interviews, focus groups, and participation observation. We identified different strategies employed by actors to block, remove, or replace other software components, protect their position, and find a way to join the existing and established systems. This paper contributes to this topic by theorizing a strategy called “hybrid vigor,” which allows for the combination of the strengths of individual software components and enables sustainable evolution.