bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Can CSR mechanisms spur GRI adoption and restore its lost value relevance?
Authors: Nandy Monomita , Kuzey Cemil , Uyar Ali , Lodh Suman , Karaman Abdullah S. 
Published: December 2022

PurposeThis paper focuses exclusively on the drivers and consequences of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) adoption in sustainability reports with a particular focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) mechanisms.Design/methodology/approachThe sample includes 63 countries with 4,625 unique firms in these countries and 29,054 firm-year observations between 2002 and 2019. The empirical methodology is logistic and linear regression analyses with country and year fixed effects.FindingsThe findings show that CSR committees and executive CSR compensation stimulate firms' GRI adoption. Furthermore, while GRI adoption enhanced firm value in the earlier period of 2002–2010, it weakened firm value in the later period between 2011 and 2019 implying a loss of value relevance. However, the moderating effect of CSR committees and executive CSR compensation on GRI adoption has led to higher firm value in recent times. A more in-depth investigation of polluting versus non-polluting sectors and weak and strong institutional environments reveals both convergence and divergence respectively among these sub-samples. The results are robust to alternative samplings, alternative methodology and endogeneity concerns.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitations of the study are the binary nature of key variables, such as CSR committee, executive CSR compensation and GRI adoption, due to the availability of binary data but not continuous data.Practical implicationsFirms allocate substantial funds for SR and following GRI guidelines; hence, the findings guide them on how to ensure the return on this investment.Social implicationsShareholders who particularly pursue socially responsible investment can shape their investment portfolios in firms that engage with sustainability reporting (SR) and GRI adoption practices.Originality/valueIt is not clear in the literature if CSR committees will adopt the GRI for SR because of any incentive. Thus, we examine if the CSR committee and executive CSR compensation can play a direct role in GRI adoption and play a moderating role between GRI adoption and firm value. Moreover, whether GRI adoption and its value relevance might change across periods, sectors (polluting versus non-polluting) and varying institutional environments (investor protection) are addressed in this study.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) in Ghanaian university libraries: developing outcome-based metrics for staff performance
Authors: Amoah Gloria Bosomtwi , Minishi-Majanja Mabel Khayisia 
Published: December 2022

PurposeThis study aims to audit the key performance indicators (KPIs) in Ghanaian university libraries. It aimed at finding out the KPIs used by Ghanaian university libraries and how effective they have been in correcting lapses in staff performance.Design/methodology/approachEmploying a quantitative research approach, the views of 218 librarians were elicited from nine universities in Ghana. Due to the manageable size of staff population in the libraries, the census sampling technique was adopted.FindingsResults indicated even though staff members were unaware of KPIs in their libraries, most of the respondents understood the concept and perceived is to be measuring the success and tracking performance in libraries. It was also revealed that most of the libraries did not have clear and measurable KPIs. Close to 80% of the libraries under study did not have clearly stated KPIs of which members of staff were aware. The study revealed that KPIs may differ from one library to the other, depending on the mission and vision statement of the library. For increased staff performance in Ghanaian university libraries the study recommends management to develop clear and measurable outcome-based metrics that will lead to high performance. This will not only address the needs of clients but also improve the libraries' efficiency in terms of information provision. Management should also have clear and measurable KPIs and make them available to library staff.Practical implicationsFor increased staff performance in Ghanaian university libraries the study recommends management to develop clear and measurable outcome-based metrics that will lead to high performance. This will not only address the needs of clients but also improve the libraries' efficiency in terms of information provision. Management should also have clear and measurable KPIs and make them available to library staff.Originality/valueThe study provides information on KPIs in Ghanaian university libraries and how to effectively deal with the challenges associated with its usage.
Walking the Talk? A Corporate Governance Perspective on Corporate Social Responsibility Decoupling
Authors: Ali Gull Ammar , Hussain Nazim , Akbar Khan Sana , Nadeem Muhammad , Mansour Zalata Alaa 
Published: December 2022

AbstractInformation asymmetry and the pressure to conform to stakeholders’ expectations cause firms to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling – a practice that has severe socioeconomic consequences for firms. Adopting a corporate governance perspective, this paper answers a novel question: whether board gender diversity (BGD) curbs CSR decoupling. Using a battery of sophisticated analyses and robustness tests on 9276 firm‐year observations for the period 2002–2017, our results confirm that BGD is negatively associated with CSR decoupling. Analysis of the composition of gender‐diverse boards further reveals that this effect is stronger for balanced boards than for skewed and tilted boards. Furthermore, we note that independent female directors are more effective monitors of decoupling than executive female directors. We also document that the relationship between BGD and CSR decoupling is stronger when the overall governance is weak. This implies that gender‐diverse boards could act as a substitute mechanism for corporate governance that would otherwise be weak. Our study offers important theoretical and policy implications for the field of corporate governance and CSR.
The familiar‐strange manifestation of the dead
Authors: Amoozegar Farzad 
Published: December 2022

AbstractThis article draws on Islamic perspectives that conceive of visions (ru'yā) and nightmares (kābūs) as instances whereby Jamilā, a 13‐year‐old Syrian refugee girl in Brooklyn, New York, imagines and makes sense of the dead. She uses the Arabic wordsma‘rwf(familiar) andgharīb(strange) to describe her dead elderly neighbour, Safiyya, in her visions and nightmares. Jamilā’sfamiliar‐strangeexperiences imagine the dead both as good (the divine nature of death fundamental to Islamic values) and as evil (the pain and suffering of the departed). These familiar‐strange feelings constitute an irresolvable uncertainty about death, shaping an imaginative space for Jamilā tobe withSafiyya, who was like a mother to her. The manifestation of the dead consists of dynamic interpretations for the living. This results in a familiar‐strange experience granted through the in‐between space of what the philosopher Ibn ‘Arabī callsbarzakh(‘obstacle’ or ‘separation’), which allows for an understanding of the departed as both blissful and suffering. The vernacular Arabic used by Jamilā in describing her familiar‐strange experiences and the Islamic values upheld by her family underscore the importance of knowledge accumulated in the Islamic tradition for understanding the perception of loss and death for an adolescent Syrian refugee.
Use of therapeutic plasma exchange in COVID‐19: A systematic review of current evidence
Authors: Carlson Nicholas , Szpirt Wladimir M. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractCurrent knowledge related to employment of plasma exchange for treatment in COVID‐19 is predominantly based on casuistic evidence in the form of single‐center case‐series. Published data encompass reports from a total of approximately 225 patients. Based on published reports, therapeutic plasma exchange has generally been employed as rescue or adjunctive therapy in patients with critical illness, with proposed benefit attributed possible effects on mitigation and amelioration of cytokine storm syndrome. Treatment effects remain uncertain, with the impact of plasma exchange on critical illness in COVID inconclusive with regard to both efficacy and safety.
A familial hypercholesterolemia registry as the main tool for adequate management of the disease
Authors: Korneva Victoria Alekseevna , Kuznetsova Tatiana Yurievna , Julius Ulrich 
Published: December 2022

AbstractFamilial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is the most common, but poorly diagnosed autosomal‐dominant genetic disease which increases the cardio‐vascular risk.AimTo evaluate the experience of FH registry conducted in Karelia Republic.MethodsFH registry in Karelia is existing from 2004, it includes 350 patients with heterozygous FH (110 with definite FH), the mean age is 48 ± 2.3 years. The genetic study was performed in 102 patients (29.1%).ResultThe creation of the registry has contributed to the active identification of FH, and now the estimated frequency of FH occurrence in Karelia may be 1:300, in patients with cardiovascular disease 1:10. We also analyzed genetic features of FH in our republic and found that the LDL‐C level, above which the probability of LDL receptor mutation increases in Karelia, is 6.5 mmol/L. We analyzed risk factors of ischemic heart disease and the prognosis in FH.ConclusionThe creation and maintenance of a registry is an effective way of organizing timely diagnosis and adequate treatment of FH patients.
Repeated lipoprotein apheresis and immune response: Effects on different immune cell populations
Authors: Walther Romy , Wehner Rebekka , Tunger Antje , Julius Ulrich , Schatz Ulrike , Tselmin Sergey , Bornstein Stefan R. , Schmitz Marc , Graessler Juergen 
Published: December 2022

AbstractBackgroundAtherosclerosis is considered a chronic inflammation of arterial vessels with the involvement of several immune cells causing severe cardiovascular diseases. Lipoprotein apheresis (LA) improves cardiovascular conditions of patients with severely disturbed lipid metabolism. In this context, little is known about the impact of LA on various immune cell populations, especially over time.MethodsImmune cells of 18 LA‐naïve patients starting weekly LA treatment were analyzed before and after four apheresis cycles over the course of 24 weeks by flow cytometry.Results and ConclusionsAn acute lowering effect of LA on T cell and natural killer (NK) cell subpopulations expressing CD69 was observed. The non‐classical and intermediate monocyte subsets as well as HLA‐DR+ 6‐sulfo LacNAc+ monocytes were significantly reduced during the apheresis procedure. We conclude that LA has the capacity to alter various immune cell subsets. However, LA has mainly short‐term effects than long‐term consequences on proportions of immune cells.
Comparing deep‐end confinement in England & Wales and Norway
Authors: Crewe Ben , Laursen Julie , Mjåland Kristian 
Published: December 2022

AbstractExtreme forms of custody represent the boundary points of state power. The configuration of the most restrictive corners of prison systems, and what goes on within them, is highly instructive in exposing the objectives, limits, and implications of state coercion at its most severe. Based on data collected in England & Wales and Norway, this article has two main aims. The first is to explore the degree to which “deep‐end” confinement differs between jurisdictions with different penal philosophies. The second is to understand how the most extreme form of confinement in each jurisdiction differs from the more typical carceral experiences within each system and its overall penal ethos. Empirically, then, the article seeks to shine light into the deepest dominions of both prison systems, illuminating the experiential texture of extreme forms of imprisonment. It concludes by asking what can be inferred about Nordic exceptionalism, and about deep‐end confinement more generally, by analyzing these domains.
Color of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fillets by image and sensory analysis, and correlation with SalmoFan numbers
Authors: Gümüş Bahar , Gümüş Erkan , Balaban Murat O. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractA total of 72 male and 50 female trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fillets were weighed (range 328–794 g, mean 546.2 ± 101.8 g; and range 426–994 g, mean 672.2 ± 106.1 g, respectively), the pictures of whom were taken in a light box, and image analysis was done to measure pixel colors, length, and view area of the fillets. Weight (W) was predicted using view area (V) obtained by image analysis using linear (W = A + BV), and power (W = AVB) equations. R2 values were between 0.823 and 0.937. Although there was no difference between mean L* and a* values of male and female fillets, significant differences were found between mean b* values (p < 0.05). The colors of SalmoFan™ (SF) mini were also measured by image analysis and their mean L*, a*, b* values, and their entire color index (ECI) and reduced RGB values from 122 images were calculated. A total of 96 untrained panelists were asked to select the SF color of 5 representative fillets and to designate which point on the fillet image best described the SF color chosen. To predict SF numbers of the fillets by image analysis, four cases were considered: (1) whole fillet, (2) whole fillet with pixels a* > 25, (3) a rectangle along the length of the fillet to approximate panelists’ selection, and (4) pixels in this rectangle with a* > 25. Mean L*a*b* values, mean reduced RGB values, and mean ECI of the four cases were used to predict fillet SF numbers. Different results obtained imply that image analysis can do repeatable and objective SF color classification of fillets, depending on the pixel selection method, and the color representation.Practical ApplicationRainbow trout fillets can be assigned SalmoFan (SF) numbers using image analysis of the fillets. However, the selection of pixels and the color representation method affect the results. If these are standardized, SF numbers can be assigned objectively and automatically.
Do we need nasal vaccines against COVID 19 to suppress the transmission of infections?
Authors: Brüssow Harald 
Published: December 2022

AbstractCovid‐19 vaccines have within the first year prevented about 14 million deaths but did not induce a strong mucosal immune response. Data from US, UK, Singapore and Israel showed a variable and mostly modest effects of vaccination on virus excretion during breakthrough infections. Contact studies showed decreased transmission of infection from vaccinated index cases, but the effect varied according to dominant virus type, with study type and the nature of the contact group and diminished with time after vaccination. Some researchers suspect that it is unlikely to stop the pandemic with injected vaccines alone. Promising animal experiments were conducted with mucosal vaccines. Mice nasally immunized with a chimpanzee adenovirus vector mounted a mucosal immune response, were protected against viral challenge after a single vaccine dose and suppressed nasal replication of the challenge virus. Phage T4 expressing SARS‐CoV‐2 spike and nucleocapsid induced a sterilizing lung immunity in nasally vaccinated mice. Also hamsters intranasally immunized with the prefusion‐stabilized spike protein showed no infectious virus in nasal turbinates upon challenge. Other studies showed that intranasal vaccination with an adenovirus vaccine reduced but did not eliminated viral transmission from infected to naïve hamsters. Intranasal vaccination of rhesus macaques with adenovirus vaccines also substantially reduced or even suppressed viral replication in the upper and lower respiratory tract. Human data on mucosal SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccines are so far limited to safety and immunogenicity studies. Aerosolized adenovirus vaccines given either as a booster or as primary immunization were safe and induced similar or superior immune response than injected vaccines while an aerosolized influenza vectored vaccine induced only a weak humoral and cellular immune response. Overall 100 mucosal SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccines are in development and 20 are in clinical trials. First human trials demonstrate that this will not be an easy task.
Breast incidentalomas on 18‐Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography‐computed tomography performed for a non‐mammary cause: Significance and outcomes
Authors: Menon Padma , Bourke Anita 
Published: December 2022

AbstractIntroductionThe aim of the study was to determine the rate of malignancy in breast incidentalomas found on 18‐Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography‐Computed tomography (18 FDG PET‐CT) performed for non‐mammary causes and evaluate outcomes.MethodsA single‐centre, retrospective review of 5728 18‐FDG PET‐CT scans performed between January 1, 2017 and April 30, 2019 was undertaken. Cases with known primary breast cancer or metastases to the breast in the previous ten years were excluded. Diagnosis was confirmed with breast imaging, histology and 2‐year follow‐up. Data analysed included age, the pattern of uptake on 18‐FDG PET‐CT, lesion size and BIRADS score.ResultsThirty‐two Breast incidentalomas were identified in 27/5728 scans (0.47%). 18 lesions (56.3%) were malignant. Five underwent curative surgery. Nine lesions (28.1%) were benign and five (15.6%) were false positive.ConclusionBreast incidentalomas are uncommon on 18‐FDG PET‐CT but require work‐up for malignancy. BIRADS score has a high sensitivity and specificity for malignancy in18‐FDG PET‐CT incidentalomas but age, size of the lesion and the pattern of uptake on 18‐FDG PET‐CT were not useful in differentiating benign from malignant incidentalomas.
Safety in solitude? Competing risks and drivers of solitary drug use among women who inject drugs and implications for overdose detection
Authors: Rosen Joseph G. , Glick Jennifer L. , Zhang Leanne , Cooper Lyra , Olatunde Praise F. , Pelaez Danielle , Rouhani Saba , Sue Kimberly L. , Park Ju Nyeong 
Published: December 2022

AbstractBackground and aimsSolitary drug use (SDU) can amplify risks of fatal overdose. We examined competing risks and drivers of SDU, as well as harm reduction strategies implemented during SDU episodes, among women who inject drugs (WWID).DesignA cross‐sectional qualitative study, including telephone and face‐to‐face in‐depth interviews.SettingBaltimore City, MD, USA.ParticipantsTwenty‐seven WWID (mean age = 39 years, 67% white, 74% injected drugs daily) recruited via outreach and street intercept (April–September 2021).MeasurementsInterviews explored the physical (i.e. indoor/private, outdoor/public) and social (i.e. alone, accompanied) risk environments in which drug use occurred. Guided by the principles of emergent design, we used thematic analysis to interrogate textual data, illuminating women's preferences/motivations for SDU and strategies for minimizing overdose risks when using alone.FindingsMany participants reported experiences with SDU, despite expressed preferences for accompanied drug use. SDU motivations clustered around three primary drivers: (1) avoiding opioid withdrawal, (2) preferences for privacy when using drugs and (3) safety concerns, including threats of violence. Participants nevertheless acknowledged the dangers of SDU and, at times, took steps to mitigate overdose risk, including naloxone possession, communicating to peers when using alone (‘spotting’) and using drugs in public spaces.ConclusionsWWID appear to engage frequently in SDU due to constraints of the physical and social environments in which they use drugs. They express a preference for accompanied drug use in most cases and report implementing strategies to mitigate their overdose risk, especially when using drugs alone.
Whole‐genome identification of transposable elements reveals the equine repetitive element insertion polymorphism in Chinese horses
Authors: Liu Xuexue , Zhang Yanli , Pu Yabin , Ma Yuehui , Jiang Lin 
Published: December 2022

AbstractTransposable elements (TEs) are diverse, abundant, and complicated in genomes. They not only can drive the genome evolution process but can also act as special resources for adaptation. However, little is known about the evolutionary processes that shaped horses. In this work, 126 horse assemblages involved in most horse breeds in China were used to investigate the patterns of TE variation for the first time. By using RepeatMasker and melt software, we found that the horse‐specific short interspersed repetitive elements family, equine repetitive elements (ERE1), exhibited polymorphisms in horse genomes. Phylogenetic analysis based on these ERE1 loci (minor allele frequency ≥0.05) revealed three major horse groups, namely, those in northern China, southern China, and Qinghai‐Tibetan, which mirrors the result determined by SNPs to some extent. The present ERE1 family emerged ~0.26 to 1.77 Mya ago, with an activity peak at ~0.49 Mya, which matches the early stage of the horse lineage and decreases after the divergence of Equus caballus and Equus ferus przewalskii. To detect the functional ERE1(s) associated with adaptation, locus‐specific branch length, genome‐wide association study, and absolute allele frequency difference analyses were conducted and resulted in two common protein‐coding genes annotated by candidate ERE1s. They were clustered into the vascular smooth muscle contraction (p = 0.01, EDNRA) and apelin signalling pathways (p = 0.02, NRF1). Notably, ERE1 insertion into the EDNRA gene showed a higher association with adaptation among southern China horses and other horses in 15 populations and 451 individuals (p = 4.55 e–8). Our results provide a comprehensive understanding of TE variations to analyse the phylogenetic relationships and traits relevant to adaptive evolution in horses.
Characterization of experimental cattle populations from Argentina with a low‐density SNP genotyping panel
Authors: Michiels Brian , Pardo Alan Maxs , Ortega Masagué Maria F. , Giovambattista Guillermo , Corva Pablo M. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractThe objectives of the present experiment were to evaluate a low‐density SNP array designed for the molecular characterisation of gene banks and to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of beef cattle herds from an Argentinean research station. Forty‐nine animals from three breeds (Angus, Hereford, and Argentinean Creole) were genotyped using the multi‐species IMAGE001 60‐K SNP array (10 K for cattle). Genotypes of other 19 cattle populations from Argentina, other American countries, and Europe were included in the study. Of special interest was the characterization of the Argentinean Creole, the only autochthonous cattle breed in the country. Due to the merging of different datasets, approximately 5 K SNPs were effectively used. Genetic differentiation (FST), principal component analysis, neighbour‐joining tree of Reynolds distances and ancestry analysis showed that autochthonous American breeds are clearly differentiated, but all have genetic influences of Iberian cattle. The analysed herds of Argentinean Creole showed no evidence of recent admixture and represent a unique genetic pool within local American breeds. An experimental herd and the local commercial Hereford population have also diverged, probably due to the influence of current selection objectives in the breed. Our results illustrate the utility of using low‐cost, low density SNP arrays in the evaluation of animal genetic resources. This type of panels could become a very useful resource in developing countries, where most endangered cattle breeds are located. The results also reinforce the importance of experimental herds as reservoir of genetic diversity, particularly in the case of local breeds under‐represented in traditional production systems.