bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effect of digital transformation on firm performance: evidence from Swedish listed companies
Authors: Jardak Maha Khemakhem , Ben Hamad Salah 
Published: May 2022

PurposeThe objective of this research is to examine empirically the effects of digital maturity (DM) on the firm's financial performance as measured by return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE) and Tobin's Q.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a panel data sample of 92 observations collected from 23 listed firms on Sweden's stock exchange over four years, 2015–2018. The authors hand collect DM from the digital leader's reports and collect financial data from DataStream. Using both static and dynamic panel (generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation) regression models to perform endogeneity problem, the authors explore the impact of the DM index on ROA, ROE and Q of Tobin.FindingsThe results show that DM has a negative effect on ROA and ROE but a positive effect on Q of Tobin. This negative relationship can be explained, by the fact that information technology (IT) investment and the DM could take years to be materialized and to be captured by performance indicators. Company investment in IT will increase and basically the ROA will be negatively affected because the higher value of IT assets is not amortized. Nevertheless, in the long term, company can maximize its performance. The positive effect on Q of Tobin captures the long-run effect of digital transformation.Research limitations/implicationsThis research can be helpful for firms in their process of digital transformation to succeed with the change, create value and to understand the challenges they have to face. In the short term, firms undertaking digital transformation will face some financial difficulties which affect negatively their ROA and ROE, but in the long term they can maximize their performance (captured by Tobin’s Q) and improve their market value.Originality/valueIn previous research, the impact of digital transformation on performance has been measured in terms of revenue growth, profit margins and in terms of earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT). Even if the authors have sufficient evidence of the positive effect of digital transformation on organizational performance, there is no support of the positive effect on financial performance. So, the authors try to fill this gap. This research has also the merit of examining this relationship empirically through a dynamic panel data estimation two-step system GMM, while the majority of previous studies are qualitative in nature based on interviews and questionnaires or simple correlations.
Proportionate mortality and national rate of death from COVID-19 among US law enforcement officers: 2020
Authors: Violanti John M. , Fekedulegn Desta , McCanlies Erin , Andrew Michael E. 
Published: May 2022

PurposeThe goal of the present study is to determine the proportionate mortality and national rate of duty-related deaths from COVID-19 among US law enforcement officers during the year 2020.Design/methodology/approachData for the current study were obtained from the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) database for the year 2020. The database contains deaths designated as caused by incidents that occurred while in the line of duty. The chi-square test and two-sample t-test were used to compare characteristics of officers who died of COVID-19 versus other causes of death. Both the proportionate mortality and rates of death were calculated. To compute the rate of death, the authors obtained data on the total number of law enforcement officers employed in the United States (and therefore at risk) for the year 2020 from Bureau of Labor Statistics.FindingsCOVID-19 deaths (n = 182) accounted for 62% of all duty-related law enforcement officer deaths during 2020. The national rate of death due to COVID-19 (12.8/100,000 per year) for law enforcement officers was higher compared to all other causes of death combined (8.0/100,000 per year).Research limitations/implicationsA limitation of the study is the uncertainty of a definitive assessment that the viral infection was acquired through work (versus at home or other non-work-related community settings). Although highly unlikely, deaths designated as duty related entail financial benefits for the survivors and may be a potential source of bias. Given the complexity of personal exposures, the percentage of COVID-19 deaths attributed to duty may represent an over or under estimation of the actual value. Therefore, the data should be interpreted cautiously.Practical implicationsThese findings provide police organizations with information needed to understand the risk of death among officers during the COVID-19 pandemic and to make informed decisions about future preparedness strategies.Originality/valueThere are presently no published scientific studies that examine both the proportionate mortality and national rate of death from COVID-19 among law enforcement officers for the year 2020.
Metabolically healthy and unhealthy obesity and risk of vasomotor symptoms in premenopausal women: cross‐sectional and cohort studies
Authors: Namgoung Sunju , Chang Yoosoo , Woo Chae‐Yeon , Kim Yejin , Kang Jeonggyu , Kwon Ria , Lim Ga‐Young , Choi Hye Rin , Kim Kye‐Hyun , Kim Hoon , Hong Yun Soo , Zhao Di , Cho Juhee , Guallar Eliseo , Park Hyun‐Young , Ryu Seungho 
Published: May 2022

AbstractObjectiveTo examine the relationship between metabolically healthy and unhealthy obesity phenotypes and risk of vasomotor symptoms (VMS) in premenopausal women.DesignProspective cohort study.SettingMiddle‐aged women in a cohort based on regular health screening examinations.PopulationPremenopausal Korean women aged 42–52 years were recruited and were followed up for a median of 4.2 years. The cross‐sectional and cohort studies comprised 4672 women and 2590 women without VMS at baseline, respectively.MethodsAdiposity measures included body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and percentage body fat. Being metabolically healthy was defined as not having any metabolic syndrome components or a homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance of 2.5 or more.Main outcomes measuresVMS (hot flushes and night sweats) assessed using the questionnaire.ResultsAll adiposity measures were positively associated with an increased risk of VMS in both cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies. The multivariable‐adjusted prevalence ratio (95% confidence interval [CI]) for VMS comparing percentage body fat of 35% or more with the reference was 1.47 (95% CI 1.14–1.90) in metabolically healthy women, and the corresponding prevalence ratio was 2.32 (95% CI 1.42–3.78) in metabolically unhealthy women (Pinteraction = 0.334). The multivariable‐adjusted hazard ratio for incident VMS comparing percentage body fat of 35% or more with the reference was 1.34 (95% CI 1.00–1.79) in metabolically healthy women, whereas the corresponding hazard ratio was 3.61 (95% CI 1.81–7.20) in metabolically unhealthy women (Pinteraction = 0.036). The association between BMI, waist circumference and VMS did not significantly differ by metabolic health status.ConclusionsMaintaining normal weight and being metabolically healthy may help to prevent VMS in premenopausal women.Tweetable abstractAvoiding obesity and a metabolically unhealthy status may help reduce vasomotor symptoms in premenopausal women.
Cost‐effectiveness of clinical interventions for delirium: A systematic literature review of economic evaluations
Authors: Kinchin Irina , Edwards Layla , Hosie Annmarie , Agar Meera , Mitchell Eileen , Trepel Dominic 
Published: May 2022

AbstractObjectiveLittle is known about the economic value of clinical interventions for delirium. This review aims to synthesise and appraise available economic evidence, including resource use, costs, and cost‐effectiveness of interventions for reducing, preventing, and treating delirium.MethodsSystematic review of published and grey literature on full and partial economic evaluations. Study quality was assessed using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS).ResultsFourteen economic evaluations (43% full, 57% partial) across nine multicomponent and nonpharmacological intervention types met inclusion criteria. The intervention costs ranged between US$386 and $553 per person in inpatient settings. Multicomponent delirium prevention intervention and the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) reported statistically significant cost savings or cost offsets somewhere else in the health system. Cost savings related to inpatient, outpatient, and out‐of‐pocket costs ranged between $194 and $6022 per person. The average CHEERS score was 74% (±SD 10%).ConclusionEvidence on a joint distribution of costs and outcomes of delirium interventions was limited, varied and of generally low quality. Directed expansion of health economics towards the evaluation of delirium care is necessary to ensure effective implementation that meets patients' needs and is cost‐effective in achieving similar or better outcomes for the same or lower cost.
Review article: latent tuberculosis in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases receiving immunosuppression—risks, screening, diagnosis and management
Authors: Fehily Sasha R. , Al‐Ani Aysha H. , Abdelmalak Jonathan , Rentch Clarissa , Zhang Eva , Denholm Justin T. , Johnson Douglas , Ng Siew C. , Sharma Vishal , Rubin David T. , Gibson Peter R. , Christensen Britt 
Published: May 2022

SummaryBackgroundOne quarter of the world's population has latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Systemic immunosuppression is a risk factor for LTBI reactivation and the development of active tuberculosis. Such reactivation carries a risk of significant morbidity and mortality. Despite the increasing global incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the use of immune‐based therapies, current guidelines on the testing and treatment of LTBI in patients with IBD are haphazard with a paucity of evidence.AimTo review the screening, diagnostic practices and medical management of LTBI in patients with IBD.MethodsPublished literature was reviewed, and recommendations for testing and treatment were synthesised by experts in both infectious diseases and IBD.ResultsScreening for LTBI should be performed proactively and includes assessment of risk factors, an interferon‐gamma releasing assay or tuberculin skin test and chest X‐ray. LTBI treatment in patients with IBD is scenario‐dependent, related to geographical endemicity, travel and other factors. Ideally, LTBI therapy should be used prior to immune suppression but can be applied concurrently where urgent IBD medical treatment is required. Management is best directed by a multidisciplinary team involving gastroenterologists, infectious diseases specialists and pharmacists. Ongoing surveillance is recommended during therapy. Newer LTBI therapies show promise, but medication interactions need to be considered. There are major gaps in evidence, particularly with specific newer therapeutic approaches to IBD.ConclusionsProactive screening for LTBI is essential in patients with IBD undergoing immune‐suppressing therapy and several therapeutic strategies are available. Reporting of real‐world experience is essential to refining current management recommendations.
Neolithic burial pottery from the Jiaojia site, China: A multi‐analytical study
Authors: Yuan Chao , Wang Fen , Yuan Shiling 
Published: May 2022

AbstractThe present study focuses on middle and late Dawenkou Culture burial pottery—cookware, drinking ware, and tableware—recently unearthed from the Jiaojia site. Through the application of X‐ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X‐ray diffraction (XRD), we have revealed for the first time that the compositional difference of Jiaojia burial pottery is related to the category and function of wares. Calcium‐poor clay was used for cookware and tableware, whereas calcium‐rich clay was used for drinking ware. The pottery body's mineralogical assemblage and chemical composition results point to the careful selection and preparation of raw materials and oxidizing fire temperatures between 750 and 950°C. In most cases, the temperatures used for firing drinking ware were generally higher than those used for firing tableware and cookware.
Metamemory for involuntary autobiographical memories and semantic mind‐pops in 5‐, 7‐ and 9‐year‐old children and young adults
Authors: Kvavilashvili Lia , Ford Ruth M. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractIn a cross‐sectional study, 5‐, 7‐, and 9‐year‐old‐children and adults (N = 144, 86 females, predominantly White U.K. sample of lower‐middle to middle‐class background) were interviewed about their experiences of involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) and semantic mind‐pops that come to mind unintentionally. Although some age differences emerged, the majority of participants in all age groups claimed familiarity with involuntary memories and provided examples from their own experience. Moreover, the self‐reported frequency of IAMs and mind‐pops was high, and reported IAMs usually referred to incidental environmental triggers, whereas reported mind‐pops did not. This age invariance highlights the ubiquity of involuntary memories across development and opens up interesting avenues for developmental research on involuntary memories and other spontaneous phenomena (e.g., mind‐wandering, future thinking).
Childhood poverty, immune cell aging, and African Americans' insulin resistance: A prospective study
Authors: Barton Allen W. , Yu Tianyi , Gong Qiujie , Miller Gregory E. , Chen Edith , Brody Gene H. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractThe present study investigated developmental pathways that can contribute to chronic disease among rural African Americans. With a sample of 342 African American youth (59% female) from the southeastern United States followed for nearly two decades (2001–2019), we examined the prospective association between family poverty during adolescence (ages 11–18) and insulin resistance (IR) in young adulthood (ages 25–29) as well as underlying biological and psychosocial mechanisms. Results indicated family poverty during adolescence forecast higher levels of IR in young adulthood, with accelerated immune cell aging at age 20 partially mediating this association. Serial mediational models confirmed the hypothesized pathway linking family poverty, perceived life chances, cellular aging, and IR. Findings provide empirical support for theorized developmental precursors of chronic disease.
Long‐term functional prognosis and related factors of spinal cord stimulation in patients with disorders of consciousness
Authors: Yang Yi , He Qiheng , Xia Xiaoyu , Dang Yuanyuan , Chen Xueling , He Jianghong , Zhao Jizong 
Published: May 2022

AbstractIntroductionThe treatment of patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC) remains a challenging issue, and spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been reported to be a promising treatment for DoC in some studies.AimsThis study explores the efficiency of SCS in treating patients with DoC at different consciousness levels, including the vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS) and the minimally conscious state (MCS) and summarizes and analyzes the long‐term effect and related factors of SCS in patients with DoC.ResultsAn overall positive outcome was reached in 35 of 110 patients (31.8%). Among patients with positive outcomes, the MCS group improved 45.53% more than VS/UWS group, and this difference was statistically significant. In terms of the recommendation standard, positive outcomes occurred in 33 patients (94.3%) in the highly recommended group and 2 patients (5.7%) in the weakly recommended group (p < 0.001). After adjustment for potential covariables, young age (age ≤ 19 years old) (p = 0.045) and MCS (p < 0.001) were significantly correlated with positive outcome. A nomogram based on age, state of consciousness, and pathogeny showed good predictive performance, with a c‐index of 0.794. The Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness‐of‐fit test showed that the model was well calibrated (χ2 = 3.846, p = 0.871).ConclusionsSCS is one of the most feasible treatments for patients with DoC, especially for patients with MCS. Younger age is significantly associated with better outcomes and could therefore serve as a basis for preoperative screening. However, more evidence‐based randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm the efficacy of the treatment.
Efficacy and ethics of intensive predator management to save endangered caribou
Authors: Johnson Chris J. , Ray Justina C. , St‐Laurent Martin‐Hugues 
Published: May 2022

AbstractLethal population control has a history of application to wildlife management and conservation. There is debate about the efficacy of the practice, but more controversial is the ethical justification and methods of killing one species in favor of another. This is the situation facing the conservation of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Canada. Across multiple jurisdictions, large numbers of wolves (Canis lupus), and to a lesser extent bears (Ursus americanus) and coyotes (C. latrans), are killed through trapping, poisoning or aerial shooting to halt or reverse continued declines of woodland caribou. While there is evidence to support the effectiveness of predator management as a stop‐gap solution, questions remain about the extent to which this activity can make a meaningful contribution to long‐term recovery. Also, there are myriad ethical objections to the lethal removal of predators, even if that activity is in the name of conservation. Debates about predator management, just one of numerous invasive actions for maintaining caribou, are made even more complex by the conflation of ethics and efficacy. Ultimately, long‐term solutions for the recovery of caribou require governments to stop delaying difficult decisions that address the real causes of population decline, habitat change.
Tax obsessions: Taxpayer registration and the “informal sector” in sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Moore Mick 
Published: May 2022

SummaryMotivationThere are three puzzling features of sub‐Saharan African tax systems: tax administrations maintain records on vast numbers of small enterprises that actually provide no revenue; they continually invest resources into registering even more of these “unproductive taxpayers”; and discussions about taxing small enterprises are framed by the ambiguous, misleading concept of the “informal sector.”PurposeTo make sense of these separate puzzling practices and narratives by exploring the synergies between them, and the broader organizational and political interests that they serve.Methods and approachThere is little statistical or sociological information on the functioning of national tax administrations in sub‐Saharan Africa. The analysis is based on the results of recent research; along with a thorough search for useful data; my own extensive interactions with African tax administrators and relevant international organizations; and a sensitivity to the political dimensions of taxation.FindingsThe three features of tax systems that are individually puzzling make sense when examined holistically. The continual drive to register more taxpayers provides an unduly favourable impression of the extent of policy and managerial efforts to collect more revenue. The informal sector narrative locates the apparent cause of revenue scarcity in the alleged undertaxation of small enterprises and poorer people, and thus helps divert attention from failures adequately to tax more privileged Africans and larger enterprises.Policy implicationsBe very wary of claims that it would be a good idea to invest resources in registering large numbers of new taxpayers in sub‐Saharan Africa. Try to avoid using the term “informal sector” when discussing issues of tax policy and administration—it is confusing and diversionary.
Key predictors of the need for a family‐focused pediatric epilepsy adherence intervention
Authors: Bakula Dana M. , Junger Katherine W. , Guilfoyle Shanna M. , Mara Constance A. , Modi Avani C. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractObjectiveNonadherence to antiseizure drugs is a significant problem in pediatric epilepsy and is linked to increased morbidity and mortality, clinically unnecessary medication changes, and increased health care costs. Family interventions can improve adherence. However, it is challenging to determine which families will struggle with nonadherence and require intervention. This study aims to identify specific parent, family, child, and medical factors that predict which families most need family‐based adherence interventions.MethodsFamilies enrolled in a randomized clinical trial of a family‐based adherence intervention completed measures assessing parent, family, child, and medical factors. Families also used an electronic adherence monitor. Adherence of ≥95% was considered high adherence (not requiring intervention), and <95% was considered suboptimal adherence (requiring intervention). We conducted a stepwise logistic regression analysis to assess demographic, medical, child, family, and parent predictors of membership to the suboptimal adherence group.ResultsOf the 200 families of children with new onset epilepsy who enrolled, 177 families completed the study. Of these families, 121 (68%) were in the high adherence group and 56 (32%) were in the suboptimal adherence group. Families with lower socioeconomic status (SES), children of color, lower general family functioning, and more parent distress were more likely to be in the suboptimal adherence group.SignificanceWe identified that parent and family factors, as well as sociodemographic characteristics, predicted membership in the suboptimal adherence group. It is critical to find creative and practical solutions for assessing and intervening upon key adherence predictors. These may include streamlined screening for parental distress and family functioning, as well as recognition that families of lower SES and communities of color may be at heightened risk for suboptimal adherence.