Differential Resource Allocation Research Articles

Life in pairs: Estimating the impact of twin’s sex on child survival in India

This paper shows that in India, male twins with female co-twins have higher survival rates, but opposite results hold for female twins. Biological factors and differential resource allocation drive the results for male and female children, respectively.

Born to move? Birth order and emigration

This paper studies the interrelation between birth order and emigration adopting a family fixed-effects approach. We use register data on all persons in full-siblings groups born 1970–2002 in the entire Finnish-born population, and observe their first move abroad since age 18 in the period 1987–2020. The total number of siblings is 1,352,908, the total number of sibling groups 549,842, and the total number of first moves abroad 31,192. By comparing siblings in the same family, we effectively adjust for all time-invariant confounding from unobserved or unmeasured time-invariant variables. Emigration is found to be positively associated with birth order. The hazard of emigration for second-born siblings is 1.05 that of first borns, that of third borns 1.07, and that of fourth borns 1.11. The pattern is particularly marked for emigration to countries where there is free mobility, and the association is similar for both genders. Potential explanations to the birth order pattern may be variation in personality traits, risk-taking behaviours and aspirations between siblings, or differential allocation of resources and opportunities within families. The results highlight the importance of considering birth order within the context of family dynamics and individual mobility patterns, and they need to be extended to broader settings.

Priority Setting and Resource Allocation in Coastal Local Government Marine Regulatory Reform: Application of Machine Learning in Resource Optimization

This study investigates the prioritization and resource allocation strategies adopted by the coastal local governments of Qingdao, Dalian, and Xiamen in the context of marine regulatory reform aimed at enhancing regulatory efficiency. Data on relevant opinions, departmental requirements, and existing resource allocations were collected through a questionnaire survey. A backpropagation (BP) neural network was then applied to analyze the survey data, prioritize regulatory tasks, and propose resource allocation schemes. The findings demonstrate that integrating machine learning into marine regulation can significantly improve resource utilization efficiency, optimize task execution sequences, and enhance the scientific and refined nature of regulatory work. The BP neural network model exhibited strong predictive capabilities on the training set and demonstrated good generalization abilities on the test set. The performance of the BP neural network model varied slightly across different management levels. For the management level, the accuracy, precision, and recall rates were 85%, 88%, and 82%, respectively. For the supervisory level, these metrics were 81%, 83%, and 78%, respectively. At the employee level, the accuracy, precision, and recall rates were 79%, 81%, and 76%, respectively. These results indicate that the BP neural network model can provide differentiated resource allocation recommendations based on the needs of different management levels. Additionally, the model’s performance was assessed based on the employees’ years of experience. For employees with 0–5 years of experience, the accuracy, precision, and recall rates were 82%, 84%, and 79%, respectively. For those with 5–10 years of experience, the metrics were 83%, 86%, and 80%, respectively. For employees with over 10 years of experience, the accuracy, precision, and recall rates were 85%, 88%, and 82%, respectively. These data further confirm the applicability and effectiveness of the BP neural network model across different experience groups. Thus, the adoption of machine learning technologies for optimizing marine regulatory resources holds significant practical value, aiding in the enhancement of regulatory capacity and effectiveness within coastal local governments.

Sociodemographic differences in treatment and survival for patients who receive genomic tumor testing in a rural state.

170 Background: New cancer technologies like genomic tumor testing (GTT) make targeted treatments and improved outcomes possible. However, access to technologies like GTT is often inequitably skewed such that it is most available to urban and socially advantaged individuals, which may contribute to cancer disparities in disadvantaged groups. This study aims to assess the impact of differential resource allocation by examining whether patient rurality, education, or income are associated with whether patients receive genome matched treatment (GMT) and their survival. Methods: Patients with cancer ( n=1,258) enrolled in the Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative, which provided free GTT across a rural state Demographic and clinical data was collected from surveys and electronic medical records. We used multivariable logistic regression models to examine whether receipt of GMT differs by patient rurality, education, and income. Kaplan-Meier survival (KM) curves and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression were conducted to explore the relationship between 12-month mortality and rurality, education, and income. We fit both unadjusted and adjusted (age, gender, physical quality of life, cancer stage and type) models. Results: After completing GTT, ~16% of patients received at least one GMT. Rurality, education, or income did not predict receipt of GMT. 41.4% of the lower educational level group versus 32.2% of the higher education group died within 365 days of enrollment (unadjusted HR: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.12 to 1.68; p=0.002). This difference was driven by patients who did not receive GMT, where those in the lower education group had increased mortality (unadjusted HR: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.78, p=0.001). For patients who received GMT, there was no difference in mortality between the education groups (unadjusted HR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.58 to 1.83, p=0.9). No significant differences in mortality were observed for rurality or income. Conclusions: Lower educational attainment was associated with worse survival for patients who did not receive GMT. Education and specialized health care are differentially available to those in urban and rural areas and can cause health disparities. Sustaining initiatives that provide access to novel technologies is critical to address cancer disparities. To account for the intersection of social and psychological factors on cancer disparities, future analyses will include patients’ perceptions of GTT.

Constructing Latinidad as a constrained credential: Anti‐Blackness and racialized inequities in a majority Latinx middle school

AbstractFrom data gathered during 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork, this paper unpacks the implications of five ethnographic examples describing interactions between educators and students at New Horizons, a majority Latinx middle school, to demonstrate that the circulation of racialized “good Latinx” narratives legitimates differential allocation of limited school resources between those imagined as falling into the good Latinx category and those that do not because they are ascribed Blackness (i.e., African American and Afro‐Latinx youth). That is, the discursive construction of Latinidad as well‐behaved, hard‐working, and specifically non‐Black positioned it as a racialized yet privileged credential at school. In these circumstances, Latinidad may at best be considered a constrained credential.

A Foundational Population Genetics Investigation of the Sexual Systems of Solanum (Solanaceae) in the Australian Monsoon Tropics Suggests Dioecious Taxa May Benefit from Increased Genetic Admixture via Obligate Outcrossing.

Solanum section Leptostemonum is an ideal lineage to test the theoretical framework regarding proposed evolutionary benefits of outcrossing sexual systems in comparison to cosexuality. Theoretically, non-cosexual taxa should support more genetic diversity within populations, experience less inbreeding, and have less genetic structure due to a restricted ability to self-fertilize. However, many confounding factors present challenges for a confident inference that inherent differences in sexual systems influence observed genetic patterns among populations. This study provides a foundational baseline of the population genetics of several species of different sexual systems with the aim of generating hypotheses of any factor-including sexual system-that influences genetic patterns. Importantly, results indicate that dioecious S. asymmetriphyllum maintains less genetic structure and greater admixture among populations than cosexual S. raphiotes at the same three locations where they co-occur. This suggests that when certain conditions are met, the evolution of dioecy may have proceeded as a means to avoid genetic consequences of self-compatibility and may support hypotheses of benefits gained through differential resource allocation partitioned across sexes. Arguably, the most significant finding of this study is that all taxa are strongly inbred, possibly reflective of a shared response to recent climate shifts, such as the increased frequency and intensity of the region's fire regime.

Effect of rearing conditions on fatty acid allocation during flight in nectivorous lepidopteran Mythimna unipuncta

Insect species that are nectivorous as adults acquire essential fatty acids almost exclusively from host plants during larval development. Thus, as essential fatty acids are important for a number of different biological processes, adult allocation of this limited resource may result in important trade-offs. Most lepidopteran species that migrate do so as sexually immature adults, so essential fatty acids used for migratory flight would not be available for subsequent reproduction. Using the true armyworm, Mythimna unipuncta, as a model system we analyzed fat body samples to test the hypothesis that environmental cues would influence the use of essential fatty acids during migratory flight. We used diets manipulated isotopically to trace origins and use of stored lipids and used chromatographic analyses to determine fatty acid composition. In the first experiments, 5-day old moths that had been reared in summer or fall (migratory) conditions and were force flown for different lengths of time (0–6 h) after which samples of the fat body were analyzed. Rearing conditions did not affect fatty acid loading however patterns of use during flight differed with essential fatty acids being conserved under fall but not summer conditions. As migratory flight can take several days, we repeated the experiment when 5-day old moths were flown for 8 h each day for up to 5 days. Some moths were provided access to sugar water after each flight while others were only given water or only given sugar water once. When sugar water was readily or sporadically available, moths reared under fall conditions conserved their essential fatty acids indicating that the environmental cues responsible for the onset of migratory flight result in physiological changes that modify lipid use. However, when moths had only water, the essential fatty acids were not conserved, highlighting the importance of nectar availability at stopovers for the conservation essential fatty acids during migration. Isotopic analysis of the moth fat body indicated a large contribution of adult-derived diet to lipids used as fuel. The implications of using isotopic approaches to other flight studies and future research on differential resource allocation in winged monomorphic migratory insects are discussed. Summary statement: Isotopic tracing methods and gas chromatography were used to demonstrate that environmental cues can impact patterns of fatty acid use in true armyworm moths. In particular, essential fatty acids are conserved during migratory flight. However, availability of adult food sources will determine the degree to which essential fatty acids are conserved.

Differential Grey Wolf Load-Balanced Stochastic Bellman Deep Reinforced Resource Allocation in Fog Environment

Fog computing is becoming a dynamic and sought-after computing prototype for Internet of Things (IoT) application deployments. It works in conjunction with the cloud computing environment. Load balancing, which is employed by IoT applications when deciding, which fog or cloud computing nodes to use, is one of the most critical components for enhancing resource efficiency and avoiding problems like overloading or underloading. However, for IoT applications, ensuring that all CPU nodes are evenly distributed in terms of latency and energy utilization remains a challenge. To solve these issues, this work introduces Differential Grey Wolf (DGW) load balancing with stochastic Bellman deep reinforced resource optimization (DGW-SBDR) in fog situations. A Differential Evolution-based Grey Wolf Optimization algorithm based on load balancing has been developed for optimal resource management. The Grey Wolf Optimization algorithm, which employs differential evolution, assigns jobs to virtual machines based on user demands (VMs). In the event of an overutilized VM pool, a grey wolf optimization strategy based on differential evolution can detect both under and overutilized VMs, allowing for smooth transit between fogs. This step disables a number of virtual machines in order to reduce latency. In a Stochastic Gradient and Deep Reinforcement Learning-based Resource Allocation Model, a stochastic gradient bellman optimality function and Deep Reinforcement Learning are integrated for optimal resource allocation. According to the proposed method, QoS may be supplied to end-users by reducing energy consumption and better managing cache resources utilizing stochastic gradient bellman optimality.

Sex-specific growth arrest in a lizard

Summary(1) In contrast to mammals and birds, reptiles have been considered as indeterminate growers, whose growth reflects differential allocation of resources to growth versus other energetically demanding processes such as reproduction. (2) We monitored the growth and activity of bone growth plates, hormonal profiles, and reproductive activity in males and females of the male-larger gecko Paroedura picta. We show that growth plates fuse in this species in a sex-specific manner. The more abrupt epiphyseal closure and more pronounced growth deceleration in females coincide with the increased activity of their reproductive organs. (3) We conclude that at least some lizards are determinate growers whose sexual size dimorphism is potentially driven by ovarian hormones. The major difference in growth between endothermic and ectothermic amniotes appears to be in the magnitude of growth before and after the first reproduction, not in the mechanistic processes such as senescence of growth plate cells

Maternal education and sibling inequalities in child nutritional status in Ethiopia

In many societies child nutritional status varies between siblings because of parental gender and birth order preferences and differential intra-household resource allocation. While more educated women have been found to improve children's nutrition overall, it is unclear whether they also buffer sibling inequalities in nutritional status. We study the interplay between parental preferences, maternal education, and sibling inequalities in child nutritional status in Ethiopia, the second most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, with high rates of malnutrition, rapid socio-economic change, urban fertility decline, and low, but increasing female education. We base our analysis on a pooled sample of the 2011/12, 2013/14, and 2015/16 waves of the Ethiopian Socioeconomic Survey using 8275 observations from 4402 children between the age of six months and 9 years old nested in 1687 households. Results from multilevel and fixed effects models show sizable gender and birth order differences in nutritional status. Boys had a better nutritional status than girls and earlier born children had a better nutritional status than later born children, both in terms of height-for-age and weight-for-age. More educated mothers buffered sibling inequalities in nutritional status according to birth order, but not according to gender. The height penalty of being a higher order child disappeared for children whose mothers had about eight years of education or more (primary school finished/some secondary school). The beneficial impact of maternal education, counteracting some within-family inequalities, asks for continued investments in girls' and women's education.

Rapid communication: effects of cadmium exposure on the growth-related genes of Daphnia magna

ABSTRACT Few data are available regarding the effects of gene expression on growth in Daphnia magna. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of cadmium (Cd) exposure on global gene transcription and growth-related genes in D. magna using RNASeq generated data. Our results demonstrated that Cd exposure decreased gene expression, but did not adversely affect the expression of growth-related genes, suggesting differential allocation of resources to growth avoids the deleterious effect of the toxicant on this trait.

Age and Hearing Ability Influence Selective Attention During Childhood.

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether age and hearing ability influence selective attention during childhood. Specifically, we hypothesized that immaturity and disrupted auditory experience impede selective attention during childhood. Seventy-seven school-age children (5 to 12 years of age) participated in this study: 61 children with normal hearing and 16 children with bilateral hearing loss who use hearing aids and/or cochlear implants. Children performed selective attention-based behavioral change detection tasks comprised of target and distractor streams in the auditory and visual modalities. In the auditory modality, children were presented with two streams of single-syllable words spoken by a male and female talker. In the visual modality, children were presented with two streams of grayscale images. In each task, children were instructed to selectively attend to the target stream, inhibit attention to the distractor stream, and press a key as quickly as possible when they detected a frequency (auditory modality) or color (visual modality) deviant stimulus in the target, but not distractor, stream. Performance on the auditory and visual change detection tasks was quantified by response sensitivity, which reflects children's ability to selectively attend to deviants in the target stream and inhibit attention to those in the distractor stream. Children also completed a standardized measure of attention and inhibitory control. Younger children and children with hearing loss demonstrated lower response sensitivity, and therefore poorer selective attention, than older children and children with normal hearing, respectively. The effect of hearing ability on selective attention was observed across the auditory and visual modalities, although the extent of this group difference was greater in the auditory modality than the visual modality due to differences in children's response patterns. Additionally, children's performance on a standardized measure of attention and inhibitory control related to their performance during the auditory and visual change detection tasks. Overall, the findings from the present study suggest that age and hearing ability influence children's ability to selectively attend to a target stream in both the auditory and visual modalities. The observed differences in response patterns across modalities, however, reveal a complex interplay between hearing ability, task modality, and selective attention during childhood. While the effect of age on selective attention is expected to reflect the immaturity of cognitive and linguistic processes, the effect of hearing ability may reflect altered development of selective attention due to disrupted auditory experience early in life and/or a differential allocation of attentional resources to meet task demands.

Negative body size-dependent resource allocation underlies conspicuous sexual ornaments in a territorial damselfly.

Sexual ornaments, signalling individual quality to choosy females or rival males, often show steeper body size scaling compared with non-sexually selected traits. Theory posits such steeper body size scaling is the result of differential resource allocation, reflecting trade-offs between different components of fitness. Yet, the process of resource allocation towards body size-dependent sexual ornaments has been rarely understood empirically. Using the Neotropical territorial damselfly Megaloprepus caerulatus, whose males and females carry wax-based, sex-specific white wing bands and white wing tips respectively, we investigated nutrition sensitivity and body size scaling of both traits by manipulating larval food availability and directly quantified both the fat allocated to wing ornaments and the fat reserve from which allocations are made. Both colour traits exhibited sensitivity to food availability during larval development and steeper body size scaling compared with control traits. Although the absolute amount of fat invested in developing the colour ornaments increased with body size, the proportion of total fat allocated to the ornaments decreased with body size, making exaggerated ornaments less affordable for smaller individuals. Our data demonstrate that measuring the proportion of resource pool from which an individual's ornaments are derived (i.e. its affordability) is essential for understanding the maintenance of honesty of sexual signals.

Cancer lethality: an important burden metric to consider for the allocation of clinical trial research funding from all sources

<h3>Objectives:</h3> To identify trends and discrepancies between the number of clinical trials funded by public, industry, and other (individuals, universities, and community-based) organizations and measures of individual- and population-level cancer burden. <h3>Methods:</h3> Clinicaltrials.gov was queried for US trials initiated from 2007-2017 in 18 cancer types. For each cancer, incidence and mortality rates were obtained from the CDC, and person years of life lost (YLL) was obtained from the SEER database. Trials were categorized by funding sources and analyzed by measures of cancer burden: incidence (I), mortality (M), YLL, and lethality (L, years of life lost per new diagnosis). Standardized ratios of the number of new studies each year to cancer burden metrics were generated. These ratios were labeled as studies funded by public sources (#P/I, #P/M, #P/YLL, #P/L), industry sources (#I/I, #I/M, #I/YLL, #I/L), and other sources (#O/I, #O/M, #O/YLL, #O/L). Mean annual ratios for GYN cancers were compared to other cancers using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Rates of change (ROC) for these ratios over the 11-year period for each funding source were analyzed by linear regression. <h3>Results:</h3> Breast cancer was the most studied cancer among public, industry, and other funded sources, averaging 71.3, 101.6, and 101.0 new studies per year. For new studies in GYN cancers, ovary ranks 7th, 7th, and 10th; cervix 13th, 16th, and 13th; uterus 12th, 14th, and 12th. While breast and prostate cancers rank 11th and 17th in Lethality, the mean ratios for breast (#P/L 22.12, #I/L 31.84, #O/L 31.68, Figure 1) and prostate (#P/L 22.61, #I/L 33.37, #O/L 27.21) are the two highest across all 3 funding sources. Ovarian cancer ranks 4th in Lethality with 11.14 years of life lost per new diagnosis, yet it ranks 12th in mean #P/L (2.086 - lower than 10 others at p<0.05), 10th in #I/L (2.886 - lower than 9 others at p<0.05), and 14th in #O/L (1.557 - lower than 13 others at p<0.05). Cervical cancer is the 7th most lethal, but its ratios rank 16th in all funding categories (#P/L 1.373, #I/L 0.886, #O/L 1.108). Uterine cancer is the 12th most lethal with ratios ranking 8th (#P/L 5.755) 11th (#I/L 3.387), and 12th (#O/L 4.246). Over the 11-year period, the mean #P/L ratios for 4 of 18 cancers (uterus, testicular, brain, esophagus) had a significant negative slope or rate of change (p<0.05). Bladder cancer had the only positive ROC. For #I/L over 11 years, 9 of 18 cancers, including ovarian, had a significant positive ROC. None had a negative ROC. In other funded studies, 7 cancers had a significant positive ROC, and 11 were stagnant. For GYN cancers across all four cancer burden parameters, uterine showed a significant negative slope in the number of public funded studies and ovarian cancer had a significant positive slope for industry funded studies. <h3>Conclusions:</h3> GYN cancers have significantly fewer initiated studies when compared by Lethality across funding categories. Lethality incorporates incidence, mortality, and YLL. It is an important measure of individual cancer burden and should be considered for funding allocation. Within all cancer sites, there is a significant trend towards rising industry and other funded trials and a trend towards decreasing or stagnating number of public funded studies. This data can be used to investigate reasons for the differential allocation of resources regarding clinical trial initiation.

Males of a Neotropical spider adjust prey‐gift construction but not mate search in response to sperm competition

AbstractIn scramble competition mating systems, males do not guard females and females usually mate polyandrously, leading to high levels of sperm competition. Mathematical models predict that males facing sperm competition can either decrease or increase their reproductive effort. To test how male reproductive responses vary according to sperm competition risk, we ran two experiments using the polyandrous gift‐giving spiderParatrechalea ornata. First, we tested whether males prefer substrates containing silk of unmated females than substrates containing silk of once‐mated females, competitor males or without silk. Males spent more time on substrates containing silk of females but showed no preference for unmated females, which indicates that males may optimize mate search by prioritizing substrates containing cues of potential mating partners. The lack of preference for unmated females suggests that males cannot detect female mating status from silk or that the costs of searching preferentially for unmated females are high in the field. Second, we tested whether males adjust prey‐gift construction when facing sperm competition risk. Experimental groups (substrate containing silk of an unmated female and silk of another malevs. substrate containing only silk of an unmated female) did not differ in the frequency of gift construction, latency to gift construction and number of flies added to the gift. However, males facing sperm competition risk constructed gifts with less silk, suggesting the occurrence of a less evident form of male mate choice based on differential allocation of resources to prey‐gift. Additionally, given the trade‐off between investing in prey‐gifts quantity or quality, a lower silk investment should enable males to increase the number of gifts constructed and the number of courted females. Taken together, our results indicate that males detect female and male pheromones on substrate and adjust the construction of prey‐gifts in response to apparent sperm competition risk.

Amino Acid Analog Induces Stress Response in Marine Synechococcus.

Characterizing the cell-level metabolic trade-offs that phytoplankton exhibit in response to changing environmental conditions is important for predicting the impact of these changes on marine food web dynamics and biogeochemical cycling. The time-selective proteome-labeling approach, bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT), has potential to provide insight into differential allocation of resources at the cellular level, especially when coupled with proteomics. However, the application of this technique in marine phytoplankton remains limited. We demonstrate that the marine cyanobacteria Synechococcus sp. and two groups of eukaryotic algae take up the modified amino acid l-homopropargylglycine (HPG), suggesting that BONCAT can be used to detect translationally active phytoplankton. However, the impact of HPG addition on growth dynamics varied between groups of phytoplankton. In addition, proteomic analysis of Synechococcus cells grown with HPG revealed a physiological shift in nitrogen metabolism, general protein stress, and energy production, indicating a potential limitation for the use of BONCAT in understanding the cell-level response of Synechococcus sp. to environmental change. Variability in HPG sensitivity between algal groups and the impact of HPG on Synechococcus physiology indicates that particular considerations should be taken when applying this technique to other marine taxa or mixed marine microbial communities. IMPORTANCE Phytoplankton form the base of the marine food web and substantially impact global energy and nutrient flow. Marine picocyanobacteria of the genus Synechococcus comprise a large portion of phytoplankton biomass in the ocean and therefore are important model organisms. The technical challenges of environmental proteomics in mixed microbial communities have limited our ability to detect the cell-level adaptations of phytoplankton communities to a changing environment. The proteome labeling technique, bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT), has potential to address some of these challenges by simplifying proteomic analyses. This study explores the ability of marine phytoplankton to take up the modified amino acid, l-homopropargylglycine (HPG), required for BONCAT, and investigates the proteomic response of Synechococcus to HPG. We not only demonstrate that cyanobacteria can take up HPG but also highlight the physiological impact of HPG on Synechococcus, which has implications for future applications of this technique in the marine environment.

Paternal and maternal effects in a mosquito: A bridge for life history transition

Parental (transgenerational) effects occur when the conditions experienced by a mother or father contribute to offspring phenotype. Here we show that parental larval diet in mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti, results in differential allocation of resources in offspring of parents depending on the nutritional condition (quality) of their mate. Maternal effects influenced the number of eggs produced by females as well as their lipid investment. Low nutrient females mated with high nutrient males laid eggs with significantly higher lipid content than those laid by high nutrient females. Paternal effects showed that when high nutrient males mated with low nutrient females, resulting eggs had higher lipid content than when low nutrient males mated with low nutrient females. Overall, our results are consistent with a pattern predicted by the differential allocation of resources hypothesis, when females experience nutritional deprivation, which asserts that mate quality directly influences reproductive allocation.

Ethnicity, Spatial Segregation and Length of Stay in Emergency Medicine Departments: The Case of Israel

The present paper examines the sources of disparities between Arabs and Jews and between residents of the periphery and residents of the urban center in the length of stay (LOS) in emergency departments (ED) in Israeli hospitals. Israel is a society where all residents are covered by National Health Insurance and have equal access to emergency medicine; thus, no disparities in emergency treatment are expected. Data were obtained from the 2015 “Survey of Satisfaction with Hospitalization in Emergency Medicine Departments” in Israel. The analysis reveals that LOS is considerably shorter for Arabs than for Jews and among residents of the periphery than residents of the urban center. After considering patterns of residential segregation (as well as socio-demographic attributes and indicators of the medical condition) and controlling for perceived waiting time (triage), the LOS disparity between Arabs and Jews vanishes. The findings lead to the conclusion that disparities in LOS in Israeli EDs do not stem from differential treatment by the medical staff but can be fully attributed to patterns of spatial segregation. Differential allocation of medical resources by the state to urban-center regions, compared to peripheral regions, seems to be the source of LOS disparities in emergency departments in Israeli hospitals.

Can the reform of green credit policy promote enterprise eco-innovation? A theoretical analysis

&lt;p style='text-indent:20px;'&gt;The weakness that China's traditional credit fails to effectively limit enterprise emissions has become increasingly evident. Although the industry-oriented green credit policy has achieved certain effects on environmental performance through the differentiated resource allocation of the industries, banking financial institutions have the ambiguity in the definition of the credit object and the characteristics of profit maximization, which cannot achieve the essential purpose of green credit sustainably. Hence, we propose a new eco-innovation-oriented green credit policy. We prove theoretically that the new green credit is feasible and can be used as an exogenous driver for improving enterprises' eco-innovation. Contrasting with traditional credit, the newly proposed credit policy is an expansionary monetary policy, which has the characteristics of expanding credit lines and differential interest rates. Utilizing evolutionary game theory, we calculate the evolution stability conditions of green credit and eco-innovation. The results show that the key to green credit to maintaining sustainable development is the return on investment due to eco-innovation. Our theoretical analysis also reveals that environmental benefit-cost ratios and adjustment cost parameters of different assets are the important factors for green credit.&lt;/p&gt;

Putting the Pieces Together: A Review of HR Differentiation Literature and a Multilevel Model

Inspired by a pursuit of higher returns on human resource management (HRM) investments as well as a trend towards the individualization of HRM, several scholars have focused on the phenomenon of HR differentiation, that is, the differential allocation of resources across employees through the use of HRM practices. Yet, different definitions and angles to study HR differentiation have been used. As a result, ambiguities render it difficult to compare research findings and draw meaningful conclusions about HR differentiation and its consequences. Based on a systematic analysis of 164 articles from five different research streams (i.e., strategic HRM, talent management, i-deals, pay dispersion, and diversity management literatures), we identify four properties of HR differentiation (its basis, formalization, resource, and purpose) and propose a more fine-grained definition of the construct. Next, drawing from optimal distinctiveness–based inclusion theory, we develop an integrated multilevel model with propositions that helps explain the social psychological consequences of HR differentiation at three integrated levels of analysis (employee, workgroup, and organization). Subsequently, we derive an agenda for future research. In doing so, we contribute by developing a common language for scholars with different disciplinary backgrounds and inspire future research on HR differentiation.