Line Of Research Research Articles

Advances and trends in research on mathematical working spaces: A systematic review

This study addresses the research developed around the theory of mathematical working spaces (MWS). To this end, factors such as researchers’ country of origin are considered, as well as methodological characteristics, proposed objectives in each study, specific theoretical factors, and the links between MWS and other theoretical perspectives. This systematic review follows the guidelines stated by reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses for documenting each stage of the review. In total, 102 studies were considered from databases including Dialnet, SciElo, Scopus, and Web of Science. The results help to illustrate research trends in MWS theory, as well as the possibility of fertile ideas for new studies and future lines of research for those interested in this theoretical approach.

Patient-related factors associated with patient retention and non-completion in psychosocial treatment of borderline personality disorder: A systematic review.

The potential efficacy of psychosocial interventions in the treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is impacted by significant treatment non-completion (TNC), with meta-analytic studies reporting rates of attrition of between 25% and 28%. Increasing patient retention could facilitate outcomes and improve resource utilization, given limited healthcare services. A systematic search of PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and Web of Science Core Collection identified 33 articles that met the criteria for inclusion. Although substantial heterogeneity in terms of methodology and quality of analysis limited conclusions that could be drawn in the narrative review, a few consistent patterns of findings were elucidated, such as Cluster B personality disorder comorbidities and lower therapeutic alliance were associated with TNC. Interestingly, the severity of BPD symptoms was not a predictor of TNC. These findings are discussed in terms of their potential theoretical contribution to TNC. Clinically, there may be value in applying mindfulness and motivational interviewing strategies early on in treatment for individuals who present uncertainty about engaging in treatment. Further research to develop this empirical landscape includes focusing on high-powered replications, examining burgeoning lines of research, and investigating dynamic predictors of TNC.

Patient care in complex Sociotechnological ecosystems and learning health systems

AbstractThe learning health system (LHS) model was proposed to provide real‐time, bi‐directional flow of learning using data captured in health information technology systems to deliver rapid learning in healthcare delivery. As highlighted by the landmark National Academy of Medicine report “Crossing the Quality Chasm,” the U.S. healthcare delivery industry represents complex adaptive systems, and there is an urgent need to develop innovative methods to identify efficient team structures by harnessing real‐world care delivery data found in the electronic health record (EHR). We offer a discussion surrounding the complexities of team communication and how solutions may be guided by theories such as the Multiteam System (MTS) framework and the Multitheoretical Multilevel Framework of Communication Networks. To advance healthcare delivery science and promote LHSs, our team has been building a new line of research using EHR data to study MTS in the complex real world of cancer care delivery. We are developing new network metrics to study MTSs and will be analyzing the impact of EHR communication network structures on patient outcomes. As this research leads to patient care delivery interventions/tools, healthcare leaders and healthcare professionals can effectively use health IT data to implement the most evidence‐based collaboration approaches in order to achieve the optimal LHS and patient outcomes.

Entrepreneurship and environments of international crisis: a bibliometric analysis approach

ObjectivesEntrepreneurial spirit is considered a vital resource for the economy in various countries where entrepreneurs found businesses. It is thus crucial to analyze the relationship between entrepreneurship and global crises, as entrepreneurial initiatives can be affected by the economic instability that crises generate. This study uses bibliometric analysis to explore the topic of entrepreneurship in situations of global crisis.Theoretical frameworkStarting from the structure of bibliometric analysis, we analyzed 1111 documents retrieved from the Scopus and WoS databases for the years 2000–2023.MethodologyWe characterized the documents studied and analyzed citations, co-citations, co-words, and co-authorship using VOSviewer software.Results/implicationsOur analysis produced results on networks among authors and countries. We also obtained significant results on the structure of the field studied and its projection for the future. Finally, we propose implications and opportunities for future lines of research.

#3087 Phenotype of extracellular vesicles in diabetic kidney disease with albuminuria

Abstract Background and Aims Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and affects more than 40% of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). The pathogenesis of CKD is multifactorial and leads to a clinical presentation with diverse phenotypes characterised by proteinuria and/or progressive deterioration of renal function, thus urging the search for new non-invasive biomarkers that allow early diagnosis and the development of new therapeutic targets. Urinary extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as an alternative, as changes in their number and composition have been described in clinical conditions associated with DM and kidney disease. EVs are able to interact with neighbouring and/or distant cells by transferring their cargo, rich in proteins, lipids or nucleic acids, from progenitor cells to recipient cells, thus participating in cell-to-cell communication processes. The aim of the present study was to analyse the different phenotypes of EVs in T2D patients with different degrees of albuminuria compared to healthy controls, as well as their correlation with the degree of albuminuria. Method A cohort of 69 subjects (49 patients with T2DM and 20 healthy volunteers) was analysed. The phenotype of EVu present between the two groups was assessed, as well as the association between the different cell lines and the presence of albuminuria. Statistical analysis was performed using Spearman correlations. Analyses were performed with R software. Results A positive correlation was observed between EVu from podocytes (PODO+) and those from macrophagocytes (R = 0.3180, p-value = 0.0082), as well as a positive association between PODO+ and neutrophil EVu, both in the whole cohort and when analysing only patients with diabetes (R = 0.3225, p-value:0.0254). When assessing the association of EVu with the degree of albuminuria, we observed a direct association with proximal tubule EVu (R: 0.3158, p-value 0.0271) both in all subjects (T2D and HV) and only in those with T2D (R = 0.4200, p-value = 0.0056). When stratifying according to the degree of albuminuria (A1, A2 and A3), we still observed a dependent association of the degree of glomerular involvement with the number of EVu of TCP (A1: mean 5.5 (SD 4.1); A2: mean 12.3 (SD 30.9); A3: mean 132.5 (SD 322.8)) p-value: 0.0609. Conclusion The results presented suggest a relevant role of TCP in the glomerular involvement of patients with DKD, in line with the emergence of new therapeutic lines such as iSGLT2. The study suggests new lines of research aimed at developing therapeutic targets that assess the cellular expression of EVu.

Wavelength calibration and spectral analysis of vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy in EAST

Abstract A vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) spectroscopy with a focal length of 1 m has been engineered specifically for observing edge impurity emissions in Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). In this study, wavelength calibration for the VUV spectroscopy is achieved utilizing a zinc lamp. The grating angle and CCD position are carefully calibrated for different wavelength positions. The wavelength calibration of the VUV spectroscopy is crucial for improving the accuracy of impurity spectral data, and is required to identify more impurity spectral lines for impurity transport research. Impurity spectra of EAST plasmas have also been obtained in the wavelength range of 50–300 nm with relatively high spectral resolution. It is found that the impurity emissions in the edge region are still dominated by low-Z impurities, such as carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen, albeit with the application of full-tungsten divertors on the EAST tokamak.

Early Records of Animal and Plant Interaction

The paper presents a brief account of animal and plant interaction during the Palaeozoic times. Possible lines of future research in this, hitherto neglected area in our country are also suggested.

Getting value out of working memory through strategic prioritisation; implications for storage and control.

Working memory is an active system responsible for "the temporary maintenance and processing of information in the support of cognition and action" (Baddeley et al., 2021). In keeping with this, a growing body of research has explored the close links between working memory and attention, and how these might be harnessed to impact performance and possibly improve working memory efficiency. This is theoretically and practically important, given that working memory is a central hub in complex cognition yet is extremely capacity- and resource-limited. We review work carried out over the last ten years or so looking at how high 'value' items in working memory can be strategically prioritised through selective attention, drawing principally from visual working memory paradigms with young adult participants, while also discussing how the core effects extend to different task domains and populations. A consistent set of core findings emerges, with improved memory for items that are allocated higher 'value' but no change in overall task performance, and a recency advantage regardless of point allocation when items are encountered sequentially. Value-directed prioritisation is effortful, under top-down strategic control, and appears to vary with perceptual distraction and executive load. It is driven by processes operating during encoding, maintenance, and retrieval, though the extent to which these are influenced by different features of the task context remain to be mapped out. We discuss implications for working memory, attention, and strategic control, and note some possible future directions of travel for this promising line of research.

Using satellite data assimilation techniques to combine infrasound observations and a full ray-tracing model to constrain stratospheric variables

Abstract Infrasound waves generated at the Earth’s surface can reach high altitudes before returning to the surface to be recorded by microbarometer array stations. These waves carry information about the propagation medium, in particular, temperature and winds in the atmosphere. It is only recently that studies on the assimilation of such data into atmospheric models have been published. Intending to advance this line of research, we here use the Modulated Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (METKF) –commonly used in satellite data assimilation– to assimilate infrasound-related observations in order to update a column of three vertically varying variables: temperature and horizontal wind speeds. This includes stratospheric and mesospheric heights, which are otherwise poorly observed. The numerical experiments on synthetic data but with realistic reanalysis product atmospheric specifications (following the Observing System Simulation Experiment paradigm) reveal that a large ensemble is capable of reducing errors, especially for the wind speeds in stratospheric heights close to 30 – 60 km. While using a small ensemble leads to incorrect analysis increments and large estimation errors, the METKF ameliorates this problem and even achieves error reduction from the prior to the posterior mean estimator.

Mandarin posture verbs

Abstract Posture verbs have attracted considerable interest within Cognitive Linguistics. This study continues this line of research by investigating usage-based patterns associated with these verbs when used in their literal posture senses. The data for the study comes from the Lancaster Corpus of Mandarin Chinese and the CALLHOME Mandarin Corpus. We investigate the frequencies and distributions of the Mandarin posture verbs 坐 zuò ‘sit’, 站 zhàn ‘stand’, and 躺 tǎng ‘lie’ in four construction types: directional constructions, aspectual suffixes, serial verb constructions, and locative constructions. The analysis confirms the primacy of zuò, zhàn, and tǎng and, among other results, reveals a significant absence of locative phrases with the dynamic forms of the verbs as used with directionals.

Diachronic multimodality research – a mini-review

This mini-review gives an overview of diachronic multimodality research, an approach that multimodality scholars have pursued only rarely so far. Acknowledging the comparably large share of case studies in this line of research, this paper sets out by surveying empirical contributions. Many of them also provide discussions of selected theoretical and methodological aspects, which are subsequently collated and complemented with concepts from a number of more extensive theoretical proposals. Identifying main developments in diachronic multimodality studies and avenues for future work, this review seeks to support its growth into a mature research strand with a solid theoretical basis, a versatile methodological toolbox, and a broad range of research objects.

Experimental Infection Models and Their Usefulness for White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) Research in Shrimp

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is marked as one of the most economically devastating pathogens in shrimp aquaculture worldwide. Infection of cultured shrimp can lead to mass mortality (up to 100%). Although progress has been made, our understanding of WSSV’s infection process and the virus–host–environment interaction is far from complete. This in turn hinders the development of effective mitigation strategies against WSSV. Infection models occupy a crucial first step in the research flow that tries to elucidate the infectious disease process to develop new antiviral treatments. Moreover, since the establishment of continuous shrimp cell lines is a work in progress, the development and use of standardized in vivo infection models that reflect the host–pathogen interaction in shrimp is a necessity. This review critically examines key aspects of in vivo WSSV infection model development that are often overlooked, such as standardization, (post)larval quality, inoculum type and choice of inoculation procedure, housing conditions, and shrimp welfare considerations. Furthermore, the usefulness of experimental infection models for different lines of WSSV research will be discussed with the aim to aid researchers when choosing a suitable model for their research needs.

Stability in plant-pollinator communities across organizational levels: present, gaps, and future

Abstract The study of ecological stability continues to fill the pages of scientific journals almost seven decades after the first ecologists initiated this line of research. The many advances in this field have focused on understanding the stability of populations, communities or functions within single guilds or trophic levels, with less research conducted across multiple trophic levels and considering the different interactions that relate species to each other. Here, we review the recent literature on the multiple dimensions of ecological stability specifically within plant-pollinator communities. We then focus on one of stability´s dimensions, temporal invariability, and adapt an existing partitioning framework that bridges invariability and synchrony measures across spatial scales and organizational levels to accommodate interactions between plants and their pollinators. Finally, we use this framework to analyze temporal invariability in plant reproductive success, partitioning it on invariability and synchrony components across plant and pollinator populations and communities, as well as their interactions, using a well-resolved dataset that encompasses data for two years. Our review of the literature points to several significant gaps in our current knowledge, with simulation studies clearly overrepresented in the literature as opposed to experimental or empirical approaches. Our quantitative approach to partitioning invariability shows similar patterns of decreasing temporal invariability across increasing organizational levels driven by asynchronous dynamics amongst populations and communities, which overall stabilize ecosystem functioning (plant reproductive success). This study represents a first step towards a better comprehension of temporal invariability in ecosystem functions defined by interactions between species and provides a blueprint for the type of spatially replicated multi-year data that needs to be collected in the future to further our understanding of ecological stability within multi-trophic communities.

Mapping the Landscape of the Literature on Environmental, Social, Governance Disclosure and Firm Value: A Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Review

Increased interest in sustainability and related issues has led to the development of disclosed corporate information on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Additionally, questions have arisen about whether these disclosures affect the firm’s value. Therefore, we conducted a bibliometric analysis coupled with a systematic literature review (SLR) of the current literature in the Scopus database from 2001 to 2023. We utilized VOS viewer, Site Space, and R Studio tools for this analysis. Our findings indicate that the relationship between ESG disclosures and the firm’s value has different effects and that disclosure impacts through various channels, such as increasing stakeholder trust. Moreover, the keyword analysis results before and after 2015 demonstrate significant advancement in the utilization of a theoretical foundation in the literature. Furthermore, China (Country), “Universidad de Salamanca” (University), “Uyar, Ali and García-Sánchez, Isabel-María” (Authors), and “Sustainability” and “Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management” (Journals) were the most contributing and influential in this field. On the other hand, the results revealed six thematic clusters: society, sustainable development, ESG, organization, innovation, and stakeholders. We found promising research paths and emerging themes through content analysis of these clusters, such as sustainability assurance, green innovation, and sustainable development goals (SDGs). This review concludes by providing a roadmap that includes emerging lines of research that can be explored in depth in future studies to promote better and more comprehensive integration to achieve sustainability and maximize firm value.

Fighting corruption: A theoretical articulation of the themes of social responsibility, corporate governance, and agency theory

Objective: Corruption, seen as the abuse or misuse of power or trust for one's benefit instead of the purpose for which that power or trust was granted, has caused problems for many countries and the principles of Social Responsibility through the models of Carroll and Schwartz and Corporate Governance (have been pointed out in the literature as a mitigating agent of this problem. On the other hand, other research indicates the need to be cautious when guided by the mentality of the Agency Theory, which defends it as a neutral and sufficient instrument to mitigate corruption problems. Method: This study consists of a theoretical essay based on a bibliographical survey that exposes the themes of Corruption, Social Responsibility, Corporate Governance, and Agency Theory. It surveys the different definitions, lines of research, lines of thought, supporting theories, dualities, and conflicts around the mainstream. Results: The study's justification is centered on the perception that while studies have empirically tested the relationship between corruption and countries' accounting environments, only some have dedicated themselves to critically reflecting on the knowledge produced about this relationship. Originality/Relevance: In the context presented, a good governance structure is recommended for effective administration and management in anti-corruption bodies. The principles of Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility, which are Transparency (disclosure), Accountability, and Fairness, align with the principles of Agency Theory, which are mainly related to ethics and morality in interpersonal relationships in organizations. Theoretical/methodological contributions: This contribution is intended to reflect on the need for organizations to contribute to the fight against corruption in their relations and to the realization of a socially responsible administration through Corporate Governance and Agency Theory, with consonance between the objectives of shareholders and agents in an intermittent fight against corruption.

EXPRESS: Revisiting representativeness heuristic classic paradigms: Replication and extensions of nine experiments in Kahneman and Tversky (1972).

Kahneman and Tversky (1972) showed that when people make probability judgments, they tend to ignore relevant statistical information (e.g., sample size) and instead rely on a representativeness heuristic, whereby subjective probabilities are influenced by the degree to which a target is perceived as similar to (representative of) a typical example of the relevant population, class or category. Their paper has become a cornerstone in many lines of research and has been used to account for various biases in judgment and decision-making. Despite the impact this article has had on theory and practice, there have been no direct replications. In a pre-registered experiment (N = 623; Amazon MTurk on CloudResearch), we conducted a replication and extensions of nine problems from Kahneman and Tversky (1972). We successfully replicated eight out of the nine problems. We extended the replication by examining the consistency of heuristic responses across problems and by examining decision style as a predictor of participants' use of the representativeness heuristic. Materials, data, and code are available on: https://osf.io/nhqc4/.

A step closer to sustainable CO2 conversion: Limonene carbonate production driven by ionic liquids

This work aims to advance the biocarbonate concept by developing the first process to produce limonene carbonate based on ionic liquids (ILs). Conventional petroleum-derived cyclic carbonates are recognized products partially composed of CO2 with the main drawback of the high energy consumption that imposes epoxide production. In contrast, natural epoxidable compounds, such as terpenes, stand out in the literature as a more sustainable open research line to enable CO2 conversion processes with better sustainable indicators. Limonene, an abundant natural compound, is identified as a key terpene in the aforementioned discussion. Ammonium-based ILs are experimentally selected and optimized, after covering massive anion and cation substituent tuning, achieving high selectivity and competitive yields to limonene carbonate. The reaction-extraction platform concept, which recovers the catalyst by liquid-liquid extraction, is envisioned and developed using a rational experimental-computational approach. The work concludes with a novel process to effectively produce limonene carbonate by using an IL catalyst and water as an extracting solvent. Ultimately, taking advance of the process simulation, a CO2 emissions assessment was conducted. Using renewable raw materials enhances the sustainability of CO2 conversion to cyclic carbonate, reducing global warming impact compared to fossil-based epoxides. However, limonene extraction and epoxidation have a tangible impact on the overall result of CO2 balance, turning efforts outside battery limits of the CO2 conversion process in the search of a limonene carbonate production line with negative neat CO2 emissions that may change the paradigm in the fixation of CO2 through cycloaddition reactions.

Relevance of Behavioral Research in the Evolving State of Anti-obesity Medications: Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

Obesity continues to be a significant public health challenge. While weight loss medications have been studied and available for several years, the newest generation of highly effective anti-obesity medications (AOMs) will shift how behavioral science professionals approach obesity treatment and research. With the unique skill set of behavioral science professionals, this commentary suggests ways to integrate behavioral science into the rapidly evolving landscape of AOM use to accelerate better obesity care and generate new lines of research. The goal of this commentary is to stimulate discussion and encourage responsive and relevant action to improve population health.

Does an Aspirin a Day Take the MASLD Away?

Although aspirin is deeply rooted in the most ancient history of medicine, the mechanism of action of this drug was only identified a few decades ago. Aspirin has several indications ranging from its long-known analgesic and antipyretic properties to the more recently discovered antithrombotic, chemopreventive and anti-eclampsia actions. In addition, a recent line of research has identified aspirin as a drug with potential hepatologic indications. This article specifically focuses on the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/nonalcoholic metabolic dysfunction fatty liver disease/metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (NAFLD/MAFLD/MASLD) field. To this end, the most recently published randomized controlled trial on aspirin for non-cirrhotic MASLD is summarized and discussed. Moreover, previous epidemiologic evidence supporting the notion that aspirin exerts antisteatotic and antifibrotic hepatic effects, which may result in the primary prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma, is also addressed. Next, the putative mechanisms involved are examined, with reference to the effects on adipose tissue and liver and sex differences in the action of aspirin. It is concluded that these novel findings on aspirin as a "hepatologic drug" deserve additional in-depth evaluation.

Reassessing Cohesion Policy Through the Lens of the New EU Industrial Policy

AbstractThe research note explores the role of cohesion policy in the emerging EU industrial agenda with the view to anchor it in the new industrial policy paradigm. The first part discusses the historical evolution of EU industrial policy and presents the main features of the conceptual perspective loosely referred to as ‘new industrial policy’. Then, the note investigates the main tensions between cohesion policy's rationales and instruments and the new industrial policy perspective, for instance in relation to the use of experimentation and directionality, and outlines pathways to address them through different lines of research. In conclusion, the note discusses positive avenues to tackle the identity crisis facing cohesion policy thanks to the new industrial policy perspective.