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This study seeks to present new ways of exploring and understanding organisational conflict whilst introducing a modern conflict measurement tool. Conflict can arise in every social situation and is commonly demonstrable in a number of ways, including personality clashes, insults, non-cooperation, mistreatment, anger and other types of stressful miscommunication. The research was conducted to explore the critical antecedents of cross-cultural conflict among international business employees and to indicate whether organisational conflict is framed as functional or dysfunctional. Using structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques, the findings support the hypothesis that cross-cultural conflict negatively impacts employee emotions and performance. Finally, the paper proposes the conflict barometer tool to help managers gauge the levels of conflict among employees working in complex cross-cultural environments.

ABSTRACTThe article features a virtual panel discussion between the author and three women who hold leadership positions. Their discussion reflects on factors contributing to their leadership roles and career success. Some common themes like relationship building and teamwork emerged. Their discussion adds richness by providing context and personal experience. They discuss several other such themes: to engender trust, to be adaptable, and to be willing to learn, etc. The panelists go on to recommend strategies to overcome potential gender biases: knowing the audience, sticking to facts, projecting confidence, etc. They highlight key factors like relationships, authenticity, continuous learning, mentorship, preparation, and self-confidence that enabled these leaders to overcome obstacles and achieve career success. This article helps readers better understand the reasons behind these factors.

The body mass index (BMI) is an imperfect clinical measure of obesity that should be used in conjunction with other valid measures of weight-related risk. We studied whether there is a superior measure of obesity-related comorbidities.

This study provides accounts of the bonding character, electronic structure, and optical properties of the cellulose–polyaniline hybrid complex using principles of quantum mechanics. The calculations revealed cellulose and polyaniline binding energy per unit ranged from -0.52 eV to -0.68 eV. The electron localization function of the complex revealed that there was no value at the interface but deformed basins, indicating a physisorption type of interaction. The highest occupied molecular orbitals and lowest molecular orbitals are mainly dominated by the polyaniline, with minor hybridization of the orbitals of the cellulose in all configurations. These results indicate that the bonding between cellulose and polyaniline is characterized as an unshared electron interaction. Generally, the density of states of the cellulose and polyaniline complex can be considered a superposition of the states of isolated subsystems—the bandgap of the complex ranges from 2.30 eV to 2.87 eV. The lowest bandgap is observed when the prototype polyaniline is placed near the cellulose hydroxy and hydroxymethyl group. Further, the optical absorption spectra are calculated using time-dependent density functional theory. The results indicate that the prominent peak of the prototype polyaniline at 3.59 eV (345.36 nm) is suppressed at the complex. Meanwhile, in the higher energy region, the optical absorption spectra can be considered a superposition of the absorption spectra of the isolated constituents. The results presented here provide new information on the cellulose–polyaniline complex's bonding mechanism and give the resulting electronic–optical properties. The results will be helpful in the development of innovative biomaterials, fibers, and multifunctional composites based on cellulose and polyaniline.

Chemical inertness of pristine carbon nanotubes (CNTs) poses challenges on their biocompatibility. In this paper, surface modification of pristine (5, 5) single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) was explored through substitutional Boron (B) and Nitrogen (N) doping forming a C38NB isomer. The electronic topology and binding mechanism of acetic acid adsorption on the isomer was then examined in the context of first-principles Density Functional Theory (DFT). Accordingly, high abundance of localized electrons between the substitutional doping sites indicates chemical binding of the substitutional atoms with the SWCNT. These are further supported by the calculated bond angles. When the acid was adsorbed on the C38NB isomer, spontaneous charge redistributions were observed which are attributed to the oxidation caused by the O atoms and the charge acceptance of the C atoms. Topological analyses revealed that the net charge transfers for all considered configurations were towards the acid. In addition, the Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO) and Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) revealed the nonuniform distribution of electronic charges near the Fermi level. Finally, calculations of the electron localization function (ELF) showed that there was no orbital hybridization between the acid and the isomer. Further, the absence of localized electrons between their interaction points implied a physical binding mechanism. The results of the study could be used for future opto-electronic experiments and electrochemical biosensing applications of CNTs.

A high‐performing maltogenic amylase was developed to provide better water‐binding properties to delay staling more effectively than first‐generation maltogenic amylases. This study evaluated the effects of this high‐performing maltogenic amylase and a first‐generation maltogenic amylase (referred to as “maltogenic amylase”) for delaying staling in nixtamalized corn flour tortillas. The maltogenic amylase and high‐performing maltogenic amylase were tested at 25, 50, and 100 ppm and were compared to control tortillas. Tortillas with 100 ppm high‐performing maltogenic amylase were 66% softer and performed better in foldability than control tortillas after 35 days of room temperature storage and rated better in taste and tenderness than the control. Both maltogenic amylases delayed staling and prolonged softness and foldability. Overall, the high‐performing maltogenic amylase did not outperform the first‐generation maltogenic amylase at 25 and 50 ppm. However, at a higher dosage (100 ppm), the high‐performing maltogenic amylase is capable of producing overall softer tortillas with improved tenderness and taste across 35 days of storage. This research is novel as this high‐performing maltogenic amylase has not been studied by others to improve the quality of tortillas.

The outcomes for sliding and paraesophageal hiatal hernias (PHH) are jointly reported. By combining outcomes of sliding hernia and PHH repair, surgeons are conflating the outcomes of surgical management for GERD with the outcomes of PHH repair. PHH is a distinct clinical entity from sliding hernia, requiring a more complex operation with higher risk of complications and, ultimately, comparatively diminished outcomes. The practice of combining PHH and sliding hernia surgical data confounds the true outcomes of ARS and contributes to misconceptions that reduce referral rates. Current and future research assessments must be based on accurate discrimination between the 2 anatomic presentations. Surgeons have a responsibility to ensure this distinction is clearly drawn when disseminating their ARS outcomes.

This initial qualitative study used in-depth interview data from students to examine their perceptions of ChatGPT and intentions regarding using artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. The students were sampled across business programmes at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels at an International University in the UAE. As of mid-2023, understanding student attitudes becomes crucial as AI increasingly becomes integrated into educational settings, therefore necessitating initial research. Additionally, the ethical dimension of ChatGPT use in assessment and future impact on careers was explored, considering concerns related to privacy, data security, bias, and transparency. Whilst all participants reported that they were familiar with the chatbot, a proportion of them indicated that the tool could help them improve their assignments, particularly in improving grammar. Some participants expressed concerns about the algorithm behind ChatGPT as well as the potential displacement of the labour force.

This paper is specialized in deriving a large sample chi-square test for the equality of two extrinsic antimeans on a compact manifolds, using recent limit theorems for extrinsic sample antimeans relative to an arbitrary embedding of a such manifold into an Euclidean space. Applications are given to distributions on planar Kendall shape spaces, in their complex projective space representations, that are Veronese-Whitney embedded in spaces of self-adjoint matrices. Two medical imaging examples are also given.

Methods of testing for the equality of two distributions on a manifold are unveiled in this paper. One defines the extrinsic energy distance associated with two probability measures on a complete metric space embedded in a numerical space. One derives the extrinsic energy statistic test for homogeneity of such distributions. This test is validated via a simulation example on the Kendall space of planar k-ads with a Veronese-Whitney (VW) embedding. Imaging data driven examples are also considered here. In one application, central to the paper, one tests for homogeneity the distributions of planar Kendall shapes of midsections of the Corpus Callosum in a clinically normal population vs a population of ADHD diagnosed individuals; these distributions are not significantly different, although they are known to have highly significant VW-means. On the other hand, in 3D, the reflection shapes of configurations of Acrosterigma Magnum shells are not significantly different, and do not have significantly similar different 3D Schoenberg means.

Organic functionalization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) plays very important role in the development of electrochemical biosensors. In this study, pristine (5,5) carbon nanotube was functionalized by Ethanoic Acid (CH3COOH) using First Principles Density Functional Theory (DFT). It was found that the encapsulation of CH3COOH into the (5,5) CNT is endothermic due to the small diameter of the tube. However, interacting it outside the sidewall of the tube gives an exothermic process indicating a stable geometry. Accordingly, additional electronic bands and peaks are observed in the electronic structures of the functionalized CNT. Further, it was shown that that the p orbitals of the oxygen atoms and carbon atoms of the acid are the main contributors of the additional peaks in the valence and conduction regions, respectively. Finally, there were observed optical transitions in the functionalized CNT caused by the hybridization of the armchair CNT. Evidently, this study provided insights on more potential applications of carbon nanotubes as biosensors.

The digital era has reshaped business, where IT innovation is pivotal for success. Digital leadership is a key driver, leading to digital agility. However, the research on digital agility is still at a nascent stage. The authors used the dynamic-capabilities to examine the impact of digital leadership on IT innovation in business organizations. A survey of 250 US based IT professionals was analyzed using process macro. The findings of this study enrich the digital-leadership literature, emphasizing the crucial role of digital leadership and inter-team coordination in promoting IT innovation in organizations. Practical implications of the study stress the need for organizations to develop digital leadership while fostering knowledge integration and inter-team coordination.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate data relating to the outcomes of enterprise and entrepreneurship education (EEE) activity in UK higher education institutions (HEIs). This is achieved via the use of data obtained from the Research Excellence Framework (REF), the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF), the Knowledge Excellence Framework (KEF) and the Higher Education Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey. Overall, the analysis suggests, powerfully, that EEE impacts research, teaching and knowledge exchange in a variety of ways. Firstly, it shows that EEE, in terms of the REF, may be up to 46 times more impactful than other management disciplines. Secondly, with regard to TEF submissions, it highlights a positive relationship between the use of the EEE terms and the award level achieved. Finally, research also demonstrates a link between membership of certain HEI mission groups and improved KEF metrics when compared to the sector averages. There is a clear need to research how to develop successful EEE interventions and demonstrate their impact on the graduate, the university ecosystem and the wider economy. These data sources and methodology have not previously been used to develop a narrative for EEE across a university sector in the UK.

Background: Controversy exists over the use of mesh, its type and configuration in repair of hiatal hernia. We have used biological mesh for large or recurrent hiatal hernias. We have developed a mesh configuration to better enhance the tensile strength of the hiatus by folding the mesh over the edge of the hiatus—entitled the “starburst” configuration. We report our experience with the starburst configuration, comparing it to our results with the keyhole configuration. Methods: Medical records of all patients undergoing either the keyhole or starburst mesh configuration hiatal hernia repair were reviewed between 2017 and 2021. Data gathered included age, sex, type of hernia (sliding, paraesophageal, or recurrent), fundoplication type (none, Nissen, Toupet, Dor, Collis-Nissen, Collis-Toupet, or magnetic sphincter augmentation [MSA]), 30-day complications, and long-term outcomes (hiatal hernia recurrence, reflux-symptom recurrence, dysphagia, dilations, reoperations). Results: From 7/2017 to 8/2019, 51 cases using the keyhole mesh were completed. Sliding hiatal hernia comprised 4%, paraesophageal hernia (PEH) 64% and recurrent hiatal hernia (RHH) 34% of cases. Distribution of fundoplication type: 2% none, 41% Nissen, 41% Toupet, 8% Dor, 2% Collis-Nissen, and 6% Collis-Toupet. 30-day complication rate 31%. Long-term outcomes: recurrent hiatal hernia 16%, dysphagia 12%, dysphagia requiring dilation(s) 10%, recurrent GERD symptoms 4%, and reoperation 14%. From 10/2020 to 8/2021, 58 cases using the starburst configuration were completed. PEH comprised 60% and RHH 40%. Distribution of fundoplication type: 10% none, 40% Nissen, 43% Toupet, 5% MSA, 2% Collis-Toupet. 30-day complication rate 16%. Long-term outcomes: recurrent hiatal hernia 19%, dysphagia 14%, dilations 5%, recurrent GERD symptoms 9%, and reoperations 3%. Conclusion: The starburst mesh configuration compares favorably with the keyhole configuration with respect to postoperative dysphagia, need for esophageal dilation, and GERD symptom recurrence, with similar recurrence rates. We are continuing to further refine this technique and study the long-term outcomes.

Neural architecture search (NAS) aims to automate architecture engineering in neural networks. This often requires a high computational overhead to evaluate a number of candidate networks from the set of all possible networks in the search space. Prediction of the performance of a network can alleviate this high computational overhead by mitigating the need for evaluating every candidate network. Developing such a predictor typically requires a large number of evaluated architectures which may be difficult to obtain. We address this challenge by proposing a novel evolutionary-based NAS strategy, predictor-assisted evolutionary NAS (PRE-NAS) which can perform well even with an extremely small number of evaluated architectures. PRE-NAS leverages new evolutionary search strategies and integrates high-fidelity weight inheritance over generations. Unlike one-shot strategies, which may suffer from bias in the evaluation due to weight sharing, offspring candidates in PRE-NAS are topologically homogeneous. This circumvents bias and leads to more accurate predictions. Extensive experiments on the NAS-Bench-201 and DARTS search spaces show that PRE-NAS can outperform state-of-the-art NAS methods. With only a single GPU searching for 0.6 days, a competitive architecture can be found by PRE-NAS which achieves 2.40% and 24% test error rates on CIFAR-10 and ImageNet, respectively.

Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is one of the most common diseases in North America and globally. The aim of this guideline is to provide evidence-based recommendations regarding the most utilized and available endoscopic and surgical treatments for GERD. Methods: Systematic literature reviews were conducted for 4 key questions regarding the surgical and endoscopic treatments for GERD in adults: preoperative evaluation, endoscopic vs surgical or medical treatment, complete vs partial fundoplication, and treatment for obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 35 kg/m2) and concomitant GERD. Evidence-based recommendations were formulated using the GRADE methodology by subject experts. Recommendations for future research were also proposed. Results: The consensus provided 13 recommendations. Through the development of these evidence-based recommendations, an algorithm was proposed for aid in the treatment of GERD. Patients with typical symptoms should undergo upper endoscopy, manometry, and pH-testing; additional testing may be required for patients with atypical or extra-esophageal symptoms. Patients with normal or abnormal findings on manometry should consider undergoing partial fundoplication. Magnetic sphincter augmentation or fundoplication are appropriate surgical procedures for adults with GERD. For patients who wish to avoid surgery, the Stretta procedure and transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF 2.0) were found to have better outcomes than proton pump inhibitors alone. Patients with concomitant obesity were recommended to undergo either gastric bypass or fundoplication, although patients with severe comorbid disease or BMI > 50 should undergo Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for the additional benefits that follow weight loss. Conclusion: Using the recommendations an algorithm was developed by this panel, so that physicians may better counsel their patients with GERD. There are certain patient factors that have been excluded from included studies/trials, and so these recommendations should not replace surgeon–patient decision making. Engaging in the identified research areas may improve future care for GERD patients.

AbstractThis article chronicles the sagacious experience of an insightful leader of a successful organization, and his knowledgeable, perceptive, and caring leadership style. The article is presented as an interview with Matt Wienke, president of Infoverity, Inc. Wienke discusses his strategic leadership style, which demonstrates that he is not only perspicacious but also a cultural champion and a preacher of abundance. The article discusses Infoverity’s contemporary business model and the significant role of information technology (IT) and analytics in an IT consulting company. In doing so Wienke discusses challenges, like operating during Covid, and prevalent trends and themes as a guide for young and successful companies today. The article wraps up with an eye to the future to ensure success and lessons that have stood the test of time.

A deep learning model that evaluates myelination patterns can predict the gestationally corrected age of neonates and infants on the basis of T1- and T2-weighted MRI scans of the brain.

Purpose: Traditional recruitment practices tend to be rigorous, but some of its elements can be improved. The length of applications, missing or unstated salary details and lack of anonymity in some emerging countries' recruitment processes mean that recruitment standards remain questionable and unethical. This paper presents a conceptual discourse on how current recruitment activities can be improved in light of progress made with global Internet infrastructure and CSR standards. Design/methodology/approach: This is primarily a conceptual paper intended to discuss unethical recruitment practices. The author used selected studies and case studies to present the case for improvements in the field of recruitment. Findings: Compared with easy apply options popularised through recruitment websites, organisations continue to favour traditionally lengthy and complicated applications. The incidence of unstated salary, lack of anonymity and poor communication from some recruiters imply that more has to be done in these areas of CSR. Research limitations/implications: As with most conceptual papers, this study lacks adequate empirical support. The claims and propositions made are largely based on a scanty number of current research and industry observations. Practical implications: This study will have potential application in scenarios where recruiters are seeking to improve their practice; however, the recommendations may not be applicable to all organisations. Social implications: The understanding of ethical values and their application to recruitment will vary from culture to culture. Originality/value: The paper offers a clear path to debating recruitment ethics and improvements in current practices. No known studies have specifically targeted this area of ethical recruitment.

Submesoscale flows (0.1–10 km) are often associated with large vertical velocities, which can have a significant impact on the transport of surface tracers, such as carbon. However, global models do not adequately account for these small‐scale effects, which still require a proper parameterization. In this study, we introduced a passive tracer into the surface mixed layer (ML) of a northern Atlantic Ocean simulation based on the primitive‐equation model CROCO, with a horizontal resolution of Δx= 800 m, aiming to investigate the seasonal submesoscale effects on vertical transport. Using surface vorticity and strain rate criteria, we identified regions with submesoscale fronts and quantified the associated subduction, that is the export of tracer below the ML depth. The results suggest that the tracer vertical distribution and the contribution of frontal subduction can be estimated from surface strain and vorticity. Notably, we observed significant seasonal variations. In winter, the submesoscale fronts contribute up to 40% of the total vertical advective transport of tracer below the ML, while representing only 5% of the domain. Conversely, in summer, fronts account for less than 1% of the domain and do not contribute significantly to the transport below the ML. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the seasonal water subduction due to fronts in the region. Oceanic fronts are dynamical structures characterized by enhanced gradients of variables such as temperature or density. These structures are prominent and ubiquitous at the ocean surface and can reach particularly small scales, down to a few kilometers. They are known to play an important role in the vertical exchange of carbon, nutrients or heat between the surface and the ocean interior. Due to their small scale and short lifecycle, they have not been extensively sampled and a systematic quantification of their impact is missing. In this study, we set up a numerical simulation of the ocean circulation in the North Atlantic that resolves small‐scale fronts. We release a tracer in upper layer of the ocean and analyze how it is transported at depth. Using criteria based on the flow velocity, we quantify the fraction of the ocean surface covered by fronts. We find that the average depth at which the tracer is injected depends on the prevalence of fronts, which itself shows a strong seasonality. In winter, fronts cover less than 5% of the surface area, but contribute up to 40% of the tracer vertical transport. Conversely, in summer, fronts cover less than 1% of the area and have no significant effect on tracer vertical transport. This study helps to better understand the seasonal role of fronts in vertical water transport. This paves the way for addressing questions related to how tracers such as carbon are distributed in the world's oceans. Surface strain and vorticity criteria can be used to identify submesoscale frontsThe tracer depth injection correlates with the surface fraction of fronts, regardless of the mixed layer depth evolutionThe submesoscale fronts contribute to ∼40% of the total tracer vertical advective subduction in winter, and less than 1% in summer Surface strain and vorticity criteria can be used to identify submesoscale fronts The tracer depth injection correlates with the surface fraction of fronts, regardless of the mixed layer depth evolution The submesoscale fronts contribute to ∼40% of the total tracer vertical advective subduction in winter, and less than 1% in summer