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Background: Senescent immune cells exhibit altered gene expression and resistance to apoptosis. The prevalence of these cells increases with age and emerging data implicate senescence-associated maladaptive signaling as a potential contributor to sepsis and septic shock. The senolytic drug fisetin promotes clearance of senescent cells and is hypothesized to mitigate septic responses to infection. Methods: We are conducting a multi-center, randomized, double-blinded, adaptive allocation phase 2 clinical trial to assess the efficacy of the senolytic drug fisetin in preventing clinical deterioration of elderly patients diagnosed with sepsis. We intend to enroll and randomize 220 elderly patients (age > 65) with the clinical diagnosis of sepsis to receive either fisetin as a single oral dose of 20 mg/kg, fisetin in two oral doses of 20 mg/kg each spaced 1 day apart, or placebo. The primary outcome will be changed in the composite of cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal sequential organ failure assessment scores at 7 days from enrollment. Secondary outcomes include quantification of senescent CD3 + cells at 7 days, and 28-day assessments of organ failure-free days, days in an intensive care unit, and all-cause mortality. Discussion: This multi-center, randomized, double-blinded trial will assess the efficacy of fisetin in preventing clinical deterioration in elderly patients with sepsis and measure the effects of this drug on the prevalence of senescent immune cells. We intend that the results of this phase 2 trial will inform the design of a larger phase 3 study. Trial registration: This trial is registered to ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT05758246, first posted on March 7, 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries, particularly in the Sub-Saharan African region, find it hard to innovate due to severe resource constraints and high institutional voids. Given this, the paper examines three international strategic responses that small and medium-sized enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa adopt to implement innovations in the face of weak institutional environments. Design/methodology/approach: Using comprehensive data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey, the study applies the Instrumental Variable Probit approach to analyse a sample of 8,466 SMEs from eleven countries in the Sub-Saharan African region. Findings: The empirical results show that foreign ownership negatively affects product and process innovation. Additionally, the results reveal that small and medium-sized enterprises that leverage exporting and international quality certifications are likely to implement innovations. Originality/value: The paper contributes to the literature by suggesting that small and medium-sized enterprises must exploit strategic alternatives to improve their innovation efforts when operating in a weak institutional environment. Thus, by exploring international strategic responses to institutional difficulties when implementing innovations, this paper goes beyond the prevailing research approach in developing countries that mainly emphasises the barriers to innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A closed season policy has emerged as an ocean governance strategy aimed at protecting and conserving fish stocks across countries and coastal areas. Its implementation has produced traces of vulnerabilities, and forms of livelihood adaptations and alternative livelihood opportunities. However, little is known about how these occur among gender groups. This paper therefore focuses on the gender dimensions of vulnerabilities, adaptations and alternative livelihoods during the closed season in Elmina, Ghana, within the feminist political ecology framework. It employed Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) from purposively selected fishermen and fish processors. The study found significant differences in the vulnerability patterns among the gender groups, albeit some similarities. We further observed more fluid roles among the women than the men because the women were ready to undertake alternative livelihood options that were traditionally male-based during the closed season. Based on these results, we contend that political decisions toward environmental sustainability may create vulnerability and fluid adaptation patterns which may vary among gender groups in the light of their differential patterns of access, control and positionalities within the fishing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reactivity of pyridine is a complex topic due to its unique electronic structure. The reactions of atomic boron with pyridine molecules in solid neon have been investigated using matrix isolation infrared absorption spectroscopy. Three products (marked as A, B, and C) were observed and characterized through 10B, D and 15N isotopic substitution pyridine regents as well as quantum chemical calculations. In the reaction, the ground-state boron atom can attack the lone pair electrons of the nitrogen atom in the pyridine molecule, resulting in the formation of a 1-boropyridinyl radical (A). Alternatively, addition to the aromatic π-system of pyridine can occur in a [1,4] type, leading to the formation of a B[η2(1,4)-C5H5N] complex (B). Under UV-visible light (280 < λ < 580 nm) irradiation, these two compounds can further undergo photo-isomerization to form BN-embedded seven-membered azaborepin compounds (C). The observation of species A, B, and the subsequent photo-isomerization to species C is consistent with theoretical predictions, indicating that these reactions are kinetically favorable. This research provides valuable insights into the future design and synthesis of corresponding BN heterocyclic derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological innovation is widely considered a primary source of economic growth and policies to encourage firm-level innovation remain key, even though its impact on employment remains indeterminate. Using the World Bank Enterprise survey on a sample of enterprises across sub-Saharan Africa, specifically Ghana, Kenya and Zambia, this study investigates: first, the effect of innovation on employment; second, the relationship between innovation and quality of employment and lastly, whether the type of innovation is important in isolating the effect of innovation on employment in sub-Saharan Africa. The results indicate that innovation has employment-enhancing effects in the subregion. In addition, novelty in product innovation is a more important source of employment for the firms in sub-Saharan Africa. In terms of innovation and the quality of employment, this study finds that process innovation is associated with a change in the labour composition mix in favour of unskilled workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epiphytic and endophytic micro-organisms associated with plants form complex communities on or in their host plant. These communities influence physiological traits, development, and host susceptibility to abiotic and biotic stresses, and these communities are theorized to have evolved alongside their hosts, forming a unit of selection known as the holobiont. The microbiome is highly variable and can be influenced by abiotic factors, including applied exogenous agents. In this study, we compared the impact of chemical fungicide and salicylic acid treatments on the fungal communities of "Honeycrisp" apples at harvest over two consecutive growing years. We demonstrated variations in fungal community structure and composition by tissue type, growing season, and treatment regimes and that fungicide treatments were associated with reduced network complexity. Finally, we show that the inclusion of salicylic acid with 50% less chemical fungicides in an integrated spray program allowed a reduction in fungicide use while maintaining effective control of disease at harvest and following storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite growing evidence that emotion invalidation, termed social pain minimization (SPM), contributes to discrimination's negative effect on mental health and suicidality (Benbow et al., 2022; Kinkel-Ram et al., 2021), it is unclear what elements of social support give rise to SPM. Is SPM related to social support quantity (e.g., the number of support providers and frequency with which people seek support)? Or, is social support quality (e.g., active versus passive destructive responses and threatened support needs) most central to SPM? This work addresses these questions and provides evidence that support quality rather than quantity shapes feelings of SPM and informs SPM's mediating role in the discrimination-to-mental health relation. Methods: With a cross-sectional correlational design, 232 Black participants (42.9% female; Mage = 34.86, SDage = 11.15) completed measures of daily discrimination, social support quantity and quality, SPM, and mental health. Results: At a bivariate level, indices of support quality, but not quantity, predicted SPM and mental health. However, when these indices of support quality were entered simultaneously in multiple regression, only passive destructive (PD) treatment and provisions of worth positively and negatively predicted SPM, respectively. Serial parallel mediation analysis further revealed that PD treatment and threats to self-worth fueled SPM's mediating role in the association between discrimination and mental health. Discussion: The results suggest that support quality, not quantity, sets the stage for SPM. Although many dimensions of support quality related to SPM, PD treatment and threats to self-worth had the strongest unique relationships to minimization. Moreover, these support dimensions contributed to SPM's mediating role in the link between discrimination and mental health. In discrimination's wake, PD responses and threatened self-worth increased SPM, which then undermined mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) based conversational agent is widely used in the service industry. Although some studies have investigated the impact of AI on customers, little research has documented the concrete effects of AI-based conversational agents on firms' operational performance. To fill this gap, the main goal of this paper is to investigate the impacts of AI-based conversational agent on firms' operational performance. In addition, the moderating effect of time blocks is also investigated. We address questions using the event study method and a proprietary data set from a telecom firm in China. Results show that the introduction of an AI-based conversational agent increases the average call length and has no significant influence on call numbers. Moreover, there is a heterogeneous effect among different time blocks. Our findings provide important implications for the operational management of call center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Ingeniería de Construcción is the property of Revista Ingenieria de Construccion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The direct C−H functionalization of 1,2‐benzazaborines, especially asymmetric version, remains a great challenge. Here we report a palladium‐catalyzed enantioselective C−H olefination and allylation reactions of 1,2‐benzazaborines. This asymmetric approach is a kinetic resolution (KR), providing various C−B axially chiral 2‐aryl‐1,2‐benzazaborines and 3‐substituted 2‐aryl‐1,2‐benzazaborines in generally high yields with excellent enantioselectivities (selectivity (S) factor up to 354). The synthetic potential of this reaction is showcased by late‐stage modification of complex molecules, scale‐up reaction, and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N‐Substitution of a thermally unstable diboratriazole 1 with a trimethylsilyl group affords a remarkably stable diboratriazole derivative 2. Ring contraction of 2 with an N‐heterocyclic carbene accompanied by the release of N2 as well as 1,4‐hydrogen shift affords a carbene‐stabilized azadiboriridine 3. Abstraction of the H−B3mem hydride in 3 with methyl trifluoromethanesulfonate leads to the isolation of a hitherto unknown azadiboriridinylium 4, the first BN analogue of cyclopropenylium cation. X‐ray diffraction analysis and computational studies confirmed the delocalization of π electrons over the B2N three‐membered ring, indicating the 2π aromatic feature. Compound 4 undergoes ring expansion reactions with azobenzene and pyridazine to furnish triazadiborolidinylium species 5 and 6, the latter of which possesses a cationic B2N3 ring with a pronounced 6π aromatic property. Moreover, the reaction of 4 with a diazo compound produces a cationic B2N3C pentafulvene derivative 7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of different drying techniques on the properties of yellow cassava flour and its food application was investigated in this study. Flour was made from three cultivars of yellow cassava by solar-, hot air oven-, or drum- drying. Their functionality was determined by standard methods, and their digestibility was evaluated in vitro. The flours were used in the preparation of fufu, which was evaluated by sensorial and instrumental methods. The digestibility of drum-dried flours was higher (69.4–79.7%) than solar- (60.4–70.7%) or air oven-dried flours (60.3–70.4%), whereas β-carotene concentration was higher in air oven-dried samples compared to the others. Significant differences (p < 0.05) due to cultivar and/or drying technique were observed in the hydration and pasting properties of the flours. Instrumental texture analysis of fufu made from yellow cassava flours showed both drying technique and cultivar to affect the hardness, adhesiveness, and cohesiveness of the product. Acceptability scores for the fufu ranged from 4 to 6, with a decisive preference for samples produced from drum-dried flours. The study has shown the successful utilization of different drying techniques in the production of flour from yellow cassava variants for the preparation of fufu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of the Faculty of Divinity of Ankara University / Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Ankara Universitesi Ilahiyat Fakultesi Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We introduce a fermionic potential,vf, as a comprehensive measure of electron (de)localization in atomic‐molecular systems. Unlike other common descriptors as ELF, LOL, etc., it characterizes all physical effects responsible for (de)localization of electrons, namely: an exchange hole depth, its tendency to change, a sensitivity of an exchange correlation hidden in a pair density and kinetic potential to local variations in electron density. Wells in the vf distribution correspond to the domains of maximum electron localization, while the potential's barriers prevent delocalization of electrons through them. It also estimates bond orders and successfully reveals the impact of chemical modifications or environmental effects on the delocalization of electrons in molecules and crystals. The vf components provide a unique opportunity to compare the influence of the mentioned physical effects on electron (de)localization. This merges physical and chemical views of electron delocalization using functions appearing in density functional theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbene‐stabilized symmetrical and unsymmetrical dicationic tetraboranes, featuring an electron‐precise tetraborane chain, were synthesized and fully characterized. Reactions of these tetraboranes with reductants/bases give rise to different outcomes according to the conditions employed, including: 1) reduction and rearrangement of the tetraborane chain to give a zwitterionic alkylidene borate–borenium species; 2) cleavage of the tetraborane chain to afford a 1,3‐azaborinine; and 3) reduction of the supporting ligands to provide a diamino dipotassium salt. The zwitterionic alkylidene borate–borenium species can be viewed as an analogue of the base‐stabilized diborenes. NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations reveal a highly polarized B−B bond in the zwitterionic alkylidene borate–borenium, in which the formal oxidation states of the boron atoms can be considered as −1 and +2. These results suggest the considerable potential of tetraboranes as synthons for low‐valent boron species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Angewandte Chemie is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

BN‐butafulvenes, mono‐BN isosteres of butafulvene and highly strained isomers of azaborines and B‐amino boroles, have been synthesized via hydrolysis of the urana‐borabicyclic complexes obtained from the reactions of bis(alkynyl)boranes with an uranacyclopropene complex. Their 4‐dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) adducts can further isomerize to 1,2,4,6‐multisubstituted BN‐9,1‐naphthalenes. Both NMR reaction monitoring and theoretical calculations point to a reaction mechanism involving dearomative insertion of DMAP followed by two consecutive 1,2‐hydrogen shifts. The photophysical studies of the highly substituted BN‐9,1‐naphthalenes reveal a notable redshift in both the UV/Vis absorption and emission spectra. The (TD)‐DFT calculations corroborate the experimental data, suggesting that the strong π‐donating amino substitution at the 1‐ and/or 6‐positions destabilizes the HOMO, and thus leading to a notable decrease of the HOMO–LUMO gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intellectual property is understood to have an economic rationale: supplying incentives for innovation and for the creation and dissemination of knowledge and information. In the modern era, questions of how best to accomplish this have been explored with reference to economic efficiency and other concepts from microeconomics. But why not macroeconomics? In the microeconomic view, the intangibles of innovation, knowledge, and information are ordinary economic goods, albeit ones whose easy reproducibility leads to special problems. In the macroeconomic view, however, innovation, knowledge, and information are extraordinary goods with special virtues. Indeed, modern macroeconomics puts these intangibles at the center of the field because they are understood to be the key to achieving sustained economic growth in an advanced economy. And growth is macroeconomics' principal contemporary concern. This Article makes a general case for putting macroeconomics front and center in discussions about intellectual property law, and it suggests a number of insights that come from doing so. The macroeconomic view can offer policy prescriptions that are distinct from and contrary to those springing from a microeconomic view. In particular, and perhaps counterintuitively, a macroeconomic focus cautions against expanding existing intellectual property rights or introducing new ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on innovation and employment has not provided theory-consistent results about the question of whether innovation by firms would still create jobs after the canceling out by a negative or business stealing effect and a positive spillover effect at the sector level. This study addresses this issue using Korean firm and sector data over a long-term period. Beyond the consensus results by firm-level analyses, this study also produces the sector-level results confirming the significant and positive long-term effects of product innovation, as well as no significant effects of process innovation, on the net employment growth of a sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]