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Non-family Managers and Innovation in Family Firms : A Meta-Analysis
Get PDFNon-family managers play a crucial role in fostering innovation within family firms, yet their impact remains debated due to inconsistent research findings and a lack of comprehensive synthesis. This study integrates this effect through a meta-analysis of 213 effect sizes from 101 studies. The results demonstrate a positive influence of non-family managers on firm innovation, with a stronger effect on inputs than on outputs. Furthermore, this study identifies key governance and managerial contingencies at the firm level. First-generation control weakens this relationship, while non-family TMTs strengthen it. The implications for theory and practice are discussed, with suggestions for future research
Music and dementia care : Future directions for research and innovation
Get PDFBackground: Cognitive decline and dementia can have a major impact on individuals, families, societies and economies. While there are currently no cures for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and available treatments only modestly slow early progression, there is enormous scope to improve cognitive health and support individuals emotionally and psychologically as they age. By developing and implementing research-informed, music-based approaches in dementia care, quality of life could be significantly improved for those living with dementia and their families. Objective: An early-stage visioning project brought together an interdisciplinary research team from across Canada, Scotland and England to discuss music-based interventions (MBIs) as scalable, real-world solutions that can have a positive impact on the health and well-being of older people. The focus of the discussion was future research directions. Methods: A community of practice was formed to map out directions for future research and innovation in the continued advancement of MBIs in dementia care. Results: Six emerging research themes were identified: (1) music, mind and body; (2) social isolation and connection; (3) music technologies; (4) creativity, cultural rights and participation; (5) involving people living with dementia in the research process; and (6) real world implementation and sustainability. Conclusions: MBIs are a beneficial application in dementia care, but ensuring quality, access and long-term sustainability remain a challenge. More fundamentally, music should be seen as part of the human experience, and engagement in music and other arts-based activities should be considered a cultural right during aging
Constructing a Schottky junctions in PCL scaffolds : NIR triggers photo-electricity-catalysis coupling to promote osteogenic differentiation and antibacterial efficacy
Get PDFGraphite-phase carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has attracted great attention in boosting the repair of infectious bone defects due to its extraordinary photoelectric conversion and carrier mobility. However, the excessive electron injection barrier and inefficient near-infrared (NIR) light absorption restrict its therapeutic efficacy. Herein, Cu nanoclusters (Cu NCs) were originally assembled on g-C3N4 by hydrothermal method, and interface defects were constructed to form Cu-g-C3N4 Schottky junctions, which were then added into polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds. On the one hand, Cu NCs induce surface electrons collective oscillation to extend the light absorption into the NIR region, then the produced hot electrons migrate to the built-in electric field of g-C3N4 by the Schottky junction, thereby improving the photoelectric properties. On the other hand, Cu NCs can couple with π-conjugated structures to reduce electron injection barrier, and act as electron traps to enrich delocalized electrons, thus boosting electron-hole separation and photocatalysis efficiency. Results prove that the Cu-g-C3N4 exhibits excellent NIR absorption, and the enhancement of photoelectric effect can be proved by a 50 % increase in transient photocurrent. The electrical signal can boost osteogenic differentiation as evidenced by a 2.9-fold upregulation of ALP and ARS expression, and a 45 % increase in osteogenic differentiation-related mRNA and BMP-2 levels. ROS with a yield improved to 66.9 % can rapidly destroy biofilms to boost ROS entry into bacteria, causing protein leakage and GSH consumption, thus achieving antibacterial rates of 91.6 % and 92.4 % against S. aureus and E. coli, respectively
IFI16 senses and protects stalled replication forks
No full textReplication stress is a key driver of DNA damage and genome instability. Here, we report that replication stress induces an inflammatory response in the absence of DNA damage. The DNA-sensing factor interferon-γ-inducible factor 16 (IFI16) binds nascent DNA at stalled replication forks and signals via the adaptor stimulator of interferon genes (STING) to induce activation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, independently of the cytosolic DNA sensor cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP)-AMP synthase (cGAS). Replication stress-induced fork remodeling generates a new DNA end that is vulnerable to degradation by nucleases and is protected by a range of factors, including the tumor suppressors BRCA1 and BRCA2. IFI16 acts directly at stalled replication forks to protect nascent DNA from degradation by the nucleases MRE11, EXO1, and DNA2. Furthermore, IFI16 is required for the interferon-mediated rescue of fork protection in BRCA-deficient cells, highlighting the critical role of IFI16 in the crosstalk between innate immunity and fork protection during replication stress. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
AI in Lung Health : Advanced Automated Solutions for Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis Using Multimodality of Medical Data
Get PDFLung nodules are areas of higher density in the lungs that can happen for a number of reasons, such as smoking or being exposed to airborne pollutants for a long time. It is essential to find and classify tumors on Computed Tomography (CT) scans as soon as possible so that lung diseases can be diagnosed and evaluated, as well as for planning and making treatment plans. For the diagnosis, it is essential to understand the difference between typical lung diseases like Tuberculosis, Pneumonia, and lung cancer, as all the diseases have similar symptoms initially. Initially, all the diseases have respiratory symptoms like cough, difficulty breathing, and chest pain. Pulmonary infiltrates or nodules can be observed in lung cancer, pneumonia, COVID-19, and tuberculosis, posing difficulty distinguishing between the diseases. Thus, this thesis has performed the classification of different types of diseases using X-rays by proposing a novel deep-learning framework for the multi-class classification of lung diseases, including lung cancer. The experimental results show that the Visual Geometry Group Network (VGG) 19 + Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) outperformed other existing work with 96.48% accuracy in the multiclassification of lung diseases. Moreover, once lung tumor is detected, precise localization enables healthcare practitioners to ascertain the tumor's dimensions, which is crucial for staging and devising treatment strategies. Hence, this research proposes an advanced deep learning model called the Universal Network (Unet) to accurately segment lung tumors utilizing multiple types of imaging data, specifically CT and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans. The intricate structures of the suggested models, which incorporate several fusion approaches such as early fusion, late fusion, dense fusion, hyperdense fusion, and hyper-dense VGG16 U-Net, are discussed in detail. The experimental results, particularly the performance of the hyper-dense VGG16 model, instill confidence in the proposed models, as it outperformed all other analyses, receiving a Dice score of 73%. Survival analysis for lung cancer patients is a crucial aspect of treatment planning and outcome prediction. Therefore, in-depth stage classification using the TNM (Tumor, Node, metastases) staging system of Lung Cancer is of utmost importance. This thesis suggests an innovative method to classify the overall stage of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by employing multimodal data, including multi-view CT images and textual clinical information. A comparative analysis of Vision Transformer (ViT) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architectures, evaluating both direct classification and TNM-based approaches are proposed. The experimental results prove that the ViT-based direct model achieves superior accuracy 98.75%, improving accuracy by 8.75% over the TNM-based ViT model, while also reducing computational complexity by 66.67%. Similarly, the CNN-based direct model achieves 87% accuracy, outperforming the TNM-based CNN model by 7%, with a corresponding reduction in computational demands. The use of the proposed methods in real-time can help practitioners to detect lung cancer and predict the survival of the patient effectively
The volume of explosive products erupted during the ~ 1700 CE eruption of Sii Aks (Tseax), Canada
Get PDFSmall mafic explosive eruptions are a globally common and frequent eruption type, and understanding the size of past eruptions is key to preparing for future impacts. However, Canadian volcanoes have received relatively little investigation due in part to their location in remote and challenging terrain. Here, we measured tephra thicknesses from 96 locations for the ~ 1700 CE eruption of Sii Aks (Tseax) in the Northern Cordillera Volcanic Province, British Columbia, a region of active volcanism and rifting in northwest Canada. We used these data to produce isopach maps and estimate the volume of tephra fall during the eruption, using exponential, power law, and Weibull functions. We find the values are consistent across the different methods at 2.5 – 3.4 × 106 m3, thus classifying the eruption as two on the Volcanic Explosivity Index. This provides the first field-based and ground-truthed estimate of tephra fall volume for a Canadian mafic eruption
Developing and evaluating a questionnaire to assess personal recovery experiences in older people with bipolar disorder
No full textBackground Despite evidence that the mental health experiences of older adults are qualitatively different to those of younger adults, little research has investigated the recovery preferences of people aged 60 years and over (Chen et al, 2027). This paper presents the first measure of personal recovery developed specifically for older adults with bipolar disorder (BD). Methods Collaboration with older adults who had lived experience of BD, clinicians and academics supported the development of the Bipolar Recovery Questionnaire for Older Adults (BRQ-OA). A total of 55 participants aged 60+ (mean=66.98, SD=8.19) with a diagnosis of BD completed the BRQ-OA alongside symptom and quality of life measures. The BRQ-OA was completed again four weeks later. It was hypothesised that the BRQ-OA would be a reliable and valid measure of personal recovery. Results The BRQ-OA had good internal consistency, and scores were reliable over a 4-week period. Scores on the BRQ-OA were significantly associated with lower depression and mania scores and higher scores on quality of life and functioning measures. Limitations Small sample size restricted understanding of factors underlying the BRQ-OA. Participants were primarily White British with high levels of education, therefore generalisability to other groups is unclear. Conclusions Findings indicate the BRQ-OA is a reliable and valid measure of personal recovery for older adults with BD. Scores are significantly associated with factors commonly defined as part of personal recovery. This is the first mental health measure designed with and for older adults to support the use of recovery-focused approaches in clinical practice and research
“Smashing through barriers”? : A multimodal critical discourse analysis of media representations of hearing loss and D/deafness
Get PDFHearing loss (HL) is a prevalent condition that can substantially impact quality of life. Hearing aids can benefit people living with HL, yet many delay seeking treatment. This may be due to limited public awareness of HL and the stigma surrounding HL and hearing aids. The media can significantly shape public perceptions of HL and D/deafness, and there have been calls for improved media portrayals of HL and D/deafness. This study examined how British newspapers represent HL and D/deafness both visually and textually, and whether these representations reiterate and/or challenge stigma. This qualitative study used multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA) guided by stigma theory and the Visual Discourses of Disability framework. Public contributors living with HL or D/deafness were consulted. A Nexis database search retrieved 7,173 articles about HL or D/deafness from 2022–2023. A random sample, extracted from the 200 most relevant articles, was screened. Three key themes were identified: (1) representing social progress, including technological advancements and societal roles for people with HL or D/deaf people, (2) the lack of diverse narratives and perspectives, including the absence of older adults, and (3) the stigma and social barriers associated with living in a hearing-orientated world, including tensions regarding whether HL should be (in)visible. Combined, this suggests that the overall social progress narrative is challenged by continued stigmatisation and inadequate diversity. This research was a novel application of MCDA to representations of HL and D/deafness, which focused on British newspapers. Further efforts are needed to improve these representations, particularly representations of older adults. Future research should apply MCDA to representations of HL and D/deafness in other contexts. The findings have important implications for academics in discourse and disability studies, and for all those who communicate with the public about hearing loss, including researchers, clinicians, public health officials, charities, and the media
The Science of Empire : A Critical Disciplinary History of International Relations, 1868-1931
Get PDFThis thesis repositions International Relations (IR) as an historically contingent science of empire, shaped by emergent interactions across imperial frontiers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It constructs a critical disciplinary history of IR, drawing on the tradition of Fachgeschichte (discipline-history). By addressing historical silences in conventional narratives of IR’s disciplinary origins, it reframes IR not as the product of a noble pursuit of peace in the aftermath of the Great War, but as a discipline entangled with discourses ofimperial reform and science. To do so, it identifies a scientific-imperial épistémè of IR and outlines the historically contingent nature of the formalised academic discipline. It argues that attempts to co-opt ‘scientific’ discourse and present IR as a science were closely connected with searches for new legitimisations of empire. Though focussed primarily on the development of IR as a science of empire in the British Empire, it explores co-constitutive interconnexions across imperial frontiers with parallel discourses of science, imperialism, and race in the United States and German Empire/Weimar Republic in the same period. By tracing fragments and silences in IR’s disciplinary history, it explores the emergent development of scientific-imperial IR and charts the evolution of elite networks of imperialists embedded in state machinery as a class of ‘citizen scholars’. These same scholars would become the canonical founding figures of the discipline and are inextricably connected to established narratives of discipline foundation in the British Empire, Europe, and the United States. In recentring the focus of IR’s disciplinary history to account for its imperialist interconnectivities, this thesis is directed towards a more introspective history of the discipline. By concluding with a discussion of the disciplinary afterlives these networks left behind long after the period in focus, it demonstrates that much work remains for critical disciplinary historians of IR