Existence of a renormalized solution of nonlinear parabolic equations with general measure data

In this paper we prove the existence of a renormalized solution for nonlinear parabolic equations of the type:$$\displaystyle{\partial b(x,u)\over\partial t} - {\rm div}\Big(a(x,t,\nabla u)\Big)=\mu\qquad \text{in}\ \Omega\times (0,T),$$ where the right handside is a general measure, $b(x,u)$ is anunbounded function of $u$ and $- {\rm div}(a(x,t,\nabla u))$is a Leray--Lions type operator with growth $|\nabla u|^{p-1}$ in$\nabla u$.

Noise source importance in linear stochastic models of biological systems that grow, shrink, wander, or persist

While noise is an important factor in biology, biological processes often involve multiple noise sources, whose relative importance can be unclear. Here we develop tools that quantify the importance of noise sources in a network based on their contributions to variability in a quantity of interest. We generalize the edge importance measures proposed by Schmidt and Thomas [1] for first-order reaction networks whose steady-state variance is a linear combination of variance produced by each directed edge. We show that the same additive property extends to a general family of stochastic processes subject to a set of linearity assumptions, whether in discrete or continuous state or time. Our analysis applies to both expanding and contracting populations, as well as populations obeying a martingale (“wandering”) at long times. We show that the original Schmidt-Thomas edge importance measure is a special case of our more general measure, and is recovered when the model satisfies a conservation constraint

Entrepreneurship among Undergraduate Nursing Students at a public university

ABSTRACT Objectives: to identify undergraduate nursing students' entrepreneurial tendency at a public university. Methods: cross-sectional study, with a quantitative approach, with 135 undergraduate nursing students from a public university in the interior of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data were collected using a socio-professional characterization form and a General measure of Enterprising Tendency test and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: among the five entrepreneurial tendencies, students presented results equal or above average in two dimensions: Drive and Determination (82.2%) and Need for Success (51.1%). The Creative tendency was the dimension with the highest percentage of participants below the average (68.9%). However, students in research or extension groups scored equal or above average in all five entrepreneurial tendencies. Conclusions: students showed low entrepreneurial tendencies, indicating the need for a broader approach to the subject in nursing education.

Political connections, political uncertainty and audit fees: evidence from Pakistan

Purpose This paper aims to examine the association between political connections, political uncertainty and audit fees. The authors use various measures of political connections and uncertainty: political connections (civil and military), political events (elections) and a general measure of political stability (i.e. a world bank index). Design/methodology/approach The authors measure the association between political connections, political uncertainty and audit fees. Audit fees reflect auditors’ perceptions of risk. The authors examine auditors’ business risk, clients’ audit and business risk after controlling for the variables used in prior audit fee research. Findings Results indicate that civil-connected firms pay significantly higher audit fees than non-connected firms owing to the instability of civil-political connections. Military-connected firms pay significantly lower audit fees than non-connected firms owing to the stable form of government. Furthermore, considering high leverage as a measure of clients’ high audit risk and high return-on-assets (ROA) as a measure of clients’ lower business risk, the authors interact leverage and ROA with civil and military connections. The results reveal that these risks moderate the relationship between political connection and audit fees. Election risk is independent of risk associated with political connections. General political stability reinforces the theme that a stable government results in lower risks. Originality/value The authors combine cross-sectional measures of political uncertainty (civil or military connections) with time-dependent measures (general measures of political instability and elections).

Association between anticholinergic burden and dementia in UK Biobank

Previous studies on the association between the long-term use of anticholinergic drugs and dementia report heterogenous results. This variability could be due to, among other factors, different anticholinergic scales used, and differential effects of distinct classes of anticholinergic drugs. Here, we use 171,775 participants of UK Biobank with linked GP prescription records to calculate the cumulative annual anticholinergic burden (ACB) and ascertain dementia diagnoses through GP- and inpatient records. We then use Cox proportional hazards models to compare 13 anticholinergic scales and anticholinergic burden (ACB) due to different classes of drugs in their association with dementia. We find dementia to be more strongly predicted by ACB than by polypharmacy across most anticholinergic scales (standardised ORs range: 1.027-1.125). Furthermore, not only the baseline ACB, but the slope of the longitudinal trajectory of ACB (HR=1.094; 95% CI: 1.068-1.119) is predictive of dementia. However, the association between ACB and dementia holds only for some classes of drugs – especially antidepressants, antiepileptics, and high-ceiling antidiuretics. Moreover, we do not find a clear relationship between reported anticholinergic potency and dementia risk. The heterogeneity in findings on the association between ACB and dementia may in part be due to different effects for different classes of drugs. Future studies should establish such differences in more detail and further examine the practicality of using a general measure of anticholinergic potency as it relates to the risk of dementia.

Sustainability performance and social media: an explorative analysis

Purpose This paper aims to present a deep understanding of how social media affects organisations’ sustainability performance, using environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Particularly, this paper assumes the existence of a causal relationship between organisations’ sustainability performance and the use of their social media profile (i.e. Twitter). Design/methodology/approach The authors used a multivariate regression with an explorative approach. Using Thomson Reuters Eikon, the authors composed a sample of 115 public EU companies with a headquarter in Europe operating in the “energy” and “utilities” sectors. The authors collected ESG-related, financial and Twitter-related data covering the period 2016–2019. Findings The study findings emphasise the existence of a statistically significant and positive relationship between social media profiles (i.e. Twitter) and companies’ sustainability performance. Findings show that ESG-oriented companies use their Twitter profile more as a tool for achieving a higher level of legitimation rather than for managing their sustainability strategy and related performance. Therefore, social media contribute more to the construction of companies’ CSR identity than the management of analytic aspects of sustainability performance. The longevity of companies’ profiles is the variable mostly showing a causal relationship not only with the general measure of companies’ sustainability performance but also with its pillars and sub-pillars. Originality/value This research is original in showing academics, practitioners and policymakers results on the impact of different modalities of interaction (retweets, replies, likes and quotes) between organisations and stakeholders by using social media on sustainability performance.

Examining an Organisational Justice Model of Perceived Discrimination in the New Zealand Workforce

<p>The current study proposes a model to examine the impact of organisational justice on perceived discrimination and work attitudes/behaviour. The model also examines the influence of ethnicity and support for diversity on these relationships. Two studies were conducted using separate samples which collected data from 1,554 employees in 2010 and 2012. Study 1 used an overall measure of perceived racial discrimination whilst study 2 used a 4-part general measure of discrimination. Regression analysis from both studies showed that interpersonal justice is active in predicting perceptions of discrimination, and these perceptions are associated with negative outcomes for work attitudes and behaviour. Support for diversity largely mitigated the negative effects of discrimination on work behaviour. A lack of predicted results for work attitudes may indicate that processes resulting from discrimination differ according to work attitudes and behaviour. Conclusions and avenues for future research are discussed</p>

Examining an Organisational Justice Model of Perceived Discrimination in the New Zealand Workforce

<p>The current study proposes a model to examine the impact of organisational justice on perceived discrimination and work attitudes/behaviour. The model also examines the influence of ethnicity and support for diversity on these relationships. Two studies were conducted using separate samples which collected data from 1,554 employees in 2010 and 2012. Study 1 used an overall measure of perceived racial discrimination whilst study 2 used a 4-part general measure of discrimination. Regression analysis from both studies showed that interpersonal justice is active in predicting perceptions of discrimination, and these perceptions are associated with negative outcomes for work attitudes and behaviour. Support for diversity largely mitigated the negative effects of discrimination on work behaviour. A lack of predicted results for work attitudes may indicate that processes resulting from discrimination differ according to work attitudes and behaviour. Conclusions and avenues for future research are discussed</p>

Sharp $$L_p$$ estimates for paraproducts on general measure spaces

The paper contains the identification of the $$L_p$$ L p norms of paraproducts, defined on general measure spaces equipped with a dyadic-like structure. The proof exploits the Bellman function method.

Integration

The concept of an integral on a general measure space is developed from first principles. Riemann–Stieltjes and Lebesgue–Stieltjes integrals are defined. The monotone convergence theorem, fundamental properties of integrals, and related inequalities are covered. Other topics include product measure and multiple integrals, Fubini’s theorem, signed measures, and the Radon–Nikodym theorem.