The University of Texas at Arlington

We examine the dark side of organizational justice by linking it to earnings management, a form of unethical pro-organizational behavior. Earnings management activities can undermine stakeholders’ organizational trust, increase regulatory scrutiny, and impair future operating performance. Whereas prior research tends to focus on incentive-based compensation and supervisor pressure as explanations for earnings manipulation, we take a social identity perspective. Drawing from conceptual frameworks of unethical pro-organizational behavior and the group engagement model, we theorize that when employees are treated fairly by their organization, they will increase their level of identification with the organization and thus be more likely to engage in unethical behaviors intended to help the organization, namely earnings management. Furthermore, we investigate the moderating role of moral identity in influencing our proposed effects. Results from two studies employing both survey and experimental designs provide convergent support for our hypothesized model. We find that organizational identification mediates the positive relationship between organizational justice and unethical pro-organizational behavior in the form of earnings management, and that moral identity weakens this relationship. We conclude by discussing several key theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

Despite a plethora of research examining campus dating and sexual violence (DSV) risk and protective factors, little of this research has been conducted at non-traditional institutions such as minority-serving institutions (MSIs), community colleges, or non-predominantly white institutions. A review of research on statistically significant protective and risk factors for campus perpetration or victimization at non-traditional institutions resulted in 12 articles. The inclusion criteria for the study were that the article was in English, in a peer-reviewed journal, and published between 2010 and 2021. Keyword searches identified 1,160 articles on campus DSV, which were then screened to ensure the quantitative research was conducted at a non-traditional institution. Significant perpetration and victimization factors, characteristics of the samples and institutions of these studies, and the research design were extracted. Few studies included in the review investigated DSV at MSIs, commuter campuses, or community colleges. Also, studies more commonly examined victimization, risk factors, and sexual violence, as opposed to perpetration, protective factors, or dating violence. Cross-cutting factors for both dating and sexual violence included alcohol and drug use, demographics, and prior abuse. Cross-cutting factors for both victimization and perpetration included personality characteristics, alcohol and drug use, demographics, and history of abuse. Future research should investigate DSV at non-traditional institutions to increase our understanding of risk and protective factors at these rarely studied institutions.

According to the Projective Consciousness Model (PCM), in human spatial awareness, 3-dimensional projective geometry structures information integration and action planning through perspective taking within an internal representation space. The way different perspectives are related to and transform a world model defines a specific perception and imagination scheme. In mathematics, such a collection of transformations corresponds to a ‘group’, whose ‘actions’ characterize the geometry of a space. Imbuing world models with a group structure may capture different agents’ spatial awareness and affordance schemes. We used group action as a special class of policies for perspective-dependent control. We explored how such a geometric structure impacts agents’ behaviors, comparing how the Euclidean versus projective groups act on epistemic value in active inference, drive curiosity, and exploration. We formally demonstrate and simulate how the groups induce distinct behaviors in a simple search task. The projective group’s nonlinear magnification of information transformed epistemic value according to the choice of frame, generating behaviors of approach toward objects with uncertain locations due to limited sampling. The Euclidean group had no effect on epistemic value: no action was better than the initial idle state. In structuring a priori an agent’s internal representation, we show how geometry can play a key role in information integration and action planning. Our results add further support to the PCM.

Aim: This study assessed the economic impact of reducing one postoperative visit following inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) implantation. Methods: Scenario analyses were used to model the effects of eliminating one 30-min IPP postoperative visit from the expected 2.5 visits accounted for by the American Medical Association resource-based relative value scale data. The reduction was attributed to simplified teaching with a modified device. The recaptured time was applied to: the most frequent in-office CPT codes utilized by IPP implanters; evaluation and management of new ED patients pursuing/receiving IPPs; and in-office vasectomy. Physician work time and reimbursement were conservatively estimated using the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and an alternative scenario where Advanced Practice Providers conducted IPP teaching was also modeled. Results: Annually, reducing one 30-min IPP postoperative visit for practices performing 25/50/100 IPP implants recaptured 750/1500/3000 min, respectively. This recaptured time translates into as much as $18,325 additional annual Medicare reimbursement. At 25 implants yearly, urologists could help an additional 13-25 patients with office visits and observe an additional$2049-$2270 reimbursement. At 50 implants yearly, office evaluation and counseling for 7 ED patients who progress to IPP implantation results in an additional$4125 reimbursement, excluding any diagnostic procedures and/or downstream surgical cases. At 100 implants yearly, recaptured schedule capacity can facilitate 37 in-office vasectomies, which translates to a $12,563 reimbursement. Conclusion: Achieving fewer IPP postoperative visits can optimize postoperative care and open schedule capacity that improves access to care for patients with urological needs.

Historically, deep learning has proven increasingly useful and has become a frequently used tool for a wide range of applications. However, the sensitivity of deep learning systems to the specific network architecture, both in terms of learning ability and performance, has made them difficult to utilize for non-experts and emphasized the need for automatic network architecture optimization. Previous work largely optimizes a network for one specific problem using architecture search, requiring significant amounts of time training different architectures during optimization. To alleviate this, the approach proposed here learns a network optimization policy on an abstract problem and architecture embedding those transfers across problems and thus permits the optimization of networks for new problems without excessive additional training. Siamese networks here learn an effective, coherent embedding of the network architecture space, which, together with a problem-specific feature vector to capture the complexity of the problem, serve as a basis for a reinforcement learning agent to acquire a transferable policy to derive high-performing network architectures for a large array of problems. To demonstrate the feasibility and potential of the approach, initial experiments with a set of standard classification problems and an architecture space comprising a limited range of fully connected networks are performed, showing the ability of the approach to learn a policy that optimizes the architecture even for new problems that were not part of policy training. In summary, we employed a novel RL approach to successfully learn a policy for network optimization in a derived architecture embedding space that incrementally optimized the network.

Accounting reporting complexity (ARC) represents the overall difficulty in preparing and consuming the financial statements and is of growing concern to regulators and capital market stakeholders. Although financial statements serve to mitigate information asymmetry between preparers and users, complexity can hinder their effectiveness. We contribute to the evidence on this issue by examining insider trading profits conditional on ARC. Consistent with ARC producing an information advantage to insiders, we document higher returns to executives on the trades executed in the 60 days after the report filing as ARC increases. The most financially sophisticated and informed insiders, the CEO and CFO, appear to adjust their trading activity accordingly. Furthermore, high ARC firms have a weaker correlation between current and future earnings, a weaker earnings response coefficient, and a longer return drift. Collectively, the results document a novel and material cost of ARC. ARC impairs the informativeness of financial reports to market participants, exacerbating the information gap between insiders and other stakeholders. Insiders can use this to their advantage, as they face few trading constraints during the post‐filing period.

The COVID-19 significantly impacted older adults, worsening their physical health and social connectedness. This study examined whether social support mediates the correlation between COVID-19 concerns and self-rated physical health (SRPH) using data from 2672 participants (aged 50-99) in the NSHAP COVID-19 sub-study (2019-20). Mediation analysis revealed that COVID-19 concerns significantly predicted lower perceived social support (b =-0.0397, p < .001) and worse SRPH (b =-0.0536, p < .001). The indirect effect through perceived social support was significant and negative (b =-0.0045, p = .006). ARTICLE HISTORY

To compare health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) between children with hyperkyphosis and idiopathic scoliosis using 9-item Oswestry Disability Index (ODI-9) and Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pain Interference, Mobility, and Anxiety. Children with hyperkyphosis, idiopathic scoliosis, and controls with no structural diagnosis ages 10–18 years who completed the PROMIS Pediatric Pain Interference, Mobility, and Anxiety domains were retrospectively evaluated from April 2021 to June 2023. Comparisons were made between hyperkyphosis, idiopathic scoliosis, and control groups. Within the hyperkyphosis group, comparisons were made between Scheuermann kyphosis and postural kyphosis subgroups. 304 children with hyperkyphosis, 1134 with idiopathic scoliosis, and 1493 controls were included. Children with hyperkyphosis had increased age, male sex, BMI percentile, Spanish than English speakers, and public insurance type. They also had worse ODI-9, PROMIS Pain Interference and Mobility scores which remained significant after multivariate regression analysis included age, sex, BMI percentile, language, insurance type, and race/ethnicity (p < 0.01). The Scheuermann kyphosis (n = 67) subgroup had increased age, male sex, area deprivation index (ADI), BMI percentile, concern by their appearance, and worse PROMIS Pain Interference and Mobility scores than the postural kyphosis (n = 237) subgroup. However, Scheuermann kyphosis subgroup score differences did not remain significant after considering age, sex, ADI, and BMI percentile. Children with hyperkyphosis (both Scheuermann and postural kyphosis subtypes) have worse HRQOL scores than their peers with idiopathic scoliosis. Worse ODI-9, PROMIS Pain Interference and Mobility scores remained significant only in the hyperkyphosis group as a whole after adjusting for confounding variables, but not between hyperkyphosis subgroups.

We argue that one of the main cybernetic functions of consciousness is the regulation of behavior and affect in a world inhabited by other conscious beings (friend and foe). This function, we contend, can only be carried out if a conscious being internalizes an understanding of others as potential observers and judges of its own behavior. This understanding, as phenomenology suggests, relies on a sensitivity to multiple points of view, actual and potential. This sensitivity, in its turn, requires a conscious being to be aware of itself, its current point of view, and a space of other possible points of view (including those it takes to be actually occupied by others). In the human case, and quite possibly in case of other animals, this inherent intersubjective capacity can develop into a mechanism for self-control via the internalization of a “generalized Other” (e.g., God, the Super Ego, Das Man, Le Grand Autre, “Polite Society”), an Other who “watches” and “judges” an agent “from within” and can also serve, via identification, as an “ideal self”. We discuss how such a tight and pervasive link existing between the phenomenology of self-perspective and the cybernetic functions of consciousness and conscience can be understood in terms of the Projective Consciousness Model (PCM). According to the PCM consciousness is structured by a projective 3-space, governed by the action of the corresponding projective transformation group, for information integration and planning in social and non-social contexts.

Background Hookah tobacco smoking is prevalent among youth and young adults. While health warning labels play a critical role in communicating the health risks of tobacco product use to consumers, compliance with US Federal Regulation’s nicotine warning requirements on hookah tobacco packaging is low. Some labelling suggests that consumers are exposed to ‘only 0.05% nicotine’. Here, this study sought to evaluate the accuracy of nicotine levels advertised on flavoured hookah tobacco packaging. Methods We measured nicotine content of commercial hookah tobacco in a total of 15 flavours purchased from five different manufactures, that were selected based on their popularity in the USA and UK markets. Concentrations of nicotine were determined by gas–liquid chromatography with nitrogen phosphorus detection, using 5-methyl nicotine as an internal standard. Nicotine content was expressed as a percentage of tobacco weight. Results Out of the 15 flavours tested and as compared with nicotine levels advertised on product packaging (0.05% nicotine), 12 (80%) had higher nicotine levels. Of these 12 flavours, actual nicotine levels ranged between 20% and 160% higher (0.08±0.01% vs 0.05%; mean±SE) than advertised levels. Estimates of determined levels of nicotine ranged from 0.05% to 0.13%. Conclusion Nicotine levels cited by leading hookah tobacco manufacturers are misleading. The advertised levels of nicotine do not reflect the quantified dose of nicotine available to consumers of hookah tobacco products. Findings highlight the need for the development of hookah tobacco product regulations and labelling standards, similar to other tobacco products, to avoid misleading vulnerable consumers, including youth and young adults.

The surface morphology of the developing mammalian brain is crucial for understanding brain function and dysfunction. Computational modeling offers valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms for early brain folding. Recent...

There is an increasing number of randomized clinical trials intended to assess the effectiveness of indoor air cleaners for improving participant outcomes in real-world settings. In this communication, we synthesize...

Background Women with suspected coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) may be at higher risk of experiencing cognitive decline due to cerebral small vessel disease, a known contributor to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). A potential underlying mechanism that could accelerate this cognitive decline is the accumulation of brain tissue iron, which has been previously linked to changes in brain function potentially caused by oxidative stress and cell death. Therefore, we aim to elucidate whether a similar mechanism could affect women with suspected CMD by investigating the potential role of iron deposition on the brain’s functional organization and its effect on cognition using advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Material and Methods Twenty‐seven women with suspected CMD [Age; median (range) = 54 (29‐76)], drawn from ongoing cohorts (3R01HL146158‐04S1,3U54AG065141‐04S1), underwent a 3T MRI protocol, including submillimeter T2* 3‐dimensional echo‐planar‐imaging for assessing iron deposition with high‐resolution quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and resting‐state fMRI (rs‐fMRI). Iron content was quantified by total‐generalized‐variation based QSM analysis. Functional integrity was determined via graph theoretical approach (i.e., nodal degree). Cognitive assessment was also performed using the NIH Toolbox. Mediation analysis was conducted using Python Statsmodels. Results Most of the women with suspected CMD showed lower performance in processing speed, working memory, executive function, and attention (Figure‐1A). We found a significant association between elevated iron levels in paracentral gyrus and lower functional connectivity in left hippocampus (p = 0.005, adjusted‐r2 = 0.19) (Figure‐1B). Elevated iron level in the paracentral gyrus showed an impact on cognitive performance in the domains of executive function and attention (p<0.0001, coefficient = 531.09) as well as language functions and crystalized abilities (p = 0.036, coefficient = 362.45), mediated by functional connectivity in the left hippocampus (indirect effect on executive function / language: p = 0.034 / 0.038, coefficient = ‐254.54 /‐ 213.06) (Figure‐1C). Conclusions Our results suggest that changes in hippocampal functional organization are associated with cortical iron deposition and mediate its impact on cognitive performances. These changes may increase the risk of cognitive decline/ADRD or in women with suspected CMD. Future research in a larger cohort with a longitudinal design is necessary to validate and expand upon these findings.

Background Middle Eastern and North Africa (MENA) adults living in the US experience a higher burden of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) compared to White adults. AD mortality among MENA adults has not been examined. The gap in the literature is because MENA individuals in the US are defined as part of the White race group despite there being differences in health outcomes and lived experiences between MENA and White populations with European origins. Their health also differs from other minoritized immigrant groups, specifically Black African immigrants. The aim of this study is to estimate AD mortality among foreign‐born MENA adults compared to US‐ and foreign‐born White and Black adults. Methods Data from publicly available 2000‐2018 National Health Interview Survey and National Death Index Linked Mortality Files through 2019 were analyzed (ages 18+ years). The sample was limited to foreign‐born MENA and US‐ and foreign‐born White and Black adults with a final mortality status captured (n = 763,803). The sample comprised 608,889 US‐born White, 125,803 US‐born Black, 18,751 foreign‐born White from Europe/Russia, 5,172 foreign‐born MENA, and 5,188 foreign‐born Black African adults. All‐cause mortality (%, per 100,000 persons) and AD‐specific underlying cause of death mortality rates (%) were calculated. Result All‐cause mortality rate for foreign‐born MENA adults was 5.2%. This was higher than foreign‐born Black (2.3%) but lower than foreign‐born White (13.0%), US‐born Black (12.9%), and US‐born White (13.6%) adults. All‐cause mortality (per 100,000 persons) was highest among US‐born White (13,630) and lowest among foreign‐born MENA (5,240) and Black (2,332) adults. AD was the sixth highest underlying cause of death (4.1%) among MENA immigrants. AD‐specific mortality was similar to foreign‐born White (4.1%) and higher than US‐born White (3.5%) and Black (2.3%) adults. Conclusion Findings suggest that foreign‐born MENA adults in the US have a greater burden of AD as an underlying cause of mortality compared to US‐born White and Black adults. In January 2023, the US federal government proposed changes to how race/ethnicity is collected. The new categories include a MENA checkbox to disaggregate this group from White individuals. Our study aligns with the proposed changes to better capture mortality burdens among this minoritized population.

Background Most research on cognitive difficulties in the US focus on minoritized groups that are part of the federal minimum reporting guidelines, include White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN), and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (NH/OPI) individuals. Research has begun to describe cognitive difficulties among Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) adults, but it is limited because they are defined as White. In 2023, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed adding a separate checkbox for MENA individuals. Our objective was to estimate and compare the odds of cognitive difficulties among MENA adults compared to White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, AI/AN, NH/OPI adults in the US and four states (California, New York, Michigan, and Texas) after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Method We analyzed data from the 2017‐2021 American Community Survey (ages≥45 years; n = 7,284,988). Cognitive difficulties (yes/no) among adults (ages 45+ years) who self‐identified their race/ethnicity from one of the six minimum reporting categories (White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, AI/AN, NH/OPI) were compared to those who reported a MENA ancestry/birthplace. Result MENA adults in the US had greater odds of reporting cognitive difficulties compared to White, Black, Hispanic, Asian and AI/AN adults, but there was no difference when compared to NH/OPI adults after adjusting for covariates. In California, MENA adults had higher odds of cognitive difficulties compared to White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and NH/OPI adults. In New York, MENA adults had higher odds of cognitive difficulties compared to Asian adults. MENA adults in New York had lower odds of cognitive difficulties when compared to Black, Hispanic/Latino, and AI/AN adults. In Michigan, MENA adults had lower odds of cognitive difficulties than Black, but higher odds than Hispanic/Latino and Asian adults. In Texas, MENA adults had higher cognitive difficulties compared to White, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian adults. Conclusion This study expands on previous research uncovering cognitive difficulties among Arab Americans using the 2023 OMB proposal to include MENA as a checkbox as part of the minimum reporting standards for race/ethnicity in the US. It also provides the first state‐based estimates of cognitive difficulties among MENA adults living in California, New York, Michigan, and Texas.

Background Women with suspected coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) may be at higher risk of experiencing cognitive decline due to cerebral small vessel disease, a known contributor to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). A potential underlying mechanism that could accelerate this cognitive decline is the accumulation of brain tissue iron, which has been previously linked to changes in brain function potentially caused by oxidative stress and cell death. Therefore, we aim to elucidate whether a similar mechanism could affect women with suspected CMD by investigating the potential role of iron deposition on the brain’s functional organization and its effect on cognition using advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Material and Methods Twenty‐seven women with suspected CMD [Age; median (range) = 54 (29‐76)], drawn from ongoing cohorts (3R01HL146158‐04S1,3U54AG065141‐04S1), underwent a 3T MRI protocol, including submillimeter T2* 3‐dimensional echo‐planar‐imaging for assessing iron deposition with high‐resolution quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and resting‐state fMRI (rs‐fMRI). Iron content was quantified by total‐generalized‐variation based QSM analysis. Functional integrity was determined via graph theoretical approach (i.e., nodal degree). Cognitive assessment was also performed using the NIH Toolbox. Mediation analysis was conducted using Python Statsmodels. Results Most of the women with suspected CMD showed lower performance in processing speed, working memory, executive function, and attention (Figure 1A). We found a significant association between elevated iron levels in paracentral gyrus and lower functional connectivity in left hippocampus (p=0.005, adjusted‐r²=0.19) (Figure 1B). Elevated iron level in the paracentral gyrus showed an impact on cognitive performance in the domains of executive function and attention (p<0.0001, coefficient=531.09) as well as language functions and crystalized abilities (p=0.036, coefficient=362.45), mediated by functional connectivity in the left hippocampus (indirect effect on executive function / language: p = 0.034 / 0.038, coefficient = ‐254.54 /‐ 213.06) (Figure 1C). Conclusions Our results suggest that changes in hippocampal functional organization are associated with cortical iron deposition and mediate its impact on cognitive performances. These changes may increase the risk of cognitive decline/ADRD or in women with suspected CMD. Future research in a larger cohort with a longitudinal design is necessary to validate and expand upon these findings.

This paper introduces a model predictive control (MPC) strategy incorporating state estimates derived from set-membership filtering, tailored for time-varying discrete systems experiencing bounded process and measurement disturbances. We employ an ellipsoidal set description, founded on a dual-phase prediction and measurement update mechanism. At each time step, we construct ellipsoids through the resolution of a semi-definite program to encapsulate the system’s true state. In a related development, we develop a zonotope set-membership filter for these time-varying systems, where the zonotope’s dimensions are minimized via segment minimizations. These estimated sets are then utilized in an MPC scheme, where the control input sequence is optimized by minimizing a defined cost function. The efficacy of our approach is validated through a rendezvous and proximity operation simulation, where a chaser spacecraft is guided toward a target. Comparative analysis with the traditional Kalman filter is presented, demonstrating the advantages and effectiveness of our proposed method.