Search Results (25)

Modern biomedicine frequently contextualizes disease around isolated molecular or organ-specific mechanisms, but numerous chronic diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, depression, diabetes, and sepsis, share common trajectories of systemic destabilization. An increasing body of evidence indicates that health is not a property of single organs but the emergent property of interdependent feedback networks linking the microbiome, endocannabinoidome, neuroimmune system, and metabolic regulators. We propose the Endocannabinoid–Microbiota–Neuroimmune Super-System (EMN-S) as an evolutionarily conserved conceptual model that describes how these fields of influence reciprocally interact through feedback control. The microbial communities constituting the EMN-S encode environmental and dietary inputs, endocannabinoid signaling serves as an integrative regulator that synchronizes neural and immune activity, and neuroimmune circuits effectuate adaptive behaviors that alter microbiotal and lipid ecosystems. This review formalizes the EMN-S, contending that it is a unitary and cohesive model of physiological resilience, as well as offering a framework for precision feedback therapeutics. We describe how three mechanisms—encoder drift, integrator detuning, and executor overutilization—convert stabilizing negative feedback into runaway feedback cascades that underlie chronic, recurrent, and multisystemic disease. We then specify the EMN-S signature—integrated microbiome, lipidomic, and immune readouts—as an early indicator of resilience collapse and prospective preclinical state. Finally, we recapitulate the potential of AI-driven digital twins to illuminate feedback collapse, predict tipping points, and direct closed-loop intervention and treatments to restore dynamic equilibrium. By anchoring complexity in concrete and measurable feedback principles, the EMN-S shifts focus to investigate pathophysiology as opposed to reductionist lesion models of systemic derangements and embraces a systemic, empirically testable theory of stability. Full article

Consumer choices are largely influenced by sustainability, necessitating SMEs from the agri-food sector to strategically address sustainability and innovate their business models. Nonetheless, the challenge for such sustainable leadership lies in maintaining an equilibrium between innovation, sustainability, and financial performance. This study examined how strategic leadership fosters sustainability-oriented innovation within SMEs exemplified by the wine industry. A survey involving 354 German wineries served to analyze a multi-dimensional concept of innovation clusters (early adopters, pragmatists, pioneers, skeptics, conservatives), type of innovation, sustainability orientation, strategic ambitions, and business performance. Exploring the adoption of fungus-resistant grape varieties (FRV) allowed investigating how sustainability transitions to meet EU Green Deal targets are shaped by strategic groups involving strategic positioning and innovation clusters. There was a correlation between stronger sustainability orientation with greater innovation (Means up to 4.39). As per the findings, it was observed that high scores (p < 0.001, η² = 0.144–0.160) in market and process innovation were obtained by early adopters and pioneers. These innovation champions excel in economic and social sustainability (p < 0.001) but nonetheless were found to be financially underperforming (Means 1.97–2.18). Innovations that were applied enhanced innovation scores (η² = 0.128) but did not improve immediate performance. The strongest performance (Mean 2.60) was reported by skeptics though they fared poor in terms of sustainability and innovation. It was also noted that early adopters and pioneers (44–45%) were leading in FRV adoption, while a lag was observed within premium-oriented organizations. These insights may motivate SMEs in their quest for strategic sustainability and allow fine-tuning political and societal measures to achieve a sustainable transition and quantified Green Deal ambitions. It was concluded that long-term positioning was improved by sustainability-driven innovation, however, it would involve short-term performance trade-offs for SMEs. Political support should motivate the sustainable leadership champions to also safeguard profitability. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally disrupted assumptions about entrepreneurship, career planning, and professional development. This study explored how the pandemic influenced the entrepreneurial intentions of undergraduate business students in the United States. Using a qualitative methodology based on in-depth interviews with 31 students at a public Midwestern university, the research interpreted student narratives through the lenses of effectuation theory, resilience theory, and the theory of planned behavior. Findings revealed that many participants reframed entrepreneurship as a strategy for navigating economic uncertainty and enhancing personal agency. Students reported valuing adaptability, resourcefulness, and opportunity recognition, often experimenting with side hustles during the pandemic as a means of resilience. Their entrepreneurial thinking shifted from purely economic motivations toward aspirations for flexibility, self-fulfillment, and purposeful work. The study highlights the formative role of crisis contexts in shaping entrepreneurial identity among emerging professionals. It suggests that entrepreneurship education should move beyond traditional models, fostering skills for navigating complexity and building resilience. In doing so, the findings contribute to broader conversations about youth entrepreneurship, post-pandemic career development, and the evolving demands of the labor market in times of disruption. Full article

Women entrepreneurs in small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging countries play an essential role in the economy of developing countries such as Indonesia. Drawing on the resource-based view and entrepreneurship effectuation theory, this study examines how women’s entrepreneurial effectuation (WEE) modeled as a higher-order construct (HOC) comprising its four dimensions (LOCs)—namely, flexibility, experimentation, affordable loss, and pre-commitment—can influence employee performance (EMPRF) mediated by structural (STREM) and psychological empowerment (PSYEM). Using a disjointed two-stage PLS-SEM approach with data from 218 female SME employees, our results confirm that flexibility is the most salient effectuation dimension. WEE strongly predicts both STREM and PSYEM but shows no direct impact on EMPRF, highlighting that effectuation must be activated via empowerment mechanisms. PSYEM emerges as the strongest mediator of WEE on EMPRF, with STREM also contributing significantly and being amplified by gender equality practices; market orientation, by contrast, fails to moderate any paths. Theoretically, these findings enrich resource-based view (RBV) theory by integrating entrepreneurial effectuation dimensions and empowerment as human resource capabilities that generate inimitable performance gains. Practically, they suggest that women-led SMEs should integrate effectuation heuristics with targeted empowerment programs to realize the full potential of their human capital. Full article

This study investigates how displaced women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia’s fragile institutional environment apply effectuation principles to sustain their businesses. Through analysis of five effectuation dimensions, we find that while affordable loss strategies and means orientation enhance business resilience, traditional effectuation approaches like partnership formation and rigid control mechanisms often prove ineffective in displacement contexts. This research makes three key contributions: first, it extends effectuation theory by identifying how institutional fragility fundamentally alters the utility of entrepreneurial strategies; second, it reveals displaced women’s innovative adaptations through informal networks and risk-minimising approaches; and third, it challenges universal applications of effectuation principles in crisis settings. This study contributes to sustainable entrepreneurship by demonstrating both the relevance and constraints of effectuation theory in crisis-affected environments. It underscores the importance of flexible, resourceful strategies for women entrepreneurs navigating systemic challenges, offering insights for policymakers and support organisations. Practical implications include designing capacity-building programmes that promote adaptive strategies, such as risk management and resource optimisation, while addressing the challenges of partnerships and rigid control mechanisms. By aligning with the goals of sustainable development, this research not only highlights the potential of effectuation principles but also unravels their limitations, providing a nuanced understanding of how entrepreneurial strategies can foster resilient livelihoods and sustainable economic practices in crisis-affected regions. Full article

The political philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli has often been reduced to the statement that ‘the end justifies the means’ and understood as an expression of realpolitik as a result of his pragmatic, even ruthless, counsel to would-be princes, or political leaders. However, a more nuanced understanding of Machiavelli’s reflections on human nature in his writings, especially The Prince, reveals that there is a philosophic core within his approach to political success, the acquisition and maintenance of state. But while there is no doubt that Machiavelli openly rejected the idealism of certain ancient and medieval thinkers, whose imagined republics only ever existed in theory, and instead candidly advised princes to seek and wield power, his work reflects not only a profound engagement with the harsh realities of a political landscape dominated by practical necessity but also a project of far-reaching scope. With the concept of “effectual truth” as his guide, Machiavelli proposes radical means to overcome fortuna with virtù and establish the foundations of power in order to bring about that conquest. The fulfillment of his mission and mandate to those who follow his lead represents the Machiavellian enterprise. Full article

In order to promote power conversion efficiency and reduce energy loss, we propose a perovskite solar cell based on cylindrical MAPbI3 microstructure composed of a MAPbI₃ perovskite layer and a hole transport layer (HTL) composed of PEDOT:PSS. According to the charge transport theory, which effectually increases the contact area of the HTL, promoting the electronic transmission capability, the local field enhancement and scattering effects of the surface plasmon polaritons help to couple the incident light to the solar cell, which can increase the absorption of light in the active layer of the solar cell and improve its light absorption efficiency (LAE). based on simulation results, a cylindrical microstructure of the perovskite layer increases the contact area of the hole transport layer, which could improve light absorption, quantum efficiency (QE), short-circuit current density (J_SC), and electric power compared with the perovskite layer of other structures. In the AM 1.5 solar spectrum, the average light absorption efficiency is 93.86%, the QE is 80.7%, the J_SC is 24.50 mA/cm², and the power conversion efficiency (PCE) is 20.19%. By enhancing the efficiency and reducing material usage, this innovative design approach for perovskite solar cells is expected to play a significant role in advancing solar technology and positively impacting the development of renewable energy solutions. Full article

To construct a nonlinear fractional-order neural network reflecting the complex environment of the real world, this paper considers the common factors such as uncertainties, perturbations, and delays that affect the stability of the network system. In particular, not only does the activation function include multiple time delays, but the memristive connection weights also consider transmission delays. Stemming from the characteristics of neural networks, two different types of discontinuous controllers with state information and sign functions are devised to effectuate network synchronization objectives. Combining the finite-time convergence criterion and the theory of fractional-order calculus, Mittag-Leffler synchronization conditions for fractional-order multi-delayed memristive neural networks (FMMNNs) are derived, and the upper bound of the setting time can be confirmed. Unlike previous jobs, this article focuses on applying different inequality techniques in the synchronous analysis process, rather than comparison principles to manage the multi-delay effects. In addition, this study removes the restrictive requirement that the activation function has a zero value at the switching jumps, and the discontinuous control protocol in this paper makes the networks achieve synchronization over a finite time, with some advantages in terms of the convergence speed. Full article

Paratemporal methods based on tree expansion have proven to be effective in efficiently generating the trajectories of stochastic systems. However, combinatorial explosion of branching arising from multiple choice points presents a major hurdle that must be overcome to implement such techniques. In this paper, we tackle this scalability problem by developing a systems theory-based framework covering both conventional and proposed tree expansion algorithms for speeding up discrete event system stochastic simulations while preserving the desired accuracy. An example is discussed to illustrate the tree expansion framework in which a discrete event system specification (DEVS) Markov stochastic model takes the form of a tree isomorphic to a free monoid over the branching alphabet. We derive the computation times for baseline, non-merging, and merging tree expansion algorithms to compute the distribution of output values at any given depth. The results show the remarkable reduction from exponential to polynomial dependence on depth effectuated by node merging. We relate these results to the similarly reduced computation time of binomial coefficients underlying Pascal’s triangle. Finally, we discuss the application of tree expansion to estimating temporal distributions in stochastic simulations involving serial and parallel compositions with potential real-world use cases. Full article

How do citizens respond when provisioning systems are severely changed and curtailed? We apply effectuation theory from the entrepreneurship literature to address a socio-economic issue. We used an online survey and collected data from 1014 citizens in Iran to investigate how an effectual logic of thinking as a psychological framework enables some citizens of a non-Western country to address the uncertainties caused by international economic sanctions and sustain their well-being. We find that optimistic members of society use their effectual logic to enhance their satisfaction with life and social and economic sustainability in the medium-longer run. This study contributes to the multifactorial view of quality of life as well as effectuation theory and enhances our understanding of social sustainability and how it can be cultivated. Implications for policymakers are provided. Full article

The direct oxidation of methane to methanol (MTM) is a significant challenge in catalysis and holds profound economic implications for the modern chemical industry. Bioinspired metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with active iron and copper sites have emerged as innovative catalytic platforms capable of facilitating MTM conversion under mild conditions. This review discusses the current state of the art in applying MOFs with iron and copper catalytic centers to effectuate the MTM reaction, with a focus on the diverse spectroscopic techniques employed to uncover the electronic and structural properties of MOF catalysts at a microscopic level. We explore the synthetic strategies employed to incorporate iron and copper sites into various MOF topologies and explore the efficiency and selectivity of the MOFs embedded with iron and copper in acting as catalysts, as well as the ensuing MTM reaction mechanisms based on spectroscopic characterizations supported by theory. In particular, we show how integrating complementary spectroscopic tools that probe varying regions of the electromagnetic spectrum can be exceptionally conducive to achieving a comprehensive understanding of the crucial reaction pathways and intermediates. Finally, we provide a critical perspective on future directions to advance the use of MOFs to accomplish the MTM reaction. Full article

I. The arena of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory is the abstract, unobserved and unobservable, M-dimensional formal Hilbert space ≠ spacetime. II. The arena of observations—and, more generally, of all events (i.e., everything) in the real physical world—is the classical four-dimensional physical spacetime. III. The “Born rule” is the random process “magically” transforming I into II. Wavefunctions are superposed and entangled only in the abstract space I, never in spacetime II. Attempted formulations of quantum theory directly in real physical spacetime actually constitute examples of “locally real” theories, as defined by Clauser and Horne, and are therefore already empirically refuted by the numerous tests of Bell’s theorem in real, controlled experiments in laboratories here on Earth. Observed quantum entities (i.e., events) are never superposed or entangled as they: (1) exclusively “live” (manifest) in real physical spacetime and (2) are not described by entangled wavefunctions after “measurement” effectuated by III. When separated and treated correctly in this way, a number of fundamental problems and “paradoxes” of quantum theory vs. relativity (i.e., spacetime) simply vanish, such as the black hole information paradox, the infinite zero-point energy of quantum field theory and the quantization of general relativity. Full article

This study aims to discover how artificial intelligence adoption in notion (AI) plays a role in digital innovation using the theoretical foundation of diffusion of innovations and effectuation theories. The current research also investigates the moderating role of other edge Internet of Things (IoT) and the mediating role of adaptive resilience. The data collection is performed using a survey conducted among employees of family-owned SMEs. The findings reveal that AI forecasts digital innovation through adaptive resilience. The results also confirm the moderating role of threat to IoT edge and the mediating role of adaptive resilience, but moderated mediating is not supported. We conclude that family-owned SMEs intend to adopt AI, but SMEs face challenges using IoT edge. This study has implications for family firms specifically and technology adopters in general. Full article

New ventures often face the challenge of resource scarcity, and how to overcome the resource constraint problem and improve new venture sustainability has been a long-standing concern of scholars and practitioners. Most existing studies have explored the impact on the financial performance of new ventures of a single factor, and few studies have focused on the impact of the configuration effect of multiple factors on new venture sustainability. In this paper, based on the configuration theory and resource orchestration theory, we use fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) with a sample of 189 entrepreneurs to explore the mechanisms driving the configuration effects of multiple factors of entrepreneurial decision-making logic, resource bundling, and environmental uncertainty on new venture sustainability. The empirical results show that the paths to achieve high new venture sustainability are diverse and equivalent, and effectuation is a core antecedent condition in all paths. There are four conditional configurations of the drivers of high sustainability in new ventures, including dual-logic resource integration, market-driven resource integration, means–resource innovation in emerging markets, and resource-rich or resource-creating integration under dual logic. Full article

One of the effectual text classification approaches for learning extensive information is incremental learning. The big issue that occurs is enhancing the accuracy, as the text is comprised of a large number of terms. In order to address this issue, a new incremental text classification approach is designed using the proposed hybrid optimization algorithm named the Henry Fuzzy Competitive Multi-verse Optimizer (HFCVO)-based Deep Maxout Network (DMN). Here, the optimal features are selected using Invasive Weed Tunicate Swarm Optimization (IWTSO), which is devised by integrating Invasive Weed Optimization (IWO) and the Tunicate Swarm Algorithm (TSA), respectively. The incremental text classification is effectively performed using the DMN, where the classifier is trained utilizing the HFCVO. Nevertheless, the developed HFCVO is derived by incorporating the features of Henry Gas Solubility Optimization (HGSO) and the Competitive Multi-verse Optimizer (CMVO) with fuzzy theory. The proposed HFCVO-based DNM achieved a maximum TPR of 0.968, a maximum TNR of 0.941, a low FNR of 0.032, a high precision of 0.954, and a high accuracy of 0.955. Full article