bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Public Health Employees' Perception of Workplace Environment and Job Satisfaction: The Role of Local Health Departments' Engagement in Accreditation
Authors: Ye Jiali , Verma Pooja , Leep Carolyn , Kronstadt Jessica
Published: March 2018

Objectives:

To examine the association between local health departments' (LHDs') engagement in accreditation and their staffs' perceptions of workplace environment and the overall satisfaction with their jobs.

Design:

Data from the 2014 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) (local data only) and the 2014 Forces of Change survey were linked using LHDs' unique ID documented by the National Association of County & City Health Officials. The Forces of Change survey assessed LHDs' accreditation status. Local health departments were classified as “formally engaged” in the Public Health Accreditation Board accreditation process if they had achieved accreditation, submitted an application, or submitted a statement of intent. The PH WINS survey measured employees' perception of 3 aspects of workplace environment, including supervisory support, organizational support, and employee engagement. The overall satisfaction was measured using the Job in General Scale (abridged). There are 1884 LHD employees who completed PH WINS and whose agencies responded to the question on the accreditation status of the Forces of Change survey.

Results:

When compared with employees from LHDs less engaged in accreditation, employees from LHDs that were formally engaged in accreditation gave higher ratings to all 3 aspects of workplace environment and overall job satisfaction. Controlling for employee demographic characteristics and LHD jurisdiction size, the agency's formal engagement in accreditation remained related to a higher score in perceived workplace environment and job satisfaction. After controlling for perceived workplace environment, accreditation status was marginally associated with job satisfaction.

Conclusion:

The findings provide support for previous reports by LHD leaders on the benefits of accreditation related to employee morale and job satisfaction. The results from this study allow us to further catalog the benefits of accreditation in workforce development and identify factors that may moderate the extent of the benefits. Findings from this study show that engagement in public health accreditation is associated with overall job satisfaction. This link may be explained by the hypotheses that meeting accreditation standards could increase staff satisfaction or that having higher job satisfaction could lead to a higher likelihood that a health department would apply for accreditation. Further research to explore this relationship is critical as many health departments are weighing the value of accreditation as they face constrained financial resources.
Has Voluntary Public Health Accreditation Impacted Health Department Perceptions and Activities in Quality Improvement and Performance Management?
Authors: Beitsch Leslie M. , Kronstadt Jessica , Robin Nathalie , Leep Carolyn
Published: March 2018

Context:

The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) is now in its 10th year, making it an ideal time to study the impact of PHAB accreditation on local health departments (LHDs).

Objective:

To examine whether applying for PHAB accreditation affects perceptions and activities regarding quality improvement (QI) and performance management (PM) within LHDs.

Design:

Data from the National Association of County & City Health Officials' 2010, 2013, and 2016 National Profile of Local Health Departments and associated QI modules were linked to PHAB-applicant data collected in e-PHAB in a cross-sectional and longitudinal approach examining self-reported QI/PM activities.

Participants:

Local health departments responding to National Association of County & City Health Officials Profile questionnaires and QI modules in 2010, 2013, and 2016.

Main Outcome Measures:

Implementation of formal QI program within agency, numbers of formal QI projects in the past year, presence of elements indicating formal QI program implementation, and changes over time by accreditation status as of June 2017.

Results:

Accredited and in-process LHDs showed greater gains over time in all of the outcome measures than LHDs not registered in e-PHAB. Results of logistic regression controlling for population served and governance type found accredited LHDs more likely to report formal QI programs agency-wide (odds ratio: [OR] = 27.0; P < .001) and have implemented 6 to 8 elements of formal QI (OR = 27.0; P < .001) in 2016, compared with nonaccreditation-seeking LHDs. Between 2013 and 2016, LHDs that responded to both survey waves that were registered in e-PHAB or accredited were significantly more likely than nonaccreditation-seeking LHDs to report any increase in overall level of QI implementation (OR = 4.89; P = .006) and increase in number of elements of formal QI (OR = 16.1; P < .001).

Conclusions:

Local health departments accredited by June 2017 and those in process reported more formal QI activities and showed greater improvements with QI/PM implementation over time than LHDs not undertaking accreditation. Public Health Accreditation Board accreditation appears to influence QI/PM uptake. As health departments are contemplating whether to apply for accreditation, the potential for developing a more robust QI/PM system should be taken into account.
Public Health Resilience Checklist for High-Consequence Infectious Diseases—Informed by the Domestic Ebola Response in the United States
Authors: Sell Tara Kirk , Shearer Matthew P. , Meyer Diane , Chandler Hannah , Schoch-Spana Monica , Thomas Erin , Rose Dale A. , Carbone Eric G. , Toner Eric
Published: March 2018

Context:

The experiences of communities that responded to confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease in the United States provide a rare opportunity for collective learning to improve resilience to future high-consequence infectious disease events.

Design:

Key informant interviews (n = 73) were conducted between February and November 2016 with individuals who participated in Ebola virus disease planning or response in Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; New York, New York; or Omaha, Nebraska; or had direct knowledge of response activities. Participants represented health care; local, state, and federal public health; law; local and state emergency management; academia; local and national media; individuals affected by the response; and local and state governments. Two focus groups were then conducted in New York and Dallas, and study results were vetted with an expert advisory group.

Results:

Participants focused on a number of important areas to improve public health resilience to high-consequence infectious disease events, including governance and leadership, communication and public trust, quarantine and the law, monitoring programs, environmental decontamination, and waste management.

Conclusions:

Findings provided the basis for an evidence-informed checklist outlining specific actions for public health authorities to take to strengthen public health resilience to future high-consequence infectious disease events.
Clinical Macrosystem Simulation Translates Between Organizations
Authors: Bender G. Jesse , Maryman James A.
Published: March 2018

Introduction

Simulation has become an integral tool in healthcare facility redesign. Immersing clinical experts into their future environment has demonstrated benefits for transition planning. This study evaluates translation of a proven macrosystems testing protocol, TESTPILOT, to an organization with limited simulation experience.

Methods

An experienced TESTPILOT team guided Woman's Hospital Baton Rouge's simulation preparation for their new neonatal intensive care unit. Metrics included participant evaluations, latent safety threats (LST), and clinician surveys. Latent safety threats recorded during debriefings were addressed by workflow committees. Clinicians were surveyed at four time points for readiness and preparedness on 24 key processes.

Results

The local team invested nearly 750 hours into learning and implementing seven simulations that participants rated positively. Most of the 305 LST were minor issues. Surveys at baseline (42% of staff), postsim (18%), pretransition (26%), and postmove (29%) demonstrated strong internal consistency. System readiness lagged behind staff preparedness (P < 0.007); both were higher after simulations (P ≤ 0.001) but at no other interval. Critical laboratory notification, rounding structure, team coverage, and feedback were still evolving as of move day (P < 0.02).

Discussion

Macrosystems testing using simulation identifies LST, improves process, and prepares staff. The methodology is implementable in organizations with limited prior exposure. Woman's Hospital Baton Rouge accrued essential skills to model and orchestrate an immersive neonatal intensive care unit and then drive effective multidisciplinary debriefings. Staff immersed in the new environment began to articulate their jobs before moving in. The trajectory of system readiness improvement corroborated LST correction. Future research is needed to determine the extent of simulation required for different organizational structures.
The lytic Myoviridae of Enterobacteriaceae form tight recombining assemblages separated by discontinuities in genome average nucleotide identity and lateral gene flow
Authors: Accetto Tomaž , Janež Nika
Published: March 2018

In Bacteria, a working consensus of species circumscription may have been reached and one of the most prominent criteria is high average nucleotide identity (ANI). ANI in effect groups strains that may recombine more or less frequently, depending on their biology, as opposed to rare interspecies gene transfer. For bacteriophages, which show various lifestyles, the nature of the fundamental natural unit, if it exists in a biological sense, is not well understood and defined. The approaches based on dot-plots are useful to group similar bacteriophages, yet are not quantitative and use arbitrarily set cut-offs. Here, we focus on lytic Myoviridae and test the ANI metric for group delineation. We show that ANI-based groups are in agreement with the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) classification and already established dot-plot groups, which are occasionally further refined owing to higher resolution of ANI analysis. Furthermore, these groups are separated among themselves by clear ANI discontinuities. Their members readily exchange core genes with each other while they do not with bacteriophages of other ANI groups, not even with the most similar. Thus, ANI-delineated groups may represent the natural units in lytic Myoviridae evolution with features that resemble those encountered in bacterial species.
A new threat identified in the use of SDHIs pesticides targeting the mitochondrial succinate dehydrogenase enzyme
Authors: Bénit Paule , Bortoli Sylvie , Huc Laurence , Schiff Manuel , Gimenez-Roqueplo Anne-Paule , Rak Malgorzata , Gressens Pierre , Favier Judith , Rustin Pierre
Published: March 2018

Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) are now widely used worldwide as fungicides to limit the proliferation of molds in cereal crops, or to better preserve fruits, vegetables, and seeds from these molds, as well as to facilitate the lawn care for public spaces and golf courses. According to the companies that produce them, the SDHIs quite specifically inhibit the activity of the succinate dehydrogenase in the molds. We here establish that these inhibitors readily inhibit the earthworm and the human enzyme, raising a new concern on the danger of their large scale utilization in agriculture. This is all the more worrying as we know that the loss of function, partial or total, of the SDH activity caused by genetic variants causes severe human neurological diseases, or leads to the development of tumors and/or cancers.
Ancient DNA reveals the chronology of walrus ivory trade from Norse Greenland
Authors: Star Bastiaan , Barrett James H. , Gondek Agata T. , Boessenkool Sanne
Published: March 2018

The search for walruses as a source of ivory –a popular material for making luxury art objects in medieval Europe– played a key role in the historic Scandinavian expansion throughout the Arctic region. Most notably, the colonization, peak and collapse of the medieval Norse colony of Greenland have all been attributed to the proto-globalization of ivory trade. Nevertheless, no studies have directly traced European ivory back to distinct populations of walrus in the Arctic. This limits our understanding of how ivory trade impacted the sustainability of northern societies and the ecology of the species they relied on. Here, we compare the mitogenomes of 27 archaeological walrus specimens from Europe and Greenland (most dated between 900 and 1400 CE) and 10 specimens from Svalbard (dated to the 18thand 19th centuries CE) to partial mitochondrial (MT) data of over 300 modern walruses. We discover two monophyletic mitochondrial clades, one of which is exclusively found in walrus populations of western Greenland and the Canadian Arctic. Investigating the chronology of these clades in our European archaeological remains, we identify a significant shift in resource use from predominantly eastern sources towards a near exclusive representation of walruses from western Greenland. These results provide empirical evidence for the economic importance of walrus for the Norse Greenland settlements and the integration of this remote, western Arctic resource into a medieval pan-European trade network.
Logical modelling and analysis of cellular regulatory networks with GINsim 3.0
Authors: Naldi Aurélien , Hernandez Céline , Abou-Jaoudé Wassim , Monteiro Pedro T. , Chaouiya Claudine , Thieffry Denis
Published: March 2018

The logical formalism is well adapted to model large cellular networks, for which detailed kinetic data are scarce. This tutorial focuses on this well-established qualitative framework. Relying on GINsim (release 3.0), a software implementing this formalism, we guide the reader step by step towards the definition, the analysis and the simulation of a four-node model of the mammalian p53-Mdm2 network.
Label-free prediction of three-dimensional fluorescence images from transmitted light microscopy
Authors: Ounkomol Chawin , Seshamani Sharmishtaa , Maleckar Mary M. , Collman Forrest , Johnson Gregory R.
Published: March 2018

Understanding living cells as integrated systems, a challenge central to modern biology, is complicated by limitations of available imaging methods. While fluorescence microscopy can resolve subcellular structure in living cells, it is expensive, slow, and damaging to cells. Here, we present a label-free method for predicting 3D fluorescence directly from transmitted light images and demonstrate that it can be used to generate multi-structure, integrated images.
The Role of Cytoplasmic Interactions in the Collective Polarization of Tissues and its Interplay with Cellular Geometry
Authors: Shadkhoo Shahriar , Mani Madhav
Published: March 2018

Planar cell polarity (PCP), the ability of a tissue to polarize coherently over multicellular length scales, provides the directional information that guides a multitude of developmental processes at cellular and tissue levels. While it is manifest that cells utilize both intra-cellular and intercellular mechanisms, how they couple together to produce the collective response remains an active area of investigation. Exploring a phenomeno-logical reaction-diffusion model, we predict a crucial, and novel, role for cytoplasmic interactions in the large-scale correlations of cell polarities. We demonstrate that finite-range (i.e. nonlocal) cytoplasmic interactions are necessary and sufficient for the robust and long-range polarization of tissues — even in the absence of global cues — and are essential to the faithful detection of weak directional signals. Strikingly, our model re-capitulates an observed influence of anisotropic tissue geometries on the orientation of polarity. In order to facilitate a conversation between theory and experiments, we compare five distinct classes ofin silicomutants with experimental observations. Within this context, we propose quantitative measures that can guide the search for the participant molecular components, and the identification of their roles in the collective polarization of tissues.
Alanine tRNA translate environment into behavior inCaenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Fernandes De Abreu Diana Andrea , Salinas-Giegé Thalia , Drouard Laurence , Remy Jean-Jacques
Published: March 2018

Caenorhabditis elegansnematodes produce and maintain imprints of attractive chemosensory cues to which they are exposed early in life. Early odor-exposure increases adult chemo-attraction to the same cues. Imprinting is transiently or stably inherited, depending on the number of exposed generations.

We show here that the Alanine tRNA (UGC) plays a central role in regulatingC. eleganschemo-attraction. Naive worms fed on tRNAAla(UGC) purified from odor-experienced worms, acquire odor-specific imprints.

Chemo-attractive responses require the tRNA-modifying Elongator complex sub-units 1 (elpc-1) and 3 (elpc-3) genes.elpc-3deletions impair chemo-attraction, which is fully restored by wild-type tRNAAla(UGC) feeding. A stably inherited decrease of odor-specific responses ensues from early odor-exposition ofelpc-1deletion mutants.

tRNAAla(UGC) may adopt various chemical forms to mediate the cross-talk between innately-programmed and environment-directed chemo-attractive behavior.
TBtools - an integrative toolkit developed for interactive analyses of big biological data
Authors: Chen Chengjie , Chen Hao , Zhang Yi , Thomas Hannah R. , Frank Margaret H. , He Yehua , Xia Rui
Published: March 2018

The rapid development of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) techniques has led biology into the big-data era. Data analyses using various bioinformatics tools rely on programming and command-line environments, which are challenging and time-consuming for most wet-lab biologists. Here, we present TBtools (a Toolkit for Biologists integrating various biological data handling tools), a stand-alone software with a user-friendly interface. The toolkit incorporates over 100 functions, which are designed to meet the increasing demand for big-data analyses, ranging from bulk sequence processing to interactive data visualization. A wide variety of graphs can be prepared in TBtools, with a new plotting engine (“JIGplot”) developed to maximum their interactive ability, which allows quick point-and-click modification to almost every graphic feature.

TBtools is a platform-independent software that can be run under all operating systems with Java Runtime Environment 1.6 or newer. It is freely available to non-commercial users at https://github.com/CJ-Chen/TBtools/releases.
Deep proteomic analysis of chicken erythropoiesis
Authors: Leduc Marjorie , Gautier Emilie-Fleur , Guillemin Anissa , Broussard Cédric , Salnot Virginie , Lacombe Catherine , Gandrillon Olivier , Guillonneau François , Mayeux Patrick
Published: March 2018

In contrast to mammalian erythroid cells that lost their nucleus at the end of the differentiation process, circulating chicken erythrocytes, like erythrocytes of most other non-mammalian vertebrates, are nucleated although their nucleus is believed to be transcriptionally silent. This major difference suggests that the erythroid differentiation process is likely to present both similarities and differences in mammals compared to other vertebrates. Since proteins are the major cellular effectors, analysis of the proteome is more prone to reflect true differences than analysis of the pattern of mRNA expression. We have previously reported the evolution of the proteome of human erythroid cells throughout their differentiation process. Here we report the analysis of the proteome of chicken erythroblasts during their terminal differentiation. We used the T2EC cellular model that allows to obtain homogenous populations of immature erythroblasts. Induction of their terminal differentiation led to their maturation and the possibility to obtain cells at different differentiation stages. Mass spectrometry analysis of these cell populations allowed the absolute quantification of 6167 proteins throughout the terminal differentiation process. Beside many proteins with similar expression patterns between chicken and human erythroblasts, like SLC4A1 (Band3), GATA1 or CD44, this analysis also revealed that other important proteins like Kit or other GATA transcription factors exhibit fully different patterns of expression.
Topovectorial mechanisms control the juxtamembrane proteolytic processing of Nrf1 to remove its N-terminal polypeptides during maturation of the CNC-bZIP factor
Authors: Xiang Yuancai , Halin Josefin , Fan Zhuo , Hu Shaofan , Wang Meng , Qiu Lu , Zhang Zhengwen , Mattjus Peter , Zhang Yiguo
Published: March 2018

The topobiological behaviour of Nrf1 dictates its post-translational modification and its ability to transactivate target genes. Here, we have elucidated that topovectorial mechanisms control the juxtamembrane processing of Nrf1 on the cyto/nucleoplasmic side of endoplasmic reticulum (ER), whereupon it is cleaved and degraded to remove various lengths of its N-terminal domain (NTD, also refold into a UBL module) and acidic domain-1 (AD1) to yield multiple isoforms. Notably, an N-terminal ∼12.5-kDa polypeptide of Nrf1 arises from selective cleavage at an NHB2-adjoining region within NTD, whilst other longer UBL-containing isoforms may arise from proteolytic processing of the protein within AD1 around PEST1 and Neh2L degrons. The susceptibility of Nrf1 to proteolysis is determined by dynamic repositioning of potential UBL-adjacent degrons and cleavage sites from the ER lumen through p97-driven retrotranslocation and -independent pathways into the cyto/nucleoplasm. These repositioned degrons and cleavage sites within NTD and AD1 of Nrf1 are coming into theirbona fidefunctionality, thereby enabling it to be selectively processed by cytosolic DDI-1/2 proteases and also degradedvia26S proteasomes. The resultant proteolytic processing of Nrf1 gives rise to a mature ∼85-kDa CNC-bZIP transcription factor, which regulates transcriptional expression of cognate target genes. Furthermore, putative ubiquitination of Nrf1 is not a prerequisite necessary for involvement of p97 in the client processing. Overall, the regulated juxtamembrane proteolysis (RJP) of Nrf1, though occurring in close proximity to the ER, is distinctive from the mechanism that regulates the intramembrane proteolytic (RIP) processing of ATF6 and SREBP1.
Temperature-dependent estimation of Gibbs energies using an updated group contribution method
Authors: Du Bin , Zhang Zhen , Gruber Sharon , Yurkovich James T. , Palsson Bernhard O. , Zielinski Daniel C.
Published: March 2018

Reaction equilibrium constants determine the mass action ratios necessary to drive flux through metabolic pathways. Group contribution methods offer a way to estimate reaction equilibrium constants at wide coverage across the metabolic network. Here, we present an updated group contribution method with: 1) additional curated thermodynamic data used in fitting; and 2) capabilities to calculate equilibrium constants as a function of temperature. We first collected and curated aqueous thermo-dynamic data, including reaction equilibrium constants, enthalpies of reaction, Gibbs free energies of formation, enthalpies of formation, entropies change of formation of compounds, and proton and metal ion binding constants. We further estimated magnesium binding constants for 618 compounds using a linear regression model validated against measured data. Next, we formulated the calculation of equilibrium constants as a function of temperature and calculated necessary parameters, including standard entropy change of formation (ΔfS∘) and standard entropy change of reaction (ΔrS∘), using a model based on molecular properties. The median absolute errors in estimating ΔfS∘and ΔrS∘were 0.010 kJ/K/mol and 0.018 kJ/K/mol, respectively. The efforts here fill in gaps for thermodynamic calculations under various conditions, specifically different temperatures and metal ion concentrations. These results support the study of thermodynamic driving forces underlying the metabolic function of organisms living under diverse conditions.
Not so sterile after all: The endomicrobiome of plerocercoids of the cestode parasiteSchistocephalus solidusand changes to the microbiome of its Threespine Stickleback host
Authors: Hahn Megan , Dheilly Nolwenn
Published: March 2018

Despite the growing recognition of the role of bacteria in animal biology, the microbiome of parasites remains largely unexplored. In particular, the presence of bacteria in tapeworms has never been investigated and parasites that exit the intestine would be considered sterile. We characterized for the first time the microbiome of a tapeworm.Schistocephalus solidusplerocercoids, collected from the body cavity of its stickleback host, were found to harbor a complex microbiome. The most abundant and the most prevalent bacteria wasPolynucleobacter sp.. In addition,S. solidusinfection was associated significant changes in the stickleback host gut microbiome with an increase in microbial load and changes in diversity and composition. Finally, the same bacteria were often found inS. solidusand the stomach and intestine of the corresponding hosts, a result that highlights the importance of characterizing the microbiome of host tissues and parasites from the same individuals to assess the potential for horizontal transmission of microbes. This study clearly emphasizes the need for further characterization of the microbiome of a broad range of parasites and for studies to determine the ecological, evolutionary and functional role that microbes play in host-parasite interactions.
Processing of Auditory Novelty Across the Cortical Hierarchy: An Intracranial Electrophysiology Study
Authors: Nourski Kirill V. , Steinschneider Mitchell , Rhone Ariane E. , Kawasaki Hiroto , Howard Matthew A. , Banks Matthew I.
Published: March 2018

Under the predictive coding hypothesis, specific spatiotemporal patterns of cortical activation are postulated to occur during sensory processing as expectations generate feedback predictions and prediction errors generate feedforward signals. Establishing experimental evidence for this information flow within cortical hierarchy has been difficult, especially in humans, due to spatial and temporal limitations of non-invasive measures of cortical activity. This study investigated cortical responses to auditory novelty using the local/global deviant paradigm, which engages the hierarchical network underlying auditory predictive coding over short (‘local deviance’; LD) and long (‘global deviance’; GD) time scales. Electrocorticographic responses to auditory stimuli were obtained in neurosurgical patients from regions of interest (ROIs) including auditory, auditory-related and prefrontal cortex. LD and GD effects were assayed in averaged evoked potential (AEP) and high gamma (70-150 Hz) signals, the former likely dominated by local synaptic currents and the latter largely reflecting local spiking activity. AEP LD effects were distributed across all ROIs, with greatest percentage of significant sites in core and non-core auditory cortex. High gamma LD effects were localized primarily to auditory cortex in the superior temporal plane and on the lateral surface of the superior temporal gyrus (STG). LD effects exhibited progressively longer latencies in core, non-core, auditory-related and prefrontal cortices, consistent with feedforward signaling. The spatial distribution of AEP GD effects overlapped that of LD effects, but high gamma GD effects were more restricted to non-core areas. High gamma GD effects had shortest latencies in STG and preceded AEP GD effects in most ROIs. This latency profile, along with the paucity of high gamma GD effects in the superior temporal plane, suggest that the STG plays a prominent role in initiating novelty detection signals over long time scales. Thus, the data demonstrate distinct patterns of information flow in human cortex associated with auditory novelty detection over multiple time scales.
Crystal growth, structure and characterization of Er6B4O15as self-activated eye-safe laser material within the near-infrared waveband
Authors: Wang Yan , Zhang Wei , Li Ziyi , Li Jianfu , Zhu Zhaojie , You Zhenyu , Tu Chaoyang
Published: March 2018

A new rare-earth borate Er6B4O15was synthesized by a solid-state reaction technique. The crystal was obtained by a flux method. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the crystal structure is composed of ErO6polyhedra sharing edges and BO3groups. The absorption, near-infrared fluorescence spectra and the fluorescence decay curve of Er:4I13/2energy level in the Er6B4O15crystal were measured at room temperature. The absorption peak was located at 977 nm with absorption cross section of 1.16 × 10−21 cm2and a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 16 nm, which is very suitable for commercial 980 nm laser diode pumping. A maximum emission peak at 1560 mm with a broad FWHM of 64 nm was observed in this crystal because of the Er3+transition4I13/2→4I15/2, while the emission cross section was calculated to be 8.53 × 10−20 cm2. These results imply that the Er6B4O15crystal is a promising candidate material for the achievement of an eye-safe near-infrared wavelength laser.
Accurate and precise lattice parameters of H2O and D2O ice Ihbetween 1.6 and 270 K from high-resolution time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction data
Authors: Fortes A. Dominic
Published: March 2018

Accurate and precise lattice parameters for D2O and H2O varieties of hexagonal ice (ice Ih, space groupP63/mmc) have been obtained in the range 1.6 to 270 K. Precision of the lattice parameters (∼0.0002% inaand 0.0004% incfor D2O, 0.0008% inaand 0.0015% incfor H2O) is ensured by use of the time-of-flight method on one of the longest primary neutron flight-path instruments in the world, the High-Resolution Powder Diffractometer at the ISIS neutron source. These data provide a more precise description of the negative thermal expansion of the material at low temperatures than the previous synchrotron `gold standard' [Röttgeret al.(1994).Acta Cryst.B50, 644–648], including the region below 10 K where the lattice parameters saturate. The volume expansivity of both isotopologues turns negative below 59–60 K, in excellent agreement with a recent dilatometry study. The axial expansivities are highly isotropic (differing by < 1% in D2O ice Ih). Furthermore, thec/aratio of different D2O ice samples exhibit a statistically significant dispersion of ∼0.015% below 150 K that appears to depend on the thermal history of the sample, which disappears on warming above 150 K. Similarly, H2O ice exhibits a `kink' in thec/aratio at ∼115 K. The most plausible explanation is a freezing-in of the molecular reorientation process on cooling and subsequent relaxation on warming.
Crystal structure of (−)-(5R,7R,8S,9R,10S)-8-methyl-7-[(5R)-3-methyl-2-oxooxolan-3-en-5-yl]-1-aza-6-oxatricyclo[8.3.0.05,9]tridecan-13-one monohydrate
Authors: Oishi Takeshi , Yoritate Makoto , Sato Takaaki , Chida Noritaka
Published: March 2018

The title compound, C17H23NO4·H2O, is an epimer of the natural tetracyclic alkaloid isosaxorumamide which consists of a fused 5–7–5 tricyclic core and a dihydrofuranone substituent. The terminal dihydrofuran ring is essentially planar with a maximum deviation of 0.0273 (14) Å from the mean plane and oxolane, azepane and pyrrolidine rings in the tricyclic ring system adopt twist, twist-chair and envelope forms, respectively. In the crystal, the amide and water molecules are linked by O—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming a tape structure running along the b-axis direction. The tapes are further connected by C—H...O interactions into a three-dimensional architecture.
Crystal water as the molecular glue for obtaining different co-crystal ratios: the case of gallic acid tris-caffeine hexahydrate
Authors: Vella-Zarb L. , Baisch U.
Published: March 2018

The crystal structure of the hexahydrate co-crystal of gallic acid and caffeine, C7H6O5·3C8H10N4O2·6H2O or GAL3CAF·6H2O, is a remarkable example of the importance of hydrate water acting as structural glue to facilitate the crystallization of two components of different stoichiometries and thus to compensate an imbalance of hydrogen-bond donors and acceptors. The water molecules provide the additional hydrogen bonds required to form a crystalline solid. Whereas the majority of hydrogen bonds forming the intermolecular network between gallic acid and caffeine are formed by crystal water, only one direct classical hydrogen bond between two molecules is formed between the carboxylic oxygen of gallic acid and the carbonyl oxygen of caffeine with d(D...A) = 2.672 (2) Å. All other hydrogen bonds either involve crystal water or utilize protonated carbon atoms as donors.
(E)-4-Methyl-2-(N-phenylcarboximidoyl)phenol
Authors: Swetha G. , Ida Malarselvi R. , Ramachandra Raja C. , Thiruvalluvar A. , Priscilla J.
Published: March 2018

The title compound, C14H13NO, is not planar with the dihedral angle between the planes of the two aryl rings being 6.22 (11)°. The configuration about the imine bond isE. An intramolecular O—H...N hydrogen bond generates anS(6) loop. In the crystal, molecules assemble into columns parallel to theaaxis. The methyl group is disordered over two positions rotated from each other by 60°.
The Bake Collective – making a delicious difference
Authors: Karmali Zoha A. , Galliara Meena , Srivastava Manjari
Published: March 2018

Subject area

Social Entrepreneurship.

Study level/applicability

This case study can be used on the module on introduction to social entrepreneurship for postgraduate students specializing in Social Entrepreneurship or Social Work.

Case overview

This case explores the difference between social entrepreneurship and idealism. It captures the journey of Charlene Vaz and Kavita Gonsalves, two passionate young women, who formed “The Bake Collective” (TBC). Kavita and Charlene are both full-time employees, who spend their weekends and evenings running TBC and through bake sells raise funds for supporting social causes. The women have been able to get a teacher hired for differently abled children, provide water purifiers to victims of the Nepal earthquake, furnish a classroom in a school for less privileged children and provide teaching material for schools in over 400 villages in the State of Maharashtra in India. The case highlights the power of volunteering for a cause that can result in developing a social enterprise. It helps to unfold the steps undertaken to kick-start the cause as well as the risks involved in the start-up stage. It also discusses the measures that can be taken to mitigate the risks in the start-up phase and the ways by which social entrepreneurs can scale and grow their programme.

Expected learning outcomes

From this case, students will learn about the factors that lead to the germination of a social enterprise and identify characteristics of social entrepreneurs. They will be able to understand critical factors required to sustain start-up enterprises. The case will also enable students to explore systems and processes that need to be designed to sustain the start-up phase. Further, the case will help students to brainstorm on growth strategies for social enterprises.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.
Preparing future-ready graduates through experiential entrepreneurship
Authors: de Villiers Scheepers Margarietha Johanna , Barnes Renee , Clements Michael , Stubbs Alix Jayne
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an experiential entrepreneurship work-integrated learning (EE WIL) model recognising that the development of an entrepreneurial mindset enables graduates to manage their careers in uncertain labour markets. The model shows how students develop relationships with their professional community, and not only a few employers.

Design/methodology/approach

The pedagogical underpinning of the conceptual model, attributes associated with the entrepreneurial mindset and relationships between the student, professional community and university are explained, and illustrated through a case study at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Findings

The EE WIL model enables students to develop agency through structured engagement with a professional community, facilitating the development of bridging social capital. Bonding social capital can be developed through intense, sustained interaction between students and their professional community.

Practical implications

WIL curricula should be scaffolded and directed towards developing sustained interaction and information sharing, underpinned by professional community norms. This approach enables students to develop an aligned professional identity and emotional attachment to the professional community. The experiential development of an entrepreneurial mindset enables students to solve career challenges, by viewing these as opportunities. Professional communities and universities both share the responsibilities of preparing the future graduate workforce.

Originality/value

The conceptual model draws on effectual entrepreneurship pedagogy and contributes to the WIL literature, showing that an entrepreneurial mindset can be cultivated experientially through an intensive, emotional and authentic learning experience.
Perceived value of internship experience: a try before you leap
Authors: Bhattacharya Sonali , Neelam Netra
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how internship value is manifested in the context of a business school. The authors have examined the internship experience in terms of experiential learning and employability. Specifically, the authors investigate the factors that determine internship at four phases: design, conduct, evaluation and feedback.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have applied a mixed method approach. In all, 110 students of a busines school were first surveyed on their expectation, motivation and level of preparation through a self-administered questionnaire before internship. Based on the survey result, eight of these students were interviewed in details about internship expectations from industry, the selection process for internship, communications or exchanges between intern and companies prior to internship and perceived industry expectation from interns. At the next phase, authors used a qualitative research approach by conducting semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 14 interns and their mentors after internship period. They were interviewed on design, conduct, evaluation and feedback process of the internship. Interviews tried capture what kind of leader-member exchange led to satisfactory internship experience and outcome from view of both inter and mentor.

Findings

The authors find that at various stages of internship program quality of mentor – intern exchanges (as defined by leadership exchange theory), and task characteristics as indicated by autonomy, task variety, task significance and performance feedback determine intern’s performance. An intern’s performance is antecedent to an intern’s and a mentor’s satisfaction and overall internship value. The authors also found that intrinsic capability of intern such as critical thinking ability and learning orientation result in enhanced value of internship experience. The proposed models, postulate that at designing stage, lower the level of communication from employers, higher the feeling of ambiguity and lower the perceived internship value in terms of experiential learning and perceived employability. Feeling of ambiguity is moderated by existence of prior work experience of interns. At conduction stage, mentor-intern exchange is directly related to flexibility in structure of the program and inversely related to dependency on peer learning. Mentor-intern exchange also related to mentor and intern’s learning value. However, the learning value is moderated by learning orientation of the intern.

Originality/value

The authors have tried the summer internship experience from the perspective of interns and mentors. This is the uniqueness of the research.
Housing delivery to the low income in Botswana
Authors: Kampamba Johnson , Kachepa Simon , Nkwae Boipuso , Matlhogojane Ntombi Godiraone , Outule Tuelo
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the housing delivery to the low income through the Self Help Housing Agency (SHHA) in Gaborone, Botswana.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through the use of questionnaire, interviews, records searches and observations using the mixed-method approach to establish why people sale houses. Proportionate and simple random sampling was used to obtain a sample size of 93 plots for both new SHHA areas and old SHHA areas at 90 per cent confidence level. For each plot, data pertaining to plot allocation, plot ownership, exchange of ownership over the years were collected.

Findings

The findings revealed that the programme has been hit by challenges emanating from the low-income group selling their houses to middle-income group which is predominant in the area thus leading to gentrification. It was also established that the number of sales in SHHA areas were increasing as evidenced from the transfers that were taking place. This could be influenced by the increasing demand for housing due to a growing population in Gaborone. The findings also revealed that demand is one of the determinants of rising prices, thus an incentive to the low-income group to sell their houses at higher prices.

Research limitations/implications

The implication of these findings is that the low income will be displaced and might become homeless in future thus creating an opportunity for illegal settlements to develop.

Originality/value

The study has provided a context in which housing delivery to the low-income group can be safe guarded.
Religious literacy for responding to violence and abuse involves the capacity to go beyond stereotypes
Authors: Crisp Beth R. , Epstein Sarah , Afrouz Rojan , Taket Ann
Published: March 2018

Purpose

There is an increasing recognition that health and social care professionals require the knowledge and skills to negotiate religious beliefs and cultures but as yet there is little understanding as to what this entails. The purpose of this paper is to explore what religious literacy means in regard to protecting children from sexual assault in Australia’s Jewish community and Muslim women who experience domestic violence.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on two ongoing research studies, this paper provides an overview of the diverse perspectives found in the literature on child sexual assault in Jewish communities and Muslim women’s experiences and responses to domestic violence.

Findings

Individual and community attitudes and responses to child sexual assault and domestic violence do not fit stereotypes either within or beyond religious communities. Hence, educating for religious literacy needs to ensure stereotypes are recognised as undue simplifications of the truth, and failure to understand this can result in harm. Furthermore, religious literacy is important for health and social care workers if they are to effectively engage with the leadership of religious communities to change community attitudes.

Originality/value

This paper draws together common issues around the need for religious literacy when working with Jewish and Muslim communities in addressing issues of abuse and violence.
Investigating gender wage gap in employment
Authors: Mbratana Taoufiki , Fotie Kenne Andrée
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the gender wage disparity in paid employment and self-employment. To achieve this objective, the Cameroon Household Consumption Survey of 2007 is used. The main question considered in this paper is why women paid employment and self-employment wages are relatively low. In a whole, what are the underlying factors that generate and explain wage gap between men and women householders in employment?

Design/methodology/approach

First, the paper uses the Oaxaca-Blinder Decomposition to explain wage gap. Thereafter, the Quantile Regression Decomposition using Machado and Mata approach is applied in order to see the gap at different levels of the wage distribution.

Findings

The main finding indicates that in both methods, the wage gap is due to an unexplained component in self-employment and explained component in paid employment, particularly with strong effects at the extreme of wage distribution.

Research limitations/implications

The topic of this paper helps to explain and analyse the functioning of the Cameroonian labour market.

Practical implications

The findings can be applied to narrow the gender wage gap by eliminating discrimination and approving the principle of equal opportunity, support policies that reduce obstacles preventing women from starting and developing their businesses to encourage more women to become entrepreneurs and achieve harmonisation between work and family life.

Originality/value

Using available data survey, this paper is the first to identify and decompose the causes of paid employment and self-employment gender wage gap in Cameroon.
The distribution of unlevered housing in American urban areas
Authors: Lijing Du , Huang Jian , Singer Daniel , Torna Gokhan
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of social and economic factors on home ownership as an investment in American urban areas.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors run a spatial analysis using home ownership data on 817 American counties from US Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey.

Findings

While the amenity value of home ownership is found to be important to overall housing tenure decisions, it is found to be less so for the ownership cohort without mortgages. Economic factors are found to impact the spatial pattern of owner-occupied housing without mortgage differently than that of all owner-occupied housing. The implications of these differences for investors are explored.

Research limitations/implications

The results may lack generalizability outside of the American urban areas.

Practical implications

As a result of the findings of this study, a shift in investor focus from minimizing initial housing costs to sustainable housing costs is recommended.

Originality/value

This study provides insights into the social and economic dimensions of owner-occupied housing in order to create a more profitable investing policy for promoting home ownership.
Dynamic characteristics of exponential slider bearings lubricated with a ferrofluid – Shliomis model
Authors: Lin Jaw-Ren , Chu Li-Ming
Published: March 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamic characteristics of exponential slider bearings lubricated with a ferrofluid. Because of the development of modern engineering, the increasing use of ferrofluids in lubrication fields has shown great importance. Understanding the dynamic characteristics of exponential film bearings is helpful for engineers in bearing selection.

Design/methodology/approach

Applying the Shliomis ferrohydrodynamic flow model and considering the squeezing action of bearing pads, a dynamic Reynolds equation is obtained for an exponential film slider bearing lubricated with a ferrofluid in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. Analytical solutions of dynamic characteristics are obtained.

Findings

According to the results, the ferrofluid-lubricated exponential film bearing provides better dynamic stiffness and damping characteristics than the non-ferrofluid ones, especially the bearing operating at higher values of the volume concentration parameter and the magnetic Langevin parameter.

Originality/value

Numerical tables of stiffness and damping coefficients for different values of the volume concentration parameter and the Langevin parameter are also included for engineering references.