bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Risk Factors for Cystoid Macular Edema After Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty
Authors: Inoda Satoru , Hayashi Takahiko , Takahashi Hidenori , Oyakawa Itaru , Yokogawa Hideaki , Kobayashi Akira , Kato Naoko , Kawashima Hidetoshi
Published: April 2019

Purpose:

To investigate factors associated with cystoid macular edema (CME) after Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) in Asian eyes.

Methods:

In this retrospective, interventional, consecutive case series, 77 eyes of 65 patients who underwent DMEK were evaluated; in 53 eyes, cataract surgery was performed 1 month before DMEK (staged DMEK), and 24 eyes underwent DMEK alone (simple DMEK). Central retinal thickness, incidence of CME, postoperative best-corrected visual acuity, central corneal thickness, and corneal endothelial cell density were assessed at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery. Multiple regression analysis and stepwise variable selection were performed for parameters such as type of surgery, iris damage scores, age, sex, axial length, preoperative visual acuity, rebubbling, air volume in the anterior chamber on postoperative day 1, history of diabetes, and endothelial cell density loss rates at 6 months after surgery.

Results:

CME occurred in 12 (15.6%) of 77 eyes. There was no significant difference in best-corrected visual acuity between eyes with and without CME (P = 0.27). Multivariable analysis revealed that the difference in iris damage scores between before and after DMEK (P < 0.001), air volume in the anterior chamber (P = 0.012), simple DMEK (P = 0.020), and rebubbling (P = 0.036) were significantly associated with CME. Stepwise variable selection indicated that iris damage (P < 0.001) was the most important risk factor for CME.

Conclusions:

Iris damage due to DMEK might be a possible risk and aggravating factor for the development of CME after DMEK. Surgeons should attempt to minimize damage to the iris.
Association of rs613872 and Trinucleotide Repeat Expansion in the TCF4 Gene of German Patients With Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy
Authors: Okumura Naoki , Hayashi Ryousuke , Nakano Masakazu , Tashiro Kei , Yoshii Kengo , Aleff Ross , Butz Malinda , Highsmith Edward W. , Wieben Eric D. , Fautsch Michael P. , Baratz Keith H. , Komori Yuya , Ueda Emi , Nakahara Makiko , Weller Julia , Tourtas Theofilos , Schlötzer-Schrehardt Ursula , Kruse Friedrich , Koizumi Noriko
Published: April 2019

Purpose:

To investigate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and trinucleotide repeat (TNR) expansion in the transcription factor 4 (TCF4) gene in a large cohort of German patients with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD).

Methods:

Genomic DNA was obtained from 398 patients with FECD and from 58 non-FECD controls. Thirty-seven previously reported SNPs were evaluated by genotyping. The 398 FECD samples were analyzed for TNR expansions by short tandem repeat assays and Southern blotting. The possible associations between the TNR length and clinical parameters (age, sex, visual acuity, and central corneal thickness) were analyzed in 132 patients.

Results:

The SNPs in COL8A2, TCF8, LOXHD1, and AGBL1 showed no heterogeneity in 36 cases, although SLCA411 showed 3 nonsense mutations. SNPs were detected for TCF4 (rs613872, rs2123392, rs17089887, rs1452787, and rs1348047), but only rs613872 showed a significant association with FECD (P = 9.93 × 10−12). Overall, 315/398 (79%) patients harbored TNR lengths >50, whereas no non-FECD controls harbored TNR lengths >50. The TCF4 SNP rs613872 genotype was TT: 39 (67%), TG: 18 (31%), and GG: 1 (2%) in non-FECD controls; TT: 39 (47%), TG: 38 (46%), and GG: 6 (7%) in FECD cases harboring TNR <50; and TT: 23 (8%), TG: 224 (79%), and GG: 38 (13%) in FECD cases harboring TNR >50 (P = 2.93 × 10−25). No significant association was detected between the TNR length and clinical parameters.

Conclusions:

Our large German cohort demonstrated a significant association between the risk allele G in rs613872 and FECD, irrespective of TNR expansion, although this risk allele was more frequent in FECD cases with TNR expansion than without.
Occult hepatitis B and HIV infection
Authors: Soriano Vicente , Aguilera Antonio , Gonzalez Rocío , Gomez-Gallego Felix , Barea Luisa , Treviño Mercedes , Corral Octavio
Published: April 2019

Introduction

Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, so-called occult B infection (OBI), is defined by the recognition of HBV-DNA in the absence of serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The HBV-DNA genome in OBI is fully replication competent and produced in the liver, characteristically with low-level HBV-DNA fluctuations in the bloodstream. The OBI status remains between chronic (HBsAg +) and resolved (anti-HBs +) phases in the natural history of HBV infection.

Methods

The clinical interest in OBI has increased because of its potential for overt HBV reactivation under immunosuppression as well as for HBV transmission, well established in recipients of blood transfusions and/or organ transplants.

Results

Given the shared transmission routes for HIV and HBV, earlier reports claimed that OBI was more frequent in AIDS patients. By contrast, the current scenario shows that OBI is negligible in the HIV population. One explanation is that HBV immunization and recall vaccination campaigns have been very active in this group. A second and most important reason points to the wide use of antiretroviral regimens that include anti-HBV active agents, that is, tenofovir, lamivudine, and/or emtricitabine. They are recommended either as treatment for all HIV carriers or as pre-exposure prophylaxis for uninfected individuals at risk. The consequences are that HBV reactivations associated with HIV-related immunodeficiency have become very rare. Furthermore, HBV suppression with these antivirals has markedly reduced the likelihood of transmission from OBI carriers and/or acquisition by uninfected exposed individuals.

Conclusion

Enthusiasm unabated, however, new tenofovir-sparing antiretroviral regimens are becoming popular and might account for a resurgence of OBI in the HIV setting.
Nucleated Red Blood Cells in Children With Sickle Cell Disease Hospitalized for Pain
Authors: Ballantine Josiah D. , Kwon Soyang , Liem Robert I.
Published: April 2019

Acute chest syndrome (ACS) and transfusion requirements are common and difficult to predict during hospitalizations for acute vaso-occlusive episodes (VOE) among individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD). This study examined the relationship between nucleated red blood cell (NRBC) counts during hospitalization for VOE and development of ACS or transfusion requirement among children with SCD. Retrospective chart review was performed for 264 encounters of patients with SCD hospitalized for uncomplicated VOE who had NRBC count data at admission during a 5-year period. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship of admission and change in NRBC (∆NRBC) to ACS/transfusion requirement. Overall, 44 of 264 (16.7%) encounters resulted in ACS, transfusion, or both. Admission NRBC was not associated with development of ACS/transfusion requirement. Among 125 of 264 (47.3%) encounters in which a subsequent CBC was obtained, greater increases in NRBCs and greater decrease in hemoglobin were significantly associated with ACS/transfusion requirement (OR, 2.72; 95% CI, 1.16, 6.35; P=0.02 and OR, 2.52; 95% CI, 1.08, 5.89; P=0.03, respectively). Our finding that an increase in NRBC counts was associated with development of ACS/transfusion requirement suggests that ∆NRBCs may represent a useful biomarker for predicting complications in children with SCD hospitalized for VOE.
Roseomonas gilardii Bacteremia in a Patient With HbSβ0-thalassemia: Clinical Implications and Literature Review
Authors: Schlappi Charles , Bernstock Joshua D. , Ricketts Wilson , Nix Garrett A. , Poole Claudette , Lebensburger Jeffrey , Friedman Gregory K.
Published: April 2019

Roseomonas gilardii is a Gram-negative coccobacillus identified in immunocompromised pediatric patients. A 5-year-old male with a history of HbSβ0 thalassemia status postsurgical splenectomy presented to the emergency department with fever. Blood cultures grew R. gilardii at 63 hours, but the patient had been discharged home at 48 hours. The patient was readmitted for repeat cultures and initiated on meropenem for 10 days as Roseomonas spp. are often resistant to third generation cephalosporins. R. gilardii is a rare cause of bacteremia in immunocompromised patients. Clinicians should consider Roseomonas in slow growing Gram-negative rod bacteremias, and consider meropenem as empiric coverage.
A New Homozygous Mutation (c.393-394del TA/c.393-394del TA) in the NT5C3 Gene Associated With Pyrimidine-5′-Nucleotidase Deficiency: A Case Report
Authors: Köker Sultan A. , Oymak Yeşim , Bianchi Paola , Fermo Elisa , Karapinar Tuba H. , Gözmen Salih , Ay Yilmaz , Vergin Raziye C.
Published: April 2019

Pyrimidine-5-nucleotidase (P5′N-1) deficiency is a rare nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia due to pyrimidine nucleotide deposition within erythrocytes. This rare erythrocyte disorder shows autosomal recessive inheritance with mutation of the pyrimidine-5′-nucleotidase gene, which is localized on 7p15-p14. Consanguinity of parents increases the probability of disease with novel mutations. Here, we report a 12-year-old boy with a delayed diagnosis of P5′N deficiency whose parents were consanguineous. He had a hemoglobin level of 7.5 g/dL, mean corpuscular volume of 93 fL, 7% reticulocyte, and lactate dehydrogenase of 678 IU/L. A peripheral blood smear showed polychromasia, marked anisopoikilocytosis with schistocytes, elliptocytes, stomatocytes, spherocytes, dacryocyte, and basophilic stippling in red blood. Decreased purine/pyrimidine ratio was 1.07 (normal range=1.4 to 2.98). Molecular analysis with direct DNA sequencing of the NT5C3 gene, codifying for P5′N-1, revealed the presence of a novel homozygous mutation, c393-394delTA, in the gene coding P5′N enzyme in the patient. To our knowledge, this is a newly defined mutation in P5′N deficiency.
Implementation of Legionella Prevention Policy in Health Care Facilities: The United States Veterans Health Administration Experience
Authors: Ambrose Meredith , Kralovic Stephen M. , Roselle Gary A. , Kowalskyj Oleh , Rizzo Vincent , Wainwright Don L. , Gamage Shantini D.
Published: April 2019

Context:

The Veterans Health Administration requires implementation of Legionella prevention policy in potable water systems at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities across the United States and territories.

Program:

The Veterans Health Administration Central Office program offices with expertise in engineering and clinical aspects of Legionella prevention policy have provided joint, structured on-site assistance to VA medical facilities for consultation on policy implementation. Site visits included review of facility documentation and data, discussions with staff, touring of buildings, and development of recommendations.

Implementation:

Information obtained from on-site consultative assistance provided to VA medical facilities from December 2012 through January 2018 was reviewed to identify engineering and clinical challenges and lessons from implementation of Legionella prevention policy in VA health care buildings. Fifteen consultative site visits were conducted during this period regarding implementation of Legionella prevention and validation of effectiveness.

Evaluation:

It was found that implementation of Legionella prevention policy in potable water systems was complex and practices varied for each building. Common implementation challenges included capability of applying engineering controls, water stagnation, and assessment of health care association of Legionella cases. Process challenges included routine verification of actions, methods for assessing environmental validation data, and documentation of requirements. It was found that consistent and data-driven implementation of policy is crucial for an effective program.

Discussion:

Guidance and standards documents in the community for Legionella prevention in building water systems are often general in nature, but implementation requires specific decisions and routine assessments and modifications to optimize outcomes. This real-world review of challenges and lessons from a large health care system with a detailed primary Legionella prevention policy informs future development of guidance and policy, both within and external to VA, and can provide insight to other health care facilities planning to implement practices for water safety.
Quantifying the Value of Prevention: A Survey of Public Health Departments' Quantitative and Economic Modeling Capacity
Authors: McCullough J. Mac , Narain Kimberly , Rhoads Natalie , Fielding Jonathan E. , Teutsch Steven M. , Zimmerman Frederick J.
Published: April 2019

Objective:

To improve the understanding of local health departments' (LHDs') capacity for and perceived barriers to using quantitative/economic modeling information to inform policy and program decisions.

Design:

We developed, tested, and deployed a novel survey to examine this topic.

Setting:

The study's sample frame included the 200 largest LHDs in terms of size of population served plus all other accredited LHDs (n = 67). The survey was e-mailed to 267 LHDs; respondents completed the survey online using SurveyMonkey.

Participants:

Survey instructions requested that the survey be completed from the perspective of the entire health department by LHD's top executive or designate. A total of 63 unique LHDs responded (response rate: 39%).

Main Outcome Measure(s):

Capacity for quantitative and economic modeling was measured in 5 categories (routinely use information from models we create ourselves; routinely use information from models created by others; sometimes use information from models we create ourselves; sometimes use information from models created by others; never use information from modeling). Experience with modeling was measured in 4 categories (very, somewhat, not so, not at all).

Results:

Few (9.5%) respondents reported routinely using information from models, and most who did used information from models created by others. By contrast, respondents reported high levels of interest in using models and in gaining training in their use and the communication of model results. The most commonly reported barriers to modeling were funding and technical skills. Nearly all types of training topics listed were of interest.

Conclusions:

Across a sample of large and/or accredited LHDs, we found modest levels of use of modeling coupled with strong interest in capacity for modeling and therefore highlight an opportunity for LHD growth and support. Both funding constraints and a lack of knowledge of how to develop and/or use modeling are barriers to desired progress around modeling. Educational or funding opportunities to promote capacity for and use of quantitative and economic modeling may catalyze use of modeling by public health practitioners.
Development and Review of the Chest Tube High-Feedback Educational Simulation Trainer (CHEST)
Authors: Crawford Scott B. , Huque Yasin I. , Austin Danielle E. , Monks Stormy M.
Published: April 2019

Introduction

Emergency medicine physicians must receive training in chest tube placement. This life-saving skill must be completed quickly and competently to prevent morbidity and mortality. Training on live patients is no longer an appropriate or acceptable practice. Current training devices have been noted to be costly, may be difficult to store, or may require time-consuming cleanup or setup.

Methods

Fifteen Chest tube High-feedback Educational Simulation Trainers were created. Frames were made from wood and PVC, and soft tissue layers were designed using silicone and polyurethane foam. Nine training sites volunteered to test the model and provided feedback on the acceptability of the task trainer for skill training.

Results

Survey findings demonstrated that the model was realistic for teaching, portable, and was easy to use and maintain. In our model, the outer skin was noted to tear easily, thus limiting its use for suture training. Overall programs reported that they would use this model if it was available for the same or lower cost than current models.

Conclusions

An inexpensive task trainer was created that was easy to store, quick to set up, durable, easy to clean, and rated as effective at training the skill of chest tube insertion.
A Porcine Model for Learning Ultrasound Anatomy of the Larynx and Ultrasound-Guided Cricothyrotomy
Authors: Mandell Daniel , Orebaugh Steven L.
Published: April 2019

Background

Difficulty with tracheal intubation is the most common cause of serious adverse respiratory events during anesthesia. Cricothyrotomy is a life-saving procedure that is seldom performed by anesthesiologists. Anesthesiology residents are traditionally trained to perform cricothyrotomy with artificial mannequins and exposed larynx models from animals. These models lack the tissue feel of performing a cricothyrotomy on a patient with difficult neck anatomy. To improve the training experience, we developed a novel training model for cricothyrotomy using a porcine larynx, which incorporates ultrasonographic examination to identify the cricothyroid membrane, and permits varying degrees of difficulty.

Methods

Twenty-five residents were enrolled in a training curriculum consisting of (1) preprocedure training modules, (2) preprocedure hands-on demonstrations, and (3) three separate cricothyrotomy procedures using a porcine trachea. The first two procedures consisted of residents performing an open and a percutaneous cricothyrotomy on a model, which consisted of porcine trachea with chicken skin pinned over the larynx. The third procedure involved performing an open cricothyrotomy on a more challenging model, constructed by placing several layers of bacon fat between the larynx and chicken skin, making digital palpation of the laryngeal landmarks impossible. Before performing the procedure, residents located the cricothyroid interval with ultrasound. A postcurriculum survey was administered.

Results

Twenty-three of 25 residents were able to perform the open cricothyrotomy by digital palpation on the airway model on the first attempt. With the more challenging model, all 25 residents were able to locate the cricothyroid membrane by ultrasound and successfully perform open and percutaneous cricothyrotomy. Participants felt that they learned new information regarding ultrasound identification of laryngeal anatomy and gained valuable procedural experience in this training exercise.

Conclusions

Use of the porcine trachea with overlying animal skin and fat provides an effective partial-task trainer for open and percutaneous surgical airway education and lends itself to integration of ultrasound imaging for real-time identification of laryngeal and tracheal anatomy.
Evolution-guided engineering of small-molecule biosensors
Authors: Snoek Tim , Chaberski Evan K. , Ambri Francesca , Kol Stefan , Bjørn Sara P. , Pang Bo , Barajas Jesus F. , Welner Ditte H. , Jensen Michael K. , Keasling Jay D.
Published: April 2019

Allosteric transcription factors (aTFs) have proven widely applicable for biotechnology and synthetic biology as ligand-specific biosensors enabling real-time monitoring, selection and regulation of cellular metabolism. However, both the biosensor specificity and the correlation between ligand concentration and biosensor output signal, also known as the transfer function, often needs to be optimized before meeting application needs. Here, we present a versatile and high-throughput method to evolve and functionalize prokaryotic aTF specificity and transfer functions in a eukaryote chassis, namely baker’s yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae. From a single round of directed evolution of the effector-binding domain (EBD) coupled with various toggled selection regimes, we robustly select aTF variants of thecis, cis-muconic acid-inducible transcription factor BenM evolved for change in ligand specificity, increased dynamic output range, shifts in operational range, and a complete inversion of function from activation to repression. Importantly, by targeting only the EBD, the evolved biosensors display DNA-binding affinities similar to BenM, and are functional when ported back into a non-native prokaryote chassis. The developed platform technology thus leverages aTF evolvability for the development of new host-agnostic biosensors with user-defined small-molecule specificities and transfer functions.
A novel tool for monitoring endogenous human MYC transcription and translation by EGFP tag insertion at the 3’ end using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing
Authors: Cumbal N. , Cole MD.
Published: April 2019

The MYC oncogene is overexpressed in over 70% of human cancers. Since its identification, the study of MYC has led to the discovery of the various ways through which oncogenes contribute to the ability of normal cells to become malignant. However, there are many aspects of MYC biology that remain unknown or controversial in terms of its regulation, targetability and downstream control of its targets. We developed two stable cell lines expressing MYC endogenously tagged with EGFP via CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing. This system allows efficient detection of transcriptional activity of MYC as well the resulting fusion protein while maintaining the gene expression profiles, growth factors-associated MYC induction and growth kinetics of the parental cells. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing endogenous monitoring of MYC expression in colorectal adenocarcinoma through an EGFP tag, thus making it an efficient tool for high-throughput approaches such as genetic and drug screens.
Effect of nanofluids on heat transfer and cooling system of the photovoltaic/thermal performance
Authors: Nasrin Rehena , Hasanuzzaman Md. , Rahim N.A.
Published: April 2019

Purpose

Effective cooling is one of the challenges for photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems to maintain the PV operating temperature. One of the best ways to enhance rate of heat transfer of the PVT system is using advanced working fluids such as nanofluids. The purpose of this research is to develop a numerical model for designing different form of thermal collector systems with different materials. It is concluded that PVT system operated by nanofluid is more effective than water-based PVT system.

Design/methodology/approach

In this research, a three-dimensional numerical model of PVT with new baffle-based thermal collector system has been developed and solved using finite element method-based COMSOL Multyphysics software. Water-based different nanofluids (Ag, Cu, Al, etc.), various solid volume fractions up to 3 per cent and variation of inlet temperature (20-40Â°C) have been applied to obtain high thermal efficiency of this system.

Findings

The numerical results show that increasing solid volume fraction increases the thermal performance of PVT system operated by nanofluids, and optimum solid concentration is 2 per cent. The thermal efficiency is enhanced approximately by 7.49, 7.08 and 4.97 per cent for PVT system operated by water/Ag, water/Cu and water/Al nanofluids, respectively, compared to water. The extracted thermal energy from the PVT system decreases by 53.13, 52.69, 42.37 and 38.99 W for water, water/Al, water/Cu and water/Ag nanofluids, respectively, due to each 1°C increase in inlet temperature. The heat transfer rate from heat exchanger to cooling fluid enhances by about 18.43, 27.45 and 31.37 per cent for the PVT system operated by water/Al, water/Cu, water/Ag, respectively, compared to water.

Originality/value

This study is original and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. This is also not currently under review with any other journal.
SLAC – a semi-Lagrangian artificial compressibility solver for steady-state incompressible flows
Authors: Mortezazadeh Mohammad , Wang Liangzhu (Leon)
Published: April 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is the development of a new density-based (DB) semi-Lagrangian method to speed up the conventional pressure-based (PB) semi-Lagrangian methods.

Design/methodology/approach

The semi-Lagrangian-based solvers are typically PB, i.e. semi-Lagrangian pressure-based (SLPB) solvers, where a Poisson equation is solved for obtaining the pressure field and ensuring a divergence-free flow field. As an elliptic-type equation, the Poisson equation often relies on an iterative solution, so it can create a challenge of parallel computing and a bottleneck of computing speed. This study proposes a new DB semi-Lagrangian method, i.e. the semi-Lagrangian artificial compressibility (SLAC), which replaces the Poisson equation by a hyperbolic continuity equation with an added artificial compressibility (AC) term, so a time-marching solution is possible. Without the Poisson equation, the proposed SLAC solver is faster, particularly for the cases with more computational cells, and better suited for parallel computing.

Findings

The study compares the accuracy and the computing speeds of both SLPB and SLAC solvers for the lid-driven cavity flow and the step-flow problems. It shows that the proposed SLAC solver is able to achieve the same results as the SLPB, whereas with a 3.03 times speed up before using the OpenMP parallelization and a 3.35 times speed up for the large grid number case (512 × 512) after the parallelization. The speed up can be improved further for larger cases because of increasing the condition number of the coefficient matrixes of the Poisson equation.

Originality/value

This paper proposes a method of avoiding solving the Poisson equation, a typical computing bottleneck for semi-Lagrangian-based fluid solvers by converting the conventional PB solver (SLPB) to the DB solver (SLAC) through the addition of the AC term. The method simplifies and facilitates the parallelization process of semi-Lagrangian-based fluid solvers for modern HPC infrastructures, such as OpenMP and GPU computing.
Preservice EFL teachers’ collaborative understanding of lesson study
Authors: Ousseini Hamissou
Published: April 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on a small-scale research undertaken to examine the preservice English as foreign language (EFL) teachers’ collaborative understanding of lesson study. It constitutes the first of two empirical steps undertaken for integrating lesson study in initial EFL teacher education. The paper takes to the belief that preservice teachers’ understanding is a key factor that determines success or failure of lesson study projects and should therefore be investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

There were four preservice teachers who volunteered to participate in the study. Data were collected based on two procedures. Participants read the works of Lewis and Tsuchida (1999) and Dudley (2014) and were asked to collaboratively reflect about their readings on a WhatsApp platform. They were afterwards brought to a face-to-face discussion guided by questions mostly built from their previous reflections on the WhatsApp platform.

Findings

Participants have demonstrated a joint understanding which was essentially achieved due to the collaborative procedures. Likewise, participants have collaboratively reflected on the factors that could affect the process of lesson study and its application to EFL classrooms in Niger. These factors have been related to the issues in research methodology and the contextual learning culture.

Originality/value

The findings from this study draw attention to the need for teacher educators to use interactive and collaborative strategies while instructing preservice teachers about lesson study. The paper also offers insights about contextual factors which require preliminary and immediate actions before implementing lesson study in Niger.
Computational fluid dynamic study on the tribological performance of dimple-textured surface fabricated using the turning process
Authors: Abdul Rahman Haniff , A. Ghani Jaharah , Wan Mahmood Wan Mohd Faizal , Mohammad Rasani Mohammad Rasidi
Published: April 2019

Purpose

This study aims to simulate the influence of surface texturing produced via turning process toward pressure distribution and load capacity generation using computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

Design/methodology/approach

The dimple geometry was obtained via turning process, to be used for future application on piston skirt surfaces. Two cases were studied: a preliminary study using single periodic dimple assuming linear dimple distribution and an application study using multiple periodic dimples to address actual dimple orientation following the turning process.

Findings

For the first case, the dimple was proven to generate load capacity with regard to untextured surface, owing to the asymmetric pressure distribution. Increasing the Reynolds number, dimple width and dimple depth was found to increase load capacity. For the second case, although load capacity increases via surface texturing, the value was 97.4 per cent lower relative to the first case. This confirmed the importance of doing multiple dimple simulations for real applications to achieve more realistic and accurate results.

Originality/value

A new concept of dimple fabrication using a low-cost turning process has been developed, with a potential to increase the tribological performance under hydrodynamic lubrication. Previous CFD simulations to simulate these benefits have been done using a single periodic dimple, assuming equal distribution array between dimples. However, due to the different orientations present for dimples produced using turning process, a single periodic dimple simulation may not be accurate, and instead, multiple dimple simulation is required. Therefore, present research was conducted to compare the results between these two cases and to ensure the accuracy of CFD simulation for this type of dimple.
Panel report: the dark side of the digitization of the individual
Authors: Turel Ofir , Matt Christian , Trenz Manuel , Cheung Christy M.K. , D’Arcy* John , Qahri-Saremi* Hamed , Tarafdar* Monideepa
Published: April 2019

Purpose

Digital technologies have diffused into many personal life domains. This has created many new phenomena that require systematic theorizing, testing and understanding. Such phenomena have been studied under the Digitization of the Individual (DOTI) umbrella and have been discussed in the DOTI pre-International Conference on Information Systems workshop for the last three years (from 2015 to 2017). While prior years have focused on a variety of issues, this year (2018) we decided to put special emphasis on negative effects of the DOTI, i.e., “the dark side” of the DOTI.

Design/methodology/approach

This manuscript reports on a panel of three experts (in alphabetical order: John D’Arcy, Hamed Qahri-Saremi and Monideepa Tarafdar) who presented their past research in this domain, as well as their outlook for future research and methodologies in research on the DOTI.

Findings

The authors introduce the topic, chronicle the responses of the panelists to the questions the authors posed, and summarize and discuss their response, such that readers can develop a good idea regarding next steps in research on the dark side of the DOTI.

Originality/value

The authors introduce the topic of the dark sides of DOTI and point readers to promising research directions and methodologies for further exploring this relatively uncharted field of research.
Wanted: strategic partners for young firms eager to enter foreign markets
Authors: Mi Lili , Kang Yuanfei , Liu Yulong
Published: April 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between strategic asset-seeking intent and firms’ entry strategies of foreign investment in the context of emerging market firms.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on survey data of 392 Chinese foreign direct investment projects. Structural equation modelling is used for data analysis.

Findings

With stronger strategic asset-seeking intent, emerging market multinational enterprises are likely to locate their subsidiaries in developed countries, use a wholly owned subsidiary mode and invest with greater intensity, while they do not have a clear preference in entry timing.

Practical implications

The strategic asset-seeking intent applies not only to emerging market firms but also to small and medium firms in general that have limited resources and a need to catch up with stronger competitors. This study therefore provides guidance to these firms.

Originality/value

This study contributes by investigating how the strategic asset-seeking intent affects firms’ strategies. The findings have practical implications for strategic managerial decisions that lead to sustained competitive advantage and improved firm performance.
Impact of religiosity on ethical judgement: a study on preference of retail stores among consumers
Authors: Uysal Adem , Okumuş Abdullah
Published: April 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of ethical judgements, depending on religiosity level of consumers, on decisions of buying or not buying products from supermarkets selling alcoholic beverages.

Design/methodology/approach

The scope of this study covers consumers from province of Mus in Turkey who indicate they go shopping at supermarkets. Accordingly, data are collected from 362 consumers via face-to-face survey and the results are evaluated through regression analysis.

Findings

According to analysis, it was found that the internal and external religiosity of the consumers positively affected their ethical judgement towards the markets selling alcoholic beverages. Besides, it is concluded that the ethical judgements of consumers have a positive impact on boycott decisions against supermarkets selling alcoholic beverages.

Originality/value

The survey contributes to relevant literature by putting forth the impact of ethical judgements of consumers, associated with their level of religiosity, on their decisions as to preference of supermarkets. Moreover, this study is consistent with the previous studies and supports the conclusion that the ethical decisions are affected by the extrinsic and intrinsic levels of religiosity; however, they are more affected by the intrinsic levels of religiosity.
How to improve innovation in sustainable tourism? Five lessons learned from the Austrian Alps
Authors: Heslinga Jasper Hessel , Hillebrand Hans , Emonts Tanja
Published: April 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose lessons learned on how innovation can help facilitate sustainable tourism in regions. Sustainable tourism is a promising concept for a resilient future of tourism destinations, however, its practical implication remains a challenge.

Design/methodology/approach

To gain these practical lessons on innovation, a so-called “inspirational journey” was organized. An interdisciplinary group of experts went to the Austrian Alps and many local initiatives and innovative ideas were presented.

Findings

As a result of this journey, the authors advocate five lessons that can help improve sustainable tourism in the future.

Practical implications

Being a source of inspiration for policy-makers and planners, these lessons can be applied to other regions.

Originality/value

The added value of this viewpoint paper is that it provides practical examples on how innovation can help improve sustainable tourism in the future.
Are all observations measurements?
Authors: Kadri Faisal L.
Published: April 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of soft science measurement of motivation under strict hard science criteria from observations of individual animals and to suggest the conditions under which an observation can be classified as a measurement.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology starts from reconciling second-order cybernetics/radical constructivism (SOC/RC) understanding of the central role of the observer with physical measurements, which accepts the existence of a mind-independent reality. As a result of the reconciliation, parallels were identified between the SOC/RC experiences of as_is and as_if, on the one hand, and the measurement concepts of accuracy and resolution, on the other hand. The scales of physical measurement are defined by criteria of varying strictness, and the scales that meet the strict criterion of concatenation are generally considered hard science and lead to well-defined accuracy and precision. The similarity between SOC/RC and physical measurement suggests that if accuracy and precision can be computed from observations, then the observations can be classified as measurements in a strict hard science fashion; otherwise, the observations are just observations.

Findings

A nonlinear dynamic model of motivation is reintroduced as an example for reference in measurements of motivation. If there was an agreement on its use among observers (Ethologists), which in reality is not the case, then empirical data may be collected, and the averages and spreads of parameter estimations will define a reference for an animal species. Later, observers with their own data will calibrate with the reference model, so that new observers will have calculated values of accuracy and precision for their data.

Research limitations/implications

Unlike hard science whose scales of measurement are practically unambiguous, measuring the purpose of behaviour of an animal has inherent ambiguity according to the reintroduced model. The ambiguity cannot be resolved from instantaneous readings. The necessary existence of ambiguity renders the criticism of hard science invalid, that of expecting to measure motivation with a static scale as if it were temperature.

Practical implications

Human observers can be treated as measuring devices of motivation from observing behaviour. Each observer can have characteristic accuracy/precision, or validity/reliability, calculated from empirical data.

Social implications

This is an inductive, rather than deductive, study of individual animal behaviour; the author believes it is extensible to individual human behaviour and personality studies. However, group behaviour studies are beyond its scope.

Originality/value

The author believes that the suggestion of ambiguity of scales of animal motivation is original, and the suggested link between SOC/RC and a mainstream hard science is new.
Paving the way for the circular economy and more sustainable supply chains
Authors: Cardoso de Oliveira Mara Cristina , Machado Marcio Cardoso , Chiappetta Jabbour Charbel Jose , Lopes de Sousa Jabbour Ana Beatriz
Published: April 2019

Purpose

Circular economy is an emerging concept which requires insights from a variety of disciplines, especially from sustainable operations management. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to verify how formal and informal instruments of governance influence the induction of green practices in a green network located in Brazil, with implications for the circular economy.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a review of the supply chain (SC), green supply chain management, and governance literature, proposals are made regarding the influence of governance instruments in inducing green practices. To investigate these propositions, a qualitative research was conducted using a single exemplary case study of a cosmetics supply network.

Findings

The authors present original research findings which have both expected and unexpected implications for the circular economy, due to the fact that the data analysis showed that the formal (contracts and environmental norms) and informal (trust and cooperation) instruments of governance positively influence the induction of green practices within the supply network.

Originality/value

This study contributes to supply network and governance theory by providing insights for better understanding of how governance instruments can induce green practices in a supply network, and it provides practical implications for SC managers, by showing the importance of considering different governance instruments. Implications for the circular economy are made.
Effects of food additives on gut microbiota: friend or foe?
Authors: Inan-Eroglu Elif , Ayaz Aylin
Published: April 2019

Purpose

Recent evidence suggests that especially processed foods may lead to undesirable metabolic effects in gut microbiota. The emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners that are added to processed foods may play a role in the progression of the diseases through the modulation of microbiota in mice. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a narrative review of the effects of emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners which are mainly in consumed in the Western diet, to the gut microbiota by mainly focusing on the experimental studies.

Findings

Althoughin vivostudies and animal model studies showed various adverse effects of sweeteners and emulsifiers to microbiota, studies should be conducted in humans to investigate the effects of these food additives to human microbiota by making dietary interventions in the context of ethical rules.

Originality/value

In future, studies will allow us to draw more definitive conclusion whether human population consuming sweeteners and emulsifiers are at risk.
The motivations that define eating patterns in some Mediterranean countries
Authors: Guiné Raquel , Ferrão Ana Cristina , Ferreira Manuela , Correia Paula , Cardoso Ana Paula , Duarte João , Rumbak Ivana , Shehata Abdel-Moneim , Vittadini Elena , Papageorgiou Maria
Published: April 2019

Purpose

This study to investigate several issues related to food choice and consumption patterns in different countries, including health-related factors; economic and availability aspects; emotional determinants; social, cultural and religious influences; marketing and advertising campaigns; and finally environmental concerns.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study was based on a questionnaire that was exclusively prepared for the project, and which was applied to collect data in different countries, in particular Croatia, Egypt, Italy, Greece and Portugal, which are typically associated with the Mediterranean diet (MD).

Findings

The results obtained allowed, in general, to conclude that in all five countries the motivations related to health as well as environment and politics were the more relevant to determine people’s eating habits (scores varying from 0.3 to 0.7). Women were more influenced by eating motivations than men, and people with moderate exercise were more susceptible to health and environmental motivations and less to emotional, social or marketing motivations (p < 0.001 in all cases). It was also observed that people who adopted a special diet were more prone to eating motivations and that the emotional motivations were more pronounced in people with eating disorders (p < 0.001). Finally, people without chronic diseases or allergies were even more influenced by health motivations than those who actually suffered from these health problems (p < 0.001 in both cases).

Originality/value

This work is important because of the multinational coverage, thus allowing to evaluate the most relevant factors that influenced the food choices of the populations around the Mediterranean Sea, sharing the common link to the MD. The study allowed concluding that, in general, the food choices were primarily determined by health factors and also by concerns related to the environment and sustainability as well as by political influences.
Taxonomic and functional diversity of the co‐flowering community differentially affect Cakile edentula pollination at different spatial scales
Authors: Albor Cristopher , García‐Franco José G. , Parra‐Tabla Víctor , Díaz‐Castelazo Cecilia , Arceo‐Gómez Gerardo
Published: April 2019

The number of co‐flowering species, floral density and floral trait diversity can be major determinants of pollinator‐mediated plant–plant interactions in a community. However, evaluation of how each one of these co‐flowering components affects the pollination success of a single focal plant species, and how these effects vary at different spatial scales, is lacking.

Here, we evaluated the effects of functional diversity (flower morphology and colour), taxonomic diversity (reflecting potential sampling effects) and flower density (conspecific and heterospecific), on the pollinator environment (i.e. visitation rate and pollinator diversity) and pollination success (i.e. pollen load size and number of pollen tubes per style) of Cakile edentula (Brassicaceae). We applied structural equation models (SEMs) at the floral‐neighbourhood (plot level) and community‐wide scales to uncover the factors that mediate co‐flowering community effects on C. edentula pollination success.

We found that co‐flowering community effects at the community level are more important than fine‐scale floral‐neighbourhood differences in mediating plant pollination success in our study species. Increasing plant functional diversity decreased pollinator visitation rate but increased the diversity of pollinator functional groups visiting C. edentula flowers. Taxonomic diversity negatively affected pollinator diversity suggesting that other unmeasured floral traits may be relevant or that single‐species effects (sampling effects) may be important. Overall, our results suggest that functional floral trait diversity in a community may be the most important factor influencing pollination success of species in a community. We also found evidence for intra‐ and interspecific pollinator competition mediated by flower density, but none of these effects seemed to have a significant impact on pollination success.

This study is an important step towards understanding the complexity of co‐flowering community effects on the pollination success of individual plant species at multiple spatial scales. This study further reveals the potential importance of plant functional diversity in a community in helping predict competitive and facilitative interactions in co‐flowering communities.

Synthesis. Floral density and taxonomic and functional co‐flowering diversity are important drivers of pollination success in flowering plants. The effects of the co‐flowering diversity on the pollination success of plant species can largely depend on the spatial scale being studied. Only evaluating the outcomes of pollinator‐mediated plant–plant interactions at multiple stages of the pollination process can lead to a complete understanding of their ecological consequences in nature.
A sociology of public responses to hospital change and closure
Authors: Stewart Ellen
Published: April 2019

The “problem” of public resistance to hospital closure is a recurring trope in health policy debates around the world. Recent papers have argued that when it comes to major change to hospitals, “the public” cannot be persuaded by clinical evidence, and that mechanisms of public involvement are ill‐equipped to reconcile opposition with management desire for radical change. This paper presents data from in‐depth qualitative case studies of three hospital change processes in Scotland's National Health Service, including interviews with 44 members of the public. Informed by sociological accounts of both hospitals and publics as heterogeneous, shifting entities, I explore how hospitals play meaningful roles within their communities. I identify community responses to change proposals which go beyond simple opposition, including evading, engaging with and acquiescing to changes. Explicating both hospitals and the publics they serve as complex social phenomena strengthens the case for policy and practice to prioritise dialogic processes of engagement. It also demonstrates the continuing value of careful, empirical research into public perspectives on contentious healthcare issues in the context of everyday life.