bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adoption of Building Information Modelling technology (BIM)
Authors: Rogers John , Chong Heap-Yih , Preece Christopher
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology has been well received by the Malaysian construction industry, yet the adoption rate is extremely slow. Many areas of adoption issues and know how regarding BIM were investigated. However, no prior research has considered the perspective from engineering consulting services (ECS) firms. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the overview and adoption of BIM from the perspective of Malaysian ECS firms, with its objectives first, to determine the perceptions, barriers, governmental support and intentions in adopting BIM, and second, to identify the key drivers for adopting BIM within two years.

Design/methodology/approach

– The primary data were collected from focus group interview and questionnaire survey to achieve the first objective, and subsequently, the second objective was achieved based on Pearson relationship analysis.

Findings

– The results show that the firms have a concept of BIM that equates to industry authorities’ norms; yet the lack of well-trained personnel, guidance and governmental supports were identified as the main barriers to adoption. Nevertheless, the firms were prepared to adopt BIM where market demands and competitive advantage were the main drivers to adoption within two years.

Originality/value

– A different perspective has been highlighted in adoption of BIM. It renders a new insight into the effective adoption and use of BIM from the ECS firms’ perspective.
Institutions and development in MENA region: evidence from the manufacturing sector
Authors: Arayssi Mahmoud , Fakih Ali
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the role of institutions (including civil law origin), financial deepening and degree of regime authority on growth rates in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper examines the implications of industrial firm-related and national factors for the determinants of economic growth using panel data through a fixed effect model.

Findings

– The results reveal that English civil law origin and the establishment of the rule of law work with the development of financial institutions to increase economic growth in these economies; however, the democratization of the political institutions and foreign direct investment do not assist financial development in promoting economic growth.

Research limitations/implications

– Data covered is limited to four years.

Social implications

– The findings emphasize the prominence of overcoming institutional weaknesses and establishing transparent public policy governing businesses as a pre-requisite for successful universal integration in developing countries.

Originality/value

– This paper contributes to the literature on the relationship between finance and economic growth in two aspects. First, the authors focus on the contribution of the institutional setting and its interaction with the financial development and how this affects economic growth of the manufacturing firms. Second, the authors explore the relationship between the role of institutions, governance, the country civil law origin and the economic growth.
Analysis of arable crop farmers’ awareness to causes and effects of climate change in south western Nigeria
Authors: Ibrahim Shakirat Bolatito , Ayinde Idris Akanbi , Arowolo Aisha Olushola
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze the determinants of arable crop farmers’ awareness to causes and effects of climate change in south western Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using primary data, 150 arable crop farmers in Ogun State were selected through a multi stage sampling technique. Survey method was used to elicit information on farmers’ socioeconomic, production characteristics, and their level of awareness to causes and effects of climate change. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, environmental awareness index (EAI), and Tobit regression analysis.

Findings

– Most (81.08 percent) of the arable crop farmers were males with an average household size of eight persons, farming experience of 24 years and farm size of approximately 1 ha. The computed climate change EAI showed that only 47 percent of the respondents were aware of causes of climate change, while 68 percent were aware of its effects. Results further revealed that age, income from secondary occupation (p
<
0.10), marital status, household size (p
<
0.05), years of farming experience, frequency of extension contact, land size in hectare, and farm revenue (p
<
0.01) were the determinants of respondents awareness to causes and effects of climate change.

Practical implications

– The study recommended among others that, awareness should be created among arable crop farmers on climate change causes and effects for appropriate mitigation actions to be taken for improved agricultural productivity.

Originality/value

– The study provided new empirical evidence on the awareness level of respondents to causes and effects of climate change on their production activities and livelihood in general. Implications for policy will be to provide a public education program that will target females, the poor, the illiterate, and the people in the economically active age group among others in order to create awareness and provide information and adequate knowledge on the causes and effects of climate change for proper mitigation and adaptation options.
The role of migrant workers remittances in fostering economic growth
Authors: Azam Muhammad
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the macroeconomic impact of migrant workers’ remittances on economic growth in four developing Asian countries namely: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study utilizes annual time series data over the period 1976-2012 and the ordinary least squares as an analytical technique for parameters estimation.

Findings

– Empirical results support the existence of a significant positive relationship between migrant workers remittances and economic growth. The other control variables such as foreign direct investment, openness to trade and infrastructure are also found to be statistically significant with expected signs.

Practical implications

– The findings of this study are expected to guide policy makers in formulating the right and relevant policies through which migrant workers’ remittances can be made more productive and its benefits for both migrants and the country of origin are maximized. Consequently, it will foster economic growth and development.

Originality/value

– This paper provides some valuable evidences on the significance of migrant workers remittances as a source of economic growth. Moreover, the study differs from the erstwhile studies in terms of control variables, time period and method of estimation. Finally, the empirical results established are relatively robust.
Friend or Foe? Testing the Influence of Populism on Democratic Quality in Latin America
Authors: Huber Robert A , Schimpf Christian H
Published: July 2015

This article examines the influence of populism on democratic quality in Latin America. It draws on findings of qualitative work on this question as well as a theoretical framework by Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser to test whether the assumptions and results of both are applicable in a comparative study. It is expected that populist actors have a negative impact on democratic quality when they are in government, but that they positively influence democratic quality when they are in opposition, where they can function as a corrective. Further, it is expected that these effects vary depending on the level of consolidation. A linear mixed-effects model and data from eighteen Latin American countries in the period 1995–2009 was used to evaluate the hypotheses. Generally, it was found that populist actors in opposition have a large positive influence on democratic quality and that populist actors in government have a negative influence.
Susceptibility ofHelicobacter pylorito antibiotics inChinese patients
Authors: Bai Peng , Zhou Li Ya , Xiao Xiu Mei , Luo Yang , Ding Yu
Published: July 2015

Objective

Antibiotic resistance toHelicobacter pylori(H. pylori) has been increasing worldwide. The study aimed to evaluatein vitrosusceptibility and resistance patterns to antibiotics in empiricalH. pylorieradication regimens, and to determine the optimal antibiotics for treatment.

Methods

H. pyloristrains (n=181) were obtained from gastric biopsies of patients with upper gastrointestinal symptoms who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy fromMarch toDecember 2013. The susceptibility ofH. pyloristrains to amoxicillin (AMX), metronidazole (MTZ), clarithromycin (CLR), amoxicillin‐clavulanate (AMC), cephalothin (CEP), cefuroxime (CXM), cefixime (CFM), moxifloxacin (MFX) and minocycline (MNO) was determined.

Results

Dual resistance toMTZ + CLRwas detected in 48 (26.5%) isolates,MTZ + MFXin 94 (51.9%), andCLR + MFXin 49 (27.1%). Overall, 41 (22.7%) were resistant toMTZ + CLR + MFX.MTZandCLRresistance rates were significantly associated with the history ofH. pylorieradication but there was no significant difference inMFXresistance rates between treated and untreated patients (P = 0.674). No significant relationship was found between antibiotic resistance and patient's gender, age, endoscopic findings, inflammatory severity or gastric atrophy.

Conclusions

AMX,AMC,MNOand cephalosporins, but notMTZ,CLRandMFX, showed goodin vitroanti‐H. pyloriactivity. Among cephalosporins,CXMwas the most active.H. pyloriresistance is higher in patients with previousH. pylorieradication.
Interactions between the intestinal microbiota and bile acids in gallstones patients
Authors: Keren Nirit , Konikoff Fred M. , Paitan Yossi , Gabay Gila , Reshef Leah , Naftali Timna , Gophna Uri
Published: July 2015

Cholecystectomy, surgical removal of the gallbladder, changes bile flow to the intestine and can therefore alter the bidirectional interactions between bile acids (BAs) and the intestinal microbiota. We quantified and correlated BAs and bacterial community composition in gallstone patients scheduled for cholecystectomy before and after the procedure, using gas–liquid chromatography and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, followed by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction of the phylum Bacteroidetes. Gallstone patients had higher overall concentrations of faecal BAs and a decreased microbial diversity, accompanied by a reduction in the beneficial genus Roseburia and an enrichment of the uncultivated genus Oscillospira, compared with controls. These two genera may thus serve as biomarkers for symptomatic gallstone formation. Oscillospira was correlated positively with secondary BAs and negatively with primary BAs, while the phylum Bacteroidetes showed an opposite trend. Cholecystectomy resulted in no substantial change in patients' faecal BAs. However, bacterial composition was significantly altered, with a significant increase in the phylum Bacteroidetes. Given that cholecystectomy has been associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer and that members of the Bacteroidetes are increased in that disease, microbial consequences of cholecystectomy should be further explored.
Displacement or Force Control Knee Simulators? Variations in Kinematics and in Wear
Authors: Affatato Saverio
Published: July 2015

The problems associated with prosthetic failure and revision surgery still constitute the main clinical problem of prosthetic surgery. The objective of wear evaluation is to determine the wear rate and its dependence on the test conditions. To obtain realistic results, a wear test can be performed to reproduce in vivo working conditions and compare the wear characteristics of various total knee prostheses designs. At the state of the art, two simulation concepts are available and defined in ISO 14243 standards series. In both these guidelines, level walking is the sole activity of daily living that is represented for testing. With so many variables and so many sources of error and the sensitivity of the output to these errors, can the motion determined in the simulator be representative of the in vivo motion? This article goes beyond the current status of these knee simulations comparing literature results.
Clinical Validation of a Peritoneal Dialysis Prescription Model in the PatientOnLine Software
Authors: Hodzic Emir , Rasic Senija , Klein Christian , Covic Adrian , Unsal Abdulkadir , Cunquero José Manuel Gil , Prischl Friedrich C. , Gauly Adelheid , Kalicki Robert M. , Uehlinger Dominik E.
Published: July 2015

Peritoneal transport characteristics and residual renal function require regular control and subsequent adjustment of the peritoneal dialysis (PD) prescription. Prescription models shall facilitate the prediction of the outcome of such adaptations for a given patient. In the present study, the prescription model implemented in the PatientOnLine software was validated in patients requiring a prescription change. This multicenter, international prospective cohort study with the aim to validate a PD prescription model included patients treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Patients were examined with the peritoneal function test (PFT) to determine the outcome of their current prescription and the necessity for a prescription change. For these patients, a new prescription was modeled using the PatientOnLine software (Fresenius Medical Care, Bad Homburg, Germany). Two to four weeks after implementation of the new PD regimen, a second PFT was performed. The validation of the prescription model included 54 patients. Predicted and measured peritoneal Kt/V were 1.52 ± 0.31 and 1.66 ± 0.35, and total (peritoneal + renal) Kt/V values were 1.96 ± 0.48 and 2.06 ± 0.44, respectively. Predicted and measured peritoneal creatinine clearances were 42.9 ± 8.6 and 43.0 ± 8.8 L/1.73 m2/week and total creatinine clearances were 65.3 ± 26.0 and 63.3 ± 21.8 L/1.73 m2/week, respectively. The analysis revealed a Pearson's correlation coefficient for peritoneal Kt/V of 0.911 and Lin's concordance coefficient of 0.829. The value of both coefficients was 0.853 for peritoneal creatinine clearance. Predicted and measured daily net ultrafiltration was 0.77 ± 0.49 and 1.16 ± 0.63 L/24 h, respectively. Pearson's correlation and Lin's concordance coefficient were 0.518 and 0.402, respectively. Predicted and measured peritoneal glucose absorption was 125.8 ± 38.8 and 79.9 ± 30.7 g/24 h, respectively, and Pearson's correlation and Lin's concordance coefficient were 0.914 and 0.477, respectively. With good predictability of peritoneal Kt/V and creatinine clearance, the present model provides support for individual dialysis prescription in clinical practice. Peritoneal glucose absorption and ultrafiltration are less predictable and are likely to be influenced by additional clinical factors to be taken into consideration.
Systematic analysis of factors associated with progression and regression of ulcerative colitis in 918 patients
Authors: Safroneeva E. , Vavricka S. , Fournier N. , Seibold F. , Mottet C. , Nydegger A. , Ezri J. , Straumann A. , Rogler G. , Schoepfer A. M. ,   the Swiss IBD Cohort Study Group
Published: July 2015

Background

Studies that systematically assess change in ulcerative colitis (UC) extent over time in adult patients are scarce.

Aim

To assess changes in disease extent over time and to evaluate clinical parameters associated with this change.

Methods

Data from the Swiss IBD cohort study were analysed. We used logistic regression modelling to identify factors associated with a change in disease extent.

Results

A total of 918 UC patients (45.3% females) were included. At diagnosis, UC patients presented with the following disease extent: proctitis [199 patients (21.7%)], left‐sided colitis [338 patients (36.8%)] and extensive colitis/pancolitis [381 (41.5%)]. During a median disease duration of 9 [4–16] years, progression and regression was documented in 145 patients (15.8%) and 149 patients (16.2%) respectively. In addition, 624 patients (68.0%) had a stable disease extent. The following factors were identified to be associated with disease progression: treatment with systemic glucocorticoids [odds ratio (OR) 1.704, P = 0.025] and calcineurin inhibitors (OR: 2.716, P = 0.005). No specific factors were found to be associated with disease regression.

Conclusions

Over a median disease duration of 9 [4–16] years, about two‐thirds of UC patients maintained the initial disease extent; the remaining one‐third had experienced either progression or regression of the disease extent.
Marginal Genetic Effects Estimation in Family and Twin Studies Using Random-Effects Models
Authors: Tsonaka Roula , van der Woude Diane , Houwing-Duistermaat Jeanine
Published: July 2015

Random-effects models are often used in family-based genetic association studies to properly capture the within families relationships. In such models, the regression parameters have a conditional on the random effects interpretation and they measure, e.g., genetic effects for each family. Estimating parameters that can be used to make inferences at the population level is often more relevant than the family-specific effects, but not straightforward. This is mainly for two reasons: First the analysis of family data often requires high-dimensional random-effects vectors to properly model the familial relationships, for instance when members with a different degree of relationship are considered, such as trios, mix of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, etc. The second complication is the biased sampling design, such as the multiple cases families design, which is often employed to enrich the sample with genetic information. For these reasons deriving parameters with the desired marginal interpretation can be challenging. In this work we consider the marginalized mixed-effects models, we discuss challenges in applying them in ascertained family data and propose penalized maximum likelihood methodology to stabilize the parameter estimation by using external information on the disease prevalence or heritability. The performance of our methodology is evaluated via simulation and is illustrated on data from Rheumatoid Arthritis patients, where we estimate the marginal effect of HLA-DRB1 and shared epitope alleles across three different study designs and combine them using meta-analysis.
Pattern Mixture Models for the Analysis of Repeated Attempt Designs
Authors: Daniels Michael J. , Jackson Dan , Feng Wei , White Ian R.
Published: July 2015

It is not uncommon in follow-up studies to make multiple attempts to collect a measurement after baseline. Recording whether these attempts are successful or not provides useful information for the purposes of assessing the missing at random (MAR) assumption and facilitating missing not at random (MNAR) modeling. This is because measurements from subjects who provide this data after multiple failed attempts may differ from those who provide the measurement after fewer attempts. This type of “continuum of resistance” to providing a measurement has hitherto been modeled in a selection model framework, where the outcome data is modeled jointly with the success or failure of the attempts given these outcomes. Here, we present a pattern mixture approach to model this type of data. We re-analyze the repeated attempt data from a trial that was previously analyzed using a selection model approach. Our pattern mixture model is more flexible and is more transparent in terms of parameter identifiability than the models that have previously been used to model repeated attempt data and allows for sensitivity analysis. We conclude that our approach to modeling this type of data provides a fully viable alternative to the more established selection model.
Evolutionary consequences of climate‐induced range shifts in insects
Authors: Sánchez‐Guillén Rosa A. , Córdoba‐Aguilar Alex , Hansson Bengt , Ott Jürgen , Wellenreuther Maren
Published: July 2015

Range shifts can rapidly create new areas of geographic overlap between formerly allopatric taxa and evidence is accumulating that this can affect species persistence. We review the emerging literature on the short‐ and long‐term consequences of these geographic range shifts. Specifically, we focus on the evolutionary consequences of novel species interactions in newly created sympatric areas by describing the potential (i) short‐term processes acting on reproductive barriers between species and (ii) long‐term consequences of range shifts on the stability of hybrid zones, introgression and ultimately speciation and extinction rates. Subsequently, we (iii) review the empirical literature on insects to evaluate which processes have been studied, and (iv) outline some areas that deserve increased attention in the future, namely the genomics of hybridisation and introgression, our ability to forecast range shifts and the impending threat from insect vectors and pests on biodiversity, human health and crop production. Our review shows that species interactions inde novosympatric areas can be manifold, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing species diversity. A key issue that emerges is that climate‐induced hybridisations in insects are much more widespread than anticipated and that rising temperatures and increased anthropogenic disturbances are accelerating the process of species mixing. The existing evidence only shows the tip of the iceberg and we are likely to see many more cases of species mixing following range shifts in the near future.
miR‐367 promotes proliferation and stem‐like traits in medulloblastoma cells
Authors: Kaid Carolini , Silva Patrícia B. G. , Cortez Beatriz A. , Rodini Carolina O. , Semedo‐Kuriki Patricia , Okamoto Oswaldo K.
Published: July 2015

In medulloblastoma, abnormal expression of pluripotency factors such as LIN28 and OCT4 has been correlated with poor patient survival. The miR‐302/367 cluster has also been shown to control self‐renewal and pluripotency in human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, but there is limited, mostly correlational, information about these pluripotency‐related miRNA in cancer. We evaluated whether aberrant expression of such miRNA could affect tumor cell behavior and stem‐like traits, thereby contributing to the aggressiveness of medulloblastoma cells. Basal expression of primary and mature forms of miR‐367 were detected in four human medulloblastoma cell lines and expression of the latter was found to be upregulated upon enforced expression of OCT4A. Transient overexpression of miR‐367 significantly enhanced tumor features typically correlated with poor prognosis; namely, cell proliferation, 3‐D tumor spheroid cell invasion and the ability to generate neurosphere‐like structures enriched in CD133 expressing cells. A concurrent downregulation of the miR‐367 cancer‐related targets RYR3, ITGAV and RAB23, was also detected in miR‐367‐overexpressing cells. Overall, these findings support the pro‐oncogenic activity of miR‐367 in medulloblastoma and reveal a possible mechanism contributing to tumor aggressiveness, which could be further explored to improve patient stratification and treatment of this important type of pediatric brain cancer.
Susceptibility of pancreatic cancer stem cells to reprogramming
Authors: Noguchi Kozo , Eguchi Hidetoshi , Konno Masamitsu , Kawamoto Koichi , Nishida Naohiro , Koseki Jun , Wada Hiroshi , Marubashi Shigeru , Nagano Hiroaki , Doki Yuichiro , Mori Masaki , Ishii Hideshi
Published: July 2015

Previous reports have indicated that reprogramming technologies may be useful for altering the malignant phenotype of cancer cells. Although somatic stem cells in normal tissues are more sensitive to reprogramming induction than differentiated cells, it remains to be elucidated whether any specific subpopulations are sensitive to reprogramming in heterogeneous tumor tissues. Here we examined the susceptibility of pancreatic cancer stem cells (CSC) and non‐CSC to reprogramming. To characterize CSC populations, we focused on c‐Met signaling, which has been identified as a marker of CSC in mouse experiments in vivo. Cells that expressed high levels of c‐Met showed higher CSC properties, such as tumor‐initiating capacity, and resistance to gemcitabine. Real‐time reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction in cells expressing high levels of c‐Met revealed endogenous expression of reprogramming factors, such as OCT3/4, SOX2, KLF4 and cMYC. Introduction of these four factors resulted in higher alkaline phosphatase staining in cells with high c‐Met expression than in controls. Therefore, the study results demonstrate that cellular reprogramming may be useful for extensive epigenetic modification of malignant features of pancreatic CSC.
Similar activation state of neutrophils in sputum of asthma patients irrespective of sputum eosinophilia
Authors: Tak T , Hilvering B , Tesselaar K , Koenderman L
Published: July 2015

Inflammatory phenotypes of asthma are associated with differences in disease characteristics. It is unknown whether these inflammatory phenotypes are reflected by the activation status of neutrophils in blood and sputum. We obtained peripheral blood and induced sputum from 21 asthma patients and stratified our samples based on sputum eosinophilia resulting in two groups (>3% eosinophils: n = 13, <3%: n = 8). Eosinophils and neutrophils from blood and sputum were analysed for expression of activation and degranulation markers by flow cytometry. Data were analysed by both classical, non-parametric statistics and a multi-dimensional approach, using principal component analysis (PCA). Patients with sputum eosinophilia were characterized by increased asthma control questionnaire (ACQ) scores and blood eosinophil counts. Both sputum neutrophils and eosinophils displayed an activated and degranulated phenotype compared to cells obtained from blood. Specifically, degranulation of all granule types was detected in sputum cells, combined with an increased expression of the activation markers (activated) Mac-1 (CD11b), programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) (CD274) and a decreased expression of CD62L. CD69 expression was only increased on sputum eosinophils. Surface marker expression of neutrophils was similar in the presence or absence of eosinophilia, either by single or multi-dimensional analysis. Sputum neutrophils were highly activated and degranulated irrespective of sputum eosinophilia. Therefore, we conclude that differences in granulocyte activation in sputum and/or blood are not associated with clinical differences in the two groups of asthma patients. The finding of PD-L1 expression on sputum granulocytes suggests an immunomodulatory role of these cells in the tissue.
Maternal depression and risk for antisocial behaviour in children
Authors: Gajos Jamie M. , Beaver Kevin M.
Published: July 2015

Maternal depression has consistently been found to be associated with child problem behaviours. In the current study, we examine the possibility of whether the association between maternal depression and child antisocial behaviour may be due to confounding. Data from waves 2, 5 and 7 of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study‐Kindergarten Cohort were analysed. Our analysis revealed a significant association between maternal depression and child antisocial behaviour prior to matching. After successfully matching the mothers on 29 key covariates, one of the cross‐sectional associations and the longitudinal association between maternal depression and child antisocial behaviour was no longer statistically significant. However, two cross‐sectional associations between maternal depression and child antisocial behaviour remained statistically significant. The results of the study are discussed in relation to the importance of the timing of maternal depression within different developmental time periods.
Executive Remuneration and the Payout Decision
Authors: Geiler Philipp , Renneboog Luc
Published: July 2015

Manuscript Type

Empirical

Research Question/Issue

This paper investigates whether corporate payout policies (dividends, share repurchases, a combination of dividends and share repurchases, and full earnings retention) are set by CEOs who intend to maximize their personal wealth.

Research Findings/Insights

For all listed UK companies we study whether the payout channel choice is affected by investor sentiment, taxation, major shareholder ownership, and in particular the CEO's compensation package. The payout choice has an immediate effect on the value of the CEO's stock options and restricted stock, as anticipated dividends drive down the value of his equity‐based pay (if it is not dividend‐protected), and share repurchases have a positive impact on pay. By means of a quantile regression approach and nested logit models, we find that CEOs adopt a payout policy that increases the value of their equity‐based pay.

Theoretical/Academic Implications

Traditional research shows that corporate payout policies cater to shareholder clienteles who have preferences for specific types of payout induced by e.g. differences in taxation on dividends and capital gains, or market sentiment. We demonstrate that it is a CEO's personal wealth as reflected by his compensation package rather than shareholder preferences that has the strongest impact on the payout policy.

Practitioner/Policy Implications

This research encourages firms/remuneration consultants to make top management's remuneration packages ‘dividend‐neutral’, in other words to remove the negative impact of the dividends on pay such that the payout and payout channel choice will not be influenced by the CEO's wealth. In addition, this research encourages shareholders to contemplate whether the payout is beneficial for them and to vote on the proposed payout policy at the annual general meetings.
Strategies used by individuals to prevent burnout
Authors: Demerouti Evangelia
Published: July 2015

Background

Burnout represents a syndrome that is related to demanding job characteristics combined with the absence of resources or motivational job characteristics. The aim of this position study was to present strategies that individuals use to minimize burnout and its unfavourable effects.

Materials and methods

The study focuses explicitly on strategies that individuals use to (i) deal with diminished resources that come with burnout, (ii) change their job characteristics such that the job becomes less demanding and more motivating and (iii) manage the interplay between the work and nonwork domains.

Results

Individuals seem to use coping, recovery and compensation strategies to reduce the impact of work stressors by changing the stressor or their responses to the stressor. Moreover, they use job crafting to alter the characteristics of the job such that it becomes less hindering and more motivating. Finally, individuals create boundaries between their work and nonwork domains to experience less work–family and family–work conflicts by actively detaching from work.

Conclusions

Finding bottom‐up strategies that individuals use to minimize burnout or its unfavourable effects may be essential to complement the top‐down interventions initiated by organizations.
Positive frequency dependence undermines the success of restoration using historical disturbance regimes
Authors: Crandall Raelene , Knight Tiffany M.
Published: July 2015

Anthropogenic alterations of historical disturbance regimes (e.g. suppressing floods and wildfires) is a primary mechanism by which exotic species can come to dominate native communities. Unfortunately, reinstating historical disturbance regimes to restore native communities has achieved mixed success. The presence of positive frequency dependence (PFD) is commonly invoked to explain why exotic plant invasions are so difficult to eradicate. However, models examining PFD have not considered the effect of reintroducing disturbances. Using a spatially explicit individual‐based model, we consider how magnitude and direction of frequency dependence of native and exotic species affects the success of reintroducing disturbances that favour fitness of natives over exotics. Our model illustrates why restoration is difficult; there is a narrow range of parameters that allows for native species to eliminate or coexist with exotics once they have established. Dominance by exotic invaders occurs with moderate initial frequencies of exotic individuals, aggregation of these individuals, or an exotic propagule production advantage. Reintroducing disturbances allows native dominance only when PFD of the exotic is weaker than that of the native species, disturbance intervals are short, and/or exotics are not initially frequent. Our framework provides guidelines for conditions in which the reintroduction of disturbances will effectively restore invaded habitats.
A cloud‐based responsive replenishment system in a franchise business model using a fuzzy logic approach
Authors: Lee C. K. H. , Choy K. L. , Ho G. T. S. , Lin Canhong
Published: July 2015

In today's volatile markets, increasingly unpredictable customer demand is exerting great challenges to responsive replenishment. The complexity of responsive replenishment is higher when the business is global in which demand in both domestic and overseas markets has to be catered for. The emergence of cloud computing has eased the difficulties as it allows nearly real‐time access to a universal platform for information sharing between franchisors and franchisees, creating huge opportunities for understanding global market needs for responsive replenishment. Considering the existence of uncertainties due to the fluctuating demands, fuzzy logic is useful in providing decision support for replenishment in uncertain environments. This paper presents a cloud‐based responsive replenishment system to manage operation data of a franchise business using cloud computing, and for analysis using fuzzy logic in order to provide franchisors with the required inventory levels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that applies cloud computing and artificial intelligence techniques in franchising. A pilot run of the system is conducted in an education company, which is considered to be a good representation of an industry operating with a franchise model. The results show that the system allows franchisors to formulate effective responsive replenishment strategies.
Prognostic factors and risk classifications for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Shinohara Nobuo , Abe Takashige
Published: July 2015

The introduction of molecular‐targeted therapy has made dramatical changes to treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Currently, there are four vascular endothelial growth factor receptor‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors and two mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors in Japan. For the appropriate clinical use of these molecular‐targeted drugs, the identification of prognostic and/or predictive factors in patients who received these drugs is required. Although molecular biological and genetic factors that determine the prognosis of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma have been reported, most of these factors are problematic in that the number of patients analyzed was small. In contrast, clinicopathological prognostic factors, including the practice of cytoreductive nephrectomy, pathological findings, metastatic sites and metastasectomy, and abnormal inflammatory response, have been identified by analyzing a relatively large number of patients. Several prognostic classification models that were developed by combining these clinicopathological factors are widely used in not only clinical trials, but also routine clinical practice. However, the quality of these prognostic models is considered to be insufficient regarding prognostic prediction of metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients and, thus, requires further improvements. Recently, basic and clinical studies have been extensively carried out for the identification of promising informative markers and for understanding molecular mechanisms of resistance to molecular‐targeted drugs in metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients. The present review considers ongoing translational research efforts on clinicopathological, molecular biological, and genetic prognostic and/or predictive factors for metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients in the era of molecular‐targeted therapy, and discusses the clinical implications of these findings.
Screening for incontinence in a secure psychiatric service for women
Authors: Long Clive G. , West Rachel , Siddique Rizwana , Rigg Samantha , Banyard Ellen , Stillman Swee‐Kit , Butler Sarah , Dolley Olga
Published: July 2015

Incontinence is associated with mental illness and neuroleptic medications but diagnosis and treatment is often poor or non‐existent. Problems of incontinence are compounded in secure psychiatric services for women by poor health, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle. Addressing the physical health of this group necessitates a more accurate picture of the nature, incidence, and management of incontinence. A point‐in‐time survey of 108 women who agreed to be interviewed (93%) covered presence, frequency, and nature of incontinence, and information on management case note data was used to gather demographic and previous medical history, comparisons were made between patients with and without problems of incontinence. Findings indicate a problem of incontinence in 48% of women with a dominance of problems of stress and urge enuresis. Of modifiable factors that contribute to enuresis, the current study highlighted the contribution of obesity, smoking and clozapine medication. A further finding was the preference for managing rather than treating problems of incontinence. Actions to improve the detection and treatment of this problem are described.
Range dynamics driven by Quaternary climate oscillations explain the distribution of introgressed mtDNA of Lepus timidus origin in hares from the Iberian Peninsula
Authors: Acevedo Pelayo , Melo‐Ferreira José , Farelo Liliana , Beltran‐Beck Beatriz , Real Raimundo , Campos Rita , Alves Paulo C.
Published: July 2015

Aim

A striking case of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) introgression occurs in the Iberian Peninsula: the mtDNA of Lepus timidus, a species that inhabited this territory during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), is almost fixed in the Iberian range of Lepus europaeus, is very frequent in the northern half of Iberia within Lepus granatensis, and is fixed in Lepus castroviejoi. Here, we used a transdisciplinary approach to understand the ecological drivers of the distribution of this introgressed mtDNA in the Iberian hare species.

Location

Europe, with an emphasis on the Iberian Peninsula.

Methods

First, we modelled the climatic niche of L. timidus to predict the favourability for the species during the LGM. Second, we gathered data regarding L. timidus mtDNA introgression for 1137 individuals (139 populations) from the Iberian Peninsula. We tested whether the climatic favourability for L. timidus during the LGM reflects the frequency of the introgressed mtDNA in the carrier hare populations.

Results

The climatic favourability for the LGM is positively related to the presence of individuals with L. timidus mtDNA, and discriminates better than by chance between individuals with and without this lineage. At the population level, the favourability values relate to the observed frequencies of mtDNA introgression and discriminate between populations with and without L. timidus mtDNA.

Main conclusions

The results suggest that the geographical distribution of L. timidus mtDNA introgression is linked to L. timidus distribution in Iberia during the LGM. Our study helps to improve our understanding of the role of climate in the reticulated evolutionary history of hares, and is a first step towards understanding the ecological impact of mtDNA introgression on Iberian hares.
Norepinephrine and its metabolites are involved in the synthesis of neuromelanin derived from the locus coeruleus
Authors: Wakamatsu Kazumasa , Tabuchi Keisuke , Ojika Makoto , Zucca Fabio A. , Zecca Luigi , Ito Shosuke
Published: July 2015

In order to elucidate the chemical structure of black to brown pigments, neuromelanins (NMs), in the substantia nigra (SN) and the locus coeruleus (LC) in the central nervous system of humans and other mammalian species during aging, chemical degradative methods are powerful tools. HPLC analysis after hydroiodic acid hydrolysis detected aminohydroxyphenylethylamines, aminohydroxyphenylacetic acids, and aminohydroxyethylbenzenes, which confirmed that SN‐NM and LC‐NM contain melanin derived not only from dopamine and norepinephrine (NE) but also from several other catecholic metabolites, such as 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine, 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3,4‐dihydroxymandelic acid, 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylethanol, and 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylethylene glycol, in addition to the corresponding Cys‐derivatives in varying degrees. However, hydroiodic acid hydrolysis showed that LC‐NM produced the same degradation products as were detected in SN‐NM. Thus, we needed to develop a new chemical detection method to validate the existence of NE in LC‐NM. In the present study, we report that HCl hydrolysis of LC‐NM in the presence of thioglycolic acid yields new products arising from substitution of the hydroxyl group by thioglycolic acid at the benzyl position of NE and cysteinyl‐NE. This is the first chemical evidence showing that NE and cysteinyl‐NE are incorporated into LC‐NM.

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Using the chemical degradation methods for the determination of catechols in neuromelanin (NM), we have shown that dopamine (DA), 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylethanol (DOPE), and 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) are mainly responsible for the structure of NM from substantia nigra (SN), while norepinephrine (NE), 3,4‐dihydroxymandelic acid (DOMA), and 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylethylene glycol (DOPEG) are additionally responsible for the structure of NM from locus coeruleus (LC).
Improving left spatial neglect through music scale playing
Authors: Bernardi Nicolò Francesco , Cioffi Maria Cristina , Ronchi Roberta , Maravita Angelo , Bricolo Emanuela , Zigiotto Luca , Perucca Laura , Vallar Giuseppe
Published: July 2015

The study assessed whether the auditory reference provided by a music scale could improve spatial exploration of a standard musical instrument keyboard in right‐brain‐damaged patients with left spatial neglect. As performing music scales involves the production of predictable successive pitches, the expectation of the subsequent note may facilitate patients to explore a larger extension of space in the left affected side, during the production of music scales from right to left. Eleven right‐brain‐damaged stroke patients with left spatial neglect, 12 patients without neglect, and 12 age‐matched healthy participants played descending scales on a music keyboard. In a counterbalanced design, the participants' exploratory performance was assessed while producing scales in three feedback conditions: With congruent sound, no‐sound, or random sound feedback provided by the keyboard. The number of keys played and the timing of key press were recorded. Spatial exploration by patients with left neglect was superior with congruent sound feedback, compared to both Silence and Random sound conditions. Both the congruent and incongruent sound conditions were associated with a greater deceleration in all groups. The frame provided by the music scale improves exploration of the left side of space, contralateral to the right hemisphere, damaged in patients with left neglect. Performing a scale with congruent sounds may trigger at some extent preserved auditory and spatial multisensory representations of successive sounds, thus influencing the time course of space scanning, and ultimately resulting in a more extensive spatial exploration. These findings offer new perspectives also for the rehabilitation of the disorder.
Victorian Melodrama
Authors: Gilmour Michael
Published: July 2015

This article offers a survey of criticism on Victorian melodrama since the rise of cultural studies in the 1960s. It will consider various approaches to melodrama, from formalist and materialist accounts to revisionist studies which investigate the historiography of Victorian popular theatre. The field of melodrama studies is now so large that it is impossible to provide a comprehensive survey within this space. As such, there are some omissions: this article focusses almost exclusively on studies which take British (primarily London) melodrama as their focus, and it only includes scholarship dealing with melodrama on the stage and in the novel. The first part of this essay summarises foundational work in the field, and the second section details how melodrama has been seen as influencing other cultural forms. The third section turns to scholarship which places melodrama within its historical context, whilst the fourth section considers revisionist accounts which question the interpretative and discursive methods used to conceptualise the Victorian theatre. To conclude, this essay will address the subject of emotion and melodrama, and suggest a possible new framework through which to view and expand upon current understandings of ‘affect’ and the melodramatic theatre.
Life under ice in the perennial ice‐covered Lake Glubokoe in Summer (East Antarctica)
Authors: Sharov Andrey N. , Berezina Nadezhda A. , Tolstikov Aleksey V.
Published: July 2015

This study focuses on hydrological and biotic variables in Lake Glubokoe, which is located in Thala Hills of Enderby Land (East Antarctica). Water and sediment samples and physical measurements were collected once a week in the austral summer (19 December 2010 – 6 February 2011). This lake exhibits perennial ice cover that reached a thickness of 2.5–2.7 m during the study period. A very low concentration of planktonic chlorophyll‐a (0.06–0.45 μg L−1) was measured in the lake, indicating its ultra‐oligotrophic status. The water was poorly populated by algae and metazoans, especially in upper waters below ice cover to a depth of 2 m. Small planktonic organisms (2–5 μm) were observed throughout the study period, but larger organisms (>8 μm) such as the cyanobacteria Planktolyngbya limnetica occurred only during the warmest period (January). Only few individuals of metazoans (rotifers) were found in planktonic samples. Due to deep light penetration (10–15% of incoming active solar radiation reached the depth of 30 m), thick cyanobacterial mats (30 cm) cover all the bottom surface (grey silts) in the lake. Abundant benthic biota associated with these mats was found (up to 1000 ind. m−2). Among the benthic metazoans, bdelloid rotifers and tardigrades were the dominating taxa. The results of this study suggest a typical ecological feature of most subglacial lakes in East Antarctica is that metazoans are very poor in the pelagic zone, preferring instead to occupy an area near the lake bottom because of a favourable constant temperature of 4 °C, good level of dissolved oxygen and available food resources as the bacterial detritus.