bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Elastic wave mode conversion phenomenon in glass fiber-reinforced polymers
Authors: Wandowski Tomasz , Malinowski Pawel , Ostachowicz Wieslaw
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of experimental analysis of the elastic-guided wave mode conversion phenomenon in glass fiber-reinforced polymers. The results of this research presented in this paper are strictly focused on S0/A0’ mode conversion phenomenon caused by discontinuities in the form of circular Teflon inserts (artificial delaminations) and impact damage. Results of this research could be useful in problems of damage detection and localization.

Design/methodology/approach

In the research, guided waves are excited using a piezoelectric transducer and sensed in a non-contact manner using a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer. Full wavefield measurements are analyzed. Analysis of the influence of investigated discontinuities on S0/A0’ mode conversion is based on the elastic wave mode filtration in frequency-wavenumber domain. Mode filtration process allows us to remove the effects of the propagation of unwanted type of mode in forward or backward direction. Effects of S0/A0’ mode conversion are characterized by a mode conversion indicator (MCI) based on the amplitude of new mode A0’ and the amplitude of incident S0 mode.

Findings

It was noticed that the magnitude of MCI depends on the depth at which the Teflon inserts were located for all analyzed excitation frequencies and diameters of inserts (10 and 20 mm). The magnitude of MCI also increases with increasing impact energies. The S0/A0’ mode conversion phenomenon could be utilized for the detection of surface and internal located discontinuities.

Originality/value

This paper presents the original results of this research related to the influence of discontinuity location with respect to the sample thickness and severity of discontinuity on S0/A0’ mode conversion.
Online weakly paired similarity learning for surface material retrieval
Authors: Zheng Wendong , Liu Huaping , Wang Bowen , Sun Fuchun
Published: June 2019

Purpose

For robots to more actively interact with the surrounding environment in object manipulation tasks or walking, they must understand the physical attributes of objects and surface materials they encounter. Dynamic tactile sensing can effectively capture rich information about material properties. Hence, methods that convey and interpret this tactile information to the user can improve the quality of human–machine interaction. This paper aims to propose a visual-tactile cross-modal retrieval framework to convey tactile information of surface material for perceptual estimation.

Design/methodology/approach

The tactile information of a new unknown surface material can be used to retrieve perceptually similar surface from an available surface visual sample set by associating tactile information to visual information of material surfaces. For the proposed framework, the authors propose an online low-rank similarity learning method, which can effectively and efficiently capture the cross-modal relative similarity between visual and tactile modalities.

Findings

Experimental results conducted on the Technischen Universität München Haptic Texture Database demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework and the method.

Originality/value

This paper provides a visual-tactile cross-modal perception method for recognizing material surface. By the method, a robot can communicate and interpret the conveyed information about the surface material properties to the user; it will further improve the quality of robot interaction.
Blurring the borders between B2B and B2C: a model of antecedents behind usage of social media for travel planning
Authors: Nath Atanu , Saha Parmita , Salehi-Sangari Esmail
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to call for a scrutiny of the dualist approach to business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) marketing in industries driven by consumer-generated content. It posits that individual consumer-centric factors are influential for B2B marketing as well in sectors such as the travel industry and investigates the determinants of tourists’ intention to use social media websites for travel planning.

Design/methodology/approach

Integrating constructs from IS and marketing literature, the paper proposes information quality and perceived enjoyment as antecedents of perceived usefulness, attitude and intention to use. The research model is tested using data from social media users with experience in travel planning.

Findings

Results show that perceived usefulness and information quality are stronger predictors of attitude and behavioral intention than perceived enjoyment. Enjoyment was not found to be strongly influential. Relevancy and reliability of information and its usefulness concerning travel-planning needs were found more influential.

Research limitations/implications

Data were collected from social media users, raising possible issues of representativeness.

Practical implications

The paper offers clarity regarding antecedents of downstream user behavior which can be of significant value. Demarcations in B2B and B2C perspectives blur in the context of social media, enabling more effective integration.

Originality/value

The paper brings in and validates the roles of information quality and enjoyment as influencers of behavior. Identifying the travel industry as a sector having greater likelihood of B2BC convergence, the paper extends IS adoption research to user-interactive sites in the travel-planning context, which can benefit the consumer as well as the supply side.
Higher education accreditation, quality assurance and their impact to teaching and learning enhancement
Authors: Makhoul Samar Aad
Published: June 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to study the relationship between higher education accreditation and teaching and learning enhancements in academic institutions. Higher education institutions are now looking at satisfying the standard by standard list assigned by internationally recognized accreditation agencies. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether outside quality confirmation can truly influence the inward life of higher education institutions. Will accreditation implementation have an impact on teaching and learning enhancement and drive institution change?

Design/methodology/approach

This study was based on an explanatory qualitative design whereby individual faculty members who are tenured or in tenure-track positions in business schools in Lebanese universities were interviewed. The latter universities from which interviewees were questioned are either the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited or currently pursuing accreditation. The sample included 30 faculty members from four different higher education Lebanese institutions.

Findings

Following thorough review of previous literature, and building on the outcomes of the interviews conducted for the purpose of this research, the author deduced that AACSB serves as the optimal guiding mechanism that incorporates effective evaluation criteria for learning quality and universities. There also exist a lack of commonality and shared standards among accrediting agencies. The researchers also highlight the need to introduce further quantification into the accrediting measures adopted including faculty retention and student attrition rates.

Research limitations/implications

Ranking agencies were not considered in this study. Those can be used to assess the effectiveness of higher education institutions and will provide fair quality assurance of learning. It is encouraged to incorporate the ranking agencies variable within the scope of future studies for further analysis.

Practical implications

The paper includes the need to introduce further quantification into the accrediting measures adopted including faculty retention and student attrition rates.

Originality/value

The focus of this study will be of particular interest to Business school seeking or maintaining accreditation. It will also be of interest to the Lebanese government if they want to look at having a regional accreditation. Future research could possibly explore the need to have a regional accreditation especially with the emerging numbers of higher education institutions in Lebanon.
Uncovering diffusion trends in computer science and physics publications
Authors: Amjad Tehmina , Ali Ayesha
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to trace the knowledge diffusion patterns between the publications of top journals of computer science and physics to uncover the knowledge diffusion trends.

Design/methodology/approach

The degree of information flow between the disciplines is a measure of entropy and received citations. The entropy gives the uncertainty in the citation distribution of a journal; the more a journal is involved in spreading information or affected by other journals, its entropy increases. The citations from outside category give the degree of inter-disciplinarity index as the percentage of references made to papers of another discipline. In this study, the topic-related diffusion across computer science and physics scholarly communication network is studied to examine how the same research topic is studied and shared across disciplines.

Findings

For three indicators, Shannon entropy, citations outside category (COC) and research keywords, a global view of information flow at the journal level between both disciplines is obtained. It is observed that computer science mostly cites knowledge published in physics journals as compared to physics journals that cite knowledge within the field.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that traces knowledge diffusion trends between computer science and physics publications at journal level using entropy, COC and research keywords.
Knowledge management and e-learning in virtual learning community based on social network analysis
Authors: Deng Yazhong , Sun Wei , Chen Min , Yang Yuan
Published: June 2019

Purpose

It is particularly important to study the learner cognition based on information technology and change of learning environment in e-learning. Therefore, based on the combination of knowledge management and e-learning, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the basic rules and existing problems of virtual learning community (VLC).

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, a set of principles and basic framework of VLC was proposed, which could effectively instruct the construction of knowledge and collective wisdom development of VLC. Meantime, this paper revealed and constructed the theoretical framework and learning model for facilitating the advance of collective intelligence, described the main characteristics of collaborative knowledge building and traced the trajectory of convergence of collective intelligence and verified them through case studies and field studies.

Findings

The author analyzed the characteristics of VLC assisting knowledge construction and traced the trajectory of convergence of collective intelligence. In this way, the learners not only construct the meaning of knowledge in the process of participation from the edge to the center, but also complete the transformation from a green hand to an old hand. As a result, the learners form a sense of belonging to the community and complete the identity construction as a member of the community in the process of co-constructing the cultural tradition and value orientation of the community.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis of the framework is made relatively in general terms, and lacks of the concrete, practical analysis. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt the social network analysis method to carry out systematic research on the framework, so as to make the actual operation of the VLC more practical.

Practical implications

It is significant to adopt the construction of the research system and theoretical framework in building VLC so as to improve the learner’s abilities of knowledge building and make full use of the advantages of the VLC.

Originality/value

This paper revealed and constructed the theoretical framework and learning model for facilitating the advance of collective intelligence. Besides, it provides a model reference for the follow-up construction of a new collective learning model.
Why does decomposed audit proposal readability differ by audit firm size? A Coh-Metrix approach
Authors: Chang Yu-Tzu , Stone Dan N.
Published: June 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce the emerging artificial-intelligence-based readability metrics (Coh-Metrix) to examine the effects of firm size on audit proposal readability.

Design/methodology/approach

Coh-Metrix readability measures use emerging computation linguistics technology to better assess document readability. These metrics measure co-relations of words, sentences and paragraphs on multi-dimensions rather than adopting the unidimensional “bag of words” approach that examines words in isolation. Using eight Coh-Metrix orthogonal principal component factors, the authors analyze the Chang and Stone (2019) data set comprised of 370 hand-collected audit proposals submitted by audit firms for the US state and local governments’ audit service contracts.

Findings

Audit firm size has a significant impact on the readability of audit proposals. Specifically, as measured by the traditional readability metric, the proposals from smaller firms are more readable than those submitted by larger firms. Furthermore, decomposed readability metrics indicate that smaller firm proposals evidence stronger (deep) text cohesion, whereas larger firm proposals evidence a stronger narrative structure and higher connectivity (relational indicators) among proposal elements. Unlike the traditional readability metric, however, the emergent readability metrics are uncorrelated with auditor selection.

Research limitations/implications

Work remains to develop and validate Coh-Metrix measures that are specific to the context of accounting and auditing practice. Future research can use emerging readability measures to examine various textual features (e.g. text cohesion) in finance or accounting related documents.

Practical implications

The results provide practitioners with insight into the proposal writing strategies and practices of larger and smaller firms. In addition, the results highlight the differing audit firm selection outcomes from traditional and Coh-Metrix readability metrics.

Originality/value

This study introduces new data and holistic readability measures to the auditing literature.
An extension to the EVLN model: the role of employees’ silence
Authors: Sabino Ana , Nogueira Fernanda , Cesário Francisco
Published: June 2019

Purpose

Individuals’ intentional responses to declining job satisfaction have been associated with the EVLN model. Employees’ silence, as an independent construct, can be understood as an individual, intentional and deliberate decision to retain important information for the organization. The purpose of this paper is to analyze employees’ silence, which can be understood as a fifth individual response to job satisfaction declining, along with the remaining four responses proposed in the EVLN model. It is proposed as an extension to the original model through the introduction of employee silence; the model is referred to as the EVLNS model.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study is quantitative, hypothetical-deductive, correlational and transversal. The sample is composed of 756 professionals working in the higher education sector. The paper used structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses to test its hypotheses.

Findings

Results showed that employees’ silence has a dual factorial structure, which is composed of an adhesion dimension and a rejection dimension. The study also finds that these two dimensions can be integrated as an extension of the original EVLN model. It is found that, although they are related, these dimensions also capture a certain degree of independence, with different levels of influence of job satisfaction.

Practical implications

An important implication is that silence is a complex phenomenon, suggesting that this is more than the simple absence of voice and may have different motives. Additionally, it is important to emphasize that job satisfaction can contribute to different individual responses and managers must act accordingly.

Originality/value

The study contributes to a better understanding of the individuals’ potential responses to declining job satisfaction through the extension of the original EVLN model with the introduction of a fifth response – the employees’ silence.
Unblocking the chain – findings from an executive workshop on blockchain in the supply chain
Authors: van Hoek Remko
Published: June 2019

Purpose

There is a lot of interest in blockchain in the supply chain and several papers call it a disruptive technology. Existing research, however, is mostly conceptual and focused on use-case development and early pilots. This paper aims to report the findings from a workshop with managers aimed at empirically exploring what adoption rates and focus areas are for blockchain in the supply chain, what drives blockchain in the supply chain applications and what barriers are to the implementation of blockchain in the supply chain.

Design/methodology/approach

A workshop with managers was organized to empirically explore blockchain adoption levels and focus areas in the supply chain, as well as drivers and barriers of implementation.

Findings

Workshop participants reported that adoption of blockchain in the supply chain today is very limited but actively considered by many. Drivers for this consideration include achieving greater transparency and visibility, as well as, improving processes and reducing costs. Participants identify many barriers, including a lack of understanding of costs and benefits of blockchain in the supply chain. Interestingly, participants report less concern about the feasibility of the technology implying managerial consideration if progressing beyond the technology and into the potential adoption of it. As a result, participants may be moving beyond the hype surrounding blockchain and giving consideration to the many remaining questions. A working technology does not yet mean that there is a feasible supply chain adoption. As a result, it may be too early to tell whether blockchain will be a disruptive technology. This paper identifies several fruitful areas for further consideration by management and in research.

Originality/value

As there is little empirical research on blockchain in the supply chain, this paper moves beyond use-case development and the exploration of pilot cases and studies how companies may consider supply chain adoption beyond the pilot and the early development of blockchain. Although only offering an initial exploration, this paper uncovers progress being reported in industry and many areas where further consideration and research can help advance thinking and practice.
Portfolio optimization based on modified expected shortfall
Authors: Jadhav Deepak , Ramanathan T.V.
Published: June 2019

Purpose

An investor is expected to analyze the market risk while investing in equity stocks. This is because the investor has to choose a portfolio which maximizes the return with a minimum risk. The mean-variance approach by Markowitz (1952) is a dominant method of portfolio optimization, which uses variance as a risk measure. The purpose of this paper is to replace this risk measure with modified expected shortfall, defined by Jadhav et al. (2013).

Design/methodology/approach

Modified expected shortfall introduced by Jadhav et al. (2013) is found to be a coherent risk measure under univariate and multivariate elliptical distributions. This paper presents an approach of portfolio optimization based on mean-modified expected shortfall for the elliptical family of distributions.

Findings

It is proved that the modified expected shortfall of a portfolio can be represented in the form of expected return and standard deviation of the portfolio return and modified expected shortfall of standard elliptical distribution. The authors also establish that the optimum portfolio through mean-modified expected shortfall approach exists and is located within the efficient frontier of the mean-variance portfolio. The results have been empirically illustrated using returns from stocks listed in National Stock Exchange of India, Shanghai Stock Exchange of China, London Stock Exchange of the UK and New York Stock Exchange of the USA for the period February 2005-June 2018. The results are found to be consistent across all the four stock markets.

Originality/value

The mean-modified expected shortfall portfolio approach presented in this paper is new and is a natural extension of the Markowitz’s mean-variance and mean-expected shortfall portfolio optimization discussed by Deng et al. (2009).
Development of international corporate social responsibility framework and typology
Authors: Bhattacharyya Som Sekhar
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework on international corporate social responsibility (ICSR). This ICSR framework would help portray the nature and process of internationalization of CSR activities of a firm. Further, this review paper presents a typology on the internationalization of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of a firm.

Design/methodology/approach

In this conceptual review paper, the author based upon inputs from a diverse set of the extant literature on international business strategy, resource-based view, stakeholder theory, strategic planning and implementation applied logical argumentation incrementally and sequentially to develop the ICSR framework and subsequently ICSR typology (consisting of archetypes).

Findings

This conceptual review paper offers a novel and rich theoretical perspective on an integrated framework on ICSR. This expands the extant theoretical knowledge boundaries on internationalization of CSR. Further, the proposed ICSR framework not only provides insight into the process of internationalization of CSR but also on typology regarding the nature of internationalization of CSR activities of a firm.

Research limitations/implications

There are two major theoretical contributions. First, this is one of the first integrated frameworks on ICSR that encompasses perspectives from diverse literature domains such as business environment, stakeholder theory, resource-based view, bounded rationality, bounded reliability, strategy planning and strategy execution. The second major theoretical contribution is towards categorization of firm international CSR activities based on CSR characteristics and mechanisms of deployment. The author prescribed four typologies for ICSR based upon variances in CSR perspective and CSR management. This ICSR categorization or archetypes is also a theoretical contribution.

Practical implications

The International Corporate Social Responsibility (ICSR framework developed would help both strategy and CSR managers to design ICSR programs and CSR activities of a firm based on a firms’ transferable resources and capabilities, replicable organizational process and activities, strategic focus and expected organizational benefits.

Originality/value

This is the first scholarly work on developing an integrated ICSR framework and ICSR typology (read archetypes). In this review paper, a holistic but comprehensive theoretical perspective on strategy and typology of ICSR has been provided. CSR and strategy managers for the first time would have a tool to design and manage firm international CSR initiatives in an effective and efficient manner.
End‐of‐Day Price Manipulation and M&As
Authors: Cumming Douglas , Ji Shan , Johan Sofia , Tarsalewska Monika
Published: June 2019

Based on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) from over 45 countries from 2003 to 2014, we show that the presence of end‐of‐day (EOD) target price manipulation prior to M&As increases the probability of an M&A deal withdrawal, and decreases the premium paid. More detailed exchange trading rules that govern manipulation across countries and over time lower the probability of withdrawal, mitigate the negative impact of EOD manipulation on withdrawal and raise premiums paid. Finally, while there are fewer cases of acquirer price manipulations prior to M&As, the data indicates positive acquirer price manipulation in share M&As and increases the probability of deal withdrawal.
Worked and decorated shell discs from southern Arabia and the wider Near East
Authors: Weeks Lloyd , David‐Cuny Hélène , Avanzini Alessandra , Lischi Silvia , Genchi Francesco , Caputo Francesco , Al Ali Yaaqoub Youssef , Boraik Mansour
Published: June 2019

This article presents and discusses a corpus of worked and decorated shell discs from recently excavated archaeological sites in southern Arabia, including Dibba (northern Oman), Saruq al‐Hadid (UAE) and Sumhuram/Khor Rori (southern Oman). The artefacts are compared to a wide range of shell discs from controlled excavations in Arabia and the broader Near East in order to better understand their date, manufacture and use. The comparative study highlights the wide distribution of decorated shell discs across the ancient Near East, particularly during the early Iron Age, and the complex economic and cultural connections that underpinned the collection, crafting, exchange and significance of such items.
Characteristics of patients referred for assessment of decision‐making capacity in the acute medical setting of an outer‐metropolitan hospital—A retrospective case series
Authors: Logan Benignus , Fleury Aisling , Wong Lillian , Fraser Sally , Bernard Anne , White Ben
Published: June 2019

Objective

To identify characteristics of older people referred for assessment of decision‐making capacity in the acute hospital setting.

Methods

A retrospective chart audit was undertaken for 98 consecutive medical inpatients referred for capacity assessments between February 2015 and August 2017 in an outer‐metropolitan hospital. The data were analysed using descriptive and univariate analysis.

Results

In this case series, 56% of patients had a diagnosis of dementia. Social isolation was common; 70% were not presently married, and 63% had no community services. For 90% of patients, the referral was to determine the person's capacity to make their own accommodation decisions—usually to return home on discharge. Of those with impaired capacity, 54% were discharged to residential aged care, whilst most who retained capacity were discharged home (73%). Those with impaired capacity were more likely to have a diagnosis of dementia and a prolonged length of stay (both P < 0.001).
Effectiveness of image‐guided radiotherapy for rectal cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy: A population‐based propensity score‐matched analysis
Authors: Li Chia‐Chin , Liang Ji‐An , Chen William Tzu‐Liang , Chien Chun‐Ru
Published: June 2019

Aim

The effects of image‐guided radiotherapy (IGRT, an advanced RT technology) have been debated in the literature. We compared the outcomes of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients treated with neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (NCCRT; with vs without IGRT) in a large population‐based propensity score (PS)‐matched analysis.

Methods

We identified LARC patients diagnosed between 2007 and 2015 via the Taiwan cancer registry (TCR) and constructed a PS‐matched cohort to balance observable potential confounders. Outcomes (R0 resection, overall survival, incidence of local regional recurrence [ILRR], rectal cancer mortality [IRCM], other cancer mortality [IOCM] and cardiovascular mortality [ICVM]) were obtained from TCR and the national death registry. We compared the hazard ratio (HR) of death and other endpoints between IGRT and non‐IGRT groups. We performed supplementary analysis (SA) to evaluate the robustness of these results in a subgroup, taking an additional potential confounder into account.

Results

Our study population comprised of 586 patients that were balanced with regard to observed covariables. There was no significant difference in HR for death (0.99; 95% confidence interval 0.70–1.39; P = 0.94) between IGRT and non‐IGRT groups. There were also no significant differences in R0 resection, ILRR, IRCM, IOCM or ICVM. The results of our SA were consistent with these findings.

Conclusion

For LARC patients treated with NCCRT, the treatment outcome was not significantly different among patients treated with and without IGRT. Further study is needed to clarify these results with consideration to additional potential confounding factors and toxicity profiles at endpoints.
Flexibility or Stability? Analyzing Proposals to Reform the Separation of Powers
Authors: Judd Gleason , Rothenberg Lawrence S.
Published: June 2019

The social welfare effects of legislatures in presidential systems, such as the U.S. Congress, are frequently lamented. In response, there are proposals to reform the separation of powers system by giving presidents control of the legislative agenda and weakening rules such as the filibuster. We provide a game‐theoretic analysis of the policy and social welfare consequences of a more executive‐centric system. Integrating standard assumptions about legislative and executive incentives into a dynamic model of decision making with private investment, we show there are a variety of conditions under which stronger executives do not produce better outcomes. Moreover, we characterize how these conditions depend on factors such as the stability of the policymaking environment or investment fundamentals. Our findings are robust and consistent with empirical observations that U.S. policy outputs are not necessarily worse than those of nations with stronger executives, which more closely approximate prominent proposals by populist‐oriented reformers.
Ageing well: Pilot evaluation of a dual‐task training program in a rural community
Authors: Nott Melissa T. , Robson Kristy M. , Murphy Kylie , Pope Rodney P. , Cuming Tana , Curtin Michael
Published: June 2019

Objective

This pilot trial examined the feasibility and effectiveness of “Ageing Well,” a community‐based program for improving cognitive skills and mobility of rural older people.

Design and setting

The non‐randomised, wait‐list–controlled pilot trial was conducted at a regional NSW university clinic.

Participants

Twenty‐three community‐dwelling adults aged 60+ who had begun to experience a decline in their physical or cognitive abilities or both.

Interventions

Dual‐tasking activities simultaneously challenged participants' motor and cognitive abilities. Student facilitators encouraged participants to progress through increasing complex functional tasks in a range of contexts, including a café, supermarket and a simulated “home.”

Main outcome measures

ThePatient Reported Evaluation of Cognitive Statemeasured the impact of an individual's cognitive state in terms of how much they were “bothered” by problems with their cognition. Functional mobility was measured by theTimed Up‐and‐Go,a test of static and dynamic balance, and theSix Minute Walk Test.

Results

Intervention participants'Patient Reported Evaluation of Cognitive Stateratings in relation to impacts on their performance of everyday skills improved substantially, whereas the control group did not change. Intervention participants walked 12% further in theSix Minute Walk Testpost‐intervention, while the control group distance did not change. Timed Up‐and‐Go time was reduced by 1 second in the intervention group.

Conclusions

There is a strong interest in this dual‐tasking program among older community‐dwelling residents in this rural setting. The results of this pilot study support the feasibility and effectiveness of the Ageing Well program. But further trials are warranted.
Engaging the Non‐Flat World: Anarchism and the Promise of a Post‐Capitalist Collaborative Commons
Authors: Gerhardt Hannes
Published: June 2019

This paper challenges the use of a geographically site‐centred, flat ontology to justify contemporary anarchists’ predisposition to espouse exclusively prefigurative forms of action. By considering the anarchist, post‐capitalist potential of a technologically enabled peer‐to‐peer (P2P) economy and Collaborative Commons movement, the case is made for the need to acknowledge and engage the higher‐order (emergent) nexuses between state apparatuses and capitalist flows. Doing so, it is argued, makes envisioning the process of creating anarchist oriented, post‐capitalist futures significantly more tangible and convincing.
Review about the impact of growing up with a chronic disease showed delays achieving psychosocial milestones
Authors: Maurice‐Stam Heleen , Nijhof Sanne L. , Monninkhof Anneke S. , Heymans Hugo S. A. , Grootenhuis Martha A.
Published: June 2019

Aim

This review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the psychosocial developmental trajectory of various diseases during childhood and adolescence.

Methods

Studies of Dutch young adults aged 18‐35 years, who had grown up with a chronic disease, were included if the Course of Life Questionnaire had been used to assess psychosocial developmental milestones in three domains: social, autonomy and psychosexual. Differences between the disease groups and the general population were presented as Cohen's d and odds ratios.

Results

We included 17 studies comprising 1899 young adults, who had grown up with 18 different paediatric diseases. Psychosocial development was delayed in all three questionnaire domains. Remarkable findings with regard to specific milestones were as follows: less participation in sports clubs in the social domain, less likely to have had paid jobs in the autonomy domain and later sexual intimacy in the psychosexual domain. End‐stage renal disease, galactosaemia (males), childhood cancer and orthotopic liver transplants were the most affected disease groups.

Conclusion

Children and adolescents with chronic diseases risked delays in psychosocial development. This should be addressed by healthcare providers, along with the physical aspects of diseases, and they should focus on the optimal psychosocial development of the patient.
The PNPLA3 rs738409 C>G variant influences the association between low skeletal muscle mass and NAFLD: the Shanghai Changfeng Study
Authors: Xia Ming‐Feng , Chen Ling‐Yan , Wu Li , Ma Hui , Li Qian , Aleteng Qiqige , Hu Yu , He Wan‐Yuan , Gao Jian , Lin Huan‐Dong , Gao Xin
Published: June 2019

Background

Age‐related skeletal muscle loss and patatin‐like phospholipase domain‐containing 3 (PNPLA3) polymorphisms are both associated with increased liver steatosis and fibrosis in the absence of obesity.

Aim

To investigate the influence of PNPLA3 polymorphism on the relationship between skeletal muscle loss and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Methods

Liver fat content was measured using a quantitative ultrasound method, and liver fibrosis was assessed by NAFLD fibrosis, BARD and FIB‐4 scores in 3969 Chinese adults. The degree of sarcopenia was measured by weight‐adjusted appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM% = appendicular skeletal muscle mass(kg)/body weight(kg)  100%).

Results

The NAFLD proportion increased from 19.9% to 41.2% in men and 26.3% to 42.3% in women with decreasing ASM% quartiles (P < 0.001). Low ASM% was inversely associated with NAFLD in PNPLA3 CC (odds ratio [OR]: men, 0.735 [0.610‐0.885] and women, 0.812 [0.718‐0.918], both P = 0.001) and CG (OR: men, 0.673 [0.573‐0.790] and women, 0.798 [0.713‐0.893], both P < 0.001) but not GG genotype carriers. The association remained significant after adjustment for age, cigarette smoking, fat mass, interaction between fat mass and ASM%, obesity, diabetes and all components of metabolic syndrome. Subgroup analyses found that PNPLA3 GG gene variant did not increase the risk for NAFLD in individuals with low ASM% regardless of obesity status. Low ASM% also increased risk for liver fibrosis (all P < 0.05), which became insignificant after multiple adjustments.

Conclusions

Low ASM% is associated with NAFLD and liver fibrosis. Dissociation of sarcopenia and NAFLD was found in PNPLA3 GG genotype carriers. A stratification based on PNPLA3 genotypes might facilitate personalised treatment for NAFLD.
An investigation into the effects of product design on incremental and radical innovations from the perspective of consumer perceptions: Evidence from China
Authors: Xue Jie
Published: June 2019

By integrating research on product design with ideas from marketing and consumer perceptions, this paper formulates a set of coherent hypotheses about the effects of tripartite design dimensions on consumer perceptions and responses. We conduct two surveys on incremental and radical technology innovations, respectively, and accordingly get two different samples to test the hypotheses. Empirical results reveal that the effects of aesthetic and functional dimensions on consumer purchase intention and word of mouth vary across two types of innovations. Specifically, for incrementally innovative products, aesthetic and functional dimensions influence consumer purchase intention and word of mouth, both directly and indirectly, through the mediation of consumer perceived quality. By contrast, for radically innovative products, the effects of aesthetic and functional dimensions on purchase intention and word of mouth are totally mediated by perceived quality. Additionally, the effects of symbolic dimension on consumer perceptions and responses achieve consistency across radical and incremental technology innovations. That is, the higher the level of symbolic dimension, the stronger purchase intention and the better word of mouth there will be, whereas the direct influence of symbolic dimension on perceived quality is not significant in either innovation category.
Different sensitivities of senescent breast cancer cells to immune cell‐mediated cytotoxicity
Authors: Inao Touko , Kotani Hitoshi , Iida Yuichi , Kartika Irna Diyana , Okimoto Tamio , Tanino Ryosuke , Shiba Eiichi , Harada Mamoru
Published: June 2019

Senescence is a state of growth arrest induced not only in normal cells but also in cancer cells by aging or stress, which triggers DNA damage. Despite growth suppression, senescent cancer cells promote tumor formation and recurrence by producing cytokines and growth factors; this state is designated as the senescence‐associated secretory phenotype. In this study, we examined the susceptibility of senescent human breast cancer cells to immune cell‐mediated cytotoxicity. Doxorubicin (DXR) treatment induced senescence in 2 human breast cancer cell lines, MDA‐MB‐231 and BT‐549, with the induction of γH2AX expression and increased expression of p21 or p16. Treatment with DXR also induced the expression of senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase and promoted the production of pro‐inflammatory cytokines. Importantly, DXR‐treated senescent MDA‐MB‐231 cells showed increased sensitivity to 2 types of immune cell‐mediated cytotoxicity: cytotoxicity of activated CD4+ T cells and Ab‐dependent cellular cytotoxicity by natural killer cells. This increased sensitivity to cytotoxicity was partially dependent on tumor necrosis factor‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand and perforin, respectively. This increased sensitivity was not observed following treatment with the senescence‐inducing cyclin‐dependent kinase‐4/6 inhibitor, abemaciclib. In addition, treatment with DXR, but not abemaciclib, decreased the expression of antiapoptotic proteins in cancer cells. These results indicated that DXR and abemaciclib induced senescence in breast cancer cells, but that they differed in their sensitivity to immune cell‐mediated cytotoxicity. These findings could provide an indication for combining anticancer immunotherapy with chemotherapeutic drugs or molecular targeting drugs.
Expression analysis of cytokine coding genes in blood samples of clozapine‐treated patients with schizophrenia
Authors: Eftekharian Mohammad Mahdi , Komaki Alireza , Omrani Mir Davood , Arsang‐Jang Shahram , Ganji Maziar , Taheri Mohammad , Ghaforui‐Fard Soudeh
Published: June 2019

Objectives

Dysregulation of peripheral immune responses has been detected in schizophrenic patients. Cytokines as the main regulators of immunological processes are also involved in brain development, which supports their putative role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.

Methods

In the present study, we compared transcript levels of interleukin (IL)‐1, IL‐2, IL‐6, chemokine (C‐X‐C) ligand 8 (CXCL8), transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) and tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) in the blood of 50 schizophrenic patients and 50 healthy participants.

Results

IL‐6 transcript levels were significantly higher in male participants compared with female participants (P = 0.005). TGF‐β transcript levels were significantly higher in patients compared with healthy participants (P = 0.001). In addition, there was a significant difference in its expression between cases and controls based on the sex of the participants. TNF‐α transcript levels were higher in male schizophrenic patients (P = 0.007) and in female patients aged <50 years compared with the age‐ and sex‐matched healthy participants (P = 0.048). Transcript levels of other cytokines were not significantly different between cases and controls, which might be due to the effects of antipsychotic treatment in patients.

Conclusion

The present study provides further evidence for abnormal transcript levels of cytokines in schizophrenic patients, as well as distinct regulation of cytokine expression in women and men.
The use of CMVIg rescue therapy in cardiothoracic transplantation: A single‐center experience over 6 years (2011‐2017)
Authors: Santhanakrishnan Karthik , Yonan Nizar , Callan Paul , Karimi Ebrahim , Al-Aloul Mohamed , Venkateswaran Rajamiyer
Published: June 2019

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most important infectious agent in solid organ transplant recipients and has a major impact on morbidity and mortality. Most cases are well managed with antiviral agents, but CMV hyperimmune globulin (CMVIg) can be used alongside antiviral therapy for prophylaxis in high‐risk thoracic organ recipients and to treat life‐threatening CMV infection or disease. CMVIg may also improve antiviral host defences when genetic resistance to antivirals or unwanted side effects occur. In this single‐center, retrospective study, we reviewed the CMVIg use to supplement antiviral therapy as a “rescue therapy” in cardiothoracic transplant recipients. These comprised 12 single lung, 11 double lung, and 12 heart transplant recipients. Patients received a median of 2 doses of CMVIg, most often in combination with ganciclovir or valganciclovir, and reduced immunosuppression. One week after rescue therapy was initiated, CMV DNA levels were significantly reduced, and after four weeks, CMV DNA was undetectable in 73% patients. Only one patient died as a result of CMV‐related disease. No significant adverse effects were observed. We conclude that CMVIg rescue therapy is safe, well tolerated, and effective at controlling viral replication in cardiothoracic transplant recipients.
Reconstruction of the historical range alters niche estimates in an endangered rodent
Authors: Rutrough Abigail , Widick Ivy V. , Bean William T.
Published: June 2019

Defining historical baselines is critical for species conservation. Under the niche reduction hypothesis, species in decline may be restricted disproportionately from parts of their environmental niche. This bias likely has important implications for modeling species’ distributions if only contemporary occurrences (i.e. post‐range reduction) are used, because suitable habitat will be classified as unsuitable. Unfortunately, robust historical occurrence data is rarely available for sensitive species. In this study, we documented historical locations of the endangered, keystone giant kangaroo rat Dipodomys ingens by examining aerial imagery for burrow mounds. These burrow mounds are readily identifiable and distinguishable from other soil disturbances. We found giant kangaroo rat burrows well outside the currently accepted estimate of their historical distribution. Following the niche reduction hypothesis, we found that giant kangaroo rats have been extirpated from the flattest, hottest, driest parts of their range due to agricultural conversion. This reduction in their realized niche led to significant changes between historical and contemporary models of their distribution. We found that giant kangaroo rats may have occupied up to 56% more habitat historically than currently believed. Our results provide new guidance for managers working on restoration and habitat protection for this ecosystem engineer. This study highlights the critical importance of modeling historical distributions using the entire environmental niche once occupied by species of conservation need.
Diverse temperate forest bird assemblages demonstrate closer correspondence to plant species composition than vegetation structure
Authors: Adams Bryce T. , Matthews Stephen N.
Published: June 2019

The aggregate structure of vegetation has long provided a strong conceptual basis for understanding the ecological separation of faunal species, while correspondence with plant species composition remains largely underdeveloped and considered secondary to structure. Longstanding ecological debate on the matter has likely been sustained by statistical methods incapable of accommodating an entire species composition in the explanatory role. We used direct ordination methodologies (predictive co‐correspondence and canonical correspondence analyses) that allow the comparison of prediction levels between composition and structure for understanding avian assemblage composition in a temperate forestland in southeastern Ohio. Compositional (birds and woody plants) and structural (both vertical and horizontal dimensions) data were collected from point samples comprising a spectrum in topography and successional state. Total woody plant composition (11.22%) explained more (cross‐validatory) variation in avian species composition than structure, quantified with dense LiDAR recordings (7.35%) and field methods (6.31%). Plant composition assumed an integrative character, synthesizing aspects of environmental condition, structure, and most likely species‐specific preferences for tree and shrub species that structural indices alone could not for predicting avian species composition. These results conflict with the traditional view that structure be most influential to avian assemblage composition. Instead these results demonstrate that plant and avian assemblages are closely linked, and that plant species per se can be a powerful tool for predicting avian habitat. More importantly, in furthering ecological understanding, it is critical to consider the complex web of interacting processes that make up temperate forest ecosystems, in which composition occupies a key position.