bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Electric Stimulation Techniques on Pain and Tenderness at the Myofascial Trigger Point: A Systematic Review
Authors: Ahmed Sara , Haddad Christopher , Subramaniam Shoba , Khattab Shereen , Kumbhare Dinesh
Published: November 2018

Background

Myofascial pain is a prevalent chronic pain disorder, affecting a large proportion of the general population. Electric stimulation techniques such as transcutaneous electric stimulation (TENS) and electroacupuncture have been shown to be effective for managing chronic pain conditions including myofascial pain. The goal of this study was to review the literature on the effectiveness of electric stimulation techniques on myofascial pain.

Methods

A comprehensive systematic search of three databases—Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL—was conducted using key words related to myofascial pain and trigger points, as well as various electric stimulation techniques. A total of 15 articles passed the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the study. Data were extracted from these studies and assessed qualitatively and quantitatively. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were computed from pain intensity measures extracted from these studies. Subgroup analyses were performed to assess the effectiveness of treatment modality, number of treatment sessions, frequency of stimulation, location of treatment, and duration of treatment.

Results

The SMD for electric stimulation techniques on reported pain intensity was significant (P = 0.03), as was the SMD for the electroacupuncture subgroup (P = 0.02); the TENS subgroups’ effect was not significant (P = 0.17). The subgroup analyses tentatively suggest that frequency and number of treatments do not influence pain intensity, whereas the duration of treatment may have an effect. The qualitative results of this study revealed variability in the results among studies delivering TENS treatments.

Conclusions

Electric stimulation is effective at mitigating reported pain intensity at the location of the trigger point. Electroacupuncture presented with significant and larger effect sizes of improvement relative to TENS for reported pain intensity. Given that this review included a small number of studies, there is a need for additional research to confirm its findings. Additionally, studies assessing the parameters and physiological location of treatment are needed to inform the clinical use and recommendations of electric stimulation treatments.
Enzymatic antioxidants but not baseline glucocorticoids mediate the reproduction–survival trade-off in a wild bird
Authors: Casagrande Stefania , Hau Michaela
Published: November 2018

The trade-off between reproductive investment and survival is central to life-history theory, but the relative importance and the complex interactions among the physiological mechanisms mediating it are still debated. Here we experimentally tested whether baseline glucocorticoid hormones, the redox system or their interaction mediate reproductive investment–survival trade-offs in wild great tits (
Parus major
). We increased the workload of parental males by clipping three feathers on each wing, and 5 days later determined effects on baseline corticosterone concentrations (Cort), redox state (reactive oxygen metabolites, protein carbonyls, glutathione peroxidase [GPx], total non-enzymatic antioxidants), body mass, body condition, reproductive success and survival. Feather-clipping did not affect fledgling numbers, chick body condition, nest provisioning rates or survival compared with controls. However, feather-clipped males lost mass and increased both Cort and GPx concentrations. Within feather-clipped individuals, GPx increases were positively associated with reproductive investment (i.e. male nest provisioning). Furthermore, within all individuals, males that increased GPx suffered reduced survival rates. Baseline Cort increases were related to mass loss but not to redox state, nest provisioning or male survival. Our findings provide experimental evidence that changes in the redox system are associated with the trade-off between reproductive investment and survival, while baseline Cort may support this trade-off indirectly through a link with body condition. These results also emphasize that plastic changes in individuals, rather than static levels of physiological signals, may mediate life-history trade-offs.
Carbs versus fat: does it really matter for maintaining lost weight?
Authors: Hall Kevin D , Guo Juen
Published: November 2018

The most read article of 2018 published in The BMJ (https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k4583) claimed that restricting dietary carbohydrates offers a metabolic advantage to burn more calories and thereby help patients maintain lost weight. However, analyzing the data according to the original pre-registered statistical plan resulted in no statistically significant effects of diet composition on energy expenditure. The large reported diet effects on energy expenditure calculated using the revised analysis plan depended on data from subjects with excessive amounts of unaccounted energy. Adjusting the data to be commensurate with energy conservation resulted in a diet effect that was less than half the value reported in The BMJ paper. Furthermore, the measured daily average CO2 production rates were not significantly different between the diets and the reported expenditure differences were due to inaccurate calculations based on false assumptions about diet adherence.
Neural Basis of the Sound-Symbolic Crossmodal Correspondence Between Auditory Pseudowords and Visual Shapes
Authors: McCormick Kelly , Lacey Simon , Stilla Randall , Nygaard Lynne C. , Sathian K.
Published: November 2018

Sound symbolism refers to the association between the sounds of words and their meanings, often studied using the crossmodal correspondence between auditory pseudowords, e.g. ‘takete’ or ‘maluma’, and pointed or rounded visual shapes, respectively. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging study, participants were presented with pseudoword-shape pairs that were sound-symbolically congruent or incongruent. We found no significant congruency effects in the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal when participants were attending to visual shapes. During attention to auditory pseudowords, however, we observed greater BOLD activity for incongruent compared to congruent audiovisual pairs bilaterally in the intraparietal sulcus and supramarginal gyrus, and in the left middle frontal gyrus. We compared this activity to independent functional contrasts designed to test competing explanations of sound symbolism, but found no evidence for mediation via language, and only limited evidence for accounts based on multisensory integration and a general magnitude system. Instead, we suggest that the observed incongruency effects are likely to reflect phonological processing and/or multisensory attention. These findings advance our understanding of sound-to-meaning mapping in the brain.
The pentaglycine bridges ofStaphylococcus aureuspeptidoglycan are essential for cell integrity
Authors: Monteiro João M. , Münch Daniela , Filipe Sérgio R. , Schneider Tanja , Sahl Hans-Georg , Pinho Mariana G.
Published: November 2018

Bacterial cells are surrounded by cell wall, whose main component is peptidoglycan (PG), a macromolecule that withstands the internal turgor of the cell. PG composition can vary considerably between species. The Gram-positive pathogenStaphylococcus aureuspossesses highly crosslinked PG due to the presence of cross bridges containing five glycines, which are synthesised by the FemXAB protein family. FemX adds the first glycine of the cross bridge, while FemA and FemB add the second and the third, and the fourth and the fifth glycines, respectively. Of these, FemX was reported to be essential. To investigate the essentiality of FemAB, we constructed a conditionalS. aureusmutant of thefemABoperon. Depletion offemABwas lethal, with cells appearing as pseudomulticellular forms that eventually lyse due to extensive membrane rupture. This deleterious effect was mitigated by drastically increasing the osmolarity of the medium, indicating that pentaglycine crosslinks are required forS. aureuscells to withstand internal turgor. Despite the absence of canonical membrane targeting domains, FemA has been shown to localise at the membrane. To study its mechanism of localisation, we constructed mutants in key residues present in the putative transferase pocket and the α6 helix of FemA, possibly involved in tRNA binding. Mutations in the α6 helix led to a sharp decrease in protein activityin vivoandin vitrobut did not impair correct membrane localisation, indicating that FemA activity is not required for localisation. Our data indicates that, contrarily to what was previously thought,S. aureuscells do not survive in the absence of a pentaglycine cross bridge.
Identification of community-consensus clinically relevant variants and development of single molecule molecular inversion probes using the CIViC database
Authors: Barnell Erica K. , Waalkes Adam , Penewit Kelsi , Campbell Katie M. , Skidmore Zachary L. , Pritchard Colin C. , Fehniger Todd A. , Uppaluri Ravindra , Govindan Ramaswamy , Griffith Malachi , Salipante Stephen J. , Griffith Obi L.
Published: November 2018

Clinical targeted sequencing panels are important for identifying actionable variants for cancer patients, however, there are currently no strategies to create impartial and rationally-designed panels to accommodate rapidly growing knowledge within the field. Here we use the Clinical Interpretations of Variants in Cancer database (CIViC) in conjunction with single-molecule molecular inversion probe (smMIP) capture to identify and design probes targeting clinically relevant variants in cancer. In total, 2,027 smMIPs were designed to target 111 eligible CIViC variants. The total genomic region covered by the CIViC smMIPs reagent was 61.5 kb. When compared to existing genome or exome sequencing results (n = 27 cancer samples from 5 tumor types), CIViC smMIP sequencing demonstrated a 95% sensitivity for variant detection (n = 61/64 variants). Variant allele frequency for variants identified on both sequencing platforms were highly concordant (Pearson correlation = 0.885; n = 61 variants). Moreover, for individuals with paired tumor/normal samples (n = 12), 182 clinically relevant variants missed by original sequencing were discovered by CIViC smMIPs sequencing. This design paradigm demonstrates the utility of an open-sourced database built on attendant community contributions for each variant with peer-reviewed interpretations. Use of a public repository for variant identification, probe development, and variant annotation could provide a transparent approach to build a dynamic next-generation sequencing–based oncology panel.
Comparative study of population genomic approaches for mapping colony-level traits
Authors: Inbar Shani , Cohen Pnina , Yahav Tal , Privman Eyal
Published: November 2018

Social insect colonies exhibit colony-level phenotypes such as social immunity and task coordination, which are the sum of individual phenotypes. Mapping the genetic basis of such phenotypes requires associating the colony-level phenotype with the genotypes in the colony. In this paper, we examine alternative approaches to DNA extraction, library construction and sequencing for genome wide association (GWAS) studies of colony-level traits. We evaluate the accuracy of allele frequency estimation in sequencing a pool of individuals (pool-seq) from each colony in either whole-genome sequencing or reduced representation genomic sequencing. Based on empirical measurement of the experimental noise in sequencing DNA pools, we show that whole-genome pool-seq is more accurate than reduced representation pool-seq. We evaluate the power of the alternative approaches for detecting quantitative trait loci (QTL) of colony-level traits by using simulations that account for an environmental effect on the phenotype. Our results can inform experimental designs and enable optimizing the power of GWAS depending on budget, availability of samples and research goals. We conclude that for a given budget, sequencing un-normalized pools of individuals from each colony achieves greater QTL detection power.
Universal architectural concepts underlying protein folding patterns
Authors: Lesk Arthur M. , Subramanian Ramanan , Allison Lloyd , Abramson David , Stuckey Peter J. , Banda Maria Garcia de la , Konagurthu Arun S.
Published: November 2018

What is the architectural ‘basis set’ of the observed universe of protein structures? Using information-theoretic inference, we answer this question with a comprehensive dictionary of 1,493 substructuralconcepts. Eachconceptrepresents a topologically-conserved assembly of helices and strands that make contact. Any protein structure can be dissected into instances of concepts from this dictionary. We dissected the world-wide protein data bank and completely inventoried all concept instances. This yields an unprecedented source of biological insights. These include: correlations between concepts and catalytic activities or binding sites, useful for rational drug design; local amino-acid sequence–structure correlations, useful forab initiostructure prediction methods; and information supporting the recognition and exploration of evolutionary relationships, useful for structural studies. An interactive site, Proçodic, athttp://lcb.infotech.monash.edu.au/prosodic(click) provides access to and navigation of the entire dictionary of concepts, and all associated information.
Structural basis for ion selectivity in TMEM175 K+ channels
Authors: Brunner Janine D. , Jakob Roman P. , Schulze Tobias , Neldner Yvonne , Moroni Anna , Thiel Gerhard , Maier Timm , Schenck Stephan
Published: November 2018

The TMEM175 family constitutes recently discovered K+ channels that lack signatures for a P-loop selectivity filter, a hallmark of all known K+ channels. This raises the question how selectivity in TMEM175 channels is achieved. Here we report the X-ray structure of a bacterial TMEM175 family member in complex with a novel chaperone built of a nanobody fusion-protein. The structure of the channel in a non-conductive conformation was solved at 2.4 Å and revealed bound K+ ions along the channel pore. A hydrated K+ ion at the extracellular pore entrance that could be substituted with Cs+ and Rb+ is coordinated by backbone-oxygens forming a cation-selective filter at the tip of the pore-lining helices. Another K+ ion within the pore indicates the passage of dehydrated ions. Unexpectedly, a highly conserved threonine residue deeper in the pore conveys the K+ selectivity. The position of this threonine in the non-conductive state suggests major conformational rearrangements of the pore-lining helices for channel opening, possibly involving iris-like motions.
Massively parallel profiling and predictive modeling of the outcomes of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated double-strand break repair
Authors: Chen Wei , McKenna Aaron , Schreiber Jacob , Yin Yi , Agarwal Vikram , Noble William Stafford , Shendure Jay
Published: November 2018

Non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) plays an important role in double-strand break (DSB) repair of DNA. Recent studies have shown that the error patterns of NHEJ are strongly biased by sequence context, but these studies were based on relatively few templates. To investigate this more thoroughly, we systematically profiled ∼1.16 million independent mutational events resulting from CRISPR/Cas9-mediated cleavage and NHEJ-mediated DSB repair of 6,872 synthetic target sequences, introduced into a human cell line via lentiviral infection. We find that: 1) insertions are dominated by 1 bp events templated by sequence immediately upstream of the cleavage site, 2) deletions are predominantly associated with microhomology, and 3) targets exhibit variable but reproducible diversity with respect to the number and relative frequency of the mutational outcomes to which they give rise. From these data, we trained a model that uses local sequence context to predict the distribution of mutational outcomes. Exploiting the bias of NHEJ outcomes towards microhomology mediated events, we demonstrate the programming of deletion patterns by introducing microhomology to specific locations in the vicinity of the DSB site. We anticipate that our results will inform investigations of DSB repair mechanisms as well as the design of CRISPR/Cas9 experiments for diverse applications including genome-wide screens, gene therapy, lineage tracing and molecular recording.
Effect of partial substitution of rice with sorghum and inclusion of hydrolyzable tannins on digestibility and postprandial glycemia in adult dogs
Authors: Teixeira Liege , Dourado Pinto Caroline Fredrich , Mello Kessler Alexandre de , Trevizan Luciano
Published: November 2018

Sorghum is used as a substitute of rice in dog food, owing to its nutritional similarity and low cost. However, its use has been associated with negative effects, like a reduction in palatability, digestibility, and enzyme activity, which can decrease nutrient absorption. The presence of condensed tannins (CT) in sorghum may cause these effects. Another tannin group, the hydrolysable tannins (HT), is known for its antioxidant properties. Research has shown the nutritional effects of sorghum on dogs, but the effect of HT on dogs remains unknown. We evaluated the effects of substituting rice with sorghum containing CT and inclusion of commercial extract of HT on digestibility, fecal and urinary characteristics, and postprandial blood glucose levels in adult dogs. Nine adult Beagle were randomly subjected to 4 treatments: 50% rice; (RS) 25% rice + 25% sorghum; (RHT) 50% rice + 0.10% HT; (RSHT) 25% rice + 25% sorghum + 0,10% HT. Tannins did not affect food intake. The digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, acid hydrolyzed fat, gross energy, and metabolizable energy (ME) decreased with sorghum inclusion (P < 0.05). Sorghum also decreased protein digestibility (P < 0.05). Greater fecal dry matter was observed with the RHT diet. HT associated with sorghum reduced ME (P < 0.05). Sorghum inclusion enhanced fecal output, without altering fecal score (P > 0.05). No alterations in urinary characteristics were observed. Sorghum and HT did not affect the postprandial blood glucose response measured by the area under the curve (P > 0.05). The substitution of rice by sorghum negatively affected protein absorption and ME of the diets. Sorghum can be considered as a good source of carbohydrates in therapeutic diets for weight control. HT may potentiate the effect of CT, but more research is needed to evaluate its potential use in dog nutrition.
Combining a nine-crystal multi-analyser stage with a two-dimensional detector for high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction
Authors: Dejoie Catherine , Coduri Mauro , Petitdemange Sébastien , Giacobbe Carlotta , Covacci Ezio , Grimaldi Olivier , Autran Pierre-Olivier , Mogodi Mashikoane Wilson , Šišak Jung Dubravka , Fitch Andrew N.
Published: November 2018

The high-resolution powder diffraction beamline at ESRF (ID22), built with a dual-undulator source on the 6 GeV storage ring, combines a wide continuous range of incident energy (6–80 keV) with high brightness, offering the possibility to carry out high-flux high-resolution powder diffraction measurements. In routine operation, a bank of nine scintillation detectors is scanned vertically to measure the diffracted intensity versus 2θ, each detector being preceded by an Si 111 analyser crystal. Although the current detector system has operated successfully for the past 20 years, recent developments in detector technology could be exploited to improve the overall performance. With this in mind, as a test, a two-dimensional Pilatus3 X CdTe 300 K-W pixel detector has been mounted on the arm of the diffractometer, replacing the nine scintillator detectors. At each nominal 2θ value, a two-dimensional image is recorded showing nine distinct regions corresponding to the diffraction signals passing via each of the analyser crystals. This arrangement offers new flexibility in terms of data handling and processing, with the possibility to optimize both peak shape and statistics, to remove parasitic effects, and to gain spatial resolution information. Combining the high efficiency of a hybrid photon-counting area detector with the high angular resolution given by analyser crystals is an effective approach to improving the overall performance of high-resolution powder diffraction.
Crystallographic anisotropy in surface properties of brass and its dependence on the electron work function
Authors: Guo Liqiu , Lu Hao , Li D. Y. , Huang Q. X. , Wang Xu , Szpunar J. A.
Published: November 2018

The crystallographic anisotropy of the electric current or conductance, adhesive force, elastic modulus, and deformation magnitude of alpha brass were investigated through property mapping using an atomic force microscope. Surface electron work functions of differently oriented grains in the brass were also analyzed using atomic force microscopy. The mapped surface properties are closely related to the electron work function; the work function reflects the surface activity, which is itself dependent on the surface energy. The anisotropy of the properties is closely correlated to thein situmeasured surface electron work function. It is demonstrated that crystallographic planes with higher electron work functions exhibit lower current, smaller adhesive forces, larger elastic moduli and smaller deformation magnitudes. Efforts are made to understand the relationships by connecting the properties with surface energy and electron work function. The dependence of the properties on crystallographic orientation can be elucidated by considering the surface electron behavior using electron work function as a novel probing parameter.
Country institutional profiles: evidence from Colombian software exporters
Authors: Torkkeli Lasse , Fuerst Sascha
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how the perceived institutional environment of Colombian internationally operating small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the software industry comes to determine their performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The research applies regression modelling to a sample of 43 internationally operating Colombian SMEs in the software development industry, collected via an online survey.

Findings

The results indicate that the normative dimension of the institutional environment comes to determine the export performance of the SMEs. Conversely, the cognitive and regulatory dimensions of the institutional forces do not have a significant effect.

Research limitations/implications

The cross-sectional nature of the survey tool, the single industry and the single country context place limitations on the generalisability of the results across different industry and country contexts.

Practical implications

The results highlight the need for entrepreneurship-friendly norms and values in the context of internationalising SMEs in Latin America. Governments should focus on the development and promotion of international entrepreneurs that inspire and serve as role models for other entrepreneurs rather than concentrate on the creation of regulatory frameworks and the provision of knowledge of how to start and manage risk for the internationalising SME.

Originality/value

The study is one of the first to apply the Busenitzet al.(2000) scale on the institutional country profile to real entrepreneurs. Previous studies have mainly applied the framework to a sample of students or officers assigned to US embassies. Besides Renkoet al.’s (2009) conference paper, ours is the first one that links the country institutional profile to the performance of internationalising software firms and, especially, in the context of a Latin American country. The study, therefore, attempts to contribute to a better understanding of how a country’s institutional environment impacts the performance of internationalising SMEs.
Talent management: two pathways to glory? Lessons from the sports arena
Authors: Maqueira Juan M. , Bruque Sebastián , Uhrin Ákos
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between financial and operational performance and the application of two different talent management (TM) models: internal talent development model and external talent capture model. Comparative case studies of the Football Club Barcelona and the Real Madrid Football Club allow drawing a definitive conclusion for TM in companies related to the competitive strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

The two TM models are examined via a longitudinal comparative case study analysis: FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF. Present paper builds on secondary sources: first, the TM properties of the clubs were extracted from academic sources and newspapers; second, data used to analyze the financial performance were derived from SABI database and operational performance was measured as the effectiveness in winning trophies in football championships (data gathered from Union of European Football Associations and International Federation of Football Associations databases).

Findings

The case analysis reveals that the two TM models offer equally effective financial and operational performance outcomes. The internal talent development model would be more useful for companies whose competitive advantage is achieved through differentiation through teamwork. However, companies that do not achieve a clear differentiation through teamwork should opt for the external talent capture model.

Originality/value

Talent is one of a company’s most important intangible assets. Although there exists a growing interest among companies as to the best way to TM, practical models on how to manage talent are virtually nonexistent. Comparative case studies from the sports arena allow for the extraction of lessons for companies related to TM and competitive strategy.
Bioconvection in nanofluid-saturated porous square cavity containing oxytactic microorganisms
Authors: Balla Chandra Shekar , Haritha C. , Naikoti Kishan , Rashad A.M.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the bioconvection flow in a porous square cavity saturated with both oxytactic microorganism and nanofluids.

Design/methodology/approach

The impacts of the effective parameters such as Rayleigh number, bioconvection number, Peclet number and thermophoretic force, Brownan motion and Lewis number reduces the flow strength in the cavity on the flow strength, oxygen density distribution, motile isoconcentrations and heat transfer performance are investigated using a finite volume approach.

Findings

The results obtained showed that the average Nusselt number is increased with Peclet number, Lewis number, Brownian motion and thermophoretic force. Also, the average Sherwood number increased with Brownian motion and Peclet number and decreased with thermophoretic force. It is concluded that the flow strength is pronounced with Rayleigh number, bioconvection number, Peclet number and thermophoretic force. Brownan motion and Lewis number reduce the flow strength in the cavity.

Originality/value

There is no published study in the literature about sensitivity analysis of Brownian motion and thermophoresis force effects on the bioconvection heat transfer in a square cavity filled by both nanofluid and oxytactic microorganisms.
The synoptic variation of Yellow Sea Warm Current in winter and its mechanisms
Authors: Li Zhiyuan , Huang Daji , Xing Chuanxi , Lü Xiuyang
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the basin-scale features and mechanisms of the synoptic variation of Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) in winter.

Design/methodology/approach

Bothin situcurrent observation and numerical model (MITgcm) were conducted to investigate the synoptic variation of YSWC. The model was well validated and the simulated results were analyzed.

Findings

The YSWC shows a much stronger synoptic variation than its mean in winter with strong variation mainly in the deep central YS. The synoptic variation of YSWC is associated a counterclockwise rotary wave as a response to the strong northerly wind bursts. Strong northerly wind generates a large sea surface height (SSH) drop in the Bohai Sea and northern YS. Then, the SSH rotates in a counterclockwise manner. About 18 h later, strong eastward SSH gradient is formed, generating a northward current through geostrophic balance.

Originality/value

The mechanisms analysis shows that the synoptic variation of YSWC is intrinsically linked to SSH as a response to the synoptic varying winter monsoon. This study provides an insight into the spatial and temporal evolution of the oceanic response to strong northerly wind in winter.
A comparative study of explicit high-resolution schemes for compositional simulations
Authors: Moshiri Mojtaba , Manzari Mehrdad T.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to numerically study the compositional flow of two- and three-phase fluids in one-dimensional porous media and to make a comparison between several upwind and central numerical schemes.

Design/methodology/approach

Implicit pressure explicit composition (IMPEC) procedure is used for discretization of governing equations. The pressure equation is solved implicitly, whereas the mass conservation equations are solved explicitly using different upwind (UPW) and central (CEN) numerical schemes. These include classical upwind (UPW-CLS), flux-based decomposition upwind (UPW-FLX), variable-based decomposition upwind (UPW-VAR), Roe’s upwind (UPW-ROE), local Lax–Friedrichs (CEN-LLF), dominant wave (CEN-DW), Harten–Lax–van Leer (HLL) and newly proposed modified dominant wave (CEN-MDW) schemes. To achieve higher resolution, high-order data generated by either monotone upstream-centered schemes for conservation laws (MUSCL) or weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) reconstructions are used.

Findings

It was found that the new CEN-MDW scheme can accurately solve multiphase compositional flow equations. This scheme uses most of the information in flux function while it has a moderate computational cost as a consequence of using simple algebraic formula for the wave speed approximation. Moreover, numerically calculated wave structure is shown to be used as a tool for a priori estimation of problematic regions, i.e. degenerate, umbilic and elliptic points, which require applying correction procedures to produce physically acceptable (entropy) solutions.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is concerned with one-dimensional study of compositional two- and three-phase flows in porous media. Temperature is assumed constant and the physical model accounts for miscibility and compressibility of fluids, whereas gravity and capillary effects are neglected.

Practical implications

The proposed numerical scheme can be efficiently used for solving two- and three-phase compositional flows in porous media with a low computational cost which is especially useful when the number of chemical species increases.

Originality/value

A new central scheme is proposed that leads to improved accuracy and computational efficiency. Moreover, to the best of authors knowledge, this is the first time that the wave structure of compositional model is investigated numerically to determine the problematic situations during numerical solution and adopt appropriate correction techniques.
Research and analysis on the crotch comfort of the male boxer underwear under thermohydro environment
Authors: Cheng Pengpeng , Chen Daoling
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the fit and thermal and moisture comfort factors to provide some reference value for the functional design of underwear.

Design/methodology/approach

The body size data of 100 male youths are measured to analyze the body shape of the lower body. Based on the complete body size, the authors selected the matching underwear, and obtained the relevant data for the mathematical model of thermal and moisture using Grey correlation analysis method.

Findings

In allusion to the defect of fit comfort and thermal-moisture comfort of the crotch, this paper presented a mathematical model, and experimental results showed that breathable fabric and breathable volume are the key factors.

Originality/value

It was clarified that which is the key to the thermal and moisture comfort. At the same time, male lower body characteristics index is clear.
Decoding fashion advertising symbolism in masstige and luxury brands
Authors: Kim Jae-Eun , Lloyd Stephen , Adebeshin Keji , Kang Ju-Young M.
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to advance the theory and practice of luxury and masstige brand advertising effectiveness by decoding symbolism imbedded in fashion advertising.

Design/methodology/approach

This research employs a semiotic analysis of masstige brand advertising to discover those messages and themes that emerge and that communicate masstige values.

Findings

The research identifies identitary values that are exclusive to masstige brands, and those they share with luxury brands.

Research limitations/implications

The purpose of this research is not to make generalizations; rather, its purpose is to offer insights into those themes that define luxury and masstige brand identitary values.

Practical implications

The research provides insights into the key identifiers, which may inspire further research and provide marketing insights for the operation management in luxury fashion.

Originality/value

The research contributes to luxury and masstige retail brand research by identifying the symbolic meaning of luxury advertising.
Measuring religiosity among Muslim consumers: observations and recommendations
Authors: Salam Muhammad Talha , Muhamad Nazlida , Leong Vai Shiem
Published: November 2018

Purpose

Research on Muslim consumers has increasingly highlighted the significance of measuring religiosity. However, there is an apparent lack of uniformity in measuring religiosity across literature on Muslim consumer research. This paper aims to critically review the approaches used to measure religiosity in existing research on Muslim consumers.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reviewed 39 studies selected from the Journal of Islamic Marketing from 2010 to 2017. Based on critical reviews of these studies on Muslim consumers, a number of observations and recommendations were made on approaches to measure religiosity.

Findings

Evident influence of religiosity on Muslim consumers was observed across the spectrum of the reviewed studies. The main issues in selecting the measures of religiosity include limited discussion on rationalizing the choice of a particular measure of religiosity and little consideration of the Islamic context.

Research limitations/implications

Based on the review, it is recommended that the process of searching, selecting and adopting a particular religiosity construct should be rationalized based on Islamic context. Adoption of Western scales should be done carefully with expert reviews. Also, researchers may consider using Islamic religiosity constructs and alternative measures such as qualitative measures of religiosity and spirituality-based constructs.

Originality/value

As Muslim consumer research is gaining momentum, this paper presents a critical review of the important aspect of measuring religiosity among Muslim consumers. The critical review and recommendations in this paper offer a much-needed theoretical clarity on selecting and using religiosity measures.
Sustainable innovation in public procurement: the decisive role of the individual
Authors: Eikelboom Martin E. , Gelderman Cees , Semeijn Janjaap
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This study aims to highlight the effect of individual attributes of procurement professionals on goals concerning public procurement of sustainable innovation. Several barriers haven been observed regarding the application of public money to achieve these goals. Most research concerning these barriers focuses on organizational factors. Corporate initiatives are typically presented as a way forward tot achieve sustainable innovation. Less attention is paid to the efforts and attributes of the individual procurement professional.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was sent to 283 officials, involved in the procurement process of a large public organization.

Findings

As expected, a lack of top management support has a negative impact on sustainable innovation. Legal and regulatory complexity is less of a hindrance. The results indicate that both individual innovativeness and individual collectivism have a significant positive effect on sustainable innovation. Findings further suggest that an important way for an organization to achieve sustainable innovation is to allow individuals sufficient discretion to pursue sustainable initiatives. Many initiatives can be attributed to the individual innovativeness of procurement professionals.

Originality/value

The relation beween individual attributes of procurement professionals on the application of public money to achieve goals of sustainable innovation is investigated and can serve as a basis for further sudy on this subject.
Putting your money where your mouth is: green procurement as a form of sustainability
Authors: Terman Jessica , Smith Christy
Published: November 2018

Purpose

There is a robust and growing literature on the adoption of sustainability policies in US local governments. Scholars have examined locality involvement in climate protection networks, sustainability policy adoption and the allocation of resources for sustainability-oriented responsibilities. While a significant body of literature, the substantive meaningfulness of the sustainability policies being investigated has varied greatly.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors assert that governments that engage in green procurement activities are truly putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to sustainability policy. They ask the question of whether the traditional determinants of sustainability policy adoption influence the adoption of permissive and mandated green procurement policies in local governments.

Findings

In particular, scholars have not examined one of the most significant ways that local governments have of promoting environmentally responsible behaviors and mitigating climate change: public procurement.
Fostering innovation in public procurement through public private partnerships
Authors: Carbonara Nunzia , Pellegrino Roberta
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The prevailing view in the studies on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) is that PPPs can improve the quality and efficiency of infrastructure services and facilitates innovation in infrastructure developments. Although researchers highlight the potentiality of PPP models for stimulating innovation, they do not prove whether and in which conditions the PPP model is capable of developing innovative solutions. This paper aims to provide answers to the following key research questions: Which are the PPP features that favor innovation? How properly structure a PPP to foster innovation?

Design/methodology/approach

With this aim, drawing upon the main streams of studies on innovation, the authors develop a conceptual framework that identifies the PPP features that can influence the innovativeness. Second, they define how these PPP features have to be structured to foster innovation.

Finding

The authors find that a wider involvement of the private sector will increase the level of innovation. The industry structure exerts opposite forces on innovation: the dominance of large-sized firms is positively related to innovative output, whereas the market concentration negatively affects innovation. Performance-based contracts should be used in the context of PPP instead of traditional contracts. Finally, the authors find that, to fully exploit the networking effects on innovation, cooperation and trusting among partners involved in PPPs should be enhanced.

Originality/value

The developed framework identifies the relations existing between each PPP feature and the level of innovation and allows to define how these PPP features have to be structured to foster innovation. The authors contribute to fill the gap in the academic literature on PPP and innovation by proving whether and in which conditions the PPP model is capable of developing innovative solutions. Furthermore, they provide meaningful guidelines to those called to structure the PPP arrangements.
Cognitive biases of consumers as barriers in transition towards circular economy
Authors: Singh Poonam , Giacosa Elisa
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the cognitive biases of consumer and explain how they are creating barriers in transition towards circular economy (CE).

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper which adopts a consumer-centric conceptualization of CE by focussing on cognitive biases as an underlying and unifying mechanism which is creating barriers in the adoption of CE. This conceptualization explains consumers’ non-adoption of circular business model, highlight synergies across disconnected theories and streams of research originating in different disciplines and at the individual, societal and cultural levels of analysis.

Findings

The findings of this paper suggest that circular business models are not fulfilling the psychological, social and cultural needs of the consumers and that in turn lead to barriers in diffusion of the CE. Consumers have a negative connotation with the different circular business model due to their cognitive biases.

Practical implications

The paper details about key implications to design effective interventions to modify consumer behaviour in the desired direction for hassle-free transition to CE from the linear economy.

Originality/value

This paper offers a shift in CE research from a deterministic approach to conceptualising consumers to a positivist approach to conceptualising consumers.
A study on extruded filament bonding in fused filament fabrication
Authors: Costa Ana Elisa , Ferreira da Silva Alexandre , Sousa Carneiro Olga
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The performance of parts produced by fused filament fabrication is directly related to the printing conditions and to the rheological phenomena inherent to the process, specifically the bonding between adjacent extruded paths/raster. This paper aims to study the influence of a set of printing conditions and parameters, namely, envelope temperature, extrusion temperature, forced cooling and extrusion rate, on the parts performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The influence of these parameters is evaluated by printing a set of test specimens that are morphologically characterized and mechanically tested. At the morphological level, the external dimensions and the voids content of the printed specimens are evaluated. The bonding quality between adjacent extruded paths is assessed through the mechanical performance of test specimens, subjected to tensile loads. These specimens are printed with all raster oriented at 90º relative to the tensile axis.

Findings

The best performance, resulting from a compromise between surface quality, dimensional accuracy and mechanical performance, is achieved with a heated printing environment and with no use of forced cooling. In addition, for all the conditions tested, the highest dimensional accuracy is achieved in dimensions defined in the printing plane.

Originality/value

This work provides a relevant result as the majority of the current printers comes without enclosure or misses the heating and envelope temperature control systems, which proved to be one of the most influential process parameter.
A mosaicking technique for object identification in underwater environments
Authors: Pereira Nunes Alexandra , Silva Gaspar Ana Rita , M. Pinto Andry , Castilho Matos Aníbal
Published: November 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to present a mosaicking method for underwater robotic applications, whose result can be provided to other perceptual systems for scene understanding such as real-time object recognition.

Design/methodology/approach

This method is called robust and large-scale mosaicking (ROLAMOS) and presents an efficient frame-to-frame motion estimation with outlier removal and consistency checking that maps large visual areas in high resolution. The visual mosaic of the sea-floor is created on-the-fly by a robust registration procedure that composes monocular observations and manages the computational resources. Moreover, the registration process of ROLAMOS aligns the observation to the existing mosaic.

Findings

A comprehensive set of experiments compares the performance of ROLAMOS to other similar approaches, using both data sets (publicly available) and live data obtained by a ROV operating in real scenes. The results demonstrate that ROLAMOS is adequate for mapping of sea-floor scenarios as it provides accurate information from the seabed, which is of extreme importance for autonomous robots surveying the environment that does not rely on specialized computers.

Originality/value

The ROLAMOS is suitable for robotic applications that require an online, robust and effective technique to reconstruct the underwater environment from only visual information.
The effect of CEO civic engagement on corporate social and environmental performance
Authors: Cha Wonsuk , Abebe Michael , Dadanlar Hazel
Published: November 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between a chief executive officer (CEO)’s personal engagement in broader societal causes (CEO civic engagement) and firm’s social and environmental performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical framework was developed based on upper echelons and stakeholder theories to argue that CEOs’ professional background characteristics can be closely related to firm-level social and environmental performance. Hierarchical OLS analysis was conducted using data from 178 large, publicly traded large US firms between 2010 and 2013.

Findings

Overall, the findings suggest that firms led by CEOs with active civic engagement are more likely to support various philanthropic efforts. Additionally, the findings suggest that firms led by civic-minded CEOs are more likely to support an active corporate environmental engagement by investing significant resources in various environmental causes. Contrary to the authors’ predictions, the level of CEO civic engagement was not a significant predictor of firm level community engagement activities.

Research limitations/implications

The findings extend current scholarly work on executive determinants of corporate social performance by highlighting the important role of CEOs’ personal engagement beyond studying CEOs’ demographic characteristics. Specifically, the findings that the CEO-civic engagements lead to higher degrees of corporate philanthropy and environmental performance show that CEOs’ civic engagement can go beyond what is considered symbolic executive actions.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that firms that seek to foster social and environmental performance in a meaningful way should recruit and retain CEOs that have a personal commitment to and engagement in various social and environmental issues and causes.

Originality/value

By empirically examining the effect of CEO civic engagement on corporate philanthropy, community involvement and environmental performance, this paper seeks to contribute to the scholarly conversation on the effects of CEOs in shaping the firm’s social and environmental engagement and addressing external stakeholder concerns.