bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neuropathic pain after chronic nerve constriction may not correlate with chloride dysregulation in mouse trigeminal nucleus caudalis neurons
Authors: Castro Alberto , Li Ying , Raver Charles , Chandra Ramesh , Masri Radi , Lobo Mary K. , Keller Asaf
Published: April 2017

Changes in chloride reversal potential in rat spinal cord neurons have previously been associated with persistent pain in nerve injury and inflammation models. These changes correlate with a decrease in the expression of the potassium chloride transporter, KCC2, and with increases in neuronal excitability. Here, we test the hypothesis that similar changes occur in mice with neuropathic pain induced by chronic constriction injury of the trigeminal infraorbital nerve (CCI-ION). This model allows us to distinguish an acute pain phase (3-5 days after injury) from a persistent pain phase (12-14 days after CCI-ION). Chronic constriction injury of the trigeminal infraorbital nerve induced significant decreases in mechanical pain thresholds in both the acute and persistent phases. To estimate GABAA reversal potentials in neurons from trigeminal nucleus caudalis, we obtained perforated patch recordings in vitro. GABAA reversal potential decreased by 8% during the acute phase in unidentified neurons, but not in GABAergic interneurons. However, at 12 to 14 days after CCI-ION, GABAA reversal potential recovered to normal values. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed no significant changes, at either 3 to 5 days or 12 to 14 days after CCI-ION, in either KCC2 or NKCC1. These findings suggest that CCI-ION in mice results in transient and modest changes in chloride reversal potentials, and that these changes may not persist during the late phase. This suggests that, in the mouse model of CCI-ION, chloride dysregulation may not have a prominent role in the central mechanisms leading to the maintenance of chronic pain.
Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Professional Practice Work Environment Inventory
Authors: Ives Erickson Jeanette , Duffy Mary E. , Ditomassi Marianne , Jones Dorothy
Published: April 2017

OBJECTIVE

The purpose is to examine the psychometric properties of the professional practice work environment inventory (PPWEI).

BACKGROUND

Derived from the Professional Practice Environment (PPE) and the Revised PPE scales, the PPWEI was designed to measure 8 components of the PPE that can be used to assist nurse administrators in decision-making.

METHODS

A psychometric evaluation was undertaken with 874 nurses who were providing direct care to patients at the Massachusetts General Hospital and who provided no missing data on the newly developed 72-item PPWEI.

RESULTS

Cronbach’s α internal consistency reliability of the total score was .93, with 61 items having factor loadings more than .50, the factor loading cutoff used to define the component subscales. Principal component analyses with varimax rotation and Kaiser normalization demonstrated 8 components, explaining 64.6% of variance. Cronbach’s α reliability coefficients of the PPWEI subscales ranged from .82 to .93.

CONCLUSION

The multidimensional PPWEI is a psychometrically sound measure of several components of the PPE in the acute care setting and sufficiently reliable and valid for use as independent subscales in healthcare research.
Comparative genomics shows that viral integrations are abundant and express piRNAs in the arboviral vectorsAedes aegyptiandAedes albopictus
Authors: Palatini Umberto , Miesen Pascal , Carballar-Lejarazu Rebeca , Ometto Lino , Rizzo Ettore , Tu Zhijian , van Rij Ronald , Bonizzoni Mariangela
Published: April 2017

Background

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) transmitted by mosquito vectors cause many important emerging or resurging infectious diseases in humans including dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Understanding the co-evolutionary processes among viruses and vectors is essential for the development of novel transmission-blocking strategies. Arboviruses form episomal viral DNA fragments upon infection of mosquito cells and adults. Additionally, sequences from insect-specific viruses and arboviruses have been found integrated into mosquito genomes.

Results

We used a bioinformatic approach to analyze the presence, abundance, distribution, and transcriptional activity of integrations from 425 non-retroviral viruses, including 133 arboviruses, across the presently available 22 mosquito genome sequences. Large differences in abundance and types of viral integrations were observed in mosquito species from the same region. Viral integrations are unexpectedly abundant in the arboviral vector speciesAedes aegyptiandAe. albopictus, but are ∼10-fold less abundant in all other mosquitoes analysed. Additionally, viral integrations are enriched in piRNA clusters of both theAe. aegyptiandAe. albopictusgenomes and, accordingly, they express piRNAs, but not siRNAs.

Conclusions

Differences in number of viral integrations in the genomes of mosquito species from the same geographic area support the conclusion that integrations of viral sequences is not dependent on viral exposure, but that lineage-specific interactions exits. Viral integrations are abundant inAe. aegyptiandAe. albopictus, and represent a thus far unappreciated component of their genomes. Additionally, the genome locations of viral integrations and their production of piRNAs indicate a functional link between viral integrations and the piRNA pathway. These results greatly expand the breadth and complexity of small RNA-mediated regulation and suggest a role for viral integrations in antiviral defense in these two mosquito species.
Beyond the Linear Genome: Comprehensive Determination of the Endogenous Circular Elements inC. elegansand Human Genomes via an Unbiased Genomic-Biophysical Method
Authors: Shoura Massa J. , Gabdank Idan , Hansen Loren , Merker Jason , Gotlib Jason , Levene Stephen D. , Fire Andrew Z.
Published: April 2017

Investigations aimed at defining the 3-D configuration of eukaryotic chromosomes have consistently encountered an endogenous population of chromosome-derived circular genomic DNA, referred to as extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA). While the production, distribution, and activities of eccDNAs remain understudied, eccDNA formation from specific regions of the linear genome has profound consequences on the regulatory and coding capabilities for these regions. High-throughput sequencing has only recently made extensive genomic mapping of eccDNA sequences possible and had yet to be applied using a rigorous approach that distinguishes ascertainment bias from true enrichment. Here, we define eccDNA distribution, utilizing a set of unbiased topology-dependent approaches for enrichment and characterization. We use parallel biophysical, enzymatic, and informatic approaches to obtain a comprehensive profiling of eccDNA inC. elegansand in three human cell types, where eccDNAs were previously uncharacterized. We also provide quantitative analysis of the eccDNA loci at both unique and repetitive regions. Our studies converge on and support a consistent picture in which endogenous genomic DNA circles are present in normal physiological DNA metabolism, and in which the circles come from both coding and noncoding genomic regions. Prominent among the coding regions generating DNA circles are several genes known to produce a diversity of protein isoforms, with mucin proteins and titin as specific examples.
Does Tobacco Abstinence Decrease Reward Sensitivity? A Human Laboratory Test
Authors: Hughes John R , Budney Alan J , Muellers Sharon R , Lee Dustin C , Callas Peter W. , Sigmon Stacey C , Fingar James R , Priest Jeff
Published: April 2017

Introduction

Animal studies report abstinence from nicotine makes rewards less rewarding; however, the results of human tests of the effects of cessation on reward sensitivity are mixed. The current study tested reward sensitivity in abstinent smokers using more rigorous methods than most prior studies.

Methods

A human laboratory study compared outcomes for 1 week prior to quitting to those during 4 weeks post-quit. The study used smokers trying to quit, objective and subjective measures, multiple measures during smoking and abstinence, and monetary rewards to increase the prevalence of abstinence. Current daily smokers (n = 211) who were trying to quit completed an operant measure of reward sensitivity and a survey of pleasure from various rewards as well as self-reports of anhedonia, delay discounting, positive affect and tobacco withdrawal twice each week. A comparison group of long-term former smokers (n = 67) also completed the tasks weekly for 4 weeks. Primary analyses were based on the 61 current smokers who abstained for all 4 weeks.

Results

Stopping smoking decreased self-reported pleasure from rewards but did not decrease reward sensitivity on the operant task. Abstinence also decreased self-reported reward frequency and increased the two anhedonia measures. However, the changes with abstinence were small for all outcomes (6-14%) and most lasted less than a week.

Conclusion

Abstinence from tobacco decreased most self-report measures of reward sensitivity; however, it did not change the objective measure. The self-report effects were small.

Implications

Animal research suggests that nicotine withdrawal decreases reward sensitivity. Replication tests of this in humans have produced inconsistent results.

We report what we believe is a more rigorous test

We found smoking abstinence slightly decreases self-reports of reward sensitivity but does not do so for behavioral measures of reward sensitivity
Structure and function of the bacterial and fungal gut flora of Neotropical butterflies
Authors: Ravenscraft Alison , Berry Michelle , Hammer Tobin , Peay Kabir , Boggs Carol
Published: April 2017

The relationship between animals and their gut flora is simultaneously one of the most common and most complex symbioses on Earth. Despite its ubiquity, our understanding of this invisible but often critical relationship is still in its infancy. We employed adult Neotropical butterflies as a study system to ask three questions: First, how does gut microbial community composition vary across host individuals, species and dietary guilds? Second, how do gut flora compare to food microbial communities? Finally, are gut flora functionally adapted to the chemical makeup of host foods? To answer these questions we captured nearly 300 Costa Rican butterflies representing over 50 species, six families and two feeding guilds: frugivores and nectivores. We characterized the bacteria and fungi in guts, wild fruits and wild nectars via amplicon sequencing and assessed the catabolic abilities of the gut flora via culture-based assays.

Gut communities were distinct from food communities, suggesting that the gut environment acts as a strong filter on potential colonists. Nevertheless, gut flora varied widely among individuals and species. On average, a pair of butterflies shared 21% of their bacterial species and 6% of their fungi. Host species explained 25-30% of total variation in microbial communities while host diet explained 4%. However, diet was still relevant at the individual microbe level—half of the most abundant microbial species differed in abundance between frugivores and nectivores. Diet was also related to the functional profile of gut flora: compared to frugivores, nectivores’ gut flora exhibited increased catabolism of sugars and sugar alcohols and decreased catabolism of amino acids, carboxylic acids and dicarboxylic acids. Since fermented juice contains more amino acids and less sugar than nectar, it appears that host diet filters the gut flora by favoring microbes that digest compounds abundant in foods.

By quantifying the degree to which gut communities vary among host individuals, species and dietary guilds and evaluating how gut microbial composition and catabolic potential are related to host diet, this study deepens our understanding of the structure and function of one of the most complex and ubiquitous symbioses in the animal kingdom.
TheDynamopackage for tomography and subtomogram averaging: components forMATLAB, GPU computing and EC2 Amazon Web Services
Authors: Castaño-Díez Daniel
Published: April 2017

Dynamois a package for the processing of tomographic data. As a tool for subtomogram averaging, it includes different alignment and classification strategies. Furthermore, its data-management module allows experiments to be organized in groups of tomograms, while offering specialized three-dimensional tomographic browsers that facilitate visualization, location of regions of interest, modelling and particle extraction in complex geometries. Here, a technical description of the package is presented, focusing on its diverse strategies for optimizing computing performance.Dynamois built upon mbtools (middle layer toolbox), a general-purposeMATLABlibrary for object-oriented scientific programming specifically developed to underpinDynamobut usable as an independent tool. Its structure intertwines a flexibleMATLABcodebase with precompiled C++ functions that carry the burden of numerically intensive operations. The package can be delivered as a precompiled standalone ready for execution without aMATLABlicense. Multicore parallelization on a single node is directly inherited from the high-level parallelization engine provided forMATLAB, automatically imparting a balanced workload among the threads in computationally intense tasks such as alignment and classification, but also in logistic-oriented tasks such as tomogram binning and particle extraction.Dynamosupports the use of graphical processing units (GPUs), yielding considerable speedup factors both for nativeDynamoprocedures (such as the numerically intensive subtomogram alignment) and procedures defined by the user through itsMATLAB-based GPU library for three-dimensional operations. Cloud-based virtual computing environments supplied with a pre-installed version ofDynamocan be publicly accessed through the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), enabling users to rent GPU computing time on a pay-as-you-go basis, thus avoiding upfront investments in hardware and longterm software maintenance.
Factors influencing consumer intention in social commerce adoption
Authors: Akman Ibrahim , Mishra Alok
Published: April 2017

Purpose

Social media remarkably changed the way of interaction between the consumers and organizations. The increased acceptance of social media has given rise to social commerce (s-commerce) and s-commerce usage is gradually increasing over the last few years. The progressive development of technologies suggests that s-commerce will become the mainstream for marketing and a literature survey indicates that there have not been many studies in this area. The purpose of this paper is to predict the factors influencing consumer intention towards the adoption of s-commerce.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a survey approach with reference to important behavioural factors such as satisfaction, ethics, trust, enjoyment/easiness, social pressure and awareness. The research model was developed to be in line with the available literature. The data were collected using a five-point Likert scale and the research model was tested using least square regression.

Findings

The results showed that user intention is significantly and positively related to perceived trust, enjoyment/easiness, social pressure, satisfaction and awareness. Also, “intention” was found to be a significant mediating factor for actual usage.

Research limitations/implications

First, the questionnaire was a “snap-shot” instead of longitudinal study. Second, future research should use other moderating variables that may affect the usage of social media. Also the study could apply a variant of research methods to include other techniques such as interviews, which allow for deeper understanding of the problem and issues.

Practical implications

Social media represents an important platform for electronic commerce and has one of the most metamorphic impacts on business. Therefore, investigating the usage of s-commerce with reference to important behavioural factors could provide valuable information for companies in establishing policies and strategies. It could also be useful for management studies and researchers in understanding the consumers’ attitude towards usage of social media for commercial purposes.

Social implications

S-commerce creates opportunities for firms. Based on findings this research provides insights with major implications for marketers, who would like to generate direct sales on social network platforms.

Originality/value

Existing literature focusses largely on the effectiveness of social media. Only a handful has endeavoured to analyse s-commerce systems and the literature on consumers’ behaviour in using s-commerce is not mature yet. This study is one of the few studies in this field, and aims to predict and explain the user acceptance of social media for commercial purposes.
Compromising gender identities
Authors: Wijayawardena Kanchana , Wijewardena Nilupama , Samaratunge Ramanie
Published: April 2017

Purpose

Given the limited research on women in information technology (IT) sectors in emerging economies and the importance of understanding their experiences working in highly gendered IT firms, the purpose of this paper is to examine the specific gendered strategies used by women engineers to stay in gender-atypical IT firms in Sri Lanka using job embeddedness as a theoretical lens.

Design/methodology/approach

Data collection was done through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions on a sample of 14 women engineers employed in five leading IT firms in Sri Lanka.

Findings

Respondents perceived the work role expectations in the Sri Lankan IT industry as masculine. Respondents compromised their own gender identities to engage in four distinct strategies to link and fit with the prevailing work role expectations. “Using a hybrid style” and “being passive and neutral” were respondents’ link strategies, while “adopting masculine traits” and “demonstrating self-confidence” related to their fit strategies.

Research limitations/implications

Men and women who aspire to enter the IT sector need to be pre-prepared and educated about the characteristics of IT cultures and prevailing gender norms along with the subject knowledge. Managers of IT firms need to create positive work environments for their women employees that aid them to fit and link with their workplaces.

Originality/value

The study provides a deeper understanding of how women manage gender-related issues within gender-atypical IT firms in Sri Lanka and stay in their employment.
Understanding the effects of environmental factors on building energy efficiency designs and credits
Authors: Kim Jonghoon , Hyun Jin-Young , Chong Wai K. , Ariaratnam Samuel
Published: April 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between environmental factors and building energy consumption of three Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified buildings at the Arizona State University, by establishing the relationships of the outside atmospheric temperature and the energy consumed in the building using real-time data generated from different sources.

Design/methodology/approach

K-means clustering analysis is used to calibrate and eliminate unwanted influences or factors from a set of building consumption real-time data. For further statistical analysis, the chi-square is used to verify if the results are ample to prove the findings.

Findings

Few studies have addressed building energy consumption real-time data versus LEED Energy and Atmosphere (EA) credits with the data mining technique (k-means clustering) on most of building performance analyses. This study highlighted that the calibrating energy data are a better approach to analyze energy use in buildings and that there is a relationship between LEED credits’ (EA) Optimize Energy Performance scores and building energy efficiency. However, the energy consumption data alone do not yield useful results to establish the cause and effect relationships.

Originality/value

Although there are several previous research studies regarding LEED building energy performance, this research study focused on the LEED building energy performance versus LEED EA credits versus environmental factors using real-time building energy data and various statistical methods (e.g. K-means clustering and chi-square). The findings provide researchers, engineers and architects with valuable references for building energy analysis methods and supplements in LEED standards.
Burnout in clinicians working with offenders with personality disorder
Authors: Chandler Robert J. , Newman Andrew , Butler Catherine
Published: April 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the levels of clinician burnout in a community forensic personality disorder (PD) service, and explores how burnout may arise and be minimised within a service of this nature.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed methods approach was utilised, assessing levels of burnout and making comparisons with a comparable previous study. Focus group data regarding burnout and suggestions for reducing the risk of burnout were analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings

Levels of burnout were generally found to be higher in the current sample when compared with the generic PD services. Qualitative data suggest that working in a forensic PD setting may pose a range of additional and complex challenges; these are explored in detail. Minimising burnout might be achieved by developing resilience, utilising humour, team coherence and ensuring that breaks are taken, and developing one’s own strategies for “releasing pressure”.

Practical implications

The risk for burnout in clinicians working with offenders with PD may be higher than other groups of mental health clinicians. Despite this, attempts to minimise burnout can be made through a range of practical strategies at the individual, team and organisational level.

Originality/value

This is the first project to assess levels of burnout specifically in a team of clinicians working with offenders with PD, and offers an exploration of how burnout may manifest and how it can be managed in this unique area of mental health.
“I’m not homosexual or heterosexual, I’m paedosexual”: exploring sexual preference for children using interpretive phenomenology
Authors: Walton Jamie S. , Duff Simon
Published: April 2017

Purpose

There is little research that examines the experiences of individuals who were assessed as having a sexual preference for children. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the lived experience of five incarcerated participants who possessed a sexual preference for either prepubescent or pubescent children and had completed an accredited programme for males convicted of sexual offences in HM Prison Service in England and Wales.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were carried out and the data were analysed using the principles of an interpretative phenomenological approach.

Findings

Three recurrent themes were identified. These were: internal battle, I am always going to have these thoughts, and there is no help out there. In particular, these participants perceived that their sexual preference was relatively enduring and would require continuous management.

Practical implications

The results have implications for clinical practice and further research. Clinicians may need to think particularly creatively about their therapeutic plans and extend the parameters of desirable treatment goals for clients with sexual preferences for children.

Originality/value

To date there are very few studies that have examined the accounts of men with a sexual preference for children regarding their lived experience. Paedophilia constitutes a stable sexual preference, suggesting that convicted perpetrators with such a preference face an inherent problem. Whilst sexual urges may be regulated and arousability reduced, the underlying attraction may remain intact. In response to the lack of research in this area, the aim of this study was to investigate the lived experience of a sexual preference for children.
The 3 R’s of risk assessment for violent extremism
Authors: Dean Geoff , Pettet Graeme
Published: April 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore two distinct yet complimentary “structured professional judgement (SPJ)” approaches to terrorist/extremist risk assessment on the vexing issue of how best to deal with the subjectivity inherently involved in professional judgement.

Design/methodology/approach

An SPJ methodology is considered the best practice approach for assessing terrorism risk. Currently there are four specific terrorism risk instruments that have been published in the literature. Two of these SPJ tools are examined in detail, namely the Violent Extremist Risk Assessment tool (Pressman, 2009; Pressman et al., 2012) and the Structured Assessment of Violent Extremism (SAVE) tool (Dean, 2014). The paper critically unpacks the conceptual and methodological stumbling blocks of an SPJ methodology for controlling human subjectivity.

Findings

The paper presents the case for adopting a “controlling in” approach rather than a “controlling out” approach of an analyst’s subjective tacit (in-the-head) knowledge inherent in their professional judgement. To have a quantifiable SPJ tool that triangulates the multi-dimensionality of terrorism risk which can validate an analyst’s professional judgement is the next logical step in terrorist/extremist risk assessment work. The paper includes a case example of this “controlling in” approach and the validation methodology used by the SAVE software system.

Practical implications

The implications for practice range from incorporating the SAVE system in operational policing/national security work with its quantitative nature, triangulated risk scores, visualisation output of a prioritised case report with in-built alerts, to the required training for system calibration to enhance user proficiency.

Originality/value

This is a highly original and innovative paper as this type of quantified SPJ tool (SAVE) has up until now never been applied before in terrorist/extremist risk assessment work.
Marketing of rural tourism – a study based on rural tourism lodgings in Portugal
Authors: Pato Lúcia , Kastenholz Elisabeth
Published: April 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the marketing actions developed for rural tourism lodgings and the effect of these actions on lodgings’ performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected with a questionnaire-based survey, addressing promoters of rural tourism supply in Portugal and were analysed using SPSS. Descriptive analysis was undertaken along with a cluster analysis aimed at identifying groups of suppliers according to the types marketing activities they carried out.

Findings

Results show that the majority of the suppliers are engaged in other professional activities, aside from running a tourist lodging. These “other activities” provide the bulk of lodging suppliers’ household income. Moreover, they dedicate very little of their time to managing the tourism lodging and develop few marketing activities. Despite this, there is a small group of lodging suppliers who, even though in minority, show a more entrepreneurial and professional attitude regarding marketing actions. They are correspondingly more successful and more satisfied with the performance of their business.

Research limitations/implications

A more qualitative in-depth case study approach with a systematic triangulation of findings from diverse sources and approaches might have permitted an even deeper understanding of some of the results, such as the reasons for the identified passivity of suppliers or their lack of marketing initiatives, as well as possible solutions to overcome these identified barriers.

Originality/value

This study is important, as there is little existing work connecting rural tourism and marketing. Apart from providing knowledge from theory, the empirical results indicate from a practical perspective some of the potential benefits of assuming a marketing perspective in rural tourism.
Water-depletion and single-state municipal bond fund risk
Authors: Álvarez Marta , Rodriguez Javier
Published: April 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between single-state municipal bond fund risk and water scarcity in the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors compare the risk profiles of funds from states with limited water resources with those from states without this issue.

Findings

The authors find that, as expected, funds from southern and western states, which suffer from water scarcity, are riskier than funds from other regions within the mainland USA. Although this study is concerned with which funds are riskier, it is noted that funds from the northeast are significantly less risky than funds from other regions.

Originality/value

Due to limited water resources, crumbling water infrastructure and continuous water-rights legal battles, water resources in the USA have become a highly sought-after commodity. In this study, we contribute to the discussion on the many repercussions of water scarcity on financial assets.
Financial development, oil dependence and economic growth
Authors: Badeeb Ramez Abubakr , Lean Hooi Hooi
Published: April 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the validity of the question of whether oil dependence has a negative impact on the relationship between financial development and economic growth in Yemen.

Design/methodology/approach

The auto-regressive distributed lag approach for cointegration is used to examine the relationship between financial development and economic growth by capturing the impact of oil dependence on this relationship. The Granger causality test, based on a vector error correction model (VECM) framework, is used to investigate the causal relationships between financial development and economic growth.

Findings

The most interesting finding is the negative sign of interaction term between financial development and oil dependence, which implies that the positive effect of financial development on economic growth decreases with the increasing oil dependence. The result of the VECM Granger causality test revealed the existence of unidirectional causality running from financial development to economic growth.

Research limitations/implications

The short sample period and the worry of losing degrees of freedom limited us when including control variables in the model. If the data are available in the future, other control variables can be added.

Practical implications

The government should reduce the level of oil dependence in Yemen by diversifying the country’s economy. Accelerating the pace and efficiency of the financial sector will bear fruitful returns in this regard. The government could achieve this strategy by playing a more proactive role in encouraging the expansion of credit to enable the financial sector to provide a more efficient intermediary role in mobilizing domestic savings and channeling them to productive investments across various economic sectors.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine the impact of oil dependence on the finance-growth nexus in Yemen. A new indicator for oil dependence is also proposed.
Does investor sentiment affect price-earnings ratios?
Authors: Jitmaneeroj Boonlert
Published: April 2017

Purpose

A large number of empirical studies investigate the determinants of price-earnings (P/E) ratio by focusing on fundamental factors. However, there has been an increasing concern that stock valuation is also driven by investor sentiment. This paper aims to extend the existing literature by exploring whether investor sentiment impacts the P/E ratio.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines the determinants of P/E ratio by applying latent variable models with investor sentiment as a latent variable and several fundamental factors as control variables. Investor sentiment is proxied by trading volume, advance-decline ratio and price volatility.

Findings

Using annual data of the US industries over the period of 1998-2014, the current paper produces new empirical evidence that investor sentiment significantly affects the P/E ratio. This result is robust to the inclusion of several control variables that have been documented to explain the P/E ratio.

Practical implications

The findings have important implications for investors, as downplaying sentiment can lead to significant errors in making equity investment choices based on the P/E ratio.

Originality/value

The analytical framework of the current paper is differentiated from the conventional analysis in which the P/E ratio is regressed against control variables and proxies for sentiment, thus falling into the trap of implicitly presupposing that proxies are perfect measures of investor sentiment. As all proxies may have measurement errors to the true but unobservable investor sentiment, the current paper uses latent variable models to shed new light on the influence of investor sentiment on the P/E ratio.
Simultaneous analysis of some volatile compounds in food samples by array gas sensors based on polypyrrole nano-composites
Authors: Pirsa Sajad , Nejad Fardin Mohammad
Published: April 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to construct an array of sensors using polypyrrole–zinc oxide (PPy–ZnO) and PPy–vanadium (V; chemical formula: V2O5) fibers. To test responses of sensors, a central composite design (CCD) has been used. The results of the CCD technique revealed that the developed sensors are orthogonally sensitive to diacetyl, lactic acid and acetic acid. In total, 20 different mixtures of diacetyl, lactic acid and acetic acid were prepared, and the responses of the array sensors were recorded for each mixture.

Design/methodology/approach

A response surface regression analysis has been used for correlating the responses of the sensors to diacetyl, lactic acid and acetic acid concentrations during the gas phase in food samples. The developed multivariate model was used for simultaneous determination of diacetyl, lactic acid and acetic acid concentrations. Some food samples with unknown concentrations of diacetyl, lactic acid and acetic acid were provided, and the responses of array sensors to each were recorded.

Findings

The responses of each sensor were considered as target response in a response optimizer, and by an overall composite desirability, the concentration of each analyte was predicted. The present work suggests the applicability of the response surface regression analysis as a modeling technique for correlating the responses of sensor arrays to concentration profiles of diacetyl, lactic acid and acetic acid in food samples.

Originality/value

The PPy–ZnO and PPy–V2O5 nanocomposite fibers were synthesized by chemical polymerization. The provided conducting fibers, PPy–ZnO and PPy–V2O5, were used in an array gas sensor system for the analysis of volatile compounds (diacetyl, lactic acid and acetic acid) added to yogurt and milk samples.
Dream homes and dead ends in the city: a photo essay experiment
Authors: Fast Danya
Published: April 2017

Research focused on the relationship between place and health demonstrates that it is complex and shifting, as overlapping social, historical, institutional and political and economic processes continually transform the landscapes in which lived experiences are embedded. Understanding this relationship requires knowledge of the situated meanings and local worlds that ethnographic methods are well suited to investigate. However, even conventional ethnographic methods can be inadequate to capture the embodied, lived experience of place – experiences in which the sensory and inner processes of memory and imagination are often privileged. Accessing these experiences and processes can require more experimental methodological approaches. In this article, I present work from a series of photo essays created between 2011 and 2016 by 15 young people who inhabit the social, spatial and economic margins of Vancouver, Canada, and discuss some of the challenges and opportunities presented by this methodology. Created over 5 years, and broadly focused on how they understood, experienced and navigated their ‘place’ in the city in the midst of poverty, addiction, violence and physical and mental health crises, the photo essays young people produced are embedded with personal biographies and trajectories, as well as shared experiences of geography, precarity and possibility in Vancouver.
Engineering the xylose‐catabolizing Dahms pathway for production of poly(d‐lactate‐co‐glycolate) and poly(d‐lactate‐co‐glycolate‐co‐d‐2‐hydroxybutyrate) in Escherichia coli
Authors: Choi So Young , Kim Won Jun , Yu Seung Jung , Park Si Jae , Im Sung Gap , Lee Sang Yup
Published: April 2017

Poly(lactate‐co‐glycolate), PLGA, is a representative synthetic biopolymer widely used in medical applications. Recently, we reported one‐step direct fermentative production of PLGA and its copolymers by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli from xylose and glucose. In this study, we report development of metabolically engineered E. coli strains for the production of PLGA and poly(d‐lactate‐co‐glycolate‐co‐d‐2‐hydroxybutyrate) having various monomer compositions from xylose as a sole carbon source. To achieve this, the metabolic flux towards Dahms pathway was modulated using five different synthetic promoters for the expression of Caulobacter crescentus XylBC. Further metabolic engineering to concentrate the metabolic flux towards d‐lactate and glycolate resulted in production of PLGA and poly(d‐lactate‐co‐glycolate‐co‐d‐2‐hydroxybutyrate) with various monomer fractions from xylose. The engineered E. coli strains produced polymers containing 8.8–60.9 mol% of glycolate up to 6.93 g l−1 by fed‐batch cultivation in a chemically defined medium containing xylose. Finally, the biocompatibility of poly(d‐lactate‐co‐glycolate‐co‐d‐2‐hydroxybutyrate) was confirmed by live/dead assay using human mesenchymal stem cells.
Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy: Disrupted Protein Balance and Impaired Cardiomyocyte Contractility
Authors: Steiner Jennifer L. , Lang Charles H.
Published: April 2017

Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACM) can develop after consumption of relatively large amounts of alcohol over time or from acute binge drinking. Of the many factors implicated in the etiology of ACM, chronic perturbation in protein balance has been strongly implicated. This review focused on recent contributions (since 2010) in the area of protein metabolism and cardiac function related to ACM. Data reviewed include that from in vitro and preclinical in vivo animal studies where alcohol or an oxidative metabolite was studied and outcome measures in either cardiomyocytes or whole heart pertaining to protein synthesis or degradation were reported. Additionally, studies on the contractile properties of cardiomyocytes were also included to link signal transduction with function. Methodological differences including the potential impact of sex, dosing, and duration/timing of alcohol administration are addressed. Acute and chronic alcohol consumption decreases cardiac protein synthesis and/or activation of proteins within the regulatory mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin complex pathway. Albeit limited, evidence suggests that myocardial protein degradation via the ubiquitin pathway is not altered, while autophagy may be enhanced in ACM. Alcohol impairs ex vivo cardiomyocyte contractility in relation to its metabolism and expression of proteins within the growth factor pathway. Dysregulation of protein metabolism, including the rate of protein synthesis and autophagy, may contribute to contractile deficits and is a hallmark feature of ACM meriting additional sex‐inclusive, methodologically consistent studies.
The Intersection of Cultural Diversity and Special Education in Catalonia: The Subtle Production of Exclusion through Classroom Routines
Authors: Paniagua Alejandro
Published: April 2017

Drawing on ethnographic data collected in two primary schools, this paper examines the nature of the exclusion experienced by three children of linguistically, culturally, and socioeconomically diverse families labeled as having special education needs. Ambiguities and dilemmas surrounding the intersection of cultural diversity and special education are described, and ways in which the routines performed in mainstream classrooms produce a seemingly harmless, but pervasive, form of exclusion are discussed.
Stable Isotope and Radiocarbon Dating of the Remains of the Medieval Royal House of Aragon (Spain) Shed Light on Their Diets, Life Histories and Identities
Authors: Martínez‐Jarreta B. , Sosa C. , Laliena C. , Budowle B. , Hedges R. E. M.
Published: April 2017

The remains of 20 individuals buried in three different pantheons, putatively pertaining to the medieval Royal House of Aragon, were analysed for their isotope (14C,13C and15N) measurements. The radiocarbon dates and stable isotope data contributed to identifying individual members and, combined with additional osteological and taphonomic information, as well as documentary evidence, provided a fuller picture of the diets and life histories of particular people. This group comprised the first members of a royal dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Aragon before the Spanish Crown was established, and that played a significant role in the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim control, this being of paramount importance in the Spanish and European history.
Endoscopic findings of esophagogastric junction in children
Authors: Nakayama Yoshiko , Ida Shinobu
Published: April 2017

Esophagogastric landmarks are recognizable in the same way both in children and in adults, and palisade‐shaped vessels can be observed at the distal position of esophageal mucosa, even in infants. Few studies have been done in respect to Barrett's esophagus (BE) in children. Incidence of endoscopically suspected BE among all children undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is approximately 0.25–1.4%, but can be up to 9.7% in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Some data suggest that BE is an acquired disorder and point to the possibility of a congenital component in combination with severe mucosal injury. Recent reports noted that multilayered epithelium (ME), which shows morphological and immunocytochemical characteristics of both squamous and columnar epithelium, is associated with goblet cell metaplasia in adult patients with columnar‐lined esophagus. The role of ME in the development of intestinal metaplasia in children is uncertain. Furthermore, detailed mechanisms about how short‐segment BE (SSBE) changes to long‐segment BE (LSBE) are not yet well understood. Further studies are required to understand the pathological esophagogastric junction (EGJ) and BE in children based on reliable epidemiological data and analysis especially in children who have reflux symptoms. Better understanding of the pediatric EGJ and BE may allow improved diagnosis, monitoring, therapy and, therefore, prognosis of GERD‐related disorders in adulthood.
Endoscopic submucosal dissection for large colorectal neoplasms
Authors: Imai Kenichiro , Hotta Kinichi , Yamaguchi Yuichiro , Ito Sayo , Ono Hiroyuki
Published: April 2017

Background and Aim

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for colorectal neoplasms (CRN) of >50 mm is considered technically difficult. The ITknife nano™ was developed specifically for ESD of CRN and esophageal superficial neoplasms; however, only limited data are available regarding its use in this procedure. Here we assessed the safety and efficacy of ESD using the ITknife nano™ for large CRN (>50 mm).

Methods

We carried out a retrospective study, including consecutive patients with CRN larger than 50 mm that were treated by ESD between September 2002 and August 2016 at our institution. To clarify features of the ITknife nano™ and to assess its safety and efficacy, we compared en bloc/curative resection rates, complications, and resection speed between ESD done using the Dual knife™ with and without the ITknife nano™.

Results

We analyzed a total of 177 ESD‐treated large CRN (median tumor size, 61 mm). Among the 133 CRN treated by ESD using the ITknife nano™, en bloc and curative resection rates were 96.2% and 80.5%, respectively. Perforation occurred in eight cases (6.0%) and delayed bleeding in four cases (3.0%). All complications were endoscopically managed. Resection speed was significantly faster for ESD using the ITknife nano™ (25.3 mm2/min) compared to using the Dual knife™ only (19.9 mm2/min; P = 0.02).

Conclusions

Use of the ITknife nano™ for ESD treatment of large CRN (>50 mm) is feasible and may contribute to reduced procedure times. Further controlled studies are needed to confirm these findings.
The contribution of PISA to the convergence of education policies in Europe
Authors: Michel Alain
Published: April 2017

The international comparative studies on students’ outcomes have initiated analyses that have had a growing influence on national and sub‐national education policies in industrialised and developing countries. It is particularly the case of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which started in 2000 and has organised surveys every 3 years, so that the 2015 survey was the 6th. Its influence has been particularly important for several reasons: 1) it assesses the basic competences in reading literacy, maths and science of 15 year‐olds students, i.e. around the end of compulsory education in many countries; 2) the assessment is based on a reliable methodology and the tests are completed by qualitative surveys and studies; 3) and the results lead to recommendations and are amplified by the media in most countries. However, it is not easy to evaluate the real impact of PISA because of the existence of other international studies such as IEA's TIMSS and, particularly in Europe, the influence of the recommendations and benchmarks of the EU that has been growing steadily in the last 25 years. Our analysis of the impact of PISA and EU policy focuses on the evolution of the education policy in France, but also studies its evolution in a few other European countries. Finally, we underline the limits of the influence of PISA and international standards in education towards a convergence of education systems because of the importance of their specific historic and cultural contexts.
Corrosion fatigue crack growth mechanisms in offshore monopile steel weldments
Authors: Adedipe O. , Brennan F. , Mehmanparast A. , Kolios A. , Tavares I.
Published: April 2017

Offshore structures are generally fabricated of welded joints, which are considered as potential spots for crack initiation owing to the degree of stress concentrations imposed by the weld geometry and the effects of residual stresses introduced by welding processes. There are significant numbers of the current and anticipated offshore installations coupled with the use of newer materials and fabrication techniques. It is therefore important to understand the crack growth mechanisms in these structures accompanied with the effects of mean or residual stresses for a safe estimation of their service lives. In this paper, crack growth results of HAZ and weld materials similar to those used for offshore installations are presented. Tests were conducted in air and in simulated free‐corrosion conditions at loading frequencies of 0.3 Hz in seawater, 5 Hz in air and at loading ratios of 0.1, 0.5 and 0.7. Results showed that crack growth rates were influenced by mean stresses, materials microstructure accompanied by welding procedure and environment. Crack growth results showed good agreement when compared with those obtained from other steels used for offshore structures.