bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sustainability 2030: a policy perspective from the University Vocational Awards Council
Authors: Crawford-Lee Mandy Samantha , Wall Tony
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The policy and practice sphere of higher education, skills and work-based learning has become increasingly problematic in the last few years, and the extent to which sustainability and sustainable development are embedded in policy and practice spaces is a cause for concern. The purpose of this paper is to posit a policy perspective from the University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC), the national representative organisation for universities committed to the vocational agenda and an independent voice in the sphere of higher education, skills and work-based learning.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a reflective policy and practice piece which draws on the latest policy moves by the UK Government and associated organisations and engages the latest literature to examine the issues in policy and practice that need to be tackled.

Findings

This paper argues for a greater integration of sustainable development into higher education, skills and work-based learning policy and practice, and specifically in relation to creating inclusive workplaces, promoting social mobility, a balanced approach to productivity, health and well-being and embedding educational approaches and methods which promote inequality in workplaces.

Practical implications

This paper is a call to all stakeholders to raise the game of sustainability and sustainable development in the policy and practice sphere of higher education, skills and work-based learning.

Originality/value

The paper is the only UK policy perspective explicitly dedicated to sustainability and sustainable development in the context of the sphere of higher education, skills and work-based learning. Although it is focused on UK policy context, it will be of interest to international readers wishing to learn about UK developments and the sustainable development challenges in relation to its apprenticeship, technical and vocational education system.
Medical students’ perception of sexual orientation in Sagamu, southwestern Nigeria: implications for access to HIV care
Authors: Sholeye Oluwafolahan Oluwagbemiga , Animasahun Victor Jide , Oyelekan Abimbola A.
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is about four times higher among individuals with same-sex orientation as against the general population. This may be partly due to judgmental, heteronormative attitudes among health workers, thereby affecting access to care. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to assess the perception of final-year medical students of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria on sexual orientation and its implications on access to HIV care and support services.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among final-year medical students. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS 20. Relevant descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated. Participation was fully voluntary.

Findings

More males (70 percent) were aware of the concept of sexual orientation than females (60.4 percent). Most (94 percent) males and all female respondents felt homosexuality was against the order of nature. More males (76 percent) than females (62.3 percent) felt men having sex with men and homosexuality were synonymous. More females (50.9 percent) than males (48 percent) felt gay doctors should not be employed in public hospitals.

Originality/value

Respondents had a poor perception of sexual orientation and there were no significant differences between genders. This could contribute to existing stigmatization against individuals with minority sexual orientations. It should be addressed in the medical curriculum.
The moderating role of gender inequality and age among emotional intelligence, homesickness and development of mood swings in university students
Authors: Abbas Jaffar , Aqeel Muhammad , Wenhong Zhang , Aman Jaffar , Zahra Farough
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of the demographic variables in emotional intelligence, homesickness and the development of mood swings in university students. Additionally, the paper investigates the relationship among emotional intelligence, homesickness and mood swings in university students.

Design/methodology/approach

Purposive sampling technique was employed based on a cross-sectional design. The sample comprised 304 university students (male students, n=210, female students, n=94). Three scales were used to measure the homesickness, emotional intelligence and positive and negative mood swings in university students.

Findings

The results revealed that homesickness was positively and significantly correlated with mood swings (r=0.34, p<0.001) and negative mood swings (r=0.49, p<0.001). The result also displayed that emotional intelligence was correlated with homesickness (r=−0.15, p<0.05), positive mood swings (r=0.33, p<0.05) and negative mood swings (r=−0.24, p<0.05). The results of the analysis revealed that demographic variables such as age and gender were the moderator between homesickness and development of mood swings. The results also revealed that demographic variable such as gender was the moderator between emotional intelligence and mood swings. This study recommended that those younger students who had experienced homesickness were more likely to develop negative mood swings as compared to older students.

Social implications

The study also recommended that those young students who had emotional intelligence were less likely to develop negative mood swings as compared to older students.

Originality/value

The study further recommended that those female students who had experienced homesickness were more likely to develop positive mood swings as compared to male students. Recommendations of the currents study are that university students can benefit equally but female students can benefit more from an intervention addressing homesickness. This study would be helpful in pedagogical and clinical settings to raise the awareness to effectively deal with their children.
Migration as a livelihood strategy in Ethiopia: fallacy or reality?
Authors: Mago Stephen
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of migration on the livelihoods of Ethiopians. It is widely acclaimed that migration has positive effects on livelihoods. This paper investigates whether this claim is a fallacy or a reality. Can migration be conceptualized as a strategy for livelihood enhancement? Although Ethiopia has a large number of migrants both internally and externally, this paper focuses on the impact of external migration on the livelihoods of Ethiopian migrants and their families.

Design/methodology/approach

Using primary data, the paper attempts to establish whether migration enhances livelihoods. Qualitative data are used. Primary data were collected and analyzed using SurveyMonkey. SurveyMonkey is an internet-based software that has a facility for interview questions and it analyses data automatically on submission of responses. The survey achieved a response rate of 52 percent (218 out of 420). A follow-up survey, done between March 20 and April 16, 2018 to validate the online responses, involved 12 respondents.

Findings

Results show that migration is important in the sustenance of livelihoods. Both pecuniary and non-pecuniary benefits have been realised. In addition, migration also benefits development at home.

Practical implications

The Ethiopian Government should develop policy options that promote the inflow of remittances for livelihood enhancement.

Originality/value

The paper uses SurveyMonkey to gather data from a number of respondents (crowdsourcing data collection). The SurveyMonkey made possible a crowd data gathering process.
Organising household consumption and occupational proportions
Authors: Olarewaju Tolu
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the occupational status and entrepreneurship research in developing countries by proposing that there are implications for household consumption depending on the occupational status proportion of households. When the occupational proportion of the household changes, household consumption is affected. This effect also changes depending on what quantile level the household is in terms of household consumption.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper makes use of OLS and quantile regressions to examine 6,919 households comprising 40,294 individuals from the 2009 Nigerian Living standards measurement survey.

Findings

The paper finds that there are implications for household consumption based on the proportion of individuals in each occupational category. The contributions of each employment proportion changes at different quantiles with self-employed individuals increasing household consumption at the lower quantiles but reducing household consumption at the upper quantiles. Crucially, having a higher proportion of unemployed individuals in the household is oftentimes better than having a higher proportion of own account self-employed individuals.

Research limitations/implications

This paper offers new insights into how occupation proportion influences household consumption in developing countries. As a result, the household could seek to organise its members in such a way as to maximise combined household consumption, as diverse occupational statuses contribute differently to the household consumption at different quantile levels. The nature of the data used in this study however does not allow for causality tests.

Practical implications

The proportion of employment statuses in the household has implications for household consumption and so the mix of employment in the household is important. The self-employed could also be involved in activities to enhance household consumption that are not captured by labour income. However, self-employment does not seem to always have a positive effect on household consumption and sometimes unemployment might be better.

Originality/value

The paper provides a new way to view the household as an organising entity in terms of how it can allocate employment proportions to maximise household consumption.
How organizational culture and leadership style affect employees’ performance of genders
Authors: Maamari Bassem E. , Saheb Adel
Published: July 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to highlight the importance of organizational culture on the leader’s style and the effect of the chosen leadership style on the team’s performance. It surveys a strata of leaders from the Middle East in the current turbulent environment.

Design/methodology/approach

A research paper based on a quantitative data collection in the service sector from a large number of stratified sampled firms and respondents.

Findings

The cross-sectional data from 40 service companies reveal some interesting results highlighting the interrelationships between these three variables. The findings suggest that managers need to build on this concept finding in providing further training and development of employees’ skills in addition to an organizational culture of acceptance, adaptation and diversity.

Research limitations/implications

Electing to use a specific set of criteria in sampling might have resulted in eliminating a meaningful different direction in the results. Moreover, the size of the survey tool limited the number of variables to test with the study.

Practical implications

A number of implications are worthy of mention. First, devising reward programmes that are fairly attractive to both genders independently of each other should be a managerial priority, along with the creation and development of strong organizational cultures.

Social implications

Finally, a coupled performance and organizational culture of efficiency at the workplace, if not paralleled with a proper leadership style that fosters positive results, will only result in partial improvements in the big organizational picture, resulting in the persistence of the old prejudice and discrimination along the gender and age lines.

Originality/value

The study examines a suggested model in a new environment that is known to be deeply rooted in old-fashioned paternalistic managerial behaviour, and where change, if occurring, is extremely slow to introduce.
The role of farmer organizations and networks in the rice supply chain in Thailand
Authors: Sathapatyanon Jedsadaporn , Kuwornu John K.M. , Shivakoti Ganesh Prasad , Soni Peeyush , Anal Anil Kumar , Datta Avishek
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of rice supply chain in the context of the role of rice farmer organizations and cooperative networks in Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data were solicited from the cooperatives and members of cooperatives for this study through questionnaire administration. The questionnaire containing a five-point Likert scale was posed to respondents to ascertain their problems before and after joining the network (for cooperative) and after joining the cooperative (for members). This study employed the independent two-sample studentt-test (two-tailed) to test for significant difference in the means of scores regarding the problems of cooperatives before and after the cooperative network, and also to test for significant difference in the means of scores of the problems of members of the cooperatives before and after joining the cooperative.

Findings

The study revealed that key production and marketing problems such as increased transaction costs and market uncertainties confronting the cooperative organizations have been diminished as a result of the networks. Key problems of the members of the cooperatives such as exploitation and opportunistic behavior of traders to whom they sell their products have been reduced as a result of joining the cooperatives.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is not without caveat. The governance structures in relation to leadership, financial arrangements and bargaining power balance have not been analyzed in this study and these are avenues for further research.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first that examined the combined roles of farmer organizations and cooperative networks in developing the rice supply chain in Thailand.
Value creation and competitive advantages for the Shrimp industries in Bangladesh
Authors: Ferdous Subarna , Ikeda Mitsuru
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the value chain activities of shrimp firms in Bangladesh, and mapping the Porter’s (1985) value chain framework to see if it works or not. The present study identifies the gap, synthesizes and analyzes those gaps which lead the firms to create more values from firms to consumers.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews were conducted with the shrimp industry managers in the southern region of Bangladesh. Exploratory qualitative research method was used and the questionnaire was semi-structured. Data were gathered from 43 firm managers. After sending multiple phone calls and face to face meeting, the response rate was 35.83 percentages.

Findings

Poor transportation, communication gap between the stakeholders, shortage of raw shrimps and lack of quality standard were the areas where shrimp industries were suffering. It was found that some of the primary and secondary activities of shrimp industries did not map with Porter’s framework. Based on Porter’s framework, the study suggested that analyzing and synthesizing those gaps can lead the firm more value and competitive advantages.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations include a lack of knowledge on value chain and shortages of raw materials for the processing plants. Moreover, the sample size was small for this exploratory study.

Practical implications

Shrimp industries will learn standard value chain activities, and identify the gaps based on the mapping of Porter’s value chain.

Originality/value

Using Porter’s value chain this is the first empirical study in the shrimp firms in Bangladesh. The primary research contribution is the revised theoretical framework which can be used for further research on shrimp industries in Bangladesh.
Users’ preference for green features in office properties
Authors: Oyewole Matthew Oluwole , Komolafe Markson Opeyemi
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the preference of office property users for green features in Lagos, Nigeria. This is with a view to determining the degree of users’ aspiration for green buildings in the country.

Design/methodology/approach

The study purposively sampled two office properties from the management portfolio of 88 registered estate firms in Lagos. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaire on two users purposively selected from each of the properties. The data were analyzed with the use of frequency distribution, percentages and measures of the users’ preference index.

Findings

The results revealed that the preference for green features by office property users in the study area was above average (2.5 on a five-point scale). Feature relating to “building ecology, waste and recycling” is the most preferred feature with UPI of 3.970 while those relating to “owner and occupant education” with UPI of 3.558 were least in preference.

Practical implications

The paper concludes that with the preference of users for green features in the study area, it may be necessary for government to strengthen the existing framework for sustainable development. Also, increased sensitization of investors, users, professionals and other stakeholders in the building industry is pertinent to the success of green building practice in the country.

Originality/value

This is one of the few studies on users’ preference for green features in emerging economy, particularly in the Nigerian context.
Commentary on “learning disability services: user views on transition planning”
Authors: Tomlinson Serena Rose Louisa
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on “Learning disability services: user views on transition planning”.

Design/methodology/approach

The commentary provides a discussion of the concept of continuity of care (Forbes et al., 2001; Freeman et al., 2000) in relation to transition from children’s to adults’ services for young people with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

Findings

Continuity of care is an important consideration for this population and is emphasised in recent policy initiatives in England, as well as being highlighted by young people and their families as a significant aspect of their transition experience. Despite this, evidence suggests it is not currently achieved for many young people and their families, and a number of challenges that may contribute to this are highlighted.

Originality/value

The commentary emphasises that continuity of care should be a key consideration for services supporting young people and their families at transition.
Conditions of life in the city: medicine and gendered relations in Maputo, Mozambique
Authors: McKay Ramah
Published: July 2018

How do material conditions, urban life strategies, and postcolonial medical infrastructures shape the practices of care available to patients and families in Maputo? How do global health interventions articulate with urban economies, colonial legacies, and gendered relations? Under what conditions is health made available in Mozambique's capital? This article explores these questions through the experiences of one young woman as she moves through clinical and city spaces and through changing familial and residential situations. Showing how health is shaped by gendered relations and material circumstances (or condições) as they are refracted through urban space, her experiences make clear that care both requires and creates complex material‐relational conditions rooted in clinic practice, urban forms, and gendered social and familial life. In the midst of complex medical regimes and rapidly changing urban spaces, these conditions constitute the ground on which women access medicine but also give rise to exclusions from forms of care produced by both biomedicine and social relations. Arguing for greater attention to the role of gender, urban space, economy, and exchange in theorizing health in situated urban and transnational spaces, this article advocates for accounts that go beyond biomedical and clinical framings of life, health, and well‐being and that centre relational accounts of life in the city.
Deliberate clinical inertia: Using meta‐cognition to improve decision‐making
Authors: Keijzers Gerben , Fatovich Daniel M , Egerton‐Warburton Diana , Cullen Louise , Scott Ian A , Glasziou Paul , Croskerry Pat
Published: July 2018

Deliberate clinical inertia is the art of doing nothing as a positive response. To be able to apply this concept, individual clinicians need to specifically focus on their clinical decision‐making. The skill of solving problems and making optimal clinical decisions requires more attention in medical training and should play a more prominent part of the medical curriculum. This paper provides suggestions on how this may be achieved. Strategies to mitigate common biases are outlined, with an emphasis on reversing a ‘more is better’ culture towards more temperate, critical thinking. To incorporate such an approach in medical curricula and in clinical practice, institutional endorsement and support is required.
Stage selection for neoadjuvant radiotherapy in non‐cervical esophageal cancer: A propensity score‐matched study based on the SEER database
Authors: Ma Ke , Yang Yong , Wang Shuai , Yang Xiaodong , Lu Tao , Xi Junjie , Jiang Wei , Zhan Cheng , Zhu Yimeng , Wang Qun
Published: July 2018

Background

The effect of neoadjuvant radiotherapy (NRT) was controversial in non‐cervical esophageal cancer. The aim of this study was to identify which stage of non‐cervical esophageal cancer would get benefit from NRT using propensity score matching (PSM) and survival analysis based on the Surveillance Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.

Methods

A selection process was used for case screening from the SEER database. Seven baseline variables were included in PSM. The survival analysis were based on T stage (T2 and T3) and status of lymph node involvement (N0 and N+) using Kaplan‐Meier method and log‐rank test for comparing the overall survival of patient with NRT plus surgery versus those who with surgery alone (SA).

Results

A total of 1631 cases were included in this study. After PSM, 225 cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and 606 cases of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) were enrolled in survival analysis. We found that only T3N+ stage of EAC would got survival benefit from NRT (P = 0.0052), while NRT showed no significant benefit in overall survival in other stages of EAC and ESCC.

Conclusions

NRT followed by resection had a significant survival benefit in non‐cervical EAC patients with T3N+ stage. For patients with ESCC and other EAC stages, NRT versus SA did not demonstrate a statistical significant survival difference.
FOXO are required for intervertebral disk homeostasis during aging and their deficiency promotes disk degeneration
Authors: Alvarez‐Garcia Oscar , Matsuzaki Tokio , Olmer Merissa , Miyata Kohei , Mokuda Sho , Sakai Daisuke , Masuda Koichi , Asahara Hiroshi , Lotz Martin K.
Published: July 2018

Intervertebral disk (IVD) degeneration is a prevalent age‐associated musculoskeletal disorder and a major cause of chronic low back pain. Aging is the main risk factor for the disease, but the molecular mechanisms regulating IVD homeostasis during aging are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the function of FOXO, a family of transcription factors linked to aging and longevity, in IVD aging and age‐related degeneration. Conditional deletion of all FOXO isoforms (FOXO1, 3, and 4) in IVD using the Col2a1Cre and AcanCreER mouse resulted in spontaneous development of IVD degeneration that was driven by severe cell loss in the nucleus pulposus (NP) and cartilaginous endplates (EP). Conditional deletion of individual FOXO in mature mice showed that FOXO1 and FOXO3 are the dominant isoforms and have redundant functions in promoting IVD homeostasis. Gene expression analyses indicated impaired autophagy and reduced antioxidant defenses in the NP of FOXO‐deficient IVD. In primary human NP cells, FOXO directly regulated autophagy and adaptation to hypoxia and promoted resistance to oxidative and inflammatory stress. Our findings demonstrate that FOXO are critical regulators of IVD homeostasis during aging and suggest that maintaining or restoring FOXO expression can be a therapeutic strategy to promote healthy IVD aging and delay the onset of IVD degeneration.
Semi‐parametric small‐area estimation by combining time‐series and cross‐sectional data methods
Authors: Shokoohi Farhad , Torabi Mahmoud
Published: July 2018

In survey sampling, policymaking regarding the allocation of resources to subgroups (called small areas) or the determination of subgroups with specific properties in a population should be based on reliable estimates. Information, however, is often collected at a different scale than that of these subgroups; hence, the estimation can only be obtained on finer scale data. Parametric mixed models are commonly used in small‐area estimation. The relationship between predictors and response, however, may not be linear in some real situations. Recently, small‐area estimation using a generalised linear mixed model (GLMM) with a penalised spline (P‐spline) regression model, for the fixed part of the model, has been proposed to analyse cross‐sectional responses, both normal and non‐normal. However, there are many situations in which the responses in small areas are serially dependent over time. Such a situation is exemplified by a data set on the annual number of visits to physicians by patients seeking treatment for asthma, in different areas of Manitoba, Canada. In cases where covariates that can possibly predict physician visits by asthma patients (e.g. age and genetic and environmental factors) may not have a linear relationship with the response, new models for analysing such data sets are required. In the current work, using both time‐series and cross‐sectional data methods, we propose P‐spline regression models for small‐area estimation under GLMMs. Our proposed model covers both normal and non‐normal responses. In particular, the empirical best predictors of small‐area parameters and their corresponding prediction intervals are studied with the maximum likelihood estimation approach being used to estimate the model parameters. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated using some simulations and also by analysing two real data sets (precipitation and asthma).
Associations of left atrial volumes and Doppler filling indices with left atrial function in acute myocardial infarction
Authors: Henriksen Egil , Selmeryd Jonas , Hedberg Pär
Published: July 2018

Recent findings suggest that left atrial (LA) function is more strongly related to adverse prognosis than LA volumes. We aimed to evaluate the associations between LA volumes and Doppler filling indices with LA function. Echocardiographic LA volumes (LAVs), mitral valve early (MV‐E) and late (MV‐A) peak flow velocities, and mitral atrioventricular plane tissue‐Doppler early (TD‐e′) and late (TD‐a′) peak velocities were obtained in 320 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) free from atrial fibrillation and more than moderate valvular disease. LA function was estimated as the LA emptying fraction (LAEF), that is 100× (LAVmax‐LAVmin)/LAVmax. LA reservoir volume was calculated as LAVmax‐LAVmin and LA transit volume as LV stroke volume‐reservoir volume. In restricted cubic spline regression analyses with multivariable adjustment, a reduced LAEF was strongly associated with smaller reservoir volume, larger transit volume, LAVmax, LAVpreA and especially LAVmin. MV‐E linearly increased with a lower LAEF, whereas MV‐A decreased but only below LAEF levels of approximately 45%. The resulting E/A ratio showed a sudden increase in LAEF levels below ~45%. Lower TD‐a′ was linearly associated with a lower LAEF. In conclusion, a reduced atrial function was associated with smaller LA reservoir volume, larger LA transit volume, lower TD‐a′, a non‐linear decrease in MV‐A and a non‐linear increase in E/A. Our findings are likely a reflection of the adaptation to sustain LV filling volume and counteracting a rise in pulmonary venous pressure in face of an enhanced LV end‐diastolic pressure.
Natural selection for body shape in resource polymorphic Icelandic Arctic charr
Authors: Franklin Oliver D. , Skúlason Skúli , Morrissey Michael B. , Ferguson Moira M.
Published: July 2018

Resource polymorphisms exhibit remarkable intraspecific diversity and in many cases are expected to be maintained by diversifying selection. Phenotypic trade‐offs can constrain morphologically intermediate individuals from effectively exploiting both alternate resources, resulting in ecological barriers to gene flow. Determining if and how phenotypic trade‐offs cause fitness variation in the wild is challenging because of phenotypic and environmental correlations associated with alternative resource strategies. We investigated multiple pathways through which morphology could affect organismal performance, as measured by growth rate, and whether these effects generate diversifying selection in polymorphic Icelandic Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) populations. We considered direct effects of morphology on growth and indirect effects via trophic resource use, estimated by stable isotopic signatures, and via parasitism associated with trophic resources. We sampled over 3 years in (lakes) Thingvallavatn and Vatnshlíðarvatn using the extended selection gradient path analytical approach and estimating size‐dependent mortality. We found evidence for diversifying selection only in Thingvallavatn: more streamlined and terminally mouthed planktivore charr experienced greater growth, with the opposite pattern in small benthic charr. However, this effect was mediated by parasitism and nontrophic pathways, rather than trophic performance as often expected. Detection of between‐morph differences in the presence (Vatnshlíðarvatn) and direction (Thingvallavatn) of size‐dependent mortality, together with nontrophic effects of shape, suggests that a morphological trophic performance explanation for polymorphism is insufficient. This rare insight into selection during early diversification suggests that a complex of interacting local factors must be considered to understand how phenotype influences fitness, despite morphological variation reflecting intuitive trade‐off explanations.
Viruses as indicators of contemporary host dispersal and phylogeography: an example of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIVPle) in free‐ranging African lion (Panthera leo)
Authors: Kerr Tanya J. , Matthee Sonja , Govender Danny , Tromp Gerard , Engelbrecht Susan , Matthee Conrad A.
Published: July 2018

Measuring contemporary dispersal in highly mobile terrestrial species is challenging, especially when species are characterized by low levels of population differentiation. Directly transmitted viruses can be used as a surrogate for traditional methods of tracking host movement. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a species‐specific lentivirus, which has an exceptionally high mutation rate and circulates naturally in wild felids. Using samples derived from 35 lion (Panthera leo) prides, we tested the prediction thatFIVin lions (FIVPle) can be used to track the dispersal of individuals between prides. AsFIVPlesubtypes are geographically structured throughout Africa, we predicted that this marker could be used to detect phylogeographic structure of lions at smaller spatial scales. Phylogenetic analyses ofFIVPlepol‐RTsequences showed that core pride members (females and subadults) shared evolutionary close viral lineages which differed from neighbouring core prides, whereas sequences from sexually mature males associated with the same pride were always the most divergent. In six instances, natal pride associations of divergent male lions could be inferred, on the assumption thatFIVPleinfections are acquired during early life stages. Congruence between the genetic pattern ofFIVand pride structure suggests that vertical transmission plays an important role in lionFIVdynamics. At a fine spatial scale, significant viral geographic structuring was also detected between lions occurring north of the Olifants River within the Kruger National Park (KNP) and those occupying the southern and central regions. This pattern was further supported by phylogenetic analyses and the confinement ofFIVPlesubtype E to the northern region ofKNP. The study provides new insights into the use of retroviral sequences to predict host dispersal and fine‐scale contemporary geographic structure in a social felid species.
The Effect of CAD/CAM Crown Material and Cement Type on Retention to Implant Abutments
Authors: Lopes Adolfo Coelho de Oliveira , Machado Camila Moreira , Bonjardim Leonardo Rigoldi , Bergamo Edmara Tatiely Pedroso , Ramalho Ilana Santos , Witek Lukasz , Coelho Paulo Guilherme , Bonfante Estevam Augusto
Published: July 2018

Purpose

To evaluate the pullout resistance of CAD/CAM implant‐supported crowns cemented with provisional and definitive cements on Ti‐base implant abutments.

Materials and Methods

Sixty crowns were milled for use in Ti‐base implant abutments and divided (n = 15/group) according to material, as follows: (a) [Pr] Temporary acrylic resin; (b) [Co‐Cr] Cobalt‐Chromium alloy; (c) [Zr] polycrystalline zirconia; and (d) [Ti] titanium. The cementation was performed with RelyX Temp NE (RxT) cement or RelyX U200 self‐etching resin cement, under a 50 N (5 kg) load for 10 minutes. Twenty‐four hours after cementation, the crowns were subjected to the pullout test in a universal test machine, at a 1.0 mm/min crosshead speed. The tests were performed first without cement to evaluate frictional resistance (Baseline), then with provisional cement (RelyX Temp NE without cement again (Baseline After RxT), and finally with resin cement (U200). The results were analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey test (p < 0.05).

Results

Data evaluation as a function of cement type demonstrated the superiority of resin‐based cements relative to provisional and baseline groups (p < 0.01). While Co‐Cr crowns presented the highest pullout strength values, Pr showed the lowest values (data collapsed over cement) (p < 0.001). Retentiveness data as a function of both factors demonstrated similar pullout resistance between groups without cement (p < 0.001), except Zr baseline. Also, Co‐Cr presented higher pullout strength compared to other materials.

Conclusions

Self‐adhesive resin cement exhibited superior retention compared to temporary cement, regardless of crown material. Co‐Cr and titanium presented higher levels of retention to Ti‐base abutment after being cemented.
Feline pemphigus foliaceus in non‐specialist veterinary practice: a retrospective analysis
Authors: Coyner K. , Tater K. , Rishniw M.
Published: July 2018

Objectives

To characterise the signalment, clinical presentation and therapy of pemphigus foliaceus in cats treated by primary care practitioners.

Materials and Methods

Retrospective evaluation of patient and treatment factors with the following case outcomes: remission (achieving remission, time to remission), treatment‐related adverse effects (number, severity) and final disease outcome (medical control, cure, death or euthanasia).

Results

Data were obtained from 48 cats with biopsy‐confirmed pemphigus foliaceus managed by practitioners from six countries and 47 hospitals. Clinicians prescribed oral prednisolone most commonly for immunosuppression (median dose 2·2 mg/kg/day). Disease remission information was available in 40 cats; 90% achieved disease remission, which did not appear related to the doses of oral glucocorticoid administered in this study. Disease relapse occurred in 29 (73%) cats after achieving remission, necessitating medication adjustments. Severe treatment‐related adverse effects occurred in eight cases, including both cats treated with long‐acting injectable glucocorticoids. Of 31 cats treated with glucocorticoid monotherapy, 27 achieved remission, as did eight of 11 ciclosporin plus glucocorticoid‐treated cats. Eleven cats experienced adverse effects: five receiving ciclosporin plus glucocorticoid and six receiving glucocorticoid monotherapy.

Clinical Significance

Pemphigus foliaceus remission with treatment is highly likely in cats but relapse is common, necessitating close monitoring and individualised therapy modifications. Clinicians should focus on the judicious use of glucocorticoids to minimise treatment‐related adverse effects, such as avoiding injectable glucocorticoids, combining glucocorticoids with steroid‐sparing medications, and regularly rechecking patients to adjust drug dosages in response to disease status.
Evaluation method regarding the effect of psychotropic drugs on driving performance: A literature review
Authors: Iwata Mari , Iwamoto Kunihiro , Kawano Naoko , Kawaue Takumi , Ozaki Norio
Published: July 2018

Although automobile driving is necessary for many people, including patients with mental disorders, the influence of psychotropic drugs on driving performance remains unclear and requires scientific verification. Therefore, the objective of this study was to conduct a review of the literature in order to aid the development of a valid evaluation method regarding the influence of medication on driving performance. We conducted a literature search using two sets of terms on PubMed. One set was related to psychotropic drugs, and the other to driving tests. We excluded reviews and case studies and added literature found on other sites. A total of 121 relevant reports were found. The experiments were roughly divided into on‐the‐road tests (ORT) and driving simulators (DS). Although highway driving tests in ORT are most often used to evaluate driving performance, DS are becoming increasingly common because of their safety and low cost. The validity of evaluation methods for alcohol should be verified; however, we found that there were few validated tests, especially for DS. The scenarios and measurement indices of each DS were different, which makes it difficult to compare the results of DS studies directly. No evaluation indices, except for SD of lateral position, were sufficiently validated. Although highway ORT are the gold standard, DS were shown to have an increasing role in evaluating driving performance. The reliability of DS needs to be established, as does their validation with alcohol in order to accumulate more high‐quality evidence.
Explaining the birthright citizenship lottery: Longitudinal and cross‐national evidence for key determinants
Authors: Solodoch Omer , Sommer Udi
Published: July 2018

In the modern nation‐state, birthright citizenship laws – jus soli and jus sanguinis – are the two main gateways to sociopolitical membership. The vast majority of the world's population (97 percent) obtains their citizenship as a matter of birthright. Yet because comparative research has focused on measuring and explaining the multiple components of citizenship and immigration policies, a systematic analysis of birthright citizenship is lacking. We bridge this gap by analyzing the birthright component in prominent databases on citizenship policies and complementing them with original data and measures. This allows us to systematically test institutional and electoral explanations for contemporary and over‐time variation in birthright citizenship. Institutional explanations – legal codes and colonial history – are consistently associated with limitations on birthright law. As for electoral explanations, specific electoral powers – Nationalist, Socialist and Social‐Democratic parties – rather than the traditional left/right‐wing divide, are linked with reforms in birthright regimes.
Stakeholder involvement in collaborative regulatory processes: Using automated coding to track attendance and actions
Authors: Scott Tyler A. , Ulibarri Nicola , Scott Ryan P.
Published: July 2018

Regulation increasingly mandates collaborative approaches to increase stakeholder input and streamline approval processes. However, understanding how to maintain stakeholder involvement over the course of a long collaborative process is vital to optimize effectiveness. This paper observes more than 700 stakeholders involved in developing and implementing a dam operating license over 16 years. We use text mining and Bayesian hierarchical modeling to observe meeting attendance and recorded actions in meeting minutes. We find that involvement decreased after the initial planning phase, but steadily increased through license development and implementation. After the regulatory mandate to consult with external stakeholders dissolved, overall attendance declined while attendance stability increased, meaning that the non‐mandatory stage involved a smaller cadre of dedicated actors. This indicates that high‐performing mandated stakeholder involvement processes rely on a constrained group of conveners to sustain interaction and have less turnover than what might be expected given existing evidence from grassroots involvement; assumptions about group dynamics based on involvement in grassroots processes may lead to improper predictions about who will participate, and how, in processes where stakeholder involvement is mandated.
Strict vs. free word order patterns in Korean nominal phrases and Cyclic Linearization
Authors: Simpson Andrew , Park Soyoung
Published: July 2018

Korean nominal phrases display both flexibility in their internal word order and also rigidity in the sequencing of certain elements. This paper focuses on a linear ordering constraint on the occurrence of arguments of nouns which requires a strict relative sequencing of such elements, no matter where they are distributed across different locations withinDPs. The paper suggests that the most appropriate mechanism to capture the complex patterns observed is Fox and Pesetsky's () Cyclic Linearization approach, which records and compares the linear ordering of elements across different Spell‐out domains. It is argued that the patterns found in Korean can be successfully captured in a Cyclic Linearization analysis if it is assumed that Korean nominal projections consist in two Spell‐out domains–DPandnP– in a way resembling the bi‐cyclic composition of clauses, and that Korean provides novel support from the syntax ofnominalphrases for Cyclic Linearization, originally motivated by patterns found inclausaldomains.
Six novel HLA‐B, ‐DRB1, and ‐DQB1 alleles identified in Brazilian individuals
Authors: Fabreti‐Oliveira R. A. , Marsh S. G. E. , Lasmar M. F. , Nascimento E.
Published: July 2018

The novel HLA alleles B*40:331, B*40:343, B*42:24, DRB1*01:74, DQB1*03:243, and DQB1*03:02:20 were identified in Brazilian individuals.
An Assessment of Challenges Faced by Security Agencies in Fighting Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Kano State, Nigeria
Authors: Yahaya Jibrin Ubale , Liman A.N , Adadu Yahaya
Published: July 2018

Prevention and management of crime is one of the core mandate responsibilities of security agencies who are peoples that are trained to oversee the internal security system in Nigeria. These agencies includes Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and civil Defense Corps, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Customs Service, Directorate of State Security Service(DSSS) and to some certain extend when the level of internal security is over raising Nigeria Militaries, both Land Armies, Air Force and Navy gives intervention hand to curtail the situations. The widespread of small arms and light weapons in Kano State has it is genesis from both locally manufactured and the imported ones that mostly passed from various porous or illegal borders that are located in the neighboring states of Kastina and Jigawa State. SALW are the primary tools that trigger both ethnic and internal conflict and other related violent crimes that poses a threat to internal security, democracy and the operation of good governance not only in Kano State but in Nigeria. SALW is one of the key major factor s that generate to various categories of crime like armed robbery, kidder napping, community violent conflict, insurgent attacks and the host of many other crimes. The paper uses the failed state theory to explain the gap how state as an institution fails in its responsibilities and also the paper is empirical in nature by conducting interviews and administering questionnaire to some selected respondent populations from security personnel’s, academicians, traditional institutions and Community Based Organization’s CBO’s. The paper was on the position that for democracy and good governance to be truly functional the internal security must be guaranteed by empowering security agencies in terms of increasing their number, effective training, enough working tools, good condition of service and providing policies that will address the level of poverty and unemployment in the society as well as prosecuting any member of elite that either imported the arms or given arms to youth for achieving his political interest.
Galacturonate Metabolism in Anaerobic Chemostat Enrichment Cultures: Combined Fermentation and Acetogenesis by the Dominant sp. nov. “Candidatus Galacturonibacter soehngenii”
Authors: Valk Laura C. , Frank Jeroen , de la Torre-Cortés Pilar , van 't Hof Max , van Maris Antonius J. A. , Pronk Jack T. , van Loosdrecht Mark C. M.
Published: July 2018

This study on
d
-galacturonate metabolism by open, mixed-culture enrichments under anaerobic,
d
-galacturonate-limited chemostat conditions shows a stable and efficient fermentation of
d
-galacturonate into acetate as the dominant organic fermentation product. This fermentation stoichiometry and population analyses provide a valuable baseline for interpretation of the conversion of pectin-rich agricultural feedstocks by mixed microbial cultures. Moreover, the results of this study provide a reference for studies on the microbial metabolism of
d
-galacturonate under different cultivation regimes.
"Knowledge base recall: detecting and resolving the unknown unknowns" by Simon Razniewski and Gerhard Weikum with Martin Vesely as coordinator
Authors: Razniewski Simon , Weikum Gerhard
Published: July 2018

Knowledge bases about entities like people, places and products have become key assets of search and recommender systems. The largest of them contain many millions of entities and billions of facts about them. Nevertheless, they have major gaps and limitations in what they cover, thus posing the challenge of detecting and resolving these "unknown unknowns". This paper provides an overview on the problems in mapping knowledge base recall and the existing approaches to address these issues. Specifically, we discuss i) formalisms and tools for describing incompleteness, ii) rule mining methods to assess recall, iii) text mining methods to this end, and iv) approaches towards relative recall and informativeness.