bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The New York State Healthy Neighborhoods Program: Findings From an Evaluation of a Large-Scale, Multisite, State-Funded Healthy Homes Program
Authors: Reddy Amanda L. , Gomez Marta , Dixon Sherry L.
Published: January 2017

Context:

A growing evidence base suggests that a comprehensive healthy homes approach may be an effective strategy for improving housing hazards that affect health, but questions remain about the feasibility of large-scale implementation.

Objective:

To evaluate the impact of a large-scale, multisite, state-funded healthy homes program.

Setting:

Homes in high-risk neighborhoods of 13 counties funded under the New York State Healthy Neighborhoods Program (NYS HNP) from 2008 to 2012.

Participants:

A total of 28 491 homes received an initial visit and 6436 dwellings received a revisit (follow-up assessment 3 to 6 months after the intervention). A majority of residents are low-income renters living in buildings built prior to 1950.

Intervention:

The NYS HNP is a low-intensity healthy homes program. Participating homes undergo a visual assessment to identify potential environmental health and safety hazards, and interventions (education, referrals, and products) are provided to address any hazards identified during the visit.

Main Outcome Measures:

The proportion of homes affected by several types of housing hazards, improvement in hazards among revisited homes, and the change in the overall number of hazards per home were assessed.

Results:

Among the homes that were revisited, there were significant improvements in the conditions assessed for tobacco control, fire safety, lead poisoning prevention, indoor air quality, and other hazards (including pests and mold). There was a significant reduction in the number of hazards per home (2.8 to 1.5; P < .001), but homes were not hazard-free at the revisit.

Conclusion:

This evaluation suggests that a comprehensive, low-intensity healthy housing approach can produce short-term impacts with public health significance. This evaluation provides information about hazards that are common, easily assessed, and easily corrected or improved, which may be of use to a variety of programs that already provide in-home services and are seeking to expand the scope of their visits or to inform the development of new programs.
An Evaluation of a State-Funded Healthy Homes Intervention on Asthma Outcomes in Adults and Children
Authors: Reddy Amanda L. , Gomez Marta , Dixon Sherry L.
Published: January 2017

Context:

Reducing exposure to environmental triggers is a critical part of asthma management.

Objective:

To evaluate the impact of a healthy homes intervention on asthma outcomes and assess the impact of different targeting strategies.

Setting:

The New York State (NYS) Healthy Neighborhoods Program (HNP) operates in select communities with a higher burden of housing-related illness and associated risk factors.

Participants:

Residents with asthma were recruited through 3 mechanisms: door-to-door canvassing (CANVASSED), 752 residents in 457 dwellings; referrals from community partners (REFERRED), 573 residents in 307 dwellings; referrals of Medicaid enrollees with poorly controlled asthma (TARGETED), 140 residents in 140 dwellings.

Intervention:

The NYS HNP provides visual assessments and low-cost interventions to identify and address asthma triggers and trigger-promoting conditions in the home environment. Conditions are reassessed during a revisit conducted 3 to 6 months after the initial visit.

Main Outcome Measure(s):

The analysis compares improvements across the 3 groups for measures of asthma self-management, health care access, morbidity, and environmental conditions. An asthma trigger score characterizing the extent of multiple triggers in a dwelling was also calculated.

Results:

Among 1465 adults and children, there were significant improvements in environmental conditions and self-reported self-management, health care access, and asthma morbidity outcomes for each group. The improvement was greatest in the TARGETED group for most outcomes, but selected measures of self-management and health care access were greater in the other groups. The mean improvement was significantly greater in the TARGETED group.

Conclusion:

Targeting the intervention to people with poorly controlled asthma maximizes improvements in trigger avoidance and asthma morbidity; however, other recruitment strategies are effective for impacting endpoints related to health care access and self-management. This evaluation demonstrates that a low-intensity home-based environmental intervention is effective as well as practical and feasible. Health care payers, state and local health departments, and others should consider investing in these home-based services as part of a comprehensive asthma care package.
Gαq Mediates Clozapine Effects inCaenorhabditiselegans
Authors: Hao Limin , Tong Yongguang , Harrington Kristin , O’Neill Jessica L. , Sheikholeslami Afsaneh , Wang Xin , Freedman Jonathan H. , Cohen Bruce M. , Buttner Edgar A.
Published: January 2017

Clozapine binds and has significant effects on multiple neurotransmitter receptors, notably including some dopamine receptors. Downstream of these receptors, clozapine affects the balance of Gi− and Gq-dependent second-messenger signaling. We usedCaenorhabiditis elegansas a genetic model to study further how clozapine affects both dopamine receptors and downstream Gq mediated signaling. Four of six worm dopamine receptor orthologs,dop-1, dop-2, dop-4, anddop-5produced resistance to clozapine induced developmental delay when mutated, suggesting that both type I and type II dopamine receptors mediate the behavioral effects of clozapine inC. elegans. Beyond these receptors, reduction of function of one of the G proteins,egl-30(Gαq), produced greatly increased susceptibility to clozapine. Gαq has multiple known downstream effects. Among these is the control of acetylcholine release, which is in balance with monoamines in the human brain and is another target of clozapine and other antipsychotic drugs. We tested for downstream effects on acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction upon clozapine treatment but found no evidence for effects of clozapine. In contrast, modulation of Gαq upstream leads to worms that are either more resistant or more susceptible to clozapine, emphasizing the importance of Gαq proteins in mediating effects of clozapine. A genetic screen for suppressors ofegl-30recovered eight mutants. By characterizing the behavioral effects of these mutants, we found that clozapine exerts its function on development by affecting Gαq signaling through control of the pharyngeal pumping rate. A whole-genome sequencing technique was utilized and identified a list of candidate genes for these suppressor mutations. Further characterization of these mutants promises the discovery of novel components participating in Gαq signaling and a better understanding of the mechanisms of action of clozapine.
Spatial Attention Enhances the Neural Representation of Invisible Signals Embedded in Noise
Authors: Smout Cooper A. , Mattingley Jason B.
Published: January 2017

Recent evidence suggests that voluntary spatial attention can affect neural processing of visual stimuli that do not enter conscious awareness (i.e. invisible stimuli), supporting the notion that attention and awareness are dissociable processes (Watanabe et al., 2011; Wyart, Dehaene, & Tallon-Baudry, 2012). To date, however, no study has demonstrated that these effects reflect enhancement of the neural representation of invisible stimuliper se, as opposed to other neural processes not specifically tied to the stimulus in question. In addition, it remains unclear whether spatial attention can modulate neural representations of invisible stimuli in direct competition with highly salient and visible stimuli. Here we developed a novel electroencephalography (EEG) frequency-tagging paradigm to obtain a continuous readout of human brain activity associated with visible and invisible signals embedded in dynamic noise. Participants (N= 23) detected occasional contrast changes in one of two flickering image streams on either side of fixation. Each image stream contained a visible or invisible signal embedded in every second noise image, the visibility of which was titrated and checked using a two-interval forced-choice detection task. Steady-state visual-evoked potentials (SSVEPs) were computed from EEG data at the signal and noise frequencies of interest. Cluster-based permutation analyses revealed significant neural responses to both visible and invisible signals across posterior scalp electrodes. Control analyses revealed that these responses did not reflect a subharmonic response to noise stimuli. In line with previous findings, spatial attention increased the neural representation of visible signals. Crucially, spatial attention also increased the neural representation of invisible signals. As such, the present results replicate and extend previous studies by demonstrating that attention can modulate the neural representation of invisible signals that are in direct competition with highly salient masking stimuli.
Initiation of DNA replication requires actin dynamics and formin activity
Authors: Nikolaos Parisis , Krasinska Liliana , Harker Bethany , Urbach Serge , Rossignol Michel , Camasses Alain , Dewar James , Morin Nathalie , Fisher Daniel
Published: January 2017

Nuclear actin influences transcription in a manner dependent on its dynamics of polymerisation and nucleocytoplasmic translocation. Using human somatic cells and transcriptionally-silentXenopusegg extracts, we show that actin dynamics is also required for DNA replication. We identify many actin regulators in replicating nuclei fromXenopusegg extracts, and show that in human cells, nuclear actin filaments form in early G1 and disassemble prior to S-phase. In either system, treatments that stabilise nuclear actin filaments abrogate nuclear transport and initiation of DNA replication. Mechanistically, actin directly binds RanGTP-importin complexes and disruption of its dynamics hinders cargo release. This prevents both nuclear pore complex (NPC) formation and active nuclear transport, which we show is required throughout DNA replication. Nuclear formin activity is required for two further steps: loading of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) onto chromatin and initiation of DNA replication. Thus, actin dynamics and formins are involved in several nuclear processes essential for cell proliferation.
The genomic basis of adaptation to the deep water ‘twilight zone’ in Lake Malawi cichlid fishes
Authors: Hahn Christoph , Genner Martin J , Turner George F , Joyce Domino A
Published: January 2017

Deep water environments are characterized by low levels of available light at increasingly narrow spectra, great hydrostatic pressure and reduced dissolved oxygen - conditions predicted to exert highly specific selection pressures. In Lake Malawi over 800 cichlid species have evolved, and this adaptive radiation extends into the “twilight zone” below 100 metres. We use population-level RAD-seq data to investigate whether four endemic deep water species (Diplotaxodonspp.) have experienced divergent selection within this environment. We identify candidate genes including regulators of photoreceptor function, photopigments, lens morphology and haemoglobin, many not previously implicated in cichlid adaptive radiations. Co-localization of functionally linked genes suggests co-adapted “supergene” complexes. Comparisons ofDiplotaxodonto the broader Lake Malawi radiation using genome resequencing data revealed functional substitutions in candidate genes. Our data provide unique insights into genomic adaptation to life at depth, and suggest genome-level specialisation for deep water habitat as an important process in cichlid radiation.
DepEst: an R package of important dependency estimators for gene network inference algorithms
Authors: Altay Gökmen , Kurt Zeyneb , Altay Nejla , Aydin Nizamettin
Published: January 2017

Gene network inference algorithms (GNI) are popular in bioinformatics area. In almost all GNI algorithms, the main process is to estimate the dependency (association) scores among the genes of the dataset.

We present a bioinformatics tool, DepEst (Dependency Estimators), which is a powerful and flexible R package that includes 11 important dependency score estimators that can be used in almost all GNI Algorithms. DepEst is the first bioinformatics package that includes such a large number of estimators that runs both in parallel and serial.

DepEst is currently available athttps://github.com/altayg/Depest.Package access link, instructions, various workflows and example data sets are provided in the supplementary file.
Context-Aware Prediction of Pathogenicity of Missense Mutations Involved in Human Disease
Authors: Feinauer Christoph , Weigt Martin
Published: January 2017

Amino-acid substitutions are implicated in a wide range of human diseases, many of which are lethal. Distinguishing such mutations from polymorphisms without significant effect on human health is a necessary step in understanding the etiology of such diseases. Computational methods can be used to select interesting mutations within a larger set, to corroborate experimental findings and to elucidate the cause of the deleterious effect. In this work, we show that taking into account the sequence context in which the mutation appears allows to improve the predictive and explanatory power of such methods. We present an unsupervised approach based on the direct-coupling analysis of homologous proteins. We show its capability to quantify mutations where methods without context dependence fail. We highlight cases where the context dependence is interpretable as functional or structural constraints and show that our simple and unsupervised method has an accuracy similar to state-of-the-art methods, including supervised ones.
Heritability enrichment of specifically expressed genes identifies disease-relevant tissues and cell types
Authors: Finucane Hilary K. , Reshef Yakir A. , Anttila Verneri , Slowikowski Kamil , Gusev Alexander , Byrnes Andrea , Gazal Steven , Loh Po-Ru , Lareau Caleb , Shoresh Noam , Genovese Giulio , Saunders Arpiar , Macosko Evan , Pollack Samuela ,   The Brainstorm Consortium, Perry John R.B. , Buenrostro Jason D. , Bernstein Bradley E. , Raychaudhuri Soumya , McCarroll Steven , Neale Benjamin M. , Price Alkes L.
Published: January 2017

Genetics can provide a systematic approach to discovering the tissues and cell types relevant for a complex disease or trait. Identifying these tissues and cell types is critical for following up on non-coding allelic function, developing ex-vivo models, and identifying therapeutic targets. Here, we analyze gene expression data from several sources, including the GTEx and PsychENCODE consortia, together with genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics for 48 diseases and traits with an average sample size of 169,331, to identify disease-relevant tissues and cell types. We develop and apply an approach that uses stratified LD score regression to test whether disease heritability is enriched in regions surrounding genes with the highest specific expression in a given tissue. We detect tissue-specific enrichments at FDR < 5% for 34 diseases and traits across a broad range of tissues that recapitulate known biology. In our analysis of traits with observed central nervous system enrichment, we detect an enrichment of neurons over other brain cell types for several brain-related traits, enrichment of inhibitory over excitatory neurons for bipolar disorder but excitatory over inhibitory neurons for schizophrenia and body mass index, and enrichments in the cortex for schizophrenia and in the striatum for migraine. In our analysis of traits with observed immunological enrichment, we identify enrichments of T cells for asthma and eczema, B cells for primary biliary cirrhosis, and myeloid cells for Alzheimer's disease, which we validated with independent chromatin data. Our results demonstrate that our polygenic approach is a powerful way to leverage gene expression data for interpreting GWAS signal.
Severe acute dehydration in a desert rodent elicits a transcriptional response that effectively prevents kidney injury
Authors: Matthew MacManes
Published: January 2017

Animal living in desert environments are forced to survive despite severe heat, intense solar radiation, and both acute and chronic dehydration. Indeed, these animals have evolved phenotypes that effectively address these environmental stressors. To begin to understand the ways in which the desert adapted rodentP. eremicussurvives, we performed an experiment by which we subjected reproductively mature adults to profound acute dehydration, during which they lost on average 23% of their body weight. Animals react via a series of changes in the kidney, which include modulating expression of genes responsible for reducing the rate of transcription, and maintaining water and salt balance. Extracellular matrix turnover appears to be decreased, and apoptosis is limited. Serum Creatinine and other biomarkers of kidney injury are not elevated, which is different than the canonical human response, suggesting that transcriptional changes caused by acute dehydration effectively prohibit widespread kidney damage in the cactus mouse.
A Parallel Multiobjective Metaheuristic for Multiple Sequence Alignment
Authors: Rubio-Largo Álvaro , Vanneschi Leonardo , Castelli Mauro , Vega-Rodríguez Miguel A.
Published: January 2017

The alignment among three or more nucleotides/amino-acids sequences at the same time is known as Multiple Sequence Alignment (MSA), an NP-hard optimization problem. The time complexity of finding an optimal alignment raises exponentially when the number of sequences to align increases. In this work, we deal with a multiobjective version of the MSA problem where the goal is to simultaneously optimize the accuracy and conservation of the alignment. A parallel version of the Hybrid Multiobjective Memetic Metaheuristics for Multiple Sequence Alignment is proposed. In order to evaluate the parallel performance of our proposal, we have selected a pull of datasets with different number of sequences (up to 1000 sequences) and study its parallel performance against other well-known parallel metaheuristics published in the literature, such as MSAProbs, T-Coffee, Clustal Ω, and MAFFT. The comparative study reveals that our parallel aligner is around 25 times faster than the sequential version with 32 cores, obtaining a parallel efficiency around 80%.
Pure Correlates of Exploration and Exploitation in the Human Brain
Authors: Blanchard Tommy C. , Gershman Samuel J.
Published: January 2017

Balancing exploration and exploitation is a fundamental problem in reinforcement learning. Previous neuroimaging studies of the exploration-exploitation dilemma could not completely disentangle these two processes, making it difficult to unambiguously identify their neural signatures. We overcome this problem using a task in which subjects can either observe (pure exploration) or bet (pure exploitation). Insula and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex showed significantly greater activity on observe trials compared to bet trials, suggesting that these regions play a role in driving exploration. A model-based analysis of task performance suggested that subjects chose to observe until a critical evidence threshold was reached. We observed a neural signature of this evidence accumulation process in ventromedial prefrontal cortex. These findings support theories positing an important role for anterior cingulate cortex in exploration, while also providing a new perspective on the roles of insula and ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

Significance Statement

Sitting down at a familiar restaurant, you may choose to order an old favorite or sample a new dish. In reinforcement learning theory, this is known as the exploration-exploitation dilemma. The optimal solution is known to be intractable; therefore, humans must use heuristic strategies. Behavioral studies have revealed several candidate strategies, but identifying the neural mechanisms underlying these strategies is complicated due to the fact that exploration and exploitation are not perfectly dissociable in standard tasks. Using an “observe or bet” task, we identify for the first time pure neural correlates of exploration and exploitation in the human brain.
DATS: the data tag suite to enable discoverability of datasets
Authors: Sansone Susanna-Assunta , Gonzalez-Beltran Alejandra , Rocca-Serra Philippe , Alter George , Grethe Jeffrey S , Xu Hua , Fore Ian , Lyle Jared , Gururaj Anupama E , Chen Xiaoling , Kim Hyeoneui , Zong Nansu , Li Yueling , Liu Ruiling , Ozyurt Ibrahim Burak , Ohno-Machado Lucila , Members bioCADDIE Working Groups
Published: January 2017

Today's science increasingly requires effective ways to find and access existing datasets that are distributed across a range of repositories. For researchers in the life sciences, discoverability of datasets may soon become as essential as identifying the latest publications via PubMed. Through an international collaborative effort funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiative, we have designed and implemented the DAta Tag Suite (DATS) model to support the DataMed data discovery index. DataMed's goal is to be for data what PubMed has been for the scientific literature. Akin to the Journal Article Tag Suite (JATS) used in PubMed, the DATS model enables submission of metadata on datasets to DataMed. DATS has a core set of elements, which are generic and applicable to any type of datasets, and an extended set that can accommodate more specialized data types. DATS is a platform-independent model also available as a Schema.org annotated serialization to be used beyond DataMed, for example, in projects like DataCite.
The Nucleosome Remodelling and Deacetylation complex restricts Mediator access to enhancers to control transcription
Authors: Xenophontos Maria , Reynolds Nicola , Gharbi Sarah , Johnstone Ewan , Signolet Jason , Floyd Robin , Ralser Meryem , Bornelöv Susanne , Dietmann Sabine , Loos Remco , Bertone Paul , Hendrich Brian
Published: January 2017

A number of different chromatin remodelling complexes in mammalian cells are implicated in the control of gene expression. The genetic requirements for many such complex components have been described, and the biochemical activities of complex components characterised in vitro, yet the molecular mechanisms by which these biochemical activities impact transcriptional regulation in vivo remain ill-defined. Using an inducible system with fine temporal resolution, we show that the Nucleosome Remodelling and Deacetylation (NuRD) complex directly regulates chromatin architecture at enhancer regions in ES cells, in turn influencing the activity of RNA polymerase II via Mediator. Through this mechanism NuRD restricts Mediator access to enhancer chromatin during lineage commitment, thereby enabling appropriate transcriptional regulation. In contrast, acetylation levels of histone H3 lysine 27 are not immediately impacted by NuRD activity, correlating with transcriptional response only after expression levels have changed. These findings provide a detailed, molecular picture of genome-wide modulation of lineage-specific transcription by an abundant chromatin remodelling complex.
Cell-to-cell Modeling of the interface between Atrial and Sinoatrial Anisotropic Heterogeneous Nets II: Mechanisms Underlying Nets Dynamics
Authors: López Gabriel , Castellanos Norma P. , Godínez Rafael
Published: January 2017

In [24] we studied the transitional zone between Sinoatrial cells and Atrial cells in the Heart. The present paper study the mechanisms underlying the dynamics of the modeled nets in that paper.
UMI-Reducer: Collapsing duplicate sequencing reads via Unique Molecular Identifiers
Authors: Mangul Serghei , Driesche Sarah Van , Martin Lana S. , Martin Kelsey C. , Eskin Eleazar
Published: January 2017

Short Structured Abstract

Every sequencing library contains duplicate reads. While many duplicates arise during polymerase chain reaction (PCR), some duplicates derive from multiple identical fragments of mRNA present in the original lysate (termed “biological duplicates”). Unique Molecular Identifiers (UMIs) are random oligonucleotide sequences that allow differentiation between technical and biological duplicates. Here we report the development of UMI-Reducer, a new computational tool for processing and differentiating PCR duplicates from biological duplicates. UMI-Reducer uses UMIs and the mapping position of the read to identify and collapse reads that are technical duplicates. Remaining true biological reads are further used for bias-free estimate of mRNA abundance in the original lysate. This strategy is of particular use for libraries made from low amounts of starting material, which typically require additional cycles of PCR and therefore are most prone to PCR duplicate bias.

Availability and Implementation

The UMI-Reducer is an open source Python software and is freely available for non-commercial use (GPL-3.0) athttps://sergheimangul.wordpress.com/umi-reducer/. Documentation and tutorials are available athttps://github.com/smangul1/UMI-Reducer/wiki/.

Contact

smangul@ucla.edu,SVanDriesche@mednet.ucla.edu

Supplementary information

Flowchart of Library Construction
New Techniques for Ancient Proteins: Direct Coupling Analysis Applied on Proteins involved in Iron Sulfur Cluster Biogenesis
Authors: Fantini Marco , Malinverni Duccio , De Los Rios Paolo , Pastore Annalisa
Published: January 2017

Direct coupling analysis (DCA) is a powerful tool based on protein evolution and introduced to predict protein fold and protein-protein interactions which has been applied also to the prediction of entire interactomes. We have used DCA to analyse three proteins of the iron-sulfur biogenesis machine, an essential metabolic pathway conserved in all organisms. We show that, although based on a relatively small number of sequences due to its distribution in genomes, we can correctly recapitulate all the features of the fold of the CyaY/frataxin family, a protein involved in the human disease Friedreich’s ataxia. This result gave us confidence in the use of this tool. Application of DCA to the iron-sulfur cluster scaffold protein IscU, which has been suggested to function both as an ordered and a disordered form, allows us to clearly distinguish evolutionary traces of the structured species, suggesting that, if present in the cell, the disordered form has not left any evolutionary imprinting. We observe instead, for the first time, direct indications of how the protein can dimerize head-to-head and bind 4Fe4S clusters. Analysis of the alternative scaffold protein IscA provides strong support to a coordination of the cluster mediated by a dimeric rather than a tetrameric form as previously suggested. Our analysis also suggests the presence in solution of a mixture of monomeric and dimeric species and guide us to the prevalent one. Finally, we used DCA to analyse protein-protein interactions between some of these proteins and discuss the potentialities and the limitations of the method.
A research and industry perspective on automotive logistics performance measurement
Authors: Dörnhöfer Martin , Günthner Willibald A.
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the current state of performance measurement (PM) in academic literature and in the automotive supply chain (SC). The research question is to what extent PM systems (PMS) in academic literature and in industry are applicable in automotive logistics.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a combination of a systematic literature review (SLR) and an industry survey. The SLR is used to identify literature on design aspects for PMS and current PMS reported in academic literature. The survey adds an industry perspective and is used to validate the design aspects found in literature. The synthesis aims to deliver both, current research gaps and needs in industry.

Findings

The findings from SLR indicate, there is a broad base of literature regarding design aspects for PMS. Literature on PMS in context of automotive logistics is nevertheless rare. The industry survey leads to the conclusion that conformity with design aspects from literature increases added value of PMS. Nevertheless, current PMS show improvement needs in automotive context. Academic literature lacks detailed process orientation, transparency and is seen as too high level to be helpful for practitioners. For systems in industry, the SC perspective can be improved. In addition, applicability for continuous improvement is identified as research need in industry and literature.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the selected survey approach, additional research is required to obtain more generalizable results. To increase reliability and validity, a selection of the findings should be further analyzed, e.g. by focusing on regions outside Western Europe or a more in depth analysis of selected aspects. In addition insights into selected research topics highlighted in the paper should be assessed in detail by applying different methodologies (e.g. case studies) to validate the findings.

Originality/value

The findings add to the research on PMS. Latest academic literature is reviewed. The findings are combined with an industry perspective. The combination of SLR and a broad survey enables us to draw conclusions which are relevant for researchers and practitioners alike. Where academic research should focus more on the practical applicability, industry can benefit from the findings by integrating a more holistic perspective into their PMS, especially with a SC wide evaluation.
Logistics management research collaboration in Asia
Authors: Wu Yen-Chun , Goh Mark , Yuan Chih-Hung , Huang Shan-Huen
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the state of logistics management research in Asia. The study focuses on the research agenda, the topics of interest, and the extent of research collaboration in logistics theory building and knowledge specific to Asia.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a mixed methods approach namely, content analysis drawn from the articles found in six well-recognized peer-reviewed logistics management related journals from 2003 to 2013, followed by social network analysis which is applied on the selected articles to provide a structure of the collaboration relationship.

Findings

Initial findings suggest that there are some scholars in Asia who are instrumental in research collaboration and in building a body of knowledge on logistics management focused on Asia. More co-production of knowledge from deeper and tightly knit industry-academic collaboration is needed to progress this domain. Most of the published work use an empirical instrument drawn from the resource-based view to explore firm level supply chain collaboration and strategy. This suggests a positivist research tradition within logistics. There is a shortage of studies conducted on the supply chain as a network of enterprises.

Research limitations/implications

The review of the articles is limited to six logistics specific journals and the authors only concentrate on logistics management research focused on Asia. The contributions from the other journals may have been missed. More collaboration at the institutional, national, and international levels is called for especially on cross-collaboration between practice and theory.

Practical implications

Though the analysis is restricted to 260 articles found in six journals, this paper can shed light on the research needs from different perspectives and facilitate the progress of logistics management research in Asia.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to discuss the state of logistics management research collaboration in Asia, and provides an overview of the research issues, topics, and approaches undertaken thus far. Through this work, this study hopes that it will encourage greater research collaboration between industry and academia, and academics themselves.
Analysis of enterprise supply chain communication networks in engineering product development
Authors: Addo-Tenkorang Richard , Helo Petri T.
Published: January 2017

Purpose

For decades now, industrial manufacturers’ complex product development (CPD) activities have seen various improvement approaches as well as product development (PD) support processes all in the quest to achieve shorter PD lead-times and higher return on investments. CPD process improvements, in terms of complex engineering design and delivery, still lack a lot more variance to be addressed on the “better, faster and cheaper” paradigm for efficient communication and information exchange flow processes. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents employing social network theory analysis and statistical Pearson (r) correlation analysis in a triangulation approach to a proposed optimum conceptual information technology systems’ architecture and a “best practice” information flow process toward enhancing an industrial sustainable competitive advantage. Closed-end questionnaires were used to collect data for the scale or level of communication network from a sample size of eight Ship Power supply chain network complex engineering design and delivery systems-design teams with at least five members from each team.

Findings

Two extremely interesting findings and observations were identified from the analysis carried out (isolates and close-harmonic analysis) as well as the findings from the hypotheses’ testing. These essential analyses of the engineering systems-design teams were conducted by using the triangulation or mixed-method described in the abstract methodology identified above.

Originality/value

Effective and efficient real-time communication is seen as the vehicle for effective organization management. Although there may be some studies on effective technical communication in organizational and enterprise supply chain management settings, this research identifies a new robust and extensive analysis and feasible solutions to most of the communication bottlenecks and inefficient socio-industrial information flow processes, which need enhancement for industrial competitive advantage. Furthermore, the contribution of this paper further enhances the level 4 implementation aspect of the supply chain operation reference model in a replicable industry-specific perspective.
Autonomous obstacle avoidance of an unmanned surface vehicle based on cooperative manoeuvring
Authors: Wu Peng , Xie Shaorong , Liu Hengli , Li Ming , Li Hengyu , Peng Yan , Li Xiaomao , Luo Jun
Published: January 2017

Purpose

Autonomous obstacle avoidance is important in unmanned surface vehicle (USV) navigation. Although the result of obstacle detection is often inaccurate because of the inherent errors of LIDAR, conventional methods typically emphasize on a single obstacle-avoidance algorithm and neglect the limitation of sensors and safety in a local region. Conventional methods also fail in seamlessly integrating local and global obstacle avoidance algorithms. This paper aims to present a cooperative manoeuvring approach including both local and global obstacle avoidance.

Design/methodology/approach

The global algorithm used in our USV is the Artificial Potential Field-Ant Colony Optimization (APF-ACO) obstacle-avoidance algorithm, which plans a relative optimal path on the specified electronic map before the cruise of USV. The local algorithm is a multi-layer obstacle-avoidance framework based on a single LIDAR to present an efficient solution to USV path planning in the case of sensor errors and collision risks. When obstacles are within a layer, the USV uses a corresponding obstacle-avoidance algorithm. Then the USV moves towards the global direction according to fuzzy rules in the fuzzy layer.

Findings

The presented method offers a solution for obstacle avoidance in a complex environment. The USV follows the global trajectory planed by the APF-ACO algorithm. While, the USV can bypass current obstacle in the local region based on the multi-layer method effectively. This fact was validated by simulations and field trials.

Originality/value

The method presented in this paper takes advantage of algorithm integration that remedies errors of obstacle detection. Simulation and experiments were also conducted for performance evaluation.
Design and realization of a novel magnetic nutation drive for industry robotic wrist reducer
Authors: Huang Ding-jian , Yao Li-gang , Li Wen-jian , Zhang Jun
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to achieve a novel magnetic nutation drive for an industry robotic wrist reducer.

Design/methodology/approach

A novel magnetic nutation drive is proposed, and the structure and principle of the designed magnetic nutation drive are described in this study. Three-dimensional finite element analysis is used to compute the magnetic and torque of the magnetic nutation drive. Furthermore, a prototype of this novel magnetic nutation drive device is developed with 3D printing technology and tested to verify the feasibility of the proposed structure and principle.

Findings

The simulation and experimental results indicated that the proposed magnetic nutation drive device could meet the desired specifications, and that this novel magnetic nutation drive device successfully realized the non-contact transmission ratio of 105:1 required for a robotic wrist reducer.

Practical implications

This novel magnetic nutation drive is low-cost and easy to make and use, and which provides the non-contact transmission ratio of 105:1 required for a robotic wrist reducer.

Originality/value

For the first time, this research applies the permanent magnet drive technology to nutation drive and puts forward a new non-contact nutation drive mode. The novel drive mode can solve some problems of the traditional mechanical contact nutation drive, such as vibration, friction loss, mechanical fatigue and necessity of lubrication. The proposed non-contact nutation drive device can achieve a high reduction ratio with compact structure and can be suitable for industry application.
An agile assistant robot integrating operation and rolling locomotion
Authors: Li Yezhuo , Yao Yan-An , Cheng Junlin , Tian Yaobin , Liu Ran
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an agile assistant robot to be used as a mobile partner with two rotational motions and one translational motion. This robot possesses the rolling function and three operating abilities to assistant human beings in the industrial environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The main body of the robot is a typical 4-RSR (where R denotes a revolute joint and S denotes a spherical joint) parallel mechanism. The mechanism can reach any position on the ground by two rolling modes (the equivalent Watt linkage rolling mode and the equivalent 6R linkage rolling mode), and the robot can work as a spotlight or a worktable in operating modes at the target location. The mobility, rolling modes, operating modes and kinematics are analyzed.

Findings

Based on the results of kinematics of this assistant robot, the upper platform of the 4-RSR rolling mechanism has two rotational motions and one translational motion which can be used in the industry. The proposed concept is verified by experiments on a physical prototype.

Practical implications

This paper also discusses the application to industrial cases where cooperation between workers and robots is required.

Originality/value

The work presented in this paper is a novel exploration to apply parallel mechanisms to the field of assistant rolling robots. It is also a new attempt to use the rolling mechanism in the field of mobile operating robots for industry tasks.
Pylon-Climber: a novel climbing assistive robot for pylon maintenance
Authors: Lu Xiaolong , Zhao Shiping , Yu Deping , Liu Xiaoyu
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the design and development of “Pylon-Climber”, a pole climbing robot (PCR) for climbing along the corner columns of electricity pylon and assisting the electricians to complete maintenance tasks.

Design/methodology/approach

Introduces a PCR that is composed of a simple climbing mechanism and two novel grippers. The gripper consists of two angle-fixed V-blocks, and the size of V-block is variable. The clamping method of the angle bar meets the requirement of the force closure theorem. The whole design adopts symmetrical design ideas.

Findings

The developed prototype proved possibility of application of PCRs for inspection and maintenance of pylon. The novel gripper can provide enough adhesion force for climbing robot.

Practical implications

The robot is successfully tested on a test tower composed of different specification steel angles, oblique ledges and overlapping steel struts.

Originality/value

Design and development of a novel climbing assistive robot for pylon maintenance. The robot is able to climb along the column of electricity pylon and pass all obstacles. The gripper can reliably grasp the angle bar with different specification and overlapping steel struts from multiple directions.
Stability analysis and control in the process of floating-target capture with hardware-in-the-loop system
Authors: Xie Zongwu , Zhao Xiaoyu , Zhang Yu , Zhang Qi , Yang Haitao , Sun Kui , Jin Minghe
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop an easily implemented and practical stabilizing strategy for the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) system. As the status of HIL system in the ground verification experiment for space equipment keeps rising, the stability problems introduced by high stiffness of industrial robot and discretization of the system need to be solved ungently. Thus, the study of the system stability is essential and significant.

Design/methodology/approach

To study the system stability, a mathematical model is built on the basis of control circle. And root-locus and 3D root-locus method are applied to the model to figure out the relationship between system stability and system parameters.

Findings

The mathematical model works well in describing the HIL system in the process of capturing free-floating targets, and the stabilizing strategy can be adopted to improve the system dynamic characteristic which meets the needs of the practical application.

Originality/value

A method named 3D root-locus is extended from traditional root-locus method. And the improved method graphically displays the stability of the system under the influence of multivariable. And the strategy that stabilize the system with elastic component has a strong feasible and promotional value.
Cloud robotics: a review of technologies, developments and applications
Authors: Bogue Robert
Published: January 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to provide an insight into the current state of cloud robotics developments, technology and applications.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a short introduction, this paper first considers the potential benefits of cloud robotics. It discusses cloud service providers and then considers a range of recent applications and developments involving humanoid, mobile and industrial robots. This is followed by details of some recent market entrants and their developments. Finally, brief concluding comments are drawn.

Findings

Cloud robotics is a rapidly developing technology made possible by the current ubiquitous internet connectivity and the growing number of powerful cloud computing services available. Benefits include access to big data sets, open-source algorithms, code and programmes, massively powerful parallel or grid computing and the sharing of information between robots. The technology has been applied successfully to humanoid, industrial, mobile and other classes of robots, often through direct collaborations between robot manufacturers and major IT companies. Several new companies have been established in very recent years to exploit the capabilities of cloud robotic technologies.

Originality/value

Cloud robotics is a highly topical and rapidly developing field, and this paper provides a detailed insight into recent developments and applications.
An integrated approach to grey relational analysis, analytic hierarchy process and data envelopment analysis
Authors: Pakkar Mohammad Sadegh
Published: January 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to propose an integration of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) methods in a multiattribute grey relational analysis (GRA) methodology in which the attribute weights are completely unknown and the attribute values take the form of fuzzy numbers.

Design/methodology/approach

This research has been organized to proceed along the following steps: computing the grey relational coefficients for alternatives with respect to each attribute using a fuzzy GRA methodology. Grey relational coefficients provide the required (output) data for additive DEA models; computing the priority weights of attributes using the AHP method to impose weight bounds on attribute weights in additive DEA models; computing grey relational grades using a pair of additive DEA models to assess the performance of each alternative from the optimistic and pessimistic perspectives; and combining the optimistic and pessimistic grey relational grades using a compromise grade to assess the overall performance of each alternative.

Findings

The proposed approach provides a more reasonable and encompassing measure of performance, based on which the overall ranking position of alternatives is obtained. An illustrated example of a nuclear waste dump site selection is used to highlight the usefulness of the proposed approach.

Originality/value

This research is a step forward to overcome the current shortcomings in the weighting schemes of attributes in a fuzzy multiattribute GRA methodology.
Social marketing and systems science: past, present and future
Authors: Brychkov Dmitry , Domegan Christine
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present retrospective, current and prospective aspects of social marketing and systems science integration.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a periodization methodology, based on turning points of conceptual integration between social marketing and systems science.

Findings

The paper identifies three periods of integration between social marketing and systems science: initialization of marketing and systems science integration; further conceptualization of the link between marketing and systems science, coupled by permeation of systems thinking into social marketing; and deep integration of social marketing with systems science. The latter period is ongoing and focuses on the origination of strategic systems-based theories and practices for sustainable social change.

Research limitations/implications

The use of a periodization methodology might be biased by subjectivity, as chronological sequences of conceptualization-related events can be hard to decipher and can be reluctant to structural analysis. The necessity to examine the link between marketing and systems science, in so far as social marketing draws upon marketing theory regarding integration with systems science, has social marketing overshadowed by marketing at some points in time.

Practical implications

Historical research of social marketing and systems science integration provides a robust platform for large-scale practical manifestation of system-based strategic projects in social marketing.

Originality/value

This paper demonstrates that the permeation of systems thinking into the social marketing paradigm is gaining momentum and describes the trends, prospects and complexities associated with the accelerating integration.