bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is the Hebb repetition task a reliable measure of individual differences in sequence learning?
Authors: Bogaerts Louisa , Siegelman Noam , Ben-Porat Tali , Frost Ram
Published: March 2017

The Hebb repetition task, an operationalization of long-term sequence learning through repetition, is the focus of renewed interest, as it is taken to provide a laboratory analogue for naturalistic vocabulary acquisition. Indeed, recent studies have consistently related performance in the Hebb repetition task with a range of linguistic (dis)abilities. However, despite the growing interest in the Hebb repetition effect as a theoretical construct, no previous research has ever tested whether the task used to assess Hebb learning offers a stable and reliable measure of individual performance in sequence learning. Since reliability is a necessary condition to predictive validity, in the present work, we tested whether individual ability in visual verbal Hebb repetition learning displays basic test–retest reliability. In a first experiment, Hebrew–English bilinguals performed two verbal Hebb tasks, one with English and one with Hebrew consonant letters. They were retested on the same Hebb tasks after a period of about 6 months. Overall, serial recall performance proved to be a stable and reliable capacity of an individual. By contrast, the test–retest reliability of individual learning performance in our Hebb task was close to zero. A second experiment with French speakers replicated these results and demonstrated that the concurrent learning of two repeated Hebb sequences within the same task minimally improves the reliability scores. Taken together, our results raise concerns regarding the usefulness of at least some current Hebb learning tasks in predicting linguistic (dis)abilities. The theoretical implications are discussed.
Developing an inventory of core lexical bundles in English research articles: a cross-disciplinary corpus-based study
Authors: Jalilifar Alireza , Ghoreishi Seyed Mohammad , Emam Roodband Seyed Abbas
Published: March 2017

Corpus linguistics has revealed that formulaic language forms an important part of written academic discourse. Recently, much research has focused on lexical bundles as a new category of formulaic language. The primary goal of the present study was to identify core lexical bundles in English research articles across different disciplines and to explore the functions they fulfil. The secondary goal was to determine the coverage of core bundles over lexical bundles from a corpus of research articles in applied linguistics. Using AntConc programme, the analysis started with the creation of three separate lists of lexical bundles from three corpora. Then, the common lexical bundles from these three lists were identified. In total, 661 core lexical bundles common across the three disciplines were identified. Functional analysis revealed the predominance of text-oriented bundles. In addition, core bundles covered 30.19% of the list of bundle types in the research articles. The functional utility of core bundles and their coverage in a domain-specific discipline reinforces the idea that lexical bundles can be transformed into useful learning and testing materials.
Managing Sleep Disorders during Pregnancy
Authors: Kay-Stacey Margaret , Attarian Hrayr P.
Published: March 2017

Sleep disturbances and disorders are common during pregnancy, and they can be risk factors for a number of serious pregnancy-related sleep disorders. These include postpartum depression, pregnancy-induced hypertension, gestational diabetes, and intrauterine growth retardation. In addition, certain chronic sleep disorders, such as narcolepsy, are quite challenging to manage in the context of pregnancy and during lactation, particularly with medications that can be teratogenic. This review discusses 4 common sleep disorders and their impacts on pregnancy, and suggests ways to deal with these disorders that improves maternal and fetal outcomes safely. The review discusses diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, insomnia, and narcolepsy in pregnancy.
Unsymmetric deformation of the circular membrane
Authors: Dickey R. W.
Published: March 2017

If the Föppl equations for the deformation of a plane circular membrane under normal pressure are linearized about the radially symmetric solution, it is shown that the resulting linear theory has infinitely many nontrivial angle-dependent solutions. If the prescribed normal pressure and the prescribed (angle-independent) boundary stress are allowed to approach zero in the appropriate way, these nontrivial solutions are retained. Thus the linear theory indicates that, in addition to the solution with radial symmetry, there are infinitely many angle-dependent solutions for arbitrarily small values of the prescribed pressure and prescribed boundary stress.
Effects of the 2013 SNAP Benefit Cut on Food Security
Authors: Katare Bhagyashree , Kim Jiyoon (June)
Published: March 2017

Effects of the 2013 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit cut on food security is examined by employing the annual Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement 2012–2014. Food security measured in December 2014 is compared with the corresponding statistics for December 2012 using difference‐in‐differences methods. Results confirm that reduced SNAP benefits significantly threatened the food security of SNAP households.
Enhanced methods to detect haplotypic effects on gene expression
Authors: Brown Robert , Kichaev Gleb , Mancuso Nicholas , Boocock James , Pasaniuc Bogdan
Published: March 2017

Motivation

Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs), genetic variants associated with gene expression levels, are identified in eQTL mapping studies. Such studies typically test for an association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and expression under an additive model, which ignores interaction and haplotypic effects. Mismatches between the model tested and the underlying genetic architecture can lead to a loss of association power. Here we introduce a new haplotype-based test for eQTL studies that looks for haplotypic effects on expression levels. Our test is motivated by compound heterozygous architectures, a common disease model for recessive monogenic disorders, where two different alleles can have the same effect on a gene’s function.

Results

When the underlying true causal architecture for a simulated gene is a compound heterozygote, our method is better able to capture the signal than the marginal SNP method. When the underlying model is a single SNP, there is no difference in the power of our method relative to the marginal SNP method. We apply our method to empirical gene expression data measured in 373 European individuals from the GEUVADIS study and find 29 more eGenes (genes with at least one association) than the standard marginal SNP method. Furthermore, in 974 of the 3529 total eGenes, our haplotype-based method results in a stronger association signal than the standard marginal SNP method. This demonstrates our method both increases power over the standard method and provides evidence of haplotypic architectures regulating gene expression.

Availability and Implementation

http://bogdan.bioinformatics.ucla.edu/software/
The RNASeq-er API—a gateway to systematically updated analysis of public RNA-seq data
Authors: Petryszak Robert , Fonseca Nuno A , Füllgrabe Anja , Huerta Laura , Keays Maria , Tang Y Amy , Brazma Alvis
Published: March 2017

Motivation

The exponential growth of publicly available RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) data poses an increasing challenge to researchers wishing to discover, analyse and store such data, particularly those based in institutions with limited computational resources. EMBL-EBI is in an ideal position to address these challenges and to allow the scientific community easy access to not just raw, but also processed RNA-Seq data. We present a Web service to access the results of a systematically and continually updated standardized alignment as well as gene and exon expression quantification of all public bulk (and in the near future also single-cell) RNA-Seq runs in 264 species in European Nucleotide Archive, using Representational State Transfer.

Results

The RNASeq-er API (Application Programming Interface) enables ontology-powered search for and retrieval of CRAM, bigwig and bedGraph files, gene and exon expression quantification matrices (Fragments Per Kilobase Of Exon Per Million Fragments Mapped, Transcripts Per Million, raw counts) as well as sample attributes annotated with ontology terms. To date over 270 00 RNA-Seq runs in nearly 10 000 studies (1PB of raw FASTQ data) in 264 species in ENA have been processed and made available via the API.

Availability and Implementation

The RNASeq-er API can be accessed at http://www.ebi.ac.uk/fg/rnaseq/api. The commands used to analyse the data are available in supplementary materials and at https://github.com/nunofonseca/irap/wiki/iRAP-single-library.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
GenoGAM: genome-wide generalized additive models for ChIP-Seq analysis
Authors: Stricker Georg , Engelhardt Alexander , Schulz Daniel , Schmid Matthias , Tresch Achim , Gagneur Julien
Published: March 2017

Motivation

Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by deep sequencing (ChIP-Seq) is a widely used approach to study protein–DNA interactions. Often, the quantities of interest are the differential occupancies relative to controls, between genetic backgrounds, treatments, or combinations thereof. Current methods for differential occupancy of ChIP-Seq data rely however on binning or sliding window techniques, for which the choice of the window and bin sizes are subjective.

Results

Here, we present GenoGAM (Genome-wide Generalized Additive Model), which brings the well-established and flexible generalized additive models framework to genomic applications using a data parallelism strategy. We model ChIP-Seq read count frequencies as products of smooth functions along chromosomes. Smoothing parameters are objectively estimated from the data by cross-validation, eliminating ad hoc binning and windowing needed by current approaches. GenoGAM provides base-level and region-level significance testing for full factorial designs. Application to a ChIP-Seq dataset in yeast showed increased sensitivity over existing differential occupancy methods while controlling for type I error rate. By analyzing a set of DNA methylation data and illustrating an extension to a peak caller, we further demonstrate the potential of GenoGAM as a generic statistical modeling tool for genome-wide assays.

Availability and Implementation

Software is available from Bioconductor: https://www.bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/GenoGAM.html.

Supplementary information

Supplementary information is available at Bioinformatics online.
Regulation of oxidized platelet lipidome: implications for coronary artery disease
Authors: Chatterjee Madhumita , Rath Dominik , Schlotterbeck Jörg , Rheinlaender Johannes , Walker-Allgaier Britta , Alnaggar Nada , Zdanyte Monika , Müller Iris , Borst Oliver , Geisler Tobias , Schäffer Tilman E. , Lämmerhofer Michael , Gawaz Meinrad
Published: March 2017

Aims

Hyperlipidaemia enhances susceptibility to thrombosis, while platelet oxidixed LDL (oxLDL) binding in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) correlates with activation status. This study explores the platelet lipidome in symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and the functional consequences of the chemokine CXCL12 and its receptors CXCR-4/-7 on lipid uptake in platelets.

Methods and results

Platelet–oxLDL detected by flow cytometry was enhanced (P = 0.04) in CAD patients, moderately correlated with platelet CXCR7 surface expression (ρ = 0.39; P < 0.001), while inversely with CXCR4 (ρ = 0.35; P < 0.001). Platelet–oxLDL was elevated (P = 0.01) in ACS patients with angiographic evidence of intracoronary thrombi. Ex vivo analysis of intracoronary thrombi sections revealed oxLDL deposition in platelet-enriched areas verified by immunofluorescence confocal microscopy. LDL–oxLDL uptake enhanced reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial superoxide generation, intraplatelet LDL to oxLDL conversion, and lipid peroxidation, counteracted by SOD2–mimetic MnTMPyP. Lipidomic analysis revealed enhanced intraplatelet-oxidized phospholipids, cholesteryl esters, sphingomyelin, ceramides, di- and triacylglycerols, acylcarnitines in CAD patients compared with age-matched controls as ascertained by liquid chromatography hyphenated to high-resolution mass spectrometry. LDL–oxLDL induced degranulation, αIIbβ3-integrin activation, apoptosis, thrombin generation estimated by calibrated automated thrombinoscopy, and shape change verified by live imaging using scanning ion conductance microscopy. Further, LDL–oxLDL enhanced thrombus formation ex vivo and in vivo in mice (ferric chloride-induced carotid artery injury). LDL–oxLDL enhanced platelet CXCL12 release, differentially regulated CXCR4–CXCR7 surface exposure, while CXCL12 prompted LDL–oxLDL uptake and synergistically augmented the LDL–oxLDL-induced pro-oxidative, thrombogenic impact on platelet function.

Conclusion

An altered platelet lipidome might be associated with thrombotic disposition in CAD, a mechanism potentially regulated by CXCL12–CXCR4–CXCR7 axis.
Intended Near-Total Removal of Koos Grade IV Vestibular Schwannomas: Reconsidering the Treatment Paradigm
Authors: Zumofen Daniel Walter , Guffi Tommaso , Epple Christian , Westermann Birgit , Krähenbühl Anna-Katharina , Zabka Susanne , Taub Ethan , Bodmer Daniel , Mariani Luigi
Published: March 2017

BACKGROUND

The goals of treating Koos grade IV vestibular schwannomas are to relieve brainstem compression, preserve or restore neurological function, and achieve long-term tumor control while minimizing tumor- and treatment-related morbidity.

OBJECTIVE

To propose a treatment paradigm involving the intentional near-total removal of Koos grade IV vestibular schwannomas, in which a small amount of residual tumor is not dissected off the cisternal portion of the facial nerve. Patients are then followed by a wait-and-scan approach. Any subsequent volumetric progression of the residual tumor is treated with radiosurgery.

METHODS

This is a case series of 44 consecutive unselected patients who underwent intended near-total resection of a Koos grade IV vestibular schwannoma through a retrosigmoid approach from January 2009 to December 2015. Pre- and postoperative volumetric analyses were performed on routine magnetic resonance imaging sequences (constructive interference in steady state and gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted sequence).

RESULTS

The mean preoperative tumor volume was 10.9 cm3. The mean extent of resection was 89%. At the last clinical follow-up, facial nerve function was good [House and Brackmann (HB) I-II] in 89%, fair (HB III) in 9%, and poor (HB IV-VI) in 2% of the patients. At the last radiological follow-up, the residual tumor had become smaller or remained the same size in 84% of patients. Volumetric progression was negatively correlated with the original extent of resection and positively correlated with postoperative residual tumor volume (P = .01, P < .001, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Intended near-total removal results in excellent preservation of facial nerve function and has a low recurrence rate. Any progressive residual tumor may be treated by radiosurgery.
The role of glycaemic and lipid risk factors in mediating the effect of BMI on coronary heart disease: A two-step, two-sample Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Xu Lin , Borges Maria Carolina , Hemani Gibran , Lawlor Deborah A
Published: March 2017

Background

The extent to which effects of BMI on coronary heart disease (CHD) are mediated by gylcaemic and lipid risk factors is unclear.

Methods

We used two-sample Mendelian randomization to determine the causal effect of: (i) BMI on CHD (60,801 cases; 123, 504 controls), type 2 diabetes (T2DM; 34,840 cases; 114,981 controls), fasting glucose (n=46,186), insulin (n=38,238), HbA1c(n=46,368), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides (n=188,577); (ii) glycaemic and lipids traits on CHD; and (iii) extent to which these traits mediated any effect of BMI on CHD.

Findings

One standard deviation (SD) increase in BMI (~ 4.5kg/m2) increased CHD (odds ratio=1.45 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.27, 1.66)) and T2DM (1.96 (1.35, 2.83)), and levels of fasting glucose (0.07mmol/l (95%CI 0.03, 0.11)), HbA1c(0.05% (95%CI 0.01, 0.08)), fasting insulin (0.18log pmol/l (95%CI 0.14, 0.22)) and triglycerides (0.20 SD (95%CI 0.14, 0.26)), and lowered levels of HDL-C (−0.23 SD (95%CI −0.32, −0.15)). BMI was not causally related to LDL-C. After accounting for potential pleiotropy, triglycerides, HbA1cand T2DM were causally related to CHD. The BMI-CHD effect reduced from 1.45 to 1.16 (95%CI 0.99, 1.36) and to 1.36 (95%CI 1.19, 1.57) with genetic adjustment for triglycerides or HbA1crespectively, and to 1.09 (95%CI 0.94, 1.27) with adjustment for both.

Interpretation

Increased triglyceride levels and poor glycaemic control appear to mediate much of the effect of BMI on CHD.

Funding

European Research Council (669545), European Union (733206), China Medical Board (CMB_2015/16), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico and UK Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12013/5).
Sex-associated autosomal DNA methylation differences are wide-spread and stable throughout childhood
Authors: Suderman Matthew , Simpkin Andrew , Sharp Gemma , Gaunt Tom , Lyttleton Oliver , McArdle Wendy , Ring Susan , Davey Smith George , Relton Caroline
Published: March 2017

Almost all species show sexual discordance in many traits and diseases. DNA methylation is known to contribute to these differences through well-established mechanisms including X-inactivation in females, imprinting and parent-of-origin effects. Here we investigate sex discordance in DNA methylation throughout childhood in a sample of 700 individuals from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. We show that autosomal sex-discordant methylation is widespread, affecting approximately 12,000 CpG sites at any given age, and stable; at least 8,500 sites are consistently different across all time points and a large proportion discordant in both the fetal and adult brain cortices. Just over 1,000 methylation differences change from birth to late adolescence, 90% of these between birth and around age seven. Sexually discordant CpG sites are enriched in genomic loci containing androgen but not estrogen targets and in genes involved in tissue development but not housekeeping functions. A methylation-derived sex score capturing the variance was calculated at each time point and found to be highly correlated between time points. This score is nominally associated with sex hormone levels in childhood as well as some phenotypes previously linked to sex hormone levels. These findings suggest that sex-discordant autosomal DNA methylation is widespread throughout the genome, likely due to the first androgen exposuresin utero.It is then stably maintained from birth to late adolescence. Methylation variation at sex-discordant sites within the sexes, as summarized by the methylation sex score, likely reflectsin uteroandrogen exposure which is relevant to human health.

Significance Statement

Although we know that sex hormones are critical for establishing sexual discordance, less is known about how this discordance is achieved and maintained. Here we present evidence for widespread differences in DNA methylation between male and female children. We show that most of these differences are established prenatally, likely due to the first androgen exposuresin utero,and then stably maintained throughout childhood, despite extreme fluctuations in the levels of these very same hormones. Our results support a role for DNA methylation as a means for recording and maintaining the effects of exposure to sex hormones and thus to better understand sexual variation and how it is driven by the prenatal environment.
Are the neural correlates of consciousness in the front or in the back of the cerebral cortex? Clinical and neuroimaging evidence
Authors: Boly Melanie , Massimini Marcello , Tsychiya Naotsugu , Postle Bradley R. , Koch Christof , Tononi Giulio
Published: March 2017

The role of the frontal cortex in consciousness remains a matter of debate. In this Perspective, we will critically review the clinical and neuroimaging evidence for the involvement of the front versus back of the cortex in specifying conscious contents and discuss promising research avenues.
Population genomics and the evolution of virulence in the fungal pathogenCryptococcus neoformans
Authors: Desjardins Christopher A. , Giamberardino Charles , Sykes Sean M. , Yu Chen-Hsin , Tenor Jennifer L. , Chen Yuan , Yang Timothy , Jones Alexander M. , Sun Sheng , Haverkamp Miriam R. , Heitman Joseph , Litvintseva Anastasia P. , Perfect John R. , Cuomo Christina A.
Published: March 2017

Cryptococcus neoformansis an opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes approximately 625,000 deaths per year from nervous system infections. Here, we leveraged a unique, genetically diverse population ofC. neoformansfrom sub-Saharan Africa, commonly isolated from mopane trees, to determine how selective pressures in the environment coincidentally adaptedC. neoformansfor human virulence. Genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of 387 isolates, representing the global VNI and African VNB lineages, highlighted a deep, non-recombining split in VNB (herein VNBI and VNBII). VNBII was enriched for clinical samples relative to VNBI, while phenotypic profiling of 183 isolates demonstrated that VNBI isolates were significantly more resistant to oxidative stress and more heavily melanized than VNBII isolates. Lack of melanization in both lineages was associated with loss-of-function mutations in theBZP4transcription factor. A genome-wide association study across all VNB isolates revealed sequence differences between clinical and environmental isolates in virulence factors and stress response genes. Inositol transporters and catabolism genes, which process sugars present in plants and the human nervous system, were identified as targets of selection in all three lineages. Further phylogenetic and population genomic analyses revealed extensive loss of genetic diversity in VNBI, suggestive of a history of population bottlenecks, along with unique evolutionary trajectories for mating type loci. These data highlight the complex evolutionary interplay between adaptation to natural environments and opportunistic infections, and that selection on specific pathways may predispose isolates to human virulence.
Genotyping of zebrafish embryos fixed by paraformaldehyde
Authors: Yang Xiaojie , Gu Qilin
Published: March 2017

The rapid generation of various species and strains of zebrafish using CRISPR/Cas9 technology has dramatically accelerated the interrogation of gene function invivo. So far, several approaches for genotyping of unfixed genome-modified animals have been successfully developed, such as Surveyor assays, T7 endonuclease 1 (T7E1) assays, High Resolution Melt Analysis (HRMA) and PAGE-based genotyping approach. However, there is few published genotyping protocol for the embryos of lethal zebrafish mutants fixed by paraformaldehyde. We have designed this genotyping protocol so that it can be performed in a single step with reliable results. The protocol covers all steps to obtain the genotypes.
Analysis of food insufficiency transition and determinants in rural Nigeria
Authors: Apata Temidayo
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the dynamics of food insufficiency and its determinants among farming households in Southwestern Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

A combination of cluster and systematic random sampling was used to select 40 households in each local government area of the selected two states. This gives a total of 160 households per state and 320 households in all for the first data collection. Visiting the same households during the second data collection, only 150 households’ data were useful for analysis. Panel primary data were adopted and they were collected in two periods of late and early rain, respectively, over a period of nine months. Primary data were collected with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire, administered on farming households in the area of study. The needed information was collected through the use of interview schedules/questionnaires.

Findings

The transition of food insufficiency households to food sufficiency indicated a differential of 4.25 percent, and the transition of food sufficiency to food insufficiency a differential of 9.33 percent. During the agricultural harvest season more households moved to food sufficiency status (16 percent), while off season insufficiency status was 25.3 percent. The probability of households escaping food insufficiency is 0.25, and the probability of households entering food insufficiency is 0.38. The study provides evidence of transient and high incidence of food insufficiency.

Originality/value

Past studies of this nature only captured the food insufficiency status of households using a snapshot study. Hence, this study brought in innovation by examining the dynamics of food sufficiency/insufficiency in two periods. Therefore the question this study asks is: can a farm-household be food sufficient over a particular period of time and food insufficient in other time?
Behavioral approach to food waste: an experiment
Authors: Jagau Henrik Luis , Vyrastekova Jana
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of behavioral interventions and nudging in dealing with the food waste problem. In particular, the authors implement an information campaign aiming to increase consumers’ awareness of the food waste problem.

Design/methodology/approach

In the period of three weeks, the authors observe intentions to prevent food waste and actual food waste of the consumers in a university restaurant serving ready meals. During the intervention period, consumers are exposed to an information campaign, designed to avoid consumers’ insufficient planning problem.

Findings

Consumers are willing to pay the same price for less food more often during the campaign than before the campaign, but the approximated impact on the food waste is not significant. Social emotions of guilt and shame are linked to consumers’ intentions to prevent food waste, suggesting channels to be included in a successful information campaign nudging consumers toward food waste reduction.

Research limitations/implications

The authors were not able to measure precisely food waste, but observed consumers in a real-life context. Consumers were not aware of the study, and made daily purchase decisions before and after the information campaign.

Social implications

Consumer behavior is at the core of the food waste problem in developed countries. It is important to understand how consumers can be nudged at low cost, using an information campaign, to change their attitude to food waste, and to decrease food waste.

Originality/value

The authors collected an original dataset on the impact of an information campaign, observing behavior of consumers in a real-life context.
Nutritional evaluation and utilisation of composite whole flours for making functional cookies rich in β-glucan and isoflavones
Authors: Kaur Jaspreet , Kaur Amarjeet , Singh Jaspreet
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the bioactive ingredients of whole flours of oat, maize and soyabean, utilise them for developing functional cookies and evaluate their physical and nutritional quality parameters.

Design/methodology/approach

Cookies were prepared from blends of whole flours of wheat, oats, maize and full fat soyabean. Whole wheat and oat flours were blend in different proportions (100:0, 80:20, 60:40, 40:60 and 20:80 and 0:100, wheat:oat, w/w) and supplemented with quality protein maize (QPM) and full fat soyabean flours, at 10 per cent (w/w) each, of the total blend. Cookies were studied for their physical attributes, proximate and nutritional compositions. A significant (p=0.05) increase in spread ratio, crude protein, crude fat and crude fibre contents of the cookies was observed with increase in the proportion of oat flour in the blend.

Findings

Cookies prepared from blend containing QPM and soyabean flours had higher antioxidant activity than control whole wheat cookies. An increase in extractable β-glucan content and in-vitro protein digestibility was also observed with the increase in the proportion of oat flour. The highest overall acceptability was observed for cookies prepared from blends having a wheat–oat proportion of 60:40. These cookies also had a 17.5 per cent higher genistein content as compared to their raw flour blend. Higher genistein levels were observed in the composite cookies.

Originality/value

The cookies prepared from composite whole flours rich in isoflavones and β-glucan reflect their potential as a new functional food for the prevention and management of diseases such as cancers, diabetes and cardiovascular disorders.
The food safety culture in a large South African food service complex
Authors: Griffith Christopher J. , Jackson Linda M. , Lues Ryk
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess elements of food safety management and food safety culture within a prominent South African entertainment, hotel and food service complex.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper a qualitative case study approach was used. Following a comprehensive literature review, based on factors known to be important in developing a food safety culture, in combination with national and international food safety standards, an interview guide was constructed and utilised in a series of semi-structured interviews. The interviewees represented different management levels involved in food delivery but did not include board level managers.

Findings

Many of the factors considered important in good food safety management, including the presence of a formal food safety policy and the creation and maintenance of a positive food safety culture, were absent. Although a formal system of internal hygiene auditing existed and food safety training was provided to food handlers they were not integrated into a comprehensive approach to food safety management. Food safety leadership, communication and support were considered deficient with little motivation for staff to practise good hygiene.

Originality/value

Food safety culture is increasingly recognised as a contributory factor in foodborne disease outbreaks and is the focus of increasing research. However, although every food business has a unique food safety culture there are relatively few published papers concerning its analysis, application and use within specific businesses. This case study has identified food safety culture shortcomings within a large food service facility suggesting there was a potentially significant food safety risk and indicates ways in which food safety could be improved and the risk reduced. The results also suggest further work is needed in the subject of food safety culture and its potential for reducing foodborne disease.
The effects of customer accountability and knowledge sharing on voluntary organizations’ (VOs) effectiveness
Authors: Mohd Noor Nurul Hidayana , Abu Bakar Ah Siti Hajar , Idris Mohd Awang
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This study aims to examine how the relationship between customer accountability and voluntary organizations’ effectiveness is mediated by knowledge sharing.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a cross-sectional survey and a structured questionnaire, data were collected from 349 employees of Malaysian voluntary organizations (VOs). Baron and Kenny’s (1986) procedures for mediation testing were adopted for the main analysis.

Findings

Results of structural equation modelling indicated that knowledge sharing partially mediates the relationship between and voluntary organizations’ effectiveness.

Research limitations/implications

Despite the authors’ contribution on the current academia, this study only investigated 349 employees representing VOs located in a single area, which is the Klang Valley area, Malaysia. Further research could identify a larger sample that would strengthen the inferences and conclusions.

Practical implications

The main practical implication is that Malaysian VOs need to be aware of the impact of customer accountability upon their voluntary organizations’ effectiveness, and they need to inculcate their employees’ knowledge sharing behaviour to foster the impact of customer accountability on voluntary organizations’ effectiveness.

Originality/value

This paper is unique in that it is the first attempt to combine the previous direct effect relationship into a new model that shows the effect of customer accountability on voluntary organizations’ effectiveness and the role of knowledge sharing as a mediator in the context of Malaysian voluntary sector.
Accomplishments and relevance of consumer protection organizations
Authors: Ryngelblum Arnaldo L. , Vianna Nadia
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Despite the special attention given to consumers by the business and academic literature, the dissatisfaction of Brazilian consumers has increased significantly. This manifest mainly through the initiation of complaints’ procedures against companies at Procon and other civil society consumer protection organizations (CPOs) that began to take over these issues complementarily to governmental action. This paper aims to examine the accomplishments and relevance of these organizations in protecting consumers and in preparation of related public policies.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative case study was conducted involving an in-depth collection of information about a restricted system, which included multiple sources. The information was obtained through semi-structured interviews conducted with CPOs’ executives and documents from the other participating organizations in the consumer protection field.

Findings

The CPOs have been positively evaluated by participants from the consumer protection field, for their effective action in the intermediation of complaints and in proposing laws and regulations on consumer protection. However, this picture is contrasted with the difficulties imposed by the practices of other field logics, such as legal procedures, media priorities and business interests that, however, collaborate in various occasions.

Research limitations/implications

CPOs’ relevance is more easily evaluated through social legitimation such as endorsements and declarations by the media, the public, by the CPOs’ own publicity and so on. As consumers can choose from alternative channels for redress, firms should be updated with the different procedural norms of each.

Originality/value

This paper draws a picture of the work developed by CPOs and indicates a possible assessment of their relevance in a scenario of logics complexity, which can be useful for policy makers.
Evaluation and prioritization of service quality dimensions based on gap analysis with analytic network process
Authors: Dabestani Reza , Shahin Arash , Saljoughian Mohammad
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify customers’ critical demands through evaluating and prioritizing service quality dimensions (SQDs) based on service quality (SQ) gaps.

Design/methodology/approach

The customers of four-star hotels were asked to report on their expectations and perceptions about the service they were receiving. Afterwards, the gap between the customers’ expectations and perceptions was calculated. Eventually, the three sets of data were exploited to prioritize SQDs through analytic network process (ANP).

Findings

Findings suggest that security and confidentiality, price, and tangibles are the most crucial factors.

Practical implications

The results can provide hotel managers with insightful hints about those aspects of service that form their customers’ perception of SQ in order to assign their invaluable, but restricted, resources appropriately to offer a more competitive service to the customers through paying attention to those dimensions.

Originality/value

The innovativeness of the methodology was in that the authors proposed a noble method in filling out the difficult-to-complete ANP matrix. The authors also managed to consider the mutual relationship between SQD criteria, which is difficult to do in ordinary methods.
Implementation of Lean Six Sigma in Saudi Arabian organisations
Authors: Albliwi Saja Ahmed , Antony Jiju , Arshed Norin , Ghadge Abhijeet
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Although the popularity of the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology has illustrated many benefits over the years for those organisations who have implemented it, this strategy has received less attention in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to critically assess the current status of LSS implementation in Saudi Arabian organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is based on a descriptive survey questionnaire which has been derived from two systematic literature reviews. The survey was distributed to 400 organisations in Saudi Arabia using Qualtrics online software. In total, 146 responses were received where 102 responses were completed and analysed.

Findings

The findings of the survey highlighted that the implementation of LSS is still in the early stages in organisations within Saudi Arabia. This was clearly shown by many factors such as years of deploying LSS, LSS infrastructure, level of awareness of LSS, impact of LSS on business functions and so on.

Research limitations/implications

The primary limitation of this study is that data has been collected from an online survey and therefore no deeper insights could have been captured from the survey. This calls for future research to be undertaken by executing semi-structured interviews in selective organisations within Saudi Arabia.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the current status of LSS in Saudi Arabian organisations. It also gives recommendations to guide the future of LSS in Saudi organisations by comparing LSS literature with best practice.
Effects of total quality management in local authorities
Authors: Psomas Evangelos , Vouzas Fotis , Bouranta Nancy , Tasiou Mary
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine the main total quality management (TQM) factors adopted and the respective results achieved by local authorities – municipalities. Determining the degree to which TQM influences the respective results is also an aim of the present study.

Design/methodology/approach

A research study was designed to be carried out in Greek local authorities – municipalities, 125 of which were approached through interviews with chief executive officers (CEOs) based on a structured questionnaire. The TQM practices and results identified in the literature were used as measured variables of the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses were applied for the purpose of the study.

Findings

The TQM philosophy is not highly adopted by the Greek local authorities participating in the present study. Moreover, the Greek local authorities do not seem to derive significant TQM benefits. Finally, adopting TQM strongly and positively influences, first, operational and quality performance of the local authorities; second, citizen satisfaction and society results; and third, employee satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

Subjective data were collected from the CEOs of a small sample of local authorities operating in a European Union country, under circumstances of financial crisis. Based on these limitations, future research studies are recommended.

Practical implications

Areas for improvement are identified for a local authority to develop a robust TQM model, approach business excellence and derive significant benefits.

Originality/value

This is the first research study in the field of TQM to be conducted at city-level administration in Greece.
Corporate reputation and reputation risk
Authors: Eckert Christian
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The corporate reputation of a firm and reputation risk is becoming increasingly important because of the rise of social media and the ongoing globalization. While defining and measuring corporate reputation and reputation risk represent the first steps in corporate reputation (risk) management, there is no general agreement in defining and measuring these two terms. Hence, this paper aims to give an overview of the existing literature in this regard, discuss it with respect to the operability in corporate reputation (risk) management and, based on this, present a holistic and consistent approach to define and measure corporate reputation and reputation risk.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper gives an overview of the literature regarding definitions and measurement methods of corporate reputation and reputation risk. Moreover, it discusses such definitions and measurement methods with respect to the operability in corporate reputation (risk) management.

Findings

Based on an overview of the literature regarding definitions and measurement methods of corporate reputation and reputation risk, the authors present a holistic and consistent approach to define and measure corporate reputation and reputation risk.

Originality/value

The authors present an holistic and consistent approach to define and measure corporate reputation and reputation risk with focus on (risk) management purposes.
Can mutual fund flows serve as market risk sentiment?
Authors: Chiu Hsin-Hui , Zhu Lu
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the information content of mutual fund flows and its indication on investors’ preference/tolerance toward risk.

Design/methodology/approach

Mutual funds are grouped into different categories based on assets with different levels of risk perceptions (e.g. equity fund, money market fund), and this information is publicly accessible. This paper examines the correlation patterns between fund flows and changes in credit default swaps (CDS) spreads. In addition, it also examines such a relation by dividing the samples into different fund types (e.g. retail vs institutional fund flows).

Findings

This paper suggests that equity fund flows are negatively related to CDS spreads, whereas money market fund flows are positively related to CDS spreads. Furthermore, it indicates that retail fund flows provide insightful information and serve as the primary driver behind the relation between fund flows and CDS spreads.

Originality/value

The findings of this paper indicate that flows into equity and money market funds could serve as a risk sentiment in credit markets. And this is the first study, to the best of the author’s knowledge, to establish such a linkage between fund flows and CDS spreads to help investors gauge credit market sentiment.
Numerical analysis for force distribution along the swing jaw plate of a single toggle jaw crusher
Authors: Deepak B.B.V.L. , Bahubalendruni M.V.A. Raju
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this research work is helpful for recognizing the crushing characteristics of a single toggle jaw crusher during its operation. It is useful for designing a new prototype of this kind of machine with optimal dimensions of the jaw crusher frame and the crushing chamber.

Design/methodology/approach

The efficiency of the jaw crusher primarily depends on the kinematic characteristics of the swing jaw plate during the crushing process. The present research work deals with the kinematic analysis of the swing jaw plate of a single toggle jaw crusher.

Findings

During the analysis, the system is considered as a four-bar crank rocker mechanism. The force distribution is analyzed based on the results obtained from the motion analysis of the swing jaw plate.

Originality/value

The movement of the swing jaw plate is explained in detail while the machine is in operation. Kinematic analysis of the liner has been performed by considering some points along the swing jaw plate. The results obtained from the movement analysis of the swing jaw plate force distribution along the liner are analyzed. From this analysis, the chamber geometry can be optimized according to the requirement for the crushing motion of different zones in the crushing chamber.
An efficient architecture for carry select adder
Authors: Dhandapani Vaithiyanathan
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Adders play a vital role in almost all digital designs, as all four arithmetic operations can be confined within addition. Hence, area and power optimization of the adders will result in overall circuit optimization. Being the fastest adder, the carry select adder (CSLA) gains higher importance among the different adder styles. However, it suffers from the drawback of increased power and area. The implementation of CSLA in digital circuits requires lots of study for optimization. Hence, to overcome this problem, various improvements were made to the CSLA structure to reduce area and, consequently, reduce power. Among these, modified CSLAs show a significant improvement, as they utilize a binary excess-1 code (BEC) to replace the add-one circuit.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents further enhancement in the modified CSLA by proposing a decision-based CSLA, which activates BEC on demand. This leads to reduced switching activity. The performance of the proposal is done by analyzing and comparing it with different adders. The comparison is done on the basis of three performance parameters: area, speed and power consumption. This is done by implementing the architecture on Xilinx Virtex5 XC5VLX30 in Verilog environment and is synthesized using Cadence® RTL Compiler® using TSMC 180-nm CMOS cell library.

Findings

Optimization of power, area and increasing the speed of operation are the three main areas of research in very-large-scale integration (VLSI) design for portable devices. As adders are the most fundamental units for any VLSI design, optimization at the adder level has a huge impact on the overall circuit. The modified CSLA has a BEC which continuously switches irrespective of the previous carry bit generated. The unwanted switching results in excess power consumption while also introducing additional delay. Hence, the author has proposed a decider circuit to avoid this excess switching activity. This allows switching of the BEC only when a previous carry is generated. The modified CSLA is based on the ripple carry adder, while the decider-based CSLA utilizes a carry look-ahead adder. This makes a decider-based CSLA faster while utilizing less area and power consumption when compared to the modified CSLA.

Originality/value

The efficiency of the proposed decider-based CSLA has been verified using Cadence RTL Compiler using TSMC 180-nm CMOS cell library and has been found to have 17 per cent power and 11.57 per cent area optimization when compared to the modified CSLA, while maintaining operating frequency.