bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing reveals gut microbial changes in 6-hydroxydopamine-induced Parkinson’s disease mice
Authors: Choi Jin Gyu , Huh Eugene , Kim Namkwon , Kim Dong-Hyun , Oh Myung Sook
Published: May 2019

Recently, there has been a rapid increase in studies on the relationship between brain diseases and gut microbiota, and clinical evidence on gut microbial changes in Parkinson’s disease (PD) has accumulated. 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is a widely used neurotoxin that leads to PD pathogenesis, but whether the alterations of gut microbial community in 6-OHDA-treated mice has not been investigated. Here we performed the 16S rRNA gene sequencing to analyze changes in gut microbial community of mice. We found that there were no significant changes in species richness and its diversity in the 6-OHDA-lesioned mice. The relative abundance ofLactobacillus gasseriandL. reuteriprobiotic species in feces of 6-OHDA-lesioned mice was significantly decreased compared with those of sham-operated mice, while the commensal bacteriumBacteroides acidifaciensin 6-OHDA-treated mice was remarkably higher than sham-operated mice. These results provides a baseline for understanding the microbial communities of 6-OHDA-induced PD model to investigate the role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of PD.
The impact of credit on the technical efficiency of maize-producing households in Northern Ghana
Authors: Martey Edward , Wiredu Alexander N. , Etwire Prince M. , Kuwornu John K.M.
Published: May 2019

Purpose

Production credit is essential for enhancing the technical efficiency (TE) and the welfare of smallholder farmers in Africa. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of credit on smallholders’ TE using cross-sectional data from 223 maize-producing households in Northern Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

Due to the exogenous assignment of credit and assumption of homogeneity in farm technologies, the propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was used to compare the average difference in TE between farmers that had received credit and those that had not.

Findings

The results revealed that production credit impacts positively on smallholder farmers’ TE. Access to production credit is significantly influenced by access to markets and extension services, distance to market, asset index and land fragmentation. The provision of credit enhances the timely purchase and efficient allocation of farming inputs to produce the maximum possible output. Per capita income and land fragmentation also play important roles in reducing smallholders’ TE.

Practical implications

To increase efficiency gains, credit programs for agricultural interventions should target resource-poor smallholder farmers. The efficiency gains can be sustained through stronger partnerships with financial institutions. Policy interventions aimed at increasing smallholder farmers’ access to production credit (e.g. through the creation of a conducive investment environment that lowers the lending rate and collateral requirements) must be vigorously pursued.

Originality/value

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is one of the only recent studies to examine the impact of credit on the TE of farming households by applying the translog stochastic frontier production function and the PSM approaches.
Six Sigma metrics based on lognormal distribution for life tests
Authors: Joghee Ravichandran
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an approach for studying the Six Sigma metrics when the underlying distribution is lognormal.

Design/methodology/approach

The Six Sigma metrics are commonly available for normal processes that are run in the long run. However, there are situations in reliability studies where non-normal distributions are more appropriate for life tests. In this paper, Six Sigma metrics are obtained for lognormal distribution.

Findings

In this paper, unlike the normal process, for lognormal distribution, there are unequal tail probabilities. Hence, the sigma levels are not the same for left-tail and right-tail defects per million opportunities (DPMO). Also, in life tests, while left-tail probability is related to DPMO, the right tail is considered as extremely good PMO. This aspect is introduced and based on which the sigma levels are determined for different parameter settings and left- and right-tail probability combinations. Examples are given to illustrate the proposed approach.

Originality/value

Though Six Sigma metrics have been developed based on a normality assumption, there have been no studies for determining the Six Sigma metrics for non-normal processes, particularly for life test distributions in reliability studies. The Six Sigma metrics developed here for lognormal distribution is new to the practitioners, and this will motivate the researchers to do more work in this field of research.
“An undisturbed afternoon of writing”: a qualitative study of professors’ job satisfaction
Authors: Larsson Gerry , Alvinius Aida
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to model factors that contribute to job satisfaction among university professors.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach was qualitative; 12 in-depth interviews were conducted with Swedish university full professors representing 11 different academic subjects.

Findings

Five facets of job satisfaction were identified: distal environment (e.g. impact on society and the scientific community), proximal social environment, self (e.g. receiving external credit and experiencing internal pride), the uplifts of daily life and formal conditions (e.g. pay and opportunities to continue after retirement). A model was inductively developed according to which professors’ job satisfaction is influenced by interacting contextual and individual antecedent conditions.

Research limitations/implications

Because a qualitative approach was used, with a limited number of informants, there is a lack of representativeness and the concepts generated are of a sensitizing rather than a definitive character.

Practical implications

Attention should be paid to university professors’ need for autonomy, otherwise public management control strivings may become counter-productive.

Originality/value

A new model of professors’ job satisfaction with a richness of details was developed.
Global financial economic crisis transmission on the transition economy
Authors: Alymkulova Nargiza , Ganiev Junus
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The global financial crisis hit the economy of the Kyrgyz Republic by the third wave of its transmission in early 2009. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the global financial economic crisis on the transition economy of the Kyrgyz Republic. As there is a low level of the Kyrgyz Republic’s integration into the global financial and economic processes, it is obvious that channels of transmissions are different.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical model is the vector autoregression approach. The quarterly data from 2005 to 2013 of the remittances from abroad, trade volumes, exchange rates, credits, deposits and liquidity of the banking system, gross domestic product (GDP) and foreign direct investment (FDI) were used in the empirical analysis.

Findings

The authors found a significant positive relation between transmission channels such as remittances flow, banking sector, international trade and GDP within the first six months. Thus, a decline in the aforementioned variables has a significant affirmative effect on the country’s GDP. Notwithstanding, the exchange-rate channel adversely influences GDP. Thereby, the depreciation of the national currency leads to an increase in GDP.

Originality/value

The study findings allow the Kyrgyz policymakers to foresee the global crisis transmission through the primary channels of transmission mechanism. Nevertheless, a decrease of the deposit level by 1 per cent leads to 2.91 per cent decline in FDI inflows. On the contrary, an increase of the exchange rate by 1 per cent leads to 1.54 per cent decrease in imports.
The “betrayal effect” on post-acquisition integration
Authors: Razi Nazila , Garrick John
Published: May 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to draw on Latour’s (1991) conceptual “performative” framework to investigate the role of management control systems (MCSs) in the establishment of post-acquisition integration. The study adopts a qualitative case study approach, where data are collected and analysed from an Australian company which had recently completed a number of acquisitions. Findings demonstrate the performative powers and effects of MCSs, which contribute to shaping customer and sales integration activities, including the forms some resistance may take. In this case, a bitter betrayal was perceived to have occurred in an early stage of the merger, and this paper argues that the use of a performative theoretical framework has enabled subsequent post-acquisition integration strategies to be rendered more visible and thus actionable.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts a qualitative approach where data are collected and analysed from an Australian case study company which had recently completed a number of acquisitions. Research methods used include semi-structured interviews, a review of archival documents and observations to capture daily integration activities and practices of actors operating in the company.

Findings

Findings demonstrate the performative powers and effects of MCSs, which structure customer and sales integration activities and make post-acquisition integration relations strategy visible and actionable.

Research limitations/implications

Findings are only on one case study, and there is a need to undertake further detailed case studies across a range of industries and timeframes, plus, where possible, revisit such studies post hoc to assess the stability of success of the integration.

Practical implications

Integration strategy and strategic change may be constituted by non-human actants such as MCSs. Practitioners who are engaged in acquisitions and making integration decisions need to recognise that MCSs do not merely play a subordinate role to integration strategies, but rather is an important moderating variable that play an active role in their formulation, configuration and enactment.

Originality/value

A performative approach is taken to provide a broader analytical framework for analysing the construction and sustaining of post‐acquisition integration relations, where there is no distinction between technical and social dimensions of action but, rather, the two are merged. This makes it possible to overcome the limitations inherent in existing theoretical frameworks. Using this approach, integration relations involve construction of a network of entities that are enrolled to support, create and sustain the integration.
Mechanical property and reliability of bimodal nano-silver paste with Ag-coated SiC particles
Authors: Zhang Qiaoran , Zehri Abdelhafid , Liu Jiawen , Ke Wei , Huang Shirong , Latorre Martí Gutierrez , Wang Nan , Lu Xiuzhen , Zhou Cheng , Xia Weijuan , Wu Yanpei , Ye Lilei , Liu Johan
Published: May 2019

Purpose

This study aims to develop a bimodal nano-silver paste with improved mechanical property and reliability. Silicon carbide (SiC) particles coated with Ag were introduced in nano-silver paste to improve bonding strength between SiC and Ag particles and enhance high-temperature stability of bimodal nano-silver paste. The effect of sintering parameters such as sintering temperature, sintering time and the proportion of SiC particles on mechanical property and reliability of sintered bimodal nano-silver structure were investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

Sandwich structures consist of dummy chips and copper substrates with nickel and silver coating bonded by nano-silver paste were designed for shear testing. Shear strength testing was conducted to study the influence of SiC particles proportions on the mechanical property of sintered nano-silver joints. The reliability of the bimodal nano-silver paste was evaluated experimentally by means of shear test for samples subjected to thermal aging test at 150°C and humidity and temperature testing at 85°C and 85 per cent RH, respectively.

Findings

Shear strength was enhanced obviously with the increase of sintering temperature and sintering time. The maximum shear strength was achieved for nano-silver paste sintered at 260°C for 10 min. There was a negative correlation between the proportion of SiC particles and shear strength. After thermal aging testing and humidity and temperature testing for 240 h, the shear strength decreased a little. High-temperature stability and high-hydrothermal stability were improved by the addition of SiC particles.

Originality/value

Submicron-scale SiC particles coated with Ag were used as alternative materials to replace part of nano-silver particles to prepare bimodal nano-silver paste due to its high thermal conductivity and excellent mechanical property.
Binding legacies: ancestor, archetype and Other
Authors: Brewster Fanny
Published: May 2019

This article discusses the multicultural interconnection between Jungian analysts’ training and Africanist training candidates. The importance of ancestral lineage and archetypal influences in the clinical setting are explored for better understanding of issues related to the transference and therapeutic interventions. A discussion of racial relations and racism is addressed as a frequently missing element in the psychoanalytical training of future Jungian analysts.
African American cultural history and reflections on Jung in the African Diaspora
Authors: Vaughan Alan G.
Published: May 2019

Racism is defined as a psychopathology and the ground in which the covenant of whiteness is rooted and mirrored in the system of apartheid structured by American Constitutional Jurisprudence between 1857 and 1954. This historical period overshadowed Carl Jung's visit to America between 1909 and 1937. The spirit of the times and practices of racism coloured Jung's views, attitudes, and theories about African Americans, just as colonialism coloured his attitudes toward Africa and Africans. Consequently Jung failed to see the African Diaspora and the extraordinary intellectual and artistic period of the Harlem Renaissance (1919‐1929). Its introduction here foregrounds the exceptionalism of African Americans and the cultural continuity of African ancestry. This exceptionalism was not seen by Jung and there have been no attempts to redress its omission from analytical psychology and other sub‐disciplines of Western psychology. Jung's theories of personality and psychoanalysis and his negative projections about primitivism among Africans and African American ‘Negroes’ would have been mediated by knowledge of a legislated American apartheid and the Harlem Renaissance which occurred within the barriers of apartheid. In this paper I posit that culture, kinship libido, and the African principle of Ubuntu are healing modalities that play a critical role in instinct and the relational ground of human psychology and biology, from which culture as an environmental expression constellates around common goals of the human species. Cultural equivalencies and expressions within the wisdom traditions and mythologies of the Africa Diaspora are considered. Specifically, the Bantu principle of Ubuntu or ‘humanity’ is identified as the relational ground in African cultures, while the Kemetic‐Egyptian deity Maat, as an archetypal anima figure and the religio‐mythology offer a transcendent position from which to critique the inequities and constitutional jurisprudence that structured American apartheid. Maat is the personification of truth, justice, balance and weighing of the heart in orderly judicial processes. In her we find the alignment of the spirit and matter in the law and judgement. The paper concludes with reflections on pathways toward healing the psychopathology of racism and recommendations to enhance clinical training and practice.
‘Just black sometimes’, part 2: reflections on an adolescent's journey
Authors: Tyminski Robert
Published: May 2019

In this second article about work at a refugee centre for unaccompanied minors in Berlin, the author discusses his encounter with Syrian and Afghani adolescents who were enrolled in the program. Issues around adaptation to a new culture are explored with attention to the dynamics of conformity and marginalization. The questions of what happens to adolescent refugees separated from their families, and how their identity formation is shaped by this burden is explored in relation to the author's meeting with a Syrian adolescent living in Berlin. To illustrate the long reach of a missing father who has been left behind, characters from Virgil's Aeneid are discussed to amplify heroic and spiritual aspects within father‐son relationships. The interplay between needing help and allowing for resilience is explored as an important aspect of refugees’ transitions, while also considering variables such as dependence and independence, foreign and familiar, being with or without family, and adjusting to the present and/whilst relating to the past; tensions between these alternatives can create various psychosocial challenges for adolescent refugees.
Changes in hospital service demand, cost, and patient illness severity following health reform
Authors: Pickens Gary , Karaca Zeynal , Gibson Teresa B. , Cutler Eli , Dworsky Michael , Moore Brian , Wong Herbert S.
Published: May 2019

Objective

To estimate the effects of the health insurance exchange and Medicaid coverage expansions on hospital inpatient and emergency department (ED) utilization rates, cost, and patient illness severity, and also to test the association between changes in outcomes and the size of the uninsured population eligible for coverage in states.

Data Sources

Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient and Emergency Department Databases, 2011‐2015, Nielsen Demographic Data, and the American Community Survey.

Study Design

Retrospective study using fixed‐effects regression to estimate the effects in expansion and nonexpansion states by age/sex demographic groups.

Findings

In Medicaid expansion states, rates of uninsured inpatient discharges and ED visits fell sharply in many demographic groups. For example, uninsured inpatient discharge rates across groups, except young females, decreased by ≥39 percent per capita on average in expansion states. In nonexpansion states, uninsured utilization rates remained unchanged or increased slightly (0‐9.2 percent). Changes in all‐payer and private insurance rates were more muted. Changes in inpatient costs per discharge were negative, and all‐payer inpatient costs per discharge declined <6 percent in most age/sex groups. The size of the uninsured population eligible for coverage was strongly associated with changes in outcomes. For example, among males aged 35‐54 years in expansion states, there was a 0.793 percent decrease in the uninsured discharge rate per unit increase in the coverage expansion ratio (the ratio of the size of the population eligible for coverage to the size of the previously covered population within an age/sex/payer/geographic group).

Conclusions

Significant shifts in cost per discharge and patient severity were consistent with selective take‐up of insurance. The “treatment intensity” of expansions may be useful for anticipating future effects.
Probiotics in Goat Milk Products: Delivery Capacity and Ability to Improve Sensory Attributes
Authors: Ranadheera C. S. , Evans C. A. , Baines S. K. , Balthazar Celso F. , Cruz Adriano G. , Esmerino Erick A. , Freitas Mônica Q. , Pimentel Tatiana C. , Wittwer A. E. , Naumovski N. , Graça Juliana S. , Sant'Ana Anderson S. , Ajlouni S. , Vasiljevic T.
Published: May 2019

Dairy foods, particularly those of bovine origin, are the predominant vehicles for delivery of probiotic bacteria. Caprine (goat) milk also possesses potential for successful delivery of probiotics, and despite its less appealing flavor in some products, the use of goat milk as a probiotic carrier has rapidly increased over the last decade. This review reports on the diversity, applicability, and potential of using probiotics to enhance the sensory properties of goat milk and goat milk‐based products. A brief conceptual introduction to probiotic microorganisms is followed by an account of the unique physicochemical, nutritive, and beneficial aspects of goat milk, emphasizing its advantages as a probiotic carrier. The sensory properties of probiotic‐enriched goat milk products are also discussed. The maintenance of probiotic viability and desirable physicochemical characteristics in goat milk products over shelf life is possible. However, the unpleasant sensory features of some goat milk products remain a major disadvantage that hinder its wider utilization. Nevertheless, certain measures such as fortification with selected probiotic strains, inclusion of fruit pulps and popular flavor compounds, and production of commonly consumed tailor‐made goat milk‐based products have potential to overcome this limitation. In particular, certain probiotic bacteria release volatile compounds as a result of their metabolism, which are known to play a major role in the aroma profile and sensory aspects of the final products.
Mechanisms of Neuroprotective Effects of Peptides Derived from Natural Materials and Their Production and Assessment
Authors: Lee Seung Yun , Hur Sun Jin
Published: May 2019

In this review, we provide an overview of the main mechanisms by which peptides derived from natural materials exhibit neuroprotective effects. We also review methods for the production of these peptides and various methods for determining their neuroprotective effects in vitro and in vivo. Neuroprotective peptides are closely associated with protection against apoptosis, with proteins related to the cell death/survival signaling pathway, with acetylcholine activity and with inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammation. Neuroprotective peptides derived from natural materials typically have a molecular weight below 1 kDa; they are most often derived using the extraction enzymes papain and alcalase. The neuroprotective peptides identified in the literature are mainly composed of hydrophobic amino acids with low molecular weight, with Asp and Glu at the N‐terminal position. These observations may guide the development of novel peptides with potential neuroprotective effects.
Relief of irritable bowel syndrome by fecal microbiota transplantation is associated with changes in diversity and composition of the gut microbiota
Authors: Huang Hong Li , Chen Hui Ting , Luo Qing Ling , Xu Hao Ming , He Jie , Li Yong Qiang , Zhou You Lian , Yao Fei , Nie Yu Qiang , Zhou Yong Jian
Published: May 2019

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for refractory irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Methods

Microbiota suspensions from feces of the donors were injected into the intestines of 30 Chinese patients with refractory IBS. Microbiota composition analysis and genomic DNA extraction of fecal samples obtained from these patients at baseline and 1 month after FMT were performed. Clinical efficacy and safety of FMT were assessed using questionnaires covering four aspects of IBS therapeutic efficacy and assessment of adverse effects during a 6‐month follow‐up.

Results

FMT improved IBS gastrointestinal symptoms and alleviated depression and anxiety, as shown by the improved IBS‐QOL, IBS‐SSS, GSRS, HAMA and HAMD scores at 1 month and 3 months after FMT. A total adverse event rate of FMT was 6.7% (2/30). Gut microbiota analysis revealed that FMT responders had a significantly higher Shannon diversity index before FMT than non‐responders. In addition, analysis of differences in bacterial composition before and after FMT in responders showed specific abundance of the phyla Verrucomincrobia and Euryarchaeota at 1 month after FMT. At the genus level, Methanobrevibacter and Akkermansia were the most abundant fecal microbiota 1 month after FMT compared with those before FMT.

Conclusions

FMT may be an effective and safe therapeutic strategy for treating IBS that achieves a sustained clinical response 3‐6 months after the first procedure. Changes in the diversity and dominant flora may contribute to its therapeutic effect.
Phylogeny‐guided characterization of glycosyltransferases for epothilone glycosylation
Authors: Zhang Peng , Zhang Zheng , Li Zhi‐feng , Chen Qi , Li Yao‐yao , Gong Ya , Yue Xin‐jing , Sheng Duo‐hong , Zhang You‐ming , Wu Changsheng , Li Yue‐zhong
Published: May 2019

Glycosylation of natural products can influence their pharmacological properties, and efficient glycosyltransferases (GTs) are critical for this purpose. The polyketide epothilones are potent anti‐tumour compounds, and YjiC is the only reported GT for the glycosylation of epothilone. In this study, we phylogenetically analysed 8261 GTs deposited in CAZy database and revealed that YjiC locates in a subbranch of the Macrolide I group, forming the YjiC‐subbranch with 160 GT sequences. We demonstrated that the YjiC‐subbranch GTs are normally efficient in epothilone glycosylation, but some showed low glycosylation activities. Sequence alignment of YjiC‐subbranch showed that the 66th and 77th amino acid residues, which were close to the catalytic cavity in molecular docking model, were conserved in five high‐active GTs (Q66 and P77) but changed in two low‐efficient GTs. Site‐directed residues swapping at the two positions in the two low‐active GTs (BssGT and BamGT) and the high‐active GT BsGT‐1 demonstrated that the two amino acid residues played an important role in the catalytic efficiency of epothilone glycosylation. This study highlights that the potent GTs for appointed compounds are phylogenetically grouped with conserved residues for the catalytic efficiency.
Inference of individual ploidy level using codominant markers
Authors: Huang Kang , Dunn Derek W. , Li Zhonghu , Zhang Pei , Dai Yu , Li Baoguo
Published: May 2019

A significant portion of plant species are polyploids, with ploidy levels sometimes varying among individuals and/or populations. Current techniques to determine the individual ploidy, e.g., flow cytometry, chromosome counting or genotyping‐by‐sequencing, are often cumbersome. Based on the genotypic probabilities for polysomic inheritance under double‐reduction, we developed a model to estimate allele frequency and infer the ploidy status of individuals from the allelic phenotypes of codominant genetic markers. The allele frequencies are estimated by an expectation‐maximization algorithm in the presence of null alleles, false alleles, negative amplifications and self‐fertilization, and the posterior probabilities are used to assign individuals into different levels of ploidy. The accuracy of this method under different conditions is evaluated. Our methods are freely available in a new software package,ploidyinfer, for use by other researchers which can be downloaded fromhttp://github.com/huangkang1987/ploidyinfer.
Adverse Childhood Experiences and E‐Cigarette Use During Young Adulthood
Authors: Shin Sunny H. , Conley David , Ksinan Jiskrova Gabriela , Wills Thomas A.
Published: May 2019

Background and Objectives

E‐cigarette use among young people is highly prevalent. Individuals exposed to adverse childhood experiences such as childhood maltreatment (CM) may be at particular risk, as CM has been linked to nicotine dependence. Studies testing the association between CM and e‐cigarette use are lacking, including research that examines pathways linking CM to e‐cigarette use.

Methods

Using a community sample of young adults (N = 208; ages 18‐21), we examined the relationship between CM and e‐cigarette use and explored the potential role of impulsivity in linking CM to e‐cigarette use via a series of structural equation models controlling for demographic characteristics.

Results

CM was significantly associated with lifetime e‐cigarette use. Furthermore, CM was associated with negative urgency (NU), whereas NU and sensation seeking were significantly related to lifetime e‐cigarette use. NU fully mediated the relationship between CM and lifetime e‐cigarette use.

Conclusions and Scientific Significance

Our results suggest that young adults with a history of CM might be vulnerable to e‐cigarette use and that NU played a significant role in linking CM to lifetime e‐cigarette use. Addressing NU in young adults with a history of CM might be a useful avenue for preventing e‐cigarette use in this population. (Am J Addict 2019;28:303–310)
Compression garment service model: Facilitating access to compression garments through workforce and service redesign
Authors: Hall Fiona , Gordon Susan , Hulcombe Julie , Stephens Catherine
Published: May 2019

Problem

Patients in Queensland have had difficulty in accessing lymphoedema services, particularly in rural and remote locations.

Design

The aim was to trial and evaluate a compression garment service model, to provide care for patients with lymphoedema closer to their homes. The service model trialled compression garment, selection, fitting and monitoring services for stabilised malignancy‐related lymphoedema undertaken by generalist therapists.

Setting

Ten Hospital and Health Services in the Queensland public sector.

Key measures for improvements

The patients would have access to safe, quality services closer to their homes.

Strategies for change

The generalists were supported by telehealth coaching and supervision by lymphoedema therapists, an education program, resources and governance processes.

Effects of change

Compression garment selection, fitting and monitoring by generalists (physiotherapists and occupational therapists without Level 1 Lymphoedema training), as defined in the service model, was safe, effective and evaluated positively by patients and health professionals. There was increased access to compression garment services provided by generalist therapists in rural and remote locations.

Lessons learned

The service model implemented has the capacity to address workforce and service provision issues. It provides resources, education and training for clinicians to improve access to the provision of compression garment services.
Cervical re‐explorations and proxy survival following parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism using Australian administrative data
Authors: Purkiss Shaun , Keegel Tessa , Vally Hassan , Wollersheim Dennis
Published: May 2019

Background

Administrative data may have utility in the impartial assessment of surgical outcomes and rare events. We have used a publicly available sample of the Australian pharmaceutical and health service provision (medical benefits scheme) databases to assess outcomes following parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP).

Methods

A cohort study using linked pharmaceutical and medical benefits schemes data was performed covering the period 1993–2014. Procedure codes identified participants undergoing parathyroidectomy for PHP and subsequent cervical re‐exploration surgery (CRX), and the last service date used as a proxy for survival. Time to CRX and survival were modelled using Kaplan–Meier analysis. Demographic data and the era of parathyroid surgery were managed as covariates for Cox regression survival analyses.

Results

A total of 2165 persons undergoing parathyroidectomy for PHP were identified. Median follow‐up was 5.3 years (range 0.2–22). The annual number of parathyroidectomies for PHP increased gradually; 72 individuals underwent CRX (3.3%). The median time to CRX was 152 days (confidence interval 0–396) in 2000–2004 reducing to 47 days (confidence interval 15–78) for the period 2010–2014 (log‐rank P = 0.027). The proportion of persons requiring CRX reduced over time from 6.1% in 1997 to 2.1% in 2012 (r2 = 0.5817, P = 0.023). Overall median survival (24.6 years) was poorer when compared with age matched controls (log‐rank P = 0.025) but was not associated with CRX or gender.

Conclusion

Administrative data can be used for the assessment of surgical outcomes and may be useful for comparisons of surgical performance, and the appraisal of infrequent events. CRX rates following parathyroidectomy for PHP are improving in Australia.
The Role of Negative Information in Distributional Semantic Learning
Authors: Johns Brendan T. , Mewhort Douglas J. K. , Jones Michael N.
Published: May 2019

Distributional models of semantics learn word meanings from contextual co‐occurrence patterns across a large sample of natural language. Early models, such as LSA and HAL (Landauer & Dumais, 1997; Lund & Burgess, 1996), counted co‐occurrence events; later models, such as BEAGLE (Jones & Mewhort, 2007), replaced counting co‐occurrences with vector accumulation. All of these models learned from positive information only: Words that occur together within a context become related to each other. A recent class of distributional models, referred to as neural embedding models, are based on a prediction process embedded in the functioning of a neural network: Such models predict words that should surround a target word in a given context (e.g., word2vec; Mikolov, Sutskever, Chen, Corrado, & Dean, 2013). An error signal derived from the prediction is used to update each word's representation via backpropagation. However, another key difference in predictive models is their use of negative information in addition to positive information to develop a semantic representation. The models use negative examples to predict words that should not surround a word in a given context. As before, an error signal derived from the prediction prompts an update of the word's representation, a procedure referred to as negative sampling. Standard uses of word2vec recommend a greater or equal ratio of negative to positive sampling. The use of negative information in developing a representation of semantic information is often thought to be intimately associated with word2vec's prediction process. We assess the role of negative information in developing a semantic representation and show that its power does not reflect the use of a prediction mechanism. Finally, we show how negative information can be efficiently integrated into classic count‐based semantic models using parameter‐free analytical transformations.
Effect of pigment colour on the printing performance of synthetic leather using a ultraviolet‐curable water‐borne polyurethane acrylate binder
Authors: Baysal Gülçin , Kalav Berdan , Kayaoğlu Burçak Karagüzel
Published: May 2019

The effect of pigment colours, cyan (C), magenta (M) and yellow (Y), and a blend of these (CMYblend) on the printing performance of synthetic leather using a ultraviolet (UV)‐curable water‐borne polyurethane acrylate binder and two types of photoinitiators was investigated. The curing process was carried out at different radiation doses using gallium and mercuryUVlamps in combination. The performance of the prints was evaluated with abrasion resistance, crock fastness, gloss and hardness values andK/S. Chemical changes in the cured film structures due toUVcuring were analysed by Fourier Transform–infrared spectroscopy measurements. The highest hardness values for clear and pigmented cured films were obtained with a gallium and mercury lamp combination at the highest energy density (1529 mJ/cm2). The highestK/Swas obtained for the sample printed with the formulation including the C pigment and cured under a gallium and mercury lamp combination at low energy density (398mJ/cm2). The M‐pigmented film displayed the highest hardness and abrasion resistance, whereas lower values were obtained with films pigmented with Y and C, and CMY blend, successively. The highest dry and wet crock values were obtained with the formulation including the M pigment.CMY‐pigmented film showed the highest gloss values at all energy densities. The pigment colour affected the curing degree of printed films due to the different absorption/transmission intervals of each colour in theUVspectrum.
Are all urban green spaces a favourable habitat for pollinator communities? Bees, butterflies and hoverflies in different urban green areas
Authors: Dylewski Łukasz , Maćkowiak Łukasz , Banaszak‐Cibicka Weronika
Published: May 2019

1. Urban ecosystems create suitable habitats for many plant and animal species, including pollinators. However, heterogenic habitats in city centres and suburban areas have various effects on pollinators due to variations in the composition of vegetation and in landscape management by humans.

2. This study compared the abundance and species richness of three main groups of pollinators – wild bees, butterflies, and hoverflies – in Poznań, western Poland, and in three different types of urban green areas – urban grasslands, urban parks, and green infrastructure in housing estates.

3. The total abundance of pollinators was higher in urban grasslands than in housing estates and urban parks. Species composition of pollinator communities differed between the three habitat types.

4. The study results showed that species richness and abundance of butterflies varied between habitat types, whereas no such differences were found in the case of wild bees and hoverflies. Cover of green area, vegetation structure, and plant height were important for the pollinator community; however, these variables had different effects depending on habitat type.

5. These findings revealed that not all urban green areas are equally valuable in terms of local biodiversity. High‐quality urban habitats such as urban grasslands are capable of supporting rich and abundant populations of pollinators. Therefore, it is important to protect high‐value urban green areas and simultaneously strive to improve intensively managed urban habitats through effective planning and new management practices.
Relative importance of drought, soil quality, and plant species in determining the strength of plant–herbivore interactions
Authors: Kuglerová Marcela , Skuhrovec Jiří , Münzbergová Zuzana
Published: May 2019

1. Although studies on plant–herbivore interactions comparing different plant species are common, little is known about the importance of environmental conditions in determining variation in herbivory within single plant species.

2. This study assessed the effects of experimentally manipulated nutrient and water availability on plant palatability, and compared these differences with differences among species. The extent to which these patterns can be explained by leaf toughness and specific leaf area was also investigated. Six plant species from the subfamily Carduoideae and four free‐living leaf chewing invertebrates were used in the study.

3. Herbivore preferences were significantly affected by soil nutrients and water regime and varied among plant as well as herbivore species. Generally, herbivores preferred watered plants and plants from nutrient‐poor soil. The effects of soil nutrients and water regime differed between the plant and herbivore species. The differences between the plant species were greater than those between the environmental treatments. Differences at both levels could be partly explained by leaf toughness and specific leaf area. Leaf toughness, in particular, turned to be an important predictor indicating that herbivores preferred species with softer leaves, and species from wetter conditions with reduced leaf toughness.

4. The environmental conditions in which plants are growing have significant effects on plant palatability. Between‐species comparisons thus need to pay attention to this variation. Future studies may consider how the effects of current conditions interact with conditions of plant origin to predict possible effects of changes in environmental conditions on the intensity of plant–herbivore interactions.
Dry matter intake, nutrient digestibility, chewing activity, and ruminal fermentation of raising Japanese Black steers fed diets containing whole crop corn silage at three levels
Authors: Hosoda Kenji , Ohmori Hideyuki , Kamiya Mitsuru
Published: May 2019

The effects of the inclusion level of corn silage (CS) in an ensiled total mixed ration (TMR) on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, chewing activity, and ruminal fermentation were investigated. Six Japanese Black steers during the raising period were used in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design with three dietary treatments: a diet containing 40.0%, 52.5%, or 65.0% CS on a dry matter (DM) basis. The three TMRs, in which the crude protein (CP) and DM levels were adjusted, were vacuum‐sealed and then stored for >30 days. Increasing the inclusion level of CS caused lower pH values and higher lactate production in the ensiled TMR. The DM intakes by the animals that received three dietary treatments were identical. The feeding of the TMR with the highest CS inclusion level resulted in slight decreases in total DM digestibility, and content and intake of total digestible nutrients, whereas the nutrient digestibilities (CP, non‐fibrous carbohydrate, acid detergent fiber, and neutral detergent fiber) were not significantly different among the dietary treatments. The eating and ruminating times by the steers fed the TMRs were elongated concomitantly with the increase in the CS inclusion level. The feeding of TMRs with higher CS inclusion led to slower fermentation in the rumen. These findings suggest that a CS inclusion level up to approx. 50% in a TMR should be considered a reasonable level for Japanese Black steers during the raising period.
Team‐based learning and training transfer: a case study of training for the implementation of enterprise resources planning software
Authors: Hart Sharon L. , Steinheider Brigitte , Hoffmeister Vivian E.
Published: May 2019

While traditional models of training such as behavioral modeling (BMT) have been found to enhance training transfer, research suggests that more active learning strategies such as error management (EMT) and team‐based learning (TBL) may be more effective. This paper analyzes BMT, EMT and TBL strategies to train employees on new enterprise resources planning (ERP) software and discusses which training leads to successful procedural and declarative knowledge transfer, knowledge retention and application, and tangible business outcomes. TBL was predicted to be the most effective training type, as it models several components needed to use ERP software in the actual job setting. Overall and procedural knowledge as well as knowledge application scores improved most for TBL participants, while declarative knowledge improved the most in the EMT condition. During training, all conditions showed significant improvement in knowledge application; however, the TBL condition showed the highest knowledge application gains. This paper discusses the elements of TBL that support its use as an effective strategy to increase knowledge transfer in an organizational context.
Is it Time to Phase Out UNDESA's Regional Criterion of Development?
Authors: Ingleby David , Singleton Ann , Wickramage Kolitha
Published: May 2019

International migration to developing countries has attracted increasing attention because of its growing volume in absolute terms and its potential contribution to development. However, conclusions about what is happening in these countries depend crucially on the way migration and development are measured and analysed. This article shows that whether migrant stocks appear to be increasing or decreasing in developing countries depends on three factors: whether a regional or an economic criterion of “development” is used, whether volume is expressed in absolute numbers or as a percentage of total population, and whether the data include refugees and asylum seekers. The policy implications of these findings, which – due to the shortcomings of available data – can only be regarded as provisional, are then discussed. Better quality migration data and analysis informed by the limitations of the data are needed to provide a sound evidence base for current debates about migration policy.
Outstanding plant endemism levels strongly support the recognition ofcampo rupestreprovinces in mountaintops of eastern South America
Authors: Colli‐Silva Matheus , Vasconcelos Thais N. C. , Pirani José Rubens
Published: May 2019

Aim

The Braziliancampo rupestreis a vegetation associated to ancient mountaintops in eastern South America, spread mainly over disjunct areas of the Espinhaço Range and the Chapada dos Veadeiros. These areas hold outstanding levels of plant diversity and endemism, but despite their uniqueness they have been neglected in recent bioregionalizations for the Neotropical region. Given their particular levels of species richness and endemism, we here test the recognition of these as distinct bioregions within the Chacoan dominion.

Location

Mountaintops of eastern South America.

Methods

We listed 1,748 angiosperm species endemic to thecampo rupestreof the Espinhaço Range and Chapada dos Veadeiros regions, based on the data gathered from the Brazilian Flora 2020 Project. We extracted all occurrence information available from GBIF (the Global Biodiversity Information Facility) for such list and also for a polygon gathering all the study area, including information from adjacent vegetations. Data went through standard cleaning procedures and a network clustering analysis was performed to delimitate the boundaries of the new bioregions.

Results

Our data strongly support the recognition of two distinct bioregions along the Espinhaço Range, but none in the Chapada dos Veadeiros. Given their high levels of endemism and singularity within the Chacoan dominion, we formalize two provinces associated tocampo rupestrein the Espinhaço Range, naming them as “Chapada Diamantina” and “Southern Espinhaço” provinces. Within the latter province, three districts are also recognized, based on this and previous studies: “Diamantina Plateau”, “Grão‐Mogol” and “Iron Quadrangle” districts.

Main conclusions

The formalization of new and previously described bioregions highlights thecampo rupestreas a vegetation harbouring outstanding levels of species richness and endemism in South America, contributing to a better understanding of biogeographical patterns in the Neotropics. Also, as we follow the International Code of Area Nomenclature as a device to standardize recognition of bioregions, this shall facilitate further biogeographical and conservation studies in these areas. Further assessments with new and revisited data are needed to enable minor scale bioregionalization within the Chacoan dominion.
Sexually selected sexual selection: Can evolutionary retribution explain female ornamental colour?
Authors: Méndez‐Janovitz Marcela , Gonzalez‐Voyer Alejandro , Macías Garcia Constantino
Published: May 2019

By preferring mates with increasingly costly ornaments or courtship displays, females cause an escalation of male reproductive costs. Such increased costs should promote male selectivity based on fecundity‐linked female attributes, leading to female ornamentation in species with traditional sex roles. Consequently, female ornamentation should evolve more frequently in taxa where male reproduction is costly than in comparable taxa where it is cheaper. We assessed the prevalence of female ornamental colouration in two clades of viviparous cyprinodontid fish: the Goodeinae, where stringent female choice imposes male mating costs, and the Poeciliinae, whose males can circumvent female mate choice. We found that although in the Poeciliinae female ornamental colour is a correlated, but paler version of male coloration, females of the Goodeinae often display vivid ornamental colours that are distinct from those of males. Thus, male and female ornaments are not (phylo)genetically correlated in the Goodeinae. Furthermore, phylogenetic signal on male and female colour is clearly detectable in the Poeciliinae, but absent in the Goodeinae, suggesting that ornamental colour of males and females in the latter may be the consequence of selection. Given that enforceable female choice has promoted male ornaments, we propose that evolutionary retribution has promoted distinct female ornaments in the Goodeinae.