bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of lean practices on the operational performance of SMEs in India
Authors: Yadav Vinod , Jain Rakesh , Mittal Murari Lal , Panwar Avinash , Lyons Andrew
Published: August 2018

Purpose

Although lean thinking is deemed to be a gold standard of modern production management, a lot of scepticism still remains regarding its applicability in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to understand the perception of lean in SMEs and establish the relationship between lean adoption and operational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

With the help of a survey, data were collected from 425 SMEs in India and analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Findings

Operational performance of the firms was found to be positively related to lean implementation.

Originality/value

This study also furnishes practitioners with a better understanding of lean thinking in SMEs and its impact on performance.
What makes you feel attached to smartwatches? The stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) perspectives
Authors: Cho Woo-Chul , Lee Kyung Young , Yang Sung-Byung
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to answer the question of whether smartwatches will survive and gain their own niche within the consumer electronics market. Based on the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) framework, this study identifies and validates the impacts of both technological and fashion-related factors (interactivity, autonomy, visual aesthetics and self-expression) on product attachment towards smartwatches through user satisfaction and pleasure derived from their smartwatches.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected the survey data via online surveys from 198 respondents and tested measurement and structural models with the partial least square technique.

Findings

The authors found that both technological characteristics (interactivity and autonomy) and fashion-related characteristics (visual aesthetics and self-expression) have an impact on product attachment through pleasure.

Research limitations/implications

Several other important characteristics of traditional wrist-watches such as durability or workmanship are not considered in this study, but should be included in future studies. The three-item measure of autonomy may be insufficient for more sophisticated wearable devices in the future. In future studies, the impact of product attachment on users’ continued usage should be examined.

Practical implications

This study provides important practical implications for smartwatch makers interested in product development, as users were found to consider fashion-related characteristics to be as important as technological characteristics.

Originality/value

This study is the first study that considers both aesthetic and technological factors for IT acceptance in the context of wearable devices. Also, instead of traditional IT acceptance measures such as continued use, this study investigates users’ product attachment, which is more relevant to the case of wearable devices.
The relationship between intellectual capital and big data: a review
Authors: De Santis Federica , Presti Claudia
Published: August 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to give an integrated framework for analysing the main opportunities and threats related to the exploitation of Big Data (BD) technologies within intellectual capital (IC) management.

Design/methodology/approach

By means of a structured literature review (SLR) of the extant literature on BD and IC, the study identified distinctive opportunities and challenges of BD technologies and related them to the traditional dimensions of IC.

Findings

The advent of BD has not radically changed the risks and opportunities of IC management already highlighted in previous literature. However, it has significantly amplified their magnitude and the speed with which they manifest themselves. Thus, a revision of the traditional managerial solutions needed to face them is required.

Research limitations/implications

The developed framework can contribute to academic discourse on BD and IC as a starting point to understanding how BD can be turned into intangible assets from a value creation perspective.

Practical implications

The framework can also represent a useful decision-making tool for practitioners in identifying and evaluating the main opportunities and threats of an investment in BD technologies for IC management.

Originality/value

The paper responds to the call for more research on the integration of BD discourse in the fourth stage of IC research. It intends to improve this understanding of how BD technologies can be exploited to create value from an IC perspective, focussing not only on the potential of BD for creating value but also on the challenges that it poses to organizations.
Identifying and assessing the scales of dynamic capabilities: a systematic literature review
Authors: Araújo Cíntia Cristina Silva de , Pedron Cristiane Drebes , Bitencourt Claudia
Published: August 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the existing measure instruments for dynamic capabilities (DCs) in order to understand the tendencies of quantitative studies on DCs as well as to evaluate the reliability and validity of these scales.

Design/methodology/approach

To accomplish this objective, the authors conducted a systematic review of literature on DCs.

Findings

Main findings indicate that quantitative research works on DCs have focused on the relationship between DCs, innovation, organization performance, knowledge management and absorptive capacity. Findings also show that efforts to measure DCs quantitatively are recent and lack reliable methodology.

Research limitations/implications

One limitation of this research is that the authors conducted the systematic review on two databases. However, the authors conducted the research on the two most used databases in management research.

Practical implications

Findings show that academicians have plenty of room to work on quantitative research works on DCs as well as to develop robust scales to measure this construct in diverse business sectors.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to analyze the existing scales that measure DCs.
Fuzzy TOPSIS based holistic assessment of regions: context of India
Authors: Bansal Sunita , Biswas Srijit , Singh S.K.
Published: August 2018

Purpose

There is a tremendous growth of housing stock with subsequent resource consumption due to rapid urbanization. Most of the existing small-scale constructions have no planning, leading to both environmental degradation and negligible resilience to hazards. The contemporary sustainability and green building concepts are difficult to apply to small individual housing units but a collective regional assessment can be made. The regulatory bodies need to assess regions for resiliency and sustainability to prioritize fund allocation. Due to varying housing typologies and unaccounted resource consumption, reliable spatial information/data are not available to quantify risks and sustainability. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The fuzzy logic approach has been used here to propose a regional assessment factor to give a coarse relative status of each region (and not individual houses). The criterion considered incorporates both hazard safety and environmental aspects.

Findings

A model of fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution based on experts’ linguistic opinions has been designed with appropriate negations for prioritizing regions.

Originality/value

This paper anticipates that apart from pressing the need for increasing resilience to hazards, this simplified opinion-based tool will assist the government and administrators to prioritize and strategize their funds/efforts toward achieving safety and sustainability. Depending on the evaluation and assessment, specific retrofits can be planned and executed. The assessment may be used by NGOs working in housing sector and architects and engineering professionals or academicians.
Balanced and integrated e-government implementation – exploring the crossroad of public policy-making and information systems project management processes
Authors: Melin Ulf , Wihlborg Elin
Published: August 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to identify and elaborate on the various interpretations and implications of e-government as a process of public policy-making and as an act of information systems (IS) project management. The paper contributes to the search for a theoretical conceptualization by bridging policy project management and policy-making in public sector organizations at a crossroad of e-government to improve sustainable e-government research.

Design/methodology/approach

The research design of this paper focus on a model balancing the two research fields; public policy-making and analysis, and project management in the IS field. Through this model, four critical aspects of the processes are identified: objective, incentives/motivation, input/trigger and coordinative actor. These critical aspects are illustrated through findings from four case studies that are re-analyzed here. The cases show how the conceptual model through different dimensions can balance the two perspectives to reach a more sustainable outcome of e-government.

Findings

The paper shows that the two perspectives on e-government – public policy-making and project management – can be balanced and thereby reach a more sustainable outcome at this crossroad. The case studies re-visited in this paper are compared and serves as illustrations of these perspectives and different configurations of them in search for the crossroad.

Research limitations/implications

A main contribution of the paper is that e-government projects should be studied in, and taking both public policy-making and IS project management into account to be sustainable and successful. Even if the case studies have been conducted in Sweden, the conceptual results in this paper can be analytically generalized into other setting. However, there is a need for more comparative and conceptual studies in the field of e-government to shed light on the multi-faceted crossroads illustrated in this paper.

Practical implications

The paper offers new insights on how to integrate, bridge and even balance the two aspects of e-government policy aspects and projects management to achieve more sustainable and successful e-government.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the literature by shedding light on the crossroad of policy aspects and IS project management approaches in the e-government field. The paper points at the need to further develop the understanding and design of e-government at the crossroad of information system models and political science concepts.
Soil microbial communities alter conspecific and congeneric competition consistent with patterns of field coexistence in three Trifolium congeners
Authors: Siefert Andrew , Zillig Kenneth W. , Friesen Maren L. , Strauss Sharon Y.
Published: August 2018

Coexistence and diversity in plant communities depend upon outcomes of plant competition. Competition and coexistence can be mediated by abiotic soil nutrient differences as well as by soil microbial communities. The latter effects occur through various mechanisms including negative plant–soil feedbacks, when plants foster the build‐up of specialized pathogenic microbes, which ultimately reduce conspecific, but not heterospecific, densities. Microbial mutualists can have generalized associations with host plants, and by associating with multiple species might affect coexistence by conferring different levels of benefit to hosts.

We examined the effects of abiotic differences and soil microbial communities, including mutualistic nitrogen‐fixing rhizobial bacteria, on coexistence processes and asked whether these interactions inform patterns of co‐occurrence in natural communities. We measured plant–soil feedbacks in the greenhouse for three native Trifolium species that either highly co‐occurred or were spatially repulsed at our field site. Using size‐fractioned soil microbial inocula prepared from field‐collected soils, we explored the effect of soil microbes on nodulation and the outcome of competition (relative interaction intensity). We also examined the effects of soil origin (home vs. away soil) on the outcome of competition between species.

Soil microbes had strong positive effects on plant growth and nodulation. Microbes in general reduced the strength of plant competition relative to competition in sterilized soil and altered the relative strength of interactions with conspecific vs. congeneric neighbours, which often occurred in ways predicted to enhance coexistence. In one pair of highly co‐occurring Trifolium, competition was strong in sterilized soils, but these species facilitated one other in the presence of the full microbial community. The net effect of these microbes in general reduced competition while also increasing performance over that in sterilized soil, suggesting a role for soil microbial mutualists in host coexistence.

Synthesis. Our results demonstrate that interactions between plants and diverse soil communities can alter plant–plant interactions and plant–soil feedbacks. They may increase niche differences and equalize fitness differences in ways consistent with observed co‐occurrence in the field.
Review article: Antiemetics in the pre‐hospital setting: A systematic review of efficacy and safety
Authors: Verma Rishabh , Matich Paula , Symmons David , Vangaveti Venkat
Published: August 2018

Antiemetics are medications that are frequently used in the pre‐hospital setting. However, recent evidence indicates that antiemetics are ineffective in reducing undifferentiated nausea scores and vomiting rates. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of antiemetics administered in the pre‐hospital setting. This is a systematic review employing PRISMA guidelines of seven studies selected that included randomised controlled trials and prospective studies, investigating the use of antiemetics in the pre‐hospital setting. Nausea scores, vomiting rates and rates of adverse effects along with other variables were summarised. Searches of PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL and InformIT yielded seven relevant full text articles. Trials that investigated the efficacy of all antiemetics in the pre‐hospital setting were included in the search results. Overall, it was found that antiemetics were effective in reducing nausea and vomiting rates in the pre‐hospital setting on initial evaluation. The antiemetics included in the studies were associated with insignificant or self‐limiting side‐effects. However, after further examination, the reliability of the preliminary results can be questioned because of the poor quality of all the studies reviewed. There is insufficient evidence to establish the efficacy of antiemetics in the pre‐hospital setting despite their safety. Further rigorous studies, preferably randomised and double blinded control trials are required to establish the efficacy of antiemetics in the pre‐hospital setting. Consequently, antiemetics should be used more selectively and reserved for severe nausea and intractable vomiting in the pre‐hospital setting. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42016044090.
Changing Methods for the Allocation of Scarce Resources to Competing Ends: A Possible Explanation for the Wages Squeeze and Responses to It
Authors: Fforde Adam
Published: August 2018

The paper discusses the economic analysis of modern rich economies. It argues that standard economic theory acknowledges that it does not apply if there is own‐consumption and/or joint production and suggests that successful economic reforms of the 1980s have used markets to drive down costs in sectors where standard economic theory applies. This process has resulted in a situation where rich country economies are increasingly oriented to sectors – predominantly services – where markets work less well, namely those with extensive own‐consumption and joint production, where theory says that factor rewards and other prices cannot be determined by production and consumption conditions. Arguing that this can explain the “wages squeeze,” the paper concludes that other economic mechanisms should and have arisen to secure better welfare gains, thus explaining the recent shift in policy priorities of the ACTU.
Blastomatoid pulmonary carcinosarcoma: A rare case report and review of the literature
Authors: Sakane Tadashi , Okuda Katsuhiro , Hattori Hideo , Watanabe Takuya , Oda Risa , Tatematsu Tsutomu , Yokota Keisuke , Haneda Hiroshi , Inagaki Hiroshi , Nakanishi Ryoichi
Published: August 2018

A 65‐year‐old never‐smoking woman presented to a local hospital, because an abnormal shadow was detected at the right lower lung field by annual chest X‐ray. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a 5‐cm tumor in segment 6 of her right lung and an enlarged subcarinal lymph node, suggesting metastasis. The lung tumor was diagnosed as adenocarcinoma by a CT‐guided percutaneous needle biopsy. She was referred to our hospital and underwent right lower lobectomy with lymph node dissection (ND2a‐2). A histopathological examination of the tumor showed a biphasic proliferation made of carcinomatous and sarcomatous components. The carcinomatous component consisted of glandular structures of atypical cells that possessed chromatin‐rich nuclear and clear cytoplasm, confirming high‐grade fetal adenocarcinoma. The sarcomatous component consisted of immature spindle cells that differentiated into chondrosarcoma. Immunohistochemically, the glandular structures expressed membranous beta‐catenin, and the ultimate diagnosis was blastomatoid variant of pulmonary carcinosarcoma. She received four courses of cisplatin plus vinorelbine as adjuvant chemotherapy and remained alive with neither recurrence nor distant metastasis at two and a half years after the operation. We experienced a rare case of blastomatoid pulmonary carcinoasarcoma.
Cognitive reserve as an outcome predictor: first‐episode affective versus non‐affective psychosis
Authors: Amoretti S. , Cabrera B. , Torrent C. , Mezquida G. , Lobo A. , González‐Pinto A. , Parellada M. , Corripio I. , Vieta E. , de la Serna E. , Butjosa A. , Contreras F. , Sarró S. , Penadés R. , Sánchez‐Torres A. M. , Cuesta M. , Bernardo M. ,   PEPsGroup
Published: August 2018

Objective

Cognitive reserve (CR) refers to the brain's capacity to cope with pathology in order to minimize the symptoms.CRis associated with different outcomes in severe mental illness. This study aimed to analyze the impact ofCRaccording to the diagnosis of first‐episode affective or non‐affective psychosis (FEP).

Method

A total of 247FEPpatients (211 non‐affective and 36 affective) and 205 healthy controls were enrolled. To assessCR, common proxies have been integrated (premorbidIQ; education–occupation; leisure activities). The groups were divided into high and lowCR.

Results

In non‐affective patients, those with highCRwere older, had higher socioeconomic status (SES), shorter duration of untreated psychosis, and a later age of onset. They also showed greater performance in most cognitive domains. In affective patients, those with a greaterCRshowed a higherSES, better functioning, and greater verbal memory performance.

Conclusion

CRplays a differential role in the outcome of psychoses according to the diagnosis. Specifically, in order to address the needs of non‐affective patients with lowCR, cognitive rehabilitation treatments will need to be ‘enriched’ by adding pro‐cognitive pharmacological agents or using more sophisticated approaches. However, a functional remediation therapy may be of choice for those with an affective psychosis and lowCR.
Gender differences in demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with opioid use disorder entering a comparative effectiveness medication trial
Authors: Campbell Aimee N. C. , Barbosa‐Leiker Celestina , Hatch‐Maillette Mary , Mennenga Sarah E. , Pavlicova Martina , Scodes Jennifer , Saraiya Tanya , Mitchell Shannon G. , Rotrosen John , Novo Patricia , Nunes Edward V. , Greenfield Shelly F.
Published: August 2018

Background & Objectives

We investigated gender differences in individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) receiving inpatient services and entering a randomized controlled trial comparing extended‐release naltrexone to buprenorphine.

Methods

Participants (N = 570) provided demographic, substance use, and psychiatric information.

Results

Women were significantly younger, more likely to identify as bisexual, live with a sexual partner, be financially dependent, and less likely employed. Women reported significantly greater psychiatric comorbidity and risk behaviors, shorter duration but similar age of onset of opioid use.

Discussion/Conclusions

Findings underscore economic, psychiatric, and infection vulnerability among women with OUD.

Scientific Significance

Interventions targeting these disparities should be explored, as women may face complicated treatment initiation, retention, and recovery. (Am J Addict 2018;27:465–470)
The CXL12/CXCR4/CXCR7 axis in female reproductive tract disease: Review
Authors: Krikun Graciela
Published: August 2018

Initial studies on the chemokine stromal derived factor 1 (now referred to as CXCL12) were proposed to be enhanced in several diseases including those which affect the female reproductive tract. These include endometriosis, Asherman's syndrome, endometrial cancers, and ovarian cancers. Additionally, recent studies from our laboratory suggest that CXCL12 signaling is involved in leiomyomas (fibroids). These diseases present an inflammatory/hypoxic environment which further promotes pathology. At first, studies focused on signaling by CXCL12 via its well‐known receptor, CXCR4. However, the discovery of CXCR7 as another receptor for CXCL12 with rather high binding affinity and recent reports about its involvement in endometrial disease and cancer progression has questioned the potential of “selective blockade”’ of CXCR4 to treat these ailments. This review will focus on the signaling and effects of the potent chemokine CXCL12, and its long‐known G protein‐coupled receptor CXCR4, as well as the alternate receptor CXCR7 on the female reproductive tract and related diseases such as endometriosis, Asherman's syndrome, leiomyomas, endometrial cancer, and ovarian cancer. Although several other mechanisms are inherent to these diseases such as gene mutations, differential expression of miRNAs and epigenetics, for this review, we will focus on the CXCL12/CXCR4/CXCR7 axis as a novel target.
Acute inferior myocardial infarction with right ventricular involvement and several clinical‐electrocardiographic markers of poor prognosis
Authors: García‐Niebla Javier , Pérez‐Riera Andrés Ricardo , Barbosa‐Barros Raimundo , Díaz‐Muñoz Jorge , Daminello‐Raimundo Rodrigo , de Abreu Luiz Carlos , Nikus Kjell
Published: August 2018

Right ventricular involvement in inferior myocardial infarction is a marker of poor prognosis. We present a case of a 62‐year‐old man with very recent onset of acute chest pain and cardiac shock with the triad of elevated jugular venous pressure, distension of the jugular veins on inspiration, and clear lung fields. In addition, the admission electrocardiogram showed a slurring J wave or lambda‐like wave and conspicuous ST segment depression in several leads, predominantly in the lateral precordial (V4–V6), all clinical‐electrocardiographic features of ominous prognosis.
Self‐admission in psychiatry: The ethics
Authors: Strand Mattias , Sjöstrand Manne
Published: August 2018

Self‐admission to inpatient treatment is a novel approach that aims to increase agency and autonomy for patients with severe psychiatric illness and a history of high utilization of inpatient care. By focusing on brief, preventive hospital admissions in times of increased risk of relapse, self‐admission seeks to reduce the need for prolonged episodes of inpatient treatment. Participants are generally satisfied with the model, which is not surprising given that self‐admission programs allocate a scarce resource—hospital beds—to a select group. However, the patients targeted by these programs are not necessarily those in most need of hospital admission, which may compromise the commonly accepted ‘principle of need’ in allocation of public healthcare resources. In light of the current lack of consistent evidence of the usefulness and cost‐effectiveness of the model, several aspects need to be further studied in order to guide any large‐scale implementation of self‐admission in psychiatry.
Novel eosinophilic gene expression networks associated with IgE in two distinct asthma populations
Authors: Virkud Yamini V. , Kelly Rachel S. , Croteau‐Chonka Damien C. , Celedón Juan C. , Dahlin Amber , Avila Lydiana , Raby Benjamin A. , Weiss Scott T. , Lasky‐Su Jessica A.
Published: August 2018

Background

Asthma represents a significant public health burden; however, novel biological therapies targeting immunoglobulin E (IgE)‐mediated pathways have widened clinical treatment options for the disease.

Objective

In this study, we sought to identify gene transcripts and gene networks involved in the determination of serum IgE levels in people with asthma that can help inform the development of novel therapeutic agents.

Methods

We analysed gene expression data from a cross‐sectional study of 326 Costa Rican children with asthma, aged 6 to 12 years, from the Genetics of Asthma in Costa Rica Study and 610 young adults with asthma, aged 16 to 25 years, from the Childhood Asthma Management Program trial. We utilized differential gene expression analysis and performed weighted gene coexpression network analysis on 25 060 genes, to identify gene transcripts and network modules associated with total IgE, adjusting for age and gender. We used pathway enrichment analyses to identify key biological pathways underlying significant modules. We compared findings that replicated between both populations.

Results

We identified 31 transcripts associated with total IgE that replicated between the two study cohorts. These results were notable for increased eosinophil‐related transcripts (includingIL5RA,CLC,SMPD3,CCL23 andCEBPE). Pathway enrichment identified the regulation of T cell tolerance as important in the determination of total IgE levels, supporting a key role forIDO1.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance

These results provide robust evidence that biologically meaningful gene expression profiles (relating to eosinophilic and regulatory T cell pathways in particular) associated with total IgE levels can be identified in individuals diagnosed with asthma during childhood. These profiles and their constituent genes may represent novel therapeutic targets.
NOx in exhaled breath condensate is related to allergic sensitization in young and middle‐aged adults
Authors: Aldakheel Fahad M. , Bourke Jane E. , Thomas Paul S. , Matheson Melanie C. , Abramson Michael J. , Hamilton Garun S. , Lodge Caroline J. , Thompson Bruce R. , Walters E. Haydn , Allen Katrina J. , Erbas Bircan , Perret Jennifer L. , Dharmage Shyamali C. , Lowe Adrian J.
Published: August 2018

Background

Asthma and allergic diseases are heterogeneous. Measurement of biomarkers in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) may help to discriminate between different phenotypes and may assist with clinical prognostication.

Objectives

We aimed to assess associations between total nitric oxide products (NOx) in EBC and different allergic phenotypes and lung function in young and middle‐aged adults.

Methods

Cross‐sectional analyses were nested within two Australian longitudinal studies, the Melbourne Atopy Cohort Study (MACS, mean age 17.8 years) and the Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study (TAHS, mean age 49.4 years). Levels of EBC NOx were determined by Griess‐reaction fluorescent method. Associations were assessed between EBC NOx and different allergic phenotypes, lung function and airway reactivity.

Results

Atopy, with or without asthma or rhinitis, was associated with increased EBC NOx levels particularly in individuals with poly‐aero‐sensitization. These findings were generally consistent across the two age groups. In the older cohort, use of ICS in the previous 12 months masked the association between sensitization and EBC NOx (OR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.21‐1.96, p for interaction = 0.05).

Conclusions and clinical relevance

In these population‐based samples, EBC NOx was most strongly associated with atopic sensitization, rather than either current asthma or rhinitis, possibly indicating underlying increased airway inflammation associated with atopy. Therefore, EBC NOx could be a key predictor of atopy in both young and middle‐aged adults, regardless of the presence of concomitant asthma or rhinitis.
Equity crowdfunding, shareholder structures, and firm performance
Authors: Walthoff‐Borm Xavier , Vanacker Tom , Collewaert Veroniek
Published: August 2018

Research question/issue

This paper provides a first‐time glimpse into the postcampaign financial and innovative performance of equity‐crowdfunded (ECF) and matched nonequity‐crowdfunded (NECF) firms. We further investigate how direct and nominee shareholder structures in ECF firms are associated with firm performance.

Research findings/insights

We find that ECF firms have 8.5 times higher failure rates than matched NECF firms. However, 3.4 times more ECF firms have patent applications than matched NECF firms. Within the group of ECF firms, we find that ECF firms financed through a nominee structure make smaller losses, whereas ECF firms financed through a direct shareholder structure have more new patent applications, including foreign patent applications.

Theoretical/academic implications

Our findings suggest that there are important adverse selection issues on equity crowdfunding platforms, although these platforms also serve as a catalyst for innovative activities. Moreover, our findings suggest that there is a more complex relationship between dispersed versus concentrated crowd shareholders and firm performance than currently assumed in the literature.

Practitioner/policy implications

For policy makers and crowdfunding platforms, investor protection against adverse selection will be important to ensure the sustainability of equity crowdfunding markets. For entrepreneurs and crowd investors, our study highlights how equity crowdfunding and the adopted shareholder structure relate to short‐term firm performance.
Facial candidiasis after maxillofacial trauma: A rare encounter
Authors: Agarwal Padmanidhi , Chug Ashi , Kumar Shailesh , Gupta Shruti , Jain Kanav
Published: August 2018

Facial oedema after maxillofacial trauma is a common occurrence, but those that soon resolve only to appear again do invoke interest! A rare case is presented of a recurring facial swelling occurring after a maxillofacial injury that did not resolve subsequent to medication and repeated aspirations. Cytospin preparations of the aspirate stained with Giemsa revealed candidiasis. The patient's symptoms resolved soon with antifungal medications and he has been asymptomatic since. Such a scenario has never been reported in the literature and can pose a diagnostic dilemma. It gives insight into the unusual clinical presentation of facial candidiasis, the importance of thorough debridement of soft tissue wounds at primary care centres and the need to consider mycoses as a differential diagnosis for nonresolving soft tissue facial swellings after maxillofacial trauma.
Kant's account of moral weakness
Authors: Vujošević Marijana
Published: August 2018

On the one hand, Kant seems to suggest that moral weakness is merely expressed at the level of following maxims. On the other hand, he addresses moral weakness as the first grade of our propensity to evil, which implies that moral weakness is also expressed at the level of adopting maxims. There is still a lack of clarity in the literature concerning how the relationship between these two aspects is to be understood, and a proper account of the nature of the maxims of the morally weak has yet to be offered. Drawing on my earlier interpretation of moral strength, I shall propose a reading of Kant's account of moral weakness that consistently unifies both aspects. On my interpretation, the morally weak agent lacks the moral strength that he ought to acquire through the continuous exercise of his power of self‐control; he therefore fails both to set himself particular moral ends in adopting his maxims and to follow his maxims by realizing such ends. His intention to do what the moral law demands is overly general: It does not set a particular moral end, which is what virtue requires.
Seeing how people hear you: French learners experiencing intelligibility through automatic speech recognition
Authors: Mroz Aurore
Published: August 2018

Many language practitioners feel ill equipped to address learners’ pronunciation or have difficulties doing so because of limited class time, opportunities for individualized feedback, and approaches to evaluating intelligibility. However, it is crucial that students become understandable to native speakers who are unaccustomed to dealing with second language learners. Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) offers one potentially practical way to answer these needs. Contributing to research on mobile‐assisted learning, this study investigated how two groups of college‐level second language French learners developed greater awareness of their own intelligibility using ASR in Gmail. Using an ecological approach (van Lier, ) and an experiential learning model (Kolb, ), while following up on Liakin, Cardoso, and Liakina (2017), as well as McCrocklin (), this study found that ASR could credibly simulate understanding by a native speaker, allowing learners to close the intelligibility gap and develop a sense of what successful interpersonal communication entails. Pedagogical implications are offered.
Redefining writing in the foreign language curriculum: Toward a design approach
Authors: Allen Heather Willis
Published: August 2018

Numerous scholars have critiqued a lack of focus on foreign language (FL) writing in the second language (L2) acquisition research base and in FL programs in the United States. This position article argues for reimagining the role of writing to maximize learners’ 21st‐century skill development and FL programs’ contributions to broader institutional missions. After discussing selected research on L2 writing and its uptake in FL curricula, an integrated pedagogy is proposed—a design approach—that incorporates insights from New Literacy Studies and L2 writing research and posits writing as a purposeful, collaborative act of communication that entails both learner agency and attention to textual conventions. Key foci of this approach are highlighted, and a description is provided of how a design approach relates to challenges in FL writing instruction. Finally, next steps in researching and implementing this approach are offered.
Application of smart bracelet to monitor frailty‐related gait parameters of older Chinese adults: A preliminary study
Authors: Zhong Runting , Rau Pei‐Luen Patrick , Yan Xinghui
Published: August 2018

Aim

Smart bracelets are popular today. Based on their built‐in motion sensors, they can serve as a cost‐effective method of gait assessment in home‐based care. Few studies have applied smart bracelets in the gait assessment of older Chinese adults. The present study aimed to: (i) establish reference gait parameters of older Chinese adults using smart bracelets under single and dual task; and (ii) explore the differences in gait parameters among non‐frail and pre‐frail Chinese older adults.

Methods

A total of 50 community‐dwelling older Chinese adults aged ≥50 years wore a smart bracelet sensor in the L3 region of the back and underwent a 10‐m walking test under single‐ and dual‐task conditions. Participants were preliminarily classified into non‐frail and pre‐frail groups based on the Fatigue, Resistance, Ambulation, Illnesses and Loss of Weight scale. Gait parameters including average walking speed, step frequency, root mean square (RMS), acceleration amplitude variability, step variability, step regularity and step symmetry were calculated based on the data exported from the bracelet.

Results

Multivariate analysis of covariance (mancova) analysis showed that older adults had significantly decreased speed and step frequency (P < 0.05) under the dual cognitive task condition. Pre‐frail older adults showed significantly decreased speed, mediolateral RMS, vertical RMS, anteroposterior RMS, vertical amplitude variability and vertical step regularity compared with non‐frail older adults (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

The present study suggested that the decline in gait parameters as a result of frailty could be detected by the smart bracelet sensor. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 1366–1371.
Automated Time Series Modeling for Piezometers in the National Database of the Netherlands
Authors: Zaadnoordijk Willem J. , Bus Stefanie A.R. , Lourens Aris , Berendrecht Wilbert L.
Published: August 2018

The Geological Survey of the Netherlands (TNO‐GSN) maintains a public national database of groundwater head observations. Transfer function‐noise modeling has been applied to the time series in order to extract the impulse response functions for precipitation and evaporation for each piezometer. An automated procedure has been developed to assess the quality of the time series and of the models. The time series models of sufficient quality offer far more homogeneous data on the piezometric head than the original measurements. This allows for improved mapping of the head at a specific date or of characteristics of the head like average summer or winter levels. Also, the separation of precipitation and evaporation from other influences is useful for groundwater management and policy. The individual time series models are available online with interactive graphics (https://www.grondwatertools.nl/grondwatertools‐viewer). The spatial patterns of the impulse response function characteristics can support analyses of the groundwater system.
Survivors, Liars, and Unfit Minds: Rhetorical Impossibility and Rape Trauma Disclosure
Authors: Larson Stephanie R.
Published: August 2018

This essay examines how disability interacts with gender in public discourse about sexual violence by investigating the ableist implications of two popular labels commonly applied to people who have experienced rape or sexual assault: survivors and liars. Using a rhetorical approach in conjunction with disability theory, I analyze how discourses of compulsory survivorship ask people who experience sexual assault to overcome disability and appear nondisabled, whereas rape‐hoax narratives frame others as mentally ill, mad, or irrational. Taken together, I argue, these frameworks form a discursive paradox for people who experience sexual assault, specifically marking their mental fitness and placing them in a rhetorically impossible situation when attempting to disclose sexual assault. Demonstrating how these frameworks silence articulations of pain and the realities of mental illness that can result from sexual trauma brings debates about mental disability and pain more centrally into disability studies through a feminist lens.
Economic, institutional, and socio‐cultural determinants of consumer credit in the context of monetary integration
Authors: Borowski Jakub , Jaworski Krystian , Olipra Jakub
Published: August 2018

We investigated the determinants of consumer credit in relation to nominal GDP in 23 EU countries using panel regressions for 1997–2014. Our contribution to existing research is evidence that both higher density of bank units and greater concentration of the banking sector lead to higher consumer lending. Our results show that the consumer credit to GDP ratio decreases when banking supervision becomes a part of a politically independent central bank. This signals that access to consumer credit is more difficult when supervision is independent from government. Finally, we find that joining the Eurozone boosts consumer lending. This result is consistent with the permanent income hypothesis, which states that households’ current consumption is determined not only by their current income but also by the income that they expect to earn. Our results can be used to increase the effectiveness of macroprudential policy in avoiding consumer lending booms and ensuring financial stability.
Observations on research with spores of Bacillales and Clostridiales species
Authors: Setlow Peter
Published: August 2018

The purpose of this article is to highlight some areas of research with spores of bacteria of Firmicute species in which the methodology too commonly used is not optimal and generates misleading results. As a consequence, conclusions drawn from data obtained are often flawed or not appropriate. Topics covered in the article include the following: (i) the importance of using well-purified bacterial spores in studies on spore resistance, composition, killing, disinfection and germination; (ii) methods for obtaining good purification of spores of various species; (iii) appropriate experimental approaches to determine mechanisms of spore resistance and spore killing by a variety of agents, as well as known mechanisms of spore resistance and killing; (iv) common errors made in drawing conclusions about spore killing by various agents, including failure to neutralize chemical agents before plating for viable spore enumeration, and equating correlations between changes in spore properties accompanying spore killing with causation. It is hoped that a consideration of these topics will improve the quality of spore research going forward.
Cessation of pacing in super‐responders of cardiac resynchronization therapy: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Liang Yixiu , Wang Qingqing , Zhang Mingliang , Wang Jingfeng , Chen Haiyan , Yu Ziqing , Gong Xue , Su Yangang , Ge Junbo
Published: August 2018

Background

The consequence of cessation of biventricular pacing in super‐responders of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has not been fully investigated.

Methods

In this prospective, single‐blinded clinical trial, 21 super‐responders were randomly assigned to the ceased pacing (CeP, 11 patients) group or the continued pacing (CoP, 10 patients) group. Patients randomized to the CeP group underwent cessation of biventricular pacing. New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, quality of life (QOL) assessed with Minnesota questionnaire, 6‐minute walking distance (6MWD), left ventricular end systolic volume (LVESV), left ventricular end‐diastolic volume (LVEDV), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were compared between groups at 3‐ and 6‐month follow‐up.

Results

No significant difference was observed between the CeP and CoP groups regarding NYHA class, QOL, 6MWD, LVESV, LVEDV, or LVEF after 3 months (all P > 0.05). After 6 months, there existed no significant difference between the CeP and CoP groups with regard to NYHA class, QOL, 6MWD, LVESV, and LVEDV (all P > 0.05); however, LVEF was significantly lower in the CeP group than that of the CoP group (0.49 ± 0.10 vs 0.60 ± 0.11, P = 0.04), and LVEF was significantly reduced in the CeP group compared with the baseline value at randomization (0.49 ± 0.10 vs 0.54 ± 0.06, P = 0.04).

Conclusion

LVEF was significantly reduced in super‐responders of CRT 6 months after cessation of pacing. Super‐responders to CRT should receive continued, long‐term pacing to preserve recovered LV function.
A Rose by Any Other Name: Understanding Judicial Decisions that Do Not Cite Precedent
Authors: Ethayarajh Kawin , Green Andrew , Yoon Albert H.
Published: August 2018

In common‐law countries, legal precedent serves as a foundation of judicial opinions. Judges cite precedent to explain their decision, and it is this use of precedent that threads one decision to another. The Supreme Court in India stands in contrast to its counterparts in other countries in that it annually decides not dozens, but thousands, of cases. Perhaps unsurprisingly, nearly half the Court's decisions do not cite any precedent at all. This article examines this phenomenon, specifically how it affects judges’ commitment to the common law, in substance if not in form. Examining every Court decision for the period 1950–2010, we textually analyze the opinions using machine learning to determine what connection, if any, exists between cases. We find that it is possible to accurately model how the Court cites to existing precedent and that even for decisions without any citations, there is almost always at least one prior decision the Court could have cited. Our finding suggest that time and resource demands are primarily responsible for the failure to cite relevant precedent, but that the Court acts efficiently, given the constraints placed on it, in deciding in which decisions to include precedent. This research, however, leaves unanswered whether the Court provides sufficient guidance to lower courts.
The Politics of Selecting Chevron Deference
Authors: Barnett Kent , Boyd Christina L. , Walker Christopher J.
Published: August 2018

In this article, we examine an important threshold question in judicial behavior and administrative law: When do federal circuit courts decide to use the Chevron deference framework and when do they select a framework that is less deferential to the administrative agency's statutory interpretation? The question is important because the purpose of Chevron deference is to give agencies—not judges—policy‐making space within statutory interpretation. We expect, nonetheless, that whether to invoke the Chevron framework is largely driven by political dynamics, with judges adopting a less deferential standard when their political preferences do not align with the agency's decision. To provide insight, we analyze circuit court decisions from 2003 until 2013 that review agency statutory interpretations. Our results—from the largest and most comprehensive database of its kind—provide partial confirmation of our expectations. When courts reviewed liberal agency interpretations, all panels—liberal, moderate, and conservative—were equally likely to apply Chevron. However, when reviewing conservative agency interpretations, liberal panels selected the Chevron deference framework significantly less frequently than conservative panels. Contrary to limited prior studies, we find no evidence of “whistleblower” or disciplining effects when judges of different judicial ideologies comprised the panel. Viewed together, our results provide important implications for the current debate on whether to eliminate, narrow, or clarify Chevron's domain.
Who Benefits from Repealing Tampon Taxes? Empirical Evidence from New Jersey
Authors: Cotropia Christopher , Rozema Kyle
Published: August 2018

Many state and local governments exclude some medical products from the sales tax base, including some that are primarily used by men such as hair growth products. However, tampons and other menstrual hygiene products are subject to sales taxes in most states. A recent social movement advocates for the repeal of these “tampon taxes” and several class action lawsuits have been filed against states citing equal protection violations. In this article, we use the 2005 elimination of menstrual hygiene products from the sales tax base in New Jersey as a natural experiment to study who benefits from the repeal of tampon taxes. We find that the tax break is fully shifted to consumers, but that the tax break is not distributed equally. Low‐income consumers enjoy a benefit from the repeal of the tax by more than the size of the repealed tax. For high‐income consumers, the tax break is shared equally with producers. The results suggest that repealing tampon taxes removes an unequal tax burden and could make menstrual hygiene products more accessible for low‐income consumers.