bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Epicatechin modulates stress-resistance in C. elegans via Insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway
Authors: Ayuda-Durán Begoña , González-Manzano Susana , Miranda-Vizuete Antonio , Dueñas Montserrat , Santos-Buelga Celestino , González-Paramás Ana M.
Published: June 2018

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been used to examine the influence of epicatechin (EC), an abundant flavonoid in the human diet, in some stress biomarkers (ROS production, lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation). Furthermore, the ability of EC to modulate the expression of some key genes in the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway (IIS), involved in longevity and oxidative or heat shock stress response, has also been explored. The final aim was to contribute to the elucidation of the mechanisms involved in the biological effects of flavonoids. The results showed that EC-treated wild-type C. elegans exhibited increased survival and reduced oxidative damage of biomolecules when submitted to thermal stress. EC treatment led to a moderate elevation in ROS levels, which might activate endogenous mechanisms of defense protecting against oxidative insult. The enhanced stress resistance induced by EC was found to be mediated through the IIS pathway, since assays in daf-2, age-1, akt-1, akt-2, sgk-1, daf-16, skn-1 and hsf-1 loss of function mutant strains failed to show any heat-resistant phenotype against thermal stress when treated with EC. Consistently, EC treatment upregulated the expression of some stress resistance associated genes, such as gst-4, hsp-16.2 and hsp-70, which are downstream regulated by the IIS pathway.
Open government data (OGD) in six Middle East countries: an evaluation of the national open data portals
Authors: Saxena Stuti
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to do provide an overview of open government data (OGD) frameworks in six Middle East countries (Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon and Jordan) and to underscore the barriers in using the open data sets.

Design/methodology/approach

OGD framework offered by Sieber and Johnson (2015) is deployed for the present purpose. Primarily, documentary analysis is being used for substantiating the study and the national portals of the six countries are investigated.

Findings

In line with the frameworks chosen for this study, OGD initiatives across the six Middle East countries are at an emerging phase. All the six countries qualify for the “data over the wall” model as advanced by Sieber and Johnson (2015), wherein there are basic provisions of “data aggregation.” Furthermore, the data are incomplete and outdated, which serve as barriers in using these data sets for analysis and interpretation. Therefore, there are a number of barriers in using the open data sets. However, there are many prospects for using these data sets which would improve public accountability and transparency in the long run.

Practical implications

Besides helping in improved decision-making, the governments may be in a better position to appreciate the relevance of adopting a robust OGD initiative in facilitating the economic growth of their country.

Social implications

This study is relevant for ensuring that citizen engagement is promoted and there is co-creation of public value.

Originality/value

Hitherto, OGD has been investigated in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) but the other countries in Middle East have not been investigated. This study selects six countries outside the GCC ambit and investigates the nature and scope of OGD initiatives in each of them apart from underlining the barriers in using the open data sets.
Visioning “smart city” across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries
Authors: Saxena Stuti , Al-Tamimi Tariq Ali Said Mansour
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The study aims to underscore the initiatives taken by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in spearheading their drive towards creating “smart” cities.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a qualitative approach by invoking documentary analysis supplemented by responses provided by 13 interviewees from public and private sector.

Findings

All the six GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates) are keen on building upon their infrastructure to push their “smart city” agenda which would go a long way in furthering the economic diversification objective of their region besides improving the quality of public services.

Originality/value

Hitherto, research has been focused on appreciating the “smart city” initiatives of developed countries; this study seeks to build upon the literature on “smart cities” by contextualizing the research setting in the developing countries. Second, the study shows that with the ongoing oil prices crisis in the GCC, the “smart city” initiatives of the countries are conceived as possible avenues of economic diversification and competitiveness.
Much discussed, little conceptualized: supply chain volatility
Authors: Nitsche Benjamin , Durach Christian F.
Published: June 2018

Purpose

A conceptual framework of supply chain volatility (SCV) is developed to help researchers and practitioners converge their discussions and understandings on this vital phenomenon. Sources, dimensions and moderators of SCV are investigated and a conceptual framework is proposed. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Data triangulation was performed through reviewing 2,789 peer-reviewed articles and conducting a group exercise with 23 practitioners. Consequently, 364 sources were identified. Through a structured synthesis process that built on the Q-methodology with multiple academics, a framework of meta-level sources, dimensions and moderators of SCV was developed. An additional on-site meeting with 17 practitioners was conducted aiming at delineating the dimensions by their effect on SCV.

Findings

The authors propose 20 meta-level sources that contribute to five distinct dimensions of SCV, proposing behavior of customers and decision makers as contextual moderating variables. A classification scheme consisting of three descriptive SCV-affecting characteristics is proposed to delineate the dimension’s effect on SCV: relative deviating impact, repetitiveness and influenceability. Results are summarized in 15 propositions.

Research limitations/implications

The paper extends knowledge on SCV and provides a coherent conceptualization of the phenomenon for future research. The proposed framework demands quantitative testing to derive more reliable conclusions.

Practical implications

The framework aims at reducing the gap between research and practice. It helps managers to understand researchers’ discussions and how to derive expedient implications from them.

Originality/value

It is the first study that systematically synthesizes widely spread literature in this field to derive a conceptual framework that seeks to explain SCV in a holistic way.
The art of building initial trust in medical services
Authors: Terres Mellina da Silva , Basso Kenny
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the antecedents of the patient’s initial trust in the doctor. In this sense, it is proposed that trust in the hospital plays a mediating role in the relationship between the physical evidence in the service environment and the patient’s initial trust in the doctor.

Design/methodology/approach

Two experimental studies with factorial between-subjects design with random assignment were used. The data were analyzed through an analysis of variance.

Findings

The results show that design and social factors affect the patient’s initial trust in the doctor through his trust in the hospital. The results also showed that reputation and recommendation affect the initial trust.

Originality/value

This is the first study to consider antecedents of patient’s initial trust in the doctor. Most of the studies about trust focuses on investigating trust in situations where there is a prior relationship; however, this study arises some evidences that trust starts to be constructing even before the patient properly meets the doctor. These findings are valuable because they highlight the importance of physical evidences, reputation and positive word-of-mouth for building initial trust.
Framing hybrid exchanges in subsistence contexts
Authors: Mwiti Fredah Gakii , Onyas Winfred Ikiring
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to deepen the understanding of subsistence exchange practices and their contribution to international marketing theory and practice. It draws on the notion of embeddedness to examine the hybrid exchange practices unfolding within subsistence communities, and between subsistence communities and (international) firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports two ethnographic studies conducted in low-income farming and slum communities in Uganda and Kenya, respectively. Both studies involved participant observation, interviews, field note-taking and visual methods.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that hybrid exchange systems prevail in subsistence contexts, supporting both market and non-market logics simultaneously. Actors remain deeply embedded in their social worlds during exchange, making it problematic to disentangle social relations from market exchanges.

Research limitations/implications

The study suggests implications for international firms interested in forging business partnerships with subsistence actors. It calls for international marketers to surpass the traditional marketing roles and develop competences that enable firms to meaningfully embed in subsistence contexts. Further research could explore how international marketers could develop such competences.

Originality/value

The paper draws from diverse exchange literature to demonstrate how subsistence actors become actively involved in shaping hybrid exchanges that (potentially) incorporate international firms. The study calls for a broader understanding of international marketing, which accounts for the embedded marketing practices entailed in serving subsistence markets. It concludes that categorizing exchanges as either economic or social is problematic as both forms co-evolve to constitute multiple levels of intra-community, local marketplace and extensive hybrid exchanges.
Visual-inertial SLAM method based on optical flow in a GPS-denied environment
Authors: Chen Chang , Zhu Hua
Published: June 2018

Purpose

This study aims to present a visual-inertial simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) method for accurate positioning and navigation of mobile robots in the event of global positioning system (GPS) signal failure in buildings, trees and other obstacles.

Design/methodology/approach

In this framework, a feature extraction method distributes features on the image under texture-less scenes. The assumption of constant luminosity is improved, and the features are tracked by the optical flow to enhance the stability of the system. The camera data and inertial measurement unit data are tightly coupled to estimate the pose by nonlinear optimization.

Findings

The method is successfully performed on the mobile robot and steadily extracts the features on low texture environments and tracks features. The end-to-end error is 1.375 m with respect to the total length of 762 m. The authors achieve better relative pose error, scale and CPU load than ORB-SLAM2 on EuRoC data sets.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this study is the theoretical derivation and experimental application of a new visual-inertial SLAM method that has excellent accuracy and stability on weak texture scenes.
Energy-optimal motion planning of a biped pole-climbing robot with kinodynamic constraints
Authors: Zhou Xuefeng , Jiang Li , Guan Yisheng , Zhu Haifei , Huang Dan , Cheng Taobo , Zhang Hong
Published: June 2018

Purpose

Applications of robotic systems in agriculture, forestry and high-altitude work will enter a new and huge stage in the near future. For these application fields, climbing robots have attracted much attention and have become one central topic in robotic research. The purpose of this paper is to propose an energy-optimal motion planning method for climbing robots that are applied in an outdoor environment.

Design/methodology/approach

First, a self-designed climbing robot named Climbot is briefly introduced. Then, an energy-optimal motion planning method is proposed for Climbot with simultaneous consideration of kinematic constraints and dynamic constraints. To decrease computing complexity, an acceleration continuous trajectory planner and a path planner based on spatial continuous curve are designed. Simulation and experimental results indicate that this method can search an energy-optimal path effectively.

Findings

Climbot can evidently reduce energy consumption when it moves along the energy-optimal path derived by the method used in this paper.

Research limitations/implications

Only one step climbing motion planning is considered in this method.

Practical implications

With the proposed motion planning method, climbing robots applied in an outdoor environment can commit more missions with limit power supply. In addition, it is also proved that this motion planning method is effective in a complicated obstacle environment with collision-free constraint.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper is that it establishes a two-planner system to solve the complex motion planning problem with kinodynamic constraints.
Analysis of pipe-bursting construction risks using probability-impact model
Authors: Adamtey Simon , Onsarigo Lameck
Published: June 2018

Purpose

Civil utility projects, both open-trench and trenchless, are subject to risk. These risks have both direct and indirect effect on project cost, schedule, quality and safety. It is therefore critical for the project management team to include risk management as an integral part of their project planning and execution. The purpose of this study is to identify the pipe-bursting construction risks and determine their probability of occurrence and cost impact and provide the appropriate responses to mitigate the identified risks.

Design/methodology/approach

This is an exploratory design using an industry-wide questionnaire survey to collect data on the probability of occurrence and impact of risks on cost of pipe-bursting projects. A probability-impact model was used to categorize the risks to determine their criticality and the appropriate risk responses.

Findings

The model revealed that majority of the analyzed risks have low impact-low probability of occurrence and high impact-low probability of occurrence. Undocumented repairs to host pipe was the only risk identified as having high probability of occurrence and high impact on cost. The risk responses suggest a combination of risk transfer, reduction and acceptance to be appropriately applied to mitigate the risks. A discussion on the good practices indicates that most pipe-bursting operations can be done safely and successfully if site and project conditions are known before bursting and the appropriate measures are taken to address those conditions.

Research limitations/implications

Although the identified risks may apply to other utility construction methods, the focus of this research is limited to risks that occur during the construction phase of a pipe-bursting construction project.

Practical implications

Risk management is very critical to the success of any construction project. Identification and assessment of risks alone will not serve the purpose of risk management unless meaningful ways to mitigate those risks in a structured way are planned. The probability-impact model for the pipe-bursting construction risks with the mitigation strategies will help owners, engineers and contractors plan for and adequately respond to these risks. Additionally, a logical assessment of the risks will aid in effective decision-making regarding the management of the project.

Originality/value

Extensive literature review indicates that there is no existing literature on the probability of occurrence and impact on cost of risks in pipe-bursting projects. This paper presents the results of a wide-ranging analysis on construction risks in pipe-bursting projects. This is the first analysis incorporating the use of the probability-impact model to determine the criticality of various pipe-bursting construction risks.
Predicting employee performance through organizational virtuousness
Authors: Ahmed Ishfaq , Rehman Wasim-ul , Ali Fouzia , Ali Ghulam , Anwar Farooq
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to value the role of organizational virtuousness in predicting employee performance through mediation of affective well-being and work engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through questionnaires from 487 banking employees from 60 branches of ten banks.

Findings

Analysis through structural equation modeling proves that virtuousness positively predicts employees’ well-being and engagement, which in turn influence their performance. Furthermore, both well-being and engagement proved to be partial mediation in the relation, where well-being had stronger explanatory role.

Originality/value

This study offers novel explanatory mechanism in the relationship of employee performance and organizational virtuousness, where in past studies such mediation mechanism has not received due attention.
Leader-follower crossover: exhaustion predicts somatic complaints via StaffCare behavior
Authors: Köppe Christina , Kammerhoff Jana , Schütz Astrid
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and indirect crossover effects of leaders’ exhaustion on followers’ somatic complaints by testing leaders’ health-oriented behavior toward employees as a possible underlying mechanism.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-wave online study using data from different sources was conducted. In a sample of 106 leaders and followers, leaders were paired with one or two followers. Leaders rated their level of exhaustion at Time 1, and followers rated their leaders’ health-oriented leadership behavior (i.e. StaffCare behavior) and their own level of somatic complaints three months later (Time 2).

Findings

Results provided evidence of an indirect crossover effect from leaders’ exhaustion to followers’ somatic complaints through StaffCare behavior. There was no direct crossover effect.

Practical implications

Findings suggest that organizations should attend to leaders’ health as a means to allow for StaffCare behavior and thus protect employee health.

Originality/value

StaffCare behavior represents a new concept that focuses on health-related aspects of leadership. This is the first study to take an in-depth look at the question of how this leadership behavior is tied to crossover from leader exhaustion to follower health.
The phenomenon of collaboration in a life science network
Authors: Friberg Torbjörn
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to outline the operative meaning of collaboration in a life science network.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through participatory observations and interviews between 2014 and 2015. The data presented were derived from field notes from participant observations, interviews and documents within a life science network in the Öresund region (southern part of Sweden and the Copenhagen area).

Findings

The findings suggest that collaboration within the life science network should be viewed as a lively, organizational assembly in the process of becoming, in contrast to the idea that it is operating on the basis of organic principles. Collaboration thus could be viewed as consisting of self-subsistent parts (participants and organizations) that are detached and plugged into different collaborative networks.

Originality/value

In the context of the emerging idea of re-building the state welfare system with the economic support of producing and selling knowledge, there seems to be a growing interest, especially from the point of view of policymakers, in the phenomenon of collaboration. This paper offers exclusive ethnographic illustrations into the heterogeneity of collaboration.
Insider or outsider? Exploring the fluidity of the roles through social identity theory
Authors: Bruskin Signe
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the fluidity of the fieldwork roles “insider” and “outsider.” The paper aims to move the discussion of insiders from an a priori categorized status and contribute to the literary insider–outsider debate by unfolding the micro process of how the role of an insider is shaped in situ. Grounded in empirical examples, the paper illustrates how the researcher’s role is shaped through interactions with organizational members and by context.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on an ethnographic study in an IT department of a Nordic bank and draws on empirical material generated through a combination of data: shadowing, interviews, observations and documents. Excerpts from fieldnotes are included to invite the reader into “the scenes” played out in the field and are analyzed in order to illustrate the shaping of roles in situ.

Findings

The study finds that, independent of the researcher’s role as sponsored by the organization, the interactions with organizational members and context determine whether the researcher is assigned a role as insider or outsider, or even both within the same context.

Originality/value

The paper contributes with a new discussion of how the roles of insiders and outsiders are fluid by discussing the shaping of the roles in situ. By drawing on relational identity theories, the paper illustrates how interactions and context influence the researcher’s role, grounded in empirical examples. In addition, the paper discusses what the assigned roles enable and constrain for the ethnographer in that particular situation.
Equity and public finance issues in the state subsidy of public transit
Authors: Hudspeth Nancy , Wellman Gerard
Published: June 2018

Purpose

Public transit is an essential service for people without access to an automobile, particularly those who are low income, elderly, or with disabilities. Previous research has found that large urban transit agencies receive less state funding per ride provided than suburban agencies. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from the National Transit Database for 37 of the largest US transit agencies, the authors create a panel data set of services provided and sources of operating funds for the period 1991-2009. The authors develop an equity index that represents the difference between the share of state funding that an agency receives and the share of the total transit rides in the state that it provides. The authors use fixed-effects regression modeling to examine the determinants of fiscal balance and the equity index.

Findings

The authors find that the share of an agency’s operating funds that come from dedicated taxes is a significant predictor of fiscal health as measured by its fiscal balance; reliance on passenger fares and provision of bus service are significant predictors of operating deficits. The equity index finds that large agencies receive less than their fair share of state transit funding based on ridership.

Practical implications

Dedicated tax revenues are a key ingredient to transit agencies’ fiscal stability. Transit agencies’ fiscal condition in states and localities that do not have a dedicated tax could benefit from such a tax.

Social implications

Transit is an essential service for people who are unable to drive or own an automobile; funding inequities maintain old patterns of segregation and isolation for “transit dependents.”

Originality/value

This study supports earlier research finding that large agencies receive less than their fair share of state funding based on ridership. It contributes to the literature on transportation equity and transit finance.
Is transparency a double-edged sword in citizen satisfaction with public service? Evidence from China’s public healthcare
Authors: Yang Yongheng
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain the direct and moderating effects of perceived transparency on citizen satisfaction with public healthcare services.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper extends the classic framework of service quality, value and satisfaction by adding perceived transparency as an essential component, applies service-dominant logic to develop hypotheses regarding the effects of transparency and empirically tests the extended framework with secondary household survey data on China’s public healthcare.

Findings

The classic framework of service quality, value and satisfaction that originated from the private sector is robust in public service. Perceived transparency has a positive impact on perceived value and citizen satisfaction, but the positive effects of service quality and perceived value on citizen satisfaction were weakened with the increasing level of perceived transparency.

Research limitations/implications

Perceived transparency is a double-edged sword regarding citizen satisfaction: although transparency increases perceived value and satisfaction by enhancing citizens’ service co-creation and inspiring citizen confidence, increased transparency raises citizens’ expectations for service products, which subsequently dampens the positive effects of service quality and perceived value on citizen satisfaction.

Practical implications

In a context with higher transparency, local authorities must learn to manage citizen expectations that influence satisfaction, and increase the probability of satisfaction by avoiding too high citizen expectations.

Originality/value

This paper highlights the importance of transparency in enhancing public service co-creation, and contributes a novel perspective on the effects of transparency in the formation of citizen satisfaction, which may serve as the starting point for studying the role of transparency in public affairs.
Situational leadership theory: a test from a leader-follower congruence approach
Authors: Thompson Geir , Glasø Lars
Published: June 2018

Purpose

Empirical tests of Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership theory (SLT) have demonstrated that the assessment of follower competence and commitment, critical contextual features dictating optimal leadership style, poses several problems in testing the validity of this theory. As well, most previous studies have used leader rating as the only information source in making these assessments. The purpose of this paper is to use the degree of agreement between leader rating and follower self-rating to determine follower competence and commitment, and consequently an optimal leadership style.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data collected from both supervisors and employees in business organizations in Norway were analyzed to test the predictions put forward in SLT.

Findings

The results show that SLT principles are supported when leader rating and follower self-rating are congruent. However, no support was obtained for Blanchard’s suggestion to apply followers’ self-ratings of competence and commitment in the case of discrepant ratings of follower development level. But data do support the contention that leader assessment would be a better basis for providing followers with appropriate direction and support.

Originality/value

So far SLT has been a very popular but as yet under-researched theory. An important contribution of the present study is by making SLT an evidence-based theory, as opposed to just being intuitively sound. As such, the authors think SLT in an updated “convergent” version should be applied in organizations and taught in leadership development programs.
How does subsidiary autonomy influence performance? The moderating role of uncertainty
Authors: Chen Zhijun , Zheng Li
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of subsidiary autonomy on subsidiary performance under uncertainty. Based on previous studies, the authors classify subsidiary autonomy into two categories, namely, strategic autonomy and operational autonomy, and investigate the relationships between these two categories of subsidiary autonomy and subsidiary performance under uncertainty.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample includes the subsidiaries listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges in China from 2012 to 2015. Ordinary least squares are used to examine the hypotheses.

Findings

The results indicate that strategic autonomy is negatively related to subsidiary performance, whereas operational autonomy is positively associated with subsidiary performance. Moreover, uncertainty weakens the negative strategic autonomy-subsidiary performance linkage.

Originality/value

The findings of this study indicate that two categories of subsidiary autonomy (strategic autonomy, operational autonomy) have different effects on subsidiary performance. Moreover, uncertainty moderates the above relationships. This study explores the relationship between subsidiary autonomy and subsidiary performance and provides a useful guidance for the selection of subsidiaries’ management modes.
A contingent perspective on the synergistic effect of governance mechanisms on sustainable supply chain
Authors: Ni Wenbin , Sun Hongyi
Published: June 2018

Purpose

Literature proposes that implementing supplier assessment and supplier collaboration simultaneously may lead to better sustainable performance. The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the proposition by considering the contingent effects of two contextual factors, the environmental dynamism and the stakeholder pressure on sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

Four configurations of governance mechanisms are identified according to the different levels of implementing supplier assessment and supplier collaboration. The performances of the four configurations are compared against the levels of environmental dynamism and stakeholder pressure. The empirical data from the sixth round of International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS) are used.

Findings

This paper found that the governance configuration with the highest level of implementing both governance mechanisms leads to the best performance. The synergistic effect that supplier assessment and collaboration complement each other to achieve better performance is verified. However, the synergistic effect holds robust only when the environmental dynamism and stakeholder pressure are high. The synergistic effect vanishes in the social and environmental performance when the environmental dynamism is low. The effect also vanishes in the environmental performance when the stakeholder pressure is low. No synergistic effect was found in business performance.

Originality/value

This paper reveals the complementarity between supplier assessment and supplier collaboration when they are implemented at a reasonably high level. It also reveals the importance of the fit of governance mechanisms under different external contexts. The results contribute to reconciling the disputes about the effectiveness of governing supplier relationship to achieve the sustainability along a supply chain.
Caste ratio adjustments in response to perceived and realised competition in parasites with division of labour
Authors: Lagrue Clément , MacLeod Colin D. , Keller Laurent , Poulin Robert
Published: June 2018

Colonial organisms with division of labour are assumed to achieve increased colony‐level efficiency in task performance through functional specialisation of individuals into distinct castes. In social insects, ratios of individuals in different castes can adjust adaptively in response to external threats. However, whether flexibility in caste ratio also occurs in other social organisms with division of labour remains unclear. Some parasitic trematodes, in which clonal colonies within the snail intermediate host comprise a reproductive caste and a soldier caste, offer good systems to test the general nature of adaptive caste ratio adjustments.

Using the trematode Philophthalmus sp. as model, we test whether trematode colonies shift their composition towards more soldiers when exposed to a sustained risk of invasion by a competitor parasite species, and/or when experiencing sustained, active competition. We also quantify the colony‐level fitness impact of caste ratio adjustments, measured as the colony's output of larval infective stages.

We conducted two long‐term laboratory experiments on within‐snail trematode colonies. First, snails harbouring Philophthalmus colonies were exposed to different levels of invasion risk by another trematode species, Maritrema novaezealandense. Second, the structure of Philophthalmus colonies was quantified after a year‐long period of within‐snail competition with the other trematode species.

When facing the risk of invasion by a competitor, independently of the level of risk, Philophthalmus colonies showed a significant shift towards producing more soldiers, resulting in altered caste ratio. Similarly, when experiencing actual competition by another trematode established in the same snail, Philophthalmus colonies also adjusted by producing significantly more soldiers. Greater investments in defense via more soldiers had negative impacts on the establishment and size of the competitor's colonies. Nevertheless, the presence of the competitor reduced the fitness (output of infective stages) of Philophthalmus colonies, although the production of more soldiers mitigated that effect.

Our findings demonstrate that trematode colonies with division of labour are capable of adaptive caste ratio adjustments in response to both the perceived threat of competition and actual competition, with trade‐offs against reproductive success only apparent when soldier numbers are very high. Combined with results on social insects, our study suggests parallel adaptations of colonial organisms in phylogenetically disparate organisms.
Association between adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet with food security and weight status in adult women
Authors: Tabibian Saeideh , Daneshzad Elnaz , Bellissimo Nick , Brett Neil R. , Dorosty‐Motlagh Ahmad R. , Azadbakht Leila
Published: June 2018

Aim

To investigate the association between adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet with food security and weight status in adult women.

Methods

This cross‐sectional study was carried out in 227 women—20–50 years of age—who were referred from 10 health centres. Dietary intakes were assessed using validated food frequency questionnaires. The DASH score was calculated using the Fung method based on eight food and nutrient components (high intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes, low‐fat dairy, low intakes of red and processed meats, sweetened beverages and sodium). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) household food security questionnaire was used to assess food security status.

Results

The prevalence of food insecurity was 33.9%. A greater percentage of overweight and obese people were in the food insecure group (P = 0.006). In addition, the prevalence of overweight and obese people was lower with greater adherence to the DASH dietary pattern (P = 0.017). After controlling for age and energy intake, participants in the highest tertile of adherence to DASH diet had 66% lower odds of overweight and obesity than those in the lowest tertile (odds ratio (OR): 0.34; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.15; 0.79). This relationship of DASH diet tertile and overweight and obesity was significant for both food secure women (OR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.23; 0.97) and food insecure women (OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.06; 0.42).

Conclusions

Adherence to the DASH diet is associated with a reduced risk of overweight and obesity, based on body mass index, in both food secure and insecure Iranian women.
CLASS TENSIONS IN THE GAMES OF HOMER: EPEIUS, EURYALUS, ODYSSEUS, AND IROS
Authors: SCANLON THOMAS F.
Published: June 2018

Three contest scenes in Homer reveal a thematic concern with class tension: the two contests with Epeius in Iliad 23, Odysseus's encounter with Euryalus in Odyssey 8, and Odysseus's boxing match with Iros in Odyssey 18. Epeius is a comic scapegoat who succeeds in challenging the elite Euryalus, boasts ineptly, and is later ridiculed. Odysseus in Odyssey 8 is also challenged by a (different) nobleman named Euryalus, whom Odysseus rebukes, saying that a man cannot be skilled in all things and that one ought not judge by appearances. The ‘skilled man’ phrase found both in the Epeius episode and in that with Odysseus (Il. 23.670–71; Od. 8. 59–60), highlights the intertextuality and focuses on the theme of merit over appearances. Finally the Iros–Odysseus boxing match parodies and parallels the above epic-challenge scenes. Each episode fosters consideration of the essential ambiguity of class relations in the period of transition to the polis c. 700 bce.
IN THE SHADOW OF PRAISE: EPINICIAN LOSERS AND EPINICIAN POETICS
Authors: MILLER PETER J.
Published: June 2018

While athletic competition relies on comparison (the necessary similarity of opponents, rules, conditions of victory), epinician poetry claims superlative fame and similarly singular victors. By addressing all explicit and implicit instances of losers and losing, and by paying close attention to epinician language (particularly boasts and litotes), this article deconstructs the naturalized binary of winner/loser in the poetry of Pindar and Bacchylides. Athletic competition, which is structured around similarity, problematizes the matchless fame of epinican and therefore epinician poetry, paradoxically, must work against the essential elements of the very action (i.e., sporting victory) that it purports to celebrate.
WHEN ATHLETIC VICTORY AND FATHERHOOD DID MIX: THE COMMEMORATION OF DIAGORAS OF RHODES
Authors: NICHOLSON NIGEL
Published: June 2018

The fame of the great boxer Diagoras of Rhodes was intimately, and uniquely, bound up with the fame of his children: for no other classical or archaic victor were his children so central to his own commemoration. This paper will explore that centrality, showing the extent to which Diagoras’ portrayal across all media — not only in epinician and sculptural dedications, but also in the oral tradition — was unique in emphasizing his status as a father, and seek to explain the choice. I will argue that the portrayal of Diagoras as a father, subject to the normal biological rhythms of life, signified a particular type of politics that favored networking and connections between cities, promoting, in particular, the synoecism of Rhodes’ three cities.
GAMES, CONTESTS, AND THE IDEA OF COMPETITIVE RIVALRY IN EARLY GREEK AND ROMAN CHILDHOOD
Authors: WEILER INGOMAR
Published: June 2018

This contribution discusses some topics concerning the physical activities of young children in ancient Greek society, especially games and contests. In Greek terminology and in general language use, these children are denoted as bréphos, paidíon or paidískē and paidískos. Paidíon is a term for a young child generally less than seven years and paīs for the age of seven up to fourteen years. Several Greek and Roman authors inform us about the games, contests, and the educational program for this age-category (i.e., before boys go to the gymnasium). The following texts discuss some examples of games and physical exercise in early childhood: Plato, Protagoras 325c–326c, Leges 794c–808c; Ps.-Plato, Axiochus 366–7; Aeschines, Kata Timarchou 9–12; Aristotle, Politika 1336a9–15 and 8.1338b40–1339a7; Horatius Flaccus, Ars Poetica 409–14; Quintilian, Institutio oratoria 1.1.20; Plutarch, Lycurgus 14; Pausanias 5.16.2; Flavius Philostratos, Peri gymnastikes 25, 28 and Vitae sophistarum 1.21.
Research Design Issues in Studies Using Discretionary Accruals
Authors: McNichols Maureen F. , Stubben Stephen R.
Published: June 2018

Because discretionary accruals are known to be noisy proxies of earnings management that often produce biased results, we argue that a correlation between discretionary accruals and a hypothesized factor is generally not an adequate basis for valid inferences about earnings management. In this commentary, we propose and discuss a set of suggestions for improving the research design of studies on earnings management that use discretionary accruals. Specifically, we discuss suggestions for developing predictions about earnings management, choosing among discretionary accrual proxies, estimating discretionary accruals, addressing potential bias in the estimates, and critically evaluating the results obtained.
Baclofen for alcohol use disorder—a systematic meta‐analysis
Authors: Bschor T. , Henssler J. , Müller M. , Baethge C.
Published: June 2018

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of baclofen vs. placebo for long‐term treatment of alcohol use disorder.

Method

Systematic review and meta‐analysis following methods of the Cochrane Collaboration Handbook (PROSPERO registration: CRD42017073663). Primary outcome was the random‐effects summary estimate of all standardized mean differences (SMDs), as calculated from the primary outcomes of each study.

Results

Fourteen double‐blind RCTs (1522 patients) were included. Heterogeneity was substantial for most analyses (I2 about 75%). Baclofen showed a small, but not statistically significant superiority over placebo: SMD = 0.22 ([95% CI: −0.03; 0.47], P = 0.09). This result was supported by a leave‐one‐out‐analysis, and Orwin's fail‐safe N, by predefined secondary analyses (on abstinence rates and amount of drinking), and by a post hoc‐analysis of high‐dose studies (>80 mg/day). An analysis of low risk of bias studies (SMD = 0.10 [−0.20; 0.41], P = 0.51, I2 = 43.3%) found no effect. Exclusion of four studies focusing on patients with comorbidity yielded a small positive effect. Drop‐out rates were similar.

Conclusion

Our results question baclofen's utility in the long‐term treatment of alcohol use disorder at both normal and high doses. While the confidence intervals indicate that marginally harmful or moderately beneficial effects of baclofen remain a possibility, the most likely effect size is slightly above placebo effects.
Accumbens brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) transmission inhibits cocaine seeking
Authors: Bobadilla Ana‐Clara , Garcia‐Keller Constanza , Chareunsouk Victoria , Hyde Jeffrey , Medina Camacho Daniela , Heinsbroek Jasper A. , Kalivas Peter W.
Published: June 2018

Brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) regulates a variety of physiological processes, and several studies have explored the role of BDNF in addiction‐related brain regions like the nucleus accumbens core (NAcore). We sought to understand the rapid effects of endogenous BDNF on cocaine seeking. Rats were trained to self‐administer cocaine and extinguished. We then microinjected two inhibitors of BDNF stimulation of tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB), the non‐competitive receptor antagonist ANA‐12 and TrkB/Fc, a fusion protein that binds BDNF and prevents TrkB stimulation. Blocking TrkB or inactivating BDNF in NAcore potentiated active lever pressing, showing that endogenous BDNF tone was present and supplying inhibitory tone on cue‐induced reinstatement. To determine if exogenous BDNF also negatively regulated reinstatement, BDNF was microinjected into NAcore 15 minutes before cue‐induced reinstatement. BDNF decreased cocaine seeking through TrkB receptor binding, but had no effect on inactive lever pressing, spontaneous or cocaine‐induced locomotion, or on reinstated sucrose seeking. BDNF‐infusion potentiated within trial extinction when microinjected in the NAcore during cue‐ and context + cue induced reinstatement, and the inhibition of lever pressing lasted at least 3 days post injection. Although decreased reinstatement endured for 3 days when BDNF was administered prior to a reinstatement session, when microinjected before an extinction session or in the home cage, BDNF did not alter subsequent cued‐reinstatement. Together, these data show that endogenous BDNF acts on TrKB to provide inhibitory tone on reinstated cocaine seeking, and this effect was recapitulated by exogenous BDNF.
Islands of relationality and resilience: The shifting stakes of the Anthropocene
Authors: Chandler David , Pugh Jonathan
Published: June 2018

In recent decades, island studies scholars have done much to disrupt static notions of the island form, increasingly foregrounding how islands form part of complex networks of relations, assemblages and flows. In this paper, we shift the terms of debate more explicitly to relationality in the Anthropocene. We consider the implications and challenges that a wider set of debates, particularly surrounding island “resilience,” concerning the Anthropocene in the social sciences and humanities pose for island studies.
Islands of democracy
Authors: Veenendaal Wouter
Published: June 2018

From a comparative political perspective, island jurisdictions stand out as having exceptionally democratic regimes in comparison with mainland or continental polities. Irrespective of their geographical location, levels of economic development or constitutional status (sovereign or nonsovereign), with only a few exceptions, island jurisdictions around the world have democratic political institutions. While some scholars have explained this relationship on the basis of colonial history, international political dynamics or the geographical isolation and remoteness that stem from being an island, others have argued that the smallness of islands explains the correlation, meaning that size is actually the causal factor that explains the prevalence of democratic governance. In this paper, an original account of the relationship between islandness and democracy is provided, foregrounding the informal political dynamics that can be observed in island territories around the world. To do this, the specific nature, dynamics and varieties of democratic governance in island jurisdictions are examined. Most island nations have adopted the political‐institutional framework of former colonial powers or metropolitan states, and these have only rarely been modified to suit the (small) island context. Yet due to the greater social intimacy and interconnectedness of island societies, these formal institutional frameworks are likely to be complemented or overshadowed by a set of powerful informal political dynamics, which means that a large part of the political process is conducted outside of the official political channels. These informal politics have mixed effects on the quality of democratic governance, as face‐to‐face relations offer both opportunities and drawbacks for democratic transparency and accountability. The last analytical section of the paper examines the interaction between formal institutional structures and the prevalent informal political dynamics in island territories, and argues that this interplay perhaps provides the best explanation for the survival of democratic institutions in island territories.
The cost of helping: An exploration of compassionate responding in children
Authors: Green Mitchell , Kirby James N. , Nielsen Mark
Published: June 2018

Children engage in prosocial behaviour from an early age. Whether children will reliably provide compassionate help to a suffering individual is unclear. To investigate this, 73 4‐years‐olds were presented with three novel tasks in which they and a puppet had opportunity to win stickers by completing respective versions of the same tasks. In all cases, the puppets were unable to complete their tasks. The puppets ‘reacted’ by being either upset or not upset. While children provided help when it did not cost them, their inclination to do so was significantly diminished when it incurred a personal cost.

Statement of contribution

What is already known on this subject?

Children are generally prosocial and altruistic.

Personal cost can inhibit prosocial helping in children.

What does this study add?

We created two conditions (distress vs. no distress) and (cost vs. no cost) to examine the difference between prosocial and compassionate helping.

We obtained first evidence that children will not respond compassionately when incurring a personal cost.