bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Voice
Authors: Cennamo Michela
Published: August 2016

The main goal of this chapter is to provide a descriptive and critical overview of the some of the issues related to voice in Romance, covering such areas as the restructuring of Latin voice distinctions; source, range, and distribution of different Romance passive auxiliaries; the marking of aspectual distinctions; dative and oblique passives and participle agreement patterns; deontic passives; antipassive; anticausative; impersonal passive; impersonal constructions. Specific topics dealt with include: voice and transitivity; voice and argument linking in the transition to Romance; voice distinctions in late Latin; marking and linking of core arguments; passive auxiliaries in the transition to Romance; reflexive constructions; reflexives and middles/anticausatives; passive and impersonal/indefinite reflexives; passive vs impersonal/indefinite reflexives: morphosyntactic and pragmatic constraints; grammatical domains; nature of the subject; temporal-aspectual constraints; interpretation of impersonal se; passive and impersonal periphrases; constraints and variation; impersonal passives; impersonal actives; indefinite markers.
Complex predicates
Authors: Sheehan Michelle
Published: August 2016

The main goal of this chapter is to provide a descriptive and critical overview of the some of the most striking and interesting problems and questions related to Romance complex predicates such as causative and perception verb constructions, covering such areas as the properties of the Romance causative construction with reflexes of facere and laxare, including the distinction between faire-infinitif and faire-par, semantics and properties of infinitival subject, restructuring, clitic climbing, long object movement, auxiliary selection, past participle agreement, the distribution and expression of the embedded agent, argument marking with ditransitive infinitives, behaviour of reflexive predicates, and possible passivization; syntactic differences between the facere/laxare causative and the mandare causative; perception verb constructions and the optionality of restructuring.
Word order
Authors: Salvi Giampaolo
Published: August 2016

The main goal of this chapter is to provide a descriptive and critical overview of the some of the most striking and interesting problems and questions related to issues in Romance word order, covering such areas as the position of major constituents in the sentence, the nominal group, the adjectival and adverbial phrases, and the prepositional phrase; the evidence for a V2 transitional stage in early Romance, including synchronic residues; the unmarked order of transitive and unaccusative clauses; marked orders involving left-peripheral topicalization and focalization positions; availability and differing interpretations of clause-initial, clause-internal, and clause-final focus positions; changing diachronic patterns in discontinuous structures, extractions of complements and modifiers, and scrambling; different subject positions and their interpretive properties.
Population Dynamics
Authors: Friedman Daniel , Sinervo Barry , Friedman Daniel , Sinervo Barry , Friedman Daniel , Sinervo Barry
Published: August 2016

The chapter introduces the concept of fitness, and focuses on the distribution of traits or behaviors within each population. The traits may be biological and governed by genes, or may instead have a social or a virtual basis that can be described by “memes.” Evolution describes how the distribution changes over time in response to fitness differences, for example, according to the replicator equation in discrete time or continuous time. The chapter also presents the Hardy‐Weinberg model of diploid evolution. A technical appendix points out connections to relative entropy and explores the continuous time limit of discrete replicator dynamics.
Dynamics in n-Dimensional Games
Authors: Friedman Daniel , Sinervo Barry , Friedman Daniel , Sinervo Barry
Published: August 2016

This chapter analyzes more complex forms of interaction. Using the rock-paper-scissors game of the European common lizard as an example, it introduces helpful geometric techniques for analyzing 3 × 3 and higher dimensional games and shows how to extend them to nonlinear games. The authors then consider two-population games, both the usual “asymmetric” analysis and own-population effects. The chapter also introduces more general dynamics than replicator, including several forms of monotone dynamics. Finally, it explains how to estimate the payoff matrix from time-series data on the side-blotched lizard using maximum likelihood techniques and state-of-the-art multinomial logit and Dirichlet models.
Equilibrium
Authors: Friedman Daniel , Sinervo Barry , Friedman Daniel , Sinervo Barry
Published: August 2016

Chapter 4 connects the dynamic steady state concepts analyzed in previous chapters to the classic static concepts of Nash equilibrium (NE) and evolutionarily stable state (ESS). It shows that NE is a necessary condition for a steady state to be dynamically stable, and that ESS is sufficient under replicator dynamics, but is not always sufficient for other monotone dynamics. It applies equilibrium ideas to established models of Fisherian runaway sexual selection, and also introduces the concept of an adjustment matrix, which modifies the payoff matrix via the Hadamard product (element-by-element matrix multiplication). A technical appendix explains three main techniques of stability analysis: eigenvalues of (projected) Jacobian matrices, Lyapunov functions, and Liouville’s theorem.
Learning in Games
Authors: Friedman Daniel , Sinervo Barry , Friedman Daniel , Sinervo Barry
Published: August 2016

The chapter sketches the many forces driving strategy share dynamics in human society, ranging from diploid genetics to individual learning. It then focuses on learning and imitation in strategic interaction. The overall goal is to identify empirically the adaptation processes of humans interacting with each other. After developing parametric models of learning rules and decision rules, the chapter shows how the models can be fit to laboratory data of profit-motivated human subjects playing matrix and bimatrix games. Belief learning models have fitted parameters describing how players’ beliefs respond to new and older evidence, and how strongly actions respond to beliefs. Models mentioned include noisy best response, quantal response equilibrium, weighted fictitious play, and experience-weighted attraction.
International Trade and the Environment
Authors: Friedman Daniel , Sinervo Barry
Published: August 2016

This chapter applies evolutionary games to environmental economics and international trade. It shows how evolutionary game theory can be used for policy analysis. Beginning with the standard static Cournot model to represent short-run adjustment of output quantities, it applies monotone dynamics to the longer-run shares of firms that adopt clean or dirty technologies, and shows how Pigovian taxes and other policy interventions can shift the equilibrium towards a more efficient outcome. The chapter then considers how firms chose among alternative forms of internal organization, as they compete with other domestic and/or foreign firms. Taxes and other policy interventions can alter the stable states seen in the longer run, and potentially achieve environmental and economics policy goals.
Evolution of Cooperation
Authors: Friedman Daniel , Sinervo Barry
Published: August 2016

This chapter opens with a simple diagram capturing the tension that all social creatures face between self interest and the social good. It then reviews two famous devices for alleviating the tension, Hamilton’s kin selection and Trivers’s bilateral reciprocity, and demonstrates their isomorphism. Next it reviews the “kaleidoscope” niches that our ancestors inhabited in Pleistocene times, emphasizing the intense selection for flexible forms of cooperation within stable groups of individuals. It then presents humans’ novel coping device, the moral system, which builds on but goes well beyond the earlier devices. It shows how the content of the moral code evolves on short timescales to adapt to novel environments, and concludes with a short discussion of new adaptations (e.g., egalitarian to hierarchical) to accommodate pastoral life styles 10 thousand years ago.
Evaluation of the radiobiological gamma index with motion interplay in tangential IMRT breast treatment
Authors: Sumida Iori , Yamaguchi Hajime , Das Indra J. , Kizaki Hisao , Aboshi Keiko , Tsujii Mari , Yamada Yuji , Tamari Kiesuke , Suzuki Osamu , Seo Yuji , Isohashi Fumiaki , Yoshioka Yasuo , Ogawa Kazuhiko
Published: August 2016

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the motion interplay effect in early-stage left-sided breast cancer intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), incorporating the radiobiological gamma index (RGI). The IMRT dosimetry for various breathing amplitudes and cycles was investigated in 10 patients. The predicted dose was calculated using the convolution of segmented measured doses. The physical gamma index (PGI) of the planning target volume (PTV) and the organs at risk (OAR) was calculated by comparing the original with the predicted dose distributions. The RGI was calculated from the PGI using the tumor control probability (TCP) and the normal tissue complication probability (NTCP). The predicted mean dose and the generalized equivalent uniform dose (gEUD) to the target with various breathing amplitudes were lower than the original dose (P < 0.01). The predicted mean dose and gEUD to the OARs with motion were higher than for the original dose to the OARs (P < 0.01). However, the predicted data did not differ significantly between the various breathing cycles for either the PTV or the OARs. The mean RGI gamma passing rate for the PTV was higher than that for the PGI (P < 0.01), and for OARs, the RGI values were higher than those for the PGI (P < 0.01). The gamma passing rates of the RGI for the target and the OARs other than the contralateral lung differed significantly from those of the PGI under organ motion. Provided an NTCP value <0.05 is considered acceptable, it may be possible, by taking breathing motion into consideration, to escalate the dose to achieve the PTV coverage without compromising the TCP.
Treatment outcomes of and prognostic factors for definitive radiotherapy with and without chemotherapy for Stage I/II nasal extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma
Authors: Yang Claire Wen-Chi , Wang Chun-Wei , Hong Ruey-Long , Tsai Chiao-Ling , Yao Ming , Tang Jih-Luh , Lin Chung-Wu , Cheng Ann-Lii , Kuo Sung-Hsin
Published: August 2016

Treatment strategies for nasal extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL), including sequential chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy (SCRT), concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT), or radiotherapy alone (RT), remain varied. The purpose of this study was to assess the treatment outcome, the toxicity, and the potential prognostic factors for patients with early-stage nasal ENKTL treated using definitive RT (minimum of 50 Gy) with or without chemotherapy. From 1998 to 2014, 37 patients were included in the study. Eight patients were treated with RT alone, 1 with CCRT, and 28 with SCRT. Local regional control (LRC), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. RT resulted in an overall response rate of 91.2%, with a complete response rate of 78.4%. After a median follow-up time of 36.8 months, the 3-year LRC, PFS and OS were 87.4%, 64.0% and 76.3%, respectively. Acute severe toxicity (Grade 3) of mucositis was observed in 6 (16.2%) of the 37 patients. In univariate analyses, extensive disease (Stage I/II with local invasiveness) and the presence of B symptoms were significantly associated with a poor PFS, whereas extensive disease was significantly associated with a poor OS. Multivariate analysis identified the presence of extensive disease as an independent predictor of PFS (P < 0.001) and OS (P = 0.015). High-dose RT with or without chemotherapy reported promising locoregional control and a favorable outcome for patients with early-stage nasal ENKTL without local invasiveness. Further investigation of new treatment strategies for patients with local invasiveness is warranted.
Proteomic analysis reveals dynamic regulation of fruit development and sugar and acid accumulation in apple
Authors: Li Mingjun , Li Dongxia , Feng Fengjuan , Zhang Sheng , Ma Fengwang , Cheng Lailiang
Published: August 2016

Understanding the fruit developmental process is critical for fruit quality improvement. Here, we report a comprehensive proteomic analysis of apple fruit development over five growth stages, from young fruit to maturity, coupled with metabolomic profiling. A tandem mass tag (TMT)-based comparative proteomics approach led to the identification and quantification of 7098 and 6247 proteins, respectively. This large-scale proteomic dataset presents a global view of the critical pathways involved in fruit development and metabolism. When linked with metabolomics data, these results provide new insights into the modulation of fruit development, the metabolism and storage of sugars and organic acids (mainly malate), and events within the energy-related pathways for respiration and glycolysis. We suggest that the key steps identified here (e.g. those involving the FK2, TST, EDR6, SPS, mtME and mtMDH switches), can be further targeted to confirm their roles in accumulation and balance of fructose, sucrose and malate. Moreover, our findings imply that the primary reason for decreases in amino acid concentrations during fruit development is related to a reduction in substrate flux via glycolysis, which is mainly regulated by fructose-bisphosphate aldolase and bisphosphoglycerate mutase.
Impact of changed legislation on skin tests: the present and future
Authors: Klimek Ludger , Hoffmann Hans Jürgen , Kugler Alexa , Muraro Antonella , Hellings Peter W.
Published: August 2016

Purpose of review

To discuss the impact of current European Union regulations on the availability of commercially available skin test allergens in European member states.

Recent findings

European Union legislations now define diagnostic allergens to be medicine requiring market authorization of every individual diagnostic allergen with obligations including clinical trials, application dossiers, a regular update of the dossiers, handling of variation processes and ongoing stability testing of the source material and periodic safety update reporting. The financial expenses of the initiation and maintenance of approvals for diagnostic allergens far exceed their related revenues. Thus, the numbers of authorized test allergens are steadily decreasing.

The current European Union regulations are anticipated to have an immense impact on in-vivo allergy diagnosis in Europe. Available skin test allergens decreased to less than half of what has been before in recent years. EAACI has addressed both the EU and EMA to resolve this situation.
Grape skin extract mitigates tissue degeneration, genotoxicity, and oxidative status in multiple organs of rats exposed to cadmium
Authors: Boiago Gollucke Andrea P. , Claudio Samuel R. , Yamamura Hirochi , Morais Damila R. , Bataglion Giovana A. , Eberlin Marcos N. , Aguiar Odair , Ribeiro Daniel A.
Published: August 2016

The aim of this study was to investigate whether grape skin extract can mitigate the noxious activities induced by cadmium exposure in multiple organs of rats. For this purpose, histopathological analysis for the liver, genotoxicity, and oxidative status in the blood and liver were investigated in this setting. A total of 20 Wistar rats weighing 250 g, on average, and 8 weeks of age were distributed into four groups (n=5) as follows: control group (nontreated group); cadmium group (Cd); and grape skin extract groups (Cd+GS) at 175 or 350 mg/l. Histopathological analysis in liver showed that animals treated with grape skin extract showed improved tissue degeneration induced by cadmium intoxication. Genetic damage was reduced in blood and hepatocytes as indicated by comet and micronucleus assays in animals treated with grape skin extract. Copper–zinc superoxide dismutase and cytochrome c gene expression increased in groups treated with grape skin extract in liver cells. Grape skin extract also reduced the 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine levels in liver cells compared with the cadmium group. Taken together, our results indicate that grape skin extract can mitigate tissue degeneration, genotoxicity, and oxidative stress induced by cadmium exposure in multiple organs of Wistar rats.
Impact of Self-Preference Community Fitness Interventions in High-Risk African Americans
Authors: Yanek Lisa R. , Vaidya Dhananjay , Kral Brian G. , Kalyani Rita R. , Moy Taryn F. , Stewart Kerry J. , Becker Diane M.
Published: August 2016

African Americans have a high prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity, but few interventions have been successful in the long term. We describe a 1-year intervention program to increase physical activity and reduce cardiometabolic risk. Interventions incorporated the premise that self-selection into flexible venues and varying exercise modalities would result in improvement in fitness and risk factors. Results of this single-group pretest/posttest observational study show 1-year overall group reductions in body weight and body mass index and cardiometabolic factors including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and increases in dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry-derived absolute and percent lean mass and lean-fat ratio, and decreased fat mass.
Determinants of Implementation Effectiveness in a Physical Activity Program for Church-Going Latinas
Authors: Beard Megan , Chuang Emmeline , Haughton Jessica , Arredondo Elva M.
Published: August 2016

Faith-based interventions show promise for reducing health disparities among ethnic minority populations. However, churches vary significantly in their readiness and willingness to support these programs. Semistructured interviews were conducted with priests, other church leaders, and lay health advisors in churches implementing a physical activity intervention targeting Latinas. Implementation effectiveness was operationalized as average 6-month participation rates in physical activity classes at each church. Factors facilitating implementation include church leader support and strength of parishioners' connection to the church. Accounting for these church-level factors may be critical in determining church readiness to participate in health promotion activities.
Endoscopic techniques in tympanoplasty and stapes surgery
Authors: Hunter Jacob B. , O’Connell Brendan P. , Rivas Alejandro
Published: August 2016

Purpose of review

Total endoscopic ear surgery is becoming more popular given the improved visualization of the middle ear and its related pathology as compared to the microscope. Whereas the endoscope has been used for close to two decades in cholesteatoma surgery with several significant studies, few studies have outlined the surgical outcomes, and also the complications, in patients undergoing endoscopic tympanoplasties and stapes surgeries. This review highlights those few studies.

Recent findings

Few articles exist regarding endoscopic tympanoplasty and stapes procedures. In summarizing the literature over the previous 12 months, the perforation closure rate with total endoscopic ear surgery tympanoplasty is reported to range from 84.0 to 97.2%, with postoperative air-bone gaps ranging from 5.3 to 13.8 dB. As for endoscopic stapes, the rates of air-bone gap closures to under 10 dB are reported between 56.0 and 86.7%. Complication rates for both procedures are comparable to the microscopic literature.

Although endoscopic tympanoplasty and stapes procedures appear to be well tolerated with comparable complication profiles to microscopic procedures, future studies exploring patient-centered outcomes, and also anticipated evolution of results, are warranted.
The Reliability of Transoral Robotic Surgery in Revision Tonsillectomy
Authors: Kuduban Ozan
Published: August 2016

Tonsillectomy is one of the most frequently performed elective operations throughout the world. Although conventional methods are still valid, transoral robotic surgery (TORS) is preferred in some special situations. In this report, we will discuss the usage and reliability of TORS in the revision tonsillectomy procedure.
Oxidative DNA damage is epigenetic by regulating gene transcription via base excision repair
Authors: Fleming Aaron M. , Ding Yun , Burrows Cynthia J.
Published: August 2016

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have emerged as important cellular signaling agents for survival. Herein, we demonstrate that ROS-mediated oxidation of DNA to yield 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (OG) in gene promoters is a signaling agent for gene activation. Enhanced gene expression occurs when OG is formed in guanine-rich, potential G-quadruplex sequences (PQS) in promoter coding strands to initiate base excision repair (BER) by 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1) yielding an abasic site (AP). The AP enables melting of the duplex to unmask the PQS to adopt a G-quadruplex fold in which apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) binds, but inefficiently cleaves, the AP for activation ofVEGForNTHL1genes. This concept allowed identification of 61 human DNA repair genes that might be activated by this mechanism. Identification of the oxidatively-modified DNA base OG as guiding protein activity on the genome and altering cellular phenotype ascribes an epigenetic role to OG.
Integration and validation of an SMS-based bidding procedure of eliciting consumers’ willingness-to-pay for food
Authors: Mogendi Joseph Birundu , De Steur Hans , Makokha Anselimo , Gellynck Xavier
Published: August 2016

Purpose

Despite the large body of research on consumers’ willingness-to-pay for new food, few studies have tried to integrate new technology-based systems and improve their validity. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the integration of short messaging service (SMS) in experimental auctions.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a case study on iodine biofortified food with 180 household decision makers in Africa, a standard Becker-Degroot-Marschak procedure was compared with the novel SMS-based procedure through five information/auction rounds. Thereby, a standard protocol commonly employed in validation of medical diagnostic tests was adopted, assessing the sensitivity, specificity, precision, negative predictive values, likelihood ratios and post-test probability.

Findings

The SMS-based elicitation exhibited high levels of sensitivity (89-95 per cent), specificity (63-73 per cent), precision (40-60 per cent), NPV (92-98 per cent), LR+(2.6-3.3) and LR−(0.08-0.2) for all the auction rounds. The post-test plot indicates that the novel procedure is particularly consistent in ascertaining positive and negative valuations for a new food product.

Originality/value

Even though SMS-based bidding is shown to be an accurate, but also convenient and attractive bidding procedure, which is in line with novel ways of purchasing food, further validation is inevitable to determine its reliability in different contexts and its most effective use.
Effects of quality claims on willingness to pay for organic food
Authors: Cagalj Marin , Haas Rainer , Morawetz Ulrich B.
Published: August 2016

Purpose

Claims about environmental impact, health effects and taste of food products are restricted in the EU. The purpose of this paper is to quantify how much such claims would change the willingness to pay (WTP) for organic products in Croatia.

Design/methodology/approach

For estimating the WTP under different claims the authors used an experimental auction. Participants (258) bid for real food products (organic and conventional tomatoes and apples) and are endowed with cash at a location where they usually go shopping.

Findings

For the sample the authors find that consumers are willing to pay on average a premium of 42 percent for organic apples and 59 percent for organic tomatoes. On top of that, WTP increases between 16-20 percent for environmental claims and 12 percent for health claims. Taste-related claims are not significant.

Practical implications

Sellers and producers of organic food can benefit from adding claims to organic labels. To protect consumers from manipulation, regulators are well advised to be cautions when allowing claims about credence attributes of food.

Originality/value

The authors quantify the influence of claims about organic products on the WTP by using experimental auctions which are particularly suitable to investigate effects which cannot be observed on the market.
A global exploration of Big Data in the supply chain
Authors: Richey Robert Glenn , Morgan Tyler R. , Lindsey-Hall Kristina , Adams Frank G.
Published: August 2016

Purpose

Journals in business logistics, operations management, supply chain management, and business strategy have initiated ongoing calls for Big Data research and its impact on research and practice. Currently, no extant research has defined the concept fully. The purpose of this paper is to develop an industry grounded definition of Big Data by canvassing supply chain managers across six nations. The supply chain setting defines Big Data as inclusive of four dimensions: volume, velocity, variety, and veracity. The study further extracts multiple concepts that are important to the future of supply chain relationship strategy and performance. These outcomes provide a starting point and extend a call for theoretically grounded and paradigm-breaking research on managing business-to-business relationships in the age of Big Data.

Design/methodology/approach

A native categories qualitative method commonly employed in sociology allows each executive respondent to provide rich, specific data. This approach reduces interviewer bias while examining 27 companies across six industrialized and industrializing nations. This is the first study in supply chain management and logistics (SCMLs) to use the native category approach.

Findings

This study defines Big Data by developing four supporting dimensions that inform and ground future SCMLs research; details ten key success factors/issues; and discusses extensive opportunities for future research.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides a central grounding of the term, dimensions, and issues related to Big Data in supply chain research.

Practical implications

Supply chain managers are provided with a peer-specific definition and unified dimensions of Big Data. The authors detail key success factors for strategic consideration. Finally, this study notes differences in relational priorities concerning these success factors across different markets, and points to future complexity in managing supply chain and logistics relationships.

Originality/value

There is currently no central grounding of the term, dimensions, and issues related to Big Data in supply chain research. For the first time, the authors address subjects related to how supply chain partners employ Big Data across the supply chain, uncover Big Data’s potential to influence supply chain performance, and detail the obstacles to developing Big Data’s potential. In addition, the study introduces the native category qualitative interview approach to SCMLs researchers.
3G post adoption users experience with telecommunications services
Authors: Rezaei Sajad , Amin Muslim , Moghaddam Minoo , Mohamed Norshidah
Published: August 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of service quality, perceived usefulness and users’ cognitive satisfaction to determine the third-generation (3G) mobile phone users’ behavioural retention in using 3G telecommunications services.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 243 valid questionnaires were collected from 3G users in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The combination of partial least squares (PLS) path modelling approach and structural equation modelling (SEM; PLS-SEM) technique was used to analyze the measurement and structural model.

Findings

Our empirical assessment supports the proposed research hypotheses and further suggests that service quality is a second-order reflective construct comprising navigation and visual design, management and customer service and system reliability and connection quality.

Originality/value

Prior studies have examined the impact of service quality, perceived usefulness, overall users’ satisfaction and behavioural intention on an information system in general. This study is among the few studies that have attempted to gain insights into 3G users’ post-adoption experience with telecommunications services.
Customer mistreatment behavior and hotel employee organizational citizenship behavior
Authors: Wen Ji , Li Yina , Hou Pingping
Published: August 2016

Purpose

This study mainly aims to examine the mediating effect of perceived organizational support (POS) and the moderating effect oflocusof control and job autonomy on the relationship between customer mistreatment behavior and organizational citizenship behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a questionnaire survey of 231 employees and their direct supervisors of five hotels in Guangzhou. This paper analyzed five variables (customer mistreatment, POS,locusof control, job autonomy and organizational citizenship behavior) relationships through a variety of data analysis.

Findings

Results indicate that customer mistreatment behavior has a negative effect on employees’ organizational citizenship behavior. The relationship between customer mistreatment behavior and employees’ organizational citizenship behavior is partially mediated by employees’ POS. Staffs’locusof control and job autonomy can modulate the relationship between customers’ mistreatment behavior and POS. Furthermore, the indirect mediating effect of POS on customer mistreatment behavior is revealed. The organizational citizenship behavior linkage is significant only to staff who perceived they have a high level of job autonomy and a highlocusof control.

Practical implications

Hotels are advised to provide organizational support and the management of customer mistreatment behavior so as to reflect their employees’ value, seek service innovation and promote production efficiency in practice. Furthermore, it maintains and promotes operational efficiency for service organizations and means the organization pays more attention to meet the social, emotional and psychological needs of its employees.

Originality/value

This article reveals the mechanism relationship between customer mistreatment behavior and employee organizational citizenship behavior. First, it defines the concept of customer mistreatment in the hotel industry and enriches the related research. Second, the study, from the perspective of customer mistreatment, has opened up a new view of organizational citizenship behavior research. Third, we built a research model and it is helpful to grasp the inner mechanism between customer mistreatment and employees’ organizational citizenship behavior. Fourth, this research benefits service organizations so as to maintain and improve their operation efficiency. Furthermore, it can have theoretical guidance for service-oriented organizations to develop a harmonious consumption culture and organizational culture.
A grounded theory study on leader authority formation process in China
Authors: Zhang Xiao-feng , Zhang Xiao-juan , Li Lei , Li Gui-quan , Xi You-min
Published: August 2016

Purpose

This study aims to focus on the authority formation process of Chinese enterprise leaders, with the purpose of finding out how an ordinary newly established firm leader develops into a real top leader and achieves the status of legitimacy in a well-known enterprise.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on constructivist grounded theory, this paper investigates the formation mechanism of entrepreneurial authority in China by using the rich data of Liu Chuan-zhi’s leader activities.

Findings

In the “evolution” path of authority formation, leaders continually consolidate and improve their authority through two classes of exceptional management activities: “emergency rescue” and “promotion activities”. The successful realization of exceptional management activities benefits from a leader’s management experience accumulation and relationship maintenance with the government. In the “design” path of authority formation, leaders consolidate and improve their authority by exercising their position of power. Leaders’ legitimacy is reflected by making strategic decision and demonstrating discretion of position power. Additionally, passing on an inspiring leader’s thoughts and ideas to an organization’s members is accomplished through the construction of organization culture, institutionalization and convention.

Research limitations/implications

First, the findings are based on only Liu Chuan-zhi’s case. The authors still need more cases to compare and develop the findings and seek theoretical saturation in a broader sense. Second, the qualitative analysis is based on secondary data and future research could consider the introduction of interviews, video and other types of research data.

Originality/value

Under the parallel paths which are “evolution” and “design”, the dynamic leader authority formation model in China is founded.
meteR: an r package for testing the maximum entropy theory of ecology
Authors: Rominger Andrew J. , Merow Cory
Published: August 2016

Macroecological patterns appear to follow consistent forms across a range of natural systems; however, the origin of their regularity remains obscured. The maximum entropy theory of ecology (METE) predicts macroecological patterns of abundance, metabolic rates and their distribution within communities and across space using an information theoretic approach. METE's success in predicting empirical patterns demands that we further press the theory's predictions to determine how (or whether) predictability depends on attributes of the system and the temporal, spatial and biological scales at which we study it.

Maximum entropy theory of ecology predicts multiple macroecological metrics using statistical idealizations from information theory; thus, confronting METE with data represents a strong test of the underlying biological mechanisms that could drive real communities away from statistical idealizations. METE has remained somewhat inaccessible due to its highly mathematical nature and a lack of software for model construction/evaluation. To remedy this, we have developed an r package implementation of METE.

Our open‐source (GNU General Public License v2) r package, meteR (version 1.2; https://cran.r-project.org/package=meteR), (i) directly calculates all of METE's predictions from a variety of data formats; (ii) automatically handles approximations and other technical details; and (iii) provides high‐level plotting and model comparison functions to explore and interrogate models.

With these tools in hand, ecologists can more readily test the predictions of METE for their data sets. By facilitating tests of METE, we expect that a better understanding of its strengths and limitations will emerge. A better understanding of the strengths and limitations of METE will offer insight into how biological mechanisms and statistical constraints combine to drive macroecological patterns.
Dietary studies in birds: testing a non‐invasive method using digital photography in seabirds
Authors: Gaglio Davide , Cook Timothée R. , Connan Maëlle , Ryan Peter G. , Sherley Richard B.
Published: August 2016

Dietary studies give vital insights into foraging behaviour, with implications for understanding changing environmental conditions and the anthropogenic impacts on natural resources. Traditional diet sampling methods may be invasive or subject to biases, so developing non‐invasive and unbiased methods applicable to a diversity of species is essential.

We used digital photography to investigate the diet fed to chicks of a prey‐carrying seabird and compared our approach (photo‐sampling) to a traditional method (regurgitations) for the greater crested tern Thalasseus bergii.

Over three breeding seasons, we identified >24 000 prey items of at least 48 different species, more than doubling the known diversity of prey taken by this population of terns. We present a method to estimate the length of the main prey species (anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus) from photographs, with an accuracy <1 mm and precision ~ 0·5 mm. Compared to regurgitations at two colonies, photo‐sampling produced similar estimates of prey composition and size, at a faster species accumulation rate. The prey compositions collected by two researchers photo‐sampling concurrently were also similar.

Photo‐sampling offers a non‐invasive tool to accurately and efficiently investigate the diet composition and prey size of prey‐carrying birds. It reduces biases associated with observer‐based studies and is simple to use. This methodology provides a novel tool to aid conservation and management decision‐making in the light of the growing need to assess environmental and anthropogenic change in natural ecosystems.
Metformin‐associated risk of acute dialysis in patients with type 2 diabetes: A nationwide cohort study
Authors: Carlson Nicholas , Hommel Kristine , Olesen Jonas B. , Gerds Thomas A. , Soja Anne‐Merete , Vilsbøll Tina , Kamper Anne‐Lise , Torp‐Pedersen Christian , Gislason Gunnar
Published: August 2016

Recent guidelines governing anti‐diabetic medications increasingly advocate metformin as first‐line therapy in all patients with type 2 diabetes. However, metformin could be associated with increased risk of acute kidney injury (AKI), acute dialysis and lactate acidosis in marginal patients. In a retrospective nationwide cohort study, a total of 168 443 drug‐naïve patients with type 2 diabetes ≥50 years, initiating treatment with either metformin or sulphonyl in Denmark between 2000 and 2012 were included in this study (70.7% initiated treatment with metformin); calculation of 1‐year risk of acute dialysis was based on g‐standardization of cause‐specific Cox regression models for acute dialysis, end‐stage renal disease and death. One‐year risks of acute dialysis were 92.4 per 100 000 (95% CI, 67.1‐121.3) and 142.7 per 100 000 (95% CI, 118.3‐168.0) for sulphonylurea and metformin, respectively. The metformin‐associated 1‐year risk of acute dialysis was increased by 50.3 per 100 000 (95% CI, 7.9‐88.6), corresponding to a risk ratio of 1.53 (95% CI, 1.06‐2.23), and a number needed to harm of 1988, thus providing evidence of potential concerns pertaining to the increasing use of metformin.
MAGED1 is a novel regulator of a select subset of bHLH PAS transcription factors
Authors: Sullivan Adrienne E. , Peet Daniel J. , Whitelaw Murray L.
Published: August 2016

Transcription factors of the basic helix‐loop‐helix (bHLH) PER‐ARNT‐SIM (PAS) family generally have critical and nonredundant biological roles, but some bHLH PAS proteins compete for common cofactors or recognise similar DNA elements. Identifying factors that regulate function of bHLH PAS proteins, particularly in cells where multiple family members are coexpressed, is important for understanding bHLH PAS factor biology. This study identifies and characterises a novel interaction between melanoma‐associated antigen D1 (MAGED1) and select members of the bHLH PAS transcription factor family. MAGED1 binds and positively regulates the transcriptional activity of family members SIM1, SIM2, NPAS4 and ARNT2, but does not interact with AhR, HIF1α and ARNT. This interaction is mediated by PAS repeat regions which also form the interface for bHLH PAS dimerisation, and accordingly MAGED1 is not found in complex with bHLH PAS dimers. We show that MAGED1 does not affect bHLH PAS protein levels and cannot be acting as a coactivator of transcriptionally active heterodimers, but rather appears to interact with nascent bHLH PAS proteins in the cytoplasm to enhance their function prior to nuclear import. As a selective regulator, MAGED1 may play an important role in the biology of these specific factors and in general bHLH PAS protein dynamics.
Decreased maternal behavior and anxiety in ephrin‐A5−/− mice
Authors: Sheleg M. , Yu Q. , Go C. , Wagner G. C. , Kusnecov A. W. , Zhou R.
Published: August 2016

During development of the nervous system, molecular signals mediating cell–cell interactions play critical roles in the guidance of axonal growth and establishment of synaptic functions. The Eph family of tyrosine kinase receptors and their ephrin ligands has been shown to mediate neuronal interactions in the development of topographic axon projection maps in several brain regions, and the loss of Eph activities result in defects in select axonal pathways. However, effects of deficiencies of the Eph signals on animal behavior have not been well documented. In this study, we showed that inactivation of a ligand of the Eph receptors, ephrin‐A5, resulted in defects in maternal behavior and alterations in anxiety. Female ephrin‐A5
−/− mice show significant defects in nest building and pup retrieval. In addition, lower levels of anxiety were observed in both male and female null mice. These changes were not due to deficiencies in estradiol, progesterone or corticosterone levels. Our observations suggest that ephrin‐A5 plays a key role in the development and/or function of neural pathways mediating mouse maternal care and anxiety.
Conditioned odor aversion induces social anxiety towards females in wild‐type and TrpC2 knockout male mice
Authors: Beny Y. , Kimchi T.
Published: August 2016

Female‐emitted pheromonal inputs possess an intrinsic rewarding value for conspecific males, promoting approach and investigation of the potential mating partner. In mice these inputs are detected mainly by the vomeronasal organ (VNO) and the main olfactory epithelium (MOE). We investigated the role of VNO‐mediated inputs in experience‐dependent plasticity of reproductive responses. We applied a sex‐specific conditioned odor aversion (COA) paradigm on adult, wild‐type (WT) male mice and on male mice impaired in VNO‐mediated signal transduction (TrpC2−/−). We found that WT males, which underwent COA to female‐soiled bedding, lost their innate preference to female odors and presented lower motivation to approach a sexually receptive female. COA also abolished the testosterone surge normally seen following exposure to female odors. Moreover, the conditioned males displayed impairments in copulatory behaviors, which lasted for several weeks. Surprisingly, these males also exhibited phobic behaviors towards receptive females, including freezing and fleeing responses. In contrast, WT males which underwent COA specifically to male pheromones showed no change in olfactory preference and only a marginally significant elevation in intermale aggression. Finally, we show that TrpC2−/− males were able to acquire aversion to female‐soiled bedding and presented similar behavioral alterations following COA in their responses to female cues. Our results demonstrate that the intrinsic rewarding value of female pheromones can be overridden through associative olfactory learning, which occurs independently of VNO inputs, probably through MOE signaling.
The returns to training in Russia: a difference‐in‐differences analysis
Authors: Travkin Pavel , Sharunina Anna
Published: August 2016

The experience of developed countries – particularly member‐states of the OECD – has shown that employers are actively investing in developing the human capital of their employees. According to research conducted by the World Bank, more than half of the companies in developed countries provide their employees with training in one form or another. There is, however, reason to believe that the situation is quite different in Russia. Some studies have shown that the level of investment in training in Russia is much lower. This difference can be explained by the fact that employers do not see the point in such investment because it is much easier to lure employees with the required qualifications than to train their own staff. Moreover, Russia faces a problem with high employee mobility, meaning that companies are not sure that they will get a return on their investment. Given these circumstances, the present study examines whether investments in human capital in Russia are profitable. It investigates the wage return to job‐related training using a difference‐in‐differences estimator to control for unmeasured differences in ability and measured differences in past wages as a proxy for ability and motivation. Estimates use panel data from The Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey – Higher School of Economics from 2004 to 2011. As predicted, positive returns to training are identified and the returns increase absolutely with the level of past wages.
Carotid‐Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity in Healthy Spanish Children: Reference Percentile Curves
Authors: Mora‐Urda Ana I. , Molina María del Carmen B. , Mill José G. , Montero‐López Pilar
Published: August 2016

Carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) measurement is an appropriate method for determining arterial stiffness and is a useful tool for early detection of cardiovascular disease. However, the lack of reference values due to the difficulty in accessing healthy child populations, among other causes, has limited its use in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to create reference cfPWV percentile curves for healthy children. The initial sample consisted of 350 girls and boys aged 8 to 11 years. The cfPWV per age and sex were generated using the lambda‐mu‐sigma (LMS) technique. The effects of sex, age, arterial pressure, and body mass index were taken into account. The main result of this study is the age‐ and height‐specific cfPWV reference percentile curves for girls and boys. Curves were obtained for both sexes, since sexual differences were observed in growth and development rates that may affect cfPWV.
Phenotypic differentiation is associated with divergent sexual selection among closely related barn swallow populations
Authors: Wilkins M. R. , Karaardıç H. , Vortman Y. , Parchman T. L. , Albrecht T. , Petrželková A. , Özkan L. , Pap P. L. , Hubbard J. K. , Hund A. K. , Safran R. J.
Published: August 2016

Sexual selection plays a key role in the diversification of numerous animal clades and may accelerate trait divergence during speciation. However, much of our understanding of this process comes from phylogenetic comparative studies, which rely on surrogate measures such as dimorphism that may not represent selection in wild populations. In this study, we assess sexual selection pressures for multiple male visual signals across four barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) populations. Our sample encompassed 2400 linear km and two described subspecies: EuropeanH. r. rustica(in the Czech Republic and Romania) and eastern MediterraneanH. r. transitiva(in Israel), as well as a potential area of contact (in Turkey). We demonstrate significant phenotypic differentiation in four sexual signalling axes, despite very low‐level genomic divergence and no comparable divergence in an ecological trait. Moreover, the direction of phenotypic divergence is consistent with differences in sexual selection pressures among subspecies. Thus,H. r. transitiva, which have the darkest ventral plumage of any population, experience directional selection for darker plumage. Similarly,H. r. rustica, which have the longest tail feathers of any population, experience directional selection for elongated tail feathers and disruptive selection for ventral plumage saturation. These results suggest that sexual selection is the primary driver of phenotypic differentiation in this species. Our findings add to growing evidence of phenotypic divergence with gene flow. However, to our knowledge, this is the first study to relate direct measures of the strength and targets of sexual selection to phenotypic divergence among closely related wild populations.