bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The fruitENCODE project sheds light on the genetic and epigenetic basis of convergent evolution of climacteric fruit ripening
Authors: Lü Peitao , Yu Sheng , Zhu Ning , Chen Yun-Ru , Zhou Biyan , Pan Yu , Tzeng David , Fabi Joao Paulo , Argyris Jason , Garcia-Mas Jordi , Ye Nengui , Zhang Jianhua , Grierson Donald , Xiang Jenny , Fei Zhangjun , Giovannoni Jim , Zhong Silin
Published: December 2017

Fleshy fruit evolved independently multiple times during angiosperm history. Many climacteric fruits utilize the hormone ethylene to regulate ripening. The fruitENCODE project shows there are multiple evolutionary origins of the regulatory circuits that govern climacteric fruit ripening. Eudicot climacteric fruits with recent whole-genome duplications (WGDs) evolved their ripening regulatory systems using the duplicated floral identity genes, while others without WGD utilised carpel senescence genes. The monocot banana uses both leaf senescence and duplicated floral-identity genes, forming two interconnected regulatory circuits. H3K27me3 plays a conserved role in restricting the expression of key ripening regulators and their direct orthologs in both the ancestral dry fruit and non-climacteric fleshy fruit species. Our findings suggest that evolution of climacteric ripening was constrained by limited availability of signalling molecules and genetic and epigenetic materials, and WGD provided new resources for plants to circumvent this limit. Understanding these different ripening mechanisms makes it possible to design tailor-made ripening traits to improve quality, yield and minimize postharvest losses.

One Sentence Summary

The fruitENCODE project discovered three evolutionary origins of the regulatory circuits that govern climacteric fruit ripening.
Show me your neighbours, and I’ll tell you what you are – cellular microenvironment matters
Authors: Toth Timea , Balassa Tamas , Bara Norbert , Kovacs Ferenc , Kriston Andras , Molnar Csaba , Haracska Lajos , Sukosd Farkas , Horvath Peter
Published: December 2017

To answer major questions of cell biology, it is essential to understand cellular complexity. Modern automated microscopes produce vast amounts of images routinely, making manual analysis nearly impossible. Due to their efficiency, machine learning-based analysis software have become essential tools to perform single-cell-level phenotypic analysis of large imaging datasets. However, an important limitation of such methods is that they do not use the information gained from the cellular micro- and macroenvironment: the algorithmic decision is based solely on the local properties of the cell of interest. Here, we present how various microenvironmental features contribute to identifying a cell and how such additional information can improve single-cell-level phenotypic image analysis. The proposed methodology was tested for different sizes of Euclidean and nearest neighbour-based cellular environments both on tissue sections and cell cultures. Our experimental data verify that the microenvironment of a cell largely determines its entity. This effect was found to be especially strong for established tissues, while it was somewhat weaker in the case of cell cultures. Our analysis shows that combining local cellular features with the properties of the cell's microenvironment significantly improves the accuracy of machine learning-based phenotyping.
Increased microglial synapse elimination in patient-specific models of schizophrenia
Authors: Sellgren Carl M. , Gracias Jessica , Watmuff Bradley , Goold Carleton P. , Thanos Jessica M. , Fu Ting , Karmacharya Rakesh , Brown Hannah E. , Wang Jennifer , Sheridan Steven D. , Perlis Roy H.
Published: December 2017

Schizophrenia patients display decreased synaptic density in postmortem studies, suggesting aberrant microglial synapse elimination during neurodevelopment. Here, we use cellular reprogramming to create patient-specific in vitro models of microglia-mediated synapse engulfment that demonstrate increased synapse elimination in schizophrenia-derived models compared to healthy controls. We show that excessive synaptic pruning in schizophrenia reflects abnormalities in microglia-like cells as well as synaptic structures. Further, we find that schizophrenia risk-associated variants within the complement component 4 locus contribute to the increased uptake in schizophrenia models. Finally, we demonstrate that the antibiotic minocycline reduces microglia-mediated synapse uptake and show that minocycline treatment for acne is associated with a reduction in incident schizophrenia risk compared to other treatments in a cohort of more than 9,000 young adults drawn from health records. Specific pharmacological interventions targeting excessive pruning merit further study for their capacity to delay or prevent the onset of schizophrenia in high-risk individuals.
Measuring mosquito-borne viral suitability in Myanmar and implications for local Zika virus transmission
Authors: Perez PN , Obolski U , Alcantara LCJ , Maia de Lima M , Ashley EA , Smithuis F , Horby P , Maude RJ , Zaw L , Kyaw AM , Lourenço J
Published: December 2017

INTRODUCTION: In South East Asia, mosquito-borne viruses (MBVs) have long been a cause of high disease burden and significant economic costs. While in some SEA countries the epidemiology of MBVs is spatio-temporally well characterised and understood, in others such as Myanmar our understanding is largely incomplete. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Here, we use a simple mathematical approach to estimate a climate-driven suitability index aiming to better characterise the intrinsic, spatio-temporal potential of MBVs in Myanmar. RESULTS: Results show that the timing and amplitude of the natural oscillations of our suitability index are highly informative for the temporal patterns of DENV case counts at the country level, and a mosquito-abundance measure at a city level. When projected at fine spatial scales, the suitability index suggests that the time period of highest MBV transmission potential is between June and October independently of geographical location. Higher potential is nonetheless found along the middle axis of the country and in particular in the southern corridor of international borders with Thailand. DISCUSSION: This research complements and expands our current understanding of MBV transmission potential in Myanmar, by identifying key spatial heterogeneities and temporal windows of importance for surveillance and control. We discuss our findings in the context of Zika virus given its recent worldwide emergence, public health impact, and current lack of information on its epidemiology and transmission potential in Myanmar. The proposed suitability index here demonstrated is applicable to other regions of the world for which surveillance data is missing, either due to lack of resources or absence of an MBV of interest.
Feature-specific awake reactivation in human V1 after visual training
Authors: Bang Ji Won , Sasaki Yuka , Watanabe Takeo , Rahnev Dobromir
Published: December 2017

Converging human studies have demonstrated that brain activity patterns observed during task performance reemerge in the following restful awake state. Such “awake reactivation” has been demonstrated across higher-order cortex for complex images or associations. However, it remains unclear what specific training components are reactivated in these studies. Here we sought to provide evidence for the reactivation of a particular visual feature – Gabor orientation. Following extensive training on a visual task, we found robust reactivation in human V1 that lasted at least eight minutes. This effect was not present in higher retinotopic areas such as V2, V3, V3A, or V4v, demonstrating that the effects in V1 are not due to top-down processes such as conscious rehearsal. Furthermore, the amount of awake reactivation predicted the amount of performance improvement on the visual task. These results demonstrate that functionally-relevant awake reactivation of specific visual features occurs in early sensory cortex.
Drosophila Fezf coordinates laminar-specific connectivity through cell-intrinsic and cell-extrinsic mechanisms
Authors: Santiago Ivan J. , Peng Jing , Ahn Curie , Gür Burak , Sporar Katja , Xu Chundi , Karakhanyan Aziz , Silies Marion , Pecot Matthew Y.
Published: December 2017

Laminar arrangement of neural connections is a fundamental feature of neural circuit organization. Identifying mechanisms that coordinate neural connections within correct layers is thus vital for understanding how neural circuits are assembled. In the medulla of the Drosophila visual system neurons form connections within ten parallel layers. The M3 layer receives input from two neuron types that sequentially innervate M3 during development. Here we show that M3-specific innervation by both neurons is coordinated by Drosophila Fezf (dFezf), a conserved transcription factor that is selectively expressed by the earlier targeting input neuron. In this cell, dFezf instructs layer specificity and activates the expression of a secreted molecule (Netrin) that regulates the layer specificity of the other input neuron. We propose that employment of transcriptional modules that cell-intrinsically target neurons to specific layers, and cell-extrinsically recruit other neurons is a general mechanism for building layered networks of neural connections.
Identification of Gene Regulation Models from Single-Cell Data
Authors: Weber Lisa , Raymond William , Munsky Brian
Published: December 2017

In quantitative analyses of biological processes, one may use many different scales of models (e.g., spatial or non-spatial, deterministic or stochastic, time-varying or at steady-state) or many different approaches to match models to experimental data (e.g., model fitting or parameter uncertainty/sloppiness quantification with different experiment designs). These different analyses can lead to surprisingly different results, even when applied to the same data and the same model. We use a simplified gene regulation model to illustrate many of these concerns, especially for ODE analyses of deterministic processes, chemical master equation and finite state projection analyses of heterogeneous processes, and stochastic simulations. For each analysis, we employ Matlab and Python software to consider a time-dependent input signal (e.g., a kinase nuclear translocation) and several model hypotheses, along with simulated single-cell data. We illustrate different approaches (e.g., deterministic and stochastic) to identify the mechanisms and parameters of the same model from the same simulated data. For each approach, we explore how uncertainty in parameter space varies with respect to the chosen analysis approach or specific experiment design. We conclude with a discussion of how our simulated results relate to the integration of experimental and computational investigations to explore signal-activated gene expression models in yeast [1] and human cells [2]‡.

PACS numbers: 87.10.+e, 87.15.Aa, 05.10.Gg, 05.40.Ca,02.50.-r

Submitted to: Phys. Biol.
Shallow whole genome sequencing for robust copy number profiling of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded breast cancers
Authors: Chin Suet Feung , Santoja Angela , Grzelak Marta , Ahn Soomin , Sammut Stephen-John , Clifford Harry , Rueda Oscar M. , Pugh Michelle , Goldgraben Mae A. , Bardwell Helen A. , Cho Eun Yoon , Provenzano Elena , Rojo Federico , Alba Emilio , Caldas Carlos
Published: December 2017

Pathology archives with linked clinical data are an invaluable resource for translational research, with the limitation that most cancer samples are formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. Therefore, FFPE tissues are an important resource for genomic profiling studies but are under-utilised due to the low amount and quality of extracted nucleic acids. We profiled the copy number landscape of 356 breast cancer patients using DNA extracted FFPE tissues by shallow whole genome sequencing. We generated a total of 491 sequencing libraries from 2 kits and obtained data from 98.4% of libraries with 86.4% being of good quality. We generated libraries from as low as 3.8ng of input DNA and found that the success was independent of input DNA amount and quality, processing site and age of the fixed tissues. Since copy number alterations (CNA) play a major role in breast cancer, it is imperative that we are able to use FFPE archives and we have shown in this study that sWGS is a robust method to do such profiling.
Single-cell characterization of step-wise acquisition of carboplatin resistance in ovarian cancer
Authors: Wenzel Alexander T. , Champa Devora , Venkatesh Hrishi , Sun Si , Tsai Cheng-Yu , Mesirov Jill P. , Bui Jack D. , Howell Stephen B. , Harismendy Olivier
Published: December 2017

Acquired resistance to carboplatin is a major obstacle to the cure of ovarian cancer, but its molecular underpinnings are still poorly understood and often inconsistent between in vitro modeling studies. Using sequential treatment cycles, multiple clones derived from a single ovarian cancer cell reached similar levels of resistance. The resistant clones showed significant transcriptional heterogeneity, with shared repression of cell cycle processes and induction of IFNα response signaling, and subsequent pharmacological inhibition of the JAK/STAT pathway led to a general increase in carboplatin sensitivity. Gene-expression based virtual synchronization of 26,772 single cells from 2 treatment steps and 4 resistant clones was used to evaluate the activity of Hallmark gene sets in proliferative (P) and quiescent (Q) phases. Two behaviors were associated with resistance: 1) broad repression in the P phase observed in all clones in early resistant steps and 2) prevalent induction in Q phase observed in the late treatment step of one clone. Furthermore, the induction of IFNα response in P phase or Wnt-signaling in Q phase were observed in distinct resistant clones. These observations suggest a model of resistance hysteresis, where functional alterations of the P and Q phase states affect the dynamics of the successive transitions between drug exposure and recovery, and prompts for a precise monitoring of single-cell states to develop more effective schedules for, or combination of, chemotherapy treatments.
High resolution in situ structural determination of heterogeneous specimen
Authors: Himes Benjamin A. , Zhang Peijun
Published: December 2017

Macromolecular complexes are intrinsically flexible and often challenging to purify for structure determination by single particle cryoEM. Such complexes may be studied in situ using cryo-electron tomography combined with sub-tomogram alignment and classification, which in exceptional cases reaches sub-nanometer resolution, yielding insight into structure-function relationships. All maps currently deposited in the EMDB with resolution < 9 Å are from macromolecules that form ordered structural arrays, like viral capsids, which greatly simplifies structural determination. Extending this approach to more common specimens that exhibit conformational or compositional heterogeneity, and may be available in limited numbers, remains challenging. We developed emClarity, a GPU-accelerated image processing package, specifically to address fundamental hurdles to this aim, and demonstrate significant improvements in the resolution of maps compared to those generated using current state-of-the-art software. Furthermore, we devise a novel approach to sub-tomogram classification that reveals functional states not previously observed with the same data.

The software is freely available from https://www.github.com/bHimes/emClarity

Tutorial documentation and videos at https://www.github.com/bHimes/emClarity/wiki
Burly1is a mouse QTL for lean body mass that maps to a 0.8-Mb region on chromosome 2
Authors: Lin Cailu , Fesi Brad D. , Marquis Michael , Bosak Natalia P. , Lysenko Anna , Koshnevisan Mohammed Amin , Duke Fujiko F. , Theodorides Maria L. , Nelson Theodore M. , McDaniel Amanda H. , Avigdor Mauricio , Arayata Charles J. , Shaw Lauren , Bachmanov Alexander A. , Reed Danielle R.
Published: December 2017

Our goal was to fine map a mouse QTL for lean body mass (Burly1) using information from several populations including newly created congenic mice derived from the B6 (host) and 129 (donor) strains. The results from each mapping population were concordant and showed thatBurly1is likely a single QTL in a 0.8-Mb region at 151.9-152.7 Mb (rs33197365tors3700604) on mouse chromosome 2. Results from mice of all the mapping populations we studied including intercrossed, backcrossed, consomic, and congenic strains indicate that lean body mass was increased by the B6-derived allele relative to the 129-derived allele. We determined that the congenic region harboringBurly1contains 26 protein-coding genes, 11 noncoding RNA elements (e.g., lncRNA), and 4 pseudogenes, with 1949 predicted functional variants. The effect of theBurly1locus on lean body weight was apparent at all ages measured and did not affect food intake or locomotor activity. However, congenic mice with the B6-allele produced more heat per kilogram of lean body weight than did controls, pointing to a genotype effect on lean mass metabolism. These results show the value of integrating information from several mapping populations to refine the map location of body composition QTLs.
Empathy and affect in B2B salesperson performance
Authors: Anaza Nwamaka A. , Inyang Aniefre Eddie , Saavedra Jose L.
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore salesperson empathy and the moderating impact of positive/negative affect on a salesperson’s listening and adaptive selling behaviors. It also seeks to identify whether and how empathy influences performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study’s hypothesis was analyzed using data collected from business-to-business salespeople working for a manufacturing firm. A partial least squares analysis was used to test the study’s proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The results of this study show that empathy and the moderating role of positive affect foster desirable sales behaviors (listening and adaptive selling behaviors) that subsequently enhance in-role (expected) and extra-role (discretionary) performance.

Originality/value

Contributions from the findings enhance the literature through its consideration of how the direct effect of empathy on sales behaviors (a salesperson’s listening and adapting selling behavior) is moderated by the salesperson’s positive and negative affect and how sales behaviors impact final sales outcomes (in-role and extra-role performance).
Emotion in sales performance: affective orientation and need for cognition and the mediating role of motivation to work
Authors: Nowlin Edward , Walker Doug , Deeter-Schmelz Dawn R. , Haas Alexander
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether and under what condition does affective orientation (AO) drive salesperson performance (SP) and whether there is a tradeoff between affective orientation and the need for cognition (NFC). Using career stage theory, this research proposes that emotion is important and that the relationship between AO and SP is conditional and mediated.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypothesized model is tested using survey data that were collected from 611 attendees at a Midwest regional sales meeting of a national direct selling organization. The model was estimated using 5,000 bootstrapped samples drawn to assess the conditional and indirect effects.

Findings

The findings reveal that AO increases SP when mediated through motivation to work (MW), but only during the salesperson’s initial stage of their career – their first year. In subsequent career stages, AO’s impact on SP diminishes, while NFC’s impact on SP remains significant regardless of career stage.

Research limitations/implications

The data were collected from a single selling organization.

Practical implications

This study increases the understanding of the relationship between salesperson emotion (AO) and SP. This informs sales managers that new salespeople interpret information both emotionally and cognitively, which impacts the management of early career salespeople.

Originality/value

Sales research rarely investigates the role of emotion. This research finds that emotion can be an asset to new salespeople. However, the need for emotion (AO) decreases with experience and no longer has a significant impact on performance after the initial stage.
Triggering and tempering brand advocacy by frontline employees: vendor and customer-related influences
Authors: Badrinarayanan Vishag , Sierra Jeremy J.
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Lawler (2001) posits that social exchanges create a sense of shared responsibility for outcome success. The purpose of this study is to apply this framework to the vendor/frontline employee/customer triad to examine the underlying role of emotions in how frontline employees’ evaluations of vendors and customers trigger and temper brand advocacy efforts, respectively.

Design/methodology/approach

With cross-sectional data from 168 frontline employees working at a leading national retailer of electronic goods, path analysis is used to evaluate the hypotheses.

Findings

Frontline employees’ relationship quality with the vendor and perceptions of vendors’ product quality positively influence brand advocacy. Also, customers’ brand affinity and recommendation preference both demonstrate a significant, negative curvilinear relationship with brand advocacy.

Research limitations/implications

Frontline employees’ emotion-laden evaluations of vendors and customer influence brand advocacy in different ways. Vendor relationship quality and brand quality perceptions “trigger” brand advocacy. However, customer’s affinity toward a vendor’s brand and willingness to seek recommendations “temper” brand advocacy. Specifically, brand advocacy effort is low when customers possess very low and very high affinity toward a focal brand – moderate affinity spurs high advocacy; likewise, advocacy is low when customers demonstrate very low and very high interest in seeking the frontline employees’ opinion – moderate interest spurs high advocacy. Although ideal to examine vendor and customer emotional exchanges, using only frontline employee data from a technology-selling retailer may constrain generalizability.

Practical implications

Frontline employee training programs should emphasize the customer’s role in the transaction to increase perceptions of shared responsibility, as a means to create a favorable emotional experience, and accentuate timing strategies on when to pursue heightened or diminished emotionally charged brand advocacy efforts.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the frontline employee behavior literature by viewing shared responsibility in transactions as a source of emotional value, explaining variance in frontline employee brand advocacy through relationship and product quality dimensions, and uncovering curvilinear effects for customers’ brand affinity and recommendation preference in elucidating brand advocacy.
Contrasting effects of salespeople’s emotion appraisal ability in a transaction-oriented environment
Authors: Briggs Elten , Kalra Ashish , Agnihotri Raj
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Although the role of emotions in buyer–seller exchanges is important, it remains understudied, especially in the business-to-business selling context. This paper aims to provide insights into the role of the salespeople’s ability to appraise emotions (EA ability) and its effects on job-related outcomes in a transaction-oriented environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Multi-source data were gathered from 152 salespeople working for a financial service firm. Customer service and sales performance ratings were reported by supervisors. Hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling using AMOS.

Findings

The study finds contrasting effects of EA ability on sales performance in the firm’s transaction-oriented environment. On the one hand, EA ability motivates better salesperson customer service, which then increases their sales performance. On the other hand, EA ability enhances emotional exhaustion, which detracts from sales performance.

Practical implications

Sales managers should consider the ability of new hires to appraise emotions when determining their fit with the job and the organization. Training programs that develop salesperson emotional abilities should be comprehensive as it may be detrimental to be high in EA ability without the skills to regulate or use emotions.

Originality value

The study is one of the first to consider the effects of emotional abilities in the context of a transaction-oriented environment. By focusing specifically on EA ability, the study provides greater understanding of the influences of the individual components of emotional intelligence, rather than salesperson’s overall capacity for emotional intelligence.
The heart in organizational buying: marketers’ understanding of emotions and decision-making of buyers
Authors: Kemp Elyria A. , Borders Aberdeen Leila , Anaza Nwamaka A. , Johnston Wesley J.
Published: December 2017

Purpose

Organizational buying behavior has often been treated as a rational activity, even though humans are involved in the decision-making. Human decision-making often includes a complex cadre of emotions and rationalizations. Subsequently, organizational buyers may not only be driven by logic, testing and facts, but also by emotions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role that emotions play in organizational buying behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

In-depth interviews were conducted with marketing decision-makers for one of the most valuable brands in the world. The role that emotions play in the behavior of organizational buyers is elucidated from the perspective of these marketing professionals.

Findings

Emotions are prevalent at all stages in the organizational decision-making process and various discrete emotions fuel action tendencies among buyers. Efforts are made by marketers to strategically manage the emotions buyers experience.

Practical implications

Although organizational buyers must see the functional value of a product or brand, companies need to consider ways in which brands can connect with buyers on an emotional and personal level.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature by offering insights into which discrete or specific emotions are most prominent in organizational buying behavior and how the manifestation of these emotions impact decision-making at each stage in the buying cycle.
Trust, guanxi, and cooperation: a study on partner opportunism in Chinese joint-venture manufacturing
Authors: Xue Jinjie , Lu Shaokai , Shi Benshan , Zheng Haiping
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual model for examining the effects of trust (competence trust, goodwill trust) and cooperation on partner opportunism and for exploring the moderating effects of guanxi on the relationships among trust, cooperation and opportunism in joint ventures.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample for this paper comprises 981 manufacturing joint ventures from various industrial sectors. A total of 354 valid questionnaires were collected, representing a 36 per cent response rate. The conceptual model is tested with structural equation modeling adopting AMOS software.

Findings

The empirical findings indicate that both competence trust and goodwill trust reduce partner opportunism in a joint venture through fostering cooperation. Competence trust also exerts significant influence on preventing opportunism, whereas opportunistic behavior is not greatly affected by goodwill trust. Additionally, the results reveal that guanxi helps strengthen the negative relationship between cooperation and opportunism.

Originality value

This paper makes a threefold contribution: First, it investigates empirically the direct influence of two types of trust on partner opportunism. Second, it tests indirect influence of trust on partner opportunism through the path of cooperation. Third, it explores the moderating effects of guanxi in relationships on trust, cooperation and partner opportunism. Implications offers suggestions for management practice to reduce partner opportunism in joint-venture manufacturing.
Faking it: salesperson emotional intelligence’s influence on emotional labor strategies and customer outcomes
Authors: Delpechitre Duleep , Beeler Lisa
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how salesperson’s emotional intelligence (EI) influences salesperson behaviors (i.e. emotional labor strategies) and the influence these behavioral strategies have on customer’s outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The study develops a conceptual model using past literature and tests hypotheses using a salesperson-prospective customer dyadic sample. To participate in the study, 224 salespeople and their potential customers were recruited from three different companies.

Findings

Results reveal the importance of conceptualizing the dimensionality of a salesperson’s EI ability, as different dimensions impact customer outcomes differently. Additionally, the importance of salesperson’s authentic emotional labor strategies is highlighted.

Practical implications

EI is a foundation for successful selling in a business-to-business environment, but it is not a silver bullet. Sales managers and recruiters should use assessment tools to evaluate sales recruit’s EI, but it is also critical to train salespeople to engage in deep acting, creating authentic emotions in the buyer-seller relationship.

Originality/value

Using a dyadic sample, this study suggests that the dimensions of EI and emotional labor strategies influence customer’s perception of salesperson’s trustworthiness and propensity to continue the relationship with the salesperson differently. Specifically, not all dimensions of salesperson’s EI is found to be positive, and only salesperson’s authentic (deep) emotional strategies are found to influence customer outcomes positively.
A customer engagement framework for a B2B context
Authors: Youssef Youmna Mohamed Abdelghany , Johnston Wesley J. , AbdelHamid Talaat Asaad , Dakrory Mona Ibrahim , Seddick Mohamed Galal Soliman
Published: December 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate conceptually the relationship between the customer’s engagement and equity and to determine whether customer engagement could be positively enhanced by business-to-business (B2B) firms to maximize their customer equity, through examining the role of cognitive, emotional and behavioral engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is built on the evolving marketing literature and proposes a comprehensive framework that uses a multidimensional conceptualization for the customer’s engagement and equity constructs; examines the relationships between customer satisfaction, commitment, trust and involvement and customer engagement; and specifies the specific customer engagement dimensions – cognitive, emotional and behavioral – as key mediators of the engagement–equity relationship.

Findings

This paper indicated that customer engagement is a multidimensional construct with three dimensions: cognitive, emotional or behavior engagement. Customer’s satisfaction, commitment, trust and involvement would be regarded as antecedents to customer engagement, whereas customer equity would be regarded a consequence for customer engagement. In addition, this paper identified three drivers of customer equity – value, brand and relationship equities – based on reviewing the previous studies.

Originality/value

This paper integrates philosophies from previous marketing studies of customer relationship management and customer engagement and equity into a B2B environment in a more customer-centric approach.
Cohesion and differentiation in Australia's elite suburbs
Authors: Wiesel Ilan , Levin Iris
Published: December 2017

Toorak (Melbourne) and Mosman (Sydney) are two of the most affluent suburbs in Australia. The high costs of living and housing in these suburbs preserve their high status. Yet, in recent years, the growing presence of wealthy Chinese residents and investors has challenged longstanding Anglo‐Australian residents' perceptions of these suburbs as “European villages”. At the same time as new shared identities are being produced, feelings of resentment and anxiety are also increasingly being expressed through local urban planning conflicts related to density and heritage in residential development. Drawing on theories of “elite integration”, and interviews with 35 residents of the two suburbs the paper exposes a range of spatial, material, and discursive practices through which the Australian elite manages ethnic diversity within its suburban strongholds.
Association between measures of treatment quality and disease progression in prostate cancer radiotherapy: An exploratory analysis from the TROG 03.04 RADAR trial
Authors: Marcello Marco , Ebert Martin A , Haworth Annette , Steigler Allison , Kennedy Angel , Bulsara Max , Kearvell Rachel , Joseph David J , Denham James W
Published: December 2017

Introduction

Quality assurance methods are incorporated into multicentre radiotherapy clinical trials for ensuring consistent application of trial protocol and quantifying treatment uncertainties. The study's purpose was to determine whether post‐treatment disease progression is associated with measures of the quality of radiotherapy treatment.

Methods

The TROG 03.04 RADAR trial tested the impact of androgen deprivation on prostate cancer patients receiving dose‐escalated external beam radiation therapy. The trial incorporated a plan‐review process and Level III dosimetric intercomparison at each centre, from which variables suggestive of treatment quality were collected. Kaplan–Meier statistics and Fine and Gray competing risk modelling were employed to test for associations between quality‐related variables and the participant outcome local composite progression.

Results

Increased ‘dose‐difference’ at the prostatic apex and at the anterior rectal wall, between planned and measured dose, was associated with reduced progression. Participants whose treatment plans included clinical target volume (CTV) to planning target volume (PTV) margins exceeding protocol requirements also experienced reduced progression. Other quality‐related variables, including total accrual from participating centres, measures of target coverage and other variations from protocol, were not significantly associated with progression.

Conclusions

This analysis has revealed the association of several treatment quality factors with disease progression. Increased dose and dose margin coverage in the prostate region can reduce disease progression. Extensive and rigorous monitoring has helped to maximise treatment quality, reducing the incidence of quality‐indicator outliers, and thus reduce the chance of observing significant associations with progression rates.
Comparison of therapeutic effects of EGFR‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors on 19Del and L858R mutations in advanced lung adenocarcinoma and effect on cellular immune function
Authors: Zhou Juan , Ben Suqin
Published: December 2017

Background

We compared the therapeutic effect of EGFR‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) on 19Del and L858R mutations in advanced lung adenocarcinoma on cellular immune function and explored the factors influencing the curative effect and prognosis.

Methods

Clinical efficacy in the selected 71 patients with lung adenocarcinoma, including 52 patients with 19Del and L858R mutations and 19 wild type patients treated with EGFR‐TKIs was retrospectively analyzed. The response rate (RR), disease control rate (DCR), progression‐free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and cellular immune function were analyzed.

Results

The RR, DCR, PFS, and OS of the 19Del group were higher than those of the L858R group; however, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups. χ2test results revealed that gender, smoking, and EGFR mutations were associated with DCR. Log‐rank analytical results showed that EGFR mutation type was correlated to PFS and OS. Multivariate analysis implied that disease control and mutation type of EGFR were independent prognostic factors of OS. Following TKI treatment, the number of CD3+, CD4+, and NK cells and the CD4+/CD8+ratio increased in both mutation groups; however the results were not statistically significant. There was also no significant difference in the upregulation of immunological function observed, with 46.43% in the 19Del mutation and 45.83% in the L858R mutation group.

Conclusion

EGFR 19Del and L858R mutations are good biomarkers for predicting the clinical response of EGFR‐TKIs. 19Del mutations may have a better clinical outcome.
Extortion
Authors: Kristensen Regnar
Published: December 2017

Virtual kidnapping through telephonic extortion scams are widespread in Mexico. Most people would know to immediately hang up the phone and contact the supposed kidnapped family member to disprove the attempt. However, this does not always happen. When families believe in the scam, the emotional shocks they receive can start a chain reaction with far reaching consequences. The story told in this article follows the many steps such an extortion occasioned (violence, silence, hexes, and family break‐ups) by focusing on the knockbacks and serious effects the event had for the different family members involved. [crime, family, hexes, magic, Mexico]
Montessori Letters
Authors: Hegseth Whitney M.
Published: December 2017

This piece compiles archival and ethnographic data to illuminate the triumphs and tensions of an alternative approach to teaching and learning. In reading research‐based creative letters, which are written from the perspectives of the ethnographer and Montessori founders, teachers, and students, readers are encouraged to reconsider what it means, and what it takes, to educate for humanity. [creative nonfiction, Montessori education, reflexivity, comparative education, ethnography]
The Affective Lens
Authors: Luvaas Brent
Published: December 2017

Engaging in ethnographic fieldwork often requires overcoming considerable inertia and fighting back feelings of cynicism and alienation toward the place and people studied. Street photography can be one means of overcoming these setbacks. Requiring its practitioners to get out on the streets and directly engage with the people on them, it can fast track an ethnographer's emotional connection to a place, changing its affective landscape for them and redefining their experience of being there. This photo essay draws from the author's 2016 fieldwork trip to Jakarta, Indonesia to demonstrate how photography can serve not just as an aid to memory, a supplement to field notes, or a documentation of everyday life but as a tool for emotional investment.
Outcome of sonography‐based minimally invasive surgery for deep infiltrating endometriosis of the ureter and urinary bladder – a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Hudelist Gernot , Tammaa Ayman , Aas‐Eng Mee Kristine , Kirchner Lisa , Fritzer Nadja , Nemeth Zoltan , Lamche Michael
Published: December 2017

Introduction

The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of transvaginal sonography for preoperative detection of bladder endometriosis and surgical outcomes regarding fertility and pain symptoms of women with urinary tract endometriosis.

Material and methods

Retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients with urinary tract endometriosis undergoing laparoscopic partial cystectomy and/or ureterolysis/decompression, ureteric resection and end‐to‐end anastomosis or ureteroneocystostomy for ureteral stenosis and hydronephrosis.

Results

Of 207 patients with deep infiltrating endometriosis, 50 exhibited urinary tract endometriosis, comprising 30 patients with bladder endometriosis and 23 women with solitary or additional hydronephrosis. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, positive/negative likelihood ratios and test accuracy for transvaginal sonography detecting bladder endometriosis were 93%, 99%, 97%, 99%, 155.5, 0.07 and 98.6% respectively. All women with bladder endometriosis underwent partial cystectomy. In cases of hydronephrosis, 14 conservative ureterolysis/decompressions, six ureteral resection anastomoses and three ureteroneocystostomies were performed. Duration of surgery was 205 min (range 89–365 min), average blood loss was 1.6 g/dL (range 0.3–4.6 g/dL) and hospital stay on average 8 days (range 2–16 days). The conversion rate was 4%. We observed five grade III complications. After a median follow up of 23 months, there was a decrease in dysmenorrhea (7.6–1.6; p < 0.001), dyspareunia (3.0–0.9, p < 0.001) and dysuria (3.3–0.2; p < 0.003), and an increase in quality of life (3.3–8.1; p < 0.001). The overall clinical pregnancy rate was 46% and life birth rate 18%.

Conclusions

Laparoscopic surgery for urinary tract endometriosis is effective for treatment of hydronephrosis, reduction of pain symptoms and may improve fertility. Transvaginal sonography is highly accurate for presurgical detection of bladder involvement.
Can the retina be used to diagnose and plot the progression of Alzheimer's disease?
Authors: Mahajan Deepti , Votruba Marcela
Published: December 2017

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the most common cause of senile dementia. It impairs the quality of life of a person and their family, posing a serious economic and social threat in developed countries. The fact that the diagnosis can only be definitively made post‐mortem, or when the disease is fairly advanced, presents a serious problem if novel therapeutic interventions are to be devised and used early in the course of the disease. There is therefore a pressing need for more sensitive and specific diagnostic tests with which we can detect AD in the preclinical stage. The tau proteins and beta‐amyloid proteins start to accumulate 20 years before the symptoms begin to manifest. Detecting them in the preclinical stage would be a potential breakthrough in the management of AD. A high degree of clinical suspicion is needed to correlate problems in cognition with the changes in the eye, particularly the retina, pupil and ocular movements, so that the disease can be detected early and managed in the prodromal phase. In this systematic review, we ask the question whether the retina can be used to make a specific and early diagnosis of AD.
The “smugness” of geographers: Dismantling the caricatures of philosophies in Human and Physical Geography
Authors: Inkpen Rob
Published: December 2017

Caricatures of physical and human geographers are both very smug; one in their belief that they have direct and practical contact with reality, the other in the belief that their range of philosophical approaches provides a more nuanced understanding of the complexities of reality. Breaking down these caricatures is essential to configuring Geography as a discipline with something important to say about environmental issues facing humanity. A key role for any textbook on the philosophy of Physical Geography is to start to dismantle these caricatures. The textbook needs to make problematic what seems obvious; it needs to question traditional approaches, the unspoken “canons”, on which understanding is built. Engaging physical geographers with the philosophical side needs to be done in terms that are of immediate interest, particularly through the discussion of the practice of the subject. Understanding how practising Physical Geography is an inherently philosophical enterprise will help physical geographers understand the potential of philosophy to improve their understanding of their methods and results as well as the nature of their contact with physical reality.
Secondary suites: A survey of evidence and municipal policy
Authors: Harris Richard , Kinsella Kathleen
Published: December 2017

Key Messages

Secondary suites play a vital, but poorly understood, role in the urban rental market.

Many suites are illegal in one way or another and evade oversight.

Recently, Canadian municipalities have begun to treat secondary suites much more favourably.
HIV+ deceased donor referrals: A national survey of organ procurement organizations
Authors: Cash Ayla , Luo Xun , Chow Eric K.H. , Bowring Mary Grace , Shaffer Ashton A. , Doby Brianna , Wickliffe Corey E. , Alexander Charles , McRann Deborah , Tobian Aaron A. R. , Segev Dorry L. , Durand Christine M.
Published: December 2017

Background

HIV‐infected (HIV+) donor organs can be transplanted into HIV+ recipients under the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act. Quantifying HIV+ donor referrals received by organ procurement organizations (OPOs) is critical for HOPE Act implementation.

Methods

We surveyed the 58 USA OPOs regarding HIV+ referral records and newly discovered HIV+ donors. Using data from OPOs that provided exact records and CDC HIV prevalence data, we projected a national estimate of HIV+ referrals.

Results

Fifty‐five (95%) OPOs reported HIV+ referrals ranging from 0 to 276 and newly discovered HIV+ cases ranging from 0 to 10 annually. Six OPOs in areas of high HIV prevalence reported more than 100 HIV+ donor referrals. Twenty‐seven (47%) OPOs provided exact HIV+ referral records and 28 (51%) OPOs provided exact records of discovered HIV+ cases, totaling 1450 HIV+ referrals and 39 discovered HIV+ donors in the prior year. These OPOs represented 67% and 59% of prevalent HIV cases in the USA; thus, we estimated 2164 HIV+ referrals and 66 discovered HIV+ cases nationally per year.

Conclusions

OPOs reported a high volume of HIV+ referrals annually, of which a subset will be medically eligible for donation. Particularly in areas of high HIV prevalence, OPOs require ongoing support to implement the HOPE Act.
Ascariasis seen by videocapsule endoscopy
Authors: Brieau Bertrand , Loulergue Pierre , Coriat Romain
Published: December 2017

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Coronary microvascular dysfunction and myocardial contractile reserve in women with angina and no obstructive coronary artery disease
Authors: Michelsen Marie M. , Pena Adam , Mygind Naja D. , Bech Jan , Gustafsson Ida , Kastrup Jens , Hansen Henrik S. , Høst Nis , Hansen Peter R. , Prescott Eva
Published: December 2017

Background

Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) is a potential cause of myocardial ischemia and may affect myocardial function at rest and during stress. We investigated whether CMD was associated with left ventricular diastolic and systolic function at rest and during pharmacologically induced hyperemic stress.

Methods

In a prospective cohort study, we included 963 women with angina, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) >45%, and an invasive coronary angiogram without significant stenosis (<50%). Parameters of left ventricular diastolic function, LVEF, speckle tracking–derived global longitudinal strain (GLS), and coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) were assessed by transthoracic echocardiography at rest and during dipyridamole stress. The GLS and LVEF reserves were defined as the absolute increases in GLS and LVEF during stress.

Results

Coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) was measured in 919 women of whom 26% had CMD (defined as CFVR < 2). Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) was associated with higher age and a higher resting heart rate. Women with CMD had a reduced GLS reserve (P = .005), while we found no association between CFVR and LVEF at rest, GLS at rest, or the LVEF reserve, respectively. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) reserve remained associated with CFVR (P = .002) in a multivariable regression analysis adjusted for age, hemodynamic variables, and GLS at rest. In age‐adjusted analysis, women with low CFVR had no signs of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction measured by echocardiography at rest.

Conclusion

The GLS reserve was significantly lower in women with CMD. The mechanisms underlying the association between CMD and GLS reserve warrant further study.