bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Service marketing mix as input and output of higher and technical education
Authors: Mahajan Prashant , Golahit Suresh
Published: July 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships of service marketing mix (SMM) as service input and service output in terms of students’ performance, satisfaction and referral act in context to higher and technical education (HTE) through the application of structural equation modeling.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research, conducted through a self-administered survey composed by a closed-ended structured questionnaire, was incorporated for the students who were enrolled in the technical educational institutions situated in the Khandesh region of India.

Findings

The findings of this study revealed that traditional SMM is statistically linked with the performance of students in terms of skill and knowledge enhancement, satisfaction and referral act of students, which are perceptible new emerging SMM; performance, pleasure and pointing out in terms of service output.

Practical implications

Integrating SMM as service input and service output are productive for HTE in enhancing growth (quantitatively) by the inclusivity of diversified students and development (qualitatively) by enhancing their performance for global standing, making them satisfied and motivating them for recommending their institution to others. This integration can be utilized as a yardstick by the institutions for staying ahead in students’ market with a distinctive competitive advantage.

Social implications

Growth and development of HTE will raise a society’s quality of life and thereby increase a country’s socio-economic status.

Originality/value

The study has exhibited SMM as input and output of a service system that is useful for the growth and development of HTE. The measurement tool presented is effective in (re)framing policies on SMM as service input based on desired service output.
Factors predicting job satisfaction among faculty members of a Saudi higher education institution
Authors: Kuwaiti Ahmed Al , Bicak Hasan Ali , Wahass Saeed
Published: July 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the level of job satisfaction among faculty members of the health sciences program at a Saudi higher education institution; and predict the influence of various factors on overall job satisfaction. However, this study is quite different since it intended to evaluate the level of job satisfaction of faculty members using a self-structured questionnaire and ascertained the various factors influencing the overall job satisfaction of Saudi academics.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory study design was adopted and Academic Job Satisfaction (AJS) survey was administered to 943 faculty members of the health sciences program through an online system. A total of 850 faculty members responded to 47 items and one global rating item (overall job satisfaction) using a five-point ordinal scale.

Findings

The level of job satisfaction of health sciences’ faculty members on all dimensions of AJS is observed to be high (>3.5) except salary, which is shown as medium (2.5–3.49). Regression analysis indicates the factors other than Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU) administrative policies and interpersonal relationships are significant predictors of overall job satisfaction; and salary is the most significant predictor of overall job satisfaction among health sciences’ faculty members.

Originality/value

This study adds a value to the existing literature by exploring the factors influencing job satisfaction of health sciences’ faculty members working in Saudi Universities. This would aid policy makers to focus on these factors, thereby improve and maintain job satisfaction among healthcare academics.
Teaching implicit vs explicit reading comprehension skills and translation performance of Iranian undergraduate students
Authors: Vasheghani Farahani Mehrdad , Rezaei Omid , Masoomzadeh Milad
Published: July 2019

Purpose

This paper reports on a quasi-experimental research performed in the field of reading comprehension and translation quality. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the comparative effect of explicit vs implicit reading comprehension skills on translation quality of Iranian translation students at BA level.

Design/methodology/approach

The design of this research was quasi-experimental in nature. This design was preferred in this study, as it was impossible to assign random sampling to the subjects and apply a true experimental design. The research in hand was also a comparative group design research in a sense that it was supposed to compare two reading comprehension methods (explicit vs implicit) with different treatments.

Findings

In light of this research, some conclusions can be drawn. It can be concluded that there is a positive and direct relationship between reading comprehension and translation, as the first step of translation is to understand the content of the source text (Reid, 1993).

Research limitations/implications

The reading comprehension ability of translation students should be enhanced in their undergraduate classes so that they can better understand the source text and produce a more fluent translation. In order to teach reading comprehension skills, both implicit and explicit techniques can be applied; however, it is better if the subjects receive explicit instruction, as this technique may have more positive results.

Originality/value

Various researchers have explored explicit and implicit instructions on such areas as reading, speaking and listening (see, e.g. Jalilifar and Alipour, 2007; Vahid Dastjerdi and Shirzad, 2010; Negahi and Nouri, 2014; Khanbeiki and Abdolmanafi-Rokni, 2015; Khoii et al., 2015; Mostafavi and Vahdany 2016; Rahimi and Riasati, 2017). Although the results of these studies have shown the positive impacts of both explicit and implicit teaching, explicit has more positive impacts. However, the review of the literature shows that explicit and implicit reading comprehension skills have not been investigated in relation to teaching translation and their possible impacts on translation quality.
Logistics data analytics alongside voucher programme phases
Authors: Khoury Bashar Joseph
Published: July 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to steer the logistics efforts during different phases of cash and voucher and lead aid assistance operation to right destination by analyzing logistics data and converting it to feasibility information.

Design/methodology/approach

This research paper depends basically on a quantitative approach by depending on previous references relevant to this topic. Furthermore, interviews with experts in the field consider the dependable references for this research paper.

Findings

There are many findings in this research paper such as a simply logistics algorithm that could help logistics experts to determine the key components in market supply chains and draw different scenarios to clarify the full picture.

Originality/value

This research paper can be considered as reference for advance research papers in future. Furthermore, it stimulates academic researchers to open a serious discussion about logistics data analysis in all phases because it considers as a good source for decision-making information.
Brand community identification matters: a dual value-creation routes framework
Authors: Chang Chia-Wen , Ko Chih-Huei , Huang Heng-Chiang , Wang Shih-Ju
Published: July 2019

Purpose

A brand community consists of relationships between a brand and consumers; community members’ identiﬁcation with the brand community is a central characteristic of the community. This study aims to provide a comprehensive conceptual framework to investigate how and why such identification-based relationships yield firm- and member-level benefits to participants in the brand community.

Design/methodology/approach

This cross-sectional study analyzes data collected through a questionnaire survey of members from the brand community of VW-Golf Club members in Taiwan. The researchers attended the annual meeting of club members and handed out questionnaires directly to the members. The degree centrality of each member was calculated using UCINET 6 for Windows, a social network analysis software application. This study adopts the partial least squares program to evaluate the measurement properties and structural relationships specified in the research model.

Findings

The findings suggest that when customers’ identification with a brand community becomes salient, they strengthen their emotional attachment to the brand and improve their centrality in the network. Consequently, emotional attachment can serve as a guiding principle in decision-making and thus strengthen brand equity and assessment of brand extensions. Central members will also gain greater benefits, including collaborative opportunities and influence, through their advantageous position in the network.

Originality/value

This study makes four main contributions to the brand community literature. First, this is the first empirical study to simultaneously examine the relationships among community identification (customer to community), emotional attachment to the brand (customer to brand) and network centrality (customer to customer). Second, the empirical framework depicts dual value-creation routes that explain how identification-based relationships can yield firm- and member-level benefits. With respect to firm-level benefits, this is the first empirical study to examine the brand equity and assessment of brand extension in the brand community research. Third, this study applies the rarely adopted UCINET 6 software to scrutinize the network data from the brand community. Finally, this paper examines three actions that organizations can leverage to enhance consumer identification with a brand community.
What determines residents’ commitment to a post-communist city? A moderated mediation analysis
Authors: Tournois Laurent , Rollero Chiara
Published: July 2019

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how residents’ perceptions of the image of their place of living influence their level of commitment toward it. The mediating role of human place bonds (place attachment and place identity) and the moderating effect of the socio-demographic characteristics of the host community in this relationship is specifically examined.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical direct–indirect–moderation relationships are examined using structural equation modeling and moderated-mediation or condition process analysis (Hayes and Preacher, 2013). Data were collected from 472 residents living in Belgrade (Serbia).

Findings

The findings support the contention that place attachment and place identity mediate the relationship between place image and commitment. The study further shows that the conditional indirect relationship of place image with commitment through place attachment and place identity is significant for age. Age and place of birth are found to moderate the relationship between place image and place attachment.

Research limitations/implications

A stimulating avenue for future research is to explore the effect of culture (individualist, short-term oriented and low on power distance vs collectivist, long-term oriented and high on power distance cultures) on model’s relationships as well as on commitment specifically.

Practical implications

To enhance their residents’ commitment, place marketers should focus on two levels of action. The first lever is to assess how residents perceive the image of the place where they live as it can serve as a strategic outline to explore their level of support and address the possible negative feelings they may have toward any development project. The second level of action is developing bottom up strategies that are likely to enhance residents’ commitment which aims at transforming residents into active place ambassadors and actors of the public life of the city.

Originality/value

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first in the place branding research domain to examine the role of human place bonds in the relationship between place image and commitment using mediation, moderation, and moderated-mediation analyses. Moreover, place branding literature is underdeveloped regarding the current issues most post-communist countries face.
Converting internal brand knowledge into employee performance
Authors: Ngo Liem Viet , Nguyen Nguyen Phong , Huynh Kim Thien , Gregory Gary , Cuong Pham Hung
Published: July 2019

Purpose

Internal branding efforts are essential in improving employee performance in services marketing. Drawing on reformulation of attitude theory, this paper aims to contribute to the internal branding literature by positing that while internal brand knowledge (IBK) is essential for transforming brand vision into brand reality, it is not brand knowledge per se but its integration with other brand- and customer-related aspects that drive superior employee performance. In particular, this paper develops a cognitive-affective-behaviour model of internal branding proposing that IBK results in higher levels of employee brand identification (EBI); this sense of identification then motivates employees to engage in both employee-related and brand- and customer-focussed behaviours (i.e. brand citizenship behaviour [BCB] and customer-oriented behaviour [COB]), which in turn foster employee performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypotheses were empirically tested using a sample of 697 from services industry in Vietnam.

Findings

The findings indicate a sequential mediation model in that employee brand knowledge affects employee performance (both objective and subjective measures) through EBI, BCB and COB. Employee brand knowledge results in higher levels of EBI; this sense of identification then motivates employees to engage in employee-related brand and customer-focussed behaviours (BCB and COB), which in turn foster employee performance.

Practical implications

Firms should understand that IBK may not directly result in high levels of service performance, and instead should embrace the culture of self-driven positive brand-connection attitudes that motivate employees to engage in BCB and COB that are consistent with their sense of self.

Originality/value

This study makes a unique contribution to the internal branding literature by unravelling a pathway that integrates employees’ self-related psychological mechanism (EBI) and employee-related brand and customer-focussed behaviours (BCB and COB) through which employee brand knowledge is converted into employee performance.
Working within the shadow: what do we do with “not-yet” data?
Authors: Benozzo Angelo , Gherardi Silvia
Published: July 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibilities opened up by those messy, unclear and indeterminate data in research situations that may be described as being in the shadow and may as such remain in a state of vagueness and indeterminacy.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on the extant literature on shadow organizing and post-qualitative methodologies. It focuses attention on not-yet (or shadow data) in order to ponder over what researchers do to data when they are not (yet) black-boxed as such. At the same time, it investigates what it is that not-yet data do to researchers.

Findings

Four types of “not-yet” data – illegible, wondrous and disorienting, hesitant and worn out – are presented and discussed. Data are illegible when a researcher is in the position of not knowing how to interpret what is in front of her/him. A second illustration is constructed around wonder, and poses the question of the feelings of surprise and disorientation that arise when facing uncanny realities. In a third situation, not-yet data are narrated as hesitation, when a participant feels conflicting desires and the researchers hesitates in interpreting. The fourth illustration depicts not-yet data as data that have been corrupted, that vanish after time or are worn out.

Practical implications

Not-yet data belong to researchers practice but can also be found in other professional practices which are concerned with the indeterminacy of shadowy situations. It is argued that situations like these constitute opportunities for learning and for the moral and professional development, so long as indeterminacy is kept open and a process of “slowing down” both action and interpretation is nurtured.

Originality/value

This paper is of value for taking the metaphor of shadow organizing further. Moreover, it represents a rare attempt to bring the vast debate on post-qualitative research/methodologies into management studies, which with very few exceptions seems to have been ignored by organization studies.
From a new workplace to a new way of working: legitimizing organizational change
Authors: Jemine Grégory , Dubois Christophe , Pichault François
Published: July 2019

Purpose

Several studies have recently documented projects of organizational transformation and modernization which, commonly clustered under the umbrella term “New Ways of Working” (NWoW), simultaneously entail material, technological, cultural and managerial dimensions. Academic contributions, however, have paid little attention to the mechanisms allowing such projects to progressively become legitimized in organizational discourses and practices. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the distinctive features of the legitimation process underlying the implementation of NWoW projects.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper relies on a longitudinal, three-year analysis of a large insurance company. Data were collected through qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews (48), periods of observation (3 months) and document analysis (78).

Findings

The paper develops a grounded and integrative framework of legitimation processes underlying “NWoW” change projects. The framework emphasizes four decisive operations of translation in “NWoW” design and implementation: translating material constraints into strategic opportunities; translating strategic opportunities into a quantitative business plan supported by the top management; translating compelling discourses around “NWoW” into an organizational machinery; and translating a transformation project into discourses of unequivocal success, conveyed by legitimate spokespeople within and beyond the organization.

Originality/value

Besides contributing to the understanding of a managerial fashion, which has received little academic attention so far, the paper also offers an original integrative framework to account for legitimation processes that combines two theoretical approaches – the sociology of translation and research on institutionalist work.
Closing the change management gap
Authors: Lyke-Ho-Gland Holly
Published: July 2019

Purpose

Change has always been hard. But now, change is becoming a constant. Defining change – identifying the new strategy, business model or process the organization needs to retain market share – is difficult enough. Leading the organization through change is even harder. The purpose of this paper is to use a combination of survey and case studies to measure organizations’ change maturity and provide guidance on how organizations can move from check-the-box approaches to ones that drive behavioral shifts.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on the combination of a broadcast survey and series of best practice case studies.

Findings

And while organizations have made strides in committing resources and planning for change, they continue to struggle with long-term, sustainable change. But what really creates sustainable change? Sustainable change means moving beyond “check-the-box” efforts – focused on the execution of communication plans and project milestones. Instead, organizations should bolster their efforts with a focus on leading, not just communicating, the change and engaging staff cooperatively to drive new behaviors.

Originality/value

This paper focuses on best practices that do more than require check-the-box adherence to a series of change activities and methodologies.
Investigation of borehole effects on azimuthal resistivity measurements using novel pseudo‐analytic formulas
Authors: Hong Decheng , Li Hu , Huang Wei‐Feng , Liu Hongmei
Published: July 2019

Downhole resistivity measurements provide valuable information for geosteering and formation evaluation. It is important to understand and correct the environmental effects, such as the borehole, the tool eccentricity and the resistivity anisotropy effects, of the measurements based on fast and accurate modelling methods. A new pseudo‐analytic solution for eccentric coaxial and tilted‐coil antennas in the cylindrically multilayered medium with transverse isotropic conductivity was developed. This method can take the eccentric tool, the borehole, the mud invasion and the resistivity anisotropy into account. These formulas enable us to simulate the responses of the downhole induction logging tools, including induction wireline and azimuthal propagation logging‐while‐drilling measurements. Instead of using the prior fictitious boundary, the generalized reflection coefficients are proposed to construct the linear matrix functions to deal with the tool eccentricity. The cylindrical functions are reorganized and presented in forms of ratios. Thus, the proposed formulas obviate the overflow issue in the computation and are more stable and efficient. The proposed approach is compared and validated with other well‐established methods. Simulations and case studies show that: (1) the responses of azimuthal resistivity logging‐while‐drilling tool are affected by the tool's eccentricity in both isotropic and anisotropic medium; (2) sine curve behaviours exist for the phase difference and amplitude ratio of azimuthal resistivity measurements along with different eccentricity azimuth.
Association of endogenous DHEA/DHEAS with coronary heart disease: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Wu Ting‐Ting , Gao Ying , Zheng Ying‐Ying , Ma Yi‐Tong , Xie Xiang
Published: July 2019

The clinical significance of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulphate (DHEAS) in coronary heart disease (CHD) has not been thoroughly elucidated to date. We performed a meta‐analysis to clarify the correlations between endogenous DHEA(S) and CHD. We performed a literature search without language restriction up to August 10, 2017, and retrieved records from EMBase, PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI and WanFang databases to identify eligible cohort studies focused on the relation between DHEA(S) and CHD. A total of 26 studies were included in the systematic review and 14 case‐control studies were included in the meta‐analysis,which was performed using RevMan 5.1 and STATA 12. Subgroup analyses were used to discover possible sources of heterogeneity. Quality assessment was carried out using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Heterogeneity analyses were performed using meta‐regression and tests for publication bias were performed. The overall average DHEAS diffusivity of CHD cases was significantly lower than that of controls with a summarized standard (std) mean difference of −0.23(95% CI, −0.45 to −0.01, P = .04). There was no association between DHEA concentration and CHD with a summarized mean difference of −0.07 (95% CI, −0.32 to 0.18, P = .59). No association was found between DHEAS concentration and arteriosclerosis patients with a summarized standard (std) mean difference of −0.46(95% CI, −0.96 to 0.04, P = .07). All of the results had a high degree of heterogeneity. The present study suggested that decreased DHEAS may be associated with coronary heart disease risk but not with arteriosclerosis. We did not find a significant association between DHEA and CHD risk.
Terrestrial mammal surveillance using hybridization capture of environmental DNA from African waterholes
Authors: Seeber Peter Andreas , McEwen Gayle K. , Löber Ulrike , Förster Daniel W. , East Marion Linda , Melzheimer Jörg , Greenwood Alex D.
Published: July 2019

Determining species distributions can be extremely challenging but is crucial to ecological and conservation research. Environmental DNA (eDNA) approaches have shown particular promise in aquatic systems for several vertebrate and invertebrate species. For terrestrial animals, however, eDNA‐based surveys are considerably more difficult due to the lack of or difficulty in obtaining appropriate sampling substrate. In water‐limited ecosystem where terrestrial mammals are often forced to congregate at waterholes, water and sediment from shared water sources may be a suitable substrate for noninvasive eDNA approaches. We characterized mitochondrial DNA sequences from a broad range of terrestrial mammal species in two different African ecosystems (in Namibia and Tanzania) using eDNA isolated from native water, sediment and water filtered through glass fibre filters. A hybridization capture enrichment with RNA probes targeting the mitochondrial genomes of 38 mammal species representing the genera/families expected at the respective ecosystems was employed, and 16 species were identified, with a maximum mitogenome coverage of 99.8%. Conventional genus‐specific PCRs were tested on environmental samples for two genera producing fewer positive results than hybridization capture enrichment. An experiment with mock samples using DNA from non‐African mammals showed that baits covering 30% of nontarget mitogenomes produced 91% mitogenome coverage after capture. In the mock samples, over‐representation of DNA of one species still allowed for the detection of DNA of other species that was at a 100‐fold lower concentration. Hybridization capture enrichment of eDNA is therefore an effective method for monitoring terrestrial mammal species from shared water sources.
Epidemiology of melanoma in rural southern Queensland
Authors: Kitchener Scott , Pinidiyapathirage Janani , Hunter Keegan , Cochrane Lynsey , Gederts Stephanie , Sy Tim , Watts Brianna , Murray Adrienne , Poologasundrum Manish , Bose Swaha , Do Alexander , Hall John , Reedy Andrew , Hudson Lynton , Masel Matthew
Published: July 2019

Objective

The objective of this study is to define the epidemiology of melanoma in rural communities in southern Queensland.

Design

The design used was a 6‐year clinical record audit of melanoma cases identified by billing records and electronic clinical records, confirmed and typed with histology.

Setting and Participants

This study was based on seven agricultural communities on the Darling Downs with patients presenting to local primary care clinics.

Main outcome measures

Outcomes measured were confirmed type, depth and anatomic distribution of melanoma identified at these practices during the study period.

Results

The results from 317 cases of melanoma found anatomic distribution was significantly different (χ2 = 9.6, P < 0.05) to that reported previously from the Queensland Cancer Registry. A high proportion (87%) of melanoma diagnosed by these general practitioners were 1 mm or less when treated.

Conclusions

Conclusions drawn from these findings are that melanoma risk is not so much lesser in rural, inland communities compared with coastal and metropolitan regions, but different. Differences may relate to comprehensive data capture available in rural community studies and to different sun exposure and protection behaviours. The higher proportion of melanoma identified at early stages suggests rural primary care is an effective method of secondary prevention.
Resettling, disconnecting or displacing? Attending to local sociality, culture and history in disaster settings
Authors: Hsu Minna , Okada Tetsuya , Mori Suguru , Howitt Richard
Published: July 2019

In many disaster settings, top‐down responses emphasise ‘expert‐led’ solutions that often involve relocating disaster‐affected communities. While the intention might be to move people from harm's way and facilitate recovery, failure to attend to local pre‐disaster circumstances as well as the interplay between power, resilience and vulnerability within and around affected communities often sees resettlement reconfigure as displacement or disconnection. This oversight may even usher in a new phase of dispossession and disadvantage for marginalised groups (particularly in colonial settings). This paper explores experiences in Australia, Japan and Taiwan to reflect on what issues of local sociality, local culture and local resilience need to be attended to in framing ‘better’ disaster responses.
Nitric oxide signalling in the brain and its control of bodily functions
Authors: Chachlaki Konstantina , Prevot Vincent
Published: July 2019

Nitric oxide (NO) is a versatile molecule that plays key roles in the development and survival of mammalian species by endowing brain neuronal networks with the ability to make continual adjustments to function in response to moment‐to‐moment changes in physiological input. Here, we summarize the progress in the field and argue that NO‐synthetizing neurons and NO signalling in the brain provide a core hub for integrating sensory‐ and homeostatic‐related cues, control key bodily functions, and provide a potential target for new therapeutic opportunities against several neuroendocrine and behavioural abnormalities.
Bone invasion‐targeted chemotherapy with a novel anionic platinum complex (3Pt) for oral squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Kasahara Yoshiya , Endo Kazuhira , Ueno Takayoshi , Ueno Haruna , Moriyama‐Kita Makiko , Odani Akira , Yoshizaki Tomokazu
Published: July 2019

Cisplatin (CDDP) is an important drug for chemotherapy in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Nephrotoxicity and lack of an effect on bone invasion are limitations of CDDP. To increase its antitumor effect on bone invasion and reduce toxicity problems, anionic Pt complex (3Pt) has been developed. The present study aimed to characterize the basis of the cytotoxicity of the novel platinum complex 3Pt in comparison with that of CDDP for oral squamous cell carcinoma. The ionic platinum complex was prepared to increase solubility and avoid platinum nephrotoxicity. Furthermore, 3Pt was designed to target bone hydroxyapatite and has germinal bisphosphonate moieties for drug delivery. In vitro antitumor activity was assayed in two oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines. To investigate the antitumor and nephrotoxic effects of 3Pt, nude mice with OSC‐19 were given 3Pt and CDDP. The in vitro growth‐inhibitory effect of 3Pt was significantly less than that of CDDP. However, both 3Pt and CDDP showed equivalent antitumor effects in vivo. Mice injected with CDDP developed renal cell apoptosis; however, those injected with 3Pt were almost free of renal cell injury. In addition to similar in vivo antitumor effects, 3Pt decreased the volume of bone resorption compared to that with CDDP in a bone invasion model using OSC‐19. In conclusion, considering the potential advantages in terms of noticeable antitumor activity on bone invasion and reduced nephrotoxicity, 3Pt represents a significant improvement in the development of bone‐targeting platinum drugs.
Fine needle aspiration biopsy of mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma
Authors: Grosse Alexandra , Grosse Claudia
Published: July 2019

MTSCC is a low‐grade renal tumor and must be distinguished from papillary and clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The knowledge of the cytological features and spectrum of architecural variations of MTSCC is important for a correct diagnosis.
Direct and indirect effects of climate on bird abundance along elevation gradients in the Northern Appalachian mountains
Authors: Duclos Timothy R. , DeLuca William V. , King David I.
Published: July 2019

Aim

The stratification of organisms along elevational gradients is widely reported, with montane communities characterized by species occurring in relatively small and isolated populations; these species are of considerable interest to ecologists and conservationists. This stratification is generally attributed to climatic zonation. Evidence that species are shifting upward in elevation has fuelled speculation that species are tracking their climatic niches in response to climate change. Uncertainty regarding the degree to which climate directly influences species abundance versus the degree to which climate has an indirect influence via vegetation represents a key impediment to understanding the ecology of montane species; here, we evaluate these direct and indirect effects.

Location

White Mountains, New Hampshire, USA.

Methods

We used N‐mixture models to correct for imperfect detection of species, principal component analysis to represent gradients in vegetation structure and composition and structural equation models to assign variation to the direct and indirect effects of climate upon birds.

Results

Analysis of 13 species revealed that climate exerts direct influences on bird abundance and indirect influences mediated by vegetation composition and structure. All species exhibited indirect effects of climate via forest habitat, with 77% exhibiting both direct and indirect effects and 53% exhibiting stronger indirect effects.

Main conclusions

We provide insight into the mechanistic pathways of how climate influences the distribution of species along elevational gradients, underscoring the complex vulnerability of species to climate change. Our results reveal that the majority of species experience both direct and indirect effects of climate, implying that forests play a key role in mediating climate effects. For species that are primarily influenced by climate directly, typical climate envelope models may continue to be informative, but for the majority of the species included in this study, we show that distribution models should also include measures of habitat.
Frequency and features of myasthenia gravis developing after thymectomy
Authors: Uzawa A. , Kanai T. , Oda F. , Ozawa Y. , Yasuda M. , Kawaguchi N. , Himuro K. , Yoshino I. , Kuwabara S.
Published: July 2019

Background and purpose

Thymectomy is an effective treatment for myasthenia gravis (MG) with anti‐acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies. We rarely encounter patients who develop MG after surgery for thymic tumors. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics and frequency of post‐thymectomy onset (PostTx) MG.

Methods

We reviewed the clinical information of thymoma‐associated MG in 158 patients. Of these, 18 (11%) patients with PostTx MG were identified.

Results

The presence of anti‐AChR antibodies (82%) and electrophysiological abnormalities (50%) was confirmed before thymectomy in patients with PostTx MG. The clinical characteristics of PostTx MG were similar to those of pre‐thymectomy onset (PreTx) MG. In PostTx MG, the duration between thymectomy and MG onset were distributed as < 6 months (early‐onset PostTx MG) and ≥ 6 months (late‐onset PostTx MG). Notably, some patients with late‐onset PostTx MG were associated with thymoma relapse.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that approximately 11% of patients with thymoma‐associated MG were PostTx MG and pre‐surgical assessment of anti‐AChR antibody titer or electrophysiological testing may predict PostTx MG development. However, no difference in clinical manifestation and prognosis was observed between PreTx MG and PostTx MG.
Plant pest introductions and their spread: call for action or just watch? An African perspective
Authors: Msiska K. K.
Published: July 2019

Pest introductions and the spread of pests in Africa have caused serious economic consequences (both direct and indirect) in many different countries in recent decades. Unintentional pest introductions, if not addressed, will continue to devastate individuals’ livelihoods, endanger national food security and damage the economy due to negative effects on export, which could include banning the exports of certain crops/products. Regulatory authorities are key to minimizing these pest introductions and their spread. These authorities need to become proactive and ask questions such as why this is happening, what potential actions can be taken as intervention strategies to stop/reduce pest invasions and how can spread be reduced? Several potential actions are possible but this paper narrows these down to (1) capacity building for national plant protection organizations (NPPOs), (2) public–private partnership and cooperation, and (3) investment in research for data collection and models for pest predictions. Information on these actions is given considering the situation in Africa. African countries are at high risk of pest introduction, potential losses of food and limitations to market access. NPPOs need to act now to minimize the risks and ensure food and environmental safety.
Dracorhodin perchlorate protects pancreatic β‐cells against glucotoxicity‐ or lipotoxicity‐induced dysfunction and apoptosis in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Liu Lei , Liang Chen , Mei Pucheng , Zhu Hong , Hou Meiling , Yu Chunlei , Song Zhenbo , Bao Yongli , Huang Yanxin , Yi Jingwen , Wang Shuyue , Wu Yin , Zheng Lihua , Sun Ying , Wang Guannan , Huo Mingxin , Yang Shaonian , Sun Luguo , Li Yuxin
Published: July 2019

Glucotoxicity or lipotoxicity leads to hyperglycemia and insulin secretion deficiency, which are important causes for the onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Thus, the restoration of β‐cell function is a long‐sought goal in diabetes research. Previous studies have implicated pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 gene (Pdx1) in β‐cell function and insulin secretion. In this study, we established a Pdx1 promoter‐dependent luciferase system and identified the natural compound dracorhodin perchlorate (DP) as an effective promotor of Pdx1 expression. We further demonstrated that DP could significantly inhibit β‐cell apoptosis induced by 33 mm glucose or 200 μm palmitate by interfering with endoplasmic reticulum stress and mitochondrial pathways and enhance insulin secretion as well. These effects were associated with enhanced activities of Erk1/2, which in turn promoted Pdx1 expression and increased the ratio of Bcl2/Bax, since inhibition of the Erk1/2 pathway abolished the DP‐induced expression of Pdx1 and suppression of apoptosis. In addition, our in vivo results in diabetic mice indicated that DP treatment lowered blood glucose, raised insulin levels, enhanced Pdx1 expression and increased islet size and number in the pancreas of diabetic mice. Our findings suggest that Pdx1 is a potential target molecule of DP in the treatment of T2DM via the inhibition of glucotoxicity‐ or lipotoxicity‐ induced β‐cell apoptosis and the attenuation of insulin secretion dysfunction.
Black matters are spatial matters: Black geographies for the twenty‐first century
Authors: Hawthorne Camilla
Published: July 2019

Katherine McKittrick famously wrote in Demonic Grounds that “black lives are necessarily geographic, but also struggle with discourses that erase and despatialize their sense of place” (McKittrick, 2006, p. xiii). From analyses of diaspora to the plantation, from studies of urban segregation to anticolonial circuits of resistance, Black thought has long been concerned with questions of space, place, and power. Yet these interventions, which span centuries and continents, have not always been recognized as “properly” geographical and have thus been systematically excluded from the formal canon of disciplinary geography. Within the last five years, however, Black Geographies as a field of inquiry has gained increasing institutional recognition—thanks to the tireless labor of Black scholars to carve out spaces for their work within the discipline. This article reflects on the state of the field of Black Geographies, with an emphasis on the radically interdisciplinary interventions this body of scholarship has made into the mainstream of disciplinary geography. I review some of the most prominent thematic areas within Black Geographies, including space‐making and the Black geographic imagination; racial capitalism; cities, policing, and carceral geographies; and racism and plantation futures. I conclude with a consideration of avenues for future research, including the need for more studies that provincialize North America and connect with Latinx and Native/Indigenous geographies.
Outpatient Management of Headache after Pediatric Emergency Department Visit: Are we Missing Anything?
Authors: Glatstein Miguel , Voliovitch Yair , Orbach Rotem , Carmi Amit , Amarilyo Gil , Carbell Gary , Rimon Ayelet
Published: July 2019

Background

Headache is a common complaint in children at a pediatric emergency department (PED). The primary objective of this analysis is to describe the outcome of patients presenting with headache to the PED and discharged with neurology follow up. The secondary objective is to describe the diagnostic evaluation children with headache underwent in the PED and to evaluate headache characteristics which are more likely associated with serious, life‐threatening conditions.

Methods

A retrospective chart review of children who were discharged from the PED after evaluation for headache, with a scheduled urgent neurology outpatient clinic follow up at the same institution, over a 3.5‐year period.

Results

During the study period, we identified 300 children whose admitting diagnosis was headache and they were discharged from the PED with a scheduled follow up. None of these patients had papilledema on fundoscopy performed by an ophthalmologist during the PED visit. Following neurology outpatient clinic visit, 62 (21%) were referred to perform brain magnetic resonance imaging. None of the patients had a diagnosis of brain tumor or any anatomic abnormality that could increase intracranial pressure.

Conclusions

No immediate life‐threatening cases presented to the follow up neurology clinic for evaluation. A scheduled urgent neurology outpatient clinic follow up in any child with headache who is discharged from the PED, offers a safety net, even when the physical examination including fundoscopy is normal.
Feminist Political Theory without Apology: Anna Doyle Wheeler, William Thompson, and theAppeal of One Half the Human Race, Women
Authors: Jose Jim
Published: July 2019

Anna Doyle Wheeler was a nineteenth‐century, Irish‐born socialist and feminist. She and another Irish‐born socialist and feminist, William Thompson, produced a book‐length critique in 1825,Appeal of One Half the Human Race, Women: Against the Pretensions of the Other Half, Men, to Retain Them in Political, and Thence in Civil and Domestic, Slavery: In Reply to a Paragraph of Mr. Mill's Celebrated “Article on Government,”to refute the claims of liberal philosopher James Mill in 1820 that women did not need to be enfranchised. In so doing theAppealundermined the philosophical credibility of Mill's liberal utilitarianism. TheAppealexposed the hypocrisy of the language of contract (whether social, sexual, or marriage) by showing that men's freedom and claims to rights presupposed the unfreedom and sexual subjugation of women. The article argues that theAppealwas an original formulation of feminist political theory that still retains its relevance in the twenty‐first century.
Digital versus conventional impression method in children: Comfort, preference and time
Authors: Yilmaz Hakan , Aydin Merve Nur
Published: July 2019

Background

The comfortness and effectiveness of digital and conventional impression methods in children have not yet been compared.

Aim

To assess the digital and conventional impression methods in children in terms of comfort, preference, and the time required to take impressions.

Design

Digital impressions were taken by using an intraoral scanner, and conventional impressions were taken by using alginate from 28 patients by the same operator. In each impression‐taking‐process, comfort was assessed by both the children and the clinician, and the chairside times were written. Student's t tests and Mann‐Whitney U tests were used for statistical analyses, and P < .05 was considered to be significant.

Results

The digital impression was considered to be more comfortable in the assessments by both the children and the clinician (P < .001). The total time the digital impression took was 465.89 ± 76.71 second(s) while that of the conventional impression was 450.25 ± 64.08 s when the chairside times of the two impression methods were compared. There was no statistically significant difference (P = .41).

Conclusion

The digital impression method compared with the conventional impression method was found to be both more comfortable and preferable by the children, but there was no difference in terms of the time required to take impressions.
Larger and deeper ventricular lesions using a novel expandable spherical monopolar irrigated radiofrequency ablation catheter
Authors: Kitamura Takeshi , Hocini Mélèze , Bourier Felix , Martin Ruairidh , Takigawa Masateru , Frontera Antonio , Thompson Nathaniel , Cheniti Ghassen , Vlachos Konstantinos , Martin Claire A. , Lam Anna , Duchateau Josselin , Pambrun Thomas , Denis Arnaud , Sacher Frédéric , Derval Nicolas , Cochet Hubert , Haïssaguerre Michel , Jaïs Pierre
Published: July 2019

Background

Radiofrequency (RF) ablation is an established treatment for ventricular tachycardia (VT). However, the inability of current RF catheters to address deep or large substrate may explain most of the clinical failures.

Objectives

The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of ablation in the left ventricle (LV) in sheep using a novel 8‐Fr deflectable ablation catheter (Sphere‐9; Affera, Inc) with a 9‐mm expandable spherical monopolar irrigated RF tip vs a standard RF irrigated catheter (Biosense Webster, Diamond Bar, CA). The impact on tissue was assessed on local bipolar electrograms (from nine uniformly distributed mini surface electrodes and an internal central reference electrode), as well as on direct lesion measurement post mortem.

Methods and Results

Eleven sheep underwent LV endocardial ablation in healthy tissue using the Sphere‐9 catheter (n = 6), or a conventional irrigated RF catheter (n = 5). Twenty lesions were created with the Sphere‐9 (current limit: 2.7 A; temp. limit: 60°C; irrigation: 30 mL/min; and duration: 60‐120 seconds). Local bipolar electrograms at the surface of the catheter disappeared during RF delivery in 17 of 20 (85%) lesions. The mean lesion volume was 1707 ± 771 mm
3 (length: 15.8 ± 3.3 mm; width: 11.6 ± 4.2 mm; and depth: 10.3 ± 2.9 mm). Twenty‐five lesions were created with a standard RF irrigated catheter (power control 35 W; irrigation: 30 mL/min; duration: 60 seconds; volume 537 ± 398 mm
3; length: 8.2 ± 2.3 mm; width: 5.2 ± 1.8 mm; and depth: 5.5 ± 2.4 mm). The novel spherical RF catheter created significantly larger lesions (
P < .001 for measurements in all dimensions). There were no steam pops with the novel ablation catheter vs one with the conventional catheter.

Conclusions

This novel spherical monopolar irrigated RF catheter creates lesions that are twice as large and deep as a standard irrigated RF catheter.
Does social vulnerability define the risk of leprosy in an endemic region? A time trend analysis in leprosy‐endemic area
Authors: Verma P. , Kumari P.
Published: July 2019

Linked article: C.D.F. de Souza et al. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2019; 33:1581–1590. https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.15596