bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Research on Voice Print Recognition Algorithm based on Wavelet-GA-BP Neural Network
Authors: Yanfeng Kong , Lianxing Jia , Jiang Zhang
Published: January 2020

Aiming at the fact that common pattern recognition algorithms such as LPCC and MFCC have flaws in voice-print recognition, the paper put forward a new algorithm, which employed wavelet analysis, BP neural network and niche genetic algorithm. Firstly, the algorithm extracted time-domain and frequency-domain characteristic variation of voice signal by wavelet transform, secondly, trained the neural network niche genetic algorithm, which solved the problem of local minimum value caused by normal multi-layers neural network, lastly, took the wavelet transform variations as the training data of the optimization neural network. Simulation experiment was carried out. The results indicate the algorithm in this paper is superior to current recognition algorithms, it has fast recognition velocity, high recognition rate, low fault rate and strong robustness with different voice-makers, besides, it can automatically correct errors.
The Research on Sensorless Control of Permanent Magnet Synchronous using SMC and SMO
Authors: Daoqi Li , Xinhong Xiong , Guoqing Zhang , Yanhui Zhang , Rui Zuo , Wei Feng
Published: January 2020

This work proposes a way to achieve the sensorless control of permanent-magnet synchronous motor using sliding mode controller (SMC) and Sliding Mode Observer(SMO). In this Paper, the SMC is designed to replace the speed control loop PI controller from the original permanent magnet synchronous motor control system with the sliding mode variable structure control theory. Combined with the modified SMO, the “SMC and modified SMO” motor control system is proposed. Compared with the “PI and modified SMO” mode, the performance of the motor control is increased substantially, the interference torque speed attenuation is decreased by 87.5%, and the speed control error was also reduced by 67.7%. There is no overshoot with the reaction speed, and significant improvement in response speed, anti-interference performance, control accuracy and observation precision are achieved. Overall, both the system control and observation performance are significantly improved.
Characteristics of High-Strength Sheet Steel after Subsequent Heating
Authors: Alimov V I , Shtykhno A P , Kolchina Yu S
Published: January 2020

The influence of controlled rolling and the parameters of subsequent technological heating on the processes of structure formation in high-strength sheet steels EH36 and X70 is investigated. It has been established that when redistributing a thick sheet into products, it is necessary to minimize the temperature-time parameters to prevent softening processes. Welding, as one of the sources of technological heating, leads to a change in the structure in the zone of thermal influence and uneven distribution of hardness over the cross section of welded joints, which reduces the uniform strength of the structure as a whole. Short-term heating (about 15 minutes) even to temperatures above Ac1 (760 ° C) and cooling in air in the weld zone do not lead to significant changes in structure and hardness, but the degree of uniformity of the welded sheets increases.
Experimental Research of the Hot-Rolled Pipe Wall Sizing Process at the Reeling Mill of Pipe-Rolling Plant-140 in Conditions of Product Mix Extension
Authors: Yu Belyaev S , Chechulin Yu B , Fedulov A A , Yu Bulganina M
Published: January 2020

This experimental study was conducted on the equipment of pipe-rolling plant-140 with an automatic mill in order to give a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the parameters which define the pipe wall sizing process in reeling mills. During investigation values of the power parameters of the process were recorded for different sizing routes. Conclusions about the special features of the wall sizing process and feasibility of extension of the reeling mill process capabilities were formulated.
On the Applicability of the Evaluation Techniques of the Properties of Iron-Ore Sinter
Authors: Malygin A V , Detkova T V
Published: January 2020

Referring to the hierarchical structure of sinter cake, the applicability of various methods for controlling sinter properties has been studied. The technique has been proposed for evaluation of quality yield and strength for sinter using the parameters characterizing structural fines yield and strength of macroblocks under destruction.
Baseline 10-Year Cardiovascular Risk Scores Predict Cognitive Function in Older Persons, and Particularly Women, Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection
Authors: Chow Felicia C , Lyass Asya , Mahoney Taylor F , Massaro Joseph M , Triant Virginia A , Wu Kunling , Berzins Baiba , Robertson Kevin , Ellis Ronald J , Tassiopoulos Katherine , Taiwo Babafemi , D’Agostino Ralph B
Published: December 2019

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and associated comorbidities increase the risk of cognitive impairment in persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH). Given the potential composite effect of multiple cardiovascular risk factors on cognition, we examined the ability of the Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) risk score and the Framingham Heart Study Global CVD risk score (FRS) to predict future cognitive function in older PLWH.

Methods

We constructed linear regression models evaluating the association between baseline 10-year cardiovascular risk scores and cognitive function (measured by a summary z-score, the NPZ-4) at a year 4 follow-up visit.

Results

Among 988 participants (mean age, 52 years; 20% women), mean 10-year ASCVD risk score at entry into the cohort was 6.8% (standard deviation [SD], 7.1%) and FRS was 13.1% (SD, 10.7%). In models adjusted only for cognitive function at entry, the ASCVD risk score significantly predicted year 4 NPZ-4 in the entire cohort and after stratification by sex (for every 1% higher ASCVD risk, year 4 NPZ-4 was lower by 0.84 [SD, 0.28] overall, P = .003; lower by 2.17 [SD, 0.67] in women, P = .001; lower by 0.78 [SD, 0.32] in men, P = .016). A similar relationship was observed between FRS and year 4 NPZ-4. In multivariable models, higher 10-year ASCVD risk and FRS predicted lower NPZ-4 in women.

Conclusions

Baseline 10-year ASCVD risk and FRS predicted future cognitive function in older PLWH with well-controlled infection. Cardiovascular risk scores may help to identify PLWH, especially women, who are at risk for worse cognition over time.
Modelling the inclusion of swelling pressure in a tissue level poroviscoelastic model of cartilage deformation
Authors: Whiteley Jonathan P , Gaffney Eamonn A
Published: January 2020

Swelling pressure in the interstitial fluid within the pores of cartilage tissue is known to have a significant effect on the rheology of cartilage tissue. The swelling pressure varies rapidly within thin regions inside pores known as Debye layers, caused by the presence of fixed charge, as observed in cartilage. Tissue level calculation of cartilage deformation therefore requires resolution of three distinct spatial scales: the Debye lengthscale within individual pores; the lengthscale of an individual pore; and the tissue lengthscale. We use asymptotics to construct a leading order approximation to the swelling pressure within pores, allowing the swelling pressure to be systematically included within a fluid-solid interaction model at the level of pores in cartilage. We then use homogenization to derive tissue level equations for cartilage deformation that are very similar to those governing the finite deformation of a poroviscoelastic body. The equations derived permit the spatial variations in porosity and electric charge that occur in cartilage tissue. Example solutions are then used to confirm the plausibility of the model derived and to consider the impact of fixed charge heterogeneity, illustrating that local fixed charge loss is predicted to increase deformation gradients under confined compression away from, rather than at, the site of loss.
Effect of colistin-based antibiotic combinations on the eradication of persister cells in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Baek Mi Suk , Chung Eun Seon , Jung Dong Sik , Ko Kwan Soo
Published: December 2019

Objectives

Persister cells are responsible for antibiotic treatment failure and the emergence of antibiotic resistance. The synergistic lethal effects of antibiotic combinations on persister cells were investigated using Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates.

Methods

Persister assays were performed on P. aeruginosa clinical isolates using colistin, amikacin, ciprofloxacin and cefepime, individually and in combination. ATP concentrations were measured and morphological changes in persister cells were observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The expression of relA, spoT and obg genes was evaluated and persister-cell formation was investigated in a relA and spoT double mutant (ΔrelAΔspoT).

Results

The P. aeruginosa persister cells were eradicated upon exposure to the colistin-based antibiotic combination colistin + ciprofloxacin. Simultaneous treatment with both antibiotics, rather than sequential treatment, caused more effective eradication. The intracellular ATP concentration was most reduced in colistin persisters. While the spoT gene was only overexpressed in colistin-persister cells, the relA gene was overexpressed in all persister cells compared with untreated parent cells. TEM analysis suggested the possibility that persister cells might be formed by different mechanisms depending on the antibiotic. Cell elongation and cell wall or membrane damage in colistin persisters, DNA condensation in amikacin persisters and outer membrane vesicles in ciprofloxacin persisters were identified.

Conclusions

In P. aeruginosa, the colistin-based antibiotic combination (colistin + ciprofloxacin) was effective for the eradication of persister cells, probably due to the different persister cell-formation mechanisms between the two antibiotics. Simultaneous, rather than sequential, treatment with two antibiotics could be more effective for eradicating persister P. aeruginosa cells.
Separating and imaging diffractions of seismic waves in the full-azimuth dip-angle domain
Authors: Li Chuangjian , Zhao Jingtao , Peng Suping , Cui Xiaoqin , Lin Peng
Published: December 2019

Seismic diffractions are ideal carriers of information on small-scale, discontinuous objects and can therefore be used to detect these geologic objects. However, recognizing diffractions is difficult because specular reflection with strong energy masks the weak diffraction. In this study, we propose a diffraction separation and imaging method based on a Mahalanobis-based and phase-based attenuation function used to modify the Kirchhoff migration formula in the full-azimuth dip-angle domain. In this domain, reflections are restricted to within the first Fresnel zone and are distributed in the vicinity of the stationary point, while diffractions are located across a wide range of azimuth and dip angles. Synthetic and field data applications suggest that this new method can effectively separate and image diffractions. The results also demonstrate the efficiency of the new method in clarifying subsurface small-scale objects, which can provide finer information about these structures for seismic interpretation.
INTERNAL DOSIMETRY TOOL FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION AND USE OF NEW ICRP/OIR MODELS: A CAESIUM STUDY
Authors: Moraleda Montse , Sánchez-León Guillermo , López Maria Antoniá
Published: January 2020

In case of accidental intake of radioactive material, the dose assessment requires information on the radionuclide distribution in the body. Measurements of retention or excretion are compared with model’s predictions to estimate the intake. The reference models for internal dosimetry purposes are those proposed by ICRP and have been recently updated in the ‘Occupational Intakes of Radionuclides (OIR)’ series. This work focusses on the implementation of the new caesium model in a computer package, ICRP130Models (integrated in the toolbox BIOKMOD), together with new features aimed at estimating the intake and the dose from bioassay measurements. The software gives the best fitted intake and the committed effective dose, as well as the chi-squared test and the p-value as an indication of the goodness of the fit in the assessment process. The possibility to build the model as a function of a parameter allows the user to look for different options when fitting the bioassay measurements.
Reflections on the Betrayal of the Body and Other Common Spiritual Wounds of People Dying From Cancer Receiving Hospice Care
Authors: DeFord Brad
Published: January 2020

My training as a thanatologist began during Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) on the pediatric oncology unit of Memorial Sloan Kettering Medical Center in New York City. I became board certified to provide spiritual care to those who were ill and/or dying. I learned about death, dying, and bereavement during my clinical practice. In hospice and palliative care, I worked with physical therapists (PTs) on an interdisciplinary team. On the National Council of Hospice and Palliative Professionals, as the Section Leader for Spiritual Caregivers, I served with the Section Leaders for PTs. From the bedsides to the board room, I have appreciated the spiritual care of the practice of PTs—although often they have not been aware that it was spiritual care they were providing. These reflections are intended as encouragements for PTs, not to change their professional practices but to appreciate that the skills that PTs already possess could include a spiritual aim. This would be true both for their “patients” and for the others who compose the Unit of Care (which in hospice means both the “patient” and his or her family and/or the support system). Many spiritual injuries befall those with a cancer diagnosis and those who would provide care for them. The most significant of the resultant spiritual wounds are consequent to their experience of their bodies betraying them. Being able to bring a spiritual intention to the application of the skills PTs already possess promotes the healing of these invisible wounds, thus easing the spirit of the person who is dying from cancer.
Advances in the diagnosis, pathogenesis and treatment of neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Moore Erica , Huang Michelle W. , Putterman Chaim
Published: December 2019

Purpose of review

Diagnosing and treating neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) remains challenging as the pathogenesis is still being debated. In this review, we discuss studies evaluating recent advances in diagnostic methods, pathogenic mediators and potential treatments.

Recent findings

Screening tools used for neurodegenerative diseases were found to be both sensitive and moderately specific for cognitive dysfunction in NPSLE. Neuroimaging can be used to distinguish systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients from healthy controls, but further refinement is needed to differentiate between lupus patients with and without neuropsychiatric manifestations. Elevated levels of specific molecules in the cerebrospinal fluid and/or serum, as well as the presence of certain autoantibodies, have been identified as potential biomarkers in attempts to facilitate a more accurate and objective diagnosis. Among such autoantibodies, anti-NR2 and anti-ribosomal P autoantibodies also have a pathogenic role, although newer studies demonstrate that blood–brain barrier damage may not always be required as previously believed. These and other observations, together with new evidence for disease attenuation after microglial modulation, suggest direct involvement of the central nervous system in NPSLE pathogenesis.

Neuropsychiatric involvement of SLE includes a variety of symptoms that impact quality of life and patient prognosis. There have been recent advances in improving the diagnosis of NPSLE as well as in dissecting the underlying pathogenesis. The attenuation of neuropsychiatric disease in mouse models demonstrates the potential for targeted therapies, which are based on a clearer understanding of the pathogenesis of NPSLE. Further assessment of these treatments is required in NPSLE patients, as well as the potential use of neuroimaging to distinguish between SLE patients with or without neuropsychiatric manifestations.
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine-like discriminative stimulus effects of seven cathinones in rats
Authors: Gatch Michael B. , Dolan Sean B. , Forster Michael J.
Published: December 2019

Synthetic cathinone derivatives are commonly considered quasi-legal alternatives for stimulant drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamine, but some derivatives are increasingly being detected in club drug formulations of Ecstasy or ‘Molly’ as substitutes for methylenedioxymethamphetamine (±-MDMA). Although several studies have evaluated the psychostimulant-like effects of synthetic cathinones, few cathinone compounds have been assessed for MDMA-like activity. In order to determine their likelihood of interchangeability with entactogenic club drugs, the discriminative stimulus effects of methcathinone, 4-fluoromethcathinone, 4-methylmethcathinone, 4-methylethcathinone, 3-fluoromethcathinone, pentedrone, and ethylone were assessed in Sprague–Dawley rats trained to discriminate 1.5 mg/kg racemic methylenedioxymethamphetamine (±-MDMA) from vehicle. Methamphetamine and the cathinones 4-fluoromethcathinone, 4-methylmethcathinone, 4-methylethcathinone, 3-fluoromethcathinone, pentedrone, and ethylone fully substituted for the discriminative stimulus effects of ±-MDMA. In contrast, methcathinone produced a maximum of only 43% ±-MDMA-appropriate responding and higher doses suppressed responding. Most, but not all of the cathinone compounds tested have discriminative stimulus effects similar to those of MDMA as well as psychostimulant-like effects; however, the potency of MDMA versus psychostimulant substitution varies substantially among the compounds, suggesting that a subset of synthetic cathinones are more MDMA-like than psychostimulant-like. These findings further highlight the highly-variable pharmacology of this class of compounds and suggest that those cathinones with MDMA-like effects may also have increased use as club drugs.
Design and psychometric analysis of a climacteric adjustment questionnaire for middle-aged women
Authors: Reyhani Mitra , Kazemi Ashraf , Farajzadegan Ziba , Keshvari Mahrokh
Published: December 2019

Objective:

The climacteric adjustment questionnaire (CAQ) was developed to assess the adjustment with fertility changes in middle-aged women. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the CAQ in a sample of Iranian middle-aged women.

Method:

This study used the impact item method and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to evaluate the psychometric properties and construct validity of the developed questionnaire. The primary questionnaire was developed based on a qualitative study. A principal componential analysis (34 items) with Varimax rotation was conducted in a cross-sectional study on 277 middle-aged women.

Results:

In the qualitative section, of the 34 items extracted, those with an impact item index of over 1.5, a content validity ratio of over 0.42, and a content validity index of over 0.79 were considered as valid. EFA reduced the list of the items to 32 with six factors capable of predicting 58% of the variance. The Cronbach's α coefficient for CAQ was 0.863.

Conclusion:

The findings of the present study indicated that the validity and reliability of the questionnaire designed to measure the adjustment to the climacteric period in middle-aged women could be used in related studies.
A preliminary exome sequence in three patients with tardive dystonia
Authors: Kanahara Nobuhisa , Nakata Yusuke , Iyo Masaomi
Published: December 2019

Tardive dystonia is one of the most serious adverse events that can be caused by antipsychotic treatment, but few studies have examined the etiology of tardive dystonia, and no genetic study using a next-generation sequencing technique has been performed to date. We conducted exome sequencing in three subjects with severe tardive dystonia. We analyzed the results focusing on candidate genes of primary dystonia, for example, TOR1A, GCH1, TH, THAP1, and SGCE. There were no single-nucleotide polymorphisms of these dystonia genes that were commonly shared among our subjects. Instead, the results revealed the presence of rare mutations (minor allele frequency <0.01) on the ZNF806 and SART3 genes in all three patients. This is the first study to analyze whole-exonic regions of the genomes of patients with tardive dystonia. These results were only preliminary, but they suggest that subjects presenting with tardive dystonia induced by antipsychotic treatment can have a genetic predisposition to tardive dystonia.
Exploiting the Reverse Vaccinology Approach to Design Novel Subunit Vaccine against Ebola Virus
Authors: Ullah Md. Asad , Sarkar Bishajit , Islam Syed Sajidul
Published: January 2020

Ebola virus is a highly pathogenic RNA virus that causes haemorrhagic fever in human. With very high mortality rate, Ebola virus is considered as one of the dangerous viruses in the world. Although, the Ebola outbreaks claimed many lives in the past, no satisfactory treatment or vaccine have been discovered yet to fight against Ebola. For this reason, in this study, various tools of bioinformatics and immunoinformatics were used to design possible vaccines against Zaire Ebola virus strain Mayinga-76. To construct the vaccine, three potential antigenic proteins of the virus, matrix protein VP40, envelope glycoprotein and nucleoprotein were selected against which the vaccines would be designed. The MHC class-I, MHC class-II and B-cell epitopes were determined and after robust analysis through various tools and molecular docking analysis, three vaccine candidates, designated as EV-1, EV-2 and EV-3, were constructed. Since the highly conserved epitopes were used for vaccine construction, these vaccine constructs are also expected to be effective on other strains of Ebola virus like strain Gabon-94 and Kikwit-95. Next, the molecular docking study on these vaccine constructs were analyzed by molecular docking study and EV-1 emerged as the best vaccine construct. Later, molecular dynamics simulation study revealed the good performances as well as good stability of the vaccine protein. Finally, codon adaptation and in silico cloning were conducted to design a possible plasmid (pET-19b plasmid vector was used) for large scale, industrial production of the EV-1 vaccine.
Late-life restoration of mitochondrial function reverses cardiac dysfunction in old mice
Authors: Chiao Ying Ann , Zhang Huiliang , Sweetwyne Mariya , Whitson Jeremy , Ting Ying Sonia , Basisty Nathan , Pino Lindsay , Quarles Ellen , Nguyen Ngoc-Han , Campbell Matthew D. , Zhang Tong , Gaffrey Matthew J. , Merrihew Gennifer , Wang Lu , Yue Yongping , Duan Dongsheng , Granzier Henk , Szeto Hazel H. , Qian Wei-Jun , Marcinek David , MacCoss Michael J. , Rabinovitch Peter S.
Published: January 2020

Diastolic dysfunction is a prominent feature of cardiac aging in both mice and humans. We show here that 8-week treatment of old mice with the mitochondrial targeted peptide SS-31 (elamipretide) can substantially reverse this deficit. SS-31 normalized the increase in proton leak and reduced mitochondrial ROS in cardiomyocytes from old mice, accompanied by reduced protein oxidation and a shift towards a more reduced protein thiol redox state in old hearts. Improved diastolic function was concordant with increased phosphorylation of cMyBP-C Ser282 but was independent of titin isoform shift. Late-life viral expression of mitochondrial-targeted catalase (mCAT) produced similar functional benefits in old mice and SS-31 did not improve cardiac function of old mCAT mice, implicating normalizing mitochondrial oxidative stress as an overlapping mechanism. These results demonstrate that pre-existing cardiac aging phenotypes can be reversed by targeting mitochondrial dysfunction and implicate mitochondrial energetics and redox signaling as therapeutic targets for cardiac aging.
A general role of zinc binding domain revealed by structures of σ28-dependent transcribing complexes
Authors: Shi Wei , Zhou Wei , Zhang Baoyue , Huang Shaojia , Jiang Yanan , Schammel Abigail , Hu Yangbo , Liu Bin
Published: January 2020

In bacteria, σ28is the flagella-specific sigma factor that controls the expression of flagella-related genes involving bacterial motility and chemotaxis. However, its transcriptional mechanism remains largely unclear. Here we report cryo-EM structures of σ28-dependent transcribing complexes on a complete flagella-specific DNA promoter. The structures reveal how σ28-RNA polymerase (RNAP) recognizes promoter DNA through strong interaction with −10 element but weak contact with −35 element to initiate transcription. In addition, we observed a distinct architecture in which the β′ zinc binding domain (ZBD) of RNAP stretches out from its canonical position to interact with the upstream non-template strand. Furtherin vitroandin vivoassays demonstrate that this interaction facilitates the isomerization of RNAP-promoter closed to open complex due to compensating the weak interaction between σ4/−35 element, and suggest that ZBD-relocation is a general mechanism employed by the σ70-family factors to enhance transcription from promoters with weak σ4/−35 element interactions.
Improved subspecies identification in clinicalMycobacterium abscessuscomplex isolates using whole genome sequence
Authors: Lin Dachuan , Sun Ruifeng , Tan Yaoju , Wang Jing , Chen Xinchun
Published: January 2020

Mycobacterium abscessuscomplex, which is frequently reported causing a variety of skin and soft tissues diseases in humans, is composed of three subspecies, namelyM. abscessus subsp. abscessus, M. abscessus subsp. massilienseandM. abscessus subsp. bolletii. Currently, the differentiation of these three subspecies in clinical isolates still largely depend on single gene identification methods like the genes namelyhsp65, 16swith a limited accuracy. This study confirmed the limitations of the single gene based method in the subspecies identification. We performed a comprehensive analysis of MABC genomes in the NCBI database and tried to build an accurate and user-friendly identify method. Here, we describe an improved assay forMycobacterium abscessuscomplex fast identification using WGS data, based on the identities ofrpoB, erm(41) andrpls. Comprehensive analysis has been performed to compare our software results with the traditional method. The result showed that the method built-in this study could 100% identification the subspecies for theMycobacterium abscessuscomplex in the public genome database (893 genomes from NCBI database and 6 clinical isolates from this study). Because this software can be easily integrated into a routine workflow to quickly and precisely provide subspecies-level identification and discrimination MABC different subspecies in clinical isolates by WGS. This assay will facilitate accurate molecular identification of species from the MABC complex in a variety of clinical specimens and diagnostic contexts.
Signed Reward Prediction Errors in the Ventral Striatum Drive Episodic Memory
Authors: Calderon Cristian Buc , De Loof Esther , Ergo Kate , Snoeck Anna , Boehler Carsten Nico , Verguts Tom
Published: January 2020

A growing body of behavioral evidence implicates reward prediction errors (RPEs) as a key factor in the acquisition of episodic memory. Yet, important neural predictions related to the role of RPE in declarative memory acquisition remain to be tested. Using a novel variable-choice task, we experimentally manipulated RPEs and found support for key predictions on the neural level with fMRI. Specifically, we demonstrate that trial-specific RPE responses in the ventral striatum (during learning) predict the strength of subsequent episodic memory (during recollection). Furthermore, functional connectivity between task-relevant processing areas (e.g., face-selective areas) and hippocampus, ventral tegmental area, and ventral striatum increased as a function of RPE value (during learning), suggesting a central role of these areas in episodic memory formation. Our results consolidate reinforcement learning theory and striatal RPEs as key operations subtending the formation of episodic memory.
Business events at a spa destination: an insight into senior participant motivation
Authors: Dimitrovski Darko , Seočanac Marijana , Luković Maja
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the motivation of the attendees of the Annual Meeting of the Serbian Association of Seniors. The research aims to segment the senior participants according to their push and pull motivations for attending association meetings, by using cluster analysis to understand the role of destination personality in the segmentation process.

Design/methodology/approach

The questionnaire, based on a seven-point Likert scale, was distributed among representatives and members of the Association of Pensioners of Serbia. The data collected were assessed with the use of SPSS 21 statistical software.

Findings

The results of the study reveal the most important push and pull motives that drive senior citizens to take part in this type of event. It has also provided a better understanding of senior business event participants in relation to destination personality.

Research limitations/implications

The data were collected from 124 questionnaires. In order to provide a more detailed insight into the senior citizens’ motivation to participate in events, a larger sample would be required.

Practical implications

The research findings provide valuable information about senior business event visitor behaviour, which is of high importance for destination marketers and managers.

Originality/value

Nowadays, business events motivation research is generally focussed on middle-aged and young attendees, so insight into the perception of senior citizens related to business event motivation provides a further understanding of this specific consumer segment. Additionally, gaining insight into seniors’ perspectives related to participation in association meetings after retiring from work assists in comprehending the complex nature of their motivation to participate in these types of business events, as well as underlining the fact that senior business event attendees have been, up until this point, largely neglected as a group in terms of similar research.
Scale development and modeling of intellectual property creation capability in higher education
Authors: Kashyap Ankur , Agrawal Rajat
Published: January 2020

Purpose

At present, the contribution of higher educational institutes (HEIs) to economic development and society at large is under constant evaluation. One important parameter that is counted in their performance is generating intellectual capital. To maximize intellectual property (IP) (specifically patents which are considered to have maximum economic value) pool, the purpose of this paper is to conceptualize IP creation capability (IPCC) relevant to higher education. Furthermore, a scale is developed and validated to measure IPCC in Indian HEIs.

Design/methodology/approach

Both quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted for multi-dimensional scale development. The use of pragmatic approach also complemented exploratory design of the study for exploring relationship and developing a new instrument. The study further maps the connection between constructs of IPCC by proposing a structural model using the partial least squares path modeling method.

Findings

A significant positive relationship was seen among policy, incentives, research facility, working culture and IPCC subjected to Indian conditions. The findings based on data analysis suggest that incentive has a mediating effect between policy and IPCC.

Practical implications

Findings of the study could be used for formulating strategies to improve the current state of IP creation in HEIs. The results of the study could also be applied for a better understanding of the IP creation scenario in HEIs of India and similar developing countries.

Originality/value

This study presents the first endeavor to develop a well-structured scale for measuring IPCC especially in the context of the Indian higher education system. It contributes to research on higher education studies, innovation and IP creation.
Millennial travel: tourism micro-trends of European Generation Y
Authors: Ketter Eran
Published: January 2020

Purpose

Millennials travel more than any other generation and they account now for some 40 percent of Europe’s outbound travel. As Millennials travel peaks, the purpose of this paper is to shed light on European Millennials, their characteristics and travel behaviors, and how their travel trends are shaping the present – and future – of the tourism industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study is based on content analysis of up-to-date academic publications and tourism industry reports.

Findings

The common characteristics and travel behaviors of Millennials drive four key tourism micro-trends: creative tourism, off-the-beaten-track tourism, alternative accommodation and fully digital tourism. Based on the growing importance of Millennials in global travel, these micro-trends are re-shaping supply and demand and transform the tourism and hospitality industries.

Originality/value

The study provides a novel understanding of Millennial travel, their characteristics and travel behaviors. The micro-trends identified are affecting destinations, hotels, attractions and other tourism businesses, as they re-define what tourists want and how they want it. Furthermore, these change drivers are expected to increase as Millennial travel continues to grow.
Statistical and bibliometric analysis of financial innovation
Authors: Chen Ting-Hsuan , Peng Jin-Lung
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review and analyze the characteristics of the literature related to financial innovation, because financial technology (fintech) has been appropriately applied in academic circles as well as in the policy-making arena. The authors further estimate the implications of financial innovations for bank performance and liquidity risk.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a sample of commercial banks operating in Taiwan over the period 2010–2017 and utilize three proxies for financial innovation including R&D expenditures, financial patents (i.e. innovation applications) and financial news such as that concerning fintech (i.e. innovation intentions).

Findings

The effects of financial innovation on bank performance are mixed, with too much of R&D expenditures having the worst bank performance, whereas innovation intentions benefit their performance. The paper concludes that financial innovation does increase banks’ liquidity risk, thus supporting the innovation-fragility hypothesis.

Originality/value

It is an important issue in academic circles as well as in the policy-making arena to ensure that financial innovation has been appropriately applied.
Constructing the social network prediction model based on data mining and link prediction analysis
Authors: Gao Yuxian
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply link prediction to community mining and to clarify the role of link prediction in improving the performance of social network analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the 2009 version of Enron e-mail data set provided by Carnegie Mellon University was selected as the research object first, and bibliometric analysis method and citation analysis method were adopted to compare the differences between various studies. Second, based on the impact of various interpersonal relationships, the link model was adopted to analyze the relationship among people. Finally, the factorization of the matrix was further adopted to obtain the characteristics of the research object, so as to predict the unknown relationship.

Findings

The experimental results show that the prediction results obtained by considering multiple relationships are more accurate than those obtained by considering only one relationship.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the limited number of objects in the data set, the link prediction method has not been tested on the large-scale data set, and the validity and correctness of the method need to be further verified with larger data. In addition, the research on algorithm complexity and algorithm optimization, including the storage of sparse matrix, also need to be further studied. At the same time, in the case of extremely sparse data, the accuracy of the link prediction method will decline a lot, and further research and discussion should be carried out on the sparse data.

Practical implications

The focus of this research is on link prediction in social network analysis. The traditional prediction model is based on a certain relationship between the objects to predict and analyze, but in real life, the relationship between people is diverse, and different relationships are interactive. Therefore, in this study, the graph model is used to express different kinds of relations, and the influence between different kinds of relations is considered in the actual prediction process. Finally, experiments on real data sets prove the effectiveness and accuracy of this method. In addition, link prediction, as an important part of social network analysis, is also of great significance for other applications of social network analysis. This study attempts to prove that link prediction is helpful to the improvement of performance analysis of social network by applying link prediction to community mining.

Originality/value

This study adopts a variety of methods, such as link prediction, data mining, literature analysis and citation analysis. The research direction is relatively new, and the experimental results obtained have a certain degree of credibility, which is of certain reference value for the following related research.
“Less is more”
Authors: Zhang Ziqi , Bors Georgica
Published: December 2019

Purpose

This work studies automated user classification on Twitter in the public health domain, a task that is essential to many public health-related research works on social media but has not been addressed. The purpose of this paper is to obtain empirical knowledge on how to optimise the classifier performance on this task.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 3,100 Twitter users who tweeted about different health conditions were manually coded into six most common stakeholders. The authors propose new, simple features extracted from the short Twitter profiles of these users, and compare a large set of classification models (including state-of-the-art) that use more complex features and with different algorithms on this data set.

Findings

The authors show that user classification in the public health domain is a very challenging task, as the best result the authors can obtain on this data set is only 59 per cent in terms of F1 score. Compared to state-of-the-art, the methods can obtain significantly better (10 percentage points in F1 on a “best-against-best” basis) results when using only a small set of 40 features extracted from the short Twitter user profile texts.

Originality/value

The work is the first to study the different types of users that engage in health-related communication on social media, applicable to a broad range of health conditions rather than specific ones studied in the previous work. The methods are implemented as open source tools, and together with data, are the first of this kind. The authors believe these will encourage future research to further improve this important task.
Genetic variants associated with T cell–mediated cutaneous adverse drug reactions: A PRISMA‐compliant systematic review—An EAACI position paper
Authors: Oussalah Abderrahim , Yip Vincent , Mayorga Cristobalina , Blanca Miguel , Barbaud Annick , Nakonechna Alla , Cernadas Josefina , Gotua Maia , Brockow Knut , Caubet Jean‐Christoph , Bircher Andreas , Atanaskovic‐Markovic Marina , Demoly Pascal , Kase‐Tanno Luciana , Terreehorst Ingrid , Laguna José Julio , Romano Antonino , Guéant Jean‐Louis , Pirmohamed Munir ,   the Task Force “Genetic predictors of drug hypersensitivity” of the European Network on Drug Allergy (ENDA), European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI)
Published: January 2020

Drug hypersensitivity reactions (DHRs) are associated with high global morbidity and mortality. Cutaneous T cell–mediated reactions classically occur more than 6 hours after drug administration and include life‐threatening conditions such as toxic epidermal necrolysis, Stevens‐Johnson syndrome, and hypersensitivity syndrome. Over the last 20 years, significant advances have been made in our understanding of the pathogenesis of DHRs with the identification of human leukocyte antigens as predisposing factors. This has led to the development of pharmacogenetic screening tests, such as HLA‐B*57:01 in abacavir therapy, which has successfully reduced the incidence of abacavir hypersensitivity reactions. We have completed a PRISMA‐compliant systematic review to identify genetic associations that have been reported in DHRs. In total, 105 studies (5554 cases and 123 548 controls) have been included in the review reporting genetic associations with carbamazepine (n = 31), other aromatic antiepileptic drugs (n = 24), abacavir (n = 11), nevirapine (n = 14), trimethoprim‐sulfamethoxazole (n = 11), dapsone (n = 4), allopurinol (n = 10), and other drugs (n = 5). The most commonly reported genetic variants associated with DHRs are located in human leukocyte antigen genes and genes involved in drug metabolism pathways. Increasing our understanding of genetic variants that contribute to DHRs will allow us to improve diagnosis, develop new treatments, and predict and prevent DHRs in the future.
When smiles (and frowns) speak words: Does power impact the correspondence between self‐reported affect and facial expressions?
Authors: Leach Stefan , Weick Mario
Published: January 2020

Self‐reported experiences are often poor indicators of outward expressions. Here we examine social power as a variable that may impact the relationship between self‐reported affect and facial expressions. Earlier studies addressing this issue were limited by focusing on a single facial expression (smiling) and by using different, less sensitive methods that yielded mostly null results. Sampling, for the first time, self‐reported affect repeatedly in response to different negative, neutral and positive stimuli, and measuring concurrent facial muscle activation via electromyography, we found that high power (vs. baseline) increased the correspondence between self‐reported positive affect and smiling. There was also an indication that high power (vs. baseline) bolstered the association between self‐reported negative affect and frowning but the effect did not pass more stringent criteria for significance (p ≤ .005) and was therefore deemed inconclusive. The prediction that low power (vs. baseline) decreases the correspondence between self‐reported affect and smiling and frowning facial expressions was not supported. Taken together, it would appear that (high) power can impact the relationship between self‐reported affect and facial expressions, but it remains to be seen whether this effect extends beyond smiling facial expressions.
Non‐syndromic X linked intellectual disability: Current knowledge in light of the recent advances in molecular and functional studies
Authors: Tejada María Isabel , Ibarluzea Nekane
Published: January 2020

Since the discovery of the FMR1 gene and the clinical and molecular characterization of Fragile X Syndrome in 1991, more than 141 genes have been identified in the X‐chromosome in these 28 years thanks to applying continuously evolving molecular techniques to X‐linked intellectual disability (XLID) families. In the past decade, array comparative genomic hybridization and next generation sequencing technologies have accelerated gene discovery exponentially. Classically, XLID has been subdivided in syndromic intellectual disability (S‐XLID)—where intellectual disability (ID) is always associated with other recognizable physical and/or neurological features—and non‐specific or non‐syndromic intellectual disability (NS‐XLID) where the only common feature is ID. Nevertheless, new advances on the study of these entities have showed that this classification is not always clear‐cut because distinct variants in several of these XLID genes can result in S‐XLID as well as in NS‐XLID. This review focuses on the current knowledge on the XLID genes involved in non‐syndromic forms, with the emphasis on their pathogenic mechanism, thus allowing the possibility to elucidate why some of them can give both syndromic and non‐syndromic phenotypes.
Objectives versus realities: Spatial, temporal, financial and social deficiencies in Australia’s public revegetation investment model
Authors: Collard Stuart J. , O’Connor Patrick J. , Prowse Thomas A. A. , Gregg Daniel , Bond Anthelia J.
Published: December 2019

Past and continuing fragmentation and modification of ecosystems, as well as other threatening processes, cause ongoing biodiversity losses and species extinctions in Australia. At the same time as biodiversity declines, government funding for conservation and restoration is diminishing, leading to reduced action and greater reliance on private investment and community groups. In order to maintain and restore biodiverse ecosystems and the essential services they provide, both conservation of existing vegetation and habitat reconstruction are required. In this paper, we summarise the available data on planting area and cost from the Australian Government’s 20 Million Trees programme (2014–2020), the largest recent national‐scale revegetation incentives programme in Australia. We find that the current spatial scale of effort and investment in habitat reconstruction is insufficient to match the scale required to meet national conservation objectives. Furthermore, the funding rate ($/ha) and contracting arrangements are inadequate for the establishment of high‐quality self‐sustaining vegetation needed for the recovery of Australia’s threatened species and ecological communities. We estimate that the minimum amount of funding required for habitat reconstruction is at least five times higher than is provided for current national flagship programmes such as 20 Million Trees. We provide recommendations, designed to assist future habitat reconstruction programmes achieve their long‐term biodiversity objectives.