bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Healthcare-associated infections in Australia: tackling the ‘known unknowns’
Authors: Russo Philip L. , Cheng Allen C. , Mitchell Brett G. , Hall Lisa
Published: March 2017

Australia does not have a national healthcare-associated infection (HAI) surveillance program. Without national surveillance, we do not understand the burden of HAIs, nor can we accurately assess the effects of national infection prevention initiatives. Recent research has demonstrated disparity between existing jurisdictional-based HAI surveillance activity while also identifying broad key stakeholder support for the establishment of a national program. A uniform surveillance program will also address growing concerns about hospital performance measurements and enable public reporting of hospital data.
Associations between yield, intercepted radiation and radiation-use efficiency in chickpea
Authors: Lake Lachlan , Sadras Victor
Published: March 2017

Relationships between yield, biomass, radiation interception (PARint) and radiation-use efficiency (RUE) have been studied in many crops for use in growth analysis and modelling. Research in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is limited, with variation caused by environment and phenological stage not adequately described. This study aims to characterise the variation in chickpea PARint and RUE with phenological stage, line and environment and their interactions, and the impact of this variation on yield. Chickpea lines (six desi and one kabuli) previously identified as varying for yield, competitive ability, crop growth rate and phenology were compared in four environments resulting from a combination of two sowing dates and dry and irrigated water regimes. Yield varied from 0.7 to 3.7 t ha–1. Line, environment, phenological stage and the interactions line (G) × environment (E) and environment × stage affected both RUE and PARint. Line × stage interaction also affected RUE. High PARint and RUE were associated with high yield, but the interaction between environment and phenological stage dictated this relationship; higher PARint and RUE were observed in irrigated environments. Some environment × phenological stage combinations resulted in no significant associations, particularly before flowering in dry environments. These results emphasise the importance of understanding the effects of G × E on capture and efficiency in the use of radiation and have implications for growth analysis, modelling and breeding.
Imperatives and other directives in the Polynesian languages
Authors: Brown Jason , McWhannell Francis
Published: March 2017

The languages of the Polynesian family exhibit considerable homogeneity with respect to various linguistic patterns. This state of affairs is reflected in imperative constructions, in which canonical imperatives form a comparatively tight core. At the same time, and as is typical of other constructions in Polynesian, there is notable variation to be found, especially in non-canonical imperatives, modifiers in imperatives and other directives. It is the goal of this chapter to document some of the different strategies for forming imperatives and directives in the Polynesian languages, situating these patterns in the larger discussion surrounding the typology of imperatives.
Directive conditional and complement insubordination in Germanic languages
Authors: D’Hertefelt Sarah
Published: March 2017

This paper deals with independent or insubordinate conditional and complement clauses that express directive meanings. On a descriptive level, I show that a variety of directive subtypes can be distinguished for both strategies, i.e. requests and threats for the conditional constructions and orders, prohibitions, advice and permission structures for the complement constructions. On a theoretical level, this paper investigates to what extent these directive constructions are influenced by their respective “source” semantics, i.e. conditionality and complementation. I show that conditional directives share two typically conditional properties: (1) they always imply a choice between two possible scenarios and (2) they always orient towards a particular consequence. Complement directives, on the other hand, all share an anaphoric property, in the sense that they link the directive back to something that forms part of the (assumed) common ground between speaker and addressee.
Directive strategies in Modern Korean and Japanese
Authors: Lee Duck-Young , Ogi Naomi
Published: March 2017

The current study discusses the use of directive strategies in Modern Korean and Japanese, commands and requests in particular. Directives constitute a very basic way in which tasks and activities of everyday life are organized. For both Korean and Japanese, a considerable amount of research has been undertaken on this speech act. However, no study has sufficiently explored the issue of directives in the two languages from a contrastive perspective, despite its significance for understanding the differences between the two languages in interacting with other people in daily life. The current study aims at identifying the linguistic resources that are available for commands and requests in Korean and Japanese, the factors that determine the choice of a particular directive strategy and the (dis)similarities in the use of the directive strategies between the languages. Based on data from Korean and Japanese TV drama series, the study looks into the frequency of various linguistic forms for commands and requests and shows that Korean directive strategies can be characterized as “imperative-honorific-oriented” and Japanese ones as “request-oriented”.
Eliciting evidence of functional differences
Authors: Sansiñena María Sol
Published: March 2017

This paper presents the results of an online questionnaire carried out among 130 respondents from Santiago de Chile, Chile, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, and contrasts them with the results from a previous corpus data analysis. That study demonstrated formal and functional differentiation between free-standing que-clauses with subjunctive mood, i.e. displaced directives, and the morphological imperative in conversations among native speakers of Spanish in terms of the range of speech acts and degree of prototypicality within the category of directives. In this paper, the corpus analysis is tested against elicited data. Attention is paid to the role played by different types of addressees, to the semantics of the verbs used, and to the role of repetition and degree of agentivity of the subject in the selection of an imperative or a free-standing que-clause. The findings confirm that there is essentially a functional division of labor between the two, with most overlap in the specific context of the repetition of a directive addressed to a second person.
A Comparison of Two Mobile Electrode Arrays for Increasing Mortality of Lake Trout Embryos
Authors: Brown Peter J. , Guy Christopher S. , Meeuwig Michael H.
Published: March 2017

Conservation of sport fisheries and populations of several native fishes in the western United States is dependent on sustained success of removal programs targeting invasive Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush. Gill-netting of spawning adults is one strategy used to decrease spawning success; however, additional complementary methods are needed to disrupt Lake Trout reproduction where bycatch in gill nets is unacceptable. We developed and tested two portable electrode arrays designed to increase Lake Trout embryo mortality in known spawning areas. Both arrays were powered by existing commercial electrofishing equipment. However, one array was moved across the substrate to simulate being towed behind a boat (i.e., towed array), while the other array was lowered from a boat and energized when sedentary (i.e., sedentary array). The arrays were tested on embryos placed within substrates of known spawning areas. Both arrays increased mortality of embryos (>90%) at the surface of substrates, but only the sedentary array was able to increase mortality to >90% at deeper burial depths. In contrast, embryos at increasingly deeper depths exhibited progressively lower mortality when exposed to the towed array. Mortality of embryos placed under 20 cm of substrate and exposed to the towed array was not significantly different from that of unexposed embryos in a control group. We suggest that the sedentary array could be used as a viable approach for increasing mortality of Lake Trout embryos buried to 20 cm and that it could be modified to be effective at deeper depths.

Received August 12, 2016; accepted November 28, 2016Published online March 3, 2017
Condition-Dependent En Route Migration Mortality of Adult Chinook Salmon in the Willamette River Main Stem
Authors: Keefer Matthew L. , Jepson Michael A. , Naughton George P. , Blubaugh Timothy J. , Clabough Tami S. , Caudill Christopher C.
Published: March 2017

Episodically high adult mortality during migration and near spawning sites has hindered the recovery of threatened spring-run Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in Oregon's Willamette River basin. In 2011–2014, we assessed migration mortality for 762 radio-tagged adults along a ~260-km reach of the main stem of the Willamette River. Annual survival of salmon to spawning tributaries ranged from 0.791 (95% CI = 0.741–0.833) to 0.896 (0.856–0.926), confirming concerns about mortality in the migration corridor. In a series of general linear models, descaling, marine mammal injuries, and head injuries to adult Chinook Salmon were linked to reduced survival during migration to tributaries. Many injuries were minor (i.e., epidermal abrasions), which we hypothesize were unlikely to have caused direct mortality but may have increased salmon vulnerability to pathogens or other disease processes. Mortality in the main stem was not significantly associated with salmon body size, energetic status, sex, origin (hatchery, wild), river discharge, or water temperature metrics. The ~10–21% estimates of en route mortality in this study provide an important benchmark for the main stem of the Willamette River. The estimates complement ongoing efforts to quantify mortality of adult Chinook Salmon in Willamette River tributaries and after collection and transport to spawning sites above high-head hydroelectric dams.

Received September 15, 2016; accepted December 1, 2016 Published online March 3, 2017
CFTR gating: Invisible transitions made visible
Authors: Csanády László
Published: March 2017

Csanády discusses a new study that provides insight into the unique conductance properties of the CFTR chloride channel.
Zucchini yellow mosaic virus Populations from East Timorese and Northern Australian Cucurbit Crops: Molecular Properties, Genetic Connectivity, and Biosecurity Implications
Authors: Maina Solomon , Coutts Brenda A. , Edwards Owain R. , de Almeida Luis , Kehoe Monica A. , Ximenes Abel , Jones Roger A. C.
Published: March 2017

Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) isolates from cucurbit crops growing in northern Australia and East Timor were investigated to establish possible genetic connectivity between crop viruses in Australia and Southeast Asia. Leaves from symptomatic plants of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata and C. maxima), melon (Cucumis melo), and zucchini (C. pepo) were sampled near Broome, Darwin, and Kununurra in northern Australia. Leaves from symptomatic plants of cucumber (C. sativus) and pumpkin sampled in East Timor were sent to Australia on FTA cards. These samples were subjected to high-throughput sequencing and 15 complete new ZYMV genomic sequences obtained. When their nucleotide sequences were compared with those of 48 others from GenBank, the East Timorese and Kununurra sequences (three per location) and single earlier sequences from Singapore and Reunion Island were all in major phylogroup B. The seven Broome and two Darwin sequences were in minor phylogroups I and II, respectively, within larger major phylogroup A. When coat protein (CP) nucleotide sequences from the 15 new genomes and 47 Australian isolates sequenced previously were compared with 331 other CP sequences, the closest genetic match for a sequence from Kununurra was with an East Timorese sequence (95.5% nucleotide identity). Analysis of the 63 complete genomes found firm recombination events in 12 (75%) and 2 (4%) sequences from northern Australia or Southeast Asia versus the rest of the world, respectively; therefore, the formers’ high recombination frequency might reflect adaptation to tropical conditions. Both parents of the recombinant Kununurra sequence were East Timorese. Phylogenetic analysis, nucleotide sequence identities, and recombination analysis provided clear evidence of genetic connectivity between sequences from Kununurra and East Timor. Inoculation of a Broome isolate to zucchini and watermelon plants reproduced field symptoms observed in northern Australia. This research has important biosecurity implications over entry of damaging viral crop pathogens not only into northern Australia but also moving between Australia’s different agricultural regions.
Induction of Systemic Acquired Resistance Aids Restoration of Tree Health in Field-Grown Pear and Apple Diseased with Fire Blight
Authors: Johnson Kenneth B. , Temple Todd N.
Published: March 2017

Induction of systemic acquired resistance as a therapeutic aid to restoration of tree health was evaluated in 3- to 14-year-old pear and apple trees diseased with fire blight. Acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) was applied to diseased trees in late spring near the time of removal of primary fire blight cankers, which had originated from floral infection. Suspensions of ASM (7.5 to 22.5 g of active ingredient per liter plus silicone surfactant) were painted onto a 30- to 45-cm length of branch tissue immediately below primary pruning cuts or sprayed onto an 80- to 100-cm length of central trunk. In some experiments, a second ASM treatment was made in late June to early July in conjunction with secondary pruning of redeveloped cankers. After pruning primary cankers, effects of ASM were measured by assessing weight and length of secondary cankers that were the result of fire blight redevelopment. Over 5 years of field experiments, trees that received an ASM treatments yielded 62% less diseased wood at the time of secondary and tertiary canker removal compared with non-ASM-treated trees. Moreover, tree mortality and proportion of pruning cuts where fire blight redeveloped were reduced by ASM. Induction of systemic acquired resistance could prove practical as an aid to pruning therapy in young, fire-blight-susceptible pear and apple trees where, after canker removal, disease symptoms frequently redevelop owing to residual cells of the pathogen distributed within symptomless portions of the tree.
Identification of novel mutations associated with cycloserine resistance inMycobacterium tuberculosis
Authors: Zhang Shuo , Chen Jiazhen , Cui Peng , Shi Wanliang , Zhang Wenhong , Zhnag Ying
Published: March 2017

Objectives

D-cycloserine (DCS) is an important second-line drug used to treat multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis. However, the mechanisms of resistance to DCS are not well understood. Here we investigated the molecular basis of DCS resistance using in vitro isolated resistant mutants ofMycobacterium tuberculosis.

Methods

M. tuberculosisH37Rv was subjected to mutant selection on 7H11 agar plates containing varying concentrations of DCS. A total of 35 DCS-resistant mutants were isolated and 18 mutants were subjected to whole genome sequencing. The identified mutations associated with DCS resistance were confirmed by PCR-Sanger sequencing.

Results

We identified mutations in 17 genes that are associated with DCS resistance. Except mutations inalr(rv3423c) which is known to be involved in DCS resistance, 16 new genesrv0059, betP (rv0917), rv0221, rv1403c, rv1683, rv1726, gabD2 (rv1731), rv2749, sugI(rv3331), hisC2(rv3 772), single mutation in 5’ intergenic region ofrv3345candrv1435c,and insertion in 3’ region ofrv0759cwere identified as solo mutations in their respective DCS-resistant mutants. Our findings indicate that the mechanisms of DCS resistance are more complex than previously thought and involve genes participating in different cellular functions such as lipid metabolism, methyltransferase, stress response, and transport proteins.

Conclusions

New mutations in diverse genes associated with DCS are identified, which shed new light on the mechanisms of action and resistance of DCS. Future studies are needed to verify these findings in clinical strains so that molecular detection of DCS resistance for improved treatment of MDR-TB can be developed.
Evolution and Functional Information
Authors: Matlock Matthew K. , Swamidass S. Joshua
Published: March 2017

“Functional Information”—estimated from the mutual information of protein sequence alignments—has been proposed as a reliable way of estimating the number of proteins with a specified function and the consequent difficulty of evolving a new function. The fantastic rarity of functional proteins computed by this approach emboldens some to argue that evolution is impossible. Random searches, it seems, would have no hope of finding new functions. Here, we use simulations to demonstrate that sequence alignments are a poor estimate functional information. The mutual information of sequence alignments fantastically underestimates of the true number of functional proteins, because it also is strongly influenced by a family’s history, mutational bias, and selection. Regardless, even if functional information could be reliably calculated, it tells us nothing about the difficulty of evolving new functions, because it does not estimate the distance between a new function and existing functions. The pervasive observation of multifunctional proteins suggests that functions are actually ver close to one another and abundant. Multifunctional proteins would be impossible if the FI argument against evolution were true.
The preparation, characterization, structure and dissolution analysis of apremilast solvatomorphs
Authors: Wu Yun-Deng , Zhang Xiao-Lei , Liu Xiao-Hong , Xu Jian , Zhang Mei , Shen Kun , Zhang Si-Han , He Yong-Mei , Ma Yan , Zhang Ai-Hua
Published: March 2017

Apremilast (AP) {systematic name: (S)-2-[1-(3-ethoxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-2-(methylsulfonyl)ethyl]-4-acetamidoisoindoline-1,3-dione} is an inhibitor of phosphodieasterase-4 (PDE4) and is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis. The ability of AP to form solvates has been investigated and three solvatomorphs of AP, namely, the AP ethyl acetate hemisolvate, C22H24N2O7S·0.5C4H8O2, the AP toluene hemisolvate, C22H24N2O7S·0.5C7H8, and the AP dichloromethane monosolvate, C22H24N2O7S·CH2Cl2, were obtained. The three AP solvatomorphs were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction was used to analyze the structures, crystal symmetry, packing modes, stoichiometry and hydrogen-bonding interactions of the solvatomorphs. In addition, dissolution analyses were performed to study the dissolution rates of different AP solvatomorph tablets in vitro and to make comparisons with commercial apremilast tablets (produced by Celgene); all three solvatomorphs showed similar dissolution rates and similar values of the similarity factor f2 in a comparison of their dissolution profiles.
Estimation of the protein–ligand interaction energy for model building and validation
Authors: Beshnova Daria A. , Pereira Joana , Lamzin Victor S.
Published: March 2017

Macromolecular X-ray crystallography is one of the main experimental techniques to visualize protein–ligand interactions. The high complexity of the ligand universe, however, has delayed the development of efficient methods for the automated identification, fitting and validation of ligands in their electron-density clusters. The identification and fitting are primarily based on the density itself and do not take into account the protein environment, which is a step that is only taken during the validation of the proposed binding mode. Here, a new approach, based on the estimation of the major energetic terms of protein–ligand interaction, is introduced for the automated identification of crystallographic ligands in the indicated binding site withARP/wARP. The applicability of the method to the validation of protein–ligand models from the Protein Data Bank is demonstrated by the detection of models that are `questionable' and the pinpointing of unfavourable interatomic contacts.
An improved Isomap method for manifold learning
Authors: Qu Taiguo , Cai Zixing
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Isometric feature mapping (Isomap) is a very popular manifold learning method and is widely used in dimensionality reduction and data visualization. The most time-consuming step in Isomap is to compute the shortest paths between all pairs of data points based on a neighbourhood graph. The classical Isomap (C-Isomap) is very slow, due to the use of Floyd’s algorithm to compute the shortest paths. The purpose of this paper is to speed up Isomap.

Design/methodology/approach

Through theoretical analysis, it is found that the neighbourhood graph in Isomap is sparse. In this case, the Dijkstra’s algorithm with Fibonacci heap (Fib-Dij) is faster than Floyd’s algorithm. In this paper, an improved Isomap method based on Fib-Dij is proposed. By using Fib-Dij to replace Floyd’s algorithm, an improved Isomap method is presented in this paper.

Findings

Using the S-curve, the Swiss-roll, the Frey face database, the mixed national institute of standards and technology database of handwritten digits and a face image database, the performance of the proposed method is compared with C-Isomap, showing the consistency with C-Isomap and marked improvements in terms of the high speed. Simulations also demonstrate that Fib-Dij reduces the computation time of the shortest paths from O(N3) to O(N2lgN).

Research limitations/implications

Due to the limitations of the computer, the sizes of the data sets in this paper are all smaller than 3,000. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed algorithm on larger data sets.

Originality/value

The new method based on Fib-Dij can greatly improve the speed of Isomap.
Chaos control of the power system via sliding mode based on fuzzy supervisor
Authors: Sarani Ali Abadi Ahmad , Balochian Saeed
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the problem of control in a typical chaotic power system. Chaotic oscillations cannot only extremely endanger the stabilization of the power system but they can also not be controlled by adding the traditional controllers. So, the sliding mode control based on a fuzzy supervisor can sufficiently ensure perfect tracking and controlling in the presence of uncertainties. Closed-loop stability is proved using the Lyapunov stability theory. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method in damping chaotic oscillations of the power system, eliminating control signal chattering and also show less control effort in comparison with the methods considered in previous literatures.

Design/methodology/approach

The sliding mode control based on a fuzzy supervisor can sufficiently ensure perfect tracking and controlling in the presence of uncertainties. Closed-loop stability is proved using the Lyapunov stability theory.

Findings

Closed-loop stability is proved using the Lyapunov stability theory. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method in damping chaotic oscillations of power system, eliminating control signal chattering and also less control effort in comparison with the methods considered in previous literatures.

Originality/value

Main contributions of the paper are as follows: the chaotic behavior of power systems with two uncertainty parameters and tracking reference signal for the control of generator angle and the controller signal are discussed; designing sliding mode control based on a fuzzy supervisor in order to practically implement for the first time; while the generator speed is constant, the proposed controller will enable the power system to go in any desired trajectory for generator angle at first time; stability of the closed-loop sliding mode control based on the fuzzy supervisor system is proved using the Lyapunov stability theory; simulation of the proposed controller shows that the chattering is low control signal.
Cultivating the brand-customer relationship in Facebook fan pages
Authors: Chang Shing-Wan , Fan Shih-Heng
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of continuous brand-customer relationship via company-hosted social networking sites (SNSs). Factors that influence fans to continue using fast-fashion brands’ Facebook fan pages and to maintain the brand-customer relationship are discussed first. Subsequently, the predictors of fans’ engagement and affective commitment to a fast-fashion brand are examined with the aim to explore the key elements that nurture the brand-customer relationship via brands’ SNSs.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research was conducted and the structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses on a sample of 202 fast-fashion Facebook fan page users in Taiwan.

Findings

The results demonstrate that engagement, affective commitment and continued intention to use are predominantly influenced by, in turn, social interaction tie, content value and affective commitment.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited because it investigated the fast-fashion fan page users in an Asian country, so the findings cannot be generalised to other contexts.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that fan page managers’ initiation and involvement in conversations, frequent responses, listening to fans’ opinions and improving fans’ experiential value may facilitate them to engage in the brand’s activities at a higher level.

Originality/value

The findings of this integrated model suggest managerial guidelines for brand managers in this industry regarding how to maintain the brand-customer relationship through social media strategy and how they contribute to theory building in continuance intention of SNSs.
Establishing an evidence-based 9D evaluation approach for ERP post-implementation
Authors: Peng Guo Chao , Nunes Miguel
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a systematic and customisable framework, titled the 9D approach, aiming to evaluate the enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems as well as to identify potential socio-technical problems, misfits and deficiencies that can cause ERP failure during the system post-implementation phase.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed 9D ERP evaluation framework includes nine dimensions and 85 evaluation criteria. This theoretical framework is then used in a six-step evaluation process based on a mixed-methods design. A case study involving a large-size private company in China was used as an exemplification to illustrate how the proposed 9D approach can be applied in practices.

Findings

The findings of the study clearly demonstrated that after the ERP “go-live” point, companies still experience many challenges and problems in the post-implementation phase. These problems can be located in very diverse organisational, systemic and personnel aspects of the company, as well as across different functional areas and organisational levels. The proposed 9D approach was demonstrated to be an efficient and systematic tool to investigate and explore such ERP problems in an in-depth level within the organisational context.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to the theory of IS evaluation in general, and provides valuable insights into the ERP post-implementation evaluation in particular.

Practical implications

The proposed ERP evaluation approach forms a sound base for continuous ERP improvement and contributes to sustain seamless alignment between ERP and its organisational context. The customisable feature of the framework offers flexibility and enables its use by companies of all sizes, any sector, and any country.

Originality/value

To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, this is the most extensive and comprehensive framework for the post-evaluation of ERPs proposed hitherto. The need for this new framework was grounded on the argumentation of the drawbacks of existing ERP measurement and evaluation studies that simply focus on success rather than the more critical failure factors.
A supply chain performance measurement approach using the internet of things
Authors: Dweekat Abdallah Jamal , Hwang Gyusun , Park Jinwoo
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a more practical approach for supply chain performance measurement (SCPM) and to approve the promising role of internet of things (IoT) technologies in SCPM systems.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper that includes literature review analysis, designing a new approach for SCPM, and a case study scenario for proving its applicability.

Findings

The case study scenario shows that IoT can enhance SCPM, as it has the capability to enable real-time data collection, increase data efficiency as long as enable real-time communication within the supply chain (SC).

Practical implications

The proposed approach can help to develop performance measurement systems and applications enabled by IoT technologies. These systems can be used to monitor, manage, and control the overall SC in real time and in a more integrated and cooperative manner.

Originality/value

This paper provides a structured systems building approach tailored to show how to employ IoT technologies in the field of SCPM. This approach could help in establishing new performance measurement applications, and it is believed that both practitioners and researchers will benefit from it.
Determinants and outcomes of faculty consulting from management teachers’ perspective
Authors: Chillara Lakshmi Hymavathi , Sahoo Debajani , Ponnam Abhilash
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the major determinants that influence the management teachers to practice management consulting. The second objective of this research is to understand how the experience in management consultancy leads to value addition in their class room teaching.

Design/methodology/approach

To address the first research objective, focus group discussions were conducted with management teachers practicing consultancy. These results were used to generate items for the questionnaire. Factor analysis performed on the data revealed six determinants influencing management teachers to engage in consulting activity. To address the second research objective, focus group discussions with MBA graduates were used to comprehend how teachers with management consulting experience enrich the pedagogy.

Findings

The major findings of the study suggest that the determinants influencing management teachers to practice consulting are: improving competencies, furthering professional advancement, accruing strategic and financial benefit, enabling holistic development. Through study 2, the authors found out that management teachers add value in pedagogy by forging corporate world connection through real-time examples, enable critical thinking by breaking established paradigms, effective classroom delivery through storytelling, etc., and lending student support by assuming a mentor’s role.

Practical implications

This study found that faculty consulting reduces the perceived gap between the industry and academia and it also leads to effective class room teaching.

Originality/value

The study is the first attempt to empirically test the determinants influencing management teachers to practice consultancy services and qualitatively assess how the consultancy experience enriches the in-class performance.
Using and choosing digital health technologies: a communications science perspective
Authors: Ovretveit John , Wu Albert , Street Richard , Thimbleby Harold , Thilo Friederike , Hannawa Annegret
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore a non-technical overview for leaders and researchers about how to use a communications perspective to better assess, design and use digital health technologies (DHTs) to improve healthcare performance and to encourage more research into implementation and use of these technologies.

Design/methodology/approach

Narrative overview, showing through examples the issues and benefits of introducing DHTs for healthcare performance and the insights that communications science brings to their design and use.

Findings

Communications research has revealed the many ways in which people communicate in non-verbal ways, and how this can be lost or degraded in digitally mediated forms. These losses are often not recognized, can increase risks to patients and reduce staff satisfaction. Yet digital technologies also contribute to improving healthcare performance and staff morale if skillfully designed and implemented.

Research limitations/implications

Researchers are provided with an introduction to the limitations of the research and to how communications science can contribute to a multidisciplinary research approach to evaluating and assisting the implementation of these technologies to improve healthcare performance.

Practical implications

Using this overview, managers are more able to ask questions about how the new DHTs will affect healthcare and take a stronger role in implementing these technologies to improve performance.

Originality/value

New insights into the use and understanding of DHTs from applying the new multidiscipline of communications science. A situated communications perspective helps to assess how a new technology can complement rather than degrade professional relationships and how safer implementation and use of these technologies can be devised.
Work(er)-driven innovation
Authors: Smith Raymond
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The focus on innovation as a foundational element of enhanced organisational performance has led to the promoting and valuing of greater levels of employee participation in innovation processes. An emergent concept of employee-driven innovation could be argued to have hindered understandings of the creative and transformative nature of work and the kinds of work and learning practices that all workers engage in as part of their routine occupational practices. The purpose of this paper is to propose that a stronger focus on work-learning as workers’ personal enactment of the collective activities that comprise their occupational practice and its circumstances can clarify the nature of innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on an extended ethnographic study (18 months) of 12 employees from four different workplaces and who were engaged in a variety of different occupational practices.

Findings

The argument is advanced through discussion of four kinds of innovation that were identified through examining the work-learning practices of restaurant, gymnasium, computing and fire service workers. They are personal heuristics, test benching, efficiencies and shared needs.

Originality/value

These innovation forms illuminate personal work-learning practices and offer means of explaining innovation as a foundational factor of work, suggesting that work that supports these work-learning practices can enhance organisational innovation.
Toward more practical measurement of teamwork skills
Authors: Brock Sabra E. , McAliney Peter J. , Ma Chun Hui , Sen Ashis
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to take a fresh look at how well instruments commonly used to calibrate teamwork skills reflect the reality of today’s workplace. Given the number of teamwork skills instruments that have been available for many decades, the question was, why still are so many workplace teams not successful?

Design/methodology/approach

This practitioner exploration identified insights from a small group of experienced Indian managers on what makes a successful team. It compares these insights to the dimensions identified in one readily available practitioner-developed teamwork skills instrument and to those characteristics identified in the literature.

Findings

The match was less than perfect between the criteria these experienced managers used to predict team success and the combination of the dimensions in the literature and what the tool measured. Analysis indicated these managers felt that successful teams indeed required good communication among members (as identified in the literature), but they added the specificity that the element of communication characterized as effective listening was a key contributor to team success. Additionally, they did not just exhibit effective conflict resolution techniques (as identified in the literature), but also relied upon debate, discussion, flexibility, trust and cohesiveness. The findings also suggested the importance of understanding each other’s strengths and weaknesses and of giving credit, which were not included on the instrument used.

Originality/value

Given the growing importance of diverse international teams and the continued high failure rate of many teams, there is a need to take a fresh look at evaluating insights of successful team members using the additional lenses of culture, technology-enhanced communications and distributed work approaches. These insights should be compared to those skills that have been historically measured by instruments commonly used to calibrate teamwork skills and described in the literature. If the measuring tools are accurate, why do so many teams fail? If instruments are to be useful in guiding improvement of teamwork skills, they need to calibrate the specific skills that differentiate success from failure in today’s real world.
“Through the looking glass: envisioning new library technologies” educational trends that will impact library technology
Authors: Fernandez Peter
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This column takes a big picture look at some of the technology-related trends in education to identify potential opportunities for libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

In particular, it is inspired by the 2016 NMC Horizon Report, which attempts to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have an impact on learning, teaching and creative inquiry in education.

Findings

Although this report was created in the context of higher education, it impacts all libraries that support lifelong learning. In fact, some of the concepts considered in the report, such as digital literacy and makerspaces, are already well integrated into the operations of many libraries.

Originality/value

This column’s focus will be on the concepts of personalized learning, competing models of education and the blending of informal and formal learning, and it will examine how libraries can use related technologies to position themselves to best assist their patrons in the future.
A putative Toll/interleukin‐1 receptor domain protein from Helicobacter pylori is dimeric in solution and interacts with human Toll‐like receptor adaptor myeloid differentiation primary response 88
Authors: Kaplan‐Türköz Burcu
Published: March 2017

Helicobacter pylori, an important human pathogen, is capable of causing persistent infection with minimal immune response. The first line of defense during H. pylori infection is through gastric epithelial cells that present TLR, A family of bacterial proteins that share homology with the Toll/IL‐1 receptor (TIR) domain were identified. Bacterial TIR proteins (BTP) mimic human TIR domain proteins and act on myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88) signaling pathways to suppress TLR signaling. H. pylori may also produce a similar protein. A putative H. pylori BTP was found based on sequence homology. The corresponding gene hp1437 was inserted into an expression vector in fusion with an N‐terminal cleavable 6his‐tag. The recombinant protein, 6his‐HP1437, was purified using nickel affinity chromatography with a yield of 8 mg/L culture. Oligomerization of HP1437 was investigated by size‐exclusion chromatography. It was found that HP1437 forms dimers in solution similar to other BTPs. Furthermore, glutathione S‐transferase pull down assays identified an interaction between HP1437 and human TIR domain adaptor MyD88. These findings suggest that HP1437 has the characteristic features of BTPs and may play a direct role in reducing immune response against H. pylori by binding to MyD88 and pave the way for an in‐depth characterization of this putative novel H. pylori virulence factor.
Serologic evidence of Brucella infection in pinnipeds along the coast of Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of Japan
Authors: Abe Erika , Ohishi Kazue , Ishinazaka Tsuyoshi , Fujii Kei , Maruyama Tadashi
Published: March 2017

Brucella infection in Hokkaido was serologically surveyed in four species of pinnipeds inhabiting Cape Erimo during 2008–2013 and the Shiretoko Peninsula in 1999 by ELISA using Brucella abortus and B. canis as antigens. Anti‐Brucella positive sera showed higher absorbance to B. abortus than B. canis in almost all samples. Anti‐B. abortus antibodies were detected in serum samples from 24% (n = 55) of Western Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina stejnegeri) in Cape Erimo and from 66% (n = 41) of spotted seals (P. largha), 15% (n = 20) of ribbon seals (Histriophoca fasciata) and 18% (n = 17) of Western Steller's sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus jubatus) in the Shiretoko Peninsula. Anti‐Brucella antibodies were detected at higher absorbance in 1‐ to 4‐year‐old harbor seals than in the pups and mature animals, suggesting either that Brucella infection mainly occurs after weaning or that it is maternally transmitted to pups with premature or suppressed immunity. Anti‐Brucella antibodies were detected in both immature and mature spotted seals and ribbon seals, with higher absorbance in the former. The antibodies were detected only in mature Western Steller's sea lions. Western blot analysis of the serum samples showed some differences in band appearances, namely discrete versus smeary, and in the number of bands, indicating that multiple different Brucella may be prevalent in pinnipeds in Hokkaido. Alternatively, the Brucella of pinnipeds may have some intra‐species diversity.
Drug Recognition Evaluation and Chemical Confirmation of a 25C‐NBOMe‐Impaired Driver
Authors: Rajotte James W. , Palmentier Jean‐Paul F.P. , Wallage Helena Rachelle
Published: March 2017

This case report details an individual arrested for drug‐impaired driving after leaving the scene of multiple motor vehicle collisions and evading police. The driver was examined by a drug recognition expert and failed the drug recognition evaluation. The driver admitted to using cocaine, marijuana, an antidepressant medication and “N‐bomb,” a novel psychoactive substance that possesses hallucinogenic properties. Toxicological analyses at the Centre of Forensic Sciences’ Toronto laboratory revealed only the substance 2‐[4‐chloro‐2,5‐dimethoxyphenyl]‐N‐[(2‐methoxyphenyl)methyl]ethanamine (25C‐NBOMe) in the accused's urine. This is the first report in which 25C‐NBOMe was identified through DRE and toxicological analyses in a drug‐impaired driver.
Introducing Human Mandible Identification [(hu)MANid]: A Free, Web‐BasedGUIto Classify Human Mandibles
Authors: Berg Gregory E. , Kenyhercz Michael W.
Published: March 2017

Statistical programs have revolutionized the way in which forensic anthropologists conduct casework by allowing practitioners to use computationally complex analytics at the click of a button. Importantly, the products of these statistical programs are reproducible and contain measures of error or uncertainty, thereby strengthening conclusions. This paper is an introduction to (hu)MANid, a free, web‐based application that uses linear and mixture discriminant function analyses to classify human mandibles into one of many worldwide and/or periodic reference groups. The mechanics, development, and use of the application will be discussed. Further, the program was tested against other software to compare model performances and classifications. Total correct classifications among the test cases and programs were identical. Ten mandibles were tested using both statistical procedures. Mixture discriminant analysis improved classification by an average of 9.3% and correctly identified three more mandibles thanLDA. Therefore, we believe (hu)MANid will be an asset to the anthropological community.
Diet, dietary selectivity and density of South American grey fox, Lycalopex griseus, in Central Chile
Authors: MUÑOZ‐PEDREROS Andrés , YÁÑEZ José , NORAMBUENA Heraldo V. , ZÚÑIGA Alfredo
Published: March 2017

The South American grey fox Lycalopex griseus is a canid widely distributed in southern South America; however, some aspects of its biology are still poorly known. We studied the diet and density of L. griseus in the Lago Peñuelas Biosphere Reserve, in Central Chile. The trophic niche breadth was B = 6.16 (Bsta = 0.47) and prey diversity was H′ = 2.46 (Hmax′ = 3.17, J′ = 0.78). The highest proportions of prey consumed in the diet were Oryctolagus cuniculus (52.21%) and other mammals (32.78%). We compared these results with a latitudinal gradient of diet results for this species in Chile. L. griseus eats mostly mammals (>90% of total prey), consuming the rodent Phyllotis darwini and reptiles in the northern zone; Oryctolagus cuniculus, Octodon degus and Abrocoma bennetti in the central zone; Abrothrix spp. and lagomorphs in the southern zone; and Lepus capensis and Ovis aries in the austral zone. The estimated density of L. griseus in Lago Peñuelas NR was 1.3 foxes/km2.
Physiological study of the anorectal reflex in patients with functional anorectal and defecation disorders
Authors: Thiruppathy Kumaran , Mason John , Akbari Khalid , Raeburn Amanda , Emmanuel Anton
Published: March 2017

OBJECTIVE

Fecal incontinence (FI) and constipation can arise from a variety of alterations of anorectal function. This study aimed to investigate the components of the anorecal reflex in patients with these symptoms and to determine the functional significance of various physiological parameters.

METHODS

Altogether 21 healthy volunteers (controls) and 78 FI‐predominant and 74 constipation‐predominant patients were recruited and administered Wexner incontinence and constipation questionnaires. All participants underwent standardized anorectal physiology assessments.

RESULTS

Patients with passive FI had lower resting sphincter pressures than controls (38 cmH2O vs 87 cmH2O,
P
 < 0.05), while those with urge FI had lower squeeze pressures than controls (37 cmH2O vs 119 cmH2O,
P
 < 0.05). Patients with urge FI had lower maximal tolerable volumes (100 mL vs 166 mL,
P
 < 0.05). Patients with slow‐transit constipation had elevated rectal electrosensitivity thresholds compared with controls (31.4 mA vs 20.2 mA,
P
 < 0.05), and rectal mucosal blood flow than patients with evacuation difficulty and controls (107 vs 162 flux units (FU) [evacuation difficulty] vs 169 FU [controls],
P
 < 0.05). Only patients with passive FI were associated with reflex abnormalities (prolonged recovery phase (1.2 ms vs 0.5 ms,
P
 < 0.05) and total duration of reflex (6.3 ms vs 4.3 ms,
P
 < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Anorectal motor, sensory and reflex abnormalities are seen in distinct patterns in patients with FI and constipation. This would suggest distinct physiological differences that may predict the potential for different neuromodulation treatment and behavioral modalities in these conditions.